The New Heroes
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Mighty Morphin' Pony Rangers: Darkness Rising

The New Heroes

On the edge of Ponyville, there was a small cottage owned by a pegasus named Fluttershy. Fluttershy was Ponyville’s local caretaker for sick, injured, or abandoned pets, as well as Rainbow Dash’s best friend since the two were just fillies. Fluttershy was yellow with a pink mane and tail with three pink butterflies on her flank to represent her talent for communicating and caring for animals big and small.

On that afternoon, Fluttershy was waiting for Rainbow Dash to show up so they could have their weekly meetup. Since Fluttershy lived in Ponyville caring for animals and Rainbow Dash lived in Cloudsdale working with the whether, the two rarely got a chance to see each other save for this one day out of the week. Today wasn’t the case, however. Fluttershy had been waiting for Rainbow Dash to show up for almost five minutes past when she was supposed to be there. Being as timid and, well, scaredy pony-ish, as she was, all kinds of thoughts were racing through Fluttershy’s head.

”Where is Rainbow Dash? It’s not like her to be late. Unless something horrible happened to her! No, that couldn’t happen. Rainbow Dash is the toughest pony I know. Well, I don’t really know that many ponies, but I still know Rainbow Dash could take care of herself if something bad happened. Besides, I’m sure she just ran into some traffic or something. But what if that’s not the case? What if something bad did happen to her? What if she’s hurt? What if she can’t call out to anypony for help because there’s nopony around for miles where she is? What if... What if she’s dead?”

With a loud squeak, Fluttershy cut her thought right there and came to a quick solution. She had to go save Rainbow Dash from whatever disaster happened to her that made her late. Not once thinking about her own safety or shyness, she ran out of the house towards Ponyville to ask ponies for help in finding Rainbow Dash.

But then Fluttershy stopped suddenly in her tracks with yet another memory. She had remembered a secret that Rainbow Dash confided in her some time back. A secret Fluttershy was far less than comfortable knowing. Rainbow Dash’s... “second occupation” to put it gently. Namely thievery. Of course, Fluttershy knew and understood why Rainbow Dash did this, but she also knew that if other ponies knew what she knew, they might not be nearly as understanding, provided they’d even listen past the whole “Rainbow Flash” part. If somepony else knew about that, they’d probably throw Rainbow Dash in jail right away. Then they’d probably beat her, starve her, leave her for the other prisoners to have fun with her however they pleased...

Fluttershy smacked herself with her hoof to stop herself from thinking these things. The only thing she had to do was ask for somepony to help her find Rainbow and nothing else. Slowly but surely she made her way through several ponies and arrived at a small little bakery on the corner which looked like a giant ice cream dessert.

“HI THERE!” a loud and cheery voice said suddenly when Fluttershy entered the building which startled her so badly, she yelped loudly and flew up and crashed into the ceiling. She didn’t hang there long, however, before she fell back down into lamb position. “Are you ok?” the cheery pony asked. Fluttershy looked up to find that the pony was bright pink with a more hot pink mane and a wide smile on her face even though Fluttershy was evidently injured. “Hey... I don’t think I’ve seen you around much lately. That must mean you’re new to Ponyville!”

“I... uh... what?” Fluttershy tried to ask as she got back up. The response from the other pony was simply an excited gasp.

“I can’t believe this! A new friend!” the pony said excitedly. She then broke out into a monologue that was spoken far too fast to be put into text, though I will make an attempt to express it.

“HimynameisPinkiePieandI’mgonnabeyournewbestfriendwhat’syournameIshouldthrowasuperamazingpartyforyoutocelebrateyoubecomingmybestfriendohmygoshmycupcakesareburning!”

Without giving Fluttershy a moment to even attempt to comprehend what Pinkie Pie had just said, the fast-talking pony galloped out of the room at a blinding speed before returning barely a second later with a tray of slightly burnt cupcakes, fully frosted and everything.

“How did you...?” Fluttershy started to ask, but then she shook her head as she remembered what she was there for. “Um, I was wondering if you’ve seen my friend Rainbow Dash anywhere.”

“Rainbow Dash?” Pinkie asked as she tilted her head upwards slightly and put her hoof to her chin. “I don’t think I know anypony named Rainbow Dash. But I do know a pony known as The Rainbow Flash.”

“They’re not the same I promise!” Fluttershy exclaimed really fast. Pinkie just looked at her accusingly for a short bit before smiling.

“Okay! I can take your word for it-” Before she could finish however a bright appeared above the two ponies and instantly a rainbow shot down and grabbed them and teleported them to parts unknown.

Applejack was an honest pony. She prided herself in being that she really did. If something happened that she knew about and other ponies needed to know about it, she’d make sure it would make the 6 o’clock news faster than an apple could fall from a tree. That being said she also seemed to be able to tell when a pony was lying and was, herself, a terrible liar. So it was plain to see the predicament she was in when her friend Rarity had cornered her in the barn and accused her of splashing mud on one of the fashionista’s hats earlier that day, which was actually true, though Applejack feared the consequences of letting that be known.

“Well, it could have been anypony, really,” Applejack said while sweating. “I mean, there’s other ponies on this farm. Applebloom, Big Mac, even Winona could have accidentally gotten mud on yer hat without realizing it.”

“Yes, that could be true,” Rarity said. “Of course, one of them would have had to be right next to the barn, 5 feet off the ground, and standing in the exact same spot where I saw you before I found my hat in its condition.”

Applejack gulped before replying. “Well... that could happen. It’s not like I was there all day.”

“I was gone five minutes,” Rarity replied in a flat tone. “Listen, Applejack, I’d forgive you if I found out it really was just you who did this. I treasure our friendship, and nothing, not even a silly little hat that took yards and yards of some of my most expensive material to create becoming sullied by a little bit of mud, could come between us.”

“Really?” Applejack asked. “Well then...”

“I KNEW IT WAS YOU!” Rarity shouted. “You’re going to owe me big time for ruining this hat!”

“Ah, Ah’m sorry!” Applejack shouted, bracing herself for Rarity’s wrath. “Ah swear, Ah didn’t even see it there. And besides, why did you leave your hat there in the first place?” Applejack retorted to which Rarity was about to respond when she realized that she really didn’t know why she left it there.

“Hm…. good question Applejack darling.” Rarity said but before anything else could be said a bright flash of rainbow light surrounded the two mares and vanished with them a moment later.

Overlooking Ponyville (from about 50 miles away) was a city resting high upon a mountain. This was the royal city of Canterlot, where the most high class ponies in all of Equestria lived. Within this city was a castle, where a powerful being lived. This being was Princess Celestia, once the ruler of Equestria, but mysteriously disappeared more than a thousand years ago. Of course, this was of little to no concern to most of the ponies in Canterlot, as this fact slowly faded into myth before nearly vanishing from the collective memory of Equestria. However this didn’t mean that Celestia was a myth herself. On the contrary Celestia was still alive but was trapped in a chamber to which she could only talk via hologram and one little dragon.

“The ponies are on their way, Princess,” the baby dragon said as he waddled into the room where Celestia was as her hologram activated so she could reply to him. “But are you sure these five are really what we need?”

“I’m sure of it, Spike” Celestia replied in a slightly distorted voice due to her hologram being a little more than slightly out of date.

“Really?” Spike asked. “Because I was doing a little bit more in-depth research into one of them, and I found- OOF!” The baby dragon was cut off when, out of nowhere, a cyan pegasus appeared right in front of him and flew right into him at a high speed, obviously having been teleported mid-flight. Both of them groaned from the impact, the pegasus was the first one of the two to recover.

“What the?” Rainbow Dash asked as she looked around the room she found herself in. “Where the hay am I? What the hay is going on?” Before Rainbow Dash got her answer, four more ponies, namely Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity in that order, were teleported into and fell about the room. “I ask again, what the hay is going on?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Upon hearing her friend’s voice, Fluttershy instantly perked up. “R-Rainbow Dash?” she asked as she looked over at her friend. Without warning, Fluttershy instantly rushed up and hugged her friend. “Oh Rainbow, I was so worried when you didn’t show up at my house earlier today.”

“Um, sorry about that,” Rainbow Dash said. “I kinda got held up by some weird bright light that attacked me out of nowhere. I’m assuming it’s the reason you and I, as well as those other ponies, got teleported here.”

“The light was not the reason, but rather the means,” a mysterious voice said, causing all the ponies in the room to turn to where Celestia’s hologram was.

“WHOA!” Rainbow yelled as she saw the floating head and started to back away from it in fear.

“At ease. I am not here to harm you. I have summoned the five of you here for a reason, but first, allow me introduce myself. I am Princess Celestia, once the ruler of Equestria alongside my sister who I won’t go into detail about at the moment.”

“And my name is Spike,” Spike said as he finally got up from where Rainbow Dash had knocked him down previously. “Princess Celestia’s designated assistant ever since she was trapped here by Nightmare Moon’s curse.”

“Who’s Nightmare Moon?” Pinkie Pie asked. “I know that name sounds familiar, but I can’t quite put my hoof on it...”

“Nightmare Moon is the evil queen of the night who, 1000 years ago, tried to plunge Equestria into eternal night. As well, she is my sister turned evil.”

“I know where I’ve heard that name before now!” Pinkie suddenly said. “That name’s from Nightmare Night! You know, that holiday equivalent to Halloween where everypony dresses up in costumes to get free candy.”

“Um, not everypony does that,” Rainbow Dash said.

“And what in Equestria is Halloween?” Rarity asked.

“It’s a holiday similar to Nightmare Night that that creature over there reading this fic celebrates in his/her world,” Pinkie explained while pointing toward what seemed to the others like a normal wall.

“Um, Pinkie,” Applejack said, “that there’s a wall.”

“I know it’s a wall,” Pinkie said. “But not just any wall. The 4th wall.”

“Is she usually like this?” Rainbow Dash whispered to Rarity.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Rarity replied.

“As I was saying,” Princess Celestia said. “Nightmare Moon is the evil queen of the night-”

“You told us that part,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Oh, right. Anyway, 1000 years ago, she and I fought, and though I could not defeat her, I was capable of banishing her to the moon and placing a seal on her so that she could not return to Equestria. However, she was not banished before she could lay a curse on me, trapping me in this device for eternity. But unlike the seal on me, the seal on Nightmare Moon was broken recently, and now she and her minions plan on coming to Equestria to take back what they believe to be theirs.”

“Could this have something to do with that moon landing those Germineighans managed the other day?” Fluttershy asked.

“It could,” Princess Celestia replied. “It would be very difficult to break her seal without having direct contact with it. Then it would be so easy, an earth pony could do it.”

“Hey!” Applejack shouted.

“I apologize,” Celestia said. “Anyway, there’s no doubt Nightmare plans on attacking Equestria any minute now, which is why I have summoned you five here. You all have been chosen to be among the most elite fighters in Equestria. My sister and I were among the first but now it falls on you five to take up arms against the monsters my sister will send.” Celestia said as five pods appeared and opened up which revealed several strange objects inside of them.

“Applejack, for possessing the unique ability to tell a lie from the truth, I bestow upon you the powers of the Blue Ranger and the Element of Honesty,” Celestia said as one of the objects flew straight up and landed right on Applejack’s neck.

“Fluttershy, for willing to help any living creature in need no matter the cost to you, I bestow upon you the powers of the Yellow Ranger and the Element of Kindness.” Another of the objects flew up onto Fluttershy’s neck, similarly to what happened with Applejack.

“Rarity, when needed, you are a very selfless pony and a highly skilled fighter, so the powers of the Black Ranger and the Element of Generosity are yours.” Once again, another of the objects flew and landed on Rarity’s neck.

“Pinkie Pie, for going to any length to make those around you smile, as well as what could be normal craziness or an actual ability to see what other ponies cannot, you shall receive the powers of the Pink Ranger and the Element of Laughter.” Another object flew upon Pinkie Pie’s neck.

“And finally, Rainbow Dash. Your impressive overall skills, as well as your undying loyalty to those you care about, make you-”

“No.” Rainbow Dash said plainly. This shocked Celestia and the others but the princess regained her composure.

“I’m…. sorry?”

“I said no. I appreciate what you and the others are doing here but honestly this isn’t my style. I work alone and I don’t save worlds okay? That’s something super heroes do and I’m no hero.” She said as memories flashed showing her beating up guards and evading them as well with a bag of bits on her hip.

“Forgive me for sounding like I’m pestering you,” Celestia said, “but I would not have summoned you if I were not sure we needed you.”

“Well you were wrong,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do this. I’m outta here.” She then turned around and made her way out of the room.

“Rainbow, wait,” Fluttershy tried calling.

“Don’t bother, Fluttershy. You’re the only other one here who knows why I’m doing this.” Rainbow then flew out the door and into the air.

“What’s wrong with that pony?” Rarity asked.

“She, um...” Fluttershy started in an attempt to defend her friend. “She’s going through some hard times, and...” Fluttershy trailed off as her nerves got to her thanks to everypony in the room having their attention focused on her. “I’ll go talk to her,” Fluttershy quickly said before rushing out the room after Rainbow Dash. She flew a few miles but saw nothing that resembled Rainbow Dash not even a contrail to show which way she flew. But what she did notice was that the sky was turning black and began to rain. She sighed and started to fly back to the base when she was suddenly transported once more by the rainbow light and found herself back inside but now Celestia and Spike had worried looks on their faces.

“What’s going on now?” Fluttershy asked.

“It’s Nightmare Moon,” Spike said. “She’s begun her attack.”

Just as Spike said this, the other three were teleported in. “Wait, where’s Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked. “Isn’t she supposed to be here also?”

“We can’t find her,” Celestia said. “She’s vanished from our scanners, but Spike and I will keep looking. First and foremost, however, there’s Nightmare’s attack that you four must stop.”

“But how?” Pinkie asked. “And where even is Nightmare Moon’s attack?”

“You must fight using the Elements of Harmony you were given,” Celestia said. “When you need to use your powers, what you must do is wear your Elements around your necks and shout ‘HENSHIN!’ Your Elements will then don upon you your Ranger armor and grant you their power so that you may combat the evil that threatens Equestria.”

“Seems simple enough,” Applejack said. “But that just leaves two things missing. That Rainbow Dash pony, and where exactly we’re supposed to be to fight Nightmare Moon.”

“Nightmare Moon won’t appear. She’s far too proud of herself to go into the fray with such weak opponents which is what she considers you right now-”

“Plus the author really wants to keep up suspense for when she does show up and beat us!” Pinkie said and, like before, drew many curious and concerned glances from everyone in the room. “What?”

“I think we have one of those cases on our hooves,” Applejack whispered to Rarity.

“As I was saying,” Celestia resumed, “if you wish to stop Nightmare Moon’s plans for the time being, you’ll have to contend with her minions before you can even have a chance at stopping her.”

“Alright, so we’re getting a chance to warm up before we get to the main event,” Applejack said. “Well, most of us, I guess.”

“As much as I would advise against it, you’re going to have to go into this battle without Rainbow Dash for now,” Celestia said. “But be warned that without all five of the Elements of Harmony being present, your powers may not be at their greatest, so be careful.”

“Alrighty, then!” Pinkie said. “Just point us to where we’re needed and we’ll do our best!”

“The attack is in the town of Ponyville,” Spike said. “A bunch of Nightmare’s hoof soldiers called Putty Ponies, led by one of her top lieutenants.”

“Putty Ponies?” Applejack asked. “What kind of stupid idea for a hoof soldier is that-”

“Oh yeah they are stupid. Just tell that to ALL THE BUCKING RACES THAT THEY’VE KILLED! OR BETTER YET WHY NOT JUST LEAVE THEM BE SINCE THEY’RE SO STUPID YOU DUMB HILLBILLY HICK!” Spike shouted angrily at Applejack. Applejack immediately recoiled from the outburst.

“Uh... sorry?” Applejack said. “Ah didn’t mean to-”

“You’ll have to excuse Spike,” Princess Celestia said. “He’s a little bit sensitive when it comes to the topic of Putty Ponies.”

“Um, if you don’t mind me ask-” Fluttershy started.

“The answer’s no,” Spike replied sternly. “I’d rather not talk about it. Don’t you ponies have a town to save?”

“We kinda do, guys,” Pinkie said. “Come on, with or without Rainbow Dash or whatever her name was, we’ve gotta go defend our hometown!”

“You have a good point, Pinkie Pie,” Rarity said.

“We’ll teach those dumb- I mean, dangerous Putty Ponies not to mess with our home turf,” Applejack said.

“Um, maybe we should wait for-” Fluttershy started.

“Spike, teleport them to Ponyville,” Princess Celestia said, completely cutting Fluttershy off.

“You got it,” Spike said. “And to you ponies, for the love of the deity of your choice, don’t underestimate those Putty Ponies.”

“Don’t worry, Spike,” Applejack said. “Ah’m done underestimating those guys.”

“I can tell you’re lying, but I’ll send you four down anyway,” Spike said as he pressed a button on his console.

“Ah am not-” Applejack started to protest, but before she could finish, she and the others were teleported to Ponyville.

Author's Note

Sorry for the very slow update but her I got it up! Also... Pinkie knows too much.... she must be SILENCED.