Well, I once had an idea: "My Little Pony and Power Rangers." Turns out, it wasn't original... But, here's my version. Note: Pony Rangers will be based loosely on the plot of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers at first, but it will trail off into its own plot, after a while. Characters (this and [SPOILER!] second season) will be: Rainbow Dash as Red Ranger; Rarity as Black Ranger; Applejack as Blue Ranger; Fluttershy as Yellow Ranger; and Pinkie Pie as *rolls eyes* Pink Ranger. OTHERS: Nightmare Moon as Rita; Zecora, Manticore (from Friendship is Magic part 2), Gilda, and Trixie as Rita's minions; Celestia as Zordon; Spike as Alpha; Twilight Sparkle as ???; Derpy as ???; Applebloom, Sweetiebelle, and Scootaloo as ???; Discord as ???, and that about sums it up. IMPORTANT NOTE: My ideas develop at a rate that I can't always control, so what you have read above (while I rather like it) IS subject to change.
Foreword: From what I have heard, an “aliacorn” (which I likely spelled incorrectly) is a Pegasus-Unicorn. Now, Chapter 2:
Pinkie Pie was throwing her weekly party at Sugarcube Corner. Her friends Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy, were all there.
“Oh, this party is truly one to behold!” commented Rarity.
“Yeah, I think you really topped yourself this time, Pinkie,” added Fluttershy, quietly.
“Oh, you guys are just saying that,” replied Pinkie.
“No, you really topped yourself,” said Applejack, indicating whipped cream on Pinkie’s mane.
Pinkie noticed it as the others sat there, laughing. “Hehe... I have been kinda busy lately...” said Pinkie Pie, slightly embarrassed.
Meanwhile, there was a hatch on the moon that looked like a garbage chute. There was a small red gem that began to glow. Suddenly, the hatch exploded open, and there stood Nightmare Moon, an aliacorn with a dark black coat, a flowing mane that resembled the night sky, and a crescent moon cutie mark. “Ahh!” she said. “After 1000 years, I’m free! It’s time to bring Equestria into eternal night! But not without my minions. Come out! the door is open!”
As Nightmare said this her minions came out one by one. First, a Griffin named Gilda. Then, a blue unicorn named Trixie. After Trixie came a zebra decorated with gold rings named Zecora. Last, a manticore.
“It is nice to finally be out,” commented Zecora. “Now our plans will succeed without a doubt.”
“Honestly,” said Trixie, “I don’t see why we failed in the first place.”
“It was my sister, Celestia,” replied Nightmare. “She used the Elements of Harmony to seal us here. But she is trapped in a time warp and unable to escape. Now we will conquer! But first, lets put a scare into the Equestrians...” As she said this, her horn began glowing and a large ball of energy formed at the tip. After it got bigger, she hurled it down to Equestria. It hit and caused a large earthquake.
At Canterlot Castle, there was a purple baby dragon named Spike, and he was going crazy with the earthquake. “It’s the big one! I knew it was coming! We’re all doomed!”
Suddenly, the head of Princess Celestia appeared in a large tube. “Calm down spike!” she said. “It’s Luna, she’s escaped. Teleport to us five able-bodied and over-emotional ponies.”
“No!” Spike protested. “Anything but tenagers!”
“We have no other choice, Spike.”
“Fine,” sighed Spike.
Back at Sugarcube Corner, the effects of the earthquake were not being ignored. Ponies were running left and right. Even pegasi forgot they could fly in the panic and continued to run.
“Everypony!!!!” exclaimed Pinkie. “Try to leave in an orderly fashion!”
“Pinkie!” said Rarity, “Even I can’t think about fashion at a time like- oh, I see what you are talking about.”
As Pinkie and her friends were running, they were suddenly stopped by an invisible force.
“What’s going on?” asked Fluttershy.
“Everypony hold on to something!” shouted Rainbow Dash as they were instantly turned into beams of light and carried into the air, speeding toward Canterlot Castle.
When they finally stopped, they found themselves in a strange, dimly-lit room, full of computers.
“Well, ah’ll be,” exclaimed Applejack. “We are definitely not in Ponyville, anymore.”
“No, you’re in Canterlot,” said Spike, coming out of the shadows behind them.
Fluttershy jumped with fear when she saw Spike. “That’s a... that’s a... that’s a dragon!” she exclaimed.
“Oh, he’s so adorable!” said Rarity, her comment being met with a `one of those days` stare by Spike. “Eh, why are we here again?”
“That will come in due time,” said Celestia, appearing in the tube. “But first, I am-”
“Yes,” replied Celestia. “I am the guardian of your world, raising the sun and the moon every day and night.”
“And I’m Spike,” said Spike.
“You five have been sent here to protect Equestria from the evil clutches of Nightmare Moon and her army of Putty Ponies.” Then, necklaces with gems on them were placed on the ponies. Rainbow Dash’s had a lightning-bolt gem, Rarity a diamond, Applejack an apple, Fluttershy a butterfly, and Pinkie Pie a balloon. “To do this, you will need the power of the Elements of Harmony and the dino-zords. Pinkie Pie, playful and ecstatic, you will command the element of laughter and the pterodactyl zord.” As Celestia said this, a rainbow went down the entirety of Pinkie’s body, morphing her into the Pink Ranger. “Fluttershy, caring and agile, you will command the element of kindness and the Sabretooth tiger zord.” The same happened with Fluttershy, except morphing her into the Yellow Ranger. “Rarity, selfless yet strong, you command the element of generosity and the mastodon zord,” Rarity morphed into the Black Ranger. “Applejack, truthful and fearless, you will command the element of honesty and the triceratops zord,” Applejack morphed into the Blue Ranger. “Rainbow Dash, strong and brave, you will command the element of Loyalty and the tyrannozord.” Rainbow Dash morphed into the Red Ranger. “When you are in danger, wear your Elements and call their name out loud morphing you into an elite fighting force known to one and all as... the Pony Rangers.”
The five just stood there, de-morphed, as if they had heard something that changed their lives forever. Then, Applejack started walking away.
“Applejack,” called Fluttershy, “where are you going?”
“Off the loony express,” she replied. “Dinozords? Elements of Harmony? Pony Rangers? It sounds to me like one big prank.”
“I have to agree with AJ, here,” said Rainbow Dash.
“Girls, Princess Celestia chose us, specifically to save Equestria,” said Pinkie. “And besides, I know a prank when I see one, trust me.”
“You can leave,” said Spike, “but you’ll be as powerless as any other pony and therefore, doomed.”
“Well, I do happen to like these morphers,” said Rarity, indicating the gem on her power morpher.
“Well, mah decision is final,” said AJ as she walked off.
“Yeah... this doesn’t seem like it would be very exciting,” said Rainbow Dash, following AJ.
As the ponies were walking out of the castle, Nightmare Moon noticed them from her lunar base. “ZECORA!” she shouted. “Are the putty ponies ready yet? They should have been done by now!”
“I apologize for the delay, my lord, but patience is something that we must afford,” said Zecora. “This machine has been idle for some time-”
“And it isn’t worth a dime!” said Nightmare, cutting Zecora off. “Hurry it up!”
The manticore walked in, seeming impatient. “Why can’t I just go down there, myself?”
“You underestimate the Elements of Harmony,” said Trixie from a corner of the room, seeming to come out of meditation. “Celestia used them to seal Lord Moon here. They could make short work of you, on your own.”
“Fine,” said the manticore.
“The last of the putties are almost ready. You will not regret this, you shall see.” said Zecora, putting one more dozen of putties in the oven. “This last dozen will fight those mares, five. They will not be able to survive.”
Meanwhile, the ponies were leaving the castle through a large and empty field. They seemed lost, both physically (being in the middle of nowhere) and mentally (pondering the “Pony Rangers” happening).
“I’m not sure if we should have walked away like that,” said Fluttershy, breaking a long silence. “That all seemed pretty legit...”
“Legit, my hoof,” replied AJ. “The only way I’d believe all of that is if we happened to run into a group of her `putty ponies`.” At that exact moment, they were all jumped by a group of putty ponies, moving around them intimidatingly. “Ok,” said AJ, “I believe everything Celestia said, now.”
“We have to fight them,” said Rainbow Dash.
At that, the five went in different directions to take on separate groups of putties.
Applejack went head on toward two putties, ducking at the last second to split-kick them both to little effect. The two putties took advantage of Applejack being off balance and threw her into a large rock.
Pinkie Pie pulled a cake out of nowhere that said “Yay! Friends!” and handed it to her group of putties. The putties looked at eachother for a moment, then one took Pinkie’s head and smashed it into her cake. When Pinkie got up, her cake said “Go bronies!” “How is that even possible?” she asked herself. Then the putties knocked her into Applejack, who was just then getting up, only to be knocked down by the thrown Pinkie Pie. “Cake?” she asked Applejack, holding the smashed desert in her hoof.
Rarity, being a unicorn, used her magic to hurl small rocks at the putties with little success. She was then knocked into the air by a putty behind her and thrown toward the others. As she fell, she used her magic to make a large lounge chair appear where she was falling, which happened to be on top of the others. Rarity landed safely, but the others were stuck under the lounge chair. “Well, you didn’t expect me to land on the ground and get dirty, did you?” said Rarity, trying to justify her actions.
Rainbow Dash was flying toward her group of putties, knocking some of them to the ground, but she was having little success in keeping them down. She was fighting very well until several putties swarmed her at once, throwing her by the wings into the pile of the others.
Fluttershy was being closed in on by several putties. When she noticed what happened to the others, she just casually walked over to the others and sat.
“There’s no way we can beat them,” said Rarity.
“Wait,” said Applejack, “Celestia gave us these Elements of Harmony for a reason. Ah think we need to use ‘em.”
“Ok,” said Rainbow Dash. “It’s morphin’ time!”
“Honesty!” shouted Applejack.
“Kindness!”
“Laughter!”
“Generosity!”
“Loyalty!”
As the ponies shouted their respective Elements, they morphed into Pony Rangers.
“They did it!” shouted Spike. “They morphed!”
“That’s good,” said Celestia. “Teleport them back to Ponyville, Luna’s manticore is attacking!”
The Rangers were then teleported to Ponyville, where they battled a large number of putty ponies with surprising ease. Then, after the putties were gone, they all went after the manticore.
“The rangers are stronger than we first thought,” said Zecora, “Perhaps it is time for a change in our plot.”
“Just one minor change,” said Nightmare Moon. “Or should I say... a mega change.” She then walked outside of her lunar base, charging her horn. “Powers of the moon, make manticore... grow!” she shouted as she fired a ball of energy from her horn down to Equestria, hitting the manticore square on.
In Ponyville, the Rangers noticed the ball of energy hit the manticore. Suddenly, the manticore started growing to enormous proportions.
“Now, I will crush you rangers to dust!” shouted the now gigantic manticore.
“Ohmygoodness! Ohmygoodness! Ohmygoodness!” repeated Fluttershy out of fear.
“How are we going to fight him now?” asked Rarity.
“We need dinozord power, now!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash.
“How did you know you had to say that?” asked Pinkie.
“I dunno... instinct?”
At that moment, the dinozords came charging in. There was a red tyrannosaurus, a blue triceratops, a black mastodon, a yellow sabre-tooth tiger, and a pink pterodactyl. The rangers jumped in to their respective zords and started charging at the manticore. However, the manticore was too fast, and managed to easily dodge the attack.
“We need to form the megazord, now!” shouted Rainbow Dash.
“Right,” replied Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity.
The sabre-tooth and triceratops tucked in their legs, revealing wheels. The tyrannozord folded it’s legs, causing it knees to face forward. The tyrannozord’s knees then connected to the triceratops and sabre-tooth. The mastodon split it’s head from it’s body. It’s body came up in front of the tyrannozord, forming the chest, while the head came up behind it, it’s tusks going over the tyrannozord’s shoulders. The mastadon’s tusks became guns as the tyrannozord grabbed them with its tiny arms, and the tank-like zord coasted to a stop.
“Now, we’re ready for battle!” shouted Rainbow Dash as the tank started charging toward the manticore, guns ablaze. However, the guns did not seem to do as much damage as the rangers would have desired, and the manticore knocked the tank on its side. “We’re sitting ducks!” shouted Rainbow Dash.
“WE LANDED ON DUCKS?” shouted Fluttershy, obviously scared.
“No, Fluttershy, we didn’t land on any animals,” said Applejack, reassuring Fluttershy.
“You’re still all mine,” said the manticore, advancing on the fallen tank.
“Not if I have anything to say about it!” shouted Pinkie Pie, charging at the manticore with the pterodactyl zord. The zord’s wing started to glow as it slashed the manticore away from the tank.
“That’s why we weren’t strong enough,” said Rarity. “We left Pinkie out.”
“Ok, Rangers,” called Rainbow Dash, “Let’s try this again. Megazord, go!”
“Megazord sequence initiated,” said a robotic voice coming from the zord as it went into a standing position. The guns spun around until they were hands. The pterodactyl flew toward the zord, tucking in it’s wings and head to form a chestplate. The head of the tyrannozord tucked in, being replaced by a human-like head. As the pterodactyl chestplate attached to the megazord, the horns extended from behind the zord’s head. The completed megazord went into an offensive stance.
“Megazord, complete!” shouted the Rangers in unison.
“Now, to call the Power Sword!” said Rainbow Dash.
A large sword came from the sky and stabbed itself into the ground in front of the megazord. The megazord then grabbed it and held it toward the manticore.
“No, you are not killing me with that,” said the manticore. “I’m outta here.” Then, the manticore teleported away.
The megazord then went into a triumphant stance as the rangers inside celebrated their victory. Then, Pinkie raised her hoof to quiet the others. “I have something very important to say,” she said. The others paid attention. “This calls for a...” but the rangers knew what she was going to say.
“USELESS!” shouted Nightmare as the manticore returned. “You fled from the battle when the Pony Rangers showed you their greatest power!”
“This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t run in with your guard down,” said Trixie.
“I’m sorry,” said the manticore. “I will try to get more data next time.”
“You better,” said Nightmare. “Now leave me alone, I have a headache!”
Later, Pinkie Pie was holding a party to celebrate the Pony Rangers (who were there, but not morphed) and their defeat of the giant manticore. Doctor Whooves and Derpy (dropping tray after tray) were helping Pinkie serve the large crowd of ponies.
“I can’t believe Pinkie threw this party,” said Rarity.
“Really?” asked Rainbow Dash. “Really? This is Pinkie Pie. She throws a party at the drop of a hat.”
“I’m just glad she has help,” said Fluttershy, noting Doctor Whooves.
“Yeah,” said Applejack sarcastically, noting Derpy, “Help.”
“I know I should be having fun here,” said Rarity, “but I can’t sit idly with the thought of what happened today. It was all just... and Canterlot Castle...”
As Rarity was saying this, Sweetie Belle was walking up to her, but stopped. “Why is my sister talking about Canterlot Castle?” she asked herself. “Eh, it’s probably nothing,” and she walked off.
Fifteen centuries ago, Equestria was a land of chaos and misery brought upon by the villainous Discord, god of chaos and disharmony. However, using the power of the Elements of Harmony, to alicorn sisters stood up to the villain. Princess Celestia, guardian of the sun, and Princess Luna, guardian of the moon. They combined their magic powers as well as the powers contained within the Elements of Harmony to seal Discord in stone and bring peace to the land of Equestria.
The two sisters ruled Equestria together for five centuries since. Princess Celestia used her power to raise the sun during the day while Princess Luna used her power to raise the moon during the night. However, over time, Princess Luna began to grow resentful as ponies frolicked and played during her sister’s day, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful night, Luna refused to lower the moon, completely ignoring Celestia’s pleas. The darkness within Luna’s heart created by this decision quickly grew and transformed the alicorn, turning her into the powerful and dangerous villain, Nightmare Moon. The two sisters were turned against each other by this darkness and engaged in a great duel of magic. However, Nightmare’s power proved to be almost too much for Celestia to handle, but the alicorn of the sun couldn’t risk hurting her little sister as she knew the young alicorn was still inside that entity of darkness and hatred. Celestia was forced to end the duel by using the Elements of Harmony to seal Nightmare Moon within the moon. However, Celestia was not left unscathed. Nightmare had just enough time to put a curse on Celestia, sealing her within a time warp. Celestia knew the spell would not hold Nightmare forever if she was sealed within the time warp, so she waited for a thousand years, watching over Equestria as best she could while trying to find ponies suitable for weilding the Elements of Harmony when Nightmare returned...
Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack were sitting around in Sugarcube Corner, enjoying Pinkie Pie’s third party this week. “This is truly a party to behold,” Rarity commented.
“I reckon this is Pinkie’s best party this month,” Applejack added.
“It’s... nice,” Fluttershy commented. Just then, Pinkie Pie trotted over.
“Having fun, girls?” Pinkie asked.
“Of course we are,” Rainbow Dash said. “This party is certainly better than the last one. You really topped yourself, this time.”
“Thanks for the compliment, Dashie,” Pinkie said, “but I wouldn’t say I topped myself.”
“I would,” Applejack said, indicating for Pinkie to look up. Somehow, Pinkie got whipped cream all over her mane.
“Heh,” Pinkie chuckled nervously as the others did their best to keep from laughing out loud. “I have been pretty busy having nopony to help me with these parties. I think the work is finally starting to catch up to me.”
Meanwhile, on the moon, there was a gold-colored hatch with a glowing red gem on it. Suddenly, the gem began blinking rapidly before the hatch completely exploded, kicking up a cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, standing next to the now open hatch was a dark alicorn with blueish armor, a flowing mane and tail that resembled the night sky, and a crescent moon cutie mark. “Ah!” the alicorn shouted. “After 1000 years I’m free! It’s time to plunge Equestria into eternal night! But not without my minions. Come out my faithful servants! The seal has worn off!”
Just then, the minions of Nightmare Moon began crawling out of the hatch one by one. First was a blue unicorn with a cyan and white mane named Trixie. After Trixie was a griffon named Gilda. Following Gilda was a zebra with gold rings around her hooves named Zecora. Finally, a nameless manticore climbed out.
“At long last, we are finally out,” Zecora said. “Now our plans will succeed without a doubt.”
“My only question is why we weren’t able to succeed in the first place,” Trixie said, fixing her mane with her magic.
“It was that pony, Princess Celestia,” Nightmare replied. “She used the Elements of Harmony to seal us within the moon. However, she was weak. She cared too much for her sister, Princess Luna, and was unable to finish me. Thanks to that weakness, I was able to seal her in a time warp so she can’t stop us this time.”
“Wait, aren’t you Princess Luna?” Gilda asked.
Nightmare quickly turned around and glared at Gilda. “I am Nightmare Moon, lord of night and darkness. Princess Luna is nothing more than a weak little foal. Got that?” Gilda quickly nodded in reply. “Good. Now, let us return to the moon base. But first...” Before Nightmare continued, she began charging her horn with magic energy. “...let’s put a scare into the ponies down there in Equestria. Let’s let them know that their queen of the night has returned!” Nightmare the fired a huge ball of magic energy from the tip of her horn straight towards Equestria, causing an earthquake.
Back in Equestria, somewhere in the royal city of Canterlot, there was a baby dragon named Spike running around the computer room he was in, panicking over the earthquake that was rocking the entire world. “It’s a major earthquake!” Spike shouted, running around. “I knew it was coming! We’re all doomed!”
Just then, the head of an alicorn with a white coat that had a slight pink hue to it (almost unnoticeable) and a rainbow mane appeared in a large tube at the front of the room. “Calm down, Spike,” the alicorn said. “It’s Nightmare Moon. She’s broken my seal and is attacking Equestria.”
“How is that supposed to calm me down?”
“I never said I was trying to help you calm down, but that doesn’t matter. We need to do something. Teleport to us five highly skilled and over emotional ponies.”
“No! Anything but teenagers!”
“We have no choice, Spike. Just bring them to us.”
“Fine,” the young dragon replied, pressing a button on his console.
Back at Sugarcube Corner, panicked ponies were galloping all over the place because of the earthquake. Earth ponies and unicorns ran this way and that, many bumping into each other, while pegasi did their best to fly out of the building while avoiding falling debris. Pinkie and her friends were doing their best to beat the crowds of panicked ponies, but they weren’t having that much luck for a while. Eventually, they made it out of the building, only to become frozen by some invisible force.
“What the hay is goin’ on?” Applejack asked, doing her best to move.
“I can’t move my wings!” Rainbow Dash shouted. Suddenly, the five ponies turned into pillars of light of their respective colors. Rainbow Dash’s was red, Fluttershy’s yellow, Pinkie’s pink, Applejack’s blue, and Rarity’s black. (I know those aren’t all their “respective colors” but you get the idea.) The five pillars of colored light went airborne and began flying straight towards the highest tower of the royal city of Canterlot on the side of a mountain several miles from Ponyville.
In the center of a darkened room with several computers in it, the five pillars of light came to a stop and the ponies they held collapsed onto the floor. “Where are we?” Rarity asked. “And who’s responsible for bringing us here? They’re going to pay for messing my mane up with that landing!”
“That would be me,” Princess Celestia said, appearing in her time warp and startling the five ponies. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m-”
“Princess Celestia,” Applejack interrupted. “Ancient guardian and ruler of Equestria, as well as the pony in charge of raising the sun and moon every day, presumed deceased about a millennium ago after combat with the evil Nightmare Moon.” The other four ponies looked at Applejack with confused expressions. “What? I read.”
Celestia was silent for a moment with her own confused expression before continuing. “Ahem, yes, almost all of that is correct. As you can see, I am alive and well.”
Just then, Spike the baby dragon walked out from behind one of the consoles. “And my name’s Spike,” he said, “the dragon in charge of keeping an eye on this base.”
“Th- th- that’s a dragon!” Fluttershy squealed with fear.
“Yeah, I just said that,” Spike commented.
“Oh, he’s adorable!” Rarity said. Spike silently responded with a “one of those days” expression.
“If you’re all done getting acquainted with the admittedly cute baby dragon,” Celestia said, “there’s a very serious reason I summoned you five here.” The five ponies turned away from Spike and faced Celestia. Spike walked off back to the console he was working on before. “Equestria is in great peril-”
“That much was obvious,” Rainbow Dash interrupted.
“-and our only hope is you five.”
“Hold on a second,” Pinkie said, holding her hoof up. She pulled a glass of water out of nowhere, took a big drink, and spit it all out quickly... all over a startled and already slightly annoyed Spike.
“Yes,” Princess Celestia continued. “It is up to you five to defend Equestria against the evil Nightmare Moon and her army of evil Putty Ponies. Spike, give them their Elements of Harmony.”
“Elements of Harmony?” Rarity asked. “Where have I heard that before?” Just then, five flashes of light colored similarly to the pillars of light from before radiated from each pony’s neck. When the lights died down, each pony found a strange necklace around their necks adorned with jewels of differing colors and shapes. Applejack’s had an orange apple, Fluttershy’s had a pink butterfly, Pinkie’s had a blue balloon, Rarity’s a purple diamond, and Rainbow Dash’s a red lightning bolt. “Now I know where I’ve heard of these before,” Rarity said excitedly. “Girls, what we have around our necks are the most famous and beautiful fashion accessories in history!” Rarity then squealed with joy, causing the other four to just roll their eyes.
“As I was saying,” Celestia said, “using these Elements of Harmony, you will gain access to the to the power of the Morphin’ Grid, a great power that will allow you to become legendary warriors known as the Pony Rangers.”
“Morphin’ Grid? Pony Rangers?” Applejack asked, completely unconvinced that what Celestia was saying was true. “I may be the one who knew about you in the first place, Princess, but, to be honest, I think you’re just spoutin’ a bunch of hooey.”
“Applejack,” Rainbow Dash said, “I don’t know about you, but I don’t call teleports, Elements of Harmony, and baby dragons ‘hooey’.”
“If I may continue without interruptions!” Celestia shouted impatiently. The five ponies quickly got silent and looked back at Celestia. “Better. Now, as Pony Rangers, you will have access to incredible fighting abilities as well as powerful machines called zords that you can call upon when a situation gets too big for you to handle on your own.”
“Is that supposed to imply-” Pinkie started.
“SILENCE! I have a lot of patience, but it’s never a good thing when it runs out. Honestly, Spike, could you at least have gotten five ponies who knew how to listen?” Celestia then turned back to the five ponies. “Now then, I will list off your powers. Applejack, your natural strength and integrity makes you a skilled combatant. You will become the Blue Ranger and command the Element of Honesty, as well as the Triceratops zord.” A bright blue light emitted from Applejack’s Element, engulfing her whole body and giving her blue full body armor with a black visor on the face. “Fluttershy, caring and quiet, but willing to do what needs to be done to protect those who cannot protect themselves. You will become the Yellow Ranger and command the Element of Kindness, as well as the Sabre-Tooth Tiger zord.” The same thing that happened to Applejack happend to Fluttershy, except it was a yellow light that emitted from her Element and her armor was yellow as well. “Pinkie Pie, optimistic and, while just plain random, always there to help when help is needed most. You will become the Pink Ranger and command the Element of Laughter, as well as the Pterodactyl zord.” Pinkie’s armor was pink, only slightly darker than the normal color of her coat. “Rarity, while not exactly a fan of getting your hooves dirty, you have the charity to give anything that may be needed at the drop of a hat. You will become the Black Ranger and command the Element of Generosity, as well as the Mastodon zord.” Rarity’s armor was a deep black, completely contrasting her white coat. “And Rainbow Dash, fearless and devoted, you will become the Red Ranger, leader of the Rangers, and command the the Element of Loyalty, as well as the Tyrannozord.” Rainbow Dash’s armor was a bright red that truly said ‘leader’. “When you are in danger, wear your Elements of Harmony and call them out by name to gain the power held within the Morphin’ Grid. With the power of the Elements of Harmony and the power of the zords in your hooves, you will protect Equestria from evil as a powerful team known to one and all as the Pony Rangers.”
The newly formed team of Pony Rangers stood around in silence, unmorphed, for the longest time before anypony moved, spoke, or probably even breathed. After a while, Applejack began walking out of the room. “Applejack,” Rainbow Dash called. “Where are you going?”
“I’m gettin’ off the looney express,” Applejack replied. “I already told y’all, the Princess here is spoutin’ a bunch of hooey. Personally, I’m not gonna believe a word of it.”
“Maybe Applejack’s right,” Fluttershy said. “What we need to do is get back to Ponyville and help out with recovery after that earthquake.”
“You can leave if you want to,” Celestia said, “but you will be as helpless as all the other ponies down there against Nightmare’s forces.”
Not even taking another second to think about it, Applejack trotted out of the room, followed closely by Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie exchanged glances for a moment before following suit. However, Rarity was still standing in the room, admiring her Element of Harmony. “Rarity!” the others called in unison. Hearing the other four, Rarity quickly snapped back to reality and galloped off to join the others.
“Those five were Equestria’s last hope,” Spike said to Celestia once the ponies left.
“They still are, Spike,” Celestia replied. “Once they know what they’re up against, they’ll do what needs to be done to save Equestria.”
Meanwhile, on the moon, Nightmare Moon and her four minions had quickly settled back into their old lunar base. “Ah,” Gilda said, sniffing the air, “it’s good to be back.”
“Don’t get too comfortable,” Nightmare said, looking out upon Equestria. “We still have a job to do: destroy Celestia and conquer Equestria.” Nightmare then turned to Zecora, who was hard at work at a strange furnace-like machine, molding lumps of clay and placing them into press molds shaped like ponies. “Are those Putty Ponies ready yet, Zecora?”
“These Putties will take some time,” Zecora said, not really looking up from her work. “However, there is some news that may be worth your eye.” Zecora indicated the screen at the far end of the room. On the screen were the Pony Rangers walking away from Canterlot.
“Who are these five mares?” Nightmare asked, genuinely interested.
“They are Celestia’s new Pony Rangers, and they could pose a particular danger.”
“Pony Rangers?” the manticore asked, walking into the room. “Pfft. They don’t look that tough.”
“You should not underestimate the Elements of Harmony,” Trixie said in the corner of the room, seeming to come out of meditation. “They were the very power that sealed Lord Nightmare and the four of us here on the moon. They could make short work of you, manticore, unless you have some hoof soldiers with you. Namely, Zecora’s Putty Ponies.”
“In that case, hurry up with the Putty Ponies, Zecora,” manticore said impatiently. “I wanna get down there and destroy some Equestrians.”
“I’ve already finished the Putties for your initial attack,” Zecora started, “but for a few minutes longer, I’d like you to hang back. I’m making a dozen more to take down those five. They surely won’t be able to survive.”
“Aw, but I wanted a chance to fight them!”
“Quit your complaining, manticore,” Nightmare said. “If we get the drop on them, our plans will fall into place faster and Equestria will be ours sooner.”
“The last of the Putty Ponies are now ready,” Zecora said. “This plan will work, you shall soon see.”
Meanwhile, back on Equestria, Applejack and the others were walking away from the base of the mountain that Canterlot rested upon and towards Ponyville. “I’m not so sure we should have trotted away like that, AJ,” Rainbow Dash said. “That all seemed pretty legit.”
“‘Legit’ my hoof,” Applejack replied. “It was obviously some kind of prank.”
“Then how do you explain the teleport thingy?” Pinkie asked.
“And the Elements of Harmony?” Rarity added.
“Clearly that was all just the work of a skilled unicorn with way too much time on her hooves. The only way I’d believe what the dead princess was saying would be if we were suddenly attacked by this Nightmare Moon or some of her so-called Putty Ponies.” Right when Applejack said this, the five ponies suddenly found themselves surrounded by greyish ponies with odd masks who could only be the above-mentioned Putty Ponies.
“Believe what Celestia said yet?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Applejack took a big nervous gulp before replying. “Yeah, I believe what she said now.”
“In that case, it’s time to take it to these Putty Phonies.” With that, the five ponies charged right at several different groups of Putties.
Applejack galloped at top speed towards a pair of Putties, ducking at the last second to split-buck the two to little effect. The Putties took advantage of Applejack being off balance, grabbed her hind legs, and threw her into a nearby rock.
Pinkie Pie was faced with about three Putty Ponies. “Hmm,” she said to herself. “How am I going to do this...? Aha!” The party pony then reached behind her back and pulled out a cake that said “Hooray! Friends!” The Putties exchanged glances for a moment before one trotted up and smashed Pinkie’s face into the cake. When Pinkie lifted her face back up, the cake now said “イェーイ！トモダチ！” (“I~ēi! tomodachi!” I think that [very] roughly translates from Japanese to “Hooray! Friends!”) “How the hay is that even possible?” While Pinkie stood there thinking about how that happened, another Putty took the opportunity and bucked Pinkie away, causing her to slam into the same rock Applejack hit and fall on the downed farm filly. “Cake?” Pinkie asked Applejack, holding up the smashed desert.
Rarity tried to use her magic to combat the advancing Putty Ponies, but every spell she knew from levitation to gem-finding had little effect on the Putties. “Fine,” she said. “We’ll do this the hard way.” Rarity then began galloping towards one Putty, leaping into the air at the last second and giving it a flying kick to the face, knocking it hard to the ground. This attack took care of one Putty, but she had about four others sneak up on her and throw her into the rock that Pinkie and AJ had already been thrown into. However, just before Rarity hit the ground, (which would have actually been her other two beaten friends) she used her magic to conjure a large lounge couch for her to land on, which appeared right on top of Pinkie and AJ. When Rarity landed, this very nearly crushed the party pony and farm filly. “What? You didn’t expect me to land on the ground and get dirty, did you?”
Rainbow Dash was surrounded by about five Putty Ponies, but this didn’t lower her confidence any. “Come at me, bro,” she said to the Putties. As though upon command, two of the Putty Ponies charged the prismatic pegasus. Rainbow Dash was ready for their charge, however, and easily ducked and bucked them both back. However, the other three jumped her from behind, catching her by surprise. Rainbow Dash tried to fight them, but two of them had grabbed her by the wings and the third gave her one strong buck to the stomach. (Now that’s what I call fighting dirty.) After the third Putty bucked Rainbow Dash, the two that had her wings forcefully threw her into the rock where the other three had met a similar fate. However, when Rainbow Dash hit the rock, it cracked a little and quickly split in half after Rainbow Dash landed next to Rarity on the unicorn’s sofa. (Or is it more of a bed? It seems large enough to be a bed, but its actual shape makes it look like a sofa, so it kind of throws me off.)
Several Putty Ponies were closing in on Fluttershy. Not being much of a fighter unless there was an immediate danger to an innocent creature, she let out a very quiet plea for help from her friends. However, when she looked over to where the rock used to be, she found all four of her friends totally pwned by the Putty Ponies. If these Putty Ponies were strong enough to take down all four of them, what chance did Fluttershy have? “Wait a second,” Fluttershy suddenly said to herself. For only a moment, she had forgotten that she was the weilder of one of the greatest weapons in Equestrian history: The Stare. Quickly, she turned around and used The Stare on the group of advancing Putties. However, they seemed entirely unaffected by Fluttershy’s wrath and continued advancing. Realizing that her greatest weapon wasn’t working, the shy pegasus let out a small squeal and flew over to duck behind the pile of her downed friends.
“Nothing’s working against these things,” Rainbow Dash said. “Even Fluttershy’s Stare is useless!”
“Wait a second,” Applejack said, pulling out the Element of Harmony she was given before. “Princess Celestia told us that these Elements of Harmony would give us power. I say we try ‘em out and see if it’s enough power to save our flanks from these things.”
“Sounds like a good idea, Applejack,” Rainbow Dash said, pulling out her Element of Harmony. The other three ponies quickly followed suit. “Ready, everypony? IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME!”
“HONESTY!” Applejack shouted.
“KINDNESS!” Fluttershy shouted.
“LAUGHTER!” was Pinkie’s shout.
“GENEROSITY!” was Rarity’s shout.
“LOYALTY!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
After each pony listed off their Element of Harmony, a bright light emitted from each gem and engulfed their bodies, similarly to what happened the first time around in Canterlot. The light slowly dressed them in their Ranger armor, leaving their heads uncovered until the rest of their bodies were armored. In a flash of light, their helmets appeared on their heads, their visors being absent for a second, revealing their eyes, before the black visors lowered, making their faces, as well as the rest of their bodies, completely covered and armored. Their manes and tails didn’t come through the suits, but they did conform to Rainbow Dash’s and Fluttershy’s wings, as well as Rarity’s horn.
“Now let’s do this,” Rainbow Dash said. “Pony Rangers: Harmony Force, roll call!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Blue!” Applejack shouted, bucking the air behind her before taking an offensive forward stance.
“Harmony Force, Ranger Yellow!” Fluttershy shouted, flying into the air and hovering a few inches off the ground, taking on a stance that was mostly defensive.
“Harmony Force, Ranger Pink!” Pinkie shouted, bouncing into the air excitedly and landing on all fours into a perfect offensive stance.
“Harmony Force, Ranger Black!” Rarity shouted, flipping her head around as though to flip her mane, glancing at the Putties with a sideways glance for a second, and then lowering her head to aim her horn at them as though it were some type of weapon.
“Harmony Force, Ranger Red!” Rainbow Dash shouted, flying up and doing a couple of loop-de-loops before coming back to the ground and hovering just inches above it in an offensive stance.
“From all of us together,” they all said in unison. “we fight as one! We protect one another until the battle is done! PONY RANGERS: HARMONY FORCE!”
Back in Canterlot, Spike was bouncing around with joy. “They’ve done it!” he shouted. “They’ve finally morphed! Oh, hay, looks like those Putties that attacked them are retreating. Oh, hang on, never mind. The Rangers just beat the clay out of them.”
“That’s excellent news, Spike,” Celestia said. “Now that they have finally claimed their powers, teleport them to Ponyville. Nightmare’s manticore is attacking with a larger number of Putty Ponies.”
“Will do, Princess.” Spike then pressed another button on his console, teleporting the Pony Rangers to Ponyville.
On the moon base, Nightmare Moon was angrily watching the Pony Rangers easily beat the stuffing out of every single one of her Putty Ponies that were attacking Ponyville. The Rangers were outnumbered at least five to one and they were still kicking flank.
“This is unacceptable!” Nightmare shouted. “I knew the Elements of Harmony were powerful, but this is a power I’ve never seen before! It’s as though these five ponies strengthen the Elements with a hidden power of their own!”
“The manticore is in terrible danger,” Zecora said. “If unprepared, he can be beaten by one Ranger! Lord Nightmare, if I may suggest a change in plans, perhaps the manticore will stand a chance.”
“I was just thinking the same thing,” Nightmare said. She then began charging her horn with magic and walked out to the observation deck. “Power of the moon, make my manticore grow!” Nightmare then fired a massive ball of blueish magic down towards Equestria.
Back in Ponyville, the Pony Rangers had already defeated the Putty Ponies and were about to take on the manticore. “Come on,” the manticore said. “I’ll take you all on myself if I have to.” Just then, he was blasted by the ball of magic that Nightmare had just fired towards Equestria.
“What the hay was that?” Rainbow Dash asked. Just then, the manticore grew to about 30 stories tall. “Sorry I asked. How are we supposed to fight this guy now?” As though to answer Dash’s question, the Rangers’ communicators began going off.
“Rangers,” Spike called from the other end of their communicators. “Remember the zords Celestia mentioned earlier? Now’s a good chance to summon them. Like Celestia said, and I quote, ‘You can call upon them when a situation gets too big for you to handle.’”
“Oh,” Pinkie said. “Now I see what she did there.”
“How do we call them?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Simply raise your hoof to the sky and shout ‘We need dinozord power, now!’” Spike said.
“Really? That’s all we need to do?” Rainbow Dash looked back to the other Rangers, who all just shrugged. “All right. I’ll give it a shot.” Dash then raised her hoof to the sky and shouted, “We need dinozord power, now!”
Right as Rainbow Dash said this, a noise that sounded like a steel stampede was heard from off in the distance. The Rangers turned around to find that five massive machines were headed straight towards Ponyville. There was a blue triceratops that was coming in on a set of wheels rather than stomping, a yellow sabre-tooth tiger that was leaping and showing off its acrobatic skills, a black mastodon that was moving quickly despite its stubby legs and massive size, a pink pterodactyl soaring high above the others, and a red tyrannosaur who was running at the head of the group.
“Those are our zords?” Applejack asked. “They’re huge!”
“Yeah they’re huge,” Rainbow Dash said. “Huge and awesome!”
“Don’t forget, Rangers,” Spike said from their communicators, “you need to enter your zords and pilot them to combat the manticore. Combine your powers and the zords to form the Megazord and defeat this powerful foe.”
“Okay, Spike,” Rainbow Dash said. “Let’s go, everypony!” In five flashes of multi-colored light, the five Rangers teleported into the cockpits of their respective zords. “Everypony in their zords?”
“Blue Ranger, ready for action,” Applejack said from her triceratops zord.
“Yellow Ranger, prepared for battle,” Fluttershy said from her sabre-tooth tiger zord.
“Pink Ranger, soaring high,” Pinkie said from her pterodactyl zord.
“Black Ranger, hoping this cockpit has been cleaned recently,” Rarity said from her mastodon zord. “I mean, rearing for action.”
“Red Ranger, rushing into the fray,” Rainbow Dash said. Once all five of the Rangers finished their roll call, the five zords came to a stop in front of the manticore. “All right, manticore, get ready to face the power of the Elements of Harmony.”
“My master, Nightmare Moon, says I underestimate you ponies,” the manticore said. “All I see is a bunch of walking piles of scrap metal and paint.”
“Yeah, Nightmare’s right on this one,” Rainbow Dash said. “We need Megazord power, now!”
Right as Rainbow Dash said this, the tyrannozord, triceratops, sabre-tooth, and mastodon began charging forward. The sabre-tooth and triceratops rushed in front of the tyrannozord, tucking in their legs and backing into the knees of the kneeling tyrannozord. The mastodon zord’s head broke off from the rest of its body and came up behind the tyrannozord, connecting to its back and aiming its tusks, which had machine guns at the tips, forward. The rest of the mastodon’s body came up in front of the tyrannozord and formed the chestplate. The result was a massive tank-like machine that was about the size of the manticore.
“This is the Megazord?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Doesn’t look as awesome as I had imagined it, but if it kicks flank, let’s go for it!” Dash then moved her control sticks forward, indicating for Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy to do the same on their control panels.
Upon the command of its pilots, the tank zord began moving forward, firing its machine guns at the manticore. The attack was making contact, but it wasn’t dealing significant damage. “Ha,” the manticore laughed, blocking the bullets with his paw. “You really think that pathetic machine has a chance against me?” The manticore then used his other paw to strike the tank zord, sending it flying and landing on its side.
“Well that didn’t work,” Applejack said.
“I don’t understand,” Rainbow Dash said. “I thought the Megazord would have enough power to defeat this guy. Why isn’t it working?”
“Because you left me out,” Pinkie said over the zord’s comm system. Just then, the pterodactyl zord flew by and struck the manticore, catching him off guard and knocking him onto his side.
“Oh, right,” Rainbow Dash said. “Sorry about that Pinkie. Let’s try that again. We need Megazord power, now!” Rainbow Dash then slammed her hoof on a button on her control panel.
”Megazord sequence initiated, said a robotic voice from the zords. The tank zord then began moving into a standing position. The triceratops and sabre-tooth zords formed the legs of the Megazord and the tusks of the mastodon’s tusks formed the arms. The machine guns rotated to reveal hands. (You’re welcome, Lyra.) The pterodactyl zord then flew towards the front of the standing humanoid zord, tucked in its head and wings, and formed the chestplate for the Megazord. Upon the pterodactyl zord attaching to the Megazord, the head of the tyrannozord tucked in behind the pterodactyl zord, revealing a humanoid head with horns on either side.
“Megazord ready for action!” the five Pony Rangers said in unison.
“It doesn’t matter how tall you Ranger babies stack your blocks,” the manticore said. “I’ll just keep knocking you down!” The manticore then charged at the Megazord. However, Rarity moved the mastodon’s tusk/Megazord’s arm to strike the manticore and knock him backwards.
“Ha!” Rarity laughed. “Take that, you ruffian!”
“Good shot, Rarity,” Applejack commented. The farm filly then turned to Fluttershy. “Now it’s our turn. Ready, Fluttershy?”
“Ready,” the shy pegasus replied. The Megazord then ran up to the manticore, who was just getting up and recovering, and drop kicked the evil minion right in the face.
“Excellent work, everypony,” Celestia said over the Megazord’s comm. “Now it is time for you to summon your greatest weapon. The Power Sword.”
“Will do, Princess,” Rainbow Dash said. The prismatic pegasus then slammed another button on her control panel, shouting, “We need the Power Sword, now!” Just then, the sky opened up and a huge double-edge sword descended from the heavens and impaled itself in the ground right in front of the Megazord. The Rangers then drew the Sword out of the ground and aimed it at the manticore.
“I wasn’t prepared for this,” the manticore said. “It’s your lucky day, ponies. I’m going to retreat now, but when next we meet, you’ll be sorry you ever even became Pony Rangers. That’s a promise!” The manticore then teleported away, leaving the Pony Rangers victorious.
“My little ponies,” Rainbow Dash said amid the celebration, “victory is ours.”
“Hay!” Pinkie said. “We should throw a party to celebrate our first win as Pony Rangers! Whaddaya say?”
“You party will have to wait,” Princess Celestia said over the comm. “I’d like to see you back in Canterlot real quick.”
Back on the moon base, Nightmare was scolding the manticore for his retreat. “You truly disappointed me,” Nightmare said. “You went down there with unbelievable confidence, but when faced with actual combat, you ran away like a two-week-old kitten faced with a full-grown german shepherd.”
“Wow,” Trixie said to Gilda as the two and Zecora watched Nightmare scold the manticore. “Nightmare’s really letting him have it, isn’t she?”
“I apologize, Lord Nightmare Moon,” the manticore said. “I’m sorry and fairly embarrassed to say that the Elements of Harmony had more power than I was prepared for.”
“I understand that,” Nightmare said. “I had known that you were outmatched the whole time. However, you did manage to obtain very valuable information.”
“Valuable information?” the manticore asked as Nightmare walked past him. “What kind of valuable information.”
Nightmare just turned her head slightly, paced her hoof to her mouth, and smiled a very creepy smile that belongs solely on the faces of ponies who belong in the loony bin as she made a “Shhh” sound. “It’s a secret...” Nightmare then maniacally laughed as she walked out of the room.
Back in Canterlot, the Pony Rangers were standing in the center of the computer room in front of Celestia. “Congratulations on your first victory as Pony Rangers,” the imprisoned alicorn said. “However, I fear that while you may have won this battle, the war is still to come. Nightmare will continue to send her minions towards Ponyville to draw you out and destroy you so that she can be rid of the Elements of Harmony and plunge Equestria into eternal night. The battle between good and evil needs to come to a conclusion, and the fate of Equestria now rests in the hooves of you five, as well as any other friends you may make through your journey.”
“In that case,” Rainbow Dash said, stepping forward. “You can count on us to protect Equestria until Nightmare falls.”
“One more thing, Rangers. If you wish to continue to keep your Ranger powers and protect Equestria, you must follow the Ranger Code.”
“The Ranger Code?” Applejack asked.
“A set of three simple rules that must be followed by all living beings who gain the power of the Morphin’ Grid and wish to keep it. This code is followed by another group of warriors who call themselves the Power Rangers, but they live in an alternate universe, so don’t go thinking you can find them and ask them for help. Now then, I will tell you the rules of the Ranger Code. First: you must never escalate a battle unless you need to. To unleash unneeded wrath upon enemies who don’t deserve it would prove that you are no better than they are. Second: you must never use your Ranger powers for dark intentions or personal gain. These powers are a sacred gift bestowed upon only those with a pure heart who are worthy of wielding them. Finally: you must strive to keep your identities a secret at all times. If anypony close to you were to discover who you were, it could put their lives, as well as yours, in jeopardy. Follow these simple rules and your powers will continue to grow as the threat to Equestria does. Do you understand?”
“I can live with those rules,” Pinkie said.
“Sounds good,” Fluttershy added.
“Yee-haw!” Applejack shouted.
“You can count on us, Princess,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Hmm...” Rarity said. “I dunno, girls. My mane gets tangled in that helmet whenever I morph.” The other four, as well as Spike and Celestia, just looked at Rarity with expressions of disbelief. “Just kidding,” Rarity finally said with a laugh. “I’m totally on-board with this.”
“Then best of luck to you Rangers,” Celestia said. “Until you are needed in action again, you may return to Ponyville.”
“We’ll be ready when that moment comes, Princess,” Rainbow Dash said. The others then nodded in agreement. The five then galloped out of the room towards the train station.
A few hours later, the five ponies were back in Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie was throwing a party to continue the first one and to celebrate the Pony Rangers. (Of course the Rangers were in attendance, but nopony knew because the five were un-morphed.) “I still don’t know how Pinkie can organize parties so quickly,” Applejack said.
“On the bright side, she did hire some help for this one,” Rainbow Dash said, seeing Pinkie and two other ponies serve cupcakes and stuff. One of the ponies was a brown stallion by the name of Time Turner. The other was Derpy Hooves, who kept dropping tray after tray.
“I still can’t get over everything that happened today,” Rarity said. “Sure I’ve always wanted to visit Canterlot, but I never knew Princess Celestia was still around, let alone the Elements of Harmony.”
Just then, Rarity’s sister, Sweetie Belle, was trotting by. She didn’t do anything to indicate that she was there, but she did hear what Rarity said. “Why is Rarity talking about Princess Celestia and the Elements of Harmony?” the marshmallow filly asked herself. She tried to shrug it off and trot away, but she found herself unable to stop thinking about it...
Foreword: I don’t know much about the original series, so the plot will trail off pretty quickly... CHAPTER 3!
The scene opens with Derpy delivering the mail to ponyville. Nightmare Moon is watching her.
“HER!” she suddenly shouted, waking Zecora and Gilda.
“What has stopped my slumber?” asked Zecora, “This will put my productivity under.” (I’m desperate for rhymes.)
“What are you shouting about, Lord Moon?” Gilda asked, drowsily.
“I know who should be the Green Pony Ranger!” said Nightmare.
“No, offense, my lord,” said Trixie, walking in, “but is it not the Pony Rangers who are trying to stop our plans?”
“Not the Green Ranger. She will be drawn from the powers of evil, a power that is greater than that of the others.”
“Very well, my lord. I will send putties to your accord.”
“Also, I would like you to go down as well.”
“What? But-”
“But nothing! You always brag about how you’re so `great and powerful` so you should go prove it.”
“Very well,” and with that, Trixie was off.
At Canterlot, Spike was watching Stupid Mario Brothers on Youtube when Celestia suddenly warped in, making Spike jump and burn his computer.
“I wasn’t goofing off,” said Spike.
“Nevermind that,” said Celestia. “I’ve spotted Trixie on her way to Ponyville with a group of putties. Warn the rangers.”
“Ok,” said Spike, pressing a button on the console in front of him.
At Ponyville, Derpy gave Rainbow Dash her mail. She was reading it when she heard a noise from in her house. She ran in to find out that she had received an email from Spike. She read the email, then dropped her paper mail and rushed to get Fluttershy. When she got to her house, she flew into the window leading to Fluttershy’s bedroom, only to get caught on the curtains and fall into Fluttershy’s bed. Fluttershy awoke quickly.
“Who’s there?” shouted Fluttershy.
“It’s me,” said Rainbow Dash.
“What are you doing here?”
“There’s a group of putties on their way to Ponyville.”
“I think they’re already here!” Fluttershy pointed out the window to indicate an attacking group of putty ponies led by Trixie.
“We have to stop them,” said Rainbow Dash. “It’s morphin’ time!”
“Kindness!” called Fluttershy, wearing her Element.
“Loyalty!”
The two, morphed, flew out to take on the putties, but were met instead by Trixie.
“Stop right there,” said Trixie. “You aren’t going to interrupt my master’s plans!”
“And just who is your `master`?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“I thought you rangers were smarter than this. Let me just say, that’s not going to get better,” said Trixie with an evil chuckle.
“Just tell us why you’re here,” said Fluttershy. “I mean, if that’s okay with you.”
“Well, that’s not okay with me, so I’ll just be off.” Trixie then ran off, her trail being covered by putties.
“Fluttershy,” said Rainbow Dash, “I’ll follow Trixie. You keep these putties off me.”
“Right,” said Fluttershy.
Rainbow flew off in pursuit as Fluttershy `charged` at the putties.
Trixie finally caught up to Derpy as she was sitting for a muffin break. “Derpy Hooves!” shouted Trixie, “Nightmare Moon has chosen you!”
“I’M EATING MY FREAKING MUFFIN!” replied Derpy.
“You can finish your muffin at the will of your new master, Nightmare Moon.”
“No”
“This will be tough...” Trixie said to herself. Then, with an idea, she turned to Derpy and said “If you come with me, you can have all the muffins you will ever eat,” only to be knocked down by an excited Derpy. Then she teleported away with Derpy.
“I’m not impressed with your demonstration of your `abilities` but at least you got my green ranger.” said Nightmare as Trixie returned.
“I will take that as a compliment, my lord,” said Trixie.
“Zecora, throw the mail mare into the chamber!”
“I have a better idea, my lord,” said Trixie, holding up a muffin. “Go get the muffin!” she said to Derpy, throwing the muffin into the chamber. Derpy eagerly ran after the muffin, not even realizing that the door shut behind her. “This should make our job easier.”
“Zecora, you can at least start the Thunder Chamber,” said Nightmare.
“Yes, my lord, Nightmare Moon,” said Zecora, pressing a button on a console, “The green ranger will be brought about soon.”
Time passed, and eventually the chamber opened, releasing lots of green smoke. Derpy was standing in the middle of the chamber, holding a coin in her hoof. Her expression was different from before. Her eyes were straight and she wore a more serious and evil look.
“Now,” shouted Nightmare, “morph into the green ranger!”
Derpy held the coin she was holding in front of her. “Thunder!” she shouted, then she morphed into the green ranger.
“Yes!” exclaimed Nightmare, “Success! Trixie! Get a picture of me with Derpy!”
“Actually, we need to send her down to Ponyville immediately.” said Trixie.
“Very well,” said Nightmare, “Zecora, make some putties.”
“No,” said Derpy, “I will go alone. My powers are far greater than you may think.”
“Very well, go.”
In Ponyville, rumors regarding Trixie’s appearance as well as Derpy’s disappearance were spreading like wildfire. But there were only five ponies who knew the truth of what was going on.
“Fluttershy and I looked all over Cloudsdale,” said Rainbow Dash, coming to the other three rangers.
“And ah looked around the Everfree Forest,” said Applejack.
“Maybe we have to go in the Forest,” said Rainbow Dash.
“ARE YOU CRAZY, WOMAN?” shouted Fluttershy. “The Everfree Forest is full of really creepy things. I’ve heard that Zecora and the manticore come from there.”
“Then we’ll go morphed,” said Applejack.
“And I did not talk at all in this scene,” said Pinkie Pie.
“Thank god,” mumbled Rarity.
“Here we are,” said Applejack as the rangers stood in front of the Everfree Forest.
“Okay,” said Rainbow Dash. “It’s best we don’t take any chances. It’s morphin’ time!”
“Honesty!”
“Kindness!”
“Laughter!”
“Generosity!”
“Loyalty!”
The now morphed rangers then carefully proceeded into the forest. Little did they know, a grey pegasus was flying just over their heads.
“That’s right, my little ponies,” said the pegasus, “Walk right into my trap.” The pegasus then followed the rangers.
The rangers proceeded into a strange clearing in the forest.
“Well, that’s odd,” said Pinkie Pie.
“Yeah, and it’s quiet,” added Rainbow Dash.
“Then let me make some noise,” said Derpy to herself as she flew down to meet the rangers, morphing before she was in their view.
“What’s that?” shouted Fluttershy as she noticed Derpy (morphed) coming down toward them.
“Move!” shouted Rainbow Dash as Derpy came to the ground.
The rangers leapt in different directions as the green ranger hit the ground where they were.
“Pony rangers,” said Derpy, “I come bearing a message from Nightmare Moon.”
“And just who are you?” asked Rarity. “And where did you get that uniform?”
“I am Nightmare Moon’s green pony ranger. The one who will destroy all of you.”
“If you’re a pony ranger,” said Rainbow Dash, “you should be fighting Nightmare Moon, not helping her.”
“For you rangers, it may seem a strange concept. But you will soon see that Nightmare Moon is truly the ultimate power. But first, you will succumb to the power of thunder.” Derpy then charged at Pinkie Pie, who was caught off guard and thrown to the ground before she could react.
“Now that was a dirty trick,” said Pinkie.
“I’m just getting started,” said Derpy. “Who’s next?”
Derpy was met by Rarity, charging at her head-on. “Take this, you ruffian!” shouted Rarity. She managed to hit Derpy, but to little effect.
“Was that supposed to hurt?” asked Derpy, throwing Rarity into Pinkie Pie.
“Fight a pegasus with a pegasus!” shouted Rainbow Dash, charging at Derpy.
“You might actually be a challenge,” said Derpy, quickly going airborne.
“You’re not getting away that easily,” said Rainbow, chasing Derpy.
The two fought in the air. Rainbow seemed to have an advantage over Derpy, until Derpy spotted a cloud just out of Rainbow’s view. She went for the cloud and flung it at Rainbow Dash, seeming to do nothing until Derpy came up from Rainbow’s side and knocked her into the ground.
Rainbow Dash hit the ground hard, shaking several trees. Then, she de-morphed from taking so bad of a beating. When Derpy came down to finish Rainbow, she found out the identity of who she was fighting. “I will finish you another time, Rainbow Dash,” said Derpy as she teleported away.
The other rangers came to Rainbow’s side to try to help her. Then Pinkie asked, “Do you think it’s a bad thing that that weird green ranger knows who you are?”
“I think it’s really bad,” replied Rainbow Dash.
“You were unable to defeat them?” scolded Nightmare Moon as Derpy returned.
“No,” replied Derpy, “but I have something better... the identity of the red ranger.”
“I’m curious... tell me.”
At Canterlot castle, the rangers met with Spike and Celestia.
“How can there be an evil pony ranger?” asked Applejack.
“I don’t know,” replied Celestia. “My sister has powers that I cannot even fathom.”
“You girls are lucky to even be alive,” said Spike. “That green ranger has some really strong powers that we can’t understand. I’ll have Celestia’s student study today’s battle.”
“Who would that be?” asked Rarity.
“You will find out in time,” replied Celestia. “For now, we must ready ourselves for what is to come...”
Foreword: This is where the plot trails off. Derpy is the green ranger for more than one episode and she knows the identity of the red ranger (Rainbow Dash). Also, Derpy and Rainbow Dash will be rivals, so this will turn interesting very quickly. This foreword has gotten too long...
The scene opens on Derpy standing in the middle of a room at Nightmare’s moonbase, waiting for her. Then, Nightmare walks in.
“Derpy,” she said, “I have something very important for you to do.”
“Whatever it is,” said Derpy, “I’ll do it.”
“I need you to go back to Ponyville and-”
“What?” shouted Derpy. “Why do I have to go back? What have I done wrong?”
“You have done nothing wrong,” said Nightmare. “I only need you there so the ponies down there don’t become suspicious of you being gone.”
Derpy stood there, about to say something in protest, but instead sighed. “Very well,” she finally said. “If it your wish, I want nothing more than to fulfill it.”
“Very good, and in return, I will have a surprise for you.”
“Is it a muffin?”
“No, it is much better, and you will be able to easily defeat the Pony Rangers with it.”
“Can I still get a muffin while I’m at Ponyville?”
“Yes, you can have your muffins.”
“Thank you, Lord Moon.” After she said that, Derpy walked out of the room. She then teleported down to a clearing in the Everfree Forest where no-pony would have seen her. “If it is Nightmare Moon’s wish,” she said to herself, “it’s as good as done.” Then she flew out of the forest to Cloudsdale.
At Cloudsdale, we see Rainbow Dash talking with Scootaloo.
“No, Scootaloo,” said Rainbow Dash, “I’m not going to tell you where I’ve been the past two days.”
“Why not?” argued Scootaloo. “it’s not like you’re some super pony who’s saving the world.”
Rainbow flinched a little on the inside, but kept calm. “No, you’re right, but I’m still not going to tell you.”
“Fine,” said Scootaloo as she flew off.
Rainbow was about to take off when some pony crashed into her. It was Derpy.
“Derpy!” shouted Rainbow Dash, “what are you doing?”
“Nothing,” said Derpy, “just flying around.”
“The way you are, I’m not surprised,” Rainbow mumbled to herself, but her comment was still heard by Derpy.
“I’d better go,” said Derpy. “See you soon, Rainbow Dash.” Then Derpy flew off, saying “Real soon...” to herself.
Rainbow Dash stood there for a moment. “Is it me,” she finally said, “or is Derpy... different? Eh, it’s probably nothing.”
Rainbow Dash flew off, but Derpy remained hidden where she was. “So,” Derpy said to herself, “it was Rainbow Dash I saw yesterday... this will be fun. But first, I need a muffin.” Derpy then flew off.
At Canterlot Castle, Fluttershy and Spike were discussing the battle with the green ranger.
“I did see something on her suit,” said Fluttershy.
“Really?” said Spike, “What was it?”
“I’m not sure... It looked like... bubbles on her flank.”
“That might be her cutie mark. This is a very important detail.”
“I’ll go tell Rainbow Dash right away.” Fluttershy then flew off to get Rainbow Dash, but she walked in just as Fluttershy was about to leave.
“Fluttershy,” said Rainbow, “where are you going?”
“I was about to go get you,” replied Fluttershy. “I think we can ID our green ranger.”
“Really? How?”
“I saw what her cutie mark was.”
“What is it?”
“Bubbles.”
“That’s the evil green ranger’s cutie mark? Bubbles?”
“Yes... at least I think so.”
“Hmm...” Rainbow stood there thinking to herself for a moment. “I can’t think of any-pony it could be.”
At that moment, Celestia warped in. “It had to have been a pegasus,” said Celestia. “That will narrow down the search.”
“Also,” said Rainbow, “I did get a faint view of her eyes. They were yellow.”
“We better go try to find out who this green ranger is before she does something dangerous,” said Fluttershy.
Derpy was at Sugarcube Corner to order a muffin. A pink earth pony with a curly mane was at the counter with her back turned.
“Can I get a muffin to go?” asked Derpy.
“Sure,” said Pinkie Pie turning around.
“Do I know you from somewhere?” asked Derpy.
“I don’t think we’ve met before. I’m Pinkie Pie.”
“Okay, I’ll have a muffin to go.”
“Coming right up,” said Pinkie as she heard the phone ring in the kitchen. “I’m sorry, but I have to take this call.”
“Not a problem,” said Derpy as Pinkie went to answer the phone.
Pinkie answered the phone. “Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie speaking... Oh, hi Rainbow Dash! What’s up?... The identity of the green ranger?... Ok, I’ll be on the lookout for somepony like that... Ok, bye.” Pinkie then grabbed the bag with the muffin in it and gave it to Derpy.
“Thank you,” said Derpy as she grabbed the bag and walked off.
As Derpy was leaving, Pinkie noticed Derpy’s cutie mark, bubbles. Before Pinkie could put 2 and 2 together, Derpy had left. Then, Pinkie had a grave realization. “Oh, no,” she said, “I gave her a cupcake!” At that moment, Derpy walked back in. “I’m sorry, ma’am, here’s your muffin,” said Pinkie, giving Derpy a different bag.
Derpy set the other bag on the counter. “Thank you,” she said as she grabbed the other bag.
Pinkie noticed the color of Derpy’s eyes, yellow. Everything came together in Pinkie’s mind. Derpy was the green ranger. “I’m sorry, ma’am,” said Pinkie, “but can you stay here for about five minutes while I make a phone call?”
“I could,” replied Derpy.
Pinkie was backing into the kitchen. “Good, now don’t move.” When Pinkie got out of Derpy’s sight, she pressed herself against the wall and started breathing heavily. “Should I morph and fight her?” she asked herself, “or should I call Rainbow Dash for backup?” She stood there for about a minute until she finally decided to call Rainbow Dash.
She was about to get the phone when she was stopped by a voice behind her saying, “Have to make a call?” It was Derpy standing in the doorway. “Well, don’t let me interrupt anything, pink ranger!” Pinkie tried to reach for the phone, but Derpy tackled her to the ground.
“Why, Derpy? Why are you serving Nightmare Moon?”
“Because she gave me muffins.”
“Really? If I gave you a muffin right now, would you fight against Nightmare Moon?”
“No, she also gave me the power of thunder. Now, no pony will think of me as the old Derpy Hooves. Now, ponies will fear me.”
“Not if I can help it!” Pinkie then threw Derpy off of her and sprang up on her hooves.
“Bad choice,” said Derpy as she flew at Pinkie. Pinkie tried to counter-attack, but Derpy swerved out of the way at the last second and came back around and knocked Pinkie against the wall, unconscious. “Huh,” said Derpy after a pause, “Walk in for a muffin; defeat a pony ranger. I can live with that.” Then, Derpy heard the phone ring. “Hmm... if I’m correct...” She then went over to answer the phone. Rainbow Dash was on the other line.
“Hello? Pinkie?”
“No Pinkie, here. Just your old pal, the green ranger.”
“What!? What have you done with Pinkie Pie?”
“Oh, she’s alive. But if you want to see her again, you’ll be waiting at Canterlot Castle, where I will attack. And you will be alone.”
“Fine.”
Later that day, Rainbow Dash was waiting, already morphed. At the same time, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy were searching Ponyville for Pinkie Pie with little success. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash saw a large green dragon-like figure in the distance, and it was headed straight for Ponyville!
Foreword: This series will have its own plot. It’s only loosely based off of MMPR. Now, the thrilling debut of the Dragonzord!
Rainbow Dash stood in awe as she saw the Dragonzord advance over the horizon. “Oh, no,” she said, “the others are still in Ponyville. I guess I have to work with just the Tyrannozord.” Rainbow Dash then ran to the top of the castle, where she manually activated the Tyrannozord. It burst to life and jumped out of its fissure. Rainbow Dash flew up and entered the Tyrannozord. “It’s just you and me, big guy,” she said to the Tyrannozord. “Now let’s go steal somepony’s thunder!”
The Dragonzord was being piloted by Derpy, who was attacking Ponyville as an attempt to draw out Rainbow Dash. “Call me `Derp` now, Ponyville!” she shouted as she sent the Dragonzord rampaging.
The Dragonzord was about to stomp out town hall when it was tackled by the Tyrannozord. “We meet again, green ranger,” said Rainbow Dash.
“Indeed we do,” replied Derpy. “Does my new ride have `swag` written all over it, or what?”
Rainbow Dash was a little confused by the question, but after seeing that it wasn’t an attempt to distract her, she replied. “No, not really.”
“Oh,” said Derpy. “Oh well, moving on from that... DIE!” She then sent the Dragonzord charging towards the Tyrannozord.
Rainbow Dash moved the Tyrannozord out of the way and into position for a counterattack, but Derpy’s green ranger powers made her much smarter than Rainbow Dash planned for, which resulted in the Tyrannozord taking a powerful hit to the chest. The zord was damaged, but Rainbow Dash got it back up. Derpy charged, but Rainbow Dash had more than one trick up her sleeve. She used the Tyrannozord’s powerful jaws to try to get a grip on one of the Dragonzord’s arms with little success. However, that was just to distract Derpy while an attack was made with the Tyrannozord’s tail. The attack landed, knocking the Dragonzord 5 football fields away. Derpy tried to get the Dragonzord back up, but it was too heavily damaged. “I’ll get you next time, red ranger!” shouted Derpy as she teleported the Dragonzord away.
Back at Ponyville, the other three rangers were still looking for Pinkie Pie.
“Rarity,” said Applejack, “have you found Pinkie yet?”
“No,” she replied, “my unicorn magic isn’t strong enough. If only-”
“Look!” Fluttershy suddenly shouted. “I think I see Pinkie!” Fluttershy pointed to an area on the outskirts of Ponyville where Pinkie Pie was battling a group of putty ponies who tried to capture her.
“Let’s go help her,” said Applejack.
The three then rushed to Pinkie’s aid. They only just got there when the putties retreated.
“Thanks girls,” said Pinkie, “I really needed that help.”
“Don’t thank us,” said Fluttershy, “They left before we got here.”
At that moment, Rainbow Dash flew in. “I saw a group of putties, where did they go?”
“I’m not sure,” said Rarity. “We should get back to Canterlot and plan out what our next move is.”
The five then rushed to Canterlot. Sweetie Belle was hiding behind a corner listening to the whole conversation. “Well,” she said, “this is going deeper than I thought it would. I can’t wait to see the look on Apple Bloom and Scootaloo’s faces when they find out our sisters are the Pony Rangers.”
At the moon base, Derpy was talking to Zecora about the Dragonzord. “It works like a charm,” said Derpy, “But it was beaten by one zord. It needs power that rivals that of the megazord.”
“This is a problem, indeed,” said Zecora, “but perhaps it is their power that we must impede.”
“So, what you’re saying is that we need a way to lower the megazord’s power?”
“I would have said that in faster time, but I can only speak with rhyme.”
“Then I’m going straight to Nightmare Moon. Hopefully she will be less annoying.” Derpy then walked off.
“It is not my fault I talk like this, but this language gives me bliss.” Zecora said that to herself and then went to work on the Dragonzord.
At Canterlot Castle, the rangers were discussing what they should do about the Dragonzord. Princess Celestia and Spike were also in the conversation.
“It’s a good thing the Tyrannozord was able to combat the Dragonzord,” said Celestia, “but after playing the battle video several times, I found that the Dragonzord Rainbow Dash fought may have been a prototype.”
“You record our battles?” asked Applejack.
“Yes,” said Spike, “but we’re getting off topic.”
“Princess,” said Rarity, “the Dragonzord may not be our only concern at the moment.”
“Yeah,” added Rainbow Dash, “we have to find out who this green ranger is. If she knows my identity, it could spell real trouble.”
“Pinkie,” said Fluttershy, “didn’t you get attacked by the green ranger when she was de-morphed?”
“Yes,” Pinkie replied, “but I think I have mild amnesia. All I remember is that she ordered a muffin, and... AND I GAVE HER A CUPCAKE!” Pinkie started bursting into tears.
Rainbow Dash stood there thinking out loud as Pinkie cried. “Muffins... muffins... I think we can really narrow this down. Fluttershy, come with me to Cloudsdale. I think I have an idea as to who the green ranger might be.”
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash flew off, leaving the others at the castle. “We should probably search Ponyville,” said Applejack.
“Ok,” said Rarity. As Applejack started walking out, Rarity stopped her. “Aren’t we forgetting something?” asked Rarity, indicating Pinkie Pie, still crying over the cupcake.
“Pinkie,” said Spike, “if you stop crying, I’ll give you a cupcake.”
“Okay,” said Pinkie, cutting her crying and going straight to her usual happy mood.
“I will never understand that pony,” said Celestia. The rangers then walked off in search of the green ranger.
At Cloudsdale, Derpy had returned. “Now,” she said, “I just have to wait down here for a few more hours while Zecora finishes the Dragonzord.” Derpy then flew off.
Rainbow Dash happened to be flying towards Derpy. As they passed each other, Derpy shot Rainbow Dash a strange glare. “I wonder what that was all about...” Rainbow Dash said to herself. “And it wasn’t just Derpy being Derpy, either. Something’s not right.” She then began to follow Derpy.
Derpy noticed Rainbow Dash following her. “Oh,” she said, holding her iPhone, checking her Twitter, “I’d better follow her back.” She then clicked the “follow” button. Suddenly, she saw Rainbow Dash flying toward her. “Unfollow,” she said as she unfollowed Rainbow Dash. She turned around to meet her. “Hi, Rainbow Dash.”
“Derpy, what was with that glare you gave me?”
“Um... I’m cross eyed?”
“Derpy, I need to talk to you.”
“About what?”
“About the pony rangers. Have you heard of them?”
“Who hasn’t either heard of them or had their house stepped on by one of their zords?”
“How do you know what a zord is?”
“That depends... HOW DID YOU KNOW I WAS THE GREEN RANGER?”
“You’re the green ranger?”
“Um...” Derpy, obviously exposed, then took out the green dragon coin. “So, you know who I am. Now, the question is, why haven’t you and your friends figured it out sooner?”
Rainbow Dash pulled out her morpher. “I guess we didn’t expect you. Nightmare Moon must be trickier than we thought.”
“Oh, she’s full of surprises.”
“Well, here’s your surprise.” Rainbow Dash flew quickly towards Derpy and punched her. She then flew down to Ponyville with Derpy following her.
At the moon base, Nightmare Moon had found out that Derpy had been exposed. She then shouted in anger. “ZECORA! THERE’S NO PONY TO BLAME HERE, SO I WILL BLAME THE ZEBRA!”
Zecora just turned to her console. “You don’t give me enough credit,” she said pressing a button.
“Aren’t you going to make one of you’re annoying rhymes?” asked Nightmare.
“I would make a rhyme, but the author has no time.”
Nightmare stood there for a second, then spoke. “What did that button you pressed do?”
“It sent the Dragonzord to Derpy’s aid. It is improved, and ready to raid.”
Back at Ponyville, Derpy and Rainbow Dash were fighting. Many ponies were watching in wonder. They took their fight past Carousel Boutique, Sugarcube Corner, and even the market. The two ended up near Sweet Apple Acres.
“Huh,” said Rainbow Dash, “that worked out better than I thought.”
“Really?” asked Derpy. “There’s no pony around to help you.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure.” As Rainbow Dash said that, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy (who happened to be at the market when the fight passed there), and Applejack ran in next to Rainbow Dash. “It was my plot to gather the attention of the other rangers. Now, make this easier on the author and morph with us.”
“Fine,” said Derpy. “Go ahead.”
All the rangers (including Derpy) pulled out their morphers. “It’s morphin time!” shouted Rainbow Dash.
“Honesty!” shouted Applejack.
“Kindness!” shouted Fluttershy.
“Laughter!” shouted Pinkie Pie.
“Generosity!” shouted Rarity.
“Loyalty!” shouted Rainbow Dash.
“Thunder!” shouted Derpy.
All the pony rangers were morphed and ready for battle. Derpy took the first move, scattering the rangers. Fluttershy charged at Derpy, but Derpy dodged her attack and counter attacked. Applejack went at Derpy with a volley of kicks, all of which Derpy dodged. Pinkie tried to attack Derpy from the air, which wasn’t a good idea to do on a pegasus. Rarity tried to use her magic to attack Derpy, but it wasn’t strong enough. After defeating the other four rangers, Derpy turned her attention to Rainbow Dash. The two then began circling each other.
“So,” said Rainbow Dash, “I finally find that you’re the mystery mare.”
“To be honest,” said Derpy, “I’m surprised you didn’t find out sooner. Now, prepare to die.” As Derpy said this, the Dragonzord that Zecora sent down earlier. “Oh, I didn’t call that, but it works.”
“Rangers!” shouted Rainbow Dash, “we need dinozord power, now!”
The dinozords then came out of where they were hiding. They then rushed towards the rangers, who got into their respective zords. The zords then combined to form the megazord.
“You really think that will be enough for my finished Dragonzord?”
“Yes, I have a feeling it will be more than enough.”
The Dragonzord and megazord clashed. The megazord had more power than the Dragonzord, but it was slower as well. The Dragonzord got many hits in, but the megazord was still standing. At least until it got tripped by the Dragonzord’s tail. The Dragonzord went in for the kill, but the rangers weren’t about to give up just yet. “We need the power sword, now!” called Rainbow Dash. The power sword came down from the sky and struck the Dragonzord. The megazord then grabbed the power sword and hacked and slashed at the Dragonzord until it retreated. Victory belonged to the rangers.
Afternote: Here’s where the rangers hide their morphers (for those who are bugging me): Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Derpy: tucked behind their wings. Rarity: summoned by magic Applejack: hidden in hat Pinkie Pie: hidden in her poofy-as-hell mane Now you know.
Also, I KNOW I'VE MIS-SPELLED ALICORN! STOP BUGGING ME!!!
Foreword: I am now semi-active with my blog, so... NO MORE FOREWORDS/AFTERNOTES! :D Anyway... you may resume your reading.
Derpy was walking through the moon base towards the muffin bar when she caught an angry gaze from Gilda. “What do you want?” asked Derpy.
Gilda stood and walked over to Derpy. “You think you’re Nightmare Moon’s air mare?” she asked.
“Yes, considering you’re a griffon, not a pony.”
“I walked into that one...”
“What’s your point?”
“My point? My point is that since you’ve gotten here, Nightmare Moon has been treating you like you’re a cut above the rest of us... No flight pun intended.”
“Well, maybe I am. Or maybe you’re just too scared to volunteer to go down to Equestria and fight the Pony Rangers.”
“At least I don’t have to waste time shouting something to be ready for combat.”
“You did NOT just go there. I could beat you without morphing.”
“Could you, now?” The two were about to fight when Nightmare Moon walked in.
“You two are getting along, I hope,” she said.
“Yes,” said Derpy through gritted teeth. “We’re the best of friends.”
“Good. Now, one of you go down to Equestria and try to defeat those Pony Rangers. Zecora said she has a new strategy this time.” Nightmare walked off.
“Stay here, pony,” Gilda said, getting up. “Leave this one to the professionals.”
“Fine,” replied Derpy. “I’d like nothing more than to see you getting owned by those Pony Rangers.”
“I’ll destroy all six of them, green. Lucky for you, I’m focusing on the first five... for now.” Gilda walked off.
At Canterlot, Spike is conversing with an unknown purple unicorn. Rainbow Dash comes in as the unicorn walked off. “Who was that?” Rainbow asked Spike.
“The princess’ student,” he said. “But she really wants her identity to be a secret for as long as possible.”
“Okay...”
“Anyway, what did you want?”
“I wanted to talk to Celestia about Derpy. Her powers are obviously greater than any of ours. We need to devise a new strategy.”
“Okay. The princess’ student is already working on upgrading the zords. I guess we can have a strategy.”
“Thanks, Spike.” Rainbow walked to the room where Princess Celestia was.
“Hello, Rainbow Dash,” said Celestia. “How are you?”
“I’m fine,” said Dash, “I wanted to discuss a strategy against Derpy.”
“Okay, let’s see what we can come up with.”
At Cloudsdale, Fluttershy was doing a little flyby when she noticed Derpy below her. “What is she doing here?” Fluttershy said to herself. She flew down to meet Derpy. “Derpy,” said Fluttershy behind Derpy, “what are you doing here?”
“Apparently, there are elements at the moon that keep me from staying there, so I’m forced to stay down here.”
“Did you really think you could stay here in peace?”
“No. That’s why I have blackmail on my side.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“If you expose me as the green ranger, I’ll make sure you and your friends suffer the same fate.”
Fluttershy stepped back in horror. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me. In the meantime, I shall take my leave.” Derpy flew off.
“I have to get this to the princess.” said Fluttershy flying towards Canterlot.
Back at the castle, the rangers (except Fluttershy), Spike, and Celestia were all trying to determine what the best approach against Derpy would be.
“Ah did see Derpy still here in Ponyville the other day,” said Applejack.
“Maybe we can expose her to the public and get her somehow thrown out of Ponyville and eventually Equestria,” added Rarity.
At that moment, Fluttershy walked in. “Fluttershy,” said Celestia, “where have you been? We just agreed on a strategy for defeating Derpy.”
“I was in Cloudsdale on my way over here.” said Fluttershy. “I ran into Derpy. We didn’t fight, but she did say she was going to be permanent down here in Equestria. But that’s not the worst part. She threatened to expose our identities if we exposed her.”
“Damn,” said Pinkie Pie. “That was our whole strategy. Now what are we going to- MNPH!” A bar of soap was suddenly flung into Pinkie’s mouth by Spike. Pinkie spat the soap out. “I likely deserved that.”
“Anyway,” said Rainbow Dash after a short pause, “if Derpy’s threatening us with blackmail, then we’re just gonna have to live with her among us.”
“That may not be so easy at the moment,” said Celestia, bringing up video of putty ponies attacking Ponyville.
“We’ll deal with Derpy later,” said Dash. “It’s morphin time!”
“Honesty!”
“Kindness!”
“Laughter!”
“Generosity!”
“Loyalty!”
The scene cuts to Derpy seeing Gilda’s attack. “I told her to leave this to the professionals,” she then took out her power coin and morphed. “Thunder!”
The rangers fought a large wave of putty ponies at Ponyville. Fluttershy tried to get all the civilian ponies to safety. Rainbow Dash went for Gilda, who was leading the attack. However, she was knocked to the ground by Derpy. “Derpy!” said Dash, “I should have known you would have something to do with this.”
“Surprisingly enough,” said Derpy, “I have nothing to do with this attack. I just hopped on the train as it left the station.”
“What?”
“Blame agent_cupcakes.”
“Who?”
“The author of this story.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s the one who writes this stuff.”
“How?”
“I don’t know. Why are you asking me these questions?”
“Blame agent_cupcakes.”
“Here we go, again.”
“You know I hate dialogue.” Dash then punched Derpy to get her off. Derpy got up from where she fell and charged at Dash. Dash dodged Derpy’s attack and gave her a mule kick, knocking Derpy to the ground again. Dash charged, but was hit by Gilda, who decided to join the battle. “Come on,” shouted Dash, “I’ll take you both on if I have to.” Gilda and Derpy charged at Dash. She tried to fly to dodge them, but she forgot they could fly as well. She was trying to outfly them, but the two kept advancing.
“Derpy,” said Gilda, seeming to stay fixated on Dash, “why are you here anyway? This is my attack.”
“I told you to leave this to the professionals,” replied Derpy.
“Okay, so leave,” said Gilda, bumping Derpy out of the way.
Derpy stopped advancing for a moment to try to recover. “You did not want to do that, Gilda.” Derpy started flying at twice her previous speed, except not towards Dash, but towards Gilda. Derpy caught up with Gilda and tried to knock her out of the way. Gilda counter-attacked, but Derpy barely took any of the hit. Derpy tried to get behind Gilda to attack her from behind, but Gilda grabbed Derpy’s hoof and threw her to the ground.
Rainbow Dash was just flying idly, watching the two fight. “Huh,” she said to herself. “For a moment, I thought I was really gonna have to fight them both. Well, only thing to do now is get a better seat for this show.” Dash flew to the ground to see Gilda and Derpy fight each other, both taking no notice of the Pony Rangers looking on.
“Um,” said Fluttershy, “should we do something?”
“Nah,” said Applejack, “I think they’ll wear each other out and we’ll just finish the winner.”
Gilda and Derpy continued to fight until Derpy broke away from the fight. “You idiot!” she said, “you didn’t notice that the Pony Rangers were here watching us the whole time?”
“Oh,” said Gilda, “It’s not like you tried to tell me.”
Derpy started to get angry. She was the green ranger, but you could see her face turning red. “I WAS TRYING TO STOP YOU THE WHOLE TIME, BUT YOU KEPT FIGHTING ME WHEN YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIGHTING THEM!”
“Yeah,” said Pinkie, “I think we should fight them now while they’re arguing.”
Four of the rangers attacked Gilda, but Rainbow Dash went for Derpy. They all fought for a long period of time. Nightmare Moon was watching from her lunar base. “Well, this turned out to be a bad idea,” she said. She then walked outside, charging her horn with dark energy. “Lunar powers, make Gilda... GROW!” She then fired a ball of energy towards Equestria. “Zecora, send the Dragonzord.”
The ball of energy hit Gilda and caused her to grow. At the same time, the Dragonzord landed after being launched from the moon. Rainbow Dash stepped forward. “We need dinozord power, now!”
The Tyrannozord jumped out of the fissure it was hiding in and ran towards Rainbow Dash, who entered the zord. The mastodon ran out of the iceberg it was kept in and ran towards Ponyville, showing off its power by charging through any icebergs in its way. When it got to Ponyville, Rarity jumped in. The triceratops rose out of the sand of its desert and rolled towards Ponyville on wheels. Applejack entered the zord. The sabre-tooth tiger came out of its jungle, showing off its dexterity and speed by leaping over the tall trees. Fluttershy flew into the zord. The pterodactyl flew out of its volcano, causing a minor eruption. Pinkie Pie leapt up into the zord. The zords, save the pterodactyl zord, combined to form the tank zord. The zord stood and the pterodactyl flew in to form the chestplate of the megazord. The rangers then took an offensive stance against their two opponents.
Gilda and the Dragonzord charged at the megazord. The megazord ran at the two as well. The megazord gave Gilda a left roundhouse, knocking her over, but leaving the rangers open for a fire blast from the Dragonzord. The rangers quickly dodged. “We need the power sword, now!” shouted Rainbow Dash. The power sword fell from the sky into the megazord’s hand. Gilda and Derpy didn’t back down. The rangers slashed at Gilda, but she blocked the attack with her talons. However, the rangers gave Gilda a left hook, opening her for a successful hit.Gilda teleported away in defeat, but Derpy wasn’t backing down. She readied the Dragonzord’s finger rockets. The rangers braced for impact as Derpy fired. All 10 of the rockets hit, but there was barely a scratch on the megazord. The rangers saw their opportunity and charged at the Dragonzord. They sliced the Dragonzord’s finger rockets in half. Derpy saw this and teleported away in defeat. Once again, the pony rangers were victorious.
“Zecora, you have done nothing to try to destroy those Pony Rangers! NOTHING!”
Nightmare was circling Zecora as she scolded the zebra. Gilda and Trixie stood in the corner of the room, watching what was going on. “I apologize, mighty lord of the night, but this time, I have an idea that requires only brains, not might..”
“I’m listening.”
“Those Pony Rangers care much about their town, so my strategy is to bring it down. All we need to do to make them pay is to bring more deadly creatures into play.”
“Okay...” Nightmare then turned to Gilda and Trixie. “Can someone here explain what she’s talking about?”
“She wants to destroy the town the Pony Rangers live in in order to deal a massive mental blow to them, making them weaker than ever using a deadly creature that comes from Equestria,” explained Trixie.
“Very well.” Nightmare then turned back to Zecora. “Now, how do you plan to destroy Ponyville?”
Zecora walked over to her lab. She then held up a heavy cylinder. “This creature is capable of much damage. The entire town, it will ravage. Behold, a creature of untold might. Behold, the powerful Parasprite!” She opened the cylinder and inside was a tiny blue ball with giant eyes and wings. It chirped a little and flew onto Nightmare’s nose.
“That is adorable,” said Gilda. “The zebra wants to play with tiny woodland critters and call them ‘dangerous.’”
Nightmare shook off the Parasprite and got in Zecora’s face. “Do you think this is some kind of joke? Do you see me laughing?”
“I apologize, my lord, for their lack of size, but they have true evil beneath their giant eyes.” She then pulled a basket of muffins off the table.
“Muffins?” asked Trixie. “Somepony won’t like that.
“Not our problem,” said Gilda. “Couldn’t eat more than half a muffin, anyway.”
The Parasprite sniffed at the basket of muffins for a little while, then began devouring the entire basket. In less than two seconds, there wasn’t a crumb of muffin left. Trixie and Gilda fell over, laughing. Nightmare looked on, then turned back to Zecora. “And how, exactly will this help us?”
“They have a voracious appetite, and when they eat enough, they cough up yet another Parasprite. The Rangers will fall, and very soon, Equestria will be your’s, Nightmare Moon.”
“It is impossible to understand you, but that’s a brilliant idea! I want you to send them down immediately!”
“Yes, my lord.” Zecora then walked off to her lab while Nightmare walked off to her throne room.
“This is going to be good,” said Trixie.
Back in Equestria, Fluttershy was trotting around the field just outside Ponyville, picking flowers and humming a cheerful tune. She was about to pick a large yellow flower when she heard a chirping noise. She jumped back a little when she heard it, but then the Parasprite appeared before her. “Oh, aren’t you just the cutest thing,” she said. She then reached into her saddlebag and pulled out an apple. “Are you hungry, little guy?” The Parasprite sniffed the apple a little, then flew around into Fluttershy’s saddlebag and ate every single apple. “Goodness! I guess you were hungry.” The Parasprite flew out of Fluttershy’s saddlebag and nestled itself cozily into her mane and took a nap. “Oh, I’m sure my friends would love to see you. Let’s go meet them right now.” Fluttershy then trotted off back to Ponyville. Meanwhile, Derpy watched from behind a tree.
“What are those?” she asked herself. “Maybe I should go investigate.” She then flew off to Ponyville, trying to get there before Fluttershy.
Back at Sugarcube Corner, Rarity was talking to Pinkie Pie about some upgrades to the zords that the princess’s student installed.
“She said something about upgrades to the tank megazord as well as upgrades to your Pterodactyl zord.”
“That sounds great!” shouted Pinkie, jumping up and down. “Now I can fight monsters on my own like Rainbow Dash?”
“Yes. And we can fight effectively if you’re nowhere to be found, as well.”
“I have no idea who this student is, but I like her.”
Just then, Fluttershy flew into the room. “Rarity! Pinkie Pie! I’m so glad you two are here. I found something and I thought you two might want to see it.”
“Really?” asked Rarity. “What is it?”
“Come on out now, little guy,” she said to the Parasprite hidden in her mane. The Parasprite then popped out and started flying, followed by two more Parasprites.
“Oh, they’re adorable!” said Rarity.
“But I only had one when I came back to Ponyville. I have no idea where these other two came from.”
“I can take one off your hooves,” Rarity replied as one landed in her hooves. “Pinkie, would you like one?”
Pinkie just gagged. “A Parasprite? Are you crazy? Now I have to find a trombone.” She then stormed out of the building.
“A Parasprite?” asked Fluttershy. “And why is she going to get a trombone?”
“It’s probably just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie as usual,” replied Rarity. “Well, I’d better be off.” She then trotted out of the building.
“I guess we’d better get you two home,” Fluttershy said to her two Parasprites.
Just as she had walked out, she heard an all too familiar voice behind her say “Nice day for a little trot, isn’t it?”
Fluttershy turned around and gasped in horror when she confirmed that it was, indeed, Derpy behind her. “Derpy? What are you doing here?”
“Getting a muffin. Why else would I still be in Ponyville?” Just as Derpy said this, one of Fluttershy’s Parasprites flew over and nestled itself into Derpy’s mane. “Hey! What is this?”
“That’s a-”
“It’s adorable! I’m evil and I can’t even refrain from “d’awww-ing.”
“Oh... would you like to... keep it, maybe?”
Derpy was so busy nuzzling the Parasprite that she almost didn’t hear Fluttershy’s question. “Sure,” Derpy finally replied. “I suppose I can take a break from trying to destroy you and your friends to admire this little guy.”
“Okay, sure... I guess? I’ll just be going, then.” Fluttershy then backed away as though Derpy had gone crazy.
“Let’s go back to Cloudsdale, little guy,” Derpy said to the Parasprite. “You must be hungry.”
In Canterlot, Applejack and Spike were discussing how Derpy’s powers and Dragonzord could work.
“I’m sure it isn’t a pure evil energy,” said Spike. “There’s something about her powers and techniques that just doesn’t add up. It’s almost as if... it isn’t Nightmare’s power that holds Derpy. Something entirely different.”
“I’m gonna have to agree with ya, there, Spike,” AJ replied. “Somethin’ just don’t add up.”
Just then, one of the computers began beeping loudly. Spike ran over to see what the trouble was. “Oh no! Nightmare’s sent a monster to Equestria! It’s in Ponyville.”
“I’ll head over there right now. You contact Rainbow Dash.”
AJ rushed out of the room while Spike tried contacting Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow Dash, are you there?”
Back in Cloudsdale, Rainbow Dash was spying on Derpy’s house. Suddenly, her Element began buzzing and Spike’s voice was on the other line. “Uh, yeah. I’m here, Spike,” she said. “What’s wrong?”
“Nightmare’s launched an attack and it’s focused in Ponyville. You need to get down there.”
“Sure, I’ll be right there.”
“Dash, are you spying on Derpy, again?”
“No- maybe- yes,” she said, hanging her head in shame.
“Good. Maybe you should stay there. It would be better if you could intercept Derpy before she could join the fight.”
“Will do.” Dash then put her Element away and resumed her spying. Much to her surprise, however, Derpy was flying back to her house, carrying something. “I’ve got you now, Derpy.” She then charged and tackled Derpy.
“Gah! Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?” shouted Derpy. “You could have hurt my new pet!”
“‘New pet?’ What’s that supposed to mean?”
“This little guy,” Derpy said, showing Dash the Parasprite. “Isn’t he adorable?”
“Uh... sure. What exactly is he?”
“I’m not sure. Fluttershy never told me.”
“Oh. You never said Fluttershy gave it to you.” Couldn’t possibly be Nightmare’s monster, Dash thought to herself.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to feed muffins to this guy.” Derpy then stormed into her house and shut the door.
“Well, I guess there’s no real reason to stay-” she was cut off when she heard Derpy scream from in the house. On instinct, Dash bucked open the door and ran in. “Derpy! Are you okay?”
Derpy was laying on the floor, sobbing. “He- he- he ate everything. Every single muffin. Not one left for me.”
Dash ran over to Derpy’s side. “Derpy, what happened?”
“The little creature. He ate every single muffin I had in a matter of seconds. I ran out of the kitchen, but it’s still in there.” Derpy pointed to the kitchen, then resumed her sobbing.
Rainbow Dash slowly approached the kitchen, where she was instantly bombarded by about a hundred Parasprites, knocking her unconscious. Just then, Spike called Rainbow Dash’s Element. “Rainbow Dash, are you there? Rainbow Dash?”
Derpy got up and answered Spike’s call. “This is Derpy. Rainbow Dash is out cold.”
“Derpy? What have you done to Rainbow Dash?”
“Absolutely nothing, I swear. She was knocked unconscious by a bunch of tiny flying things.”
“That’s what I was calling about. Those tiny flying things are very dangerous creatures called Parasprites. They do nothing but eat food and multiply until they have a force strong enough to destroy their enemies.”
“That would explain both the one Parasprite eating all my muffins as well as the hundreds that appeared out of nowhere. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“How can we trust you?”
“They ate my muffins. Isn’t that reason enough for you? How about this? I’ll help you destroy these Parasprites, but after that, I’m back with Nightmare Moon. Call it a cease-fire?”
“Absolutely not,” said Rainbow Dash, getting up. She then walked over to Derpy and snatched her Element out of Derpy’s hooves. “And give me that back. Spike, fill me in.”
“The small creatures are Parasprites, and they’re extremely dangerous. Also, Derpy’s with us for this battle.”
“First, absolutely not. She tried to kill us several times in the past. Second, have you informed the others?”
“That’s just it. The others were who informed me.”
Some time earlier, Rarity was in her shop, using the Parasprite to help her with some things. “You are such an inspirational little creature. Thanks to you, finally got the last few pieces of imagery I need to finish my new dress line. Here have an apple.” She gave the Parasprite an apple, which it devoured in one bite, nearly taking a piece of Rarity’s hoof. “Hey! Be careful! I worked all morning shining these.” As if not listening to Rarity, the Parasprite began to gag a little. It then coughed up what seemed to be another Parasprite. Sure enough, it was yet another Parasprite. “Ugh! I won’t have a creature that does something so unsanitary and impolite! Out with you two! Out!” She tried to shoo the two Parasprites out, but they wouldn’t budge. Rarity then screamed and galloped out of the boutique, trying to call Fluttershy using her Element, but there was no answer. That’s when she ran into Applejack, who was also running through Ponyville, looking for the others. “Applejack? What are you doing here?”
“I came to warn y'all,” AJ replied. “Nightmare’s launched an attack and the monster’s in Ponyville.”
“I just tried calling Fluttershy, but she wasn’t answering. We need to get there.”
“Where are Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie?”
“Not sure. I haven’t heard anything from Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie stormed off awhile ago for some reason.”
“I’ll call Spike after we get Fluttershy so we can have him look for the others. Let’s go.” Rarity and Applejack then raced off to Fluttershy’s cottage.
Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie was hopping along the road with a shining new tuba hanging around her neck and symbols in her saddlebags. However, she wasn’t looking where she was going and took a wrong turn into a dark alley. “Hey,” she said when she finally looked around. “Where am I?”
“A nice day for a trot, Pony Ranger?” a voice asked.
“What? Who said that? How do you know I’m a Ranger?” Pinkie looked everywhere for the source of the voice, but she couldn’t find it.
“Little do you know that your friends are in danger,” the voice continued.
“Show yourself! Come out here and fight!” As if upon request, Zecora stepped out in front of Pinkie. “Who are you? How do you know that I’m a Ranger?”
“I am Zecora, a minion of Nightmare Moon, and my Parasprites will be your doom very soon.”
“YOU sent the Parasprites? I should have known. This one had Nightmare Moon written all over it from the start. You’re not gonna get away with this.” Pinkie tried to pull out her Element, but it was knocked out of her hooves by a Putty Pony that appeared behind her. She tried to fight off the group that came with the first one, but they quickly overpowered her and pinned her to the ground.
“Oh silly little Pinkie Pie. You cannot defeat me, you should not even try. My Parasprites will destroy you all and all of Equestria will soon fall.”
Back in Ponyville, Applejack and Rarity finally made it to Fluttershy’s cottage. “Fluttershy?” Rarity called as she knocked on the door. “Fluttershy! Open the door.” For while, there was silence. Then the two heard Fluttershy struggling and screaming.
“Fluttershy’s in trouble!” shouted Applejack. “My turn to ‘knock.’” Rarity stepped back as Applejack got in position to buck open the door. Just before Applejack could kick the door down, it exploded open, knocking her and Rarity back in a flood of Parasprites. Fluttershy was also thrown out the door. “Fluttershy!” shouted AJ, running to the downed pegasus.
“Applejack, Rarity, these are dangerous creatures!” Fluttershy said as she got up. “I’d be willing to bet they were sent by Nightmare Moon, but I can’t be sure.” Just then, all three of their Elements began beeping all at once. “It’s a distress call!”
“It’s coming from Pinkie Pie’s Element,” said Rarity. “She must be in danger. I’ll try to find her. You two call Spike and have him call for Rainbow Dash.”
“Okay,” replied Applejack. As Rarity galloped off, AJ turned back to Fluttershy. “You call Spike. I’ll try to get rid of these.”
“Got it,” replied Fluttershy.
Applejack then pulled out her Element and put it on. “Y’all will pay for hurtin’ my friend... IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME!” She then morphed and charged at the wall of Parasprites, who’s eyes all suddenly turned red. They then began charging back at Applejack. AJ tuck-and-rolled to avoid the charge and recovered to buck the wall of Parasprites from behind. (Get your minds out of the gutter -_-) She didn’t really hit anything, however, because the Parasprites dispersed before she could hit one, causing her to fall.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash and Derpy had just gotten Spike’s call and were flying down to Fluttershy’s cottage to help with the battle. “Now, Derpy,” said Rainbow Dash, “we’ll be watching you closely. If you make one step out of line, it will be my pleasure to destroy you on the spot.”
“Will you stop worrying, Dashie?” asked Derpy. “I don’t plan on double-crossing you until I’ve avenged my muffins.”
“Well, start with the vengence now. Look.” Dash pointed down to the wall of Parasprites attacking AJ and Fluttershy. “Ready, Derpy?” Dash asked as she pulled out her Element. Derpy pulled out her Thunder Coin in response. “Okay... IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME! Loyalty!”
“Thunder!”
The two pegasi morphed and rushed down to join the other two Rangers in the battle.
On the other side of Ponyville, Rarity was galloping around, trying to find Pinkie Pie when she suddenly bumped into Sweetie Belle. “Sweetie Belle?” asked Rarity. “What are you doing here?”
“I was looking for you,” Sweetie Belle replied. “There are a bunch of weird creatures flying around all over the shop!”
“Ah! I completely forgot about the two I left there! Sweetie Belle, go...” Rarity quickly racked her brain for somewhere safe for Sweetie Belle to stay. “Go to Sweet Apple Acres with Applebloom while I try to get rid of the Parasprites.”
“The what?”
“Nevermind. Trot along, now,” she said as she pushed Sweetie Belle away.
“Um, sis? Sweet Apple Acres is that way,” Sweetie Belle said, pointing in the other direction.
“Right, now get going.” As Sweetie Belle trotted off, Rarity galloped at top speed towards Carousel Boutique. When she got to her shop, she remembered why she was in town in the first place. She still needed to find Pinkie Pie. “Oh, those Parasprites are probably in there ruining my shop. Oh, but Pinkie Pie could be in danger. I can’t call one of the others out of battle, but my dresses...” Rarity took a deep breath, then sighed. “Don’t worry, Pinkie Pie. I’m coming.” She then reluctantly galloped away from her shop to continue searching for Pinkie. She eventually decided to check Sugarcube corner, despite the fact that she figured that was the last place anypony trying to defeat the Rangers would hide Pinkie of all ponies. “Pinkie Pie,” Rarity called when she walked in. “Are you here?” She walked cautiously into the dark room, using her horn to light the area around her. She was about in the center of the room when she heard hooves moving around on the floor. “Pinkie? Is that you?” Rarity reached for her Element of Harmony, just in case. She was right to do that, because as soon as she turned around, a wooden staff was being swung right at her head. She dodged, barrel rolled, and morphed, ready for combat. “Who are you?” Zecora stepped out from the shadows where she was hiding, carrying a wooden bo staff in her hooves. “Good to meet you, Black Ranger. I’m sure that, to you, I’m a stranger. My name is Zecora, a zebra, as you can see. I am the one who captured your friend, Pinkie.” “I never would have guessed that Pinkie would be overpowered by somepony who wasn’t even a pony. Let alone somepony who can’t even talk correctly.” “My method of speech is quite true. I don’t need any criticism from you. But it doesn’t matter how I talk. When I’m done with you, you won’t even be able to walk.” Zecora then charged at Rarity with her staff, narrowly missing her. Rarity tried to use her horn to fire a few bolts of magic at Zecora, but her magic wasn’t strong enough to do any real damage. Instead, Rarity tried using hoof-to-hoof combat and was actually working quite well. Her Element amplified her natural abilities, including her melee combat, so she actually stood a chance against Zecora. Zecora wasn’t completely outmatched, though, because she was the one with a weapon. She swung her staff at Rarity with strength, speed, and consistancy. The unrelenting barrage barely gave Rarity any chance to breathe, but still she blocked the attacks with her hooves and even got several hits in on her assailant. After several hits, Zecora had enough. “You are great at combat, I will give you that. When next we meet, you will be beat.” Zecora then teleported away, leaving Rarity to continue her original mission. “Now, then,” she said to herself, demorphing, “back to finding Pinkie Pie.” It didn’t take much searching before Rarity heard muffled shouting from a nearby closet. When she opened the door, Pinkie Pie, tied up and beaten, fell out of the closet. “Pinkie!” Rarity shouted, tearing the tape off of her friend’s mouth. “Are you okay?” “Yeah,” Pinkie replied as Rarity finished untying her. “I’m fine. Where are the others? The parasprites are dangerous.” “We kind of figured that out, already. Come on, the others need us.” Rarity tried to pull Pinkie out, but Pinkie stopped just before they left the buliding. “Wait. There’s no way we can take them on. There’s too many of them.” “Don’t worry, Derpy’s with us for this battle.” “No, I mean Rangers won’t be enough to take on a constantly growing force.” Pinkie stopped for a moment, thinking. Then, she suddenly had an idea. “Go help the others. I’ll be along in a moment.” She then galloped off away from where the others were. “Pinkie! Wait!” However, Pinkie was already too far away to hear Rarity’s calls. “As though her antics didn’t get us in enough trouble.” Rarity just rolled her eyes and galloped off towards Fluttershy’s cottage to help the other Rangers.
Meanwhile, the other Rangers weren’t exactly having a picnic with the Parasprites. They were outnumbered at least 478 to 1, and the Parasprites were taking advantage of this. “We can’t keep doin’ this for long,” Applejack shouted, getting knocked back and forth by several groups. “Derpy!” Rainbow Dash shouted, flying away from one attacking group. “Don’t you know how to beat these things?” “Does it look like I have the solution, here?” Derpy shouted back, trying to dig her way out of a pile of Parasprites. “Fluttershy, aren’t you good with animals, or something?” “Yes!” Fluttershy squealed back, trying to wave some Parasprites away. “But these aren’t ordinary animals! I have no idea what to do!” “We’d probably stand a chance if we weren’t down two ponies,” Rainbow Dash said just before getting knocked out of the sky by several kamakaze Parasprites. “Where are Rarity and Pinkie?” Just then, several pieces of debris were launched at the Parasprites, scattering them all over the place. “Did somepony call me?” asked Rarity from down the path, morphed and ready for action. She then galloped over to join the other Rangers, who were now in a tightly-packed circle. “So, what’s the situation?” “My count is about 1,912 Parasprites,” Derpy replied. “With you here, our odds are about 382.4 Parasprites per Ranger.” “Derpy,” Rainbow Dash said, “you realize Pinkie Pie’s the comic relief in the series, right?” “I know,” Derpy replied, “but she wasn’t here, so I figured I’d fill in for now.” Just then, a Parasprite flew by and smacked Derpy in the face. “Hey! No attacking during a 4th wall breach!” But the Parasprites didn’t seem to listen and instead started dive-bombing the Rangers, who were pretty much defenseless and getting pummeled by the Parasprites. “We can’t hold out much longer!” Fluttershy shouted. “Where’s Pinkie Pie? She’d make our odds a little better with about 318.666667 Parasprites per Ranger.” “You two, Fluttershy?” asked Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy just gave a nervous smile befere getting knocked to the ground by several Parasprites and being de-morphed. “Fluttershy! Are you okay?” “Yeah,” Fluttershy replied. “I’m still alive. LOOK OUT!” Before Rainbow Dash had any time to react, she got knocked to the ground past Fluttershy and was demorphed, herself. Applejack, Rarity, and Derpy suffered similar fates. “Looks like we’re finished,” said Rainbow Dash. “Nightmare’s won. There’s no hope.” Just as she said this, the Parasprites reared up for the final blow. But before the Parasprites charged, the Rangers heard a noise in the distance almost like a screeching. The Rangers looked up to find the Pterodactyl zord dive-bombing the Parasprites, who were scattering all over the place. “Hey!” Pinkie Pie called from the cockpit. “Who told you you could throw a party and not invite me?” “Pinkie Pie?” asked Rainbow Dash. “So that’s what you galloped off to do,” said Rarity. “Sorry I ever doubted you.” “I forgive you, Rarity,” Pinkie called. “Now, back to these Parasprites.” She then turned the Pterodactyl zord back to the Parasprites and started firing the Pterodactyl’s flamethrower, completely incinerating the fleeing Parasprites. “Roasted Parasprite, anypony? Sorry, but it’s a little burned.” “Great job, Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash called as Pinkie flew the Pterodactyl zord back to its volcano hangar. Dash then turned back to Derpy. “And same to you, Derpy.” “Me?” asked Derpy. “What in Nightmare’s name are you talking about?” “I knew you had some good in you.” “Oh, you think I have good in me, do you?” Derpy then pulled out her Thunder Coin and used it to summon the Dragonzord. “Let me be the first to tell you. I don’t.” She then flew up into the cockpit of her zord. “Should have seen that coming,” Dash said, rolling her eyes. The other Rangers galloped up into combat position, but Dash stopped them. “I’ll handle this myself.” She then took out her Element of Harmony and used it to summon the Tyrannozord into combat. She then flew into the cockpit of her own zord and moved the Tyrannozord to face the Dragonzord. “Ha!” Derpy laughed. “You think you can beat me?” “Well, sure,” Dash replied. She then moved the Tyrannozord to strike the Dragonzord with its tail. The Dragonzord stumbled a little, but Derpy wasn’t about to give up that easily. She fired the Dragonzord’s fire breath, striking the Tyrannozord square in the chest. Rainbow Dash struck back with a laser blast from the Tyrannozord’s eyes. Derpy tried to block this attack, but the Dragonzord wasn’t strong enough to defend or fast enough to evade. The Dragonzord was knocked to the ground and comepletly defenseless. Derpy teleported away in defeat and frustration. “One day, Derpy, I promise to show you the light.”
Later at the moon base, Nightmare was scolding Zecora and Derpy. “Zecora, I honestly expected a little success from you. You had one of the most dangerous species on Equestria under your control and you let them get incinerated.” Nightmare then turned to Derpy. “And you. How dare you help the Pony Rangers foil yet another plan. I should launch you into orbit right now for doing such a thing.” “They attacked me,” Derpy said, not looking up at Nightmare. “Did they now? Now there’s an interesting development.” Nightmare then turned back to Zecora. “Care to explain?” “In my defence, Lord Nightmare, I lost control of them, once they got there,” Zecora said. “As they multiplied, my control would divide. This complication was unforseen, but the blame still lies on the Ranger of green.” “That’s it!” Nightmare shouted, getting frustrated. “Both of you are to blame, but I’m in no mood to punish either of you.” The then trotted out of the room.
Meanwhile, at Sweet Apple Acres, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were all sent there by their sisters. “Does anypony know why your sisters sent you here?” Applebloom asked. “I dunno,” Scootaloo said, “but Rainbow Dash has been acting kind of strangely, lately. Applejack and Rarity, too?” Applebloom and Sweetie Belle nodded their heads. “I think I might know what’s going on,” Sweetie Belle said. “Really?” asked Scootaloo. “What is it, then?” Sweetie Belle paused for a moment before speaking. “I think our sisters are the Pony Rangers.”
Rainbow Dash walked into the computer room in Canterlot Castle to find Princess Celestia talking to another pony that Dash didn’t recognize.
“I understand your concern,” Celestia said, “but we just can’t keep you a secret much longer.”
“Um, Princess,” Rainbow Dash called. “Are you busy?”
The other pony galloped off as Celestia turned to Rainbow Dash. “Not at all, Rainbow Dash. What did you need?”
“I was just thinking, Derpy helped us quite a bit the other day with the Parasprites, even though she did double-cross us at the last minute.”
“So, what’s your point?”
“Is there any chance there could be... a sixth Ranger? For our team, I mean.”
Princess Celestia thought about this question for a moment before she answered. “There just might be, but all in good time. Anything else?”
“Not really. I just came by to ask that one question.” Rainbow Dash turned and flew off. “Who was that pony?” she asked herself, flying towards Cloudsdale.
Meanwhile, at the moonbase, Nightmare was scolding her minions for their failures. “Manticore, you underestimated the Rangers and fled before the battle even really began. Gilda, your feud with Derpy cost you both victory. Zecora, you’re monsters were completely out of control, attacking Derpy.” Derpy shot a smirk at Gilda and Zecora, but it quickly vanished when Nightmare walked over to her. “And you, my ultimate weapon, failed not once, but several times, even when you worked without the others. I would have expected better.” Nightmare then walked down the line to Trixie, who was meditating. “Finally, we come to the one clean slate on this base. I expect you to have a plan for an attack that will succeed.”
“Actually, my lord, I do have a plan,” Trixie said, getting up.
“Oh? Let me hear it.”
“All of them, even the Red Ranger, are dependent on somepony to guide them and give them their power. This one pony, in fact, is your sis- I mean, rival, Princess Celestia.”
“Good save,” Derpy whispered to Trixie.
“As well,” Trixie continued, “your primary goal was to see Celestia gone, anyway. Therefore, my plan is to sneak into Canterlot Castle and cast a spell that will cause Celestia to disappear, leaving the Rangers defenseless.”
“That is incredibly crazy,” Nightmare finally said after thinking about Trixie’s plan. “There’s no way it could possibly fail. I suggest you go down and begin immediately! Derpy, take some Putty Ponies and create a distraction in Ponyville.”
“Really?” complained Derpy. “I’m a distraction now?” Nightmare just stared at Derpy with an angry gaze. “Very well, my lord. I shall go to Ponyville immediately.”
“Good,” Nightmare said, walking to the observation deck on the base. She looked out over Equestria. “This time, Celestia, you and your precious Pony Rangers will fall.”
Meanwhile, back in Ponyville, Rainbow Dash was flying casually by, watching everypony go about their regular day. “Not a bad day,” she said to herself. “Too bad there’s a storm in the forecast for this afternoon.” She then continued flying until she got to Fluttershy’s cottage, landing in front of the door and knocking. “Fluttershy, you there?”
Fluttershy opened the door slowly, looking fairly tired. “Yeah,” she replied yawning. “I’m here.”
“You all right, Fluttershy?”
“I’m fine. Just didn’t get much sleep, last night, that’s all.”
“Anyway, you ready for some cloudbusting?”
Fluttershy yawned again. “Yeah, let’s go.” The two began flying off, but Fluttershy got less altitude than usual and eventually collapsed to the ground. Rainbow Dash flew down and woke Fluttershy up again.
“Hey! What were you doing last night, anyway?”
“Scootaloo came over and just gave me an unrelenting barrage of questions about the Pony Rangers. It was weird but I couldn’t just shoo her away. By the time she found out that I had no information to give her, it was about ten.” Fluttershy yawned loudly again. “But I’m still good for cloudbusting.”
“Fluttershy, get some sleep. I can handle cloudbusting with the other pegasi.” Rainbow Dash looked back at Fluttershy, but she was already asleep. Dash rolled her eyes and carried Fluttershy inside. She then flew off, stopping when she spotted Derpy and a group of Putties. “Not now, Derpy!” Dash said to herself. She then used her element to call the other (awake) Rangers into battle and flew down to meet Derpy, herself.
“Ah,” Derpy said, noticing Rainbow Dash. “Exactly as planned.” She then morphed and got ready to greet Rainbow Dash.
“Derpy!” Rainbow Dash shouted, landing and morphing in front of Derpy and the group of Putties. “What are you doing here?”
“What? I can’t take the Putties out for a little trot? ATTACK!” Upon Derpy’s command, the Putty Ponies charged at Rainbow Dash. However, there were only about 6 Putties and they were no match for one morphed Ranger. Dash practically knocked them all out in one kick.
“There’s something going on, Derpy,” Dash said, looking down at the fallen Putties. She then looked back up at Derpy. “What’s your game, this time?”
“Oh, Dashie,” Derpy said with a chuckle. “Do I need a ‘game’ to spend time with an old friend?” Derpy then charged at Rainbow Dash, but was knocked to the ground by a... was that seriously a cake that downed Derpy?
“You called for us?” Pinkie Pie asked as she stood several feet away with Rarity and Applejack behind her.
“Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow Dash called. “It’s good to see you.”
Pinkie and the others galloped over to where Rainbow Dash was. “Where’s Fluttershy?” Rarity asked.
“Asleep. We’ll need to do this one without her. I’m already morphed, so you know the drill, Applejack.”
“Thanks Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said. She then stepped up with Rarity and Pinkie Pie behind her. “IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME!”
“HONESTY!”
“LAUGHTER!”
“GENEROSITY!”
And just like that, it was four Rangers against one. “Well this hardly seems like fair odds,” Derpy said. “How about we even things out? MORE PUTTIES!” Instantly, about 20 Putty Ponies teleported into the battle.
“You three take care of the Putty Ponies,” Rainbow Dash said to the others. “As always, Derpy’s mine.” The others nodded and charged at the Putty Ponies while Rainbow Dash charged at Derpy. Derpy didn’t just see this attack coming... she was expecting it.
“Come and get it,” Derpy said to herself. Just as Rainbow Dash was about to land a punch, Derpy flew up into the air and began flying away.
“Hey!” Dash shouted. “Come back here, you coward!” She then began chasing Derpy through the air.
Meanwhile, at Canterlot Castle, Spike was on DailyMotion, watching tomodachi wa mahou. (For those of you who are fairly out of the loop, this is the Japanese version of MLP.) “Man,” he said to himself, “why do they make me sound more like a girl than usual?”
At the same time, Trixie was busy sneaking her way into the computer room, past Spike who wasn’t paying any attention, anyway. She made her way to the time warp tube where Celestia was imprisoned. “Now,” she said to herself, “bye bye, sun.” But before she could cast her spell, a voice behind her suddenly stopped her.
“Hey!” the voice shouted. “What do you think you’re doing here?”
“Let’s see,” Trixie said sarcastically. “I’m certainly not a Pony Ranger, so what do you think I’m doing here? Delivering pizza, or trying to destroy Celestia? Your guess.”
“I won’t let you do anything to the Princess,” the voice said sternly.
“Ha! You fool. You dare to challenge the great and powerful Trixie?”
“Yes. Yes I do.” The source of the voice was about to charge at Trixie, but Trixie cast a simple beam of magic, causing the other pony to fly across the room and into the corner.
“Now, where was I?” Trixie asked, turning back to the time warp. Her horn began glowing as she cast her spell, but this caused Celestia to wake up before the spell was complete.
“Trixie!” Celestia shouted. “Spike, contact the Rangers now!”
“Too late, fair princess,” Trixie said as she fired a ball of magic towards the time warp. It hit the tube and caused Celestia to start fading away.
“Princess!” Spike shouted, calling the Rangers.
“Too late, little dragon,” Trixie said, using her magic to throw Spike across the room into the other pony and galloped out of the building, teleporting when she got outside.
Back at Fluttershy’s cottage, Rainbow Dash was still chasing Derpy around, the others were still fighting the Putty Ponies, and Fluttershy was still inside, fast asleep. That’s when they all got a distress signal from Spike in Canterlot. “Ah,” Derpy said. “I’m going to assume that Trixie’s plan worked.”
“Trixie’s plan?” Dash asked. “What are you talking about?”
Derpy stopped and let Dash catch up to her. “You mean you didn’t recognize this as a distraction? Our plan all along was for me to create a distraction here in Ponyville to keep you Rangers busy while Trixie breaks into Canterlot Castle and attacks the unprotected Celestia. And now I can see that it worked, so my work here is done.” Derpy then teleported away along with the Putty Ponies.
“What happened?” Applejack asked.
Rainbow Dash flew down quickly to answer Applejack’s question. “This attack was a trap,” she said. “Another of Nightmare’s minions attacked Canterlot directly and did something to Princess Celestia. We need to get over there, now!”
“How are we going to get there in time?” Rarity asked. Suddenly, the four were engulfed in a white light and instantly found themselves in the computer room in Canterlot.
“Thanks, Rarity,” Pinkie said, “but I never knew you could do that.”
“That wasn’t me, Pinkie.”
“Then who was it?” asked Dash. “Spike?”
“It wasn’t Spike,” a voice said. “It was me.”
“And just who are you?” Dash asked.
Just then, there was a bright flash of light in front of the Rangers and the silhouette of a unicorn stood in the middle. The unicorn then stepped forward and stood in front of the Rangers. Her coat was a bright purple and her mane a darker purple with a hot pink and lighter purple stripe through it. “My name... is Twilight Sparkle. And I am Celestia’s secret weapon.”
(Is that not the most generic/cliched title you can think of?)
The Rangers (again, minus Fluttershy) stood in general shock as the Princess’s student, Twilight Sparkle, stood before them after so much secretivity. “Are you ponies okay?” Twilight asked. “You act like you’ve never seen a unicorn before, and I know that would be a lie.”
“It’s just...” Rainbow Dash tried to say. “Why didn’t you reveal yourself sooner?”
“If I revealed myself too early, Nightmare would have focused her attacks on me, and I’m supposed to be some ‘ultimate weapon’. How could I do that if Nightmare sent attack after attack directed at me?”
“Even still,” Rarity said, walking up in front of Twilight, “why didn’t you do anything to stop Trixie when she came and attacked Celestia?”
“Actually, I did try to do something. I tried fighting her, but her magic was well beyond mine, so it was pretty much a mouse against a bear.” Twilight then walked past the Rangers over to Spike. “Spike, can you localize Celestia in the Time Dimension?”
Spike typed some stuff into the console, but all that happened was the computer making a buzzer noise. “Sorry, Twilight,” he said, “but Trixie’s spell is blocking Celestia’s signal.”
“Great.” Twilight then turned to back to the Rangers. “Now, the way I see it, there’s only one way to save Princess Celestia.”
“What do ya have in mind?” Applejack asked, still skeptical.
“We need to take the fight to Trixie. If we can manage to defeat her in combat, her spell might wear off and Celestia will be saved.”
“Hold on a second,” Rainbow Dash said, flying towards Twilight and hovering next to her. “Girls, we hardly know this pony. For all we know, she’s the one who made Celestia disappear!”
“Your skepticism is healthy, Red Ranger,” Twilight said, gently pulling Rainbow Dash back to the ground, “but I can assure you that I’m on your side. Right, Spike?”
“It’s true,” Spike said. “When she first enrolled in Celestia’s schoolf for gifted unicorns, her entrance exam was hatching me from an egg.”
“Okay,” Pinkie said, “If she has Spike’s vote, then I’ll trust her.”
“Me too,” Applejack said.
“Same here,” Rarity added.
Rainbow Dash just stood where she was for a moment before answering. “Fine. What’s your plan here, Twilight?”
“I just told you. Defeat Trixie to reverse the spell.”
“I mean for drawing her out. She isn’t just going to stay here in Equestria and wait around for us to find her.”
“Actually, Dash,” Spike said, waving her over to his console, “you might not be too far off. Trixie’s still in Ponyville.”
“That’s good news, Spike,” Dash said, flying over to where Spike was sitting. “But how’d you find her?”
“Lucky guess,” Spike sarcastically replied, indicating his screen, which showed Trixie leading a group of Putty Ponies through Ponyville.
“There’s no time for you Rangers to lose,” Twilight said to the others. “Go do your job, and when the time comes, I’ll show you why I’m Celestia’s secret weapon.”
“Okay,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Let’s move, Rangers.” The four ponies then galloped out of the building towards Ponyville.
“Wait!” Twilight called. “Don’t you remember that I can teleport all of you directly to Ponyville?”
“Oh, right,” Rarity said. “That reminds me, you need to teach me that spell, one of these days.”
“Sorry, Rarity, but spells like that are only for higher lever unicorns, and it takes years to achieve that title. For now, let me be the secret weapon the princess expects me to be and back you Rangers up however I can.”
“Okay, Twi,” Rainbow Dash said, “Do your thing.”
“Good luck,” Twilight said as she prepared to cast the teleportation spell. As she did this, her horn began to glow first a faint purple, then gradually increased in color intensity until it was lighting most of the area around Twilight. After it looked like the room couldn’t get any brighter, Rainbow Dash and the other Rangers were teleported away, leaving Twilight to colapse onto the ground and breathe heavily. “I’ll get better at that spell, Spike,” she said between breaths. “Trust me.”
Meanwhile, the Rangers fell in a heap just outside of Ponyville thanks to Twilight’s teleportation spell. “That hurt,” Applejack said, getting up.
“I should remind Twilight to work on that spell,” Rarity said. “With magic like that, I could just as easily give her lessons.”
Rainbow Dash recovered instantly and flew up next to the pile of others. “Hey, everypony! We still have an attack to stop and a princess to save!”
“You’re right, Dashie,” Pinkie said, bouncing up as though she hadn’t taken any of the impact. “Come on, we need to get going.” Applejack and Rarity finished dusting themselves off and followed Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie into town.
Meanwhile, at the moon base, Nightmare was busy celebrating her supposed victory. “Yes! Yes! Yes!” she shouted, skipping about happily. “Celestia is no more! Victory is mine!”
Just then, Derpy walked in, rather terrified of the scene she found. “Uhh... is this a bad time?”
Nightmare practially stopped in midair when she heard Derpy, the resumed her regular, imposing and intimidating state as best she could. “No, why? What made you think it was a bad time?”
“But weren’t you just- nevermind. I have an interesting development regarding the Pony Rangers.”
“Yes. Without a guide, they’re crumbling, just like Trixie planned.”
“Actually, that’s not what I meant. In fact, it seems they’re about as organized as ever. But that wasn’t what worried me. What worried me was that they just appeared in Ponyville near Trixie’s current location out of thin air.”
“Well that was magic, Derpy, dear. They have a unicorn on their team.”
“No, the black ranger, Rarity, isn’t capable of such magic, and the only other ally they could possibly have that could do such a thing is Celestia herself. That means it would seem...” Derpy stopped for a moment to count in her head. “It would seem Player 14 has entered the game.”
“Player 14? You mean to tell me that they have yet another ally and this one seems capable of magic that’s on par with Celestia?”
“Actually, I was trying to say that we’ve hit 14 primary characters in this story. Way too many. But what you said, as well.” ` “Well then what are you waiting for?” Nightmare then began shooing Derpy out of the room. “Get down there and do something about it!”
“Yes, my lord,” Derpy replied, flying away.
Nightmare turned around and looked out at Equestria. “Don’t think I’m giving up that easily, Rangers.”
Back in Ponyville, the Putty Ponies were all over the place, attacking buildings and stands and, of course, ponies, all being led by Trixie. Trixie trotted happily through the town under fire. “Ah,” she said to herself, “nothing like destroying an unguarded town to celebrate a total victory.”
“Not so fast, Trixie!” Rainbow Dash shouted, galloping into view along with the other Rangers. “We aren’t finished yet!”
“You think we’re through just because of one little setback,” Applejack shouted.
“But we don’t give up easily,” Rarity added.
“Yeah!” Pinkie added. “And even if we do, we get right back up like a springboard! Ooh! Guys, can we get a springboard? I think that will really help us in future battles. ^_^”
“The point being,” Rainbow Dash resumed, “you may be able to get rid of Celestia, but we’ll always keep fighting.”
“FOR EQUESTRIA!” they all shouted at once, pulling out their morphers.
“Good for you, Rangers,” Derpy said, flying in and landing next to Trixie, Thunder Coin in hoof. “But did you really think Nightmare wasn’t expecting you to get up and dust yourselfves off like that? We’re prepared to give the killshot directly.”
“Then it looks like this will only go one way,” Rainbow Dash said, putting on her Element along with the others. “IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME!”
“HONESTY!”
“LAUGHTER!”
“GENEROSITY!”
“LOYALTY!”
“THUNDER!”
The four Pony Rangers stood against Trixie, Derpy, and the group of Putty Ponies that Trixie used for her prior attack. “CHARGE!” Trixie shouted to the Putty Ponies, who charged towards the Rangers, Derpy and Trixie at the head of the pack. Rainbow Dash flew forward to meet Derpy, Pinkie and AJ taking on Trixie, and Rarity battling the Putties.
Pinkie and AJ split up and attacked Trixie from two separate directions. However, Trixie’s powers were a little stronger than either ranger expected and Trixie teleported several feet away, causing the two rangers to nearly hit each other. However, they quickly recovered before they impacted and instantly began looking around for where Trixie was. They were still looking around when a blast of magic nearly hit them, revealing Trixie standing behind them. Applejack charged head-on at Trixie while Pinkie tried to do a flanking maneuver. Not such an easy combonation for Trixie to counter. Trixie fired at Applejack, but she was knocked to the ground by Pinkie Pie, who charged head on with full force. Trixie was thrown back a little, but she landed on her hooves. “Two earth ponies against the Great and Powerful Trixie?” Trixie shouted. “You two don’t stand a chance. Prepare to- OOF!” She was knocked to the ground by Applejack, who took her chance to attack while Trixie was distracted.
Rarity wasn’t having too much trouble dealing with the Putty Ponies. Sure she was outnumbered 10 to 1, but they were no match for even a single Ranger. Rarity battled with her usual grace, knocking Putties to to the ground left and right. She even used her magic to knock downed Putties into others.
Rainbow Dash and Derpy squared off once again, both trying to do combat at high speed. They flew all around the area where the others were battling, exchanging blow after blow with each other, some making contact, some being blocked. “You better not be holding back because you think there’s some ‘good’ in me, Dashie,” Derpy said with a sinister smile, even though it couldn’t be seen from under her helmet.
“Don’t say that, Derpy,” Dash replied. “I know for a fact that there’s good in you, but Nightmare doesn’t want you to see it within yourself.”
“Silence!” Derpy shouted as she punched Rainbow Dash in the face, causing her to start falling. Dash quickly recovered though and flew up to charge at Derpy head on. Derpy flew down at top speed to do the same.
“You don’t need to be evil, Derpy!”
“That’s what you believe, Dashie.”
The two continued flying at each other, neither one planning on evading the other. They just kept flying, not thinking of anything else but the moment of their impact. Both their expressions as serious as they could get. They were 50 feet from each other. 40. 30. 15.
BOOM!
The two collided, creating a massive explosion, sending up a massive rainbow colored cloud that crackled with thunder and lightning. The wind knocked the other Rangers, Trixie, and all the remaining Putty Ponies off their hooves and tumbling in all directions. When the wind died down, Trixie was facefirst on the ground, the other Rangers were demorphed, and Derpy and Rainbow Dash were in the epicenter of where the explosion was, both on the ground, knocked out cold. Rarity got up slowly, followed by the other Rangers. “What was that?” she asked.
Applejack looked over to find Rainbow Dash and Derpy on the ground. “Look!” she shouted to the other Rangers.
“Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie Pie shouted, galloping towards the fallen Ranger, followed by the other two.
“She’s alive,” Applejack said, “but it looks like she’s out cold.”
“Too bad for you Rangers,” came a voice from behind the three remaining Rangers. They turned around to find Trixie standing behind them, seeming like there wasn’t a scratch on her.
“What?” Rarity shouted. “You weren’t caught in the blast?”
“Of course I was,” Trixie replied. “But being so great and powerful, I have access to a wide variety of spells... including healing spells.” Trixie paused for a moment to brush her mane out of her face. “But I have one more surprise. I know one of Nightmare’s most powerful spells.” Her horn began glowing brightly, the glow quickly encasing her whole body. “I know the Mega Spell!” She then cast the spell and she grew to about 30 stories tall, causing the Rangers to step back a little.
“Great,” Applejack said. “How are we supposed to fight her now without Fluttershy OR Rainbow Dash?”
Just then, their morphers went off. Twilight was trying to contact them. “Hey, Rangers,” she said over their comms. “I see you have a small problem on your hooves.”
“A small problem?” Rarity asked.
“Nevermind the joke. I’m sending you your zords now.”
“Hang on, Twi,” Pinkie Pie said. “We can’t form the Megazord without Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash.”
“Don’t worry. I can use my magic to pilot both of them. Just trust me. Here they come.”
The dinozords stampeded towards Ponyville, the Tyrannozord and Sabre-tooth Tiger zord moving as easily as if they were being piloted by their actual pilots. “Wow,” Rarity said. “Now that’s what I call magic.”
“Come on, Rarity,” Applejack said. “We still need to pilot our own zords.” She then galloped off, followed by Pinkie and Rarity. They all morphed and leapt into their zords. “All right, Twilight, lead the way.”
Using the spell, Twilight combined the zords and formed the Megazord in about a fourth of the time as it usually took for the rest of the team to form it. All the pieces literally leapt into place. The Sabre-tooth, Triceratops, and Mastodon zords just flew onto the Tyrannozord. The Tank zord leapt into the air and flew right into the Pterodactyl zord, landing perfectly on its feet. The Megazord drew its power sword and stood ready for battle against Trixie. “That was fast,” Applejack said.
“Ha!” Trixie scoffed. “Do your really think your little machine has a chance against the Great and Powerful Trixie?”
“Yeah,” Pinkie Pie replied. “We’re going to beat you, then they’ll have to call you the, uh... Not So Great and Less Powerful Trixie?” Pinkie turned to the other Rangers. “Right? Does that sound good?”
“Anyway,” Rarity said, ignoring Pinkie’s bad pun. “The point is, we’re going to defeat you and save Princess Celestia.”
“You think defeating me will bring back your precious princess? You slly fillies. There is no possible counterspell for what I used to make Celestia disappear. She’s gone forever!”
“You shut your muzzle, Trixie!” Applejack shouted. “Let’s do this, Rangers!”
“Leave this to me, Applejack,” Twilight said over the Megazord’s comm. “Let me show Trixie what real magic is capable of.” Twilight then activated the Megazord’s loudspeaker. “You hear that, Trixie? This is our rematch!”
“That voice,” Trixie said. “You’re that unicorn from Canterlot, aren’t you?”
“Correct,” Twilight replied. “And I’m here to finish what we started before.” The Megazord then aimed its sword at Trixie, ready for combat.
“Um, Twilight,” Rarity said. “Are you sure you don’t need us for anything?”
“No, Rarity. I got this.”
“Fine. This is your battle, then.”
“Thanks. Now, on to you, Trixie.” The Megazord then charged at Trixie, who teleported behind the Megazord and bucked it to the ground.
“Is that all you’ve got?” Trixie asked.
“Hardly,” Twilight replied, getting the Megazord back to its feet. “I’m just getting warmed up.” Twilight then sent the Megazord charging again, swing its sword just as Trixie got within range. Trixie just barely dodged, but she did take a little bit of damage from catching the tip of the blade. Trixie countered by sending a powerful blast of magic towards the Megazord, but Twilight blocked the attack with the Power Sword, even managing to deflect it back at Trixie. Trixie fell to the ground in defeat.
“You...” Trixie said, getting up but unable to fight. “We’re not finished, Twilight Sparkle. I will have my revenge.” Trixie then teleported away back to the moon base.
Back at Canterlot, the three remaining Rangers were standing around Twilight, who was still trying to figure out what happened to Celestia. “I just don’t get it,” Twilight said. “How could Trixie have cast such a spell that doesn’t have a counterspell?”
“Maybe she really is the strongest unicorn in Equestria,” Spike said.
“No,” Twilight said. “It’s just a lesser known spell, that all.”
Just as Twilight said that, Fluttershy flew into the computer room, carrying Rainbow Dash. “Hey, everypony,” she said, yawning. “Did I miss anything?”
“Not much,” Pinkie Pie replied.
“Oh. Then what happened to Celestia and Rainbow Dash? And who’s that purple unicorn.”
Applejack sighed and walked over to Fluttershy. “It’s a long story. I’ll fill you in.” She then turned to Twilight. “Can you take care of Rainbow Dash?”
“Self-healing spells are pretty difficult, but I know some medical spells that I can cast on other ponies.” Twilight then carried Rainbow Dash out of Fluttershy’s hooves and took her out a door on the other side of the room. “She’ll be all right in a couple of hours.”
“But until then,” Spike said, stopping Twilight, “Celestia is still gone.”
“I know, but Rainbow Dash is our immediate priority. After I’m done here, I’ll get to work on a spell that should bring back Celestia. Until then, you Rangers head back to Ponyville. Who knows what Nightmare’s next move will be.” Twilight then walked out of the room with Rainbow Dash.
Back on the moon base, Trixie stood proud in front of Nightmare Moon. “Congratulations, Trixie,” Nightmare said. “You came up with a plan that actually worked, for once.”
“Yes,” Trixie replied, bowwing. “But unfortunately, I think the Red Ranger finally finished the Green Ranger.”
“Oh? That’s too bad. Oh well. Now that Celestia is no more, it won’t be long before those Rangers fall.” Nightmare then started walking out of the room. “We won’t even need Derpy, anymore.”
Back in Equestria, Derpy still lay where she was knocked out by Rainbow Dash. Suddenly, she opened her eyes and stood quickly. “What happened?” she asked to nopony but herself. She looked around to find that nopony was around any more. She had been left there. “Trixie left me? I should have known. They were all against me.” She then looked over to find Canterlot in the distance. “I’ll show them. I’ll show them all. Nightmare and the Rangers. And I know exactly where to start.” She then flew towards Canterlot with on final goal in mind. The destruction of Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash walked into the computer room where the other Rangers stood, worried and waiting. “Hey, guys,” she said to the other Rangers.
“Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie Pie shouted, spriting over and hugging Rainbow Dash. “We were all soooo worried about you! And I’m sooooo happy you’re all right.”
“Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said, walking into the room after Dash, “I can only heal Rainbow Dash once. Don’t go breaking her back for me.”
“Okay,” Pinkie replied, letting go of Rainbow Dash.
“So, how do you feel, Dash?”
Rainbow Dash took a second to breathe again. “I... actually feel pretty good,” she finally replied, though still short on breath. “Aside from a backache.”
“Good. My magic is improving. Maybe I’m close to that ‘destiny’ Princess Celestia keeps telling me about.”
“Speakin’ of Princess Celestia,” Applejack said, “have you found her yet?”
“No, but I do have an idea for bringing her back.” Twilight walked over to the console where Spike was still hard at work. “While I was healing Rainbow Dash, I couldn’t stop thinking about how this time last year, I couldn’t even dream of such feats of magic. Then it hit me, and don’t ask me how. The only way I’m going to counter Trixie’s spell is with a stronger spell. Since her spell affected Celestia’s time warp in this dimension, I figured it was worth a try.”
“So how do you plan on preforming such a spell?” Rarity asked. “Surely Trixie used a very powerful spell if she didn’t even know of a counterspell.”
“I know, that’s just the problem. I’m not even sure my magic is capable of such power. I won’t let that stop me, though. Starting now, I’m going to keep working until I’ve perfected a spell for bringing Celestia back, even if it kills me.”
“Best of luck to you, then, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said. “Come on, Rangers. We’d better give her some space to work.” The other ponies nodded and folloed Rainbow Dash back to Ponyville.
Meanwhile, at the moonbase, Nightmare trotted around the main room with general worry. “Might I ask what’s troubling you, my lord?” Gilda asked, walking in.
“It’s nothing,” Nightmare replied. “Just Derpy. I’m trying to figure out how she was defeated. Obviously the Rangers didn’t have enough power to finish Derpy in one fell swoop. Something was wrong.”
“That doesn’t matter, my lord. All that matters is that we have removed Celestia from the equation. We need to take advantage of this opportunity.” Gilda walked over past Nightmare. “How about I go down there and stir up some dust? With Derpy out of the picture as well, I have a little score to settle with the red ranger.”
“Very well,” Nightmare said. “Get down there and ‘stir up some dust’.”
“Thank you, my lord. You will not be disappointed.” Gilda then flew out of the room and towards Equestria.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash and the other ponies were in Ponyville, awaiting word from Twilight on her spell for bringing back Celestia. Rainbow Dash cloudbusting, Fluttershy working with some bunnies, Applejack trying to sell some apples, Rarity making her “secret masterpiece”, and Pinkie Pie throwing a party as usual. Everypony, however, was performing their jobs fairly half-heartedly, filled with worry about Celestia. Just when everypony was sure they were going to get fired from their jobs, there was a sudden flood of panicked ponies running down the street. Rainbow Dash was the first to notice and used her Element to send the word to the rest of the Rangers. Rainbow Dash flew down to see a group of Putty Ponies being led by her old friend Gilda. (Story notes: Gilda and Rainbow Dash never knew each other. Gilda was Nightmare’s minion her whole life in this story, just like the rest of Nightmare's minions.) “Well, well, well,” Gilda said as Rainbow Dash flew down in front of her. “If it isn’t the Red Pony Ranger, Rainbow Dash.”
“Good to see you too, Gilda,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Is there any chance you came by just because our old friend Derpy is out of the picture? Because I saw how you ran with your tail between your legs last time.”
“Oh, I can assure you that I’m staying to finish the job, this time.”
Just then, the other Rangers ran up behind Rainbow Dash. “Still staying to finish the job?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Oh, I’m staying.”
“So be it.” Rainbow Dash then pulled out her Element of Harmony, followed by the other Rangers. “IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME!”
“HONESTY!”
“KINDNESS!”
“LAUGHTER!”
“GENEROSITY!”
“LOYALTY!”
The now morphed Rangers then charged at Gilda, who commanded the Putties to charge back.
Meanwhile, back at Canterlot, Spike and Twilight were working together to figure out a spell for bringing back Princess Celestia. ,At the same time, Derpy snuck her way inside undetected. Twilight began walking out of the room. “I’m going to go get some more quills for writing these notes down,” she told Spike. “I’ll be right back.” When Twilight left the room, Derpy saw her chance and came up behind Spike.
“Having fun, dragon?” Derpy asked from behind Spike, causing him to instantly jump and at the same time freeze from fear. “I take it that’s a yes.”
Spike slowly turned around to see that his worst fear was confirmed. It was, indeed, Derpy standing right behind him, intimidating as ever. “D-D-Derpy,” Spike barely said, stepping back a little. “Y-you’re alive.”
“Alive as ever,” Derpy replied, advancing a little on Spike. “Also angrier than I’ve ever been before.”
“But... but what are you still doing here in Canterlot? Surely you don’t have anything to do with keeping Celestia gone.”
“You’re right. I honestly don’t care about that, anymore. However...” Derpy paused for a moment, just to advance a little further on the whimpering Spike. “You are going to tell me something.”
“What could I possibly tell you?”
Derpy backed Spike up against the wall and leaned her face in closer to Spike, just to watch him cower. Then she whispered “You’re going to tell me where Rainbow Dash is... so I can finally destroy her.”
Spike didn’t even hesitate before spilling the beans. “Rainbow Dash and the other Rangers went to Ponyville while Twilight and I worked on the spell for bringing Celestia back. They probably won’t be expecting you.”
An evil smile crept across Derpy’s face. She then reached for Spike’s head with her hoof, causing him to whimper louder than ever, and she did something Spike never would have expected. She pat him on the head like she was petting a dog. “Thanks, Spike,” she said. “I guess I’ll let you live... for now.” Derpy then turned around and flew out of the room and towards Ponyville. That’s when Twilight walked back in and noticed Spike cowering in the corner of the room.
“What happened in here?” Twilight asked, but Spike was whimpering so much, he didn’t say anything.
Back at Ponyville, the Pony Rangers were battling Putty Ponies while Rainbow Dash went straight for Gilda, who was happy to have Rainbow Dash to herself. Gilda put every ounce of energy into every swipe and blow that she sent Rainbow Dash’s way. Rainbow Dash was taking a couple of hits, but she was holding her ground pretty well. After a severe volley of tallons, Rainbow Dash took an opportunity and knocked Gilda off balance, leaving her open for attack. Gilda never saw it coming and was bucked to the ground by a single, well-place kick from Rainbow Dash. Gilda crashed, but got back up with a mighty roar. “You think you’re somehting special, Red Ranger?” Gilda asked. “I’m going to enjoy peeling that armor right off your body.” Gilda then charged back at Rainbow Dash, but was stopped suddenly by something flying into her. It was Derpy.
“Yeah, well, so was Rainbow Dash, and obviously she’s still here.” Derpy then turned to Rainbow Dash, who was slowly decending back to the ground. “Good to see you again, Dashie.”
“Can’t really say the same for you,” Rainbow Dash replied. “What brings you back so soon?”
“You’re still alive. It’s as simple as that.”
“Hey!” Gilda shouted at Derpy. “I didn’t ask you to come by and ruin my battle with Rainbow Dash! Back off.” Gilda stepped up and tried to push Derpy out of the way so she could get to Rainbow Dash.
“Keep your talons off of me, griffon,” Derpy said, knocking Gilda off. “Rainbow Dash is mine.”
“Fillies, please,” Rainbow Dash called, breaking the two up. “There’s no need to argue over me. You’ll both get your chance against me. In fact, I’ll go ahead and take both of you on. How about that?”
Gilda and Derpy looked at each other for a moment. “Fine,” Gilda finally said. “Provided this little filly is content with the scraps.”
“Oh, I think you’re going to be the one picking at the feathers,” Derpy said back, pulling out the Thunder Coin. “I’ll let you have the yellow one, though.”
“Stand aside, Derpy. This is your last warning. I’ll fight you, as well if I have to.”
“Good. I was hoping I wasn’t going to have to say that first.” Derpy then morphed in a flash and flew straight towards Rainbow Dash, followed closely by Gilda. Rainbow Dash leapt out of the way of Derpy’s attack, leaving Derpy to get slashed by Gilda’s tallon. Rainbow Dash took her opportunity and flew straight at Gilda, knocking her to the ground. However, she forgot about Derpy for a split-second and was that much too late to dodge a mule kick from Derpy. Rainbow Dash was knocked over and was open to an attack from Gilda, who had flown right into another attack from Derpy at just the right time. Derpy took this as an advantage rather than a mistake and continued attacking Gilda. “Stand down before you break one of your precious talons,” Derpy said while attacking Gilda. Rainbow Dash flew in between them, knocked Gilda aside, and tried to do the same to Derpy, though she managed to block the attack.
“You both need to stand down,” Rainbow Dash said, turning away from Derpy just in time to block an attack from Gilda.
While these three were fighting, Fluttershy looked up from her battle with the Putty Ponies to se that Rainbow Dash was in trouble. “Girls,” Fluttershy called. “I’m gonna go help Rainbow Dash.”
Applejack threw a Putty Pony over her back before turning to Fluttershy. “Go ahead,” she said, bucking another Putty. “We’ll be all right.”
Fluttershy nodded and flew up to the battle taking place over everypony else. “I’m coming, Rainbow Dash,” she called, charging straight at Gilda. Gilda was caught off guard and knocked several feet back by Fluttershy’s charge. She then turned to Rainbow Dash and gave a nod. Rainbow Dash nodded back and continued fighting Derpy.
Gilda recovered quickly and found Fluttershy hovering in front of her. “Now the Red Ranger is having her teammates fight her battles for her?” she asked. “Pathetic. I would have expected more from her.” She then charged at Fluttershy, who managed to avoid Gilda’s attack and counter with a strong mule kick.
“Just you and me now, Dashie,” Derpy said to Rainbow Dash. “A battle to the end?”
“To your end,” Rainbow Dash said. “All this time, I thought there might have been some good in you, but attacking your own teammates for a little revenge? You aren’t just evil, Derpy, you’re dangerous. Dangerous to anypony around you, good or evil.”
“At long last, you understand that. Congratulations. Either you’ll die with that in mind, or you’ll have to live with that until Nightmare defeats you and your friends. Let’s find out which of those two holes I’m throwing you down.” Derpy then charged at Rainbow Dash, who charged back. Derpy was the first to attempt an attack, but Rainbow Dash saw the attack coming and blocked it pretty easily. She then tried to counter with a kick to Derpy’s side, but Derpy grabbed Rainbow Dash’s hind leg before the kick could make contact and threw her into a nearby cloud. Rainbow Dash recovered and launched the cloud at Derpy. Derpy easily blocked the attack, but it was just a distraction that allowed Rainbow Dash to come up behind Derpy and buck her as hard as possible from behind. Derpy was completely unprepared for this attack and was sent plummeting to the ground. Rainbow Dash took this opportunity and tackled Derpy before she had a chance to recover, forcing her into the ground where the two impacted with a force that was enough to form a small crater. Rainbow Dash stood over the defeated Derpy, who was demorphed and unconscious.
“You’ve brought this upon yourself,” Rainbow Dash said, even though Derpy couldn’t hear her.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy was having a hard time battling Gilda. Gilda’s speed and strength was way too much for Fluttershy to handle, but she had to stay strong and keep Gilda off of Rainbow Dash. “You don’t look so good, Yellow Ranger,” Gilda said, and it was true. Fluttershy was breathing heavily and looked like she could barely stay airborne. As well, her eyes were filled with tears under her helmet, though Gilda couldn’t have seen them. Just as Gilda charged to give Fluttershy the killshot, she was hit by a small blast of magic from Rarity. The shot wasn’t very powerful, but it gave Fluttershy enough time to decend to the ground with the other Rangers.
“I’m all right,” Fluttershy said to the other Rangers. “I just needed a second to breathe, that’s all.”
Gilda flew to the ground to face the other Rangers, who had defeated all the Putty Ponies. “You ponies have some nerve...” Gilda said, extending her talons for combat. “I’m gonna enjoy this.” Just as she said this, she was hit by a massive blast of magic from the sky. It was Nightmare Moon casting the Mega Spell on Gilda, who grew to an enormous size. “Now I’ll crush you Rangers like rodents.”
“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack called. “Mega trouble.”
Rainbow Dash got out her morpher and tried to contact Twilight. “Twilight, are you there?”
“I’m here,” Twilight replied over the comm. “I’m sending the zords now.”
“Go ahead and pilot mine. I’m bringing Derpy back to Canterlot. I think I may have an idea.”
“Okay, I’ll trust you. Everypony else, your rides are here.” Just as Twilight said this, the zords came stampeding in. The Rangers (minus Rainbow Dash) jumped into their zords. “Megazord Formation Spell, go!” Twilight cast the spell and all the zords leapt into place just as quickly as last time. The Megazord stood before Gilda, who wasn’t backing down this time. The two charged at each other, blades (Gilda’s talons and the Rangers’ Power Sword) drawn.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash picked up Derpy and began flying towards Canterlot. “Let’s see what you can do for us, my friend,” she said to Derpy while flying, leaving the battle behind her.
Gilda blocked every attack the Megazord gave using her talons. Once the Megazord was off balance, Gilda sent her talons right into the chest plate or the Megazord. “Hey!” Pinkie shouted. “I just had the Pterodactyl zord repainted!” The Megazord gave another thrust of its blade, hitting Gilda square in the wing and cutting off a couple of feathers. Gilda wasn’t about to let this small injury keep her out of the battle. She leapt back at the Megazord, but Applejack used the Triceratops zord to give Gilda a hard kick to the side, injuring the other wing. Gilda was defeated, but she was reluctant to teleport, at least until the Rangers were about to bring the Power Sword down for the final blow. Gilda rolled over to avoid this attack, but was too badly injured to continue fighting.
“Someday, Rangers,” Gilda said, breathing heavily. “I’ll make you pay.” Gilda then teleported away back to the moon base.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash brought Derpy to Canterlot, where Twilight looked her and the Thunder Coin over. “So?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“‘So’ what?” Twilight replied.
“‘So’ did I bring back anything useful for you?”
Twilight walked over to the Thunder Coin and looked at it for a second. “You just might have. If I can figure out how to get the Thunder Coin to work for me, I might be able to use its power to cast the spell I need to bring Celestia back.” She then turned back to Rainbow Dash. “Thanks, Rainbow Dash. You may have saved us all with your mercy. I can probably patch Derpy up after I separate her power from that of the Thunder Coin, but for now you need to go back to Ponyville and tell the others the good news.”
“Okay,” Rainbow Dash said. “Good luck, Twi.” She then flew out of the room back to Ponyville.
Twilight then turned back to Derpy, who was lying bound to an examination table. “Now, let’s see what secrets you can tell.”
Rainbow Dash flew through Ponyville, looking for her friends and wondering if they were all right after the battle with Gilda. “Come on, guys,” she said to herself, “where are you?” She stopped flying when she saw Fluttershy flying by. “Fluttershy!” She then flew over to Fluttershy, who looked over in surprise.
“Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked. “We thought you would be gone longer.”
“Is everypony all right after the battle with Gilda?”
“Um, yeah. Nopony really got hurt.”
“Good.” Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief. “After I had left the battle to take Derpy to Twilight, I wasn’t sure how you had all fared.”
“Gilda put up a bit of a fight, but we managed to beat her. She’s not gonna bother us any time soon. In fact, Pinkie’s throwing a party at Sugarcube Corner for the Pony Rangers right now. The whole town’s invited.”
“The Rangers aren’t going to show up, uh, ‘in person’ are they?”
“We aren’t going to be morphed, if that’s what you’re asking. Same as all the other parties Pinkie throws for the Rangers.”
“Okay. Sounds good. Let’s go.” Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy then made their way to Sugarcube Corner for the party.
Meanwhile, back at Canterlot, Twilight was still looking the Thunder Coin over to see what it could do for her and the Rangers. She continuously moved between looking the Coin and Derpy over. “It doesn’t make sense,” Twilight said. “The power of the Thunder Coin is drawn from magic. A pegasus couldn’t possibly control this power. Unless...” She galloped over to Derpy and looked back over her, using her magic to preform some kind of scanning spell, using it to scan every bit of Derpy. She then galloped over to the table nearby, where she recorded her finding on paper. “Spike, get some more paper. I’ve got a lot to take down and I haven’t even scratched the surface of what I need to learn.”
Spike looked over to find Twilight standing at the other end of the room, watching her and the table full of papers. “Okay...” he said, walking out of the room to get more paper. “Does she really need that much?” he mumbled to himself after he left the room. Twilight could hear Spike’s comment, but ignored it and resumed her work.
Meanwhile, back at the moon base, Nightmare was scolding Trixie for her mistake. “I’m not sure about you,” she said, “but I plainly saw Derpy in that last battle, alive and well.”
“I apologize, my lord,” Trixie replied. “I will admit, it was a severe mistake, but one anyone here could have easily made, I’m sure.”
“Yes. Anyone here could have made this mistake...” Nightmare began walking over to the observation deck and looked out on Equestria. “It was a mistake that just about everyone here has made before. Everyone here but me has underestimated the power of the Pony Rangers. That includes Derpy.”
“Just to be clear,” Trixie cautiously said, “is it the mistake that Derpy made or was it Derpy we underestimated, as well?”
“Both.” Nightmare walked back over to Trixie. “Derpy never knew her own strength and that caused her to fail time and time again. But she never knew her true power. The true power that I bestowed upon her.” Nightmare began walking out of the room into the interior room where Zecora was busy tending to Gilda’s injuries.
“You put up quite a fight,” Zecora said, “but these injuries are all you have to show for your plight. You broke not one, but two of your wings, and now I’m stuck doing these mundane things.”
Gilda looked up as Nightmare walked in. “Do I really have to listen to this?” she asked, causing Zecora to pull heavily on Gilda’s wing. “Ow! Watch it.”
“I apologize if sitting here, for you, is a bore. If you want to be entertained, why don’t you ask the Manticore?”
The Manticore looked up from the other side of the room. “What?” he asked. “Why am I suddenly mentioned after 10 chapters?”
“Not true,” Gilda said. “Don’t you remember the chapter ‘Trixie’s Tricks’?”
“Yeah, but I was only mentioned once and I didn’t have a speaking role or an action scene.”
“Nevertheless, you give me an idea,” Nightmare said. “You’re the strongest one on this base when it comes to physical strength. You should go down and make sure those Rangers pay for defeating Derpy. After all, you haven’t had an action scene in 10 chapters, remember?”
“I wouldn’t argue with that idea,” Gilda said. “I mean, I only had to wait about three chapters before I returned. Kind of like what happened with Trixie and Babs Seed.”
“If we can stop breaking the fourth wall,” Nightmare impatiently said, “I would like you to get down there and fight the Rangers now.”
“Yes, my lord,” Manticore said. He was about to walk out when Nightmare stopped him.
“Don’t run away at the first sign of danger, this time.”
“I promise to fight to the end, this time.” Manticore then left and headed for Equestria.
Meanwhile, Dash and the other Rangers were enjoying Pinkie’s third party this week. You would have thought the five ponies were about partied out, but Pinkie’s parties were the perfect way to relax after so many consecutive battles with Nightmare’s minnions. Everypony in Ponyville was there, including the Rangers as well as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who were watching the Rangers from the other side of the room. “I’m not too sure about what you said, Sweetie Belle,” Applebloom said to her friend. “I mean, Applejack is strong and hard working, but I just couldn’t see her as a Pony Ranger.”
“Yeah,” Scootaloo added. “And I’m sure Rainbow Dash wouldn’t be a Ranger, either. As awesome as she is, I just don’t see her working so well with other ponies like the Rangers do.”
“But-” Sweetie Belle tried to say. “But I heard Rarity talking about Canterlot and stuff. Surely that counts for something, doesn’t it?”
“Sorry, Sweetie Belle,” Applebloom said, “but let’s face it, Rarity would be the last pony in Ponyville to be a Pony Ranger and everypony else just doesn’t seem to fit.”
(“I thought the last pony in Ponyville to be a Ranger was that crazy stallion, Time Turner,” Scootaloo commented.)
Sweetie Belle just sighed and looked over at Rarity and her friends, who were laughing at something Pinkie said. “I was so sure...” She was about to say more, but she was stopped by an explosion from outside, causing everypony to start panicking and galloping all over the place.
“What was that?” Rarity shouted.
“Sounds like Nightmare, to me,” Rainbow Dash said. “Come on, everypony.” The Rangers galloped out of Sugarcube Corner to find Manticore leading a large number of Putty Ponies through Ponyville, destroying just about everything in their path. “Looks like somepony’s not happy about Derpy being down for real, this time.”
Manticore heard Rainbow Dash and turned around quickly. “Ah. The Pony Rangers,” he said. “I was wondering when you’d show up. Putties, attack!” The Putty Ponies then began charging at the Rangers, who each pulled out their morphers.
“IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME!” Rainbow Dash shouted.
“HONESTY!”
“KINDNESS!”
“LAUGHTER!”
“GENEROSITY!”
“LOYALTY!”
The now morphed Rangers charged back at the Putty Ponies and began knocking them down left and right.
Meanwhile, back at Canterlot, Twilight was still busy looking Derpy over, still taking down tons of notes. (Literally, well over 2,000 pounds worth.) “Come on,” Twilight said, “Show me something. Anything!”
While Twilight was busy doing this, Derpy began twitching a little behind her back before completely opening her eyes. She looked around quietly, careful not to alert Twilight that she was awake. The first thing she noticed was that she was bound pretty well, so getting out quietly would be a bit of a challenge. She rolled her head over to find her Thunder Coin a little ways away from where she was bound. After examining her situation for a little while, Derpy began trying to escape her binds. It didn’t take long for her to escape, but it was still enough time for Twilight to hear Derpy and turn around. “No!” Derpy shouted, breaking the last of her binds. She then dashed over to try to get the Thunder Coin, but Twilight used her magic to snatch it away just before Derpy could reach it. “That is mine! Give it back to me!”
“No,” Twilight replied. “I’ll guard it with my life if it means saving the Rangers.”
“Be careful what you wish for, Twi.” Derpy then charged at Twilight, who teleported out of the way just in time to avoid Derpy’s attack. Twilight then took her opportunity to try to attack the stunned Derpy. However, Derpy recovered faster than Twilight anticipated and struck her hard in the face. She then tried to reach for the Thunder Coin, but Twilight pulled the Coin away just in time. “You’re going to give that to me, Twilight. You can’t save your Princess if you’re dead.”
“Stopping Nightmare is top priority, and from what I’ve seen, you’re still working with her.”
“No, I’m not. I’ve finished working with Nightmare Moon. I’m working for only myself now.” Derpy then began advancing on Twilight, who began backing up. “And I want my Coin back so I can destroy Rainbow Dash.”
Twilight was pretty intimidated, backing up while Derpy advanced on her. “I-I’ll never let that happen.” Twilight tried her best not to sound intimidated, but she knew Derpy was deadly with or without her powers.
“Come on, Twilly,” Derpy said, her voice low and sinister as ever. “We both know you’re backed into a corner, here.”
Twilight was about to respond, but then she hit the wall and realized that she was literally backed into a corner. There was no escape, but then she got a rather stupid idea. The Thunder Coin floated next to her, and it could just be Twilight’s salvation. “You want your powers so badly?” Twilight placed the Thunder Coin in her hoof.
Derpy charged at Twilight, but Twilight had already performed the action. She held the Coin out in front of her and shouted “THUNDER!” There was a massive flash of green light that actually knocked Derpy back a little.
“This can’t be,” Derpy said, shielding her eyes against Twilight. When the light finally died down, Derpy couldn’t believe her eyes. Standing before her was Twilight, but she was morphed into the Green Ranger. She looked almost exactly like Derpy when she was morphed, only the armor conformed to Twilight’s horn rather than Derpy’s wings, now. “How...?”
Twilight took a second to examine herself, only just realizing that she had just morphed for the first time. “Okay...” she said slowly to herself. “This is... actually kind of cool.”
“You may have the power of Thunder, but you still have no idea how to control it.” Derpy then charged at Twilight.
“I’ve been told I’m a fast learner,” Twilight replied, readying herself for Derpy’s attack. Just before Derpy hit her, however, she swung her body around to kick Derpy off to the side. “Woah. I wasn’t even trying to do that.”
Derpy was knocked to the far wall, but she shook it off quickly. “Now you’re in for it.” She then charged towards Twilight once again. (Do I sound like a broken record or what?)
“Bring it, Derpy.” Twilight then began charging back at Derpy. Derpy swerved out of the way just before Twilight could attack. Twilight couldn’t react fast enough and Derpy spun to kick Twilight, though to little effect. Twilight took the opportunity and fired a bolt of magic at Derpy, who was unable to block or avoid the attack. Derpy recovered, but she was slightly beaten.
“You may wield the power of thunder,” Derpy said, panting. “But one way or another, I’ll destroy you and the rest of the Pony Rangers. I promise you that.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Derpy,” Twilight said, her voice getting lower. “But I’m afraid your time is up.” Twilight then began charging her horn with more energy than ever before.
“Yes,” Derpy said quietly. “This will work out quite well... Embrace the darkness, Twilight Sparkle. Embrace the limitless power of Thunder!”
“I’ve had just about enough of you, Derpy!” Twilight then fired a massive bolt of magic, which was purple with a slight green hue to it. It fired at Derpy faster than she could react and hit her square in the face, knocking her against the far wall.
“Heh,” Derpy said weakly. “I knew you could do it, Twilly.” Derpy was barely able to stand and was panting heavily. “Congratulations. You were, indeed, the final end of me.” Derpy then tried her best to stand straight up and extended her wings and arms, making herself as wide as possible. “Now, what are you waiting for? Do it.”
Twilight was so overcome with a strange rage, she couldn’t stop herself when she used her magic to raise Derpy into the air. “You’re finished! SCATTER SHOT!” Twilight used her magic to fire several bolts of magic in several directions, each one coming back around straight towards Derpy. Before Derpy could defend herself or Twilight could stop herself, all of the blasts of magic hit Derpy all at once, resulting in a massive explosion where Derpy once was. Twilight just looked on for a moment before shaking her head violently and de-morphing. Only then did she realize what she had just done. “What? But- but I couldn’t have...” Twilight collapsed to the ground in the shock of what had happened. “How could I...?” She then looked down to find the Thunder Coin still in her hoof. “The Thunder Coin... it made me do it. But how...?” Twilight dropped the Thunder Coin and scooted back away from it. Her eyes then began tearing up. “Derpy... I’m so, so sorry.” She lowered her head into her foreleg and began crying uncontrollably, laying in the center of the trashed computer room which reflected Twilight’s thoughts perfectly.
Meanwhile, the other Rangers were having a hard time with Manticore. He never really fought the Rangers before, but he was really showing his power, now. “Ha,” he said, knocking Fluttershy and Pinkie back in one swing of his paw. “I really thought you ponies would be more of a challenge.” Rarity tried to attack Manticore from behind, but he flicked her away with his tail. “Guess I was wrong.”
While the battle was going on, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were galloping by, trying to avoid the stampede of panicked ponies. Sweetie Belle happened to look over to find the Rangers battling the Manticore. “Girls,” she called to the other two fillies. “Come on. Let’s go watch.”
“Are you out of your mind?” Scootaloo asked. “What if we get caught in the crossfire or something?”
“That won’t happen. We can just duck behind those conveniently placed barrels over there.” Sweetie Belle indicated a pile of barrels kind of far from where the battle was taking place but still close enough to give the fillies a decent view of the battle. “Come on.” Sweetie Belle galloped over and ducked behind the barrels, indicating for the others to follow.
Applebloom and Scootaloo looked at each other for a moment. “Has she lost her mind?” Applebloom quietly asked. Scootaloo just shrugged and followed Sweetie Belle. Applebloom was about to try and call Scootaloo back, but she was already gone. “Fine.” Applebloom then trotted over to join the others and watched the battle from behind the barrels.
While the fillies were taking cover to watch the battle, the Rangers were still getting pummeled by the Manticore. “There’s no way we can beat this guy,” Pinkie said, narrowly avoiding a blow from the Manticore. “Any ideas, Rainbow Dash?”
“Sorry, Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash replied, “but I’ve got pretty much nothing. I could probably call Twilight for whatever backup she could provide. Cover me, Rangers. I’m gonna duck behind those barrels over there.” Rainbow Dash pulled out her morpher and ducked behind the barreles. She was about to contact Twilight when she realized that the fillies were there, also.
“Woah!” Scootaloo said. “You’re a Pony Ranger!”
“Scooaloo? What are you doing here?”
Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “How do you know my name?”
“Oh, I, uh, overheard it from when you three were talking. Now, you fillies need to get out of here. It’s way to dangerous.”
“But-” Sweetie Belle tried to say.
“Hey, don’t you think your big sisters would be a little upset if you fillies got hurt?”
Scootaloo looked down. “I guess Rainbow Dash would be pretty upset if something happened to me.”
Rainbow Dash put her hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder. “I’m sure she would, kid. I’m sure she would.”
“Hey,” Scootaloo said, looking up suddenly. “She wouldn’t happen to be a Pony Ranger, would she?”
“Heh. Now you know I couldn’t tell you whether or not she was, right? I hardly even know the pony. Now get going before the battle gets out of hoof.”
“Okay.” Scootaloo galloped off, followed closely by the other fillies.
“I’d be very upset if you got hurt, Scootaloo,” Rainbow Dash said to herself once the fillies were gone. She then remembered why she was there in the first place and tried to contact Twilight.
Back at Canterlot, Twilight was still in the center of the trashed room, crying. After a while, Spike walked in, rather confused over what he saw. “Twilight,” Spike said, “are you okay?”
Hearing Spike’s voice snapped her back to reality, but all she could do was point at the Thunder Coin still on the ground in front of her. “It wasn’t my fault,” she said in a hoarse voice. (Pun not really intended.) “The Coin had some kind of power. I couldn’t stop myself in time.”
“Stop yourself from what?”
“Derpy. She’s... gone. She’s gone and it’s all my fault.”
“What? But you couldn’t have. Why did you do it?”
“I didn’t. The Thunder Coin had some kind of power over me. It... it nearly consumed me, even. How can I go on, Spike? How can I move on from this? I just took another pony’s life! Tell me, how am I supposed to fix that? How can I make it better?”
Spike walked over and put his hand on Twilight’s shoulder. “The sad truth is, there’s no real way to fix it or make it better. But it wasn’t just anypony that you took. It was a villain, and a particularly dangerous one, at that. Also, it wasn’t by your hooves that she was taken, it was by her own. She knew you would never be able to do it on your own, so she did it for you so you would still have to suffer from it.” Spike sat down next to Twilight, never removing his hand form her shoulder. “The point is, it was through no fault of your own. You were just caught off guard and she took advantage of it. But now that she’s gone, you don’t have to worry about her taking advantage of you, anymore. You’re free from her grip and can choose your own destiny from here.”
Twilight looked up and wiped her tears away. “You know what, Spike? You’re right. As out-of-character as that speech was, you really helped me, there.” Twilight got up and walked over the Thunder Coin, picking it up and just looking at it in her hoof. “My destiny is my own. No matter where it begins, it can only end the way I make it end.” Just then, the communications console began ringing. Twilight trotted over and answered. “Go for Twi. What’s up, Dashie?”
“Twilight?” Rainbow Dash called. “We need your help. Can you do anything?”
Twilight looked over at Spike, who gave a little wink. “Yeah,” Twilight finally replied. “Backup is on the way. Hold tight.”
“Thanks.” Rainbow Dash then disconnected.
Twilight breathed an exasperated sigh before walking back to the center of the room. “Wish me luck, Spike. I’m heading for Ponyville.” Twilight looked back down at the Thunder Coin. “I am no longer your’s.” She then cast her teleportation spell towards Ponyville.
Back at Ponyville, the Pony Rangers were still getting pummeled. The Manticore had dealt significant damage to all five Rangers and didn’t even seem tired, himself. “Ha,” he laughed. “I don’t know why I thought you would be a challenge. Maybe the others really are true weaklings to not have beaten you before.” Rarity and Pinkie tried to get the jump on him while he was talking, but in one single swipe of his paw, he knocked them both back and de-morphed them. Applejack tried to do a head-on charge while he was distracted, but that didn’t work either and she was thrown into the other two, also being de-morphed. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy tried to do an aerial attack, but the Manticore could also fly. He flew up and knocked them both hard to the ground using his tail, de-morphing them both before they even hit the ground. The Manticore landed and walked up to the pile of downed Pony Rangers. “I guess that was fun... at least for a second, it was.” He then raised his claw to deliver the final blow, but was knocked to the side by a blast of magic.
“Not so fast, Manticore,” shouted the pony who fired the blast of magic. The Rangers looked over to find that it was Twilight who had bailed them out. “We aren’t done yet.”
The Manticore got up slowly and dusted himself off. “And who might you be, little pony?”
“I’ll give you three guesses.” Twilight then summoned the Thunder Coin with her magic and held it out in front of her with her hoof “IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME! THUNDER!” Twilight then morphed as she did before. She donned the Green Ranger armor, only conforming to her as a unicorn rather than as a pegasus. This caused Manticore to step back a little.
“No,” he said. “This can’t be possible.”
“Everypony else saw Twilight morph into the Green Ranger, right?” Rainbow Dash asked. The others silently nodded in reply.
“Nopony here saw anything incorrectly,” Twilight said. “You’re all looking at the new Green Pony Ranger. A force for good, protecting harmony and banishing all darkness that would wish harm upon Equestria.”
“And you think you can beat me single-hoofedly?” Manticore asked.
“I could always try.” Twilight then began charging at the Manticore, who began charging back at Twilight. Manticore was about to strike, but Twilight easily teleported behind him and bucked him to the ground.
“Grr. Lucky shot.” He tried to turn around to strike Twilight again, but Twilight, once again, teleported to evade the attack. Manticore couldn’t turn around in time to block, evade, or even see Twilight’s attack, which sent him flying into a nearby building. Twilight then fired a blast of magic at him, but he recovered just in time to avoid this attack. Twilight, however, expected this and teleported right up in front of the Manticore. She then began delivering a volley of punches and kicks to his face, knocking him farther and farther back. Eventually, the Manticore was so off balance, he looked like he was about to fall over at the slightest breeze. Twilight took advantage of this and gave him one hard buck to his face, causing him to fly across the battlefield and into another building. Twilight then used her magic to fire the Scatter Shot right at Manticore. He was barely able to get up when he got blasted by the full force of the attack, sending him flying far out of town, defeated.
“Woo hoo!” Pinkie shouted, running up to Twilight along with the other Rangers. “Twilight saved the day for us!”
“Ya know somethin’, sugarcube?” Applejack said. “When I first saw ya, I didn’t think you’d be half the hero I see you as, today.”
“Twilight’s an official Ranger!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “This is so awesome! Now Nightmare won’t stand a chance against us.”
“Wait a second,” Fluttershy said. “If you’re the new Green Ranger, then what happened to Derpy?”
Twilight was about to respond when a blast of magic fell from the sky and crashed around where the Manticore was flung. He then grew to about 30 stories tall, completely recovered from the previous battle. “No time to talk right now,” Twilight said. “I’m summoning the Dinozords now.”
“Alright, Rangers,” Rainbow Dash said to the others. “IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME!”
“HONESTY!”
“KINDNESS!”
“LAUGHTER!”
“GENEROSITY!”
“LOYALTY!”
The Pony Rangers jumped into their zords while Twilight stayed on the ground, trying to figure out how she was going to summon the Dragonzord from the moon base. She figured she could just use her magic to bring it down, but that would probably take a little more effort than she would be willing to spare for combat. Still, what was the worst that could happen? The others have dealt with these kinds of situations before. She turned around to find the Megazord get thrown across the field by the Manticore. “I suppose I could give them a little more backup,” she said to herself. She then planted her hooves firmly into the ground and took a deep breath. “Here goes nothing.” She then tried to use her magic to summon the Dragonzord from the moon base. However, it didn’t take nearly as much effort as she expected and the Dragonzord landed in front of her, waiting for its pilot to lead it. “Aw yeah. This is going to be fun.” Twilight then teleported into the Dragonzord cockpit and took a second to try to figure out how she was supposed to drive it before realizing that she could use her magic on it like with the other zords. Was there anything magic couldn’t do? “Hold on, Rangers. I’m coming!”
“‘Bout time, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash replied with the Megazord’s loudspeaker. The Rangers were caught in a headlock from the Manticore and were unable to do anything to defend themselves.
“Dragonzord finger rockets, go!” Twilight shouted as she fired her rockets at the Manticore to knock him off of the Rangers. She scored a direct hit and knocked the Manticore right onto his back. She then charged at the Manticore, swinging the Dragonzord around at the last second to strike him with her zord’s tail. Twilight got another direct hit and knocked Manticore further back. “Fire blast!” Twilight then launched the Dragonzord’s fire breath attack, singeing Manticore’s tail.
“Wow!” Pinkie said. “Twilight’s really owning that Manticore!”
“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash added. “I can’t believe I didn’t trust her in the beginning.”
“Ooh, one more trick,” Twilight said to both the downed Manticore and the Rangers. “It’s time to deliver the final blow, and I know exactly how to do that.” She then turned the Dragonzord to the Megazord. “Do you Rangers truely trust me?”
The Rangers looked at each other for a moment, wondering what kind of question that was and what the answer really and truely should be. Finally, Rainbow Dash said “Yes, we do trust you, Twilight Sparkle.”
“Good, because there’s something I’ve been itching to try ever since I first saw the Dragonzord.” Twilight then began charging a spell. “DRAGON-MEGAZORD COMBINATION SPELL! DRAGONZORD, MORPH!” The Dragonzord leapt up into the air and began releasing pressurized air. It then split down the middle except for its head and the two halves began rotating around the head, the legs bending as well to form a 90 degree angle with the two halves of its torso region. The chestplate broke off and replaced the Pterodactyl zord, which moved around to the back of the Megazord and extended its wings. The rest of the Dragonzord then lowered onto the Megazord, forming a type of armor. The Megazord’s Power Sword then broke into two halves, each landing in either hand of the Megazord.
“DRAGON-MEGAZORD, READY!” the Rangers shouted in unison. The Dragon-Megazord then took an offensive stance towards the Manticore, both swords in striking position.
“You really think I’m scared of that?” Manticore shouted. “I’ll tear you apart zord by zord!” He then charged at the Rangers, but the Rangers were quicker on the draw and swung their swords right at Manticore, striking him twice.
“That’s two strikes!” Pinkie shouted. “One more and you’re out!”
“My thoughts exactly, Pinkie,” Twilight added. “Let’s get airborne to finish this guy.”
“We can fly in the Dragon-Megazord?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Sweet!”
“Sounds kind of dangerous,” Fluttershy commented.
“Don’t worry, everypony,” Twilight said. “I’ve simulated every possible outcome of the Dragon-Megazord’s actions in Canterlot before. We should be okay.” Twilight then turned to Pinkie Pie. “Are you up for this, Pinkie?”
“Wait,” Rainbow Dash shouted. “You’re letting Pinkie do the flying?”
“She is the one who controls the Pterodactyl zord. I have every confidence that she’ll succeed at her task.”
“Don’t worry, Dashie,” Pinkie said. “I can do this.” Pinkie then activated the Pterodactyl zord’s jets, sending the Dragon-Megazord flying into the air.
“Um, Twilight,” Rarity said. “Now that we’re in the air, what do we do now?”
“Get ready to fire everything,” Twilight replied. “DRAGON-MEGAZORD, FINAL BLAST! ALL WEAPONS IN FIRING POSITION!”
The Rangers then got all their zords’ weapons into firing position, aimed right at the Manticore. The Manticore looked up and said “Oh, this doesn’t look good.”
“POWER OF HARMONY,” the Rangers shouted in unison, “FINAL BLAST!” All of the Megazord’s weapons then rained down upon the Manticore, who was completely exposed and unable to do anything about any of the rockets/bullets/energy beams.
“Now, Pinkie,” Twilight said, “get us in closer for the final slash.”
“Okie dokie loki,” Pinkie said, sending the Megazord flying straight at the Manticore.
“FINAL SLASH!” the Rangers shouted. The Megazord pulled both of its blades back in preparation for the attack. Just before the Megazord hit the Manticore, the Rangers swung both blades in a scissors formation, hitting the Manticore directly.
“Gahh!” Manticore shouted, crackling with energy. “You Pony Rangers are going to pay for this! You hear me?” He then fell slowly to the ground. “YOU RANGERS ARE GOING TO PAAAAAAAAAAAY!” He hit the ground and erupted in a glorious explosion.
The Rangers were cheering and celebrating in the Megazord cockpit. “My little ponies,” Twilight said, “victory is ours.”
“Ooh, Twilight!” Pinkie shouted. “You should come back to Ponyville with us! I’m going to throw one heck of a party now that we’ve actually destroyed one of Nightmare’s minions.”
“Yeah... about that,” Twilight said, looking away from the Rangers. “We should go back to Canterlot, first.”
Back on the moon base, Nightmare’s remaining minnions were staring in shock as Manticore was destroyed by the Rangers. “I do not believe my eye,” Zecora said. “Did the Manticore just-”
“In a way, no,” Nightmare interrupted. “All three of you, come with me.” She then walked into the center room of the base. The other three looked at each other for a moment, then decided to follow Nightmare.
“Um, Lord Nightmare,” Gilda said, “how come you didn’t teleport Manticore back here before he was destroyed?”
“Because he was little more than a guina pig,” Nightmare replied. “For a while, I’ve been working on a spell that will help all four of you to fight at your full potential.”
“A spell for helping us fight at our full potential?” Trixie asked. “But how is that supposed to help if Manticore’s been destroyed?”
“Because the spell I had in mind... is a resurrection spell.” Nightmare stopped in the center of the room and indicated with her hoof for the others to step back. She then began charging her horn with magic, straining kind of loudly to cast the spell. The entire room was glowing brightly and sparks were flying all over the place from Nightmare’s horn. After a whlie, a massive ball of light appeared before Nightmare, causing her to stop casting the spell and breathe heavily. “My minions, I give to you... success.” Just as she finished saying this, the light faded and standing in the middle of where it originally was was Manticore himself.
“Huh?” he asked. “What’s going on?”
“I have revived you, Manticore,” Nightmare said. “Now you may fight another day.” She then turned to the others. “The same goes for all of you. I expect you all to fight to the end from here on out.”
“Yes, Nightmare Moon,” they all said in unison, bowing.
Nightmare then turned away and walked out of the room, smiling. “Good.” She then laughed evilly to herself, walking out of the room.
Meanwhile, back in Canterlot, Twilight told the Rangers about what had happened earlier with Derpy. “You seriously... finished Derpy?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Twilight silently nodded her head. “I just don’t know what went wrong,” she said. “It’s as though the Thunder Coin... possesed me, for lack of a better word.”
“I’m so sorry, Twilight,” Fluttershy said, putting her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder.
“I just hope you all could forgive me for what I did.”
“Of course we could forgive you,” Pinkie said. “We all understand that it wasn’t really you who did it.”
“Really?” Twilight asked, raising her head and almost smiling.
“Of course,” Rarity said. “Derpy was dangerous. Somepony had to stop her before she hurt somepony else.”
Rainbow Dash looked over and found something on the ground. She walked over to it without the others noticing. When she picked it up, she found that it was one of Derpy’s feathers. She hid it behind her own wing and walked over to join the others. “What do you think, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked when Dash walked back over to join the group.
“Uhh, sure. It could work,” Dash replied.
“Okay. Then it seems everypony’s in agreement.” Twilight then pulled out the Thunder Coin and walked over to Celestia’s empty time warp. “Here goes nothing. THUNDER!” She then morphed and braced herself to cast her spell for bringing Celestia back. “This is going to hurt.” She then took a deep breath and began casting the spell.
“We should clear out, everypony,” Rainbow Dash said. “Let’s give Twilight some room to work.” The other ponies then walked out of the room to wait for Twilight’s word.
After about an hour of waiting, Twilight poked her head outside and called for the other Rangers. “My friends,” she said, “I am happy to report... success!”
The other Rangers excitedly galloped into the computer room to find Princess Celestia back in her time warp. “Hello again, Rangers,” she said. “It’s good to see you all again.”
“It’s good to see you, as well, Princess,” Rainbow Dash said.
“So... what have I missed? I notice Twilight has joined you, so I assume much has happened.”
“Well that’s a good thing,” Celestia said. “With Derpy gone, you Rangers are closer to victory. And Twilight, you are that much closer to being ready for your destiny. You’re still pretty far, but you have made a giant leap forward.”
“Thank you, Princess Celestia.” Twilight then turned back to the Rangers. “Now that Celestia is back, we need to get focused back on the mission at hoof. Defeating Nightmare Moon and saving Equestria.”
“Then it looks like all six of us have a lot to do,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Wait,” Twilight said. “Do you mean...”
“Yes. Twilight Sparkle, I am happy to announce that all five of us have decided to make you an official Pony Ranger.” Rainbow Dash then put her hoof out in front of Twilight.
“Thank you,” Twilight said, putting her hoof on Rainbow Dash’s. The other Rangers then joined in, putting their hooves in the circle.
“For all of us together,” Rainbow Dash said. “We fight as one.”
“We protect one another,” the other Rangers shouted in unison, “until the battle is done!” They all raised their hooves into the air and began cheering.
“Hey,” Pinkie said, “that should be our official phrase. Kind of like those weird Power Rangers on TV.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Rainbow Dash replied.
Later that evening, Rainbow Dash was standing at the edge of Cloudsdale, holding Derpy’s feather. “I never wanted anything to happen to you, my friend,” she said to the feather. “I always knew there was good in you, but you never listened. I’m sorry this had to happen to you, but now you’re free from Nightmare’s grasp.” She then released the feather into the wind, watching it flutter and flip out into the distance. “Fly free, my fallen friend. Fly free.”
The feather flew through the wind for a few hours, being blown around continuously by changing winds and other flying animals. After a while, it finally landed softly on the ground far from where it was released... in front of a grey hoof.
The Rangers were battling Zecora’s hydra in the Megazord. Twilight would have been with them, but she was busy beating back a group of Putty Ponies that were attacking Ponyville. “Twilight,” Rainbow Dash called into the comm, “whenever you feel like joining the party, we’re waiting.”
“Sorry,” Twilight replied, flipping one Putty over her back, “but it’s no picnic down here, either.”
Just then, the hydra launched a fireball at the Megazord. Rarity was fast enough to move the sword arm to deflect the attack, but they had already taken a lot of damage. “Well hurry up, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said. “We’re getting owned up here!”
Twilight fired a huge blast of magic towards several Putties, knocking out the last of them. She turned to find Zecora standing behind her. “Excellent work, Twilight Sparkle,” Zecora said, “but I’m afraid... I can’t really work with that. Seriously, change your name.”
“I can’t bother with you right now, Zecora,” Twilight said. “My friends need me.” Twilight then started galloping towards where the battle was taking place, casting her spell for summoning the Dragonzord. “Dragonzord, decend!” The Dragonzord then fell to Equestria next to the Megazord.
“About time you joined us,” Rainbow Dash said as Twilight teleported into her zord.
“Just get ready to form the Dragon-Megazord. I’m casting the spell now. Dragon-Megazord forma- GAHH!” Twilight shouted as she suddenly got a massive headache, taking her hooves off the controls and grabbing both sides of her head.
“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Are you okay?”
“Something’s... wrong!” she said, straining to keep in her seat.
”Embrace the darkness,” she heard a familiar voice say in her head. ”Embrace the darkness.”
“Derpy?” Twilight asked. “What’s going on?” She did her best to keep upright, but it was as though there was some kind of weight weighing down on her along with the voice.
”Feel the full power of Thunder. Embrace the darkness.”
“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash called over comm. “What’s wrong?” As though to answer Rainbow Dash’s question, the Dragonzord suddenly attacked the Rangers with a tail swipe, which caught the Rangers completely off guard. “WHAT THE HAY, TWILIGHT?”
Rainbow Dash’s question didn’t really get an answer, but screams of “No!” and “Stop!” were coming from Twilight’s comm, causing Dash and the others to wonder what was going on. However, they didn’t have much time to wonder with the Dragonzord delivering blow after blow to the Megazord.
“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity shouted. “What are we going to do? We can’t just attack a teammate!”
“We’re probably going to have to,” Rainbow Dash replied as Twilight unwillingly sent another blow towards the Megazord.
“Rainbow... Dash...” Twilight said over comm, apparently struggling with something. “You have to... de-morph me!”
“Twilight, what’s going on?” Rainbow Dash tried to ask. However, this was answered by a fire blast from the Dragonzord. “Fine. Rangers, we need to de-morph Twilight, and that means fighting her.”
“What’s wrong with her?” Pinkie asked.
“I’m not sure. Just attack.” The other Rangers looked at each other, unsure of what they should do. Eventually, (after several more hits from the Dragonzord) the Rangers nodded at Dash and sent the Megazord charging at the Dragonzord, hacking and slashing with the Power Sword.
Meanwhile, Zecora was looking on from the ground, unsure of what was going on. “Well this is an interesting change of pace,” she said. “Come, my hydra. We shall return to the base.” She and the massive hydra then teleported away from Ponyville.
Back to the battle, Twilight was doing her best to keep the Dragonzord still while the Rangers hacked and slashed, but it was pretty much no use. No only was she still being controled by some strange power, (which at this point she figured was the Thunder Coin) but the Dragonzord itself was refusing to take very much damage. “Must... resist...” Twilight said to herself, still struggling.
”Embrace the dark powers of Thunder.”
“Keep attacking, Rangers!” Rainbow Dash shouted from the Megazord. “We’re almost there!” The Dragonzord was, indeed weakening, but the Megazord was badly damaged, as well.
“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack shouted. “We can’t hold out much longer!”
“Neither can Twilight. We need to finish this now. Focus all of your powers into this one strike. If it doesn’t work... let’s hope it works.”
“Let’s go for it,” Fluttershy said.
“Okay. Get ready, everypony.” All five of the Rangers closed their eyes, took a deep breath, and began focusing the powers in their morphers to the Power Sword. Just as the Dragonzord moved in for its final blow, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and shouted “NOW!” With one quick motion, the Megazord swung its sword in an arc motion in front of it, hitting the Dragonzord square in the chest and knocking it backwards. It then began glowing a bright green before teleporting away automatically, leaving a de-morphed Twilight laying in the middle of a field. “You four take the zords back to their hangars. I’m gonna go check on Twilight.”
“What about the Tyrannozord?” Pinkie asked. “How will we get your zord back to Canterlot?”
“Can you use the Pterodactyl zord to fly it there?”
“I don’t think so, but I could try.”
“Okay, you do that. Everypony, I’ll meet you back in Canterlot. I need to get Twilight first, though.”
“We’ll see you soon, then,” Rarity said. The Megazord then disassembled and the Rangers took their zords to their respective hangars while Pinkie grabbed the Tyrannozord and seemed to struggle a little with taking it back to Canterlot. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash flew as fast as she could towards where Twilight landed. (Which got her there in ten seconds flat.)
“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash shouted, grabbing her friend by the shoulders and trying to shake her awake, but Twilight was out cold. “Twilight, wake up!” Rainbow Dash placed her ear to Twilight’s chest to try to hear her breathing or her heartbeat or something. Much to Dash’s relief, Twilight was still alive. She then picked up her unconscious friend and began flying towards Canterlot. However, she stopped when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She turned around to find the Thunder Coin lying next to where Twilight was. “I might as well take that, too,” Rainbow Dash said to herself. She picked up the coin, grabbed it with her teeth, and began flying towards Canterlot again with Twilight in her hooves.
Meanwhile, on the moon base, Zecora had just explained to Nightmare Moon what had happened earlier. (How she did so will remain a mystery for eternity.) “Are you sure you saw all of that correctly?” Nightmare asked her zebra minion.
“I am sure it is true, however out of the blue,” Zecora replied. “I saw it as plainly as the sunlight. My hydra barely even had a chance to fight.”
“Speaking of your hydra,” Gilda said, walking in with a mini-hydra in her talon, “how do you get your monsters so tiny when they’re not in action? It couldn’t be magic, could it?”
“It is a magic of some form, though not like that of a unicorn.”
“Back to the topic at hoof,” Nightmare interrupted, “something obviously happened to the new Green Ranger that made her attack the others. Something that I believe none of us in here did.” She then turned around back to Zecora. “Something I’d like you to try to figure out. You’re going on a stealth mission.” A smile crept across Nightmare’s face as Trixie galloped in.
“Wait!” she shouted. “I thought I was your minion for stealth missions!”
“In that mission, none of the Rangers were in Canterlot and you were spotted anyway. Besides, I want to be fair and give Zecora a mission where she doesn’t have to stand by and let her monster do the dirty work. As well, from how she’s bragging... she’s better at magic than you are.”
Trixie was furious, but knew better than to question her master when a decision was made. “Very well, my lord,” she said, bowing.
“Good,” Nightmare said. “Now go, Zecora. Find out what’s going on with those Rangers so we can exploit their weakness and finish them once and for all!”
Zecora nodded and turned, walking out of the base towards the teleporter room. “Seriously,” Gilda said, the mini-hydra still in her talon, “what am I supposed to do with this? It’s about the size of a mouse. Can I eat it?” Nightmare just slapped Gilda on the back of her head, but didn’t say anything to the griffon. “So I can’t eat it?”
Back at Canterlot, Rainbow Dash had just flown in, carrying the still unconscious Twilight. Once she was inside, the other Rangers came galloping over, worried about their fallen friend. “Is she all right?” Fluttershy asked Rainbow Dash.
“She’s alive,” Rainbow Dash replied. “She just took a pretty long fall, that it.” (I’m sure there will be stupid people reading this, so I’m just going to come out and say that if you say something like “Too bad she doesn’t have wings!” or something else related to Twilicorn, I will delete your comment. This story still has season 1 continuity.) “Does anypony here have medical training?”
“I do,” Twilight said, waking up quickly, surprising Dash and causing the shocked pegasus to drop her. “Ow! Jeez, Dashie, I know it was a bad surprise, but you didn’t have to drop me.”
“You’re okay!” Rainbow Dash shouted, hugging Twilight. “I thought we had made a horrible mistake by fighting you.”
“You five didn’t make any mistakes,” Twilight said, walking over to the console where Spike was. “In fact, you may have saved us all for the time being. Only so long, however. Spike, pull up the security footage of the day Derpy attacked me.”
Spike nodded and typed some stuff into the console. After he finished flying his fingers across the keyboard for several seconds, he pressed one large button, lowering a screen right in front of Princess Celestia’s face. “I thought you were going to reposition that, Twilight,” Celestia said from behind the screen.
“Sorry, Princess,” Twilight replied. She then turned back to the Rangers. “Anyway, this is the security footage of Derpy’s... end.” On the projector screen, Twilight held the Thunder Coin in her hoof and morphed in front of Derpy, who shielded her eyes from the light of Twilight morphing. The screen then proceeded to show Twilight battling Derpy, eventually killing her.
“That really happened?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I’m afraid so,” Twilight said, turning to Spike and indicating for him to raise the screen back up. “The worst part of it is that I was under some type of outside control during the entire... well, looking back, I can hardly call it a battle. It was just me tossing Derpy like a ragdoll. Still, the point is, there was something controlling me, and I can say with a 97.825% certainty that it was the Thunder Coin.”
“Well if it’s so dangerous,” Rainbow Dash said, flying up to Twilight, “then why did you use it again, today?”
“There’s an excellent question, Dash. I used it today because I wasn’t entirely sure about the first battle. Maybe it was just Derpy herself that had somehow controlled me the other day.” She then walked over to the console and placed the Thunder Coin down next to her. She then cast a spell on the console, causing several lights to begin surrounding the Thunder Coin. “But now I have undeniable proof that it was, indeed, the Thunder Coin itself that controlled me.”
“So then what’s the solution?” Fluttershy asked.
“For now, I can’t be called to battle. It’s far too dangerous. In fact, it’s only a matter of time before the Thunder Coin’s evil power can control me in my un-morphed state, according to my research.”
While the Rangers were having this conversation, Zecora was eavesdropping from the support beams above. “This is rather interesting,” she said to herself. “I should take this opportunity and do something.” She then pulled out some eerie glowing green dust, held it up to her face, and blew it, causing it to envelop her body and disappear.
“That’s not much of a solution,” Applejack said.
“I know,” Twilight replied, not looking up from the screen. “That’s why I need to stay in here and continue my research before it’s too late.” Just as she said this, an alarm went off on the console. “Ponyville is under attack!”
“We kind of guessed that,” Rarity said sarcastically.
“Can you tell us what we’re up against?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Spike typed some more stuff into the console. “Zecora,” he said. “She’s back and it seems she’s here for vengeance. She doesn’t have the hydra or any monster, though. Just some Putties.”
“You Rangers go,” Twilight said. “If things get too hairy, I’ll come join you.”
“But I thought you said-”
“I know what I said, Dash, but protecting Equestria it top priority above all else. Now go. Ponyville needs you.”
“Okay. Best of luck to you, Twilight.”
“Same to you, Rangers.” Twilight gave a nod, and Dash nodded back.
“Let’s go, Rangers,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Wait,” Twilight called. “Just because I can’t fight doesn’t mean I can’t teleport you directly to Ponyville.”
“Oh, right. I keep forgetting you can do that. Just don’t drop us from ten feet in the air like last time.”
“Yeah, sorry. I’m not exactly a master at magic yet. Anyway, get in position.” The Rangers stood in a line in front of Twilight and waited at attention. Twilight then began casting the teleportation spell. “Compensating for z-axis location... good luck in the battle, Rangers.” Twilight’s horn flashed brightly and in an instant, the other Rangers were gone. “Not out of breath... Huh, I am getting better.”
Back in Ponyville, Zecora was leading a dozen Putty Ponies through the streets, using her own tricks to cause explosions and destroy property. “This attack will be finished in no time,” she said. “But I’m still surprised the author still tries to let me rhyme.”
Just then, the Rangers arrived in Ponyville. The only problem was that they weren’t on the surface. They were in some kind of cellar full of strange wooden barrels. (That one’s for you, Pewdiepie.) “Well,” Rarity said, “I think Twilight compensated for altitude a bit too much.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Rainbow Dash said. “At least we didn’t fall from ten feet in the air, this time. Let’s just get out of here and get to the battle.”
Just as the Rangers got up, an earth pony with a mane and coat colored similarly to Pinkie, except a little darker, galloped in. “Hay!” she shouted, “who are you all? And what are you doing in my wine cellar?”
“Uh, we were just leaving,” Applejack said. “Come on, Rangers.” Applejack then galloped out of the room, followed by the others. The only pony left in the room was Berry Punch.
“Ah,” Berry said to herself, trotting over to one of the barrels and filling a glass with the liquid contents. “Sweet relief.”
After a few minutes, the Rangers finally got out of Berry Punch’s house and found themselves muzzle to muzzle with Zecora and her Putty Ponies. “Zecora!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “You’re not getting away, this time.”
“Ah, Red Ranger,” Zecora said, “I don’t recall meeting you before, but I see Rangers Pink and Black are back for more.”
“Wha’s she talkin’ ‘bout?” Applejack asked.
“Zecora ambushed and kidnapped Pinkie on her first attack with the Parasprites,” Rarity replied. “I’m the one who fought Zecora to save Pinkie.”
“Okay,” AJ said. “Sorry, I don’t read MLPR that often.”
“Enough chit-chat,” Rainbow Dash said, pulling out her Element of Harmony. “It’s about time this battle got started. IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME!” Upon Rainbow Dash’s command, the others pulled out and donned their Elements as well.
“HONESTY!”
“KINDNESS!”
“LAUGHTER!”
“GENEROSITY!”
“LOYALTY!”
The five Rangers each took on combat-ready stances. “Harmony Force, Ranger Blue!” Applejack shouted.
“From all of us together,” the Rangers shouted in unison, “we fight as one! We protect one another until the battle is done! PONY RANGERS, HARMONY FORCE!” After the Rangers shouted this last line, there was an explosion behind them as they all posed as not individual ponies, but as one team.
“You have improved on your preformance since we last met,” Zecora said. “I am shocked, you could have easily bet.”
“Stow it, Zecora,” Rarity said. “We’ve had enough of your rhymes. Time for you to be defeated!”
“You’ll have to get by my creations before you do that, Ranger Black. Putty Ponies, I command you to attack!” Upon Zecora’s command, the Putty Ponies charged at the Pony Rangers, who charged back.
Meanwhile, back at Canterlot, Twilight was working furiously trying to figure out how to counter the dark energy within the Thunder Coin. “Gah!” Twilight shouted in frustration. “There’s just no way this could be so powerful. It pales in comparison to the Elements of Harmony in all of my tests, but it’s produced such different results in combat. This just doesn’t make any sense.” She continued working for a few seconds before she was suddenly struck by a massive yet all too familiar headache. “No...” she said, holding either side of her head with her hooves and struggling. “Not... now...”
”It’s useless, Twilight Sparkle,” Derpy’s voice said from inside Twilight’s head. ”The power of Thunder will consume you.”
“You won’t win, Derpy,” Twilight said, thrashing her hooves around in her struggle. “My mission is to protect Equestria. You won’t stop me from that mission. You hear me? YOU WON’T STOP ME FROM PROTECTING HARMONY!” Upon saying this last sentence, Twilight collapsed to the ground. She didn’t get up, but she did put her hoof on the table and begin blindly looking around for the Thunder Coin, which she found in a matter of seconds. An evil laugh escaped her mouth as she pulled the Thunder Coin closer to her and off the table.
Back in Ponyville, the Rangers were having an easier time than usual with the Putty Ponies. “Your ‘creations’ seem a bit weak today,” Applejack said to Zecora after flipping a Putty over her shoulder. “What’s the matter? Low budget?”
“No, Ranger Blue,” Zecora said. “Though it does not concern you. I have another plan that I will put into action that will easily defeat Celestia’s faction.” Just as Zecora said this, the Dragonzord appeared suddenly and began rampaging through Ponyville. “That was not part of my plan. I mean, that was totally supposed to happen.”
“What the hay?” Rainbow Dash shouted after smashing the heads of two Putties together. “Is Twilight piloting that?”
“She did say it was only a matter of time before the Thunder Coin could control her in her un-morphed state,” Fluttershy said. “I guess time’s up, now. What are we going to do, Rainbow Dash?”
“Fluttershy, you and the other Rangers stay here and finish the battle with Zecora. I’ll take care of Twilight.”
“You’re not going to hurt her, are you?”
Rainbow Dash took a moment to pause (and buck a Putty Pony trying to sneak up on her) before responding. “I hope not.” Dash then pulled out her Element and used it to summon the Tyrannozord. “I’ll think of some kind of solution. Don’t worry.”
“Good luck, Dash,” Fluttershy said. Rainbow Dash gave a quick nod in reply and flew up into her zord.
“Okay,” Rainbow Dash said to the Tyrannozord when she landed in the cockpit, “one more battle.” Rainbow Dash then flipped on the comm system and tried to contact Twilight. “Twilight! Twilight, are you there?”
In response, the Dragonzord turned around and fired several rockets Dash’s way. Rainbow Dash was easily able to deflect these, but that wasn’t the response she was hoping for from Twilight. “Dash,” Twilight struggled to say over comm, “I can’t... control the Coin, anymore. You have to... destroy me.”
“It’s not going to come to that,” Rainbow Dash said. “But you have to be the one to fight your own battle. I can only do so much to help you.”
“There’s nothing you can do,” Twilight said, sounding like she was really straining. “It’s too late!” Jsut as Twilight shouted this, she unwillingly sent the Dragonzord charging straight at the Tyrannozord.
Back on the ground, however, the battle was only beginning. The four remaining Rangers had defeated Zecora’s Putty Ponies and were now about to face the zebra in charge. “Four against one?” Zecora asked. “Ha, I’m hardly done. I have magic beyond what you would believe. Would you like to see?” Just as Zecora said this, she leapt into the air and threw several small spheres at the Rangers. Each one hit the Rangers and caused small explosions, catching the Rangers off-guard.
“What was that?” Fluttershy asked.
“Bomb Spheres,” Zecora said, landing on the ground perfectly on all fours. “They are very usefull as you can see. Though they won’t be the height of my victory.” Zecora then waved her hoof and vanished in a puff of purple smoke.
“Where’d she go?” Applejack asked, looking around.
“Behind you, Ranger Blue,” Zecora said from behind Applejack. Before AJ could react, Zecora knocked her to the ground in one solid kick. Rarity was about to jump Zecora while she was distracted with AJ, but Zecora disappeared yet again.
“That’s going to get annoying fast,” Rarity said, looking behind her to try to catch Zecora before she could attack again. However, Zecora wasn’t there, this time. Rarity was about to question where Zecora was when the zebra came down from above Rarity and landed right on top of her.
“Zebras do not usually fly, but with my magic, I can always try.”
“Quite correct, Ranger Yellow,” Zecora said from behind Fluttershy, startling the timid pegasus. “And yet you can still seem so mellow.”
“I’ll show you ‘mellow’!” Fluttershy shouted as she tried to attack Zecora with a foreleg strike. Much to Fluttershy’s surprise, this attack made contact and knocked Zecora back a little. “Wow. I was sure she’d teleport again before I hit her.”
“A decent hit, but it only hurt a bit.” Zecora then waved her hoof again, spreading a bright yellow powder across the battlefield.
“What’s going on?” Fluttershy asked.
“I’m not sure,” Applejack replied. Just then, she felt something hit her. Something small and barely noticeable, but it was definently from the smoke. “Be careful, everypony! There’s something in the fog.” As Applejack said this, she began getting hit by more of those small things. This time, however, it felt like there were hundereds of them and they were attacking from all over, causing significant overall damage.
“Bullet Smoke,” Zecora said, “a personal favorite of mine. This battle will be over in no time.”
“I hope Rainbow Dash and Twilight are doing better than we are,” Applejack said, trying to sheild herself from the continuous attacks.
Applejack’s hopes weren’t exactly going too well. The Tyrannozord was getting thrashed by the Dragonzord and Rainbow Dash couldn’t do anything about it. “Twilight!” she shouted into the comm. “You have to stop!”
“I... can’t!” Twilight shouted, struggling to stop her zord.
In Twilight’s mind, she was standing un-morphed in front of Derpy in a dark room with low-lying fog all around the area. ”You’re fighting a battle you can’t win,” Derpy said to Twilight.
“You’re wrong, Derpy,” Twilight said. “Harmony will always win.”
”But you don’t weild the power of harmony, do you? You’re using the power of Thunder and are, therefore, under its control.”
“No. You will never control me.”
”Do you not notice what is going on outside of your mind? I have total control of your body and your powers.”
”Twilight!” an echoing voice shouted from what seemed to be a thousand miles away.
“Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked, looking around. “Is that you?”
”Twilight, you have to fight whatever’s controling you! Only you can fight your own battle!”
“She’s right,” Twilight said to herself. She then turned back to Derpy. “You don’t control me. You don’t have nearly as much power as I do.”
“What are you talking about?” Derpy asked angrily. “What power do you mean? Nothing is stronger than Thunder.”
“Nothing except for one thing.”
“Let me guess. Harmony? Magic? Friendship?”
“The latter. It’s a power that can overcome any and all obstacles that come my way. With my friends by my side, there’s nothing I can’t beat, and that includes you.”
“No, I will beat you!” Derpy then charged at Twilight at top speed. However, just before Derpy could reach Twilight, a tornado of Twilight’s magic surrounded her, knocking Derpy back. “This is impossible. There’s no way!”
As the tornado of magic died down, Twilight stood with the other five Rangers standing around her. “For lack of a better analogy, you’re just one small roadblock on the road of friendship, and they are the bulldozer I need to break you down.”
“No. No!” As Derpy was shouting, a large burst of light was emmited from Twilight and the others, enveloping the entire area and sending Derpy flying backwards into the dark void in the distance. After Derpy was gone, the area lit up with a white light and the next thing Twilight knew, she was back in the cockpit of the Dragonzord.
“I did it,” Twilight said to herself. “I’m free from the Thunder Coin’s control.”
“That’s great, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said over comm. “Now, could you please do me a favor and get the Dragonzord off of the Tyrannozord and power down the fire breath!”
It took Twilight a moment to realize that the Dragonzord was, indeed, standing on top of the Tyrannozord and about to deliver the final blow. “Oh, sorry Dash,” Twilight said as she powered down the fire breath and moved the Dragonzord off of the Tyrannozord.
As this was happening, Zecora noticed it and was furious. “No, my plan has failed,” she said. “Time for plan B. I summon my hydra to come down and assist me!”
Upon Zecora’s command, the hydra from the previous battle decended near Ponyville. “The hydra!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Twilight, we have to fight it together.” Just as Rainbow Dash said this, the hydra fired a blast of ice at the Tyrannozord, knocking it to the ground. “I can’t get my zord back up off the ground! She’s wrecked!”
“Oh no!” Fluttershy said, looking on from the ground. “Without the Tyrannozord, we can’t form the Megazord.”
“The Rangers cannot form their Megazord,” Zecora said, seeming to not believe that her own plan worked. “Equestria will soon be under the control of my lord!”
“Wait a second...” Twilight said to herself, thinking back to when she combined the Dragonzord with the Megazord. “If that combonation worked, who’s to say that this next one won’t?” She then opened her comm to the Rangers on the ground. “Pinkie Pie, do you think you can hold Zecora off without the help of the others?”
“Uh, probably,” Pinkie replied. “What do you have in mind?”
“Still not entirely sure. Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, get ready to pilot your zords. I’m sending them now.”
The three indicated Rangers were about to question what Twilight was planning, but before they could do so, their zords came stampeeding towards the battlefield. “I guess we mount up,” Rarity said to the other Rangers. The three then entered their zords and came up next to the Dragonzord.
“So what’s the plan, Twi?” Applejack asked.
“I think I have an idea for defeating this hydra,” Twilight replied. “I’m going to try to form a new Megazord.”
“A new Megazord?” Fluttershy replied. “Would it be dangerous?”
“Probably not, but you might want to hold onto something whlie I cast the spell.” Twilight took a deep breath and prepared the spell. “Dragon Battlezord formation spell, go!”
After Twilight cast the spell, the Mastodon, Triceratops, and Sabre-Tooth Tiger zords were lifted into the air alongside the Dragonzord. The Triceratops and Sabre-Tooth zords tucked in their legs and formed legs on the Dragonzord similar to what usually happened when they combined with the Tyrannozord. The Mastodon did a similar action, it’s head and body separating and forming the chestplate and arms for the Dragonzord. The Dragonzord’s tail extended and detatched, flying into the hand formed by the Mastodon and becoming a spear-like weapon. “Dragon Battlezord, ready!” the Rangers shouted in unison.
“Wow,” Twilight said to herself. “I can’t believe that actually worked.”
“Hey, Twilight,” Applejack said, “is there anything different that we’re supposed to do with the Dragon Battlezord as opposed to the normal Megazord?”
“No,” Twilight replied. “The only differences are that Dash and Pinkie aren’t here and I’m the leader of this combonation. Also, slightly different weapon.”
“Well that doesn’t sound too hard,” Rarity said. “But the only question is: how much more easily can we take this hydra down?”
“Actually, the Dragon Battlezord has a similar level of power as the Megazord, so just as easily as normal. Now let’s go!”
[Author’s interjection: Admitedly, I’ve only watched a couple episodes of MMPR and not a single one with the Dragonzord in fighting mode. You’ll have to forgive me if I depict this combat scene incorrectly.]
All four Rangers set their controls to full throtle towards the hydra. The Battlezord moved forward, its spear pointed straight towards the monster. The hydra fired an ice blast towards the Battlezord, but Rarity blocked it using the Zord’s left hand with a quick flick of her joystick. [Shut up. I want to see no comments on that line.] With another swift movement, she swung the Zord’s weapon hand towards the hydra. The spear made contact and sent the hydra flying. “Take that, you ruffian!” Rarity shouted.
“Good hit, Rarity,” Twilight commented. “Applejack, Fluttershy, this next shot belongs to.”
“I already know what you mean, Twi,” Applejack said. “Get ready, Fluttershy.” Fluttershy gave a quick nod, acknowledging that she knew what Applejack meant. The two sent their zords into full throtle, running at the downed hydra at maximum speed. Just before they got to the hydra, Fluttershy used the Sabre-Tooth Tiger zord to leap into the air, allowing Applejack to use the Triceratops zord to give the hyrda one solid kick, knocking it back further.
“Good hit you two,” Twilight said. “Now it’s time to finish this monster once and for all.” Twilight began charging up magic energy for the final blow. “Now here’s something Derpy never would have been able to do. LIGHTNING SPEAR, CHARGE!” As Twilight said this, the Battlezord raised its spear to the sky and was struck by a bolt of lightning, charging the spear and the entire zord with energy. Twilight exhaled slowly before continuing the spell. “Time for some real magic.” She then pounded a large button on the console before her, causing the Battlezord to lower its spear, still crackling with electricity, and point it directly towards the hydra. “FINAL STRIKE!” she shouted, unleashing a massive amount of magic directly into the Battlezord. Upon doing so, the Battlezord charged directly at the hydra and, in one quick slash, obliterated the hydra in a massive sweet-mother-of-glory explosion. The other three Rangers in the cockpit cheered and patted Twilight on the shoulder, congratulating her. “Well that wasn’t so bad,” Twilight said to herself amid the celebration.
“This is very bad, indeed,” Zecora said, observing her monster’s demise. “All of Nightmare’s plans, this will greatly impede. But I will be in little danger. After all, I did defeat the Red Ranger.”
“Oh, you’re still in danger,” Pinkie said from behind Zecora. “What? Did you forget I was here.”
“No, I didn’t, Ranger Pink. However, it is time to leave, I think.” Zecora waved her hoof and spread a green smoke around her. Pinkie tried to give chase, but Zecora was already gone.
Later, all the Rangers were gathered back in Canterlot. “How long is it going to take to fix the Tyrannozord?” Rainbow Dash asked Twilight.
“Without interruption, just a couple of hours at best,” Twilight replied. “She’ll be back up and running with plenty of time before Nightmare’s next attack.”
“Your magic is certainly improving, my student,” Celestia said. “And not only that, but you discovered the full might of true friendship and used it to break the grip the Thunder Coin had on you. This is an important power to master, indeed.”
“Yes it is,” Twilight replied. “And using that power, the six of us will defeat Nightmare Moon and save Equestria together.”
“You’re right, Twi,” Rainbow Dash said. “If there was anything important to learn today, it’s that we aren’t only a team, but we’re friends, and while a team my be powerful, friends are unbeatable.”
The six Rangers hugged while Spike sat on the other side of the room, looking over with a sad look on his face. “Why aren’t I ever included in group hugs?” he asked himself.
“That’s because you never ask,” Fluttershy said, flying over and hugging Spike. She was followed by the other five, who did the same thing. For the first time, all seven of them felt a sense of true friendship within each other’s embrace.
Meanwhile, on the moon base, there was a sense of anything but friendship in the air. “How could you let them slip through your hooves like that?” Nightmare scolded Zecora. “You even had the Tyrannozord completely out of commision!”
“I apologize, my lord, but the Green Ranger recovered her power,” Zecora said, trying to defend herself. “I didn’t expect that to happen, especially at that particular hour.”
“Just shut up, Zecora,” Nightmare said, storming out of the room. “All of your rhymes are giving me a headache, and I’m sure the same can be said about agent_cupcakes.”
“But-” Zecora tried to say. However, her mouth was kept shut by some strange outside power. She simply hung her head and walked out of the room, but not before somehow banging her head against the door frame... repeatedly. “How- why- STOP DOING THAT, AUTHOR!” With a painful headache, the poor zebra finally managed to leave the room.
On the moon base, Gilda and Trixie were talking quietly to each other when Nightmare walked up and interrupted their conversation. “What are you two talking about over here?” Ngihtmare asked.
“Actually, my lord,” Trixie said, turning around, “we’ve been working together to devise a fool-proof plan for defeating the Pony Rangers.”
“Oh? I’m officially listening, now.”
“Let me tell you our plan,” Gilda said, walking over next to Trixie. “What we need to do to combat the Rangers is to divide and conquer. That means we send down two seperate attacks.”
“Gilda goes to Ponyville with some Putty Ponies,” Trixie explained, “while I launch an attack on Canterlot. It’s such a simple technique, I’m amazed even Zecora didn’t think of it.”
“Actually, this is the best plan I’ve heard yet!” Nightmare exclaimed. “You have my full green light for it. Zecora, make two dozens of Putty Ponies. One dozen for each of their attacks.”
“Very well, Nightmare Moon,” Zecora replied from the other side of the room. [How did I do that?] “They will be finished very soon.” Zecora then walked out of the room to her lab where she began molding the Putty Ponies.
“Now, tell me something, you two,” Nightmare said, turning back to Gilda and Trixie. “What are your respective alterior motives?”
“What?” Trixie asked, taken aback. “What could possibly give you even the slightest idea that we might-”
“Trixie wants to go horn-to-horn with the new Green Ranger and I want to destroy the Red Ranger,” Gilda said quickly.
“Really, Gilda?” Trixie asked angrily.
“No, no,” Nightmare said, raising a hoof to silence Trixie. “It’s good you two have your own motives. That just gives you a stronger drive to destroy the Rangers and, therefore, Celestia.”
“Well, in that case,” Trixie said, “there’s 100% truth behind what Gilda said.”
“Excellent,” Nightmare said, turning and walking off. “This will work out better than any of our previous plans.”
Meanwhile, Rarity was in the computer room at Canterlot Castle, trotting up to Twilight, who was distracted by her console. “Twilight,” Rarity called. “You wanted to see me?”
“Actually, yes,” Twilight said, not looking up from her console. “I wanted to work with you on something.”
“Work with me?” Rarity asked, rather shocked. “What could I possibly do to help you? You surpass me in just about every feild from intelegence to raw magical abilities.”
“Yes, but there’s one field in which you’re leaps and bounds ahead of me in.” Twilight levitated two folders each full of paper off the nearby desk and gave them to Rarity. “That’s detail and design. Both of those folders contain sets of important blueprints that will help us in future battles. They probably won’t help us in this chapter, however, so there’s no need to rush.”
Rarity levitated the two folders in front of her using her own magic and glanced through them. “Twilight, one of these folders contain blueprints for weapons, but the other is just a bunch of dress designs.”
“Yeah, but trust me, the dresses will be very important soon. Also, they’re kind of top priority at this point, so get started.” Twilight began walking away when she suddenly turned back around. “Oh, and one more thing. I’ve arranged for you to stay here in Canterlot while we’re working on these designs.”
“Really?” Rarity asked, entirely unable to contain her excitement. “You’ve arranged for me to stay here in Canterlot, the most royal city in all of Equestria?”
“Well, yes,” Twilight replied. “That way, we can keep in touch easier.”
“Thank you so much, Twilight!” Rarity exclaimed, rushing up and hugging Twilight. “You have no idea what this means to me!”
“Uh, yeah. Just get back to me when you’ve finalized some designs and I’ll get started on my half of the work then. But for now, can you let me go? I kind of have some other work I need to get done.”
“Oh, right, sorry.” Rarity then released Twilight from her death grip and began trotting out of the computer room. “Don’t worry, I’ll have these done faster than you can even put a quill to paper.” With the folders in her saddlebag, Rarity left the room and headed down further towards the street level where her suite that Twilight provided was located.
Meanwhile, the other four Rangers were still in Ponyville, going about their usual business. Applejack doing some apple bucking, Fluttershy tending to an injured mouse, Rainbow Dash getting things together for an afternoon thunderstorm, and Pinkie Pie hopping through the market, picking up some things for the Cakes. However, as the Rangers were doing all of these things, Gilda was getting ready to put her part of her plan into action. She teleported to the edge of the Everfree Forest with a dozen Putty Ponies behind her and began waiting for the right moment to strike. “Waiting for you signal, Trixie,” she said into her comunicator.
“What?” Trixie asked from the other line. “I was sitting around waiting for your signal.”
“Really? Well in that case, consider this the signal. Begin your attack and I’ll begin mine.” Gilda switched off her wrist comunicator and motioned for the Putties to follow her into the down, where she began launching her razor feathers in several directions, causing explosions, damaging buildings, and causing panicked ponies to begin scattering. Gilda’s attack began in the market area, so Pinkie was the first Ranger on the scene. She ducked behind some barrels, pulled out her Element, and turned on the comm.
“Rangers,” she said into the comm, “Gilda’s attacking Ponyville. There are Putties swarming the market area.”
“On my way,” Rainbow Dash replied.
“I’m comin’,” Applejack said.
“Be right there,” Fluttershy said.
“Bit of a problem, actually,” Rarity said.
“Problem?” Pinkie asked. “What do you mean, Rarity?”
“Trixie’s here in Canterlot with about a dozen Putties,” Rarity replied. “Twilight and I won’t be able to join you four.”
“That’s all right, Rarity,” Rainbow Dash said. “We can manage without you for now.”
“One more problem, though,” Fluttershy said. “What are we going to do when it’s time to fight mega Gilda and Trixie?”
“I can handle that,” Twilight said. “Good luck to you four. Rarity, I’m headed down to where you are right now.”
Pinkie (who, in case you forgot, was the Ranger who began the conversation) switched off her comm and leapt out from behind the barrel to face Gilda and her Putties. “Hay, Gilda!” Pinkie called. “Looking for me?”
“No,” Gilda said. “I’m actually looking for your Red Ranger, Rainbow Dash. My Putty Ponies will deal with you.” Gilda flicked her wrist to command her Putties to charge. Pinkie charged back and engaged the Putties, not even bothering to morph for the battle.
Meanwhile at Canterlot, Trixie was leading her own group of Putty Ponies through the royal streets. Rarity quickly left the suite she was staying in and galloped towards where the Putties were, shortly being joined by Twilight. “So what are we supposed to do without the others?” Rarity asked.
“We should be able to easily beat Trixie and a couple of Putties,” Twilight replied. “There’s absolutely no need to worry.”
“Oh, there’s plenty need to worry,” Trixie said as the two Rangers galloped onto the scene. “It’s just two of you against the Great and Powerful Trixie. You have no hope of victory. Besides, I’m only here for one of you.” Trixie indicated Twilight with her hoof. “You and I have some unfinished business. Putties, keep the Black Ranger busy.” Upon command, the Putty Ponies began charging towards Rarity.
“Ready, Rarity?” Twilight asked, summoning the Thunder Coin.
“Ready,” Rarity replied, summoning her Element of Harmony.
“IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME!” Twilight shouted, placing the Thunder Coin in her hoof. “THUNDER!”
“GENEROSITY!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Green!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Black!”
Both Twilight and Rarity began charging right towards Trixie, but the Putties stopped Rarity, leaving Twilight to face Trixie alone.
Back in Ponyville, Pinkie was still doing her best to hold off the Putty Ponies until the other Rangers showed up. “What’s the matter, Pink Ranger?” Gilda asked. “Getting tired?”
“No,” Pinkie replied. “Just trying to decide whether or not I should warn you about that lightning cloud that Rainbow Dash is about to buck over your head.”
Gilda looked up to find that while what Pinkie said was true, she didn’t even have a second to react before Rainbow Dash delivered a “shocking” message. “Careful, Gilda,” Rainbow Dash said, flying over to join Pinkie, “there’s a thunderstorm scheduled for this afternoon. You could get hit by lightning.”
Gilda shook off the attack, her burnt fur and feathers somehow returning to normal. As she was doing this, Applejack and Fluttershy galloped in next to Pinkie and Dash. “I was really wondering when you Rangers would get here,” Gilda said. “Especially you, Red Ranger. You and I have some unfinished business, and Derpy isn’t here to bail you out this time.”
“I don’t need Derpy’s help to defeat you,” Rainbow Dash said, pulling out her Element of Harmony. “IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME!”
“HONESTY!”
“KINDNESS!”
“LAUGHTER!”
“LOYALTY!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Blue!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Yellow!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Pink!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Red!”
“From all of us together, we fight as one! We protect one another until the battle is done! PONY RANGERS, HARMONY FORCE!”
“If I may give my own input real quick,” Gilda said after the Rangers were done with their introduction. “I think you’re down two Rangers too many to use the word ‘together’.”
“Yeah, well...” Rainbow Dash said, realizing that Gilda was right on this one. “The point remains the same!”
“I hardly think so, but who am I to question how the mind of a pony works? Putties, attack!” Upon command, the Putties, who took almost no damage from their earlier battle with Pinkie, charged straight for the Rangers. AJ, Fluttershy, and Pinkie went after the Putties, but Rainbow Dash flew over the battle and charged stright towards Gilda to finish their previous battle.
Back in Canterlot, Twilight and Trixie were facing off in the battle Trixie’s been looking for for the longest time. “The first time we battled, Green Ranger,” Trixie said, “you were piloting a machine. At long last, however, we battle hoof-to-hoof. Horn-to-horn.”
“I’m starting to get the feeling that you really like to hear yourself talk,” Twilight said. “News flash: nopony else does.”
“You dare insult the Great and Powerful Trixie? Prepare to feel pain beyond your wildest nightmares!” Trixie fired a blast of magic at Twilight, but Twilight used her own magic to form a shield, protecting her from Trixie’s attack. Twilight then went on the offensive and teleported behind Trixie to buck her to the ground. Trixie was entirely unable to defend herself from this attack and took the full force, getting flung about ten feet back. Though she couldn’t defend herself, she was able to recover quickly and fire a bolt of magic at Twilight. Twilight tried to defend herself with her hooves, but the attack was too powerful and Twilight was knocked to the ground.
“Twilight!” Rarity shouted from the other end of the street. She tried to go help her friend, but there were too many Putty Ponies for her to handle fast enough. “I’ve had just about enough of you Putty Ponies!” Rarity then used her magic to take about three of the Putties by the hooves and flung them into three other Putties. She then flipped right over the back of one Putty and bucked another to the ground. After that, she flipped the Putty she flipped over right into the hard concrete below. She then leapt into the air, did a rather unnescisary flip, and slammed the faces of two Putties into the ground. She did a quick dive towards the last two and split-kicked them both to the ground. She then got back up on all fours, took a second to brush some dust off of her armor, and then started galloping towards where Twilight and Trixie were still fighting. “I’m coming, Twilight!”
Back in Ponyville, Rainbow Dash and Gilda were still fighting hoof-to-claw while the other Rangers were busy fighting the Putties. “Hey, Gilda,” Rainbow Dash said.
“What?” Gilda asked.
“Watch for flying hooves.” After saying this, Dash made an attempt to punch Gilda in the beak. However, Gilda caught the attack with her claw and used Rainbow Dash’s momentum to flip her to the ground. “I should have seen that coming.” Rainbow Dash quickly recovered and flew up into the air. “Now try to keep up.”
“Do you even know who you’re talking to?” Gilda asked, quickly giving chase. Rainbow Dash noticed that Gilda was chasing her, but didn’t expect the griffon to be able to fly as fast as she did. Fortunately, Dash wasn’t flying at full speed, so she accelerated and flew into a tightly-packed cluster of rain clouds. Gilda flew into the clouds as well, but she wasn’t as good of a flyer in rain, wind, or lightning as Rainbow Dash was. She certainly wasn’t good at flying through all three at the same time, either. “Where are you, Red Ranger?” Gilda called. In response, Rainbow Dash bucked a piece of cloud right into Gilda’s face, causing her to start falling. The downed griffon recovered before she hit the ground, however, but was still caught off-guard when Rainbow Dash came up behind her and bucked her the rest of the way to the ground. Gilda slammed facefirst into the ground below, but quickly recovered and looked up angrily at Rainbow Dash.
“Sorry, Gilda,” Rainbow Dash said teasingly and smiling under her helmet. “Didn’t see you there.” Gilda was infuriated.
Back in Canterlot, Trixie was actually proving to be more than a match for Twilight, even in her morphed state. “You know what your first mistake was, Green Ranger?” Trixie asked.
“I’m not going to ask,” Twilight said. “You know why? I’m afraid I know exactly what the answer your looking for is.”
“You first mistake was challenging the Great and Powerful Trixie!”
“Yeah, I was afraid that would be the answer,” Twilight said, rolling her eyes. After a second, she realized that Trixie couldn’t see her roll her eyes. “Sorry, but since you can’t see my face, I assume it’s only fair to tell you that I was rolling my eyes when I said that.”
That was not the best thing Twilight could have said because this did nothing but anger Trixie further. “I’ll teach you what happens when you insult the Great and Powerful Trixie!” Trixie then used her magic to levitate Twilight and slam her into the wall of a building. Twilight fell from wher Trixie left her in the wall about fifteen feet to hitting her face on the concrete floor. “Nopony can save you now, Green Ranger.”
“I can!” Rarity called charging horn-first at Trixie, who was caught entirely off guard and sent flying. “Are you all right, Twilight?”
“I’m fine,” Twilight replied as Rarity helped her up. “Thanks.”
“No problem, Twilight, dear.”
“Oh, there’s a pretty significant problem,” Trixie said. “You ruined my duel with the Green Ranger. I was about to defeat her in a horn-to-horn battle and you interfered! Now it’s time for me to take my revenge.” Trixie pulled out her communicator and activated it. “Gilda, it’s time for plan B. I’m casting the spell now.”
“All right,” Gilda replied. “Not everything’s going so well on my end, either.”
Trixie put away her communicator and began charging her horn. “Mega spell, activate!” When Trixie cast the spell, her horn glowed as bright as the sun for a moment and sent two large balls of energy into the air. One headed towards Ponyville, but the other just flew straight up into the air and came right back down, impacting on Trixie. After the ball of energy hit Trixie, she grew to about thirty stories tall. Off in the distance, Twilight and Rarity saw the same thing happen go Gilda.
“Oh no!” Rarity said. “Two mega foes? Twilight, what are we going to do?”
“Take the Mastodon zord and meet up with the others in Ponyville. I’ll handle Trixie.”
“But how are you going to do that? You only have one zord.”
“Don’t worry. My magic’s a little better than you give me credit for. Now go. I’m sending your’s and everypony else’s zords now.”
After Twilight said this, the zords began stampeding towards Ponyville. Rarity jumped into her zord. When the zords got to Ponyville, the other Rangers jumped into their own zords and wasted no time forming the Megazord. Twilight then summoned the Dragonzord, jumped into it, and faced Trixie. “How do you expect to defeat me with one little zord?” Trixie asked.
“Simple,” Twilight replied. “With a little magic. Dragon Battlezord: Single Pilot Mode!” Twilight then cast a spell that almost knocked her out of her seat. However, she was able to maintain her stability and continue the spell. Outside, the Dragonzord began glowing brightly with a green light that had a light purple hue to it. “Summon light zords!” After Twilight said this, three huge balls of green light light came out of the Dragonzord and flew back around straight into the zord. The whole thing instantly exploded in a flash of green light, eventually dying down to reveal the Dragon Battlezord in it’s entirety. “Wow...” Twilight said. At first she in disbelief, but then she started to laugh a little. “I can’t believe that actually worked!”
“So you have your own Megazord,” Trixie said, scoffing. “I’ll still tear you apart zord by zord.”
“You can try,” Twilight replied, now smiling. The two then began charging at each other.
Meanwhile, back in Ponyville, the other five Rangers faced off against Gilda in the Megazord. “Are you sure Twilight can handle Trixie on her own?” Applejack asked Rarity.
“Not entirely,” Rarity replied. “But we have to trust that she can handle it and take care of the situation we have in front of us now.”
“Fine by me,” Rainbow Dash said, obviously ready for battle.
“Hey, Rangers!” Gilda called. “Did you fall asleep over there or what?”
“No,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Just waiting for you to make the first move.”
“Gladly.” Gilda then charged straight for the Megazord, talons out in full striking position. However, the Rangers swung their Power Sword to counter this attack, hitting Gilda square in the beak. However, this didn’t stop Gilda’s attack and her claws dug right into the hull of the Megazord.
“Hey!” Pinkie shouted. “Why does the Pterodactyl zord have to take all of the hits?”
“Because it’s the most well built,” Rainbow Dash replid. “At least that’s my guess.”
“It doesn’t matter how well built any of your zords are,” Gilda said, getting up. “I’ll still tear you all apart. Zord by zord, feather by feather, horn by, uh... you know what I mean. I’m going to defeat you.”
“You can try,” Rainbow Dash said. The Megazord then aimed its sword at Gilda, ready to strike again.
Back at Canterlot, (well, the clearing at the base of the mountain Canterlot rested upon) Trixie and Twilight were still facing off. Twilight was trying to strike Trixie with her spear, but Trixie teleported before getting hit each time. “Hey Trixie,” Twilight called, “why don’t you hold still for a moment so we can actually battle?”
“Oh come now, Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie said, teleporting out of Twilight’s view and reappearing behind the Battlezord. “What fun is there in battle if your opponent stands around and waits to get hit?” Twilight wasted no time and swung her spear around to hit Trixie while she was talking. This attack hit Trixie right in the horn, apparently disabling her magic abilities for a short time.
“Not so ‘Great and Powerful’ now, are you?” Twilight asked, pointing her spear in Trixie’s face.
“You won by a cheap shot, Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie said. “For now, I admit an honorable defeat. However, this was not an honorable victory for you. We will duel again, and it will be a legitimate, one-on-one duel.”
“You really think I’m going to just let you trot away from here with your head held high? LIGHTNING SPEAR, CHARGE!”
“Two things, Twilight Sparkle. First, what’s the difference between killing me and killing Derpy?”
This actually struck Twilight pretty hard for a moment. She still wasn’t quite over what had happened with Derpy, but she quickly shook it off. “There’s a big difference. You’re pure evil, but Derpy had a spark of goodness in her that Nightmare Moon tried to overwrite. That spark is free, now, but you never had one in the first place.” Twilight then lowered the charged spear and aimed it at Trixie. “Now, it’s time for your defeat! LIGHTNING FURY!” Twilight then made the Battlezord leap at Trixie and slashed her with the spear.
“Gah!” Trixie shouted as Twilight hit her. She was crackling with electricity and about to explode, but a small evil chuckle came out before then. “That brings me to the other thing. Nightmare has developed a ressurection spell, so destroying me now will do you no good. Nightmare has something big planned, and she needs all four of us for it. Equestria will be destroyed, but I’ll make sure you’re spared so that we may have our duel.” Trixie laughed loudly and evilly as she fell to the ground and exploded in a glorious wall of fire.
“There’s no way,” Twilight said to herself after Trixie was destroyed. “A ressurection spell is impossible. I have to warn Princess Celestia and the others.”
Back in Ponyville, the battle between Gilda and the Megazord continued. Gilda was hacking and slashing at the Megazord, but the Rangers were able to block enough of the attacks to avoid major damage. However, after a while, Gilda suddenly stopped attacking. “Trixie’s been destroyed,” she said, looking towards the clearing where Trixie’s destruction took place. “Her side of the plan has failed, but I can still continue my part.” She turned around, but only to find the Power Sword pointed right in her face.
“I beg to differ, Gilda,” Rainbow Dash said. The Megazord then raised its sword and brought it down upon Gilda, knocking her several football fields away. “You’re finished, old friend.”
“You really think I am finished, don’t you?” Gilda asked, getting up and dusting herself off. “Allow me to let you in on a little secret. Even if you destroy me now, I’ll just come back in a matter of days for Nightmare’s master plan using her ressurection spell.”
“Ressurection spell?” Rarity asked. “I’m not one for studying magic, but even I know that that’s magic beyond even Twilight’s level.”
“Well Nightmare is a power beyond even Celestia’s level. So go ahead, destroy me. If anything, it will probably make me stronger.”
“Make her stronger?” Fluttershy asked. “Rainbow Dash, can we really take that chance? I mean, Gilda’s completely weakened, so there’s no real need to destroy her.” Rainbow Dash just looked down for a little while in silence before responding. “Rainbow Dash?”
“Gilda will easily recover her power if we let her hang around in her mega state,” Rainbow Dash finally replied. “Besides, I want Gilda to send Nightmare a message.” She then moved her controls to make the Megazord aim her sword at Gilda. “Tell Nightmare that no matter what she throws at us, no matter what she threatens us with, we’ll not only be ready for anything and everything, but we’ll be anxiously awaiting her next move.”
“Hold on a second,” Gilda said, pulling out a pen and paper. “...awaiting... her... next... move...” she said out loud while writing Dash’s message down. “Okay. Now, go ahead. Deliver the finishing blow. It will make no difference, anyway. The days of both you and the rest of Equestria are numbered.”
“Well if that’s the case, we have something in common. SPECTRUM SLASH, CHARGE!” The Megazord raised its sword to the air and let it be struck by five bolts of lightning of the colors red, blue, yellow, pink, and white. After each bolt struck several times, the sword began glowing with a rainbow light. “ELEMENTS OF HARMONY UNITE AS ONE! FINAL STRIKE!” All five of the Rangers focused the power of their Elements of Harmony into the sword as it was brought down upon Gilda. In one swift slash that left a rainbow colored trail, Gilda was knocked several full football stadiums (parking lots, concession stands, and all seats from those next to the field to the nosebleed section included) backwards.
“You may have destroyed me for now,” Gilda said, hardly able to stand and crackling with electricity. “However, you won’t stop Nightmare Moon’s master plan. EQUESTRIA. WILL. FALL!” As Gilda said this, she fell slowly and erupted in a firey explosion.
“We did it!” Rarity shouted. She and the other Rangers celebrated, but Rainbow Dash sat rather still, thinking about what Gilda said about Nightmare’s “master plan”.
“Are you all right Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked.
“Yeah,” Dash replied. “I’m fine. We should get back to Canterlot and tell Twilight about what Gilda said.”
“Good idea,” Pinkie replied. “Then after that, I’m throwing a party!”
“Another party?” Rarity asked. “Don’t you think we’ve had enough parties in the past week?”
Pinkie quickly rushed up into Rarity’s face and glared at her. “How dare you speak such unholy words, woman.” She then slowly backed away, not breaking her gaze on Rarity.
“Now that, my friend, is something you never say in Pinkie’s presence,” Rainbow Dash said with a little chuckle.
“Yeah...” Rarity said. “Never enough parties. I just forgot for a moment, that’s all. Let’s get back to Canterlot, shall we?”
Back on the moon base, Nightmare ressurected Gilda and Trixie in a blinding flash of light. The two previously fallen minions colapsed onto the ground and took a huge gasp of air. “You’re welcome,” Nightmare said, turning to walk away. She was breathing heavily and massaging her horn from the difficulty of not only casting the ressurection spell, but ressurecting two minions simultaniously.
“Are you all right, my lord?” Trixie asked, getting up quickly and bowing.
“I’ll be fine,” Nightmare replied. “Just a... difficult spell, that’s all. A little rest and I’ll be all right.”
“If that’s what you say, my lord,” Gilda replied, bowing. “Oh, also, the Rangers know of the master plan.”
“What?” Nightmare asked, quickly turning around. “What do you mean?”
“It was all Trixie’s fault.”
“Are you crazy?” Trixie asked. “It was totally you who squaked.”
“It was both of you,” Zecora said from the other end of the room, not even looking up from her brew. [I did that again. Why couldn’t I have done this in the last chapter?] “I was watching you two. Both of you had spilled the beans, but neither said when or revealed the means.”
“Even if they were simply hinted at it,” Nightmare said, “it still puts the master plan in jeopardy. You two will pay dearly for this... as soon as I recover from the ressurection spell.” Nightmare then walked slowly out of the room, still rubbing her horn with her hoof.
Back in Canterlot, Dash and the other Rangers were galloping at top speed into the computer room to warn Twilight of what Gilda had told them. “Twilight!” Rainbow Dash called when she finally got into the computer room.
“Rangers!” Twilight called back, turning around. “I’m so glad you’re here. I need to warn you about something.”
“We were here for the exact same reason,” Applejack replied. “What’d you wanna warn us about?”
“Ngihtmare Moon has a ressurection spell,” Twilight replied. “She’s using it to revive her minions. Gilda, Trixie, Manticore, and even... actually, we never destroyed Zecora. But still, the minions we’ve destroyed will only be back stronger than ever.”
“Gilda told us the exact same thing,” Rainbow Dash said. “As well, she mentioned something about a ‘master plan’ Nightmare has. We didn’t get much information on that, but I’m sure it has something to do with the ressurection spell.”
“Trixie revealed the same thing, as well.” Twilight turned back around to her console and typed some stuff in. “I just can’t understand how Nightmare’s magic could be that powerful. It’s stronger than even Princess Celestia.”
“Perhaps it is magic beyond me,” Celestia said from her time warp in the front of the room. “But you Rangers musn’t forget that the Elements of Harmony have power far beyond even Nightmare when in the right hooves. From the beginning, I’ve trusted that the right hooves are your’s, but you six must believe the same thing if you wish to be victorious.”
“But what are we supposed to do about Nightmare’s master plan?” Fluttershy asked.
“I have a couple of ideas as to what that master plan is, but you must trust that I have every senario covered to a certain extent, despite the fact that the success of every plan is dependant on the actions of you Rangers.”
“Well then,” Rainbow Dash said, “you can count on us, Princess.”
“Good. Twilight, send them back to Ponyville for now.”
“Yes, Princess,” Twilight replied. “Rarity, however, needs to stay here in Canterlot so she can finish helping me with our own plans.”
“You two didn’t start a new shipping thread, did you?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“A shipping thread?” Rarity asked, offended. “Why would you think we started a shipping thread? We’re just working on a secret project that nopony can know about, that’s all.”
“All right,” Rainbow Dash said, raising her hooves into the air. “No need to get angry.”
“Anyway...” Twilight said, pretending that last part of the conversation didn’t happen, “see you Rangers soon.” Twilight then teleported the Rangers back to Ponyville, leaving Rarity there in the room. “Can you believe they thought we were starting a shipping thread?”
“I know,” Rarity replied. “Anyway, the designs are almost done and I’ll have them up to you by the end of the day today.”
“Good. I’ll get the other part of the plan going and we’ll meet back here this evening.” Rarity gave a nod and the two shook hooves. They then walked away in sperate directions. Twilight went back to her console and Rarity left the room.
“So,” Spike said, scooting over to where Twilight was sitting, “what is this plan you two have?”
“Sorry, Spike,” Twilight said, not even looking up from her work. “It’s top secret. And no, for the last time, it is NOT A SHIPPING THREAD!”
“I wasn’t going to ask if it was a shipping thread. I was going to ask what a shipping thread was.” Twilight just groaned loudly, slammed her face on her console, and handed Spike a piece of paper with the URL for 4chan on it.
“Just go to this website and click on /mlp/. You should find plenty of shipping threads, there.”
“Thanks, Twi.” Spike then took the paper, went to 4chan, clicked where Twilight indicated, and instantly fell out of his seat from how scary and horrible most of the threads were.
“I guess I could have warned you about the wrong shipping threads,” Twilight said, going back to her work. “Sorry.”
(This is a crossover chapter between “My Little Pony Rangers” written by agent_cupcakes and “Pony Rangers Season 1: Pony Rangers” by xanderman1201. If you haven’t read either or both stories, you may encounter confusion and you will, for a fact, encounter spoilers. If you have read either or both stories, spoilers can and will still happen. I just thought it was fair to warn you beforehoof. Anyway, enjoy this story. The actual progression of this chapter is mostly thanks to xanderman1201. agent_cupcakes just followed along, always happy to be the one who adapts. -Foreword by agent_cupcakes. Offline proofreading by agent_cupcakes. Final proofreading by xanderman1201.)
Two ponies began walking towards each other in a dark, void-like room. There was not a single thing to stain the blackness of the void except a single light in the center of the room where the two ponies were walking towards. One of the ponies was a young pegasus colt. He had a green coat and a matching green mane with a gold stripe down the center. His eyes were also gold, and his cutie mark was a taco. The other was a unicorn, who also had a green coat. His medium long blonde mane kept falling in front of his blue eyes as he looked around. He had a tower of blocks for a cutie-mark.
“I have heard many things about you,” the colt said to the unicorn. “I’ve heard that you are quite the writer... Xanderman1201.”
“I swear, none of what you’ve heard is true except for that last part,” the unicorn quickly replied. “I mean, I’ve never even been to a brony convention before. How could I have possibly been the one that threw the pie at Lauren’s face?”
The colt just stared skeptically. “Okay... Anyway, I’m agent_cupcakes. No, you don’t capitalize either word, yes, the underscore is necessary, and no, you can’t replace the underscore with a normal space.”
“So your name is agent underscore cupcakes? That has got to be the weirdest middle name i’ve ever heard.”
“Yeah, I have no idea what Jose was thinking when he made me. Anyway, you’re probably wondering where we are.”
“No, not really. I’m much more interested in getting to the reason why we’re here.”
“Ah, but knowing where we are is the answer to why we’re here. We’re here on one plot of land on one world of one universe in one dimension of the Creation Plane of Existence, where any living being can create what his or her imagination can conjure with little to no consequences to the rest of the Omniverse, which, in case you don’t know, is the name of the space in which the collection of every plane of existence... exists. As far as what we’re doing here, we’re going to work together to create a new chapter of our two fanfics. A ‘crossover’ chapter, I believe it’s called.” agent_cupcakes then waved his hoof and a white cloud appeared. “Look into this cloud. What do you see?”
The unicorn stared intently at the cloud, narrowing his eyes as if attempting to glare it into some form of submission. After several minutes he finally spoke. “Pomegranates.” he said in an extremely serious tone, with an even more serious face. “I see Pomegranates, a Super Sentai team, and Pinkie Pie in a black Dress that makes her look incredibly evil.” He then paused for a moment, looking contemplative, before adding, “Also, buzzsaws that are on fire.”
The colt just stared at him with an expression of confused horror that’s similar to the look on anyone’s face when they first die playing Slender: The Eight Pages. “Ooookay...” the colt replied. “Tell you what, when we finish here, psychiatric help for you is on me. This is actually a portal to another plot of land somewhere else in the Creation Plane of Existence where I create my story. You may have stared into the Time Vortex for a moment there, now that I think about it. Anyway, follow me.” The colt then jumped into the cloud, the unicorn reluctantly following.
When the two finally landed on the ground, they found themselves in Ponyville. However, their bodies had somehow changed color to pale blue and were transparent. “Welcome to my world,” the colt said. “Our story is about to begin, and you may have the first move. Remember, you can do anything to change what goes on. And... GO!”
Lightning blasted apart a market stand where Carrot Top was selling her goods. A Griffon wearing a black unitard and matching domino mask and the Great and Powerful Trixie (in her usual fabulous cape and hat) walked past, Trixie continuing to shoot lightning bolts at various things.
“Muahahaha!” She cackled evilly. “Run! Flee in terror, you little wretches! Flee from our might!”
“Yeah, run away from the overly glorified evil villain maid service.” The Griffon remarked in a bored tone. Trixie shot her companion a glare.
“Why do you always have to be such a downer? Every time we go to do anything, you’re always killing the mood by being little miss negativity. Trixie is starting to get sick of your pessimistic attitude. Just lighten up a bit and...” Trixie touched her right hoof to her horn, charging it with magic, before throwing her hoof out in the direction of a wagon that was moving away from them. Lightning shot from her hoof, arcing through the air before striking the wagon’s wheels, blasting them to smithereens. “...Enjoy the show.”
Just then, Applejack noticed the two villains attacking the town. “Now what in tarnation would those two be doin’ here?” she asked herself before galloping over to where they were. “Hay, you two!”
Gilda and Trixie looked over to find Applejack standing before them. “What?” Trixie shouted. “How could the Yellow Ranger have followed us here?”
“Yellow Ranger? Do I look like Fluttershy to you?” Applejack then pulled out her Element of Harmony and placed it on her neck. “Guess I need to remind y’all who I really am. IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME! ELEMENT OF HONESTY!” A bright blue light emitted from Applejack’s Element, causing Gilda and Trixie to shield their eyes. When they could finally see again, Applejack was already morphed. “Harmony Force, Ranger Blue!”
“It’s just like the master said,” Gilda said to her unicorn companion. “There are more Pony Rangers in this world!”
“More Pony Rangers?” Applejack asked. “Now I’m really confused. But that doesn’t matter. Whoever you two are, I’m takin’ you down!”
“Oh goody, Gilda. She’s going to fight us! Now we can destroy her and the master will have to recognise me... er, i mean us, as the superior members of his forces! Maybe he’ll even give the evil ranger powers to us!” Trixie exclaimed with glee while clapping her hooves together with joy. She cast a hoof out. “Draklings! Attack!”
Several strange pony shaped creatures seemed to magically wink into existence around the blue ranger. they were shaped like ponies, but had scales, fangs, claws, and bat-like wings. They were mostly grey, except for their glowing red dragon eyes. There were about fourteen of them, and AJ could tell just by looking at them that they were tougher than the average putty ponies, even if they came in smaller groups.
“Woah,” Applejack said to herself, taking a step back. “Now these seem like some tough critters... Bring it on.” Applejack then charged at the Draklings, who also charged back. Applejack quickly found that what she said was right. They were some tough critters. She tried kicking them several times, but they hardly budged. All they did was take each hit and easily counter the attack each time. “I may have bitten off a little more than I can chew, here.”
“Then let me help you with that,” a high-pitched voice said from behind Applejack. The confused farm pony turned around quickly to find Pinkie Pie, already morphed, standing ready for battle. “Harmony Force, Ranger Pink!”
“Oh, that annoying pink pony is a ranger here? Awesome, i can finally get payback for last time.” Gilda announced. “Time to forget about playing fair and call in my...” She raised her right arm to the sky. “Griffon Battle zord! Descend!”
A dark, swirling portal appeared in the sky above ponyville, and a massive mechanical griffon descended from it, landing just outside of the town. Gilda disappeared in a flash of light, just a few seconds before the massive machine began moving, stomping on a (fortunately) unoccupied building.
“What is that?” Pinkie asked.
“I have no idea,” Applejack replied. “But I do know one thing. We have to do something about it.” Applejack then raised her hoof to the sky. “We need dinozord power, now!”
Just then, the Triceratops and Pterodactyl zords came stampeding onto the battlefield, coming to a stop in front of the large mechanical griffon so their pilots could jump into their respective cockpits. “Wait a second,” Pinkie said to Applejack over her zord’s comm. “What about that pony who looks like Trixie but acts somewhat differently and those weird creatures?”
“Got it covered,” Rainbow Dash replied over the comm. “Rarity, Fluttershy and I just got here. You two handle... whatever that thing is.”
“You got it, Dash,” Applejack replied. “C’mon, Pinkie. Let’s show this oversized griffon what a real zord can do.”
Gilda, caught off guard by the strange appearance of the ranger’s zords, didn’t react in time to avoid the Triceratops’ first charge, which knocked her griffon zord on it’s back. The pterodactyl zord swooped in to blast it with it’s fire breath, but Gilda’s moved out of the way at the last second, causing Pinkie to almost hit Applejack.
Meanwhile, on the ground, the Draklings were proving to be quite troublesome for Rainbow Dash. Every time she got rid of one, Trixie (more accurately the not-Trixie that looked like Trixie) would just summon another one in it’s place. It was even more annoying because they weren’t that easy to get rid of in the first place. Each one seemed to be anywhere between three to four times more powerful than a Putty Pony. What was worse was the fact that they could fly after her if she took to the air. Thank goodness there was less of them than their usually were putties, or she’d be in even worse trouble. Trixie saw the Red Ranger’s frustration and laughed at it.
“Ha! You think those Draklings are bad, you should see what Trixie-”
The magician’s rant was cut short when the air seemed to shimmer and ripple for a moment, before she, the Draklings, Gilda, and the Griffon Battlezord all vanished into thin air, leaving a number of very confused rangers.
“What the hay just happened?” Applejack asked.
“I have no idea,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Maybe Twilight will have some answers, though. Let’s get to Canterlot.”
“Okay,” Pinkie said, lowering the Pterodactyl zord so the Rangers on the ground could get on. “Hop on. I’ll fly you three there.” The other Rangers got onto the zord’s back and in seconds, they were off towards Canterlot, Applejack following close behind in her own zord.
On the moon base, the two beings who looked like Gilda and Trixie collapsed onto the floor in a flash of blueish light in front of Nightmare Moon. “Where are we?” Gilda asked. “Are we on the moon?”
“Quite so,” Nightmare replied. “I’ve been expecting your arrival for some time, but I was sure your master would send his evil Pony Rangers instead of you two.”
“Really?” Trixie asked. “Those hooligans? Ha. Their power pales in comparison to the power of the Great and Powerful Trixie!” Gilda shot a quick angry glance at Trixie accompanied with a short growl. “Oh, and Gilda, who is totally awesome as well.”
“Don’t try to fool me,” Nightmare said, walking off and indicating for the two to follow. “Your master already filled me in on how incompetent you two usually are.”
“Calling them incompetent is the understatement of the century.” The White Ranger stated while walking out of the shadows, surprising Nightmare Moon. “Those two can’t even get the groceries without messing things up.”
“One time. That happened one time and Trixie already clearly stated that it was not her fault.” Gilda cleared her throat, causing Trixie to quickly add, “Or Gilda’s. It wasn’t Gilda’s fault either.”
The White Ranger simply rolled her eyes at their behavior, and got back to business. “In any case, We have the next assault ready to go. As promised, we will destroy your rangers for you, and in return we will get to steal their powers for our own use. I doubt those two will be completely incompetent if they have stolen ranger powers.”
Meanwhile, the other Pony Rangers were in Canterlot, standing around Twilight and anxiously awaiting her verdict on just who those two villains from earlier were. “This just doesn’t make any sense,” Twilight said.
“Yes, something is very wrong. According to every scan I’ve run on those two, magic and otherwise, those two you encountered in the market were, indeed, Gilda and Trixie.”
“But that’s impossible,” Applejack said, trotting over to Twilight’s console. “They acted almost entirely different from normal.”
“I know it’s impossible, Applejack. I just don’t know what to say. You five go back to Ponyville and alert me if they attack again. I’ll get right over there and cast a better scanning spell up close. Maybe then I'll get the answers I need.”
“Alright, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said. “We’ll let you know if anything funny happens again.”
“Best of luck to you Rangers,” Twilight said. The others nodded and galloped out of the room, leaving Twilight to go back to her work. Just then, another pony stepped into the room from the other end. Twilight glanced over, but all she saw was a white unicorn. “Something the matter, Rarity?”
“I’m not Rarity,” the unicorn replied in a voice that was incredibly familiar to Twilight. She quickly turned around to find that it was actually a Pony Ranger. A white Pony Ranger.
“What? Who are you?” Twilight turned all the way around and pulled out her Thunder Coin, ready to defend herself.
“You mean you don’t recognize me, Twilight?” the White Pony Ranger replied. The Pony Ranger de-morphed, causing Twilight to gasp in horror and drop the Thunder Coin at what she saw. Somehow, she was staring at her own face.
“What’s going on here?” the original Twilight asked, trying to back up. “This is impossible!”
“Only a foal denies the evidence of her own eyes,” the other Twilight said, beginning to charge a spell. “Fortunately, I’m not that foal.” She then fired a bolt of magic at the original Twilight, who was unable to dodge the attack and was knocked unconscious into the far wall. “Heh. This will be easier than I thought.” The other Twilight then grabbed the original Twilight and dragged her into a closet to hide her. Just then, Celestia appeared in her time warp.
“What’s going on, Twilight?” the imprisoned alicorn asked.
“Nothing,” the evil Twilight replied, trying to act like the other Twilight. “Just a couple of Putty Ponies. I took care of them.” The evil Twilight then went over to the console and began typing some stuff in. “Nothing to worry about...” she added with an evil smile.
Back in ponyville, a black swirling vortex opened up, unceremoniously dropping two ponies out in an alleyway, where the darkness of the shadows hid all their features conveniently. The two quickly left as the portal closed behind them.
Moments later Ponies were screaming in panic once again as a male zebra with demonic looking red eyes walked down the street, his stripes producing shadowy black tendrils of darkness that lashed out at everypony that got to close. As this was happening, Rainbow Dash was flying by on her way to Sweet Apple Acres. “Zecora?” she asked herself as she noticed the scene below her. “Or is that Slendermane? No, wait, yeah, it’s definitely Zecora. Still, that’s some strange new magic she has.” Dash then pulled out her morpher and contacted the others. “Everypony, Zecora’s attacking Ponyville, and she’s got some strange new magic for us to contend with.”
“How do you know for sure it’s the real Zecora, then?” Pinkie asked. “With those Gilda and Trixie characters earlier, this Zecora might be from that other world.”
“You’re right,” Dash replied. “Twilight, did you hear that?”
“Uh, yeah,” the evil Twilight replied, even though Dash and the others thought it was their regular Twilight. “Don’t worry, I’m on my way over there now. Just let me finish this one thing before I leave.”
“All right,” Dash said. “Everypony else, let’s get down there.” Dash then closed the communications channel and flew down to where the zebra was. “Hay, Zecora!” The zebra turned around, but was entirely silent. “What’s the matter? No witty rhyme for me this time? Heh, I wasn’t even trying to do that.” Just as Rainbow Dash said this, the other four Rangers galloped in, noticing quickly that the zebra they thought was Zecora didn’t look at all like the Zecora they already knew.
“Now who the hay is this?” Applejack asked.
The Zebra smiled a wicked smile with sharp needle like fangs, before finally speaking. “Why hello my little pony rangers.” He said in a disturbingly accurate imitation of Celestia’s voice. “I’m so glad you could come out and face your doom today.”
“What the hay?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Why does Zecora suddenly sound like Celestia?”
“Does it matter?” Applejack asked. “We still need to stop him before he hurts anypony else.”
“Yeah, about that.” The zebra said in an unamused tone that still sounded like Celestia. “My name’s not Zecora. I’m a dude and that’s a girl’s name. Please stop calling me that. If you must call me anything, call me Hunter... or better yet, call me your doom!”
Suddenly, shadowy tendrils of darkness burst from the ground around the Rangers striking at them from various directions all around them. “Maybe I was right,” Rainbow Dash said to herself, doing her best to dodge the tendrils. (Though to little success.) “Maybe this guy is Slendermane.”
Meanwhile, back in Canterlot, White Ranger pulled the thunder coin off of Twilight’s unconscious body. “Thank you my dear Twilight. With this my power will increase greatly... and i’ll be able to imitate you perfectly.” She smiled a psychotic smile that was reserved for serial killers and evil geniuses (which made sense as she was one of those two) before teleporting her unconscious alter ego away to her evil Black Ranger ally. Just then, however, Spike walked into the room.
“Woah!” Spike shouted. “Who are you?”
In two different flashes of light, the evil Twilight teleported up into Spike’s face and then teleported them both against the far wall, Twilight pointing her horn right in Spike’s face. “As far as you’re concerned, little dragon, I am Twilight Sparkle.” The evil unicorn then began charging her horn with energy before adding “Got that?” Spike quickly nodded his head in fear. Twilight then powered her horn down and let Spike breathe again. Slowly the look in Twilight’s eyes changed, from a cold and intimidating edge to a look of sadness and perhaps a bit of regret. “Spike... I’m sorry. I have no idea what just came over me.” She stepped away from him and turned around. “I didn’t... I didn’t mean to do that. I guess I’m just stressed out.... The Thunder Coin’s power is still tempting me sometimes. I just lost control for a moment.” She lied through her teeth, knowing that the little dragon wasn’t dumb enough to fall for it, but still trying to salvage the situation anyways. Even her black heart wasn’t evil enough to force her to turn on Spike... even if it wasn’t her Spike. “Just... just forget what you saw, and don’t tell the Rangers. I promise, it wasn’t anything bad. I’m just... helping.”
Spike looked at Twilight with slight confusion for a moment. “Okay, I guess,” he said, turning to walk off. “Speaking of the Rangers, didn’t they call you over to Ponyville to battle Zecora?”
“You mean Hunter?” Twilight asked, quickly realizing her mistake. “I mean, that black and white hunter? I almost completely forgot because of the Thunder Coin. Thanks.” Twilight then turned and teleported to Ponyville.
“Something isn’t right here...” Spike said to himself after Twilight left. However he just shrugged it off and walked over to his console. He then pulled up Youtube and began watching Pewdiepie’s playthrough of Slender: The Arrival. “How can this guy even hit notes that high?” Spike asked while laughing at Pewds screaming like a little filly.
Back in ponyville, Hunter was thoroughly trashing the Pony Rangers. Pinkie tried to attack him from the side, but he dodged the attempt and hit her in the back on the way past, causing her to go flying straight into Applejack, knocking them both down. Rarity’s magical attacks were being swatted away like flies courtesy of the dark tendrils, which were also causing Rainbow and Fluttershy great difficulty in getting close to him. To make matters worse, the sound of Celestia’s voice laughing maniacally as they got their flanks served to them on a silver platter was really creepy.
“How the hay are we supposed to beat this guy?” Applejack asked, doing her best to dodge the tendrils.
“I don’t know,” Dash replied. “Maybe Twilight could help us. Where is she, anyway?”
“I’m right here, Rangers,” Twilight shouted, galloping over to the battle. “Who do we have here?”
“Some weird zebra who calls himself Hunter,” Dash replied. “The weirdest thing is that his voice sounds almost exactly like Princess Celestia’s.”
“Really?” Twilight said, pretending to be surprised. “How strange. In any case, we should probably take him down now, and I think I have an idea on how to do it.”
“What’s that Twilight?” Rarity asked. Twilight pulled at the Thunder coin, a slightly too happy smile creeping up on her face. “THUNDER!”
The now morphed Green Ranger (who was secretly the evil White Ranger) rushed forward, her horn flaring up, launching a massive ball of energy about the size of a carriage at the zebra. His tendrils moved to form a wall to stop it, but this left him vulnerable as Twilight teleported right in front of him, grabbing him with her hooves. “Get ready Rainbow, he’s headed your way.” She then threw the zebra in Rainbow’s direction.
“Bring him on!” Rainbow Dash said, readying herself for the coming villain. Just then, Twilight threw Hunter right at Rainbow Dash, who quickly bucked him towards Applejack. “Your move, AJ!”
“Alright,” the farm pony replied. Just as the zebra was coming at her, she bucked him in the other direction from where he was flying towards Pinkie Pie.
“Come at me, bro,” Pinkie said, pulling out her Party Cannon and firing it right as Hunter was inches from the mouth of the cannon. “Fluttershy!”
“Got it,” the shy pegasus replied quietly. She readied herself for the flying zebra and used both her forehooves to knock him down right towards Rarity.
“You’re mine,” Rarity said as Hunter came flying towards her. She then quickly used her magic to speed his fall and cause him to fall muzzle-first right into the ground, creating a small crater upon impact. “Twilight, finish him while he’s stunned!”
Twilight charged towards the villain, having absolutely no intention of finishing him off, but needing to make a convincing performance. She lept in the air, preparing what looked like a rather powerful attack, when the air began to ripple and shimmer, seconds before Hunter disappeared.
“Huh? What the...? What just- oh darn it!” she said, just seconds before she smacked face first into the ground, having been so surprised by her comrade’s sudden disappearance that she forgot to properly land. The power from her horn fizzled out upon impact, and she quickly picked herself off the ground. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.” she muttered out loud.
“What wasn’t supposed to happen?” Rainbow Dash asked, trotting over and de-morphing.
“That Hunter character took less damage than I anticipated and teleported away,” Twilight replied, doing her best to make her story believable. The truth was, however, that she expected her comrade to simply fake his own death instead of fleeing. “Maybe we should go back to Canterlot and look the battle over again. I got a few scanning spells cast during that battle.” Twilight then quickly teleported the others and herself to Canterlot before any of them could respond. Unbeknownst to them, two ponies in a nearby alley saw the whole fight. As Twilight teleported the group, the shadow shrouded figures shifted their gazes towards canterlot, then looked at each other before nodding in silent agreement.
Back at Canterlot, the five Rangers collapsed onto the ground while Twilight landed perfectly in the center of the room. “A little warning before you do that next time would be nice,” Rarity said, getting up and dusting herself off.
“Sorry, Rarity,” Twilight said, though she might as well have ignored the other unicorn as she trotted over to the console and began working on something the others probably wouldn’t have been able to understand.
“What exactly are you doing?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Uh, just some routine post-battle review. It’s entirely routine.”
Just then, Spike walked into the room. “Hay, Spike,” Applejack said. “Is there somethin’ wrong with Twilight?”
Spike was about to respond, but stopped himself, remembering what had happened earlier. On the one claw he really wanted to tell Applejack about Twilight’s sudden aggression after he’d walked in on her doing... whatever it was he’d seen her doing. But on the other claw, she’d sounded really sad and apologetic afterwards, so much so that just the sound of her voice made him want to hug her and tell her everything was fine. She’d asked him not to tell the others, but had also mentioned that the evil of the Thunder Coin was still trying to take her over. In the end he settled for a simple half truth. “She said she was a bit stressed out earlier,” he said, shrugging. “I’m sure she’ll get back to normal if we give her some space.”
“Okay,” Applejack said. She then turned to the others. “There’s some seriously weird things goin’ on here. And not just Pinkie weird. No offence, Pinkie.”
“None taken,” Pinkie replied.
“Nonetheless, Applejack’s right,” Rainbow Dash said. “I think I have an idea, though.” She then motioned for the others to get in closer. “Okay, here’s the plan...” She then proceeded to whisper a plan to the others, who each occasionally nodded in agreement. “Everypony know what they need to do?”
“I’ll do my best,” Fluttershy said.
“Pinkie and I can do that,” AJ said.
“You can count on me,” Rarity said.
“Good,” Rainbow Dash said. She then turned and trotted over to Twilight. “We’re gonna head back to Ponyville, Twilight. You know, so we can give you some space to work.”
“Okay, Dash,” Twilight said, not looking up from what she was doing.
Rainbow Dash then trotted back to the others. “Everypony get in position and make sure she doesn’t see you,” she whispered. The others nodded and galloped out the door, followed by Rainbow Dash, who stopped for a moment to take one last glance back at Twilight. “I’ll do anything to keep you safe, friend.” She then flew out of the building.
Twilight stayed at the console, making sure her body was in a position to block the screen from behind or above her, as she looked into what she’d scanned when Hunter vanished while simultaneously looking over all available information on the Harmony Rangers’ megazord, committing all the spells needed to form and control it to memory.
Once she was done she closed both files, and ran a scan over the entire area surrounding ponyville, before turning around and trotting to the middle of the room.
“I’ve detected an anomaly near Whitetail Woods,” Twilight announced, “and I’m going to check it out, as it may be where our mysterious zebra friend went to. Fluttershy, please tell the others so they don’t stay hiding all over the base waiting for me to get back.” She then teleported away.
“Are you serious!?” Rainbow Dash asked, flying in from the other room. (The random one where Spike usually walks in from.) How did she see you, Fluttershy?”
“I-I don’t know,” Fluttershy replied, flying down to the ground to meet Rainbow Dash. “I tried to stay as quiet as possible.” “Probably wasn’t you, Fluttershy,” Applejack said, walking out from behind a pillar wearing a fake moustache. “Might have been Pinkie.”
“How could it have been me?” Pinkie asked, coming out from the same pillar wearing a beekeeper’s hat and holding her party cannon. “I’m totally stealth!” Just then, her party cannon went off randomly, startling everypony else.
“It wasn’t any of us,” Rainbow Dash said as Rarity walked in, holding a large butterfly net in her mouth. “There’s something different about Twilight and somehow she’s more cunning, clever, and observant than our normal Twilight. Let’s get to Whitetail Woods to further this investigation.” The five ponies then began galloping out of the building towards Whitetail Woods, not sure what to expect when they got there.
Meanwhile, the good Twilight Sparkle woke up in some kind of darkened room with a massive headache. Despite the headache, however, she used her magic to light the room. It was rather small. The only things in there were a chair that she was probably sitting in when she arrived here and some barrels and pieces of wood in the corner. “Hello?” the confused unicorn called. “Is anypony there?” She reached for her Thunder Coin to try to contact the Rangers, but it was gone. “Oh no. It was that weird clone of me from before. She must have stolen my Thunder Coin and dropped me here... wherever ‘here’ is.” Just then, she heard hoofsteps from a still darkened corner of the room. “Who’s there? Show yourself!” As though on command, the mysterious pony stepped into the light of Twilight’s horn. Twilight couldn’t believe her eyes. It was the Black Pony Ranger. “Rarity! I’m so glad to see you.”
“I’m not Rarity, Twilight,” the stallion replied. “How could you have confused me for her anyways? Our uniforms have completely different styles and I’m obviously of the male gender.”
“Wait a second...” Twilight said. “Don’t I know you from somewhere?”
“I would hope you did,” the stallion replied, de-morphing. A look of shock came over Twilight’s face as she finally recognized the stallion.
When the Rangers arrived at Whitetail woods a few hours later (thanks a lot Canterlot Express... fastest train in the world my flank), they found a depressed looking Twilight standing by a river, simply staring at the water rushing by. They didn’t know it, but they had once again played straight into her hooves, and taken so long to do it, that Twilight had time to practice her act.
“I missed him... probably by about five minutes, maybe ten,” she said in an apathetic voice. “Though, judging by the fact that you all appear to have stopped trusting me, it seems we have more important things to talk about.” She slowly turned to face them, allowing them to see that she had been crying before they got there. The tears weren’t real, of course, but they were convincing enough to fool the five rangers before her.
“No, but Rainbow Dash did,” Pinkie said quickly, causing Rainbow Dash to nudge her.
“Whatever would make you think we stopped trusting you, Twilight?” Rarity asked. “Is it because I asked you to teach me the teleportation spell? Because that was just for in case you couldn’t cast it for whatever reason.”
“So all of you decided to spy on me just because Dash told you to? Well, let me put some of your fears to rest, Rainbow; the reason I’ve been acting strange lately is because I was running some tests on myself today and found out there’s a good chance that I’m dying.” The other Rangers gasped in horror.
“You can’t be serious!” Rainbow Dash said. “How could you be dying?”
White Ranger mentally smiled to herself; that was exactly the reaction she was looking for. These rangers were putty in her hooves, (and not ‘Putty Pony’ putty) easily bent and shaped to her will. A few tears here, a smile or two when it’s appropriate, and they won’t even realize they’re being conned until it’s far too late. “It’s my ranger powers. Perhaps Nightmare Moon was simply desperate to make her evil ranger stronger than you all, or maybe she did it on purpose but simply didn’t care about the side effects. Whatever the case, my powers are too much for my body to handle; they’re slowly destroying me. It hasn’t done much damage yet, but the more I use my ranger powers, the worse it’s going to get.”
Rainbow Dash shook her head as though trying to wake herself from a bad dream, doing her best to keep her tears hidden. “No...” she said. “No, this can’t be happening. You have to be able to do something about it! You should be smarter than this!”
The evil Twilight quickly noticed that what Rainbow Dash said was the one flaw in her plan. Even the good version of her from this world was a little too smart to be unable to handle the Thunder Coin. However, she didn’t make this realization evident. Instead, in an effort to salvage her deception, she calmly added, “I guess Nightmare has one ability that I didn’t have: anticipation. She thought Derpy might be defeated and made sure that she was strong enough to handle the Thunder Coin and I wasn’t. I can’t believe how stupid I was to not see that before...” Smart move, Twilight, the evil unicorn thought to herself.
Rainbow Dash walked up to Twilight, not even trying to hide her tears anymore. “We’ll figure something out, Twilight,” the pegasus said, placing her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Together.”
Just then, Pinkie got a tingling feeling on the back of her neck that let her know when somepony was spying on her. She was about to say something about it, when the groups communicators went off, alerting them that there was danger in Ponyville.
“Helping me will have to wait. Ponyville is in danger.” Twilight announced wiping the tears from her eyes.
“Are you sure, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I thought using the Thunder Coin would further the damage already caused to you.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’ll take probably a dozen or two more battles before any serious damage is done. Now let’s get moving!” The six ponies then began galloping off back towards Ponyville, but Pinkie paused for a moment, still getting that tingling feeling on the back of her neck. “Pinkie! Come on!” Twilight called from further ahead.
“Oh, right. Sorry!” Pinkie called, starting back on her gallop to try to catch up to the others.
Citizens ran screaming in terror, as Gilda and Trixie walked around causing destruction alongside... er... Gilda and Trixie. “This is fun. Who knew hanging out with yourself could be so entertaining?” one Trixie said to the other.
“Truly the only pony worthy of keeping the Great and Powerful Trixie company is the Great and Powerful Trixie herself.” the other replied.
“Those two... are going to be insufferable if the Rangers don’t get here soon,” one GIlda announced.
“So, hey, does your boss treat you like an overly glorified maid service too, or is it just me?” the one in the unitard asked her counterpart.
“Actually, we’re treated pretty well on the moonbase,” the other griffon said. “Every one of us gets a chance to battle and, even though we all fail time and time again, she treats us all with the same... respectful disrespect, I guess.”
“Hay,” one of the Trixies said to the other Gilda. “What would you say to us switching places when this is all said and done?”
“Hmm...” Gilda said. “I think I’ll pass.”
“Me too,” the other Trixie said. “We’re incompetent, but we’re not maids. Sorry, but we aren’t going to bail you out, there.”
“Nice try,” the Gilda in a unitard said to her companion.
“Eh, it was worth a shot,” Trixie replied.
The rangers chose that moment to rush onto the scene. Twilight’s eyes narrowed slightly when she saw both Trixies and Gildas. They weren’t supposed to be there. What part of her exceptionally simple instructions had they not understood? She was going to have to punish them for this.
“Am I seeing double?” Applejack asked, “or are there two of each Gilda and Trixie?”
“And does one of them have absolutely no fashion sense?” Rarity added, noticing the Gilda in the unitard.
The Gilda looked heavily offended. “Hey, you try finding an evil villain outfit that works for under five bits, and then see if you still have room to criticize my outfit!”
“If you insist, I’ll be happy to help you with that problem right after we pummel you four!” (Lol, Iron Bison moment.) The other five Rangers looked at Rarity with angry/surprised expressions. “What? I don’t know about any of you, but I just can’t stand such a crime against fashion going unattended to.”
“Cut the chit-chat, Rarity,” Rainbow Dash said. “We have quite a challenge taking on four enemies instead of just one.” She then pulled out her Element of Harmony, followed by the other Rangers. “IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME!”
“HONESTY!”
“KINDNESS!”
“LAUGHTER!”
“GENEROSITY!”
“LOYALTY!”
“THUNDER!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Blue!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Yellow!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Pink!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Black!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Red!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Green!” Wow, that was weird to say, the evil Twilight thought to herself.
“Ha! Against the four of us, you rangers don’t stand a chance, even if there are six of you!” One of the Trixies declared. “Draklings! Attack!”
“Trixie won’t let Trixie steal all the fun from Trixie.” The other Trixie announced. “Putties! Attack!”
Even evil Twilight got a bit nervous for a moment when she saw just how many of the foot soldiers had appeared. There was a three to one ratio of Putties to Draklings, but the Draklings alone outnumbered the rangers three to one. The sheer force of their numbers was highly intimidating. “That’s... a lot of bad guys.” she remarked after a moment. “Anypony got a plan?” “Yeah,” Rainbow Dash replied. “We leave the double helping of chicken with a side of sass for after we finish these appetizers here.”
“And how exactly is that supposed to work? Need I remind you that we’re outnumbered roughly twelve to one?”
“You’re right. This is going to be tough... Aha!” Rainbow Dash then turned to Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie, remember what you did to defeat the Parasprites a few weeks ago?”
“Say no more, Dashie,” Pinkie replied. She then used her Element of Harmony to summon the Pterodactyl zord and jumped into it. “Let’s turn up the heat!” Pinkie dove the Pterodactyl zord down towards the Putty Ponies and Draklings and began firing her flamethrower, singeing the Putties, but somehow leaving the Draklings untouched.
“That’s good enough Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash said into her comm. “Get back down here so we can handle those other creatures.”
“Draklings,” Twilight said.
“Gesundheit,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Well, it seems your minions are inferior to ours.” one Trixie said, giving the other a smug look as the rangers charged into battle.
“Bah. Who needs minions when you have the great and powerful Trix-” the other Trixie began before being cut off when a blast of magic from Twilight sent a Drakling flying into her. The other Trixie laughed obnoxiously before the same thing happened to her. Twilight turned, and blasted a third Drakling, before spotting one that was about to jump Fluttershy from behind. She could easily pretend she had been too busy fighting to notice it, and let the creature weaken the Yellow Harmony Ranger, making her more vulnerable for later. It was the smart thing to do. It was the right thing to do in accordance with her plan. It was the course of action that would help further her cause.
Fluttershy knocked one of the Draklings away, just a second before another one was blasted over her head by a burst of magic from Twilight.
Logical arguments began to flood Twilight’s brain, justifying her most recent course of action, but no amount of justification to change the fact that she had just saved one of the ponies she was trying to destroy. She realized she’d have to postpone questioning herself about her own stupidity for after the battle, when three Draklings tackled her to the ground at the same time.
“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash called, noticing her supposed friend getting tackled to the ground while trying to fight off another Drakling. “Back off, Scaly!” In one fluid motion, Rainbow Dash reversed her position in relation to her Drakling and bucked it away. She then charged at the group of Draklings to try to knock them off of Twilight. She managed to knock one away, but that was just because it didn’t see Rainbow Dash coming. The other two immediately left Twilight alone and went for Rainbow Dash. However, Dash had gotten pretty good at fighting Draklings. (At least better than when she first encountered them earlier that day.) She got out of their way just in time to avoid their attack and used their momentum to knock the two Draklings against each other. After taking a moment to enjoy her little triumph, Rainbow Dash quickly turned to Twilight. “Twilight, are you ok?”
Twilight got back to her hooves. “I think so. You didn’t give them a chance to do much harm.” She noticed Rarity struggling to handle the four Draklings that were attacking her, and Pinkie was struggling to get out of the grip of two others. “But it looks like Rarity and Pinkie could use our help.”
“Say no more. Let’s go.” Rainbow Dash then galloped over to where Pinkie was and attacked one of the Draklings to get it off of her, allowing Pinkie to focus her attacks on the one other Drakling. Twilight was considering going over to at least pretend to help Rarity, but it just didn’t make sense for her to do that. Was the power of the Thunder Coin starting to overwrite her evilness? As she was considering this, Applejack galloped over to help Rarity instead.
“Dodged that bullet,” Twilight said to herself. She then turned around to look at the Trixies and Gildas. “Better teach those idiots a lesson for messing with my plan.” She then turned around to Rainbow Dash. “Dash, you and the others keep the Draklings occupied. I’m gonna go take those four on myself.”
“You can’t be serious!” Rainbow Dash called back after flipping a Drakling over her shoulder. “All four of them?”
“Don’t worry, Dash,” Twilight replied. “I have a plan.” Without waiting for Rainbow Dash to respond Twilight galloped over to where the four villains were.
“The Green Ranger!” one of the Trixies shouted. “Finally. I’ve been waiting for some payback.”
“You four are going down!” Twilight shouted, making sure the others heard what she said. However, just as she was about to lunge at the four, she quietly said, “I’m really the White Ranger. Make this fight look convincing if you know what’s good for you.”
Trixie (the Trixie on the left) started by launching a bolt of lightning at Twilight, which she casually used her magic to deflect, sending it flying into GIlda’s (the one without the unitard) face, knocking her over. The other Trixie started charging up a spell only to have the first Trixie thrown into her by Twilight’s magic. The knocked over Gilda got back up and charged Twilight, who popped past her with a teleport, causing the griffon to fly straight into a Drakling that had been thrown by Fluttershy. Whirling around, the “Green” Ranger bucked both Trixies in the face simultaneously as they tried to get back up. Using her magic, she caught them before they could hit the ground and threw them both at the unitard-less Gilda, knocking her out.
Slowly she turned to face the remaining griffon, who’s claw was raised halfway to the sky. “Go ahead and call your zord... I dare you,” Twilight challenged.
The remaining Gilda thought better of her idea, and lowered her claw, before running over and jumping on top of the pile of incapacitated villains.
Before anypony had a chance to do anything else, however, the air began to ripple and shimmer again, before the four villains (and one Drakling at the bottom of the pile) vanished into thin air.
“Smart move,” Twilight said to herself, de-morphing. She then turned to where the other Rangers were, finding that they had finished off the rest of the Draklings. “Everypony alright?” Twilight called to the others, galloping over to where they all were.
“I think we’re fine,” Rainbow Dash said, also de-morphing. “That was some pretty good work you did on those four, Twilight. I didn’t know you had it in you.”
“Yes, well, it helps when the opponents are worthless...” She said the word “worthless” through gritted teeth. “But, in any case, I don’t think we’ll be seeing them again anytime soon.” Not after I’m done with them, Twilight thought to herself.
“Okay...” Rainbow Dash said. She then looked around at the destruction the two of each Gilda and Trixie managed to cause. “Maybe we should actually stay and help clean up this time around,” she said to the other Rangers. “What about you, Twilight?”
“I need to get back to Canterlot, actually. There are some more things I need to attend to...” Without another word, Twilight teleported away back to Canterlot.
“I’m not the only pony noticing Twilight’s weird behavior, am I?” Rainbow Dash asked the others. “And I don’t just mean ‘Yeah, you’re the leader.’ noticing.”
“Something does seem fishy...” Pinkie said, about to bring up her tingling feeling from back in Whitetail Woods.
“Well she did say she was dying,” Rarity said. “Given that fact, I don’t notice anything out of the ordinary.”
“What part of ‘Don’t do anything until i tell you to’ don’t you nimrods understand?!”
GIlda and Gilda were both slammed against the wall by the white rangers magic. Nightmare’s Gilda was beginning to see why her counterpart was so terrified of the White Ranger. With the addition of the Thunder Coin her power was comparable to Nightmare Moon’s.
“I leave you imbeciles alone for a few hours and you're already ruining everything!”
The magic around their throats tightened more, making it hard for them to breathe. The Trixies on the other wall were already starting to turn purple from lack of air. Gilda silently prayed that she wasn’t going to have to be resurrected by Nightmare Moon again. All of a sudden, the four servants of evil dropped to the floor, gasping for breath as the White Ranger finally released them.
“You foals are lucky I need to get back to playing the part of the goody four hooves hero. The next time you mess up one of my plans, I won’t stop until the deed is done,” White Ranger announced before teleporting away.
Gilda glanced over at Gilda, rubbing her now bruised throat. “Is she always so... extreme with her punishments?”
Gilda didn’t say anything to Gilda, opting for a silent nod in the affirmative.
Twilight (the good one) had no idea what was going on. One minute she’s being held prisoner, the next she’s listening to Prince Blueblood’s (or rather his counterpart from another reality who was an evil pony ranger) entire life story, while she was forced to sit there and play therapist.
And all because she had to open her big mouth and ask for a glass of water...
The world vanished in a white cloud and the two ponies from before, the pegasus colt and the unicorn stallion, were back in the void-like room. “What happened?” the unicorn asked.
“Break time,” the colt answered casually. “We’ll finish the story later. Want some tea? I’m not particularly a fan of tea, but it’s decent for taking casual breaks when with company.” The colt then waved his hoof and a table with two chairs materialized not far from where the two ponies were.
“How did you do that?” the unicorn asked.
“It’s the Creation Plane of Existence. Any being can create anything. Now, did you want tea or should I make something else?”
“No, tea is fine.” The two ponies then sat at the table while the colt materialized some tea and small cups. They then sipped their tea in silence for a few minutes.
“So...” the colt said, placing his cup of tea down. “Ready to get back on the fic?”
The unicorn set his cup down and got up. “Yeah, I guess.”
“All right.” The colt then waved his hoof and the two ponies were back to their ghost-like forms in agent_cupcakes’ world. “Since you did most of the work moving the story along in the last chapter, you can go ahead and start part two.”
“Okay, but first...” The unicorn pulled a tape recorder out of nowhere, placing it on the ground. “...a little bit of a tradition of mine. the second half of every multipart episode starts with a recap.” He pushed a button, and the tape began to play. “Last time on, Pony Rangers Crisis Squa-”
SMASH!
The pegasus almost jumped out of his horseshoes in shock as the unicorn forcefully applied a hammer to the recording device with a panicked frenzy.
“Um... whoops, wrong season. Guess we’re going to have to skip the recap this time. Besides, I’m sure anypony who really wants to know what’s going on can just go back and read last chapter again. Let’s get started now and talk about this never.”
Twilight (the evil one) appeared in the empty control room of the harmony rangers’ base with a flash, and set to work. She scanned herself over and over, looking at the results again and again, but couldn’t find anything wrong. There was absolutely no outside influences on her personality or behavior that the computer could detect. “But if that were true...” she silently thought to herself “...then why did I save Fluttershy? The only logical explanation would be that I-”
Her train of thought derailed faster than Rainbow Dash heading for a wonderbolt autograph signing. The implications of that thought were beyond all logic and reason.
Before she could ponder her own peculiar behavior any further, a door opened and Rainbow Dash flew in. “Hay, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said, flying over to the possibly-still-evil-but-possibly-turning-good unicorn. Twilight quickly shut her scan down and pulled up the download website for Slender: The Eight Pages. “Don’t you already have that game?”
“Uh...” Twilight said, caught off guard by what Rainbow Dash said. “Yeah. I do. I was just looking for where I could buy The Arrival. The internet is a very confusing place. Heh heh...”
“Uh-huh... Anyway, we finished cleaning up Ponyville so I decided to come by and check to see how you were doing.”
“I’m fine at the moment... I just wish i knew how there were two Trixie’s and two Gilda’s during that last battle. If it was some sort of cloning spell, then there should be a way to tell the originals apart from the clones, but my magic didn’t detect anything like that. It’s as if the duplicates where the exact same as the originals... well, physically, anyways.”
The doors opened again, and both rangers turned around just in time to see two hooves slamming straight into each of their faces. Before Dash had a chance to react, she was thrown against the far wall by what looked to be a Pink Pony Ranger, except the outfit was different from Pinkie Pie’s, it’s patterns more closely resembling that of a Wonderbolt’s uniform instead. A similarly styled Green Ranger, who was also a unicorn, was taking on Twilight on the other side of the room, not giving her even a chance to try and morph.
The strange other Green Ranger slammed the defenceless purple unicorn against the wall, their hooves applying pressure to Twilight’s throat, making it difficult to breathe.
“Finally, I have you right where I’ve always wanted you, Sparkle,” the mysterious Green Ranger said. “Finally I will prove that I am, beyond a shadow of a doubt, better than you in every way. On the ground you shall beg for mercy and confess the truth that I am superior.”
“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash shouted, trying to fly over to assist her supposed friend. However, the mysterious Pink Ranger bucked Dash in the face, knocking her onto the other side of the room. Thinking quickly, Rainbow Dash did the one thing she could do in a situation as dire as this: scream for help. “Princess Celestia! Spike! Somepony! Call the other Rangers!”
“Nopony’s calling anypony,” the Green Ranger said, before she blasted the control panel with her magic, rendering it completely useless. While she was distracted, Twilight’s own horn lit up, and with a sudden flash of light, Rarity and Fluttershy both found themselves standing in the room.
“What the hay?” Rarity asked as she noticed the scene she was just teleported into.
“What’s going on?” Fluttershy asked.
“It doesn’t matter how much backup you call in, Sparkle,” Green Ranger said, noticing the other two ponies who had just been teleported in. She then threw Twilight against the far wall and turned to Rarity and Fluttershy.
“Whoever you are,” Rarity started, “you’ll pay for hurting our friend.” She then pulled out her morpher, followed by Fluttershy.
“Go ahead and try to morph.” Faster than an ordinary pony’s hoof could move, the Green Ranger fired a bolt of magic, knocking the two ponies’ morphers out of their hooves. “Even if I hadn’t done that, you still wouldn’t have stood a chance. Do yourselves a favor and stand down. I’m only after Sparkle; just stay out of my way and you won’t get hurt.”
“No way! Nopony hurts our friends!” Rarity shouted, before she and Fluttershy charged the Green Ranger, who simply blasted them both back with a burst of telekinesis. Rainbow Dash watched the scene for a moment before noticing that the Pink Ranger was staring at her. “What do you want?” the prismatic pegasus snapped.
“Morph. I want to fight you at your best. Otherwise, it’s no fun.”
“Fun? You think this is a game?!”
“Green Ranger won’t kill Twilight; that’s not what she’s after. Corpses can’t make confessions. Your friends will all live through this and be perfectly fine. Morph so we can fight.”
Rainbow Dash was puzzled for a moment, but decided it was best if she was given the opportunity to defend herself. She pulled out her Element of Harmony and placed it around her neck. “IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME! ELEMENT OF LOYALTY!” Rainbow Dash morphed in a flash of red light and stared her pink armored foe down. “Harmony Force, Ranger Red!”
“That’s better,” the Pink Ranger said, readying herself for battle. The Pink Ranger rushed forward, charging the red ranger. However, Rainbow Dash was quick to dodge, causing the Pink Ranger to nearly hit the ground. Nearly. However, just before the Pink Ranger was able to regain her balance, Rainbow Dash circled around and bucked her pink armored foe across the room.
“I honestly expected more from you if you wanted me to morph,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Please,” the Pink Ranger replied, getting up and dusting herself off. “I was only getting warmed up.” The two Rangers then began charging at each other at top speed. The Pink Ranger’s mistake, however, was forgetting that she was fighting Rainbow Dash, the fastest pegasus in Equestria. Before she even had a chance to get out of the way, Rainbow Dash had already gotten to her and tackled her to the ground, pinning her.
While those two were fighting, Rarity and Fluttershy quickly grabbed their morphers and morphed to engage the Green Ranger in battle... Well, if you could even call it a battle, then I suppose it was a battle, but really it was more like them jumping at an opponent who was so far out of their league that if Rarity and Fluttershy’s league were to spontaneously explode, the Green Ranger wouldn’t hear it for at least three hours, if not three days.
In simple terms, it was more of a massacre. Fluttershy went to hit the Green Ranger, but passed through her causing her appearance to glitch out like the picture on a bad television. Rarity was subsequently blasted from behind, when the real Green Ranger reappeared. Her green magic aura enveloped Fluttershy’s body before fading and the pegasus suddenly found herself immediately moving in the opposite direction of where she was headed, straight back towards the Green Ranger. She tried to propel herself in the other direction, but it seemed to only speed up her backwards movement. Just as she got close enough, the Green Ranger ducked low and bucked vertically, slamming her back hooves straight into Fluttershy’s stomach. Rather than being knocked up into the air, like the pegasus expected, she felt her whole body press down even harder, as the Green Ranger moved out of the way with lightning speed. Fluttershy slammed into the floor fast and hard, almost knocking herself out.
“Kinetic Inversion Spell,” the green dressed unicorn announced. “Immediately reverses all force acting upon your body. Very useful in a combat situation.” Rarity leapt to her hooves and fired a series of magical blasts at her adversary, only to have them all harmlessly bounce of a green kite shield that materialized in mid air. The Green Ranger turned to face her, slowly shaking her head. “Amature.”
With one well aimed beam, the unicorn blasted through her own shield, her magic striking Rarity dead in the chest, blasting her back and through the wall that was behind her. With that done, the green ranger slowly turned towards Twilight. “Is that the best you have to throw at me, Sparkle? Two rank zero amateurs who couldn’t fight if their lives depended on it?” Her magic latched onto Twilight’s horn, using it to lift and throw her against the wall, and holding her there until she got close enough to use her own hooves to pin her.
“I was expecting much more from the mare whose caused me so much suffering...”
“Who... who are you?” Twilight asked, fear apparent in her voice. The Green Ranger brought her voice down, so nopony could hear it but Twilight.
“Don’t play dumb with me, White Ranger. We both know full well who the other is, and you know I will not stop until I show the world what you really are; a monster, a fraud, and above all else a pony who is vastly inferior to myself.” The Ranger brought her helmet covered face close within an inch of her enemy’s. “I will not stop, until you are screaming that last one from the mountain tops, a declaration for all to hear. Like a mad mare you will rant and rave about my superiority as if my very existence was the end of days, shouting about fire and brimstone from the street corners until your own reputation has become so tarnished that everypony forgets you were ever somepony important to begin with. Then and only then will I cease to torment you. When you are, by all definitions, less than nothing.”
“Look, I don’t know who you think you’re talking to,” Twilight said, trying to put a hint of sincerity in her eyes, “but I don’t think I’m the Twilight you’re talking about.”
“What are you talking about?” the Green Ranger asked, her voice getting a hint of frustration.
“Have you even bothered to look around you, recently? You’re in a parallel world with different versions of the ponies you think you know. I don’t know who you’re looking for, but I can assure you that I’m not her.”
Twilight could swear she could see the Green Ranger smiling from inside her helmet. “Oh Twilight... do you really think my intelligence was low enough to fall for that? During our last encounter I put a very special marker spell on you, just so I could always know for sure if it was you or that clone of yourself you have running around. You can’t fool me so easily.”
Meanwhile, Dash moved to strike the Pink Ranger, who brought up her right foreleg to block the move. There was a flash of pink and she felt her hoof hit something hard and metallic. To Dash’s surprize, the Pink Ranger now had a round shield to hide behind.
“You guys get weapons?” she inquired with a tone of disbelief.
The Pink Ranger took advantage of her shock to spin around and buck Dash in the face. “Yeah, it totally surprised me the first time too.”
“Weapon or not, you’re going down!” Rainbow Dash then charged at her adversary, intending to break through her shield with pure speed. Yeah, that didn’t work out well. Dash just slammed muzzle-first right into the shield.
“Well that wasn’t very smart,” the Pink Ranger said, shaking her head as Rainbow Dash slowly fell to the ground. “I don’t know why you thought you could break through my shield.” Rainbow Dash said something into the floor, but Pink Ranger didn’t hear it. “What was that?”
“I said...” Rainbow Dash quickly jumped up and bucked the off-guard Pink Ranger into the air. “...I meant to do that.”
Meanwhile (again), The Green Ranger tossed Twilight across the room, making her slam against a door. The lavender unicorn looked up just in time to see four bolts of magic headed straight for her. She called up a shield which took two of the shots, but the third one smashed through it and hit her in the chest, sending her flying...
...straight through the suddenly open doorway behind her.
An expression of horror appeared on Twilight’s face as she passed right over Spike’s head, just in time to watch the poor dragon get hit by the last bolt of magic that had been meant for her. Rather than be sent flying, the baby dragon simply collapsed to the floor in a crumpled heap.
“SPIKE!” she screamed, moments before hitting the back wall of the room the baby dragon always seemed to be walking out from. She quickly scrambled to her hooves and rushed over to the young drake, trying not to panic as she checked to see if he was okay.
All fighting in the room had ceased when Spike had been hit. out of the corner of her eye, Dash saw the Pink Ranger walking over to her Green Ranger companion. The second the Green Ranger turned to her companion, there was a resounding “SMACK!” as the pink pony struck her ally in the face.
“Two rules! Only two conditions that you had to follow! No killing. No hurting bystanders.” The Green Ranger started to make some sort of counter argument, but it was cut off with another smack to the face. “No! Don’t you dare try to justify this! You broke your end of the deal, that means we’re leaving now!”
Reluctantly the Green Ranger teleported them both out of there before Dash could stop them, but for some reason, Dash got the feeling that what she had planned on doing to the Green Ranger wasn’t anything in comparison to what that Pink Ranger was going to do.
Slowly the pegasus approached Twilight, who was frantically begging the unconscious dragon to wake up. It reminded her of a scene in a movie she’d seen, where a mother had been weeping over the death of her child.
“No, no, no, no, no,” Twilight kept repeating to herself. “Spike, you have to be okay. Wake up, Spike! WAKE UP!”
“Twilight, wait,” Rainbow Dash said, trying to stop Twilight’s relentless shaking of Spike. “You need to calm down. Don’t you remember those medical spells you used on me that time Derpy and I knocked each other unconscious?”
Twilight paused for a moment and turned to Rainbow Dash, her eyes full of tears. Tears that were unintentionally hiding a hint of confusion at what Rainbow Dash said. After all, she was probably trying to destroy the Pony Rangers from her world in her world when what Rainbow Dash said took place. “Oh, right,” the unicorn finally said. “Give me some space. This one might be close.” Rainbow Dash took a few steps back while Twilight took a deep breath and got ready to try to cast a spell that she had never really bothered to study before.
Before she even had a chance to cast the spell, Spike began to groan, and his eyes slowly opened. “Ow... What happened? I feel like I got- Gah!”
He let out a startled cry as Twilight swept him up into the most bone crushingly tight hug he’d ever received in her life. His limbs flailed and he started making a noise not dissimilar to that of a strangled cat as he attempted to breathe while caught in the death grip.
“Grahkkragkhkrhk!” Spike managed to choke out in response.
“When I saw you get hit with that blast, I thought for sure that I had lost you!” she continued, oblivious to his need for air.
“Ghrkarlckgragrrhd!” Spike insisted, shooting a pleading look at Rainbow Dash, who wasn’t sure if she should feel relieved that he was okay, concerned for his current well being, or very very amused with the noises he was making.
While this was going on, Rarity and Fluttershy trotted over to where the others were, wondering three things. Where did the two strange Pony Rangers go? Why did they leave? And why was Twilight suddenly trying to strangle Spike? “Twilight,” Rarity said, trotting up to the unicorn who wasn’t releasing her suffocating dragon assistant. (Or at least the good Twilight’s assistant.) “What in Equestria is going on?”
Hearing Rarity’s voice, Twilight turned to Rarity and finally released Spike, who instantly began gasping for air and did his best to crawl away from Twilight before she caught him again. “I’m actually not sure, for once,” Twilight half-lied. She knew the two Pony Rangers who had attacked just then, but had no idea what they were doing in this world. “But one thing I do know is that this situation we have with new foes from another world is getting out of hoof.”
Back in Ponyville, a black portal opened up in an alley, depositing four very familiar ponies on the ground. The leader of the group quickly got to her hooves and dusted herself off. She said something to the other three as they got up, and then they headed off in separate directions.
Applejack was having a late lunch with Pinkie Pie when Rarity went galloping past them towards the town library. “Howdy, Rarity,” Applejack said as she waved the unicorn over.
“Applejack?” Rarity asked with a confused voice. “I thought you went the other way. What are you doing here?”
“Uh, having lunch with Pinkie Pie. Why?”
“Wait a second...” Rarity mumbled to herself. “Alternate world means alternate ponies...”
“What was that?” Pinkie asked.
“Oh, absolutely nothing,” Rarity quickly replied. “I was just... remembering a dream I had last night. It was really weird. We all sang this song, but it was in some odd language that nopony knew. Really crazy. Anyway, I’m really late for something. If you see Rainbow Dash, tell her I trotted by.” The unicorn then quickly galloped off towards the library, leaving two very confused earth ponies who just shrugged and continued eating their sandwiches.
A few short moment’s later Rainbow Dash walked out of a nearby alley. She looked around for a moment before spotting Applejack and Pinkie Pie and rushing over to them.
“Guys, we’ve got a situation. A pair of evil Rangers just attacked the base and almost took out Twilight. They also messed up the computer systems pretty badly too.”
“Oh no!” Pinkie shouted. “Wait. A pair of evil Rangers? What happened to just one? As though Derpy wasn’t enough.”
“Not just that, Pinkie,” Applejack said, “but if we can’t get those computer systems back up, Celestia knows what will happen. I mean, even Celestia won’t know what’s happening.”
“Is Twilight working on it?” Pinkie asked.
“Yeah, she’s working on it,” Rainbow Dash replied, “but it looks like it’ll take a while.”
“Well as long as Twilight’s on it, we should be okay. Oh, by the way, Rarity just came by. She told us to tell you that she trotted by.”
“What?” Dash asked with obvious confusion. “But she was just at the base with Fluttershy, Twilight, Spike and I.”
Just then, a pony that looked suspiciously like Twilight rounded a corner and ran past the group. A few seconds later, Lyra Heartstrings came around the same corner, spotted the Twilight, and ran after her, levitating a bag of bits. “Miss! You forgot your change!”
“Oh,” Twilight said, not slowing down. “You can go ahead and keep the change.”
“Hang on, wait!” Lyra shouted as she continued to chase Twilight.
“Has anypony else been noticing weird things going on here in the past day alone?” Applejack asked.
“I’ll say,” Rainbow Dash said. “I could have sworn Twilight was still at Canterlot working on the computer system.”
“Maybe she has a doppelganger,” Pinkie said. There was a slight pause before all three of the ponies burst out laughing.
“Now why would Twilight need a doppelganger?” Rainbow Dash asked while trying to stop laughing like a panting racehorse who just ran in the Indie 500.
There was a flash of light from the alley, before Rarity stepped out. She looked around for a moment before spotting the group and trotting over. “Rainbow Dash. If you're done filling in the others, Twilight says she want’s to speak to you about something back at the base.”
“Uh, okay,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Hold on a second,” Pinkie said. “Didn’t you just gallop off to the library, Rarity?”
“I beg your pardon?” Rarity said, confused.
“You just galloped by like you were in a hurry towards the library. Then, when you left, you told us to tell Rainbow Dash that you came by. We told Rainbow Dash when she got here and she told us that you were just at the base. Then Twilight came galloping out of the alley over there being chased by Lyra Heartstrings even though Rainbow Dash had just told us that Twilight was still at the base. So, the question remains...” Pinkie took a deep breath before shouting, “WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THIS TOWN!?”
The other three ponies just stared at Pinkie for a moment before Rainbow Dash spoke up. “Yeah... I’m just going to head back to Canterlot, now.” Dash then quickly flew away towards Canterlot. Seconds later, a number of screaming ponies started running away from the general area of the library, causing Pinkie, Applejack, and Rarity to exchange worried glances, before rushing off to investigate.
When Dash arrived in Canterlot, she found Twilight hard at work on fixing the computers, while Spike was talking to Fluttershy nearby. Nopony seemed to notice her arrival, so Dash cleared her throat to get Twilight’s attention. The lavender unicorn quickly turned around.
“Oh, Rainbow Dash! You’re back. Right. Um, could you wait a moment in that random room Spike’s always walking in from while I finish up one more quick thing? I need to talk to you in private.”
“Okay,” Rainbow Dash said, walking off. “By the way, do you think we’ve been referencing that room a bit much, lately?”
“Not at all. Now just wait in there while I finish this.” Rainbow Dash took a moment to look at Twilight with a confused look, but shrugged before continuing into the room.
Meanwhile, Spike and Fluttershy were still talking. “Who the hay were those two from before?” Spike asked, either naively or hopefully thinking Fluttershy had the answer.
“I honestly have no idea,” Fluttershy replied, shaking her head.
Spike scratched his chin and looked over at Twilight. “Hmm... I wonder if Twilight would know anything...”
“Probably not,” Fluttershy said. “Then again, though, that Green Ranger was acting like she knew exactly who Twilight was, so there might be a chance...” The shy pegasus turned to look at Twilight, just in time to see the door to the room that Spike was always walking out from close behind the lavender unicorn.
Once inside, Twilight looked at Rainbow and let out a heavy sigh, before slumping to the floor.
“Okay, so... what I’m about to ask you is something that you can say no to, and there won’t be any hard feelings if you do, okay?”
“Okay.” Rainbow replied, unsure of where this was going.
“That attack earlier... I’m a little ashamed to admit that it’s left me a little shaken up. I mean, yeah, bad guys have gotten in before without setting off the alarms, but all Trixie ever did was seal away Celestia and Zecora was just eavesdropping. Neither of them tried to... Neither one almost...” the lavender unicorn tried to get the words out, but they wouldn’t come. “The point is, I’m the only Ranger living here in Canterlot, and if those two come back before I get the computers back up, I won’t even have to wait for the Thunder Coin to get rid of me. They’ll do the job for it.” Besides the bit about the Thunder Coin, nothing she was saying was a lie. Here she was, the most cunning and devious villain who ever trotted across Equestria, and she was about to swallow all her pride and ask one of her mortal enemies for support.
“I guess what I’m saying is that I’m really scared right now, and it would really mean alot to me if you and one of the other girls could stay here tonight.”
“No problem,” Rainbow Dash replied.
“Really?” Twilight asked, both happy in the fact that she would have protection from her enemies and horrified that she was having protection by her enemies. (Not “Ahh! it’s the Slender Man and I only have one page!” horrified, but more “Oh sweet mother of Lauren Faust, what did I do to deserve this?” horrified.)
“Yeah. I mean, I’m gonna have to come up with a hay of an excuse for Scootaloo as to why I’ll be gone all night and it would surely be the same if AJ or Rarity were to help too, but if it means keeping a fellow Ranger and a good friend safe, then we’d do anything.”
“Thanks Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, mentally gagging. “It really means alot to me.”
“Again, it’s no problem. You just get back to fixing the computer and I’ll talk to the others to see who wants to volunteer. Sound good?”
“Sounds great.” Please help me, Dark Lord, Twilight thought to herself.
Back in ponyville, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity all arrived near the library to see Rainbow Dash fighting several Putty Ponies, outnumbered by about twenty to one, and still kicking flank.
“Oh yeah, you totally just tasted the pain-bow.” she said immediately after she spin-bucked one in the face.
“Again?” Applejack asked. “I could have sworn Rainbow Dash just left for Canterlot.”
Rainbow Dash quickly threw a Putty Pony to the ground before turning around and noticing the other three ponies. “AJ? Rarity? What are you doing here? Nevermind, just come over here and lend me a hoof.”
Applejack and Rarity looked at each other for a moment, wondering how Rainbow Dash was here, but just shrugged and joined the battle, figuring there would be more time for explanations after these Putties were taken care of. “Hay,” Pinkie shouted, “what about me?”
“Oh no,” Rainbow Dash said to herself. “How did Pinkie get here?” Dash then turned to Rarity and Applejack. “AJ, Rarity, you two take care of these things. I’ll go get Pinkie to safety.”
Before they could say anything to stop her, Dash took off, rocketing through the air, snatching Pinkie up and carrying her away from the battle. Moments later, Dash returned returned, slamming down in the middle of a large group of Putties, knocking them all away.
“Okay, so I know this is probably a bad time, since there’s apparently a bunch of Putties attacking,” Dash started, “but do you think one of you two could let Scoots sleep over tonight? Twilight’s a little shaken up from the attack earlier, and she asked me to spend the night in Canterlot, in case they come back.” She paused for a moment, looking around. “Hey, why isn’t Pinkie here? Wasn’t she with you two earlier?”
“You just got her out of here,” Applejack said, bucking a Putty to the ground. “Pinkie was right. There are some weird things going on around here.”
“Really?” Dash asked, not even bothering to turn around while taking a Putty by the throat and throwing it backwards. “How could I have just gotten Pinkie out of here if I just got back from Canterlot?”
“Well you are pretty fast,” Rarity said, taking a Putty with her magic and throwing it into two others. “I would assume you could fly in, get Pinkie to safety, and come back in about one minute, tops. Hay, wait a second.” Just as Rarity said this, she threw the last Putty Pony to the ground, leaving all twenty of them lying on the ground around the three ponies. “Why did you try to get Pinkie to safety, anyway?”
Just then, a rainbow colored blur slammed into a group of Putties, tossing them in a number of different directions.
“Okay, I’m back,” another Rainbow Dash said. “Sorry that took so long. We should end this quickly before she comes back.” Without saying another word, she began fighting some more Putties that had just appeared.
Applejack and Rarity looked at the newly arrived Rainbow, then at the other one, then back again, expressions of disbelief apparent on their faces. “I ask again,” Rarity said after a while. “What the hay is going on around here?”
“I might ask the same thing,” the Rainbow Dash who was already there said, staring down the newly-arrived Rainbow Dash, her expression resembling that of a snarling Timber Wolf.
“AJ, Rarity, be careful,” the other Rainbow Dash said, stepping in front of the other two ponies. “It’s some kind of clone sent by the White Ranger.”
“White Ranger?” Applejack asked. “There ain’t a White Pony Ranger.” The farm pony paused for a second before turning to Rarity and asking, “Is there?” The unicorn replied with a shrug.
“Of course there is. She’s only been trying to destroy us for... hang on.” The other Dash paused. “I’m forgetting something, aren’t I? Something important.” A Putty tried to jump her from behind, but she bucked it away without even looking. “Something Twilight said right before we all left... Oh well, I’m sure I’ll remember it later.”
There was a burst of red light around the other Dash’s ankles, as two bands appeared around her ankles, each with a single star-shaped red gem. “It’s morphing time! Red Ranger Power!”
In a brilliant flash of red, the other Dash suddenly appeared in a Red Ranger uniform similar to the uniforms of the Rangers that attacked the base. “I’m the best of the best! Red Pony Ranger!”
“What in tarnation?” Applejack shouted.
“I must be seeing things!” Rarity said.
“No way!” Rainbow Dash shouted (The one with Rarity and AJ). “Nopony impersonates me and gets away with it.” The angry pegasus then reached behind her wing, pulled out her Element of Harmony, and placed it on her neck. “IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME! ELEMENT OF LOYALTY!” In a flash of red light, Dash morphed into her own Red Ranger uniform, which was more of a red colored set of full-body armor with a visor on the face. “Harmony Force, Ranger Red!”
“Hmph,” the other Dash grunted. “And you call me a poser. Your suit isn’t even that detailed.”
“If you say you’re the best of the best, what are you waiting for? Come at me and put your money where your muzzle is.”
“Gladly.” Dash said, before launching herself at Dash, kicking Dash hard in the chest, sending Dash back a few paces. Dash struck back hard, knocking Dash away from her, before leaping forward and trying to stomp on Dash, who rolled out of the way of Dash’s attack just in the nick of time. Dash got up and the two began circling each other, while Rarity and Applejack suddenly remembered that they were supposed to be fighting Putties, and went back to work on them.
“You’re not half bad... I’m still cooler, but you’re not half bad.” Dash said.
“Yeah right. I’m way cooler than some fake me.” Dash replied.
Dash and Dash both charged each other at the same time, both of them hitting themselves in the face, causing them to stumble away from themselves. They both recovered, and went back at it. The two of them were punching, kicking, grabbing, throwing, headbutting, and trying every last single move they could think of in an attempt to gain an advantage over themselves.
As she fought the Putties, Rarity couldn’t help but think that the fight was both epic beyond imaginable proportions, and that it would be highly confusing in the written form.
“Wow,” Dash said to Dash, panting a little. “You’re a pretty good fighter.”
“You’re not too bad, yourself,” Dash replied. “But you’re still one of the White Ranger’s minions, which means that, as much as I’d like to keep you around for round two sometime in the future, I’m gonna have to destroy you right here, right now.”
“I ask again, who is this White Ranger you keep talking about?” Right as Dash asked this, Dash rushed up, bucked Dash to the ground, pinned her, and raised her hoof to deliver the final blow.
“You really don’t know who the White Ranger is, do you?” Dash asked.
“For the last time...” Dash quickly spun around, reversing Dash’s pin, grabbed her foreleg, and held it behind her back. “...I don’t.” Dash then let Dash go, allowing Dash to slump to the ground in less defeat and more confusion. How could this clone of herself not be the work of the White Ranger? “I meant what I said earlier, by the way.”
“What do you mean?” Dash asked, getting up and turning to face Dash.
“You’re a pretty good fighter,” Dash replied. “It would be a shame if your talents were wasted working for Nightmare Moon.”
“Filly, are you crazy or something? Nightmare Moon got beaten by me and my friends years ago.” Dash replied.
“Um... no she hasn’t. She’s kind of still at large and attacking the town at least once a week.”
“I think you’ve lost your marbles or something, because me and my friends have already super rainbow blasted Nightmare and Discord, helped stop the crazy mega bug lady, and beaten the weird smoke dude with the stairs fetish that I will never understand. I mean, the dude could fly; why did he have so many stairs?”
Rainbow Dash stood there for a moment with a very confused expression on her face. “I have no idea what the hay you’re talking about. First of all, who is this ‘Discord’ guy?”
“Seriously? You seriously have no idea who Discord is? He’s only the most evil villain to walk/fly across the face of Equestria. He even got pwned by Fluttershy! How could you not know who he is after such an embarrassing defeat?”
“Maybe because you’re a crazy pony who has no idea what she’s talking about.” Rainbow Dash then turned and called out to the air while pointing at Rainbow Dash. “Total crazy fake me!”
“You’re the crazy fake,” the other Dash said, getting back up and dusting herself off. “And by the way, I totally went easy on you, so don’t go thinking you're better than me, Ms. totally-the-fake-Red-Ranger.”
“Oh, yeah right! I beat you fair and square, you just don’t want to admit it!” Dash announced.
“Ahem,” Rarity called from further away. “If you two are done quarreling, we could use a hoof with these Putty Ponies!”
The two Rainbow Dashes (*shrug*) looked at each other for a moment. “Bet I could take down more Putties than you can,” one of them said.
“Filly, please,” the other said. “These guys are way easier than the Dark Lord’s normal hoof soldiers. I’ll have ‘em all down before you can even lay a hoof on one.”
“Sure about that?” Hardly bothering to finish the sentence, the Rainbow Dash who said it flew off into the group of Putty Ponies.
“Hay! That’s cheating!” the other Rainbow Dash then followed her counterpart into the fray.
Meanwhile, back in the darkened room where the good Twilight Sparkle was being held captive and guarded by the evil Prince Blueblood, the evil Black Ranger had finally finished his life story up to that day. “Can I get my glass of water now?” Twilight asked.
“Hmm? Oh, right, of course. I’ll have one of the Trixie’s fetch it for you right away,” the evil Prince said before stepping out of the room, leaving Twilight alone and unguarded.
“Perfect,” Twilight said to herself. She took a moment to look around to make sure nopony else was looking before using her magic to try to untie the ropes she was bound to the chair with.
Meanwhile, back at the fighting, both Dash’s were doing a formidable job at beating the bad guys, which was getting on both their nerves, because neither one was doing better than the other.
I’m never going to a out do that faker like this, one of the Dashes thought to herself. Time to break out the big guns. There was a brilliant flash of red before a sword appeared in her right hoof. “Everypony get down and grab onto something! I’m going to take them all out in one shot!”
The other Rangers barely had time to do as they were told before she began flying in circles fast enough to generate a vortex that quickly sucked all the Putties up. The sound of her sword striking her enemies repeatedly rang out loud and clear despite the roar of the wind. Dash, Applejack, and Rarity were all barely managing to keep from being pulled in themselves.
“What the hay are you trying to do?” Rainbow Dash shouted. “You’re going to wipe half this area off the map!” Without really thinking, the prismatic pegasus flew right into the vortex to try to stop the prismatic pegasus before she destroyed the surrounding area.
“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity shouted. “Either one, what are you thinking?” Just then, one of the Red Rangers was thrown right out of the vortex, followed by the other. After a mere second more, Putties began flying out of the vortex and all over the place, each one getting up quickly and stumbling around as a sorry excuse for retreating.
The two Rainbow Dashes impacted on the same building right next to each other and were de-morphed from the damage they had taken. “What the hay was that?” Dash asked Dash, slowly getting up.
“Saving Ponyville from a Phony Ranger,” the other Dash replied. “Ha. I just came up with that one. Give me a second. I need to write that one down.” Rainbow Dash then pulled out a pencil and notepad and wrote down the joke she just made. Two seconds later, it was smacked out of her hooves.
“I had that under completely under control! I’d have finished them off if you hadn’t interrupted!”
“Under control? Do you have any idea what could have happened if I didn’t stop you? Don’t answer that. What would have happened would be this library being uprooted, those houses over there being demolished, and my friends turned into swiss cheese!”
“Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said, trotting up to the two Dashes. “While what Rainbow Dash did was, indeed, stupid and reckless, she did send the Putties retreating.”
“That I did,” Rainbow Dash said. “Probably would have finished them if somepony hadn’t stopped me out of sheer jealousy.”
“Jealousy?” the other Dash shouted, her expression quickly changed from angry to disgusted.
“Yeah, jealousy! Any intelligent pegasus could have seen that that tornado would need twice the speed I was putting into it to do what you said, so the only reason why you would have stopped me is because you’re either the stupidest pegasus ever or you’re jealous! Though given your performance, I’d have to say it was both!”
Rainbow Dash was at a loss for words trying to come up with something to counter what Rainbow Dash said. “I-I-I was...”
“Lucky for you, Dashie, that tornado did an okay enough job for those Putties to retreat.”
Somehow, Rainbow Dash had struck a nerve. There was only one pony who ever called Rainbow Dash ‘Dashie’ and that pony was gone. “Nopony calls me Dashie,” Rainbow Dash said, trotting up right into Rainbow Dash’s face, her voice getting an obvious tone of anger. “I don’t care if you’re faster than me, better at fighting than me, or even if you’re cooler than me, but get one thing through your head right now. There’s only one pony who calls me Dashie, and she’s... gone. So don’t go around calling me that and disrespecting my lost friend.”
Dash could tell she’d crossed a line, but being the stubborn pony she was, decided not to apologize. Instead she turned around and huffed. “Whatever. They’re probably sending a big monster or something here now, so you little pretend Rangers better clear out before you end up getting hurt.”
“Not a chance,” Applejack said.
“You’ve proven that you’re a competent fighter,” Rarity added, “but there’s no way the six of us are just going to hang out on the sidelines while you take on those villains on your own.”
“Six?” Dash questioned before turning around, “You guys need six Rangers to keep the city safe?”
“Yeah, there are six of us. what about it?” Applejack answered.
Dash broke down laughing, much to the other Rangers’ surprise. “You guys need six Rangers? And you think you're in my league? That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in awhile!” She wiped a tear away. “Dude, we save the city with three Rangers on a good day, four or five on a bad one. We’ve never needed six rangers. That’s just being lazy.”
“Well this is just plain uncalled for,” Rarity said as the three other Rangers watched Rainbow Dash roll all over the ground, laughing her flank off.
“Ahem,” Rainbow Dash finally said to the laughing pegasus. “If you’re done, we’d very much appreciate it if you would be so kind as to leave.”
“Ha, there’s no way I’m leaving now,” Rainbow Dash said, finally finishing up with her laughing. “I have to see how pathetic you six are in action. I mean, what do you guys do, run around hitting each other? How can you be so bad at this that you need six Rangers?”
Before anypony could respond the air seemed to ripple and shimmer, before a familiar zebra duo appeared. Zecora and Hunter sized up their opponents, while Dash looked horrified.
“No way... that guy is HERE?!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Frick, now you guys have to leave!”
“What are you talking about?” the other Rainbow Dash said, pounding her hooves together. “I’ve been waiting for another shot at this guy.”
“Well, Hunter, what do we have here?” Zecora asked. “Two Red Rangers? I’m trembling with fear.”
“Augh... why did it have to be a rhyming zebra? I hate rhyming zebras...” Hunter complained.
“It don’t matter who’s talkin’ how,” Applejack said, pulling out her Element of Harmony. (If you can see the joke there, kudos to you.) “Rarity, you contact the others. Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash and I will hold these two off.” Applejack then put on her Element of Harmony, but she was quickly swatted away by one of Hunter’s tendrils before she could morph.
“Pathetic little pony,” Hunter said. “You need to be faster on the draw if you wish to have a chance in the big leagues.”
“You guys seriously need to back off and let me handle this guy. You don’t stand a chance against him!” Dash said as her morphers appeared around her hooves.
“No way. I already told you, I’ve been waiting to go round two with this guy. Why are you so scared of him anyways? He’s just a freaky Slender-zebra,” the other Dash replied as she put on her Element.
“You don’t get it. This guy took out Celestia when she had her Ranger powers, and ripped out a chunk of her soul. That’s why he sounds like her when he talks. He’s got all her powers added onto his own.”
“Well that’s...” Rainbow Dash actually wasn’t sure how to respond to what Rainbow Dash just told her. “...creepy, I guess?”
“On that, I have to agree,” Zecora said. “Your powers are, indeed, ‘creepy’.”
“Again with the rhyming!” Hunter shouted. “Please, just don’t talk. Okay?”
“It’s more that creepy. The guy stole the powers of the most powerful pony alive, and added them to his own. It’s downright health hazardous,” Dash said, before striking a pose at the same time.
“It’s Morphing time!”
“Red Ranger Power!”
“Really?” the other Rainbow Dash said. “That’s how you morph? I’ll show you how it’s done. IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME! ELEMENT OF LOYALTY!”
In the blink of an eye, both Red Rangers were morphed and ready to fight.
Meanwhile, back at the HQ, Twilight finally managed to get the communicators working again.
“There. All fixed,” Twilight said to herself. “Fluttershy, could you please test out the communicators while I try to move on to the next thing that needs work?” Just then, she could swear she was barely inches from vomiting. I can’t believe I just said “please”...and when asking an enemy to do something to boot. Ugh, I don’t know what’s worse; the fact that I did it, or the fact that it felt right to do it. “Okay,” Fluttershy replied, turning on her comm. Just then, Rarity’s voice came shouting from the other end.
“-AND HUNTER IN PONYVILLE! WHERE ARE YOU, FLUTTERSHY?” Rarity screamed from the other end.
“I might ask the same thing. I’ve been trying to contact you for the past five minutes.”
“You forgot that the comm system was down, didn’t you?”
“I guess I did. Anyway, Zecora and Hunter are in Ponyville. The two Rainbow Dashes are trying to fight them, but it doesn’t seem to be going too well.”
“Two Rainbow Dashes?” Twilight asked out loud. “What’s going on down there, Rarity?”
Before Rarity could respond, an explosion was heard over the communicators.
“I stand corrected. Both the Trixies are down here too. No time to talk. Twilight, Fluttershy, we need you girls now.”
“We’ll be right there,” Twilight replied. Ugh. I can’t believe I have to do this. “Come on, Fluttershy. I’ll teleport us both down there.” Fluttershy nodded as she trotted up next to Twilight. “Ready?”
“Ready,” Fluttershy replied. With that, the two ponies disappeared in a flash of purple light.
Back in Ponyville, the two zebras and the two Trixies were pretty much tossing the two Rainbow Dashes around like rag dolls. Without any backup, the two would be glue in a matter of minutes. (Horse jokes. I think we can now agree that it’s smart for everypony to just plain stay away from them.)
“I told you to run while you had the chance!” one of the Dashes shouted while being thrown around by Hunter’s tendrils. “I’d be winning if you didn’t keep getting in my way! Yeah right!” the other Dash shouted back. “You’d be getting your flanks kicked even worse if I wasn’t here.” Just then, she was smacked against a wall by another tendril.
More tendrils moved to grab the two of them, only to be cut down by a spray of laser fire, coming from their right. Two rangers, a yellow one and a blue one, charged onto the scene with what Dash could only describe as “Blasters” strapped to their front right hooves. The blue one was a unicorn and the yellow one was an earth pony.
“Are you two okay?” asked the Blue ranger, who sounded exactly like Rarity.
“I’m fine,” Rainbow Dash said. “You two got here just in the nick of time.”
“Who the hay are these two?” the other Dash asked.
“Really? You couldn’t possibly be that stupid. You were fighting alongside these two not ten minutes ago.”
“Rarity and Applejack?” Rainbow Dash pretty much gave up on trying to make sense of the world and its inhabitants. “I swear to Celestia, if this day gets any weirder, I’m going to explode!”
“Dash!” Rarity shouted. “Don’t you remember Twilight telling you to avoid your alternate self at all costs, on the off chance that meeting her would destroy all reality?!” There was a brief pause before Dash replied.
“Oh yeah. That’s what I was forgetting.” She then turned to her counterpart. “I guess you're not a clone of me after all; you're just the cheap knockoff version of myself.”
“If we weren’t about to get creamed by two zebras and two Trixies,” Rainbow Dash started, “I swear to Celestia...”
“You rang?” Hunter asked before maniacally laughing.
“Again, creepy. That’s all I have to say about you, Slender-zebra.”
“If we may get back to the task at hoof,” Zecora started.
“Finish that sentence,” Hunter said, “and you’ll be following these Pony Rangers real closely.”
Zecora was about to respond, but decided it probably was for the best if she kept quiet.
“Trixie demands that you all stop talking so much and pay attention to Trixie!” the Trixies shouted in unison, infuriated by the fact that their amazingly epic speech that explained exactly why Trixie was far superior to everypony else had gone on in the background completely unnoticed. (For the record, no, we do not have a copy of the speech to show you so that you can figure out just what about her is so great.)
Ignoring the Trixies’ outburst, Dash turned to Dash. “Well, now that my team is here, I don’t need you anymore. Why don’t you go play with Trixie while the real rangers deal with the real enemies?”
Rainbow Dash was about to respond when Twilight and Fluttershy teleported in. “Well now that my Rangers are here, I’d be happy to leave your side.” Dash then flew away and landed next to Twilight and Fluttershy.
“So what’s the situation?” Fluttershy asked.
“Ranger clones, zebra clones, and Trixie clones.”
“Ooh. Sounds rough.” Twilight said. Will those two Trixies ever cease to screw things up? At least they’re here with Hunter, so he should be able to keep them in line.
“Hay,” Fluttershy said, “where are Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack?
“Rarity and I are over here,” the Yellow Ranger Applejack said.
“Huh?” Twilight asked, pretending to not know what Applejack was talking about.
“Please don’t ask,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Look, are we going to stand around talking all day or are you all going to hurry up and get crushed by the magnificence of the Great and Powerful Trixie and the Great and Powerful Trixie?” the Trixie on the left questioned.
“Because if we’re not going to do this, Trixie was about to take Trixie for a spa day to make it up to Trixie for getting Trixie in trouble with Trixie’s... employer.” the Trixie on the right said, refusing to say the word “Superior” on the chance that it would send the wrong message.
“You’re not going to get your spa day anytime soon,” Twilight said, pulling out her Thunder Coin. “IT’S MORPHIN’ TI-”
“STOOOOOOOOOP!!!!!” a familiar voice shouted in the distance, causing all combatants, antagonists and Rangers, to immediately pause and look over to the source of the noise. What they all found was a lavender unicorn galloping at top speed towards the battlefield.
“What the hay?” Twilight asked, just before her Thunder Coin was snatched right out of her hooves by magic and pulled towards the lavender unicorn in the distance. “No! Not now!”
“Twilight?” Fluttershy asked as Twilight leapt, did a perfect front flip, and landed in front of everypony.
“It’s me, Fluttershy,” the second Twilight said. “And you shouldn’t let this evil clone make you think otherwise.”
Suddenly, the world disappeared and agent_cupcakes and Xanderman1201 were standing in their void-like room again. “What now?” Xanderman asked. “Another break?”
“No,” agent_cupcakes replied. “We were making part 2 too long, so I cut it here. We can continue working right now if you want, but on a new chapter because this one’s done.”
“Actually, a break doesn’t sound too bad.”
“Okay. What do you want to do to pass the time?”
“Hmm... we could try co-op Slender.”
“The Eight Pages? That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.” agent_cupcakes then waved his hoof and a computer with a large screen and two chairs in front of it appeared. “This might get a bit uncomfortable, but it’s your idea this time around.”
“Okay. Just don’t scream like a little filly while we’re playing.”
The two ponies then began trotting over to the computer, sat down, and started up the game. “You do realize I’m a colt and not a filly, right?” agent_cupcakes asked.
“I know,” Xanderman replied. “And I also know you’re obsessed with Slender for some reason.”
agent_cupcakes paused for a moment before responding. “Well what am I supposed to play without Minecraft?”
Back in the dark room, the two ponies were acting very excitedly as they continued to play Slender: The Eight Pages. “Hurry up, Xanderman!” agent_cupcakes said. “We only have one page left! Hurry up and get to the rocks!”
“We’re out of stamina!” Xanderman replied. “I can’t go any faster!”
“Okay, then. I’m gonna turn around and look at Slenderman. I read somewhere that being startled by him gives Kate a stamina boost or something.”
“No! Wait!” Just then, agent_cupcakes turned around only to find that Slenderman was literally inches from the pair.
“Nyai!” agent_cupcakes shouted, practically throwing the mouse as he fell back in his chair, angling their view straight upwards. Hardly a second later, their game ended in a loss.
“What the hay was that?” Xanderman asked. “I mean, what does ‘nyai’ even mean?”
“It means... I dunno. Let’s just get back to the fic.”
The lavender unicorn took a huge leap towards the battlefield, grabbed the Thunder Coin with her hoof, and landed perfectly in front of every pony/zebra. “Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.
“It’s me, Fluttershy,” Twilight said. “And you shouldn’t let this evil clone of me let you think otherwise.”
Think fast Twilight. How can you save the plan... Ah ha! the evil Twilight thought, before pointing an accusing hoof at the real green ranger Twilight. “Hey, give me back the Thunder Coin you fake.”
“I’m not the fake! You’re the fake! You stole the Thunder coin and then teleported me to the moon! It’s only by sheer luck that I managed to escape and get back here before you could hurt my friends!” the good Twilight retorted, pointing an accusing hoof of her own back at her doppelganger.
“Send you to the Moon? Do you have any idea how ridiculously preposterous that sounds? I’ve got talent, but not that much talent... not yet anyways. It’s obvious that you're some kind of clone sent by Nightmare Moon to steal my powers, confuse my friends, and replace me!”
“You’re just describing everything you’ve already done in an attempt to turn my friends against me, but it won’t work! I trust the bond of our friendship!”
“Guys, you can’t possibly believe this fraud, can you?”
“Guys, you know I’m the real me, right?”
Both Twilight’s looked towards the other Rangers expectantly, and Rainbow Dash came to a startling realization: She had no idea which Twilight was the real one. Both looked and acted like the real Twilight, and even though one of them had an implausible story, if said story turned out to be true, it meant the fake had been with them for a while, which was a bad thing.
“Well this is a nightmare in of itself,” Rainbow Dash said, massaging her head.
(“I swear to Celestia, agent_cupcakes,” Hunter shouted. “If you do that again, so help me...”)
“I don’t understand,” Applejack said. “How can there be two of ‘em?”
“Maybe one of them’s a Changeling,” Rarity said.
“What the hay is a Changeling?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Seriously?” the other Dash asked. “You are way behind if you don’t know what a Changeling is. Besides, the only logical explanation, if you can even comprehend logic, is that one of these Twilights are from my universe where Hunter and one of the Trixies are from and the other is from this universe.”
“Well there’s only one way to figure out how we’re going to tell the two apart,” Pinkie said, appearing suddenly from behind Hunter, actually startling the zebra. In an instant, the two Twilights were suddenly standing at two podiums right next to each other in a brightly lit room. On the front of each podium was the name Twilight Sparkle, and behind them hung a sign that said in huge flashing letters ‘Which Twilight is Which?’ Pinkie was standing in front of the two Twilights at her own podium and was holding several notecards. “Alright, contestants. Welcome to my brand new game show...” Pinkie paused for a moment and put her hoof to her ear as the voices of a large crowd coming from nowhere shouted in unison, “Which Twilight is Which?”
“Now, here’s how the game works. I’m going to ask each contestant a question-”
“Uh, Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash said. “We kind of don’t have time for this right now.”
“Pinkie Pie, what the hay are you doing and... why are there two of me standing over there?” asked yet another Twilight as she came running up to the scene, causing everypony to stare at her.
“Wait, now Trixie is confused too. How can there be three Twilight Sparkles if we’re all only from two separate worlds?” the Trixie’s questioned in unison.
“Now that’s something I’d like to know the answer to,” the Twilight who just came up to the scene said.
Rainbow Dash stood there for a moment before starting to strain doing... something. “What the hay are you doing?” the other Dash asked.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” the straining pegasus asked. “I said that if this day got any weirder, I was going to explode, so that’s what I’m trying to do right now.”
The other Dash rolled her eyes before continuing. “Dash, you are not a Creeper, you are not a Bomb-Omb, and you are not a Baneling from Starcraft 2.”
“Logic dictates that if there are three Twilights and only two worlds we could have come from,” one of the Twilights announced, “at least one of us has to be a clone of some sort.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” the other two replied in unison.
“But how do we know which one is which? How can we tell which one is real?” Pinkie questioned, looking back and forth between the three of them.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie has an idea; who cares? Great and Powerful Trixie, would you mind assisting the Great and Powerful Trixie in destroying all of the Sparkles?”
“It would be the Great and Powerful Trixie’s pleasure to assist the Great and Powerful Trixie with this task.”
“I don’t think I could agree very much more,” Zecora said. “We could easily destroy them all amongst us four.”
“Wait, you mean we’re actually getting back to the fighting?” Hunter asked. “Thank goodness, I thought we were never getting back to the action. Time to die my little rangers.”
“Then it looks like there’s no time to waste,” one of the Twilights said, jumping off of her podium and pulling out her Thunder Coin.
“Hay!” the other Twilight shouted, jumping off of her podium. “You can’t use my Thunder Coin!”
As these two Twilights were fighting amongst each other, the third Twilight just stood there watching them. “Hay... whichever Twilight you are,” Rainbow Dash said. “Aren’t you going to try to get the Thunder Coin away from them?”
“Why would I?” Twilight asked. “It’s not like that’s mine or anything.” “Well, at least we know this one isn’t your Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said to Rainbow Dash. The prismatic pegasus then turned back to the Twilight that wasn’t fighting. “That said, would you mind making sure the other Twilights don’t kill each other over that stupid coin while we deal with the bad guys?”
“Sure,” Twilight replied before walking over to where the other two were and contemplating how to stop their fighting.
Dash looked at Dash. “So, you and your team can take care of the Trixie’s, while my group takes on the real bad guys. Sound good?”
“No way,” the other Dash said. “Your Rangers can have the Trixies. We’re the only ones who know how to fight Zecora.”
“Really? There’s a special way to fight your evil zebra?”
“Well, not exactly. But she has some strange magic of her own that can catch you off guard pretty easily.”
“You say I have my own strange magic?” Zecora asked. The Rangers turned to where they thought she was standing, but much to their surprise, as well as Hunter’s, she was gone. “I guess it would be tragic, if I did not show you, especially if you are new.” Just then, a green cloud of dust appeared suddenly behind the two Dashes, followed quickly by two hooves hitting their faces.
Stumbling back, the Dash on the left lashed out with her hooves, only to pass right through the green cloud and get struck from behind. As this was happening, Rarity, Applejack, and Applejack all rushed the Trixies.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie will not be defeated by such amateurs,” one of the Trixies said before firing a bolt of magic at the Yellow Ranger Applejack. This attack was deflected by the Blue Ranger Applejack, who used the energy released from her morphing to bounce the bolt of magic back at the Trixie who cast it.
“You may have stopped the Great and Powerful Trixie’s attack,” the other Trixie said, touching her horn with her hoof. “But the Great and Powerful Trixie, on the other hoof, has more than one trick up her sleeve.” Right as she finished saying this, her hoof began to glow and a bolt of lightning shot out as she cast her hoof out towards the Rangers. Rarity used her own magic to create a shield to defend against the attack, but it was destroyed when the bolt impacted, causing the unicorn to be knocked backwards. The Yellow Ranger Applejack took aim with the blaster on her right hoof, but one of Hunters tendrils grabbed her and threw her over at Fluttershy, who seemed to be having trouble remembering where she put her Morpher, knocking them both down.
Meanwhile, the two Rainbow Dashes were having a hard time fighting Zecora. This was mostly due to the fact that the zebra wouldn’t stay in one place for more than five seconds. She would appear, hit one of them, and then teleport again. If Hunter was the tendrils part of Slendermane, Zecora was definitely the part with the “Blink” ability. “How the hay are we supposed to fight her, anyway?” one of the Dashes asked.
“If you pay attention, the cloud of dust appears just a second before Zecora does,” the other Dash replied. Just then, another cloud of dust appeared behind that Rainbow Dash. “I’ve got you now!” Dash then bucked the cloud, causing Zecora to be sent flying out the other way.
“This is hard to believe,” Zecora said. “But you still cannot defeat me.” She then flung her hoof out, throwing several small pellets that exploded with a foul-smelling purple smoke as they impacted on the Dashes.
“Stink bombs?” one of the Dashes asked.
“No,” the other replied. “I think the stink is just a bonus. The smoke actually saps energy. If one of those things hits you, try to move away as fast as possible.”
“Lucky us, we’ve got a lot of energy to burn,” said Pinkie.
“Definitely. We should be super nice and take Zecora off of the Dashies’ hooves for them so they can focus on Hunter,” said another Pinkie who stepped out from right behind Pinkie.
For a brief moment, Rainbow was certain she was about to explode... twice. The other Rainbow was having trouble processing what she was seeing, as well.
“Ready Pinkie?”
“Ready!”
The Pinkie on the left pulled out the Element of Laughter, and two golden Bands with Pink Gems appeared around the hooves of the Pinkie on the right.
“What?!” The second Dash said as she was now joining the first one in the “about to explode” category.
“ELEMENT OF LAUGHTER!”
“Pink Ranger Power!”
Within seconds, there were two Pink Rangers leaping through the air, headed straight for Zecora.
“Okay...” Rainbow Dash said. “I’m officially confused. I had no idea Pinkie was a Ranger.”
“Really?” the other Dash asked. “I’m surprised.”
“I do not believe what I see,” Zecora said. “Two Pink Rangers coming after me? This day is very confusing indeed. Perhaps-” Zecora was cut off when the two Pinkies drop-bucked the zebra in the face.
{“Thanks, Pink Rangers!” Hunter shouted.)
“Hang on a second,” one of the Rainbow Dashes said. “There’s something oddly familiar about one of those two...”
“Yeah,” the other said. “I would guess that given the fact that one of them is apparently on your team.”
“No, that other one who I’m going to guess is yours.”
“That one? Well she’s been around for a while, but we never knew she was Pinkie until just now.” Just then, Rainbow Dash gasped with a sudden realization. “If Pinkie Pie is the Pink Ranger, then she’s been working with that Green Ranger to try to kill Twilight!”
If Rainbow Dash had fingers, she would have snapped them just then. “Your Pinkie Pie and that Green Ranger attacked us at Canterlot earlier today. But it seemed as though Pinkie didn’t want to really hurt anypony, so it’s not like she’s an evil Ranger per se, right?”
“Well... the two of them have helped us out of jams in the past, but still... why would Pinkie help the Green Ranger try to kill Twilight if she wasn’t evil or under some kind of mind control? I mean- Whoa!” Dash’s talk with Dash was unexpectedly cut off when one of Hunter’s tendrils latched onto her back leg and threw her like a ragdoll. Before the other Dash could react, she too had been thrown by the zebra foe’s Slenderman-style attacks.
“You really need to learn to pay more attention to the battle at hoof, Rangers,” Hunter said with an evil chuckle. “If you aren’t fighting back, then it’s no fun.”
Meanwhile, the two Applejacks and the Blue Ranger Rarity were still fighting the two Trixies. “Do you Pony Rangers still not understand that the power of the Great and Powerful Trixie is far beyond your own?” one of the Trixies asked, firing another bolt of lightning at the Rangers. All three of the Rangers jumped in different directions to avoid the attack. Yellow Ranger Applejack and Rarity barrel rolled to the left and right respectively while Blue Ranger Applejack jumped into the air and headed straight towards the Trixie on the right (the one who didn’t fire the bolt of lightning), landing right on her face with a solid flying kick. The other two Rangers, on the other hoof, kept their distance and fired their blasters at the Trixie who did fire the bolt of lightning. Both of these blasts hit Trixie before she had time to react, causing her to go flying back right on top of her downed counterpart.
Back with the fight with Zecora, the zebra was hard pressed to find an opening. The two Pinkie’s worked together flawlessly, as if they knew not only exactly what the other Pinkie was going to do, but what Zecora was going to do too. She appeared behind them, only to have her attack hit Pinkie’s shield leaving her open just long enough for the other Pinkie to jump kick her in the face. “I do not believe what I see,” Zecora said to herself. “How could they work so cooperatively?” The zebra had little time to even think about this before the other Pinkie galloped up to her and smacked her in the face with her shield, flawlessly followed by a buck from behind by the other Pinkie.
Meanwhile, the Dashes weren’t faring so well with Hunter. His tendrils of darkness had bound all of their legs, and they were kind of helpless at the moment.
“Well this really sucks,” Dash declared as she struggled to get free.
“For the record, I blame you for our current situation,” the other Dash announced, trying to use her wings to pull herself free. “If you’d have just gone on Trixie duty like I’d told you too, my team and I could have handled Hunter, and we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“For the last time-” Dash started. However, she was cut off when something suddenly flew by, slicing Hunter’s tendrils and freeing the Dashes. “What in Celestia’s name?” Whatever attacked Hunter came back around for several more passes, each time striking Hunter and knocking him around. After a few passes, Rainbow Dash realized that whatever was attacking Hunter was green. “It can’t be...” After one more hit that sent Hunter to the ground, the green thing finally landed nearby, facing away from the Dashes. It looked like a green Pony Ranger, but whoever it was had wings instead of the horn of whoever else attacked Canterlot earlier. “Hello?” The Green Ranger turned slightly to glance at Rainbow Dash, but then quickly galloped off, disappearing in a flash of green light. “I don’t believe it...”
“What the hay was that?” the other Rainbow Dash asked.
Dash was just looking in the direction of whoever that was galloped away in. “An old friend...” she finally said, not bothering to turn around. Then, quietly, she whispered to herself, “Thanks. I always knew there was good in you.”
“I grow bored with this,” Hunter announced. “I’ll see you foals later.” The evil zebra then teleported away from the battle.
“Coward! The Great and Powerful Trixie is having a bad day, and you don’t see her running!” one of the Trixie’s shouted while ducking an attack from Blue Ranger Applejack.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie believes it may be time to take it to the next level,” the other Trixie said, before pulling out a small medallion and raising it to the sky. “Ursa Emblem, grant the Great and Powerful Trixie the power of the stars!”
A sparkling mist that looked suspiciously like Nightmare Moon’s hair seeped out of the amulet and started whirling around Trixie, obscuring her from sight. The tornado began to grow massively before dispersing to reveal an Ursa major about the same size as the Megazord.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie likes where the Great and Powerful Trixie is going with this plan,” the other Trixie said. She then began charging her horn with lots of power. “I summon the powers of the moon. Mega spell, activate!” Trixie then fired a huge ball of energy up into the air, only to have it come back down and hit her perfectly, causing her entire body to crackle with energy. She then began growing until she was about the size of the Ursa Major.
“Great,” one of the Dashes said. “They’ve turned into ugly and uglier.”
“The question is, which one is which?” the other Dash replied with a smirk. Moment’s later both were flying away from the hoof of a giant angry Trixie that was trying to stomp them.
“Note to self,” the first Dash said to her counterpart, “stop pissing off the soldiers of the forces of darkness when they're bigger than you.”
The two Twilights who were originally fighting over the Thunder Coin saw the two Trixies grow, causing them both to look back over at the third Twilight who still had the Thunder Coin. “Give me my Thunder Coin,” one of them quickly said. “I need it to help the Rangers.”
“Don’t give her my Thunder Coin!” the other Twilight shouted. “She’s an evil Ranger imposter!”
“You still think I’m the imposter?” Twilight then began charging her horn with energy. “If I was the imposter and not from this world, how do you think I’d be able to do this? Zord summon spell, go!” Twilight’s horn then flared and went out before the Tyrannozord, Triceratops, Pterodactyl, Mastodon, Sabre-Tooth Tiger, and Dragon zords all came stampeding towards the battlefield. “How do you like them apples?”
Knowing she’d been bested (since you can’t summon the zords twice in a row) the evil Twilight leapt at the third one, causing her to drop the Thunder Coin. The one slammed into the other, sending them tumbling down a downhill slope. By the time they came to a stop, even the other Twilight didn’t know which was which anymore.
“Gah! Get off of me you fake!”
“What? You're the one who attacked me!”
“Only because I saw you going for your morpher.”
“I’m not even a Pony Ranger!”
“I mean her morpher! I saw you going for it!”
“I was holding it the entire time! That doesn’t even make sense!”
“Both of you, quiet!” the other Twilight shouted. She then trotted up to the other two Twilights and got right up in their faces.. “I don’t care which of you is evil and which of you is an innocent bystander, but if you can’t tell, I have a town to save from an Ursa Major and an overgrown Trixie who still isn’t even a fourth of the size of her ego. (Hay, I don’t think she’s even an eighth of the size!) So if you two don’t mind, I’ll be going now.” Twilight then trotted off, stopping for a moment to pick up the Thunder Coin with her magic, then continuing towards where the other Rangers were gathered.
White Ranger smiled, turning to look at her clone. “There goes the only witness. Since i can’t replace her anymore, I guess I’ll just have to replace you...”
Meanwhile, over by all the other Rangers, Dash was looking unimpressed. “Really? Dinosaurs? I’ve seen better zords.”
“You do realize only two of those zords are actual dinosaurs, right?” Twilight asked. “You see, only the Tyrannozord and Triceratops zords are based on actual dinosaurs. The other three-” Before Twilight could continue, the world around her suddenly froze and a young green pegasus was standing next to her.
“Uh, Twilight,” the pegasus said, “we kind of don’t have time for a science lesson right now.” Before Twilight could respond, the pegasus disappeared and the world around her went back to normal.
“You were saying, Twilight?” one of the Applejacks asked.
“I was... did you see... I could have sworn... never mind. Let’s just take care of those Trixies.” “Right.” The not-harmony force Dash said before turning back to look at the two brawling Twilight’s. “Hey, whichever one of you guys is our egghead, we need that portal open so we can call our Zords.”
One of the Twilight’s telekinetically threw the other one at a wall before turning to face Dash. “Sure thing. just give me a second.” Her horn lit up, shining brightly as she strained to open up a hole between two worlds. Two layers of overglow appeared on her horn before a swirling black portal, about thirty stories in diameter opened up just outside of the town. “Alright, it’s open. Call your zords.”
“Okay. Red Pegasus Zord!”
“Blue Unicorn Zord!”
“Yellow Pony Zord!”
Three giant robot ponies matching the descriptions the otherworldly rangers had called came charging through the portal. They were bigger than the dinozords, about half again their size. Dash, Blue Ranger Rarity, and Yellow Ranger Applejack all disappeared in flashes of their respective colors, appearing in the cockpits of their zords.
“Harmony Rangers,” Rainbow Dash called to the remaining Pony Rangers. “Let’s get into our own zords and show these Rangers from another world how a real Pony Ranger is supposed to fight.”
“Hang on a second, Dash,” Pinkie Pie called.
“Don’t worry about me,” the other Pinkie Pie said, knocking Zecora away with her shield. “I can handle a zebra on my own when it doesn’t have tendrils striking me from several directions.”
“In that case, no need to wait, Dash. Let’s go!” The six Rangers then all jumped up into the cockpits of their respective zords.
“Blue Ranger, standing by,” Applejack called from the Triceratops zord.
“Yellow Ranger, standing by,” Fluttershy called from the Sabre-Tooth Tiger zord.
“Pink Ranger, standing by,” Pinkie called from the Pterodactyl zord.
“Black Ranger, standing by,” Rarity called from the Mastodon zord.
“Green Ranger, standing by,” Twilight called from the Dragonzord.
“Everypony’s here,” Rainbow Dash said from the Tyrannozord. “Now let’s get started. Megazord formation sequence, go!”
“Flash formation spell, go!” Twilight said, casting a spell on the five zords. With Twilight casting the spell, the Megazord formed in ten seconds flat. The Tyrannozord leapt up into the air and tucked its legs in. The Triceratops and Sabre-Tooth Tiger zords leapt up as well and attached to the Tyrannozord’s legs, forming two larger legs. The Mastodon split from its neck and the two parts flew up to the Megazord. The head came up from behind and the tusks of the Mastodon extended over the Tyrannozord’s shoulders, forming arms, while the body came up in front and formed a chestplate. The Pterodactyl zord flew towards the Megazord and tucked its wings and head in to form a chestplate. Before the Pterodactyl attached the head of the Tyrannozord tucked itself into its chest and was replaced with a humanoid head. The Pterodactyl zord attached to the chest of the Megazord and two horns appeared from behind the Megazord’s head. The Power Sword then descended from the sky and landed right in the hand of the now completed Megazord.
“Megazord ready!” Rainbow Dash shouted. She then opened the comm channel to the Rangers in their now tiny looking Pony Zords. “How do you like them apples, Dash?”
“Meh,” the other Rainbow Dash replied. “Is that all you’ve got?”
“I’m glad you asked,” Twilight said from the Dragonzord. “How about we forget about keeping things simple and jump right into the real action, Dash?”
“Sounds like a plan, Twilight,” the first Rainbow Dash said.
“Then let’s go for it. Dragon-Megazord formation spell! Dragonzord, morph!” The Dragonzord let out a mighty roar before leaping up into the air. It then released pressurized air and began splitting in half from the neck down. The tail and chestplate detatched and the legs rotated to form 90 degree angles. On the Megazord, the Pterodactyl zord detatched and flew around to attach to the back of the Megazord, extending its wings. The Dragonzord then came up and lowered itself onto the shoulders of the Megazord, attaching to its arms and shoulders to form what looked like armor. The chestplate of the Dragonzord came up to form the new chestplate for the Megazord and the Dragonzord’s tail attached to the Pterodactyl zord. The Power Sword then split down the middle and the two halves landed in the Dragon-Megazord’s hands. The Dragon-Megazord then stood tall showing off its two blades and the wingspan of the Pterodactyl zord. It was a little taller than Trixie and the Ursa Major and certainly made the Pony Zords look puny.
“Dragon-Megazord, ready for battle!” all six of the Rangers shouted in unison.
“That...” Yellow Ranger Applejack tried to say. “That ain’t no small zord...”
“Still pretty lame,” Rainbow Dash said. “I mean, you six must be pretty pathetic if you need such a powerful zord to take on Trixie.”
“Oh, we aren’t just taking on Trixie,” Rainbow Dash said. “We’re going to take that Ursa Major off your hooves, also. Take a seat, Phony Rangers. We’ll show you how it’s done.”
“Yeah, not gonna happen. Megazord sequence, go!”
All three of the other worldly rangers hit a specific button on their control consoles at the same time. Thier Zords moved in close, shifting, twisting, coming apart, and reconnecting themselves, forming into one massive robot Alicorn, standing just as tall as the Trixie and the Ursa. The Red Harmony Force Ranger opened her mouth to comment on this, but the other Dash cut her off with a surprisingly well timed and completely mature remark. “Shut up, we’re still cooler that you.”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie does not fear either of you're Megazords,” the gigantic magician scoffed. “But just to be sure you cannot win, I’ll go ahead and invite some help.” Trixie cast a spell and in two flashes of light, two massive griffons, one mechanical and one flesh and feathers, appeared next to the unicorn and the Ursa.
“You brought the two Gildas into this battle too?” Harmony Force Dash asked. “Now that’s just plain cheating.”
“Oh, that isn’t cheating,” the Gilda next to Trixie said. The massive griffon then gestured towards Zecora with her talon. The zebra gave a quick nod in reply, shouted something that none of the Rangers could hear, and waved her hoof to the sky. Just then, a huge dragon about the size of the rest of the mega combatants descended and let out a mighty roar. “Now we’re cheating.”
“Five against two?” Harmony Dash asked.
“What’s the matter, Dash?” the other Rainbow Dash asked. “Intimidated?”
“No, I’m just surprised that they’d really stoop that low, that’s all. Anyway, now that the opportunity has presented itself, what would you say to a little wager?”
“Is now really the time for bets?” Twilight asked.
“I’m game for a wager,” the other Dash said, completely ignoring Twilight.
“We each take on the villains from each other’s worlds,” Harmony Dash proceeded. “That way, we can see who’s more adept in combat. After that, whoever gets to and defeats the dragon first is officially the ultimate team of Pony Rangers.”
“You’ve got yourself a deal. No way you can win, though.”
“Then what do you say we stop talking and get started? Harmony Force Rangers, go!” The Dragon-Megazord then began running at the mechanical griffon and Ursa Major.
“No way we’re letting them show us up. Alicorn Megazord, attack!” The mechanical alicorn then began galloping at top speed towards Gilda and Trixie.
The Alicorn Megazord reached Gilda first, charging up it’s horn for an attack as it reared up on it’s back legs and lashed out with it’s forehooves. Gilda blocked the attack, but the lightning from the Alicorn Megazord’s horn arced down, blasting the griffon in the back.
“Had enough, bird girl, or do you want us to keep going and take you down?” Dash taunted as Gilda got back up.
“Come on Gilda, they’re using a pathetic horsey megazord,” Trixie remarkred impatiently. “It’s nowhere near as powerful as the Rangers usual megazord. Take it out already!”
“Shut it!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Ours might not be as strong as theirs, but it’s still the better of the two! You just watch and see.”
The Alicorn Megazord quickly took to the sky, it’s horn shining as bright as a star. It looped around and came back as Gilda took off to follow it. A barrage of laser fire sprayed forth from the horn, blasting the unfortunate griffon again and again, until the Megazord’s outstretched hooves slammed into Gilda, and the machine carried her up into the sky. They soon came back down, smashing all four hooves into Gilda’s stomach right as they hit the ground. “We’ve got the advantage in speed, agility, coolness, awesomeness, and radicalness, not to mention we have swag and more weapons than they do. Our megazord is definitely the best.”
Meanwhile, the Harmony Force Rangers were proving that it was no hard task to take on an Ursa Major when you have six zords attacking in one Megazord. “Hay, Dash,” Twilight said as the Megazord gave two quick slashes to the Ursa. “Do you think we might have overpowered ourselves a little?”
“Probably,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Still, we do kind of need to show those fake Rangers up. They don’t bring their fight to our world without paying for it in whatever glory they think they have.”
“I suppose that’s a decent point, but don’t you think we’re trying a little too hard?”
“Not at all.” Just as Rainbow Dash said this, the Megazord fired several rockets at the Ursa, knocking it back even further. “Okay, we might have gone a little overboard, even in terms of keeping Equestria safe. I suppose there are boundaries.”
The Ursa slowly got up and shook off the attack it just took. “And it took you that long to figure that out?” Trixie shouted. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will admit that she has been bested in combat on occasion in the past, but the Great and Powerful Trixie believes that you Harmony Force Rangers could afford to dial it back a little. After all, the Great and Pow-” Trixie’s rant was cut short when the Megazord charged and gave her a powerful slash that shut her up and knocked her further back.
“Okay,” Rainbow Dash said. “Thanks to Trixie’s rant, I’m over my guilt for beating the hay out of her. What about you, Twilight?”
“Yup,” Twilight replied. “Same here.”
Meanwhile, the Alicorn Megazord had moved on to the other Trixie, who shot lightning at them as the approached. The Megazord defended itself with it’s wings, blocking most of the attack.
“Ha! You may have beaten Gilda, but the Great and Powerful Trixie is a vastly more difficult and challenging opponent as she is-”
Wham! Trixie was smacked in the face with an abandoned warehouse.
“Wow, you talk just as much as our Trixie. Congratulations, I wasn’t even aware that that was possible. Girls, let’s take her out in one shot. Primary Cannon, Activate!”
The alicorn megazord spread it’s wings, looking as if it was about to choose between taking flight or fight, then lowered it’s head to point it’s horn at Trixie. Electricity began racing all over it’s body, focusing itself into the horn. At the tip of the horn a bright sphere of energy appeared, looking rather ominous to Trixie, who took a step backwards in worry.
“What are you doing? Stop that! The Great and powerful Trixie doesn’t like that and demands that you cease this action at once! Stop it!” The unicorn began throwing spells at the mighty machine, but was horrified to learn that none of them seemed to have any effect, at best causing a few sparks and small explosions to appear. By now the ball of energy at the end was rather big, about the size of one of the Dragon-Megazord’s fists, and made out of swirling red, yellow, and blue energy. “Primary Cannon...FIRE!” Just then, the Dragon-Megazord slammed into them from the side. Moment’s before, the Dragon-Megazord had finished the Ursa-Trixie and moved on to the Griffon Battlezord, which did seem pretty small and pathetic compared to the Dragon-Megazord, but this didn’t cause Gilda to back down. “You six think you can scare me with that?” Gilda asked, slamming her claw down on a button on her control panel. “Missiles, fire!” At that moment, several missiles fired from the mechanical griffon towards the Megazord.
“Not good,” Rainbow Dash said to herself. “Power Sabers, defend!” The Megazord moved its twin sabers into a defensive position to block the missiles. This was successful for five of the missiles, but two more got around the defense and struck the Megazord.
“Now that’s playing dirty,” Pinkie said to herself. “Girls, I’m gonna take us out of the line of fire.” Pinkie then pressed several buttons on her control panel, causing the Megazord to take flight.
“You pathetic little ponies,” Gilda shouted. “Did you forget that I have wings as well?” The Griffon Battlezord then took off after the Megazord.
“I’m not going to say that was a horrible move,” Rarity commented, “but it doesn’t seem like it was that well planned out.”
“Don’t worry, Rarity,” Pinkie said. “I have a plan. Hold on to something!” The Megazord then began pulling up and flying back towards the the mechanical griffon. Gilda barely had any time to react before the Megazord passed right over her and slashed her with two quick strikes. As the mechanical griffon went down, the Megazord landed and took a triumphant stance. “You see? I had the whole thing under con-” Pinkie was cut short when a mysterious force blasted the Megazord and sent it flying into the Alicorn Megazord.
As the Alicorn Megazord was knocked over by the impact, it fired it’s attack, missing the target completely, and hitting a small mountain in the distance, which suddenly turned into a plateau as a result of the explosion. The two Megazords went down, thankfully only smashing the buildings in the abandoned warehouse district when they crashed. (Seriously, why do they even have an abandoned warehouse district?)
Something large, black, and white was standing just outside of town... and it looked like a really big unicorn robot.
“The Monochromatic Megazord! It’s about dang time White Ranger showed her ugly face!” the Dash in the alicorn megazord announced. “Hey Faker! Get your big fat Megazord off of ours! We need to go kick her flank!”
“What are you, crazy?” Harmony Dash asked. “You still have our Trixie to finish. We’ll take care of that... whatever it is.”
“Wait!” the other Dash shouted. However, the Dragon-Megazord had already taken off in the direction of the mechanical unicorn. “Those idiots. They’re going to be glue if they go up against Rangers Black and White. Come on, Rangers. We need to save them.” The Alicorn Megazord was about to take off when it was suddenly struck by a bolt of lighting.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie will not be ignored,” Trixie shouted. “I haven’t even finished destroying you three.”
“We don’t have time for this,” Blue Ranger Rarity shouted.
“No we don’t,” Rainbow Dash added. “But it seems we have no choice.” The Alicorn Megazord then turned its attention back to Trixie, who quickly realized her mistake.
“Maybe this wasn’t the best of the Great and Powerful Trixie’s plans,” the massive magician said to herself.
Meanwhile, the Dragon-Megazord was flying at top speed towards the Monochrome Megazord. “Come and get it,” a voice said over the Megazord’s comm that could only belong to one of the pilots of the colorless zord. Twilight was sure she had heard that voice before, but she couldn’t quite place her hoof on where.
“Oh, we are totally going to take it,” Rainbow Dash shouted. “If by ‘it’, you mean victory! Now take this!” The Dragon-Megazord was within range to strike the Monochrome Megazord and about to strike with one of its sabers, but some invisible force had blocked the attack before it made contact. “What the-?”
“Really, Harmony Rangers?” a second pilot asked. Twilight was almost certain she had heard this voice before, as well, but again was unable to remember where. “You try a melee attack on two powerful and skilled unicorns? Sad.” Before the Harmony Rangers could react, they were struck by a blast of black and white magic energy emitting from the Monochromatic Megazord’s horn.
The Alicorn Megazord had just finished burying Trixie in abandoned warehouses when they saw the Dragon-Megazord get sent flying by the Monochromatic Megazord. (Ahh! Too many Megazords to keep track of! Make it stop!)
“Dang it, I told them they were out of their league!” Dash grumbled, as the Black and White Rangers charged up for a second attack. “If they get hit by that thing again, their Megazord is going to be totaled. Come on girls, we’ve got some Rangers to save. I want full power in the shields and the Wing shields in place for a hit. Be ready for massive damage and a counter attack as soon as we get hit.”
The Alicorn Megazord sprang into action, jumping in front of the downed Dragon-Megazord, moving it’s wings in front of itself to block the attack that was coming as a blue field of energy encased it’s body. The Monochromatic Megazord fired a beam of white and black energy that slammed into the Rangers defense, resulting in a large amount of sparks and explosions all across the alicorn Megazord’s body.
“Wing armor is compromised,” Applejack announced. “Flight systems are offline. Shields are holding at thirty percent power.”
“Main power grid is damaged and bleeding energy,” Rarity reported. “Auxiliary power will keep us at minimal operating capacity, but once we lose the shields we’re not getting them back without extensive repairs. Also, the magical weapons systems are shot.”
“In other words, we can take one more hit, and we can’t fight back,” Dash summarized. “Dang it! They’ve gotten even stronger! And thanks to those other Ranger idiots, they're going to annihilate us! I told them to leave it to us!”
The Dragon (the one Zecora summoned, in case anypony forgot like agent_cupcakes did) approached the two helpless megazords, hoping to finish one off. He raised his claws up to strike, but when he brought it down a black and white shield stopped his attack. “No,” said one of the evil Megazords pilots. “Let them suffer with the knowledge of just how helpless they really are.” With that the air began to ripple and shimmer as the Dragon, the evil Megazord, the Griffon Battlezord, both Trixies, the giant Gilda, and Zecora all disappeared. On the ground, only one unconscious Twilight remained.
The damaged Alicorn Megazord approached the Dragon-Megazord. “I hope you Harmony Rangers are happy,” Dash said. “Just please tell me you can help repair the zords quickly. If they show up again and the zords aren’t fixed, we’re all gonna be toast.”
“Hay,” Green Ranger Twilight said, “our zords are damaged too.”
“That’s because you were completely out of your league and you knew it. We’re the only ones who can take on the Monochromatic Megazord, and we would have defeated them if you hadn’t gotten in the way.”
“Why I oughta...”
“No, Twilight,” Harmony Dash said. “I hate to admit it, but they’re right.” All five members of Dash’s team let out a collective gasp of confusion and shock. “I know you girls are surprised to see me admit such a thing, but we are faced with something way beyond our league. If we had just listened to those other Rangers, the zords might not be this damaged and those evil Rangers might already be finished. I guess what I’m trying to say to the other Rainbow Dash is...” Rainbow Dash paused for a moment before very quietly murmuring, “I’m sorry.”
“What was that?” the other Dash asked, pretending she didn’t hear Rainbow Dash but just wanted to hear her apologize again. “I didn’t quite catch that.”
“I said... I’M FLYING SORRY!!!!”
The volume of how loud Dash shouted this nearly damaged the Alicorn Megazord’s comm system and certainly gave the other Rangers a headache. “All right,” Dash said, getting up and massaging her head. “Apology accepted. Now let’s get back to... wherever you keep your zords. And bring our egghead with us. One of those Rangers knocked her unconscious while we were busy fighting the Gildas and Trixies.”
“I’m on it,” Twilight said. She then began charging her horn with energy and in several flashes of light, the Megazords, Rangers, and the unconscious Twilight, were all teleported back to Canterlot.
Back on the Moon base, Blueblood smiled as he used a crystal ball to watch the Rangers take the unconscious Twilight with them. “Excellent. White Ranger’s back up plan is working just fine.” He turned to face the other assembled villains. “What’s our current status?”
Trixie sighed. “The Ursa Emblem is on it’s twenty four hour recharge, but is still usable. The Great and Powerful Trixie will be ready to take down their zords tomorrow.”
The Gilda in the unitard looked up from the machine part she was tinkering with, an oil stain on her face. “The damage to the Griffon Battlezord isn’t the worst I’ve ever seen. I should have it up and running by then if Trixie gives me a hand... er, hoof.”
Zecora watched her now bite-sized Dragon attack a number of plastic pony dolls that looked like the Rangers. “My ferocious Dragon is unharmed, and when the Rangers see it again they’ll be quite alarmed.”
Just then, Nightmare Moon walked into the room. “I trust everything went well and the Pony Rangers (with the exception of you two, Rangers White and Black) are destroyed?”
“Not quite yet,” the White Ranger said. “However, in this plan, the key is patience. With the exception of losing my cover as their Green Ranger, everything is falling into place. Don’t worry about a thing, Nightmare. The plan will be complete by tomorrow.”
“I certainly hope so.” Nightmare then began walking out of the room.
“Do you seriously rely on hope in this world?” Trixie asked Zecora. The zebra just shrugged in reply.
Back at Canterlot, both teams of Pony Rangers were gathered in the computer room. “Wow,” Rainbow Dash said, looking around.
“I know,” the other Dash replied. “Pretty sweet, huh?”
“No, it’s a total rip-off of our command center back in our world.”
“There really is no pleasing you, is there?”
Just then, Twilight came walking in from the other room. “That Twilight is going to be ok,” Twilight said to the others. “It must have been that third Twilight that knocked her unconscious.”
“And what about the zords?” one of the Applejacks asked.
“Well...” Twilight started, trotting over to her console. “Their designs are incredibly simple compared to our zords, but that doesn’t exactly mean they’ll be up and trotting in a matter of minutes. Since they’re unfamiliar to me, the repairs should take the rest of the day and part of tomorrow morning, but they’ll be ok.”
“So that means we’re stuck here until tomorrow?” Rainbow Dash asked. “What if our evil Rangers show up again?”
“Only time will tell, I’m afraid.”
“Don’t feel so bad,” Harmony Dash said to her counterpart, giving her a slight prod with her elbow. “You’ve got us to keep you company.”
“I suppose that’s true,” the other Dash said. “Of course, that probably means I’m going to die of boredom even faster.”
“Now I highly doubt anypony’s gonna die of boredom,” Yellow Ranger Applejack said, trotting up to her Red Ranger. “How about this: since the bad guys are taking a break, how about we do some training?”
“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” both Dashes said in unison.
“Of course, I’d totally do better than you,” Harmony Dash said to her counterpart.
“Here we go again,” Twilight said to herself.
“Well, I’m going to go work on the zords,” Pinkie said, trotting towards the door. “Goodness knows my rangers can’t do zord work without help.”
“What about practice?” the other Pinkie asked as she trotted after her counterpart.
“I practiced with our Green Ranger; compared to that, you’re methods are nothing but warm ups.”
“In the meantime,” Twilight said, “I kind of want to study your fighting styles a little closer, new Rangers, er... your team does have a name like ours is ‘Harmony Force’, right?”
“Nope,” Dash answered. “We’ve never needed one, so we never bothered to think one up. Pony Rangers worked just fine by itself until today. Hay, why do you want to study our fighting styles, anyway?”
“I think I can figure out how you're evil Rangers fight if I know how you four or five do.”
“So in other words, you’re just trying to get the upper-hoof on us, right?”
“That’s pretty much it,” Rainbow Dash said.
“No it isn’t,” Twilight quickly said. “We’re getting the upper-hoof on the villains and using the best research material available to do so.”
“Well, I suppose we could pair off,” the other Dash said. “Watch out for Rarity’s kicks though, I broke two legs trying to block one once. AJ would have done more damage, but she’s still new to the whole “martial arts” thing, and still hasn’t quite got the hang of the proper technique.”
Yellow Ranger Applejack grumbled something under her breath, but didn’t say anything out loud.
“Sounds like an excellent idea,” Black Ranger Rarity said. “Now, then, I suppose I’ll be taking myself on.”
“Did you not hear what Rainbow Dash said?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I did, but what’s the worst that could happen if I take myself on?”
“I dunno,” Twilight said. “My best guess is that, upon you two making contact, the whole of time and space would collapse, the fabric of reality would tear, and all life would be sucked into the void of the Time Vortex.”
All of the others stared at Twilight with confused expressions for a moment. “Uh-huh...” Blue Ranger Rarity said. “Anyway, I’ll be taking myself on, I guess.”
“I could give you a few pointers if we go against each other,” Blue Ranger Applejack said to Yellow Ranger Applejack.
“And the best of the best will be decided amongst us,” the two Rainbow Dashes said in unison.
“Seriously,” Harmony Dash said, “stop doing that. You’re creeping me out worse than Tank did the first time I met him.”
“Oh, so you don’t know what a Changeling is, but you still have your own pet turtle?” the other Dash asked. “You guys aren’t just behind. You’re all over the place.”
Pinkie popped her head back into the room. “I’ll take on the winners.” She declared before exiting once again.
“Okay,” Twilight said. “Anyway, we don’t exactly have an actual training room, but there is plenty of space in the Pterodactyl zord’s hangar for us. After all, it is usually hanging on the ceiling, so the floor space is never used for anything. Now, it’s going to be a bit hot since it’s in a volcano, but all the more training value, right?”
“Again, that’s a warm-up for me,” Pinkie called. “No pun intended.”
“That’s great,” Rainbow Dash said. “Take us there now.”
“Okay,” Twilight said. She then teleported all of the Pony Rangers to the Pterodactyl zord’s hangar, where there really was a lot of space on the ground. The place was entirely metal and the perimeter of the room was a perfect square, fitting the Pterodactyl zord’s wingspan from corner to corner with plenty of room to spare. As for the zord itself, it was hanging at least fifty feet above the Rangers. “It’s improv, but it works.”
“Alright,” Rainbow Dash said, “let’s pair up and fight.”
The Rangers got into groups, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Pinkie, and Twilight standing off to the side.
“Go Harmony Rangers!” one Pinkie cheered.
“Hey, why are you rooting for my team?” the other Pinkie asked.
“Because I want a rematch, duh.”
“Shh,” Twilight said. “You’ll break everypony’s concentration.” The unicorn then materialized a bag of popcorn. “Popcorn, anypony?”
First to battle was the two Applejacks. “Y’all ready for this, partner?” Blue Ranger Applejack asked, placing her Element of Harmony on her neck.
“Am I ready?” Yellow Ranger Applejack asked, summoning her morphers. “Do you even know who you’re talkin’ to?”
“I’d reckon I do. ELEMENT OF HONESTY!” In a flash of blue light, Applejack’s full blue Ranger armor appeared and she took an offensive stance. “Harmony Force, Ranger Blue.”
“Bring it on, then. Yellow Ranger Power!”
The two Applejacks then charged at each other. Yellow Ranger leapt to attack Blue Ranger, but Blue Ranger did a quick slide which proceeded a reverse sky buck. (Which, in case anypony is as confused as both agent_cupcakes and xanderman1201 are, is where a pony stands on her forelegs, angles her hind legs upwards, and springs upwards using her forelegs resulting in a powerful kick that can deal decent damage to any enemy above the user, but is severely limited by gravity and their own weight.) This caught Yellow Ranger off guard and she fell on her side. “Remember to keep your guard up in all locations at all times,” Blue Ranger said, landing perfectly on all fours. “Let that be your first lesson.”
“Okay,” Yellow Ranger said, getting up. “But this match ain’t done, is it?”
“Nope. I still got plenty left to teach you.”
Nearby, the two Rarities were starting their battle. Unlike the Applejacks, the Rarities decided to have an unmorphed fight. “Okay, Darling, let’s do this,” the Blue Ranger said, striking a battle ready pose.
“Agreed, Darling,” said the Black ranger striking an equally battle ready pose.
The two rushed each other in a graceful manner. The Black Ranger’s spin kick was dodged and countered with two jabs and a karate chop, which were in turn countered with a back hoof strike and a traditional buck. The Blue ranger caught this buck with her forehooves, and then tossed her opponent.
“Seems you have a lot to learn, Darling.”
“And I suppose you’re going to teach me, Darling?”
“Of course, Darling.”
In another part of the hangar, the two Rainbow Dashes were slowly circling each other. “So,” Harmony Dash asked, “morphed or un-morphed? I’ll beat you either way, but I’m feeling nice enough to let you decide.”
“Morphed,” the other Dash said, summoning her morphers. “I wanna see what you’ve really got so I can prove more easily that I’m way cooler than you.”
“No problem.” Rainbow Dash then put on her Element of Harmony. “Except for that last part about you being cooler than me. ELEMENT OF LOYALTY!”
“Red Ranger Power!”
The two Rainbow Dashes then flew right at each other. Harmony Dash swerved upwards at the last moment before the two hit each other, but the other Dash followed in close pursuit. Harmony Dash tried flying quickly this way and that, doing her best to confuse her counterpart to little success.
“Really?” the other Dash asked. “You’re running away?”
“Not exactly,” Harmony Dash said, stopping suddenly and turning to strike her opponent before she had a chance to put on her brakes. Rainbow Dash was knocked back a little, but she quickly recovered.
“You call that an attack?” Dash taunted. “I barely felt that. My Fluttershy hits harder than that.” After a short pause, Dash added, “Heck, my Fluttershy’s pet bunny can hit harder than that.”
Meanwhile, back at the Rarities, Black ranger found herself in a tough spot. Blue Ranger was coming at her with lightning fast jabs, and it was taking all her concentration and focus just to dodge them.
“Well, Darling, I do admit, you may be just a tiny bit more athletic than me, and might have slightly better training in martial arts.”
Suddenly Blue Ranger found her hooves wrapped in the aura of her own magic, (well, actually, it was her opponent’s magic, but since she was her own opponent, it’s safe to say the magic belonged to Rarity) holding them to prevent her from moving.
“However, Darling, it seems I have you beat in the field of magic.”
“Not quite, Darling,” Blue Ranger said as her horn lit up. The plate of metal Black Ranger was standing on suddenly broke free and rose up into the air, causing the Black ranger to stumble and lose both her balance and her concentration.
“My Twilight assigned me a daily magical exercise routine, and let me tell you, Darling, it’s been working wonders with my magic.”
Back at the fight between the Applejacks, Yellow Ranger was taking a bit of a beating from the “lessons” Blue Ranger was giving her. “Lesson 48,” Blue Ranger said, “always know where your opponent is.”
“You do realize that 45 of those lessons had nothing to do with martial arts, right?” Yellow Ranger asked.
“Really? Because I was sure that one with the Ursa Swipe attack was-” Blue Ranger was cut off when Yellow Ranger charged up and bucked her opponent in the face.
“I believe that was the first lesson: don’t let your guard down.”
“Good... hit...” Blue Ranger said, lying on the floor holding her muzzle. “I’ll be alright. I’m just not used to somepony managing to lower my guard and get a successful hit in in that particular way, that’s all.”
“Well... I hope you're getting something useful out of this, Ms. Other Twilight, because I really don’t see much point to these matches,” Pinkie announced.
“You seem a bit more like a grump than I am; why is that?” the Harmony force Pinkie inquired of her counterpart.
“Well, when you spend a lot of your time hanging out with a jerk it kind of rubs off on you. Don’t worry though; I’m still my good old bubbly self on the inside.”
“Well as long as you’re the same on the inside, you’re still my friend.”
Twilight and Fluttershy looked at each other with confused expressions for a moment. “I honestly expected two Pinkie Pies meeting to be a little more... explosive,” Twilight said.
“Why explosive?” Fluttershy asked.
“I dunno. I couldn’t think of a good term for ‘Oh sweet mother of Lauren Faust, all of Equestria is screwed.’”
“Actually, explosive might be an understatement.”
“You two do realize we’re right here, right?” one of the Pinkies asked.
“Yeah, even if only in body, cus my mind is kind of wandering in boredom and-oh look, something interesting is happening!”
The bystanders looked over to see Black ranger Rarity slap Blue ranger Rarity in the face. Blue Ranger returned with a slap of her own, and the whole thing quickly devolved into a standard cat-fight, complete with mane pulling, biting, and blinding bursts of magic to the face.
“Oh, wait, I was wrong. Never mind.”
Meanwhile, the two Rainbow Dashes were still having their epic duel far above the “battle” the Rarities were having, neither one seeming even slightly distracted by what was going on below them. “I’m genuinely impressed by your skills,” Harmony Dash said. “Really, I am.”
“Are you, now?” the other Dash asked. “Well there’s plenty more where that came from.” Dash then charged at Dash, aiming to send a hoof right into Dash’s face. However, Dash blocked Dash’s attack and followed up with a knee to the stomach. This attack didn’t phase Dash, though, as she did a backflip and bucked Dash in the face.
“I don’t know what you're gameplan is,” Dash said, backing away and rubbing her chin. “But I do know that my being impressed with you is quickly diminishing.”
“Ditto,” Dash replied.
Meanwhile Blue Ranger Rarity picked herself up off the floor, while the Black ranger simply laid there, not having the strength to get back up.
“What did we learn today, Darling?”
“Never call our outfits tackey.”
“And don’t you forget it,” the Blue ranger said, before helping her other self up. “I didn’t hurt you too bad, now did I?”
“Not at all, but I still feel I’m done for the day.”
“Well, that battle’s over,” Pinkie said. “I wonder how the Applejacks are doing.” This was answered by the Blue Ranger Applejack being thrown right into Pinkie.
“Good... throw...” Applejack said, apparently too exhausted to even keep her head upright.
“Well AJ seems to have improved,” Blue Ranger Rarity said. “Hay, where are the Rainbow Dashes?”
Right as Rarity asked this, the Pterodactyl zord came crashing down, nearly crushing several of the others. “That was totally your fault,” Harmony Dash shouted, getting up from lying on the back of the zord.
“You’re the one who hit it,” the other Dash said, slowly descending to help her counterpart up.
“I only hit it because you threw me into it.”
“I threw you into it because you were trying to buck me into the ceiling!”
“I saw you going for your sword!”
“You were trying to choke me!”
“Both of you stop!” Twilight shouted. Both Rainbow Dashes immediately stopped arguing and looked over at Twilight.
“So which one of us won?” Harmony Dash asked. “It was totally me because I didn’t try to cheat by using a weapon, wasn’t it?”
“If anything counts as cheating, a headlock has to be one of them.”
“I think that Zord work needs to wait,” Pinkie said to herself, before turning to Twilight. “Can you take everyone else back to the command room and come check on us later? I think we need to solve this before the problem gets any worse and I know just the way to do it.”
“Okay,” Twilight said. She then turned to the arguing Rainbow Dashes and sighed to herself. “Good luck, Pinkie. Everypony else, let’s get back to Canterlot.” The Rangers (except for the two Dashes and Pinkie Pie) all gathered around Twilight as the unicorn teleported everypony back to the computer room.
Back on the moon base, everyone was sitting around waiting for everyone to be ready for the next attack. The Trixies were playing Go Fish, Gilda and Gilda were playing Rock, Paper, Scissors, Zecora was teaching Hunter how her magic works, even though Hunter was doing his best to not listen to Zecora’s rhymes, and Prince Blueblood was busy brushing his mane a hundred-something times. The evil Twilight, on the other hoof, wasn’t being so patient. She kept chasing Nightmare’s manticore, insisting that he spar with her, and it was definitely getting on the manticore’s nerves. After a while, Nightmare finally walked in to see how everyone was getting along. “Ah,” she said. “I see nopony’s killed each other yet.”
“Not for lack of trying, mind you,” Trixie announced. “White Ranger has been rather aggressive since she got back... but not in her usual way. She hasn’t insulted Trixie even once since she got back and, quite frankly, it’s freaking Trixie out.”
“Yeah, she just keeps trying to fight the Manticore. It’s really weird. It’s almost like it’s not really her,” the other Trixie said with a chuckle.
“Hmm...” Nightmare said to herself. “Well, it’s not like I know your Twilight that well, so I wouldn’t know what’s strange and what isn’t. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“With all due respect, Nightmare,” one of the Gildas said, “it is most certainly far from nothing. When it comes to evil, she’s a close second to our own master, and he’s, well, the Dark Lord.”
“For her to act this way...” Trixie continued. “There’s just no explaining it. Even somepony as great and powerful as the Great and Powerful Trixie can’t explain it.”
“You aren’t that great and powerful, Trixie,” Twilight said, finally giving up trying to fight the manticore and trotting over to where the others were. “And everything’s perfectly fine, so stop worrying about me and start worrying about what I’m going to do to you if this next attack fails.” Twilight then huffed and quickly trotted off, closing her eyes to hide a nervous glint in them.
“I’m no expert,” Nightmare said, “but that sounded a little like overcompensation for something...”
Back at the Pterodactyl Zord’s hanger, Dash and Dash were giving their fullest attention to Pinkie... that is, when they weren’t busy giving each other dirty looks. Pinkie sighed, knowing it was going to take a long while to get them to stop doing that.
“Alright, you two need to stop bickering and start getting along,” Pinkie said, “so we’re going to do what me and my Green Ranger did to get learn how to get along.”
“What’s that?” one of the Dashes asked, wanting to get whatever was going to happen over and done with.
“I’m going to beat the ever-loving snot out of you both until you start playing nice.”
“Pfft,” Harmony Dash said. “You? Beat the ‘ever-loving snot’ out of me?” The other Dash started backing slowly away, but Harmony Dash took no notice. “No offence, Pinkie, but you don’t have nearly enough of the skills needed to even lay a hoof on-” Dash was cut off abruptly when Pinkie charged up and gave her a powerful smack with her hoof, causing the prismatic pegasus to stumble backwards. “Ow! What the hay was that?”
“Just a little taste of what happens when you don’t take things seriously around me when I need you to take things seriously.” Pinkie then indicated the other Rainbow Dash. “She’s seen me in combat, albeit never in my unmorphed state, so she knew how to avoid the first strike.” Harmony Dash turned to give her counterpart another dirty look, but the other prismatic pegasus just gave a quick smirk. This resulted in earning them both another smack from Pinkie Pie. “No dirty looks, and no smirks. That’s one of the things I want to address during our little session. The whole point of this is to get you two to play nice, and nopony is leaving until we accomplish that, or you beat me.”
The pink pony adopted an awkward looking two legged stance, that didn’t look like it was even remotely practical for combat. “Let me know when you’re ready.”
“Ready!” both Dashes shouted together, before simultaneously leaping at her prepared to-
WHACK!
Both Dashes hit the floor three yards away from the pink pony, groaning in pain. Each tried to sort through their heads and figure out what had just happened, but neither could seem to remember, nor focus on trying to remember with Pinkie giggling at their misfortune, still standing in the same weird stance.
Quickly getting to their hooves, they tried again, this time going at her from the sides in hopes of-
SMACK!
The Dashes found themselves groaning on the floor, ten yards away from each other, with Pinkie standing exactly half way between them, chuckling at their misery.
The Dashes got to their hooves, and then took to the air, hoping to use their natural talent to their advantage as-
SOUND OF PAIN!
“Wow, you two are bad at this,” Pinkie laughed, as the Dashes struggled to get back up, finding themselves back in the exact same spots they had been in before the fighting started.
“How the hay are you doing that?” one of the Dashes asked.
“It’s simple, really,” Pinkie said, turning around quickly to strike the other Dash who thought she could get the drop on the pink pony. “I’m calm and collected (and have way more training) while you two are fighting while at the same time being at each other's throats.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” the other Dash asked, getting up.
“It means exactly what it says. The only way you two are going to be able to do anything in combat is if you just put aside whatever differences you’re imagining you have and stop trying so desperately to show each other up.” Right as Pinkie finished saying this, the other Dash that Pinkie was facing away from tried to get the drop on her, despite the result that got for her counterpart.
Yeah, the same thing happened.
“My point,” Pinkie continued, “is that you two need to realize that you are not each other's enemies and learn to work together.” Pinkie then took an offensive stance. “Now, why don’t you two try again. But this time, try to work together. It’ll take more than one of any of you other Rangers to even hope to defeat me, anyway.”
Naturally, the Dashes egos and competitive spirit refused to allow them to accept this message.
WHAM!
“This is going to take longer than I thought.”
Back at the base, Blue Ranger Rarity and Yellow Ranger Applejack were “helping” Twilight fix the pony zords... and by “helping” I mean trying to help, but inadvertently being completely useless and the exact opposite of helpful.
“Are you two sure there’s nothing else you can do around here?” Twilight asked. “Maybe you could... share some tips with the others? Oh, or maybe you could go check on the other Twilight for me. She should be okay by now.”
“You just want us out of your mane, don’t you?” Applejack asked.
“Not exactly... I don’t mean... Yes, I do want you ‘out of my mane’. It’s not that I don’t enjoy your company, but... Seriously, though, somepony does need to check on the other Twilight.”
“Fine,” Rarity said. The two ponies then trotted out of the room. “A little rude, don’t you think?” Rarity said to Applejack as the two left.
Twilight breathed a sigh of relief and went back to work. “Glad that’s out of the way. Now then, back to work... How can these things be so simple in design yet so complicated to repair when they’re this badly damaged?”
Just then, Spike walked in from one of the doors (presumably somehow connected to that room he’s always walking in from) and yawned, stretching his arms. He blinked once or twice, before finally realizing what was wrong with the scene he was seeing.
“Twilight... when did we get new Zords?”
“Spike?” Twilight asked, rather startled at Spike’s sudden appearance after nearly three whole chapters. “What do you mean ‘new zords’? Have you been sleeping for the past...” Twilight took a second to look at her watch. “Wow, is it really that late?”
“Yeah, 3 AM is pretty late to be making so much noise with zord repairs. Which brings me back to my previous question: When did we get new zords?”
Twilight spent what might have been 20 or 30 minutes explaining to Spike what had happened over the course of the past several hours that he had been sleeping through.
“...So you see, Spike, we’re on the brink of disaster and these new zords that those other Pony Rangers pilot seem to be our only hope.”
Spike was silent for a moment before he finally replied to all of what Twilight had said. “You do realize that almost all of that is incredibly far fetched, right?”
Just then, the other Twilight walked in with Rarity. “Twilight’s alright, Twilight,” Rarity called as she walked in.
“What the-?” the confused baby dragon asked as he continuously looked back and forth between the two Twilights. After awhile, he finally just gave up, threw his arms in the air, and started walking off. “That’s it, I’m going back to bed.”
“Hang on, Spike,” Twilight said, hopping off of one of the pony zords and going after her baby dragon assistant. “I promise you aren’t dreaming and you aren’t hallucinating from lack of sleep.”
“And I’m guessing that we’ll need his help to get these Zords running again,” the other Twilight said. “Holy cow, I’ve never seen them in such bad condition before. What happened to them?”
“A full force blast from the Monochromatic Megazord,” Rarity explained. “We were trying to protect the other Rangers and their Zords. It didn’t turn out so well.”
“Dang, they must have gotten a lot stronger.”
“Wait,” the first Twilight said. “You mean that they aren’t normally this strong and that they have the potential to become stronger?”
“Well...” Rarity said. “That’s what we’re guessing, at least.”
“You guys do realize that I’m not following any of this, right?” Spike asked. “I woke up literally 45 minutes ago.”
“Good,” the other Twilight said. “I’m guessing that means you’ve had time for coffee.”
“Actually, I-” Spike didn’t have any time to continue before Twilight walked over to Twilight.
“Wow. You’ve done some pretty good work on these for never seeing them before today.”
“Well, they aren’t that complicated,” Twilight said. “Besides, a zord is a zord, right?” This was answered by the Blue Unicorn Zord whinnying intimidatingly and backing away from Twilight.
“More like a living machine, actually. While you’ve done some pretty decent repairs, you have to understand that what you’re doing is less similar to repairing a mechanical dragon and more like... nursing a foal back to health.”
“Really? Huh. I never thought of it like that.”
Meanwhile, back at the Pterodactyl Zord hanger, both Dashes lay groaning in pain on the floor, all but defeated, while Pinkie stood on all fours not to far away. The party pony had barely even broken a sweat holding off their attacks.
“We’ve got all night guys,” Pinkie said, “and I can keep this up for as long as I need to.”
“I don’t think we can beat her,” one of the Rainbow Dashes said.
“Once again, there’s your problem. You aren’t fighting as ‘we’, you’re fighting as ‘me and you’.” The two Rainbow Dashes looked at Pinkie for a moment with confusion and then looked back at each other.
“Do you have any idea what the hay she’s talking about?” the other Dash asked.
Harmony Dash thought for a moment in silence before answering. “Actually, I think I do.”
“Finally!” Pinkie said to herself. “I think we’re actually getting somewhere.”
“What she’s trying to teach us is that we need to accept that we’re both pretty much the same pony and we need to work together if we’re ever going to be successful.”
“YES!” Pinkie shouted. “Finally, you’ve got it! Now we can-”
“Now then, follow my lead and we’ll be able to beat her.”
“No way,” the other Dash said. “You follow me into battle and we’ll win.”
“Hay. My world. My rules.”
“You and I both know that I have more power than you!”
“Here we go again,” Pinkie said, facehoofing.
*Dramatic narrator voice* And so night turned to day, and the Dashes ended up passing out and sleeping in the hanger. Pinkie left when they’d fallen asleep, heading out to get breakfast (most likely a very sugary one), and Twilight, Twilight and Spike worked through the night, only successfully repairing a few of the zords.
Meanwhile, the residents and temporary residents of the moon base fared slightly better. The repairs on the Griffon Battlezord as well as the Monochromatic Megazord were completed with plenty of time for their pilots to get some shuteye, and the rest of the villains had completely rested and recovered for the battle at hoof.
At the same time, the residents of Ponyville rested easily, completely unaware of the battle that was going to take place in a matter of hours. The battle that could spell... the end of time itself.
Back in the void-like room, Xanderman was waving his hoof wildly in front of agent_cupcakes, shouting, “No, no, no. This isn’t going to be an ‘end of time’ battle.”
“Okay, fine,” agent_cupcakes said. “How about simply... ‘The end of Equestria as we know it’?”
“That works, I guess.”
“Anyway, we should leave that battle for the next part. An epic climax filling the entire space of one chapter.”
“Actually, that isn’t a bad idea, either.”
With that in mind, the two ponies rested after working tirelessly to write a particularly long chapter, eagerly awaiting the outcome of their efforts when they got back to work.
(This is a chapter I’ve been planning since I first started writing this fic, and this is just the first of several such chapters. Hope you enjoy.)
Rainbow Dash and the other Rangers were galloping at top speed towards Canterlot Castle, where Twilight said they needed to meet her immediately. “Do you have any idea why Twilight might want to see us so urgently, Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked.
“Not a clue,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Anypony else?”
“I’m drawing a blank,” Rarity said. “But did she have to make us gallop all the way over here from Ponyville? I mean, sure we took the train most of the way, but I’m starting to get sweaty from all the galloping we’re having to do the rest of the way.”
“Try to hold on, Rarity,” Applejack said. “We’re almost there.”
Just as Applejack said this, the Rangers had finally made it the base of the stairs at the top of which the command center lay. “Well why’d we stop here?” Pinkie asked.
“Because we just did all that galloping,” Rarity said. “I need to catch my breath before I run up stairs.”
“No time for that, Rarity!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “What if Twilight’s in danger? We need to get up there as fast as possible. Come on, Fluttershy. We’ll be the first on the scene.” Rainbow Dash then flew top speed up to the control room, Fluttershy struggling to keep up. In less than a second, Rainbow Dash busted through the doors and into the computer room, quickly drawing her Element. “I’ll save you, Twilight! IT’S MORPHIN’ TI- Hay, there’s nothing going on here.”
Twilight quickly turned around in surprise. “Rainbow Dash?” she asked, confused. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Wha-? But I thought... why did you call us and say it was an urgent matter if there’s nothing going on here?”
Just as Rainbow Dash said this, Fluttershy and the other Rangers finally made it up to the computer room, ready for the combat that wasn’t going to take place. “What’s goin’ on?” Applejack asked.
“Twilight called in a false alarm,” Rainbow Dash replied.
“It isn’t entirely false,” Twilight replied. “Celestia, Spike and I have been talking, and we think you Rangers are too on-edge to be doing an effective job at your duty as Rangers.”
“Too on-edge?” Rainbow Dash asked, seeming rather offended. “We’re on alert, not on-edge. Who knows when Nightmare’s next attack will be? We even thought said attack was right here!”
“And that’s your problem,” Celestia said. “You need to losen up if you’re going be sucessful in the next battle. Spike, give them the tickets.”
Spike ran into the room, carrying six golden tickets in his hands. He went to each Ranger, including Twilight, and gave each one a single ticket. “Wait a second, Spike,” Twilight said. “I wasn’t told I was going too.”
“Going?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Going where?”
“Why, to the Grand Galloping Gala,” Celestia replied. “The premier event in all of Equestria right here in Canterlot. I am ordering you six to go there and have fun.”
“Wait,” Rarity said, trotting over to Twilight. “Did you make me make those dresses the other day for this?”
“Yes,” Twilight replied. “I didn’t expect to be going, myself, though. You did make a dress for me, right?”
“Of course I did, but I thought it would be for some grand assault on Nightmare’s moon base.”
“Why would you think dresses were for some grand assault?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Well, some of us would rather look nice when confronting our greatest enemy,” Rarity replied. “Don’t worry, the dresses I made are okay to wear to a social gathering like the Gala.”
“Still,” Pinkie said, “we need to be ready for Nightmare’s next move no matter what it is. I mean, I’m so prepared, even I don’t want to go to this party! That’s how prepared I am for battle! You know the battle calls for full attention if I of all ponies would rather not party!”
“This is exactly why I’m forcing you six to go,” Celestia said. “Look at yourselves. You’ve lost sight of the qualities that made you Rangers in the first place. This would be the perfect opportunity for all six of you to loosen up and recover that which you have lost.”
“I guess that wouldn’t be the worst thing,” Twilight said.
“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash added. “Besides, if it’s the premier event of all of Equestria, Ngihtmare will certainly send her greatest attack yet right there. We’ll be perfectly positioned to counter whatever it is. Anypony with me on that?”
“If I had the rest of my body,” Celestia said, “I’d be face-hoofing right now.”
“I’m just going to face-palm,” Spike said, doing that exact action.
Meanwhile, back in Ponyville, Sweetie Belle called the other Cutie Mark Crusaders to the clubhouse, saying it was “a matter of utmost importance.”
“So,” Scootaloo said when she and Applebloom finally made it to the clubhouse, “what’d you wanna see us for, Sweetie Belle?”
“I have some great news,” Sweetie belle said.
“You finally thought of the perfect way for us to get our cutie marks?” Applebloom excitedly asked.
“Nnnnnot really... I was looking through the paper this morning, and I found out that the Grand Galloping Gala is this weekend.”
“How is that important?” Scootaloo asked.
“Isn’t it obvious? The Pony Rangers could be at the Grand Galloping Gala. We could find them and discover whether or not any of them are our sisters.”
“Uh, no offence Sweetie Belle,” Applebloom said, “but I think you may be going a little crazy over one little out of context sentence you heard from Rarity. I mean, do you even know how expensive a single ticket is? It would be impossible for all three of us to go.”
“Did you know that they offer reduced kids prices?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I got us three tickets for €50 each.”
“Fifty euros each?” Scootaloo asked. “Where did you even get 150 euros?”
“That was the euro symbol? I apologize, but an Acer C7 Chromebook doesn’t have a symbol for the Equestrian Bit, so that was the closest I could get.”
“Wouldn’t it have been easier to say ‘fifty bits each’?” Applebloom asked.
“Well... I guess I could have, but we’re getting way off-topic and destroying the fourth wall much more than usual here. The point is, we’re going to the Grand Galloping Gala, and I’m going to get Rarity to make the three of us dresses.”
“I guess,” Scootaloo said. “But I’m not sure I’m comfortable wearing a dress. It seems a bit too... frilly.”
“Come on, Scootaloo,” Applebloom said, putting her foreleg around Scootaloo. “Rainbow Dash would all right with wearing a dress, wouldn’t she?”
“Oh all right,” Scootaloo replied, defeated.
“Then it’s settled,” Sweetie Belle said. “This weekend, we are going to the Grand Galloping Gala!”
The night of the Gala...
On the moon base, all of Nightmare’s minions were getting ready to put the master plan into action. Manticore, Trixie, and Gilda were stretching and doing excercises for their attack while Zecora was hard at work to fill in her order of 40 Putty Ponies. “Is everything in place, Zecora?” Nightmare asked.
“I am working on the Putties with great haste,” Zecora replied, “but the primary attack is in place.”
“Good. I wish you luck on your attack. As for everyone else, be ready for the greatest battle any of you have ever experienced.”
“Yeah!” all three of Nightmare’s other minions shouted in unison.
“Those Pony Rangers won’t know what hit them, and night shall last forever in Equestria!”
Meanwhile, the Rangers were on their way from Ponyville to the Gala thanks to a carrage Twilight was kind enough to provide. The only problem was that the Rangers had to share a carrage with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and not a single one of the three fillies would stop talking. But that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was that the fillies were talking about the Pony Rangers, who were, again, in the same carrage.
“That Red Ranger is totally awesome,” Scootaloo said. “Who do you think she might me?”
“Ooh, what about the Black Ranger?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Colgate, maybe?” Rarity replied, expressing the same behavior as Rainbow Dash.
“How about the Yellow Ranger?” Applebloom asked.
“Well that might be-” Fluttershy started.
“Fluttershy!” Scootaloo shouted suddenly.
“WHAT?!” Fluttershy squealed, almost flying right out of her seat.
“Uh, I was just going to ask you if you knew who the Yellow Pony Ranger was.”
“Oh, of course. I dunno, Berry Punch?”
“But Berry Punch is an earth pony,” Applebloom replied.
“No, I’ve seen her in Cloudsdale several times. I’m pretty sure she’s a pegasus.”
“Hay, everypony,” Pinkie called, trying to bail her friend out of a sticky situation, “I think we’re here!”
Luckily, Pinkie was right. The carrage was just then pulling up in front of the Canterlot ball room where the Grand Galloping Gala was taking place. “So,” Rainbow Dash said, turning to the Crusaders, “why did you three come here to the Gala all dressed up and everything?”
“So we could meet the Pony Rangers,” Scootaloo replied. “I’m sure you’re here for the same reason, Rainbow Dash?”
“Uhh, yeah, totally. I’m a real fan of that Red Ranger. She is quite the flyer.”
“Ooh, that reminds me of this one time when the Red Ranger gave me a speech about staying safe for your sake. She told me that if I ever got hurt trying to watch their battles, you’d be so upset.”
“Listen, don’t you think you’d be putting yourself in harm’s way if you were here trying to expose the Rangers?” “Yeah, but it’s not like we’re going charging into battle with them. We’ll just hang out as far away as possible.” “Yeah... we should be getting off now.” With that, all eight of the ponies got out of the carrage and began trotting into the Gala. Well, the Crusaders were actually excitedly galloping into the Gala. The Rangers, on the other hoof, were hanging back, trying to distance themselves from the fillies. After a while, they finally got to the entrance, where Twilight was waiting for them.
“Good to see you made it,” Twilight said. “For a minute there, I was afraid you had blown the Gala off.”
“And miss a chance to intercept Nightmare?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Ha. Not a chance. Anyway, does everypony know where they need to be?”
“I’ve got the back garden covered,” Fluttershy said.
“I’ll keep an eye on the center courtyard,” Applejack said.
“Ballroom’s mine!” Pinkie shouted.
“Hay!” Rarity exclaimed. “I wanted to cover the ballroom!”
“Both of you can cover the balroom,” Rainbow Dash said. “It’s a pretty large area to cover, anyway. I’ll cover the stadium where the Wonderbolts are preforming. What about you, Twilight?”
“I’ll stay here at the front entrance,” Twilight replied. “This way, I’ll be able to monitor everypony who comes in and make sure nothing dangerous gets in.”
“Okay,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’m certain this will be a productive night. For all we know, we could even finally find a way to defeat Nightmare once and for all!”
“Yeah!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Time to get this night started.”
“All right, Rangers,” Twilight said, “fan out and get ready for anything on three. One...” But before Twilight could continue, all of the Rangers were gone. She hung her head and sighed loudly. “Three.”
An hour passed and not a single Ranger found any sign of trouble. “I’ve got nothing to report,” Rainbow Dash said into her comm.
“Same thing over here,” Applejack replied.
“All’s quiet,” Fluttershy said.
“Haven’t seen a thing,” Pinkie said.
“Me neither,” Rarity said.
“I just don’t get it,” Twilight said. “Nightmare should have launched some kind of attack by now. Unless...”
“Unless what?” Applejack asked quickly.
“Unless she was expecting us to be expecting her tonight! We walked right into a harmless trap!”
“Uh, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said, nearly dropping her Element as she stared in the distance in horror. “I don’t think Nightmare was trying to trick us.”
“What makes you say that, Dash?”
“Because the Dragon Battlezord is on a rampage and on its way towards Canterlot.”
“What? But that’s impossible! I haven’t summoned it!” Twilight quickly galloped out of the doorway and looked in the distance to find that what Rainbow Dash said was true. The Dragon Battlezord was, indeed, on a rampage and on its way towards Canterlot. “Don’t worry, I can probably shut it down frome here.” Twilight tried to use her magic to disable the Dragonzord, but stopped quickly when she found out what was going on with it. “Zecora’s the one piloting the Dragonzord!”
“You can’t be serious!” Pinkie shouted. “Zecora’s back already?”
“Don’t worry, Pinkie. That just means it’ll take a few seconds longer to break whatever spell she’s using to control the Dragonzord. It’s just one simple spell extra. All I need to do is- oh hay bales!”
“What’s wrong, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I just got jumped by a bunch of Putty Ponies, and there are innocent bystanders all over the place. Augh, there must be about fourty Putties here. I won’t be able to disable the Dragonzord until I can make sure these ponies are safe. You five will have to do combat with Zecora in the Megazord. IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME!” At that, Twilight disconnected from her comm.
“Twilight?” Rainbow Dash called. “TWILIGHT!”
“Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said, “we have bigger problems to worry about. Twilight will be all right on her own.”
“I guess. Everypony get to a secluded area, morph, and summon your zords as fast as possible.”
“Got it!” all of the other Rangers replied in unison. Rainbow Dash then flew up to a section of the roof of the building where nopony would be able to see her. She then pulled out her morpher, morphed, and summoned the Tyrannozord.
Just as Rainbow Dash was doing this, the Crusaders happened to be trotting by. Scootaloo heard the noise of Rainbow Dash morphing and turned around to find the Red Pony Ranger flying away. “Girls!” Scootaloo said, nudging the others. “I just saw the Red Ranger!”
“Are you serious?” Applebloom asked, turning around. However, Rainbow Dash was already gone by the time she turned. “I don’t see her.”
“But she was just here,” Scootaloo said. “Maybe if we follow her, we can see her and the other Rangers in action. Come on.” Scootaloo then began galloping in the direction Rainbow Dash flew.
“Scootaloo, wait!” Sweetie Belle called, but Scootaloo was already long gone. “I guess we’d better follow her.”
“I guess,” Applebloom said. The two then began galloping after Scootaloo.
As the fillies got to a balcony where they could easily see the battle, all five of the Ranger’s zords stampeded into view and combined to form the Megazord. “This will be exciting!” Scootaloo said.
The Rangers, on the other hoof, weren’t exactly excited, but rather intimidated because they knew that the Dragon Battlezord was equivalent in power to the Megazord. “Hay, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said into her comm, “how are we supposed to beat back the Battlezord?”
“I can’t give you any particular weaknesses,” Twilight replied. “I worked for months making sure there were very few difficult-to-expose design flaws. However, there are many ways in which the Battlezord is only equivalent to the Megazord, not equal.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Applejack asked.
“It means you have some advantages, but if you don’t defend the disadvantages, the battle will be entirely evened out.”
“So what are we supposed to do?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“First, the Battlezord is lighter and more agile than the Megazord, but that lost weight comes right off of the armor, so it takes heavier hits. Also, while its Thunder Spear has much better range than the Power Sword, it doesn’t deal that much damage and it can easily knock Zecora off balance if you can get a good counter-hit in. One more thing: the Dragonzord has some extra weapons that the Megazord doesn’t have, but... actually, that advantage doesn’t have a counter. Uhh, good luck.” Twilight then disconnected.
“Well, this will be exciting,” Rainbow Dash said. “All right, Rangers, get ready for battle!”
The Megazord then took an offensive stance and aimed the Power Sword at the Battlezord. “You think you Rangers can defeat me,” Zecora said over the Dragonzord’s comm, “but it would be smarter for you ponies to flee.”
“It’s you who should give up, Zecora,” Applejack replied. “You don’t know everything about how the Dragon Battlezord works, but we do. This is a battle you can’t win.”
“I would beg to protest. It is you five that I will best.” Zecora then aimed the Thunder Spear at the Megazord. “So who will give the first attack? Or is it courage that you Rangers lack?”
“We’ll be happy to give the first strike, Zecora,” Rainbow Dash said. The Megazord then charged sword-first at the Battlezord. Zecora was ready for this attack, however, and got the Thunder Spear ready for a counter-attack. The Rangers saw this counter coming, though, and moved to block Zecora’s attack just in time to avoid a hit and knock the Battlezord off balance. The Megazord then thrust its sword right into the Battlezord’s chestplate, knocking it back further.
“You Rangers think you can defeat me, but I have more than one trick up my sleeve.” Zecora then fired the Dragonzord’s fire breath, hitting the Megazord square in the chestplate.
“Why do they always go for the chestplate?” Pinkie asked angrily. “It’s starting to seem like a broken record!”
“Focus, Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash said. “You can always repaint it again, but we’re finished if you don’t focus.”
“Hold on,” Rarity said. “I think I may have an idea.” She then raised the Megazord’s left arm and flipped its hand until it revealed a machine gun. “Take this, Zecora!” Rarity then pressed a button, unloading an unrelenting barrage of gunfire at the Battlezord. Zecora was unable to defend herself from the bullets.
“Okay, now that’s just cheating!” Zecora shouted. “But don’t think I’m even considering fleeing!”
“Oh, please don’t flee,” Rainbow Dash said. “SPECTRUM SLASH, CHARGE!” The Megazord raised it’s Power Sword and let it charge with five multi-colored bolts of lightning.
“Your attacks will not be enough. LIGHTNING SPEAR, POWER UP!” The Battlezord then raised its spear to the air and let it charge with a bolt of green-colored lighting.
Both of the zord’s weapons were finished charging at the same time. “STRIKE!” the Rangers and Zecora shouted at the same time. Both of the zords charged at each other and brought their weapons down upon each other at the same time. However, neither weapon made contact. Each one was blocked by the other. Both the Rangers and Zecora struggled to move their weapon forward, but all that happened was more electricity crackled and burst from where the two weapons were scraping against each other, causing several explosions in the surrourning area.
“Rangers,” Rainbow Dash shouted, “we need to focus every ounce of energy from the Elements of Harmony into this one attack if we’re going to beat Zecora.”
“Right,” the other replied in unison.
“Pure power of Harmony, charge!” the five Rangers said together. They then focused every ounce of energy they could spare into the Megazord. “FINAL STRIKE!” The Megazord then knocked the Thunder Spear away and brought the Power Sword up for one final attack.
“Oh, there is nothing I can do,” Zecora said. “Without a weapon, I believe I am screwed!”
“For once, you’re right,” Rainbow Dash said. “You are finished! STRIKE!” The Megazord then brought down its rainbow-colored sword down upon the Battlezord, slicing right through it.
“You think I’m finished, but I’ll be back soon. And I’m coming back here... WITH NIGHTMARE MOON!” Before any of the Rangers could ask questions, the Battlezord exploded, taking Zecora with it.
“What do you think she meant by that, Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked.
“I don’t know,” Dash replied. “But what I do know is that we need to get back to the Gala and tell Twilight about what Zecora said.”
“One other problemm,” Pinkie said. “Who’s going to tell Twilight that the Dragonzord’s totaled?”
“NOT IT!” the other four Rangers shouted at the same time.
“Aw, come on, girls,” Pinkie said.
Later, the Rangers, now de-morphed, were galloping at top speed to the entrance of the Gala where Twilight was. “Twilight!” Rainbow Dash shouted when she was finally within view. The other Rangers stopped when they found the de-morphed Twilight standing in the middle of fourty downed putties. “Uh, are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” Twilight replied, still dusting herself off. “How’d the battle with Zecora go?”
“Uhh,” Pinkie said, looking away nervously.
“Let me guess. The Dragonzord’s totaled. It’s all right. The repair spells are just time-consuming, not difficult. In fact, the Dragonzord’s incredibly simple, so with that combined with how good I am with magic now, it’ll take roughly an hour to fix it. I’ll be back in an hour. Enjoy the Gala until then. You achieved quite the victory this evening.”
Just then, the Cutie Mark Crusaders came galloping through, noticing the six un-morphed Rangers and the downed Putties all over the place. “Were the Pony Rangers here?” Scootaloo asked excitedly.
“Uh, you just missed them, squirt,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Maybe if you keep looking, though, you might find them.”
“Good idea.” The Crusaders then set off galloping back in the direction they came.
“Dodged a bullet there,” Applejack said. “See you soon, Twi.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Twilight replied. She then used her magic to teleport away.
“I guess let’s go enjoy the Gala,” Rarity said. “Like Twilight said, we achieved quite the victory.”
“Good idea,” Pinkie replied. ”If you ask me, I’d say it’s party time!” The five Rangers then galloped into the Gala.
Back on the moon base, Nightmare used the ressurection spell to revive Zecora in the middle of the room. “Welcome back, Zecora,” she said. “Are the zords out of commision?”
“I could only destroy the Dragonzord,” Zecora replied, “and the Rangers may be ready for our attack, my lord.”
“Half of your report is a sheer failure, but the second half is good.” Nightmare then turned to her other minions. “In one hour’s time, we shall destroy the Pony Rangers and Equestria will be ours!”
(Welcome to the season finale of My Little Pony Rangers. I must say that if it weren’t for the help of a friends online and IRL, this whole story would still be nothing more than an idea in my mind. You all saw how I canceled the series a few months ago because of another story. If it weren’t for the friend that gave me the idea for Pierce the Netherscape and Knights of Equestria [both of which, I’m happy to report, are cancelled] constantly making me angry, MLPR never would have gotten back off the ground. Still, if I hadn’t cancelled the story for as long as I did, I never would have gotten some of the ideas you’ve seen [the Dragon-Megazord and Derpy taking control of Twilight’s mind] and some still to come. [A couple will be seen at the end of the chapter. I’ll go ahead and mark them with a * if you want.] Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.)
The Pony Rangers were having the time of their lives at the Grand Galloping Gala following their victory against Zecora and the rampaging Dragon Battlezord. All of them except Twilight were partying unlike they have since becoming Rangers. Twilight, on the other hoof, was in the Dragonzord hanger working on the damages from the previous battle. “My, my,” Twilight said to herself. “I get the feeling the Rangers got just plain carried away.” Just as Twilight was putting the finishing touches on her zord, an alarm suddenly sounded from her Thunder Coin. She quickly teleported back to the computer room and galloped over to the console, where Spike was hard at work ferociously typing some stuff into his own console. “What’s going on, Spike?”
“I’m not sure,” Spike replied. “The threat sensors have never been this active.”
“It’s Nightmare Moon,” Celestia said, appearing in her time warp after a brief period of hibernation. “She has launched her greatest attack yet. Twilight, you need to get back to the Grand Galloping Gala and warn the Rangers.”
“All right, Princess,” Twilight replied. “Spike, you need to finish repairs on the Dragonzord yourself. Don’t worry, there are only a few final touches to apply. I’m sure you’ll be okay.”
“You got it, Twilight,” Spike replied. “I can complete the repairs remotely from here. You go help the others.” Twilight gave a quick nod and teleported back to the Gala.
Back at the Gala, the Rangers were partying so hard, they couldn’t have possibly heard the alarms sounding from their Elements for Harmony. “I am having the time of my life!” Rainbow Dash shouted.
“I never thought I’d ever be partying like this in my life,” Fluttershy said quietly, though not as quietly as normal.
“You see?” Pinkie asked the others. “I told you partying hard like this would be fun!”
“Yee-haw!” Applejack shouted. “I got some hot hooves from all this dancin’!”
“I just can’t get over the two huge mistakes agent_cupcakes made writing this one scene,” Rarity said. “Not only is the Grand Galloping Gala suddenly some kind of party that Pinkie would throw if she had all the time and resources in Equestria, but the background ponies here are acting as though the battle from the last chapter hadn’t happened despite the fact that, as far as the timeline of this story goes, that battle happened just barely an hour ago.” Suddenly, some invisible force seemed to grab Rarity by the horn and slam her into the ground face-first. “Ow, okay, I’ll shut up.”
Just then, Twilight was battling the crowd, trying to get to the Rangers. “Rainbow Dash!” Twilight called, noticing Rainbow Dash flying just over the crowd. Rainbow Dash just barely heard Twilight and turned around to where the unicorn was standing. Dash motioned for the others to follow her and flew over to where Twilight was.
“Is this something we need to talk about outside?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Yeah, kind of,” Twilight replied. The six then galloped out of the crowded room and out the door.
“So what’d ya wanna tell us about, Twi?” Applejack asked when the Rangers got out of the building.
“It’s Nightmare Moon. She’s about to launch her real attack.”
“You mean commandeering the Dragonzord and setting it on a rampage towards the Gala wasn’t the real attack?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I’m afraid not, Dash,” Twilight replied, shaking her head. “She’s actually coming here to the Gala.” All five of the other Rangers gasped in horror.
“We need to evacuate the Gala,” Applejack said. “If we morph, we can move everypony out like herdin’ cattle away from a thunderstorm.”
Just as Applejack said this, a clock in the distance began chiming. It chimed once. Twice. Three times. It kept going until it hit the twelfth chime. “It’s midnight,” Twilight said. Just then, there was a huge explosion from inside the ballroom followed by the collective panicked screams of the hundred or so ponies inside. “No time to morph if we’re going to get everypony out,” Rainbow Dash said. “Come on!” The six Rangers then galloped to the doors and opened them as wide as they’d go. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew in and tried to get everypony on their hooves and out the door. Once everypony was out, the six Rangers galloped into the ballroom where they found a huge burn mark near the center of the room where the explosion was, but no Nightmare, none of her minions, and not even a single Putty Pony to be seen.
“That was Nightmare’s big attack?” Rainbow Dash asked. “A single explosion to scatter the attendees of the Gala?”
“That was simply to clear the battlefield,” a mysterious voice boomed from all over the place. “I wouldn’t want somepony to get in the way of the most triumphant moment of my life. The moment I destroy you Pony Rangers!”
“Who are you?” Pinkie called. “Come out and fight us, already!”
“If you so desire, Pink Ranger.” The doors behind the Rangers suddenly closed tightly with an eerie gust of wind and the lights went out. The only light in the ballroom was the moonlight that streamed in from the windows, giving the entire room a creepy, blueish glow. The Rangers turned back to the far end of the room where they heard a villainous laugh. “Prepare, Pony Rangers, for your final battle!” Just then, several clouds of strange dark blue smoke began flying towards one single spot and swirled around in a small tornado.
“What’s going on?” Rainbow Dash shouted, doing her best to not get sucked in by the tornado.
“I don’t know,” Rarity replied, “but this wind is starting to tear my dresses!”
“Your dresses won’t be the only thing torn by the end of this night,” the voice replied, “because this night shall last FOREVER!” Just then, there was another explosion where the tornado was, casting a bright light that made the Rangers have to actually turn their heads to avoid going blind on the spot. As the wind and light died down, the Rangers turned slowly to find their greatest fear, the very material of their greatest nightmares, standing in front of the Rangers, guarded on either side by her four minions.
“Nightmare Moon,” Twilight said out loud.
“In the flesh,” Nightmare replied. “But not alone.”
“Gilda!” Fluttershy exclaimed, noticing the villainous griffon standing on Nightmare’s immediate right.
“Trixie!” Rarity exclaimed, seeing the menacing magical mare on Nightmare’s immediate left.
“Zecora!” Pinkie exclaimed, finding the diabolical rhyming zebra on Nightmare’s far right.
“The manticore that never received an actual name,” Applejack said, seeing the manticore on Nightmare’s far left.
“I figured ‘Hay, if I’m coming to this party, I might as well bring some guests,’” Nightmare said. “After all, what better party is there in Equestria than the Grand Galloping Gala? And what better place to bury Celestia’s precious Pony Rangers than the royal city of Canterlot?”
“We’re going to defeat you, Nightmare,” Rainbow Dash shouted, pulling out her Element of Harmony.
“No, all six of you will fall, I will destroy Celestia as I should have a thousand years ago, AND THE NIGHT SHALL LAST FOREVER!”
(“Man, you are a broken record,” Pinkie said.)
“We’ll see about that,” Rainbow Dash said. “IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME!”
“HONESTY!”
“KINDNESS!”
“LAUGHTER!”
“GENEROSITY!”
“LOYALTY!”
“THUNDER!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Blue!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Yellow!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Pink!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Black!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Red!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Green!”
“From all of us together, we fight as one! We protect one another until the battle is done! WE ARE THE PONY RANGERS: HARMONY FORCE!”
The six Rangers stared down the five villains with a roughly 20-foot distance between each faction. “Do we have a plan?” Applejack quietly asked.
“Yeah,” Twilight replied. “If you said their name before we morphed, that’s who you fight. That means you’re with me against Nightmare, Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy, you fight Gilda. Rarity, you get to go horn-to-horn with Trixie. Pinkie, you get to take on Zecora for the third time. And AJ, you’ve got ‘the manticore that never received an actual name.’”
“Can you just call me Alan?” the manticore asked.
“Alan?” Applejack asked. “Uh, I guess.”
“I am tired of all this talking!” Nightmare shouted, her impatience exploding. “Minions, attack!” Nightmare and her minions then charged at the Pony Rangers.
“Go, Pony Rangers, go!” Rainbow Dash shouted, leading the charge back at Nightmare and her minions.
Fluttershy and Gilda flew right at each other, each wasting no time before exchanging blows. “What’s the matter?” Gilda asked. “Ranger Red too scared to take me on?”
“I can take you on just fine,” Fluttershy replied, punching Gilda in the beak.
“You’re going to wish you hadn’t done that.” Gilda grabbed one of Fluttershy’s hooves and tried to throw her to the ground, but Fluttershy turned the attack around and threw Gilda to the ground, instead.
“I’ve gotten stronger since we last fought,” Fluttershy said, hovering over Gilda. Gilda growled a little and flew right up at Fluttershy, slashing her across the side of her helmet, knocking her back and stunning her a little. Fluttershy quickly recovered, however, and flew under Gilda to buck her into the ceiling. “Now don’t fly too high. There’s a ceiling there.”
“I’ll teach you what happens when you mock Gilda,” Gilda said, shaking the hit off. She then charged downwards at Fluttershy, who just moved slightly to the right and let Gilda’s momentum fling her beak-first straight into the floor.
Fluttershy just shook her head and clicked her tongue.“Yeah, you really should have seen that one coming,” she said.
Rarity went horn-to-horn with Trixie, who wasted no time trying to strike Rarity with bolts of magic. “By all means, take the first shot,” Rarity said sarcastically.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie will always take the first shot,” Trixie said. “It is only her natural action to-” Trixie was cut short when Rarity tackled her to the ground while she was talking.
“You have quite the mouth, Trixie,” Rarity said. She then used her magic to take Trixie by the mane and throw her against the wall. “And quite frankly, I’m tired of it.”
Trixie recovered quickly and brushed some dust out of her mane. “The Great and Powerful Trixie does not tolerate such petty means of attack.” Trixie then fired a large ball of magic at Rarity, who quickly tried to use her own magic to defend herself.
“Well that was a stupid idea,” Rarity said to herself, only just realizing that her magic wasn’t strong enough to stop Trixie’s attack for long. Thinking within the duration of a second, Rarity spun to the right to let the ball of magic fly right past her and used her own magic to throw some debris at Trixie. Several heavier pieces hit Trixie square in the face, knocking her to the ground under a pile of debris. “That was for the way you take care of your mane. I mean, do you even own a brush?”
Pinkie and Zecora went hoof-to-hoof without wasting a second. They instantly began exchanging blows, but each of the two were fast enough to dodge every one of each other’s blows. Upon realizing this, Zecora used her magic dust to teleport behind Pinkie and buck her to the ground. Pinkie, however, was prepared for this. She took the hit, but when she got up, drew her party cannon and aimed it right for Zecora.
“I don’t believe what I see,” Zecora said. “Is that a cannon before me?”
“Not just any cannon,” Pinkie replied. “It’s my party cannon!” Pinkie then fired her party cannon at Zecora, knocking the zebra back in a blast of confetti and balloons.
“I am taking damage from balloons and confetti? What kind of magic could this be?
“It’s not magic, it’s a party cannon.” Pinkie then unloaded several more blasts, each one knocking Zecora further and further back. When Zecora seemed about to fall over, Pinkie went right up to Zecora and unleashed one last blast of her party cannon right in the zebra’s face, knocking her about 20 feet back and sending her straight into a wall, where she slowly sunk to the ground, defeated.
Applejack and Alan (the manticore) charged right at each other. Alan tried to give the first strike with a quick swipe of his claw, but Applejack was too nimble and dodged the attack. “Hold still, little pony,” Alan growled, trying to catch Applejack.
“I ain’t no ‘little’ pony,” Applejack replied, sliding underneath Alan and bucking him from behind. “I’m a farm pony, and that one kick should make you understand.”
Alan got up and shook the attack off. “You’re going to pay for that.” He then went airborne and flew right at Applejack, his scorpion tail in attacking posistion. AJ tried to grab onto Alan to bring him to the ground, but he swerved at the last second and knocked AJ to the ground with his tail. Alan then swung around for another pass, but Applejack quickly pulled out her rope and used it to bring him back down to Earth/Equestria with a loud thud. AJ wasted no time and galloped over to bind the rest of Alan’s paws and wings so he couldn’t move anymore.
“Still think I’m a little pony?” Applejack asked, standing over her defeated foe. Alan just gave a defeated snort in reply.
Rainbow Dash and Twilight stood face-to-face with Nightmare Moon. “Two ponies against me?” Nightmare asked in a loud, booming voice. “Celestia must be desperate.”
“We may only be two ponies,” Rainbow Dash said, “but we’re far from just ordinary ponies.”
“We’re Pony Rangers,” Twilight continued, “and our job is to defeat you and every other villain who would wish harm upon Equestria.”
“Is it, now?” Nightmare asked. “Well then... consider yourselves fired!” Nightmare then charged at the two Rangers, who both leapt out of the way before Nightmare could reach them. However, Nightmare expected this to happen and used her magic to pull both of the Rangers back to her, knocking the two against each other to stun them. “Are you little ponies ever going to learn?”
Just as Nightmare was about to strike Dash and Twilight down, she was suddenly attacked by the other four Rangers from several directions, causing her to drop the two Rangers she had in her energy field. “Thanks girls,” Rainbow Dash said, getting up.
“No problem,” Applejack replied. “Beating Nightmare’s minions was a pretty easy thing to do, so we figured we’d come over and help y’all with the head honcho herself.”
“You defeated my minions?” Nightmare asked, enraged. She looked over to find Gilda laying unconscious on a cracked portion of the floor, Trixie under a pile of debris, Zecora against the far wall covered in confetti, and Alan tied up with several ropes. “It matters not. They were all incompetent, anyway. I will destroy all of you with my own four hooves if I have to!”
The Rangers were about to charge at Nightmare, but Twilight stopped them. “Hold on a second, everypony,” she said. “Nightmare is too powerful for us to take on, but if we combine the Elements of Harmony, that could generate a single powerful blast of energy that’s guaranteed to obliterate Nightmare in one shot.”
“You really think I’m going to let you stand by and let you use this attack?” Nightmare asked. “Not that I’m scared or anything. I’m just saying, it would be impossible.”
“Impossible?” Twilight asked. “Nothing’s impossible when you have the purest magic of all. The magic of friendship! Rangers, formation!” The other five Rangers galloped back to Twilight and stood around her. “Focus the powers of the Elements of Harmony. I’ll handle the spell for using them against Nightmare.” The other five Rangers nodded and began focusing their power on Twilight.
“Again, did you really think I was just going to stand by and let you use this attack?”
“No. That’s why I’m going to buy the others time.”
“You? You’re just a regular little unicorn. How could you possibly think you’d ever stand a chance against magic like mine?”
“It’s pretty simple, actually. While it’s true I could never beat you in magic on my own, I still have my own very complex and well-thought-out plan for buying my friends time so they can charge the energy needed for the attack that will cause your destruction.”
“And what would that be?”
“Keeping you distracted with the greatest weapon I have at my disposal... lecturing!”
“What? You mean this whole conversation was the distraction?”
“Exactly, and it worked perfectly. Ready, Rangers?”
“Ready!” the others replied, glowing with the energy from the Elements of Harmony.
“Now, Nightmare,” Twilight said, charging her horn with magic, “prepare for your defeat!” The six Rangers then began hovering in the air from the power the Elements of Harmony were exerting.
“No,” Nightmare said. “No! This is impossible! How could you have such power? The Elements of Harmony aren’t supposed to have nearly this much power.”
“Maybe they aren’t,” Twilight said. “But we have a much greater power to add, and that’s friendship!”
After Twilight said this, she cast her spell using the combined might of all of the Elements of Harmony, unleashing a rainbow-colored beam of energy right at Nightmare, knocking her into the far wall and causing a brilliant explosion. After the spell was cast and Nightmare blasted into the wall, the Rangers collapsed to the ground, all quickly getting up and looking over to see if Nightmare was truly defeated. What they found was that while Nightmare Moon was gone, laying in her place was a light purple alicorn filly with a light blue mane. “Woah,” Rainbow Dash said, flying over to the filly. “Who is this?”
“I’m not sure,” Twilight replied. “Maybe it’s Nightmare Moon?”
“That is not Nightmare Moon,” Nightmare’s voice boomed from the air around the Rangers. “That is a weak little filly whose power pales in comparison to mine. I am the real Nightmare Moon.” Just as Nightmare said this, a huge cloud of black smoke rose from behind the Rangers and continuously grew in size until it flew out the window and took on the form of the original Nightmare, but about the size of the mountain Canterlot rested upon and made from the smoke that resembeled the night sky.
“It’s the pure miasma!” the alicorn filly exclaimed, waking up quickly. “Now that it isn’t bound to my body, its power will continue to grow until it consumes Equestria!”
“And just who are you?” Rainbow Dash impatiently asked.
“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight shouted. “We have much bigger problems to worry about.” Twilight then pulled out her communicator and called Spike. “Spike, are all of the zords ready?”
“I just finished fixing the Dragonzord,” Spike replied. “All six of them are good to go!”
“In that case,” Rainbow Dash said, “we need dinozord power, now!”
After Dash said this, all six of the zords stampeded into the battlefield. Each of the Rangers jumped into their respective zords and maneuvered them into position to create the Dragon-Megazord. They drew their dual blades and took an offensive airborne stance in front of the miasma, which was just barely larger than the Dragon-Megazord. “So this is the pure form of Nightmare Moon...” Twilight said to herself. “I was wondering if I’d ever have the chance to see it with my own eyes.”
“Focus, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said. “Something tells me this isn’t going to be an easy battle.” In response to what Rainbow Dash said, the miasma let out a mighty roar that seemed to shake all of Equestria and fired a blast of magic at the Dragon-Megazord, knocking it into the side of the mountain.
“Oh, so you wanna play like that, do ya?” Applejack asked. “C’mon, Rangers. Let’s send this here monster back to where it came from!” The Rangers got the Megazord back up and flew right at the miasma, striking it with both of their blades. This attack, however, seemed to do little damage to the miasma.
“Did we even hit it?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I think we did,” Twilight replied, unsure of whether or not what she said was correct or whether or not she wanted it to be. “Let me try something.” Twilight then used her magic to unleash several blasts of bullets and rockets from the Dragonzord upon the miasma. The attacks made impact, but the miasma seemed to be entirely unaffected.
“I’m not sure this is a battle we can win,” Rarity shouted. “Of all the worst possible things that could happen-”
“We don’t have time for that, Rarity!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “We need to step up our game to the max if we’re going to beat this, and that means 120% focus!”
“Don’t you mean 110%?” Twilight asked.
“Not when you’re 20% cooler.”
“Oh, I see what you did there,” Pinke said, giggling.
“Anyway...” Rainbow Dash said. “We need full power to the Dragon-Megazord’s weapons.”
“Just the weapons?” Twilight asked. “But what about staying airborne? And where will the energy for the sabers come from?”
“Both of those are just exerting our energy in small amounts. That’s how the miasma will win. It’s just like your idea for defeating Nightmare the first time. We need to de-morph, focus our energy, and unleash it all in one single decisive attack.” Rainbow Dash then de-morphed, followed by the other five.
“In case we don’t make it...” Twilight said. “I just want you all to know that I’ve never had such an honor as saving Equestria and battling Nightmare’s forces with you five. Not only that, but I’m honored to call you five my friends.”
“Thanks, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said, “but we are going to make it. I guarantee it.” Rainbow Dash then pulled her Element of Harmony off her neck and placed it in a slot specially designed to fit her Element on her control panel. “Everypony, place your Elements on your control panels to focus their energy.” The other Rangers nodded and did the same thing. After all six Elements were in their respective slots, they all began glowing their respective colors. Rainbow Dash’s was red, Applejack’s blue, Rarity’s purple, Fluttershy’s yellow, Pinkie’s pink, and Twilight’s Thunder Coin glowed green. “Twilight, this show’s your’s from here.”
“Alright,” Twilight replied, taking a deep breath. “This is more focused magic than I’ve ever worked with in my life, but I can do this. POWER OF HARMONY: SPECTRUM STAMPEDE! ALL WEAPONS IN FIRING POSITION!” As Twilight said this, she used her magic to aim every single weapon all the zords had at the miasma. Every rocket launcher, energy beam cannon, and machine gun was in firing position and charged to maximum power.
“You Pony Rangers think you can defeat me?” the miasma asked. “Let’s say by some miracle you can. Do you really think that will be the end of all evil in Equestria? There will always be somepony to take my place, always somepony to challenge harmony, and always somepony to take you Rangers down!”
“Well guess what, Nightmare,” Twilight said. “We’ll always be ready for whatever comes our way. We’ll always be ready to defend Equestria. We’ll always be ready to do what’s needed to protect harmony! ALL WEAPONS, FIRE!” After Twilight said this, she slammed a button on her control panel, unleashing every rocket, energy beam, and bullet the Dragon-Megazord had. Every single attack was hitting the miasma, but it wasn’t going down. “Rangers, we need more energy!”
“You got it, Twi,” Rainbow Dash replied. “You heard the mare, Rangers. GIVE IT ALL YOU’VE GOT!” At this point, the Rangers didn’t have much more left to give aside from their very life force, but this didn’t stop them. All six of them unloaded every ounce, every drop, every single molecule of energy they had in their entire body, including a portion of each of their life forces, and focused it into the Megazord. This was just the very energy boost that the Megazord needed. It unleashed every drop of energy from every individual zord and every individual Ranger and unleashed it in one final barrage of bullets, rockets, and beams. Every single hit landed one one focused spot of the miasma, weakening it quickly until it barely had any energy left to maintain its form.
“You Pony Rangers may have defeated me,” the miasma shouted, “but know that what I said was true. I’m not the only evil that will threaten Equestria. There will be greater forces to come. Greater challenges for you six to meet. Greater foes to hunt you down! MARK MY WORDS!” The miasma then began swirling in a huge tornado before erupting in a massive explosion that shook Equestria.
“Whew,” Twilight said, laying back in her seat and breathing heavily. “We did it. We defeated Nightmare Moon.”
The other Rangers collapsed in their seats and breathed a collective sigh of relief. “I can’t believe it’s over,” Rainbow Dash said.
“It isn’t over yet, Dashie,” Pinkie said. “We still need to celebrate.”
“She’s right,” Applejack said. “We’re goin’ ta get a hero’s welcome when we get back to the Gala.”
“That’s true,” Rarity said. “No reason the Pony Rangers can’t show up at a party ‘in person’ for once.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” Fluttershy said. “Let’s get the zords back in their hangars and get back to Gala.”
After a while, all of the guests of the Gala had regrouped from Nightmare’s attack and were gathered around in the destroyed ballroom, murmuring amongst themselves. They were all trying to get a glimpse of Nightmare’s downed minions, but each one had somehow disappeared. The confusion was about at its breaking point when the doors at the front of the room suddenly opened. All of the guests looked over to see a brilliant light coming from the door with the silhouettes of six ponies standing in the light.
“Good evening, Canterlot!” one of the ponies said. (Just so you know, it’s Pinkie saying this.) “It’s time for this party to get back on track!” At this, the ponies began leaping into the room one by one.
“Harmony Force, Ranger Blue!” the first pony shouted.
“Harmony Force, Ranger Yellow!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Pink!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Black!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Red!”
“Harmony Force, Ranger Green!”
All six of the (morphed) Pony Rangers stood in the doorway, the light behind them dying down. “WE ARE THE PONY RANGERS: HARMONY FORCE!” they all shouted in unison. At first, they were greeted by silent confusion, but then the crowd of ponies remembered that it was the Pony Rangers who had saved the Gala and defeated Nightmare Moon. The entire crowd erupted into cheers and applause as they stood in the presence of their saviors. As this was happening, the sun was rising in the distance, and it shone brighter than ever before.
“Hay!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Did that whole thing seriously last the entire night?”
“It did,” Twilight replied. “But that isn’t it. Look!” Twilight indicated for every single pony in the ballroom to watch as the sunrise brought Princess Celestia, now free from her time warp, with it. “Princess Celestia! You’re free!” Twilight galloped up to hug her now free teacher, followed by the other five Rangers casually trotting up and bowing to Celestia. The entire crowd of ponies saw how even the Pony Rangers bowed in the presence of Princess Celestia and all began bowing themselves.
“Thank you, Pony Rangers,” Celestia said, indicating for the other five to rise. “Thanks to your heroic actions this night, the evil Nightmare Moon is no more, I am free, and you have saved my little sister, Princess Luna, from Nightmare’s evil grasp.”
“You mean that filly from earlier was your sister Princess Luna?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Wait. Where is she?”
“I am over here,” the filly replied, stepping out from a pile of debris. “Hello, again, Pony Rangers. And hello to you too, sister.” Luna then galloped up and hugged Celestia. “Can you ever forgive me for what I have done?”
“Of course I can, my little sister,” Celestia replied, hugging Luna back. “What you did was far from your fault. I’m just glad the evil force that made you do all those horrible things is gone.” Celestia then turned to the Pony Rangers. “And we both have you six to thank for it. Once again, on behalf of us both, many thanks to you, Pony Rangers, the saviors of Equestria.” Celestia then turned to the crowd of ponies, who were all still bowing. “You are all standing in the presence of the heroes of Equestria, the Pony Rangers, who defeated the evil Nightmare Moon and saved Equestria from eternal night.” Celestia then shot a quick wink towards Pinkie Pie. “I don’t know about anypony else... but I believe this calls for a celebration.” All of the ponies began cheering in response to this while Pinkie rushed over to the record player and put on the best party song she could find. All the ponies in attendance, including the Rangers and the Princesses, were all enjoying the party and dancing like that day was their last, even though the Rangers had just ensured that there would be many more days to come. Amid the celebration, however, Twilight took a moment to talk to Celestia.
“Princess,” Twilight started, “when we were about to defeat the miasma, it gave us some kind of warning. It said that there would be more evil to come after it. Is this true?”
Celestia sighed a little before answering. “I wish I could say it weren’t,” she finally replied. “Though I’m afraid the legacy of the Pony Rangers is far from over. You and the others have many more adventures ahead of you. You mustn't let that distract you now, though. The war may be on hold, but for today, the battle is won. Now go, take part in the celebration. It may be the last rest you get before you have to suit up again.”
“Okay, Princess,” Twilight replied. She then trotted back off into the crowd to join her friends in celebration. That’s when Princess Luna came up next to Celestia.
“The miasma was the only entity maintaining the seal,” Luna said solemnly. “Now that it is gone, he will certainly return.”
“I know that, my sister,” Celestia replied, “but we must trust that they will be ready when the time comes.” Right as Celestia said this, Pinkie dunked her head in the punch bowl, drinking whatever punch filled her helmet with Berry Punch looking on in horror. “Trust me, my little sister. The Doctor wouldn’t tell us anything unless he was sure it would happen.”
Luna sighed a little before responding. “He has spoken of alternate timelines before. How can you be so sure?” “I can’t be sure. But what I can do is trust that they will be ready for anything.” The two princesses then looked out upon the Gala, silently wondering about what the future could hold. Meanwhile, three little fillies were still standing outside the ballroom, unsure how to comprehend what they had witnessed over the past few hours.
“Everypony else saw what I saw, right?” Applebloom asked.
“I saw it,” Scootaloo replied. “I’m just not sure I can believe it.”
“Not only did the Pony Rangers just save Equestria,” Sweetie Belle said, “but it turns out I was right all along. I told you all that it was true and I told you all that we needed to stay to watch that battle. It was a good thing we stayed, too. Now we know the truth. We now know that our sisters... really are the Pony Rangers.”
*dramatically fade out to black*
Next season on My Little Pony Rangers:
“Discord has escaped his prison of stone. If you Rangers don’t defeat him, he will lay waste to Equestria.”
“Twilight! We were all sure you had... you know...”
“I’m afraid you may never morph again.”
“It’s out with the old and in with the new! And the same goes for the Pony Rangers.”
“You fillies seek your place in life. I can show you, if you like.”
“WE ARE THE PONY RANGERS: CHAOS FORCE!”
“Did you miss me, Dashie?”
“It’s time you discovered the real sixth Element of Harmony.”
“Just because I’m a dragon doesn’t mean I can’t be a Pony Ranger, right?”
“But I thought the Phoenix Blade was only a myth!”
“When I went to investigate the strange whirring noise last night, I found this book on the table.”(*)
“History of the Pony Rangers? Volume one out of four?”(*)
“‘Only the power of Thunder can defeat the master of all evil.’”(*)
Keep watching for the next installment of the Pony Rangers saga: My Little Pony Rangers: Morphin’ is Magic.
At long last, My Little Pony Rangers: Morphin's is Magic has started. I promise, this season will be better than the last with more action, more Rangers, and a lot more breaches of the 4th wall. Hope you enjoy it.
