> Power Rangers: Crystal Knights
>  by Equestrian Defender
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Episode 1: Welcome To The Crystal Kingdom
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The three races of Equestria, the greatest kingdom on the planet of Arcania[1]  are as follows:

Mages are the first of the three races of Equestria. These beings are recognized by the tattoo-like markings on their bodies that glow whenever they use their magic. The higher their magical power, the more markings they have and the brighter they glow. They are often tied to nobility and royalty, working to create new magic spells and find new ways to use magic to improve the lives of Equestrians.

Avians are the second of the three races of Equestria. These beings have wings of magical energy that allow them to fly and walk on and manipulate clouds, to the point they make floating cities like Cloudsdale. They often work in weather factories and serve as explorers, deliverymen and women, and athletes.

Terrans are the last of the three races of Equestria. What little magic they have primarily goes to increase their strength and stamina. They are usually farmers, construction workers, or laborers.

All three of these races live in harmony in Equestria, under the watchful and kind eye of the wise Ascended: Princess Celestia...

"Well there's a load of baloney if I ever heard it."

Sentry Apartment: Cloudsdale

The statement came from a young man of seventeen, with dark blue hair and matching eyes. He was wearing a black jacket over a red t-shirt, blue jeans and black boots. 

The statement was directed at his younger brother, thirteen year old First Base, who shared his electric blue hair and eyes. He was watching TV, some educational program explaining the three races of Equestria. 

First Base laughed and replied "Yeah, everyone knows most of the Mages in Canterlot are a bunch of snobs." He then held up a piece of paper and added "I just needed this info for my homework."

Flash chuckled as well. "Yeah." He then looked at the TV and scoffed. "Yeah, wise. And yet she left Discord's petrified form in her garden instead of locking it in a vault in the center of the planet."

First Base shivered. "Don't remind me. Half of my class still freaks out whenever they see cotton candy or chocolate milk." 

"Good thing I always stuck with strawberry milk."

He laughed at that, and said "You're laughing a lot for someone who just got booted out of the Royal Guard Academy."

Flash sighed and rolled his eyes. "Eh, no point crying over spilled milk. Plus, I stuck to my guns, and to the Code."

"Yeah. Dad would be proud."

He nodded at that, feeling the familiar weight of his father's dog tags around his neck. "I certainly hope so."

He walked into the kitchen, seeing his bag slung over the back of one of the chairs. Picking it up he asked "You gonna be okay by yourself for a bit?"

First Base looked over the back of the couch and replied "Dude, I'm 13. If I'm old enough to fly to school and get groceries, I can be trusted to look after myself for a few days. Plus, Mom'll be back in a week while you go job hunting."

He nodded, picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. "Just try not to burn down the apartment, okay buddy?"

"Last I checked, that was your fault because you tried to cook something for mom," he shot back as Flash closed the door behind him.

As Flash exited the building he couldn't help but feel a little bad for lying to his little brother (and subsequently his mother, who was out helping his Aunt in Manehattan) about where he was going. 

Then again, how was he supposed to explain to them that he was leaving to find a place from a dream?



He was standing in what looked like a large city, where the buildings looked to be made out of some sort of crystal. It looked like it was once a grand kingdom, with a large castle in the distance.

But then the shadows seemed to lengthen, and black clouds descended to suffocate everything. Flash turned to run...

...only to stop in his tracks as a ring of bright red flames surrounded him, pushing the shadows back. "What the hell is going on," he asked.

What may very well be the future of your own kingdom.

Flash turned to see the voice, and his jaw dropped.

Standing in front of him was a gigantic dragon, seemingly made out of red rubies and metal, looking almost like a gem-encrusted robot. It stood on two legs, with two short arms that ended in three claws. Based on how it sounded, it was clearly a male. His green eyes bore into him, seemingly looking into his soul.

Flash finally asked "Who-who are you?"

The dragon brought itself up to its full height, letting out a loud roar and proclaiming I am Volcanion, the King Dragon and the Guardian of Fire. And I need your help to fight this darkness.

"WHAT? But, I'm just an Avian. I don't have any power."

Volcanion smirked, before his body glowed brightly for a moment, the energy traveling down its body until it coalesced at the tip of its snout. The light then flew towards him and into his hand, revealing a bright red ruby the size of a large coin. This is my Guardian Crystal. It shall help you to unlock the power you have inside, power you will need for this noble endeavor.

"Uh, okay. Where do I need to go?"

He immediately saw a vision; a shiny white train in Manehattan Central Station (which he knew about because of the frequent visits to his Aunt Flare) that looked like an old school locomotive.  

Understand now, Volcanion asked. Seeing Flash Sentry nod, Volcanion continued Find the train, and you will find the other two chosen. Beware the shadows, my friend.

The ground started to shake and the landscrape cracked, white light filling the cracks and fissures.

The last thing Flash heard before the dream ended was Volcanion saying And May The Power Protect You. 



When Flash woke up that morning he had found the ruby, the Guardian Crystal, in his hand. 

Pretty much showing him that it wasn't just a dream.

Thus he decided, possibly against his common sense and better judgement, to find the train and see where it led to. 

Though first, he needed to get to Manehattan. Which would be about an hour's ride by train.

Fortunately, there was a strong wind today, and Flash was nothing if not a strong flyer.

Making sure his bag was properly secured, he took a running start before jumping off the cloud into the open sky. 

Were this any other race besides Avians (or any race that could fly) this would probably be seen as a suicide attempt, since the city was built on clouds several miles above the ground. A fall from this height would be fatal (not the fall itself, but rather the sudden stop at the bottom.)

However after falling several feet, two bird-like wings of blue magical energy appeared from his back, and he pulled himself out of the fall and began soaring like a plane towards Manehattan. 



Manehattan Central Station, Manehattan

"No, Pinkie Pie, I don't need you guys to come along."

"Aw, but why not? It'll be fun!"

Seventeen year old Mage Twilight Sparkle sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she talked into her phone. "Pinkie Pie, I'm not going to some party or some big festival, I'm just investigating something."

There was the sound of a scuffle on the other side, with a familiar voice saying "Give me that, Pinkie!" A voice that belonged to an Avian and friend of hers, Rainbow Dash. 

Another voice with a thick southern accent, which she knew was from the Terran Applejack, exasperatedly asked "Would you just put it on speaker, Dash?"

There was a beep! sound before all five of her friends could be heard in the background. 

And they were arguing.

Again. How are they still friends when they fight like this ALL THE TIME she mused to herself.

Finally having enough, she yelled "GIRLS!" Once they stopped, she said "Look, I'm just investigating something strange happening around the north, a little bit past Manehattan. It's not some big party or some grand adventure, it's just me taking some notes and a few pictures."

"We ain't arguing about that, Sugarcube," Applejack replied. "We're just worried about ya since you're goin on your own."

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash added. "Shouldn't we go with you?"

"Yeah, like always," Pinkie exclaimed. Loudly. "We always have fun together! There's laughter, and songs, and cupcakes, and fun and-!"

"Pinkie, I'm probably not going to be gone that long," she quickly said to cut her off, knowing if she didn't she'd go on forever. "It's just for a few days. I'll be back before you know it. And for the record, I don't need you guys with me for every single thing I do. I'm capable of taking care of myself."

And what about Spikey-wikey, her friend, fellow Mage Rarity asked.

"He's staying with my parents in Canterlot. I'm giving him a well-earned vacation."

Fluttershy was the next one to talk, though Twilight had to strain her ears to hear the meek Avian say "Um, okay. Just promise us you'll be careful. Um, please."

Twilight smiled. "Don't worry, guys. Just try not to destroy the Golden Oaks Library. Or Ponyville. Actually, don't destroy anything. Or cause any trouble."

"Twi, come on. When have we ever destroyed anything or caused trouble?"

Twilight rolled her eyes and snarkily replied "Would you prefer the list in alphabetical, chronological, or by degree of severity?"

None of them replied to that, instead just wishing her luck and telling her to be careful. And Pinkie Pie gave her the usual "I'll throw a big party when you get back!" much to Twilight's annoyance as she hung up her phone. "I love her to death, but one day I hope she realizes she doesn't have to throw a big party every. Single. Day."

She put away her phone, deciding to look through her bag quickly and make sure she had all her emergency supplies in case she found any trouble. Seeing her favorite blue jacket, she slipped it on. "Blue always was my color."

With her checklist complete, she looked over at the other trains. "Okay, I'm looking for a shiny white locomotive." Seeing the modern gray colored subway trains leaving the station, she said "Shouldn't be too hard."

However before she could go look for the train, she heard several people yelling over by the vending machines.



Flash took a swig from a bottle of water, looking around for the white train from his dreams. "Okay, shiny white old school train. Shouldn't be that hard, though how they got it in here is-"

"What a freak!"

"Yeah, shouldn't you be in a circus act?"

"Bug-eyed loser!"

Almost automatically his feet moved towards the sound of the mocking, seeing three Mages surrounding someone and pushing him around and stomping on what looked like a bag of chips and some snack cakes pulled out of the nearby vending machine. He also saw that the three Mages were dressed like a bunch of rich guys (not nobles but very well off) whereas the guy they were pushing around was basically dressed in rags; a torn and faded gray hoodie over a faded yellow shirt that had clearly seen better days, ratty old blue jeans and boots that were held together mostly by duct tape.

His fist tightened as he remembered his father's words that became part of the Code: "Rule #1: Defend the innocent." and "Rule #4: Never be cruel to those less fortunate than you."

So with that, he walked over and yelled "HEY!"

The three Mages turned to look at him, one of them sneering when he saw he was an Avian. "You got a problem, bird-man?"

Flash rolled his eyes at the slur. "Real original there, spell-brain," he replied, taking a bit of pleasure in the Mage's annoyed glare. "Leave him alone."

The three of them looked at each other, before laughing like a group of hyenas. Before he could say anything else, two of the Mages grabbed the guy they were picking on and held him in front of them, pulling his hood back to reveal his face and hair. "Take a good look at this freak."

The guy's skin was a lighter green color; and his eyes lacked any pupils, being pure fields of metallic purple. His shoulder length hair was the dark orange of a carrot, though like the rest of him seemed pretty dirty. Though the big one that drew his attention was the large horn on his forehead, a notable "Y" shaped horn similar to a Neighpanese Rhinoceros Beetle.[2] 

Flash recognized what he was instantly; a Changeling, a shape-shifting humanoid that lived in nomadic tribes that roamed around Arcania but rarely if ever actually came into the cities or towns. What one was doing walking around in Manehattan (and not having shape-shifted to look more like one of the three Equestrian races) was unknown, but at the moment he didn't care. Flash simply smirked and said "The only freak I see are you three losers."

That clearly got under their skin, since the two holding the Changeling pushed him away before all three of them glared at him. The middle one, obviously the leader, asked "You looking for a fight, punk?"

Flash looked right back at him, unflinching. "You think you can give me one?"

The leader reared his fist back, only to have ribbons of purple magic wrap around his arms and hold him in place. The same happened to his cronies, both of whom were wondering who was responsible...

...only to turn and follow the ribbons to see Twilight standing there, her Mage markings on her arms, neck, and forehead glowing the brightest purple they'd ever seen. 

Seeing them clearly scared out of their wits she dispelled the ribbons, dropping them on their butts, and then commanded "Get lost. NOW!"

The moment they could move their legs they took off running, one of them yelling that the three of them were going to regret this. Flash chuckled. "Tough talk coming from a bunch of cowards." He then turned to Twilight and said "Thanks for that."

She smiled and replied "No problem. I can't stand bullies." 

They both looked at the changeling, who was on the ground picking up all the snack foods and chips that fell to the ground (some of which were smashed or busted open) before joining him in picking them up. "I-it's fine," the boy muttered. "You guys don't have to-"

"It's okay, dude," Flash replied. 

Twilight nodded, picking up a busted bag of chips and doing her best not to spill them everywhere. "No one deserves to be treated like that," she stated.

"I'm used to it," the changeling replied. 

"You shouldn't have to be," the two Equestrians replied in unison.

Just then Flash felt a slight heat coming from his jacket pocket, pulling out his Guardian Crystal which had begun to glow. "Huh. Wonder what's got this thing-"

The words died in his throat as he looked at the two, seeing them holding up similar crystals; Twilight's a glowing blue sapphire and the changeling a glowing yellow topaz. 

All three of them looked at each other for a few seconds, before Flash extended his hand. "Flash Sentry."

"Twilight Sparkle," she replied, shaking his hand.

The changeling boy seemed hesitant, before taking Flash's hand. "Thorax." He then looked behind Flash and said "And I think that's our train."

Flash and Twilight turned to look and sure enough, the train from their dreams was pulled into the station, seemingly invisible to everyone else but them. "Huh. Guess it is."


The three of them boarded the train car cautiously, not wanting to be surprised by anything that might mean them harm.

But to their surprise the train car was devoid of any other life, not even an attendant or a conductor. "Lights are on, but as far as I can tell nobody's home," Flash stated.

Thorax nodded, sweeping his head from side to side, his horn giving off a slight glow. "I'm not sensing any other emotions onboard this train save for ours," he stated.

"Emotions," Twilight asked out of curiosity.

"Yeah. Changelings like me are emotivores. Emotion eaters. We can feed off emotions, so we can also sense them." Looking around again, he repeated "There's no one here but us. But I can sense that there's a lot of magic surrounding and going through this train."

Twilight nodded. "Yeah, I feel it too. This isn't an ordinary train." Her hand glowed and she moved it around, seemingly searching for something before pointing towards the locomotive. "It's concentrated up there."

"Then maybe that's where we can get some answers," Flash said as he made his way towards the door, the other two in tow.

The locomotive looked like nothing they'd ever seen before. Instead of a large steam engine and a bunch of coal to shovel into the furnace, there was instead a futuristic console made entirely out of crystal and a large monitor. The console had a joystick, a few switches and levers, but also a row of seven indents roughly the same size as the Guardian Crystals. 

Speaking of which, as Flash pulled his out it began to glow before flying into the center indent, soon flanked by Twilight's sapphire and Thorax's topaz. 

The moment they linked in, the console and monitor lit up, a steady humming sound sounding throughout the locomotive. "That wasn't me," Flash quickly stated, which made Twilight and Thorax giggle and smirk respectively. 

Twilight stepped up to the console besides Flash, utterly fascinated by it. "I've never seen technology like this. This stuff seems retro, but it's far more advanced than anything on the market or anything I've seen from the Canterlot Institute of Technology."

"So, is it alien tech," Flash asked.

"Mmm, don't think so," Twilight replied, pointing at the monitor which had begun to display words. "Otherwise I don't think these words would be in Equestrian."

"Fair point."

Looking at the monitor, Thorax asked "Hey, that's a map, right?"

Sure enough, the monitor was displaying a map of what looked to be Equestria and the lands outside of it. "Yeah. That's Equestria. To the northwest is Griffinoa, down south is the Wastelands, below that is the Dragonlands, Northeast is Yakyakistan" Twilight said, pointing them out on the map. She then noticed another land straight up north, one that had a trail of green arrows connecting it and Equestria. "Huh, I don't think I've seen that land before," she said, tapping the area on the screen.

The trail of green arrows then glowed, and they all felt the train begin to move. "Uh, Twilight," Thorax asked. "I think you might've-"

"Sorry! I didn't know the thing was a touchscreen!"

Flash looked out the window, and his jaw dropped. "Guys, you need to see this!"

Twilight and Thorax did so, their expressions soon mirroring Flash's.

The train had apparently been equipped with some sort of teleportation or portal technology, because the train had apparently teleported outside of Manehattan Central Station and was now moving along the tracks on their route.

But what drew their eyes was that the tracks they were on weren't laid in the ground, but floating at least fifteen or twenty feet off of the ground, seemingly made out of a crystal that shone with all the colors of the rainbow. 

And as the train... drove? Flew? It passed over a lake and in the almost mirror-like waters they saw that the once white crystal train was now shining with every color of the rainbow, leaving the three of them in awe. Finding her voice Twilight said "It's beautiful."

"It is," Thorax agreed. "But, anybody got any idea where we're headed?"

Managing to tear himself away from the scenery, Flash looked at the monitor. "It says here the place Twilight said she never heard of is called 'The Crystal Kingdom,' The ETA is about thirty minutes."

Thorax looked at him confused. "ETA?"

Flash rubbed the back of his head bashfully. "It's military slang. It means Estimated Time of Arrival. It means if we don't have any surprises that stop the train, we'll get there in roughly thirty minutes."

Twilight looked at him in surprise. "You're in the Royal Guard?"

"Nah. I tried to join up, but let's just say I didn't exactly fit in with everyone else and leave it at that."

That earned a look of sympathy from the Mage. "Believe me, I can relate."

"How so?"

"Try being a commoner who becomes Princess Celestia's personal student. In a school where the biggest majority of the students are either direct children of nobles or in some way part of a noble family. Or from just plain rich families. Meanwhile, your mother's a novelist (a good one on the bestsellers list) your father teaches Ancient History to Sophomores at a public high school. So yeah, not exactly rich or high up on the totem pole." She rolled her eyes and said "Yeah, I didn't make a lot of friends, and I didn't have the easiest time in school."[3]

"Ouch," Flash and Thorax said in unison. 

Flash looked at Thorax and asked "So, what's your story?"

The Changeling refused to meet his eyes, his voice belying his pain. "I... I don't wanna talk about it."

Both Flash and Twilight understood, realizing it might've been a bit more personal than what they intended.

Deciding to change the subject, Flash asked "So, seeing as how our respective crystals are different, I'm guessing you guys didn't see a giant red dragon in your dreams?"

Twilight and Thorax shook their heads. "Mine was a giant blue sapphire wolf," Twilight replied. "She called herself Fenrir, the Mother Wolf and Guardian of Ice."

"Kabuto-Mushi," Thorax added "a giant yellow Topaz Rhinoceros Beetle. Called himself the Great Storm Beetle and Guardian of Lightning."

"Volcanion," Flash finished "the King Dragon and Guardian of Fire. A big ol' two-legged dragon made entirely out of red rubies, wings and all. Never figured something that glittered could look so terrifying."

"Honestly, my one friend Rarity could show you just how dangerous those gems can be," Twilight said with a giggle.

"Really," Thorax asked.

"Yeah. That one Diamond Dog learned that the hard way when he threatened her little sister, Sweetie Belle. Never heard a grown male scream like that."

Flash nodded. "I can relate." Seeing the looks at the other two, he explained "I have a little brother, First Base. He and I got hit by some wannabe muggers once when we were walking home. Probably wouldn't have been so bad... if one of them hadn't threatened to hit my little bro with a baseball bat. I showed that guy real quickly that I knew martial arts. Sent those three guys running home for the safety of their mommies."

"Nice," Twilight said, Thorax nodding in agreement.

"Eh, it wasn't all me. First Base even showed the one guy that he knew how to use a baseball bat better than he did. He swung for home and nailed him in that one spot that a guy should never be hit in. Turned him into an instant soprano."

Thorax's reaction was to wince and cover his nether regions. "Ouch."

Twilight just looked at the two in confusion, before she remembered her 11th grade Health Class and cringed. "Oh, ow. I'm a girl and I can imagine the pain from that."

"Speaking from experience, it's worse than you can imagine," Thorax replied.

"Yeah, unless you experience it for yourself you have no idea how bad it can be," Flash added.

Whatever Twilight was about to say was cut off from a few beeps from the console, getting their attention. Taking a look, she said "Looks like we've crossed the border into the Crystal Kingdom."

The map zoomed and showed the next part of their journey, apparently through lush fields and forests, over and around some lakes and rivers, until they reached a city marked Crystalia. 

Realizing what was probably going on, Flash asked "Hey, Fenrir and Kabuto-mushi both said they need you guy's help to fight some oncoming darkness, right?"

"Yeah," Thorax replied. 

Twilight nodded, having pulled out a notebook and jotting down details from the map on it.

"How much you guys wanna bet that the ruined crystal city we saw in those dreams is exactly where we're heading," he asked. 

Thorax chuckled at that. "I think that's a sucker's bet, so I'll pass. Plus I only got like fifty bits to my name, so..."

Almost immediately Flash handed him a one hundred bit note, much to Thorax's shock. Flash just shrugged and said "You need it more than I do. Plus I got a bunch more saved up allowance and money from my birthdays and holidays in a lockbox back home. I'm not going broke anytime soon."

Taking the note gingerly, Thorax slipped it into his pocket, blinking back tears. "T-thank you."

"Hey, no need to cry, man."

"I can't help it," he replied, wiping his eyes. "I'm so used to feeling hatred and disgust and other negative emotions when other people see me. I couldn't tell you the last time I actually felt kindness from someone."

Hearing this, Twilight's first thought was to bring this guy to meet Fluttershy, AKA the bearer of the element of kindness. 

But then she remembered how Fluttershy and all of Ponyville reacted to Zecora when she first arrived, so maybe she should hold off on that for now. 

So instead, she asked "Out of curiosity, why don't you just shapeshift?"

Thorax sighed, before turning around and lifting up his hair to reveal the back of his head...

...and a network of scars that extended from the base of his skull to about four inches up. 

And then he rapped his knuckles against it, and Flash and Twilight heard a low but audible Clang. 

Letting his hair go and turning around, Thorax explained "About a year ago, give or take, I got in a bad accident. A chimera attacked my tribe, and I tried to defend one of the younglings, Ocellus. She's kind of my little sister, so I guess we have that in common, Flash. We'll do anything to protect the little ones that come after us."

"Preach."

"Well, I managed to slay the beast, but not before it and I went over a cliff. I ended up bashing the back of my skull on a rock. I black out, thinking this is the end, but I wake up with the mother of all headaches in someone's home. Turns out I floated down the river and washed up near the home of two Terrans; a doctor named Healing Hands and his wife, a seamstress named Silk. The two of them managed to put me back together again."

"Did that life-saving procedure involve putting a metal plate in the back of your head," Twilight asked, putting the pieces together.

"Ding ding, we have a winner. Yeah, after Healing Hands removed the bone fragments, he had to put in a metal plate to hold the rest of my skull together while Silk sewed it shut."

"Ew," Twilight said while Flash gagged.

"Eh, wouldn't recommend it personally. Anyway, the plate's four inches wide, four inches tall, and about half an inch thick, and made of a  magical metal that can't rust or degrade. So, it shouldn't cause me any health problems down the line. But, while my body can shapeshift, the metal plate can't. And if I tried it would probably do more damage than the chimera ever could. So I'm stuck like this with everyone able to see me for what I am. And while some Equestrians aren't scared of me and/or mock me on sight, the majority of them..." 

Seeing him struggle for words, Flash finished "Kinda suck?"

"Not to put too fine a point on it, but... Yeah, they do kinda suck. Sorry."

Flash and Twilight waved it off, knowing full well that there were plenty of Equestrians who consistently displayed an attitude that ranged from xenophobic to straight up racist. Twilight herself had some uncomfortable memories (some of which were clear while others were strangely fuzzy) of Spike getting leered at by the staff and other students of her school, simply because he was a Draconian. It honestly made her blood boil sometimes, but she'd hold her tongue all those times. 

After all, Princess Celestia's personal student shouldn't be getting into fights, now should she?



As time passed the three of them talked, swapping stories and life experiences; each of them having different feelings about their little group.

Flash was a bit of an open book. He liked the two of them; Twilight, despite being Celestia's personal student and going to a fancy private school in Canterlot, came from a middle class family (admittedly they were on the higher end of that particular spectrum, but still) and didn't flaunt her status or position. Rather, she was humble and didn't see herself as a know-it-all, and freely admitted there was stuff she didn't know about. And like Thorax, he knew what it was like to be at the bottom of the barrel of society, his family once having to live on the streets after the death of his father and his mother lost her job. Fortunately his Aunt helped them and they got to where they were now.

Twilight honestly found it hard to believe that talking to these two seemed to be easier than talking to her friends back in Ponyville. They didn't think she was a nerd (well they did but they didn't think it was anything negative) and actually found her interests, well, interesting. Flash and her even liked the same genre of music, Rock and Roll. They even liked a lot of the same bands, singers, and songs; something none of her Ponyville friends liked. Thorax was an outcast and a reject, which was something she had a lot of experience being when her family first moved to Canterlot. It's not a pleasant experience, but it made them appreciate the people who accept you for who you are.

Thorax was honestly just overjoyed to have people who wanted to be friends with him and didn't think he was a freak. After almost a year living on the streets of Canterlot and begging for money or food, all while being beat up and stepped on, it was nice to actually feel kindness and compassion for once. And thanks to his emotion sensing, he could taste the love they had for their hobbies. Twilight gushed about her studies, and Flash actually played some music on his phone to pass the time. (Thorax could see why he and Twilight liked rock music, that stuff was great. Unstoppable by The Score was gonna be constantly repeating in his head for a while.)[4]

All in all, by the time the train reached its destination, the three of them could say they were friends.

Speaking of which...

As the train made its journey they noticed some... discrepancies between the map on the monitor and the outside scenery.

Where there were supposed to be lush fields were covered in snow and large spires of what seemed like metallic black crystal. The forests were still forests, but huge swaths of it were either cut down or destroyed. The whole landscape itself was dotted with craters and what seemed like giant footprints of some kind. The lakes and rivers were mostly untouched, though that might be because they were frozen over.

That's when they noticed the other thing; the entire landscape was blanketed by roughly two or so feet of snow, not helped by the blizzard that seemed to appear out of nowhere. While the occupants of the train were safe from the cold, they couldn't help but release a slight shiver as they looked outside. "Geez, I figure it was cold up north but I never thought it would be THIS bad," Flash stated.

"It shouldn't be," Twilight noted, though she did zip up her jacket. "We may be up north, but we're not far north enough to hit the tundra or even the taiga. And the altitude isn't much higher than the rest of Equestria. We should still be in the middle of spring."

However, the two of them soon noticed that Thorax was trembling. "Uh, dude. Are you okay," Flash asked.

Thorax shook his head, tapping his horn. "No. I can feel something's off."

"What is it," Twilight asked, mostly out of concern (though a part of her was curious to hear more about Thorax's Changeling abilities. She was a scientist, sue her.)

"I feel... anger. Hatred. Sadistic pleasure. And hunger... for the fear of others. A large concentration of all of that, and this train is bringing us right towards it."

Both Flash and Twilight looked at each other, before Flash said "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that you're feeling whatever darkness our dream beasts were talking about." Seeing Thorax still trembling, he put a hand on his shoulder and got him to look at him. "Hey, we're not going anywhere. Whatever's waiting for us, we'll face it together."

Twilight repeated the motion with Thorax's other shoulder. "We'll be with you every step of the way. That's what friends do."

He seemed to finally calm down at this, taking a deep breath and steeling his resolve. "Okay."

The monitor beeped again, showing that they were approaching their destination. They all looked out the window again, wanting to get an idea of what they were going to be dealing with.

What they saw simultaneously awed them, but filled them with dread.

They saw the same crystal city from their dreams, but in the waking world the damage looked even worse. The once mighty walls that stood protecting the city were heavily damaged, some having whole sections smashed down from top to bottom, others having the remains of what looked like siege towers half-hanging onto the top of the wall. Several of the building tops they could see inside had been damaged, some looking like they were still smoldering from whatever had hit them. 

And surrounding the city in the sky was what looked like a ring of black smoke that crackled with purple lightning; the lightning crackling seemingly like a heartbeat. 

Almost as if it was alive.

"Am I the only one who's feeling really scared right now," Thorax asked. "Please tell me I'm not."

"You're not. I'm scared too," Twilight replied.

Flash nodded. "Me too."

"Good." Thorax then winced, a hand going up to his forehead at the base of his horn and gently massaging it. Seeing the concerned looks, he said "Suffering and fear. Lots of it, coming from thousands of people."

"A city this large would probably hold that many people," Twilight stated. "And if this darkness takes sadistic pleasure from the fear and suffering of others..."

She let the statement hang in the air, and Flash immediately remembered Rule 3 of the Code: #3: If you see or know that people are in trouble, and you can do something about it, then it is your responsibility to do so. He nodded. "Let's see what we can do."

The train continued towards part of the wall, but before it could collide there was a rainbow flash and the train passed right through it. They then saw they were in a tunnel of rainbow light, heading towards the biggest diamond they'd ever seen; a shining silver diamond easily the size of Canterlot Castle. Possibly even bigger. 

"Whoa," Twilight said, utterly entranced by it.

Flash smirked. "Imagine trying to fit that gem on an engagement ring."

Thorax chuckled. "Who'd be wearing it? Cthulhu," which earned him a high five from Flash.

The train continued to drive forward, a section of the diamond in front of them opening up to allow the train inside and come to a stop. The three Guardian Crystals flew back to their owners, who gently placed them in their pockets. "Well, this is our stop," Twilight said.

"Let's not keep whoever called us here waiting," Flash said, making for the door, the other two following him.

They opened the door and walked out of the train, setting foot on the crystal floor. The docking station was oddly devoid of any life, but Thorax told the two of them that he could sense life auras inside this place.

"So," Twilight asked "what do we do now?"

Her question was soon answered by a flash of red light appearing a few feet in front of the three of them. Fearing an attacker, the three took up combat stances and looked for anything they could use for a weapon.

This proved unnecessary, however, as the person who appeared cheered and said "Yes! Finally! I was starting to lose hope that someone would come!"

This confused the hell out of the three of them, but they dropped their stances and took a good look at the person.

It was a woman, roughly in her early 20s, wearing a purple-red robe that covered almost her entire body below her neck. Her eyes were a rosy red color that seemed to sparkle, with her hair being the same color. What stood out the most to the three was that directly over her heart was a large red gem stone that Twilight recognized as a garnet. 

She smiled again and said "Hi! My name's Garnet. It's nice to meet all of you."

Still a bit confused, Flash waved and replied "Flash Sentry."

"Twilight Sparkle."

"Thorax. No last name."

Garnet nodded, before continuing "I'm sure you guys have a lot of questions-"

"Only a few million," Twilight said.

"-so I'll take you straight to the Prince so we can get you some." She held out her hand, which began to glow with her red magic. "If you could please take hold."

Flash and Twilight looked hesitant, but Thorax said he didn't sense anything negative from her, so they all gently took a hold of her hand and she performed her spell.

The four of them were instantly teleported away, appearing in the middle of a large room. Removing her hand from theirs, Garnet smiled and proudly stated "Welcome to the Command Diamond!"

Getting a better look around, they could see several large computer screens along the walls, with scientific equipment like beakers and test tubes and Bunsen burners set on tables. What drew the three's eyes, however, was a large crystal mound in the center. 

Embedded in them were three swords; all three had gold cross-guards, and an indentation in the cross-guard that looked just big enough to fit their Guardian Crystals. The double-edged blades were colored; one was red, one was blue, and one was yellow.

The three of them were broken out of their reverie by Garnet clearing her throat. Once she had their attention, she turned to a pneumatic door and said "Announcing his majesty, the Crown Prince of the Crystal Kingdom, Maximus Diamond."

The door opened up with a hiss! as a figure stepped through, a kind voice saying "Garnet, I've told you before you don't have to do that every time you introduce me to new people."

The figure was a man, roughly 25 years of age with silver hair and sparkling silver eyes. Unlike Garnet, who was dressed in robes, he was wearing a full set of armor that seemed to be made of crystals, with a crystal sword sheathed at his side, and a silver cape with a gold interior. 

And just like Garnet there was a gemstone over his heart, this one being a clear sparkling diamond, the armor designed to allow the gemstone to poke through. 

All in all, he definitely sold the idea that he was a member of royalty. Though as Twilight mused, it looked like this Prince could and was willing to fight, whereas Princess Celestia seemed to absolutely hate fighting.

He bowed his head to them, and said "Hello there. As my friend and bodyguard explained, I am Prince Maximus Diamond. Prince of the Crystal Kingdom, home of the Crystallix."

Flash and Thorax looked at each other, confused, but Twilight's jaw dropped. "Crystallix? But, I thought your race died out over a thousand years ago."

"Uh, mind cluing us in Twilight," Flash asked.

"The Crystallix were a race that were similar to Equestrians, specifically Mages. They were capable of absorbing magic from the environment to fuel their power, though unlike Mages they couldn't perform the more complex spells. What separated them the most was that they have a gemstone linked to their hearts, and could also use their magic to transform into a gem-like form."

"That part's true," Garnet said, closing her eyes and focusing. 

And to their shock, her skin suddenly turned into the same rosy-red garnet as the stone over her heart. She smiled and asked "See?" They all nodded, and she dropped it and reverted back to her normal form. 

Prince Diamond chuckled at their expressions, and said "Let's just say rumors of our demise have been greatly exaggerated. As for why you haven't seen or heard of us? Well... that's something we'll explain soon enough." Looking at the monitors, he looked at Garnet and commanded "Keep an eye on the monitors. Make sure we won't be caught off guard if HE happens to show up."

Garnet nodded, giving him a salute before moving over to one of the banks of computer monitors.

Prince Diamond turned to look at the three of them. "So, I assume you all have questions."

"Only a couple thousand," Flash replied, Twilight and Thorax nodding in agreement. 

The prince sighed wistfully. "Well, it's quite the tale to tell. You might wanna pull up a chair."

Once they did, he began his story. "The Crystal Kingdom was once a thriving and peaceful nation. Despite how far north we were the weather was pleasant and the fields and forests were full of life. This was mainly because of the Crystal Guardians, ancient and powerful beasts that commanded magic far beyond anything any Mage or Crystallix was capable of."

"I assume Volcanion, Fenrir, and Kabuto-Mushi are those Crystal Guardians," Twilight asked.

"Three of them," Prince Diamond replied. "The rest of them are Tusk, the green emerald elephant and Guardian of Nature. Hurricana, the pink Rose Quartz Eagle and Guardian of the Winds. Gojira, the purple Amethyst Kaiju and Guardian of Energy. And lastly, Titano, the Diamond Lion and Guardian of Light.

'The seven of them helped to make the Crystal Kingdom what it was; keeping the worst of the cold away, helping to grow the crops in the fields, and served as our defenders from any enemy that dared to threaten us.

'And in return, we helped them protect one of the most sacred treasures in Arcania: the Crystal Heart."

"The Crystal Heart," Thorax asked.

Prince Diamond nodded. "A large and powerful gemstone that is tied into all of the magic that flows around and through Arcania. It is said that he who controls the Crystal Heart would be able to control magic itself. As such the Crystal Guardians and the people of the Crystal Kingdom worked together to protect it from those who might seek to use it for evil purposes, erecting the mighty capitol city of Crystalia to serve as its bastion."

"Let me guess," Flash said "someone finally came that was capable of challenging them all?"

"No need to guess that, Sentry.

'He called himself... King Sombra. No one knew where he came from or how he learned about the Crystal Heart. But what we saw was the darkest Crystallix in existence, with a Gem Form of purple black onyx. He used dark magic the likes of which we'd never seen before, fueled by negative emotions such as anger, hatred, greed, and from the fear he struck into the hearts of others."

Thorax shivered. "That must be what I felt when we got close to the city. Along with how he takes sadistic pleasure from-"

"-every evil thing he does," Diamond finished, earning a short nod from Thorax. "Yeah, that's him alright.

'He made it clear that he wanted the Crystal Heart so that he could take over the Crystal Kingdom. From there, he'd turn it into the Crystal Empire, the first stepping stone in creating an empire that spanned the entirety of Arcania. He wanted it all.

'The seven Crystal Guardians, aided by their chosen Crystal Knights, waged battle with him and eventually managed to repel him away. I myself aided them and even fought against King Sombra."

The three of them were somewhat surprised by that, seeing as how from their experiences the royalty would often stay out of the fighting. "That took some serious guts," Twilight stated, already starting to like this guy's style of ruling as opposed to Celestia's.

The prince laughed. "My father always taught me that you should lead by example. And what knights would follow the order of a king who would not do his job as a leader, even into battle?"

"Fair point."

"Plus, he was a Crystal Knight himself. Yes," he emphasized, seeing the shocked looks of the three. "He was Titano's Crystal Knight. But more on that later.

'As you can imagine, Sombra eventually returned. One year later, he once again tried to take the Kingdom. 

'But this time, he was more than prepared."

"Of course," Flash grumbled. "The bad guys always come back."

"After his first defeat, he had apparently went searching for new power, and an army he could command. And he found it from the most horrible of places; Tartarus."

If it were possible, the jaws of the three would've dropped down into the planet's core. Tartarus was pretty much as close to hell as you could get, full of imprisoned demons and monsters and people who committed the most unspeakable of crimes. It was a place full of evils that were unimaginable. So to hear that this one Crystallix had apparently not only willingly gone in, but had taken control of an army to raze the world with... it was horrifying.

He gave them a moment to process that, before looking at Twilight and asking "You wouldn't happen to know how to cast the Memory Sharing Spell, would you?" Twilight nodded, and he said "Good, because this next bit will be a lot easier to believe if you guys saw it for yourselves. So, if you would please?"

She did so, her Mage Markings glowing before a ribbon of magic extended and linked itself to Prince Diamond, before another ribbon appeared and formed a large holographic screen.

The first thing the screen showed was an army of demons, some of which were huge and looked to be at least thirty stories tall. Among the monsters were a large gathering of black-robed figures with featureless white masks and skeletal hands, holding rusty swords with hilts that looked like they were made of bones. 

Prince Diamond continued his tale. "He brought forth demons the likes of which had never been seen in Arcania in centuries. Drawing power from the depths of Tartarus, he made certain members of his army grow to immense proportions. And all the while, he had a near unlimited supply of his foot soldiers; the Ghouls." 

The memory played out and the three soon saw King Sombra himself; a man who looked to be in the prime of his life, with jet black hair and a sinister grin that stretched from ear to ear. His eyes overflowed with dark magic, his eyes themselves being a sinister dark red while the sclera of his eyes were dark green. He wore a suit of jet black armor, with a blood red cape with a furred collar that flowed in a non-existent breeze. Perched upon his head was a pale gold crown with several dark gems embedded in it. 

And with a wave of his hand, streams of black smoke and large boulders of metallic black crystals appeared, peppering a battlefield and sending the Crystal Soldiers flying.

They then saw the Crystal Guardians in all of their glory fighting against the giant demons, seemingly holding them off but the three quickly noticed that they were taking some pretty serious hits and seemed to be weakening.

"His newfound power made him nearly invincible. And while the Crystal Guardians were able to hold their own against the giant demons, it was clear that they wouldn't be able to hold out forever.

'All seemed lost... until THEY arrived."

The memory changed to show a massive blast of rainbow colored energy teleporting Sombra and his army away, Prince Diamond, his father and the other six Crystal Knights looking in confusion.

A portal then opened, and through it floated six figures in mostly white armor but each one having an individual color as well: one red, one blue, one green, one black, one pink, and one gold. Each one also held a staff that seemed to be overflowing with some type of energy Twilight had never seen before.

"The six of them called themselves the Morphin Masters, the guardians of a powerful energy source that spanned dimensions called the Morphin Grid. The six of them recognized the threat that King Sombra posed, stating that should he conquer Arcania he might decide to go after other worlds as well. They also recognized the valor and courage of the Crystal Knights and the Crystal Guardians, and decided to grant them the power to hopefully defeat King Sombra and keep the Crystal Heart safe."

The memory continued, showing the six Morphin Masters using their staffs to distribute energy to the Crystal Guardians, changing them into the machine-like forms the three saw in their dreams.

"The Crystal Guardians became Guardian Zords-"

The Guardian Zords then shot beams of energy at their chosen Knights, transforming their armor. The suits were all adorned in a single color: red, blue, yellow, green, pink, purple, with the last one being mostly silver but with some gold details. Each Knight also wore a helmet with a black visor, the helmet modeled off their respective Guardian. Each one had their respective sword, the three of them recognizing the red, blue, and yellow swords that were embedded in the crystal in the Command Diamond.

"-while their respective Knights became the first Crystal Knight Power Rangers."

"Power Rangers," Flash asked.

"The Morphin Masters explained that they'd often find evil forces throughout the multiverse, and as you'd expect would find heroes and warriors ready to fight for what was right. They'd empower these heroes with energy from the Morphin Grid, becoming what they called Power Rangers."

As he said that, the memory had the Morphin Masters project images of various teams of these Power Rangers throughout the multiverse. Some used the power of dinosaurs, some used magic, others were more technology based. Names of these teams included Mighty Morphin, Lost Galaxy, Dinothunder, Jungle Fury, RPM, Dino Charge, Ninja Steel, and Beast Morphers.[5] All of them were shown to be capable fighters, and brave warriors with hearts filled with courage.

"With the new powers we fought back, managing to push back and destroy many of the demons. But since they lacked mortal souls, they'd eventually reform in the depths of Tartarus, though the more powerful they were the longer it would take for them to do so. While it certainly played a part in it, King Sombra also had several general monsters that could evenly match the Rangers; his right-hand Insidiroar-"

They saw the image of a giant monster with the face of a lion and the wings of an eagle, clad in dark gold armor with black patches, wielding a large black sword with jagged edges that he sent waves of dark energy from.

"-his main spellcaster and the one responsible for making the monsters grow, Weaver-"

The next one was a spider-like monster with six arms and a magic staff, with a red and black exoskeleton and eight eyes, as well as large red serrated claws on four of his six arms.

"-as well as his greatest spy and infiltration specialist, the shape-shifting Deceptra."

The last one was a woman who looked like a Mage, but her Mage Markings seemed to peel off of her body like they were alive. She also transformed into an insect-like form, one that seemed very familiar to Thorax.

The spell ended, Twilight taking a breath and saying "Sorry, that's about how long I could hold it."

"It's fine. That part was really all I needed that spell for."

'Anyway, the war continued on for a year, neither side making too much progress against the other.

'Then, SHE decided to get involved."

"Who," Twilight asked, though she already had a good idea.

Prince Diamond growled and spat out "Princess Celestia."

Twilight groaned. "Of course."

Flash and Thorax looked at her in surprise. "You're not surprised," Flash asked.

She shook her head. "Let's just say that the pedestal I put her on when I was younger has started to show some serious cracks. I'd go into details but we'd be here all day." She looked at Prince Diamond and said "Sorry. Please continue."

"When Sombra and his army first arrived, we sent out requests for aid from Equestria," he continued on. "My father, King Millenius Diamond, straight up begged her for help. And every time she declined, giving us reasons such as 'I don't wish to bring the horrors of war to my people' and 'we're not warriors.'"

"Not to play devil's advocate here, but she's not entirely wrong," Flash stated. "The Royal Guards are basically just glorified security guards with shiny armor. They're not disciplined enough to be soldiers, many of them haven't seen any sort of combat, and they're widely regarded as a joke in Equestria. Though I have to wonder; were their standards any better back then than they are now?"

Prince Diamond replied "A little" before holding up his forefinger and thumb roughly a centimeter apart. "Not by much though."

"Of course."

"Um, something just occurred to me," Thorax said. "You're talking about this big war and all sorts of damage, and a threat not only to your kingdom but the entire world, as well as frequent requests for aid from Equestria. If all of this has been happening-"

"-why haven't any of you heard about it," Prince Diamond finished for him, earning a nod from the three. "Believe me, I'm getting to it soon. May I?"

"Just one last question. I get that she couldn't supply troops, but why not medical supplies or food. I'm sure you guys could have used plenty of that."

"Oh, we could. But according to her, she didn't want to give King Sombra the idea that Equestria was on our side, lest they incur his wrath. Her words, not mine.

'Anyway, the day and battle that occurred when the Morphin Masters appeared was also when Princess Celestia actually did try to help... by trying to get both sides to come to a peaceful resolution and see if we could compromise."

"You've gotta be kidding me," Twilight grumbled, facepalming.

"That was our reaction. And as you can imagine it went absolutely nowhere since King Sombra wanted world domination at any cost, and all of us at the Crystal Kingdom would rather die on our feet than live on our knees."

"A sentiment I agree with and respect," Flash said, earning him a nod and a smile from Prince Diamond.

'When the Morphin Masters appeared and offered their power, Celestia vehemently opposed the idea. She said that violence could only breed more violence and telling us that there had to be a way to resolve the 'situation' peacefully. As if the war against our kingdom was merely an inconvenience rather than a fight for all of Arcania. Between that, her attempt at peace being little more than a joke and a waste of time, and the fact that she was trying to order my father and I on our own soil (I'm not making that up, trust me.) we politely told her to get lost."

"Bet she didn't take that well," Thorax guessed.

"Oh, she didn't. But it wasn't until a year passed that she actually did something. Though in the process, she screwed us all over.

'She showed up one day outside the kingdom, saying that she found the source of Sombra's power. Apparently there was something in the depths of Tartarus that he was drawing his power from, something that was feeding him dark magic and keeping him strong. As you can imagine, if something were to cut him off from it-"

"-then he'd start losing power," Twilight finished. "Especially if you got him so angry or ticked off that he started using more powerful spells and expending more of his magic. But the only thing I can think of that could cut him off like that is- TELL ME SHE DIDN'T!"

Flash and Thorax were a bit surprised at her sudden outburst of rage (especially since the ends of her hair started to catch fire) but Prince Diamond took her rage in stride. "Yeah, she did."

Twilight pinched the bridge of her nose hard enough that they swore the skin would bruise. "Of all the stupid, moronic, asinine- Grrr!" 

"Uh, not to interrupt your rage against the mentor, Twilight," Flash interjected. "But mind cluing us in?"

Taking a deep breath, she explained "Princess Celestia sealed the Crystal Kingdom in a Time Bubble. While the time outside the bubble would pass like normal, the time inside the bubble would be severely slowed. Theoretically, a few hours in the bubble could be a year or two outside of it." A look of realization dawned on her, and she looked at Prince Diamond and asked "How long has it been in here for you guys compared to out there?"

"Inside, almost a year. Out there, it's been almost 1000 years."

Garnet chimed in from where she was on the monitors and said "Actually, if you want to be pedantic it's been 999 years, 4 months, 3 days, 2 hours, 1 minute on the dot and counting."

"But wait, if you're in a time bubble how did we get into the kingdom," Flash asked. "Also, we're not going to leave the bubble and find out a year has passed, are we?"

Holding up a hand, Prince Diamond replied "In order, I'm getting to that, and no you won't.

'We tried to tell her that thousands of innocent Crystallix would suffer, and that while trapping us in here may cut Sombra off from the source of his power he still had plenty to draw upon. But she justified it as a 'needs of the many' situation, and that sealing us away would keep our fight from spilling out to the rest of Arcania. And then she added, almost smugly, that if King Sombra was still around when the bubble ended in 1000 years she'd deal with him then."

Why do I get a feeling that by 'she' she means me, Twilight mused. 

"We spent the year fighting for our lives, pushing ourselves far beyond our limits. And while we destroyed the majority of his army that was sealed in here with us and sent them back to Tartarus, we sadly had little time to rest and recuperate. Especially with our meager supplies.

'And one by one, the Rangers began to fall." He stopped, a solemn look crossing his face. "Including my father."

An uncomfortable silence fell on the room, before Flash finally put a hand on Prince Diamond's shoulder and said "I lost my dad last year. I know how much it hurts, like a knife right in your heart. My brother and I both felt it. So from the bottom of my heart, you know I mean it when I say I'm sorry."

He gave a small smile, before replying "Thank you."

Once he collected himself, he continued "After he fell, we realized we needed help. Fortunately, the Crystal Heart was able to power the Rainbow Prism Train and allow it to pierce through the Time Bubble, though it did lower our shields for a few moments..." He smiled as they started to put two and two together "...and allowed Volcanion, Fenrir and Kabuto-mushi to find three people with noble hearts and pure souls who they found worthy of their powers, and the mantles."

The three were silent for a second, before Flash said "You want us to become the new Crystal Knight Power Rangers."

Prince Diamond nodded. "Yes."

The trio looked at each other, processing that for a few moments, before looking back at Prince Diamond, clearly unsure of what to say.

Getting tired of the awkwardness, Prince Diamond asks "Did you guys not expect that? You guys had three of the Crystal Guardians contact you in your dreams and asked you to come here to fight a great darkness-"

Flash explained "It's not that. It's just... I think the thing we're all wondering right now is if we're worthy to actually take up these mantles. I mean, the dearly departed rangers were badasses who were trained in... well, being knights. I'm a Royal Guard Academy washout, Twilight's Princess Celestia's apprentice, and Thorax is..."

"A homeless Changeling," Thorax guessed. 

"I didn't wanna be rude, dude."

"It's cool."

"I mean, I took a fencing class and joined a swordplay club when I was younger," Twilight admitted. "But I haven't touched a fencing foil or a prop sword in years. Plus, there's a difference between fencing for sport and sword-fighting in a play or for cosplaying than in actual combat."

Flash nodded. "That is true. Wait, you cosplayed?"

Twilight blushed and admitted "I was a bit of an anime nerd back then."

"Guys?" They all stopped and looked at Prince Diamond as he continued "I understand where you're coming from, I do. But the Crystal Guardians wouldn't have chosen you if they didn't find you worthy of this. And they didn't just hone in on you guys; each one of them scanned everyone across all of Arcania and chose you three. They think, they believe, that all three of you are worthy of being Power Rangers. And truthfully, the three of you might be our only hope. The other four Crystal Guardians are still healing after their last battles, and until that happens they can't choose their own Rangers. If King Sombra gets the Crystal Heart, it'll only be the start of the end of everything. His evil shadow will spread over everything, drowning out all light and dragging everyone down into the depths of despair. The Crystal Knight Power Rangers are the only ones capable of fighting back against him. I don't feel I'm exaggerating when I say that at this moment, the three of you might be this world's only hope."

And then to their shock and surprise, he lowered himself down to his knees and knelt before them. "I know this is a big ask, and it won't be easy. But I ask you, no I BEG of you, please take up the swords. Become the Crystal Knight Power Rangers and help us defeat King Sombra and his army."

Before they could answer the pleading prince, the whole base was rocked as if there was an earthquake, causing them to stumble a bit. Jumping to his feet Prince Diamond asked "Garnet, what was that?!"

Garnet was moving around the consoles, her hands flying across the various buttons and switches. "I hate to say it but our shields were down just long enough for them to start breaking their way in," she yelled. "They're on their way in."

Immediately he drew his sword and turned to the main doors. "How many?"

Pulling a camera feed up, she replied "A squad of Ghouls and- No."

"What's wrong," Flash asked.

Thorax grabbed his head. "Guys, I hate to say it... but I think King Sombra is in the building."

Just as he said that the door was blasted open with a blast of black energy, the energy wave knocking everyone back and to the ground. Flash was thrown against a wall, Twilight sliding along the ground and under a table, and Thorax smashed into a bookshelf. 

All three of them shook the cobwebs out of their heads, just as the enemies arrived.

First came the Ghouls, roughly fifteen of them all with swords drawn. They flanked both sides of the door before saluting with their bone swords...

...and the temperature in the Command Diamond seemed to plummet, as King Sombra casually strolled into the room, a black crystal sword in his right hand.

And while the version of him from Prince Diamond's memory was terrifying, meeting him in person was definitely giving the three of them nightmare fuel.

He slowly looked around the Command Diamond, taking in all that there was to see, before his evil eyes settled on Prince Diamond. 

He then gave an absolutely sadistic grin and said "So... this is where the magic happens? Quaint."



-To Be Continued...-
> Episode 2: The Crystal Knights Rise!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"King Sombra," Prince Diamond growled, tightening his grip on his sword. "I don't seem to remember inviting you inside."

The evil king chuckled before saying "The spirit of yours still burns bright. I look forward to snuffing it out." He turned to look at the three from Equestria and mockingly asked "I assume these are supposed to be the new 'Power Rangers?'"

The three of them got up to their feet; Flash grabbed an ordinary sword off of the nearby table, Twilight started focusing her magic into her hands as her Mage Markings began to glow, and Thorax simply slipped into a combat stance. Garnet herself transformed into her Gem-State and started focusing her red magic into her hands like Twilight, though her magic coalesced into glowing red gauntlets.[1]

King Sombra burst out laughing at this display. "Surely you must be joking! You truly believe this pitiful display intimidates me? I have laid waste to the armies that have stood in my way, I have struck fear into all who look upon me. I am the Bane of the Crystal Kingdom, the King of Tartarus, the future Emperor of Arcania, and slayer of the previous Power Rangers. The three of you are nothing but ants to be crushed beneath my heel."

"They're stronger than you could ever imagine, Sombra," Prince Diamond stated, shifting into his own diamond Gem-State and using his magic to form a crystal shield over his left arm. "And even ants can take down a monster like you."

He smirked at that, twirling his black crystal sword. "Honestly, I thought you would've learned your lesson about how the world works after I ran this sword through your father's heart." He pointed the sword at him and continued "Perhaps you need another lesson. Or, perhaps you might actually make the choice to be more sensible than your father. Surrender the Crystal Heart, give me my great prize, and I will make your death and all of their deaths swift and painless. Continue to defy me, however..." If it were possible, his grin became even more sinister than before. "There are fates far, FAR worse than death."

Prince Diamond stood his ground. "After how many brave soldiers sacrificed themselves to protect it? After my friends and fellow Knights gave their lives with the sole purpose of preventing you from getting your filthy claws on the Crystal Heart? After my own father sacrificed himself to try and destroy your evil once and for all? If you truly believed after all that I would ever consider taking an offer like that, then you have no earthly idea what it means to be a king! So you may take your offer with you when we send your evil soul back into the depths of Tartarus!"

Flash couldn't help but feel his respect for Prince Diamond growing at that. Neither could Twilight and Thorax.

King Sombra, on the other hand, simply shrugged and said "Don't ever let it be said that I didn't try to negotiate. Ghouls!" The Ghouls all snapped to attention, and he continued "Deal with those three miscreants. I'll deal with the Prince and his bodyguard."

The Ghouls immediately rushed the three of them, blocking their view of Prince Diamond and Garnet getting attacked by King Sombra. The three of them scattered as the Ghouls began their own attack, each of them getting pushed into different areas.

Flash did his best to parry the swords of the five Ghouls that converged on him, though it wasn't easy as the Ghouls had strength that went beyond most Equestrians. Each blow he parried reverberated through the sword and through his body, almost making him drop his sword once or twice. Not to mention his own strikes didn't do anything to them. "Yeesh, what are you guys made out of, pure metal?"

The Ghoul in front of him didn't reply, simply swiping at him with his sword and actually leaving a shallow cut on Flash's left arm. It didn't hurt much, if at all, though it definitely emphasized to Flash that these things weren't screwing around. He blocked another strike, before slashing with his own sword...

...and with a loud CRACK! the sword broke against the Ghoul's body. "Okay, this is definitely not good."

Twilight was finding herself in a bit of a bind. She initially tried to fling the five Ghouls around with her magic ribbons, but to her shock her magic was absorbed by them. She then tried to blast them with a magic blast, only for the same result. These guys must be able to absorb magic she mentally noted. So I'll have to get creative.

Noticing the table near her had a bunch of metal cables she quickly grabbed them with her magic and swiftly threw them forward, wrapping them around the Ghouls and all but cocooning them. They struggled for a bit before stopping, allowing Twilight to breathe a sigh of relief. "Okay, that wasn't so bad." 

Sadly her luck didn't hold out, as with a rapid Snap! Snap! Snap! the Ghouls broke free; some cutting through them with their swords, others just breaking the cables with their brute strength. 

Twilight groaned. "Oh, that's so not fair!"

Thorax ducked and weaved under and around the attacks of the Ghouls, his attacks actually managing to stun and even send a few of the Ghouls flying back. This was in part because Thorax, being a Rhinoceros Beetle Changeling, had the proportional strength of one. The Rhinoceros Beetle was able to lift up to 850 times their own body weight, and thus so could Rhino Beetle Changelings like Thorax. Though sadly it didn't do much, since the Ghouls seemed to not feel any pain. Heck, the one Ghoul smashed against the wall and he swore he heard its bones snap, but it simply got up and twisted and spun its arms back into place before charging him again.

Needing to get some space, Thorax yelled over to Garnet (who was holding Sombra's sword back with her gauntlets, actually managing to hold him) "Garnet, is this machine important?!"

Sparing him a quick glance she replied "No! The thing's busted!"

"Good."

Before the Ghouls could reach him, he gripped the side of the machine (which was roughly 3 times the size of a refrigerator and even heavier, since Thorax could feel his muscles straining) and chucked it at the Ghouls, knocking them away like bowling pins.

Only for them to just get back up, their expressions unreadable behind their white masks. "Oh, biscuits. What stops these guys," Thorax yelled in frustration.

At that moment, his Guardian Crystal glowed, as did the yellow sword in the crystal. The same thing happened with Flash and Twilight's Crystals and respective swords, and the three of them shared a look.

Realizing what they had to do, they nodded.

Flash ducked and weaved under and around the Ghouls, managing to reach the mound with only one extra cut on his jacket. 

Twilight focused her magic around her body and used a quick teleport spell to get to the mound, appearing next to Flash.

Thorax simply picked up one of the big metal tables and used it as a battering ram, charging through the Ghouls and knocking them out of his way. 

Once he joined up with Flash and Twilight, they shared one last look before they grabbed the hilts of their respective swords.

The moment they did, the world around the three of them began to slow down before eventually fading away to white. "What the," Flash started. "What's going on?"

We simply wanted to talk to you.

Flash and the others turned around to see Volcanion standing, though surprisingly scaled down, only standing at about ten feet tall. 

But he wasn't the only one. On his right was Fenrir, the blue sapphire wolf who was now the size of a fully grown Clydesdale horse. On his left was Kabuto-mushi, the yellow topaz Rhinoceros Beetle (a Neighpanese rhino beetle, judging by his Y-shaped horn) who was about the same size as Fenrir. 

Fenrir looked at the three of them and said, or rather thought since she never opened her mouth to speak While the three of you have chosen to pull out the Crystal Knight Swords, there are a few things about being a Power Ranger we still need to explain to you.

"With all due respect, is now really the best time," Twilight asked. "We were kind of in the middle of fighting for our lives."

You can relax, little larvae, Kabuto-mushi answered, sounding much like an old sage. We are merely in a conjoined space between your minds. Once you rejoin the real world, it'll be as if no time has passed.

"That's a relief," Thorax said. "Thank you."

"What else do you need to explain to us about being a Power Ranger," Flash asked.

While Prince Diamond did give you a basic overview, there were a few things he wasn't aware of, Volcanion explained. Firstly, becoming our Ranger links you to us. Not just that you'll be able to use our respective elemental magic, but you will also be bonded to us in body and soul.

Those bonds also allow us to protect you from any method of mind control or mind manipulation, and protect your souls from possession or magics that could damage your souls,[2] Fenrir continued.

"That definitely sounds good," Twilight replied. "But I'm guessing there's a catch."

Fenrir smirked at Volcanion and Kabuto-mushi. Did I pick a good one or not?

Both of her fellow Guardians laughed, before Kabuto-mushi's mood turned grim. Yes, unfortunately. Those bonds are a double-edged sword. Whenever we take serious damage, that damage will be reflected onto your souls. And while we, as immortals, can regenerate even if our physical bodies are destroyed, you guys...

"Not so much," Flash guessed, putting the pieces together. "So, is that what happened to the previous Crystal Knights?"

Only King Millenius and Titano. They both sacrificed themselves to take down one of King Sombra's most powerful demons in an attempt to weaken him. Which worked... somewhat.

The three of them winced a bit at that news, though they still felt a lot of respect for the fallen King. 

Twilight asked "How well did that plan work?"

We can sense that in terms of his power, he's on his last legs, Fenrir added. I can smell it.

"Which makes sense, as you are the Mother Wolf," Twilight said.

The point is we felt the three of you should be warned before you decide whether or not to commit to being a Crystal Knight Power Ranger.

"I thought you chose us for this," Thorax asked.

We did. But, we would never force you into this life. The Crystal Knights trained for this, swore their lives to this, and eventually gave their lives for this. But they chose that life, and chose to put everything on the line. You were not destined for this life. The choice to do so now is yours and yours alone.

So we must ask the three of you; will you take up the Crystal Knight Swords and become the Crystal Knight Power Rangers?

Almost immediately the three of them stepped forward and gave a firm and resolute "Yes."

"Before he died my father taught my brother and I to always stand for what we thought was right," Flash said. "This may be the most dangerous thing I've ever done, maybe even kill me, but I'm not going to let King Sombra turn Arcania into his own personal playground." He looked right into Volcanion's eyes and finished "I'm in, one hundred percent, as the Crystal Knight Red Ranger"

Twilight was next, looking right at Fenrir. "Princess Celestia refused to help against King Sombra, wouldn't lift a finger save for that absolute farce of an attempt at peace. And then she sealed the Crystal Kingdom in a jar and hoped the situation would resolve itself. She had a chance to help, and she refused. I cannot, I will not be like that. I will be the Crystal Knight Blue Ranger."

Thorax was last, but unlike the other two, he placed his hand on Kabuto-mushi's horn. "This world is a beautiful place, full of colors and emotions. I love it, even if the people in this world like to fill it with hatred and prejudice. I won't let King Sombra crush it and fill it with suffering and misery. I will be the Crystal Knight Yellow Ranger."

The Crystal Guardians smiled at that declaration, as streams of magic emerged from them and linked to their respective Ranger. Well said, Rangers.

As of this moment, you three are the Crystal Knight Power Rangers.

Now rise up, and stand resolute with a spirit that not even the gods can break!



Just before the three grabbed the Crystal Knight Swords King Sombra blasted Garnet away with dark magic, sending her to the other side of the room, before getting pinned by a metal shelf that fell over onto her. He then disarmed Prince Diamond and shattered his shield, the force behind the strike knocking him down to the ground. "You fought with everything you had," King Sombra said. "But, you are a PRINCE, and I am a KING."

"A king of nothing," Prince Diamond replied. "You have no kingdom, no people. You have nothing!"

"At the moment, yes." He raised his sword up high, prepared to bring it down on the defenseless prince. "But once I kill you and take the Crystal Heart, the world itself shall become my Empire. The people I enslave, my citizens. It's a shame that you won't be there to see it!"

He brought his black crystal sword down...

CLANG!

...only to find the three Crystal Knight Swords crossed over each other, blocking his own sword. 

Flash, Twilight and Thorax were able to hold him back, before breaking the blade lock and throwing King Sombra off balance. The three of them then threw their left hands forward, blasting Sombra with streams of fire, ice and lightning, sending him flying away.

Flash then offered Prince Diamond a hand, which he gratefully took as he was helped up. Twilight gave him his sword back, which he took before asking "So, I assume that you three have made your choice?"

They all nodded, just as their swords began to glow before dispersing into energy of their respective colors. They hovered for a minute before flying around and circling around the left wrist and right hand of each Ranger. "What's happening," Thorax asked, confused.

"If you're going to be Power Rangers, you're going to need your Morphers."

The energy on their left wrists turned into a wrist strapped device that looked like a shield, with a slot near the top right above the wrist that looked like it rotated. They were mostly silver but also held their respective colors. In their right hands appeared a small sword a bit larger than an old skeleton key, each one in the Rangers' respective colors. 

Their Guardian Crystals then appeared in front of them, the shields opening up to allow the gems to fit inside before closing again. The moment they did, the three Rangers could feel the energy coursing through their bodies, as well as a flow of knowledge not only from their respective Guardian but also from the Morphin Grid itself. 

Two particular nuggets of knowledge stood out to them the most. The first was how to activate the Morphers so that they could transform, or "morph" into Power Rangers. 

The second nugget was three little words, words that had become so iconic that it felt almost trademarked by the Power Rangers. 

They were snapped out of their reverie when King Sombra got back to his feet with an angry growl, the Ghouls moving in front of him and ready to attack. "Do you really think just because you have those swords that you can defeat me?! ME?! KING SOMBRA!"

"I'm looking forward to finding out," Flash said with a confident smile.

Twilight looked at her fellow Rangers and asked "You guys ready?"

"Always," Thorax replied.

Flash smirked. "Then say it with me guys."

In unison, the group yelled out "IT'S MORPHIN TIME!"

The three of them held up their Morpher hand in a fist. "Crystal Knight!" They then inserted the small sword into the slot above the shield, shouting out "CRYSTALLIZE!" before turning the sword 90 degrees, causing their shields to open up and reveal their glowing Guardian Gems.

Flash's ruby glowed and projected a hologram of a miniaturized Volcanion, before it collided into him and formed his red ranger suit, the helmet materializing around his head in a burst of red flame, modeled after a dragon. He then drew his sword and struck a pose as Volcanion appeared in the background and let loose an earth shaking roar. "The Knight of Fire! Crystal Knight, Red Ranger!"

Twilight's sapphire glowed and projected a hologram of a miniaturized Fenrir, before it collided into her and formed her blue ranger suit, the helmet materializing around her head in a flash of blue ice, modeled after a wolf. She then drew her sword in a backhand grip and struck a pose as Fenrir appeared in the background and howled into the sky. "The Knight of Ice! Crystal Knight, Blue Ranger!"

Thorax's topaz glowed and projected a hologram of a miniaturized Kabuto-mushi, before it collided into him and formed his yellow ranger suit, the helmet materializing around his head in a flash of yellow lightning, modeled after the rhino beetle (complete with a small Y-shaped horn just above the visor.) He then drew his sword and struck a pose as Kabuto-mushi appeared in the background, beating his wings and hissing. "The Knight of Lightning! Crystal Knight, Yellow Ranger!"

The new suits had similar themes to the original ranger, with the helmets being modeled after their respective Guardians. But the new suits had some new additions, some personalized for each Ranger. Each of them had a belt with the buckle that was their symbol, a sword and shield with a large gem in the center of the shield. They had metallic silver patches on their arms, their shoulders and their lower legs. Along with that, their primary colors all seemed to be made from their respective gemstones, glittering and reflecting the light that touched them. 

The personal touches were a bit more noticeable. Flash's suit had black decals on the back of his suit that were fashioned like dragon wings. Twilight's suit had a skirt and a bit of white fur around her collar. Thorax's suit had black decals on his back similar to Flash's, but they were instead fashioned like beetle wings.[3]

Once they finished morphing, they all struck a pose and called out "Crystal Knights, RISE UP!"

King Sombra rolled his eyes before angrily commanding the Ghouls to "Rip them apart!"

And with that, the fight was on!

Flash front-flipped over two Ghouls that tried to slash at him, before swiftly slashing them across the back with his Crystal Knight Sword, knocking them away. "Too slow, Ghouls," he said, smirking behind the helmet.

Try not to get too cocky, Volcanion's voice rang in his mind.

Remembering the mental link they now shared, Flash said "Sorry, sorry." He blocked a slash from two more Ghouls, holding them back with his sword without any significant effort before pushing them away. "This is just so cool."

There was a chuckle from Volcanion, and he said If you think that's cool, put away your sword and tap your belt buckle.

Flash did so, and a burst of flame shot out of his belt with a dragon's roar, before forming a large two handed broadsword with the cross guard shaped like a dragon's head with the blade extending out of its mouth, with a red flame streaking from the mouth to the tip.

Taking a hold of it, Flash said "Whoa. What is this?"

The Dragonfire Saber. This great-sword is imbued with my own flames, so it should burn these weak lesser demons to ash. 

"Well then let's put it to good use," he said, spinning the saber around as flames appeared along the blade. When two Ghoul's rushed him, he swung the blade and cleaved right through them, causing them to explode into clouds of black dust. When the last three fired black lasers at him from their swords, he ducked under them and spun, focusing and summoning flames alongside the Dragonfire Saber. Once he stood up tall he swung the saber and yelled "DRAGON SLASH!" before unleashing a wave of fire that transformed into a miniature dragon that slammed into the Ghouls, igniting them all and reducing them to ashes in seconds. Flash pumped his fist in celebration. "Looks like you all crashed and burned."

Twilight ducked and slid under the swords of three Ghouls, before spinning around and unleashing a wave of icicles from her sword, which shot out and sent them flying backwards. She then parried the attacks of the other two Ghouls, lashing out and nailing one with a kick to the face, causing it to stumble back. She then ducked and weaved around the other Ghoul's sword and drove her Crystal Knight Sword into its chest, ice blossoming from it and freezing the lesser demon solid. She pulled her sword out, and the freeze-dried Ghoul began to crack before shattering completely, falling to the ground like black snow. "Wow," she muttered, looking at her sword in awe. "That was... incredible."

There was an amused giggle in her head, no doubt Fenrir finding her reaction funny Oh my little pup, you've barely scratched the surface. I command the very power of winter itself, and as long as we're bonded together that power is yours as well.

Seeing the Ghouls getting back up, she asked "Care to give me some pointers?"

Put your sword away and tap the belt buckle. Call forth my fangs, the Fangs of Ragnarok!

Quickly sheathing her sword, she tapped her belt buckle and yelled "Ragnarok Fangs!" A burst of glowing blue ice and snow appearing from it before separating into two lights that formed into two daggers, each roughly a foot long from the hilts and curved like the fangs of a wolf. They were both colored an icy blue and had snowflakes in the hilt. She flipped them both into a backhand grip and settled into a combat stance as she faced the Ghouls. "Cool daggers."

You undersell it, my pup. The Ragnarok Fangs are imbued with the power of the coldest winters. These specters shall freeze like water on the top of Mount Everhoof.

As one of the Ghouls charged her, she said "Then let's put it to good use."

She sidestepped the Ghoul and got in his guard, jabbing one of the Fangs into its chest. Fenrir's words rang true, as the moment the blade pierced it it immediately froze in blue ice. One of the other Ghouls came at her from her left side, but with a casual move of her left arm she threw the other Fang, nailing the Ghoul right in its forehead, inflicting the same frozen fate upon it as his comrade. 

Seeing the other two Ghouls faltering in their footsteps, she teleported the Fangs back to her hands and twirled them intimidatingly. "You guys gonna come at me, or what," she taunted. Seeing them look at each other in uncertainty, she smirked behind her helmet. "Fine. Then I'll come to you!"

Before they could move she teleported, this time in an icy blue flash due to her costume and her new magic, before appearing behind the two unaware Ghouls. She whistled, causing them to turn around, but it was too late.

With one swift movement she planted the Ragnarok Fangs into the Ghouls, freezing and shattered them completely. 

Twilight smirked. "Chill out, Ghouls."

There was a groan from Fenrir, and she said For the sake of my sanity, please don't make any more ice puns like that.

"No promises."

Thorax focused his new magic, sending vibrant yellow lightning down the length of the blade as he looked at the Ghouls. "You think we're just gonna hand over Arcania to you? You're in for a big SHOCK!"

He surged forward, slashing at the five Ghouls in front of him. While the wounds were mostly superficial (just a scratch on their arms or legs) the lightning hit them with the force of a high-powered cattle prod, stunning them and making them spasm in place. 

Turning around and seeing Flash with his Dragonfire Saber and Twilight with her Ragnarok Fangs, Thorax sheathed his sword and asked "Kabuto-mushi, what do you have for me to really bring the thunder?"

His guardian let out a booming laugh and said I love the enthusiasm, little Larva. Tap the buckle and summon the Spark-Beetle Blaster!

Thorax did so, pulling out a large blaster with the same rhino beetle motiff, right down to the iconic Y-shaped horn looking more like a tuning fork. He aimed it with one hand at a Ghoul and pulled the trigger, yellow sparks flying between the rails before firing a condensed sphere of lightning at a high speed, slamming right into the Ghoul and blowing it up in a shower of sparks and the sound of thunder. Thorax whistled before aiming at the other Ghouls. "Where were you when I was fighting that Chimera?"

The Ghouls recovering and charging at him brought him back to reality, but he ducked and weaved around them. A Ghoul tried to hit him with an overhead slash, but Thorax almost lazily blocked the sword and brought the Spark-Beetle Blaster and fired a shot into its stomach, dispersing it. He then blasted another one with a headshot, before ducking under another one's sword and taking it out with a shot through the heart (assuming it had one.) The last one tried to sneak up behind him, but he quickly back-flipped over him, shooting the Ghoul through the top of his head while in midair. 

Landing on the ground and striking a pose. "How was that, Kabuto-mushi?"

The judges show 10 across the board!

Thorax smirked, but then saw King Sombra still fighting Prince Diamond, with Garnet still struggling to get out from under the heavy metal shelf. 

The other Rangers saw this too, the three sharing a look. "Down with the king," Flash asked.

Twilight and Thorax both nodded, readying their weapons. "Down with the king," they replied.

All three of them charged forward, though Thorax fired off a few shots from the Spark-Beetle Blaster at King Sombra's back. All three struck their mark, though unlike the Ghouls he didn't dissipate, merely burned through his cloak and struck the back of his armor. The lightning coursed through his metal armor and electrocuted him, stunning him long enough for Flash to strike with the Dragonfire Saber and Prince Diamond with his own Crystal Sword. Twilight then focused her magic and unleashed twin waves of ice magic that crossed into an X and then struck King Sombra full on, sending him flying back with a layer of ice forming on his chest. 

All three Rangers moved to stand between King Sombra and the Prince. "You okay, your highness," Flash asked.

Prince Diamond nodded. "Yes. Thank you, Rangers."

"While I appreciate that you're willing to take up a sword and fight," Twilight said. "Maybe you should leave this to us." 

"Besides, it looks like Garnet could use your help," Thorax added, jerking his head in the direction of where Garnet was struggling to move the metal shelf. 

Seeing this, he nodded before looking back at King Sombra as he recovered. "He may be weakened, but he's still pretty strong. Don't hold back against him."

"No need to worry about that," Flash said, readying his Dragonfire Saber. 

As the Prince ran off to help his friend King Sombra finally got up to his feet, the three Rangers noticed that his legs and arms seemed to be dissipating into black smoke. "Jeez, didn't think we hit you that hard," Thorax snarked.

Glaring, King Sombra focused his magic to force his limbs into solid form again, but they quickly began to fall apart again. "Of course," he grumbled. "I can't believe that naive Solar Princess actually managed to figure out my weakness."

Seeing and realizing what was happening, Twilight sighed. "Believe me, Sombra, we're all in shock."

Sombra then smirked. "But, I still have more than enough power to destroy the three of you!"

He sent blasts of dark magic at them, but the three of them dodged with ease. Thorax rolled and came up on a knee and aimed the Spark-Beetle Blaster right at him, arcs of electricity bouncing between the two rails. "BEETLE BOLT!"

A large bolt of yellow lightning shot out, taking the form of a large beetle before slamming right into the evil king. The lightning beetle exploded against him in a massive blast of electricity and the sound of thunder. The arcing electricity also struck his face and caused parts of it to dissipate into black smoke. Gritting his teeth, the King growled "Is that all you have, Insect?"

He was then immediately set upon by Twilight and her Ragnarok Fangs, just barely able to hold them back with his sword. She growled (sounding eerily similar to a wolf) "His name is Thorax, Smoky!"

She broke the blade lock and jabbed both of the Fangs into King Sombra's right arm, which froze and shattered into black ice and his sword fell. He launched a black magic blast at her but it was so weak that all it did was make her stumble back a few feet, barely phased as if she had just been shoved. "Damn it," he growled, seeming annoyed. But then he focused his magic again, seemingly not caring that every part of his body below his waistline had turned to black smoke as he charged up a more powerful dark magic blast. "Just do me a favor, and DIE LIKE THE DOG YOU ARE!"

He fired the blast, which moved surprisingly fast for its size, but Flash immediately jumped in the way with the Dragonfire Saber raised high. "DRAGON SLASH!"

The dragon-shaped wave of flame clashed against the mass of dark magic for what felt like an eternity, but eventually the fire attack won and blasted through it, striking King Sombra head on and setting him ablaze. He yelled out in pain as what little flesh he still had was burning from the dragon fire.

Twilight smirked, readying the Ragnarok Fangs. "Too hot for you, Sombra? Well, let me cool you off!"

Her body began glowing blue before she sprinted towards him. Seeing her through the flames, he summoned and threw several shards of dark crystals at her. But just as the first one was about to strike her visor, she yelled out "ICE WOLF LUNGE!" and teleported past them and appeared in front of him, bringing both of the Fangs down on his head. 

And with that, what remained of his body froze completely. She yanked the Fangs out and jumped back, rejoining the other Rangers, their weapons disappearing as they pulled out their Crystal Knight Swords. "Time to send this king packing" Flash said, charging his sword with fire.

"On that, we agree," Twilight replied, charging her sword with ice.

"Then let's dethrone this false king for good," Thorax finished, his sword sparking as it finished charging with lightning.

"Crystal Knights," Flash started as all three of them raised their swords high.

And in unison, they brought their swords down while yelling "TRIPLE FINISH!" and unleashed a combined attack of fire, ice, and lightning that nailed Sombra's frozen form, completely destroying his body.

They remained on guard as the last bits of ice and ashes that was once King Sombra fell to the ground, the three of them hardly believing that it could be this easy. "Is it over," Thorax asked, a small sliver of hopefulness in his voice.

"Not likely," Twilight replied.

"Yeah, this guy's supposed to be the head honcho, the big bad. He's not going down this easily as our first boss battle," Flash added.

Indeed, a familiar sinister voice rang out in their heads, making them all look around for the source.

Which was soon revealed as the physical remains of King Sombra dissipated into black smoke, collecting together before forming a vaguely humanoid figure, though all they could make out were his evil eyes. His sinister cackle sounded in their heads as he continued I have to hand it to the three of you. Even in my weakened state, very few warriors would be able to destroy my physical form. For that, I commend you three.

"How are you still alive," Twilight asked.

Another dark chuckle sounded, before he explained When I entered Tartarus searching for power, I found it, along with my army. But I also found something more; an ancient spell of dark magic. For the measly price of my humanity, I was able to make my soul indestructible. As close to immortality as I possibly can be. Even if you render my physical body to ashes, or ice crystals in your case, with enough time and dark magic I can construct a new one. The only reason I can't now, is because as you all noted, I'm cut off from Tartarus, where the source of my power lies. But once I reestablish my link to it, it'll only be a matter of time before we cross swords again. 

"One problem, Smoky," Flash snarked. "Thanks to the Time Bubble, you're stuck in here with us."

Correction, Red Ranger. I WAS stuck in here with you. But while the Time Bubble can cut me off from Tartarus, it can only keep me trapped here if I'm bound to a physical body. But, thanks to you three...

"Oh no!"

Thorax drew the Spark-Beetle Blaster and aimed, but it was too late as King Sombra had already flew upwards and through the roof of the Command Diamond, passing through it like a ghost (which he honestly was.)

Flash swore under his breath. "We need to get outside and stop him before he escapes!"

"How," Twilight asked. "He's little more than a ghost now. Even if we catch up to him, none of us will be able to touch him."

I'm afraid you three will have far more pressing matters to deal with, Sombra's telepathic voice said, in a manner most sinister.



King Sombra's dark specter floated above Crystalia, stretching his telepathic voice so that all his remaining Ghouls would hear him, while making . To all my surviving Ghouls, heed the call of your king and master! Combine yourselves into a Reaper-Ghoul, AND CRUSH THIS CRYSTAL CITY INTO A FINE POWDER!!!

All throughout Crystalia, every remaining Ghoul (roughly 50 of them) heard the call, flying through the air and running through the streets to a singular meeting point in the city square. 

Once they started to arrive, they began to melt into puddles of black and white goo, before congealing together and forming a large, horrifying humanoid shape and growing to immense proportions.

Once it grew to roughly thirty stories tall, it began to gain more features. The gigantic black cloak became patches of black armor, and at certain points on its body there were white patches that looked like they were formed by fusing lots and lots of the masks the Ghouls wore together. The white mask the individual Ghoul would wear was not shaped like a demonic skull with horns and sharp fangs. 

This was the Reaper-Ghoul.[4]

And as it drew its skyscraper-sized bone-sword with a horrible screeching sword, it began to march towards the nearest building, its sword slowly rising up to cut it down as the horrified inhabitants could only watch and pray for a miracle.



They saw this on one of the computers in the Command Diamond, and Prince Diamond said "That's not good."

A now freed Garnet looked on with fearful eyes. "What the hell is that thing?"

"A Reaper-Ghoul. An amalgamation of anywhere from 25 to 50 Ghouls fused together and empowered by dark magic. The giant sword is hardly its most powerful weapon compared to its Doom Laser."

Seeing its slow approach towards the building, Flash looked at the Prince and said "If we're fighting that thing, we'll need the Crystal Guardians."

The Prince nodded at Garnet, who ran to one of the still intact consoles and began pushing buttons. "We're going to teleport you to the top of that building. When you get there, call upon the Crystal Guardians to fight. They'll come right to you."

Twilight looked at the Reaper-Ghoul and asked "Will the three of them be able to defeat that thing? I know they're powerful, but..."

"As long as the three of you are together, and remember that you're a team, nothing can defeat you," Prince Diamond stated. "No one."

"Well, technically six, since the Guardians are just as much a part of the team as us," Thorax stated, Flash and Twilight nodding with him, as well as the Guardians affirming it in their thoughts.

Garnet then chimed in and said "Okay, I linked the Teleportation Nexus to your Morphers. You guys ready?" They nodded, and she pushed a button while saying "Go Go Power Rangers!"

They teleported in a flash of light in their respective colors, appearing on the roof of the building right in front of the Reaper-Ghoul. 

"I don't think it's noticed us yet," Thorax stated.

Looking at his Morpher as it began to glow red, along with Twilight's glowing blue and Thorax's began glowing yellow, Flash said "Then let's get his attention." 

Flash raised his Morpher to the sky and yelled "Volcanion, ERUPT!"




TIME TO TURN UP THE HEAT!

The moment the command was given, the distant volcano known as Mount Blaze began to spew lava and fire, before a massive draconic figure wreathed in flame emerged from the mouth. Once it was up in the air it spread its wings to their full length, dispelling the flames and revealing the true form of Volcanion, the King Dragon and Guardian of Fire. His ruby "skin" glowed red, which reflected off the metal plates on his body. He flexed his silver claws and swished his large sword-like tail, before letting out a roar that shook the heavens. He then locked his green eyes on his destination and flew straight towards Crystalia at speeds that would put a fighter jet to shame.



Twilight nodded. "Alright girl, time to shine." She held her Morpher up and yelled "Fenrir, FREEZE!"



Let the hunt begin!

Within the Forever Frozen Forest a blue and silver wolf emerged from a large cave formed within a glacier; Fenrir, the Mother Wolf and Guardian of Ice. The sun shined off of her sapphire "skin" and metal plating, her yellow eyes locking onto Crystalia. She growled, revealing her metal fangs, before she threw her head back and howled a haunting melody into the sky. She then took off running at full speed towards the city, the landscape blurring past her as she did so.



Thorax looked at his Morpher and said "Let's do this." Raising his Morpher up, he yelled "Kabuto-mushi, STRIKE!"



Hope they're ready for me, 'cause I'm bringing the thunder!
Within the Thundering Plains, a strange metal monolith stood surrounded by rocks. However, when Thorax's command was given, a massive thunderbolt struck down upon it, shattering the rocks and revealing the tip of Kabuto-mushi's horn. The ground then exploded as the gigantic Storm Beetle and Guardian of Lightning rose from the ground, the sun shining off his topaz "skin" and metal plates as he opened up his large blue eyes. His thick, shield-like shell opened up to reveal his wings, which began to buzz rapidly and produce large arcs of electricity as he flew off towards Crystalia to answer his Ranger's call.




The Reaper-Ghoul was almost upon them, its sword raise high to strike them, when it was suddenly blasted by a torrent of flame courtesy of Volcanion, who landed and then whipped the giant monster away with his tail.

The Rangers cheered for this. "Now that's what I'm talking about," Flash yelled, causing Volcanion to grin.

The Reaper-Ghoul moved to get back up, but was stopped by a streak of icicles that blasted it back down. Fenrir then appeared next to Volcanion, snarling at the beast.

"Nice job, Fenrir," Twilight stated, earning a smirk from her Crystal Guardian.

A loud buzzing and sparking sound was heard as Kabuto-Mushi flew in, focusing lightning into his horn and blasting it at the Reaper-Ghoul at full power, stunning it as the Lightning Guardian took a position on Volcanion's left side. "Thanks buddy," Thorax told his Guardian, and if it were possible for the enormous beetle mech to smile he would be.

But their good mood was quickly brought down as the Reaper-Ghoul simply got back up, seemingly unharmed by the Guardians' attacks. "You've gotta be kidding me," Flash groaned. "How tough are these things?"

Depends on how many Ghouls it's made up of. Considering Sombra ordered 50 to combine, it's a lot stronger than the normal ones that take 25, Volcanion replied.

"So how do we destroy this thing," Thorax asked. "Because it's clear that three Guardians aren't going to cut it."

The three of us individually, perhaps Kabuto-Mushi mused, before his thoughts took on a playful tone. But there's one last trick we have, right guys?

The two Guardians nodded, before Fenrir said It won't be complete without Tusk and Huricanna, but it should be more than strong enough to deal with Mister Gruesome.

"Uh, what should be strong enough," Twilight asked.

Allow us to show you, Volcanion replied, a bit of mirth in his voice. Fenrir, Kabuto-Mushi, let's form the Megazord!

Before the Rangers could ask, Volcanion flew up into the air and began to glow red. His arms folded up and into his chest, revealing connectors at the shoulders, while his legs straightened and extended and his tail disconnected. Fenrir and Kabuto-Mushi then jumped up as well; Fenrir folding and transforming into a right arm with her head as the shoulder pad, while Kabuto-Mushi's shell disconnected to reveal a handle on the back, while the rest of him transformed into a left arm with his head as the should pad. 

All three Crystal Guardian Zords connected, before Volcanion's mouth opened and extended, revealing a humanoid face with green eyes. His left hand grabbed the Thunder Beetle Shield, while his right hand grabbed the Dragon Sword.

In unison, the three Guardians cried out Crystal Knight Megazord, READY!

The three Rangers were amazed at this, barely able to form words at the spectacle they just witnessed. 

Fortunately they were jolted back to reality when Prince Diamond called them over the comm and said "What are you guys waiting for? Hop in the Megazord and send this guy back to Tartarus."

"Right!"

They teleported into the Megazord, appearing on podiums of their respective colors with a small stand next to them. Flash was in the center, with Twilight on his right and Thorax on his left. "Whoa," Twilight whispered. "This is so cool!"

"It's like we're in a mecha anime, but with combining animal robots," Flash stated.

Noticing the stand next to his podium, and the slot on it, Thorax said "Looks like we need to put our Crystal Knight Swords into these stands."

"Then let's do it," Flash said.

"Right!"

The three gave their swords a little twirl before plugging them into the stands, making their podiums glow and subsequently downloading information into their minds about how to operate the Megazord. Flash chuckled. "G-Gundam style." Seeing the Reaper-Ghoul moving to attack, he asked "You guys thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Our minds are linked inside here, so yeah, I am," Twilight replied.

"Well, great minds think alike," Thorax said. "So let's do this!"

Flash nodded. "Then follow my lead!"

They all struck the same pose, the Crystal Knight Megazord following suit, holding the Dragon Sword high while protecting themselves with the Thunder Beetle Shield. In unison they cried out "Crystal Knight Megazord, Fenrir-Kabuto formation!"

When the Reaper-Ghoul swung its sword at the Megazord, the Rangers blocked with their shield before returning the strike with a few strikes from their Dragon Sword, pushing the monster back. They then threw a punch with the shield, lightning flying off of it and into the monster, sending it flying with the sound of thunder. The Reaper-Ghoul managed to land on its feet, only stumbling a little, before opening its gargantuan maw as a red light started to glow within it.

"That must be the Doom Laser Prince Diamond warned us about," Twilight said.

"Let's see if we can use that to our advantage," Flash said, watching as the monster continued to charge up power. "Thorax, think the Thunder Beetle Shield can send the laser back at him?"

"One way to find out," Thorax replied, and all three Rangers readied the shield.

The Reaper-Ghoul unleashed the Doom Laser, a massive vermilion energy beam that would've spelled doom for most creatures.

The Thunder Beetle Shield glowed yellow for a moment just before the laser struck, the Rangers inside struggling to hold their position. "Thorax," Twilight asked, grunting from the strain.

"Just a little longer," Thorax replied through gritted teeth.

Eventually, the Reaper-Ghoul ran out of energy and the beam subsided.

Which was exactly what Thorax wanted, who screamed now as the Rangers moved and the Megazord thrust the shield in the direction of the Reaper-Ghoul, sending a smaller yet just as powerful beam of energy right into the Reaper-Ghouls' face, sending it flying down the street before it eventually slammed into an invisible wall along the edge of the city, multiple golden runes appearing at the point of impact. "That must be the edge of the Time Bubble spell," Twilight noted. "Crystalia's at the Westernmost Edge of their Kingdom, so it makes sense that the Time Bubble's edge would be here."

An idea crossed Flash's mind. "Hey, her spell's supposed to end really soon, right?"

Twilight nodded. "Yeah. Celestia said 1000 years, and Garnet said that the deadline hits in 8 months, give or take."

"So, the bubble's weakened, right?"

"If the Crystal Guardians managed to get the Rainbow Prism Train through it to us, then yeah."

"Why're you asking, Flash," Thorax asked.

Smirking behind his helmet, Flash replied "Because I think it's high time the Crystal Kingdom rejoins the rest of the world."

Realizing what he was implying, Twilight and Thorax nodded in agreement. "The Crystal Knight Megazord's Finisher should be enough to do the job," she stated, information playing across her visor. 

"We should probably make sure that big gruesome over there doesn't dodge this," Thorax noted, keeping his eye on said monster.

Twilight nodded. "Leave that to me," she said, leading the Rangers in the next attack by raising their right hands with their palm forward. The Megazord did the same (the Dragon Sword vanishing in a flash of red light for a moment) and a blue spell circle appeared in the robot's palm, while a large one appeared on the ground the monster was standing on. 

She smirked. "Gotcha. FREEZING SPELL CIRCLE!"

The blue magic flared and the Reaper-Ghoul was soon trapped, its feet frozen to the ground via a large mound of ice. 

"Good job, Twi," Flash said. "You guys ready to finish this?"

"Oh yeah," Twilight replied.

"Let's slay this beast," Thorax stated.

"Alright then. Dragon Sword!"  

The Crystal Knight Megazord held his right hand out, the Dragon Zord appearing in a flash of red light. 

Flash held his hand up, and yelled "Crystal Knight Ultra Sword!"

A large broadsword appeared in his hand; the hilt was red, blue, yellow, green and pink, while the blade itself was gold with a vein of purple in the center. The moment Flash grabbed it the three Rangers could feel the power within the Megazord reaching its maximum, while Twilight and Thorax drew their own blades from their stands. "It's time to finish this," Flash said, the three Rangers raising their blades as one, the Megazord mimicking their movements.

In unison, the three Rangers brought their swords down, and both the Rangers and the Zords yelled out "Crystal Knight Megazord: TRIPLE SLASH!"

The Megazord brought the Dragon Sword on the Reaper Ghoul three times, each slash imbued with a different type of magic: one slash of fire, one slash of ice, and the final slash of lightning. Each hit their mark and bisected the Reaper-Ghoul from its left shoulder to its right hip, who gave a painful death roar before exploding into black smoke.

Inside the Megazord the Rangers were cheering. "Monster Vanquished," Flash cheered in victory!



Meanwhile, King Sombra in his ethereal shadow form was watching the events in slight annoyance. So, you managed to form the Megazord and defeat my Reaper-Ghoul. Well, no matter. That was but a taste of what's to come.

He then noticed a large glowing crack in the wall of the Time Bubble, which quickly began expanding and crisscrossing across its entirety before shattering with a massive sound of breaking glass.

While King Sombra was annoyed at the recent events, he couldn't help but feel a bit of amusement at this. I can't help but wonder how Princess Celestia's going to react to this little monkey wrench in her grand plan.

Deciding he stuck around enough, he disappeared in a flash of black light, eager to restore his power in the depths of Tartarus and get his army ready for a comeback.

I assure you, Rangers; this is FAR from over.



Canterlot Castle, Canterlot

Princess Celestia sighed in relief as the last noble left her throne room. Yet another noble whining and complaining about the taxes being unfair or how they shouldn't allow the children of "commoners" to attend her school for the magically gifted. 

Another noble who she really wished she could slap across the face, but sadly couldn't. 

She was honestly ready to just teleport into her quarters and pull out the bottle of wine she kept hidden in her writing desk when the throne room doors were open, one of her Royal Guards rushing in and clearly out of breath. Seeing the distressed look on his face as he took off his helmet and bowed, she asked "Is something the matter, Lieutenant?"

Taking a few deep breathes, he looked up at her and replied "Your Majesty, IT has returned."

Celestia felt the blood freeze in her veins once he buttered those words, before she teleported to the nearby balcony. In a flash of gold light she summoned her All-Seeing Telescope, pointing it where the Crystal Kingdom was and peering through.

And to her shock, she saw the last remnants of her Time Bubble Spell crack and fade away, revealing the lost kingdom and the crystal city; slightly damaged but still standing.

In confusion, she cried out "This doesn't make any sense! The spell still had 8 months left to go (give or take) so how-" 

The words died in her throat as she saw the Crystal Knight Megazord standing there, raising its sword up in celebration. "Of course," she grumbled aloud. "They're not dead."

"Ma'am, is something wrong," the Lieutenant asked.

Regaining her composure, the Solar Monarch replied "No, it's fine. Just be a dear and go fetch Princess Cadance for me, please."

The guard nodded and left, and once the door closed her composure dropped and she swore under her breath. "Those damn 'Power Rangers'" she said, spitting out the words. "Those spandex-wearing brutes could potentially ruin everything." She then smirked and looked up at the sky. "But it won't matter. They won't stop me. Nothing can stop the Light." She reached out as if to grab the sun, and finished "And when I'm done, the Harmony of Arcadia... shall be Infinite."



The Command Diamond: The Crystal Kingdom

With the Crystal Guardians returning to their homes, the Rangers teleported back into the Command Diamond, where they de-morphed. To their surprise, their Morphers transformed into bracelets, simple silver chain ones with their Guardian Crystal embedded in them. 

The three of them stood in front of Prince Diamond, who looked at them with a mixture of gratitude and prime. "Words alone cannot express how thankful I am for what the three of you did," he stated. "Not only did you save my life, but you helped save the Crystal Kingdom and broke us free of our temporal prison."

"We're just doing what we thought was right," Flash replied. "Or in this case, righting Princess Celestia's wrong."

"Because Faust knows she's done plenty of those over the centuries," Twilight grumbled.

"Speaking of Princess Celestia," Thorax interjected. "Since I doubt she'll take kindly to us three being Rangers (especially since Twilight's her apprentice) maybe it might be a good idea to keep our identities secret?"

Flash chuckled. "I was planning on doing that anyway. The last thing I want is paparazzi following me 24/7."

"Preach," Twilight replied, Flash and her exchanging a high-five. 

The prince nodded. "Yes. Though on that subject, we'll have to come up with a good story for why you three are here and how you got here in the first place. I have no doubt that Miss Sunny-side up has learned that we're back and will no doubt be sending an ambassador soon to try and 'patch things up' with us." He sighed, looking at the monitors, which showed the people of the Crystal Kingdom leaving the shelters and their homes now that the fighting was over. "It's funny. One year ago I was fighting for my life. Now that it's over, I now find myself having to prepare myself for a new battlefield; one where words are used rather than swords."

"I wish I could help with that," Twilight said. "But, I hate politics."

"I don't blame you." He sighed before straightening himself up. "But, I am the Prince of the Crystal Kingdom. At least until we perform the coronation ceremony and they crown me King. So it is a battle I must face."

Flash and the Rangers nodded. "In the meantime," Flash stated "we'll start training and getting ready. Because it's only a matter of time before King Sombra sends a demon or something for another round."

"No doubt about that," Thorax agreed. "But as long as we're together-"

"-nothing can hurt us," Flash and Twilight finished.

"That is correct," Prince Diamond said. "The three of you have shown that even when the odds are against you, even when the darkness threatens our world, the three of you will rise up to protect the light. This may have only been your first battle, but I can tell that your exploits will be etched into the annals of history, among the greatest heroes of Arcania's history."

Flash smiled. "No matter what the darkness throws at us..."

Twilight continued it. "...no matter how hard it may get..."

"...even if the rest of the world is against us..."

"...the Crystal Knights will always fight for what is right," they finished in unison.

They then summoned their Crystal Knight Swords, crossing them together and saying in unison "Crystal Knights, RISE UP!"