Wild Accessby The BricklayerChaptersPrologue: NewTech City: 2026Part 1: Equestria: 5026Part 2: DeparturePart 3: The Bad BeginningPart 5: Ancient HistoryPart 6: Ancient Powers Unleashed! Battle at the Ponyville Hydroelectric Dam! Help them, Galaxy!Part 7: The Legacies We Leave BehindPart 8: Back to the Waking WorldPart 9: Welcome to Ponyville (Part 1)Part 10: Welcome to Ponyville (Part 2)Part 11: Magna Power!Part 12: The Magna Defender Makes His Debut and Vapor's SecretPart 13: A Secret RevealedPart 14: Aftermath (Kitsune Rising Part 1)Part 15: Click, Click, Zoom (Kitsune Rising Part 2)Story One AKA Part 16: Sunburst StarflightStory Two AKA Part 17: Lightning Dust and Robert Williams (Part 1)Story Two AKA Part 18: Lightning Dust and Robert Williams (Part 2)Story Three AKA Part 19: Sunset ShimmerPart 20: The Power of PurplePart 21: Aftermath of Devastation! Double Trouble! Master of Blades and the Clock King! Where are you Robert?Part 22: Throwdown of the Wild Zords! Megazord Transformation achieved!Part 23: DoubtsPart 24: Ain't No Party like a Pinkie PartyPart 25: I'm Afraid of EquestriansPart 26: Treetrimmers May Not Apply (Nature of the Beast Part 1)Part 27: The Song Remains the Same (Nature of the Beast Part 2)Part 28: Resolutions (Nature of the Beast Part 3)Part 29: Nogitsune (Nature of the Beast Finale)Part 30: An East Wind (A Golden Homecoming Part 1)Part 31: Burning Bright (A Golden Homecoming Part 2)Part 32: UnstoppablePart 33: Re-adjustingPart 34: ArtifactPart 35: The Real HeroesPart 36: Inner StrengthPart 37: Broken WingPart 38: The Fury of a Phoenix and the Sorrow of a KitsunePart 39: The Hunter's ReturnPart 40: Race! The Lights of Orion Return!Part 41: FlamebroiledPart 42: FamilyPart 43: Samurai Takes KnightPart 44: From the Stars of the Ancient Past... (A Solar Tyrant's Fall Part 1 of 3)Part 45: The Devil's Got a New Disguise (A Solar Tyrant's Fall Part 2 of 3)Part 46: Gods Fall, Knights Rise (A Solar Tyrant's Fall Part 3 of 3)Volume One Finale: All Good Things...Part 4: The Barbed Wire OrgPrologue: NewTech City: 2026Equestria: The Year 5026: "AGH!" cried out a bacon haired mare with twin golden wings and a horn as she was knocked backwards by a being who could only be described as a monster. This creature... It was dark grey had a collection of fan blades for one hand and two turbine engines serving as eyes, with a third serving as it's nose and had twin red fin blades serving as horns. "Give it up Ranger! The Orgs are back, and better than ever!" The creature, who was known simply as Turbine Org laughed before firing blasts of air from it's eyehole-turbines and sending the unknown Ranger over the side of the rooftop she was on with the ground rushing up to greet her. But this mare wasn't going to go down that easily. With a cry of " Legendary Wild Access!" she was transformed into a red and gold Power Ranger with a phoenix's head as her helmet style and what looked to be tooth marks across her chest with her Cutie Mark of a sunset appearing as an emblem across her right breast. Her wings and horn had been incorporated into her costume as well, with the wings sticking out of the back and her horn jutting from her helmet. She flew upwards above the org and pulled out a sword, it glinting in the moonlight. "Phoenix Blade, Fire Strike!" She cried and with a powerful swing of her sword, she sent a flaming arc of energy towards the Org knocking him into a air vent. "You may have won this round Ranger, but I'll be back, you can count on it!" Turbine Org promised before turning into a flash of energy and flying off into the distance while the unknown Power Ranger de-morphed and pulled out a golden phone like device and spoke into it. "Princess, the Org's been dealt with... For now. But he'll be back, and to be honest, I don't think I can beat him alone, or even with the others help. We... We need a fifth Ranger." NewTech City, the year 2026 A black and white police car, sirens blaring and lights flashing screeched around a street corner, tires smoking and rubber burning. Its driver, a 27 year old man by the name of Robert Williams was on a mission. In front of him was a souped up muscle car, a 1965 Ford Mustang Fastback if Robert wasn't mistaken. Whoever previously owned this car, and Robert was sure of that as the person he was pursuing was wanted for multiple car thiefs, had taken great care to preserve the 61 year old car, which was mostly black except for the orange racing lines on both its car doors and top, where the lines extended all the way from the hood to the back. "Pull over Xenox! This is S.P.D!" Robert shouted through the car's onboard speaker. Xenox, who was a crimson red dragon like being wearing a nice suit (Also probably stolen, if Robert had to venture a guess.) of course didn't listen. "Sorry copper, if you want to lock me up, you're going to have to catch me first!" Xenox yelled and gunned the engine speeding off down the street way past the normal speed limit. "Figures he'd do that. Guy's not known for listening really." Robert mused to himself as he took a side street to catch up to the rapidly moving muscle car. "Hey, Rob, you caught this guy yet?" A female voice came from over Rob's morpher. Robert groaned and answered it. He recognized it as his fellow B-Squad Ranger Z Delgado, currently S.P.D Ranger Four AKA S.P.D Ranger Yellow. "Actually yes, I'm bringing him in right now in a confinement card." Robert drawled. Z huffed in annoyance, catching her fellow Ranger's sarcasm from the get-go. "Well, no need to get sarcastic with me. Need a hand? Me and Syd are nearby. Just got back from..." Here Z groaned, and Robert smirked to himself as he mentally imagined her shuddering. "...Ugh, shopping." she answered, saying "Shopping" as if it was the most horrible thing in the world. "Syd here pretty much spent all her monthly allowance in one go." Z continued, referring to her fellow Ranger, S.P.D Ranger 5 AKA S.P.D Ranger Pink. "Funny thing, you shopping, coming from a former clothing thief. The kind I was supposed to catch." Robert snarked. He wasn't wrong. Z, along with her brother in all but blood and former Red Ranger Jack Landers, were former clothing thieves and from what Robert had gathered from various conversations, neither never knew their parents and pretty much spent their lives growing up on the streets alone till they were finally caught by Syd, along with Robert's predecessor to his powers, Bridge, and the Blue, (Who Bridge now held the powers of.) now Red Ranger Sky Tate. "See, this is why I don't really like you. You go off all alone, with this lone wolf attitude, and are constantly disrespecting your teammates." Z lectured him. "Keep this up, and you might just get kicked off the team. You're not the first Green Ranger to get bumped back to a lower squad." Z warned. Robert swallowed nervously to himself. He was the fifth Green Ranger now ever since Bridge got bumped up to Blue, and currently he was the longest lasting, with him being a Ranger for three solid months now. None of the others had lasted that long, with the best of them, some Syrian (Robert had never bothered to remember his name) lasting one month before being kicked off. Robert was surprised he honestly lasted that long, given how lazy he'd heard his predecessor was. To this day, he still hadn't quite figured out why they kept him as long as they did. "BAH!" Robert suddenly snapped. "I can handle myself Z. Didn't I prove that when that moron... Oh, I don't remember his name... Used to work for Broodwing and had a giant robot escaped custody and I caught him by myself?" Robert mused to himself. To be fair, a lot of Broodwing's henchmen had giant robots at their beck and call, so it wasn't like he was exactly supposed to remember all of their names. All he remembered about this one was that his robot turned into a jet and had to be brought down with the SWAT Flyers. (It was still a sore sticking point for Robert that he hadn't been part of that section of the fight and that SWAT Flyer 3 had to be remote controlled by Katherine "Kat" Manx, S.P.D's top scientist.) Still, when what's his name jumped ship out of his own robot before it blew up, Robert was the one waiting to greet him with a Confinement Card. "Suit yourself." Z muttered before cutting the feed. Meanwhile, Robert, after taking a collection of side streets had caught up to Xenox and was side by side with him. "Now, where were we?" Robert sarcastically asked. "Oh yeah, bringing you in." Xenox responded by pulling out a laser pistol and firing a few shots at Robert, all of which hit the side of his car creating scorch marks on the side of it. "Hey, that's police property! You know that's coming out of my paycheck right?" Robert growled in anger. "Yar yar, that's all you S.P.D coppers do, complain, complain." Xenox mocked. That really did it, Robert used his car to hit him from the side and try and force him off the road and into a light post. But at the last second, Xenox moved ahead and now Robert was directly behind him so he instead trying ramming him in his rear bumper. "Hate to do this to such a classic car, and I know I'm probably going to get complaints from the owner and a huge dressing down, probably from Sky about excessive force, but... Sometimes you gotta do things you don't like to bring in the bad guys." Robert mused and rammed Xenox from behind. Xenox looked behind him and snarled before turning into a parking garage with Robert following, still on his tail. Robert chased him all the way through the parking garage's levels, all the way to the roof, which required quite the fast reaction time on the curves and as Xenox was swerving in between pillars, good driving ability as well. But at last, Robert caught up to his quarry, who to Robert's surprise had pulled to a complete halt. Robert slammed hard on the brakes and eyed the Mustang with suspicion. For the next few minutes, it didn't move an inch. Finally, Robert, having had enough of waiting opened the side door to his car and walked up to the Ford, Delta Blaster in hand and aimed right at the car, just in case Xenox got out. Robert approached the Mustang, all the while thinking "You gotta be kidding me, this can't be THAT easy...". He was right. As soon as Robert looked at the driver's seat, he found it was empty. "What the Hell...?" Robert trailed off before his ears noted a distinct beeping sound coming from UNDER the car. Then, before he had a chance to react, he was blown backwards by an explosion and was sent flying into another car, a Dodge Dart, (Robert really didn't know how he knew what car he was sent into or why it mattered, he just did.) denting its side door. Suddenly, Xenox appeared in a pillar of flame. "Bet you weren't expecting that, were you?" Xenox chuckled. "And I don't think you'd be expecting THIS either!" Then, from his mouth, Xenox let loose a blast of flame heading right for Robert, who reacted fast, and shouted "S.P.D, Emergency!" and immediately felt a powerful energy envelop and overtake his body and he was transformed into a green spandex clad figure with a big white colored number three on the side of his chest and a helmet bearing the SPD Badge on its forehead and a black visor to cover his face along with two flashing red lights where his ears would be. "And I don't think YOU were expecting that, were you?" Robert taunted, and to his credit, Xenox did look surprised. Well, as surprised as a draconic being could look. He really hadn't expected his pursuer to be a Power Ranger at all. But also to Xenox's credit, he recovered from his shock rather quickly and pulled out his laser pistol once again causing Robert to sigh. "Really, that again? It's like his go-to response to anything. This should be a piece of cake." Robert ducked to his right side and fired off his own blaster but Xenox teleported away in a flaming pillar and then was suddenly behind Robert grabbing him in a hold that due to his considerable strength, Robert couldn't break out of. "Got you now, Power Punk!" "You need better insults Xenox." Robert responded in a droll tone before smirking inside his helmet and slamming his boot hard on Xenox's foot making him scream out in pain and release the hold. Robert acted fast and changed his Delta Blaster to it's blade mode and dealt a few quick strikes that made sparks fly with each hit to Xenox making him stumble back and cutting his nice suit up a bit. When Xenox saw the damage that had been done he growled at his foe. "Hey, you know how much that suit cost?" Xenox snarled in anger. "...Wait, you actually bought that thing?" Robert asked in surprise and blinked. But being caught off guard was a mistake for him as Xenox then blasted him backwards with another fire blast. "Liar, liar, pants on fire!" Xenox taunted. Robert growled as he picked himself up off the concrete. "You know what, I've had enough of you." Robert growled before firing off a few blasts at Xenox from his Delta Blaster making the wanted criminal fall to the floor. Robert reached for his morpher, and activated it's Judgement Mode. Now, Judgement Mode, for those of you who aren't in the know, is S.P.D's way of confining criminals without having to throw them in police cars or vans like the police of the past used to. Unsurprisingly, this mode of transport was developed by Kat Manx. What Judgement Mode essentially was, in essence was confining a crook in a small card, about the size of a trading card but a bit thicker, and of course a complaining criminal in it. Robert really wished for the day when the Confinement Cards had a "Shut-Up" feature. He'd heard Emperor Grumm and Mora were particularly annoying to listen to as they were hauled off. "Xenox, you are charged with multiple car thief, resisting arrest, assault of a S.P.D Officer... And quite frankly, ruining of a very nice classic car." Robert stated, but before he could activate the Confinement Feature, Xenox smirked. "Not gonna catch me yet, copper." Xenox snarled, and Robert prepared for another teleportation but to his shock a giant black spiked robot with a single cycloptic blue eye erupted from the ground and Xenox jumped into it. "Now what are you going to do?" Xenox taunted from over the robot's speakers and Robert sighed. Z must be laughing at him now, and he did not want to hear that, but he had no choice to contact for a bit of help. Taking out his morpher, Robert spoke into it. "Kat, need a bit of... (Here Robert sucked in a breath, this was really humiliating for him to ask for help on what was supposed to be a simple one-man capture and retrieve mission.) assistance here." Robert asked in a somewhat embarrassed tone of voice. He could have sworn he heard Kat chuckle before she answered. "Alright, sending the Rescue Zords." Kat answered. Now, a bit of backstory. Now, while the original Lightspeed Zords, along with their companion Zords the Supertrain and Max Solar Zords may have been destroyed in the final battle against the Super Demons Diabolico and Olympius, Kat somehow managed to rebuild them (Only the Max Solar Zord, and Rescue Zords, the Supertrain wasn't salvageable unfortunately.) a few years back after hour upon hour of hard work. (Robert deeply suspected they may have been the original inspiration for the Delta Runners and likewise the Omega Zords the inspiration for the Swat Flyers.) And now, they were available for use in case the Delta Runners were somehow inactive, which they now most certainly were after they were destroyed in the battle against the A-Squad's own Megazord after they'd defected to Grumm. In any case, they were now a secondary option for the Rangers to use in case the SWAT Megazord was not assessable, and for Robert, because he had never qualified for SWAT training, it was most certainly not for him at least. In another part of the city, a very big parking lot opened up and split wide open to reveal the hidden hanger bay for the Rescue Zords. The first one, Pyro Rescue One was a big red eight wheeled fire engine with two powerful ladder arms that comprised its entire back end. The second was Aqua Rescue Two, a blue ten wheeled truck with water cannons on top. The third, and Robert's personal favorite was Aero Rescue Three, a high powered green colored VTOL jet with two powerful turbine engines that was fast enough to keep up with even today's jets, and could drop water bombs and had magnetic grapple hooks. The fourth Zord was Haz Rescue Four, a eight wheeled offroad truck painted in yellow that had a grabbing claw at its rear. Finally, there was Med Rescue Five, a white ambulance that was large enough to fit a whole freeway's worth of cars and trucks inside its interior. With a green flash of energy, a briefcase appeared in Robert's hand and even as Aero Rescue Three took off into the sky, Robert jumped into it and sat the briefcase at the control panel and slid his morpher beside it, and the briefcase opened to reveal the joysticks that allowed him to pilot the Zord. Nearby, Robert's fellow rangers were doing the same, except they had steering wheels instead of joysticks. Robert flew ahead of everyone else even as Sky's voice came over the comms. "Robert, what are you doing!?! Who do you think you are, some sort of Sky Cowboy?" Sky snapped at him. "We gotta work together on this to defeat this guy!" Robert of course ignored him and activated one of his Zord's features that had been added in by Kat. Two powerful green colored whirlwinds erupted from his jet's thrusters and hit Xenox's robot with devastating force making him stumble back from the sheer force of the wind. "Damn Sky and his orders, I was supposed to bring this guy in and that's what I'm going to do!" Robert thought to himself and flew circles around the robot who didn't know where to aim its onboard lasers. "Damn you, stay still!" Xenox shouted over the comms, and that was Bridge's cue. He fired his powerful water cannons, only this time they'd been upgraded with cryonic features, so when the water hit Xenox's robot, he was frozen solid. "Well, you did ask for someone to stay still, so I guess that means you." Bridge laughed. "I think he meant me." Robert deadpanned even as he stopped flying in circles around the robot. "Yeah, we kinda guessed that from the start." Syd remarked. "Well, can't bring this guy in as an ice sculpture, so... Let's heat him up a bit." Robert reasoned and activated his Zord's laser cannons and fired super-heated blasts at Xenox's robot shattering it's icy form. "Now, let's bring him in guys." Sky ordered. "Megazord formation now!" He barked, before thinking to himself "And here's hoping Mr. Sky Cowboy won't use this as a chance to show off again and completely ignore orders and take on a robot on his own like he did last time we used the Rescue Zords... And the time before that... And the time before that. Probably wishful thinking, but a man can hope." With whirring sounds, the back end of Bridge's zord split open and Robert used the Aero Rescue Three's magnets to clamp down on the now open innards of the zord and pull the truck cabin upwards even as stabilizers on Med Rescue Five and Haz Rescue Four pushed the Zords upwards and Robert moved the Aqua Rescue Two into position and it formed the pelvis and upper legs of the Megazord as it locked into place with Haz Rescue Four and Med Rescue Five, which had their back doors open up and the legs locked into place with two metal doors securing them. Meanwhile, Pyro Rescue One's ladder arms extended and pulled it upwards with the back chassis flipping forwards even as the ladder arms lowered Pyro Rescue One onto Aqua Rescue Two. Finally, Aero Rescue Three's landing gear folded upwards along with its thrusters and the cockpit moved upwards to reveal a red head with a visor like face as the lasers became antennas. "Lightspeed Megazord, Online!" (To Be Continued...) Author's Note Okay, so you're getting this at least a month early. So, as you can see, the rangers of the first Wild Force and their Zords are not going to be the stars of the show this time around. Oh no, that honor goes to Robert, Sunset, Lightning, Vapor, and Sunburst. Now, as you can see I've incorporated the features of the ponies into the costumes. To be quite frank, I had to, as where would a pegasus's wings or a unicorn's horn go if they weren't used in the costume? They'd be like Optimus Prime's mysteriously vanishing trailer. Anyways, we pick up the action 3000 years earlier, with our future fifth ranger, who as you can see has a real problem with authority. Yeah, that's not going to get him into trouble at all. Also, how'd you like the incorporation of the Rescue Zords? It's always been a little headcanon of mine that they and the Omega Zords somewhat inspired SPD's work in Zord tech, just like the Dino Zords inspired Tommy and Anton's BioZords in Dino Thunder. Anyways, you should expect updates every so often. Won't be as often as The Return of Doctor Whooves and Going Deep Under, but they'll come. Part 1: Equestria: 5026 Author's Note: As I promised, this chapter would spend more time focusing on the Wild Force side of things. Also, I did submit this with it not being proofread, as I am a bit impatient at times so you'll have to excuse any grammer errors. Equus/Future Earth: 5026 "Okay now... Where is he...?" One lone mare murmured to herself, holding a flashlight in her hands as she wandered the docksides of Vanhoover, AKA Equestia's windiest city. This mare was pure white in skin color, with pale colored eyes and seemingly gust blown hair that was both cyanish grey and an emerald greenish color. "Figures, get sent out to find an Org in the middle of the night at the docksides, where who knows what lurks in the shadows... P-Probably some stallion w-who thinks he can get lucky with me... and what do I find? Absolutely nothing!" The mare, known as Vapor Trail whispered to herself, trying not to attract any attention whatsoever. Suddenly, in-between two giant metal shipping containers, she saw something out of the corner of her eye dart in-between them. Vapor Trail rushed after the shadow and kept following it, no matter which way it went. Then, it had vanished, almost as if the darkness had swallowed it up. "O-Okay... Now that was just weird. I know Sky would probably tease me for not being able to catch a simple shadow, but..." Vapor murmured to herself before noting the moon. Luna's moon was especially bright tonight, and seemed even larger than normal. Then, she saw the shadowy figure once again, leap from the top of one container to the top of another before vanishing once more. Now Vapor was starting to get really scared. On pure instinct, she reached for her Growl Phone and dialed a number. "L-Lightning... I-I might need your help down here. I'm not alone, I can feel it." Vapor said into the phone, and another mare's voice, one with a haughty tone to it answered. "Well of COURSE you're not alone you dumbo!" Lightning Dust snapped. "There's a freaking damned Org on the loose! The Princess sent you after it, and you're going to get it! I swear, my brother (Here she referred to her older brother and Vapor's best friend, and perhaps maybe more, Sky Stinger.) would have been a better pick for a Ranger than you, both you and Sunburst are such worrywarts!" "I-I'm not joking around here, there's something powerful here, and I don't think it's the Org the Princess sent me after!" Vapor yelled in fear and Lightning's jaw dropped in shock. Vapor sounded genuinely terrified out of her mind. With a resigned sigh after a few moments of hesitation, Lightning responded. "Alright, I'll get over there as fast as I can, but remember this, you and I are going after the Org I'M supposed to be hunting after this, understand?" Lightning growled and Vapor squeaked out a "Y-Yes." before hanging up and thinking to herself "Lightning, please get over here quick. Please... Wait, what's that?" At about that moment she heard a very eerie noise, it sounded like a flute being played. It was very haunting, and yet in some ways rather calming as well. Vapor didn't honestly know which of the feelings she was feeling at that very moment. Torn between the two, she decided to be on the safe side. "Legendary Wild Access!" Vapor shouted and was transformed, with a purple flash of energy, into a ranger, wearing a costume much like Sunset's, but with a few differences. For one thing, the most obvious difference was that it was a purple color, and instead of a phoenix's head, the helmet was styled after a sperm whale, and instead of a setting sun on her right breast, there was Vapor Trail's Cutie Mark of a shooting star. "Come out, show yourself!" Vapor shouted, feeling much more confident now that she was morphed. And then the being finally decided to show itself. Seemingly leaping from the moon itself was a dark figure with a wolfish face, two glowing yellow eyes that seemed to pierce right through your very soul and had one pure black horn. The figure landed almost silently directly in front of Vapor, who was frozen in fear. She knew what the one horn meant. Here, directly in front of her was a Duke Org, the ones who led the Orgs into battle and only one rank below the Org Generals. "A young mare such as yourself shouldn't be out here alone at this time of night, who knows what you might run into." The Duke Org said in a surprisingly friendly way. Nervously, Vapor reached for her Crystal Saber and pointed it at the Duke Org. "I'm not afraid of you!" Vapor yelled, though her voice betrayed her feelings. "Now now, is that any way to treat a friend?" The Duke Org questioned even as he rested a black crescent moon like blade on his left shoulder. "You and I... We're both actually on the same side, believe it or not." Vapor was stunned beyond words. An Org, a Duke Org at that, saying that they were both on the exact same side? It didn't make sense! "...Of course, knowing how you ponies treat anything that's different than you... Well, I wouldn't be surprised to find out you don't believe a word I'm saying. Hell, 3,000 years ago, I wouldn't have believed a word I was saying. Well, not before HIM anyways..." The Duke Org trailed off, seemingly lost in his own memories. "But never mind that. There's an Org on the loose, and I don't mean me. I intend to hunt him down. It might be... prudent for us to work together on this." Now Vapor was doubly stunned. A Duke Org, asking for her help to hunt down one of his own kind? This had to be a trick! But before Vapor could consider his words any further, both she and the Duke Org were blasted backwards by blasts of wind from the Turbine Org who had suddenly leaped down from a container. "Oh goody, a Ranger and a traitor to our kind in one blow! Today must be my lucky day!" Turbine Org laughed even as the Duke Org growled and picked himself up off the concrete with Vapor doing the same. "You don't seem to know who you're dealing with. Then again, you low level scum were always stupid." The Duke Org mused before picking his blade up off the ground and it's two tips extended with clicking sounds before he shouted "CRESCENT WAVE!" The Duke Org fired off several glowing yellow crescents of energy at Turbine Org smashing him into the containers denting the sides of them. "Argh, you'll pay for that!" Turbine Org shouted before taking a swing at the Duke Org with his fan hand but was blocked by the crescent shaped blade of his fellow org. Then, the Duke Org picked Turbine Org up with his bare hands and tossed him towards Vapor who took the hint and sliced at him with her Crystal Saber. "Let's take this somewhere else!" Vapor shouted before grabbing onto the Org and leaping into the sea with him and dealing out several more slices with her Crystal Saber before being blasted backwards by the Turbine Org sending her into a spin but Vapor quickly recovered. There was a reason she had taken the battle to the water. They were in her territory now. As a purple flash of energy appeared in her hands, a trident materialized in her hands before she thrust it at the Turbine Org and it got caught up in one of the Turbine Org's turbines. "You... You blinded me you bitch!" Turbine Org shouted in rage before Vapor said "There's more where that came from!" and the trident was taken out of his turbine and was used to deliver several sharp and swift stabs to his chest. Turbine Org quickly figured out this was a loosing battle, he was already worn out from his battle with Sunset not too long ago and now he'd faced off with another Ranger and a rogue Duke Org as well. "Time to go!" He shouted before leaping out of the water and flying off into the distance. Similarly, Vapor leaped out of the water as well and de-morphed, knowing her job was done for the time being. With no fear in her at all, she walked up to the Duke Org and actually shook his hand, knowing that if he saved her and even helped her out, perhaps... Just maybe there were always exceptions to the rule. "T-Thank you." Vapor said, and the Duke Org nodded. At about that time, another mare, this one cyan in color with yellow and orange streaked hair arrived and her jaw dropped in shock at the sight before her. It was only after the Duke Org leaped off into the distance that she regained the power of speech. "What... What the Tartarus just happened here?" Lightning demanded and Vapor answered "To be honest... I'm not sure." Elsewhere... Meanwhile, in another part of Equestria stood two figures loading animals into a truck marked "Equestria Animal Shelter". Now, normally this wouldn't have been such an out of the ordinary sight except for the fact that if you looked closer at the two ponies, one a pegasus mare with dark blue skin wearing a Wonderbolts uniform and flying goggles and another a unicorn stallion with dark grey skin wearing the outfit of a Royal Guard. "Gah, I... I can't believe ponies actually keep these... these creatures as pets! Ugh!" The mare complained as she shoved a brown and white border collie into the van. Her friend agreed with her as he threw a small gator into the van as well. "I know, they make my skin crawl..." He muttered before both ponies heard the sound of a jet engine and looked upwards into the sky to see the Turbine Org flying above them and over their heads into the distance. Both ponies turned to each other, wearing equal looks of shock before they both laughed in excitement and hugged each other in joyful glee. "Helicos, did you see that? Another Org! One of us!" The unicorn laughed in excitement before he morphed into a tank like being with treads hanging off his shoulders, two guns on his hands and his single horn also functioning as a tank cannon. His friend, the now named Helicos, morphed into a helicopter themed Org with her single eye surrounded by propellers and her shoulders having two horns that were tipped by rotors as well with her single horn being like a helicopter's tail fin. "Artilla, you know what this means right?" Helicos asked. If Artilla could smirk, he would have. "Our Master, or someone just as powerful, has finally returned to us!" Artilla laughed before both Duke Orgs morphed into balls of energy and followed after Turbine Org, but not before Artilla had the chance to think "Our Master better not turn out to be one of those maggot food humans masquerading as an Org this time, or else I don't know what I'll do..." NewTech City: 2026 Meanwhile, back in NewTech City, the SPD Rangers were hard at work battling Xenox and his robot. Xenox took a swing at the Lightspeed Megazord with one of his robot's claws and scored in a blow making sparks fly off the Megazord which responded in turn by extending it's ladder arms to their full length (Which was quite considerable indeed) all the way to the ground and then delivering an overhead spinning kick to the robot's chin making it stumble back. "Yeah, that was for trying to blow me up!" Robert bellowed before pressing a button on his control console that made the Megazord's head antennas move back downwards and fired twin beams of laser energy at Xenox's robot who responded in kind by firing a big blue beam of energy from it's single eye making the Lightspeed Megazord stumble backwards. "Can't take another hit like that." Sky realized as he looked at the Megazord's damage statistics. They weren't good at all. He sighed, even though this Megazord could still pack a punch, it wasn't as heavily armored as the old Delta Megazord had been and was based on outdated technology and took damage far more easily. "We gotta finish this guy off quickly." "Try the Lightspeed Megazord Saber!" Bridge suggested, and Sky nodded in return. With a cry of "Lightspeed Megazord Saber, activate!" a sword emerged from the Megazord's "Belt Buckle", for lack of a better term and was gripped firmly in the Megazord's hands. "5!" "4!" "3!" "2!" "1"! "Corona Slash!" All five rangers cried out and the Saber created a flaming corona before slashing forwards with a diagonal slash across the chest of Xenox's robot making it stumble back all the while shooting sparks every which way until it finally toppled over and exploded, but just as it did this, Xenox jumped out and onto the streets below. "Aw, come on... Seriously, this again?" Robert thought in exasperation before he too jumped out of his robot, following Xenox's lead and landed right in front of him even as Sky shouted out "Robert, wait! We're supposed to work as a team here!" "Screw teamwork! I've been trying to bring this guy in all day and nothing's going to stop me!" Robert shouted back at him over the comms before he held out a black and white power cell that resembled a spool of thread in some ways before tossing it in the air with a shout of "R.I.C! Catch, boy!" and the power cell was caught in midair by a black and white robotic dog. This was R.I.C, the S.P.D's mascot of sorts and yet another way of bringing criminals to justice. And once the power cell was caught, R.I.C was at once transformed. His front legs moved forwards and had two small cannons pop out and he landed in Robert's arms. "Canine Cannon!" Robert cried out. "Now, as I was saying... Xenox, you are charged with multiple car thief, resisting arrest, assault of a S.P.D Officer... And quite frankly, ruining of a very nice classic car, plus we can add to that destruction of property, operating a robot without a license and to be honest, needing breath mints and giving me a very bad day." "Wait, please! I'm not guilty of anything!" Xenox pleaded, knowing what was about to happen. "Oh please, that never works and you know it. Now do us all a favor and shut up, and prepare to get confined!" Robert retorted and pulled the trigger and was sent flying backwards by the Canine Cannon's sheer kick (There was a reason it was normally held by all five rangers) but the blast hit dead on target and from out of the explosion came a Confinement Card with Xenox inside it. Oddly enough, he wasn't saying a word. "Huh, guess Kat did finally install that Shut-Up feature after all." Robert thought even as he slipped into the realm of unconsciousness... Somewhere on Future Earth/Equus: Back on... Oh, you know the drill by now I think... Artilla and Helicos were marching down a stairway deep in a hidden and closed off section of a factory in Vanhoover's industrial district. This particular factory had been closed off for years, so the likelihood of anypony finding the two Duke Orgs (Brother and Sister actually) was pretty much nill. "Oh for crying out loud, why'd our master have to pick something so far underground? It's too damp and moist, I'll rust!" Artilla complained and his sister smacked him on the arm. "Quit complaining. This way, nobody will ever find us here." She said even as she thought to herself "Why oh why did I have be cursed with such an idiot of a brother? Least Jindrax and Toxica, treacherous as they were, had intellect on their sides. Hell, Jindrax was smart enough how to figure out how to bring Toxica back from the Org Underworld! Gotta give him credit for that at least..." "Not even the Power Rangers?" Artilla asked nervously and if Helicos could have smirked, she would have. "Especially the Power Rangers." She nodded before raising her sole eyebrow. "Besides, why are you so worried? As far as I can see, they can't even defeat one of the Master's weaker Orgs, so how do you expect them to defeat us, let alone the Master?" Helicos questioned, with Artilla giving the equivalent of a "Fair enough" nod. Finally the two Duke Orgs reached their intended destination, which was a dank and darkened cave with Org statues and totems with eerie glowing eyes of all sorts of colors all around and in the middle of the room was a throne, with its back turned to them and in the center of the the throne's backside was one very large silver Z... (To Be Continued...) Author's Note Well, that theme music alone should give you a hint as to the identity of the new Master Org. Anyways, in this chapter we meet the two Duke Orgs that serve him, Mandilok's Duke Orgs Artilla and Helicos. I chose these two specifically as they never got much chance to shine before being defeated. And speaking of Duke Orgs, yes that was Zen-Aku helping the Purple Ranger. He'll show up a few more times, I can promise you that. Might even be a candidate for a seventh Ranger of sorts! Only time will tell... Also, we get our first Megazord battle as well. Okay, maybe it was rather short, but given Sky's reasoning, it had to be. Also, of course the poll for the candidate for the Magna Defender Powers is still on, and it looks like Shining is currently in the lead. If you want to see the poll, it's up on my profile page. Till next time, cheers! Part 2: DepartureEquus/Future Earth: 5026 Robert groaned as he found himself slowly returning to the land of consciousness and slowly adjusted his eyes to the blinding white light in front of him. As everything slowly came into focus, he could see the stark white walls, hear the beeping of a machine somewhere beside him and smell the distinct odor of disinfectant. He was in a hospital, he knew that much. So that solved where he was. How he got there was another question entirely. Taking note of everything around him, he noted this hospital wasn't as quite as advanced as the ones back on Earth. (If he only knew.) So where was he? Another planet maybe? He quickly shot that thought out of his head. All of the planets in the known galaxies had sufficiently higher level technology than the current level of the hospital he was currently in. One thing was for sure, he needed to find out where he was, and then try and get back home. But once he tried to move his arms, he found both of them were solidly cuffed to the hospital bed he was lying in. "Okay, whoever did this to me has at least racked up kidnapping charges, though if they put me in a hospital at least they're being kind about it. A kind kidnapper, that's gotta be a new one." Robert mused. Then suddenly he was alerted to the sounds of voices outside his room. "He's in here, Princess." A male voice said before what sounded strangely like the trotting of hoofsteps walking off came, and the obedient tone suggested he was of the local military or maybe police. No, definitely military. "Crap. Police I can talk to, but military, that's another matter entirely. Hmm, so wherever I am, they're ruled by a Princess of some sort. Interesting, but not unusual." Robert mused and then the door opened and six... Well, what could only be described as anthromorphic ponies stepped inside his room. It was really beginning to feel rather cramped right now. The first pony was golden in fur color and had red hair with yellow streaks, making it resemble bacon in some manner, and had teal green eyes that Robert could just lose himself in. She had a commanding aura about her, suggesting she was a leader of some sort. The second mare was cyan in color, and had orange and yellow streaked hair along with wings, and had a haughty aura about her. The third mare, also winged was white in color and had pale colored eyes and seemingly gust blown hair that was both cyanish grey and an emerald greenish color. The fourth pony was a unicorn stallion, with orangish fur and dark red hair, and had glasses, a blue wizard's cloak and had a goatee and looked rather nervous. All four of these first ponies, Robert noted, had golden phones peaking out of their pockets, golden phones which looked frighteningly like the Growl Phones of the Wild Force Rangers. But it was the final mare which caught Robert's attention the most. She, taller than the rest, had multicolored hair, which consisted of green, pink and blue streaks and seemed to flow in a nonexistent wind and was pure white in fur color and like the golden furred mare had both a horn and wings and was wearing an elegant white dress and a golden crown and necklace. This had to be the Princess that he overheard being talked to. "Hello... Human." The Princess said in a completely disgusted tone of voice, and Robert suddenly began to feel very nervous indeed. How'd he get himself into this situation again? Oh yeah, that's right... NewTech City 2026: SPD Delta Base, one day earlier... "What the Hell were you thinking?" Sky shouted at him in the Delta Base's command center as the rest of B-Squad tried not to look at Robert being chewed out by his superior. It was a rather awkward situation to say the least, although not really a new one. "This is the fourth time you've gone off on your own to go after a criminal without back-up!" "Hey, for the record, the guy I just confined, you're welcome for that by the way, was my target to begin with!" Robert shouted back. "I'd been chasing him all over the city and would have captured him had he not brought out a giant freaking robot!" "That's right, he did bring out a robot!" Sky retorted. "And even when we had to bring out the Zords, you went off ahead of everyone else and pulled that stunt of yours! Third time you've done that!" Sky ranted, and he wasn't done yet. "And even when the robot blew up, you still directly disobeyed my orders and went after Xenox, alone, AGAIN! I have half a mind to take away your badge and Morpher!" "Go ahead and do that, see if I care! You need to learn that sometimes doing things your own way is part of being a Ranger! There's a reason the others quit, and I think WE all know the reason why!" Robert bellowed, before shoving Sky backwards causing gasps and storming out of the room. He now needed to blow off some steam and he knew the perfect way to do it. Now the rest of B-Squad was definitely staring, and Sky looked at them with a raised eyebrow. Bridge muttered "Awkward..." while everyone else pretended to be doing something. Then, someone else entered the room. Everyone then stood at attention, even Commander Cruger who had stood silent throughout the whole endeavor. The man who had entered, a man with long brown hair, with blond streaks in it, although was beginning to show signs of grey as well was the Supreme Commander of SPD, Andros Hammond, the former Red Space Ranger. "Little harsh, don't you think?" Andros asked and before anyone could ask how he knew what just happened, he answered for them. "Heard your little disagreement through the doors." Now he was looking directly at Sky. "Supreme Commander, what brings you all the way from KO-35?" Sky asked. "Just a routine check up on how things are going." Andros answered simply, before his tone became more stern. "And I can see things are not going well, Commander Tate." "Yeah, you got that right..." Sky muttered. "I swear, Robert just doesn't have what it takes to be one of us." "Seems to have lasted longer under your command than the others. I'd say that shows fortitude." Andros replied. "F-Fortitude!?!" Sky sputtered out. "He deliberately disobeyed a direct order, just as he's been doing since he got here!" "Now, I'm not saying he's in the right all the time, but he's got a point. Sometimes you do have to do things your own way, or haven't you forgotten about your predecessor to your powers, a certain Mister Landers? As I recall, you and he had arguments, and he sometimes went off on his own, and so did you for that matter. Remember when that Armageddon sized asteroid came to Earth and you both had to blow it up with the SWAT Flyers?" Sky winced, Andros had a point. It also hit Sky hard, as if he'd been punched in the gut. Here he was, getting a dressing down from Andros, one of his idols, the man who had saved the galaxy and lead the Space Rangers into battle during one of the galaxy's darkest hours and eventually had no choice but to shatter Zordon's energy tube to save everyone from Astromena's evil. "...You're right. It seems I still have much to learn about being the Red Ranger." Sky admitted looking down at the floor, before Andros put a hand on his shoulder. "We're all learning and we all make mistakes. We all do throughout our lives. It's part of what makes us... Human." Andros smiled. Robert, grumbling none too kind things about a certain Red Ranger entered the room known only as the SimulaDeck. This entire room was designed as a training room built specifically for the Rangers to train in, and was made to create any sort of situation that the Rangers might find themselves in, either it be an underwater battle, (Which came up a lot more often than you might think with this job.) or just a simple fight in an abandoned warehouse. Now, in the olden days, which just happened to be not even six months ago, someone had to be in a special suit to simulate the monsters, magical beings or assorted aliens that the Rangers might find themselves up against, but now, with technology graciously provided by the people of the Supreme Commander's home planet of KO-35, that wasn't even needed. Now, holographic projectors had been added, controlled by someone in a control room that overlooked the entire area. "Hey Robert!" A cheery tone Robert knew belonged to Boom, Kat Manx's personal number one assistant/Gadget Tester/Lab Rat came over the comms. "Ready to do some training?" "You're rubbing your hands together evilly aren't you Boom?" Robert asked drolly. "Uh... No?" Boom answered nervously and Robert sighed and rubbed his temples. "Just gimme something to fight. I need to blow off some steam." Robert grumbled. "Wow, you're in a bad mood today. Sky must have really gotten to you. If it helps any, I... may have overheard the Supreme Commander chew him out a bit." Boom said kindly and Robert smiled a bit. Served him right. "Anyways, what do you want to beat up today?" Boom asked. "How bout something... Classic? Gimme some Tenga Warriors, make the scene an average day in Angel Grove, 1995." Robert requested, and as soon as Boom said "You got it!" the room immediately changed to that of a hilltop overlooking the small and peaceful town of Angel Grove, California, the site of Earth's first Power Rangers. And then, appearing in feathers, were blackish purple winged beings with beaks, yellow eyes and a really bad smell about them. These were Tenga Warriors, provided as a belated wedding present by Rito Revolto to his sister, the late Rita Repulsa, the first villain the Earth ever faced. "Hey, it's a human, get him!" One of the Tengas crowed and they all charged towards him as Robert tossed off his jacket and took a fighting stance and let out a "Ki-Yah!" and engaged his foes. Robert punched a Tenga backwards into a tree before leaping over another that was charging at him. Robert smirked. Stupidity couldn't be simulated, not that it would need to be. Tengas were never known for their intelligence. Then he was grabbed from behind by two Tengas but managed to wrestle himself out of their grip and kick one in the face. Next, Robert went for his Delta Blaster and fired at three Tengas, taking them down. Several more Tengas flew down at him from the sky, wielding swords in their hands and swung at him but Robert blocked the first blade with his wrist and kicked the offending Tenga backwards before backhanding another sword using Tenga. The final Tenga came at him with a vertical slash, but Robert caught it's blade in his hands before kicking the Tenga in the one spot no male creature, no matter the species wanted to be kicked. Yeah, that spot. As soon as the last Tenga was down, Robert smirked. Minions defeated, and he wasn't even tired yet. He called out to Boom, yelling "That all you got?" as the Control Room materialized in mid-air, spoiling the illusion entirely. "R-Really, you want some more?" Boom asked with trepidation. "Well, in that case... What do you want?" "I don't know... Mix it up a little bit. Give me a monster, a good one. Your choice." Boom actually smirked in a somewhat cat-like manner, the kind of manner a cat would smirk before pouncing on an unsuspecting bird before saying "If you say so..." and pressing a few buttons up in his Control Room. It vanished, and the scene changed once again to a rock quarry in the middle of nowhere. Rangers were surprisingly used to fighting in these. It had actually become a bet amongst the B-Squad (Probably started by Bridge or Syd) when they would fight in a rock quarry again. Anyways, appearing in a flash of flame was a gold armored winged being with a dark blue baboon like face and with a sword in his hands. Robert actually swallowed and thought "Boom, as soon as I'm done here, I swear, I will kill you." Who he was facing was Goldar, a living legend amongst Ranger circles, and a being no Ranger had ever managed to take down as he always fled from a fight, although some had come pretty close to defeating him, most notably Tommy Oliver and Jason Lee Scott, the Mighty Morphin' Green (And later White) and Red Rangers respectively. "Puny human! Prepare to meet your end!" Goldar bellowed and charged towards him, sword in hand while Robert yelled out "It's Morphing Time! SPD, Emergency!" and was enveloped in that same green energy and became once more the Green SPD Ranger. "What? A Power Ranger?" Goldar asked in surprise. "No matter, I'll still destroy you for my Empress Rita and Lord Zedd!" Goldar swung his sword, and Robert blocked it with his own before throwing a kick, but it was caught and Goldar threw him backwards into some rocks. "Your tactics are predictable, Ranger!" Goldar taunted. Robert swore quietly to himself. He'd forgotten the SimulaDeck's creations adapted as you got further along in it. It was yet another new feature. Robert picked himself up and charged once again at Goldar, Delta Saber in hand, but this time he jumped over Goldar and slashed at him from behind. "You'll pay for that Tommy! Your costume may have changed, but I still know you anywhere!" "Tommy?" Robert asked himself in confusion before he realized. "Oh, I am wearing Green, so it would make sense he'd mistake me for his old foe." He mused even as Goldar turned around a full 180 degrees and got in a slash across the chest. Just as Goldar slashed forwards once again, Robert jumped backwards and fired his Delta Blaster several times at Goldar hitting him directly in the chest. Just then, Boom chimed in. "Hey, want to see another of the new improvements?" Boom asked, and before Robert had a chance to respond, a recording of Rita's voice yelled out "Magic Wand, make my Goldar grow!" and sure enough, a crescent moon shaped wand covered in bronze and gold with a red orb in the center plunged down from the sky and it's magic made Goldar grow to the size of a titan. "How do you like me now, Ranger?" Goldar laughed as he loomed over the quarry. "Oh, fu..." Robert muttered, but then the Green Ranger's Dragon Dagger appeared in his hands. "Okay, maybe I was going to kill Boom at first for this little stunt, but now I might actually thank him." Robert mused. "This could actually be fun. I need DragonZord power, now!" Robert shouted before playing a very familiar tune. And from the nearby waters of Angel Grove Harbor (Robert didn't even bother to question the SimulaDeck's logic.) emerged a very familiar Zord. It had a dragon's head, two golden shoulders with hands coming out from them and was mostly black in color, save for the silver chest emblem which had red flashing dots arranged in a star like formation with one red dot in the center. And to top it all off, there was a silver tail ending in a drill. "Not even the DragonZord will save you from your own destruction!" Goldar taunted. "Oh yeah? Wanna bet on that? DragonZord missiles!" Robert shouted before playing the Dragon Dagger again, and from the Zord's fingertips emerged small red missiles which were quickly fired in a barrage at Goldar who didn't even have time to react. Goldar, in revenge swung his sword a few times and caused some damage, but then Robert commanded the DragonZord to swing it's tail at Goldar, who simply jumped over it before firing laser beams from his eyes making the DragonZord stumble backwards. "Now you've made me mad." Robert said before ordering the Zord to grab Goldar and throw him to the side and the baboon like alien landed with a powerful thud making the very ground shake. But Goldar was back up again soon enough. "Now, time to end this!" He roared and charged towards the DragonZord. "I agree." Robert said, before firing off another barrage of missiles that made Goldar stumble and then fall over shouting "You may have defeated me Tommy Oliver, but be assured, Rita and Zedd will avenge my death!" before exploding and ending the simulation. "Feeling better?" Boom asked. Robert smiled as he demorphed. Yeah, much better. Later that day, Robert was in the room shared by all of the male B-Squad Rangers, with only Bridge in the room with him, eating his favorite food, buttered toast. "Something on your mind?" Bridge asked as he noticed Robert just staring off into the distance through the window. "Yeah... I've been thinking. Maybe Sky's right. Maybe I'm not cut out to be one of you guys." Robert mused to himself. "He's right, I have no respect for authority, and do things my own way. I'm reckless, arrogant, and... Well, let's face the facts, none of those traits are good in a Power Ranger, it always ends up with them getting hurt, or worse." "You know, but that's what makes you you. If we all thought the same way, we'd be like robots." Bridge responded before turning to R.I.C, who was sitting nearby on a couch. "...No offence." R.I.C barked, as if to say "None taken." Suddenly Bridge stood on his hands and made his whole body face upwards to the ceiling. "Hey, maybe you should try thinking things through my way. Might help." Bridge asked, and soon Robert was doing the same thing Bridge was. "Yeah, all I'm getting is the blood rushing to my head and I'm prrrretttyy sure that's not a good thing." Robert commented dryly before flipping back to a standing position and walking out the door. "I'm going to go for a drive. That's what usually works with me." Robert said, before Bridge asked "Sure you don't want some toast for the road? It's..." He said before doing that little finger wiggle of his. "...Buttery." But Robert was already gone. A 2006 Ford Mustang, pure green in color roared through the streets of downtown NewTech City. In it, sat Robert behind the wheel. He'd saved up for months for this car, but it was worth it. "Now this is the life! This is just what I need. The open road, and nothing but me and my tunes." Robert commented even as Styx's Renegade played through his phone. Robert chuckled at the irony. Here he was, a lawman, listening to a song about a man on the run from the hangman coming down from the gallows. He supposed it fit him in a way. He wasn't like the other Rangers, and he knew it. He'd always felt out of place. He never had any genetic powers like the others, and he could never stand to be in the same room with them, except for Bridge, for more than a few minutes. Sure, they were all nice people (Even Sky) in their own way, and he respected them, but he just never felt like he belonged with them. "Hmm, seriously, we need to replace all the Police Cars on the force with these. I mean seriously, Vauxhall Astra Diesels? Which hair brained idiot thought of that for a good patrol car? They're shit, and everyone knows it." Back at base, Syd, who happened to be listening to Robert's musings over his Morpher, which he always kept on him as procedure, nodded at Sky and said "He's got a point. Besides, Mustangs are sexier cars." Then, the scanners picked up something. Sky contacted Robert. "Robert, there's some strange energy readings in your area. Go check it out." Sky ordered. "Alone? Shouldn't I wait for back-up?" Robert snarked and Sky winced. It seemed Robert was still pissed off at him, as he had every right to be. "Yes, do it your way. Not like there's anything I can do to stop you." Sky said. Robert smirked and gunned the engine and headed toward the coordinates Sky gave him, and not even an hour later, just as dusk was falling, Robert was there, in a park somewhere in the city. Following the readings with the tracker built into his Morpher, he found himself in a heavily wooded area under a bridge. "Hmm, picking up traces of magical energy, but I don't see..." Robert mused, and the next thing he knew, he was sucked into a green swirling energy vortex and was gone even as Robert's signal vanished and Sky let out a shout of "ROBERT!" and slammed his fist on the console in frustration. Equus/Future Earth: 5026 "UH!" Robert groaned out even as he landed in some grass in a dark forest that seemed to be covered in thorny vines and filled with strange sounds. "Okay, do not want to do that again." Robert muttered and immediately set out on scanning the area. "Hmm, says I'm on Earth, but..." Then, he heard a loud female shout of "HUMAN!" and felt several blasts of energy hit him in the back before he slipped once more into the realm of unconsciousness and the darkness greeted him with open arms... Author's Note Okay, so this chapter will be the last chapter to feature the SPD opening, as you can see Robert's finally been time-warped to the Future Earth, where he gets a not so warm welcome (One might even say frosty) reception from the locals. Whoo boy... Anyways, this chapter was made to pander to the Zordon era fans, as evidenced by the appearance of Andros, the Tengas, Goldar, the insert music and the freaking DragonZord. As you can see, Robert, and then Sky both get royal dressing downs for their actions. Both, to be honest are not in the right with their actions. Robert does need to learn to work with a team, and Sky needs to be more accepting of doing things one's own way. Actually, on the note of Robert, if you're wondering, and probably are, why I haven't given him a description outside his Ranger Form, I'm taking the Halo Series route and allowing you to imagine what he looks under the helmet. Next time, Robert deals with his newfound situation... and Princess Celestia, and meets the new team of Wild Force Rangers. (Also, I've noticed I've gotten 8 dislikes and that'll probably climb, so if anyone wants to tell me what the heck puts you off this fic, I'd really love to know. Finally, I'm putting this fic on hiatus for a short while so I can focus on my other two big fics which I've been neglecting, along with a Twixie oneshot and a upcoming collab story.) Part 3: The Bad Beginning Future Earth/Equestria: Canterlot Castle Throne Room, several minutes earlier... Canterlot Castle, a symbol of grand majesty and it's fair set of rulers, the Royal Princess of the Sun Princess Celestia and the Royal Princess of the Moon, Princess Luna, symbols to all across the land. The throne room, made of the most elegant materials and the most pure white of limestone collected from only the best of the best of rock quarries. The stained glass windows, each made of the most elegantly carved glass made only by the finest glassmakers, each depicting a famous event in Equestria's history, all the way from Nightmare Moon's ascension and subsequent banishment to the moon to the recent coronation of the two newest Alicorn Princesses, both former personal students of Princess Celestia herself, the Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle, and the Princess of Empathy, Sunset Shimmer. Now normally, Princess Celestia was the picture of tranquility and peaceful, motherly care. Tonight however, she was shaking with rage. One of her former students, Twilight Sparkle had sent a letter to her after making a very disturbing discovery while she was making a trip to see her friend Zecora, an immigrant from the Zebra Countries, to acquire a new potion to work as a cure for some ponies in the Appleloosian Plains who had been bitten by a basilisk's venomous fangs. Princess Celestia still didn't know how one of those foul serpents, who originated from a small island and were created by a chicken laying on a toad's egg originally through a foul ritual by one of the darkest wizards ever to walk Equus, Herpo the Foul, got to Appleloosa, but she intended to find out for herself. And that was what brought Princess Celestia to her current predicament. The letter had stated she had found a human, a HUMAN in her domain! Princess Celestia's first emotion was shock. Last she had checked, humans went extinct some 2,000 odd years ago, give or take the odd century. Then it went right to rage. Humans, the foulest beings ever to walk the face of the planet. It began in the year 3006. A genetic anomaly, or maybe some odd mutation in a pony's genes. But whatever the reason, ponies, almost overnight began to walk on two legs and grow wings and horns. And as for the humans, well... Sure, at first they were nice, welcoming ponies as they evolved to walk on two legs just like them, but then they showed their nasty side, and acceptance soon turned to fear, and then to hate. Ponies were out-casted, hunted down for sport even! Raped, murdered! All because they looked different from them and didn't fit their image of perfection. It was only when the Princesses ascended to Alicornhood that the tide was turned, and humans, the hunters, became the hunted. It wasn't long, after training her subjects to fight, that the Princess of the Sun was able to eliminate the humans. But now, one had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere! And now, Princess Celestia would see to it that she would deal with this threat personally. "Sister, is something wrong?" Princess Luna, a dark blue furred alicorn, with a starry like mane that seemed to flow in a nonexistent wind, asked to her sister, noticing her trembling with rage. The very air seemed to grow hotter, and Celestia's mane danced like flames. "Sister... A human has appeared in Equestria. After 2,000 years of peace, one has come back... It seems they weren't as extinct as we thought." Celestia growled. She should have double checked, made sure every last one of those... creatures were hunted down, for her own subjects protection. "Sister, you are acting irrational. Surely you remember that there were some humans who accepted us, like that Jen woman." Luna replied, trying to calm her sister. Even now, 2,000 years later, she remembered everything. It was said elephants never forgot, but it seemed the same was true for Alicorns, for better or for worse. "But not enough..." Celestia snarled, and Princess Luna took a step back. This wasn't the kind, caring older sister she knew, and she was actually starting to become afraid of her. The air began to grow hotter still. "But was that reasoning justifiable in rendering an entire species extinct!?!" Princess Luna snapped back even as a tear slipped from her eye as she watched her sister's dark side come out. If Princess Celestia didn't calm herself, she might very well become the being Luna feared most, the mad tyrant Solar Flare. Princess Luna knew all too well what succumbing to one's dark side did to you. It ripped you apart, and twisted your very soul until there was almost nothing of you left. "They were living beings, just like you and I are, and this human deserves the benefit of the doubt." But Princess Celestia ignored her and vanished in a pure blinding flash of white light. "May the Gods protect you fair human, and if Princess Celestia truly intends to kill you, I will make sure I will be standing in her way." Luna thought before vanishing in a dark blue flash of light, leaving the throne room empty. Everfree Forest, just after Robert was taken away... Zen-Aku eyed the Princess of Friendship with a wary look upon his muzzle as she dragged Robert off. He stood in the forest thrush, unseen thanks to his black armor and clothing blending in against the darkness, with only his piercing yellow eyes giving away the only hint he was there, although as there were many creatures in the forest who shared this, nopony would be the wiser that he was there, and for right now, that's the way he preferred it. "By Animus above, I hope this new arrival will have the strength to withstand what's coming, not from just the Orgs, but from the inhabitants of this planet. Otherwise... We're all doomed." He mused to himself before looking towards the sky. "I hope you made the right choice, as a great darkness is coming, and a fifth is needed. And if it comes to that, I will gladly lend my assistance." With that, he gripped the three solid orbs in his paw, one purple, one dark green and one silver, before vanishing into the shadows... Now... Okay, you think I would have gotten used to seeing some pretty weird stuff in my life as a member of Space Patrol Delta, given all the aliens that inhabit Earth, and some of the magical creatures as well, but this is pretty up there in the weird shit-o-meter." Robert mused to himself as he eyed Princess Celestia and her subjects curiously. "Have no fear, my subjects, I am here to deal with... The Problem." Celestia said as her subjects bowed to her and she gave them her best motherly smile. Robert frowned. He knew what the Princess was doing. Acting like he wasn't in the room, and from the disgusted tone in her voice, along with the slight fear in her eyes when she first looked at him (Although he had to give her credit, she hid it well.), it was a fairly safe guess that she'd had experience with humans before and that experience had not been a good one. For Princess Celestia, she was glad to see her subjects unharmed, and that the filthy ape hadn't hurt them in the slightest. Captain (No, Prince as she had to keep reminding herself.) Shining Armor had made the right choice in restraining him. "Well, this is a new one." Robert quipped in an intention of lightning the mood. It didn't work. Not in the slightest. "SILENCE HUMAN!" Celestia roared, using her rarely used Royal Canterlot Voice, and for the first time Robert noted how hot the air had become. It was also a fairly safe guess that due to Celestia's name (Which she had overheard one of the ponies mention) and how angry she seemed to be, that the two were connected in some manner. "P-Princess, are you sure we can relax? I've heard humans have done nothing but hunt and kill our kind... A-Amongst other things." The orange coated stallion asked nervously. "Yes, Sunburst." Celestia answered, and Robert mentally jotted the name down to himself. Best to know his fellow Power Rangers, although if they were anything like their ruler, working with them could present a problem in the future. "It shall be dealt with." "It has a name, you know." Robert deadpanned, and everypony's jaws dropped in shock at the hugely disrespectful tone he was using towards their Princess. "And I for one, would greatly appreciate it if you started talking like I was in the room for once. And might I say, having one of your subjects blast me in the back, dick move. Really, quite the dick move. Personally, I think that's what you are, a dick with wings and a horn. It's clear to me your misanthropy and fear is clouding any judgement you might have." Now Princess Celestia's jaw was the one to drop in shock. How dare this animal speak back to her in such a manner! Did she not know who he was dealing with? But she quickly regained her composure, and glared fiercely at the human in such a manner that even the ice and snow of the Crystal Empire would melt. "HOW DARE YOU!?!" Princess Celestia roared once more, her temper finally close to reaching it's upper limits. "DO YOU HAVE ANY OF THE SLIGHTEST IDEA OF WHOM THOU ART SPEAKING TO? I AM PRINCESS CELESTIA, SOL INVINCTUS OF THE SUN, AND THE BRINGER OF YOUR JUDGEMENT!" "Respect is something you earn, it's not a given thing." Robert responded calmly. "I respect the person, not the title, and to be honest, neither of which seems right now worthy of respect." Then, it happened. Princess Celestia finally blew up. She didn't shout at him, oh no. What she did, and by doing so causing a chorus of shocked gasps to echo throughout the room was slap him firmly across the face with considerable force indeed. Out of all the things the ponies in the room had been expecting, none of their thoughts were even close to what had just occurred in front of their very eyes. She then charged up her horn and was about to blast Robert into a pile of ashes, she was then restrained by a dark blue magical aura. "SISTER, WHAT THE TARTARUS DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Princess Luna roared, also in her Royal Canterlot voice as she pulled back her sister away from Robert, and simultaneously removed the handcuffs as well. "WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? I'M REMOVING THIS FILTH FROM EXSISTANCE!" Celestia snarled. "There's a difference between justice and revenge sister, and I think you've forgotten which is which right now." Princess Luna stated, after taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. At about this time, Shining Armor had entered the rapidly beginning to get crowded room unseen. Although he had read the stories about humans in the history books, he was a firm believer of the saying "Innocent until proven guilty." and so far, this human had done nothing, aside from being a bit rude, which to be fair, if Shining was in his situation he probably would have been a bit ticked off as well. "I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU DID THAT LUNA! THAT DANGEROUS PIECE OF FILTH SHOULD BE NOW A PILE OF ASHES AT MY HOOVES, AND YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO KEEP ME FROM DOING WHAT SHOULD BE DONE! HUMANS KNOW NOTHING BUT OF VIOLENCE AND BLOODSHED!" "YOU..." Luna had begun to yell once more but calmed herself down again. No need for to get the human on the bad side of both of them, as her sister had already done with herself and her actions. "You have the nerve to call him violent and dangerous when YOU were the one to slap him across the face and were about to turn him into charcoal!" The Wild Force Rangers, along with Shining and Robert watched the entire exchange like a tennis match. They knew both of the Royal Siblings sometimes had their spats, but this was on a whole new level, unlike anything they'd seen before. "Fine, I admit what I was doing was letting my temper get the best of me, but it doesn't change the simple fact that all humans are dangerous. And now that one has returned, he presents a threat to us all." "Just like I did when I returned?" Princess Luna asked bitterly, a tear slipping from her eye. Celestia felt like she had been punched solidly in the gut. As much as she hated to admit it, there were more than a few similarities to the human's arrival and Princess Luna's return. Both have had been treated with nothing less than disrespect in their first few hours of being here, and just like Princess Luna was, the human would probably be treated with disrespect for months to come. Celestia stood in silence, before vanishing in a flash of white light. "So..." Robert asked nervously. "What will you do with me? Throw me in a dungeon, execute me in public like your sister seems to want?" "No, Mister... What is your name? I need a proper introduction." Luna requested. "Robert, Robert Williams. Space Patrol Delta Officer of NewTech City, Earth, which considering the oh-so warm reception I got here, I intend to find the nearest spaceport and get back there as soon as possible, and if possible, have your sister brought up on attempted murder and kidnapping charges. Let's see how she likes a Confinement Card." Luna said nothing, she didn't have the heart to tell him that there was no way he was getting back to wherever this NewTech City once was, and that he'd been transported to Earth's future from who knew when. "I... I apologize for my sister's behavior. We've both had bad experiences with humans, but she had worse than me. I'd hoped over the years she'd let that hatred go, but it seems she has not." Luna replied, looking quite ashamed before gesturing to Shining Armor. "This is Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire. He's the one who restrained you." Luna said, and Shining, who wore golden knight like armor, with purple trimmings walked up to Robert. "I apologize for the detainment. I was under orders from my sister, the Princess of Friendship." Shining stated in an apologetic tone, and Robert recognized the voice as the military like one he'd heard earlier. "Remind me to punch her in the face then." Robert grumbled and Shining winced. Great, just what he needed, an officer of the law with a grudge against two Princesses, and from what he'd seen, the sheer balls to face them down without flinching. This was going to cause a lot of paperwork in the foreseeable future, he could tell, and perhaps a few sips of alcohol as well. Just then, everyone heard a loud explosion and all four Wild Force Rangers' Growl Phones rang and the bacon haired mare answered, and if Robert had to guess, she was the team leader. "I understand, Princess. We'll take him down." Sunset said before turning to the others. "New Org on the loose. Let's go." "Wait, if you said Org, you might need my help." Robert said, and everyone turned to him in shock. "How... How can you help?" Lightning Dust asked in disbelief. "You're just a weak and scrawny human!" Ignoring her, Robert turned to Princess Luna. "Did you by chance happen to get ahold of a black and white device with two red lights on it saying SPD on it?" Robert inquired, and Shining nodded. "Yeah, it got handed off to me as we presumed it to be dangerous." Shining admitted before holding out Robert's Morpher, and Robert smirked before taking it in his hands. "Oh, it's dangerous alright... Just not to you." Robert stated before letting out a shout of "SPD: Emergency!" before that same green energy overtook him and he was transformed, much to everypony's shock and awe, into the Green SPD Ranger. "Now, are we going to stop gaping like fish, or are we going to play kick the can with an Org?" Robert asked dryly... (To Be Continued...) Author's Note Okay, I know I said this story was going on a hiatus, but to be honest I got bored and the only way I found to cure that boredom was to write some more of this. Now, firstly, I want to truly apologize for the portrayal of a xenophobic Princess Celestia in this chapter. I have stated time and time again that I absolutely hate bashing, although for this story to work, like Griffins, Ponies and Taboo Subjects, it had to be done. Still doesn't make it hurt any less though. (Have no fear, she slowly but surely will receive character development, just like everypony else.) Anyways, a large portion of this chapter owes itself to Hawker Hurricane's story One Step Forwards, a Huge Shove Backwards, which I can't link you to as it's M rated, but look the guy and the story up. It's not half bad. Anyways, on other notes, as you can see, Robert's not completely without friends, as he's already got Prince Shining Armor (Our future Magna Defender) and Princess Luna in his corner already, so that's two members of royalty he's got looking out for him, and Zen-Aku as well, who seems to know more about Robert's warp to the future then he's telling, and as you can see, has access to his old Wild Zords as well. Next time, Robert and the Wild Force Rangers team up to fight the Barbed Wire Org... Amongst other happenings. Part 5: Ancient History A few minutes ago... Robert growled out in frustration and winced in pain as he was kicked in the chest by a Putrid and knocked back into a tree. Blood was dripping from pretty much every point on his chest, with several of the Barbed Wire Org's wires having cut in quite deeply. Two sets of Putrids aimed their staff/bazookas and fired at Robert who leaped aside and let the tree take the blast. Blood was on the ground everywhere and Robert's vision was becoming a daze, not allowing him to see or block the kicks and punches and blows from the Putrids as they came. He felt himself getting faint and even as he got up off the ground he thought to himself. "Is this how I go out? Mein Gott, I'm such a moron. Look at me, charging in without fear, just to save three little kids that, judging from the attitude the rest of the ponies I've met shown me, probably wouldn't give a hoot in hell when I'm at my Schlechtesten. And that's exactly where I am now." Robert mused as he was punched in the chest and sent flying backwards and he cursed in German. "Wunderbar." Robert muttered sarcastically to himself as he lay on the ground bleeding out as the Putrids closed in on him and he felt his eye lids closing and he took one last look at the sky, for what he knew would probably be the last time. He then thought to himself once more. "You know, they say before you die your life flashes before your eyes. Well, not much of a life for me. I spent half my life cooped up in a school hidden away from the rest of the world and I got tired of that and then the next half training to be a cop and eventually a Power Ranger... And look at where that's gotten me, eh?" And so Robert was sent into a flashback... The Day of the Armada's Final Attack... It was 2015, the Armada led by Emperor Mavro was launching its final attack on the planet of Earth. Humanity was all but defeated. Even Astromena's invasion was this bad and had Humanity on it's last desperate stand. Not that Robert was old enough to remember this, he hadn't even been born yet! But he had seen old news reports to get enough of the details to know just how bad it was and how a mysterious wave of Golden Light had surged through the planet (And as he would later learn half of the known galaxy as well thanks to the greatest sacrifice an ally of the Power Rangers could make, perhaps THE greatest ally of the Rangers) rendering many evil forces into sand and purifying others like Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa. There were some similarities however. Humanity was all but on the verge of surrender, and of the Power Rangers... Oh Mein Gott, the Power Rangers were all but defeated and their Zords destroyed. Robert however, wasn't giving up. He was a former student of the Pai Zhua School of Martial Arts, and no matter the cost, even if it be his own life, he WOULD not run away. He would make a stand. So there Robert was, in the midst of a crowd of X-Borgs, robotic soldiers with only one purpose, to destroy anything and anyone to stand in their way. Up above, hundreds, if not thousands of Armada ships from all across the Galaxy rained down laser fire like hellfire and brimstone upon the cities of Earth. "Alright you bastards, you want to come and get me, let's do this! Ki-Yah!" Robert roared before launching into the fray and kicked an X-Borg into a car, denting its side door panels before backhanding another of the robots. A squad of X-Borgs came charging at him with the blue armored Bruisers backing them up but Robert leaped over them before rebounding off a wall and kicking two X-Borgs in the back of their heads knocking them to the ground and causing them to spark. The Bruisers fired their arm cannons at him and Robert didn't have the time enough to react before there came two shouts of "Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!" and "Let's Rocket!" and using their respective weapons, the Jungle Fans and Astro Axe respectively, the Blue Jungle Fury and Blue Space Ranger knocked the blasts out of existence. Robert stood, stunned, as he looked upon his former Master, Theo, and the Blue Space Ranger, TJ. Out of respect and force of habit, Robert bowed to Theo. "Wasn't expecting to see you here. Last I heard you went off for a nice and quiet life in the city and not have to worry about training all the time." Theo remarked in surprise. "Well, you were always a hard-ass. Guess I couldn't take that kind of training." Robert replied sadly, and even in the middle of all this chaos, he and Theo shared a nod of understanding. "Some got it, some don't." Theo admitted. "Guess I'm just one of those people." Robert admitted sadly. "Hey, uh guys..." TJ suddenly spoke up attracting both of the former Pai Zhau students' attention. "Not to break up the reunion here, but we got more of those things incoming." He said as he pointed to a group of incoming X-Borgs and Bruisers. Theo and TJ took up fighting stances but Robert stepped in front of them. "No worried guys, I got this." Robert said confidently as he turned to look at the Blue Jaguar Ranger. "I may have been a drop-out, but I did pick up enough. Just enough." As the robotic soldiers closed in, Robert let out a yell of "Call to the Beast inside, Free the Fox!" and a misty orange fox like shape appeared and slashed and bit at the incoming squadrons utterly rendering them into a pile of robotic parts. The battle would rage on into the next day, and Emperor Mavros would eventually be defeated by the Megaforce Rangers and even when the last of his forces tried to avenge him, every Power Ranger throughout history would show up and aid the team in their darkest hour, lead by perhaps the greatest Ranger ever to walk the face of the Earth, Tommy Oliver, the original Mighty Morphin Green Ranger. After that, life continued on, and when SPD came into being, Robert was one of the first to enrole. He wanted to make his Master proud and show he wasn't a quitter. But as he quickly found out, SPD training was much harder then that of the Pai Zhua's. But still he persevered, determined to make his Master proud and eventually he did become a Ranger. But... his lone wolf qualities and his new found arrogance and pride from becoming a Ranger at last reared their ugly head and things degenerated... Fast. NewTech City 2026: SPD Delta Base "What the Hell were you thinking?" Sky shouted at him in the Delta Base's command center as the rest of B-Squad tried not to look at Robert being chewed out by his superior. It was a rather awkward situation to say the least, although not really a new one. "This is the fourth time you've gone off on your own to go after a criminal without back-up!" "Hey, for the record, the guy I just confined, you're welcome for that by the way, was my target to begin with!" Robert shouted back. "I'd been chasing him all over the city and would have captured him had he not brought out a giant freaking robot!" "That's right, he did bring out a robot!" Sky retorted. "And even when we had to bring out the Zords, you went off ahead of everyone else and pulled that stunt of yours! Third time you've done that!" Sky ranted, and he wasn't done yet. "And even when the robot blew up, you still directly disobeyed my orders and went after Xenox, alone, AGAIN! I have half a mind to take away your badge and Morpher!" "Go ahead and do that, see if I care! You need to learn that sometimes doing things your own way is part of being a Ranger! There's a reason the others quit, and I think WE all know the reason why!" Robert bellowed, before shoving Sky backwards causing gasps and storming out of the room. He now needed to blow off some steam and he knew the perfect way to do it. Now the rest of B-Squad was definitely staring, and Sky looked at them with a raised eyebrow. Bridge muttered "Awkward..." while everyone else pretended to be doing something. And now there he was, bleeding and very close to death all because he was a fool for charging in and taking on a Duke Org alone and losing his powers because of it. If the Putrids didn't finish him off, the blood loss most certainly would. But then Robert remembered something else from his teachings. Never Give Up. "Never give up. Never give up. I won't run away. I won't run away." Robert chanted to himself and with all of the energy he possessed, not caring about the pain, not about how close to death he was, not about how this planet's inhabitants were misanthropes. He only cared about one thing. Destroying these vile monstrosities that dared harm children. "Alright... (Cough) You... Bastards... (Cough) You wanted a fight? Congratulations, you got ONE! Call to the Beast inside, Free the Fox!" Robert bellowed and using a technique he hadn't used in over a decade, unleashed all of his remaining energy on the Putrids and one very large orange mist like form erupted from his body and annihilated the Putrids, leaving nothing left. Robert, just before he closed his eyes and felt a warm, comforting light like energy overtake him, saw a giant gold and red bird rain down fireball after fireball on a giant sized Barbed Wire Org and destroy it. Now: The Animarium Sunset felt her hooves touch the familiar stone courtyard of the haven in the sky known as the Animarium. It was peace, sanctuary, Heaven on Equus from a time long forgotten. All around her and her fellow Rangers, a jungle sprouted up and various animals made their respective calls from somewhere deep in the jungle. From this very courtyard alone, she could see the Animarium's highest mountain, which had snow covering its very top, and she could see the tall cliff which overlooked everything on the island, with the gigantic red furred and golden maned Red Lion Zord overlooking it's kingdom. Some days, if you were lucky enough to see it when it wasn't in it's cave, there was a Black Lion there instead, but today it was the Red Lion. Elsewhere on the island, she could see the green furred Deer Zord with it's purple eyes and silver antlers watching everything in a resting position from it's perch. As for the Courtyard itself, there were hammocks for sleeping in, and a stone table and benches for conversation and lunches. But the most important feature was the Fountain. Filled with Sacred Water that was poison to an Org, this Fountain would alert, and erupt a column of water whenever there was a new Org on the loose, and Princess Shayla, the caretaker and overseer of this entire sanctuary would alert them to it. "Alright Sunset, that's how you beat an Org!" Lightning chorused. Sunset suddenly shot her a very cold glare that even she didn't know she was capable of. "And what about the human? What ABOUT him?" Sunset asked in fury at Lightning's seeming ability to not give a damn about their fellow Ranger. "Who cares, he could go die in a hole for all I care. He's a human remember, rape and murder you at the first opportunity." Lightning scoffed, and at this Sunset finally lost her temper and her wings ignited in flame and she tackled Lightning into the stone table smashing it in half right down the middle and gripping Lightning's throat as hard as she could. "S-Sunset... What the Tartarus? You of all ponies, Princess's personal student and all, should know what humans are like!" Lightning coughed out, and Sunset released her, once she realized what she was doing and Lightning began gasping for air as Sunset stood over her with Vapor and Sunburst watching with stunned faces on their muzzles. First Princess Celestia flying off the handle, then Luna, now Sunset as well? "He may be a human, and yes I was raised by Princess Celestia since I was a little filly, but I'm also the Princess of Empathy, which means I do have to care for all creatures, no matter what they're like. I truly believe there's good inside everything." Sunset stated before she got in Lightning's face. "Although I'm severely questioning that state of mind with YOU right now." Sunset snarled out. She'd always known Lightning to be a bit of a bitch, but this was a whole new level, even for her. This was downright cold. "H-Hey, speaking of the h-human, where is he?" Sunburst stuttered out nervously. Branches moved from behind them, and there was the sound of twin footsteps. Everyone turned to see a beautiful woman clad in a white dress with a golden necklace resembling a winged creature of some sort with a blue jewel in its center and a ring of blue and white flowers in her brown hair. She was supporting Robert, who had huge gashes in his chest and was bleeding badly. "H-Help me..." Robert gasped out before he collapsed onto the floor, his head thankfully hitting the grass and not the stone of the courtyard. "Rangers." Shayla requested, and Sunset and Vapor immediately rushed over to Robert and picked him up and carried him over to another table and laid him upon it and ripped off what remained of his shirt. Sunset winced and Vapor looked as if she might be sick. "Bandages, quickly." Sunset ordered, and Vapor rushed off to get them while Sunset stared at the other two Wild Force Rangers. "Well, aren't any of you going to get up off your asses and help me here?" She asked, and it wasn't a question. It was an order. "Well, don't look at me. He's only human." Lightning muttered with her arms crossed and Sunburst looked as if he might help, but then remembered all the stories he'd read in the history books about humans and backed away. Sunset grumbled a few curse words to herself and began reciting a healing spell to close up the wounds and stop the bleeding as Vapor returned with towels to dab away at the blood and bandages to cover up the wounds. "Celestia above... That Org really got to him didn't it?" Vapor whispered in horror. "Yeah, and we should have helped. Instead, we just followed Celestia's orders blindly like fools and let him nearly die. Tartarus, he's nowhere near out of the woods yet, so that may very well happen." Sunset growled to herself as Princess Shayla watched silently and sighed sadly. She knew the ponies had bigotry towards humankind, thanks to Animus, but she never knew it was THIS bad that a fellow Ranger would refuse to help another. A tear slipped from her eye at how far the world had fallen. She didn't know how the Orgs had returned, but if she had to ponder a guess, it was the sheer hatred of anything different then themselves that the Ponies held that helped along the cause. "Hey, what happened to his Morpher?" Sunburst asked curiously. "I... I don't know." Sunset answered nervously. "Rangers, observe the Fountain." Shayla said and all four Rangers went over to the Fountain and saw what had happened. Robert found himself blasted backwards by a powerful cannon blast from Artilla, who had suddenly appeared on the battlefield, with the blast being strong enough to knock him out of both MegaBattle Mode and de-morph him sending his SPD Morpher flying out of Robert's hands. With a mighty crunch, Artilla stepped on the Morpher, and Robert's eyes widened as he suddenly found himself powerless. Robert slowly got up off the ground, dripping blood from the tears in his jacket, which he promptly tossed off revealing his ripped and torn green T-Shirt which said "SPD" on it and clenched his fists. "Look at this, a Power Ranger without power! What a joke!" Artilla laughed even as Robert charged at him and drew back his fist landing a powerful punch to Artilla knocking him backwards, if only just a little. "We'll continue this later, Ex-Ranger. My job is done for now. But be warned, if you continue to meddle in the Master's affairs, today's pain will only seem like a spa treatment compared to what I'll put you through!" Artilla warned and turned into a ball of energy and vanished into the sky leaving him alone. "He... He lost his Powers and even then he took on that Duke Org alone." Sunburst stuttered out in shock. "Well, gotta give him props for facing that thing down like a man. Or props for stupidity. Can't decide which." Lightning muttered and Sunset gave her another ice cold look, reminding her she wasn't out of the woods yet and still in deep trouble. "Sorta reminds me of you Lightning." Sunset remarked and Lightning raised an eyebrow. "How so? Bravery in the face of certain death?" "No, stupidity." Sunset deadpanned before observing the singular horn that this new Org had and her eyes widened in shock. "A-A Duke Org? I thought only the regular Orgs were making appearances!" Sunset then stammered in shock at this new revelation and turned to Princess Shayla. Vapor had decided not to make mention of her encounter with Zen-Aku a few days prior, and Lightning, in fear of what Sunset might do to her if she spoke again, kept quiet as well. "I... I..." Shayla stuttered in shock as she pursed her lips. "W-Well, I suppose it was only a matter of time. And if Duke Orgs are appearing... Then that must mean... Oh no." Shayla realized in horror at the implications. Every Ranger turned to her, shocked to see their leader so afraid. "Rangers, I think it's time you know the full story of the Great Battle between humanity and the Orgs. Six thousand years ago, this island was part of the greater landmass, a place of peace and tranquility called Animaria. But then came the Master Org, bringing chaos and pollution with him. He had his faithful generals, Retinax and Nayzor and his Duke Orgs, Jindrax and Toxica by his side. But we had our guardians, the Wild Zords." Shayla narrated as the Fountain showed images of the great battle that followed. Six warriors clad in white robes and silver helmets, each with a Crystal Saber in hand and the Wild Zords, varying from a grey stingray to a brown coyote amongst others like two bears and a blue shark fought off the forces of the Master Org. He was only describable as a monster, with a pure black body and a horn making up his head with spikes jutting out of the back. Battles raged, and various Zords fell. Then THEY came. Ten Wild Zords, more powerful than the rest. A giant black bat, the Phoenix Zord and it's counterpart the aqua and silver Thunderbird, a purple giant sperm whale and a creature resembling a fox clouded in smoke, alongside a red Sawtooth shark, a blue and gold Condor, a golden Jaguar and a brown Buffalo. Leading them into battle was a Black Lion, which swiftly merged with the Sawtooth, Condor, Buffalo and Jaguar to form the Lord of the Wild Zords, Animus. He lead these Zords in battle, only for them to fall one by one at the hands of the Master Org. And then, finally, Animus himself fell. "We... We at that point had lost all hope, and the five Wild Zords descended from Animus, the Lion, the Shark, the Tiger, the Eagle, and the Bison and myself were lifted up into the sky along with the Animarium to keep myself and the legacy of the Wild Zords safe from the Master's tainted touch. "So... So how did you win?" "It was because of him. Merrick Baliton, who had put on a cursed wolf mask and awakened the three dark Wild Zords, the Wolf, Alligator and Hammerhead." Shayla continued "Evil Spirit of the Wolf, fill me with your absolute power!" "The Predazord was formed and Master Org was defeated. But at a great cost. Merrick became Zen-Aku, and had to be sealed away, entombed for the next 3,000 years." "How... How did he escape?" Vapor asked curiously, wanting to know more about her friend. "That... That is a story for another time." Shayla said, and Vapor could swear she saw a tear drip from the Princess's eyes. "But... But if the Legendary Wild Zords were destroyed, how could they be with us now?" Sunset questioned, gripping her Phoenix crystal tightly. "At the end of the final battle with the Second Master Org, a man known once by the name of Dr. Viktor Adler, all of the Wild Zords, even those long thought extinct returned and destroyed him. Your Wild Zords must have been among them." Shayla explained and once more the Fountain showed a series of images. All the Rangers took it in, and eyes widened. They now understood the burden that they faced, the power of the Orgs, and each gripped their respective crystal tightly, remembering how they'd found it. Sunset had found hers while she was looking around in the Castle of the Two Sisters with Twilight, and felt an energy calling out to her. Lightning, while soaring through the skies above Appleloosa, felt an energy calling out to her from a cave in a mountain. Sunburst, whilst in the Crystal Empire, found his embedded inside a crystal in the area known as the Forest of Crystals. As for Vapor, a pained look came across her face. She hadn't found hers, it was given to her. "When... When should I tell them that I wasn't destined for this burden? That somepony else was? And when should I let the others know about Zen-Aku?" She thought sadly and heard Shayla's voice in her head. "Whenever you feel the time is right, My Little Leviathan." Shayla said comfortingly and meanwhile Sunset's gaze found itself drifting to the now unconscious Robert, still resting on the table and prayed to whatever deity was listening for him to pull through. And a male voice answered. "Do not fear Little Firebird. He will pull through, but you must be with him to help him face the challenges ahead. ALL of you, and yes that does include Lightning. Otherwise, he may fall to darkness and lose hope for what he must protect... And if that happens, then the Orgs will have already won." Author's Note So, longest chapter yet and all you really get is an exposition dump. Of course, a lot of this is probably needed as I know I do have some readers who aren't up to speed with certain seasons of Power Rangers. Mind you, in the final battle with Master Org I did take a few liberties as obviously the five Legendary Beasts weren't there, but everything else pretty much comes from the show's flashbacks. Also, more importantly, we get Robert's backstory and why he decided to become a Power Ranger in the first place. (Bet you weren't expecting to see Theo and TJ, were you?) Plus, we learn one half of his nationality, and that he trained for a short while at the Pai Zhau School and his animal spirit, which is another hint of foreshadowing for his future Ranger powers. (If anyone thinks Robert's a bit of a Gary Stu at this point, let me know) Also, we learn a bit more about the four existing Rangers. On that note, originally I was going to have Sunset going to be mistrustful of Robert from the start, but let's face it, after Princess Celestia, do we really want another OOC character? Anyways, the next few chapters will focus on the existing Rangers and Robert getting himself coming to terms with his newfound situation and eventually learning the full truth about where he is, or rather when... Part 6: Ancient Powers Unleashed! Battle at the Ponyville Hydroelectric Dam! Help them, Galaxy! Ponyville Hydroelectric Dam "Hi-Yah!" A muscular black furred pony with bat wings and wearing dark indigo armor with golden highlights shouted as he kicked a Putrid into a bank of computers, sending sparks flying from the computers once the Putrid hit. But as of course with these things, he wasn't alone. There were at least fifty more Putrids where the first came from, and that wasn't counting the org that led them. On his shoulders, he had electric tesla coils, and one half of him was yellow and black and the other half was pure grey and had an arm that ended in a plug, with his twin horned head being connected to red and black cables. He looked like he had two sets of feet as well, one set on top of the other for each leg. "Once I put this place into overdrive, Ponyville will be without power for weeks to come!" Plug Org laughed and fired a blast of lightning at the Captain of the Night Guard, Galaxy Swirls and he deflected it with his black and blue scythe, Blood Moon. "Sorry, but that's not going to happen! I'm going to cut you up and feed to my heart's content!" Galaxy Swirls retorted, (Evidently nopony had given the blood loving and possibly psychopathic Thestral the memo that Orgs didn't bleed) and swung his scythe above his head as an image of a red moon appeared behind him and his eyes glowed a demonic gold color. "Blood Moon Slash!" Galaxy roared and unleashed an arc of red energy at the Plug Org, cutting down a few Putrids in the process but the Plug Org raised his arms and created a lightning shield to block the energy arc. Plug Org laughed his head off, much to Galaxy's frustration. "You think a puny attack like that will stop an Org? Think again!" Plug Org chuckled and fired a blast of yellow lightning at Galaxy knocking him through a wall and into another room full of machinery with the Putrids swarming the Captain but he punched, kicked and bit his way out of the hoard. Galaxy shuddered at the taste of Putrid blood, it tasted like a combination of pollution and sewer water. Not something he'd want to try again, that was for sure. "Shining, please tell me you're close to my position!" Galaxy yelled into his headset. No such luck, the Captain of the Royal Guard and Prince of the Crystal Empire was currently in the middle of fighting off what could be described as bird like monsters with parrot like beaks, crow's wings and colored black and purple. He slashed at one only for another to appear behind him and he bashed it away with his shield, which had his Cutie Mark of a blue shield with a pink six pointed star emblazoned on it. "Sorry man, no such luck, but these bird things have got me pinned! So for right now, you're on your own." Shining replied back as he sliced down another of the bird like creatures. "Great... Just Bucking Great... Oh well, more carnage for me then." Galaxy mused cheerfully to himself as Plug Org closed in. "Heh heh heh, looks to me like there's about to be one less Captain of the Guard for the Master Org to worry about!" Plug Org chuckled but to his surprise, Galaxy simply smirked, showing off his fanged maw. "Think you might want to do a re-count. After all, I can't just go up and die now can't I and leave my fiancé in mourning?" Galaxy joked darkly before holding out a stone grey crystal. "Graphite Energem, Activate! Unleash the Power!" Morphing Sequence Begin Galaxy stood in a pure black zone with the head of a grey and white pachycephalosaurus. As he spun a yellow and black pistol with the face of a dinosaur and green glowing eyes in his hand, he rotated its six shooter like round chamber and fired upwards creating a stone grey pachycephalosaurus' head that circled above him as his body was coated in white. Finally the head came down and he was coated, with a chomping sound effect, in a stone grey spandex suit with silver spiky shoulder armor on the left shoulder, dark blue arms and yellow and black fanged teeth on his suit and with another chomping sound, a helmet resembling that of a pachycephalosaurus appeared on him with a pure black face mask with teeth being the only added detail on it. Morphing Sequence End Org Cavern Needless to say, the Master Org was un-amused with this new player in the game. "WHAT!?!" He roared, his entire body glowing red. "Another Ranger? Just how many of those multicolored baboons are out there now?" "Uh... Five?" Artilla answered stupidly, and was blasted into an Org totem for his troubles by the Master Org's weapon, a gold and bronze crescent moon shaped staff with a red orb in the center. "Shut up! I wasn't asking for your opinion!" The Master Org snapped as he thought to himself. "Orgs, they don't have hearts, that's true enough but some it seems, were born without brains as well." Back at the Ponyville Hydroelectric Dam In his new form, the Graphite Ranger slashed through the hoard of Putrids leaving behind grey energy arcs with each slash and he jumped upwards and spun like a tornado in mid-air and dealt several powerful slashes towards the Plug Org before landing behind him and calling out "Power Slash!" and swinging his sword downwards in a powerful arc and hitting the Plug Org in the back. The org turned a full 180 degrees to face him and launched another lightning blast from his hand and Galaxy blocked it with his sword but the org took a chance to flee. Galaxy chased after it through passageways and stairwells and eventually the two were on top of the Dam. "Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide." Galaxy smirked viciously with a sadistic tone in his voice as he approached the org, sword in hand. The Plug Org looked upwards and saw a silvery grenade flying towards him. "Oh really? Who says I have to hide..." KABOOM!" "...When I can just stomp you flat? Look at me, I've gone into overdrive!" Plug Org said as he now towered over the Hydroelectric Dam and raised his plug arm to the sky sending lightning bolts raining down all around Galaxy Swirls causing small explosions to erupt all around him... The Animarium Back on the floating island known as the Animarium, Sunset Shimmer watched in concern as Robert lay upon the stone table, the movements of his bandaged chest the only sign he was still alive. Sunset walked over to him and stroked his forehead and whispered "I'm so sorry for what's been done to you, and our part in it. You didn't deserve this." Sunset suddenly noticed a small amulet around his neck. She moved in for a closer look and saw that it was in the shape of a small stone fox with a painted red scarf around its neck with the whole amulet designed in the Neighponiese art style. "Huh, wonder what that's about? I'll have to ask him if-No, when he wakes up. He's just got to. Just got to..." Sunset mused, never noticing the small tears trickling down her cheeks nor the fox glow with an orange light. Back at the Ponyville Hydroelectric Dam Galaxy cried out "Royal Dino Punch!" and pulled back his fist before letting it loose causing an energy mace to appear from his hands and punch the now giant sized org but to little, if any effect. "Is that the best you've got?" Plug Org laughed derisively. Galaxy smirked under his helmet. "I don't know, why don't you see for yourself?" He asked sarcastically and opened up his pachycephalosaurus themed belt buckle to reveal three battery like devices. He picked the third one and threw it and the Dino Charger flew all the way through mountains and forests till it reached a waterfall and inside the waterfall in a cave was a grey Zord resembling a pachycephalosaurus with a wrecking ball atop it's head. Once it accepted the Charger, the Zord's eyes opened and the Wrecking Ball flipped off it's head and the chain it was attached to un-straightened out and became loose and free-flowing as the Zord ran out of the cave, it's wrecking ball tall trailing behind it. Soon it had reached the sight of the battle and leaped from hilltop to hilltop before jumping and swinging it's entire tail around to hit the Org in the face with it's Wrecking Ball. It swung again, but this time the Wrecking Ball was caught in the Org's hands. Suddenly, there was a loud screech and from out of the skies appeared a yellow eagle with green eyes and yellow and white wings which unleashed a barrage of energy balls just by flapping it's wings. Nearby, the Purple Leviathan Ranger had teleported down to meet up with the Graphite Dino Charge Ranger. "Need a hand?" "No!" Galaxy snapped back stubbornly as another barrage of lightning hit, soundly proving him wrong. "Huh, seems like you've got the situation well in hand to me." Vapor observed dryly as she picked herself up off the ground. "...Alright, but what can you do that my Zord can't?" Galaxy challenged. "Uh, fly?" Vapor asked sarcastically. Suddenly, they both heard a male voice in their heads. "Rangers, now is not the time to fight. You must work out your differences later and work together now to defeat this Org." The mental voice admonished and both Rangers shared a look. "I've got an idea, follow my lead!" Vapor shouted as the Eagle Zord picked up the Pachy Zord in it's claws and did a series of barrel rolls to avoid the lightning blasts before flying high into the sky and dropping the Pachy Zord and the grey pachycephalosaurus themed zord did several flips in midair and then with a powerful swing of it's tail hit the Plug Org with tremendous force causing it to stumble backwards before falling over and exploding. "Org... Extinct!" Galaxy shouted as the fireball rose high in the sky behind him and Vapor. END Author's Note Okay, so this time around we get introduced to this universe's version of Galaxy Swirls and we learn that he's the Graphite Dino Charge Ranger. I figured this only appropriate as in the original Dino Charge series, the Graphite Ranger was of royal blood, and in The Return of Doctor Whooves, Galaxy was a noble so the transition only made sense. I also want to point out that right now, Galaxy is the only Dino Charge Ranger in existence, so no other Dino Zords are out and about. Also, he won't show up in Ranger Form often, only appearing every so often to help out when the situation with an Org is at it's most dire. Also, before I forget, (Again) here's the trailers for the newest Super Sentai Series. Opinions? Part 7: The Legacies We Leave Behind Vanhoover: Harbor District, an hour before the previous chapter... Vapor sighed as she fingered her purple double eighth note pendent and looked out over the bay. The sun was setting, casting orange and red glows across the horizon. While the view in her opinion still didn't compare to that of looking at the sunset from her home town of Stratusburg, it still was exquisite to look out at. Vapor shivered at the cold evening winds blowing off the waters and remembered the last time she was here. "Lightning, please get over here quick. Please... Wait, what's that?" At about that moment she heard a very eerie noise, it sounded like a flute being played. It was very haunting, and yet in some ways rather calming as well. Vapor didn't honestly know which of the feelings she was feeling at that very moment. Torn between the two, she decided to be on the safe side. "Legendary Wild Access!" Vapor shouted and was transformed, with a purple flash of energy, into a ranger, wearing a costume much like Sunset's, but with a few differences. For one thing, the most obvious difference was that it was a purple color, and instead of a phoenix's head, the helmet was styled after a sperm whale, and instead of a setting sun on her right breast, there was Vapor Trail's Cutie Mark of a shooting star. "Come out, show yourself!" Vapor shouted, feeling much more confident now that she was morphed. And then the being finally decided to show itself. Seemingly leaping from the moon itself was a dark figure with a wolfish face, two glowing yellow eyes that seemed to pierce right through your very soul and had one pure black horn. The figure landed almost silently directly in front of Vapor, who was frozen in fear. She knew what the one horn meant. Here, directly in front of her was a Duke Org, the ones who led the Orgs into battle and only one rank below the Org Generals. "A young mare such as yourself shouldn't be out here alone at this time of night, who knows what you might run into." The Duke Org said in a surprisingly friendly way. Nervously, Vapor reached for her Crystal Saber and pointed it at the Duke Org. "I'm not afraid of you!" Vapor yelled, though her voice betrayed her feelings. "Now now, is that any way to treat a friend?" The Duke Org questioned even as he rested a black crescent moon like blade on his left shoulder. "You and I... We're both actually on the same side, believe it or not." Vapor was stunned beyond words. An Org, a Duke Org at that, saying that they were both on the exact same side? It didn't make sense! "...Of course, knowing how you ponies treat anything that's different than you... Well, I wouldn't be surprised to find out you don't believe a word I'm saying. Hell, 3,000 years ago, I wouldn't have believed a word I was saying. Well, not before HIM anyways..." The Duke Org trailed off, seemingly lost in his own memories. "Who, and what are you Zen-Aku? You look like a Org, and yet you're perfectly willing to kill your own kind... And who was that HE you mentioned?" Vapor pondered to herself as she once again flash-backed to her encounter with the wolf like Duke Org and him defending her. "Oh goody, a Ranger and a traitor to our kind in one blow! Today must be my lucky day!" Turbine Org laughed even as the Duke Org growled and picked himself up off the concrete with Vapor doing the same. "You don't seem to know who you're dealing with. Then again, you low level scum were always stupid." The Duke Org mused before picking his blade up off the ground and its two tips extended with clicking sounds before he shouted "CRESCENT WAVE!" The Duke Org fired off several glowing yellow crescents of energy at Turbine Org smashing him into the containers denting the sides of them... Then, just as the sun set fully over the horizon and day changed to night, a head peeked out of the peaceful black waters as they lapped against the docksides. It was mostly silver on top of it's forehead, but had green eyes and from the lower half of the head down all the way to the back tail fin, it was purple. Streamlined and sleek, you could almost mistake it for a sperm whale, if not for the colors and it being tremendously oversized. This was the Legendary Leviathan Zord. It let out a low, mournful hum as it's eyes narrowed in on Vapor's pendant. "You miss him, don't you? I miss him too." Vapor said softly, with a tear dripping from her eye as she pressed down on her pendent, and snippet of it's original owner's and the Leviathan Zord's favorite song began to play. Wind-chimes and acoustic guitars began to play, and a violin joined in soon after. "...Go black water, keep on rollin', Mississippi moon won't you keep shining on me, go black water, keep on rollin', Mississippi moon won't you keep shining on me..." Vapor sung and the Leviathan's hums began to change as it sung along in tune before the song's snippet ended due to Vapor shutting it off, unable to listen to it anymore due to the painful memories it brought back to her. "I wasn't destined for this, you and I both know it." Vapor said sadly as she shook her head. "When should I tell them? That I wasn't destined for this burden? They all think I was the one you chose, but I wasn't, was I?" Vapor then turned her head upwards to the sky and asked "I've... I've never been much one for praying but you know the answer to this don't you? So... So, please, I'm begging you, give me a sign of some sort." softly in a prayer and waited for a few minutes to receive an answer, but got none. Vapor chuckled sadly to herself. "Figures, I should know by now that I'll never get the answer to what I want will I?" Then her Growl Phone rang and Vapor answered it to the sound of Princess Shayla's voice. "Vapor, there's a new Org on the loose at the Ponyville Hydroelectric Dam. You must stop it!" Shayla's worried tone said before a yellow orb descended from the sky and landed in Vapor's palm, revealing it to be a yellow Animal Crystal with an eagle inside it. "Take this, you'll need it. The Eagle has chosen you, use it's powers wisely." Shayla's voice said before she "Hung up" and Vapor smiled sadly as she turned back to her Zord. "We'll finish this conversation tomorrow night, like I promise we will every night." Vapor told her Zord as it dived beneath the waves leaving no trace that it was ever there in the first place as Vapor raised her Growl Phone to her ear and called out her morphing call. "Legendary Wild Access!" In Robert's Head Robert walked around in a daze, finding himself in the long red gate covered pathways leading up to the Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine on Mt. Inari in his home country of Japan. He'd been here many times when he was off-duty from SPD, searching for answers when he needed them, so he knew the path well. Question was, what was he doing here? "Okay, even by Ranger experiences this is strange. And that's saying quite a lot." Robert mused to himself, he remembered all the strange experiences various ranger teams had gone through over the years, from being trapped in different dimensions of all sorts, to crossing through the Devil's Triangle on a Flying Dutchman like ghost ship to reach the island of Muranthias to even dying and coming back to life. But this, as Robert would soon learn might just top them all. "Become a Ranger, defeat monsters and confine evil alien criminals. Well, they didn't tell you about this part of the job did they? I give a big bloody Arigatō, Lord." Robert stated sarcastically. "What a wundervolle experience. Yes, Genki desu. Arigatō." He was still being sarcastic at that point, if you hadn't guessed. During this point, he'd also noticed something else. His wounds, they were completely healed. No blood or anything, and his vision was completely fine. He should be dead. Hell, for all he knew he WAS dead and this was him traveling up the pathway to Heaven. And so he continued walking, thinking on the life he'd lead so far. "Not exactly much of one. Didn't do a whole lot of good aside from confining a few criminals and blowing up a few robots with Megazords, which was, admittedly, pretty cool. But at the same time, constantly getting into fights, I was. Ignoring orders, going off on my own. Ha, I may have the spirit of the Fox, but I think the Wolf suits me better. Hai, that sounds about right." Robert mused as he continued walking up the path and then the scene changed. He was now at the Pai Zhua School in its training courtyard, and instead of his ripped SPD shirt, he was wearing his old training garb, a medium blue training gi with a claw symbol on it. In front of him was his old Master, Theo, AKA the Jungle Fury Blue Ranger. "T-Theo, what the bloody fuck are you doing here?" Robert stuttered out. "You've forgotten your training. It's time to re-learn it." Theo said simply before morphing with a flash of blue light and taking a fighting stance, with Robert taking one of his own. They traded blows just as they shouted in unison "Call to the Beast inside, Free the Fox!" and "Call to the Beast inside, Free the Jaguar!" and their respective animals spirits traded blows just as their owners fought each other. Robert threw a punch, but Theo caught it and kicked him in the stomach causing Robert to fly back but he rebounded off a pillar and kicked Theo in the head with a roundhouse kick. Theo spun like a top and slashed at him with the in-built claws on his suit before hitting him with a judo kick making Robert stumble backwards before he hit Theo with a side kick and then a punch to the face but was then knocked to the floor with a pounce like maneuver from Theo. Unbeknownst to the two fighters, a dark blue furred figure watched. "He's losing, and yet he still fights on. This human... The one with the Fox Spirit will not give up." Luna mused to herself and felt her heart beat just a bit faster as Robert was grabbed by the leg and then thrown to the ground below him. Robert snarled and got back up but was then hit by a powerful axe kick causing him to stagger. "You've lost." Theo chuckled. "Give in, and I'll stop this beatdown." "No... I never give up. I never give in. You're not Theo, the real one knows me far too well to just ask me to give in." Robert smirked before he turned into an orange flash and then was in front of Theo knocking him backwards with a powerful misty orange energy laced punch just as his Fox Spirit took down Theo's Jaguar. At once, the scene (And Robert's attire) changed again and Robert found himself inside the SPD Headquarter's briefing room. In front of him was... Well, him, clad in his Green Ranger suit. "Okay, now this is getting ridiculous." Robert mused before he stepped forwards (Now wearing his SPD jacket) with a cheery grin on his face and said "Sorry I'm late to the party, got caught up in some Kung-Fu fighting. Those kicks of mine, fast as lightning." "You lost my powers, now you shall lose your life as punishment." Robert's double told him in a twisted, distorted version of his own voice. It was quite creepy if Robert was to be honest with himself. They traded blows all around the room, with the Green SPD Ranger punching him into Cruger's chair and Robert quickly leapt out of it before he could get punched again and the chair toppled over. In the doorway, unseen, Luna still observed. "He's dying, and he doesn't know it, and yet he still fights on. I wonder, if he knew he was dying would he fight as hard as he is now?" Luna wondered to herself as Robert dodged a few laser blasts from his double's Delta Blaster. Robert rebounded off a computer terminal and leaped over his double's head with a flip and landed behind him with his double whirling around to face him and reaching for his Delta Blaster only to find it not in his holster. "WHAT!?!" "Didn't you ever hear, foxes are quite the tricksters?" Robert asked in a sarcastic tone before revealing HE had the Delta Blaster and he let loose a few blasts knocking his double into a computer terminal. Luna chuckled. "I have to admit, that was pretty good." Luna mused as her heartbeat raced. She noticed. "What's... What's this strange feeling? No... That can't be it. I can't be falling for him... Can I?" Luna asked herself as the scene changed once more and again Robert found himself in on the pathway leading up to the Inari Shrine, this time with the Blue Jungle Fury Ranger and the Green SPD Ranger in front of him. Robert took a fighting stance, but relaxed when he realized they meant him no harm. "You've proven you have the courage to fight even when powerless. But that's not all." Theo said before Robert's double spoke. "You weren't just fighting us. You were fighting for your life." He said, and a glowing golden key with the head of a fox appeared in front of Robert. "What... What do I do with this?" Robert asked in a stunned tone of voice. Theo put a hand on his shoulder. "You'll know when the time comes. And Robert, I've never been more proud." Theo said before everything faded to white... (To Be Continued...) Author's Note Okay, so yes, I know this is an adaption of the Dino Thunder episode Fighting Spirit, but honesty, I couldn't think much else to do with this chapter. Anyways, here we learn more, if not much of Vapor's guilt on the mysterious circumstances surronding her and her being the second Leviathan Ranger and her pondering more on the mystery that is Zen-Aku. Plus, we finally get to see her Zord. Also, in this chapter we learn Robert's full nationality, Japanese/UK English/German. Have you guessed who he's an expy of yet? If you have, keep it to yourself until I unveil the full joke. Anyways, Robert conquers, well, himself, and gets a mysterious key. Also, he doesn't know it yet, although he will sooner or later, that Luna's in love with him. Oh boy... (Kuso, you have no idea the lengths I had to go through just to find the Japanese phrases and their translations. To say nothing of the fighting moves used for Robert and Theo's fight. What a pain in the ass that was.) Part 8: Back to the Waking World The Animarium Robert groaned out in pain as his vision slowly came into focus. It was nighttime on the Animarium and the moon was high in the sky as clouds cleared away. He could smell the smell of freshly fallen rain on leaves and could hear the sound of frogs croaking out their songs. He could also hear a song playing. Robert's eyes widened and he smiled as he recognized the notes and the singer singing out "...Broken bottles under children's feet, Bodies strewn across the dead end street. But I won't heed the battle call, It puts my back up, Puts my back up against the wall..." and saw the pony he had heard referred to as Sunburst fiddling with his phone as the song continued. "...Sunday, Bloody Sunday Sunday, Bloody Sunday Sunday, Bloody Sunday..." "W-Were humans really this violent?" Sunburst asked himself, not knowing the phone's owner had awoken. "It... It was a very troubled time." Robert told him, and Sunburst jumped nearly ten feet in the air in surprise and fear not realizing Robert was awake and Robert rolled his eyes and muttered "Pathetic..." to himself and clutched his chest in pain and made a groaning sound as Princess Shayla walked in and smiled on seeing Robert up and about... Well, as much as up and about as Robert could be at the current point. "Oh, Robert, I hadn't realized you had awoken." Shayla said kindly and Robert chuckled. "Neither did he, apparently." Robert replied dryly as he gestured to Sunburst before groaning in pain once again. "Best you don't move quite yet. You've got a few cracked ribs... among other things." "Wow, and here I thought it was just my pride that was wounded." Robert remarked sarcastically as Sunburst clutched his chest to get his heart rate back to normal. "So how long have I been asleep?" "About a week, if I had to venture a guess." Shayla said. Robert's eyes widened. A week? It didn't seem like a week when he was in his dream. In the background somewhere, a wolf howled at the moon. Merrick's Wolf Zord, Robert knew and then he saw the distinct gold and aquamarine form of the Condor Zord fly overhead. "It was touch and go for a while, we didn't think you'd make it." Shayla continued. "Boy, bet Princess Dick-With-Wings-And-Horn would have loved to have heard about that." Robert remarked, still in sarcasm mode. "We... We didn't fill her in." Sunset's voice said as she walked into the temple, wearing just her pyjamas, which consisted of just grey sleep pants and a yellow bra. Robert blushed red and tried to look away, but found that hard to do. He was a man, not a saint, after all. Sunset noted Robert eying her, despite how hard he was trying not to and grabbed Robert's jacket, which happened to be nearby and covered herself up with it. "You know, ponies might start talking if you start wearing my clothes." Robert snarked and Sunset rolled her eyes. "...Hell, bet it would piss Princess Dick-With-Wings-And-Horn off more if she thought we were sleeping together. Hey, maybe we should do that, just for fun." Robert said in a tone that made it impossible to tell if he was being serious or not. Sunset just glared at him. "You know, maybe you should remove that stick that's seemingly stuck up your arse. Might do you a world of good if you started taking things less seriously, like me." Robert remarked. Sunset glared at him some more. "Listen you, I have to be the serious one around here, and keep the rest of these idiots in line (Here she shot a look towards Sunburst that said "No offence") otherwise the Orgs will kill us all." Sunset replied sternly as her greenish eyes pierced Robert's own. "So, it might help if you started taking things seriously. Might keep this incident from happening again. Just a thought." As much as Robert wanted to retort a snarky comeback, he had to admit she had somewhat of a point. He just wasn't going to admit it. "...Okay, so that stick is staying there for the time being." Robert replied back in turn and muttered to himself "Geez, Tsundere much?" Sunset's expression turned softer as she picked Robert's fox themed necklace off a table and eyed it. "Knew that would catch your eyes, it always does with the women. Given to me by my uncle Burai on my seventeenth birthday for luck." Robert commented cheerfully before his tone became more grim as he mused to himself "...Yeah, and look how my life has turned out so far. Not very lucky. Joined SPD for three months, get reprimanded constantly, then get shot to a misanthropic world and nearly killed by an Org and lose my Ranger powers in the process by being a baka. Some luck. Dōmo arigatō, Lord." Sunset laid a hand on his shoulder even as he winced in pain and she quickly whispered an apology towards him as Robert looked skywards and thought "Yep, definitely Tsundere." to himself. "Listen, I don't know how, but we'll get your Ranger powers back and get you connected to the Morphin' Grid again. It'll just take time." Sunset said softly, in a kind tone of voice. "Speaking of Rangers, where's the rest of your merry bunch?" "Well, Lightning and Vapor Trail are at Wonderbolts practice, so it's just me and Sunburst here, although I have to leave in a bit to start my daily Princess duties." Sunset explained. Robert raised an eyebrow at the term "Wonderbolts" and looked at her questioningly. "Stunt flying team." Sunset clarified and conjured up a poster of the lead Captain, Spitfire, who was a mare with spiky flaming red and amber hair and wearing a VERY formfitting blue flight suit (Robert drooled a little bit, with Sunset noticing and facepalming and muttering to herself "Pervert...") with yellow lightning detailing. Robert chuckled and muttered "So, flying anthromorphic pony versions of the Blue Angels then." This time Sunset was the one to look at him questioningly. "Blue Angels?" She asked, and Robert gestured for Sunburst to give him his phone. Sunburst nervously handed it to him and Robert brought up an internet search (How he was able to even get internet for his phone on the Animarium was something Robert would ponder for months to come afterwards) for the Blue Angels. This is what he found. Sunset's eyes widened at the tricks displayed in the thirty minute video. The close flying techniques, the stunts and even the machines themselves weren't that far off from the things the Wonderbolts did at their air shows. Robert smirked at her impressed look. "Knew you'd like it, I'll admit the Americans are bad at... well, most everything really, but they can sure put on a show. Very good at that sort of thing." Robert commented offhandedly, still wearing that smug smile. "Listen, I got to be going. Royal Princess of Empathy duties and all, you just get better okay?" Sunset said kindly before teleporting away in a gold and red flash of light. "...Oh, I do hope she doesn't plan on keeping that jacket of mine. Really would be bloody rude of her if she did." Robert remarked lightly. One Week Later... A week passed, and soon Robert was healed up enough to be up and walking around. He could often be found walking around the Animarium shirtless and bandaged up. He took in the sights of the flying paradise and its resident Zords. He could see why Princess Shayla almost never left the island. After all, why would you want to, what with its massive jungles, infinite variations of wildlife and great lakes and soaring peaks, not to mention the Wild Zords themselves. Everyday, it seemed like he found a new one, from the brown Coyote Zord, the black Frog Zord, the blue Antelope Zord to the yellow Owl and white Swan Zords. But as always in nature, it came time for fox pups to leave their dens, and Robert's time was coming soon... "You could stay here you know, it would be a refuge for you from the cruelties of the world below." Princess Shayla had said. "The first Wild Force Rangers practically lived here as well, and they had no problem with it." "Yeah, but I'm not them." Robert argued. "And besides, they didn't stay here all the time. They had lives to live as well. I can't just stay here knowing Orgs are out and about and do nothing, I'd never forgive myself and I'd probably go stir-crazy as well." "He's right, and he has to be down there, it's where he belongs." Sunset had put in. "But the ponies, they will be cruel to him. I'm not sure he has what it takes to withstand their words and prejudices. Plus, he's powerless against the Orgs!" Shayla responded. "Yes, they will be cruel, but not all of them. He has me looking out for him, and Vapor as well, as well as the Prince of the Crystal Empire, Captain Shining Armor, plus there's Sparkler and her family after he saved her, remember that? And he has his training, he can defend himself against Org and pony alike, even without his powers, which we have HIM working on to regain besides." Sunset put in. She still remembered Animus's words to her two weeks before. "Do not fear Little Firebird. He will pull through, but you must be with him to help him face the challenges ahead. ALL of you, and yes that does include Lightning. Otherwise, he may fall to darkness and lose hope for what he must protect... And if that happens, then the Orgs will have already won." She knew Animus had a point, Robert couldn't stay on the island forever. It just wasn't where he belonged. Plus, she had suspicions Animus had plans, like all Gods did as they moved in mysterious ways, for Robert, even if she didn't know what they were just yet. "Alright... In that case, he may go." Shayla sighed, finally admitting defeat. Sunset smirked. As Robert prepared to be teleported, Sunset led him away into the brush. "What, a quick one before we go?" Robert had snarkily remarked. Sunset rolled her eyes, used to the human's flirtations by now. She moved aside some ferns. "Found this near where Twilight found you. Thought it might be yours." Sunset said, and revealed Robert's prized Ford Mustang, a bit dinged and scratched up in its paintwork, but those could be fixed with time and money. Robert's face lit up with joy and he rubbed his hands on its hood and caressed it as he whispered "Hello Baby, daddy's come home and I won't let anyone or anything harm you, not again." Sunset rolled her eyes and muttered "Boys and their toys..." as Robert and his car were teleported away in white flashes of light down to the ground below. As for what would happen when he reached that particular spot, only Animus knew and he wasn't keen on offering answers really. So Sunset just had to hope and pray that nothing too horrible would happen. It was all she could do, after all. END Author's Note Okay, so Robert's finally awake and active again after a week of lying around. Of course, now it's time for him to face the brave new world and it's cruelties. Plus, he had his first real interaction with Sunset Shimmer, who promises to get his powers back... somehow. And we learn the Wild Force Rangers have a mysterious benefactor who knows the inner workings of the Morphin' Grid. Any guesses, anyone? Also, we see more Wild Zords, including Merrick's (Well, it's back in Zen-Aku's paws now, but only Animus knows about that.) and we learn Robert has a an uncle named Burai. And for you Super Sentai fans, yes, it's THAT Burai. (There are other Super Sentai related jokes here as well, see if you can catch them.) Anyways, next time, Robert faces Ponyville... Okay, now translations for the various words Robert's sprouted off in the past few chapters: Baka: Idiot Dōmo arigatō: Thank you very much Arigatō: Thank you Genki desu: Good or so-so Hai: Yes Tsundere: Tsundere is a Japanese character development process that describes a person who is initially cold and even hostile towards another person before gradually showing their warm side over time. The word is derived from the terms tsun tsun, meaning to turn away in disgust, and dere dere meaning to become 'lovey dovey'. Source: Wikipedia Wunderbar/Wundervolle: Wonderful Mein Gott: My God Schlechtesten: Worst Okay, opinions on this chapter, and what you'd like to see in future chapters will be very much appreciated. Comments are my meat and potatoes after all. Part 9: Welcome to Ponyville (Part 1) The morning sun rose over the small country town of Ponyville, and it cast an orangish red glow over the surrounding grass fields, farmlands, forests and woodland. A rooster crowed to break the news that it was time for everypony to get up and start the day. All over town, ponies were waking up, stretching their limbs and pulling on their clothes, unaware that a change was coming. A change that would reverberate throughout the lands, stretching all the way from this small town in Equestria all the way to the unforgiving deserts of Saddle Arabia. And it would all start with one simple man, a man named Robert Williams, stripped of his power and cut off from the Morphin' Grid and hated by Princess Celestia herself, Sol Invictus of the Solar Body and raiser of the Sun, the undefeated champion and the being known and feared by the Griffin Kingdom as the Burning Sun, a title earned during the infamous Griffin/Pony Wars and loved by the Princess of the Night and Lunar Bodies, former bearer of the Nightmare Spirit and the Dreamwalker, the Lunar Invictus, Princess Luna. The morning silence that the quiet town of Ponyville was used to was soon broken by a rumbling noise as a green monstrosity, a carriage without horses rumbled across the landscape with its driver in firm control and weaving through the apple orchards of Sweet Apple Acres swerving between rocks, trees and stumps with a song blaring from Robert's phone. "Way down in Georgia, the girls are fine, With legs so long, they'll blow your mind..." The song's singer chorused with roaring guitars accompanying it and Robert laughed as he gunned the engine and rumbled past a selection of trees before pulling a sharp right turn and smashing through a stack of hay barrels sending them flying every which way. In a nearby house, an orange furred pony with a blond mane tied in a ponytail and with freckles on her face peeked out her bedroom window after quickly throwing on some clothes (No sense in everypony seeing her underwear, after all) to see what all the commotion was about. "What in the name of...?" Applejack wondered to herself as she saw Robert tearing up the grounds of Sweet Apple Acres in his "Baby" before she snarled. "Vandalism, eh? Ain't nopony gettin' away with that on mah watch!" Applejack exclaimed and went for her shotgun and took a few shots at Robert putting a few bullet holes in the side of his right side car door. Needless to say, he noticed. "Wondered how long it'd be before the locals noticed what I was up to. Seems I've overstayed my welcome, eh?" Robert smirked to himself before he tore off down the dirt road leading to Ponyville proper and left Sweet Apple Acres in the dust with Applejack shouting after him and taking a few more shots at him for good measure. "And don't come back, ya hear!?!" Applejack exclaimed before firing off one more shot before she realized Robert was well out of range and sighed to herself. A few minutes later, Robert received a call on his phone from Sunset. "Robert, why did I just receive a complaint from my good friend Applejack that you was tearing up her family's farmlands in your... thing?" Sunset asked in an annoyed tone of voice, not knowing what to call Robert's car. Predictably, Robert didn't answer and Sunset sighed as she guessed why Robert was doing what he was doing. "...You're just doing that to intentionally piss her off aren't you?" Sunset sighed in resignation. "Yeah, hopefully her friend Twilight will come so I can punch her in the face for shooting me in the back and dragging me before Princess-Dick-With-Wings-And-Horn and nearly getting rendered to ashes in the process." Robert answered, having been informed by Sunset about the Elements of Harmony and their strong friendship. "Vandalism, really? Weren't you supposed to be a police officer?" Sunset questioned as Robert headed towards the direction of Fluttershy's cottage, the numerous animals catching his interest. "Never said I was a very good one. Did get awfully close to being fired, after all. Besides, eye for an eye and all that. Talk to you later." Robert remarked offhandedly as he put on Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song and hung up on Sunset as he laughed and sung along with the lyrics and pulled up in front of Fluttershy's cottage. He gaped. This was impossible, in front of him lay a collection of animals that should not be mixing, like seals and hummingbirds, and bears, and penguins, among more normal animals like cats, dogs, bunny rabbits and chickens. "...I've stumbled upon a mini Animarium, haven't I? Only possible explanation for this... this insanity." Robert mused to himself and shut off the music to analyze the situation. Obviously, the pony who lived here cared greatly about the environment and animals in general, leaving him to wonder why she wasn't chosen as a Wild Force Ranger instead of that bitch Lightning Dust. Evidently the owner of the home, a butter yellow pegasus mare with a pink mane that partially covered her eyes hadn't heard him pull up (Which was a question Robert had to ponder, as his car was loud, and not to mention the blaring music to boot) and came out dressed in her lacy light green underwear and a white bathrobe to feed the animals. "Uh, hello?" Robert greeted and the mare let out a small "Eep" and quickly covered herself up with her bathrobe. "Ya know, just a thought, if you don't want to be caught in your underwear again, I'd suggest you put some clothes on BEFORE you walk outside. Just a thought." Robert commented in an offhand tone. Needless to say, the unknown pegasus mare squeaked once more and flew back into her home and shut the door with a rapid slamming sound. "Huh, shortest conversation I've ever had with a woman that didn't end with me getting slapped in the face." Robert thought to himself before he sighed, knowing he had to make up for his error or Sunset would probably chew him out again and walked up to the tree cottage and lightly rapped on the door to the tune of a "Shave and a Haircut". "G-Go away!" Fluttershy squeaked out and Robert sighed to himself as he looked skywards and muttered something to himself. "I'm not here to harm you, I just want to apologize." Robert grumbled to himself and the door opened, this time with Fluttershy trembling and her underwear properly covered up and Robert now noticed she wore pink bunny slippers. Robert smiled, she was cute, that was for sure. "Um... Hello?" Fluttershy stammered out nervously as she let Robert walk into her home and she picked up a cup of tea and lightly took a sip from it. "Yeesh, this mare could give Sunburst a run for his money in timidness. Wonder if they're related?" Robert mused to himself as Fluttershy made another cup of tea for him and Robert sighed in pleasure as he drunk it down. He missed that taste. All they seemed to have back at SPD was coffee, ugh. "Sorry if I spooked you, do have that effect on ponies I've noticed. Don't know why my natural charm seems to scare them away." Robert commented dryly. "W-Wait, you're that human Twilight found and brought to Princess Celestia aren't you?" Robert promptly rolled his eyes at being called "That Human" and nodded before he responded "Where I was nearly executed by a bigoted Princess. Remind me to thank both of them for their ever so warm welcome, by punching them in the face." Fluttershy flinched before she stammered out "N-No, P-Princess Celestia would never execute anypony, s-she just doesn't have it in her." unwilling to believe Robert's words. "Yeah? Well, I beg to differ." Robert drolly stated before Fluttershy eyed him up and down, more specifically his bandaged chest. "Ya know, last woman who looked at me like that, slept with her. Women do love men in uniform, as it turns out. Who knew, right?" Robert commented to himself as he took another sip of his tea and walked around the living room. There were pictures of a city in the clouds, among other things and birdhouses and little holes in the walls for mice. "A-And I assume those bandaged wounds of yours were also something related to Princess Celestia?" Fluttershy asked sarcastically. "No, that was when I nearly got killed by a one eyed mummy made of barbed wire." Robert responded sarcastically and Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Wait... You're that Green Ranger everypony was talking about a few weeks back." Fluttershy gasped in realization and Robert corrected her. "Ex-Green Ranger, but yes." Robert said before he quickly changed the topic, not wanting to dwell on his near brush with death any further then he had to. "So... Fluttershy, if I'm correct here, how do you take care of all these animals, and keep them alive? Last I checked, penguins and seals live up north in the ice and snow, where the midnight winds and the hot springs blow." Robert asked before chuckling to himself at the reference he'd made and knowing no one but him would get it. "Well, it's always been a natural talent of mine to take care of animals." Fluttershy explained as she felt herself settle down somehow getting the feeling that Robert wouldn't hurt her, and soon Robert and her found themselves talking well into the afternoon and even into the evening about various things and how their lives had gone so far. Soon, there was another knock on the door. "Excuse me, I must get that." Fluttershy said as she got up out of her chair and walked to the door, opening it to find Applejack, dressed in a plaid button up shirt and daisy dukes. Applejack's eyes narrowed when she then spotted Robert. "You." She growled out simply. "We need to talk." Robert could only sigh to himself. He should have known that would come back to bite him. Canterlot Castle Princess Celestia was in a bad mood, a very bad mood indeed. She'd just heard from a very giddy Luna that The Human (She still refused to call him by his given name) had woken up a week ago, and was now wandering around the outskirts of Ponyville, and to make matters worse, Sunset had known about this as well and had refused to tell her citing "I protect my friends." Celestia scoffed, as if a human could ever be considered friendly! She still had nightmares from what that one human had did to her 2,000 years ago... "You like this, Pony-Bitch?" "P-Please stop! Please!" But no matter how hard she tried, that human just wouldn't stop. He took her all night long, and when Celestia earned her magic, needless to say he was the first human to feel her wrath, with her burning him alive and taking pleasure in his screams for mercy. But she had none. She didn't intend to let this human do the same to any of her little ponies, for them to feel the same pain and fear she still experienced every time she closed her eyes. "Prince Shining, please send a platoon of Royal Guards led by yourself down to Ponyville and retrieve the human and bring him to me." Celestia ordered, but Shining gave her a look. "On what grounds?" He asked. "On what he will do. He'll rape and murder anypony he gets within his line of sight, just... just like..." Celestia whispered, lost in memory before she quickly recomposed herself. "Yes, on what he might do. We cannot change a future that may never come to pass. We don't even know what this human's like!" Shining protested. "Yes, we can change a possible future that may or may not come to pass, and it starts by dealing with this human." Celestia refuted, ignoring Shining completely. Shining didn't even have to guess what "Dealing with" meant. He shook his head and remembered something his father Night Light had told him when he said he was signing up for the Royal Guard. "Now remember son, innocent until proven guilty. That's always the creed I've lived by, and I want you to live by it as well. Do you understand, son?" "Yes, dad. I do." "I'm sorry Princess, but I cannot in good conscience follow that order. Find somepony else to carry out your little grudge match with Robert, because I will not be involved in it, unless it is to stop it somehow." Shining stated and walked off. Celestia smiled to herself. "Find somepony else eh? Well, I know just the pony who will do anything I ask of him. He's loyal to a fault when it comes to the Kingdom. Time for the Reaper of Canterlot to do his work." Celestia thought, before another thought stopped her for a few moments. Was this what she had come to? Sending a known psychopath out to do her dirty work? That thought was quickly brushed away and she teleported herself to the Night Guard Barracks, where she found Galaxy Swirls shooting a strange yellow and black laser weapon with green glowing eyes at various targets themed after Changelings. He whirled around to face one target, shot it, and then shot another that popped up right next to it before firing his pistol behind him without even looking at another target taking it down as well. "Galaxy, I need you to do a task for me." Celestia stated, and Galaxy's sharp and pointed armored faceplate on his armor retracted to reveal his black furred face and almost demonic yellow eyes. "I know what this is about, Shining sent me a warning to all branches of the Royal Guard that you might be coming around to ask me to deal with a "human problem"." Galaxy remarked and air quoted "Human problem" with his fingers as Celestia's eyes widened. Shining had been able to get the word out that fast? "This human is a psychopath, just like you, and so he must be dealt with." Celestia stated, the air growing warmer but Galaxy ignored the change in the weather. "As much as I appreciate the mudslinging being thrown around, he's a Power Ranger, and I can't preform one of my assassination missions on a fellow Ranger, powerless or not." "I am Princess Celestia, and you shall obey me, Captain!" Celestia snarled but Galaxy still would not budge from his stance. "You know, I may be a high functioning psychopath, thank you for that label by the way, but the only Princess I obey without question is Luna, and last I checked you're not her, so please leave before I decide to take Blood Moon to you." Galaxy commented in a cheery tone and Celestia took a step back in shock. He would really raise his infamous bloody scythe to her, a Princess? "I think you've been getting arrogant in your ways, and forgetting who serves who. I serve Luna, Shining serves Cadance and the Royal Guard needs a new captain, who I note you have yet to find still and just keep dragging Shining back from his wife and kingdom to do jobs as you see fit." Galaxy pointed out. "I also note you seem to have forgotten what this kingdom was built on, love and tolerance." "HOW DARE YOU!?!" Celestia roared in the Royal Canterlot Voice, as her mane became like flames, dancing and flickering. "I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN WHAT THIS KINGDOM WAS BUILT ON, AND YOU SEEM TO HAVE FORGOTTEN WHAT HUMANS HAVE DONE!" "Winners write the history books." Galaxy responded simply before flying off leaving Celestia to fume. Ponyville: Fluttershy's Cottage Applejack and Robert stared each other down. Robert noted Applejack had her shotgun again, and he sighed. Looks like talking this out was out the window already. "Baka, you had to go and be a dick and tear up her farmland didn't you, just to spite a Princess? What a bleeding wundervolle situation you've landed yourself in." Robert cursed himself. He further cursed himself when Applejack took a shot at him and he dodged it allowing the shot to blow up one of Fluttershy's birdhouses causing blood and feathers to spatter the walls. "Let's take this outside, before somePONY gets hurt." Robert remarked before he kicked Applejack (Her eyes widening and she felt a pang of guilt in her stomach as she realized who she almost could have shot before her anger took over again) in the stomach and sent her flying out the door as Fluttershy whimpered in fear. She didn't want to see this, her new friend and one of her old friends fighting each other. Friends shouldn't fight, it was wrong! Applejack and Robert traded powerful kicks with Robert blocking Applejack's hooves with his wrists and her blocking his own with her shotgun. She pumped it again and took another shot at him and he rolled out of the way allowing the shots to scatter into a tree. "Applejack, listen, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have torn up your farmland! Eye for an eye, I just remembered the second part of the phrase, everyone ends up blind!" Robert yelled, but Applejack was still far too furious to listen and punched him in the face and then the stomach making him stagger back in pain. His ribs still weren't entirely healed yet, it seemed. "Shut the Tartarus up! Ya went and wreaked havoc on my family's farmland, in mah family that deserves a bit of retribution!" Applejack yelled back and aimed her shotgun, and her eye was in. One shot, one kill. Suddenly, Applejack felt something, or rather somepony staring her down. "NOW LISTEN, WHATEVER ROBERT DID WAS WRONG, AND HE ADMITS IT, BUT YOU HAVE TO ADMIT WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS WRONG AS WELL! ROBERT'S RIGHT. TAKING AN EYE FOR AN EYE, EVERYPONY WILL ALWAYS END UP BLIND!" Fluttershy shouted as she put her hoof down and used her infamous stare on Applejack, who found herself laying her shotgun down. "Now, will you both apologize to each other, or will I have to shout again? I... I really don't like doing that." Fluttershy asked nervously. Sighing, Robert approached Applejack, and she him. "Now, I've... Uh, kuso, I've rubbish at this... I've never been much good at apologies. Horrible really, but in this case I think one is warranted. I was an idiot, a baka really, and let my temper get the best of me." Robert said, with no insincerity in his tone. "Same here. Ah've always had a quick temper and a stubborn streak, and I let it get the best of me like you did with yours and nearly killed a very good friend of mine in the process. Can ya... Can ya ever forgive me?" Applejack asked and offered up her hand, and like Robert, Fluttershy could detect no insincerity in her tone. After a few minutes of consideration, Robert took up her hand and shook it. Then his stomach grumbled and he blushed red. "Say, uh, anywhere around here where I can find some good crumpets or something of that matter?" Robert asked, still blushing. Applejack laughed. "Follow me, sugarcube. I'll show you where you can get the best desserts this side of Equestria." Applejack said with a smile and ran off. "Well, ya coming or do I have to take you by the reigns and drag ya?" Applejack laughed and Robert raced after her... (To Be Continued...) Author's Note ...Annnnddd we're back to the longer lengthed chapters. Okay, so this time around Robert finally gets back to Ponyville, and already gets in the thick of things thanks to his spitefulness towards Twilight and Celestia getting in his way and getting Applejack ticked off at him and nearly killing him and Fluttershy as well by accident. Speaking of Fluttershy, Robert's made his first real non-Ranger friend in her, despite having a rather embarrassing for the both of them introduction. Of course, back in Canterlot Celestia learns from Luna that Robert's alive and well (And we get a flashback that tells us exactly why she hates humans so much. Can't say I blame her really after that sort of experience.) and tries to get both Shining and Galaxy to bring him in, (Read: Kill him) but they both refuse due to their moral codes. Definitely Ranger material I'd say. The Graphite Energem chose Galaxy well. Anyways, if you're wondering why a SPD and Pai Zhua trained ex-Ranger lost to Applejack, a civilian, remember he was already injured and he was probably deliberately holding back, as not to harm (Or worse) her and give Celestia yet another reason to hate him. Translations: Kuso: Shit Baka: Idiot Wundervolle: Wonderful Next time: Robert's introduced to Rarity and her husband, Lyra and Bon-Bon among others and meanwhile, Vapor continues unraveling the mystery that is the Duke Org Zen-Aku... Part 10: Welcome to Ponyville (Part 2)The Nexus The Master Org was not happy, and it showed. Defeat, after defeat, after defeat! He had only one Org Spirit remaining from the original four that had manifested along with his two Duke Orgs. Now, of course the obvious thing to do would be to show his hand and send them down to destroy the precious little Equestria Celestia had built up and on that matter he really had to thank her for causing all of this hatred and prejudice towards humans, enough of it to recreate the Orgs. He had to chuckle to himself, even without the Org Heart, those Rangers still lost. Orgs would always come back, always. But, choosing the easy path wouldn't be the best path. After all, both of his parents sent monster after monster at Zordon's precious little Power Rangers, and none of them worked. It was only when they actually thought up plans that didn't involve monsters in the usual fashion, like say creating an evil Green Ranger (Never mind the fact that he betrayed them in the end and eventually became the most famous Ranger in history) or trapping the Rangers in a mansion that kept them from using their powers and then sending in the monsters, that their plans showed some merit of success. The Master Org chuckled to himself. Even he proved to himself, in his one sole fight against the Power Rangers of his day, that he was better then two Ranger teams put together. He united a group of usually normally feuding villains and disconnected the Rangers from the universal Morphin Grid and showed them a thing or two. If his parents hadn't succumbed to the light of goodness, they might actually be proud of them. Of course, what he hadn't counted on was that damned Sentinel Knight restoring five legendary Rangers' powers, including a member of the original team and then the Mastodon Ranger getting the connection to the Morphin Grid fixed, and even the thing he planned to destroy the Rangers with, the Sentinel Sword, merged with the Sentinel Knight and restored him to physical form! Thrax glowed red in anger at how he'd been outsmarted, or to be more accurate, how he didn't factor in the Knight into his equation. Of course, he'd outsmarted them all in the end. They thought they destroyed him, but he survived, all of these years and had been waiting for the time to continue his parents, and his grandfather's work and rule the galaxy, starting with Earth. "I shall finish the work you started, and destroy the Power Rangers once and for all." Thrax thought to himself. He was alone in his cavern, with Artilla and Helicross out scouting about looking for new revived Org Spirits. Thrax frowned at the thought of them. If they knew he really didn't care for those vile freaks of nature, they'd betray him in a heartbeat. He needed a servant, one which would serve him without question. He knew just the being, but gathering the materials for the ritual needed to revive him would take some time. So, for now, he'd need someone else, one of the original Master Org's most faithful servants. Thrax smirked. He knew just the Org for the job. Thrax began to chant a spell under his breath. It went like this. "Moon and stars align, bring back through time! Bring back that which sees all, bring back the most loyal servant of Master Org of all! Arise and return to us, RETINAX!" Thrax finished with a shout and aimed his mother's wand into a gaping Org totem's mouth that had misty smoke coming from it and fired a beam of crimson red light into the mouth and a misty blood red shape began forming before it smoked out of the totem and formed into a figure with one dark blue curved horn, muscle like coverings all over his body, and a huge amount of eyes as well, with one red irised eye being in the center of his head and two more slime green ones not too far below that. He held a double bladed axe, with its length being covered in eyes. "I... I am alive again. But how?" Retinax wondered aloud to himself as he regained his bearings. Thrax stepped out of the shadows. "I brought you back, that's how. By the power of the moon and stars, you are alive again, to serve me, the new Master Org!" Thrax proclaimed. Retinax noted the new "Master Org's" one curved horn atop his head and just for a moment, right before he remembered that the last Master Org was a fake, thought his words to be the truth. "You are no Master Org. You are just an usurper." Retinax said, pointing his axe at him. "A pretender to the throne. There is only one true Master Org, and he died long ago, destroyed by the traitorous Duke Org Zen-Aku. I shall not serve you. But I shall destroy you!" Retinax roared before charging at Thrax and swinging his axe which Thrax blocked with his mother's wand the two traded blows again and again, each time meeting each other's blows. Thrax growled and used his wand to strike a blow to Retinax's legs, knocking him to the ground but Retinax quickly recovered and fired a blast of red lightning from his axe which Thrax blocked with his wand and then another series of lightning bolts flew and Thrax jumped to the left and let some Org totems take the blow before he fired a beam of red energy at Retinax which was blocked with his axe before Retinax dealt out a few axe blows to Thrax who snarled and grabbed his opponent in coils of energy and lifted him up to the ceiling before dropping him soundly to the ground and getting in close to Retinax's face. "Now... Who is your Master?" Thrax growled. "You... You are." Retinax whispered before slipping into unconsciousness. Thrax smirked. He had him. Ponyville: Sugarcube Corner Robert moaned in an almost orgasmic like pleasure, attracting quite a lot of attention as he reached into a candy bag and pulled out a bunch of Haribo Milk Bottles, little candy sweets made of jelly shaped like the thing they were named after and chewed on them. God above, he hadn't had a chance to have any of these in donkey's years. "Ya alright sugarcube?" Applejack asked. "This... This right here is the dog's bollocks. That's what it is. Almost forgotten the taste. Almost." Robert moaned. There was a running joke amongst the Pai Zhau students that if you wanted to get Robert to do something for you, give him these and he'd do it, no matter what the task in question was, it being a prank on a teacher, or him teaching you something about his style personally for a private lesson or just a little shag in the bushes or broom closet. "So... It's good then?" Applejack asked slowly, unsure of how to respond to the way Robert phrased his pleasure. Robert grabbed her by the shirt and stared her straight down. "Good?" He asked in disbelief before he raised his voice to a shout. "GOOD? This... This right here is Heaven on Earth! More then makes up for you kicking me in the ribs." Robert responded and Applejack winced. Had she known he was already hurt there, she might not have kicked him in that particular spot. There were certain things you didn't do, and kicking a man when he was down was one of them. "Er... Don't you mean Heaven on Equus?" Applejack asked in confusion and it was possibly needless to say she was rather uncomfortable by this point at how close Robert was to her. "Nope, Heaven on Earth's the better phrase. Equus is rubbish for a planet's name." Robert answered as he let go of Applejack and few ponies around him gave him offended looks at his slight against their home's name which Robert of course, ignored completely. Of course, it helped when he was distracted by when he was then handed a plate full of Turkish Delights by a blue older mare with a fluffy pink mane wearing an apron and he near about fainted. To him, the only thing better to Haribo Milk Bottles was a Turkish Delight. "Must resist... Must resist..." Robert mentally chanted to himself before he muttered "Aw, screw it." and in a blur, gobbled the whole plate down and then, before you knew it, fell off the chair and collapsed to the floor. Applejack and Fluttershy rushed over to him. "You alright Sugarcube?" Applejack asked, slapping him on the face a few times to see if she could garner up a reaction. "Is... Is he dead?" Fluttershy asked nervously. "Just leave me here to die in peace. I've reached The Promised Land... And here I thought that was only through one's first time." Robert moaned out before he fainted dead away in a sugar crash. Applejack and Fluttershy facepalmed in unison and Applejack sighed. "He's fine, just gone on a sugar crash. Flutters, ya wouldn't mind if you help me carry him back to mah place so he could sleep off his own foolishness?" "S-Sure he won't do anything to you?" Mrs. Cake asked nervously. Like the rest of Equestria, she'd heard about humans and their tendencies. Applejack gave her a fierce glare. "Pretty sure he's in no state to "Do" anything to me." Applejack deadpanned as Fluttershy helped her help Robert up off the floor "He's unconscious, after all." The Animarium Sunset wasn't pleased with Princess Shayla in the slightest. Robert didn't know the whole truth, the whole truth about the world in which he'd landed in and what happened to the rest of his kind and who exactly was responsible for it. As the door to the temple opened with a rumbling sound, she marched up to Princess Shayla with an angered look on her face. "What troubles you so, Gold Ranger?" Shayla asked, quite confused. "You know exactly what it is, so stop faking." Sunset snarled, her wings sparking with embers of flame. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean." Shayla responded, genuinely confused. "The truth, and nothing but the truth. Robert deserves to know where he is and what exactly happened to his kind." Sunset responded. "And what if I did tell him? What would he do then?" Shayla asked. "If he learned the full truth, that this is a future Earth, and that Celestia exterminated all of humankind, he would march up that castle of hers and surely be killed." Sunset was forced to concede her well thought out point, even if she didn't have to like it. If Robert did know the whole truth, he would do exactly as Shayla predicted and be exterminated in a heartbeat. Celestia wouldn't even flinch while doing so. She'd flick out his light without a second thought. And if Sunset was right, Robert was the fifth Ranger they needed, the one to carry the mantle of the Kitsune powers, despite all his personality flaws. He knew things they didn't, things about Ranger history. That knowledge could prove useful in the future. "...Fine, but this isn't over. He'll have to know the truth sometime, and I don't want it coming from an enemy, or even worse Princess Celestia herself. He needs to hear it from us." Sunset said before leaving through the same door as she came in. Vanhoover Docksides Meanwhile, Vapor Trail was continuing to search the docksides of Vanhoover. This was where she'd encountered Zen-Aku the first time around, and so it seemed a logical place to continue looking. The moon rose high in the sky, casting its glow on the virtual maze of containers. Zen-Aku was a mystery to her. He was a Duke Org, something that by all right, she should try and kill, and yet he killed other Orgs and seemingly fought for justice. In short, he was a walking conundrum. "Alright, where are you?" Vapor asked as she scanned the tops of the containers, searching for any signs of the wolf-like Org. Then she heard it, that very distinctive flute sound that she'd heard right before Zen-Aku first appeared. Then she heard singing as well. It was a beautiful song, yet sad and critical as well, and if she had to pander a guess, it was aimed directly towards Princess Celestia and the rest of Equestria in a sarcastic way. "Oh come on away to the city A kingdom to behold Where the bluest skies they float on by The streets all paved in gold Where under the smiles fair and pretty Are teeth so very white Into the bones of our burdened necks they bite Baptised in the water You're draining the well You built up your heaven On the back of hell Divine is the daughter The dream that you sell You built up your heaven On the back of hell..." It was then Zen-Aku stopping his singing and turned his head, finally taking notice of her before he leaped down in front of her, his muzzle showing an expression of surprise. "Well, this I must admit I wasn't expecting. No one ever goes and searches me out. You are a very adamant young mare, aren't you?" Zen-Aku asked, his head tilted in a quizzical manner. "Well, I suppose I should get straight to the point. Why are you here, Purple Ranger?" He questioned, although Vapor had a sneaking suspicion he already knew. Her thoughts were just confirmed by the Duke Org's next statement. "Ah, yes... I know exactly why. You're curious about this lone wolf. Why I saved you, when in all rights I should kill you." He continued. "Well, I suppose you'd better prepare yourself, my story is a long one, stretching back over 6,000 years. It began with a cursed wolf mask, put on by the ancient Animarian warrior Merrick. it gave him the powers to defeat Master Org, but in the process, it corrupted him and turned him into what you see before you. I had to be locked away by what Merrick considered his friends before I destroyed them. 3,000 years passed, and an Org General by the name of Nayzor unlocked my crypt with an arcane ritual. I was free, and I wanted to destroy all that was pure. But Merrick, he persisted inside my head and fought back. Nayzor tried to block my memories, even when Animus himself asked me to remember who I was. I fought the Rangers, even using some of their Wild Zords against them alongside my Predazord. But eventually, the Rangers found a way to defeat me, and free Merrick while I was destroyed." "But how are you still here now?" Vapor questioned. "My story was not yet complete. Observe." Zen-Aku said, and his horn hit up to show a series of images. A black haired man, with stubble and a goatee wearing a white robe and silver sash was under attack by an Org made up of various animals. The original Wild Force Rangers were to the side, tied up in what looked to be in elephant trunks. But Merrick wouldn't give in. He said that he caused this, and so he must make it right. He fought the Org, even if it was futile and in the end, his courage was rewarded. Three Orbs, one blue, one purple, one green circle around his wrist and formed a Wolf's head which he was briefly confused by for a moment but soon knew what to do with it. He unflipped it, revealing the new device to be like a phone not unlike the Growl Phones and was soon transformed into the Howling Wolf Ranger. With his new powers, he easily defeated the Quadra Org, as it was called and even when it grew to massive size, he took it down with the Predazord, now cleansed of its evil. "Now, you would think that would be the end of my story. But somehow, I survived my mask's destruction and returned from the grave, even more powerful than ever and ready to reclaim my former container. But still I was defeated, by Merrick of all people. And yes, I can see the oncoming question, how am I still here? ...To be honest, I do not know. After Adler's defeat, I returned as a ghost and wandered the lands with Merrick, two lone wolves searching for redemption." "Perhaps... Someone high above saw potential for good in you." Vapor mused and Zen-Aku could only shrug. "Whatever the case, I am here now and will help you whenever I think it is needed. You can be sure of that. I still have many things to atone for, and destroying the new Master Org will help me on my way to redemption. But I can still sense something is troubling you Purple Ranger." Vapor's eye's widened as she clutched her pendant. He'd picked up on THAT? "It's... It's personal." She whispered to herself, a tear slipping from her eye. "Alright, I shall not pry into your own business. But my word still stands. Whenever my help is required, I will come. The loyalty of a wolf, even a lone one is forever. Goodbye for now, Ms. Trail." Zen-Aku said, and with that, he leaped away into the night leaving Vapor alone with her thoughts. Ponyville, the next day... The next day, Robert was walking through Ponyville. It'd been a fortnight since he'd last been in this town in the daytime, and he was honestly hoping and praying to whatever deity was listening he'd have a better time then before. Sadly, so far it seemed nobody was listening. Ponies, whenever they saw him screamed and shut their doors, and others even threw rotten fruit and vegatables at them. Robert shook his head and muttered "Pathetic." to himself. "God above... It's like Celestia's redoing the Red Scare and I'm a Communist here." Robert mused to himself before someone threw a rotten tomato at him and told him to "Buck off and die in a hole!". Robert's response? "Oh, go boil your head. Might do your brain cells a world of good, you git." Then he heard a shout of "HUMAN!" but oddly, it wasn't one of fear. It was more like... excitement? Then Robert found himself glomped by a minty green unicorn mare who had no intent it seemed, on letting go. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! A human, I'm finally meeting one!" The unknown mare stammered out in excitement. "Should I be scared, or overjoyed by this? Blimey, like chalk and cheese compared to the rest of the residents round here. Bloody Nora..." Robert thought to himself as he continued to be hugged and his cheeks began to turn blue from lack of air. Thankfully, he was saved by a coughing sound from behind him. "Lyra, I know you love humankind and all, but can you please let the poor fellow go?" A pure white mare with a curled purple and blue mane asked dryly. The now named mare blushed and Robert sent a mental thank you to whoever was listening. "Sorry, so sorry, it's just I've always wanted to meet a human! Name's Lyra! Lyra Heartstrings!" Lyra said rapidly, shaking Robert's hand rapidly as well. "N-Nice grip..." Robert's only available response at the time was before he looked towards Lyra's companion. "Who's the friend?" "Wife actually." The white mare answered. "Name's Bon-Bon. Funny, haven't seen you around these parts before. Surprised that Pinkie hasn't thrown you a party yet." "It'll happen." Lyra put in cheerfully. "Just you wait!" "Blow me, two mares who aren't after my head." Robert commented and both mares blushed at his term usage and Robert mentally smacked himself in the head as he remembered what that could be taken as even if he really meant blow me down. "Funny, has Princess Celestia tried to turn you into a pile of ash for talking to me yet?" "No, Princess Celestia would never try and do that to anyone. I refuse to believe it." Bon-Bon responded angrily and Robert rolled his eyes and scoffed before pointing to himself. "Oh yeah, well I'm living, walking talking proof of that." He remarked and Bon-Bon crossed her arms. "Oh yeah, I'll believe it when I see it." She said simply as Lyra looked him up and down, wincing every so often at his scars left over from the Barbed Wire Org's bloody work. "Sheesh, you look like crap. Honestly, just a pair of pants and no shirt? What are you, a hobo?" Lyra asked and Bon-Bon facepalmed and muttered something to herself before she approached him. "Listen, go to Rarity at Carousel Boutique. She'll fix you up nice." She said before looking towards her wife. "Come on Lyra, best we be getting home. Got some new recipes I want to try." Robert chuckled as Lyra was practically dragged off waving at him and complaining to Bon-Bon about how she wanted to spend more time with the weird human. Eventually, he did manage to find his way to Carousel Boutique (A very fitting name, Robert noted from its exterior) and knocked on the door and was greeted by a pure white unicorn mare with purple hair done up in curls and wearing a very tight grey sweater and a black skirt. This mare, who could only be Rarity practically oozed class so Robert knew he had to be on his best behavior. No sarcasm, no flirtations and above all, no rudeness in general. "Why hello there, you must be Robert Williams. My good friend Sunset told me about you and how you might show up in town some day soon." Rarity greeted politely and led Robert inside where there were various fancy Elton John style clothes displayed on mannequins and styling Fluttershy's hair, was a green pegasus with stubble on his face and a yellow mane wearing the attire of a barber. "OH!" Rarity said at once after noticing Robert looking at the stallion. "Where are my manners? This is my husband, Zephyr Breeze, and as it happens, Fluttershy's brother." At this, Robert's jaw dropped. He could barely see the resemblance! He also realized, as Zephyr shook his hand and greeted him, it would be best not to mention anything at all about accidently seeing his sister in her underwear and DEFINTELY best not to flirt with either Fluttershy or Rarity, that is, unless he wanted a punch to the face. Rarity rubbed her hands together and began measuring him with a tape measure before she smiled. "So, shall we get started?" She asked, and for some reason, Robert felt very nervous indeed... (To Be Continued...) Author's Note Okay, so a lot goes on here. First off, you are free to pick your jaw off the floor at Rarity's husband, and no worries, he's nothing like MythrilMoth's version of him, which I wouldn't know much about anyways as I haven't read the story he's from. Anyways, huge thanks to HawkerHurricane for the help on the British terms and sweets, and to Black_Knight as always for grammar. Okay, on this chapter, originally I was going to have Robert compare Celestia and his situation to someone else, but it was pointed out to me the joke might cause controversy so I decided to play it safe and change it to the Red Scare. Also, I thought about Robert having a rather odd meeting with the Doctor here as well, but I decided to cut it as there was plenty going on in this chapter and save it for later. So, Retinax is brought back and the Master Org is revealed to be Zedd and Rita's son Thrax from Operation Overdrive, and has somehow survived his apparent death at the hands of the Sentinel Knight. Also, Vapor finally learns the full story of Zen-Aku. (If anyone's curious as to the song he's singing, it's Dream of the Sky by Miracle of Sound. Look it up on Youtube, as I can't link it because of the video's violent imagery.) Plus, Shayla is confronted by Sunset on Robert being in the dark about the full truth about when he is. Of course, Shayla does have a point, considering if Robert DID know, he probably would do something stupid. But he'll have to learn the truth eventually... Okay, just a note here, but I'm going to be putting this on a short hiatus as this story has been distracting me from some of my others and preventing me from writing for them, so I hope you guys understand my reasoning. Part 11: Magna Power! "Now... Now you really don't have to do this." Robert stammered out as Rarity, in full fashionista mode, measured him up for clothing. To be honest, he was always uncomfortable about shopping for new clothes, or shopping in general really. In and out the store as quickly as possible it was for him. It wasn't something he could really explain or put his finger on, maybe it was because shopping required him to be around people and he wasn't that much of a people person as you might have figured out. Whatever the case, he was grateful Syd and Z always went out and did the shopping for him, knowing he wasn't likely to go out and do it himself. At this, he felt guilty for one of the first times in his life. He'd always been so rude to the both of them, and it never really bothered him before, and why it was bothering him now he wasn't quite sure. "Hey, Rob, you caught this guy yet?" "Actually yes, I'm bringing him in right now in a confinement card." "Well, no need to get sarcastic with me. Need a hand? Me and Syd are nearby. Just got back from... Ugh, shopping. Syd here pretty much spent all her monthly allowance in one go." "Funny thing, you shopping, coming from a former clothing thief. The kind I was supposed to catch." "See, this is why I don't really like you. You go off all alone, with this lone wolf attitude, and are constantly disrespecting your teammates. Keep this up, and you might just get kicked off the team. You're not the first Green Ranger to get bumped back to a lower squad." "BAH! I can handle myself Z. Didn't I prove that when that moron... Oh, I don't remember his name... Used to work for Broodwing and had a giant robot escaped custody and I caught him by myself?" "Suit yourself." Robert felt even more guilt hit him when he remembered his last conversation with Z, essentially blowing her off. God above, it couldn't be that "Magic of Friendship" thing he overheard Sunset mention while he was on the Animarium, could it? "No, that's not it..." Robert mused to himself. "No, no, no, that's just plain ludicrous. Bloody ludicrous. Never really was friends with any of the team, aside from Bridge. They were all at least a decade younger than me, so I never really... clicked. It was always the older people I got along with better, like Kat and Cruger, despite how many arguments I got into with him and received enough repremands to fill a lorry. I don't know why Cruger kept me around instead of throwing me out on my arse like I should rightly should have been." "No, I insist darling!" Rarity refuted as tape measures all around levitated themselves in the air, Robert being unfazed by all of this, as he'd seen magic before in NewTech City. "You really look rather horrid in just a pair of pants, which reek of sweat by the way, and generally look like you've been living off the street or in a jungle somewhere." "Well, she's not far off..." Robert mused to himself with a noticeable chuckle. As soon as Rarity finished measuring him, she smiled. "Okay, I think I've got the perfect clothes for you. Now, you go over to my husband and-" "Wait, wait wait." Robert piped up. "How do you know what I want?" "I just do darling. I have a sense about these sort of things, about what best suits the customer, and besides, there's that old human phrase never look a gift horse in the mouth right?" "True enough." Robert admitted, forced to concede Rarity's point. "But nothing too flashy or over the top okay? I don't want to look like Elton John, or God above, Liberace." Robert said with a shudder. Despite Rarity being confused by the names, she got the general point. "Welllll.... The customer is always right I suppose." She replied and gave him a smile all the while sending a mental thought to her husband which said "If he's dangerous, then I must be Nightmare Moon!" and went over to her supply closet of fabrics, threads and stitching equipment and set to work as Zephyr led him over to another chair. "Oh my my, we have got some work to do don't we? That hair, far too long. I agree with Rarity, you do look like you've been living out in a jungle for weeks on end. That hairstyle, absolutely frightening." The green pony said with a shudder before he took out his haircutting equipment, a trimmer and a pair of scissors and began to cut off sections of Robert's now very long locks. "Celestia above, this may be my most difficult challenge yet! But never fear, I always prevail in the end!" Fluttershy smiled to herself. Before she and her good friend Rainbow Dash knocked some sense into him some years back, her brother could never succeed at anything and always thought himself a failure, and left any work given to him to others to do. It was quite a pleasant change really, and an even more pleasant one when Zephyr began to become less obnoxious just to make himself look more like a gentle stallion just for Rarity. At first, it was just a mask, but then he BECAME the mask and became a nicer stallion in the process. He'd even apologized to Rainbow for hitting on her all those years and apologized for his parents for becoming the thing that just would not leave and being an overall problem for them to deal with. "You know, you really need to think up a new phrasing for that expression 'round me. Not such a wunderbare pony around me, she is." Robert commented in an offhand manner, rubbing his cheek where Celestia had slapped him. "Nonsense, she's a kind pony to everypony!" "Not when it comes to humans, it seems." Robert put in, trying to be as polite as possible. "Or haven't you been noticing the town's general reaction to me?" "Ah... Oh, yes... That." Zephyr admitted with a blush, even as he continued cutting and shaving off Robert's beard and hair. "I did kinda notice that. Ponies are naturally afraid of what they don't understand. Griffins, head to the hills. Zebras, run into one's home, shut out the lights and lock the doors. You get the idea." "I believe the correct term is xenophobic, am I right?" Robert commented, and it was noticeable that everypony in the room had a look of shame about them. It was about then two Alicorns, one Robert recognized by her face and mane style even if she was wearing a golden tiara with a red gem set in it and wearing a yellow and red dress with the setting sun on it, and the second Alicorn Robert didn't know but she had dark blue and violet hair along with lavender fur and wings and wore what looked to be the attire of a librarian, glasses and all. It was rather cute to be honest. However, that entire ensemble was ruined by the look on her face, one of a mix of disgust and fear that Robert knew all too well. It was the exact same Princess Dick-With-Wings-And-Horn wore. Sunset summed up the situation best with one single word. "...Awkward..." Canterlot Royal Guard Barracks: Training Grounds Shining Armor swung his sword and chopped a dummy in half, splitting it straight down the middle in a complete bifurcation. To be honest, smashing up training dummies was the only thing that made sense nowadays, what with how weird everything had gotten over the past few weeks. Firstly, a human appearing after over 2,000 years, and then Celestia restraining that human and nearly killing him. It then only got weirder from there. The human, as it turned out, seemed to have no knowledge that this was a future version of his home planet and was a law enforcement officer for some organization known as SPD, and a Power Ranger to boot. Oddest of all, Shining actually found himself liking the human, which was really strange as he'd only met him for a few minutes at max. What's wrong with me? I should, by all rights hate the guy, if Celestia's history of humans is correct, they did nothing but rape and murder ponies, but then again, history is generally written by the victors, so no telling who's right or wrong in this case, and Celestia is clearly biased. I've never seen her like this. She's always been so kind and wise to everypony. But then again... everypony has skeletons in their closet. And Robert might just have a few of his own. I just don't know enough about the guy to be sure. But... As my father always said "Innocent until proven guilty, son. Innocent until proven guilty." Shining mused as he made a wide swing with his sword and decapitated two dummies. Suddenly, he felt footfalls behind him. Shining whirled around and pointed his sword in the direction of the sound, but nopony was there. "Alright, if this is a joke, it's not funny!" Shining shouted to whoever was around. No answer came. Then, the footfalls started up again from behind him and Shining turned to face their user. In front of him was a dark grey armored figure, with a green gem in the center of his chest armor and gold detailing on his shoulder pauldrons and belt, and had a visor on his helmet with two golden bull like horns on either side of the helmet itself along with a red flowing cape attached to his armor. Weirdly enough, Shining could see right through the man, if that's what he really was under the armor. "Having trouble figuring out what's right and what's wrong? I was like you once." The figure said. "Discord, if this is one of your jokes, I'm not laughing!" Shining shouted, and half-expected for the King of Chaos to appear and begin laughing his head off. For some reason, Shining was a major target of his pranks, Discord's reasoning being him always being so stuffy and needing to lighten up. "No, you misunderstand. I am not a trick nor an illusion of that chaos spirit. I am as real as you are. My name is the Magna Defender, a protector of the innocent just like you. Or I was. Sit down for a minute, and hear my story." The newly named Magna Defender said, and for whatever reason, Shining found himself sitting down on a nearby box. "Okay, that's better. Now, it all began thousands upon thousands of years ago. I was a warrior of justice, defending those who could not defend themselves. I was arrogant, believing nothing could stop me. And it was true, nothing could. Together, me and my Torozord were the perfect team. Life was like an adventure to me." The Defender began, and Shining somehow, in some mysterious way had the whole world change around him. He saw the Defender battling many foes, and enjoying himself all the while as he either used his sword to cut them down or a strange rifle weapon to blast them. From various monsters that were indescribable in description to Shining to giant beasts that ravaged cities, the Defender fought them all, in both his normal form and combined together riding atop the Torozord, a giant grey bull with golden horns and hooves and a small green gem in the center of it's forehead. "But as the old story always goes, I met a girl, Syrian was her species, and fell in love. She taught me to be wiser, and less arrogant. I no longer took life for granted as I once did. In a way I suppose, I became even better than I was before. It wasn't long before we had a child together, Zika we called him and I was forced to grow up and mature. It was good for the first few years of his life, me training him to become my successor." The Defender said, as he showed Shining a series of images, from a dog like creature giving birth to a mixture of a human and a wolf to that very same child growing older, and training alongside his father in a similar, but different set of armor. They sparred, matching each other's moves perfecting, and Zika threw tiny kunai knives at trees to improve his aim. "But that's when Scorpius and his forces invaded my homeworld." The Defender stated grimly, his voice taking on a sadder tone. Shining suddenly had a very bad feeling about where this story was going. He found himself in the middle of a battle field, a tan, black and yellow spider like creature leading forces of evil into battle, but the Magna Defender was there, rifle in hand, ready to defend his homeworld. "I fought them off bravely, but Scorpius, the crafty and clever bastard he was, used my son, MY SON as a shield to prevent me from attacking any further. Scorpius... He... He killed him right in front of me!" And then Shining saw it, Zika rushing forwards to protect his father, and getting cut down by powerful blasts of yellow lightning much to the Magna Defender's horror, and then, a shark like creature, along with another similar looking one only different in facial color threw the dead body of the Magna Defender's wife in front of him, as if to rub salt in the wound. "I became fantically obsessed with revenge against the creature. I fought every general he had and eventually on the jungle planet Mirinoi, I found his most loyal of generals, Treacheron." There was a series of images, from the Defender blowing up any of Scorpius's bases he could find, to viciously, without mercy cutting down powerful looking foes. Then, Shining saw on a jungle planet, the Magna Defender fighting a white armored being with a blue face and a samurai motif, in a vicious battle to the death before Treacheron carved an abyss into the ground and let the Defender fall in. "We fought an epic battle, but I was gravely wounded and sent tumbling into an abyss where I lingered for the next 3,000 years." The Defender continued. "Can you only imagine the hell I spent trapped in that abyss, knowing I could never get out?" Shining couldn't, and the Magna Defender knew it. "But then, by pure chance, another man fell into the abyss with me, and I merged with his spirit to fight in the present day on the roaming space colony of Terra Venture." Here, Shining saw a giant tower that was topped off by a bubble with a city inside it with multiple limbs stretching out with various landscapes inside domes, floating through the cold cruel blackness of space, all the while being pursued by a black and gold scorpion like ship. "Mike, he was called and the brother of the current Red Ranger. Despite our common foe in Scorpius, I wouldn't help the Rangers because of my obsession. I was even willing to put innocent lives in danger, how far I had fallen." The Defender said sadly and then, when the Scorpion Stinger sprung a leak, it stopped above Terra Venture's mountain dome to draw power away from it. "It all came to a head when I created a volcano to destroy Terra Venture and Scorpius's ship along with it, not even thinking about the innocent lives that would have been lost. But something miraculous happened then. I realized how far I had fallen, and set out to correct my mistakes. I had a vision as I climbed up the fiery pits of Hell itself, much like Frodo Baggins did in the human book "The Return of the King". I saw my son, telling me he believed in me and that there was still some good left in my heart." Here, Shining saw the Defender, his chest gem cracked, crawling up a firey mountainside but no matter how hard it got, he never gave up, whispering "Yes, Zika... I believe" over and over again like a mantra. No matter how hard it got, he wouldn't give up. "And you know what, I believed in it as well. I sacrificed myself to stop the madness of my own making, and in the process gave the Red Ranger his brother back." The Defender continued as Shining saw the Magna Defender turn himself into a ball of blue light and jump into the volcano, even with his Torozord trying to stop him. "It was my redemption day." "But the story of the Magna Defender doesn't end there. When Mike was searching for his destiny and all of the Rangers except his brother were captured by a monster, I appeared before him, just like I appeared before you now and passed on my powers. He would be the Magna Defender and carry on my legacy. And carry it on he did. He fought many brave battles, but eventually, he was forced to sacrifice them to help Terra Venture escape the area in space known as the Lost Galaxy." There, Shining saw Mike's various battles from him going into his first battle as the Magna Defender and defeating Skelecron, to him and the Space Rangers fighting the Psycho Rangers which were five bat armored like warriors in twisted copies of the Ranger suits with nothing but darkness in their hearts and then he saw a series of images of Mike, unmorphed leading trapped slaves of the vile space pirate Captain Mutiny to freedom on a desolate, but wealth ridden planet, to finally Mike in the Defender Torozord holding open a space portal for Terra Venture to escape through with the end result being the Torozord's destruction. "But my powers will never fade. And now, I pass them on to you. You will carry on the work we began." Suddenly, a sword, black with gold trimmings, two bull like horns jutting out from it and a green gem in its center appeared in Shining's hands to replace his own and two bracers appeared on Shining's wrists. "My armor, along with the Torozord is now yours. Use them well, and use them wisely. This is your destiny now." The Magna Defender said before vanishing away, leaving no trace as if he was ever there. Ponyville: Carousel Boutique "Crikey Moses, I just seem to keep on meeting more and more ponies who want my head on a stake, don't I?" Robert commented in a mock cheerful tone of voice even as Zephyr continued his work. Rarity meanwhile, had stopped working on Robert's outfit and sighed to herself. This was going to be ugly, she could tell already. Sunset meanwhile was preparing her magic to step in if needed and her horn glowed with a light green aura. Twilight as well was charging up her magic, though for a very different reason altogether. "What are you doing here?" Twilight growled out. Robert's eyes widened. He knew that voice, but kept calm. No sense in getting mad and things going right to shit for him. "Getting my hair cut and a new outfit, can't think of any other reason why I'd be here." Robert said lightly. "I can..." Twilight snarled. "You just want to rape Rarity, skin her husband alive and do a bunch of other horrible things." "Listen, I can tell by your attire you're a librarian, so that must mean you're a smart mare and so go ahead and use that brain of yours and think about it, if I wanted to do that, I could have done it already, and besides, I'm not nearly stupid enough to take on someone who could fry me with her magic, not counting the two others in the room." Robert refuted. "How do I know you don't have magic yourself?" Twilight asked sarcastically and Robert then decided to drop all pretenses of politeness. "Newsflash, if you're really Celestia's little pet poodle you'd know humans don't have a drop of magic in their entire body. So I couldn't possibly use what I don't have, now could I?" Robert remarked, deliberately leaving out the part about the Chi energy he had stored in his body to unleash his animal spirit. Twilight was really furious now, she'd been insulted on her intelligence multiple times by this man who shouldn't be even alive right now, or at the very least locked in the deepest dungeon she could find. It was only thanks to Sunset holding her back that she didn't go absolutely ballistic on Robert right now. "Funny, you being the Princess of Friendship and all, thought you'd be more... Oh, I don't know, friendly." Robert remarked dryly. Twilight then turned on her heels and walked right out the door with a huff having had enough of being insulted leaving a very awkward silence indeed with only Robert breaking it. "...Well, I'd say we got off on the right hoof quite well don't you think?" He asked cheerily. Sunset could only facepalm and look skywards. Canterlot Royal Guard Barracks: Training Grounds Shining, still stunned by the powers he'd been given, thought over his new situation. He'd been given a great responsibility to care for powers that had been passed down over thousands of years and use them to fight for justice. But the problem was, how could he balance his time leading the Crystal Guard (Which Shining noted he still hadn't been sent back to, by the way) and spending his time with his wife with defending Equus as a Power Ranger? Of course, the choice would have to be made later, as Shining soon found out when an explosion came from the other side of the city. "Guess I'll have to think on this later." Shining flicked one of his bracers and a key popped out and he plugged it into the other after throwing his newfound sword into the air, knowing to do so by the knowledge he'd gained from the power transfer and shouted out two words that had not been heard in thousands of years. "Magna Power!" (To Be Continued...) Author's Note Okay, so now Shining's become the Magna Defender and the official sixth Ranger of the team... Which means Robert will be the last to get his powers, but trust me it'll be awesome when he finally does. Now what that means, is unlike Zen-Aku and Galaxy Swirls, he will appear to help the Rangers in every battle if he can or his Princely duties don't get in his way. (Boy, how's he going to break this to Cadence eh?) Also, Robert gets his first official introduction to Twilight Sparkle, and handles the greeting in his own way... That is, like a jackass. (Thanks to HawkerHurricane for the suggestion of Robert calling her Celestia's little pet poodle) Seriously, if he handled the meeting better he might actually have another powerful ally and loyal friend. Originally, I was going to have Spike here as well, but I couldn't figure out how to fit him in and give him any sort of role for this chapter. Also, you may have noticed the Lost Galaxy Theme in pace of the GaoRanger one. I decided to put that in for obvious reasons, and chapter six's opening them has been changed to the Dino Charge one. Anyways, next time, the Magna Defender makes his debut and Vapor's backstory... finally revealed! (Edit: Added a few extra lines to the Magna Defender's story and showed images of his and Mike's tales to Shining along with cutting all but the lines of the flashback to the first chapter on Villain's advice. Part 12: The Magna Defender Makes His Debut and Vapor's Secret Canterlot Park Canterlot Park, normally a peaceful place, with always green trees that ranged from weeping willows to big oak trees of untold years. It also had perfectly arranged cobblestone footpaths lit by either streetlight or fireflies at night for couples to walk under in their natural peaceful glow and of course the bridge over a little pond where lovers, Shining Armor included, often proposed marriage to one another or just, Y'know, made out under Luna's starry velvet-like night skies. Chess tables were arranged about the park, for ponies to have friendly little competitions, or just practice and hone their skills, or just quietly contemplate to themselves. There were many poems about this particular park's famous beauty, and many paintings as well. Of course, all of that had been shattered by what was going on now. Currently, the local socialites' day had been utter ruined by an attack by Thrax's forces, led by his newest General, Retinax, and a force of putrids. High-Class ponies screamed and scattered as the putrids laid waste to the park and brought their toxic taint to the normally peaceful city of Canterlot. "Yes, that's right! Run, you little horses, run like the herd animals you are! The Orgs are back in business, and I intend to let this city know it!" Retinax laughed as he pointed his axe at a tree and fired a blast of red lightning at it, causing it to splinter and burst like a party popper. He swung his axe again, cleaving through another as he continued his rampage. A group of putrids grabbed two of the local movers and shakers, Jet Set, and his wife Upper Crust and brought them before Retinax. Both ponies trembled in fear, they'd seen the Org General's power and had no qualms about what he intended to do next with them. They didn't even have to guess. "P-Please, show mercy!" Upper Crust pleaded, and Retinax could only laugh uproariously as if at some funny joke had been just told to him. "Mercy? To worthless beings who aren't even worth living like you?" He asked before chuckling to himself. "I swear, even the humans put up more of a fight then this. I thought this city had a Royal Guard. Looks like when trouble comes, they fail to show." "Well, time to do away with you. I'd like to say I'm sorry, but my mother never told me to lie. Really quite impolite." Retinax smirked. He raised his axe and it crackled with electricity, and the two ponies whispered goodbyes to each other and braced for what was to come, but then a hoof soundly kicked Retinax in the face and made him stumble back. "What the- Who dares!?!" Retinax roared in anger as he tried to search for his attacker with his many, many eyes. A voice answered him. "I dare." Shining's voice said calmly, as Retinax, his putrids, and Jet Set and Upper Crust all turned to see a grey armored figure with a glowing green gem in the center of his chest and a flowing red cape with a pure white horn jutting out of his bull like helmet striding forwards with no fear at in his walk. Shining unsheathed his sword and the putrids rushed up to greet him. "Who do you think you are?" Retinax roared in anger. "The name's the Magna Defender, protecter of all that is good and true and that's all you need to know." Shining answered. "I don't care who you are! Get him!" Retinax ordered, pointing his axe at Shining, and the putrids charged towards their new target. Some fired their "Staffzookas" at Shining but he deflected the blasts with only two swings from his sword, two very large explosions happening from behind him as a result. He charged forwards into the crowd of Orglings, and with the knowledge gained from the Magna Defender and his prior Royal Guard training, he was an unstoppable force, cutting down anything that stood in his way. He, with a few twists of his sword's parts and putting his sheath over his blade, now had changed his sword into a shotgun. He pumped it and promptly used this new weapon on the putrids that were holding down Jet Set and Upper Crust, taking them down with relative ease. "You're safe now, go. GO!" Shining barked out, and Upper Crust and his wife were only all too happy to follow that order and quickly fled the scene. Some more putrids tried their luck, and were quickly taken out by several more of the Riot Blaster's shots. "Anyone else?" Shining asked sarcastically. "How about me?" Retinax roared as he leaped forwards into battle and Shining quickly changed his Riot Blaster back into its blade form to meet a blow from Retinax's axe. "I hate interlopers!" "And I hate those who attack the innocent, so we're even." Shining snarled as their weapons met again and again. "I'm going to kill you for interfering in me and my Master's work!" Retinax snarled and fired a blast of red lightning from his axe which Shining leaped and rolled to the side to avoid and all the while, changed his sword back to its Riot Blaster mode and fired off several blasts at Retinax, hitting him dead on. "Yeah? Well, I've got a long list of ponies who'd like to do that, so get in line." Shining remarked before he struck Retinax in his right side with his sword but the Org General kicked him away and this time got in a slice across the chest. "That armor won't protect you for long. Soon, we'll see who's under it, and I'll make you bleed!" Then a new voice joined the fray. "Sorry, did somepony say bleed?" Galaxy asked as he leaped forwards clad in Ranger gear and shouted "Royal Dino Punch!" and send Retinax flying backwards. "Yeah, thought I heard my cue." Galaxy remarked lightly before he turned to Shining. "Who the... Wait, Shining? Is that you?" He asked in disbelief, unable to believe his fellow Captain had gotten Ranger powers as well. "How you know it was me... Galaxy?" Shining asked with a smirk under his helmet. "Eh, voice and fighting style kinda gave it away. But a better question to pose is, how did you know it was me under here?" Galaxy asked. "Bat wings. You're the only one I know with enough fighting skills to deal with someone like this and have those appendages. Plus, your general demeanor helped as well." Shining responded and Galaxy responded with a "Fair enough" nod. Just then, a grey grenade like device came out of the sky and Retinax pulled its pin, and a large explosion ensued and when the smoke cleared, there stood Retinax, titan sized. "Okay, explanations later. Ass kicking now!" Galaxy said, as he and Shining took a step back to avoid being stomped on. "And I got just the Zord to do it. Torozord, charge!" Retinax staggered back as the giant black mechanical bull appeared seemingly out of nowhere with a roar and charged into him, pushing him out of Canterlot and into the fields south of the city. The giant org grabbed the Torozord by the horns and pushed back, forcing a stalemate between the two titans. “Not bad, I’ll give you that. But!” He stepped forward, pushing the Torozord back, even as it carved deep trenches in the earth with its hooves. “It’s not nearly good enough!” He roared, lifting the mechanical goliath off the ground and throwing it aside before retrieving his fallen axe and raising it to the downed Zord, “You ain’t worth shit!” “Is that right!?” Shining said from inside his zord, “You haven’t seen anything yet! Torozord, transform!" Shining was transformed into a giant red armored capeless version of himself as the Torozord emitted a green beam from the gem on it's forehead. Torozord’s green eyes flashed once as it stood up, raising onto it’s hind legs to a bipedal stance as steam erupted from its nostrils and the now Mega Defender jumped inside. The head opened up, revealing a stoic face with yellow eyes as hands erupted from the bull’s forehooves. “Defender Torozord, ready!” “You think just because you can stand that it means you’re a match for me?” Retinax scoffed, “en garde!” With that, he charged, bringing his axe around in a wide arc, aiming for the Megazord’s neck. “Defender Axe!” Shining cried, intercepting the blow with an axe of his own, the thunderous crash echoing for miles. “Don’t count me out just yet!” Retinax said, kicking the Torozord back and smashing his axe into the ground, opening a fissure in the ground that swallowed up the Megazord’s leg. “Is that really what you ponies can muster?” Retinax crowed as he strutted over to the trapped Zord, “the humans were tougher than this!” Inside the cockpit, Shining grit his teeth, wrestling with the controls to free the Torozord’s leg as the giant org advanced on him, “Come on, come on-!” “Say your goodbyes, Ranger!” Retinax said, raising his axe above his head and bringing it down in a helmsplitter, only for the blade to be caught by the Torozord’s hands, the metallic limbs groaning in protest as they kept the large blade inches from the cockpit. Shining gasped as the machine moved under it’s own power, thrusting the axe head aside and causing its wielder to stumble past as it pried itself from the fissure and faced the org again. “So, you do have some fight in you after all!” Retinax said, the gaze of his many eyes shrinking with glee as he turned and hefted his axe again, tossing his cape aside, “What’s your name, Ranger?” Shining gripped the controls again, the Torozord following his movements, drawing a pair of twin golden kunai daggers, “I am Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire, Captain of the Royal and Crystal Guard and the Third Magna Defender.” The Torozord brought the daggers together, forming a double bladed javelin and raising it in a salute. “Defender of Equus!” Retinax nodded, saluting with his own weapon, “I am Retinax, General Org and bodyguard of the Master Org. When this is done, you can be certain that your Empire will be the last to fall.” “How thoughtful of you!” Shining snarled, spurring the Torozord to charge, leading with a lunging stab for the large eye in the org’s chest, which Retinax parried with the haft of his axe and pushed back, swinging it in an overhead arc, which was narrowly dodged, the many-eyed axe head whistling by the cockpit. The javelin came back around, locking with the org’s weapon again, neither combatant willing to give an inch to the other before pushing apart again and launching into a flurry of blows and counters at each other, their weapons crashing against the others over and over again. “Not bad, not bad at all! Given some more time, you could end up proving to be quite the challenge. However!” Retinax leapt back, just as the javelin was whistling toward his chest, causing the Torozord to overcommit and impale the ground, “I’m not about to let that happen!” The eye in the middle of the org’s chest blinked as a bolt of scarlet lightning lanced into the Torozord, resulting in a shower of sparks as the megazord stumbled back and fell to it’s knees from the near-fatal blow. “A shame. Fighting you would have been really fun later on. But orders are orders. Farewell, Shining Armor!” Retinax said as he fired off another lightning blast, aiming directly for the Torozord’s cockpit. “Not gonna happen!” Shining shouted, raising the javelin and ramming it into the ground, forming an improvised lightningrod and drawing the attack away before hurling the javelin at the stunned org, impaling him in the shoulder, drawing an unholy scream from the injured monster. “Gah! N-not bad, not bad at all...” Retinax grunted as he yanked the javelin out of his shoulder with a spray of foul green eye goop, “It’d be bad if I kept fighting like this, so it looks like you win this one, Ranger.” He rumbled with rueful laughter as he clamped a clawed hand over the wound, turning from the downed Torozord and vanishing into thin air. Inside the Torozord’s cockpit, Shining Armor watched helplessly as the Org General simply walked away before smashing his armored fist into the console in frustration. Stratusburg Meanwhile, unaware that there was a new ally to the Power Rangers who'd already proved his worth, the Purple Leviathan Ranger had returned to her home town of Stratusburg, high in what used to the be the Great Smokey Mountains of the Tennessee-West Virginia border back when Equus was named Earth. The mountains were still holding true to their name, thick fog covering the entire peaks and lower mountainsides of Thunderhead Mountain, where Vapor's Cloud-Home was based. She'd come back home to find herself, and see if she was really worthy of inheriting the Purple Ranger powers, HIS powers. "Old black water, keep on rollin' Mississippi moon, won't you keep on shinin' on me, Old black water, keep on rollin', Mississippi moon, won't you keep on shinin' on me... The snippet from Vapor's ever present double eighth note pendant played as she rested herself on a rock that overlooked the thick forest covered valley side. "Celestia above, I wish I knew where that song came from. Grape Vine said it was a very old song, but he never let on how old. And those terms, Mississippi and black water, I've never even heard them used in Equestria." Vapor mused as she shivered from the cold mountain wind and bundled herself up in her brown leather coat. "Could... Could it be this was a human song? If it is, no wonder Grape Vine kept his mouth shut. From what I'd seen, Celestia would likely execute him for even mentioning it was human made in nature." Before, Vapor thought Celestia was wise and kind, and respected all beings if not liked them, but that was before she met Robert. Now her entire world had been shattered. What had Robert done to deserve such mistreatment? Sure, she had read in the history books what humans had done, but now that she re-read them, they were clearly biased. Who knew the whole truth, really? The only way she'd find out for sure was if she got ahold of something that told the human side of things, but how likely was that? Chances were, no books had survived The Great Human Purge. As she thought, Vapor drifted off to sleep and into dreamland... In Vapor's Mind... Midnight in the City that Never Sleeps. Explosions sounded throughout the city of Manehatten's City Center. Two Orgs, the Turbine Org and the Plug Org were on the rampage, and nothing could stop them. Sure, the local police were trying their hardest with magic spells and the like, but they were simply shrugged off. Nopony could stop them, nopony except one. As Plug Org blasted some crates in the back of a chariot full of medical supplies with blasts of lightning, a figure stepped into view. "Ya know, if you really wanted to attract mah attention, all you had to do was just ask." A purple unicorn stallion wearing glasses, the kind that an architect might wear and a brown coat that matched his mane style said as he walked onto the scene, guitar case in hand and a purple pendent around his neck. In the crowd that had rapidly begun to scatter, Vapor Trail had hidden herself in fear behind a taxi chariot resembling that of a New York Cab, leftovers from the humans now long gone. "Who do you think you are?" Plug Org asked. "Whoever he is, he's no match for us!" Turbine Org put in. Grape Vine rolled his eyes as he set down his guitar case and sighed to himself. "Ya'll really don't know who Ah am, do you? Let me enlighten ya." He asked sarcastically. "This city here, it once stood for freedom and welcomed all, and it still does, but I'm afraid you two are going to have to be evicted and your passports stripped from ya." Grape Vine then took out a Growl Phone, one Vapor would become very familiar with and put it up to his ear and shouted out "Legendary Wild Access, Ha!" and with a flash of purple light, and a widening of eyes from Vapor, Grape was now the Purple Leviathan Ranger and almost at once, summoned his Leviathan Trident. "With the fury of the rushing waters, Purple Leviathan Ranger!" Both Orgs took a step back in shock. "A-A Ranger, here? It can't be!" Turbine Org stammered out in fear. "Oh, it can. It is!" Grape remarked as he twisted his Trident behind him and readied for battle. "Never mind that, there's two of us, and only one of him! Let's double up!" Plug Org suggested and Turbine Org replied with a "You got it!" and both of them locked hands and fired a wind/lightning combo at Grape Vine who jumped high above it to avoid it and then used both his Trident and Crystal Saber in a scissor formation to break their combination in two purple slashes of light. Turbine Org roared in rage and charged at Grape, and attacked with a fury getting in blow after blow before using his turbines to blow Grape Vine backwards into a taxi chariot. "He's... He's getting his flank kicked out there, I gotta help!" Vapor thought, and for a brief moment, fear vanished and was replaced by courage as she tackled Turbine Org as Grape shouted "No, get out of here, he's too dangerous for you to take on alone!" and was soon proven right when Turbine Org kicked Vapor off him and into Plug Org's arms and he grabbed ahold of her. "Stand down, or this little missy here gets the shock of her life!" "Let her go, you filth." Grape snarled, all pretenses of joking around replaced by pure seriousness. "You'd better be keeping an eye on yourself, not on her!" Plug Org laughed, and before he could figure out what he meant, Grape was stabbed through the chest by his own Crystal Saber thanks to Turbine Org and soundly demorphed, blood gushing from his wound. Plug Org laughed and let Vapor go before both Orgs ran off laughing to themselves while Vapor ran over to Grape. "I... I shouldn't have gotten involved, b-but I-I did and now look what's happened!" Vapor sobbed, but Grape wiped away her tears and handed her his Growl Phone and Animal Crystal, it glowing purple when handed to its new owner. "Don't blame yourself, if Ah was in your position, Ah would have done the exact same. Take my powers, use them to carry on the work Ah can't anymore..." Grape said before he pressed down on his pendent and let the sounds of the black waters carry him away as Vapor sobbed. It was all her fault, and now she couldn't do anything about it. "Actually, there's one thing." She thought as she picked herself off the ground and even as tears still steamed down her face, she shouted to the heavens "Do you hear me Turbine Org, you'll pay for this! I swear on it!" as she pointed the bloodied Crystal Saber to the sky and without even calling out her morphing call, morphed into the new Leviathan Ranger. It was her destiny now, although she didn't want anything to do with it... "So... What do I do now? I have to tell my friends my secret, but I just don't know when, or how they'll react when they learn I'm not the first Purple Ranger and that I directly caused his death. Celestia above, or any deity really, give me a sign!" Vapor prayed, but received no answer. She cursed softly to herself, and broke down into sobs, knowing perfectly well that she'd have to face her sins sooner or later and that when she did it would not be pretty. Carousel Boutique "And here you go, darling." Rarity said cheerfully as she fitted the last of Robert's new attire to him. He now wore a green tank top, a black leather jacket, some new pants and shoes, and of course his lucky Fox Pendant. And to top is all off, he was now clean shaven with a more respectable haircut. "Oh, now that I must say is our finest work yet!" Zephyr put in cheerfully as he clapped his hands in triumph at another job well done. Robert smiled and said "Arigato, you two." and bowed respectfully and then as he adjusted his jacket, reached for his phone and put on Joan Jett's Bad Reputation. I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation You're living in the past it's a new generation "Damn straight." Robert smirked. He sure as Hell didn't give a damn about his bad reputation among the populace. But Rarity wasn't done yet, as she then handed him a pure black trench coat. Robert raised an eyebrow. "What... is this?" He asked slowly. "It's a trench coat darling, what do you think it looks like?" Rarity asked, slightly confused at Robert's growing tone of annoyance. Robert sighed and rubbed his temples. "Yes, I know what it is, but it's black. Black trench coats are only for people who are trying WAY too hard to be badass. No offence, but I'm really not interested in giving off that kind of image." "Oh, well... If you say so..." Rarity said sadly before putting the trench coat away in a nearby closet. Right about then, a vague memory struck him. He remembered Lightning say he could die for all she cared and Sunset's wings bursting into flame, and Princess Shayla watching in shock at the whole exchange. Robert's eyes widened. If Lightning was so bigoted against humans, why hadn't she tried attacking Shayla yet? "Unless... Shayla's hiding what she REALLY looks like to them. There's only one way to find out. Ask her herself." "Hey man, everything alright? You seemed a bit lost in thought for a second there." Zephyr said, waving a hand in front of Robert's face and snapping him out of his musings. He blinked a few times, and blushed red after realizing he'd lost himself in thought. "Yeah... Yeah. Just need to get a question answered." Robert said quickly before dashing out of the store, but then peeked his head back in and exclaimed "Thanks for the new gifts, Rarity-San, and the haircut, Zephyr-San!" before dashing off again. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Zephyr all looked at each other and shrugged before Zephyr summed up their thoughts in a single sentence. "Well... That was odd to say the least." END Author's Note Okay, so first M rated chapter of anything, and I think you can see why with the violence level displayed here. On that note, yes I just did kill off one of my OCs, one of the lead characters in another of my stories at that. Of course, now we know why the reason Vapor doesn't really like the Leviathan powers, given that she thinks she doesn't deserve them and she was responsible for Grape's death. Meanwhile, Robert fresh with some new duds (Wait... Did he actually be polite to somepony for once and use honorifics?) gains a mystery to solve... Anyways, your comments and thoughts on this chapter are appreciated as always. Also huge thanks to The Villain in Glasses for writing the Torozord and Retinax fight scene! Part 13: A Secret Revealed Ponyville Robert ran through the streets of Ponyville, thoughts rushing and swimming through his head like a raging river about this new revelation on his mind. Princess Shayla had to be hiding her true appearance from the Rangers, it was the only thing that made sense. If she wasn't, she would have been attacked by Lightning Dust long ago, and the rest of the Rangers probably wouldn't have put as much faith and trust as they did in her as they seemed to. Hell, they wouldn't have accepted the responsibility of being a Ranger from a human, as far as he could tell. Sunset maybe, given how she seemed to didn't mind him so much, although for what reason God only knew. Then again, for all he knew, she could have been playing him like a fiddle and was secretly loyal to Princess-Dick-With-Wings-And-A-Horn for all he knew. Honestly, he didn't know who to trust on this planet. Hell, for all he knew, Rarity and her friends could turn on him at the first possible moment, given how close they seemed to be with both Sunset and Twilight. Robert's cop senses were screaming at him not to trust anyone and just fend for himself, like he always had, but his mind was telling him that no one could be that nice unless it was genuine. But then again, they could be just VERY good actors. "Is it really paranoia if everyone's out to get you?" Robert asked himself as he ran through the streets. Suddenly, his ears picked up something flying towards him and his hand almost at once reached out and grabbed the oncoming object, which turned out to be a tomato thrown by a pony from a vendor. Robert chuckled, and to the pony's surprise, actually took a bite out of the tomato. "You know..." Robert commented and turned to the vendor, after throwing the piece of fruit behind him and it splattered onto the ground, its innards going everywhere. "If you're going to throw something at me, make sure it's not edible first. Try something rotten next time. Hell, if you really want to do some damage, pick up a brick and throw it. Might actually hurt." Robert deadpanned. "Now if you excuse me, I have somewhere more important to be then hanging around here with you lot." "Fine!" The vendor shouted. "Go run along and kill yourself, you vile animal!" "Oh, there's a vile animal around is there?" Robert smirked, with the shopkeeper having unknowingly set himself up for one of Robert's infamous snarky deadpan comebacks. "If I see him or her, rest assured, you'll be the first to know." Cackling to himself as the shopkeeper fumed, Robert kept on his journey slowing his pace as he realized he didn't know jack-shit on how to actually get back on the Animarium. "Okkkkkayyyy... Permission to say Cock, Lord?" Robert asked as he looked skywards. When he received no answer, Robert rolled his eyes and let out a loud "COCK!" anyways. Then he got an idea. "Of course, you bloody fucking moron! Ask Sunset!" Robert smiled before it faded as another realization came to him and he slapped himself in the face and muttered "Cock." again to himself. He had no idea where Sunset actually lived. Of course, he could ask her friend Twilight... "Okay, two problems with that. Problem one: You don't know where Twilight lives, and secondly, she hates your guts and would probably take you right to Princess-Dick-With-Wings-And-A-Horn's Castle to be vaporized or some such scheiss. Hell, wouldn't be surprised, given how much of a suck up Twilight seems to be, that those two are probably fucking each other night and day. Bloody fucking Wunderbar." Robert mused to himself and muttered "Life's a bitch isn't it?" "Oh yes Uncle Burai, give me a bloody fucking amulet that's said to bring me luck. What an absolutely bloody fucking wonderful idea. Well, where's that luck now, huh? Ā, chimamire no kami wa, watashi ga kono sobokuna kyoku o ajiwau tame ni watashi no menomaede uchiaketa nodarou ka?" Robert muttered to himself, cursing his ancestors and generally everything that had led him up to this point. "God's a teme." He uttered, not even caring by this point he was pretty much committing blasphemy. Then he heard a voice, that in all his 27 years of living, he could safely say he thought he would never hear outside the television. "Yeah, life sucks for someone who's a human or wellllllll... at least someone who looks like one in my case doesn't it?" An English accented voice with a very familiar verbal tick to it remarked from behind Robert and he whirled around to face the Tenth Doctor. Robert blinked once, then twice, then three times, to make sure he wasn't seeing things. But there he still stood, brown overcoat, blue suit, trainers and sticky uppy hair and all. "Oi, you know if I was a Weeping Angel you'd be dead or sent off to another time by now." The "Doctor" remarked as he pulled his Sonic Screwdriver out of his many pockets and began scanning him and muttering to himself. "Yeah, sent to another time would be a good thing. Anywhere but here, really. Hell, I'd take the bloody Dark Ages over this shithole of a planet." Robert mused. Meanwhile the Doctor still muttered to himself and scanned. "W-Will you stop bleeping me!?! W-What the Hell do you think you're doing anyways?" Robert sputtered out, but was ignored. "Yep, one heart, no organs in the wrong place and I don't detect any traces of an image changer." The Doctor mused while putting on a pair of glasses and studying him closely and then threw his hands around Robert (Much to his displeasure) and hollered "Oh yes, we've got a full blooded human here!" in excitement before a thought struck him and he kissed Robert squarely on the mouth, even using tongue! "Okay, no venom sacks in the tongue. Human, definitely." The Doctor remarked before muttered "Rassilon, hope Derpy doesn't find out about that one..." The look on Robert's face was priceless if you could see it. It was an odd mix of anger, disbelief and the one of someone who looked as if they were about to punch someone to the floor. "Have you ever been punched when you do that?" Robert asked dryly, having no patience for this and also wondering what in the Nine Circles of Hell a fictional character was doing right in front of him, scanning him and then kissing him full on the mouth and snogging him senseless! "...A few times yes." The Doctor admitted. "Good, because if you don't stop acting like a complete twat that's what's going to happen to you in a second here." Robert remarked, his eyebrow twitching quite a bit and the sound of teeth grinding could be heard. "Oi! Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" The Doctor asked in offence. "Alright, enough. I don't know if someone slipped me something or I'm high on bloody magic mushrooms, but could you at least show me where Sunset Shimmer lives so I can get a means of transport to a floating island in the sky?" Robert remarked before he realized how that must have sounded. The Doctor didn't look at him like he was mental like Robert was half expecting. He simply pointed to a house with a golden rooftop not unlike the Taj Mahal with a giant sun atop it. "Okay, how the bloody Hell did I miss that?" Robert asked himself and threw his hands up in the air for a brief moment as he walked towards the home and if he been listening a little closer, he would have heard the Doctor say to himself "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." as he knew Robert was going to have to learn the painful truth about when and where he was eventually... The Animarium Robert groaned as he hit the grass with a thud and muttered "Oh, I'm never going to get used to that." as Sunset appeared beside him in a golden flash of light in her usual attire of her yellow and red dress and tiara before she helped him up with a smile. "Oh, don't worry. You'll get the hang of it. Took all of us a while." Sunset said with a kind smile. Robert still wasn't entirely sure if that smile was genuine or she was faking it. "...Did Lightning land in a tree when it first happened to her?" Robert asked. Sunset's rather embarrassed along with partially amused expression said it all. "Serves her right, the bitch." Robert remarked before he muttered "Oh, won't she be surprised when she learns I'm not dead. Might kneel over and drop dead herself, not that it would be a bad thing." Sunset winced painfully even as the twosome walked through the door that led to the Animarium's main temple. Robert had actually heard what Lightning said about him? Okay, he's clearly not going to be working with her anytime soon. Best to keep Lightning away from him whenever they're on the Animarium together. I can't believe I'm saying this about one of my friends and teammates, but I wouldn't put it past her to try and attack Robert." Sunset mused, even as the waters of the viewing fountain glowed and a blue orb appeared from it before it changed into the form of Princess Shayla. "Welcome you two." Shayla greeted in her usual friendly way but then she saw the look on Robert's face and frowned. "Is... Is something wrong?" She asked, hoping severely that Robert hadn't found out what she thought he had. "Care to explain something? Like why Lightning hasn't attacked you yet because of your... appearance?" Robert asked. "Oh... OH!" Shayla said suddenly in realization as she figured out what Robert was getting at. "As soon as the first Wild Force Ranger of this time, Vapor Trail gained access to her powers, I knew she and any future Rangers might be frightened by how I look. As you know, that fear holds true. So I disguised myself with a complicated illusion spell to make myself look like an Alicorn to them." Robert took a look at Sunset's unsurprised face and then he realized. "You knew?" He asked, looking at her. "Course I knew, I could detect that illusion spell a mile off. But I decided not to dispel it and keep Shayla's secret, and let her drop her veil whenever she felt the time was right." Sunset replied before she and Shayla shared a look and gestured for Robert to sit down. It was time he knew the full truth, and they both knew it. "Speaking of... secrets, there's one we've been keeping from you. It's about where you are. You're not on an alternate world in another dimension or on another planet where the Animarium has conveniently moved like you first thought. There's... There's no other way to put this, you're on Earth, 3,000 years into your future if my guess is right." Sunset admitted. Robert nodded. He'd had his suspicions right from when he landed on the Animarium. He may have been a bad cop, but he wasn't a stupid one. There had been too many coincidences for it to be anything else. "Okay, now the obvious question. Where are all the humans?" Robert asked, although he had a sinking feeling he already knew. At this, Shayla let a tear fall from her face and looked at him gravely. "I'm sorry Robert, there's no other way of putting this. Celestia... She exterminated them all." "Tell me what happened, all of it." Robert snarled. "It happened in the year 3007. I don't know how it happened, a genetic mutation in the DNA, or maybe an unknown magic filling them, but whatever the case, ponies soon began to walk and talk like you and me. At first, they were greeted with open arms, but after that... History becomes a little fuzzy. Fear took hold, as it always does of something new, and soon they were treated with suspicion, and then it turned to hatred. Hunting parties were formed, and ponied were hunted down. Raped, skinned, killed, you name it, humans did it." Shayla continued, tears of shame streaming down her face fully now. "It was only inevitable that retaliation was going to occur. Celestia, along with Commander Hurricane of the pegasi tribe struck back. They hunted down and killed every last human on Earth, even the non guilty parties." Robert slowly got off the stone chair on which he sat upon, and then ran into the jungle with Sunset calling after him. She followed him into the brush and found him in a clearing and Robert whirled upon her and balled up his fist and struck her soundly in the face. "And you're loyal to this... this genocidal bitch? She wiped out a whole fucking species, all on the actions of one fucking minority and then she has the fucking nerve to say it all was all of fucking humankind that did her wrong and everypony fucking believes it and takes her word as fucking gospel because she's fucking Princess Celestia!" Robert roared before he broke down and sobbed. All those centuries of humans and magical creatures and aliens living together in harmony, ruined by one group of asshole humans! And now... And now they were all gone. Every last bit, every last trace of humanity had been wiped out! Suddenly he felt a pair of warm comforting wings wrap around him and pull him into a hug and let Robert sob into her shoulder. "She really is the Princess of Empathy, isn't she?" Robert asked himself even as he cried. END Author's Note So, Robert finally learns the secret that's been kept from him for the past few weeks, and in doing so finally punches a Princess, although the last one any of us expected. Anyways as you know today the Power Rangers reboot has been released, so let's take a look back at the whole TV show that started it all... Of course, this chapter is the other main reason I rated this fic M, given how many F-Bombs have been dropped over the course of it, and all by the same person. Anyways, translation time! Scheiss: Shit Teme: Bastard Ā, chimamire no kami wa, watashi ga kono sobokuna kyoku o ajiwau tame ni watashi no menomaede uchiaketa nodarou ka: "Argh, what bloody God have I ticked off for my like to go this loony tunes? As always, comments and criticism are appreciated! Part 14: Aftermath (Kitsune Rising Part 1)The Nexus Retinax groaned out in pain as he was thrown against the stone walls by a blast of red lightning from The Master Org's wand as those two damned Duke Orgs, Artilla and Helicos, who should be helping their superior just laughed at him and his pain. When he'd first came stumbling into the Nexus, one clawed hand covering his ruined eye, they'd seemed to share some concern for their fellow Org like they rightly well should have, but the Master had ordered them to back off and said he'd take care of their General. As it turned out, taking care of meant punishing him for his failure. "YOU IMBECILE! YOU COMPLETE AND UTTER GUTLESS EXCUSE OF AN ORG!" Thrax roared, his entire body glowing a furious blood red like color. "I sent you to do one simple task, take down a squad of Putrids and destroy, or at least create enough havoc that the populace would start to have doubts about the Royal Sister's leadership, and you failed to do that! Now they're more sure then ever of their Kingdom's solidarity because of your failure!" "Master, please! Have mercy!" Retinax pleaded and another blast of lightning struck him, this time in his eye, which was damaged beyond any normal means of repair. "If those two Rangers hadn't shown up, I would have carried out my orders! Hell, I almost defeated the Magna Defender!" "Funny, that's not how it looked to me..." Helicos snickered. "Seems to me, he and his partner had you on the ropes. How's that eye of yours holding up by the way?" Had Retinax not been so wracked with pain, he would have picked up his axe and removed the Duke Org from the face of existence entirely. "Yes, Helicos is right, it seemed to me that despite it being his first day on the job, the Magna Defender caused you, YOU, one of the most powerful Orgs in history to come scurrying home to me like a kicked puppy." Thrax commented and blasted his servant again before wrapping him up in chains of lightning and lifting him up to the ceiling and dropping him to the floor with a powerful throw, cracking the ground beneath where Retinax hit. "Are you now starting to get the point, or do I have to teach you some more?" Thrax asked sarcastically, hoping severely that this piece of worthless trash who'd had his time already and failed one too many times in his previous life still hadn't got the point. "Yes... Master." Retinax groaned out in pain. He knew he'd failed, and he knew he deserved the punishment for failure. Thrax smirked and finally laid his wand next to his throne leaving Retinax to suffer a little while longer and reflect on his failures. He'd heal him, but just not right now. Suddenly, Thrax's horn glowed, along with Retinax's and Helico's and Artilla's as well. The two Duke Orgs and Thrax smiled, as they knew what this meant. "There's a new Org spirit on the rise. Go find him and make sure HE does HIS work properly." Thrax smirked as Artilla and Helicos bowed before he let out a shout. "Turbine Org, get in here!" He roared, and from another cavern, the Turbine Org and killer of Grape Vine emerged and bowed down to his Master. "What do you want of me, Master Org? Your wish is my command. My only desire is to serve, after all." He requested and Thrax smirked. Good. It was always nice to have a loyal, but dumb servant around who couldn't tell when he was being used. "Go with them." Thrax ordered, gesturing to Artilla and Helicos. "Make sure that everything goes to plan. While I'm quite sure the Rangers won't be able to handle this new Org nor those two, as I have learned, it is always best to have an alternate plan in place in case everything does go sour. Between the four of you, the Rangers won't be able to stop me this time..." Thrax chuckled darkly and all three Orgs bowed and left the cavern with Thrax turning his throne, and back to Retinax and to a chessboard. On that chessboard, were figurines. One was the black king, Thrax, and the other, the white king, Princess Celestia. Both sides' respective other chess pieces were their warriors. Thrax, his Orgs. Celestia, her Rangers and the Royal Guards. "Now... Who will make their move next?" He mused to himself in thought. "Me, or that Princess? I'm verrrry interested in finding out for myself." Then, Thrax had a thought and a smile came to his face. Maybe Retinax hadn't failed as badly as he had thought. "Maybe I can make something of this fiasco. After all, if it seems like the Rangers are the only ones able to protect Celestia and her precious kingdom, the populace will loose faith in her and her sister either way, therefore I win anyways and can start taking over. Not just the kingdom, my grand designs are far bigger than that after all..." Canterlot Castle: Celestia's Private Quarters Princess Celestia tossed and turned in her sleep restlessly, lost in memories of a time long ago, back when everything was well with the world. Back when before the humans turned on them, back before... HIM. And then it came, like it always did whenever she was drawn back to those memories. "You like this, Pony-Bitch?" "P-Please stop! Please!" Celestia's mane unconsciously ignited into a burst of flame at the multitude of emotions she felt. Rage, pain, shame and sorrow and disgust she'd felt at taken against her will. Thankfully, Celestia had long ago charmed her bed against fire spells as this little flame-out had happened before. It always happened with this memory. Then, in her dreams things went completely black all around her, before she could see THEM. Each and every face she'd murdered, the kind souls who deserved none of it. They taunted her, saying it was all her fault, and the worst thing about it was that is was true. She had murdered those poor souls, without mercy in cold blood. And it horrified and disgusted her down to her core. "No... No... NO! Please, have mercy! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Celestia screamed out in her sleep and her shouts were loud enough for Luna to come running into her room, her personal sword in her hands but when she saw her big sister curled up in the bed sobbing, Luna dropped it to the floor, the blade clattering against the marble floor while Luna pulled her sister into a hug and whispered calming words into her ears as Celestia sobbed. "It's okay... It's okay... I'm here now, everything will be alright." Luna whispered. When Luna was just a young pony and she had nightmares, it was always Celestia who came to her to give her comfort. But now Celestia had been having these nightmares for who knew how long, probably for at least since Luna had been banished to the moon and whenever they happened, she was the one to return the favor. Suddenly, Celestia's eyes flashed orange instead of their usual pink and she shoved Luna backwards with a telekinetic blast. "Yes, everything will be alright... As soon as Robert's done and dealt with." Solar Flare snarled and Luna found herself backing away from her sister's counterpart until she felt a hard substance against her back. Solar Flare levitated a golden and navy blue sword off the wall and pointed it directly at Luna's heart. Suddenly, Celestia took control once again and once she realized what she had been about to do, dropped the sword in horror and pulled her sister into a hug. "Mystic Mother above... I-I can't control her! You've got to get away from me, or better yet, lock me up in Tartarus so deeply that'd I'd never escape! I'm dangerous Luna, I can't be around anypony or anyone!" Celestia whimpered in fear only for Luna to look at her firmly. "No, I'm not doing that to you Celly." Luna stated firmly and in a tone that left no room for arguments, using her childhood nickname for her sister in the process to state how determined she was in her stance. "I would never do that to you. You're not dangerous, only Solar Flare is. And I promise you this, WE WILL find a way to get her under control... Together, like we always have. We're sisters, and we must weather this together." "Thank... Thank you..." Ponyville: Sunset sighed to herself as she walked through the streets of her home away from home. She had known Robert would not take it well when the secret was finally unveiled, but she hadn't known it would be this badly. He was FURIOUS, and all of his thoughts were focusing on not just dethroning Princess Celestia, but murdering her outright. He was in no mental state to be out and about among the streets of Ponyville, or anywhere else for that matter. He didn't trust anypony or anyone aside from her or Princess Shayla, seeing as how they were the only ones willing to state the truth to him. For that reason, Princess Shayla had decided it best not to let any of the other Rangers on the Animarium for their own safety, as it was a pretty reasonable guess Robert might attack them for being loyal to Princess Celestia. As she wandered aimlessly through the streets of the small town, she found herself walking into Rarity and Zephyr's shared Boutique/Barber Shop. Rarity took notice of her distressed state at once. "Something the matter dearie?" Rarity asked kindly. "It's... It's about Robert." Sunset said sadly, a tear going down her face. "He knows... Knows about everything Princess Celestia and Commander Hurricane's forces did to his species." The Boutique went completely silent. Zephyr, who was combing Lyra's mane, dropped both his jaw and his comb in shock and whispered "Oh dear Mystic Mother..." while Bon-Bon, who was watching and waiting her turn for her mane to be styled couldn't find any words to say. Sparkler, who was trying on a leather jacket that Rarity had made for her, muttered "Oh no..." "And I assume that's when he punched you?" Rarity asked sadly, noting her friend's bloody nose. Rarity was glad Twilight wasn't around to see this, as she'd go running to Celestia at once. "...Yeah. Stings a bit, but I suppose I deserve it for keeping a secret this big from him for so long." Sunset replied sadly. "So where is he now?" Rarity asked curiously and in concern for her friend. "Somewhere safe, so he won't go right up to Princess Celestia's castle and get himself killed. His mental state is... dangerous." Sunset admitted. "Yes, probably best dear. You made a wise choice." Rarity told her friend, laying a hand on her shoulder. Then everypony heard a familiar but unusually saddened voice from behind them. They had been focused on Sunset and Rarity's conversation that they had not taken notice of this new arrival. "The situation with Celestia is more complex then it seems at first glance." Luna's voice put in and everypony turned to her. But something was off. Luna's voice was not coming from her mouth. Sunset and Rarity quickly realized she was speaking telepathically. "What... What do you mean?" Rarity asked in curiosity. Luna sighed sadly. "The Celestia we know, and the one Robert knows, they are one in the same and yet not at the same time." "Okay, now you've lost me." Sunset stared. "What I mean to say is, well... You all know very well I had two facets of my personality? The one you see before you now, and the one formed from my darkest desires and thoughts, Nightmare Moon." "So... You're saying we're dealing with something similar?" Rarity asked with dawning realization at what the Princess of the Night was getting at. Meanwhile, everypony was watching the three mares seemingly standing around doing nothing in confusion. "Yes and no. While in my case it was my own jealousy and you could tell the two apart and Nightmare controlling me completely, with Celestia... It's something else. Solar Flare, her own dark side was formed in a different way, and is more subtle, so subtle in fact you cannot tell who is who, and she influences Celestia's desires. Just earlier I overheard her ask me and the Royal Guard to keep an eye on Robert to make sure he doesn't do anything.... untoward shall we say and when he does, capture and kill him." Luna explained and both Rarity and Sunset covered their mouths in horror. Now everypony was really confused. What could be so horrible that it would garner a reaction like that? "Oh... This is bad. We've got a split personality, but we can't tell which personality is in control at any time unless Solar does anything obviously her!" Sunset whispered before she looked directly at Luna, her gaze drilling into her. "Nothing like that's happened yet... has it?" Sunset was severely hoping she was wrong, but Luna's expression said it all. "Earlier this morning, she tried to stab me in the chest with Celestia's personal sword, the Blazing Sun. I... I don't even feel safe in my own castle anymore!" Luna sobbed in shame before Rarity put an arm around her. Seeing their beloved Princess of the Night break down with no obvious explanation was extremely confusing, and yet worrying at the same time. "Then you shall stay here in Ponyville, under an alias. There's an inn nearby, goes by the name of the Prancing Pony. Disguise yourself, give yourself a new name and Solar will never find you while a solution to split the two is found." Rarity stated and Luna smiled weakly. "T-Thank you..." Luna whispered before she vanished in a flash of blue light. "She does love her entrances and exits, doesn't she?" Sunset joked weakly and gained a few chuckles out of that before her expression turned serious. "I'll go to Twilight's, explain the situation and we'll find a solution, fix this mess and get our Celestia free from that monster." Sunset stated firmly before running out the door, a new purpose filling her very body. It was a good thing she left when she did, as after she'd left a creature that could only be described as a walking camera stepped in. "Heh, perfect. With my wide angle lens, I'll get all of you all at once! Now watch the birdie!" Camera Org said and his camera lens extended and with a click, all of the ponies inside the Boutique had vanished, as if they'd never been there in the first place... The Animarium: Training Grounds Robert, panting and sweating hard punched and kicked at a punching bag set up on a tree branch before, as he imagined it to be Princess Celestia, with a powerful chi energy infused punch, he knocked it off its hanger and punched a hole right through it sending it flying next to a whole heap of punching bags, all with the exact same extent of damage done to them. Robert's tank top and jacket had been tossed to the side. Celestia, I swear you'll pay for this, that I can promise you." Robert snarled to himself before taking out a bottle of water and raising it above him and let its cool refreshing liquid rush over his sweaty form and down his chest. "For the record, I'm so sorry for what's happened to your kind." Princess Shayla said softly from behind him and Robert whirled around to face her. "If you were truly sorry, you'd let me go down to Earth and do what must be done." Robert growled out. "And if you did that, what would be the result?" Shayla asked him firmly. "Death and the total extinction of humans on Earth?" "Well, at least I'd die for my beliefs and show that bitch what the human race can do when they really try. Hell, even if she kills me I'd be the one with the last laugh." Robert chuckled darkly. "But I can handle her. She's just an arrogant bitch who needs to be put in her place." Princess Shayla didn't like the way he was talking. His arrogance and foolhardy courage, it hid another emotion. Despair, a despair deep enough to do something suicidal. "I'm sorry, but I cannot let you leave." Shayla stated and Robert took a fighting stance. "Well... If that's the case then I'll have to go right through you if needed." Robert told her and Princess Shayla took out a Crystal Saber of her own, a green crystal inside it with a little bird inside that. "I've had multiple Orgs try and kidnap me before and in every case succeed, did you really think after four attempts I wouldn't have learnt how to defend myself?" Shayla asked and even as Robert charged at her and threw a right cross, Shayla grabbed ahold of him by the arm and threw him behind her. Robert picked himself off the ground and tried a flying kick but Shayla raised her Saber and blocked the kick before kicking Robert in the stomach and sending him flying backwards into a tree. "I'm sorry Robert." Shayla thought sadly to herself, before her personal guardian, a giant deer with mostly green fur with a golden chest and belly with silver antlers along with purple eyes appeared and it's antlers glowed golden before Robert found himself pinned to the tree by miniature versions of those very same antlers. Try as he might, Robert wouldn't be able to break free and Shayla knew it. The Deer's magic prevented it. Meanwhile, down below in Ponyville, Sunset rushed towards the Golden Oaks before screams reached her ears and she turned to see ponies fleeing from the Camera Org before they vanished into thin air as the Org snapped a photo of them. "And now you're next. Oh, what a honor it'll be to snap a photo of the Princess of Empathy and have her soul in my collection. The Master Org might even make me a Duke Org!" He exclaimed excitedly. "Sorry, but that's not going to happen if I have anything to say about it." Sunset said, pointing her hand right at the Org. For now, speaking with Twilight would have to wait, there were more current matters to worry about. She reached for her Growl Phone and began her morphing call. "Legendar- But before she even got through the first word, there was a clicking sound and Sunset's whole world was enveloped in white... (To Be Continued...) Author's Note Okay, so now things start to really heat up. As you might have guessed from the chapter title, a new Power Ranger is about to awaken, and I think we all know who. Meanwhile, The Master Org/Thrax sets out with a new plan to try and undermine Celestia's rule, and has already got one of the Rangers in his clutches, right when she was going to Twilight's to try and figure out how to split Celestia/Solar Flare. And as you might expect, things will only get worse from here... Next time... "It's Morphin Time! Legendary Wild Access!" Part 15: Click, Click, Zoom (Kitsune Rising Part 2) Ponyville: Ponyville Park Meanwhile, unaware of the new Org on the loose and the fact that he’d already claimed the souls of her fellow Ranger and the Princess of Empathy, Sunset Shimmer, Vapor Trail was enjoying the day at the park. She’d taken out a beautiful shaved wooden acoustic guitar and was strumming it softly to herself as she sat on a park bench. A soft, haunting melody began to echo from her lips, drawing the eyes of every passerby, it was beautifully sung and everypony was keen to listen in on it thanks to Vapor’s soft singing voice. “I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and I fear no evil because I’m blind to it all… and my mind and my sword, they comfort me, because I know I’ll kill my enemies when they come.” As Vapor strummed along to the song and ponies, whether just walking by or spending time with their friends, they all took time out of their day to listen to the absolutely beautiful music being played in their midst. Vapor smiled at this and felt joy fill her heart. She was just singing because she wanted to, not to make any money or anything of the sort. But her fellow ponies, they thought it was good. They had stopped whatever it was they were doing and just listened. Everyone just enjoyed it for what it was, plain and simple. Well, almost everyone. “Ugh, I hate that music. Always have hated music. Ooh, if I had blood it’d be boiling right about now.” Artilla grumbled to himself as he, Camera Org and Turbine Org stood hidden away in some bushes unseen. “Do we attack now?” Camera Org asked eagerly, ready to take his next shot. “No… I don’t think so. Being the brilliant tactician that I am, she needs to be worn down a bit. Attacking her head on would be just stupid, as she could easily call her fellow Rangers in to help her out.” Artilla snapped and Turbine Org whirled around to face her in surprise. “Wait, that little bitch is the Purple Levithan Ranger now? Huh, looks like that idiot of a Manehattenite passed on his powers before he died.” “Didn’t you face her once before?” Artilla asked, and if he could raise an eyebrow, he would have. “And soundly get beaten?” Camera Org put in with a chuckle. “W-Well it was dark, I couldn’t see her face! Plus, there was that traitorous Duke Org Zen-Aku with her to back her up!” Turbine Org refuted. “...Remind me to deal with him later.” Artilla grumbled to himself. “Anyways, that’s besides the point. Don’t we have this one to deal with right now, and then worry about the others? One step at a time and all that.” Turbine Org reminded. “I see your point. And I have just the things to deal with her.” Artilla said and then called out “Tengas!” before teleporting away. He had the utmost confidence that his warriors and the two Orgs could handle things from here. It was just one Ranger after all. Suddenly, Vapor saw ponies screaming and scattering as appearing in flashes of feathers were purplish black anthropomorphic crow like creatures with the beaks of parrots and demonic like yellow eyes, cawing and flapping their wings threateningly. “Yeesh, I could see I was attracting fans but this isn’t the kind I want. Time to put you back in the birdcage where you belong!” Vapor remarked as she put her guitar to the side and took a fighting stance. “Get ‘er, boys!” The lead Tenga cawed out and the murder of crows charged towards Vapor and she kicked one Tenga in the head but was pulled away by two more but Vapor extended her wings and blew them away in gusts of wind before grabbing a Tenga and tossing it towards two of its fellows. Just then, Shayla rang. “Kinda in the middle of something here Princess.” Vapor answered before catching a Tenga’s punch with her free hand and holding it as she then made it spin several times in midair and land on it’s backside and into the grass with a simple twist of her arm. “Vapor, Sunset Shimmer has gone missing, along with several other ponies in Ponyville. I suspect Org influence.” Shayla informed. “Oh gee, you think?” Vapor asked sarcastically as she kicked another Tenga right into the sword tip of one of it’s fellow’s swords, purple blood oozing from the wound as the second Tenga’s eyes widened as he realized what had happened and who he had accidently killed. “Hey, that was my nestmate! We grew up together since we were chicks!” The Tenga exclaimed angrily.” “I believe that the Orgs are making a list of your fellow Rangers and targeting them one by one.” Shayla continued, seemingly oblivious to Vapor’s situation. How the Princess couldn’t have noticed the sounds of Tengas cawing and cawing along with the screams of pain was beyond her. “Yeah, I might have noticed. Seems I might be next on that list.” “What makes you say that?” Shayla inquired curiously. “Call it a hunch.” Vapor replied dryly before she hung up. “Time to take things up a notch. Legendary Wild Access! Hah!” With a flash of purple light, she was once again in Ranger form and her Crystal Saber drawn. She spun around in a circle and sliced down a multitude of Tengas that were attempting to surround her in a flurry of quick cuts. Next, she drew her trident and impaled a Tenga with it, swung it around and threw it into some other of the bird like warriors. “She’s too powerful for us, c’mon boys, let’s get out of here!” One Tenga yelled, and he and the rest of his murder flew away into the sky. Vapor let out a sigh of relief, resting her trident against her shoulder, demorphing. Then she heard a voice. A voice all too familiar to her and one that haunted her every nightmare. “Just what I was waiting for!” Turbine Org laughed as he and Camera Org appeared from the brush. “N-No… It can’t be you! I thought you were dead!” Vapor said in disbelief, her eyes widening behind her visor. “Might have blinded me in one eye, but I’m still kicking, Org healthcare is a lot better than what you ponies get.” Turbine Org taunted as he spun up his turbines and sent Vapor spiraling backwards into a tree with gale force winds. “Look at you now, unmorphed and perfect for a portrait on the Master Org’s walls. Might spruce that old cave of ours up a bit.” Turbine Org chuckled as he and his fellow Org approached. Camera Org nodded silently, the aperture in his lens narrowing at Vapor Trail. “My my, this seems awfully familiar doesn’t it? Two orgs up against one Purple Ranger, and she’s at the end of her rope as well. Those powers of yours have to be a curse, as everypony who uses them ends up dead in the end!” Turbine Org cackled before several blades of yellow energy crashed into him, sending the Org sprawling. “Who the fuck!?” The surprised Org shouted angrily, picking himself up. “You shall not touch her.” Zen-Aku stated simply, walking out from the shadow of a tree and stepping in front of Vapor Trail. He turned his head to the shocked Vapor. “See, I told you the loyalty of a Wolf is forever.” The Duke Org said, giving her a fang-filled grin. Vapor smiled back, nodding before readying her trident again. Zen-Aku did the same, leveling his crescent blade at the two Orgs before him. “You two, leave. Now.” He growled, “I will not repeat myself.” Camera Org’s lens refocused on the bipedal wolf, “Who do you think you are?” He asked angrily. “Zen-Aku, the Wolf of the Night. Leave now before I do things I will not regret.” “Oh, you’ll be leaving alright. Watch the birdie!” Camera Org laughed, pressing the trigger button in his hand, snapping a picture of Zen-Aku. The loyal wolf vanished on the spot, as though he had never been there at all. “And now for you.” Turbine Org commented as he looked at Vapor before he turned to Camera Org. “May I do the honors?” He requested. “It’d be my personal pleasure!” Camera Org laughed and with a loud click Vapor’s world faded away into white… Ponyville: Ponyville High School Elsewhere Sunburst AKA the Black Vampire Bat Ranger was in the middle of studying a particular type of science. That was, seeing how long one could hold a kiss with one’s fiance. He moaned as Galaxy trailed a hand around his back as they stumbled into the Science Lab together muzzles locked in a passionate kiss and Galaxy’s wings wrapped around Sunburst. With a light shove, Sunburst was pushed up against a wall as Galaxy practically pounced on him and wrapped his legs around Sunburst’s waist and ground his hips into Sunburst’s own before he broke the kiss and gave his lover a fanged smile. “My my my… What would your students say if they saw this?” Galaxy asked seductively as he booped Sunburst on the nose. “You, their nervous wreck of a teacher making out with Canterlot’s native psycho? Oh, the gossip that would wander.” Sunburst blushed and pushed up his skewed glasses with his magic. “I… I don’t care what they’d say. I just want to be with you.” “That’s the spirit. Now, did you say you wanted to be with me or WANTED to be with me? It’s all in the wording, you know.” Galaxy chuckled before he unbuttoned his fiance’s shirt and placed a trail of kisses down Sunburst’s chest as the orange unicorn groaned in pleasure as Galaxy reached for his pants and let them drop to the floor. Suddenly, a voice came from behind them. “My my, caught with one’s pants down. This’ll make for a particularly embarrassing photo!” Camera Org laughed. The hulking figure fixed it's lens on the twosome, it's aperture dilating as though it was glaring at them. It looked like a camera on legs, a hideously scarred torso and legs jutting out from the bottom of the device, two horns jutted out of the top of it's head. Both Galaxy and Sunburst dropped what they were doing and reached for their Morphers. “Unleash the- “Legendar- But like Sunset before them, they never got a chance to finish their calls before there was a clicking sound and they were both gone, their discarded clothes being the only clue that they were there. “Hah, two Rangers in one shot! I’m on a roll today!” Camera Org gloated as he walked out of the lab. On the Animarium, Princess Shayla was watching in horror as each of the Rangers got their picture snapped and their souls taken. Now there were only two Rangers left, Shining Armor and Lightning Dust. Behind her, Robert watched in concern. He didn’t know what the Princess was seeing through the fountain, but he knew it couldn’t be good judging by her body language. “Princess, if you need help, just let me free! I promise, I won’t go after Princess Genocide and help!” Shayla gave him a grateful smile at his help but then she frowned, reminded of Robert’s current mental state. “I’m sorry Robert, but I cannot be sure of your mind’s focus. You’re far too dangerous to let loose. How do I get a guarantee that you won’t let your lust for revenge for what’s been done to your species overwhelm your concern for my Rangers?” Shayla asked, and Robert couldn’t find an answer to that, remaining silent as he grit his teeth in barely suppressed annoyance. In Cloudsdale, Lightning Dust was practicing her tricks and rocketed through clouds punching holes in them and weaving in between the cloud columns the city was famous for before leaving the city’s tall pillars of cloudiminiums, doing a series of loop-de-loops and then rocketing down towards the ground below as it rushed up to greet her but at the last second pulled upwards and rocketed skywards leaving a powerful Sonic Rainboom behind her. She smirked triumphantly. After months of practice, she’d finally pulled it off! “There, now how can’t anypony be impressed by a trick like that? Rainbow Dash, watch out, I’m coming for your record of being the fastest flyer in Equestria, and then my dad’s.” Lightning smirked as she pulled her goggles off her face and let them rest on her forehead. Suddenly, from behind her she heard a fast approaching mechanical whine and turned around to see Helicos, using her propellers to keep her in the air. “So… Only two Rangers left and one of them claims to be one of the fastest flyers in the sky. Well, let’s test that theory with a little race shall we?” The Duke Org challenged. “How bout I destroy you instead and do the world a favor?” Lightning asked in response but Helicos wagged a finger. “How about a little wager. We race, and whoever wins gets to destroy the other. Sounds fair, doesn’t it?” She asked, and Lightning considered the offer. It didn’t take very long to make up her mind. “Deal!” Lightning smirked before rocketing off into the distance, Helicos following close behind. They weaved in between clouds and left jet-like contrails behind them. Helicos slowly gained on Lightning. “That all you got, little pony?” She taunted, pulling up alongside her. Lightning Dust smirked. “Nope!” She yelled, tucking one of her wings in and rolling into a spinning heel kick into Helicos’ eye, drawing a pained shriek from the Org. “Oh, that little bitch. She’s going to pay for that. You want to play dirty? So be it! Blade Shuriken!” Helicos drew back her arms, grabbing several spare propeller blades and hurling the whirling pieces of sharpened metal after Lightning. The pegasus’ eyes widened as she tucked her wings in, narrowly avoiding the buzzing blades as she plummeted off toward the ground again. “Not done yet, freak!” Lightning Dust snarled as she pulled out of her dive and chased after Helicos, placing her Growl Phone next to her ear. “Legendary Wild Access!” In a flash of blue light, she transformed. “With the lightning speed of the Thunderbird! Aqua Thunderbird Ranger!” She put on another burst of speed, easily catching up to Helicos and began trading blows with her mid-flight. “Persistent little pest, aren’t you?” The Org crowed, parrying Lightning’s Crystal Saber with her own propeller blade. “I could say the same to you!” Lightning snarled back, kicking Helicos back and rocketing forward. “Yes… persistent… and very, VERY stupid.” Helicos chuckled as the blades she had thrown earlier came falling back down, slicing into Lightning Dust’s wings as she gasped in shock and pain, falling toward the hard ground below with only Equus’s natural magical field protecting her from certain death, even as the Camera Org chuckled. “Just like Icarus, she flew too close to the sun… and lost her wings~.” Canterlot: Royal Guard Barracks Meanwhile, the last Ranger left was hard at work in training his newest recruits for Royal Guard duty. He’d put up a magical illusion that hid the Magna Defender’s blade and made it look like Shining’s original sword. He’d also hidden away his bracers that allowed him to morph. “Hold your sword steady in your hands, and swing!” With grunts, the recruits swung their blades in time with Shining. “There, that’s good. Now, for a beheading strike.” But just as Shining was about to show them the maneuver, he found himself on what could only be the Animarium. And then walking out of the treeline was a beautiful Alicorn mare, with a worried expression on her muzzle. “Shining Armor, I request your assistance in a matter of grave importance.” “Who are you?” Shining asked, not willing to trust an unfamiliar mare that spoke to him right out of the blue without even introducing herself. “Oh, I forgot. Where are my manners? I am Princess Shayla, leader of the Power Rangers Wild Force.” “So you’re the Princess that Sunset’s been taking orders from on the side. Don’t act so surprised that I know that the Gold Ranger’s her. That horn and wings combination is a dead giveaway.” “Yes, I will have to lecture Sunset about keeping her identity a secret later… If we can get her back that is.” “If? What’s happened?” Shining asked, cocking an eyebrow. “There’s an Org, not as powerful as the one you first fought, but he’s been capturing the Rangers one by one. You’re the last left, and I suspect he will be coming for you sooner or later.” “If that’s true, it’ll probably be on the sooner side. If he wants to meet me, he’ll get a Canterlot worthy welcome from the Magna Defender. Do you have any idea where he is now?” “In the warehouse district. That’s where you’ll find him. But be warned, I have reasons to believe he isn’t alone. There’s no way one single Org could have pulled this off by himself.” “I’ll be careful. I didn’t get to my position by being reckless.” Shining said. Shayla smiled before he was transported back down to Earth and then Shining looked at his second in command, Steel Sentry. It was a sign of Sentry’s unquestionable loyalty that he didn’t remark on Shining’s vanishing act and subsequent reappearance. “Can you take things over from here? Something just came up.” As Shining took off for the warehouse district, he clicked his bracers together and shouted “Magna Power!” and was transformed once again into the Magna Defender. It wasn’t long before he arrived at the scene and aimed his Riot Blaster at the Camera Org. “Give those ponies back. Now. I won’t ask again.” Then two more figures stepped into view. Artilla and Helicos had arrived. Shining’s eyes widened, it was a trap! “Ooh, isn’t he a brave one, taking on all three of us at once! Let’s see if the famous Shining Armor is up to the task, Blade Shuriken!” “Cannon Shot!” A combination of Helicos’ shuriken and Artilla’s cannon blast sent Shining flying before he could even get a chance to fire off a round and the next thing he knew, he was wrapped up in rolls of film, far too thick to rip or tear. The lens of Camera Org whirred as he lined up his own shot. Just then, a loud rumbling sound filled the air and then, bursting through a chainlink fence was a very familiar green car, inside it a phone blaring some very loud punk rock. And then, stepping out of the car as it pulled itself to a halt was Robert Williams, in a pure black trench coat, the very same in fact, that he had thought was for people who were trying way too hard to be badass. He pointed at Camera Org, who took a step back at the pure rage etched on Robert’s face. “You… You, Camera Org are going to give those souls you took back. Most of all Sunset, the day you touched her was the day you signed your death warrant. She was one of the only ponies who was ever kind to me, and by taking her you’ve lined yourself up for destruction.” Robert snarled. “Get out of here Robert! You can’t take them alone!” Shining shouted. “Oh yeah? Watch me.” Robert smirked before running into a nearby warehouse. He knew cameras needed light to take very good pictures, and if the Org didn’t have that, no more soul stealing for him and Robert could take him on fair and square. Just as Robert predicted, the Org was dumb enough to follow him in. Artilla shouted after him. “What are you, stupid? You’ll lose your light!” “Oh, I know how this is going to end… This is not going to be a good day for Orgs.” Helicos muttered to herself before she and her brother teleported away. Meanwhile, Camera Org and Robert stood each other down. Robert let out a war cry and charged towards Camera Org before leaping up to a piece of scaffolding and kicking some metal barrels down at him. As Camera Org tried to readjust and refocus his lens for Robert, the man in question grabbed a chain and used it to run along the walls of the warehouse and leap onto another platform before kicking some cardboard boxes down at the Org, who jumped out of the way to avoid them and Robert grabbed another chain and swung to another platform and then cried out “Call to the Beast inside! Free the Fox!” and unleashed his animal spirit at the Org and the misty claws scratched away at the monster, cracking his lens. Robert smirked, he was out of danger now. With a flip, he jumped down from his platform, falling towards the Camera lens with a downwards axe kick. His heel collided with the cracked glass, shattering it easily, causing a torrent of astral blue fireballs to rocket out of the Org’s shutter and rocket towards Ponyville. “Now… You’re free.” Robert said softly and all over Ponyville, from the Carousel Boutique, where Rarity, Zephyr, Bon-Bon, Lyra and Sparkler had been snapped, to the Ponyville Park where a few more unfortunate souls had been captured and even to where Robert was now, where the souls of the Rangers and Zen-Aku landed and formed back into their bodies. On the Animarium, the Red Lion roared loudly from his clifftop perch and his green eyes flashed. A great deed deserved a great reward. And so, Robert saw an orange orb float down to him and transform his fox pendant into an orange fox’s head on a necklace. He turned back to the Camera Org. He knew exactly what to do now. “Henshin! Legendary Wild Access!” Robert cried out as he slammed a palm down on his new necklace and he was transformed. Morphing Sequence A flash of pure blue flames enveloped Robert as he stood in one of the red gate lined pathways that led up to Inari’s sacred shrine on Mt. Inari and was given an orange form-fitting costume with tooth marks going diagonally across the left side of his chest and a golden fox’s head on his right breast. Then, a cape flamed into existence and a misty orange nine tailed fox bit down on Robert’s head and formed his helmet. Morphing Sequence Ends “With the Cunning of the Fox, Orange Kitsune Ranger!” Robert yelled out as an explosion of orange smoke appeared behind him. “Oh, it’s so good to be back! Sa... dohade ni ikuze!" Robert smirked under his helmet as he pulled out an orange blaster with a fox shaped head from his holster. Robert fired off several golden blasts of energy at the Org and the final blast was enough to make him crash through the wall behind him. At about that moment, one of Thrax’s grenades came flying out of the sky and Robert looked at it and shook his head. “Sa seru ka!” Robert remarked before throwing his Crystal Saber at the grenade and destroying it before it ever had a chance to reach the Org and it boomeranged right back to Robert’s outstretched hand before he pointed his Fox Blaster right at Camera Org, who knew exactly what was coming. “Kitsune Blast!” Robert cried out after combining his Crystal Saber with the weapon and pulling the trigger, unleashing a flaming orb that turned into a giant fox’s head that bit down hard on the Org and caused him to stumble over backwards. “Seibai!” Robert said, resting the blaster on his shoulder and giving a thumbs down as the Org erupted into flames and exploded. “Ugh, I feel like I’ve just woken up from the longest nap in history.” Lightning muttered before they all picked themselves off the ground and almost at once, turned their heads towards Galaxy and Sunburst and noted their state of undress. Vapor blushed red and Lightning burst out laughing. “Uh… We can explain this…” Sunburst stuttered out, blushing as red as a tomato. “I can, you two were doing the horizontal mamba, or were about to anyways before you got captured.” Lightning cackled. “...Oh, I’m never going to hear the end of this am I?” Sunburst moaned. Then, they along with Shining saw the newest Ranger step in front of them. “Who…?” Vapor trailed off and Sunset’s eyes widened in shock. No, it couldn’t possibly be. But she, along with the others was in for the shock of her life when the newcomer demorphed in an orange flash of light and gave a very foxlike smirk. END Author's Note Well, I think Robert's words say it all about this chapter, eh? So, Robert's finally regained his powers, or should I say gained new and more powerful ones. Anyways, now that all the Rangers are assembled, we'll start focusing on their individual personalities. After all, Sunburst and Lightning have pretty much been background characters since they've first appeared and we hardly know anything about them. That's about to change. Anyways, translation time: Seibai: Execution or Judgement "Sa... dohade ni ikuze!": "Now... Let's make this really showy!" “Sa seru ka!”: "As if I'd let you!" or "I don't think so!" (Also, huge thanks to the The Villain in Glasses for making Lightning's duel with Helicos more epic and doing the same for Robert's fight with Camera Org and providing the Japanese phrases.) Story One AKA Part 16: Sunburst Starflight Sit down, let me tell you a little story. Oh, I suppose I should introduce myself first. My name is Sunburst Starflight, aka the Black Ranger. Now, a bit of history for you on the five Wild Zords that me and my team control. The Kitsune, the Phoenix, the Thunderbird, the Leviathan and the Vampire Bat. The five Legendary Wild Zords that protected the Kingdom of Animaria alongside their king, Animus, Lord of all 100 Wild Zords. Yes, I said one hundred Wild Zords existed at one point. But in the great battle against Master Org, almost all of them, save for a lucky few were destroyed, even Animus himself. All Ten of the Guardians had long been thought lost after that, but by some miracle, by the pure power of humanity, they came back. Each and every single one of them. Animus, he came first, his five components, the Black Lion, the Jaguar, the Sawtooth and so on. He fought the reborn Master Org for the second time, but was destroyed and as far we know, only his physical components were brought back. I don’t know if his consciousness still lives on. But enough about that, you’re probably more interested in me, Mystic Mother knows why, but I’ll tell you my tale. To be honest, my story isn’t that really interesting. It started forty odd years ago, give or take a year, meaning I’m the oldest Ranger on the team. I’ve never done much with my life. It started in a small town, outside what used to be Atlanta, Georgia. I’ve heard, that in Humanity’s golden years, even in the 3000s, it was a place of sin and debauchery. Strip clubs, bars, gambling joints, the lot. Not my kind of place. Mind you, I don’t know how much of this is fact or fiction thanks to Solar Flare, but we’re getting off topic. I had a friend, name of Starlight Glimmer. She, despite being a unicorn, really didn’t seem to have a natural grasp of the magical arts like I did, or at least that’s what I thought I had at the time. But I’m getting ahead of myself. We were best friends, we did everything together. You know, if I wasn’t interested in the male side of the spectrum, we probably could have been in love if we grew up together as teenagers. But as it happened, I earned my Cutie Mark in magical abilities and was shipped off to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Of course, as I found out, I was skilled in booksmarts, but not magic itself. I could barely manage the simplest of spells. I passed school, if only just. I was ashamed of myself, I couldn’t go back and face Starlight nor my parents knowing that they thought I had natural talent and if they knew I didn’t… Who knows what they might have thought of me? I was scared, and it shames me to say it. So I ran all the way to Ponyville, hoping I could stay out of anything that might alert my parents that I was still around. The town was small, small enough for me to stay under the radar as the old human phrase goes. I was welcomed, even made a few friends. But really, every time I saw Celestia’s gifted students, Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle performing magical feats and saving Equestria from any number of threats, I was reminded of my own lack of magical talent. So when the Crystal Empire returned, I ran once again, hoping there was no one there with raw magical talent who wasn’t a unicorn to remind me of what I am, a failure at being a unicorn, and life in general. Mystic Mother above, I bet you want to stop reading right now and give me a hug now don’t you? To be honest, I… I would like that, to tell me I’m not a failure but nothing anypony ever says that to me ever makes me believe it. Except for one. My future fiance, Galaxy Swirls, the infamous Reaper of Canterlot, Captain of Luna’s Night Guard and the Graphite Power Ranger. It’s the oddest thing, we shouldn’t fit together, but somehow… we just do. It started when Galaxy, given some time off by Luna herself came to the Crystal Empire on vacation. I’d just got back from exploring my hideaway from everyone, a place where I went when I just wanted to be alone with my thoughts, the Crystal Forest. It was an apt name, really, when you consider it was a forest literally made of crystals that were hundreds of years old and could grow over 70 feet tall or more, the height of a Saguaro Cactus. It was inside one of those crystals, I found my Animal Crystal, the Black Vampire Fruit Bat. Yes, I said fruit bat as in those things that could suck an apple orchard dry. I asked Princess Shayla to keep that part of the name a secret, as I didn’t want to be laughed at anymore then I already was. Ack, I’m rambling. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Sorry, just had to beat my head against my desk as I’m writing this for a moment there. Now where was I…? Oh yes! Galaxy Swirls, Reaper of Canterlot, Captain of Luna’s Night Guard and the Graphite Power Ranger. I did say that already didn’t I? Well, I suppose me saying it twice keeps one from forgetting. Not all ponies or people have the memories of elephants after all. You know there is an Elephant Wild Zord right? It’s in the hands of my fellow Ranger, Sunset. ...Again, getting off track here. Anyways… It started off simple, me and Galaxy. We just talked, it really was odd how remarkably sane the self given “High Functioning Psychopath” was. Then again, in his own words, “99% of mental cases do think themselves sane, so who’s to say if I’m really sane or not? I may just have a lust for battle that gives off that impression.” He had to leave soon of course, get back to his guard duties after all. At the time, I felt a little of myself hurt inside. I didn’t know why at the time, but I wanted him to stay. So, I made a train trip to Canterlot and surprised him while he was training his men. I wanted to yell out “SURPRISE!”, you know, as you do, but I’m not much of a confident stallion really so it came out more of a quiet stutter. I got the desired effect though. Galaxy certainly was surprised. Mind you, thanks to my nervousness, his men laughed at me and I felt that old familiar stain. Of course, Galaxy for whatever reason threatened them with something called the Blood Moon, and that shut them up real quick. Oddly enough, he took me out on a pity date. I didn’t even know he was into stallions. As it turned out, he swung both ways. He took me to this place called the Tasty Treat, little known restaurant he said, but served the best Indian food in the whole kingdom. And you know what, he was right! The food… Oh Mystic Mother, the food! Not to say Galaxy himself wasn’t charming. He was a remarkably nice stallion, the same I’d known when he visited the Empire. We got to talking spurred on with more than a little bit of alcohol in our systems, pretty much ignoring the food, and shared our pasts talking long into the night. If you thought I had it rough, whoo boy you obviously hadn’t met Galaxy yet. For the first thirty years of his life, everything was nice. He was a noble, leader of the country of Transalfangya (Feel free to laugh if you must) as it turned out. His name was different back then. For privacy reasons, he asks me not to divulge it. Anyways, he had a wife and two children. But that happiness, it was shattered when Queen Chrysalis attacked and slaughtered his whole family except for him, just to twist the knife in. That night, something inside him snapped and he became the stallion he was today. I can only imagine what it was like for him when the Changeling Queen returned and invaded Canterlot at Shining Armor and Cadence’s wedding. So, there we were, two broken stallions. Things progressed fairly quickly from there. That simple crush of mine, it turned from an ember into a blazing inferno of love. On that first date, I got some crucial advice as well, play to my strengths, and not focus on my weaknesses. That is, use my understanding of science to teach others about it. So I headed back to Ponyville and took up the open slot as its High School science teacher. So there you have it, that’s what led me up to this point. Now, let me tell you what happened not too long ago… Okay, for a while now there had been these old legends about this abandoned clock tower outside Ponyville. It was said it had been inhabited by an old stallion, crazy as a loon. Hated everypony and all he really cared about was his money. Stuffed it into rusty mason jars down behind the clock tower and on certain nights if the moon was right you could see his spirit digging up the ground and running his hands through the bits he’d collected. Now, me being a stallion of science, I was a skeptic. So, of course, I wanted to prove myself, not just the legend was bunk but that I wasn’t a coward.. Galaxy insisted on coming along, just in case that legend was true. Personally, I think he wanted an excuse to shove me into that clocktower and snog me senseless, as Robert might put it. (If we had time, I’d put my thoughts on him here, but...) For hours we searched under the full moon, and eventually, I found myself proven right in my mind. That old legend was bunk, just as I thought. Well, not entirely as it turned out. There was a spirit there, an Org spirit to be exact. He took the shape of a giant bell, with one gold eye and a sharp toothed maw and had a hammer to ring himself with. And what a sound it created. It was like Hell’s Bells ringing themselves. We had to cover our ears just to keep ourselves from going deaf. Of course, standing around with our ears covered wasn’t going to get this Org defeated, ergo… “Legendary Wild Access!” “Unleash the Power!” So, there we stood, two lone rangers against a single Org. Seemed like fair odds. Of course, we were overconfident and he quickly had us outmatched. Galaxy tried slashing at him with his Dino Saber, but just couldn’t break through that tough armor of his and so he tossed me his Morpher and I fired off a few shots at the Bell Org. Those bounced off as well. Then he hit himself with his hammer and sent us flying back with sheer waves of sound before firing a beam of golden energy from his eye and striking Galaxy right in the chest and sending him flying back into a tree. The Org then hit the ground with his hammer knocking me off balance. “Alright, I’ve had enough of this. Shadow Hatchets!” I called and threw my twin golden axes at the Org and they hit him all over and boomeranged right back into my hands but he seemed unharmed. The Org laughed, and then summoned a giant bell cage right over my fiance and they both teleported away. I screamed in rage and punched the ground before I broke down sobbing. I was useless as a fiance, and useless as a Ranger… Eventually I wandered into town as day broke and just walked aimlessly, musing over my failure to protect the one that I loved. I passed Carousel Boutique, where Spitfire was walking out in a refitted flight suit. Then, I realized it wasn’t Spitfire at all, but a stallion who had a uncanny resemblance to her. “Bet he has someone who’d be able to protect him from that Org.” I thought as I sat down on a bench. As it happened, Zephyr Breeze had been watching me from the Boutique’s window and noticed my distraught state. He dropped whatever he had been doing (Giving a manecut evidently, if the angry shout of “Hey, I paid good bits for this trimming, so don’t you drop out on me now!” was any evidence.) and walked outside and sat down beside me. “Really, a pony like you, one that handsome shouldn’t be looking like someone killed his puppy.” Zephyr remarked as he put an arm around my shoulder and studied the lines of my face. “Alright, I’ve seen that look before. You messed up something with your lover didn’t you?” “...Yeah, big time. I failed to do something, and now…” I sobbed, unable to get the words out. “Listen, I don’t claim to be an expert on love, but I know a thing or two about giving up and failure. Listen, you know what I was like before? Lazy, somepony who couldn’t get anything done and always had somepony else do it for him? Well, all that was because I truly believed I couldn’t do anything. That’s the same with you isn’t it?” Zephyr inquired of me. “Yeah, I suppose.” I nodded. “Listen, if you believe you can do something, you can do it. Corny as Tartarus, I know, but it works. Trust me on that. Now go out there and do whatever it is you gotta do. If I can change and start believing in myself, so can you.” Zephyr’s words filled me with a newfound confidence I’d never felt before. He was right, I never could do anything because I never believed I could. Never give up, never give in, as Galaxy always said. Kick ass and look good doing it. I ran, fast as I could and while I did so I morphed and used my horn to track the signature the Org was giving off. I never knew I could do it, but yet here I was, doing just that. It was a vile, putrid signature, and it was only appropriate that it was located in that vile place, Fire Swamp. There the Org stood, laughing as he banged on his bell cage with Galaxy inside, giving both him and me quite the headache. I sighed to myself, we were both probably going to be deaf or at least need some medication by the time this was over. “With the stealth and bite of a Vampire Bat, Black Vampire Bat Ranger!" I cried out, with more confidence than I had ever yelled it out before. “Time to make this bell stop its ringing… permanently.” I snarled to myself before I cried “Dino Morpher Blast!” and sent the Org flying with a powerful blast of black light and a head shaped like my Zord’s own following it, perhaps our two power sets mixing together in some way. Then, I focused all my energy into my horn and sent it skywards and then the clouds boiled, as if someone had flicked on a light switch for them. Rolling thunder, upon the rain. And then a powerful bolt of white hot lightning struck the bell cage, blasting it to smithereens and freeing my fiance, who gave me a look of complete and utter shock. “S-Sunburst? You… You actually did that?” “Belief’s a strong thing. I learned that from a good friend. Also learned play to my strengths, and as it turns out, magic is more of a strength than I thought.” I said before tossing Galaxy his Dino Morpher with a shout of “Here, you’ll need this!” Galaxy only shook his head. “No thanks, I got the perfect weapon to deal with this guy. Blood Moon!” A dark blue and black scythe with a disturbingly crimson tint to its blade appeared in Galaxy’s hands, and he opened up his belt buckle to take out a “Dino Charger”, as I later learned they were called and inserted it into a little slot on his scythe. “Blood Moon Slash… Final Strike!” Galaxy roared, fanged teeth bared and he swung his scythe, and for the briefest of moments, I could swear I saw a red moon appear behind him as he launched a swirling blade of energy at the Org, bifurcating him right down the middle. But of course, it was never that easy with these creatures. From out of the sky, a truly gigantic wand, as I could find no other way to describe it impaled itself in the fallen Org’s remains and soon he was alive again but standing as tall as a Manehatten skyscraper. “Well… You know what we gotta do now, right?” I nodded and put my Animal Crystal into its slot and summoned my Zord as Galaxy threw another Dino Charger and yelled out “Summon Pachy Zord!” Landing with a mighty thud was a grey and yellow trimmed pachycephalosaurus Zord with a chained mace for a tail. And high in the sky was my Zord, a pure black as night Vampire Fruit Bat with a fanged maw and axe like wings. “Oh, I’m so jealous. Why do you get the Vampire Bat for a Zord and I get a dumb dino?” Galaxy grumbled, but in a lighthearted jokey manner, telling me he wasn’t entirely serious. I smirked. This Org didn’t know what he was in for. He swung his hammer trying to bring the Bat Zord down but it flew very close to him and it’s sharp wings cut into Bell Org’s armor. It flew in for another pass, but Bell Org hit himself with his hammer and the ringing that sent the Bat Zord flying backwards and messing with it’s echolocation could be heard for miles. Yep, I’m so going to need headache medication after this. But the Pachy Zord struck back and aimed it’s mace tail at the Org’s knees knocking him off balance and into the sludge of the swamps and knocking trees down for miles around. I’d have thought that would have knocked some sense into the Org, but evidently not as he slowly but surely got back up off the ground. Of course, by this time the Bat Zord had regained it’s bearings and flew in for another pass and sliced another slash into the Org as the Pachy Zord hit him again but was soundly knocked to the ground by the Bell Org’s hammer. But evidently, the Bat Zord didn’t like that and flew in again and struck even faster this time and then flew in for another pass, and then another. The Bell Org once again tried his ringing himself trick, but didn’t get a chance as the Pachy Zord knocked his hammer out of his clawed hands with a swing from his tail just in time for the Bat Zord to go for it’s final strike and launch a pair of twin missiles at the Org and they hit dead on target and the Org stumbled over backwards and exploded in a huge fireball with the Fire Swamp’s natural gases igniting making the fireball even larger than normal for an Org explosion. Galaxy and I smiled wearily as we demorphed with the battle finally over and Galaxy turned to give me a conniving smirk. “So, that good friend of yours who gave you that advice… Should I be worried?” He asked teasingly, not that I realized it at first. “N-No!” I stuttered out. “He’s j-just a friend, just a friend! A-And for the record, he’s married! And interested in the fairer sex!” But then I saw the smirk on Galaxy’s face and realized he was joking around and muttered some none too nice words towards him and received a firm swat on my flank for that. “Cursing out your fiance? Tut-tut, that deserves… punishment. Rushing headlong into danger without thinking, Even more punishment. And fraternizing with another stallion? Even worse punishment…” Galaxy growled out seductively as he began to nibble at my neck. “You and me, when we get back to Ponyville, you’re getting the lashing of your life.” I swallowed but managed up a nervous grin. END Author's Note Okay, so as you can see for the next of our character oriented chapters I tried something a little different. I've rarely done first person writing before, with this being only being my third time doing such a thing. Anyways, I thought it best both to give Sunburst some backstory, and just how he ended up with a known psychopath like Galaxy Swirls. Anyways, huge thanks to Hawker Hurricane for letting me use his OC (The Spitfire like stallion coming out of Rarity's) and on the first person note, I'm not likely to do it again, but if you guys like it enough I may reconsider it. Next time... The Hunted! Story Two AKA Part 17: Lightning Dust and Robert Williams (Part 1) Sunset Shimmer’s POV: We're all freaks, all of us. None of us should have been chosen. We've all got problems. Let's see, there's me, who was far too ambitious for my own good, and there's Lightning, a walking egomaniac, Vapor, who keeps her cards too close to her chest and's far too secretive for her own good, Sunburst, a nervous wreck, and of course you, Robert. A walking list of problems all by yourself. Yeah, that’s what we are. We’re not even close to being worthy. I mean, take me, if you knew my story you wouldn’t want me to lead anypony or anyone into battle. I saw a chance to grab power before I was ready and I took it, like a little filly or a foal sticking his or her hoof into a cookie jar. And I had to be stopped before the power overwhelmed me. I have Celestia to thank for that. Despite all she’s done and what she might do as Solar Flare, I still see her as the mother I never had growing up. I know Robert would probably drop dead from shock if he heard that, and I wouldn’t blame him if I was in his position, but that’s the truth of the matter. But to be honest, this story isn’t about me, I’ll tell mine later. It’s about two very different but still alike in some manners, Power Rangers. You probably already know who I’m talking about. Yep, Lightning Dust and Robert Williams. Anyways, what I’ve done is put each member of the team in a cave all to themselves and let them tell a little story. Mind you, in this case these two have an interconnected story to tell... Lightning Dust’s POV: So, yeah. It’s me and that dickbag Robert who get to be the focus of this story. Mind you, I don’t think of him as much of a bag of dicks as before when I first met him nor do I want him dead. (Yes, you’re free to gasp.) Maimed maybe, but not dead. To understand that, you’ll have to just sit down and listen. So… SIT DOWN!!! Okay, channeled my drill sergeant there for a moment to see if you got the point. I think you did, not all of you humans are stupid little sacks of flesh. Smack! Ow! Geez Sunset, whack me a little harder next time why don’t you… Okay, okay! Geez! Hurts like a bitch... Anyway, you might guess why no one wants to get into a fight with her. Mind you, she’s got a soft and caring side. I guess she’d be like our team mom, if we had such a thing. Still, there are sometimes after a fight with an Org, and we’re celebrating, I notice that smile slip off her face, for just a second before it returns. Now, onto Robert. I must admit, I was not expecting HIM of all people to become the fifth member of our team. As he himself might put it "...Well, there goes the bloody neighborhood." I felt my whole world shatter when he demorphed in front of us. Yes, I do admit prejudice played a part in that. That attitude of his doesn’t help either. Then again, I got onto the team, and look at me. I’m no saint myself. We’re all probably broken in some way I think… Now, my early years. I grew up in Stratusburg, just like Vapor alongside my big brother Sky Stinger (May have mentioned him before, may not have. Doesn’t matter.) and the rest of my family. Trust me on this, it’s a BIG family. Like nuclear type of family. I was always the runt of the litter, so you must imagine I had to prove myself in some way. It gets even worse when your father is the oh-so-famous Wind Rider, the one who set EVERY flight record in the book. You might notice my… displeasure towards him. Trust me, if you had to live up to his records he was constantly bragging about and get compared to him your entire life, you’d hate him too. Sky doesn’t like him either, he’s just less obvious about it. Put it this way, he doesn’t want to punch someone in the gut everytime he hears his father’s name. So, to sum it up, I don’t like my dad. Mind you, he doesn’t like me very much these days, as I got kicked out of the Wonderbolts Academy, where he trained to get those record breaking skills. Needless to say he wasn’t pleased when he heard. It was only with Rainbow’s help that I got back in by the skin of my teeth, and she was one of the ones who got me kicked out in the first place ironically enough. I should hate her, but after this… I don’t. I… I just can’t find myself to hate her after she did something like that, a gesture she really didn’t have to do, no reward for doing it or anything besides getting my awesomeness back on the team. Huh, guess she’s been taking lessons from that frilly frou-frou of a drama queen Rarity. I guess she saw something in me that I didn’t and I’ll be forever grateful to her for that. I don’t know if I really deserve a second chance, but I’ll take it. Now, enough of my backstory, not like there’s anything important to say anymore. Smack! OW!!! Dammit Sunset, stop!!! Fine, I’ll tell how I got my Animal Crystal, just lay off! Geez... Okay, it began in what used to be The Canyonlands National Park in Utah, in what is now called Appleloosa. I was flying above the rocky outcroppings of the wind blasted buttes and mesas. Back long before humanity’s Golden Age, if there ever was such a thing, these lands used to belong to the natives that lived there. They believed in a mighty creature called the Thunderbird. For those in the Algonquian mythology, the Thunderbird controls the upper world, either that being the sky or our world (I’m not really sure on this aspect) while the underworld is controlled by the underwater panther or Great Horned Serpent. Make of that what you will. (Ancient human mythology is weird). The Thunderbird throws lightning at the underwater creatures and creates thunder by flapping its wings. But the legends differ from tribe to tribe. For example, The Menominee tribes of Northern “Wisconsin” tell of a great mountain that floats in the western sky on which dwells the Thunderbirds. They control the rain and hail and delight in fighting and deeds of greatness. They were the arch-enemies of some type of great horned snakes, the Misikinubik (I dare you to try and pronounce that) and have supposedly prevented them from overrunning the earth and devouring mankind. Shame, might have saved Celestia the trouble. (The killing part, not devouring.) They are messengers of the Great Sun himself. Finally, the Ojibwe version of the myth states that the Thunderbirds were created by Nanabozho (Again, I dare you to try and say that aloud. Seriously, do it for me because I can’t.) for the purpose of fighting the underwater spirits. They were also used to punish humans who broke moral rules. The Thunderbirds lived in the four cardinal directions and arrived with the other birds in the time of spring. In the autumn they migrated to the south after the ending of the underwater spirits' most dangerous season. Yeah, it seems like despite the differences in culture, there are always a few common threads. If this doesn’t sound like me talking, you’re smarter than you look. Alright, you caught me. I confess, it’s Sunset Shimmer who did the egghead stuff for me on this bit. Anyways, where was I? Mystic Mother above, I’m starting to sound like Sunburst when he rambles. OH, right! My Animal Crystal and how I got it. I was soaring above the plains of Appleloosa and generally being awesome, when I felt a great power calling out to me. If you’ve ever felt the experience of flying, you know what it’s like to be free as a bird and have nothing but the open sky. So, what did I do when I felt this great power? Well, what did you think I did? Went after it of course, you fools! Eventually, just as the sun began to set, I found a small mesa which had a collection of mud-packed huts on the side of its cliff face, remnants of those who came before us. ...Man, that sounded deep. Against my… somewhat debateable judgement, I decided to explore them, Daring Do style baby! ...Okay, maybe not as cool as that but still pretty cool. Laying there on one of the hut’s floors was a glowing aqua crystal. As soon as I picked it up, I felt a great power surge through me and for the first time I was sent flying skywards, not of my own free will to the place I would soon know as the Animarium. From then there on, you can probably guess the rest. There Sunset, you happy? Smack! OW! She just slapped me again, for being rude... Robert Williams’s POV: Anyways, I suppose it’s time for my confessional… what’s Sunset thinking? Putting us in separate caves like this to ‘record our thoughts’. Bah! A bloody good thing if you ask me, as you can now listen to my thoughts on everything. I have no idea whatsoever what any of the others are saying, nor do I care, especially in the case of a certain Ms. Lightning Bitch, who if you ask me desperately needs a good shag in the sack with a stallion or mare. Might loosen her up a bit. So, there I was, on the Animarium, now officially part of the most messed up team of Power Rangers in history. Mou… show me another team with more problems, and I’ll amend that statement, but for now… Anywho, all six of the other Rangers were staring at me slack jawed. No, that’s not a correct way to properly put it. If you ever saw Aladdin and that scene where Genie drops his jaw all the way to the floor in classic cartoon fashion, that would be more accurate. Mind you, can’t say I blame them. I thought my career was over as well when Artilla (Remind me later to settle a score with him whenever I get the chance.) smashed my Morpher. “Okay… Anyone who feels free to speak up on my new found Ranger status or better yet thank me for saving all of your worthless arses,” I shot an apologetic look at Sunset, “please do so now.” I remarked, no hint of arrogance or rudeness at all. Sunset was probably the first to recover from her shock and give me a smile before putting a hand on my shoulder. For the record, it was a very beautiful smile. Wait… what?! Nope, nope, nope, not going there, nope! No fraternization between teammates! SPD rule number one! “I figured about as much. I had my suspicions from the very beginning that you might be the Kitsune Ranger. Things like you getting transported to the future through some mystical time warp don’t just happen randomly. There’s always a cause and a reasoning behind things like this.” “If you say he moves in mysterious ways, I will punch you.” I remarked before wincing as I flashbacked to the last conversation I had with Sunset. “Er… Listen, I’m sorry about what happened last time. Me socking you in the nose and all. Lost my temper.” Everyone turned to stare at me right then. “Wait, that was you?” Lightning gaped before sighing to herself and letting a palm slide slowly down her face. It was almost comical in a way. “... I guess I should have figured as much.” “And none of you are going to attack me? I mean, I punched a member of royalty here, I think judging by your kind’s past behavior towards me, I’m expecting it.” I retorted. Both Vapor and Sunburst winced and shared a guilty look with Vapor whispering “Sorry.” “No, I’m not going to hold that against you. You had every right to punch me. For all you knew, I did worship Celestia like a goddess for what she did. Tartarus, I practically did at one point when I was a filly, everypony does at some point in their lives. And while we’re on the subject, there’s something everyone here needs to know. Earlier this day, Princess Luna came to me with information regarding Celestia. That little genocide spree of hers, it wasn’t entirely all her. We’re dealing with a Nightmare Moon type of situation here.” That got everyone’s jaws dropping once again and looks of fear shared between the rest of the Rangers. Me, I was just completely confused. “Alright, can somebody grab my brain with the Astro Megaship, as it’s been soundly blown into orbit. I’m completely lost here. Someone want to fill me in?” I asked. Sunset blushed, as she reminded herself Robert wouldn’t know any of this. “Okay, long ago, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia ruled alongside each other. However, Luna got jealous of ponies not enjoying the night for what it was, and developed a darker personality which we call Nightmare Moon. She went mad with power and had to be banished to the moon for a thousand years, leaving Celestia to raise both the sun and moon alone.” “Okay, ignoring the laws of physics which are soundly broken by pretty much everything you said in that sentence, how do you expect me to believe any of this horseshit? I’m a cop, I need evidence. I can’t take just everything at face value here! Show me Celestia actually transforming into her Nightmare Sun self-” “Solar Flare.” Sunset corrected. “WHATEVER! I don’t care what she calls herself! For now, she’s just one mad mare who goes all Dalek on whatever pisses her off! Give me actual evidence before you feed me this load of bull and try and whitewash your ever so perfect Princess. Ever consider Princess Luna was lying and trying to protect her sister from me? Because make no mistake, I will go after Princess Genocide and bring her to justice, mark my words!” I snarled before teleporting down to Earth needing to clear my head. Perhaps a visit to that sweet shop or Fluttershy’s cottage would do it. I eventually found myself taking a walk through the Orchards of Sweet Apple Acres, enjoying the fall leaves as they fell from the trees in peaceful shades of red, orange and yellow. While I admit America had its flaws, but this was one of the few things I liked about it. It was beautiful almost everywhere you went. Well, except Florida, that was just a place full of swamps with alligators to eat you whole, bugs to sting you and snakes to poison you and crappy cities for old people to retire to. Suddenly, I felt a presence from behind me and quickly morphed and pulled out my Fox Blaster ready to blast whoever was mental enough to sneak up on me in my current mood right now. “Okay okay, no need to go all gunslinger on me now! I just want to talk.” Lightning responded, taking a step back in fear. Good for her. She’s not as stupid as she lets on. “You? Just talk? Hah, I’ll believe that when pigs start to sprout wings and fly like little hummingbirds.” “Okay, actually I’m here to convey a message from Princess Shayla.” “Then she can come down here and deliver it to me herself then instead of being lazy and sending you down to say it for her. Unless of course you came here for a different purpose, like trying to kill me yourself. I do remember you saying you wanted me dead, after all.” I mocked, twirling my blaster around my finger like an old western gunslinger. “Alright, that’s it. You’re really getting on my nerves.” She replied testily. “Good, that was kinda the point. Let me put it this way, I don’t like you. You think I’m not worthy to be a Ranger, let’s see if that holds true.” I snarked back. Lightning Dust growled and took a fighting stance and morphed into her Ranger Form. Lightning Dust’s POV: Okay, if that’s the way he wanted to play it, that was fine by me. I ignited my lightning whips and lashed out at him but he simply rolled out of the way and fired a blast of golden energy at me which I dodged and flew up upwards. This was to launch a downwards horizontal strike with my Crystal Saber. However, he parried it with his own and kicked me backwards by soundly hitting me in the face while all the while flipping backwards and his fingers turned into claws, and I let mine do the same. As we scratched away at each other, I noticed that he was easily keeping pace with me, blocking and countering my attacks with practiced ease. I’ll give him this though, he hasn’t even had these powers for but for less than two days but he’s adapted quickly. I honestly couldn’t tell who had more experience, me or him. I mean, he was a Power Ranger before getting access to the Kitsune Powers, and I don’t know how long he had those powers or who trained him, but he was good. I swung a hook at his face, which he countered by blocking and wrapping his own arm around it, locking my arm at the elbow. “Hey, monkey boy!” I yelled out and lashed hard with my whips but Robert simply stepped aside and punched me in the gut, causing me to bend over in a choking cough. “You need better insults. That’s just poor frankly. Same goes for your fighting style, you fight like a child. Predictable moves lashed out in anger will be your downfall.” He remarked coldly. Honestly, I don’t know what Princess Shayla was thinking when she sent me to talk to him about giving Celestia a chance. Maybe she wants us to work together better, or for Robert to have someone, if not me to rely on. But honestly, she made a bad call by sending me down. She knows perfectly well I hate his guts, and him the same. ‘Well, well, well, what do we have here?” The voice said, with a similar accent to Robert’s remarked, and we both turned our heads and to the direction of the voice. Standing atop a hill was a creature that could only be described as a heavily armored blue pirate captain, complete with a hook hand. He had a beard made of mechanical tentacles (At least, that’s what I hoped they were) like a squid’s and two sharp fins on his boots and on his “Hat” were eight glowing yellow eyes. All I knew about him was that he couldn’t possibly be an Org, due to his lack of horn. “You know, it took me a long time to find you, so let’s get cracking.” The unknown creature remarked. “Who are you?” Robert snarled as me and him opened up our visors. “Well, you might say I’m a collector of sorts. One of exotic creatures. And you, you’re the most exotic of all. The last human on Earth, or Equus if you prefer. Name’s Bunglay by the way.” “Collector my arse, you’re a hunter.” Robert growled. “Now kindly bugger on off. This is a private party between us and you’re not invited.” “Some kind of party. I don’t particularly care what kind of kinks you have, I just want my money. You’re worth a lot of space bullion to me. And another Ranger in my collection will just add to the payment I’ll get when I turn you over, and seeing as how you’re female… Well, I don’t need to say anymore do I?” “One, we’re not dating as I would never date such a disgusting creature, and two, you’re not taking me or the Human anywhere.” I snarled out. Bunglay actually seemed pleased by my response. “I always like my prey a little feisty. Makes the hunt much more fun. Shame you wore each other down so much, otherwise I would chase you. But I’m going to capture you all the same anyways. Let’s get cracking!” Bunglay laughed before conjuring up a cage on a chain and swinging it up above his head several times before he threw it towards us and our whole world was enveloped in light… (To Be Continued…) Author's Note Okay, first off, a huge thanks to the Villain In Glasses as without his help this chapter would have been more of a mess then it already is. And as you can see, we actually get an explanation for why Sunburst's chapter was in first person, it was a confession, which took place shortly before the events of the Kitsune Rising story arc. Anyways, this chapter sees the introduction of a character from Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger, the Super Beast Hunter Bunglay, which explains why I changed the intro for this chapter. Don't worry, next chapter will go back to the GaoRanger intro. Anyways, this chapter also shows the start of Lightning and Robert's rivalry which will go on throughout the fic and the start of some of the team's dynamics. Next time: The Thunderbird brings a storm... Story Two AKA Part 18: Lightning Dust and Robert Williams (Part 2) Robert Williams POV: Oh for the love of Bloody Fucking Hell, now I was really in it. Once that damn flash of light cleared, I found myself demorphed and in a dark cave somewhere. Water dripped from the cave ceiling, and I could hear the sound of rushing water somewhere, letting me know I was somewhere near a river. To make matters worse for me, I was in a giant cage stuck with my least favorite pony in the world, the feathered bitch herself, Lightning Dust. And there was Bunglay standing outside the cage somehow managing to look smug even if he didn’t have any visible mouth to speak of. Wonderful. Just bloody wonderful. To sum it up, I was trapped in a cage with bitch pony number two and a Davy Jones wannabe for company. We didn’t have our morphers, and our fellow Rangers had no idea where we were. All in all, it seemed like this would be just another Tuesday if what had already happened was any indication. “Want these?” Bunglay asked both of us sarcastically in a mocking tone and dangled my morpher in front of me just to drive the knife in further. “Sorry, they’re mine now. Two Ranger Morphers, definitely worth some space bullion. Shame I couldn’t have gotten your Animal Crystals and Zords, but I’d need you morphed to grab those, and there’s no way in hell am I stupid enough to chance that.” “How about this for a deal, give us back our morphers and maybe, just maybe I’ll keep my Thunderbird from frying you to a crisp! Savvy?” Lightning snarled. “As fun as that would be, I think I’ll have to decline, little pony.” Bunglay sneered as he leaned in close. “Like I said, I’m not that dumb. You and your friend will be a good enough of a prize as it is.” “Money, that’s all it is with you isn’t it? Why can’t you just want to rule the world like all the other sickos?” I said sarcastically, leaning back against the cage bars with a bored sigh. “Cute, the fox has some wittiness in him.” The hunter said, pacing in front of the cage. “Money, contrary to popular belief, does indeed buy you happiness. And besides, ruling the world is just plain boring to me. No, I’m after something much more fun and with a bigger payoff.” “Oh, bugger off and swab your shit deck Davy Jones.” I spat in defiance. “Trust me, as soon as we get out of here, we’re kicking your arse off this planet. Hell, I could probably take you on alone. You’re all talk, that’s the way it is with you lot. You can talk yourself a big game, but when it comes down to it, you just can’t get it up.” I taunted and Bunglay only laughed. Shame he wasn’t a woman, otherwise I could use my never-failing charm to flirt my way out of here. “Funny, I’ve killed Rangers before. They were just like you, arrogant and foolhardy. They thought they could take me on alone, and I took them down every time. And now you think you can take me on, without powers? Kudos, I must give props to you for your courage, but you’ll still end up dead if you try.” Suddenly, a faint ringing sound could be heard, and Bunglay turned and headed to the source: a small comms relay station nearby. My best guess was that he was just holding us here for the time being. After all, he had to keep his… specimens somewhere till he took them to his ship and then dropped them off wherever. This was most likely a waypoint he’d set up as a base camp. I couldn’t really make out what Bunglay was saying, as it was in an alien language that I didn’t know, and being in SPD I had to learn a lot of alien languages as part of the job, but I did manage to pick up that he was clearly displeased about something and that I could hear a distinct roaring sound on the other end of his commlink. Sounded like one very unhappy animal, like a cross between a whale of some sort and something else I couldn’t describe. Whatever it was, judging by the noises it was making, it was big, very unhappy, and causing a lot of chaos. Good, give something for Bunglay to worry about. Might even wreck his ship and keep him stuck here so I-That is, I mean we could finish him off. “You’ll have to excuse me for a moment maties, seems like some bleeding, and trust me they soon will be once I shove my hook up their jacksie, idiot made a huge cracking error and now I have to clean up the mess.” Bunglay said before teleporting out in a flash of blue light. Mind you, he was so preoccupied with the problem at hand he forgot two very important things, that is, our Morphers. Problem was, we couldn’t reach them and there were no keys to speak of to unlock this cage. So again, to sum up. Bunglay was gone for the time being, and we were stuck in a cage and our Morphers out of reach. That left me and Lightning Bitch with no choice but to talk to each other. Oh joy of joys. Knowing us, we’d probably kill each other before talking. “Sooooo…” Lightning began. “This is a problem.” “Understatement of the century Lightning.” I deadpanned. “Don’t worry, I’ll get us out of this. I’m the hero after all.” “...You have no plan at all, do you?” Lightning said. I sighed and punched the cage walls in frustration. She was right, I didn’t have a plan, and eventually Bunglay would come back and teleport us up to his ship and we’d be taken off to who knows where so that some alien species could buy us for whatever sick reason they wanted. “...Fucking amazing. I was a highly trained SPD officer, and now look where I’ve ended up. Trapped in a cage and about to be shipped to some arsehole’s idea of a poaching range, probably. I’ve really botched up my life haven’t I?” I muttered looking skywards and Lighting actually looked more than a little sympathetic. “Trust me, you’re not the only one who’s made mistakes.” Lightning said softly. “What, you’ve fucked up your life so badly it seems there’s no way out as well?” I asked her sarcastically. I was brassed off beyond belief with how things in my life lately had gone so far. “Well, I wouldn’t go that far. I’ve made mistakes as well you know.” Lightning replied softly. “Like being an arrogant bitch?” I snapped. Lightning ignored the remark. “I was part of the Wonderbolts once. Did it to make my father proud. You’d really have to meet him. He set all the records, each and every one. He’s a living legend. That’s what I have to live up to. Sadly for me, I, on my first day of Wonderbolt training nearly got the heroes of Equestria killed by creating a tornado just to clear some clouds. JUST TO BUCKING CLEAR SOME CLOUDS! I should have been kicked out of the Academy, and I was. But for some reason, my wingmate Rainbow Dash, got me back in, gave me a second chance to become one of the best. But that still didn’t fix my father’s disappointment with me. Now all he does is look at me with shame and disgust, like I never should have been born.” “I know the feeling, Maybe not as badly as you, but I have morons in my family… Two of them actually. They may not be ashamed of me, but they are just plain dumb. Always trying to show each other up at family reunions and such. There’s a reason whenever it happens, I always stand in the back just looking at a potted plant and trying not to get involved in their stupid little contests.” Lightning chuckled. “Yeah, I can relate.” She smiled. I have to admit, it was a very pretty smile. Shame it belonged to a mare like her. “As much it disgusts me to admit it, I have to admit, seeing you smile is a good thing.” I remarked before facepalming so hard my forehead hurt a little. “That… Just slipped out. I’ve always been a natural flirt. I’ll flirt with anyone, long as they’re not married or a comrade.” I explained, conveniently leaving out the part about me flirting with Sunset Shimmer a while back after I awoke. “It did serve me well whenever I was asked to go undercover back at SPD.” “What is SPD anyways?” Lightning asked. “I’ll explain to you another time, if we get out of here. I’m working on a plan for that.” “What, what is it?” She snapped. “Or are you too stupid to actually think up one and are just flat out lying to me!?!” “You know, your yapping isn’t helping much, so shut your bloody gob and actually help me think up a plan to get us out of here and defeat Bunglay! Or better yet, just keep your damn trap shut, as I doubt you can think of anything useful other than how to most efficiently murder me in my sleep!” “Well, all you think with is your dick! You’re just thinking of the next mare you want to rut! Don’t think I didn’t know about your little flirtations with Sunset, I was on the island the whole time and heard Sunset grumbling about a certain womanizing human!” Lightning snapped back at me. If this was a harem comedy, and I really would hate to be the Keitarō Urashima here, I suspect Lightning would be soundly be boxing my ears in several times or sending me skywards with a “Naru Punch” before falling head over arse for me somehow. Fat chance of that happening. “Oh, is that all!?! Well, let me just say this then: You are the single most arrogant arsehole I’ve ever met! You talk big, but you fight like a pregnant cow, you only got back into the Wonderbolts when the one who got you kicked out in the first damn place took pity on you! And to top it all off, you have the outright gall to lecture me after all of that!? Fuck you! You’re a pathetic excuse for a Ranger, and if you’re the best your totem animal could do, then this planet is FUCKED!” “You bastard!” She roared back at me and threw a punch, which I sidestepped before locking her arm at the shoulder and throwing her into the bars, denting them a little. I stopped and stared at the bars, idly holding the flailing pegasus down in a submission hold as what should have been obvious was presented to me on a silver platter. “I’m an idiot. A big fat fucking bloody idiot! The solution, it’s been staring me in the face the whole time! I know exactly how to get us out of here.” I smirked and let Lightning gape at me. It was fun seeing her dumbfounded. “...And you’re going to do that how?’ Lightning asked, as I let her go. I needed my hands free to perform this technique. “Just watch me.” I smirked. “Call to the Beast inside, Free the Fox!” I yelled, and an orange mist like form of a fox appeared and ripped open the bars as if they were paper. My eyes widened as I noticed an extra detail on my animal spirit before it had faded away. It had gained eight extra tails and rabbit like ears, silly as that sounded. It was now a full on Kyuubi no Kitsune. “Looks like the new suit comes with more upgrades.” I remarked as Lightning and I rushed through the open hole and grabbed our Morphers. I pulled my morpher off its chain and flipped it open, projecting a digital maps of the cave system. I pressed down on the map and it expanded to show exactly where we were. We were in New Zealand, more specifically the Tawharanui, Auckland region. Heh, no wonder we couldn’t be found. We were off in another country entirely! The rest of the Rangers, if they even knew we were missing, and they probably did thanks to us not calling in for who knew how long, were probably searching all over what used to be America. “Oh, now that is the business! Now we’re cooking with gas!” I exclaimed in triumph before turning to Lightning. “We’re getting out of here. Come along.” Then a smile struck my face. This was too good an opportunity to pass up. “Allons-Y!” I proclaimed and behind me as we ran, Lightning muttered “I thought only the Doctor used that moronic phrase…” As we walked, something felt… off. This was too easy, breaking out of that cage was child’s play, and there was no way someone like Bunglay would let that happen. Suddenly, a cold feeling of dread filled me, wrapping around my core as though Death itself had suddenly grabbed my heart and began squeezing. Something brushed past me, and I whirled around to face it, only to find nothing. “Something wrong?” Lightning asked. “No, it’s probably nothing. Might just be the wind. This place is making me paranoid.” I answered back, even though I knew perfectly well I was in a place where the wind had no right to be. Eventually we came to a very tight spot behind two rock faces. It would require a bit of a squeeze, but it was manageable. Beyond it, I heard the rushing of the ocean. We were close, I knew it. “Ladies first.” I said, gesturing to Lightning who as she squeezed through the crack grumbled “And they say chivalry is dead. Least you have that in your favor, dickhead.” I rolled my eyes and followed her, sucking in my stomach to make the task of squeezing through more manageable. After what felt like an eternity of inching our way through the crack, we finally emerged at a beach, the scent of salty air and the sound of crashing waves had never seemed so beautiful before. Of course, the scene just had to be ruined by the sight of a certain alien hunter waiting for us on the beach. “You really didn’t think I’d let you get away that easily did you?” Bunglay remarked smugly, “Don’t make me laugh, little Rangers.” I grit my teeth in anger. Of course it was too easy! Nothing is ever easy! Damn you Murphy and all your descendants! “Bastard.” Lightning muttered. “No lassie, I’m a hunter. There’s a difference, learn it. And I never let my prey get away.” “Whatever.” I muttered not caring in the slightest before turning to Lightning and she nodded, knowing exactly what I was thinking as we reached for our Morphers. “It’s Morphin’ Time! Legendary Wild Access, ha!” We both shouted, and with twin explosions of energy, we were back in business. “Hade ni ikuze.” I commented, raising my Kitsune Blaster and cocking it with an audible clicking sound with a whirring noise accompanying that. Lightning pulled out her whips and cracked them several times resembling Whiplash in Iron Man 2. I briefly wondered if they had the same destructive ability as Whiplash’s own, but then I realized Lightning probably didn’t know how to use them properly. Little did I know it, but I was about to be soundly proven wrong. “Oh, quite impressive. But you’re still not going to be able to defeat me. And as a bonus, I’ll get your animal crystals and your Wild Zords now as well!” Suddenly, Bunglay was in front of me and had grabbed ahold of my forehead, and I felt his mind searching through my memories. It felt unclean, like I was being violated against my will and suddenly he found THEM. The SPD files on every monster every Power Ranger team had faced. “Ooh, these look like some good ones.” He muttered. I wondered what he was doing, but then I found out as several past monsters from various points in Power Ranger history appeared. Silo, from the Machine Empire. Vulpez, faced by the Power Rangers Samurai. Black Lance, faced by the Mystic Force and then Koragg, the Knight Wolf, also known as Leanbow, a former warrior for good and eventually he would reclaim that title as the Wolf Warrior. Finally, he pulled out Rito Revolto, the brother of Rita Repulsa. I swallowed nervously. Here were some of the worse of the worst in villains, along with Bunglay and only Lightning and I were the only Rangers around to take them on. Koragg unsheathed his sword and before I knew it, he called out “Dark Magic Strike!” and his sword was shrouded in black smoke and both me and Lightning leaped over it and I fired my Kitsune Blaster several times but was blasted backwards by a lightning/flame combo from Black Lance and Rito. Lightning had grabbed ahold of Silo and kicked him backwards before lashing out with her whips and striking him several times before getting in a good solid blow and cutting off one of Silo’s limbs with one single strike of the plasma infused whips before using them to grab ahold of the robotic soldier and using all her strength, she flung him into a cliff side. Okay, maybe she did know how to use them. “One monster down… Four to go. And they’re all not going to be as easy as the last one.” I mused and my point was proven when Koragg shouted “Wolf Attack!” and several purple wolf’s heads coming from a red orb in his shield struck me making me stagger back as Black Lance hit me several times with his lance and drew blood. “Time to try something new.” I said before raising my weapon skywards. “Kitsune Scatter Blast!” Like homing missiles, several golden beams of energy came out of my weapon’s barrel and sought out the monsters and struck them one by one as Lightning then kicked Black Lance in the head and made him stagger back. Rito blasted flames at Lightning but she leaped over him and struck the tube connecting his flamethrower to his tank with her Crystal Saber, severing it. I fired a shot off at Vulpez, but he created a portal and then directed the shot right back at me before shouting “Fox Flare!” and I was sent backwards by an explosion underneath my feet but I managed to fire off my Kitsune Seipai Blast and take down the fox themed Nighlok. Soon, Black Lance suffered the same fate as well. I guess these imitations couldn’t take as much punishment as the real deal. But Koragg then brought out the big guns. “Ulfe Mejor Catastros!” He shouted and sure enough as my eyes widened in terror, the infamous black horse appeared from a spell seal in the water and quickly shifted modes as Koragg leaped through a spell seal of his own and became giant before merging with his horse with a shout of "Uthe Mejor Ultimas!" and becoming the Centaurus Wolf Megazord as Bunglay teleported away, probably thinking he had us and would come back later to collect our dead bodies and Animal Crystals as his "Reward". “Oh boy.” I muttered nervously to myself and pointed my Crystal Saber to the sky and shouted “Kitsune Zord, descend!” But nothing happened and Lightning, as she finished off Rito, laughed to herself. “Hah, you can talk big but you just can’t get it up can you?” She smirked and did the same summoning motions with her own Crystal Saber, but this time actually managing to summon the Zord in question. As if someone had flicked a switch, the clouds boiled over and a mighty looking bird, similar in appearance to the Phoenix Zord, but with the red and gold replaced with aqua and silver coloring emerged from the boiling clouds. It let out a loud screech and thunderbolts rained down all around the sky around Koragg. Okay, I admit I was jealous of Lightning for having a cool Zord that looked as if it could do some serious damage while I didn’t have even one. “Dark Magic Spell Seal!” Koragg shouted and rotated his galve in a circle before slashing forwards at the Thunderbird Zord and striking it in the chest and it let out a screech of pain but quickly struck back even as Koragg fired a swirling tornado of dark energy at the Zord which it did a barrel roll to the left to avoid and the Thunderbird brought down even more lightning bolts making Koragg’s Megazord stagger. “Now how long can you keep this up?” Koragg taunted. Lightning responded by having the Thunderbird fire a ball of lightning from it’s mouth but Koragg simply shrugged it off. “Weakling. Dark Magic Spell Seal!” He shouted again and this time hit the Thunderbird in the wing making it fall into the ocean. But just as Koragg was about to stab it with his galve, a groaning sound was heard, and on top of a cliff was the Giraffe Zord, and soon Lightning found herself with a new Animal Crystal in her palm. Don’t ask me how, but she’d somehow managed to impress the Wild Zord. The Giraffe jumped down into the water and swung it’s long neck and head back and forth several times dealing considerable damage to the Centaurus Wolf Megazord and knocking Koragg out of his combination with Catastros just in time for the Thunderbird to deliver a final strike of lightning bolts and destroy the Koragg copy for good. “Good riddance to bad rubbish. He had his time, and he failed.” I muttered as Lightning laughed triumphantly in victory. God, I’d never hear the end of this. END Author's Note Okay, whoo boy, did this chapter have a troubled production. Me and Villain had so many disagreements on certain parts of the chapter, with the biggest being a rather forced and heated makeout scene between Robert and Lightning, but in the end I was forced to concede his point about it being rather rushed and coming across as rather rapey on Lightning's part. So, that argument went instead. I truly apogize for the pregnant cow remark on Robert's side, that was Villain's idea, not mine and to be quite frank I don't like that line. I know Robert's supposed to come across as a dick and he was furious at the time, but there are some lines that shouldn't be crossed. Anyways, we finally get to see how dangerous Bunglay truly is, given he can make memories come to life and we also finally get to see Lightning's Zord, along with her gaining a new one in the process. On that note, the reason I'm giving each Zord a separate fight scene is because I want to build up to the showdown between the Megazord and it's first giant monster, which'll happen in just three more chapters, Pinkie Promise so you won't be waiting long. Also, if you're growing tired of this type of chapter, thankfully for you and me (As I hate them too) there's only one more first person point of view confession chapter after this, and it's Sunset's turn. Stay tuned, as you're about to learn that the leader of the Power Rangers isn't quite as golden as she is nowadays... Okay, Zord Line Up Time. This is where I'll give you a list of what Zords are active and who has them. Robert Williams: Kistune Zord (Sealed Away) Sunset Shimmer: Phoenix Zord, Elephant Zord, Bison Zord (Gained offscreen) Lightning Dust: Thunderbird Zord, Giraffe Zord, Coyote Zord (Gained offscreen) Vapor Trail: Leviathan Zord Sunburst: Vampire Fruit Bat Zord Princess Shayla: Soul Bird, Deer Zord Zen-Aku: Wolf Zord, Hammerhead Zord, Alligator Zord Shining Armor: Torozord Galaxy Swirls: Pachy Zord Story Three AKA Part 19: Sunset Shimmer Sunset Shimmer's POV: Okay… Confession time. My name is Sunset Shimmer, the Gold Phoenix Ranger and the Princess of Empathy. Yes, even I have a confession to make. What, did you think that just because I was the leader of the second generation of the Wild Force Rangers that I was perfect? Hardly. To be honest, I’m probably the least perfect of them all. And yes, both of my titles add up to quite the workload to be sure. And to be honest, I’m not sure if I’m worthy of either of them. But I digress, this needs to be said and I’m just delaying the inevitable. I grew up on the streets of Canterlot, unliked and ignored by everypony who passed me by. Despite its reputation as the most beautiful city in Equestria, it still has its dirty underbelly. After all, the filth needs somewhere to go, according to the nobles at least. It has its slums, its cracks, the places where ponies can slip through unnoticed, like me. I had a mother, and a father, but to be honest… I can only really call them that in name. They were the ones who birthed me, nothing more. Father ran out on us quickly, to him my mother was just another fuck-buddy who just so happened to give him a child he couldn’t care less for. Mom… tried to care for me as much as she could. Damn did she try, but without much money to support us,times got tough. Too tough for her to handle. One morning, I just found her there on the floor with several empty bottles of beer beside her, not moving. I ran and never looked back. For my first few years of life on the streets, it was simple. Just make it through the day and get food to eat and just live out the nights in my cardboard box. Yeah, that’s right. The only thing I could call home was a cardboard box in Canterlot’s Old Town district. It was just me and my wolf plush, Sparky along with a mysterious aquamarine jewel in the shape of an orb gifted to me by my mother to keep me company. Yeah, don’t ask me why I named a wolf plush Sparky. Guess I thought it was cool at the time. Every day I was forced to take food and other supplies from shopkeepers when they weren’t looking, hoping to Mystic Mother above that I wouldn’t be caught. Eventually, they wised up and installed security cameras, so that plan went out the window pretty fast. I’d heard of the Royal Guard and how quickly they could catch a fleeing criminal. Mind you, I was six at the time, so my young mind thought that they would toss me into a cell in the dungeons forever and throw away the key and just forget about me. Funny, looking back I now, realize that couldn’t have been further from the truth. If I had just gone up to one and asked for help, I probably would have received the help I needed and a home for me would have been found. Any place would have been better than where I was forced to take shelter. Now, you may be wondering why nopony reported me to the local orphanage. Well, to be honest I’m not really sure myself. Maybe they assumed I wasn’t worth the trouble of tracking down, or that I was just a miscreant kid who got up to mischief without my parents knowing. Sorry, if the paper I’m writing this down on seems wet or smudged in any way, that’s my fault. I-I’m sorry, but this is a hard part of my life to write about and one I’d rather forget but it needs to be told because it's important to how I became the pony I am today. Either way, that was my life. There wasn’t a single moment of happiness where I felt safe and secure… Well, except one. Every day at the crack of dawn, I went up near the castle and watched Princess Celestia raise the sun as she always did every morning. I’ll admit that I wanted to be in that position, or at least be admired instead of some piece of street crap nopony could care less about. Late one night, there was an especially fierce storm. The clouds roiled and rumbled with thunder and flashes of lightning. Rain poured down like a monsoon upon the city of Canterlot, and everypony except me was safely in their homes, sheltered from the torrential downpour. As for myself, I was forced to cuddle under a stolen muddy blanket, soaked to the bone in my cardboard box holding my plush wolf as if he was the only thing that could keep me safe. If I hadn’t been too scared to listen, I would have heard a distinct screeching sound, like a bird, but far louder than anything I knew existed. Something truly gigantic, hidden deep within the cloud cover was soaring above the skies of Canterlot, bringing thunderbolts all around, as if were angry at something. One struck the building closest to me setting off a spark which quickly grew into an inferno, setting the building ablaze. I knew I had to move, so I wrapped my blanket around me, grabbed everything I owned, and just ran. I didn’t know where or how far I ran along the cobblestone streets of Canterlot, but eventually I ended up at Donut Joe’s Donut Shop. Even this late at night, it was busy. There was a squadron of Royal Guards just chowing down on their pastries, served by the ever friendly proprietor, and in the back having a late night cup of coffee was Princess Celestia herself. I squeaked in fear, still quite afraid of what the Royal Guard might do to me if they ever were to catch me and hid under a table, hoping not to be noticed. “Crimney, it’s raining cats and dogs out there! The hell were the weather teams doing changing the schedule like that?” One grumpy unicorn guard grumbled. “I dunno, probably another mix-up. Look at it this way, they’ll have to give us several days of direct sunshine to make up for it!” His earth pony companion said, patting him on the back. “That’s not exactly a consolation when you take into account that we have patrols scheduled for the next few days, and in full armor no less...” The unicorn replied. “Quite the storm eh boys?” Joe asked coming over and topping off their coffee mugs. “Haven’t seen one this fierce in ages. Last time this happened, the Maresler Building got hit with lightning several times! It was as if the Mystic Mother herself was angry at the city and its inhabitants. Mind you, considering…” Joe then cut himself off and murmured something under his breath. I caught the word “Humans” but nothing else as he was speaking to softly for me to hear. Suddenly, the lead commander in charge of the Guard Squadron, a stone grey pegasi got a call on his headset and at once dropped his donut to the floor and sat up straight. “Men, there’s been a report of a fire in the Old Town district. Seems a bolt of lightning hit a building and it’s in danger of lighting up the whole street. We’ve been ordered to clear the way for the Fire Department.” He ordered with a air of authority about him. With a cry of “Yes sir!” all the guards except for the unicorn and the earth pony men moved out and ran out into the streets of Canterlot, ready to do what they did best: protect Equestria. I stayed in my hiding spot, scared out of my wits as I peeked out at the guards that didn’t leave yet. Did they know I was here? Were they waiting for me to turn myself in? “Privates Phalanx and Rumble, why did you not leave with your squadron?” Celestia questioned, sipping her coffee. “As your guards, it would be irresponsible of us to leave you here by yourself, Princess.” The unicorn replied stiffly. Celestia smiled good-naturedly and laughed softly, “You have little need to worry, my little pony. I’m sure I can hold out against an assault of pastries by myself.” “But Princess-” The earth pony began before Celestia silenced him with a raised hand. “I will be fine, do not worry.” She said gently, but firmly, “Go rejoin your fellow guards, I will be here when you return.” Both guards looked at each other before saluting, “Yes, Princess!” They said in unison before exiting out the door into the storm outside. I let out a sigh of relief before shrinking back into my hiding place, hoping to wait until closing time before helping myself to some of the donuts the guards had been eating earlier. Suddenly, I felt a warm presence behind me before I was pulled into the embrace of Princess Celestia herself. It was something I’d hadn’t felt in such a long time, the love of a mother’s embrace. “Hello little one. What are you doing here so late on a night such as this? You should be in bed, asleep.” She asked, her voice as warm and loving as a warm summer day. I simply gestured out the window to the rapidly burning blaze which could be seen on the other side of the city. Celestia’s eyes widened in horror, before she looked at me with tears in her eyes, “Little One, please tell me you didn’t live… there?” She asked in a worried tone, holding me tighter.. “In a cardboard box, just right next to that place. It’s probably gone now.” I sobbed. My only place of refuge and safety, burned to the ground in an instant. “But… But I thought any orphans we find are taken to orphanages!” Celestia whispered as her face took on a serious expression. Joe came over and put a hand on her shoulder. “That’d be true, but some always manage to make it through the cracks. I’ve seen them, fighting everyday to survive, just trying to get by with whatever bits and food they can scrounge up. It’s a sad fact of life, Princess.” Joe said sadly while shaking his head in pity. “She’s not the first I’ve seen to come in here. I’ve seen them out back, scrounging through the bins trying to find leftovers. I don’t mind, unlike the rest of the ponies in this city it seems I’m the only one with a heart for the young… “ “No offence Princess.” He quickly added. Celestia shook her head sadly and gave Joe a smile while still holding me to her chest letting me sob into her dress. “Well then… There’s only one thing to do.” Celestia muttered before she pulled back and gently lifted my chin, looking directly at me, “How would you like to live with me, Little One?” She asked, her voice tender and caring. “But of course, I will need to get your name first.” “S-Sunset. Sunset Shimmer.” I responded nervously, the words sounding strained through the lump in my throat. Here I was, talking to the most powerful mare in all of Equestria, the one who guided the fate of the whole planet just because she controlled the sun and moon, and she had just offered to take me in? There had to be a catch somewhere, nothing like this happened for free! But she simply smiled and giggled at my shyness. “Sunset Shimmer.” Celestia murmured, rolling the name in her mouth before looking at me with a gentle, loving smile, “That’s such a pretty name for a pretty little filly. So, Sunset, what say you?” There was only one answer to give. “Yes!” And so my new life began. I thought it was to be full of peace and joy, but how wrong I was… I admit, for the first few years of my life at the Canterlot Castle, all was well. As it turned out, I had very powerful magical potential, and Celestia took me on as her personal student. I loved learning about every spell I could get my hands on, and when I overheard Celestia mention to her niece Princess Cadance that there was a very good possibility of the first Alicorn ascendence in ages, I got it into my head that she was talking about me. I poured myself into my studies even more, impressing my teacher with my rapid progress. But for whatever reason, it still wasn’t enough, I never ascended. I got bitter, angry even. It was only a matter of time before things boiled over. I was growing more arrogant with each passing day. I never let anyone into my own personal room at the castle. At one point, Celestia finally had enough and sent me out on the town just for me to get some fresh air. Eventually, I wandered to a nearby park where Princess Cadance, was foalsitting a little girl. I bit back a snarl but sighed. It’d happen someday, I just knew it. Eventually, that little girl whom I would later call my best friend wandered over. “Hey, do you want to play?” Twilight asked as she held a ball in her hand. “No, I said flatly. “I’m in the middle of something here, or hadn’t you noticed?” “What sort of something?” She asked. I let out an aggravated sigh. “In the middle of studying a very important spell. I’m Celestia’s personal student, or didn’t you know?” “So am I!” Twilight proclaimed, puffing out her chest a bit. I frowned. I knew Celestia had taken on another student, but I’d never cared enough to meet her. “Well, let me give you a tip. Study very hard, because you know what happens if you don’t?” I asked with a sneer. “No, what?” Twilight asked curiously, in that way only a little kid could. I leaned in close. “They send you all the way back to Magic Kindergarten.” I smirked. “Now you don’t want that do you?” That was yet another in a long list of mistakes I regret. If I hadn’t said those things, Twilight may not have become such an intellectual shut in and a bad friend until Celestia sent her off to Ponyville in preparation for Nightmare Moon’s/Luna’s return. Several years passed, and now I was nineteen years old. I still hadn’t become an Alicorn and I was furious about it. So furious about it, I confronted my own teacher. “Sunset, I’m sorry, but with your attitude towards everypony I can’t possibly allow you to ascend!” Celestia told me. That only made me more furious. “This is your fault! You put these damn ideas into my head, and look what happened! I’m a product of your own selfishness! You want to be the only Alicorn on the throne! That’s why you sent Luna away, isn’t it? Because you want all the power to yourself.” I sneered, and Celestia looked as if she’d been punched in the gut. Yet another mistake on my part. “No, that’s not it and you know it Sunset. What happened to the girl I raised? The kind little filly who would do anything for anypony? You were so empathic to everypony’s problems, you’d try to help them out in anyway you could. Now look what you’ve become.” Celestia said sorrowfully. “Then I’m sorry for what I’ve got to do. I’m sorry PRINCESS, but your reign is at an end.” I snarled and produced a red and gold trimmed item not unlike a conductor’s ticket puncher, but with numbers like a phone on it as well. Celestia’s eyes widened. “Sunset, don’t!” She cried, but it was too late. My path was already set in stone. “Magical Source, Mystic Force!” I yelled and punched a ticket and threw it and it enlarged itself and covered me with my body gaining crimson and golden armor and bat wings sprouted out of my back. I was an Alicorn, but not the one I should have been. The power, it was overwhelming, but terrifying at the same time. But I didn’t care. I had what I wanted, and now I intended to use it. Strike three for mistakes I regret. I fired a blast of flame from my horn at Celestia who threw up a golden shield around herself before leaping forwards and drawing a navy blue and gold trimmed sword which she swung at me and I blocked its blow with a blade of fire before kicking my own teacher backwards into her throne. Royal Guards, led by Steel Sentry rushed into the room, but I put up a wall of fire between me and them. “Sorry boys, but this battle is between me and her. You’re not invited to this private party.” I smugly remarked, my head turned towards them, but Celestia used this chance to strike back and fire a gold blast of energy at me which I rolled to the left to avoid and then swung my sword which Celestia blocked again with her own blade before she punched me in the face making me stagger backwards. Next thing I knew, I was enveloped in a bubble of golden energy before Celestia recited a spell which somehow demorphed me and sent me back into my regular wingless state. I curled up on the floor sobbing, realizing what I had tried to do and just how far I’d fallen. I’d taken Solar Flare’s personal morpher, the one she used in the battles against humanity and let her influence of the power she’d put into that morpher corrupt me. No, that wasn’t right. I’d made so many mistakes and let my pride and arrogance get to me that it was all too easy for the morpher to take control. As I continued sobbing in shame, Celestia pulled me into a hug and just let my tears flow, like she had done all those years ago. I don’t know why she was giving me a second chance, I sure as Tartarus didn’t deserve it, and I still never have really figured that part out to this day. Years passed, and after the incident with the Solar Cell Morpher and me nearly killing my own teacher, I began to wisen up and eventually, when the rest of the Mane Seven’s Cutie Marks got switched around, me and Twilight were the only ones to be able to complete Starswirl’s unfinished spell to save them and restore everything back to normal. That was when it happened. That was when both Twilight and I ascended, the proper way. No grabbing power for myself, no arrogance and pride influencing me. I ascended because I wanted to put back what went wrong. Like a phoenix burning bright, I had showed my other side. The side I’d forgotten about long ago. Empathy. It wasn’t long before I discovered the meaning of that aquamarine crystal I still kept as a keepsake of my mother. It was during when me and the rest of the Elements were cleaning out Luna and Celestia’s old castle. I’d wandered off on my own and found an old and disused room with a red and golden crystal, similar to the one I had just lying on the floor, seemingly forgotten. Its power called out to me, and as soon as I touched it I felt something I couldn’t explain. Ancient power, long before Equestria. As soon as I picked it up, I was teleported to the beautiful paradise known as the Animarium. It was a haven, and I found myself in a stone temple where a pure white alicorn mare waited for me. “I’ve been waiting for you for a long time Sunset Shimmer. My name is Princess Shayla, and this is the Animarium. I knew someone had to pick up the Phoenix Crystal and become it’s chosen guardian. I must admit though, I was shocked when I found it’s new guardian to be the holder of the Elephant Crystal.” The mare said, and I took a quick look at the two orbs. Now they displayed tiny animals inside of them, the aqua one being an elephant and my new Crystal a bird of some type. “And just as the Phoenix is Queen of the Skies, you shall lead the newest generation of the Power Rangers Wild Force.” “I’m not qualified to lead anything. If you know who I am, you know what I used to be like. Trusting me with power is like trusting a fox with guarding a henhouse. Things will go badly, I can assure you of that.” I replied. “If you really believe that, why did you pick up the Crystal in the first place?” Shayla asked, and I found myself unable to answer that. Shayla let me go, to ponder my thoughts, clear my head and such and as I was walking through the streets of Ponyville, I heard a groaning and then screaming sound coming from an alleyway. I initially passed it off as ponies having a tryst, but something felt… off. They weren’t ones of pleasure, but pure terror. I rushed down the alleyway and found a group of rough looking stallions, the leader of which was grey furred and bald headed with a handlebar moustache taking turns raping a little filly in the behind. I snarled. I couldn’t let this pass me by. A golden phone appeared in my hand, though at the time I took no notice of it due to my pure fury. “Hey, what the BUCK do you think you’re doing!?!” I roared and the lead stallion laughed. “Taking what’s rightfully ours, of course. She’s just another prize in a long line of them.” He answered. Now I was truly furious. They had the outright gall to call this filly, and from the sounds of things, others as well possessions as if they owned her. I was in such a rage, my wings had ignited in pure flame and the other stallions took a step back in fear. Good for them. Without even knowing what I was doing, I put the phone to my ear and called out “Legendary Wild Access!” and I felt a power overtake me. But unlike when I morphed into the Dark Solaris Knight, it felt warm and comforting, like a mother’s soft embrace and the next thing I knew I stood in a gold formfitting bodysuit with red trimming on my gloves, shoulders and boots. “Take them down, Little Firebird.” A male voice said to me and I drew my Crystal Saber and charged. I may not have known what the future held for me at that point, but I did know one thing, my past was not today... END Author's Note Okay, last POV chapter, so next time around it's going back to third person point of view. In this chapter, we learn that Sunset has regrets, just like all the other Rangers do and probably has the most regrets of them all and how she gained her animal crystals and become the Gold Ranger for the first time. It's interesting to note that not all monsters are obvious, some can seem just like anyone else, until you catch them in the act. That's what being a Power Ranger's all about, protecting those who can't protect themselves, not just from Orgs, but from all monsters. First off, I'd like to credit both the Abyss and Summer Dancer for giving me inspiration for Sunset's backstory, and more specifically their stories "Sunset's Sunrise" and "Sandbox" respectively. They can be found here. https://www.fimfiction.net/story/260562/sunsets-sunrise https://www.fimfiction.net/story/342249/sandbox Next Time: Vapor's Vengeance! One more thing, if you're a Lego and a Power Rangers fan, then you'll definitely want to see this made a official Lego set. [Clicky clickyb]** Part 20: The Power of Purple The Animarium Vapor emerged from her cavern, a sobered look on her muzzle. Her sins, all of them were there on paper for everypony to read. What would they think of her now, knowing she was involved in the death of the very first member recruited by Princess Shayla and had been lying about her status to the others the whole time. She already knew what their reactions would be: disgust, hatred and she knew they wouldn’t want to be around her anymore. To be honest, it was more than just friendship she had felt towards Grape. They, along with Lightning Dust and Sky Stinger had been friends since childhood. Tartarus, when neither Sky nor Vapor was around to babysit Lightning, Grape was always there. He and his family lived in a little house in the mountains not too far below Vapor and Sky’s homes, so he could easily make it up the mountain path to visit them and they could play together and just imagine what they’d be when they grew up. Sky, Lightning and Vapor would be Wonderbolts, flying amongst the best while Grape Vine would be singing to the masses, perhaps opening up for the Wonderbolts shows at times. And even from a young age, he was good with the guitar, as Vapor’s fondest memory of him came flashing back to her. “Ladies and gentlecolts, right from the heart of the Smoky Mountains, Grape Vine!” A young Sky Stinger, a colt with dark blue fur and wings and a lighter blue mane yelled, faking an announcer's voice as best as he could as a younger Grape Vine stepped from the treeline as Sky and his family clapped their hands. “Seriously, thank you for coming out tonight. Now, it’s an honor to open for the Wonderbolts tonight before they give us a show only they can put on.” Grape said as he took out his guitar and strummed that old familiar tune. “Well, Ah built me a raft and she's ready for floatin' Ol' Mississippi, she's callin' mah name Catfish are jumpin' That paddle wheel thumpin'” “Black water keeps rollin' on past just the same Old black water, keep on rollin’, Mississippi moon, won't you keep on shinin' on me Old black water, keep on rollin', Mississippi moon, won't you keep on shinin' on me Old black water, keep on rollin', Mississippi moon, won't you keep on shinin' on me…” Another memory hit Vapor, one not so fond but it was important to her nonetheless. There she and Sky Stinger were, flying high in the clouds above while Grape Vine was reading from a book of spells. His horn glowed a purple color and he stepped out onto a cloud, and then hopped onto another. But as young as he was, his magic couldn’t last very long, and soon his hooves gave way and he fell foot by foot as the ground rushed up to greet him. Vapor let out a yell of fear, before she unfurled her growing wings and rocketed down towards Grape Vine as fast as she could her keen eyes trained on his falling form even through the wintry mists but simply wasn’t fast enough. Then Sky Stinger rocketed past her and caught Grape in his arms as Vapor caught up to him and wrapped her arms around him sobbing her heart out into Grape’s neck. “You… You foolish stallion! You could have been killed! Why…? Why’d you do that?” She whispered through her tears. “Same reason you two are up there all the time. Ah want to be as free as a bird and feel what you feel when you’re in the sky. That sense of calmness, where nothing could ever get to ya.” “Grape, you’re an idjit.” Sky told him and Grape only laughed. “...Yeah, guess Ah am.” And whenever Lightning needed a lullaby to calm her down, it was either Vapor or Grape singing to her to calm her down and put her to bed and send her into dreamland. Lightning was currently in the midst of a nightmare, and woke up, sobbing heavily in her bed. Grape and Vapor, who happened to be at Sky Stinger’s house for a sleepover just ran up to her room along with Sky and found her sobbing into her pillow and trembling. As Sky brought her into a hug, Grape began to sing the song personally coined by Princess Luna herself over 1,000 years ago. “Hush now, quiet now It's time to lay your sleepy head Hush now, quiet now It's time to go to bed.” “Hush now, quiet now It's time to lay your sleepy head Hush now, quiet now It's time to go to bed.” He sung in a soft tone as Sky pulled the covers over his little sister and kissed her forehead goodnight. Sky then gave Grape and Vapor a sad look. “What’s the matter?” Grape Vine asked. “It’s… It’s about dad. He’s always off and leaving us, leaving me and mom, Mystic Mother bless her heart, to care for my family. And even when he does stick around, he doesn’t seem to give a damn about Lightning, treating her as the runt. He always thinks I’m the one to break his records, but does he ever consider her?” Sky whispered in disgust towards his father, if he could even call him that. “Bastard.” Grape muttered. “That there’s exactly what me and mah family could call somepony who would run out on his own kinfolk and not give a damn about what the rest of his family thinks. Lightning, she doesn’t deserve him. Ah have half a mind to report Wind Rider for child neglect.” “You know the charges wouldn’t stick. We’d need proof.” Before Grape Vine could butt in, Vapor continued. “And even if we got that proof, we all know how rich Wind is. He’d just pay off somepony to keep quiet. Grape, you’ve seen plenty of crime dramas. You know how it goes.” “Yeah, Ah do…” Grape muttered grimly to himself… “So, I guess you all hate me now.” Vapor said as the rest of the Rangers looked directly at her. They’d all read each other’s confessions, and they understood each other’s problems. Now they were all looking towards Vapor Trail. Lightning leaned back, closing her eyes and putting her arms behind her head. “And exactly why would you think that?” Vapor Trail looked shocked, staring at the pegasus she’d known her whole life. “B-but it’s because of me that-” Lightning held up her hand, silencing her surrogate sister. “Grape gave his life so that you could live. He even passed his power on to you.” “But I-” “I wasn’t done.” Lightning snapped, “No matter how you look at it, Grape thought you were worth all of that, and so did your zord.” She continued, getting up from her seat and walking over to Vapor Trail, pulling her into a hug. “I know you never wanted it, but the fact remains that Grape saved you, the Leviathan chose you. No matter how you look at it, you’re not at fault here, Vapor.” Vapor stood there, stunned. “But why? Why would he choose me of all ponies? I’m not...” Sunburst cleared his throat. “That’s just not true, Vapor.” he pushed up his glasses, giving her a smile, “You became a Ranger for a reason. You never would have been able to morph otherwise. I know what it’s like to have no confidence in what you can do. Trust me, you can do this.” “But the Leviathan never chose me! Grape was the one who should have been here, not me!” “Is that so?” Sunset interjected, “Tell me one thing. Why can you morph then?” She asked. “I-I… I don’t know! I don’t know why it works! I don’t know why I’m a Ranger! I shouldn’t have this power at all!” “And yet you do. Regardless of what you think, the Leviathan chose you to carry Grape Vine’s mantle. Why it did, I won’t know. What I do know is that you deserve to be a Ranger, regardless of how you got your crystal.” Vapor was trying hard to keep herself together, tears leaking out of her eyes as she tried to keep a stiff upper lip. Sunset let out a breath and smiled, walking over to her and Lightning, wrapping her arms and wings around the both of them. “You carry this power because you deserve it, there is no other reason, Vapor.” She murmured. Vapor let out a choked sob as she buried her face into Lightning’s chest, crying like a newborn as she let it all out. All the pain, regret, and guilt escaping her all at once. Robert sat at his seat, shifting awkwardly. “Hey, uh… Listen, I’ve never been really good with empathy and hugging and all that sappy crap and to be honest this is between you lot and not me, so if you excuse me, I’m going to take my leave.” Robert muttered to himself before touching his morpher and teleporting away in an orange flash of light down towards Equestria. He found himself in the streets of Ponyville, ponies scattering at the sight of him teleporting down from the heavens. Robert simply rolled his eyes and muttered “I need a drink. Wonder if they sell a good bottle of sake anywhere around here? Probably not, but one can only hope.” As he walked through the streets of Ponyville, his jacket zipped up to protect him from the frosty autumn winds, he took out his phone and put a pair of green earbuds in his ear and just listened to the music of Styx’s Renegade. He let out a soft snort at the irony of his situation, the law wanted him dead, and the hangman, or hangmare coming down from the gallows in this case was Princess Celestia. He didn’t particularly believe in this split personality bull that Sunset was feeding him. Sure, he knew it existed in the case of Anton Mercer/Mesogog, but he needed proof to actually believe it. Suddenly, something unseen, cold and frosty brushed past him and he whirled around to face nothing but empty space behind him. “Robert, Robert, Robert. You’re just getting paranoid. It’s the wind and you know it.” He muttered to himself even if he didn’t quite believe his own words. Then, he saw, peeking out from the corner of a building a slender figure clad in golden Roman gladiator type armor. “You know, if you’re trying to spy on me, you’re not being very subtle about it!” Robert shouted to the figure and one of the Royal Guards, a mare judging by her figure and notable bust stepped out into view. “...Wow, guess I really botched that one up didn’t I?” The pure white pegasus mare asked. “Tell me, does your boss Shining Armor know you’re out and about?” Robert questioned. The mare’s silence and look towards the ground was all Robert needed, and he threw his hands up in the air in frustration. “Great, so Princess Genocide sends her beefeaters to spy on me! Tell me, how many more of you are there?” “T-They’re stationed all over the whole town, places where you might go. We were sent to make sure you don’t do anything… untoward.” The mare explained and looked apologetic. “I was only following orders.” Robert snarled and gave her a nasty glare. “No, you don’t get to use that excuse on anyone, me of all people especially considering my heritage, fraulein! That’s the same exact excuse the Nazis used before they herded up the Jews and gassed them. Go look it up in a book, oh wait, there’s no record of that, is there? No, Princess Genocide just had to erase all of human history!” Robert growled out and stomped off leaving the guard in tears. Eventually, he found his way to the inn known as the Prancing Pony. Robert chuckled. “Has anypony here ever read Tolkien I wonder?” He mused before pushing the door open. The inside of the Prancing Pony was, in one word, quaint. The walls were wood paneled and decorated with what looked like traditional pony handicrafts. The lighting was dim, but warm and a large stone fireplace at the far end of the inn bathed the room with warmth from the heat of the roaring flames inside. Ponies sat at tables and on barstools all over the inn’s ground floor, their conversations suddenly going silent at Robert’s entry. “Wow, normally I generate such a silence after I pull off one of my show stopping moves.” Robert snarked before sitting down at a booth next to a dark blue unicorn mare with short cropped hair. “So, what are you having?” The mare asked with a smile. Robert eyed her. There was something awfully familiar about her, he just couldn’t put his finger on it. It was like he’d seen her somewhere before, but where? “Same thing as you I’m guessing, I don’t think sake’s on the menu. Still, I should probably ask your name, just so I know the name of the mare who’s probably trying to poison me.” The unknown mare winced, and so did Robert, realizing he might have misjudged her. “...Sorry.” “No, you’re very right to be suspicious. It would be just like anypony in this town to slip a poison into your drink or food when you’re not looking. Name’s Artemis Starborne.” The mare said, introducing herself and holding out a hand. Robert shook it. “Anyone ever tell you that sounds like the name of a bad Harry Potter OC?” Robert remarked dryly. “Hey, I can’t help the name I was born with.” Artemis chuckled, and Robert raised an eyebrow. How the Hell would she know what Harry Potter was? Those books would have been destroyed long ago by Celestia and Commander Hurricane’s forces. “Your mum and dad must really love the night sky don’t they?” Robert asked and Artemis nodded. “Yeah, they always looked up to the sky at night and told me that each star is a soul looking down on us, judging our every action and guiding us. Mind you, you can take that as you will, but it’s a nice belief.” Artemis replied. “True. Rather poetic if you ask me.” Robert replied and they clinked their glasses together and said “Cheers.” before drinking each taking a sip. Just then, Robert felt that same icy wind brush past him and he grimaced. It was like it passed through him this time, like the wind of the frosty blizzards back home. “Agh… Okay, now I know I’m being stalked. I need to find out who.” “Something… Something wrong?” Artemis asked in concern as Robert stood up and she put a hand on his shoulder. “No… Nothing at all. Just got to go to the loo.” Robert said reaching for his Crystal Saber in its sheath before he turned towards a corner of the bar where a Royal Guard lurked and was trying to make himself as unseen as possible. “And there better not be any of you lot spying on me in there as well or somepony’s getting punched in the face!” Robert found his way to the bathroom and turned on the faucet and splashed water in his face. In the mirror, a figure was revealed, one wearing a pure black cloak and a kitsune noh mask on his/her/it’s face. “Who are you!?!” Robert shouted as he whirled around and drew his Crystal Saber, pointing it directly at his stalker. The figure said nothing before fading away. “Wunderbar.” Robert muttered before resheathing his saber. But the next thing he knew, something grabbed him from behind and he found himself transported away... Elsewhere in Ponyville… Meanwhile, the Turbine Org had returned and was already causing his signature brand of havoc by sending spiraling blasts of gale force winds at any building within his sights, tearing them apart with gale force winds while cackling madly. Anywhere the buildings landed, they were obliterated in an instant. “Run, little ponies! Run! Oh, it’s so good to be back in the game!” He laughed before sending some ponies flying with a blast of wind from his turbines. Then a voice came from behind him. “Hold it right there Turbine Org! Your days of destruction are over!” Vapor shouted as she and the other three Rangers ran up. If Turbine Org could have smiled, he would have. “Ah, it’s the Purple Ranger. Come to get destroyed like your predecessor?” He cackled, but to his surprise Vapor didn’t even flinch. “I’m not afraid of you anymore. To me, you’re just another Org about to get on the wrong end of my trident.” She snarled before holding up her Growl Phone up to her ear before shouting out that phrase she’d read in Robert and Lightning’s confessional. “It’s Morphin’ Time!” She shouted out, taking the lead. This Org was hers and hers alone. “Legendary Wild Access! Ha!” (Morphing Sequences) With a flash of flame, Sunset was transported to the inside of a volcano and stood on the middle of a rock as she was transformed and she gained a gold and red form-fitting costume with diagonal tooth marks across her chest and her Cutie Mark on her right breast with a phoenix's head themed helmet forming around her head accompanied by a loud screeching sound. Standing on a rocky desert plateau as storm clouds rumbled and lightning flashed in the background, Lightning gained an aqua colored costume with the same diagonal tooth marks across her chest and her Cutie Mark of a yellow lightning bolt with stars appeared on her right breast as a helmet similar in design to Sunset's appeared on her head, with the sound similar to that of a falcon's call. On a beach, a tidal wave washed over Vapor Trail and she gained a purple costume similar in design to the others with her Cutie Mark of a comet on her left breast as well with the tooth marks on the opposite side of her chest and a sperm whale themed helmet formed over her head with the noise of a deep sea beast's hum. In a dark barely moonlit orchard of apple trees, clouds of black smoke surrounded Sunburst and he gained a black costume with his Cutie Mark of an orange sun with bursting yellow rays on his left breast just like Vapor Trail's costume, and also like Vapor's the tooth marks appeared on the right side of his chest with a bat themed helmet much like the Jungle Fury Bat Spirit Ranger's appearing around his head along with a loud bat screech sound. (Morphing Sequences End Here) "With the strength of the Leviathan, Purple Leviathan Ranger!" Vapor shouted. “Seems like unfair odds. Tell you what, if you can beat my men, you can take me on personally Vapor.” Turbine Org remarked before he snapped his fingers. “Tengas! Putrids! Take care of this filth!” As the Tengas and Putrids appeared, Vapor just charged right through them, her white gloved hand gripped tightly on her Leviathan Trident not caring in the slightest about the small fry. She had bigger fish to deal with. She held it in a backwards grip and knocked Turbine Org backwards with the butt of her trident and then stabbed him in the chest multiple times before slamming the prongs of her weapon down on the ground sending a huge tidal wave towards the Org who had haunted her nightmares for months. “Now, looks like you’re all washed up.” Vapor snorted. In the background, the rest of the Rangers were handling the minions quite well. Lightning lashed at some Putrids with her whips and then grabbed a Tenga’s head and twisted it sideways with a sickening crack of bone. Nearby, Sunset had stabbed one Tenga through the chest with her Phoenix Blade and put her Crystal Saber through another’s eye while Sunburst used his Shadow Hatchets to block a Putrid’s staff-zooka before kicking it backwards with a white clad boot. Next, Lightning inserted her Giraffe Crystal into her Saber and fired a beam of yellow energy like a spear impaling several Putrids and Tengas. Meanwhile, Vapor continued her fight with the Turbine Org. He tried to push her back with a gust of wind, but she just flew over and upwards behind him and stabbed him through the chest, much like how he’d done to Grape Vine. As Vapor pulled her trident out of the Org, Thrax’s Wand descended from the sky and fired a beam of scarlet energy at Turbine’s fallen form. With a great rush of wind and a sickening cackle, the Turbine Org stood back up, now as tall as a titan. “Guess who’s back?” He laughed and stomped his foot sending all four Rangers tumbling to the ground. “Alright then, time to show you the true ancient powers of the seas! I call upon the King of the Seas! Leviathan Zord, Descend!” Vapor yelled, and her Saber emitted its signature song and when the Zord heard it, it’s eyes opened wide and when it felt what Vapor was feeling, and rose up out of the waters of Manehatten’s East River much to the shock of the citizens who had never seen such a sight in their life and it rocketed towards the town of Ponyville, it’s flippers and gigantic tail swimming through the air and cutting through it as if were simply going through the waters of the oceans in which it normally dwelled. As soon as it saw the truly gigantic Turbine Org, it’s eyes narrowed. This was the one who had killed his Master. No, that wasn't the right word for it. Friend was more accurate. He felt it. He felt what Vapor wanted and agreed it was time to put this Org down for good. It had overstayed it’s welcome for far too long. Vapor leaped on top of the Zord just as it head-butted the Turbine Org sending it staggering back. She pointed her Crystal Saber at the Org and the Leviathan Zord’s mouth opened and charged up a purple beam of energy. And just for a moment, Vapor thought she felt Grape’s presence nearby and his hand on her shoulder. And then, she could have sworn she heard his voice. “Kick his ass.” The voice said and Vapor nodded. “MEGA ROAR!” Vapor shouted, and both she and her Zord fired twin purple beams of energy at the Turbine Org sending him flying back into a mountain splitting it in half before Vapor put her Saber on top of the central spike of the Trident and threw it with a shout of “Leviathan’s Rage!” The trident grew to gargantuan size as an energy projection of the Leviathan appeared in front of it and bit down on the Turbine Org before the trident impaled him, resulting in a massive explosion that tore the Org apart with an unholy scream of vengeance. Vapor smiled as she took off her helmet. “Finally… Grape, I hope you’re watching from wherever you are, because your death is finally avenged.” Back in Ponyville, two Orgs stood at the site of the Turbine Org’s destruction. One was covered in what looked to be swords with the blades even covering all but one of his yellow toned eyes. The other Org, was themed after a clock, with his clock hands making up a mustache and his single eye resembling a monocle and holding a sword that resembled a longcase clock. “They think they’ve seen devastation? Well… They clearly haven’t met us yet…” The first Org chuckled ominously. (To Be Continued...) "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your trident and your sword, they comfort me." -Vapor Trail Author's Note Okay, so in this chapter Vapor finally overcomes her fears and with everything laid bare, gets a great weight lifted off her shoulders and destroys the Org who killed one of her best friends. Also, we get more of Lightning's backstory and elaborate more on her Inferiority Superiority Complex and just what life was like for her growing up. (Take note how Shining seems to be the only mentally sound Ranger in the bunch) In the meantime, Robert learns Solar is having guards spy on him and meets with a "Mysterious Pony" and befriends her before he gets wise to his stalker before being transported away to parts unknown. Huge thanks to the Villain in Glasses for the scene with the rest of the Rangers telling Vapor that Grape's death was not her fault, as simply put, I couldn't figure out a way to write that scene. Next time: Double Trouble in the form of the Clock and Sword Orgs, and Robert finally meets his Zord and unleashes it's power in a epic throwdown before at last... "GuardianofAnimariaMegazord!" Part 21: Aftermath of Devastation! Double Trouble! Master of Blades and the Clock King! Where are you Robert? Sunset's POV: You ever seen what a town looks like after the devastation of a high level tornado on the EF scale? You know, where buildings have been picked up and tossed and in other cases outright flattened, leaving nothing but the foundations remaining and parts of what once was lying everywhere like toothpicks? Well, that’s what had just happened to Ponyville. During the Turbine Org’s rampage, he had tossed buildings all around, sending them every which way, and any poor soul unlucky enough to be in their path was as good as dead or very close to it. Back to Third Person POV: Honestly, Sunset couldn’t decide which type of pony was the luckiest. Half of Ponyville, destroyed by one Org, and that was before he went giant sized. Before now, all Org battles had taken place in remote areas or the Org was dealt with before he had a chance to do any real damage. But now, that wasn’t the case. Ponies everywhere were sifting through the rubble of their broken and shattered lives all around her, trying to piece together what once was, or simply wandered about, unsure what to do or where to go. Fillies and colts sobbed in the background, and parents tried to comfort them as best they could. Sunset just broke down and sobbed for what was left of her adopted home. She looked at what was left of her home, with the entire top half of it gone completely, and sighed. Homes could be rebuilt, but the lives lost could not be regained. Now, she was witnessing the true power of the Orgs for the first time and what they could do if left unchecked. This was a disaster beyond any in recent recorded history, and she knew she could have stopped it if she and the other Rangers arrived just a bit sooner. “Sunset,” Twilight said as she walked up to her best friend and put a hand on her shoulder, causing her fellow Princess to look at her. “Ponyville needs a leader. It needs guidance. Ponies don’t know what to do now. We need to help them. We’ve never had a need for our Princess status before, but now is that time.” “She’s right you know,” Vapor said as she demorphed. The Thunderbird Zord summoned up a storm with the help of the weather team led by Rainbow Dash to put out fires ignited by gas lines. “Ponies need hope. That’s what Princess Luna and Princess Celestia are for.” “Us…we just stop the monsters as Rangers. We’re just the clean-up crew...” Sunset muttered. “But that’s just it!” Vapor shouted at her. “We are supposed to be signals of hope! That’s part of being a Ranger! We’re supposed to bring hope to the populace even in the darkest of times!” “And we failed today! Ponyville’s in ruins because we couldn’t stop that Org sooner!” Sunset snapped back, tears rolling down her face. Vapor stood firm and she punched Sunset in the face, in hopes of knocking back some sense into her. “NO! Even after the battle, we bring hope. We’re supposed to be a beacon, we need to help out not just with destroying the Orgs, but what happens after the battles. Ponies will be in shock, they need help and need to be shown everything will get back to normal. That’s part of our job, part of YOUR job so get to work! ...or maybe you’re not the Princess of Empathy everypony thinks you are,” she growled out. Thoroughly quailed by Vapor’s unexpected show of assertiveness, Sunset nodded and turned to Twilight, rubbing her cheek where she had been punched. “So, what’s the status on everything so far?” Sunset asked. “Well, Rarity has turned Carousel Boutique into a safehouse for those who are without homes and passing out clothing to anypony who needs it. Pinkie’s trying to cheer everypony up the best she can with...Trixie’s help,” Twilight said with no small amount of derision, “and Ponyville High’s become a safehouse as well, with the Cakes passing out food to anypony who needs it. Shining Armor and the Royal Guard are flying in from Canterlot to help look for the missing and round up the...” Twilight trailed off and swallowed hard, unable to finish the sentence. “Mystic Mother above, what did we do to deserve this tragedy?” “Maybe you should ask Princess Celestia,” a voice that Sunset knew at once to be Animus said, coming through to all of the Ranger’s heads and Twilight’s as well. “She was the one to exterminate humankind after all. There’s a phrase from the olden days. How does it go…? Let me remember… Oh yes. Karma’s a bitch. Maybe now you’re feeling what she thinks of your kind’s atrocities towards the Earth.” “But that was Solar Flare! She was the one to exterminate humankind!” Sunset argued. “Yes, but Princess Celestia is just as guilty as her dark half, if that is even true,” the Lord of the Wild Zords coolly replied. “She let this hatred and bigotry fester for over 2,000 years and never did anything about it. Think on that for a moment.” And then Animus said no more, leaving the Rangers and Twilight quite stunned and speechless. After all, when a god had a point, what could you say to argue with him about it? “Great, chewed out by Animus on his own personal radio station. Ain’t that just wonderful?” Lightning muttered. “What’s worse, he has a point.” Sunset said sourly. Just then, they heard somepony shouting for help. Sunset and Twilight at once recognized it as Lyra’s voice. They followed the sound of the voice to the other side of town and found what used to be a two story home/candy store lying in ruins. Lyra was standing nearby, trying to call for help to anypony who would listen as she tried to levitate the rubble blocking the remnants of the door out of the way, her horn glowing golden in its magical aura. “Come on Bonnie, I know you’re in there somewhere…” Lyra muttered as she strained against the sheer weight of the rubble she was lifting. At once, Twilight and Sunset joined in and added their purple and green magical auras to the task at hand. Soon enough, a passageway to the door was cleared. “Bon-Bon, I know she’s in there! I’ve got to go in after her!” Lyra yelled and ran towards the door, but Twilight held her back. “Are you crazy? That whole building looks like it could collapse at any moment!” she shouted. “But… but my wife! Bonnie! BOONNNNIIIEEE!” Lyra screamed in fear, tears streaming down her face. “We can’t just sit here!” Sunset shouted. “Somepony’s got to go in there and help her out, despite the danger!” With a snarl and a shout of concern from Twilight, Sunset telekinetically threw the door open and walked inside the ruined candy shop. Glass cases had broken up, leaving candy scattered all over the floor and shards of glass everywhere she stepped and cutting in her hooves Sunset wincing in pain each time she stepped on one and crushed it into even more tiny pieces. Sunset grimaced as she saw a huge piece of wooden pylon thrown through a window and impaling itself in a back wall. “Thank Mystic Mother Bon-Bon wasn’t there for that. But she’s got to be around here somewhere, alive or…” Here Sunset choked back a sob. “Dead.” Sunset didn’t want to even think about the kindly mare who was one of the community’s pillars being dead, but she was well aware it was a possibility she had to face. “Bon-Bon! Are you here? Answer me!” Sunset called out, and got no response. She swore softly to herself, her mind at once going immediately to the worse possible scenario. “No, you mustn't think like that. She could be trapped somewhere in some way that she can’t answer me, or maybe she simply just can’t hear me. Yeah, that’s gotta be it! There’s no telling what could have happened. You’ve got to stay positive Sunset.” Sunset walked up the stairs that led to the upper level of the building, and then it creaked and something groaned. “Shit! This building won’t last for much longer! It’s already very close to turning on its side as it is. If it does while both me and Bon-Bon are still in here, we won’t be getting out.” Sunset, now with increased urgency ran upstairs and began kicking down every door she could, all the while still shouting for Bon-Bon. Eventually she heard weak coughing coming from a bedroom. Sunset rushed in and she found what looked to be a filly’s bedroom, with a crib and everything. Sunset remembered that Bon-Bon and Lyra were thinking about having a child. Then, in the back of the room she saw Bon-Bon, crushed under what looked to be a piece of the roof. Sunset lifted and tossed the rubble out of the way and immediately began scanning Bon-Bon’s injuries with her horn, a greenish glow illuminating the white furred mare. She winced at the damage. “Broken bones, cracked ribs, and I'm willing to bet that's the least of the damage considering a roof fell on her. I’ve got to move fast.” Sunset thought and picked up Bon-Bon. “S-Sunset? Is that you?” Bon-Bon asked weakly but Sunset shushed her. “Don’t speak. Now, I’m getting you out of here but we’re going to have to make a quick escape, so brace yourself,” Sunset said before she leaped out the nearest window. Broken glass flew everywhere. Sunset landed on the ground, wings spread like an angel from heaven with Bon-Bon in her arms bridal style. “Bonnie!” Lyra shouted in joy just as Sunset handed the mare off to some nearby medics and informed them of Bon-Bon’s condition before turning to Lyra. “You’d best go with her, she’s going to need the support of a loved one,” Sunset said in a firm but still kind voice. Lyra nodded as Bon-Bon was loaded into the back of an ambulance on a gurney. Lyra leapt in after them and shut the door behind her as the ambulance rolled off down to the nearest hospital. “There’s going to be more that need our help. Best we get to work,” Twilight said. Sunset nodded firmly. “Where’s Robert? Mystic Mother above knows we could have used his help,” Sunburst asked in concern. “I… I don’t know,” Sunset whispered in worry. She knew Robert could handle himself, if him taking down the Camera Org solo was any indication, but with all this devastation and the fact that she knew the first place he probably would have teleported to was Ponyville, she couldn’t help but worry. “Oh, I assume you mean the human. Wears a black leather jacket, speaks with a Trottingham accent, and likes to threaten ponies with punches to the face?” an unfamiliar dark blue mare asked as she walked up, supporting a member of the Royal Guard who was missing a leg. “Last I saw, he was with me, at the Prancing Pony.” the unicorn grunted. “And you are?” Sunset asked suspiciously. “Artemis. Artemis Starborne,” the mare introduced herself. Sunset’s eye narrowed. There was something familiar about the mare, but she couldn’t place it. “But you might know me by another name, Sunset,” Artemis added. Then, the mare dropped her disguise entirely and her clothing was replaced with a long flowing blue dress. Her horn became longer and more slender while two dark blue wings sprouted up from her back. Finally, her mane became longer and almost wispy like with stars in it. “L-Luna?” Twilight gaped. “You have got to be kidding me… Galaxy’s going to throw a fit when he hears about this,” Sunburst muttered to himself quietly, quiet enough so that nopony could hear it. But then a thought struck Sunburst. "Wait... What if he does know? He could be purposefully keeping this a secret, but why? He could have at least let me in the secret. But then again, the lesser ponies within the circle of knowledge is probably for the better." "...But I have to wonder, where is he right now? Ponyville was in danger, and he never showed. But... Then again, he's more active at night. Sensitive eyes and all." Sunburst mused to himself. “Last I saw him, he had to go to the bathroom but he never came back,” Luna said worriedly, her heart beating faster. She wanted to pass it off as just plain concern for Robert’s well being, but honestly she wasn’t really sure if it was just that right now. “Great, so now Robert’s gone missing and we’re down a Ranger! Meanwhile, Moonbutt here’s gone under a masquerade and leaves all of her duties to Princess Celestia! What else could go wrong!?!” Lightning asked, half shouting as she threw her hands up in the air in disbelief at everything that had gone down today. “Okay, that’s it. I’m officially off this train of insanity. Call me when everything goes back to normal,” she grumbled to herself. Twilight meanwhile gaped wordlessly at the fact that Robert was now a Power Ranger again. “Great… Now we’ve got a possible kidnapping of one of our own to worry about,” Sunset muttered. “Oh, I think you’ve got bigger problems then that Rangers!” a voice said tauntingly. All four Rangers, Luna and Twilight whirled around to see TWO Orgs. One was seemingly covered in blades with only a single eye visible and sported twin horns atop his and carried two very sharp looking swords while the other was based upon a clock with a monocle covering his sole eye and his clock hands forming a mustache with a sword in his hands based on a longcase clock. Sunset sighed to herself and morphed in a gold/red flash of light with her fellow Rangers soon joining her. “Just when you think things couldn’t get any worse…” Meanwhile… With Robert: Robert landed with a soft thud upon the snowy grounds of… somewhere. As he got up off the ground and brushed the snow from his face and his vision cleared, he found himself in a snowy forest. Reaching into his jacket and shivering from the freezing winds, he pulled out his morpher. “Alright, don’t you conk out on me now.” Robert muttered and took it off its chain and opened it up to hopefully display a mini-map of where he was. But no such luck, as the mini-map never showed, almost as if something was blocking it. “Permission to say oh cock? Well, this is just wunderbar, as if something’s blocking out the natural energies of the Morphin’ Grid which gives my morpher its powers, it has to be something very strong. A field of some sort I’ll bet, but if it’s this strong, I think the chances of Princess Shayla or any of the Rangers being about to reach me are about nil. So… It seems I’m on my own as always. Mind you, this time it’s not of my own free will.” Robert looked up into the sky, it was night and the stars shown brightly. Okay, different time zone then. The moon was full, a hunter’s moon. “I’m willing to bet whatever that thing is that took me here, it’s stalking me right now so I’d better get a move on.” And so Robert ran through the forest bundling himself up tightly his jacket to help better weather himself against the biting cold. All the while, he continued to hear footsteps, that were definitely not his own against the snow. On closer listening, they sounded almost like… “Pawprints? No, that’s impossible. But then again, I never did get a good look at what or whom was under that mask and cloak.” Robert whirled around and kicked snow in the direction of the footsteps and some of it fell onto an invisible figure, revealing some of his form. While Robert still couldn’t see him, he now knew where he was. “Alright, now I can see you. Who are you?” Suddenly, Robert felt himself kicked in the stomach and felt himself impact against hard wood, splinters going into his back as whatever he hit shattered. Robert groaned in pain and looked at whatever he had crashed into. On a part of the shattered wooden construction, he saw an image of a Japanese macaque, more commonly known as a snow monkey. Then Robert looked to his left and saw a little lake with steam rising from it. An onsen, or a hot spring. He let a smile come to his face. “So that’s where I am. Jigokudani, AKA Hell’s Valley. Fitting, considering this thing could have only come from that place.” Robert mused to himself as he stood up and drew his Crystal Saber. To his shock, the noe masked figure revealed himself fully and drew a saber of his own, identical in every way right down to the crystal. Robert charged towards the figure and their blades met and sparks flew as they clashed again and again, matching each other’s moves perfectly. It was almost like Robert was fighting a mirror double of himself. Trouble was, if you fought someone who fought exactly like you, it would be impossible to score a blow. “Okay then, time to try something I don’t think even this thing can mimick.” “Call to the Beast Inside! Free the Kitsune!” Robert shouted and unleashed his kitsune spirit and to his surprise, the figure simply waved his hand and it vanished into mist. Rober gaped, that simply couldn’t be! So, with a surrendering manner, Robert laid down his Crystal Saber and the figure did the same. “Now, who are you? ...no, that’s not accurate. You can’t be human, not from what I’ve see so I should ask what are you?” “Impressive,” the figure finally spoke in a deep, yet haughty and completely inhuman voice. “You actually decide to think for a change instead of fighting me in a brawl. You apes aren’t as stupid as you used to be. Over the centuries, it seems you’ve gained some actual intellect. I’m what you might call a… manifestation.” “A manifestation? Of what?” Robert asked, still quite tense. “Of the consciousness of what is sealed away here, you little fleshbag.” The being chuckled at Robert’s confused look. “Oh, you fool. You haven’t figured it out yet. Think back, why couldn’t you summon your Kitsune Zord? Then Robert realized. “Because it’s sealed away here. You’re sealed away here.” Robert whispered. “Correct.” “You know, for a Guardian of the Earth, you’re not exactly fond of humanity are you?” Robert questioned. The Guardian growled. “Of course not. Back in my day they couldn’t defend themselves from what lurked in the dark. Sure, when Prometheus provided those little cave dwellers fire they could defend themselves, but they then got greedy and only drove other species to extinction. Mammoths, Sabertooth Tigers, you should know this by now. If they had took what they needed, and only that, those creatures might still be alive today. Even as time went on, humans became more and more stupid. They stopped caring about the Earth and such. I may have been sealed away after the first Wild Force Rangers brought us all back, but I watched as they built cities atop Animaria’s sacred ground and then let the Earth become a wasteland in the years leading up to their extinction.” “Heh, bet you loved it when Princess Genocide took the torch and sword to them didn’t you?” Robert snarled. “Hardly. They may have been a stupid species that allowed my home to go to waste, but they didn’t deserve that little kit. And besides, as you can see, nature took back what was hers. We have the Mystic Mother to thank for that. Irony really, considering who she was in the dark days. Imagine, Rita Repulsa HELPING the Earth instead of trying to conquer it.” The Kitsune Zord chuckled darkly at the irony. “Now, you listen here you little whelp. The only reason I’m letting you free me, besides the fact that I want to be with my fellow Wild Zords again, is because I want that bastard Thrax to get what’s coming to him. He cheated death, and is leading the Orgs to boot.” If the Kistune Zord took notice of Robert’s shock, he didn’t show it or just didn’t outright care entirely. He then gestured Robert to follow him. The two went up a footpath and under a red gate to a stone statue of a fox with a lock at it’s base. “Now, use the key. I know you have it.” In Robert’s hands, a golden key appeared and with more than a hint of trepidation of what he was about to unleash, he inserted the key into its lock, and with a twist and a clicking sound, turned it… Back in Ponyville... The four Rangers faced down the two Orgs, weapons on both sides drawn. If this was the Appleloosian Plains or Dodge Junction, Sunset would’ve half-expected a tumbleweed to roll by at some point. The tension on both sides was so thick you could cut it with with a knife. Then, the blade swung. Both sides charged towards each other and Sunset and Vapor took on Clock Org, while Lightning and Sunburst took on Sword Org. The Clock Org swung his blade and caught Vapor in the chest, drawing blood, but she kicked him in the face, shattering his monocle and making him stagger back. Sunburst threw his Shadow Hatchets at Sword Org, who was held down by Lightning’s whips. The twin axes dealt multiple blows across the Org, but because he was made of tough steel, he didn’t seem to be really affected. He broke free of his restraints and leaped forwards towards Lightning. He stuck a tri pronged kunai dagger into Lightning’s wing, causing her to scream out in pain as blood dripped from the wound. Gritting her teeth, Lightning pulled the knife out her wing and tossed it aside, ignoring the bleeding. The Sword Org slashed Sunburst across the chest, drawing a considerable amount of blood, but Sunburst struck back with a vengeance with one of his Hatchets and cut off one of the horns on the Org’s head. Lightning found a weak point in the Org’s armor at a small point in his chest and stuck her Crystal Saber into it, making the Org grunt in pain, but he kicked her backwards before grabbing her by the wing. He began to pull with the full intent of ripping it clean off. Lightning began to feel her wing bones and muscles beginning to rip and tear as she screamed out in pain. The Org would have succeeded in his task had Sunburst not kicked him in the side and got in a good clean cut with his Crystal Saber on the Org’s right leg. “Oh, nice try. Must give you props for that. But I’m the Master of Blades! Full Body Blades!” Sword Org cried and all the swords on his body extended and Lightning and Sunburst rolled to the side almost in an instant not wanting to get impaled by the blades. Somehow however, the blades seemed to follow them wherever they went. Suddenly, multiple bursts of energy hit the blades, shattering some of them. Luna and Twilight destroyed the others by creating bows of magic and firing multiple arrows of light. The Magna Defender ran onto the scene, Riot Blaster in hand. “Sorry I’m late to the party. Had some search and rescue to do,” he grunted as he pumped his weapon. “‘Tis a good thing you have arrived, Magna Defender,” Luna nodded. “Always happy to make a save,” the Defender remarked as he changed his Riot Blaster back to its Magna Blade mode. He and the Sword Org circled each other. Twilight raised an eyebrow at the Defender. There was something about that voice, she just couldn’t place it though. “So, Sword Org I’m guessing. You say you’re the Master of Blades? Well, let’s find out shall we?” the Magna Defender taunted, beckoning his opponent on. The Sword Org grunted and advanced. The Magna Defender struck immediately, dealing a sideways golden energy slash across Sword Org’s chest before the Org returned the strikes with his own blades but the Defender blocked them both with his own sword as he smirked under his helmet. “I’ve been training with the sword for over twenty years. How long have you been at it? Answer, not long enough,” he chuckled as he crossed blades with his foe once again. “What makes you say that?” Sword Org asked. “Am I supposed to be impressed?” “Well, a true swordsman is aware of everything around him, and you’re evidently not,” the Defender remarked just as Lightning and Sunburst reappeared and kicked the Org in the chest making him stagger back. “...And yes, you’re supposed to be impressed, idiot,” the Magna Defender deadpanned. Meanwhile, Sunset and Vapor had been holding their own against Clock Org, right up until the moment he revealed his special attack. “Hand Arrows!” he shouted, and a good thirty to fifty clock hands, sharpened to a point materialized in mid-air around him. As soon the Clock Org pointed his sword at Vapor and Sunset, they launched, impaling the Purple and Gold Rangers in various areas. Thankfully, no vital arteries were hit. However, both were left in a bad state and were struggling to stand up with only their respective weapons used as support. “Oh, such a waste. I was expecting to have such a good time destroying you. You’re supposed to be an actual challenge. Power Rangers, give me a break,” Clock Org scoffed before he readied the arrows again. In the Nexus, Thrax chuckled. It looked like the Rangers had finally met their match. But then a thought occurred to him. “There’s still two more of them out there, and they could create… complications in the future, plus these Rangers could pass on their powers to others.” Thrax growled as he fingered a piece of golden armor, the last of the legendary warrior Goldar’s remnants. It looked like he would have to speed up his revival a little faster than he anticipated. Back on the battlefield, the arrows launched but were suddenly cut to ribbons by several golden crescent waves of energy as Zen-Aku appeared out of nowhere. “Zen-Aku!” Vapor cried happily. The rogue Duke Org simply smiled at her before pulling out his Lunar Dagger/Flute as he faced both Orgs and pointed it at them. Lightning's eyes widened. Zen-Aku? It couldn't be. Right in front of her was a unicorn, not a Duke Org resembling a wolf. “You two are pathetic. You, Sword Org. You call yourself the Master of Blades? I know a Duke Org who’s still around who might want to disagree with you on that. You’re arrogant and stupid. A bad combination. As for you Clock Org, you’re not even worth my time. I know both of these Rangers could easily defeat you. Power Rangers throughout history have overcome stronger monsters in a long line of creatures determined to destroy or conquer the Earth. You’re not the first, and nor will you be the last,” he stated before turning to Sunset. “Now, what’s that old human phrase Merrick liked to use? Oh yes, kick their ass.” “Gladly.” Sunset nodded, a new found strength filling her as her wings ignited into flame. She charged, Phoenix Blade and Crystal Saber in hand. With a wide swing, she cut through Clock Org’s sword and cleaved the top half off of it before blasting him backwards with magic. "Phoenix Blade, Fire Strike!" she shouted, and cleaved him in half with a burst of flaming energy. The two pieces of the Clock Org staggered, then slowly fell to the ground. “Your time’s up,” Sunset growled as she turned to the Sword Org. “Lightning, restrain him!” She ordered “Trust me, I got this,” Lightning replied with a flirty smirk before grabbing the other Org with her whips. She tossed him to Shining, who got in a sword strike with his Magna Blade before he kicked him to Sunburst, who threw his axes. They impacted the Sword Org several times before returning back to Sunburst as Vapor tossed her Trident, impaling the Org from behind. With a final shout, Sunset came down from above, both blades ignited in flame before she struck. At last, the Sword Org went down in a huge explosion. In the Nexus, Thrax roared in rage and his entire body glowed red at the sight of his champions falling. “Magic Wand, make my Orgs grow!” he screamed. The Rangers’ celebration at their victory came too soon. In an explosion of energy, both Orgs reappeared, now the size of giants. The Rangers stared in disbelief; they were exhausted and bleeding in various areas, and none but Shining could maintain the energy to stay morphed. “Oh boy…” Lightning muttered as Twilight rapidly created magical adhesives to stop the bleeding from her wing. “N-Now what?” Sunburst wondered as he clutched his chest with a hand to stop the blood flow. Then, he got his answer. An ear-piercing roar split the battlefield, and everyone turned to its source. Atop a hill, standing tall and proud and ready for battle, was the Kitsune Zord, bright orange with a fanged maw. Fearsomely sharp claws jutted out from it’s paws. It had two piercing green slitted eyes and nine flowing tails which waved behind it ominously. It’s eyes narrowed before leaping off the hill towards the two Orgs. Now the true battle was on! (To be continued…) Author's Note Okay, this is what you've been waiting for... The throw-down between the long awaited Kitsune Zord and a Org and then, the Megazord transformation! Part 22: Throwdown of the Wild Zords! Megazord Transformation achieved!Author's Note Well... Only one thing to say... Go Go Power Rangers! Part 22: Throwdown of the Wild Zords! Megazord Transformation achieved! A resounding crash that echoed for miles around was the result of the King of Foxes slamming it’s entire body into the Clock Org toppling it to the ground below and knocking down trees for miles around in the Everfree Forest, once known as the One Hundred Mile Wilderness. Outside a small hut made from a tree, a mohawked Zebra mare stared as she watched the great battle unfold. “Two beasts from times beyond immortal, this is a clash that will change both the landscape and everypony’s notions surrounding what they thought was true of Equestria. History was forgotten, and now it is reemerging with a vengeance.” She thought to herself. “Chukwu, I hope I know your purpose in orchestrating these events, and that you are not mistaken in doing so.” Clouds of smoke rose from the battle site as the Kitsune Zord pinned it’s prey under a claw but the Clock Org shot an eyebeam from his singular eye and hit the Kitsune Zord right in the head. The King of Foxes roared out in an ear piercing sound of pain and released his hold on the Clock Org’s sword arm and the Org in question dealt out a devastating slash with his saber. Back in Ponyville, the Rangers, Twilight, and Luna could hear the sound of battle echoing in the distance. “...Wow, they’re really going at it.” Sunburst observed. Then a very familiar haughty voice laughed in amusement as it’s owner made himself known as he sat down on top of a building’s roof. “Well, what can I say? When it comes to entrances, my motto is go big, or go home.” Robert’s voice remarked cockily as he smirked. Finally, he could get back to the fun part of being a Ranger, having a powerful Zord and using it to blow up monsters. Sunset groaned and facepalmed. “Great, first I wanted him here to give us a hand, now I want him to leave already.” She thought to herself even as she pulled some of the Clock Org’s arrows out of her body, not caring about the blood dripping to the ground. “Great, so the foxy man-whore has arrived...” Lightning mused sarcastically to herself. “So, I see you found your Zord and actually got him to listen to you. Looks like you can get it up after all.” She then remarked in a slightly flirtatious tone, but it was also incredibly mocking as well. “Listen wouldn’t be the right word.” Robert commented as he hopped down off his perch to the ground below. “...More like, just let him loose and he’ll trash any Org he sees and not care about the damage done in the process. Masashi Kishimoto must be looking down at me and laughing his head off at this entire thing.” Robert grumbled to himself as he demorphed. “Who’s Masashi Kishimoto?” Sunburst asked as he looked towards Twilight, hoping she’d know. “Beats me.” She said as the Kitsune Zord charged towards the Clock Org and as the Org tried it’s arrow hands attack, creating about one hundred arrows, each far more dangerous than they were at normal size. But the Kitsune Zord was ready and unleashed a blast of blue flames at them as they burned to ashes. “Now, you going to try that again, you bastard?” The Kitsune Zord asked, slashing forwards with one of his claws and carving several deep furrows across the face causing the Org’s eye to burst open and splatter the Kitsune Zord’s muzzle with gore. The Clock Org let out an ear-piercing scream at the loss of his eye, but the Kitsune Zord didn’t seem to mind at all. In fact, he actually smiled. It was a frightening, almost demonic grin thanks to his fang filled maw and eye goop-covered muzzle. “At last, the feeling of ripping an Org to shreds. Just what I needed to wake me up from a very long nap. This old man may be rusty in some areas, but he’s not out of the fight!” He thought. He was dealt another devastating slash by the Clock Org’s sword, but ignored the pain and punched the Org in the face with a fist making him stagger back before he whirled around and slammed the Org across the side of his head with all nine of his tails, sending him crashing to the ground gouging a large crater in the earth where it landed. Just then, the Sword Org tried to take him from behind while the Kitsune Zord was otherwise distracted. “So, you think you can challenge both of us?” He crowed, swinging for the Kitsune’s neck, only to be stopped when a set of silver jaws latched onto his arm, staying his blade. The Wolf Zord had arrived, and he wasn’t alone as the brown coyote Zord launched it’s tail like a boomerang and sent the sword Org staggering back before a small blue form struck again and again, getting it’s talons at very specific spots in the Sword Org’s armor before revealing itself to be a small blue Zord based on a swallow. To add to the humiliation of the Sword Org, the Falcon Zord then came down from the skies and hit the Org again and again with it’s talons. The Kitsune Zord was not amused in the slightest by his new found help from his fellow Wild Zords. “Can’t you just let me take these two fools on? I can handle these two by myself!” He roared. The Falcon Zord let out a cry as it flew up for another pass. The Coyote and Wolf Zords double teamed the Clock Org and pounced on him and ripped into him with their claws even as he tried to get back up. “Always the arrogant one aren’t you? You just can’t admit you need help or accept it because of your pride, old fox.” The Falcon chuckled in amusement. “Who the hell are you calling old!?” The Kitsune snapped, whacking the Clock Org again with its tails as it tried to get back up. “You can’t just leave us out. We’re Guardians of the Earth as well, and I haven’t gone to town on an Org in ages!” The Swallow Zord put in. “Shut up, the two of you.” The Kitsune Zord rebuffed as he blasted flames at the Sword Org but was ignored. Meanwhile, Robert had just taken notice of Sunset and Vapor’s states and he snarled. “Who did this to you?” He asked coldly, and Vapor weakly gestured to the Clock Org and Robert snarled again. This time, he shared the Kitsune Zord’s sentiments of no mercy. “Rip them to shreds.” He mentally commanded. “Believe you me, whelp, I was planning on doing that anyways, but make no mistake. This isn’t about you getting vengeance for your mates.” “They’re not… We’re not… We’re not having sex!” Robert mentally shouted and the Kitsune Zord chuckled. “Deny that all you want, but I can tell by your pheromones you’re attracted to at least ONE of them. Besides, I think you’ve got other things to worry about than these two Orgs.” The Kitsune Zord pointed out. Robert looked and found he was right. Popping out of the woodwork and surrounding them on all sides were hoards of both Tengas and Putrids. “Oh boy... This isn’t good. We’re already exhausted from fighting three Orgs in a row, and we’re injured to boot. We can’t fight in this condition!” Sunset said, panting hard and sweat rolling down her face. While she said this, Robert noted a pure black furred unicorn stallion carrying a crescent moon shaped blade and had wolf like eyes that glowed pure gold. His eyes narrowed, there was only one creature in his knowledge that had those specific traits but it simply couldn’t be him... Could it? “Oh yeah, just watch me!” Lightning snarled, blood dripping from her lip. Robert had to give her credit, either due to arrogance, stupidity or outright bravery, she just wouldn’t give up. That was a quality to admire, and Robert found his respect for her growing, if only just a little. “But… But we’re powerless in this condition to stop them!” Sunburst squeaked in fear. Then, a voice Robert never thought he’d ever hear in a million years filled the air. It was filled with loving and warmth, and caring and reassurance that everything would be okay. But it was who the voice was coming from that shocked Robert the most. Appearing in the sky was a woman in a white robe and elaborate headdress with the symbol for the Mystic Force on it. “Powerless? You are never without power, Rangers. You just have to know where to find it.” Rita said before all of the Rangers found their wounds healing, just like that and their strength renewed. “The Mystic Mother…” Sunset said in awe while Robert gaped and once he’d regained the power of speech, muttered “No, it can’t be. Rita?” “Yes, that was once my name Robert Williams. But I have cast that visage aside, now I am forever the Mystic Mother. Now, I believe it is Morphin’ Time.” “Well then… What are we waiting for? Time to show them what we got.” Sunset growled. As one, the Rangers shouted “Legendary Wild Access, ha!” (Morphing Sequences) With a flash of flame, Sunset was transported to the inside of a volcano and stood on the middle of a rock as she was transformed and she gained a gold and red form-fitting costume with diagonal tooth marks across her chest and her Cutie Mark on her right breast with a phoenix's head themed helmet forming around her head accompanied by a loud screeching sound. Standing on a rocky desert plateau as storm clouds rumbled and lightning flashed in the background, Lightning gained an aqua colored costume with the same diagonal tooth marks across her chest and her Cutie Mark of a yellow lightning bolt with stars appeared on her right breast as a helmet similar in design to Sunset's appeared on her head, with the sound similar to that of a falcon's call. On a beach, a tidal wave washed over Vapor Trail and she gained a purple costume similar in design to the others with her Cutie Mark of a comet on her left breast as well with the tooth marks on the opposite side of her chest and a sperm whale themed helmet formed over her head with the noise of a deep sea beast's hum. In a dark barely moonlit orchard of apple trees, clouds of black smoke surrounded Sunburst and he gained a black costume with his Cutie Mark of an orange sun with bursting yellow rays on his left breast just like Vapor Trail's costume, and also like Vapor's the tooth marks appeared on the right side of his chest with a bat themed helmet much like the Jungle Fury Bat Spirit Ranger's appearing around his head along with a loud bat screech sound. A flash of pure blue flames enveloped Robert as he stood in one of the red gate lined pathways that led up to Inari’s sacred shrine on Mt. Inari and was given an orange form-fitting costume with tooth marks going diagonally across the left side of his chest and a golden fox’s head on his right breast. Then, a cape flamed into existence and a misty orange nine tailed fox bit down on Robert’s head and formed his helmet. (Morphing Sequences End Here) “Guardians of the Earth, united we roar! Power Rangers, Wild Force!” And so, all six Rangers along with Zen-Aku charged into battle as one, finally united as a team and engaged the hoard. Vapor took on a squad of Putrids, impaling one with her Trident and swinging it around before tossing the poor fellow into a building’s window, glass shards flying everywhere. Lightning lashed out with her whips, pulling a Tenga towards her before delivering a skull shattering punch. Shining changed his Magna Blade into its Riot Blaster mode and opened fire on a squad of Putrids, felling them. Sunset reignited her wings and flew through a murder of Tengas, scorching them down to the bone. “Fried crow, anyone?” She said with a chuckle. Nearby, Zen-Aku fired off a huge Crescent Wave, decapitating a hoard of both Putrids and Tengas, purple blood flying everywhere. Just then, a Tenga engaged her with a sword in it’s talons, but she parried it with her Crystal Saber before she hit the Tenga in the forehead with the hilt of her Phoenix Blade making it stagger back. Sunburst then cut it down along with a few others thanks to his Shadow Hatchets. Meanwhile, Robert was engaging against a squad of Putrids and he smirked. “Let’s do this the easy way.” He chuckled and fired his Kitsune Blaster up in the air, it's shot branching out into multiple beams which punctured holes in the Putrids’ chests. A Tenga tried to come from behind him, but he fired his blaster and felled it without even turning to look. “Tenga Bye-Bye.” Robert smirked. Then, everyone’s attention turned to the sound of a loud crash as the Sword Org punched the Kitsune Zord in the head before it knocked away all the other Zords with his Full Body Blades attack. At that point, everyone heard Princess Shayla’s voice in their head. “Rangers, now is the time to combine your Wild Zords. It is the only way you will be able to defeat this Org.” She said, and all five Wild Force Rangers nodded before they pointed their Sabers skywards and shouted “Wild Zords, descend!” In the mountain that overlooked Canterlot Castle, the Phoenix Zord erupted from its peak as lava flew everywhere and it flew towards Ponyville. In the mesas above Appleloosa, a storm gathered as lightning crashed, with the Thunderbird emerging from the skies and rocketed towards the battlefield. In Manehattan’s East River, the Leviathan Zord reemerged from its hiding place and headed towards it’s destination. Meanwhile, in a cave above Sweet Apple Acres, the Vampire Bat Zord emerged and flew for the battle to come. Both Applejack and her younger sister looked upwards in awe. Finally, all five Legendary Wild Zords were gathered in one place, something that had not been seen for over 6,000 years. “Wild Zords, combine!” With shifting and whirring sounds, the Leviathan Zord split in half and it’s head and jaw folded open to become feet and the tail split open at the back as the Kitsune Zord’s back legs folded up into it’s chest and excess metal in it’s chest detached to form twin katanas and it’s head folded downwards to become a chestplate as it’s front legs detached with hisses of steam with the wings of both the Phoenix and Thunderbird Zords detaching as the tail feathers sprouted clawed hands and both Legendary Bird zords became the arms, the Phoenix sprouting the kanji for fire on it’s winged shoulder pad and the Thunderbird, the kanji for lightning on it's own. A tusked head popped up from the Kitsune Zord’s neck, and the Vampire Bat Zord, wings detaching as it clanged onto the back of the Megazord and it’s head moved upwards and became the helmet. “Animaria Guardian Megazord, ready!” All five Rangers shouted as they teleported into the cockpit and put their Crystal Sabers into their respective consoles and the newly formed Megazord’s eyes opened and it spun it’s katanas, armed for battle, the setting sun in the background casting a red orange glow on the fighting machine. “Alright, time to go sword to sword.” Sunset smirked as both fighters raised their blades. The Sword Org struck first, scoring it’s first blow across the chest causing the newly formed Megazord to stagger and sparks to fly. As the two titans battled, the earth shook from their very weight. Ponyville’s citizens watched in awe as the huge battle got underway. One pony, a tan colored pegasi with a red mane rubbed his glasses to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. “Nope, still there.” He thought to himself. Zephyr Breeze and Rarity came out of their shared home and watched the two giants fight sword to sword, and at once they knew who was one of the Rangers piloting that colossus. “Kick it’s ass, Robert.” Zephyr thought while Rarity mused “Go Sunset, I know you can do it. You’ve faced bigger challenges than this thing, no pun intended. ...Oh, I do hope she realized I was speaking metaphorically.” Hiding amongst the ruins of a house was Sparkler. She had seen the battle with the Putrids/Tengas VS the Rangers go down and at once knew who the one in orange was. She raised a fist in the air as the two titans clashed and shouted "Go, go, Power Rangers!" The Megazord turned to its left and the phoenix head making up part of the left shoulderpad unleashed a blast of flame upon the Sword Org. Down below, Luna turned to the Magna Defender. “Shouldn’t you give them a hand, Defender?” “I don’t think they need it.” Shining mused. But then, the Sword Org scored a powerful slash across the Megazord’s chest and made it stumble backwards and fall over into a cluster of trees toppling them over like dominos for miles around and it’s katanas flew from its hands. “On the other hand…” Shining was about to shout for the Torozord, but Zen-Aku held up his flute to stop him. “Wait, let’s see how this plays out. I have faith in the Rangers’ abilities.” “We’ve… We’ve got to get back up!” Sunset grimaced and all the Rangers concentrated their strength and slowly, but surely the Megazord regained its bearings as Ponyville cheered for the colossal titan. It got then another slash across the chest from the Sword Org however. “Let’s teach him a little lesson.” Lightning snarled. The Rangers retaliated in kind and turned the Megazord to the right and the Thunderbird’s mouth glowed yellow before bolts of lightning came down from the sky, and knocked the Sword Org’s blades from his hands. “Full Body Blades!” The Sword Org cried and all of the blades on his body came right at them and dealt a tremendous amount of damage to the Megazord. In alarm, Vapor looked at the power levels and her eyes widened considerably. “All systems are in the red, and power’s dropping fast!” She shouted as the consoles and the cockpit sparked everywhere. “Time to finish this guy off then.” Sunset snarled as all the Ranger’s Animal Crystals glowed. Almost in an instance, a long pole appeared in the Megazord’s hands and the Vampire Bat Zord’s wings attached to it, and now the Megazord was wielding a truly gigantic war axe. It raised it above it’s head, one side broiling with fire, the other with lightning each element coming from one of the Legendary Bird Zords. With one mighty blow, it brought the axe down on the Sword Org’s head and through his body in a helmsplitter maneuver and bifurcated him completely in half down the middle. Next, the Megazord planted the axe head into the ground as the monster’s two halves exploded in front of it and Ponyville cheered. “Good job Vapor, good job.” Zen-Aku smiled. “Well done Rangers… Well done indeed.” Animus thought as he looked down above from the heavens with pride. END Part 23: DoubtsSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Part 24: Ain't No Party like a Pinkie PartyAuthor's Note Yes, yes, I know, I did say no more updates for this month, but then I remembered what today was and I knew I already had this ready so I figured... Oh, what the Hell? Enjoy yourselves, like the title says... Ain't no Party Like a Pinkie Party! (And sorry Villain for releasing when I told you I wouldn't but today is Earth Day, so this can't go uncelebrated in some form given the main theme of GaoRangers/Wild Force. Also, sorry Black_Knight for not sending you this to proofread. I did double-check this in GDocs and it said there were no obvious grammar errors to speak of, and hey, who am I to argue with a computer?) Part 24: Ain't No Party like a Pinkie Party Robert, the very next day found himself wandering around town when suddenly a pink blur hit him like a bullet from a gun and sent him crashing into the dirt. “Ohmygosh!Ican’tbelievethis!SunsettoldmetherewasanewpersonintownbutIdidn’tbelieveherandsaid”Areyouinsaneinthemembranesister?” The blur, a pink Earth Pony mare with bubblegum like hair said so fast Robert was barely able to pick up what she was saying at all even as he picked himself up and dusted off his jacket. Even so, without giving the chance for Robert to get in a word in edgewise or even introduce himself, the rapid talking mare continued. “Buuuuuuuutttt,lookslikeIwaswrongandnowIfeelsogulityfornotevenknowingyouexistedandnowIgottathrowyouabelatedwelcometoPonyvilleparty!” As Pinkie dashed off leaving a cloud of dust in her wake, Robert sighed and rubbed his temples. “...Well, at least she’s not out for my blood. Girl really needs to cut down on the caffeine though.” Golden Oaks Library: Meanwhile, Sunset had taken a visit to Twilight at the Golden Oaks. She knew if she was to separate Solar Flare from Celestia, she’d need Twilight’s scientific expertise. Sunset may have been somewhat of an egghead, but separating two beings was beyond her. She was more interested in historical knowledge nowadays. Twilight was the more magic savvy of the twosome. If Sunset were still an arrogant mare, she would have highly doubted Twilight could beat her in a duel. But nowadays, Sunset would admit Twilight had her beat in terms of pure magical prowess. “Sunset!” Twilight greeted happily and hugged her as she walked in the door. “Social call, or business?” Twilight then realized it was business from the serious look on Sunset’s face. “We’ve got a serious problem on our hands. It’s about Princess Celestia.” “If you’re here to say she’s wrong about Robert or humankind, then this conversation will be a short one.” Twilight replied. “It is, but you’ve got to hear me out. Celestia isn’t entirely responsible for all of this. We’ve got a Nightmare Moon situation on our hands, and it’s been festering unknown to anypony until now for the last 2,000 years.” “But-” “Twilight, think about it. The Celestia who raised us like her own children, the one who preaches love and tolerance to all races no matter what they’re like… Tartarus, she even offered peace to the Changelings and the Dragons for crying out loud! Does that sound like somepony who would commit mass genocide?” Sunset asked, and Twilight stayed silent. After a few moments, she spoke. “...No, no. I guess you’re right.” Twilight admitted. “So, there’s a Nightmare Moon like presence in Celestia’s head going about unchecked?” “Yeah, Solar Flare. I thought the possibility was always a myth, but Luna herself confirmed it when Solar tried to kill her and sent her into hiding, which is why she’s here in Ponyville disguised as that Artemis mare. Now I’m not saying Celestia’s entirely innocent in all of this, given she’s been feeding propaganda for the last 2,000 years but Solar Flare was the one who exterminated humankind. For all we know she’s got other agendas that could come to light as well, even with Celestia holding her back. She’s got to be dealt with, and soon. That’s why I came to you, we need a device to split the twosome so Solar Flare can be destroyed.” Sunset continued and Twilight nodded nervously. “...Alright, I-I’ll see what I can come up with. This may take a while though. But I do have some good news, on that other project you asked me about a while back?” “Yeah?” Sunset asked, her hopes for good news rising. “It’s ready. But you never quite said who it was for.” Twilight replied, holding out a completely repaired SPD morpher. “I don’t know how much energy I could manage to get out of it, but it’s good for at least one morph. I assume you want to add on to your current power set or have a backup in case of emergency?” “...Something like that.” Sunset said, taking the Morpher and thanking Twilight before she ran out the door. Twilight meanwhile turned to a letter she’d just received from A.K. Yearling AKA Daring Do. “Dear Princess Twilight, I think I have something that concerns you. Not too long ago, I was exploring some ancient ruins and I found a set of bones along with a mysterious aqua colored crystal…” Elsewhere, Robert feeling a bit hungry wandered his way to Sugarcube Corner, one of the few buildings on this side of town to escape the Turbine Org’s rampage. But as soon as Robert entered the gingerbread like house, he found the lights were all off. Alarm bells blared inside his head and he subconsciously reached for his Crystal Saber. Then, with an explosion of confetti the lights went on and all around him were the various ponies Robert had met along with his fellow Rangers. Above him was a big banner that read “Happy Belated Welcome To Ponyville Party Robert Williams!” with various balloons and streamers all around. “See, I told you I’d throw you a party!” Pinkie beamed. “Do you like it?” “Yeah...Yeah, I do. Just.. unexpected, that’s all.” Robert admitted, resheathing his Saber. “...How do you even…?” He trailed off and Sunset put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s Pinkie, don’t question it.” She said and motioned for a pure white mare wearing shades at a turntable to turn up the volume. And so the party began. At one point during the whole affair, Rarity walked up with a gift wrapped box in her hands. “Here, I’ve been meaning to give this to you. Go on, open it! It won’t bite, I promise.” She said kindly. Robert’s eyes widened once he saw what was inside. “How…?” Robert asked as he opened the box and saw a black trench coat with a snarling orange nine tailed fox stitched on the back and the words “Fighting Fox” emblazoned on it below the image. “Oh please Robert, I’m not stupid. I took notice of the fact that the Orange Ranger was the only one who didn’t have hooves. I didn’t get this far as a fashionista without being able to notice the teensy little details, after all.” Rarity said and handed him the trench coat. “Go ahead, try it on.” She encouraged, and with a resigned sigh Robert pulled it on and actually found it fit him quite nicely. Plus, with the kitsune logo on the back he could pay homage to the civilian outfits of the original Wild Force Rangers. “Gotta talk the others, or at least Sunset into getting pieces of clothing with their respective animals on it. I mean, that wings and horn combination isn’t really doing her secret identity any favors. It’s even more obvious than Clark Kent being Superman.” Robert mused as he walked over to the refreshments table and started cutting of a slice of cake. But he wasn’t alone. “Hello Robert.” Artemis greeted with a bow, wearing a magnificent blue dress with the constellation of Sagittarius stitched intricately on it. Robert remembered that in Greek mythology, Sagittarius is usually identified as a centaur: half human, half horse, much like the Megazord combination Koragg/Leanbow took at times. However, perhaps due to the Greeks' adoption of the Sumerian constellation, some confusion always had surrounded the identity of the archer itself. Some thought he was Chiron, the mentor to the hero Jason, son of Zeus. Others thought him to be that other heavenly centaur, Centaurus. Honestly, Robert didn’t particularly care which it was or for the numerous arguments on its identity. He just liked to look at it for what it was, a very beautiful work of art weaved in the night sky. Not that he’d ever say this aloud of course, he had a reputation to keep up. “N-Nice dress.” Robert managed to cough out, his punch going down the wrong way due to how shocked he was on how beautiful Artemis looked. Robert cursed himself, he found himself at a loss for words for once. “Guess it’s time to go to the old fallback. Flirt and hope I can get a good conversation out of this.” He thought before speaking. “So, you’ve been on dates with stallions before I assume? I mean, surely somepony of your beauty would have been asked on dates before.” Robert remarked as he took a bite of the cake. Artemis blushed red and nodded. “Yes… Although it did not go well.” She replied with a grimace and a slight wince. Robert had a slight feeling that this date, judging by Artemis’s reaction “Not well” was a massive understatement. “How not well are we talking about?” Robert inquired. “Well, let me put it this way. This stallion was the type of pony who you would always sorta get the feeling he was rather untrustworthy and would probably leave you to pay the check.” Artemis replied with a weary sigh, rubbing her temples. “You’re understating, aren’t you?” Robert replied in a deadpan tone, so intrigued by his friend’s story that he’d forgotten all about the cake slice, even when it was inches from his mouth. “Yes, we are.” Artemis replied in an equally deadpan tone, hoping that Robert didn’t notice her little slip-up in speech mannerisms. “This stallion was the type to compliment you on everything, but then he would flirt outrageously with every waitress or every other mare in his line of view, all the while with you directly across from him!” Artemis snapped. Robert winced. Even he wasn’t that bad, or stupid. He knew that if you wanted to keep a woman’s attention long enough for you to get into their knickers, rule number one was NOT to flirt with other women and risk getting slapped. “...Please tell me you slapped him so hard he still feels the sting whenever he even thinks about you.” Robert stated and Artemis laughed. “Oh, I did one better than that. I teleported right out and left him to pay the check.” Artemis replied with an almost fox like smirk. “Oh, that is completely cold. I like you, Artemis. I really do.” Robert replied and Luna/Artemis blushed red once again, her cheeks lighting up like a tomato. She liked using this form, largely because it allowed her to be herself and see what other ponies truly thought of her when they didn’t know she was listening. However, now she liked it for a different reason, as it allowed her to be near Robert as she knew he didn’t trust any form of royalty apart from Sunset and possibly Prince Shining Armor. “Come on Robert, join the dancing! This party’s all for you, after all!” Pinkie Pie called as she did a jig, her ever poofy hair bouncing up and down like balloons. Robert noted that her hair wasn’t the only thing that was bouncing. “Huh, wonder if she’s that frisky in the sack.” He idly wondered before popping the cake slice in his mouth. “No, sorry… Not my type of music. Never been into drum and bass.” Robert said bluntly and a record scratched and the music along with everypony else went silent and turned directly to him. DJ-PON-3 even lifted up her shades to peer at him with her red eyes. “...What’d I say?” Robert asked in confusion, as he looked towards Artemis. “Well, you did just indirectly insult one of the most popular musicians in Equestria.” Artemis deadpanned, her eyes half lidded. Robert slapped a palm to his face and let it slide down in a very slow manner before looking upwards and muttering “...Crikey Moses.” Vinyl looked at Sunset and asked “Is he always this rude?” “Yeah, usually. ...Though to be fair, this is the first time it’s not been on purpose, so maybe he’s improving a little.” Sunset idly wondered. “Okay… Clearly I must make up for this grievous error and yet somehow still find a piece of music that everyone in here will like.” Robert said largely to himself before an idea came to him as he tossed his phone to Vinyl. “Hey, do you do J-Pop? ...Though I suppose it’s called N-Pop nowadays given every country’s probably been ponified...” He asked/muttered to himself. “I’ll see what I can mix up.” Vinyl replied. “Okay, good. That is the business, then! Scroll down and select track 175.” And so a song began to play. This was a song that had been composed for the various Japanese adaptations of the Power Rangers, both real and thought up starting way back with AbaRanger back in 2004. Vinyl created a magical screen as everyone danced along and tried to rap to the lyrics shown. The rest of the Wild Force Rangers eyes widened, as they were now starting to get an idea of the legacy they had to live up to. 199 heroes all with the same goal, to save the world. And for all they knew, that number would grow. Tartarus, it already had with their inclusion. Artemis’s eyes widened when she saw a brief cameo of a warrior that looked almost exactly like the armored figure Shining transformed into, minus the horn. “Is that… the Magna Defender?” Artemis asked in shock. “Yeah, or Black Knight BullBlack as he’s known in his TV adaptation over in Japan, and those six known as the GaoRangers, they were our predecessors in terms of Power Sets, despite their suits barely having a passing resemblance to us design wise.” Robert explained. “...I’m still wondering how the TV writers can get so many things accurate. I mean, Samurai Sentai Shinkenger was uncanny in getting the adventures of the Samurai Rangers onto TV. It’s a bit scary actually.” “...You sure know your Ranger facts.” Lightning commented as she walked up, punch in hand. “Guess that’d make you… Oh, what’s that word… Oh yeah, Egghead.” Robert rolled his eyes and smirked at her before saying “The proper term would be Otaku, baka-pegasus.” with a little wag of his finger. Vapor leaned over to Sunset and whispered “How does someone have three different nationalities anyways? I mean, he speaks with a Trottingham accent, but uses both Germanic and Neighponise words fluently.” “Well, there’s a simple explanation for that. ...And that’s I’m not quite sure. To be honest, you’d have to ask him yourself.” “Maybe he’s just well read?” Sunburst mused, a hand stroking his beard. Both Sunset and Vapor stared at him. “Robert? Well-read? That’s not a combination I can think of. It’d be like Rainbow reading the Art of War by Sun Tzu, I simply can’t see it.” Sunset chuckled. “You know I can hear you both, ya know?” Robert deadpanned. Both mares had the decency to blush. At one point, Pinkie marched over with a big grin on her face and drinks in hand. “Hey, why don’t you try these? Made them myself. Applejack gave me the recipe, though I might have… modified it just to see what I could come up with. Don’t even know what to call them!” Robert and Lightning both shared a shrug as they took the drinks and drowned them with a shared “Bottoms up!” and almost immediately gained looks of pure and utter bile on their faces and Lightning actually spit hers out at once. “Yeah, I’ve got a name for it. The Bloody Awful!” Lightning growled, looking about ready to lynch Pinkie. “...Oh, I don’t know. I think Desperate Shag in a Skip might be a more accurate term.” Robert said bluntly as he tried to hold back his gag reflex. “Yeah, guess I should stick to the original recipes from now on, shouldn’t I?” Pinkie said, her mane deflating like a balloon. “You think?” Robert deadpanned, eyes half lidded before he laid a hand on her shoulder. “”Well, I gotta give you props for trying though. Some of the greatest inventions in history would have never been thought of unless someone had a crazy idea.” “Really?” Pinkie asked, perking up somewhat and Robert smiled kindly. “Yeah, really.” As the party wore on, and the tracks changed from various artists and their works like Chuck Berry’s Roll Over Beethoven and The Sweet’s Fox on the Run ponies and human alike got drunker and drunker. Eventually, Robert and Artemis somehow found themselves teleported back to her room at the Prancing Pony. “...Well, that was a party I won’t forget.” Robert commented, wiping sweat off his face and brushing confetti of his new trenchcoat. In the background, unnoticed by him Artemis flicked on a radio and a soft jazzy version of Don’t Stop Me Now began to play. “...Yes, Ms. Pie’s parties do have that effect on people.” She said. “Actually probably the first party I’ve enjoyed in a long time really. Usually I’m just at the back of the bloody room staring at a potted plant while my moronic berks that I call uncles Geki and Burai try to outdo each other in whatever bleedingly stupid fucking contests they can think up.” Robert muttered to himself. “Well, I can say that one probably made up for all of those, did it not?” Artemis asked, tracing a hand on Robert’s face and stroking his chin. “Y-Yeah, I suppose so.” Robert stuttered out even as he cursed himself yet again. Usually in situations like this one, he could control himself and stay calm. He was the one usually doing the subtle flirtations, not the other way around! ...Well, his version of subtle probably differed from everyone else’s one could suspect. Artemis smiled happily, using her horn’s magic to slide the right strap on her dress down her shoulder before she spoke yet again. “Robert, if you don’t mind, would you help me fix my dress. I seem to be having trouble with it.” “Okay, now she’s gone from subtle to outright obvious. Though let it never be said I’m one to turn down an offer of a good shag from what as far as I know, an unmarried woman. ...Or mare in this case.” Robert mused as he helped Artemis with her dress and lowered the other strap and began planting soft kisses on her neck causing the Alicorn in disguise to let out an involuntary moan of pleasure. She tilted her head back to allow Robert better access and he began to nibble on her neck as the dress fell to the floor. Robert was now allowed to see her very shapely form glinting in the moonlight from the bedroom window covered only by a set of a light blue bra and panties. Suddenly, Artemis whirled around and shoved him up against the wall and began kissing him heavily wrapping her legs around him. Robert opened his mouth to allow her tongue entrance and they dueled briefly as Artemis used her magic to allow his pants to drop to the floor while Robert threw off his trench coat. As they fumbled on to the bed, Artemis’s hands went up Robert’s shirt as Robert gripped her flanks and rubbed them. They soon began grinding against each other, Robert letting out a groan of pleasure. Artemis let out a soft sigh and began letting her hands roam his chest as Robert’s hands moved upwards and began roaming her back even as they still continued kissing, only coming up for air briefly saliva dripping from their mouths. But soon they were right back at it and Robert’s hands moved upwards to Artemis’s bra and loosened it and let it fly free from its constraints as Artemis pulled his shirt up and over his head… END Part 25: I'm Afraid of Equestrians 3,000 Years Ago… Thrax smirked. He knew the Operation Overdrive Rangers would gain access to the Universal Morphin’ Grid as soon as those past Rangers showed up, especially since their ranks included Adam Park, the second black Mighty Morphin Power Ranger and one of the most legendary Rangers in history. That was why he had put precautions in place. Gripping his father’s staff and uttering an ancient language under his breath, a misty red form began to take shape. Soon, it formed into an exact copy of Thrax, whom he handed his father’s signature weapon. “Now, go do my will. I have much bigger plans in mind and they extend far beyond this tiny world,” Thrax Prime said. His clone bowed and vanished. Not even an hour later Thrax watched through a viewing globe in a private dimension as his clone battled the eleven Ranger team and the reborn Sentinal Knight, who now had the power of the sword Excelsior on his side. The clone was promptly defeated with two powerful kicks and destroyed. “Good, they think me dead. That’s fine. Now, time to get to work,” he chuckled to himself. Thirteen hundred years later, a crimson red flash flew towards the barren desert world of the planet known as Sentai 6. Thrax appeared from the flash, standing before a set of standing stones. In the middle, a dark glowing gem pulsed black and purple energy. “Finally, after millennia of searching, I’ve found it,” Thrax chuckled, his mother’s infamous Wand in hand. Suddenly, a voice spoke from behind him. “You don’t know what you’ve found, nor the power it holds.” The voice said, in an almost English like accent. Thrax turned to see a man wearing a black overcoat, vest and goggles with blue streaks in his otherwise brown hair. In his hands, he held a small gold pocket watch with the head of a Spinosaurus painted in a dark navy blue shade on the back. “Ah, so you’re the guardian. On the contrary, I know exactly what I’ve found and what kind of power it holds. I desire it, and you, nor anyone else is standing in my way!” Thrax snarled. His foe fired blasts of energy from his palms which Thrax knocked away with his Wand. Then, he fired a blast of red lightning at the Guardian from his wand and enveloped him in an explosion. Thrax smiled as he reached for the gem. But just then, he saw the smoke clear and there stood a navy blue armored warrior with gold trimming on his boots, red sleeves and golden armor on his right sleeve resembling a giant fin of some sort. “Now, was that very nice?” Heckyl mocked as he cracked his knuckles and raised his Dino Saber. “Guess we’ll have to do this the hard way then, eh?” Blade and Wand clashed with the sound of clanging metal and the Talon Ranger, the very first Ranger to ever come into being in the universe showed his power by kicking Thrax backwards into some boulders before kicking another huge boulder his way. “Catch,” The Talon Ranger said before impaling his sword in the ground causing a series of explosions to race towards Thrax just as he split the boulder in half with a lightning strike, sending him skywards. Heckyl jumped upwards and slashed downwards across Thrax’s chest, sending him back towards the ground. The Talon Ranger landed and demorphed, allowing himself a smirk. “Had enough yet?” Heckyl asked tauntingly. But then his eyes widened as Thrax reached for the dark gem… From the cold darkness of space, all that could be seen was a bright flash of light and then Sentai Six shattering in two right down its equator. Then, two beams of light, one dark crimson and the other a navy blue could be seen escaping the aftermath and fleeing into space, and lost in time forevermore. At least, so it seemed... Ponyville: The Modern Day: The Prancing Pony Waking with a groan as the morning sun framed his face, Robert felt the sheets beside him for his lover’s presence. But to his surprise, he felt nothing but empty air before his weary eyes spotted a note left on his bedside table. “Dear Robert: I am sorry I had to leave on such short notice, but I felt it was necessary. I… I feel guilty. What we did last night, it was not out of love for each other. We were both drunk, and our judgement was impaired. I… I am not sure of my feelings towards you at this very moment. That is why I had to leave, and although I know this may cause you pain, it might save you from even more in the long run if it turns out we do end up dating and find we are not a good match for each other. I’m sorry, but it is what I feel must be done for your own happiness. With deepest regrets, Artemis Starborne.” With a tear in his eye, Robert muttered "So that's how it feels..." The Crystal Empire: Shining smiled as he stepped off the train, the Solaris Express that had taken him to what was once Canada, now the gleaming spires of the Crystal Empire of which he co-ruled alongside his beloved wife, Princess Cadence. Poets had spoken of its beauty, portraits had been made, but none had ever truly captured the city’s grand design. Imagine, if you will, ponies made of pure crystal and buildings made of pure sparkling gemstones! But in Shining’s mind, none of this compared to the beauty of his wife. How he longed to see her again after weeks away in Canterlot. “Mystic Mother above, I don't know who she’s going to be more pissed at, me or her aunt.” Shining thought before chuckling. “Knowing Robert, and what little I've seen of him or the stories I've heard from Sunset and Twilight, he’d probably make some snarky comment about nepotism being a way of life in Equestria.” Shining, as he walked forwards found his wife waiting for him at the two tall magenta spires that made up the gates of the Empire. She smiled and raced towards him, wrapping him in a tight hug. “Cadence…” Shining whispered before he stumbled for an apology and hopefully believable explanation. “After all,” Shining thought to himself. “How do you explain away that you’ve been given powers and a giant mechanical bull by the ghost of an ancient warrior who could give the legendary hero Rockhoof a run for his money in pure bravery and strength?” “I-I’m sorry, but Princess Celestia called me back to train some new recruits a-and I-” Cadence put a finger to his lips and whispered a small “Shh,” before smiling. “Princess Celestia explained everything in a letter, including Solar Flare.” The Princess of Love’s smile then turned into a worried frown. “Mystic Mother above, how could nopony have noticed a dark presence lingering in her mind for over 2,000 years?” Shining put a gloved hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Twiley is working on a way to separate the two even as we speak so Princess Celestia can take care of her dark half herself.” Cadence smiled in relief before she frowned. “Although I’m pleased to hear that Shiny, and I don’t doubt my aunt’s strength... I have to ask, wouldn’t it be better if she had somepony to help her along? Like say, these Power Rangers I’ve been hearing so much about?” “H-How do you know about them?” Shining asked nervously, his voice cracking worried that his wife had discovered his secret. Cadance covered her mouth with a hand to hide her giggles and ruffled Shining’s mane. “Oh please, even out here in the north we get news. We’re not completely cut off from the rest of the world, after all.” Cadence laughed before she placed a long, lingering kiss on Shining’s muzzle and smiled seductively. “But enough of the heavy stuff. Right now, your Princess needs his Prince.” She said, tracing a finger along his jawline and then teleporting away. “Equestria can survive without me for a little while. For now, this Empire needs its Prince and my wife needs her husband.” Shining thought with an excited grin as he raced after his wife. Meanwhile, from atop a high mountain peak not far away a gigantic golden jaguar observed Shining closely before it growled out “Be safe, Magna Defender.” before it leaped off unseen by anypony. Robert walked through the streets of Ponyville, hands in his pockets and Sunburst’s new creation on his shoulder, and morpher hidden away in his buttoned up coat. Navi, whom Robert had named the robotic parrot in homage to her Gokaigers counterpart looked around every which way in curiousity, yellow eyes widened at everything she saw. Beside Robert was Sunburst himself, still getting used to the fact that he was now a father. But Robert’s thoughts were still on Artemis and their night spent together. He remembered their flesh slapping against each other, and the warmth of her soft fur as they cuddled under the sheets. But most of all he remembered perhaps for the first time, the feeling of heartbreak. “Ah, that’s good! Harder, please! OH! OH! Robert!” “Artemis… Just like that…” “Robert, something wrong?” Sunburst asked, as he waved a hand in front of his face snapping him back to reality. “You seem a little… preoccupied.” “Sorry, had a bad night,” Robert grumbled. All around them, there were the sounds of construction as ponies rebuilt their homes and shattered lives that had been ruined by the Turbine Org’s attack just days before. Nopony seemed to pay him any mind as they were far too busy with more important matters. Not that Robert minded of course, considering he could do with a bit of peace and quiet after the events of the past two weeks. He thought back to everything that had happened, and how his life had changed. A few weeks ago, he was a simple cop, and now he was in a world where, except for a rare few, hated him and wanted his head on a platter. “Funny, I actually wore this exact same trenchcoat, that I mocked, when my friends… Well, my only friend in this time was in trouble. So guess that makes me a liar then. Of course, not like I’ve lied before. I tell women I’ll date them, but after a night of sex, I’m gone in the morning. Should I even deserve this power I’ve been granted? I mean, look at me. I’m arrogant, rude to everyone around me, I have a lust for battle and…” Just then he realized something. “Wait a tick… Who do I know who also shares those three traits and is part German?” With a shout to the heavens he yelled in absolute terror “OH GOD, I’M A MALE ASUKA LANGLEY SORYU!” This shout could even be heard on the Animarium where Princess Shayla and Vapor Trail, were taking care of the local wildlife. “Who is this… Asuka?” Shayla questioned with a look towards Vapor, who could only shrug. “Beats me,” she replied and the Kitsune Zord simply smirked in amusement and both of them looked towards him. “What’s so funny?” Vapor asked, hands on her hips. “Oh, if you only knew. Robert is more spot on then he knows. It’s hilarious really,” the Kitsune Zord rumbled and let out a dark chuckle. Meanwhile, back in Ponyville, this little outburst had caused everypony to stare at him. “...Okay, yeah maybe you should be frightened of me by this point if I’m really like that. That girl… Scary as all Hell. Crikey Moses,” Robert muttered with a very noticeable shudder and Sunburst looked at him. “Who is…” Robert gave him a sour look. “Don’t ask. Just don’t,” Robert said simply. “Well, could be worse I suppose. I could be a male version of Naru Narusegawa. That would be truly scary. Honestly, Sky was right about me from the very beginning. I’m arrogant, and I’m foolhardy. I mean, just look at me. Going after that Camera Org alone, with no backup and no powers. Hell, I even thought of going after Princess Genocide by myself, and that’s just mental. I’d be burnt to a crisp the moment I stepped foot in her castle, or gored or impaled by one of her Beefeaters, whom I have no doubt are still spying on me at this very moment,” he thought. Then Animus’s voice spoke to him. “Is that really truly what you think of yourself Robert? Remember, what were the reasons you went after the Camera Org?” Then, Animus hit him with a memory. “You… You, Camera Org are going to give those souls you took back. Most of all Sunset, the day you touched her was the day you signed your death warrant. She was one of the only ponies who was ever kind to me, and by taking her you’ve lined yourself up for destruction.” And then, Robert remembered his reward. Robert saw an orange orb float down to him and transform his fox pendant into an orange fox’s head on a necklace. He turned back to the Camera Org. He knew exactly what to do now. “Henshin! Legendary Wild Access!” Robert cried out as he slammed a palm down on his new necklace and he was transformed. “With the Cunning of the Fox, Orange Kitsune Ranger!” Robert yelled out as an explosion of orange smoke appeared behind him. “Perhaps you feel alone, but the truth is you’re not. You have more friends than you realize little fox, you just need to know who they are.” Animus told Robert softly, before his voice vanished leaving Robert to think on his words. Meanwhile, in another part of town, Sunset was going about her daily jog. Navi had flown away from Robert and Sunburst to go have a look around and when she spotted Sunset, she flew down and landed on her shoulder. “Hey, there he is! There’s the human lover who brought destruction on our homes with her curse!” a male voice shouted. Sunset saw a mob in front of her led by a brown pony in a black fedora. The mob wielded various tools and weapons, like hammers, pitchforks, torches, spears and even a few guns. Sunset’s eyes widened. She knew this might happen sooner or later but she had hoped it wouldn’t come to this. “Best you get going. I don’t want you to get caught up in the middle of this. This could get ugly,” Sunset told Navi, but Navi shook her head. “No, I’m not leaving you,” Navi said firmly. “I think these fools need to be taught a lesson.” “Fine by me,” Sunset sighed and sprinted towards the angry and bigoted mob. She had already decided it would be best not to use her full power for two reasons. One, she’d rather not bring the wrath of Solar Flare down on her head and two, they were just scared. They didn’t know any better and weren’t outright evil like the Orgs or their Master or that hunter Bunglay. With a quick slice of her Crystal Saber she sliced a snub nosed revolver in half and twisted its user’s arm. There was the distinct crack of bone and the pony screamed out in pain. “Best you get a brain and get yourself to a hospital. They should heal you right up, and if you have any intelligence left in that damn fool head of yours, I’d suggest you not try this again,” Sunset said in a weary tone of voice, completely tired of all the bigotry and hatred that was directed towards humankind. “Die, human loving scum!” a voice bellowed behind her. Sunset whirled around to kick the fedora wearing pony in the gut, making him stagger back. Another pony, one with brown fur and a yellow curly mane tried to attack Sunset by punching her in the side of her skull, but Sunset moved her head forwards at the last minute, causing the fist to meet empty air. She then slammed her knee into the pony’s stomach, dropping them instantly. Another tried to impale her with a pitchfork, but Sunset leaped on top of the improvised weapon before leaping off it and cleaved the head from the tool with one clean stroke. Next, a stallion tried to take a swipe at her with a blazing torch, but Sunset formed a light green pentagram shield in one of her hands and blocked the blow before knocking the pony back with her hard light shield. Unfortunately, this distraction had a drastic effect. A gunshot rang out and Sunset was hit in the side. Biting down on her lip, she ignored the pain and unleashed a blast of magic, the green bolt of light knocking a few ponies down. Then, another pony tried to throw a spear at her but Sunset caught it and broke the spear in half with her knee. “Freak of nature! You never should have been born!” a pony with a lavender coat and a light blue spiky almost anime-style mane cried as she plunged a knife into Sunset’s side, drawing blood. Growling, Sunset pulled it out and tossed it away before punching the mare in the face. “Go buck your human mate, Princess!” a yellow furred stallion with blue hair shouted and was met with a leg sweep, knocking him into the dirt. A pony tried to swing at the Princess of Empathy with a lit torch in hand while Sunset wasn’t looking. “Sunset, behind you!” Navi shouted, but it was too late. Sunset would have surely been set alight hadn’t a lavender aura of magic caught the torch. “Hey, what’s going on around here?” Twilight shouted as she and a platoon of Royal Guards, led by an orange furred stallion with blue hair, arrived on the scene. “What does it look like we’re doing?” a random stallion answered. “We’re dealing with this human loving freak of nature like Princess Celestia should have done a long time ago!” “You disgust me. Each and every one of you. I thought this town was built on friendship and tolerating others for their differences, but I guess I was wrong about that,” Twilight snarled. The stallion tried to rush her, but he was sent soundly flying into a wall for his troubles by Twilight, whose eyes were now wide open to just how bigoted her town was and how responsible Princess Celestia was for this. “Anypony else?” she asked sarcastically. Nopony was dumb enough to say anything and the mob quickly dispersed, “helped” along by Flash Sentry and his troops. “Now where’s…?” Twilight wondered as she looked around for Sunset but found she had vanished. She lit up her horn and scanned around for her unique body magical signature. Everypony had magic in their bodies, even if they could not access it like in Robert’s case. It was one of the cardinal laws of nature. “Ah, there she is,” she mused, once she’d found her hiding in an alleyway and ran over to her but was immediately met by Navi, who pressed her beak to her nose and stared her down. “Oh no, you don’t get to be here! You’re Celestia’s Little Pet Poodle, how do I know you aren’t here to finish the job those ponies started?! Robert warned me about you, you’ve been nothing but bigoted to him since the moment he first landed here. Hell, you were the one to bring him before Princess Celestia and nearly get him charred to a crisp! So, why I ask you, in the name of Animus SHOULD I TRUST YOU!?!” Navi screamed, her voice raised to a terrifying level at the end of her rant. Twilight winced. She knew she deserved every word of it. Navi was right, Robert had no reason to trust her. Time to get to work on fixing that. With a few careful steps, she walked up to her friend who was sitting against a barrel, bleeding heavily from both the gunshot and her stab wound. Sunset didn’t have long before she bled out, and both she and Twilight knew it. “Sunset?” Twilight said softly, crouching down. Sunset didn’t react, simply continuing to clutch at her wounds. Just then, there was a gasping sound as Robert ran up and his eyes widened and he let out a snarl as he saw Sunset’s condition and drew his Crystal Saber. “Hey…” she coughed weakly before Robert grabbed Twilight and pinned her against the wall of the alley, Saber at her throat and eyes flashing red in anger. He’d seen the mob dispersing, although he hadn’t seen who had led the mob away. “What, come to finish the job in private? Take your master’s route and murder me yourself? God knows your little fuck-buddy Princess Genocide would be sooooo proud,” Robert stated sarcastically. Twilight shrugged him off and began looking over Sunset’s injuries. “No, I’m not going to do that. Me and Sunset… We had a talk.” Twilight stated, and Sunset nodded weakly in confirmation to her words. “Words were exchanged and I came to a realization. You’re not dangerous, at least not to those who don’t deserve your ire. I’d explain what me and Sunset talked about, but we don’t have the time. She’s bleeding out, and as stubborn as you are, I doubt you’ll accept my help willingly. But you’re going to have to just shut your mouth and go along with the ride for this, I’m going to need your help getting her to a hospital,” Twilight said calmly as she began putting some adhesive on Sunset’s wounds. Robert blinked a couple of times, then slowly lowered his Saber. “...You know something Twilight? Maybe, just maybe I can trust you after this. To be honest, I don’t even know why I’m saying this, maybe because Sunset’s close to dea-” “No, she’s not, and I’m not going to let her get that way,” Twilight said firmly, laying a hand on his shoulder. “Let me finish speaking. You know all those insults thrown at me, Twilight?” Twilight winced and shed a tear as she knew Sunset was the only member of the Equestrian Royality aside from perhaps Shining (Twilight knew he was the Magna Defender, as she knew the voice of her big brother.) he really trusted, but she still nodded all the same. “It may not seem like it what with my sarcastic attitude to everything and all, but they do start to hurt after a while. Everyone has a breaking point, even me. I… I just don’t know when I’ll reach mine. You’re the Princess of Friendship so ask me this. How…how do I gain the trust of the ponies?” Twilight smiled not noticing Sunset’s eyes close and her voice fade out to Sunset as she slipped into unconsciousness, a small smile on her face. “I may not be the Princess of Empathy so I’m not as good as with feelings as Sunset is, but I can tell you this… Be yourself. Not the front you put up, but the person, and Ranger, I know you are.” She stated, making Robert’s eyes widen. It was then Twilight finally noticed what had happened. “S-Sunset…? SUNSET!” The Nexus: Thrax cackled in triumph. The Rangers were very close to being down a member, and he had the ponies to thank for that! He didn’t even have to send down an Org to destroy them, the townspeople of Ponyville were turning on their own saviors! Thrax smirked at the irony. “Still, that leaves six more Rangers out there and that traitor, Zen-Aku. I’m going to have to take care of them, and then there’s the possibility of Sunset passing her powers on before she dies. Unfortunately, there are no new Org spirits rising that I can detect, and Goldar isn’t ready for his resurrection. So… In the meantime I’m going to have to take my parents’ route and create a monster myself.” Thrax sighed to himself, monsters never worked. They were always far too incompetent to destroy the Rangers. But then again, he didn’t need to destroy them with a monster, just keep them occupied until an Org Spirit arose or until Goldar’s resurrection was ready to be performed. Then, he could strike. Thrax peered into a mirror which showed all of Ponyville. He smirked when he saw a flower shop where two ponies, one with white fur and a red mane and another with pink fur and a yellow mane were bringing in an exotic tree of some sort. “Perfect, just what I need...” Thrax snarled as he fired a beam from his mother’s wand through the mirror and towards the plant… Ponyville Hospital: Both Twilight and Robert rushed into Ponyville Hospital, Sunset on a gurney with Navi close behind. Nurses and Doctors, as soon as they saw the condition of their Princess were at once by their side, Navi muttering “Ai-yi-yi-yi...” all the while. “Gunshot to the lower left torso, stab wound to her right side. I’ve patched up the wounds as best as I can, but I’m not sure if—” Twilight rapidly informed the head of staff, Nurse Redheart but was cut off. “Don’t worry. We’ll treat her the best we can. Rest assured, we’ll be giving her the best of care.” Redheart said, restraining the princess and Robert from following the gurney as it rushed Sunset to the surgical ward. Robert was about to push past her when several streaks of light touched down as the other Rangers teleported in.. “W-What happened?” Lightning stuttered out, quite stunned. “Mob attack in Ponyville. Sunset took them on as best as she could, but she couldn’t do anything more than restrain them, so they...” Robert mumbled, his voice shaky. Vapor and Sunburst shared looks of concern, this was the first time they’d even seen Robert this way. Fear was something they had never seen from the human, but now he looked terrified. His skin was pale and covered in cold sweat, his eyes had a hollow, empty look to them, and his hands were trembling slightly, some of Sunset’s leftover blood still stained them.. Then Navi spoke up, still incredibly angry. “The only reason those bastards attacked her was because she was associated with Robert!” Navi screeched, a small puff of steam escaping from the crest on her head. “...Dear Mystic Mother,” Vapor whispered as Lightning’s fists balled up and she trembled in rage, unable to believe what was being said to her. “N-No. I don’t believe it. Ponyville, it would never do this!” Lightning shouted. “WELL, GUESS WHAT?” Vapor snapped in fury. “IT WILL! IT HAS!” Then, with a few calming breaths, she began to speak softer towards Lightning. “Don’t you see? It’s bigots like you who did this to Sunset. Just by acting like this and denying what’s smack dab in front of you, you’re about as guilty as they are in my eyes.” Vapor snarled, in the same tone of voice she’d used towards Turbine Org right before she destroyed him. Lightning staggered back, almost as if she’d been slapped and found herself unable to speak. Vapor sighed and turned to look back towards where the doctors had taken Sunset. “What do we do now? Sunset’s going to get better, I know it. She’s got to,” Vapor murmured to herself, although she wasn’t sure if she believed her own words. “She will. Alicorns heal at an incredibly fast rate, so she should be up and about within a few days.” Twilight said even if she sounded as if she didn't believe her own words. She rested a hand on Vapor’s shoulder, even though the worry was clear on her own face as well. “But in that time, we’re down a Ranger, and our leader. Tartarus, we can’t even form a Megazord…” Sunburst murmured as Robert punched a wall in frustration and muttered "Damn Equestrians... Bigoted vollidiots!" “Someone’s got to step up,” Robert then said, gritting his teeth. “I can’t do it, you all know I just don’t have what it takes to lead. I’m too egocentric. I’d just end up putting you all in danger by leading you headlong into a ambush and trying to show off and just get you lot killed. Let's face it, I'm a vollidiot myself. I’m never going to have the qualities of a Red Ranger or anything like that.” Robert said and then muttered to himself “Sky, you were right all along. I’m not Ranger material. I should have been stripped of my badge long ago and chucked out on my worthless arse.” in a tone too quiet for anyone to hear. A very familiar voice then spoke up as a dark furred unicorn stepped out of the shadows and his formed shifted to that of Zen-Aku. “Well then, have you ever considered me? I too have Wild Zords, three of them in fact, one of which can fill Sunset’s spot on your Megazord,” he asked, and everyone took a step back. “Z-Zen-Aku?” Vapor stuttered out in shock and Lightning’s eyes widened as she remembered her brief glimpse of him at the docksides. “H-How long?” she asked. “My guess? A while,” Robert remarked, as his whole body shook in rage and he continued to glance towards the direction of the Emergency Room doors every so often. “I’m willing to trust him. I saw him fighting in the battle for Ponyville alongside us.” “And I spotted him in this form for just a brief moment after we were freed from the Camera Org.” Sunburst added. “But he’s a Duke Org! By all rights, we should destroy him where he stands!” Lightning shouted, drawing her Growl Phone. “A Duke Org who saved my life, twice.” Vapor replied, placing a hand on Lightning’s shoulder. “If that doesn’t say anything about who he is, I don’t know what does.” But before Lightning had a chance to reply, a loud explosion shook the city, causing the group to stagger as they tried to regain their footing as Robert let out a loud "SHIT!". “Looks like we really don’t have a choice in the matter...” He then muttered and growled as he clenched his fists. He'd have to stow his anger for later and put his fears aside. Right now, he had to focus on the bigger picture. Getting his hands on the bigots responsible for Sunset's condition would have to wait. Just as they were about to leave, Twilight stepped in front of Robert, cutting him off. “What do you want, Twilight? We don’t exactly have time to wait right now!” Robert said as Twilight pulled out a small, rectangular object from her pocket and pressed it into Robert’s hand. Robert raised the object to his face, eyes widening as he looked at his newly repaired SPD Morpher. “How…?” he asked stunned. “I’ve been working on that Morpher for day and night. I didn’t know who it was for until now, but I should warn you I don’t know how much energy it has left in it. One morph, maybe less,” Twilight warned. “Beyond that… You’re in the danger zone.” “Don’t need more than one morph with this thing. ...Twilight, thanks. Never thought I’d say that, but thanks for everything.” At Twilight’s nod, Robert smiled and gave her a roguish wink leaving Twilight blushing before saying in a unusually subdued tone of voice "It's Morphin' Time..." before thinking to himself. “Sunset, I promise. We’ll continue this war, with or without you.” (To Be Continued…) Part 26: Treetrimmers May Not Apply (Nature of the Beast Part 1)Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Part 27: The Song Remains the Same (Nature of the Beast Part 2)Author's Note Well, I would have words to say about this chapter, but I think all 7,000 of them kinda speak for themselves, don't you? Edit: Changed Zen-Aku's fight theme to something more apt for him. Part 27: The Song Remains the Same (Nature of the Beast Part 2) Ponyville Hospital: ICU: Princess Celestia looked down upon her adopted daughter as she lay in her bed, a sheet draped over her body. The slow, steady beep of the heart monitor was the only sound present in the room. The Princess of the Sun sobbed silently, her whole body shaking and trembling. This was all her fault, and she knew it. She’d created years of hatred and bigotry towards humankind and she’d done nothing to stop it, even when it nearly took Sunset from her. She remembered a quote from a human she had met as Solar Flare back in 3021, right before she cut him down and rendered him to nothing but ashes scattered in the wind. “You’ll reap what you’ve sown, Pony-Bitch.” At the time, she thought nothing of it, but now she knew what that human meant. This was fate coming back at her. This was karma’s way of punishing her for wiping out a whole race. She was taking what was nearest and dearest to Celestia’s heart. First she sent Luna running afraid to parts unknown, and now bigoted ponies had just attacked her daughter and put her in hospital care just for even associating with the human known as Robert Williams. What would fate take from her next, Celestia had to ponder. Would it be Twilight Sparkle, her other adopted daughter, or her niece Princess Cadence? “By all rights, I should find those who did this and render them to dust,” Celestia snarled mentally as she fingered the Solar Cell Morpher strapped to her leg like a gun and hidden under her long flowing white dress. “NO!” Celestia quickly said to herself. “That’s what Solar Flare would want. If I did that, I’d risk her getting full control and become the very thing I always thought of humans… A monster.” Celestia chuckled. She deserved this and she knew it. “What’s that old human saying…?” She asked herself. “Oh, right… Karma’s a Bitch.” Ironically, the only one who would be allowed to take on the mob and that attacked her daughter and not cause a political uproar was the subject of their own ire, Robert Williams himself. “Oh come on… You know you want to let me out, just for a second," Solar Flare’s voice whispered. “Just take what you want, revenge. It’s all too easy once you give in…” “NO! I’m not letting you out. I let you consume me once, and a whole race suffered the consequences. I’m not going to let that happen again and see the results,” Celestia snapped. “Well, you can run on for a long time, run on for a long time, but sooner or later I’m going to cut you down,” Solar Flare sang in her head. “Tell that long tongued liar, the rambler, the gambler, the back-biter, tell them that Solar Flare and Celestia are gonna cut ‘em down.” She continued in a mocking tone of voice even as the Princess of the Sun tried to block it out. “You and I, we make a great team. The end of humankind showed that. You let me in once, you’ll let me in again. All in good time.” “That will not happen,”Celestia growled out, her fist tightening. “Well, I’ve got a fiddle of gold against your soul that I think I’m better than you. Care to take that bet, Celly-Belly?” “Get out of my sister’s head, you monster,” Luna’s voice bellowed in her head. She ran into the room, dropping her Artemis disguise entirely, much to the shock of the hospital staff. Her horn flared as she transported herself into her sister’s mind. “Ah, the Nightmare,” Solar Flare sneered. “Join the fun with no regrets, only greedy dirty deeds are allowed!” “Do not think you hold sway over me, witch. Now BEGONE!” Luna bellowed. “Alright, alright…spoil my fun. But I’ll be back, and you both know it. But for now, toodles!” Solar Flare sung in a singsong voice before vanishing into the dark depths of Celestia’s mind. The Solar Regent collapsed into her sister’s arms, sobbing. “I… I can’t fight her off. S-she’s right, and we both know it! Sooner or later, she’ll take control again and nothing will be able to stop her, just like last time! Nothing!” Celestia sobbed as Luna held her in her arms and wrapped her wings around her. “That will not happen sister, because I know you are stronger than that monster of a mare. You fought off this creature’s influence for thousands of years. You can fight it off just a little while longer until Twilight finalizes her plan. You were always the stronger one in the family, sister. As for me...When I let the Nightmare Forces consumed me, it took only but a few hours for them to take me over. With you, it took a full damned day before Solar Flare took over and unleashed her power upon humankind. If that doesn’t say anything about your strength, I don’t know what does.” Luna stated firmly. “T-thank you for coming Lulu. T-thank you… Thank you for risking yourself, even if you knew Solar Flare might destroy you.” Luna smiled. “We were always there for each other, that’ll never change,” she stated. “Now the darkest hour is just before the dawn. We’re in that hour together. Someday soon, that light will come.” “But what if Sunset isn’t there to see it? She doesn’t have the advanced levels of healing we do. She’s only a young Alicorn, she hasn’t tapped into her full potential yet!” Celestia whispered. “But she will live. There’s always hope. See that heart monitor, it’s still beeping. As long as that happens, she’s alive and there is a chance that she’ll live to see that dawn.” Celestia smiled and wiped away her tears. “You’re right. And Solar Flare… Tartarus, I was wrong about humanity. I’ve kept books about them in my private library, stockpiled whatever I could find about them and for the past 2,000 years, I’ve kept them to myself, letting the propaganda I created fester like a weed and let ponies believe what they want. But that ends today. There’s a famous quote I found in one of my books about humanity, and although it comes from a great conqueror, I believe it sums up any species. Not just humanity, but every species. It goes: ‘Whatever misanthropists may say, ingrates and the perverse are exceptions in the human species.’ “Yes… I remember that quote as well,” Luna nodded in agreement. “There’s another one I’d like to recite, one stated about a great tragedy back in the year 2001. It goes: ‘The reason I don’t worry about society is, nineteen people knocked down two buildings and killed thousands. Hundreds of people ran into those buildings to save them. I’ll take those odds every fucking day.’ That’s humankind, not what we ran into. That’s their spirit. And I’ll take that over what we’ve created, as I’m just as responsible for not dispelling the myths as you are, any day.” Then a question came to Celestia’s mind. “...Speaking of humans, where is Robert?” The Prancing Pony: Suri’s Bedroom “Oh… Uh… Just like that… Exactly like that...” A mare with a pale orchid coat of fur wearing a two-toned light blue scarf around her neck moaned out as Robert kissed the nape of her neck as she ran her hands along his scarred chest. All of Robert’s clothes except his boxers had been tossed off, with his Morpher lying on a bedside table. The twosome were in the mare’s personal bedroom at the Prancing Pony after she had “convinced” him to come up to her room for a few private tips on fashion, after Robert had mentioned how much he hated his trenchcoat and said how wrong it looked on anyone whose name wasn’t Captain Jack Harkness. It didn’t take much convincing on Suri’s part for things to progress, as she did promise him to make him something nice that suited him as long as he did something for her. Of course, Robert wasn’t stupid; he knew her reputation from mutters and whisperings in the pub about how she had tried to plagiarize one of Rarity’s designs. He had his own plans in mind for the mare, and they weren’t just sexual in nature. In fact, he was performing a very fox-like maneuver that he had done a few times back when he was with SPD. As Robert continued kissing her neck, he moved upwards to Suri’s lips and they smashed together hard, with the fashionista wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist as they tumbled backwards onto the bedsheets together. Suri let out a small moan of pleasure as she let her tongue enter Robert’s mouth before she rolled him over. Now she was on top of him, her barely covered breasts just touching Robert’s chest before they pulled away gasping, a thin line of saliva connecting the small distance between their mouths. “Well, even for a human, you sure know how to show a mare a good time,” Suri purred seductively, giving him a peck on the cheek. She moved her hands downwards to his boxers and let a hand slip inside them. Robert began groaning out in pleasure as Suri stroked him. “How fast do you want things?” Suri purred. “I didn’t just learn how to control my hand movements for stitching you know.” And just as Robert was about to give Suri exactly what she desired, something interrupted them. The Morpher had just given out its distinctive five-note beeping that it always gave when trouble was up. Robert groaned out “Wunderbar…” “...is that a good thing?” Suri asked. “If it were only that, Suri, believe me. I’d be pleased in so many ways,” Robert grumbled before he quickly shoved Suri off of him. He threw on his clothes, put his Morpher around his neck and ran out of the room. He quickly opened up the Morpher and looked at the mini-map displayed to see where this week’s latest monster was. Left on her own, Suri picked herself off the carpet and let out a huff before she tied her violet hair back into its normal bun. “Well, never had that happen to me before,” she muttered to herself, her arms folded across her chest. Suddenly, Robert quickly reappeared and then handcuffed her to a bedpost. “Oh, change your mind?” she mocked, getting over her momentary shock. “Sorry, no takesy backsies.” “No, that was for stealing my friend Rarity’s designs a while back. We’ll talk more later, in a police station. There are plenty of other ways I know of to get information out of a mare.” Suri spat at him and snarled but Robert simply rolled his eyes and muttered: “Yeah yeah, next time you whore yourself out to anyone like any old slag, do a bit of a background check, eh?” When Robert joined his fellow Rangers, he found Bunglay terrorizing the town, capturing ponies and putting them in cages, accompanied by the red armored Kingsmen who once served as Royal Guards to Emperor Mavro and his sons. “Alright, what’s your game this time Bunglay? Last I checked, Lightning and I sent your sorry arse packing off-planet. Seems we need to re-teach that lesson. That was your first strike, two of ‘em left,” Robert remarked holding up a finger. “Might want to rethink what you’re doing here for a moment.” “Funny, that’s not how I remember it,” Bunglay chuckled as he grabbed a pony whom Robert recognized as Sparkler with his hook hand and held her close to him by the neck. “Okay then,” Robert growled out. “That mare you’re holding, she saved my life a while back, so that’s your second strike,” he snarled, holding up another finger. “Now…let’s see, can I think of any more?” he asked sarcastically before he conveniently “remembered” and held up a third finger. “Oh, right. You just disrupted me from having a very good time with a mare so that’s your third strike against you, so do us all kindly a favor and bloody well piss off before we have to make you.” Lightning stared at him. “Really… that’s his third strike? Preventing you from being a Foxy Man-Whore? I say we give him a pass just for that.” Robert gave her a sour look. “I had other plans in mind for that mare, we’ll talk about them later. Right now, this guy’s about to get his sorry worthless pirate arse kicked off-planet.” Robert growled as he slammed a fist against his palm. “We’ll see about that eh?” Bunglay chuckled darkly. “You see, when I had a little gander through your memories a while back, I didn’t just see files of past villains you see. Now, if you’re going to kick my sorry worthless pirate arse off-planet, you’d better get cracking on these faces you might remember first! Savvy?” And then, appearing in dark swirls of smoke were three figures right out of ranger legend and all three of them Robert had met at one point or the other. First was the Lunar Wolf Ranger, Merrick and one of the first six Wild Force Rangers. The second was Lauren Shiba, the true head of the Shiba house and the Sealing Powers of her clan and also the true Red Samurai Ranger. These first two he’d met during the last month he’d spent at the Pai Zhau Academy. Lauren had come to challenge the Red Tiger Ranger, Casey, to a duel with Merrick as her traveling companion. The last face was one Robert knew all too well, his former squad leader AKA Sky Tate. “Now, get them!” Bunglay ordered and snapped his fingers. Against their own will, the three legendary Rangers shouted their morphing calls. “SPD: Emergency!”, “Go, go, Samurai!” and finally “Wild Access!” before in explosions, they stood clad in their costumes. Robert suppressed back a nervous swallow. This was not going to be easy. The X-Borgs and the Kingsmen he knew he and the others could handle, but as for these three, particularly Sky, he wasn’t so sure. And that wasn’t counting Bunglay. Who knew how powerful he was. “I’d advise you to give up now, there’s not enough Rangers to go around for each of you. No matter how you slice it, two of you will have to face one Ranger solo each,” Bunglay laughed as the puppet Rangers advanced. The current team of Rangers morphed and readied themselves for battle anyways. But right about then, the undeniably eerie and haunting song of a familiar pipe flute cut through the air. Zen-Aku stepped out of a shadowed alley, putting away his flute and unholstering his Crescent Blade. “You must have miscounted Beast Hunter, as it seems you’ve forgotten about me,” he smirked and gazed at Bunglay like a caribou ready for the slaughter. “Z-Zen-Aku?” Merrick asked in shock. “Yes Merrick, my old friend, it’s me. Now, I don’t know how Bunglay brought you back from wherever it is you go when you die, but I promise you this,” Zen-Aku said as he pointed his blade at Bunglay with a look of pure and utter fury etched on his muzzle, “I will send you back there.” “Enough with the talking. Now shut your gobs and fight!” Bunglay snapped. “Zen-Aku,” Robert snarled. “Now I normally don’t take command, but in this situation, I have a personal score to settle. You and Vapor take Merrick. I know you can handle him Zen-Aku, given your… shared history. Sunburst, you and Lightning deal with Lauren. However, a word of warning. She didn’t get to be a Red Ranger without good reason. As for me, Sky’s mine and mine alone. I know how he fights, so I can handle him.” “Agreed,” Zen-Aku stated firmly before the battle began. Bunglay tossed Sparkler aside and sat himself down on a bench to watch the fight. “Spin Sword: Blazing Strike!” Lauren called and sent out a slash of blazing hot fire towards Sunburst and Lightning, who rolled out of the way to avoid it. Sunburst threw his hatchets at Lauren, but she soundly kicked them back at their owner, knocking him to the ground. “I’m sorry, I can’t control myself!” she cried. “Bunglay, he’s pulling my strings like a puppet!” “Yeah?” Lightning asked as she inserted her Giraffe Crystal into her Saber. “Well, we’ll just have to cut those strings for you.” She launched herself forward with a blitzing attack, their blades clashing again and again. “You’re pretty good with the Blade,” Lauren acknowledged as she blocked another blow from the Giraffe enhanced Crystal Saber before rolling to the side to dodge a powerful downward swing and then she kicked Lightning in the chest and got in a horizontal slash drawing a bit of blood. “S-So are you,” Lightning gasped out. Lauren managed a shrug. “Well, what can I say? I’ve been pretty much training my whole life,” she remarked. “Wow, you took the samurai thing pretty seriously didn’t you?” Lightning asked as she forced Lauren back with powerful lashes from her whips. But Lauren got in another Blazing Strike and sent it towards her foe. Thankfully, Sunburst recovered and knocked the flaming slash out of existence with a kick from the side. “Ow, ow! Hot hoof, hot hoof!” Sunburst yelled as he jumped up and down from the searing pain in his right hoof before it eventually subsided and he rejoined the battle. “Well, when you’re the one prophesied to seal away the leader of an ancient evil, it kinda goes with the territory,” Lauren remarked before she blocked a punch from Sunburst by catching it with her hand, then kicked both him and Lightning away. “Symbol Power: Firestorm!” she called out as she drew out her Samurai Morpher and drew the kanji for Fire in the air and sent a swarm of flames right towards the two Rangers who rolled out of the way to avoid it before sharing a look. “Any ideas?” Sunburst asked. Lightning shrugged. “Buck if I know. You’re the brainy one, right?” “Gah!” Sunburst said as he slapped a palm to his forehead. “I just remembered! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Can’t believe I forgot! A few days ago I was tinkering around with Navi and I came up with something!” He opened up his visor and let out a whistle, and Navi appeared in a golden flash of light flapping her tiny wings. With another golden flash, she turned into a parrot-themed blaster rifle with Navi’s open beak functioning as the barrel. Lightning stared at him. “A Navi Blaster? ...You’ve got to be joking,” she muttered, blinking to make sure she wasn’t seeing things or hadn’t gone crazy. Sunburst ignored her, focusing all of his magic into the weapon and fired at Lauren, the blast being powerful to knock her out of her Ranger form and send her Spin Sword flying, with it impaling itself into the side of a tree. “One Past Ranger down, two to go…” Sunburst thought with a sigh as he panted from the sheer energy exertion. “And then there’s Bunglay and his men to deal with. Somebody up there must really hate me today.” Nearby, Zen-Aku and Vapor had teamed up against Merrick and were rolling to the sides to dodge his laser blasts from his Lunar Cue’s Sniper Mode. Zen-Aku sent a Crescent Wave towards his old friend, but he dodged it by jumping forwards and fired at Zen-Aku from above before flipping to the Cue’s Saber Mode. The pole-like blade extended out and dealt out a few strikes to Zen-Aku, but Vapor closed in and kicked Merrick in the side, making him stagger back. “I’m sorry my friend. I don’t want to do this to you,” Merrick apologized. “Bunglay’s control…it’s too strong.” “Yes, we both know the feeling all too well,” Zen Aku said as he slashed Merrick across the chest with his blade. As he did so, he thought back to the time when the Org General Nayzor put a bug in his head to keep him from remembering his past as Merrick. “But like before, these chains will be broken! You just have to fight it!” “I… I don’t know if I can!” Merrick yelled out as he clutched his head in pain before he grabbed Vapor with a clawed glove and dragged her along the snow covered ground, then tossed her away into a tree. “Vapor!” Zen-Aku shouted in concern. “I...I’ll live, just have one big headache after this,” Vapor muttered before she inserted her Deer Crystal and changed her Crystal Saber to the Deer Clutcher, a grapple like weapon. She propelled herself forwards with her mighty wings and pinned Merrick up against a pine tree. But the weapon only held him only momentarily before he broke free, lunging forwards with his Lunar Cue, but Vapor jumped back as Zen-Aku blocked the blow with his armored wrist. “So, anthro ponies as a new generation of Power Rangers?” Merrick questioned curiously. “What year is this?” “By your time period, it would be the year 5026,” Zen-Aku answered. Merrick let out a small gasp. “5-5026? I’ve been dead for…” “Yes, I have missed you for millennia, old friend. My only regret is that we had to meet like this, and that the newest generation of Wild Force Rangers have to face their past in such a way.” “N-newest generation? Then…then that means…” Merrick whispered in realization as his eyes widened once again. Zen-Aku confirmed his realization with a simple nod of the head. “Yes, the Princess is awake once again and the Orgs now once again walk the face of the Earth, now under a new Master. We’ve been holding them off, but every day they grow in strength, power and number.” “God, I wish I could help you Zen-Aku,” Merrick said as he kicked his old friend backwards. “Yes, another number to our ranks, especially one as experienced as fighting the Orgs as you are would be a welcome addition,” Zen-Aku admitted even as he slashed Merrick across the chest with his Lunar Dagger. “Especially now of all times, when this team’s Leader is currently in the ICU under close observation.” “I-ICU?” Merrick asked in shock. “W-what happened?” “It’s a long story, and one I do not think you would like to hear. It’s better off if you do not know of what happened between when you passed and now,” Zen-Aku stated before with another Crescent Wave, he knocked Merrick backwards and demorphed him before whispering out a soft “I’m sorry, old friend.” Meanwhile, Robert fought with Sky. Actually, fought wouldn’t be the right word. He was letting Sky kick his arse, he’d even demorphed to let Sky have an easier task of it. Sky fired his Delta Blasters at Robert, and he made no attempt of dodging out of the way, letting the blasts hit him. “Come on Robert, you’ve got to stop me!” Sky yelled. “I won’t be able to hold back!” “Please Sky, admit it,” Robert remarked as Sky kicked him in the face and made him stagger back. “You’ve been wanting to knock me off that high pedestal I always put myself on and show me that I’m not worthy of being a member of SPD. Well congrats, I’m handing you that chance on a silver platter.” “Dammit Robert, get your shit together! Sure, you were an arrogant asshole, but you were a good cop! Andros was right, we both needed to learn to work together more!” Sky shouted back as Bunglay forced him to punch Robert in the stomach, sending him flying back into some crates. “Sure, you were arrogant but so was I, I admit that! I always wanted to make my father proud of me and show him that I was worthy of being the Red Ranger!” “And you did that when you took down Merlock and avenged your dad!” Robert yelled back, clutching his side. “But you were always right about me, and we both know it! I’m dangerous to everyone around me! One day, I might have done something so mind-blowingly stupid and so show-offish that I could have gotten you all killed! You should have stripped me of my badge on the first day!” “Enough!” Sky yelled. “I’m your commander, and deep down I think I knew you had potential, I just never looked deep enough to see it and help you reach that potential! You could be one of the best cops SPD ever produced with the proper help, I…I just never gave that to you, or listened to Commander Cruger or Andros until after you vanished! So shut your mouth and fight back! You’re a Power Ranger dammit! and Bunglay and those soldiers of his…they’re going to put the natives of this planet in danger, so get with the program and do what you do best!” Robert nodded, then slammed his palm down on his Morpher and shouted “Legendary Wild Access!” Sky’s eyes widened as with a flash of blue flame, Robert morphed back into the Orange Ranger. “Huh, looks like Boom was more spot-on then he realized about there being an Orange Ranger someday. You know, somewhere in time and space I suspect he’s yelling for joy for no obvious reason,” Sky chuckled as he fired his Delta Blasters at Robert, but he simply leaped over the shots and knocked Sky to the ground with kicks to the legs. “...Well, that’s new. Never seen you do that before.” Sky commented as Robert flipped and jumped backwards as some X-Borgs rushed at him, firing the rockets at the end of their cudgels. In midair, Robert with a sweeping Chi-enhanced kick that knocked the rockets back at the X-Borgs, causing them to go up in a large fiery explosion. “Scrap once, and they’ll always be scrap,” Robert chuckled mentally as a Royal Guard rushed at him. He slid to the ground and knocked him to his feet with powerful kicks to the shins before grabbing his staff and using it to slice another of the Kingsmen across the chest. It sparked briefly before falling down while Robert broke the staff in half with his knee. “Yeah, haven’t used those abilities I learned at the Pai Zhau in a long time. Too long, really. I’m a bit rusty…” Robert said as he kicked Sky in the gut, causing him to stagger and sending his Delta Blasters flying from his hands. “But I think it’s just like riding a bike; you never forget these sort of things. “Now, come on, Sky, fight Bunglay’s control! You’ve faced more difficult challenges than this!” he shouted. “Facing down Omni and the Troobian Empire, and overcoming your own base flaws, this is just a small bump in the road compared to that!” “Y-You’re right,” Sky growled out and concentrated as hard as he possibly could. All around him, the other puppets did the same, digging deep into their souls for the strength to fight the mind control. Then there was a sound like strings being snipped, and they were free. “Now, let’s show this pirate what SPD’s all about,” Sky grinned. “SPD: Swat Mode!” Just like Robert before him, he too gained a flak jacket, body armor, sensors on his helmet and a Delta Enforcer in his hands and helmet lights flashing. Robert smirked as he picked up the fallen Delta Blasters and together as they stood back to back, fired into the wave of X-Borgs charging at them. No matter how many came, they all fell like dominos thanks to the waves of laser fire that just kept coming. Two Royal Guards put their staves together and sent a wave of energy manifesting in the shape of the Armada Symbol towards the two B-Squad Members. It was cut down by Lauren back in costume and holding the gigantic sword known as the Fire Smasher, a huge orange “Horse Cutter” like blade. Next, Merrick appeared and shouted “Laser Pool! Lunar Cue: Break Mode!” and enveloped the two Guards in a pool table like construct of energy. “Time to rack ‘em up! Lunar Break!” Merrick shouted and Zen-Aku tossed him his Animal Crystals before Merrick knocked them forwards like billiard balls and the two Guards were hit dead on. Emitting sparks, the twosome fell down and exploded in fireballs as the Animal Crystals flew back into Merrick’s hands. Some X-Borgs and two more Royal Guards rushed forwards to avenge their deaths, and an X-Borg fired his rocket at the end of his cudgel but Lauren leaped forwards and grabbed it in mid air. “I think we’ve had about enough of you and your missiles. Here, I believe this is yours. Catch!” Lauren shouted before tossing it back at the X-Borg platoon destroying them all in a fireball while Merrick kicked away one Kingsman and grabbed his staff in one hand and knocked the other Guard’s staff from his hands sending it flying in the air before Merrick caught it. He then used them both to strike down the Guard in a downwards slice before tossing both staves away. “Now, it’s only you and us Bunglay,” Robert snarled, spinning his Kitsune Blaster in his hands like an old west gunfighter as the other Rangers joined him, personal weapons in hand. “Bring it on, maties,” he snarled and with a blur of motion charged right through the Rangers, slashing at them with an anchor like weapon. Lightning and Sunburst tried to slash at the Space Pirate with their Crystal Sabers but he simply shrugged off the attacks and knocked Sunburst to the side. Lightning flew backwards and fired a beam of golden energy from her Saber like a spear, but Bunglay simply smacked it away with his anchor. Robert went into SWAT Mode at that point. He knew perfectly well he was risking his own life to do that, but he also knew Bunglay had to be stopped and he needed all the extra firepower he could get to do it. Both Sky and Robert fired round after round at Bunglay, making him stagger backwards but otherwise he didn’t even seem to be affected. In fact, he simply laughed all the while. Merrick tried to deal a few blows with his Lunar Cue in Saber Mode, but was simply grabbed and tossed through a store window, causing Merrick to demorph. Robert and Sky fired their blasters once more, but didn’t even dent Bunglay’s armor. He kicked Sky backwards before raising his rifle and shot Robert clean through the shoulder. Robert let out a scream of pain and clutched at the wound, blood oozing through his fingers. Vapor threw her Trident and it impaled Bunglay clean through, but he didn’t even seem to be affected. Frighteningly, Bunglay didn’t even bother to pull the trident out. “You arrogant wasteful fools. You don’t get it, do you? I’ve survived hundreds of attacks against me, and a worthless band of fools like you are not going to be the ones to send me down to Davy Jones’s locker!” Bunglay boasted before kicking Vapor backwards into a fountain, causing her to demorph as well. Robert tried to fire off a blast but Bunglay knocked it away and fired at him again, knocking him out of his Ranger state. “Alive or dead, it doesn’t matter to me,” he sneered. “You’re still worth quite a lot of space bullion to me.” “I’ve got to help them!” Zen-Aku snarled. “Wolf Attack!” a revived Koragg shouted. Projections of wolves heads burst into existence from the center of his shield and charged Zen-Aku, pinning him down. “So…you’re the one they call the Night Wolf. You claim to be a noble warrior who fights with honor, but would one with that associate himself with a simple poacher like Bunglay?” the Wolf of the Night growled out. Koragg chuckled and locked blades with Zen-Aku. “Normally, no,” he replied. “But I have heard of your reputation as the Wolf of the Night and one of the most feared warriors of darkness ever created and I want to see if you truly live up to that title.” The two clashed blades again and again, sparks flying with every blow as the fight drew them further away from the main battlefield. Meanwhile, Lauren picked herself up off the ground. “So, you’re the last one left. Fitting how the girl always is the last to fall beneath my boots.” Bunglay chuckled darkly. “Oh yeah? Well, you’re about to learn that this girl has more than a few tricks up her sleeve. I call upon the Power of the Ancestors!” she yelled, placing the Shiba House’s personal disk on her Spin Sword and spinning it. With a flash of light, Lauren gained samurai like adornments, two huge shoulder pads and her shoulder plate becoming emblazoned with the kanji for armor, or Ko. Her belt buckle opened up to reveal a face with glowing green eyes. Finally, her helmet became more dramatic as it gained a large golden adornment for a head crest in the shape of her element, the kanji for fire. “Shogun Mode!” she shouted as her boots implanted themselves on the ground with a mighty thud cracking the earth beneath them. “Time to get your ass kicked, Samurai Style.” “How…?” Bunglay asked, truly stunned which wasn’t a feat that happened often in his lifetime. He knew Lauren had the Shiba Fire Disk and could have gone Shogun Mode with just a simple suggestion from him, but how she had managed to fight him off was something he just couldn’t figure out. “Feeling surprised?” Lauren asked. “Yeah, I knew you knew I had this disk and could have gone into this mode anytime you wanted, but my willpower and my conscience was more than enough to fight off those suggestions you kept sending me. Now do me a favor, and shut up.” She pulled out the Fire Smasher and swung it in a horizontal slash, with Bunglay blocking it with his anchor weapon. She then slashed downwards and utterly shattered the weapon right down the middle, making Bunglay stagger back from the force of the blow. She implanted the Fire Smasher into the ground and pulled out her Samuraizer, using it to draw the symbol for fire and then launched a blazing tornado at Bunglay. He roared out in pain as the tornado ripped and tore into his armor. When the flames finally subsided, Bunglay’s armor was revealed to be burned and scorched in several places, and purple blood was dripping through cracks in it and creating small puddles on the ground. “I’ll be back to finish this another day, another time!” he snarled before teleporting away, with Vapor’s Trident clattering to the ground. Elsewhere, the two wolf warriors were still dueling, matching each other blow for blow, Koragg swung low at Zen-Aku’s legs, but he leaped upwards to avoid the swing and kicked Koragg in the face making the Knight Wolf stagger back. “So, you can fight me on the ground, but what happens when I take things up a level? Uthe Mejor Catastros!” Koragg shouted. A pure black horse burst out of a dark seal with a loud whinnying sound and galloped from the depths of the Underworld. “Now… Uthe Mejor Ultimas!” With clanking and whirring sounds, Catastros stood up on it’s hind legs and split open as Koragg jumped through another Mystic Spell Seal, enlarging himself to titan size. He merged himself with his steed, his shield becoming the chest plate of the Megazord. “Centaurus Wolf Megazord!” Koragg shouted as he gripped his glaive, which had once been part of Catastros’s mane and tail. Zen-Aku rushed to Merrick’s location, retrieved his Animal Crystals and inserted them into his flute. He began to play a tune. As if in response to this, the Wolf, Alligator and Hammerhead Zords descended from the Animarium and Zen-Aku, knowing that he couldn’t toy with this opponent as he normally did, shouted, “Wild Zords, combine!” Zen-Aku’s Animal Crystals launched themselves from his flute and danced in the sky as the very sun itself went into a full Solar Eclipse darkening the sky making it seem as if it was black as night. The Alligator’s head folded up into its chest as its front legs detached and moved to its back while the back legs moved downwards and became feet. The tail detached and combined with the Hammerhead’s own. The Wolf Zord’s tail detached and formed a crescent-shaped boomerang which grafted itself to the Alligator’s head. With hisses of steam as they locked into place, the Wolf and Hammerhead became the arms and grabbed ahold of the Gator Staff, gripping it tightly. A wolf-shaped head with blood red eyes appeared and a giant golden horn unfolded from it. Zen-Aku appeared in the cavern like cockpit with the emblem of a wolf behind him and set his flute plate down on the center console. “Predazord, awaken!” he shouted as the Megazord stood with the eclipsed sun behind it. “Now, we shall see who truly rules the night,” Koragg snarled out. “Only one of us is walking away from this clash, and it won’t be you. Now…” Koragg said as he pointed his glaive towards the Predazord. “Let us duel with honor.” The two gigantic titans clashed, the sound of their weapons meeting echoing for miles around. Koragg swung his weapon and hit the Predazord right across the chest, making it stumble back. “Wolf Fury!” Zen-Aku snarled and hit the Centaurus Megazord with a hard right hook to the face. Koragg then fired a beam of pure red energy from the orb on his Megazord’s chest sending the Predazord flying back as it ripped up buildings in it’s path and the ground as well in the process. “So, you think you can outclass me with your mere shadow of a Megazord?” Koragg laughed. Zen-Aku said nothing but grabbed the boomerang piece on his chest with his Megazord’s right arm and threw it at the Centaurus Wolf Megazord. The now glowing gold weapon did a good amount of damage as it flew around the Megazord and struck it in various places before returning to the Wolf Zord’s open maw. “My turn. Dark Magic Spell Seal!” Koragg shouted before rotating his glaive in a complete circle, forming a seal and then slashing right through it. The resultant explosion engulfed the city, dealing considerable damage to the Predazord. Eventually, it fell back into the side of a mountain, caving the rocks inwards and sending trees flying. “Do you give up yet? I have never been beaten in this combination and that day of defeat won’t be today.” Koragg laughed even as the Predazord picked itself off the ground and Zen-Aku snarled. “You think yourself a Knight? Knights fight for justice, and after what I’ve seen today you are not worthy of that honor nor title. So as it seems, I must defrock you of your title, ‘Knight Wolf.’” “Don’t make me laugh. Now witness the Power of the Master!” Koragg yelled out and formed a dark tornado of swirling black and purple energy that sent itself towards the Predazord. Zen-Aku smirked, then shouted “Predator Wave!” The Gator’s mouth opened and fired a blast of light manifesting in the head of the Wolf Zord. The light went right through the swirling vortex, demolishing it and then hit the Centaurus Wolf Megazord dead on, knocking Koragg out of his combination and sending him back to the Underworld as he faded away. As for Catastros, he let out a weak nicker before he vanished in a plume of dark smoke as the sun and sky resumed their normal state. Zen-Aku simply scoffed. “Pathetic.” Meanwhile, a gray-furred stallion with a bald head and a handlebar mustache was walking down a path, eyeing an orange furred filly with a purple mane arranged in a tomboyish cut playing with a soccer ball with her two friends. He smirked to himself. “Oh, that one looks like a nice catch,” he chuckled before a clawed hand reached out and grabbed him and pulled him into the treeline. The stallion’s eyes widened in fear as he faced a being, part skeleton, part flesh with one horn sticking out of the right side of his head and another jutting out from his forehead. “W-Who are you?” he stammered out in fear. “Nobody important…to you at least. But you…you’re important to me. Well, part of you is anyways.” The stallion tried to run, but Helicos grabbed him. “Now stay still,” Thrax chuckled darkly. “This won’t hurt a bit.” The stallion tried to scream but Helicos clamped a hand over his mouth as The Master Org ripped into his chest with a squelching sound and pulled out the stallion’s still beating heart. The body slumped into the dirt, crimson red blood oozing from the wound and pooling in the dirt below. “Oops, I lied.” Thrax laughed before he and Helicos teleported away... (To be continued...) Part 28: Resolutions (Nature of the Beast Part 3)Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Part 29: Nogitsune (Nature of the Beast Finale) Cloudsdale: Wonderbolts Academy Lightning Dust flew through the skies high above Equestria to the city of Cloudsdale and the Wonderbolts Academy. Co-Founded by General Firefly and Commander Hurricane, its original purpose was to teach the best of the best and prepare them for Equestria’s air forces and aerial combat. That purpose still remained to this day in a sense, but because Equestria hadn’t gone into war in centuries, not since the rise and fall of King Sombra of the Crystal Empire that purpose faded from most ponies’ minds. Nowadays, the Academy’s main purpose was to simply teach Equestria’s elite flyers on how to put on grand stunt-shows. Many had walked into this academy, but few ever came out with the fabled Wonderbolts Wing Insignia pinned to their jumpsuits. Lightning Dust had nearly been one of those many ponies who hadn’t, if not for the intervention of an unlikely friend in her main rival for the gold pin that marked one’s status for being the lead pony in a squadron. While Lightning knew she would just have to settle for wing pony status and a silver pin, she was content with the fact. Now she needed Rainbow’s help once again. “Can’t believe I have to ask her for advice again. I mean, I’m Lightning Dust, a freaking Wonderbolt for crying out loud! Wonderbolts shouldn’t have to ask for advice, they know how to handle situations in their own way!” Lightning thought. “...And yet, that was the kind of thinking that got me nearly kicked out of the academy on my plot in the first place. I mean, sure, you were trying to hold up to your father’s ludicrously high standards, but you were a fool plain and simple. Creating a tornado that nearly swept up Rainbow’s friends? What the Tartarus were you thinking?” Lightning reprimanded herself as she landed on the runway, her wings folding up. Lightning moved her flight goggles up into her lightning yellow mane. “Spitfire was right. I bucked up big-time. Me and my ego were writing checks my body couldn’t cash. Thank the Mystic Mother for Rainbow Dash. She certainly lives up to her Element.” As Lightning walked forwards she was greeted by a mare with yellow and amber streaks in her mane and wearing a navy blue suit with numerous badges pinned to it. Spitfire took off her sunglasses in surprise. “Lightning Dust?” Spitfire asked in surprise, her eyes widening. “There’s no training routines scheduled for today… Not unless General Derecho changed his mind without telling me first.” “I know, Captain.” Lightning replied, saluting almost at once. “But actually I came here looking for Rainbow Dash. Asked around Ponyville, and everypony pointed their fingers up here.” “Ah, I understand,” Spitfire said. “Unfortunately, I don’t know where she is right now. I’ve been so focused on the paperwork I didn’t even see her arrive.” She admitted with a tinge of embarrassment in her tone. Just then, a mare with a pure white coat almost completely covered by her flight suit ran up excitedly, at the mere mention of Rainbow Dash’s name. She had a cute little red bow in her mane, which was a mix of varying pink shades making it resemble a strawberry milkshake in some manner. “Hey, wait, you’re talking about Rainbow Dash?” The mare asked in an excited tone, reminding Lightning of that teenager she saw around Ponyville at times, Scooter-something or other. “I think I saw her practicing her variation on the Filly Flash Maneuver over by the hoops. It was awesome!” “Thanks!” Lightning said before realizing she didn’t even know WHO to thank. “...Er, who are you again?” “Angel Wings! Part of the official Rainbow Dash Fanclub!” Angel said ecstatically. Both Spitfire and Lightning stared at her. “Do I even want to know?” Spitfire asked. “So, where do I sign up?” Lightning deadpanned, and Angel held out a flyer and a pen missing her sarcasm entirely. At Lightning’s look, she laughed nervously. “...Oh, that was sarcasm wasn’t it?” She said sounding a little bit hurt. Lightning ignored her and walked off with Angel hanging her head and murmuring “...I thought she really wanted to join.” True to Angel Wing’s words, Lightning did find Rainbow over by the practice hoops that dotted the sky attached to various clouds. Rainbow, in a flurry of color, was darting from cloud to cloud rebounding off of them in flashes of light till she rocketed through the hoops and bucked a cloud out of existence entirely. Rainbow then landed on the grass and smirked at Lightning’s impressed look. “Okay, even you gotta admit that was pretty awesome.” Rainbow bragged as she took out a water bottle and drank it down. “Puh-leeze, I bet I could do that move sooooo much better than you.” Lightning scoffed. “You wish, but you’ll never keep up with me.” Those words sent Lightning into a flashback, one that took her back not too long after she’d been re-instated into the Academy. “We can't be together Lightning. I'm sorry. Our relationship... It'd be toxic. We're like oil and water, we go together, but we don't mix. We'd wind up killing each other before we ever had sex with one another.” Lightning shook her head to clear herself of those memories. “So, something on your mind?” Rainbow asked as she wiped sweat off her face. “It’s… It’s about… Gah, why is it so hard to get these words out of my mouth?” Lightning spat. “Hey, can’t be that hard,” Rainbow remarked before deadpanning “That is, unless you’re talking about something so super embarrassing that’ll end your social life as you know it. ...Wait, that isn’t it is it? ‘Cause if it is, I don’t think you want to speak about it out loud.” “It’s not that…” Lightning trailed off. “It’s about The Hu-Er, Robert Williams. Honestly, I’ve been so nasty to him and yet after Princess Celestia’s speech earlier I’m beginning to wonder if that attitude of mine towards him is really so warranted.” “Alright, you know what?” Rainbow asked. “C’mere and sit down. Sounds like you need some good old fashioned Rainbow Dash style advice.” Again, Lightning was sent into a flashback… Lightning punched a wall in frustration. She couldn’t believe her own stupidity. She gazed down at where the gold pin that would have marked her as the leader of her flight squadron used to be. Looking up at a portrait of her father, him seemingly judging her she screamed and ripped it off the wall before throwing it to the side. There was a shatter of glass, and the portrait frame fell to the floor in pieces. “Are you happy now Dad!?!” Lightning yelled to nopony in particular. “There, I got into your damn academy and first day of training, I get kicked out because of my own stupidity and the advice you fed me! “Always strive to be the best, no matter what it takes!” Well, apparently what it takes can get ponies killed!” A few minutes later, Rainbow found Lightning curled up into a ball sobbing, her flight goggles tossed aside and the portrait of Wind Rider smashed. She wanted to brush it off as Lightning having a temper tantrum over not getting into the Wonderbolts reserves, but her instincts told her different. She knelt down next to the former recruit and laid a hand upon her shoulder. “Hey… Something wrong?” “NO!” Lightning snapped, tears streaming down her face. “You got what you wanted, you’re a lead pony and I’m kicked out like you wanted. Are you happy now?” “N-No… I’m not,” Rainbow admitted. “I wanted you to be by my side, flying up there with the best. Sure, you were reckless, but so was I at one point. Come on, maybe I can get Spits to give you a second chance.” “Doubtful,” Lightning scoffed. “I screwed up majorly today. Dad would be soooo proud. Puh, he may think himself great, but really dad, you’re just an ass.” Rainbow looked at the portrait of Wind Rider, and then back at Lightning before her eyes widened in realization. “Wait, you mean your dad’s…?” She asked in shock. “Yeah. He’s not as great as you think he is, newsflash. He always has these incredibly high standards. He always put my brother, Sky Stinger on a pedestal, telling him he was going to be his successor and left me to wallow in the dust, the dick. He always tells me that I’ll never live up to his son. Well, guess he was right all along.” Lightning muttered. “So that’s why…” Rainbow realized before she snarled. All she ever wanted to do was be like one of the greatest flyers to ever live. Now, all she wanted to do was help Lightning. “What about your brother? What does he think about all this?” She asked. “He hates it, he always told me I’d be a good flyer despite whatever dad said. That’s what I wanted to do today, prove my dad wrong and Sky right. I failed at both.” Lightning muttered and Rainbow smiled. “Not yet you haven’t. Everypony deserves a second chance, even you.” Reluctantly, Lightning sat down next to her friend, who put a hand on her shoulder just like she did a few years back. “You know what I think? Trust him, do what your heart thinks is right. I mean, a superhero is gotta be someone you can trust, right?” Rainbow commented, shocking Lightning. “H-How’d you know?” She stammered out in shock. “Please, a new guy shows up in Ponyville and not even a week later a new Power Ranger pops up as well? You’d have to be an idiot not to make the connection,” Rainbow remarked. “Honestly, how everypony hasn’t made the same connection like I did is beyond me.” “...Well, Rarity did.” Lightning replied. “Well, that’s Rares for you. Always got an eye for the little details. ...Actually, now that I think about it she did say she was working on something special for a certain someONE a week or so ago.” “Yeah, turned out to be a trenchcoat with the words “Fighting Fox” emblazoned on the back in big orange letters. Robert hates it to no end actually.” Lightning laughed and soon Rainbow joined her before she smiled. “Now, who wants to see if they can make it to the other end of the runway and back?” Rainbow challenged and her friend smirked in response. “You’re on, just don’t come crying to me when you lose.” Lightning laughed. “Trust me, I hate losing so that won’t happen.” Lightning took off running then, much to Rainbow’s annoyance. “AW, COME ON! I didn’t even get the chance to say ready, set, go, yet!” She yelled and ran after Lightning all the while thinking “Oh, she’s so going to get it. Yep, definitely going to get it.” Ponyville Police Station: The doors of Ponyville’s only police station slammed wide open and Robert Williams stepped in with a very displeased look on his face. Ponies at their desks turned to look right at him, dropping whatever they were doing and one muttered “Oh boy…” Robert walked up to the desk sergeant and slammed his hands on his desk, knocking off a bobblehead of a police-pony and sending it crashing to the floor. “Where’s the cell you’re holding Suri Polomare in?” “Now wait, you just can’t come barging in here and start making demands like you know everything!” The desk sergeant demanded. He was a big, burly pony that reminded Robert of Vernon Dursley from the Harry Potter books and film series. The kind of man who was used to getting his way all the time and blustered and boasted about his accomplishments to anypony who would listen. Robert rolled his eyes, this was hardly going to be a challenge and might actually be a bit fun. “You don’t even have the jurisdiction, animal!” The stallion yelled, and now everypony had turned to look at the developing scene. “Tartarus, you don’t even look like any cop I ever saw!” “Funny, the only animal I see around here is you…” Robert trailed off, taking a quick look at the guy’s name-tag and couldn’t help himself from laughing out loud. “All Bark, and see this?” Robert then pulled out his SPD Morpher and flashed his badge. “This proves I AM indeed a cop, and I do have jurisdiction over this case. Hell, last I checked, I was the one who brought Suri in. Unless that slipped your mind when you were too busy chowing down on donuts.” Robert deadpanned and smirked when the stallion roared in rage and leaped over the desk at a surprising rate of speed. He lunged at Robert who simply sidestepped out of the way and let All Bark hit the floor. “Well, isn’t that interesting? His name fits,” Robert mocked before he then asked in an annoyed tone of voice “Now… If you excuse me, does anyone else have any issues?” He crossed his arms and folded them across his chest, and raised an eyebrow almost as if he was daring anyone to challenge him. “Okay… Maybe it’s a bit evident that I’ve watched Gokaigers a bit too much. Seriously, this pretty much something Marvelous might do.” Robert mused to himself with a chuckle. Somewhere in time and space, on a red galleon with the exact same appearance to the Skyship, a man with black hair and red long coat sneezed and his eyes shot wide open as he sat up. “Oi! Who’s been talking about me?” The man demanded. Back on Equus, Robert found himself directed to one of the interrogation rooms by a black-maned mare named Carter. While he was forwarded to the interrogation rooms, he saw a grayish pegasus with a pink bow in her opal toned mane arguing with what he guessed to be her sister who was sitting in a holding cell. “Was it really worth it?” Flitter yelled, tears streaming down her face. “Attacking a Princess out of sheer fear over someone you hadn’t even met!?!” “He brought that monster to our homes and destroyed Ponyville! That’s justification enough in my book!” Flitter’s sister yelled back angrily. “W-What happened to the sister I grew up with?” Flitter asked. “B-Because, because that’s not the one I’m seeing here in front of me.” With those words, Flitter walked off and the sounds of sobbing could be heard, not just from her, but from her sister as well. Meanwhile, Robert stood outside the interrogation room door. Shouting could be heard from the other side. Very angry shouting. “We’ve been holding her in here ever since you brought her in. She’s been yelling for a lawyer, but I don’t think she has the money to pay for one.” Carter remarked and Robert chuckled out “Well, suppose that’s what you get when you practically become a mare of the night. Seriously, spending time with her wasn’t almost worth the information I was going to get from her. ALMOST.” Robert specified. “Honestly, what you do with her after I’m done getting information out of her I could care less.” With that Robert walked into the room and pulled up a chair and sat across from Suri at the other end of the room, arms folded. “So, we meet again,” Robert said casually. Suri simply spat in his face. “Go to Tartarus, I was simply making a living and you had to ruin it.” Suri snapped. “Yeah, I wouldn’t call whoring yourself out a job per se… Okay, I might do that as mares and women do love a guy in uniform, but let’s not get caught up in hypocrisy eh?” Suri snorted angrily, glaring right at him. “Fuck you,” she growled. Robert sighed and shrugged, “Sorry Suri, but we both know how that turned out for you.” Robert leaned forward, propping his elbows onto the table, giving her the full ‘bad cop’ stare that made minor criminals piss themselves. “Now… Let’s get right to business eh? You know, me doing something nice, namely trying to find out who put Sunset in the hospital… It kind of gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling inside that I hate so much,” Robert deadpanned and got up off his chair and leaned in close to Suri’s face. “Now let me get one thing clear from the start that you should have figured out the moment you met me… I’m not a nice person. And for this past week, I’ve been more pissed off than usual, which is saying quite a lot. So if I were you, I’d give me the information I’d want to know.” Suri spat in his face again. Robert sighed before going for his phone and looking through the music he had saved for his special kinds of torture and picked out Syd’s self-titled single “Me.” But to his shock, Suri was actually enjoying the music and bobbing her head along with it. Robert slammed his head against a wall and muttered: “Okay, wasn’t going to bring this out till I had a chance to screw with some nobles but she’s forced my hand…” Robert then found another track. As soon as the song began to play, Robert began to imitate a certain dance, all the while wishing he had a suit and tie to complete the picture as Suri stared goggle-eyed at him in bewilderment. Robert then shouted, “Hey Carter, you got any knives?” “No! Why?” Carter shouted back, not sure if she wanted to know. “Just asking,” Robert replied cheerfully. “Might come in handy here.” Suri then realized what Robert planned on doing to her as he gazed intently at one of her ears. “Okay, okay! I’ll talk!” Suri yelled out in fear. “It’s this guy, goes by the name of Biff Interrobang! He was the one who led the mob who attacked Sunset!” Suri continued babbling about how Biff might have gang connections to a doctor whose name Robert didn’t catch as he let out a snarl and then looked directly at Suri with the music still playing in the background. “For the record, I was completely kidding about the knife. You’re such a baka-whore.” Robert remarked and gave out a growled out statement of “Thanks for the info.” and exited the room and turned to Carter. “She’s all yours, with all the information she spilled I’m sure you can charge her with something. Now, if you excuse me there’s business to attend to.” Unknown to anypony, a white furred pegasus with a pink mane listened in on the whole conversation and teleported away just as soon as Robert ran off... Ponyville Hospital: ICU Ward The soft beeping sound of Sunset’s heart monitor was the only sound in the room as the Phoenix Ranger slept in silence. Then, the beeping turned to a long flat sound and as she walked by, Nurse Redheart dropped her clipboard and ran off tears brimming from her eyes as she shouted “Doctor!” Meanwhile, a figure wearing a pure white robe with a headdress over her mane walked through the hospital, nopony seeming to notice she was there despite the pure level of magical power she radiated. Without even making a sound, she walked into Sunset Shimmer’s room. As she saw the fallen Golden Ranger, her eyes lit up with a show of many colors. With a wave of her hand, a multicolored magical aura began to cover the Princess of Empathy feeding her with pure Morphin’ Grid energy. The figure spoke. “Now, Sunset Shimmer… Awake and burn brighter than ever before. There’s a storm coming, and you must be there to meet it.” With that, two green tinted eyes shot open with a start. The Prancing Pony: Interrobang smirked to himself as he drunk a glass of fine wine over his victory. Sunset Shimmer was in the hospital and that disgusting excuse for an ape had been taught a lesson. It didn’t matter to him what Princess Celestia said about humans, all they did was cause destruction no matter wherever they went, leaving ruined lives behind. He considered teaching this human a lesson about messing with the superior master race a favor for him. Just then, there was a loud explosion as the doors to the Prancing Pony blew inwards knocking them off their hinges and the sounds of Joan Jett’s Bad Reputationbegan to play. An angry voice filled the room. “BIFF INTERROBANG!” Robert roared out in rage and everypony’s heads turned to him and stepped very clear of Robert as he slowly strode towards the pony in question. “Yeah, what’s it to you?” Biff asked, not even looking at who had shouted his name. However, when Robert grabbed him by his jacket and whirled him around so they could see each other face to face, his eyes widened. “You and I… We need to talk,” Robert growled out before Biff kicked him in the legs and sent Robert staggering back but was grabbed and thrown into a table where a game of cards was being played smashing the table in two and sending the cards flying everywhere. Robert smirked. “What do you know? 52 pickup. My favorite game,” Robert commented and picked up a card and inspected it before he chuckled out “Ace of Spades. Must be my lucky day.” as he tossed it away behind him. Biff came charging towards him again fist drawn back but Robert caught it and tossed Biff into the bartop. But he wasn’t done yet. Robert grabbed him by the back of his jacket and slid him along the top off its end. Biff grabbed a beer bottle and tried to take a swing but Robert punched him, sending him toppling to the floor. Robert then held his Crystal Saber to his neck and growled out “Now, the only reason I’m not removing your head from your neck is these powers should never be used to strike out in vengeance, even if I rightly should use them after what you did to my friend PRINCESS Sunset Shimmer. Besides, I think whatever Princess Celestia has in mind for you, it’ll be far worse than anything I can dream up and believe you me, I can dream up a lot of things.” Biff’s eyes widened out in fear as he realized just how big of a mistake he had made. Robert meanwhile was beginning to dust himself off when four Royal Guards arrived led by a pure white pegasus stallion. “We heard about a commotion. I assume this is… it?” The stallion asked nervously, looking at Biff’s bloody and bruised form. “Hardly a commotion. More like somepony getting his sorry worthless arse kicked and taught a lesson about reaping what he’s sown,” Robert said coldly and gestured to Biff. “Take this slimebag away, do with him what you want. I could care less.” Biff screamed and pleaded for mercy but Robert had none and simply watched as he was led away by two of the Royal Guards and he smiled. However, that smile was soon to fade when he felt two sharp spears pressing up against his back. “You’re coming with us,” A female voice Robert recognized as one of the guards sent to spy on him before ordered. “Princess Celestia’s orders.” “Yeah, I doubt that highly. If Sunset put her faith in Celestia, so should I. Might not be very cop like of me, but I’ve never been much of a good one anyhow.” Robert thought and then smirked. “So, how’d she get to you? Threats against your family, yourself? If it’s anything else, don’t expect me to show any sympathy when I send you lot packing to the hospital wards.” “M-Money.” The female guard said, her voice quavering in fear and Robert sighed. “Figures. That’s what it always is with corruption. I heard that’s what Grumm did with the A-Squad, offered them quite a lot of Space Bullion and where did it get them? Oh right, confinement cards.” Robert then whirled around to knock the guards back with kicks to the face and as they staggered back their spears flew from their hands. “I much prefer a good hand to hand brawl anyways,” Robert commented and cracked his knuckles. “Your boss wants me dead, she can come down and do her dirty deeds herself. Tell that to her when I’m done with you.” The guards, much to Robert’s surprise actually put up a very good fight. Now that he hadn’t caught them off guard in any way, they could actually counter and block any of his punches or kicks. At one point, he tried a Chinese kick boxing maneuver, but the attack was caught and he was thrown to the ground. Robert then tried to kick the guard in question in the chin as he recovered, but the guard jumped to the left and kicked Robert in the chest sending him flying across the room and into the bottles of beer stacked behind the bar-top. The glass cut into his skin, leaving his back bleeding. As he staggered and tried to stand, he thought to himself as he clutched his Morpher. “Could easily morph and take these two out right now, but I don’t want to alert Solar Flare to who I am just yet and who knows how many other eyes are watching. Something like this attracts a lot of attention, after all.” “Give up yet? Your humans were always second best, second rate.” The female guard asked and in her place, Robert saw Charlie of the A-Squad and he remembered the footage of her from the SPD files. “Funny, someone else said something like that to some friends of mine. Guess what happened?” “Your friends, got their asses kicked like I expect.” The male of the two guards replied as he and his partner advanced. “Wrong,” Robert snarled, shocking them both. “It was the other way ‘round. Just doing what you’re told, right? Just like the Nazis did when Hitler ordered them to round up the Jews and gas ‘em. I have a friend who’s Jewish, and I’m half German so you can imagine that’s a very sore spot in my heritage,” Robert snarled, looking directly at the female of the twosome. “You know, I had high hopes for you, not being Celestia’s little puppet and dancing to her strings, but guess I was wrong. You guards all seem to be the same except for a rare few like your Captain, Shining Armor. He knows when to question orders. You’re like sheep, you are, always waiting to be shepherded around into your pen by the local Border Collie.” “How dare you!?!” The female roared, angered that Princess Celestia was compared to a dog. “You can’t defeat us, and you know it.” “That’s right… Bitch. I do know that. I was only buying time. You haven’t noticed yet, have you?” Robert asked while smirking and both guards felt a very warm presence about then and turned to see Princess Celestia behind them. Her eyes were flaring in anger and the snow around her was melting from her sheer presence. Next to her was Steel Sentry and another guard who quickly cuffed the two traitors. “Looks like you two just got demoted.” Robert smirked. END Author's Note Okay, so things are really heating up now. Robert nearly crosses a line, and Sunset awakens at last. Anyways, I think it's time for the poll results of Bunglay's next ranger and villain puppet revival spree to be released. Here we go. Whiger Adam Doggy Leanbow Koragg Scorpina Robo Knight Z Let's let these lucky bastards be honored! (Okay, maybe not such an honor considering how they'll be used.) ...Honestly, I was surprised no one picked Troy just to see that poor excuse for a Red get beat up, considering how much everyone hates him. I mean, that was the exact reason I put him there in the first place. But anyways... Next time: A Golden Homecoming! (Also, huge thanks to Son Elec for providing a description of Angel Wings and to Magic Step for Biff's last name.) Part 30: An East Wind (A Golden Homecoming Part 1)“This east wind, this terrifying force that lays waste to all in it’s path. Seeks out the unworthy and plucks them from the earth.” Sherlock Holmes, BBC’s Sherlock: His Last Vow Robert sighed in relief at Celestia’s appearance. Honestly, he never thought he’d be doing that, but there he was. “Princess Celes-” Robert started before he noticed Celestia’s form beginning to shift and change and the air around him beginning to grow hotter as Celestia’s skin and feathers became pure black and fire sprouted from cracks in it as her dress burned away as her mane danced in the wind. This brief, horrifying sight was quickly replaced by another one. Red and gold armor covered Celest-No, Solar Flare and her pure black horn jutted out like a lance from her helmet. “No… She couldn’t have… No, she would.” Robert thought as Solar Flare blasted both Steel Sentry and the other guard away with blasts of hot wind as she advanced, the ground catching fire with every step she took. Robert ran for it as Solar Flare made a column of pure hot flame erupt from where he was standing. One ember caught his trenchcoat and he tossed it aside as it burned away. He continued running as more flaming pillars erupted and Solar Flare created a sword of fire in her hands. “You can run, but you can’t hide!” Solar Flare cackled. “Come out, just give in. I promise it won’t hurt. Just a quick blast of flame and you’ll be embers!” She continued to taunt him in a sing-song tone as Robert ran. “You know, this is kinda fun. Like a game, this. I can see why Bunglay likes hunting you down, the thrill of the chase!” Solar Flare cackled. “The last human… Oh, what a thrill it’ll be when I finally remove your kind from the Earth! Extinction is such a lovely word, after all you and your kind have done this will be my ultimate victory! It’s the fun of an orgasm, but… Much more satisfactory.” Robert began to sweat as he ran, though whether that was from fear, the heat or the sheer exhaustion he didn’t know. “Amusing, isn’t it Celly? The chase!” Solar Flare taunted her other half. Celestia snarled. "You can’t control me. You are just an abomination born from…” “Yes, your darker emotions. Admit it, you want this!” “Yes, I admit I wanted humankind to burn at one point, I admit my racism get the better of me but look where that got me. My daughter in the hospital, my own sister terrified to death of me and who knows what else along the pipeline. So, do me a favor and LEAVE!” With all the willpower she could muster, Celestia forced Solar Flare back into the depths of her mind. With that, she fell to the ground, armor melting away and the Dark Solar Cell Morpher sliding from her hands along the ground. “Please… Take it, and get as far away as you can. RUN! Run for your own sake, before she comes back! I… I can’t hold her back much longer!” Robert hesitantly picked up the Morpher and pocketed it. “What about you?” He asked, as embers crackled in the background. “I will go to the coldest place I can find, sequester myself, until… Until you are ready to enact Twilight and Sunset’s plan. Now RUN!” Robert nodded and teleported away in a flash of orange light while Celestia did the same. Ponyville: Later that evening... Once again, the Rangers had found themselves in the middle of an Org battle, this time facing off against the aptly named Cellphone Org. He’d already grown to giant size and was already facing off against the Animaria Guardian Megazord in its Spear Mode, with the Giraffe Zord taking the place of the Phoenix as the left arm. Trouble was, he was currently using his antennae to create a disruption field of pure sound making it almost impossible for the Rangers to concentrate. The sound was piercing, almost ear-shattering and if not for the ear protection the helmets provided, the Rangers would have already been driven deaf long ago. The Org fired a beam from his single eye and sent the Megazord staggering back. “NAVI!” Robert shouted. “We need to drown out this sound! Any ideas?” “Yes, there is a nearby radio station I can connect to and create a disruption wave to counter this effect,” Navi responded. “WELL, WHAT THE BLEEDIN’ HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR YOU DAMN BIRD!?!” Robert continued to shout angrily over the noise as the cockpit sparked. “GET TO IT!” “...Not a bird…” Navi muttered as she flew to the nearby radio station where Vinyl was on duty. Navi’s chest opened up and out popped Robert’s phone. “Here, plug this in.” Navi requested, and Vinyl, not even bothering to ask, nodded and plugged the phone in. “Any specific requests?” Navi asked as the Cellphone Org used his right arm to land a solid punch to the face of the Megazord. “MEIN GOTT, JUST PICK SOMETHING!” Robert shouted back at her. Both Vinyl and Navi shrugged and picked a random track. Robert smirked as he heard the music begin to broadcast itself over all of Ponyville. “That’s a good track.” the Orange Ranger said as he began tapping his feet to the beat. As the music blared and the Megazord landed a slash across the Org’s chest with one of its katanas, Sunburst turned to Vapor in confusion. “Is… Is that classical music?” He wondered aloud. “Guess so,” Vapor murmured with a shrug. “No accounting for taste though.” “Let’s finish this guy off.” Robert growled before shouting “Giraffe Spear, fire!” The Animaria Guardian Megazord raised its spear arm and launched the Giraffe head and neck with the silver armor covering the head becoming a blazing firestorm. The spear pierced the newest Org right through the chest, leaving a large gaping hole in its wake. As the Org fell over and exploded, Lightning smirked as Robert gave a thumbs down. “Connection… terminated.” She remarked as the Megazord raised the spear arm to the sky in triumph, the setting sun as their backdrop. The Nexus Thrax smiled. He could do nothing but smile. Despite his most recent defeat at the hands of the Rangers, he could care less. It was finally time. “Hello old friend, time to for you to greet the new world order,” He mused to himself. “An east wind is coming. I am the deliverer, and you shall be my reaper… My reaper of death. A holy warrior clad in the finest gold, beautiful and elegant. But they will not look at you in awe… They will look at you in pure, utter terror as you cut them down.” With that smile still plastered on his face, he placed the bloody heart on a pedestal, right next to two others. The second held a piece of shattered, golden armor. The third, a dark pulsing gem. The gem flashed, and two strings of energy connected it to the armor piece and the heart before all three rose up in the air. “Now, winds from darkest days, terrors of spirits long since past! Diabolico, scourge of Queen Bansheera! Darkonda, the warrior who could not die! The one eyed hunter who never missed, Oculous! The king of dragons, General Scorch!” He called out and each time a name was mentioned, the piece of armor and the heart began to circle the pulsing gem growing ever more quick with each name dropped. “Now, warriors who have fallen, give my holy terror and newest general Org LIFE! Goldar, arise!” The three pieces merged with a flash of energy that filled the cavern. Soon the burning light faded and a clawed foot clad in metal touched the cavern floor. Clad entirely in armor with the head of a griffin sticking out from his chest plate with a burning orb of energy inside it, Goldar smiled. A familiar sword formed in his hands just as demonic fire sprouted up from his back and formed two charred wings which quickly gained armor as well. Two tusks sprouted from his face and his head quickly gained an armored horned helmet. Thrax’s smile quickly turned to a smirk. “Welcome back.” Goldar stumbled forwards, using his sword to catch himself when he fell by implanting it in the ground. “Where… Where am I?” Goldar asked, his voice raspy from his vocal chords not being used in so long. “Back to the land of the living. My name is Thrax, son of Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd and I was the one who revived you, to be my newest general.” Thrax answered and through a hole in the stone wall, a single eye widened as Goldar looked up at Thrax with an expression of shock that Retinax shared. He growled. So… That was Thrax’s game. To replace him, and with a non-Org at that! “I knew it, he doesn’t care about us Orgs, not in the slightest,” Retinax mused as he clenched his axe blade tightly. But I’ll play his game, for now, see what other tricks he has up his sleeve. And when I get powerful enough, I will take the title of Master Org for myself and carry out his work. As for Thrax and his newest General, they’ll just have to stew in the fires of their own making.” With a low chuckled, Retinax swung his axe at a totem and cleaved it in half. “Yes, all in good time. But for now, I’ll play the fool as for I long as I need. He’ll never see me coming. Thrax wants to play a game of chess it seems. At first, it was Solar Flare as the White King and Celestia as her Queen. Now, the pieces have changed. I’m the White King in this situation, with Helicos as my Queen. Everyone else, Orgs and Rangers alike, they’re all just pawns for the both of us.” “Prove it.” Goldar growled out. For someone to even claim he was the son of his beloved master, it was an insult of the highest caliber. With a smirk, Thrax summoned both Rita’s wand and pulled a totem’s head forwards, making a wall move aside to reveal Zedd’s throne. “Is this proof enough?” Thrax asked as he sat down on the throne in a relaxed posture, his fingers tapping the armrests while his left arm gripped Rita’s wand tightly. “Hardly, though I thank you for bringing me back, I don’t trust you. You could have easily acquired both of those items and use them to back your claim.” Goldar rebutted. Then he let out a roar of pain as Thrax blasted him with red lightning from his mother’s Wand. “Is THAT proof enough?” Thrax commented as Goldar struggled to stand and then he bowed at Thrax’s feet. “Y-Yes… You truly are the son of my Lord.” Goldar groveled and Thrax chuckled. “Ah, you always were such a suck-up. So easy to use.” Thrax chuckled. “Your spineless, sniveling attitude leads me to believe you will serve me well. For that, I have restored to you what was once taken away. You have been granted new gifts as well,” “Now… rise.” Thrax commanded and Goldar did so. “What is your bidding, my master?” Goldar asked. “To continue your Master’s grand design, finish what he set out to do. Conquer the Galaxy and bring it to it’s knees. But first, we have a… Little obstacle. Any obstacle can be removed although, especially when it’s one you’re all too familiar with.” As Goldar’s eyes narrowed, Thrax smirked. “Yes, that one. Power Rangers.” The Animarium: All four Wild Force Rangers groaned in exhaustion as they teleported on the Animarium, Luna’s moon illuminating the main temple in its glow. Crickets chirped in the bushes as Vapor slumped into a chair and sighed to herself. Lightning rubbed her bloodied forehead from where it had been smashed up against a wall by a Putrid. “Mystic Mother above… These Orgs, they’re running us ragged. We need help, badly.” She muttered as Shayla began applying some natural remedies to help with the healing process. “Seriously… To Hell with our lives,” Robert muttered. “Our leader’s in the hospital in a coma, the Magna Defender is God knows where and God only knows when bat-brain will show up. As far as I can tell, he just shows up when he likes to.” “A-Actually, there’s a good reason why he can’t just show up and bail us out.” Sunburst stuttered out nervously. “What, don’t tell me he’s your pregnant wife because last I checked he didn’t look that way. Emphasis on HE.” Robert deadpanned. “He’s a thestral. They can’t really be out and about in the daytime. Zen-Aku’s one thing as I don’t know how Duke Org magic works, but Galaxy… He has really sensitive eyes. Going out in the daytime might just blind him. Plus there’s his job…” “Wait, Galaxy?” Vapor piped up, her eyes widening in recognition. As far as she could remember, there was only one stallion that stuck out in her memory with that name. “As in Galaxy Swirls, captain of Princess Luna’s Guard?” Robert snorted as Sunburst nodded in return. “...Oh, well that's just wonderful. So, let’s recap. Okay, so a nutjob married to a nervous wreck, Shayla singing songs with a Duke Org, who happens to be on our side by the way and yes, I happen to know about that,” Robert interrupted before anypony could speak up. “Don’t think I haven’t heard his flute every morning. Any more shocks my brain can take today?" He yelled out, throwing his hands up in the air in pure frustration. ‘Well… To put it simply, Princess Luna's in love with you.” Vapor thought to herself. She wasn’t stupid. She knew perfectly well who that Artemis mare was the moment she saw her. The fur coloring and the constellation theming was a dead giveaway. She was honestly surprised Robert himself, him being a cop and all meaning he would have good instincts hadn’t figured it out for himself. For all of his womanizing traits, he seemed to be absolutely clueless when a mare liked-liked him, and vice versa. After all, anypony blessed with the gift of sight could see he was in love with Sunset. Nopony was that protective of a mare or got that angry when she was hurt unless they cared for them on a deeper level. And she could tell Sunset being in the hospital was hitting Robert worst of all, given how short tempered with everypony he’d been all week and so out of character he’d been acting. He almost never showed off to anypony, nor did he crack as many jokes as he used to. Maybe she was wrong, and he was just growing up and he just was protective of Sunset because of how kind she was to him, but then again, she’d been very kind to him as well and he wasn’t nearly as protective of her as he was with Sunset. “...You’re right Lightning-Bitch, as much as I hate to admit it, you are absolutely right. We NEED help, badly.” Robert muttered. Lightning gaped at him in shock, unsure if she’d heard right. “Run that one by me again? Pretty sure I just had something crazy fly in my ear and it’s still lodged there.” She mocked. “I said… You are right. We need help that we can rely upon. We’re exhausted and it’s starting to show on all of us.” Robert said. “And I think that might be the whole point,” Sunburst said, speaking up again making everyone look at him. He flushed red at being put in the spotlight but cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses as he walked back and forth, a hand stroking his goatee in thought. “Think about it, Thrax sends down Org after Org to attack us, and we get exhausted. Pretty soon, we’ll make a mistake, and then one or more of us will get k-killed in action.” He stuttered out, not even wanting to think about the possibility. Suddenly, Princess Shayla felt a cold wind blast through her. She flinched, and everyone present took notice. “What’s wrong?” Vapor asked, not really wanting to know. Shayla turned to look at the Rangers, her face grave. “Something’s coming. I… I don’t know what, but it’s something very big. I just felt it, something dark has just occurred, a ritual. Something that should never have been brought back into this world… has.” With that, the temple fell silent as the grave. “Get some rest Rangers. It’s going to be a busy day tomorrow. Of that, I can sense.” Shayla stated. The Crystal Empire: All was peaceful in the Empire, tall spires gleaming with crystal and various ponies going about their daily lives. Two guards stood at the twin shards that made up the gateway to the empire, their aquamarine armor glittering in the sun, spears pointed to the sky as they stood resolutely. Suddenly, rockets flew towards the guards and they dodged out of the way as the gateway came down with a crash. Retinax chuckled as his Putrids lowered their cudgels. This was what Thrax wanted. For the time being, he’d obey. Plus, there was an added bonus, as this was where the Magna Defender AKA his rival Shining Armor made his home. He’d love to strike him down, especially after the humiliation he’d been dealt in their first bout. Retinax pointed his axe at the fallen gateway. “Now Putrids, let them scream out in terror! Time to make our mark and reduce this paradise to ruins.” Retinax ordered and smirked as various boulders began to raise themselves up by pure will and form into golem like creatures which slowly began to march on the Empire. A yellow coated guard tried to stand but was simply swatted aside by one of the golems and his neck twisted to the left with a sickening snap by the force of the blow. From his castle, Shining heard the screams and he and his wife rushed out onto the balcony to see the Empire in flames thanks to fired rockets and Retinax’s own powers while ponies screamed in terror. “Retinax.” Shining growled. Cadence’s eyes widened at the name. “As in that Org thing who attacked Canterlot a while back?” She asked in surprise. “Yes, him. He wants to draw me out,” Shining snarled, an uncharacteristic tone of fury in his voice. “Well, congrats. He succeeded.” “You’re not planning to take him on alone are you?” Cadence asked. “Let me help you. This is my empire he’s threatening as well. It is my duty to meet him on the field of battle.” “No, this is a personal score.” Shining stated and Cadence looked at him in confusion. “P-Personal? What do you mean?” Cadence asked, worry present in her voice. “Cadence, there’s something I haven’t told you about myself. I-I was waiting for the proper time, but it seems Retinax made that decision for me,” Shining said as he walked towards the edge of the balcony. The illusion that hid the Magna Blade dropped. “You know that Magna Defender who appeared to stop Retinax’s first attack right?” “Yes… But…” Cadence stated before her eyes widened in realization. Shining nodded before he took a running leap off the balcony with a shout of “Magna Power!” and in a flash of green energy, he landed on the streets below in full armor, sword drawn. “Now, Retinax… Do you want to threaten my home? Well, the Prince of this Empire doesn’t back down. Did you want to greet me on the fields of battle? Well, here I am.” Shining thought before he charged into battle to meet the oncoming threat… The Animarium: Elsewhere, the four remaining Rangers were watching the attack on the Crystal Empire unfold. “We’re going down there.” Lightning said, leaving no room in her voice for argument and all three of her comrades nodded. Then, the reflecting pool’s image changed to show that of Thrax on his throne. “Sorry to spoil the mood, but I can’t let you interfere in my plans this time,” Thrax chuckled. “I’ve got an ultimatum for you. You see, you could go and defend the Crystal Empire and stop Retinax but that would leave Ponyville unprotected. I’m sending a very dear friend of mine down there and if you go to the Empire to stop my other General, you can’t stop this one. Your choice.” With that, the image changed to show Ponyville under attack by hordes of Tengas and Putrids led by an Org based on a golden Asian dragon with two hatchets in hand. Robert slammed his fist on the table in rage. “No… Something’s wrong. Orgs never take the form of animals. Zen-Aku along with that Org created from four Animal Crystals by the Master Org were the exception to the rule and they were not created by natural means.” Shayla thought in fear. “If they go to Ponyville, they’re walking right into a trap.” “Damnit… He’s got us by the balls. Either choice we pick… We lose.” Robert snarled. “Giving up so easily Orange Ranger?” Zen-Aku’s voice commented as he appeared behind them out of thin air. “Funny, I seem to remember one of your predecessors saying to “Never give up.” Seems you’re doing just that. I will go to the Empire and help Shining and the Princess of Love hold off Retinax. Your four shall go to Ponyville and deal with the newest Org Spirit.” “No!” Shayla shouted. “Something’s wrong! That Org… He isn’t an Org at all, at least not like any I’ve ever seen. You’re walking into a trap if you go down there!” “Don’t have much choice do we Princess?” Lightning asked. “He still needs to be stopped.” “You… You’re right Lightning, but be careful.” Shayla admitted. Back in the Crystal Empire, Shining was slashing through Putrid after Putrid blade in hand and then switched to his Riot Blaster to blast some more. One Putrid tried to take him from the side, but Shining kicked him in the chest making it stagger back before shooting the Orgling. Two more Putrids tried to come at Shining from behind but were cut down by a blast of magic. “C-Cadence?” Shining asked in surprise as he saw his wife in full battle dress. “This is my Empire as well, and besides, I’d never let my husband go into battle alone. Retinax wants a siege? Well, we’ll give it to him, and then some.” Then, she grabbed a lance from a fallen guard and was swinging it around knocking down Putrids by hitting them in the shin. She then threw the lance and charged it with magical energy and impaled a Putrid before the lance exploded taking out it and several of his comrades. She then pulled out a bow and arrow before taking to the rooftops with her wings and began sharpshooting the Putrids from above. Retinax had engaged Shining and their weapons met again and again. The General Org fired an eye beam at Shining but he rolled to the left and then blasted his foe making Retinax stagger back. “Ha! Is that all you’ve got?” Retinax taunted as he blasted Shining with red lightning from his axe right in the chest cracking the gem in the center of his chest plate. Retinax then leaped forwards becoming a blur and slashed the Magna Defender across the chest three times drawing blood on the last strike. “I thought a PRINCE would do better.” Retinax chuckled and rested his axe on his shoulder as Shining clutched his chest in pain and fell to the ground using his sword in an attempt to stay standing. “Guess I was right before. You ain’t worth shit!” Retinax chuckled as the golems advanced. Shining growled and picked himself up ignoring the bleeding and put a magical adhesive over his wound, his horn glowing a rose like shade of pink. “You’re not the first conqueror to try and take this land. There was another… King Sombra. He tried twice to keep this land as his, even came back from the dead second time around and do you want to know what happened to him?” Shining asked. “No? Well, let me tell you. He failed BOTH times and now his horn is hanging in what used to be his trophy room. He wasn’t worth shit either if you ask me.” With that Shining charged forwards and his blade glowed a pure blue as he cried out “Galactic Slash!” and Magna Blade met axe and the axe lost, shattering in half right down the middle. Retinax staggered back in shock both from the force of the blow and surprise. Retinax growled out. “Very well. Maybe you aren’t such a worthless little horse after all. But the thing is, me and my Putrids aren’t the only things you have to worry about.” Shining then found himself punched in the face by two of the Golems and the sheer strength and weight behind the twin punch sent him flying back into a stall selling pure silver flugelhorns. “Haven’t seen these guys before have you? Thrax gave them to us as a gift from his Grandfather. His own unique breed of foot-soldiers, Putties he calls them. Don’t ask me why they got that name, but I have to admit, they are fairly effective at taking out the trash wouldn’t you agree?” Retinax asked laughing to himself. Just then, a gold blade went flying through the two Putties’ legs, chopping off the stone and sending the golems crashing to the street and rendering them into piles of rubble. The sword itself impaled itself in a wall. “Funny, the only trash I see around here is you.” A female voice remarked and both Shining and Retinax looked upwards to the rooftop of the Crystal Library. There stood an aqua colored Ranger, costume similar in design to Galaxy’s but with a leather whip attached to her skirt and two light golden wings sprouting out of her back. She leaped down into the fray and almost at once grabbed her whip and used it to grab a Putty by the legs and pull him down. “For such powerful foot soldiers, they seem to be awfully weighty, don’t they? Can’t be a good advantage in combat can it?” The newest Ranger commented. Two Putrids tried to fire off rockets at her only to be shot in the head without even a glance in their direction. “Who the hell do you think you are?” Retinax snarled. With a smirk, the Aqua Ranger demorphed to reveal a very familiar face to anypony who ever looked on the cover of a book. “Name’s Daring Do. Perhaps you’ve heard of me?” Ponyville: With swirls of energy, the four Rangers arrived in Ponyville and almost at once morphed and the resulting explosion of pure Morphin’ Grid energy knocked back some Tengas and Putrids. Robert pulled out his Kitsune Blaster and fired into the hoard while Vapor swung her trident and tripped up a Tenga before impaling it in its heart. Lightning grabbed two Putrids by the wrists with her whips and pulled back and flipped them to the ground. Sunburst just pulled out the Navi Blaster and let some other Tengas have it. Robert stared at the sight. “He made his own daughter into a laser rifle? I don’t know whether if I should comment on how completely wrong that is, or just laugh at the whole ludicrousness of it all.” Robert mused before kicking one more Putrid in the chest knocking it into a pie stall. “Now it’s only you, Org.” Robert remarked, aiming his blaster at the “Org”. “Now that…” The Org commented in an all too familiar voice making Robert’s eyes widen in pure and utter terror as his form shifted to that of Goldar’s “Is where you’re sorely mistaken, Orange Ranger.” “No, not him… Anyone but him.” Robert thought as he took a few steps back in fright. Everypony else noticed. “R-Robert, who is that?” Sunburst stuttered out, quite afraid himself. Vapor looked nervous as well for the same reasons. If Robert looked to be afraid of something, then there probably was an very good reason for it. “Goldar,” Robert whispered. “Out of all the monsters Ranger teams have faced in the past, he’s one of the worst. He’s never been defeated in combat, never destroyed by any Ranger alive. It was only a wave of pure Morphin Grid energy that finally took him down, and that was before I was even born. He’s possibly the most dangerous foe that Thrax could ever send at us.” “I-If that’s true…” Vapor whispered. “Why didn’t the fountain alert us to when Thrax revived him?” “Because it’s attuned to only pick up Orgs, and Goldar isn’t one,” Sunburst explained. “Shayla was right. This was a trap made specifically for us, and we walked right into it.” Goldar smirked. “Exactly.” He said before the glowing orb in his chest began to pulse and the eyes on his torso-plate lit up before he unleashed a blast of pure purple-orange energy at the Rangers knocking them right out of their Ranger forms. Goldar chuckled as he strode forwards and pulled out his sword, his armored tail flicking back and forth in anticipation. “Your colors may be different than any Power Ranger team I’ve seen, but you’re still just the same as every other… Pathetic.” Goldar remarked as Robert and company picked themselves up off the ground and went for their morphers. “Legendary Wi-” They never even got a chance to finish their morphing sequence before Goldar blasted them with balls of fire. He chuckled as he continued to walk forwards. His sword glowed and he swung it in a triangular formation and yelled out “Prism Slash!” and sent the triangle-shaped attack spiraling towards the Rangers as a final blow but before it could even reach them a gold feathered wing shielded the Rangers. Robert looked up and blinked as he saw a mare with a red and yellow streaked mane-style. His eyes widened. “No… It can’t be.” “You… Get the Tartarus away from my team.” Sunset Shimmer snarled out. (To Be Continued) Author's Note Okay, so we are back and what a way to bring things back I say! First things first, Robert WILL NOT be morphing into the Solaris Knight. Those powers aren't reserved for him. Now, as the villains have split into four groups, I think it's probably best to explain each group's motivation. Retinax: Wants to take over as the Master Org and rule the Earth. Thrax: Wants to continue Master Vile's legacy of ruling entire galaxies. Solar Flare: Wants to exterminate any and all traces of humankind. Bunglay: Couldn't care less about any of the other villains or what they want. Just want's Robert's dead body for the money it'll bring him. Finally, a good friend of mine on here, CaioCalo was nice enough to do this vector of Daring as the Aqua Ranger and he's got artwork of Robert in costume on the way as well. Give him a shout, eh? http://caiocoia.deviantart.com/art/Request-bricklayer-685368041?ga_submit_new=10%3A1496977770 Next time: Burning Bright! Part 31: Burning Bright (A Golden Homecoming Part 2)Author's Note Okay, first off I know you were probably expecting a much longer wait on this one, and Hell even I was expecting it to take longer to write but that's how things are I guess. Besides, look at the bright side, you won't have to wait for weeks on end for the conclusion to this cliffhanger I left y'all on. Angelic, you were right on one thing. Sunset is definitely back for good and she is ROYALLY pissed off. Edits: Swapped out and edited out some of the music in this chapter. Part 31: Burning Bright (A Golden Homecoming Part 2) “S-Sunset… Is… Is that really y-you?” Sunburst asked, not even daring to hope as he picked himself off the ground. With a shout of pain, he then fell back into the dirt clutching his ribs in pain. Sunset turned back to look at him, and smiled. Navi hovered over her creator in concern. “Yes, it’s really me,” Sunset replied, her voice sounding almost angelic as her Phoenix Blade manifested in her left hand as it began flaming into existence. She sighed as she examined her hospital gown. “I’m back and here to stay.” “Wish I was better dressed for the occasion, but can’t really be choosy right now I suppose.” Sunset mused. She strode forwards drawing her Crystal Saber into her other hand and her wings spread and expanded out to their full length, embers licking at their feathers. With an angry look towards Goldar, she pointed her Phoenix Blade at him. “Now, let me ask you a simple question. You don’t need to answer that as I’ll do it for you. First thing when I got out of the hospital was check on my team, see how they were doing I thought to myself. Sure, I’m doing that right now, but what do I find?” Sunset asked, her horn beginning to glow with an angry green tinge to it. “You hanging over them like the great winged baboon you are and them nearly dead, and you know what that makes me? Really, really PISSED off.” With that, Sunset threw both her Crystal Saber and Phoenix Blade at Goldar like boomerangs and he knocked them away with two swings of his sword. He was then soundly roundhouse kicked in the face by Sunset who rebounded off of him and landed on the ground with a soft thud. Goldar fired some fireballs at Sunset, but she created two rotating hard light shields of rune-inscribed magic and deflected them again and again simply continuing to stride forwards. As she did so, she picked up her weapons off the ground and slashed downwards at Goldar who blocked the blades with his own. He chuckled. “Guardian angel or not, fancy swordplay and magic won’t be enough to save you,” Goldar said as he whirled around and tried to use his tail to trip up Sunset but she leaped upwards and kicked the baboon-like monster in his chest plate sending him staggering back. Goldar swung again and his blade met Sunset’s own, sparks flying as metal ground up against metal. Sword met sword, again and again, each fighter closing in and drawing back each time they thought they had an opening but each time sword met sword. “Face it, this time you’re out-matched.” “Oh, but I’m done holding back. Just this once, I’ll let you see my true power. Every time I go into a fight, I have to think, is this the one? Is this the one who’ll let me show off just how powerful I really am and not have to worry about others getting in the way? Well, now I have my answer. This time… I can cut loose and show you just what you’re getting into when you pick a fight with a Princess of Equestria.” Sunset replied, standing firm even in the face of complete and utter power. She impaled her sword and dagger in a nearby piece of rubble and pulled out her Growl Phone. “Legendary Wild Access, HA!” (Morphing Sequence) Sunset rocketed upwards into the sky flying through several spell seals in the process each time gaining a piece of her costume in the process before finally her helmet formed over her head with the screech of a bird before she rocketed downwards and landed on the ground with a mighty thud. (Morphing Sequence Ends Here) “With a Virtuous Heart, Blazing Phoenix!” Sunset called, picking her Phoenix Blade back up and sent an arc of flame towards Goldar who canceled it out with a slew of fireballs. Sunset smirked and then sent a beam of light green magic towards Goldar hitting him right in the chest. Next, she slammed her fist to the ground cracking it and creating a small crevice in the street that rapidly approached Goldar, who flew upwards to avoid it and then flew downwards towards Sunset who threw a kick at him. Goldar snarled as he caught it and threw Sunset into a pie cart. She as they both recovered, raised her sword again. She ran towards Goldar, a miniature version of her Phoenix Zord appearing alongside her and changing itself into her Savage Cycle. Sunset nodded knowing what the Zord wanted and leaped onto the high-powered motorbike and rammed Goldar, his claws clutching onto the bike’s front. “Let me off!” He snarled in rage. Sunset smiled sheepishly under her helmet. “Oh, is that all you want? Must have mistaken your intentions. Though you wanted to go for a little ride, my bad.” With that, she fired lasers from the phoenix shaped head that made up part of the bike and Goldar was sent flying off before his clawed feet grabbed onto the dirt below him. Sunset screeched to a halt and climbed off the bike. “Had enough?” She asked. Goldar only laughed before he slammed the tip of his sword into the ground sending a barrage of small explosions towards Sunset, the last essentially making the ground erupt in a column of flame around her. Goldar smirked, but his smile was soon to fade. The Gold Ranger emerged from the flames unharmed and rocketed towards him with the speed of a bullet. She grabbed him in a hold before flying upwards and throwing him upwards into the clouds above Equestria with her Earth Pony strength. The two took the battle to the sky, slashing at each other again and again getting their licks in and becoming flashes of gold in the sky. Next thing anybody heard, a loud thunderclap as Sunset broke the sound barrier in a flash of flame and body-slammed herself into Goldar shattering his chest plate’s head adornment clean off. Goldar growled out in anger before swinging his sword and slashing Sunset across the chest. She let out a yell of pain but grabbed him by the shoulder with her free hand and flipped around behind him and kicked him in the spine. Goldar whirled around in fury before he wrapped his arms around Sunset’s waist and they both rocketed towards the ground spinning like a drill. Sunset slashed at his face with her suit’s claws. Next, all anybody could see and hear was a powerful thud and a cloud of dust rising as the shockwave of the two powerful warriors hitting the ground and obscuring everyone's vision. Vapor coughed and wheezed from the dust. “W-What happened?” She asked, narrowing her eyes as she searched the cloud for any signs of the two. “Can’t… Can’t see a thing.” “Come on Sunset…” Lightning thought as she wiped away blood from her lip. Then, the dust faded, allowing the other Rangers to see both Sunset and Goldar in a crater, armor and costumes ripped, both clutching their chests as blood leaked out in various places. Both slowly picked themselves off the ground and went for their blades. “So… Even nearly defeated you still choose to fight. How foolish you are, little pony,” Goldar laughed, the only reason he was still standing being a combination of Thrax’s magic and Scorch’s leftover Rinzin Power. “Well, I must give you credit for that at least. A warrior who chooses to continue to fight long after being defeated is worthy of a swift death. And I shall grant you that.” “Go to Tartarus.” Sunset snarled as she slowly stepped forwards, still holding onto her blade weak as she was. “Sorry, but I don’t think that’ll be happening.” Goldar retorted, his blade glowing with purple energy and poised to strike. He swung but the blow did not reach Sunset. Instead, it was caught as a nearly blinding flash of white light filled the area… Back in the Crystal Empire: Meanwhile, back with Shining and company the battle continued to rage. Shining sliced down a Putty by chopping off it’s legs while Daring kicked a Putrid in the face before re-morphing with a shout of “Unleash the Power!” as she fired her Dino Morpher skywards. The manifested head came down and with a chomping sound, she was back in costume. She went for her whip again to take down some Putties much like she had before before a golden boomerang of energy did that for her while a purple blur cut through a hoard of Putrids. Zen-Aku smirked as he put away his dagger and let his Crescent Blade fly back into his paws. “Not even worth my time.” He sighed before turning his head to Daring and tilting it in a inquisitive way. “Odd, nobody seemed fit to inform me of yet another Ranger.” He remarked dryly, almost sounding offended if it was possible for him. Daring honestly couldn’t tell from his tone of voice. “Yeah, I’m new in town, least in the Ranger business.” Daring remarked. Zen-Aku looked towards Shining. “Zen-Aku, meet Daring. Daring, meet Zen-Aku, world’s worst Duke Org.” He replied, quickly making the introductions as he sliced away at another Putrid. “Much prefer treasure hunter extraordinaire but I given time is short I suppose that’ll have to do.” Daring quipped. Just then, Retinax snarled when he saw his traitorous fellow Org and with a squelching sound that made everybody wince, he pulled yet another axe exactly like his first out of his leg. “Oh, that is so wrong in so many ways…” Daring muttered, forcing the bile back down her throat. “So, what’s the situation here?” Zen-Aku asked as he and Shining locked weapons with Retinax. “Long story short, my best guess is Thrax wants to cement his power. Having this place under his control would do that and force down moral as well throughout Equestria.” Shining explained as the weapons ground against each other. Retinax could only chuckle. “What’s so funny?” Shining asked and Retinax broke out into full out laughter. “Oh, you haven’t figured it out yet have you? This place… It reflects love and light all over Equestria, yes. But what do you think happens when hatred and fear, the things that revived us in the first place, take hold?” He asked. Shining’s eyes widened under his helmet as he realized. “This place… It’ll become like heaven for Orgs. I can’t let that happen.” Shining thought before changing his Magna Blade to its Riot Blaster mode and shooting Retinax point blank making him stagger back. “Very good, fighting dirty… I like it. But I doubt that’ll help you with this lot!” Retinax laughed as a bunch of Putties made from pure solid crystal advance, gleaming and glittering in the moonlight. “Oh boy…” Daring muttered. She needn’t have worried though, as there was a loud snarl and the Jaguar Zord jumped down from a mountain and ripped the Putties to shreds with it’s claws. “Okay… How many invites were sent to this?” Shining muttered to himself. “I’ve been keeping an eye on this place Shining Armor, under Animus’s direct orders,” The Jaguar Zord explained. Shining stared at him in bewilderment. “What, never seen a Zord talk back to you before?” The Zord’s snarls came out almost laughter like, if that were possible. Nearby, Retinax growled and took out that last of Thrax’s grenades and pulled the pin. Shining sighed as the Org General towered above him. “Just when I thought he’d learned his lesson first go around…” He thought before shouting “Torozord, charge!” With a bellow, the gigantic bull based Zord charged forwards and rammed Retinax with his horns sending him flying out of the Empire’s boundaries and into the icy snow beyond. “And stay out!” Shining yelled before he shouted “Magna Defender, transform!” and let the Torozord enlarge him and upgrade his armor. Zen-Aku turned to Daring. “Best you stay out of this. This is a personal score.” He told her and Daring nodded. “Yeah, I know a thing or two about those types of things…” As Shining leaped into the Torozord as it stood up, he pulled out the kunai daggers and combined them into a lance. “Defender Torozord, Lightning Spin!” The Torozord went into a tornado like spin, becoming charged with lightning in the process and slashed right through Retinax’s torso. He staggered back in pain. He grimaced, knowing the tide had been turned against him for the worse. Shining, he could handle and that lowly Duke Org Zen-Aku probably as well. But adding another Ranger with a probable Zord at her beck and call plus one of Animus’s guardians made things that much more complicated. “Another day, Defender… Another day.” He growled out before teleporting as the Torozord and Shining raised the lance to the sky in triumph. Suddenly, Zen-Aku seemed to stagger almost as if in pain. He clutched his head and grunted as if he’d been struck by a powerful blow. “What’s wrong?” Daring asked, quite concerned. “A… A vision. I have to get back to Ponyville, fast!” Zen-Aku said quickly before becoming a blur and leaping away into the night. “Animus, I hope you’re wrong about what you just sent me…” Elsewhere: Back in Ponyville, the next thing anybody saw was Princess Shayla in her true form, her own Crystal Saber, resembling a flute with an Animal Crystal implanted in it blocking the blade strike. “You shall go no further, beast.” Shayla declared and kicked Goldar in the face making him stagger back. Shayla then ran towards Sunset, helping to support her. Goldar snarled. “Insolent Princess!” He roared. “Oh, I do believe that’s in the job description,” Shayla remarked coyly. “We do have a right to interfere with the doings of beasts like you whenever we feel like it.” “I… I don’t believe it. Princess Shayla’s… human?” Lightning though, jaw hanging open in disbelief. Then she felt all of her wounds healing and strength returning as a green glow encompassed the area. She looked up to see the adult Soul Bird perched on a rooftop and Princess Shayla playing her Crystal Flute. Robert smirked as he staggered to his feet and clutched his morpher. “Rangers, you know what to do.” She said before vanishing. She knew they could beat Goldar now that they were all back together again. She had faith in them. Robert nodded at the Princess as he and his fellows ran up to Sunset. Then, the Princess of Empathy gave him an inquisitive look. “What happened to your trenchcoat?” “Got torched.” Robert replied simply. Sunset raised an eyebrow. “...Although I was not the one to do it,” He quickly stated before mumbling quietly to himself “Though I probably would have eventually given the chance…” Sunset sighed at him, and he and her shared a nod. “Time for round two. Sa… Hade ni ikuze!” Sunset exclaimed. (Morphing Sequences) Standing on a rocky desert plateau as storm clouds rumbled and lightning flashed in the background, Lightning gained an aqua colored costume with the same diagonal tooth marks across her chest as Sunset’s. Her Cutie Mark of a yellow lightning bolt with stars appeared on her right breast. A helmet similar in design to Sunset's appeared on her head, with the sound similar to that of a falcon's call. On a beach, a tidal wave washed over Vapor Trail and she gained a purple costume similar in design to the others with her Cutie Mark of a comet on her left breast as well. The tooth marks on the opposite side of her chest appeared and a sperm whale themed helmet formed over her head with the noise of a deep sea beast's hum. In a dark barely moonlit orchard of apple trees, clouds of black smoke surrounded Sunburst. He gained a black costume with his Cutie Mark of an orange sun with bursting yellow rays on his left breast just like Vapor Trail's costume. Also like Vapor's the tooth marks appeared on the right side of his chest with a bat-themed helmet much like the Jungle Fury Bat Spirit Ranger's appearing around his head along with a loud bat screech sound. A flash of pure blue flames enveloped Robert as he stood in one of the red gate lined pathways that led up to Inari’s sacred shrine on Mt. Inari. He was given an orange form-fitting costume with tooth marks going diagonally across the left side of his chest and a golden fox’s head on his right breast. Then, a cape flamed into existence and a misty orange nine tailed fox bit down on Robert’s head and formed his helmet. (Morphing Sequences End Here) “Lightning Speed! Ferocious Thunderbird!” “Cunning Wit! Fighting Fox!” “Great Strength! Monstrous Leviathan!” “Shadowed Intent! Vampire Bat!” Sunset placed a hand on her Cutie Mark emblem and clutched at it before projecting an image of a lion roaring behind her. “Guardians of the Earth, united we roar! Power Rangers, Wild Force!” She called as multicolored explosions came from behind the group of five heroes. Then there was a slow clapping as Thrax materialized into existence with a swirl of red smoke. “Oh, very nice. So the little Phoenix rises from the ashes and she’s got her friends beside her once more,” Thrax taunted as he pulled out his mother’s wand and dragged the tip of it along the ground. Rocks, rubble and whatever else he could think up combined into stone golems much like the ones in the Crystal Empire. “But meet mine.” With Zen-Aku The Wolf of the Night ran through a realm of shadows and darkness, creatures howling and moaning around him. He knew where he was, and he knew the risks of taking this particular means of transport but it was the only way to prevent what he had just seen. The Animaria Guardian Megazord had fallen, all systems in the red and one limb detached as what looked to be a dark cyan elephant’s head and silver trunk lay beside it like a sword and shield. Ponyville was engulfed in flames as titanic sized versions of Thrax and Goldar advanced towards it. Their weapons crackled with dark energy. Inside the cockpit, the Rangers lay beside their consoles as the interior sparked with some of the consoles themselves in flames. “We’ve… We’ve… Got to keep fighting!” Vapor said reaching for her console before she let out a yell of pain and clutched her ribs. Goldar chuckled, and together he and Thrax crossed their weapons before firing a blast of energy at the Megazord. Then, the combination of energies meeting together and the power core overloading engulfed Ponyville in a mushroom cloud of magical energy. But it wasn’t over yet, the resulting shock-wave flattening any buildings who weren’t at the epicenter. From her castle, Princess Luna rushed out onto the balcony and saw the explosion and let a tear slip from her eye as she whispered “No…” and saw Thrax and Goldar turn their attentions to Canterlot. She knew they were coming, and there was nothing she nor anypony else could do to stop them now... Zen-Aku let out a snarl of fury as he pressed on. The dangers of crossing the Shadow Line could wait. He could not let this future come to pass, he would not let it. “Vap-No, all of you, I won’t let you down. The loyalty of a wolf is forever. I promised you all that, and I keep my promises. I promised Merrick I would never let the Earth fall to darkness when he passed, and I intend to keep that promise as well.” But what he didn’t notice was as he passed through the folds of darkness that made up the dimension known as the Shadow Line were two lamp like eyes attached to a skull like face smirk and turn away humming “I’ll deliver a coffin, one just for them to enter. They don’t need to pay, all I need in exchange is their lives…” If Zen-Aku, on the other hand, did notice this figure, he paid it no mind. He could worry about potential leaks from this world to his own later. Right now all he needed to worry about was Thrax and Goldar. That was his only concern. Ponyville: Thrax smirked as Goldar’s wounds healed and armor repaired itself thanks to more of Scorch’s Rinzin power and he stood alongside the Putties. “How many of those damn things does he need?” Lightning gasped in disbelief. “Must be overcompensating for something,” Robert deadpanned as he pulled out his Kitsune Blaster and spun it in his hands. “Seems he intends to make as much a show of things as we do. "Let’s get to it.” But, as the team quickly found, beating the Putties was easier said than done. As Shining had already found out, they could take whatever punishment the Rangers could deal put. Sunset tried slashing at them, sword encased in flames but was simply swatted aside into a carrot stall. She growled out and body slammed one Putty at high speed, but it grabbed ahold of her with a surprising reaction time and tossed her backwards. Sunset unfolded her wings and skidded along the cobblestone pavement and gritted her teeth. Thrax fired red lightning at her from his wand and Sunset just barely held it back with her Crystal Saber. “Not so tough now, are you Gold Ranger? Where’s your boasts, your bravado?” Thrax asked sarcastically as he continued to advance. He swung his mother’s Wand at Sunset but she blocked it with her Phoenix Blade. All the while, she was using her Crystal Saber to block a blade strike from Goldar who had come up from behind. Sunset smirked under her helmet and took to the skies the sheer shock-wave from her sudden flight making the two take few steps back. Nearby, Lightning severed off two Putties’ limbs with her whips but pieces of cobblestone quickly fixed that issue. Robert too was having trouble, his shots from his Kitsune Blaster barely making a dent in the golems. “You gotta be kidding me… There’s overboard and then there’s this!” Robert thought frantically. “Scheisse, scheisse and more scheisse!” Robert then tried to use his animal spirit but the Putty simply swatted it out of existence with a swipe of his palm. Then, he saw Vapor knock a Putty off it’s feet and send it toppling to the ground. Vapor punched the air in victory before she did the same to another Putty. “Top heavy… That’s it! They simply can’t hold their own weight!” Robert realized before breaking into a sprint towards a squad of Putties and Lightning stared at him in shock. “What, are you crazy?” She yelled in shock. “Just watch me Lightning-Bitch, just watch me!” Robert retorted before sliding along the ground and tripping up a Putty sending it toppling over to the ground and reducing it to rubble. Lightning smirked as she realized what Robert and Vapor had figured out, before lashing out with her whips and taking out two Putties much like Daring had done only a little while before. “Nun lassen Sie uns dies schnell getan, nicht wahr?” Robert asked. “Bloody well got more important things to do than just deal with clay soldiers. Alright Goldar, you plonker, time to see what you got.” Robert kicked his Blaster to Sunset who caught it in her hands. She put her own Crystal Saber into the slot and smirked. Still smirking, she aimed the weapon at the last of the Putties. “Phoenix Blast!” She exclaimed before unleashing a blast of fire which formed into a Firebird manifestation which let out a screech and completely blazed through the last of the golems destroying them utterly. “Very well…” Thrax growled. “Looks like we’ll have to handle things ourselves! Magic Wand, make me and my Goldar grow!” Thrax slammed the tip of his wand into the ground and with an explosion of energy, the two towered over Ponyville. The group of five regrouped and put their Crystal Sabers together in a star formation and for the first time in what felt like months, shouted together: “Wild Zords, descend!” As they ran from the Animarium atop a Rainbow Bridge and the combination sequence started the Phoenix screeched in happiness as she saw Sunset. Her friend and partner had returned. “Alright you bastard,” Robert told the Kitsune Zord firmly. “No cocking about here. We can’t just charge headfirst into things like we usually do. Goldar’s bad enough, but the Master Org…” “Bah! Shut up, you whelp. I do things like I want to, and that’s that. But in this case, and this case only, I’ll listen. No other time, understand?” The King of Foxes growled out. With shifting and whirring sounds, the Leviathan Zord split in half and it’s head and jaw folded open to become feet and the tail split open at the back as the Kitsune Zord’s back legs folded up into it’s chest and excess metal in it’s chest detached to form twin katanas and it’s head folded downwards to become a chestplate as it’s front legs detached with hisses of steam with the wings of both the Phoenix and Thunderbird Zords detaching as the tail feathers sprouted clawed hands and both Legendary Bird Zords became the arms, the Phoenix sprouting the kanji for fire on it’s winged shoulder pad and the Thunderbird, the kanji for lightning on it's own. A tusked head popped up from the Kitsune Zord’s neck, and the Vampire Bat Zord, wings detaching as it clanged onto the back of the Megazord and it’s head moved upwards and became the helmet. “Don’t think that’s going to be enough for these two, much as I like this combination we need something more…” Sunset stated as she placed her Saber onto its respective console. “Please tell me you rising from the ashes comes with some sort of benefit? New Zord, possibly a Battlizer maybe?” Robert asked, half-sarcastic and half-hopeful. Sunset simply smiled at him and swapped her Phoenix Crystal out for the Elephant’s. “Time to address the Elephants in the room, so to speak.” She joked. With a trumpeting sound almost like a war cry, the Elephant Zord stampeded onto the battlefield before it’s trunk straightened out and became taut. Then, it split in half right down the middle with the entire head becoming a shield and the rest of it becoming a giant sword. “Animaria Guardian Megazord: Sword and Shield Mode!” Sunset exclaimed. The Megazord blocked a blow from Goldar’s sword with the Elephant Shield before getting in a blow with the sword but Thrax sent the Zord staggering back with a blast of dark magic from his palm. Goldar’s chest armor orb glowed and Robert’s eyes widened. “Here we go again…” He muttered. “Brace yourselves!” The blast hit them at full force sending the Megazord far out of Ponyville and back into the Everfree and knocking it to the ground. The earth shook from the sheer force of the fall, but slowly but surely with the sound of metal groaning the Animaria Guardian Megazord regained its footing. It then picked up the fallen sword and shield. “So, back for more hmm?” Thrax chuckled. “Goldar, hit them again!” Goldar fired again, but before he could hit his target another beam blasted his own out of existence. The Predazord had arrived, Gator Staff in hand. “Now, this is an even fight.” Zen-Aku snarled as the two powerful titans stood together. “Thought you were busy in the Crystal Empire?” Vapor questioned. “Things there have been handled.” The Duke Org replied simply as the Predazord turned to look at its counterpart. “Besides, I was… concerned.” Sunset gave Robert another questioning look. “Thrax.” He answered simply. “Sent Retinax off to the Empire, while we got to deal with his new playmate. Wunderbarer day we’re having, isn’t it?” He asked sarcastically. “Can we just stop talking and send these two packing already?” Lightning complained, throwing her hands up in the air. “Yes, I agree with the Aqua Ranger. There is a time for words…” Zen-Aku trailed off letting Sunset finish the sentence. “And a time for action,” She stated before turning to Robert. “Hey… You know that new Zord you jokingly suggested? Well…” Sunset found herself in a great white expanse. She looked around, seeing nothing but white and sighed as she walked forwards seeing nothing better to do. Eventually, she came to a temple, Greek or Roman in fashion with a great throne. Atop it sat the Mystic Mother. Sunset blanched in shock before bowing. The Mystic Mother simply chuckled. “No need to bow, Gold Ranger. We’re both friends and fellow Goddesses in a sense are we not?” She asked. “Where… Where am I?” Sunset asked. “There isn’t any real proper answer, not that I can put into words you would be able to understand,” The Mystic Mother answered cryptically before showing an image of Sunset’s body lying in the hospital bed. “Time is limited. You are needed, but I cannot send you back to face the coming fire in good conscience without a measure of protection.” “Just put it in regular Equestrian, please.” Sunset sighed. “My son, he’s given me quite the headache really. Why Zedd and I ever thought having children was a good idea is beyond me. And now, he’s given an old friend of mine life once more, with far more power than anyone ever should be given.” Sunset crossed her arms. “Look skywards Sunset Shimmer, and behold what I have granted to you.” She did, and her eyes widened as twisting and writhing around a miniature sun was what could only be described as a great serpent. “Now Sunset, I grant you the power of Thunder. Use it well, and use it wisely. And may the power protect you.” “Red Dragon Thunderzord Power!” Sunset yelled and the clouds boiled over as thunder cracked and lightning split the sky open in a display of color as a familiar roar pierced the heavens. Goldar actually took a step back in fear and Robert’s eyes widened as they both knew that sound. But it simply couldn’t be. However, they were both proven wrong as a red Asian style dragon emerged from the clouds and breathed fire at both Thrax and Goldar catching them off-guard. It let out another roar as it’s tail and neck folded upwards with the head detaching. Both the front and back legs combined to form arms as the head reattached to the chest a more humanoid like one now visible. The Red Dragon in Warrior Mode gripped a long red staff and began spinning one of it’s hands 360 degrees sending embers towards both Thrax and Goldar. “Very well, I can see this battle is lost for now. But the war, it’s far from over.” Thrax mused before teleporting away. “Seems your boss left you to die alone, Goldilocks!” Robert laughed. “Nonsense! He simply gave me the glory of destroying you all myself!” Goldar roared as he charged towards the trio of Zords and swung his sword with the Red Dragon blocking his every blow with it’s staff. “Our turn. Pachyderm Crusher!” Sunset shouted and the Animaria Guardian Megazord raised the Elephant Zord above its head, the trunk becoming loose again. It was then brought down in a crushing attack, shattering Goldar’s sword in two. “I have an idea, Rangers! Restrain him!” Zen-Aku shouted, and both Megazords grabbed ahold of Goldar by an arm. Zen-Aku smirked. “Predator Wave!” He roared and fired a piercing beam right through Goldar’s chest punching a hole right through it and the titan fell down and went up in a huge explosion. Robert’s eyes widened at what they had just done. Had… Had they just killed Goldar, something not even the original team could boast about? Recovering from his shock, Robert let out a breath he hadn't realized he hadn't been holding. Meanwhile, Sunset commanded both the Guardian Megazord and the Red Dragon Zord to walk towards each other and fist bump. Meanwhile, Zen-Aku frowned. That was too easy, much too easy. Something was wrong and he knew it… End…? Part 32: UnstoppableSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Part 33: Re-adjustingAuthor's Note Okay, this was what I was really working on after chapter 31, not that small little interlude with the Robert/Sunset fluff and the PR version of the Super Sentai hand-off. Hope you enjoy it. (Also, huge thanks to the RoyalBardofCanterlot for letting me use his interpretation of a certain character.) In other news, I recently had this drawn for me, hope you enjoy it as much as I did looking at it. Part 33: Re-adjusting Sweet Apple Acres: Apple Family Home All was quiet over the farmlands that made up the large orchard of Sweet Apple Acres as the sun rose for the first time in the new year of 5037 (Human Calendar) which needless to say after humanity’s destruction no longer existed in the traditional form. Instead, it had been replaced with something else at Solar Flare’s insistence, the New Equestria Calendar. That would make it be 2027E/1007 AFM. Anyways, the sun shone down over the snow-covered hills and apple trees and traveling down onto Ponyville and the pine covered hills and mountainsides of the Hundred-Mile Wilderness/Everfree Forest surrounding the sleepy little hamlet. In a guest bedroom on the top floor of the homestead that the Apple Clan resided in slept Robert Williams. This was after Applejack had offered to take him in for the night as an apology for nearly shooting him to pieces with her dad’s shotgun a few weeks back. At about then, the alarm clock, set to 7:00 exactly rang and Robert threw off the heavy covers and sheets that he’d been bundled up in. Out of sheer annoyance and distaste for the sound, the alarm clock soundly found itself booted out a window and it smashed into the ground below. “Note to self, use the phone instead of alarm clocks. Least that way you’ll wake up to a sound you’ll like,” Robert mused in his half-awake mind. “Even if said sound would be classified as racy and quite rude by anyone else’s standards. Like I care one jot. It’s funny besides.” Robert chuckled at what happened when Sky first heard the rather orgasmic sound his phone made whenever it woke its owner up. Needless to say, he wasn’t pleased with Robert at all and this was one of the many things that had started Sky’s long quest to get Robert kicked out of SPD. The man in question chuckled at the thought of what the rather traditional Apple Family would think if they heard his phone’s wake up call. “You have a natural talent for pissing people off, don’t you?” The Kitsune Zord’s voice rumbled in his mind, shocking Robert wide awake as he slowly made his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth. “What the HELL? Seriously, you couldn’t call at a better time… Like, say, never? And for that matter, since when could you call me?” Robert yelled back. “Since you woke me up, you baka. Robert-Hime, you of all people should know that I’m a troll. Why do you think we work so well together?” The Zord chirped. Robert tried to ignore him as he brushed his teeth in a more aggressive manner than needed, but found it practically impossible. “Not how it looked to me, arsehole,” Robert snarked. “Last I checked, the status quo was I hate you, you hate me. Bet the other Wild Zords don’t have this many arguments with their partners.” “No, they don’t. Mind you, they probably don’t have my lovely personality so everyone gets along great.” The King of Foxes snarked back. “Oh, so you admit you’re a pain in the neck to deal with?” Robert sneered as he spat out his toothpaste. “You act like someone who’s gone through a bad marriage half the time. ...Wait, were you married to the Phoenix somehow? Wouldn’t be shocked at all if she divorced you or you two had a mutant Zord kid running amuck somehow.” Robert smirked at the image that conjured up, a fox/bird hybrid running wild through a high-tech city in the sky, with an airship chasing after it broadside and port side cannons firing away. Robert chuckled to himself. He honestly didn’t know if he’d watched too much Gokaigers or played too much Bioshock: Infinite. Actually, now that he thought about it, it sounded like the plot to a really bad cheesy B-Movie. “I’ll have you know any kid of mine, if I had one, would be quite handsome. Besides, I wouldn’t marry that old bird even if you forced me.” The Kitsune Zord snapped and Robert simply rolled his eyes. “Alright, spit it out, what do you really want from me?” Robert asked, knowing the Kitsune Zord was beating around the bush. “I doubt you’d call me at this hour just in a rather pathetic attempt to drive me into a barking, dribbling mess of a mental case ripe for Broadmoor.” “Okay, okay, you caught me. You’re not as dumb as you look. Just summon me down from the Animarium, let me burn Princess Genocide’s castle to a crisp.” The Zord growled, fury in his every word. “Much as I’d love to see you finally shut up, I’m not letting Solar Flare burn you to ashes. So, there, I’m not granting your suicidal death wish. I really would rather have a Zord, albeit an annoying one, to form a Megazord with.” Just then, Applejack knocked on the door. “Ya almost done in there sugarcube? Taking an awfully long time to just brush your teeth.” AJ’s voice remarked. “Oh, I’m fine,” Robert drawled in a sarcastic tone. “Just thinking of where that shotgun of yours might be so I can shoot myself with it and deprive myself of a certain annoying voice in my head.” Understandably, Applejack’s only response was to just tell him to come down for breakfast when he was good and ready and left him alone after that. Elsewhere, atop one of Ponyville’s hillsides was Sunset Shimmer. She was currently going through various Tai Chi stances in the Sun Style, dressed simply in traditional Chinese training cloth and sandals. It wasn’t exactly ideal for the cold weather of January, but in all the books and scrolls she’d looked up on the subject, this was the attire generally recommended for t'ai chi ch'uan. As she went through her stances, she felt at peace, which was the original reasoning for why she had chosen to study the art. She had first started studying at an early age, back before she had stolen the corrupted Solar Cell Morpher. At that time, it was to help her focus her mind on her studies even if she had dismissed it as useless at first. But now, Sunset just used it to keep her temper under control and to prevent herself from losing sight of her goals. How did she gain access to the scrolls and books needed to learn Tai Chi, you might ask when it was presumably wiped out long ago with the rest of humanity’s arts and culture? Well, on a bout of curiosity while exploring Canterlot Castle, she had accidentally stumbled across a locked door with high-level magical seals guarding it. Sunset, still in her wanting to prove she was worthy of becoming an alicorn, studied for day and night on the spells required to break the seals, as she knew (Or at least thought) whatever was behind that door had to be exceptionally powerful magic worthy of her abilities and status as Celestia’s personal student. The Sun style is a syncretic martial art, influenced by various styles, including t'ai chi ch'uan, xingyiquan and baguazhang. One of the styles of t'ai chi ch'uan influencing the Sun style is Wu. The footwork of both styles are similar in that when one hoof advances or retreats, the other hoof would follow. The Sun style also happened to exhibit small circular movements with the hands. As she went through her stances, Sunset held out the Animal Crystal representing the Elephant and thought to herself as she gripped it tightly in her palm. “Never thought I’d ever say this again, but thank you, mom,” Sunset silently thought. “I still don’t forgive you for the way our family ended up, nor dad, but I… No, we wouldn’t have won the last battle without this family trinket of yours. Don’t know how you ended up with an Animal Crystal, but… Thank you.” Sunset chuckled to herself as she remembered that her favorite stuffed toy growing up was an elephant. She also remembered that her mother often said (When she wasn’t completely drunk) that Elephants, wise as they were, never forgot anything and were always empathic to anyone’s troubles. They, in her words, were the true kings of the jungle, not the Lion. “Just wished I’d listened to your advice mom, maybe then things wouldn’t have turned out the way they did between me and Celestia,” Sunset thought, a tear rolling down her face before she quickly wiped it away. No, she couldn’t let anyone see her like this. A Princess, they had to be strong, resolute. They couldn’t cry, not even in private. They couldn’t let their emotions dictate their actions. “So… So why am I letting them get to me?” Sunset asked herself. She looked towards the sky, hoping for an answer. And she got one. “It’s because nopony is truly emotionless,” The Phoenix Zord’s voice said kindly in her head. “Not even you. You’ve blocked yourself off from all but your key emotions for so long, that’s why you find this strange now.” “B-But I’m a Princess! I’m not supposed to let my subjects see me as a normal pony, it would ruin the image of us being infallible!” The Phoenix simply chuckled to herself. “That, Sunset, is something you’ll have to change. I can’t offer you advice on that, as it’s not my place. But I know you’ll get your answer. It’s simply part of you, never to give up until you’ve found whatever answer you’re looking for.” “But where…?” The Zord never answered. Meanwhile, back with Robert, he (Wearing a borrowed thick jacket of Big Mac’s) and Applejack had gone down to a shed not far from the household where Applejack had a surprise for him. As they walked in, Applejack turned to Robert. “Fluttershy… After mah little… Oh, how do Ah put this…?” Applejack trailed off as she pulled the shed doors open with a creaking sound. “Shotgun spree?” Robert offered helpfully. “Yeah… That,” Applejack blushed. ”Anyways, point being, Fluttershy, bless her heart, was kind enough to ask me to keep this for ya.” Applejack then pulled a large tarp off of something, revealing Robert’s prized Mustang underneath. “Dunno if this iron horse of yers works or not, but thought ya might like it.” Robert ran his fingers over the hood and muttered “It’s okay Baby, daddy’s never going to leave you again.” as he patted it affectionately. Applejack stifled a laugh. “Y’all want to be alone or somethin’?” She teased as Robert opened the door and tested every system humming to himself “Here come the Rangers, they’re ready for you…” before he noticed something and his eyes widened. “There’s a cock in my car!” Robert exclaimed and Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?” She asked. “There’s a whut in yer whut?” “I said there’s a cock in my bloody car!” Robert shouted back. “Now, how can that be? Ah doubt somepony gelded a pony and left them… male parts in yer car.” Applejack deadpanned, her cheeks turning a delightful little shade of red and it wasn’t from the cold. Robert was now the one stifling a laugh as he realized the mistake and how things had gotten lost in translation. “Oh, Americans… Mein Gott, I love these types of situations.“ He laughed silently to himself. Next, Applejack saw a rooster promptly thrown out of the side window and into her arms. “Word of advice, keep your cocks where they belong,” Robert said drolly. “That is, with the hens making more little chickens.” “...Oh, ya meant that kind of cock. Mah bad.” Applejack laughed nervously to herself and rubbed the back of her head with a hand. Robert then turned the key and let the engine roar to life as he revved it, the mufflers shaking and vibrating. Pistons pumped as the headlights flickered on to cut through the misty morning fog. Applejack quickly found the rooster running away from the sheer volume and she herself covered her ears never hearing anything like it, at least up this close. Robert let a grin slip onto his face as he let the silver skull themed gear shifter slid forwards. “Time to make some noise.” Carousel Boutique: Ponyville Rarity’s peaceful morning was rather rudely disrupted by the rumbling sound of a certain Fox Ranger’s 4.0 L Cologne SOHC V6 pulling up outside her door. She sighed and implanted her fork in her pancakes along with tightening up her bathrobe a bit more. She at least thanked the Mystic Mother that the person in question (Because really, who else could it be making this much effort to make himself known?) had come at this time of day just when she was about to open up shop. With the sound of a bell ringing as Robert entered the store, he blushed when he realized he could have saved his friendly visit for later on seeing Rarity in her bathrobe and curlers in her mane. “Sorry, so sorry!” Robert apologized profusely. “If… If I had known I would have come later in the day.” “Well, at least he has the decency to apologize.” Rarity thought to herself with a smile. “No, no dearie, it’s no trouble at all,” She lied. “Just let me get myself changed and then we can talk, maybe join me and Zep for breakfast.” “I’d like that,” Robert said politely before bowing, a force of habit he’d learned when he moved to Japan. “Doumo Arigatou gozaimasu.” It wasn’t long before Rarity, her husband and Robert were all sitting down at the kitchen table, with Robert of course not eating anything having joined Applejack for breakfast earlier in the day. “So, I assume you’ve been having a good time in Ponyville as of late? Hopefully, you enjoyed the New Year's Celebration with somepony special.” Zephyr commented as he took a bite of his toast. “Yeah, you seemed to be hitting it off well with that Artemis mare back at Pinkie’s party a few weeks back,” Rarity added. “You were laughing and joking with each other, you made a very cute couple if I must say so for myself.” Robert groaned and muttered, “Please, let’s not talk about her.” Rarity and her husband shared a frown. “Something the matter?” Rarity asked delicately, sensing at once this was a touchy subject. “You didn’t have a bad breakup, did you? Because if that’s true, me, you and Zep can always go to the movies and just forget about her.” “Please, having a bad break-up would mean we even dated in the damn first place,” Robert muttered and Zephyr winced as he realized what must have happened. “Oh, she didn’t…” He trailed off in shock. “I can’t imagine Princess Lu-” He quickly stopped when he realized his mistake. “...Excuse me? Artemis is really Celestia’s sister? You baka ka!” Robert asked before cursing himself, after regaining the power of speech. He slid back in his chair upon realizing he’d fallen for a Princess, Celestia’s sister at that, and all he got out of it was a one night stand as Luna thought he was in love with somepony else. “Which I am not, I should point out,” Robert mentally growled. “I mean, where would she even get that idea?” “Okaaaaayyyy, changing subjects, there’s something I’m curious about,” Rarity questioned, feeling it best to get Robert’s mind away from Luna. “You speak with a mix of a Trottingham and with a teensy hint of a Germanic accent, yet you know Neighponiese words. What’s the story there, if I may be so bold?” Despite knowing what Rarity was doing (He did thank her for that, if not out loud) he answered anyways. “Well, long story short, after an event where a whole armada of aliens invaded the planet and nearly destroyed the town I was living in I figured it best to get the Hell out of Dodge as the Americans say and move somewhere safer,” Robert explained and judged the expressions on Rarity and her husband’s face. They seemed unsurprised that aliens existed. Must to have been either because of “The Doctor” or Thrax. “So, I chose Japan of all places. Course, quickly found out that if you live there, you need to learn both Japanese words and how to write in katakana and such. Adopted by a local family, they took me in and showed me the ropes. I’m ever grateful for that, even if my adoptive uncles are morons of the highest caliber at times.” Rarity nodded with an “Ah. Makes sense.” Robert’s eyes allowed themselves to wander to a mannequin where the ruined jacket he used to wear as part of his SPD uniform sat. Rarity noticed and blushed red in a mix of embarrassment and shame. “Ah… That. The elephant in the room, as it were. I’ve been meaning to get around to that ever since Sunset sent that to me, but with my own orders clogging up my schedule and the weekly monster attacks… Well, I suppose you get the picture.” She admitted. Robert suddenly got an idea, a crazy one, but an idea nonetheless. “You have fabrics and a sewing machine?” Rarity gave him a look. “Right… Stupid question.” It was to both of the shop’s owners shock that they found Robert having the ability to stitch and sew. As it turned out, he explained that in SPD, if you ruined your own uniform, much like in the military, you were expected to repair it. As Robert stitched and sewed away he hummed “Shizuka na hoshi wo torimodosu tame ni sā Get up! Chansu da Wow-wow, jajjimento! Kimeru ze Tokusō Sentai Dekarenjā!” to himself. Neither of them could understand what Robert was singing and the Neighponiese seemed to be off in some spots, (Most likely chalked up to him not being a native speaker) but he seemed to be enjoying himself so both Rarity and Zephyr let it slide. Finally, Robert produced a new version of his jacket, exactly the same as the old but now in orange instead of green. Then, Rarity got an idea of her own. “You know dearie, now that we know you have this hidden talent if you can help me with my workload, I can provide you with room and board, along with an income. Win-Win situation for all of us, I say.” Rarity proposed. Robert smiled gratefully as he zipped up his jacket after tossing his borrowed one aside. “I’d… I’d like that.” He said. Ponyville Police Station: Sunset sighed as she and Twilight walked through the hallways of the police station. She had to do this, learn just exactly why a normally friendly mare like Cloudchaser would just attack her out of the blue in a mob. “Are you sure you’re up for this?” Twilight asked kindly. “I could handle this if you want, or let the Royal Guard deal with this situation.” In all honesty, Twilight thought Sunset should be nowhere near this case, she was far too close to it and she’d had sprouts of temper issues before. So, Twilight’s better judgment was telling her to keep Sunset as far away from this as possible. “No, I have to do this,” Sunset replied. “Have to, or want to?” Twilight asked. Sunset never answered as they reached Cloudchaser’s prison cell. Sunset sat herself down in a chair that she had been provided, sitting right across from what used to be a good friend of hers. “Let’s get right to the point here,” Sunset asked, Twilight watching her every move nervously from the exterior of the cell. “Why… Just why?” “Because that human you so staunchly support, the one I bet you’re going at it with every day and night, he brought this curse on our town! He’s the one who’s responsible for this… All of this!” Cloudchaser shouted and Sunset felt her anger rising. “The monster attacks, everything!” Cloudchaser continued. “Keep yourself calm, controlled.” Sunset thought, remembering her Tai Chi practice before asking calmly: “Is that what you really believe?” Cloudchaser answered with a soft “Yes. He’s dangerous, you might not see it yet, but I did. We all did. That’s why we did it.” Sunset snarled and leaped out of her chair as the Phoenix yelled out her name in shock. Sunset’s hands gripped Cloudchaser’s throat tightly. “You’re… You’re not capable of killing me. You’re… You’re too good a pony for that.” Cloudchaser gasped out, gasping for air as she futilely tried to push Sunset off her. “Ponies change, I learned that from you,” Sunset snarled. Her horn was glowing a bright angry red and her wings had turned into pure flame, filling the room with hellish light and intense heat. “Besides, it’s not me that’s killing you. Yeah, here’s an interesting fact for you. Yes, you’re gasping for air, but it isn’t your lungs that are crying out for oxygen. It’s your brain. That’s what’s dying, that bigoted, foolish brain of yours!” “SUNSET!” Twilight shouted, pulling away her friend with her magic before she could do the deed. Sunset blinked as she realized what she had done, recognizing the terrified look on Cloudchaser’s face. She recoiled in horror. “What… What did I nearly just do?” She asked herself, feeling incredibly sick with herself before she teleported away to parts unknown. Twilight meanwhile collected herself after taking a few calming breaths and turned to a guard. “Lock this scum up.” She snarled, before teleporting away to where she knew the only place Sunset would go at a time like this: The Golden Oaks Library… Elsewhere, in the cold freezing north of the Caribou countries that had once been Alaska, Princess Celestia walked through an icy cavern. This… This was the safest place for her, a place where she couldn’t do damage to anybody or anything. Celestia sighed as she sat down next to some icy crystals, the glow casting a dance of beautiful rainbow colors on the icy ceiling. “You know,” A voice said from behind her. “Whatever it is you’re running from, it’s not going to work.” Celestia turned to look, a hood covering her face and mane. Walking up to her was a brown furred caribou, with truly magnificent antlers and wearing royal garb. Beside him was a grey-furred wolf, aged in years with gleaming yellow eyes. Celestia chuckled, it seemed Dainn still had that beloved wolf of his, Nava, as always. “I know your problem, Celestia, you took me on as a student once when I was being prepared for my kingship,” Dainn Peacefulheart remarked as he sat down next to her. “It wasn’t hard to figure out you had some sort of split personality disorder, it showed whenever you got angry.” “I’m right to run, if you know about my other self, you know the damage she can do,” Celestia said. “Perhaps, but yet you leave your kingdom with only your sister in charge. This cowardice… It isn’t like you.” Dainn pointed out. “She can handle it. She knows how to rule, I taught her well, just as I taught you,” Celestia replied. “Besides, if I go back, I’d be putting everyone in danger. Not just my sister, but everyone.” “Yes, but I also know that if you’ve had the strength to hold off Solar Flare this long, you can hold her off long enough for somepony to figure out a way to stop her. I know your students, they’re brilliant beyond measure. If anypony can do it, it’s them.” “You’re… You’re right.” Celestia mused before chuckling. Dainn raised an eyebrow. “What’s so funny?” He asked. “It’s just… In this case, the student has become the teacher. You’re absolutely right, it’s time for me to buck up and do what I should have done long ago.” Celestia said, throwing her hood back and letting her mane flow free. “And what’s that?” Dainn asked, smirking. “Stop running.” Part 34: ArtifactSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Part 35: The Real HeroesSomewhere in Ponyville: Sirens blared across Ponyville as a cloud of billowing black smoke rose high into the air from the west side of the small town as orange and red flames lit up and licked at the moonlit sky. Now, your first assumption might be and probably is, Thrax or Bunglay, trying to draw out a certain group of multicolored heroes into a fight with one of them. Well, you’d be wrong. Not in this case actually. What today was… Was just another night on the job for the hardworking stallions and mares of the Ponyville Fire Department. The call had come in at about 3:00 in the morning, when everypony was sound asleep in their beds. It had otherwise been a calm and tranquil night really. But of course, as soon as the first sign of flames appeared in the sky and smoke began to rise, that tranquility was shattered like glass. One stallion coming home from a late night bar crawl possibly, rushed to a callbox and pulled the switch, sending a signal all the way to the Ponyville Fire Station. Everypony there jumped up from their beds, or dropped whatever they were doing and rushed to their vehicles. Coats and helmets were pulled on. Boots were stepped into and breathing equipment was grabbed. Everypony loaded themselves up into a bright red chariot and doors opened as the sirens began to blare. It was a Three Alarm fire, and multiple engine companies were coming all across Ponyville along with various ladder companies, and 3 battalion chiefs among others. As soon as the wagons carrying the brave stallions and mares who laid down their life for Ponyville night and day arrived on the scene, everypony set to work. A black furred stallion, helmet on his head and visor over his muzzle began directing everypony. A bright, almost sunkissed mane lay under that helmet. “Get those hoses hooked up!” His voice boomed as smoke belched out a window of one of the apartments caught in the blaze. His eyes widened as he heard somepony shouting for help, before he turned to a fellow firefighter. “Red, can you handle things from here? I’m going in there.” Chief Rescue Sunstreak said in a tone that left no room for argument as the medical chariots arrived on scene, lights flashing. Nearby, another pony was pulling out a red box and opening it up, extending the antennae attached to the box itself. She pulled out the telephone and began dialing the number to Ponyville Hospital, knowing that they would be receiving ponies in desperate need of medical care. She only hoped Nurse Redheart and her team were up to the task tonight. “Not alone you’re not, not if I have anything to say about it.” A voice remarked as another stallion, sandy colored in fur wearing the same black and yellow coat as everypony else, with rather enormous wings walked up to Sunstreak. The stallion in question found his eyes widening. “Ailan, you’re supposed to be manning the pumper trucks!” Rescue shouted in concern. “Way I see it, this is a two stallion job,” Ailan replied as he put on a oxygen tank and breathing apparatus. “Who knows how many ponies live in that building? One stallion alone isn’t going to be able to get them all out.” “Got a point Chief,” “Red” remarked. “I can take things over with the pumpers. You and Ailan, you got work to do.” Rescue nodded before he pulled out his axe. With a mighty swing the burly stallion chopped down the front door to the apartment block, the two pieces clattering to the front of the doorstep. The two stallions shared a nod. “Let’s go.” Sunstreak stated before the two ponies charged in rushing up stairwells shouting and hoping they’d get a response. Nearby, another chariot with a very long ladder and bucket rolled up. A unicorn stallion levitated a gurney into the top of the bucket as the ladder arm raised itself upwards and extended its boom to a nearby window where Alian gladly took the gurney and unfolded it. Sunstreak kicked down a door and Ailan rushed inside and came back out carrying another pony. He carefully placed him on the gurney and put a breathing mask over his muzzle. He shared a silent nod with Sunstreak as if to say “You go on ahead, I can take things over from here.” Sunstreak nodded as Ailan rushed the gurney back to the window and waiting ladder arm and bucket. Meanwhile, the Chief continued running through building shouting. He heard what sounded like coughing. “Hello, is there anypony in here?” A muffled voice shouted “In here! Help, please!” and coughed from the smoke. Sunstreak’s eyes widened as he kicked down the wooden door and rushed inwards. He kept low to the ground before through the smoke, his eyes spotted a figure. Laying prone to the ground was a young Earth Pony filly, pure blue in coat color with a even darker blue mane. Sunstreak’s arms wrapped around the filly. “I got you, don’t worry.” Sunstreak said in a warm and comforting voice, almost like a father would. “I’m scared…” The filly whispered before letting out a small cough as Sunstreak put a breathing mask over her face. “You know what, I’m going to let you in on a little secret,” Sunstreak said and the filly looked up at him. “I’m scared too, just as I’m scared every time the call goes out. I’m worried for my men, and I’m worried for the ponies who live in this building. But I promise you, nopony’s going to die tonight, not on my watch.” He then looked at the filly. “What’s your name, kiddo?” The filly managed to whisper out “A-Archer.” Sunstreak smiled under his helmet. “Well Archer, you don’t have to be scared. I’m getting you out of here, and that’s a promise.” “P-Pinkie Promise?” Archer asked in fear. Sunstreak nodded. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” He said and Archer smiled. Sunstreak nodded gruffly before he ran out of the room and down a corridor just as a jet of flame forced him and Archer to duck low to avoid it. “What the buck…?” Sunstreak wondered to himself, knowing that couldn’t have been natural. He turned and looked back, and through the smoke he could have sworn he saw a red dragon like figure holding some sort of sharp pronged staff in his claws. Another jet of flame came his and Archer’s way and Sunstreak shouted “Move it!” even as it rushed towards them. The Animarium: Early that next morning, on the floating paradise in the sky that was home to the Guardians of the Earth, the Rangers trained. It had been Vapor’s idea really. She remembered their last battle against Goldar, and how Sunset had only shown up in the nick of time to bail them out. The eyes on his torso-plate lit up before he unleashed a blast of pure purple-orange energy at the Rangers knocking them right out of their Ranger forms. Goldar chuckled as he strode forwards and pulled out his sword, his armored tail flicking back and forth in anticipation. “Your colors may be different than any Power Ranger team I’ve seen, but you’re still just the same as every other… Pathetic.” Goldar remarked as Robert and company picked themselves up off the ground and went for their morphers. “Legendary Wi-” They never even got a chance to finish their morphing sequence before Goldar blasted them with balls of fire. He chuckled as he continued to walk forwards. His sword glowed and he swung it in a triangular formation and yelled out “Prism Slash!” and sent the triangle-shaped attack spiraling towards the Rangers as a final blow but before it could even reach them a gold feathered wing shielded the Rangers. Robert looked up and blinked as he saw a mare with a red and yellow streaked mane-style. His eyes widened. “No… It can’t be.” “You… Get the Tartarus away from my team.” Sunset Shimmer snarled out. So, it was Vapor’s idea to put the team through some hard training. No one had been expecting it. To put things in perspective, it was Vapor Trail, one of the less confident members of the team to put it lightly had asked for everyone to be put through Ranger Boot Camp as it were while Sunset and Daring were away looking for the artifact that would separate the tyrannical Solar Flare and Princess Celestia. So, shock was the only possible result, and quite a bit of shock actually. But when she explained her reasoning, Robert, knowing that he was the most experienced on the team and yet he as well had gotten his arse soundly handed to him on a platter by Goldar readily agreed. So it began. Currently right now, the team was in the middle of a light sparring match. Lightning against Vapor, and Robert against Sunburst. Crystal Saber clanged against Crystal Saber and hoof and fist met hoof and fist. Nearby, Princess Shayla and Navi watched. “Vapor was right, this was exactly what the team needed.” Robert admitted as he blocked a blow from Sunburst with relative ease. “C’mon Sun, put a bit more force into it! The Orgs won’t hold back, so neither should you!” Robert encouraged and soundly earned a kick to the stomach for his troubles that sent him flying back into a tree. Navi held up a sign with one of her wings with the words “Go dad!” written on it. “Suppose I asked for that.” Robert grumbled mentally as he picked himself up off the ground. “Still can’t believe you actually have a talent for stitching,” Sunburst commented as the twosome continued their spar. Robert launched his Kitsune Spirit towards Sunburst, but the older unicorn managed to muster enough magic to blast it out of existence. “We all have our hidden depths I suppose,” Robert remarked. “Still, Rarity knowing I can stitch together outfits may have earned me room and board, but it does have its downsides. I’ve been working overboard putting together mock costumes. Seems spandex has become very popular as of late.” “Gee, wonder why?” Sunburst snarked as he locked blades with Robert, who was in shock. “Wow, did Sunburst just snark at me? Usually I’m the one delivering the deadpan remarks around here. Still, good thing I suppose. Means he’s getting more confident in himself. I was beginning to think some liquid courage was in order with this guy.” Robert thought to himself. “Still, gets the cheques cashed, and I no longer have to spend time up here like a freeloader,” Robert remarked. “I was honestly expecting you to take up housing with Fluttershy, the two of you get along so well, if the letters you are exchanging back and forth are any indication,” Sunburst commented lightly. “Yeah, gotta thank Spike and Princess Twilight for that,” Robert murmured to himself, notably calling Twilight by her royal title for the first time that Sunburst could remember. “But let’s face it, an unmarried mare and me sharing the same household is probably a bad idea for so many reasons.” “I dunno, you could do with a marefriend, given your bad experience with Luna,” Sunburst commented, surprising Robert with both his boldness and that he knew about that little fact in general. “Please, can we not bring that up?” Robert groaned out in exasperation. “Still, I suppose I do owe her and her sister a debt of gratitude for starting to release all of humanity’s old recordings of TV and music and the like to the public, amongst other things. Fluttershy seems quite taken with “All Creatures Great and Small”. Makes great radio drama from what I hear.” Nearby, Vapor and Lightning had taken out their respective weapons and sparred with them. Lightning, her whips, and Vapor, her Trident. Lightning lashed out with the whips, keeping Vapor at bay, but the white furred mare used her Trident like a bo staff and tripped her fellow Wonderbolt up knocking her to the grass. Shayla winced. “Getting a bit out of hand here isn’t it?” The Princess thought to herself in concern as the fighting became more and more aggressive, far exceeding that was needed for a simple spar. Lightning growled as she used her whips to pull Vapor’s weapon away from her before punching her adoptive sister in the face. Navi used one of her wings to shield her eyes and murmured “Ooh, that’s gotta hurt…” to herself. The little mechanical parrot winced at each blow dealt out by the twosome, Vapor constantly using more defensive measures to fend off Lightning’s more aggressive attacks. “Lightning, calm down! This isn’t a real battle, just a spar!” Vapor shouted as she wiped the blood away from her mouth, more than a little worried about Lightning’s newfound aggressiveness. “I’ve… I’ve got to be the best! It’s the only way I’ll earn my dad’s respect!” Lightning shouted as she swung at Vapor, but Robert caught the punch. “Alright, that’s enough. Take five, Lightning.” Robert warned. He was greeted with a snarl of rage and possibly a bit of disgust towards him from Lightning, who teleported away in an aqua flash of light to who-knows-where. Vapor sighed and punched a tree in frustration as she thought “Damn you Wind Rider, damn you.” hanging her head in sadness. Ponyville: Lightning sighed as she teleported into some bushes in the middle of Ponyville Park, taking a quick look around to make sure nopony had seen her. She gritted her teeth and ground them against each other as she zipped up her jacket to protect herself from the cold. “Can’t believe I’m saying this, but that Foxy Man-Whore’s right. So was Vapor. They were right, I was going too far,” Lightning thought. “But… But I want to be the best at everything or at least something I do. The only way my father will ever stop thinking me as the runt of the litter, so to speak.” Lightning’s gaze wandered to a teenage filly, gray in coloring with a silver mane tied in a braided ponytail. She wore glasses and kicked a soccer ball back and forth on a field. On the other end of the field was a stallion, dressed in a nice suit serving as the goalie. Lightning let herself have a wistful smile as the young filly scored a goal. “That’s… That’s the kind of relationship I’d like to have with my father,” Lightning thought as a tear dripped from her eye before she wiped it away. No, she was a tough mare, couldn’t afford to let anypony see her cry. It was right about then, she noticed something. The goalie and the stallion who she thought was the filly’s father looked way too old to be that. Lightning’s breath stopped for a moment, no, it couldn’t what she was thinking. “Lightning, you’re probably overthinking things. Maybe that stallion is her father, and he just adopted the kid.” She mused before her hopes were soundly shattered by the stallion clapping and saying “Good show, young miss!” Lightning’s jaw dropped. This filly’s father couldn’t even afford to spend time out with his kid, and let his butler of all ponies do it instead? Now, she may not have been a mother, but even she could tell that was no way to raise a kid. Lightning’s fists tightened. “Some dad. Leaves his butler do all the parenthood and crap, and he himself does nothing and just rolls in his money,” Lightning growled. “That father… if I ever lay eyes on him better have a damn good excuse as to why he doesn’t raise his filly himself!” Lightning then had another thought and took a few calming breaths. “Maybe you’re wrong about this. Maybe this is a rare case with this girl. Maybe her father is around more than you think he is,” But she then saw the filly’s forlorn expression as the butler clapped and cheered. Lightning let out an audible growl. She knew that expression all too well, it was one she often wore herself as a child. “Okay, there goes that thought.” Lightning thought as she saw the filly walking off, the butler not even taking notice as he packed the soccer gear into the back of a chariot. Lightning ran after the filly finding her sniffling to herself near a very large fountain. Lightning sat down beside her as she laid a hand upon the filly’s shoulder. “Hey, can’t be all that bad,” She said reassuringly even as she thought to herself “Gah, Lightning! Why are you even doing this? She’s just some random kid, shouldn’t even concern you!” “Name’s Lightning Dust, future Wonderbolt. What’s yours?” Lightning asked and the filly wiped away her tears and sniffled again. “S-Silver Spoon,” the filly answered. “Why should you even care?” “Saw you playing with your dad, didn’t look happy. Thought I might be able to cheer you up in some way, or at least offer some sort of advice.” Lightning replied, playing dumb for the time being just to see if her suspicions would be confirmed. Silver scoffed. “Please, like he’s my dad. You did notice his age right? Guy’s just my butler,” Silver said. “Dad… Well, if you can call him that, he’s always away on these business trips of his. Guy loves making money more than he loves me, his own daughter for crying out loud!” Silver then noticed Lightning’s expression. “What, something wrong?” “Kid… Believe it or not, I know exactly how you feel.” Lightning answered. “What, don’t tell me you have a rich dad like I do?” Silver responded sarcastically. “Surprisingly enough, I do. Wind Rider is his name,” Lightning answered and when she noticed Silver’s eyes widen she nodded. “Yeah, that one. Trust me kiddo, don’t believe everything you read in the papers. Guy may put up a nice front for the public, but with his own family he’s… Well, he’s one shitty father. No other way to put it really.” “You’re joking…” Silver Spoon trailed off in disbelief. But somehow, looking at Lightning’s expression and the angry tone in which she spoke whenever her father was brought up made her start to believe her. “Wish I was kiddo,” Lightning responded, shaking her head sadly. “Sadly, I’m not. I was born into a rather large family. The runt of the litter. Dad always said his first born, and my oldest brother, Sky Stinger would be the one to carry on his legacy. Never even gave a thought to me. Eventually, mom had enough of him and left us to fend for ourselves. Mind you, dear old “Dad” couldn’t care less about me, so there was this other family along with a friend of theirs who always took care of me.” “What about your older brother?” Silver asked, not really wanting to know but curiosity was getting the better of her. “He hated dad just as much as I did. While the rest of my brothers and sisters always looked up and idolized him, Sky Stinger was the only one in the family to give a damn about me.” “...Wish I had an older brother like him, or any family at all besides dad really.” Silver Spoon muttered to herself before she heard her butler calling for her. “Madam Spoon! Where are you?” The voice called. Silver sighed to herself. “Oh, that’s Jeeves. Best I get going,” Silver said as she trudged off but not before giving one last look to Lightning. “Hope to see you around.” After Silver had left, Lightning whispered “...Yeah, me too.” Later that day: The Animarium: Eventually, Lightning returned to train some more on the Animarium. Right now she was facing a gauntlet, so to speak. She’d already made her way through a makeshift sniper alley and was now facing another challenge. In front of her were several swinging logs, swinging back and forth. The test was simple, just make it through and you were done. “Ready?” Vapor asked, holding a stopwatch in her hands. Lightning nodded and Vapor blew a whistle, not that far removed from how their Captain blew her own during Wonderbolts training. Lightning ran for it, and headed right for the swinging logs, determination etched on her face and sweat rolling down her muzzle. As she ran towards the logs, however, something or rather somepony nagged at her from the back of her mind. “...Wish I had an older brother like him, or any family at all besides dad really.” Silver Spoon muttered to herself before she heard her butler calling for her. Lightning lost her focus and whispered out “Silver.” just long enough for one of the logs to hit her and sent her toppling to the ground. Robert rushed over to her in concern, trying to help her up. “Hey, you alright? Seemed like something was bothering you for a moment.” He asked and Lightning glared at him even as she clutched her side in pain and blood dripped from her mouth. “Shut up!” Lightning snapped. “What do you know?” “Nothing at all, evidently,” Robert muttered. “Got that right, dumb-ass.” Lightning said sourly. With that, she walked off to find Princess Shayla, ignoring both Vapor and Robert yelling after her. Navi whimpered out “Oh, this isn’t good, not good at all.” as she shook her head. That night, the same draconic like figure Rescue Sunstreak had met last night stood atop the Ponyville Clocktower. He chuckled to himself. “That fool Bunglay didn’t know how large of a mistake he made when he made his first undead puppets. He opened the door, the one between this one and the next. It was only a matter of time before someone stepped through it,” Chuckling, the figure implanted his staff into the rooftop, his dragon wings giving him a truly ominous presence indeed. “Now, to finish what my mother began.” Olympius thought to himself with a chuckle and turned his gaze towards a mansion. He smirked. That looked like a good place to start. Ponyville Firehouse: Meanwhile, Rescue was cleaning off some of the various equipment used by the PVFD in their line of work. “You know, you’ve been at that for a while,” A voice said from behind him as two burly arms wrapped themselves around Rescue. “Pretty sure all the equipment’s been clean and shined, so tell me, what’s really bothering you?” Rescue sighed to himself. Ailan could see right through him as always. Sometimes he hated being married to him. Could be a real pain in the flank at times. “During that last fire, thought I saw something.” Rescue commented, not sure if his husband would think him crazy or not. “Sure the fire and smoke didn’t get to you?” Ailan began to laugh before it faded away once he saw the look on Rescue’s face. “...Wait, you’re not joking are you?” “Wish I was. Looked like a… figure of some sort. Held some type of fancy staff. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was a demon from Tartarus.” “Could be one of those Orgs we’ve been hearing about on the radio that those Power Rangers are fighting.” Ailan theorized. “Mystic Mother above, I hope not. Got enough trouble with regular fires to put out without Orgs starting to take up a career in arson on the side.” Rescue muttered. Just then, the call went out. Four-Alarm fire, right at the Spoon manner. Rescue dropped his demeanor of worry in an instant and was suddenly all business. “Alright everypony, suit up! This one’s going to be a big one, so whatever you’re doing, for the time being, stow it!” He boomed. “Ponyville needs us, double time now men!” The fire station doors opened, and with a whine, the sirens blared on the chariots as they trundled off towards the rapidly rising cloud of smoke. They hadn’t been the only ones to notice this cloud, however. High in the sky, taking a ride atop her Zord to clear her head was Lightning. Her eyes widened when she saw the flames. “Get me down there!” She ordered, and the Thunderbird went into a dive letting out a screech as a war cry. Lightning held on for dear life. She didn’t know why, but something about this whole thing made her more worried than usual. As Lightning and the brave men and women of the PVFD reached the blaze, they both found themselves in the midst of absolute chaos. And in the middle of it all, using fireballs to blow up any pumpers trying to deliver water to quench the blaze was Olympius laughing as he did so. He looked almost exactly the same as he did when he was alive for the first time. Wearing his lava red and gold armor, his chest plate bore the head of a dragon emblazoned on it with a slot where a red star should have been but wasn’t. His wings looked absolutely Hellish in the middle of the inferno. “Hold it right there Org!” Sunstreak yelled. Even as he did so, he wondered: “What are you thinking Sunstreak, this is crazy. You’re a firefighter, not a superhero!” The “Org” laughed as he implanted his staff which had a sword at each end, in the ground knocking everypony back with a shockwave. “Oh, you must be mistaken. Those sad fools don’t even begin to measure up to my power. I’m Olympius, son of Queen Bansheera and Prince to all demonkind,” The Prince laughed and snapped his fingers. Appearing from the ground were various bat-like creatures. “Batlings, destroy them!” Just then, very large thunderbolts came down from the sky and scorched the bat-like foot soldiers into cinders. The Thunderbolt Zord screeched again as it flew overhead and Lightning leaped off it and landed on the ground with a thud. “Honestly, I don’t care who you are. Prince or no Prince, you’re going down just the same.” Lightning boasted and pulled out her Crystal Saber and inserted the Giraffe Crystal. She swung the beam like blade but Olympius blocked it every time with his staff and then flew forwards and kicked Lightning back into a chariot. “Oh, you Rangers are all just the same,” Olympius chuckled as he grabbed Lightning by the throat holding her up to face level. “Pathetic, arrogant and worthless. Mind you, you seem to be more arrogant than most.” Just then, several shots hit the Prince and caused him to drop Lightning. He yelled out “Who dares?” and turned his head to the sound of metal banging against metal. He looked to his left and saw Robert, out of costume, knocking his Kitsune Blaster against a street lamp. “Figures, you lot never know when to quit, do you?” The Orange Ranger muttered as flames crackled in the background. “And who do you think you are?” Olympius asked, laughing. “Do I really have to answer that question, Baka-Prince?” Robert asked sarcastically. Lightning looked towards him in shock, disbelief etched on her every feature. Robert, even after all she’d said against him, actually coming to help her? “Rule one of being a Power Ranger: never leave a man, or in this case mare, behind. Mess with one of us, you mess with all of us.” He gestured for Sunstreak and company to get to work. “All of you lot, get everypony out of that building, do it! Me and Lightning can handle this guy!” Just then, Lightning heard a familiar voice shouting out for her. Her eyes widened as she thought “Silver!” “I’m going in there.” She said and both Rescue and Robert looked at her as if she was crazy. “You nuts or something, you’re not even trained to handle that kind of heat!” Rescue shouted. “Hey, crazy is my middle name,” Lightning stated in a tone that left no room for argument and looked at them both, daring them to challenge her. “Besides, there’s a friend of mine in there, and I’m going to help her like it or not.” Rescue nodded gruffly. He could understand Lightning’s reasoning, crazy and reckless as she was and he couldn’t argue with it. Robert sighed before he smirked. “Okay then, you go on ahead. Besides, always wanted to face a Demon Prince by myself. Should be fun, give me quite the challenge. Sa… Hade ni ikuze!” With that, both Robert and Lightning shouted “Legendary Wild Access!” and morphed. Then, Robert fired shots off at Olympius as Lightning and Rescue charged into the blaze. The fire was all around them, but Lightning kept one thing in her mind. Silver’s voice. That was all she cared about. Any time a beam fell down from the ceiling right on their heads, Lightning slashed it in two. A door? She just kicked it down, all the while shouting Silver’s name. Eventually, she reached Silver’s room atop the second floor. Silver wasn’t moving at all and Rescue checked her. “She’s okay, just unconscious from smoke inhalation,” He stated. “But we need to get her out of here fast.” Right about then, flames blocked their way out. “Okay, so that way’s a bust. Any ideas?” Rescue asked. Lightning smirked as she saw looked towards a window. “Yeah, just one. Grab Silver.” Lightning ordered as Rescue picked her up in her arms. They then shared a nod and ran for the window, smashing through the glass and landing on a safety net just as the room became consumed with flame. Rescue handed off Silver to the medics as they arrived on the scene while Lightning turned her attention to Robert. He was going blade to blade with the Prince, but every time he went in for a strike, it was blocked or countered. Olympius then kicked Robert in the stomach and went in for the kill, aiming his staff at Robert’s chest. “You fool, you really think you could stand up against my power?” He asked but was then hit with a full blast of water before two whips grabbed him by the chest and he was promptly thrown into a wall with a shout of “Get over here!” “Who dares?” the Prince asked again and Lightning smirked as she stood, whips drawn while Rescue held up a hose which dripped water. “Uh, that would be us.” the Aqua Ranger commented as Robert stood back up, his uniform somewhat scorched and burned in several places but otherwise he looked fairly okay. “You alright Lightning-Bitch?” Robert asked, but this time it wasn’t in a tone of derision. Now, it seemed almost respectful. Well, as about as respectful as calling somepony a bitch could get anyways. “Yeah, what about you, Foxy Man-Whore?” Lightning asked, no derision in her tone as well. “I’ll live,” Robert said simply before he growled out “Him, on the other hand… Well now, that’s a different story. It’s Judgement Time!” Robert pulled out his SPD Morpher and let it scan the demon Prince as he read off the charges. “Olympius, you are charged with counts of Arson, Destruction of Property, Terrorism, and Manslaughter,” Sure enough, the scanner read guilty. Robert tossed his Kitsune Blaster to Lightning and nodded at her. “Would you do the honors?” Lightning smirked as she inserted her Crystal Saber, now with the Thunderbird Crystal in it, in the slot on the weapon. With a shout of “Thunderbird Judgement Blast!”, she fired the weapon and unleashed a blast of lightning manifesting in a giant bird’s head which chomped down on Olympius covering him in electric surges. He groaned out in pain and loosened his grip on his staff as he fell down before exploding. Lightning smirked under her helmet as she gave a thumbs-down. “Piece of…” Lightning began to say before she trailed off as dark blood red energy gathered and soon, the demon Prince stood at titan size. “...Cake.” She then shouted “Wild Zords, descend!” as she pointed her Crystal Saber skywards, quickly swapping out her Thunderbird Crystal for the Coyote one as both Zords answered the call on the Animarium. Robert meanwhile thought to himself. “Okay, how did Sunset do this? Oh yeah, I remember…” He thought before thrusting an arm skywards as he shouted: “I need Red Dragon Thunderzord Power, now!” The skies boiled over as the form of the mighty beast appeared from the clouds and thunder cracked as it blew fire at Olympius who countered with some of his own. The Red Dragon then roared before it lunged forwards with one of its claws and took a swipe at him doing damage. The Coyote Zord, brown in color and with the symbol of a cactus on both of its hind legs pounced forwards but was only knocked away. It hit the ground with a thud and whimpered a little as it shook its head and used its claws to pick itself back up. “Olympius, your nightmare days are over!” Robert shouted as the Thunderbird let out a screech of “Yippie-ki-yay, motherfucker!” and launched a ball of lightning from his mouth at the demon. Olympius staggered back in pain but took a swing at both Zords with his staff. The Red Dragon and the Thunderbird both ascended to the heavens above as the Coyote Zord launched its tail like a boomerang at Olympius and it spun around him like a whirlwind doing damage but the demon Prince then breathed fire at the Zord. “You are all… Irrelevant,” He boasted. “It’s that simple really. Keep your attacks coming, try and stop me if you may but you will all fall in the end.” The Thunderbird sighed at the Prince’s boasting. “He’s worse than Lightning and Robert combined, I swear,” He muttered to himself. Both Rangers in question tried not to look offended. “Anyway to shut this guy up for good?” he asked as he flew left and right to avoid flaming blasts of energy. Lightning then remembered something. Vapor leaped on top of the Zord just as it head-butted the Turbine Org sending it staggering back. She pointed her Crystal Saber at the Org and the Leviathan Zord’s mouth opened and charged up a purple beam of energy. “MEGA ROAR!” Vapor shouted, and both she and her Zord fired twin purple beams of energy at the Turbine Org sending him flying back into a mountain splitting it in half. “Yeah, got an idea.” Lightning said as she leaped atop the Thunderbird’s crested head and pointed her Crystal Saber at Olympius. “MEGA ROAR!” She shouted, just as Vapor did, and just like before, a beam shot out of Lightning’s Saber as the Thunderbird fired his own beam of energy. The Coyote and Red Dragon joined in and fired their own brown and red beams of energy entwining with the aqua beam of the Thunderbird and all three hit the demon Prince at full force, punching a hole right through his chest. Olympius gaped in disbelief as he staggered forwards. “You… You have done the impossible! You have triumphed over the mighty Prince Olympius! But be rest assured, my death will be avenged a thousand-fold!” the Prince said as his final boast before he fell forwards and exploded once more in a large fireball. All three Zords let out cries of triumph at the victory, but Lightning’s mind was elsewhere. “What about Silver?” Ponyville Hospital: The soft beeping of machines was what Silver awoke to as she opened her eyes the next morning. As her vision cleared, she saw a figure sitting beside her in a chair. She blinked in disbelief as Nurse Redheart smiled. “She’s been sitting here all night. Didn’t even sleep just out of how concerned she was for you.” The nurse said before walking off and leaving the two be. Silver then remembered Lightning’s voice shouting for her, amongst the flames and ash. “You… You were there?” Silver whispered in disbelief, and Lightning nodded wearily. “Yeah kiddo, I was there. Saw the fire, and I knew I just couldn’t stand by. Not just as a Wonderbolt, but as a friend. And if you’ll have me, an adoptive sister as well.” “R-Really?” Silver asked, unable to believe her own ears. “Well, I figure if that jerk Rainbow Dash has her own surrogate sister, why can’t I?” Lightning joked and achieved the desired effect with Silver giggling. “Besides, you and I are far too much alike for me to just leave you be.” Silver then pulled Lightning into a hug, sobbing out “Thank you.” Lightning smiled, and as she turned her head to the doorway, just out of pure instinct, she saw a man and a woman. The woman had blond hair and wore a pink paramedic’s uniform with a red and black jacket over that while the man wore that of a fireman’s attire. Both nodded at Lightning and gave her a thumbs up before fading away but not before leaving behind a gold badge that read two words: Lightspeed Rescue. Author's Note Okay, first off, I'd like to thank Rescue Sunstreak for graciously allowing me permission to use his ponysona. Now, while Alian didn't come with that, you really can't have one without the other so I'm borrowing him for the chapter. Like with his husband, I credit Rescue for his creation. Anyways, hopefully, this chapter achieved three things. It made Lightning more likable, was a fitting tribute to Lightspeed Rescue and showed off that Power Rangers aren't the only heroes around. The men and women who lay down their lives for us, charging into a burning blaze, they're the real heroes in my mind. Anyways, next time, another tribute this time to Power Rangers Jungle Fury. Part 36: Inner StrengthThe Everfree Forest/100 Mile Wilderness, six days ago... Jindrax ran, ran to his safe spot out of sheer terror. He knew nobody would ever follow him to this place, given the Everfree’s reputation which was well deserved indeed. As much as Jindrax’s ego would have liked to consider him the most dangerous thing in the vast acres of forest, he knew that wasn’t true. The Timberwolves, Cockatrices amongst other things were enough to send shivers up his spine. “Know Toxica would probably lecture me for being a coward and not facing half of these things head on like a proper Duke Org should, but she probably hasn’t seen one of those wolves rebuild itself or a Cockatrice turn a Pony Princess to stone has she?” Jindrax thought to himself. “Plus, nobody ever said me or her were good examples of proper Duke Orgs did they?” Jindrax suddenly heard the sound of hoof-steps following his every move. He went for one of his blades and whirled around to throw it into a tree in the direction of the hoof-steps. “First and only warning! Next one goes between your eyes!” Jindrax shouted, sounding far more confident than he actually felt right now. A figure, purple in fur color and wearing a black weathered leather jacket stepped into the clearing. “Wait, you’re that daughter of that strange pegasus aren’t you? ...Okay, adopted daughter… Maybe. Pony genetics still confuse me.” Jindrax admitted. Sparkler laughed as a familiar staff appeared in her hands. Jindrax went for his sword. “Where’d you get that? Hand it over! It belongs to someone far better than you!” Jindrax snarled. He was suddenly hit over the head with that very same staff. “Idiot, it’s me!” Sparkler said, but that wasn’t her voice coming out of her mouth. “W-Wait, Toxica? ...Is that you?” Jindrax asked in shock. Another hit over the head. Jindrax groaned in pain as he rubbed his head. Yeah, it was definitely her alright. “Seriously, you don’t remember waking me up, for lack of a better term?” Toxica asked as she resumed her normal form, that of an Asian woman dressed in blue and black garb with a veil over her face. A blood red horn jutted out of her forehead. Jindrax sighed as he remembered. After Solar Flare drove humanity to extinction, both Toxica and Jindrax agreed it was best to lay low and stick to the shadows as they figured Solar Flare wouldn’t stop with just one species. So, after hundreds of years of running and hiding as the Earth repaired itself, Toxica had performed an ancient Org spell and transformed herself to look like a pony with a personality taking over her own. She admitted it, she was afraid. Jindrax personally thought she was being paranoid, as if Solar Flare cared about killing them, she would have done it hundreds of years ago at the height of her powers. But Toxica didn’t listen. It was only recently that Jindrax had found the counterspell to put Toxica’s true personality back in place. He didn’t know who she had become, but he knew that by performing the counterspell he’d have her back. Jindrax brought Toxica into a hug, but she shoved him off. “Hey, what was that for, I’m glad to have you back!” Jindrax shouted, quite confused. “You know how lonely it gets for me without you around!” Toxica huffed. “Please, you’ve been handling yourself quite well over these past few years, why bring me back now?” “Well, seeing a new Master Org and him bringing a guy back from the dead even after something punched a hole in his chest might kinda make me want your help again.” Jindrax deadpanned. “...A-Are you sure?” Toxica asked, not wanting to believe her ears. “Yeah, one horn jutting out of his forehead, powerful dark magic, him resurrecting a baboon like guy, the whole enchilada,” Jindrax remarked. “Pretty sure those are good identifying markers for a Master Org. ...Plus, y’know, the whole Orgs attacking in an organized fashion schtick,” Toxica dropped her staff out of shock. “...Wow, I knew you’d be shocked, but not that shocked…” Jindrax murmured to himself, rubbing his forehead in confusion. “Jindrax, please tell me I’m not seeing things.” Toxica asked worriedly. “Seeing what? I’m right here you know.” Her fellow Duke Org asked in bewilderment. “Look behind you.” Toxica asked, picking up her staff off the forest floor very carefully. It was then Jindrax slowly turned his head and he let out a small yelp of shock. Right behind him, sitting on a tree branch was Zen-Aku. “Wondering when you’d notice.” The wolf themed Duke Org remarked casually as he jumped down off the tree branch and landed on the forest floor with a soft thud. “You’re supposed to be dead!” Jindrax shouted after he and Toxica had regained their composure. “And yet here I am,” the Duke Org commented with a smirk across his muzzle for all to see. “Lot of this going around lately, as you’ve noticed.” “If-If this is your forest now, we can just… You know, leave.” Toxica asked, with Jindrax nodding along with her and saying “Yeah, what she said. Wouldn’t want to anger you.” Zen-Aku chuckled, much to his fellow Duke Org’s worry. They hadn’t changed a bit in over 3,000 years really. Still afraid of him as ever. “As they should be.” He thought to himself. “What are you even doing up and walking about like one of those human zombies, except, y’know, an Org?” Jindrax asked, before whispering to Toxica “Can we even have Zombie Orgs?” She could only shrug. Zen-Aku never answered. That was his little secret to keep. He took a sniff of the air. “We need to get moving, soon. We’re being watched,” Zen-Aku stated keeping one eye trained to the bushes. Multiple sets of unfriendly yellow eyes peered out from the darkness. “I’m not the only dangerous wolf in these woods, you know.” He gestured for his two fellow Duke Orgs to follow and rested his Crescent Blade over his right shoulder. “Okay, you’re the boss, boss,” Jindrax said with Toxica nodding nervously. “Orgs together, and all that.” Zen-Aku continued to smirk the rest of the way out of the Forest. Now: Carousel Boutique “Now, just stay still while I cut a little off the top…” Zephyr said to Robert as he gave his hair a trim, pieces of Robert’s brown bangs falling to the Boutique floor. Nearby, Bon-Bon and Lyra were getting their manes dried while Rarity was styling Fluttershy’s mane. “You know, I had the most interesting conversation with Rainbow yesterday,” Rarity commented as she ran a brush through her friend’s pink mane. “Seems like that… Well, I won’t repeat the word I’m thinking, but anyways she told me Lightning’s adopted a little sister of her own. Never would have seen that coming in a million years.” “It is nice that Lightning’s starting to become a nicer pony,” Fluttershy commented, looking towards the park outside, where she could see Lightning and Silver playing a game of chess. Lightning, from the looks of things, was losing quite badly. “If you’re going to comment about me having a hand in that, I had nothing to do with it,” Robert admitted. “Well, there’s a shocker,” Lyra joked as she looked upwards from her magazine. “No offense, but I would have expected you to have at least taken partial credit.” “Nope, for once I had nothing to do with anything relating to Lightning. I only showed up to bail her stupid arse out of the fire, literally, in this case, nothing more.” Robert remarked simply. “Funny, from what I hear, you got your ass kicked and Lightning had to bail you out,” Bon-Bon remarked. Robert thanked the Lord that the Boutique was mostly empty except for those who already knew or had figured out his secret by themselves. Robert still wasn’t sure how Lyra nor her wife had figured it out, but somehow they had. “Oh sure, gang up on the resident human here,” Robert grumbled. He was soundly ignored. “Point being, I think we should all be happy for both Lightning and Silver,” Fluttershy said. “Silver’s got somepony who’ll look after her, and Lightning’s becoming less of a…” “Bitch?” Robert offered while Lyra laughed her head off and Bon-Bon snorted. “Er, yes… That.” Fluttershy remarked, flushing red at Robert’s terminology. “Funny… That’s the word I was thinking of earlier about her but was far too much of a lady to say…” Rarity murmured to herself in an inaudible tone. Elsewhere in Ponyville, two figures teleported into an antique shop. Those two figures were Helicos and Retinax. “Sure there’s an Org spirit here?” The Duke Org asked. “Yes, I’m quite sure,” Retinax replied. “If we’re going to start going against Thrax, we’re going to need an army of our own and collecting Org spirits and recruiting them to our cause is the first step.” The two walked through the dusty collection of antiquities, Retinax’s horn glowing brighter and brighter as the two got nearer and nearer to the developing Org spirit. Finally, it began to glow as bright as the sun as the two came across an old mirror. “Should I repeat Bloody Mary three times or something?” Helicos deadpanned. “Far as I can see, just a stupid old mirror. Looks completely harmless to me.” “Wait for it…” Retinax murmured to himself as a fine mist began to traverse slowly across the wooden floor and float towards the mirror. It wrapped itself around the mirror and with a bright flash of light, a new Org was born. Retinax smirked, this one would do nicely. He knew the Rangers would never see this one coming, that was for sure… Ponyville High School: Meanwhile, Sunburst was in the middle of his afternoon classes currently doing a lecture on the Triassic Period. Today, he was wearing a nice tweed suit instead of his usual black suit and tie combination. “Now, what I’d like to ask all of you is this, can you name me a list of creatures that would have been alive during this period?” the Black Ranger asked while using a piece of chalk to write out the words “Triassic” behind him and then a page number. On his desk behind him lay a model of a Pachycephalosaurus. One student, a white furred bat-pony raised his hand. “Yes, Mr. Bubbles?” Sunburst asked. “What about a Styracosaurus?” The bat-pony asked. Sunburst sighed as he took off his glasses and rubbed his temples. Navi, who was sitting on a perch like a real parrot would let out a sigh and shook her head. “No, that was a dinosaur in the Cretaceous period. The fact of the matter is, dinosaurs, more specifically herbivores wouldn’t start forming armor on their bodies until the Jurassic period to protect themselves from predators. A good example would be the Stegosaurus,” Sunburst stated. “While we’ll get to those periods of the Mesozoic era eventually, right now let’s focus on the-” Right then, Sunburst’s Growl Phone rang, much to his embarrassment and the amusement of the class. He answered it and nodded in understanding before saying “Got it, on my way.” “Fiancee calling you up for a night in?” One student teased and Sunburst blushed red and stuttered out “N-No, something completely different actually!” as he tried to regain his composure. “Sure, that’s what it is.” the exact same student snarked. “Okay, I want a good sized report on the nature of the creatures of the Triassic Period due by the end of the week,” Sunburst said as he quickly ran for the door before he peeked his head back in as he saw his class go for their phones. “And just because my phone rang in the middle of class doesn’t mean that’s an excuse for you all to go and play with yours, got that?” When all the students nodded, Sunburst nodded back confidently, adjusted his bow-tie and ran out the door. Of course, as soon as he’d left, the students went ahead and pulled their phones right back out. Navi gave the winged equivalent of a facepalm and thought to herself “I really need to help dad get more assertive. Guess it’s up to me now.” With that, she gave the class an evil eye and they nervously put their phones away and began opening their textbooks to the marked page on the chalkboard. Ponyville Park: The group of three, soon joined by Vapor teleported themselves down to the main park in Ponyville and were greeted with quite a sight. Leading a squad of Putrids was an interesting Org to say the least. It looked like a regular unicorn pony but was made of pure solid crystal. The other main difference was that the horn split off into two, in a V shape of sorts. In one hand, a sword. In the other, a shield making the Org resemble a knight of some sort. But all four of the Rangers knew this was no Knight in any shape or form. “Okay… Wasn’t expecting that I’ll admit.” Sunburst remarked, slightly nervous at this new Org’s form. Mentally, he had to keep telling himself that this wasn’t a pony, just another Org. “Whatever, let’s just get this guy over and dealt with.” Lightning muttered as she, Vapor and Sunburst went for their Growl Phones and Robert his amulet. “Legendary Wild Access, ha!” They all called in unison just as the Putrids fired their rocket cudgels. Running out from the ensuing explosion were the three Rangers, fully morphed. One of the Putrids swung his cudgel intent on bashing Robert’s skull in. However, it was not to be. He focused all of his Chi energy into a single powerful punch, sending the Putrid flying back while Robert’s hands glowed with a fine orange hued mist. “Okay, I so wish I could do that…” Sunburst thought to himself with a sigh as he held off the Mirror Org’s sword and shield with his hatchets. “Guess I’ll just have to settle for the norm… As always.” He thought sadly. Sunburst let out a yelp as he was caught off guard momentarily and the Org got in a slash across the chest before he kicked the Black Ranger backwards into a group of putrids. Sunburst got up and brushed his suit off before one putrid got in a lucky shot with his rocket launcher and sent Sunburst flying into a tree. “Got to help him…” Robert muttered as he shot down two approaching Putrids before he found himself dagger to sword with the Mirror Org. Nearby, Vapor was using her Trident to full effect, stabbing and slashing at Putrids in a blur of motion. “Sorry to spoil your fun, but I can’t let you do that!” the Org taunted as the blades clashed, sparks flying off as metal ground up against metal. Robert kicked the Org in the chest making it stagger back, but the Org implanted his sword in the ground and sent a group of glass spikes erupting from the ground towards Robert who had to leap out of the way. The Orange Ranger fired off some shots, but the Mirror Org either blocked them with his shield or batted them out of the air with his sword. “Okay, try something else then…” Robert muttered before he shouted “Kitsune Scatter Blast!” The shot fired branched out into a group of many beams that sought out their target like heat seekers but to Robert’s surprise, the Mirror Org just absorbed the shots with his shield. “And now, would you kindly, maybe you’ll reflect on your mistakes!” the Org cackled before his shield glowed and sent the blasts right back at Robert knocking him out of his morphed form. Lightning’s eyes widen at the feat before she snarled and grabbed a group of putrids with her whips and tossed them at the Mirror Org. His eyes widened momentarily before they narrowed. With a few quick slashes, all of the putrids lay dead at his feet. Sunburst, now fully recovered, threw one of his Shadow Hatchets at the Org. But before he knew it, the Org’s eyes glowed and Lightning was in his place. A wing fell to the ground as Lightning let out a horrific scream and clutched at the wound to stop the blood flow. “Lightning!” Vapor shouted as she saw her adopted sister demorph in a flash of light. Sunburst’s eyes widened under his helmet as he thought “Oh no! What… What did I… How did…?” Robert’s eyes widened as well and he yelled into his comm “Princess, get Lightning out of here and to the nearest hospital! Now!” Just as he said that, Lightning was teleported away in a flash of light as more putrids rose up from the ground and aimed their rocket-cudgels at the remaining three Rangers. Sunburst stood in a horrified dazed stupor as he saw the fallen wing and the blood on the ground. He couldn’t move a muscle out of sheer horror and shock at what he just did, even if by accident. The Mirror Org stood there laughing as Robert pulled out his Kitsune Blaster and aimed it at the putrids. “Sunburst, you alright?” He asked, his words just barely reaching his fellow Ranger. “We need to fall back and regroup! Go, I’ll cover you!” Sunburst nodded weakly, feeling quite sick with himself as Robert fired off a few shots and the Rangers ran for it in a tactical retreat. Just then, the Mirror Org’s eyes glowed and his shield hummed before next thing Robert or Vapor knew, they were trapped in two glass mirrors. “Good, that’s two Rangers down. Only three more to go,” the Mirror Org chuckled. “Piece of cake really. Don’t know why I was even given a warning.” With that, he directed his remaining putrids to grab both of the mirror-trapped Rangers and take them away. He had something special in mind for them. “Time to make an example of those fools…” He thought to himself as he teleported away. The Animarium: Sunburst punched a tree in frustration and rage, tears falling down his face. The moon shown down in the background, rising high in the sky. For the past few hours, the only images he had in his mind were Lightning losing one of her wings thanks to his hatchets and then Vapor and Robert getting captured. He knew from Princess Shayla that by some miracle Lighting was stable, but that didn’t change the fact that she was in the ICU and two of his teammates were captured. Tartarus, they were probably dead by this point. “I caused that, it’s my fault! My fault!” Sunburst thought to himself. “Who’s the one who’s always screwing up on this team and messing up? Oh, that’s right, me!” Sunburst thought back to when he got his own fiancee captured by the Bell Org. Sure, he rescued him in the end, but who was the one to deal the final blow? Oh, that’s right, Galaxy. Galaxy was the Captain of the Night Guard, trained to deal with this sort of crap. Him, he was just a simple science teacher. That was the end of it. That’s all he’d ever be in the end. Sunburst, falling to his knees let out a scream of rage skywards. “What… What do I do?” Sunburst asked, looking towards the sky in search of an answer. He received nothing of any sort. Sunburst took that as evidence of further mockery and scorn, that not even the Mystic Mother himself thought him cut out to be a Power Ranger. With another choked up sob, he pulled out the Bison and Fruit Bat crystals and threw them into a bush in rage and sat down on a stump. Sunburst took off his glasses and sobbed. “I’m not cut out for this shit. Lightning, Robert, Sunset, Tartarus, even Vapor are better at this than me. They’ve all dealt final blows to a monster or contributed to the team in some way. Me… What have I done? Heck, not even my Zord is worth talking about,” Sunburst continued to think. “Just a stupid Fruit Bat. The others, they get giant beasts capable of taking down an Org in just a few short blows… Me, I get a Bat.” Sunburst was so focusing on his internal musings, he didn’t even notice an area of the woods surrounding him shimmer and a man clad in a blue jacket appear along with an older man dressed all in black, with long gray hair and glasses over his eyes appear. “Bats can be surprisingly adept at doing what needs to be done,” the older man said. “They’re the masters of stealth and rulers of the night. You should consider yourself lucky at being blessed with such a gift.” “Gift?” Sunburst asked, looking up at the twosome before he scoffed. “I’d hardly call a Fruit Bat any sort of gift.” “And yet it the animal it’s based on can clear out an orchard in a matter of hours and leave an entire town starved if it isn’t kept in check.” The older man said. “Exactly who are you two?” Sunburst asked, drawing his Crystal Saber. The blue clad man forced it down gently. “My name’s Theo, and this is Master Swoop,” The younger man said, introducing himself. “Pai Zhau Masters of the Jaguar and Bat Spirits and Styles respectively.” “Pai Zhau… Why does that name sound familiar?” Sunburst thought to himself before his eyes widened in recognition. “Wait, that was the school Robert used to go to!” Theo smiled. “So, I see you’ve met my former student.” Sunburst’s eyes widened again. “Wait, you taught Robert everything he knows?” He asked in surprise. “Well, not everything but most of it… Yes,” Theo admitted. “I don’t like to brag, but all of those martial arts skills you’ve seen Robert use? I taught him that.” “And yet you still come off as bragging.” Master Swoop said, shooting Theo a look. “...Paumanhin.” Theo apologized in Filipino, bowing to his fellow Master. Sunburst meanwhile shook his head. “If I had Masters like either of you, probably wouldn’t have turned out as such a screw-up of a Power Ranger,” Sunburst muttered to himself. Master Swoop laid a hand on his shoulder and gripped it firmly making the slightly younger stallion wince. “Now, that’s enough of that. You’re not a screw-up.” Master Swoop reassured, and Theo nodded in agreement. “Far from it, I’d say. You created the Navi Blaster, and your Zord becomes the main battle weapon of your team’s Megazord,” Theo added. “You do contribute in your own way, so stop telling yourself otherwise.” “Besides, even High-School teachers can make great Rangers.” Swoop put in as Theo put a hand to his chin in thought. “He’s right, there was a Black Ranger back in 2004 that was a teacher for high-school age kids,” Theo remarked, leaving out that fact that said Ranger was Tommy Oliver, who had been a Ranger four times before that. “Impiyerno, believe it or not, I wasn’t exactly the greatest Ranger starting out either.” “You?” Sunburst asked in disbelief, hardly able to believe his ears. “But you’re a Master!” “Not at first. What, do you think I just popped out of the womb with super Kung-Fu skills?” Theo joked before his tone became more serious. “Hardly, I was quite arrogant starting out.” “As arrogant as Robert?” Sunburst interrupted. “Well, I wouldn’t go that far…” Theo trailed off with a tinge of amusement in his tone. “He’s a special case altogether really. Anyways, the point still stands. See Master Swoop here? I was rather dismissive of his teachings starting out, but that soon changed.” Master Swoop nodded before he turned back to Sunburst. “Teachings I’m about to pass on to you, help you harness your inner animal spirit.” Swoop stated. Sunburst’s gaze turned firm, almost confident. “Then teach me.” He stated and Swoop allowed himself a small smirk. “Wait, you’re blind?” Was Sunburst’s first immediate reaction to when Master Swoop took off his glasses. “And yet I still trained two Pai Zhau Masters.” Swoop remarked simply while holding a paper fan. Sunburst also held one in his hand. “Now who’s bragging?” Theo teased, crossing his arms at his former Master, eyebrow raised. Swoop said nothing in response and continued looking directly at Sunburst. “Now, you have to focus yourself, you must manage your mind, release your anxieties otherwise I cannot teach you anything at all.” Swoop told him. “Okay… Anything else?” Sunburst asked. “Yes, you must focus on a single goal. Become one with your spirit, and it becomes a part of you,” Swoop continued to explain. “Now, close your eyes and just focus on the exercise.” Sunburst closed his eyes and focused on one thing and one thing alone, his inner animal spirit. “You feel it, do you feel one with your animal?” Swoop asked. “Y-Yes,” Sunburst stuttered out nervously. “I-I can see it. It’s… It’s some sort of bird.” Then a thought came to him, and he began to look incredibly nervous and feel all of his confidence from before began to leave him. “W-Wait, if my spirit is some sort of bird, can you still even teach me?” “The exercise does not change, both birds and bats fly unless that’s changed in the last couple of thousand years,” Swoop deadpanned. “It’s the exact same principle. Different spirit, but same lesson plan. Now.. focus!” Swoop stated firmly and he and Sunburst both closed their eyes and began to wave their fans. All the while, Swoop continued to instruct. “Block out the rest of the world. Only feel your breath. Allow the impossible to become… possible,” Their movements began to become dance like as they continued, Theo nodding in approval. Then, it happened. Without even thinking, Sunburst was surrounded by a yellow glowing energy as his fan unfolded and he began to levitate as he thought on one single thing. His teacher, his Master, he was counting on him. So was the animal that resided inside of him. That was the only thing in his mind. Then, like a majestic bird of prey, Sunburst took to the air and Swoop soon followed. “Now, are you ready?” Swoop asked. Sunburst nodded before they both slowly floated back down towards the ground. Theo clapped as Swoop nodded. Then, the call came in as Sunburst’s Growl Phone rang. “Sunburst, it’s the Mirror Org! He’s back!” Shayla shouted in fear. Sunburst looked towards Swoop and Theo. “A-Are you sure I’m ready to face him alone?” He stuttered out in fear. “You’ll never be alone,” Swoop said. “This time, you have your inner beast with you. Now go, your friends need you.” Sunburst nodded. “Let’s do it then.” The Everfree Forest/100 Mile Wilderness: Right now, the Mirror Org had set up both Vapor and Robert deep in the Everfree Forest and had lined up a firing squad of putrids to deal with them. “Now, time to make an example of you both. This should teach that damn Princess you take orders from not to cross the Orgs.” the Mirror Org smirked. He motioned for the putrids to take aim. Robert closed his eyes, accepting death as it came while Vapor thought to herself, a tear trailing down her face. “Sorry Grape if I didn’t hold up to your standards. But we’ll be seeing each other again soon enough.” She thought. Just as the putrids were about to fire, a small dagger came spinning end over end and sliced the ends off of the putrids’ weapons and implanted itself in a tree nearby. “Who dares?” the Mirror Org snarled out in rage as he drew his sword. Suddenly, a black blur blindsided him, slashing at him from the left and then from the right. The blur slowed down and leaped up onto a tree branch. Robert’s eyes widened at who he saw, and more specifically at what the figure was holding. Two fans in either hand, black and silver with orange highlights with very sharp edges. “...You gotta be kidding me.” Robert muttered, scarcely able to believe his eyes. He recognized those fans, alright, but seeing them in those hands was almost impossible to believe. “S-Sunburst?” Vapor asked as her eyes widened. “So, you came back for more punishment.” the Mirror Org chuckled. “Sorry, but not this time,” Sunburst stated as he backflipped off the tree as the Mirror Org fired an energy blast from his horns. Sunburst actually smirked under his helmet as he landed on the ground below. He folded up his fans, holstered them and took his Crystal Saber out of the tree before holding it in front of him in a defensive manner. “You, face me alone?” the Mirror Org cackled. “You’ve got to be joking.” “Who says I’m alone?” Sunburst asked before he with two kicks shattered the mirrors holding Vapor and Robert setting them free. “They lost against me before, they’ll lose again.” the Org commented. “I didn’t mean them,” Sunburst remarked. Then, he performed hand movements that Robert knew by heart. “No. Bloody. Way. How the Hell did he learn that…?” Robert wondered in stark disbelief. “Call to the Beast Inside! Free the Owl!” Sunburst yelled and let loose a misty yellow owl like form knocking the Mirror Org back and slashing away at him with its talons again and again. As soon as the onslaught was over, the Mirror Org called for more putrids and out of the treeline they came. “You two ready to join the party?” “Believe me, I was born ready. This yatsume has got some payback coming,” Robert snarled as Vapor nodded before they both shouted “Legendary Wild Access!” before morphing and engaged the putrids. Robert began taking down various members of the squad with low kicks and takedowns using the Dog Style (The closest thing there came to a Fox Style) of fighting. Next, he unleashed his own animal spirit and ripped and tore into another squad. Vapor on the other hand just inserted her Eagle Crystal into her Saber and gained the Golden Eagle Sword and slashed away at her foes. Soon, all that was left was the Mirror Org. “Only you now, mate,” Robert commented as he cracked his knuckles as Vapor produced her Trident. The Mirror Org’s only response was to shoot energy blasts at them. Vapor and Robert rolled out of the way but Sunburst unfolded his Jungle Fans and levitated high in the sky to avoid the blasts. Next thing he did was to glide forwards and kick the Mirror Org in the face making him stagger back before the Mirror Org took a swing at him with his sword but Vapor blocked the blow with the Golden Eagle Sword and her own Leviathan Trident. Robert joined in and slashed at the Mirror Org’s shield with his suit’s inbuilt claws and ripped apart his shield before firing off a quick few shots hitting his target dead-on as he leaped backwards to avoid some more energy blasts. Of course, the Mirror Org wasn’t going to go down easy and created copies of himself, filling the whole clearing. “Why that little bastard…Cute, real cute.” Robert thought. Sunburst then swung his Jungle Fans and created blasts of pure hot wind shattering each and every one of the mirror clones leaving only the original behind. “Like I said before, only you now mate,” Robert smirked. To his surprise, a gigantic cat shaped cannon painted red, yellow, and blue appeared in his hands. Sunburst grabbed ahold of it by one side as a figure shimmered into existence and shouted “Jungle Beast! Spirit Unleashed!” and appeared behind the two. Robert’s eyes widened again. “T-Theo?” “Yeah, it’s me. Now let’s take this guy down.” Theo stated before he pulled back the Claw Cannon’s rear handle and then pushed it forwards as Sunburst’s, Robert’s and his own Animal Spirits charged up the Cannon. “Now, would you kindly, please go and blow up on us?” Sunburst asked. The Cannon then fired a blast of pure solid energy and shattered the Mirror Org into pieces before what remained went up in a shower of sparks. “That one was for you, Lightning.” Sunburst thought. The Nexus: Thrax was not happy, and it showed. As soon as Retinax returned to the Nexus, he found even more Org Totems in ruins. Thrax’s throne spun itself around to face him, and its owner had a very displeased look on his face. “Retinax, I have a question for you,” Thrax began, his voice quite low. In the back of the room, Goldar sat against a wall chuckling. “There was a new Org Spirit today, and nobody seemed fit to inform me about it.” His voice began to slowly rise in tone to a growl. “Care to explain why?” He asked, in a tone of tranquil fury. “You’re not making plans against me, are you… Retinax?” “No sir, I’m not, but I promise you, I will get to the bottom of this. You have my word.” Retinax bowed, lying through his teeth. “Good, you’d better. And if I find you’re plotting against me, let me make myself clear…” Thrax warned. The punishment will be very severe indeed.” “Yes sir,” Retinax replied, still bowing before Thrax waved him off. As Retinax walked off and the door shut behind him with a loud thudding sound, he growled. He’d spent too long playing the fool against this usurper. It was time to make his move... Author's Note Okay, I admit it, this chapter was going to be released at the beginning of next month. But next month I'll be going back to school and starting my studies for my GED test meaning I'll have a bit less time to write so I wanted to get this out of the way first. Anyways, nope, no giant monster fight here today. Originally, I did plan for Sunburst to receive the Black Bear and Polar Bear Zords and fight with them against a giant sized Mirror Org, but I scrapped the idea as he's already gotten one power-up in this chapter with the Owl Spirit even if it's not going to be used as a Zord. Another little tidbit about this chapter was that it was originally going to be divided up into two parts, and in a sense, it still is a two part chapter as the next half will focus on Lightning's reaction and how she deals with the loss of one of her wings. No tribute chapter next time, but there will be another coming along the lines soon as a tribute to the series that started it all... (Finally, huge thanks to Ingen Hunter Enigma for his idea about Sunburst being tied to the Owl.) Part 37: Broken WingCloudsdale Hospital: Lightning groaned as she adjusted her eyes to the light, the soft boop-boop-boop of the heart monitor reaching her ears. The room all around her was painted in soft, calming hues of white, pink and light blue. Lightning then reached out and felt the bed-sheets covering her. Not comfortable by any means, but there they were. Her eyes widened, so she wasn’t dead. By all rights, from the blood loss she endured, she should have been in Skyhaven. But evidently, that wasn’t to be the case. Lightning snorted, maybe she was in Tartarus and this was her punishment. Living with only one wing, never to fly again. Soft, calming guitar strummed music played from a radio nearby. The sound was like that of an old record, crackling as it played. Lightning chalked that up to the age of the radio, not of the song itself. Evidently, some parts of the hospital were better looked after than others. “There are loved ones in the glory, Whose dear forms you often miss; When you close your earthly story, Will you join them in their bliss? Will the circle be unbroken By and by, Lord, by and by. There's a better home awaiting In the sky, Lord, in the sky.” Lightning scowled. While the rational part of her brain was telling her that the music played was entirely at random, she couldn’t help but think some part of the universe was mocking her… disability. She knew it, she’d never be a Wonderbolt again. Seems her dad was right all along, she’d never amount to anything in the end after all. “You bucking happy dad? Huh, are you bucking happy you bastard? There, I screwed up and look what bucking happened!” Lightning began to rant to her father, despite knowing very well he couldn’t hear her.. “Lost a wing, and now Sky Stinger’s the only member of this whole bucking family who’ll live up to your damned legacy!” Lightning snarled. He couldn’t even be bothered to even send her a sympathy card, for crying out loud! Just some small notice that he cared! But no, if her “Father” cared one jot about her, he would have shown it a long time ago. “Yeah, that’s dear old dad for ya, not giving a damn about somepony unless they benefit him directly, and I never really was a benefit to him. I was just one more child to look after, one more mouth to feed. More money to come out of his pocketbook, that’s all I was to him. All I ever will be,” She thought as she suddenly found herself gazing to where her wing once was. But to her surprise, the space wasn’t as empty as she thought it would be. Instead, there was a metal appendage, a crude copy of a wing with very sharp metal feathers and adorned with glowing runes gleaming with magic. “Great, so I’m a freak now. Wonderful,” Lightning thought sarcastically. “Should have just left the damn thing off and let me bleed to death,” Lightning stifled a sob, she couldn’t cry. Not now. She’d long ago carefully constructed a mask, and she couldn’t let it break now. Suddenly, she felt very warm arms wrap around her and pull her into a hug, long yellow and red hair falling in front of her face. “S-Sunset?” Lightning whispered, scarcely able to believe her eyes. Last she heard, Sunset was off in another country doing Twilight a favor. Helping her find some crystal of some sort. Lightning barely remembered the details, she couldn’t have cared less about things like jungle expeditions to foreign countries. “Yeah, it’s me,” the Princess of Empathy answered. “I came as soon as I heard, even had to teleport across an entire continent and you know much how much I hate that.” She joked. Lightning smiled weakly as Sunset released her from the hug. Yeah, she remembered alright. “Yeah, makes you sick to your stomach, doesn’t it? Thrown up yet?” Lightning teased. Sunset tried to look at anything but her. Lightning snorted. Yeah, she thought so. “Boring as I thought it would be?” Lightning commented. Sunset frowned, she knew the pegasus was trying to deflect things away from her current situation. But she answered anyway. “Well, wouldn’t go that far. Had to fight a perverted thief and a giant river god, among other things.” Sunset replied, and Lightning stared, unsure if she was kidding or not. Then again, Sunset, at least the one she knew was never one to brag about her accomplishments or make things up. Robert maybe or even her, but Sunset? “...Tell me at least you kicked that pervert’s sorry ass.” Lightning asked, still not sure if Sunset was lying about the river god part. In her mind, Sunset would probably do that to make it seem like she had a worse week than Lightning herself just to make her feel better. “...Imayhavekickedhiminthetesticles.” Sunset mumbled rather quickly in response, her face flushing red. Lightning snorted once again, unable to help herself. Good for Sunset. There was a soft rapping at the door and a Trottingham sounding accent asked: “May I come in?” Lightning nodded and Sunset opened the door to reveal to Lightning’s shock, Robert Williams. “H-How are you even up here?” Lightning stammered out. “Well, Twilight may have performed the cloud-walking spell on me, said she wasn’t sure if it would work or not because I had no magical DNA in me whatsoever and it could very well just make me explode from the inside so didn’t make me very confident as being used as a lab rat, for better or for worse,” Robert muttered, though judging from his tone he didn’t hold anything against Twilight and was just joking around as always in an attempt to lighten the mood. Lightning, however, did notice he was trying to avert his gaze from her artificial wing as much as possible. “So, not dead as it turns out. Didn’t explode in a shower of blood and gore, so yay for me,” He then turned to Sunset, probably in yet another attempt (At least that’s what Lightning was thinking) in order to not look at her new appendage. “So, heard you kicked a guy in the plums while you were in Party Central after he got a little too hands-on. Good for you.” Robert commented lightly. Lightning stared at him in shock. “Who are you and what have you done with Robert Williams, Foxy Man-Whore extraordinaire?” She asked, completely stunned. “Hey, a difference between coming onto someone and just plain sexual harassment. I do have some class after all.” He said, somewhat offended. “Could have fooled me…” Sunset muttered to herself and Lightning smirked. Seems even Sunset had her limits of what she was willing to put up with relating to Robert’s comments. If Robert heard her, he showed no sign of it. “What about the Org?” Lightning asked. “Got its sorry arse kicked by me, Sunburst and an old friend,” Robert stated before joking: “Brought who knows how many years of bad luck down on us when we shattered it.” “I’ve already gotten that bad luck, I think,” Lightning mused privately, in a bitter tone of voice. “Still, good for Sunburst. I’m happy somepony took that thing down. ...Just wish it was me though...” She then spotted Sunburst and Vapor outside, with Sunburst hiding behind Vapor in apparent fear. Lightning knew why, he was afraid of her and what she might do to him. “Mystic Mother… Is that really what everyone on this team thinks of me, a snarling, boiling cauldron of rage who could erupt at any moment?” Lightning thought back, and realized something rather horrifying. They, or at least Vapor, Robert and Sunburst did. After all, she hadn’t been particularly nice to them had she? Tartarus, for quite a long time, and with very good reason Robert thought she would try and murder him in his sleep for crying out loud! “Course they think of me that way, why wouldn’t they? I’m the perfect embodiment of the Thunderbird, after all. The one who brings terror and the fury of the Gods themselves from the skies,” Lightning thought, and if you looked closely you could see a small tear trailing down her face. “You two can come in you know, not like I’m going to be up and about for the next few days is it?” she whispered in a tone of bitterness. Vapor walked in, but Sunburst still looked absolutely terrified of her. “It’s okay Bat-Brain, not going to do anything to you. Not going to yell, not going to scream. It wasn’t your fault,” Hesitantly, Sunburst stepped forwards as Lightning smiled. “Good job on kicking that idiot’s flank for me, good job.” Lightning stated, and Sunburst’s jaw dropped in shock. He had been expecting for Lightning to just yell and scream at him, tell him this was all his fault, like everything always was with him. “I… I’m so sorry, so sorry,” Sunburst whispered fervently over and over to himself, almost like a mantra before teleporting away in a flash of black light. “Sunburst!” Robert shouted before cursing in Japanese (“Kuso!”) and teleporting away after his friend. Sunset sighed sadly. Lightning looked towards her. “Go after them, Sunburst needs your help more than I do right now. The doctors have got everything well in hand here,” Lightning reassured. “But-” Sunset started. “Go, just go,” Lightning ordered. Sunset looked at her. “You sure you’re going to be alright?” She asked and Lightning nodded. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be? Same as I ever was after all. Just got a badass metal wing now, that’s all.” she said. Sunset looked as if she didn’t believe her for a moment, but nodded anyways and teleported away. Vapor meanwhile just brought Lightning into a hug and the aqua colored pegasus broke down in her adoptive sister’s arms, finally letting her mask break completely and just cried. Vapor just cried with her, sharing her pain and held her. The Animarium: Sunset screamed in anger as she punched the trunk of a tree in frustration. It was all her fault! If she hadn’t gone off on that trip with Daring, Lightning might have never lost her wing and had to get it replaced. “Some Princess I turned out to be. Daring could have handled herself, but I had to go along with her and leave my team… No, my family flailing about without a leader,” she thought to herself. With a scream of rage, she fired a blast of energy up into the tree and birds scattered and flew off into the sky. Sunset pulled out her sword and sliced a training dummy in half to blow off some steam, imagining the dummy as the Mirror Org from the rest of the team’s descriptions. She then sliced another dummy in half, thinking of it as Goldar and then another dummy imagining it as Thrax. One last dummy met its fate as Sunset saw Solar Flare laughing at her and her failures in its place. “Goddess dammit, it’s everything with her. Everything boils down to her in the end, doesn’t it? All the bigotry and sheer hatred, that if what Shining told me is true, brought the Orgs back to life in the first place and by extension gave Lightning her prosthetic, she started,” Sunset thought to herself, as she demorphed panting and sweating. “Sooner or later, we have to take down Solar Flare, or who knows how bad things will get. Mystic Mother above, I just hope Twilight can pull this off, otherwise we’re all going to burn. Solar Flare won’t stop at anything, and sooner or later she’ll probably deem all of us a threat to her and attack us directly. We need to strike first, otherwise… We’re bucked,” Sunset growled and threw her sword into the tree behind her, the short sword type blade impaling itself in the trunk scorching the bark somewhat. “It’s not your fault you know. None of it is,” Princess Shayla said in an attempt at reassurance as she wandered into the glen. Sunset scoffed as she sat herself down on a nearby boulder. “Believe me, every bad thing that’s happened to this team can probably be blamed on me in some way. I’m a failure at a leader, and don’t you bother denying it. You know perfectly well it’s true. I told you before, I wasn’t cut out for this shit.” Shayla sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her in comfort. “And yet I still believe in you. So does the Phoenix Zord, and the rest of your team. If they didn’t, you would know. Now, instead of lurking around feeling sorry for yourself, I suggest you start thinking more about your plan to deal with Solar Flare and separating her from Celestia. That is what you intend to do with her, is it not?” Shayla asked eyebrow raised. Sunset smiled as she hugged Shayla, with her fellow Princess returning the hug. As Sunset teleported away, Shayla looked towards the Lion’s Perch. “You think she’s ready?” Shayla asked, and the Red Lion seemed to shake his head no before responding. “No, there’s one more thing she needs to face before she’s earned what you ask of me. That particular Animal Crystal can’t be given out, not yet. I’ve spoken with him, and he agrees with me. Only once Sunset’s worked through all of her fears will he give up his abilities for the team’s use. A Pride of lions cannot function without its King, and a team cannot work together if all of the members have their doubts. You know this as well as I do.” Shayla sighed to herself. Yeah, she did. The Nexus: Thrax looked up as Retinax walked in, axe in hand. He chuckled, he’d have been a fool if he hadn’t seen this coming sooner or later. “So, now you’ve finally worked up the courage to take the throne for yourself?” Thrax asked as he got up off his throne. “Going to have to deal with me first,” “I intend to, far too long have I listened to your lies and machinations. You couldn’t give a damn about us, so you’re absolutely right. You must be destroyed if Org-kind is to survive.” Thrax snarled and shot red fireballs from his palm. Retinax deflected them with his axe before swinging it downwards into the ground sending a series of explosions towards Thrax. The false Master Org slammed the tip of his staff into the ground and created his own explosions to counter this. The two lunged towards each other, weapons meeting in the middle again and again in a shower of sparks. Retinax elbowed Thrax in the face before kicking him in the gut making him stagger before getting in a slice across the chest. Retinax went for another swing, but Thrax leaped upwards and fired lightning from his Wand. Retinax used his axe to block the energy before slashing Thrax across the chest again. Thrax’s eyes widened when he heard the sound of shuriken coming in from behind him. An energy blast fired and reduced these shuriken to ashes as Goldar teleported in and got in several quick slashes across Helicos’ chest. “My advice, when you’re staging a coup… Be aware of all the players in the game.” Thrax laughed. He then grabbed Helicos with his Wand and threw her into Retinax. Goldar laughed as his energy beam charged up again... Wonderbolts Academy A few days later, Lightning returned to work at the Wonderbolts Academy. Vapor had informed her that she and Rainbow had thought up the excuse that Lightning had lost her original wing in a night time flight accident. So far, nopony seemed to be questioning that excuse much to Lightning’s relief. However, she did wish she could avoid the stares, whispering and pointing. “Great, normally I like to be the center of attention but today I wish I wasn’t,” Lightning muttered to herself. “Irony, you really love me don’t you?” Every so often, Lightning took a glance at her wing and just sighed. She still hadn’t gotten used to it, and if she was to be honest with herself, probably never would. “Hey sis, heard about what happened,” Sky Stinger said as he jogged up alongside her. “...Mystic Mother above, I visited you in the hospital while the doctors were patching you up, along with this strange fellow in a blue suit who suggested the prosthetic wing in the first place. What happened, I know you’re smart enough not to go flying in the middle of the night, so why’d you do it?” Ignoring the fact that Sky had accidentally divulged who exactly was the reason she was a freak in the first place, Lightning glared at him harshly. “I had my reasons, okay?” She snapped. “Dad?” Sky guessed. “If it were only him… Least then I’d have somepony I could punch in the face and somepony to yell and scream at without feeling like a little bitch,” Lightning thought to herself and lied through her teeth. “Yeah, it was about him,” She said quickly, perhaps a little too quickly. Sky swore quietly. “Can’t believe he didn’t even show up to see if you were alright, though that’s no surprise. Couldn’t even be bothered to send a card,” Sky growled quietly to himself. Lightning noted Sky hadn’t even said Wind Rider’s name at all. He actually seemed to be actively avoiding it. Then again, Lightning remembered that Sky didn’t really consider the stallion much of a father either anymore. For a moment, just a brief fleeting moment, the Wonderbolt in Training idly wondered if there was a time Wind Rider even showed the slightest love towards his kids, but quickly brushed that thought aside. She already knew the answer to that. “Yeah, shittiest father of the year goes to him, as always,” Lightning muttered to herself. “Should you even be at practice today, I mean with your…” Sky trailed off, taking a quick glance at Lightning’s wing before a harsh glare from his sister quickly told him to either change subjects or shut up. Sky got the message/warning in an instant and quickly heeded it. “Hang in there sis, and yes I know that’s probably coming off one of those cat posters those shops sell, but you know what I mean. And listen, if you ever need to talk or a shoulder to cry on you can always come to me or Vapor,” Sky said in support. “I. Don’t. Cry,” his sister hissed. Sky didn’t look like as if he believed her for a moment. “You know what I mean.” he said and Lightning sighed to herself. She then muttered “Yeah, I do,” to herself as she headed towards Spitfire’s office. She had something to do. As much as she didn’t want to do it, it was probably for the best nowadays. Not like she was going to be in the best of shape anymore. As she walked through the hallway leading up to her Captain’s office, Lightning brushed past Angel Wings. The younger mare gave her a sympathetic glance, eyes filled with only pity. Lightning snarled and shoved her aside. She didn’t need anypony’s pity. She wasn’t worth it. With a light shove, Lightning pushed the door to Spitfire’s office open. Like the corridor leading up to it, it was adorned with Wonderbolts posters. Lightning swallowed nervously before chuckling darkly. Last time she had walked in here of her own violation it was at one of the worst points of her life. Now she was doing it again, once more at a very low point in her life and at a crossroads about what to do with it. As always, Spitfire was looking through her paperwork. It was often a topic of scuttlebutt amongst the junior Wonderbolts that their Captain never took a day off in her life and/or that she was secretly a Robot in Disguise from another planet. If Soarin’ or any of the other seniors knew, they weren’t talking. With only a brief glance upwards from her work, Spitfire knew at once who was in her office. “Something the matter, Dust?” She asked, and from the look on Lightning’s face, she could tell it was serious. Lightning took a long breath and nodded hesitantly before placing a sheet of paper on Spitfire’s already cluttered desk. Her Captain’s eyes widened in shock. “This is…” Spitfire breathed out. “Yeah, I’m handing in my resignation form. With this… wing,” Lightning scoffed in disgust after taking another look at her appendage, a mockery of the thing it was supposed to represent. “I’m about as much use to you as a flier as a broken pencil is to a student.” “You really believe that? I’ve known a few flyers in my time who’ve been able to get along perfectly fine with prosthetics, and I don’t see them complaining. Last time you walked into this office, you were begging me to take you back, you just going to walk away from that?” Spitfire asked, and Lightning hung her head. “That’s not the mare I know, not the Lightning Dust I know. Plus, it’s not just this team that needs you,” Lightning’s eyes widened as Spitfire took off her sunglasses. “W-What do you mean ma’am?” “I think you know exactly what I mean. You going to walk away from them too?” Spitfire asked eyebrow raised. “H-How long have you…” Lightning stammered out, unable to complete the sentence. “For a while now, this is the reason why I haven’t been so mad when you or Vapor fail to show up on certain days. Connected the dots really to when the Aqua and Purple Rangers were about and the days you failed to show. But I’m getting off track. Last fall I was in Ponyville one night and here’s what I saw…” Spitfire began to explain... Last Year: She was out walking one night on her way home from a bar, that’s when she saw it. At the time, Spitfire had dismissed the Power Rangers as just drunken rumors. But seeing was believing. There Lightning was, fighting off a hoard of Putrids in an alleyway. Just when they were about to overwhelm her, Lightning shouted out “Legendary Wild Access!” and in a blue flash of light and an explosion of energy knocked back several of the young Orgs-to-be. With a flurry of rapid-fire punches, Lightning took down several more before there was a ringing sound. Lightning pulled out the gold colored phone-like device that she had yelled into as her morphing call and flipped it open. "L-Lightning... I-I might need your help down here. I'm not alone, I can feel it." Vapor stuttered out over the Growl Phone and Lightning rolled her eyes before punching a Putrid in the face. "Well of COURSE you're not alone you dumbo!" Lightning Dust snapped as she kicked a Putrid into some crates before backhanding another trying to come at her from behind. "There's a freaking damned Org on the loose! The Princess sent you after it, and you're going to get it! I swear, my brother would have been a better pick for a Ranger than you, both you and Sunburst are such worrywarts!" "I-I'm not joking around here, there's something powerful here, and I don't think it's the Org the Princess sent me after!" Vapor yelled in fear and Lightning's jaw dropped in shock. Vapor sounded genuinely terrified out of her mind. With a resigned sigh after a few moments of hesitation, Lightning responded. "Alright, I'll get over there as fast as I can, but remember this, you and I are going after the Org I'M supposed to be hunting after this, understand?" Lightning said before she hung up. Now, with both of her hands free Lightning took down the last two Putrids with two quick slashes from her Crystal Saber. Now: “And that’s the end of it. Been keeping an eye on your team ever since. Wasn’t that hard to figure out who was the newest member when he showed up. I’m not an idiot after all,” Spitfire remarked. Lightning chuckled. “No, you’re not ma’am. I guess I’m the idiot really. Walking away from them, I’d just be like… Well, him really,” Spitfire raised an eyebrow in curiosity but decided not to press. Didn’t seem to be her business. If Lightning wanted to keep some things to herself, that was her choice. If she wanted to speak up about something, she could do it whenever she was ready to do so. Right about then, Lightning’s Growl Phone rang. “Can I take this?” She asked. Spitfire smirked. “Go get ‘em,” She stated and Lightning returned the smirk before running out the door as the situation was explained. Spitfire still kept that smirk on her face, that mare was going to go far in life. She just knew it in her gut. With a glance towards her desk, she looked at a picture of an older mare with a similar appearance to herself. Spitfire smiled softly. “Hope you’re proud of me and the ‘Bolts, mom. I’m keeping them together, just like you asked me.” She thought. Ponyville: Lightning, riding in on her Savage Cycle to find her teammates wrapped up in what looked like pipes and slowly being strangled/electrocuted by a faucet themed Org, who had the hot and cold knobs for eyes. She poured on some speed and smashed right through the Tenga blockade and fired the Savage Cycle’s lasers at the pipes cutting right through them. Lightning leaped off the bike and kicked the newest Org spirit in the face making him stagger back. “You want a fight? You got it bud,” Lightning snarled before dealing out a few quick slashes with her Crystal Saber and then a powerful downward slash striking the Org right down the middle. “Sure you don’t need any help making a show of things, Lightning-Bitch?” Robert teased. “No, he’s all mine,” Lightning snarled. Vapor smiled under her helmet, the Lightning she knew and loved was back, no question about it. The Aqua Ranger thrusted her arm skywards before shouting “I need Red Dragon Thunderzord power, now!” A roar pierced the heavens as towering storm-clouds gathered and covered Ponyville in blackness. Next, Lightning focused her energy towards her wings, both mechanical and flesh and they extended outwards before she rocketed skywards shouting “You want to be really shocked, Org? Try this one for size!” Even as she did that, she thought back to something she had seen Rainbow do a few times before. Rainbow, in a flurry of color, was darting from cloud to cloud rebounding off of them in flashes of light till she rocketed through the hoops and bucked a cloud out of existence entirely. Rainbow then landed on the grass and smirked at Lightning’s impressed look. Lightning came down, darting from cloud to cloud zigzagging between pillars of storm-cloud as a lightning bolt before she flew down like a bullet. She dealt one final slash across the chest charged with lightning before another lightning bolt came down and struck the Faucet Org dead on. The Org, staggering to his feet chuckled and swallowed what looked to be beans before vines wrapped around him and he grew to the size of a titan. But the Red Dragon was quick to react and breathed hot flame at the Org as Lightning leaped inside the cockpit. Inside, it was simple enough with just two joysticks to control the Zord and an Asian style dragon painted in red behind Lightning. Oddly, however, there was what looked to be a keyhole between the two joysticks used for controls. Lighting grunted. She could think about that for another time. Right now, she had other things to worry about. “Warrior Mode, now!” She shouted and with the shifting and whirring of parts and a sound like a jet engine, the Zord assumed its Warrior Mode and pulled out its Bo Staff. “Now, let’s see you try this on for size... “ As the Faucet Org sprayed hot water at the Megazord, the staff split apart and became a sansetsukon, a three part staff not that different from the weapons known as Nunchaku. Lightning commanded the Red Dragon to spin the sansetsukon around and around and it did so, fending off the hot water streams. The resulting show was elegant, dance like almost. Lightning continued spinning the weapon around and around striking the Org multiple times. “Piece of cake. And now for the finisher!” Lightning shouted before the sansetsukon became a Bo Staff once again. It was spun around 360 degrees creating hot embers as the Red Dragon charged forwards and dealt one final strike across the chest sending the Org up in a tower of flame. The Red Dragon, per Lightning’s command, raised its staff high in victory. She smirked to herself and in the cockpit whispered “Thanks, Captain. I needed that... And thank you Rainbow, I wouldn't have been able to defeat this Org without you.” Lightning smiled wistfully to herself. Maybe she should call up her favorite pegasus and have a small chat with her... Author's Note Okay, here we go, the second part of the storyline I left you on last month. What I tried to do here with Spitfire was strike a balance with her Drill Sarge-like persona when she's off duty and what little we see of her off-duty persona. Also, on another note, the Org of the chapter was inspired by this pre-PR series monster: http://powerrangers.wikia.com/wiki/Faucet_Dimension Part 38: The Fury of a Phoenix and the Sorrow of a KitsuneCarousel Boutique: Robert William’s Room Robert tossed and turned under his covers as his dreams took hold of him. No, that wasn’t accurate. Memories. Earlier that week, Zen-Aku had turned up on the Animarium and had informed both the Rangers and Princess Shayla of some rather disturbing news… The Animarium: “Please tell me you’re joking, please please tell me that.” Sunset said nervously, while behind her both Lightning and Robert shared equally gobsmacked looks. It would have been a comical sight to see, given any other situation. In front of her was the dark wolfish Duke Org known as Zen-Aku. Behind him, looking rather nervous at the prospect of being in the Valley of the Wild Zords, all of which could rip them limb from limb if given the chance were Toxica and Jindrax. Toxica in particular deliberately averted her eyes away from the gorilla-themed fountain/viewing pool filled with sacred water that was partially responsible for temporarily sending her to the Org Afterlife. And she would have stayed there as well, had Jindrax not come up with a cunning plan and quite literally, had gone fishing for her. “Sadly, I don’t joke,” He stated in his usual straight and direct tone of voice that the Rangers had grown used to. “Goldar is very much alive and well.” “B-But we all saw him die! Tartarus, you blasted a hole right through his chest with that Predator Wave of yours!” Sunburst stammered out in fear before holding his head in pain and muttering “T-This is not happening. I-I think I need to sit down a moment.” Princess Shayla helped him to a chair which the older Ranger gracefully accepted and he staggered into it. “Death is of no barrier to Thrax as already shown when he violated the natural order the first few times when he revived Goldar and his other generals,” Zen-Aku said bluntly. “Monsters can come back from the dead if the circumstances are right. Me and Toxica (Here he gestured to the female Duke Org) are living proof of that if you excuse the poor pun.” Toxica rolled her eyes as she leaned up against a tree trunk, she could care less about the Wolf of the Night’s morbid jokes. “Hey wait!” Jindrax shouted in anger, suddenly speaking up for the first time. “Are you saying me bringing Toxica back from the dead was a violation!?! She was my best friend, I bet you would do the same if you had a best friend!” Zen-Aku suddenly was right in front of the clown like Duke Org and holding him by the throat, his fangs bared. “You think I haven’t even considered that a few times? Merrick was my friend, as hard as it was to believe,” He growled out, fury in his every word the Duke Org’s ferocious temper on full display. “But he died when it was his time, and bringing him back now would break any promises I made to him, along with hurting Princess Shayla! She saw him pass on once, I won’t let her feel that same pain again!” Behind him, Princess Shayla tried very hard not to cry at Merrick’s memory with Sunset wrapping an arm around her in support. Vapor sighed before she and Robert began pulling both Zen-Aku and Jindrax apart. “Hold it you two! Save your problems with each for another time, not here! If you want to slaughter each other like the testosterone-filled Orgs you are, do it elsewhere!” Robert snapped. “Hey, he started it!” Jindrax snapped before huffing and crossing his arms like a child. “Why’d you even decide to bring these two here anyways?” Lightning asked, gesturing to Jindrax and Toxica. “I thought we could use some extra allies in our fight against Thrax and his band of merry men, but it seems I was wrong in you five trusting my judgment.” Zen-Aku explained with a growl in his voice before vanishing into the surrounding forest. Princess Shayla tried calling after him, but to no avail, as the Wolf Zord hung his head and let out a low whine. “...Well, that could have gone better…” Sunset sighed to herself before she whirled on Robert. “And you, you definitely didn’t help matters with your little rant!” “What did I do?” Robert asked in confusion, holding his hands up in a surrendering motion while taking a few steps back from the furious Alicorn. “You judged all Orgs, including Zen-Aku, who correct me if I’m wrong helped us out while I was in the hospital and saved our asses from Goldar and Thrax, as monsters!” Sunset snapped at him. In the background, Jindrax had produced some popcorn and was trying to offer it up to Toxica much to her disgust. “Well correct me if I’m wrong Princess, but Orgs, by definition, ARE monsters! Or haven’t you forgotten what we’ve been fighting for the past few months? So excuse me if I’m not going to just open my arms to the prospect of having Orgs on our side!” Robert retorted back. “You sound just like Solar Flare…” Sunset growled, and Robert’s eyes widened before looking like he’d been physically struck. “Judging an entire race just by the actions of, for what all we know, are a few!” Robert’s mouth promptly shut itself after that. With that, he growled and stormed off into the treeline. Sunset then found herself soundly slapped across the face by the last person she expected. “That was uncalled for, Sunset and you know it. While Robert’s definitely in the wrong about all Orgs being monsters, you essentially just compared him to the mare who slaughtered his entire race,” Shayla said calmly, but anyone who looked at her could see both the disappointment and anger in her eyes. “How’d you think he’d take that?” Sunset took a step back as the full magnitude of her statement hit home. With a scream of frustration, she blasted a tree trunk with a beam of green magic, just barely missing Toxica’s head by an inch and leaving a scorch mark where it hit. Needless to say, the Duke Org took a step back. Sunset stifled a sob and choked out “Why… Why do I always let my temper get the better of me? Some fine Princess of Empathy I’ve turned out to be, eh? Mystic Mother, I’m such a bitch.” Vapor pulled her into a wing-hug. “It’s… It’s okay, you just need to control it better, learn from yourself. Give Robert a few days, you know how he is. You both just need to cool down. He’ll forgive you, in time,” “Y-You think so?” Sunset asked. “Hey, if he was willing to become good friends with Lightning Dust, who tried to kill him the first chance she got… Well, I’d lay my odds on him forgiving you as well.” Vapor chuckled and Sunset couldn’t help but laugh a bit along with her. Now: The wake-up alarm, set to the tune of Goodbye Stranger played in the background and its owner groaned as he rubbed his tired eyes. Robert sighed as he pulled the covers off himself and got up off his futon, (Rarity had insisted on a regular bed for his room but Robert had said he preferred futons and that was the end of it.) he’d heard that entire conversation and still didn’t know what to think really. While what Sunset said was cruel, he knew that she didn’t mean it that way, at least not on purpose. What’s worse, she did have a point. Zen-Aku did save their lives a few times, and he owed him that much. Plus, if he remembered correctly, the SPD files said something about Jindrax and Toxica helping to seal the Nexus along with the original Wild Force Rangers. “What was it you said Theo?” Robert pondered before he remembered. “Oh right, women are usually right about something, even if you don’t know it at first. Heh, only now that I’m starting to figure all of this out. Gott, ich bin so ein Blödmann.” He chuckled, no wonder Theo was a Pai Zhau Master and he wasn’t. Robert’s room was simple in decoration with cream colored walls, with only a few albums hanging on the wall (Mostly comprised of Supertramp, of all things with a few outliers) and a pastel white dresser with a charger for his phone. In the corner of the room was a closet for his clothes. Robert rubbed his tired eyes and pulled on a simple tank top as he pulled open the curtains and let Celestia’s sun shine in. There came a soft knock at the door. Robert groaned out “What it is Rares, way too early in the bloody morning for my tastes. Still half-asleep here.” as he pulled on a bathrobe. He opened the door to find Rarity already dressed in her usual sweater and dress combo. “It’s 12:00 in the afternoon dear. You overslept. And it’s Sunset, she wants to speak to you. Alone.” Robert muttered out “Wunderbar.” to himself. Robert slowly trudged downstairs where sure enough, Sunset, who looked as if she’d gotten dressed in a hurry was waiting for him. Noticeably, she was trying to look at anything but him. “...What are you doing here?” Robert asked, genuinely surprised and barely managing to get the words out due to his shock. “I… I wanted to apologize for our little… What would you call it? Spat?” Sunset replied, flushing as crimson as her dress. “Well, not the words I’d use for it. Full blown pissing contest really, but spat works good enough I suppose.” Robert chuckled lightly. “And to be honest, you did sorta have a point.” “What, about you being similar to a genocidal maniac who happens to be my adoptive mother’s split personality?” Sunset asked, in a tone of self-derision. “Okay, maybe that’s putting it one way, but more like me and my… unreasonable prejudice against Orgs. Did a bit of thinking, and while I still don’t trust Zen-Aku or his two friends by a landslide I’m willing to work with them.” “Same, and you did have a point. Orgs, by definition, are monsters. Just… maybe not all of them. Did a bit of light reading, and found this quote. “Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.” I suppose we both need to learn from that.” Robert nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I suppose we both do.” Unknown to him or Sunset, both Rarity and her husband were listening in from behind a wall. “500 Bits say they get together at the end of the week,” Zephyr commented, and Rarity stared at him. “Excuse me? A lady doesn’t bet on her friends and their love lives!” Rarity whispered back. Her husband raised an eyebrow. Rarity sighed to herself. “...Fine, 300 bits say they get together by tonight.” “You’re on.” Zephyr challenged. Unaware of this, Robert and Sunset continued to talk. “There’s another saying I’d like to quote, this time from my Master. “Mar-Er, Women are usually right about something, even if you don’t know it at first.” Wise man,” Sunset chuckled. “Yeah, that he is. Listen, I want to make things up to you. Later tonight, you can come around my place. Found something you might like. Interested me as well, it’s in Neighponiese so I can’t pronounce it worth a damn but...” “Oh, well this ought to be good…” Robert chuckled, curiosity peaked. “One question though, why do you look like you’re dressed like you’re going out for a gala or something?” Sunset flushed even redder. “Ah… Well, this is sorta the awkward part. I got invited to an art auction for charity and I needed to bring a plus-one, so…” “Flattered.” Robert deadpanned. “Sounds like a real snooze-fest, but oh… What the Hell eh? If it technically gets me on two dates with you in one day, who am I to say no?” “Not a date,” Sunset said flatly. “Sure sounds like it to me, Sunny.” Robert chirped and the Princess of Empathy rolled her eyes, before she then eyed Robert’s attire. “Just one thing, wear something nice okay?” This time Robert was the one flushing red. Ponyville Art Gallery: Robert, per Sunset’s request had indeed dressed nicely for the occasion. He’d actually gone as far as to dress up in an outfit that homaged Sokichi Banba/Big One of J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai, right down to the white fedora and rose lapel. Sunset had cleaned up some as well and tied her mane in a bun looking quite respectable. All around them, various pieces of artwork ranging from paintings to hand crafted sculptures surrounded the twosome with various ponies admiring them. Painting style varied as well, from pop art to realism, to abstract. Robert even saw an old oil painting of a Fenghuang, the Chinese version of a phoenix. “Okay, not as boring as I thought,” Robert mused, even if he would never admit it aloud. “Reminds me of the National Gallery back home.” His eyes then widened as he saw alongside a green furred stallion with a brown mane, a Griffon with fur and feathers of varying gray hues. “Okay, wasn’t expecting that…”He muttered to himself, blinking his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. “Insanity of this town must be getting to me, because there is no way a Griffon should exist.” Sunset then called the two over. “Troy, Canvas! Nice seeing you here.” Sunset remarked as the two walked over. Robert blinked again. Okay, evidently he wasn’t going insane or seeing things. “Okay, introductions? Kinda lost here...” Robert stated as the two shook hands with Sunset all the while thinking: “Does she know everypony in this town?” “Robert, this is Troy and Canvas Clawston,” Sunset said as she made the introductions. “Troy, Canvas, this is Robert Williams.” “Apologies for the cluelessness on not knowing you, or the humanity,” Robert said politely, before switching for the deadpan for the second remark. “Also for the showing off.” Sunset mused privately to herself as she glanced at Robert’s attire as both Troy and Canvas chuckled. “No need, we’re not like some of those other fools in Ponyville,” Troy stated while shaking Robert’s hand with his paw. “Firm grip,” Robert thought to himself as he gave a small wince in pain. “Note to self, never shake paws with, much less, bed a griffon. Though I may have to consider dating outside pony-kind for dating material, seeing as how the pony you love doesn’t seem to know you like her. ...Wow, never thought I’d say it but Luna was right on the money. I am in love with Sunset.” “Danke,” Robert said. “Like the outfit,” Canvas complimented. “So, what are you doing here? I’ve heard of you, never pegged you as the artsy type.” “...Got dragged into this, if I have to be honest. And may I ask, so what do you two do?” “My husband Troy, he works as a stage performer and part-time member of the Pony-Tones. Does quite well as the Phantom of the Opera.” “Props to Lindsey Stirling for that gotta say…” Robert commented, desperately reaching for anything he could remember on the play. Sadly, the song was the only thing he could think of. “Who?” Troy asked. “Never mind…” Robert sighed before muttering “Ugh, try and spring a pop culture reference on an Equestrian…” to himself. “Canvas is an artist, he’s the one who invited me to this event. Even the guy who got the idea to host it, actually.” Sunset explained with Robert nodding in understanding. “Nothing quite like that, I invited Sunset but a friend of mine, Troy’s brother Lyle actually, was the one who came up with the idea for the event.” Canvas explained. “He an artist too?” Robert inquired. “Sketch drawer for comics and album covers actually,” Troy explained before flushing red. “Even if most of these things are banned in Equestria really,” Robert and Sunset shared a raised eyebrow. “Okay, now I’m interested…” Robert trailed off. “Trust me, you really don’t want to know,” Troy warned. “Oh, trust me I really do now,” Robert stated really not knowing what was coming. Troy sighed to himself and looked skywards. He then said “Don’t say I didn’t warn you…” before gesturing for them to lean in close. He then whispered in their ear. Sunset and Robert both took a step back in both shock and disgust “...Well, that explains all that “love” for the Pink Boto Dolphin over in Rio…” Sunset muttered in distaste as she shuddered. “OH MOTHER OF MARY, THAT SHIT IS SO BLEEDIN’ WRONG!” Robert shouted in revulsion before noticing everyone was staring right at him. He laughed nervously before saying “Carry on, pretend you didn’t hear that.” with a gesture of his hand. Sunset then heard somepony calling her over, and she looked over to see a dark blue stallion with red tinted sunglasses waving her over. “Excuse me for a moment, have to see what Fashion Plate wants.” Sunset apologized. As Sunset walked off, Robert’s gaze lingered on her for longer than was necessary. Both Troy and Canvas took notice. “You like her, don’t you?” Troy asked flat out. “Yeah… Problem is I… I just can’t be with her. Personal regulations. Huh, guess she was right when she told me I was in love with somepony else and it was obvious to anyone with a brain, but I just couldn’t see it. Must have missed out on a great relationship with her if I wasn’t so caught up with a mare I can never be with, not with the way she sees me.” Robert said sadly, letting his cheery mask slip and a tear drip from his eye before he quickly wiped it away before anyone could see. “So what? You like her, and for all the Tartarus you know, she likes you back!” Troy stated firmly, putting both of his hands on Robert’s shoulders. “Have you even considered that fact?” “N-No, but I’m not exactly prime dating material. I’m a womanizing show-off who likes getting on everypony’s nerves for kicks,” Robert muttered in self-derision. “Now, why would a bloody Princess even look at me twice, answer me that!” “Listen, I can’t claim to know your situation, but you seem like a nice enough person. Even if what you said about yourself is true, somepony who loves you would see past all that,” Troy stated, with Canvas nodding along with him. “Maybe, just maybe you’re worrying over nothing. Just give yourself a chance, give the possibility of Sunset liking you back a thought you might be surprised.” “Yeah, and I’m going to start getting along with Celestia anytime soon…” Robert muttered. Troy sighed sadly to himself. “Just… Just give it a thought okay?” He asked and Robert nodded. Right about then, Sunset returned explaining Fashion Plate wanted to bid for a Zebra Fertility Idol and Canvas muttered “Those things still haven’t been banned yet?” before Sunset looked at the threesome. “Something I miss?” She asked. “No, nothing,” Robert lied as before whispering “No, nothing at all…” Sunset Shimmer’s House: Just as Sunset had promised Robert, later that night he returned to her home dressed in more casual clothing (Not knowing at all what to expect.) and knocked on the door. It was answered by Sunset, dressed in a simple black tank-top and khaki shorts. She raised an eyebrow at his attire. “You do realize you’re dressed in pink… Right?” She noted, with an amused smile noting Robert’s sweater. “It-It was the only thing Rarity had!” Robert stammered out. “‘S-Sides, only a real man could pull this off! And it’s maroon for your information!” Sunset simply chuckled and let him inside. He followed her to the sitting room, where an old film projector had been set up and when Robert saw what it was playing, his eyes widened in that way only a nerd’s could before he whispered one single word: “Gojira.” “I thought his name was Godzilla, said so on the film reels,” Sunset asked in confusion as she placed a bucket of popcorn between them on the couch. “Well, that’s technically correct but Gojira was the original Japanese name for him,” Robert explained and just smiled all the while as the King of Monsters laid waste to Tokyo in front of the two’s eyes. Robert grinned when Gojira’s scales lit up before he unleashed his famous blast of nuclear breath on some unsuspecting buildings. “They say he’s got to go… Go go Godzilla…” Robert sung to himself as the onscreen devastation of what would become New Tech City continued. “So, why’d you like this movie again? Cheap B-Movie costumes, stuff blowing up?” Sunset asked, eyebrow raised and Robert spat out some popcorn right as Gojira made his famous roaring sound. “T-Tokusatsu is not B-Movie!” Robert stammered out. “Gojira is a film with a message. It’s about nuclear weapons, folly of man and all that. Nature will always out. It’s a film that’s parallel to the fear the Japanese felt after Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed back in World War Two! It’s a very deep film...Although yes, I do admit I like it for the giant monster and stuff blowing up. Plus, throw in the VS films and you’ve got yourself quite a show,” “Bet the director was thinking along the lines of “Hade ni ikuze!” when thinking of those films as well, weren’t they?” Sunset teased, and Robert blushed, having his favorite saying turned on him. “Yeah… About that… There’s something you need to know about me Sunset, something I should have told everypony on this team a while back,” “Really?” Sunset asked, leaning in close in curiosity. “Yeah… All that showing off, that arrogance of mine you see so often… Well, there’s a reason for it. I… I just wanted Theo and Sky to be proud of me. Crappy excuse I know, but I guess… I just wanted to be a good Ranger and hero and live up to their expectations that they set out for me,” Robert sighed sadly. “Guess I botched that up big time, didn’t I?” “No…” Sunset reassured. “No, no you didn’t. I’d like to think they’d be proud of you. Both of your friends. You were quite the hero when I was in the hospital from what I heard,” “Please… Zen-Aku did most of the work, not me. Praise him instead,” Robert muttered, once again in a tone of self-derision. “No, you’re not giving yourself enough credit. I heard about how you faced down Bunglay with the rest of the team. That was bravery, that was the mark of a hero,” Sunset stated softly. “You think so?” Robert asked in surprise, neither Ranger noticing how close they were to each other. “Yeah, I know so.” Sunset smiled before she closed the gap between them... Author's Note Okay, so it's finally happened! Okay, I admit this chapter was originally going to feature another battle against Bunglay and some legendary Rangers you guys chose, but I wanted a simple slice of life chapter before I throw everyone off the deep end again. Anyways, I hope Sunset didn't come across as too bitchy and I struck the right balance. Also, a huge thank you to the VClaw for letting me use his characters Troy and Canvas for this story, and unlike Rescue Sunstreak before them, I can confirm they will be appearing again. Part 39: The Hunter's ReturnSunset Shimmer’s Home: Robert smiled as he looked at the absolutely beautiful mare beside him, snuggled up into his side, her head resting on his shoulder and clutching his arm tightly. At sometime during the movie, the two had fallen asleep right then and there on the couch. Perhaps it was weariness from everything that had been going on as of late, or it was simply because of how content they were. Robert honestly didn’t know. He smiled as Sunset murmured his name in her sleep and snuggled into his side some more. Being careful not to disturb the mare beside him, he softly kissed her forehead. “Screw the SPD rules about interpersonal relationships between teammates, not like I was ever a good cop anyways nor am I a member of SPD anymore anyhow,” Robert thought to himself before he sighed as he looked at the clock on the wall. It was way past noon. As much as he would have loved to stay in this position forever, both of them had jobs to do. Sunset, her Princess duties, and Robert, his work at Rarity’s Boutique. He snorted briefly, wondering if the fashionista was freaking out about one of her employees being late for work and nowhere to be found. He knew that she was a bit of a drama queen from Sunset and his own interactions with her and idly wondered if him being late was in her own words: “The. Worst. Possible. Thing!” Tilting Sunset’s head to meet his own, he kissed her on the lips and whispered: “Hey beautiful, time to wake up.” Sunset’s eyes fluttered open and she groaned at the wake-up call. “...Couldn’t you have just let me sleep a bit longer? I was having the nicest dream…” Sunset mumbled as she got up off the couch and performed a few arm stretches before cracking her knuckles. “Really, what about?” Robert asked. Sunset sighed sadly. “The days before all this crap happened, or what could have been. Celestia was just my mother and not a split personality case… I wasn’t swamped with Princess duties, no Orgs running about, and we all thought humans were the worst the world had to offer,” Sunset sighed before quickly realizing what she said and shot Robert an embarrassed look. “No offense.’ Robert chuckled wryly. “None taken Sunset-Chan, there are all times I think we wish we could just turn back time and make life go back to normal, I suspect.” “Sadly, I think when I became a Power Ranger,” Sunset replied, taking her Phoenix and Elephant animal crystals out of her pocket and clutching them tightly. “Normal kinda flew out the window.” “Speaking of normal, how’d you think our teammates are going to react when they find out about… Well, us?” Robert asked awkwardly, not really knowing how to phrase their relationship (Which was probably perfectly understandable considering he’d never had a long-term one in his life) and Sunset snorted. “Lightning, jaw drop. Vapor, squeeing I suspect. Sunburst… Flushing red as a tomato and trying very hard to avoid the topic of sex. Galaxy, exact opposite,” Sunset said, listing off all of the suspected reactions on her fingers. “Daring, she’s not the romantic type from what I can gather so I doubt she would care. Same with Zen-Aku. But Shining’s the one you should worry about.” “Why’s that?” Robert asked. “Well, he always thought of me as an adoptive little sister considering how much time I spent around his actual sister, so… You should probably expect the overprotective big brother speech soon as he finds out,” “Gee… Glad you’re so concerned about my safety from a guy who fights with a sword that can turn into a shotgun and has a giant bull that can stomp me flat at his beck and call,” Robert deadpanned before a thought struck him and he looked incredibly worried. “What about your mother?” “Oh…” Sunset trailed off, having forgotten, or at the very least trying not to think about Celestia/Solar Flare. “Oh? I don’t like the sound of that oh.” Robert replied. “Celestia… Well, to be honest, it’s probably either going to be happy for me or give you the speech about what would happen to you if you break my heart and then sending you to the moon for 1,000 years,” Sunset laughed nervously before sighing. “I don’t think I need to tell you what Solar Flare’s reaction would be.” “Go ballistic and burn me to a crisp?” Robert offered helpfully in a joking tone, trying to lighten the mood before he noticed Sunset’s reaction. The red and gold maned mare was looking at the floor, and not at him. “Yeah, pretty much.” Sunset sighed sadly. Robert laid a hand upon his marefriend’s shoulder in support. “Don’t worry, we’ll get your mother back. Twilight’s working on a plan, remember?” Robert reminded her and Sunset sighed sadly again. “Yeah, I know...It’s… It’s just…” Sunset trailed off, trying as hard as she could to get the proper words out. “It’s just I’m tired of knowing my adoptive mother inhabits the same body as a bigoted genocidal maniac Tartarus-bent on wiping everything that isn’t a pony off Equus. I… I just want it all to end.” “And don’t worry, it will. Someday, we just gotta hope.” “Yeah…” Sunset murmured before trying her best to perk up. “Listen, I need to take a shower, I stink,” As Sunset headed off towards the bathroom, she turned her head back to Robert and shouted “No peeking, alright? May be dating now, but that still doesn’t mean I’m comfortable about you less seeing me in the nude, okay?” “Yeah, can’t make promises on that,” Robert teased. Sunset gave him a death glare and Robert wilted under it as she sighed. “Just get breakfast started, okay?” As Sunset walked off, humming a cheery little tune to herself under her breath (Something along the lines of the “I used to wonder what friendship could be, until you all shared it’s magic with me… Big adventure! Tons of fun…” and so forth.) Robert muttered the word “Prudish mare...” to himself under his breath and huffed, before crossing his arms. His eyes then turned to a small cardboard box in the room, and what was inside it caught his eyes. “Wolf, elephant and phoenix plushies? Really?” He laughed. “S-SHUT UP!” Sunset stammered out. Sunset sighed in pleasure as she felt the warm waters wash over her body before she heard a very familiar voice in her head. “So, you and Robert huh? You know, for some reason I was always thinking you’d end up with Twilight.” the Phoenix Zord mused to herself. “Great, so not even my own Zord’s going to leave me alone with my love life.” the Princess of Empathy deadpanned. “No offense, but with all the time you and Twilight spend together, you can’t blame me for thinking that you were gay.” “Fair point.” Sunset admitted, unable to refute that. “Plus, didn’t Robert bug you at first with all of his come-ons? And I mean the really bad, obvious ones to get you in bed with him?” the Zord remarked. “Okay, yes, I’ll admit he irritated the Tartarus out of me with all of those remarks, plus there’s something about sex that turns me off, don’t know what it is yet, but it just does. B-But that’s besides the point,” Sunset stated with a small stutter in her voice really not comfortable discussing her sex life or love life in general really. “It’s Robert’s other qualities I admire. His stubbornness, and his loyalty to his friends. Plus I admit his nerdiness about Super Sentai and Neighponiese culture in general is kinda cute in its own way.” “Whichever you chose… But for the record, I was still aiming for you and Twilight. Oh well, at least now she can be with Rainbow…” the Phoenix trailed off. “She’s taken with somepony else, Lightning Dust I believe.” The Phoenix mentally groaned, now she’d never hear the end of it from that damn Thunderbird. The Animarium: Meanwhile, on the Animarium, Princess Shayla gracefully danced, holding her dress with her hands as she went into a twirl all the while humming the age old song of Animaria to herself before she frowned. Things had been too quiet as of late. There’d been no Org Attacks in Ponyville or anywhere else for that matter ever since the incident with the Faucet Org. Suddenly, she heard the sound of rustling leaves and footsteps from behind her, not evening needing to turn as she knew who they belonged to already. “Something on your mind, Princess?” Zen-Aku asked. “Yes…” Shayla frowned. “It’s been too quiet, no activity from Thrax at all. It’s almost as if he’s…” “Biding his time, planning for something big,” Zen-Aku finished for her. “If I were a foolish or younger Duke Org than I am, I would say you should be relieved that nothing seems to be going on.” “Yes, but that’s just the thing isn’t it?” Princess Shayla asked as she paced back and forth, holding a finger to her chin in thought. “There’s never anything not going on with him, isn’t there? You feel it too don’t you Zen-Aku? The chill down the back of your spine, the feeling that something’s very wrong in the world?” “Yes, I do,” the Duke Org confirmed with a nod. “That feeling… I’ve been getting it more often than I’d like. It’s Thrax, it’s always him… And yet, there’s something else as well. Someone else.” “Solar Flare?” Shayla questioned, in a worried tone of voice. Zen-Aku shook his head no. “No, not her. If it was her, we’d both know. We’d both be sure of it. It’s someone else, someone not quite as powerful as Thrax or Solar Flare.” He commented. “Bunglay, possibly?” Shayla wondered aloud, remembering the Rangers’ descriptions of the space pirate/poacher. “Maybe,” Zen-Aku considered. “But if it were Bunglay, how would we know? He’s not an Org, so I can’t tell what he’s thinking and the fountain wouldn’t tell us anything if he was on Earth.” “Then who?” Princess Shayla asked as she peered into the viewing fountain’s sacred waters hoping, searching for a possible answer. Right about then, the waters erupted into a tall plume sending Shayla flying backwards and into Zen-Aku’s arms. A look of absolute terror found its way to Shayla’s face. “No… Last time this happened, it was the Master Org…” Shayla thought before she rushed back over to the fountain and looked in. What she saw was an army of both Putrids and Tengas led by various Orgs and monsters of varying descriptions marching on the massive riverside city known as Fillydelphia in what used to be known as Pennsylvania. The Putrids, led by Retinax and Helicos. The Tengas were led by Goldar along with another monster. This creature resembled a giant rooster made of pure magma in some ways, with demonic red and black wings, a red sash around his waist and a sharp looking blood red sword. Shayla in an instant placed her hands on her necklace. “Rangers, you’re needed,” Next she turned to Zen-Aku. “Get the word out to Daring Do, Galaxy Swirls, and Shining Armor. I sense they might be needed.” “At once,” Zen-Aku said with a bow before vanishing in a flash of shadow. Then, a holographic figure, one of a blue armored warrior with a pirate’s hat and tentacles covering his face appeared before Shayla from the fountain’s waters. “Bunglay…” Shayla hissed. “What is it you want this time?” “Oh, the same as ever. Just give up your Orange Ranger, and I’ll let this planet be. I’ll leave it in peace, no harm done. Savvy?” He asked. “That’s not going to happen, not if me or the Wild Zords or anybody else have anything to say about it,” Shayla stated firmly and Bunglay only laughed. “Your choice Princess, your choice…” He chuckled in a morbid fashion and began to fade away but not before leaving this one last message. “But let it be known, whatever happens from here on in is on your head…” Meanwhile, each and every of the “Auxiliary Rangers” getting the message via Zen-Aku teleported to the city center of Fillydelphia. Daring was dressed in her usual attire, while Galaxy and Shining were covered head to hoof in full Crystal and Night Guard armor. Shining, in particular, had a long flowing cape to mark his status as the Prince of the Crystal Empire. Already, they found themselves in the middle of mass chaos. Ponies scattered every which way as both Org and Monster waged war on each other. Tengas ripped apart Putrids with their talons and swords and pulled them open as Putrids fired their bazookas at Tenga hoards reducing them to just masses of feathers. A traffic light themed Org launched a red beam of light at a truly ghoulish monster wearing a grey long coat, but he rolled out of the way before chuckling: “Sorry we’re not seeing eye to eye here!” before opening up his coat to reveal a mass of muscle and hundreds of eyes that fired one beam each and blasted the Stoplight Org backwards. Nearby, Goldar and Retinax fought axe to blade. Metal met metal again and again as sparks flew. Retinax swung at Goldar and the baboon like monster twisted the axe blade with his own sword before kicking Retinax backwards in the chest. In another part of the square, the rooster themed monster charged up his crimson colored “Hook Blade” for lack of a better term and sliced it in an X formation crying out “Doom Slash!”. That single slash was responsible for utterly destroying a squad of Putrids that had taken out a Murder of Tenga Warriors just moments before. “Ce se întâmplă aici Tartarus ...?” Galaxy muttered in Romanian as he pulled out Blood Moon and his Dino Morpher and got ready for action with Daring doing the same with her own Morpher and whip. The Thestral was partially in awe at the carnage and partially in shock at seeing what was supposed to be two allied creatures (Retinax and Goldar) kicking each other’s asses. “Por la Madre Mística, esto es…” Daring murmured to herself. “Aren’t they supposed to be on the same side?” “Looks like things have changed,” Shining noted as he drew the Magna Blade. “From the looks of it, I’d say we have a full on Org Civil War.” “Ei bine, timpul pentru a curăța orașul.” Galaxy smirked before he and Daring cried “Unleash the Power!” and fired their Dino Morphers skywards. Shining, on the other hand, flicked his wrists and his bracers flashed into existence. “Magna Power!” He shouted as he threw the Magna Blade skywards and pressed the two bracers together like a lock and a key. Morphing Sequences Begin: Standing in a black room with the heads of their respective dinosaurs below them, manifestations of the Pachy and Ankylo Zords’ heads came down and opened their jaws before covering both Daring and Galaxy in their costumes. With another chomping sound, their helmets materialized into existence. Meanwhile, Shining caught the Blade and with an explosion of energy being transferred from blade to pony was covered in the armor of the Magna Defender. Morphing Sequence Ends: “Now…” Daring growled out as she drew her sword. “Let’s do this.” Ponyville: Back in Maine, the main five Rangers had arrived at the site of Bunglay’s summons, the warehouse district. Shouting out their Morphing Calls as they teleported down, the energy unleashed from the transformation knocked back some X-Borgs and rendered them into scrap metal with powerful explosions. Bruisers unleashed laser blast after laser blast and the Rangers rolled to the side to avoid the shots before Sunburst and Robert called out “Call to the Beast Inside, Free the Kitsune/Owl!” and unleashed their inner animal spirits. With several flashes of yellow that was far too quick for any visible form to be made out, the Owl ripped through the Bruiser squad. Next, the Kitsune spirit grabbed itself by the tail and rolled towards the squad at high speed bowling them down and finishing the job. “So, you came calling just as expected,” Bunglay chuckled. “I do so like it when my quarries offer themselves up to me.” “Yeah, sorry… Going to have to decline that off-” Robert began before Bunglay rushed forwards and slashed him across the chest with his anchor weapon drawing blood before going through his memories once more and then kicking him backwards into some metal barrels. “Robert!” Sunset shouted. Lightning, Vapor, and Sunburst all shared a look. There was a definite change in tone from Sunset’s shout of concern. It was more concerned than normal, almost as if… “No, couldn’t be…” Sunburst thought to himself. Whatever thoughts they had next on Sunset and Robert were immediately cast aside when they saw what forms were taking shape in clouds of black smoke. Robert, as he clutched his chest in pain to stop the blood flow, had his eyes widen in pure horror when he saw two of the forms. One was dressed exactly like his old SPD Green uniform, except in bright yellow and the other was a combination of teal blue and black with a dog themed helmet and the number 100 stamped on his chest. “No… No, he wouldn’t dare…” Robert whispered before his eyes narrowed. Yeah, Bunglay would. “Robert, who are they?” Vapor asked nervously, looking at the two SPD Rangers, and more specifically the dog themed one’s katana sword resting in its sheath. “Z” Delgado, and… and my old commander, Commander Cruger.” Robert swallowed nervously. Everyone’s eyes then averted to the collars with Bunglay’s symbol of a skull and crossbones against a black flag around their necks. “This time… This time I planned ahead,” Bunglay laughed darkly. “These fellows I’ve brought back, if they even think about disobeying me they’re going to be in for quite the nasty surprise…” And then there was the other Rangers. Cassie Chan, the pink In Space Ranger. Cestros, the Blue Ranger of Aquitar. Adam Park, the Green Turbo Ranger. Hunter Bradley, the Crimson Thunder Ranger. And last but not least, was a robotic warrior with a glowing red visor, silver armor and a lion themed head as his chest-plate. This was Robo Knight, the ally to the Power Rangers Megaforce. But it was the non-Ranger or Ranger ally that caught everyone’s attention the most. Themed after a tiger, half of his body armor gold and half white with a tiger’s head on his chest and overflowing with power stood the late Phantom Beast General known as Whiger. If Robert was scared before, he was downright terrified now. “Permission to say oh cock?” the Orange Ranger muttered to himself, his voice coming out as more of a squeak as Bunglay and his undead crew advanced, drawing their weapons with the Rangers doing the same… Fillydelphia: Quite quickly, Retinax’s blade found itself drawn to Shining’s own as the Rangers joined the fray. The local Royal Guards, led by Steel Sentry dealt with the Tenga and Putrid hoards as best as they could, keeping them away from civilians leaving the Rangers to their work dealing with the two clashing sides. Steel met steel as the two rival warriors clashed again and again. “Alright, what’s going on here? Last I checked you and Golden Boy over there worked together.” Shining questioned. “Well, let’s just say I’m tired of being pushed aside for inferior lifeforms…” Retinax growled as he swung downwards and Shining rolled to the left and blasted him with the Magna Blade’s Riot Blaster mode. “Oh, so power play then? Should have figured with you and your ego.” Shining taunted before he fired several more times and Retinax deflected the shots with his axe before Shining fired his shotgun with a powerful Galactic Shot sending the Org General staggering backwards. Retinax snarled as soon as he recovered and used the time given while Shining reloaded to kick the Magna Defender in the face, sending his weapon flying from his hands. Shining was down, but not out and he scored a powerful right cross to Retinax’s face. Shining then found himself rolling out of the way to avoid a downward axe strike. He quickly set about retrieving his weapon and switching it to blade mode with a few twists and scored a slash across the chest to Retinax. Or he would have had Goldar not interfered by coming out of seemingly nowhere and blocking the blade strike with his own. “Don’t interfere, this traitor needs to be taught a lesson!” Goldar snarled before kicking Shining in the jaw sending him staggering back. “Fine then… I’ll take both of you on if I have to…” Shining growled, gripping his sword before rejoining the now three-way fight... Nearby, Daring was taking on Helicos deflecting her shuriken with sword slashes before the rooster themed monster raised his sword and called out “Doom Blast!” An eye on his blade opened and the tip of his weapon glowed before they both fired red streams of energy at Daring who reacted fast and grabbed her whip before pulling the “See Monster” for lack of a better name towards her allowing it to take the blast. Nearby, Galaxy swung his scythe in a Blood Moon Slash sending an arc of red energy towards a one eyed Org themed after a giant tire. “Well, that’s one problem dealt with…” Daring thought to herself as the rooster themed monster and Helicos shared a look. “Enemy of my enemy?” Doomwing asked, in a high pitched maniacal tone and Helicos nodded. “Yeah, not the pegasus I want dead, but she’ll do for now.” Helicos agreed before she and Doomwing fired off their respective attacks. Daring’s eyes widened before she sliced the shurikens out of the air but was knocked backwards by a Doom Blast as both villains laughed. “My my…” Doomwing chuckled as Daring picked herself back up off the ground. “Thrax warned me about you color-coded fools, and how strong you are… But I guess he was exaggerating. Name’s Doomwing, Thrax’s newest General.” Doomwing launched himself forwards, fist glowing with energy shouting “Doom Strike!” and punched Daring backwards sending her flying into the side of a building cracking the wall spider-web style. With another Doom Slash, Daring was sent flying inside the building. Galaxy, seeing what was happening sliced two more monsters (The Knasty Knight and the Terror Toad) across the chest with a Blood Moon Strike destroying them before teleporting in a flash of gray energy to Daring’s side and helped her up. “How cute, guess the psychopath has a heart after all…” Helicos cackled as she and Doomwing stepped in. “You two are just walking cliches, you know that right?” Daring growled as she took Galaxy’s Dino Saber. “And I’m a writer by trade… So I know a thing or two about cliches.” “Yes… Well, don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Still haven’t defeated me yet.” Doomwing boasted. Daring raised an eyebrow under her helmet. “Want to bet on that, chico gallo? Double Aqua Slash!” Daring shouted as she spun the Dino Sabers in her hands before the attack was launched. Daring swung both blades and sent two aqua colored arcs of energy towards the twosome. Doomwing tried to block the attack with his blade but to no avail. Both he and Helicos were sent flying backwards. “How dare you?” Doomwing screeched. “Who do you think you are?” “Like I said, walking cliche,” Daring laughed. “Now, to answer your question… Ankylosaurus… Power Ranger Aqua! Now, do us all a favor and stop squawking like a whiny griffon chick. Giving me a headache.” With that Daring tossed Galaxy’s Dino Saber back to him before tossing the Dino Blaze Charger to him as well. “Here, see what you can do with this…” Daring smirked. Galaxy returned it. “Oh, intenționez să doamna Do…” Galaxy chuckled darkly before firing. A Pachycephalosaurus’s head along with one of an Allosaurus’s circled both Doomwing and Helicos in a blaze of white hot flame. Doomwing hissed and teleported away in a flash of flame with Helicos taking the hint and doing so as well. “Cocosul ... prăjit.” Galaxy commented as he rested Blood Moon on his shoulder. Meanwhile, Shining was just barely holding off Goldar and Retinax’s combined strength. Like Doomwing and Helicos, the two had put aside their fight for a common foe. He figured he could take one or the other, but both at once was another matter entirely. Both fighters scored slashes across the chest and then kicked him to the ground. Smirking, Retinax held his blade to Shining’s neck while Goldar charged up his chest beam. “And so… the legacy of the Magna Defender ends here…” Retinax laughed. “Guess I was right all along, you ain’t worth sh-” “Get away from my subjects!” An angry voice called before it yelled “Celestial Break!” and slashed Goldar across the chest vertically and a thrown golden lance knocked Retinax’s axe out of his hands. Shining’s eyes widened as he turned his head to see the owner of the voice. Slowly striding forwards was Princess Celestia, clad in full Royal Regalia and sword in hand, wings fully extended and horn alight with a golden glow as her majestic mane flowed in the wind. “So, the tyrant returns…” Goldar chuckled. “No… Not today,” Celestia snarled, and yet there was no trace of menace in her tone. It was just that of a mother, looking after her children. Shining managed a weak smile. Celestia was back at last. “Solar Flare’s just going to have to sit back and watch as I defend my kingdom. My kingdom, not hers,” “Solar Flare, Celestia… It doesn’t make a difference to either of us. You’ll still fall all the same.” Retinax chuckled as he and Goldar readied their weapons. “Arrogance is the downfall of all warriors. You’ll learn that eventually. If I don’t teach that to you, someone will. But for now, get out of my kingdom and never return. Now, what I think you two need is a lesson in manners,” Goldar struck first, firing his chest beam and Celestia held up her sword to absorb the blast and send it right back at Thrax’s right-hand man. She then scored several powerful slashes across the chest to the monster before turning to Retinax and striking him several times as well. Goldar sent a Prism Slash towards Celestia and she swung her sword in the exact same manner before calling out “Celestial Prism Slash!” and sent her own version towards Goldar’s attack, the two triangle shaped attacks spiraling towards each other (One white, one gold) before they met in the middle canceling each other out. Goldar’s giant cutlass like weapon met Celestia’s own blade and sparks flew. Behind them, Retinax tried to slash Celestia from behind but was met by Shining’s blade. “Your fight’s still with me Retinax, not her!” Shining stated before twisting his blade, wrenching Retinax’s axe from its user’s grip and bringing his sword back around in a spin, slashing the eye-themed General across the chest. The Org retaliated by firing a lime green energy beam from one of his eyes knocking Shining out of his Magna Defender form and making him stagger back. Retinax growled as he clutched his chest. Far too many blows had been taken, nerves and tendons cut. He needed time to rest, heal himself for his next bout. “Another day Armor, another day…” the Org growled as he teleported off. Celestia, meanwhile, pushed Goldar back with a grunt, knocking his weapon aside and assaulting him with a flurry of lightning fast slashes, opening weeping cuts in the monster's chest. Goldar managed a counter strike, swinging up from below to throw the solar alicorn off balance and subjecting her to a series of rapid jabs, giving her wounds to match his own. Celestia quickly recovered and puts Goldar back on the defensive with a feint towards his face with the pommel of her sword. He threw his arm up to block it and she seized the opportunity to swing her blade around in a devastating butterfly motion, cutting off his arm at the shoulder. Goldar snarled and clutched his wound with his remaining claw, letting his sword drop to the ground with a resounding clanging sound. “This… This is far from over, you remember that Princess.” He growled before using his old teleporting away in a flash of flame tactic taking his sword with him. Celestia sighed as she helped Shining up. The battle for Fillydelphia was over for now, but the Org Civil War was far from over... Back in Ponyville, Sunset and company stood in front of Robert as a magical adhesive was applied to stem the blood flow seeping from his wound. “Stay back Robert, we can handle them.” Lightning stated as she pulled out her whips. Under Z and Commander Cruger’s helmets, their eyes widened at the name. So that’s what had happened to him after he vanished 3,000 years ago… “Really Lightning-Bitch?” Robert asked as he stood up off the ground, grasping his Crystal Saber. “Let you make a show of things without me? Besides, if Bunglay wants a fight… Congrats, he just bloody earned himself one for this. Bringing back my boss and one of my teammates from the dead… I’m not just mad, I’m beyond that. I’m pissed.” “Not just that… These other heroes, they deserve to be left in peace,” Vapor snarled as she pulled out her Leviathan Trident. “Let’s do this.” “Okay then… Asuka Langley Soryu,” Robert asked (Looking towards Lightning) as Sunset supported him. “Take the ninja duo.” “Gladly, I love ninjas, this should be awesome.” Lightning laughed. “I’ll handle Robo Knight and Cassie,” Sunset stated, pulling out her Phoenix Blade. “Me, I’ll take the green one I guess…” Vapor trailed off. “Guess that means we get to handle your old boss, Z and whoever the tiger monster is.” Robert groaned as that did leave him and Sunburst with the two most dangerous of the past heroes along with a Phantom Beast General to boot. Their only hopes were to knock Z and the Commander back to their senses. “His name’s Whiger, and just like us… He’s got an animal spirit, in his case the White Tiger. Trouble is, he, along with Adam, Cassie, Cestro and Hunter… I never met any of them at my time during SPD or anywhere else. Hell, Whiger died before I was a student at the Pai Zhau.” Robert informed, and Sunset’s eyes closed sadly as a horrific realization came to the Bat Ranger. “Meaning…” Sunburst whispered and Sunset confirmed his fears with a nod. “Yeah, we gotta put them in the ground. They’re just puppets now, mindless and won’t hesitate to kill us without a second thought. Best thing we can do for them is put them back in the ground where they belong.” She said sadly. “Then…” Robert said sadly as his strength returned and he pulled out his Kitsune Blaster. “Let’s do this.” Vapor, at once grabbed Adam by the shoulders and teleported him away to a warehouse where the two could fight safely. At once, Vapor was kicked away by the fallen Green Ranger before Adam pulled out his Turbo Thunder Cannon and fired two powerful blasts at her. Vapor rolled to the left and pulled out her Crystal Saber as Adam pulled out his Turbo Blade. “Great, why’d I get the one with a big gun?” Vapor thought to herself as she blocked the swings of the short sword type weapon with either her wrists or Saber. Sparks flew as the Saber ground its metal against the Turbo Blade’s own before Vapor kicked Adam in the chest making him stagger back. She then threw her Trident at the Ranger hoping to take him out but he flipped to the left and kicked some barrels towards her which she quickly sliced in half one after the other with her Crystal Saber. She then inserted the Deer Crystal into her Saber and it turned into the grapple like Deer Clutcher. She lunged forwards before pinning Adam to the chest before letting him loose and throwing him into a collection of wooden crates. Adam quickly recovered and pulled out a large rifle like weapon and fired a beam of energy at Vapor and she rolled out of the way before grabbing her Trident and pulling it out of the spot of the wall where it was impaled. Adam lunged again with his sword and Vapor blocked it with her trident before swinging it low like a bo staff and knocking the Green Turbo Ranger to the ground by his legs. Adam then grabbed Vapor by the legs before flipping upwards and behind her. Vapor reacted fast and kicked Adam squarely in the chest sending him flying backwards into a wall shattering his helmet. “I’m sorry…” Vapor whispered to both herself and Adam before with a few quick slices of her Crystal Saber, the ex-Ranger was put to rest. As he faded away into gold dust, Adam mouthed “Thank you, and may the Power protect you all.” Vapor, a tear dripping down her face at being forced to kill a fellow Ranger, even if it was only to put him back to his final resting place snarled. Bunglay was going to pay for this, she thought, as she teleported back to the others in hopes of aiding them. With Bunglay: Meanwhile, with the Legendary Beast Hunter, he’d just received a transmission from his ship. “Captain, something’s coming! I don’t know what it is, but it’s something I think you should take a look at!” a voice, belonging to one of the Armada’s repurposed Royal Guards said, its voice crackling over the radio. “Aye… I suppose this hunt can be saved for a later date. Those fools should be worn out by the end of this, and then I’ll deal with them. My prize can wait a little longer. Hell, after this maybe I’ll start capturing the Wild Zords and their Princess…” Bunglay laughed to himself. “Now there’s something worth hunting.” With that, Bunglay beamed back up to his ship in a pillar of blue light... Lightning, meanwhile was fending off both Cestro and Hunter as they attacked again and again in blue and crimson flashes of light. She, like her adoptive sister, had wisely chosen to take this battle somewhere else, namely to a nearby train yard. “Strike that, I really hate ninjas…” Lightning muttered to herself as she inserted her Giraffe Crystal into her Saber and it became the Sword of Pardolis and she swung widely, the long gold beam of energy catching both Hunter and Cestro off guard and sending them flying backwards. Hunter as he flew backwards pulled out his special weapon, the Horn Blaster (Themed after a Rhino Beetle, like Hunter’s helmet design) and fired off a burst of energy at Lightning. The mare spun to the left to dodge it before pulling out one of her Lightning Whips and yanking it out of Hunter’s hands and into her own as she tossed her own weapons aside. She fired but Hunter pulled out his Thunder Staff and changed it into an octagon shaped energy shield. Cestro took his chance and changed into a flash of light and sliced Lightning across the chest a few times with a few quick slashes of his sword and kicked the Horn Blaster out her hands. Lightning rolled to the left and picked up the Sword of Pardolis and the battle progressed inside an empty train car as blade met blade again and again. Alien Space Ninja VS Anthro pegasus pony, possibly one of the more unusual fights in Power Ranger history, but certainly no less awe-inspiring. Lightning kicked Cestro in the chest before slicing a powerful blow that felled him. Hunter came from behind with a punch as the blue Alien Ranger faded away and Lightning whirled around to intercept his blow with a hoof before striking Hunter across the chest defeating him as well. “Now… Onto Bunglay himself.” Lightning growled before teleporting off. Near Lightning’s location in the train yard, Sunset faced off against Robo Knight and Cassie. Sunset held off Robo Knight’s sword with her Phoenix Blade, using her Crystal Saber as a tanto blade before kicking the mechanical warrior in the chest. Sunset then rolled to the left to avoid a blast from Cassie’s Satellite Stunner. Sunset fired a magical beam at her, but Cassie launched another series of energy waves and canceled out the beam. Robo Knight then took advantage of the distraction and sliced at Sunset’s shoulder, drawing blood and making her scream out in pain as she dropped her Phoenix Blade and clutched her arm to stem the blood flow. Closing up the wound with her magic, Sunset threw her Animal Crystal causing it to change into her personal Savage Cycle as Cassie flew at her on her Galaxy Glider. The two sped past each other at high speed before they both circled around for another pass. Cassie, while flying towards Sunset fired her Satellite Stunner once again and Sunset used a piece of plywood laying on a small crate as a makeshift ramp and fired her Savage Cycle’s lasers. To Sunset’s shock, Cassie did a barrel roll, all the while staying on her jet-board and kicked Sunset off her Savage Cycle making her go into a tumble rolling on the ground. Robo Knight slowly strode towards her, his metal feet clanking against the ground as he readied his personal pistol in its Vulcan Cannon mode. Sunset’s eyes widened and she muttered “Oh boy…” as the warrior advanced. Suddenly, both Vapor and Lightning teleported in and kicked Robo Knight in the chest making him stagger back and drop his weapon. Cassie fired her Satellite Stunner again this time making a high pitched sound that made both Vapor and Lightning cover their ears. Sunset, however, reached for her Phoenix Blade, but Robo Knight was evidently quick on the rebound and stabbed her in the hand. Sunset let out another scream of pain. Vapor’s eyes widened, and she snarled before throwing her Trident at Robo Knight sending him flying backwards and impaling him through the chest to a train car. Lightning then lashed out at Cassie with her whips again and again, keeping her off guard long enough for Vapor to deal the final blow and stop the zombie Pink Space Ranger for good. “I got you Sunset,” Vapor said as she helped her teammate up while Lightning pulled the sword out of Sunset’s hands and quickly set about bandaging it. “Anything broken?” “Just my stride,” Sunset grimaced before turning to her friends. “The others?” “Done and dealt with,” Lightning confirmed with a nod. “Sunburst and Robert’s Rangers and that Whiger guy should be all that’s left. Let’s hope they’re having better luck than we did.” With Robert and Sunburst, the two had very quickly found themselves overmatched against Z, Cruger, and Whiger. Both Sunburst and Robert unleashed their animal spirits upon Whiger in hopes of forcing him back, but the Phantom Beast General was not so easily beaten. “Spirit of the White Tiger!” With that roar, he unleashed the mist-like form of the White Tiger of the West, (Xī Fāng Bái Hǔ) and ripped both the Kitsune and Owl spirits to shreds with powerful claw strikes. Robert fired off a Kitsune Scatter Blast skywards, hoping to hit all three targets at once and do some damage, but then had to dodge a sword swing from his Commander’s Shadow Saber. Nearby, Sunburst had rolled to the left and then ran along a wall to avoid Z’s shots from her sidearm and pulled out his Jungle Fans and leaped down towards Z and dealt out two powerful slashes. Next thing he knew, he was grabbed from behind and tossed by an exact copy of Z. A clone, possessing all of her powers and abilities. “Crap!” Robert swore silently to himself as he dodged another swing from Cruger’s Shadow Saber and then a powerful Rinzin infused swing of Whiger’s claw. A blast of pure Rinzin energy knocked Robert back and he demorphed as he hit the ground with a thud. “I forgot about Z’s genetic ability!” As the two Zs advanced towards Sunburst, weapons drawn, the Black Ranger thought fast. “L-Listen, I-I don’t know y-you, but I’m a f-friend of a friend!” Sunburst stuttered out, really hoping this would work. “I’m friends with your teammate, s-so that means we can be friends, Ms. Delgado… Right?” Z blinked inside her helmet. “I… I’m sorry, I can’t fight it! Bunglay’s hold is just too strong!” Z cried out in pain. “No, it’s not!” Sunburst pleaded. “You’re a Power Ranger, just like me. Never give up!” Suddenly, something registered inside the yellow SPD Ranger. “Never give up… That’s what my father always used to say…” She thought to herself and as the chains began to break, Z suddenly became wracked with pain as Bunglay’s collar charged her full of amp after amp of electricity. Suddenly, something in Commander Cruger awoke as well. “Z!” He shouted and ripped off his collar ignoring the high voltage and with his bare paws before doing the same to Z’s as they both demorphed. “You two alright?” Robert asked as he helped his Commander up. “I’m fine… Just peachy in fact. Never been better.” Z deadpanned. Robert chuckled to himself. Yeah, she was fine. That was the Z he knew. “Thanks… Commander.” Robert said and Z’s eyes widened. That was definitely new. She barely remembered Robert showing respect to anyone barring the Commander so hearing that tone in his voice came as a shock. “No, thank your teammate. I needed something to remind me of who I was and Z was it.” “Gee, glad it took you seeing me in pain to do that DC.” Z deadpanned. “Wait, your commander’s a Diamond Dog?” Sunburst asked in shock as he looked upon the blue scaled dog like creature that Robert called his boss. “What’s a Diamond Dog?” Cruger asked in bewilderment, eyebrow raised. Robert let a hand find its way to his face and sighed. Z stared at Robert upon seeing his civilian attire. “Wait… are you wearing pink?” She laughed. “Syd’s just going to love this!” “For your information, it’s maroon and I was on a date last night. Turned out very well for your information.” Robert snapped before quickly changing subjects. “So, who’d you get as my replacement after I… vanished for lack of a better word?” He inquired. Both Z and Cruger shared a look of embarrassment that Robert knew all too well. He’d only seen that look on the Commander’s face while he talked about a particular SPD member. Robert groaned. “Not the layabout… You got him back?” “No one else would sign up, said the position was cursed or something,” Z remarked. Right about then, all four Rangers rolled to the left as Whiger launched his Animal Spirit back at them only to be cut down by Cruger’s Shadow Saber in a powerful downwards slash. “Oh right… Forgot about you.” Z muttered and all three SPD Rangers shared a nod. “SPD Emergency!” “Legendary Wild Access!” Z quickly changed into her SWAT mode and fired powerful blasts from her Delta Enforcer at Whiger but he just retaliated with Rinzin blasts of his own. Z leaped to a wall and rebounded off of it and fired more shots as both Sunburst and the Shadow Ranger sliced Whiger across the chest with their respective weapons. Robert then fired a Kyuubi Seibai Blast at the Phantom Beast General as the coup de grâce. Amazingly, that still wasn’t enough to down the Phantom Beast General. “Time to show him what we’ve got…” Robert chuckled before once more, he and Sunburst unleashed their animal spirits and they struck Whiger in flashes of orange and yellow light before Robert dealt out a powerful chi-infused swipe of his suit’s inbuilt claws with Sunburst doing the same. Whiger staggered back but still wasn’t defeated. “My turn,” Cruger growled. He pulled out his Shadow Saber and it sharpened itself before he ran forwards hot blue flames on either side of him and dealt several powerful rapid-fire slashes across Whiger’s chest before he even had a chance to react. With this, Whiger finally fell and went up in a powerful explosion as Cruger turned his back and stated: “You’ve been judged.” Right about then, the rest of the Rangers teleported in just in time to see Cruger finish off Whiger. “It’s done?” Lightning asked. “Yeah, it’s done,” Sunburst confirmed. “So that’s your teammates huh Robert?” Z asked. “Well, interesting color choices to say the least.” Just then, a frighteningly familiar sound of metallic clanking against the ground was heard and all the Rangers turned to see Robo Knight slowly walking up to them. He pulled Vapor’s Leviathan Trident out of his chest and tossed it aside with a metal clang. “I thought you finished him off!” Sunset yelled in shock. “So did I…” Vapor murmured. “Oh yeah? Looks like he’s back for round two… Like the bloody T-1000!” Next, Robert’s eyes widened in horror as he took out the Knight Brothers Card and inserted it into his Robo Morpher. Far away in a glacier in the North Pole, two lion heads, one red and the other blue broke free of their frosty imprisonment and rocketed towards Ponyville. On their way, they scanned a zeppelin and a cruise ship, before becoming fully fledged Zords. One resembled a rocket, the other a battle cruiser. Next, Robo Knight himself leaped into the air and his arms and legs folded up into his body as he became a lion’s head himself, black with a silver mane. He scanned a long disused mining dump truck and it too became a giant black and silver twelve wheeled colossus of a Zord with two gold claws at the front. “Oh boy…” Robert muttered as the Sky Lion Mechazord’s wings folded up into its body. Part of the Lion Mechazord detached to reveal two ports for the Sea and Sky Lions to attach to as legs. The entire construct moved upwards leaving the chassis behind as the Sea and Sky lions’ heads folded forwards to become feet. The part of the Lion Mechazord that had detached earlier became a chest-plate and the chassis split apart to become two arms. Robo Knight again changed forms and his body parts shifted and moved around and a blue face with glowing red eyes was revealed. “Gosei Grand Megazord, ready!” Robo Knight informed. “Yeah… I think this is where we step out and leave things to you guys.” Z stated as she took a step back. “I hate to do this to a fellow guardian of the Earth, but… He has to be stopped.” Sunset whispered. “Wild Zords, descend!” The Wild Force Rangers called, and as ever the Legendary Beasts of Animaria, joined by the Elephant Zord ran down from the sky and combined as the Rangers leaped inside the cockpit. “Animaria Guardian Megazord, Sword and Shield Mode!” And so, the battle began. The Gosei Grand Megazord dealt out powerful punches to the Animaria Guardian but each blow was blocked with the Elephant Shield. So, instead, a powerful uppercut was dealt sending the Animaria Guardian staggering back. “You gotta be kidding me, how strong is this thing!?!” Lightning yelled out in disbelief. “Strong enough,” Robert grunted out. “Firing Missiles!” Robo Knight proclaimed as the hubcaps on his Megazord opened up and launched a barrage of missiles at its fellow Megazord. Sunset reacted… Fast. “Cyclone Spin!” She yelled and the Animaria Guardian spun around in a circle like a whirling tornado and sent the missiles flying every which way but was then punched again by the Gosei Grand knocking it out of its defense. “Pachyderm Crusher!” Sunset ordered and brought the Elephant’s sword down on the Gosei Grand’s shoulder, or she tried to anyways as amazingly, the sword was caught by the Megazord’s tremendous strength. Next, it fired another barrage of missiles, this time point blank sending the Elephant Shield and Sword flying from the Animaria Guardian’s grip and knocking the Phoenix Zord out of the combination as well. The now dismembered Megazord crashed to the ground, the sound echoing for miles as it crushed an abandoned warehouse beneath it. “Power Levels, they’re red lining!” Sunburst shouted in alarm. “We’ve… We’ve got to get back up!” Vapor grunted out. “Come on Rangers, hang in there!” Commander Cruger whispered. Then, all eyes turned to the Everfree. A familiar call was heard, and the distinct green and gold form of the Deer Zord came galloping out of the wilderness. “Alright, now we’re talking…” Sunset muttered to herself before shouting: “Vapor!” The Purple Ranger nodded and swapped her Leviathan Crystal out for the Deer Crystal and the Deer transformed and attached itself to the Animaria Guardian Megazord as it picked itself off the ground. “Clutcher Mode!” The Rangers called out. More missiles came right at them, but this time Sunset had a plan and focused all of her energy towards the Deer Zord. A magical bubble was created between the two antlers and caught the missiles, before tossing them right back at the Gosei Grand. It staggered back, but still wasn’t defeated. “We… We need more power!” Robert yelled out as the cockpit began to spark and catch aflame. Just then, two bears, one black and one white pounced on the Gosei Grand before leaping off of it and landing next to the Animaria Guardian Megazord. Next, the Polar Bear launched a blast of ice at the Gosei Grand, while the Black Bear did the same with fire. At the same time, two crystals found themselves in Lightning and Vapor’s hands. “Guess we know what we need to do now…” Vapor murmured and Lightning nodded. Both the Thunderbird and Deer Zords detached as the Black Bear and Polar Bear’s backs moved upwards to become shoulder pauldrons while the front halves moved forwards just a little. The Polar Bear became the left shoulder, and the Black Bear the right. Two powerful cannons sprouted from their mouths. “Bear Blasters, fire!” All of the Rangers shouted. Two powerful energy beams fired and punched twin holes in the Gosei Grand’s chest, and it staggered forwards before falling and going down in a fireball. Sunset closed her eyes in sorrow. “I’m sorry Robo Knight… You were a Guardian of the Earth once, like us… But you had to be stopped.” She whispered as both Commander Cruger and Z saluted the fallen hero. Commander Cruger picked up the Knight’s sword and implanted it in the ground as the sun set behind him. “You deserved your rest, but were disturbed like all of us… Now, sleep peacefully.” He whispered. Meanwhile, high above Equus, unseen by all but Bunglay’s ship, a golden orb rocketed towards the planet. It had been away for far too long, and now it was time to return... Author's Note Okay... Never thought I'd be able to top the last Bunglay chapter, but somehow... I did. (I still have a hankering for a 10,000 word Zen-Aku focused chapter. Dunno if I can pull that off, but...) Anyways, here's your In Space, Turbo, Alien Rangers, Megaforce and Ninja Storm tributes. Plus, I finally got the Bear Brothers in this story, which I've been trying to pull off for a while now. Anyways, next month will probably only have one update, as I'm going back to school to study for my GED tests. But as a little preview... "Lights of Orion, Activate!" (Also, huge thanks to Eagle-Paladin of Shadows for the Celestia/Goldar swordfight scene. Part 40: Race! The Lights of Orion Return!Author's Note Wow... 9,000 words... Never thought I'd manage that... Part 40: Race! The Lights of Orion Return! Canterlot Castle: Luna sighed sadly to herself as she watched the sun set over the horizon, casting a pink glow against the dark blue ribbon of the rapidly approaching winter night. Snow fell on the rooftops of Canterlot castle in small little dots and covered the ground below as the stars twinkled above in the moonlight sky. Solemn, but beautiful and elegant in their moonlight waltz. It had been weeks since her sister vanished to parts unknown after Solar Flare made her sudden reemergence. In that time, Luna had been forced to rule alone, balancing both the nobility and the morale of the populace with the political issues of other lands. These ranged from the might of the often aloof (And that was putting it mildly.) Dragon Kingdom of Zandar in what was once Africa, the wise and sun worshipping Saddle Arabians to the east and the powerful if not quickly roused Griffon Kingdoms in what was once northern Europe. And then there was the Zebra Empire in Roam. Celestia, for over 1,000 years had kept the peace between the nations. Luna deeply suspected fear of Solar Flare had kept them in line, but now that Celestia had vanished, the kingdoms were starting to… stir. At the least, Luna thanked the current Dragon Lord Torchlight and his desire to have no quarrel with ponies. His daughter, on the other hand, was a bit of a handful from what her sister had told her. Though to be honest with herself, Luna, thinking back, could never quite tell when it was Solar Flare or Celestia speaking when she talked about the other nations. Luna groaned and held a hand to her forehead as she used a quill and levitated it into an ink pot and signed her signature on what was the latest of a long line of paperwork. It all came down to one simple thing. Well, not entirely simple. All of this paperwork, it related to the upcoming yearly Winter Gala, when all five major nations would meet with delegations from all four corners of the globe. Between her, Celestia’s personal assistant Raven Inkwell, Twilight and Sunset, the four had their work cut out for them if they wanted to get everything just right. One mistake, one false misstep, and everything could go right to Tartarus with any or worse, all of the nations and the 1,000-year treaty could be broken. Luna shuddered to think of what could happen if war broke out. She’d read of humankind’s capacity for destruction during the three World Wars and that was a race that didn’t have magic at their disposal. Luna could only shudder at the possibility of a five-race war, each with their own powerful forms of magic to fight back with. She could see only ashes left in their wake, nothing but dust in the wind. “And I suppose that’s all we are in the end… Just dust in the wind,” Luna thought to herself sadly with a morbid chuckle. “How did you do it sister, manage everything at once for 1,000 years while I was on the Moon atoning for my sins?” She asked herself. Luna sighed as she got up from off the throne, the nearby guard known as Star Hunter shooting her a concerned look. “You alright, milady?” the dark blue Royal Guard pegasus asked. Luna gave him a reassuring smile. “Yeah, just need some time to myself. That’s all. A wander through the halls, need to stretch my legs, might do me some good,” Luna lied, and Star Hunter nodded as he and a member of the Night Guard allowed her passage into the corridors. The Princess of the Night teleported her royal regalia, pure black crown and all away to her personal chambers as she roamed the halls, her dark blue metal horseshoes clopping against the marble floor tiles. The hallways… they seemed… empty for lack of a better term without her sister’s presence. She could light up the very room, no pun intended. Luna was the former bearer of the Element of Laughter, true. But Celestia had this warm and motherly presence about her that you could just feel every time she smiled or just took her time out of her daily schedule just when somepony, even as simple of that of a denizen of Canterlot was feeling down. Luna, ever since she returned from the Moon four years ago, just couldn’t connect as well to the populace as well as her sister could. If she was to be honest with herself, she never did connect as well to everypony as her sister could, and maybe that’s why the Nightmare took her as easily as it did. Luna pushed open two wooden doors, turning the silver coated handles as she did so and stepped out onto a balcony, cold wind rushing through her mane as her hands gripped the balcony and she trotted through the snow leaving hoof steps behind her as she walked. She shivered at the cold but ignored it. It was worth it, to see the stars the galaxy had created every night. Luna personally liked to think of them as ghosts in the night, shining long dead light from distant systems down to Equus long after the original star had burnt out. Luna smiled again and closed her eyes in bliss, her dark blue dress blowing in the wind and a snowdrop landing on her nose. Luna sneezed as it did so, the cold tickling her nostrils and she rubbed her arms together and wrapped her wings around herself, trying to keep warm. She knew this was stupid, but she’d be damned if she wouldn’t miss tonight’s nightly dance. If the astronomers at the Canterlot observatory were right, tonight the central star of the Kyuranger Star System would breathe its last and go up in a spectacular fireball. One last blaze of glory before it burnt out, never to be seen again. “Going to catch a cold Lulu, but then again you always were the stubborn one,” A familiar voice said as a brown fur coat, encased in a golden aura, wrapped itself around Luna, covering the mark of a crescent moon on her upper arm. “You always came out here, every night, on the dot just to see the stars,” Luna’s eyes shot wide open. That voice… It couldn’t be. “S-Sister?” Luna whispered, not wanting to believe it. But as she slowly turned, she found herself flying into the arms of Princess Celestia, who wrapped her arms around Luna as the younger of the two sobbed. “I… I thought you were gone. Went into hiding till a method to destroy Solar Flare without destroying you as well was found.” “Yes…” Celestia admitted, and Luna could swear she could detect a tinge of shame and cowardice in her sister’s voice. “But an old friend helped me see the light. “Stop running…” Celestia whispered before her voice turned into a low growl. “Yes, that’s it. Next time Solar Flare wants to show herself, she’s going to have a fight on her hands. I’m not letting her control me anymore. Not again, not ever again,” “Bet she doesn’t like that,” Luna commented with a nervous laugh, wiping her tears away as she smiled, this time a happy one, at the knowledge her sister was back. “Yes, even now I can hear her in my head, telling me to kill anything and everything that stands in my way. But that’s not going to happen. She’s just noise in the system. A symphony, perhaps, but just that… Noise,” Celestia remarked. “So, what will you do now?” Luna asked. “Make up for lost time, I was a coward. Flash Magnus, and all those humans who laid down their lives to prevent Solar Flare’s ascension… Their deaths would be in vain if I chose running as my solution to my problem,” Celestia stated as her eyes narrowed. There was a fire in them, but not the one of Solar Flare. Not the fires of war, but the fires of somepony who would never give up, never back down not matter how high the odds were stacked against them. “No, I have to face Solar Flare sooner or later. Face Tartarus’s fire, and extinguish it forever. You know, there’s a quote I’d like to sprout now. Comes from a man named Vladimir. It goes: “I am convinced, the way one plays chess always reflects the player's personality. If something defines his character, then it will also define his way of playing,” “Funny, that’s not your attitude to chess from the way I remember it. I seem to remember another quote by this Vladimir man about it,” Luna remarked. “Even if you play perfectly, a fault of your opponent's can destroy the entire beauty of the game,” “Yes… I did, but that was Solar Flare speaking for me. Personally… I’ve never liked chess, never wanted to treat my ponies to brutal match-ups like pawns on a board to be sacrificed for some “Greater good”. Not Solar Flare’s. Chess was born in a brutal age, life mattered for very little back then. I will never be that pony, I swear by it,” Celestia stated firmly. “So you’re saying…” Luna realized. “Yes, I will not play Solar Flare’s game at all. No, now she’s playing by my rules,” Celestia repeated. “Her character… It goes without saying she cares for little except herself, and would not hesitate to sacrifice you, or any of my subjects for her own selfish desires. I will not. I say again, I will not,” Right then, both Luna and Celestia felt a tingle, something far more powerful than ordinary magic reach their senses. At about that moment as the Kyuranger galaxy’s central star went up in a colorful cosmic fireball lighting up the night sky, a golden comet rocketed through the sky overhead leaving behind a trail. Luna and Celestia followed its path, and Celestia placed a tracer spell on it. She saw, through the comet’s “Eyes” for lack of a better term where it was heading. Then, impact and everything went dark before the entire world before Celestia was lit up in white. Celestia’s eyes opened. “The Pentagoet Archeological District… That’s where it is…” Celestia whispered. “Where what is?” Luna asked curiously. “The Lights of Orion. The Rangers… they need to get there first. I doubt we were the only ones to see them. This just became a race against time. Even I don’t need to tell you how powerful Thrax or anyone else could get if they got their hands on them.” Ponyville: Atop a snow-covered hillside with the moon behind them, shining high in the sky down on them, Commander Cruger had implanted Robo Knight’s sword, along with Adam’s Turbo Blade, Cestro’s katana and Hunter’s Thunder Staff in the ground with the Rangers beside him. Shining had summoned several unicorn members of the Royal Guard to perform a magic based variant on the 21-Gun salute in honor of the fallen warrior. “We stand here today to honor a fallen warrior. One who gave his life twice so that the Earth may survive the forces of the Armada. He deserved a peaceful rest,” Cruger began before his paws clenched in anger and he let out a small growl. “But instead, that did not happen. He was disturbed, once more forced to fight against his will towards members of the planet he swore to protect. You would think, would you not that this would be the end of the depths the space pirate Bunglay would stoop,” Cruger continued, his voice a calm tranquil fury. “But, sadly, that is not the case. Bunglay, he raised several other fallen Rangers from the dead including myself and Z in order to fight for him, and for what? All just to hunt down anything he deems “Exotic”. Although I know I must return to the land of the dead shortly, I will not use my time left in this world unwisely. Bunglay, I will help you bring him to justice for the crimes he has committed.” Cruger stated firmly as he raised his Shadow Saber skywards as both Robert and Z saluted. Shining knew this was his cue. Shining shouted “At arms!” and in twenty-one successions, magic blasts of varying light colors were fired into the sky one after the other. “And you shall be given that chance, Doggie Cruger,” Celestia’s voice said as she appeared in a flash of flame. Robert, along with several of the other Rangers pulled out their weapons. Oddly, Shining nor Daring and Galaxy followed suite. In fact, Shining actually lowered Robert’s hand. “It’s not her, not Solar Flare. Let her talk. At ease.” Shining stated and Robert growled. He raised his Kitsune Blaster again with an audible cocking sound. “Yeah, like Hell I will,” the Orange Ranger snarled. Honestly, he couldn’t tell which side of Celestia was which anymore. “It’s her, it’s Celestia. She saved my life from Goldar back in Fillydelphia and sent him packing,” Shining explained, and both Daring and Galaxy nodded to confirm that. Robert sighed, even if he didn’t lower his weapon. “Alright, I’ll let her talk… For now,” Robert muttered. “Thank you,” Celestia said with an exhausted sigh. “Even now Bunglay, along with possibly the creatures that call themselves Orgs are chasing after the Lights of Orion,” Cruger growled on hearing that name, he knew the powers the Lights possessed and if any of the Ranger’s enemies got even the smallest amount of them, they would have powers beyond anyone’s imagination. “Wait, wait, hold up,” Robert stammered out. “Could you repeat that one again? Could have sworn I had something crazy fly in my ear,” “I’m not lying to you Orange Ranger, the Lights have returned after their long absence in this galaxy,” Celestia replied. Robert still didn’t believe her, not for an instant. “Assuming you’re… Well, you and not Solar Flare, what’s your interest in this? How would I know you’re not lying?” Robert asked her and Celestia chuckled. “Would I have any reason to lie about something that would give you an advantage and tell you about something that could help you defeat my other half? Plus, if I were Solar Flare, would I be so stupid to appear before you all completely defenseless and easily able to be destroyed by your combined powers?” Celestia asked and Robert was forced to concede her point lowering his gun at last. “What are the Lights of Orion, anyways?” Lightning asked. Sunburst swallowed nervously before speaking. “A powerful energy source eons old, only appearing once every 3,000 years before vanishing again till the time of their next reemergence,” the Black Bat Ranger explained. “I’ve heard legends of their existence dating back thousands of years, but I never had any proof that they existed before now,” “Well, it’s true. They exist,” Shining stated. “My predecessor, the first Magna Defender was their guardian and keeper of sorts.” “And now they’re back…” Sunburst muttered. “It would be like Bunglay to hunt these things down, considering how rare they are. If he had his hands on them, it would make it so much easier for him to hunt down the Wild Zords,” Everyone stared at him in shock. “What, don’t think you’re not all considering it in your heads. You know and I know it,” Sunburst remarked. “Each Wild Zord, they’re one of a kind. Nothing else like them in the world. The perfect prizes for Bunglay,” As this little fact slowly sunk into everybody’s heads, Sunset swallowed nervously. Who knows what Bunglay would stop at? Robert, the Wild Zords, and then probably the Princess as well. Anything exotic, anything unique in even the slightest fashion, it automatically went on his radar. “Right…” Sunset muttered in distaste. “Legendary Beast Hunter and all. Well, we’ll just have to beat them all to it. Bunglay, his forces and anyone else who stands in our way.” Each of the Rangers nodded before the five main ones pulled their Animal Crystals and threw them to create their Savage Cycles. A bull themed bike appeared before Shining and Daring and Galaxy pulled out two Dino Chargers from their belt buckles (Themed after the dinosaur known as a Deinonychus) and pressed down on them. Two bikes, both half black and half yellow like their Morphers appeared before them with an enlarged version of the Dino Charger that spawned them connecting the two halves with glowing green eyes on the front half of the cycles to serve as headlamps. Celestia snapped her fingers, and in a flash of gold magic recreated Cruger’s old ATV from his time as the Shadow Ranger. Robert, as he got on his Kyuubi no Kitsune themed Savage Cycle pressed down on the handlebars and gunned the engine. He grinned and said, “Let’s ride.” The mountains of Maine, long silent were silent no longer. Engines rumbled down long disused mountain roadways, past snow-covered forests and over bridges with ice-cold rushing rivers below. Sunset, in the lead on her Savage Cycle, led the convoy of Rangers towards the Lights of Orion. So far, the journey had been mostly mile after mile of eating up the tarmac and plunging through the darkened mountain pathways and through tunnels carved into the landscape, but everybody involved knew it couldn’t stay that way for long. Especially not with Bunglay involved. “You know,” Robert remarked as he pulled up alongside Sunset. “If this was a different situation, this could actually be sorta fun really. Just you and me, racing our bikes down old roads and pushing them to their limits.” “Your idea of a date, not mine,” Sunset retorted as she twisted the handlebars and gunned the engine speeding ahead of him “Suit yourself, Sunset-Chan.” Robert chirped. Next, he popped a wheelie leading the pony in question to roll her eyes and mutter “Show-off...” to herself. She rolled her eyes and thought “Boys and their toys...” in a good natured toneto herself and shook her head. Robert smirked when he saw that. Personally, he would have preferred taking Sunset on a mountainside ride in his Mustang, but the tires on that thing did not lend themselves very well to the slushy snowy roads they were currently on. It was customized for street races, not off-roading in the backroads of Maine after all. And as far as he knew, nopony in Equestria knew how to make snow chains. So, he’d just have to make do with this for the time being. “How long do you think it’ll be before we’re spotted?” Lightning asked. “I-I was trying not to think about that actually.” Sunburst stammered out. Z held onto Commander Cruger as she and the Syrian rode atop his personal ATV, lights flashing red and blue. “On your guard Rangers, if there’s anything about Bunglay I can guess… Somebody of his caliber is never surprised.” Cruger informed. Right about then, sounds not too dissimilar to that of a Star Wars TIE Fighter were heard as two Bruisers in their starfighter forms rocketed down from the sky and fired their laser cannons. Sunset shouted “Serpentine!” and the bikes began swerving left and right to avoid the blasts as the fighters rocketed overhead and then went around for another pass. “Well, there’s your answer Sunburst!” Lightning shouted as she turned her head towards the Ranger in question. “That’s how long it’ll take before we’re spotted!” “You had to ask, didn’t you?” Robert snapped as he ducked his head to avoid a laser blast. “W-Well, it’s not like I knew…” Sunburst murmured nervously to himself. “Ever heard of the term jinxing it?” Lightning asked sarcastically. “Because that’s what you just did, right here!” Cruger groaned to himself, did this team of Rangers ever focus on the situation at hand instead of just bantering back and forth with each other? “Guys, we sorta have a bigger problem here than Sunburst may or may not having jinxed the situation, just want to point that out,” Z remarked. “Believe me, I noticed!” Sunset shouted back. “Now we just have to focus on dealing with them.” Shining smirked. “Don’t worry, I have an idea. Z, can you take the other one?” “Sure, but…” Z trailed off, not sure what the unicorn was thinking. She chuckled. Shiny, sparkling unicorns who could kick ass. Syd would absolutely love this new world, she just knew it. “Oh, I can see her squeeing like a little kid now…” Z thought. Either way, she transformed to SWAT mode and fired her Delta Enforcer at one of the two starfighter’s engines, the rifle’s repeating laser blasts punching a hole in the armor. The starfighter began to spin around and around going out of control in a kamikaze death spiral and crashed into the tree line before going up in a huge fireball. “Oh, the EPA’s going to love me for that…” Z muttered largely to herself. Meanwhile, Shining leaped from his bike as the other starfighter flew above him and with a powerful Galactic Slash cleaved it in half right down the middle. The two halves just barely missed Shining’s bike as he landed back on it grabbing hold of the handlebars just in time before the bike swerved off the side of the road and into the rushing waters below. “Okay…” Z admitted. “I’m impressed. If I wasn’t dead, I’d ask you out on a date,” “He’s married.” Sunset and Robert both said at once before they both shared a look. Sunburst smirked, his theory was confirmed. Under her helmet, Z’s jaw dropped in shock. “No way. Just no way,” She thought. “Well, I can safely say I would never have seen that coming…” “Yep, definitely dating.” Sunburst mused before he sighed. “...Now I owe Vapor some bits. A whole lot of bits…” “Guys, show’s not over yet!” said Ranger stated as she pointed ahead. “Company!” Sure enough, ahead of the convoy lay a blockade consisting of thirty to forty X-Borgs rocket cudgels aimed and ready, along with about ten to fifteen Bruisers to back them up. If that wasn’t enough, two pairs of Royal Guards accompanied them, staves in hand. In front of them lay barbed wire. “You gotta be…” Daring muttered to herself. “¿No han oído hablar de la palabra exceso?” “What she said.” Z agreed, knowing the language being half-Spanish herself. “It’s Bunglay, so I would say no,” Sunset replied. Z shot her a look. “How do you know…?” the Yellow Ranger trailed off, not expecting the Gold Ranger to know her native language. “Princess' personal student, a workaholic with something to prove. You pick up a few things.” Sunset remarked simply. “Get ready, Rangers!” Cruger ordered as the Royal Guards put their staves together and launched manifestations of the Armada’s banner at the group. Cruger used his ATV’s lasers to take out the first manifestation while Galaxy used a Blood Moon strike to deal with the other before launching another one at the first pair, shearing their heads clean off and leaving their bodies to crumple to the ground sparking. Daring then used her Dino Morpher to take out the other set of twins. “No way in Hell are we going to make it through that blockade!” Robert shouted as two rockets flew right by his head. “And if you thought looking ahead was bad enough…” Lightning shouted. “Take a look at what’s behind!” Robert whirled his head around and his eyes widened. Two more Bruiser Starfighters, coming up fast. “Verdammte Scheisse!” He swore. Sunset sighed and then she made her decision. “Right then everybody, going to take a little walk in the woods!” She shouted before taking a swerve off the road and into the nearby woodlands. The rest of the Rangers were swift to follow, hoping they’d lose the starfighters within the trees, their headlamps lighting up the path that was before them. As they drove on through the dense forest, two more Bruisers appeared from out of nowhere and tacked Daring and Shining off their bikes while a third Bruiser fired his arm cannons and sent Galaxy’s Dino Cycle tumbling end over end while Galaxy himself hit a tree. “Chiar atunci…” Galaxy growled as he picked himself off the ground and brushed snow off of his suit’s shoulders and chest and unfolded his wings to remove the rest. “Time for somebody to be taught a lesson in manners. And I mean royally.” With that, he grabbed the offending Bruiser by the shoulders and like his Dino Zord’s basis was often known to do, headbutted him sending the mechanical foot soldier flying into a tree. The sheer power and force behind the headbutt was strong enough to send him flying through the tree splitting it down the middle and when the trooper hit another, explode. “Keep going, we can handle things from here!” Shining shouted as he blew a hole through the second Bruiser’s chest with a shotgun blast from his Riot Blaster while Daring bifurcated the third and final one down the middle with her Dino Saber. “You sure about that?” Vapor asked, as three more Bruisers launching blue energy balls from their arm cannons along with a swarm of X-Borgs appeared from the treeline. “Trust me…” Shining grinned as he switched to his Magna Blade and lit up his horn in a light rose-like pink color as Galaxy drew his Dino Morpher and smirked cockily. “We’re sure.” “I hope you’re right…” Vapor whispered as she and the remaining Rangers forged on ahead, the sounds of metal hitting metal along with energy blasts coming from behind them. She gunned the engine, and headed to the crash site… Just barely escaping a series of powerful crater creating explosions caused by the starfighters dropping bombs all around them, the convoy made it out into a large clearing. This was it, the point Celestia had indicated. The area formerly known as the Pentagoet Archeological District. And in the middle of the clearing was another crater, holding the Lights of Orion, ready to be claimed by any brave soul. Problem was, the X-Borgs had beaten them there first. Then, as if matters couldn’t get any worse, the gigantic form of Bunglay’s personal ship warped into orbit above the site with its captain teleporting down as the starfighters flew inside it’s launch bay. Sunset couldn’t help but nervously swallow at both the prospect of how many Armada forces it had to have held and its ghost galleon like appearance. Suddenly, she winced in pain as she got a flash of an image. A giant red cube like animal, resembling a whale in some manner. Her eyes widened under her helmet as she saw X-Borgs poking and prodding at it with electric prongs and it roaring in pain with each poke and prod. “Something wrong, Sunset-Chan?” Robert asked in concern. “The animals… On board his ship…” Sunset groaned as she held her head in pain and her left fist tightened in rage around her bike’s handlebars. “I can hear them… They’re in pain, he’s torturing them... He needs to be stopped.” Cruger growled in frustration as he ground his ATV to a halt and unsheathed his Shadow Saber as the Rangers got off their bikes and drew their weapons, ready to face the coming battle. “Well, isn’t this a surprise. You lot were actually foolish enough to show up,” Bunglay chuckled in both amusement and surprise. “Well, I suppose I should get cracking in destroying you lot. Robert, you’re off my quarry list for now, so consider yourself honored. I rarely let my prizes go. But this time… I’m making an exception. Much bigger fish to catch now. And I do mean bigger.” “Oh save it…” Robert muttered as he rolled his eyes and pulled out his Kitsune Blaster. “Can we just get done with this, summon your puppets so we can bring them back to our side and rip your army and hopefully you to shreds in an extremely showy manner, savvy?” He replied in a mocking tone. Bunglay smirked, he was hoping he’d say that. Dashing forwards, he pulled three specific past legends from the SPD files and Robert’s own memory. Taking shape were three forms, each with their own restraining collar. The first was a gold and silver colored Ranger with a V shaped visor holding a gray and yellow axe. The second, a black armored warrior with elaborate golden detailing making him resemble a lion. The final warrior was not a hero at all in any sense of the word. She was an Asian woman with a gold scorpion themed helmet, shoulder and arm armor, and a bustier in mostly red and black colors with gold thrown in as well holding a silver blade. “Scorpina…” Robert muttered. Great, just what they needed. And that wasn’t counting the Puppet Rangers, namely the mind-controlled Titanium Ranger/Ryan Mitchell and the Black Lion Warrior/Jarrod. However, before the Rangers could meet this threat, several large shurikens like helicopter blades flew over their heads and Scorpina knocked them away with her blade. “Surprise!” Helicos laughed as she teleported in, with an army of Putrids rising up from the Earth as well. She chuckled as she turned her gaze to Lightning and the Putrids stomped their weapons against the ground as an intimidation measure, their whole bodies coated in toxic slime. “You and me, we still haven’t finished our little duel.” “Damn, and here I was hoping you’d forgotten…” Lightning drawled in mock-displeasure as she changed her Crystal Saber to the Sword of Pardolis. “Still have to pay you back for knocking me out of the sky a while back.” “Let’s get to it.” Helicos chuckled, and the entire area erupted into mass chaos. Putrid against the Armada, Ranger against the Armada and Putrids. Ranger against Ranger, you get the idea. Robert quickly found himself in a duel with Jarrod and rolled out of the way to avoid a slash from the armored warrior’s claws. He then kicked Jarrod in the chest-plate before unleashing his animal spirit. Jarrod did the same, calling out “Spirit of the Mighty Lion!” and creating a black lion with a gold mane that slashed, scratched and bit away at Robert’s Kitsune spirit which was constantly on the defensive. Robert tried to trip Jarrod up with a leg sweep, but his fellow Pai Zhau student leaped over it and yelled “Fist of the Beast King!” and struck Robert in the chest with a powerful Zocato-infused punch sending him flying back into a hoard of X-Borgs. Robert quickly fired a Kitsune Scatter Blast into the crowd before re-engaging Jarrod again. “Jarrod, listen to me! You’re Pai Zhau, one of us! Bunglay.... He’s just using you, like Dai Shi used you long ago!” Robert shouted as Jarrod scored a slash across the chest. But even then, his eyes shot wide open and he flashed back to his final battle with Casey. “He’s not a friend Jarrod… Dai Shi, he’s warping your mind! I’ve seen the real you with my own eyes.” “Look a little closer.” Jarrod had growled out on that day. Casey had barraged his way into Dai Shi’s personal fortress, cutting down any of his Rinshi warriors that stood in his way unmorphed and on a mission. Robert dodged another Zocato infused punch and slashed Jarrod across the chest with chi-infused claws and fired a few shots into his chest plate. Next thing he knew, Jarrod sent him flying backwards with another blast of Zocato power. But even as they fought, Jarrod continued to have flashbacks of his final duel with Casey. “You’re no match for Dai Shi.” “Then you help me! Together we can destroy him!” Casey pleaded, tugging on Jarrod’s attire. “I AM HIM!” He roared before launching Casey backwards into a wall before donning his armor. As Casey got up off the floor, he muttered to himself “Whose idea was this again? Oh right… Mine.” before taking out his Solar Morpher and yelling out “Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!” The two battled intensely, completely wrecking the throne room and surrounding chambers with their battle. Eventually, Casey managed to pin his opponent up against a wall. “Jarrod, look into your heart! You can fight this, I know you’re in there!” Casey pled. “I saw you save Camille, Dai Shi never would have done that!” “No, I won’t be defeated!” Jarrod snarled before tossing Casey aside and going into his extremely elaborate Phantom Beast King armor, themed after a Griffon and allowing Dai Shi to take control. In the real world, Robert dealt out powerful chi-infused punches that were easily matched by Jarrod’s own Zocato powered blows. Meanwhile, the Kitsune spirit was ripped apart by the Black Lion spirit above them, ending their duel. “Foolish boy, Jarrod no longer exists,” Dai Shi growled out. “I have swallowed his humanity, he is now my slave.” But Casey was still defiant. “No, you can’t have him! He’s Pai Zhau, one of us!” “Robert’s right… And so was Casey. I’m Pai Zhau, I’m no one’s Master but my own,” Jarrod murmured to himself, his voice going unheard to anyone but himself. “Casey earned his Master Stripes that day… So time to do him proud!” With that, he tore off the collar even as amp after amp of electricity wracked his body. He fell to the ground panting and sweating, his Master Stripes clearly visible on his arm. “You alright?” Robert asked as he helped his fellow Pai Zhau member up. “Yeah... “ Jarrod growled as he morphed back into his Lion Armor and together, they faced the X-Borgs. “But they won’t be…” Robert smirked, that was the Jarrod he knew. The power and fury of a blazing lion, and the heart to back it up. Both he and Robert shared a look before Jarrod smirked. “Let’s do this.” He grinned before he got a look at Robert’s attire. “Really… A cape? Isn’t that what most people would call both egotistical and ludicrously impractical?” Jarrod snarked. “Hey, way I see it, we’re multi-colored spandex heroes, so I think practicality is out the window by this point.” Robert deadpanned. Sunset, as she sliced through both Putrid and X-Borg, all the while holding off Scorpina’s blade raised an eyebrow. “Thought you were rampant about how it wasn’t spandex? Thought it was a self forming-nanofiber!” Sunset laughed. “Oh s-shut up!” Robert stammered out. “Totally whipped,” Jarrod remarked, picking up on their relationship immediately. “You shut up too furball,” Robert muttered as he pulled out his Crystal Saber. “Now… As you were saying, let’s do this.” With that, they entered the fray of Putrids and began slicing and dicing... Meanwhile, Lightning and Helicos continued their duel. “So, what the Tartarus are you doing here, Helicos?” “Isn’t it obvious? Those Lights… Any advantage to Retinax, even if has to come from the side of good would be a great boon to us in wiping out Thrax!” Helicos laughed. “Besides, I knew you’d be here anyways, with your fellow Ranger friends. You and I, we still got a duel to finish!” Helicos says, jabbing at her with her long, broad-headed spear, Lightning deflecting the blow with the flat of her blade. “Yes… That we do, but fighting me alone? Isn’t that a bit foolish?” She counters, slashing at his chest. Helicos catches the blow with the haft of her spear, pushing her back and bringing the bladed end of the weapon around to open up a gash along her forearm ripping open her costume. “You’re one to talk, you’re the most arrogant of them all. First time we met, you believed you could take me, a Duke Org on alone!” Helicos mocked. “Where did that get you? Oh… Now I remember, you nearly lost your soul to that Camera Org if Shining and Robert hadn’t come to bail you out! You’re a failure of a Ranger, and that’s the end of it.” She pressed her attack, jabbing repeatedly at her with the spear, keeping her dodging until he overextended her reach, giving her an opening. Lightning let out a small snarl. “You know, I’ve been called a failure all my life. By my own father no less.” She growls, lunging at the Org, her blade aimed for his throat. “Well, he isn’t wrong…” the Helicopter themed Duke Org laughed. She deflected her sword away again, the deadly blow instead inflicting a minor scratch to her shoulder. “But any words out of you, they don’t mean anything! Jack-shit, you hear? Only failure I see around here is you. You’re a failure of a Duke Org, your brother fell and eventually so will you!” If Lightning was hoping to get a rise out of Helicos from that remark, she’d be surprised to see it fail. Helicos, taking advantage of her off-balance state after the last parry, swept the blade of her spear back around, intending to behead her. “Funny, only one thing wrong with your plan, if it can be called that. I know my brother was a failure,” Helicos replied. “He was always too arrogant for his own good, thinking with his gun instead of his brains.” Lightning caught the spear, wrapping her hand tight around the haft and stopping it dead before ripping it from the Duke Org’s grasp. “Family… That’s what should be the most important factor in anyone’s life!” Lightning snarled in disgust. “My brother… He never bought into my dad’s shit and neither did my big sister nor my adopted big brother! But… I guess you’d never understand that, you having no heart and all.” She punctuated her words by twirling the appropriated spear in her hand and driving its point right through where her heart would be, watching the life fade from her eye. Nearby, Z and Cruger helped Sunset hold off the deadly duo of the Titanium Ranger and Scorpina. Ryan swung out with his axe, but Z blocked it with her baton before she flew backwards firing her Deltamax Striker as Ryan switched to his Titanium Laser mode by pushing the axe blade backwards, and twisting the hilt and the two shots met in midair and collided, canceling each other out. Z fired off another shot but it was once again met with another from the Titanium Laser as Ryan flipped backwards to avoid another shot and then fired again in midair. This shot was blocked by Commander Cruger’s Shadow Saber. The two clashed weapons again and again, each matching the other perfectly in a dance of blades. Z kicked Ryan in the face making him stagger back as Commander Cruger scored a slice across the chest with his katana. “Ryan, you’ve got to remember who you are! Diabolico, he brainwashed you once! Do you want to be controlled again? Do you?” Z asked, remembering Ryan’s history from the SPD files even as he flashed back. “You got past that, Hell, I remember you helping to train us while we were at SPD!” “Who are you?” His sister had asked. “I’m your worst nightmare!” They had fought… He had fought his own sister! But then, he remembered. A cliff late one stormy night, he, his father and his sister hanging off a tree branch. There he was, just barely holding onto his father’s ankles. His dad… He had no choice but to make a deal with Diabolicoto save his life. But that damn demon… He made him forgot everything he was. Made him think his father had let him fall. “Never again, never again!” Ryan whispered as he slowly remembered. Then, he remembered it all. He trained the B-Squad cadets after Lightspeed. He still wanted to continue helping people, like he did when he was a Ranger. He helped the scientists develop the top-secret SPD Kat Ranger project after inspiration struck them after seeing the Omega Ranger in action. And then, there was that other project… Ryan’s eyes shot wide open, and like the sounds of chains breaking, he ripped off his collar and turned his blade on Scorpina just as she was about to deal a powerful blow to Sunset striking her across the chest. The scorpion themed woman sliced and diced at both Sunset and Ryan with her vaguely V-shaped blade before knocking Sunset backwards with the blunt end of her blade but the Gold Ranger scored a kick to the chest before she leaped forwards and sliced downwards with both her Phoenix Blade and her Crystal Saber. Scorpina staggered back from the blow but she wasn’t defeated yet. The woman threw her blade like a boomerang slashing Sunset and Ryan in multiple places as it circled and struck their bodies like a whirlwind. Sunset and Ryan clutched their chests in pain as the blade returned to Scorpina’s hands. “Had enough?” She laughed and slowly strode forwards to deliver the killing blow. “Spirit of the Mighty Lion!” Jarrod roared out as the Black Lion spirit slashed away at Scorpina. “Sorry Bunglay, but you made a rather large mistake bringing both of us back to life,” Ryan chuckled as he staggered to his feet. “Me and Jarrod… Both of us have been controlled before. Should have thought of that before you brought us back. We’re nobody’s puppets, not anymore.” “Now, go for the Lights! We’ll hold off Bunglay’s forces!” Jarrod called out. Sunset nodded and ran for the Lights of Orion with her fellow Rangers backing her up. Scorpina tried to throw her blade at Sunset again, but Jarrod hip-tossed her before slashing her across the chest with his armor’s claws and then Ryan shot her with his Titanium Laser punching a hole right through her chest. X-Borgs tried to block their way but Robert and Sunburst slashed them apart with a Jungle Fan/Crystal Saber combo. Lightning grabbed a Bruiser with her whips and threw it behind her where it was swiftly impaled by Vapor as Cruger sliced another across the chest with his Shadow Saber and Z took down two more with her Deltamax Striker. Bunglay roared in rage as he dashed forwards for the Light as well but was kicked in the chest by both Vapor and Lightning making him stagger back. Two Royal Guards stood in Sunset’s way and launched a manifestation of the Armada’s emblem but Sunset simply slashed through it charging up her swords with her magic before decapitating the two guards with a Phoenix Blade/Crystal Saber combo. And just as that happened, the Lights shot into Sunset’s hands enveloping her in a golden light before they branched out and did the same to Vapor, Lightning, Sunburst and Robert. Bunglay roared in rage at the loss of his quarry as the Rangers called out: “Now… Lights of Orion, activate!” The effects were quite noticeable as the Rangers felt a new influx of power surge through them. Firstly, their belt buckles became larger and more ornate. Bracelets with green gems appeared on their upper arms and claw like gauntlets appeared on their left arms. Finally, their Crystal Sabers extended from dagger-like implements into cutlass like blades. “Haven’t said this in quite a long time, but now I think it’s only fitting…” Robert grinned as he gripped his Crystal Sword. “Sa… Dohade ni ikuze!” “Give me that power!” Bunglay growled. “You got it!” Sunset replied before flashing forwards and dealing several devastating fire infused slices across the chest. Lightning leaped in and slashed Bunglay across the chest with her claw gauntlet, the claws becoming long blades of energy before she sliced downwards with a powerful lightning infused strike. Vapor implanted her sword in the ground and a powerful geyser erupted sending Bunglay flying skywards and Robert and Sunburst turned into flashes of golden light and struck multiple times, one after the other before Sunburst drop-kicked Bunglay back towards the ground. “Had enough?” Sunset smirked, but that smirk was soon to fade as soon as she saw Bunglay picking himself off the ground. “You… You insolent bilge rats! I’ve survived far more attacks than what you can throw at me,” Bunglay laughed, unnerving all of the Rangers and sending chills down their spines. “Now… Time for me to get cracking and show you my power!” Bunglay flashed forwards and struck. First, Sunset fell to a slash from Bunglay’s anchor and then Sunburst and Robert as well before finally Vapor and Lightning. Next, Bunglay’s face tentacles reached out and wrapped themselves around the Rangers, both choking them and zapping them with amp after amp of electricity. “Now… Do you know why I’m the Legendary Beast Hunter?” Bunglay cackled. “Nothing, not even Power Rangers can stand in my way.” “Yeah?” Ryan asked as he, Z and Cruger ran up. “We’ll just have to see about that, won’t we? This hunt’s over.” Ryan fired his Titanium Laser, Z, her Delta Enforcer and Cruger aimed his Shadow Saber like a rifle and fired an energy beam at Bunglay. The three collective blasts hit Bunglay in the chest, and his grip loosened before he unceremoniously dropped all five of Lights of Orion powered Rangers, clutching his chest which was dripping purple blood, pooling on the ground. “Very well then… I know when I’m outmatched. I’ll just let them finish you off and then come and collect your bodies. Magna Beam!” Bunglay shouted before he teleported up to his ship. At the same time, a member of the Royal Guard on the bridge slammed his fist on a big red button and fired a huge blue beam at the fallen forms of three Bruisers, two Royal Guards along with Scorpina and Helicos growing them to a truly colossal size. Scorpina, during the size change, had unveiled her true form and threw away the illusion of looking human mutating into something truly monstrous. Now she truly looked like a scorpion with a bit of a cobra thrown in as well, dreadlocks hanging off her head and the transformation completed itself with pincer claws in place of hands. “Damn… She’s Buck-Ugly…” Lightning muttered. Nobody bothered to disagree with her. “Wild Zords, descend!” The Rangers shouted, with the Black Bear and Polar Bear crystals being tossed to Sunset and Lightning by Vapor Trail. “I need Red Dragon Thunderzord Power, now!” Lightning shouted knowing the back-up would be needed for this fight. As the Wild Zords descended from the night sky, a shadowy reptilian form covered the moon and an ear splitting roar pierced the heavens. It let out another roar as its tail and neck folded upwards with the head detaching. Both the front and back legs combined to form arms as the head reattached to the chest a more humanoid like one now visible. With shifting and whirring sounds, the Leviathan Zord split in half and its head and jaw folded open to become feet and the tail split open at the back as the Kitsune Zord’s back legs folded up into its chest and excess metal in its chest detached to form twin katanas and it’s head folded downwards to become a chest-plate as its front legs detached with hisses of steam. The Black Bear and Polar Bear’s backs moved upwards to become shoulder pauldrons while the front halves moved forwards just a little. The Polar Bear became the left shoulder, and the Black Bear the right. The Polar Bear’s shoulders sprouted the image of a glacier, while the Black Bear’s had the image of a fireball. Two powerful cannons sprouted from their mouths. A tusked head popped up from the Kitsune Zord’s neck, and the Vampire Bat Zord, wings detaching as it attached to the back of the Megazord with a clang and its head moved upwards and became the helmet. “Animaria Guardian Megazord: Double Knuckle!” The Rangers shouted as Lightning leaped from one cockpit to the Red Dragon’s as it spun its Bo staff around in a defensive manner to block the Bruisers’ energy blasts. “Oh, alright then… Metal to metal!” Helicos laughed before she fired her Helicopter Shurikens at the Animaria Guardian who used its massive arms to simply bat them aside but was then struck across the chest by a powerful blow from Scorpina’s sword. “Chopper blast!” Helicos shouted, and fired a powerful eye beam at the Animaria Guardian sending it staggering back and Scorpina leaped in and dealt several more powerful slashes across the chest. Bunglay took this chance to warp out of the atmosphere and back into space. “Power levels are dropping!” Vapor shouted in alarm. Sunset gritted her teeth and thought to herself. “Come on Lightning, you can handle those walking scrap piles. I know it, I have faith in you!” She thought worriedly. Down below, as Jarrod, Cruger, Z, and Ryan slashed through the last of the Armada’s forces and the Putrids, they turned their attention to the massive fight taking place nearby. “Come on Rangers, you can do it!” Cruger ordered before slicing down an X-Borg with his Shadow Saber. “You’ve been judged.” He thought to himself before skewering a Putrid. “Hit ‘em hard, and hit them fast!” Jarrod shouted as he kicked a Putrid in the face before slashing another X-Borg across its helmet felling it. The two Royal Guards tried using their staves to fire off another manifestation of the Armada symbol before the Torozord rammed them, and impaled them with his horns and then tossing the two behind him where they were swiftly dealt with by the hammer tail of the Ankylo Zord and the mace tail of the Pachy Zord. “Shining!” Vapor shouted happily as she spotted the Magna Defender atop his loyal steed. “See, told you we’d be fine,” Shining reassured before ordering: “Now, get to it! Magna Defender, Transform!” Shining and the Torozord rapidly merged into the Defender Torozord and brought out the Megazord’s lance and joined the fight. Nearby, the Red Dragon was fending off the Bruisers with its sansetsukon, or three-sectioned-staff. Using the staff to deflect blasts as the Red Dragon gripped one end tightly to knock away the energy balls or go on the offense dealing out powerful strikes, the entire fight resembled an elegant dance. Lightning quickly switched back to the Bo Staff form before spinning it 360 degrees to send embers flying towards the trio of metallic foot soldiers. Two of the Bruisers changed their bottom halves to a motorcycle like implement and charged towards the Red Dragon arm cannons firing all the while. Lightning flipped over them as they charged. Next, the Red Dragon struck the third Bruiser from behind before switching the Bo Staff back to the sansetsukon form and wrapping it around the final Bruiser’s neck and pulling the robot’s head clean off. The remaining two Bruisers switched back to their walking mode and one was elbowed in the face multiple times but the second took the chance to punch the Red Dragon in the face sending it staggering back. “Can’t… I can’t take them! I need more power!” Lightning thought, and as if to answer her prayers, the Lights of Orion reacted. A key, resembling a star visored warrior appeared in her hands. Now she knew what that lock was for. Planting the key in the lock, she gave it a twist and the words “Let’s Go!” appeared above it as the Red Dragon changed shape and a golden glow enveloped the Red Dragon as it shifted form to a giant mecha resembling a championship level boxer, complete with metal belt around its waist and two golden bracers around its hands. The face changed to that of a star visored warrior completing the shift. Lightning reacted with lightning fast punches to the Bruisers, throwing right hook and then a left hook to their chests, faces and anywhere else she could reach powerful pistons supplying each punch. Rapid-fire punch after punch came, each dealing more and more damage. “Now, let’s finish this!” Lightning shouted as the bracers moved forwards revealing their true purpose. Gatling guns. With the sounds of thunder, the guns fired again and again and next thing Lightning saw was the Bruisers falling at her hooves and going up in a shower of sparks. “Now, to help my friends.” Lightning thought before turning her gatling guns on Scorpina overwhelming her with blast after blast. “Now! Take her out!” Sunset nodded before the Bear Blasters fired and struck Scorpina with blasts of both fire and ice and she stumbled, before falling backwards and going up in a huge fireball. “And now for you…” Lightning smirked as she punched Helicos across the face with the Red Zeo Battlezord in a powerful right cross. Next, Helicos was sliced through by the Defender Torozord’s Lightning Spin. The Bear Brothers detached from the Animaria Guardian Megazord and were replaced by the Phoenix and Thunderbird Zords as the truly mammoth War Axe materialized in the Megazord’s hands. With a powerful helm-splitter maneuver, Helicos was sliced straight down the middle, finishing her off for good. Later that night, the Megazords standing behind them in the shadow of the moon, the current Ranger team met with their predecessors. They knew they didn’t have long before they faded away, so they knew what they had to do. “Thank you, Commander… Thank you for helping us out one last time.” Robert said, saluting his boss. “No, the pleasure was all ours,” Z stated, shaking Sunset, Lightning, Daring and Vapor’s hands. “You girls just keep on fighting the good fight, and if anyone tries anything sexist… Punch ‘em in the nose.” “Trust me, already done that a few times with a couple of idiots I’ve met before I became a Ranger.” Daring chuckled and Z laughed as she and the other Rangers began to fade. “One last thing… Kick Bunglay’s ass for us, will you?” Jarrod remarked. “Oh don’t worry, that’s coming. You can be assured of that.” Shining stated before saluting each Ranger as they faded away and went back to their peaceful rest. As they did so, Vapor whispered one last thing. “May the power protect you, even in death…” High above, in his ship’s Bridge, Bunglay smirked to himself. “Very well Rangers, you may have won this round… But I’ll find you and your Zords’ hiding place soon enough,” He thought before shouting “All of you lot, search for that island! I don’t care if you have to scour the whole of Equus to do it, just find the damn thing!” “Plus, there’s always my trump card…” Bunglay thought as he turned his attention to the holding cells... Part 41: FlamebroiledSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Part 42: FamilyPonyville: Pink was everywhere from the moment Robert Williams woke up on the day of February 14th. Balloons shaped like hearts in ghastly shades, streamers hung on buildings and even topiaries cut up in the shape of hearts, from the moment he woke up he knew exactly what day it was. Now Valentine’s Day or whatever ponykind called it here in this new age was all well and good with him, especially as it was the day when women without a boyfriend could easily be picked up for a one night stand, but even he had his limits on how much pink he was willing to take. “I swear by God, I’m probably going to need some very strong brandy just to wash today’s memories away,” Robert grumbled to himself as he stepped out of the Carousel Boutique clad in a thick brown fur coat. “Mein Gott, pink everywhere you look! It’s like a bloody bottle of Pepto-Bismol barfed itself all over the town.” He only groaned further to himself when he saw a nearby park with a gazebo decorated with pink hearts. To make matters worse it seemed, there was a small wooden arch shaped bridge covered in heart shaped lights over a tiny gurgling stream flowing through the center of the park. “Watashi wa jigoku ni iru,” Robert muttered in Japanese (He still occasionally lapsed into full sentences of it and not just phrases when he was displeased about something from time to time) as he tried blinking to clear away the sight. Nope, still there. “Un, koreha jigokudenakereba naranai. Kore ni tsuite no setsumei dake... Kyōki,” He heard a small chuckle come from behind him and he turned to see Sunset. “I take it you’re not a fan of the holiday as well… Or at least Equestria’s version of it?” Sunset asked with a small smirk. She didn’t quite understand the language her boyfriend was speaking, but she definitely got the general gist of it from his tone. “...Wait, you mean all of Equestria’s decorated like this?” Robert asked as his eyes wandered to some outdoor dining tables given the frilly frou-frou touch and when Sunset nodded he muttered “Kill me now,” “Okay, well maybe not to this extent but pretty much,” Sunset admitted with a slight tinge of distaste at seeing the decorations. She had to admit, there was tastefulness and then there was going overboard completely. “Pinkie?” Robert asked gruffly, knowing the mare’s… tendencies (To put it one way) of going overboard from his Welcome to Ponyville Party some months back. Robert sighed and muttered “Shitte ita hazudesu...” to himself at Sunset’s nod. “Well, not all bad I suppose,” Sunset smiled. “What, I can commit Seppuku after seeing all of this?” Robert asked dryly. “No…” Sunset trailed off, slightly disturbed at that remark before she linked his arm with hers. “You have me to help you endure, don’t you?” Robert smiled in realization at that fact as she rested her head on his shoulder. Softly, he kissed her forehead. “Okay, but if you want to go out on a date… Please for the love of all that’s Holy in the universe don’t take me somewhere that makes Madam Puddifoot's look tame by comparison,” Sunset blinked, not recognizing the reference but she chuckled and smiled again. “I’ll try not to, Pinkie Promise,” Elsewhere: The clatter of pins hitting the floor and a bowling ball rolling down the lane was the ever-constant sound that filled the Ponyville Bowling Alley. It was a popular establishment, ever since it’s introduction fifty some odd years ago. One strike filled the hall with cheers as a familiar yellow maned pegasus knocked down all of the pins in one particular lane. With a boom and a bang, they hit the floor. “Seriously… If you’re trying to take me out on a date… You really need better tastes in places,” Rainbow Dash complained, looking absolutely bored out of her mind in her bowling shirt. “Bowling’s not a sport. Hoofball and soccer, yes, but this… This is not a sport!” “It is so a sport, and yes, this is a date for your information,” Lightning put in as she stepped aside to let her marefriend/not marefriend have her roll. In the background, Vapor Trail rolled her eyes and chuckled as she continued strumming her guitar and humming to herself as she practiced a song Grape had known before his death. “I've been everywhere, man, I've been everywhere, man. Across the deserts bare, man. I've breathed the mountain air, man. Of travel I've had my share, man. I've been everywhere…” She hummer to herself as she strummed the notes. “Most romantic of things man… Taking your girl out for a date bowling!” A stallion dressed in a gaudy green shirt and with a brown mustache known only as “The Dude” remarked. “Shut it Dude, when has your opinion ever mattered?” Rainbow snapped as she rolled her ball down the lane and ended up striking down all of the pins with a resounding clatter. Well, all except for two. “Ooh… A split, worst of the worst.” “The Dude” remarked. “Gonna take a miracle to pull this one off.” “Hah, I don’t need miracles!” Rainbow bragged. “I’m that awesome!” Lightning and Vapor both rolled their eyes in unison, used to her bragging by now. However, when Rainbow did roll, all she managed to do was strike down one of the pins. “You were saying?” Lightning asked dryly, raising an eyebrow. “Set that split up again,” Vapor suddenly said. Both Rainbow and Lightning stared at her in stark disbelief, unable to believe their own ears but sure enough, the pins were set up in the exact same position. Vapor put down her guitar, lined herself up with a gold ball in hand and rolled. To both of her fellow pegasi and “The Dude”’s astonishment, both pins hit the floor with a loud clatter. Vapor smiled to herself. “Should shut up Rainbow’s bragging for a while,” She thought to herself. Just then, a figure Vapor and Lightning recognized walked in the door and their eyes widened considerably. “Mom?” They asked. Meanwhile, thankfully for Robert, Sunset didn’t take him to anywhere that in his own words “Made Madam Puddifoot's look tame by comparison” and instead took him to the local inn/tavern, the Prancing Pony for drinks. Robert snorted at the irony. He’d had at least two sexual relations with mares here that he could remember, probably more, (Albeit, one of those encounters was only used so he could get information out of said mare.) and here Sunset was, taking him to the exact same location. “Sunset, you do realize what happens with mares when I wind up taking them here, right?” Robert asked in complete deadpan, raising an eyebrow. “Me banging them till they’re senseless. Long night of sex, the completely mindblowing kind?” “Yes, but have you had a mare take you here before, and with no sexual intentions whatsoever in mind?” Sunset sniped back at him. Robert tried to come up with an answer, and Sunset covered her mouth with a hand to hide the giggles as he stumbled for an answer. Finally, Robert managed to mutter out an “Et tu, Sunset?” before he took a small sip of his tea. “Didn’t know you knew Shakespeare, or even took an interest in him,” Sunset remarked. “I don’t, the plays bore me to tears really. Even if a very attractive looking woman took me to one, I’d probably walk out by the end of the first act,” Robert admitted. “Even if it was me?” Sunset asked, with an eyebrow raised. Robert quickly took a step backwards, realizing the mistake he probably made about then. “Well, maybe not in your case Sunset-Chan,” He backpedaled and Sunset chuckled and kissed his cheek. “No, it’s fine,” Sunset replied with a nod of understanding. “We all have our own tastes in entertainment. To tell you the truth, I found Gojira rather depressing frankly. Bit cynical,” “Yeah… the 2014 film’s way better if you ask me. Doesn’t look like a guy in a rubber suit, that one and the special effects are way better,” Robert remarked. “Heresy, I know, probably, but… You did say we all had our own tastes in entertainment,” “Et tu, Robert?” Sunset dryly replied, and Robert stood gobsmacked at having his own words used against him before his head hit the table with a thud. But sadly their little date was to be cut short as something far more urgent was about to come up, as Sunset found out when she heard her Growl Phone ring. Swiftly going for it and pulling it out of her pants pockets, she flipped the small gold device open. Sunset knew the news she could receive generally meant one thing and one thing only. The Gold Ranger heard Vapor’s voice at the other end of the line. However, she was surprised at the Purple Ranger’s tone of voice. The mare sounded nearly close to tears, and Sunset’s eyes widened. “You alright?” she asked in a worried tone of voice. “Just… Just get over here,” Vapor sniffled, her voice breaking. “I… I can’t really tell you this over the phone, it’s better if you see and hear about this in person.” “I… I’ll be right there,” Sunset stuttered out and shot a look at Robert, who nodded in understanding before they both ran out of the tavern. “Don’t worry mate, we’ll foot you the cheque!” Robert shouted to the barkeeper. Robert and Sunset raced to Vapor’s location, namely Sugarcube Corner where they found her, in her usual attire of a thick brown fur coat and purple double eighth note pendant sobbing at one of the tables. Behind her was Pinkie, rubbing Vapor’s shoulders in a comforting manner as she sobbed with Fluttershy offering tissues to her fellow pegasus. Nearby stood Lightning, with a look on her face that could only be described as a mix of anger and sadness. “What’s… What’s wrong?” Sunset stuttered out, the only time she’d seen Lightning like this was when she’d had her wing replaced with that metal prosthetic, which like her regular wing now hung limply at her sides. Fluttershy looked at Vapor with a look of compassion as she wiped away the pegasus’s tears with a handkerchief. Privately, Sunset thought to herself that if that look of compassion could be weaponized, the Rangers wouldn’t have anything to worry about. Their enemies would just surrender on the spot. “I… I got a visit from my mom earlier today,” Vapor finally said, still sniffling. The words she had next to say hit everybody like a thrown brick to the face. “It’s… It’s… She’s got Breast Cancer,” “Goddamnit…” Robert muttered quietly. Sunset meanwhile wrapped an arm around Vapor like a mother or older sister would and pulled her into a hug. She wanted to tell Vapor that everything would be alright, but she knew that was probably pointless, and Vapor wouldn’t believe her anyways. So instead, she just pulled the young Wonderbolt into a hug and let her cry. “We’re your family as well, Vapor…” Sunset whispered to the crying mare. “Whatever happens, we’re in this together,” “There’s… There’s just gotta be something we can do…” Lightning muttered to herself, looking absolutely helpless. Some years ago, Vapor’s mother had taken her in. Vapor had informed her of what exactly was going on in the Rider household between Lightning’s father and Lightning herself and had since become like a second mother to her. She was just furious that one of the sweetest mares she’d ever known had to have been dealt this hand in life. Then, after several moments of just staring blankly and talking quietly to herself, the only other sound in the room being Vapor’s sobbing, she got an idea. “Sunset, can’t we do something? This is probably a little crazy, but right now, I think a little crazy is in order,” Lightning asked quietly, almost whispering. “I think there’s someone we can ask about all of this, as long as two certain ponies can manage to keep a secret,” Sunset noted the emphasis on the someone and her eyes widened. “Wait, who are we talking about?” Pinkie asked in confusion, before looking at Robert. “Wait, our resident human?” “...Trying very hard not to be offended here…” Robert muttered. “No, I think Lightning means someone else, someone who knows a lot more about what I think Lightning wants to tell you and Fluttershy about, and has been around for thousands of years,” Sunset explained. “P-Princess Celestia?” Fluttershy asked in surprise, eyes widened. “No, not her,” Sunset corrected, “But she is a Princess, just not a pony,” Next, the Princess of Empathy gave both Fluttershy and Pinkie a hard look. “Now, what you’re about to see, you cannot, and I repeat cannot be said a word about to anypony else aside from a few others we’ll tell you about at a later date,” Sunset stated firmly. “Pinkie Promise,” Pinkie and Fluttershy nodded, before doing the time-honored sacred motions, Pinkie reciting the phrase all the while. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” She said, before Fluttershy joined her. Robert sighed, hoping to God both Lightning and Sunset knew what they were doing before reaching for his amulet and flipping it open. “Princess,” Robert stated into the amulet. “Four, five if you can manage to get Sunburst, to transport, plus two guests,” With that, the four Rangers became pillars of light which shot upwards through the roof with Fluttershy and Pinkie becoming white pillars following after them… The Animarium: Fluttershy stumbled forwards as she landed on the soft grass in a clearing on the Animarium, Pinkie landing nearby. She took a step back in shock and let out a small “Meep,” as the truly massive Falcon Zord flew above her head, letting out a loud screech as he flapped his powerful wings. Fluttershy nervously swallowed at the giant metal gold talons ending in sharp claws, perfect for tearing her to ribbons. “Wow… That’s one big bird…” Pinkie gasped before her eyes widened in realization and she let out another gasp. “Wait, wait, wait, that’s a-” She stammered out in shock before swiftly grabbing Fluttershy by the shoulders. “Do you know what this means?” “They’re the Power Rangers?” Fluttershy asked calmly. “They’re Power Rangers!” Pinkie exclaimed excitedly before she looked at Fluttershy. “...Wait, how’d you know?” “It really wasn’t that hard to figure out, not when you get teleported to a place with a giant metal Falcon in a flash of light and said Falcon resembles the giant metal animals we’ve been seeing fighting those monsters lately,” Fluttershy commented. “Oh… Guess when you put it that way…” Pinkie trailed off. “...Well, guess that saves the trouble of explaining a few things,” Lightning muttered, before wiping away a tear. Princess Shayla soon stepped into the clearing. “Welcome friends,” She greeted cheerfully before noticing the grave look on everyone’s faces. “W-What’s wrong?” Sunset was quick to explain everything. “Oh… That’s… That’s horrible…” Shayla whispered, not knowing what else to say while nearby, Sunburst pulled Vapor into a hug upon hearing the news while Navi gently nuzzled Lightning. “Please… Please tell me there’s something the Morphin’ Grid can do…” Vapor pleaded, but her heart broke when Shayla shook her head. “I wish I could tell you otherwise… And while the Grid is capable of many wondrous things, many miracles, there are some things even it can’t do,” “This is bull,” Lightning snarled. “We can access so many unthinkable powers, fight alongside powerful friends and partners, save the day from giant crazy monsters and yet we can’t cure one simple bucking illness!” She roared in fury. “Doctors can treat this, you know,” Sunburst put in. “Yeah, but it doesn’t always work…” Pinkie replied in a mumbling tone of voice, her hair deflating like a balloon. “Fucking amazing… Fucking bloody amazing,” Robert grumbled to himself. “Thousands of years in the bleedin’ future and yet nobody can still get rid of this damn piece of shit!” “It’s so unfair…” Navi whispered while shaking her head. “There’s a reason there’s been so many organizations created over the years to help promote and spread awareness about the many various types of cancer,” Sunset explained in a kind tone of voice, sounding exactly like a mother. “In fact, I believe money is being raised to help combat, and maybe, just maybe, cure it one day,” Sunburst suddenly snapped his fingers. “Wait, isn’t the color Pink usually associated with Breast Cancer awareness?” He asked, and everyone nodded. “I got an idea, although I don’t know if I can pull it off,” He murmured as he paced back and forth, placing a hand to his chin in thought and stroking his beard. “Would it be possible… No, that’s crazy, even for us…” “Spit it out man,” Robert snapped impatiently. “Could we alter our costumes, just for one day, fiddle with the Morphin’ Grid energy so that when we morph, we all become Pink Rangers?” the Black Ranger pondered. “Can’t see why not, if I remember correctly the In Space team went all Blue one day to combat some absolutely mental doubles of theirs as part of a trick,” his teammate remarked. “Plus, there was the Megaforce team and their Ranger Keys which allowed them to go all Red and presumably other colors as well. Think they went all Silver once now that I think of it,” Sunburst looked to Shayla hopefully, and she smiled. “Now, that I can do… But why?” the Princess of Animaria inquired. “I’ve got a plan,” Sunburst smirked. “Time to think Pink,” The Smokey Mountains: Stratusburg: Nimbus gray clouds covered the skies above Stratusburg, almost seemingly reflecting the mood of the Rangers as they teleported down. “So, where’s your mom’s house?” Sunburst asked as they wandered up a misty mountain pathway, Sunburst rubbing his arms to keep himself warm from the cold. “...I hate Winter… So glad Winter Wrap-Up’s coming at the end of the month…” He mumbled to himself. Eventually, they found themselves at Vapor’s childhood home. She flashbacked to years gone by, the fun she, Grape, and Sky Stinger had running through the yard and playing their games. There she and Sky Stinger were, flying high in the clouds above while Grape Vine was reading from a book of spells. His horn glowed a purple color and he stepped out onto a cloud, and then hopped onto another. But as young as he was, his magic couldn’t last very long, and soon his hooves gave way and he fell foot by foot as the ground rushed up to greet him. Vapor let out a yell of fear, before she unfurled her growing wings and rocketed down towards Grape Vine as fast as she could her keen eyes trained on his falling form even through the wintry mists but simply wasn’t fast enough. Then Sky Stinger rocketed past her and caught Grape in his arms as Vapor caught up to him and wrapped her arms around him sobbing her heart out into Grape’s neck. “You… You foolish stallion! You could have been killed! Why…? Why’d you do that?” She whispered through her tears. “Same reason you two are up there all the time. Ah want to be as free as a bird and feel what you feel when you’re in the sky. That sense of calmness, where nothing could ever get to ya,” “Grape, you’re an idjit.” Sky told him and Grape only laughed. “...Yeah, guess Ah am.” Suffice to say, Vapor’s mom had seen the whole thing and what happened, and she wasn’t happy. She had taken the young colt to back to her bedroom in the house. With a resounding Clap! across his behind, the brush hit again and again and each time the hit became more and more painful, like a fire burning as the brush hit again and again. Vapor’s mom wasn’t being abusive, and Grape knew he’d done wrong and nearly gotten himself killed. It wasn’t the first spanking he’d received after all. His birth parents had given him some when he’d done something wrong, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. Vapor had heard each and every Clap! and she knew she’d probably be next, for not watching Grape and what he was doing. “Although I’m proud of you, my little Vine, you did try and learn a spell that’s very difficult, you nearly got yourself killed in the process,” Vapor’s mom had told him, “You understand what you did wrong right?” “Yes… Yes, Ah understand…” Grape sobbed before Vapor’s mom finally finished and pulled him into a hug whispering soft words into his ear. “It’s alright, you understand I never was trying to hurt you don’t you?” Vapor asked kindly, and Grape nodded tearfully. “When I saw you fall… I… I was so scared… I didn’t want to lose you…” Vapor shook herself back to the present day as she hummed “Black Water” to herself clutching her pendant. “Black water keeps rollin' on past just the same. Old black water, keep on rollin', Mississippi moon, won't you keep on shinin' on me. Old black water, keep on rollin', Mississippi moon, won't you keep on shinin' on me. Old black water, keep on rollin', Mississippi moon, won't you keep on shinin' on me...” She sung to herself as a calming measure and tried as hard as could to keep her mind off of what she was about to see. “She loved him, didn’t she? Grape Vine, I mean?” Sunburst whispered towards Lightning, who nodded. “I’ve never been really sure, but I’ve always had that sneaking suspicion she did. Childhood crush, at the very least,” Lightning whispered back. Sunburst nodded. “Ah… Puppy love. It would explain a few things, wouldn’t it?” He murmured, again stroking his beard in thought. Eventually, the path ended and the group came to what looked to be an old church converted into a house. Light blue paint on the sides, and shuttered windows. A lantern hung over the porch, providing a light to cut through the often misty mountainsides. Vapor gently knocked on the pure white door, and a voice answered: “Come in.” “Mom!” Vapor shouted as she walked in and the older mare pulled her into a hug. Everyone present could see where Vapor got her looks, her mother was an almost exact copy of her appearance wise. “Please… Please tell me you’re joking about all of this… Please…” Vapor whispered as she sat down on a comfy looking red couch next to her mother. “I’m sorry, I wish I was… But when I was at my last doctor’s visit… they found it. A tumor,” Vapor’s mom explain and Lightning covered her mouth in shock. “No… No, that can’t be true!” Vapor sobbed. “It… It, just can’t!” Vapor’s mom pulled her into a hug as her daughter continued to sob. “I’ve already lost Grape, then da, and now I’m going to lose you…” “Don’t say that… There’s still a chance for me, isn’t there?” Her mom asked. “It’s in the early stages, maybe I can make it through this,” “But… But what if… What if you can’t?” Vapor whispered. Her mom sighed. “I’ve lived a good life, haven’t I?” She asked. “Raised two beautiful girls, both of which are now Wonderbolts, like they always wanted to be. I’m perfectly happy the way my life’s turned out,” “Stop saying that!” Vapor shouted, suddenly angry! “I… I just don’t want you to lay down and die! You… You can fight this!” Vapor shouted, her voice beginning to break. “Yes, and I am, with all of my being,” Her mom answered. “But Vapor, dear… You know there’s a very good chance that I’m not going to make it,” “There’s… There’s just got to be something I can do…” Vapor whispered, hardly believing her mom’s words. It sounded to her like she was just giving up, even when there was a chance they could beat this thing! “Live your life Vapor, that’s all I can ask of you,” Her mom said. “Maybe I’ll make it through this, maybe I won’t. Doesn’t matter. Just do me one small thing…” “Anything…” Vapor whispered, as her mom grasped her hand tightly, “Anything at all, I’ll do it, just for you,” “Keep on living Vapor, be the mare I know you are. Kind, compassionate… Use that drive of yours to go on soaring ever higher. Find somepony to love, that’s all I want from you. Just live,” “I… I will,” Vapor whispered. At some point during their conversation, all the other Rangers had stepped outside, feeling they were intruding. Vapor, wiping away her tears stepped outside the house where Lightning immediately greeted her surrogate sister. “Is… Is she going to make it?” Lightning asked. “I… I don’t know…” Vapor whispered. “She says she’s going to fight, but…” Lightning gripped her sister’s hand. “You were always there for me when I was growing up, now I’ll be here for you,” Lightning told her. “Tartarus, we’ll help her fight. Give her confidence!” “She’s right,” A voice Vapor would know anywhere put it. There, standing near a small fountain was Sky Stinger, out of his Wonderbolts uniform and dressed in a black leather jacket. “Sky… What are you doing here?” Vapor asked, her eyes widening in shock. “I came as soon as I heard,” the dark blue pegasus answered. “ Sunburst told me what he’d been planning. And I think I’ve got a good idea on how-” “Wait, Sunburst let you in our secret as well?” Lightning shouted in shock, her head whipping around to face the unicorn in question, who held his hands up defensively. “Hardly, he came to me telling me how he figured it out for himself,” Sunburst replied. Sky Stinger nodded in confirmation. “Yep, wasn’t really that difficult when I saw a Ranger with a metal wing. Started putting two and two together, and so… Here I am,” Sky answered with flushed cheeks, and a nervous chuckle. “...Kinda hard to keep a secret identity with this damn thing…” Lightning muttered, looking back at the offending wing. “We’ll work on an illusion spell for it later,” Sunset stated. “Anyways… Sky, Sunburst, what’s your plan?” “Well, I built off the idea that Breast Cancer is associated with the color pink and thought to organize a parade, raise money for treatments for anypony who’s been inflicted with the disease. I thought all of us marching in the parade, fully morphed would definitely inspire ponies,” Sunburst explained. “And I rounded up all the ponies in town, talked to the mayor even, got this cleared with him,” Sky added and was suddenly pulled into a hug by Vapor who whispered repeated thank yous over and over to him. Sky’s cheeks flushed even redder, if that were possible. Sunburst with an awkward laugh, cleared his throat. “So then…” Sunburst stated. “Let’s march, shall we?” Down below, in the lower parts of the town, a fine pink mist found itself surrounding and encompassing a stack of bowling balls in a Bowling Alley before reforming and creating itself a new body. The result was an Org with one large head resembling a bowling ball with one yellow cycloptic eye. On his shoulders were two bowling balls, red with black flame detailing. The new Org chuckled before going into full-on laughter. “Time for me to make some strikes!” He laughed before running off. Meanwhile, unaware of the newest Org, the Rangers and Sky had put the parade together, everyone dressed in pink attire of some kind and ready to march down Main Street. True to Sunburst’s promise, when the Rangers morphed all of their costumes had become a bright pink. Despite the circumstances, Vapor couldn’t help but grin at the sight of Sunburst in his now all pink costume. He looked, no other way to say it, absolutely ridiculous. Sunburst seemed to have noticed it as well as he marched with the rest of the town and was muttering on how maybe he shouldn’t have altered his costume under his breath. All around them, ponies dressed in all shades of pink and all kinds of pink attire marched behind them. “...Never seen so much pink in my entire life.” Lightning remarked. “Must say, I do prefer aqua but this… This is nice,” “Hey, turnout’s good and we’re raising lots of money here, so all the better I say,” Vapor said happily, hoping and praying that one day all of the money that was being raised today would go on one day to solve and cure cancer forever. Right about then, as everything was going good, as things often did, they took a turn for the worse. From out of nowhere, a flaming bowling ball spinning like a tornado knocked down quite a few people and sent them flying like bowling pins, complete with the classic sound. “Oh, that makes quite a few strikes!” The Bowling Org laughed as he checked off something on a clipboard. “Keep this up, and I’ll be setting a new record!” “Oh, you gotta be kidding me…” Vapor muttered. “Why today of all days?” The Bowling Org laughed again as he once again used the parade marchers as his “Pins”. Vapor snarled and clenched her fists. “Time to let this creep know who he’s dealing with, eh?” She asked and the Rangers all nodded before doing their respective role calls. “Lightning Speed! Ferocious Thunderbird!” “Cunning Wit! Fighting Fox!” “Great Strength! Monstrous Leviathan!” “Shadowed Intent! Vampire Bat!” “With a Virtuous Heart, Blazing Phoenix!” Sunset placed a hand on her Cutie Mark emblem and clutched at it before projecting an image of a red and gold lion roaring behind her. “Guardians of the Earth, united we roar! Power Rangers, Wild Force!” The team shouted at the Bowling Org as an explosion of pink smoke erupted behind them. “You’ve… You’ve got a lot of nerve attacking a parade made to raise Cancer awareness!” Vapor shouted, her voice breaking as she gripped her Trident, quite possibly more furious than she’d ever been at the Plug and Turbine Orgs. That said a lot really, given what they’d done. “Well, a parade to me says pins, pins to just knock down and score a strike!” The Bowling Org laughed, doing a little dance of glee. Next, with a grin on his face, he pulled out one of his bowling balls. “Well then, time to end your little bowling streak and smash that beloved ball of yours then,” Vapor challenged, stepping forwards and swinging her Trident behind her in an intimidating posture. “You don’t have a chance in Hell! You’ll just end up striking out! Now I’d advise you to get lost!” The Bowling Org taunted. “Really?” Lightning challenged. “Shut up, idiot!” “You’ll be the one getting lost,” Robert snarled. “I’m afraid we have no intention of listening to anything you have to say,” Vapor added. “Yeah, we hate guys like you!” Sunburst put in. “Do you have any idea who’re you’re dealing wi-” The Bowling Org asked before he was cut off. “No, and we don’t care. When we see some Org we don’t like… We blow it up!” Sunset finished pointing her Phoenix Blade at him before all the Rangers shouted: “Lights of Orion, activate!” A golden glow covered the Rangers, and when it faded, they were covered in the adornments the Lights had given them, with their Crystal Sabers now in Crystal Sword form. The Bowling Org roared in rage and charged towards them, two Bowling Pins in hand which he wielded like clubs. The Rangers dodged and ducked the wild and rather clumsy swings and Vapor and Lightning kicked the Org in the face making him stagger back. Sunset joined in and sliced the Org across the chest with a horizontal slice from her sword. “Now… You’ve really done it… Piss off!” The Org snarled before taking a step back, assuming a stance and rolling one of his bowling balls towards them. The Rangers jumped to the left to avoid the flaming inferno of a ball as it hit a collection of trees, igniting them and making them erupt in an explosion. He then rolled again, but this time Robert caught the bowling ball, and like the world’s most dangerous game of Hot Potato, the Rangers began tossing it back and forth between them until it finally ended up in the hands of Vapor. She pulled her arm back, and threw the ball at the Org who could only shout “That’s not how you bowl!” before it hit and he was sent flying back like, ironically enough, a bowling pin. Vapor dashed forwards and with a flying leap, slashed downwards with her Crystal Sword encased in water and split the Org down the middle before the remnants, as ever, exploded from the pure Morphin’ Grid energy used in the attack. Then, from behind her, Vapor and the rest of the Rangers heard a chorus of cheers and saw all of Stratusburg cheering for them and chanting their names. She let out a sigh of relief. They’d done it… They’d saved the parade. Vapor would find herself smiling even more when she found a familiar pink ribbon sticker on the rear bumper of Robert’s Mustang. Fillydelphia Docks: A pipe flute echoed across Fillydelphia’s docklands as its player carefully played a haunting tune as the waves crashed up against the breakers in the dark of the night. The Duke Org playing the flute rested atop a metal shipping container, legs dangling off the side as he played his tune. Coming here always made Zen-Aku feel calm, tranquil. He never knew why, maybe it was because nobody ever bothered to look for him here, or maybe it was the sound of the sea. Whatever the case, whenever he came here, he felt at peace. Zen-Aku smiled as he thought back… “A young mare such as yourself shouldn't be out here alone at this time of night, who knows what you might run into?” The Duke Org said in a surprisingly friendly way. Nervously, Vapor reached for her Crystal Saber and pointed it at the Duke Org. “I'm not afraid of you!” Vapor yelled, though her voice betrayed her feelings. “Now now, is that any way to treat a friend?” The Duke Org questioned even as he rested a black crescent moon like blade on his left shoulder. “You and I... We're both actually on the same side, believe it or not.” Vapor was stunned beyond words. An Org, a Duke Org at that, saying that they were both on the exact same side? It didn't make sense! “...Of course, knowing how you ponies treat anything that's different than you... Well, I wouldn't be surprised to find out you don't believe a word I'm saying. Hell, 3,000 years ago, I wouldn't have believed a word I was saying. Well, not before HIM anyways…” The Duke Org trailed off, seemingly lost in his own memories. Then, his eyes shot wide open as he detected a presence behind him. “Retinax…” Zen-Aku growled as he turned to face the eye themed General Org, Crescent Blade drawn. “You’ve made a rather large mistake coming here, I can assure you of that,” “Funny, you talking about mistakes when you’ve made quite a few of your own,” Retinax commented dutifully as Zen-Aku leveled his blade at him, one of the tips dangerously close to Retinax’s main eye. “You’ve really got to get better taste in allies, ones who actually trust you and won’t turn on you at the drop of a hat,” “And you’re offering yourself as an ally?” Zen-Aku deadpanned. “Funny, never thought you had a sense of humor,” “Think about it for a moment,” Retinax remarked. “Have the Rangers ever trusted you? You’re an Org, their natural enemy. Who’s to say they won’t turn on you one day once your usefulness is expended?” Zen-Aku, for the briefest of moments, had doubts about the Rangers, it was true that most of them, aside from Vapor and Sunset didn’t really trust him, and he had heard them talking, whispering behind his back when they thought he wasn’t listening. But he also knew that if he allied himself with Retinax, then they’d never trust him and all of his steps towards redemption… They’d all have gone to waste. “I’d advise you to leave… Now,” Zen-Aku growled out in a warning tone, his eyes beginning to glow. “They may not trust me, but I won’t throw away the trust of those that do.” “Really?” Retinax asked and Zen-Aku looked away from him and lowered his blade. “Prejudice and hatred destroyed this world once… Who’s to say it won’t again? History repeats, I’m walking evidence of that. But I aim to build a better world, one free of hatred and scorn. All you have to do be a part of it… Well, join me... Join the Org Family,” Family. That word echoed in Zen-Aku’s head. Something he’d never been apart of and no one had ever offered to him. He dropped his blade with a loud clattering sound and Retinax laughed, he had him. “I’m sorry… Vapor, Shayla… Merrick,” Zen-Aku thought as he threw his crystals into the sea and teleported away along with Retinax... Author's Note Huge thanks to Randomnoob57 for the chapter edits here, and helping bring out the emotional pain and hurt. Also... Now for the serious stuff. It's been estimated that of March 2017, there have been more than 3.1 million women with a history of Breast Cancer in the US alone. This includes women who've already been treated. However, about 40,610 women in the U.S. are expected to die in 2017 from breast cancer. An estimated 252,710 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 63,410 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer. Source Link to information here Anyways, this was what the Thunderbird was alluding to in the last chapter, a metaphorical character death, with Zen-Aku sacrificing his principles and throwing away everything he's done to redeem himself. Also, if no one gets the In Space homage here, it's the all Pink Morph, in tribute to the All Blue Morph to fool the Psycho Rangers as part of TJ's 2-part plan to defeat them along with "Psycho Silver". Anyways, as a bonus, I've managed to find a translation of "Pirate Girls", one of the insert songs in this chapter. Everything has been hidden in this heart The real screams charges out In order to retrieve it someday Let’s believe in the voiceless voice and go together Painful and sad feelings alone I will not inflict on others Until I grasp that Earth I saw that day Surpassing the blue oceans and the universe The reborn power now becomes one Oh no! Super high tension All the evil that huddle in the dark With one strike of light—look, isn’t it numbing? Get it down splendidly Encounters come out of nowhere The power that overflows from fateful moments On the other side of dreams yet undreamt Let’s advance on the road between roads, and get our hands on it Kindle the burning thoughts Accumulated one by one Until we find our own treasure Because we’re seeing the same future There’s nothing to fear The “not bad!” Whispered from your back No matter what enemy appears As long as you have comrades, you won’t lose to little things Get it down splendidly Surpassing the blue oceans and the universe The reborn power now becomes one Oh no! Super high tension All the evil that huddle in the dark With one strike of light—look, isn’t it numbing? Get it down splendidly Part 43: Samurai Takes KnightThe Crystal Empire: February the 14th AKA Hearts and Hooves Day. Possibly Shining’s favorite holiday in Equestria, or at least his wife’s. Mystic Mother above knew she loved reminding ponies about why they’d fallen in love in the first place, or setting ponies up she knew would make perfect couples. For Shining, his reasons was that Hearts and Hooves Days often put his wife in a very romantic mood, and for him that meant very, very good nights. The Crystal Empire loved this date as well. With all of the love being pulled into the Crystal Heart at the very center of the Kingdom, the Empire’s protection spells were stronger than ever. Lately, that was a very good thing, as the last few months they’d been needed more than ever thanks to the reemergence of the Orgs. Even with the Jaguar Wild Zord and Torozord constantly keeping their eyes peeled on the Empire, it never hurt to have every form of protection you could get your hooves on really. Shining was confident in that no Org would manage to make their way inside the Empire today or any other day, if he had anything to say about it. However, what nobody counted on or ever thought of was an Org Spirit already inside the Empire possessing something. That was… until today. Shining didn’t know it, but he was about to get a very rude awakening on just how much his responsibility to the Empire entailed, and just how ready he needed to be to face evil as the Magna Defender. Nor did he count on the Crystal Empire getting a blast from the past in Power Ranger history and for him, meeting with yet another one of the most celebrated heroes that the Morphin’ Grid had ever chose. In the Throne Room, his wife was at the point of anxiety, just like every other Hearts and Hooves Day. She wanted everything to be just right for her subjects on this special occasion. And as you can probably imagine, for the Princess of Love, Hearts and Hooves Day was the most important day of the year for her. “Banners… Banners…” Cadence muttered to herself as she paced back and forth across the throne room. “Where are the banners, they should have been hung up all over the castle by now!” Her face was frantic, eyes full of worry. Shining walked up to her and began rubbing her shoulders as his wife took several deep calming breathes. “Relax, okay? I’ve already begun ordering the guards to start hanging them up all over the castle, just as you wanted me to… And reminded me about for the past three days.” “Even if said guards are protesting about it… Quite feverently,” Shining mentally added with a chuckle that he hoped his wife hadn’t heard. If she did, she paid it no mind. The Princess of Love’s expression softened and looked guilty as she sighed. “Have I really been pushing you that hard about this?” She asked guiltily. Shining tried to think of a polite way to phrase his response. If not polite, at least not one too insulting. “Well… You have… I… Uh… Well… To be frank, yeah, you kinda have,” He answered, deciding to be blunt. One of the tips he’d learned from his father was never to lie to your wife about anything. It never ended well, and with you usually on the couch. He shrugged sheepishly and said “Sorry,” “No… No, it’s all my fault…” Cadence apologized before trying to explain. “It’s… It’s just, I want this day to be absolutely perfect, y’know?” “Because it’s your duty as the Princess of Love to make sure all the lovebirds in the Crystal Empire are happy couples, right?” Shining asked. “Well, wouldn’t have put it quite like that… but, in essence, yeah,” Cadence replied, blushing red. “You’re so cute when you’re like that, anypony ever tell you that?” Shining asked, kissing his wife on the lips. “E-Embarrassed and flustered I mean,” He stuttered out. “Seems to me the only embarrassed and flustered one around here is you,” Cadence sniped playfully. Shining mouthed something wordlessly, gobsmacked at having his own words turned back at him. “Wonder if I’m the only one with a wife who can match wits with their lover…” He thought to himself. “You know, on the subject of lovely couples, Luna did send me a letter about how she caught a certain Orange Ranger dreaming about Sunset Shimmer,” Cadence put in. “And I mean dreams of the… Er, let’s say unclean kind,” “So?” Shining asked. “Lots of males and females probably have sexual fantasies about Princesses. I mean, look at the Royal Sisters! They’ve won beauty polls for the last four years running!” Shining desperately tried not to think about how his sister might win one of those one day and have suitors flocking to her doorsteps. “Yeah, I wouldn’t have thought nothing of it, except Luna informed me that the two are actually dating. She seemed rather sad about it, for some reason,” Cadence continued. “Wait, wait, wait… Back up,” Shining stammered out, missing the part about Luna being sad entirely. “Are you actually saying that Robert and Sunset are dating? And all that comes with it?” “Well, I don’t know about all that comes with it...” Cadence trailed off thoughtfully. “But yeah, they are dating. Isn’t surprising really, considering they both live in the same town and share the same job, fighting evil day in and day out and all that,” “But, you mean they’re probably having sex,” Shining thought, trying very hard not to think about the idea of one of his adopted family members and Twilight’s older sister in all but blood having sex with anybody. “Weeellllll, I wouldn’t go that far…” Cadence trailed off again. “Really?” Shining asked, raising an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?” “Just a feeling about Sunset herself. Never quite confirmed it, as it’s really a private thing for her, but I don’t think they’ll be having sex anytime soon,” the Princess of Love remarked. “C-Can we get off this particular subject anytime soon please?” Shining stammered out, now quite thoroughly embarrassed to no end. Cadence had to cover her mouth with a hand to hide her giggles. “Fine, fine… Hoped to tease you a little more, but I suppose a girl can’t have all the fun all the time,” Cadence replied. “How about we take a walk around the city, hmm? Nice day for it,” “That sounds nice… Maybe stop for lunch at that little cafe you like?” Shining suggested. “Eat some of that Crystal Berry Pie?” Cadence smiled happily before she traced a finger under Shining’s chin. “And maybe later tonight we can share a bottle of wine and have some real fun if you’re good enough…” She said, her voice turning dangerously seductive and Shining’s cheeks blushed as red as the Phoenix Zord’s flames. He let out a small whimper of anticipation and nodded. “Yeah, thought so.” Cadence replied. Shining smiled. Ah, the benefits of being married to the Princess of Love… Elsewhere… Outside the Crystal Empire, in the middle of a freezing blizzard strode two figures wrapped in cloaks to shield themselves from the cold, both having very large horns sticking out of their foreheads. One carried a very large axe covered in what looked to be eyes and muscle tissue, another carried a crescent moon shaped blade pure black in color. Strapped to the second figure’s waist was an ebony dagger, with a similar crescent moon shaped theme and three little holes in it. As their cloaks flapped in the wind, Retinax turned to the Duke Org that accompanied him. “I presume you know what we’re here for, right?” “Remind me,” Zen-Aku replied in his usual gruff tone of voice, his distinctive golden eyes visible even under the hood of his cloak. “Yes…” Retinax chuckled. Zen-Aku may have been no Helicos or Artilla, but he was still a powerful Duke Org nonetheless. Smart as well, as he’d quickly found out ever since he picked him up last night. Perhaps maybe too smart for his own good. Sooner or later, the infamous “Wolf of the Night” would figure out that he was being used only for his power, and that as soon as Retinax was done with him, he’d be dumped out like yesterday’s trash. “Long ago, when King Sombra was still in control of this land, he stumbled across something. A powerful artifact. A gem, he knew of the power it possessed. Or to be more accurate, once possessed. He never could quite get it to reactivate that power for his own uses, whatever they may have been. Give himself more power, I can only imagine,” the General Org explained. “The fool…” Zen-Aku muttered to himself in derision. Tyrants, always searching for further ways to bolster their own power levels. “Perhaps,” Retinax chuckled again before shrugging. “Perhaps not. The point is, it’s still there,” Retinax stated, pointing towards the Crystal Castle in the distance. “I can only guess Shining had all of Sombra’s dark objects and weapons of war moved somewhere safe… Out of the way, where nopony with dark desires could get their grubby little hands on them.” “Nobody except you, that is,” Zen-Aku finished. Retinax smirked. “Correct, although I should say you. My guess, Shining and that damn Princess of Love have improved the barriers keeping out enemy forces,” the General Org explained. “So, obviously I can't just waltz in and take the gem. You, however, that’s another story. They don't know you've switched sides yet, do they?” “No…” Zen-Aku murmured. The barriers should still see him as a friend, and he could walk right in and take the gem with nopony the wiser. Walking towards the two tall amethyst spires that made up the entry gates, he suddenly found himself shoved backwards by an invisible force. Evidently, Shining and Cadence didn't know he’d switched sides, but the barriers did. “So, any other ideas…?” Zen-Aku deadpanned. “Well, there is that ability of yours…” Retinax replied thoughtfully. Zen-Aku’s eyes widened in shock. Surely he wasn't suggesting…? “Yes, I am,” Retinax stated, finishing the Duke Org’s train of thought. Zen-Aku sighed, before vanishing in a flash of black energy… With Shining and Cadence… Much to Cadence and Shining’s surprise, they’d run across a familiar griffon and pony duo while out on their date at the Topaz Cafe, the Crystal Empire’s finest dining establishment. “Troy, Canvas!” Shining shouted out to the pair, earning him a wave as he and his wife walked into the Cafe. “What are you two lovebirds doing here?” “Well, Canvas here,” Troy started, flashing his husband a proud smile. “Has an art show here in the next few days, so we thought we’d get here early. See the sights as well in the bargain, I figured.” “The art show hosted by Lapis Lazuli, I presume?” Shining asked thoughtfully, and Troy nodded in confirmation. “Table for four please,” Shining asked, and waved Troy and Canvas over to a table and pulled up a chair. “Really?” Troy asked in shock, quite flabbergasted. “Yeah, consider it a treat from yours truly,” Shining stated. “Now, how’s your sightseeing been going?” “It’s had its ups and downs, so to speak,” Troy responded with his feathers flushing crimson, still shocked that the Prince of the Crystal Empire would ask for them to eat with them. “I presume you saw the statue of “Spike, the Brave and Glorious”?” Cadence asked, referring to the giant crystal statue of Spike holding the Crystal Heart. The sapphire constructed statue had been erected and carved not too long after the defeat and banishment of Sombra’s restless spirit. “Yeah, we saw,” Canvas replied. “I'm no statue carver or whatever you call it, but even I as an artist can spot the love and care carved out into that thing. I have to give compliments to the artisans here in the Empire. They're very well trained in their trade.” “Yeah, the ponies who make our famous flugelhorns are very proud,” Shining stated as he and Cadance seated themselves. Cadence’s usual long flowing mane was tied up in a nice bun instead of its usual style earning her quite a few admirers and Shining a few jealous looks from stallions and mares alike. Troy groaned loudly. “Oh, don’t get me started on them,” he muttered in derision. “All the way here, ponies were shouting at me and Canvas left and right to buy their horns. Got quite annoying after a few minutes, as you can imagine.” Shining chuckled. “Yeah, I can. How’s married life been treating you?” “Been good,” Troy stated. Cadence looked at them curiously. “Been thinking about little foals or fillies yet?” She inquired and Canvas blushed profusely, about as red as a blood-colored ruby. “We… We… really hadn’t been thinking about it to be honest, least not right now,” Canvas replied in an embarrassed tone. “Well, you know, a little bun in the oven never hurt anybody. Me and Shining have been thinking about one lately...” Cadence trailed off. If it were possible, Canvas blushed even redder. “B-But we’re both males!” He sputtered out. “You know perfectly well as I do that neither of us can have a child that way!” “Oh trust me on this,” Cadence replied, and Shining groaned and facepalmed. He really hated it sometimes when his wife went into her “Shipper on Deck” mode as he called it and thought up really crazy or insane ideas to help couples out with their perceived marital problems. “There’s nothing magic can’t do nowadays. There’s quite a few spells or potions that could help you out on this.” “...Can we just order our food now?” Shining asked, sinking low into his seat as the waiter arrived, quite thoroughly embarrassed by his wife’s antics. Eventually, the food did arrive and Troy quickly began to dig into his shrimp resembling a lioness ripping apart one of her kills in some strange and slightly disturbing manner for Shining and Cadence. Canvas on the other hoof paid it no mind, he was used to Griffon table manners by now after meeting all of Troy’s family who were in some cases worse than Troy himself. “A certain pair of Triplets come to mind…” He thought with a chuckle. His eyes then wandered to a dummy adorned in blood-red armor. The style was that of the ancient Japanese samurai warlords. “What’s with…?” He trailed off. “Oh, that?” Shining asked and Canvas nodded. “The owner brought it in last year if I remember correctly. Guy’s fascinated with ancient Neighponiese culture. You should see the ink painting of the white and red wolf he has in his backroom running across a green field. Very interesting to say the least. It’s like that wolf is actually creating the grass and flowers beneath its feet.” Of course, right about then, the peace was shattered when a very familiar and very unwelcome pink mist surrounded the armor and transformed it into a horned monstrosity with a demonic like face on his chest. The face seemed to be howling in pain as the newly reborn Samurai Org gripped his katana and patrons scattered out the front door… Shining flicked his wrists and the Magna Defender bracers appeared as he drew the Magna Blade from its hilt. Shining sighed to himself as he morphed with a shout of “Magna Power!” and gripped his blade. “Show me your fighting style!” The Samurai Org challenged. “You must defend it, it is part of your honor as a swordsman!” “Dunno what the Tartarus you’re talking about… But, okay…” Shining muttered. With that, the unicorn stallion stepped forward and the two warrior's blades met as the restaurant's patrons began to flee. They traded blows with each other, neither one getting the upper hand. “You fight well for someone of your caliber Knight, but you still don’t have what it takes!” The Org taunted. He threw a punch at Shining, aiming to gut-check the stallion. Shining knocked the blow off track with his free hand and lowered his shoulder to shove the Org back. “And you’re ugly, so I think that makes us about even, Samurai, if that’s even what you are,” Shining taunted, only serving to make the Samurai Org more determined to defeat his opponent and fellow swordsman. Cadence frowned. Shining was getting cocky, starting to run the risk of making a dangerous mistake. “You dare question my integrity? My worth as a Samurai?” He roared out, slashing furiously at Shining, forcing him onto the defensive to handle the flurry of strikes at the cost of small wounds to his arms and legs. “Little bit, yeah,” Shining deadpanned as he maneuvered the Org in front of the restaurant's front door with his counterblows before quickly seizing a barstool and flinging it full force into his opponent's chest, forcing him to stumble out into the street. The Samurai Org took a brief moment away from his blade to pull out a shell and throw the contents inside up in the air. The slime inside solidified into Putrid soldiers who beat the ground with their cudgels as an intimidation measure. As if to add to Shining’s problems, there came a distinct crowing sound as Tenga Warriors flew down from the sky, some holding swords of their own, dark purple scimitars. “Funny, I thought a warrior of honor would need no backup, he’d face his foe alone,” Shining remarked. “A warrior also takes whatever help he is given, and my Master has a whole army on his side. Samurai are warlords, remember? We are perfectly willing to lead our troops into battle on the front lines,” the Samurai Org replied. “You’re confused with Shoguns. Far as I see it, you’re just a lone wolf, so to speak. A simple soldier,” Shining taunted as he stepped out of the building to face his foe again, determined to finish the fight, but the Samurai Org was quick to offer a rebuttal. “And a simple soldier follows his fellow troops into battle,” he remarked. “And today, that battle is taking this Empire of yours for ourselves!” The Org took advantage of Shining walking forward, darting towards him and getting inside the reach of his sword, wrenching the stallion’s weapon from his grasp as he knocks him away, the blow turning Shining to gaze back at the restaurant where he sees Cadance had followed him and was now directly in the Org’s path. Disarmed, he could only watch in horror as time seemed to slow to a crawl as the evil creature’s blade drew a bloody line up his wife's arm on its way to separate her head from her neck. Suddenly, with a shout of “Ki-yah!” a boot hit the Samurai Org squarely in the jaw from out of nowhere just in time before the Org could finish the job. It belonged to a man dressed in a military green vest with a black shirt underneath it and short, spiky black hair with a tiny goatee. “Who the Hell do you think you are?” The Samurai Org demanded, seemingly sizing his newest opponent up. “What, a fellow Ranger can’t come and help out from time to time?” the newcomer asked casually with a shrug of his shoulders. “Name’s Tommy Oliver, yours?” The Samurai Org took a swing at him which he barely dodged. In the background, both Canvas and Troy grabbed Cadence and rushed her out the back door of the restaurant to where two unicorn guards waited and teleported her off. Shining sighed in relief as he mentally thanked the two, his wife was safe thanks to their courage. They’d stayed behind while everybody else had fled. Medals were definitely in order for them, Shining noted. “No time for talking then?” Tommy noted as the battle progressed back into the street. “Well, in that case…” Then, the man pulled out what looked to be a gold and red adorned belt buckle with a golden coin in the center of it and shouted out what was possibly the most famous morphing call in Power Ranger history: “It’s Morphin’ Time! Dragonzord!” In a bright, nearly blinding flash of green energy, he was transformed into a green warrior adorned with white diamond shaped detailing on his gloves and boots and a golden diagonal shaped chest plate. His stark black opaque visor had white teeth detailing around it and a sculpted silver mouth plate with the entire helmet coming across as some sort of dragon complete with headcrest and the entire helmet was topped off with three golden adornments. The costume itself less resembled the spandex he was used to seeing and more like body armor if Shining was to be honest. All in all, this new Ranger looked very, very dangerous. Shining almost felt sorry for the Tengas, Putrids and the Samurai Org. Almost. “...So, you guys are still around huh?” The Mighty Morphin’ Green Ranger observed, sounding almost bored. Shining, if he didn’t know better, could swear he could see him smirking under his helmet. “This should be a piece of cake then,” The Green Ranger charged into battle slicing and dicing his way through the Tengas with what looked to be a combination of a dagger and a flute that had appeared in his hands with a bright flash of green and gold energy. One tried to punch the Ranger square in the jaw, but the punch was caught and the Green Ranger flipped him onto the pavement. A Putrid tried to swing at the Ranger, in an attempt to bash his skull in with his cudgel, but the Ranger moved his head at the last minute and kicked the Orgling into a Flugelhorn cart. Shining, as he clutched his chest in pain chuckled a little. “Oh, the owners aren’t going to like that one. Cart abuse and destruction, wonder if I should make a law about destroying those things? No, probably would be pointless anyways,” he thought. Shining watched as the Green Ranger judo-flipped two Tengas behind him. He socked another Tenga across the beak with a powerful right cross before KOing him and sending the crow-like warrior flying with one powerhouse of an uppercut. A Putrid appeared from behind him and fired his weapon at the Green Ranger who summoned a scimitar blade with a little red piece of ribbon hanging off of it in his hands and used it to slice the rocket down the middle. He then ran towards the Putrid and knocked him to the ground with a leg sweep before whirling around and decapitating a Tenga with the sword. Purple toned blood sprayed everywhere some getting on the Green Ranger’s costume. He groaned in disgust before inspecting his sword. “Never thought I’d actually be grateful to be using this weapon again… But any port in a storm to use the old idiom I guess…” the Green Ranger murmured before using both the Sword of Darkness and the Dragon Dagger to start cutting down the remaining enemy forces. He even at one point blew the Dragon Dagger using the sound waves to knock back both Putrids and Tengas alike. Soon, all that was left was the Samurai Org as he and the Green Ranger circled each other like a pair of hungry wolves about to face off over a kill. “Aren’t you a little old for this Green Ranger?” the Samurai Org taunted. Tommy only chuckled. “Might be, but I can still pull it off,” he remarked. They each gripped their blades tightly before charging towards each other. Tommy leaps over the swing of the Org's blade, delivering a kick to the monster's back, causing it to stumble forward. “So, even 3,000 years in the future the Earth is threatened by monsters,” Tommy remarked in a dry tone of voice before chuckling wryly. “Why doesn’t that somehow surprise me? What, is it because you think we’re an easy target?” Tommy spins, bringing his leg up to kick the Org in the head, grunting in surprise when it catches the blow with its arm before throwing him off his feet. “For the record, we Orgs have been around longer than you,” The Samurai Org remarked. “And yes, for the record… Us monsters do think Earth is an easy target. Look at you… Humans, so weak and frail. Most of you barely make it past seventy-five on average. And that’s not counting your own self-destructive tendencies.” “Yeah, what about that?” Tommy asked, feeling as if he was about to be lectured. He chuckled at the irony. And here he thought he was the teacher. He jumps back to his feet and the pair slowly circles each other, facing off once more. “Your drinking, Your religious differences, prejudice, and oh… let us not forget, your love of the ancient art of war. The First and Second World Wars, Vietnam and the conflicts in the Middle East. You can’t seem to keep that good urge down. My armor… It was at Hiroshima, you know,” the Org remarked even as he was kicked in the chest making him stumble back. Tommy lunged forward with the Sword of Darkness scoring a slice across the chest and then tried for another strike but the blow was blocked. Tommy leaped off a table as the Org slashed it in half with a powerful swing from his katana before the Green Ranger kicked him in the face. “The day the bomb dropped. Somehow, it survived. I have a first-hand look at humanity’s love for war you can imagine, their bloodlust. There’s one last example I’d like to point out. What was it... ?” the Samurai Org lectured before trailing off. Suddenly, he “remembered”. “And oh yes, your hatred against ponykind. Your attempted culling of them. Look where that got you,” the Samurai Org growled out as his katana and Tommy’s sword met and blades locked, sparks flying off the metal grinding against each other. “You been hanging out with Solar Flare?” Tommy snarked as he socked the Org across the jaw before slicing out with his Dragon Dagger scoring a blow in-between the small gaps in the Org’s armor. He then tried another kick but was thrown to the pavement in a spin hitting the stone with a thud. “No, but I’d love to shake her hand for clearing out humanity for us Orgs to take over in its stead. The presence of ponies… A minor obstacle to be sure. They can be removed easily enough, like all obstacles. They fall to the same self-destructive tendencies as you humans,” the Samurai Org remarked before teleporting away in a red flash. “Man… You talk too much.” Tommy sighed as he rubbed his head in pain. In a courtyard used as training grounds for the Crystal Guard, Shining punched a tree in frustration. “Can’t… Can’t believe I let that damn Samurai beat me!” He snarled out in self-disgust. “The Magna Defender… He trusted these powers to me and I can’t even use them to defend my own country! My own wife!” “So?” Tommy asked. “Everybody loses every once in awhile against a monster. Hell, I’ve had it worse off than you. To recount, I’ve been trapped in Amber by a brainwashed Ranger, been brainwashed myself to destroy the original Power Rangers and their city, got sent into a coma, and temporarily lost my powers twice on the same team.” “Now you’ve got to be kidding me… Nobody’s luck is that bad…” Shining muttered in disbelief. “Well, when you become a Power Ranger… I’d say getting into a lot of weird shit comes with the deal,” Tommy chuckled and Shining laughed with him. He had a point there. Then, Tommy leveled the Sword of Darkness at him as he re-morphed. “Now, duel with me. Let’s just see how good you really are.” And so it began, with Shining drawing his Magna Blade at Tommy and swords clashed. Metal met metal, every blow matched. But then, Shining remembered the utter humiliation he’d been dealt by the Samurai Org and rage overtook him. His swings became wilder, messier. Tommy dodged them easily and kicked Shining back into a tree. He then demorphed and stuck the Sword of Darkness into the grass before walking up and taking Shining’s wrist bracers from him. “Is this how the current Sixth and Magna Defender fights? With anger and rage?” Tommy asked, crossing his arms in stark disapproval and raising an eyebrow. “Until you get your act together and stow your shit, you’re not worthy of these. Not by a long shot.” “But-” Shining tried to protest but was quickly rebuffed. “Calm yourself down, put your personal humiliation aside. There are ponies lives at stake here, and your own damn wounded pride isn’t worth them dying on your watch!” Tommy exclaimed. “You’re this kingdom’s Prince right?” Shining nodded weakly. “Then start acting like it,” Tommy ordered before teleporting off in a flash of green energy. Crystal Castle Crypts: Meanwhile, in another part of the Empire Zen-Aku emerged into a deep, dank and very dark crypt. His armor and fur practically made him blend into the background. His eyes scanned the room full of horrific torture and execution devices that Sombra had once used on his subjects. Shackles lined the stone walls with various sharp instruments resting against a wall with a cat-o-nine-tails lying abandoned in a corner. He made a noise of disgust as his eyes wandered to a guillotine, long since abandoned and gathering dust. The sliver of the blade was stained with dried blood. He’d heard about Sombra, and how he kept the Crystal Ponies in line, but this was something else, even for him. His eyes wandered to the infamous torture device known as “The Maiden”, or the Virgin of Nuremberg. It was like a coffin, except on every wall were spikes implanted into it. And then there was Sombra’s Judas Cradle, a triangular shaped seat where whoever sat on it was very slowly impaled. Zen-Aku had to hold back his gag reflex. The sooner he got out of here, the better. “I’m surprised these haven’t been destroyed yet…” Zen-Aku thought as he wandered through the crypt. “Perhaps Shining and/or Cadence subscribe to the philosophy of those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, or they simply can’t bring themselves to even step foot into this room to destroy them. Can’t say I blame them.” Then, he spotted it. A pure white gem, a light against the blackness of the room sitting on a plinth inside a glass case. He shattered the case and grabbed the gem before teleporting out through a swirling portal of darkness. What he didn’t see was a hand reach out of that darkness, before quickly pulling itself back in as the portal closed… Back with Shining, he kept swinging his sword and slicing apart the dummies, rage against the Samurai Org filling his every swing. And every time, he missed. He knew what Tommy had did back there. It was something his superiors in the Royal Guard had done to him once and he heard the Wonderbolts did to their recruits at times. It was the classic “Break you down to build you up” strategy. Get Shining angry enough, and he’d stop worrying about the Samurai Org. “Tommy… He was right…” Shining thought to himself not realizing he was speaking aloud. “I let my pride as a swordsman get the better of me, let it control my emotions in that fight, and now look what it’s cost me. My wife’s in the hospital and my Morphers have been taken away. I promised to uphold the Magna Defender legacy… Defend others who couldn’t defend themselves. Sure doing a Tartarus of a fine job doing that.” “Actually, I’d say you’re doing a better job than you think you are,” Troy’s voice remarked, coming from behind him. Shining’s head whirled around to face him. “What the…? How long have you been there?” Shining asked in shock. “Long enough. Apologies for eavesdropping your Highness, but it seems like you needed somebody to talk to,” the gray feathered griffon remarked. “If you ask me, you’re doing a fine job of upholding the Magna Defender legacy. I was there in Canterlot, the day you faced down that Retinax fellow...” The Torozord followed his movements, drawing a pair of twin golden kunai daggers, “I am Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire, Captain of the Royal and Crystal Guard and the Third Magna Defender.” The Torozord brought the daggers together, forming a double bladed javelin and raising it in a salute. “Defender of Equus!” Watching in awe as Shining made his declaration, Troy smiled and whispered: “Go get him.” “You sent him fleeing didn’t you and that was only your first fight with the powers correct?” Troy inquired. “So… Surely you can do the same with this Samurai wannabe?” Shining gripped his sword and smirked. “You’re right… I can. Now… Where can I find him?” “Last I heard, he and this green and gold covered warrior were doing battle in the Cherry Blossom Gardens on the west end of the Empire,” Troy replied. That was all Shining needed. With a shout of “Thanks!” he dashed off to the armory intent on grabbing a few things... Crystal Empire: Cherry Blossom Gardens Meanwhile, Tommy had found himself on the backfoot against the Samurai Org. The Org was swinging powerful blow after powerful blow, the Green Ranger just barely meeting them every time with the Dragon Dagger or the Sword of Darkness. “You’re not the one I want! Where’s the Prince?” The Samurai Org roared. “I want to see more of that glorious fighting style!” “Too bad, he’s not here. You’ll be dealing with me instead,” the Green Ranger replied snarkily before he was kicked in the chest and sent sprawling to the ground. Groaning in pain, Tommy started to pick himself up. And then he saw it. Striding forwards, wearing a determined expression on his muzzle was Shining Armor. He was covered head to hoof in full gleaming topaz Crystal Guard armor and a flowing blood-red cape trailing behind him making him resemble a cross between a Roman Centurion and a medieval knight. In one hand he held the Magna Blade and the other he wielded a shield not that far removed from the type the Knight Templars would have used, his Cutie Mark of a pink six-pointed star on a dark blue shield emblazoned on it. Tommy smiled under his helmet as Shining knocked a Putrid aside with his shield. “I knew it, he’d get back in the fight eventually. Can’t keep a good Ranger down.” Shining blasted a Tenga full-force with his Riot Blaster, punching a hole through his chest before switching back to blade form. “Go get ‘em, Shining.” Tommy thought. “Back for more?” The Samurai Org laughed. All around them, cherry blossom trees bloomed in a bright display of pink and white, the flowers falling all around them in the cobblestone square to complete the scene of Samurai VS Knight. “Yeah, time for round two you bastard,” Shining growled as he crossed blades with a Tenga Warrior, sparks flying as the blades ground together before he kicked it in the stomach and sliced it down. He whirled around to face another Tenga and bashed it in the head with his shield before knocking it aside. The Samurai Org roared in rage and charged towards Shining, katana drawn and sliced downwards with a powerful slash. Shining raised his shield to block the blade strike but the sword slashed it clean through, lopping off the top. Shining hit the Samurai Org in the head with the butt of his own blade before tossing the broken shield aside. It hit the cobblestone with a clattering sound as Tommy tossed Shining his Magna Bracers. “Here, catch!” the Green Ranger shouted and Shining caught them at once and strapped them to his wrists. He tossed his sword skywards before Shining flipped out the key on his left bracer and plugged it into the right one before with an explosion of energy he was back in full Defender armor. He caught the Magna Blade and leveled it at the Samurai Org. “Let’s do this,” Shining growled out. “You still come crawling back to me, after I soundly defeated you?” The Samurai Org laughed. “Destroyed your honor as a swordsman?” “Honor… That’s a funny thing to say considering you have none of it,” Shining snarled. “A warrior of honor… He’d never attack the lives of innocents, never let them get caught up in the crossfire with him and his duel. But that’s exactly what you’ve done today. You’re no honorable warrior, you’re not worthy of your title as a Samurai. I defend my people, no matter the cost. I have my honor as a Knight, as the Prince of the Crystal Empire, as the Third Magna Defender, and you have absolutely nothing of the sort!” He declared. “Here, catch!” Tommy shouted, once again tossing something Shining’s way. This time, the Dragon Dagger. Shining grasped it tightly in his free hand. The two warriors clashed swords, meeting again and again, each blow matched perfectly and like before it seemed that neither one was gaining ground. “What about your wife? What about her?” The Samurai Org taunted, hoping to enrage Shining, but that wasn’t going to be happening anytime soon. “She’s in the hospital, probably moments away from death!” Shining stayed completely calm throughout this even as he continued blocking blows from the Samurai Org. The Org lunged at him but Shining sidestepped out of the way and elbowed him in the face making him stumble back a bit. He then scored several small slashes with the Dragon Dagger. In retaliation, the Samurai Org did score a slice across the chest plate cracking the green gem in the middle however before kicking Shining backwards with a kick to the chest making Shining stumble. However, the Magna Defender remained unfazed. He raised the Dragon Dagger to his faceplate and blew on it and as a sound like a trumpet played, green bolts of lightning shot out of the Dagger ripping up the ground. One bolt shot straight and true at the Samurai Org. It was soundly deflected with his katana’s blade and sent right back at Shining who absorbed the bolt with his own sword. “That’s not going to happen. I have faith in both her and the doctors at the hospital. She’ll be fine. You on the other hand… That’s another story entirely,” the Magna Defender stated calmly. With that, his horn glowed a fine magenta and he tossed the Org skywards before leaping up after him and with the sun as his backdrop glinting off the Crystal Castle he sliced the Org right down the middle with the Magna Blade. The Org plummeted to the ground cracking the stone beneath him but still, he managed to pick himself up. “That… That the best you got?” the Samurai Org growled. Shining smirked under his helmet as he gripped both of his weapons tightly and leaped forwards. “Galactic Dragon Slash!” Shining yelled as he spun sideways in midair like a tornado, his Magna Blade glowing a bright sapphire blue and the Dragon Dagger a bright jade green as he slashed them across the Samurai Org’s chest in one powerful final strike. The Org staggered before he fell forwards. Shining smirked, he was finished. However... “So, I see some things never change…” Tommy muttered as he watched the Samurai Org grow to giant size no thanks to Thrax’s wand. There was a roaring sound as the Torozord saw the giant and charged onto the battlefield, his green eyes glimmering with anticipation and steam snorting from his nostrils. “I assume you can take it from here?” Tommy asked, turning to Shining who only nodded. “Magna Defender, transform!” Shining shouted as he faced his partner, his eyes meeting with the Torozord’s own. Shining was transformed into a giant red armored capeless version of himself as the Torozord emitted a green beam from the gem on his forehead. The Torozord’s green eyes flashed once as it stood up, raising onto its hind legs to a bipedal stance as steam erupted from its nostrils and the now Mega Defender jumped inside. The head opened up, revealing a stoic face with yellow eyes as hands erupted from the bull’s forehooves. “Defender Torozord, ready!” Shining yelled out as he raised the Defender Axe and an explosion of smoke like a volcano blowing its top erupted from behind the Megazord. The very ground shook as the two titans marched forwards and a loud, mighty CLANG! was heard as axe met katana. The Defender Torozord sliced the Samurai Org across the chest before a swift retaliation was dealt. A horizontal strike from the katana and the Defender Torozord stumbled back sparks flying from the blow. Shining grunted in pain. He seriously envied the main team at this point, actually having cockpits instead of being the Megazord themselves. “Come on…” He grunted out. “That the best you got?” Shining sliced again with the Defender Axe and once again metal met metal before Shining tried a different approach and punched the Samurai Org across the jaw with a powerful right hook and he stumbled back. The katana hit the ground with a loud clattering sound. “Now… Let’s finish this!” Shining shouted before going for the Megazord’s lance. “Defender Torozord, Lightning Spin!” The Torozord, whirling in place like a tornado with the lance charged with lightning before it blitzed through the Samurai Org with one quick slice. Shining stood triumphantly and raised his lance skywards as the Org fell over with a groan of pain and went up in a fireball that could be seen for miles. “Now that’s how you defeat a monster,” Tommy said in approval, taking off his helmet to look up at the Megazord before him with his own eyes. Later that evening, Tommy met with Shining in front of the Crystal Castle. “Listen, about what I did…” Tommy started before Shining shook his head. “No, you were right. I needed that lesson taught to me, badly. I guess even a Prince has some things to learn from time to time,” Shining chuckled, Dragon Dagger strapped to his hip. “Well, I wish I could stay and help, but I have to be getting back. Got a wife waiting on me on the other side. Going to be mad as Hell at me, even if it was nice getting back out in the field for a little while,” Tommy laughed and Shining chuckled as he saluted. “Thanks, and stay safe,” Shining said as Tommy began to fade away. But not before he had one last thing to say. “You too, and may the Power protect you...” He trailed off before vanishing entirely leaving only the Sword of Darkness behind. Shining smiled before he implanted it in the ground in front of him as tribute before heading inside the Castle. When he got inside, he found himself teleported to the bedroom, where on the bed lay his wife in a see-through negligee, with wine and chocolate covered strawberries on the table beside her. The room itself was only just barely lit, with candles providing the only sources of light. Shining blushed red. Even with the stitches lining her arm where the Samurai Org had cut it open, his wife still looked beautiful as ever. “Well, is my knight in shining armor ready for his reward for slaying the ogre?” Cadence asked him in a seductive tone nibbling on one of the strawberries. Shining whimpered and gave a small nod as all the lights went out one by one. The Magna Defender smiled as he found himself pulled into the bedsheets as Cadence giggled. Now this was a proper reward. Author's Note Okay, so first off... We now have our official Sixth Ranger in Shining Armor, the Magna Defender. He's probably been this state for a while now, ever since he first took on Retinax, actually. It's just now I've started referring to him as such. Secondly, this chapter is the exact reason why I never put Tommy on that poll of past Rangers you guys wanted to show up, as I wanted to do something pretty special with him. Pretty sure this qualifies. Anyways, lots of foreshadowing here and there, see if you can catch it. And again, Troy and Canvas belong to the King of Gay Comedy, the VClaw. Also, huge thanks to Eagle-PaladinofShadows for the sword fight scenes and general tips. Next month: A showdown three thousand years in the making as Celestia and Solar Flare finally come to blows as Thrax traps the Rangers on the Island of Illusions... "Magical Source, Mystical Force!" Also, if you haven't heard the news... https://twitter.com/TokuNation/status/917404145371430912 Next Ranger team maybe? Plus... Part 44: From the Stars of the Ancient Past... (A Solar Tyrant's Fall Part 1 of 3) Canterlot Royal Library “Come on… Come on, it’s got to be in here somewhere… That last spell I need!” Twilight whispered frantically as she poured through the pages of an old spell book. She’d tied her normally long hair in a small bun to keep it from falling in her face as she read. A small lamp had been set up to illuminate the pages in the darkened room. Near that lamp sat a solid gold Dino Charger, the exact same one Sunset Shimmer and Daring Do had used in their battle against the river God Boitatá. At one point when she flipped through the pages, a small cloud of dust rose up and Twilight sneezed, the dust tickling her nose. Moonlight poured in through a giant glass window, illuminating a giant pile of spell books that Twilight had tossed aside after deeming them useless. For the past few days and nights, she’d shoved her nose in books, hoping to find the last spell she needed to combine the others she’d found to power of the Crystal of Duality and create a spell chain that in theory anyways, should free the consciousness of Celestia from Solar Flare’s hold and separate the two. That way, Solar Flare could hopefully be taken down and destroyed forever, leaving her existence only a memory. “They’re all useless, absolutely useless!” Twilight cried, throwing the latest spell book behind her after finding it to be of no help whatsoever. She gazed at the glowing yellowish crystal in front of her, looking at it with a critical eye. For days and nights, that thing had been the only thing she’d been focused on ever since she took it upon herself to study the mysterious crystal after Sunset Shimmer and Daring Do brought it back from Neighrazil. The crystal itself resembled a star, like it had fallen from the heavens and was glittering with an ethereal light that seemed to come from within the crystal itself in some manner. “I’ve got to get this riddle solved, the Winter Ball is almost upon us! If the other leaders of the nations see Celestia, they’d be terrified. Solar Flare could take control and erupt from within her at any time, and who knows what might happen then?” Twilight thought frantically, her mind racing and heart beating like a drum. “Oh Mystic Mother above, she might exterminate every delegate in the room and then lead armies against their nations! Equestria would be at war, and I don’t know if we’re ready to go up against every other nation in the world at once!” Visions of terror filled Twilight’s mind. She saw Celestia laughing and talking serenely at the Winter Ball with the Griffon King and the Dragonlord before she laughed darkly and with a flash of fire burned everybody within her line of sight into nothing but ashes. Solar fire filled the room as everything caught alight and Solar Flare laughed at the insanity of it all before she smiled. No, not a kind caring smile like the one Celestia wore, but one that promised pure devastation to everything in its wake. "All this power wasted on… galas and parties and what have you,” She said disgustedly before shaking her head. “When, after all... There are far greater uses." And then a dark new age for Equus began, one so dark and terrible the fires of Tartarus might have seemed preferable to the world above them. Griffon airships dropped bombs upon Ponyville, houses going up in flames as ponies screamed in terror as they burned alive, unable to escape the coming fire. But the worst was still yet to come. Then came the arrival of the Zebra warriors from New Roam. Despite the Griffon Kingdom’s airship bombings, there were still a few ponies left able to fight. Sadly, thanks to the greater numbers and harsher battlefield training of the New Roaman empire, they were quickly -and shown absolutely no mercy of any kind or any sort as it happened- overrun. Equestria had fallen, and Twilight knew it. She was just forced to observe it, an invisible watchman, and that perhaps was the cruelest bit of it all. She saw it, ponies in chains led by the Zebras of New Roam into gladiator pits, forced to fight to the death. These matches were presided by a heavily built, muscular Zebra clad in golden centurion armor with a red sash draped over his chest, two evil eyes in their sockets with the rest of his face covered in shadow. Twilight watched helplessly as both Rarity and Sunset fought to the death, electroshock collars around their necks to keep them from rebelling with Rarity finally skewering Sunset through the chest and blood splattered the ground. Twilight watched in horror as Rarity removed the gladius sword from Sunset’s chest and the Princess of Empathy fell forwards, a gaping hole in her stomach. “Sunset… Sunset, darling… I’m so sorry!” Rarity whispered as she ran over to her friend, hoping for some signs of life, even shaking her body. “I… I didn’t mean for this to happen! Honestly, I didn’t!” But there was nothing she could do, and Rarity sobbed even as the gate opened for the former fashionista’s next opponent. The foe in question? A unicorn with a broken horn, with dark orchid fur and a blood red mohawk for a mane style, holding a nasty looking Zweihander and covered in black armor. “Now, ladies and gentlemen…” A voice coming from the box that the Zebra Emperor, sat in announced as the crowd roared in approval. Twilight didn’t know how, as she never studied the Zebra leadership, but she knew his name to be Galvanax. “Our deadliest warrior, Tempest Shadow!” Tempest let a sadistic smirk come to her muzzle as she ran towards Rarity, who closed her eyes in acceptance before she stood up straight. “Very well then, if I die by the hands of a barbarian… Then let it be with the grace of a lady.” Rarity stated before the two blades met… And then, she saw another vision of what could come to pass. Canterlot Castle, even with a shielded bubble of magical energy created by the Royal Guard’s most powerful unicorn troops, breached by a thrown bomb of green magical fire from a dragon. The castle erupted in a tall tower of smoke that formed a mushroom cloud rising high into the sky. Then, Twilight found herself in the middle of what used to be the central throne room. Thunder cracked, and golden lightning flashed as rain poured down Twilight’s broken form. Then, she heard it. The sound of claw against stone as moving through the rubble was a light blue scaled dragon. She was tiny for a dragon, but she radiated sheer power. Another flash of gold-hued lightning illuminated her winged form, a scepter with a blood red ruby in one claw, and a long slender sword in the other. Two small tusks jutted out of her head and she grinned as she lowered the sword of Zandar to Twilight, the blade tip inches away from Twilight’s snout. “Your empire has fallen Princess Twilight,” the new ruler of all dragonkind stated, gesturing with a wing to the fallen forms of both Luna and Celestia behind her, cooked to a crisp by dragonfire. “And now you’re all that’s left. Any last requests?” “Mercy…” Twilight coughed out, a bit of blood flying from her mouth. “Mercy was not there that day when your Queen saw it fit to slaughter my father, and so I have none,” Ember said coldly. “Goodbye Twilight Sparkle.” The blade was raised, and then it came down as Twilight screamed. “HALT! CEASE THIS MADNESS!” Luna’s voice boomed out as everything just… stopped. Twilight found herself back in the Royal Library, with only her and Luna in the room. “What the…?” Twilight whispered before she realized. “A nightmare… That’s all it was…” Luna nodded as Twilight clutched her chest and took a few calming breaths. “One that will never come to pass, I can assure you,” Luna informed, pulling the younger Alicorn into a hug as she sobbed into Luna’s chest. “H-How can you be so sure? I… I saw…” “Visions of your own making,” Luna explained. “Galvanax isn’t real, and never will be. I for one, in fact, have met the leader of New Roam and debated with the Emperor, and she is a very nice mare to talk to.” “R-Really?” Twilight sniffled as she looked up at the Princess of the Night and Luna nodded. “You have been working yourself too hard, Twilight Sparkle. Far harder than what should have been requested of you. Did it not occur to you to ask for help?” Luna inquired. “No… I… I wanted to do this myself, Celestia is like a second mom to me…” Twilight whispered. “Friendship has helped you before has it not?” Luna remarked as the Mystic Mother appeared in the dreamscape as well. “And so it shall again. The Crystal of Dualities was created by six powers fusing together. Six different energies.” the Mother explained before she waved her hand. Then, by simply doing this, the Mystic Mother showed Twilight a vision. It was of six warriors. One, a dark midnight blue with red sleeves carrying a giant boomerang and an opaque black visor framed by yellow teeth, the costume looking decidedly monstrous in nature. The others were different in theming, all themed after various mythological animals carrying long rods for weapons. One, a red Dragon. Two, a green warrior themed after the Shishi Lion Dogs of China. Three, a blue warrior, themed after a Pegasus. Four, a yellow warrior themed after a Kirin. Finally, a pink warrior themed after a Phoenix. Together, on a planet of sand with a burning red sky, they fought many battles against the forces of darkness before combining their powers as one. Their intent? To give the galaxy something to remember them by and make sure they were never forgotten, This gift was to consist of tiny portions of their power to be used at a further date if the time was right or a situation arose, one so disastrous that their power was needed. “RyuuRanger!” “ShishiRanger!” “TenmaRanger!” “KirinRanger!” “HouhouRanger!” “TalonRanger!” “Six Stars shining in the Heavens! Power Rangers Battalion Force!” The warriors shouted out as their roll call as they thrust their arms skywards, and for the briefest of moments, Twilight saw their identities. A gray-skinned humanoid alien, a woman in white with a veil covering her face, and a blue and red feathered bird-man amongst others like a Syrian and an Aquitarian and of course, last but not least a human being. Or at least, something that looked human but couldn’t possibly be. Names flashed through Twilight’s mind again. Zordon, Heckyl, Torin, Dimitria amongst others. The six fired from their palms six brightly colored beams of energy, each energy beam matching the color of the Ranger that fired it. The energies shot towards an orb, following which there was a bright flash as the stone orb transformed. The six combined powers then formed the Crystal of Duality, which then shot itself off into space like a rocket and crash-landed in a jungle in Brazil to be found by ancient humankind. A temple was constructed around it, this gift from the stars… “These six paladins of justice… They were the galaxy’s first Power Rangers…” the Mother said as Twilight’s eyes widened. “You… You mean they were the ones who started it all?” Twilight stammered back, stumbling backwards in shock into a desk. “In a way, yes,” the Mystic Mother replied with a nod. “They were the galaxy’s first defenders, but the legend didn’t really begin until 1993 in Angel Grove, where five teenagers with attitude were selected to defend the planet against its greatest threat… Who, ironically at the time was myself under the name of Rita Repulsa. They won many battles, and I sought to make my own evil Green Ranger…” The Mystic Mother then waved her hand and Twilight saw the warrior she had heard her brother describe helping him in the Crystal Empire. He fought many battles against the Rangers, even taking down their Megazord. It was then he debuted his ultimate weapon, the powerful Dragonzord. Twilight watched in horror as a monstrous kaiju like creature, five glowing dots on its chest plate, a crested head with golden shoulder pads and a spinning drill-like tail fight against the Red Ranger’s Tyrannosaurus Rex Zord head-to-head. Finally, the Rangers destroyed the Sword of Darkness and the Green Ranger joined the team freed from Rita/The Mother’s control. “How ironic is it that I would later send Tommy’s spirit down to help your brother Twilight, with all of his powers restored including the Sword of Darkness itself,” the Mother mused to herself in thought. “Sadly, these Green Ranger powers were not to last. The coin was designed by darkness, and its powers were never meant to be used long term. A quick and easy victory against the Rangers is what I had envisioned. As you know, that did not come to pass. So, Zordon designed a new Power Coin and power set, the White Tiger powers, created in a possible homage to his former team if the suit design is any indication…” The Mystic Mother clutched her head in pain in memories of those dark days of long ago. “But we’re getting off track here,” Luna put in. “I’ve been talking with the Mystic Mother, and we theorized a Power Set based off the Battalion Rangers’ original abilities might be what you need to recharge the Crystal,” She explained. “But… But all of those powers have been lost…” Twilight stammered out. Luna raised an eyebrow. “Have they? I seem to remember at least two Rangers active with powers similar to that of the TalonRanger’s. I believe they are the ponies you know as Daring Do and Galaxy Swirls, am I right?” Luna inquired. “...Yes, yes… that could work…” Twilight murmured to herself as she paced back and forth across the library floor, a finger placed to her chin in thought. “I… I just need to contact one of them, that’s all!” Twilight flushed red as she quickly realized a small flaw in her plan. She laughed nervously before asking Luna: “Er… Could you go ahead and wake me up now?” pressing her fingers together sheepishly. Luna smiled, then nodded before she snapped her fingers and a bright flash filled the room… Speaking of Daring Do and Galaxy Swirls, they were currently preoccupied in the midst of a battle with Retinax’s latest monster, the Blacksmith Org, themed after a combination of a giant anvil and a furnace and already in giant form thanks to those beans Retinax had on him. In the moonlight night, he clashed outside the Canterlot City limits with the Pachy and Ankylo Zords. Bringing a giant sledgehammer that replaced one of his arms on top of the Ankylo Zord, before the arm was knocked away by the wrecking ball that made up the Pachy Zord’s tail. The Org opened up a small orb on his head and unleashed a blast of flame towards the Pachy Zord, and the Zord screeched out in pain. The Ankylo Zord let out a growl of anger and then swung the giant hammer tail that in real life, would completely shatter the leg bones of a T-Rex and hit the Blacksmith Org squarely in the chest sending it toppling over. The crash echoed for miles and sent trees toppling like dominos. The Org growled as he used his two arms to pull himself back up, before opening up his head orbs and unleashing balls of molten hot metal at the two Zords like mortars, the flaming debris falling all around them. Some of the metal hit, some of it didn’t. Either way, the Org was regaining ground against the two Zords. “Oh, esto es ridículo!” Daring snapped as she saw her Zord get hit by the mortars of flaming hot steel and iron. “We outnumber this guy by two to one! Surely he can’t be that much of a challenge! Bastardo está pidiendo una paliza ahora!” She snarled out furiously. “Just a quick question,” Galaxy posed. “I’m a Royal Guard, albeit a possibly insane one, and even I know numbers aren’t everything. Tactics are a good start. Charging in blind, not the best form of that. Not when faced with sheer power. No offense Ms. Do, but shouldn’t we call in for help?” “Bah, podemos tomar este trozo de acero por nuestra cuenta!” Daring snapped back at him in Spanish. “...Okay, I’m going to pretend I understood a word of that and take it as a “No.”...” Galaxy trailed off nervously, a little afraid of the quick-tempered Spaniard. (Even if he wouldn’t admit it aloud.) He then muttered sarcastically: “Right… Never mind me asking then. Just ignore the guy with over twenty years of experience in national defense and battle tactics…” as he held up his hands in a defensive posture. “Please, I’ve been dealing with problems on my own for a while now, and I think me and my Zord can handle one piece of scrap metal,” Daring drawled. “În acea zi, bunul simț a murit într-o moarte aprigă…” Galaxy muttered to himself, looking skywards. Just then, a loud crack of thunder lit up the night as storm clouds seemed to form of their own violation. Galaxy blinked. That was odd, there weren't any thunderstorms scheduled for tonight… Then, a form emerged from the storm clouds. Themed after a Tupuxuara, this could only be a Zord. But somehow, it was different than the other two Dino Zords. Galaxy could sense it, a form of darkness about this Zord. Bone white in color, with a gold head crest and blood red eyes complete with gold highlights on the otherwise black wings, the massive Zord landed atop one of the taller Canterlot buildings and began to flap its powerful wings. Gale force winds picked up, and just as the Blacksmith Org launched another fiery assault, the balls of magma were sent right back towards the Org itself as it roared in pain. “Even with that evil feeling I’m getting off that Zord, can’t say I’m not grateful for the help really…” Galaxy thought to himself as the new Zord let out a screech of victory. It then let out two more screeches, seemingly giving the Ankylo and Pachy Zords the order to attack and Daring and Galaxy shared a nod. “Pachy Wrecking Ball!/Ankylo Hammer!” the two commanded before the Zords’ respective tails slammed into the Blacksmith Org sending him flying skywards. The newest Zord screeched once more before taking to the darkened skies once more as the Org went up in a fireball. “Now…” Galaxy asked, taking up the voice of reason, questioning their new “ally”. “What was that thing, and more importantly… Who was behind it?” “I don’t know, but they’re going to pay for that little butting in of theirs! That Org was mine…” Daring growled out as her fists tightened. Any more of Daring’s grumblings were interrupted by the distinct chirping of both her and Galaxy’s Dino Comms on their belts. “Um… Hello?” Twilight asked nervously as she appeared on the screen. “Am I doing this right?” “Well, yeah… Apart from us seeing the back of your head,” Galaxy deadpanned. “It’s a very nice head, mind you, but still…” Twilight laughed nervously before she quickly lit up her horn and the screen then fixed itself to show her properly. “Sorry, first time using this thing. Bound to be a few… bugs I suppose. Anyways, can you come to the Canterlot Royal Library? I need your help, along with Daring’s.” “We’ll be right there Prinţesă.” Galaxy said politely before he and Daring teleported towards Twilight’s location… “Wait, so this thing can separate Miss-I-want-to-kill-everything-to-prove-pony-superiority from Princess Celestia?” Galaxy asked, gesturing with a hand to the Crystal and Twilight nodded. “In theory, yes,” She said. “In theory… Oh, well that’s wonderful…” Galaxy drawled before Daring Do piped up. “She might not be wrong. I did my reading before me and Sunset went after the damn thing. Apparently, if the legends about this thing are accurate… And there aren’t many, aside from what guarded it,” Daring mumbled this last part quietly to herself, still surprised Boitatá was the real deal and not just some wild fantasy or a giant King Cobra that some pony on something hallucinated. “Anyways, as the legend goes…” “Legend, as in singular?” Galaxy interrupted. “Not getting off to a very strong start here…” Both Daring and Twilight gave him a sharp glare which caused him to mutter “And everypony wonders why I prefer stallions instead of mares for romantic partners....” “If I may continue?” Daring asked impatiently. Nobody said a thing against her. “Thank you. Anyways, as the legend goes… Long ago, there was this Mayan ruler. He was insane, to put it mildly. One day he’d be the kindest and caring ruler you’d have ever met… Well, as kind and caring as Mayan rulers got anyways. Did rip out peoples’ hearts as part of sacrifices to their gods for a good harvest, if you remember. Next day, throwing people to panthers just for kicks, no reason then just because he wanted to. People got suspicious. They prayed to their gods, and from the skies, a star fell from the heavens. The sheer power infused within this star, it split the Mayan into two beings. One light, the other dark. Hence the name, Crystal of Dualities.” “So, why’d you bring us in here?” Galaxy questioned. “Well, in theory…” Twilight began before she was soon interrupted once more. Guess who did it. “There’s that word again…” Galaxy muttered before once more, he was quickly shut up by Daring and Twilight’s combined glares. “What? I’m just trying to be the voice of reason and caution here!” “If I might continue?” Twilight growled, her teeth grinding against each other. “In theory, your specific powerset might be able to charge up the Crystal of Dualities and get us enough power to separate Solar Flare and Princess Celestia. All you have to do is… Well, shoot it.” Daring and Galaxy shared a nod before they raised their Dino Morphers. “This thing isn’t going to blow up on us when we shoot it and kill us all, is it?” Galaxy asked, looking towards Twilight with an eyebrow raised. “Cause if it does, I do have lawyers at my beck and call ready to charge your family for killing me.” Twilight laughed nervously. “No, rest assured, it won’t do that. ...I think,” She muttered out and Galaxy held back a sigh. “I feel so reassured…” the Thestral deadpanned before both he and Daring shouted “Dino Morpher Blast!” and fired their weapons at the Crystal of Dualities. A bright flash lit up the room, and next thing everybody knew, the Crystal was glowing with every color of the rainbow, powered up by sheer Morphin Grid energy as it unleashed a wave of energy that knocked everypony present to the floor. “Well… at least it didn’t kill us… So that’s a start…” Galaxy groaned out as he picked himself off the floor. “Yes, yes, yes, it worked!” Twilight shouted in excitement as she bounced around the room in joy. When she noticed Daring and Galaxy staring at her, she laughed nervously and quickly recomposed herself. “Now… All I have to do is fire a single blast of magic at the Crystal to unleash the stored energy when Celestia is in a safely isolated location, and she and Solar Flare should be split apart.” Twilight quickly dashed off in joy, shouting “Oh, I’ve got to tell Princess Celestia about this!” Galaxy then turned to Daring with a look on his face. “Anypony else besides me think this is going to turn out really badly in some way…?” Daring could only nod. Canterlot Castle: Panting and sweating as she ran through the halls of Canterlot Castle, Twilight smiled. Finally, she could free her teacher from that monster known only as Solar Flare. However, a thought did occur to her even as she rounded a corner. “Would it really be a good idea to separate all of Solar Flare from Princess Celestia?” Twilight pondered to herself. “As much as I hate to admit it, even the bad times make us who we are. Luna, when she fell to Nightmare Moon’s curse… It changed her, taught her the feelings of regret and redemption. Sunset… If it wasn’t for her becoming arrogant, prideful in her powers and what she thought she could accomplish… She might not be the mare she is today. And then there are all my screw-ups. Sure, I’ve done some stupid things. The Want-it, Need-it spell, accidentally ruining my sister in law’s wedding by thinking she was evil without getting all the facts first… Granted, she was evil, but a Changeling duplicate, not the real deal. If I hadn’t learned to carry on without my friends for a time and act on my gut instincts, who knows what might have happened? And then there was the time I was Discorded. Became a shadow of myself, forgetting everything I’d learned about the Magic of Friendship. Pain, hurt… They’re a part of who we are. But then again, Solar Flare is completely insane, no remorse for anything. She cares for nothing but herself. Some ponies… They just want to watch the world burn.” Twilight continued to think, searching for answers even in her tired state of mine. She’d worked through the night, just like she had been for the past few days and nights. And the strain was beginning to show. “Do I have the right to separate two beings? Judge them? Even if it’s for the greater good of Equestria? Solar Flare and Celestia compliment each other. Solar Flare hardened Celestia, made her ready for battle if the time ever arose. And Celestia keeps Solar Flare in check, keeps her from completely letting the darkness run free. As long as they share the same body, the balance is upheld. Light and dark, chaos and order… None can exist without the other,” Twilight continued to think. But then she remembered her dream. She had seen Celestia laughing and talking serenely at the Winter Ball with the Griffon King and the Dragonlord before she laughed darkly and with a flash of fire burned everybody within her line of sight into nothing but ashes. Solar fire filled the room as everything caught alight and Solar Flare laughed at the insanity of it all before she smiled. No, not a kind caring smile like the one Celestia wore, but one that promised pure devastation to everything in its wake. "All this power wasted on… galas and parties and what have you,” she said disgustedly before shaking her head. “When, after all... There are far greater uses." The Solar Tyrant had said before plunging Equestria into a dark new age of total warfare and eventually… the nation’s utter annihilation. Twilight’s eyes hardened as she finally made up her mind. “No, I can’t let that happen. Solar Flare must be destroyed, for everybody’s sake. She’s already committed one act of genocide in her lust for power and control, I can’t let her commit any others. That settles it, the Crystal must be used!” Twilight threw open the doors of the throne room. Dawn had broken over the horizon, and Celestia had just barely begun her daily duties. “Twilight?” Celestia asked in surprise, raising an eyebrow. “You’re up early. To be honest, you look like you haven’t slept in days… Should you really be coming to see me in such a state?” Celestia kept her demeanor calm and composed, one of the ways she’d found of holding Solar Flare back. Never lose her temper, never subject herself to her most basic emotions. “Yeah, I… I admit I haven’t been sleeping well,” Twilight stammered out, laughing nervously. “But not without good reason Princess!” “Oh Twilight,” Celestia said kindly, shaking her head at her student. “I’m sure you had a very good reason, as always, but you should think about your well-being at times. I don’t want you to overwork yourself. If you had an important task, couldn’t you have asked your friends for help on it?” “Yes… I-I admit I should have come to my friends sooner with this, but… But I think I know a way to separate you and…” Twilight, looking around the room nervously and lowering her voice to make sure nobody could hear her. “Your other half.” Celestia rose from her throne. “Twilight, are you absolutely sure you’ve come up with a solution? I’m not willing to risk anything, or anybody unless this solution is 100% guaranteed to work.” “Yes… I understand,” Twilight nodded. “But me and Sunset… We’ve been doing a bit of reading, we found a way to separate you and… Her.” Twilight said the last part of the sentence in absolute disgust, refusing to acknowledge Solar Flare’s name. “A crystal, powered by pure Morphin Grid energy.” Twilight then had a horrible thought. “S-she’s not listening in, is she?” Twilight stammered out nervously. “Twilight, as much as I’d like to lie to you and say everything’s alright, that she’s been quiet and I’m able to keep my dark half under wraps, as it were… I cannot. She’s always listening in to every conversation I have. That’s why I wanted to know if this was guaranteed to work, so I don’t put any more ponies at risk then I have to and get some satisfaction in the fact that Solar Flare knows her reign is about to come to an end…” Celestia smiled vindictively, it looked incredibly wrong on her face and Celestia herself knew it, but she also knew after all Solar Flare had done, she was allowed a little bit of vindictiveness and satisfaction at her imminent demise… “Well then, Twilight… You’re allowed to go through with your plan. Stop Solar Flare, no matter the cost…” “Even if?” Twilight asked nervously, not wanting to say what she was thinking. “Yes… Even if it means destroying me.” The Nexus: Later that day, Thrax whirled around in his throne and gripped his mother’s wand as Doomwing and Goldar tensed and readied their swords. Something was coming, something extremely powerful and extremely… evil. With a bright flash of fire, a mare made purely of molten hot magma and with a mane that blazed like the sun itself appeared in the room. Doomwing and Goldar drew their swords but were soundly sent flying back with blasts of pure hot wind. “Miss me?” Solar Flare asked with a cackle before she looked directly at Thrax. “Now, we need to talk…” Author's Note Breached 200,000 words baby! Yeah! First off, I want to thank y'all for your continued support of this story. I honestly don't know where it would be if you hadn't supported me on this endeavor. Anyways... Okay, so yes... It begins, Solar Flare's fall. Firstly, on the appearance of the Dairangers. To be honest, this is a bit of an in-joke. Heard this somewhere, and I don't know where but for years, Saban had been trying to use the suits after they got access to the Dairanger footage for the Thunderzords and the White Ranger fight scenes. Eventually, they just gave up around Lost Galaxy. From what I heard, the suits were planned to be used as a team of ancient Rangers. Now for me, this makes a personal victory writing-wise, as I have been searching for a way to explain the presence of the "New Powers" from Supermegashit in the story, and I think this works. (Even if I did have to use the name Supermegashit came up with for the team, instead of the actual name, just to keep things in-universe.) As for Ko's absence, again keeping things in-universe. ...Plus, who likes that skirt flipping, breast fondling little perv anyways? (Okay, I admit Gai's actor (The one from Gokaigers, not the Gai from Jetman obviously) liked KibaRanger and wanted to be him but aside from that...) Also, before any of you ask, yes that was the Dragozord from Dino Thunder in the Org fight scene. The reason why there's no White Ranger to compliment it will be explained in this story arc, hopefully, if I can fit it in. Anyways, enough of my rambling. I want to know what you think of this chapter, comments and especially critique are welcome. Finally, a very overdue tribute to the late actor of ShishiRanger, and the Heavenly Gravity Star, Tatsuya Nōmi. May you shine brightly forever. Part 45: The Devil's Got a New Disguise (A Solar Tyrant's Fall Part 2 of 3)The Nexus Thrax, if he wasn’t so afraid of the sheer power that wafted off Solar Flare would have chuckled. He should have known this was going to come along sooner or later really. “So, lemme guess…” Thrax stated calmly, his voice in its usual tone. Namely, being as quiet as the grave. “You have a problem, and it relates to a certain selection of six multiple colored warriors?” “Ooh, getting straight to the point. I like that in a man…” Solar Flare cooed as she traced a finger up Thrax’s jawline, sounding almost aroused. Doomwing and Goldar shared identical looks of disgust as they watched the Solar Invictus circle Thrax like a lioness over a kill. She purred in delight as she felt Thrax’s power. It was nothing compared to her own of course, but it was… acceptable. Who knows, after the Rangers were out of the way perhaps she could start looking for a mate? Just for pleasure of course, she really didn’t care for such things like “Love” unlike that sappy other half of hers. “But I’m here on business, not pleasure which I admit is sort of a shame. However… Maybe both things can be achieved if this… alliance of ours works out. If it does, I have no doubt in my mind we’ll both end up very happy tyrants,” she purred out seductively. “Who said anything about an alliance?” Thrax remarked, folding his arms across his chest. He wasn’t particularly impressed by Solar Flare’s attempts at flirtation. “Far as I’m concerned, I’m doing just fine on my own, and you’ve got all the power in Equestria right now. You’re literally seated on the throne, the top of a shadow government,” “Ah, but for how much longer if that damned Princess of Friendship in all of her undermining little ways succeeds in splitting me and Celestia apart?” Solar Flare pointed out, spitting out her other half’s name in disgust. “She may not want to use all of that power she has, but it’s more than enough to defeat me. She’s just far too… frightened of it to even try,” she continued, embers licking at her charcoal black wings. Solar Flare then let out a laugh as she looked at Thrax dead in the eyes, wiping away a tear from her own. “And as for you? Doing just fine on your own? I think not. Every monster or Org you’ve sent down after the Rangers has been defeated, one after the other. And then there’s Retinax, last I checked he broke off from you and you two are currently going head to head in your own private little civil war. Plus, I’ve got some news that may interest you… If you’re willing to hear it, that is.” Goldar snarled and drew his sword, and in an instant, the blade tip was at Solar Flare’s throat. “Don’t listen to a word of hers Master, she’s just trying to trick you! Lead you off course from our real goal!” the Griffon/Ape themed warrior snarled, quickly joined by Doomwing who was ready to plunge his sword into Solar Flare’s back. “Oh, look at your men… They’re like obedient dogs,” Solar Flare laughed, incredibly amused by the two’s bravado. It was a foolish form of loyalty that would end up getting them killed in the end, but loyalty nonetheless. “Ready to fight at your beck and call. I presume you can call them off until I’ve said my piece?” “Master-” Doomwing started but Thrax held up a hand. “Settle down, at least for the moment,” Thrax ordered, his voice raising ever-so-slightly. “I must admit, I am… curious as to what Solar Flare means,” Both Doomwing and Goldar growled but lowered their blades all the same. “There, that’s better,” Solar Flare cooed mock-sweetly at them. “Now, as I was saying. Retinax, he’s been doing some recent acquisitions that I think may -or may not- interest you depending on if you’re as intelligent as you claim to be. For one thing, he’s got Zen-Aku on his side. Had a spy over in Fillydelphia report the news as soon as she saw it. Like you said, shadow government,” “He’s getting bold, far too bold for his own good. And stupid, really. Whatever lies he told Zen-Aku, they’ll fall apart at the seams eventually. Zen-Aku… He’s far too loyal to this planet and too bent on redeeming himself for his past transgressions to stay loyal to Retinax completely,” Thrax remarked, a hand on his chin in thought. “Sooner or later, something will draw him back to the Rangers side. Still, that was worth hearing. You may take your leave now,” But Solar Flare didn’t budge. Thrax growled and turned to both Doomwing and Goldar. “Escort her out, now.” “Gladly…” Goldar chuckled as he and Doomwing raised their swords. Doomwing’s began glowing an ominous crimson red while Goldar’s began to ignite itself with a flaming light. “Ah, bup-bup-bup!” Solar Flare interrupted, holding up a finger and wagging it back and forth. It was as if she was speaking to an unruly child. Mind you, that’s all Thrax was to her in Solar Flare’s mind. “Before you “Escort” me out, there’s one last thing. Anyways, escorting me out, which I should point out isn’t a very wise choice anyways as it’ll let me know exactly where you live. I could come knocking again -And I will- right on your doorstep. Retinax… Surely you didn’t notice the new Dinozord out and about destroying one of his latest monsters?” “I took notice, but I paid it no mind. A failure’s a failure,” Thrax remarked. “I was more amused by his incompetence more than anything else. That Org he found couldn’t even stand up against regular Zords!” “But you should be worried, surely you recognize that particular Zord right? The Dragozord. Plus I have to ask, surely you are wondering why the Ranger that goes along with it hasn’t shown him or herself right?” Solar Flare inquired, eyebrow raised. “Again, I’m not worried. I knew about Retinax’s little expedition into the Crystal Empire to retrieve the White Dino Gem. Granted, I didn’t know Zen-Aku was how he got it, but I knew about it all the same,” Thrax replied with a roll of his eyes, beginning to sound incredibly bored out of his mind. “Why are you telling me information I know about already?” “Oh come now, Thrax… You’re a smart little world-conqueror aren’t you? What if by some small chance, Retinax does find a way to repower the White Dino Gem and reactivate the White Ranger powers? What then?” Solar Flare asked, and Thrax had to admit he did feel slightly nervous at the way this conversation was going. Slightly. “One more powerful foot soldier to use against you, and this one will have at least one Zord on their side. Possibly two, as if I remember history correctly the Stegozord was never destroyed either. So that means he may very well have a Megazord, or maybe even two on his side as well if Zen-Aku still has his Animal Crystals,” the Solar Invictus added. Solar Flare knew very well this last part was a lie, as her spy in the Royal Guard had reported seeing the wolf-like Duke Org toss three glowing orbs into the sea. But the more this scared Thrax into having an alliance with her, all the better. “The Predazord destroyed Goldar once, who’s to say it won’t get lucky again? Plus, with the DinoStegazord on his side, he has a formidable fighting force. Add to that Retinax being no slouch in combat himself, and he could very well have a chance at taking your throne for himself.” Thrax sighed, as much as he didn’t like teaming up with with a genocidal maniac like Solar Flare, she had a point. “Alright, you’ve made your point. We’ll work together, for now. But if you even think about double-crossing me…” he warned. Solar Flare chuckled. “Oh Thrax…” she said in a tone of mock-sweetness. “You know I’ll double cross you eventually, it’s only a matter of time…” she trailed off, accentuating each word in a “A matter of time” with a small boop on his nose. With that, she vanished in a plume of fire, leaving only embers in her wake while Thrax only chuckled. Doomwing let out a small angry hiss to himself, the sound going unnoticed as he gripped his blade tightly. Was this what Thrax was willing to resort to, teaming up with a genocidal maniacal goddess who would rather slaughter them all instead of working with them? Team up with someone who even flat out admitted she’d double cross them eventually? “I know when it’s time to pick a side, and this isn’t the best choice for me right now… Not anymore,” Doomwing thought to himself, disappearing into the caverns of the Nexus heading for the aboveground. Meanwhile, Goldar turned to Thrax, a look that consisted of a mixture of anger and confusion on his face. “Master, why are you even teaming up with her? You know she’ll destroy you as soon as her alliance with us ends, once the Rangers are destroyed,” Goldar questioned and Thrax smirked. “She’s just an arrogant horse who doesn’t know her place. She’s got power, yes, I’ll give her that. Power enough to destroy us both, but let’s be honest here… She’s also incredibly arrogant. She honestly believes nothing can stop her, not even the Power Rangers. Goldar, you and I both know never to underestimate them,” Thrax lectured. “There’s a reason why I’m sending them to the Island of Illusion. They may escape, maybe they won’t. Either way, Solar Flare’s little tantrum won’t go unchecked. I have a suspicion that unless she was truly desperate, she wouldn’t come to us. Someone’s figured out a way to separate her and Celestia I bet… No, in fact, I know it. Solar Flare’s miscalculated on one small factor. Celestia herself,” “How so?” Goldar asked and Thrax leaned back in his throne as he smirked. “Think about it. Celestia… Having to be forced to watch as Solar Flare annihilated an entire race right before her eyes. She’s kind, loving. Anything like that, that would anger even the gentlest of souls. And that’s not the only thing. Celestia’s a ruler at heart. One that cares for her subjects, anything that threatens her empire would force her into a fight, her dark half included,” Thrax continued to lecture. “Give Celestia a chance, and she probably would use all of her power to completely destroy Solar Flare. Hell, Celestia’s probably not the only deity angry at Solar Flare. We know the Wild Zords that make up Animus are about, so it’s safe to assume he’s still around in some form to command the rest of the 95 Wild Zords into battle if need be…” Thrax then got up off his throne. “Now, to put my plans in action. It’s time to see what the Rangers fear the most…” he said in a completely calm tone of voice before he threw back his head and laughed. Goldar soon found himself joining in as crimson red lightning sparked from Thrax’s wand. Doomwing found himself teleporting into a dark forest deep in the Oregon wilderness, near what used to be Turtle Cove. If he was going to find Zen-Aku, chances are this was where he’d be. In a place that he was familiar with. Plus, if he’d teamed up with Retinax who was incredibly loyal to a fault to the original Master Org, -And Turtle Cove was where he’d fallen- that increased the chances of Doomwing finding the two. Doomwing’s smirk then faded from his face and he felt a small shiver of fear trail up his spine as he heard the snap of a twig behind him and pawsteps walking through the snow. He then felt a sharp blade pressing up against his back. “Why have you come?” Zen-Aku asked, his eyes boring into Doomwing. “Speak quickly, and maybe I’ll reconsider killing you,” “Call it… A m-matter of s-survival,” Doomwing stuttered out nervously, and Zen-Aku threw back his head and laughed. “Funny way of surviving, stepping into my home. Us wolves… We’re very territorial creatures you know. We hate trespassers,” Zen-Aku growled out. “You have five seconds,” “Just let me explain. Solar Flare, she’s formed an alliance with Thrax!” Doomwing said quickly, and Zen-Aku’s eyes widened. As much as he hated most, if not all of ponykind for destroying an entire race, -and hated himself for teaming up with somebody who would do the exact same even under the promises of giving him family he could rely on- this couldn’t go ignored. Zen-Aku grabbed Doomwing by the shoulders and teleported him away in a dark purple flash of light. Doomwing then found himself in the ruins of an ancient temple, the remains of the original Nexus. Stone statues lay in ruins all around him, echoes of a time long since passed. “Well, isn’t this an interesting surprise,” Retinax laughed as he stepped into view, axe in hand. “One of Thrax’s little merry monsters on my doorstep. Of all the things I expected to see today, this wasn’t one of them,” He then pointed his axe at Doomwing, the blade crackling with red electricity. “State your business!” Zen-Aku bowed at Retinax’s feet, even if it disgusted him by doing so. Doomwing wanted to make a crack about Zen-Aku kissing Retinax’s feet next, but thought the better of it. He wasn’t completely stupid after all. “Master…” the Duke Org stated, visibly shuddering as he spat the word out. If Retinax noticed, he paid it no mind. “Doomwing’s come to us with claims of Solar Flare and Thrax forming an alliance of sorts,” “Is that so? Well, that is interesting news…” Retinax mused before he turned to Doomwing. “And you’re, to use a human phrase, a rat jumping off a sinking ship correct?” “I-I suppose that’s one way to put it,” Doomwing stuttered out nervously, in fear of Retinax or Zen-Aku turning their weapons on him. “I’m not going to allow myself to be a part of a group who’s willing to team up with a crazed goddess who’d destroy anybody who displeases her at the drop of a hat,” “So tell me, why should I let you live? You’re not an Org, and Thrax replacing me with non-Orgs was the main reason I left his side in the first place.” Retinax reminded. “Yes, but the way I see it, you need soldiers. How’s your search for new Orgs working out for you?” Doomwing asked, and smirked when Retinax growled. “Thought so. Plus, I overheard Solar Flare mention you have this White Dino Gem thing correct? One’s that’s bonded with a Zord? I’m willing to bet you’re trying to create a Power Ranger of your own aren’t you?” Retinax then swung his axe at Doomwing, who barely blocked it with his blade. “Now, I may not be an Org, but I can sense darkness. I can find you your evil Ranger. ...If you let me of course,” “The point’s moot, I’ve been unable to find a power source strong enough to revitalize the Gem,” Retinax grumbled and Doomwing smirked. Well, smirked about as much as a rooster themed monster could anyways. “Allow me to take care of that.” Doomwing laughed before firing a blast of energy from his free hand at the White Dino Gem, sitting on a plinth. With a flash of bright light, the Gem soon morphed into the Drago Morpher… Ponyville: Sunset Shimmer’s house: Robert groaned as he tossed the covers off of his makeshift bed, AKA Sunset Shimmer’s living room couch. His phone played its usual wake-up call of Goodbye Stranger before a hand quickly reached out and pressed down on the off button. Robert, now that he’d found himself in a steady relationship with somebody found it best to change the alarm from that orgasmic sound to something more appropriate. He sorta got the feeling that his new marefriend wouldn’t take kindly to hearing the sound of an unknown woman’s orgasm in her home. Pulling on a black-tank top so he wouldn’t be walking around in just his boxers on a cold morning, he smiled as the scent of eggs cooking reached his nose. While he was by no means married to Sunset yet, far from it actually, it was always nice to wake up to the smell of your loved one cooking. Sadly, Robert knew this wouldn’t last as he was only staying in Sunset’s abode on a temporary basis as Rarity’s Boutique was being fumigated with its proprietor staying with Zephyr's parents for the time being. Still, it didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy good things while they lasted right? Walking into the kitchen, little chotskies all around him on the walls -Mainly plates and such- he walked up to Sunset who was already dressed in long flannel pants and a sun-yellow sweater and wrapped his arms around her giving her a kiss on the neck. “...Wish you wouldn’t surprise me like that, I am cooking you know. Could have burned myself,” Sunset remarked. On a nearby countertop sat the morning paper, which read: “Power Rangers March In Parade In Support Of Raising Breast Cancer Awareness!” “Admit it, you like surprises…” Robert murmured as he kissed her neck again and Sunset sighed. A mix of calming Chillhop and Asian Zen music played in the background, Sunset’s “Morning Music Mix” as Robert had heard Vapor refer to it once or twice. Could have been worse Robert supposed, Sunset could have shared Vapor’s love of country and folk music. “Yeah, I suppose…” the Princess of Empathy muttered. “Especially when they’re coming from me?” Robert asked as he massaged her shoulders. Sunset rolled her eyes. “Go take a shower you moron, you stink,” Sunset remarked in a deadpan tone of voice, and mentally sighed as she realized what she’d set herself up for as Robert walked off. “You coming with? Always more fun with two!” He laughed flirtatiously with a cocky grin on his face. “Don’t bet on it…” Sunset replied and Robert couldn’t resist smirking. “Oh, you’ll come around someday… Not today maybe, but someday,” he said as he shut the bathroom door and a few minutes later Sunset could hear the sound of water running. Sunset looked skywards and sighed. Honestly, she couldn’t really see what was so exciting about sex. It was just a natural bodily function, the urge to mate and that was the end of it. She just really didn’t get why Robert or most other lifeforms for that matter found it so pleasurable. “Oh god, I’m starting to sound like Twilight aren’t I?” Sunset thought to herself. “All cold and scientific. ...Speaking of that, I got to remind myself to go over to the Golden Oaks and see what progress she’s making on the Crystal of Dualities. ...Well that, and a book on sex. Just to see what all the fuss is about,” “You know, there’s an easy answer to your sexual problem,” the Phoenix Zord chimed in. “I’d give it to you, but honestly… This is sorta the kind of thing you have to figure out for yourself,” “I just don’t get it, what’s so exciting about sex?” Sunset replied before she realized who she was talking to “...Actually, why am I even asking you? You’re just mechanical. It’s not like you have the proper organs for such a thing!” “Well, to be fair you do kinda see me as a second mother…” the Phoenix Zord replied. “Point…” Sunset sighed. “But what do you mean I have to figure this out for myself, can’t you just give me a little hint or something?” “Nope,” the Phoenix Zord responded, popping the p. “After all, you yourself said and I quote: “You’re just mechanical. It’s not like you have the proper organs for such a thing!” Did you or did you not say that?” Sunset’s groaning said it all. Yeah, the Phoenix Zord had definitely been spending time around the Kitsune Zord, she just knew it. Later that morning as Sunset and a now fully dressed Robert sat down for breakfast, Sunset voiced a question that had been on her mind ever since she met him and hearing about his self-proclaimed sexual prowess. “Okay, just how many sexual partners have you had before me?” Sunset stated bluntly, a blush gracing her face. Almost as if it were right on cue, Robert spat out his coffee in classic spit take fashion. “W-Well, it’s going to be a long list if I’ll be honest,” Robert stuttered out. “What brought this on anyway?” “Just curious. After all, if at some hypothesized point in time I will be getting into bed with you and “Getting it on” as they say, I just want to know if you’re up to the task,” Sunset stated, taking a sip of her tea blush still on her face. “...Amazing, she shows either confusion, embarrassment or outright disgust whenever I talk about this, and now she’s asking about my abilities in the bedroom…” Robert muttered to himself, rubbing his temples. “You sure you’re not one of those Changelings I heard a pony mention once?” “I’m me,” Sunset deadpanned. “Or haven’t you noticed how embarrassed I am to be talking about this, to begin with?” “Okay… Okay, no need to get snippy about this,” Robert replied quickly, holding up his hands defensively before a flirtatious smirk came to his face and Sunset groaned. She should have known she was going to regret asking this. “So, for the scientific record eh? How many good shags I’ve had? Well, do you want any particular standouts?” “No…” Sunset stated slowly but of course was ignored. “Let me put it to you this way, if a great white shark said I was good in bed, that sorta says it all,” “Wait, wait, wait… Back up,” Sunset quickly butted in. “A great white shark, so you’re into bestiality now as well?” Robert was quick to correct her, the food now having gone long forgotten. “Well, she wasn’t an actual great white shark, nor was she a cosplayer… I think. Not really sure, the fin on her back looked real enough. This was back at the Pai Zhau school, where this Japanese girl -Sela, I think her name was- was training in the shark style, appropriately enough,” Robert began. “Anyways, the point of the matter was, she asked me for some personal training in the dog style, and I don’t mean the Kung Fu type, or at least that’s how things ended after a few drinks had been shared. It started out as the Kung Fu style, but-” “I-I get the point!” Sunset quickly said, her blush now redder than ever. “Forget I asked, okay?” “Suuuurrrreee…” Robert drawled. “And miss out on a completely good blackmail opportunity? I think not!” “Asshole…” Sunset muttered. “But I’m your arsehole.” Robert smiled, leaning across the table and booping Sunset on the nose. She sighed and shook her head fondly. Robert may have been a bit too self-absorbed about half the time, but he had his own… unique charms and she couldn’t deny he could be serious and not just act like a vain idiot when the time came. Just then, as if to disrupt the peace and to prove Sunset’s point both her Growl Phone and Robert’s Fox Amulet went off. “Well, there goes a perfectly nice morning…” Sunset muttered, and looking back at her breakfast and sighed again as she shook her head. “I’m going to get breakfast finished one of these days, I swear…” Robert flipped the Fox Amulet open as Sunset answered her Growl Phone, both asking the exact same thing: “Yes Princess?” “It’s Thrax, he’s been sighted down in the Main Square of Ponyville. He’s already enlarged himself,” Shayla’s voice said in an urgent tone of voice. “Your Wild Zords have been sent and the other Rangers are already on their way, get to them as quickly as you can!” Sunset and Robert shared a nod before they shouted out “Legendary Wild Access!” True to Shayla’s warning, Thrax was already on the ground at giant size, firing blasts of red lightning from his wand, blowing rooftops off of homes and sending the pieces skywards. As soon as everybody was on site, the Animaria Guardian Megazord was formed and the twin katanas were drawn. The gigantic War Axe that was used for the finishing move of the Megazord rested on its back as always. “So, finally decided to face us alone Thrax?” Lightning snarled from inside the Megazord’s cockpit as Thrax fired a blast of red lightning from his wand hitting the Megazord directly in the chestplate leaving it no time to block. The massive mecha staggered backwards from the force of the blow. “Yes, well you’ve always been a thorn in my side… I think it’s time I remove that thorn,” Thrax snarled out as he dodged a swing from one of the Megazord’s katanas. “You’ve pricked the side of a mighty beast, and entirely failed to run as the old saying goes,” the Master Org hissed out. Almost as if in response, the Kitsune’s eyes flashed briefly in rage as the Megazord swung again with the left blade, sword meeting wand as sparks flew and metal ground against metal, sparks flying off the two weapons. “He really should be talking about me, if you’re asking for my opinion,” the Kitsune Zord growled out in Robert’s head. “I mean, I’m a mighty beast!” “Can you save your ego for another time, please?” Robert mentally sighed in exasperation as Thrax swung his wand hitting the Megazord in the chest with its tip before zapping the entire mecha full of crimson lightning. Sparks erupted from everywhere in the cockpit including the control consoles as Thrax then enveloped the Megazord in a bubble of magic and tossed it overhead and behind him with a mighty crash as the mecha hit the ground. The sound echoed for miles as the Rangers struggled to get back up off the ground. Thrax raised his wand to the sky and created powerful storm clouds raining down lightning all around the battlefield. Meanwhile, in the midst of all this chaos, the Animaria Guardian used one of its katanas as a support and picked itself off the ground. It raised one of the katanas to the sky and caught a flash of lightning before sending it right at Thrax who absorbed the bolt with his wand. “You gotta be kidding me…” Sunburst muttered to himself, starting to panic and hyperventilate. “What… What does it take to beat this guy?” “Yeah, where’s Zen-Aku and his Predazord when you need him?” Lightning asked. “This is what we get for trusting an Org to have our backs…” The Megazord charged Thrax once more, aiming to close with him and remove the range advantage of his wand as it slammed its katanas against the shaft of the wand, twisting one blade, aiming to slide down and take off Thrax's fingers, but Thrax took a leap backward, disengaging before that could happen. Thrax then elbowed the Megazord in the face as it stumbled backwards. Next thing the Rangers knew, Thrax was firing blast after blast of energy from one of the palms of his hands causing the Megazord to stagger even as lightning continued to rain down all around the two giants. “Might need to swap out for one of the auxiliary Zords if we’re going to beat this guy with all of this lightning raining down upon us!” Vapor shouted as her console sparked before she was blown backwards by a small explosion with Lightning rushing over and catching her adoptive sister in her arms. Thrax smirked, seeing the Megazord -Or to be more accurate, its pilots- were just about ready to be finished off, created a giant ball of lightning in his free hand and fired a stream of electricity right at the Megazord. It staggered forwards a bit, before toppling and hitting the ground face first. Meanwhile, the sky swirled and all five Rangers found themselves sucked into the swirling mass of clouds via a cyclone. “Enjoy your little vacation, Rangers!” Thrax laughed before teleporting away in a flash of fire back to the Nexus… Unknown Location: Groaning in pain as her eyes fluttered open, Vapor awoke to the sound of soft waves gently lapping at the shore. From what she could see as she picked herself up off the sand, there was nothing but palm trees, jungle paradise and seemingly never-ending blue skies for miles around. It looked like paradise, but from what Vapor remembered of their fight with Thrax -No, to be more accurate, their utter ass-kicking- it probably was far from paradise. No, that would be too much good luck for them, wouldn’t it? “Okay, where are we…?” Vapor murmured to herself as she walked over to Robert, still unconscious, and picked up his Fox Amulet and opened it up. She was hoping to get a map of the area they were in, but the little screen displayed nothing but what was known as white snow AKA static. Vapor cursed quietly to herself as she took another look around the area. Where the Tartarus could they possibly be? Just as the other Rangers were waking up, thunder cracked in the sky and a figure of Goldar appeared, only visible from the waist up. “Well, Rangers, enjoying your little trip?” He laughed. “Goldar!” Lightning snarled, going for her Crystal Saber and pointing it dangerously at him. “If you wanted to talk, come down here like a man and then we can have ourselves a little chat!” “It’s not him, just a projection,” Sunburst muttered as he walked up. “I’m willing to bet the real Goldar isn’t even here…” “Correct, Black Ranger!” Goldar laughed. “You’re more intelligent than I gave you credit for! Welcome Power Rangers, to the Island of Illusion! Hope you enjoy your stay here, as you’re never leaving…” With that, and another crack of thunder he vanished as Robert muttered “Oh Hell…” catching everypony’s attentions. “What’s wrong? You’ve never looked quite so scared in your life, not even when Sunset was in the hospital,” Vapor asked, noticing the expression of pure fear on Robert’s face. Granted, that was more rage than fear in that situation but Vapor knew Robert knew what she meant. “The Island of Illusion… It’s an alternate dimension, specifically designed to play on our worst fears, insecurities and perceived greatest failures. We need to get out of here, fast,” Robert explained, letting that statement settle in on the group before he frowned. “Question is… How?” “Well, way I see it…” Lightning replied, putting up a confident front even if inwardly she was terrified, knowing exactly what this island would conjure up for her. “We got in through a magical hole in the dimensions if I understand things, so there’s got to be a way out right? We just have to find it!” With that, she set off into the jungle with the other Rangers following close behind, Crystal Sabers drawn… “Oh no, oh no, oh no…” Twilight whispered as she paced back and forth in her guest bedroom at the Castle. From her window, she’ could only watch in horror as she saw Solar Flare teleport into the gardens and transform back into Celestia before the Solar Princess collapsed into the grass. “It’s happened again, she’s gone and destroyed the Rangers! I know it, I just know it! And it’s all my fault!” Twilight whispered, curling herself up into a fetal position near her bed. “I… I don’t deserve to be a Princess, not with what I’ve just done!” “You have done nothing of the sort Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said as she teleported into Twilight’s room, laying a hand upon her shoulder. “The Rangers are not destroyed, they are merely… trapped.” Twilight looked up at the Princess of the Night with teary eyes. “Really?” She whispered, wanting to believe Luna but finding it impossible to, knowing Solar Flare’s sheer power. “Yes, they’re in an alternate dimension not that far removed from that of the dream world I preside over. One that plays upon their worse fears and insecurities. I can go rescue them, but you must go rescue Celestia and separate her from that monster of a mare known as Solar Flare,” “But… But how?” Twilight asked and Luna simply smiled. “You’ve gotten this far, I know you’ll figure out a way. Tartarus, you already have with the Crystal of Dualities. All you need to do is get Celestia far away from this place and activate it.” “Yes… Yes, the Crystal!” Twilight suddenly shouted, as she got up off the floor and recomposed herself, brushing the dust off her midnight blue dress, and retying her mane in a bun as she grabbed her golden tiara. An expression of determination came over Twilight, Solar Flare’s reign ended today. Twilight pushed her bedroom door open with a creaking sound and turned to look back at Luna, mouthing a “Thank you” and running out the door all the while thinking “Stay strong Celestia, I’m coming…” The Island of Illusion: Back with the Rangers, they’d ventured further into the vast jungle that made up most of the island, the sweltering sun beating down on them as they used their Crystal Sabers to cut through the underbrush. Right now they were knee high in various fauna and tall grasses, strange animal sounds coming from just out of their line of vision. As she swatted a mosquito away, Lightning grumbled to herself “Oh yes, an island paradise that just so happens to hide a Jungle right from the depths of Tartarus and will fool with your mine! Real vacation spot, tell all your friends!” sarcastically. “Odd, you’d think by now the Island would be playing on our fears…” Sunburst pondered. “Maybe it’s late to the party and didn’t get the memo?” Lightning deadpanned, still keeping up that confident facade. But like any facade, it was soon to fall away as soon as she saw exactly what the Island conjured up for her, even if the others couldn’t. What she saw exactly was a pale blue pegasus, handsome even in his middle age with grey hair and wrinkles on his face wearing a brown flight jacket. “D-Dad…?” Lightning whispered. “N-No, you can’t be here…” “Oh dear... “ Wind Rider said softly, in an almost fatherly tone. Almost. “You know I’ll always be there when you need me most.” “Puh, yeah that’s a load of bullshit alright!” Lightning snapped. Sunset and Sunburst shared a look of confusion. “Who’s she talking to?” Sunset asked. “It’s already started…” Sunburst muttered as Lightning continued having a “Conversation”. “Seems you need me once again, as a real Wonderbolt would have found their way out of this jungle and saved their friends by now!” Wind Rider sneered. “No… No,” Lightning whispered, her bravado failing her completely when faced with her father. “I’m… I’m doing the best I can! I promise!” “Well, that’s not good enough!” Wind Rider roared. “If I’d raised you properly, you wouldn’t have gotten into this mess to start with! You’d have defeated and destroyed Thrax a long time ago!” Vapor wanted to call out to Lightning, tell her that whatever she was seeing wasn’t real, but she’d found herself facing a problem of her own, her greatest failure personified. Standing in front of her was a purple coated pony, brown hair and wearing glasses. But that wasn’t the most noticeable feature, oh no. That would have been the gaping hole in his chest. “Well well, look at what the cat dragged in,” Grape Vine remarked in his southern drawl as he shimmered into existence. “I see ya took up mah sword, very sporting of you. Now, Ah’ve been very hospitable about letting ya use mah powers, but Ah’m here to take them back now…” “No… No, you’re dead! I saw it! You can’t be here!” Vapor stammered out, taking a few steps backwards in fear as she was suddenly shown a vision. "Let her go, you filth." Grape snarled, all pretenses of joking around replaced by pure seriousness. "You'd better be keeping an eye on yourself, not on her!" Plug Org laughed, and before he could figure out what he meant, Grape was stabbed through the chest by his own Crystal Saber thanks to Turbine Org and soundly demorphed, blood gushing from his wound. Plug Org laughed and let Vapor go before both Orgs ran off laughing to themselves while Vapor ran over to Grape. "I... I shouldn't have gotten involved, b-but I-I did and now look what's happened!" Vapor sobbed, but Grape wiped away her tears and handed her his Growl Phone and Animal Crystal, it glowing purple when handed to its new owner. “But yet here Ah am…” Grape Vine said with a shrug, morphing right into the purple Ranger without the use of a Growl Phone and drawing his Crystal Saber before charging right towards Vapor… Not too far away, Robert had found his own worst nightmare, his own insecurities coming back to haunt him. In front of him stood Theo, his old Master. “You failed the Pai Zhau, you failed SPD, Hell you failed everything you set your mind to! Look at you now, trapped in a world that’s no longer your own and still trying to clean up your messes!” Theo lectured. “You were always arrogant and always had your mind on the nearest pretty girl to catch your eye, I don’t know why the Hell I ever accepted someone so unfocused as a student!” Like Vapor, Robert was shown a vision… “Okay, who wants to place bets? I’m betting on Casey.” Robert asked and Theo gave him a look. “Really?” He asked in annoyance. “Oh come on Theo, lighten up. This should be fun to watch!” Lily exclaimed giddily. “You gotta admit, seeing two Red Rangers fight might be interesting.” Theo sighed. “Alright, twenty-five bucks and a free Jungle Karma pizza to whoever wins this bet. Whoever loses, has to hand out towels AND wash them for the rest of the month. I’m going for Casey.” “Place me down for Samurai Girl.” Another student said and Lily nodded. “Same here, women can kick as much ass as men can so that’s why I’m voting in Lauren’s favor.” “I’ll go along with that.” Camille stated while Jarrod simply rolled his eyes and muttered: “You guys are idiots.” “That’s… That’s not true… I could focus when I wanted to!” Robert whispered before he rolled out of the way to dodge Theo’s Jaguar Spirit. “Really? Then prove it!” Theo taunted as he morphed into the Blue Jungle Fury Ranger. Meanwhile, Sunburst had found himself faced with an old demon like the others. In this case, Lightning Dust herself. She stood there, silently with one wing beside her, a bloody stump in it’s place. Sunburst knew this was his fault. After all, he’d gotten the Mirror Org to cause this, Lightning losing her wing having to get it replaced with that ugly looking mechanical knockoff and ruining her self-worth in the bargain. Sunburst, now fully recovered, threw one of his Shadow Hatchets at the Org. But before he knew it, the Org’s eyes glowed and Lightning was in his place. A wing fell to the ground as Lightning let out a horrific scream and clutched at the wound to stop the blood flow. “Lightning!” Vapor shouted as she saw her adopted sister demorph in a flash of light. Sunburst’s eyes widened under his helmet as he thought “Oh no! What… What did I… How did…?” Robert’s eyes widened as well and he yelled into his comm “Princess, get Lightning out of here and to the nearest hospital! Now!” Lightning scowled. While the rational part of her brain was telling her that the music played was entirely at random, she couldn’t help but think some part of the universe was mocking her… disability. She knew it, she’d never be a Wonderbolt again. Seems her dad was right all along, she’d never amount to anything in the end after all. “You bucking happy dad? Huh, are you bucking happy you bastard? There, I screwed up and look what bucking happened!” Lightning began to rant to her father, despite knowing very well he couldn’t hear her.. “Lost a wing, and now Sky Stinger’s the only member of this whole bucking family who’ll live up to your damned legacy!” Lightning snarled. He couldn’t even be bothered to even send her a sympathy card, for crying out loud! Just some small notice that he cared! But no, if her “Father” cared one jot about her, he would have shown it a long time ago. “Yeah, that’s dear old dad for ya, not giving a damn about somepony unless they benefit him directly, and I never really was a benefit to him. I was just one more child to look after, one more mouth to feed. More money to come out of his pocketbook, that’s all I was to him. All I ever will be,” She thought as she suddenly found herself gazing to where her wing once was. But to her surprise, the space wasn’t as empty as she thought it would be. Instead, there was a metal appendage, a crude copy of a wing with very sharp metal feathers and adorned with glowing runes gleaming with magic. “Great, so I’m a freak now. Wonderful,” Lightning thought sarcastically. “Should have just left the damn thing off and let me bleed to death,” Sunset found herself by a lake, mist steaming off the waters obscuring her vision. From somewhere within the gloom, a voice called out to her. “Gold huh?” a voice cackled. It was similar, but not exactly like Sunset’s own. More arrogant, more prideful. “Well, it always suited you, that’s for sure. Look at you, one of the most arrogant mares on Equus,” “No… It can’t be…” Sunset muttered to herself. “Oh, but it is,” the voice answered as an armored figure -Red and gold in coloration, with demonic bat wings erupting from her back- stepped out of the mist. “See you finally earned your wings. Congrats on that, guess you finally found what you’ve been searching for,” the dark Solaris Knight/Sunset taunted before she sighed. “Shame though, you could have been so much more if you’d just accepted my power…” “Then I’m sorry for what I’ve got to do. I’m sorry PRINCESS, but your reign is at an end.” I snarled and produced a red and gold trimmed item not unlike a conductor’s ticket puncher, but with numbers like a phone on it as well. Celestia’s eyes widened. “Sunset, don’t!” She cried, but it was too late. My path was already set in stone. “Magical Source, Mystic Force!” I yelled and punched a ticket and threw it and it enlarged itself and covered me with my body gaining crimson and golden armor and bat wings sprouted out of my back. I fired a blast of flame from my horn at Celestia who threw up a golden shield around herself before leaping forwards and drawing a navy blue and gold trimmed sword which she swung at me and I blocked its blow with a blade of fire before kicking my own teacher backwards into her throne. Royal Guards, led by Steel Sentry rushed into the room, but I put up a wall of fire between me and them. “Sorry boys, but this battle is between me and her. You’re not invited to this private party.” I smugly remarked, my head turned towards them... “No,” Sunset said defiantly. “I wasn’t ready to become a Princess, not then. And the way I earned my wings back then, it wasn’t the way I should have earned them. It was out of sheer irrational greed, that’s all there was to it. I knew that Solar Cell Morpher was corrupted, and yet I took it,” “Did you know it was corrupted? Or was it something else that made you take it and you’re just finding a way to excuse your own actions? Face it Sunny, I know you. After all, I am you.” Sunset’s past self asked, with her current self finding herself at a loss for words... Meanwhile, back with Twilight, she’d taken the Crystal of Dualities to Celestia, who was only now regaining consciousness. But once she saw the Crystal, her facial features contorted into abject rage and with a flash of flame morphed into the form of Solar Flare, and ignited a broadsword made solely of flame. The sword’s name: Daybreaker. “Just for that Sparkle… Just for even daring to even think of using that damned Crystal… You’re going to die,” Solar Flare snarled, no trace of Celestia in her. Solar Flare roared in rage and flew forwards, shrubbery and trees catching flame all around her as she rocketed towards Twilight, who stood firm as her horn charged up. “No, it’s you who’s dying today Solar Flare. Not me. Now… Do me a favor and give me Celestia back!” Twilight shouted in defiance and blasted the Crystal with a beam of magic, and then what happened next nobody could have predicted. Six beams, each a color of the universe’s first Rangers shot up into the sky and then slammed into Solar Flare one by one. Red, green, blue, yellow, pink and finally a navy blue beam hit her with tremendous force one right after the other before there was a bright flash of light and a high pitched scream of rage and pain as one being separated into two. As the flash cleared, there stood both Celestia and Solar Flare. “No… No!” Solar Flare screeched out as she felt her power divide by half, with the other half of her powers going to Celestia, who could only smile. “Thank you, Twilight… Thank you for freeing me…” She whispered, looking at Twilight’s unconscious form. She’d been blasted back into a tree by the sheer power of the Crystal’s usage. She then turned to Solar Flare, drawing her shortsword, nicknamed “Feather Edge”. Celestia’s gigantic white wings unfurled themselves to their full expanse, the combination of them and her pure white dress along with her golden crown making her look almost angelic in the sunlight. By contrast, Solar Flare, dripping pure hot magma from her charcoal black body and her burnt orange battle armor with pillars of flames erupting behind her looked like something right out of the darkest pits of Hell itself. Solar Flare roared in rage and ignited her sword as she flew towards Celestia, fully intent on ending her existence. Blade met blade, and both combatants were blown backwards before they ignited their horns as they took to the skies. Celestia fired a gold beam of energy, Solar Flare a pure angry red. “Look at you Celestia, you and your ponies are so large in power capital, why not just use all of that and conquer everything in this land?” Solar Flare asked as the magic beams met in midair and struggled for dominance briefly before canceling each other out. Solar Flare then fired a blast of pure flame from her mouth, and Celestia created a golden energy shield to block it. “You’ve got the power, so why not use it?” “Because I’m not you,” Celestia said calmly as she flew past Solar Flare at blinding speed and sliced her across the chest. “You’re nothing but rage and hate personified. I gave birth to you, yes, when that one human had his way with me and I let my anger get the better of me, wanting revenge… But you know something?” “What, that you’re a weak excuse for an Alicorn?” Solar Flare taunted, the wound in her chest healing almost at once, magma replacing what had been lost. “No, I moved on. To be honest, for all that crap the humans may have committed over the years, we’re no different, you and I,” Celestia admitted sadly, a tear slipping from her eyes. A smirk came to Solar Flare’s face as she flapped her wings. She had her, but that smirk was soon to fade. “Solar Flare… I honestly feel pity for you even after all you’ve done. We’re no different than the humans themselves. We feel the same emotions: rage, hate, and all of that. But we can love and protect as well, protect those who can’t do the same for themselves. Isn’t that our responsibility as their “Betters”?” Celestia asked kindly, before switching to a sarcastic tone when she said the word “Betters”. “We’re not better than they are, nobody’s better than anybody else. We don’t decide who lives or who dies. That doesn’t make us gods, just monsters.” “Shut up! I said shut up!” Solar Flare screeched in a harpy-like fashion, but still, Celestia continued to speak. Even as Celestia spoke, the two clashed swords again, blade meeting blade, embers flying off Daybreaker as its flames met the cold steel of Feather Edge. “You were born in rage and fire, and forged me into the ruler I am today. Yes, that meant at times I had to give into a lust for battle and on occasion, exercise my powers, but without that, the nation may have fallen into turmoil from any number of threats like Discord or King Sombra. But all the while, I never went too far… Not like you did. I still had that capacity to care, while you… You had none of that. For that reason, and that reason alone I feel nothing but pity for you. Now, you might remember me saying this time and time again, but I really hate chess. It's a useful mental exercise. And through the years, many thinkers have been fascinated by it. But I don't enjoy playing. Do you know why?” Celestia questioned as she flew around to evade a downward strike from Solar Flare and sliced her dark half in the side with a swing from Feather Edge in a rare moment of catching her off guard. But like before, broiling magma replaced what had been lost. “Because it was a game that was born during a brutal age when life counted for little and everyone believed that some people were worth more than others. Kings and pawns. I don't think that any being is worth more than another being. Life isn’t a game, not to me,” she explained to her counterpart as she met blades with Solar Flare again. “Real beings aren't pieces. And you can't assign more value to some of them than to others. Not to me. Not to anyone. Ponies, my Little Ponies nor anybody else are not a thing that you can sacrifice. The lesson that I’m trying to teach is that anypony who looks on the world as if it was a game of chess, deserves to lose. And that’s what’s going to happen to you.” the Princess of the Sun stated firmly. Next, she became a blur of pure white energy and next thing Solar Flare knew Celestia axe kicked her in the shoulder sending her plummeting towards the ground. Solar Flare regained her senses at the very last moment and teleported away from Celestia before in several flashes of orange light she slashed at Celestia again and again in blurs of motion. “Don’t you get it yet Celly?” Solar Flare mocked. “For all your talk about defeating me and your moral high ground, you’re still too afraid to just use all of your full power all just because of little things like “Civilian casualties” and the like.” Solar Flare smirked, even as she created a sphere of miniature suns around Celestia which bombarded her with solar blast after solar blast. Finally, the bombardment ended, with the Princess of the Sun barely keeping herself aloft. Celestia, even as she groaned in pain admitted that her dark half was right for once. She had plenty of power, this just wasn’t the place to use it. Not with this many ponies around. “Well then…” Celestia remarked, a smirk coming to her face as pure white feathers fell from her wings and to the ground below. “Let’s take this elsewhere, somewhere a bit safer shall we?” With that, she rocketed at Solar Flare in a blur of motion and opened up a portal lined with golden glowing runes and shoved her dark half into it before following in after her... Author's Note Okay, first off, apologies for the wait. Schoolwork's a pain in the ass, that's all I'm going to say. Secondly, I really had to think hard about how this chapter had to go, as I've been building up to this moment for a while now so I wanted to make sure everything was just right. Hopefully, unlike the last time I wrote a chapter of this length, you'll be able to keep up with what's going on. As for the new theme, (And sorry if I had to use Topic as I know it doesn't work for everyone, I couldn't embed a Youtube Video directly and skip past Pellek's intro so I had to use this version) I thought because I've been using Wild Force's theme for a while now, I thought it was time to change things up seeing as how we've reached the halfway point in the story. Now, one last thing, if anyone can guess exactly Sunset is so confused on why sex is so pleasurable, you get a virtual cookie. (Just PM me your answer, as I want to keep it a secret for now for character arc reasons) I'd offer you up the identity of the new White Dino Thunder Ranger, but I think the answer is obvious if you're willing to do a bit of reading. ...Actually, if Sunset and Robert's relationship takes up too much of the story, please tell me. I do want to give equal focus to every character. (Also, again give thanks to Eagle Paladin of Shadows for the Megazord VS Thrax fight scene and the ending battle) Part 46: Gods Fall, Knights Rise (A Solar Tyrant's Fall Part 3 of 3)The Island of Illusion: “Oh face it Princess…” the corrupted Solaris Knight mocked. “You’ve never been fighting for good, not really,” she commented in a mock-sweet tone of voice as the sheer heat her flamed wings began to clear away the mist. “You just want to show off your power, solidify that you’re worthy of being a Princess. Like all those years ago when you had your little tantrum and created me. Still hiding your insecurities. Or have we forgotten this little gem?” With that, she waved her hand and Sunset was hit with another flashback, back to when she returned to being a Ranger and found herself face to face with a newly revived Goldar himself. With that, Sunset threw both her Crystal Saber and Phoenix Blade at Goldar like boomerangs and he knocked them away with two swings of his sword. He was then soundly roundhouse kicked in the face by Sunset who rebounded off of him and landed on the ground with a soft thud. Goldar fired some fireballs at Sunset, but she created two rotating hard light shields of rune-inscribed magic and deflected them again and again simply continuing to stride forwards. As she did so, she picked up her weapons off the ground and slashed downwards at Goldar who blocked the blades with his own. He chuckled. “Guardian angel or not, fancy swordplay and magic won’t be enough to save you,” Goldar said as he whirled around and tried to use his tail to trip up Sunset but she leaped upwards and kicked the baboon-like monster in his chest plate sending him staggering back. Goldar swung again and his blade met Sunset’s own, sparks flying as metal ground up against metal. Sword met sword, again and again, each fighter closing in and drawing back each time they thought they had an opening but each time sword met sword. “Face it, this time you’re out-matched.” “Oh, but I’m done holding back. Just this once, I’ll let you see my true power. Every time I go into a fight, I have to think, is this the one? Is this the one who’ll let me show off just how powerful I really am and not have to worry about others getting in the way? Well, now I have my answer. This time… I can cut loose and show you just what you’re getting into when you pick a fight with a Princess of Equestria.” Sunset replied, standing firm even in the face of complete and utter power. “You weren’t protecting your friends back then… You were just making sure everybody around knew you were this all-powerful Princess and that everybody shouldn’t fuck with you, isn’t that right?” the Knight mocked and Sunset staggered. “N-No… That’s not… not true and you know it!” Sunset stammered out, tears falling down her face. Her hand barely kept a grip on her Phoenix Blade. “Doesn’t sound like any World of Cardboard speech to me. Hardly, sounds more like somepony who’s trying to just scare everybody. And believe me, you don’t think the populace is scared? There’s five of you, five Alicorn Princesses each with tremendous power,” the Dark Solaris Knight continued, counting them off on her fingers one by one. “And as we already know, at least two can fall to darkness. First it was Luna, then you. And as the public now knows, Princess Celestia can fall to that kind of lust for power. They’re fighting it out right now even as we speak, didn’t you know?” she asked before smirking under her helmet as she saw Sunset take another step back and her eyes widen in shock. “Oh, you didn’t? Shame…” The Knight shook her head before continuing. “Ask yourself, how much denial do you have to go through before you realize I’m telling the truth? I’m you, you know. I know every part of you. Ask yourself… When will the populace, that little bunch of sheep rebel against their shepherds out of pure fear and dethrone them?” “That… will never… happen,” Sunset snarled. “Not as long as I- “Not as long as you’re what?” the Knight asked. “Around? You’ve nearly been killed once by a fearful mob, what’s to say it won’t happen again?” “Hey, there she is! There’s the human lover who brought destruction on our homes with her curse!” a male voice shouted. Sunset saw a mob in front of her led by a brown pony in a black fedora. The mob wielded various tools and weapons, like hammers, pitchforks, torches, spears and even a few guns. Sunset’s eyes widened. She knew this might happen sooner or later but she had hoped it wouldn’t come to this. “Best you get going. I don’t want you to get caught up in the middle of this. This could get ugly,” Sunset told Navi, but Navi shook her head. “No, I’m not leaving you,” Navi said firmly. “I think these fools need to be taught a lesson.” “Fine by me,” Sunset sighed and sprinted towards the angry and bigoted mob. She had already decided it would be best not to use her full power for two reasons. One, she’d rather not bring the wrath of Solar Flare down on her head and two, they were just scared. They didn’t know any better and weren’t outright evil like the Orgs or their Master or that hunter Bunglay. With a quick slice of her Crystal Saber she sliced a snub nosed revolver in half and twisted its user’s arm. There was the distinct crack of bone and the pony screamed out in pain. “Best you get a brain and get yourself to a hospital. They should heal you right up, and if you have any intelligence left in that damn fool head of yours, I’d suggest you not try this again,” Sunset said in a weary tone of voice, completely tired of all the bigotry and hatred that was directed towards humankind. “Die, human loving scum!” a voice bellowed behind her. Sunset whirled around to kick the fedora wearing pony in the gut, making him stagger back. Another pony, one with brown fur and a yellow curly mane tried to attack Sunset by punching her in the side of her skull, but Sunset moved her head forwards at the last minute, causing the fist to meet empty air. She then slammed her knee into the pony’s stomach, dropping them instantly. Another tried to impale her with a pitchfork, but Sunset leaped on top of the improvised weapon before leaping off it and cleaved the head from the tool with one clean stroke. Next, a stallion tried to take a swipe at her with a blazing torch, but Sunset formed a light green pentagram shield in one of her hands and blocked the blow before knocking the pony back with her hard light shield. “The ponies you care so much about aren’t as loving and accepting as you’d like them to be, face it.” the Solaris Knight said before Sunset had finally had enough and socked her counterpart right in the jaw with a powerful flaming punch. “Shut up,” Sunset stated simply. “Maybe that’s true, maybe what you’re saying really does have some merit. But even if it is… Things change. Everything evolves and changes, including the opinions of the populace. It’ll probably be slow, like all big changes, but things will change. I can promise you that. And you… You shall never exist again!” she shouted, squeezing her fists tightly. Even as she did so, she heard a loud screech and saw what looked like to be a folded up bow with a falcon’s head adorning it form in her fist. “What the…?” Sunset thought before inspecting her new weapon and then with a red glow, she saw an Animal Crystal teleporting into her other free hand. Red, with a small falcon inside it. The bow unfolded, with the falcon’s ‘wings’ unfurling themselves as Sunset pocketed the new crystal. Sunset drew the weapon’s “arrow” back and fired a piercing beam of energy right through the heart of her double. With a loud scream, the Dark Solaris Knight erupted into flame before exploding into red energy. “...Good riddance.” Sunset sighed, panting and sweating. Elsewhere, both Celestia and Solar Flare tumbled out of a portal and into a manmade lake located at a long-abandoned rock quarry in the middle of a pine forest. Large splashes of water erupted as they hit the lake before both a white and then an orange form erupted from it and rocketed skywards, hot steam coming off both of their forms. Slice and dice, they went, rocketing past each other at high speed, their wings ripping and shredding into their bodies in one very deadly dance. Celestia soared high above her counterpart and with the aura of a golden flaming Phoenix surrounding her, she came down towards Solar Flare. Then, Celestia sliced her counterpart right down the middle with Feather Edge and a shout of “Heavenly Bifurcation Slash!” Now normally, that would have finished off anything. But Solar Flare wasn’t just anything, as she laughed as her two halves ended up reuniting with magma filling the gaps. “Celestia… Celestia…” Solar Flare sighed, as she shook her head, her great black wings keeping her aloft. “When will you get the message? Nothing you can do, not in your current state anyways, will ever hurt me. I’m fire, you’re fire. Simple as that. I just absorb whatever you throw at me, and add that power to my own. Here’s a taste of it…” Solar Flare fired a beam of pure hot flame at Celestia, hitting her in the chest and sending her crashing into a quarry wall, spiderweb cracks spreading out from where she impacted. Solar Flare could only continue to smirk as Celestia launched herself at her like a bullet and hit her head on, piercing her through the chest with her horn used as a makeshift lance. Celestia soon found herself bucked away by Solar Flare as the gaping wound in the Solar Tyrant’s chest healed itself. Solar Flare unleashed what could only be described as a flamethrower from her mouth and sent Celestia plummeting towards the ground. Solar Flare smirked -as like some fallen angel- she floated down to her counterpart’s level. The sun was behind her, casting a shadow on her already darkened and scorched form. Small little flares erupted from whatever part of Solar Flare’s body that wasn’t covered by armor. As Celestia struggled to pick herself up off the ground, pillars of fire (Created by Solar Flare) erupted from the ground all around her. The sheer heat scorched her wings as one pillar erupted right next to her and Celestia screamed out in pain, looking towards her blackened and charred left wing. “Give up,” Solar Flare sighed. “You’ve been a good little host, that I’ll admit. But honestly… You’ve gotten too preachy, too rebellious. I actually have to thank Twilight for separating us, now I can finally shut you up myself.,” Solar Flare’s evil smirk only widened as a thought came to her. “You know, after I’m done with you here… I think I’ll go pay her a visit. Thank her and all that,” she remarked, placing a hand to her chin in thought. Her other hand ignited Daybreaker once again, taking a Tachi like shape. Similar to a katana in form, but longer. “Think about it Celly… the sheer screams of terror she’ll create as I burn her worthless form to ashes. There’s only room for one Alicorn on this planet, and sadly… It’s not her.” That really did it, as quicker than Solar Flare could think, Celestia rocketed into her and sent her flying to the other end of the quarry before bombarding her with blasts of miniature suns. “You… You shall not touch my student, nor shall you harm anybody on this planet ever again,” Celestia stated firmly, horn glowing golden as the suns flicked out of existence, one by one. “Your reign’s long since been rendered defunct. You’ve been dethroned. A new era’s coming, and your kind… Ones who rely on bigotry, hatred, manipulation and fear. You’ll never be a part of it.” “And who’s going to stop me?” Solar Flare laughed as she picked herself off the ground. “You?” “Yes, me.” Celestia said as her eyes narrowed and she drew Feather Edge once again. It was a short sword, three and a half foot long in blade length, the blade itself a blue color. It had a silver-colored guard, with a hilt of black, yellow, white and red resembling wings in some form. In an instant, Celestia was on Solar Flare, getting inside her evil counterpart’s swing, striking with lightning fast strokes of her shorter blade, Solar Flare blocking them with her tachi, though the Solar Princess’ close proximity prevented her from using it fully. She occasionally managed to drive Celestia back with a burst of flames, trying to keep her where she could use her sword properly, but every time Celestia would slip back in close. And then, she’d renew her assault as soon as the flames died down. The pair's battle rages across the quarry, neither getting the upper hand as they countered each other's moves almost flawlessly, it seemed they would be locked in battle for eternity, a never-ending stalemate... The Island of Illusion: Meanwhile, Robert found himself in a fight of his own as he ducked, dodged and weaved to avoid the rapid-fire blows of Theo’s Jungle Tonfas. And every time he tried to score a strike of his own in, Theo masterfully blocked it. “Look at you… You’re the same as when I took you in and started training you. Arrogant as always,” Theo sighed in disappointment as a powerful chi-infused palm strike sent Robert flying back into a tree. “There’s always someone bigger than you, and yet you take them on like some little pup fighting against the big boys.” Robert clutched his chest in pain, that hit had landed right where the Barbed Wire Org had raked him with his barbed wire. He struggled to stand, but fell to the ground in pain and let out a scream. “Spirit’s fading fast from you… Don’t even know why you’re worthy of it,” Theo remarked as he advanced towards Robert. He grabbed a pillar with his hands and ripped it out of the ground before tossing it towards the Orange Ranger who barely crawled out of the way in time. “Foxes are supposed to be tricksters. Creative in a fight. Yet you just charge in without any plans, hoping you’ll win the day and showing off like some arrogant fool. Newsflash for you, Robert, you’re no Captain Marvelous.” “...Ever heard the phrase “Crazy as a Fox?” Robert asked as he stood back up, wincing in pain as he did so. “Besides, foxes treat life as fun and games. That’s how you claim I treat life, right? Like one big game?” He was soundly punched in the jaw for his troubles. “Robert…” a feminine voice trailed through the forest as a very familiar midnight blue Alicorn came into being. “Don’t listen to the guy, he’s not real and you know it.” “L-Luna…?” Robert blinked out, unsure if the Island was playing games with him some more. “No… I’m not a trick. This world is like a dream, so it’s quite easy for me to just slip into it and talk to the inhabitants,” Luna replied, before blasting ‘Theo’ away with a magical bolt from her horn. “Now, I admit I probably have no business talking to you as a friend-” “Oh gee, you think? You broke my heart you know,” Robert snapped before he sighed. “Then again, I suppose I deserved that. God knows I’ve broken how many hearts before I met you. Karma is sort of a bitch isn’t it?” “Anything I’d say to you right now would probably come off as cruel, if we were to talk about our little relationship. So I come to you not as a friend, or a lover, but as an ally. Think about this Robert. You knew Theo when he was alive. Would he ever say these things to you? A teacher is supposed to encourage his students, not belittle them!” “But maybe I deserve that…” Robert muttered. Luna soundly slapped him across the face. “No, not like this. Think about this Robert, you created this nightmare of yours from your own insecurities, so you know it’s not true!” Luna replied before placing her hands squarely on his shoulders and looking him directly in the eyes. A dawning realization came to Robert as he whirled around to face Theo, who was getting back up. “Still going to try and fight m-” Theo mocked before he was slammed into a tree by Robert’s Kitsune Spirit. “Shut up. Just shut your trap for once. You’re not Theo, just a caricature of him. A fairly bad one at that. The real one… He’d accept me as I am, flaws and all. That’s why I wasn’t thrown out of the Pai Zhau. Hell, if Theo was willing to accept Jarrod, who hosted Dai Shi for crying out loud, and Dai Shi’s mistress Camille… Then I know he’d accept me. You are nothing like him,” Robert snarled, before he found a glowing blue orb descending from the skies into his hand. His eyes widened as he found himself with a new Animal Crystal, a light blue one containing a swallow inside it. “Now…” Robert snarled, charging up one of his fists full of chi before striking sending the false Theo flying. “Begone.” Robert then found himself remorphing back into the Orange Ranger in a flash of light holding both his Kitsune Blaster and a giant blue boomerang. (Presumably the Swallow Zord’s signature weapon) He turned to face a smiling Luna and growled out “Now, where are the others?” The others, as Robert had asked, were busy dealing with their own inner demons. “Look at you daughter of mine… How you’ve grown…” Wind Rider said, his voice taking a rare note of kindness before it changed to one of disgust. “And here I actually thought you’d make something of yourself.” “Shut up. Just shut up…” Lightning Dust snarled, not too far away from reaching her boiling point. “Mystic Mother above…” Wind Rider sighed, eyeing Lightning’s metal wing as if it were a cancerous tumor. “You even had to get a prosthetic wing just because of how much of a dumbass you were! Reckless! Idiotic! Hot-tempered! Is that what makes for a Wonderbolt in these days?” “No… No, it’s not…” Lightning Dust admitted. “But you know what, dad?” she asked spitting out the name in disgust. “What? You’re going to say that you’ve changed?” Lightning’s father asked in disbelief, barely holding back a laugh. “Exactly, I’ve changed. Maybe not as quickly as I should have, but I’m growing up. There’s bound to be a few missteps along the way, right?” She asked before she glared at her father. “You, however, haven’t changed one bit. I’ve been waiting a very long time to say these words, but you’ve always been out on tour or living it up in Las Pegasus with mares far younger than you like some rockstar so I never could! But here you are…” “Yeah?” Wind Rider asked. “And what are those words?” “Buck you. Just buck you and the high horse you rode in on! You’ve always thought you were better than me, that all stallions are better than mares! Well, newsflash for you and your bullshit, don’t know if you’ve heard but some of Equestria’s greatest heroes are mares! And then there are the damn Princesses! Sky never fell for your bullshit, -the little prized possession of yours that he was- so why should I, huh!?!” Lightning snapped and her father took a step back in shock before he tripped. Tripped and fell into a deep chasm that Lightning could have sworn wasn’t there before. The thing with the Island of Illusion, it might have miscalculated just how much anger Lightning was holding back at her father over the years. It thought she was still a little filly, too afraid to stand up to him. But that evidently wasn’t the case. Elsewhere, Sunburst was looking at Lightning’s duplicate. She never spoke, but in Sunburst’s mind, she never had to. Her eyes, a mix of disappointment and disgust said it all to him. She stared directly at him, seemingly judging him for what he’d done. “I… I know… I know I messed up okay?” Sunburst stammered out. “I’m the cause of what happened to you! If I hadn’t interfered, you’d still have that wing! Not… not that prosthetic you’re stuck with!” And Sunburst continued. “You… You know something Lightning? Sometimes… Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I’d taken your place. Lost my horn, wouldn’t be that much of a handicap to me now would it? Barely can use the damn thing anyways…” And then Lightning finally spoke. “Is that really true Sunny?” she asked before she snapped her fingers. Sunburst knew the scene shown, it was from his own memories after all. Tartarus, he wrote the damn thing down for crying out loud! “With the stealth and bite of a Vampire Bat, Black Vampire Bat Ranger!" I cried out, with more confidence than I had ever yelled it out before. “Time to make this bell stop its ringing… permanently.” I snarled to myself before I cried “Dino Morpher Blast!” and sent the Org flying with a powerful blast of black light and a head shaped like my Zord’s own following it, perhaps our two power sets mixing together in some way. Then, I focused all my energy into my horn and sent it skywards and then the clouds boiled, as if someone had flicked on a light switch for them. Rolling thunder, upon the rain. And then a powerful bolt of white hot lightning struck the bell cage, blasting it to smithereens and freeing my fiance, who gave me a look of complete and utter shock. “And another thing, Sunny…” Lightning continued before bringing him into a deep hug, something he knew the real Lightning Dust would never do. She never showed her feelings, not like that anyways. But then she punched him in the gut, something Sunburst knew the real Lightning would do. “Stop blaming yourself! Nothing’s ever your fault, it’s always those damn Orgs we have to blame for the crap we get put through these days, nobody else’s, understand?” “Yeah… yeah,” Sunburst murmured before Lightning began to fade away. “I do understand…” Finally, Grape Vine and Vapor faced off, but instead of using weapons, they used words. “Ya know somethin'?” Grape asked as he kneed Vapor in the gut making her stagger back. “Ah was a fool to entrust ya with mah powers! Mah powers!” “No… No, I’ve been using them well! Carrying on your legacy!” Vapor whispered back, trying very hard to hold back her tears. Here was somebody she loved, yes, loved, right in front of her yelling at her and calling her a failure. “You asked me to do that, remember? Right before you died?” “That was a mistake, now that Ah think about it… I should have just died without passing on mah powers, seeing as how yer doing nothin’ good with them!” Grape Vine shouted back. “I’ve… I’ve been trying as hard as I can! I promise that!” Vapor stammered out. “Then yer not tryin’ hard enough!” Grape Vine roared. “Look at ya, it took ya Celestia knows how long to track down the two Orgs that killed me, and even then you had to have help to take down one of them! Face it Vapor, you’re a failure as my legacy, and now I’ve come to take my powers back!” As Grape raised his trident to impale Vapor upon it, he found himself shoved backwards as Luna strode forth from the treeline. “Halt and shut thy tongue, imposter!” Luna yelled -briefly lapsing into Old English in her anger- as ropes of dark blue magic wrapped and coiled themselves around Grape Vine, tying him to a tree. “Thou shalt not do any further talking, not if I have anything to say about it!” She then turned to Vapor, and brought the younger mare into a hug. “Vapor… You know perfectly well as I do that’s not the Grape Vine you know, so… why?” “Because…” Vapor sniffled. “Well, you’re the Princess of Dreams, you’re constantly peering into ponies heads and helping them with their fears so you know perfectly well why!” She shouted. “You still haven’t forgiven yourself for his death, have you?” Luna inquired, as Vapor sobbed into her shoulder. “N-No… No, I haven’t…” She sniveled. “I know I should, but…” “Seeing him die in your arms, and the fact that you loved him is keeping you from moving on, isn’t it?” Luna asked. “Yeah… and he brought up some good points. I… I should have hunted down both of those Orgs sooner, and avenged his death!” “You couldn’t have just gone out and found them you know, Orgs are nearly impossible to track. They only let you find them if they want you to, or you just get lucky and stumble on them sadly… If that weren’t the case, I myself would have hunted down a few and removed some of the load from your team.” “Really?” Vapor asked in surprise, her eyes widening and Luna nodded before she grabbed Vapor by the shoulders, looking at her kindly but in a firm way as well. “Now you know Grape’s speaking falsely, you know this isn’t him… So stand up and face your fears!” Luna commanded. “Right…” Vapor muttered as she turned to face Grape before looking at him. “You… You’re not the Grape Vine I grew up with. The one I knew, he would have encouraged me, Tartarus… He did right before he died! You’re nothing but a parody, a satire!” Vapor exclaimed and Grape began to fade away, and stagger back as if each verbal blow was actually a physical one. “...Luna’s right, I’ve been blaming myself for his death for far too long… Now it’s time to stop.” With that, Grape exploded into a cloud of purple smoke. Vapor, shaking her head sadly as she closed a door to her past forever, looked at Luna who was smiling proudly at her for defeating her inner demons. Like Robert and Sunset before them, all three Rangers then found themselves with new Animal Crystals. Vapor, a grey, and purple toned Stingray while Sunburst gained an aqua colored -with gold detailings- Peacock and Lightning earned herself a brown Boar. All the Rangers soon found themselves meeting up on the beach once more. “Everybody okay?” Vapor asked in concern and the rest of the Rangers nodded. Then, thunder cracked as ugly looking storm clouds rolled in from the distance. A red bolt of lightning descended from the oncoming typhoon as the waves began to pick up and slam themselves against the rocks on the beach in a violent manner. The bolt, as it hit the ground turned into Goldar, and all the Rangers went for their weapons. “Well… I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting that! I thought you’d be trapped here forever, in this dream!” Goldar chuckled as he went for his sword. “Well, guess I’ll just have to deal with you myself. “Man, do you ever get tired of talking?” Lightning asked. “Newsflash, this isn’t a real dream!” Robert nodded in agreement and Goldar laughed again. “What makes you so sure, hmm?” He asked. “Well, if this was a real dream… I’d probably find myself being ravished by very sexy mares clad in leather. But we can’t have everything we want, now can we?” Robert quipped, smirking in a cocky manner before Sunburst spoke up. “In order to get something, you have to give something up. I admit we did have to give up a lot to get where we are Goldar, but that pain… that hurt… It’s a part of us. Made us grow. You just only let us know that. Tell your boss that for us will you?” the Black Ranger added. “ So if I were you, I’d stop talking and shut that mouth of yours before we shut it for you.” “Go ahead and try!” Goldar boasted. “You got it…” Lightning Dust smirked. Then, as one the Rangers, as Goldar stared slack-jawed in horror raised their arms skywards and shouted “Lights of Orion, activate!” and became adorned with the implements of the Orion Armor. They flashed forwards and one by one sliced him across the chest plate and then leaped skywards. As their Crystal Sabers transmuted into Crystal Swords, the Rangers manifested in the shape of giant lion’s paw and sliced Goldar down the middle in five different ways before he fell forwards and exploded in a fireball. “Okay… Now that he’s done with…” Robert asked as he dusted himself off and looked around the area. “How the Hell do we get out of here?” Sunset smiled as Luna gestured to the Falcon Summoner and then to the storm cloud filled sky, which was rapidly swirling into a vortex. “You got in that way, I see no reason why you cannot leave in the same fashion…” Luna trailed off and Sunset nodded before firing the Falcon Summoner and unleashing a ball of red energy into the vortex. Next thing anybody heard was the sound of a loud screech and the flapping of two massive wings... With Celestia and Solar Flare: Back at the quarry, Solar Flare and Celestia slid backwards on their hooves, dust and gravel being stirred up. They’d met blades once again, and once again, like before neither had made no headway. That was the trouble with fighting a doppelganger, they knew every move you were going to make ahead of time or how to counter it. Panting, Celestia looked to the skies as thunder rumbled and a loud screech was heard. Her first thought was the Thunderbird Zord, but that was quickly changed when what emerged from the swirling clouds was most assuredly not the Thunderbird of legend. It was mostly red, with a much larger wingspan. While the Thunderbird Zord was 60 meters from wingtip to wingtip, this one had to be at least 72 meters from wingtip to wingtip, and Celestia was only guessing. It had much larger ‘tail feathers’ as well, and had white chest feathers which led up to the head of a falcon, with a golden beak and two piercing green eyes. It let out two loud screeches of triumph as it flew off into the sky. All five Rangers leaped down from it and landed behind Celestia with a loud thud. “Sorry we’re late, had to deal with some unfinished business,” Sunset stated, as she looked towards Solar Flare, whose eyes narrowed when she saw Robert. “You…” She hissed out, and the air seemed to grow even hotter, if that was possible. “Yes, me,” Robert snarled as his eyes narrowed under his visor and he slammed an armored fist against his palm. “Time for you to die, no ifs, ands, or buts. You’ve lived long enough, time to fix that.” “And how are you going to stop me, Orange Ranger? With snappy comebacks and flirtatious one-liners?” Solar Flare laughed. “Oh, I’m not going to be the one to stop you, just going to be helping out… Her, on the other hand… Well, that’s another matter entirely.” Robert trailed off as he pulled out the Solar Cell Morpher and tossed it to Celestia shouting: “Here, catch!” “No… NO!” Solar Flare screeched out in fury as Celestia caught the Morpher, and in a flash of energy, it’s color changed from a furious violent red to a more calming dark cobalt blue. She pulled out a red and gold ticket and punched it before throwing it. “Magical Source, Mystic Force!” Celestia yelled as the ticket enlarged itself and covered her, before she emerged with elaborate gold and dark blue armor grafted to her form. “Out of the Fire and into the Fight! Power of the Sun, Solaris Knight!” Celestia yelled out as her face became covered by a helmet to finish the morph. Her charred wings became a pure, glistening white once more. They expanded to their full length and width, as the armor of the now purified Solaris Knight powers gleamed in the sun. An explosion of pure Morphin’ Grid energy erupted from behind the Princess of the Sun as she stood ready for battle. Celestia kept up her sword swings, slicing and dicing into Solar Flare as the Rangers used their Lights of Orion boosted weapons to keep Solar Flare constantly on the defensive. Sunset struck with a powerful horizontal slash flinging a wave of golden light towards Solar Flare as Celestia did another Heavenly Bifurcation Slash at the exact same moment. While Solar Flare was still recovering, Sunburst dived in with his Jungle Fans and dealt out a flurry of devastating slashes. Each attack from the main ranger team was so quick, so devastating it was impossible for Solar Flare to pay attention to both them and Celestia. So, either she dodged or deflected one attack, but was hit by another Ranger’s strike. Lightning Dust lashed out with twin whips of golden electricity and Solar Flare, while she was deflecting a strike from Celestia’s sword, suddenly found herself screaming out in pain as the whips raked themselves across her body. Again and again, they struck, and while Solar managed to dodge some of these blows, Celestia got her own hits in with Feather Edge. Robert pulled out both the Sparrowrang and his Kitsune Blaster. He fired a Kitsune Scattershot and Solar Flare was forced to rocket upwards and fire off flames to cancel out the heat-seeking shots before she was struck over and over by the light blue form of the Sparrowrang. As she plummeted towards the ground, Vapor and Celestia shared a nod before they used a Leviathan's Rage/Celestial Prism Slash combo and sent Solar Flare crashing into the ground. “Had enough?” Celestia asked calmly, as Solar Flare struggled to stand, bleeding pure hot magma everywhere. “Not yet… I won’t fall, not when I’m free at last!” “Then…” Celestia said sadly, as she shook her head and for a moment, felt brief pity towards her other self. It didn’t have to be this way, they could have lived in harmony, coexisting as one. But Solar Flare decided to take the route of a tyrant who ruled through fear. “...What happens next, is on your head. Rangers?” All five Rangers nodded, before they became one large fireball of golden energy and rocketed through Solar Flare, leaving a gaping wound in her chest. As the Rangers turned back to look at Solar Flare, a bright, almost blinding flash lit up the area. Next thing they knew, something absolutely colossal and radiating heat towered above them, laughing. “Sweet Mother Mary and Joseph… Permission to say oh cock?” Robert squeaked out in terror as he looked up towards the now gigantic Solar Flare. “Don’t worry Robert Williams, I can handle her. I’m not afraid of her… not anymore.” Celestia stated firmly. She then reached for her Solar Cell Morpher and punched another ticket. A sharp whistle cut through the air like a blade as the Ponyville Express began to move of its own accord away from the station. No engineer, nothing. Its wheels began to turn and it picked up speed as it raced at a surely impossible speed towards the now kaiju sized Solar Flare. Then, a golden spell seal appeared and the Express flew right through it, undergoing a transformation as it grew in size. What came out was something entirely different than what had gone through. The massive gold, red and dark blue Zord resembled a steam locomotive of late 19th Century America, measuring a lengthy 200 meters from the front of the locomotive to its final car. The smoke box door consisted of a red center circle with a concentric ring of gold, from which; gold octopus-like arms wrapped around the smokebox to form a blazing sun. The sand dome and steam dome were of the same shade of blue as the locomotive itself, and the blue chimney had a gold ring atop of it. The gold cow catcher had three bright lights at the leading edges, left, right and centre. The boiler, slightly wider than the smokebox itself, had lights attached to the sides, beneath gold pipes that trailed all the way back to the cab. The leading bogie consisted of two pairs of gold wheels and the similar gold driving wheels, of which there were also two pairs, were connected to the connecting rod. That rod, itself was connected to the end of the piston rod allowing power to be transmitted through the side rods. The color scheme of red, blue and gold continued all the way from the tender car to the passenger cars. Another sharp whistle cut through the air as fire erupted from the ground near the train, and it took to the skies using rails of light to dodge and weave between the flames. As the train barrel rolled skywards high into the atmosphere on that railway of light, the cars began to detach one by one as Celestia pulled a lever towards her. “Solar Streak Megazord, transformation now!” She yelled out as the train pieces began to shift, move and reattach in a entirely new configuration standing tall and proud. The now mammoth Megazord took one giant step, and rocks flew up into the air as it strode forwards towards Solar Flare. Letting out small hisses of steam every now and then, the Megazord stared her down. The aqua eyes attached to its turban themed head narrowed, before both it and Solar Flare turned to look as a loud lion’s roar cut through the air. Various glowing orbs descended from the sky, five to be exact. They each then took a form as a black lion roared as a challenge as it ran forwards. It was followed by a golden jaguar, a gold and medium blue condor, a maroon sawtooth shark and a brown buffalo respectively. “No… That’s…” Solar Flare whispered in fear. “No, it can’t be! He’s supposed to be extinct!” As if to answer that, the Black Lion Wild Zord roared again before leaping forwards, and it like the rest of it’s pride became a golden flash of light… Solar Flare was then forced to reevaluate her opinions on what was extinct very harshly as in front of her stood the Lord of the Wild Zords himself, Animus. “You dare place your hold upon others like a madman? You dare to think that you have power over others just because you are stronger?” Animus spoke in a booming tone, almost a mix between a roar and a soft tone. Solar Flare laughed, “Heh, fine talk coming from a god.” “Even a god remembers that he is nothing without those to remember him,” Looking down at the world below he also added, “And they are nothing without the free will to allow them to step into the light. We gods need to use our power wisely.” “And that is?” Solar Flare asked with a chuckle. “To serve as a guide into the light, so they can stand with us. And if not that, surpass us,” Animus said as he clashed blades with Solar Flare, much to Celestia’s pleasure. “Perhaps that will happen one day soon. Perhaps it’s already happened with both me and Celestia. You, however… Know nothing of the burden of being a god. You only care about the power.” Solar Flare screeched in rage and launched fireball after fireball at Animus, but Celestia stepped in and used the Solar Streak’s massive fists to bat them aside before scoring a powerful punch to Solar Flare’s jaw while Animus sliced Solar Flare across the chest. The thing was, thanks to the Solar Streak’s colossal size when it dished out damage from its massive fists you could tell. One blow from one of these fists was enough to send Solar Flare staggering back. “Damn, I wish we could get in there…” Robert muttered. “I’ve still got a few scores to settle with Sunbitch…” “But… But all of our Wild Zords are damaged from the battle with Thrax, how can we…?” Sunburst trailed off. Reason being, as if to answer his question, he heard a loud roar and saw the distinct form of the Kitsune Zord rising up from out of the trees. All nine tails waved menacingly and fire snorted from the Fox King’s nostrils. “For once… Robert-Baka, we’re in agreement. I want to rip and tear her to shreds!” He snarled out and let out another roar. Thunder cracked and lightning flashed in the distance from a towering storm cloud as the Thunderbird Zord emerged from it letting out a loud screech. “Hey, don’t leave us out of this one…” he remarked as the Phoenix Zord followed him from the rolling clouds, wings ablaze. “After all, Thrax totally humiliated us and I need something to take my anger out on! Nobody shows up the Thunder King at his own game, nobody!” “Except maybe me…” the Kitsune Zord teased. “You’re so immature…” the Phoenix Zord admonished. “Focus on the real problem will you two for once? Stop squabbling like little chicks, we’ve got to deal with this madmare now! You both saw how much it took to take down when she was at normal size, you really think two Megazords, even one who’s our Lord will be enough?” The Vampire Bat Zord and the Leviathan Zord made their own sounds of agreement. “Ugh… Fine. Let’s just make this quick!” the Kitsune Zord snarled. “Rangers, combine us now!” All the Rangers shared a nod before they shouted: “Wild Zords, combine!” With shifting and whirring sounds, the Leviathan Zord split in half and his head and jaw folded open to become feet and the tail split open at the back. The Kitsune Zord’s back legs folded up into his chest and excess metal in his chest detached to form twin katanas and his head folded downwards to become a chest plate as his front legs detached with hisses of steam. The wings of both the Phoenix and Thunderbird Zords detached as the tail feathers sprouted clawed hands and both Legendary Bird Zords became the arms, the Phoenix sprouting the kanji for fire on her winged shoulder pad and the Thunderbird, the kanji for lightning on his own. A tusked head popped up from the Kitsune Zord’s neck, and the Vampire Bat Zord, wings detaching as he grafted himself onto the back of the Megazord and his head moved upwards and became the helmet. “Animaria Guardian Megazord, ready!” All five Orion-powered Rangers shouted as they teleported into the cockpit and put their Crystal Sabers into their respective consoles. The giant war axe that was used for the finisher formed, with the Bat Zord’s wings becoming the blades. Once it was complete, the Megazord reached for it and marched forwards weapon gripped tightly in hand. Solar Flare sliced at the massive implement with Daybreaker and the Animaria Guardian Megazord blocked the blow as sparks flew before slicing her across the chest. Solar Flare retaliated and fired a beam of pure hot flame from her horn sending the Megazord stumbling backwards and the War Axe flying from its grip. “You haven’t told them yet, have you Celly?” Solar Flare mocked as she sliced the Solar Streak across the chest with her sword. “About your real relationship with the Sun?” “In time… Yes, I will. But not today. First things first, you must be defeated.” Celestia replied and Solar Flare roared in rage before sending a blast of pure hot flame that made the Solar Streak stagger, before it toppled into a mountainside. The mountain shattered into rubble which bounced off the metallic substance that made up Animus and the Animaria Guardian Megazord. Trees toppled like dominos from the sheer force from which the giant of a Megazord hit the now caved in mountainside. “Have to make this quick,” Sunburst informed as he looked at his console, which was flashing red and beginning to spark. “The Megazord’s Power Levels are already dangerously low as it is from the battle with Thrax. Can’t take too many more hits like that.” Animus jumped in and socked Solar Flare across the jaw with his right arm before the horns on his head detached. They reattached themselves to the Sawtooth Shark to form a makeshift bow and arrow. Next thing anybody saw, was Animus using this new weapon and firing a golden bolt of energy at the Solar Tyrant hitting her right in the chest, and going clean through and through. Solar Flare screeched out in rage before she fired a blast of flame from her mouth sending Animus staggering back, as he groaned in pain. “You alright?” Vapor shouted to the Lord of the Wild Zords. “I’ll be fine, I’ve taken far worse hits. You should be worrying about yourselves,” Animus warned before he shouted “Look out!” as Solar Flare fired another stream of fire at the Animaria Guardian Megazord. An explosion erupted all around the Megazord and Solar Flare laughed in triumph as Celestia let out a scream of “No! Sunset!” and stifled a sob as she pulled a lever forwards. Metal creaked and groaned as the Solar Streak began to rise once more. Two compartments on the Megazord’s legs opened up and fired two little steam engines that wrapped themselves around Solar Flare in golden rails of light. In a rage, Celestia lowered her Megazord’s head and fired a blast of pure hot steam at her dark half. Solar Flare screeched out in pain and broke free from her confinements as pillars of fire erupted all around both Animus and the Solar Streak. Next, she slashed out at both Megazords, doing major damage… Then, what happened next, nobody had predicted. A blast of pure ice hit Solar Flare and she screamed out in pain. Two loud thuds, footsteps, echoed from where the Animaria Guardian had thought to have been destroyed. It seemed, Solar Flare, in all of her arrogance had forgotten one simple fact. And Animus, and Celestia in their grief had forgotten this fact as well. All three of them hadn’t heard the sound of metal shifting and whirring, along with the sounds of hisses of steam. There stood the Animaria Guardian Megazord, with what looked to be two giant wings folded over its chest, and the Phoenix and Thunderbird Zords replaced by the Polar Bear and Deer Zords, respectively. Sure enough, the wings folded back to reveal the head of the Kitsune Zord that made up the Megazord’s chest plate, and revealed that the Falcon Zord had attached itself to the back of the Megazord. “WHAT!?!” Solar Flare roared out in anger before she launched fireball after fireball at the Megazord, only for the Deer Zord’s antlers to glow a familiar opal color. The fireballs were caught within the Zord’s grasp as Sunset smirked from within the cockpit, her horn glowing the exact same shade. “Nice plan Vapor,” She complimented, and Vapor nodded, thinking back to when they’d used a similar tactic to catch the Gosei Grand Megazord’s missiles. Sunset’s eyes narrowed. “Now, I believe these belong to you Ms. Flare…” With that, she tossed the fireballs right back at Solar Flare and she staggered back in pain. It seemed, despite all of her resistance against fire, the one thing she couldn’t handle was the sheer scorching heat of her own attacks. “Rangers, we need your help to finish Solar Flare off. But first, we need you to reattach the Phoenix and Thunderbird Zords, there’s a combined attack only with their help we can pull off.” Animus explained. Sunset and Lightning nodded in understanding before the Polar Bear and Deer Zords detached wit hisses of steam before the Phoenix and Thunderbird Zords replaced them, respectively. “Now…” Animus began as his ultimatum. “Solar Flare, you have been destroying civilizations, not just humanity’s but your own, keeping them both from reaching their full potential. You could have coexisted with humanity, but instead, you chose to destroy all traces of their existence except those that suited your ideals about them and use that as propaganda towards the masses. Now, you must face judgment for your crimes.” As the Animaria Guardian Megazord picked up its War Axe once again, Animus’ left arm glowed with a golden light before he slashed Solar Flare across the chest horizontally. Then, the Animaria Guardian Megazord slashed downwards with its axe as both the Rangers and the Lord of the Wild Zords cried out “Crucifix Strike! 100 Beasts Judgement!” Sure enough, once both slashes were complete, Solar Flare found herself nailed to a giant crucifix of golden energy. Celestia looked at Solar Flare, trapped against this holy symbol and sighed as she shook her head in sadness once more. She didn’t wish it had to be this way, but Solar Flare had brought this upon herself. “For the record, I would have saved you anyways…” Celestia thought, as she shut her eyes before saying in a soft tone: “Furnace Blast.” If she had been able to see it, Celestia would have seen Solar Flare’s eyes widen in shock almost as if she had heard Celestia’s thoughts. But she didn’t have time to think on them, as the Solar Streak’s chest flipped open, and fired a huge blast of flame right towards Solar Flare. The resulting explosion was so large, so powerful, it sent all three Megazords toppling to the ground. It even went so far as to actually disassembling the Megazords into their component parts and sending them flying in every direction. The last thing Robert saw before he blacked out amongst the rubble was a gigantic pillar of fire, presumably the last he -Or anybody else for that matter- would ever see of Solar Flare. He managed to let out a mutter of “Good riddance…” before he slipped into unconsciousness. Footsteps crunched against the gravel as an orange-clad figure approached the fallen form of Solar Flare, who coughed out “Mercy…” The figure’s helmet vanished in a flash of orange light allowing her to see a familiar brown stubble covered face. The figure knelt down near her, seemingly in a show of compassion. “Well, all criminals arrested by SPD are allowed some form of mercy, no matter their crimes…” Robert trailed off, reaching for his Judgement Scanner. Solar Flare sighed in relief, before her eyes widened in absolute terror as Robert’s expression turned vindictive as he raised his Kitsune Blaster. “...But it’s a good thing I’m no longer in SPD isn’t it?” He then fired several shots into her, in cold blood, before turning and walking away from her smoking corpse. Turning and walking away right into Bunglay, who had his anchor hoisted over his shoulder. “Well…” Bunglay laughed as the memory clone of Robert faded away into golden light. “Let’s see how the Galactic Union Police likes this piece of law breaking hmm? Oh, this is going to be cracking interestin’!” He then turned to a camera, themed after an insect that had been watching the whole thing and snapped his fingers with the camera folding up into a small cube and dropping to the ground. Bunglay let out a long hearty laugh as he picked up the cube with his claw hand before teleporting away in a flash of blue light. Author's Note Okay, been a long time coming, but it's finally over for Solar Flare. Now, a few things I want to clarify before I make a rather large announcement. Firstly, why Goldar went down so easily. One, he was taken by surprise, and two, considering his new abilities one would want to make sure he stayed dead this time. Secondly, I didn't just come up with all of the new Animal Crystals out of the blue. All of them were supposed to appear in Wild Force's source material, Gaoranger, but only made it as into the concept art stage. You can see the full list here. http://powerrangers.wikia.com/wiki/Power_Animals Now, I want to thank both Eagle-Paladin of Shadows and Alchemystudent for their help here. Eagle, as ever for help with the sword fight scenes. Actually, in the case of Grape VS Vapor, he told to drop the weapons fight and just go with the dialogue, as it worked the way it did. And I have to agree, more emotional impact this way. Now, Alchemystudent. She helped me with getting Animus's dialogue down, making him seem like this Optimus Prime type figure, someone who acts like the Lord of the Wild Zords. So, huge props to her once more. Finally, major thanks to Hawker Hurricane for his help on describing the Solar Streak. Now, the big announcement. If you already haven't seen it on my latest blog post, I'll repost it here. Now, major news for Wild Access so pay attention. I'm splitting into two stories. I have to, actually. It feels like a good place to end the first half with the destruction of Solar Flare, so that's what I'm going to do. The second half, and this is my other reason for splitting it into two volumes introduces so many new ideas and has so much going on that it'd become too cluttered if I had all of this in one entire story. So, early next year I think you should expect this: Solar Flare is dead and buried. Her reign is at an end and the power of the Sun now is allied with the Rangers. However, the job is far from over. Thrax and Retinax's civil war has now kicked into high gear, and the Rangers are only barely keeping their battles from destroying the very world they've worked so hard to defend all winter. Now as Spring sets in, a new terror appears in the return of the White Dino Ranger and his Dragozord. And behind that visor of crimson red is a face all too familiar to one of the Rangers. As the past of Equestria is further uncovered, and the legendary beast hunter Bunglay and his crew sets their sights on the Wild Zords and the Animarium itself, and threats from every side, things might just get a little too wild for the newest Ranger team. They do know one thing though... It's Morphin Time. Lastly, if anyone recognizes the name of Galactic Union Police, or more specfically, where it's from, please keep it to yourself. I'd rather you not spoil the readers for what's coming. (And yes, that ending was totally a homage to the final scene of Stranger Things 2.) Now, I'll be posting the epilogue to this story later in December, I think. But for now, I wish all of you a very happy Thanksgiving. Volume One Finale: All Good Things...The Animarium: The Soul Bird cooed mournfully as it looked over the five fallen forms of the Wild Zords that made up the Animaria Guardian. While they weren’t destroyed, not yet at least, it would take all of her power just to get them back up to even a small portion of their original fighting strength. Glowing a jade green color, the tiny (At least by Zord standards) eagle-like bird began to sing her song as the Rangers watched. In a way, it was almost like Fawkes from the Harry Potter books Robert mused, crying tears that would heal the sick or wounded. Except instead of tears, it was with a song. “You know…” Sunset began, her voice shaky. “Even if I know the Phoenix is still alive, it’s going to be… different without her chiming in my head every once in awhile, trying to offer helpful advice where she can,” Robert put a hand on her shoulder. “She’s alive, and that’s the main thing. Plus, she and the others went out fighting, finally dethroning a tyrant. But she’ll be back, one day. Phoenixes rise up from their ashes, as the old legend goes. And this one… This one is no different,” Sunset smiled at him as she grasped his hand tightly. “But you get what I mean right? Having a helpful partner and friend in your head, just on call whenever you need them? When they’re gone… it’s like a part of you is missing…” “Well, not sure I could go that far in my case, considering the Kitsune was just an annoying old grump who only chimed in as you put it whenever he felt like it just to get his bee under my bonnet and screw with me for whatever reason that made sense only to him,” Robert muttered. “But yeah, I see what you mean. It is a comforting thought, just to have something to talk to in private, whenever you needed it…” “And what’s worse,” Vapor chimed in. “Thrax… He’s not going to be giving up. I suspect we’ve just made him madder than ever, escaping that damn island of his.” “Hey Vapor, you alright?” Lightning asked, looking at her sister. “You seem a bit shaken up still. Sure that illusion of Grape didn’t get to you more than you thought it did?” “No, I’m fine…” Vapor replied. “For the first time in what feels like… forever I guess, it feels like a great weight’s been lifted off my shoulders. Grape’s been dead, for a long time now. It’s only now I’ve been able to put that behind me. I actually have to thank Thrax and Goldar, in a way, I suppose. Without that Island of theirs they cooked up, I don’t know if I ever would have been able to move on.” “You would sis, trust me. It would have taken time, but you would have eventually. Island or no island.” Lightning said, laying a supportive hand on Vapor’s shoulder. The white mare smiled and pulled out Grape’s old guitar. “Yeah, I’ll remember Grape in my own way, the way he would have liked, through his music. I was working on an old song he’d found a while back, if anyone wants to hear it.” Everyone nodded as Vapor sat down on a rock and began to strum her guitar in a gentle fashion and sing in a soft tone of voice. “Some hope for the future Some wait for the call To say that the days ahead Will be the best of all “We will build bridges Up to the sky Heavenly lights surrounding You and I “From out of the darkness Our future will come If we leave the past behind We'll fly beyond the sun.” The Deer Zord, almost as if on command, began to bob his head back and forth to the song, and sing along in his own voice. Meanwhile, Robert bowed and kissed Shayla’s hand (Much to her flusterment, and Sunset’s annoyance. Lightning just snickered in the background and muttered “Never change…” to herself) and asked her for a dance. Right then and there, an idea came to Jindrax’s mind as he saw Shayla and Robert swaying back and forth to the music. With all the confidence in the world, he turned to his old friend and fellow Duke Org, Toxica. “Care for a dance, milady?” He asked, almost like a gentleman. His only answer was a bop on the head from Toxica’s staff. “In your dreams!” she shouted, and huffed, while crossing her arms. But then she sighed upon seeing Jindax’s disappointed look and groaned. “Uurggh, fine…” She muttered before offering a hand. “Great, you won’t regret this!” Jindrax stated excitedly. “...I already am…” Toxica muttered in self-disgust as Jundrax pulled her into a tango. “We'll be together Sharing the load Watching in wonder as our lives unfold Hope for the future “It's coming soon enough How much can we achieve? Hope for the future It will belong to us “If we believe If we believe “Hope shines brightest in the dark When nothing's ever seen Lighting undiscovered places No one’s ever been “Some hope for the future Some wait for the call To say that our destiny Will be the best of all…” As Vapor continued to sing “Hope for the Future”, Sunburst cast a glance towards the high cliff where the Red Lion Zord rested, and watched as it let a roar. In his mind, it was almost as if he was challenging Thrax -Or anybody else for that matter- to throw whatever they had at them. Because they’d face it head-on. His theory was only confirmed as the King of the Skies -as that’s what the only apt moniker for the Falcon Zord could be- let out a screech and flew overhead as it soared over the island raising a battle cry amongst the Wild Zords. He gripped his hidden away Growl Phone in his suit pocket tightly, and smirked. “Thrax, be warned… We’re coming for you next,” the Black Vampire Bat Ranger stated. “Sure, you’ve got your armies of monsters… But us… We’ve got an army of our own. Not just the Wild Zords, but the populace of Equus. Everybody’s counting on us to stop you, and rest assured… You will be stopped. That I promise you.” As the song ended, Shayla blinked in surprise. For just a brief moment, she could have sworn she’d seen the original Wild Force Rangers in the new team’s places. Taylor, Max, Danny, Alyssa, and Cole. She blinked away a tear and smiled wistfully. They really were like her old friends, in some ways, weren’t they? They never gave up, and they never backed down. And most importantly of all, they were devoted to protecting the Earth, and all of its inhabitants. With that, she really did have some hope for the future of both Man and Ponykind. Mirinoi: Far, far away, deep in space in a lost galaxy rested a green heavily forested world, where nature and technology lived in harmony. Once the crash site of the ill-fated colony ship Terra Venture, this planet had blossomed in the three thousand years since then, and had become home to the hub of all things good in the Galaxy: The Galactic Union Police and headquarters for the armored heroes, the Space Sheriffs. They ranged from the original, Gavan, all the way up to their newest and most high tech recruit, Space Sheriff Estevan. Or as he was better known, the Zyuman Bud from the planet ZyuEarth. An anthropomorphic red feathered eagle, Bud had been recruited from ZyuEarth’s personal guard as a young man when the Galactic Union Police had seen his abilities and devotion to justice. Right now, the middle-aged Zyuman rested in his treehouse home, tucked away deep in Mirinoi’s forests. It was his private sanctuary, his place of peace and quiet from the high rising skylines of the larger cities. Here, he felt closer to home, back to nature. He needed this time to relax, especially now. Recently, he’d just returned to the planet after dealing with a powerful Megabeast on the planet Hercuronwith the powerful Sharinger Tank. All around him, wood carvings of animals rested on various shelves. One of the more notable was that of an eagle. It was mostly painted red, but had yellow, blue, green and white lines decorating it. Nearby sat a pair of bongo drums, mostly for decoration but sometimes for amusement and entertaining the rare guest in Bud’s humble abode. Bud’s tail feathers shot straight up when he detected someone behind him, and readied himself to change forms. Thankfully, there was no need when he turned and saw his partner and mentor, Retsu Ichijouji AKA Space Sheriff Gavan. Dressed in a brown leather jacket as always, the original space sheriff may have been getting on in years, but he could still deliver judgment to the galaxy’s most dangerous criminals. “I assume you’ve seen the latest reports, right?” Retsu asked, and Bud nodded as he pulled out a small metal cube, and pressed a button. A holographic display showed the entire scene of Robert shooting a downed Solar Flare in cold blood. “Not that I’m mourning her death or anything, considering her crimes, but…” Retsu sighed. “I wasn’t even aware the Power Rangers existed anymore. I thought with the end of Time Force…” “Yes,” Bud replied. “It was a great loss to the galaxy when we heard of the destruction of Time Force, they were some of the best the Galaxy ever produced. But I have to ask, why are we even going after this guy? I’d say he did the galaxy a favor, really, by ridding the planet of Princess Celestia or as we know her… Solar Flare.” Retsu sighed as he pulled up a chair and sat down. “I don’t like it either, but murder’s murder no matter how you slice it or dress it up. He has to face judgment for his crimes. Even Power Rangers aren’t exempt from the law.” “Even if who they killed was a monster? That’s what they’ve been doing for generations right?” Bud asked. “Yeah…” Retsu admitted. “I don’t like it myself, something’s fishy about all of this, especially when we consider this was sent to us by Bunglay himself. That alone is grounds for suspicion. But the top brass wants us to bring this guy in.” His friend gave him a look. The top brass had been acting awfully odd as of late. Giving strange orders, bringing prisoners without any warning and saying nothing about their crimes before they shipped them off to some unknown planet. Everyone knew what it was, but wouldn’t dare say it out of simple fear. Corruption, plain and simple, and it went all the way to the top. There had even been rumors that the Space Sheriff idea, at least in its current format, was on the way out. Neither Bud nor Retsu were a fan of this new regime they’d been forced to deal with, but until they had proved something else was going on they were forced to deal with them. “Yeah, well maybe we should be looking at them instead…” Bud trailed off. “There’s something more to all of this, and we both know it.” Retsu nodded in agreement. “Yeah, there’s something more going on here. But all the same, for the time being, we follow orders, and then we do the detective work once this guy’s brought in. We’ll find the truth, don’t worry.” he said, laying a reassuring hand on his friend’s shoulder. “If you say so…” Bud trailed off. As they walked out of the house, they saw a giant circular saucer (Not too far removed from a classic UFO or the Enterprise’s saucer section) hovering above their heads. “That’s our ride,” Retsu said before he turned back to Bud. “Ready?” Sharing a nod, they both shouted in unison: “Electroplate!” and silver and gold armor, respectively, grafted themselves to their bodies in the blink of an eye. Next thing they knew, they found themselves floating upwards into the saucer thanks to a blue beam with the only trace of Bud’s presence left behind being a few red feathers... Canterlot Castle: Celestia paced back and forth in front of a mirror, doing some final adjustments to her mane and smoothing out her pine green colored dress, meant to reflect the passing of winter to spring. She’d already heard the first signs a few days before, the songbirds arriving from the warmer parts of Equestria and tweeting their various melodies. It brought a sense of comfort to Celestia in a way now that winter was finally over. The cold frost was finally starting to lift itself up from Equestria and be replaced with a soothing warmth. As she tied her aurora like mane into a ponytail the best she could, Celestia smiled. Winter wasn’t the only thing that was gone, Solar Flare was finally removed as well. And unlike winter, she wouldn’t be coming back to stay. Of course, even as Celestia put on a golden necklace and her crown, she sighed to herself. Gone Solar Flare may be in the physical sense, but that didn’t mean she still didn’t linger on in Celestia’s mind. Every now and then, Celestia although she swore it was a trick of the light or her own mind playing upon her fears, swore she saw Solar Flare’s reflection in the floor, a nicely polished vase or even a mirror. Demons it seemed, could be vanquished, but in a sense, they never truly left you. And then there was that thing Solar Flare said in their final showdown. She had taunted Celestia about how her ponies didn’t know the entire truth about her relationship with the sun, and that was true. Anybody with a smart enough mind could easily tell that Celestia was only using complicated illusion spells to raise the sun, and Luna was doing so with the moon. Celestia had long suspected some had figured it out years before, but they kept their silence in fear of speaking out against their ruler and hushed up, or they were afraid if this information were released that Equestria would erupt into a full-scale riot. If the latter was true, Celestia honestly thanked them for keeping their silence. Equestria would devolve into rioting and mass Discord levels of chaos if Celestia chose to divulge neither she or Luna raised Equestria’s heavenly bodies. Sure, they drew their powers from them, but they never had the power to raise the sun or moon. As Celestia looked in the mirror, Solar Flare’s expression appeared, and the Solar Invictus took a step back in fear as her doppelganger looked at her with a hateful expression. “Oh Celly, you can’t be rid of me forever,” it seemed to say. “I’ll always be there, right by your side. Whenever you’re feeling your lowest, whenever you’re mad at something, or whenever you just want to break down and cry… I’ll be back to play. Don’t think you can escape me forever. Nor what’s coming. The Devil… He’s a-comin’, coming to collect. And he wants you. The only thing that makes me unhappy about all of this is that I’ll be unable to be there with you and watch you burn. Hmm, I wonder how your putrid soul will taste to him, hmm?” But Celestia stood firm. “I wonder how your soul will taste, Solar Flare?” She stated, and her dark half said nothing more on the matter. As she faded away, Celestia looked towards the sun, blazing bright high in the midday sky and then down towards Canterlot. “I’ll tell them… I’ll tell them in time. But just not today…” She thought to herself before doing some final adjustments to her hair, putting the thoughts of her lie out of her mind for the moment. Right now she had other matters to attend to, and worry about. Like the Winter Ball later this evening and the delegates from the other nations for instance. As Celestia walked from the room, she failed to hear a radio flick on, seemingly of it’s own accord, and play this song… “Every breath you take and every move you make Every bond you break, every step you take, I'll be watching you Every single day and every word you say Every game you play, every night you stay, I'll be watching you “Oh, can't you see you belong to me How my poor heart aches with every step you take Every move you make, every vow you break Every smile you fake, every claim you stake, I'll be watching you…” The Winter Ball: Night fell on Canterlot, and the Castle was a hub of activity, abuzz with excitement. The Royal and Night Guards, dressed in ceremonial armor (Not that different from their regular Roman Centurion style armor, but with added sashes) stood at attention as delegates from all over the world flocked in through the castle gates, either flying in or pulling up in chariots. Twilight, clad in a midnight blue dress patterned with stars sighed in relief as she saw the Dragon Lord’s daughter fly in, a scepter tipped with a blood red ruby gripped tightly in her claws and covered in armor. Twilight swore she saw a gold gem hanging around Ember’s neck, but brushed it off as her imagination. The young dragoness greeted her with a gruff “Hello.” before moving on into the halls, Twilight watching her every step of the way. She wiped the sweat from her brow. Maybe this night wouldn’t be so bad after all. Ember would probably be tough to befriend, but the risk of the Princess going completely Solar Flare and burning everybody to ashes and starting wars with other countries was now out the window. Luna, in a pure black glittering strapless dress, walked up and put a hand on her shoulder. “Relax Twilight, it’s not going to happen,” she said reassuringly. “...Though, if you so desire, you probably can “Improve relations” as they say nowadays with the Dragon Kingdom of Zandar if you so desire…” She said with an almost impish smile and walked off, her horseshoe clad hooves clacking against the castle floor. Twilight barely managed to sputter out a response. “I wasn’t… Not planning on… Oh for Mystic Mother’s sakes!” she stammered out and Luna laughed. “Sure, whatever you say! But if that weren’t true, why were you “checking out” as I believe the term goes your fellow Princess?” “I’m in a very happy relationship with Flash Sentry, thank you very much!” Twilight shouted, and Luna only laughed harder as Twilight let out a small growl of frustration. Sunset chuckled as she walked up, in a pink colored pleated dress. “Relax Twi, Luna’s done that to me as well a few times. She just likes to get other ponies goats. ...Think she even annoys her own sister that way now that I think of it.” Sunset remarked. “...Then why am I not amused?” Twilight muttered with Sunset patting her sister figure on the shoulder in sympathy. Changing the subject, she smiled. “Speaking of love interests, where’s Robert?” “I… I don’t know actually. He said he’d be along shortly, but he didn’t say how he was…” Sunset trailed off before she slapped a palm to her face and groaned as she heard a very familiar roar. Sure enough, there was Robert’s Mustang, pulling up to the castle blaring a very familiar song. “An' I don't really care If ya think I'm strange I ain't gonna change An' I'm never gonna care 'Bout my bad reputation!” the speakers shouted as if in celebration, almost as loud as the car itself. “He does like to make an entrance, doesn’t he?” Twilight deadpanned, as Robert, dressed in a white tuxedo climbed out of the car and tossed his keys to Galaxy Swirls, who looked offended. “Want those back by the end of the night, okay?” Robert asked cheerfully as he shut off the music from his phone. “I’m not your personal valet, you dick!” the Bat-Pony snapped before walking off grumbling. “Well, at least he’s not wearing that Goddamn suit with the rainbow theming he wore on our first date this time around…” Sunset thought to herself. “Keep wearing actual tasteful clothing, and he might actually look like less of an idiot at times. ...Oh who am I kidding, he’ll always be a little ostentatious.” she thought halfheartedly with an affectionate sigh. Twilight then leaned over to her. “Remind me, why are you two dating again?” She whispered. “Sometimes I wonder about that myself,” Sunset replied. “But his heart’s in the right place… Sometimes. And he’s loyal to a fault, so that’s a plus,” “Even if he is a somewhat self-absorbed show-off?” Twilight asked her in return. “Yes, even if he is somewhat of a narcissistic personality type at times. ...And a bit of a dick.” she admitted as Robert walked up. “Princess Twilight,” he said in a respectful tone actually bowing to her much to Twilight’s shock before asking for Sunset’s hand. “Milady, may I escort you to the ballroom?” Sunset smiled as she linked arms with Robert. “Be my guest.” And so they walked through Canterlot Castle. When they’d walked through the hallways, Sunset and Robert had both noted a new stained glass window depicting, in great detail, the defeat of Solar Flare. It had shown not only all six Rangers involved in the ordeal, but their Megazords along with Animus charging towards the massive Solar Tyrant. Sunset had noted the stained glass window depicting humanity’s fall had yet to be shattered, or taken down in any way, but she knew exactly why. As Celestia herself had explained to her: “Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it in some fashion. And so that, disgusting as it is, must stay, to remind not just me of my greatest failure. My greatest shame. But to remind Equestria as well. Anytime they look up at that window, they will be forever reminded of the time we could have made peace with a species, but did not and instead let our own anger and fear get the better of us. Do you understand Sunset?” She had, and fully agreed with Celestia’s reasonings on the matter. Robert and Sunset then found themselves walking hand in hand into a huge crowded ballroom, filled with not only dignitaries, but various other important ponies like the Wonderbolts, the Elements of Harmony and various other famous ponies from across Equestria. In a corner of the room, a orchestra consisting of ponies like Octavia Melody and Lyra Heartstrings led by Fluttershy was playing various pieces, the current selection being the Nutcracker Suite by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Ponies twirled and spun to the music with their significant others. “Would you like to dance?” Sunset asked and suddenly Robert looked quite embarrassed with himself. “Uh… Yeah, that’s the thing. I don’t know how to dance, actually…” Sunset held back a laugh. “Wait, you’re seriously telling me in all your years of romancing women, you never learned how to dance?” “Got me there,” Robert admitted with a sheepish grin. “Well,” Sunset chuckled as she used her hands to place Robert’s arms around her waist. She then wrapped her own arms around his neck. “Neither do I actually as I never found the time to learn, but I suppose we can figure it out together… Right?” Robert chuckled as they swayed to the music. “Just to warn you, I do have two left feet.” Sunset laughed again. At a table filled with a long line of delicious, high-class foods and snacks along with various drinks including wine, Sunburst sighed as he watched ponies like Soarin’ talk with the upper crust of society like Lord Fancy Pants or Lady Swan Song. “Man…” Sunburst muttered as he shook his head. Navi rested on the table nearby. “I don’t even know what I’m doing here… I’m just a simple High School science teacher,” “Dude,” Lightning Dust said as she put a supporting hand on his shoulder. Sunburst noted she was wearing a dress and had her mane done nicely for this event, this being probably one of the only times Lightning would allow herself to look like this. “You’re a simple High School science teacher at the freaking Winter Gala, one of the most prestigious events of the year! So get out there, and have some fun!” “Yeah… Yeah, I guess you’re right…” Sunburst said before heading off into the crowd to hopefully find Galaxy Swirls. Then Vapor let out a gasp. “Hey, wait, isn’t that…?” She asked as the Charcoal Grill Org and a Tenga, along with Hell Fire dressed in their best chef’s uniforms brought in a tray of various meats. As soon as Ember saw some roasted turkey, she grabbed a leg and bit down on it. “Hmm, good stuff…” the dragoness said. “Wait, what are you doing here?” Sunburst asked in surprise. “My own restaurant that you, Vapor and Hell Fire here got me the confidence to start up, it’s been doing pretty well actually. So when I heard extra food would be needed for the Winter Ball, I gave Hell Fire here a call and we teamed up for the task!” the Org stated, with the Tenga nodding along. “Wow… time flies…” Sunburst murmured as he saw various other dignitaries like Dainn Peacefulheart (Who, a few minutes earlier, had been dancing with his old teacher Celestia) and the current leader of New Roam dig into the new foods. Vapor chuckled, before looking towards the crowd. At one point she swore she saw a very familiar looking black unicorn pony with golden eyes in the crowd, but before she could talk to him, he slipped out of sight. Back with Sunset and Robert, they were slowly figuring out how to dance to the music. “So, what now?” Sunset asked. “Our main Zords gone, and Thrax is still out there, along with Bunglay and Retinax.” “We’ll figure things out, as we go along. We’ll just face things as Rangers always have… together.” Robert said. “Yeah, together…” Sunset trailed off before kissing him. The End Author's Note ...must sadly come to an end, like this story. But, you know the Rangers will be back, they always are. Now, I've got a lot of thanks to give out, first of all to you guys, my loyal readers. Seriously, without your support, this story would have gone unnoticed, and I really want to thank you guys for keeping it alive and well. So... Thanks to all of you. Now, my proofreaders and the various people who've helped me in some capacity throughout this story. Black-Knight, Ponyjosiah13, the Villain in Glasses, Eagle-Paladin of Shadows, Alchemystudent, JoeyJambo122, and CaioCola along with anybody else I may have forgotten. You know who you are. You guys are awesome, you know that right? Now, you're going to have to wait a few months till I get started on the sequel, but rest assured... I will be making quite the show for you to sit back and enjoy. But until then, have a very happy Christmas. Now... Hit it! Part 4: The Barbed Wire Org A few minutes earlier... It was a normal day at the Ponyville Park. The sun was shining, birds were twittering in the trees singing their songs and shop stalls had been set up for ponies to sell their wares. From Golden Harvest, a yellow coated pony with an orange carrot coated mane filled with curls and wearing a teal green sundress, selling her usual bounty of hand picked carrots, to a grey furred pegasus pony named Derpy Hooves, also called Muffins by her friends, with golden (matching her mane perfectly) eyes that were rather oddly set, as if someone had not known how to give a pony eyes properly and that seemed to be looking at everything around her but what was in front of her, selling her hand made and lovingly baked muffins, helped out by her adopted unicorn daughter Sparkler, who had lavenderish fur, and a tomboyish dark purple mane wearing a leather jacket and jeans which contrasted with her mother's green pants and white button up blouse. "Muffins, muffins! Get your muffins here!" Sparkler shouted, using her magic to create a purple arrow pointing right at Derpy's muffin stand. "Never have been one for subtlety, have you dear?" Derpy commented with a sigh upon seeing her daughter's idea. "Nope, dunno where I could have picked it up from." Sparkler said dryly. "Must have been from dad. He embodies the term unsubtle." Sparkler smirked, her dad was just downright odd at times, from wearing a brown trenchcoat and blue suit, that pretty much clashed horribly and always excitedly investigating every little thing with that little metal device with that glowing blue tip of his and his anti-Celestia graffiti which always ended up with him in the local jailhouse leaving Derpy or another member of the family to bail him out. Of course, that wasn't counting the Trottingham style Police Box he kept in a shed, which nopony in the family ever bothered to let him know how ironic that was considering how many times he'd been arrested. Everypony in the family wondered exactly what was up with that, but their dad never said a word. Mind you, he had laughed his head off when Sparkler tried to use the Police Box's phone to call one of her friends to put together a small party (AKA: Rave), but never quite managed to get anypony on the other end of the line. Derpy sighed and murmured to herself "I just don't know what went wrong... I know mixed everything up just right." as she looked at her batches of unsold muffins. The mouth-watering smell of them wafted in the breeze, almost making you want to just walk up to the stand and buy one, but it seemed nopony was interested. "Aw, don't feel bad mom, carrot cakes are just big this time of year." Sparkler commented, and gestured to Golden Harvest's stand, where ponies were lining up to buy her famous carrot cakes by the truckload. Sparkler gritted her teeth. So that's how it was, was it? Well, desperate times called for desperate measures. Unzipping her jacket, Sparkler flashed her bra to the park as her mother facepalmed in the background and sighed "Not again...", and with a huge cloud of dust kicked up in the air, all the ponies that were lining up to buy Golden Harvest's cakes were now in front of Derpy's muffin stand, (Golden Harvest harrumphed and exclaimed "Well, I never!") with the pony in question giving her daughter a distinct look and Sparkler grinned unashamedly. "Hey, if it works, it works." She commented simply. Just then, two lines of what looked like barbed wire reached out and grabbed Sparkler pulling her towards a being comprised solely of the stuff, with a single red cycloptic eye resembling a visor in some ways and two devil like horns. The Org grabbed Sparkler by the waist and held her close to her as ponies screamed in panic at the sight of the new arrival. "Well, aren't you a pretty little thing?" The Org chuckled darkly, and if it could have smirked, it would have. "Might just think about keeping you as a pet." Then a familiar voice shouted "Hey, tinhorns, get your claws off her!" before the Barbed Wire Org was hit by a series of green laser blasts forcing him to release Sparkler from his grip and making her run to her mother who pulled her into a hug as Robert in full SPD attire leaped onto the scene Delta Blaster in hand. "Who do you think you are?" Barbed Wire Org demanded. "3! SPD Green! Space Patrol Delta!" Robert shouted as he holstered his blaster blowing some pretend smoke off of it as he did so and thinking to himself "Really got to stop watching those old westerns that Bridge likes so much on Movie Night." and then striking a pose and then held out his Morpher like a badge with his helmet lights flashing. He didn't know how Orgs had come back to life, as he thought with the destruction of the Master Org and the Org Heart by the original Wild Force Rangers would have rendered the reanimation of the literally heartless beings impossible, but then again, as Robert had learned many times over from watching old Ranger history videos back at Delta Base, nothing was impossible if you were a Power Ranger, as him being shot to a world filled with misanthropic walking and talking ponies proved. "Big deal, one Ranger alone won't be nearly enough to stop me!" Barbed Wire Org scoffed. "Funny, I was thinking the exact opposite!" as Robert leaped down towards him and dealt in a few strikes with his Delta Blaster's blade mode making the Barbed Wire Org stumble back before he was blasted backwards by a red beam from the Org's eye into Golden Harvest's stand, causing her to exclaim "Okay, that's it, I'm never selling here again!" Just then, Sunburst, Lightning Dust, Vapor Trail and Sunset Shimmer showed up as they ran up a cobblestone path way. "Oh great, more fools who think they can take me on, and they're not even Rangers!" Barbed Wire Org laughed and Sunset chuckled and shook her head. "Might want to amend that statement." She remarked before she and the others pulled out their Growl Phones and held them up to their ears as if they were trying to call somepony before shouting "Legendary Wild Access!" (Morphing Sequences) With a flash of flame, Sunset was transported to the inside of a volcano and stood on the middle of a rock as she was transformed and she gained a gold and red formfitting costume with diagonal tooth marks across her chest and her Cutie Mark on her right breast with a phoenix's head themed helmet forming around her head accompanied by a loud screeching sound. Standing on a rocky desert plateau as storm clouds rumbled and lightning flashed in the background, Lightning gained an aqua colored costume with the same diagonal tooth marks across her chest and her Cutie Mark of a yellow lightning bolt with stars appeared on her right breast as a helmet similar in design to Sunset's appeared on her head, with the sound similar to that of a falcon's call. On a beach, a tidal wave washed over Vapor Trail and she gained a purple costume similar in design to the others with her Cutie Mark of a comet on her left breast as well with the tooth marks on the opposite side of her chest and a sperm whale themed helmet formed over her head with the noise of a deep sea beast's hum. In a dark barely moonlit orchard of apple trees, clouds of black smoke surrounded Sunburst and he gained a black costume with his Cutie Mark of an orange sun with bursting yellow rays on his left breast just like Vapor Trail's costume, and also like Vapor's the tooth marks appeared on the right side of his chest with a bat themed helmet much like the Jungle Fury Bat Spirit Ranger's appearing around his head along with a loud bat screech sound. (Morphing Sequences End Here) "With the blazing heart of the Phoenix, Golden Phoenix Ranger!" Sunset called out. "With the lightning speed of the Thunderbird, Aqua Thunderbird Ranger!" Lightning joined in. "With the strength of the Leviathan, Purple Leviathan Ranger!" Vapor chorused. "W-With the s-stealth and bite of a Vampire Bat, Black Vampire Bat Ranger!" Sunburst stuttered out as all four Rangers struck poses and called out "Guardians of Equus, united we roar! Power Rangers, Wild Force!" as four explosions, each in their respective colors ignited behind them and then combined into one massive explosion. As Robert gazed upon the four new Wild Force Rangers, he mused to himself "Okay, they may be misanthropes, but I like the suits, and I have to admit the intergration of their wings and horns is pretty impressive." "Enough with posing and shouting already, I've got a planet to destroy!" The Barbed Wire Org shouted before he pulled out a nautilus like shell and under his helmet, Robert's eyes widened as he knew what that shell contained. "You know, I think this fight is a little unfair. How about we make it even more unfair... For you, that is!" The Org threw the shell's contents up in the air, and the purple gunk inside it formed into grey coated beings covered in some sort of unknown slime with purple insect like eyes and carrying staffs that could double as bazookas if needed. These were Putrids, the foot soldiers and if Robert's theory was correct, young Orgs as well, if the tiny horns on their heads were any evidence. "Putrids, get them!" The Barbed Wire Org shouted, and Robert, along with his "Teammates", if you could call them that when they certainly didn't want them around engaged the Putrids. Robert pulled out his Delta Blaster once more, and fired off a few rounds at some of them, taking them down for the count. "Back off human, we don't need your help!" Lightning Dust shouted at him as she kicked a Putrid in the face making it stumble backwards into the arms of two of it's comrades. "Now, let me show you how a real Ranger and Wonderbolt in training gets the job done!" She yelled in an arrogant and haughty tone of voice before summoning two electric whips in each of her hands and lashing them at the Putrids before grabbing one with one of her whips and shouting "Get over here!" and pulling it forwards before punching it in the face. Nearby, Vapor had summoned her trident and had stabbed a Putrid in the chest and swung it around before throwing the unfortunate foot soldier into one of it's fellows before she used the trident a bit like a Bo staff and knocked a few others to the ground. "Shadow Hatchets!" Sunburst shouted, before summoning two small golden double bladed axes and throwing them at some more Putrids and when they hit their targets, they boomeranged right back into Sunburst's grip. Meanwhile, Robert had found himself dealing with the Barbed Wire Org all by himself. It charged at him and rammed him with his horns, pinning him to a tree, but Robert kicked him away before finding dodging to the left to avoid another eyebeam blast and then blasted the Org with his Delta Blaster a few times. "You're really beginning to annoy me! Do you know who you're dealing with?" Barbed Wire Org challenged and Robert, being the way that he was, couldn't resist a classic comeback. "Do you?" He taunted and then that really made the Org mad. "I'll destroy you for that remark, and when I'm done, the new Master Org will make me into a Duke Org!" He shouted before entangling Robert in a whole lot of barbed wire, it cutting into his skin and drawing blood in various places. Robert screamed out in pain, as the barbed wire continued getting tighter around him still and cutting more and more into his skin. I... I... can't let him beat me! I've faced tougher challenges then this freak!" Robert thought even as the Org laughed and exclaimed "Ready to give in yet, Ranger? I promise, your end will be nice and quick if you do, if not... well, you'll just keep getting more and more of this!" Just then, the Org was kicked from the side by Sparkler and Robert was released from his grip at last. "Hey, that was for earlier you freak!" She yelled before running over to Robert and helping him up before asking "You alright, w-whoever you are?" Robert nodded before he and Sparkler found himself surrounded by Putrids on all sides. Robert sighed to himself, wasn't over yet. Then, he got an idea. Problem was, he didn't know if it would even work or not. "Let's hope Kat wasn't joking when she said she re-created as much of Lightspeed's technology as she could." He thought to himself before shouting "MegaBattle Green!" and then, with a green flash of light, a hefty backpack with flashing red lights and the SPD symbol of a dog on it attached to a giant green buzzsaw appeared on Robert. He gripped the buzzsaw tightly by its handles and used it on the Putrids with devastating efficiency. Of course, the Putrids were able to land a good few solid blows, as coupled with the sheer weight of the MegaBattle armor, Robert's injuries were already slowing him down. But he wouldn't give up, no matter what. It was part of the Power Ranger Code, no matter the odds, never give in! The Org Cave Elsewhere, a being's eyes observed the battle and watched as the buzzsaw blades opened up to blast some Putrids and the Barbed Wire Org back with powerful wind blasts. It's eyes narrowed. He couldn't let a potential soldier in his army be defeated by one mere Ranger! "Artilla! Get down there and teach that Ranger who the real power around here is..." "Yes, milord!" Artilla said, with a bow and teleported away to the sight of the battle. Back in Ponyville Park... Suddenly, Robert found himself blasted backwards by a powerful cannon blast from Artilla, who had suddenly appeared on the battlefield, with the blast being strong enough to knock him out of both MegaBattle Mode and de-morph him sending his SPD Morpher flying out of Robert's hands. With a mighty crunch, Artilla stepped on the Morpher, and Robert's eyes widened as he suddenly found himself... "Powerless..." Meanwhile, Sparkler's eyes widened for a different reason. The Ranger who had just helped her, and whose life she had probably saved, was a human? She'd read in the history books that all humans were dangerous wild animalistic creatures with no remorse for who or what they destroyed. But this one... He saved her and lost his powers in the process. "What the Tartarus...? He's... He's not giving up!" Sparkler thought as Robert slowly got up off the ground, dripping blood from the tears in his jacket, which he promptly tossed off revealing his ripped and torn green T-Shirt which said "SPD" on it and clenched his fists. "Look at this, a Power Ranger without power! What a joke!" Artilla laughed even as Robert charged at him and drew back his fist landing a powerful punch to Artilla knocking him backwards, if only just a little. "We'll continue this later, Ex-Ranger. My job is done for now. But be warned, if you continue to meddle in the Master's affairs, today's pain will only seem like a spa treatment compared to what I'll put you through!" Artilla warned and turned into a ball of energy and vanished into the sky leaving him alone. Just then, he heard a shout of "Help us! Somepony, please!" and saw three teenagers, possibly no more than thirteen or fourteen years of age being surrounded by Putrids on a basketball court. One had yellow fur, a red mane with a bow in her hair and was wearing overalls making her resemble a farmer, another had orange fur and a purple mane cut in a tomboyish style and wore a black hoodie and jeans, and the third and final one had white fur, and a grayish mulberry with light pink accented curly mane and had one small horn on her head, wearing a pink tank top and light green skirt. "Oh no you don't! Nobody threatens kids, no matter the species, on my watch, nobody!" Robert growled and ran over towards the trio and with a shout of "Ki-Yah!" kicked a Putrid into two of it's fellows before turning to the trio. "Go, get out of here, now!" Robert shouted, and the three ran off to safety as Robert raised his fists and mused to himself "May not be a Power Ranger anymore, but I've still got enough left in me to take these guys down!" and pulled out his phone and put on Sweet's "Fox on the Run" and used a finger in a come here gesture towards the Putrids... Elsewhere in the Park... Meanwhile, Sunset had found herself fighting the Barbed Wire Org alone. She slashed at it with her Crystal Saber, (Which was a short grey blade with a golden hole in the middle for putting in one's Animal Crystal) creating sparks with each hit and then kicked the Org in the stomach. She then pulled out her Phoenix Blade and sliced at the Org in a scissor formation, both blades igniting in flames and making the Org stumble back. But then, out of the sky came a grey grenade like device which the Org promptly caught and pulled the pin. There was a powerful explosion and then the next thing the Princess of Empathy knew, the Org was towering above her. "Oh ho, who's the one with power now, Princess?" The Org mocked and all four Rangers took a step back as the Org tried to squash them like bugs with one giant foot. "W-Well, this is new." Sunburst stuttered out. "Relax, we were trained for this. I think it's time for some animal power!" Sunset exclaimed, keeping calm the whole time. She was expecting the Orgs to start getting bigger sooner or later. The Princess had warned her this could happen. She knew exactly what to do. "Crystal Saber!" Sunset yelled and inserted her Animal Crystal, a small orb which mixture of gold and red in color and had a small bird inside it. She pointed the blade skywards and it emitted a song which reached all the way to Canterlot Mountain, and inside, two piercing green eyes opened and two mighty wings began to flap as volcanic force began to build and soon the mountain erupted and a truly gigantic red bird with golden trimming on the head, beak, tail feathers and wingtips emerged and flew towards the Org with unmatched speed before flapping it's wings and creating powerful fireballs with each mighty flap which hit the Barbed Wire Org with tremendous and powerful force. Soon, the barrage of flame was over and the Org fell over before exploding in a huge fireball with the Phoenix Zord letting out a screech of victory. "Well, I'd say he was well and truly scorched." Lightning smirked as all four Rangers demorphed, their task over. "H-Hey, anypony see what happened to the human?" Sunburst asked nervously and Lightning waved him off dismissively. "Bah, who cares about him?" "But he's a Ranger!" Vapor Trail shouted at her in disbelief as Sunset looked on in shock, her thoughts running wild. How could one of her fellow teammates be so callous and cold? Sure, the Ranger may have been human, and she'd practically been raised on the stories of what the humans had done when they were around, but still... "Human or no Human, he's still one of us, and we have to find him!" Vapor shouted back at Lightning, but before the Thunderbird Ranger could retort, the entire park was covered in shadow as a giant floating island in the sky, resembling a turtle suddenly emerged from the cover of clouds and all four Rangers were turned into pillars of color, each matching their suit and teleported upwards, never noticing a white pillar following them... (To Be Continued...) Author's Note Oh boy, I do so love leaving you on cliffhangers with this story don't I? Relax, as the story goes on, that'll happen less often, unless it's a multi part story arc. Anyways, on the chapter, we at last get to see all four Wild Force Rangers (And one of their zords) on screen at last, so to speak, and get small snippets of their personalities, which will be expanded on given that Robert is now... Well, a powerless Ranger, and he'll stay that way for quite a bit, allowing him a little bit of time to get to know Ponyville's residents better and shave off some of the fear towards him, which I'd say he already has with Sparkler and the CMC. You know, I originally was going to have Shining Armor save Robert's life and show more of his worthiness to be the next Magna Defender, but I figured with his scene in the previous chapter I've shown enough for now, and seeing as how Robert saved Sparkler's life, I figured it was only fair for her to do the same in turn.
Prologue: NewTech City: 2026Equestria: The Year 5026: "AGH!" cried out a bacon haired mare with twin golden wings and a horn as she was knocked backwards by a being who could only be described as a monster. This creature... It was dark grey had a collection of fan blades for one hand and two turbine engines serving as eyes, with a third serving as it's nose and had twin red fin blades serving as horns. "Give it up Ranger! The Orgs are back, and better than ever!" The creature, who was known simply as Turbine Org laughed before firing blasts of air from it's eyehole-turbines and sending the unknown Ranger over the side of the rooftop she was on with the ground rushing up to greet her. But this mare wasn't going to go down that easily. With a cry of " Legendary Wild Access!" she was transformed into a red and gold Power Ranger with a phoenix's head as her helmet style and what looked to be tooth marks across her chest with her Cutie Mark of a sunset appearing as an emblem across her right breast. Her wings and horn had been incorporated into her costume as well, with the wings sticking out of the back and her horn jutting from her helmet. She flew upwards above the org and pulled out a sword, it glinting in the moonlight. "Phoenix Blade, Fire Strike!" She cried and with a powerful swing of her sword, she sent a flaming arc of energy towards the Org knocking him into a air vent. "You may have won this round Ranger, but I'll be back, you can count on it!" Turbine Org promised before turning into a flash of energy and flying off into the distance while the unknown Power Ranger de-morphed and pulled out a golden phone like device and spoke into it. "Princess, the Org's been dealt with... For now. But he'll be back, and to be honest, I don't think I can beat him alone, or even with the others help. We... We need a fifth Ranger." NewTech City, the year 2026 A black and white police car, sirens blaring and lights flashing screeched around a street corner, tires smoking and rubber burning. Its driver, a 27 year old man by the name of Robert Williams was on a mission. In front of him was a souped up muscle car, a 1965 Ford Mustang Fastback if Robert wasn't mistaken. Whoever previously owned this car, and Robert was sure of that as the person he was pursuing was wanted for multiple car thiefs, had taken great care to preserve the 61 year old car, which was mostly black except for the orange racing lines on both its car doors and top, where the lines extended all the way from the hood to the back. "Pull over Xenox! This is S.P.D!" Robert shouted through the car's onboard speaker. Xenox, who was a crimson red dragon like being wearing a nice suit (Also probably stolen, if Robert had to venture a guess.) of course didn't listen. "Sorry copper, if you want to lock me up, you're going to have to catch me first!" Xenox yelled and gunned the engine speeding off down the street way past the normal speed limit. "Figures he'd do that. Guy's not known for listening really." Robert mused to himself as he took a side street to catch up to the rapidly moving muscle car. "Hey, Rob, you caught this guy yet?" A female voice came from over Rob's morpher. Robert groaned and answered it. He recognized it as his fellow B-Squad Ranger Z Delgado, currently S.P.D Ranger Four AKA S.P.D Ranger Yellow. "Actually yes, I'm bringing him in right now in a confinement card." Robert drawled. Z huffed in annoyance, catching her fellow Ranger's sarcasm from the get-go. "Well, no need to get sarcastic with me. Need a hand? Me and Syd are nearby. Just got back from..." Here Z groaned, and Robert smirked to himself as he mentally imagined her shuddering. "...Ugh, shopping." she answered, saying "Shopping" as if it was the most horrible thing in the world. "Syd here pretty much spent all her monthly allowance in one go." Z continued, referring to her fellow Ranger, S.P.D Ranger 5 AKA S.P.D Ranger Pink. "Funny thing, you shopping, coming from a former clothing thief. The kind I was supposed to catch." Robert snarked. He wasn't wrong. Z, along with her brother in all but blood and former Red Ranger Jack Landers, were former clothing thieves and from what Robert had gathered from various conversations, neither never knew their parents and pretty much spent their lives growing up on the streets alone till they were finally caught by Syd, along with Robert's predecessor to his powers, Bridge, and the Blue, (Who Bridge now held the powers of.) now Red Ranger Sky Tate. "See, this is why I don't really like you. You go off all alone, with this lone wolf attitude, and are constantly disrespecting your teammates." Z lectured him. "Keep this up, and you might just get kicked off the team. You're not the first Green Ranger to get bumped back to a lower squad." Z warned. Robert swallowed nervously to himself. He was the fifth Green Ranger now ever since Bridge got bumped up to Blue, and currently he was the longest lasting, with him being a Ranger for three solid months now. None of the others had lasted that long, with the best of them, some Syrian (Robert had never bothered to remember his name) lasting one month before being kicked off. Robert was surprised he honestly lasted that long, given how lazy he'd heard his predecessor was. To this day, he still hadn't quite figured out why they kept him as long as they did. "BAH!" Robert suddenly snapped. "I can handle myself Z. Didn't I prove that when that moron... Oh, I don't remember his name... Used to work for Broodwing and had a giant robot escaped custody and I caught him by myself?" Robert mused to himself. To be fair, a lot of Broodwing's henchmen had giant robots at their beck and call, so it wasn't like he was exactly supposed to remember all of their names. All he remembered about this one was that his robot turned into a jet and had to be brought down with the SWAT Flyers. (It was still a sore sticking point for Robert that he hadn't been part of that section of the fight and that SWAT Flyer 3 had to be remote controlled by Katherine "Kat" Manx, S.P.D's top scientist.) Still, when what's his name jumped ship out of his own robot before it blew up, Robert was the one waiting to greet him with a Confinement Card. "Suit yourself." Z muttered before cutting the feed. Meanwhile, Robert, after taking a collection of side streets had caught up to Xenox and was side by side with him. "Now, where were we?" Robert sarcastically asked. "Oh yeah, bringing you in." Xenox responded by pulling out a laser pistol and firing a few shots at Robert, all of which hit the side of his car creating scorch marks on the side of it. "Hey, that's police property! You know that's coming out of my paycheck right?" Robert growled in anger. "Yar yar, that's all you S.P.D coppers do, complain, complain." Xenox mocked. That really did it, Robert used his car to hit him from the side and try and force him off the road and into a light post. But at the last second, Xenox moved ahead and now Robert was directly behind him so he instead trying ramming him in his rear bumper. "Hate to do this to such a classic car, and I know I'm probably going to get complaints from the owner and a huge dressing down, probably from Sky about excessive force, but... Sometimes you gotta do things you don't like to bring in the bad guys." Robert mused and rammed Xenox from behind. Xenox looked behind him and snarled before turning into a parking garage with Robert following, still on his tail. Robert chased him all the way through the parking garage's levels, all the way to the roof, which required quite the fast reaction time on the curves and as Xenox was swerving in between pillars, good driving ability as well. But at last, Robert caught up to his quarry, who to Robert's surprise had pulled to a complete halt. Robert slammed hard on the brakes and eyed the Mustang with suspicion. For the next few minutes, it didn't move an inch. Finally, Robert, having had enough of waiting opened the side door to his car and walked up to the Ford, Delta Blaster in hand and aimed right at the car, just in case Xenox got out. Robert approached the Mustang, all the while thinking "You gotta be kidding me, this can't be THAT easy...". He was right. As soon as Robert looked at the driver's seat, he found it was empty. "What the Hell...?" Robert trailed off before his ears noted a distinct beeping sound coming from UNDER the car. Then, before he had a chance to react, he was blown backwards by an explosion and was sent flying into another car, a Dodge Dart, (Robert really didn't know how he knew what car he was sent into or why it mattered, he just did.) denting its side door. Suddenly, Xenox appeared in a pillar of flame. "Bet you weren't expecting that, were you?" Xenox chuckled. "And I don't think you'd be expecting THIS either!" Then, from his mouth, Xenox let loose a blast of flame heading right for Robert, who reacted fast, and shouted "S.P.D, Emergency!" and immediately felt a powerful energy envelop and overtake his body and he was transformed into a green spandex clad figure with a big white colored number three on the side of his chest and a helmet bearing the SPD Badge on its forehead and a black visor to cover his face along with two flashing red lights where his ears would be. "And I don't think YOU were expecting that, were you?" Robert taunted, and to his credit, Xenox did look surprised. Well, as surprised as a draconic being could look. He really hadn't expected his pursuer to be a Power Ranger at all. But also to Xenox's credit, he recovered from his shock rather quickly and pulled out his laser pistol once again causing Robert to sigh. "Really, that again? It's like his go-to response to anything. This should be a piece of cake." Robert ducked to his right side and fired off his own blaster but Xenox teleported away in a flaming pillar and then was suddenly behind Robert grabbing him in a hold that due to his considerable strength, Robert couldn't break out of. "Got you now, Power Punk!" "You need better insults Xenox." Robert responded in a droll tone before smirking inside his helmet and slamming his boot hard on Xenox's foot making him scream out in pain and release the hold. Robert acted fast and changed his Delta Blaster to it's blade mode and dealt a few quick strikes that made sparks fly with each hit to Xenox making him stumble back and cutting his nice suit up a bit. When Xenox saw the damage that had been done he growled at his foe. "Hey, you know how much that suit cost?" Xenox snarled in anger. "...Wait, you actually bought that thing?" Robert asked in surprise and blinked. But being caught off guard was a mistake for him as Xenox then blasted him backwards with another fire blast. "Liar, liar, pants on fire!" Xenox taunted. Robert growled as he picked himself up off the concrete. "You know what, I've had enough of you." Robert growled before firing off a few blasts at Xenox from his Delta Blaster making the wanted criminal fall to the floor. Robert reached for his morpher, and activated it's Judgement Mode. Now, Judgement Mode, for those of you who aren't in the know, is S.P.D's way of confining criminals without having to throw them in police cars or vans like the police of the past used to. Unsurprisingly, this mode of transport was developed by Kat Manx. What Judgement Mode essentially was, in essence was confining a crook in a small card, about the size of a trading card but a bit thicker, and of course a complaining criminal in it. Robert really wished for the day when the Confinement Cards had a "Shut-Up" feature. He'd heard Emperor Grumm and Mora were particularly annoying to listen to as they were hauled off. "Xenox, you are charged with multiple car thief, resisting arrest, assault of a S.P.D Officer... And quite frankly, ruining of a very nice classic car." Robert stated, but before he could activate the Confinement Feature, Xenox smirked. "Not gonna catch me yet, copper." Xenox snarled, and Robert prepared for another teleportation but to his shock a giant black spiked robot with a single cycloptic blue eye erupted from the ground and Xenox jumped into it. "Now what are you going to do?" Xenox taunted from over the robot's speakers and Robert sighed. Z must be laughing at him now, and he did not want to hear that, but he had no choice to contact for a bit of help. Taking out his morpher, Robert spoke into it. "Kat, need a bit of... (Here Robert sucked in a breath, this was really humiliating for him to ask for help on what was supposed to be a simple one-man capture and retrieve mission.) assistance here." Robert asked in a somewhat embarrassed tone of voice. He could have sworn he heard Kat chuckle before she answered. "Alright, sending the Rescue Zords." Kat answered. Now, a bit of backstory. Now, while the original Lightspeed Zords, along with their companion Zords the Supertrain and Max Solar Zords may have been destroyed in the final battle against the Super Demons Diabolico and Olympius, Kat somehow managed to rebuild them (Only the Max Solar Zord, and Rescue Zords, the Supertrain wasn't salvageable unfortunately.) a few years back after hour upon hour of hard work. (Robert deeply suspected they may have been the original inspiration for the Delta Runners and likewise the Omega Zords the inspiration for the Swat Flyers.) And now, they were available for use in case the Delta Runners were somehow inactive, which they now most certainly were after they were destroyed in the battle against the A-Squad's own Megazord after they'd defected to Grumm. In any case, they were now a secondary option for the Rangers to use in case the SWAT Megazord was not assessable, and for Robert, because he had never qualified for SWAT training, it was most certainly not for him at least. In another part of the city, a very big parking lot opened up and split wide open to reveal the hidden hanger bay for the Rescue Zords. The first one, Pyro Rescue One was a big red eight wheeled fire engine with two powerful ladder arms that comprised its entire back end. The second was Aqua Rescue Two, a blue ten wheeled truck with water cannons on top. The third, and Robert's personal favorite was Aero Rescue Three, a high powered green colored VTOL jet with two powerful turbine engines that was fast enough to keep up with even today's jets, and could drop water bombs and had magnetic grapple hooks. The fourth Zord was Haz Rescue Four, a eight wheeled offroad truck painted in yellow that had a grabbing claw at its rear. Finally, there was Med Rescue Five, a white ambulance that was large enough to fit a whole freeway's worth of cars and trucks inside its interior. With a green flash of energy, a briefcase appeared in Robert's hand and even as Aero Rescue Three took off into the sky, Robert jumped into it and sat the briefcase at the control panel and slid his morpher beside it, and the briefcase opened to reveal the joysticks that allowed him to pilot the Zord. Nearby, Robert's fellow rangers were doing the same, except they had steering wheels instead of joysticks. Robert flew ahead of everyone else even as Sky's voice came over the comms. "Robert, what are you doing!?! Who do you think you are, some sort of Sky Cowboy?" Sky snapped at him. "We gotta work together on this to defeat this guy!" Robert of course ignored him and activated one of his Zord's features that had been added in by Kat. Two powerful green colored whirlwinds erupted from his jet's thrusters and hit Xenox's robot with devastating force making him stumble back from the sheer force of the wind. "Damn Sky and his orders, I was supposed to bring this guy in and that's what I'm going to do!" Robert thought to himself and flew circles around the robot who didn't know where to aim its onboard lasers. "Damn you, stay still!" Xenox shouted over the comms, and that was Bridge's cue. He fired his powerful water cannons, only this time they'd been upgraded with cryonic features, so when the water hit Xenox's robot, he was frozen solid. "Well, you did ask for someone to stay still, so I guess that means you." Bridge laughed. "I think he meant me." Robert deadpanned even as he stopped flying in circles around the robot. "Yeah, we kinda guessed that from the start." Syd remarked. "Well, can't bring this guy in as an ice sculpture, so... Let's heat him up a bit." Robert reasoned and activated his Zord's laser cannons and fired super-heated blasts at Xenox's robot shattering it's icy form. "Now, let's bring him in guys." Sky ordered. "Megazord formation now!" He barked, before thinking to himself "And here's hoping Mr. Sky Cowboy won't use this as a chance to show off again and completely ignore orders and take on a robot on his own like he did last time we used the Rescue Zords... And the time before that... And the time before that. Probably wishful thinking, but a man can hope." With whirring sounds, the back end of Bridge's zord split open and Robert used the Aero Rescue Three's magnets to clamp down on the now open innards of the zord and pull the truck cabin upwards even as stabilizers on Med Rescue Five and Haz Rescue Four pushed the Zords upwards and Robert moved the Aqua Rescue Two into position and it formed the pelvis and upper legs of the Megazord as it locked into place with Haz Rescue Four and Med Rescue Five, which had their back doors open up and the legs locked into place with two metal doors securing them. Meanwhile, Pyro Rescue One's ladder arms extended and pulled it upwards with the back chassis flipping forwards even as the ladder arms lowered Pyro Rescue One onto Aqua Rescue Two. Finally, Aero Rescue Three's landing gear folded upwards along with its thrusters and the cockpit moved upwards to reveal a red head with a visor like face as the lasers became antennas. "Lightspeed Megazord, Online!" (To Be Continued...) Author's Note Okay, so you're getting this at least a month early. So, as you can see, the rangers of the first Wild Force and their Zords are not going to be the stars of the show this time around. Oh no, that honor goes to Robert, Sunset, Lightning, Vapor, and Sunburst. Now, as you can see I've incorporated the features of the ponies into the costumes. To be quite frank, I had to, as where would a pegasus's wings or a unicorn's horn go if they weren't used in the costume? They'd be like Optimus Prime's mysteriously vanishing trailer. Anyways, we pick up the action 3000 years earlier, with our future fifth ranger, who as you can see has a real problem with authority. Yeah, that's not going to get him into trouble at all. Also, how'd you like the incorporation of the Rescue Zords? It's always been a little headcanon of mine that they and the Omega Zords somewhat inspired SPD's work in Zord tech, just like the Dino Zords inspired Tommy and Anton's BioZords in Dino Thunder. Anyways, you should expect updates every so often. Won't be as often as The Return of Doctor Whooves and Going Deep Under, but they'll come.
Part 1: Equestria: 5026 Author's Note: As I promised, this chapter would spend more time focusing on the Wild Force side of things. Also, I did submit this with it not being proofread, as I am a bit impatient at times so you'll have to excuse any grammer errors. Equus/Future Earth: 5026 "Okay now... Where is he...?" One lone mare murmured to herself, holding a flashlight in her hands as she wandered the docksides of Vanhoover, AKA Equestia's windiest city. This mare was pure white in skin color, with pale colored eyes and seemingly gust blown hair that was both cyanish grey and an emerald greenish color. "Figures, get sent out to find an Org in the middle of the night at the docksides, where who knows what lurks in the shadows... P-Probably some stallion w-who thinks he can get lucky with me... and what do I find? Absolutely nothing!" The mare, known as Vapor Trail whispered to herself, trying not to attract any attention whatsoever. Suddenly, in-between two giant metal shipping containers, she saw something out of the corner of her eye dart in-between them. Vapor Trail rushed after the shadow and kept following it, no matter which way it went. Then, it had vanished, almost as if the darkness had swallowed it up. "O-Okay... Now that was just weird. I know Sky would probably tease me for not being able to catch a simple shadow, but..." Vapor murmured to herself before noting the moon. Luna's moon was especially bright tonight, and seemed even larger than normal. Then, she saw the shadowy figure once again, leap from the top of one container to the top of another before vanishing once more. Now Vapor was starting to get really scared. On pure instinct, she reached for her Growl Phone and dialed a number. "L-Lightning... I-I might need your help down here. I'm not alone, I can feel it." Vapor said into the phone, and another mare's voice, one with a haughty tone to it answered. "Well of COURSE you're not alone you dumbo!" Lightning Dust snapped. "There's a freaking damned Org on the loose! The Princess sent you after it, and you're going to get it! I swear, my brother (Here she referred to her older brother and Vapor's best friend, and perhaps maybe more, Sky Stinger.) would have been a better pick for a Ranger than you, both you and Sunburst are such worrywarts!" "I-I'm not joking around here, there's something powerful here, and I don't think it's the Org the Princess sent me after!" Vapor yelled in fear and Lightning's jaw dropped in shock. Vapor sounded genuinely terrified out of her mind. With a resigned sigh after a few moments of hesitation, Lightning responded. "Alright, I'll get over there as fast as I can, but remember this, you and I are going after the Org I'M supposed to be hunting after this, understand?" Lightning growled and Vapor squeaked out a "Y-Yes." before hanging up and thinking to herself "Lightning, please get over here quick. Please... Wait, what's that?" At about that moment she heard a very eerie noise, it sounded like a flute being played. It was very haunting, and yet in some ways rather calming as well. Vapor didn't honestly know which of the feelings she was feeling at that very moment. Torn between the two, she decided to be on the safe side. "Legendary Wild Access!" Vapor shouted and was transformed, with a purple flash of energy, into a ranger, wearing a costume much like Sunset's, but with a few differences. For one thing, the most obvious difference was that it was a purple color, and instead of a phoenix's head, the helmet was styled after a sperm whale, and instead of a setting sun on her right breast, there was Vapor Trail's Cutie Mark of a shooting star. "Come out, show yourself!" Vapor shouted, feeling much more confident now that she was morphed. And then the being finally decided to show itself. Seemingly leaping from the moon itself was a dark figure with a wolfish face, two glowing yellow eyes that seemed to pierce right through your very soul and had one pure black horn. The figure landed almost silently directly in front of Vapor, who was frozen in fear. She knew what the one horn meant. Here, directly in front of her was a Duke Org, the ones who led the Orgs into battle and only one rank below the Org Generals. "A young mare such as yourself shouldn't be out here alone at this time of night, who knows what you might run into." The Duke Org said in a surprisingly friendly way. Nervously, Vapor reached for her Crystal Saber and pointed it at the Duke Org. "I'm not afraid of you!" Vapor yelled, though her voice betrayed her feelings. "Now now, is that any way to treat a friend?" The Duke Org questioned even as he rested a black crescent moon like blade on his left shoulder. "You and I... We're both actually on the same side, believe it or not." Vapor was stunned beyond words. An Org, a Duke Org at that, saying that they were both on the exact same side? It didn't make sense! "...Of course, knowing how you ponies treat anything that's different than you... Well, I wouldn't be surprised to find out you don't believe a word I'm saying. Hell, 3,000 years ago, I wouldn't have believed a word I was saying. Well, not before HIM anyways..." The Duke Org trailed off, seemingly lost in his own memories. "But never mind that. There's an Org on the loose, and I don't mean me. I intend to hunt him down. It might be... prudent for us to work together on this." Now Vapor was doubly stunned. A Duke Org, asking for her help to hunt down one of his own kind? This had to be a trick! But before Vapor could consider his words any further, both she and the Duke Org were blasted backwards by blasts of wind from the Turbine Org who had suddenly leaped down from a container. "Oh goody, a Ranger and a traitor to our kind in one blow! Today must be my lucky day!" Turbine Org laughed even as the Duke Org growled and picked himself up off the concrete with Vapor doing the same. "You don't seem to know who you're dealing with. Then again, you low level scum were always stupid." The Duke Org mused before picking his blade up off the ground and it's two tips extended with clicking sounds before he shouted "CRESCENT WAVE!" The Duke Org fired off several glowing yellow crescents of energy at Turbine Org smashing him into the containers denting the sides of them. "Argh, you'll pay for that!" Turbine Org shouted before taking a swing at the Duke Org with his fan hand but was blocked by the crescent shaped blade of his fellow org. Then, the Duke Org picked Turbine Org up with his bare hands and tossed him towards Vapor who took the hint and sliced at him with her Crystal Saber. "Let's take this somewhere else!" Vapor shouted before grabbing onto the Org and leaping into the sea with him and dealing out several more slices with her Crystal Saber before being blasted backwards by the Turbine Org sending her into a spin but Vapor quickly recovered. There was a reason she had taken the battle to the water. They were in her territory now. As a purple flash of energy appeared in her hands, a trident materialized in her hands before she thrust it at the Turbine Org and it got caught up in one of the Turbine Org's turbines. "You... You blinded me you bitch!" Turbine Org shouted in rage before Vapor said "There's more where that came from!" and the trident was taken out of his turbine and was used to deliver several sharp and swift stabs to his chest. Turbine Org quickly figured out this was a loosing battle, he was already worn out from his battle with Sunset not too long ago and now he'd faced off with another Ranger and a rogue Duke Org as well. "Time to go!" He shouted before leaping out of the water and flying off into the distance. Similarly, Vapor leaped out of the water as well and de-morphed, knowing her job was done for the time being. With no fear in her at all, she walked up to the Duke Org and actually shook his hand, knowing that if he saved her and even helped her out, perhaps... Just maybe there were always exceptions to the rule. "T-Thank you." Vapor said, and the Duke Org nodded. At about that time, another mare, this one cyan in color with yellow and orange streaked hair arrived and her jaw dropped in shock at the sight before her. It was only after the Duke Org leaped off into the distance that she regained the power of speech. "What... What the Tartarus just happened here?" Lightning demanded and Vapor answered "To be honest... I'm not sure." Elsewhere... Meanwhile, in another part of Equestria stood two figures loading animals into a truck marked "Equestria Animal Shelter". Now, normally this wouldn't have been such an out of the ordinary sight except for the fact that if you looked closer at the two ponies, one a pegasus mare with dark blue skin wearing a Wonderbolts uniform and flying goggles and another a unicorn stallion with dark grey skin wearing the outfit of a Royal Guard. "Gah, I... I can't believe ponies actually keep these... these creatures as pets! Ugh!" The mare complained as she shoved a brown and white border collie into the van. Her friend agreed with her as he threw a small gator into the van as well. "I know, they make my skin crawl..." He muttered before both ponies heard the sound of a jet engine and looked upwards into the sky to see the Turbine Org flying above them and over their heads into the distance. Both ponies turned to each other, wearing equal looks of shock before they both laughed in excitement and hugged each other in joyful glee. "Helicos, did you see that? Another Org! One of us!" The unicorn laughed in excitement before he morphed into a tank like being with treads hanging off his shoulders, two guns on his hands and his single horn also functioning as a tank cannon. His friend, the now named Helicos, morphed into a helicopter themed Org with her single eye surrounded by propellers and her shoulders having two horns that were tipped by rotors as well with her single horn being like a helicopter's tail fin. "Artilla, you know what this means right?" Helicos asked. If Artilla could smirk, he would have. "Our Master, or someone just as powerful, has finally returned to us!" Artilla laughed before both Duke Orgs morphed into balls of energy and followed after Turbine Org, but not before Artilla had the chance to think "Our Master better not turn out to be one of those maggot food humans masquerading as an Org this time, or else I don't know what I'll do..." NewTech City: 2026 Meanwhile, back in NewTech City, the SPD Rangers were hard at work battling Xenox and his robot. Xenox took a swing at the Lightspeed Megazord with one of his robot's claws and scored in a blow making sparks fly off the Megazord which responded in turn by extending it's ladder arms to their full length (Which was quite considerable indeed) all the way to the ground and then delivering an overhead spinning kick to the robot's chin making it stumble back. "Yeah, that was for trying to blow me up!" Robert bellowed before pressing a button on his control console that made the Megazord's head antennas move back downwards and fired twin beams of laser energy at Xenox's robot who responded in kind by firing a big blue beam of energy from it's single eye making the Lightspeed Megazord stumble backwards. "Can't take another hit like that." Sky realized as he looked at the Megazord's damage statistics. They weren't good at all. He sighed, even though this Megazord could still pack a punch, it wasn't as heavily armored as the old Delta Megazord had been and was based on outdated technology and took damage far more easily. "We gotta finish this guy off quickly." "Try the Lightspeed Megazord Saber!" Bridge suggested, and Sky nodded in return. With a cry of "Lightspeed Megazord Saber, activate!" a sword emerged from the Megazord's "Belt Buckle", for lack of a better term and was gripped firmly in the Megazord's hands. "5!" "4!" "3!" "2!" "1"! "Corona Slash!" All five rangers cried out and the Saber created a flaming corona before slashing forwards with a diagonal slash across the chest of Xenox's robot making it stumble back all the while shooting sparks every which way until it finally toppled over and exploded, but just as it did this, Xenox jumped out and onto the streets below. "Aw, come on... Seriously, this again?" Robert thought in exasperation before he too jumped out of his robot, following Xenox's lead and landed right in front of him even as Sky shouted out "Robert, wait! We're supposed to work as a team here!" "Screw teamwork! I've been trying to bring this guy in all day and nothing's going to stop me!" Robert shouted back at him over the comms before he held out a black and white power cell that resembled a spool of thread in some ways before tossing it in the air with a shout of "R.I.C! Catch, boy!" and the power cell was caught in midair by a black and white robotic dog. This was R.I.C, the S.P.D's mascot of sorts and yet another way of bringing criminals to justice. And once the power cell was caught, R.I.C was at once transformed. His front legs moved forwards and had two small cannons pop out and he landed in Robert's arms. "Canine Cannon!" Robert cried out. "Now, as I was saying... Xenox, you are charged with multiple car thief, resisting arrest, assault of a S.P.D Officer... And quite frankly, ruining of a very nice classic car, plus we can add to that destruction of property, operating a robot without a license and to be honest, needing breath mints and giving me a very bad day." "Wait, please! I'm not guilty of anything!" Xenox pleaded, knowing what was about to happen. "Oh please, that never works and you know it. Now do us all a favor and shut up, and prepare to get confined!" Robert retorted and pulled the trigger and was sent flying backwards by the Canine Cannon's sheer kick (There was a reason it was normally held by all five rangers) but the blast hit dead on target and from out of the explosion came a Confinement Card with Xenox inside it. Oddly enough, he wasn't saying a word. "Huh, guess Kat did finally install that Shut-Up feature after all." Robert thought even as he slipped into the realm of unconsciousness... Somewhere on Future Earth/Equus: Back on... Oh, you know the drill by now I think... Artilla and Helicos were marching down a stairway deep in a hidden and closed off section of a factory in Vanhoover's industrial district. This particular factory had been closed off for years, so the likelihood of anypony finding the two Duke Orgs (Brother and Sister actually) was pretty much nill. "Oh for crying out loud, why'd our master have to pick something so far underground? It's too damp and moist, I'll rust!" Artilla complained and his sister smacked him on the arm. "Quit complaining. This way, nobody will ever find us here." She said even as she thought to herself "Why oh why did I have be cursed with such an idiot of a brother? Least Jindrax and Toxica, treacherous as they were, had intellect on their sides. Hell, Jindrax was smart enough how to figure out how to bring Toxica back from the Org Underworld! Gotta give him credit for that at least..." "Not even the Power Rangers?" Artilla asked nervously and if Helicos could have smirked, she would have. "Especially the Power Rangers." She nodded before raising her sole eyebrow. "Besides, why are you so worried? As far as I can see, they can't even defeat one of the Master's weaker Orgs, so how do you expect them to defeat us, let alone the Master?" Helicos questioned, with Artilla giving the equivalent of a "Fair enough" nod. Finally the two Duke Orgs reached their intended destination, which was a dank and darkened cave with Org statues and totems with eerie glowing eyes of all sorts of colors all around and in the middle of the room was a throne, with its back turned to them and in the center of the the throne's backside was one very large silver Z... (To Be Continued...) Author's Note Well, that theme music alone should give you a hint as to the identity of the new Master Org. Anyways, in this chapter we meet the two Duke Orgs that serve him, Mandilok's Duke Orgs Artilla and Helicos. I chose these two specifically as they never got much chance to shine before being defeated. And speaking of Duke Orgs, yes that was Zen-Aku helping the Purple Ranger. He'll show up a few more times, I can promise you that. Might even be a candidate for a seventh Ranger of sorts! Only time will tell... Also, we get our first Megazord battle as well. Okay, maybe it was rather short, but given Sky's reasoning, it had to be. Also, of course the poll for the candidate for the Magna Defender Powers is still on, and it looks like Shining is currently in the lead. If you want to see the poll, it's up on my profile page. Till next time, cheers!
Part 2: DepartureEquus/Future Earth: 5026 Robert groaned as he found himself slowly returning to the land of consciousness and slowly adjusted his eyes to the blinding white light in front of him. As everything slowly came into focus, he could see the stark white walls, hear the beeping of a machine somewhere beside him and smell the distinct odor of disinfectant. He was in a hospital, he knew that much. So that solved where he was. How he got there was another question entirely. Taking note of everything around him, he noted this hospital wasn't as quite as advanced as the ones back on Earth. (If he only knew.) So where was he? Another planet maybe? He quickly shot that thought out of his head. All of the planets in the known galaxies had sufficiently higher level technology than the current level of the hospital he was currently in. One thing was for sure, he needed to find out where he was, and then try and get back home. But once he tried to move his arms, he found both of them were solidly cuffed to the hospital bed he was lying in. "Okay, whoever did this to me has at least racked up kidnapping charges, though if they put me in a hospital at least they're being kind about it. A kind kidnapper, that's gotta be a new one." Robert mused. Then suddenly he was alerted to the sounds of voices outside his room. "He's in here, Princess." A male voice said before what sounded strangely like the trotting of hoofsteps walking off came, and the obedient tone suggested he was of the local military or maybe police. No, definitely military. "Crap. Police I can talk to, but military, that's another matter entirely. Hmm, so wherever I am, they're ruled by a Princess of some sort. Interesting, but not unusual." Robert mused and then the door opened and six... Well, what could only be described as anthromorphic ponies stepped inside his room. It was really beginning to feel rather cramped right now. The first pony was golden in fur color and had red hair with yellow streaks, making it resemble bacon in some manner, and had teal green eyes that Robert could just lose himself in. She had a commanding aura about her, suggesting she was a leader of some sort. The second mare was cyan in color, and had orange and yellow streaked hair along with wings, and had a haughty aura about her. The third mare, also winged was white in color and had pale colored eyes and seemingly gust blown hair that was both cyanish grey and an emerald greenish color. The fourth pony was a unicorn stallion, with orangish fur and dark red hair, and had glasses, a blue wizard's cloak and had a goatee and looked rather nervous. All four of these first ponies, Robert noted, had golden phones peaking out of their pockets, golden phones which looked frighteningly like the Growl Phones of the Wild Force Rangers. But it was the final mare which caught Robert's attention the most. She, taller than the rest, had multicolored hair, which consisted of green, pink and blue streaks and seemed to flow in a nonexistent wind and was pure white in fur color and like the golden furred mare had both a horn and wings and was wearing an elegant white dress and a golden crown and necklace. This had to be the Princess that he overheard being talked to. "Hello... Human." The Princess said in a completely disgusted tone of voice, and Robert suddenly began to feel very nervous indeed. How'd he get himself into this situation again? Oh yeah, that's right... NewTech City 2026: SPD Delta Base, one day earlier... "What the Hell were you thinking?" Sky shouted at him in the Delta Base's command center as the rest of B-Squad tried not to look at Robert being chewed out by his superior. It was a rather awkward situation to say the least, although not really a new one. "This is the fourth time you've gone off on your own to go after a criminal without back-up!" "Hey, for the record, the guy I just confined, you're welcome for that by the way, was my target to begin with!" Robert shouted back. "I'd been chasing him all over the city and would have captured him had he not brought out a giant freaking robot!" "That's right, he did bring out a robot!" Sky retorted. "And even when we had to bring out the Zords, you went off ahead of everyone else and pulled that stunt of yours! Third time you've done that!" Sky ranted, and he wasn't done yet. "And even when the robot blew up, you still directly disobeyed my orders and went after Xenox, alone, AGAIN! I have half a mind to take away your badge and Morpher!" "Go ahead and do that, see if I care! You need to learn that sometimes doing things your own way is part of being a Ranger! There's a reason the others quit, and I think WE all know the reason why!" Robert bellowed, before shoving Sky backwards causing gasps and storming out of the room. He now needed to blow off some steam and he knew the perfect way to do it. Now the rest of B-Squad was definitely staring, and Sky looked at them with a raised eyebrow. Bridge muttered "Awkward..." while everyone else pretended to be doing something. Then, someone else entered the room. Everyone then stood at attention, even Commander Cruger who had stood silent throughout the whole endeavor. The man who had entered, a man with long brown hair, with blond streaks in it, although was beginning to show signs of grey as well was the Supreme Commander of SPD, Andros Hammond, the former Red Space Ranger. "Little harsh, don't you think?" Andros asked and before anyone could ask how he knew what just happened, he answered for them. "Heard your little disagreement through the doors." Now he was looking directly at Sky. "Supreme Commander, what brings you all the way from KO-35?" Sky asked. "Just a routine check up on how things are going." Andros answered simply, before his tone became more stern. "And I can see things are not going well, Commander Tate." "Yeah, you got that right..." Sky muttered. "I swear, Robert just doesn't have what it takes to be one of us." "Seems to have lasted longer under your command than the others. I'd say that shows fortitude." Andros replied. "F-Fortitude!?!" Sky sputtered out. "He deliberately disobeyed a direct order, just as he's been doing since he got here!" "Now, I'm not saying he's in the right all the time, but he's got a point. Sometimes you do have to do things your own way, or haven't you forgotten about your predecessor to your powers, a certain Mister Landers? As I recall, you and he had arguments, and he sometimes went off on his own, and so did you for that matter. Remember when that Armageddon sized asteroid came to Earth and you both had to blow it up with the SWAT Flyers?" Sky winced, Andros had a point. It also hit Sky hard, as if he'd been punched in the gut. Here he was, getting a dressing down from Andros, one of his idols, the man who had saved the galaxy and lead the Space Rangers into battle during one of the galaxy's darkest hours and eventually had no choice but to shatter Zordon's energy tube to save everyone from Astromena's evil. "...You're right. It seems I still have much to learn about being the Red Ranger." Sky admitted looking down at the floor, before Andros put a hand on his shoulder. "We're all learning and we all make mistakes. We all do throughout our lives. It's part of what makes us... Human." Andros smiled. Robert, grumbling none too kind things about a certain Red Ranger entered the room known only as the SimulaDeck. This entire room was designed as a training room built specifically for the Rangers to train in, and was made to create any sort of situation that the Rangers might find themselves in, either it be an underwater battle, (Which came up a lot more often than you might think with this job.) or just a simple fight in an abandoned warehouse. Now, in the olden days, which just happened to be not even six months ago, someone had to be in a special suit to simulate the monsters, magical beings or assorted aliens that the Rangers might find themselves up against, but now, with technology graciously provided by the people of the Supreme Commander's home planet of KO-35, that wasn't even needed. Now, holographic projectors had been added, controlled by someone in a control room that overlooked the entire area. "Hey Robert!" A cheery tone Robert knew belonged to Boom, Kat Manx's personal number one assistant/Gadget Tester/Lab Rat came over the comms. "Ready to do some training?" "You're rubbing your hands together evilly aren't you Boom?" Robert asked drolly. "Uh... No?" Boom answered nervously and Robert sighed and rubbed his temples. "Just gimme something to fight. I need to blow off some steam." Robert grumbled. "Wow, you're in a bad mood today. Sky must have really gotten to you. If it helps any, I... may have overheard the Supreme Commander chew him out a bit." Boom said kindly and Robert smiled a bit. Served him right. "Anyways, what do you want to beat up today?" Boom asked. "How bout something... Classic? Gimme some Tenga Warriors, make the scene an average day in Angel Grove, 1995." Robert requested, and as soon as Boom said "You got it!" the room immediately changed to that of a hilltop overlooking the small and peaceful town of Angel Grove, California, the site of Earth's first Power Rangers. And then, appearing in feathers, were blackish purple winged beings with beaks, yellow eyes and a really bad smell about them. These were Tenga Warriors, provided as a belated wedding present by Rito Revolto to his sister, the late Rita Repulsa, the first villain the Earth ever faced. "Hey, it's a human, get him!" One of the Tengas crowed and they all charged towards him as Robert tossed off his jacket and took a fighting stance and let out a "Ki-Yah!" and engaged his foes. Robert punched a Tenga backwards into a tree before leaping over another that was charging at him. Robert smirked. Stupidity couldn't be simulated, not that it would need to be. Tengas were never known for their intelligence. Then he was grabbed from behind by two Tengas but managed to wrestle himself out of their grip and kick one in the face. Next, Robert went for his Delta Blaster and fired at three Tengas, taking them down. Several more Tengas flew down at him from the sky, wielding swords in their hands and swung at him but Robert blocked the first blade with his wrist and kicked the offending Tenga backwards before backhanding another sword using Tenga. The final Tenga came at him with a vertical slash, but Robert caught it's blade in his hands before kicking the Tenga in the one spot no male creature, no matter the species wanted to be kicked. Yeah, that spot. As soon as the last Tenga was down, Robert smirked. Minions defeated, and he wasn't even tired yet. He called out to Boom, yelling "That all you got?" as the Control Room materialized in mid-air, spoiling the illusion entirely. "R-Really, you want some more?" Boom asked with trepidation. "Well, in that case... What do you want?" "I don't know... Mix it up a little bit. Give me a monster, a good one. Your choice." Boom actually smirked in a somewhat cat-like manner, the kind of manner a cat would smirk before pouncing on an unsuspecting bird before saying "If you say so..." and pressing a few buttons up in his Control Room. It vanished, and the scene changed once again to a rock quarry in the middle of nowhere. Rangers were surprisingly used to fighting in these. It had actually become a bet amongst the B-Squad (Probably started by Bridge or Syd) when they would fight in a rock quarry again. Anyways, appearing in a flash of flame was a gold armored winged being with a dark blue baboon like face and with a sword in his hands. Robert actually swallowed and thought "Boom, as soon as I'm done here, I swear, I will kill you." Who he was facing was Goldar, a living legend amongst Ranger circles, and a being no Ranger had ever managed to take down as he always fled from a fight, although some had come pretty close to defeating him, most notably Tommy Oliver and Jason Lee Scott, the Mighty Morphin' Green (And later White) and Red Rangers respectively. "Puny human! Prepare to meet your end!" Goldar bellowed and charged towards him, sword in hand while Robert yelled out "It's Morphing Time! SPD, Emergency!" and was enveloped in that same green energy and became once more the Green SPD Ranger. "What? A Power Ranger?" Goldar asked in surprise. "No matter, I'll still destroy you for my Empress Rita and Lord Zedd!" Goldar swung his sword, and Robert blocked it with his own before throwing a kick, but it was caught and Goldar threw him backwards into some rocks. "Your tactics are predictable, Ranger!" Goldar taunted. Robert swore quietly to himself. He'd forgotten the SimulaDeck's creations adapted as you got further along in it. It was yet another new feature. Robert picked himself up and charged once again at Goldar, Delta Saber in hand, but this time he jumped over Goldar and slashed at him from behind. "You'll pay for that Tommy! Your costume may have changed, but I still know you anywhere!" "Tommy?" Robert asked himself in confusion before he realized. "Oh, I am wearing Green, so it would make sense he'd mistake me for his old foe." He mused even as Goldar turned around a full 180 degrees and got in a slash across the chest. Just as Goldar slashed forwards once again, Robert jumped backwards and fired his Delta Blaster several times at Goldar hitting him directly in the chest. Just then, Boom chimed in. "Hey, want to see another of the new improvements?" Boom asked, and before Robert had a chance to respond, a recording of Rita's voice yelled out "Magic Wand, make my Goldar grow!" and sure enough, a crescent moon shaped wand covered in bronze and gold with a red orb in the center plunged down from the sky and it's magic made Goldar grow to the size of a titan. "How do you like me now, Ranger?" Goldar laughed as he loomed over the quarry. "Oh, fu..." Robert muttered, but then the Green Ranger's Dragon Dagger appeared in his hands. "Okay, maybe I was going to kill Boom at first for this little stunt, but now I might actually thank him." Robert mused. "This could actually be fun. I need DragonZord power, now!" Robert shouted before playing a very familiar tune. And from the nearby waters of Angel Grove Harbor (Robert didn't even bother to question the SimulaDeck's logic.) emerged a very familiar Zord. It had a dragon's head, two golden shoulders with hands coming out from them and was mostly black in color, save for the silver chest emblem which had red flashing dots arranged in a star like formation with one red dot in the center. And to top it all off, there was a silver tail ending in a drill. "Not even the DragonZord will save you from your own destruction!" Goldar taunted. "Oh yeah? Wanna bet on that? DragonZord missiles!" Robert shouted before playing the Dragon Dagger again, and from the Zord's fingertips emerged small red missiles which were quickly fired in a barrage at Goldar who didn't even have time to react. Goldar, in revenge swung his sword a few times and caused some damage, but then Robert commanded the DragonZord to swing it's tail at Goldar, who simply jumped over it before firing laser beams from his eyes making the DragonZord stumble backwards. "Now you've made me mad." Robert said before ordering the Zord to grab Goldar and throw him to the side and the baboon like alien landed with a powerful thud making the very ground shake. But Goldar was back up again soon enough. "Now, time to end this!" He roared and charged towards the DragonZord. "I agree." Robert said, before firing off another barrage of missiles that made Goldar stumble and then fall over shouting "You may have defeated me Tommy Oliver, but be assured, Rita and Zedd will avenge my death!" before exploding and ending the simulation. "Feeling better?" Boom asked. Robert smiled as he demorphed. Yeah, much better. Later that day, Robert was in the room shared by all of the male B-Squad Rangers, with only Bridge in the room with him, eating his favorite food, buttered toast. "Something on your mind?" Bridge asked as he noticed Robert just staring off into the distance through the window. "Yeah... I've been thinking. Maybe Sky's right. Maybe I'm not cut out to be one of you guys." Robert mused to himself. "He's right, I have no respect for authority, and do things my own way. I'm reckless, arrogant, and... Well, let's face the facts, none of those traits are good in a Power Ranger, it always ends up with them getting hurt, or worse." "You know, but that's what makes you you. If we all thought the same way, we'd be like robots." Bridge responded before turning to R.I.C, who was sitting nearby on a couch. "...No offence." R.I.C barked, as if to say "None taken." Suddenly Bridge stood on his hands and made his whole body face upwards to the ceiling. "Hey, maybe you should try thinking things through my way. Might help." Bridge asked, and soon Robert was doing the same thing Bridge was. "Yeah, all I'm getting is the blood rushing to my head and I'm prrrretttyy sure that's not a good thing." Robert commented dryly before flipping back to a standing position and walking out the door. "I'm going to go for a drive. That's what usually works with me." Robert said, before Bridge asked "Sure you don't want some toast for the road? It's..." He said before doing that little finger wiggle of his. "...Buttery." But Robert was already gone. A 2006 Ford Mustang, pure green in color roared through the streets of downtown NewTech City. In it, sat Robert behind the wheel. He'd saved up for months for this car, but it was worth it. "Now this is the life! This is just what I need. The open road, and nothing but me and my tunes." Robert commented even as Styx's Renegade played through his phone. Robert chuckled at the irony. Here he was, a lawman, listening to a song about a man on the run from the hangman coming down from the gallows. He supposed it fit him in a way. He wasn't like the other Rangers, and he knew it. He'd always felt out of place. He never had any genetic powers like the others, and he could never stand to be in the same room with them, except for Bridge, for more than a few minutes. Sure, they were all nice people (Even Sky) in their own way, and he respected them, but he just never felt like he belonged with them. "Hmm, seriously, we need to replace all the Police Cars on the force with these. I mean seriously, Vauxhall Astra Diesels? Which hair brained idiot thought of that for a good patrol car? They're shit, and everyone knows it." Back at base, Syd, who happened to be listening to Robert's musings over his Morpher, which he always kept on him as procedure, nodded at Sky and said "He's got a point. Besides, Mustangs are sexier cars." Then, the scanners picked up something. Sky contacted Robert. "Robert, there's some strange energy readings in your area. Go check it out." Sky ordered. "Alone? Shouldn't I wait for back-up?" Robert snarked and Sky winced. It seemed Robert was still pissed off at him, as he had every right to be. "Yes, do it your way. Not like there's anything I can do to stop you." Sky said. Robert smirked and gunned the engine and headed toward the coordinates Sky gave him, and not even an hour later, just as dusk was falling, Robert was there, in a park somewhere in the city. Following the readings with the tracker built into his Morpher, he found himself in a heavily wooded area under a bridge. "Hmm, picking up traces of magical energy, but I don't see..." Robert mused, and the next thing he knew, he was sucked into a green swirling energy vortex and was gone even as Robert's signal vanished and Sky let out a shout of "ROBERT!" and slammed his fist on the console in frustration. Equus/Future Earth: 5026 "UH!" Robert groaned out even as he landed in some grass in a dark forest that seemed to be covered in thorny vines and filled with strange sounds. "Okay, do not want to do that again." Robert muttered and immediately set out on scanning the area. "Hmm, says I'm on Earth, but..." Then, he heard a loud female shout of "HUMAN!" and felt several blasts of energy hit him in the back before he slipped once more into the realm of unconsciousness and the darkness greeted him with open arms... Author's Note Okay, so this chapter will be the last chapter to feature the SPD opening, as you can see Robert's finally been time-warped to the Future Earth, where he gets a not so warm welcome (One might even say frosty) reception from the locals. Whoo boy... Anyways, this chapter was made to pander to the Zordon era fans, as evidenced by the appearance of Andros, the Tengas, Goldar, the insert music and the freaking DragonZord. As you can see, Robert, and then Sky both get royal dressing downs for their actions. Both, to be honest are not in the right with their actions. Robert does need to learn to work with a team, and Sky needs to be more accepting of doing things one's own way. Actually, on the note of Robert, if you're wondering, and probably are, why I haven't given him a description outside his Ranger Form, I'm taking the Halo Series route and allowing you to imagine what he looks under the helmet. Next time, Robert deals with his newfound situation... and Princess Celestia, and meets the new team of Wild Force Rangers. (Also, I've noticed I've gotten 8 dislikes and that'll probably climb, so if anyone wants to tell me what the heck puts you off this fic, I'd really love to know. Finally, I'm putting this fic on hiatus for a short while so I can focus on my other two big fics which I've been neglecting, along with a Twixie oneshot and a upcoming collab story.)
Part 3: The Bad Beginning Future Earth/Equestria: Canterlot Castle Throne Room, several minutes earlier... Canterlot Castle, a symbol of grand majesty and it's fair set of rulers, the Royal Princess of the Sun Princess Celestia and the Royal Princess of the Moon, Princess Luna, symbols to all across the land. The throne room, made of the most elegant materials and the most pure white of limestone collected from only the best of the best of rock quarries. The stained glass windows, each made of the most elegantly carved glass made only by the finest glassmakers, each depicting a famous event in Equestria's history, all the way from Nightmare Moon's ascension and subsequent banishment to the moon to the recent coronation of the two newest Alicorn Princesses, both former personal students of Princess Celestia herself, the Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle, and the Princess of Empathy, Sunset Shimmer. Now normally, Princess Celestia was the picture of tranquility and peaceful, motherly care. Tonight however, she was shaking with rage. One of her former students, Twilight Sparkle had sent a letter to her after making a very disturbing discovery while she was making a trip to see her friend Zecora, an immigrant from the Zebra Countries, to acquire a new potion to work as a cure for some ponies in the Appleloosian Plains who had been bitten by a basilisk's venomous fangs. Princess Celestia still didn't know how one of those foul serpents, who originated from a small island and were created by a chicken laying on a toad's egg originally through a foul ritual by one of the darkest wizards ever to walk Equus, Herpo the Foul, got to Appleloosa, but she intended to find out for herself. And that was what brought Princess Celestia to her current predicament. The letter had stated she had found a human, a HUMAN in her domain! Princess Celestia's first emotion was shock. Last she had checked, humans went extinct some 2,000 odd years ago, give or take the odd century. Then it went right to rage. Humans, the foulest beings ever to walk the face of the planet. It began in the year 3006. A genetic anomaly, or maybe some odd mutation in a pony's genes. But whatever the reason, ponies, almost overnight began to walk on two legs and grow wings and horns. And as for the humans, well... Sure, at first they were nice, welcoming ponies as they evolved to walk on two legs just like them, but then they showed their nasty side, and acceptance soon turned to fear, and then to hate. Ponies were out-casted, hunted down for sport even! Raped, murdered! All because they looked different from them and didn't fit their image of perfection. It was only when the Princesses ascended to Alicornhood that the tide was turned, and humans, the hunters, became the hunted. It wasn't long, after training her subjects to fight, that the Princess of the Sun was able to eliminate the humans. But now, one had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere! And now, Princess Celestia would see to it that she would deal with this threat personally. "Sister, is something wrong?" Princess Luna, a dark blue furred alicorn, with a starry like mane that seemed to flow in a nonexistent wind, asked to her sister, noticing her trembling with rage. The very air seemed to grow hotter, and Celestia's mane danced like flames. "Sister... A human has appeared in Equestria. After 2,000 years of peace, one has come back... It seems they weren't as extinct as we thought." Celestia growled. She should have double checked, made sure every last one of those... creatures were hunted down, for her own subjects protection. "Sister, you are acting irrational. Surely you remember that there were some humans who accepted us, like that Jen woman." Luna replied, trying to calm her sister. Even now, 2,000 years later, she remembered everything. It was said elephants never forgot, but it seemed the same was true for Alicorns, for better or for worse. "But not enough..." Celestia snarled, and Princess Luna took a step back. This wasn't the kind, caring older sister she knew, and she was actually starting to become afraid of her. The air began to grow hotter still. "But was that reasoning justifiable in rendering an entire species extinct!?!" Princess Luna snapped back even as a tear slipped from her eye as she watched her sister's dark side come out. If Princess Celestia didn't calm herself, she might very well become the being Luna feared most, the mad tyrant Solar Flare. Princess Luna knew all too well what succumbing to one's dark side did to you. It ripped you apart, and twisted your very soul until there was almost nothing of you left. "They were living beings, just like you and I are, and this human deserves the benefit of the doubt." But Princess Celestia ignored her and vanished in a pure blinding flash of white light. "May the Gods protect you fair human, and if Princess Celestia truly intends to kill you, I will make sure I will be standing in her way." Luna thought before vanishing in a dark blue flash of light, leaving the throne room empty. Everfree Forest, just after Robert was taken away... Zen-Aku eyed the Princess of Friendship with a wary look upon his muzzle as she dragged Robert off. He stood in the forest thrush, unseen thanks to his black armor and clothing blending in against the darkness, with only his piercing yellow eyes giving away the only hint he was there, although as there were many creatures in the forest who shared this, nopony would be the wiser that he was there, and for right now, that's the way he preferred it. "By Animus above, I hope this new arrival will have the strength to withstand what's coming, not from just the Orgs, but from the inhabitants of this planet. Otherwise... We're all doomed." He mused to himself before looking towards the sky. "I hope you made the right choice, as a great darkness is coming, and a fifth is needed. And if it comes to that, I will gladly lend my assistance." With that, he gripped the three solid orbs in his paw, one purple, one dark green and one silver, before vanishing into the shadows... Now... Okay, you think I would have gotten used to seeing some pretty weird stuff in my life as a member of Space Patrol Delta, given all the aliens that inhabit Earth, and some of the magical creatures as well, but this is pretty up there in the weird shit-o-meter." Robert mused to himself as he eyed Princess Celestia and her subjects curiously. "Have no fear, my subjects, I am here to deal with... The Problem." Celestia said as her subjects bowed to her and she gave them her best motherly smile. Robert frowned. He knew what the Princess was doing. Acting like he wasn't in the room, and from the disgusted tone in her voice, along with the slight fear in her eyes when she first looked at him (Although he had to give her credit, she hid it well.), it was a fairly safe guess that she'd had experience with humans before and that experience had not been a good one. For Princess Celestia, she was glad to see her subjects unharmed, and that the filthy ape hadn't hurt them in the slightest. Captain (No, Prince as she had to keep reminding herself.) Shining Armor had made the right choice in restraining him. "Well, this is a new one." Robert quipped in an intention of lightning the mood. It didn't work. Not in the slightest. "SILENCE HUMAN!" Celestia roared, using her rarely used Royal Canterlot Voice, and for the first time Robert noted how hot the air had become. It was also a fairly safe guess that due to Celestia's name (Which she had overheard one of the ponies mention) and how angry she seemed to be, that the two were connected in some manner. "P-Princess, are you sure we can relax? I've heard humans have done nothing but hunt and kill our kind... A-Amongst other things." The orange coated stallion asked nervously. "Yes, Sunburst." Celestia answered, and Robert mentally jotted the name down to himself. Best to know his fellow Power Rangers, although if they were anything like their ruler, working with them could present a problem in the future. "It shall be dealt with." "It has a name, you know." Robert deadpanned, and everypony's jaws dropped in shock at the hugely disrespectful tone he was using towards their Princess. "And I for one, would greatly appreciate it if you started talking like I was in the room for once. And might I say, having one of your subjects blast me in the back, dick move. Really, quite the dick move. Personally, I think that's what you are, a dick with wings and a horn. It's clear to me your misanthropy and fear is clouding any judgement you might have." Now Princess Celestia's jaw was the one to drop in shock. How dare this animal speak back to her in such a manner! Did she not know who he was dealing with? But she quickly regained her composure, and glared fiercely at the human in such a manner that even the ice and snow of the Crystal Empire would melt. "HOW DARE YOU!?!" Princess Celestia roared once more, her temper finally close to reaching it's upper limits. "DO YOU HAVE ANY OF THE SLIGHTEST IDEA OF WHOM THOU ART SPEAKING TO? I AM PRINCESS CELESTIA, SOL INVINCTUS OF THE SUN, AND THE BRINGER OF YOUR JUDGEMENT!" "Respect is something you earn, it's not a given thing." Robert responded calmly. "I respect the person, not the title, and to be honest, neither of which seems right now worthy of respect." Then, it happened. Princess Celestia finally blew up. She didn't shout at him, oh no. What she did, and by doing so causing a chorus of shocked gasps to echo throughout the room was slap him firmly across the face with considerable force indeed. Out of all the things the ponies in the room had been expecting, none of their thoughts were even close to what had just occurred in front of their very eyes. She then charged up her horn and was about to blast Robert into a pile of ashes, she was then restrained by a dark blue magical aura. "SISTER, WHAT THE TARTARUS DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Princess Luna roared, also in her Royal Canterlot voice as she pulled back her sister away from Robert, and simultaneously removed the handcuffs as well. "WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? I'M REMOVING THIS FILTH FROM EXSISTANCE!" Celestia snarled. "There's a difference between justice and revenge sister, and I think you've forgotten which is which right now." Princess Luna stated, after taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. At about this time, Shining Armor had entered the rapidly beginning to get crowded room unseen. Although he had read the stories about humans in the history books, he was a firm believer of the saying "Innocent until proven guilty." and so far, this human had done nothing, aside from being a bit rude, which to be fair, if Shining was in his situation he probably would have been a bit ticked off as well. "I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU DID THAT LUNA! THAT DANGEROUS PIECE OF FILTH SHOULD BE NOW A PILE OF ASHES AT MY HOOVES, AND YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO KEEP ME FROM DOING WHAT SHOULD BE DONE! HUMANS KNOW NOTHING BUT OF VIOLENCE AND BLOODSHED!" "YOU..." Luna had begun to yell once more but calmed herself down again. No need for to get the human on the bad side of both of them, as her sister had already done with herself and her actions. "You have the nerve to call him violent and dangerous when YOU were the one to slap him across the face and were about to turn him into charcoal!" The Wild Force Rangers, along with Shining and Robert watched the entire exchange like a tennis match. They knew both of the Royal Siblings sometimes had their spats, but this was on a whole new level, unlike anything they'd seen before. "Fine, I admit what I was doing was letting my temper get the best of me, but it doesn't change the simple fact that all humans are dangerous. And now that one has returned, he presents a threat to us all." "Just like I did when I returned?" Princess Luna asked bitterly, a tear slipping from her eye. Celestia felt like she had been punched solidly in the gut. As much as she hated to admit it, there were more than a few similarities to the human's arrival and Princess Luna's return. Both have had been treated with nothing less than disrespect in their first few hours of being here, and just like Princess Luna was, the human would probably be treated with disrespect for months to come. Celestia stood in silence, before vanishing in a flash of white light. "So..." Robert asked nervously. "What will you do with me? Throw me in a dungeon, execute me in public like your sister seems to want?" "No, Mister... What is your name? I need a proper introduction." Luna requested. "Robert, Robert Williams. Space Patrol Delta Officer of NewTech City, Earth, which considering the oh-so warm reception I got here, I intend to find the nearest spaceport and get back there as soon as possible, and if possible, have your sister brought up on attempted murder and kidnapping charges. Let's see how she likes a Confinement Card." Luna said nothing, she didn't have the heart to tell him that there was no way he was getting back to wherever this NewTech City once was, and that he'd been transported to Earth's future from who knew when. "I... I apologize for my sister's behavior. We've both had bad experiences with humans, but she had worse than me. I'd hoped over the years she'd let that hatred go, but it seems she has not." Luna replied, looking quite ashamed before gesturing to Shining Armor. "This is Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire. He's the one who restrained you." Luna said, and Shining, who wore golden knight like armor, with purple trimmings walked up to Robert. "I apologize for the detainment. I was under orders from my sister, the Princess of Friendship." Shining stated in an apologetic tone, and Robert recognized the voice as the military like one he'd heard earlier. "Remind me to punch her in the face then." Robert grumbled and Shining winced. Great, just what he needed, an officer of the law with a grudge against two Princesses, and from what he'd seen, the sheer balls to face them down without flinching. This was going to cause a lot of paperwork in the foreseeable future, he could tell, and perhaps a few sips of alcohol as well. Just then, everyone heard a loud explosion and all four Wild Force Rangers' Growl Phones rang and the bacon haired mare answered, and if Robert had to guess, she was the team leader. "I understand, Princess. We'll take him down." Sunset said before turning to the others. "New Org on the loose. Let's go." "Wait, if you said Org, you might need my help." Robert said, and everyone turned to him in shock. "How... How can you help?" Lightning Dust asked in disbelief. "You're just a weak and scrawny human!" Ignoring her, Robert turned to Princess Luna. "Did you by chance happen to get ahold of a black and white device with two red lights on it saying SPD on it?" Robert inquired, and Shining nodded. "Yeah, it got handed off to me as we presumed it to be dangerous." Shining admitted before holding out Robert's Morpher, and Robert smirked before taking it in his hands. "Oh, it's dangerous alright... Just not to you." Robert stated before letting out a shout of "SPD: Emergency!" before that same green energy overtook him and he was transformed, much to everypony's shock and awe, into the Green SPD Ranger. "Now, are we going to stop gaping like fish, or are we going to play kick the can with an Org?" Robert asked dryly... (To Be Continued...) Author's Note Okay, I know I said this story was going on a hiatus, but to be honest I got bored and the only way I found to cure that boredom was to write some more of this. Now, firstly, I want to truly apologize for the portrayal of a xenophobic Princess Celestia in this chapter. I have stated time and time again that I absolutely hate bashing, although for this story to work, like Griffins, Ponies and Taboo Subjects, it had to be done. Still doesn't make it hurt any less though. (Have no fear, she slowly but surely will receive character development, just like everypony else.) Anyways, a large portion of this chapter owes itself to Hawker Hurricane's story One Step Forwards, a Huge Shove Backwards, which I can't link you to as it's M rated, but look the guy and the story up. It's not half bad. Anyways, on other notes, as you can see, Robert's not completely without friends, as he's already got Prince Shining Armor (Our future Magna Defender) and Princess Luna in his corner already, so that's two members of royalty he's got looking out for him, and Zen-Aku as well, who seems to know more about Robert's warp to the future then he's telling, and as you can see, has access to his old Wild Zords as well. Next time, Robert and the Wild Force Rangers team up to fight the Barbed Wire Org... Amongst other happenings.
Part 5: Ancient History A few minutes ago... Robert growled out in frustration and winced in pain as he was kicked in the chest by a Putrid and knocked back into a tree. Blood was dripping from pretty much every point on his chest, with several of the Barbed Wire Org's wires having cut in quite deeply. Two sets of Putrids aimed their staff/bazookas and fired at Robert who leaped aside and let the tree take the blast. Blood was on the ground everywhere and Robert's vision was becoming a daze, not allowing him to see or block the kicks and punches and blows from the Putrids as they came. He felt himself getting faint and even as he got up off the ground he thought to himself. "Is this how I go out? Mein Gott, I'm such a moron. Look at me, charging in without fear, just to save three little kids that, judging from the attitude the rest of the ponies I've met shown me, probably wouldn't give a hoot in hell when I'm at my Schlechtesten. And that's exactly where I am now." Robert mused as he was punched in the chest and sent flying backwards and he cursed in German. "Wunderbar." Robert muttered sarcastically to himself as he lay on the ground bleeding out as the Putrids closed in on him and he felt his eye lids closing and he took one last look at the sky, for what he knew would probably be the last time. He then thought to himself once more. "You know, they say before you die your life flashes before your eyes. Well, not much of a life for me. I spent half my life cooped up in a school hidden away from the rest of the world and I got tired of that and then the next half training to be a cop and eventually a Power Ranger... And look at where that's gotten me, eh?" And so Robert was sent into a flashback... The Day of the Armada's Final Attack... It was 2015, the Armada led by Emperor Mavro was launching its final attack on the planet of Earth. Humanity was all but defeated. Even Astromena's invasion was this bad and had Humanity on it's last desperate stand. Not that Robert was old enough to remember this, he hadn't even been born yet! But he had seen old news reports to get enough of the details to know just how bad it was and how a mysterious wave of Golden Light had surged through the planet (And as he would later learn half of the known galaxy as well thanks to the greatest sacrifice an ally of the Power Rangers could make, perhaps THE greatest ally of the Rangers) rendering many evil forces into sand and purifying others like Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa. There were some similarities however. Humanity was all but on the verge of surrender, and of the Power Rangers... Oh Mein Gott, the Power Rangers were all but defeated and their Zords destroyed. Robert however, wasn't giving up. He was a former student of the Pai Zhua School of Martial Arts, and no matter the cost, even if it be his own life, he WOULD not run away. He would make a stand. So there Robert was, in the midst of a crowd of X-Borgs, robotic soldiers with only one purpose, to destroy anything and anyone to stand in their way. Up above, hundreds, if not thousands of Armada ships from all across the Galaxy rained down laser fire like hellfire and brimstone upon the cities of Earth. "Alright you bastards, you want to come and get me, let's do this! Ki-Yah!" Robert roared before launching into the fray and kicked an X-Borg into a car, denting its side door panels before backhanding another of the robots. A squad of X-Borgs came charging at him with the blue armored Bruisers backing them up but Robert leaped over them before rebounding off a wall and kicking two X-Borgs in the back of their heads knocking them to the ground and causing them to spark. The Bruisers fired their arm cannons at him and Robert didn't have the time enough to react before there came two shouts of "Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!" and "Let's Rocket!" and using their respective weapons, the Jungle Fans and Astro Axe respectively, the Blue Jungle Fury and Blue Space Ranger knocked the blasts out of existence. Robert stood, stunned, as he looked upon his former Master, Theo, and the Blue Space Ranger, TJ. Out of respect and force of habit, Robert bowed to Theo. "Wasn't expecting to see you here. Last I heard you went off for a nice and quiet life in the city and not have to worry about training all the time." Theo remarked in surprise. "Well, you were always a hard-ass. Guess I couldn't take that kind of training." Robert replied sadly, and even in the middle of all this chaos, he and Theo shared a nod of understanding. "Some got it, some don't." Theo admitted. "Guess I'm just one of those people." Robert admitted sadly. "Hey, uh guys..." TJ suddenly spoke up attracting both of the former Pai Zhau students' attention. "Not to break up the reunion here, but we got more of those things incoming." He said as he pointed to a group of incoming X-Borgs and Bruisers. Theo and TJ took up fighting stances but Robert stepped in front of them. "No worried guys, I got this." Robert said confidently as he turned to look at the Blue Jaguar Ranger. "I may have been a drop-out, but I did pick up enough. Just enough." As the robotic soldiers closed in, Robert let out a yell of "Call to the Beast inside, Free the Fox!" and a misty orange fox like shape appeared and slashed and bit at the incoming squadrons utterly rendering them into a pile of robotic parts. The battle would rage on into the next day, and Emperor Mavros would eventually be defeated by the Megaforce Rangers and even when the last of his forces tried to avenge him, every Power Ranger throughout history would show up and aid the team in their darkest hour, lead by perhaps the greatest Ranger ever to walk the face of the Earth, Tommy Oliver, the original Mighty Morphin Green Ranger. After that, life continued on, and when SPD came into being, Robert was one of the first to enrole. He wanted to make his Master proud and show he wasn't a quitter. But as he quickly found out, SPD training was much harder then that of the Pai Zhua's. But still he persevered, determined to make his Master proud and eventually he did become a Ranger. But... his lone wolf qualities and his new found arrogance and pride from becoming a Ranger at last reared their ugly head and things degenerated... Fast. NewTech City 2026: SPD Delta Base "What the Hell were you thinking?" Sky shouted at him in the Delta Base's command center as the rest of B-Squad tried not to look at Robert being chewed out by his superior. It was a rather awkward situation to say the least, although not really a new one. "This is the fourth time you've gone off on your own to go after a criminal without back-up!" "Hey, for the record, the guy I just confined, you're welcome for that by the way, was my target to begin with!" Robert shouted back. "I'd been chasing him all over the city and would have captured him had he not brought out a giant freaking robot!" "That's right, he did bring out a robot!" Sky retorted. "And even when we had to bring out the Zords, you went off ahead of everyone else and pulled that stunt of yours! Third time you've done that!" Sky ranted, and he wasn't done yet. "And even when the robot blew up, you still directly disobeyed my orders and went after Xenox, alone, AGAIN! I have half a mind to take away your badge and Morpher!" "Go ahead and do that, see if I care! You need to learn that sometimes doing things your own way is part of being a Ranger! There's a reason the others quit, and I think WE all know the reason why!" Robert bellowed, before shoving Sky backwards causing gasps and storming out of the room. He now needed to blow off some steam and he knew the perfect way to do it. Now the rest of B-Squad was definitely staring, and Sky looked at them with a raised eyebrow. Bridge muttered "Awkward..." while everyone else pretended to be doing something. And now there he was, bleeding and very close to death all because he was a fool for charging in and taking on a Duke Org alone and losing his powers because of it. If the Putrids didn't finish him off, the blood loss most certainly would. But then Robert remembered something else from his teachings. Never Give Up. "Never give up. Never give up. I won't run away. I won't run away." Robert chanted to himself and with all of the energy he possessed, not caring about the pain, not about how close to death he was, not about how this planet's inhabitants were misanthropes. He only cared about one thing. Destroying these vile monstrosities that dared harm children. "Alright... (Cough) You... Bastards... (Cough) You wanted a fight? Congratulations, you got ONE! Call to the Beast inside, Free the Fox!" Robert bellowed and using a technique he hadn't used in over a decade, unleashed all of his remaining energy on the Putrids and one very large orange mist like form erupted from his body and annihilated the Putrids, leaving nothing left. Robert, just before he closed his eyes and felt a warm, comforting light like energy overtake him, saw a giant gold and red bird rain down fireball after fireball on a giant sized Barbed Wire Org and destroy it. Now: The Animarium Sunset felt her hooves touch the familiar stone courtyard of the haven in the sky known as the Animarium. It was peace, sanctuary, Heaven on Equus from a time long forgotten. All around her and her fellow Rangers, a jungle sprouted up and various animals made their respective calls from somewhere deep in the jungle. From this very courtyard alone, she could see the Animarium's highest mountain, which had snow covering its very top, and she could see the tall cliff which overlooked everything on the island, with the gigantic red furred and golden maned Red Lion Zord overlooking it's kingdom. Some days, if you were lucky enough to see it when it wasn't in it's cave, there was a Black Lion there instead, but today it was the Red Lion. Elsewhere on the island, she could see the green furred Deer Zord with it's purple eyes and silver antlers watching everything in a resting position from it's perch. As for the Courtyard itself, there were hammocks for sleeping in, and a stone table and benches for conversation and lunches. But the most important feature was the Fountain. Filled with Sacred Water that was poison to an Org, this Fountain would alert, and erupt a column of water whenever there was a new Org on the loose, and Princess Shayla, the caretaker and overseer of this entire sanctuary would alert them to it. "Alright Sunset, that's how you beat an Org!" Lightning chorused. Sunset suddenly shot her a very cold glare that even she didn't know she was capable of. "And what about the human? What ABOUT him?" Sunset asked in fury at Lightning's seeming ability to not give a damn about their fellow Ranger. "Who cares, he could go die in a hole for all I care. He's a human remember, rape and murder you at the first opportunity." Lightning scoffed, and at this Sunset finally lost her temper and her wings ignited in flame and she tackled Lightning into the stone table smashing it in half right down the middle and gripping Lightning's throat as hard as she could. "S-Sunset... What the Tartarus? You of all ponies, Princess's personal student and all, should know what humans are like!" Lightning coughed out, and Sunset released her, once she realized what she was doing and Lightning began gasping for air as Sunset stood over her with Vapor and Sunburst watching with stunned faces on their muzzles. First Princess Celestia flying off the handle, then Luna, now Sunset as well? "He may be a human, and yes I was raised by Princess Celestia since I was a little filly, but I'm also the Princess of Empathy, which means I do have to care for all creatures, no matter what they're like. I truly believe there's good inside everything." Sunset stated before she got in Lightning's face. "Although I'm severely questioning that state of mind with YOU right now." Sunset snarled out. She'd always known Lightning to be a bit of a bitch, but this was a whole new level, even for her. This was downright cold. "H-Hey, speaking of the h-human, where is he?" Sunburst stuttered out nervously. Branches moved from behind them, and there was the sound of twin footsteps. Everyone turned to see a beautiful woman clad in a white dress with a golden necklace resembling a winged creature of some sort with a blue jewel in its center and a ring of blue and white flowers in her brown hair. She was supporting Robert, who had huge gashes in his chest and was bleeding badly. "H-Help me..." Robert gasped out before he collapsed onto the floor, his head thankfully hitting the grass and not the stone of the courtyard. "Rangers." Shayla requested, and Sunset and Vapor immediately rushed over to Robert and picked him up and carried him over to another table and laid him upon it and ripped off what remained of his shirt. Sunset winced and Vapor looked as if she might be sick. "Bandages, quickly." Sunset ordered, and Vapor rushed off to get them while Sunset stared at the other two Wild Force Rangers. "Well, aren't any of you going to get up off your asses and help me here?" She asked, and it wasn't a question. It was an order. "Well, don't look at me. He's only human." Lightning muttered with her arms crossed and Sunburst looked as if he might help, but then remembered all the stories he'd read in the history books about humans and backed away. Sunset grumbled a few curse words to herself and began reciting a healing spell to close up the wounds and stop the bleeding as Vapor returned with towels to dab away at the blood and bandages to cover up the wounds. "Celestia above... That Org really got to him didn't it?" Vapor whispered in horror. "Yeah, and we should have helped. Instead, we just followed Celestia's orders blindly like fools and let him nearly die. Tartarus, he's nowhere near out of the woods yet, so that may very well happen." Sunset growled to herself as Princess Shayla watched silently and sighed sadly. She knew the ponies had bigotry towards humankind, thanks to Animus, but she never knew it was THIS bad that a fellow Ranger would refuse to help another. A tear slipped from her eye at how far the world had fallen. She didn't know how the Orgs had returned, but if she had to ponder a guess, it was the sheer hatred of anything different then themselves that the Ponies held that helped along the cause. "Hey, what happened to his Morpher?" Sunburst asked curiously. "I... I don't know." Sunset answered nervously. "Rangers, observe the Fountain." Shayla said and all four Rangers went over to the Fountain and saw what had happened. Robert found himself blasted backwards by a powerful cannon blast from Artilla, who had suddenly appeared on the battlefield, with the blast being strong enough to knock him out of both MegaBattle Mode and de-morph him sending his SPD Morpher flying out of Robert's hands. With a mighty crunch, Artilla stepped on the Morpher, and Robert's eyes widened as he suddenly found himself powerless. Robert slowly got up off the ground, dripping blood from the tears in his jacket, which he promptly tossed off revealing his ripped and torn green T-Shirt which said "SPD" on it and clenched his fists. "Look at this, a Power Ranger without power! What a joke!" Artilla laughed even as Robert charged at him and drew back his fist landing a powerful punch to Artilla knocking him backwards, if only just a little. "We'll continue this later, Ex-Ranger. My job is done for now. But be warned, if you continue to meddle in the Master's affairs, today's pain will only seem like a spa treatment compared to what I'll put you through!" Artilla warned and turned into a ball of energy and vanished into the sky leaving him alone. "He... He lost his Powers and even then he took on that Duke Org alone." Sunburst stuttered out in shock. "Well, gotta give him props for facing that thing down like a man. Or props for stupidity. Can't decide which." Lightning muttered and Sunset gave her another ice cold look, reminding her she wasn't out of the woods yet and still in deep trouble. "Sorta reminds me of you Lightning." Sunset remarked and Lightning raised an eyebrow. "How so? Bravery in the face of certain death?" "No, stupidity." Sunset deadpanned before observing the singular horn that this new Org had and her eyes widened in shock. "A-A Duke Org? I thought only the regular Orgs were making appearances!" Sunset then stammered in shock at this new revelation and turned to Princess Shayla. Vapor had decided not to make mention of her encounter with Zen-Aku a few days prior, and Lightning, in fear of what Sunset might do to her if she spoke again, kept quiet as well. "I... I..." Shayla stuttered in shock as she pursed her lips. "W-Well, I suppose it was only a matter of time. And if Duke Orgs are appearing... Then that must mean... Oh no." Shayla realized in horror at the implications. Every Ranger turned to her, shocked to see their leader so afraid. "Rangers, I think it's time you know the full story of the Great Battle between humanity and the Orgs. Six thousand years ago, this island was part of the greater landmass, a place of peace and tranquility called Animaria. But then came the Master Org, bringing chaos and pollution with him. He had his faithful generals, Retinax and Nayzor and his Duke Orgs, Jindrax and Toxica by his side. But we had our guardians, the Wild Zords." Shayla narrated as the Fountain showed images of the great battle that followed. Six warriors clad in white robes and silver helmets, each with a Crystal Saber in hand and the Wild Zords, varying from a grey stingray to a brown coyote amongst others like two bears and a blue shark fought off the forces of the Master Org. He was only describable as a monster, with a pure black body and a horn making up his head with spikes jutting out of the back. Battles raged, and various Zords fell. Then THEY came. Ten Wild Zords, more powerful than the rest. A giant black bat, the Phoenix Zord and it's counterpart the aqua and silver Thunderbird, a purple giant sperm whale and a creature resembling a fox clouded in smoke, alongside a red Sawtooth shark, a blue and gold Condor, a golden Jaguar and a brown Buffalo. Leading them into battle was a Black Lion, which swiftly merged with the Sawtooth, Condor, Buffalo and Jaguar to form the Lord of the Wild Zords, Animus. He lead these Zords in battle, only for them to fall one by one at the hands of the Master Org. And then, finally, Animus himself fell. "We... We at that point had lost all hope, and the five Wild Zords descended from Animus, the Lion, the Shark, the Tiger, the Eagle, and the Bison and myself were lifted up into the sky along with the Animarium to keep myself and the legacy of the Wild Zords safe from the Master's tainted touch. "So... So how did you win?" "It was because of him. Merrick Baliton, who had put on a cursed wolf mask and awakened the three dark Wild Zords, the Wolf, Alligator and Hammerhead." Shayla continued "Evil Spirit of the Wolf, fill me with your absolute power!" "The Predazord was formed and Master Org was defeated. But at a great cost. Merrick became Zen-Aku, and had to be sealed away, entombed for the next 3,000 years." "How... How did he escape?" Vapor asked curiously, wanting to know more about her friend. "That... That is a story for another time." Shayla said, and Vapor could swear she saw a tear drip from the Princess's eyes. "But... But if the Legendary Wild Zords were destroyed, how could they be with us now?" Sunset questioned, gripping her Phoenix crystal tightly. "At the end of the final battle with the Second Master Org, a man known once by the name of Dr. Viktor Adler, all of the Wild Zords, even those long thought extinct returned and destroyed him. Your Wild Zords must have been among them." Shayla explained and once more the Fountain showed a series of images. All the Rangers took it in, and eyes widened. They now understood the burden that they faced, the power of the Orgs, and each gripped their respective crystal tightly, remembering how they'd found it. Sunset had found hers while she was looking around in the Castle of the Two Sisters with Twilight, and felt an energy calling out to her. Lightning, while soaring through the skies above Appleloosa, felt an energy calling out to her from a cave in a mountain. Sunburst, whilst in the Crystal Empire, found his embedded inside a crystal in the area known as the Forest of Crystals. As for Vapor, a pained look came across her face. She hadn't found hers, it was given to her. "When... When should I tell them that I wasn't destined for this burden? That somepony else was? And when should I let the others know about Zen-Aku?" She thought sadly and heard Shayla's voice in her head. "Whenever you feel the time is right, My Little Leviathan." Shayla said comfortingly and meanwhile Sunset's gaze found itself drifting to the now unconscious Robert, still resting on the table and prayed to whatever deity was listening for him to pull through. And a male voice answered. "Do not fear Little Firebird. He will pull through, but you must be with him to help him face the challenges ahead. ALL of you, and yes that does include Lightning. Otherwise, he may fall to darkness and lose hope for what he must protect... And if that happens, then the Orgs will have already won." Author's Note So, longest chapter yet and all you really get is an exposition dump. Of course, a lot of this is probably needed as I know I do have some readers who aren't up to speed with certain seasons of Power Rangers. Mind you, in the final battle with Master Org I did take a few liberties as obviously the five Legendary Beasts weren't there, but everything else pretty much comes from the show's flashbacks. Also, more importantly, we get Robert's backstory and why he decided to become a Power Ranger in the first place. (Bet you weren't expecting to see Theo and TJ, were you?) Plus, we learn one half of his nationality, and that he trained for a short while at the Pai Zhau School and his animal spirit, which is another hint of foreshadowing for his future Ranger powers. (If anyone thinks Robert's a bit of a Gary Stu at this point, let me know) Also, we learn a bit more about the four existing Rangers. On that note, originally I was going to have Sunset going to be mistrustful of Robert from the start, but let's face it, after Princess Celestia, do we really want another OOC character? Anyways, the next few chapters will focus on the existing Rangers and Robert getting himself coming to terms with his newfound situation and eventually learning the full truth about where he is, or rather when...
Part 6: Ancient Powers Unleashed! Battle at the Ponyville Hydroelectric Dam! Help them, Galaxy! Ponyville Hydroelectric Dam "Hi-Yah!" A muscular black furred pony with bat wings and wearing dark indigo armor with golden highlights shouted as he kicked a Putrid into a bank of computers, sending sparks flying from the computers once the Putrid hit. But as of course with these things, he wasn't alone. There were at least fifty more Putrids where the first came from, and that wasn't counting the org that led them. On his shoulders, he had electric tesla coils, and one half of him was yellow and black and the other half was pure grey and had an arm that ended in a plug, with his twin horned head being connected to red and black cables. He looked like he had two sets of feet as well, one set on top of the other for each leg. "Once I put this place into overdrive, Ponyville will be without power for weeks to come!" Plug Org laughed and fired a blast of lightning at the Captain of the Night Guard, Galaxy Swirls and he deflected it with his black and blue scythe, Blood Moon. "Sorry, but that's not going to happen! I'm going to cut you up and feed to my heart's content!" Galaxy Swirls retorted, (Evidently nopony had given the blood loving and possibly psychopathic Thestral the memo that Orgs didn't bleed) and swung his scythe above his head as an image of a red moon appeared behind him and his eyes glowed a demonic gold color. "Blood Moon Slash!" Galaxy roared and unleashed an arc of red energy at the Plug Org, cutting down a few Putrids in the process but the Plug Org raised his arms and created a lightning shield to block the energy arc. Plug Org laughed his head off, much to Galaxy's frustration. "You think a puny attack like that will stop an Org? Think again!" Plug Org chuckled and fired a blast of yellow lightning at Galaxy knocking him through a wall and into another room full of machinery with the Putrids swarming the Captain but he punched, kicked and bit his way out of the hoard. Galaxy shuddered at the taste of Putrid blood, it tasted like a combination of pollution and sewer water. Not something he'd want to try again, that was for sure. "Shining, please tell me you're close to my position!" Galaxy yelled into his headset. No such luck, the Captain of the Royal Guard and Prince of the Crystal Empire was currently in the middle of fighting off what could be described as bird like monsters with parrot like beaks, crow's wings and colored black and purple. He slashed at one only for another to appear behind him and he bashed it away with his shield, which had his Cutie Mark of a blue shield with a pink six pointed star emblazoned on it. "Sorry man, no such luck, but these bird things have got me pinned! So for right now, you're on your own." Shining replied back as he sliced down another of the bird like creatures. "Great... Just Bucking Great... Oh well, more carnage for me then." Galaxy mused cheerfully to himself as Plug Org closed in. "Heh heh heh, looks to me like there's about to be one less Captain of the Guard for the Master Org to worry about!" Plug Org chuckled but to his surprise, Galaxy simply smirked, showing off his fanged maw. "Think you might want to do a re-count. After all, I can't just go up and die now can't I and leave my fiancé in mourning?" Galaxy joked darkly before holding out a stone grey crystal. "Graphite Energem, Activate! Unleash the Power!" Morphing Sequence Begin Galaxy stood in a pure black zone with the head of a grey and white pachycephalosaurus. As he spun a yellow and black pistol with the face of a dinosaur and green glowing eyes in his hand, he rotated its six shooter like round chamber and fired upwards creating a stone grey pachycephalosaurus' head that circled above him as his body was coated in white. Finally the head came down and he was coated, with a chomping sound effect, in a stone grey spandex suit with silver spiky shoulder armor on the left shoulder, dark blue arms and yellow and black fanged teeth on his suit and with another chomping sound, a helmet resembling that of a pachycephalosaurus appeared on him with a pure black face mask with teeth being the only added detail on it. Morphing Sequence End Org Cavern Needless to say, the Master Org was un-amused with this new player in the game. "WHAT!?!" He roared, his entire body glowing red. "Another Ranger? Just how many of those multicolored baboons are out there now?" "Uh... Five?" Artilla answered stupidly, and was blasted into an Org totem for his troubles by the Master Org's weapon, a gold and bronze crescent moon shaped staff with a red orb in the center. "Shut up! I wasn't asking for your opinion!" The Master Org snapped as he thought to himself. "Orgs, they don't have hearts, that's true enough but some it seems, were born without brains as well." Back at the Ponyville Hydroelectric Dam In his new form, the Graphite Ranger slashed through the hoard of Putrids leaving behind grey energy arcs with each slash and he jumped upwards and spun like a tornado in mid-air and dealt several powerful slashes towards the Plug Org before landing behind him and calling out "Power Slash!" and swinging his sword downwards in a powerful arc and hitting the Plug Org in the back. The org turned a full 180 degrees to face him and launched another lightning blast from his hand and Galaxy blocked it with his sword but the org took a chance to flee. Galaxy chased after it through passageways and stairwells and eventually the two were on top of the Dam. "Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide." Galaxy smirked viciously with a sadistic tone in his voice as he approached the org, sword in hand. The Plug Org looked upwards and saw a silvery grenade flying towards him. "Oh really? Who says I have to hide..." KABOOM!" "...When I can just stomp you flat? Look at me, I've gone into overdrive!" Plug Org said as he now towered over the Hydroelectric Dam and raised his plug arm to the sky sending lightning bolts raining down all around Galaxy Swirls causing small explosions to erupt all around him... The Animarium Back on the floating island known as the Animarium, Sunset Shimmer watched in concern as Robert lay upon the stone table, the movements of his bandaged chest the only sign he was still alive. Sunset walked over to him and stroked his forehead and whispered "I'm so sorry for what's been done to you, and our part in it. You didn't deserve this." Sunset suddenly noticed a small amulet around his neck. She moved in for a closer look and saw that it was in the shape of a small stone fox with a painted red scarf around its neck with the whole amulet designed in the Neighponiese art style. "Huh, wonder what that's about? I'll have to ask him if-No, when he wakes up. He's just got to. Just got to..." Sunset mused, never noticing the small tears trickling down her cheeks nor the fox glow with an orange light. Back at the Ponyville Hydroelectric Dam Galaxy cried out "Royal Dino Punch!" and pulled back his fist before letting it loose causing an energy mace to appear from his hands and punch the now giant sized org but to little, if any effect. "Is that the best you've got?" Plug Org laughed derisively. Galaxy smirked under his helmet. "I don't know, why don't you see for yourself?" He asked sarcastically and opened up his pachycephalosaurus themed belt buckle to reveal three battery like devices. He picked the third one and threw it and the Dino Charger flew all the way through mountains and forests till it reached a waterfall and inside the waterfall in a cave was a grey Zord resembling a pachycephalosaurus with a wrecking ball atop it's head. Once it accepted the Charger, the Zord's eyes opened and the Wrecking Ball flipped off it's head and the chain it was attached to un-straightened out and became loose and free-flowing as the Zord ran out of the cave, it's wrecking ball tall trailing behind it. Soon it had reached the sight of the battle and leaped from hilltop to hilltop before jumping and swinging it's entire tail around to hit the Org in the face with it's Wrecking Ball. It swung again, but this time the Wrecking Ball was caught in the Org's hands. Suddenly, there was a loud screech and from out of the skies appeared a yellow eagle with green eyes and yellow and white wings which unleashed a barrage of energy balls just by flapping it's wings. Nearby, the Purple Leviathan Ranger had teleported down to meet up with the Graphite Dino Charge Ranger. "Need a hand?" "No!" Galaxy snapped back stubbornly as another barrage of lightning hit, soundly proving him wrong. "Huh, seems like you've got the situation well in hand to me." Vapor observed dryly as she picked herself up off the ground. "...Alright, but what can you do that my Zord can't?" Galaxy challenged. "Uh, fly?" Vapor asked sarcastically. Suddenly, they both heard a male voice in their heads. "Rangers, now is not the time to fight. You must work out your differences later and work together now to defeat this Org." The mental voice admonished and both Rangers shared a look. "I've got an idea, follow my lead!" Vapor shouted as the Eagle Zord picked up the Pachy Zord in it's claws and did a series of barrel rolls to avoid the lightning blasts before flying high into the sky and dropping the Pachy Zord and the grey pachycephalosaurus themed zord did several flips in midair and then with a powerful swing of it's tail hit the Plug Org with tremendous force causing it to stumble backwards before falling over and exploding. "Org... Extinct!" Galaxy shouted as the fireball rose high in the sky behind him and Vapor. END Author's Note Okay, so this time around we get introduced to this universe's version of Galaxy Swirls and we learn that he's the Graphite Dino Charge Ranger. I figured this only appropriate as in the original Dino Charge series, the Graphite Ranger was of royal blood, and in The Return of Doctor Whooves, Galaxy was a noble so the transition only made sense. I also want to point out that right now, Galaxy is the only Dino Charge Ranger in existence, so no other Dino Zords are out and about. Also, he won't show up in Ranger Form often, only appearing every so often to help out when the situation with an Org is at it's most dire. Also, before I forget, (Again) here's the trailers for the newest Super Sentai Series. Opinions?
Part 7: The Legacies We Leave Behind Vanhoover: Harbor District, an hour before the previous chapter... Vapor sighed as she fingered her purple double eighth note pendent and looked out over the bay. The sun was setting, casting orange and red glows across the horizon. While the view in her opinion still didn't compare to that of looking at the sunset from her home town of Stratusburg, it still was exquisite to look out at. Vapor shivered at the cold evening winds blowing off the waters and remembered the last time she was here. "Lightning, please get over here quick. Please... Wait, what's that?" At about that moment she heard a very eerie noise, it sounded like a flute being played. It was very haunting, and yet in some ways rather calming as well. Vapor didn't honestly know which of the feelings she was feeling at that very moment. Torn between the two, she decided to be on the safe side. "Legendary Wild Access!" Vapor shouted and was transformed, with a purple flash of energy, into a ranger, wearing a costume much like Sunset's, but with a few differences. For one thing, the most obvious difference was that it was a purple color, and instead of a phoenix's head, the helmet was styled after a sperm whale, and instead of a setting sun on her right breast, there was Vapor Trail's Cutie Mark of a shooting star. "Come out, show yourself!" Vapor shouted, feeling much more confident now that she was morphed. And then the being finally decided to show itself. Seemingly leaping from the moon itself was a dark figure with a wolfish face, two glowing yellow eyes that seemed to pierce right through your very soul and had one pure black horn. The figure landed almost silently directly in front of Vapor, who was frozen in fear. She knew what the one horn meant. Here, directly in front of her was a Duke Org, the ones who led the Orgs into battle and only one rank below the Org Generals. "A young mare such as yourself shouldn't be out here alone at this time of night, who knows what you might run into." The Duke Org said in a surprisingly friendly way. Nervously, Vapor reached for her Crystal Saber and pointed it at the Duke Org. "I'm not afraid of you!" Vapor yelled, though her voice betrayed her feelings. "Now now, is that any way to treat a friend?" The Duke Org questioned even as he rested a black crescent moon like blade on his left shoulder. "You and I... We're both actually on the same side, believe it or not." Vapor was stunned beyond words. An Org, a Duke Org at that, saying that they were both on the exact same side? It didn't make sense! "...Of course, knowing how you ponies treat anything that's different than you... Well, I wouldn't be surprised to find out you don't believe a word I'm saying. Hell, 3,000 years ago, I wouldn't have believed a word I was saying. Well, not before HIM anyways..." The Duke Org trailed off, seemingly lost in his own memories. "Who, and what are you Zen-Aku? You look like a Org, and yet you're perfectly willing to kill your own kind... And who was that HE you mentioned?" Vapor pondered to herself as she once again flash-backed to her encounter with the wolf like Duke Org and him defending her. "Oh goody, a Ranger and a traitor to our kind in one blow! Today must be my lucky day!" Turbine Org laughed even as the Duke Org growled and picked himself up off the concrete with Vapor doing the same. "You don't seem to know who you're dealing with. Then again, you low level scum were always stupid." The Duke Org mused before picking his blade up off the ground and its two tips extended with clicking sounds before he shouted "CRESCENT WAVE!" The Duke Org fired off several glowing yellow crescents of energy at Turbine Org smashing him into the containers denting the sides of them... Then, just as the sun set fully over the horizon and day changed to night, a head peeked out of the peaceful black waters as they lapped against the docksides. It was mostly silver on top of it's forehead, but had green eyes and from the lower half of the head down all the way to the back tail fin, it was purple. Streamlined and sleek, you could almost mistake it for a sperm whale, if not for the colors and it being tremendously oversized. This was the Legendary Leviathan Zord. It let out a low, mournful hum as it's eyes narrowed in on Vapor's pendant. "You miss him, don't you? I miss him too." Vapor said softly, with a tear dripping from her eye as she pressed down on her pendent, and snippet of it's original owner's and the Leviathan Zord's favorite song began to play. Wind-chimes and acoustic guitars began to play, and a violin joined in soon after. "...Go black water, keep on rollin', Mississippi moon won't you keep shining on me, go black water, keep on rollin', Mississippi moon won't you keep shining on me..." Vapor sung and the Leviathan's hums began to change as it sung along in tune before the song's snippet ended due to Vapor shutting it off, unable to listen to it anymore due to the painful memories it brought back to her. "I wasn't destined for this, you and I both know it." Vapor said sadly as she shook her head. "When should I tell them? That I wasn't destined for this burden? They all think I was the one you chose, but I wasn't, was I?" Vapor then turned her head upwards to the sky and asked "I've... I've never been much one for praying but you know the answer to this don't you? So... So, please, I'm begging you, give me a sign of some sort." softly in a prayer and waited for a few minutes to receive an answer, but got none. Vapor chuckled sadly to herself. "Figures, I should know by now that I'll never get the answer to what I want will I?" Then her Growl Phone rang and Vapor answered it to the sound of Princess Shayla's voice. "Vapor, there's a new Org on the loose at the Ponyville Hydroelectric Dam. You must stop it!" Shayla's worried tone said before a yellow orb descended from the sky and landed in Vapor's palm, revealing it to be a yellow Animal Crystal with an eagle inside it. "Take this, you'll need it. The Eagle has chosen you, use it's powers wisely." Shayla's voice said before she "Hung up" and Vapor smiled sadly as she turned back to her Zord. "We'll finish this conversation tomorrow night, like I promise we will every night." Vapor told her Zord as it dived beneath the waves leaving no trace that it was ever there in the first place as Vapor raised her Growl Phone to her ear and called out her morphing call. "Legendary Wild Access!" In Robert's Head Robert walked around in a daze, finding himself in the long red gate covered pathways leading up to the Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine on Mt. Inari in his home country of Japan. He'd been here many times when he was off-duty from SPD, searching for answers when he needed them, so he knew the path well. Question was, what was he doing here? "Okay, even by Ranger experiences this is strange. And that's saying quite a lot." Robert mused to himself, he remembered all the strange experiences various ranger teams had gone through over the years, from being trapped in different dimensions of all sorts, to crossing through the Devil's Triangle on a Flying Dutchman like ghost ship to reach the island of Muranthias to even dying and coming back to life. But this, as Robert would soon learn might just top them all. "Become a Ranger, defeat monsters and confine evil alien criminals. Well, they didn't tell you about this part of the job did they? I give a big bloody Arigatō, Lord." Robert stated sarcastically. "What a wundervolle experience. Yes, Genki desu. Arigatō." He was still being sarcastic at that point, if you hadn't guessed. During this point, he'd also noticed something else. His wounds, they were completely healed. No blood or anything, and his vision was completely fine. He should be dead. Hell, for all he knew he WAS dead and this was him traveling up the pathway to Heaven. And so he continued walking, thinking on the life he'd lead so far. "Not exactly much of one. Didn't do a whole lot of good aside from confining a few criminals and blowing up a few robots with Megazords, which was, admittedly, pretty cool. But at the same time, constantly getting into fights, I was. Ignoring orders, going off on my own. Ha, I may have the spirit of the Fox, but I think the Wolf suits me better. Hai, that sounds about right." Robert mused as he continued walking up the path and then the scene changed. He was now at the Pai Zhua School in its training courtyard, and instead of his ripped SPD shirt, he was wearing his old training garb, a medium blue training gi with a claw symbol on it. In front of him was his old Master, Theo, AKA the Jungle Fury Blue Ranger. "T-Theo, what the bloody fuck are you doing here?" Robert stuttered out. "You've forgotten your training. It's time to re-learn it." Theo said simply before morphing with a flash of blue light and taking a fighting stance, with Robert taking one of his own. They traded blows just as they shouted in unison "Call to the Beast inside, Free the Fox!" and "Call to the Beast inside, Free the Jaguar!" and their respective animals spirits traded blows just as their owners fought each other. Robert threw a punch, but Theo caught it and kicked him in the stomach causing Robert to fly back but he rebounded off a pillar and kicked Theo in the head with a roundhouse kick. Theo spun like a top and slashed at him with the in-built claws on his suit before hitting him with a judo kick making Robert stumble backwards before he hit Theo with a side kick and then a punch to the face but was then knocked to the floor with a pounce like maneuver from Theo. Unbeknownst to the two fighters, a dark blue furred figure watched. "He's losing, and yet he still fights on. This human... The one with the Fox Spirit will not give up." Luna mused to herself and felt her heart beat just a bit faster as Robert was grabbed by the leg and then thrown to the ground below him. Robert snarled and got back up but was then hit by a powerful axe kick causing him to stagger. "You've lost." Theo chuckled. "Give in, and I'll stop this beatdown." "No... I never give up. I never give in. You're not Theo, the real one knows me far too well to just ask me to give in." Robert smirked before he turned into an orange flash and then was in front of Theo knocking him backwards with a powerful misty orange energy laced punch just as his Fox Spirit took down Theo's Jaguar. At once, the scene (And Robert's attire) changed again and Robert found himself inside the SPD Headquarter's briefing room. In front of him was... Well, him, clad in his Green Ranger suit. "Okay, now this is getting ridiculous." Robert mused before he stepped forwards (Now wearing his SPD jacket) with a cheery grin on his face and said "Sorry I'm late to the party, got caught up in some Kung-Fu fighting. Those kicks of mine, fast as lightning." "You lost my powers, now you shall lose your life as punishment." Robert's double told him in a twisted, distorted version of his own voice. It was quite creepy if Robert was to be honest with himself. They traded blows all around the room, with the Green SPD Ranger punching him into Cruger's chair and Robert quickly leapt out of it before he could get punched again and the chair toppled over. In the doorway, unseen, Luna still observed. "He's dying, and he doesn't know it, and yet he still fights on. I wonder, if he knew he was dying would he fight as hard as he is now?" Luna wondered to herself as Robert dodged a few laser blasts from his double's Delta Blaster. Robert rebounded off a computer terminal and leaped over his double's head with a flip and landed behind him with his double whirling around to face him and reaching for his Delta Blaster only to find it not in his holster. "WHAT!?!" "Didn't you ever hear, foxes are quite the tricksters?" Robert asked in a sarcastic tone before revealing HE had the Delta Blaster and he let loose a few blasts knocking his double into a computer terminal. Luna chuckled. "I have to admit, that was pretty good." Luna mused as her heartbeat raced. She noticed. "What's... What's this strange feeling? No... That can't be it. I can't be falling for him... Can I?" Luna asked herself as the scene changed once more and again Robert found himself in on the pathway leading up to the Inari Shrine, this time with the Blue Jungle Fury Ranger and the Green SPD Ranger in front of him. Robert took a fighting stance, but relaxed when he realized they meant him no harm. "You've proven you have the courage to fight even when powerless. But that's not all." Theo said before Robert's double spoke. "You weren't just fighting us. You were fighting for your life." He said, and a glowing golden key with the head of a fox appeared in front of Robert. "What... What do I do with this?" Robert asked in a stunned tone of voice. Theo put a hand on his shoulder. "You'll know when the time comes. And Robert, I've never been more proud." Theo said before everything faded to white... (To Be Continued...) Author's Note Okay, so yes, I know this is an adaption of the Dino Thunder episode Fighting Spirit, but honesty, I couldn't think much else to do with this chapter. Anyways, here we learn more, if not much of Vapor's guilt on the mysterious circumstances surronding her and her being the second Leviathan Ranger and her pondering more on the mystery that is Zen-Aku. Plus, we finally get to see her Zord. Also, in this chapter we learn Robert's full nationality, Japanese/UK English/German. Have you guessed who he's an expy of yet? If you have, keep it to yourself until I unveil the full joke. Anyways, Robert conquers, well, himself, and gets a mysterious key. Also, he doesn't know it yet, although he will sooner or later, that Luna's in love with him. Oh boy... (Kuso, you have no idea the lengths I had to go through just to find the Japanese phrases and their translations. To say nothing of the fighting moves used for Robert and Theo's fight. What a pain in the ass that was.)
Part 8: Back to the Waking World The Animarium Robert groaned out in pain as his vision slowly came into focus. It was nighttime on the Animarium and the moon was high in the sky as clouds cleared away. He could smell the smell of freshly fallen rain on leaves and could hear the sound of frogs croaking out their songs. He could also hear a song playing. Robert's eyes widened and he smiled as he recognized the notes and the singer singing out "...Broken bottles under children's feet, Bodies strewn across the dead end street. But I won't heed the battle call, It puts my back up, Puts my back up against the wall..." and saw the pony he had heard referred to as Sunburst fiddling with his phone as the song continued. "...Sunday, Bloody Sunday Sunday, Bloody Sunday Sunday, Bloody Sunday..." "W-Were humans really this violent?" Sunburst asked himself, not knowing the phone's owner had awoken. "It... It was a very troubled time." Robert told him, and Sunburst jumped nearly ten feet in the air in surprise and fear not realizing Robert was awake and Robert rolled his eyes and muttered "Pathetic..." to himself and clutched his chest in pain and made a groaning sound as Princess Shayla walked in and smiled on seeing Robert up and about... Well, as much as up and about as Robert could be at the current point. "Oh, Robert, I hadn't realized you had awoken." Shayla said kindly and Robert chuckled. "Neither did he, apparently." Robert replied dryly as he gestured to Sunburst before groaning in pain once again. "Best you don't move quite yet. You've got a few cracked ribs... among other things." "Wow, and here I thought it was just my pride that was wounded." Robert remarked sarcastically as Sunburst clutched his chest to get his heart rate back to normal. "So how long have I been asleep?" "About a week, if I had to venture a guess." Shayla said. Robert's eyes widened. A week? It didn't seem like a week when he was in his dream. In the background somewhere, a wolf howled at the moon. Merrick's Wolf Zord, Robert knew and then he saw the distinct gold and aquamarine form of the Condor Zord fly overhead. "It was touch and go for a while, we didn't think you'd make it." Shayla continued. "Boy, bet Princess Dick-With-Wings-And-Horn would have loved to have heard about that." Robert remarked, still in sarcasm mode. "We... We didn't fill her in." Sunset's voice said as she walked into the temple, wearing just her pyjamas, which consisted of just grey sleep pants and a yellow bra. Robert blushed red and tried to look away, but found that hard to do. He was a man, not a saint, after all. Sunset noted Robert eying her, despite how hard he was trying not to and grabbed Robert's jacket, which happened to be nearby and covered herself up with it. "You know, ponies might start talking if you start wearing my clothes." Robert snarked and Sunset rolled her eyes. "...Hell, bet it would piss Princess Dick-With-Wings-And-Horn off more if she thought we were sleeping together. Hey, maybe we should do that, just for fun." Robert said in a tone that made it impossible to tell if he was being serious or not. Sunset just glared at him. "You know, maybe you should remove that stick that's seemingly stuck up your arse. Might do you a world of good if you started taking things less seriously, like me." Robert remarked. Sunset glared at him some more. "Listen you, I have to be the serious one around here, and keep the rest of these idiots in line (Here she shot a look towards Sunburst that said "No offence") otherwise the Orgs will kill us all." Sunset replied sternly as her greenish eyes pierced Robert's own. "So, it might help if you started taking things seriously. Might keep this incident from happening again. Just a thought." As much as Robert wanted to retort a snarky comeback, he had to admit she had somewhat of a point. He just wasn't going to admit it. "...Okay, so that stick is staying there for the time being." Robert replied back in turn and muttered to himself "Geez, Tsundere much?" Sunset's expression turned softer as she picked Robert's fox themed necklace off a table and eyed it. "Knew that would catch your eyes, it always does with the women. Given to me by my uncle Burai on my seventeenth birthday for luck." Robert commented cheerfully before his tone became more grim as he mused to himself "...Yeah, and look how my life has turned out so far. Not very lucky. Joined SPD for three months, get reprimanded constantly, then get shot to a misanthropic world and nearly killed by an Org and lose my Ranger powers in the process by being a baka. Some luck. Dōmo arigatō, Lord." Sunset laid a hand on his shoulder even as he winced in pain and she quickly whispered an apology towards him as Robert looked skywards and thought "Yep, definitely Tsundere." to himself. "Listen, I don't know how, but we'll get your Ranger powers back and get you connected to the Morphin' Grid again. It'll just take time." Sunset said softly, in a kind tone of voice. "Speaking of Rangers, where's the rest of your merry bunch?" "Well, Lightning and Vapor Trail are at Wonderbolts practice, so it's just me and Sunburst here, although I have to leave in a bit to start my daily Princess duties." Sunset explained. Robert raised an eyebrow at the term "Wonderbolts" and looked at her questioningly. "Stunt flying team." Sunset clarified and conjured up a poster of the lead Captain, Spitfire, who was a mare with spiky flaming red and amber hair and wearing a VERY formfitting blue flight suit (Robert drooled a little bit, with Sunset noticing and facepalming and muttering to herself "Pervert...") with yellow lightning detailing. Robert chuckled and muttered "So, flying anthromorphic pony versions of the Blue Angels then." This time Sunset was the one to look at him questioningly. "Blue Angels?" She asked, and Robert gestured for Sunburst to give him his phone. Sunburst nervously handed it to him and Robert brought up an internet search (How he was able to even get internet for his phone on the Animarium was something Robert would ponder for months to come afterwards) for the Blue Angels. This is what he found. Sunset's eyes widened at the tricks displayed in the thirty minute video. The close flying techniques, the stunts and even the machines themselves weren't that far off from the things the Wonderbolts did at their air shows. Robert smirked at her impressed look. "Knew you'd like it, I'll admit the Americans are bad at... well, most everything really, but they can sure put on a show. Very good at that sort of thing." Robert commented offhandedly, still wearing that smug smile. "Listen, I got to be going. Royal Princess of Empathy duties and all, you just get better okay?" Sunset said kindly before teleporting away in a gold and red flash of light. "...Oh, I do hope she doesn't plan on keeping that jacket of mine. Really would be bloody rude of her if she did." Robert remarked lightly. One Week Later... A week passed, and soon Robert was healed up enough to be up and walking around. He could often be found walking around the Animarium shirtless and bandaged up. He took in the sights of the flying paradise and its resident Zords. He could see why Princess Shayla almost never left the island. After all, why would you want to, what with its massive jungles, infinite variations of wildlife and great lakes and soaring peaks, not to mention the Wild Zords themselves. Everyday, it seemed like he found a new one, from the brown Coyote Zord, the black Frog Zord, the blue Antelope Zord to the yellow Owl and white Swan Zords. But as always in nature, it came time for fox pups to leave their dens, and Robert's time was coming soon... "You could stay here you know, it would be a refuge for you from the cruelties of the world below." Princess Shayla had said. "The first Wild Force Rangers practically lived here as well, and they had no problem with it." "Yeah, but I'm not them." Robert argued. "And besides, they didn't stay here all the time. They had lives to live as well. I can't just stay here knowing Orgs are out and about and do nothing, I'd never forgive myself and I'd probably go stir-crazy as well." "He's right, and he has to be down there, it's where he belongs." Sunset had put in. "But the ponies, they will be cruel to him. I'm not sure he has what it takes to withstand their words and prejudices. Plus, he's powerless against the Orgs!" Shayla responded. "Yes, they will be cruel, but not all of them. He has me looking out for him, and Vapor as well, as well as the Prince of the Crystal Empire, Captain Shining Armor, plus there's Sparkler and her family after he saved her, remember that? And he has his training, he can defend himself against Org and pony alike, even without his powers, which we have HIM working on to regain besides." Sunset put in. She still remembered Animus's words to her two weeks before. "Do not fear Little Firebird. He will pull through, but you must be with him to help him face the challenges ahead. ALL of you, and yes that does include Lightning. Otherwise, he may fall to darkness and lose hope for what he must protect... And if that happens, then the Orgs will have already won." She knew Animus had a point, Robert couldn't stay on the island forever. It just wasn't where he belonged. Plus, she had suspicions Animus had plans, like all Gods did as they moved in mysterious ways, for Robert, even if she didn't know what they were just yet. "Alright... In that case, he may go." Shayla sighed, finally admitting defeat. Sunset smirked. As Robert prepared to be teleported, Sunset led him away into the brush. "What, a quick one before we go?" Robert had snarkily remarked. Sunset rolled her eyes, used to the human's flirtations by now. She moved aside some ferns. "Found this near where Twilight found you. Thought it might be yours." Sunset said, and revealed Robert's prized Ford Mustang, a bit dinged and scratched up in its paintwork, but those could be fixed with time and money. Robert's face lit up with joy and he rubbed his hands on its hood and caressed it as he whispered "Hello Baby, daddy's come home and I won't let anyone or anything harm you, not again." Sunset rolled her eyes and muttered "Boys and their toys..." as Robert and his car were teleported away in white flashes of light down to the ground below. As for what would happen when he reached that particular spot, only Animus knew and he wasn't keen on offering answers really. So Sunset just had to hope and pray that nothing too horrible would happen. It was all she could do, after all. END Author's Note Okay, so Robert's finally awake and active again after a week of lying around. Of course, now it's time for him to face the brave new world and it's cruelties. Plus, he had his first real interaction with Sunset Shimmer, who promises to get his powers back... somehow. And we learn the Wild Force Rangers have a mysterious benefactor who knows the inner workings of the Morphin' Grid. Any guesses, anyone? Also, we see more Wild Zords, including Merrick's (Well, it's back in Zen-Aku's paws now, but only Animus knows about that.) and we learn Robert has a an uncle named Burai. And for you Super Sentai fans, yes, it's THAT Burai. (There are other Super Sentai related jokes here as well, see if you can catch them.) Anyways, next time, Robert faces Ponyville... Okay, now translations for the various words Robert's sprouted off in the past few chapters: Baka: Idiot Dōmo arigatō: Thank you very much Arigatō: Thank you Genki desu: Good or so-so Hai: Yes Tsundere: Tsundere is a Japanese character development process that describes a person who is initially cold and even hostile towards another person before gradually showing their warm side over time. The word is derived from the terms tsun tsun, meaning to turn away in disgust, and dere dere meaning to become 'lovey dovey'. Source: Wikipedia Wunderbar/Wundervolle: Wonderful Mein Gott: My God Schlechtesten: Worst Okay, opinions on this chapter, and what you'd like to see in future chapters will be very much appreciated. Comments are my meat and potatoes after all.
Part 9: Welcome to Ponyville (Part 1) The morning sun rose over the small country town of Ponyville, and it cast an orangish red glow over the surrounding grass fields, farmlands, forests and woodland. A rooster crowed to break the news that it was time for everypony to get up and start the day. All over town, ponies were waking up, stretching their limbs and pulling on their clothes, unaware that a change was coming. A change that would reverberate throughout the lands, stretching all the way from this small town in Equestria all the way to the unforgiving deserts of Saddle Arabia. And it would all start with one simple man, a man named Robert Williams, stripped of his power and cut off from the Morphin' Grid and hated by Princess Celestia herself, Sol Invictus of the Solar Body and raiser of the Sun, the undefeated champion and the being known and feared by the Griffin Kingdom as the Burning Sun, a title earned during the infamous Griffin/Pony Wars and loved by the Princess of the Night and Lunar Bodies, former bearer of the Nightmare Spirit and the Dreamwalker, the Lunar Invictus, Princess Luna. The morning silence that the quiet town of Ponyville was used to was soon broken by a rumbling noise as a green monstrosity, a carriage without horses rumbled across the landscape with its driver in firm control and weaving through the apple orchards of Sweet Apple Acres swerving between rocks, trees and stumps with a song blaring from Robert's phone. "Way down in Georgia, the girls are fine, With legs so long, they'll blow your mind..." The song's singer chorused with roaring guitars accompanying it and Robert laughed as he gunned the engine and rumbled past a selection of trees before pulling a sharp right turn and smashing through a stack of hay barrels sending them flying every which way. In a nearby house, an orange furred pony with a blond mane tied in a ponytail and with freckles on her face peeked out her bedroom window after quickly throwing on some clothes (No sense in everypony seeing her underwear, after all) to see what all the commotion was about. "What in the name of...?" Applejack wondered to herself as she saw Robert tearing up the grounds of Sweet Apple Acres in his "Baby" before she snarled. "Vandalism, eh? Ain't nopony gettin' away with that on mah watch!" Applejack exclaimed and went for her shotgun and took a few shots at Robert putting a few bullet holes in the side of his right side car door. Needless to say, he noticed. "Wondered how long it'd be before the locals noticed what I was up to. Seems I've overstayed my welcome, eh?" Robert smirked to himself before he tore off down the dirt road leading to Ponyville proper and left Sweet Apple Acres in the dust with Applejack shouting after him and taking a few more shots at him for good measure. "And don't come back, ya hear!?!" Applejack exclaimed before firing off one more shot before she realized Robert was well out of range and sighed to herself. A few minutes later, Robert received a call on his phone from Sunset. "Robert, why did I just receive a complaint from my good friend Applejack that you was tearing up her family's farmlands in your... thing?" Sunset asked in an annoyed tone of voice, not knowing what to call Robert's car. Predictably, Robert didn't answer and Sunset sighed as she guessed why Robert was doing what he was doing. "...You're just doing that to intentionally piss her off aren't you?" Sunset sighed in resignation. "Yeah, hopefully her friend Twilight will come so I can punch her in the face for shooting me in the back and dragging me before Princess-Dick-With-Wings-And-Horn and nearly getting rendered to ashes in the process." Robert answered, having been informed by Sunset about the Elements of Harmony and their strong friendship. "Vandalism, really? Weren't you supposed to be a police officer?" Sunset questioned as Robert headed towards the direction of Fluttershy's cottage, the numerous animals catching his interest. "Never said I was a very good one. Did get awfully close to being fired, after all. Besides, eye for an eye and all that. Talk to you later." Robert remarked offhandedly as he put on Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song and hung up on Sunset as he laughed and sung along with the lyrics and pulled up in front of Fluttershy's cottage. He gaped. This was impossible, in front of him lay a collection of animals that should not be mixing, like seals and hummingbirds, and bears, and penguins, among more normal animals like cats, dogs, bunny rabbits and chickens. "...I've stumbled upon a mini Animarium, haven't I? Only possible explanation for this... this insanity." Robert mused to himself and shut off the music to analyze the situation. Obviously, the pony who lived here cared greatly about the environment and animals in general, leaving him to wonder why she wasn't chosen as a Wild Force Ranger instead of that bitch Lightning Dust. Evidently the owner of the home, a butter yellow pegasus mare with a pink mane that partially covered her eyes hadn't heard him pull up (Which was a question Robert had to ponder, as his car was loud, and not to mention the blaring music to boot) and came out dressed in her lacy light green underwear and a white bathrobe to feed the animals. "Uh, hello?" Robert greeted and the mare let out a small "Eep" and quickly covered herself up with her bathrobe. "Ya know, just a thought, if you don't want to be caught in your underwear again, I'd suggest you put some clothes on BEFORE you walk outside. Just a thought." Robert commented in an offhand tone. Needless to say, the unknown pegasus mare squeaked once more and flew back into her home and shut the door with a rapid slamming sound. "Huh, shortest conversation I've ever had with a woman that didn't end with me getting slapped in the face." Robert thought to himself before he sighed, knowing he had to make up for his error or Sunset would probably chew him out again and walked up to the tree cottage and lightly rapped on the door to the tune of a "Shave and a Haircut". "G-Go away!" Fluttershy squeaked out and Robert sighed to himself as he looked skywards and muttered something to himself. "I'm not here to harm you, I just want to apologize." Robert grumbled to himself and the door opened, this time with Fluttershy trembling and her underwear properly covered up and Robert now noticed she wore pink bunny slippers. Robert smiled, she was cute, that was for sure. "Um... Hello?" Fluttershy stammered out nervously as she let Robert walk into her home and she picked up a cup of tea and lightly took a sip from it. "Yeesh, this mare could give Sunburst a run for his money in timidness. Wonder if they're related?" Robert mused to himself as Fluttershy made another cup of tea for him and Robert sighed in pleasure as he drunk it down. He missed that taste. All they seemed to have back at SPD was coffee, ugh. "Sorry if I spooked you, do have that effect on ponies I've noticed. Don't know why my natural charm seems to scare them away." Robert commented dryly. "W-Wait, you're that human Twilight found and brought to Princess Celestia aren't you?" Robert promptly rolled his eyes at being called "That Human" and nodded before he responded "Where I was nearly executed by a bigoted Princess. Remind me to thank both of them for their ever so warm welcome, by punching them in the face." Fluttershy flinched before she stammered out "N-No, P-Princess Celestia would never execute anypony, s-she just doesn't have it in her." unwilling to believe Robert's words. "Yeah? Well, I beg to differ." Robert drolly stated before Fluttershy eyed him up and down, more specifically his bandaged chest. "Ya know, last woman who looked at me like that, slept with her. Women do love men in uniform, as it turns out. Who knew, right?" Robert commented to himself as he took another sip of his tea and walked around the living room. There were pictures of a city in the clouds, among other things and birdhouses and little holes in the walls for mice. "A-And I assume those bandaged wounds of yours were also something related to Princess Celestia?" Fluttershy asked sarcastically. "No, that was when I nearly got killed by a one eyed mummy made of barbed wire." Robert responded sarcastically and Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Wait... You're that Green Ranger everypony was talking about a few weeks back." Fluttershy gasped in realization and Robert corrected her. "Ex-Green Ranger, but yes." Robert said before he quickly changed the topic, not wanting to dwell on his near brush with death any further then he had to. "So... Fluttershy, if I'm correct here, how do you take care of all these animals, and keep them alive? Last I checked, penguins and seals live up north in the ice and snow, where the midnight winds and the hot springs blow." Robert asked before chuckling to himself at the reference he'd made and knowing no one but him would get it. "Well, it's always been a natural talent of mine to take care of animals." Fluttershy explained as she felt herself settle down somehow getting the feeling that Robert wouldn't hurt her, and soon Robert and her found themselves talking well into the afternoon and even into the evening about various things and how their lives had gone so far. Soon, there was another knock on the door. "Excuse me, I must get that." Fluttershy said as she got up out of her chair and walked to the door, opening it to find Applejack, dressed in a plaid button up shirt and daisy dukes. Applejack's eyes narrowed when she then spotted Robert. "You." She growled out simply. "We need to talk." Robert could only sigh to himself. He should have known that would come back to bite him. Canterlot Castle Princess Celestia was in a bad mood, a very bad mood indeed. She'd just heard from a very giddy Luna that The Human (She still refused to call him by his given name) had woken up a week ago, and was now wandering around the outskirts of Ponyville, and to make matters worse, Sunset had known about this as well and had refused to tell her citing "I protect my friends." Celestia scoffed, as if a human could ever be considered friendly! She still had nightmares from what that one human had did to her 2,000 years ago... "You like this, Pony-Bitch?" "P-Please stop! Please!" But no matter how hard she tried, that human just wouldn't stop. He took her all night long, and when Celestia earned her magic, needless to say he was the first human to feel her wrath, with her burning him alive and taking pleasure in his screams for mercy. But she had none. She didn't intend to let this human do the same to any of her little ponies, for them to feel the same pain and fear she still experienced every time she closed her eyes. "Prince Shining, please send a platoon of Royal Guards led by yourself down to Ponyville and retrieve the human and bring him to me." Celestia ordered, but Shining gave her a look. "On what grounds?" He asked. "On what he will do. He'll rape and murder anypony he gets within his line of sight, just... just like..." Celestia whispered, lost in memory before she quickly recomposed herself. "Yes, on what he might do. We cannot change a future that may never come to pass. We don't even know what this human's like!" Shining protested. "Yes, we can change a possible future that may or may not come to pass, and it starts by dealing with this human." Celestia refuted, ignoring Shining completely. Shining didn't even have to guess what "Dealing with" meant. He shook his head and remembered something his father Night Light had told him when he said he was signing up for the Royal Guard. "Now remember son, innocent until proven guilty. That's always the creed I've lived by, and I want you to live by it as well. Do you understand, son?" "Yes, dad. I do." "I'm sorry Princess, but I cannot in good conscience follow that order. Find somepony else to carry out your little grudge match with Robert, because I will not be involved in it, unless it is to stop it somehow." Shining stated and walked off. Celestia smiled to herself. "Find somepony else eh? Well, I know just the pony who will do anything I ask of him. He's loyal to a fault when it comes to the Kingdom. Time for the Reaper of Canterlot to do his work." Celestia thought, before another thought stopped her for a few moments. Was this what she had come to? Sending a known psychopath out to do her dirty work? That thought was quickly brushed away and she teleported herself to the Night Guard Barracks, where she found Galaxy Swirls shooting a strange yellow and black laser weapon with green glowing eyes at various targets themed after Changelings. He whirled around to face one target, shot it, and then shot another that popped up right next to it before firing his pistol behind him without even looking at another target taking it down as well. "Galaxy, I need you to do a task for me." Celestia stated, and Galaxy's sharp and pointed armored faceplate on his armor retracted to reveal his black furred face and almost demonic yellow eyes. "I know what this is about, Shining sent me a warning to all branches of the Royal Guard that you might be coming around to ask me to deal with a "human problem"." Galaxy remarked and air quoted "Human problem" with his fingers as Celestia's eyes widened. Shining had been able to get the word out that fast? "This human is a psychopath, just like you, and so he must be dealt with." Celestia stated, the air growing warmer but Galaxy ignored the change in the weather. "As much as I appreciate the mudslinging being thrown around, he's a Power Ranger, and I can't preform one of my assassination missions on a fellow Ranger, powerless or not." "I am Princess Celestia, and you shall obey me, Captain!" Celestia snarled but Galaxy still would not budge from his stance. "You know, I may be a high functioning psychopath, thank you for that label by the way, but the only Princess I obey without question is Luna, and last I checked you're not her, so please leave before I decide to take Blood Moon to you." Galaxy commented in a cheery tone and Celestia took a step back in shock. He would really raise his infamous bloody scythe to her, a Princess? "I think you've been getting arrogant in your ways, and forgetting who serves who. I serve Luna, Shining serves Cadance and the Royal Guard needs a new captain, who I note you have yet to find still and just keep dragging Shining back from his wife and kingdom to do jobs as you see fit." Galaxy pointed out. "I also note you seem to have forgotten what this kingdom was built on, love and tolerance." "HOW DARE YOU!?!" Celestia roared in the Royal Canterlot Voice, as her mane became like flames, dancing and flickering. "I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN WHAT THIS KINGDOM WAS BUILT ON, AND YOU SEEM TO HAVE FORGOTTEN WHAT HUMANS HAVE DONE!" "Winners write the history books." Galaxy responded simply before flying off leaving Celestia to fume. Ponyville: Fluttershy's Cottage Applejack and Robert stared each other down. Robert noted Applejack had her shotgun again, and he sighed. Looks like talking this out was out the window already. "Baka, you had to go and be a dick and tear up her farmland didn't you, just to spite a Princess? What a bleeding wundervolle situation you've landed yourself in." Robert cursed himself. He further cursed himself when Applejack took a shot at him and he dodged it allowing the shot to blow up one of Fluttershy's birdhouses causing blood and feathers to spatter the walls. "Let's take this outside, before somePONY gets hurt." Robert remarked before he kicked Applejack (Her eyes widening and she felt a pang of guilt in her stomach as she realized who she almost could have shot before her anger took over again) in the stomach and sent her flying out the door as Fluttershy whimpered in fear. She didn't want to see this, her new friend and one of her old friends fighting each other. Friends shouldn't fight, it was wrong! Applejack and Robert traded powerful kicks with Robert blocking Applejack's hooves with his wrists and her blocking his own with her shotgun. She pumped it again and took another shot at him and he rolled out of the way allowing the shots to scatter into a tree. "Applejack, listen, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have torn up your farmland! Eye for an eye, I just remembered the second part of the phrase, everyone ends up blind!" Robert yelled, but Applejack was still far too furious to listen and punched him in the face and then the stomach making him stagger back in pain. His ribs still weren't entirely healed yet, it seemed. "Shut the Tartarus up! Ya went and wreaked havoc on my family's farmland, in mah family that deserves a bit of retribution!" Applejack yelled back and aimed her shotgun, and her eye was in. One shot, one kill. Suddenly, Applejack felt something, or rather somepony staring her down. "NOW LISTEN, WHATEVER ROBERT DID WAS WRONG, AND HE ADMITS IT, BUT YOU HAVE TO ADMIT WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS WRONG AS WELL! ROBERT'S RIGHT. TAKING AN EYE FOR AN EYE, EVERYPONY WILL ALWAYS END UP BLIND!" Fluttershy shouted as she put her hoof down and used her infamous stare on Applejack, who found herself laying her shotgun down. "Now, will you both apologize to each other, or will I have to shout again? I... I really don't like doing that." Fluttershy asked nervously. Sighing, Robert approached Applejack, and she him. "Now, I've... Uh, kuso, I've rubbish at this... I've never been much good at apologies. Horrible really, but in this case I think one is warranted. I was an idiot, a baka really, and let my temper get the best of me." Robert said, with no insincerity in his tone. "Same here. Ah've always had a quick temper and a stubborn streak, and I let it get the best of me like you did with yours and nearly killed a very good friend of mine in the process. Can ya... Can ya ever forgive me?" Applejack asked and offered up her hand, and like Robert, Fluttershy could detect no insincerity in her tone. After a few minutes of consideration, Robert took up her hand and shook it. Then his stomach grumbled and he blushed red. "Say, uh, anywhere around here where I can find some good crumpets or something of that matter?" Robert asked, still blushing. Applejack laughed. "Follow me, sugarcube. I'll show you where you can get the best desserts this side of Equestria." Applejack said with a smile and ran off. "Well, ya coming or do I have to take you by the reigns and drag ya?" Applejack laughed and Robert raced after her... (To Be Continued...) Author's Note ...Annnnddd we're back to the longer lengthed chapters. Okay, so this time around Robert finally gets back to Ponyville, and already gets in the thick of things thanks to his spitefulness towards Twilight and Celestia getting in his way and getting Applejack ticked off at him and nearly killing him and Fluttershy as well by accident. Speaking of Fluttershy, Robert's made his first real non-Ranger friend in her, despite having a rather embarrassing for the both of them introduction. Of course, back in Canterlot Celestia learns from Luna that Robert's alive and well (And we get a flashback that tells us exactly why she hates humans so much. Can't say I blame her really after that sort of experience.) and tries to get both Shining and Galaxy to bring him in, (Read: Kill him) but they both refuse due to their moral codes. Definitely Ranger material I'd say. The Graphite Energem chose Galaxy well. Anyways, if you're wondering why a SPD and Pai Zhua trained ex-Ranger lost to Applejack, a civilian, remember he was already injured and he was probably deliberately holding back, as not to harm (Or worse) her and give Celestia yet another reason to hate him. Translations: Kuso: Shit Baka: Idiot Wundervolle: Wonderful Next time: Robert's introduced to Rarity and her husband, Lyra and Bon-Bon among others and meanwhile, Vapor continues unraveling the mystery that is the Duke Org Zen-Aku...
Part 10: Welcome to Ponyville (Part 2)The Nexus The Master Org was not happy, and it showed. Defeat, after defeat, after defeat! He had only one Org Spirit remaining from the original four that had manifested along with his two Duke Orgs. Now, of course the obvious thing to do would be to show his hand and send them down to destroy the precious little Equestria Celestia had built up and on that matter he really had to thank her for causing all of this hatred and prejudice towards humans, enough of it to recreate the Orgs. He had to chuckle to himself, even without the Org Heart, those Rangers still lost. Orgs would always come back, always. But, choosing the easy path wouldn't be the best path. After all, both of his parents sent monster after monster at Zordon's precious little Power Rangers, and none of them worked. It was only when they actually thought up plans that didn't involve monsters in the usual fashion, like say creating an evil Green Ranger (Never mind the fact that he betrayed them in the end and eventually became the most famous Ranger in history) or trapping the Rangers in a mansion that kept them from using their powers and then sending in the monsters, that their plans showed some merit of success. The Master Org chuckled to himself. Even he proved to himself, in his one sole fight against the Power Rangers of his day, that he was better then two Ranger teams put together. He united a group of usually normally feuding villains and disconnected the Rangers from the universal Morphin Grid and showed them a thing or two. If his parents hadn't succumbed to the light of goodness, they might actually be proud of them. Of course, what he hadn't counted on was that damned Sentinel Knight restoring five legendary Rangers' powers, including a member of the original team and then the Mastodon Ranger getting the connection to the Morphin Grid fixed, and even the thing he planned to destroy the Rangers with, the Sentinel Sword, merged with the Sentinel Knight and restored him to physical form! Thrax glowed red in anger at how he'd been outsmarted, or to be more accurate, how he didn't factor in the Knight into his equation. Of course, he'd outsmarted them all in the end. They thought they destroyed him, but he survived, all of these years and had been waiting for the time to continue his parents, and his grandfather's work and rule the galaxy, starting with Earth. "I shall finish the work you started, and destroy the Power Rangers once and for all." Thrax thought to himself. He was alone in his cavern, with Artilla and Helicross out scouting about looking for new revived Org Spirits. Thrax frowned at the thought of them. If they knew he really didn't care for those vile freaks of nature, they'd betray him in a heartbeat. He needed a servant, one which would serve him without question. He knew just the being, but gathering the materials for the ritual needed to revive him would take some time. So, for now, he'd need someone else, one of the original Master Org's most faithful servants. Thrax smirked. He knew just the Org for the job. Thrax began to chant a spell under his breath. It went like this. "Moon and stars align, bring back through time! Bring back that which sees all, bring back the most loyal servant of Master Org of all! Arise and return to us, RETINAX!" Thrax finished with a shout and aimed his mother's wand into a gaping Org totem's mouth that had misty smoke coming from it and fired a beam of crimson red light into the mouth and a misty blood red shape began forming before it smoked out of the totem and formed into a figure with one dark blue curved horn, muscle like coverings all over his body, and a huge amount of eyes as well, with one red irised eye being in the center of his head and two more slime green ones not too far below that. He held a double bladed axe, with its length being covered in eyes. "I... I am alive again. But how?" Retinax wondered aloud to himself as he regained his bearings. Thrax stepped out of the shadows. "I brought you back, that's how. By the power of the moon and stars, you are alive again, to serve me, the new Master Org!" Thrax proclaimed. Retinax noted the new "Master Org's" one curved horn atop his head and just for a moment, right before he remembered that the last Master Org was a fake, thought his words to be the truth. "You are no Master Org. You are just an usurper." Retinax said, pointing his axe at him. "A pretender to the throne. There is only one true Master Org, and he died long ago, destroyed by the traitorous Duke Org Zen-Aku. I shall not serve you. But I shall destroy you!" Retinax roared before charging at Thrax and swinging his axe which Thrax blocked with his mother's wand the two traded blows again and again, each time meeting each other's blows. Thrax growled and used his wand to strike a blow to Retinax's legs, knocking him to the ground but Retinax quickly recovered and fired a blast of red lightning from his axe which Thrax blocked with his wand and then another series of lightning bolts flew and Thrax jumped to the left and let some Org totems take the blow before he fired a beam of red energy at Retinax which was blocked with his axe before Retinax dealt out a few axe blows to Thrax who snarled and grabbed his opponent in coils of energy and lifted him up to the ceiling before dropping him soundly to the ground and getting in close to Retinax's face. "Now... Who is your Master?" Thrax growled. "You... You are." Retinax whispered before slipping into unconsciousness. Thrax smirked. He had him. Ponyville: Sugarcube Corner Robert moaned in an almost orgasmic like pleasure, attracting quite a lot of attention as he reached into a candy bag and pulled out a bunch of Haribo Milk Bottles, little candy sweets made of jelly shaped like the thing they were named after and chewed on them. God above, he hadn't had a chance to have any of these in donkey's years. "Ya alright sugarcube?" Applejack asked. "This... This right here is the dog's bollocks. That's what it is. Almost forgotten the taste. Almost." Robert moaned. There was a running joke amongst the Pai Zhau students that if you wanted to get Robert to do something for you, give him these and he'd do it, no matter what the task in question was, it being a prank on a teacher, or him teaching you something about his style personally for a private lesson or just a little shag in the bushes or broom closet. "So... It's good then?" Applejack asked slowly, unsure of how to respond to the way Robert phrased his pleasure. Robert grabbed her by the shirt and stared her straight down. "Good?" He asked in disbelief before he raised his voice to a shout. "GOOD? This... This right here is Heaven on Earth! More then makes up for you kicking me in the ribs." Robert responded and Applejack winced. Had she known he was already hurt there, she might not have kicked him in that particular spot. There were certain things you didn't do, and kicking a man when he was down was one of them. "Er... Don't you mean Heaven on Equus?" Applejack asked in confusion and it was possibly needless to say she was rather uncomfortable by this point at how close Robert was to her. "Nope, Heaven on Earth's the better phrase. Equus is rubbish for a planet's name." Robert answered as he let go of Applejack and few ponies around him gave him offended looks at his slight against their home's name which Robert of course, ignored completely. Of course, it helped when he was distracted by when he was then handed a plate full of Turkish Delights by a blue older mare with a fluffy pink mane wearing an apron and he near about fainted. To him, the only thing better to Haribo Milk Bottles was a Turkish Delight. "Must resist... Must resist..." Robert mentally chanted to himself before he muttered "Aw, screw it." and in a blur, gobbled the whole plate down and then, before you knew it, fell off the chair and collapsed to the floor. Applejack and Fluttershy rushed over to him. "You alright Sugarcube?" Applejack asked, slapping him on the face a few times to see if she could garner up a reaction. "Is... Is he dead?" Fluttershy asked nervously. "Just leave me here to die in peace. I've reached The Promised Land... And here I thought that was only through one's first time." Robert moaned out before he fainted dead away in a sugar crash. Applejack and Fluttershy facepalmed in unison and Applejack sighed. "He's fine, just gone on a sugar crash. Flutters, ya wouldn't mind if you help me carry him back to mah place so he could sleep off his own foolishness?" "S-Sure he won't do anything to you?" Mrs. Cake asked nervously. Like the rest of Equestria, she'd heard about humans and their tendencies. Applejack gave her a fierce glare. "Pretty sure he's in no state to "Do" anything to me." Applejack deadpanned as Fluttershy helped her help Robert up off the floor "He's unconscious, after all." The Animarium Sunset wasn't pleased with Princess Shayla in the slightest. Robert didn't know the whole truth, the whole truth about the world in which he'd landed in and what happened to the rest of his kind and who exactly was responsible for it. As the door to the temple opened with a rumbling sound, she marched up to Princess Shayla with an angered look on her face. "What troubles you so, Gold Ranger?" Shayla asked, quite confused. "You know exactly what it is, so stop faking." Sunset snarled, her wings sparking with embers of flame. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean." Shayla responded, genuinely confused. "The truth, and nothing but the truth. Robert deserves to know where he is and what exactly happened to his kind." Sunset responded. "And what if I did tell him? What would he do then?" Shayla asked. "If he learned the full truth, that this is a future Earth, and that Celestia exterminated all of humankind, he would march up that castle of hers and surely be killed." Sunset was forced to concede her well thought out point, even if she didn't have to like it. If Robert did know the whole truth, he would do exactly as Shayla predicted and be exterminated in a heartbeat. Celestia wouldn't even flinch while doing so. She'd flick out his light without a second thought. And if Sunset was right, Robert was the fifth Ranger they needed, the one to carry the mantle of the Kitsune powers, despite all his personality flaws. He knew things they didn't, things about Ranger history. That knowledge could prove useful in the future. "...Fine, but this isn't over. He'll have to know the truth sometime, and I don't want it coming from an enemy, or even worse Princess Celestia herself. He needs to hear it from us." Sunset said before leaving through the same door as she came in. Vanhoover Docksides Meanwhile, Vapor Trail was continuing to search the docksides of Vanhoover. This was where she'd encountered Zen-Aku the first time around, and so it seemed a logical place to continue looking. The moon rose high in the sky, casting its glow on the virtual maze of containers. Zen-Aku was a mystery to her. He was a Duke Org, something that by all right, she should try and kill, and yet he killed other Orgs and seemingly fought for justice. In short, he was a walking conundrum. "Alright, where are you?" Vapor asked as she scanned the tops of the containers, searching for any signs of the wolf-like Org. Then she heard it, that very distinctive flute sound that she'd heard right before Zen-Aku first appeared. Then she heard singing as well. It was a beautiful song, yet sad and critical as well, and if she had to pander a guess, it was aimed directly towards Princess Celestia and the rest of Equestria in a sarcastic way. "Oh come on away to the city A kingdom to behold Where the bluest skies they float on by The streets all paved in gold Where under the smiles fair and pretty Are teeth so very white Into the bones of our burdened necks they bite Baptised in the water You're draining the well You built up your heaven On the back of hell Divine is the daughter The dream that you sell You built up your heaven On the back of hell..." It was then Zen-Aku stopping his singing and turned his head, finally taking notice of her before he leaped down in front of her, his muzzle showing an expression of surprise. "Well, this I must admit I wasn't expecting. No one ever goes and searches me out. You are a very adamant young mare, aren't you?" Zen-Aku asked, his head tilted in a quizzical manner. "Well, I suppose I should get straight to the point. Why are you here, Purple Ranger?" He questioned, although Vapor had a sneaking suspicion he already knew. Her thoughts were just confirmed by the Duke Org's next statement. "Ah, yes... I know exactly why. You're curious about this lone wolf. Why I saved you, when in all rights I should kill you." He continued. "Well, I suppose you'd better prepare yourself, my story is a long one, stretching back over 6,000 years. It began with a cursed wolf mask, put on by the ancient Animarian warrior Merrick. it gave him the powers to defeat Master Org, but in the process, it corrupted him and turned him into what you see before you. I had to be locked away by what Merrick considered his friends before I destroyed them. 3,000 years passed, and an Org General by the name of Nayzor unlocked my crypt with an arcane ritual. I was free, and I wanted to destroy all that was pure. But Merrick, he persisted inside my head and fought back. Nayzor tried to block my memories, even when Animus himself asked me to remember who I was. I fought the Rangers, even using some of their Wild Zords against them alongside my Predazord. But eventually, the Rangers found a way to defeat me, and free Merrick while I was destroyed." "But how are you still here now?" Vapor questioned. "My story was not yet complete. Observe." Zen-Aku said, and his horn hit up to show a series of images. A black haired man, with stubble and a goatee wearing a white robe and silver sash was under attack by an Org made up of various animals. The original Wild Force Rangers were to the side, tied up in what looked to be in elephant trunks. But Merrick wouldn't give in. He said that he caused this, and so he must make it right. He fought the Org, even if it was futile and in the end, his courage was rewarded. Three Orbs, one blue, one purple, one green circle around his wrist and formed a Wolf's head which he was briefly confused by for a moment but soon knew what to do with it. He unflipped it, revealing the new device to be like a phone not unlike the Growl Phones and was soon transformed into the Howling Wolf Ranger. With his new powers, he easily defeated the Quadra Org, as it was called and even when it grew to massive size, he took it down with the Predazord, now cleansed of its evil. "Now, you would think that would be the end of my story. But somehow, I survived my mask's destruction and returned from the grave, even more powerful than ever and ready to reclaim my former container. But still I was defeated, by Merrick of all people. And yes, I can see the oncoming question, how am I still here? ...To be honest, I do not know. After Adler's defeat, I returned as a ghost and wandered the lands with Merrick, two lone wolves searching for redemption." "Perhaps... Someone high above saw potential for good in you." Vapor mused and Zen-Aku could only shrug. "Whatever the case, I am here now and will help you whenever I think it is needed. You can be sure of that. I still have many things to atone for, and destroying the new Master Org will help me on my way to redemption. But I can still sense something is troubling you Purple Ranger." Vapor's eye's widened as she clutched her pendant. He'd picked up on THAT? "It's... It's personal." She whispered to herself, a tear slipping from her eye. "Alright, I shall not pry into your own business. But my word still stands. Whenever my help is required, I will come. The loyalty of a wolf, even a lone one is forever. Goodbye for now, Ms. Trail." Zen-Aku said, and with that, he leaped away into the night leaving Vapor alone with her thoughts. Ponyville, the next day... The next day, Robert was walking through Ponyville. It'd been a fortnight since he'd last been in this town in the daytime, and he was honestly hoping and praying to whatever deity was listening he'd have a better time then before. Sadly, so far it seemed nobody was listening. Ponies, whenever they saw him screamed and shut their doors, and others even threw rotten fruit and vegatables at them. Robert shook his head and muttered "Pathetic." to himself. "God above... It's like Celestia's redoing the Red Scare and I'm a Communist here." Robert mused to himself before someone threw a rotten tomato at him and told him to "Buck off and die in a hole!". Robert's response? "Oh, go boil your head. Might do your brain cells a world of good, you git." Then he heard a shout of "HUMAN!" but oddly, it wasn't one of fear. It was more like... excitement? Then Robert found himself glomped by a minty green unicorn mare who had no intent it seemed, on letting go. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! A human, I'm finally meeting one!" The unknown mare stammered out in excitement. "Should I be scared, or overjoyed by this? Blimey, like chalk and cheese compared to the rest of the residents round here. Bloody Nora..." Robert thought to himself as he continued to be hugged and his cheeks began to turn blue from lack of air. Thankfully, he was saved by a coughing sound from behind him. "Lyra, I know you love humankind and all, but can you please let the poor fellow go?" A pure white mare with a curled purple and blue mane asked dryly. The now named mare blushed and Robert sent a mental thank you to whoever was listening. "Sorry, so sorry, it's just I've always wanted to meet a human! Name's Lyra! Lyra Heartstrings!" Lyra said rapidly, shaking Robert's hand rapidly as well. "N-Nice grip..." Robert's only available response at the time was before he looked towards Lyra's companion. "Who's the friend?" "Wife actually." The white mare answered. "Name's Bon-Bon. Funny, haven't seen you around these parts before. Surprised that Pinkie hasn't thrown you a party yet." "It'll happen." Lyra put in cheerfully. "Just you wait!" "Blow me, two mares who aren't after my head." Robert commented and both mares blushed at his term usage and Robert mentally smacked himself in the head as he remembered what that could be taken as even if he really meant blow me down. "Funny, has Princess Celestia tried to turn you into a pile of ash for talking to me yet?" "No, Princess Celestia would never try and do that to anyone. I refuse to believe it." Bon-Bon responded angrily and Robert rolled his eyes and scoffed before pointing to himself. "Oh yeah, well I'm living, walking talking proof of that." He remarked and Bon-Bon crossed her arms. "Oh yeah, I'll believe it when I see it." She said simply as Lyra looked him up and down, wincing every so often at his scars left over from the Barbed Wire Org's bloody work. "Sheesh, you look like crap. Honestly, just a pair of pants and no shirt? What are you, a hobo?" Lyra asked and Bon-Bon facepalmed and muttered something to herself before she approached him. "Listen, go to Rarity at Carousel Boutique. She'll fix you up nice." She said before looking towards her wife. "Come on Lyra, best we be getting home. Got some new recipes I want to try." Robert chuckled as Lyra was practically dragged off waving at him and complaining to Bon-Bon about how she wanted to spend more time with the weird human. Eventually, he did manage to find his way to Carousel Boutique (A very fitting name, Robert noted from its exterior) and knocked on the door and was greeted by a pure white unicorn mare with purple hair done up in curls and wearing a very tight grey sweater and a black skirt. This mare, who could only be Rarity practically oozed class so Robert knew he had to be on his best behavior. No sarcasm, no flirtations and above all, no rudeness in general. "Why hello there, you must be Robert Williams. My good friend Sunset told me about you and how you might show up in town some day soon." Rarity greeted politely and led Robert inside where there were various fancy Elton John style clothes displayed on mannequins and styling Fluttershy's hair, was a green pegasus with stubble on his face and a yellow mane wearing the attire of a barber. "OH!" Rarity said at once after noticing Robert looking at the stallion. "Where are my manners? This is my husband, Zephyr Breeze, and as it happens, Fluttershy's brother." At this, Robert's jaw dropped. He could barely see the resemblance! He also realized, as Zephyr shook his hand and greeted him, it would be best not to mention anything at all about accidently seeing his sister in her underwear and DEFINTELY best not to flirt with either Fluttershy or Rarity, that is, unless he wanted a punch to the face. Rarity rubbed her hands together and began measuring him with a tape measure before she smiled. "So, shall we get started?" She asked, and for some reason, Robert felt very nervous indeed... (To Be Continued...) Author's Note Okay, so a lot goes on here. First off, you are free to pick your jaw off the floor at Rarity's husband, and no worries, he's nothing like MythrilMoth's version of him, which I wouldn't know much about anyways as I haven't read the story he's from. Anyways, huge thanks to HawkerHurricane for the help on the British terms and sweets, and to Black_Knight as always for grammar. Okay, on this chapter, originally I was going to have Robert compare Celestia and his situation to someone else, but it was pointed out to me the joke might cause controversy so I decided to play it safe and change it to the Red Scare. Also, I thought about Robert having a rather odd meeting with the Doctor here as well, but I decided to cut it as there was plenty going on in this chapter and save it for later. So, Retinax is brought back and the Master Org is revealed to be Zedd and Rita's son Thrax from Operation Overdrive, and has somehow survived his apparent death at the hands of the Sentinel Knight. Also, Vapor finally learns the full story of Zen-Aku. (If anyone's curious as to the song he's singing, it's Dream of the Sky by Miracle of Sound. Look it up on Youtube, as I can't link it because of the video's violent imagery.) Plus, Shayla is confronted by Sunset on Robert being in the dark about the full truth about when he is. Of course, Shayla does have a point, considering if Robert DID know, he probably would do something stupid. But he'll have to learn the truth eventually... Okay, just a note here, but I'm going to be putting this on a short hiatus as this story has been distracting me from some of my others and preventing me from writing for them, so I hope you guys understand my reasoning.
Part 11: Magna Power! "Now... Now you really don't have to do this." Robert stammered out as Rarity, in full fashionista mode, measured him up for clothing. To be honest, he was always uncomfortable about shopping for new clothes, or shopping in general really. In and out the store as quickly as possible it was for him. It wasn't something he could really explain or put his finger on, maybe it was because shopping required him to be around people and he wasn't that much of a people person as you might have figured out. Whatever the case, he was grateful Syd and Z always went out and did the shopping for him, knowing he wasn't likely to go out and do it himself. At this, he felt guilty for one of the first times in his life. He'd always been so rude to the both of them, and it never really bothered him before, and why it was bothering him now he wasn't quite sure. "Hey, Rob, you caught this guy yet?" "Actually yes, I'm bringing him in right now in a confinement card." "Well, no need to get sarcastic with me. Need a hand? Me and Syd are nearby. Just got back from... Ugh, shopping. Syd here pretty much spent all her monthly allowance in one go." "Funny thing, you shopping, coming from a former clothing thief. The kind I was supposed to catch." "See, this is why I don't really like you. You go off all alone, with this lone wolf attitude, and are constantly disrespecting your teammates. Keep this up, and you might just get kicked off the team. You're not the first Green Ranger to get bumped back to a lower squad." "BAH! I can handle myself Z. Didn't I prove that when that moron... Oh, I don't remember his name... Used to work for Broodwing and had a giant robot escaped custody and I caught him by myself?" "Suit yourself." Robert felt even more guilt hit him when he remembered his last conversation with Z, essentially blowing her off. God above, it couldn't be that "Magic of Friendship" thing he overheard Sunset mention while he was on the Animarium, could it? "No, that's not it..." Robert mused to himself. "No, no, no, that's just plain ludicrous. Bloody ludicrous. Never really was friends with any of the team, aside from Bridge. They were all at least a decade younger than me, so I never really... clicked. It was always the older people I got along with better, like Kat and Cruger, despite how many arguments I got into with him and received enough repremands to fill a lorry. I don't know why Cruger kept me around instead of throwing me out on my arse like I should rightly should have been." "No, I insist darling!" Rarity refuted as tape measures all around levitated themselves in the air, Robert being unfazed by all of this, as he'd seen magic before in NewTech City. "You really look rather horrid in just a pair of pants, which reek of sweat by the way, and generally look like you've been living off the street or in a jungle somewhere." "Well, she's not far off..." Robert mused to himself with a noticeable chuckle. As soon as Rarity finished measuring him, she smiled. "Okay, I think I've got the perfect clothes for you. Now, you go over to my husband and-" "Wait, wait wait." Robert piped up. "How do you know what I want?" "I just do darling. I have a sense about these sort of things, about what best suits the customer, and besides, there's that old human phrase never look a gift horse in the mouth right?" "True enough." Robert admitted, forced to concede Rarity's point. "But nothing too flashy or over the top okay? I don't want to look like Elton John, or God above, Liberace." Robert said with a shudder. Despite Rarity being confused by the names, she got the general point. "Welllll.... The customer is always right I suppose." She replied and gave him a smile all the while sending a mental thought to her husband which said "If he's dangerous, then I must be Nightmare Moon!" and went over to her supply closet of fabrics, threads and stitching equipment and set to work as Zephyr led him over to another chair. "Oh my my, we have got some work to do don't we? That hair, far too long. I agree with Rarity, you do look like you've been living out in a jungle for weeks on end. That hairstyle, absolutely frightening." The green pony said with a shudder before he took out his haircutting equipment, a trimmer and a pair of scissors and began to cut off sections of Robert's now very long locks. "Celestia above, this may be my most difficult challenge yet! But never fear, I always prevail in the end!" Fluttershy smiled to herself. Before she and her good friend Rainbow Dash knocked some sense into him some years back, her brother could never succeed at anything and always thought himself a failure, and left any work given to him to others to do. It was quite a pleasant change really, and an even more pleasant one when Zephyr began to become less obnoxious just to make himself look more like a gentle stallion just for Rarity. At first, it was just a mask, but then he BECAME the mask and became a nicer stallion in the process. He'd even apologized to Rainbow for hitting on her all those years and apologized for his parents for becoming the thing that just would not leave and being an overall problem for them to deal with. "You know, you really need to think up a new phrasing for that expression 'round me. Not such a wunderbare pony around me, she is." Robert commented in an offhand manner, rubbing his cheek where Celestia had slapped him. "Nonsense, she's a kind pony to everypony!" "Not when it comes to humans, it seems." Robert put in, trying to be as polite as possible. "Or haven't you been noticing the town's general reaction to me?" "Ah... Oh, yes... That." Zephyr admitted with a blush, even as he continued cutting and shaving off Robert's beard and hair. "I did kinda notice that. Ponies are naturally afraid of what they don't understand. Griffins, head to the hills. Zebras, run into one's home, shut out the lights and lock the doors. You get the idea." "I believe the correct term is xenophobic, am I right?" Robert commented, and it was noticeable that everypony in the room had a look of shame about them. It was about then two Alicorns, one Robert recognized by her face and mane style even if she was wearing a golden tiara with a red gem set in it and wearing a yellow and red dress with the setting sun on it, and the second Alicorn Robert didn't know but she had dark blue and violet hair along with lavender fur and wings and wore what looked to be the attire of a librarian, glasses and all. It was rather cute to be honest. However, that entire ensemble was ruined by the look on her face, one of a mix of disgust and fear that Robert knew all too well. It was the exact same Princess Dick-With-Wings-And-Horn wore. Sunset summed up the situation best with one single word. "...Awkward..." Canterlot Royal Guard Barracks: Training Grounds Shining Armor swung his sword and chopped a dummy in half, splitting it straight down the middle in a complete bifurcation. To be honest, smashing up training dummies was the only thing that made sense nowadays, what with how weird everything had gotten over the past few weeks. Firstly, a human appearing after over 2,000 years, and then Celestia restraining that human and nearly killing him. It then only got weirder from there. The human, as it turned out, seemed to have no knowledge that this was a future version of his home planet and was a law enforcement officer for some organization known as SPD, and a Power Ranger to boot. Oddest of all, Shining actually found himself liking the human, which was really strange as he'd only met him for a few minutes at max. What's wrong with me? I should, by all rights hate the guy, if Celestia's history of humans is correct, they did nothing but rape and murder ponies, but then again, history is generally written by the victors, so no telling who's right or wrong in this case, and Celestia is clearly biased. I've never seen her like this. She's always been so kind and wise to everypony. But then again... everypony has skeletons in their closet. And Robert might just have a few of his own. I just don't know enough about the guy to be sure. But... As my father always said "Innocent until proven guilty, son. Innocent until proven guilty." Shining mused as he made a wide swing with his sword and decapitated two dummies. Suddenly, he felt footfalls behind him. Shining whirled around and pointed his sword in the direction of the sound, but nopony was there. "Alright, if this is a joke, it's not funny!" Shining shouted to whoever was around. No answer came. Then, the footfalls started up again from behind him and Shining turned to face their user. In front of him was a dark grey armored figure, with a green gem in the center of his chest armor and gold detailing on his shoulder pauldrons and belt, and had a visor on his helmet with two golden bull like horns on either side of the helmet itself along with a red flowing cape attached to his armor. Weirdly enough, Shining could see right through the man, if that's what he really was under the armor. "Having trouble figuring out what's right and what's wrong? I was like you once." The figure said. "Discord, if this is one of your jokes, I'm not laughing!" Shining shouted, and half-expected for the King of Chaos to appear and begin laughing his head off. For some reason, Shining was a major target of his pranks, Discord's reasoning being him always being so stuffy and needing to lighten up. "No, you misunderstand. I am not a trick nor an illusion of that chaos spirit. I am as real as you are. My name is the Magna Defender, a protector of the innocent just like you. Or I was. Sit down for a minute, and hear my story." The newly named Magna Defender said, and for whatever reason, Shining found himself sitting down on a nearby box. "Okay, that's better. Now, it all began thousands upon thousands of years ago. I was a warrior of justice, defending those who could not defend themselves. I was arrogant, believing nothing could stop me. And it was true, nothing could. Together, me and my Torozord were the perfect team. Life was like an adventure to me." The Defender began, and Shining somehow, in some mysterious way had the whole world change around him. He saw the Defender battling many foes, and enjoying himself all the while as he either used his sword to cut them down or a strange rifle weapon to blast them. From various monsters that were indescribable in description to Shining to giant beasts that ravaged cities, the Defender fought them all, in both his normal form and combined together riding atop the Torozord, a giant grey bull with golden horns and hooves and a small green gem in the center of it's forehead. "But as the old story always goes, I met a girl, Syrian was her species, and fell in love. She taught me to be wiser, and less arrogant. I no longer took life for granted as I once did. In a way I suppose, I became even better than I was before. It wasn't long before we had a child together, Zika we called him and I was forced to grow up and mature. It was good for the first few years of his life, me training him to become my successor." The Defender said, as he showed Shining a series of images, from a dog like creature giving birth to a mixture of a human and a wolf to that very same child growing older, and training alongside his father in a similar, but different set of armor. They sparred, matching each other's moves perfecting, and Zika threw tiny kunai knives at trees to improve his aim. "But that's when Scorpius and his forces invaded my homeworld." The Defender stated grimly, his voice taking on a sadder tone. Shining suddenly had a very bad feeling about where this story was going. He found himself in the middle of a battle field, a tan, black and yellow spider like creature leading forces of evil into battle, but the Magna Defender was there, rifle in hand, ready to defend his homeworld. "I fought them off bravely, but Scorpius, the crafty and clever bastard he was, used my son, MY SON as a shield to prevent me from attacking any further. Scorpius... He... He killed him right in front of me!" And then Shining saw it, Zika rushing forwards to protect his father, and getting cut down by powerful blasts of yellow lightning much to the Magna Defender's horror, and then, a shark like creature, along with another similar looking one only different in facial color threw the dead body of the Magna Defender's wife in front of him, as if to rub salt in the wound. "I became fantically obsessed with revenge against the creature. I fought every general he had and eventually on the jungle planet Mirinoi, I found his most loyal of generals, Treacheron." There was a series of images, from the Defender blowing up any of Scorpius's bases he could find, to viciously, without mercy cutting down powerful looking foes. Then, Shining saw on a jungle planet, the Magna Defender fighting a white armored being with a blue face and a samurai motif, in a vicious battle to the death before Treacheron carved an abyss into the ground and let the Defender fall in. "We fought an epic battle, but I was gravely wounded and sent tumbling into an abyss where I lingered for the next 3,000 years." The Defender continued. "Can you only imagine the hell I spent trapped in that abyss, knowing I could never get out?" Shining couldn't, and the Magna Defender knew it. "But then, by pure chance, another man fell into the abyss with me, and I merged with his spirit to fight in the present day on the roaming space colony of Terra Venture." Here, Shining saw a giant tower that was topped off by a bubble with a city inside it with multiple limbs stretching out with various landscapes inside domes, floating through the cold cruel blackness of space, all the while being pursued by a black and gold scorpion like ship. "Mike, he was called and the brother of the current Red Ranger. Despite our common foe in Scorpius, I wouldn't help the Rangers because of my obsession. I was even willing to put innocent lives in danger, how far I had fallen." The Defender said sadly and then, when the Scorpion Stinger sprung a leak, it stopped above Terra Venture's mountain dome to draw power away from it. "It all came to a head when I created a volcano to destroy Terra Venture and Scorpius's ship along with it, not even thinking about the innocent lives that would have been lost. But something miraculous happened then. I realized how far I had fallen, and set out to correct my mistakes. I had a vision as I climbed up the fiery pits of Hell itself, much like Frodo Baggins did in the human book "The Return of the King". I saw my son, telling me he believed in me and that there was still some good left in my heart." Here, Shining saw the Defender, his chest gem cracked, crawling up a firey mountainside but no matter how hard it got, he never gave up, whispering "Yes, Zika... I believe" over and over again like a mantra. No matter how hard it got, he wouldn't give up. "And you know what, I believed in it as well. I sacrificed myself to stop the madness of my own making, and in the process gave the Red Ranger his brother back." The Defender continued as Shining saw the Magna Defender turn himself into a ball of blue light and jump into the volcano, even with his Torozord trying to stop him. "It was my redemption day." "But the story of the Magna Defender doesn't end there. When Mike was searching for his destiny and all of the Rangers except his brother were captured by a monster, I appeared before him, just like I appeared before you now and passed on my powers. He would be the Magna Defender and carry on my legacy. And carry it on he did. He fought many brave battles, but eventually, he was forced to sacrifice them to help Terra Venture escape the area in space known as the Lost Galaxy." There, Shining saw Mike's various battles from him going into his first battle as the Magna Defender and defeating Skelecron, to him and the Space Rangers fighting the Psycho Rangers which were five bat armored like warriors in twisted copies of the Ranger suits with nothing but darkness in their hearts and then he saw a series of images of Mike, unmorphed leading trapped slaves of the vile space pirate Captain Mutiny to freedom on a desolate, but wealth ridden planet, to finally Mike in the Defender Torozord holding open a space portal for Terra Venture to escape through with the end result being the Torozord's destruction. "But my powers will never fade. And now, I pass them on to you. You will carry on the work we began." Suddenly, a sword, black with gold trimmings, two bull like horns jutting out from it and a green gem in its center appeared in Shining's hands to replace his own and two bracers appeared on Shining's wrists. "My armor, along with the Torozord is now yours. Use them well, and use them wisely. This is your destiny now." The Magna Defender said before vanishing away, leaving no trace as if he was ever there. Ponyville: Carousel Boutique "Crikey Moses, I just seem to keep on meeting more and more ponies who want my head on a stake, don't I?" Robert commented in a mock cheerful tone of voice even as Zephyr continued his work. Rarity meanwhile, had stopped working on Robert's outfit and sighed to herself. This was going to be ugly, she could tell already. Sunset meanwhile was preparing her magic to step in if needed and her horn glowed with a light green aura. Twilight as well was charging up her magic, though for a very different reason altogether. "What are you doing here?" Twilight growled out. Robert's eyes widened. He knew that voice, but kept calm. No sense in getting mad and things going right to shit for him. "Getting my hair cut and a new outfit, can't think of any other reason why I'd be here." Robert said lightly. "I can..." Twilight snarled. "You just want to rape Rarity, skin her husband alive and do a bunch of other horrible things." "Listen, I can tell by your attire you're a librarian, so that must mean you're a smart mare and so go ahead and use that brain of yours and think about it, if I wanted to do that, I could have done it already, and besides, I'm not nearly stupid enough to take on someone who could fry me with her magic, not counting the two others in the room." Robert refuted. "How do I know you don't have magic yourself?" Twilight asked sarcastically and Robert then decided to drop all pretenses of politeness. "Newsflash, if you're really Celestia's little pet poodle you'd know humans don't have a drop of magic in their entire body. So I couldn't possibly use what I don't have, now could I?" Robert remarked, deliberately leaving out the part about the Chi energy he had stored in his body to unleash his animal spirit. Twilight was really furious now, she'd been insulted on her intelligence multiple times by this man who shouldn't be even alive right now, or at the very least locked in the deepest dungeon she could find. It was only thanks to Sunset holding her back that she didn't go absolutely ballistic on Robert right now. "Funny, you being the Princess of Friendship and all, thought you'd be more... Oh, I don't know, friendly." Robert remarked dryly. Twilight then turned on her heels and walked right out the door with a huff having had enough of being insulted leaving a very awkward silence indeed with only Robert breaking it. "...Well, I'd say we got off on the right hoof quite well don't you think?" He asked cheerily. Sunset could only facepalm and look skywards. Canterlot Royal Guard Barracks: Training Grounds Shining, still stunned by the powers he'd been given, thought over his new situation. He'd been given a great responsibility to care for powers that had been passed down over thousands of years and use them to fight for justice. But the problem was, how could he balance his time leading the Crystal Guard (Which Shining noted he still hadn't been sent back to, by the way) and spending his time with his wife with defending Equus as a Power Ranger? Of course, the choice would have to be made later, as Shining soon found out when an explosion came from the other side of the city. "Guess I'll have to think on this later." Shining flicked one of his bracers and a key popped out and he plugged it into the other after throwing his newfound sword into the air, knowing to do so by the knowledge he'd gained from the power transfer and shouted out two words that had not been heard in thousands of years. "Magna Power!" (To Be Continued...) Author's Note Okay, so now Shining's become the Magna Defender and the official sixth Ranger of the team... Which means Robert will be the last to get his powers, but trust me it'll be awesome when he finally does. Now what that means, is unlike Zen-Aku and Galaxy Swirls, he will appear to help the Rangers in every battle if he can or his Princely duties don't get in his way. (Boy, how's he going to break this to Cadence eh?) Also, Robert gets his first official introduction to Twilight Sparkle, and handles the greeting in his own way... That is, like a jackass. (Thanks to HawkerHurricane for the suggestion of Robert calling her Celestia's little pet poodle) Seriously, if he handled the meeting better he might actually have another powerful ally and loyal friend. Originally, I was going to have Spike here as well, but I couldn't figure out how to fit him in and give him any sort of role for this chapter. Also, you may have noticed the Lost Galaxy Theme in pace of the GaoRanger one. I decided to put that in for obvious reasons, and chapter six's opening them has been changed to the Dino Charge one. Anyways, next time, the Magna Defender makes his debut and Vapor's backstory... finally revealed! (Edit: Added a few extra lines to the Magna Defender's story and showed images of his and Mike's tales to Shining along with cutting all but the lines of the flashback to the first chapter on Villain's advice.
Part 12: The Magna Defender Makes His Debut and Vapor's Secret Canterlot Park Canterlot Park, normally a peaceful place, with always green trees that ranged from weeping willows to big oak trees of untold years. It also had perfectly arranged cobblestone footpaths lit by either streetlight or fireflies at night for couples to walk under in their natural peaceful glow and of course the bridge over a little pond where lovers, Shining Armor included, often proposed marriage to one another or just, Y'know, made out under Luna's starry velvet-like night skies. Chess tables were arranged about the park, for ponies to have friendly little competitions, or just practice and hone their skills, or just quietly contemplate to themselves. There were many poems about this particular park's famous beauty, and many paintings as well. Of course, all of that had been shattered by what was going on now. Currently, the local socialites' day had been utter ruined by an attack by Thrax's forces, led by his newest General, Retinax, and a force of putrids. High-Class ponies screamed and scattered as the putrids laid waste to the park and brought their toxic taint to the normally peaceful city of Canterlot. "Yes, that's right! Run, you little horses, run like the herd animals you are! The Orgs are back in business, and I intend to let this city know it!" Retinax laughed as he pointed his axe at a tree and fired a blast of red lightning at it, causing it to splinter and burst like a party popper. He swung his axe again, cleaving through another as he continued his rampage. A group of putrids grabbed two of the local movers and shakers, Jet Set, and his wife Upper Crust and brought them before Retinax. Both ponies trembled in fear, they'd seen the Org General's power and had no qualms about what he intended to do next with them. They didn't even have to guess. "P-Please, show mercy!" Upper Crust pleaded, and Retinax could only laugh uproariously as if at some funny joke had been just told to him. "Mercy? To worthless beings who aren't even worth living like you?" He asked before chuckling to himself. "I swear, even the humans put up more of a fight then this. I thought this city had a Royal Guard. Looks like when trouble comes, they fail to show." "Well, time to do away with you. I'd like to say I'm sorry, but my mother never told me to lie. Really quite impolite." Retinax smirked. He raised his axe and it crackled with electricity, and the two ponies whispered goodbyes to each other and braced for what was to come, but then a hoof soundly kicked Retinax in the face and made him stumble back. "What the- Who dares!?!" Retinax roared in anger as he tried to search for his attacker with his many, many eyes. A voice answered him. "I dare." Shining's voice said calmly, as Retinax, his putrids, and Jet Set and Upper Crust all turned to see a grey armored figure with a glowing green gem in the center of his chest and a flowing red cape with a pure white horn jutting out of his bull like helmet striding forwards with no fear at in his walk. Shining unsheathed his sword and the putrids rushed up to greet him. "Who do you think you are?" Retinax roared in anger. "The name's the Magna Defender, protecter of all that is good and true and that's all you need to know." Shining answered. "I don't care who you are! Get him!" Retinax ordered, pointing his axe at Shining, and the putrids charged towards their new target. Some fired their "Staffzookas" at Shining but he deflected the blasts with only two swings from his sword, two very large explosions happening from behind him as a result. He charged forwards into the crowd of Orglings, and with the knowledge gained from the Magna Defender and his prior Royal Guard training, he was an unstoppable force, cutting down anything that stood in his way. He, with a few twists of his sword's parts and putting his sheath over his blade, now had changed his sword into a shotgun. He pumped it and promptly used this new weapon on the putrids that were holding down Jet Set and Upper Crust, taking them down with relative ease. "You're safe now, go. GO!" Shining barked out, and Upper Crust and his wife were only all too happy to follow that order and quickly fled the scene. Some more putrids tried their luck, and were quickly taken out by several more of the Riot Blaster's shots. "Anyone else?" Shining asked sarcastically. "How about me?" Retinax roared as he leaped forwards into battle and Shining quickly changed his Riot Blaster back into its blade form to meet a blow from Retinax's axe. "I hate interlopers!" "And I hate those who attack the innocent, so we're even." Shining snarled as their weapons met again and again. "I'm going to kill you for interfering in me and my Master's work!" Retinax snarled and fired a blast of red lightning from his axe which Shining leaped and rolled to the side to avoid and all the while, changed his sword back to its Riot Blaster mode and fired off several blasts at Retinax, hitting him dead on. "Yeah? Well, I've got a long list of ponies who'd like to do that, so get in line." Shining remarked before he struck Retinax in his right side with his sword but the Org General kicked him away and this time got in a slice across the chest. "That armor won't protect you for long. Soon, we'll see who's under it, and I'll make you bleed!" Then a new voice joined the fray. "Sorry, did somepony say bleed?" Galaxy asked as he leaped forwards clad in Ranger gear and shouted "Royal Dino Punch!" and send Retinax flying backwards. "Yeah, thought I heard my cue." Galaxy remarked lightly before he turned to Shining. "Who the... Wait, Shining? Is that you?" He asked in disbelief, unable to believe his fellow Captain had gotten Ranger powers as well. "How you know it was me... Galaxy?" Shining asked with a smirk under his helmet. "Eh, voice and fighting style kinda gave it away. But a better question to pose is, how did you know it was me under here?" Galaxy asked. "Bat wings. You're the only one I know with enough fighting skills to deal with someone like this and have those appendages. Plus, your general demeanor helped as well." Shining responded and Galaxy responded with a "Fair enough" nod. Just then, a grey grenade like device came out of the sky and Retinax pulled its pin, and a large explosion ensued and when the smoke cleared, there stood Retinax, titan sized. "Okay, explanations later. Ass kicking now!" Galaxy said, as he and Shining took a step back to avoid being stomped on. "And I got just the Zord to do it. Torozord, charge!" Retinax staggered back as the giant black mechanical bull appeared seemingly out of nowhere with a roar and charged into him, pushing him out of Canterlot and into the fields south of the city. The giant org grabbed the Torozord by the horns and pushed back, forcing a stalemate between the two titans. “Not bad, I’ll give you that. But!” He stepped forward, pushing the Torozord back, even as it carved deep trenches in the earth with its hooves. “It’s not nearly good enough!” He roared, lifting the mechanical goliath off the ground and throwing it aside before retrieving his fallen axe and raising it to the downed Zord, “You ain’t worth shit!” “Is that right!?” Shining said from inside his zord, “You haven’t seen anything yet! Torozord, transform!" Shining was transformed into a giant red armored capeless version of himself as the Torozord emitted a green beam from the gem on it's forehead. Torozord’s green eyes flashed once as it stood up, raising onto it’s hind legs to a bipedal stance as steam erupted from its nostrils and the now Mega Defender jumped inside. The head opened up, revealing a stoic face with yellow eyes as hands erupted from the bull’s forehooves. “Defender Torozord, ready!” “You think just because you can stand that it means you’re a match for me?” Retinax scoffed, “en garde!” With that, he charged, bringing his axe around in a wide arc, aiming for the Megazord’s neck. “Defender Axe!” Shining cried, intercepting the blow with an axe of his own, the thunderous crash echoing for miles. “Don’t count me out just yet!” Retinax said, kicking the Torozord back and smashing his axe into the ground, opening a fissure in the ground that swallowed up the Megazord’s leg. “Is that really what you ponies can muster?” Retinax crowed as he strutted over to the trapped Zord, “the humans were tougher than this!” Inside the cockpit, Shining grit his teeth, wrestling with the controls to free the Torozord’s leg as the giant org advanced on him, “Come on, come on-!” “Say your goodbyes, Ranger!” Retinax said, raising his axe above his head and bringing it down in a helmsplitter, only for the blade to be caught by the Torozord’s hands, the metallic limbs groaning in protest as they kept the large blade inches from the cockpit. Shining gasped as the machine moved under it’s own power, thrusting the axe head aside and causing its wielder to stumble past as it pried itself from the fissure and faced the org again. “So, you do have some fight in you after all!” Retinax said, the gaze of his many eyes shrinking with glee as he turned and hefted his axe again, tossing his cape aside, “What’s your name, Ranger?” Shining gripped the controls again, the Torozord following his movements, drawing a pair of twin golden kunai daggers, “I am Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire, Captain of the Royal and Crystal Guard and the Third Magna Defender.” The Torozord brought the daggers together, forming a double bladed javelin and raising it in a salute. “Defender of Equus!” Retinax nodded, saluting with his own weapon, “I am Retinax, General Org and bodyguard of the Master Org. When this is done, you can be certain that your Empire will be the last to fall.” “How thoughtful of you!” Shining snarled, spurring the Torozord to charge, leading with a lunging stab for the large eye in the org’s chest, which Retinax parried with the haft of his axe and pushed back, swinging it in an overhead arc, which was narrowly dodged, the many-eyed axe head whistling by the cockpit. The javelin came back around, locking with the org’s weapon again, neither combatant willing to give an inch to the other before pushing apart again and launching into a flurry of blows and counters at each other, their weapons crashing against the others over and over again. “Not bad, not bad at all! Given some more time, you could end up proving to be quite the challenge. However!” Retinax leapt back, just as the javelin was whistling toward his chest, causing the Torozord to overcommit and impale the ground, “I’m not about to let that happen!” The eye in the middle of the org’s chest blinked as a bolt of scarlet lightning lanced into the Torozord, resulting in a shower of sparks as the megazord stumbled back and fell to it’s knees from the near-fatal blow. “A shame. Fighting you would have been really fun later on. But orders are orders. Farewell, Shining Armor!” Retinax said as he fired off another lightning blast, aiming directly for the Torozord’s cockpit. “Not gonna happen!” Shining shouted, raising the javelin and ramming it into the ground, forming an improvised lightningrod and drawing the attack away before hurling the javelin at the stunned org, impaling him in the shoulder, drawing an unholy scream from the injured monster. “Gah! N-not bad, not bad at all...” Retinax grunted as he yanked the javelin out of his shoulder with a spray of foul green eye goop, “It’d be bad if I kept fighting like this, so it looks like you win this one, Ranger.” He rumbled with rueful laughter as he clamped a clawed hand over the wound, turning from the downed Torozord and vanishing into thin air. Inside the Torozord’s cockpit, Shining Armor watched helplessly as the Org General simply walked away before smashing his armored fist into the console in frustration. Stratusburg Meanwhile, unaware that there was a new ally to the Power Rangers who'd already proved his worth, the Purple Leviathan Ranger had returned to her home town of Stratusburg, high in what used to the be the Great Smokey Mountains of the Tennessee-West Virginia border back when Equus was named Earth. The mountains were still holding true to their name, thick fog covering the entire peaks and lower mountainsides of Thunderhead Mountain, where Vapor's Cloud-Home was based. She'd come back home to find herself, and see if she was really worthy of inheriting the Purple Ranger powers, HIS powers. "Old black water, keep on rollin' Mississippi moon, won't you keep on shinin' on me, Old black water, keep on rollin', Mississippi moon, won't you keep on shinin' on me... The snippet from Vapor's ever present double eighth note pendant played as she rested herself on a rock that overlooked the thick forest covered valley side. "Celestia above, I wish I knew where that song came from. Grape Vine said it was a very old song, but he never let on how old. And those terms, Mississippi and black water, I've never even heard them used in Equestria." Vapor mused as she shivered from the cold mountain wind and bundled herself up in her brown leather coat. "Could... Could it be this was a human song? If it is, no wonder Grape Vine kept his mouth shut. From what I'd seen, Celestia would likely execute him for even mentioning it was human made in nature." Before, Vapor thought Celestia was wise and kind, and respected all beings if not liked them, but that was before she met Robert. Now her entire world had been shattered. What had Robert done to deserve such mistreatment? Sure, she had read in the history books what humans had done, but now that she re-read them, they were clearly biased. Who knew the whole truth, really? The only way she'd find out for sure was if she got ahold of something that told the human side of things, but how likely was that? Chances were, no books had survived The Great Human Purge. As she thought, Vapor drifted off to sleep and into dreamland... In Vapor's Mind... Midnight in the City that Never Sleeps. Explosions sounded throughout the city of Manehatten's City Center. Two Orgs, the Turbine Org and the Plug Org were on the rampage, and nothing could stop them. Sure, the local police were trying their hardest with magic spells and the like, but they were simply shrugged off. Nopony could stop them, nopony except one. As Plug Org blasted some crates in the back of a chariot full of medical supplies with blasts of lightning, a figure stepped into view. "Ya know, if you really wanted to attract mah attention, all you had to do was just ask." A purple unicorn stallion wearing glasses, the kind that an architect might wear and a brown coat that matched his mane style said as he walked onto the scene, guitar case in hand and a purple pendent around his neck. In the crowd that had rapidly begun to scatter, Vapor Trail had hidden herself in fear behind a taxi chariot resembling that of a New York Cab, leftovers from the humans now long gone. "Who do you think you are?" Plug Org asked. "Whoever he is, he's no match for us!" Turbine Org put in. Grape Vine rolled his eyes as he set down his guitar case and sighed to himself. "Ya'll really don't know who Ah am, do you? Let me enlighten ya." He asked sarcastically. "This city here, it once stood for freedom and welcomed all, and it still does, but I'm afraid you two are going to have to be evicted and your passports stripped from ya." Grape Vine then took out a Growl Phone, one Vapor would become very familiar with and put it up to his ear and shouted out "Legendary Wild Access, Ha!" and with a flash of purple light, and a widening of eyes from Vapor, Grape was now the Purple Leviathan Ranger and almost at once, summoned his Leviathan Trident. "With the fury of the rushing waters, Purple Leviathan Ranger!" Both Orgs took a step back in shock. "A-A Ranger, here? It can't be!" Turbine Org stammered out in fear. "Oh, it can. It is!" Grape remarked as he twisted his Trident behind him and readied for battle. "Never mind that, there's two of us, and only one of him! Let's double up!" Plug Org suggested and Turbine Org replied with a "You got it!" and both of them locked hands and fired a wind/lightning combo at Grape Vine who jumped high above it to avoid it and then used both his Trident and Crystal Saber in a scissor formation to break their combination in two purple slashes of light. Turbine Org roared in rage and charged at Grape, and attacked with a fury getting in blow after blow before using his turbines to blow Grape Vine backwards into a taxi chariot. "He's... He's getting his flank kicked out there, I gotta help!" Vapor thought, and for a brief moment, fear vanished and was replaced by courage as she tackled Turbine Org as Grape shouted "No, get out of here, he's too dangerous for you to take on alone!" and was soon proven right when Turbine Org kicked Vapor off him and into Plug Org's arms and he grabbed ahold of her. "Stand down, or this little missy here gets the shock of her life!" "Let her go, you filth." Grape snarled, all pretenses of joking around replaced by pure seriousness. "You'd better be keeping an eye on yourself, not on her!" Plug Org laughed, and before he could figure out what he meant, Grape was stabbed through the chest by his own Crystal Saber thanks to Turbine Org and soundly demorphed, blood gushing from his wound. Plug Org laughed and let Vapor go before both Orgs ran off laughing to themselves while Vapor ran over to Grape. "I... I shouldn't have gotten involved, b-but I-I did and now look what's happened!" Vapor sobbed, but Grape wiped away her tears and handed her his Growl Phone and Animal Crystal, it glowing purple when handed to its new owner. "Don't blame yourself, if Ah was in your position, Ah would have done the exact same. Take my powers, use them to carry on the work Ah can't anymore..." Grape said before he pressed down on his pendent and let the sounds of the black waters carry him away as Vapor sobbed. It was all her fault, and now she couldn't do anything about it. "Actually, there's one thing." She thought as she picked herself off the ground and even as tears still steamed down her face, she shouted to the heavens "Do you hear me Turbine Org, you'll pay for this! I swear on it!" as she pointed the bloodied Crystal Saber to the sky and without even calling out her morphing call, morphed into the new Leviathan Ranger. It was her destiny now, although she didn't want anything to do with it... "So... What do I do now? I have to tell my friends my secret, but I just don't know when, or how they'll react when they learn I'm not the first Purple Ranger and that I directly caused his death. Celestia above, or any deity really, give me a sign!" Vapor prayed, but received no answer. She cursed softly to herself, and broke down into sobs, knowing perfectly well that she'd have to face her sins sooner or later and that when she did it would not be pretty. Carousel Boutique "And here you go, darling." Rarity said cheerfully as she fitted the last of Robert's new attire to him. He now wore a green tank top, a black leather jacket, some new pants and shoes, and of course his lucky Fox Pendant. And to top is all off, he was now clean shaven with a more respectable haircut. "Oh, now that I must say is our finest work yet!" Zephyr put in cheerfully as he clapped his hands in triumph at another job well done. Robert smiled and said "Arigato, you two." and bowed respectfully and then as he adjusted his jacket, reached for his phone and put on Joan Jett's Bad Reputation. I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation You're living in the past it's a new generation "Damn straight." Robert smirked. He sure as Hell didn't give a damn about his bad reputation among the populace. But Rarity wasn't done yet, as she then handed him a pure black trench coat. Robert raised an eyebrow. "What... is this?" He asked slowly. "It's a trench coat darling, what do you think it looks like?" Rarity asked, slightly confused at Robert's growing tone of annoyance. Robert sighed and rubbed his temples. "Yes, I know what it is, but it's black. Black trench coats are only for people who are trying WAY too hard to be badass. No offence, but I'm really not interested in giving off that kind of image." "Oh, well... If you say so..." Rarity said sadly before putting the trench coat away in a nearby closet. Right about then, a vague memory struck him. He remembered Lightning say he could die for all she cared and Sunset's wings bursting into flame, and Princess Shayla watching in shock at the whole exchange. Robert's eyes widened. If Lightning was so bigoted against humans, why hadn't she tried attacking Shayla yet? "Unless... Shayla's hiding what she REALLY looks like to them. There's only one way to find out. Ask her herself." "Hey man, everything alright? You seemed a bit lost in thought for a second there." Zephyr said, waving a hand in front of Robert's face and snapping him out of his musings. He blinked a few times, and blushed red after realizing he'd lost himself in thought. "Yeah... Yeah. Just need to get a question answered." Robert said quickly before dashing out of the store, but then peeked his head back in and exclaimed "Thanks for the new gifts, Rarity-San, and the haircut, Zephyr-San!" before dashing off again. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Zephyr all looked at each other and shrugged before Zephyr summed up their thoughts in a single sentence. "Well... That was odd to say the least." END Author's Note Okay, so first M rated chapter of anything, and I think you can see why with the violence level displayed here. On that note, yes I just did kill off one of my OCs, one of the lead characters in another of my stories at that. Of course, now we know why the reason Vapor doesn't really like the Leviathan powers, given that she thinks she doesn't deserve them and she was responsible for Grape's death. Meanwhile, Robert fresh with some new duds (Wait... Did he actually be polite to somepony for once and use honorifics?) gains a mystery to solve... Anyways, your comments and thoughts on this chapter are appreciated as always. Also huge thanks to The Villain in Glasses for writing the Torozord and Retinax fight scene!
Part 13: A Secret Revealed Ponyville Robert ran through the streets of Ponyville, thoughts rushing and swimming through his head like a raging river about this new revelation on his mind. Princess Shayla had to be hiding her true appearance from the Rangers, it was the only thing that made sense. If she wasn't, she would have been attacked by Lightning Dust long ago, and the rest of the Rangers probably wouldn't have put as much faith and trust as they did in her as they seemed to. Hell, they wouldn't have accepted the responsibility of being a Ranger from a human, as far as he could tell. Sunset maybe, given how she seemed to didn't mind him so much, although for what reason God only knew. Then again, for all he knew, she could have been playing him like a fiddle and was secretly loyal to Princess-Dick-With-Wings-And-A-Horn for all he knew. Honestly, he didn't know who to trust on this planet. Hell, for all he knew, Rarity and her friends could turn on him at the first possible moment, given how close they seemed to be with both Sunset and Twilight. Robert's cop senses were screaming at him not to trust anyone and just fend for himself, like he always had, but his mind was telling him that no one could be that nice unless it was genuine. But then again, they could be just VERY good actors. "Is it really paranoia if everyone's out to get you?" Robert asked himself as he ran through the streets. Suddenly, his ears picked up something flying towards him and his hand almost at once reached out and grabbed the oncoming object, which turned out to be a tomato thrown by a pony from a vendor. Robert chuckled, and to the pony's surprise, actually took a bite out of the tomato. "You know..." Robert commented and turned to the vendor, after throwing the piece of fruit behind him and it splattered onto the ground, its innards going everywhere. "If you're going to throw something at me, make sure it's not edible first. Try something rotten next time. Hell, if you really want to do some damage, pick up a brick and throw it. Might actually hurt." Robert deadpanned. "Now if you excuse me, I have somewhere more important to be then hanging around here with you lot." "Fine!" The vendor shouted. "Go run along and kill yourself, you vile animal!" "Oh, there's a vile animal around is there?" Robert smirked, with the shopkeeper having unknowingly set himself up for one of Robert's infamous snarky deadpan comebacks. "If I see him or her, rest assured, you'll be the first to know." Cackling to himself as the shopkeeper fumed, Robert kept on his journey slowing his pace as he realized he didn't know jack-shit on how to actually get back on the Animarium. "Okkkkkayyyy... Permission to say Cock, Lord?" Robert asked as he looked skywards. When he received no answer, Robert rolled his eyes and let out a loud "COCK!" anyways. Then he got an idea. "Of course, you bloody fucking moron! Ask Sunset!" Robert smiled before it faded as another realization came to him and he slapped himself in the face and muttered "Cock." again to himself. He had no idea where Sunset actually lived. Of course, he could ask her friend Twilight... "Okay, two problems with that. Problem one: You don't know where Twilight lives, and secondly, she hates your guts and would probably take you right to Princess-Dick-With-Wings-And-A-Horn's Castle to be vaporized or some such scheiss. Hell, wouldn't be surprised, given how much of a suck up Twilight seems to be, that those two are probably fucking each other night and day. Bloody fucking Wunderbar." Robert mused to himself and muttered "Life's a bitch isn't it?" "Oh yes Uncle Burai, give me a bloody fucking amulet that's said to bring me luck. What an absolutely bloody fucking wonderful idea. Well, where's that luck now, huh? Ā, chimamire no kami wa, watashi ga kono sobokuna kyoku o ajiwau tame ni watashi no menomaede uchiaketa nodarou ka?" Robert muttered to himself, cursing his ancestors and generally everything that had led him up to this point. "God's a teme." He uttered, not even caring by this point he was pretty much committing blasphemy. Then he heard a voice, that in all his 27 years of living, he could safely say he thought he would never hear outside the television. "Yeah, life sucks for someone who's a human or wellllllll... at least someone who looks like one in my case doesn't it?" An English accented voice with a very familiar verbal tick to it remarked from behind Robert and he whirled around to face the Tenth Doctor. Robert blinked once, then twice, then three times, to make sure he wasn't seeing things. But there he still stood, brown overcoat, blue suit, trainers and sticky uppy hair and all. "Oi, you know if I was a Weeping Angel you'd be dead or sent off to another time by now." The "Doctor" remarked as he pulled his Sonic Screwdriver out of his many pockets and began scanning him and muttering to himself. "Yeah, sent to another time would be a good thing. Anywhere but here, really. Hell, I'd take the bloody Dark Ages over this shithole of a planet." Robert mused. Meanwhile the Doctor still muttered to himself and scanned. "W-Will you stop bleeping me!?! W-What the Hell do you think you're doing anyways?" Robert sputtered out, but was ignored. "Yep, one heart, no organs in the wrong place and I don't detect any traces of an image changer." The Doctor mused while putting on a pair of glasses and studying him closely and then threw his hands around Robert (Much to his displeasure) and hollered "Oh yes, we've got a full blooded human here!" in excitement before a thought struck him and he kissed Robert squarely on the mouth, even using tongue! "Okay, no venom sacks in the tongue. Human, definitely." The Doctor remarked before muttered "Rassilon, hope Derpy doesn't find out about that one..." The look on Robert's face was priceless if you could see it. It was an odd mix of anger, disbelief and the one of someone who looked as if they were about to punch someone to the floor. "Have you ever been punched when you do that?" Robert asked dryly, having no patience for this and also wondering what in the Nine Circles of Hell a fictional character was doing right in front of him, scanning him and then kissing him full on the mouth and snogging him senseless! "...A few times yes." The Doctor admitted. "Good, because if you don't stop acting like a complete twat that's what's going to happen to you in a second here." Robert remarked, his eyebrow twitching quite a bit and the sound of teeth grinding could be heard. "Oi! Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" The Doctor asked in offence. "Alright, enough. I don't know if someone slipped me something or I'm high on bloody magic mushrooms, but could you at least show me where Sunset Shimmer lives so I can get a means of transport to a floating island in the sky?" Robert remarked before he realized how that must have sounded. The Doctor didn't look at him like he was mental like Robert was half expecting. He simply pointed to a house with a golden rooftop not unlike the Taj Mahal with a giant sun atop it. "Okay, how the bloody Hell did I miss that?" Robert asked himself and threw his hands up in the air for a brief moment as he walked towards the home and if he been listening a little closer, he would have heard the Doctor say to himself "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." as he knew Robert was going to have to learn the painful truth about when and where he was eventually... The Animarium Robert groaned as he hit the grass with a thud and muttered "Oh, I'm never going to get used to that." as Sunset appeared beside him in a golden flash of light in her usual attire of her yellow and red dress and tiara before she helped him up with a smile. "Oh, don't worry. You'll get the hang of it. Took all of us a while." Sunset said with a kind smile. Robert still wasn't entirely sure if that smile was genuine or she was faking it. "...Did Lightning land in a tree when it first happened to her?" Robert asked. Sunset's rather embarrassed along with partially amused expression said it all. "Serves her right, the bitch." Robert remarked before he muttered "Oh, won't she be surprised when she learns I'm not dead. Might kneel over and drop dead herself, not that it would be a bad thing." Sunset winced painfully even as the twosome walked through the door that led to the Animarium's main temple. Robert had actually heard what Lightning said about him? Okay, he's clearly not going to be working with her anytime soon. Best to keep Lightning away from him whenever they're on the Animarium together. I can't believe I'm saying this about one of my friends and teammates, but I wouldn't put it past her to try and attack Robert." Sunset mused, even as the waters of the viewing fountain glowed and a blue orb appeared from it before it changed into the form of Princess Shayla. "Welcome you two." Shayla greeted in her usual friendly way but then she saw the look on Robert's face and frowned. "Is... Is something wrong?" She asked, hoping severely that Robert hadn't found out what she thought he had. "Care to explain something? Like why Lightning hasn't attacked you yet because of your... appearance?" Robert asked. "Oh... OH!" Shayla said suddenly in realization as she figured out what Robert was getting at. "As soon as the first Wild Force Ranger of this time, Vapor Trail gained access to her powers, I knew she and any future Rangers might be frightened by how I look. As you know, that fear holds true. So I disguised myself with a complicated illusion spell to make myself look like an Alicorn to them." Robert took a look at Sunset's unsurprised face and then he realized. "You knew?" He asked, looking at her. "Course I knew, I could detect that illusion spell a mile off. But I decided not to dispel it and keep Shayla's secret, and let her drop her veil whenever she felt the time was right." Sunset replied before she and Shayla shared a look and gestured for Robert to sit down. It was time he knew the full truth, and they both knew it. "Speaking of... secrets, there's one we've been keeping from you. It's about where you are. You're not on an alternate world in another dimension or on another planet where the Animarium has conveniently moved like you first thought. There's... There's no other way to put this, you're on Earth, 3,000 years into your future if my guess is right." Sunset admitted. Robert nodded. He'd had his suspicions right from when he landed on the Animarium. He may have been a bad cop, but he wasn't a stupid one. There had been too many coincidences for it to be anything else. "Okay, now the obvious question. Where are all the humans?" Robert asked, although he had a sinking feeling he already knew. At this, Shayla let a tear fall from her face and looked at him gravely. "I'm sorry Robert, there's no other way of putting this. Celestia... She exterminated them all." "Tell me what happened, all of it." Robert snarled. "It happened in the year 3007. I don't know how it happened, a genetic mutation in the DNA, or maybe an unknown magic filling them, but whatever the case, ponies soon began to walk and talk like you and me. At first, they were greeted with open arms, but after that... History becomes a little fuzzy. Fear took hold, as it always does of something new, and soon they were treated with suspicion, and then it turned to hatred. Hunting parties were formed, and ponied were hunted down. Raped, skinned, killed, you name it, humans did it." Shayla continued, tears of shame streaming down her face fully now. "It was only inevitable that retaliation was going to occur. Celestia, along with Commander Hurricane of the pegasi tribe struck back. They hunted down and killed every last human on Earth, even the non guilty parties." Robert slowly got off the stone chair on which he sat upon, and then ran into the jungle with Sunset calling after him. She followed him into the brush and found him in a clearing and Robert whirled upon her and balled up his fist and struck her soundly in the face. "And you're loyal to this... this genocidal bitch? She wiped out a whole fucking species, all on the actions of one fucking minority and then she has the fucking nerve to say it all was all of fucking humankind that did her wrong and everypony fucking believes it and takes her word as fucking gospel because she's fucking Princess Celestia!" Robert roared before he broke down and sobbed. All those centuries of humans and magical creatures and aliens living together in harmony, ruined by one group of asshole humans! And now... And now they were all gone. Every last bit, every last trace of humanity had been wiped out! Suddenly he felt a pair of warm comforting wings wrap around him and pull him into a hug and let Robert sob into her shoulder. "She really is the Princess of Empathy, isn't she?" Robert asked himself even as he cried. END Author's Note So, Robert finally learns the secret that's been kept from him for the past few weeks, and in doing so finally punches a Princess, although the last one any of us expected. Anyways as you know today the Power Rangers reboot has been released, so let's take a look back at the whole TV show that started it all... Of course, this chapter is the other main reason I rated this fic M, given how many F-Bombs have been dropped over the course of it, and all by the same person. Anyways, translation time! Scheiss: Shit Teme: Bastard Ā, chimamire no kami wa, watashi ga kono sobokuna kyoku o ajiwau tame ni watashi no menomaede uchiaketa nodarou ka: "Argh, what bloody God have I ticked off for my like to go this loony tunes? As always, comments and criticism are appreciated!
Part 14: Aftermath (Kitsune Rising Part 1)The Nexus Retinax groaned out in pain as he was thrown against the stone walls by a blast of red lightning from The Master Org's wand as those two damned Duke Orgs, Artilla and Helicos, who should be helping their superior just laughed at him and his pain. When he'd first came stumbling into the Nexus, one clawed hand covering his ruined eye, they'd seemed to share some concern for their fellow Org like they rightly well should have, but the Master had ordered them to back off and said he'd take care of their General. As it turned out, taking care of meant punishing him for his failure. "YOU IMBECILE! YOU COMPLETE AND UTTER GUTLESS EXCUSE OF AN ORG!" Thrax roared, his entire body glowing a furious blood red like color. "I sent you to do one simple task, take down a squad of Putrids and destroy, or at least create enough havoc that the populace would start to have doubts about the Royal Sister's leadership, and you failed to do that! Now they're more sure then ever of their Kingdom's solidarity because of your failure!" "Master, please! Have mercy!" Retinax pleaded and another blast of lightning struck him, this time in his eye, which was damaged beyond any normal means of repair. "If those two Rangers hadn't shown up, I would have carried out my orders! Hell, I almost defeated the Magna Defender!" "Funny, that's not how it looked to me..." Helicos snickered. "Seems to me, he and his partner had you on the ropes. How's that eye of yours holding up by the way?" Had Retinax not been so wracked with pain, he would have picked up his axe and removed the Duke Org from the face of existence entirely. "Yes, Helicos is right, it seemed to me that despite it being his first day on the job, the Magna Defender caused you, YOU, one of the most powerful Orgs in history to come scurrying home to me like a kicked puppy." Thrax commented and blasted his servant again before wrapping him up in chains of lightning and lifting him up to the ceiling and dropping him to the floor with a powerful throw, cracking the ground beneath where Retinax hit. "Are you now starting to get the point, or do I have to teach you some more?" Thrax asked sarcastically, hoping severely that this piece of worthless trash who'd had his time already and failed one too many times in his previous life still hadn't got the point. "Yes... Master." Retinax groaned out in pain. He knew he'd failed, and he knew he deserved the punishment for failure. Thrax smirked and finally laid his wand next to his throne leaving Retinax to suffer a little while longer and reflect on his failures. He'd heal him, but just not right now. Suddenly, Thrax's horn glowed, along with Retinax's and Helico's and Artilla's as well. The two Duke Orgs and Thrax smiled, as they knew what this meant. "There's a new Org spirit on the rise. Go find him and make sure HE does HIS work properly." Thrax smirked as Artilla and Helicos bowed before he let out a shout. "Turbine Org, get in here!" He roared, and from another cavern, the Turbine Org and killer of Grape Vine emerged and bowed down to his Master. "What do you want of me, Master Org? Your wish is my command. My only desire is to serve, after all." He requested and Thrax smirked. Good. It was always nice to have a loyal, but dumb servant around who couldn't tell when he was being used. "Go with them." Thrax ordered, gesturing to Artilla and Helicos. "Make sure that everything goes to plan. While I'm quite sure the Rangers won't be able to handle this new Org nor those two, as I have learned, it is always best to have an alternate plan in place in case everything does go sour. Between the four of you, the Rangers won't be able to stop me this time..." Thrax chuckled darkly and all three Orgs bowed and left the cavern with Thrax turning his throne, and back to Retinax and to a chessboard. On that chessboard, were figurines. One was the black king, Thrax, and the other, the white king, Princess Celestia. Both sides' respective other chess pieces were their warriors. Thrax, his Orgs. Celestia, her Rangers and the Royal Guards. "Now... Who will make their move next?" He mused to himself in thought. "Me, or that Princess? I'm verrrry interested in finding out for myself." Then, Thrax had a thought and a smile came to his face. Maybe Retinax hadn't failed as badly as he had thought. "Maybe I can make something of this fiasco. After all, if it seems like the Rangers are the only ones able to protect Celestia and her precious kingdom, the populace will loose faith in her and her sister either way, therefore I win anyways and can start taking over. Not just the kingdom, my grand designs are far bigger than that after all..." Canterlot Castle: Celestia's Private Quarters Princess Celestia tossed and turned in her sleep restlessly, lost in memories of a time long ago, back when everything was well with the world. Back when before the humans turned on them, back before... HIM. And then it came, like it always did whenever she was drawn back to those memories. "You like this, Pony-Bitch?" "P-Please stop! Please!" Celestia's mane unconsciously ignited into a burst of flame at the multitude of emotions she felt. Rage, pain, shame and sorrow and disgust she'd felt at taken against her will. Thankfully, Celestia had long ago charmed her bed against fire spells as this little flame-out had happened before. It always happened with this memory. Then, in her dreams things went completely black all around her, before she could see THEM. Each and every face she'd murdered, the kind souls who deserved none of it. They taunted her, saying it was all her fault, and the worst thing about it was that is was true. She had murdered those poor souls, without mercy in cold blood. And it horrified and disgusted her down to her core. "No... No... NO! Please, have mercy! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Celestia screamed out in her sleep and her shouts were loud enough for Luna to come running into her room, her personal sword in her hands but when she saw her big sister curled up in the bed sobbing, Luna dropped it to the floor, the blade clattering against the marble floor while Luna pulled her sister into a hug and whispered calming words into her ears as Celestia sobbed. "It's okay... It's okay... I'm here now, everything will be alright." Luna whispered. When Luna was just a young pony and she had nightmares, it was always Celestia who came to her to give her comfort. But now Celestia had been having these nightmares for who knew how long, probably for at least since Luna had been banished to the moon and whenever they happened, she was the one to return the favor. Suddenly, Celestia's eyes flashed orange instead of their usual pink and she shoved Luna backwards with a telekinetic blast. "Yes, everything will be alright... As soon as Robert's done and dealt with." Solar Flare snarled and Luna found herself backing away from her sister's counterpart until she felt a hard substance against her back. Solar Flare levitated a golden and navy blue sword off the wall and pointed it directly at Luna's heart. Suddenly, Celestia took control once again and once she realized what she had been about to do, dropped the sword in horror and pulled her sister into a hug. "Mystic Mother above... I-I can't control her! You've got to get away from me, or better yet, lock me up in Tartarus so deeply that'd I'd never escape! I'm dangerous Luna, I can't be around anypony or anyone!" Celestia whimpered in fear only for Luna to look at her firmly. "No, I'm not doing that to you Celly." Luna stated firmly and in a tone that left no room for arguments, using her childhood nickname for her sister in the process to state how determined she was in her stance. "I would never do that to you. You're not dangerous, only Solar Flare is. And I promise you this, WE WILL find a way to get her under control... Together, like we always have. We're sisters, and we must weather this together." "Thank... Thank you..." Ponyville: Sunset sighed to herself as she walked through the streets of her home away from home. She had known Robert would not take it well when the secret was finally unveiled, but she hadn't known it would be this badly. He was FURIOUS, and all of his thoughts were focusing on not just dethroning Princess Celestia, but murdering her outright. He was in no mental state to be out and about among the streets of Ponyville, or anywhere else for that matter. He didn't trust anypony or anyone aside from her or Princess Shayla, seeing as how they were the only ones willing to state the truth to him. For that reason, Princess Shayla had decided it best not to let any of the other Rangers on the Animarium for their own safety, as it was a pretty reasonable guess Robert might attack them for being loyal to Princess Celestia. As she wandered aimlessly through the streets of the small town, she found herself walking into Rarity and Zephyr's shared Boutique/Barber Shop. Rarity took notice of her distressed state at once. "Something the matter dearie?" Rarity asked kindly. "It's... It's about Robert." Sunset said sadly, a tear going down her face. "He knows... Knows about everything Princess Celestia and Commander Hurricane's forces did to his species." The Boutique went completely silent. Zephyr, who was combing Lyra's mane, dropped both his jaw and his comb in shock and whispered "Oh dear Mystic Mother..." while Bon-Bon, who was watching and waiting her turn for her mane to be styled couldn't find any words to say. Sparkler, who was trying on a leather jacket that Rarity had made for her, muttered "Oh no..." "And I assume that's when he punched you?" Rarity asked sadly, noting her friend's bloody nose. Rarity was glad Twilight wasn't around to see this, as she'd go running to Celestia at once. "...Yeah. Stings a bit, but I suppose I deserve it for keeping a secret this big from him for so long." Sunset replied sadly. "So where is he now?" Rarity asked curiously and in concern for her friend. "Somewhere safe, so he won't go right up to Princess Celestia's castle and get himself killed. His mental state is... dangerous." Sunset admitted. "Yes, probably best dear. You made a wise choice." Rarity told her friend, laying a hand on her shoulder. Then everypony heard a familiar but unusually saddened voice from behind them. They had been focused on Sunset and Rarity's conversation that they had not taken notice of this new arrival. "The situation with Celestia is more complex then it seems at first glance." Luna's voice put in and everypony turned to her. But something was off. Luna's voice was not coming from her mouth. Sunset and Rarity quickly realized she was speaking telepathically. "What... What do you mean?" Rarity asked in curiosity. Luna sighed sadly. "The Celestia we know, and the one Robert knows, they are one in the same and yet not at the same time." "Okay, now you've lost me." Sunset stared. "What I mean to say is, well... You all know very well I had two facets of my personality? The one you see before you now, and the one formed from my darkest desires and thoughts, Nightmare Moon." "So... You're saying we're dealing with something similar?" Rarity asked with dawning realization at what the Princess of the Night was getting at. Meanwhile, everypony was watching the three mares seemingly standing around doing nothing in confusion. "Yes and no. While in my case it was my own jealousy and you could tell the two apart and Nightmare controlling me completely, with Celestia... It's something else. Solar Flare, her own dark side was formed in a different way, and is more subtle, so subtle in fact you cannot tell who is who, and she influences Celestia's desires. Just earlier I overheard her ask me and the Royal Guard to keep an eye on Robert to make sure he doesn't do anything.... untoward shall we say and when he does, capture and kill him." Luna explained and both Rarity and Sunset covered their mouths in horror. Now everypony was really confused. What could be so horrible that it would garner a reaction like that? "Oh... This is bad. We've got a split personality, but we can't tell which personality is in control at any time unless Solar does anything obviously her!" Sunset whispered before she looked directly at Luna, her gaze drilling into her. "Nothing like that's happened yet... has it?" Sunset was severely hoping she was wrong, but Luna's expression said it all. "Earlier this morning, she tried to stab me in the chest with Celestia's personal sword, the Blazing Sun. I... I don't even feel safe in my own castle anymore!" Luna sobbed in shame before Rarity put an arm around her. Seeing their beloved Princess of the Night break down with no obvious explanation was extremely confusing, and yet worrying at the same time. "Then you shall stay here in Ponyville, under an alias. There's an inn nearby, goes by the name of the Prancing Pony. Disguise yourself, give yourself a new name and Solar will never find you while a solution to split the two is found." Rarity stated and Luna smiled weakly. "T-Thank you..." Luna whispered before she vanished in a flash of blue light. "She does love her entrances and exits, doesn't she?" Sunset joked weakly and gained a few chuckles out of that before her expression turned serious. "I'll go to Twilight's, explain the situation and we'll find a solution, fix this mess and get our Celestia free from that monster." Sunset stated firmly before running out the door, a new purpose filling her very body. It was a good thing she left when she did, as after she'd left a creature that could only be described as a walking camera stepped in. "Heh, perfect. With my wide angle lens, I'll get all of you all at once! Now watch the birdie!" Camera Org said and his camera lens extended and with a click, all of the ponies inside the Boutique had vanished, as if they'd never been there in the first place... The Animarium: Training Grounds Robert, panting and sweating hard punched and kicked at a punching bag set up on a tree branch before, as he imagined it to be Princess Celestia, with a powerful chi energy infused punch, he knocked it off its hanger and punched a hole right through it sending it flying next to a whole heap of punching bags, all with the exact same extent of damage done to them. Robert's tank top and jacket had been tossed to the side. Celestia, I swear you'll pay for this, that I can promise you." Robert snarled to himself before taking out a bottle of water and raising it above him and let its cool refreshing liquid rush over his sweaty form and down his chest. "For the record, I'm so sorry for what's happened to your kind." Princess Shayla said softly from behind him and Robert whirled around to face her. "If you were truly sorry, you'd let me go down to Earth and do what must be done." Robert growled out. "And if you did that, what would be the result?" Shayla asked him firmly. "Death and the total extinction of humans on Earth?" "Well, at least I'd die for my beliefs and show that bitch what the human race can do when they really try. Hell, even if she kills me I'd be the one with the last laugh." Robert chuckled darkly. "But I can handle her. She's just an arrogant bitch who needs to be put in her place." Princess Shayla didn't like the way he was talking. His arrogance and foolhardy courage, it hid another emotion. Despair, a despair deep enough to do something suicidal. "I'm sorry, but I cannot let you leave." Shayla stated and Robert took a fighting stance. "Well... If that's the case then I'll have to go right through you if needed." Robert told her and Princess Shayla took out a Crystal Saber of her own, a green crystal inside it with a little bird inside that. "I've had multiple Orgs try and kidnap me before and in every case succeed, did you really think after four attempts I wouldn't have learnt how to defend myself?" Shayla asked and even as Robert charged at her and threw a right cross, Shayla grabbed ahold of him by the arm and threw him behind her. Robert picked himself off the ground and tried a flying kick but Shayla raised her Saber and blocked the kick before kicking Robert in the stomach and sending him flying backwards into a tree. "I'm sorry Robert." Shayla thought sadly to herself, before her personal guardian, a giant deer with mostly green fur with a golden chest and belly with silver antlers along with purple eyes appeared and it's antlers glowed golden before Robert found himself pinned to the tree by miniature versions of those very same antlers. Try as he might, Robert wouldn't be able to break free and Shayla knew it. The Deer's magic prevented it. Meanwhile, down below in Ponyville, Sunset rushed towards the Golden Oaks before screams reached her ears and she turned to see ponies fleeing from the Camera Org before they vanished into thin air as the Org snapped a photo of them. "And now you're next. Oh, what a honor it'll be to snap a photo of the Princess of Empathy and have her soul in my collection. The Master Org might even make me a Duke Org!" He exclaimed excitedly. "Sorry, but that's not going to happen if I have anything to say about it." Sunset said, pointing her hand right at the Org. For now, speaking with Twilight would have to wait, there were more current matters to worry about. She reached for her Growl Phone and began her morphing call. "Legendar- But before she even got through the first word, there was a clicking sound and Sunset's whole world was enveloped in white... (To Be Continued...) Author's Note Okay, so now things start to really heat up. As you might have guessed from the chapter title, a new Power Ranger is about to awaken, and I think we all know who. Meanwhile, The Master Org/Thrax sets out with a new plan to try and undermine Celestia's rule, and has already got one of the Rangers in his clutches, right when she was going to Twilight's to try and figure out how to split Celestia/Solar Flare. And as you might expect, things will only get worse from here... Next time... "It's Morphin Time! Legendary Wild Access!"
Part 15: Click, Click, Zoom (Kitsune Rising Part 2) Ponyville: Ponyville Park Meanwhile, unaware of the new Org on the loose and the fact that he’d already claimed the souls of her fellow Ranger and the Princess of Empathy, Sunset Shimmer, Vapor Trail was enjoying the day at the park. She’d taken out a beautiful shaved wooden acoustic guitar and was strumming it softly to herself as she sat on a park bench. A soft, haunting melody began to echo from her lips, drawing the eyes of every passerby, it was beautifully sung and everypony was keen to listen in on it thanks to Vapor’s soft singing voice. “I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and I fear no evil because I’m blind to it all… and my mind and my sword, they comfort me, because I know I’ll kill my enemies when they come.” As Vapor strummed along to the song and ponies, whether just walking by or spending time with their friends, they all took time out of their day to listen to the absolutely beautiful music being played in their midst. Vapor smiled at this and felt joy fill her heart. She was just singing because she wanted to, not to make any money or anything of the sort. But her fellow ponies, they thought it was good. They had stopped whatever it was they were doing and just listened. Everyone just enjoyed it for what it was, plain and simple. Well, almost everyone. “Ugh, I hate that music. Always have hated music. Ooh, if I had blood it’d be boiling right about now.” Artilla grumbled to himself as he, Camera Org and Turbine Org stood hidden away in some bushes unseen. “Do we attack now?” Camera Org asked eagerly, ready to take his next shot. “No… I don’t think so. Being the brilliant tactician that I am, she needs to be worn down a bit. Attacking her head on would be just stupid, as she could easily call her fellow Rangers in to help her out.” Artilla snapped and Turbine Org whirled around to face her in surprise. “Wait, that little bitch is the Purple Levithan Ranger now? Huh, looks like that idiot of a Manehattenite passed on his powers before he died.” “Didn’t you face her once before?” Artilla asked, and if he could raise an eyebrow, he would have. “And soundly get beaten?” Camera Org put in with a chuckle. “W-Well it was dark, I couldn’t see her face! Plus, there was that traitorous Duke Org Zen-Aku with her to back her up!” Turbine Org refuted. “...Remind me to deal with him later.” Artilla grumbled to himself. “Anyways, that’s besides the point. Don’t we have this one to deal with right now, and then worry about the others? One step at a time and all that.” Turbine Org reminded. “I see your point. And I have just the things to deal with her.” Artilla said and then called out “Tengas!” before teleporting away. He had the utmost confidence that his warriors and the two Orgs could handle things from here. It was just one Ranger after all. Suddenly, Vapor saw ponies screaming and scattering as appearing in flashes of feathers were purplish black anthropomorphic crow like creatures with the beaks of parrots and demonic like yellow eyes, cawing and flapping their wings threateningly. “Yeesh, I could see I was attracting fans but this isn’t the kind I want. Time to put you back in the birdcage where you belong!” Vapor remarked as she put her guitar to the side and took a fighting stance. “Get ‘er, boys!” The lead Tenga cawed out and the murder of crows charged towards Vapor and she kicked one Tenga in the head but was pulled away by two more but Vapor extended her wings and blew them away in gusts of wind before grabbing a Tenga and tossing it towards two of its fellows. Just then, Shayla rang. “Kinda in the middle of something here Princess.” Vapor answered before catching a Tenga’s punch with her free hand and holding it as she then made it spin several times in midair and land on it’s backside and into the grass with a simple twist of her arm. “Vapor, Sunset Shimmer has gone missing, along with several other ponies in Ponyville. I suspect Org influence.” Shayla informed. “Oh gee, you think?” Vapor asked sarcastically as she kicked another Tenga right into the sword tip of one of it’s fellow’s swords, purple blood oozing from the wound as the second Tenga’s eyes widened as he realized what had happened and who he had accidently killed. “Hey, that was my nestmate! We grew up together since we were chicks!” The Tenga exclaimed angrily.” “I believe that the Orgs are making a list of your fellow Rangers and targeting them one by one.” Shayla continued, seemingly oblivious to Vapor’s situation. How the Princess couldn’t have noticed the sounds of Tengas cawing and cawing along with the screams of pain was beyond her. “Yeah, I might have noticed. Seems I might be next on that list.” “What makes you say that?” Shayla inquired curiously. “Call it a hunch.” Vapor replied dryly before she hung up. “Time to take things up a notch. Legendary Wild Access! Hah!” With a flash of purple light, she was once again in Ranger form and her Crystal Saber drawn. She spun around in a circle and sliced down a multitude of Tengas that were attempting to surround her in a flurry of quick cuts. Next, she drew her trident and impaled a Tenga with it, swung it around and threw it into some other of the bird like warriors. “She’s too powerful for us, c’mon boys, let’s get out of here!” One Tenga yelled, and he and the rest of his murder flew away into the sky. Vapor let out a sigh of relief, resting her trident against her shoulder, demorphing. Then she heard a voice. A voice all too familiar to her and one that haunted her every nightmare. “Just what I was waiting for!” Turbine Org laughed as he and Camera Org appeared from the brush. “N-No… It can’t be you! I thought you were dead!” Vapor said in disbelief, her eyes widening behind her visor. “Might have blinded me in one eye, but I’m still kicking, Org healthcare is a lot better than what you ponies get.” Turbine Org taunted as he spun up his turbines and sent Vapor spiraling backwards into a tree with gale force winds. “Look at you now, unmorphed and perfect for a portrait on the Master Org’s walls. Might spruce that old cave of ours up a bit.” Turbine Org chuckled as he and his fellow Org approached. Camera Org nodded silently, the aperture in his lens narrowing at Vapor Trail. “My my, this seems awfully familiar doesn’t it? Two orgs up against one Purple Ranger, and she’s at the end of her rope as well. Those powers of yours have to be a curse, as everypony who uses them ends up dead in the end!” Turbine Org cackled before several blades of yellow energy crashed into him, sending the Org sprawling. “Who the fuck!?” The surprised Org shouted angrily, picking himself up. “You shall not touch her.” Zen-Aku stated simply, walking out from the shadow of a tree and stepping in front of Vapor Trail. He turned his head to the shocked Vapor. “See, I told you the loyalty of a Wolf is forever.” The Duke Org said, giving her a fang-filled grin. Vapor smiled back, nodding before readying her trident again. Zen-Aku did the same, leveling his crescent blade at the two Orgs before him. “You two, leave. Now.” He growled, “I will not repeat myself.” Camera Org’s lens refocused on the bipedal wolf, “Who do you think you are?” He asked angrily. “Zen-Aku, the Wolf of the Night. Leave now before I do things I will not regret.” “Oh, you’ll be leaving alright. Watch the birdie!” Camera Org laughed, pressing the trigger button in his hand, snapping a picture of Zen-Aku. The loyal wolf vanished on the spot, as though he had never been there at all. “And now for you.” Turbine Org commented as he looked at Vapor before he turned to Camera Org. “May I do the honors?” He requested. “It’d be my personal pleasure!” Camera Org laughed and with a loud click Vapor’s world faded away into white… Ponyville: Ponyville High School Elsewhere Sunburst AKA the Black Vampire Bat Ranger was in the middle of studying a particular type of science. That was, seeing how long one could hold a kiss with one’s fiance. He moaned as Galaxy trailed a hand around his back as they stumbled into the Science Lab together muzzles locked in a passionate kiss and Galaxy’s wings wrapped around Sunburst. With a light shove, Sunburst was pushed up against a wall as Galaxy practically pounced on him and wrapped his legs around Sunburst’s waist and ground his hips into Sunburst’s own before he broke the kiss and gave his lover a fanged smile. “My my my… What would your students say if they saw this?” Galaxy asked seductively as he booped Sunburst on the nose. “You, their nervous wreck of a teacher making out with Canterlot’s native psycho? Oh, the gossip that would wander.” Sunburst blushed and pushed up his skewed glasses with his magic. “I… I don’t care what they’d say. I just want to be with you.” “That’s the spirit. Now, did you say you wanted to be with me or WANTED to be with me? It’s all in the wording, you know.” Galaxy chuckled before he unbuttoned his fiance’s shirt and placed a trail of kisses down Sunburst’s chest as the orange unicorn groaned in pleasure as Galaxy reached for his pants and let them drop to the floor. Suddenly, a voice came from behind them. “My my, caught with one’s pants down. This’ll make for a particularly embarrassing photo!” Camera Org laughed. The hulking figure fixed it's lens on the twosome, it's aperture dilating as though it was glaring at them. It looked like a camera on legs, a hideously scarred torso and legs jutting out from the bottom of the device, two horns jutted out of the top of it's head. Both Galaxy and Sunburst dropped what they were doing and reached for their Morphers. “Unleash the- “Legendar- But like Sunset before them, they never got a chance to finish their calls before there was a clicking sound and they were both gone, their discarded clothes being the only clue that they were there. “Hah, two Rangers in one shot! I’m on a roll today!” Camera Org gloated as he walked out of the lab. On the Animarium, Princess Shayla was watching in horror as each of the Rangers got their picture snapped and their souls taken. Now there were only two Rangers left, Shining Armor and Lightning Dust. Behind her, Robert watched in concern. He didn’t know what the Princess was seeing through the fountain, but he knew it couldn’t be good judging by her body language. “Princess, if you need help, just let me free! I promise, I won’t go after Princess Genocide and help!” Shayla gave him a grateful smile at his help but then she frowned, reminded of Robert’s current mental state. “I’m sorry Robert, but I cannot be sure of your mind’s focus. You’re far too dangerous to let loose. How do I get a guarantee that you won’t let your lust for revenge for what’s been done to your species overwhelm your concern for my Rangers?” Shayla asked, and Robert couldn’t find an answer to that, remaining silent as he grit his teeth in barely suppressed annoyance. In Cloudsdale, Lightning Dust was practicing her tricks and rocketed through clouds punching holes in them and weaving in between the cloud columns the city was famous for before leaving the city’s tall pillars of cloudiminiums, doing a series of loop-de-loops and then rocketing down towards the ground below as it rushed up to greet her but at the last second pulled upwards and rocketed skywards leaving a powerful Sonic Rainboom behind her. She smirked triumphantly. After months of practice, she’d finally pulled it off! “There, now how can’t anypony be impressed by a trick like that? Rainbow Dash, watch out, I’m coming for your record of being the fastest flyer in Equestria, and then my dad’s.” Lightning smirked as she pulled her goggles off her face and let them rest on her forehead. Suddenly, from behind her she heard a fast approaching mechanical whine and turned around to see Helicos, using her propellers to keep her in the air. “So… Only two Rangers left and one of them claims to be one of the fastest flyers in the sky. Well, let’s test that theory with a little race shall we?” The Duke Org challenged. “How bout I destroy you instead and do the world a favor?” Lightning asked in response but Helicos wagged a finger. “How about a little wager. We race, and whoever wins gets to destroy the other. Sounds fair, doesn’t it?” She asked, and Lightning considered the offer. It didn’t take very long to make up her mind. “Deal!” Lightning smirked before rocketing off into the distance, Helicos following close behind. They weaved in between clouds and left jet-like contrails behind them. Helicos slowly gained on Lightning. “That all you got, little pony?” She taunted, pulling up alongside her. Lightning Dust smirked. “Nope!” She yelled, tucking one of her wings in and rolling into a spinning heel kick into Helicos’ eye, drawing a pained shriek from the Org. “Oh, that little bitch. She’s going to pay for that. You want to play dirty? So be it! Blade Shuriken!” Helicos drew back her arms, grabbing several spare propeller blades and hurling the whirling pieces of sharpened metal after Lightning. The pegasus’ eyes widened as she tucked her wings in, narrowly avoiding the buzzing blades as she plummeted off toward the ground again. “Not done yet, freak!” Lightning Dust snarled as she pulled out of her dive and chased after Helicos, placing her Growl Phone next to her ear. “Legendary Wild Access!” In a flash of blue light, she transformed. “With the lightning speed of the Thunderbird! Aqua Thunderbird Ranger!” She put on another burst of speed, easily catching up to Helicos and began trading blows with her mid-flight. “Persistent little pest, aren’t you?” The Org crowed, parrying Lightning’s Crystal Saber with her own propeller blade. “I could say the same to you!” Lightning snarled back, kicking Helicos back and rocketing forward. “Yes… persistent… and very, VERY stupid.” Helicos chuckled as the blades she had thrown earlier came falling back down, slicing into Lightning Dust’s wings as she gasped in shock and pain, falling toward the hard ground below with only Equus’s natural magical field protecting her from certain death, even as the Camera Org chuckled. “Just like Icarus, she flew too close to the sun… and lost her wings~.” Canterlot: Royal Guard Barracks Meanwhile, the last Ranger left was hard at work in training his newest recruits for Royal Guard duty. He’d put up a magical illusion that hid the Magna Defender’s blade and made it look like Shining’s original sword. He’d also hidden away his bracers that allowed him to morph. “Hold your sword steady in your hands, and swing!” With grunts, the recruits swung their blades in time with Shining. “There, that’s good. Now, for a beheading strike.” But just as Shining was about to show them the maneuver, he found himself on what could only be the Animarium. And then walking out of the treeline was a beautiful Alicorn mare, with a worried expression on her muzzle. “Shining Armor, I request your assistance in a matter of grave importance.” “Who are you?” Shining asked, not willing to trust an unfamiliar mare that spoke to him right out of the blue without even introducing herself. “Oh, I forgot. Where are my manners? I am Princess Shayla, leader of the Power Rangers Wild Force.” “So you’re the Princess that Sunset’s been taking orders from on the side. Don’t act so surprised that I know that the Gold Ranger’s her. That horn and wings combination is a dead giveaway.” “Yes, I will have to lecture Sunset about keeping her identity a secret later… If we can get her back that is.” “If? What’s happened?” Shining asked, cocking an eyebrow. “There’s an Org, not as powerful as the one you first fought, but he’s been capturing the Rangers one by one. You’re the last left, and I suspect he will be coming for you sooner or later.” “If that’s true, it’ll probably be on the sooner side. If he wants to meet me, he’ll get a Canterlot worthy welcome from the Magna Defender. Do you have any idea where he is now?” “In the warehouse district. That’s where you’ll find him. But be warned, I have reasons to believe he isn’t alone. There’s no way one single Org could have pulled this off by himself.” “I’ll be careful. I didn’t get to my position by being reckless.” Shining said. Shayla smiled before he was transported back down to Earth and then Shining looked at his second in command, Steel Sentry. It was a sign of Sentry’s unquestionable loyalty that he didn’t remark on Shining’s vanishing act and subsequent reappearance. “Can you take things over from here? Something just came up.” As Shining took off for the warehouse district, he clicked his bracers together and shouted “Magna Power!” and was transformed once again into the Magna Defender. It wasn’t long before he arrived at the scene and aimed his Riot Blaster at the Camera Org. “Give those ponies back. Now. I won’t ask again.” Then two more figures stepped into view. Artilla and Helicos had arrived. Shining’s eyes widened, it was a trap! “Ooh, isn’t he a brave one, taking on all three of us at once! Let’s see if the famous Shining Armor is up to the task, Blade Shuriken!” “Cannon Shot!” A combination of Helicos’ shuriken and Artilla’s cannon blast sent Shining flying before he could even get a chance to fire off a round and the next thing he knew, he was wrapped up in rolls of film, far too thick to rip or tear. The lens of Camera Org whirred as he lined up his own shot. Just then, a loud rumbling sound filled the air and then, bursting through a chainlink fence was a very familiar green car, inside it a phone blaring some very loud punk rock. And then, stepping out of the car as it pulled itself to a halt was Robert Williams, in a pure black trench coat, the very same in fact, that he had thought was for people who were trying way too hard to be badass. He pointed at Camera Org, who took a step back at the pure rage etched on Robert’s face. “You… You, Camera Org are going to give those souls you took back. Most of all Sunset, the day you touched her was the day you signed your death warrant. She was one of the only ponies who was ever kind to me, and by taking her you’ve lined yourself up for destruction.” Robert snarled. “Get out of here Robert! You can’t take them alone!” Shining shouted. “Oh yeah? Watch me.” Robert smirked before running into a nearby warehouse. He knew cameras needed light to take very good pictures, and if the Org didn’t have that, no more soul stealing for him and Robert could take him on fair and square. Just as Robert predicted, the Org was dumb enough to follow him in. Artilla shouted after him. “What are you, stupid? You’ll lose your light!” “Oh, I know how this is going to end… This is not going to be a good day for Orgs.” Helicos muttered to herself before she and her brother teleported away. Meanwhile, Camera Org and Robert stood each other down. Robert let out a war cry and charged towards Camera Org before leaping up to a piece of scaffolding and kicking some metal barrels down at him. As Camera Org tried to readjust and refocus his lens for Robert, the man in question grabbed a chain and used it to run along the walls of the warehouse and leap onto another platform before kicking some cardboard boxes down at the Org, who jumped out of the way to avoid them and Robert grabbed another chain and swung to another platform and then cried out “Call to the Beast inside! Free the Fox!” and unleashed his animal spirit at the Org and the misty claws scratched away at the monster, cracking his lens. Robert smirked, he was out of danger now. With a flip, he jumped down from his platform, falling towards the Camera lens with a downwards axe kick. His heel collided with the cracked glass, shattering it easily, causing a torrent of astral blue fireballs to rocket out of the Org’s shutter and rocket towards Ponyville. “Now… You’re free.” Robert said softly and all over Ponyville, from the Carousel Boutique, where Rarity, Zephyr, Bon-Bon, Lyra and Sparkler had been snapped, to the Ponyville Park where a few more unfortunate souls had been captured and even to where Robert was now, where the souls of the Rangers and Zen-Aku landed and formed back into their bodies. On the Animarium, the Red Lion roared loudly from his clifftop perch and his green eyes flashed. A great deed deserved a great reward. And so, Robert saw an orange orb float down to him and transform his fox pendant into an orange fox’s head on a necklace. He turned back to the Camera Org. He knew exactly what to do now. “Henshin! Legendary Wild Access!” Robert cried out as he slammed a palm down on his new necklace and he was transformed. Morphing Sequence A flash of pure blue flames enveloped Robert as he stood in one of the red gate lined pathways that led up to Inari’s sacred shrine on Mt. Inari and was given an orange form-fitting costume with tooth marks going diagonally across the left side of his chest and a golden fox’s head on his right breast. Then, a cape flamed into existence and a misty orange nine tailed fox bit down on Robert’s head and formed his helmet. Morphing Sequence Ends “With the Cunning of the Fox, Orange Kitsune Ranger!” Robert yelled out as an explosion of orange smoke appeared behind him. “Oh, it’s so good to be back! Sa... dohade ni ikuze!" Robert smirked under his helmet as he pulled out an orange blaster with a fox shaped head from his holster. Robert fired off several golden blasts of energy at the Org and the final blast was enough to make him crash through the wall behind him. At about that moment, one of Thrax’s grenades came flying out of the sky and Robert looked at it and shook his head. “Sa seru ka!” Robert remarked before throwing his Crystal Saber at the grenade and destroying it before it ever had a chance to reach the Org and it boomeranged right back to Robert’s outstretched hand before he pointed his Fox Blaster right at Camera Org, who knew exactly what was coming. “Kitsune Blast!” Robert cried out after combining his Crystal Saber with the weapon and pulling the trigger, unleashing a flaming orb that turned into a giant fox’s head that bit down hard on the Org and caused him to stumble over backwards. “Seibai!” Robert said, resting the blaster on his shoulder and giving a thumbs down as the Org erupted into flames and exploded. “Ugh, I feel like I’ve just woken up from the longest nap in history.” Lightning muttered before they all picked themselves off the ground and almost at once, turned their heads towards Galaxy and Sunburst and noted their state of undress. Vapor blushed red and Lightning burst out laughing. “Uh… We can explain this…” Sunburst stuttered out, blushing as red as a tomato. “I can, you two were doing the horizontal mamba, or were about to anyways before you got captured.” Lightning cackled. “...Oh, I’m never going to hear the end of this am I?” Sunburst moaned. Then, they along with Shining saw the newest Ranger step in front of them. “Who…?” Vapor trailed off and Sunset’s eyes widened in shock. No, it couldn’t possibly be. But she, along with the others was in for the shock of her life when the newcomer demorphed in an orange flash of light and gave a very foxlike smirk. END Author's Note Well, I think Robert's words say it all about this chapter, eh? So, Robert's finally regained his powers, or should I say gained new and more powerful ones. Anyways, now that all the Rangers are assembled, we'll start focusing on their individual personalities. After all, Sunburst and Lightning have pretty much been background characters since they've first appeared and we hardly know anything about them. That's about to change. Anyways, translation time: Seibai: Execution or Judgement "Sa... dohade ni ikuze!": "Now... Let's make this really showy!" “Sa seru ka!”: "As if I'd let you!" or "I don't think so!" (Also, huge thanks to the The Villain in Glasses for making Lightning's duel with Helicos more epic and doing the same for Robert's fight with Camera Org and providing the Japanese phrases.)
Story One AKA Part 16: Sunburst Starflight Sit down, let me tell you a little story. Oh, I suppose I should introduce myself first. My name is Sunburst Starflight, aka the Black Ranger. Now, a bit of history for you on the five Wild Zords that me and my team control. The Kitsune, the Phoenix, the Thunderbird, the Leviathan and the Vampire Bat. The five Legendary Wild Zords that protected the Kingdom of Animaria alongside their king, Animus, Lord of all 100 Wild Zords. Yes, I said one hundred Wild Zords existed at one point. But in the great battle against Master Org, almost all of them, save for a lucky few were destroyed, even Animus himself. All Ten of the Guardians had long been thought lost after that, but by some miracle, by the pure power of humanity, they came back. Each and every single one of them. Animus, he came first, his five components, the Black Lion, the Jaguar, the Sawtooth and so on. He fought the reborn Master Org for the second time, but was destroyed and as far we know, only his physical components were brought back. I don’t know if his consciousness still lives on. But enough about that, you’re probably more interested in me, Mystic Mother knows why, but I’ll tell you my tale. To be honest, my story isn’t that really interesting. It started forty odd years ago, give or take a year, meaning I’m the oldest Ranger on the team. I’ve never done much with my life. It started in a small town, outside what used to be Atlanta, Georgia. I’ve heard, that in Humanity’s golden years, even in the 3000s, it was a place of sin and debauchery. Strip clubs, bars, gambling joints, the lot. Not my kind of place. Mind you, I don’t know how much of this is fact or fiction thanks to Solar Flare, but we’re getting off topic. I had a friend, name of Starlight Glimmer. She, despite being a unicorn, really didn’t seem to have a natural grasp of the magical arts like I did, or at least that’s what I thought I had at the time. But I’m getting ahead of myself. We were best friends, we did everything together. You know, if I wasn’t interested in the male side of the spectrum, we probably could have been in love if we grew up together as teenagers. But as it happened, I earned my Cutie Mark in magical abilities and was shipped off to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Of course, as I found out, I was skilled in booksmarts, but not magic itself. I could barely manage the simplest of spells. I passed school, if only just. I was ashamed of myself, I couldn’t go back and face Starlight nor my parents knowing that they thought I had natural talent and if they knew I didn’t… Who knows what they might have thought of me? I was scared, and it shames me to say it. So I ran all the way to Ponyville, hoping I could stay out of anything that might alert my parents that I was still around. The town was small, small enough for me to stay under the radar as the old human phrase goes. I was welcomed, even made a few friends. But really, every time I saw Celestia’s gifted students, Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle performing magical feats and saving Equestria from any number of threats, I was reminded of my own lack of magical talent. So when the Crystal Empire returned, I ran once again, hoping there was no one there with raw magical talent who wasn’t a unicorn to remind me of what I am, a failure at being a unicorn, and life in general. Mystic Mother above, I bet you want to stop reading right now and give me a hug now don’t you? To be honest, I… I would like that, to tell me I’m not a failure but nothing anypony ever says that to me ever makes me believe it. Except for one. My future fiance, Galaxy Swirls, the infamous Reaper of Canterlot, Captain of Luna’s Night Guard and the Graphite Power Ranger. It’s the oddest thing, we shouldn’t fit together, but somehow… we just do. It started when Galaxy, given some time off by Luna herself came to the Crystal Empire on vacation. I’d just got back from exploring my hideaway from everyone, a place where I went when I just wanted to be alone with my thoughts, the Crystal Forest. It was an apt name, really, when you consider it was a forest literally made of crystals that were hundreds of years old and could grow over 70 feet tall or more, the height of a Saguaro Cactus. It was inside one of those crystals, I found my Animal Crystal, the Black Vampire Fruit Bat. Yes, I said fruit bat as in those things that could suck an apple orchard dry. I asked Princess Shayla to keep that part of the name a secret, as I didn’t want to be laughed at anymore then I already was. Ack, I’m rambling. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Sorry, just had to beat my head against my desk as I’m writing this for a moment there. Now where was I…? Oh yes! Galaxy Swirls, Reaper of Canterlot, Captain of Luna’s Night Guard and the Graphite Power Ranger. I did say that already didn’t I? Well, I suppose me saying it twice keeps one from forgetting. Not all ponies or people have the memories of elephants after all. You know there is an Elephant Wild Zord right? It’s in the hands of my fellow Ranger, Sunset. ...Again, getting off track here. Anyways… It started off simple, me and Galaxy. We just talked, it really was odd how remarkably sane the self given “High Functioning Psychopath” was. Then again, in his own words, “99% of mental cases do think themselves sane, so who’s to say if I’m really sane or not? I may just have a lust for battle that gives off that impression.” He had to leave soon of course, get back to his guard duties after all. At the time, I felt a little of myself hurt inside. I didn’t know why at the time, but I wanted him to stay. So, I made a train trip to Canterlot and surprised him while he was training his men. I wanted to yell out “SURPRISE!”, you know, as you do, but I’m not much of a confident stallion really so it came out more of a quiet stutter. I got the desired effect though. Galaxy certainly was surprised. Mind you, thanks to my nervousness, his men laughed at me and I felt that old familiar stain. Of course, Galaxy for whatever reason threatened them with something called the Blood Moon, and that shut them up real quick. Oddly enough, he took me out on a pity date. I didn’t even know he was into stallions. As it turned out, he swung both ways. He took me to this place called the Tasty Treat, little known restaurant he said, but served the best Indian food in the whole kingdom. And you know what, he was right! The food… Oh Mystic Mother, the food! Not to say Galaxy himself wasn’t charming. He was a remarkably nice stallion, the same I’d known when he visited the Empire. We got to talking spurred on with more than a little bit of alcohol in our systems, pretty much ignoring the food, and shared our pasts talking long into the night. If you thought I had it rough, whoo boy you obviously hadn’t met Galaxy yet. For the first thirty years of his life, everything was nice. He was a noble, leader of the country of Transalfangya (Feel free to laugh if you must) as it turned out. His name was different back then. For privacy reasons, he asks me not to divulge it. Anyways, he had a wife and two children. But that happiness, it was shattered when Queen Chrysalis attacked and slaughtered his whole family except for him, just to twist the knife in. That night, something inside him snapped and he became the stallion he was today. I can only imagine what it was like for him when the Changeling Queen returned and invaded Canterlot at Shining Armor and Cadence’s wedding. So, there we were, two broken stallions. Things progressed fairly quickly from there. That simple crush of mine, it turned from an ember into a blazing inferno of love. On that first date, I got some crucial advice as well, play to my strengths, and not focus on my weaknesses. That is, use my understanding of science to teach others about it. So I headed back to Ponyville and took up the open slot as its High School science teacher. So there you have it, that’s what led me up to this point. Now, let me tell you what happened not too long ago… Okay, for a while now there had been these old legends about this abandoned clock tower outside Ponyville. It was said it had been inhabited by an old stallion, crazy as a loon. Hated everypony and all he really cared about was his money. Stuffed it into rusty mason jars down behind the clock tower and on certain nights if the moon was right you could see his spirit digging up the ground and running his hands through the bits he’d collected. Now, me being a stallion of science, I was a skeptic. So, of course, I wanted to prove myself, not just the legend was bunk but that I wasn’t a coward.. Galaxy insisted on coming along, just in case that legend was true. Personally, I think he wanted an excuse to shove me into that clocktower and snog me senseless, as Robert might put it. (If we had time, I’d put my thoughts on him here, but...) For hours we searched under the full moon, and eventually, I found myself proven right in my mind. That old legend was bunk, just as I thought. Well, not entirely as it turned out. There was a spirit there, an Org spirit to be exact. He took the shape of a giant bell, with one gold eye and a sharp toothed maw and had a hammer to ring himself with. And what a sound it created. It was like Hell’s Bells ringing themselves. We had to cover our ears just to keep ourselves from going deaf. Of course, standing around with our ears covered wasn’t going to get this Org defeated, ergo… “Legendary Wild Access!” “Unleash the Power!” So, there we stood, two lone rangers against a single Org. Seemed like fair odds. Of course, we were overconfident and he quickly had us outmatched. Galaxy tried slashing at him with his Dino Saber, but just couldn’t break through that tough armor of his and so he tossed me his Morpher and I fired off a few shots at the Bell Org. Those bounced off as well. Then he hit himself with his hammer and sent us flying back with sheer waves of sound before firing a beam of golden energy from his eye and striking Galaxy right in the chest and sending him flying back into a tree. The Org then hit the ground with his hammer knocking me off balance. “Alright, I’ve had enough of this. Shadow Hatchets!” I called and threw my twin golden axes at the Org and they hit him all over and boomeranged right back into my hands but he seemed unharmed. The Org laughed, and then summoned a giant bell cage right over my fiance and they both teleported away. I screamed in rage and punched the ground before I broke down sobbing. I was useless as a fiance, and useless as a Ranger… Eventually I wandered into town as day broke and just walked aimlessly, musing over my failure to protect the one that I loved. I passed Carousel Boutique, where Spitfire was walking out in a refitted flight suit. Then, I realized it wasn’t Spitfire at all, but a stallion who had a uncanny resemblance to her. “Bet he has someone who’d be able to protect him from that Org.” I thought as I sat down on a bench. As it happened, Zephyr Breeze had been watching me from the Boutique’s window and noticed my distraught state. He dropped whatever he had been doing (Giving a manecut evidently, if the angry shout of “Hey, I paid good bits for this trimming, so don’t you drop out on me now!” was any evidence.) and walked outside and sat down beside me. “Really, a pony like you, one that handsome shouldn’t be looking like someone killed his puppy.” Zephyr remarked as he put an arm around my shoulder and studied the lines of my face. “Alright, I’ve seen that look before. You messed up something with your lover didn’t you?” “...Yeah, big time. I failed to do something, and now…” I sobbed, unable to get the words out. “Listen, I don’t claim to be an expert on love, but I know a thing or two about giving up and failure. Listen, you know what I was like before? Lazy, somepony who couldn’t get anything done and always had somepony else do it for him? Well, all that was because I truly believed I couldn’t do anything. That’s the same with you isn’t it?” Zephyr inquired of me. “Yeah, I suppose.” I nodded. “Listen, if you believe you can do something, you can do it. Corny as Tartarus, I know, but it works. Trust me on that. Now go out there and do whatever it is you gotta do. If I can change and start believing in myself, so can you.” Zephyr’s words filled me with a newfound confidence I’d never felt before. He was right, I never could do anything because I never believed I could. Never give up, never give in, as Galaxy always said. Kick ass and look good doing it. I ran, fast as I could and while I did so I morphed and used my horn to track the signature the Org was giving off. I never knew I could do it, but yet here I was, doing just that. It was a vile, putrid signature, and it was only appropriate that it was located in that vile place, Fire Swamp. There the Org stood, laughing as he banged on his bell cage with Galaxy inside, giving both him and me quite the headache. I sighed to myself, we were both probably going to be deaf or at least need some medication by the time this was over. “With the stealth and bite of a Vampire Bat, Black Vampire Bat Ranger!" I cried out, with more confidence than I had ever yelled it out before. “Time to make this bell stop its ringing… permanently.” I snarled to myself before I cried “Dino Morpher Blast!” and sent the Org flying with a powerful blast of black light and a head shaped like my Zord’s own following it, perhaps our two power sets mixing together in some way. Then, I focused all my energy into my horn and sent it skywards and then the clouds boiled, as if someone had flicked on a light switch for them. Rolling thunder, upon the rain. And then a powerful bolt of white hot lightning struck the bell cage, blasting it to smithereens and freeing my fiance, who gave me a look of complete and utter shock. “S-Sunburst? You… You actually did that?” “Belief’s a strong thing. I learned that from a good friend. Also learned play to my strengths, and as it turns out, magic is more of a strength than I thought.” I said before tossing Galaxy his Dino Morpher with a shout of “Here, you’ll need this!” Galaxy only shook his head. “No thanks, I got the perfect weapon to deal with this guy. Blood Moon!” A dark blue and black scythe with a disturbingly crimson tint to its blade appeared in Galaxy’s hands, and he opened up his belt buckle to take out a “Dino Charger”, as I later learned they were called and inserted it into a little slot on his scythe. “Blood Moon Slash… Final Strike!” Galaxy roared, fanged teeth bared and he swung his scythe, and for the briefest of moments, I could swear I saw a red moon appear behind him as he launched a swirling blade of energy at the Org, bifurcating him right down the middle. But of course, it was never that easy with these creatures. From out of the sky, a truly gigantic wand, as I could find no other way to describe it impaled itself in the fallen Org’s remains and soon he was alive again but standing as tall as a Manehatten skyscraper. “Well… You know what we gotta do now, right?” I nodded and put my Animal Crystal into its slot and summoned my Zord as Galaxy threw another Dino Charger and yelled out “Summon Pachy Zord!” Landing with a mighty thud was a grey and yellow trimmed pachycephalosaurus Zord with a chained mace for a tail. And high in the sky was my Zord, a pure black as night Vampire Fruit Bat with a fanged maw and axe like wings. “Oh, I’m so jealous. Why do you get the Vampire Bat for a Zord and I get a dumb dino?” Galaxy grumbled, but in a lighthearted jokey manner, telling me he wasn’t entirely serious. I smirked. This Org didn’t know what he was in for. He swung his hammer trying to bring the Bat Zord down but it flew very close to him and it’s sharp wings cut into Bell Org’s armor. It flew in for another pass, but Bell Org hit himself with his hammer and the ringing that sent the Bat Zord flying backwards and messing with it’s echolocation could be heard for miles. Yep, I’m so going to need headache medication after this. But the Pachy Zord struck back and aimed it’s mace tail at the Org’s knees knocking him off balance and into the sludge of the swamps and knocking trees down for miles around. I’d have thought that would have knocked some sense into the Org, but evidently not as he slowly but surely got back up off the ground. Of course, by this time the Bat Zord had regained it’s bearings and flew in for another pass and sliced another slash into the Org as the Pachy Zord hit him again but was soundly knocked to the ground by the Bell Org’s hammer. But evidently, the Bat Zord didn’t like that and flew in again and struck even faster this time and then flew in for another pass, and then another. The Bell Org once again tried his ringing himself trick, but didn’t get a chance as the Pachy Zord knocked his hammer out of his clawed hands with a swing from his tail just in time for the Bat Zord to go for it’s final strike and launch a pair of twin missiles at the Org and they hit dead on target and the Org stumbled over backwards and exploded in a huge fireball with the Fire Swamp’s natural gases igniting making the fireball even larger than normal for an Org explosion. Galaxy and I smiled wearily as we demorphed with the battle finally over and Galaxy turned to give me a conniving smirk. “So, that good friend of yours who gave you that advice… Should I be worried?” He asked teasingly, not that I realized it at first. “N-No!” I stuttered out. “He’s j-just a friend, just a friend! A-And for the record, he’s married! And interested in the fairer sex!” But then I saw the smirk on Galaxy’s face and realized he was joking around and muttered some none too nice words towards him and received a firm swat on my flank for that. “Cursing out your fiance? Tut-tut, that deserves… punishment. Rushing headlong into danger without thinking, Even more punishment. And fraternizing with another stallion? Even worse punishment…” Galaxy growled out seductively as he began to nibble at my neck. “You and me, when we get back to Ponyville, you’re getting the lashing of your life.” I swallowed but managed up a nervous grin. END Author's Note Okay, so as you can see for the next of our character oriented chapters I tried something a little different. I've rarely done first person writing before, with this being only being my third time doing such a thing. Anyways, I thought it best both to give Sunburst some backstory, and just how he ended up with a known psychopath like Galaxy Swirls. Anyways, huge thanks to Hawker Hurricane for letting me use his OC (The Spitfire like stallion coming out of Rarity's) and on the first person note, I'm not likely to do it again, but if you guys like it enough I may reconsider it. Next time... The Hunted!
Story Two AKA Part 17: Lightning Dust and Robert Williams (Part 1) Sunset Shimmer’s POV: We're all freaks, all of us. None of us should have been chosen. We've all got problems. Let's see, there's me, who was far too ambitious for my own good, and there's Lightning, a walking egomaniac, Vapor, who keeps her cards too close to her chest and's far too secretive for her own good, Sunburst, a nervous wreck, and of course you, Robert. A walking list of problems all by yourself. Yeah, that’s what we are. We’re not even close to being worthy. I mean, take me, if you knew my story you wouldn’t want me to lead anypony or anyone into battle. I saw a chance to grab power before I was ready and I took it, like a little filly or a foal sticking his or her hoof into a cookie jar. And I had to be stopped before the power overwhelmed me. I have Celestia to thank for that. Despite all she’s done and what she might do as Solar Flare, I still see her as the mother I never had growing up. I know Robert would probably drop dead from shock if he heard that, and I wouldn’t blame him if I was in his position, but that’s the truth of the matter. But to be honest, this story isn’t about me, I’ll tell mine later. It’s about two very different but still alike in some manners, Power Rangers. You probably already know who I’m talking about. Yep, Lightning Dust and Robert Williams. Anyways, what I’ve done is put each member of the team in a cave all to themselves and let them tell a little story. Mind you, in this case these two have an interconnected story to tell... Lightning Dust’s POV: So, yeah. It’s me and that dickbag Robert who get to be the focus of this story. Mind you, I don’t think of him as much of a bag of dicks as before when I first met him nor do I want him dead. (Yes, you’re free to gasp.) Maimed maybe, but not dead. To understand that, you’ll have to just sit down and listen. So… SIT DOWN!!! Okay, channeled my drill sergeant there for a moment to see if you got the point. I think you did, not all of you humans are stupid little sacks of flesh. Smack! Ow! Geez Sunset, whack me a little harder next time why don’t you… Okay, okay! Geez! Hurts like a bitch... Anyway, you might guess why no one wants to get into a fight with her. Mind you, she’s got a soft and caring side. I guess she’d be like our team mom, if we had such a thing. Still, there are sometimes after a fight with an Org, and we’re celebrating, I notice that smile slip off her face, for just a second before it returns. Now, onto Robert. I must admit, I was not expecting HIM of all people to become the fifth member of our team. As he himself might put it "...Well, there goes the bloody neighborhood." I felt my whole world shatter when he demorphed in front of us. Yes, I do admit prejudice played a part in that. That attitude of his doesn’t help either. Then again, I got onto the team, and look at me. I’m no saint myself. We’re all probably broken in some way I think… Now, my early years. I grew up in Stratusburg, just like Vapor alongside my big brother Sky Stinger (May have mentioned him before, may not have. Doesn’t matter.) and the rest of my family. Trust me on this, it’s a BIG family. Like nuclear type of family. I was always the runt of the litter, so you must imagine I had to prove myself in some way. It gets even worse when your father is the oh-so-famous Wind Rider, the one who set EVERY flight record in the book. You might notice my… displeasure towards him. Trust me, if you had to live up to his records he was constantly bragging about and get compared to him your entire life, you’d hate him too. Sky doesn’t like him either, he’s just less obvious about it. Put it this way, he doesn’t want to punch someone in the gut everytime he hears his father’s name. So, to sum it up, I don’t like my dad. Mind you, he doesn’t like me very much these days, as I got kicked out of the Wonderbolts Academy, where he trained to get those record breaking skills. Needless to say he wasn’t pleased when he heard. It was only with Rainbow’s help that I got back in by the skin of my teeth, and she was one of the ones who got me kicked out in the first place ironically enough. I should hate her, but after this… I don’t. I… I just can’t find myself to hate her after she did something like that, a gesture she really didn’t have to do, no reward for doing it or anything besides getting my awesomeness back on the team. Huh, guess she’s been taking lessons from that frilly frou-frou of a drama queen Rarity. I guess she saw something in me that I didn’t and I’ll be forever grateful to her for that. I don’t know if I really deserve a second chance, but I’ll take it. Now, enough of my backstory, not like there’s anything important to say anymore. Smack! OW!!! Dammit Sunset, stop!!! Fine, I’ll tell how I got my Animal Crystal, just lay off! Geez... Okay, it began in what used to be The Canyonlands National Park in Utah, in what is now called Appleloosa. I was flying above the rocky outcroppings of the wind blasted buttes and mesas. Back long before humanity’s Golden Age, if there ever was such a thing, these lands used to belong to the natives that lived there. They believed in a mighty creature called the Thunderbird. For those in the Algonquian mythology, the Thunderbird controls the upper world, either that being the sky or our world (I’m not really sure on this aspect) while the underworld is controlled by the underwater panther or Great Horned Serpent. Make of that what you will. (Ancient human mythology is weird). The Thunderbird throws lightning at the underwater creatures and creates thunder by flapping its wings. But the legends differ from tribe to tribe. For example, The Menominee tribes of Northern “Wisconsin” tell of a great mountain that floats in the western sky on which dwells the Thunderbirds. They control the rain and hail and delight in fighting and deeds of greatness. They were the arch-enemies of some type of great horned snakes, the Misikinubik (I dare you to try and pronounce that) and have supposedly prevented them from overrunning the earth and devouring mankind. Shame, might have saved Celestia the trouble. (The killing part, not devouring.) They are messengers of the Great Sun himself. Finally, the Ojibwe version of the myth states that the Thunderbirds were created by Nanabozho (Again, I dare you to try and say that aloud. Seriously, do it for me because I can’t.) for the purpose of fighting the underwater spirits. They were also used to punish humans who broke moral rules. The Thunderbirds lived in the four cardinal directions and arrived with the other birds in the time of spring. In the autumn they migrated to the south after the ending of the underwater spirits' most dangerous season. Yeah, it seems like despite the differences in culture, there are always a few common threads. If this doesn’t sound like me talking, you’re smarter than you look. Alright, you caught me. I confess, it’s Sunset Shimmer who did the egghead stuff for me on this bit. Anyways, where was I? Mystic Mother above, I’m starting to sound like Sunburst when he rambles. OH, right! My Animal Crystal and how I got it. I was soaring above the plains of Appleloosa and generally being awesome, when I felt a great power calling out to me. If you’ve ever felt the experience of flying, you know what it’s like to be free as a bird and have nothing but the open sky. So, what did I do when I felt this great power? Well, what did you think I did? Went after it of course, you fools! Eventually, just as the sun began to set, I found a small mesa which had a collection of mud-packed huts on the side of its cliff face, remnants of those who came before us. ...Man, that sounded deep. Against my… somewhat debateable judgement, I decided to explore them, Daring Do style baby! ...Okay, maybe not as cool as that but still pretty cool. Laying there on one of the hut’s floors was a glowing aqua crystal. As soon as I picked it up, I felt a great power surge through me and for the first time I was sent flying skywards, not of my own free will to the place I would soon know as the Animarium. From then there on, you can probably guess the rest. There Sunset, you happy? Smack! OW! She just slapped me again, for being rude... Robert Williams’s POV: Anyways, I suppose it’s time for my confessional… what’s Sunset thinking? Putting us in separate caves like this to ‘record our thoughts’. Bah! A bloody good thing if you ask me, as you can now listen to my thoughts on everything. I have no idea whatsoever what any of the others are saying, nor do I care, especially in the case of a certain Ms. Lightning Bitch, who if you ask me desperately needs a good shag in the sack with a stallion or mare. Might loosen her up a bit. So, there I was, on the Animarium, now officially part of the most messed up team of Power Rangers in history. Mou… show me another team with more problems, and I’ll amend that statement, but for now… Anywho, all six of the other Rangers were staring at me slack jawed. No, that’s not a correct way to properly put it. If you ever saw Aladdin and that scene where Genie drops his jaw all the way to the floor in classic cartoon fashion, that would be more accurate. Mind you, can’t say I blame them. I thought my career was over as well when Artilla (Remind me later to settle a score with him whenever I get the chance.) smashed my Morpher. “Okay… Anyone who feels free to speak up on my new found Ranger status or better yet thank me for saving all of your worthless arses,” I shot an apologetic look at Sunset, “please do so now.” I remarked, no hint of arrogance or rudeness at all. Sunset was probably the first to recover from her shock and give me a smile before putting a hand on my shoulder. For the record, it was a very beautiful smile. Wait… what?! Nope, nope, nope, not going there, nope! No fraternization between teammates! SPD rule number one! “I figured about as much. I had my suspicions from the very beginning that you might be the Kitsune Ranger. Things like you getting transported to the future through some mystical time warp don’t just happen randomly. There’s always a cause and a reasoning behind things like this.” “If you say he moves in mysterious ways, I will punch you.” I remarked before wincing as I flashbacked to the last conversation I had with Sunset. “Er… Listen, I’m sorry about what happened last time. Me socking you in the nose and all. Lost my temper.” Everyone turned to stare at me right then. “Wait, that was you?” Lightning gaped before sighing to herself and letting a palm slide slowly down her face. It was almost comical in a way. “... I guess I should have figured as much.” “And none of you are going to attack me? I mean, I punched a member of royalty here, I think judging by your kind’s past behavior towards me, I’m expecting it.” I retorted. Both Vapor and Sunburst winced and shared a guilty look with Vapor whispering “Sorry.” “No, I’m not going to hold that against you. You had every right to punch me. For all you knew, I did worship Celestia like a goddess for what she did. Tartarus, I practically did at one point when I was a filly, everypony does at some point in their lives. And while we’re on the subject, there’s something everyone here needs to know. Earlier this day, Princess Luna came to me with information regarding Celestia. That little genocide spree of hers, it wasn’t entirely all her. We’re dealing with a Nightmare Moon type of situation here.” That got everyone’s jaws dropping once again and looks of fear shared between the rest of the Rangers. Me, I was just completely confused. “Alright, can somebody grab my brain with the Astro Megaship, as it’s been soundly blown into orbit. I’m completely lost here. Someone want to fill me in?” I asked. Sunset blushed, as she reminded herself Robert wouldn’t know any of this. “Okay, long ago, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia ruled alongside each other. However, Luna got jealous of ponies not enjoying the night for what it was, and developed a darker personality which we call Nightmare Moon. She went mad with power and had to be banished to the moon for a thousand years, leaving Celestia to raise both the sun and moon alone.” “Okay, ignoring the laws of physics which are soundly broken by pretty much everything you said in that sentence, how do you expect me to believe any of this horseshit? I’m a cop, I need evidence. I can’t take just everything at face value here! Show me Celestia actually transforming into her Nightmare Sun self-” “Solar Flare.” Sunset corrected. “WHATEVER! I don’t care what she calls herself! For now, she’s just one mad mare who goes all Dalek on whatever pisses her off! Give me actual evidence before you feed me this load of bull and try and whitewash your ever so perfect Princess. Ever consider Princess Luna was lying and trying to protect her sister from me? Because make no mistake, I will go after Princess Genocide and bring her to justice, mark my words!” I snarled before teleporting down to Earth needing to clear my head. Perhaps a visit to that sweet shop or Fluttershy’s cottage would do it. I eventually found myself taking a walk through the Orchards of Sweet Apple Acres, enjoying the fall leaves as they fell from the trees in peaceful shades of red, orange and yellow. While I admit America had its flaws, but this was one of the few things I liked about it. It was beautiful almost everywhere you went. Well, except Florida, that was just a place full of swamps with alligators to eat you whole, bugs to sting you and snakes to poison you and crappy cities for old people to retire to. Suddenly, I felt a presence from behind me and quickly morphed and pulled out my Fox Blaster ready to blast whoever was mental enough to sneak up on me in my current mood right now. “Okay okay, no need to go all gunslinger on me now! I just want to talk.” Lightning responded, taking a step back in fear. Good for her. She’s not as stupid as she lets on. “You? Just talk? Hah, I’ll believe that when pigs start to sprout wings and fly like little hummingbirds.” “Okay, actually I’m here to convey a message from Princess Shayla.” “Then she can come down here and deliver it to me herself then instead of being lazy and sending you down to say it for her. Unless of course you came here for a different purpose, like trying to kill me yourself. I do remember you saying you wanted me dead, after all.” I mocked, twirling my blaster around my finger like an old western gunslinger. “Alright, that’s it. You’re really getting on my nerves.” She replied testily. “Good, that was kinda the point. Let me put it this way, I don’t like you. You think I’m not worthy to be a Ranger, let’s see if that holds true.” I snarked back. Lightning Dust growled and took a fighting stance and morphed into her Ranger Form. Lightning Dust’s POV: Okay, if that’s the way he wanted to play it, that was fine by me. I ignited my lightning whips and lashed out at him but he simply rolled out of the way and fired a blast of golden energy at me which I dodged and flew up upwards. This was to launch a downwards horizontal strike with my Crystal Saber. However, he parried it with his own and kicked me backwards by soundly hitting me in the face while all the while flipping backwards and his fingers turned into claws, and I let mine do the same. As we scratched away at each other, I noticed that he was easily keeping pace with me, blocking and countering my attacks with practiced ease. I’ll give him this though, he hasn’t even had these powers for but for less than two days but he’s adapted quickly. I honestly couldn’t tell who had more experience, me or him. I mean, he was a Power Ranger before getting access to the Kitsune Powers, and I don’t know how long he had those powers or who trained him, but he was good. I swung a hook at his face, which he countered by blocking and wrapping his own arm around it, locking my arm at the elbow. “Hey, monkey boy!” I yelled out and lashed hard with my whips but Robert simply stepped aside and punched me in the gut, causing me to bend over in a choking cough. “You need better insults. That’s just poor frankly. Same goes for your fighting style, you fight like a child. Predictable moves lashed out in anger will be your downfall.” He remarked coldly. Honestly, I don’t know what Princess Shayla was thinking when she sent me to talk to him about giving Celestia a chance. Maybe she wants us to work together better, or for Robert to have someone, if not me to rely on. But honestly, she made a bad call by sending me down. She knows perfectly well I hate his guts, and him the same. ‘Well, well, well, what do we have here?” The voice said, with a similar accent to Robert’s remarked, and we both turned our heads and to the direction of the voice. Standing atop a hill was a creature that could only be described as a heavily armored blue pirate captain, complete with a hook hand. He had a beard made of mechanical tentacles (At least, that’s what I hoped they were) like a squid’s and two sharp fins on his boots and on his “Hat” were eight glowing yellow eyes. All I knew about him was that he couldn’t possibly be an Org, due to his lack of horn. “You know, it took me a long time to find you, so let’s get cracking.” The unknown creature remarked. “Who are you?” Robert snarled as me and him opened up our visors. “Well, you might say I’m a collector of sorts. One of exotic creatures. And you, you’re the most exotic of all. The last human on Earth, or Equus if you prefer. Name’s Bunglay by the way.” “Collector my arse, you’re a hunter.” Robert growled. “Now kindly bugger on off. This is a private party between us and you’re not invited.” “Some kind of party. I don’t particularly care what kind of kinks you have, I just want my money. You’re worth a lot of space bullion to me. And another Ranger in my collection will just add to the payment I’ll get when I turn you over, and seeing as how you’re female… Well, I don’t need to say anymore do I?” “One, we’re not dating as I would never date such a disgusting creature, and two, you’re not taking me or the Human anywhere.” I snarled out. Bunglay actually seemed pleased by my response. “I always like my prey a little feisty. Makes the hunt much more fun. Shame you wore each other down so much, otherwise I would chase you. But I’m going to capture you all the same anyways. Let’s get cracking!” Bunglay laughed before conjuring up a cage on a chain and swinging it up above his head several times before he threw it towards us and our whole world was enveloped in light… (To Be Continued…) Author's Note Okay, first off, a huge thanks to the Villain In Glasses as without his help this chapter would have been more of a mess then it already is. And as you can see, we actually get an explanation for why Sunburst's chapter was in first person, it was a confession, which took place shortly before the events of the Kitsune Rising story arc. Anyways, this chapter sees the introduction of a character from Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger, the Super Beast Hunter Bunglay, which explains why I changed the intro for this chapter. Don't worry, next chapter will go back to the GaoRanger intro. Anyways, this chapter also shows the start of Lightning and Robert's rivalry which will go on throughout the fic and the start of some of the team's dynamics. Next time: The Thunderbird brings a storm...
Story Two AKA Part 18: Lightning Dust and Robert Williams (Part 2) Robert Williams POV: Oh for the love of Bloody Fucking Hell, now I was really in it. Once that damn flash of light cleared, I found myself demorphed and in a dark cave somewhere. Water dripped from the cave ceiling, and I could hear the sound of rushing water somewhere, letting me know I was somewhere near a river. To make matters worse for me, I was in a giant cage stuck with my least favorite pony in the world, the feathered bitch herself, Lightning Dust. And there was Bunglay standing outside the cage somehow managing to look smug even if he didn’t have any visible mouth to speak of. Wonderful. Just bloody wonderful. To sum it up, I was trapped in a cage with bitch pony number two and a Davy Jones wannabe for company. We didn’t have our morphers, and our fellow Rangers had no idea where we were. All in all, it seemed like this would be just another Tuesday if what had already happened was any indication. “Want these?” Bunglay asked both of us sarcastically in a mocking tone and dangled my morpher in front of me just to drive the knife in further. “Sorry, they’re mine now. Two Ranger Morphers, definitely worth some space bullion. Shame I couldn’t have gotten your Animal Crystals and Zords, but I’d need you morphed to grab those, and there’s no way in hell am I stupid enough to chance that.” “How about this for a deal, give us back our morphers and maybe, just maybe I’ll keep my Thunderbird from frying you to a crisp! Savvy?” Lightning snarled. “As fun as that would be, I think I’ll have to decline, little pony.” Bunglay sneered as he leaned in close. “Like I said, I’m not that dumb. You and your friend will be a good enough of a prize as it is.” “Money, that’s all it is with you isn’t it? Why can’t you just want to rule the world like all the other sickos?” I said sarcastically, leaning back against the cage bars with a bored sigh. “Cute, the fox has some wittiness in him.” The hunter said, pacing in front of the cage. “Money, contrary to popular belief, does indeed buy you happiness. And besides, ruling the world is just plain boring to me. No, I’m after something much more fun and with a bigger payoff.” “Oh, bugger off and swab your shit deck Davy Jones.” I spat in defiance. “Trust me, as soon as we get out of here, we’re kicking your arse off this planet. Hell, I could probably take you on alone. You’re all talk, that’s the way it is with you lot. You can talk yourself a big game, but when it comes down to it, you just can’t get it up.” I taunted and Bunglay only laughed. Shame he wasn’t a woman, otherwise I could use my never-failing charm to flirt my way out of here. “Funny, I’ve killed Rangers before. They were just like you, arrogant and foolhardy. They thought they could take me on alone, and I took them down every time. And now you think you can take me on, without powers? Kudos, I must give props to you for your courage, but you’ll still end up dead if you try.” Suddenly, a faint ringing sound could be heard, and Bunglay turned and headed to the source: a small comms relay station nearby. My best guess was that he was just holding us here for the time being. After all, he had to keep his… specimens somewhere till he took them to his ship and then dropped them off wherever. This was most likely a waypoint he’d set up as a base camp. I couldn’t really make out what Bunglay was saying, as it was in an alien language that I didn’t know, and being in SPD I had to learn a lot of alien languages as part of the job, but I did manage to pick up that he was clearly displeased about something and that I could hear a distinct roaring sound on the other end of his commlink. Sounded like one very unhappy animal, like a cross between a whale of some sort and something else I couldn’t describe. Whatever it was, judging by the noises it was making, it was big, very unhappy, and causing a lot of chaos. Good, give something for Bunglay to worry about. Might even wreck his ship and keep him stuck here so I-That is, I mean we could finish him off. “You’ll have to excuse me for a moment maties, seems like some bleeding, and trust me they soon will be once I shove my hook up their jacksie, idiot made a huge cracking error and now I have to clean up the mess.” Bunglay said before teleporting out in a flash of blue light. Mind you, he was so preoccupied with the problem at hand he forgot two very important things, that is, our Morphers. Problem was, we couldn’t reach them and there were no keys to speak of to unlock this cage. So again, to sum up. Bunglay was gone for the time being, and we were stuck in a cage and our Morphers out of reach. That left me and Lightning Bitch with no choice but to talk to each other. Oh joy of joys. Knowing us, we’d probably kill each other before talking. “Sooooo…” Lightning began. “This is a problem.” “Understatement of the century Lightning.” I deadpanned. “Don’t worry, I’ll get us out of this. I’m the hero after all.” “...You have no plan at all, do you?” Lightning said. I sighed and punched the cage walls in frustration. She was right, I didn’t have a plan, and eventually Bunglay would come back and teleport us up to his ship and we’d be taken off to who knows where so that some alien species could buy us for whatever sick reason they wanted. “...Fucking amazing. I was a highly trained SPD officer, and now look where I’ve ended up. Trapped in a cage and about to be shipped to some arsehole’s idea of a poaching range, probably. I’ve really botched up my life haven’t I?” I muttered looking skywards and Lighting actually looked more than a little sympathetic. “Trust me, you’re not the only one who’s made mistakes.” Lightning said softly. “What, you’ve fucked up your life so badly it seems there’s no way out as well?” I asked her sarcastically. I was brassed off beyond belief with how things in my life lately had gone so far. “Well, I wouldn’t go that far. I’ve made mistakes as well you know.” Lightning replied softly. “Like being an arrogant bitch?” I snapped. Lightning ignored the remark. “I was part of the Wonderbolts once. Did it to make my father proud. You’d really have to meet him. He set all the records, each and every one. He’s a living legend. That’s what I have to live up to. Sadly for me, I, on my first day of Wonderbolt training nearly got the heroes of Equestria killed by creating a tornado just to clear some clouds. JUST TO BUCKING CLEAR SOME CLOUDS! I should have been kicked out of the Academy, and I was. But for some reason, my wingmate Rainbow Dash, got me back in, gave me a second chance to become one of the best. But that still didn’t fix my father’s disappointment with me. Now all he does is look at me with shame and disgust, like I never should have been born.” “I know the feeling, Maybe not as badly as you, but I have morons in my family… Two of them actually. They may not be ashamed of me, but they are just plain dumb. Always trying to show each other up at family reunions and such. There’s a reason whenever it happens, I always stand in the back just looking at a potted plant and trying not to get involved in their stupid little contests.” Lightning chuckled. “Yeah, I can relate.” She smiled. I have to admit, it was a very pretty smile. Shame it belonged to a mare like her. “As much it disgusts me to admit it, I have to admit, seeing you smile is a good thing.” I remarked before facepalming so hard my forehead hurt a little. “That… Just slipped out. I’ve always been a natural flirt. I’ll flirt with anyone, long as they’re not married or a comrade.” I explained, conveniently leaving out the part about me flirting with Sunset Shimmer a while back after I awoke. “It did serve me well whenever I was asked to go undercover back at SPD.” “What is SPD anyways?” Lightning asked. “I’ll explain to you another time, if we get out of here. I’m working on a plan for that.” “What, what is it?” She snapped. “Or are you too stupid to actually think up one and are just flat out lying to me!?!” “You know, your yapping isn’t helping much, so shut your bloody gob and actually help me think up a plan to get us out of here and defeat Bunglay! Or better yet, just keep your damn trap shut, as I doubt you can think of anything useful other than how to most efficiently murder me in my sleep!” “Well, all you think with is your dick! You’re just thinking of the next mare you want to rut! Don’t think I didn’t know about your little flirtations with Sunset, I was on the island the whole time and heard Sunset grumbling about a certain womanizing human!” Lightning snapped back at me. If this was a harem comedy, and I really would hate to be the Keitarō Urashima here, I suspect Lightning would be soundly be boxing my ears in several times or sending me skywards with a “Naru Punch” before falling head over arse for me somehow. Fat chance of that happening. “Oh, is that all!?! Well, let me just say this then: You are the single most arrogant arsehole I’ve ever met! You talk big, but you fight like a pregnant cow, you only got back into the Wonderbolts when the one who got you kicked out in the first damn place took pity on you! And to top it all off, you have the outright gall to lecture me after all of that!? Fuck you! You’re a pathetic excuse for a Ranger, and if you’re the best your totem animal could do, then this planet is FUCKED!” “You bastard!” She roared back at me and threw a punch, which I sidestepped before locking her arm at the shoulder and throwing her into the bars, denting them a little. I stopped and stared at the bars, idly holding the flailing pegasus down in a submission hold as what should have been obvious was presented to me on a silver platter. “I’m an idiot. A big fat fucking bloody idiot! The solution, it’s been staring me in the face the whole time! I know exactly how to get us out of here.” I smirked and let Lightning gape at me. It was fun seeing her dumbfounded. “...And you’re going to do that how?’ Lightning asked, as I let her go. I needed my hands free to perform this technique. “Just watch me.” I smirked. “Call to the Beast inside, Free the Fox!” I yelled, and an orange mist like form of a fox appeared and ripped open the bars as if they were paper. My eyes widened as I noticed an extra detail on my animal spirit before it had faded away. It had gained eight extra tails and rabbit like ears, silly as that sounded. It was now a full on Kyuubi no Kitsune. “Looks like the new suit comes with more upgrades.” I remarked as Lightning and I rushed through the open hole and grabbed our Morphers. I pulled my morpher off its chain and flipped it open, projecting a digital maps of the cave system. I pressed down on the map and it expanded to show exactly where we were. We were in New Zealand, more specifically the Tawharanui, Auckland region. Heh, no wonder we couldn’t be found. We were off in another country entirely! The rest of the Rangers, if they even knew we were missing, and they probably did thanks to us not calling in for who knew how long, were probably searching all over what used to be America. “Oh, now that is the business! Now we’re cooking with gas!” I exclaimed in triumph before turning to Lightning. “We’re getting out of here. Come along.” Then a smile struck my face. This was too good an opportunity to pass up. “Allons-Y!” I proclaimed and behind me as we ran, Lightning muttered “I thought only the Doctor used that moronic phrase…” As we walked, something felt… off. This was too easy, breaking out of that cage was child’s play, and there was no way someone like Bunglay would let that happen. Suddenly, a cold feeling of dread filled me, wrapping around my core as though Death itself had suddenly grabbed my heart and began squeezing. Something brushed past me, and I whirled around to face it, only to find nothing. “Something wrong?” Lightning asked. “No, it’s probably nothing. Might just be the wind. This place is making me paranoid.” I answered back, even though I knew perfectly well I was in a place where the wind had no right to be. Eventually we came to a very tight spot behind two rock faces. It would require a bit of a squeeze, but it was manageable. Beyond it, I heard the rushing of the ocean. We were close, I knew it. “Ladies first.” I said, gesturing to Lightning who as she squeezed through the crack grumbled “And they say chivalry is dead. Least you have that in your favor, dickhead.” I rolled my eyes and followed her, sucking in my stomach to make the task of squeezing through more manageable. After what felt like an eternity of inching our way through the crack, we finally emerged at a beach, the scent of salty air and the sound of crashing waves had never seemed so beautiful before. Of course, the scene just had to be ruined by the sight of a certain alien hunter waiting for us on the beach. “You really didn’t think I’d let you get away that easily did you?” Bunglay remarked smugly, “Don’t make me laugh, little Rangers.” I grit my teeth in anger. Of course it was too easy! Nothing is ever easy! Damn you Murphy and all your descendants! “Bastard.” Lightning muttered. “No lassie, I’m a hunter. There’s a difference, learn it. And I never let my prey get away.” “Whatever.” I muttered not caring in the slightest before turning to Lightning and she nodded, knowing exactly what I was thinking as we reached for our Morphers. “It’s Morphin’ Time! Legendary Wild Access, ha!” We both shouted, and with twin explosions of energy, we were back in business. “Hade ni ikuze.” I commented, raising my Kitsune Blaster and cocking it with an audible clicking sound with a whirring noise accompanying that. Lightning pulled out her whips and cracked them several times resembling Whiplash in Iron Man 2. I briefly wondered if they had the same destructive ability as Whiplash’s own, but then I realized Lightning probably didn’t know how to use them properly. Little did I know it, but I was about to be soundly proven wrong. “Oh, quite impressive. But you’re still not going to be able to defeat me. And as a bonus, I’ll get your animal crystals and your Wild Zords now as well!” Suddenly, Bunglay was in front of me and had grabbed ahold of my forehead, and I felt his mind searching through my memories. It felt unclean, like I was being violated against my will and suddenly he found THEM. The SPD files on every monster every Power Ranger team had faced. “Ooh, these look like some good ones.” He muttered. I wondered what he was doing, but then I found out as several past monsters from various points in Power Ranger history appeared. Silo, from the Machine Empire. Vulpez, faced by the Power Rangers Samurai. Black Lance, faced by the Mystic Force and then Koragg, the Knight Wolf, also known as Leanbow, a former warrior for good and eventually he would reclaim that title as the Wolf Warrior. Finally, he pulled out Rito Revolto, the brother of Rita Repulsa. I swallowed nervously. Here were some of the worse of the worst in villains, along with Bunglay and only Lightning and I were the only Rangers around to take them on. Koragg unsheathed his sword and before I knew it, he called out “Dark Magic Strike!” and his sword was shrouded in black smoke and both me and Lightning leaped over it and I fired my Kitsune Blaster several times but was blasted backwards by a lightning/flame combo from Black Lance and Rito. Lightning had grabbed ahold of Silo and kicked him backwards before lashing out with her whips and striking him several times before getting in a good solid blow and cutting off one of Silo’s limbs with one single strike of the plasma infused whips before using them to grab ahold of the robotic soldier and using all her strength, she flung him into a cliff side. Okay, maybe she did know how to use them. “One monster down… Four to go. And they’re all not going to be as easy as the last one.” I mused and my point was proven when Koragg shouted “Wolf Attack!” and several purple wolf’s heads coming from a red orb in his shield struck me making me stagger back as Black Lance hit me several times with his lance and drew blood. “Time to try something new.” I said before raising my weapon skywards. “Kitsune Scatter Blast!” Like homing missiles, several golden beams of energy came out of my weapon’s barrel and sought out the monsters and struck them one by one as Lightning then kicked Black Lance in the head and made him stagger back. Rito blasted flames at Lightning but she leaped over him and struck the tube connecting his flamethrower to his tank with her Crystal Saber, severing it. I fired a shot off at Vulpez, but he created a portal and then directed the shot right back at me before shouting “Fox Flare!” and I was sent backwards by an explosion underneath my feet but I managed to fire off my Kitsune Seipai Blast and take down the fox themed Nighlok. Soon, Black Lance suffered the same fate as well. I guess these imitations couldn’t take as much punishment as the real deal. But Koragg then brought out the big guns. “Ulfe Mejor Catastros!” He shouted and sure enough as my eyes widened in terror, the infamous black horse appeared from a spell seal in the water and quickly shifted modes as Koragg leaped through a spell seal of his own and became giant before merging with his horse with a shout of "Uthe Mejor Ultimas!" and becoming the Centaurus Wolf Megazord as Bunglay teleported away, probably thinking he had us and would come back later to collect our dead bodies and Animal Crystals as his "Reward". “Oh boy.” I muttered nervously to myself and pointed my Crystal Saber to the sky and shouted “Kitsune Zord, descend!” But nothing happened and Lightning, as she finished off Rito, laughed to herself. “Hah, you can talk big but you just can’t get it up can you?” She smirked and did the same summoning motions with her own Crystal Saber, but this time actually managing to summon the Zord in question. As if someone had flicked a switch, the clouds boiled over and a mighty looking bird, similar in appearance to the Phoenix Zord, but with the red and gold replaced with aqua and silver coloring emerged from the boiling clouds. It let out a loud screech and thunderbolts rained down all around the sky around Koragg. Okay, I admit I was jealous of Lightning for having a cool Zord that looked as if it could do some serious damage while I didn’t have even one. “Dark Magic Spell Seal!” Koragg shouted and rotated his galve in a circle before slashing forwards at the Thunderbird Zord and striking it in the chest and it let out a screech of pain but quickly struck back even as Koragg fired a swirling tornado of dark energy at the Zord which it did a barrel roll to the left to avoid and the Thunderbird brought down even more lightning bolts making Koragg’s Megazord stagger. “Now how long can you keep this up?” Koragg taunted. Lightning responded by having the Thunderbird fire a ball of lightning from it’s mouth but Koragg simply shrugged it off. “Weakling. Dark Magic Spell Seal!” He shouted again and this time hit the Thunderbird in the wing making it fall into the ocean. But just as Koragg was about to stab it with his galve, a groaning sound was heard, and on top of a cliff was the Giraffe Zord, and soon Lightning found herself with a new Animal Crystal in her palm. Don’t ask me how, but she’d somehow managed to impress the Wild Zord. The Giraffe jumped down into the water and swung it’s long neck and head back and forth several times dealing considerable damage to the Centaurus Wolf Megazord and knocking Koragg out of his combination with Catastros just in time for the Thunderbird to deliver a final strike of lightning bolts and destroy the Koragg copy for good. “Good riddance to bad rubbish. He had his time, and he failed.” I muttered as Lightning laughed triumphantly in victory. God, I’d never hear the end of this. END Author's Note Okay, whoo boy, did this chapter have a troubled production. Me and Villain had so many disagreements on certain parts of the chapter, with the biggest being a rather forced and heated makeout scene between Robert and Lightning, but in the end I was forced to concede his point about it being rather rushed and coming across as rather rapey on Lightning's part. So, that argument went instead. I truly apogize for the pregnant cow remark on Robert's side, that was Villain's idea, not mine and to be quite frank I don't like that line. I know Robert's supposed to come across as a dick and he was furious at the time, but there are some lines that shouldn't be crossed. Anyways, we finally get to see how dangerous Bunglay truly is, given he can make memories come to life and we also finally get to see Lightning's Zord, along with her gaining a new one in the process. On that note, the reason I'm giving each Zord a separate fight scene is because I want to build up to the showdown between the Megazord and it's first giant monster, which'll happen in just three more chapters, Pinkie Promise so you won't be waiting long. Also, if you're growing tired of this type of chapter, thankfully for you and me (As I hate them too) there's only one more first person point of view confession chapter after this, and it's Sunset's turn. Stay tuned, as you're about to learn that the leader of the Power Rangers isn't quite as golden as she is nowadays... Okay, Zord Line Up Time. This is where I'll give you a list of what Zords are active and who has them. Robert Williams: Kistune Zord (Sealed Away) Sunset Shimmer: Phoenix Zord, Elephant Zord, Bison Zord (Gained offscreen) Lightning Dust: Thunderbird Zord, Giraffe Zord, Coyote Zord (Gained offscreen) Vapor Trail: Leviathan Zord Sunburst: Vampire Fruit Bat Zord Princess Shayla: Soul Bird, Deer Zord Zen-Aku: Wolf Zord, Hammerhead Zord, Alligator Zord Shining Armor: Torozord Galaxy Swirls: Pachy Zord
Story Three AKA Part 19: Sunset Shimmer Sunset Shimmer's POV: Okay… Confession time. My name is Sunset Shimmer, the Gold Phoenix Ranger and the Princess of Empathy. Yes, even I have a confession to make. What, did you think that just because I was the leader of the second generation of the Wild Force Rangers that I was perfect? Hardly. To be honest, I’m probably the least perfect of them all. And yes, both of my titles add up to quite the workload to be sure. And to be honest, I’m not sure if I’m worthy of either of them. But I digress, this needs to be said and I’m just delaying the inevitable. I grew up on the streets of Canterlot, unliked and ignored by everypony who passed me by. Despite its reputation as the most beautiful city in Equestria, it still has its dirty underbelly. After all, the filth needs somewhere to go, according to the nobles at least. It has its slums, its cracks, the places where ponies can slip through unnoticed, like me. I had a mother, and a father, but to be honest… I can only really call them that in name. They were the ones who birthed me, nothing more. Father ran out on us quickly, to him my mother was just another fuck-buddy who just so happened to give him a child he couldn’t care less for. Mom… tried to care for me as much as she could. Damn did she try, but without much money to support us,times got tough. Too tough for her to handle. One morning, I just found her there on the floor with several empty bottles of beer beside her, not moving. I ran and never looked back. For my first few years of life on the streets, it was simple. Just make it through the day and get food to eat and just live out the nights in my cardboard box. Yeah, that’s right. The only thing I could call home was a cardboard box in Canterlot’s Old Town district. It was just me and my wolf plush, Sparky along with a mysterious aquamarine jewel in the shape of an orb gifted to me by my mother to keep me company. Yeah, don’t ask me why I named a wolf plush Sparky. Guess I thought it was cool at the time. Every day I was forced to take food and other supplies from shopkeepers when they weren’t looking, hoping to Mystic Mother above that I wouldn’t be caught. Eventually, they wised up and installed security cameras, so that plan went out the window pretty fast. I’d heard of the Royal Guard and how quickly they could catch a fleeing criminal. Mind you, I was six at the time, so my young mind thought that they would toss me into a cell in the dungeons forever and throw away the key and just forget about me. Funny, looking back I now, realize that couldn’t have been further from the truth. If I had just gone up to one and asked for help, I probably would have received the help I needed and a home for me would have been found. Any place would have been better than where I was forced to take shelter. Now, you may be wondering why nopony reported me to the local orphanage. Well, to be honest I’m not really sure myself. Maybe they assumed I wasn’t worth the trouble of tracking down, or that I was just a miscreant kid who got up to mischief without my parents knowing. Sorry, if the paper I’m writing this down on seems wet or smudged in any way, that’s my fault. I-I’m sorry, but this is a hard part of my life to write about and one I’d rather forget but it needs to be told because it's important to how I became the pony I am today. Either way, that was my life. There wasn’t a single moment of happiness where I felt safe and secure… Well, except one. Every day at the crack of dawn, I went up near the castle and watched Princess Celestia raise the sun as she always did every morning. I’ll admit that I wanted to be in that position, or at least be admired instead of some piece of street crap nopony could care less about. Late one night, there was an especially fierce storm. The clouds roiled and rumbled with thunder and flashes of lightning. Rain poured down like a monsoon upon the city of Canterlot, and everypony except me was safely in their homes, sheltered from the torrential downpour. As for myself, I was forced to cuddle under a stolen muddy blanket, soaked to the bone in my cardboard box holding my plush wolf as if he was the only thing that could keep me safe. If I hadn’t been too scared to listen, I would have heard a distinct screeching sound, like a bird, but far louder than anything I knew existed. Something truly gigantic, hidden deep within the cloud cover was soaring above the skies of Canterlot, bringing thunderbolts all around, as if were angry at something. One struck the building closest to me setting off a spark which quickly grew into an inferno, setting the building ablaze. I knew I had to move, so I wrapped my blanket around me, grabbed everything I owned, and just ran. I didn’t know where or how far I ran along the cobblestone streets of Canterlot, but eventually I ended up at Donut Joe’s Donut Shop. Even this late at night, it was busy. There was a squadron of Royal Guards just chowing down on their pastries, served by the ever friendly proprietor, and in the back having a late night cup of coffee was Princess Celestia herself. I squeaked in fear, still quite afraid of what the Royal Guard might do to me if they ever were to catch me and hid under a table, hoping not to be noticed. “Crimney, it’s raining cats and dogs out there! The hell were the weather teams doing changing the schedule like that?” One grumpy unicorn guard grumbled. “I dunno, probably another mix-up. Look at it this way, they’ll have to give us several days of direct sunshine to make up for it!” His earth pony companion said, patting him on the back. “That’s not exactly a consolation when you take into account that we have patrols scheduled for the next few days, and in full armor no less...” The unicorn replied. “Quite the storm eh boys?” Joe asked coming over and topping off their coffee mugs. “Haven’t seen one this fierce in ages. Last time this happened, the Maresler Building got hit with lightning several times! It was as if the Mystic Mother herself was angry at the city and its inhabitants. Mind you, considering…” Joe then cut himself off and murmured something under his breath. I caught the word “Humans” but nothing else as he was speaking to softly for me to hear. Suddenly, the lead commander in charge of the Guard Squadron, a stone grey pegasi got a call on his headset and at once dropped his donut to the floor and sat up straight. “Men, there’s been a report of a fire in the Old Town district. Seems a bolt of lightning hit a building and it’s in danger of lighting up the whole street. We’ve been ordered to clear the way for the Fire Department.” He ordered with a air of authority about him. With a cry of “Yes sir!” all the guards except for the unicorn and the earth pony men moved out and ran out into the streets of Canterlot, ready to do what they did best: protect Equestria. I stayed in my hiding spot, scared out of my wits as I peeked out at the guards that didn’t leave yet. Did they know I was here? Were they waiting for me to turn myself in? “Privates Phalanx and Rumble, why did you not leave with your squadron?” Celestia questioned, sipping her coffee. “As your guards, it would be irresponsible of us to leave you here by yourself, Princess.” The unicorn replied stiffly. Celestia smiled good-naturedly and laughed softly, “You have little need to worry, my little pony. I’m sure I can hold out against an assault of pastries by myself.” “But Princess-” The earth pony began before Celestia silenced him with a raised hand. “I will be fine, do not worry.” She said gently, but firmly, “Go rejoin your fellow guards, I will be here when you return.” Both guards looked at each other before saluting, “Yes, Princess!” They said in unison before exiting out the door into the storm outside. I let out a sigh of relief before shrinking back into my hiding place, hoping to wait until closing time before helping myself to some of the donuts the guards had been eating earlier. Suddenly, I felt a warm presence behind me before I was pulled into the embrace of Princess Celestia herself. It was something I’d hadn’t felt in such a long time, the love of a mother’s embrace. “Hello little one. What are you doing here so late on a night such as this? You should be in bed, asleep.” She asked, her voice as warm and loving as a warm summer day. I simply gestured out the window to the rapidly burning blaze which could be seen on the other side of the city. Celestia’s eyes widened in horror, before she looked at me with tears in her eyes, “Little One, please tell me you didn’t live… there?” She asked in a worried tone, holding me tighter.. “In a cardboard box, just right next to that place. It’s probably gone now.” I sobbed. My only place of refuge and safety, burned to the ground in an instant. “But… But I thought any orphans we find are taken to orphanages!” Celestia whispered as her face took on a serious expression. Joe came over and put a hand on her shoulder. “That’d be true, but some always manage to make it through the cracks. I’ve seen them, fighting everyday to survive, just trying to get by with whatever bits and food they can scrounge up. It’s a sad fact of life, Princess.” Joe said sadly while shaking his head in pity. “She’s not the first I’ve seen to come in here. I’ve seen them out back, scrounging through the bins trying to find leftovers. I don’t mind, unlike the rest of the ponies in this city it seems I’m the only one with a heart for the young… “ “No offence Princess.” He quickly added. Celestia shook her head sadly and gave Joe a smile while still holding me to her chest letting me sob into her dress. “Well then… There’s only one thing to do.” Celestia muttered before she pulled back and gently lifted my chin, looking directly at me, “How would you like to live with me, Little One?” She asked, her voice tender and caring. “But of course, I will need to get your name first.” “S-Sunset. Sunset Shimmer.” I responded nervously, the words sounding strained through the lump in my throat. Here I was, talking to the most powerful mare in all of Equestria, the one who guided the fate of the whole planet just because she controlled the sun and moon, and she had just offered to take me in? There had to be a catch somewhere, nothing like this happened for free! But she simply smiled and giggled at my shyness. “Sunset Shimmer.” Celestia murmured, rolling the name in her mouth before looking at me with a gentle, loving smile, “That’s such a pretty name for a pretty little filly. So, Sunset, what say you?” There was only one answer to give. “Yes!” And so my new life began. I thought it was to be full of peace and joy, but how wrong I was… I admit, for the first few years of my life at the Canterlot Castle, all was well. As it turned out, I had very powerful magical potential, and Celestia took me on as her personal student. I loved learning about every spell I could get my hands on, and when I overheard Celestia mention to her niece Princess Cadance that there was a very good possibility of the first Alicorn ascendence in ages, I got it into my head that she was talking about me. I poured myself into my studies even more, impressing my teacher with my rapid progress. But for whatever reason, it still wasn’t enough, I never ascended. I got bitter, angry even. It was only a matter of time before things boiled over. I was growing more arrogant with each passing day. I never let anyone into my own personal room at the castle. At one point, Celestia finally had enough and sent me out on the town just for me to get some fresh air. Eventually, I wandered to a nearby park where Princess Cadance, was foalsitting a little girl. I bit back a snarl but sighed. It’d happen someday, I just knew it. Eventually, that little girl whom I would later call my best friend wandered over. “Hey, do you want to play?” Twilight asked as she held a ball in her hand. “No, I said flatly. “I’m in the middle of something here, or hadn’t you noticed?” “What sort of something?” She asked. I let out an aggravated sigh. “In the middle of studying a very important spell. I’m Celestia’s personal student, or didn’t you know?” “So am I!” Twilight proclaimed, puffing out her chest a bit. I frowned. I knew Celestia had taken on another student, but I’d never cared enough to meet her. “Well, let me give you a tip. Study very hard, because you know what happens if you don’t?” I asked with a sneer. “No, what?” Twilight asked curiously, in that way only a little kid could. I leaned in close. “They send you all the way back to Magic Kindergarten.” I smirked. “Now you don’t want that do you?” That was yet another in a long list of mistakes I regret. If I hadn’t said those things, Twilight may not have become such an intellectual shut in and a bad friend until Celestia sent her off to Ponyville in preparation for Nightmare Moon’s/Luna’s return. Several years passed, and now I was nineteen years old. I still hadn’t become an Alicorn and I was furious about it. So furious about it, I confronted my own teacher. “Sunset, I’m sorry, but with your attitude towards everypony I can’t possibly allow you to ascend!” Celestia told me. That only made me more furious. “This is your fault! You put these damn ideas into my head, and look what happened! I’m a product of your own selfishness! You want to be the only Alicorn on the throne! That’s why you sent Luna away, isn’t it? Because you want all the power to yourself.” I sneered, and Celestia looked as if she’d been punched in the gut. Yet another mistake on my part. “No, that’s not it and you know it Sunset. What happened to the girl I raised? The kind little filly who would do anything for anypony? You were so empathic to everypony’s problems, you’d try to help them out in anyway you could. Now look what you’ve become.” Celestia said sorrowfully. “Then I’m sorry for what I’ve got to do. I’m sorry PRINCESS, but your reign is at an end.” I snarled and produced a red and gold trimmed item not unlike a conductor’s ticket puncher, but with numbers like a phone on it as well. Celestia’s eyes widened. “Sunset, don’t!” She cried, but it was too late. My path was already set in stone. “Magical Source, Mystic Force!” I yelled and punched a ticket and threw it and it enlarged itself and covered me with my body gaining crimson and golden armor and bat wings sprouted out of my back. I was an Alicorn, but not the one I should have been. The power, it was overwhelming, but terrifying at the same time. But I didn’t care. I had what I wanted, and now I intended to use it. Strike three for mistakes I regret. I fired a blast of flame from my horn at Celestia who threw up a golden shield around herself before leaping forwards and drawing a navy blue and gold trimmed sword which she swung at me and I blocked its blow with a blade of fire before kicking my own teacher backwards into her throne. Royal Guards, led by Steel Sentry rushed into the room, but I put up a wall of fire between me and them. “Sorry boys, but this battle is between me and her. You’re not invited to this private party.” I smugly remarked, my head turned towards them, but Celestia used this chance to strike back and fire a gold blast of energy at me which I rolled to the left to avoid and then swung my sword which Celestia blocked again with her own blade before she punched me in the face making me stagger backwards. Next thing I knew, I was enveloped in a bubble of golden energy before Celestia recited a spell which somehow demorphed me and sent me back into my regular wingless state. I curled up on the floor sobbing, realizing what I had tried to do and just how far I’d fallen. I’d taken Solar Flare’s personal morpher, the one she used in the battles against humanity and let her influence of the power she’d put into that morpher corrupt me. No, that wasn’t right. I’d made so many mistakes and let my pride and arrogance get to me that it was all too easy for the morpher to take control. As I continued sobbing in shame, Celestia pulled me into a hug and just let my tears flow, like she had done all those years ago. I don’t know why she was giving me a second chance, I sure as Tartarus didn’t deserve it, and I still never have really figured that part out to this day. Years passed, and after the incident with the Solar Cell Morpher and me nearly killing my own teacher, I began to wisen up and eventually, when the rest of the Mane Seven’s Cutie Marks got switched around, me and Twilight were the only ones to be able to complete Starswirl’s unfinished spell to save them and restore everything back to normal. That was when it happened. That was when both Twilight and I ascended, the proper way. No grabbing power for myself, no arrogance and pride influencing me. I ascended because I wanted to put back what went wrong. Like a phoenix burning bright, I had showed my other side. The side I’d forgotten about long ago. Empathy. It wasn’t long before I discovered the meaning of that aquamarine crystal I still kept as a keepsake of my mother. It was during when me and the rest of the Elements were cleaning out Luna and Celestia’s old castle. I’d wandered off on my own and found an old and disused room with a red and golden crystal, similar to the one I had just lying on the floor, seemingly forgotten. Its power called out to me, and as soon as I touched it I felt something I couldn’t explain. Ancient power, long before Equestria. As soon as I picked it up, I was teleported to the beautiful paradise known as the Animarium. It was a haven, and I found myself in a stone temple where a pure white alicorn mare waited for me. “I’ve been waiting for you for a long time Sunset Shimmer. My name is Princess Shayla, and this is the Animarium. I knew someone had to pick up the Phoenix Crystal and become it’s chosen guardian. I must admit though, I was shocked when I found it’s new guardian to be the holder of the Elephant Crystal.” The mare said, and I took a quick look at the two orbs. Now they displayed tiny animals inside of them, the aqua one being an elephant and my new Crystal a bird of some type. “And just as the Phoenix is Queen of the Skies, you shall lead the newest generation of the Power Rangers Wild Force.” “I’m not qualified to lead anything. If you know who I am, you know what I used to be like. Trusting me with power is like trusting a fox with guarding a henhouse. Things will go badly, I can assure you of that.” I replied. “If you really believe that, why did you pick up the Crystal in the first place?” Shayla asked, and I found myself unable to answer that. Shayla let me go, to ponder my thoughts, clear my head and such and as I was walking through the streets of Ponyville, I heard a groaning and then screaming sound coming from an alleyway. I initially passed it off as ponies having a tryst, but something felt… off. They weren’t ones of pleasure, but pure terror. I rushed down the alleyway and found a group of rough looking stallions, the leader of which was grey furred and bald headed with a handlebar moustache taking turns raping a little filly in the behind. I snarled. I couldn’t let this pass me by. A golden phone appeared in my hand, though at the time I took no notice of it due to my pure fury. “Hey, what the BUCK do you think you’re doing!?!” I roared and the lead stallion laughed. “Taking what’s rightfully ours, of course. She’s just another prize in a long line of them.” He answered. Now I was truly furious. They had the outright gall to call this filly, and from the sounds of things, others as well possessions as if they owned her. I was in such a rage, my wings had ignited in pure flame and the other stallions took a step back in fear. Good for them. Without even knowing what I was doing, I put the phone to my ear and called out “Legendary Wild Access!” and I felt a power overtake me. But unlike when I morphed into the Dark Solaris Knight, it felt warm and comforting, like a mother’s soft embrace and the next thing I knew I stood in a gold formfitting bodysuit with red trimming on my gloves, shoulders and boots. “Take them down, Little Firebird.” A male voice said to me and I drew my Crystal Saber and charged. I may not have known what the future held for me at that point, but I did know one thing, my past was not today... END Author's Note Okay, last POV chapter, so next time around it's going back to third person point of view. In this chapter, we learn that Sunset has regrets, just like all the other Rangers do and probably has the most regrets of them all and how she gained her animal crystals and become the Gold Ranger for the first time. It's interesting to note that not all monsters are obvious, some can seem just like anyone else, until you catch them in the act. That's what being a Power Ranger's all about, protecting those who can't protect themselves, not just from Orgs, but from all monsters. First off, I'd like to credit both the Abyss and Summer Dancer for giving me inspiration for Sunset's backstory, and more specifically their stories "Sunset's Sunrise" and "Sandbox" respectively. They can be found here. https://www.fimfiction.net/story/260562/sunsets-sunrise https://www.fimfiction.net/story/342249/sandbox Next Time: Vapor's Vengeance! One more thing, if you're a Lego and a Power Rangers fan, then you'll definitely want to see this made a official Lego set. [Clicky clickyb]**
Part 20: The Power of Purple The Animarium Vapor emerged from her cavern, a sobered look on her muzzle. Her sins, all of them were there on paper for everypony to read. What would they think of her now, knowing she was involved in the death of the very first member recruited by Princess Shayla and had been lying about her status to the others the whole time. She already knew what their reactions would be: disgust, hatred and she knew they wouldn’t want to be around her anymore. To be honest, it was more than just friendship she had felt towards Grape. They, along with Lightning Dust and Sky Stinger had been friends since childhood. Tartarus, when neither Sky nor Vapor was around to babysit Lightning, Grape was always there. He and his family lived in a little house in the mountains not too far below Vapor and Sky’s homes, so he could easily make it up the mountain path to visit them and they could play together and just imagine what they’d be when they grew up. Sky, Lightning and Vapor would be Wonderbolts, flying amongst the best while Grape Vine would be singing to the masses, perhaps opening up for the Wonderbolts shows at times. And even from a young age, he was good with the guitar, as Vapor’s fondest memory of him came flashing back to her. “Ladies and gentlecolts, right from the heart of the Smoky Mountains, Grape Vine!” A young Sky Stinger, a colt with dark blue fur and wings and a lighter blue mane yelled, faking an announcer's voice as best as he could as a younger Grape Vine stepped from the treeline as Sky and his family clapped their hands. “Seriously, thank you for coming out tonight. Now, it’s an honor to open for the Wonderbolts tonight before they give us a show only they can put on.” Grape said as he took out his guitar and strummed that old familiar tune. “Well, Ah built me a raft and she's ready for floatin' Ol' Mississippi, she's callin' mah name Catfish are jumpin' That paddle wheel thumpin'” “Black water keeps rollin' on past just the same Old black water, keep on rollin’, Mississippi moon, won't you keep on shinin' on me Old black water, keep on rollin', Mississippi moon, won't you keep on shinin' on me Old black water, keep on rollin', Mississippi moon, won't you keep on shinin' on me…” Another memory hit Vapor, one not so fond but it was important to her nonetheless. There she and Sky Stinger were, flying high in the clouds above while Grape Vine was reading from a book of spells. His horn glowed a purple color and he stepped out onto a cloud, and then hopped onto another. But as young as he was, his magic couldn’t last very long, and soon his hooves gave way and he fell foot by foot as the ground rushed up to greet him. Vapor let out a yell of fear, before she unfurled her growing wings and rocketed down towards Grape Vine as fast as she could her keen eyes trained on his falling form even through the wintry mists but simply wasn’t fast enough. Then Sky Stinger rocketed past her and caught Grape in his arms as Vapor caught up to him and wrapped her arms around him sobbing her heart out into Grape’s neck. “You… You foolish stallion! You could have been killed! Why…? Why’d you do that?” She whispered through her tears. “Same reason you two are up there all the time. Ah want to be as free as a bird and feel what you feel when you’re in the sky. That sense of calmness, where nothing could ever get to ya.” “Grape, you’re an idjit.” Sky told him and Grape only laughed. “...Yeah, guess Ah am.” And whenever Lightning needed a lullaby to calm her down, it was either Vapor or Grape singing to her to calm her down and put her to bed and send her into dreamland. Lightning was currently in the midst of a nightmare, and woke up, sobbing heavily in her bed. Grape and Vapor, who happened to be at Sky Stinger’s house for a sleepover just ran up to her room along with Sky and found her sobbing into her pillow and trembling. As Sky brought her into a hug, Grape began to sing the song personally coined by Princess Luna herself over 1,000 years ago. “Hush now, quiet now It's time to lay your sleepy head Hush now, quiet now It's time to go to bed.” “Hush now, quiet now It's time to lay your sleepy head Hush now, quiet now It's time to go to bed.” He sung in a soft tone as Sky pulled the covers over his little sister and kissed her forehead goodnight. Sky then gave Grape and Vapor a sad look. “What’s the matter?” Grape Vine asked. “It’s… It’s about dad. He’s always off and leaving us, leaving me and mom, Mystic Mother bless her heart, to care for my family. And even when he does stick around, he doesn’t seem to give a damn about Lightning, treating her as the runt. He always thinks I’m the one to break his records, but does he ever consider her?” Sky whispered in disgust towards his father, if he could even call him that. “Bastard.” Grape muttered. “That there’s exactly what me and mah family could call somepony who would run out on his own kinfolk and not give a damn about what the rest of his family thinks. Lightning, she doesn’t deserve him. Ah have half a mind to report Wind Rider for child neglect.” “You know the charges wouldn’t stick. We’d need proof.” Before Grape Vine could butt in, Vapor continued. “And even if we got that proof, we all know how rich Wind is. He’d just pay off somepony to keep quiet. Grape, you’ve seen plenty of crime dramas. You know how it goes.” “Yeah, Ah do…” Grape muttered grimly to himself… “So, I guess you all hate me now.” Vapor said as the rest of the Rangers looked directly at her. They’d all read each other’s confessions, and they understood each other’s problems. Now they were all looking towards Vapor Trail. Lightning leaned back, closing her eyes and putting her arms behind her head. “And exactly why would you think that?” Vapor Trail looked shocked, staring at the pegasus she’d known her whole life. “B-but it’s because of me that-” Lightning held up her hand, silencing her surrogate sister. “Grape gave his life so that you could live. He even passed his power on to you.” “But I-” “I wasn’t done.” Lightning snapped, “No matter how you look at it, Grape thought you were worth all of that, and so did your zord.” She continued, getting up from her seat and walking over to Vapor Trail, pulling her into a hug. “I know you never wanted it, but the fact remains that Grape saved you, the Leviathan chose you. No matter how you look at it, you’re not at fault here, Vapor.” Vapor stood there, stunned. “But why? Why would he choose me of all ponies? I’m not...” Sunburst cleared his throat. “That’s just not true, Vapor.” he pushed up his glasses, giving her a smile, “You became a Ranger for a reason. You never would have been able to morph otherwise. I know what it’s like to have no confidence in what you can do. Trust me, you can do this.” “But the Leviathan never chose me! Grape was the one who should have been here, not me!” “Is that so?” Sunset interjected, “Tell me one thing. Why can you morph then?” She asked. “I-I… I don’t know! I don’t know why it works! I don’t know why I’m a Ranger! I shouldn’t have this power at all!” “And yet you do. Regardless of what you think, the Leviathan chose you to carry Grape Vine’s mantle. Why it did, I won’t know. What I do know is that you deserve to be a Ranger, regardless of how you got your crystal.” Vapor was trying hard to keep herself together, tears leaking out of her eyes as she tried to keep a stiff upper lip. Sunset let out a breath and smiled, walking over to her and Lightning, wrapping her arms and wings around the both of them. “You carry this power because you deserve it, there is no other reason, Vapor.” She murmured. Vapor let out a choked sob as she buried her face into Lightning’s chest, crying like a newborn as she let it all out. All the pain, regret, and guilt escaping her all at once. Robert sat at his seat, shifting awkwardly. “Hey, uh… Listen, I’ve never been really good with empathy and hugging and all that sappy crap and to be honest this is between you lot and not me, so if you excuse me, I’m going to take my leave.” Robert muttered to himself before touching his morpher and teleporting away in an orange flash of light down towards Equestria. He found himself in the streets of Ponyville, ponies scattering at the sight of him teleporting down from the heavens. Robert simply rolled his eyes and muttered “I need a drink. Wonder if they sell a good bottle of sake anywhere around here? Probably not, but one can only hope.” As he walked through the streets of Ponyville, his jacket zipped up to protect him from the frosty autumn winds, he took out his phone and put a pair of green earbuds in his ear and just listened to the music of Styx’s Renegade. He let out a soft snort at the irony of his situation, the law wanted him dead, and the hangman, or hangmare coming down from the gallows in this case was Princess Celestia. He didn’t particularly believe in this split personality bull that Sunset was feeding him. Sure, he knew it existed in the case of Anton Mercer/Mesogog, but he needed proof to actually believe it. Suddenly, something unseen, cold and frosty brushed past him and he whirled around to face nothing but empty space behind him. “Robert, Robert, Robert. You’re just getting paranoid. It’s the wind and you know it.” He muttered to himself even if he didn’t quite believe his own words. Then, he saw, peeking out from the corner of a building a slender figure clad in golden Roman gladiator type armor. “You know, if you’re trying to spy on me, you’re not being very subtle about it!” Robert shouted to the figure and one of the Royal Guards, a mare judging by her figure and notable bust stepped out into view. “...Wow, guess I really botched that one up didn’t I?” The pure white pegasus mare asked. “Tell me, does your boss Shining Armor know you’re out and about?” Robert questioned. The mare’s silence and look towards the ground was all Robert needed, and he threw his hands up in the air in frustration. “Great, so Princess Genocide sends her beefeaters to spy on me! Tell me, how many more of you are there?” “T-They’re stationed all over the whole town, places where you might go. We were sent to make sure you don’t do anything… untoward.” The mare explained and looked apologetic. “I was only following orders.” Robert snarled and gave her a nasty glare. “No, you don’t get to use that excuse on anyone, me of all people especially considering my heritage, fraulein! That’s the same exact excuse the Nazis used before they herded up the Jews and gassed them. Go look it up in a book, oh wait, there’s no record of that, is there? No, Princess Genocide just had to erase all of human history!” Robert growled out and stomped off leaving the guard in tears. Eventually, he found his way to the inn known as the Prancing Pony. Robert chuckled. “Has anypony here ever read Tolkien I wonder?” He mused before pushing the door open. The inside of the Prancing Pony was, in one word, quaint. The walls were wood paneled and decorated with what looked like traditional pony handicrafts. The lighting was dim, but warm and a large stone fireplace at the far end of the inn bathed the room with warmth from the heat of the roaring flames inside. Ponies sat at tables and on barstools all over the inn’s ground floor, their conversations suddenly going silent at Robert’s entry. “Wow, normally I generate such a silence after I pull off one of my show stopping moves.” Robert snarked before sitting down at a booth next to a dark blue unicorn mare with short cropped hair. “So, what are you having?” The mare asked with a smile. Robert eyed her. There was something awfully familiar about her, he just couldn’t put his finger on it. It was like he’d seen her somewhere before, but where? “Same thing as you I’m guessing, I don’t think sake’s on the menu. Still, I should probably ask your name, just so I know the name of the mare who’s probably trying to poison me.” The unknown mare winced, and so did Robert, realizing he might have misjudged her. “...Sorry.” “No, you’re very right to be suspicious. It would be just like anypony in this town to slip a poison into your drink or food when you’re not looking. Name’s Artemis Starborne.” The mare said, introducing herself and holding out a hand. Robert shook it. “Anyone ever tell you that sounds like the name of a bad Harry Potter OC?” Robert remarked dryly. “Hey, I can’t help the name I was born with.” Artemis chuckled, and Robert raised an eyebrow. How the Hell would she know what Harry Potter was? Those books would have been destroyed long ago by Celestia and Commander Hurricane’s forces. “Your mum and dad must really love the night sky don’t they?” Robert asked and Artemis nodded. “Yeah, they always looked up to the sky at night and told me that each star is a soul looking down on us, judging our every action and guiding us. Mind you, you can take that as you will, but it’s a nice belief.” Artemis replied. “True. Rather poetic if you ask me.” Robert replied and they clinked their glasses together and said “Cheers.” before drinking each taking a sip. Just then, Robert felt that same icy wind brush past him and he grimaced. It was like it passed through him this time, like the wind of the frosty blizzards back home. “Agh… Okay, now I know I’m being stalked. I need to find out who.” “Something… Something wrong?” Artemis asked in concern as Robert stood up and she put a hand on his shoulder. “No… Nothing at all. Just got to go to the loo.” Robert said reaching for his Crystal Saber in its sheath before he turned towards a corner of the bar where a Royal Guard lurked and was trying to make himself as unseen as possible. “And there better not be any of you lot spying on me in there as well or somepony’s getting punched in the face!” Robert found his way to the bathroom and turned on the faucet and splashed water in his face. In the mirror, a figure was revealed, one wearing a pure black cloak and a kitsune noh mask on his/her/it’s face. “Who are you!?!” Robert shouted as he whirled around and drew his Crystal Saber, pointing it directly at his stalker. The figure said nothing before fading away. “Wunderbar.” Robert muttered before resheathing his saber. But the next thing he knew, something grabbed him from behind and he found himself transported away... Elsewhere in Ponyville… Meanwhile, the Turbine Org had returned and was already causing his signature brand of havoc by sending spiraling blasts of gale force winds at any building within his sights, tearing them apart with gale force winds while cackling madly. Anywhere the buildings landed, they were obliterated in an instant. “Run, little ponies! Run! Oh, it’s so good to be back in the game!” He laughed before sending some ponies flying with a blast of wind from his turbines. Then a voice came from behind him. “Hold it right there Turbine Org! Your days of destruction are over!” Vapor shouted as she and the other three Rangers ran up. If Turbine Org could have smiled, he would have. “Ah, it’s the Purple Ranger. Come to get destroyed like your predecessor?” He cackled, but to his surprise Vapor didn’t even flinch. “I’m not afraid of you anymore. To me, you’re just another Org about to get on the wrong end of my trident.” She snarled before holding up her Growl Phone up to her ear before shouting out that phrase she’d read in Robert and Lightning’s confessional. “It’s Morphin’ Time!” She shouted out, taking the lead. This Org was hers and hers alone. “Legendary Wild Access! Ha!” (Morphing Sequences) With a flash of flame, Sunset was transported to the inside of a volcano and stood on the middle of a rock as she was transformed and she gained a gold and red form-fitting costume with diagonal tooth marks across her chest and her Cutie Mark on her right breast with a phoenix's head themed helmet forming around her head accompanied by a loud screeching sound. Standing on a rocky desert plateau as storm clouds rumbled and lightning flashed in the background, Lightning gained an aqua colored costume with the same diagonal tooth marks across her chest and her Cutie Mark of a yellow lightning bolt with stars appeared on her right breast as a helmet similar in design to Sunset's appeared on her head, with the sound similar to that of a falcon's call. On a beach, a tidal wave washed over Vapor Trail and she gained a purple costume similar in design to the others with her Cutie Mark of a comet on her left breast as well with the tooth marks on the opposite side of her chest and a sperm whale themed helmet formed over her head with the noise of a deep sea beast's hum. In a dark barely moonlit orchard of apple trees, clouds of black smoke surrounded Sunburst and he gained a black costume with his Cutie Mark of an orange sun with bursting yellow rays on his left breast just like Vapor Trail's costume, and also like Vapor's the tooth marks appeared on the right side of his chest with a bat themed helmet much like the Jungle Fury Bat Spirit Ranger's appearing around his head along with a loud bat screech sound. (Morphing Sequences End Here) "With the strength of the Leviathan, Purple Leviathan Ranger!" Vapor shouted. “Seems like unfair odds. Tell you what, if you can beat my men, you can take me on personally Vapor.” Turbine Org remarked before he snapped his fingers. “Tengas! Putrids! Take care of this filth!” As the Tengas and Putrids appeared, Vapor just charged right through them, her white gloved hand gripped tightly on her Leviathan Trident not caring in the slightest about the small fry. She had bigger fish to deal with. She held it in a backwards grip and knocked Turbine Org backwards with the butt of her trident and then stabbed him in the chest multiple times before slamming the prongs of her weapon down on the ground sending a huge tidal wave towards the Org who had haunted her nightmares for months. “Now, looks like you’re all washed up.” Vapor snorted. In the background, the rest of the Rangers were handling the minions quite well. Lightning lashed at some Putrids with her whips and then grabbed a Tenga’s head and twisted it sideways with a sickening crack of bone. Nearby, Sunset had stabbed one Tenga through the chest with her Phoenix Blade and put her Crystal Saber through another’s eye while Sunburst used his Shadow Hatchets to block a Putrid’s staff-zooka before kicking it backwards with a white clad boot. Next, Lightning inserted her Giraffe Crystal into her Saber and fired a beam of yellow energy like a spear impaling several Putrids and Tengas. Meanwhile, Vapor continued her fight with the Turbine Org. He tried to push her back with a gust of wind, but she just flew over and upwards behind him and stabbed him through the chest, much like how he’d done to Grape Vine. As Vapor pulled her trident out of the Org, Thrax’s Wand descended from the sky and fired a beam of scarlet energy at Turbine’s fallen form. With a great rush of wind and a sickening cackle, the Turbine Org stood back up, now as tall as a titan. “Guess who’s back?” He laughed and stomped his foot sending all four Rangers tumbling to the ground. “Alright then, time to show you the true ancient powers of the seas! I call upon the King of the Seas! Leviathan Zord, Descend!” Vapor yelled, and her Saber emitted its signature song and when the Zord heard it, it’s eyes opened wide and when it felt what Vapor was feeling, and rose up out of the waters of Manehatten’s East River much to the shock of the citizens who had never seen such a sight in their life and it rocketed towards the town of Ponyville, it’s flippers and gigantic tail swimming through the air and cutting through it as if were simply going through the waters of the oceans in which it normally dwelled. As soon as it saw the truly gigantic Turbine Org, it’s eyes narrowed. This was the one who had killed his Master. No, that wasn't the right word for it. Friend was more accurate. He felt it. He felt what Vapor wanted and agreed it was time to put this Org down for good. It had overstayed it’s welcome for far too long. Vapor leaped on top of the Zord just as it head-butted the Turbine Org sending it staggering back. She pointed her Crystal Saber at the Org and the Leviathan Zord’s mouth opened and charged up a purple beam of energy. And just for a moment, Vapor thought she felt Grape’s presence nearby and his hand on her shoulder. And then, she could have sworn she heard his voice. “Kick his ass.” The voice said and Vapor nodded. “MEGA ROAR!” Vapor shouted, and both she and her Zord fired twin purple beams of energy at the Turbine Org sending him flying back into a mountain splitting it in half before Vapor put her Saber on top of the central spike of the Trident and threw it with a shout of “Leviathan’s Rage!” The trident grew to gargantuan size as an energy projection of the Leviathan appeared in front of it and bit down on the Turbine Org before the trident impaled him, resulting in a massive explosion that tore the Org apart with an unholy scream of vengeance. Vapor smiled as she took off her helmet. “Finally… Grape, I hope you’re watching from wherever you are, because your death is finally avenged.” Back in Ponyville, two Orgs stood at the site of the Turbine Org’s destruction. One was covered in what looked to be swords with the blades even covering all but one of his yellow toned eyes. The other Org, was themed after a clock, with his clock hands making up a mustache and his single eye resembling a monocle and holding a sword that resembled a longcase clock. “They think they’ve seen devastation? Well… They clearly haven’t met us yet…” The first Org chuckled ominously. (To Be Continued...) "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your trident and your sword, they comfort me." -Vapor Trail Author's Note Okay, so in this chapter Vapor finally overcomes her fears and with everything laid bare, gets a great weight lifted off her shoulders and destroys the Org who killed one of her best friends. Also, we get more of Lightning's backstory and elaborate more on her Inferiority Superiority Complex and just what life was like for her growing up. (Take note how Shining seems to be the only mentally sound Ranger in the bunch) In the meantime, Robert learns Solar is having guards spy on him and meets with a "Mysterious Pony" and befriends her before he gets wise to his stalker before being transported away to parts unknown. Huge thanks to the Villain in Glasses for the scene with the rest of the Rangers telling Vapor that Grape's death was not her fault, as simply put, I couldn't figure out a way to write that scene. Next time: Double Trouble in the form of the Clock and Sword Orgs, and Robert finally meets his Zord and unleashes it's power in a epic throwdown before at last... "GuardianofAnimariaMegazord!"
Part 21: Aftermath of Devastation! Double Trouble! Master of Blades and the Clock King! Where are you Robert? Sunset's POV: You ever seen what a town looks like after the devastation of a high level tornado on the EF scale? You know, where buildings have been picked up and tossed and in other cases outright flattened, leaving nothing but the foundations remaining and parts of what once was lying everywhere like toothpicks? Well, that’s what had just happened to Ponyville. During the Turbine Org’s rampage, he had tossed buildings all around, sending them every which way, and any poor soul unlucky enough to be in their path was as good as dead or very close to it. Back to Third Person POV: Honestly, Sunset couldn’t decide which type of pony was the luckiest. Half of Ponyville, destroyed by one Org, and that was before he went giant sized. Before now, all Org battles had taken place in remote areas or the Org was dealt with before he had a chance to do any real damage. But now, that wasn’t the case. Ponies everywhere were sifting through the rubble of their broken and shattered lives all around her, trying to piece together what once was, or simply wandered about, unsure what to do or where to go. Fillies and colts sobbed in the background, and parents tried to comfort them as best they could. Sunset just broke down and sobbed for what was left of her adopted home. She looked at what was left of her home, with the entire top half of it gone completely, and sighed. Homes could be rebuilt, but the lives lost could not be regained. Now, she was witnessing the true power of the Orgs for the first time and what they could do if left unchecked. This was a disaster beyond any in recent recorded history, and she knew she could have stopped it if she and the other Rangers arrived just a bit sooner. “Sunset,” Twilight said as she walked up to her best friend and put a hand on her shoulder, causing her fellow Princess to look at her. “Ponyville needs a leader. It needs guidance. Ponies don’t know what to do now. We need to help them. We’ve never had a need for our Princess status before, but now is that time.” “She’s right you know,” Vapor said as she demorphed. The Thunderbird Zord summoned up a storm with the help of the weather team led by Rainbow Dash to put out fires ignited by gas lines. “Ponies need hope. That’s what Princess Luna and Princess Celestia are for.” “Us…we just stop the monsters as Rangers. We’re just the clean-up crew...” Sunset muttered. “But that’s just it!” Vapor shouted at her. “We are supposed to be signals of hope! That’s part of being a Ranger! We’re supposed to bring hope to the populace even in the darkest of times!” “And we failed today! Ponyville’s in ruins because we couldn’t stop that Org sooner!” Sunset snapped back, tears rolling down her face. Vapor stood firm and she punched Sunset in the face, in hopes of knocking back some sense into her. “NO! Even after the battle, we bring hope. We’re supposed to be a beacon, we need to help out not just with destroying the Orgs, but what happens after the battles. Ponies will be in shock, they need help and need to be shown everything will get back to normal. That’s part of our job, part of YOUR job so get to work! ...or maybe you’re not the Princess of Empathy everypony thinks you are,” she growled out. Thoroughly quailed by Vapor’s unexpected show of assertiveness, Sunset nodded and turned to Twilight, rubbing her cheek where she had been punched. “So, what’s the status on everything so far?” Sunset asked. “Well, Rarity has turned Carousel Boutique into a safehouse for those who are without homes and passing out clothing to anypony who needs it. Pinkie’s trying to cheer everypony up the best she can with...Trixie’s help,” Twilight said with no small amount of derision, “and Ponyville High’s become a safehouse as well, with the Cakes passing out food to anypony who needs it. Shining Armor and the Royal Guard are flying in from Canterlot to help look for the missing and round up the...” Twilight trailed off and swallowed hard, unable to finish the sentence. “Mystic Mother above, what did we do to deserve this tragedy?” “Maybe you should ask Princess Celestia,” a voice that Sunset knew at once to be Animus said, coming through to all of the Ranger’s heads and Twilight’s as well. “She was the one to exterminate humankind after all. There’s a phrase from the olden days. How does it go…? Let me remember… Oh yes. Karma’s a bitch. Maybe now you’re feeling what she thinks of your kind’s atrocities towards the Earth.” “But that was Solar Flare! She was the one to exterminate humankind!” Sunset argued. “Yes, but Princess Celestia is just as guilty as her dark half, if that is even true,” the Lord of the Wild Zords coolly replied. “She let this hatred and bigotry fester for over 2,000 years and never did anything about it. Think on that for a moment.” And then Animus said no more, leaving the Rangers and Twilight quite stunned and speechless. After all, when a god had a point, what could you say to argue with him about it? “Great, chewed out by Animus on his own personal radio station. Ain’t that just wonderful?” Lightning muttered. “What’s worse, he has a point.” Sunset said sourly. Just then, they heard somepony shouting for help. Sunset and Twilight at once recognized it as Lyra’s voice. They followed the sound of the voice to the other side of town and found what used to be a two story home/candy store lying in ruins. Lyra was standing nearby, trying to call for help to anypony who would listen as she tried to levitate the rubble blocking the remnants of the door out of the way, her horn glowing golden in its magical aura. “Come on Bonnie, I know you’re in there somewhere…” Lyra muttered as she strained against the sheer weight of the rubble she was lifting. At once, Twilight and Sunset joined in and added their purple and green magical auras to the task at hand. Soon enough, a passageway to the door was cleared. “Bon-Bon, I know she’s in there! I’ve got to go in after her!” Lyra yelled and ran towards the door, but Twilight held her back. “Are you crazy? That whole building looks like it could collapse at any moment!” she shouted. “But… but my wife! Bonnie! BOONNNNIIIEEE!” Lyra screamed in fear, tears streaming down her face. “We can’t just sit here!” Sunset shouted. “Somepony’s got to go in there and help her out, despite the danger!” With a snarl and a shout of concern from Twilight, Sunset telekinetically threw the door open and walked inside the ruined candy shop. Glass cases had broken up, leaving candy scattered all over the floor and shards of glass everywhere she stepped and cutting in her hooves Sunset wincing in pain each time she stepped on one and crushed it into even more tiny pieces. Sunset grimaced as she saw a huge piece of wooden pylon thrown through a window and impaling itself in a back wall. “Thank Mystic Mother Bon-Bon wasn’t there for that. But she’s got to be around here somewhere, alive or…” Here Sunset choked back a sob. “Dead.” Sunset didn’t want to even think about the kindly mare who was one of the community’s pillars being dead, but she was well aware it was a possibility she had to face. “Bon-Bon! Are you here? Answer me!” Sunset called out, and got no response. She swore softly to herself, her mind at once going immediately to the worse possible scenario. “No, you mustn't think like that. She could be trapped somewhere in some way that she can’t answer me, or maybe she simply just can’t hear me. Yeah, that’s gotta be it! There’s no telling what could have happened. You’ve got to stay positive Sunset.” Sunset walked up the stairs that led to the upper level of the building, and then it creaked and something groaned. “Shit! This building won’t last for much longer! It’s already very close to turning on its side as it is. If it does while both me and Bon-Bon are still in here, we won’t be getting out.” Sunset, now with increased urgency ran upstairs and began kicking down every door she could, all the while still shouting for Bon-Bon. Eventually she heard weak coughing coming from a bedroom. Sunset rushed in and she found what looked to be a filly’s bedroom, with a crib and everything. Sunset remembered that Bon-Bon and Lyra were thinking about having a child. Then, in the back of the room she saw Bon-Bon, crushed under what looked to be a piece of the roof. Sunset lifted and tossed the rubble out of the way and immediately began scanning Bon-Bon’s injuries with her horn, a greenish glow illuminating the white furred mare. She winced at the damage. “Broken bones, cracked ribs, and I'm willing to bet that's the least of the damage considering a roof fell on her. I’ve got to move fast.” Sunset thought and picked up Bon-Bon. “S-Sunset? Is that you?” Bon-Bon asked weakly but Sunset shushed her. “Don’t speak. Now, I’m getting you out of here but we’re going to have to make a quick escape, so brace yourself,” Sunset said before she leaped out the nearest window. Broken glass flew everywhere. Sunset landed on the ground, wings spread like an angel from heaven with Bon-Bon in her arms bridal style. “Bonnie!” Lyra shouted in joy just as Sunset handed the mare off to some nearby medics and informed them of Bon-Bon’s condition before turning to Lyra. “You’d best go with her, she’s going to need the support of a loved one,” Sunset said in a firm but still kind voice. Lyra nodded as Bon-Bon was loaded into the back of an ambulance on a gurney. Lyra leapt in after them and shut the door behind her as the ambulance rolled off down to the nearest hospital. “There’s going to be more that need our help. Best we get to work,” Twilight said. Sunset nodded firmly. “Where’s Robert? Mystic Mother above knows we could have used his help,” Sunburst asked in concern. “I… I don’t know,” Sunset whispered in worry. She knew Robert could handle himself, if him taking down the Camera Org solo was any indication, but with all this devastation and the fact that she knew the first place he probably would have teleported to was Ponyville, she couldn’t help but worry. “Oh, I assume you mean the human. Wears a black leather jacket, speaks with a Trottingham accent, and likes to threaten ponies with punches to the face?” an unfamiliar dark blue mare asked as she walked up, supporting a member of the Royal Guard who was missing a leg. “Last I saw, he was with me, at the Prancing Pony.” the unicorn grunted. “And you are?” Sunset asked suspiciously. “Artemis. Artemis Starborne,” the mare introduced herself. Sunset’s eye narrowed. There was something familiar about the mare, but she couldn’t place it. “But you might know me by another name, Sunset,” Artemis added. Then, the mare dropped her disguise entirely and her clothing was replaced with a long flowing blue dress. Her horn became longer and more slender while two dark blue wings sprouted up from her back. Finally, her mane became longer and almost wispy like with stars in it. “L-Luna?” Twilight gaped. “You have got to be kidding me… Galaxy’s going to throw a fit when he hears about this,” Sunburst muttered to himself quietly, quiet enough so that nopony could hear it. But then a thought struck Sunburst. "Wait... What if he does know? He could be purposefully keeping this a secret, but why? He could have at least let me in the secret. But then again, the lesser ponies within the circle of knowledge is probably for the better." "...But I have to wonder, where is he right now? Ponyville was in danger, and he never showed. But... Then again, he's more active at night. Sensitive eyes and all." Sunburst mused to himself. “Last I saw him, he had to go to the bathroom but he never came back,” Luna said worriedly, her heart beating faster. She wanted to pass it off as just plain concern for Robert’s well being, but honestly she wasn’t really sure if it was just that right now. “Great, so now Robert’s gone missing and we’re down a Ranger! Meanwhile, Moonbutt here’s gone under a masquerade and leaves all of her duties to Princess Celestia! What else could go wrong!?!” Lightning asked, half shouting as she threw her hands up in the air in disbelief at everything that had gone down today. “Okay, that’s it. I’m officially off this train of insanity. Call me when everything goes back to normal,” she grumbled to herself. Twilight meanwhile gaped wordlessly at the fact that Robert was now a Power Ranger again. “Great… Now we’ve got a possible kidnapping of one of our own to worry about,” Sunset muttered. “Oh, I think you’ve got bigger problems then that Rangers!” a voice said tauntingly. All four Rangers, Luna and Twilight whirled around to see TWO Orgs. One was seemingly covered in blades with only a single eye visible and sported twin horns atop his and carried two very sharp looking swords while the other was based upon a clock with a monocle covering his sole eye and his clock hands forming a mustache with a sword in his hands based on a longcase clock. Sunset sighed to herself and morphed in a gold/red flash of light with her fellow Rangers soon joining her. “Just when you think things couldn’t get any worse…” Meanwhile… With Robert: Robert landed with a soft thud upon the snowy grounds of… somewhere. As he got up off the ground and brushed the snow from his face and his vision cleared, he found himself in a snowy forest. Reaching into his jacket and shivering from the freezing winds, he pulled out his morpher. “Alright, don’t you conk out on me now.” Robert muttered and took it off its chain and opened it up to hopefully display a mini-map of where he was. But no such luck, as the mini-map never showed, almost as if something was blocking it. “Permission to say oh cock? Well, this is just wunderbar, as if something’s blocking out the natural energies of the Morphin’ Grid which gives my morpher its powers, it has to be something very strong. A field of some sort I’ll bet, but if it’s this strong, I think the chances of Princess Shayla or any of the Rangers being about to reach me are about nil. So… It seems I’m on my own as always. Mind you, this time it’s not of my own free will.” Robert looked up into the sky, it was night and the stars shown brightly. Okay, different time zone then. The moon was full, a hunter’s moon. “I’m willing to bet whatever that thing is that took me here, it’s stalking me right now so I’d better get a move on.” And so Robert ran through the forest bundling himself up tightly his jacket to help better weather himself against the biting cold. All the while, he continued to hear footsteps, that were definitely not his own against the snow. On closer listening, they sounded almost like… “Pawprints? No, that’s impossible. But then again, I never did get a good look at what or whom was under that mask and cloak.” Robert whirled around and kicked snow in the direction of the footsteps and some of it fell onto an invisible figure, revealing some of his form. While Robert still couldn’t see him, he now knew where he was. “Alright, now I can see you. Who are you?” Suddenly, Robert felt himself kicked in the stomach and felt himself impact against hard wood, splinters going into his back as whatever he hit shattered. Robert groaned in pain and looked at whatever he had crashed into. On a part of the shattered wooden construction, he saw an image of a Japanese macaque, more commonly known as a snow monkey. Then Robert looked to his left and saw a little lake with steam rising from it. An onsen, or a hot spring. He let a smile come to his face. “So that’s where I am. Jigokudani, AKA Hell’s Valley. Fitting, considering this thing could have only come from that place.” Robert mused to himself as he stood up and drew his Crystal Saber. To his shock, the noe masked figure revealed himself fully and drew a saber of his own, identical in every way right down to the crystal. Robert charged towards the figure and their blades met and sparks flew as they clashed again and again, matching each other’s moves perfectly. It was almost like Robert was fighting a mirror double of himself. Trouble was, if you fought someone who fought exactly like you, it would be impossible to score a blow. “Okay then, time to try something I don’t think even this thing can mimick.” “Call to the Beast Inside! Free the Kitsune!” Robert shouted and unleashed his kitsune spirit and to his surprise, the figure simply waved his hand and it vanished into mist. Rober gaped, that simply couldn’t be! So, with a surrendering manner, Robert laid down his Crystal Saber and the figure did the same. “Now, who are you? ...no, that’s not accurate. You can’t be human, not from what I’ve see so I should ask what are you?” “Impressive,” the figure finally spoke in a deep, yet haughty and completely inhuman voice. “You actually decide to think for a change instead of fighting me in a brawl. You apes aren’t as stupid as you used to be. Over the centuries, it seems you’ve gained some actual intellect. I’m what you might call a… manifestation.” “A manifestation? Of what?” Robert asked, still quite tense. “Of the consciousness of what is sealed away here, you little fleshbag.” The being chuckled at Robert’s confused look. “Oh, you fool. You haven’t figured it out yet. Think back, why couldn’t you summon your Kitsune Zord? Then Robert realized. “Because it’s sealed away here. You’re sealed away here.” Robert whispered. “Correct.” “You know, for a Guardian of the Earth, you’re not exactly fond of humanity are you?” Robert questioned. The Guardian growled. “Of course not. Back in my day they couldn’t defend themselves from what lurked in the dark. Sure, when Prometheus provided those little cave dwellers fire they could defend themselves, but they then got greedy and only drove other species to extinction. Mammoths, Sabertooth Tigers, you should know this by now. If they had took what they needed, and only that, those creatures might still be alive today. Even as time went on, humans became more and more stupid. They stopped caring about the Earth and such. I may have been sealed away after the first Wild Force Rangers brought us all back, but I watched as they built cities atop Animaria’s sacred ground and then let the Earth become a wasteland in the years leading up to their extinction.” “Heh, bet you loved it when Princess Genocide took the torch and sword to them didn’t you?” Robert snarled. “Hardly. They may have been a stupid species that allowed my home to go to waste, but they didn’t deserve that little kit. And besides, as you can see, nature took back what was hers. We have the Mystic Mother to thank for that. Irony really, considering who she was in the dark days. Imagine, Rita Repulsa HELPING the Earth instead of trying to conquer it.” The Kitsune Zord chuckled darkly at the irony. “Now, you listen here you little whelp. The only reason I’m letting you free me, besides the fact that I want to be with my fellow Wild Zords again, is because I want that bastard Thrax to get what’s coming to him. He cheated death, and is leading the Orgs to boot.” If the Kistune Zord took notice of Robert’s shock, he didn’t show it or just didn’t outright care entirely. He then gestured Robert to follow him. The two went up a footpath and under a red gate to a stone statue of a fox with a lock at it’s base. “Now, use the key. I know you have it.” In Robert’s hands, a golden key appeared and with more than a hint of trepidation of what he was about to unleash, he inserted the key into its lock, and with a twist and a clicking sound, turned it… Back in Ponyville... The four Rangers faced down the two Orgs, weapons on both sides drawn. If this was the Appleloosian Plains or Dodge Junction, Sunset would’ve half-expected a tumbleweed to roll by at some point. The tension on both sides was so thick you could cut it with with a knife. Then, the blade swung. Both sides charged towards each other and Sunset and Vapor took on Clock Org, while Lightning and Sunburst took on Sword Org. The Clock Org swung his blade and caught Vapor in the chest, drawing blood, but she kicked him in the face, shattering his monocle and making him stagger back. Sunburst threw his Shadow Hatchets at Sword Org, who was held down by Lightning’s whips. The twin axes dealt multiple blows across the Org, but because he was made of tough steel, he didn’t seem to be really affected. He broke free of his restraints and leaped forwards towards Lightning. He stuck a tri pronged kunai dagger into Lightning’s wing, causing her to scream out in pain as blood dripped from the wound. Gritting her teeth, Lightning pulled the knife out her wing and tossed it aside, ignoring the bleeding. The Sword Org slashed Sunburst across the chest, drawing a considerable amount of blood, but Sunburst struck back with a vengeance with one of his Hatchets and cut off one of the horns on the Org’s head. Lightning found a weak point in the Org’s armor at a small point in his chest and stuck her Crystal Saber into it, making the Org grunt in pain, but he kicked her backwards before grabbing her by the wing. He began to pull with the full intent of ripping it clean off. Lightning began to feel her wing bones and muscles beginning to rip and tear as she screamed out in pain. The Org would have succeeded in his task had Sunburst not kicked him in the side and got in a good clean cut with his Crystal Saber on the Org’s right leg. “Oh, nice try. Must give you props for that. But I’m the Master of Blades! Full Body Blades!” Sword Org cried and all the swords on his body extended and Lightning and Sunburst rolled to the side almost in an instant not wanting to get impaled by the blades. Somehow however, the blades seemed to follow them wherever they went. Suddenly, multiple bursts of energy hit the blades, shattering some of them. Luna and Twilight destroyed the others by creating bows of magic and firing multiple arrows of light. The Magna Defender ran onto the scene, Riot Blaster in hand. “Sorry I’m late to the party. Had some search and rescue to do,” he grunted as he pumped his weapon. “‘Tis a good thing you have arrived, Magna Defender,” Luna nodded. “Always happy to make a save,” the Defender remarked as he changed his Riot Blaster back to its Magna Blade mode. He and the Sword Org circled each other. Twilight raised an eyebrow at the Defender. There was something about that voice, she just couldn’t place it though. “So, Sword Org I’m guessing. You say you’re the Master of Blades? Well, let’s find out shall we?” the Magna Defender taunted, beckoning his opponent on. The Sword Org grunted and advanced. The Magna Defender struck immediately, dealing a sideways golden energy slash across Sword Org’s chest before the Org returned the strikes with his own blades but the Defender blocked them both with his own sword as he smirked under his helmet. “I’ve been training with the sword for over twenty years. How long have you been at it? Answer, not long enough,” he chuckled as he crossed blades with his foe once again. “What makes you say that?” Sword Org asked. “Am I supposed to be impressed?” “Well, a true swordsman is aware of everything around him, and you’re evidently not,” the Defender remarked just as Lightning and Sunburst reappeared and kicked the Org in the chest making him stagger back. “...And yes, you’re supposed to be impressed, idiot,” the Magna Defender deadpanned. Meanwhile, Sunset and Vapor had been holding their own against Clock Org, right up until the moment he revealed his special attack. “Hand Arrows!” he shouted, and a good thirty to fifty clock hands, sharpened to a point materialized in mid-air around him. As soon the Clock Org pointed his sword at Vapor and Sunset, they launched, impaling the Purple and Gold Rangers in various areas. Thankfully, no vital arteries were hit. However, both were left in a bad state and were struggling to stand up with only their respective weapons used as support. “Oh, such a waste. I was expecting to have such a good time destroying you. You’re supposed to be an actual challenge. Power Rangers, give me a break,” Clock Org scoffed before he readied the arrows again. In the Nexus, Thrax chuckled. It looked like the Rangers had finally met their match. But then a thought occurred to him. “There’s still two more of them out there, and they could create… complications in the future, plus these Rangers could pass on their powers to others.” Thrax growled as he fingered a piece of golden armor, the last of the legendary warrior Goldar’s remnants. It looked like he would have to speed up his revival a little faster than he anticipated. Back on the battlefield, the arrows launched but were suddenly cut to ribbons by several golden crescent waves of energy as Zen-Aku appeared out of nowhere. “Zen-Aku!” Vapor cried happily. The rogue Duke Org simply smiled at her before pulling out his Lunar Dagger/Flute as he faced both Orgs and pointed it at them. Lightning's eyes widened. Zen-Aku? It couldn't be. Right in front of her was a unicorn, not a Duke Org resembling a wolf. “You two are pathetic. You, Sword Org. You call yourself the Master of Blades? I know a Duke Org who’s still around who might want to disagree with you on that. You’re arrogant and stupid. A bad combination. As for you Clock Org, you’re not even worth my time. I know both of these Rangers could easily defeat you. Power Rangers throughout history have overcome stronger monsters in a long line of creatures determined to destroy or conquer the Earth. You’re not the first, and nor will you be the last,” he stated before turning to Sunset. “Now, what’s that old human phrase Merrick liked to use? Oh yes, kick their ass.” “Gladly.” Sunset nodded, a new found strength filling her as her wings ignited into flame. She charged, Phoenix Blade and Crystal Saber in hand. With a wide swing, she cut through Clock Org’s sword and cleaved the top half off of it before blasting him backwards with magic. "Phoenix Blade, Fire Strike!" she shouted, and cleaved him in half with a burst of flaming energy. The two pieces of the Clock Org staggered, then slowly fell to the ground. “Your time’s up,” Sunset growled as she turned to the Sword Org. “Lightning, restrain him!” She ordered “Trust me, I got this,” Lightning replied with a flirty smirk before grabbing the other Org with her whips. She tossed him to Shining, who got in a sword strike with his Magna Blade before he kicked him to Sunburst, who threw his axes. They impacted the Sword Org several times before returning back to Sunburst as Vapor tossed her Trident, impaling the Org from behind. With a final shout, Sunset came down from above, both blades ignited in flame before she struck. At last, the Sword Org went down in a huge explosion. In the Nexus, Thrax roared in rage and his entire body glowed red at the sight of his champions falling. “Magic Wand, make my Orgs grow!” he screamed. The Rangers’ celebration at their victory came too soon. In an explosion of energy, both Orgs reappeared, now the size of giants. The Rangers stared in disbelief; they were exhausted and bleeding in various areas, and none but Shining could maintain the energy to stay morphed. “Oh boy…” Lightning muttered as Twilight rapidly created magical adhesives to stop the bleeding from her wing. “N-Now what?” Sunburst wondered as he clutched his chest with a hand to stop the blood flow. Then, he got his answer. An ear-piercing roar split the battlefield, and everyone turned to its source. Atop a hill, standing tall and proud and ready for battle, was the Kitsune Zord, bright orange with a fanged maw. Fearsomely sharp claws jutted out from it’s paws. It had two piercing green slitted eyes and nine flowing tails which waved behind it ominously. It’s eyes narrowed before leaping off the hill towards the two Orgs. Now the true battle was on! (To be continued…) Author's Note Okay, this is what you've been waiting for... The throw-down between the long awaited Kitsune Zord and a Org and then, the Megazord transformation!
Part 22: Throwdown of the Wild Zords! Megazord Transformation achieved!Author's Note Well... Only one thing to say... Go Go Power Rangers! Part 22: Throwdown of the Wild Zords! Megazord Transformation achieved! A resounding crash that echoed for miles around was the result of the King of Foxes slamming it’s entire body into the Clock Org toppling it to the ground below and knocking down trees for miles around in the Everfree Forest, once known as the One Hundred Mile Wilderness. Outside a small hut made from a tree, a mohawked Zebra mare stared as she watched the great battle unfold. “Two beasts from times beyond immortal, this is a clash that will change both the landscape and everypony’s notions surrounding what they thought was true of Equestria. History was forgotten, and now it is reemerging with a vengeance.” She thought to herself. “Chukwu, I hope I know your purpose in orchestrating these events, and that you are not mistaken in doing so.” Clouds of smoke rose from the battle site as the Kitsune Zord pinned it’s prey under a claw but the Clock Org shot an eyebeam from his singular eye and hit the Kitsune Zord right in the head. The King of Foxes roared out in an ear piercing sound of pain and released his hold on the Clock Org’s sword arm and the Org in question dealt out a devastating slash with his saber. Back in Ponyville, the Rangers, Twilight, and Luna could hear the sound of battle echoing in the distance. “...Wow, they’re really going at it.” Sunburst observed. Then a very familiar haughty voice laughed in amusement as it’s owner made himself known as he sat down on top of a building’s roof. “Well, what can I say? When it comes to entrances, my motto is go big, or go home.” Robert’s voice remarked cockily as he smirked. Finally, he could get back to the fun part of being a Ranger, having a powerful Zord and using it to blow up monsters. Sunset groaned and facepalmed. “Great, first I wanted him here to give us a hand, now I want him to leave already.” She thought to herself even as she pulled some of the Clock Org’s arrows out of her body, not caring about the blood dripping to the ground. “Great, so the foxy man-whore has arrived...” Lightning mused sarcastically to herself. “So, I see you found your Zord and actually got him to listen to you. Looks like you can get it up after all.” She then remarked in a slightly flirtatious tone, but it was also incredibly mocking as well. “Listen wouldn’t be the right word.” Robert commented as he hopped down off his perch to the ground below. “...More like, just let him loose and he’ll trash any Org he sees and not care about the damage done in the process. Masashi Kishimoto must be looking down at me and laughing his head off at this entire thing.” Robert grumbled to himself as he demorphed. “Who’s Masashi Kishimoto?” Sunburst asked as he looked towards Twilight, hoping she’d know. “Beats me.” She said as the Kitsune Zord charged towards the Clock Org and as the Org tried it’s arrow hands attack, creating about one hundred arrows, each far more dangerous than they were at normal size. But the Kitsune Zord was ready and unleashed a blast of blue flames at them as they burned to ashes. “Now, you going to try that again, you bastard?” The Kitsune Zord asked, slashing forwards with one of his claws and carving several deep furrows across the face causing the Org’s eye to burst open and splatter the Kitsune Zord’s muzzle with gore. The Clock Org let out an ear-piercing scream at the loss of his eye, but the Kitsune Zord didn’t seem to mind at all. In fact, he actually smiled. It was a frightening, almost demonic grin thanks to his fang filled maw and eye goop-covered muzzle. “At last, the feeling of ripping an Org to shreds. Just what I needed to wake me up from a very long nap. This old man may be rusty in some areas, but he’s not out of the fight!” He thought. He was dealt another devastating slash by the Clock Org’s sword, but ignored the pain and punched the Org in the face with a fist making him stagger back before he whirled around and slammed the Org across the side of his head with all nine of his tails, sending him crashing to the ground gouging a large crater in the earth where it landed. Just then, the Sword Org tried to take him from behind while the Kitsune Zord was otherwise distracted. “So, you think you can challenge both of us?” He crowed, swinging for the Kitsune’s neck, only to be stopped when a set of silver jaws latched onto his arm, staying his blade. The Wolf Zord had arrived, and he wasn’t alone as the brown coyote Zord launched it’s tail like a boomerang and sent the sword Org staggering back before a small blue form struck again and again, getting it’s talons at very specific spots in the Sword Org’s armor before revealing itself to be a small blue Zord based on a swallow. To add to the humiliation of the Sword Org, the Falcon Zord then came down from the skies and hit the Org again and again with it’s talons. The Kitsune Zord was not amused in the slightest by his new found help from his fellow Wild Zords. “Can’t you just let me take these two fools on? I can handle these two by myself!” He roared. The Falcon Zord let out a cry as it flew up for another pass. The Coyote and Wolf Zords double teamed the Clock Org and pounced on him and ripped into him with their claws even as he tried to get back up. “Always the arrogant one aren’t you? You just can’t admit you need help or accept it because of your pride, old fox.” The Falcon chuckled in amusement. “Who the hell are you calling old!?” The Kitsune snapped, whacking the Clock Org again with its tails as it tried to get back up. “You can’t just leave us out. We’re Guardians of the Earth as well, and I haven’t gone to town on an Org in ages!” The Swallow Zord put in. “Shut up, the two of you.” The Kitsune Zord rebuffed as he blasted flames at the Sword Org but was ignored. Meanwhile, Robert had just taken notice of Sunset and Vapor’s states and he snarled. “Who did this to you?” He asked coldly, and Vapor weakly gestured to the Clock Org and Robert snarled again. This time, he shared the Kitsune Zord’s sentiments of no mercy. “Rip them to shreds.” He mentally commanded. “Believe you me, whelp, I was planning on doing that anyways, but make no mistake. This isn’t about you getting vengeance for your mates.” “They’re not… We’re not… We’re not having sex!” Robert mentally shouted and the Kitsune Zord chuckled. “Deny that all you want, but I can tell by your pheromones you’re attracted to at least ONE of them. Besides, I think you’ve got other things to worry about than these two Orgs.” The Kitsune Zord pointed out. Robert looked and found he was right. Popping out of the woodwork and surrounding them on all sides were hoards of both Tengas and Putrids. “Oh boy... This isn’t good. We’re already exhausted from fighting three Orgs in a row, and we’re injured to boot. We can’t fight in this condition!” Sunset said, panting hard and sweat rolling down her face. While she said this, Robert noted a pure black furred unicorn stallion carrying a crescent moon shaped blade and had wolf like eyes that glowed pure gold. His eyes narrowed, there was only one creature in his knowledge that had those specific traits but it simply couldn’t be him... Could it? “Oh yeah, just watch me!” Lightning snarled, blood dripping from her lip. Robert had to give her credit, either due to arrogance, stupidity or outright bravery, she just wouldn’t give up. That was a quality to admire, and Robert found his respect for her growing, if only just a little. “But… But we’re powerless in this condition to stop them!” Sunburst squeaked in fear. Then, a voice Robert never thought he’d ever hear in a million years filled the air. It was filled with loving and warmth, and caring and reassurance that everything would be okay. But it was who the voice was coming from that shocked Robert the most. Appearing in the sky was a woman in a white robe and elaborate headdress with the symbol for the Mystic Force on it. “Powerless? You are never without power, Rangers. You just have to know where to find it.” Rita said before all of the Rangers found their wounds healing, just like that and their strength renewed. “The Mystic Mother…” Sunset said in awe while Robert gaped and once he’d regained the power of speech, muttered “No, it can’t be. Rita?” “Yes, that was once my name Robert Williams. But I have cast that visage aside, now I am forever the Mystic Mother. Now, I believe it is Morphin’ Time.” “Well then… What are we waiting for? Time to show them what we got.” Sunset growled. As one, the Rangers shouted “Legendary Wild Access, ha!” (Morphing Sequences) With a flash of flame, Sunset was transported to the inside of a volcano and stood on the middle of a rock as she was transformed and she gained a gold and red form-fitting costume with diagonal tooth marks across her chest and her Cutie Mark on her right breast with a phoenix's head themed helmet forming around her head accompanied by a loud screeching sound. Standing on a rocky desert plateau as storm clouds rumbled and lightning flashed in the background, Lightning gained an aqua colored costume with the same diagonal tooth marks across her chest and her Cutie Mark of a yellow lightning bolt with stars appeared on her right breast as a helmet similar in design to Sunset's appeared on her head, with the sound similar to that of a falcon's call. On a beach, a tidal wave washed over Vapor Trail and she gained a purple costume similar in design to the others with her Cutie Mark of a comet on her left breast as well with the tooth marks on the opposite side of her chest and a sperm whale themed helmet formed over her head with the noise of a deep sea beast's hum. In a dark barely moonlit orchard of apple trees, clouds of black smoke surrounded Sunburst and he gained a black costume with his Cutie Mark of an orange sun with bursting yellow rays on his left breast just like Vapor Trail's costume, and also like Vapor's the tooth marks appeared on the right side of his chest with a bat themed helmet much like the Jungle Fury Bat Spirit Ranger's appearing around his head along with a loud bat screech sound. A flash of pure blue flames enveloped Robert as he stood in one of the red gate lined pathways that led up to Inari’s sacred shrine on Mt. Inari and was given an orange form-fitting costume with tooth marks going diagonally across the left side of his chest and a golden fox’s head on his right breast. Then, a cape flamed into existence and a misty orange nine tailed fox bit down on Robert’s head and formed his helmet. (Morphing Sequences End Here) “Guardians of the Earth, united we roar! Power Rangers, Wild Force!” And so, all six Rangers along with Zen-Aku charged into battle as one, finally united as a team and engaged the hoard. Vapor took on a squad of Putrids, impaling one with her Trident and swinging it around before tossing the poor fellow into a building’s window, glass shards flying everywhere. Lightning lashed out with her whips, pulling a Tenga towards her before delivering a skull shattering punch. Shining changed his Magna Blade into its Riot Blaster mode and opened fire on a squad of Putrids, felling them. Sunset reignited her wings and flew through a murder of Tengas, scorching them down to the bone. “Fried crow, anyone?” She said with a chuckle. Nearby, Zen-Aku fired off a huge Crescent Wave, decapitating a hoard of both Putrids and Tengas, purple blood flying everywhere. Just then, a Tenga engaged her with a sword in it’s talons, but she parried it with her Crystal Saber before she hit the Tenga in the forehead with the hilt of her Phoenix Blade making it stagger back. Sunburst then cut it down along with a few others thanks to his Shadow Hatchets. Meanwhile, Robert was engaging against a squad of Putrids and he smirked. “Let’s do this the easy way.” He chuckled and fired his Kitsune Blaster up in the air, it's shot branching out into multiple beams which punctured holes in the Putrids’ chests. A Tenga tried to come from behind him, but he fired his blaster and felled it without even turning to look. “Tenga Bye-Bye.” Robert smirked. Then, everyone’s attention turned to the sound of a loud crash as the Sword Org punched the Kitsune Zord in the head before it knocked away all the other Zords with his Full Body Blades attack. At that point, everyone heard Princess Shayla’s voice in their head. “Rangers, now is the time to combine your Wild Zords. It is the only way you will be able to defeat this Org.” She said, and all five Wild Force Rangers nodded before they pointed their Sabers skywards and shouted “Wild Zords, descend!” In the mountain that overlooked Canterlot Castle, the Phoenix Zord erupted from its peak as lava flew everywhere and it flew towards Ponyville. In the mesas above Appleloosa, a storm gathered as lightning crashed, with the Thunderbird emerging from the skies and rocketed towards the battlefield. In Manehattan’s East River, the Leviathan Zord reemerged from its hiding place and headed towards it’s destination. Meanwhile, in a cave above Sweet Apple Acres, the Vampire Bat Zord emerged and flew for the battle to come. Both Applejack and her younger sister looked upwards in awe. Finally, all five Legendary Wild Zords were gathered in one place, something that had not been seen for over 6,000 years. “Wild Zords, combine!” With shifting and whirring sounds, the Leviathan Zord split in half and it’s head and jaw folded open to become feet and the tail split open at the back as the Kitsune Zord’s back legs folded up into it’s chest and excess metal in it’s chest detached to form twin katanas and it’s head folded downwards to become a chestplate as it’s front legs detached with hisses of steam with the wings of both the Phoenix and Thunderbird Zords detaching as the tail feathers sprouted clawed hands and both Legendary Bird zords became the arms, the Phoenix sprouting the kanji for fire on it’s winged shoulder pad and the Thunderbird, the kanji for lightning on it's own. A tusked head popped up from the Kitsune Zord’s neck, and the Vampire Bat Zord, wings detaching as it clanged onto the back of the Megazord and it’s head moved upwards and became the helmet. “Animaria Guardian Megazord, ready!” All five Rangers shouted as they teleported into the cockpit and put their Crystal Sabers into their respective consoles and the newly formed Megazord’s eyes opened and it spun it’s katanas, armed for battle, the setting sun in the background casting a red orange glow on the fighting machine. “Alright, time to go sword to sword.” Sunset smirked as both fighters raised their blades. The Sword Org struck first, scoring it’s first blow across the chest causing the newly formed Megazord to stagger and sparks to fly. As the two titans battled, the earth shook from their very weight. Ponyville’s citizens watched in awe as the huge battle got underway. One pony, a tan colored pegasi with a red mane rubbed his glasses to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. “Nope, still there.” He thought to himself. Zephyr Breeze and Rarity came out of their shared home and watched the two giants fight sword to sword, and at once they knew who was one of the Rangers piloting that colossus. “Kick it’s ass, Robert.” Zephyr thought while Rarity mused “Go Sunset, I know you can do it. You’ve faced bigger challenges than this thing, no pun intended. ...Oh, I do hope she realized I was speaking metaphorically.” Hiding amongst the ruins of a house was Sparkler. She had seen the battle with the Putrids/Tengas VS the Rangers go down and at once knew who the one in orange was. She raised a fist in the air as the two titans clashed and shouted "Go, go, Power Rangers!" The Megazord turned to its left and the phoenix head making up part of the left shoulderpad unleashed a blast of flame upon the Sword Org. Down below, Luna turned to the Magna Defender. “Shouldn’t you give them a hand, Defender?” “I don’t think they need it.” Shining mused. But then, the Sword Org scored a powerful slash across the Megazord’s chest and made it stumble backwards and fall over into a cluster of trees toppling them over like dominos for miles around and it’s katanas flew from its hands. “On the other hand…” Shining was about to shout for the Torozord, but Zen-Aku held up his flute to stop him. “Wait, let’s see how this plays out. I have faith in the Rangers’ abilities.” “We’ve… We’ve got to get back up!” Sunset grimaced and all the Rangers concentrated their strength and slowly, but surely the Megazord regained its bearings as Ponyville cheered for the colossal titan. It got then another slash across the chest from the Sword Org however. “Let’s teach him a little lesson.” Lightning snarled. The Rangers retaliated in kind and turned the Megazord to the right and the Thunderbird’s mouth glowed yellow before bolts of lightning came down from the sky, and knocked the Sword Org’s blades from his hands. “Full Body Blades!” The Sword Org cried and all of the blades on his body came right at them and dealt a tremendous amount of damage to the Megazord. In alarm, Vapor looked at the power levels and her eyes widened considerably. “All systems are in the red, and power’s dropping fast!” She shouted as the consoles and the cockpit sparked everywhere. “Time to finish this guy off then.” Sunset snarled as all the Ranger’s Animal Crystals glowed. Almost in an instance, a long pole appeared in the Megazord’s hands and the Vampire Bat Zord’s wings attached to it, and now the Megazord was wielding a truly gigantic war axe. It raised it above it’s head, one side broiling with fire, the other with lightning each element coming from one of the Legendary Bird Zords. With one mighty blow, it brought the axe down on the Sword Org’s head and through his body in a helmsplitter maneuver and bifurcated him completely in half down the middle. Next, the Megazord planted the axe head into the ground as the monster’s two halves exploded in front of it and Ponyville cheered. “Good job Vapor, good job.” Zen-Aku smiled. “Well done Rangers… Well done indeed.” Animus thought as he looked down above from the heavens with pride. END
Part 24: Ain't No Party like a Pinkie PartyAuthor's Note Yes, yes, I know, I did say no more updates for this month, but then I remembered what today was and I knew I already had this ready so I figured... Oh, what the Hell? Enjoy yourselves, like the title says... Ain't no Party Like a Pinkie Party! (And sorry Villain for releasing when I told you I wouldn't but today is Earth Day, so this can't go uncelebrated in some form given the main theme of GaoRangers/Wild Force. Also, sorry Black_Knight for not sending you this to proofread. I did double-check this in GDocs and it said there were no obvious grammar errors to speak of, and hey, who am I to argue with a computer?) Part 24: Ain't No Party like a Pinkie Party Robert, the very next day found himself wandering around town when suddenly a pink blur hit him like a bullet from a gun and sent him crashing into the dirt. “Ohmygosh!Ican’tbelievethis!SunsettoldmetherewasanewpersonintownbutIdidn’tbelieveherandsaid”Areyouinsaneinthemembranesister?” The blur, a pink Earth Pony mare with bubblegum like hair said so fast Robert was barely able to pick up what she was saying at all even as he picked himself up and dusted off his jacket. Even so, without giving the chance for Robert to get in a word in edgewise or even introduce himself, the rapid talking mare continued. “Buuuuuuuutttt,lookslikeIwaswrongandnowIfeelsogulityfornotevenknowingyouexistedandnowIgottathrowyouabelatedwelcometoPonyvilleparty!” As Pinkie dashed off leaving a cloud of dust in her wake, Robert sighed and rubbed his temples. “...Well, at least she’s not out for my blood. Girl really needs to cut down on the caffeine though.” Golden Oaks Library: Meanwhile, Sunset had taken a visit to Twilight at the Golden Oaks. She knew if she was to separate Solar Flare from Celestia, she’d need Twilight’s scientific expertise. Sunset may have been somewhat of an egghead, but separating two beings was beyond her. She was more interested in historical knowledge nowadays. Twilight was the more magic savvy of the twosome. If Sunset were still an arrogant mare, she would have highly doubted Twilight could beat her in a duel. But nowadays, Sunset would admit Twilight had her beat in terms of pure magical prowess. “Sunset!” Twilight greeted happily and hugged her as she walked in the door. “Social call, or business?” Twilight then realized it was business from the serious look on Sunset’s face. “We’ve got a serious problem on our hands. It’s about Princess Celestia.” “If you’re here to say she’s wrong about Robert or humankind, then this conversation will be a short one.” Twilight replied. “It is, but you’ve got to hear me out. Celestia isn’t entirely responsible for all of this. We’ve got a Nightmare Moon situation on our hands, and it’s been festering unknown to anypony until now for the last 2,000 years.” “But-” “Twilight, think about it. The Celestia who raised us like her own children, the one who preaches love and tolerance to all races no matter what they’re like… Tartarus, she even offered peace to the Changelings and the Dragons for crying out loud! Does that sound like somepony who would commit mass genocide?” Sunset asked, and Twilight stayed silent. After a few moments, she spoke. “...No, no. I guess you’re right.” Twilight admitted. “So, there’s a Nightmare Moon like presence in Celestia’s head going about unchecked?” “Yeah, Solar Flare. I thought the possibility was always a myth, but Luna herself confirmed it when Solar tried to kill her and sent her into hiding, which is why she’s here in Ponyville disguised as that Artemis mare. Now I’m not saying Celestia’s entirely innocent in all of this, given she’s been feeding propaganda for the last 2,000 years but Solar Flare was the one who exterminated humankind. For all we know she’s got other agendas that could come to light as well, even with Celestia holding her back. She’s got to be dealt with, and soon. That’s why I came to you, we need a device to split the twosome so Solar Flare can be destroyed.” Sunset continued and Twilight nodded nervously. “...Alright, I-I’ll see what I can come up with. This may take a while though. But I do have some good news, on that other project you asked me about a while back?” “Yeah?” Sunset asked, her hopes for good news rising. “It’s ready. But you never quite said who it was for.” Twilight replied, holding out a completely repaired SPD morpher. “I don’t know how much energy I could manage to get out of it, but it’s good for at least one morph. I assume you want to add on to your current power set or have a backup in case of emergency?” “...Something like that.” Sunset said, taking the Morpher and thanking Twilight before she ran out the door. Twilight meanwhile turned to a letter she’d just received from A.K. Yearling AKA Daring Do. “Dear Princess Twilight, I think I have something that concerns you. Not too long ago, I was exploring some ancient ruins and I found a set of bones along with a mysterious aqua colored crystal…” Elsewhere, Robert feeling a bit hungry wandered his way to Sugarcube Corner, one of the few buildings on this side of town to escape the Turbine Org’s rampage. But as soon as Robert entered the gingerbread like house, he found the lights were all off. Alarm bells blared inside his head and he subconsciously reached for his Crystal Saber. Then, with an explosion of confetti the lights went on and all around him were the various ponies Robert had met along with his fellow Rangers. Above him was a big banner that read “Happy Belated Welcome To Ponyville Party Robert Williams!” with various balloons and streamers all around. “See, I told you I’d throw you a party!” Pinkie beamed. “Do you like it?” “Yeah...Yeah, I do. Just.. unexpected, that’s all.” Robert admitted, resheathing his Saber. “...How do you even…?” He trailed off and Sunset put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s Pinkie, don’t question it.” She said and motioned for a pure white mare wearing shades at a turntable to turn up the volume. And so the party began. At one point during the whole affair, Rarity walked up with a gift wrapped box in her hands. “Here, I’ve been meaning to give this to you. Go on, open it! It won’t bite, I promise.” She said kindly. Robert’s eyes widened once he saw what was inside. “How…?” Robert asked as he opened the box and saw a black trench coat with a snarling orange nine tailed fox stitched on the back and the words “Fighting Fox” emblazoned on it below the image. “Oh please Robert, I’m not stupid. I took notice of the fact that the Orange Ranger was the only one who didn’t have hooves. I didn’t get this far as a fashionista without being able to notice the teensy little details, after all.” Rarity said and handed him the trench coat. “Go ahead, try it on.” She encouraged, and with a resigned sigh Robert pulled it on and actually found it fit him quite nicely. Plus, with the kitsune logo on the back he could pay homage to the civilian outfits of the original Wild Force Rangers. “Gotta talk the others, or at least Sunset into getting pieces of clothing with their respective animals on it. I mean, that wings and horn combination isn’t really doing her secret identity any favors. It’s even more obvious than Clark Kent being Superman.” Robert mused as he walked over to the refreshments table and started cutting of a slice of cake. But he wasn’t alone. “Hello Robert.” Artemis greeted with a bow, wearing a magnificent blue dress with the constellation of Sagittarius stitched intricately on it. Robert remembered that in Greek mythology, Sagittarius is usually identified as a centaur: half human, half horse, much like the Megazord combination Koragg/Leanbow took at times. However, perhaps due to the Greeks' adoption of the Sumerian constellation, some confusion always had surrounded the identity of the archer itself. Some thought he was Chiron, the mentor to the hero Jason, son of Zeus. Others thought him to be that other heavenly centaur, Centaurus. Honestly, Robert didn’t particularly care which it was or for the numerous arguments on its identity. He just liked to look at it for what it was, a very beautiful work of art weaved in the night sky. Not that he’d ever say this aloud of course, he had a reputation to keep up. “N-Nice dress.” Robert managed to cough out, his punch going down the wrong way due to how shocked he was on how beautiful Artemis looked. Robert cursed himself, he found himself at a loss for words for once. “Guess it’s time to go to the old fallback. Flirt and hope I can get a good conversation out of this.” He thought before speaking. “So, you’ve been on dates with stallions before I assume? I mean, surely somepony of your beauty would have been asked on dates before.” Robert remarked as he took a bite of the cake. Artemis blushed red and nodded. “Yes… Although it did not go well.” She replied with a grimace and a slight wince. Robert had a slight feeling that this date, judging by Artemis’s reaction “Not well” was a massive understatement. “How not well are we talking about?” Robert inquired. “Well, let me put it this way. This stallion was the type of pony who you would always sorta get the feeling he was rather untrustworthy and would probably leave you to pay the check.” Artemis replied with a weary sigh, rubbing her temples. “You’re understating, aren’t you?” Robert replied in a deadpan tone, so intrigued by his friend’s story that he’d forgotten all about the cake slice, even when it was inches from his mouth. “Yes, we are.” Artemis replied in an equally deadpan tone, hoping that Robert didn’t notice her little slip-up in speech mannerisms. “This stallion was the type to compliment you on everything, but then he would flirt outrageously with every waitress or every other mare in his line of view, all the while with you directly across from him!” Artemis snapped. Robert winced. Even he wasn’t that bad, or stupid. He knew that if you wanted to keep a woman’s attention long enough for you to get into their knickers, rule number one was NOT to flirt with other women and risk getting slapped. “...Please tell me you slapped him so hard he still feels the sting whenever he even thinks about you.” Robert stated and Artemis laughed. “Oh, I did one better than that. I teleported right out and left him to pay the check.” Artemis replied with an almost fox like smirk. “Oh, that is completely cold. I like you, Artemis. I really do.” Robert replied and Luna/Artemis blushed red once again, her cheeks lighting up like a tomato. She liked using this form, largely because it allowed her to be herself and see what other ponies truly thought of her when they didn’t know she was listening. However, now she liked it for a different reason, as it allowed her to be near Robert as she knew he didn’t trust any form of royalty apart from Sunset and possibly Prince Shining Armor. “Come on Robert, join the dancing! This party’s all for you, after all!” Pinkie Pie called as she did a jig, her ever poofy hair bouncing up and down like balloons. Robert noted that her hair wasn’t the only thing that was bouncing. “Huh, wonder if she’s that frisky in the sack.” He idly wondered before popping the cake slice in his mouth. “No, sorry… Not my type of music. Never been into drum and bass.” Robert said bluntly and a record scratched and the music along with everypony else went silent and turned directly to him. DJ-PON-3 even lifted up her shades to peer at him with her red eyes. “...What’d I say?” Robert asked in confusion, as he looked towards Artemis. “Well, you did just indirectly insult one of the most popular musicians in Equestria.” Artemis deadpanned, her eyes half lidded. Robert slapped a palm to his face and let it slide down in a very slow manner before looking upwards and muttering “...Crikey Moses.” Vinyl looked at Sunset and asked “Is he always this rude?” “Yeah, usually. ...Though to be fair, this is the first time it’s not been on purpose, so maybe he’s improving a little.” Sunset idly wondered. “Okay… Clearly I must make up for this grievous error and yet somehow still find a piece of music that everyone in here will like.” Robert said largely to himself before an idea came to him as he tossed his phone to Vinyl. “Hey, do you do J-Pop? ...Though I suppose it’s called N-Pop nowadays given every country’s probably been ponified...” He asked/muttered to himself. “I’ll see what I can mix up.” Vinyl replied. “Okay, good. That is the business, then! Scroll down and select track 175.” And so a song began to play. This was a song that had been composed for the various Japanese adaptations of the Power Rangers, both real and thought up starting way back with AbaRanger back in 2004. Vinyl created a magical screen as everyone danced along and tried to rap to the lyrics shown. The rest of the Wild Force Rangers eyes widened, as they were now starting to get an idea of the legacy they had to live up to. 199 heroes all with the same goal, to save the world. And for all they knew, that number would grow. Tartarus, it already had with their inclusion. Artemis’s eyes widened when she saw a brief cameo of a warrior that looked almost exactly like the armored figure Shining transformed into, minus the horn. “Is that… the Magna Defender?” Artemis asked in shock. “Yeah, or Black Knight BullBlack as he’s known in his TV adaptation over in Japan, and those six known as the GaoRangers, they were our predecessors in terms of Power Sets, despite their suits barely having a passing resemblance to us design wise.” Robert explained. “...I’m still wondering how the TV writers can get so many things accurate. I mean, Samurai Sentai Shinkenger was uncanny in getting the adventures of the Samurai Rangers onto TV. It’s a bit scary actually.” “...You sure know your Ranger facts.” Lightning commented as she walked up, punch in hand. “Guess that’d make you… Oh, what’s that word… Oh yeah, Egghead.” Robert rolled his eyes and smirked at her before saying “The proper term would be Otaku, baka-pegasus.” with a little wag of his finger. Vapor leaned over to Sunset and whispered “How does someone have three different nationalities anyways? I mean, he speaks with a Trottingham accent, but uses both Germanic and Neighponise words fluently.” “Well, there’s a simple explanation for that. ...And that’s I’m not quite sure. To be honest, you’d have to ask him yourself.” “Maybe he’s just well read?” Sunburst mused, a hand stroking his beard. Both Sunset and Vapor stared at him. “Robert? Well-read? That’s not a combination I can think of. It’d be like Rainbow reading the Art of War by Sun Tzu, I simply can’t see it.” Sunset chuckled. “You know I can hear you both, ya know?” Robert deadpanned. Both mares had the decency to blush. At one point, Pinkie marched over with a big grin on her face and drinks in hand. “Hey, why don’t you try these? Made them myself. Applejack gave me the recipe, though I might have… modified it just to see what I could come up with. Don’t even know what to call them!” Robert and Lightning both shared a shrug as they took the drinks and drowned them with a shared “Bottoms up!” and almost immediately gained looks of pure and utter bile on their faces and Lightning actually spit hers out at once. “Yeah, I’ve got a name for it. The Bloody Awful!” Lightning growled, looking about ready to lynch Pinkie. “...Oh, I don’t know. I think Desperate Shag in a Skip might be a more accurate term.” Robert said bluntly as he tried to hold back his gag reflex. “Yeah, guess I should stick to the original recipes from now on, shouldn’t I?” Pinkie said, her mane deflating like a balloon. “You think?” Robert deadpanned, eyes half lidded before he laid a hand on her shoulder. “”Well, I gotta give you props for trying though. Some of the greatest inventions in history would have never been thought of unless someone had a crazy idea.” “Really?” Pinkie asked, perking up somewhat and Robert smiled kindly. “Yeah, really.” As the party wore on, and the tracks changed from various artists and their works like Chuck Berry’s Roll Over Beethoven and The Sweet’s Fox on the Run ponies and human alike got drunker and drunker. Eventually, Robert and Artemis somehow found themselves teleported back to her room at the Prancing Pony. “...Well, that was a party I won’t forget.” Robert commented, wiping sweat off his face and brushing confetti of his new trenchcoat. In the background, unnoticed by him Artemis flicked on a radio and a soft jazzy version of Don’t Stop Me Now began to play. “...Yes, Ms. Pie’s parties do have that effect on people.” She said. “Actually probably the first party I’ve enjoyed in a long time really. Usually I’m just at the back of the bloody room staring at a potted plant while my moronic berks that I call uncles Geki and Burai try to outdo each other in whatever bleedingly stupid fucking contests they can think up.” Robert muttered to himself. “Well, I can say that one probably made up for all of those, did it not?” Artemis asked, tracing a hand on Robert’s face and stroking his chin. “Y-Yeah, I suppose so.” Robert stuttered out even as he cursed himself yet again. Usually in situations like this one, he could control himself and stay calm. He was the one usually doing the subtle flirtations, not the other way around! ...Well, his version of subtle probably differed from everyone else’s one could suspect. Artemis smiled happily, using her horn’s magic to slide the right strap on her dress down her shoulder before she spoke yet again. “Robert, if you don’t mind, would you help me fix my dress. I seem to be having trouble with it.” “Okay, now she’s gone from subtle to outright obvious. Though let it never be said I’m one to turn down an offer of a good shag from what as far as I know, an unmarried woman. ...Or mare in this case.” Robert mused as he helped Artemis with her dress and lowered the other strap and began planting soft kisses on her neck causing the Alicorn in disguise to let out an involuntary moan of pleasure. She tilted her head back to allow Robert better access and he began to nibble on her neck as the dress fell to the floor. Robert was now allowed to see her very shapely form glinting in the moonlight from the bedroom window covered only by a set of a light blue bra and panties. Suddenly, Artemis whirled around and shoved him up against the wall and began kissing him heavily wrapping her legs around him. Robert opened his mouth to allow her tongue entrance and they dueled briefly as Artemis used her magic to allow his pants to drop to the floor while Robert threw off his trench coat. As they fumbled on to the bed, Artemis’s hands went up Robert’s shirt as Robert gripped her flanks and rubbed them. They soon began grinding against each other, Robert letting out a groan of pleasure. Artemis let out a soft sigh and began letting her hands roam his chest as Robert’s hands moved upwards and began roaming her back even as they still continued kissing, only coming up for air briefly saliva dripping from their mouths. But soon they were right back at it and Robert’s hands moved upwards to Artemis’s bra and loosened it and let it fly free from its constraints as Artemis pulled his shirt up and over his head… END
Part 25: I'm Afraid of Equestrians 3,000 Years Ago… Thrax smirked. He knew the Operation Overdrive Rangers would gain access to the Universal Morphin’ Grid as soon as those past Rangers showed up, especially since their ranks included Adam Park, the second black Mighty Morphin Power Ranger and one of the most legendary Rangers in history. That was why he had put precautions in place. Gripping his father’s staff and uttering an ancient language under his breath, a misty red form began to take shape. Soon, it formed into an exact copy of Thrax, whom he handed his father’s signature weapon. “Now, go do my will. I have much bigger plans in mind and they extend far beyond this tiny world,” Thrax Prime said. His clone bowed and vanished. Not even an hour later Thrax watched through a viewing globe in a private dimension as his clone battled the eleven Ranger team and the reborn Sentinal Knight, who now had the power of the sword Excelsior on his side. The clone was promptly defeated with two powerful kicks and destroyed. “Good, they think me dead. That’s fine. Now, time to get to work,” he chuckled to himself. Thirteen hundred years later, a crimson red flash flew towards the barren desert world of the planet known as Sentai 6. Thrax appeared from the flash, standing before a set of standing stones. In the middle, a dark glowing gem pulsed black and purple energy. “Finally, after millennia of searching, I’ve found it,” Thrax chuckled, his mother’s infamous Wand in hand. Suddenly, a voice spoke from behind him. “You don’t know what you’ve found, nor the power it holds.” The voice said, in an almost English like accent. Thrax turned to see a man wearing a black overcoat, vest and goggles with blue streaks in his otherwise brown hair. In his hands, he held a small gold pocket watch with the head of a Spinosaurus painted in a dark navy blue shade on the back. “Ah, so you’re the guardian. On the contrary, I know exactly what I’ve found and what kind of power it holds. I desire it, and you, nor anyone else is standing in my way!” Thrax snarled. His foe fired blasts of energy from his palms which Thrax knocked away with his Wand. Then, he fired a blast of red lightning at the Guardian from his wand and enveloped him in an explosion. Thrax smiled as he reached for the gem. But just then, he saw the smoke clear and there stood a navy blue armored warrior with gold trimming on his boots, red sleeves and golden armor on his right sleeve resembling a giant fin of some sort. “Now, was that very nice?” Heckyl mocked as he cracked his knuckles and raised his Dino Saber. “Guess we’ll have to do this the hard way then, eh?” Blade and Wand clashed with the sound of clanging metal and the Talon Ranger, the very first Ranger to ever come into being in the universe showed his power by kicking Thrax backwards into some boulders before kicking another huge boulder his way. “Catch,” The Talon Ranger said before impaling his sword in the ground causing a series of explosions to race towards Thrax just as he split the boulder in half with a lightning strike, sending him skywards. Heckyl jumped upwards and slashed downwards across Thrax’s chest, sending him back towards the ground. The Talon Ranger landed and demorphed, allowing himself a smirk. “Had enough yet?” Heckyl asked tauntingly. But then his eyes widened as Thrax reached for the dark gem… From the cold darkness of space, all that could be seen was a bright flash of light and then Sentai Six shattering in two right down its equator. Then, two beams of light, one dark crimson and the other a navy blue could be seen escaping the aftermath and fleeing into space, and lost in time forevermore. At least, so it seemed... Ponyville: The Modern Day: The Prancing Pony Waking with a groan as the morning sun framed his face, Robert felt the sheets beside him for his lover’s presence. But to his surprise, he felt nothing but empty air before his weary eyes spotted a note left on his bedside table. “Dear Robert: I am sorry I had to leave on such short notice, but I felt it was necessary. I… I feel guilty. What we did last night, it was not out of love for each other. We were both drunk, and our judgement was impaired. I… I am not sure of my feelings towards you at this very moment. That is why I had to leave, and although I know this may cause you pain, it might save you from even more in the long run if it turns out we do end up dating and find we are not a good match for each other. I’m sorry, but it is what I feel must be done for your own happiness. With deepest regrets, Artemis Starborne.” With a tear in his eye, Robert muttered "So that's how it feels..." The Crystal Empire: Shining smiled as he stepped off the train, the Solaris Express that had taken him to what was once Canada, now the gleaming spires of the Crystal Empire of which he co-ruled alongside his beloved wife, Princess Cadence. Poets had spoken of its beauty, portraits had been made, but none had ever truly captured the city’s grand design. Imagine, if you will, ponies made of pure crystal and buildings made of pure sparkling gemstones! But in Shining’s mind, none of this compared to the beauty of his wife. How he longed to see her again after weeks away in Canterlot. “Mystic Mother above, I don't know who she’s going to be more pissed at, me or her aunt.” Shining thought before chuckling. “Knowing Robert, and what little I've seen of him or the stories I've heard from Sunset and Twilight, he’d probably make some snarky comment about nepotism being a way of life in Equestria.” Shining, as he walked forwards found his wife waiting for him at the two tall magenta spires that made up the gates of the Empire. She smiled and raced towards him, wrapping him in a tight hug. “Cadence…” Shining whispered before he stumbled for an apology and hopefully believable explanation. “After all,” Shining thought to himself. “How do you explain away that you’ve been given powers and a giant mechanical bull by the ghost of an ancient warrior who could give the legendary hero Rockhoof a run for his money in pure bravery and strength?” “I-I’m sorry, but Princess Celestia called me back to train some new recruits a-and I-” Cadence put a finger to his lips and whispered a small “Shh,” before smiling. “Princess Celestia explained everything in a letter, including Solar Flare.” The Princess of Love’s smile then turned into a worried frown. “Mystic Mother above, how could nopony have noticed a dark presence lingering in her mind for over 2,000 years?” Shining put a gloved hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Twiley is working on a way to separate the two even as we speak so Princess Celestia can take care of her dark half herself.” Cadence smiled in relief before she frowned. “Although I’m pleased to hear that Shiny, and I don’t doubt my aunt’s strength... I have to ask, wouldn’t it be better if she had somepony to help her along? Like say, these Power Rangers I’ve been hearing so much about?” “H-How do you know about them?” Shining asked nervously, his voice cracking worried that his wife had discovered his secret. Cadance covered her mouth with a hand to hide her giggles and ruffled Shining’s mane. “Oh please, even out here in the north we get news. We’re not completely cut off from the rest of the world, after all.” Cadence laughed before she placed a long, lingering kiss on Shining’s muzzle and smiled seductively. “But enough of the heavy stuff. Right now, your Princess needs his Prince.” She said, tracing a finger along his jawline and then teleporting away. “Equestria can survive without me for a little while. For now, this Empire needs its Prince and my wife needs her husband.” Shining thought with an excited grin as he raced after his wife. Meanwhile, from atop a high mountain peak not far away a gigantic golden jaguar observed Shining closely before it growled out “Be safe, Magna Defender.” before it leaped off unseen by anypony. Robert walked through the streets of Ponyville, hands in his pockets and Sunburst’s new creation on his shoulder, and morpher hidden away in his buttoned up coat. Navi, whom Robert had named the robotic parrot in homage to her Gokaigers counterpart looked around every which way in curiousity, yellow eyes widened at everything she saw. Beside Robert was Sunburst himself, still getting used to the fact that he was now a father. But Robert’s thoughts were still on Artemis and their night spent together. He remembered their flesh slapping against each other, and the warmth of her soft fur as they cuddled under the sheets. But most of all he remembered perhaps for the first time, the feeling of heartbreak. “Ah, that’s good! Harder, please! OH! OH! Robert!” “Artemis… Just like that…” “Robert, something wrong?” Sunburst asked, as he waved a hand in front of his face snapping him back to reality. “You seem a little… preoccupied.” “Sorry, had a bad night,” Robert grumbled. All around them, there were the sounds of construction as ponies rebuilt their homes and shattered lives that had been ruined by the Turbine Org’s attack just days before. Nopony seemed to pay him any mind as they were far too busy with more important matters. Not that Robert minded of course, considering he could do with a bit of peace and quiet after the events of the past two weeks. He thought back to everything that had happened, and how his life had changed. A few weeks ago, he was a simple cop, and now he was in a world where, except for a rare few, hated him and wanted his head on a platter. “Funny, I actually wore this exact same trenchcoat, that I mocked, when my friends… Well, my only friend in this time was in trouble. So guess that makes me a liar then. Of course, not like I’ve lied before. I tell women I’ll date them, but after a night of sex, I’m gone in the morning. Should I even deserve this power I’ve been granted? I mean, look at me. I’m arrogant, rude to everyone around me, I have a lust for battle and…” Just then he realized something. “Wait a tick… Who do I know who also shares those three traits and is part German?” With a shout to the heavens he yelled in absolute terror “OH GOD, I’M A MALE ASUKA LANGLEY SORYU!” This shout could even be heard on the Animarium where Princess Shayla and Vapor Trail, were taking care of the local wildlife. “Who is this… Asuka?” Shayla questioned with a look towards Vapor, who could only shrug. “Beats me,” she replied and the Kitsune Zord simply smirked in amusement and both of them looked towards him. “What’s so funny?” Vapor asked, hands on her hips. “Oh, if you only knew. Robert is more spot on then he knows. It’s hilarious really,” the Kitsune Zord rumbled and let out a dark chuckle. Meanwhile, back in Ponyville, this little outburst had caused everypony to stare at him. “...Okay, yeah maybe you should be frightened of me by this point if I’m really like that. That girl… Scary as all Hell. Crikey Moses,” Robert muttered with a very noticeable shudder and Sunburst looked at him. “Who is…” Robert gave him a sour look. “Don’t ask. Just don’t,” Robert said simply. “Well, could be worse I suppose. I could be a male version of Naru Narusegawa. That would be truly scary. Honestly, Sky was right about me from the very beginning. I’m arrogant, and I’m foolhardy. I mean, just look at me. Going after that Camera Org alone, with no backup and no powers. Hell, I even thought of going after Princess Genocide by myself, and that’s just mental. I’d be burnt to a crisp the moment I stepped foot in her castle, or gored or impaled by one of her Beefeaters, whom I have no doubt are still spying on me at this very moment,” he thought. Then Animus’s voice spoke to him. “Is that really truly what you think of yourself Robert? Remember, what were the reasons you went after the Camera Org?” Then, Animus hit him with a memory. “You… You, Camera Org are going to give those souls you took back. Most of all Sunset, the day you touched her was the day you signed your death warrant. She was one of the only ponies who was ever kind to me, and by taking her you’ve lined yourself up for destruction.” And then, Robert remembered his reward. Robert saw an orange orb float down to him and transform his fox pendant into an orange fox’s head on a necklace. He turned back to the Camera Org. He knew exactly what to do now. “Henshin! Legendary Wild Access!” Robert cried out as he slammed a palm down on his new necklace and he was transformed. “With the Cunning of the Fox, Orange Kitsune Ranger!” Robert yelled out as an explosion of orange smoke appeared behind him. “Perhaps you feel alone, but the truth is you’re not. You have more friends than you realize little fox, you just need to know who they are.” Animus told Robert softly, before his voice vanished leaving Robert to think on his words. Meanwhile, in another part of town, Sunset was going about her daily jog. Navi had flown away from Robert and Sunburst to go have a look around and when she spotted Sunset, she flew down and landed on her shoulder. “Hey, there he is! There’s the human lover who brought destruction on our homes with her curse!” a male voice shouted. Sunset saw a mob in front of her led by a brown pony in a black fedora. The mob wielded various tools and weapons, like hammers, pitchforks, torches, spears and even a few guns. Sunset’s eyes widened. She knew this might happen sooner or later but she had hoped it wouldn’t come to this. “Best you get going. I don’t want you to get caught up in the middle of this. This could get ugly,” Sunset told Navi, but Navi shook her head. “No, I’m not leaving you,” Navi said firmly. “I think these fools need to be taught a lesson.” “Fine by me,” Sunset sighed and sprinted towards the angry and bigoted mob. She had already decided it would be best not to use her full power for two reasons. One, she’d rather not bring the wrath of Solar Flare down on her head and two, they were just scared. They didn’t know any better and weren’t outright evil like the Orgs or their Master or that hunter Bunglay. With a quick slice of her Crystal Saber she sliced a snub nosed revolver in half and twisted its user’s arm. There was the distinct crack of bone and the pony screamed out in pain. “Best you get a brain and get yourself to a hospital. They should heal you right up, and if you have any intelligence left in that damn fool head of yours, I’d suggest you not try this again,” Sunset said in a weary tone of voice, completely tired of all the bigotry and hatred that was directed towards humankind. “Die, human loving scum!” a voice bellowed behind her. Sunset whirled around to kick the fedora wearing pony in the gut, making him stagger back. Another pony, one with brown fur and a yellow curly mane tried to attack Sunset by punching her in the side of her skull, but Sunset moved her head forwards at the last minute, causing the fist to meet empty air. She then slammed her knee into the pony’s stomach, dropping them instantly. Another tried to impale her with a pitchfork, but Sunset leaped on top of the improvised weapon before leaping off it and cleaved the head from the tool with one clean stroke. Next, a stallion tried to take a swipe at her with a blazing torch, but Sunset formed a light green pentagram shield in one of her hands and blocked the blow before knocking the pony back with her hard light shield. Unfortunately, this distraction had a drastic effect. A gunshot rang out and Sunset was hit in the side. Biting down on her lip, she ignored the pain and unleashed a blast of magic, the green bolt of light knocking a few ponies down. Then, another pony tried to throw a spear at her but Sunset caught it and broke the spear in half with her knee. “Freak of nature! You never should have been born!” a pony with a lavender coat and a light blue spiky almost anime-style mane cried as she plunged a knife into Sunset’s side, drawing blood. Growling, Sunset pulled it out and tossed it away before punching the mare in the face. “Go buck your human mate, Princess!” a yellow furred stallion with blue hair shouted and was met with a leg sweep, knocking him into the dirt. A pony tried to swing at the Princess of Empathy with a lit torch in hand while Sunset wasn’t looking. “Sunset, behind you!” Navi shouted, but it was too late. Sunset would have surely been set alight hadn’t a lavender aura of magic caught the torch. “Hey, what’s going on around here?” Twilight shouted as she and a platoon of Royal Guards, led by an orange furred stallion with blue hair, arrived on the scene. “What does it look like we’re doing?” a random stallion answered. “We’re dealing with this human loving freak of nature like Princess Celestia should have done a long time ago!” “You disgust me. Each and every one of you. I thought this town was built on friendship and tolerating others for their differences, but I guess I was wrong about that,” Twilight snarled. The stallion tried to rush her, but he was sent soundly flying into a wall for his troubles by Twilight, whose eyes were now wide open to just how bigoted her town was and how responsible Princess Celestia was for this. “Anypony else?” she asked sarcastically. Nopony was dumb enough to say anything and the mob quickly dispersed, “helped” along by Flash Sentry and his troops. “Now where’s…?” Twilight wondered as she looked around for Sunset but found she had vanished. She lit up her horn and scanned around for her unique body magical signature. Everypony had magic in their bodies, even if they could not access it like in Robert’s case. It was one of the cardinal laws of nature. “Ah, there she is,” she mused, once she’d found her hiding in an alleyway and ran over to her but was immediately met by Navi, who pressed her beak to her nose and stared her down. “Oh no, you don’t get to be here! You’re Celestia’s Little Pet Poodle, how do I know you aren’t here to finish the job those ponies started?! Robert warned me about you, you’ve been nothing but bigoted to him since the moment he first landed here. Hell, you were the one to bring him before Princess Celestia and nearly get him charred to a crisp! So, why I ask you, in the name of Animus SHOULD I TRUST YOU!?!” Navi screamed, her voice raised to a terrifying level at the end of her rant. Twilight winced. She knew she deserved every word of it. Navi was right, Robert had no reason to trust her. Time to get to work on fixing that. With a few careful steps, she walked up to her friend who was sitting against a barrel, bleeding heavily from both the gunshot and her stab wound. Sunset didn’t have long before she bled out, and both she and Twilight knew it. “Sunset?” Twilight said softly, crouching down. Sunset didn’t react, simply continuing to clutch at her wounds. Just then, there was a gasping sound as Robert ran up and his eyes widened and he let out a snarl as he saw Sunset’s condition and drew his Crystal Saber. “Hey…” she coughed weakly before Robert grabbed Twilight and pinned her against the wall of the alley, Saber at her throat and eyes flashing red in anger. He’d seen the mob dispersing, although he hadn’t seen who had led the mob away. “What, come to finish the job in private? Take your master’s route and murder me yourself? God knows your little fuck-buddy Princess Genocide would be sooooo proud,” Robert stated sarcastically. Twilight shrugged him off and began looking over Sunset’s injuries. “No, I’m not going to do that. Me and Sunset… We had a talk.” Twilight stated, and Sunset nodded weakly in confirmation to her words. “Words were exchanged and I came to a realization. You’re not dangerous, at least not to those who don’t deserve your ire. I’d explain what me and Sunset talked about, but we don’t have the time. She’s bleeding out, and as stubborn as you are, I doubt you’ll accept my help willingly. But you’re going to have to just shut your mouth and go along with the ride for this, I’m going to need your help getting her to a hospital,” Twilight said calmly as she began putting some adhesive on Sunset’s wounds. Robert blinked a couple of times, then slowly lowered his Saber. “...You know something Twilight? Maybe, just maybe I can trust you after this. To be honest, I don’t even know why I’m saying this, maybe because Sunset’s close to dea-” “No, she’s not, and I’m not going to let her get that way,” Twilight said firmly, laying a hand on his shoulder. “Let me finish speaking. You know all those insults thrown at me, Twilight?” Twilight winced and shed a tear as she knew Sunset was the only member of the Equestrian Royality aside from perhaps Shining (Twilight knew he was the Magna Defender, as she knew the voice of her big brother.) he really trusted, but she still nodded all the same. “It may not seem like it what with my sarcastic attitude to everything and all, but they do start to hurt after a while. Everyone has a breaking point, even me. I… I just don’t know when I’ll reach mine. You’re the Princess of Friendship so ask me this. How…how do I gain the trust of the ponies?” Twilight smiled not noticing Sunset’s eyes close and her voice fade out to Sunset as she slipped into unconsciousness, a small smile on her face. “I may not be the Princess of Empathy so I’m not as good as with feelings as Sunset is, but I can tell you this… Be yourself. Not the front you put up, but the person, and Ranger, I know you are.” She stated, making Robert’s eyes widen. It was then Twilight finally noticed what had happened. “S-Sunset…? SUNSET!” The Nexus: Thrax cackled in triumph. The Rangers were very close to being down a member, and he had the ponies to thank for that! He didn’t even have to send down an Org to destroy them, the townspeople of Ponyville were turning on their own saviors! Thrax smirked at the irony. “Still, that leaves six more Rangers out there and that traitor, Zen-Aku. I’m going to have to take care of them, and then there’s the possibility of Sunset passing her powers on before she dies. Unfortunately, there are no new Org spirits rising that I can detect, and Goldar isn’t ready for his resurrection. So… In the meantime I’m going to have to take my parents’ route and create a monster myself.” Thrax sighed to himself, monsters never worked. They were always far too incompetent to destroy the Rangers. But then again, he didn’t need to destroy them with a monster, just keep them occupied until an Org Spirit arose or until Goldar’s resurrection was ready to be performed. Then, he could strike. Thrax peered into a mirror which showed all of Ponyville. He smirked when he saw a flower shop where two ponies, one with white fur and a red mane and another with pink fur and a yellow mane were bringing in an exotic tree of some sort. “Perfect, just what I need...” Thrax snarled as he fired a beam from his mother’s wand through the mirror and towards the plant… Ponyville Hospital: Both Twilight and Robert rushed into Ponyville Hospital, Sunset on a gurney with Navi close behind. Nurses and Doctors, as soon as they saw the condition of their Princess were at once by their side, Navi muttering “Ai-yi-yi-yi...” all the while. “Gunshot to the lower left torso, stab wound to her right side. I’ve patched up the wounds as best as I can, but I’m not sure if—” Twilight rapidly informed the head of staff, Nurse Redheart but was cut off. “Don’t worry. We’ll treat her the best we can. Rest assured, we’ll be giving her the best of care.” Redheart said, restraining the princess and Robert from following the gurney as it rushed Sunset to the surgical ward. Robert was about to push past her when several streaks of light touched down as the other Rangers teleported in.. “W-What happened?” Lightning stuttered out, quite stunned. “Mob attack in Ponyville. Sunset took them on as best as she could, but she couldn’t do anything more than restrain them, so they...” Robert mumbled, his voice shaky. Vapor and Sunburst shared looks of concern, this was the first time they’d even seen Robert this way. Fear was something they had never seen from the human, but now he looked terrified. His skin was pale and covered in cold sweat, his eyes had a hollow, empty look to them, and his hands were trembling slightly, some of Sunset’s leftover blood still stained them.. Then Navi spoke up, still incredibly angry. “The only reason those bastards attacked her was because she was associated with Robert!” Navi screeched, a small puff of steam escaping from the crest on her head. “...Dear Mystic Mother,” Vapor whispered as Lightning’s fists balled up and she trembled in rage, unable to believe what was being said to her. “N-No. I don’t believe it. Ponyville, it would never do this!” Lightning shouted. “WELL, GUESS WHAT?” Vapor snapped in fury. “IT WILL! IT HAS!” Then, with a few calming breaths, she began to speak softer towards Lightning. “Don’t you see? It’s bigots like you who did this to Sunset. Just by acting like this and denying what’s smack dab in front of you, you’re about as guilty as they are in my eyes.” Vapor snarled, in the same tone of voice she’d used towards Turbine Org right before she destroyed him. Lightning staggered back, almost as if she’d been slapped and found herself unable to speak. Vapor sighed and turned to look back towards where the doctors had taken Sunset. “What do we do now? Sunset’s going to get better, I know it. She’s got to,” Vapor murmured to herself, although she wasn’t sure if she believed her own words. “She will. Alicorns heal at an incredibly fast rate, so she should be up and about within a few days.” Twilight said even if she sounded as if she didn't believe her own words. She rested a hand on Vapor’s shoulder, even though the worry was clear on her own face as well. “But in that time, we’re down a Ranger, and our leader. Tartarus, we can’t even form a Megazord…” Sunburst murmured as Robert punched a wall in frustration and muttered "Damn Equestrians... Bigoted vollidiots!" “Someone’s got to step up,” Robert then said, gritting his teeth. “I can’t do it, you all know I just don’t have what it takes to lead. I’m too egocentric. I’d just end up putting you all in danger by leading you headlong into a ambush and trying to show off and just get you lot killed. Let's face it, I'm a vollidiot myself. I’m never going to have the qualities of a Red Ranger or anything like that.” Robert said and then muttered to himself “Sky, you were right all along. I’m not Ranger material. I should have been stripped of my badge long ago and chucked out on my worthless arse.” in a tone too quiet for anyone to hear. A very familiar voice then spoke up as a dark furred unicorn stepped out of the shadows and his formed shifted to that of Zen-Aku. “Well then, have you ever considered me? I too have Wild Zords, three of them in fact, one of which can fill Sunset’s spot on your Megazord,” he asked, and everyone took a step back. “Z-Zen-Aku?” Vapor stuttered out in shock and Lightning’s eyes widened as she remembered her brief glimpse of him at the docksides. “H-How long?” she asked. “My guess? A while,” Robert remarked, as his whole body shook in rage and he continued to glance towards the direction of the Emergency Room doors every so often. “I’m willing to trust him. I saw him fighting in the battle for Ponyville alongside us.” “And I spotted him in this form for just a brief moment after we were freed from the Camera Org.” Sunburst added. “But he’s a Duke Org! By all rights, we should destroy him where he stands!” Lightning shouted, drawing her Growl Phone. “A Duke Org who saved my life, twice.” Vapor replied, placing a hand on Lightning’s shoulder. “If that doesn’t say anything about who he is, I don’t know what does.” But before Lightning had a chance to reply, a loud explosion shook the city, causing the group to stagger as they tried to regain their footing as Robert let out a loud "SHIT!". “Looks like we really don’t have a choice in the matter...” He then muttered and growled as he clenched his fists. He'd have to stow his anger for later and put his fears aside. Right now, he had to focus on the bigger picture. Getting his hands on the bigots responsible for Sunset's condition would have to wait. Just as they were about to leave, Twilight stepped in front of Robert, cutting him off. “What do you want, Twilight? We don’t exactly have time to wait right now!” Robert said as Twilight pulled out a small, rectangular object from her pocket and pressed it into Robert’s hand. Robert raised the object to his face, eyes widening as he looked at his newly repaired SPD Morpher. “How…?” he asked stunned. “I’ve been working on that Morpher for day and night. I didn’t know who it was for until now, but I should warn you I don’t know how much energy it has left in it. One morph, maybe less,” Twilight warned. “Beyond that… You’re in the danger zone.” “Don’t need more than one morph with this thing. ...Twilight, thanks. Never thought I’d say that, but thanks for everything.” At Twilight’s nod, Robert smiled and gave her a roguish wink leaving Twilight blushing before saying in a unusually subdued tone of voice "It's Morphin' Time..." before thinking to himself. “Sunset, I promise. We’ll continue this war, with or without you.” (To Be Continued…)
Part 26: Treetrimmers May Not Apply (Nature of the Beast Part 1)Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Part 27: The Song Remains the Same (Nature of the Beast Part 2)Author's Note Well, I would have words to say about this chapter, but I think all 7,000 of them kinda speak for themselves, don't you? Edit: Changed Zen-Aku's fight theme to something more apt for him. Part 27: The Song Remains the Same (Nature of the Beast Part 2) Ponyville Hospital: ICU: Princess Celestia looked down upon her adopted daughter as she lay in her bed, a sheet draped over her body. The slow, steady beep of the heart monitor was the only sound present in the room. The Princess of the Sun sobbed silently, her whole body shaking and trembling. This was all her fault, and she knew it. She’d created years of hatred and bigotry towards humankind and she’d done nothing to stop it, even when it nearly took Sunset from her. She remembered a quote from a human she had met as Solar Flare back in 3021, right before she cut him down and rendered him to nothing but ashes scattered in the wind. “You’ll reap what you’ve sown, Pony-Bitch.” At the time, she thought nothing of it, but now she knew what that human meant. This was fate coming back at her. This was karma’s way of punishing her for wiping out a whole race. She was taking what was nearest and dearest to Celestia’s heart. First she sent Luna running afraid to parts unknown, and now bigoted ponies had just attacked her daughter and put her in hospital care just for even associating with the human known as Robert Williams. What would fate take from her next, Celestia had to ponder. Would it be Twilight Sparkle, her other adopted daughter, or her niece Princess Cadence? “By all rights, I should find those who did this and render them to dust,” Celestia snarled mentally as she fingered the Solar Cell Morpher strapped to her leg like a gun and hidden under her long flowing white dress. “NO!” Celestia quickly said to herself. “That’s what Solar Flare would want. If I did that, I’d risk her getting full control and become the very thing I always thought of humans… A monster.” Celestia chuckled. She deserved this and she knew it. “What’s that old human saying…?” She asked herself. “Oh, right… Karma’s a Bitch.” Ironically, the only one who would be allowed to take on the mob and that attacked her daughter and not cause a political uproar was the subject of their own ire, Robert Williams himself. “Oh come on… You know you want to let me out, just for a second," Solar Flare’s voice whispered. “Just take what you want, revenge. It’s all too easy once you give in…” “NO! I’m not letting you out. I let you consume me once, and a whole race suffered the consequences. I’m not going to let that happen again and see the results,” Celestia snapped. “Well, you can run on for a long time, run on for a long time, but sooner or later I’m going to cut you down,” Solar Flare sang in her head. “Tell that long tongued liar, the rambler, the gambler, the back-biter, tell them that Solar Flare and Celestia are gonna cut ‘em down.” She continued in a mocking tone of voice even as the Princess of the Sun tried to block it out. “You and I, we make a great team. The end of humankind showed that. You let me in once, you’ll let me in again. All in good time.” “That will not happen,”Celestia growled out, her fist tightening. “Well, I’ve got a fiddle of gold against your soul that I think I’m better than you. Care to take that bet, Celly-Belly?” “Get out of my sister’s head, you monster,” Luna’s voice bellowed in her head. She ran into the room, dropping her Artemis disguise entirely, much to the shock of the hospital staff. Her horn flared as she transported herself into her sister’s mind. “Ah, the Nightmare,” Solar Flare sneered. “Join the fun with no regrets, only greedy dirty deeds are allowed!” “Do not think you hold sway over me, witch. Now BEGONE!” Luna bellowed. “Alright, alright…spoil my fun. But I’ll be back, and you both know it. But for now, toodles!” Solar Flare sung in a singsong voice before vanishing into the dark depths of Celestia’s mind. The Solar Regent collapsed into her sister’s arms, sobbing. “I… I can’t fight her off. S-she’s right, and we both know it! Sooner or later, she’ll take control again and nothing will be able to stop her, just like last time! Nothing!” Celestia sobbed as Luna held her in her arms and wrapped her wings around her. “That will not happen sister, because I know you are stronger than that monster of a mare. You fought off this creature’s influence for thousands of years. You can fight it off just a little while longer until Twilight finalizes her plan. You were always the stronger one in the family, sister. As for me...When I let the Nightmare Forces consumed me, it took only but a few hours for them to take me over. With you, it took a full damned day before Solar Flare took over and unleashed her power upon humankind. If that doesn’t say anything about your strength, I don’t know what does.” Luna stated firmly. “T-thank you for coming Lulu. T-thank you… Thank you for risking yourself, even if you knew Solar Flare might destroy you.” Luna smiled. “We were always there for each other, that’ll never change,” she stated. “Now the darkest hour is just before the dawn. We’re in that hour together. Someday soon, that light will come.” “But what if Sunset isn’t there to see it? She doesn’t have the advanced levels of healing we do. She’s only a young Alicorn, she hasn’t tapped into her full potential yet!” Celestia whispered. “But she will live. There’s always hope. See that heart monitor, it’s still beeping. As long as that happens, she’s alive and there is a chance that she’ll live to see that dawn.” Celestia smiled and wiped away her tears. “You’re right. And Solar Flare… Tartarus, I was wrong about humanity. I’ve kept books about them in my private library, stockpiled whatever I could find about them and for the past 2,000 years, I’ve kept them to myself, letting the propaganda I created fester like a weed and let ponies believe what they want. But that ends today. There’s a famous quote I found in one of my books about humanity, and although it comes from a great conqueror, I believe it sums up any species. Not just humanity, but every species. It goes: ‘Whatever misanthropists may say, ingrates and the perverse are exceptions in the human species.’ “Yes… I remember that quote as well,” Luna nodded in agreement. “There’s another one I’d like to recite, one stated about a great tragedy back in the year 2001. It goes: ‘The reason I don’t worry about society is, nineteen people knocked down two buildings and killed thousands. Hundreds of people ran into those buildings to save them. I’ll take those odds every fucking day.’ That’s humankind, not what we ran into. That’s their spirit. And I’ll take that over what we’ve created, as I’m just as responsible for not dispelling the myths as you are, any day.” Then a question came to Celestia’s mind. “...Speaking of humans, where is Robert?” The Prancing Pony: Suri’s Bedroom “Oh… Uh… Just like that… Exactly like that...” A mare with a pale orchid coat of fur wearing a two-toned light blue scarf around her neck moaned out as Robert kissed the nape of her neck as she ran her hands along his scarred chest. All of Robert’s clothes except his boxers had been tossed off, with his Morpher lying on a bedside table. The twosome were in the mare’s personal bedroom at the Prancing Pony after she had “convinced” him to come up to her room for a few private tips on fashion, after Robert had mentioned how much he hated his trenchcoat and said how wrong it looked on anyone whose name wasn’t Captain Jack Harkness. It didn’t take much convincing on Suri’s part for things to progress, as she did promise him to make him something nice that suited him as long as he did something for her. Of course, Robert wasn’t stupid; he knew her reputation from mutters and whisperings in the pub about how she had tried to plagiarize one of Rarity’s designs. He had his own plans in mind for the mare, and they weren’t just sexual in nature. In fact, he was performing a very fox-like maneuver that he had done a few times back when he was with SPD. As Robert continued kissing her neck, he moved upwards to Suri’s lips and they smashed together hard, with the fashionista wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist as they tumbled backwards onto the bedsheets together. Suri let out a small moan of pleasure as she let her tongue enter Robert’s mouth before she rolled him over. Now she was on top of him, her barely covered breasts just touching Robert’s chest before they pulled away gasping, a thin line of saliva connecting the small distance between their mouths. “Well, even for a human, you sure know how to show a mare a good time,” Suri purred seductively, giving him a peck on the cheek. She moved her hands downwards to his boxers and let a hand slip inside them. Robert began groaning out in pleasure as Suri stroked him. “How fast do you want things?” Suri purred. “I didn’t just learn how to control my hand movements for stitching you know.” And just as Robert was about to give Suri exactly what she desired, something interrupted them. The Morpher had just given out its distinctive five-note beeping that it always gave when trouble was up. Robert groaned out “Wunderbar…” “...is that a good thing?” Suri asked. “If it were only that, Suri, believe me. I’d be pleased in so many ways,” Robert grumbled before he quickly shoved Suri off of him. He threw on his clothes, put his Morpher around his neck and ran out of the room. He quickly opened up the Morpher and looked at the mini-map displayed to see where this week’s latest monster was. Left on her own, Suri picked herself off the carpet and let out a huff before she tied her violet hair back into its normal bun. “Well, never had that happen to me before,” she muttered to herself, her arms folded across her chest. Suddenly, Robert quickly reappeared and then handcuffed her to a bedpost. “Oh, change your mind?” she mocked, getting over her momentary shock. “Sorry, no takesy backsies.” “No, that was for stealing my friend Rarity’s designs a while back. We’ll talk more later, in a police station. There are plenty of other ways I know of to get information out of a mare.” Suri spat at him and snarled but Robert simply rolled his eyes and muttered: “Yeah yeah, next time you whore yourself out to anyone like any old slag, do a bit of a background check, eh?” When Robert joined his fellow Rangers, he found Bunglay terrorizing the town, capturing ponies and putting them in cages, accompanied by the red armored Kingsmen who once served as Royal Guards to Emperor Mavro and his sons. “Alright, what’s your game this time Bunglay? Last I checked, Lightning and I sent your sorry arse packing off-planet. Seems we need to re-teach that lesson. That was your first strike, two of ‘em left,” Robert remarked holding up a finger. “Might want to rethink what you’re doing here for a moment.” “Funny, that’s not how I remember it,” Bunglay chuckled as he grabbed a pony whom Robert recognized as Sparkler with his hook hand and held her close to him by the neck. “Okay then,” Robert growled out. “That mare you’re holding, she saved my life a while back, so that’s your second strike,” he snarled, holding up another finger. “Now…let’s see, can I think of any more?” he asked sarcastically before he conveniently “remembered” and held up a third finger. “Oh, right. You just disrupted me from having a very good time with a mare so that’s your third strike against you, so do us all kindly a favor and bloody well piss off before we have to make you.” Lightning stared at him. “Really… that’s his third strike? Preventing you from being a Foxy Man-Whore? I say we give him a pass just for that.” Robert gave her a sour look. “I had other plans in mind for that mare, we’ll talk about them later. Right now, this guy’s about to get his sorry worthless pirate arse kicked off-planet.” Robert growled as he slammed a fist against his palm. “We’ll see about that eh?” Bunglay chuckled darkly. “You see, when I had a little gander through your memories a while back, I didn’t just see files of past villains you see. Now, if you’re going to kick my sorry worthless pirate arse off-planet, you’d better get cracking on these faces you might remember first! Savvy?” And then, appearing in dark swirls of smoke were three figures right out of ranger legend and all three of them Robert had met at one point or the other. First was the Lunar Wolf Ranger, Merrick and one of the first six Wild Force Rangers. The second was Lauren Shiba, the true head of the Shiba house and the Sealing Powers of her clan and also the true Red Samurai Ranger. These first two he’d met during the last month he’d spent at the Pai Zhau Academy. Lauren had come to challenge the Red Tiger Ranger, Casey, to a duel with Merrick as her traveling companion. The last face was one Robert knew all too well, his former squad leader AKA Sky Tate. “Now, get them!” Bunglay ordered and snapped his fingers. Against their own will, the three legendary Rangers shouted their morphing calls. “SPD: Emergency!”, “Go, go, Samurai!” and finally “Wild Access!” before in explosions, they stood clad in their costumes. Robert suppressed back a nervous swallow. This was not going to be easy. The X-Borgs and the Kingsmen he knew he and the others could handle, but as for these three, particularly Sky, he wasn’t so sure. And that wasn’t counting Bunglay. Who knew how powerful he was. “I’d advise you to give up now, there’s not enough Rangers to go around for each of you. No matter how you slice it, two of you will have to face one Ranger solo each,” Bunglay laughed as the puppet Rangers advanced. The current team of Rangers morphed and readied themselves for battle anyways. But right about then, the undeniably eerie and haunting song of a familiar pipe flute cut through the air. Zen-Aku stepped out of a shadowed alley, putting away his flute and unholstering his Crescent Blade. “You must have miscounted Beast Hunter, as it seems you’ve forgotten about me,” he smirked and gazed at Bunglay like a caribou ready for the slaughter. “Z-Zen-Aku?” Merrick asked in shock. “Yes Merrick, my old friend, it’s me. Now, I don’t know how Bunglay brought you back from wherever it is you go when you die, but I promise you this,” Zen-Aku said as he pointed his blade at Bunglay with a look of pure and utter fury etched on his muzzle, “I will send you back there.” “Enough with the talking. Now shut your gobs and fight!” Bunglay snapped. “Zen-Aku,” Robert snarled. “Now I normally don’t take command, but in this situation, I have a personal score to settle. You and Vapor take Merrick. I know you can handle him Zen-Aku, given your… shared history. Sunburst, you and Lightning deal with Lauren. However, a word of warning. She didn’t get to be a Red Ranger without good reason. As for me, Sky’s mine and mine alone. I know how he fights, so I can handle him.” “Agreed,” Zen-Aku stated firmly before the battle began. Bunglay tossed Sparkler aside and sat himself down on a bench to watch the fight. “Spin Sword: Blazing Strike!” Lauren called and sent out a slash of blazing hot fire towards Sunburst and Lightning, who rolled out of the way to avoid it. Sunburst threw his hatchets at Lauren, but she soundly kicked them back at their owner, knocking him to the ground. “I’m sorry, I can’t control myself!” she cried. “Bunglay, he’s pulling my strings like a puppet!” “Yeah?” Lightning asked as she inserted her Giraffe Crystal into her Saber. “Well, we’ll just have to cut those strings for you.” She launched herself forward with a blitzing attack, their blades clashing again and again. “You’re pretty good with the Blade,” Lauren acknowledged as she blocked another blow from the Giraffe enhanced Crystal Saber before rolling to the side to dodge a powerful downward swing and then she kicked Lightning in the chest and got in a horizontal slash drawing a bit of blood. “S-So are you,” Lightning gasped out. Lauren managed a shrug. “Well, what can I say? I’ve been pretty much training my whole life,” she remarked. “Wow, you took the samurai thing pretty seriously didn’t you?” Lightning asked as she forced Lauren back with powerful lashes from her whips. But Lauren got in another Blazing Strike and sent it towards her foe. Thankfully, Sunburst recovered and knocked the flaming slash out of existence with a kick from the side. “Ow, ow! Hot hoof, hot hoof!” Sunburst yelled as he jumped up and down from the searing pain in his right hoof before it eventually subsided and he rejoined the battle. “Well, when you’re the one prophesied to seal away the leader of an ancient evil, it kinda goes with the territory,” Lauren remarked before she blocked a punch from Sunburst by catching it with her hand, then kicked both him and Lightning away. “Symbol Power: Firestorm!” she called out as she drew out her Samurai Morpher and drew the kanji for Fire in the air and sent a swarm of flames right towards the two Rangers who rolled out of the way to avoid it before sharing a look. “Any ideas?” Sunburst asked. Lightning shrugged. “Buck if I know. You’re the brainy one, right?” “Gah!” Sunburst said as he slapped a palm to his forehead. “I just remembered! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Can’t believe I forgot! A few days ago I was tinkering around with Navi and I came up with something!” He opened up his visor and let out a whistle, and Navi appeared in a golden flash of light flapping her tiny wings. With another golden flash, she turned into a parrot-themed blaster rifle with Navi’s open beak functioning as the barrel. Lightning stared at him. “A Navi Blaster? ...You’ve got to be joking,” she muttered, blinking to make sure she wasn’t seeing things or hadn’t gone crazy. Sunburst ignored her, focusing all of his magic into the weapon and fired at Lauren, the blast being powerful to knock her out of her Ranger form and send her Spin Sword flying, with it impaling itself into the side of a tree. “One Past Ranger down, two to go…” Sunburst thought with a sigh as he panted from the sheer energy exertion. “And then there’s Bunglay and his men to deal with. Somebody up there must really hate me today.” Nearby, Zen-Aku and Vapor had teamed up against Merrick and were rolling to the sides to dodge his laser blasts from his Lunar Cue’s Sniper Mode. Zen-Aku sent a Crescent Wave towards his old friend, but he dodged it by jumping forwards and fired at Zen-Aku from above before flipping to the Cue’s Saber Mode. The pole-like blade extended out and dealt out a few strikes to Zen-Aku, but Vapor closed in and kicked Merrick in the side, making him stagger back. “I’m sorry my friend. I don’t want to do this to you,” Merrick apologized. “Bunglay’s control…it’s too strong.” “Yes, we both know the feeling all too well,” Zen Aku said as he slashed Merrick across the chest with his blade. As he did so, he thought back to the time when the Org General Nayzor put a bug in his head to keep him from remembering his past as Merrick. “But like before, these chains will be broken! You just have to fight it!” “I… I don’t know if I can!” Merrick yelled out as he clutched his head in pain before he grabbed Vapor with a clawed glove and dragged her along the snow covered ground, then tossed her away into a tree. “Vapor!” Zen-Aku shouted in concern. “I...I’ll live, just have one big headache after this,” Vapor muttered before she inserted her Deer Crystal and changed her Crystal Saber to the Deer Clutcher, a grapple like weapon. She propelled herself forwards with her mighty wings and pinned Merrick up against a pine tree. But the weapon only held him only momentarily before he broke free, lunging forwards with his Lunar Cue, but Vapor jumped back as Zen-Aku blocked the blow with his armored wrist. “So, anthro ponies as a new generation of Power Rangers?” Merrick questioned curiously. “What year is this?” “By your time period, it would be the year 5026,” Zen-Aku answered. Merrick let out a small gasp. “5-5026? I’ve been dead for…” “Yes, I have missed you for millennia, old friend. My only regret is that we had to meet like this, and that the newest generation of Wild Force Rangers have to face their past in such a way.” “N-newest generation? Then…then that means…” Merrick whispered in realization as his eyes widened once again. Zen-Aku confirmed his realization with a simple nod of the head. “Yes, the Princess is awake once again and the Orgs now once again walk the face of the Earth, now under a new Master. We’ve been holding them off, but every day they grow in strength, power and number.” “God, I wish I could help you Zen-Aku,” Merrick said as he kicked his old friend backwards. “Yes, another number to our ranks, especially one as experienced as fighting the Orgs as you are would be a welcome addition,” Zen-Aku admitted even as he slashed Merrick across the chest with his Lunar Dagger. “Especially now of all times, when this team’s Leader is currently in the ICU under close observation.” “I-ICU?” Merrick asked in shock. “W-what happened?” “It’s a long story, and one I do not think you would like to hear. It’s better off if you do not know of what happened between when you passed and now,” Zen-Aku stated before with another Crescent Wave, he knocked Merrick backwards and demorphed him before whispering out a soft “I’m sorry, old friend.” Meanwhile, Robert fought with Sky. Actually, fought wouldn’t be the right word. He was letting Sky kick his arse, he’d even demorphed to let Sky have an easier task of it. Sky fired his Delta Blasters at Robert, and he made no attempt of dodging out of the way, letting the blasts hit him. “Come on Robert, you’ve got to stop me!” Sky yelled. “I won’t be able to hold back!” “Please Sky, admit it,” Robert remarked as Sky kicked him in the face and made him stagger back. “You’ve been wanting to knock me off that high pedestal I always put myself on and show me that I’m not worthy of being a member of SPD. Well congrats, I’m handing you that chance on a silver platter.” “Dammit Robert, get your shit together! Sure, you were an arrogant asshole, but you were a good cop! Andros was right, we both needed to learn to work together more!” Sky shouted back as Bunglay forced him to punch Robert in the stomach, sending him flying back into some crates. “Sure, you were arrogant but so was I, I admit that! I always wanted to make my father proud of me and show him that I was worthy of being the Red Ranger!” “And you did that when you took down Merlock and avenged your dad!” Robert yelled back, clutching his side. “But you were always right about me, and we both know it! I’m dangerous to everyone around me! One day, I might have done something so mind-blowingly stupid and so show-offish that I could have gotten you all killed! You should have stripped me of my badge on the first day!” “Enough!” Sky yelled. “I’m your commander, and deep down I think I knew you had potential, I just never looked deep enough to see it and help you reach that potential! You could be one of the best cops SPD ever produced with the proper help, I…I just never gave that to you, or listened to Commander Cruger or Andros until after you vanished! So shut your mouth and fight back! You’re a Power Ranger dammit! and Bunglay and those soldiers of his…they’re going to put the natives of this planet in danger, so get with the program and do what you do best!” Robert nodded, then slammed his palm down on his Morpher and shouted “Legendary Wild Access!” Sky’s eyes widened as with a flash of blue flame, Robert morphed back into the Orange Ranger. “Huh, looks like Boom was more spot-on then he realized about there being an Orange Ranger someday. You know, somewhere in time and space I suspect he’s yelling for joy for no obvious reason,” Sky chuckled as he fired his Delta Blasters at Robert, but he simply leaped over the shots and knocked Sky to the ground with kicks to the legs. “...Well, that’s new. Never seen you do that before.” Sky commented as Robert flipped and jumped backwards as some X-Borgs rushed at him, firing the rockets at the end of their cudgels. In midair, Robert with a sweeping Chi-enhanced kick that knocked the rockets back at the X-Borgs, causing them to go up in a large fiery explosion. “Scrap once, and they’ll always be scrap,” Robert chuckled mentally as a Royal Guard rushed at him. He slid to the ground and knocked him to his feet with powerful kicks to the shins before grabbing his staff and using it to slice another of the Kingsmen across the chest. It sparked briefly before falling down while Robert broke the staff in half with his knee. “Yeah, haven’t used those abilities I learned at the Pai Zhau in a long time. Too long, really. I’m a bit rusty…” Robert said as he kicked Sky in the gut, causing him to stagger and sending his Delta Blasters flying from his hands. “But I think it’s just like riding a bike; you never forget these sort of things. “Now, come on, Sky, fight Bunglay’s control! You’ve faced more difficult challenges than this!” he shouted. “Facing down Omni and the Troobian Empire, and overcoming your own base flaws, this is just a small bump in the road compared to that!” “Y-You’re right,” Sky growled out and concentrated as hard as he possibly could. All around him, the other puppets did the same, digging deep into their souls for the strength to fight the mind control. Then there was a sound like strings being snipped, and they were free. “Now, let’s show this pirate what SPD’s all about,” Sky grinned. “SPD: Swat Mode!” Just like Robert before him, he too gained a flak jacket, body armor, sensors on his helmet and a Delta Enforcer in his hands and helmet lights flashing. Robert smirked as he picked up the fallen Delta Blasters and together as they stood back to back, fired into the wave of X-Borgs charging at them. No matter how many came, they all fell like dominos thanks to the waves of laser fire that just kept coming. Two Royal Guards put their staves together and sent a wave of energy manifesting in the shape of the Armada Symbol towards the two B-Squad Members. It was cut down by Lauren back in costume and holding the gigantic sword known as the Fire Smasher, a huge orange “Horse Cutter” like blade. Next, Merrick appeared and shouted “Laser Pool! Lunar Cue: Break Mode!” and enveloped the two Guards in a pool table like construct of energy. “Time to rack ‘em up! Lunar Break!” Merrick shouted and Zen-Aku tossed him his Animal Crystals before Merrick knocked them forwards like billiard balls and the two Guards were hit dead on. Emitting sparks, the twosome fell down and exploded in fireballs as the Animal Crystals flew back into Merrick’s hands. Some X-Borgs and two more Royal Guards rushed forwards to avenge their deaths, and an X-Borg fired his rocket at the end of his cudgel but Lauren leaped forwards and grabbed it in mid air. “I think we’ve had about enough of you and your missiles. Here, I believe this is yours. Catch!” Lauren shouted before tossing it back at the X-Borg platoon destroying them all in a fireball while Merrick kicked away one Kingsman and grabbed his staff in one hand and knocked the other Guard’s staff from his hands sending it flying in the air before Merrick caught it. He then used them both to strike down the Guard in a downwards slice before tossing both staves away. “Now, it’s only you and us Bunglay,” Robert snarled, spinning his Kitsune Blaster in his hands like an old west gunfighter as the other Rangers joined him, personal weapons in hand. “Bring it on, maties,” he snarled and with a blur of motion charged right through the Rangers, slashing at them with an anchor like weapon. Lightning and Sunburst tried to slash at the Space Pirate with their Crystal Sabers but he simply shrugged off the attacks and knocked Sunburst to the side. Lightning flew backwards and fired a beam of golden energy from her Saber like a spear, but Bunglay simply smacked it away with his anchor. Robert went into SWAT Mode at that point. He knew perfectly well he was risking his own life to do that, but he also knew Bunglay had to be stopped and he needed all the extra firepower he could get to do it. Both Sky and Robert fired round after round at Bunglay, making him stagger backwards but otherwise he didn’t even seem to be affected. In fact, he simply laughed all the while. Merrick tried to deal a few blows with his Lunar Cue in Saber Mode, but was simply grabbed and tossed through a store window, causing Merrick to demorph. Robert and Sky fired their blasters once more, but didn’t even dent Bunglay’s armor. He kicked Sky backwards before raising his rifle and shot Robert clean through the shoulder. Robert let out a scream of pain and clutched at the wound, blood oozing through his fingers. Vapor threw her Trident and it impaled Bunglay clean through, but he didn’t even seem to be affected. Frighteningly, Bunglay didn’t even bother to pull the trident out. “You arrogant wasteful fools. You don’t get it, do you? I’ve survived hundreds of attacks against me, and a worthless band of fools like you are not going to be the ones to send me down to Davy Jones’s locker!” Bunglay boasted before kicking Vapor backwards into a fountain, causing her to demorph as well. Robert tried to fire off a blast but Bunglay knocked it away and fired at him again, knocking him out of his Ranger state. “Alive or dead, it doesn’t matter to me,” he sneered. “You’re still worth quite a lot of space bullion to me.” “I’ve got to help them!” Zen-Aku snarled. “Wolf Attack!” a revived Koragg shouted. Projections of wolves heads burst into existence from the center of his shield and charged Zen-Aku, pinning him down. “So…you’re the one they call the Night Wolf. You claim to be a noble warrior who fights with honor, but would one with that associate himself with a simple poacher like Bunglay?” the Wolf of the Night growled out. Koragg chuckled and locked blades with Zen-Aku. “Normally, no,” he replied. “But I have heard of your reputation as the Wolf of the Night and one of the most feared warriors of darkness ever created and I want to see if you truly live up to that title.” The two clashed blades again and again, sparks flying with every blow as the fight drew them further away from the main battlefield. Meanwhile, Lauren picked herself up off the ground. “So, you’re the last one left. Fitting how the girl always is the last to fall beneath my boots.” Bunglay chuckled darkly. “Oh yeah? Well, you’re about to learn that this girl has more than a few tricks up her sleeve. I call upon the Power of the Ancestors!” she yelled, placing the Shiba House’s personal disk on her Spin Sword and spinning it. With a flash of light, Lauren gained samurai like adornments, two huge shoulder pads and her shoulder plate becoming emblazoned with the kanji for armor, or Ko. Her belt buckle opened up to reveal a face with glowing green eyes. Finally, her helmet became more dramatic as it gained a large golden adornment for a head crest in the shape of her element, the kanji for fire. “Shogun Mode!” she shouted as her boots implanted themselves on the ground with a mighty thud cracking the earth beneath them. “Time to get your ass kicked, Samurai Style.” “How…?” Bunglay asked, truly stunned which wasn’t a feat that happened often in his lifetime. He knew Lauren had the Shiba Fire Disk and could have gone Shogun Mode with just a simple suggestion from him, but how she had managed to fight him off was something he just couldn’t figure out. “Feeling surprised?” Lauren asked. “Yeah, I knew you knew I had this disk and could have gone into this mode anytime you wanted, but my willpower and my conscience was more than enough to fight off those suggestions you kept sending me. Now do me a favor, and shut up.” She pulled out the Fire Smasher and swung it in a horizontal slash, with Bunglay blocking it with his anchor weapon. She then slashed downwards and utterly shattered the weapon right down the middle, making Bunglay stagger back from the force of the blow. She implanted the Fire Smasher into the ground and pulled out her Samuraizer, using it to draw the symbol for fire and then launched a blazing tornado at Bunglay. He roared out in pain as the tornado ripped and tore into his armor. When the flames finally subsided, Bunglay’s armor was revealed to be burned and scorched in several places, and purple blood was dripping through cracks in it and creating small puddles on the ground. “I’ll be back to finish this another day, another time!” he snarled before teleporting away, with Vapor’s Trident clattering to the ground. Elsewhere, the two wolf warriors were still dueling, matching each other blow for blow, Koragg swung low at Zen-Aku’s legs, but he leaped upwards to avoid the swing and kicked Koragg in the face making the Knight Wolf stagger back. “So, you can fight me on the ground, but what happens when I take things up a level? Uthe Mejor Catastros!” Koragg shouted. A pure black horse burst out of a dark seal with a loud whinnying sound and galloped from the depths of the Underworld. “Now… Uthe Mejor Ultimas!” With clanking and whirring sounds, Catastros stood up on it’s hind legs and split open as Koragg jumped through another Mystic Spell Seal, enlarging himself to titan size. He merged himself with his steed, his shield becoming the chest plate of the Megazord. “Centaurus Wolf Megazord!” Koragg shouted as he gripped his glaive, which had once been part of Catastros’s mane and tail. Zen-Aku rushed to Merrick’s location, retrieved his Animal Crystals and inserted them into his flute. He began to play a tune. As if in response to this, the Wolf, Alligator and Hammerhead Zords descended from the Animarium and Zen-Aku, knowing that he couldn’t toy with this opponent as he normally did, shouted, “Wild Zords, combine!” Zen-Aku’s Animal Crystals launched themselves from his flute and danced in the sky as the very sun itself went into a full Solar Eclipse darkening the sky making it seem as if it was black as night. The Alligator’s head folded up into its chest as its front legs detached and moved to its back while the back legs moved downwards and became feet. The tail detached and combined with the Hammerhead’s own. The Wolf Zord’s tail detached and formed a crescent-shaped boomerang which grafted itself to the Alligator’s head. With hisses of steam as they locked into place, the Wolf and Hammerhead became the arms and grabbed ahold of the Gator Staff, gripping it tightly. A wolf-shaped head with blood red eyes appeared and a giant golden horn unfolded from it. Zen-Aku appeared in the cavern like cockpit with the emblem of a wolf behind him and set his flute plate down on the center console. “Predazord, awaken!” he shouted as the Megazord stood with the eclipsed sun behind it. “Now, we shall see who truly rules the night,” Koragg snarled out. “Only one of us is walking away from this clash, and it won’t be you. Now…” Koragg said as he pointed his glaive towards the Predazord. “Let us duel with honor.” The two gigantic titans clashed, the sound of their weapons meeting echoing for miles around. Koragg swung his weapon and hit the Predazord right across the chest, making it stumble back. “Wolf Fury!” Zen-Aku snarled and hit the Centaurus Megazord with a hard right hook to the face. Koragg then fired a beam of pure red energy from the orb on his Megazord’s chest sending the Predazord flying back as it ripped up buildings in it’s path and the ground as well in the process. “So, you think you can outclass me with your mere shadow of a Megazord?” Koragg laughed. Zen-Aku said nothing but grabbed the boomerang piece on his chest with his Megazord’s right arm and threw it at the Centaurus Wolf Megazord. The now glowing gold weapon did a good amount of damage as it flew around the Megazord and struck it in various places before returning to the Wolf Zord’s open maw. “My turn. Dark Magic Spell Seal!” Koragg shouted before rotating his glaive in a complete circle, forming a seal and then slashing right through it. The resultant explosion engulfed the city, dealing considerable damage to the Predazord. Eventually, it fell back into the side of a mountain, caving the rocks inwards and sending trees flying. “Do you give up yet? I have never been beaten in this combination and that day of defeat won’t be today.” Koragg laughed even as the Predazord picked itself off the ground and Zen-Aku snarled. “You think yourself a Knight? Knights fight for justice, and after what I’ve seen today you are not worthy of that honor nor title. So as it seems, I must defrock you of your title, ‘Knight Wolf.’” “Don’t make me laugh. Now witness the Power of the Master!” Koragg yelled out and formed a dark tornado of swirling black and purple energy that sent itself towards the Predazord. Zen-Aku smirked, then shouted “Predator Wave!” The Gator’s mouth opened and fired a blast of light manifesting in the head of the Wolf Zord. The light went right through the swirling vortex, demolishing it and then hit the Centaurus Wolf Megazord dead on, knocking Koragg out of his combination and sending him back to the Underworld as he faded away. As for Catastros, he let out a weak nicker before he vanished in a plume of dark smoke as the sun and sky resumed their normal state. Zen-Aku simply scoffed. “Pathetic.” Meanwhile, a gray-furred stallion with a bald head and a handlebar mustache was walking down a path, eyeing an orange furred filly with a purple mane arranged in a tomboyish cut playing with a soccer ball with her two friends. He smirked to himself. “Oh, that one looks like a nice catch,” he chuckled before a clawed hand reached out and grabbed him and pulled him into the treeline. The stallion’s eyes widened in fear as he faced a being, part skeleton, part flesh with one horn sticking out of the right side of his head and another jutting out from his forehead. “W-Who are you?” he stammered out in fear. “Nobody important…to you at least. But you…you’re important to me. Well, part of you is anyways.” The stallion tried to run, but Helicos grabbed him. “Now stay still,” Thrax chuckled darkly. “This won’t hurt a bit.” The stallion tried to scream but Helicos clamped a hand over his mouth as The Master Org ripped into his chest with a squelching sound and pulled out the stallion’s still beating heart. The body slumped into the dirt, crimson red blood oozing from the wound and pooling in the dirt below. “Oops, I lied.” Thrax laughed before he and Helicos teleported away... (To be continued...)
Part 28: Resolutions (Nature of the Beast Part 3)Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Part 29: Nogitsune (Nature of the Beast Finale) Cloudsdale: Wonderbolts Academy Lightning Dust flew through the skies high above Equestria to the city of Cloudsdale and the Wonderbolts Academy. Co-Founded by General Firefly and Commander Hurricane, its original purpose was to teach the best of the best and prepare them for Equestria’s air forces and aerial combat. That purpose still remained to this day in a sense, but because Equestria hadn’t gone into war in centuries, not since the rise and fall of King Sombra of the Crystal Empire that purpose faded from most ponies’ minds. Nowadays, the Academy’s main purpose was to simply teach Equestria’s elite flyers on how to put on grand stunt-shows. Many had walked into this academy, but few ever came out with the fabled Wonderbolts Wing Insignia pinned to their jumpsuits. Lightning Dust had nearly been one of those many ponies who hadn’t, if not for the intervention of an unlikely friend in her main rival for the gold pin that marked one’s status for being the lead pony in a squadron. While Lightning knew she would just have to settle for wing pony status and a silver pin, she was content with the fact. Now she needed Rainbow’s help once again. “Can’t believe I have to ask her for advice again. I mean, I’m Lightning Dust, a freaking Wonderbolt for crying out loud! Wonderbolts shouldn’t have to ask for advice, they know how to handle situations in their own way!” Lightning thought. “...And yet, that was the kind of thinking that got me nearly kicked out of the academy on my plot in the first place. I mean, sure, you were trying to hold up to your father’s ludicrously high standards, but you were a fool plain and simple. Creating a tornado that nearly swept up Rainbow’s friends? What the Tartarus were you thinking?” Lightning reprimanded herself as she landed on the runway, her wings folding up. Lightning moved her flight goggles up into her lightning yellow mane. “Spitfire was right. I bucked up big-time. Me and my ego were writing checks my body couldn’t cash. Thank the Mystic Mother for Rainbow Dash. She certainly lives up to her Element.” As Lightning walked forwards she was greeted by a mare with yellow and amber streaks in her mane and wearing a navy blue suit with numerous badges pinned to it. Spitfire took off her sunglasses in surprise. “Lightning Dust?” Spitfire asked in surprise, her eyes widening. “There’s no training routines scheduled for today… Not unless General Derecho changed his mind without telling me first.” “I know, Captain.” Lightning replied, saluting almost at once. “But actually I came here looking for Rainbow Dash. Asked around Ponyville, and everypony pointed their fingers up here.” “Ah, I understand,” Spitfire said. “Unfortunately, I don’t know where she is right now. I’ve been so focused on the paperwork I didn’t even see her arrive.” She admitted with a tinge of embarrassment in her tone. Just then, a mare with a pure white coat almost completely covered by her flight suit ran up excitedly, at the mere mention of Rainbow Dash’s name. She had a cute little red bow in her mane, which was a mix of varying pink shades making it resemble a strawberry milkshake in some manner. “Hey, wait, you’re talking about Rainbow Dash?” The mare asked in an excited tone, reminding Lightning of that teenager she saw around Ponyville at times, Scooter-something or other. “I think I saw her practicing her variation on the Filly Flash Maneuver over by the hoops. It was awesome!” “Thanks!” Lightning said before realizing she didn’t even know WHO to thank. “...Er, who are you again?” “Angel Wings! Part of the official Rainbow Dash Fanclub!” Angel said ecstatically. Both Spitfire and Lightning stared at her. “Do I even want to know?” Spitfire asked. “So, where do I sign up?” Lightning deadpanned, and Angel held out a flyer and a pen missing her sarcasm entirely. At Lightning’s look, she laughed nervously. “...Oh, that was sarcasm wasn’t it?” She said sounding a little bit hurt. Lightning ignored her and walked off with Angel hanging her head and murmuring “...I thought she really wanted to join.” True to Angel Wing’s words, Lightning did find Rainbow over by the practice hoops that dotted the sky attached to various clouds. Rainbow, in a flurry of color, was darting from cloud to cloud rebounding off of them in flashes of light till she rocketed through the hoops and bucked a cloud out of existence entirely. Rainbow then landed on the grass and smirked at Lightning’s impressed look. “Okay, even you gotta admit that was pretty awesome.” Rainbow bragged as she took out a water bottle and drank it down. “Puh-leeze, I bet I could do that move sooooo much better than you.” Lightning scoffed. “You wish, but you’ll never keep up with me.” Those words sent Lightning into a flashback, one that took her back not too long after she’d been re-instated into the Academy. “We can't be together Lightning. I'm sorry. Our relationship... It'd be toxic. We're like oil and water, we go together, but we don't mix. We'd wind up killing each other before we ever had sex with one another.” Lightning shook her head to clear herself of those memories. “So, something on your mind?” Rainbow asked as she wiped sweat off her face. “It’s… It’s about… Gah, why is it so hard to get these words out of my mouth?” Lightning spat. “Hey, can’t be that hard,” Rainbow remarked before deadpanning “That is, unless you’re talking about something so super embarrassing that’ll end your social life as you know it. ...Wait, that isn’t it is it? ‘Cause if it is, I don’t think you want to speak about it out loud.” “It’s not that…” Lightning trailed off. “It’s about The Hu-Er, Robert Williams. Honestly, I’ve been so nasty to him and yet after Princess Celestia’s speech earlier I’m beginning to wonder if that attitude of mine towards him is really so warranted.” “Alright, you know what?” Rainbow asked. “C’mere and sit down. Sounds like you need some good old fashioned Rainbow Dash style advice.” Again, Lightning was sent into a flashback… Lightning punched a wall in frustration. She couldn’t believe her own stupidity. She gazed down at where the gold pin that would have marked her as the leader of her flight squadron used to be. Looking up at a portrait of her father, him seemingly judging her she screamed and ripped it off the wall before throwing it to the side. There was a shatter of glass, and the portrait frame fell to the floor in pieces. “Are you happy now Dad!?!” Lightning yelled to nopony in particular. “There, I got into your damn academy and first day of training, I get kicked out because of my own stupidity and the advice you fed me! “Always strive to be the best, no matter what it takes!” Well, apparently what it takes can get ponies killed!” A few minutes later, Rainbow found Lightning curled up into a ball sobbing, her flight goggles tossed aside and the portrait of Wind Rider smashed. She wanted to brush it off as Lightning having a temper tantrum over not getting into the Wonderbolts reserves, but her instincts told her different. She knelt down next to the former recruit and laid a hand upon her shoulder. “Hey… Something wrong?” “NO!” Lightning snapped, tears streaming down her face. “You got what you wanted, you’re a lead pony and I’m kicked out like you wanted. Are you happy now?” “N-No… I’m not,” Rainbow admitted. “I wanted you to be by my side, flying up there with the best. Sure, you were reckless, but so was I at one point. Come on, maybe I can get Spits to give you a second chance.” “Doubtful,” Lightning scoffed. “I screwed up majorly today. Dad would be soooo proud. Puh, he may think himself great, but really dad, you’re just an ass.” Rainbow looked at the portrait of Wind Rider, and then back at Lightning before her eyes widened in realization. “Wait, you mean your dad’s…?” She asked in shock. “Yeah. He’s not as great as you think he is, newsflash. He always has these incredibly high standards. He always put my brother, Sky Stinger on a pedestal, telling him he was going to be his successor and left me to wallow in the dust, the dick. He always tells me that I’ll never live up to his son. Well, guess he was right all along.” Lightning muttered. “So that’s why…” Rainbow realized before she snarled. All she ever wanted to do was be like one of the greatest flyers to ever live. Now, all she wanted to do was help Lightning. “What about your brother? What does he think about all this?” She asked. “He hates it, he always told me I’d be a good flyer despite whatever dad said. That’s what I wanted to do today, prove my dad wrong and Sky right. I failed at both.” Lightning muttered and Rainbow smiled. “Not yet you haven’t. Everypony deserves a second chance, even you.” Reluctantly, Lightning sat down next to her friend, who put a hand on her shoulder just like she did a few years back. “You know what I think? Trust him, do what your heart thinks is right. I mean, a superhero is gotta be someone you can trust, right?” Rainbow commented, shocking Lightning. “H-How’d you know?” She stammered out in shock. “Please, a new guy shows up in Ponyville and not even a week later a new Power Ranger pops up as well? You’d have to be an idiot not to make the connection,” Rainbow remarked. “Honestly, how everypony hasn’t made the same connection like I did is beyond me.” “...Well, Rarity did.” Lightning replied. “Well, that’s Rares for you. Always got an eye for the little details. ...Actually, now that I think about it she did say she was working on something special for a certain someONE a week or so ago.” “Yeah, turned out to be a trenchcoat with the words “Fighting Fox” emblazoned on the back in big orange letters. Robert hates it to no end actually.” Lightning laughed and soon Rainbow joined her before she smiled. “Now, who wants to see if they can make it to the other end of the runway and back?” Rainbow challenged and her friend smirked in response. “You’re on, just don’t come crying to me when you lose.” Lightning laughed. “Trust me, I hate losing so that won’t happen.” Lightning took off running then, much to Rainbow’s annoyance. “AW, COME ON! I didn’t even get the chance to say ready, set, go, yet!” She yelled and ran after Lightning all the while thinking “Oh, she’s so going to get it. Yep, definitely going to get it.” Ponyville Police Station: The doors of Ponyville’s only police station slammed wide open and Robert Williams stepped in with a very displeased look on his face. Ponies at their desks turned to look right at him, dropping whatever they were doing and one muttered “Oh boy…” Robert walked up to the desk sergeant and slammed his hands on his desk, knocking off a bobblehead of a police-pony and sending it crashing to the floor. “Where’s the cell you’re holding Suri Polomare in?” “Now wait, you just can’t come barging in here and start making demands like you know everything!” The desk sergeant demanded. He was a big, burly pony that reminded Robert of Vernon Dursley from the Harry Potter books and film series. The kind of man who was used to getting his way all the time and blustered and boasted about his accomplishments to anypony who would listen. Robert rolled his eyes, this was hardly going to be a challenge and might actually be a bit fun. “You don’t even have the jurisdiction, animal!” The stallion yelled, and now everypony had turned to look at the developing scene. “Tartarus, you don’t even look like any cop I ever saw!” “Funny, the only animal I see around here is you…” Robert trailed off, taking a quick look at the guy’s name-tag and couldn’t help himself from laughing out loud. “All Bark, and see this?” Robert then pulled out his SPD Morpher and flashed his badge. “This proves I AM indeed a cop, and I do have jurisdiction over this case. Hell, last I checked, I was the one who brought Suri in. Unless that slipped your mind when you were too busy chowing down on donuts.” Robert deadpanned and smirked when the stallion roared in rage and leaped over the desk at a surprising rate of speed. He lunged at Robert who simply sidestepped out of the way and let All Bark hit the floor. “Well, isn’t that interesting? His name fits,” Robert mocked before he then asked in an annoyed tone of voice “Now… If you excuse me, does anyone else have any issues?” He crossed his arms and folded them across his chest, and raised an eyebrow almost as if he was daring anyone to challenge him. “Okay… Maybe it’s a bit evident that I’ve watched Gokaigers a bit too much. Seriously, this pretty much something Marvelous might do.” Robert mused to himself with a chuckle. Somewhere in time and space, on a red galleon with the exact same appearance to the Skyship, a man with black hair and red long coat sneezed and his eyes shot wide open as he sat up. “Oi! Who’s been talking about me?” The man demanded. Back on Equus, Robert found himself directed to one of the interrogation rooms by a black-maned mare named Carter. While he was forwarded to the interrogation rooms, he saw a grayish pegasus with a pink bow in her opal toned mane arguing with what he guessed to be her sister who was sitting in a holding cell. “Was it really worth it?” Flitter yelled, tears streaming down her face. “Attacking a Princess out of sheer fear over someone you hadn’t even met!?!” “He brought that monster to our homes and destroyed Ponyville! That’s justification enough in my book!” Flitter’s sister yelled back angrily. “W-What happened to the sister I grew up with?” Flitter asked. “B-Because, because that’s not the one I’m seeing here in front of me.” With those words, Flitter walked off and the sounds of sobbing could be heard, not just from her, but from her sister as well. Meanwhile, Robert stood outside the interrogation room door. Shouting could be heard from the other side. Very angry shouting. “We’ve been holding her in here ever since you brought her in. She’s been yelling for a lawyer, but I don’t think she has the money to pay for one.” Carter remarked and Robert chuckled out “Well, suppose that’s what you get when you practically become a mare of the night. Seriously, spending time with her wasn’t almost worth the information I was going to get from her. ALMOST.” Robert specified. “Honestly, what you do with her after I’m done getting information out of her I could care less.” With that Robert walked into the room and pulled up a chair and sat across from Suri at the other end of the room, arms folded. “So, we meet again,” Robert said casually. Suri simply spat in his face. “Go to Tartarus, I was simply making a living and you had to ruin it.” Suri snapped. “Yeah, I wouldn’t call whoring yourself out a job per se… Okay, I might do that as mares and women do love a guy in uniform, but let’s not get caught up in hypocrisy eh?” Suri snorted angrily, glaring right at him. “Fuck you,” she growled. Robert sighed and shrugged, “Sorry Suri, but we both know how that turned out for you.” Robert leaned forward, propping his elbows onto the table, giving her the full ‘bad cop’ stare that made minor criminals piss themselves. “Now… Let’s get right to business eh? You know, me doing something nice, namely trying to find out who put Sunset in the hospital… It kind of gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling inside that I hate so much,” Robert deadpanned and got up off his chair and leaned in close to Suri’s face. “Now let me get one thing clear from the start that you should have figured out the moment you met me… I’m not a nice person. And for this past week, I’ve been more pissed off than usual, which is saying quite a lot. So if I were you, I’d give me the information I’d want to know.” Suri spat in his face again. Robert sighed before going for his phone and looking through the music he had saved for his special kinds of torture and picked out Syd’s self-titled single “Me.” But to his shock, Suri was actually enjoying the music and bobbing her head along with it. Robert slammed his head against a wall and muttered: “Okay, wasn’t going to bring this out till I had a chance to screw with some nobles but she’s forced my hand…” Robert then found another track. As soon as the song began to play, Robert began to imitate a certain dance, all the while wishing he had a suit and tie to complete the picture as Suri stared goggle-eyed at him in bewilderment. Robert then shouted, “Hey Carter, you got any knives?” “No! Why?” Carter shouted back, not sure if she wanted to know. “Just asking,” Robert replied cheerfully. “Might come in handy here.” Suri then realized what Robert planned on doing to her as he gazed intently at one of her ears. “Okay, okay! I’ll talk!” Suri yelled out in fear. “It’s this guy, goes by the name of Biff Interrobang! He was the one who led the mob who attacked Sunset!” Suri continued babbling about how Biff might have gang connections to a doctor whose name Robert didn’t catch as he let out a snarl and then looked directly at Suri with the music still playing in the background. “For the record, I was completely kidding about the knife. You’re such a baka-whore.” Robert remarked and gave out a growled out statement of “Thanks for the info.” and exited the room and turned to Carter. “She’s all yours, with all the information she spilled I’m sure you can charge her with something. Now, if you excuse me there’s business to attend to.” Unknown to anypony, a white furred pegasus with a pink mane listened in on the whole conversation and teleported away just as soon as Robert ran off... Ponyville Hospital: ICU Ward The soft beeping sound of Sunset’s heart monitor was the only sound in the room as the Phoenix Ranger slept in silence. Then, the beeping turned to a long flat sound and as she walked by, Nurse Redheart dropped her clipboard and ran off tears brimming from her eyes as she shouted “Doctor!” Meanwhile, a figure wearing a pure white robe with a headdress over her mane walked through the hospital, nopony seeming to notice she was there despite the pure level of magical power she radiated. Without even making a sound, she walked into Sunset Shimmer’s room. As she saw the fallen Golden Ranger, her eyes lit up with a show of many colors. With a wave of her hand, a multicolored magical aura began to cover the Princess of Empathy feeding her with pure Morphin’ Grid energy. The figure spoke. “Now, Sunset Shimmer… Awake and burn brighter than ever before. There’s a storm coming, and you must be there to meet it.” With that, two green tinted eyes shot open with a start. The Prancing Pony: Interrobang smirked to himself as he drunk a glass of fine wine over his victory. Sunset Shimmer was in the hospital and that disgusting excuse for an ape had been taught a lesson. It didn’t matter to him what Princess Celestia said about humans, all they did was cause destruction no matter wherever they went, leaving ruined lives behind. He considered teaching this human a lesson about messing with the superior master race a favor for him. Just then, there was a loud explosion as the doors to the Prancing Pony blew inwards knocking them off their hinges and the sounds of Joan Jett’s Bad Reputationbegan to play. An angry voice filled the room. “BIFF INTERROBANG!” Robert roared out in rage and everypony’s heads turned to him and stepped very clear of Robert as he slowly strode towards the pony in question. “Yeah, what’s it to you?” Biff asked, not even looking at who had shouted his name. However, when Robert grabbed him by his jacket and whirled him around so they could see each other face to face, his eyes widened. “You and I… We need to talk,” Robert growled out before Biff kicked him in the legs and sent Robert staggering back but was grabbed and thrown into a table where a game of cards was being played smashing the table in two and sending the cards flying everywhere. Robert smirked. “What do you know? 52 pickup. My favorite game,” Robert commented and picked up a card and inspected it before he chuckled out “Ace of Spades. Must be my lucky day.” as he tossed it away behind him. Biff came charging towards him again fist drawn back but Robert caught it and tossed Biff into the bartop. But he wasn’t done yet. Robert grabbed him by the back of his jacket and slid him along the top off its end. Biff grabbed a beer bottle and tried to take a swing but Robert punched him, sending him toppling to the floor. Robert then held his Crystal Saber to his neck and growled out “Now, the only reason I’m not removing your head from your neck is these powers should never be used to strike out in vengeance, even if I rightly should use them after what you did to my friend PRINCESS Sunset Shimmer. Besides, I think whatever Princess Celestia has in mind for you, it’ll be far worse than anything I can dream up and believe you me, I can dream up a lot of things.” Biff’s eyes widened out in fear as he realized just how big of a mistake he had made. Robert meanwhile was beginning to dust himself off when four Royal Guards arrived led by a pure white pegasus stallion. “We heard about a commotion. I assume this is… it?” The stallion asked nervously, looking at Biff’s bloody and bruised form. “Hardly a commotion. More like somepony getting his sorry worthless arse kicked and taught a lesson about reaping what he’s sown,” Robert said coldly and gestured to Biff. “Take this slimebag away, do with him what you want. I could care less.” Biff screamed and pleaded for mercy but Robert had none and simply watched as he was led away by two of the Royal Guards and he smiled. However, that smile was soon to fade when he felt two sharp spears pressing up against his back. “You’re coming with us,” A female voice Robert recognized as one of the guards sent to spy on him before ordered. “Princess Celestia’s orders.” “Yeah, I doubt that highly. If Sunset put her faith in Celestia, so should I. Might not be very cop like of me, but I’ve never been much of a good one anyhow.” Robert thought and then smirked. “So, how’d she get to you? Threats against your family, yourself? If it’s anything else, don’t expect me to show any sympathy when I send you lot packing to the hospital wards.” “M-Money.” The female guard said, her voice quavering in fear and Robert sighed. “Figures. That’s what it always is with corruption. I heard that’s what Grumm did with the A-Squad, offered them quite a lot of Space Bullion and where did it get them? Oh right, confinement cards.” Robert then whirled around to knock the guards back with kicks to the face and as they staggered back their spears flew from their hands. “I much prefer a good hand to hand brawl anyways,” Robert commented and cracked his knuckles. “Your boss wants me dead, she can come down and do her dirty deeds herself. Tell that to her when I’m done with you.” The guards, much to Robert’s surprise actually put up a very good fight. Now that he hadn’t caught them off guard in any way, they could actually counter and block any of his punches or kicks. At one point, he tried a Chinese kick boxing maneuver, but the attack was caught and he was thrown to the ground. Robert then tried to kick the guard in question in the chin as he recovered, but the guard jumped to the left and kicked Robert in the chest sending him flying across the room and into the bottles of beer stacked behind the bar-top. The glass cut into his skin, leaving his back bleeding. As he staggered and tried to stand, he thought to himself as he clutched his Morpher. “Could easily morph and take these two out right now, but I don’t want to alert Solar Flare to who I am just yet and who knows how many other eyes are watching. Something like this attracts a lot of attention, after all.” “Give up yet? Your humans were always second best, second rate.” The female guard asked and in her place, Robert saw Charlie of the A-Squad and he remembered the footage of her from the SPD files. “Funny, someone else said something like that to some friends of mine. Guess what happened?” “Your friends, got their asses kicked like I expect.” The male of the two guards replied as he and his partner advanced. “Wrong,” Robert snarled, shocking them both. “It was the other way ‘round. Just doing what you’re told, right? Just like the Nazis did when Hitler ordered them to round up the Jews and gas ‘em. I have a friend who’s Jewish, and I’m half German so you can imagine that’s a very sore spot in my heritage,” Robert snarled, looking directly at the female of the twosome. “You know, I had high hopes for you, not being Celestia’s little puppet and dancing to her strings, but guess I was wrong. You guards all seem to be the same except for a rare few like your Captain, Shining Armor. He knows when to question orders. You’re like sheep, you are, always waiting to be shepherded around into your pen by the local Border Collie.” “How dare you!?!” The female roared, angered that Princess Celestia was compared to a dog. “You can’t defeat us, and you know it.” “That’s right… Bitch. I do know that. I was only buying time. You haven’t noticed yet, have you?” Robert asked while smirking and both guards felt a very warm presence about then and turned to see Princess Celestia behind them. Her eyes were flaring in anger and the snow around her was melting from her sheer presence. Next to her was Steel Sentry and another guard who quickly cuffed the two traitors. “Looks like you two just got demoted.” Robert smirked. END Author's Note Okay, so things are really heating up now. Robert nearly crosses a line, and Sunset awakens at last. Anyways, I think it's time for the poll results of Bunglay's next ranger and villain puppet revival spree to be released. Here we go. Whiger Adam Doggy Leanbow Koragg Scorpina Robo Knight Z Let's let these lucky bastards be honored! (Okay, maybe not such an honor considering how they'll be used.) ...Honestly, I was surprised no one picked Troy just to see that poor excuse for a Red get beat up, considering how much everyone hates him. I mean, that was the exact reason I put him there in the first place. But anyways... Next time: A Golden Homecoming! (Also, huge thanks to Son Elec for providing a description of Angel Wings and to Magic Step for Biff's last name.)
Part 30: An East Wind (A Golden Homecoming Part 1)“This east wind, this terrifying force that lays waste to all in it’s path. Seeks out the unworthy and plucks them from the earth.” Sherlock Holmes, BBC’s Sherlock: His Last Vow Robert sighed in relief at Celestia’s appearance. Honestly, he never thought he’d be doing that, but there he was. “Princess Celes-” Robert started before he noticed Celestia’s form beginning to shift and change and the air around him beginning to grow hotter as Celestia’s skin and feathers became pure black and fire sprouted from cracks in it as her dress burned away as her mane danced in the wind. This brief, horrifying sight was quickly replaced by another one. Red and gold armor covered Celest-No, Solar Flare and her pure black horn jutted out like a lance from her helmet. “No… She couldn’t have… No, she would.” Robert thought as Solar Flare blasted both Steel Sentry and the other guard away with blasts of hot wind as she advanced, the ground catching fire with every step she took. Robert ran for it as Solar Flare made a column of pure hot flame erupt from where he was standing. One ember caught his trenchcoat and he tossed it aside as it burned away. He continued running as more flaming pillars erupted and Solar Flare created a sword of fire in her hands. “You can run, but you can’t hide!” Solar Flare cackled. “Come out, just give in. I promise it won’t hurt. Just a quick blast of flame and you’ll be embers!” She continued to taunt him in a sing-song tone as Robert ran. “You know, this is kinda fun. Like a game, this. I can see why Bunglay likes hunting you down, the thrill of the chase!” Solar Flare cackled. “The last human… Oh, what a thrill it’ll be when I finally remove your kind from the Earth! Extinction is such a lovely word, after all you and your kind have done this will be my ultimate victory! It’s the fun of an orgasm, but… Much more satisfactory.” Robert began to sweat as he ran, though whether that was from fear, the heat or the sheer exhaustion he didn’t know. “Amusing, isn’t it Celly? The chase!” Solar Flare taunted her other half. Celestia snarled. "You can’t control me. You are just an abomination born from…” “Yes, your darker emotions. Admit it, you want this!” “Yes, I admit I wanted humankind to burn at one point, I admit my racism get the better of me but look where that got me. My daughter in the hospital, my own sister terrified to death of me and who knows what else along the pipeline. So, do me a favor and LEAVE!” With all the willpower she could muster, Celestia forced Solar Flare back into the depths of her mind. With that, she fell to the ground, armor melting away and the Dark Solar Cell Morpher sliding from her hands along the ground. “Please… Take it, and get as far away as you can. RUN! Run for your own sake, before she comes back! I… I can’t hold her back much longer!” Robert hesitantly picked up the Morpher and pocketed it. “What about you?” He asked, as embers crackled in the background. “I will go to the coldest place I can find, sequester myself, until… Until you are ready to enact Twilight and Sunset’s plan. Now RUN!” Robert nodded and teleported away in a flash of orange light while Celestia did the same. Ponyville: Later that evening... Once again, the Rangers had found themselves in the middle of an Org battle, this time facing off against the aptly named Cellphone Org. He’d already grown to giant size and was already facing off against the Animaria Guardian Megazord in its Spear Mode, with the Giraffe Zord taking the place of the Phoenix as the left arm. Trouble was, he was currently using his antennae to create a disruption field of pure sound making it almost impossible for the Rangers to concentrate. The sound was piercing, almost ear-shattering and if not for the ear protection the helmets provided, the Rangers would have already been driven deaf long ago. The Org fired a beam from his single eye and sent the Megazord staggering back. “NAVI!” Robert shouted. “We need to drown out this sound! Any ideas?” “Yes, there is a nearby radio station I can connect to and create a disruption wave to counter this effect,” Navi responded. “WELL, WHAT THE BLEEDIN’ HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR YOU DAMN BIRD!?!” Robert continued to shout angrily over the noise as the cockpit sparked. “GET TO IT!” “...Not a bird…” Navi muttered as she flew to the nearby radio station where Vinyl was on duty. Navi’s chest opened up and out popped Robert’s phone. “Here, plug this in.” Navi requested, and Vinyl, not even bothering to ask, nodded and plugged the phone in. “Any specific requests?” Navi asked as the Cellphone Org used his right arm to land a solid punch to the face of the Megazord. “MEIN GOTT, JUST PICK SOMETHING!” Robert shouted back at her. Both Vinyl and Navi shrugged and picked a random track. Robert smirked as he heard the music begin to broadcast itself over all of Ponyville. “That’s a good track.” the Orange Ranger said as he began tapping his feet to the beat. As the music blared and the Megazord landed a slash across the Org’s chest with one of its katanas, Sunburst turned to Vapor in confusion. “Is… Is that classical music?” He wondered aloud. “Guess so,” Vapor murmured with a shrug. “No accounting for taste though.” “Let’s finish this guy off.” Robert growled before shouting “Giraffe Spear, fire!” The Animaria Guardian Megazord raised its spear arm and launched the Giraffe head and neck with the silver armor covering the head becoming a blazing firestorm. The spear pierced the newest Org right through the chest, leaving a large gaping hole in its wake. As the Org fell over and exploded, Lightning smirked as Robert gave a thumbs down. “Connection… terminated.” She remarked as the Megazord raised the spear arm to the sky in triumph, the setting sun as their backdrop. The Nexus Thrax smiled. He could do nothing but smile. Despite his most recent defeat at the hands of the Rangers, he could care less. It was finally time. “Hello old friend, time to for you to greet the new world order,” He mused to himself. “An east wind is coming. I am the deliverer, and you shall be my reaper… My reaper of death. A holy warrior clad in the finest gold, beautiful and elegant. But they will not look at you in awe… They will look at you in pure, utter terror as you cut them down.” With that smile still plastered on his face, he placed the bloody heart on a pedestal, right next to two others. The second held a piece of shattered, golden armor. The third, a dark pulsing gem. The gem flashed, and two strings of energy connected it to the armor piece and the heart before all three rose up in the air. “Now, winds from darkest days, terrors of spirits long since past! Diabolico, scourge of Queen Bansheera! Darkonda, the warrior who could not die! The one eyed hunter who never missed, Oculous! The king of dragons, General Scorch!” He called out and each time a name was mentioned, the piece of armor and the heart began to circle the pulsing gem growing ever more quick with each name dropped. “Now, warriors who have fallen, give my holy terror and newest general Org LIFE! Goldar, arise!” The three pieces merged with a flash of energy that filled the cavern. Soon the burning light faded and a clawed foot clad in metal touched the cavern floor. Clad entirely in armor with the head of a griffin sticking out from his chest plate with a burning orb of energy inside it, Goldar smiled. A familiar sword formed in his hands just as demonic fire sprouted up from his back and formed two charred wings which quickly gained armor as well. Two tusks sprouted from his face and his head quickly gained an armored horned helmet. Thrax’s smile quickly turned to a smirk. “Welcome back.” Goldar stumbled forwards, using his sword to catch himself when he fell by implanting it in the ground. “Where… Where am I?” Goldar asked, his voice raspy from his vocal chords not being used in so long. “Back to the land of the living. My name is Thrax, son of Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd and I was the one who revived you, to be my newest general.” Thrax answered and through a hole in the stone wall, a single eye widened as Goldar looked up at Thrax with an expression of shock that Retinax shared. He growled. So… That was Thrax’s game. To replace him, and with a non-Org at that! “I knew it, he doesn’t care about us Orgs, not in the slightest,” Retinax mused as he clenched his axe blade tightly. But I’ll play his game, for now, see what other tricks he has up his sleeve. And when I get powerful enough, I will take the title of Master Org for myself and carry out his work. As for Thrax and his newest General, they’ll just have to stew in the fires of their own making.” With a low chuckled, Retinax swung his axe at a totem and cleaved it in half. “Yes, all in good time. But for now, I’ll play the fool as for I long as I need. He’ll never see me coming. Thrax wants to play a game of chess it seems. At first, it was Solar Flare as the White King and Celestia as her Queen. Now, the pieces have changed. I’m the White King in this situation, with Helicos as my Queen. Everyone else, Orgs and Rangers alike, they’re all just pawns for the both of us.” “Prove it.” Goldar growled out. For someone to even claim he was the son of his beloved master, it was an insult of the highest caliber. With a smirk, Thrax summoned both Rita’s wand and pulled a totem’s head forwards, making a wall move aside to reveal Zedd’s throne. “Is this proof enough?” Thrax asked as he sat down on the throne in a relaxed posture, his fingers tapping the armrests while his left arm gripped Rita’s wand tightly. “Hardly, though I thank you for bringing me back, I don’t trust you. You could have easily acquired both of those items and use them to back your claim.” Goldar rebutted. Then he let out a roar of pain as Thrax blasted him with red lightning from his mother’s Wand. “Is THAT proof enough?” Thrax commented as Goldar struggled to stand and then he bowed at Thrax’s feet. “Y-Yes… You truly are the son of my Lord.” Goldar groveled and Thrax chuckled. “Ah, you always were such a suck-up. So easy to use.” Thrax chuckled. “Your spineless, sniveling attitude leads me to believe you will serve me well. For that, I have restored to you what was once taken away. You have been granted new gifts as well,” “Now… rise.” Thrax commanded and Goldar did so. “What is your bidding, my master?” Goldar asked. “To continue your Master’s grand design, finish what he set out to do. Conquer the Galaxy and bring it to it’s knees. But first, we have a… Little obstacle. Any obstacle can be removed although, especially when it’s one you’re all too familiar with.” As Goldar’s eyes narrowed, Thrax smirked. “Yes, that one. Power Rangers.” The Animarium: All four Wild Force Rangers groaned in exhaustion as they teleported on the Animarium, Luna’s moon illuminating the main temple in its glow. Crickets chirped in the bushes as Vapor slumped into a chair and sighed to herself. Lightning rubbed her bloodied forehead from where it had been smashed up against a wall by a Putrid. “Mystic Mother above… These Orgs, they’re running us ragged. We need help, badly.” She muttered as Shayla began applying some natural remedies to help with the healing process. “Seriously… To Hell with our lives,” Robert muttered. “Our leader’s in the hospital in a coma, the Magna Defender is God knows where and God only knows when bat-brain will show up. As far as I can tell, he just shows up when he likes to.” “A-Actually, there’s a good reason why he can’t just show up and bail us out.” Sunburst stuttered out nervously. “What, don’t tell me he’s your pregnant wife because last I checked he didn’t look that way. Emphasis on HE.” Robert deadpanned. “He’s a thestral. They can’t really be out and about in the daytime. Zen-Aku’s one thing as I don’t know how Duke Org magic works, but Galaxy… He has really sensitive eyes. Going out in the daytime might just blind him. Plus there’s his job…” “Wait, Galaxy?” Vapor piped up, her eyes widening in recognition. As far as she could remember, there was only one stallion that stuck out in her memory with that name. “As in Galaxy Swirls, captain of Princess Luna’s Guard?” Robert snorted as Sunburst nodded in return. “...Oh, well that's just wonderful. So, let’s recap. Okay, so a nutjob married to a nervous wreck, Shayla singing songs with a Duke Org, who happens to be on our side by the way and yes, I happen to know about that,” Robert interrupted before anypony could speak up. “Don’t think I haven’t heard his flute every morning. Any more shocks my brain can take today?" He yelled out, throwing his hands up in the air in pure frustration. ‘Well… To put it simply, Princess Luna's in love with you.” Vapor thought to herself. She wasn’t stupid. She knew perfectly well who that Artemis mare was the moment she saw her. The fur coloring and the constellation theming was a dead giveaway. She was honestly surprised Robert himself, him being a cop and all meaning he would have good instincts hadn’t figured it out for himself. For all of his womanizing traits, he seemed to be absolutely clueless when a mare liked-liked him, and vice versa. After all, anypony blessed with the gift of sight could see he was in love with Sunset. Nopony was that protective of a mare or got that angry when she was hurt unless they cared for them on a deeper level. And she could tell Sunset being in the hospital was hitting Robert worst of all, given how short tempered with everypony he’d been all week and so out of character he’d been acting. He almost never showed off to anypony, nor did he crack as many jokes as he used to. Maybe she was wrong, and he was just growing up and he just was protective of Sunset because of how kind she was to him, but then again, she’d been very kind to him as well and he wasn’t nearly as protective of her as he was with Sunset. “...You’re right Lightning-Bitch, as much as I hate to admit it, you are absolutely right. We NEED help, badly.” Robert muttered. Lightning gaped at him in shock, unsure if she’d heard right. “Run that one by me again? Pretty sure I just had something crazy fly in my ear and it’s still lodged there.” She mocked. “I said… You are right. We need help that we can rely upon. We’re exhausted and it’s starting to show on all of us.” Robert said. “And I think that might be the whole point,” Sunburst said, speaking up again making everyone look at him. He flushed red at being put in the spotlight but cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses as he walked back and forth, a hand stroking his goatee in thought. “Think about it, Thrax sends down Org after Org to attack us, and we get exhausted. Pretty soon, we’ll make a mistake, and then one or more of us will get k-killed in action.” He stuttered out, not even wanting to think about the possibility. Suddenly, Princess Shayla felt a cold wind blast through her. She flinched, and everyone present took notice. “What’s wrong?” Vapor asked, not really wanting to know. Shayla turned to look at the Rangers, her face grave. “Something’s coming. I… I don’t know what, but it’s something very big. I just felt it, something dark has just occurred, a ritual. Something that should never have been brought back into this world… has.” With that, the temple fell silent as the grave. “Get some rest Rangers. It’s going to be a busy day tomorrow. Of that, I can sense.” Shayla stated. The Crystal Empire: All was peaceful in the Empire, tall spires gleaming with crystal and various ponies going about their daily lives. Two guards stood at the twin shards that made up the gateway to the empire, their aquamarine armor glittering in the sun, spears pointed to the sky as they stood resolutely. Suddenly, rockets flew towards the guards and they dodged out of the way as the gateway came down with a crash. Retinax chuckled as his Putrids lowered their cudgels. This was what Thrax wanted. For the time being, he’d obey. Plus, there was an added bonus, as this was where the Magna Defender AKA his rival Shining Armor made his home. He’d love to strike him down, especially after the humiliation he’d been dealt in their first bout. Retinax pointed his axe at the fallen gateway. “Now Putrids, let them scream out in terror! Time to make our mark and reduce this paradise to ruins.” Retinax ordered and smirked as various boulders began to raise themselves up by pure will and form into golem like creatures which slowly began to march on the Empire. A yellow coated guard tried to stand but was simply swatted aside by one of the golems and his neck twisted to the left with a sickening snap by the force of the blow. From his castle, Shining heard the screams and he and his wife rushed out onto the balcony to see the Empire in flames thanks to fired rockets and Retinax’s own powers while ponies screamed in terror. “Retinax.” Shining growled. Cadence’s eyes widened at the name. “As in that Org thing who attacked Canterlot a while back?” She asked in surprise. “Yes, him. He wants to draw me out,” Shining snarled, an uncharacteristic tone of fury in his voice. “Well, congrats. He succeeded.” “You’re not planning to take him on alone are you?” Cadence asked. “Let me help you. This is my empire he’s threatening as well. It is my duty to meet him on the field of battle.” “No, this is a personal score.” Shining stated and Cadence looked at him in confusion. “P-Personal? What do you mean?” Cadence asked, worry present in her voice. “Cadence, there’s something I haven’t told you about myself. I-I was waiting for the proper time, but it seems Retinax made that decision for me,” Shining said as he walked towards the edge of the balcony. The illusion that hid the Magna Blade dropped. “You know that Magna Defender who appeared to stop Retinax’s first attack right?” “Yes… But…” Cadence stated before her eyes widened in realization. Shining nodded before he took a running leap off the balcony with a shout of “Magna Power!” and in a flash of green energy, he landed on the streets below in full armor, sword drawn. “Now, Retinax… Do you want to threaten my home? Well, the Prince of this Empire doesn’t back down. Did you want to greet me on the fields of battle? Well, here I am.” Shining thought before he charged into battle to meet the oncoming threat… The Animarium: Elsewhere, the four remaining Rangers were watching the attack on the Crystal Empire unfold. “We’re going down there.” Lightning said, leaving no room in her voice for argument and all three of her comrades nodded. Then, the reflecting pool’s image changed to show that of Thrax on his throne. “Sorry to spoil the mood, but I can’t let you interfere in my plans this time,” Thrax chuckled. “I’ve got an ultimatum for you. You see, you could go and defend the Crystal Empire and stop Retinax but that would leave Ponyville unprotected. I’m sending a very dear friend of mine down there and if you go to the Empire to stop my other General, you can’t stop this one. Your choice.” With that, the image changed to show Ponyville under attack by hordes of Tengas and Putrids led by an Org based on a golden Asian dragon with two hatchets in hand. Robert slammed his fist on the table in rage. “No… Something’s wrong. Orgs never take the form of animals. Zen-Aku along with that Org created from four Animal Crystals by the Master Org were the exception to the rule and they were not created by natural means.” Shayla thought in fear. “If they go to Ponyville, they’re walking right into a trap.” “Damnit… He’s got us by the balls. Either choice we pick… We lose.” Robert snarled. “Giving up so easily Orange Ranger?” Zen-Aku’s voice commented as he appeared behind them out of thin air. “Funny, I seem to remember one of your predecessors saying to “Never give up.” Seems you’re doing just that. I will go to the Empire and help Shining and the Princess of Love hold off Retinax. Your four shall go to Ponyville and deal with the newest Org Spirit.” “No!” Shayla shouted. “Something’s wrong! That Org… He isn’t an Org at all, at least not like any I’ve ever seen. You’re walking into a trap if you go down there!” “Don’t have much choice do we Princess?” Lightning asked. “He still needs to be stopped.” “You… You’re right Lightning, but be careful.” Shayla admitted. Back in the Crystal Empire, Shining was slashing through Putrid after Putrid blade in hand and then switched to his Riot Blaster to blast some more. One Putrid tried to take him from the side, but Shining kicked him in the chest making it stagger back before shooting the Orgling. Two more Putrids tried to come at Shining from behind but were cut down by a blast of magic. “C-Cadence?” Shining asked in surprise as he saw his wife in full battle dress. “This is my Empire as well, and besides, I’d never let my husband go into battle alone. Retinax wants a siege? Well, we’ll give it to him, and then some.” Then, she grabbed a lance from a fallen guard and was swinging it around knocking down Putrids by hitting them in the shin. She then threw the lance and charged it with magical energy and impaled a Putrid before the lance exploded taking out it and several of his comrades. She then pulled out a bow and arrow before taking to the rooftops with her wings and began sharpshooting the Putrids from above. Retinax had engaged Shining and their weapons met again and again. The General Org fired an eye beam at Shining but he rolled to the left and then blasted his foe making Retinax stagger back. “Ha! Is that all you’ve got?” Retinax taunted as he blasted Shining with red lightning from his axe right in the chest cracking the gem in the center of his chest plate. Retinax then leaped forwards becoming a blur and slashed the Magna Defender across the chest three times drawing blood on the last strike. “I thought a PRINCE would do better.” Retinax chuckled and rested his axe on his shoulder as Shining clutched his chest in pain and fell to the ground using his sword in an attempt to stay standing. “Guess I was right before. You ain’t worth shit!” Retinax chuckled as the golems advanced. Shining growled and picked himself up ignoring the bleeding and put a magical adhesive over his wound, his horn glowing a rose like shade of pink. “You’re not the first conqueror to try and take this land. There was another… King Sombra. He tried twice to keep this land as his, even came back from the dead second time around and do you want to know what happened to him?” Shining asked. “No? Well, let me tell you. He failed BOTH times and now his horn is hanging in what used to be his trophy room. He wasn’t worth shit either if you ask me.” With that Shining charged forwards and his blade glowed a pure blue as he cried out “Galactic Slash!” and Magna Blade met axe and the axe lost, shattering in half right down the middle. Retinax staggered back in shock both from the force of the blow and surprise. Retinax growled out. “Very well. Maybe you aren’t such a worthless little horse after all. But the thing is, me and my Putrids aren’t the only things you have to worry about.” Shining then found himself punched in the face by two of the Golems and the sheer strength and weight behind the twin punch sent him flying back into a stall selling pure silver flugelhorns. “Haven’t seen these guys before have you? Thrax gave them to us as a gift from his Grandfather. His own unique breed of foot-soldiers, Putties he calls them. Don’t ask me why they got that name, but I have to admit, they are fairly effective at taking out the trash wouldn’t you agree?” Retinax asked laughing to himself. Just then, a gold blade went flying through the two Putties’ legs, chopping off the stone and sending the golems crashing to the street and rendering them into piles of rubble. The sword itself impaled itself in a wall. “Funny, the only trash I see around here is you.” A female voice remarked and both Shining and Retinax looked upwards to the rooftop of the Crystal Library. There stood an aqua colored Ranger, costume similar in design to Galaxy’s but with a leather whip attached to her skirt and two light golden wings sprouting out of her back. She leaped down into the fray and almost at once grabbed her whip and used it to grab a Putty by the legs and pull him down. “For such powerful foot soldiers, they seem to be awfully weighty, don’t they? Can’t be a good advantage in combat can it?” The newest Ranger commented. Two Putrids tried to fire off rockets at her only to be shot in the head without even a glance in their direction. “Who the hell do you think you are?” Retinax snarled. With a smirk, the Aqua Ranger demorphed to reveal a very familiar face to anypony who ever looked on the cover of a book. “Name’s Daring Do. Perhaps you’ve heard of me?” Ponyville: With swirls of energy, the four Rangers arrived in Ponyville and almost at once morphed and the resulting explosion of pure Morphin’ Grid energy knocked back some Tengas and Putrids. Robert pulled out his Kitsune Blaster and fired into the hoard while Vapor swung her trident and tripped up a Tenga before impaling it in its heart. Lightning grabbed two Putrids by the wrists with her whips and pulled back and flipped them to the ground. Sunburst just pulled out the Navi Blaster and let some other Tengas have it. Robert stared at the sight. “He made his own daughter into a laser rifle? I don’t know whether if I should comment on how completely wrong that is, or just laugh at the whole ludicrousness of it all.” Robert mused before kicking one more Putrid in the chest knocking it into a pie stall. “Now it’s only you, Org.” Robert remarked, aiming his blaster at the “Org”. “Now that…” The Org commented in an all too familiar voice making Robert’s eyes widen in pure and utter terror as his form shifted to that of Goldar’s “Is where you’re sorely mistaken, Orange Ranger.” “No, not him… Anyone but him.” Robert thought as he took a few steps back in fright. Everypony else noticed. “R-Robert, who is that?” Sunburst stuttered out, quite afraid himself. Vapor looked nervous as well for the same reasons. If Robert looked to be afraid of something, then there probably was an very good reason for it. “Goldar,” Robert whispered. “Out of all the monsters Ranger teams have faced in the past, he’s one of the worst. He’s never been defeated in combat, never destroyed by any Ranger alive. It was only a wave of pure Morphin Grid energy that finally took him down, and that was before I was even born. He’s possibly the most dangerous foe that Thrax could ever send at us.” “I-If that’s true…” Vapor whispered. “Why didn’t the fountain alert us to when Thrax revived him?” “Because it’s attuned to only pick up Orgs, and Goldar isn’t one,” Sunburst explained. “Shayla was right. This was a trap made specifically for us, and we walked right into it.” Goldar smirked. “Exactly.” He said before the glowing orb in his chest began to pulse and the eyes on his torso-plate lit up before he unleashed a blast of pure purple-orange energy at the Rangers knocking them right out of their Ranger forms. Goldar chuckled as he strode forwards and pulled out his sword, his armored tail flicking back and forth in anticipation. “Your colors may be different than any Power Ranger team I’ve seen, but you’re still just the same as every other… Pathetic.” Goldar remarked as Robert and company picked themselves up off the ground and went for their morphers. “Legendary Wi-” They never even got a chance to finish their morphing sequence before Goldar blasted them with balls of fire. He chuckled as he continued to walk forwards. His sword glowed and he swung it in a triangular formation and yelled out “Prism Slash!” and sent the triangle-shaped attack spiraling towards the Rangers as a final blow but before it could even reach them a gold feathered wing shielded the Rangers. Robert looked up and blinked as he saw a mare with a red and yellow streaked mane-style. His eyes widened. “No… It can’t be.” “You… Get the Tartarus away from my team.” Sunset Shimmer snarled out. (To Be Continued) Author's Note Okay, so we are back and what a way to bring things back I say! First things first, Robert WILL NOT be morphing into the Solaris Knight. Those powers aren't reserved for him. Now, as the villains have split into four groups, I think it's probably best to explain each group's motivation. Retinax: Wants to take over as the Master Org and rule the Earth. Thrax: Wants to continue Master Vile's legacy of ruling entire galaxies. Solar Flare: Wants to exterminate any and all traces of humankind. Bunglay: Couldn't care less about any of the other villains or what they want. Just want's Robert's dead body for the money it'll bring him. Finally, a good friend of mine on here, CaioCalo was nice enough to do this vector of Daring as the Aqua Ranger and he's got artwork of Robert in costume on the way as well. Give him a shout, eh? http://caiocoia.deviantart.com/art/Request-bricklayer-685368041?ga_submit_new=10%3A1496977770 Next time: Burning Bright!
Part 31: Burning Bright (A Golden Homecoming Part 2)Author's Note Okay, first off I know you were probably expecting a much longer wait on this one, and Hell even I was expecting it to take longer to write but that's how things are I guess. Besides, look at the bright side, you won't have to wait for weeks on end for the conclusion to this cliffhanger I left y'all on. Angelic, you were right on one thing. Sunset is definitely back for good and she is ROYALLY pissed off. Edits: Swapped out and edited out some of the music in this chapter. Part 31: Burning Bright (A Golden Homecoming Part 2) “S-Sunset… Is… Is that really y-you?” Sunburst asked, not even daring to hope as he picked himself off the ground. With a shout of pain, he then fell back into the dirt clutching his ribs in pain. Sunset turned back to look at him, and smiled. Navi hovered over her creator in concern. “Yes, it’s really me,” Sunset replied, her voice sounding almost angelic as her Phoenix Blade manifested in her left hand as it began flaming into existence. She sighed as she examined her hospital gown. “I’m back and here to stay.” “Wish I was better dressed for the occasion, but can’t really be choosy right now I suppose.” Sunset mused. She strode forwards drawing her Crystal Saber into her other hand and her wings spread and expanded out to their full length, embers licking at their feathers. With an angry look towards Goldar, she pointed her Phoenix Blade at him. “Now, let me ask you a simple question. You don’t need to answer that as I’ll do it for you. First thing when I got out of the hospital was check on my team, see how they were doing I thought to myself. Sure, I’m doing that right now, but what do I find?” Sunset asked, her horn beginning to glow with an angry green tinge to it. “You hanging over them like the great winged baboon you are and them nearly dead, and you know what that makes me? Really, really PISSED off.” With that, Sunset threw both her Crystal Saber and Phoenix Blade at Goldar like boomerangs and he knocked them away with two swings of his sword. He was then soundly roundhouse kicked in the face by Sunset who rebounded off of him and landed on the ground with a soft thud. Goldar fired some fireballs at Sunset, but she created two rotating hard light shields of rune-inscribed magic and deflected them again and again simply continuing to stride forwards. As she did so, she picked up her weapons off the ground and slashed downwards at Goldar who blocked the blades with his own. He chuckled. “Guardian angel or not, fancy swordplay and magic won’t be enough to save you,” Goldar said as he whirled around and tried to use his tail to trip up Sunset but she leaped upwards and kicked the baboon-like monster in his chest plate sending him staggering back. Goldar swung again and his blade met Sunset’s own, sparks flying as metal ground up against metal. Sword met sword, again and again, each fighter closing in and drawing back each time they thought they had an opening but each time sword met sword. “Face it, this time you’re out-matched.” “Oh, but I’m done holding back. Just this once, I’ll let you see my true power. Every time I go into a fight, I have to think, is this the one? Is this the one who’ll let me show off just how powerful I really am and not have to worry about others getting in the way? Well, now I have my answer. This time… I can cut loose and show you just what you’re getting into when you pick a fight with a Princess of Equestria.” Sunset replied, standing firm even in the face of complete and utter power. She impaled her sword and dagger in a nearby piece of rubble and pulled out her Growl Phone. “Legendary Wild Access, HA!” (Morphing Sequence) Sunset rocketed upwards into the sky flying through several spell seals in the process each time gaining a piece of her costume in the process before finally her helmet formed over her head with the screech of a bird before she rocketed downwards and landed on the ground with a mighty thud. (Morphing Sequence Ends Here) “With a Virtuous Heart, Blazing Phoenix!” Sunset called, picking her Phoenix Blade back up and sent an arc of flame towards Goldar who canceled it out with a slew of fireballs. Sunset smirked and then sent a beam of light green magic towards Goldar hitting him right in the chest. Next, she slammed her fist to the ground cracking it and creating a small crevice in the street that rapidly approached Goldar, who flew upwards to avoid it and then flew downwards towards Sunset who threw a kick at him. Goldar snarled as he caught it and threw Sunset into a pie cart. She as they both recovered, raised her sword again. She ran towards Goldar, a miniature version of her Phoenix Zord appearing alongside her and changing itself into her Savage Cycle. Sunset nodded knowing what the Zord wanted and leaped onto the high-powered motorbike and rammed Goldar, his claws clutching onto the bike’s front. “Let me off!” He snarled in rage. Sunset smiled sheepishly under her helmet. “Oh, is that all you want? Must have mistaken your intentions. Though you wanted to go for a little ride, my bad.” With that, she fired lasers from the phoenix shaped head that made up part of the bike and Goldar was sent flying off before his clawed feet grabbed onto the dirt below him. Sunset screeched to a halt and climbed off the bike. “Had enough?” She asked. Goldar only laughed before he slammed the tip of his sword into the ground sending a barrage of small explosions towards Sunset, the last essentially making the ground erupt in a column of flame around her. Goldar smirked, but his smile was soon to fade. The Gold Ranger emerged from the flames unharmed and rocketed towards him with the speed of a bullet. She grabbed him in a hold before flying upwards and throwing him upwards into the clouds above Equestria with her Earth Pony strength. The two took the battle to the sky, slashing at each other again and again getting their licks in and becoming flashes of gold in the sky. Next thing anybody heard, a loud thunderclap as Sunset broke the sound barrier in a flash of flame and body-slammed herself into Goldar shattering his chest plate’s head adornment clean off. Goldar growled out in anger before swinging his sword and slashing Sunset across the chest. She let out a yell of pain but grabbed him by the shoulder with her free hand and flipped around behind him and kicked him in the spine. Goldar whirled around in fury before he wrapped his arms around Sunset’s waist and they both rocketed towards the ground spinning like a drill. Sunset slashed at his face with her suit’s claws. Next, all anybody could see and hear was a powerful thud and a cloud of dust rising as the shockwave of the two powerful warriors hitting the ground and obscuring everyone's vision. Vapor coughed and wheezed from the dust. “W-What happened?” She asked, narrowing her eyes as she searched the cloud for any signs of the two. “Can’t… Can’t see a thing.” “Come on Sunset…” Lightning thought as she wiped away blood from her lip. Then, the dust faded, allowing the other Rangers to see both Sunset and Goldar in a crater, armor and costumes ripped, both clutching their chests as blood leaked out in various places. Both slowly picked themselves off the ground and went for their blades. “So… Even nearly defeated you still choose to fight. How foolish you are, little pony,” Goldar laughed, the only reason he was still standing being a combination of Thrax’s magic and Scorch’s leftover Rinzin Power. “Well, I must give you credit for that at least. A warrior who chooses to continue to fight long after being defeated is worthy of a swift death. And I shall grant you that.” “Go to Tartarus.” Sunset snarled as she slowly stepped forwards, still holding onto her blade weak as she was. “Sorry, but I don’t think that’ll be happening.” Goldar retorted, his blade glowing with purple energy and poised to strike. He swung but the blow did not reach Sunset. Instead, it was caught as a nearly blinding flash of white light filled the area… Back in the Crystal Empire: Meanwhile, back with Shining and company the battle continued to rage. Shining sliced down a Putty by chopping off it’s legs while Daring kicked a Putrid in the face before re-morphing with a shout of “Unleash the Power!” as she fired her Dino Morpher skywards. The manifested head came down and with a chomping sound, she was back in costume. She went for her whip again to take down some Putties much like she had before before a golden boomerang of energy did that for her while a purple blur cut through a hoard of Putrids. Zen-Aku smirked as he put away his dagger and let his Crescent Blade fly back into his paws. “Not even worth my time.” He sighed before turning his head to Daring and tilting it in a inquisitive way. “Odd, nobody seemed fit to inform me of yet another Ranger.” He remarked dryly, almost sounding offended if it was possible for him. Daring honestly couldn’t tell from his tone of voice. “Yeah, I’m new in town, least in the Ranger business.” Daring remarked. Zen-Aku looked towards Shining. “Zen-Aku, meet Daring. Daring, meet Zen-Aku, world’s worst Duke Org.” He replied, quickly making the introductions as he sliced away at another Putrid. “Much prefer treasure hunter extraordinaire but I given time is short I suppose that’ll have to do.” Daring quipped. Just then, Retinax snarled when he saw his traitorous fellow Org and with a squelching sound that made everybody wince, he pulled yet another axe exactly like his first out of his leg. “Oh, that is so wrong in so many ways…” Daring muttered, forcing the bile back down her throat. “So, what’s the situation here?” Zen-Aku asked as he and Shining locked weapons with Retinax. “Long story short, my best guess is Thrax wants to cement his power. Having this place under his control would do that and force down moral as well throughout Equestria.” Shining explained as the weapons ground against each other. Retinax could only chuckle. “What’s so funny?” Shining asked and Retinax broke out into full out laughter. “Oh, you haven’t figured it out yet have you? This place… It reflects love and light all over Equestria, yes. But what do you think happens when hatred and fear, the things that revived us in the first place, take hold?” He asked. Shining’s eyes widened under his helmet as he realized. “This place… It’ll become like heaven for Orgs. I can’t let that happen.” Shining thought before changing his Magna Blade to its Riot Blaster mode and shooting Retinax point blank making him stagger back. “Very good, fighting dirty… I like it. But I doubt that’ll help you with this lot!” Retinax laughed as a bunch of Putties made from pure solid crystal advance, gleaming and glittering in the moonlight. “Oh boy…” Daring muttered. She needn’t have worried though, as there was a loud snarl and the Jaguar Zord jumped down from a mountain and ripped the Putties to shreds with it’s claws. “Okay… How many invites were sent to this?” Shining muttered to himself. “I’ve been keeping an eye on this place Shining Armor, under Animus’s direct orders,” The Jaguar Zord explained. Shining stared at him in bewilderment. “What, never seen a Zord talk back to you before?” The Zord’s snarls came out almost laughter like, if that were possible. Nearby, Retinax growled and took out that last of Thrax’s grenades and pulled the pin. Shining sighed as the Org General towered above him. “Just when I thought he’d learned his lesson first go around…” He thought before shouting “Torozord, charge!” With a bellow, the gigantic bull based Zord charged forwards and rammed Retinax with his horns sending him flying out of the Empire’s boundaries and into the icy snow beyond. “And stay out!” Shining yelled before he shouted “Magna Defender, transform!” and let the Torozord enlarge him and upgrade his armor. Zen-Aku turned to Daring. “Best you stay out of this. This is a personal score.” He told her and Daring nodded. “Yeah, I know a thing or two about those types of things…” As Shining leaped into the Torozord as it stood up, he pulled out the kunai daggers and combined them into a lance. “Defender Torozord, Lightning Spin!” The Torozord went into a tornado like spin, becoming charged with lightning in the process and slashed right through Retinax’s torso. He staggered back in pain. He grimaced, knowing the tide had been turned against him for the worse. Shining, he could handle and that lowly Duke Org Zen-Aku probably as well. But adding another Ranger with a probable Zord at her beck and call plus one of Animus’s guardians made things that much more complicated. “Another day, Defender… Another day.” He growled out before teleporting as the Torozord and Shining raised the lance to the sky in triumph. Suddenly, Zen-Aku seemed to stagger almost as if in pain. He clutched his head and grunted as if he’d been struck by a powerful blow. “What’s wrong?” Daring asked, quite concerned. “A… A vision. I have to get back to Ponyville, fast!” Zen-Aku said quickly before becoming a blur and leaping away into the night. “Animus, I hope you’re wrong about what you just sent me…” Elsewhere: Back in Ponyville, the next thing anybody saw was Princess Shayla in her true form, her own Crystal Saber, resembling a flute with an Animal Crystal implanted in it blocking the blade strike. “You shall go no further, beast.” Shayla declared and kicked Goldar in the face making him stagger back. Shayla then ran towards Sunset, helping to support her. Goldar snarled. “Insolent Princess!” He roared. “Oh, I do believe that’s in the job description,” Shayla remarked coyly. “We do have a right to interfere with the doings of beasts like you whenever we feel like it.” “I… I don’t believe it. Princess Shayla’s… human?” Lightning though, jaw hanging open in disbelief. Then she felt all of her wounds healing and strength returning as a green glow encompassed the area. She looked up to see the adult Soul Bird perched on a rooftop and Princess Shayla playing her Crystal Flute. Robert smirked as he staggered to his feet and clutched his morpher. “Rangers, you know what to do.” She said before vanishing. She knew they could beat Goldar now that they were all back together again. She had faith in them. Robert nodded at the Princess as he and his fellows ran up to Sunset. Then, the Princess of Empathy gave him an inquisitive look. “What happened to your trenchcoat?” “Got torched.” Robert replied simply. Sunset raised an eyebrow. “...Although I was not the one to do it,” He quickly stated before mumbling quietly to himself “Though I probably would have eventually given the chance…” Sunset sighed at him, and he and her shared a nod. “Time for round two. Sa… Hade ni ikuze!” Sunset exclaimed. (Morphing Sequences) Standing on a rocky desert plateau as storm clouds rumbled and lightning flashed in the background, Lightning gained an aqua colored costume with the same diagonal tooth marks across her chest as Sunset’s. Her Cutie Mark of a yellow lightning bolt with stars appeared on her right breast. A helmet similar in design to Sunset's appeared on her head, with the sound similar to that of a falcon's call. On a beach, a tidal wave washed over Vapor Trail and she gained a purple costume similar in design to the others with her Cutie Mark of a comet on her left breast as well. The tooth marks on the opposite side of her chest appeared and a sperm whale themed helmet formed over her head with the noise of a deep sea beast's hum. In a dark barely moonlit orchard of apple trees, clouds of black smoke surrounded Sunburst. He gained a black costume with his Cutie Mark of an orange sun with bursting yellow rays on his left breast just like Vapor Trail's costume. Also like Vapor's the tooth marks appeared on the right side of his chest with a bat-themed helmet much like the Jungle Fury Bat Spirit Ranger's appearing around his head along with a loud bat screech sound. A flash of pure blue flames enveloped Robert as he stood in one of the red gate lined pathways that led up to Inari’s sacred shrine on Mt. Inari. He was given an orange form-fitting costume with tooth marks going diagonally across the left side of his chest and a golden fox’s head on his right breast. Then, a cape flamed into existence and a misty orange nine tailed fox bit down on Robert’s head and formed his helmet. (Morphing Sequences End Here) “Lightning Speed! Ferocious Thunderbird!” “Cunning Wit! Fighting Fox!” “Great Strength! Monstrous Leviathan!” “Shadowed Intent! Vampire Bat!” Sunset placed a hand on her Cutie Mark emblem and clutched at it before projecting an image of a lion roaring behind her. “Guardians of the Earth, united we roar! Power Rangers, Wild Force!” She called as multicolored explosions came from behind the group of five heroes. Then there was a slow clapping as Thrax materialized into existence with a swirl of red smoke. “Oh, very nice. So the little Phoenix rises from the ashes and she’s got her friends beside her once more,” Thrax taunted as he pulled out his mother’s wand and dragged the tip of it along the ground. Rocks, rubble and whatever else he could think up combined into stone golems much like the ones in the Crystal Empire. “But meet mine.” With Zen-Aku The Wolf of the Night ran through a realm of shadows and darkness, creatures howling and moaning around him. He knew where he was, and he knew the risks of taking this particular means of transport but it was the only way to prevent what he had just seen. The Animaria Guardian Megazord had fallen, all systems in the red and one limb detached as what looked to be a dark cyan elephant’s head and silver trunk lay beside it like a sword and shield. Ponyville was engulfed in flames as titanic sized versions of Thrax and Goldar advanced towards it. Their weapons crackled with dark energy. Inside the cockpit, the Rangers lay beside their consoles as the interior sparked with some of the consoles themselves in flames. “We’ve… We’ve… Got to keep fighting!” Vapor said reaching for her console before she let out a yell of pain and clutched her ribs. Goldar chuckled, and together he and Thrax crossed their weapons before firing a blast of energy at the Megazord. Then, the combination of energies meeting together and the power core overloading engulfed Ponyville in a mushroom cloud of magical energy. But it wasn’t over yet, the resulting shock-wave flattening any buildings who weren’t at the epicenter. From her castle, Princess Luna rushed out onto the balcony and saw the explosion and let a tear slip from her eye as she whispered “No…” and saw Thrax and Goldar turn their attentions to Canterlot. She knew they were coming, and there was nothing she nor anypony else could do to stop them now... Zen-Aku let out a snarl of fury as he pressed on. The dangers of crossing the Shadow Line could wait. He could not let this future come to pass, he would not let it. “Vap-No, all of you, I won’t let you down. The loyalty of a wolf is forever. I promised you all that, and I keep my promises. I promised Merrick I would never let the Earth fall to darkness when he passed, and I intend to keep that promise as well.” But what he didn’t notice was as he passed through the folds of darkness that made up the dimension known as the Shadow Line were two lamp like eyes attached to a skull like face smirk and turn away humming “I’ll deliver a coffin, one just for them to enter. They don’t need to pay, all I need in exchange is their lives…” If Zen-Aku, on the other hand, did notice this figure, he paid it no mind. He could worry about potential leaks from this world to his own later. Right now all he needed to worry about was Thrax and Goldar. That was his only concern. Ponyville: Thrax smirked as Goldar’s wounds healed and armor repaired itself thanks to more of Scorch’s Rinzin power and he stood alongside the Putties. “How many of those damn things does he need?” Lightning gasped in disbelief. “Must be overcompensating for something,” Robert deadpanned as he pulled out his Kitsune Blaster and spun it in his hands. “Seems he intends to make as much a show of things as we do. "Let’s get to it.” But, as the team quickly found, beating the Putties was easier said than done. As Shining had already found out, they could take whatever punishment the Rangers could deal put. Sunset tried slashing at them, sword encased in flames but was simply swatted aside into a carrot stall. She growled out and body slammed one Putty at high speed, but it grabbed ahold of her with a surprising reaction time and tossed her backwards. Sunset unfolded her wings and skidded along the cobblestone pavement and gritted her teeth. Thrax fired red lightning at her from his wand and Sunset just barely held it back with her Crystal Saber. “Not so tough now, are you Gold Ranger? Where’s your boasts, your bravado?” Thrax asked sarcastically as he continued to advance. He swung his mother’s Wand at Sunset but she blocked it with her Phoenix Blade. All the while, she was using her Crystal Saber to block a blade strike from Goldar who had come up from behind. Sunset smirked under her helmet and took to the skies the sheer shock-wave from her sudden flight making the two take few steps back. Nearby, Lightning severed off two Putties’ limbs with her whips but pieces of cobblestone quickly fixed that issue. Robert too was having trouble, his shots from his Kitsune Blaster barely making a dent in the golems. “You gotta be kidding me… There’s overboard and then there’s this!” Robert thought frantically. “Scheisse, scheisse and more scheisse!” Robert then tried to use his animal spirit but the Putty simply swatted it out of existence with a swipe of his palm. Then, he saw Vapor knock a Putty off it’s feet and send it toppling to the ground. Vapor punched the air in victory before she did the same to another Putty. “Top heavy… That’s it! They simply can’t hold their own weight!” Robert realized before breaking into a sprint towards a squad of Putties and Lightning stared at him in shock. “What, are you crazy?” She yelled in shock. “Just watch me Lightning-Bitch, just watch me!” Robert retorted before sliding along the ground and tripping up a Putty sending it toppling over to the ground and reducing it to rubble. Lightning smirked as she realized what Robert and Vapor had figured out, before lashing out with her whips and taking out two Putties much like Daring had done only a little while before. “Nun lassen Sie uns dies schnell getan, nicht wahr?” Robert asked. “Bloody well got more important things to do than just deal with clay soldiers. Alright Goldar, you plonker, time to see what you got.” Robert kicked his Blaster to Sunset who caught it in her hands. She put her own Crystal Saber into the slot and smirked. Still smirking, she aimed the weapon at the last of the Putties. “Phoenix Blast!” She exclaimed before unleashing a blast of fire which formed into a Firebird manifestation which let out a screech and completely blazed through the last of the golems destroying them utterly. “Very well…” Thrax growled. “Looks like we’ll have to handle things ourselves! Magic Wand, make me and my Goldar grow!” Thrax slammed the tip of his wand into the ground and with an explosion of energy, the two towered over Ponyville. The group of five regrouped and put their Crystal Sabers together in a star formation and for the first time in what felt like months, shouted together: “Wild Zords, descend!” As they ran from the Animarium atop a Rainbow Bridge and the combination sequence started the Phoenix screeched in happiness as she saw Sunset. Her friend and partner had returned. “Alright you bastard,” Robert told the Kitsune Zord firmly. “No cocking about here. We can’t just charge headfirst into things like we usually do. Goldar’s bad enough, but the Master Org…” “Bah! Shut up, you whelp. I do things like I want to, and that’s that. But in this case, and this case only, I’ll listen. No other time, understand?” The King of Foxes growled out. With shifting and whirring sounds, the Leviathan Zord split in half and it’s head and jaw folded open to become feet and the tail split open at the back as the Kitsune Zord’s back legs folded up into it’s chest and excess metal in it’s chest detached to form twin katanas and it’s head folded downwards to become a chestplate as it’s front legs detached with hisses of steam with the wings of both the Phoenix and Thunderbird Zords detaching as the tail feathers sprouted clawed hands and both Legendary Bird Zords became the arms, the Phoenix sprouting the kanji for fire on it’s winged shoulder pad and the Thunderbird, the kanji for lightning on it's own. A tusked head popped up from the Kitsune Zord’s neck, and the Vampire Bat Zord, wings detaching as it clanged onto the back of the Megazord and it’s head moved upwards and became the helmet. “Don’t think that’s going to be enough for these two, much as I like this combination we need something more…” Sunset stated as she placed her Saber onto its respective console. “Please tell me you rising from the ashes comes with some sort of benefit? New Zord, possibly a Battlizer maybe?” Robert asked, half-sarcastic and half-hopeful. Sunset simply smiled at him and swapped her Phoenix Crystal out for the Elephant’s. “Time to address the Elephants in the room, so to speak.” She joked. With a trumpeting sound almost like a war cry, the Elephant Zord stampeded onto the battlefield before it’s trunk straightened out and became taut. Then, it split in half right down the middle with the entire head becoming a shield and the rest of it becoming a giant sword. “Animaria Guardian Megazord: Sword and Shield Mode!” Sunset exclaimed. The Megazord blocked a blow from Goldar’s sword with the Elephant Shield before getting in a blow with the sword but Thrax sent the Zord staggering back with a blast of dark magic from his palm. Goldar’s chest armor orb glowed and Robert’s eyes widened. “Here we go again…” He muttered. “Brace yourselves!” The blast hit them at full force sending the Megazord far out of Ponyville and back into the Everfree and knocking it to the ground. The earth shook from the sheer force of the fall, but slowly but surely with the sound of metal groaning the Animaria Guardian Megazord regained its footing. It then picked up the fallen sword and shield. “So, back for more hmm?” Thrax chuckled. “Goldar, hit them again!” Goldar fired again, but before he could hit his target another beam blasted his own out of existence. The Predazord had arrived, Gator Staff in hand. “Now, this is an even fight.” Zen-Aku snarled as the two powerful titans stood together. “Thought you were busy in the Crystal Empire?” Vapor questioned. “Things there have been handled.” The Duke Org replied simply as the Predazord turned to look at its counterpart. “Besides, I was… concerned.” Sunset gave Robert another questioning look. “Thrax.” He answered simply. “Sent Retinax off to the Empire, while we got to deal with his new playmate. Wunderbarer day we’re having, isn’t it?” He asked sarcastically. “Can we just stop talking and send these two packing already?” Lightning complained, throwing her hands up in the air. “Yes, I agree with the Aqua Ranger. There is a time for words…” Zen-Aku trailed off letting Sunset finish the sentence. “And a time for action,” She stated before turning to Robert. “Hey… You know that new Zord you jokingly suggested? Well…” Sunset found herself in a great white expanse. She looked around, seeing nothing but white and sighed as she walked forwards seeing nothing better to do. Eventually, she came to a temple, Greek or Roman in fashion with a great throne. Atop it sat the Mystic Mother. Sunset blanched in shock before bowing. The Mystic Mother simply chuckled. “No need to bow, Gold Ranger. We’re both friends and fellow Goddesses in a sense are we not?” She asked. “Where… Where am I?” Sunset asked. “There isn’t any real proper answer, not that I can put into words you would be able to understand,” The Mystic Mother answered cryptically before showing an image of Sunset’s body lying in the hospital bed. “Time is limited. You are needed, but I cannot send you back to face the coming fire in good conscience without a measure of protection.” “Just put it in regular Equestrian, please.” Sunset sighed. “My son, he’s given me quite the headache really. Why Zedd and I ever thought having children was a good idea is beyond me. And now, he’s given an old friend of mine life once more, with far more power than anyone ever should be given.” Sunset crossed her arms. “Look skywards Sunset Shimmer, and behold what I have granted to you.” She did, and her eyes widened as twisting and writhing around a miniature sun was what could only be described as a great serpent. “Now Sunset, I grant you the power of Thunder. Use it well, and use it wisely. And may the power protect you.” “Red Dragon Thunderzord Power!” Sunset yelled and the clouds boiled over as thunder cracked and lightning split the sky open in a display of color as a familiar roar pierced the heavens. Goldar actually took a step back in fear and Robert’s eyes widened as they both knew that sound. But it simply couldn’t be. However, they were both proven wrong as a red Asian style dragon emerged from the clouds and breathed fire at both Thrax and Goldar catching them off-guard. It let out another roar as it’s tail and neck folded upwards with the head detaching. Both the front and back legs combined to form arms as the head reattached to the chest a more humanoid like one now visible. The Red Dragon in Warrior Mode gripped a long red staff and began spinning one of it’s hands 360 degrees sending embers towards both Thrax and Goldar. “Very well, I can see this battle is lost for now. But the war, it’s far from over.” Thrax mused before teleporting away. “Seems your boss left you to die alone, Goldilocks!” Robert laughed. “Nonsense! He simply gave me the glory of destroying you all myself!” Goldar roared as he charged towards the trio of Zords and swung his sword with the Red Dragon blocking his every blow with it’s staff. “Our turn. Pachyderm Crusher!” Sunset shouted and the Animaria Guardian Megazord raised the Elephant Zord above its head, the trunk becoming loose again. It was then brought down in a crushing attack, shattering Goldar’s sword in two. “I have an idea, Rangers! Restrain him!” Zen-Aku shouted, and both Megazords grabbed ahold of Goldar by an arm. Zen-Aku smirked. “Predator Wave!” He roared and fired a piercing beam right through Goldar’s chest punching a hole right through it and the titan fell down and went up in a huge explosion. Robert’s eyes widened at what they had just done. Had… Had they just killed Goldar, something not even the original team could boast about? Recovering from his shock, Robert let out a breath he hadn't realized he hadn't been holding. Meanwhile, Sunset commanded both the Guardian Megazord and the Red Dragon Zord to walk towards each other and fist bump. Meanwhile, Zen-Aku frowned. That was too easy, much too easy. Something was wrong and he knew it… End…?
Part 32: UnstoppableSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Part 33: Re-adjustingAuthor's Note Okay, this was what I was really working on after chapter 31, not that small little interlude with the Robert/Sunset fluff and the PR version of the Super Sentai hand-off. Hope you enjoy it. (Also, huge thanks to the RoyalBardofCanterlot for letting me use his interpretation of a certain character.) In other news, I recently had this drawn for me, hope you enjoy it as much as I did looking at it. Part 33: Re-adjusting Sweet Apple Acres: Apple Family Home All was quiet over the farmlands that made up the large orchard of Sweet Apple Acres as the sun rose for the first time in the new year of 5037 (Human Calendar) which needless to say after humanity’s destruction no longer existed in the traditional form. Instead, it had been replaced with something else at Solar Flare’s insistence, the New Equestria Calendar. That would make it be 2027E/1007 AFM. Anyways, the sun shone down over the snow-covered hills and apple trees and traveling down onto Ponyville and the pine covered hills and mountainsides of the Hundred-Mile Wilderness/Everfree Forest surrounding the sleepy little hamlet. In a guest bedroom on the top floor of the homestead that the Apple Clan resided in slept Robert Williams. This was after Applejack had offered to take him in for the night as an apology for nearly shooting him to pieces with her dad’s shotgun a few weeks back. At about then, the alarm clock, set to 7:00 exactly rang and Robert threw off the heavy covers and sheets that he’d been bundled up in. Out of sheer annoyance and distaste for the sound, the alarm clock soundly found itself booted out a window and it smashed into the ground below. “Note to self, use the phone instead of alarm clocks. Least that way you’ll wake up to a sound you’ll like,” Robert mused in his half-awake mind. “Even if said sound would be classified as racy and quite rude by anyone else’s standards. Like I care one jot. It’s funny besides.” Robert chuckled at what happened when Sky first heard the rather orgasmic sound his phone made whenever it woke its owner up. Needless to say, he wasn’t pleased with Robert at all and this was one of the many things that had started Sky’s long quest to get Robert kicked out of SPD. The man in question chuckled at the thought of what the rather traditional Apple Family would think if they heard his phone’s wake up call. “You have a natural talent for pissing people off, don’t you?” The Kitsune Zord’s voice rumbled in his mind, shocking Robert wide awake as he slowly made his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth. “What the HELL? Seriously, you couldn’t call at a better time… Like, say, never? And for that matter, since when could you call me?” Robert yelled back. “Since you woke me up, you baka. Robert-Hime, you of all people should know that I’m a troll. Why do you think we work so well together?” The Zord chirped. Robert tried to ignore him as he brushed his teeth in a more aggressive manner than needed, but found it practically impossible. “Not how it looked to me, arsehole,” Robert snarked. “Last I checked, the status quo was I hate you, you hate me. Bet the other Wild Zords don’t have this many arguments with their partners.” “No, they don’t. Mind you, they probably don’t have my lovely personality so everyone gets along great.” The King of Foxes snarked back. “Oh, so you admit you’re a pain in the neck to deal with?” Robert sneered as he spat out his toothpaste. “You act like someone who’s gone through a bad marriage half the time. ...Wait, were you married to the Phoenix somehow? Wouldn’t be shocked at all if she divorced you or you two had a mutant Zord kid running amuck somehow.” Robert smirked at the image that conjured up, a fox/bird hybrid running wild through a high-tech city in the sky, with an airship chasing after it broadside and port side cannons firing away. Robert chuckled to himself. He honestly didn’t know if he’d watched too much Gokaigers or played too much Bioshock: Infinite. Actually, now that he thought about it, it sounded like the plot to a really bad cheesy B-Movie. “I’ll have you know any kid of mine, if I had one, would be quite handsome. Besides, I wouldn’t marry that old bird even if you forced me.” The Kitsune Zord snapped and Robert simply rolled his eyes. “Alright, spit it out, what do you really want from me?” Robert asked, knowing the Kitsune Zord was beating around the bush. “I doubt you’d call me at this hour just in a rather pathetic attempt to drive me into a barking, dribbling mess of a mental case ripe for Broadmoor.” “Okay, okay, you caught me. You’re not as dumb as you look. Just summon me down from the Animarium, let me burn Princess Genocide’s castle to a crisp.” The Zord growled, fury in his every word. “Much as I’d love to see you finally shut up, I’m not letting Solar Flare burn you to ashes. So, there, I’m not granting your suicidal death wish. I really would rather have a Zord, albeit an annoying one, to form a Megazord with.” Just then, Applejack knocked on the door. “Ya almost done in there sugarcube? Taking an awfully long time to just brush your teeth.” AJ’s voice remarked. “Oh, I’m fine,” Robert drawled in a sarcastic tone. “Just thinking of where that shotgun of yours might be so I can shoot myself with it and deprive myself of a certain annoying voice in my head.” Understandably, Applejack’s only response was to just tell him to come down for breakfast when he was good and ready and left him alone after that. Elsewhere, atop one of Ponyville’s hillsides was Sunset Shimmer. She was currently going through various Tai Chi stances in the Sun Style, dressed simply in traditional Chinese training cloth and sandals. It wasn’t exactly ideal for the cold weather of January, but in all the books and scrolls she’d looked up on the subject, this was the attire generally recommended for t'ai chi ch'uan. As she went through her stances, she felt at peace, which was the original reasoning for why she had chosen to study the art. She had first started studying at an early age, back before she had stolen the corrupted Solar Cell Morpher. At that time, it was to help her focus her mind on her studies even if she had dismissed it as useless at first. But now, Sunset just used it to keep her temper under control and to prevent herself from losing sight of her goals. How did she gain access to the scrolls and books needed to learn Tai Chi, you might ask when it was presumably wiped out long ago with the rest of humanity’s arts and culture? Well, on a bout of curiosity while exploring Canterlot Castle, she had accidentally stumbled across a locked door with high-level magical seals guarding it. Sunset, still in her wanting to prove she was worthy of becoming an alicorn, studied for day and night on the spells required to break the seals, as she knew (Or at least thought) whatever was behind that door had to be exceptionally powerful magic worthy of her abilities and status as Celestia’s personal student. The Sun style is a syncretic martial art, influenced by various styles, including t'ai chi ch'uan, xingyiquan and baguazhang. One of the styles of t'ai chi ch'uan influencing the Sun style is Wu. The footwork of both styles are similar in that when one hoof advances or retreats, the other hoof would follow. The Sun style also happened to exhibit small circular movements with the hands. As she went through her stances, Sunset held out the Animal Crystal representing the Elephant and thought to herself as she gripped it tightly in her palm. “Never thought I’d ever say this again, but thank you, mom,” Sunset silently thought. “I still don’t forgive you for the way our family ended up, nor dad, but I… No, we wouldn’t have won the last battle without this family trinket of yours. Don’t know how you ended up with an Animal Crystal, but… Thank you.” Sunset chuckled to herself as she remembered that her favorite stuffed toy growing up was an elephant. She also remembered that her mother often said (When she wasn’t completely drunk) that Elephants, wise as they were, never forgot anything and were always empathic to anyone’s troubles. They, in her words, were the true kings of the jungle, not the Lion. “Just wished I’d listened to your advice mom, maybe then things wouldn’t have turned out the way they did between me and Celestia,” Sunset thought, a tear rolling down her face before she quickly wiped it away. No, she couldn’t let anyone see her like this. A Princess, they had to be strong, resolute. They couldn’t cry, not even in private. They couldn’t let their emotions dictate their actions. “So… So why am I letting them get to me?” Sunset asked herself. She looked towards the sky, hoping for an answer. And she got one. “It’s because nopony is truly emotionless,” The Phoenix Zord’s voice said kindly in her head. “Not even you. You’ve blocked yourself off from all but your key emotions for so long, that’s why you find this strange now.” “B-But I’m a Princess! I’m not supposed to let my subjects see me as a normal pony, it would ruin the image of us being infallible!” The Phoenix simply chuckled to herself. “That, Sunset, is something you’ll have to change. I can’t offer you advice on that, as it’s not my place. But I know you’ll get your answer. It’s simply part of you, never to give up until you’ve found whatever answer you’re looking for.” “But where…?” The Zord never answered. Meanwhile, back with Robert, he (Wearing a borrowed thick jacket of Big Mac’s) and Applejack had gone down to a shed not far from the household where Applejack had a surprise for him. As they walked in, Applejack turned to Robert. “Fluttershy… After mah little… Oh, how do Ah put this…?” Applejack trailed off as she pulled the shed doors open with a creaking sound. “Shotgun spree?” Robert offered helpfully. “Yeah… That,” Applejack blushed. ”Anyways, point being, Fluttershy, bless her heart, was kind enough to ask me to keep this for ya.” Applejack then pulled a large tarp off of something, revealing Robert’s prized Mustang underneath. “Dunno if this iron horse of yers works or not, but thought ya might like it.” Robert ran his fingers over the hood and muttered “It’s okay Baby, daddy’s never going to leave you again.” as he patted it affectionately. Applejack stifled a laugh. “Y’all want to be alone or somethin’?” She teased as Robert opened the door and tested every system humming to himself “Here come the Rangers, they’re ready for you…” before he noticed something and his eyes widened. “There’s a cock in my car!” Robert exclaimed and Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?” She asked. “There’s a whut in yer whut?” “I said there’s a cock in my bloody car!” Robert shouted back. “Now, how can that be? Ah doubt somepony gelded a pony and left them… male parts in yer car.” Applejack deadpanned, her cheeks turning a delightful little shade of red and it wasn’t from the cold. Robert was now the one stifling a laugh as he realized the mistake and how things had gotten lost in translation. “Oh, Americans… Mein Gott, I love these types of situations.“ He laughed silently to himself. Next, Applejack saw a rooster promptly thrown out of the side window and into her arms. “Word of advice, keep your cocks where they belong,” Robert said drolly. “That is, with the hens making more little chickens.” “...Oh, ya meant that kind of cock. Mah bad.” Applejack laughed nervously to herself and rubbed the back of her head with a hand. Robert then turned the key and let the engine roar to life as he revved it, the mufflers shaking and vibrating. Pistons pumped as the headlights flickered on to cut through the misty morning fog. Applejack quickly found the rooster running away from the sheer volume and she herself covered her ears never hearing anything like it, at least up this close. Robert let a grin slip onto his face as he let the silver skull themed gear shifter slid forwards. “Time to make some noise.” Carousel Boutique: Ponyville Rarity’s peaceful morning was rather rudely disrupted by the rumbling sound of a certain Fox Ranger’s 4.0 L Cologne SOHC V6 pulling up outside her door. She sighed and implanted her fork in her pancakes along with tightening up her bathrobe a bit more. She at least thanked the Mystic Mother that the person in question (Because really, who else could it be making this much effort to make himself known?) had come at this time of day just when she was about to open up shop. With the sound of a bell ringing as Robert entered the store, he blushed when he realized he could have saved his friendly visit for later on seeing Rarity in her bathrobe and curlers in her mane. “Sorry, so sorry!” Robert apologized profusely. “If… If I had known I would have come later in the day.” “Well, at least he has the decency to apologize.” Rarity thought to herself with a smile. “No, no dearie, it’s no trouble at all,” She lied. “Just let me get myself changed and then we can talk, maybe join me and Zep for breakfast.” “I’d like that,” Robert said politely before bowing, a force of habit he’d learned when he moved to Japan. “Doumo Arigatou gozaimasu.” It wasn’t long before Rarity, her husband and Robert were all sitting down at the kitchen table, with Robert of course not eating anything having joined Applejack for breakfast earlier in the day. “So, I assume you’ve been having a good time in Ponyville as of late? Hopefully, you enjoyed the New Year's Celebration with somepony special.” Zephyr commented as he took a bite of his toast. “Yeah, you seemed to be hitting it off well with that Artemis mare back at Pinkie’s party a few weeks back,” Rarity added. “You were laughing and joking with each other, you made a very cute couple if I must say so for myself.” Robert groaned and muttered, “Please, let’s not talk about her.” Rarity and her husband shared a frown. “Something the matter?” Rarity asked delicately, sensing at once this was a touchy subject. “You didn’t have a bad breakup, did you? Because if that’s true, me, you and Zep can always go to the movies and just forget about her.” “Please, having a bad break-up would mean we even dated in the damn first place,” Robert muttered and Zephyr winced as he realized what must have happened. “Oh, she didn’t…” He trailed off in shock. “I can’t imagine Princess Lu-” He quickly stopped when he realized his mistake. “...Excuse me? Artemis is really Celestia’s sister? You baka ka!” Robert asked before cursing himself, after regaining the power of speech. He slid back in his chair upon realizing he’d fallen for a Princess, Celestia’s sister at that, and all he got out of it was a one night stand as Luna thought he was in love with somepony else. “Which I am not, I should point out,” Robert mentally growled. “I mean, where would she even get that idea?” “Okaaaaayyyy, changing subjects, there’s something I’m curious about,” Rarity questioned, feeling it best to get Robert’s mind away from Luna. “You speak with a mix of a Trottingham and with a teensy hint of a Germanic accent, yet you know Neighponiese words. What’s the story there, if I may be so bold?” Despite knowing what Rarity was doing (He did thank her for that, if not out loud) he answered anyways. “Well, long story short, after an event where a whole armada of aliens invaded the planet and nearly destroyed the town I was living in I figured it best to get the Hell out of Dodge as the Americans say and move somewhere safer,” Robert explained and judged the expressions on Rarity and her husband’s face. They seemed unsurprised that aliens existed. Must to have been either because of “The Doctor” or Thrax. “So, I chose Japan of all places. Course, quickly found out that if you live there, you need to learn both Japanese words and how to write in katakana and such. Adopted by a local family, they took me in and showed me the ropes. I’m ever grateful for that, even if my adoptive uncles are morons of the highest caliber at times.” Rarity nodded with an “Ah. Makes sense.” Robert’s eyes allowed themselves to wander to a mannequin where the ruined jacket he used to wear as part of his SPD uniform sat. Rarity noticed and blushed red in a mix of embarrassment and shame. “Ah… That. The elephant in the room, as it were. I’ve been meaning to get around to that ever since Sunset sent that to me, but with my own orders clogging up my schedule and the weekly monster attacks… Well, I suppose you get the picture.” She admitted. Robert suddenly got an idea, a crazy one, but an idea nonetheless. “You have fabrics and a sewing machine?” Rarity gave him a look. “Right… Stupid question.” It was to both of the shop’s owners shock that they found Robert having the ability to stitch and sew. As it turned out, he explained that in SPD, if you ruined your own uniform, much like in the military, you were expected to repair it. As Robert stitched and sewed away he hummed “Shizuka na hoshi wo torimodosu tame ni sā Get up! Chansu da Wow-wow, jajjimento! Kimeru ze Tokusō Sentai Dekarenjā!” to himself. Neither of them could understand what Robert was singing and the Neighponiese seemed to be off in some spots, (Most likely chalked up to him not being a native speaker) but he seemed to be enjoying himself so both Rarity and Zephyr let it slide. Finally, Robert produced a new version of his jacket, exactly the same as the old but now in orange instead of green. Then, Rarity got an idea of her own. “You know dearie, now that we know you have this hidden talent if you can help me with my workload, I can provide you with room and board, along with an income. Win-Win situation for all of us, I say.” Rarity proposed. Robert smiled gratefully as he zipped up his jacket after tossing his borrowed one aside. “I’d… I’d like that.” He said. Ponyville Police Station: Sunset sighed as she and Twilight walked through the hallways of the police station. She had to do this, learn just exactly why a normally friendly mare like Cloudchaser would just attack her out of the blue in a mob. “Are you sure you’re up for this?” Twilight asked kindly. “I could handle this if you want, or let the Royal Guard deal with this situation.” In all honesty, Twilight thought Sunset should be nowhere near this case, she was far too close to it and she’d had sprouts of temper issues before. So, Twilight’s better judgment was telling her to keep Sunset as far away from this as possible. “No, I have to do this,” Sunset replied. “Have to, or want to?” Twilight asked. Sunset never answered as they reached Cloudchaser’s prison cell. Sunset sat herself down in a chair that she had been provided, sitting right across from what used to be a good friend of hers. “Let’s get right to the point here,” Sunset asked, Twilight watching her every move nervously from the exterior of the cell. “Why… Just why?” “Because that human you so staunchly support, the one I bet you’re going at it with every day and night, he brought this curse on our town! He’s the one who’s responsible for this… All of this!” Cloudchaser shouted and Sunset felt her anger rising. “The monster attacks, everything!” Cloudchaser continued. “Keep yourself calm, controlled.” Sunset thought, remembering her Tai Chi practice before asking calmly: “Is that what you really believe?” Cloudchaser answered with a soft “Yes. He’s dangerous, you might not see it yet, but I did. We all did. That’s why we did it.” Sunset snarled and leaped out of her chair as the Phoenix yelled out her name in shock. Sunset’s hands gripped Cloudchaser’s throat tightly. “You’re… You’re not capable of killing me. You’re… You’re too good a pony for that.” Cloudchaser gasped out, gasping for air as she futilely tried to push Sunset off her. “Ponies change, I learned that from you,” Sunset snarled. Her horn was glowing a bright angry red and her wings had turned into pure flame, filling the room with hellish light and intense heat. “Besides, it’s not me that’s killing you. Yeah, here’s an interesting fact for you. Yes, you’re gasping for air, but it isn’t your lungs that are crying out for oxygen. It’s your brain. That’s what’s dying, that bigoted, foolish brain of yours!” “SUNSET!” Twilight shouted, pulling away her friend with her magic before she could do the deed. Sunset blinked as she realized what she had done, recognizing the terrified look on Cloudchaser’s face. She recoiled in horror. “What… What did I nearly just do?” She asked herself, feeling incredibly sick with herself before she teleported away to parts unknown. Twilight meanwhile collected herself after taking a few calming breaths and turned to a guard. “Lock this scum up.” She snarled, before teleporting away to where she knew the only place Sunset would go at a time like this: The Golden Oaks Library… Elsewhere, in the cold freezing north of the Caribou countries that had once been Alaska, Princess Celestia walked through an icy cavern. This… This was the safest place for her, a place where she couldn’t do damage to anybody or anything. Celestia sighed as she sat down next to some icy crystals, the glow casting a dance of beautiful rainbow colors on the icy ceiling. “You know,” A voice said from behind her. “Whatever it is you’re running from, it’s not going to work.” Celestia turned to look, a hood covering her face and mane. Walking up to her was a brown furred caribou, with truly magnificent antlers and wearing royal garb. Beside him was a grey-furred wolf, aged in years with gleaming yellow eyes. Celestia chuckled, it seemed Dainn still had that beloved wolf of his, Nava, as always. “I know your problem, Celestia, you took me on as a student once when I was being prepared for my kingship,” Dainn Peacefulheart remarked as he sat down next to her. “It wasn’t hard to figure out you had some sort of split personality disorder, it showed whenever you got angry.” “I’m right to run, if you know about my other self, you know the damage she can do,” Celestia said. “Perhaps, but yet you leave your kingdom with only your sister in charge. This cowardice… It isn’t like you.” Dainn pointed out. “She can handle it. She knows how to rule, I taught her well, just as I taught you,” Celestia replied. “Besides, if I go back, I’d be putting everyone in danger. Not just my sister, but everyone.” “Yes, but I also know that if you’ve had the strength to hold off Solar Flare this long, you can hold her off long enough for somepony to figure out a way to stop her. I know your students, they’re brilliant beyond measure. If anypony can do it, it’s them.” “You’re… You’re right.” Celestia mused before chuckling. Dainn raised an eyebrow. “What’s so funny?” He asked. “It’s just… In this case, the student has become the teacher. You’re absolutely right, it’s time for me to buck up and do what I should have done long ago.” Celestia said, throwing her hood back and letting her mane flow free. “And what’s that?” Dainn asked, smirking. “Stop running.”
Part 35: The Real HeroesSomewhere in Ponyville: Sirens blared across Ponyville as a cloud of billowing black smoke rose high into the air from the west side of the small town as orange and red flames lit up and licked at the moonlit sky. Now, your first assumption might be and probably is, Thrax or Bunglay, trying to draw out a certain group of multicolored heroes into a fight with one of them. Well, you’d be wrong. Not in this case actually. What today was… Was just another night on the job for the hardworking stallions and mares of the Ponyville Fire Department. The call had come in at about 3:00 in the morning, when everypony was sound asleep in their beds. It had otherwise been a calm and tranquil night really. But of course, as soon as the first sign of flames appeared in the sky and smoke began to rise, that tranquility was shattered like glass. One stallion coming home from a late night bar crawl possibly, rushed to a callbox and pulled the switch, sending a signal all the way to the Ponyville Fire Station. Everypony there jumped up from their beds, or dropped whatever they were doing and rushed to their vehicles. Coats and helmets were pulled on. Boots were stepped into and breathing equipment was grabbed. Everypony loaded themselves up into a bright red chariot and doors opened as the sirens began to blare. It was a Three Alarm fire, and multiple engine companies were coming all across Ponyville along with various ladder companies, and 3 battalion chiefs among others. As soon as the wagons carrying the brave stallions and mares who laid down their life for Ponyville night and day arrived on the scene, everypony set to work. A black furred stallion, helmet on his head and visor over his muzzle began directing everypony. A bright, almost sunkissed mane lay under that helmet. “Get those hoses hooked up!” His voice boomed as smoke belched out a window of one of the apartments caught in the blaze. His eyes widened as he heard somepony shouting for help, before he turned to a fellow firefighter. “Red, can you handle things from here? I’m going in there.” Chief Rescue Sunstreak said in a tone that left no room for argument as the medical chariots arrived on scene, lights flashing. Nearby, another pony was pulling out a red box and opening it up, extending the antennae attached to the box itself. She pulled out the telephone and began dialing the number to Ponyville Hospital, knowing that they would be receiving ponies in desperate need of medical care. She only hoped Nurse Redheart and her team were up to the task tonight. “Not alone you’re not, not if I have anything to say about it.” A voice remarked as another stallion, sandy colored in fur wearing the same black and yellow coat as everypony else, with rather enormous wings walked up to Sunstreak. The stallion in question found his eyes widening. “Ailan, you’re supposed to be manning the pumper trucks!” Rescue shouted in concern. “Way I see it, this is a two stallion job,” Ailan replied as he put on a oxygen tank and breathing apparatus. “Who knows how many ponies live in that building? One stallion alone isn’t going to be able to get them all out.” “Got a point Chief,” “Red” remarked. “I can take things over with the pumpers. You and Ailan, you got work to do.” Rescue nodded before he pulled out his axe. With a mighty swing the burly stallion chopped down the front door to the apartment block, the two pieces clattering to the front of the doorstep. The two stallions shared a nod. “Let’s go.” Sunstreak stated before the two ponies charged in rushing up stairwells shouting and hoping they’d get a response. Nearby, another chariot with a very long ladder and bucket rolled up. A unicorn stallion levitated a gurney into the top of the bucket as the ladder arm raised itself upwards and extended its boom to a nearby window where Alian gladly took the gurney and unfolded it. Sunstreak kicked down a door and Ailan rushed inside and came back out carrying another pony. He carefully placed him on the gurney and put a breathing mask over his muzzle. He shared a silent nod with Sunstreak as if to say “You go on ahead, I can take things over from here.” Sunstreak nodded as Ailan rushed the gurney back to the window and waiting ladder arm and bucket. Meanwhile, the Chief continued running through building shouting. He heard what sounded like coughing. “Hello, is there anypony in here?” A muffled voice shouted “In here! Help, please!” and coughed from the smoke. Sunstreak’s eyes widened as he kicked down the wooden door and rushed inwards. He kept low to the ground before through the smoke, his eyes spotted a figure. Laying prone to the ground was a young Earth Pony filly, pure blue in coat color with a even darker blue mane. Sunstreak’s arms wrapped around the filly. “I got you, don’t worry.” Sunstreak said in a warm and comforting voice, almost like a father would. “I’m scared…” The filly whispered before letting out a small cough as Sunstreak put a breathing mask over her face. “You know what, I’m going to let you in on a little secret,” Sunstreak said and the filly looked up at him. “I’m scared too, just as I’m scared every time the call goes out. I’m worried for my men, and I’m worried for the ponies who live in this building. But I promise you, nopony’s going to die tonight, not on my watch.” He then looked at the filly. “What’s your name, kiddo?” The filly managed to whisper out “A-Archer.” Sunstreak smiled under his helmet. “Well Archer, you don’t have to be scared. I’m getting you out of here, and that’s a promise.” “P-Pinkie Promise?” Archer asked in fear. Sunstreak nodded. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” He said and Archer smiled. Sunstreak nodded gruffly before he ran out of the room and down a corridor just as a jet of flame forced him and Archer to duck low to avoid it. “What the buck…?” Sunstreak wondered to himself, knowing that couldn’t have been natural. He turned and looked back, and through the smoke he could have sworn he saw a red dragon like figure holding some sort of sharp pronged staff in his claws. Another jet of flame came his and Archer’s way and Sunstreak shouted “Move it!” even as it rushed towards them. The Animarium: Early that next morning, on the floating paradise in the sky that was home to the Guardians of the Earth, the Rangers trained. It had been Vapor’s idea really. She remembered their last battle against Goldar, and how Sunset had only shown up in the nick of time to bail them out. The eyes on his torso-plate lit up before he unleashed a blast of pure purple-orange energy at the Rangers knocking them right out of their Ranger forms. Goldar chuckled as he strode forwards and pulled out his sword, his armored tail flicking back and forth in anticipation. “Your colors may be different than any Power Ranger team I’ve seen, but you’re still just the same as every other… Pathetic.” Goldar remarked as Robert and company picked themselves up off the ground and went for their morphers. “Legendary Wi-” They never even got a chance to finish their morphing sequence before Goldar blasted them with balls of fire. He chuckled as he continued to walk forwards. His sword glowed and he swung it in a triangular formation and yelled out “Prism Slash!” and sent the triangle-shaped attack spiraling towards the Rangers as a final blow but before it could even reach them a gold feathered wing shielded the Rangers. Robert looked up and blinked as he saw a mare with a red and yellow streaked mane-style. His eyes widened. “No… It can’t be.” “You… Get the Tartarus away from my team.” Sunset Shimmer snarled out. So, it was Vapor’s idea to put the team through some hard training. No one had been expecting it. To put things in perspective, it was Vapor Trail, one of the less confident members of the team to put it lightly had asked for everyone to be put through Ranger Boot Camp as it were while Sunset and Daring were away looking for the artifact that would separate the tyrannical Solar Flare and Princess Celestia. So, shock was the only possible result, and quite a bit of shock actually. But when she explained her reasoning, Robert, knowing that he was the most experienced on the team and yet he as well had gotten his arse soundly handed to him on a platter by Goldar readily agreed. So it began. Currently right now, the team was in the middle of a light sparring match. Lightning against Vapor, and Robert against Sunburst. Crystal Saber clanged against Crystal Saber and hoof and fist met hoof and fist. Nearby, Princess Shayla and Navi watched. “Vapor was right, this was exactly what the team needed.” Robert admitted as he blocked a blow from Sunburst with relative ease. “C’mon Sun, put a bit more force into it! The Orgs won’t hold back, so neither should you!” Robert encouraged and soundly earned a kick to the stomach for his troubles that sent him flying back into a tree. Navi held up a sign with one of her wings with the words “Go dad!” written on it. “Suppose I asked for that.” Robert grumbled mentally as he picked himself up off the ground. “Still can’t believe you actually have a talent for stitching,” Sunburst commented as the twosome continued their spar. Robert launched his Kitsune Spirit towards Sunburst, but the older unicorn managed to muster enough magic to blast it out of existence. “We all have our hidden depths I suppose,” Robert remarked. “Still, Rarity knowing I can stitch together outfits may have earned me room and board, but it does have its downsides. I’ve been working overboard putting together mock costumes. Seems spandex has become very popular as of late.” “Gee, wonder why?” Sunburst snarked as he locked blades with Robert, who was in shock. “Wow, did Sunburst just snark at me? Usually I’m the one delivering the deadpan remarks around here. Still, good thing I suppose. Means he’s getting more confident in himself. I was beginning to think some liquid courage was in order with this guy.” Robert thought to himself. “Still, gets the cheques cashed, and I no longer have to spend time up here like a freeloader,” Robert remarked. “I was honestly expecting you to take up housing with Fluttershy, the two of you get along so well, if the letters you are exchanging back and forth are any indication,” Sunburst commented lightly. “Yeah, gotta thank Spike and Princess Twilight for that,” Robert murmured to himself, notably calling Twilight by her royal title for the first time that Sunburst could remember. “But let’s face it, an unmarried mare and me sharing the same household is probably a bad idea for so many reasons.” “I dunno, you could do with a marefriend, given your bad experience with Luna,” Sunburst commented, surprising Robert with both his boldness and that he knew about that little fact in general. “Please, can we not bring that up?” Robert groaned out in exasperation. “Still, I suppose I do owe her and her sister a debt of gratitude for starting to release all of humanity’s old recordings of TV and music and the like to the public, amongst other things. Fluttershy seems quite taken with “All Creatures Great and Small”. Makes great radio drama from what I hear.” Nearby, Vapor and Lightning had taken out their respective weapons and sparred with them. Lightning, her whips, and Vapor, her Trident. Lightning lashed out with the whips, keeping Vapor at bay, but the white furred mare used her Trident like a bo staff and tripped her fellow Wonderbolt up knocking her to the grass. Shayla winced. “Getting a bit out of hand here isn’t it?” The Princess thought to herself in concern as the fighting became more and more aggressive, far exceeding that was needed for a simple spar. Lightning growled as she used her whips to pull Vapor’s weapon away from her before punching her adoptive sister in the face. Navi used one of her wings to shield her eyes and murmured “Ooh, that’s gotta hurt…” to herself. The little mechanical parrot winced at each blow dealt out by the twosome, Vapor constantly using more defensive measures to fend off Lightning’s more aggressive attacks. “Lightning, calm down! This isn’t a real battle, just a spar!” Vapor shouted as she wiped the blood away from her mouth, more than a little worried about Lightning’s newfound aggressiveness. “I’ve… I’ve got to be the best! It’s the only way I’ll earn my dad’s respect!” Lightning shouted as she swung at Vapor, but Robert caught the punch. “Alright, that’s enough. Take five, Lightning.” Robert warned. He was greeted with a snarl of rage and possibly a bit of disgust towards him from Lightning, who teleported away in an aqua flash of light to who-knows-where. Vapor sighed and punched a tree in frustration as she thought “Damn you Wind Rider, damn you.” hanging her head in sadness. Ponyville: Lightning sighed as she teleported into some bushes in the middle of Ponyville Park, taking a quick look around to make sure nopony had seen her. She gritted her teeth and ground them against each other as she zipped up her jacket to protect herself from the cold. “Can’t believe I’m saying this, but that Foxy Man-Whore’s right. So was Vapor. They were right, I was going too far,” Lightning thought. “But… But I want to be the best at everything or at least something I do. The only way my father will ever stop thinking me as the runt of the litter, so to speak.” Lightning’s gaze wandered to a teenage filly, gray in coloring with a silver mane tied in a braided ponytail. She wore glasses and kicked a soccer ball back and forth on a field. On the other end of the field was a stallion, dressed in a nice suit serving as the goalie. Lightning let herself have a wistful smile as the young filly scored a goal. “That’s… That’s the kind of relationship I’d like to have with my father,” Lightning thought as a tear dripped from her eye before she wiped it away. No, she was a tough mare, couldn’t afford to let anypony see her cry. It was right about then, she noticed something. The goalie and the stallion who she thought was the filly’s father looked way too old to be that. Lightning’s breath stopped for a moment, no, it couldn’t what she was thinking. “Lightning, you’re probably overthinking things. Maybe that stallion is her father, and he just adopted the kid.” She mused before her hopes were soundly shattered by the stallion clapping and saying “Good show, young miss!” Lightning’s jaw dropped. This filly’s father couldn’t even afford to spend time out with his kid, and let his butler of all ponies do it instead? Now, she may not have been a mother, but even she could tell that was no way to raise a kid. Lightning’s fists tightened. “Some dad. Leaves his butler do all the parenthood and crap, and he himself does nothing and just rolls in his money,” Lightning growled. “That father… if I ever lay eyes on him better have a damn good excuse as to why he doesn’t raise his filly himself!” Lightning then had another thought and took a few calming breaths. “Maybe you’re wrong about this. Maybe this is a rare case with this girl. Maybe her father is around more than you think he is,” But she then saw the filly’s forlorn expression as the butler clapped and cheered. Lightning let out an audible growl. She knew that expression all too well, it was one she often wore herself as a child. “Okay, there goes that thought.” Lightning thought as she saw the filly walking off, the butler not even taking notice as he packed the soccer gear into the back of a chariot. Lightning ran after the filly finding her sniffling to herself near a very large fountain. Lightning sat down beside her as she laid a hand upon the filly’s shoulder. “Hey, can’t be all that bad,” She said reassuringly even as she thought to herself “Gah, Lightning! Why are you even doing this? She’s just some random kid, shouldn’t even concern you!” “Name’s Lightning Dust, future Wonderbolt. What’s yours?” Lightning asked and the filly wiped away her tears and sniffled again. “S-Silver Spoon,” the filly answered. “Why should you even care?” “Saw you playing with your dad, didn’t look happy. Thought I might be able to cheer you up in some way, or at least offer some sort of advice.” Lightning replied, playing dumb for the time being just to see if her suspicions would be confirmed. Silver scoffed. “Please, like he’s my dad. You did notice his age right? Guy’s just my butler,” Silver said. “Dad… Well, if you can call him that, he’s always away on these business trips of his. Guy loves making money more than he loves me, his own daughter for crying out loud!” Silver then noticed Lightning’s expression. “What, something wrong?” “Kid… Believe it or not, I know exactly how you feel.” Lightning answered. “What, don’t tell me you have a rich dad like I do?” Silver responded sarcastically. “Surprisingly enough, I do. Wind Rider is his name,” Lightning answered and when she noticed Silver’s eyes widen she nodded. “Yeah, that one. Trust me kiddo, don’t believe everything you read in the papers. Guy may put up a nice front for the public, but with his own family he’s… Well, he’s one shitty father. No other way to put it really.” “You’re joking…” Silver Spoon trailed off in disbelief. But somehow, looking at Lightning’s expression and the angry tone in which she spoke whenever her father was brought up made her start to believe her. “Wish I was kiddo,” Lightning responded, shaking her head sadly. “Sadly, I’m not. I was born into a rather large family. The runt of the litter. Dad always said his first born, and my oldest brother, Sky Stinger would be the one to carry on his legacy. Never even gave a thought to me. Eventually, mom had enough of him and left us to fend for ourselves. Mind you, dear old “Dad” couldn’t care less about me, so there was this other family along with a friend of theirs who always took care of me.” “What about your older brother?” Silver asked, not really wanting to know but curiosity was getting the better of her. “He hated dad just as much as I did. While the rest of my brothers and sisters always looked up and idolized him, Sky Stinger was the only one in the family to give a damn about me.” “...Wish I had an older brother like him, or any family at all besides dad really.” Silver Spoon muttered to herself before she heard her butler calling for her. “Madam Spoon! Where are you?” The voice called. Silver sighed to herself. “Oh, that’s Jeeves. Best I get going,” Silver said as she trudged off but not before giving one last look to Lightning. “Hope to see you around.” After Silver had left, Lightning whispered “...Yeah, me too.” Later that day: The Animarium: Eventually, Lightning returned to train some more on the Animarium. Right now she was facing a gauntlet, so to speak. She’d already made her way through a makeshift sniper alley and was now facing another challenge. In front of her were several swinging logs, swinging back and forth. The test was simple, just make it through and you were done. “Ready?” Vapor asked, holding a stopwatch in her hands. Lightning nodded and Vapor blew a whistle, not that far removed from how their Captain blew her own during Wonderbolts training. Lightning ran for it, and headed right for the swinging logs, determination etched on her face and sweat rolling down her muzzle. As she ran towards the logs, however, something or rather somepony nagged at her from the back of her mind. “...Wish I had an older brother like him, or any family at all besides dad really.” Silver Spoon muttered to herself before she heard her butler calling for her. Lightning lost her focus and whispered out “Silver.” just long enough for one of the logs to hit her and sent her toppling to the ground. Robert rushed over to her in concern, trying to help her up. “Hey, you alright? Seemed like something was bothering you for a moment.” He asked and Lightning glared at him even as she clutched her side in pain and blood dripped from her mouth. “Shut up!” Lightning snapped. “What do you know?” “Nothing at all, evidently,” Robert muttered. “Got that right, dumb-ass.” Lightning said sourly. With that, she walked off to find Princess Shayla, ignoring both Vapor and Robert yelling after her. Navi whimpered out “Oh, this isn’t good, not good at all.” as she shook her head. That night, the same draconic like figure Rescue Sunstreak had met last night stood atop the Ponyville Clocktower. He chuckled to himself. “That fool Bunglay didn’t know how large of a mistake he made when he made his first undead puppets. He opened the door, the one between this one and the next. It was only a matter of time before someone stepped through it,” Chuckling, the figure implanted his staff into the rooftop, his dragon wings giving him a truly ominous presence indeed. “Now, to finish what my mother began.” Olympius thought to himself with a chuckle and turned his gaze towards a mansion. He smirked. That looked like a good place to start. Ponyville Firehouse: Meanwhile, Rescue was cleaning off some of the various equipment used by the PVFD in their line of work. “You know, you’ve been at that for a while,” A voice said from behind him as two burly arms wrapped themselves around Rescue. “Pretty sure all the equipment’s been clean and shined, so tell me, what’s really bothering you?” Rescue sighed to himself. Ailan could see right through him as always. Sometimes he hated being married to him. Could be a real pain in the flank at times. “During that last fire, thought I saw something.” Rescue commented, not sure if his husband would think him crazy or not. “Sure the fire and smoke didn’t get to you?” Ailan began to laugh before it faded away once he saw the look on Rescue’s face. “...Wait, you’re not joking are you?” “Wish I was. Looked like a… figure of some sort. Held some type of fancy staff. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was a demon from Tartarus.” “Could be one of those Orgs we’ve been hearing about on the radio that those Power Rangers are fighting.” Ailan theorized. “Mystic Mother above, I hope not. Got enough trouble with regular fires to put out without Orgs starting to take up a career in arson on the side.” Rescue muttered. Just then, the call went out. Four-Alarm fire, right at the Spoon manner. Rescue dropped his demeanor of worry in an instant and was suddenly all business. “Alright everypony, suit up! This one’s going to be a big one, so whatever you’re doing, for the time being, stow it!” He boomed. “Ponyville needs us, double time now men!” The fire station doors opened, and with a whine, the sirens blared on the chariots as they trundled off towards the rapidly rising cloud of smoke. They hadn’t been the only ones to notice this cloud, however. High in the sky, taking a ride atop her Zord to clear her head was Lightning. Her eyes widened when she saw the flames. “Get me down there!” She ordered, and the Thunderbird went into a dive letting out a screech as a war cry. Lightning held on for dear life. She didn’t know why, but something about this whole thing made her more worried than usual. As Lightning and the brave men and women of the PVFD reached the blaze, they both found themselves in the midst of absolute chaos. And in the middle of it all, using fireballs to blow up any pumpers trying to deliver water to quench the blaze was Olympius laughing as he did so. He looked almost exactly the same as he did when he was alive for the first time. Wearing his lava red and gold armor, his chest plate bore the head of a dragon emblazoned on it with a slot where a red star should have been but wasn’t. His wings looked absolutely Hellish in the middle of the inferno. “Hold it right there Org!” Sunstreak yelled. Even as he did so, he wondered: “What are you thinking Sunstreak, this is crazy. You’re a firefighter, not a superhero!” The “Org” laughed as he implanted his staff which had a sword at each end, in the ground knocking everypony back with a shockwave. “Oh, you must be mistaken. Those sad fools don’t even begin to measure up to my power. I’m Olympius, son of Queen Bansheera and Prince to all demonkind,” The Prince laughed and snapped his fingers. Appearing from the ground were various bat-like creatures. “Batlings, destroy them!” Just then, very large thunderbolts came down from the sky and scorched the bat-like foot soldiers into cinders. The Thunderbolt Zord screeched again as it flew overhead and Lightning leaped off it and landed on the ground with a thud. “Honestly, I don’t care who you are. Prince or no Prince, you’re going down just the same.” Lightning boasted and pulled out her Crystal Saber and inserted the Giraffe Crystal. She swung the beam like blade but Olympius blocked it every time with his staff and then flew forwards and kicked Lightning back into a chariot. “Oh, you Rangers are all just the same,” Olympius chuckled as he grabbed Lightning by the throat holding her up to face level. “Pathetic, arrogant and worthless. Mind you, you seem to be more arrogant than most.” Just then, several shots hit the Prince and caused him to drop Lightning. He yelled out “Who dares?” and turned his head to the sound of metal banging against metal. He looked to his left and saw Robert, out of costume, knocking his Kitsune Blaster against a street lamp. “Figures, you lot never know when to quit, do you?” The Orange Ranger muttered as flames crackled in the background. “And who do you think you are?” Olympius asked, laughing. “Do I really have to answer that question, Baka-Prince?” Robert asked sarcastically. Lightning looked towards him in shock, disbelief etched on her every feature. Robert, even after all she’d said against him, actually coming to help her? “Rule one of being a Power Ranger: never leave a man, or in this case mare, behind. Mess with one of us, you mess with all of us.” He gestured for Sunstreak and company to get to work. “All of you lot, get everypony out of that building, do it! Me and Lightning can handle this guy!” Just then, Lightning heard a familiar voice shouting out for her. Her eyes widened as she thought “Silver!” “I’m going in there.” She said and both Rescue and Robert looked at her as if she was crazy. “You nuts or something, you’re not even trained to handle that kind of heat!” Rescue shouted. “Hey, crazy is my middle name,” Lightning stated in a tone that left no room for argument and looked at them both, daring them to challenge her. “Besides, there’s a friend of mine in there, and I’m going to help her like it or not.” Rescue nodded gruffly. He could understand Lightning’s reasoning, crazy and reckless as she was and he couldn’t argue with it. Robert sighed before he smirked. “Okay then, you go on ahead. Besides, always wanted to face a Demon Prince by myself. Should be fun, give me quite the challenge. Sa… Hade ni ikuze!” With that, both Robert and Lightning shouted “Legendary Wild Access!” and morphed. Then, Robert fired shots off at Olympius as Lightning and Rescue charged into the blaze. The fire was all around them, but Lightning kept one thing in her mind. Silver’s voice. That was all she cared about. Any time a beam fell down from the ceiling right on their heads, Lightning slashed it in two. A door? She just kicked it down, all the while shouting Silver’s name. Eventually, she reached Silver’s room atop the second floor. Silver wasn’t moving at all and Rescue checked her. “She’s okay, just unconscious from smoke inhalation,” He stated. “But we need to get her out of here fast.” Right about then, flames blocked their way out. “Okay, so that way’s a bust. Any ideas?” Rescue asked. Lightning smirked as she saw looked towards a window. “Yeah, just one. Grab Silver.” Lightning ordered as Rescue picked her up in her arms. They then shared a nod and ran for the window, smashing through the glass and landing on a safety net just as the room became consumed with flame. Rescue handed off Silver to the medics as they arrived on the scene while Lightning turned her attention to Robert. He was going blade to blade with the Prince, but every time he went in for a strike, it was blocked or countered. Olympius then kicked Robert in the stomach and went in for the kill, aiming his staff at Robert’s chest. “You fool, you really think you could stand up against my power?” He asked but was then hit with a full blast of water before two whips grabbed him by the chest and he was promptly thrown into a wall with a shout of “Get over here!” “Who dares?” the Prince asked again and Lightning smirked as she stood, whips drawn while Rescue held up a hose which dripped water. “Uh, that would be us.” the Aqua Ranger commented as Robert stood back up, his uniform somewhat scorched and burned in several places but otherwise he looked fairly okay. “You alright Lightning-Bitch?” Robert asked, but this time it wasn’t in a tone of derision. Now, it seemed almost respectful. Well, as about as respectful as calling somepony a bitch could get anyways. “Yeah, what about you, Foxy Man-Whore?” Lightning asked, no derision in her tone as well. “I’ll live,” Robert said simply before he growled out “Him, on the other hand… Well now, that’s a different story. It’s Judgement Time!” Robert pulled out his SPD Morpher and let it scan the demon Prince as he read off the charges. “Olympius, you are charged with counts of Arson, Destruction of Property, Terrorism, and Manslaughter,” Sure enough, the scanner read guilty. Robert tossed his Kitsune Blaster to Lightning and nodded at her. “Would you do the honors?” Lightning smirked as she inserted her Crystal Saber, now with the Thunderbird Crystal in it, in the slot on the weapon. With a shout of “Thunderbird Judgement Blast!”, she fired the weapon and unleashed a blast of lightning manifesting in a giant bird’s head which chomped down on Olympius covering him in electric surges. He groaned out in pain and loosened his grip on his staff as he fell down before exploding. Lightning smirked under her helmet as she gave a thumbs-down. “Piece of…” Lightning began to say before she trailed off as dark blood red energy gathered and soon, the demon Prince stood at titan size. “...Cake.” She then shouted “Wild Zords, descend!” as she pointed her Crystal Saber skywards, quickly swapping out her Thunderbird Crystal for the Coyote one as both Zords answered the call on the Animarium. Robert meanwhile thought to himself. “Okay, how did Sunset do this? Oh yeah, I remember…” He thought before thrusting an arm skywards as he shouted: “I need Red Dragon Thunderzord Power, now!” The skies boiled over as the form of the mighty beast appeared from the clouds and thunder cracked as it blew fire at Olympius who countered with some of his own. The Red Dragon then roared before it lunged forwards with one of its claws and took a swipe at him doing damage. The Coyote Zord, brown in color and with the symbol of a cactus on both of its hind legs pounced forwards but was only knocked away. It hit the ground with a thud and whimpered a little as it shook its head and used its claws to pick itself back up. “Olympius, your nightmare days are over!” Robert shouted as the Thunderbird let out a screech of “Yippie-ki-yay, motherfucker!” and launched a ball of lightning from his mouth at the demon. Olympius staggered back in pain but took a swing at both Zords with his staff. The Red Dragon and the Thunderbird both ascended to the heavens above as the Coyote Zord launched its tail like a boomerang at Olympius and it spun around him like a whirlwind doing damage but the demon Prince then breathed fire at the Zord. “You are all… Irrelevant,” He boasted. “It’s that simple really. Keep your attacks coming, try and stop me if you may but you will all fall in the end.” The Thunderbird sighed at the Prince’s boasting. “He’s worse than Lightning and Robert combined, I swear,” He muttered to himself. Both Rangers in question tried not to look offended. “Anyway to shut this guy up for good?” he asked as he flew left and right to avoid flaming blasts of energy. Lightning then remembered something. Vapor leaped on top of the Zord just as it head-butted the Turbine Org sending it staggering back. She pointed her Crystal Saber at the Org and the Leviathan Zord’s mouth opened and charged up a purple beam of energy. “MEGA ROAR!” Vapor shouted, and both she and her Zord fired twin purple beams of energy at the Turbine Org sending him flying back into a mountain splitting it in half. “Yeah, got an idea.” Lightning said as she leaped atop the Thunderbird’s crested head and pointed her Crystal Saber at Olympius. “MEGA ROAR!” She shouted, just as Vapor did, and just like before, a beam shot out of Lightning’s Saber as the Thunderbird fired his own beam of energy. The Coyote and Red Dragon joined in and fired their own brown and red beams of energy entwining with the aqua beam of the Thunderbird and all three hit the demon Prince at full force, punching a hole right through his chest. Olympius gaped in disbelief as he staggered forwards. “You… You have done the impossible! You have triumphed over the mighty Prince Olympius! But be rest assured, my death will be avenged a thousand-fold!” the Prince said as his final boast before he fell forwards and exploded once more in a large fireball. All three Zords let out cries of triumph at the victory, but Lightning’s mind was elsewhere. “What about Silver?” Ponyville Hospital: The soft beeping of machines was what Silver awoke to as she opened her eyes the next morning. As her vision cleared, she saw a figure sitting beside her in a chair. She blinked in disbelief as Nurse Redheart smiled. “She’s been sitting here all night. Didn’t even sleep just out of how concerned she was for you.” The nurse said before walking off and leaving the two be. Silver then remembered Lightning’s voice shouting for her, amongst the flames and ash. “You… You were there?” Silver whispered in disbelief, and Lightning nodded wearily. “Yeah kiddo, I was there. Saw the fire, and I knew I just couldn’t stand by. Not just as a Wonderbolt, but as a friend. And if you’ll have me, an adoptive sister as well.” “R-Really?” Silver asked, unable to believe her own ears. “Well, I figure if that jerk Rainbow Dash has her own surrogate sister, why can’t I?” Lightning joked and achieved the desired effect with Silver giggling. “Besides, you and I are far too much alike for me to just leave you be.” Silver then pulled Lightning into a hug, sobbing out “Thank you.” Lightning smiled, and as she turned her head to the doorway, just out of pure instinct, she saw a man and a woman. The woman had blond hair and wore a pink paramedic’s uniform with a red and black jacket over that while the man wore that of a fireman’s attire. Both nodded at Lightning and gave her a thumbs up before fading away but not before leaving behind a gold badge that read two words: Lightspeed Rescue. Author's Note Okay, first off, I'd like to thank Rescue Sunstreak for graciously allowing me permission to use his ponysona. Now, while Alian didn't come with that, you really can't have one without the other so I'm borrowing him for the chapter. Like with his husband, I credit Rescue for his creation. Anyways, hopefully, this chapter achieved three things. It made Lightning more likable, was a fitting tribute to Lightspeed Rescue and showed off that Power Rangers aren't the only heroes around. The men and women who lay down their lives for us, charging into a burning blaze, they're the real heroes in my mind. Anyways, next time, another tribute this time to Power Rangers Jungle Fury.
Part 36: Inner StrengthThe Everfree Forest/100 Mile Wilderness, six days ago... Jindrax ran, ran to his safe spot out of sheer terror. He knew nobody would ever follow him to this place, given the Everfree’s reputation which was well deserved indeed. As much as Jindrax’s ego would have liked to consider him the most dangerous thing in the vast acres of forest, he knew that wasn’t true. The Timberwolves, Cockatrices amongst other things were enough to send shivers up his spine. “Know Toxica would probably lecture me for being a coward and not facing half of these things head on like a proper Duke Org should, but she probably hasn’t seen one of those wolves rebuild itself or a Cockatrice turn a Pony Princess to stone has she?” Jindrax thought to himself. “Plus, nobody ever said me or her were good examples of proper Duke Orgs did they?” Jindrax suddenly heard the sound of hoof-steps following his every move. He went for one of his blades and whirled around to throw it into a tree in the direction of the hoof-steps. “First and only warning! Next one goes between your eyes!” Jindrax shouted, sounding far more confident than he actually felt right now. A figure, purple in fur color and wearing a black weathered leather jacket stepped into the clearing. “Wait, you’re that daughter of that strange pegasus aren’t you? ...Okay, adopted daughter… Maybe. Pony genetics still confuse me.” Jindrax admitted. Sparkler laughed as a familiar staff appeared in her hands. Jindrax went for his sword. “Where’d you get that? Hand it over! It belongs to someone far better than you!” Jindrax snarled. He was suddenly hit over the head with that very same staff. “Idiot, it’s me!” Sparkler said, but that wasn’t her voice coming out of her mouth. “W-Wait, Toxica? ...Is that you?” Jindrax asked in shock. Another hit over the head. Jindrax groaned in pain as he rubbed his head. Yeah, it was definitely her alright. “Seriously, you don’t remember waking me up, for lack of a better term?” Toxica asked as she resumed her normal form, that of an Asian woman dressed in blue and black garb with a veil over her face. A blood red horn jutted out of her forehead. Jindrax sighed as he remembered. After Solar Flare drove humanity to extinction, both Toxica and Jindrax agreed it was best to lay low and stick to the shadows as they figured Solar Flare wouldn’t stop with just one species. So, after hundreds of years of running and hiding as the Earth repaired itself, Toxica had performed an ancient Org spell and transformed herself to look like a pony with a personality taking over her own. She admitted it, she was afraid. Jindrax personally thought she was being paranoid, as if Solar Flare cared about killing them, she would have done it hundreds of years ago at the height of her powers. But Toxica didn’t listen. It was only recently that Jindrax had found the counterspell to put Toxica’s true personality back in place. He didn’t know who she had become, but he knew that by performing the counterspell he’d have her back. Jindrax brought Toxica into a hug, but she shoved him off. “Hey, what was that for, I’m glad to have you back!” Jindrax shouted, quite confused. “You know how lonely it gets for me without you around!” Toxica huffed. “Please, you’ve been handling yourself quite well over these past few years, why bring me back now?” “Well, seeing a new Master Org and him bringing a guy back from the dead even after something punched a hole in his chest might kinda make me want your help again.” Jindrax deadpanned. “...A-Are you sure?” Toxica asked, not wanting to believe her ears. “Yeah, one horn jutting out of his forehead, powerful dark magic, him resurrecting a baboon like guy, the whole enchilada,” Jindrax remarked. “Pretty sure those are good identifying markers for a Master Org. ...Plus, y’know, the whole Orgs attacking in an organized fashion schtick,” Toxica dropped her staff out of shock. “...Wow, I knew you’d be shocked, but not that shocked…” Jindrax murmured to himself, rubbing his forehead in confusion. “Jindrax, please tell me I’m not seeing things.” Toxica asked worriedly. “Seeing what? I’m right here you know.” Her fellow Duke Org asked in bewilderment. “Look behind you.” Toxica asked, picking up her staff off the forest floor very carefully. It was then Jindrax slowly turned his head and he let out a small yelp of shock. Right behind him, sitting on a tree branch was Zen-Aku. “Wondering when you’d notice.” The wolf themed Duke Org remarked casually as he jumped down off the tree branch and landed on the forest floor with a soft thud. “You’re supposed to be dead!” Jindrax shouted after he and Toxica had regained their composure. “And yet here I am,” the Duke Org commented with a smirk across his muzzle for all to see. “Lot of this going around lately, as you’ve noticed.” “If-If this is your forest now, we can just… You know, leave.” Toxica asked, with Jindrax nodding along with her and saying “Yeah, what she said. Wouldn’t want to anger you.” Zen-Aku chuckled, much to his fellow Duke Org’s worry. They hadn’t changed a bit in over 3,000 years really. Still afraid of him as ever. “As they should be.” He thought to himself. “What are you even doing up and walking about like one of those human zombies, except, y’know, an Org?” Jindrax asked, before whispering to Toxica “Can we even have Zombie Orgs?” She could only shrug. Zen-Aku never answered. That was his little secret to keep. He took a sniff of the air. “We need to get moving, soon. We’re being watched,” Zen-Aku stated keeping one eye trained to the bushes. Multiple sets of unfriendly yellow eyes peered out from the darkness. “I’m not the only dangerous wolf in these woods, you know.” He gestured for his two fellow Duke Orgs to follow and rested his Crescent Blade over his right shoulder. “Okay, you’re the boss, boss,” Jindrax said with Toxica nodding nervously. “Orgs together, and all that.” Zen-Aku continued to smirk the rest of the way out of the Forest. Now: Carousel Boutique “Now, just stay still while I cut a little off the top…” Zephyr said to Robert as he gave his hair a trim, pieces of Robert’s brown bangs falling to the Boutique floor. Nearby, Bon-Bon and Lyra were getting their manes dried while Rarity was styling Fluttershy’s mane. “You know, I had the most interesting conversation with Rainbow yesterday,” Rarity commented as she ran a brush through her friend’s pink mane. “Seems like that… Well, I won’t repeat the word I’m thinking, but anyways she told me Lightning’s adopted a little sister of her own. Never would have seen that coming in a million years.” “It is nice that Lightning’s starting to become a nicer pony,” Fluttershy commented, looking towards the park outside, where she could see Lightning and Silver playing a game of chess. Lightning, from the looks of things, was losing quite badly. “If you’re going to comment about me having a hand in that, I had nothing to do with it,” Robert admitted. “Well, there’s a shocker,” Lyra joked as she looked upwards from her magazine. “No offense, but I would have expected you to have at least taken partial credit.” “Nope, for once I had nothing to do with anything relating to Lightning. I only showed up to bail her stupid arse out of the fire, literally, in this case, nothing more.” Robert remarked simply. “Funny, from what I hear, you got your ass kicked and Lightning had to bail you out,” Bon-Bon remarked. Robert thanked the Lord that the Boutique was mostly empty except for those who already knew or had figured out his secret by themselves. Robert still wasn’t sure how Lyra nor her wife had figured it out, but somehow they had. “Oh sure, gang up on the resident human here,” Robert grumbled. He was soundly ignored. “Point being, I think we should all be happy for both Lightning and Silver,” Fluttershy said. “Silver’s got somepony who’ll look after her, and Lightning’s becoming less of a…” “Bitch?” Robert offered while Lyra laughed her head off and Bon-Bon snorted. “Er, yes… That.” Fluttershy remarked, flushing red at Robert’s terminology. “Funny… That’s the word I was thinking of earlier about her but was far too much of a lady to say…” Rarity murmured to herself in an inaudible tone. Elsewhere in Ponyville, two figures teleported into an antique shop. Those two figures were Helicos and Retinax. “Sure there’s an Org spirit here?” The Duke Org asked. “Yes, I’m quite sure,” Retinax replied. “If we’re going to start going against Thrax, we’re going to need an army of our own and collecting Org spirits and recruiting them to our cause is the first step.” The two walked through the dusty collection of antiquities, Retinax’s horn glowing brighter and brighter as the two got nearer and nearer to the developing Org spirit. Finally, it began to glow as bright as the sun as the two came across an old mirror. “Should I repeat Bloody Mary three times or something?” Helicos deadpanned. “Far as I can see, just a stupid old mirror. Looks completely harmless to me.” “Wait for it…” Retinax murmured to himself as a fine mist began to traverse slowly across the wooden floor and float towards the mirror. It wrapped itself around the mirror and with a bright flash of light, a new Org was born. Retinax smirked, this one would do nicely. He knew the Rangers would never see this one coming, that was for sure… Ponyville High School: Meanwhile, Sunburst was in the middle of his afternoon classes currently doing a lecture on the Triassic Period. Today, he was wearing a nice tweed suit instead of his usual black suit and tie combination. “Now, what I’d like to ask all of you is this, can you name me a list of creatures that would have been alive during this period?” the Black Ranger asked while using a piece of chalk to write out the words “Triassic” behind him and then a page number. On his desk behind him lay a model of a Pachycephalosaurus. One student, a white furred bat-pony raised his hand. “Yes, Mr. Bubbles?” Sunburst asked. “What about a Styracosaurus?” The bat-pony asked. Sunburst sighed as he took off his glasses and rubbed his temples. Navi, who was sitting on a perch like a real parrot would let out a sigh and shook her head. “No, that was a dinosaur in the Cretaceous period. The fact of the matter is, dinosaurs, more specifically herbivores wouldn’t start forming armor on their bodies until the Jurassic period to protect themselves from predators. A good example would be the Stegosaurus,” Sunburst stated. “While we’ll get to those periods of the Mesozoic era eventually, right now let’s focus on the-” Right then, Sunburst’s Growl Phone rang, much to his embarrassment and the amusement of the class. He answered it and nodded in understanding before saying “Got it, on my way.” “Fiancee calling you up for a night in?” One student teased and Sunburst blushed red and stuttered out “N-No, something completely different actually!” as he tried to regain his composure. “Sure, that’s what it is.” the exact same student snarked. “Okay, I want a good sized report on the nature of the creatures of the Triassic Period due by the end of the week,” Sunburst said as he quickly ran for the door before he peeked his head back in as he saw his class go for their phones. “And just because my phone rang in the middle of class doesn’t mean that’s an excuse for you all to go and play with yours, got that?” When all the students nodded, Sunburst nodded back confidently, adjusted his bow-tie and ran out the door. Of course, as soon as he’d left, the students went ahead and pulled their phones right back out. Navi gave the winged equivalent of a facepalm and thought to herself “I really need to help dad get more assertive. Guess it’s up to me now.” With that, she gave the class an evil eye and they nervously put their phones away and began opening their textbooks to the marked page on the chalkboard. Ponyville Park: The group of three, soon joined by Vapor teleported themselves down to the main park in Ponyville and were greeted with quite a sight. Leading a squad of Putrids was an interesting Org to say the least. It looked like a regular unicorn pony but was made of pure solid crystal. The other main difference was that the horn split off into two, in a V shape of sorts. In one hand, a sword. In the other, a shield making the Org resemble a knight of some sort. But all four of the Rangers knew this was no Knight in any shape or form. “Okay… Wasn’t expecting that I’ll admit.” Sunburst remarked, slightly nervous at this new Org’s form. Mentally, he had to keep telling himself that this wasn’t a pony, just another Org. “Whatever, let’s just get this guy over and dealt with.” Lightning muttered as she, Vapor and Sunburst went for their Growl Phones and Robert his amulet. “Legendary Wild Access, ha!” They all called in unison just as the Putrids fired their rocket cudgels. Running out from the ensuing explosion were the three Rangers, fully morphed. One of the Putrids swung his cudgel intent on bashing Robert’s skull in. However, it was not to be. He focused all of his Chi energy into a single powerful punch, sending the Putrid flying back while Robert’s hands glowed with a fine orange hued mist. “Okay, I so wish I could do that…” Sunburst thought to himself with a sigh as he held off the Mirror Org’s sword and shield with his hatchets. “Guess I’ll just have to settle for the norm… As always.” He thought sadly. Sunburst let out a yelp as he was caught off guard momentarily and the Org got in a slash across the chest before he kicked the Black Ranger backwards into a group of putrids. Sunburst got up and brushed his suit off before one putrid got in a lucky shot with his rocket launcher and sent Sunburst flying into a tree. “Got to help him…” Robert muttered as he shot down two approaching Putrids before he found himself dagger to sword with the Mirror Org. Nearby, Vapor was using her Trident to full effect, stabbing and slashing at Putrids in a blur of motion. “Sorry to spoil your fun, but I can’t let you do that!” the Org taunted as the blades clashed, sparks flying off as metal ground up against metal. Robert kicked the Org in the chest making it stagger back, but the Org implanted his sword in the ground and sent a group of glass spikes erupting from the ground towards Robert who had to leap out of the way. The Orange Ranger fired off some shots, but the Mirror Org either blocked them with his shield or batted them out of the air with his sword. “Okay, try something else then…” Robert muttered before he shouted “Kitsune Scatter Blast!” The shot fired branched out into a group of many beams that sought out their target like heat seekers but to Robert’s surprise, the Mirror Org just absorbed the shots with his shield. “And now, would you kindly, maybe you’ll reflect on your mistakes!” the Org cackled before his shield glowed and sent the blasts right back at Robert knocking him out of his morphed form. Lightning’s eyes widen at the feat before she snarled and grabbed a group of putrids with her whips and tossed them at the Mirror Org. His eyes widened momentarily before they narrowed. With a few quick slashes, all of the putrids lay dead at his feet. Sunburst, now fully recovered, threw one of his Shadow Hatchets at the Org. But before he knew it, the Org’s eyes glowed and Lightning was in his place. A wing fell to the ground as Lightning let out a horrific scream and clutched at the wound to stop the blood flow. “Lightning!” Vapor shouted as she saw her adopted sister demorph in a flash of light. Sunburst’s eyes widened under his helmet as he thought “Oh no! What… What did I… How did…?” Robert’s eyes widened as well and he yelled into his comm “Princess, get Lightning out of here and to the nearest hospital! Now!” Just as he said that, Lightning was teleported away in a flash of light as more putrids rose up from the ground and aimed their rocket-cudgels at the remaining three Rangers. Sunburst stood in a horrified dazed stupor as he saw the fallen wing and the blood on the ground. He couldn’t move a muscle out of sheer horror and shock at what he just did, even if by accident. The Mirror Org stood there laughing as Robert pulled out his Kitsune Blaster and aimed it at the putrids. “Sunburst, you alright?” He asked, his words just barely reaching his fellow Ranger. “We need to fall back and regroup! Go, I’ll cover you!” Sunburst nodded weakly, feeling quite sick with himself as Robert fired off a few shots and the Rangers ran for it in a tactical retreat. Just then, the Mirror Org’s eyes glowed and his shield hummed before next thing Robert or Vapor knew, they were trapped in two glass mirrors. “Good, that’s two Rangers down. Only three more to go,” the Mirror Org chuckled. “Piece of cake really. Don’t know why I was even given a warning.” With that, he directed his remaining putrids to grab both of the mirror-trapped Rangers and take them away. He had something special in mind for them. “Time to make an example of those fools…” He thought to himself as he teleported away. The Animarium: Sunburst punched a tree in frustration and rage, tears falling down his face. The moon shown down in the background, rising high in the sky. For the past few hours, the only images he had in his mind were Lightning losing one of her wings thanks to his hatchets and then Vapor and Robert getting captured. He knew from Princess Shayla that by some miracle Lighting was stable, but that didn’t change the fact that she was in the ICU and two of his teammates were captured. Tartarus, they were probably dead by this point. “I caused that, it’s my fault! My fault!” Sunburst thought to himself. “Who’s the one who’s always screwing up on this team and messing up? Oh, that’s right, me!” Sunburst thought back to when he got his own fiancee captured by the Bell Org. Sure, he rescued him in the end, but who was the one to deal the final blow? Oh, that’s right, Galaxy. Galaxy was the Captain of the Night Guard, trained to deal with this sort of crap. Him, he was just a simple science teacher. That was the end of it. That’s all he’d ever be in the end. Sunburst, falling to his knees let out a scream of rage skywards. “What… What do I do?” Sunburst asked, looking towards the sky in search of an answer. He received nothing of any sort. Sunburst took that as evidence of further mockery and scorn, that not even the Mystic Mother himself thought him cut out to be a Power Ranger. With another choked up sob, he pulled out the Bison and Fruit Bat crystals and threw them into a bush in rage and sat down on a stump. Sunburst took off his glasses and sobbed. “I’m not cut out for this shit. Lightning, Robert, Sunset, Tartarus, even Vapor are better at this than me. They’ve all dealt final blows to a monster or contributed to the team in some way. Me… What have I done? Heck, not even my Zord is worth talking about,” Sunburst continued to think. “Just a stupid Fruit Bat. The others, they get giant beasts capable of taking down an Org in just a few short blows… Me, I get a Bat.” Sunburst was so focusing on his internal musings, he didn’t even notice an area of the woods surrounding him shimmer and a man clad in a blue jacket appear along with an older man dressed all in black, with long gray hair and glasses over his eyes appear. “Bats can be surprisingly adept at doing what needs to be done,” the older man said. “They’re the masters of stealth and rulers of the night. You should consider yourself lucky at being blessed with such a gift.” “Gift?” Sunburst asked, looking up at the twosome before he scoffed. “I’d hardly call a Fruit Bat any sort of gift.” “And yet it the animal it’s based on can clear out an orchard in a matter of hours and leave an entire town starved if it isn’t kept in check.” The older man said. “Exactly who are you two?” Sunburst asked, drawing his Crystal Saber. The blue clad man forced it down gently. “My name’s Theo, and this is Master Swoop,” The younger man said, introducing himself. “Pai Zhau Masters of the Jaguar and Bat Spirits and Styles respectively.” “Pai Zhau… Why does that name sound familiar?” Sunburst thought to himself before his eyes widened in recognition. “Wait, that was the school Robert used to go to!” Theo smiled. “So, I see you’ve met my former student.” Sunburst’s eyes widened again. “Wait, you taught Robert everything he knows?” He asked in surprise. “Well, not everything but most of it… Yes,” Theo admitted. “I don’t like to brag, but all of those martial arts skills you’ve seen Robert use? I taught him that.” “And yet you still come off as bragging.” Master Swoop said, shooting Theo a look. “...Paumanhin.” Theo apologized in Filipino, bowing to his fellow Master. Sunburst meanwhile shook his head. “If I had Masters like either of you, probably wouldn’t have turned out as such a screw-up of a Power Ranger,” Sunburst muttered to himself. Master Swoop laid a hand on his shoulder and gripped it firmly making the slightly younger stallion wince. “Now, that’s enough of that. You’re not a screw-up.” Master Swoop reassured, and Theo nodded in agreement. “Far from it, I’d say. You created the Navi Blaster, and your Zord becomes the main battle weapon of your team’s Megazord,” Theo added. “You do contribute in your own way, so stop telling yourself otherwise.” “Besides, even High-School teachers can make great Rangers.” Swoop put in as Theo put a hand to his chin in thought. “He’s right, there was a Black Ranger back in 2004 that was a teacher for high-school age kids,” Theo remarked, leaving out that fact that said Ranger was Tommy Oliver, who had been a Ranger four times before that. “Impiyerno, believe it or not, I wasn’t exactly the greatest Ranger starting out either.” “You?” Sunburst asked in disbelief, hardly able to believe his ears. “But you’re a Master!” “Not at first. What, do you think I just popped out of the womb with super Kung-Fu skills?” Theo joked before his tone became more serious. “Hardly, I was quite arrogant starting out.” “As arrogant as Robert?” Sunburst interrupted. “Well, I wouldn’t go that far…” Theo trailed off with a tinge of amusement in his tone. “He’s a special case altogether really. Anyways, the point still stands. See Master Swoop here? I was rather dismissive of his teachings starting out, but that soon changed.” Master Swoop nodded before he turned back to Sunburst. “Teachings I’m about to pass on to you, help you harness your inner animal spirit.” Swoop stated. Sunburst’s gaze turned firm, almost confident. “Then teach me.” He stated and Swoop allowed himself a small smirk. “Wait, you’re blind?” Was Sunburst’s first immediate reaction to when Master Swoop took off his glasses. “And yet I still trained two Pai Zhau Masters.” Swoop remarked simply while holding a paper fan. Sunburst also held one in his hand. “Now who’s bragging?” Theo teased, crossing his arms at his former Master, eyebrow raised. Swoop said nothing in response and continued looking directly at Sunburst. “Now, you have to focus yourself, you must manage your mind, release your anxieties otherwise I cannot teach you anything at all.” Swoop told him. “Okay… Anything else?” Sunburst asked. “Yes, you must focus on a single goal. Become one with your spirit, and it becomes a part of you,” Swoop continued to explain. “Now, close your eyes and just focus on the exercise.” Sunburst closed his eyes and focused on one thing and one thing alone, his inner animal spirit. “You feel it, do you feel one with your animal?” Swoop asked. “Y-Yes,” Sunburst stuttered out nervously. “I-I can see it. It’s… It’s some sort of bird.” Then a thought came to him, and he began to look incredibly nervous and feel all of his confidence from before began to leave him. “W-Wait, if my spirit is some sort of bird, can you still even teach me?” “The exercise does not change, both birds and bats fly unless that’s changed in the last couple of thousand years,” Swoop deadpanned. “It’s the exact same principle. Different spirit, but same lesson plan. Now.. focus!” Swoop stated firmly and he and Sunburst both closed their eyes and began to wave their fans. All the while, Swoop continued to instruct. “Block out the rest of the world. Only feel your breath. Allow the impossible to become… possible,” Their movements began to become dance like as they continued, Theo nodding in approval. Then, it happened. Without even thinking, Sunburst was surrounded by a yellow glowing energy as his fan unfolded and he began to levitate as he thought on one single thing. His teacher, his Master, he was counting on him. So was the animal that resided inside of him. That was the only thing in his mind. Then, like a majestic bird of prey, Sunburst took to the air and Swoop soon followed. “Now, are you ready?” Swoop asked. Sunburst nodded before they both slowly floated back down towards the ground. Theo clapped as Swoop nodded. Then, the call came in as Sunburst’s Growl Phone rang. “Sunburst, it’s the Mirror Org! He’s back!” Shayla shouted in fear. Sunburst looked towards Swoop and Theo. “A-Are you sure I’m ready to face him alone?” He stuttered out in fear. “You’ll never be alone,” Swoop said. “This time, you have your inner beast with you. Now go, your friends need you.” Sunburst nodded. “Let’s do it then.” The Everfree Forest/100 Mile Wilderness: Right now, the Mirror Org had set up both Vapor and Robert deep in the Everfree Forest and had lined up a firing squad of putrids to deal with them. “Now, time to make an example of you both. This should teach that damn Princess you take orders from not to cross the Orgs.” the Mirror Org smirked. He motioned for the putrids to take aim. Robert closed his eyes, accepting death as it came while Vapor thought to herself, a tear trailing down her face. “Sorry Grape if I didn’t hold up to your standards. But we’ll be seeing each other again soon enough.” She thought. Just as the putrids were about to fire, a small dagger came spinning end over end and sliced the ends off of the putrids’ weapons and implanted itself in a tree nearby. “Who dares?” the Mirror Org snarled out in rage as he drew his sword. Suddenly, a black blur blindsided him, slashing at him from the left and then from the right. The blur slowed down and leaped up onto a tree branch. Robert’s eyes widened at who he saw, and more specifically at what the figure was holding. Two fans in either hand, black and silver with orange highlights with very sharp edges. “...You gotta be kidding me.” Robert muttered, scarcely able to believe his eyes. He recognized those fans, alright, but seeing them in those hands was almost impossible to believe. “S-Sunburst?” Vapor asked as her eyes widened. “So, you came back for more punishment.” the Mirror Org chuckled. “Sorry, but not this time,” Sunburst stated as he backflipped off the tree as the Mirror Org fired an energy blast from his horns. Sunburst actually smirked under his helmet as he landed on the ground below. He folded up his fans, holstered them and took his Crystal Saber out of the tree before holding it in front of him in a defensive manner. “You, face me alone?” the Mirror Org cackled. “You’ve got to be joking.” “Who says I’m alone?” Sunburst asked before he with two kicks shattered the mirrors holding Vapor and Robert setting them free. “They lost against me before, they’ll lose again.” the Org commented. “I didn’t mean them,” Sunburst remarked. Then, he performed hand movements that Robert knew by heart. “No. Bloody. Way. How the Hell did he learn that…?” Robert wondered in stark disbelief. “Call to the Beast Inside! Free the Owl!” Sunburst yelled and let loose a misty yellow owl like form knocking the Mirror Org back and slashing away at him with its talons again and again. As soon as the onslaught was over, the Mirror Org called for more putrids and out of the treeline they came. “You two ready to join the party?” “Believe me, I was born ready. This yatsume has got some payback coming,” Robert snarled as Vapor nodded before they both shouted “Legendary Wild Access!” before morphing and engaged the putrids. Robert began taking down various members of the squad with low kicks and takedowns using the Dog Style (The closest thing there came to a Fox Style) of fighting. Next, he unleashed his own animal spirit and ripped and tore into another squad. Vapor on the other hand just inserted her Eagle Crystal into her Saber and gained the Golden Eagle Sword and slashed away at her foes. Soon, all that was left was the Mirror Org. “Only you now, mate,” Robert commented as he cracked his knuckles as Vapor produced her Trident. The Mirror Org’s only response was to shoot energy blasts at them. Vapor and Robert rolled out of the way but Sunburst unfolded his Jungle Fans and levitated high in the sky to avoid the blasts. Next thing he did was to glide forwards and kick the Mirror Org in the face making him stagger back before the Mirror Org took a swing at him with his sword but Vapor blocked the blow with the Golden Eagle Sword and her own Leviathan Trident. Robert joined in and slashed at the Mirror Org’s shield with his suit’s inbuilt claws and ripped apart his shield before firing off a quick few shots hitting his target dead-on as he leaped backwards to avoid some more energy blasts. Of course, the Mirror Org wasn’t going to go down easy and created copies of himself, filling the whole clearing. “Why that little bastard…Cute, real cute.” Robert thought. Sunburst then swung his Jungle Fans and created blasts of pure hot wind shattering each and every one of the mirror clones leaving only the original behind. “Like I said before, only you now mate,” Robert smirked. To his surprise, a gigantic cat shaped cannon painted red, yellow, and blue appeared in his hands. Sunburst grabbed ahold of it by one side as a figure shimmered into existence and shouted “Jungle Beast! Spirit Unleashed!” and appeared behind the two. Robert’s eyes widened again. “T-Theo?” “Yeah, it’s me. Now let’s take this guy down.” Theo stated before he pulled back the Claw Cannon’s rear handle and then pushed it forwards as Sunburst’s, Robert’s and his own Animal Spirits charged up the Cannon. “Now, would you kindly, please go and blow up on us?” Sunburst asked. The Cannon then fired a blast of pure solid energy and shattered the Mirror Org into pieces before what remained went up in a shower of sparks. “That one was for you, Lightning.” Sunburst thought. The Nexus: Thrax was not happy, and it showed. As soon as Retinax returned to the Nexus, he found even more Org Totems in ruins. Thrax’s throne spun itself around to face him, and its owner had a very displeased look on his face. “Retinax, I have a question for you,” Thrax began, his voice quite low. In the back of the room, Goldar sat against a wall chuckling. “There was a new Org Spirit today, and nobody seemed fit to inform me about it.” His voice began to slowly rise in tone to a growl. “Care to explain why?” He asked, in a tone of tranquil fury. “You’re not making plans against me, are you… Retinax?” “No sir, I’m not, but I promise you, I will get to the bottom of this. You have my word.” Retinax bowed, lying through his teeth. “Good, you’d better. And if I find you’re plotting against me, let me make myself clear…” Thrax warned. The punishment will be very severe indeed.” “Yes sir,” Retinax replied, still bowing before Thrax waved him off. As Retinax walked off and the door shut behind him with a loud thudding sound, he growled. He’d spent too long playing the fool against this usurper. It was time to make his move... Author's Note Okay, I admit it, this chapter was going to be released at the beginning of next month. But next month I'll be going back to school and starting my studies for my GED test meaning I'll have a bit less time to write so I wanted to get this out of the way first. Anyways, nope, no giant monster fight here today. Originally, I did plan for Sunburst to receive the Black Bear and Polar Bear Zords and fight with them against a giant sized Mirror Org, but I scrapped the idea as he's already gotten one power-up in this chapter with the Owl Spirit even if it's not going to be used as a Zord. Another little tidbit about this chapter was that it was originally going to be divided up into two parts, and in a sense, it still is a two part chapter as the next half will focus on Lightning's reaction and how she deals with the loss of one of her wings. No tribute chapter next time, but there will be another coming along the lines soon as a tribute to the series that started it all... (Finally, huge thanks to Ingen Hunter Enigma for his idea about Sunburst being tied to the Owl.)
Part 37: Broken WingCloudsdale Hospital: Lightning groaned as she adjusted her eyes to the light, the soft boop-boop-boop of the heart monitor reaching her ears. The room all around her was painted in soft, calming hues of white, pink and light blue. Lightning then reached out and felt the bed-sheets covering her. Not comfortable by any means, but there they were. Her eyes widened, so she wasn’t dead. By all rights, from the blood loss she endured, she should have been in Skyhaven. But evidently, that wasn’t to be the case. Lightning snorted, maybe she was in Tartarus and this was her punishment. Living with only one wing, never to fly again. Soft, calming guitar strummed music played from a radio nearby. The sound was like that of an old record, crackling as it played. Lightning chalked that up to the age of the radio, not of the song itself. Evidently, some parts of the hospital were better looked after than others. “There are loved ones in the glory, Whose dear forms you often miss; When you close your earthly story, Will you join them in their bliss? Will the circle be unbroken By and by, Lord, by and by. There's a better home awaiting In the sky, Lord, in the sky.” Lightning scowled. While the rational part of her brain was telling her that the music played was entirely at random, she couldn’t help but think some part of the universe was mocking her… disability. She knew it, she’d never be a Wonderbolt again. Seems her dad was right all along, she’d never amount to anything in the end after all. “You bucking happy dad? Huh, are you bucking happy you bastard? There, I screwed up and look what bucking happened!” Lightning began to rant to her father, despite knowing very well he couldn’t hear her.. “Lost a wing, and now Sky Stinger’s the only member of this whole bucking family who’ll live up to your damned legacy!” Lightning snarled. He couldn’t even be bothered to even send her a sympathy card, for crying out loud! Just some small notice that he cared! But no, if her “Father” cared one jot about her, he would have shown it a long time ago. “Yeah, that’s dear old dad for ya, not giving a damn about somepony unless they benefit him directly, and I never really was a benefit to him. I was just one more child to look after, one more mouth to feed. More money to come out of his pocketbook, that’s all I was to him. All I ever will be,” She thought as she suddenly found herself gazing to where her wing once was. But to her surprise, the space wasn’t as empty as she thought it would be. Instead, there was a metal appendage, a crude copy of a wing with very sharp metal feathers and adorned with glowing runes gleaming with magic. “Great, so I’m a freak now. Wonderful,” Lightning thought sarcastically. “Should have just left the damn thing off and let me bleed to death,” Lightning stifled a sob, she couldn’t cry. Not now. She’d long ago carefully constructed a mask, and she couldn’t let it break now. Suddenly, she felt very warm arms wrap around her and pull her into a hug, long yellow and red hair falling in front of her face. “S-Sunset?” Lightning whispered, scarcely able to believe her eyes. Last she heard, Sunset was off in another country doing Twilight a favor. Helping her find some crystal of some sort. Lightning barely remembered the details, she couldn’t have cared less about things like jungle expeditions to foreign countries. “Yeah, it’s me,” the Princess of Empathy answered. “I came as soon as I heard, even had to teleport across an entire continent and you know much how much I hate that.” She joked. Lightning smiled weakly as Sunset released her from the hug. Yeah, she remembered alright. “Yeah, makes you sick to your stomach, doesn’t it? Thrown up yet?” Lightning teased. Sunset tried to look at anything but her. Lightning snorted. Yeah, she thought so. “Boring as I thought it would be?” Lightning commented. Sunset frowned, she knew the pegasus was trying to deflect things away from her current situation. But she answered anyway. “Well, wouldn’t go that far. Had to fight a perverted thief and a giant river god, among other things.” Sunset replied, and Lightning stared, unsure if she was kidding or not. Then again, Sunset, at least the one she knew was never one to brag about her accomplishments or make things up. Robert maybe or even her, but Sunset? “...Tell me at least you kicked that pervert’s sorry ass.” Lightning asked, still not sure if Sunset was lying about the river god part. In her mind, Sunset would probably do that to make it seem like she had a worse week than Lightning herself just to make her feel better. “...Imayhavekickedhiminthetesticles.” Sunset mumbled rather quickly in response, her face flushing red. Lightning snorted once again, unable to help herself. Good for Sunset. There was a soft rapping at the door and a Trottingham sounding accent asked: “May I come in?” Lightning nodded and Sunset opened the door to reveal to Lightning’s shock, Robert Williams. “H-How are you even up here?” Lightning stammered out. “Well, Twilight may have performed the cloud-walking spell on me, said she wasn’t sure if it would work or not because I had no magical DNA in me whatsoever and it could very well just make me explode from the inside so didn’t make me very confident as being used as a lab rat, for better or for worse,” Robert muttered, though judging from his tone he didn’t hold anything against Twilight and was just joking around as always in an attempt to lighten the mood. Lightning, however, did notice he was trying to avert his gaze from her artificial wing as much as possible. “So, not dead as it turns out. Didn’t explode in a shower of blood and gore, so yay for me,” He then turned to Sunset, probably in yet another attempt (At least that’s what Lightning was thinking) in order to not look at her new appendage. “So, heard you kicked a guy in the plums while you were in Party Central after he got a little too hands-on. Good for you.” Robert commented lightly. Lightning stared at him in shock. “Who are you and what have you done with Robert Williams, Foxy Man-Whore extraordinaire?” She asked, completely stunned. “Hey, a difference between coming onto someone and just plain sexual harassment. I do have some class after all.” He said, somewhat offended. “Could have fooled me…” Sunset muttered to herself and Lightning smirked. Seems even Sunset had her limits of what she was willing to put up with relating to Robert’s comments. If Robert heard her, he showed no sign of it. “What about the Org?” Lightning asked. “Got its sorry arse kicked by me, Sunburst and an old friend,” Robert stated before joking: “Brought who knows how many years of bad luck down on us when we shattered it.” “I’ve already gotten that bad luck, I think,” Lightning mused privately, in a bitter tone of voice. “Still, good for Sunburst. I’m happy somepony took that thing down. ...Just wish it was me though...” She then spotted Sunburst and Vapor outside, with Sunburst hiding behind Vapor in apparent fear. Lightning knew why, he was afraid of her and what she might do to him. “Mystic Mother… Is that really what everyone on this team thinks of me, a snarling, boiling cauldron of rage who could erupt at any moment?” Lightning thought back, and realized something rather horrifying. They, or at least Vapor, Robert and Sunburst did. After all, she hadn’t been particularly nice to them had she? Tartarus, for quite a long time, and with very good reason Robert thought she would try and murder him in his sleep for crying out loud! “Course they think of me that way, why wouldn’t they? I’m the perfect embodiment of the Thunderbird, after all. The one who brings terror and the fury of the Gods themselves from the skies,” Lightning thought, and if you looked closely you could see a small tear trailing down her face. “You two can come in you know, not like I’m going to be up and about for the next few days is it?” she whispered in a tone of bitterness. Vapor walked in, but Sunburst still looked absolutely terrified of her. “It’s okay Bat-Brain, not going to do anything to you. Not going to yell, not going to scream. It wasn’t your fault,” Hesitantly, Sunburst stepped forwards as Lightning smiled. “Good job on kicking that idiot’s flank for me, good job.” Lightning stated, and Sunburst’s jaw dropped in shock. He had been expecting for Lightning to just yell and scream at him, tell him this was all his fault, like everything always was with him. “I… I’m so sorry, so sorry,” Sunburst whispered fervently over and over to himself, almost like a mantra before teleporting away in a flash of black light. “Sunburst!” Robert shouted before cursing in Japanese (“Kuso!”) and teleporting away after his friend. Sunset sighed sadly. Lightning looked towards her. “Go after them, Sunburst needs your help more than I do right now. The doctors have got everything well in hand here,” Lightning reassured. “But-” Sunset started. “Go, just go,” Lightning ordered. Sunset looked at her. “You sure you’re going to be alright?” She asked and Lightning nodded. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be? Same as I ever was after all. Just got a badass metal wing now, that’s all.” she said. Sunset looked as if she didn’t believe her for a moment, but nodded anyways and teleported away. Vapor meanwhile just brought Lightning into a hug and the aqua colored pegasus broke down in her adoptive sister’s arms, finally letting her mask break completely and just cried. Vapor just cried with her, sharing her pain and held her. The Animarium: Sunset screamed in anger as she punched the trunk of a tree in frustration. It was all her fault! If she hadn’t gone off on that trip with Daring, Lightning might have never lost her wing and had to get it replaced. “Some Princess I turned out to be. Daring could have handled herself, but I had to go along with her and leave my team… No, my family flailing about without a leader,” she thought to herself. With a scream of rage, she fired a blast of energy up into the tree and birds scattered and flew off into the sky. Sunset pulled out her sword and sliced a training dummy in half to blow off some steam, imagining the dummy as the Mirror Org from the rest of the team’s descriptions. She then sliced another dummy in half, thinking of it as Goldar and then another dummy imagining it as Thrax. One last dummy met its fate as Sunset saw Solar Flare laughing at her and her failures in its place. “Goddess dammit, it’s everything with her. Everything boils down to her in the end, doesn’t it? All the bigotry and sheer hatred, that if what Shining told me is true, brought the Orgs back to life in the first place and by extension gave Lightning her prosthetic, she started,” Sunset thought to herself, as she demorphed panting and sweating. “Sooner or later, we have to take down Solar Flare, or who knows how bad things will get. Mystic Mother above, I just hope Twilight can pull this off, otherwise we’re all going to burn. Solar Flare won’t stop at anything, and sooner or later she’ll probably deem all of us a threat to her and attack us directly. We need to strike first, otherwise… We’re bucked,” Sunset growled and threw her sword into the tree behind her, the short sword type blade impaling itself in the trunk scorching the bark somewhat. “It’s not your fault you know. None of it is,” Princess Shayla said in an attempt at reassurance as she wandered into the glen. Sunset scoffed as she sat herself down on a nearby boulder. “Believe me, every bad thing that’s happened to this team can probably be blamed on me in some way. I’m a failure at a leader, and don’t you bother denying it. You know perfectly well it’s true. I told you before, I wasn’t cut out for this shit.” Shayla sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her in comfort. “And yet I still believe in you. So does the Phoenix Zord, and the rest of your team. If they didn’t, you would know. Now, instead of lurking around feeling sorry for yourself, I suggest you start thinking more about your plan to deal with Solar Flare and separating her from Celestia. That is what you intend to do with her, is it not?” Shayla asked eyebrow raised. Sunset smiled as she hugged Shayla, with her fellow Princess returning the hug. As Sunset teleported away, Shayla looked towards the Lion’s Perch. “You think she’s ready?” Shayla asked, and the Red Lion seemed to shake his head no before responding. “No, there’s one more thing she needs to face before she’s earned what you ask of me. That particular Animal Crystal can’t be given out, not yet. I’ve spoken with him, and he agrees with me. Only once Sunset’s worked through all of her fears will he give up his abilities for the team’s use. A Pride of lions cannot function without its King, and a team cannot work together if all of the members have their doubts. You know this as well as I do.” Shayla sighed to herself. Yeah, she did. The Nexus: Thrax looked up as Retinax walked in, axe in hand. He chuckled, he’d have been a fool if he hadn’t seen this coming sooner or later. “So, now you’ve finally worked up the courage to take the throne for yourself?” Thrax asked as he got up off his throne. “Going to have to deal with me first,” “I intend to, far too long have I listened to your lies and machinations. You couldn’t give a damn about us, so you’re absolutely right. You must be destroyed if Org-kind is to survive.” Thrax snarled and shot red fireballs from his palm. Retinax deflected them with his axe before swinging it downwards into the ground sending a series of explosions towards Thrax. The false Master Org slammed the tip of his staff into the ground and created his own explosions to counter this. The two lunged towards each other, weapons meeting in the middle again and again in a shower of sparks. Retinax elbowed Thrax in the face before kicking him in the gut making him stagger before getting in a slice across the chest. Retinax went for another swing, but Thrax leaped upwards and fired lightning from his Wand. Retinax used his axe to block the energy before slashing Thrax across the chest again. Thrax’s eyes widened when he heard the sound of shuriken coming in from behind him. An energy blast fired and reduced these shuriken to ashes as Goldar teleported in and got in several quick slashes across Helicos’ chest. “My advice, when you’re staging a coup… Be aware of all the players in the game.” Thrax laughed. He then grabbed Helicos with his Wand and threw her into Retinax. Goldar laughed as his energy beam charged up again... Wonderbolts Academy A few days later, Lightning returned to work at the Wonderbolts Academy. Vapor had informed her that she and Rainbow had thought up the excuse that Lightning had lost her original wing in a night time flight accident. So far, nopony seemed to be questioning that excuse much to Lightning’s relief. However, she did wish she could avoid the stares, whispering and pointing. “Great, normally I like to be the center of attention but today I wish I wasn’t,” Lightning muttered to herself. “Irony, you really love me don’t you?” Every so often, Lightning took a glance at her wing and just sighed. She still hadn’t gotten used to it, and if she was to be honest with herself, probably never would. “Hey sis, heard about what happened,” Sky Stinger said as he jogged up alongside her. “...Mystic Mother above, I visited you in the hospital while the doctors were patching you up, along with this strange fellow in a blue suit who suggested the prosthetic wing in the first place. What happened, I know you’re smart enough not to go flying in the middle of the night, so why’d you do it?” Ignoring the fact that Sky had accidentally divulged who exactly was the reason she was a freak in the first place, Lightning glared at him harshly. “I had my reasons, okay?” She snapped. “Dad?” Sky guessed. “If it were only him… Least then I’d have somepony I could punch in the face and somepony to yell and scream at without feeling like a little bitch,” Lightning thought to herself and lied through her teeth. “Yeah, it was about him,” She said quickly, perhaps a little too quickly. Sky swore quietly. “Can’t believe he didn’t even show up to see if you were alright, though that’s no surprise. Couldn’t even be bothered to send a card,” Sky growled quietly to himself. Lightning noted Sky hadn’t even said Wind Rider’s name at all. He actually seemed to be actively avoiding it. Then again, Lightning remembered that Sky didn’t really consider the stallion much of a father either anymore. For a moment, just a brief fleeting moment, the Wonderbolt in Training idly wondered if there was a time Wind Rider even showed the slightest love towards his kids, but quickly brushed that thought aside. She already knew the answer to that. “Yeah, shittiest father of the year goes to him, as always,” Lightning muttered to herself. “Should you even be at practice today, I mean with your…” Sky trailed off, taking a quick glance at Lightning’s wing before a harsh glare from his sister quickly told him to either change subjects or shut up. Sky got the message/warning in an instant and quickly heeded it. “Hang in there sis, and yes I know that’s probably coming off one of those cat posters those shops sell, but you know what I mean. And listen, if you ever need to talk or a shoulder to cry on you can always come to me or Vapor,” Sky said in support. “I. Don’t. Cry,” his sister hissed. Sky didn’t look like as if he believed her for a moment. “You know what I mean.” he said and Lightning sighed to herself. She then muttered “Yeah, I do,” to herself as she headed towards Spitfire’s office. She had something to do. As much as she didn’t want to do it, it was probably for the best nowadays. Not like she was going to be in the best of shape anymore. As she walked through the hallway leading up to her Captain’s office, Lightning brushed past Angel Wings. The younger mare gave her a sympathetic glance, eyes filled with only pity. Lightning snarled and shoved her aside. She didn’t need anypony’s pity. She wasn’t worth it. With a light shove, Lightning pushed the door to Spitfire’s office open. Like the corridor leading up to it, it was adorned with Wonderbolts posters. Lightning swallowed nervously before chuckling darkly. Last time she had walked in here of her own violation it was at one of the worst points of her life. Now she was doing it again, once more at a very low point in her life and at a crossroads about what to do with it. As always, Spitfire was looking through her paperwork. It was often a topic of scuttlebutt amongst the junior Wonderbolts that their Captain never took a day off in her life and/or that she was secretly a Robot in Disguise from another planet. If Soarin’ or any of the other seniors knew, they weren’t talking. With only a brief glance upwards from her work, Spitfire knew at once who was in her office. “Something the matter, Dust?” She asked, and from the look on Lightning’s face, she could tell it was serious. Lightning took a long breath and nodded hesitantly before placing a sheet of paper on Spitfire’s already cluttered desk. Her Captain’s eyes widened in shock. “This is…” Spitfire breathed out. “Yeah, I’m handing in my resignation form. With this… wing,” Lightning scoffed in disgust after taking another look at her appendage, a mockery of the thing it was supposed to represent. “I’m about as much use to you as a flier as a broken pencil is to a student.” “You really believe that? I’ve known a few flyers in my time who’ve been able to get along perfectly fine with prosthetics, and I don’t see them complaining. Last time you walked into this office, you were begging me to take you back, you just going to walk away from that?” Spitfire asked, and Lightning hung her head. “That’s not the mare I know, not the Lightning Dust I know. Plus, it’s not just this team that needs you,” Lightning’s eyes widened as Spitfire took off her sunglasses. “W-What do you mean ma’am?” “I think you know exactly what I mean. You going to walk away from them too?” Spitfire asked eyebrow raised. “H-How long have you…” Lightning stammered out, unable to complete the sentence. “For a while now, this is the reason why I haven’t been so mad when you or Vapor fail to show up on certain days. Connected the dots really to when the Aqua and Purple Rangers were about and the days you failed to show. But I’m getting off track. Last fall I was in Ponyville one night and here’s what I saw…” Spitfire began to explain... Last Year: She was out walking one night on her way home from a bar, that’s when she saw it. At the time, Spitfire had dismissed the Power Rangers as just drunken rumors. But seeing was believing. There Lightning was, fighting off a hoard of Putrids in an alleyway. Just when they were about to overwhelm her, Lightning shouted out “Legendary Wild Access!” and in a blue flash of light and an explosion of energy knocked back several of the young Orgs-to-be. With a flurry of rapid-fire punches, Lightning took down several more before there was a ringing sound. Lightning pulled out the gold colored phone-like device that she had yelled into as her morphing call and flipped it open. "L-Lightning... I-I might need your help down here. I'm not alone, I can feel it." Vapor stuttered out over the Growl Phone and Lightning rolled her eyes before punching a Putrid in the face. "Well of COURSE you're not alone you dumbo!" Lightning Dust snapped as she kicked a Putrid into some crates before backhanding another trying to come at her from behind. "There's a freaking damned Org on the loose! The Princess sent you after it, and you're going to get it! I swear, my brother would have been a better pick for a Ranger than you, both you and Sunburst are such worrywarts!" "I-I'm not joking around here, there's something powerful here, and I don't think it's the Org the Princess sent me after!" Vapor yelled in fear and Lightning's jaw dropped in shock. Vapor sounded genuinely terrified out of her mind. With a resigned sigh after a few moments of hesitation, Lightning responded. "Alright, I'll get over there as fast as I can, but remember this, you and I are going after the Org I'M supposed to be hunting after this, understand?" Lightning said before she hung up. Now, with both of her hands free Lightning took down the last two Putrids with two quick slashes from her Crystal Saber. Now: “And that’s the end of it. Been keeping an eye on your team ever since. Wasn’t that hard to figure out who was the newest member when he showed up. I’m not an idiot after all,” Spitfire remarked. Lightning chuckled. “No, you’re not ma’am. I guess I’m the idiot really. Walking away from them, I’d just be like… Well, him really,” Spitfire raised an eyebrow in curiosity but decided not to press. Didn’t seem to be her business. If Lightning wanted to keep some things to herself, that was her choice. If she wanted to speak up about something, she could do it whenever she was ready to do so. Right about then, Lightning’s Growl Phone rang. “Can I take this?” She asked. Spitfire smirked. “Go get ‘em,” She stated and Lightning returned the smirk before running out the door as the situation was explained. Spitfire still kept that smirk on her face, that mare was going to go far in life. She just knew it in her gut. With a glance towards her desk, she looked at a picture of an older mare with a similar appearance to herself. Spitfire smiled softly. “Hope you’re proud of me and the ‘Bolts, mom. I’m keeping them together, just like you asked me.” She thought. Ponyville: Lightning, riding in on her Savage Cycle to find her teammates wrapped up in what looked like pipes and slowly being strangled/electrocuted by a faucet themed Org, who had the hot and cold knobs for eyes. She poured on some speed and smashed right through the Tenga blockade and fired the Savage Cycle’s lasers at the pipes cutting right through them. Lightning leaped off the bike and kicked the newest Org spirit in the face making him stagger back. “You want a fight? You got it bud,” Lightning snarled before dealing out a few quick slashes with her Crystal Saber and then a powerful downward slash striking the Org right down the middle. “Sure you don’t need any help making a show of things, Lightning-Bitch?” Robert teased. “No, he’s all mine,” Lightning snarled. Vapor smiled under her helmet, the Lightning she knew and loved was back, no question about it. The Aqua Ranger thrusted her arm skywards before shouting “I need Red Dragon Thunderzord power, now!” A roar pierced the heavens as towering storm-clouds gathered and covered Ponyville in blackness. Next, Lightning focused her energy towards her wings, both mechanical and flesh and they extended outwards before she rocketed skywards shouting “You want to be really shocked, Org? Try this one for size!” Even as she did that, she thought back to something she had seen Rainbow do a few times before. Rainbow, in a flurry of color, was darting from cloud to cloud rebounding off of them in flashes of light till she rocketed through the hoops and bucked a cloud out of existence entirely. Rainbow then landed on the grass and smirked at Lightning’s impressed look. Lightning came down, darting from cloud to cloud zigzagging between pillars of storm-cloud as a lightning bolt before she flew down like a bullet. She dealt one final slash across the chest charged with lightning before another lightning bolt came down and struck the Faucet Org dead on. The Org, staggering to his feet chuckled and swallowed what looked to be beans before vines wrapped around him and he grew to the size of a titan. But the Red Dragon was quick to react and breathed hot flame at the Org as Lightning leaped inside the cockpit. Inside, it was simple enough with just two joysticks to control the Zord and an Asian style dragon painted in red behind Lightning. Oddly, however, there was what looked to be a keyhole between the two joysticks used for controls. Lighting grunted. She could think about that for another time. Right now, she had other things to worry about. “Warrior Mode, now!” She shouted and with the shifting and whirring of parts and a sound like a jet engine, the Zord assumed its Warrior Mode and pulled out its Bo Staff. “Now, let’s see you try this on for size... “ As the Faucet Org sprayed hot water at the Megazord, the staff split apart and became a sansetsukon, a three part staff not that different from the weapons known as Nunchaku. Lightning commanded the Red Dragon to spin the sansetsukon around and around and it did so, fending off the hot water streams. The resulting show was elegant, dance like almost. Lightning continued spinning the weapon around and around striking the Org multiple times. “Piece of cake. And now for the finisher!” Lightning shouted before the sansetsukon became a Bo Staff once again. It was spun around 360 degrees creating hot embers as the Red Dragon charged forwards and dealt one final strike across the chest sending the Org up in a tower of flame. The Red Dragon, per Lightning’s command, raised its staff high in victory. She smirked to herself and in the cockpit whispered “Thanks, Captain. I needed that... And thank you Rainbow, I wouldn't have been able to defeat this Org without you.” Lightning smiled wistfully to herself. Maybe she should call up her favorite pegasus and have a small chat with her... Author's Note Okay, here we go, the second part of the storyline I left you on last month. What I tried to do here with Spitfire was strike a balance with her Drill Sarge-like persona when she's off duty and what little we see of her off-duty persona. Also, on another note, the Org of the chapter was inspired by this pre-PR series monster: http://powerrangers.wikia.com/wiki/Faucet_Dimension
Part 38: The Fury of a Phoenix and the Sorrow of a KitsuneCarousel Boutique: Robert William’s Room Robert tossed and turned under his covers as his dreams took hold of him. No, that wasn’t accurate. Memories. Earlier that week, Zen-Aku had turned up on the Animarium and had informed both the Rangers and Princess Shayla of some rather disturbing news… The Animarium: “Please tell me you’re joking, please please tell me that.” Sunset said nervously, while behind her both Lightning and Robert shared equally gobsmacked looks. It would have been a comical sight to see, given any other situation. In front of her was the dark wolfish Duke Org known as Zen-Aku. Behind him, looking rather nervous at the prospect of being in the Valley of the Wild Zords, all of which could rip them limb from limb if given the chance were Toxica and Jindrax. Toxica in particular deliberately averted her eyes away from the gorilla-themed fountain/viewing pool filled with sacred water that was partially responsible for temporarily sending her to the Org Afterlife. And she would have stayed there as well, had Jindrax not come up with a cunning plan and quite literally, had gone fishing for her. “Sadly, I don’t joke,” He stated in his usual straight and direct tone of voice that the Rangers had grown used to. “Goldar is very much alive and well.” “B-But we all saw him die! Tartarus, you blasted a hole right through his chest with that Predator Wave of yours!” Sunburst stammered out in fear before holding his head in pain and muttering “T-This is not happening. I-I think I need to sit down a moment.” Princess Shayla helped him to a chair which the older Ranger gracefully accepted and he staggered into it. “Death is of no barrier to Thrax as already shown when he violated the natural order the first few times when he revived Goldar and his other generals,” Zen-Aku said bluntly. “Monsters can come back from the dead if the circumstances are right. Me and Toxica (Here he gestured to the female Duke Org) are living proof of that if you excuse the poor pun.” Toxica rolled her eyes as she leaned up against a tree trunk, she could care less about the Wolf of the Night’s morbid jokes. “Hey wait!” Jindrax shouted in anger, suddenly speaking up for the first time. “Are you saying me bringing Toxica back from the dead was a violation!?! She was my best friend, I bet you would do the same if you had a best friend!” Zen-Aku suddenly was right in front of the clown like Duke Org and holding him by the throat, his fangs bared. “You think I haven’t even considered that a few times? Merrick was my friend, as hard as it was to believe,” He growled out, fury in his every word the Duke Org’s ferocious temper on full display. “But he died when it was his time, and bringing him back now would break any promises I made to him, along with hurting Princess Shayla! She saw him pass on once, I won’t let her feel that same pain again!” Behind him, Princess Shayla tried very hard not to cry at Merrick’s memory with Sunset wrapping an arm around her in support. Vapor sighed before she and Robert began pulling both Zen-Aku and Jindrax apart. “Hold it you two! Save your problems with each for another time, not here! If you want to slaughter each other like the testosterone-filled Orgs you are, do it elsewhere!” Robert snapped. “Hey, he started it!” Jindrax snapped before huffing and crossing his arms like a child. “Why’d you even decide to bring these two here anyways?” Lightning asked, gesturing to Jindrax and Toxica. “I thought we could use some extra allies in our fight against Thrax and his band of merry men, but it seems I was wrong in you five trusting my judgment.” Zen-Aku explained with a growl in his voice before vanishing into the surrounding forest. Princess Shayla tried calling after him, but to no avail, as the Wolf Zord hung his head and let out a low whine. “...Well, that could have gone better…” Sunset sighed to herself before she whirled on Robert. “And you, you definitely didn’t help matters with your little rant!” “What did I do?” Robert asked in confusion, holding his hands up in a surrendering motion while taking a few steps back from the furious Alicorn. “You judged all Orgs, including Zen-Aku, who correct me if I’m wrong helped us out while I was in the hospital and saved our asses from Goldar and Thrax, as monsters!” Sunset snapped at him. In the background, Jindrax had produced some popcorn and was trying to offer it up to Toxica much to her disgust. “Well correct me if I’m wrong Princess, but Orgs, by definition, ARE monsters! Or haven’t you forgotten what we’ve been fighting for the past few months? So excuse me if I’m not going to just open my arms to the prospect of having Orgs on our side!” Robert retorted back. “You sound just like Solar Flare…” Sunset growled, and Robert’s eyes widened before looking like he’d been physically struck. “Judging an entire race just by the actions of, for what all we know, are a few!” Robert’s mouth promptly shut itself after that. With that, he growled and stormed off into the treeline. Sunset then found herself soundly slapped across the face by the last person she expected. “That was uncalled for, Sunset and you know it. While Robert’s definitely in the wrong about all Orgs being monsters, you essentially just compared him to the mare who slaughtered his entire race,” Shayla said calmly, but anyone who looked at her could see both the disappointment and anger in her eyes. “How’d you think he’d take that?” Sunset took a step back as the full magnitude of her statement hit home. With a scream of frustration, she blasted a tree trunk with a beam of green magic, just barely missing Toxica’s head by an inch and leaving a scorch mark where it hit. Needless to say, the Duke Org took a step back. Sunset stifled a sob and choked out “Why… Why do I always let my temper get the better of me? Some fine Princess of Empathy I’ve turned out to be, eh? Mystic Mother, I’m such a bitch.” Vapor pulled her into a wing-hug. “It’s… It’s okay, you just need to control it better, learn from yourself. Give Robert a few days, you know how he is. You both just need to cool down. He’ll forgive you, in time,” “Y-You think so?” Sunset asked. “Hey, if he was willing to become good friends with Lightning Dust, who tried to kill him the first chance she got… Well, I’d lay my odds on him forgiving you as well.” Vapor chuckled and Sunset couldn’t help but laugh a bit along with her. Now: The wake-up alarm, set to the tune of Goodbye Stranger played in the background and its owner groaned as he rubbed his tired eyes. Robert sighed as he pulled the covers off himself and got up off his futon, (Rarity had insisted on a regular bed for his room but Robert had said he preferred futons and that was the end of it.) he’d heard that entire conversation and still didn’t know what to think really. While what Sunset said was cruel, he knew that she didn’t mean it that way, at least not on purpose. What’s worse, she did have a point. Zen-Aku did save their lives a few times, and he owed him that much. Plus, if he remembered correctly, the SPD files said something about Jindrax and Toxica helping to seal the Nexus along with the original Wild Force Rangers. “What was it you said Theo?” Robert pondered before he remembered. “Oh right, women are usually right about something, even if you don’t know it at first. Heh, only now that I’m starting to figure all of this out. Gott, ich bin so ein Blödmann.” He chuckled, no wonder Theo was a Pai Zhau Master and he wasn’t. Robert’s room was simple in decoration with cream colored walls, with only a few albums hanging on the wall (Mostly comprised of Supertramp, of all things with a few outliers) and a pastel white dresser with a charger for his phone. In the corner of the room was a closet for his clothes. Robert rubbed his tired eyes and pulled on a simple tank top as he pulled open the curtains and let Celestia’s sun shine in. There came a soft knock at the door. Robert groaned out “What it is Rares, way too early in the bloody morning for my tastes. Still half-asleep here.” as he pulled on a bathrobe. He opened the door to find Rarity already dressed in her usual sweater and dress combo. “It’s 12:00 in the afternoon dear. You overslept. And it’s Sunset, she wants to speak to you. Alone.” Robert muttered out “Wunderbar.” to himself. Robert slowly trudged downstairs where sure enough, Sunset, who looked as if she’d gotten dressed in a hurry was waiting for him. Noticeably, she was trying to look at anything but him. “...What are you doing here?” Robert asked, genuinely surprised and barely managing to get the words out due to his shock. “I… I wanted to apologize for our little… What would you call it? Spat?” Sunset replied, flushing as crimson as her dress. “Well, not the words I’d use for it. Full blown pissing contest really, but spat works good enough I suppose.” Robert chuckled lightly. “And to be honest, you did sorta have a point.” “What, about you being similar to a genocidal maniac who happens to be my adoptive mother’s split personality?” Sunset asked, in a tone of self-derision. “Okay, maybe that’s putting it one way, but more like me and my… unreasonable prejudice against Orgs. Did a bit of thinking, and while I still don’t trust Zen-Aku or his two friends by a landslide I’m willing to work with them.” “Same, and you did have a point. Orgs, by definition, are monsters. Just… maybe not all of them. Did a bit of light reading, and found this quote. “Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.” I suppose we both need to learn from that.” Robert nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I suppose we both do.” Unknown to him or Sunset, both Rarity and her husband were listening in from behind a wall. “500 Bits say they get together at the end of the week,” Zephyr commented, and Rarity stared at him. “Excuse me? A lady doesn’t bet on her friends and their love lives!” Rarity whispered back. Her husband raised an eyebrow. Rarity sighed to herself. “...Fine, 300 bits say they get together by tonight.” “You’re on.” Zephyr challenged. Unaware of this, Robert and Sunset continued to talk. “There’s another saying I’d like to quote, this time from my Master. “Mar-Er, Women are usually right about something, even if you don’t know it at first.” Wise man,” Sunset chuckled. “Yeah, that he is. Listen, I want to make things up to you. Later tonight, you can come around my place. Found something you might like. Interested me as well, it’s in Neighponiese so I can’t pronounce it worth a damn but...” “Oh, well this ought to be good…” Robert chuckled, curiosity peaked. “One question though, why do you look like you’re dressed like you’re going out for a gala or something?” Sunset flushed even redder. “Ah… Well, this is sorta the awkward part. I got invited to an art auction for charity and I needed to bring a plus-one, so…” “Flattered.” Robert deadpanned. “Sounds like a real snooze-fest, but oh… What the Hell eh? If it technically gets me on two dates with you in one day, who am I to say no?” “Not a date,” Sunset said flatly. “Sure sounds like it to me, Sunny.” Robert chirped and the Princess of Empathy rolled her eyes, before she then eyed Robert’s attire. “Just one thing, wear something nice okay?” This time Robert was the one flushing red. Ponyville Art Gallery: Robert, per Sunset’s request had indeed dressed nicely for the occasion. He’d actually gone as far as to dress up in an outfit that homaged Sokichi Banba/Big One of J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai, right down to the white fedora and rose lapel. Sunset had cleaned up some as well and tied her mane in a bun looking quite respectable. All around them, various pieces of artwork ranging from paintings to hand crafted sculptures surrounded the twosome with various ponies admiring them. Painting style varied as well, from pop art to realism, to abstract. Robert even saw an old oil painting of a Fenghuang, the Chinese version of a phoenix. “Okay, not as boring as I thought,” Robert mused, even if he would never admit it aloud. “Reminds me of the National Gallery back home.” His eyes then widened as he saw alongside a green furred stallion with a brown mane, a Griffon with fur and feathers of varying gray hues. “Okay, wasn’t expecting that…”He muttered to himself, blinking his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. “Insanity of this town must be getting to me, because there is no way a Griffon should exist.” Sunset then called the two over. “Troy, Canvas! Nice seeing you here.” Sunset remarked as the two walked over. Robert blinked again. Okay, evidently he wasn’t going insane or seeing things. “Okay, introductions? Kinda lost here...” Robert stated as the two shook hands with Sunset all the while thinking: “Does she know everypony in this town?” “Robert, this is Troy and Canvas Clawston,” Sunset said as she made the introductions. “Troy, Canvas, this is Robert Williams.” “Apologies for the cluelessness on not knowing you, or the humanity,” Robert said politely, before switching for the deadpan for the second remark. “Also for the showing off.” Sunset mused privately to herself as she glanced at Robert’s attire as both Troy and Canvas chuckled. “No need, we’re not like some of those other fools in Ponyville,” Troy stated while shaking Robert’s hand with his paw. “Firm grip,” Robert thought to himself as he gave a small wince in pain. “Note to self, never shake paws with, much less, bed a griffon. Though I may have to consider dating outside pony-kind for dating material, seeing as how the pony you love doesn’t seem to know you like her. ...Wow, never thought I’d say it but Luna was right on the money. I am in love with Sunset.” “Danke,” Robert said. “Like the outfit,” Canvas complimented. “So, what are you doing here? I’ve heard of you, never pegged you as the artsy type.” “...Got dragged into this, if I have to be honest. And may I ask, so what do you two do?” “My husband Troy, he works as a stage performer and part-time member of the Pony-Tones. Does quite well as the Phantom of the Opera.” “Props to Lindsey Stirling for that gotta say…” Robert commented, desperately reaching for anything he could remember on the play. Sadly, the song was the only thing he could think of. “Who?” Troy asked. “Never mind…” Robert sighed before muttering “Ugh, try and spring a pop culture reference on an Equestrian…” to himself. “Canvas is an artist, he’s the one who invited me to this event. Even the guy who got the idea to host it, actually.” Sunset explained with Robert nodding in understanding. “Nothing quite like that, I invited Sunset but a friend of mine, Troy’s brother Lyle actually, was the one who came up with the idea for the event.” Canvas explained. “He an artist too?” Robert inquired. “Sketch drawer for comics and album covers actually,” Troy explained before flushing red. “Even if most of these things are banned in Equestria really,” Robert and Sunset shared a raised eyebrow. “Okay, now I’m interested…” Robert trailed off. “Trust me, you really don’t want to know,” Troy warned. “Oh, trust me I really do now,” Robert stated really not knowing what was coming. Troy sighed to himself and looked skywards. He then said “Don’t say I didn’t warn you…” before gesturing for them to lean in close. He then whispered in their ear. Sunset and Robert both took a step back in both shock and disgust “...Well, that explains all that “love” for the Pink Boto Dolphin over in Rio…” Sunset muttered in distaste as she shuddered. “OH MOTHER OF MARY, THAT SHIT IS SO BLEEDIN’ WRONG!” Robert shouted in revulsion before noticing everyone was staring right at him. He laughed nervously before saying “Carry on, pretend you didn’t hear that.” with a gesture of his hand. Sunset then heard somepony calling her over, and she looked over to see a dark blue stallion with red tinted sunglasses waving her over. “Excuse me for a moment, have to see what Fashion Plate wants.” Sunset apologized. As Sunset walked off, Robert’s gaze lingered on her for longer than was necessary. Both Troy and Canvas took notice. “You like her, don’t you?” Troy asked flat out. “Yeah… Problem is I… I just can’t be with her. Personal regulations. Huh, guess she was right when she told me I was in love with somepony else and it was obvious to anyone with a brain, but I just couldn’t see it. Must have missed out on a great relationship with her if I wasn’t so caught up with a mare I can never be with, not with the way she sees me.” Robert said sadly, letting his cheery mask slip and a tear drip from his eye before he quickly wiped it away before anyone could see. “So what? You like her, and for all the Tartarus you know, she likes you back!” Troy stated firmly, putting both of his hands on Robert’s shoulders. “Have you even considered that fact?” “N-No, but I’m not exactly prime dating material. I’m a womanizing show-off who likes getting on everypony’s nerves for kicks,” Robert muttered in self-derision. “Now, why would a bloody Princess even look at me twice, answer me that!” “Listen, I can’t claim to know your situation, but you seem like a nice enough person. Even if what you said about yourself is true, somepony who loves you would see past all that,” Troy stated, with Canvas nodding along with him. “Maybe, just maybe you’re worrying over nothing. Just give yourself a chance, give the possibility of Sunset liking you back a thought you might be surprised.” “Yeah, and I’m going to start getting along with Celestia anytime soon…” Robert muttered. Troy sighed sadly to himself. “Just… Just give it a thought okay?” He asked and Robert nodded. Right about then, Sunset returned explaining Fashion Plate wanted to bid for a Zebra Fertility Idol and Canvas muttered “Those things still haven’t been banned yet?” before Sunset looked at the threesome. “Something I miss?” She asked. “No, nothing,” Robert lied as before whispering “No, nothing at all…” Sunset Shimmer’s House: Just as Sunset had promised Robert, later that night he returned to her home dressed in more casual clothing (Not knowing at all what to expect.) and knocked on the door. It was answered by Sunset, dressed in a simple black tank-top and khaki shorts. She raised an eyebrow at his attire. “You do realize you’re dressed in pink… Right?” She noted, with an amused smile noting Robert’s sweater. “It-It was the only thing Rarity had!” Robert stammered out. “‘S-Sides, only a real man could pull this off! And it’s maroon for your information!” Sunset simply chuckled and let him inside. He followed her to the sitting room, where an old film projector had been set up and when Robert saw what it was playing, his eyes widened in that way only a nerd’s could before he whispered one single word: “Gojira.” “I thought his name was Godzilla, said so on the film reels,” Sunset asked in confusion as she placed a bucket of popcorn between them on the couch. “Well, that’s technically correct but Gojira was the original Japanese name for him,” Robert explained and just smiled all the while as the King of Monsters laid waste to Tokyo in front of the two’s eyes. Robert grinned when Gojira’s scales lit up before he unleashed his famous blast of nuclear breath on some unsuspecting buildings. “They say he’s got to go… Go go Godzilla…” Robert sung to himself as the onscreen devastation of what would become New Tech City continued. “So, why’d you like this movie again? Cheap B-Movie costumes, stuff blowing up?” Sunset asked, eyebrow raised and Robert spat out some popcorn right as Gojira made his famous roaring sound. “T-Tokusatsu is not B-Movie!” Robert stammered out. “Gojira is a film with a message. It’s about nuclear weapons, folly of man and all that. Nature will always out. It’s a film that’s parallel to the fear the Japanese felt after Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed back in World War Two! It’s a very deep film...Although yes, I do admit I like it for the giant monster and stuff blowing up. Plus, throw in the VS films and you’ve got yourself quite a show,” “Bet the director was thinking along the lines of “Hade ni ikuze!” when thinking of those films as well, weren’t they?” Sunset teased, and Robert blushed, having his favorite saying turned on him. “Yeah… About that… There’s something you need to know about me Sunset, something I should have told everypony on this team a while back,” “Really?” Sunset asked, leaning in close in curiosity. “Yeah… All that showing off, that arrogance of mine you see so often… Well, there’s a reason for it. I… I just wanted Theo and Sky to be proud of me. Crappy excuse I know, but I guess… I just wanted to be a good Ranger and hero and live up to their expectations that they set out for me,” Robert sighed sadly. “Guess I botched that up big time, didn’t I?” “No…” Sunset reassured. “No, no you didn’t. I’d like to think they’d be proud of you. Both of your friends. You were quite the hero when I was in the hospital from what I heard,” “Please… Zen-Aku did most of the work, not me. Praise him instead,” Robert muttered, once again in a tone of self-derision. “No, you’re not giving yourself enough credit. I heard about how you faced down Bunglay with the rest of the team. That was bravery, that was the mark of a hero,” Sunset stated softly. “You think so?” Robert asked in surprise, neither Ranger noticing how close they were to each other. “Yeah, I know so.” Sunset smiled before she closed the gap between them... Author's Note Okay, so it's finally happened! Okay, I admit this chapter was originally going to feature another battle against Bunglay and some legendary Rangers you guys chose, but I wanted a simple slice of life chapter before I throw everyone off the deep end again. Anyways, I hope Sunset didn't come across as too bitchy and I struck the right balance. Also, a huge thank you to the VClaw for letting me use his characters Troy and Canvas for this story, and unlike Rescue Sunstreak before them, I can confirm they will be appearing again.
Part 39: The Hunter's ReturnSunset Shimmer’s Home: Robert smiled as he looked at the absolutely beautiful mare beside him, snuggled up into his side, her head resting on his shoulder and clutching his arm tightly. At sometime during the movie, the two had fallen asleep right then and there on the couch. Perhaps it was weariness from everything that had been going on as of late, or it was simply because of how content they were. Robert honestly didn’t know. He smiled as Sunset murmured his name in her sleep and snuggled into his side some more. Being careful not to disturb the mare beside him, he softly kissed her forehead. “Screw the SPD rules about interpersonal relationships between teammates, not like I was ever a good cop anyways nor am I a member of SPD anymore anyhow,” Robert thought to himself before he sighed as he looked at the clock on the wall. It was way past noon. As much as he would have loved to stay in this position forever, both of them had jobs to do. Sunset, her Princess duties, and Robert, his work at Rarity’s Boutique. He snorted briefly, wondering if the fashionista was freaking out about one of her employees being late for work and nowhere to be found. He knew that she was a bit of a drama queen from Sunset and his own interactions with her and idly wondered if him being late was in her own words: “The. Worst. Possible. Thing!” Tilting Sunset’s head to meet his own, he kissed her on the lips and whispered: “Hey beautiful, time to wake up.” Sunset’s eyes fluttered open and she groaned at the wake-up call. “...Couldn’t you have just let me sleep a bit longer? I was having the nicest dream…” Sunset mumbled as she got up off the couch and performed a few arm stretches before cracking her knuckles. “Really, what about?” Robert asked. Sunset sighed sadly. “The days before all this crap happened, or what could have been. Celestia was just my mother and not a split personality case… I wasn’t swamped with Princess duties, no Orgs running about, and we all thought humans were the worst the world had to offer,” Sunset sighed before quickly realizing what she said and shot Robert an embarrassed look. “No offense.’ Robert chuckled wryly. “None taken Sunset-Chan, there are all times I think we wish we could just turn back time and make life go back to normal, I suspect.” “Sadly, I think when I became a Power Ranger,” Sunset replied, taking her Phoenix and Elephant animal crystals out of her pocket and clutching them tightly. “Normal kinda flew out the window.” “Speaking of normal, how’d you think our teammates are going to react when they find out about… Well, us?” Robert asked awkwardly, not really knowing how to phrase their relationship (Which was probably perfectly understandable considering he’d never had a long-term one in his life) and Sunset snorted. “Lightning, jaw drop. Vapor, squeeing I suspect. Sunburst… Flushing red as a tomato and trying very hard to avoid the topic of sex. Galaxy, exact opposite,” Sunset said, listing off all of the suspected reactions on her fingers. “Daring, she’s not the romantic type from what I can gather so I doubt she would care. Same with Zen-Aku. But Shining’s the one you should worry about.” “Why’s that?” Robert asked. “Well, he always thought of me as an adoptive little sister considering how much time I spent around his actual sister, so… You should probably expect the overprotective big brother speech soon as he finds out,” “Gee… Glad you’re so concerned about my safety from a guy who fights with a sword that can turn into a shotgun and has a giant bull that can stomp me flat at his beck and call,” Robert deadpanned before a thought struck him and he looked incredibly worried. “What about your mother?” “Oh…” Sunset trailed off, having forgotten, or at the very least trying not to think about Celestia/Solar Flare. “Oh? I don’t like the sound of that oh.” Robert replied. “Celestia… Well, to be honest, it’s probably either going to be happy for me or give you the speech about what would happen to you if you break my heart and then sending you to the moon for 1,000 years,” Sunset laughed nervously before sighing. “I don’t think I need to tell you what Solar Flare’s reaction would be.” “Go ballistic and burn me to a crisp?” Robert offered helpfully in a joking tone, trying to lighten the mood before he noticed Sunset’s reaction. The red and gold maned mare was looking at the floor, and not at him. “Yeah, pretty much.” Sunset sighed sadly. Robert laid a hand upon his marefriend’s shoulder in support. “Don’t worry, we’ll get your mother back. Twilight’s working on a plan, remember?” Robert reminded her and Sunset sighed sadly again. “Yeah, I know...It’s… It’s just…” Sunset trailed off, trying as hard as she could to get the proper words out. “It’s just I’m tired of knowing my adoptive mother inhabits the same body as a bigoted genocidal maniac Tartarus-bent on wiping everything that isn’t a pony off Equus. I… I just want it all to end.” “And don’t worry, it will. Someday, we just gotta hope.” “Yeah…” Sunset murmured before trying her best to perk up. “Listen, I need to take a shower, I stink,” As Sunset headed off towards the bathroom, she turned her head back to Robert and shouted “No peeking, alright? May be dating now, but that still doesn’t mean I’m comfortable about you less seeing me in the nude, okay?” “Yeah, can’t make promises on that,” Robert teased. Sunset gave him a death glare and Robert wilted under it as she sighed. “Just get breakfast started, okay?” As Sunset walked off, humming a cheery little tune to herself under her breath (Something along the lines of the “I used to wonder what friendship could be, until you all shared it’s magic with me… Big adventure! Tons of fun…” and so forth.) Robert muttered the word “Prudish mare...” to himself under his breath and huffed, before crossing his arms. His eyes then turned to a small cardboard box in the room, and what was inside it caught his eyes. “Wolf, elephant and phoenix plushies? Really?” He laughed. “S-SHUT UP!” Sunset stammered out. Sunset sighed in pleasure as she felt the warm waters wash over her body before she heard a very familiar voice in her head. “So, you and Robert huh? You know, for some reason I was always thinking you’d end up with Twilight.” the Phoenix Zord mused to herself. “Great, so not even my own Zord’s going to leave me alone with my love life.” the Princess of Empathy deadpanned. “No offense, but with all the time you and Twilight spend together, you can’t blame me for thinking that you were gay.” “Fair point.” Sunset admitted, unable to refute that. “Plus, didn’t Robert bug you at first with all of his come-ons? And I mean the really bad, obvious ones to get you in bed with him?” the Zord remarked. “Okay, yes, I’ll admit he irritated the Tartarus out of me with all of those remarks, plus there’s something about sex that turns me off, don’t know what it is yet, but it just does. B-But that’s besides the point,” Sunset stated with a small stutter in her voice really not comfortable discussing her sex life or love life in general really. “It’s Robert’s other qualities I admire. His stubbornness, and his loyalty to his friends. Plus I admit his nerdiness about Super Sentai and Neighponiese culture in general is kinda cute in its own way.” “Whichever you chose… But for the record, I was still aiming for you and Twilight. Oh well, at least now she can be with Rainbow…” the Phoenix trailed off. “She’s taken with somepony else, Lightning Dust I believe.” The Phoenix mentally groaned, now she’d never hear the end of it from that damn Thunderbird. The Animarium: Meanwhile, on the Animarium, Princess Shayla gracefully danced, holding her dress with her hands as she went into a twirl all the while humming the age old song of Animaria to herself before she frowned. Things had been too quiet as of late. There’d been no Org Attacks in Ponyville or anywhere else for that matter ever since the incident with the Faucet Org. Suddenly, she heard the sound of rustling leaves and footsteps from behind her, not evening needing to turn as she knew who they belonged to already. “Something on your mind, Princess?” Zen-Aku asked. “Yes…” Shayla frowned. “It’s been too quiet, no activity from Thrax at all. It’s almost as if he’s…” “Biding his time, planning for something big,” Zen-Aku finished for her. “If I were a foolish or younger Duke Org than I am, I would say you should be relieved that nothing seems to be going on.” “Yes, but that’s just the thing isn’t it?” Princess Shayla asked as she paced back and forth, holding a finger to her chin in thought. “There’s never anything not going on with him, isn’t there? You feel it too don’t you Zen-Aku? The chill down the back of your spine, the feeling that something’s very wrong in the world?” “Yes, I do,” the Duke Org confirmed with a nod. “That feeling… I’ve been getting it more often than I’d like. It’s Thrax, it’s always him… And yet, there’s something else as well. Someone else.” “Solar Flare?” Shayla questioned, in a worried tone of voice. Zen-Aku shook his head no. “No, not her. If it was her, we’d both know. We’d both be sure of it. It’s someone else, someone not quite as powerful as Thrax or Solar Flare.” He commented. “Bunglay, possibly?” Shayla wondered aloud, remembering the Rangers’ descriptions of the space pirate/poacher. “Maybe,” Zen-Aku considered. “But if it were Bunglay, how would we know? He’s not an Org, so I can’t tell what he’s thinking and the fountain wouldn’t tell us anything if he was on Earth.” “Then who?” Princess Shayla asked as she peered into the viewing fountain’s sacred waters hoping, searching for a possible answer. Right about then, the waters erupted into a tall plume sending Shayla flying backwards and into Zen-Aku’s arms. A look of absolute terror found its way to Shayla’s face. “No… Last time this happened, it was the Master Org…” Shayla thought before she rushed back over to the fountain and looked in. What she saw was an army of both Putrids and Tengas led by various Orgs and monsters of varying descriptions marching on the massive riverside city known as Fillydelphia in what used to be known as Pennsylvania. The Putrids, led by Retinax and Helicos. The Tengas were led by Goldar along with another monster. This creature resembled a giant rooster made of pure magma in some ways, with demonic red and black wings, a red sash around his waist and a sharp looking blood red sword. Shayla in an instant placed her hands on her necklace. “Rangers, you’re needed,” Next she turned to Zen-Aku. “Get the word out to Daring Do, Galaxy Swirls, and Shining Armor. I sense they might be needed.” “At once,” Zen-Aku said with a bow before vanishing in a flash of shadow. Then, a holographic figure, one of a blue armored warrior with a pirate’s hat and tentacles covering his face appeared before Shayla from the fountain’s waters. “Bunglay…” Shayla hissed. “What is it you want this time?” “Oh, the same as ever. Just give up your Orange Ranger, and I’ll let this planet be. I’ll leave it in peace, no harm done. Savvy?” He asked. “That’s not going to happen, not if me or the Wild Zords or anybody else have anything to say about it,” Shayla stated firmly and Bunglay only laughed. “Your choice Princess, your choice…” He chuckled in a morbid fashion and began to fade away but not before leaving this one last message. “But let it be known, whatever happens from here on in is on your head…” Meanwhile, each and every of the “Auxiliary Rangers” getting the message via Zen-Aku teleported to the city center of Fillydelphia. Daring was dressed in her usual attire, while Galaxy and Shining were covered head to hoof in full Crystal and Night Guard armor. Shining, in particular, had a long flowing cape to mark his status as the Prince of the Crystal Empire. Already, they found themselves in the middle of mass chaos. Ponies scattered every which way as both Org and Monster waged war on each other. Tengas ripped apart Putrids with their talons and swords and pulled them open as Putrids fired their bazookas at Tenga hoards reducing them to just masses of feathers. A traffic light themed Org launched a red beam of light at a truly ghoulish monster wearing a grey long coat, but he rolled out of the way before chuckling: “Sorry we’re not seeing eye to eye here!” before opening up his coat to reveal a mass of muscle and hundreds of eyes that fired one beam each and blasted the Stoplight Org backwards. Nearby, Goldar and Retinax fought axe to blade. Metal met metal again and again as sparks flew. Retinax swung at Goldar and the baboon like monster twisted the axe blade with his own sword before kicking Retinax backwards in the chest. In another part of the square, the rooster themed monster charged up his crimson colored “Hook Blade” for lack of a better term and sliced it in an X formation crying out “Doom Slash!”. That single slash was responsible for utterly destroying a squad of Putrids that had taken out a Murder of Tenga Warriors just moments before. “Ce se întâmplă aici Tartarus ...?” Galaxy muttered in Romanian as he pulled out Blood Moon and his Dino Morpher and got ready for action with Daring doing the same with her own Morpher and whip. The Thestral was partially in awe at the carnage and partially in shock at seeing what was supposed to be two allied creatures (Retinax and Goldar) kicking each other’s asses. “Por la Madre Mística, esto es…” Daring murmured to herself. “Aren’t they supposed to be on the same side?” “Looks like things have changed,” Shining noted as he drew the Magna Blade. “From the looks of it, I’d say we have a full on Org Civil War.” “Ei bine, timpul pentru a curăța orașul.” Galaxy smirked before he and Daring cried “Unleash the Power!” and fired their Dino Morphers skywards. Shining, on the other hand, flicked his wrists and his bracers flashed into existence. “Magna Power!” He shouted as he threw the Magna Blade skywards and pressed the two bracers together like a lock and a key. Morphing Sequences Begin: Standing in a black room with the heads of their respective dinosaurs below them, manifestations of the Pachy and Ankylo Zords’ heads came down and opened their jaws before covering both Daring and Galaxy in their costumes. With another chomping sound, their helmets materialized into existence. Meanwhile, Shining caught the Blade and with an explosion of energy being transferred from blade to pony was covered in the armor of the Magna Defender. Morphing Sequence Ends: “Now…” Daring growled out as she drew her sword. “Let’s do this.” Ponyville: Back in Maine, the main five Rangers had arrived at the site of Bunglay’s summons, the warehouse district. Shouting out their Morphing Calls as they teleported down, the energy unleashed from the transformation knocked back some X-Borgs and rendered them into scrap metal with powerful explosions. Bruisers unleashed laser blast after laser blast and the Rangers rolled to the side to avoid the shots before Sunburst and Robert called out “Call to the Beast Inside, Free the Kitsune/Owl!” and unleashed their inner animal spirits. With several flashes of yellow that was far too quick for any visible form to be made out, the Owl ripped through the Bruiser squad. Next, the Kitsune spirit grabbed itself by the tail and rolled towards the squad at high speed bowling them down and finishing the job. “So, you came calling just as expected,” Bunglay chuckled. “I do so like it when my quarries offer themselves up to me.” “Yeah, sorry… Going to have to decline that off-” Robert began before Bunglay rushed forwards and slashed him across the chest with his anchor weapon drawing blood before going through his memories once more and then kicking him backwards into some metal barrels. “Robert!” Sunset shouted. Lightning, Vapor, and Sunburst all shared a look. There was a definite change in tone from Sunset’s shout of concern. It was more concerned than normal, almost as if… “No, couldn’t be…” Sunburst thought to himself. Whatever thoughts they had next on Sunset and Robert were immediately cast aside when they saw what forms were taking shape in clouds of black smoke. Robert, as he clutched his chest in pain to stop the blood flow, had his eyes widen in pure horror when he saw two of the forms. One was dressed exactly like his old SPD Green uniform, except in bright yellow and the other was a combination of teal blue and black with a dog themed helmet and the number 100 stamped on his chest. “No… No, he wouldn’t dare…” Robert whispered before his eyes narrowed. Yeah, Bunglay would. “Robert, who are they?” Vapor asked nervously, looking at the two SPD Rangers, and more specifically the dog themed one’s katana sword resting in its sheath. “Z” Delgado, and… and my old commander, Commander Cruger.” Robert swallowed nervously. Everyone’s eyes then averted to the collars with Bunglay’s symbol of a skull and crossbones against a black flag around their necks. “This time… This time I planned ahead,” Bunglay laughed darkly. “These fellows I’ve brought back, if they even think about disobeying me they’re going to be in for quite the nasty surprise…” And then there was the other Rangers. Cassie Chan, the pink In Space Ranger. Cestros, the Blue Ranger of Aquitar. Adam Park, the Green Turbo Ranger. Hunter Bradley, the Crimson Thunder Ranger. And last but not least, was a robotic warrior with a glowing red visor, silver armor and a lion themed head as his chest-plate. This was Robo Knight, the ally to the Power Rangers Megaforce. But it was the non-Ranger or Ranger ally that caught everyone’s attention the most. Themed after a tiger, half of his body armor gold and half white with a tiger’s head on his chest and overflowing with power stood the late Phantom Beast General known as Whiger. If Robert was scared before, he was downright terrified now. “Permission to say oh cock?” the Orange Ranger muttered to himself, his voice coming out as more of a squeak as Bunglay and his undead crew advanced, drawing their weapons with the Rangers doing the same… Fillydelphia: Quite quickly, Retinax’s blade found itself drawn to Shining’s own as the Rangers joined the fray. The local Royal Guards, led by Steel Sentry dealt with the Tenga and Putrid hoards as best as they could, keeping them away from civilians leaving the Rangers to their work dealing with the two clashing sides. Steel met steel as the two rival warriors clashed again and again. “Alright, what’s going on here? Last I checked you and Golden Boy over there worked together.” Shining questioned. “Well, let’s just say I’m tired of being pushed aside for inferior lifeforms…” Retinax growled as he swung downwards and Shining rolled to the left and blasted him with the Magna Blade’s Riot Blaster mode. “Oh, so power play then? Should have figured with you and your ego.” Shining taunted before he fired several more times and Retinax deflected the shots with his axe before Shining fired his shotgun with a powerful Galactic Shot sending the Org General staggering backwards. Retinax snarled as soon as he recovered and used the time given while Shining reloaded to kick the Magna Defender in the face, sending his weapon flying from his hands. Shining was down, but not out and he scored a powerful right cross to Retinax’s face. Shining then found himself rolling out of the way to avoid a downward axe strike. He quickly set about retrieving his weapon and switching it to blade mode with a few twists and scored a slash across the chest to Retinax. Or he would have had Goldar not interfered by coming out of seemingly nowhere and blocking the blade strike with his own. “Don’t interfere, this traitor needs to be taught a lesson!” Goldar snarled before kicking Shining in the jaw sending him staggering back. “Fine then… I’ll take both of you on if I have to…” Shining growled, gripping his sword before rejoining the now three-way fight... Nearby, Daring was taking on Helicos deflecting her shuriken with sword slashes before the rooster themed monster raised his sword and called out “Doom Blast!” An eye on his blade opened and the tip of his weapon glowed before they both fired red streams of energy at Daring who reacted fast and grabbed her whip before pulling the “See Monster” for lack of a better name towards her allowing it to take the blast. Nearby, Galaxy swung his scythe in a Blood Moon Slash sending an arc of red energy towards a one eyed Org themed after a giant tire. “Well, that’s one problem dealt with…” Daring thought to herself as the rooster themed monster and Helicos shared a look. “Enemy of my enemy?” Doomwing asked, in a high pitched maniacal tone and Helicos nodded. “Yeah, not the pegasus I want dead, but she’ll do for now.” Helicos agreed before she and Doomwing fired off their respective attacks. Daring’s eyes widened before she sliced the shurikens out of the air but was knocked backwards by a Doom Blast as both villains laughed. “My my…” Doomwing chuckled as Daring picked herself back up off the ground. “Thrax warned me about you color-coded fools, and how strong you are… But I guess he was exaggerating. Name’s Doomwing, Thrax’s newest General.” Doomwing launched himself forwards, fist glowing with energy shouting “Doom Strike!” and punched Daring backwards sending her flying into the side of a building cracking the wall spider-web style. With another Doom Slash, Daring was sent flying inside the building. Galaxy, seeing what was happening sliced two more monsters (The Knasty Knight and the Terror Toad) across the chest with a Blood Moon Strike destroying them before teleporting in a flash of gray energy to Daring’s side and helped her up. “How cute, guess the psychopath has a heart after all…” Helicos cackled as she and Doomwing stepped in. “You two are just walking cliches, you know that right?” Daring growled as she took Galaxy’s Dino Saber. “And I’m a writer by trade… So I know a thing or two about cliches.” “Yes… Well, don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Still haven’t defeated me yet.” Doomwing boasted. Daring raised an eyebrow under her helmet. “Want to bet on that, chico gallo? Double Aqua Slash!” Daring shouted as she spun the Dino Sabers in her hands before the attack was launched. Daring swung both blades and sent two aqua colored arcs of energy towards the twosome. Doomwing tried to block the attack with his blade but to no avail. Both he and Helicos were sent flying backwards. “How dare you?” Doomwing screeched. “Who do you think you are?” “Like I said, walking cliche,” Daring laughed. “Now, to answer your question… Ankylosaurus… Power Ranger Aqua! Now, do us all a favor and stop squawking like a whiny griffon chick. Giving me a headache.” With that Daring tossed Galaxy’s Dino Saber back to him before tossing the Dino Blaze Charger to him as well. “Here, see what you can do with this…” Daring smirked. Galaxy returned it. “Oh, intenționez să doamna Do…” Galaxy chuckled darkly before firing. A Pachycephalosaurus’s head along with one of an Allosaurus’s circled both Doomwing and Helicos in a blaze of white hot flame. Doomwing hissed and teleported away in a flash of flame with Helicos taking the hint and doing so as well. “Cocosul ... prăjit.” Galaxy commented as he rested Blood Moon on his shoulder. Meanwhile, Shining was just barely holding off Goldar and Retinax’s combined strength. Like Doomwing and Helicos, the two had put aside their fight for a common foe. He figured he could take one or the other, but both at once was another matter entirely. Both fighters scored slashes across the chest and then kicked him to the ground. Smirking, Retinax held his blade to Shining’s neck while Goldar charged up his chest beam. “And so… the legacy of the Magna Defender ends here…” Retinax laughed. “Guess I was right all along, you ain’t worth sh-” “Get away from my subjects!” An angry voice called before it yelled “Celestial Break!” and slashed Goldar across the chest vertically and a thrown golden lance knocked Retinax’s axe out of his hands. Shining’s eyes widened as he turned his head to see the owner of the voice. Slowly striding forwards was Princess Celestia, clad in full Royal Regalia and sword in hand, wings fully extended and horn alight with a golden glow as her majestic mane flowed in the wind. “So, the tyrant returns…” Goldar chuckled. “No… Not today,” Celestia snarled, and yet there was no trace of menace in her tone. It was just that of a mother, looking after her children. Shining managed a weak smile. Celestia was back at last. “Solar Flare’s just going to have to sit back and watch as I defend my kingdom. My kingdom, not hers,” “Solar Flare, Celestia… It doesn’t make a difference to either of us. You’ll still fall all the same.” Retinax chuckled as he and Goldar readied their weapons. “Arrogance is the downfall of all warriors. You’ll learn that eventually. If I don’t teach that to you, someone will. But for now, get out of my kingdom and never return. Now, what I think you two need is a lesson in manners,” Goldar struck first, firing his chest beam and Celestia held up her sword to absorb the blast and send it right back at Thrax’s right-hand man. She then scored several powerful slashes across the chest to the monster before turning to Retinax and striking him several times as well. Goldar sent a Prism Slash towards Celestia and she swung her sword in the exact same manner before calling out “Celestial Prism Slash!” and sent her own version towards Goldar’s attack, the two triangle shaped attacks spiraling towards each other (One white, one gold) before they met in the middle canceling each other out. Goldar’s giant cutlass like weapon met Celestia’s own blade and sparks flew. Behind them, Retinax tried to slash Celestia from behind but was met by Shining’s blade. “Your fight’s still with me Retinax, not her!” Shining stated before twisting his blade, wrenching Retinax’s axe from its user’s grip and bringing his sword back around in a spin, slashing the eye-themed General across the chest. The Org retaliated by firing a lime green energy beam from one of his eyes knocking Shining out of his Magna Defender form and making him stagger back. Retinax growled as he clutched his chest. Far too many blows had been taken, nerves and tendons cut. He needed time to rest, heal himself for his next bout. “Another day Armor, another day…” the Org growled as he teleported off. Celestia, meanwhile, pushed Goldar back with a grunt, knocking his weapon aside and assaulting him with a flurry of lightning fast slashes, opening weeping cuts in the monster's chest. Goldar managed a counter strike, swinging up from below to throw the solar alicorn off balance and subjecting her to a series of rapid jabs, giving her wounds to match his own. Celestia quickly recovered and puts Goldar back on the defensive with a feint towards his face with the pommel of her sword. He threw his arm up to block it and she seized the opportunity to swing her blade around in a devastating butterfly motion, cutting off his arm at the shoulder. Goldar snarled and clutched his wound with his remaining claw, letting his sword drop to the ground with a resounding clanging sound. “This… This is far from over, you remember that Princess.” He growled before using his old teleporting away in a flash of flame tactic taking his sword with him. Celestia sighed as she helped Shining up. The battle for Fillydelphia was over for now, but the Org Civil War was far from over... Back in Ponyville, Sunset and company stood in front of Robert as a magical adhesive was applied to stem the blood flow seeping from his wound. “Stay back Robert, we can handle them.” Lightning stated as she pulled out her whips. Under Z and Commander Cruger’s helmets, their eyes widened at the name. So that’s what had happened to him after he vanished 3,000 years ago… “Really Lightning-Bitch?” Robert asked as he stood up off the ground, grasping his Crystal Saber. “Let you make a show of things without me? Besides, if Bunglay wants a fight… Congrats, he just bloody earned himself one for this. Bringing back my boss and one of my teammates from the dead… I’m not just mad, I’m beyond that. I’m pissed.” “Not just that… These other heroes, they deserve to be left in peace,” Vapor snarled as she pulled out her Leviathan Trident. “Let’s do this.” “Okay then… Asuka Langley Soryu,” Robert asked (Looking towards Lightning) as Sunset supported him. “Take the ninja duo.” “Gladly, I love ninjas, this should be awesome.” Lightning laughed. “I’ll handle Robo Knight and Cassie,” Sunset stated, pulling out her Phoenix Blade. “Me, I’ll take the green one I guess…” Vapor trailed off. “Guess that means we get to handle your old boss, Z and whoever the tiger monster is.” Robert groaned as that did leave him and Sunburst with the two most dangerous of the past heroes along with a Phantom Beast General to boot. Their only hopes were to knock Z and the Commander back to their senses. “His name’s Whiger, and just like us… He’s got an animal spirit, in his case the White Tiger. Trouble is, he, along with Adam, Cassie, Cestro and Hunter… I never met any of them at my time during SPD or anywhere else. Hell, Whiger died before I was a student at the Pai Zhau.” Robert informed, and Sunset’s eyes closed sadly as a horrific realization came to the Bat Ranger. “Meaning…” Sunburst whispered and Sunset confirmed his fears with a nod. “Yeah, we gotta put them in the ground. They’re just puppets now, mindless and won’t hesitate to kill us without a second thought. Best thing we can do for them is put them back in the ground where they belong.” She said sadly. “Then…” Robert said sadly as his strength returned and he pulled out his Kitsune Blaster. “Let’s do this.” Vapor, at once grabbed Adam by the shoulders and teleported him away to a warehouse where the two could fight safely. At once, Vapor was kicked away by the fallen Green Ranger before Adam pulled out his Turbo Thunder Cannon and fired two powerful blasts at her. Vapor rolled to the left and pulled out her Crystal Saber as Adam pulled out his Turbo Blade. “Great, why’d I get the one with a big gun?” Vapor thought to herself as she blocked the swings of the short sword type weapon with either her wrists or Saber. Sparks flew as the Saber ground its metal against the Turbo Blade’s own before Vapor kicked Adam in the chest making him stagger back. She then threw her Trident at the Ranger hoping to take him out but he flipped to the left and kicked some barrels towards her which she quickly sliced in half one after the other with her Crystal Saber. She then inserted the Deer Crystal into her Saber and it turned into the grapple like Deer Clutcher. She lunged forwards before pinning Adam to the chest before letting him loose and throwing him into a collection of wooden crates. Adam quickly recovered and pulled out a large rifle like weapon and fired a beam of energy at Vapor and she rolled out of the way before grabbing her Trident and pulling it out of the spot of the wall where it was impaled. Adam lunged again with his sword and Vapor blocked it with her trident before swinging it low like a bo staff and knocking the Green Turbo Ranger to the ground by his legs. Adam then grabbed Vapor by the legs before flipping upwards and behind her. Vapor reacted fast and kicked Adam squarely in the chest sending him flying backwards into a wall shattering his helmet. “I’m sorry…” Vapor whispered to both herself and Adam before with a few quick slices of her Crystal Saber, the ex-Ranger was put to rest. As he faded away into gold dust, Adam mouthed “Thank you, and may the Power protect you all.” Vapor, a tear dripping down her face at being forced to kill a fellow Ranger, even if it was only to put him back to his final resting place snarled. Bunglay was going to pay for this, she thought, as she teleported back to the others in hopes of aiding them. With Bunglay: Meanwhile, with the Legendary Beast Hunter, he’d just received a transmission from his ship. “Captain, something’s coming! I don’t know what it is, but it’s something I think you should take a look at!” a voice, belonging to one of the Armada’s repurposed Royal Guards said, its voice crackling over the radio. “Aye… I suppose this hunt can be saved for a later date. Those fools should be worn out by the end of this, and then I’ll deal with them. My prize can wait a little longer. Hell, after this maybe I’ll start capturing the Wild Zords and their Princess…” Bunglay laughed to himself. “Now there’s something worth hunting.” With that, Bunglay beamed back up to his ship in a pillar of blue light... Lightning, meanwhile was fending off both Cestro and Hunter as they attacked again and again in blue and crimson flashes of light. She, like her adoptive sister, had wisely chosen to take this battle somewhere else, namely to a nearby train yard. “Strike that, I really hate ninjas…” Lightning muttered to herself as she inserted her Giraffe Crystal into her Saber and it became the Sword of Pardolis and she swung widely, the long gold beam of energy catching both Hunter and Cestro off guard and sending them flying backwards. Hunter as he flew backwards pulled out his special weapon, the Horn Blaster (Themed after a Rhino Beetle, like Hunter’s helmet design) and fired off a burst of energy at Lightning. The mare spun to the left to dodge it before pulling out one of her Lightning Whips and yanking it out of Hunter’s hands and into her own as she tossed her own weapons aside. She fired but Hunter pulled out his Thunder Staff and changed it into an octagon shaped energy shield. Cestro took his chance and changed into a flash of light and sliced Lightning across the chest a few times with a few quick slashes of his sword and kicked the Horn Blaster out her hands. Lightning rolled to the left and picked up the Sword of Pardolis and the battle progressed inside an empty train car as blade met blade again and again. Alien Space Ninja VS Anthro pegasus pony, possibly one of the more unusual fights in Power Ranger history, but certainly no less awe-inspiring. Lightning kicked Cestro in the chest before slicing a powerful blow that felled him. Hunter came from behind with a punch as the blue Alien Ranger faded away and Lightning whirled around to intercept his blow with a hoof before striking Hunter across the chest defeating him as well. “Now… Onto Bunglay himself.” Lightning growled before teleporting off. Near Lightning’s location in the train yard, Sunset faced off against Robo Knight and Cassie. Sunset held off Robo Knight’s sword with her Phoenix Blade, using her Crystal Saber as a tanto blade before kicking the mechanical warrior in the chest. Sunset then rolled to the left to avoid a blast from Cassie’s Satellite Stunner. Sunset fired a magical beam at her, but Cassie launched another series of energy waves and canceled out the beam. Robo Knight then took advantage of the distraction and sliced at Sunset’s shoulder, drawing blood and making her scream out in pain as she dropped her Phoenix Blade and clutched her arm to stem the blood flow. Closing up the wound with her magic, Sunset threw her Animal Crystal causing it to change into her personal Savage Cycle as Cassie flew at her on her Galaxy Glider. The two sped past each other at high speed before they both circled around for another pass. Cassie, while flying towards Sunset fired her Satellite Stunner once again and Sunset used a piece of plywood laying on a small crate as a makeshift ramp and fired her Savage Cycle’s lasers. To Sunset’s shock, Cassie did a barrel roll, all the while staying on her jet-board and kicked Sunset off her Savage Cycle making her go into a tumble rolling on the ground. Robo Knight slowly strode towards her, his metal feet clanking against the ground as he readied his personal pistol in its Vulcan Cannon mode. Sunset’s eyes widened and she muttered “Oh boy…” as the warrior advanced. Suddenly, both Vapor and Lightning teleported in and kicked Robo Knight in the chest making him stagger back and drop his weapon. Cassie fired her Satellite Stunner again this time making a high pitched sound that made both Vapor and Lightning cover their ears. Sunset, however, reached for her Phoenix Blade, but Robo Knight was evidently quick on the rebound and stabbed her in the hand. Sunset let out another scream of pain. Vapor’s eyes widened, and she snarled before throwing her Trident at Robo Knight sending him flying backwards and impaling him through the chest to a train car. Lightning then lashed out at Cassie with her whips again and again, keeping her off guard long enough for Vapor to deal the final blow and stop the zombie Pink Space Ranger for good. “I got you Sunset,” Vapor said as she helped her teammate up while Lightning pulled the sword out of Sunset’s hands and quickly set about bandaging it. “Anything broken?” “Just my stride,” Sunset grimaced before turning to her friends. “The others?” “Done and dealt with,” Lightning confirmed with a nod. “Sunburst and Robert’s Rangers and that Whiger guy should be all that’s left. Let’s hope they’re having better luck than we did.” With Robert and Sunburst, the two had very quickly found themselves overmatched against Z, Cruger, and Whiger. Both Sunburst and Robert unleashed their animal spirits upon Whiger in hopes of forcing him back, but the Phantom Beast General was not so easily beaten. “Spirit of the White Tiger!” With that roar, he unleashed the mist-like form of the White Tiger of the West, (Xī Fāng Bái Hǔ) and ripped both the Kitsune and Owl spirits to shreds with powerful claw strikes. Robert fired off a Kitsune Scatter Blast skywards, hoping to hit all three targets at once and do some damage, but then had to dodge a sword swing from his Commander’s Shadow Saber. Nearby, Sunburst had rolled to the left and then ran along a wall to avoid Z’s shots from her sidearm and pulled out his Jungle Fans and leaped down towards Z and dealt out two powerful slashes. Next thing he knew, he was grabbed from behind and tossed by an exact copy of Z. A clone, possessing all of her powers and abilities. “Crap!” Robert swore silently to himself as he dodged another swing from Cruger’s Shadow Saber and then a powerful Rinzin infused swing of Whiger’s claw. A blast of pure Rinzin energy knocked Robert back and he demorphed as he hit the ground with a thud. “I forgot about Z’s genetic ability!” As the two Zs advanced towards Sunburst, weapons drawn, the Black Ranger thought fast. “L-Listen, I-I don’t know y-you, but I’m a f-friend of a friend!” Sunburst stuttered out, really hoping this would work. “I’m friends with your teammate, s-so that means we can be friends, Ms. Delgado… Right?” Z blinked inside her helmet. “I… I’m sorry, I can’t fight it! Bunglay’s hold is just too strong!” Z cried out in pain. “No, it’s not!” Sunburst pleaded. “You’re a Power Ranger, just like me. Never give up!” Suddenly, something registered inside the yellow SPD Ranger. “Never give up… That’s what my father always used to say…” She thought to herself and as the chains began to break, Z suddenly became wracked with pain as Bunglay’s collar charged her full of amp after amp of electricity. Suddenly, something in Commander Cruger awoke as well. “Z!” He shouted and ripped off his collar ignoring the high voltage and with his bare paws before doing the same to Z’s as they both demorphed. “You two alright?” Robert asked as he helped his Commander up. “I’m fine… Just peachy in fact. Never been better.” Z deadpanned. Robert chuckled to himself. Yeah, she was fine. That was the Z he knew. “Thanks… Commander.” Robert said and Z’s eyes widened. That was definitely new. She barely remembered Robert showing respect to anyone barring the Commander so hearing that tone in his voice came as a shock. “No, thank your teammate. I needed something to remind me of who I was and Z was it.” “Gee, glad it took you seeing me in pain to do that DC.” Z deadpanned. “Wait, your commander’s a Diamond Dog?” Sunburst asked in shock as he looked upon the blue scaled dog like creature that Robert called his boss. “What’s a Diamond Dog?” Cruger asked in bewilderment, eyebrow raised. Robert let a hand find its way to his face and sighed. Z stared at Robert upon seeing his civilian attire. “Wait… are you wearing pink?” She laughed. “Syd’s just going to love this!” “For your information, it’s maroon and I was on a date last night. Turned out very well for your information.” Robert snapped before quickly changing subjects. “So, who’d you get as my replacement after I… vanished for lack of a better word?” He inquired. Both Z and Cruger shared a look of embarrassment that Robert knew all too well. He’d only seen that look on the Commander’s face while he talked about a particular SPD member. Robert groaned. “Not the layabout… You got him back?” “No one else would sign up, said the position was cursed or something,” Z remarked. Right about then, all four Rangers rolled to the left as Whiger launched his Animal Spirit back at them only to be cut down by Cruger’s Shadow Saber in a powerful downwards slash. “Oh right… Forgot about you.” Z muttered and all three SPD Rangers shared a nod. “SPD Emergency!” “Legendary Wild Access!” Z quickly changed into her SWAT mode and fired powerful blasts from her Delta Enforcer at Whiger but he just retaliated with Rinzin blasts of his own. Z leaped to a wall and rebounded off of it and fired more shots as both Sunburst and the Shadow Ranger sliced Whiger across the chest with their respective weapons. Robert then fired a Kyuubi Seibai Blast at the Phantom Beast General as the coup de grâce. Amazingly, that still wasn’t enough to down the Phantom Beast General. “Time to show him what we’ve got…” Robert chuckled before once more, he and Sunburst unleashed their animal spirits and they struck Whiger in flashes of orange and yellow light before Robert dealt out a powerful chi-infused swipe of his suit’s inbuilt claws with Sunburst doing the same. Whiger staggered back but still wasn’t defeated. “My turn,” Cruger growled. He pulled out his Shadow Saber and it sharpened itself before he ran forwards hot blue flames on either side of him and dealt several powerful rapid-fire slashes across Whiger’s chest before he even had a chance to react. With this, Whiger finally fell and went up in a powerful explosion as Cruger turned his back and stated: “You’ve been judged.” Right about then, the rest of the Rangers teleported in just in time to see Cruger finish off Whiger. “It’s done?” Lightning asked. “Yeah, it’s done,” Sunburst confirmed. “So that’s your teammates huh Robert?” Z asked. “Well, interesting color choices to say the least.” Just then, a frighteningly familiar sound of metallic clanking against the ground was heard and all the Rangers turned to see Robo Knight slowly walking up to them. He pulled Vapor’s Leviathan Trident out of his chest and tossed it aside with a metal clang. “I thought you finished him off!” Sunset yelled in shock. “So did I…” Vapor murmured. “Oh yeah? Looks like he’s back for round two… Like the bloody T-1000!” Next, Robert’s eyes widened in horror as he took out the Knight Brothers Card and inserted it into his Robo Morpher. Far away in a glacier in the North Pole, two lion heads, one red and the other blue broke free of their frosty imprisonment and rocketed towards Ponyville. On their way, they scanned a zeppelin and a cruise ship, before becoming fully fledged Zords. One resembled a rocket, the other a battle cruiser. Next, Robo Knight himself leaped into the air and his arms and legs folded up into his body as he became a lion’s head himself, black with a silver mane. He scanned a long disused mining dump truck and it too became a giant black and silver twelve wheeled colossus of a Zord with two gold claws at the front. “Oh boy…” Robert muttered as the Sky Lion Mechazord’s wings folded up into its body. Part of the Lion Mechazord detached to reveal two ports for the Sea and Sky Lions to attach to as legs. The entire construct moved upwards leaving the chassis behind as the Sea and Sky lions’ heads folded forwards to become feet. The part of the Lion Mechazord that had detached earlier became a chest-plate and the chassis split apart to become two arms. Robo Knight again changed forms and his body parts shifted and moved around and a blue face with glowing red eyes was revealed. “Gosei Grand Megazord, ready!” Robo Knight informed. “Yeah… I think this is where we step out and leave things to you guys.” Z stated as she took a step back. “I hate to do this to a fellow guardian of the Earth, but… He has to be stopped.” Sunset whispered. “Wild Zords, descend!” The Wild Force Rangers called, and as ever the Legendary Beasts of Animaria, joined by the Elephant Zord ran down from the sky and combined as the Rangers leaped inside the cockpit. “Animaria Guardian Megazord, Sword and Shield Mode!” And so, the battle began. The Gosei Grand Megazord dealt out powerful punches to the Animaria Guardian but each blow was blocked with the Elephant Shield. So, instead, a powerful uppercut was dealt sending the Animaria Guardian staggering back. “You gotta be kidding me, how strong is this thing!?!” Lightning yelled out in disbelief. “Strong enough,” Robert grunted out. “Firing Missiles!” Robo Knight proclaimed as the hubcaps on his Megazord opened up and launched a barrage of missiles at its fellow Megazord. Sunset reacted… Fast. “Cyclone Spin!” She yelled and the Animaria Guardian spun around in a circle like a whirling tornado and sent the missiles flying every which way but was then punched again by the Gosei Grand knocking it out of its defense. “Pachyderm Crusher!” Sunset ordered and brought the Elephant’s sword down on the Gosei Grand’s shoulder, or she tried to anyways as amazingly, the sword was caught by the Megazord’s tremendous strength. Next, it fired another barrage of missiles, this time point blank sending the Elephant Shield and Sword flying from the Animaria Guardian’s grip and knocking the Phoenix Zord out of the combination as well. The now dismembered Megazord crashed to the ground, the sound echoing for miles as it crushed an abandoned warehouse beneath it. “Power Levels, they’re red lining!” Sunburst shouted in alarm. “We’ve… We’ve got to get back up!” Vapor grunted out. “Come on Rangers, hang in there!” Commander Cruger whispered. Then, all eyes turned to the Everfree. A familiar call was heard, and the distinct green and gold form of the Deer Zord came galloping out of the wilderness. “Alright, now we’re talking…” Sunset muttered to herself before shouting: “Vapor!” The Purple Ranger nodded and swapped her Leviathan Crystal out for the Deer Crystal and the Deer transformed and attached itself to the Animaria Guardian Megazord as it picked itself off the ground. “Clutcher Mode!” The Rangers called out. More missiles came right at them, but this time Sunset had a plan and focused all of her energy towards the Deer Zord. A magical bubble was created between the two antlers and caught the missiles, before tossing them right back at the Gosei Grand. It staggered back, but still wasn’t defeated. “We… We need more power!” Robert yelled out as the cockpit began to spark and catch aflame. Just then, two bears, one black and one white pounced on the Gosei Grand before leaping off of it and landing next to the Animaria Guardian Megazord. Next, the Polar Bear launched a blast of ice at the Gosei Grand, while the Black Bear did the same with fire. At the same time, two crystals found themselves in Lightning and Vapor’s hands. “Guess we know what we need to do now…” Vapor murmured and Lightning nodded. Both the Thunderbird and Deer Zords detached as the Black Bear and Polar Bear’s backs moved upwards to become shoulder pauldrons while the front halves moved forwards just a little. The Polar Bear became the left shoulder, and the Black Bear the right. Two powerful cannons sprouted from their mouths. “Bear Blasters, fire!” All of the Rangers shouted. Two powerful energy beams fired and punched twin holes in the Gosei Grand’s chest, and it staggered forwards before falling and going down in a fireball. Sunset closed her eyes in sorrow. “I’m sorry Robo Knight… You were a Guardian of the Earth once, like us… But you had to be stopped.” She whispered as both Commander Cruger and Z saluted the fallen hero. Commander Cruger picked up the Knight’s sword and implanted it in the ground as the sun set behind him. “You deserved your rest, but were disturbed like all of us… Now, sleep peacefully.” He whispered. Meanwhile, high above Equus, unseen by all but Bunglay’s ship, a golden orb rocketed towards the planet. It had been away for far too long, and now it was time to return... Author's Note Okay... Never thought I'd be able to top the last Bunglay chapter, but somehow... I did. (I still have a hankering for a 10,000 word Zen-Aku focused chapter. Dunno if I can pull that off, but...) Anyways, here's your In Space, Turbo, Alien Rangers, Megaforce and Ninja Storm tributes. Plus, I finally got the Bear Brothers in this story, which I've been trying to pull off for a while now. Anyways, next month will probably only have one update, as I'm going back to school to study for my GED tests. But as a little preview... "Lights of Orion, Activate!" (Also, huge thanks to Eagle-Paladin of Shadows for the Celestia/Goldar swordfight scene.
Part 40: Race! The Lights of Orion Return!Author's Note Wow... 9,000 words... Never thought I'd manage that... Part 40: Race! The Lights of Orion Return! Canterlot Castle: Luna sighed sadly to herself as she watched the sun set over the horizon, casting a pink glow against the dark blue ribbon of the rapidly approaching winter night. Snow fell on the rooftops of Canterlot castle in small little dots and covered the ground below as the stars twinkled above in the moonlight sky. Solemn, but beautiful and elegant in their moonlight waltz. It had been weeks since her sister vanished to parts unknown after Solar Flare made her sudden reemergence. In that time, Luna had been forced to rule alone, balancing both the nobility and the morale of the populace with the political issues of other lands. These ranged from the might of the often aloof (And that was putting it mildly.) Dragon Kingdom of Zandar in what was once Africa, the wise and sun worshipping Saddle Arabians to the east and the powerful if not quickly roused Griffon Kingdoms in what was once northern Europe. And then there was the Zebra Empire in Roam. Celestia, for over 1,000 years had kept the peace between the nations. Luna deeply suspected fear of Solar Flare had kept them in line, but now that Celestia had vanished, the kingdoms were starting to… stir. At the least, Luna thanked the current Dragon Lord Torchlight and his desire to have no quarrel with ponies. His daughter, on the other hand, was a bit of a handful from what her sister had told her. Though to be honest with herself, Luna, thinking back, could never quite tell when it was Solar Flare or Celestia speaking when she talked about the other nations. Luna groaned and held a hand to her forehead as she used a quill and levitated it into an ink pot and signed her signature on what was the latest of a long line of paperwork. It all came down to one simple thing. Well, not entirely simple. All of this paperwork, it related to the upcoming yearly Winter Gala, when all five major nations would meet with delegations from all four corners of the globe. Between her, Celestia’s personal assistant Raven Inkwell, Twilight and Sunset, the four had their work cut out for them if they wanted to get everything just right. One mistake, one false misstep, and everything could go right to Tartarus with any or worse, all of the nations and the 1,000-year treaty could be broken. Luna shuddered to think of what could happen if war broke out. She’d read of humankind’s capacity for destruction during the three World Wars and that was a race that didn’t have magic at their disposal. Luna could only shudder at the possibility of a five-race war, each with their own powerful forms of magic to fight back with. She could see only ashes left in their wake, nothing but dust in the wind. “And I suppose that’s all we are in the end… Just dust in the wind,” Luna thought to herself sadly with a morbid chuckle. “How did you do it sister, manage everything at once for 1,000 years while I was on the Moon atoning for my sins?” She asked herself. Luna sighed as she got up from off the throne, the nearby guard known as Star Hunter shooting her a concerned look. “You alright, milady?” the dark blue Royal Guard pegasus asked. Luna gave him a reassuring smile. “Yeah, just need some time to myself. That’s all. A wander through the halls, need to stretch my legs, might do me some good,” Luna lied, and Star Hunter nodded as he and a member of the Night Guard allowed her passage into the corridors. The Princess of the Night teleported her royal regalia, pure black crown and all away to her personal chambers as she roamed the halls, her dark blue metal horseshoes clopping against the marble floor tiles. The hallways… they seemed… empty for lack of a better term without her sister’s presence. She could light up the very room, no pun intended. Luna was the former bearer of the Element of Laughter, true. But Celestia had this warm and motherly presence about her that you could just feel every time she smiled or just took her time out of her daily schedule just when somepony, even as simple of that of a denizen of Canterlot was feeling down. Luna, ever since she returned from the Moon four years ago, just couldn’t connect as well to the populace as well as her sister could. If she was to be honest with herself, she never did connect as well to everypony as her sister could, and maybe that’s why the Nightmare took her as easily as it did. Luna pushed open two wooden doors, turning the silver coated handles as she did so and stepped out onto a balcony, cold wind rushing through her mane as her hands gripped the balcony and she trotted through the snow leaving hoof steps behind her as she walked. She shivered at the cold but ignored it. It was worth it, to see the stars the galaxy had created every night. Luna personally liked to think of them as ghosts in the night, shining long dead light from distant systems down to Equus long after the original star had burnt out. Luna smiled again and closed her eyes in bliss, her dark blue dress blowing in the wind and a snowdrop landing on her nose. Luna sneezed as it did so, the cold tickling her nostrils and she rubbed her arms together and wrapped her wings around herself, trying to keep warm. She knew this was stupid, but she’d be damned if she wouldn’t miss tonight’s nightly dance. If the astronomers at the Canterlot observatory were right, tonight the central star of the Kyuranger Star System would breathe its last and go up in a spectacular fireball. One last blaze of glory before it burnt out, never to be seen again. “Going to catch a cold Lulu, but then again you always were the stubborn one,” A familiar voice said as a brown fur coat, encased in a golden aura, wrapped itself around Luna, covering the mark of a crescent moon on her upper arm. “You always came out here, every night, on the dot just to see the stars,” Luna’s eyes shot wide open. That voice… It couldn’t be. “S-Sister?” Luna whispered, not wanting to believe it. But as she slowly turned, she found herself flying into the arms of Princess Celestia, who wrapped her arms around Luna as the younger of the two sobbed. “I… I thought you were gone. Went into hiding till a method to destroy Solar Flare without destroying you as well was found.” “Yes…” Celestia admitted, and Luna could swear she could detect a tinge of shame and cowardice in her sister’s voice. “But an old friend helped me see the light. “Stop running…” Celestia whispered before her voice turned into a low growl. “Yes, that’s it. Next time Solar Flare wants to show herself, she’s going to have a fight on her hands. I’m not letting her control me anymore. Not again, not ever again,” “Bet she doesn’t like that,” Luna commented with a nervous laugh, wiping her tears away as she smiled, this time a happy one, at the knowledge her sister was back. “Yes, even now I can hear her in my head, telling me to kill anything and everything that stands in my way. But that’s not going to happen. She’s just noise in the system. A symphony, perhaps, but just that… Noise,” Celestia remarked. “So, what will you do now?” Luna asked. “Make up for lost time, I was a coward. Flash Magnus, and all those humans who laid down their lives to prevent Solar Flare’s ascension… Their deaths would be in vain if I chose running as my solution to my problem,” Celestia stated as her eyes narrowed. There was a fire in them, but not the one of Solar Flare. Not the fires of war, but the fires of somepony who would never give up, never back down not matter how high the odds were stacked against them. “No, I have to face Solar Flare sooner or later. Face Tartarus’s fire, and extinguish it forever. You know, there’s a quote I’d like to sprout now. Comes from a man named Vladimir. It goes: “I am convinced, the way one plays chess always reflects the player's personality. If something defines his character, then it will also define his way of playing,” “Funny, that’s not your attitude to chess from the way I remember it. I seem to remember another quote by this Vladimir man about it,” Luna remarked. “Even if you play perfectly, a fault of your opponent's can destroy the entire beauty of the game,” “Yes… I did, but that was Solar Flare speaking for me. Personally… I’ve never liked chess, never wanted to treat my ponies to brutal match-ups like pawns on a board to be sacrificed for some “Greater good”. Not Solar Flare’s. Chess was born in a brutal age, life mattered for very little back then. I will never be that pony, I swear by it,” Celestia stated firmly. “So you’re saying…” Luna realized. “Yes, I will not play Solar Flare’s game at all. No, now she’s playing by my rules,” Celestia repeated. “Her character… It goes without saying she cares for little except herself, and would not hesitate to sacrifice you, or any of my subjects for her own selfish desires. I will not. I say again, I will not,” Right then, both Luna and Celestia felt a tingle, something far more powerful than ordinary magic reach their senses. At about that moment as the Kyuranger galaxy’s central star went up in a colorful cosmic fireball lighting up the night sky, a golden comet rocketed through the sky overhead leaving behind a trail. Luna and Celestia followed its path, and Celestia placed a tracer spell on it. She saw, through the comet’s “Eyes” for lack of a better term where it was heading. Then, impact and everything went dark before the entire world before Celestia was lit up in white. Celestia’s eyes opened. “The Pentagoet Archeological District… That’s where it is…” Celestia whispered. “Where what is?” Luna asked curiously. “The Lights of Orion. The Rangers… they need to get there first. I doubt we were the only ones to see them. This just became a race against time. Even I don’t need to tell you how powerful Thrax or anyone else could get if they got their hands on them.” Ponyville: Atop a snow-covered hillside with the moon behind them, shining high in the sky down on them, Commander Cruger had implanted Robo Knight’s sword, along with Adam’s Turbo Blade, Cestro’s katana and Hunter’s Thunder Staff in the ground with the Rangers beside him. Shining had summoned several unicorn members of the Royal Guard to perform a magic based variant on the 21-Gun salute in honor of the fallen warrior. “We stand here today to honor a fallen warrior. One who gave his life twice so that the Earth may survive the forces of the Armada. He deserved a peaceful rest,” Cruger began before his paws clenched in anger and he let out a small growl. “But instead, that did not happen. He was disturbed, once more forced to fight against his will towards members of the planet he swore to protect. You would think, would you not that this would be the end of the depths the space pirate Bunglay would stoop,” Cruger continued, his voice a calm tranquil fury. “But, sadly, that is not the case. Bunglay, he raised several other fallen Rangers from the dead including myself and Z in order to fight for him, and for what? All just to hunt down anything he deems “Exotic”. Although I know I must return to the land of the dead shortly, I will not use my time left in this world unwisely. Bunglay, I will help you bring him to justice for the crimes he has committed.” Cruger stated firmly as he raised his Shadow Saber skywards as both Robert and Z saluted. Shining knew this was his cue. Shining shouted “At arms!” and in twenty-one successions, magic blasts of varying light colors were fired into the sky one after the other. “And you shall be given that chance, Doggie Cruger,” Celestia’s voice said as she appeared in a flash of flame. Robert, along with several of the other Rangers pulled out their weapons. Oddly, Shining nor Daring and Galaxy followed suite. In fact, Shining actually lowered Robert’s hand. “It’s not her, not Solar Flare. Let her talk. At ease.” Shining stated and Robert growled. He raised his Kitsune Blaster again with an audible cocking sound. “Yeah, like Hell I will,” the Orange Ranger snarled. Honestly, he couldn’t tell which side of Celestia was which anymore. “It’s her, it’s Celestia. She saved my life from Goldar back in Fillydelphia and sent him packing,” Shining explained, and both Daring and Galaxy nodded to confirm that. Robert sighed, even if he didn’t lower his weapon. “Alright, I’ll let her talk… For now,” Robert muttered. “Thank you,” Celestia said with an exhausted sigh. “Even now Bunglay, along with possibly the creatures that call themselves Orgs are chasing after the Lights of Orion,” Cruger growled on hearing that name, he knew the powers the Lights possessed and if any of the Ranger’s enemies got even the smallest amount of them, they would have powers beyond anyone’s imagination. “Wait, wait, hold up,” Robert stammered out. “Could you repeat that one again? Could have sworn I had something crazy fly in my ear,” “I’m not lying to you Orange Ranger, the Lights have returned after their long absence in this galaxy,” Celestia replied. Robert still didn’t believe her, not for an instant. “Assuming you’re… Well, you and not Solar Flare, what’s your interest in this? How would I know you’re not lying?” Robert asked her and Celestia chuckled. “Would I have any reason to lie about something that would give you an advantage and tell you about something that could help you defeat my other half? Plus, if I were Solar Flare, would I be so stupid to appear before you all completely defenseless and easily able to be destroyed by your combined powers?” Celestia asked and Robert was forced to concede her point lowering his gun at last. “What are the Lights of Orion, anyways?” Lightning asked. Sunburst swallowed nervously before speaking. “A powerful energy source eons old, only appearing once every 3,000 years before vanishing again till the time of their next reemergence,” the Black Bat Ranger explained. “I’ve heard legends of their existence dating back thousands of years, but I never had any proof that they existed before now,” “Well, it’s true. They exist,” Shining stated. “My predecessor, the first Magna Defender was their guardian and keeper of sorts.” “And now they’re back…” Sunburst muttered. “It would be like Bunglay to hunt these things down, considering how rare they are. If he had his hands on them, it would make it so much easier for him to hunt down the Wild Zords,” Everyone stared at him in shock. “What, don’t think you’re not all considering it in your heads. You know and I know it,” Sunburst remarked. “Each Wild Zord, they’re one of a kind. Nothing else like them in the world. The perfect prizes for Bunglay,” As this little fact slowly sunk into everybody’s heads, Sunset swallowed nervously. Who knows what Bunglay would stop at? Robert, the Wild Zords, and then probably the Princess as well. Anything exotic, anything unique in even the slightest fashion, it automatically went on his radar. “Right…” Sunset muttered in distaste. “Legendary Beast Hunter and all. Well, we’ll just have to beat them all to it. Bunglay, his forces and anyone else who stands in our way.” Each of the Rangers nodded before the five main ones pulled their Animal Crystals and threw them to create their Savage Cycles. A bull themed bike appeared before Shining and Daring and Galaxy pulled out two Dino Chargers from their belt buckles (Themed after the dinosaur known as a Deinonychus) and pressed down on them. Two bikes, both half black and half yellow like their Morphers appeared before them with an enlarged version of the Dino Charger that spawned them connecting the two halves with glowing green eyes on the front half of the cycles to serve as headlamps. Celestia snapped her fingers, and in a flash of gold magic recreated Cruger’s old ATV from his time as the Shadow Ranger. Robert, as he got on his Kyuubi no Kitsune themed Savage Cycle pressed down on the handlebars and gunned the engine. He grinned and said, “Let’s ride.” The mountains of Maine, long silent were silent no longer. Engines rumbled down long disused mountain roadways, past snow-covered forests and over bridges with ice-cold rushing rivers below. Sunset, in the lead on her Savage Cycle, led the convoy of Rangers towards the Lights of Orion. So far, the journey had been mostly mile after mile of eating up the tarmac and plunging through the darkened mountain pathways and through tunnels carved into the landscape, but everybody involved knew it couldn’t stay that way for long. Especially not with Bunglay involved. “You know,” Robert remarked as he pulled up alongside Sunset. “If this was a different situation, this could actually be sorta fun really. Just you and me, racing our bikes down old roads and pushing them to their limits.” “Your idea of a date, not mine,” Sunset retorted as she twisted the handlebars and gunned the engine speeding ahead of him “Suit yourself, Sunset-Chan.” Robert chirped. Next, he popped a wheelie leading the pony in question to roll her eyes and mutter “Show-off...” to herself. She rolled her eyes and thought “Boys and their toys...” in a good natured toneto herself and shook her head. Robert smirked when he saw that. Personally, he would have preferred taking Sunset on a mountainside ride in his Mustang, but the tires on that thing did not lend themselves very well to the slushy snowy roads they were currently on. It was customized for street races, not off-roading in the backroads of Maine after all. And as far as he knew, nopony in Equestria knew how to make snow chains. So, he’d just have to make do with this for the time being. “How long do you think it’ll be before we’re spotted?” Lightning asked. “I-I was trying not to think about that actually.” Sunburst stammered out. Z held onto Commander Cruger as she and the Syrian rode atop his personal ATV, lights flashing red and blue. “On your guard Rangers, if there’s anything about Bunglay I can guess… Somebody of his caliber is never surprised.” Cruger informed. Right about then, sounds not too dissimilar to that of a Star Wars TIE Fighter were heard as two Bruisers in their starfighter forms rocketed down from the sky and fired their laser cannons. Sunset shouted “Serpentine!” and the bikes began swerving left and right to avoid the blasts as the fighters rocketed overhead and then went around for another pass. “Well, there’s your answer Sunburst!” Lightning shouted as she turned her head towards the Ranger in question. “That’s how long it’ll take before we’re spotted!” “You had to ask, didn’t you?” Robert snapped as he ducked his head to avoid a laser blast. “W-Well, it’s not like I knew…” Sunburst murmured nervously to himself. “Ever heard of the term jinxing it?” Lightning asked sarcastically. “Because that’s what you just did, right here!” Cruger groaned to himself, did this team of Rangers ever focus on the situation at hand instead of just bantering back and forth with each other? “Guys, we sorta have a bigger problem here than Sunburst may or may not having jinxed the situation, just want to point that out,” Z remarked. “Believe me, I noticed!” Sunset shouted back. “Now we just have to focus on dealing with them.” Shining smirked. “Don’t worry, I have an idea. Z, can you take the other one?” “Sure, but…” Z trailed off, not sure what the unicorn was thinking. She chuckled. Shiny, sparkling unicorns who could kick ass. Syd would absolutely love this new world, she just knew it. “Oh, I can see her squeeing like a little kid now…” Z thought. Either way, she transformed to SWAT mode and fired her Delta Enforcer at one of the two starfighter’s engines, the rifle’s repeating laser blasts punching a hole in the armor. The starfighter began to spin around and around going out of control in a kamikaze death spiral and crashed into the tree line before going up in a huge fireball. “Oh, the EPA’s going to love me for that…” Z muttered largely to herself. Meanwhile, Shining leaped from his bike as the other starfighter flew above him and with a powerful Galactic Slash cleaved it in half right down the middle. The two halves just barely missed Shining’s bike as he landed back on it grabbing hold of the handlebars just in time before the bike swerved off the side of the road and into the rushing waters below. “Okay…” Z admitted. “I’m impressed. If I wasn’t dead, I’d ask you out on a date,” “He’s married.” Sunset and Robert both said at once before they both shared a look. Sunburst smirked, his theory was confirmed. Under her helmet, Z’s jaw dropped in shock. “No way. Just no way,” She thought. “Well, I can safely say I would never have seen that coming…” “Yep, definitely dating.” Sunburst mused before he sighed. “...Now I owe Vapor some bits. A whole lot of bits…” “Guys, show’s not over yet!” said Ranger stated as she pointed ahead. “Company!” Sure enough, ahead of the convoy lay a blockade consisting of thirty to forty X-Borgs rocket cudgels aimed and ready, along with about ten to fifteen Bruisers to back them up. If that wasn’t enough, two pairs of Royal Guards accompanied them, staves in hand. In front of them lay barbed wire. “You gotta be…” Daring muttered to herself. “¿No han oído hablar de la palabra exceso?” “What she said.” Z agreed, knowing the language being half-Spanish herself. “It’s Bunglay, so I would say no,” Sunset replied. Z shot her a look. “How do you know…?” the Yellow Ranger trailed off, not expecting the Gold Ranger to know her native language. “Princess' personal student, a workaholic with something to prove. You pick up a few things.” Sunset remarked simply. “Get ready, Rangers!” Cruger ordered as the Royal Guards put their staves together and launched manifestations of the Armada’s banner at the group. Cruger used his ATV’s lasers to take out the first manifestation while Galaxy used a Blood Moon strike to deal with the other before launching another one at the first pair, shearing their heads clean off and leaving their bodies to crumple to the ground sparking. Daring then used her Dino Morpher to take out the other set of twins. “No way in Hell are we going to make it through that blockade!” Robert shouted as two rockets flew right by his head. “And if you thought looking ahead was bad enough…” Lightning shouted. “Take a look at what’s behind!” Robert whirled his head around and his eyes widened. Two more Bruiser Starfighters, coming up fast. “Verdammte Scheisse!” He swore. Sunset sighed and then she made her decision. “Right then everybody, going to take a little walk in the woods!” She shouted before taking a swerve off the road and into the nearby woodlands. The rest of the Rangers were swift to follow, hoping they’d lose the starfighters within the trees, their headlamps lighting up the path that was before them. As they drove on through the dense forest, two more Bruisers appeared from out of nowhere and tacked Daring and Shining off their bikes while a third Bruiser fired his arm cannons and sent Galaxy’s Dino Cycle tumbling end over end while Galaxy himself hit a tree. “Chiar atunci…” Galaxy growled as he picked himself off the ground and brushed snow off of his suit’s shoulders and chest and unfolded his wings to remove the rest. “Time for somebody to be taught a lesson in manners. And I mean royally.” With that, he grabbed the offending Bruiser by the shoulders and like his Dino Zord’s basis was often known to do, headbutted him sending the mechanical foot soldier flying into a tree. The sheer power and force behind the headbutt was strong enough to send him flying through the tree splitting it down the middle and when the trooper hit another, explode. “Keep going, we can handle things from here!” Shining shouted as he blew a hole through the second Bruiser’s chest with a shotgun blast from his Riot Blaster while Daring bifurcated the third and final one down the middle with her Dino Saber. “You sure about that?” Vapor asked, as three more Bruisers launching blue energy balls from their arm cannons along with a swarm of X-Borgs appeared from the treeline. “Trust me…” Shining grinned as he switched to his Magna Blade and lit up his horn in a light rose-like pink color as Galaxy drew his Dino Morpher and smirked cockily. “We’re sure.” “I hope you’re right…” Vapor whispered as she and the remaining Rangers forged on ahead, the sounds of metal hitting metal along with energy blasts coming from behind them. She gunned the engine, and headed to the crash site… Just barely escaping a series of powerful crater creating explosions caused by the starfighters dropping bombs all around them, the convoy made it out into a large clearing. This was it, the point Celestia had indicated. The area formerly known as the Pentagoet Archeological District. And in the middle of the clearing was another crater, holding the Lights of Orion, ready to be claimed by any brave soul. Problem was, the X-Borgs had beaten them there first. Then, as if matters couldn’t get any worse, the gigantic form of Bunglay’s personal ship warped into orbit above the site with its captain teleporting down as the starfighters flew inside it’s launch bay. Sunset couldn’t help but nervously swallow at both the prospect of how many Armada forces it had to have held and its ghost galleon like appearance. Suddenly, she winced in pain as she got a flash of an image. A giant red cube like animal, resembling a whale in some manner. Her eyes widened under her helmet as she saw X-Borgs poking and prodding at it with electric prongs and it roaring in pain with each poke and prod. “Something wrong, Sunset-Chan?” Robert asked in concern. “The animals… On board his ship…” Sunset groaned as she held her head in pain and her left fist tightened in rage around her bike’s handlebars. “I can hear them… They’re in pain, he’s torturing them... He needs to be stopped.” Cruger growled in frustration as he ground his ATV to a halt and unsheathed his Shadow Saber as the Rangers got off their bikes and drew their weapons, ready to face the coming battle. “Well, isn’t this a surprise. You lot were actually foolish enough to show up,” Bunglay chuckled in both amusement and surprise. “Well, I suppose I should get cracking in destroying you lot. Robert, you’re off my quarry list for now, so consider yourself honored. I rarely let my prizes go. But this time… I’m making an exception. Much bigger fish to catch now. And I do mean bigger.” “Oh save it…” Robert muttered as he rolled his eyes and pulled out his Kitsune Blaster. “Can we just get done with this, summon your puppets so we can bring them back to our side and rip your army and hopefully you to shreds in an extremely showy manner, savvy?” He replied in a mocking tone. Bunglay smirked, he was hoping he’d say that. Dashing forwards, he pulled three specific past legends from the SPD files and Robert’s own memory. Taking shape were three forms, each with their own restraining collar. The first was a gold and silver colored Ranger with a V shaped visor holding a gray and yellow axe. The second, a black armored warrior with elaborate golden detailing making him resemble a lion. The final warrior was not a hero at all in any sense of the word. She was an Asian woman with a gold scorpion themed helmet, shoulder and arm armor, and a bustier in mostly red and black colors with gold thrown in as well holding a silver blade. “Scorpina…” Robert muttered. Great, just what they needed. And that wasn’t counting the Puppet Rangers, namely the mind-controlled Titanium Ranger/Ryan Mitchell and the Black Lion Warrior/Jarrod. However, before the Rangers could meet this threat, several large shurikens like helicopter blades flew over their heads and Scorpina knocked them away with her blade. “Surprise!” Helicos laughed as she teleported in, with an army of Putrids rising up from the Earth as well. She chuckled as she turned her gaze to Lightning and the Putrids stomped their weapons against the ground as an intimidation measure, their whole bodies coated in toxic slime. “You and me, we still haven’t finished our little duel.” “Damn, and here I was hoping you’d forgotten…” Lightning drawled in mock-displeasure as she changed her Crystal Saber to the Sword of Pardolis. “Still have to pay you back for knocking me out of the sky a while back.” “Let’s get to it.” Helicos chuckled, and the entire area erupted into mass chaos. Putrid against the Armada, Ranger against the Armada and Putrids. Ranger against Ranger, you get the idea. Robert quickly found himself in a duel with Jarrod and rolled out of the way to avoid a slash from the armored warrior’s claws. He then kicked Jarrod in the chest-plate before unleashing his animal spirit. Jarrod did the same, calling out “Spirit of the Mighty Lion!” and creating a black lion with a gold mane that slashed, scratched and bit away at Robert’s Kitsune spirit which was constantly on the defensive. Robert tried to trip Jarrod up with a leg sweep, but his fellow Pai Zhau student leaped over it and yelled “Fist of the Beast King!” and struck Robert in the chest with a powerful Zocato-infused punch sending him flying back into a hoard of X-Borgs. Robert quickly fired a Kitsune Scatter Blast into the crowd before re-engaging Jarrod again. “Jarrod, listen to me! You’re Pai Zhau, one of us! Bunglay.... He’s just using you, like Dai Shi used you long ago!” Robert shouted as Jarrod scored a slash across the chest. But even then, his eyes shot wide open and he flashed back to his final battle with Casey. “He’s not a friend Jarrod… Dai Shi, he’s warping your mind! I’ve seen the real you with my own eyes.” “Look a little closer.” Jarrod had growled out on that day. Casey had barraged his way into Dai Shi’s personal fortress, cutting down any of his Rinshi warriors that stood in his way unmorphed and on a mission. Robert dodged another Zocato infused punch and slashed Jarrod across the chest with chi-infused claws and fired a few shots into his chest plate. Next thing he knew, Jarrod sent him flying backwards with another blast of Zocato power. But even as they fought, Jarrod continued to have flashbacks of his final duel with Casey. “You’re no match for Dai Shi.” “Then you help me! Together we can destroy him!” Casey pleaded, tugging on Jarrod’s attire. “I AM HIM!” He roared before launching Casey backwards into a wall before donning his armor. As Casey got up off the floor, he muttered to himself “Whose idea was this again? Oh right… Mine.” before taking out his Solar Morpher and yelling out “Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!” The two battled intensely, completely wrecking the throne room and surrounding chambers with their battle. Eventually, Casey managed to pin his opponent up against a wall. “Jarrod, look into your heart! You can fight this, I know you’re in there!” Casey pled. “I saw you save Camille, Dai Shi never would have done that!” “No, I won’t be defeated!” Jarrod snarled before tossing Casey aside and going into his extremely elaborate Phantom Beast King armor, themed after a Griffon and allowing Dai Shi to take control. In the real world, Robert dealt out powerful chi-infused punches that were easily matched by Jarrod’s own Zocato powered blows. Meanwhile, the Kitsune spirit was ripped apart by the Black Lion spirit above them, ending their duel. “Foolish boy, Jarrod no longer exists,” Dai Shi growled out. “I have swallowed his humanity, he is now my slave.” But Casey was still defiant. “No, you can’t have him! He’s Pai Zhau, one of us!” “Robert’s right… And so was Casey. I’m Pai Zhau, I’m no one’s Master but my own,” Jarrod murmured to himself, his voice going unheard to anyone but himself. “Casey earned his Master Stripes that day… So time to do him proud!” With that, he tore off the collar even as amp after amp of electricity wracked his body. He fell to the ground panting and sweating, his Master Stripes clearly visible on his arm. “You alright?” Robert asked as he helped his fellow Pai Zhau member up. “Yeah... “ Jarrod growled as he morphed back into his Lion Armor and together, they faced the X-Borgs. “But they won’t be…” Robert smirked, that was the Jarrod he knew. The power and fury of a blazing lion, and the heart to back it up. Both he and Robert shared a look before Jarrod smirked. “Let’s do this.” He grinned before he got a look at Robert’s attire. “Really… A cape? Isn’t that what most people would call both egotistical and ludicrously impractical?” Jarrod snarked. “Hey, way I see it, we’re multi-colored spandex heroes, so I think practicality is out the window by this point.” Robert deadpanned. Sunset, as she sliced through both Putrid and X-Borg, all the while holding off Scorpina’s blade raised an eyebrow. “Thought you were rampant about how it wasn’t spandex? Thought it was a self forming-nanofiber!” Sunset laughed. “Oh s-shut up!” Robert stammered out. “Totally whipped,” Jarrod remarked, picking up on their relationship immediately. “You shut up too furball,” Robert muttered as he pulled out his Crystal Saber. “Now… As you were saying, let’s do this.” With that, they entered the fray of Putrids and began slicing and dicing... Meanwhile, Lightning and Helicos continued their duel. “So, what the Tartarus are you doing here, Helicos?” “Isn’t it obvious? Those Lights… Any advantage to Retinax, even if has to come from the side of good would be a great boon to us in wiping out Thrax!” Helicos laughed. “Besides, I knew you’d be here anyways, with your fellow Ranger friends. You and I, we still got a duel to finish!” Helicos says, jabbing at her with her long, broad-headed spear, Lightning deflecting the blow with the flat of her blade. “Yes… That we do, but fighting me alone? Isn’t that a bit foolish?” She counters, slashing at his chest. Helicos catches the blow with the haft of her spear, pushing her back and bringing the bladed end of the weapon around to open up a gash along her forearm ripping open her costume. “You’re one to talk, you’re the most arrogant of them all. First time we met, you believed you could take me, a Duke Org on alone!” Helicos mocked. “Where did that get you? Oh… Now I remember, you nearly lost your soul to that Camera Org if Shining and Robert hadn’t come to bail you out! You’re a failure of a Ranger, and that’s the end of it.” She pressed her attack, jabbing repeatedly at her with the spear, keeping her dodging until he overextended her reach, giving her an opening. Lightning let out a small snarl. “You know, I’ve been called a failure all my life. By my own father no less.” She growls, lunging at the Org, her blade aimed for his throat. “Well, he isn’t wrong…” the Helicopter themed Duke Org laughed. She deflected her sword away again, the deadly blow instead inflicting a minor scratch to her shoulder. “But any words out of you, they don’t mean anything! Jack-shit, you hear? Only failure I see around here is you. You’re a failure of a Duke Org, your brother fell and eventually so will you!” If Lightning was hoping to get a rise out of Helicos from that remark, she’d be surprised to see it fail. Helicos, taking advantage of her off-balance state after the last parry, swept the blade of her spear back around, intending to behead her. “Funny, only one thing wrong with your plan, if it can be called that. I know my brother was a failure,” Helicos replied. “He was always too arrogant for his own good, thinking with his gun instead of his brains.” Lightning caught the spear, wrapping her hand tight around the haft and stopping it dead before ripping it from the Duke Org’s grasp. “Family… That’s what should be the most important factor in anyone’s life!” Lightning snarled in disgust. “My brother… He never bought into my dad’s shit and neither did my big sister nor my adopted big brother! But… I guess you’d never understand that, you having no heart and all.” She punctuated her words by twirling the appropriated spear in her hand and driving its point right through where her heart would be, watching the life fade from her eye. Nearby, Z and Cruger helped Sunset hold off the deadly duo of the Titanium Ranger and Scorpina. Ryan swung out with his axe, but Z blocked it with her baton before she flew backwards firing her Deltamax Striker as Ryan switched to his Titanium Laser mode by pushing the axe blade backwards, and twisting the hilt and the two shots met in midair and collided, canceling each other out. Z fired off another shot but it was once again met with another from the Titanium Laser as Ryan flipped backwards to avoid another shot and then fired again in midair. This shot was blocked by Commander Cruger’s Shadow Saber. The two clashed weapons again and again, each matching the other perfectly in a dance of blades. Z kicked Ryan in the face making him stagger back as Commander Cruger scored a slice across the chest with his katana. “Ryan, you’ve got to remember who you are! Diabolico, he brainwashed you once! Do you want to be controlled again? Do you?” Z asked, remembering Ryan’s history from the SPD files even as he flashed back. “You got past that, Hell, I remember you helping to train us while we were at SPD!” “Who are you?” His sister had asked. “I’m your worst nightmare!” They had fought… He had fought his own sister! But then, he remembered. A cliff late one stormy night, he, his father and his sister hanging off a tree branch. There he was, just barely holding onto his father’s ankles. His dad… He had no choice but to make a deal with Diabolicoto save his life. But that damn demon… He made him forgot everything he was. Made him think his father had let him fall. “Never again, never again!” Ryan whispered as he slowly remembered. Then, he remembered it all. He trained the B-Squad cadets after Lightspeed. He still wanted to continue helping people, like he did when he was a Ranger. He helped the scientists develop the top-secret SPD Kat Ranger project after inspiration struck them after seeing the Omega Ranger in action. And then, there was that other project… Ryan’s eyes shot wide open, and like the sounds of chains breaking, he ripped off his collar and turned his blade on Scorpina just as she was about to deal a powerful blow to Sunset striking her across the chest. The scorpion themed woman sliced and diced at both Sunset and Ryan with her vaguely V-shaped blade before knocking Sunset backwards with the blunt end of her blade but the Gold Ranger scored a kick to the chest before she leaped forwards and sliced downwards with both her Phoenix Blade and her Crystal Saber. Scorpina staggered back from the blow but she wasn’t defeated yet. The woman threw her blade like a boomerang slashing Sunset and Ryan in multiple places as it circled and struck their bodies like a whirlwind. Sunset and Ryan clutched their chests in pain as the blade returned to Scorpina’s hands. “Had enough?” She laughed and slowly strode forwards to deliver the killing blow. “Spirit of the Mighty Lion!” Jarrod roared out as the Black Lion spirit slashed away at Scorpina. “Sorry Bunglay, but you made a rather large mistake bringing both of us back to life,” Ryan chuckled as he staggered to his feet. “Me and Jarrod… Both of us have been controlled before. Should have thought of that before you brought us back. We’re nobody’s puppets, not anymore.” “Now, go for the Lights! We’ll hold off Bunglay’s forces!” Jarrod called out. Sunset nodded and ran for the Lights of Orion with her fellow Rangers backing her up. Scorpina tried to throw her blade at Sunset again, but Jarrod hip-tossed her before slashing her across the chest with his armor’s claws and then Ryan shot her with his Titanium Laser punching a hole right through her chest. X-Borgs tried to block their way but Robert and Sunburst slashed them apart with a Jungle Fan/Crystal Saber combo. Lightning grabbed a Bruiser with her whips and threw it behind her where it was swiftly impaled by Vapor as Cruger sliced another across the chest with his Shadow Saber and Z took down two more with her Deltamax Striker. Bunglay roared in rage as he dashed forwards for the Light as well but was kicked in the chest by both Vapor and Lightning making him stagger back. Two Royal Guards stood in Sunset’s way and launched a manifestation of the Armada’s emblem but Sunset simply slashed through it charging up her swords with her magic before decapitating the two guards with a Phoenix Blade/Crystal Saber combo. And just as that happened, the Lights shot into Sunset’s hands enveloping her in a golden light before they branched out and did the same to Vapor, Lightning, Sunburst and Robert. Bunglay roared in rage at the loss of his quarry as the Rangers called out: “Now… Lights of Orion, activate!” The effects were quite noticeable as the Rangers felt a new influx of power surge through them. Firstly, their belt buckles became larger and more ornate. Bracelets with green gems appeared on their upper arms and claw like gauntlets appeared on their left arms. Finally, their Crystal Sabers extended from dagger-like implements into cutlass like blades. “Haven’t said this in quite a long time, but now I think it’s only fitting…” Robert grinned as he gripped his Crystal Sword. “Sa… Dohade ni ikuze!” “Give me that power!” Bunglay growled. “You got it!” Sunset replied before flashing forwards and dealing several devastating fire infused slices across the chest. Lightning leaped in and slashed Bunglay across the chest with her claw gauntlet, the claws becoming long blades of energy before she sliced downwards with a powerful lightning infused strike. Vapor implanted her sword in the ground and a powerful geyser erupted sending Bunglay flying skywards and Robert and Sunburst turned into flashes of golden light and struck multiple times, one after the other before Sunburst drop-kicked Bunglay back towards the ground. “Had enough?” Sunset smirked, but that smirk was soon to fade as soon as she saw Bunglay picking himself off the ground. “You… You insolent bilge rats! I’ve survived far more attacks than what you can throw at me,” Bunglay laughed, unnerving all of the Rangers and sending chills down their spines. “Now… Time for me to get cracking and show you my power!” Bunglay flashed forwards and struck. First, Sunset fell to a slash from Bunglay’s anchor and then Sunburst and Robert as well before finally Vapor and Lightning. Next, Bunglay’s face tentacles reached out and wrapped themselves around the Rangers, both choking them and zapping them with amp after amp of electricity. “Now… Do you know why I’m the Legendary Beast Hunter?” Bunglay cackled. “Nothing, not even Power Rangers can stand in my way.” “Yeah?” Ryan asked as he, Z and Cruger ran up. “We’ll just have to see about that, won’t we? This hunt’s over.” Ryan fired his Titanium Laser, Z, her Delta Enforcer and Cruger aimed his Shadow Saber like a rifle and fired an energy beam at Bunglay. The three collective blasts hit Bunglay in the chest, and his grip loosened before he unceremoniously dropped all five of Lights of Orion powered Rangers, clutching his chest which was dripping purple blood, pooling on the ground. “Very well then… I know when I’m outmatched. I’ll just let them finish you off and then come and collect your bodies. Magna Beam!” Bunglay shouted before he teleported up to his ship. At the same time, a member of the Royal Guard on the bridge slammed his fist on a big red button and fired a huge blue beam at the fallen forms of three Bruisers, two Royal Guards along with Scorpina and Helicos growing them to a truly colossal size. Scorpina, during the size change, had unveiled her true form and threw away the illusion of looking human mutating into something truly monstrous. Now she truly looked like a scorpion with a bit of a cobra thrown in as well, dreadlocks hanging off her head and the transformation completed itself with pincer claws in place of hands. “Damn… She’s Buck-Ugly…” Lightning muttered. Nobody bothered to disagree with her. “Wild Zords, descend!” The Rangers shouted, with the Black Bear and Polar Bear crystals being tossed to Sunset and Lightning by Vapor Trail. “I need Red Dragon Thunderzord Power, now!” Lightning shouted knowing the back-up would be needed for this fight. As the Wild Zords descended from the night sky, a shadowy reptilian form covered the moon and an ear splitting roar pierced the heavens. It let out another roar as its tail and neck folded upwards with the head detaching. Both the front and back legs combined to form arms as the head reattached to the chest a more humanoid like one now visible. With shifting and whirring sounds, the Leviathan Zord split in half and its head and jaw folded open to become feet and the tail split open at the back as the Kitsune Zord’s back legs folded up into its chest and excess metal in its chest detached to form twin katanas and it’s head folded downwards to become a chest-plate as its front legs detached with hisses of steam. The Black Bear and Polar Bear’s backs moved upwards to become shoulder pauldrons while the front halves moved forwards just a little. The Polar Bear became the left shoulder, and the Black Bear the right. The Polar Bear’s shoulders sprouted the image of a glacier, while the Black Bear’s had the image of a fireball. Two powerful cannons sprouted from their mouths. A tusked head popped up from the Kitsune Zord’s neck, and the Vampire Bat Zord, wings detaching as it attached to the back of the Megazord with a clang and its head moved upwards and became the helmet. “Animaria Guardian Megazord: Double Knuckle!” The Rangers shouted as Lightning leaped from one cockpit to the Red Dragon’s as it spun its Bo staff around in a defensive manner to block the Bruisers’ energy blasts. “Oh, alright then… Metal to metal!” Helicos laughed before she fired her Helicopter Shurikens at the Animaria Guardian who used its massive arms to simply bat them aside but was then struck across the chest by a powerful blow from Scorpina’s sword. “Chopper blast!” Helicos shouted, and fired a powerful eye beam at the Animaria Guardian sending it staggering back and Scorpina leaped in and dealt several more powerful slashes across the chest. Bunglay took this chance to warp out of the atmosphere and back into space. “Power levels are dropping!” Vapor shouted in alarm. Sunset gritted her teeth and thought to herself. “Come on Lightning, you can handle those walking scrap piles. I know it, I have faith in you!” She thought worriedly. Down below, as Jarrod, Cruger, Z, and Ryan slashed through the last of the Armada’s forces and the Putrids, they turned their attention to the massive fight taking place nearby. “Come on Rangers, you can do it!” Cruger ordered before slicing down an X-Borg with his Shadow Saber. “You’ve been judged.” He thought to himself before skewering a Putrid. “Hit ‘em hard, and hit them fast!” Jarrod shouted as he kicked a Putrid in the face before slashing another X-Borg across its helmet felling it. The two Royal Guards tried using their staves to fire off another manifestation of the Armada symbol before the Torozord rammed them, and impaled them with his horns and then tossing the two behind him where they were swiftly dealt with by the hammer tail of the Ankylo Zord and the mace tail of the Pachy Zord. “Shining!” Vapor shouted happily as she spotted the Magna Defender atop his loyal steed. “See, told you we’d be fine,” Shining reassured before ordering: “Now, get to it! Magna Defender, Transform!” Shining and the Torozord rapidly merged into the Defender Torozord and brought out the Megazord’s lance and joined the fight. Nearby, the Red Dragon was fending off the Bruisers with its sansetsukon, or three-sectioned-staff. Using the staff to deflect blasts as the Red Dragon gripped one end tightly to knock away the energy balls or go on the offense dealing out powerful strikes, the entire fight resembled an elegant dance. Lightning quickly switched back to the Bo Staff form before spinning it 360 degrees to send embers flying towards the trio of metallic foot soldiers. Two of the Bruisers changed their bottom halves to a motorcycle like implement and charged towards the Red Dragon arm cannons firing all the while. Lightning flipped over them as they charged. Next, the Red Dragon struck the third Bruiser from behind before switching the Bo Staff back to the sansetsukon form and wrapping it around the final Bruiser’s neck and pulling the robot’s head clean off. The remaining two Bruisers switched back to their walking mode and one was elbowed in the face multiple times but the second took the chance to punch the Red Dragon in the face sending it staggering back. “Can’t… I can’t take them! I need more power!” Lightning thought, and as if to answer her prayers, the Lights of Orion reacted. A key, resembling a star visored warrior appeared in her hands. Now she knew what that lock was for. Planting the key in the lock, she gave it a twist and the words “Let’s Go!” appeared above it as the Red Dragon changed shape and a golden glow enveloped the Red Dragon as it shifted form to a giant mecha resembling a championship level boxer, complete with metal belt around its waist and two golden bracers around its hands. The face changed to that of a star visored warrior completing the shift. Lightning reacted with lightning fast punches to the Bruisers, throwing right hook and then a left hook to their chests, faces and anywhere else she could reach powerful pistons supplying each punch. Rapid-fire punch after punch came, each dealing more and more damage. “Now, let’s finish this!” Lightning shouted as the bracers moved forwards revealing their true purpose. Gatling guns. With the sounds of thunder, the guns fired again and again and next thing Lightning saw was the Bruisers falling at her hooves and going up in a shower of sparks. “Now, to help my friends.” Lightning thought before turning her gatling guns on Scorpina overwhelming her with blast after blast. “Now! Take her out!” Sunset nodded before the Bear Blasters fired and struck Scorpina with blasts of both fire and ice and she stumbled, before falling backwards and going up in a huge fireball. “And now for you…” Lightning smirked as she punched Helicos across the face with the Red Zeo Battlezord in a powerful right cross. Next, Helicos was sliced through by the Defender Torozord’s Lightning Spin. The Bear Brothers detached from the Animaria Guardian Megazord and were replaced by the Phoenix and Thunderbird Zords as the truly mammoth War Axe materialized in the Megazord’s hands. With a powerful helm-splitter maneuver, Helicos was sliced straight down the middle, finishing her off for good. Later that night, the Megazords standing behind them in the shadow of the moon, the current Ranger team met with their predecessors. They knew they didn’t have long before they faded away, so they knew what they had to do. “Thank you, Commander… Thank you for helping us out one last time.” Robert said, saluting his boss. “No, the pleasure was all ours,” Z stated, shaking Sunset, Lightning, Daring and Vapor’s hands. “You girls just keep on fighting the good fight, and if anyone tries anything sexist… Punch ‘em in the nose.” “Trust me, already done that a few times with a couple of idiots I’ve met before I became a Ranger.” Daring chuckled and Z laughed as she and the other Rangers began to fade. “One last thing… Kick Bunglay’s ass for us, will you?” Jarrod remarked. “Oh don’t worry, that’s coming. You can be assured of that.” Shining stated before saluting each Ranger as they faded away and went back to their peaceful rest. As they did so, Vapor whispered one last thing. “May the power protect you, even in death…” High above, in his ship’s Bridge, Bunglay smirked to himself. “Very well Rangers, you may have won this round… But I’ll find you and your Zords’ hiding place soon enough,” He thought before shouting “All of you lot, search for that island! I don’t care if you have to scour the whole of Equus to do it, just find the damn thing!” “Plus, there’s always my trump card…” Bunglay thought as he turned his attention to the holding cells...
Part 41: FlamebroiledSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Part 42: FamilyPonyville: Pink was everywhere from the moment Robert Williams woke up on the day of February 14th. Balloons shaped like hearts in ghastly shades, streamers hung on buildings and even topiaries cut up in the shape of hearts, from the moment he woke up he knew exactly what day it was. Now Valentine’s Day or whatever ponykind called it here in this new age was all well and good with him, especially as it was the day when women without a boyfriend could easily be picked up for a one night stand, but even he had his limits on how much pink he was willing to take. “I swear by God, I’m probably going to need some very strong brandy just to wash today’s memories away,” Robert grumbled to himself as he stepped out of the Carousel Boutique clad in a thick brown fur coat. “Mein Gott, pink everywhere you look! It’s like a bloody bottle of Pepto-Bismol barfed itself all over the town.” He only groaned further to himself when he saw a nearby park with a gazebo decorated with pink hearts. To make matters worse it seemed, there was a small wooden arch shaped bridge covered in heart shaped lights over a tiny gurgling stream flowing through the center of the park. “Watashi wa jigoku ni iru,” Robert muttered in Japanese (He still occasionally lapsed into full sentences of it and not just phrases when he was displeased about something from time to time) as he tried blinking to clear away the sight. Nope, still there. “Un, koreha jigokudenakereba naranai. Kore ni tsuite no setsumei dake... Kyōki,” He heard a small chuckle come from behind him and he turned to see Sunset. “I take it you’re not a fan of the holiday as well… Or at least Equestria’s version of it?” Sunset asked with a small smirk. She didn’t quite understand the language her boyfriend was speaking, but she definitely got the general gist of it from his tone. “...Wait, you mean all of Equestria’s decorated like this?” Robert asked as his eyes wandered to some outdoor dining tables given the frilly frou-frou touch and when Sunset nodded he muttered “Kill me now,” “Okay, well maybe not to this extent but pretty much,” Sunset admitted with a slight tinge of distaste at seeing the decorations. She had to admit, there was tastefulness and then there was going overboard completely. “Pinkie?” Robert asked gruffly, knowing the mare’s… tendencies (To put it one way) of going overboard from his Welcome to Ponyville Party some months back. Robert sighed and muttered “Shitte ita hazudesu...” to himself at Sunset’s nod. “Well, not all bad I suppose,” Sunset smiled. “What, I can commit Seppuku after seeing all of this?” Robert asked dryly. “No…” Sunset trailed off, slightly disturbed at that remark before she linked his arm with hers. “You have me to help you endure, don’t you?” Robert smiled in realization at that fact as she rested her head on his shoulder. Softly, he kissed her forehead. “Okay, but if you want to go out on a date… Please for the love of all that’s Holy in the universe don’t take me somewhere that makes Madam Puddifoot's look tame by comparison,” Sunset blinked, not recognizing the reference but she chuckled and smiled again. “I’ll try not to, Pinkie Promise,” Elsewhere: The clatter of pins hitting the floor and a bowling ball rolling down the lane was the ever-constant sound that filled the Ponyville Bowling Alley. It was a popular establishment, ever since it’s introduction fifty some odd years ago. One strike filled the hall with cheers as a familiar yellow maned pegasus knocked down all of the pins in one particular lane. With a boom and a bang, they hit the floor. “Seriously… If you’re trying to take me out on a date… You really need better tastes in places,” Rainbow Dash complained, looking absolutely bored out of her mind in her bowling shirt. “Bowling’s not a sport. Hoofball and soccer, yes, but this… This is not a sport!” “It is so a sport, and yes, this is a date for your information,” Lightning put in as she stepped aside to let her marefriend/not marefriend have her roll. In the background, Vapor Trail rolled her eyes and chuckled as she continued strumming her guitar and humming to herself as she practiced a song Grape had known before his death. “I've been everywhere, man, I've been everywhere, man. Across the deserts bare, man. I've breathed the mountain air, man. Of travel I've had my share, man. I've been everywhere…” She hummer to herself as she strummed the notes. “Most romantic of things man… Taking your girl out for a date bowling!” A stallion dressed in a gaudy green shirt and with a brown mustache known only as “The Dude” remarked. “Shut it Dude, when has your opinion ever mattered?” Rainbow snapped as she rolled her ball down the lane and ended up striking down all of the pins with a resounding clatter. Well, all except for two. “Ooh… A split, worst of the worst.” “The Dude” remarked. “Gonna take a miracle to pull this one off.” “Hah, I don’t need miracles!” Rainbow bragged. “I’m that awesome!” Lightning and Vapor both rolled their eyes in unison, used to her bragging by now. However, when Rainbow did roll, all she managed to do was strike down one of the pins. “You were saying?” Lightning asked dryly, raising an eyebrow. “Set that split up again,” Vapor suddenly said. Both Rainbow and Lightning stared at her in stark disbelief, unable to believe their own ears but sure enough, the pins were set up in the exact same position. Vapor put down her guitar, lined herself up with a gold ball in hand and rolled. To both of her fellow pegasi and “The Dude”’s astonishment, both pins hit the floor with a loud clatter. Vapor smiled to herself. “Should shut up Rainbow’s bragging for a while,” She thought to herself. Just then, a figure Vapor and Lightning recognized walked in the door and their eyes widened considerably. “Mom?” They asked. Meanwhile, thankfully for Robert, Sunset didn’t take him to anywhere that in his own words “Made Madam Puddifoot's look tame by comparison” and instead took him to the local inn/tavern, the Prancing Pony for drinks. Robert snorted at the irony. He’d had at least two sexual relations with mares here that he could remember, probably more, (Albeit, one of those encounters was only used so he could get information out of said mare.) and here Sunset was, taking him to the exact same location. “Sunset, you do realize what happens with mares when I wind up taking them here, right?” Robert asked in complete deadpan, raising an eyebrow. “Me banging them till they’re senseless. Long night of sex, the completely mindblowing kind?” “Yes, but have you had a mare take you here before, and with no sexual intentions whatsoever in mind?” Sunset sniped back at him. Robert tried to come up with an answer, and Sunset covered her mouth with a hand to hide the giggles as he stumbled for an answer. Finally, Robert managed to mutter out an “Et tu, Sunset?” before he took a small sip of his tea. “Didn’t know you knew Shakespeare, or even took an interest in him,” Sunset remarked. “I don’t, the plays bore me to tears really. Even if a very attractive looking woman took me to one, I’d probably walk out by the end of the first act,” Robert admitted. “Even if it was me?” Sunset asked, with an eyebrow raised. Robert quickly took a step backwards, realizing the mistake he probably made about then. “Well, maybe not in your case Sunset-Chan,” He backpedaled and Sunset chuckled and kissed his cheek. “No, it’s fine,” Sunset replied with a nod of understanding. “We all have our own tastes in entertainment. To tell you the truth, I found Gojira rather depressing frankly. Bit cynical,” “Yeah… the 2014 film’s way better if you ask me. Doesn’t look like a guy in a rubber suit, that one and the special effects are way better,” Robert remarked. “Heresy, I know, probably, but… You did say we all had our own tastes in entertainment,” “Et tu, Robert?” Sunset dryly replied, and Robert stood gobsmacked at having his own words used against him before his head hit the table with a thud. But sadly their little date was to be cut short as something far more urgent was about to come up, as Sunset found out when she heard her Growl Phone ring. Swiftly going for it and pulling it out of her pants pockets, she flipped the small gold device open. Sunset knew the news she could receive generally meant one thing and one thing only. The Gold Ranger heard Vapor’s voice at the other end of the line. However, she was surprised at the Purple Ranger’s tone of voice. The mare sounded nearly close to tears, and Sunset’s eyes widened. “You alright?” she asked in a worried tone of voice. “Just… Just get over here,” Vapor sniffled, her voice breaking. “I… I can’t really tell you this over the phone, it’s better if you see and hear about this in person.” “I… I’ll be right there,” Sunset stuttered out and shot a look at Robert, who nodded in understanding before they both ran out of the tavern. “Don’t worry mate, we’ll foot you the cheque!” Robert shouted to the barkeeper. Robert and Sunset raced to Vapor’s location, namely Sugarcube Corner where they found her, in her usual attire of a thick brown fur coat and purple double eighth note pendant sobbing at one of the tables. Behind her was Pinkie, rubbing Vapor’s shoulders in a comforting manner as she sobbed with Fluttershy offering tissues to her fellow pegasus. Nearby stood Lightning, with a look on her face that could only be described as a mix of anger and sadness. “What’s… What’s wrong?” Sunset stuttered out, the only time she’d seen Lightning like this was when she’d had her wing replaced with that metal prosthetic, which like her regular wing now hung limply at her sides. Fluttershy looked at Vapor with a look of compassion as she wiped away the pegasus’s tears with a handkerchief. Privately, Sunset thought to herself that if that look of compassion could be weaponized, the Rangers wouldn’t have anything to worry about. Their enemies would just surrender on the spot. “I… I got a visit from my mom earlier today,” Vapor finally said, still sniffling. The words she had next to say hit everybody like a thrown brick to the face. “It’s… It’s… She’s got Breast Cancer,” “Goddamnit…” Robert muttered quietly. Sunset meanwhile wrapped an arm around Vapor like a mother or older sister would and pulled her into a hug. She wanted to tell Vapor that everything would be alright, but she knew that was probably pointless, and Vapor wouldn’t believe her anyways. So instead, she just pulled the young Wonderbolt into a hug and let her cry. “We’re your family as well, Vapor…” Sunset whispered to the crying mare. “Whatever happens, we’re in this together,” “There’s… There’s just gotta be something we can do…” Lightning muttered to herself, looking absolutely helpless. Some years ago, Vapor’s mother had taken her in. Vapor had informed her of what exactly was going on in the Rider household between Lightning’s father and Lightning herself and had since become like a second mother to her. She was just furious that one of the sweetest mares she’d ever known had to have been dealt this hand in life. Then, after several moments of just staring blankly and talking quietly to herself, the only other sound in the room being Vapor’s sobbing, she got an idea. “Sunset, can’t we do something? This is probably a little crazy, but right now, I think a little crazy is in order,” Lightning asked quietly, almost whispering. “I think there’s someone we can ask about all of this, as long as two certain ponies can manage to keep a secret,” Sunset noted the emphasis on the someone and her eyes widened. “Wait, who are we talking about?” Pinkie asked in confusion, before looking at Robert. “Wait, our resident human?” “...Trying very hard not to be offended here…” Robert muttered. “No, I think Lightning means someone else, someone who knows a lot more about what I think Lightning wants to tell you and Fluttershy about, and has been around for thousands of years,” Sunset explained. “P-Princess Celestia?” Fluttershy asked in surprise, eyes widened. “No, not her,” Sunset corrected, “But she is a Princess, just not a pony,” Next, the Princess of Empathy gave both Fluttershy and Pinkie a hard look. “Now, what you’re about to see, you cannot, and I repeat cannot be said a word about to anypony else aside from a few others we’ll tell you about at a later date,” Sunset stated firmly. “Pinkie Promise,” Pinkie and Fluttershy nodded, before doing the time-honored sacred motions, Pinkie reciting the phrase all the while. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” She said, before Fluttershy joined her. Robert sighed, hoping to God both Lightning and Sunset knew what they were doing before reaching for his amulet and flipping it open. “Princess,” Robert stated into the amulet. “Four, five if you can manage to get Sunburst, to transport, plus two guests,” With that, the four Rangers became pillars of light which shot upwards through the roof with Fluttershy and Pinkie becoming white pillars following after them… The Animarium: Fluttershy stumbled forwards as she landed on the soft grass in a clearing on the Animarium, Pinkie landing nearby. She took a step back in shock and let out a small “Meep,” as the truly massive Falcon Zord flew above her head, letting out a loud screech as he flapped his powerful wings. Fluttershy nervously swallowed at the giant metal gold talons ending in sharp claws, perfect for tearing her to ribbons. “Wow… That’s one big bird…” Pinkie gasped before her eyes widened in realization and she let out another gasp. “Wait, wait, wait, that’s a-” She stammered out in shock before swiftly grabbing Fluttershy by the shoulders. “Do you know what this means?” “They’re the Power Rangers?” Fluttershy asked calmly. “They’re Power Rangers!” Pinkie exclaimed excitedly before she looked at Fluttershy. “...Wait, how’d you know?” “It really wasn’t that hard to figure out, not when you get teleported to a place with a giant metal Falcon in a flash of light and said Falcon resembles the giant metal animals we’ve been seeing fighting those monsters lately,” Fluttershy commented. “Oh… Guess when you put it that way…” Pinkie trailed off. “...Well, guess that saves the trouble of explaining a few things,” Lightning muttered, before wiping away a tear. Princess Shayla soon stepped into the clearing. “Welcome friends,” She greeted cheerfully before noticing the grave look on everyone’s faces. “W-What’s wrong?” Sunset was quick to explain everything. “Oh… That’s… That’s horrible…” Shayla whispered, not knowing what else to say while nearby, Sunburst pulled Vapor into a hug upon hearing the news while Navi gently nuzzled Lightning. “Please… Please tell me there’s something the Morphin’ Grid can do…” Vapor pleaded, but her heart broke when Shayla shook her head. “I wish I could tell you otherwise… And while the Grid is capable of many wondrous things, many miracles, there are some things even it can’t do,” “This is bull,” Lightning snarled. “We can access so many unthinkable powers, fight alongside powerful friends and partners, save the day from giant crazy monsters and yet we can’t cure one simple bucking illness!” She roared in fury. “Doctors can treat this, you know,” Sunburst put in. “Yeah, but it doesn’t always work…” Pinkie replied in a mumbling tone of voice, her hair deflating like a balloon. “Fucking amazing… Fucking bloody amazing,” Robert grumbled to himself. “Thousands of years in the bleedin’ future and yet nobody can still get rid of this damn piece of shit!” “It’s so unfair…” Navi whispered while shaking her head. “There’s a reason there’s been so many organizations created over the years to help promote and spread awareness about the many various types of cancer,” Sunset explained in a kind tone of voice, sounding exactly like a mother. “In fact, I believe money is being raised to help combat, and maybe, just maybe, cure it one day,” Sunburst suddenly snapped his fingers. “Wait, isn’t the color Pink usually associated with Breast Cancer awareness?” He asked, and everyone nodded. “I got an idea, although I don’t know if I can pull it off,” He murmured as he paced back and forth, placing a hand to his chin in thought and stroking his beard. “Would it be possible… No, that’s crazy, even for us…” “Spit it out man,” Robert snapped impatiently. “Could we alter our costumes, just for one day, fiddle with the Morphin’ Grid energy so that when we morph, we all become Pink Rangers?” the Black Ranger pondered. “Can’t see why not, if I remember correctly the In Space team went all Blue one day to combat some absolutely mental doubles of theirs as part of a trick,” his teammate remarked. “Plus, there was the Megaforce team and their Ranger Keys which allowed them to go all Red and presumably other colors as well. Think they went all Silver once now that I think of it,” Sunburst looked to Shayla hopefully, and she smiled. “Now, that I can do… But why?” the Princess of Animaria inquired. “I’ve got a plan,” Sunburst smirked. “Time to think Pink,” The Smokey Mountains: Stratusburg: Nimbus gray clouds covered the skies above Stratusburg, almost seemingly reflecting the mood of the Rangers as they teleported down. “So, where’s your mom’s house?” Sunburst asked as they wandered up a misty mountain pathway, Sunburst rubbing his arms to keep himself warm from the cold. “...I hate Winter… So glad Winter Wrap-Up’s coming at the end of the month…” He mumbled to himself. Eventually, they found themselves at Vapor’s childhood home. She flashbacked to years gone by, the fun she, Grape, and Sky Stinger had running through the yard and playing their games. There she and Sky Stinger were, flying high in the clouds above while Grape Vine was reading from a book of spells. His horn glowed a purple color and he stepped out onto a cloud, and then hopped onto another. But as young as he was, his magic couldn’t last very long, and soon his hooves gave way and he fell foot by foot as the ground rushed up to greet him. Vapor let out a yell of fear, before she unfurled her growing wings and rocketed down towards Grape Vine as fast as she could her keen eyes trained on his falling form even through the wintry mists but simply wasn’t fast enough. Then Sky Stinger rocketed past her and caught Grape in his arms as Vapor caught up to him and wrapped her arms around him sobbing her heart out into Grape’s neck. “You… You foolish stallion! You could have been killed! Why…? Why’d you do that?” She whispered through her tears. “Same reason you two are up there all the time. Ah want to be as free as a bird and feel what you feel when you’re in the sky. That sense of calmness, where nothing could ever get to ya,” “Grape, you’re an idjit.” Sky told him and Grape only laughed. “...Yeah, guess Ah am.” Suffice to say, Vapor’s mom had seen the whole thing and what happened, and she wasn’t happy. She had taken the young colt to back to her bedroom in the house. With a resounding Clap! across his behind, the brush hit again and again and each time the hit became more and more painful, like a fire burning as the brush hit again and again. Vapor’s mom wasn’t being abusive, and Grape knew he’d done wrong and nearly gotten himself killed. It wasn’t the first spanking he’d received after all. His birth parents had given him some when he’d done something wrong, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. Vapor had heard each and every Clap! and she knew she’d probably be next, for not watching Grape and what he was doing. “Although I’m proud of you, my little Vine, you did try and learn a spell that’s very difficult, you nearly got yourself killed in the process,” Vapor’s mom had told him, “You understand what you did wrong right?” “Yes… Yes, Ah understand…” Grape sobbed before Vapor’s mom finally finished and pulled him into a hug whispering soft words into his ear. “It’s alright, you understand I never was trying to hurt you don’t you?” Vapor asked kindly, and Grape nodded tearfully. “When I saw you fall… I… I was so scared… I didn’t want to lose you…” Vapor shook herself back to the present day as she hummed “Black Water” to herself clutching her pendant. “Black water keeps rollin' on past just the same. Old black water, keep on rollin', Mississippi moon, won't you keep on shinin' on me. Old black water, keep on rollin', Mississippi moon, won't you keep on shinin' on me. Old black water, keep on rollin', Mississippi moon, won't you keep on shinin' on me...” She sung to herself as a calming measure and tried as hard as could to keep her mind off of what she was about to see. “She loved him, didn’t she? Grape Vine, I mean?” Sunburst whispered towards Lightning, who nodded. “I’ve never been really sure, but I’ve always had that sneaking suspicion she did. Childhood crush, at the very least,” Lightning whispered back. Sunburst nodded. “Ah… Puppy love. It would explain a few things, wouldn’t it?” He murmured, again stroking his beard in thought. Eventually, the path ended and the group came to what looked to be an old church converted into a house. Light blue paint on the sides, and shuttered windows. A lantern hung over the porch, providing a light to cut through the often misty mountainsides. Vapor gently knocked on the pure white door, and a voice answered: “Come in.” “Mom!” Vapor shouted as she walked in and the older mare pulled her into a hug. Everyone present could see where Vapor got her looks, her mother was an almost exact copy of her appearance wise. “Please… Please tell me you’re joking about all of this… Please…” Vapor whispered as she sat down on a comfy looking red couch next to her mother. “I’m sorry, I wish I was… But when I was at my last doctor’s visit… they found it. A tumor,” Vapor’s mom explain and Lightning covered her mouth in shock. “No… No, that can’t be true!” Vapor sobbed. “It… It, just can’t!” Vapor’s mom pulled her into a hug as her daughter continued to sob. “I’ve already lost Grape, then da, and now I’m going to lose you…” “Don’t say that… There’s still a chance for me, isn’t there?” Her mom asked. “It’s in the early stages, maybe I can make it through this,” “But… But what if… What if you can’t?” Vapor whispered. Her mom sighed. “I’ve lived a good life, haven’t I?” She asked. “Raised two beautiful girls, both of which are now Wonderbolts, like they always wanted to be. I’m perfectly happy the way my life’s turned out,” “Stop saying that!” Vapor shouted, suddenly angry! “I… I just don’t want you to lay down and die! You… You can fight this!” Vapor shouted, her voice beginning to break. “Yes, and I am, with all of my being,” Her mom answered. “But Vapor, dear… You know there’s a very good chance that I’m not going to make it,” “There’s… There’s just got to be something I can do…” Vapor whispered, hardly believing her mom’s words. It sounded to her like she was just giving up, even when there was a chance they could beat this thing! “Live your life Vapor, that’s all I can ask of you,” Her mom said. “Maybe I’ll make it through this, maybe I won’t. Doesn’t matter. Just do me one small thing…” “Anything…” Vapor whispered, as her mom grasped her hand tightly, “Anything at all, I’ll do it, just for you,” “Keep on living Vapor, be the mare I know you are. Kind, compassionate… Use that drive of yours to go on soaring ever higher. Find somepony to love, that’s all I want from you. Just live,” “I… I will,” Vapor whispered. At some point during their conversation, all the other Rangers had stepped outside, feeling they were intruding. Vapor, wiping away her tears stepped outside the house where Lightning immediately greeted her surrogate sister. “Is… Is she going to make it?” Lightning asked. “I… I don’t know…” Vapor whispered. “She says she’s going to fight, but…” Lightning gripped her sister’s hand. “You were always there for me when I was growing up, now I’ll be here for you,” Lightning told her. “Tartarus, we’ll help her fight. Give her confidence!” “She’s right,” A voice Vapor would know anywhere put it. There, standing near a small fountain was Sky Stinger, out of his Wonderbolts uniform and dressed in a black leather jacket. “Sky… What are you doing here?” Vapor asked, her eyes widening in shock. “I came as soon as I heard,” the dark blue pegasus answered. “ Sunburst told me what he’d been planning. And I think I’ve got a good idea on how-” “Wait, Sunburst let you in our secret as well?” Lightning shouted in shock, her head whipping around to face the unicorn in question, who held his hands up defensively. “Hardly, he came to me telling me how he figured it out for himself,” Sunburst replied. Sky Stinger nodded in confirmation. “Yep, wasn’t really that difficult when I saw a Ranger with a metal wing. Started putting two and two together, and so… Here I am,” Sky answered with flushed cheeks, and a nervous chuckle. “...Kinda hard to keep a secret identity with this damn thing…” Lightning muttered, looking back at the offending wing. “We’ll work on an illusion spell for it later,” Sunset stated. “Anyways… Sky, Sunburst, what’s your plan?” “Well, I built off the idea that Breast Cancer is associated with the color pink and thought to organize a parade, raise money for treatments for anypony who’s been inflicted with the disease. I thought all of us marching in the parade, fully morphed would definitely inspire ponies,” Sunburst explained. “And I rounded up all the ponies in town, talked to the mayor even, got this cleared with him,” Sky added and was suddenly pulled into a hug by Vapor who whispered repeated thank yous over and over to him. Sky’s cheeks flushed even redder, if that were possible. Sunburst with an awkward laugh, cleared his throat. “So then…” Sunburst stated. “Let’s march, shall we?” Down below, in the lower parts of the town, a fine pink mist found itself surrounding and encompassing a stack of bowling balls in a Bowling Alley before reforming and creating itself a new body. The result was an Org with one large head resembling a bowling ball with one yellow cycloptic eye. On his shoulders were two bowling balls, red with black flame detailing. The new Org chuckled before going into full-on laughter. “Time for me to make some strikes!” He laughed before running off. Meanwhile, unaware of the newest Org, the Rangers and Sky had put the parade together, everyone dressed in pink attire of some kind and ready to march down Main Street. True to Sunburst’s promise, when the Rangers morphed all of their costumes had become a bright pink. Despite the circumstances, Vapor couldn’t help but grin at the sight of Sunburst in his now all pink costume. He looked, no other way to say it, absolutely ridiculous. Sunburst seemed to have noticed it as well as he marched with the rest of the town and was muttering on how maybe he shouldn’t have altered his costume under his breath. All around them, ponies dressed in all shades of pink and all kinds of pink attire marched behind them. “...Never seen so much pink in my entire life.” Lightning remarked. “Must say, I do prefer aqua but this… This is nice,” “Hey, turnout’s good and we’re raising lots of money here, so all the better I say,” Vapor said happily, hoping and praying that one day all of the money that was being raised today would go on one day to solve and cure cancer forever. Right about then, as everything was going good, as things often did, they took a turn for the worse. From out of nowhere, a flaming bowling ball spinning like a tornado knocked down quite a few people and sent them flying like bowling pins, complete with the classic sound. “Oh, that makes quite a few strikes!” The Bowling Org laughed as he checked off something on a clipboard. “Keep this up, and I’ll be setting a new record!” “Oh, you gotta be kidding me…” Vapor muttered. “Why today of all days?” The Bowling Org laughed again as he once again used the parade marchers as his “Pins”. Vapor snarled and clenched her fists. “Time to let this creep know who he’s dealing with, eh?” She asked and the Rangers all nodded before doing their respective role calls. “Lightning Speed! Ferocious Thunderbird!” “Cunning Wit! Fighting Fox!” “Great Strength! Monstrous Leviathan!” “Shadowed Intent! Vampire Bat!” “With a Virtuous Heart, Blazing Phoenix!” Sunset placed a hand on her Cutie Mark emblem and clutched at it before projecting an image of a red and gold lion roaring behind her. “Guardians of the Earth, united we roar! Power Rangers, Wild Force!” The team shouted at the Bowling Org as an explosion of pink smoke erupted behind them. “You’ve… You’ve got a lot of nerve attacking a parade made to raise Cancer awareness!” Vapor shouted, her voice breaking as she gripped her Trident, quite possibly more furious than she’d ever been at the Plug and Turbine Orgs. That said a lot really, given what they’d done. “Well, a parade to me says pins, pins to just knock down and score a strike!” The Bowling Org laughed, doing a little dance of glee. Next, with a grin on his face, he pulled out one of his bowling balls. “Well then, time to end your little bowling streak and smash that beloved ball of yours then,” Vapor challenged, stepping forwards and swinging her Trident behind her in an intimidating posture. “You don’t have a chance in Hell! You’ll just end up striking out! Now I’d advise you to get lost!” The Bowling Org taunted. “Really?” Lightning challenged. “Shut up, idiot!” “You’ll be the one getting lost,” Robert snarled. “I’m afraid we have no intention of listening to anything you have to say,” Vapor added. “Yeah, we hate guys like you!” Sunburst put in. “Do you have any idea who’re you’re dealing wi-” The Bowling Org asked before he was cut off. “No, and we don’t care. When we see some Org we don’t like… We blow it up!” Sunset finished pointing her Phoenix Blade at him before all the Rangers shouted: “Lights of Orion, activate!” A golden glow covered the Rangers, and when it faded, they were covered in the adornments the Lights had given them, with their Crystal Sabers now in Crystal Sword form. The Bowling Org roared in rage and charged towards them, two Bowling Pins in hand which he wielded like clubs. The Rangers dodged and ducked the wild and rather clumsy swings and Vapor and Lightning kicked the Org in the face making him stagger back. Sunset joined in and sliced the Org across the chest with a horizontal slice from her sword. “Now… You’ve really done it… Piss off!” The Org snarled before taking a step back, assuming a stance and rolling one of his bowling balls towards them. The Rangers jumped to the left to avoid the flaming inferno of a ball as it hit a collection of trees, igniting them and making them erupt in an explosion. He then rolled again, but this time Robert caught the bowling ball, and like the world’s most dangerous game of Hot Potato, the Rangers began tossing it back and forth between them until it finally ended up in the hands of Vapor. She pulled her arm back, and threw the ball at the Org who could only shout “That’s not how you bowl!” before it hit and he was sent flying back like, ironically enough, a bowling pin. Vapor dashed forwards and with a flying leap, slashed downwards with her Crystal Sword encased in water and split the Org down the middle before the remnants, as ever, exploded from the pure Morphin’ Grid energy used in the attack. Then, from behind her, Vapor and the rest of the Rangers heard a chorus of cheers and saw all of Stratusburg cheering for them and chanting their names. She let out a sigh of relief. They’d done it… They’d saved the parade. Vapor would find herself smiling even more when she found a familiar pink ribbon sticker on the rear bumper of Robert’s Mustang. Fillydelphia Docks: A pipe flute echoed across Fillydelphia’s docklands as its player carefully played a haunting tune as the waves crashed up against the breakers in the dark of the night. The Duke Org playing the flute rested atop a metal shipping container, legs dangling off the side as he played his tune. Coming here always made Zen-Aku feel calm, tranquil. He never knew why, maybe it was because nobody ever bothered to look for him here, or maybe it was the sound of the sea. Whatever the case, whenever he came here, he felt at peace. Zen-Aku smiled as he thought back… “A young mare such as yourself shouldn't be out here alone at this time of night, who knows what you might run into?” The Duke Org said in a surprisingly friendly way. Nervously, Vapor reached for her Crystal Saber and pointed it at the Duke Org. “I'm not afraid of you!” Vapor yelled, though her voice betrayed her feelings. “Now now, is that any way to treat a friend?” The Duke Org questioned even as he rested a black crescent moon like blade on his left shoulder. “You and I... We're both actually on the same side, believe it or not.” Vapor was stunned beyond words. An Org, a Duke Org at that, saying that they were both on the exact same side? It didn't make sense! “...Of course, knowing how you ponies treat anything that's different than you... Well, I wouldn't be surprised to find out you don't believe a word I'm saying. Hell, 3,000 years ago, I wouldn't have believed a word I was saying. Well, not before HIM anyways…” The Duke Org trailed off, seemingly lost in his own memories. Then, his eyes shot wide open as he detected a presence behind him. “Retinax…” Zen-Aku growled as he turned to face the eye themed General Org, Crescent Blade drawn. “You’ve made a rather large mistake coming here, I can assure you of that,” “Funny, you talking about mistakes when you’ve made quite a few of your own,” Retinax commented dutifully as Zen-Aku leveled his blade at him, one of the tips dangerously close to Retinax’s main eye. “You’ve really got to get better taste in allies, ones who actually trust you and won’t turn on you at the drop of a hat,” “And you’re offering yourself as an ally?” Zen-Aku deadpanned. “Funny, never thought you had a sense of humor,” “Think about it for a moment,” Retinax remarked. “Have the Rangers ever trusted you? You’re an Org, their natural enemy. Who’s to say they won’t turn on you one day once your usefulness is expended?” Zen-Aku, for the briefest of moments, had doubts about the Rangers, it was true that most of them, aside from Vapor and Sunset didn’t really trust him, and he had heard them talking, whispering behind his back when they thought he wasn’t listening. But he also knew that if he allied himself with Retinax, then they’d never trust him and all of his steps towards redemption… They’d all have gone to waste. “I’d advise you to leave… Now,” Zen-Aku growled out in a warning tone, his eyes beginning to glow. “They may not trust me, but I won’t throw away the trust of those that do.” “Really?” Retinax asked and Zen-Aku looked away from him and lowered his blade. “Prejudice and hatred destroyed this world once… Who’s to say it won’t again? History repeats, I’m walking evidence of that. But I aim to build a better world, one free of hatred and scorn. All you have to do be a part of it… Well, join me... Join the Org Family,” Family. That word echoed in Zen-Aku’s head. Something he’d never been apart of and no one had ever offered to him. He dropped his blade with a loud clattering sound and Retinax laughed, he had him. “I’m sorry… Vapor, Shayla… Merrick,” Zen-Aku thought as he threw his crystals into the sea and teleported away along with Retinax... Author's Note Huge thanks to Randomnoob57 for the chapter edits here, and helping bring out the emotional pain and hurt. Also... Now for the serious stuff. It's been estimated that of March 2017, there have been more than 3.1 million women with a history of Breast Cancer in the US alone. This includes women who've already been treated. However, about 40,610 women in the U.S. are expected to die in 2017 from breast cancer. An estimated 252,710 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 63,410 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer. Source Link to information here Anyways, this was what the Thunderbird was alluding to in the last chapter, a metaphorical character death, with Zen-Aku sacrificing his principles and throwing away everything he's done to redeem himself. Also, if no one gets the In Space homage here, it's the all Pink Morph, in tribute to the All Blue Morph to fool the Psycho Rangers as part of TJ's 2-part plan to defeat them along with "Psycho Silver". Anyways, as a bonus, I've managed to find a translation of "Pirate Girls", one of the insert songs in this chapter. Everything has been hidden in this heart The real screams charges out In order to retrieve it someday Let’s believe in the voiceless voice and go together Painful and sad feelings alone I will not inflict on others Until I grasp that Earth I saw that day Surpassing the blue oceans and the universe The reborn power now becomes one Oh no! Super high tension All the evil that huddle in the dark With one strike of light—look, isn’t it numbing? Get it down splendidly Encounters come out of nowhere The power that overflows from fateful moments On the other side of dreams yet undreamt Let’s advance on the road between roads, and get our hands on it Kindle the burning thoughts Accumulated one by one Until we find our own treasure Because we’re seeing the same future There’s nothing to fear The “not bad!” Whispered from your back No matter what enemy appears As long as you have comrades, you won’t lose to little things Get it down splendidly Surpassing the blue oceans and the universe The reborn power now becomes one Oh no! Super high tension All the evil that huddle in the dark With one strike of light—look, isn’t it numbing? Get it down splendidly
Part 43: Samurai Takes KnightThe Crystal Empire: February the 14th AKA Hearts and Hooves Day. Possibly Shining’s favorite holiday in Equestria, or at least his wife’s. Mystic Mother above knew she loved reminding ponies about why they’d fallen in love in the first place, or setting ponies up she knew would make perfect couples. For Shining, his reasons was that Hearts and Hooves Days often put his wife in a very romantic mood, and for him that meant very, very good nights. The Crystal Empire loved this date as well. With all of the love being pulled into the Crystal Heart at the very center of the Kingdom, the Empire’s protection spells were stronger than ever. Lately, that was a very good thing, as the last few months they’d been needed more than ever thanks to the reemergence of the Orgs. Even with the Jaguar Wild Zord and Torozord constantly keeping their eyes peeled on the Empire, it never hurt to have every form of protection you could get your hooves on really. Shining was confident in that no Org would manage to make their way inside the Empire today or any other day, if he had anything to say about it. However, what nobody counted on or ever thought of was an Org Spirit already inside the Empire possessing something. That was… until today. Shining didn’t know it, but he was about to get a very rude awakening on just how much his responsibility to the Empire entailed, and just how ready he needed to be to face evil as the Magna Defender. Nor did he count on the Crystal Empire getting a blast from the past in Power Ranger history and for him, meeting with yet another one of the most celebrated heroes that the Morphin’ Grid had ever chose. In the Throne Room, his wife was at the point of anxiety, just like every other Hearts and Hooves Day. She wanted everything to be just right for her subjects on this special occasion. And as you can probably imagine, for the Princess of Love, Hearts and Hooves Day was the most important day of the year for her. “Banners… Banners…” Cadence muttered to herself as she paced back and forth across the throne room. “Where are the banners, they should have been hung up all over the castle by now!” Her face was frantic, eyes full of worry. Shining walked up to her and began rubbing her shoulders as his wife took several deep calming breathes. “Relax, okay? I’ve already begun ordering the guards to start hanging them up all over the castle, just as you wanted me to… And reminded me about for the past three days.” “Even if said guards are protesting about it… Quite feverently,” Shining mentally added with a chuckle that he hoped his wife hadn’t heard. If she did, she paid it no mind. The Princess of Love’s expression softened and looked guilty as she sighed. “Have I really been pushing you that hard about this?” She asked guiltily. Shining tried to think of a polite way to phrase his response. If not polite, at least not one too insulting. “Well… You have… I… Uh… Well… To be frank, yeah, you kinda have,” He answered, deciding to be blunt. One of the tips he’d learned from his father was never to lie to your wife about anything. It never ended well, and with you usually on the couch. He shrugged sheepishly and said “Sorry,” “No… No, it’s all my fault…” Cadence apologized before trying to explain. “It’s… It’s just, I want this day to be absolutely perfect, y’know?” “Because it’s your duty as the Princess of Love to make sure all the lovebirds in the Crystal Empire are happy couples, right?” Shining asked. “Well, wouldn’t have put it quite like that… but, in essence, yeah,” Cadence replied, blushing red. “You’re so cute when you’re like that, anypony ever tell you that?” Shining asked, kissing his wife on the lips. “E-Embarrassed and flustered I mean,” He stuttered out. “Seems to me the only embarrassed and flustered one around here is you,” Cadence sniped playfully. Shining mouthed something wordlessly, gobsmacked at having his own words turned back at him. “Wonder if I’m the only one with a wife who can match wits with their lover…” He thought to himself. “You know, on the subject of lovely couples, Luna did send me a letter about how she caught a certain Orange Ranger dreaming about Sunset Shimmer,” Cadence put in. “And I mean dreams of the… Er, let’s say unclean kind,” “So?” Shining asked. “Lots of males and females probably have sexual fantasies about Princesses. I mean, look at the Royal Sisters! They’ve won beauty polls for the last four years running!” Shining desperately tried not to think about how his sister might win one of those one day and have suitors flocking to her doorsteps. “Yeah, I wouldn’t have thought nothing of it, except Luna informed me that the two are actually dating. She seemed rather sad about it, for some reason,” Cadence continued. “Wait, wait, wait… Back up,” Shining stammered out, missing the part about Luna being sad entirely. “Are you actually saying that Robert and Sunset are dating? And all that comes with it?” “Well, I don’t know about all that comes with it...” Cadence trailed off thoughtfully. “But yeah, they are dating. Isn’t surprising really, considering they both live in the same town and share the same job, fighting evil day in and day out and all that,” “But, you mean they’re probably having sex,” Shining thought, trying very hard not to think about the idea of one of his adopted family members and Twilight’s older sister in all but blood having sex with anybody. “Weeellllll, I wouldn’t go that far…” Cadence trailed off again. “Really?” Shining asked, raising an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?” “Just a feeling about Sunset herself. Never quite confirmed it, as it’s really a private thing for her, but I don’t think they’ll be having sex anytime soon,” the Princess of Love remarked. “C-Can we get off this particular subject anytime soon please?” Shining stammered out, now quite thoroughly embarrassed to no end. Cadence had to cover her mouth with a hand to hide her giggles. “Fine, fine… Hoped to tease you a little more, but I suppose a girl can’t have all the fun all the time,” Cadence replied. “How about we take a walk around the city, hmm? Nice day for it,” “That sounds nice… Maybe stop for lunch at that little cafe you like?” Shining suggested. “Eat some of that Crystal Berry Pie?” Cadence smiled happily before she traced a finger under Shining’s chin. “And maybe later tonight we can share a bottle of wine and have some real fun if you’re good enough…” She said, her voice turning dangerously seductive and Shining’s cheeks blushed as red as the Phoenix Zord’s flames. He let out a small whimper of anticipation and nodded. “Yeah, thought so.” Cadence replied. Shining smiled. Ah, the benefits of being married to the Princess of Love… Elsewhere… Outside the Crystal Empire, in the middle of a freezing blizzard strode two figures wrapped in cloaks to shield themselves from the cold, both having very large horns sticking out of their foreheads. One carried a very large axe covered in what looked to be eyes and muscle tissue, another carried a crescent moon shaped blade pure black in color. Strapped to the second figure’s waist was an ebony dagger, with a similar crescent moon shaped theme and three little holes in it. As their cloaks flapped in the wind, Retinax turned to the Duke Org that accompanied him. “I presume you know what we’re here for, right?” “Remind me,” Zen-Aku replied in his usual gruff tone of voice, his distinctive golden eyes visible even under the hood of his cloak. “Yes…” Retinax chuckled. Zen-Aku may have been no Helicos or Artilla, but he was still a powerful Duke Org nonetheless. Smart as well, as he’d quickly found out ever since he picked him up last night. Perhaps maybe too smart for his own good. Sooner or later, the infamous “Wolf of the Night” would figure out that he was being used only for his power, and that as soon as Retinax was done with him, he’d be dumped out like yesterday’s trash. “Long ago, when King Sombra was still in control of this land, he stumbled across something. A powerful artifact. A gem, he knew of the power it possessed. Or to be more accurate, once possessed. He never could quite get it to reactivate that power for his own uses, whatever they may have been. Give himself more power, I can only imagine,” the General Org explained. “The fool…” Zen-Aku muttered to himself in derision. Tyrants, always searching for further ways to bolster their own power levels. “Perhaps,” Retinax chuckled again before shrugging. “Perhaps not. The point is, it’s still there,” Retinax stated, pointing towards the Crystal Castle in the distance. “I can only guess Shining had all of Sombra’s dark objects and weapons of war moved somewhere safe… Out of the way, where nopony with dark desires could get their grubby little hands on them.” “Nobody except you, that is,” Zen-Aku finished. Retinax smirked. “Correct, although I should say you. My guess, Shining and that damn Princess of Love have improved the barriers keeping out enemy forces,” the General Org explained. “So, obviously I can't just waltz in and take the gem. You, however, that’s another story. They don't know you've switched sides yet, do they?” “No…” Zen-Aku murmured. The barriers should still see him as a friend, and he could walk right in and take the gem with nopony the wiser. Walking towards the two tall amethyst spires that made up the entry gates, he suddenly found himself shoved backwards by an invisible force. Evidently, Shining and Cadence didn't know he’d switched sides, but the barriers did. “So, any other ideas…?” Zen-Aku deadpanned. “Well, there is that ability of yours…” Retinax replied thoughtfully. Zen-Aku’s eyes widened in shock. Surely he wasn't suggesting…? “Yes, I am,” Retinax stated, finishing the Duke Org’s train of thought. Zen-Aku sighed, before vanishing in a flash of black energy… With Shining and Cadence… Much to Cadence and Shining’s surprise, they’d run across a familiar griffon and pony duo while out on their date at the Topaz Cafe, the Crystal Empire’s finest dining establishment. “Troy, Canvas!” Shining shouted out to the pair, earning him a wave as he and his wife walked into the Cafe. “What are you two lovebirds doing here?” “Well, Canvas here,” Troy started, flashing his husband a proud smile. “Has an art show here in the next few days, so we thought we’d get here early. See the sights as well in the bargain, I figured.” “The art show hosted by Lapis Lazuli, I presume?” Shining asked thoughtfully, and Troy nodded in confirmation. “Table for four please,” Shining asked, and waved Troy and Canvas over to a table and pulled up a chair. “Really?” Troy asked in shock, quite flabbergasted. “Yeah, consider it a treat from yours truly,” Shining stated. “Now, how’s your sightseeing been going?” “It’s had its ups and downs, so to speak,” Troy responded with his feathers flushing crimson, still shocked that the Prince of the Crystal Empire would ask for them to eat with them. “I presume you saw the statue of “Spike, the Brave and Glorious”?” Cadence asked, referring to the giant crystal statue of Spike holding the Crystal Heart. The sapphire constructed statue had been erected and carved not too long after the defeat and banishment of Sombra’s restless spirit. “Yeah, we saw,” Canvas replied. “I'm no statue carver or whatever you call it, but even I as an artist can spot the love and care carved out into that thing. I have to give compliments to the artisans here in the Empire. They're very well trained in their trade.” “Yeah, the ponies who make our famous flugelhorns are very proud,” Shining stated as he and Cadance seated themselves. Cadence’s usual long flowing mane was tied up in a nice bun instead of its usual style earning her quite a few admirers and Shining a few jealous looks from stallions and mares alike. Troy groaned loudly. “Oh, don’t get me started on them,” he muttered in derision. “All the way here, ponies were shouting at me and Canvas left and right to buy their horns. Got quite annoying after a few minutes, as you can imagine.” Shining chuckled. “Yeah, I can. How’s married life been treating you?” “Been good,” Troy stated. Cadence looked at them curiously. “Been thinking about little foals or fillies yet?” She inquired and Canvas blushed profusely, about as red as a blood-colored ruby. “We… We… really hadn’t been thinking about it to be honest, least not right now,” Canvas replied in an embarrassed tone. “Well, you know, a little bun in the oven never hurt anybody. Me and Shining have been thinking about one lately...” Cadence trailed off. If it were possible, Canvas blushed even redder. “B-But we’re both males!” He sputtered out. “You know perfectly well as I do that neither of us can have a child that way!” “Oh trust me on this,” Cadence replied, and Shining groaned and facepalmed. He really hated it sometimes when his wife went into her “Shipper on Deck” mode as he called it and thought up really crazy or insane ideas to help couples out with their perceived marital problems. “There’s nothing magic can’t do nowadays. There’s quite a few spells or potions that could help you out on this.” “...Can we just order our food now?” Shining asked, sinking low into his seat as the waiter arrived, quite thoroughly embarrassed by his wife’s antics. Eventually, the food did arrive and Troy quickly began to dig into his shrimp resembling a lioness ripping apart one of her kills in some strange and slightly disturbing manner for Shining and Cadence. Canvas on the other hoof paid it no mind, he was used to Griffon table manners by now after meeting all of Troy’s family who were in some cases worse than Troy himself. “A certain pair of Triplets come to mind…” He thought with a chuckle. His eyes then wandered to a dummy adorned in blood-red armor. The style was that of the ancient Japanese samurai warlords. “What’s with…?” He trailed off. “Oh, that?” Shining asked and Canvas nodded. “The owner brought it in last year if I remember correctly. Guy’s fascinated with ancient Neighponiese culture. You should see the ink painting of the white and red wolf he has in his backroom running across a green field. Very interesting to say the least. It’s like that wolf is actually creating the grass and flowers beneath its feet.” Of course, right about then, the peace was shattered when a very familiar and very unwelcome pink mist surrounded the armor and transformed it into a horned monstrosity with a demonic like face on his chest. The face seemed to be howling in pain as the newly reborn Samurai Org gripped his katana and patrons scattered out the front door… Shining flicked his wrists and the Magna Defender bracers appeared as he drew the Magna Blade from its hilt. Shining sighed to himself as he morphed with a shout of “Magna Power!” and gripped his blade. “Show me your fighting style!” The Samurai Org challenged. “You must defend it, it is part of your honor as a swordsman!” “Dunno what the Tartarus you’re talking about… But, okay…” Shining muttered. With that, the unicorn stallion stepped forward and the two warrior's blades met as the restaurant's patrons began to flee. They traded blows with each other, neither one getting the upper hand. “You fight well for someone of your caliber Knight, but you still don’t have what it takes!” The Org taunted. He threw a punch at Shining, aiming to gut-check the stallion. Shining knocked the blow off track with his free hand and lowered his shoulder to shove the Org back. “And you’re ugly, so I think that makes us about even, Samurai, if that’s even what you are,” Shining taunted, only serving to make the Samurai Org more determined to defeat his opponent and fellow swordsman. Cadence frowned. Shining was getting cocky, starting to run the risk of making a dangerous mistake. “You dare question my integrity? My worth as a Samurai?” He roared out, slashing furiously at Shining, forcing him onto the defensive to handle the flurry of strikes at the cost of small wounds to his arms and legs. “Little bit, yeah,” Shining deadpanned as he maneuvered the Org in front of the restaurant's front door with his counterblows before quickly seizing a barstool and flinging it full force into his opponent's chest, forcing him to stumble out into the street. The Samurai Org took a brief moment away from his blade to pull out a shell and throw the contents inside up in the air. The slime inside solidified into Putrid soldiers who beat the ground with their cudgels as an intimidation measure. As if to add to Shining’s problems, there came a distinct crowing sound as Tenga Warriors flew down from the sky, some holding swords of their own, dark purple scimitars. “Funny, I thought a warrior of honor would need no backup, he’d face his foe alone,” Shining remarked. “A warrior also takes whatever help he is given, and my Master has a whole army on his side. Samurai are warlords, remember? We are perfectly willing to lead our troops into battle on the front lines,” the Samurai Org replied. “You’re confused with Shoguns. Far as I see it, you’re just a lone wolf, so to speak. A simple soldier,” Shining taunted as he stepped out of the building to face his foe again, determined to finish the fight, but the Samurai Org was quick to offer a rebuttal. “And a simple soldier follows his fellow troops into battle,” he remarked. “And today, that battle is taking this Empire of yours for ourselves!” The Org took advantage of Shining walking forward, darting towards him and getting inside the reach of his sword, wrenching the stallion’s weapon from his grasp as he knocks him away, the blow turning Shining to gaze back at the restaurant where he sees Cadance had followed him and was now directly in the Org’s path. Disarmed, he could only watch in horror as time seemed to slow to a crawl as the evil creature’s blade drew a bloody line up his wife's arm on its way to separate her head from her neck. Suddenly, with a shout of “Ki-yah!” a boot hit the Samurai Org squarely in the jaw from out of nowhere just in time before the Org could finish the job. It belonged to a man dressed in a military green vest with a black shirt underneath it and short, spiky black hair with a tiny goatee. “Who the Hell do you think you are?” The Samurai Org demanded, seemingly sizing his newest opponent up. “What, a fellow Ranger can’t come and help out from time to time?” the newcomer asked casually with a shrug of his shoulders. “Name’s Tommy Oliver, yours?” The Samurai Org took a swing at him which he barely dodged. In the background, both Canvas and Troy grabbed Cadence and rushed her out the back door of the restaurant to where two unicorn guards waited and teleported her off. Shining sighed in relief as he mentally thanked the two, his wife was safe thanks to their courage. They’d stayed behind while everybody else had fled. Medals were definitely in order for them, Shining noted. “No time for talking then?” Tommy noted as the battle progressed back into the street. “Well, in that case…” Then, the man pulled out what looked to be a gold and red adorned belt buckle with a golden coin in the center of it and shouted out what was possibly the most famous morphing call in Power Ranger history: “It’s Morphin’ Time! Dragonzord!” In a bright, nearly blinding flash of green energy, he was transformed into a green warrior adorned with white diamond shaped detailing on his gloves and boots and a golden diagonal shaped chest plate. His stark black opaque visor had white teeth detailing around it and a sculpted silver mouth plate with the entire helmet coming across as some sort of dragon complete with headcrest and the entire helmet was topped off with three golden adornments. The costume itself less resembled the spandex he was used to seeing and more like body armor if Shining was to be honest. All in all, this new Ranger looked very, very dangerous. Shining almost felt sorry for the Tengas, Putrids and the Samurai Org. Almost. “...So, you guys are still around huh?” The Mighty Morphin’ Green Ranger observed, sounding almost bored. Shining, if he didn’t know better, could swear he could see him smirking under his helmet. “This should be a piece of cake then,” The Green Ranger charged into battle slicing and dicing his way through the Tengas with what looked to be a combination of a dagger and a flute that had appeared in his hands with a bright flash of green and gold energy. One tried to punch the Ranger square in the jaw, but the punch was caught and the Green Ranger flipped him onto the pavement. A Putrid tried to swing at the Ranger, in an attempt to bash his skull in with his cudgel, but the Ranger moved his head at the last minute and kicked the Orgling into a Flugelhorn cart. Shining, as he clutched his chest in pain chuckled a little. “Oh, the owners aren’t going to like that one. Cart abuse and destruction, wonder if I should make a law about destroying those things? No, probably would be pointless anyways,” he thought. Shining watched as the Green Ranger judo-flipped two Tengas behind him. He socked another Tenga across the beak with a powerful right cross before KOing him and sending the crow-like warrior flying with one powerhouse of an uppercut. A Putrid appeared from behind him and fired his weapon at the Green Ranger who summoned a scimitar blade with a little red piece of ribbon hanging off of it in his hands and used it to slice the rocket down the middle. He then ran towards the Putrid and knocked him to the ground with a leg sweep before whirling around and decapitating a Tenga with the sword. Purple toned blood sprayed everywhere some getting on the Green Ranger’s costume. He groaned in disgust before inspecting his sword. “Never thought I’d actually be grateful to be using this weapon again… But any port in a storm to use the old idiom I guess…” the Green Ranger murmured before using both the Sword of Darkness and the Dragon Dagger to start cutting down the remaining enemy forces. He even at one point blew the Dragon Dagger using the sound waves to knock back both Putrids and Tengas alike. Soon, all that was left was the Samurai Org as he and the Green Ranger circled each other like a pair of hungry wolves about to face off over a kill. “Aren’t you a little old for this Green Ranger?” the Samurai Org taunted. Tommy only chuckled. “Might be, but I can still pull it off,” he remarked. They each gripped their blades tightly before charging towards each other. Tommy leaps over the swing of the Org's blade, delivering a kick to the monster's back, causing it to stumble forward. “So, even 3,000 years in the future the Earth is threatened by monsters,” Tommy remarked in a dry tone of voice before chuckling wryly. “Why doesn’t that somehow surprise me? What, is it because you think we’re an easy target?” Tommy spins, bringing his leg up to kick the Org in the head, grunting in surprise when it catches the blow with its arm before throwing him off his feet. “For the record, we Orgs have been around longer than you,” The Samurai Org remarked. “And yes, for the record… Us monsters do think Earth is an easy target. Look at you… Humans, so weak and frail. Most of you barely make it past seventy-five on average. And that’s not counting your own self-destructive tendencies.” “Yeah, what about that?” Tommy asked, feeling as if he was about to be lectured. He chuckled at the irony. And here he thought he was the teacher. He jumps back to his feet and the pair slowly circles each other, facing off once more. “Your drinking, Your religious differences, prejudice, and oh… let us not forget, your love of the ancient art of war. The First and Second World Wars, Vietnam and the conflicts in the Middle East. You can’t seem to keep that good urge down. My armor… It was at Hiroshima, you know,” the Org remarked even as he was kicked in the chest making him stumble back. Tommy lunged forward with the Sword of Darkness scoring a slice across the chest and then tried for another strike but the blow was blocked. Tommy leaped off a table as the Org slashed it in half with a powerful swing from his katana before the Green Ranger kicked him in the face. “The day the bomb dropped. Somehow, it survived. I have a first-hand look at humanity’s love for war you can imagine, their bloodlust. There’s one last example I’d like to point out. What was it... ?” the Samurai Org lectured before trailing off. Suddenly, he “remembered”. “And oh yes, your hatred against ponykind. Your attempted culling of them. Look where that got you,” the Samurai Org growled out as his katana and Tommy’s sword met and blades locked, sparks flying off the metal grinding against each other. “You been hanging out with Solar Flare?” Tommy snarked as he socked the Org across the jaw before slicing out with his Dragon Dagger scoring a blow in-between the small gaps in the Org’s armor. He then tried another kick but was thrown to the pavement in a spin hitting the stone with a thud. “No, but I’d love to shake her hand for clearing out humanity for us Orgs to take over in its stead. The presence of ponies… A minor obstacle to be sure. They can be removed easily enough, like all obstacles. They fall to the same self-destructive tendencies as you humans,” the Samurai Org remarked before teleporting away in a red flash. “Man… You talk too much.” Tommy sighed as he rubbed his head in pain. In a courtyard used as training grounds for the Crystal Guard, Shining punched a tree in frustration. “Can’t… Can’t believe I let that damn Samurai beat me!” He snarled out in self-disgust. “The Magna Defender… He trusted these powers to me and I can’t even use them to defend my own country! My own wife!” “So?” Tommy asked. “Everybody loses every once in awhile against a monster. Hell, I’ve had it worse off than you. To recount, I’ve been trapped in Amber by a brainwashed Ranger, been brainwashed myself to destroy the original Power Rangers and their city, got sent into a coma, and temporarily lost my powers twice on the same team.” “Now you’ve got to be kidding me… Nobody’s luck is that bad…” Shining muttered in disbelief. “Well, when you become a Power Ranger… I’d say getting into a lot of weird shit comes with the deal,” Tommy chuckled and Shining laughed with him. He had a point there. Then, Tommy leveled the Sword of Darkness at him as he re-morphed. “Now, duel with me. Let’s just see how good you really are.” And so it began, with Shining drawing his Magna Blade at Tommy and swords clashed. Metal met metal, every blow matched. But then, Shining remembered the utter humiliation he’d been dealt by the Samurai Org and rage overtook him. His swings became wilder, messier. Tommy dodged them easily and kicked Shining back into a tree. He then demorphed and stuck the Sword of Darkness into the grass before walking up and taking Shining’s wrist bracers from him. “Is this how the current Sixth and Magna Defender fights? With anger and rage?” Tommy asked, crossing his arms in stark disapproval and raising an eyebrow. “Until you get your act together and stow your shit, you’re not worthy of these. Not by a long shot.” “But-” Shining tried to protest but was quickly rebuffed. “Calm yourself down, put your personal humiliation aside. There are ponies lives at stake here, and your own damn wounded pride isn’t worth them dying on your watch!” Tommy exclaimed. “You’re this kingdom’s Prince right?” Shining nodded weakly. “Then start acting like it,” Tommy ordered before teleporting off in a flash of green energy. Crystal Castle Crypts: Meanwhile, in another part of the Empire Zen-Aku emerged into a deep, dank and very dark crypt. His armor and fur practically made him blend into the background. His eyes scanned the room full of horrific torture and execution devices that Sombra had once used on his subjects. Shackles lined the stone walls with various sharp instruments resting against a wall with a cat-o-nine-tails lying abandoned in a corner. He made a noise of disgust as his eyes wandered to a guillotine, long since abandoned and gathering dust. The sliver of the blade was stained with dried blood. He’d heard about Sombra, and how he kept the Crystal Ponies in line, but this was something else, even for him. His eyes wandered to the infamous torture device known as “The Maiden”, or the Virgin of Nuremberg. It was like a coffin, except on every wall were spikes implanted into it. And then there was Sombra’s Judas Cradle, a triangular shaped seat where whoever sat on it was very slowly impaled. Zen-Aku had to hold back his gag reflex. The sooner he got out of here, the better. “I’m surprised these haven’t been destroyed yet…” Zen-Aku thought as he wandered through the crypt. “Perhaps Shining and/or Cadence subscribe to the philosophy of those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, or they simply can’t bring themselves to even step foot into this room to destroy them. Can’t say I blame them.” Then, he spotted it. A pure white gem, a light against the blackness of the room sitting on a plinth inside a glass case. He shattered the case and grabbed the gem before teleporting out through a swirling portal of darkness. What he didn’t see was a hand reach out of that darkness, before quickly pulling itself back in as the portal closed… Back with Shining, he kept swinging his sword and slicing apart the dummies, rage against the Samurai Org filling his every swing. And every time, he missed. He knew what Tommy had did back there. It was something his superiors in the Royal Guard had done to him once and he heard the Wonderbolts did to their recruits at times. It was the classic “Break you down to build you up” strategy. Get Shining angry enough, and he’d stop worrying about the Samurai Org. “Tommy… He was right…” Shining thought to himself not realizing he was speaking aloud. “I let my pride as a swordsman get the better of me, let it control my emotions in that fight, and now look what it’s cost me. My wife’s in the hospital and my Morphers have been taken away. I promised to uphold the Magna Defender legacy… Defend others who couldn’t defend themselves. Sure doing a Tartarus of a fine job doing that.” “Actually, I’d say you’re doing a better job than you think you are,” Troy’s voice remarked, coming from behind him. Shining’s head whirled around to face him. “What the…? How long have you been there?” Shining asked in shock. “Long enough. Apologies for eavesdropping your Highness, but it seems like you needed somebody to talk to,” the gray feathered griffon remarked. “If you ask me, you’re doing a fine job of upholding the Magna Defender legacy. I was there in Canterlot, the day you faced down that Retinax fellow...” The Torozord followed his movements, drawing a pair of twin golden kunai daggers, “I am Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire, Captain of the Royal and Crystal Guard and the Third Magna Defender.” The Torozord brought the daggers together, forming a double bladed javelin and raising it in a salute. “Defender of Equus!” Watching in awe as Shining made his declaration, Troy smiled and whispered: “Go get him.” “You sent him fleeing didn’t you and that was only your first fight with the powers correct?” Troy inquired. “So… Surely you can do the same with this Samurai wannabe?” Shining gripped his sword and smirked. “You’re right… I can. Now… Where can I find him?” “Last I heard, he and this green and gold covered warrior were doing battle in the Cherry Blossom Gardens on the west end of the Empire,” Troy replied. That was all Shining needed. With a shout of “Thanks!” he dashed off to the armory intent on grabbing a few things... Crystal Empire: Cherry Blossom Gardens Meanwhile, Tommy had found himself on the backfoot against the Samurai Org. The Org was swinging powerful blow after powerful blow, the Green Ranger just barely meeting them every time with the Dragon Dagger or the Sword of Darkness. “You’re not the one I want! Where’s the Prince?” The Samurai Org roared. “I want to see more of that glorious fighting style!” “Too bad, he’s not here. You’ll be dealing with me instead,” the Green Ranger replied snarkily before he was kicked in the chest and sent sprawling to the ground. Groaning in pain, Tommy started to pick himself up. And then he saw it. Striding forwards, wearing a determined expression on his muzzle was Shining Armor. He was covered head to hoof in full gleaming topaz Crystal Guard armor and a flowing blood-red cape trailing behind him making him resemble a cross between a Roman Centurion and a medieval knight. In one hand he held the Magna Blade and the other he wielded a shield not that far removed from the type the Knight Templars would have used, his Cutie Mark of a pink six-pointed star on a dark blue shield emblazoned on it. Tommy smiled under his helmet as Shining knocked a Putrid aside with his shield. “I knew it, he’d get back in the fight eventually. Can’t keep a good Ranger down.” Shining blasted a Tenga full-force with his Riot Blaster, punching a hole through his chest before switching back to blade form. “Go get ‘em, Shining.” Tommy thought. “Back for more?” The Samurai Org laughed. All around them, cherry blossom trees bloomed in a bright display of pink and white, the flowers falling all around them in the cobblestone square to complete the scene of Samurai VS Knight. “Yeah, time for round two you bastard,” Shining growled as he crossed blades with a Tenga Warrior, sparks flying as the blades ground together before he kicked it in the stomach and sliced it down. He whirled around to face another Tenga and bashed it in the head with his shield before knocking it aside. The Samurai Org roared in rage and charged towards Shining, katana drawn and sliced downwards with a powerful slash. Shining raised his shield to block the blade strike but the sword slashed it clean through, lopping off the top. Shining hit the Samurai Org in the head with the butt of his own blade before tossing the broken shield aside. It hit the cobblestone with a clattering sound as Tommy tossed Shining his Magna Bracers. “Here, catch!” the Green Ranger shouted and Shining caught them at once and strapped them to his wrists. He tossed his sword skywards before Shining flipped out the key on his left bracer and plugged it into the right one before with an explosion of energy he was back in full Defender armor. He caught the Magna Blade and leveled it at the Samurai Org. “Let’s do this,” Shining growled out. “You still come crawling back to me, after I soundly defeated you?” The Samurai Org laughed. “Destroyed your honor as a swordsman?” “Honor… That’s a funny thing to say considering you have none of it,” Shining snarled. “A warrior of honor… He’d never attack the lives of innocents, never let them get caught up in the crossfire with him and his duel. But that’s exactly what you’ve done today. You’re no honorable warrior, you’re not worthy of your title as a Samurai. I defend my people, no matter the cost. I have my honor as a Knight, as the Prince of the Crystal Empire, as the Third Magna Defender, and you have absolutely nothing of the sort!” He declared. “Here, catch!” Tommy shouted, once again tossing something Shining’s way. This time, the Dragon Dagger. Shining grasped it tightly in his free hand. The two warriors clashed swords, meeting again and again, each blow matched perfectly and like before it seemed that neither one was gaining ground. “What about your wife? What about her?” The Samurai Org taunted, hoping to enrage Shining, but that wasn’t going to be happening anytime soon. “She’s in the hospital, probably moments away from death!” Shining stayed completely calm throughout this even as he continued blocking blows from the Samurai Org. The Org lunged at him but Shining sidestepped out of the way and elbowed him in the face making him stumble back a bit. He then scored several small slashes with the Dragon Dagger. In retaliation, the Samurai Org did score a slice across the chest plate cracking the green gem in the middle however before kicking Shining backwards with a kick to the chest making Shining stumble. However, the Magna Defender remained unfazed. He raised the Dragon Dagger to his faceplate and blew on it and as a sound like a trumpet played, green bolts of lightning shot out of the Dagger ripping up the ground. One bolt shot straight and true at the Samurai Org. It was soundly deflected with his katana’s blade and sent right back at Shining who absorbed the bolt with his own sword. “That’s not going to happen. I have faith in both her and the doctors at the hospital. She’ll be fine. You on the other hand… That’s another story entirely,” the Magna Defender stated calmly. With that, his horn glowed a fine magenta and he tossed the Org skywards before leaping up after him and with the sun as his backdrop glinting off the Crystal Castle he sliced the Org right down the middle with the Magna Blade. The Org plummeted to the ground cracking the stone beneath him but still, he managed to pick himself up. “That… That the best you got?” the Samurai Org growled. Shining smirked under his helmet as he gripped both of his weapons tightly and leaped forwards. “Galactic Dragon Slash!” Shining yelled as he spun sideways in midair like a tornado, his Magna Blade glowing a bright sapphire blue and the Dragon Dagger a bright jade green as he slashed them across the Samurai Org’s chest in one powerful final strike. The Org staggered before he fell forwards. Shining smirked, he was finished. However... “So, I see some things never change…” Tommy muttered as he watched the Samurai Org grow to giant size no thanks to Thrax’s wand. There was a roaring sound as the Torozord saw the giant and charged onto the battlefield, his green eyes glimmering with anticipation and steam snorting from his nostrils. “I assume you can take it from here?” Tommy asked, turning to Shining who only nodded. “Magna Defender, transform!” Shining shouted as he faced his partner, his eyes meeting with the Torozord’s own. Shining was transformed into a giant red armored capeless version of himself as the Torozord emitted a green beam from the gem on his forehead. The Torozord’s green eyes flashed once as it stood up, raising onto its hind legs to a bipedal stance as steam erupted from its nostrils and the now Mega Defender jumped inside. The head opened up, revealing a stoic face with yellow eyes as hands erupted from the bull’s forehooves. “Defender Torozord, ready!” Shining yelled out as he raised the Defender Axe and an explosion of smoke like a volcano blowing its top erupted from behind the Megazord. The very ground shook as the two titans marched forwards and a loud, mighty CLANG! was heard as axe met katana. The Defender Torozord sliced the Samurai Org across the chest before a swift retaliation was dealt. A horizontal strike from the katana and the Defender Torozord stumbled back sparks flying from the blow. Shining grunted in pain. He seriously envied the main team at this point, actually having cockpits instead of being the Megazord themselves. “Come on…” He grunted out. “That the best you got?” Shining sliced again with the Defender Axe and once again metal met metal before Shining tried a different approach and punched the Samurai Org across the jaw with a powerful right hook and he stumbled back. The katana hit the ground with a loud clattering sound. “Now… Let’s finish this!” Shining shouted before going for the Megazord’s lance. “Defender Torozord, Lightning Spin!” The Torozord, whirling in place like a tornado with the lance charged with lightning before it blitzed through the Samurai Org with one quick slice. Shining stood triumphantly and raised his lance skywards as the Org fell over with a groan of pain and went up in a fireball that could be seen for miles. “Now that’s how you defeat a monster,” Tommy said in approval, taking off his helmet to look up at the Megazord before him with his own eyes. Later that evening, Tommy met with Shining in front of the Crystal Castle. “Listen, about what I did…” Tommy started before Shining shook his head. “No, you were right. I needed that lesson taught to me, badly. I guess even a Prince has some things to learn from time to time,” Shining chuckled, Dragon Dagger strapped to his hip. “Well, I wish I could stay and help, but I have to be getting back. Got a wife waiting on me on the other side. Going to be mad as Hell at me, even if it was nice getting back out in the field for a little while,” Tommy laughed and Shining chuckled as he saluted. “Thanks, and stay safe,” Shining said as Tommy began to fade away. But not before he had one last thing to say. “You too, and may the Power protect you...” He trailed off before vanishing entirely leaving only the Sword of Darkness behind. Shining smiled before he implanted it in the ground in front of him as tribute before heading inside the Castle. When he got inside, he found himself teleported to the bedroom, where on the bed lay his wife in a see-through negligee, with wine and chocolate covered strawberries on the table beside her. The room itself was only just barely lit, with candles providing the only sources of light. Shining blushed red. Even with the stitches lining her arm where the Samurai Org had cut it open, his wife still looked beautiful as ever. “Well, is my knight in shining armor ready for his reward for slaying the ogre?” Cadence asked him in a seductive tone nibbling on one of the strawberries. Shining whimpered and gave a small nod as all the lights went out one by one. The Magna Defender smiled as he found himself pulled into the bedsheets as Cadence giggled. Now this was a proper reward. Author's Note Okay, so first off... We now have our official Sixth Ranger in Shining Armor, the Magna Defender. He's probably been this state for a while now, ever since he first took on Retinax, actually. It's just now I've started referring to him as such. Secondly, this chapter is the exact reason why I never put Tommy on that poll of past Rangers you guys wanted to show up, as I wanted to do something pretty special with him. Pretty sure this qualifies. Anyways, lots of foreshadowing here and there, see if you can catch it. And again, Troy and Canvas belong to the King of Gay Comedy, the VClaw. Also, huge thanks to Eagle-PaladinofShadows for the sword fight scenes and general tips. Next month: A showdown three thousand years in the making as Celestia and Solar Flare finally come to blows as Thrax traps the Rangers on the Island of Illusions... "Magical Source, Mystical Force!" Also, if you haven't heard the news... https://twitter.com/TokuNation/status/917404145371430912 Next Ranger team maybe? Plus...
Part 44: From the Stars of the Ancient Past... (A Solar Tyrant's Fall Part 1 of 3) Canterlot Royal Library “Come on… Come on, it’s got to be in here somewhere… That last spell I need!” Twilight whispered frantically as she poured through the pages of an old spell book. She’d tied her normally long hair in a small bun to keep it from falling in her face as she read. A small lamp had been set up to illuminate the pages in the darkened room. Near that lamp sat a solid gold Dino Charger, the exact same one Sunset Shimmer and Daring Do had used in their battle against the river God Boitatá. At one point when she flipped through the pages, a small cloud of dust rose up and Twilight sneezed, the dust tickling her nose. Moonlight poured in through a giant glass window, illuminating a giant pile of spell books that Twilight had tossed aside after deeming them useless. For the past few days and nights, she’d shoved her nose in books, hoping to find the last spell she needed to combine the others she’d found to power of the Crystal of Duality and create a spell chain that in theory anyways, should free the consciousness of Celestia from Solar Flare’s hold and separate the two. That way, Solar Flare could hopefully be taken down and destroyed forever, leaving her existence only a memory. “They’re all useless, absolutely useless!” Twilight cried, throwing the latest spell book behind her after finding it to be of no help whatsoever. She gazed at the glowing yellowish crystal in front of her, looking at it with a critical eye. For days and nights, that thing had been the only thing she’d been focused on ever since she took it upon herself to study the mysterious crystal after Sunset Shimmer and Daring Do brought it back from Neighrazil. The crystal itself resembled a star, like it had fallen from the heavens and was glittering with an ethereal light that seemed to come from within the crystal itself in some manner. “I’ve got to get this riddle solved, the Winter Ball is almost upon us! If the other leaders of the nations see Celestia, they’d be terrified. Solar Flare could take control and erupt from within her at any time, and who knows what might happen then?” Twilight thought frantically, her mind racing and heart beating like a drum. “Oh Mystic Mother above, she might exterminate every delegate in the room and then lead armies against their nations! Equestria would be at war, and I don’t know if we’re ready to go up against every other nation in the world at once!” Visions of terror filled Twilight’s mind. She saw Celestia laughing and talking serenely at the Winter Ball with the Griffon King and the Dragonlord before she laughed darkly and with a flash of fire burned everybody within her line of sight into nothing but ashes. Solar fire filled the room as everything caught alight and Solar Flare laughed at the insanity of it all before she smiled. No, not a kind caring smile like the one Celestia wore, but one that promised pure devastation to everything in its wake. "All this power wasted on… galas and parties and what have you,” She said disgustedly before shaking her head. “When, after all... There are far greater uses." And then a dark new age for Equus began, one so dark and terrible the fires of Tartarus might have seemed preferable to the world above them. Griffon airships dropped bombs upon Ponyville, houses going up in flames as ponies screamed in terror as they burned alive, unable to escape the coming fire. But the worst was still yet to come. Then came the arrival of the Zebra warriors from New Roam. Despite the Griffon Kingdom’s airship bombings, there were still a few ponies left able to fight. Sadly, thanks to the greater numbers and harsher battlefield training of the New Roaman empire, they were quickly -and shown absolutely no mercy of any kind or any sort as it happened- overrun. Equestria had fallen, and Twilight knew it. She was just forced to observe it, an invisible watchman, and that perhaps was the cruelest bit of it all. She saw it, ponies in chains led by the Zebras of New Roam into gladiator pits, forced to fight to the death. These matches were presided by a heavily built, muscular Zebra clad in golden centurion armor with a red sash draped over his chest, two evil eyes in their sockets with the rest of his face covered in shadow. Twilight watched helplessly as both Rarity and Sunset fought to the death, electroshock collars around their necks to keep them from rebelling with Rarity finally skewering Sunset through the chest and blood splattered the ground. Twilight watched in horror as Rarity removed the gladius sword from Sunset’s chest and the Princess of Empathy fell forwards, a gaping hole in her stomach. “Sunset… Sunset, darling… I’m so sorry!” Rarity whispered as she ran over to her friend, hoping for some signs of life, even shaking her body. “I… I didn’t mean for this to happen! Honestly, I didn’t!” But there was nothing she could do, and Rarity sobbed even as the gate opened for the former fashionista’s next opponent. The foe in question? A unicorn with a broken horn, with dark orchid fur and a blood red mohawk for a mane style, holding a nasty looking Zweihander and covered in black armor. “Now, ladies and gentlemen…” A voice coming from the box that the Zebra Emperor, sat in announced as the crowd roared in approval. Twilight didn’t know how, as she never studied the Zebra leadership, but she knew his name to be Galvanax. “Our deadliest warrior, Tempest Shadow!” Tempest let a sadistic smirk come to her muzzle as she ran towards Rarity, who closed her eyes in acceptance before she stood up straight. “Very well then, if I die by the hands of a barbarian… Then let it be with the grace of a lady.” Rarity stated before the two blades met… And then, she saw another vision of what could come to pass. Canterlot Castle, even with a shielded bubble of magical energy created by the Royal Guard’s most powerful unicorn troops, breached by a thrown bomb of green magical fire from a dragon. The castle erupted in a tall tower of smoke that formed a mushroom cloud rising high into the sky. Then, Twilight found herself in the middle of what used to be the central throne room. Thunder cracked, and golden lightning flashed as rain poured down Twilight’s broken form. Then, she heard it. The sound of claw against stone as moving through the rubble was a light blue scaled dragon. She was tiny for a dragon, but she radiated sheer power. Another flash of gold-hued lightning illuminated her winged form, a scepter with a blood red ruby in one claw, and a long slender sword in the other. Two small tusks jutted out of her head and she grinned as she lowered the sword of Zandar to Twilight, the blade tip inches away from Twilight’s snout. “Your empire has fallen Princess Twilight,” the new ruler of all dragonkind stated, gesturing with a wing to the fallen forms of both Luna and Celestia behind her, cooked to a crisp by dragonfire. “And now you’re all that’s left. Any last requests?” “Mercy…” Twilight coughed out, a bit of blood flying from her mouth. “Mercy was not there that day when your Queen saw it fit to slaughter my father, and so I have none,” Ember said coldly. “Goodbye Twilight Sparkle.” The blade was raised, and then it came down as Twilight screamed. “HALT! CEASE THIS MADNESS!” Luna’s voice boomed out as everything just… stopped. Twilight found herself back in the Royal Library, with only her and Luna in the room. “What the…?” Twilight whispered before she realized. “A nightmare… That’s all it was…” Luna nodded as Twilight clutched her chest and took a few calming breaths. “One that will never come to pass, I can assure you,” Luna informed, pulling the younger Alicorn into a hug as she sobbed into Luna’s chest. “H-How can you be so sure? I… I saw…” “Visions of your own making,” Luna explained. “Galvanax isn’t real, and never will be. I for one, in fact, have met the leader of New Roam and debated with the Emperor, and she is a very nice mare to talk to.” “R-Really?” Twilight sniffled as she looked up at the Princess of the Night and Luna nodded. “You have been working yourself too hard, Twilight Sparkle. Far harder than what should have been requested of you. Did it not occur to you to ask for help?” Luna inquired. “No… I… I wanted to do this myself, Celestia is like a second mom to me…” Twilight whispered. “Friendship has helped you before has it not?” Luna remarked as the Mystic Mother appeared in the dreamscape as well. “And so it shall again. The Crystal of Dualities was created by six powers fusing together. Six different energies.” the Mother explained before she waved her hand. Then, by simply doing this, the Mystic Mother showed Twilight a vision. It was of six warriors. One, a dark midnight blue with red sleeves carrying a giant boomerang and an opaque black visor framed by yellow teeth, the costume looking decidedly monstrous in nature. The others were different in theming, all themed after various mythological animals carrying long rods for weapons. One, a red Dragon. Two, a green warrior themed after the Shishi Lion Dogs of China. Three, a blue warrior, themed after a Pegasus. Four, a yellow warrior themed after a Kirin. Finally, a pink warrior themed after a Phoenix. Together, on a planet of sand with a burning red sky, they fought many battles against the forces of darkness before combining their powers as one. Their intent? To give the galaxy something to remember them by and make sure they were never forgotten, This gift was to consist of tiny portions of their power to be used at a further date if the time was right or a situation arose, one so disastrous that their power was needed. “RyuuRanger!” “ShishiRanger!” “TenmaRanger!” “KirinRanger!” “HouhouRanger!” “TalonRanger!” “Six Stars shining in the Heavens! Power Rangers Battalion Force!” The warriors shouted out as their roll call as they thrust their arms skywards, and for the briefest of moments, Twilight saw their identities. A gray-skinned humanoid alien, a woman in white with a veil covering her face, and a blue and red feathered bird-man amongst others like a Syrian and an Aquitarian and of course, last but not least a human being. Or at least, something that looked human but couldn’t possibly be. Names flashed through Twilight’s mind again. Zordon, Heckyl, Torin, Dimitria amongst others. The six fired from their palms six brightly colored beams of energy, each energy beam matching the color of the Ranger that fired it. The energies shot towards an orb, following which there was a bright flash as the stone orb transformed. The six combined powers then formed the Crystal of Duality, which then shot itself off into space like a rocket and crash-landed in a jungle in Brazil to be found by ancient humankind. A temple was constructed around it, this gift from the stars… “These six paladins of justice… They were the galaxy’s first Power Rangers…” the Mother said as Twilight’s eyes widened. “You… You mean they were the ones who started it all?” Twilight stammered back, stumbling backwards in shock into a desk. “In a way, yes,” the Mystic Mother replied with a nod. “They were the galaxy’s first defenders, but the legend didn’t really begin until 1993 in Angel Grove, where five teenagers with attitude were selected to defend the planet against its greatest threat… Who, ironically at the time was myself under the name of Rita Repulsa. They won many battles, and I sought to make my own evil Green Ranger…” The Mystic Mother then waved her hand and Twilight saw the warrior she had heard her brother describe helping him in the Crystal Empire. He fought many battles against the Rangers, even taking down their Megazord. It was then he debuted his ultimate weapon, the powerful Dragonzord. Twilight watched in horror as a monstrous kaiju like creature, five glowing dots on its chest plate, a crested head with golden shoulder pads and a spinning drill-like tail fight against the Red Ranger’s Tyrannosaurus Rex Zord head-to-head. Finally, the Rangers destroyed the Sword of Darkness and the Green Ranger joined the team freed from Rita/The Mother’s control. “How ironic is it that I would later send Tommy’s spirit down to help your brother Twilight, with all of his powers restored including the Sword of Darkness itself,” the Mother mused to herself in thought. “Sadly, these Green Ranger powers were not to last. The coin was designed by darkness, and its powers were never meant to be used long term. A quick and easy victory against the Rangers is what I had envisioned. As you know, that did not come to pass. So, Zordon designed a new Power Coin and power set, the White Tiger powers, created in a possible homage to his former team if the suit design is any indication…” The Mystic Mother clutched her head in pain in memories of those dark days of long ago. “But we’re getting off track here,” Luna put in. “I’ve been talking with the Mystic Mother, and we theorized a Power Set based off the Battalion Rangers’ original abilities might be what you need to recharge the Crystal,” She explained. “But… But all of those powers have been lost…” Twilight stammered out. Luna raised an eyebrow. “Have they? I seem to remember at least two Rangers active with powers similar to that of the TalonRanger’s. I believe they are the ponies you know as Daring Do and Galaxy Swirls, am I right?” Luna inquired. “...Yes, yes… that could work…” Twilight murmured to herself as she paced back and forth across the library floor, a finger placed to her chin in thought. “I… I just need to contact one of them, that’s all!” Twilight flushed red as she quickly realized a small flaw in her plan. She laughed nervously before asking Luna: “Er… Could you go ahead and wake me up now?” pressing her fingers together sheepishly. Luna smiled, then nodded before she snapped her fingers and a bright flash filled the room… Speaking of Daring Do and Galaxy Swirls, they were currently preoccupied in the midst of a battle with Retinax’s latest monster, the Blacksmith Org, themed after a combination of a giant anvil and a furnace and already in giant form thanks to those beans Retinax had on him. In the moonlight night, he clashed outside the Canterlot City limits with the Pachy and Ankylo Zords. Bringing a giant sledgehammer that replaced one of his arms on top of the Ankylo Zord, before the arm was knocked away by the wrecking ball that made up the Pachy Zord’s tail. The Org opened up a small orb on his head and unleashed a blast of flame towards the Pachy Zord, and the Zord screeched out in pain. The Ankylo Zord let out a growl of anger and then swung the giant hammer tail that in real life, would completely shatter the leg bones of a T-Rex and hit the Blacksmith Org squarely in the chest sending it toppling over. The crash echoed for miles and sent trees toppling like dominos. The Org growled as he used his two arms to pull himself back up, before opening up his head orbs and unleashing balls of molten hot metal at the two Zords like mortars, the flaming debris falling all around them. Some of the metal hit, some of it didn’t. Either way, the Org was regaining ground against the two Zords. “Oh, esto es ridículo!” Daring snapped as she saw her Zord get hit by the mortars of flaming hot steel and iron. “We outnumber this guy by two to one! Surely he can’t be that much of a challenge! Bastardo está pidiendo una paliza ahora!” She snarled out furiously. “Just a quick question,” Galaxy posed. “I’m a Royal Guard, albeit a possibly insane one, and even I know numbers aren’t everything. Tactics are a good start. Charging in blind, not the best form of that. Not when faced with sheer power. No offense Ms. Do, but shouldn’t we call in for help?” “Bah, podemos tomar este trozo de acero por nuestra cuenta!” Daring snapped back at him in Spanish. “...Okay, I’m going to pretend I understood a word of that and take it as a “No.”...” Galaxy trailed off nervously, a little afraid of the quick-tempered Spaniard. (Even if he wouldn’t admit it aloud.) He then muttered sarcastically: “Right… Never mind me asking then. Just ignore the guy with over twenty years of experience in national defense and battle tactics…” as he held up his hands in a defensive posture. “Please, I’ve been dealing with problems on my own for a while now, and I think me and my Zord can handle one piece of scrap metal,” Daring drawled. “În acea zi, bunul simț a murit într-o moarte aprigă…” Galaxy muttered to himself, looking skywards. Just then, a loud crack of thunder lit up the night as storm clouds seemed to form of their own violation. Galaxy blinked. That was odd, there weren't any thunderstorms scheduled for tonight… Then, a form emerged from the storm clouds. Themed after a Tupuxuara, this could only be a Zord. But somehow, it was different than the other two Dino Zords. Galaxy could sense it, a form of darkness about this Zord. Bone white in color, with a gold head crest and blood red eyes complete with gold highlights on the otherwise black wings, the massive Zord landed atop one of the taller Canterlot buildings and began to flap its powerful wings. Gale force winds picked up, and just as the Blacksmith Org launched another fiery assault, the balls of magma were sent right back towards the Org itself as it roared in pain. “Even with that evil feeling I’m getting off that Zord, can’t say I’m not grateful for the help really…” Galaxy thought to himself as the new Zord let out a screech of victory. It then let out two more screeches, seemingly giving the Ankylo and Pachy Zords the order to attack and Daring and Galaxy shared a nod. “Pachy Wrecking Ball!/Ankylo Hammer!” the two commanded before the Zords’ respective tails slammed into the Blacksmith Org sending him flying skywards. The newest Zord screeched once more before taking to the darkened skies once more as the Org went up in a fireball. “Now…” Galaxy asked, taking up the voice of reason, questioning their new “ally”. “What was that thing, and more importantly… Who was behind it?” “I don’t know, but they’re going to pay for that little butting in of theirs! That Org was mine…” Daring growled out as her fists tightened. Any more of Daring’s grumblings were interrupted by the distinct chirping of both her and Galaxy’s Dino Comms on their belts. “Um… Hello?” Twilight asked nervously as she appeared on the screen. “Am I doing this right?” “Well, yeah… Apart from us seeing the back of your head,” Galaxy deadpanned. “It’s a very nice head, mind you, but still…” Twilight laughed nervously before she quickly lit up her horn and the screen then fixed itself to show her properly. “Sorry, first time using this thing. Bound to be a few… bugs I suppose. Anyways, can you come to the Canterlot Royal Library? I need your help, along with Daring’s.” “We’ll be right there Prinţesă.” Galaxy said politely before he and Daring teleported towards Twilight’s location… “Wait, so this thing can separate Miss-I-want-to-kill-everything-to-prove-pony-superiority from Princess Celestia?” Galaxy asked, gesturing with a hand to the Crystal and Twilight nodded. “In theory, yes,” She said. “In theory… Oh, well that’s wonderful…” Galaxy drawled before Daring Do piped up. “She might not be wrong. I did my reading before me and Sunset went after the damn thing. Apparently, if the legends about this thing are accurate… And there aren’t many, aside from what guarded it,” Daring mumbled this last part quietly to herself, still surprised Boitatá was the real deal and not just some wild fantasy or a giant King Cobra that some pony on something hallucinated. “Anyways, as the legend goes…” “Legend, as in singular?” Galaxy interrupted. “Not getting off to a very strong start here…” Both Daring and Twilight gave him a sharp glare which caused him to mutter “And everypony wonders why I prefer stallions instead of mares for romantic partners....” “If I may continue?” Daring asked impatiently. Nobody said a thing against her. “Thank you. Anyways, as the legend goes… Long ago, there was this Mayan ruler. He was insane, to put it mildly. One day he’d be the kindest and caring ruler you’d have ever met… Well, as kind and caring as Mayan rulers got anyways. Did rip out peoples’ hearts as part of sacrifices to their gods for a good harvest, if you remember. Next day, throwing people to panthers just for kicks, no reason then just because he wanted to. People got suspicious. They prayed to their gods, and from the skies, a star fell from the heavens. The sheer power infused within this star, it split the Mayan into two beings. One light, the other dark. Hence the name, Crystal of Dualities.” “So, why’d you bring us in here?” Galaxy questioned. “Well, in theory…” Twilight began before she was soon interrupted once more. Guess who did it. “There’s that word again…” Galaxy muttered before once more, he was quickly shut up by Daring and Twilight’s combined glares. “What? I’m just trying to be the voice of reason and caution here!” “If I might continue?” Twilight growled, her teeth grinding against each other. “In theory, your specific powerset might be able to charge up the Crystal of Dualities and get us enough power to separate Solar Flare and Princess Celestia. All you have to do is… Well, shoot it.” Daring and Galaxy shared a nod before they raised their Dino Morphers. “This thing isn’t going to blow up on us when we shoot it and kill us all, is it?” Galaxy asked, looking towards Twilight with an eyebrow raised. “Cause if it does, I do have lawyers at my beck and call ready to charge your family for killing me.” Twilight laughed nervously. “No, rest assured, it won’t do that. ...I think,” She muttered out and Galaxy held back a sigh. “I feel so reassured…” the Thestral deadpanned before both he and Daring shouted “Dino Morpher Blast!” and fired their weapons at the Crystal of Dualities. A bright flash lit up the room, and next thing everybody knew, the Crystal was glowing with every color of the rainbow, powered up by sheer Morphin Grid energy as it unleashed a wave of energy that knocked everypony present to the floor. “Well… at least it didn’t kill us… So that’s a start…” Galaxy groaned out as he picked himself off the floor. “Yes, yes, yes, it worked!” Twilight shouted in excitement as she bounced around the room in joy. When she noticed Daring and Galaxy staring at her, she laughed nervously and quickly recomposed herself. “Now… All I have to do is fire a single blast of magic at the Crystal to unleash the stored energy when Celestia is in a safely isolated location, and she and Solar Flare should be split apart.” Twilight quickly dashed off in joy, shouting “Oh, I’ve got to tell Princess Celestia about this!” Galaxy then turned to Daring with a look on his face. “Anypony else besides me think this is going to turn out really badly in some way…?” Daring could only nod. Canterlot Castle: Panting and sweating as she ran through the halls of Canterlot Castle, Twilight smiled. Finally, she could free her teacher from that monster known only as Solar Flare. However, a thought did occur to her even as she rounded a corner. “Would it really be a good idea to separate all of Solar Flare from Princess Celestia?” Twilight pondered to herself. “As much as I hate to admit it, even the bad times make us who we are. Luna, when she fell to Nightmare Moon’s curse… It changed her, taught her the feelings of regret and redemption. Sunset… If it wasn’t for her becoming arrogant, prideful in her powers and what she thought she could accomplish… She might not be the mare she is today. And then there are all my screw-ups. Sure, I’ve done some stupid things. The Want-it, Need-it spell, accidentally ruining my sister in law’s wedding by thinking she was evil without getting all the facts first… Granted, she was evil, but a Changeling duplicate, not the real deal. If I hadn’t learned to carry on without my friends for a time and act on my gut instincts, who knows what might have happened? And then there was the time I was Discorded. Became a shadow of myself, forgetting everything I’d learned about the Magic of Friendship. Pain, hurt… They’re a part of who we are. But then again, Solar Flare is completely insane, no remorse for anything. She cares for nothing but herself. Some ponies… They just want to watch the world burn.” Twilight continued to think, searching for answers even in her tired state of mine. She’d worked through the night, just like she had been for the past few days and nights. And the strain was beginning to show. “Do I have the right to separate two beings? Judge them? Even if it’s for the greater good of Equestria? Solar Flare and Celestia compliment each other. Solar Flare hardened Celestia, made her ready for battle if the time ever arose. And Celestia keeps Solar Flare in check, keeps her from completely letting the darkness run free. As long as they share the same body, the balance is upheld. Light and dark, chaos and order… None can exist without the other,” Twilight continued to think. But then she remembered her dream. She had seen Celestia laughing and talking serenely at the Winter Ball with the Griffon King and the Dragonlord before she laughed darkly and with a flash of fire burned everybody within her line of sight into nothing but ashes. Solar fire filled the room as everything caught alight and Solar Flare laughed at the insanity of it all before she smiled. No, not a kind caring smile like the one Celestia wore, but one that promised pure devastation to everything in its wake. "All this power wasted on… galas and parties and what have you,” she said disgustedly before shaking her head. “When, after all... There are far greater uses." The Solar Tyrant had said before plunging Equestria into a dark new age of total warfare and eventually… the nation’s utter annihilation. Twilight’s eyes hardened as she finally made up her mind. “No, I can’t let that happen. Solar Flare must be destroyed, for everybody’s sake. She’s already committed one act of genocide in her lust for power and control, I can’t let her commit any others. That settles it, the Crystal must be used!” Twilight threw open the doors of the throne room. Dawn had broken over the horizon, and Celestia had just barely begun her daily duties. “Twilight?” Celestia asked in surprise, raising an eyebrow. “You’re up early. To be honest, you look like you haven’t slept in days… Should you really be coming to see me in such a state?” Celestia kept her demeanor calm and composed, one of the ways she’d found of holding Solar Flare back. Never lose her temper, never subject herself to her most basic emotions. “Yeah, I… I admit I haven’t been sleeping well,” Twilight stammered out, laughing nervously. “But not without good reason Princess!” “Oh Twilight,” Celestia said kindly, shaking her head at her student. “I’m sure you had a very good reason, as always, but you should think about your well-being at times. I don’t want you to overwork yourself. If you had an important task, couldn’t you have asked your friends for help on it?” “Yes… I-I admit I should have come to my friends sooner with this, but… But I think I know a way to separate you and…” Twilight, looking around the room nervously and lowering her voice to make sure nobody could hear her. “Your other half.” Celestia rose from her throne. “Twilight, are you absolutely sure you’ve come up with a solution? I’m not willing to risk anything, or anybody unless this solution is 100% guaranteed to work.” “Yes… I understand,” Twilight nodded. “But me and Sunset… We’ve been doing a bit of reading, we found a way to separate you and… Her.” Twilight said the last part of the sentence in absolute disgust, refusing to acknowledge Solar Flare’s name. “A crystal, powered by pure Morphin Grid energy.” Twilight then had a horrible thought. “S-she’s not listening in, is she?” Twilight stammered out nervously. “Twilight, as much as I’d like to lie to you and say everything’s alright, that she’s been quiet and I’m able to keep my dark half under wraps, as it were… I cannot. She’s always listening in to every conversation I have. That’s why I wanted to know if this was guaranteed to work, so I don’t put any more ponies at risk then I have to and get some satisfaction in the fact that Solar Flare knows her reign is about to come to an end…” Celestia smiled vindictively, it looked incredibly wrong on her face and Celestia herself knew it, but she also knew after all Solar Flare had done, she was allowed a little bit of vindictiveness and satisfaction at her imminent demise… “Well then, Twilight… You’re allowed to go through with your plan. Stop Solar Flare, no matter the cost…” “Even if?” Twilight asked nervously, not wanting to say what she was thinking. “Yes… Even if it means destroying me.” The Nexus: Later that day, Thrax whirled around in his throne and gripped his mother’s wand as Doomwing and Goldar tensed and readied their swords. Something was coming, something extremely powerful and extremely… evil. With a bright flash of fire, a mare made purely of molten hot magma and with a mane that blazed like the sun itself appeared in the room. Doomwing and Goldar drew their swords but were soundly sent flying back with blasts of pure hot wind. “Miss me?” Solar Flare asked with a cackle before she looked directly at Thrax. “Now, we need to talk…” Author's Note Breached 200,000 words baby! Yeah! First off, I want to thank y'all for your continued support of this story. I honestly don't know where it would be if you hadn't supported me on this endeavor. Anyways... Okay, so yes... It begins, Solar Flare's fall. Firstly, on the appearance of the Dairangers. To be honest, this is a bit of an in-joke. Heard this somewhere, and I don't know where but for years, Saban had been trying to use the suits after they got access to the Dairanger footage for the Thunderzords and the White Ranger fight scenes. Eventually, they just gave up around Lost Galaxy. From what I heard, the suits were planned to be used as a team of ancient Rangers. Now for me, this makes a personal victory writing-wise, as I have been searching for a way to explain the presence of the "New Powers" from Supermegashit in the story, and I think this works. (Even if I did have to use the name Supermegashit came up with for the team, instead of the actual name, just to keep things in-universe.) As for Ko's absence, again keeping things in-universe. ...Plus, who likes that skirt flipping, breast fondling little perv anyways? (Okay, I admit Gai's actor (The one from Gokaigers, not the Gai from Jetman obviously) liked KibaRanger and wanted to be him but aside from that...) Also, before any of you ask, yes that was the Dragozord from Dino Thunder in the Org fight scene. The reason why there's no White Ranger to compliment it will be explained in this story arc, hopefully, if I can fit it in. Anyways, enough of my rambling. I want to know what you think of this chapter, comments and especially critique are welcome. Finally, a very overdue tribute to the late actor of ShishiRanger, and the Heavenly Gravity Star, Tatsuya Nōmi. May you shine brightly forever.
Part 45: The Devil's Got a New Disguise (A Solar Tyrant's Fall Part 2 of 3)The Nexus Thrax, if he wasn’t so afraid of the sheer power that wafted off Solar Flare would have chuckled. He should have known this was going to come along sooner or later really. “So, lemme guess…” Thrax stated calmly, his voice in its usual tone. Namely, being as quiet as the grave. “You have a problem, and it relates to a certain selection of six multiple colored warriors?” “Ooh, getting straight to the point. I like that in a man…” Solar Flare cooed as she traced a finger up Thrax’s jawline, sounding almost aroused. Doomwing and Goldar shared identical looks of disgust as they watched the Solar Invictus circle Thrax like a lioness over a kill. She purred in delight as she felt Thrax’s power. It was nothing compared to her own of course, but it was… acceptable. Who knows, after the Rangers were out of the way perhaps she could start looking for a mate? Just for pleasure of course, she really didn’t care for such things like “Love” unlike that sappy other half of hers. “But I’m here on business, not pleasure which I admit is sort of a shame. However… Maybe both things can be achieved if this… alliance of ours works out. If it does, I have no doubt in my mind we’ll both end up very happy tyrants,” she purred out seductively. “Who said anything about an alliance?” Thrax remarked, folding his arms across his chest. He wasn’t particularly impressed by Solar Flare’s attempts at flirtation. “Far as I’m concerned, I’m doing just fine on my own, and you’ve got all the power in Equestria right now. You’re literally seated on the throne, the top of a shadow government,” “Ah, but for how much longer if that damned Princess of Friendship in all of her undermining little ways succeeds in splitting me and Celestia apart?” Solar Flare pointed out, spitting out her other half’s name in disgust. “She may not want to use all of that power she has, but it’s more than enough to defeat me. She’s just far too… frightened of it to even try,” she continued, embers licking at her charcoal black wings. Solar Flare then let out a laugh as she looked at Thrax dead in the eyes, wiping away a tear from her own. “And as for you? Doing just fine on your own? I think not. Every monster or Org you’ve sent down after the Rangers has been defeated, one after the other. And then there’s Retinax, last I checked he broke off from you and you two are currently going head to head in your own private little civil war. Plus, I’ve got some news that may interest you… If you’re willing to hear it, that is.” Goldar snarled and drew his sword, and in an instant, the blade tip was at Solar Flare’s throat. “Don’t listen to a word of hers Master, she’s just trying to trick you! Lead you off course from our real goal!” the Griffon/Ape themed warrior snarled, quickly joined by Doomwing who was ready to plunge his sword into Solar Flare’s back. “Oh, look at your men… They’re like obedient dogs,” Solar Flare laughed, incredibly amused by the two’s bravado. It was a foolish form of loyalty that would end up getting them killed in the end, but loyalty nonetheless. “Ready to fight at your beck and call. I presume you can call them off until I’ve said my piece?” “Master-” Doomwing started but Thrax held up a hand. “Settle down, at least for the moment,” Thrax ordered, his voice raising ever-so-slightly. “I must admit, I am… curious as to what Solar Flare means,” Both Doomwing and Goldar growled but lowered their blades all the same. “There, that’s better,” Solar Flare cooed mock-sweetly at them. “Now, as I was saying. Retinax, he’s been doing some recent acquisitions that I think may -or may not- interest you depending on if you’re as intelligent as you claim to be. For one thing, he’s got Zen-Aku on his side. Had a spy over in Fillydelphia report the news as soon as she saw it. Like you said, shadow government,” “He’s getting bold, far too bold for his own good. And stupid, really. Whatever lies he told Zen-Aku, they’ll fall apart at the seams eventually. Zen-Aku… He’s far too loyal to this planet and too bent on redeeming himself for his past transgressions to stay loyal to Retinax completely,” Thrax remarked, a hand on his chin in thought. “Sooner or later, something will draw him back to the Rangers side. Still, that was worth hearing. You may take your leave now,” But Solar Flare didn’t budge. Thrax growled and turned to both Doomwing and Goldar. “Escort her out, now.” “Gladly…” Goldar chuckled as he and Doomwing raised their swords. Doomwing’s began glowing an ominous crimson red while Goldar’s began to ignite itself with a flaming light. “Ah, bup-bup-bup!” Solar Flare interrupted, holding up a finger and wagging it back and forth. It was as if she was speaking to an unruly child. Mind you, that’s all Thrax was to her in Solar Flare’s mind. “Before you “Escort” me out, there’s one last thing. Anyways, escorting me out, which I should point out isn’t a very wise choice anyways as it’ll let me know exactly where you live. I could come knocking again -And I will- right on your doorstep. Retinax… Surely you didn’t notice the new Dinozord out and about destroying one of his latest monsters?” “I took notice, but I paid it no mind. A failure’s a failure,” Thrax remarked. “I was more amused by his incompetence more than anything else. That Org he found couldn’t even stand up against regular Zords!” “But you should be worried, surely you recognize that particular Zord right? The Dragozord. Plus I have to ask, surely you are wondering why the Ranger that goes along with it hasn’t shown him or herself right?” Solar Flare inquired, eyebrow raised. “Again, I’m not worried. I knew about Retinax’s little expedition into the Crystal Empire to retrieve the White Dino Gem. Granted, I didn’t know Zen-Aku was how he got it, but I knew about it all the same,” Thrax replied with a roll of his eyes, beginning to sound incredibly bored out of his mind. “Why are you telling me information I know about already?” “Oh come now, Thrax… You’re a smart little world-conqueror aren’t you? What if by some small chance, Retinax does find a way to repower the White Dino Gem and reactivate the White Ranger powers? What then?” Solar Flare asked, and Thrax had to admit he did feel slightly nervous at the way this conversation was going. Slightly. “One more powerful foot soldier to use against you, and this one will have at least one Zord on their side. Possibly two, as if I remember history correctly the Stegozord was never destroyed either. So that means he may very well have a Megazord, or maybe even two on his side as well if Zen-Aku still has his Animal Crystals,” the Solar Invictus added. Solar Flare knew very well this last part was a lie, as her spy in the Royal Guard had reported seeing the wolf-like Duke Org toss three glowing orbs into the sea. But the more this scared Thrax into having an alliance with her, all the better. “The Predazord destroyed Goldar once, who’s to say it won’t get lucky again? Plus, with the DinoStegazord on his side, he has a formidable fighting force. Add to that Retinax being no slouch in combat himself, and he could very well have a chance at taking your throne for himself.” Thrax sighed, as much as he didn’t like teaming up with with a genocidal maniac like Solar Flare, she had a point. “Alright, you’ve made your point. We’ll work together, for now. But if you even think about double-crossing me…” he warned. Solar Flare chuckled. “Oh Thrax…” she said in a tone of mock-sweetness. “You know I’ll double cross you eventually, it’s only a matter of time…” she trailed off, accentuating each word in a “A matter of time” with a small boop on his nose. With that, she vanished in a plume of fire, leaving only embers in her wake while Thrax only chuckled. Doomwing let out a small angry hiss to himself, the sound going unnoticed as he gripped his blade tightly. Was this what Thrax was willing to resort to, teaming up with a genocidal maniacal goddess who would rather slaughter them all instead of working with them? Team up with someone who even flat out admitted she’d double cross them eventually? “I know when it’s time to pick a side, and this isn’t the best choice for me right now… Not anymore,” Doomwing thought to himself, disappearing into the caverns of the Nexus heading for the aboveground. Meanwhile, Goldar turned to Thrax, a look that consisted of a mixture of anger and confusion on his face. “Master, why are you even teaming up with her? You know she’ll destroy you as soon as her alliance with us ends, once the Rangers are destroyed,” Goldar questioned and Thrax smirked. “She’s just an arrogant horse who doesn’t know her place. She’s got power, yes, I’ll give her that. Power enough to destroy us both, but let’s be honest here… She’s also incredibly arrogant. She honestly believes nothing can stop her, not even the Power Rangers. Goldar, you and I both know never to underestimate them,” Thrax lectured. “There’s a reason why I’m sending them to the Island of Illusion. They may escape, maybe they won’t. Either way, Solar Flare’s little tantrum won’t go unchecked. I have a suspicion that unless she was truly desperate, she wouldn’t come to us. Someone’s figured out a way to separate her and Celestia I bet… No, in fact, I know it. Solar Flare’s miscalculated on one small factor. Celestia herself,” “How so?” Goldar asked and Thrax leaned back in his throne as he smirked. “Think about it. Celestia… Having to be forced to watch as Solar Flare annihilated an entire race right before her eyes. She’s kind, loving. Anything like that, that would anger even the gentlest of souls. And that’s not the only thing. Celestia’s a ruler at heart. One that cares for her subjects, anything that threatens her empire would force her into a fight, her dark half included,” Thrax continued to lecture. “Give Celestia a chance, and she probably would use all of her power to completely destroy Solar Flare. Hell, Celestia’s probably not the only deity angry at Solar Flare. We know the Wild Zords that make up Animus are about, so it’s safe to assume he’s still around in some form to command the rest of the 95 Wild Zords into battle if need be…” Thrax then got up off his throne. “Now, to put my plans in action. It’s time to see what the Rangers fear the most…” he said in a completely calm tone of voice before he threw back his head and laughed. Goldar soon found himself joining in as crimson red lightning sparked from Thrax’s wand. Doomwing found himself teleporting into a dark forest deep in the Oregon wilderness, near what used to be Turtle Cove. If he was going to find Zen-Aku, chances are this was where he’d be. In a place that he was familiar with. Plus, if he’d teamed up with Retinax who was incredibly loyal to a fault to the original Master Org, -And Turtle Cove was where he’d fallen- that increased the chances of Doomwing finding the two. Doomwing’s smirk then faded from his face and he felt a small shiver of fear trail up his spine as he heard the snap of a twig behind him and pawsteps walking through the snow. He then felt a sharp blade pressing up against his back. “Why have you come?” Zen-Aku asked, his eyes boring into Doomwing. “Speak quickly, and maybe I’ll reconsider killing you,” “Call it… A m-matter of s-survival,” Doomwing stuttered out nervously, and Zen-Aku threw back his head and laughed. “Funny way of surviving, stepping into my home. Us wolves… We’re very territorial creatures you know. We hate trespassers,” Zen-Aku growled out. “You have five seconds,” “Just let me explain. Solar Flare, she’s formed an alliance with Thrax!” Doomwing said quickly, and Zen-Aku’s eyes widened. As much as he hated most, if not all of ponykind for destroying an entire race, -and hated himself for teaming up with somebody who would do the exact same even under the promises of giving him family he could rely on- this couldn’t go ignored. Zen-Aku grabbed Doomwing by the shoulders and teleported him away in a dark purple flash of light. Doomwing then found himself in the ruins of an ancient temple, the remains of the original Nexus. Stone statues lay in ruins all around him, echoes of a time long since passed. “Well, isn’t this an interesting surprise,” Retinax laughed as he stepped into view, axe in hand. “One of Thrax’s little merry monsters on my doorstep. Of all the things I expected to see today, this wasn’t one of them,” He then pointed his axe at Doomwing, the blade crackling with red electricity. “State your business!” Zen-Aku bowed at Retinax’s feet, even if it disgusted him by doing so. Doomwing wanted to make a crack about Zen-Aku kissing Retinax’s feet next, but thought the better of it. He wasn’t completely stupid after all. “Master…” the Duke Org stated, visibly shuddering as he spat the word out. If Retinax noticed, he paid it no mind. “Doomwing’s come to us with claims of Solar Flare and Thrax forming an alliance of sorts,” “Is that so? Well, that is interesting news…” Retinax mused before he turned to Doomwing. “And you’re, to use a human phrase, a rat jumping off a sinking ship correct?” “I-I suppose that’s one way to put it,” Doomwing stuttered out nervously, in fear of Retinax or Zen-Aku turning their weapons on him. “I’m not going to allow myself to be a part of a group who’s willing to team up with a crazed goddess who’d destroy anybody who displeases her at the drop of a hat,” “So tell me, why should I let you live? You’re not an Org, and Thrax replacing me with non-Orgs was the main reason I left his side in the first place.” Retinax reminded. “Yes, but the way I see it, you need soldiers. How’s your search for new Orgs working out for you?” Doomwing asked, and smirked when Retinax growled. “Thought so. Plus, I overheard Solar Flare mention you have this White Dino Gem thing correct? One’s that’s bonded with a Zord? I’m willing to bet you’re trying to create a Power Ranger of your own aren’t you?” Retinax then swung his axe at Doomwing, who barely blocked it with his blade. “Now, I may not be an Org, but I can sense darkness. I can find you your evil Ranger. ...If you let me of course,” “The point’s moot, I’ve been unable to find a power source strong enough to revitalize the Gem,” Retinax grumbled and Doomwing smirked. Well, smirked about as much as a rooster themed monster could anyways. “Allow me to take care of that.” Doomwing laughed before firing a blast of energy from his free hand at the White Dino Gem, sitting on a plinth. With a flash of bright light, the Gem soon morphed into the Drago Morpher… Ponyville: Sunset Shimmer’s house: Robert groaned as he tossed the covers off of his makeshift bed, AKA Sunset Shimmer’s living room couch. His phone played its usual wake-up call of Goodbye Stranger before a hand quickly reached out and pressed down on the off button. Robert, now that he’d found himself in a steady relationship with somebody found it best to change the alarm from that orgasmic sound to something more appropriate. He sorta got the feeling that his new marefriend wouldn’t take kindly to hearing the sound of an unknown woman’s orgasm in her home. Pulling on a black-tank top so he wouldn’t be walking around in just his boxers on a cold morning, he smiled as the scent of eggs cooking reached his nose. While he was by no means married to Sunset yet, far from it actually, it was always nice to wake up to the smell of your loved one cooking. Sadly, Robert knew this wouldn’t last as he was only staying in Sunset’s abode on a temporary basis as Rarity’s Boutique was being fumigated with its proprietor staying with Zephyr's parents for the time being. Still, it didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy good things while they lasted right? Walking into the kitchen, little chotskies all around him on the walls -Mainly plates and such- he walked up to Sunset who was already dressed in long flannel pants and a sun-yellow sweater and wrapped his arms around her giving her a kiss on the neck. “...Wish you wouldn’t surprise me like that, I am cooking you know. Could have burned myself,” Sunset remarked. On a nearby countertop sat the morning paper, which read: “Power Rangers March In Parade In Support Of Raising Breast Cancer Awareness!” “Admit it, you like surprises…” Robert murmured as he kissed her neck again and Sunset sighed. A mix of calming Chillhop and Asian Zen music played in the background, Sunset’s “Morning Music Mix” as Robert had heard Vapor refer to it once or twice. Could have been worse Robert supposed, Sunset could have shared Vapor’s love of country and folk music. “Yeah, I suppose…” the Princess of Empathy muttered. “Especially when they’re coming from me?” Robert asked as he massaged her shoulders. Sunset rolled her eyes. “Go take a shower you moron, you stink,” Sunset remarked in a deadpan tone of voice, and mentally sighed as she realized what she’d set herself up for as Robert walked off. “You coming with? Always more fun with two!” He laughed flirtatiously with a cocky grin on his face. “Don’t bet on it…” Sunset replied and Robert couldn’t resist smirking. “Oh, you’ll come around someday… Not today maybe, but someday,” he said as he shut the bathroom door and a few minutes later Sunset could hear the sound of water running. Sunset looked skywards and sighed. Honestly, she couldn’t really see what was so exciting about sex. It was just a natural bodily function, the urge to mate and that was the end of it. She just really didn’t get why Robert or most other lifeforms for that matter found it so pleasurable. “Oh god, I’m starting to sound like Twilight aren’t I?” Sunset thought to herself. “All cold and scientific. ...Speaking of that, I got to remind myself to go over to the Golden Oaks and see what progress she’s making on the Crystal of Dualities. ...Well that, and a book on sex. Just to see what all the fuss is about,” “You know, there’s an easy answer to your sexual problem,” the Phoenix Zord chimed in. “I’d give it to you, but honestly… This is sorta the kind of thing you have to figure out for yourself,” “I just don’t get it, what’s so exciting about sex?” Sunset replied before she realized who she was talking to “...Actually, why am I even asking you? You’re just mechanical. It’s not like you have the proper organs for such a thing!” “Well, to be fair you do kinda see me as a second mother…” the Phoenix Zord replied. “Point…” Sunset sighed. “But what do you mean I have to figure this out for myself, can’t you just give me a little hint or something?” “Nope,” the Phoenix Zord responded, popping the p. “After all, you yourself said and I quote: “You’re just mechanical. It’s not like you have the proper organs for such a thing!” Did you or did you not say that?” Sunset’s groaning said it all. Yeah, the Phoenix Zord had definitely been spending time around the Kitsune Zord, she just knew it. Later that morning as Sunset and a now fully dressed Robert sat down for breakfast, Sunset voiced a question that had been on her mind ever since she met him and hearing about his self-proclaimed sexual prowess. “Okay, just how many sexual partners have you had before me?” Sunset stated bluntly, a blush gracing her face. Almost as if it were right on cue, Robert spat out his coffee in classic spit take fashion. “W-Well, it’s going to be a long list if I’ll be honest,” Robert stuttered out. “What brought this on anyway?” “Just curious. After all, if at some hypothesized point in time I will be getting into bed with you and “Getting it on” as they say, I just want to know if you’re up to the task,” Sunset stated, taking a sip of her tea blush still on her face. “...Amazing, she shows either confusion, embarrassment or outright disgust whenever I talk about this, and now she’s asking about my abilities in the bedroom…” Robert muttered to himself, rubbing his temples. “You sure you’re not one of those Changelings I heard a pony mention once?” “I’m me,” Sunset deadpanned. “Or haven’t you noticed how embarrassed I am to be talking about this, to begin with?” “Okay… Okay, no need to get snippy about this,” Robert replied quickly, holding up his hands defensively before a flirtatious smirk came to his face and Sunset groaned. She should have known she was going to regret asking this. “So, for the scientific record eh? How many good shags I’ve had? Well, do you want any particular standouts?” “No…” Sunset stated slowly but of course was ignored. “Let me put it to you this way, if a great white shark said I was good in bed, that sorta says it all,” “Wait, wait, wait… Back up,” Sunset quickly butted in. “A great white shark, so you’re into bestiality now as well?” Robert was quick to correct her, the food now having gone long forgotten. “Well, she wasn’t an actual great white shark, nor was she a cosplayer… I think. Not really sure, the fin on her back looked real enough. This was back at the Pai Zhau school, where this Japanese girl -Sela, I think her name was- was training in the shark style, appropriately enough,” Robert began. “Anyways, the point of the matter was, she asked me for some personal training in the dog style, and I don’t mean the Kung Fu type, or at least that’s how things ended after a few drinks had been shared. It started out as the Kung Fu style, but-” “I-I get the point!” Sunset quickly said, her blush now redder than ever. “Forget I asked, okay?” “Suuuurrrreee…” Robert drawled. “And miss out on a completely good blackmail opportunity? I think not!” “Asshole…” Sunset muttered. “But I’m your arsehole.” Robert smiled, leaning across the table and booping Sunset on the nose. She sighed and shook her head fondly. Robert may have been a bit too self-absorbed about half the time, but he had his own… unique charms and she couldn’t deny he could be serious and not just act like a vain idiot when the time came. Just then, as if to disrupt the peace and to prove Sunset’s point both her Growl Phone and Robert’s Fox Amulet went off. “Well, there goes a perfectly nice morning…” Sunset muttered, and looking back at her breakfast and sighed again as she shook her head. “I’m going to get breakfast finished one of these days, I swear…” Robert flipped the Fox Amulet open as Sunset answered her Growl Phone, both asking the exact same thing: “Yes Princess?” “It’s Thrax, he’s been sighted down in the Main Square of Ponyville. He’s already enlarged himself,” Shayla’s voice said in an urgent tone of voice. “Your Wild Zords have been sent and the other Rangers are already on their way, get to them as quickly as you can!” Sunset and Robert shared a nod before they shouted out “Legendary Wild Access!” True to Shayla’s warning, Thrax was already on the ground at giant size, firing blasts of red lightning from his wand, blowing rooftops off of homes and sending the pieces skywards. As soon as everybody was on site, the Animaria Guardian Megazord was formed and the twin katanas were drawn. The gigantic War Axe that was used for the finishing move of the Megazord rested on its back as always. “So, finally decided to face us alone Thrax?” Lightning snarled from inside the Megazord’s cockpit as Thrax fired a blast of red lightning from his wand hitting the Megazord directly in the chestplate leaving it no time to block. The massive mecha staggered backwards from the force of the blow. “Yes, well you’ve always been a thorn in my side… I think it’s time I remove that thorn,” Thrax snarled out as he dodged a swing from one of the Megazord’s katanas. “You’ve pricked the side of a mighty beast, and entirely failed to run as the old saying goes,” the Master Org hissed out. Almost as if in response, the Kitsune’s eyes flashed briefly in rage as the Megazord swung again with the left blade, sword meeting wand as sparks flew and metal ground against metal, sparks flying off the two weapons. “He really should be talking about me, if you’re asking for my opinion,” the Kitsune Zord growled out in Robert’s head. “I mean, I’m a mighty beast!” “Can you save your ego for another time, please?” Robert mentally sighed in exasperation as Thrax swung his wand hitting the Megazord in the chest with its tip before zapping the entire mecha full of crimson lightning. Sparks erupted from everywhere in the cockpit including the control consoles as Thrax then enveloped the Megazord in a bubble of magic and tossed it overhead and behind him with a mighty crash as the mecha hit the ground. The sound echoed for miles as the Rangers struggled to get back up off the ground. Thrax raised his wand to the sky and created powerful storm clouds raining down lightning all around the battlefield. Meanwhile, in the midst of all this chaos, the Animaria Guardian used one of its katanas as a support and picked itself off the ground. It raised one of the katanas to the sky and caught a flash of lightning before sending it right at Thrax who absorbed the bolt with his wand. “You gotta be kidding me…” Sunburst muttered to himself, starting to panic and hyperventilate. “What… What does it take to beat this guy?” “Yeah, where’s Zen-Aku and his Predazord when you need him?” Lightning asked. “This is what we get for trusting an Org to have our backs…” The Megazord charged Thrax once more, aiming to close with him and remove the range advantage of his wand as it slammed its katanas against the shaft of the wand, twisting one blade, aiming to slide down and take off Thrax's fingers, but Thrax took a leap backward, disengaging before that could happen. Thrax then elbowed the Megazord in the face as it stumbled backwards. Next thing the Rangers knew, Thrax was firing blast after blast of energy from one of the palms of his hands causing the Megazord to stagger even as lightning continued to rain down all around the two giants. “Might need to swap out for one of the auxiliary Zords if we’re going to beat this guy with all of this lightning raining down upon us!” Vapor shouted as her console sparked before she was blown backwards by a small explosion with Lightning rushing over and catching her adoptive sister in her arms. Thrax smirked, seeing the Megazord -Or to be more accurate, its pilots- were just about ready to be finished off, created a giant ball of lightning in his free hand and fired a stream of electricity right at the Megazord. It staggered forwards a bit, before toppling and hitting the ground face first. Meanwhile, the sky swirled and all five Rangers found themselves sucked into the swirling mass of clouds via a cyclone. “Enjoy your little vacation, Rangers!” Thrax laughed before teleporting away in a flash of fire back to the Nexus… Unknown Location: Groaning in pain as her eyes fluttered open, Vapor awoke to the sound of soft waves gently lapping at the shore. From what she could see as she picked herself up off the sand, there was nothing but palm trees, jungle paradise and seemingly never-ending blue skies for miles around. It looked like paradise, but from what Vapor remembered of their fight with Thrax -No, to be more accurate, their utter ass-kicking- it probably was far from paradise. No, that would be too much good luck for them, wouldn’t it? “Okay, where are we…?” Vapor murmured to herself as she walked over to Robert, still unconscious, and picked up his Fox Amulet and opened it up. She was hoping to get a map of the area they were in, but the little screen displayed nothing but what was known as white snow AKA static. Vapor cursed quietly to herself as she took another look around the area. Where the Tartarus could they possibly be? Just as the other Rangers were waking up, thunder cracked in the sky and a figure of Goldar appeared, only visible from the waist up. “Well, Rangers, enjoying your little trip?” He laughed. “Goldar!” Lightning snarled, going for her Crystal Saber and pointing it dangerously at him. “If you wanted to talk, come down here like a man and then we can have ourselves a little chat!” “It’s not him, just a projection,” Sunburst muttered as he walked up. “I’m willing to bet the real Goldar isn’t even here…” “Correct, Black Ranger!” Goldar laughed. “You’re more intelligent than I gave you credit for! Welcome Power Rangers, to the Island of Illusion! Hope you enjoy your stay here, as you’re never leaving…” With that, and another crack of thunder he vanished as Robert muttered “Oh Hell…” catching everypony’s attentions. “What’s wrong? You’ve never looked quite so scared in your life, not even when Sunset was in the hospital,” Vapor asked, noticing the expression of pure fear on Robert’s face. Granted, that was more rage than fear in that situation but Vapor knew Robert knew what she meant. “The Island of Illusion… It’s an alternate dimension, specifically designed to play on our worst fears, insecurities and perceived greatest failures. We need to get out of here, fast,” Robert explained, letting that statement settle in on the group before he frowned. “Question is… How?” “Well, way I see it…” Lightning replied, putting up a confident front even if inwardly she was terrified, knowing exactly what this island would conjure up for her. “We got in through a magical hole in the dimensions if I understand things, so there’s got to be a way out right? We just have to find it!” With that, she set off into the jungle with the other Rangers following close behind, Crystal Sabers drawn… “Oh no, oh no, oh no…” Twilight whispered as she paced back and forth in her guest bedroom at the Castle. From her window, she’ could only watch in horror as she saw Solar Flare teleport into the gardens and transform back into Celestia before the Solar Princess collapsed into the grass. “It’s happened again, she’s gone and destroyed the Rangers! I know it, I just know it! And it’s all my fault!” Twilight whispered, curling herself up into a fetal position near her bed. “I… I don’t deserve to be a Princess, not with what I’ve just done!” “You have done nothing of the sort Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said as she teleported into Twilight’s room, laying a hand upon her shoulder. “The Rangers are not destroyed, they are merely… trapped.” Twilight looked up at the Princess of the Night with teary eyes. “Really?” She whispered, wanting to believe Luna but finding it impossible to, knowing Solar Flare’s sheer power. “Yes, they’re in an alternate dimension not that far removed from that of the dream world I preside over. One that plays upon their worse fears and insecurities. I can go rescue them, but you must go rescue Celestia and separate her from that monster of a mare known as Solar Flare,” “But… But how?” Twilight asked and Luna simply smiled. “You’ve gotten this far, I know you’ll figure out a way. Tartarus, you already have with the Crystal of Dualities. All you need to do is get Celestia far away from this place and activate it.” “Yes… Yes, the Crystal!” Twilight suddenly shouted, as she got up off the floor and recomposed herself, brushing the dust off her midnight blue dress, and retying her mane in a bun as she grabbed her golden tiara. An expression of determination came over Twilight, Solar Flare’s reign ended today. Twilight pushed her bedroom door open with a creaking sound and turned to look back at Luna, mouthing a “Thank you” and running out the door all the while thinking “Stay strong Celestia, I’m coming…” The Island of Illusion: Back with the Rangers, they’d ventured further into the vast jungle that made up most of the island, the sweltering sun beating down on them as they used their Crystal Sabers to cut through the underbrush. Right now they were knee high in various fauna and tall grasses, strange animal sounds coming from just out of their line of vision. As she swatted a mosquito away, Lightning grumbled to herself “Oh yes, an island paradise that just so happens to hide a Jungle right from the depths of Tartarus and will fool with your mine! Real vacation spot, tell all your friends!” sarcastically. “Odd, you’d think by now the Island would be playing on our fears…” Sunburst pondered. “Maybe it’s late to the party and didn’t get the memo?” Lightning deadpanned, still keeping up that confident facade. But like any facade, it was soon to fall away as soon as she saw exactly what the Island conjured up for her, even if the others couldn’t. What she saw exactly was a pale blue pegasus, handsome even in his middle age with grey hair and wrinkles on his face wearing a brown flight jacket. “D-Dad…?” Lightning whispered. “N-No, you can’t be here…” “Oh dear... “ Wind Rider said softly, in an almost fatherly tone. Almost. “You know I’ll always be there when you need me most.” “Puh, yeah that’s a load of bullshit alright!” Lightning snapped. Sunset and Sunburst shared a look of confusion. “Who’s she talking to?” Sunset asked. “It’s already started…” Sunburst muttered as Lightning continued having a “Conversation”. “Seems you need me once again, as a real Wonderbolt would have found their way out of this jungle and saved their friends by now!” Wind Rider sneered. “No… No,” Lightning whispered, her bravado failing her completely when faced with her father. “I’m… I’m doing the best I can! I promise!” “Well, that’s not good enough!” Wind Rider roared. “If I’d raised you properly, you wouldn’t have gotten into this mess to start with! You’d have defeated and destroyed Thrax a long time ago!” Vapor wanted to call out to Lightning, tell her that whatever she was seeing wasn’t real, but she’d found herself facing a problem of her own, her greatest failure personified. Standing in front of her was a purple coated pony, brown hair and wearing glasses. But that wasn’t the most noticeable feature, oh no. That would have been the gaping hole in his chest. “Well well, look at what the cat dragged in,” Grape Vine remarked in his southern drawl as he shimmered into existence. “I see ya took up mah sword, very sporting of you. Now, Ah’ve been very hospitable about letting ya use mah powers, but Ah’m here to take them back now…” “No… No, you’re dead! I saw it! You can’t be here!” Vapor stammered out, taking a few steps backwards in fear as she was suddenly shown a vision. "Let her go, you filth." Grape snarled, all pretenses of joking around replaced by pure seriousness. "You'd better be keeping an eye on yourself, not on her!" Plug Org laughed, and before he could figure out what he meant, Grape was stabbed through the chest by his own Crystal Saber thanks to Turbine Org and soundly demorphed, blood gushing from his wound. Plug Org laughed and let Vapor go before both Orgs ran off laughing to themselves while Vapor ran over to Grape. "I... I shouldn't have gotten involved, b-but I-I did and now look what's happened!" Vapor sobbed, but Grape wiped away her tears and handed her his Growl Phone and Animal Crystal, it glowing purple when handed to its new owner. “But yet here Ah am…” Grape Vine said with a shrug, morphing right into the purple Ranger without the use of a Growl Phone and drawing his Crystal Saber before charging right towards Vapor… Not too far away, Robert had found his own worst nightmare, his own insecurities coming back to haunt him. In front of him stood Theo, his old Master. “You failed the Pai Zhau, you failed SPD, Hell you failed everything you set your mind to! Look at you now, trapped in a world that’s no longer your own and still trying to clean up your messes!” Theo lectured. “You were always arrogant and always had your mind on the nearest pretty girl to catch your eye, I don’t know why the Hell I ever accepted someone so unfocused as a student!” Like Vapor, Robert was shown a vision… “Okay, who wants to place bets? I’m betting on Casey.” Robert asked and Theo gave him a look. “Really?” He asked in annoyance. “Oh come on Theo, lighten up. This should be fun to watch!” Lily exclaimed giddily. “You gotta admit, seeing two Red Rangers fight might be interesting.” Theo sighed. “Alright, twenty-five bucks and a free Jungle Karma pizza to whoever wins this bet. Whoever loses, has to hand out towels AND wash them for the rest of the month. I’m going for Casey.” “Place me down for Samurai Girl.” Another student said and Lily nodded. “Same here, women can kick as much ass as men can so that’s why I’m voting in Lauren’s favor.” “I’ll go along with that.” Camille stated while Jarrod simply rolled his eyes and muttered: “You guys are idiots.” “That’s… That’s not true… I could focus when I wanted to!” Robert whispered before he rolled out of the way to dodge Theo’s Jaguar Spirit. “Really? Then prove it!” Theo taunted as he morphed into the Blue Jungle Fury Ranger. Meanwhile, Sunburst had found himself faced with an old demon like the others. In this case, Lightning Dust herself. She stood there, silently with one wing beside her, a bloody stump in it’s place. Sunburst knew this was his fault. After all, he’d gotten the Mirror Org to cause this, Lightning losing her wing having to get it replaced with that ugly looking mechanical knockoff and ruining her self-worth in the bargain. Sunburst, now fully recovered, threw one of his Shadow Hatchets at the Org. But before he knew it, the Org’s eyes glowed and Lightning was in his place. A wing fell to the ground as Lightning let out a horrific scream and clutched at the wound to stop the blood flow. “Lightning!” Vapor shouted as she saw her adopted sister demorph in a flash of light. Sunburst’s eyes widened under his helmet as he thought “Oh no! What… What did I… How did…?” Robert’s eyes widened as well and he yelled into his comm “Princess, get Lightning out of here and to the nearest hospital! Now!” Lightning scowled. While the rational part of her brain was telling her that the music played was entirely at random, she couldn’t help but think some part of the universe was mocking her… disability. She knew it, she’d never be a Wonderbolt again. Seems her dad was right all along, she’d never amount to anything in the end after all. “You bucking happy dad? Huh, are you bucking happy you bastard? There, I screwed up and look what bucking happened!” Lightning began to rant to her father, despite knowing very well he couldn’t hear her.. “Lost a wing, and now Sky Stinger’s the only member of this whole bucking family who’ll live up to your damned legacy!” Lightning snarled. He couldn’t even be bothered to even send her a sympathy card, for crying out loud! Just some small notice that he cared! But no, if her “Father” cared one jot about her, he would have shown it a long time ago. “Yeah, that’s dear old dad for ya, not giving a damn about somepony unless they benefit him directly, and I never really was a benefit to him. I was just one more child to look after, one more mouth to feed. More money to come out of his pocketbook, that’s all I was to him. All I ever will be,” She thought as she suddenly found herself gazing to where her wing once was. But to her surprise, the space wasn’t as empty as she thought it would be. Instead, there was a metal appendage, a crude copy of a wing with very sharp metal feathers and adorned with glowing runes gleaming with magic. “Great, so I’m a freak now. Wonderful,” Lightning thought sarcastically. “Should have just left the damn thing off and let me bleed to death,” Sunset found herself by a lake, mist steaming off the waters obscuring her vision. From somewhere within the gloom, a voice called out to her. “Gold huh?” a voice cackled. It was similar, but not exactly like Sunset’s own. More arrogant, more prideful. “Well, it always suited you, that’s for sure. Look at you, one of the most arrogant mares on Equus,” “No… It can’t be…” Sunset muttered to herself. “Oh, but it is,” the voice answered as an armored figure -Red and gold in coloration, with demonic bat wings erupting from her back- stepped out of the mist. “See you finally earned your wings. Congrats on that, guess you finally found what you’ve been searching for,” the dark Solaris Knight/Sunset taunted before she sighed. “Shame though, you could have been so much more if you’d just accepted my power…” “Then I’m sorry for what I’ve got to do. I’m sorry PRINCESS, but your reign is at an end.” I snarled and produced a red and gold trimmed item not unlike a conductor’s ticket puncher, but with numbers like a phone on it as well. Celestia’s eyes widened. “Sunset, don’t!” She cried, but it was too late. My path was already set in stone. “Magical Source, Mystic Force!” I yelled and punched a ticket and threw it and it enlarged itself and covered me with my body gaining crimson and golden armor and bat wings sprouted out of my back. I fired a blast of flame from my horn at Celestia who threw up a golden shield around herself before leaping forwards and drawing a navy blue and gold trimmed sword which she swung at me and I blocked its blow with a blade of fire before kicking my own teacher backwards into her throne. Royal Guards, led by Steel Sentry rushed into the room, but I put up a wall of fire between me and them. “Sorry boys, but this battle is between me and her. You’re not invited to this private party.” I smugly remarked, my head turned towards them... “No,” Sunset said defiantly. “I wasn’t ready to become a Princess, not then. And the way I earned my wings back then, it wasn’t the way I should have earned them. It was out of sheer irrational greed, that’s all there was to it. I knew that Solar Cell Morpher was corrupted, and yet I took it,” “Did you know it was corrupted? Or was it something else that made you take it and you’re just finding a way to excuse your own actions? Face it Sunny, I know you. After all, I am you.” Sunset’s past self asked, with her current self finding herself at a loss for words... Meanwhile, back with Twilight, she’d taken the Crystal of Dualities to Celestia, who was only now regaining consciousness. But once she saw the Crystal, her facial features contorted into abject rage and with a flash of flame morphed into the form of Solar Flare, and ignited a broadsword made solely of flame. The sword’s name: Daybreaker. “Just for that Sparkle… Just for even daring to even think of using that damned Crystal… You’re going to die,” Solar Flare snarled, no trace of Celestia in her. Solar Flare roared in rage and flew forwards, shrubbery and trees catching flame all around her as she rocketed towards Twilight, who stood firm as her horn charged up. “No, it’s you who’s dying today Solar Flare. Not me. Now… Do me a favor and give me Celestia back!” Twilight shouted in defiance and blasted the Crystal with a beam of magic, and then what happened next nobody could have predicted. Six beams, each a color of the universe’s first Rangers shot up into the sky and then slammed into Solar Flare one by one. Red, green, blue, yellow, pink and finally a navy blue beam hit her with tremendous force one right after the other before there was a bright flash of light and a high pitched scream of rage and pain as one being separated into two. As the flash cleared, there stood both Celestia and Solar Flare. “No… No!” Solar Flare screeched out as she felt her power divide by half, with the other half of her powers going to Celestia, who could only smile. “Thank you, Twilight… Thank you for freeing me…” She whispered, looking at Twilight’s unconscious form. She’d been blasted back into a tree by the sheer power of the Crystal’s usage. She then turned to Solar Flare, drawing her shortsword, nicknamed “Feather Edge”. Celestia’s gigantic white wings unfurled themselves to their full expanse, the combination of them and her pure white dress along with her golden crown making her look almost angelic in the sunlight. By contrast, Solar Flare, dripping pure hot magma from her charcoal black body and her burnt orange battle armor with pillars of flames erupting behind her looked like something right out of the darkest pits of Hell itself. Solar Flare roared in rage and ignited her sword as she flew towards Celestia, fully intent on ending her existence. Blade met blade, and both combatants were blown backwards before they ignited their horns as they took to the skies. Celestia fired a gold beam of energy, Solar Flare a pure angry red. “Look at you Celestia, you and your ponies are so large in power capital, why not just use all of that and conquer everything in this land?” Solar Flare asked as the magic beams met in midair and struggled for dominance briefly before canceling each other out. Solar Flare then fired a blast of pure flame from her mouth, and Celestia created a golden energy shield to block it. “You’ve got the power, so why not use it?” “Because I’m not you,” Celestia said calmly as she flew past Solar Flare at blinding speed and sliced her across the chest. “You’re nothing but rage and hate personified. I gave birth to you, yes, when that one human had his way with me and I let my anger get the better of me, wanting revenge… But you know something?” “What, that you’re a weak excuse for an Alicorn?” Solar Flare taunted, the wound in her chest healing almost at once, magma replacing what had been lost. “No, I moved on. To be honest, for all that crap the humans may have committed over the years, we’re no different, you and I,” Celestia admitted sadly, a tear slipping from her eyes. A smirk came to Solar Flare’s face as she flapped her wings. She had her, but that smirk was soon to fade. “Solar Flare… I honestly feel pity for you even after all you’ve done. We’re no different than the humans themselves. We feel the same emotions: rage, hate, and all of that. But we can love and protect as well, protect those who can’t do the same for themselves. Isn’t that our responsibility as their “Betters”?” Celestia asked kindly, before switching to a sarcastic tone when she said the word “Betters”. “We’re not better than they are, nobody’s better than anybody else. We don’t decide who lives or who dies. That doesn’t make us gods, just monsters.” “Shut up! I said shut up!” Solar Flare screeched in a harpy-like fashion, but still, Celestia continued to speak. Even as Celestia spoke, the two clashed swords again, blade meeting blade, embers flying off Daybreaker as its flames met the cold steel of Feather Edge. “You were born in rage and fire, and forged me into the ruler I am today. Yes, that meant at times I had to give into a lust for battle and on occasion, exercise my powers, but without that, the nation may have fallen into turmoil from any number of threats like Discord or King Sombra. But all the while, I never went too far… Not like you did. I still had that capacity to care, while you… You had none of that. For that reason, and that reason alone I feel nothing but pity for you. Now, you might remember me saying this time and time again, but I really hate chess. It's a useful mental exercise. And through the years, many thinkers have been fascinated by it. But I don't enjoy playing. Do you know why?” Celestia questioned as she flew around to evade a downward strike from Solar Flare and sliced her dark half in the side with a swing from Feather Edge in a rare moment of catching her off guard. But like before, broiling magma replaced what had been lost. “Because it was a game that was born during a brutal age when life counted for little and everyone believed that some people were worth more than others. Kings and pawns. I don't think that any being is worth more than another being. Life isn’t a game, not to me,” she explained to her counterpart as she met blades with Solar Flare again. “Real beings aren't pieces. And you can't assign more value to some of them than to others. Not to me. Not to anyone. Ponies, my Little Ponies nor anybody else are not a thing that you can sacrifice. The lesson that I’m trying to teach is that anypony who looks on the world as if it was a game of chess, deserves to lose. And that’s what’s going to happen to you.” the Princess of the Sun stated firmly. Next, she became a blur of pure white energy and next thing Solar Flare knew Celestia axe kicked her in the shoulder sending her plummeting towards the ground. Solar Flare regained her senses at the very last moment and teleported away from Celestia before in several flashes of orange light she slashed at Celestia again and again in blurs of motion. “Don’t you get it yet Celly?” Solar Flare mocked. “For all your talk about defeating me and your moral high ground, you’re still too afraid to just use all of your full power all just because of little things like “Civilian casualties” and the like.” Solar Flare smirked, even as she created a sphere of miniature suns around Celestia which bombarded her with solar blast after solar blast. Finally, the bombardment ended, with the Princess of the Sun barely keeping herself aloft. Celestia, even as she groaned in pain admitted that her dark half was right for once. She had plenty of power, this just wasn’t the place to use it. Not with this many ponies around. “Well then…” Celestia remarked, a smirk coming to her face as pure white feathers fell from her wings and to the ground below. “Let’s take this elsewhere, somewhere a bit safer shall we?” With that, she rocketed at Solar Flare in a blur of motion and opened up a portal lined with golden glowing runes and shoved her dark half into it before following in after her... Author's Note Okay, first off, apologies for the wait. Schoolwork's a pain in the ass, that's all I'm going to say. Secondly, I really had to think hard about how this chapter had to go, as I've been building up to this moment for a while now so I wanted to make sure everything was just right. Hopefully, unlike the last time I wrote a chapter of this length, you'll be able to keep up with what's going on. As for the new theme, (And sorry if I had to use Topic as I know it doesn't work for everyone, I couldn't embed a Youtube Video directly and skip past Pellek's intro so I had to use this version) I thought because I've been using Wild Force's theme for a while now, I thought it was time to change things up seeing as how we've reached the halfway point in the story. Now, one last thing, if anyone can guess exactly Sunset is so confused on why sex is so pleasurable, you get a virtual cookie. (Just PM me your answer, as I want to keep it a secret for now for character arc reasons) I'd offer you up the identity of the new White Dino Thunder Ranger, but I think the answer is obvious if you're willing to do a bit of reading. ...Actually, if Sunset and Robert's relationship takes up too much of the story, please tell me. I do want to give equal focus to every character. (Also, again give thanks to Eagle Paladin of Shadows for the Megazord VS Thrax fight scene and the ending battle)
Part 46: Gods Fall, Knights Rise (A Solar Tyrant's Fall Part 3 of 3)The Island of Illusion: “Oh face it Princess…” the corrupted Solaris Knight mocked. “You’ve never been fighting for good, not really,” she commented in a mock-sweet tone of voice as the sheer heat her flamed wings began to clear away the mist. “You just want to show off your power, solidify that you’re worthy of being a Princess. Like all those years ago when you had your little tantrum and created me. Still hiding your insecurities. Or have we forgotten this little gem?” With that, she waved her hand and Sunset was hit with another flashback, back to when she returned to being a Ranger and found herself face to face with a newly revived Goldar himself. With that, Sunset threw both her Crystal Saber and Phoenix Blade at Goldar like boomerangs and he knocked them away with two swings of his sword. He was then soundly roundhouse kicked in the face by Sunset who rebounded off of him and landed on the ground with a soft thud. Goldar fired some fireballs at Sunset, but she created two rotating hard light shields of rune-inscribed magic and deflected them again and again simply continuing to stride forwards. As she did so, she picked up her weapons off the ground and slashed downwards at Goldar who blocked the blades with his own. He chuckled. “Guardian angel or not, fancy swordplay and magic won’t be enough to save you,” Goldar said as he whirled around and tried to use his tail to trip up Sunset but she leaped upwards and kicked the baboon-like monster in his chest plate sending him staggering back. Goldar swung again and his blade met Sunset’s own, sparks flying as metal ground up against metal. Sword met sword, again and again, each fighter closing in and drawing back each time they thought they had an opening but each time sword met sword. “Face it, this time you’re out-matched.” “Oh, but I’m done holding back. Just this once, I’ll let you see my true power. Every time I go into a fight, I have to think, is this the one? Is this the one who’ll let me show off just how powerful I really am and not have to worry about others getting in the way? Well, now I have my answer. This time… I can cut loose and show you just what you’re getting into when you pick a fight with a Princess of Equestria.” Sunset replied, standing firm even in the face of complete and utter power. “You weren’t protecting your friends back then… You were just making sure everybody around knew you were this all-powerful Princess and that everybody shouldn’t fuck with you, isn’t that right?” the Knight mocked and Sunset staggered. “N-No… That’s not… not true and you know it!” Sunset stammered out, tears falling down her face. Her hand barely kept a grip on her Phoenix Blade. “Doesn’t sound like any World of Cardboard speech to me. Hardly, sounds more like somepony who’s trying to just scare everybody. And believe me, you don’t think the populace is scared? There’s five of you, five Alicorn Princesses each with tremendous power,” the Dark Solaris Knight continued, counting them off on her fingers one by one. “And as we already know, at least two can fall to darkness. First it was Luna, then you. And as the public now knows, Princess Celestia can fall to that kind of lust for power. They’re fighting it out right now even as we speak, didn’t you know?” she asked before smirking under her helmet as she saw Sunset take another step back and her eyes widen in shock. “Oh, you didn’t? Shame…” The Knight shook her head before continuing. “Ask yourself, how much denial do you have to go through before you realize I’m telling the truth? I’m you, you know. I know every part of you. Ask yourself… When will the populace, that little bunch of sheep rebel against their shepherds out of pure fear and dethrone them?” “That… will never… happen,” Sunset snarled. “Not as long as I- “Not as long as you’re what?” the Knight asked. “Around? You’ve nearly been killed once by a fearful mob, what’s to say it won’t happen again?” “Hey, there she is! There’s the human lover who brought destruction on our homes with her curse!” a male voice shouted. Sunset saw a mob in front of her led by a brown pony in a black fedora. The mob wielded various tools and weapons, like hammers, pitchforks, torches, spears and even a few guns. Sunset’s eyes widened. She knew this might happen sooner or later but she had hoped it wouldn’t come to this. “Best you get going. I don’t want you to get caught up in the middle of this. This could get ugly,” Sunset told Navi, but Navi shook her head. “No, I’m not leaving you,” Navi said firmly. “I think these fools need to be taught a lesson.” “Fine by me,” Sunset sighed and sprinted towards the angry and bigoted mob. She had already decided it would be best not to use her full power for two reasons. One, she’d rather not bring the wrath of Solar Flare down on her head and two, they were just scared. They didn’t know any better and weren’t outright evil like the Orgs or their Master or that hunter Bunglay. With a quick slice of her Crystal Saber she sliced a snub nosed revolver in half and twisted its user’s arm. There was the distinct crack of bone and the pony screamed out in pain. “Best you get a brain and get yourself to a hospital. They should heal you right up, and if you have any intelligence left in that damn fool head of yours, I’d suggest you not try this again,” Sunset said in a weary tone of voice, completely tired of all the bigotry and hatred that was directed towards humankind. “Die, human loving scum!” a voice bellowed behind her. Sunset whirled around to kick the fedora wearing pony in the gut, making him stagger back. Another pony, one with brown fur and a yellow curly mane tried to attack Sunset by punching her in the side of her skull, but Sunset moved her head forwards at the last minute, causing the fist to meet empty air. She then slammed her knee into the pony’s stomach, dropping them instantly. Another tried to impale her with a pitchfork, but Sunset leaped on top of the improvised weapon before leaping off it and cleaved the head from the tool with one clean stroke. Next, a stallion tried to take a swipe at her with a blazing torch, but Sunset formed a light green pentagram shield in one of her hands and blocked the blow before knocking the pony back with her hard light shield. “The ponies you care so much about aren’t as loving and accepting as you’d like them to be, face it.” the Solaris Knight said before Sunset had finally had enough and socked her counterpart right in the jaw with a powerful flaming punch. “Shut up,” Sunset stated simply. “Maybe that’s true, maybe what you’re saying really does have some merit. But even if it is… Things change. Everything evolves and changes, including the opinions of the populace. It’ll probably be slow, like all big changes, but things will change. I can promise you that. And you… You shall never exist again!” she shouted, squeezing her fists tightly. Even as she did so, she heard a loud screech and saw what looked like to be a folded up bow with a falcon’s head adorning it form in her fist. “What the…?” Sunset thought before inspecting her new weapon and then with a red glow, she saw an Animal Crystal teleporting into her other free hand. Red, with a small falcon inside it. The bow unfolded, with the falcon’s ‘wings’ unfurling themselves as Sunset pocketed the new crystal. Sunset drew the weapon’s “arrow” back and fired a piercing beam of energy right through the heart of her double. With a loud scream, the Dark Solaris Knight erupted into flame before exploding into red energy. “...Good riddance.” Sunset sighed, panting and sweating. Elsewhere, both Celestia and Solar Flare tumbled out of a portal and into a manmade lake located at a long-abandoned rock quarry in the middle of a pine forest. Large splashes of water erupted as they hit the lake before both a white and then an orange form erupted from it and rocketed skywards, hot steam coming off both of their forms. Slice and dice, they went, rocketing past each other at high speed, their wings ripping and shredding into their bodies in one very deadly dance. Celestia soared high above her counterpart and with the aura of a golden flaming Phoenix surrounding her, she came down towards Solar Flare. Then, Celestia sliced her counterpart right down the middle with Feather Edge and a shout of “Heavenly Bifurcation Slash!” Now normally, that would have finished off anything. But Solar Flare wasn’t just anything, as she laughed as her two halves ended up reuniting with magma filling the gaps. “Celestia… Celestia…” Solar Flare sighed, as she shook her head, her great black wings keeping her aloft. “When will you get the message? Nothing you can do, not in your current state anyways, will ever hurt me. I’m fire, you’re fire. Simple as that. I just absorb whatever you throw at me, and add that power to my own. Here’s a taste of it…” Solar Flare fired a beam of pure hot flame at Celestia, hitting her in the chest and sending her crashing into a quarry wall, spiderweb cracks spreading out from where she impacted. Solar Flare could only continue to smirk as Celestia launched herself at her like a bullet and hit her head on, piercing her through the chest with her horn used as a makeshift lance. Celestia soon found herself bucked away by Solar Flare as the gaping wound in the Solar Tyrant’s chest healed itself. Solar Flare unleashed what could only be described as a flamethrower from her mouth and sent Celestia plummeting towards the ground. Solar Flare smirked -as like some fallen angel- she floated down to her counterpart’s level. The sun was behind her, casting a shadow on her already darkened and scorched form. Small little flares erupted from whatever part of Solar Flare’s body that wasn’t covered by armor. As Celestia struggled to pick herself up off the ground, pillars of fire (Created by Solar Flare) erupted from the ground all around her. The sheer heat scorched her wings as one pillar erupted right next to her and Celestia screamed out in pain, looking towards her blackened and charred left wing. “Give up,” Solar Flare sighed. “You’ve been a good little host, that I’ll admit. But honestly… You’ve gotten too preachy, too rebellious. I actually have to thank Twilight for separating us, now I can finally shut you up myself.,” Solar Flare’s evil smirk only widened as a thought came to her. “You know, after I’m done with you here… I think I’ll go pay her a visit. Thank her and all that,” she remarked, placing a hand to her chin in thought. Her other hand ignited Daybreaker once again, taking a Tachi like shape. Similar to a katana in form, but longer. “Think about it Celly… the sheer screams of terror she’ll create as I burn her worthless form to ashes. There’s only room for one Alicorn on this planet, and sadly… It’s not her.” That really did it, as quicker than Solar Flare could think, Celestia rocketed into her and sent her flying to the other end of the quarry before bombarding her with blasts of miniature suns. “You… You shall not touch my student, nor shall you harm anybody on this planet ever again,” Celestia stated firmly, horn glowing golden as the suns flicked out of existence, one by one. “Your reign’s long since been rendered defunct. You’ve been dethroned. A new era’s coming, and your kind… Ones who rely on bigotry, hatred, manipulation and fear. You’ll never be a part of it.” “And who’s going to stop me?” Solar Flare laughed as she picked herself off the ground. “You?” “Yes, me.” Celestia said as her eyes narrowed and she drew Feather Edge once again. It was a short sword, three and a half foot long in blade length, the blade itself a blue color. It had a silver-colored guard, with a hilt of black, yellow, white and red resembling wings in some form. In an instant, Celestia was on Solar Flare, getting inside her evil counterpart’s swing, striking with lightning fast strokes of her shorter blade, Solar Flare blocking them with her tachi, though the Solar Princess’ close proximity prevented her from using it fully. She occasionally managed to drive Celestia back with a burst of flames, trying to keep her where she could use her sword properly, but every time Celestia would slip back in close. And then, she’d renew her assault as soon as the flames died down. The pair's battle rages across the quarry, neither getting the upper hand as they countered each other's moves almost flawlessly, it seemed they would be locked in battle for eternity, a never-ending stalemate... The Island of Illusion: Meanwhile, Robert found himself in a fight of his own as he ducked, dodged and weaved to avoid the rapid-fire blows of Theo’s Jungle Tonfas. And every time he tried to score a strike of his own in, Theo masterfully blocked it. “Look at you… You’re the same as when I took you in and started training you. Arrogant as always,” Theo sighed in disappointment as a powerful chi-infused palm strike sent Robert flying back into a tree. “There’s always someone bigger than you, and yet you take them on like some little pup fighting against the big boys.” Robert clutched his chest in pain, that hit had landed right where the Barbed Wire Org had raked him with his barbed wire. He struggled to stand, but fell to the ground in pain and let out a scream. “Spirit’s fading fast from you… Don’t even know why you’re worthy of it,” Theo remarked as he advanced towards Robert. He grabbed a pillar with his hands and ripped it out of the ground before tossing it towards the Orange Ranger who barely crawled out of the way in time. “Foxes are supposed to be tricksters. Creative in a fight. Yet you just charge in without any plans, hoping you’ll win the day and showing off like some arrogant fool. Newsflash for you, Robert, you’re no Captain Marvelous.” “...Ever heard the phrase “Crazy as a Fox?” Robert asked as he stood back up, wincing in pain as he did so. “Besides, foxes treat life as fun and games. That’s how you claim I treat life, right? Like one big game?” He was soundly punched in the jaw for his troubles. “Robert…” a feminine voice trailed through the forest as a very familiar midnight blue Alicorn came into being. “Don’t listen to the guy, he’s not real and you know it.” “L-Luna…?” Robert blinked out, unsure if the Island was playing games with him some more. “No… I’m not a trick. This world is like a dream, so it’s quite easy for me to just slip into it and talk to the inhabitants,” Luna replied, before blasting ‘Theo’ away with a magical bolt from her horn. “Now, I admit I probably have no business talking to you as a friend-” “Oh gee, you think? You broke my heart you know,” Robert snapped before he sighed. “Then again, I suppose I deserved that. God knows I’ve broken how many hearts before I met you. Karma is sort of a bitch isn’t it?” “Anything I’d say to you right now would probably come off as cruel, if we were to talk about our little relationship. So I come to you not as a friend, or a lover, but as an ally. Think about this Robert. You knew Theo when he was alive. Would he ever say these things to you? A teacher is supposed to encourage his students, not belittle them!” “But maybe I deserve that…” Robert muttered. Luna soundly slapped him across the face. “No, not like this. Think about this Robert, you created this nightmare of yours from your own insecurities, so you know it’s not true!” Luna replied before placing her hands squarely on his shoulders and looking him directly in the eyes. A dawning realization came to Robert as he whirled around to face Theo, who was getting back up. “Still going to try and fight m-” Theo mocked before he was slammed into a tree by Robert’s Kitsune Spirit. “Shut up. Just shut your trap for once. You’re not Theo, just a caricature of him. A fairly bad one at that. The real one… He’d accept me as I am, flaws and all. That’s why I wasn’t thrown out of the Pai Zhau. Hell, if Theo was willing to accept Jarrod, who hosted Dai Shi for crying out loud, and Dai Shi’s mistress Camille… Then I know he’d accept me. You are nothing like him,” Robert snarled, before he found a glowing blue orb descending from the skies into his hand. His eyes widened as he found himself with a new Animal Crystal, a light blue one containing a swallow inside it. “Now…” Robert snarled, charging up one of his fists full of chi before striking sending the false Theo flying. “Begone.” Robert then found himself remorphing back into the Orange Ranger in a flash of light holding both his Kitsune Blaster and a giant blue boomerang. (Presumably the Swallow Zord’s signature weapon) He turned to face a smiling Luna and growled out “Now, where are the others?” The others, as Robert had asked, were busy dealing with their own inner demons. “Look at you daughter of mine… How you’ve grown…” Wind Rider said, his voice taking a rare note of kindness before it changed to one of disgust. “And here I actually thought you’d make something of yourself.” “Shut up. Just shut up…” Lightning Dust snarled, not too far away from reaching her boiling point. “Mystic Mother above…” Wind Rider sighed, eyeing Lightning’s metal wing as if it were a cancerous tumor. “You even had to get a prosthetic wing just because of how much of a dumbass you were! Reckless! Idiotic! Hot-tempered! Is that what makes for a Wonderbolt in these days?” “No… No, it’s not…” Lightning Dust admitted. “But you know what, dad?” she asked spitting out the name in disgust. “What? You’re going to say that you’ve changed?” Lightning’s father asked in disbelief, barely holding back a laugh. “Exactly, I’ve changed. Maybe not as quickly as I should have, but I’m growing up. There’s bound to be a few missteps along the way, right?” She asked before she glared at her father. “You, however, haven’t changed one bit. I’ve been waiting a very long time to say these words, but you’ve always been out on tour or living it up in Las Pegasus with mares far younger than you like some rockstar so I never could! But here you are…” “Yeah?” Wind Rider asked. “And what are those words?” “Buck you. Just buck you and the high horse you rode in on! You’ve always thought you were better than me, that all stallions are better than mares! Well, newsflash for you and your bullshit, don’t know if you’ve heard but some of Equestria’s greatest heroes are mares! And then there are the damn Princesses! Sky never fell for your bullshit, -the little prized possession of yours that he was- so why should I, huh!?!” Lightning snapped and her father took a step back in shock before he tripped. Tripped and fell into a deep chasm that Lightning could have sworn wasn’t there before. The thing with the Island of Illusion, it might have miscalculated just how much anger Lightning was holding back at her father over the years. It thought she was still a little filly, too afraid to stand up to him. But that evidently wasn’t the case. Elsewhere, Sunburst was looking at Lightning’s duplicate. She never spoke, but in Sunburst’s mind, she never had to. Her eyes, a mix of disappointment and disgust said it all to him. She stared directly at him, seemingly judging him for what he’d done. “I… I know… I know I messed up okay?” Sunburst stammered out. “I’m the cause of what happened to you! If I hadn’t interfered, you’d still have that wing! Not… not that prosthetic you’re stuck with!” And Sunburst continued. “You… You know something Lightning? Sometimes… Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I’d taken your place. Lost my horn, wouldn’t be that much of a handicap to me now would it? Barely can use the damn thing anyways…” And then Lightning finally spoke. “Is that really true Sunny?” she asked before she snapped her fingers. Sunburst knew the scene shown, it was from his own memories after all. Tartarus, he wrote the damn thing down for crying out loud! “With the stealth and bite of a Vampire Bat, Black Vampire Bat Ranger!" I cried out, with more confidence than I had ever yelled it out before. “Time to make this bell stop its ringing… permanently.” I snarled to myself before I cried “Dino Morpher Blast!” and sent the Org flying with a powerful blast of black light and a head shaped like my Zord’s own following it, perhaps our two power sets mixing together in some way. Then, I focused all my energy into my horn and sent it skywards and then the clouds boiled, as if someone had flicked on a light switch for them. Rolling thunder, upon the rain. And then a powerful bolt of white hot lightning struck the bell cage, blasting it to smithereens and freeing my fiance, who gave me a look of complete and utter shock. “And another thing, Sunny…” Lightning continued before bringing him into a deep hug, something he knew the real Lightning Dust would never do. She never showed her feelings, not like that anyways. But then she punched him in the gut, something Sunburst knew the real Lightning would do. “Stop blaming yourself! Nothing’s ever your fault, it’s always those damn Orgs we have to blame for the crap we get put through these days, nobody else’s, understand?” “Yeah… yeah,” Sunburst murmured before Lightning began to fade away. “I do understand…” Finally, Grape Vine and Vapor faced off, but instead of using weapons, they used words. “Ya know somethin'?” Grape asked as he kneed Vapor in the gut making her stagger back. “Ah was a fool to entrust ya with mah powers! Mah powers!” “No… No, I’ve been using them well! Carrying on your legacy!” Vapor whispered back, trying very hard to hold back her tears. Here was somebody she loved, yes, loved, right in front of her yelling at her and calling her a failure. “You asked me to do that, remember? Right before you died?” “That was a mistake, now that Ah think about it… I should have just died without passing on mah powers, seeing as how yer doing nothin’ good with them!” Grape Vine shouted back. “I’ve… I’ve been trying as hard as I can! I promise that!” Vapor stammered out. “Then yer not tryin’ hard enough!” Grape Vine roared. “Look at ya, it took ya Celestia knows how long to track down the two Orgs that killed me, and even then you had to have help to take down one of them! Face it Vapor, you’re a failure as my legacy, and now I’ve come to take my powers back!” As Grape raised his trident to impale Vapor upon it, he found himself shoved backwards as Luna strode forth from the treeline. “Halt and shut thy tongue, imposter!” Luna yelled -briefly lapsing into Old English in her anger- as ropes of dark blue magic wrapped and coiled themselves around Grape Vine, tying him to a tree. “Thou shalt not do any further talking, not if I have anything to say about it!” She then turned to Vapor, and brought the younger mare into a hug. “Vapor… You know perfectly well as I do that’s not the Grape Vine you know, so… why?” “Because…” Vapor sniffled. “Well, you’re the Princess of Dreams, you’re constantly peering into ponies heads and helping them with their fears so you know perfectly well why!” She shouted. “You still haven’t forgiven yourself for his death, have you?” Luna inquired, as Vapor sobbed into her shoulder. “N-No… No, I haven’t…” She sniveled. “I know I should, but…” “Seeing him die in your arms, and the fact that you loved him is keeping you from moving on, isn’t it?” Luna asked. “Yeah… and he brought up some good points. I… I should have hunted down both of those Orgs sooner, and avenged his death!” “You couldn’t have just gone out and found them you know, Orgs are nearly impossible to track. They only let you find them if they want you to, or you just get lucky and stumble on them sadly… If that weren’t the case, I myself would have hunted down a few and removed some of the load from your team.” “Really?” Vapor asked in surprise, her eyes widening and Luna nodded before she grabbed Vapor by the shoulders, looking at her kindly but in a firm way as well. “Now you know Grape’s speaking falsely, you know this isn’t him… So stand up and face your fears!” Luna commanded. “Right…” Vapor muttered as she turned to face Grape before looking at him. “You… You’re not the Grape Vine I grew up with. The one I knew, he would have encouraged me, Tartarus… He did right before he died! You’re nothing but a parody, a satire!” Vapor exclaimed and Grape began to fade away, and stagger back as if each verbal blow was actually a physical one. “...Luna’s right, I’ve been blaming myself for his death for far too long… Now it’s time to stop.” With that, Grape exploded into a cloud of purple smoke. Vapor, shaking her head sadly as she closed a door to her past forever, looked at Luna who was smiling proudly at her for defeating her inner demons. Like Robert and Sunset before them, all three Rangers then found themselves with new Animal Crystals. Vapor, a grey, and purple toned Stingray while Sunburst gained an aqua colored -with gold detailings- Peacock and Lightning earned herself a brown Boar. All the Rangers soon found themselves meeting up on the beach once more. “Everybody okay?” Vapor asked in concern and the rest of the Rangers nodded. Then, thunder cracked as ugly looking storm clouds rolled in from the distance. A red bolt of lightning descended from the oncoming typhoon as the waves began to pick up and slam themselves against the rocks on the beach in a violent manner. The bolt, as it hit the ground turned into Goldar, and all the Rangers went for their weapons. “Well… I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting that! I thought you’d be trapped here forever, in this dream!” Goldar chuckled as he went for his sword. “Well, guess I’ll just have to deal with you myself. “Man, do you ever get tired of talking?” Lightning asked. “Newsflash, this isn’t a real dream!” Robert nodded in agreement and Goldar laughed again. “What makes you so sure, hmm?” He asked. “Well, if this was a real dream… I’d probably find myself being ravished by very sexy mares clad in leather. But we can’t have everything we want, now can we?” Robert quipped, smirking in a cocky manner before Sunburst spoke up. “In order to get something, you have to give something up. I admit we did have to give up a lot to get where we are Goldar, but that pain… that hurt… It’s a part of us. Made us grow. You just only let us know that. Tell your boss that for us will you?” the Black Ranger added. “ So if I were you, I’d stop talking and shut that mouth of yours before we shut it for you.” “Go ahead and try!” Goldar boasted. “You got it…” Lightning Dust smirked. Then, as one the Rangers, as Goldar stared slack-jawed in horror raised their arms skywards and shouted “Lights of Orion, activate!” and became adorned with the implements of the Orion Armor. They flashed forwards and one by one sliced him across the chest plate and then leaped skywards. As their Crystal Sabers transmuted into Crystal Swords, the Rangers manifested in the shape of giant lion’s paw and sliced Goldar down the middle in five different ways before he fell forwards and exploded in a fireball. “Okay… Now that he’s done with…” Robert asked as he dusted himself off and looked around the area. “How the Hell do we get out of here?” Sunset smiled as Luna gestured to the Falcon Summoner and then to the storm cloud filled sky, which was rapidly swirling into a vortex. “You got in that way, I see no reason why you cannot leave in the same fashion…” Luna trailed off and Sunset nodded before firing the Falcon Summoner and unleashing a ball of red energy into the vortex. Next thing anybody heard was the sound of a loud screech and the flapping of two massive wings... With Celestia and Solar Flare: Back at the quarry, Solar Flare and Celestia slid backwards on their hooves, dust and gravel being stirred up. They’d met blades once again, and once again, like before neither had made no headway. That was the trouble with fighting a doppelganger, they knew every move you were going to make ahead of time or how to counter it. Panting, Celestia looked to the skies as thunder rumbled and a loud screech was heard. Her first thought was the Thunderbird Zord, but that was quickly changed when what emerged from the swirling clouds was most assuredly not the Thunderbird of legend. It was mostly red, with a much larger wingspan. While the Thunderbird Zord was 60 meters from wingtip to wingtip, this one had to be at least 72 meters from wingtip to wingtip, and Celestia was only guessing. It had much larger ‘tail feathers’ as well, and had white chest feathers which led up to the head of a falcon, with a golden beak and two piercing green eyes. It let out two loud screeches of triumph as it flew off into the sky. All five Rangers leaped down from it and landed behind Celestia with a loud thud. “Sorry we’re late, had to deal with some unfinished business,” Sunset stated, as she looked towards Solar Flare, whose eyes narrowed when she saw Robert. “You…” She hissed out, and the air seemed to grow even hotter, if that was possible. “Yes, me,” Robert snarled as his eyes narrowed under his visor and he slammed an armored fist against his palm. “Time for you to die, no ifs, ands, or buts. You’ve lived long enough, time to fix that.” “And how are you going to stop me, Orange Ranger? With snappy comebacks and flirtatious one-liners?” Solar Flare laughed. “Oh, I’m not going to be the one to stop you, just going to be helping out… Her, on the other hand… Well, that’s another matter entirely.” Robert trailed off as he pulled out the Solar Cell Morpher and tossed it to Celestia shouting: “Here, catch!” “No… NO!” Solar Flare screeched out in fury as Celestia caught the Morpher, and in a flash of energy, it’s color changed from a furious violent red to a more calming dark cobalt blue. She pulled out a red and gold ticket and punched it before throwing it. “Magical Source, Mystic Force!” Celestia yelled as the ticket enlarged itself and covered her, before she emerged with elaborate gold and dark blue armor grafted to her form. “Out of the Fire and into the Fight! Power of the Sun, Solaris Knight!” Celestia yelled out as her face became covered by a helmet to finish the morph. Her charred wings became a pure, glistening white once more. They expanded to their full length and width, as the armor of the now purified Solaris Knight powers gleamed in the sun. An explosion of pure Morphin’ Grid energy erupted from behind the Princess of the Sun as she stood ready for battle. Celestia kept up her sword swings, slicing and dicing into Solar Flare as the Rangers used their Lights of Orion boosted weapons to keep Solar Flare constantly on the defensive. Sunset struck with a powerful horizontal slash flinging a wave of golden light towards Solar Flare as Celestia did another Heavenly Bifurcation Slash at the exact same moment. While Solar Flare was still recovering, Sunburst dived in with his Jungle Fans and dealt out a flurry of devastating slashes. Each attack from the main ranger team was so quick, so devastating it was impossible for Solar Flare to pay attention to both them and Celestia. So, either she dodged or deflected one attack, but was hit by another Ranger’s strike. Lightning Dust lashed out with twin whips of golden electricity and Solar Flare, while she was deflecting a strike from Celestia’s sword, suddenly found herself screaming out in pain as the whips raked themselves across her body. Again and again, they struck, and while Solar managed to dodge some of these blows, Celestia got her own hits in with Feather Edge. Robert pulled out both the Sparrowrang and his Kitsune Blaster. He fired a Kitsune Scattershot and Solar Flare was forced to rocket upwards and fire off flames to cancel out the heat-seeking shots before she was struck over and over by the light blue form of the Sparrowrang. As she plummeted towards the ground, Vapor and Celestia shared a nod before they used a Leviathan's Rage/Celestial Prism Slash combo and sent Solar Flare crashing into the ground. “Had enough?” Celestia asked calmly, as Solar Flare struggled to stand, bleeding pure hot magma everywhere. “Not yet… I won’t fall, not when I’m free at last!” “Then…” Celestia said sadly, as she shook her head and for a moment, felt brief pity towards her other self. It didn’t have to be this way, they could have lived in harmony, coexisting as one. But Solar Flare decided to take the route of a tyrant who ruled through fear. “...What happens next, is on your head. Rangers?” All five Rangers nodded, before they became one large fireball of golden energy and rocketed through Solar Flare, leaving a gaping wound in her chest. As the Rangers turned back to look at Solar Flare, a bright, almost blinding flash lit up the area. Next thing they knew, something absolutely colossal and radiating heat towered above them, laughing. “Sweet Mother Mary and Joseph… Permission to say oh cock?” Robert squeaked out in terror as he looked up towards the now gigantic Solar Flare. “Don’t worry Robert Williams, I can handle her. I’m not afraid of her… not anymore.” Celestia stated firmly. She then reached for her Solar Cell Morpher and punched another ticket. A sharp whistle cut through the air like a blade as the Ponyville Express began to move of its own accord away from the station. No engineer, nothing. Its wheels began to turn and it picked up speed as it raced at a surely impossible speed towards the now kaiju sized Solar Flare. Then, a golden spell seal appeared and the Express flew right through it, undergoing a transformation as it grew in size. What came out was something entirely different than what had gone through. The massive gold, red and dark blue Zord resembled a steam locomotive of late 19th Century America, measuring a lengthy 200 meters from the front of the locomotive to its final car. The smoke box door consisted of a red center circle with a concentric ring of gold, from which; gold octopus-like arms wrapped around the smokebox to form a blazing sun. The sand dome and steam dome were of the same shade of blue as the locomotive itself, and the blue chimney had a gold ring atop of it. The gold cow catcher had three bright lights at the leading edges, left, right and centre. The boiler, slightly wider than the smokebox itself, had lights attached to the sides, beneath gold pipes that trailed all the way back to the cab. The leading bogie consisted of two pairs of gold wheels and the similar gold driving wheels, of which there were also two pairs, were connected to the connecting rod. That rod, itself was connected to the end of the piston rod allowing power to be transmitted through the side rods. The color scheme of red, blue and gold continued all the way from the tender car to the passenger cars. Another sharp whistle cut through the air as fire erupted from the ground near the train, and it took to the skies using rails of light to dodge and weave between the flames. As the train barrel rolled skywards high into the atmosphere on that railway of light, the cars began to detach one by one as Celestia pulled a lever towards her. “Solar Streak Megazord, transformation now!” She yelled out as the train pieces began to shift, move and reattach in a entirely new configuration standing tall and proud. The now mammoth Megazord took one giant step, and rocks flew up into the air as it strode forwards towards Solar Flare. Letting out small hisses of steam every now and then, the Megazord stared her down. The aqua eyes attached to its turban themed head narrowed, before both it and Solar Flare turned to look as a loud lion’s roar cut through the air. Various glowing orbs descended from the sky, five to be exact. They each then took a form as a black lion roared as a challenge as it ran forwards. It was followed by a golden jaguar, a gold and medium blue condor, a maroon sawtooth shark and a brown buffalo respectively. “No… That’s…” Solar Flare whispered in fear. “No, it can’t be! He’s supposed to be extinct!” As if to answer that, the Black Lion Wild Zord roared again before leaping forwards, and it like the rest of it’s pride became a golden flash of light… Solar Flare was then forced to reevaluate her opinions on what was extinct very harshly as in front of her stood the Lord of the Wild Zords himself, Animus. “You dare place your hold upon others like a madman? You dare to think that you have power over others just because you are stronger?” Animus spoke in a booming tone, almost a mix between a roar and a soft tone. Solar Flare laughed, “Heh, fine talk coming from a god.” “Even a god remembers that he is nothing without those to remember him,” Looking down at the world below he also added, “And they are nothing without the free will to allow them to step into the light. We gods need to use our power wisely.” “And that is?” Solar Flare asked with a chuckle. “To serve as a guide into the light, so they can stand with us. And if not that, surpass us,” Animus said as he clashed blades with Solar Flare, much to Celestia’s pleasure. “Perhaps that will happen one day soon. Perhaps it’s already happened with both me and Celestia. You, however… Know nothing of the burden of being a god. You only care about the power.” Solar Flare screeched in rage and launched fireball after fireball at Animus, but Celestia stepped in and used the Solar Streak’s massive fists to bat them aside before scoring a powerful punch to Solar Flare’s jaw while Animus sliced Solar Flare across the chest. The thing was, thanks to the Solar Streak’s colossal size when it dished out damage from its massive fists you could tell. One blow from one of these fists was enough to send Solar Flare staggering back. “Damn, I wish we could get in there…” Robert muttered. “I’ve still got a few scores to settle with Sunbitch…” “But… But all of our Wild Zords are damaged from the battle with Thrax, how can we…?” Sunburst trailed off. Reason being, as if to answer his question, he heard a loud roar and saw the distinct form of the Kitsune Zord rising up from out of the trees. All nine tails waved menacingly and fire snorted from the Fox King’s nostrils. “For once… Robert-Baka, we’re in agreement. I want to rip and tear her to shreds!” He snarled out and let out another roar. Thunder cracked and lightning flashed in the distance from a towering storm cloud as the Thunderbird Zord emerged from it letting out a loud screech. “Hey, don’t leave us out of this one…” he remarked as the Phoenix Zord followed him from the rolling clouds, wings ablaze. “After all, Thrax totally humiliated us and I need something to take my anger out on! Nobody shows up the Thunder King at his own game, nobody!” “Except maybe me…” the Kitsune Zord teased. “You’re so immature…” the Phoenix Zord admonished. “Focus on the real problem will you two for once? Stop squabbling like little chicks, we’ve got to deal with this madmare now! You both saw how much it took to take down when she was at normal size, you really think two Megazords, even one who’s our Lord will be enough?” The Vampire Bat Zord and the Leviathan Zord made their own sounds of agreement. “Ugh… Fine. Let’s just make this quick!” the Kitsune Zord snarled. “Rangers, combine us now!” All the Rangers shared a nod before they shouted: “Wild Zords, combine!” With shifting and whirring sounds, the Leviathan Zord split in half and his head and jaw folded open to become feet and the tail split open at the back. The Kitsune Zord’s back legs folded up into his chest and excess metal in his chest detached to form twin katanas and his head folded downwards to become a chest plate as his front legs detached with hisses of steam. The wings of both the Phoenix and Thunderbird Zords detached as the tail feathers sprouted clawed hands and both Legendary Bird Zords became the arms, the Phoenix sprouting the kanji for fire on her winged shoulder pad and the Thunderbird, the kanji for lightning on his own. A tusked head popped up from the Kitsune Zord’s neck, and the Vampire Bat Zord, wings detaching as he grafted himself onto the back of the Megazord and his head moved upwards and became the helmet. “Animaria Guardian Megazord, ready!” All five Orion-powered Rangers shouted as they teleported into the cockpit and put their Crystal Sabers into their respective consoles. The giant war axe that was used for the finisher formed, with the Bat Zord’s wings becoming the blades. Once it was complete, the Megazord reached for it and marched forwards weapon gripped tightly in hand. Solar Flare sliced at the massive implement with Daybreaker and the Animaria Guardian Megazord blocked the blow as sparks flew before slicing her across the chest. Solar Flare retaliated and fired a beam of pure hot flame from her horn sending the Megazord stumbling backwards and the War Axe flying from its grip. “You haven’t told them yet, have you Celly?” Solar Flare mocked as she sliced the Solar Streak across the chest with her sword. “About your real relationship with the Sun?” “In time… Yes, I will. But not today. First things first, you must be defeated.” Celestia replied and Solar Flare roared in rage before sending a blast of pure hot flame that made the Solar Streak stagger, before it toppled into a mountainside. The mountain shattered into rubble which bounced off the metallic substance that made up Animus and the Animaria Guardian Megazord. Trees toppled like dominos from the sheer force from which the giant of a Megazord hit the now caved in mountainside. “Have to make this quick,” Sunburst informed as he looked at his console, which was flashing red and beginning to spark. “The Megazord’s Power Levels are already dangerously low as it is from the battle with Thrax. Can’t take too many more hits like that.” Animus jumped in and socked Solar Flare across the jaw with his right arm before the horns on his head detached. They reattached themselves to the Sawtooth Shark to form a makeshift bow and arrow. Next thing anybody saw, was Animus using this new weapon and firing a golden bolt of energy at the Solar Tyrant hitting her right in the chest, and going clean through and through. Solar Flare screeched out in rage before she fired a blast of flame from her mouth sending Animus staggering back, as he groaned in pain. “You alright?” Vapor shouted to the Lord of the Wild Zords. “I’ll be fine, I’ve taken far worse hits. You should be worrying about yourselves,” Animus warned before he shouted “Look out!” as Solar Flare fired another stream of fire at the Animaria Guardian Megazord. An explosion erupted all around the Megazord and Solar Flare laughed in triumph as Celestia let out a scream of “No! Sunset!” and stifled a sob as she pulled a lever forwards. Metal creaked and groaned as the Solar Streak began to rise once more. Two compartments on the Megazord’s legs opened up and fired two little steam engines that wrapped themselves around Solar Flare in golden rails of light. In a rage, Celestia lowered her Megazord’s head and fired a blast of pure hot steam at her dark half. Solar Flare screeched out in pain and broke free from her confinements as pillars of fire erupted all around both Animus and the Solar Streak. Next, she slashed out at both Megazords, doing major damage… Then, what happened next, nobody had predicted. A blast of pure ice hit Solar Flare and she screamed out in pain. Two loud thuds, footsteps, echoed from where the Animaria Guardian had thought to have been destroyed. It seemed, Solar Flare, in all of her arrogance had forgotten one simple fact. And Animus, and Celestia in their grief had forgotten this fact as well. All three of them hadn’t heard the sound of metal shifting and whirring, along with the sounds of hisses of steam. There stood the Animaria Guardian Megazord, with what looked to be two giant wings folded over its chest, and the Phoenix and Thunderbird Zords replaced by the Polar Bear and Deer Zords, respectively. Sure enough, the wings folded back to reveal the head of the Kitsune Zord that made up the Megazord’s chest plate, and revealed that the Falcon Zord had attached itself to the back of the Megazord. “WHAT!?!” Solar Flare roared out in anger before she launched fireball after fireball at the Megazord, only for the Deer Zord’s antlers to glow a familiar opal color. The fireballs were caught within the Zord’s grasp as Sunset smirked from within the cockpit, her horn glowing the exact same shade. “Nice plan Vapor,” She complimented, and Vapor nodded, thinking back to when they’d used a similar tactic to catch the Gosei Grand Megazord’s missiles. Sunset’s eyes narrowed. “Now, I believe these belong to you Ms. Flare…” With that, she tossed the fireballs right back at Solar Flare and she staggered back in pain. It seemed, despite all of her resistance against fire, the one thing she couldn’t handle was the sheer scorching heat of her own attacks. “Rangers, we need your help to finish Solar Flare off. But first, we need you to reattach the Phoenix and Thunderbird Zords, there’s a combined attack only with their help we can pull off.” Animus explained. Sunset and Lightning nodded in understanding before the Polar Bear and Deer Zords detached wit hisses of steam before the Phoenix and Thunderbird Zords replaced them, respectively. “Now…” Animus began as his ultimatum. “Solar Flare, you have been destroying civilizations, not just humanity’s but your own, keeping them both from reaching their full potential. You could have coexisted with humanity, but instead, you chose to destroy all traces of their existence except those that suited your ideals about them and use that as propaganda towards the masses. Now, you must face judgment for your crimes.” As the Animaria Guardian Megazord picked up its War Axe once again, Animus’ left arm glowed with a golden light before he slashed Solar Flare across the chest horizontally. Then, the Animaria Guardian Megazord slashed downwards with its axe as both the Rangers and the Lord of the Wild Zords cried out “Crucifix Strike! 100 Beasts Judgement!” Sure enough, once both slashes were complete, Solar Flare found herself nailed to a giant crucifix of golden energy. Celestia looked at Solar Flare, trapped against this holy symbol and sighed as she shook her head in sadness once more. She didn’t wish it had to be this way, but Solar Flare had brought this upon herself. “For the record, I would have saved you anyways…” Celestia thought, as she shut her eyes before saying in a soft tone: “Furnace Blast.” If she had been able to see it, Celestia would have seen Solar Flare’s eyes widen in shock almost as if she had heard Celestia’s thoughts. But she didn’t have time to think on them, as the Solar Streak’s chest flipped open, and fired a huge blast of flame right towards Solar Flare. The resulting explosion was so large, so powerful, it sent all three Megazords toppling to the ground. It even went so far as to actually disassembling the Megazords into their component parts and sending them flying in every direction. The last thing Robert saw before he blacked out amongst the rubble was a gigantic pillar of fire, presumably the last he -Or anybody else for that matter- would ever see of Solar Flare. He managed to let out a mutter of “Good riddance…” before he slipped into unconsciousness. Footsteps crunched against the gravel as an orange-clad figure approached the fallen form of Solar Flare, who coughed out “Mercy…” The figure’s helmet vanished in a flash of orange light allowing her to see a familiar brown stubble covered face. The figure knelt down near her, seemingly in a show of compassion. “Well, all criminals arrested by SPD are allowed some form of mercy, no matter their crimes…” Robert trailed off, reaching for his Judgement Scanner. Solar Flare sighed in relief, before her eyes widened in absolute terror as Robert’s expression turned vindictive as he raised his Kitsune Blaster. “...But it’s a good thing I’m no longer in SPD isn’t it?” He then fired several shots into her, in cold blood, before turning and walking away from her smoking corpse. Turning and walking away right into Bunglay, who had his anchor hoisted over his shoulder. “Well…” Bunglay laughed as the memory clone of Robert faded away into golden light. “Let’s see how the Galactic Union Police likes this piece of law breaking hmm? Oh, this is going to be cracking interestin’!” He then turned to a camera, themed after an insect that had been watching the whole thing and snapped his fingers with the camera folding up into a small cube and dropping to the ground. Bunglay let out a long hearty laugh as he picked up the cube with his claw hand before teleporting away in a flash of blue light. Author's Note Okay, been a long time coming, but it's finally over for Solar Flare. Now, a few things I want to clarify before I make a rather large announcement. Firstly, why Goldar went down so easily. One, he was taken by surprise, and two, considering his new abilities one would want to make sure he stayed dead this time. Secondly, I didn't just come up with all of the new Animal Crystals out of the blue. All of them were supposed to appear in Wild Force's source material, Gaoranger, but only made it as into the concept art stage. You can see the full list here. http://powerrangers.wikia.com/wiki/Power_Animals Now, I want to thank both Eagle-Paladin of Shadows and Alchemystudent for their help here. Eagle, as ever for help with the sword fight scenes. Actually, in the case of Grape VS Vapor, he told to drop the weapons fight and just go with the dialogue, as it worked the way it did. And I have to agree, more emotional impact this way. Now, Alchemystudent. She helped me with getting Animus's dialogue down, making him seem like this Optimus Prime type figure, someone who acts like the Lord of the Wild Zords. So, huge props to her once more. Finally, major thanks to Hawker Hurricane for his help on describing the Solar Streak. Now, the big announcement. If you already haven't seen it on my latest blog post, I'll repost it here. Now, major news for Wild Access so pay attention. I'm splitting into two stories. I have to, actually. It feels like a good place to end the first half with the destruction of Solar Flare, so that's what I'm going to do. The second half, and this is my other reason for splitting it into two volumes introduces so many new ideas and has so much going on that it'd become too cluttered if I had all of this in one entire story. So, early next year I think you should expect this: Solar Flare is dead and buried. Her reign is at an end and the power of the Sun now is allied with the Rangers. However, the job is far from over. Thrax and Retinax's civil war has now kicked into high gear, and the Rangers are only barely keeping their battles from destroying the very world they've worked so hard to defend all winter. Now as Spring sets in, a new terror appears in the return of the White Dino Ranger and his Dragozord. And behind that visor of crimson red is a face all too familiar to one of the Rangers. As the past of Equestria is further uncovered, and the legendary beast hunter Bunglay and his crew sets their sights on the Wild Zords and the Animarium itself, and threats from every side, things might just get a little too wild for the newest Ranger team. They do know one thing though... It's Morphin Time. Lastly, if anyone recognizes the name of Galactic Union Police, or more specfically, where it's from, please keep it to yourself. I'd rather you not spoil the readers for what's coming. (And yes, that ending was totally a homage to the final scene of Stranger Things 2.) Now, I'll be posting the epilogue to this story later in December, I think. But for now, I wish all of you a very happy Thanksgiving.
Volume One Finale: All Good Things...The Animarium: The Soul Bird cooed mournfully as it looked over the five fallen forms of the Wild Zords that made up the Animaria Guardian. While they weren’t destroyed, not yet at least, it would take all of her power just to get them back up to even a small portion of their original fighting strength. Glowing a jade green color, the tiny (At least by Zord standards) eagle-like bird began to sing her song as the Rangers watched. In a way, it was almost like Fawkes from the Harry Potter books Robert mused, crying tears that would heal the sick or wounded. Except instead of tears, it was with a song. “You know…” Sunset began, her voice shaky. “Even if I know the Phoenix is still alive, it’s going to be… different without her chiming in my head every once in awhile, trying to offer helpful advice where she can,” Robert put a hand on her shoulder. “She’s alive, and that’s the main thing. Plus, she and the others went out fighting, finally dethroning a tyrant. But she’ll be back, one day. Phoenixes rise up from their ashes, as the old legend goes. And this one… This one is no different,” Sunset smiled at him as she grasped his hand tightly. “But you get what I mean right? Having a helpful partner and friend in your head, just on call whenever you need them? When they’re gone… it’s like a part of you is missing…” “Well, not sure I could go that far in my case, considering the Kitsune was just an annoying old grump who only chimed in as you put it whenever he felt like it just to get his bee under my bonnet and screw with me for whatever reason that made sense only to him,” Robert muttered. “But yeah, I see what you mean. It is a comforting thought, just to have something to talk to in private, whenever you needed it…” “And what’s worse,” Vapor chimed in. “Thrax… He’s not going to be giving up. I suspect we’ve just made him madder than ever, escaping that damn island of his.” “Hey Vapor, you alright?” Lightning asked, looking at her sister. “You seem a bit shaken up still. Sure that illusion of Grape didn’t get to you more than you thought it did?” “No, I’m fine…” Vapor replied. “For the first time in what feels like… forever I guess, it feels like a great weight’s been lifted off my shoulders. Grape’s been dead, for a long time now. It’s only now I’ve been able to put that behind me. I actually have to thank Thrax and Goldar, in a way, I suppose. Without that Island of theirs they cooked up, I don’t know if I ever would have been able to move on.” “You would sis, trust me. It would have taken time, but you would have eventually. Island or no island.” Lightning said, laying a supportive hand on Vapor’s shoulder. The white mare smiled and pulled out Grape’s old guitar. “Yeah, I’ll remember Grape in my own way, the way he would have liked, through his music. I was working on an old song he’d found a while back, if anyone wants to hear it.” Everyone nodded as Vapor sat down on a rock and began to strum her guitar in a gentle fashion and sing in a soft tone of voice. “Some hope for the future Some wait for the call To say that the days ahead Will be the best of all “We will build bridges Up to the sky Heavenly lights surrounding You and I “From out of the darkness Our future will come If we leave the past behind We'll fly beyond the sun.” The Deer Zord, almost as if on command, began to bob his head back and forth to the song, and sing along in his own voice. Meanwhile, Robert bowed and kissed Shayla’s hand (Much to her flusterment, and Sunset’s annoyance. Lightning just snickered in the background and muttered “Never change…” to herself) and asked her for a dance. Right then and there, an idea came to Jindrax’s mind as he saw Shayla and Robert swaying back and forth to the music. With all the confidence in the world, he turned to his old friend and fellow Duke Org, Toxica. “Care for a dance, milady?” He asked, almost like a gentleman. His only answer was a bop on the head from Toxica’s staff. “In your dreams!” she shouted, and huffed, while crossing her arms. But then she sighed upon seeing Jindax’s disappointed look and groaned. “Uurggh, fine…” She muttered before offering a hand. “Great, you won’t regret this!” Jindrax stated excitedly. “...I already am…” Toxica muttered in self-disgust as Jundrax pulled her into a tango. “We'll be together Sharing the load Watching in wonder as our lives unfold Hope for the future “It's coming soon enough How much can we achieve? Hope for the future It will belong to us “If we believe If we believe “Hope shines brightest in the dark When nothing's ever seen Lighting undiscovered places No one’s ever been “Some hope for the future Some wait for the call To say that our destiny Will be the best of all…” As Vapor continued to sing “Hope for the Future”, Sunburst cast a glance towards the high cliff where the Red Lion Zord rested, and watched as it let a roar. In his mind, it was almost as if he was challenging Thrax -Or anybody else for that matter- to throw whatever they had at them. Because they’d face it head-on. His theory was only confirmed as the King of the Skies -as that’s what the only apt moniker for the Falcon Zord could be- let out a screech and flew overhead as it soared over the island raising a battle cry amongst the Wild Zords. He gripped his hidden away Growl Phone in his suit pocket tightly, and smirked. “Thrax, be warned… We’re coming for you next,” the Black Vampire Bat Ranger stated. “Sure, you’ve got your armies of monsters… But us… We’ve got an army of our own. Not just the Wild Zords, but the populace of Equus. Everybody’s counting on us to stop you, and rest assured… You will be stopped. That I promise you.” As the song ended, Shayla blinked in surprise. For just a brief moment, she could have sworn she’d seen the original Wild Force Rangers in the new team’s places. Taylor, Max, Danny, Alyssa, and Cole. She blinked away a tear and smiled wistfully. They really were like her old friends, in some ways, weren’t they? They never gave up, and they never backed down. And most importantly of all, they were devoted to protecting the Earth, and all of its inhabitants. With that, she really did have some hope for the future of both Man and Ponykind. Mirinoi: Far, far away, deep in space in a lost galaxy rested a green heavily forested world, where nature and technology lived in harmony. Once the crash site of the ill-fated colony ship Terra Venture, this planet had blossomed in the three thousand years since then, and had become home to the hub of all things good in the Galaxy: The Galactic Union Police and headquarters for the armored heroes, the Space Sheriffs. They ranged from the original, Gavan, all the way up to their newest and most high tech recruit, Space Sheriff Estevan. Or as he was better known, the Zyuman Bud from the planet ZyuEarth. An anthropomorphic red feathered eagle, Bud had been recruited from ZyuEarth’s personal guard as a young man when the Galactic Union Police had seen his abilities and devotion to justice. Right now, the middle-aged Zyuman rested in his treehouse home, tucked away deep in Mirinoi’s forests. It was his private sanctuary, his place of peace and quiet from the high rising skylines of the larger cities. Here, he felt closer to home, back to nature. He needed this time to relax, especially now. Recently, he’d just returned to the planet after dealing with a powerful Megabeast on the planet Hercuronwith the powerful Sharinger Tank. All around him, wood carvings of animals rested on various shelves. One of the more notable was that of an eagle. It was mostly painted red, but had yellow, blue, green and white lines decorating it. Nearby sat a pair of bongo drums, mostly for decoration but sometimes for amusement and entertaining the rare guest in Bud’s humble abode. Bud’s tail feathers shot straight up when he detected someone behind him, and readied himself to change forms. Thankfully, there was no need when he turned and saw his partner and mentor, Retsu Ichijouji AKA Space Sheriff Gavan. Dressed in a brown leather jacket as always, the original space sheriff may have been getting on in years, but he could still deliver judgment to the galaxy’s most dangerous criminals. “I assume you’ve seen the latest reports, right?” Retsu asked, and Bud nodded as he pulled out a small metal cube, and pressed a button. A holographic display showed the entire scene of Robert shooting a downed Solar Flare in cold blood. “Not that I’m mourning her death or anything, considering her crimes, but…” Retsu sighed. “I wasn’t even aware the Power Rangers existed anymore. I thought with the end of Time Force…” “Yes,” Bud replied. “It was a great loss to the galaxy when we heard of the destruction of Time Force, they were some of the best the Galaxy ever produced. But I have to ask, why are we even going after this guy? I’d say he did the galaxy a favor, really, by ridding the planet of Princess Celestia or as we know her… Solar Flare.” Retsu sighed as he pulled up a chair and sat down. “I don’t like it either, but murder’s murder no matter how you slice it or dress it up. He has to face judgment for his crimes. Even Power Rangers aren’t exempt from the law.” “Even if who they killed was a monster? That’s what they’ve been doing for generations right?” Bud asked. “Yeah…” Retsu admitted. “I don’t like it myself, something’s fishy about all of this, especially when we consider this was sent to us by Bunglay himself. That alone is grounds for suspicion. But the top brass wants us to bring this guy in.” His friend gave him a look. The top brass had been acting awfully odd as of late. Giving strange orders, bringing prisoners without any warning and saying nothing about their crimes before they shipped them off to some unknown planet. Everyone knew what it was, but wouldn’t dare say it out of simple fear. Corruption, plain and simple, and it went all the way to the top. There had even been rumors that the Space Sheriff idea, at least in its current format, was on the way out. Neither Bud nor Retsu were a fan of this new regime they’d been forced to deal with, but until they had proved something else was going on they were forced to deal with them. “Yeah, well maybe we should be looking at them instead…” Bud trailed off. “There’s something more to all of this, and we both know it.” Retsu nodded in agreement. “Yeah, there’s something more going on here. But all the same, for the time being, we follow orders, and then we do the detective work once this guy’s brought in. We’ll find the truth, don’t worry.” he said, laying a reassuring hand on his friend’s shoulder. “If you say so…” Bud trailed off. As they walked out of the house, they saw a giant circular saucer (Not too far removed from a classic UFO or the Enterprise’s saucer section) hovering above their heads. “That’s our ride,” Retsu said before he turned back to Bud. “Ready?” Sharing a nod, they both shouted in unison: “Electroplate!” and silver and gold armor, respectively, grafted themselves to their bodies in the blink of an eye. Next thing they knew, they found themselves floating upwards into the saucer thanks to a blue beam with the only trace of Bud’s presence left behind being a few red feathers... Canterlot Castle: Celestia paced back and forth in front of a mirror, doing some final adjustments to her mane and smoothing out her pine green colored dress, meant to reflect the passing of winter to spring. She’d already heard the first signs a few days before, the songbirds arriving from the warmer parts of Equestria and tweeting their various melodies. It brought a sense of comfort to Celestia in a way now that winter was finally over. The cold frost was finally starting to lift itself up from Equestria and be replaced with a soothing warmth. As she tied her aurora like mane into a ponytail the best she could, Celestia smiled. Winter wasn’t the only thing that was gone, Solar Flare was finally removed as well. And unlike winter, she wouldn’t be coming back to stay. Of course, even as Celestia put on a golden necklace and her crown, she sighed to herself. Gone Solar Flare may be in the physical sense, but that didn’t mean she still didn’t linger on in Celestia’s mind. Every now and then, Celestia although she swore it was a trick of the light or her own mind playing upon her fears, swore she saw Solar Flare’s reflection in the floor, a nicely polished vase or even a mirror. Demons it seemed, could be vanquished, but in a sense, they never truly left you. And then there was that thing Solar Flare said in their final showdown. She had taunted Celestia about how her ponies didn’t know the entire truth about her relationship with the sun, and that was true. Anybody with a smart enough mind could easily tell that Celestia was only using complicated illusion spells to raise the sun, and Luna was doing so with the moon. Celestia had long suspected some had figured it out years before, but they kept their silence in fear of speaking out against their ruler and hushed up, or they were afraid if this information were released that Equestria would erupt into a full-scale riot. If the latter was true, Celestia honestly thanked them for keeping their silence. Equestria would devolve into rioting and mass Discord levels of chaos if Celestia chose to divulge neither she or Luna raised Equestria’s heavenly bodies. Sure, they drew their powers from them, but they never had the power to raise the sun or moon. As Celestia looked in the mirror, Solar Flare’s expression appeared, and the Solar Invictus took a step back in fear as her doppelganger looked at her with a hateful expression. “Oh Celly, you can’t be rid of me forever,” it seemed to say. “I’ll always be there, right by your side. Whenever you’re feeling your lowest, whenever you’re mad at something, or whenever you just want to break down and cry… I’ll be back to play. Don’t think you can escape me forever. Nor what’s coming. The Devil… He’s a-comin’, coming to collect. And he wants you. The only thing that makes me unhappy about all of this is that I’ll be unable to be there with you and watch you burn. Hmm, I wonder how your putrid soul will taste to him, hmm?” But Celestia stood firm. “I wonder how your soul will taste, Solar Flare?” She stated, and her dark half said nothing more on the matter. As she faded away, Celestia looked towards the sun, blazing bright high in the midday sky and then down towards Canterlot. “I’ll tell them… I’ll tell them in time. But just not today…” She thought to herself before doing some final adjustments to her hair, putting the thoughts of her lie out of her mind for the moment. Right now she had other matters to attend to, and worry about. Like the Winter Ball later this evening and the delegates from the other nations for instance. As Celestia walked from the room, she failed to hear a radio flick on, seemingly of it’s own accord, and play this song… “Every breath you take and every move you make Every bond you break, every step you take, I'll be watching you Every single day and every word you say Every game you play, every night you stay, I'll be watching you “Oh, can't you see you belong to me How my poor heart aches with every step you take Every move you make, every vow you break Every smile you fake, every claim you stake, I'll be watching you…” The Winter Ball: Night fell on Canterlot, and the Castle was a hub of activity, abuzz with excitement. The Royal and Night Guards, dressed in ceremonial armor (Not that different from their regular Roman Centurion style armor, but with added sashes) stood at attention as delegates from all over the world flocked in through the castle gates, either flying in or pulling up in chariots. Twilight, clad in a midnight blue dress patterned with stars sighed in relief as she saw the Dragon Lord’s daughter fly in, a scepter tipped with a blood red ruby gripped tightly in her claws and covered in armor. Twilight swore she saw a gold gem hanging around Ember’s neck, but brushed it off as her imagination. The young dragoness greeted her with a gruff “Hello.” before moving on into the halls, Twilight watching her every step of the way. She wiped the sweat from her brow. Maybe this night wouldn’t be so bad after all. Ember would probably be tough to befriend, but the risk of the Princess going completely Solar Flare and burning everybody to ashes and starting wars with other countries was now out the window. Luna, in a pure black glittering strapless dress, walked up and put a hand on her shoulder. “Relax Twilight, it’s not going to happen,” she said reassuringly. “...Though, if you so desire, you probably can “Improve relations” as they say nowadays with the Dragon Kingdom of Zandar if you so desire…” She said with an almost impish smile and walked off, her horseshoe clad hooves clacking against the castle floor. Twilight barely managed to sputter out a response. “I wasn’t… Not planning on… Oh for Mystic Mother’s sakes!” she stammered out and Luna laughed. “Sure, whatever you say! But if that weren’t true, why were you “checking out” as I believe the term goes your fellow Princess?” “I’m in a very happy relationship with Flash Sentry, thank you very much!” Twilight shouted, and Luna only laughed harder as Twilight let out a small growl of frustration. Sunset chuckled as she walked up, in a pink colored pleated dress. “Relax Twi, Luna’s done that to me as well a few times. She just likes to get other ponies goats. ...Think she even annoys her own sister that way now that I think of it.” Sunset remarked. “...Then why am I not amused?” Twilight muttered with Sunset patting her sister figure on the shoulder in sympathy. Changing the subject, she smiled. “Speaking of love interests, where’s Robert?” “I… I don’t know actually. He said he’d be along shortly, but he didn’t say how he was…” Sunset trailed off before she slapped a palm to her face and groaned as she heard a very familiar roar. Sure enough, there was Robert’s Mustang, pulling up to the castle blaring a very familiar song. “An' I don't really care If ya think I'm strange I ain't gonna change An' I'm never gonna care 'Bout my bad reputation!” the speakers shouted as if in celebration, almost as loud as the car itself. “He does like to make an entrance, doesn’t he?” Twilight deadpanned, as Robert, dressed in a white tuxedo climbed out of the car and tossed his keys to Galaxy Swirls, who looked offended. “Want those back by the end of the night, okay?” Robert asked cheerfully as he shut off the music from his phone. “I’m not your personal valet, you dick!” the Bat-Pony snapped before walking off grumbling. “Well, at least he’s not wearing that Goddamn suit with the rainbow theming he wore on our first date this time around…” Sunset thought to herself. “Keep wearing actual tasteful clothing, and he might actually look like less of an idiot at times. ...Oh who am I kidding, he’ll always be a little ostentatious.” she thought halfheartedly with an affectionate sigh. Twilight then leaned over to her. “Remind me, why are you two dating again?” She whispered. “Sometimes I wonder about that myself,” Sunset replied. “But his heart’s in the right place… Sometimes. And he’s loyal to a fault, so that’s a plus,” “Even if he is a somewhat self-absorbed show-off?” Twilight asked her in return. “Yes, even if he is somewhat of a narcissistic personality type at times. ...And a bit of a dick.” she admitted as Robert walked up. “Princess Twilight,” he said in a respectful tone actually bowing to her much to Twilight’s shock before asking for Sunset’s hand. “Milady, may I escort you to the ballroom?” Sunset smiled as she linked arms with Robert. “Be my guest.” And so they walked through Canterlot Castle. When they’d walked through the hallways, Sunset and Robert had both noted a new stained glass window depicting, in great detail, the defeat of Solar Flare. It had shown not only all six Rangers involved in the ordeal, but their Megazords along with Animus charging towards the massive Solar Tyrant. Sunset had noted the stained glass window depicting humanity’s fall had yet to be shattered, or taken down in any way, but she knew exactly why. As Celestia herself had explained to her: “Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it in some fashion. And so that, disgusting as it is, must stay, to remind not just me of my greatest failure. My greatest shame. But to remind Equestria as well. Anytime they look up at that window, they will be forever reminded of the time we could have made peace with a species, but did not and instead let our own anger and fear get the better of us. Do you understand Sunset?” She had, and fully agreed with Celestia’s reasonings on the matter. Robert and Sunset then found themselves walking hand in hand into a huge crowded ballroom, filled with not only dignitaries, but various other important ponies like the Wonderbolts, the Elements of Harmony and various other famous ponies from across Equestria. In a corner of the room, a orchestra consisting of ponies like Octavia Melody and Lyra Heartstrings led by Fluttershy was playing various pieces, the current selection being the Nutcracker Suite by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Ponies twirled and spun to the music with their significant others. “Would you like to dance?” Sunset asked and suddenly Robert looked quite embarrassed with himself. “Uh… Yeah, that’s the thing. I don’t know how to dance, actually…” Sunset held back a laugh. “Wait, you’re seriously telling me in all your years of romancing women, you never learned how to dance?” “Got me there,” Robert admitted with a sheepish grin. “Well,” Sunset chuckled as she used her hands to place Robert’s arms around her waist. She then wrapped her own arms around his neck. “Neither do I actually as I never found the time to learn, but I suppose we can figure it out together… Right?” Robert chuckled as they swayed to the music. “Just to warn you, I do have two left feet.” Sunset laughed again. At a table filled with a long line of delicious, high-class foods and snacks along with various drinks including wine, Sunburst sighed as he watched ponies like Soarin’ talk with the upper crust of society like Lord Fancy Pants or Lady Swan Song. “Man…” Sunburst muttered as he shook his head. Navi rested on the table nearby. “I don’t even know what I’m doing here… I’m just a simple High School science teacher,” “Dude,” Lightning Dust said as she put a supporting hand on his shoulder. Sunburst noted she was wearing a dress and had her mane done nicely for this event, this being probably one of the only times Lightning would allow herself to look like this. “You’re a simple High School science teacher at the freaking Winter Gala, one of the most prestigious events of the year! So get out there, and have some fun!” “Yeah… Yeah, I guess you’re right…” Sunburst said before heading off into the crowd to hopefully find Galaxy Swirls. Then Vapor let out a gasp. “Hey, wait, isn’t that…?” She asked as the Charcoal Grill Org and a Tenga, along with Hell Fire dressed in their best chef’s uniforms brought in a tray of various meats. As soon as Ember saw some roasted turkey, she grabbed a leg and bit down on it. “Hmm, good stuff…” the dragoness said. “Wait, what are you doing here?” Sunburst asked in surprise. “My own restaurant that you, Vapor and Hell Fire here got me the confidence to start up, it’s been doing pretty well actually. So when I heard extra food would be needed for the Winter Ball, I gave Hell Fire here a call and we teamed up for the task!” the Org stated, with the Tenga nodding along. “Wow… time flies…” Sunburst murmured as he saw various other dignitaries like Dainn Peacefulheart (Who, a few minutes earlier, had been dancing with his old teacher Celestia) and the current leader of New Roam dig into the new foods. Vapor chuckled, before looking towards the crowd. At one point she swore she saw a very familiar looking black unicorn pony with golden eyes in the crowd, but before she could talk to him, he slipped out of sight. Back with Sunset and Robert, they were slowly figuring out how to dance to the music. “So, what now?” Sunset asked. “Our main Zords gone, and Thrax is still out there, along with Bunglay and Retinax.” “We’ll figure things out, as we go along. We’ll just face things as Rangers always have… together.” Robert said. “Yeah, together…” Sunset trailed off before kissing him. The End Author's Note ...must sadly come to an end, like this story. But, you know the Rangers will be back, they always are. Now, I've got a lot of thanks to give out, first of all to you guys, my loyal readers. Seriously, without your support, this story would have gone unnoticed, and I really want to thank you guys for keeping it alive and well. So... Thanks to all of you. Now, my proofreaders and the various people who've helped me in some capacity throughout this story. Black-Knight, Ponyjosiah13, the Villain in Glasses, Eagle-Paladin of Shadows, Alchemystudent, JoeyJambo122, and CaioCola along with anybody else I may have forgotten. You know who you are. You guys are awesome, you know that right? Now, you're going to have to wait a few months till I get started on the sequel, but rest assured... I will be making quite the show for you to sit back and enjoy. But until then, have a very happy Christmas. Now... Hit it!
Part 4: The Barbed Wire Org A few minutes earlier... It was a normal day at the Ponyville Park. The sun was shining, birds were twittering in the trees singing their songs and shop stalls had been set up for ponies to sell their wares. From Golden Harvest, a yellow coated pony with an orange carrot coated mane filled with curls and wearing a teal green sundress, selling her usual bounty of hand picked carrots, to a grey furred pegasus pony named Derpy Hooves, also called Muffins by her friends, with golden (matching her mane perfectly) eyes that were rather oddly set, as if someone had not known how to give a pony eyes properly and that seemed to be looking at everything around her but what was in front of her, selling her hand made and lovingly baked muffins, helped out by her adopted unicorn daughter Sparkler, who had lavenderish fur, and a tomboyish dark purple mane wearing a leather jacket and jeans which contrasted with her mother's green pants and white button up blouse. "Muffins, muffins! Get your muffins here!" Sparkler shouted, using her magic to create a purple arrow pointing right at Derpy's muffin stand. "Never have been one for subtlety, have you dear?" Derpy commented with a sigh upon seeing her daughter's idea. "Nope, dunno where I could have picked it up from." Sparkler said dryly. "Must have been from dad. He embodies the term unsubtle." Sparkler smirked, her dad was just downright odd at times, from wearing a brown trenchcoat and blue suit, that pretty much clashed horribly and always excitedly investigating every little thing with that little metal device with that glowing blue tip of his and his anti-Celestia graffiti which always ended up with him in the local jailhouse leaving Derpy or another member of the family to bail him out. Of course, that wasn't counting the Trottingham style Police Box he kept in a shed, which nopony in the family ever bothered to let him know how ironic that was considering how many times he'd been arrested. Everypony in the family wondered exactly what was up with that, but their dad never said a word. Mind you, he had laughed his head off when Sparkler tried to use the Police Box's phone to call one of her friends to put together a small party (AKA: Rave), but never quite managed to get anypony on the other end of the line. Derpy sighed and murmured to herself "I just don't know what went wrong... I know mixed everything up just right." as she looked at her batches of unsold muffins. The mouth-watering smell of them wafted in the breeze, almost making you want to just walk up to the stand and buy one, but it seemed nopony was interested. "Aw, don't feel bad mom, carrot cakes are just big this time of year." Sparkler commented, and gestured to Golden Harvest's stand, where ponies were lining up to buy her famous carrot cakes by the truckload. Sparkler gritted her teeth. So that's how it was, was it? Well, desperate times called for desperate measures. Unzipping her jacket, Sparkler flashed her bra to the park as her mother facepalmed in the background and sighed "Not again...", and with a huge cloud of dust kicked up in the air, all the ponies that were lining up to buy Golden Harvest's cakes were now in front of Derpy's muffin stand, (Golden Harvest harrumphed and exclaimed "Well, I never!") with the pony in question giving her daughter a distinct look and Sparkler grinned unashamedly. "Hey, if it works, it works." She commented simply. Just then, two lines of what looked like barbed wire reached out and grabbed Sparkler pulling her towards a being comprised solely of the stuff, with a single red cycloptic eye resembling a visor in some ways and two devil like horns. The Org grabbed Sparkler by the waist and held her close to her as ponies screamed in panic at the sight of the new arrival. "Well, aren't you a pretty little thing?" The Org chuckled darkly, and if it could have smirked, it would have. "Might just think about keeping you as a pet." Then a familiar voice shouted "Hey, tinhorns, get your claws off her!" before the Barbed Wire Org was hit by a series of green laser blasts forcing him to release Sparkler from his grip and making her run to her mother who pulled her into a hug as Robert in full SPD attire leaped onto the scene Delta Blaster in hand. "Who do you think you are?" Barbed Wire Org demanded. "3! SPD Green! Space Patrol Delta!" Robert shouted as he holstered his blaster blowing some pretend smoke off of it as he did so and thinking to himself "Really got to stop watching those old westerns that Bridge likes so much on Movie Night." and then striking a pose and then held out his Morpher like a badge with his helmet lights flashing. He didn't know how Orgs had come back to life, as he thought with the destruction of the Master Org and the Org Heart by the original Wild Force Rangers would have rendered the reanimation of the literally heartless beings impossible, but then again, as Robert had learned many times over from watching old Ranger history videos back at Delta Base, nothing was impossible if you were a Power Ranger, as him being shot to a world filled with misanthropic walking and talking ponies proved. "Big deal, one Ranger alone won't be nearly enough to stop me!" Barbed Wire Org scoffed. "Funny, I was thinking the exact opposite!" as Robert leaped down towards him and dealt in a few strikes with his Delta Blaster's blade mode making the Barbed Wire Org stumble back before he was blasted backwards by a red beam from the Org's eye into Golden Harvest's stand, causing her to exclaim "Okay, that's it, I'm never selling here again!" Just then, Sunburst, Lightning Dust, Vapor Trail and Sunset Shimmer showed up as they ran up a cobblestone path way. "Oh great, more fools who think they can take me on, and they're not even Rangers!" Barbed Wire Org laughed and Sunset chuckled and shook her head. "Might want to amend that statement." She remarked before she and the others pulled out their Growl Phones and held them up to their ears as if they were trying to call somepony before shouting "Legendary Wild Access!" (Morphing Sequences) With a flash of flame, Sunset was transported to the inside of a volcano and stood on the middle of a rock as she was transformed and she gained a gold and red formfitting costume with diagonal tooth marks across her chest and her Cutie Mark on her right breast with a phoenix's head themed helmet forming around her head accompanied by a loud screeching sound. Standing on a rocky desert plateau as storm clouds rumbled and lightning flashed in the background, Lightning gained an aqua colored costume with the same diagonal tooth marks across her chest and her Cutie Mark of a yellow lightning bolt with stars appeared on her right breast as a helmet similar in design to Sunset's appeared on her head, with the sound similar to that of a falcon's call. On a beach, a tidal wave washed over Vapor Trail and she gained a purple costume similar in design to the others with her Cutie Mark of a comet on her left breast as well with the tooth marks on the opposite side of her chest and a sperm whale themed helmet formed over her head with the noise of a deep sea beast's hum. In a dark barely moonlit orchard of apple trees, clouds of black smoke surrounded Sunburst and he gained a black costume with his Cutie Mark of an orange sun with bursting yellow rays on his left breast just like Vapor Trail's costume, and also like Vapor's the tooth marks appeared on the right side of his chest with a bat themed helmet much like the Jungle Fury Bat Spirit Ranger's appearing around his head along with a loud bat screech sound. (Morphing Sequences End Here) "With the blazing heart of the Phoenix, Golden Phoenix Ranger!" Sunset called out. "With the lightning speed of the Thunderbird, Aqua Thunderbird Ranger!" Lightning joined in. "With the strength of the Leviathan, Purple Leviathan Ranger!" Vapor chorused. "W-With the s-stealth and bite of a Vampire Bat, Black Vampire Bat Ranger!" Sunburst stuttered out as all four Rangers struck poses and called out "Guardians of Equus, united we roar! Power Rangers, Wild Force!" as four explosions, each in their respective colors ignited behind them and then combined into one massive explosion. As Robert gazed upon the four new Wild Force Rangers, he mused to himself "Okay, they may be misanthropes, but I like the suits, and I have to admit the intergration of their wings and horns is pretty impressive." "Enough with posing and shouting already, I've got a planet to destroy!" The Barbed Wire Org shouted before he pulled out a nautilus like shell and under his helmet, Robert's eyes widened as he knew what that shell contained. "You know, I think this fight is a little unfair. How about we make it even more unfair... For you, that is!" The Org threw the shell's contents up in the air, and the purple gunk inside it formed into grey coated beings covered in some sort of unknown slime with purple insect like eyes and carrying staffs that could double as bazookas if needed. These were Putrids, the foot soldiers and if Robert's theory was correct, young Orgs as well, if the tiny horns on their heads were any evidence. "Putrids, get them!" The Barbed Wire Org shouted, and Robert, along with his "Teammates", if you could call them that when they certainly didn't want them around engaged the Putrids. Robert pulled out his Delta Blaster once more, and fired off a few rounds at some of them, taking them down for the count. "Back off human, we don't need your help!" Lightning Dust shouted at him as she kicked a Putrid in the face making it stumble backwards into the arms of two of it's comrades. "Now, let me show you how a real Ranger and Wonderbolt in training gets the job done!" She yelled in an arrogant and haughty tone of voice before summoning two electric whips in each of her hands and lashing them at the Putrids before grabbing one with one of her whips and shouting "Get over here!" and pulling it forwards before punching it in the face. Nearby, Vapor had summoned her trident and had stabbed a Putrid in the chest and swung it around before throwing the unfortunate foot soldier into one of it's fellows before she used the trident a bit like a Bo staff and knocked a few others to the ground. "Shadow Hatchets!" Sunburst shouted, before summoning two small golden double bladed axes and throwing them at some more Putrids and when they hit their targets, they boomeranged right back into Sunburst's grip. Meanwhile, Robert had found himself dealing with the Barbed Wire Org all by himself. It charged at him and rammed him with his horns, pinning him to a tree, but Robert kicked him away before finding dodging to the left to avoid another eyebeam blast and then blasted the Org with his Delta Blaster a few times. "You're really beginning to annoy me! Do you know who you're dealing with?" Barbed Wire Org challenged and Robert, being the way that he was, couldn't resist a classic comeback. "Do you?" He taunted and then that really made the Org mad. "I'll destroy you for that remark, and when I'm done, the new Master Org will make me into a Duke Org!" He shouted before entangling Robert in a whole lot of barbed wire, it cutting into his skin and drawing blood in various places. Robert screamed out in pain, as the barbed wire continued getting tighter around him still and cutting more and more into his skin. I... I... can't let him beat me! I've faced tougher challenges then this freak!" Robert thought even as the Org laughed and exclaimed "Ready to give in yet, Ranger? I promise, your end will be nice and quick if you do, if not... well, you'll just keep getting more and more of this!" Just then, the Org was kicked from the side by Sparkler and Robert was released from his grip at last. "Hey, that was for earlier you freak!" She yelled before running over to Robert and helping him up before asking "You alright, w-whoever you are?" Robert nodded before he and Sparkler found himself surrounded by Putrids on all sides. Robert sighed to himself, wasn't over yet. Then, he got an idea. Problem was, he didn't know if it would even work or not. "Let's hope Kat wasn't joking when she said she re-created as much of Lightspeed's technology as she could." He thought to himself before shouting "MegaBattle Green!" and then, with a green flash of light, a hefty backpack with flashing red lights and the SPD symbol of a dog on it attached to a giant green buzzsaw appeared on Robert. He gripped the buzzsaw tightly by its handles and used it on the Putrids with devastating efficiency. Of course, the Putrids were able to land a good few solid blows, as coupled with the sheer weight of the MegaBattle armor, Robert's injuries were already slowing him down. But he wouldn't give up, no matter what. It was part of the Power Ranger Code, no matter the odds, never give in! The Org Cave Elsewhere, a being's eyes observed the battle and watched as the buzzsaw blades opened up to blast some Putrids and the Barbed Wire Org back with powerful wind blasts. It's eyes narrowed. He couldn't let a potential soldier in his army be defeated by one mere Ranger! "Artilla! Get down there and teach that Ranger who the real power around here is..." "Yes, milord!" Artilla said, with a bow and teleported away to the sight of the battle. Back in Ponyville Park... Suddenly, Robert found himself blasted backwards by a powerful cannon blast from Artilla, who had suddenly appeared on the battlefield, with the blast being strong enough to knock him out of both MegaBattle Mode and de-morph him sending his SPD Morpher flying out of Robert's hands. With a mighty crunch, Artilla stepped on the Morpher, and Robert's eyes widened as he suddenly found himself... "Powerless..." Meanwhile, Sparkler's eyes widened for a different reason. The Ranger who had just helped her, and whose life she had probably saved, was a human? She'd read in the history books that all humans were dangerous wild animalistic creatures with no remorse for who or what they destroyed. But this one... He saved her and lost his powers in the process. "What the Tartarus...? He's... He's not giving up!" Sparkler thought as Robert slowly got up off the ground, dripping blood from the tears in his jacket, which he promptly tossed off revealing his ripped and torn green T-Shirt which said "SPD" on it and clenched his fists. "Look at this, a Power Ranger without power! What a joke!" Artilla laughed even as Robert charged at him and drew back his fist landing a powerful punch to Artilla knocking him backwards, if only just a little. "We'll continue this later, Ex-Ranger. My job is done for now. But be warned, if you continue to meddle in the Master's affairs, today's pain will only seem like a spa treatment compared to what I'll put you through!" Artilla warned and turned into a ball of energy and vanished into the sky leaving him alone. Just then, he heard a shout of "Help us! Somepony, please!" and saw three teenagers, possibly no more than thirteen or fourteen years of age being surrounded by Putrids on a basketball court. One had yellow fur, a red mane with a bow in her hair and was wearing overalls making her resemble a farmer, another had orange fur and a purple mane cut in a tomboyish style and wore a black hoodie and jeans, and the third and final one had white fur, and a grayish mulberry with light pink accented curly mane and had one small horn on her head, wearing a pink tank top and light green skirt. "Oh no you don't! Nobody threatens kids, no matter the species, on my watch, nobody!" Robert growled and ran over towards the trio and with a shout of "Ki-Yah!" kicked a Putrid into two of it's fellows before turning to the trio. "Go, get out of here, now!" Robert shouted, and the three ran off to safety as Robert raised his fists and mused to himself "May not be a Power Ranger anymore, but I've still got enough left in me to take these guys down!" and pulled out his phone and put on Sweet's "Fox on the Run" and used a finger in a come here gesture towards the Putrids... Elsewhere in the Park... Meanwhile, Sunset had found herself fighting the Barbed Wire Org alone. She slashed at it with her Crystal Saber, (Which was a short grey blade with a golden hole in the middle for putting in one's Animal Crystal) creating sparks with each hit and then kicked the Org in the stomach. She then pulled out her Phoenix Blade and sliced at the Org in a scissor formation, both blades igniting in flames and making the Org stumble back. But then, out of the sky came a grey grenade like device which the Org promptly caught and pulled the pin. There was a powerful explosion and then the next thing the Princess of Empathy knew, the Org was towering above her. "Oh ho, who's the one with power now, Princess?" The Org mocked and all four Rangers took a step back as the Org tried to squash them like bugs with one giant foot. "W-Well, this is new." Sunburst stuttered out. "Relax, we were trained for this. I think it's time for some animal power!" Sunset exclaimed, keeping calm the whole time. She was expecting the Orgs to start getting bigger sooner or later. The Princess had warned her this could happen. She knew exactly what to do. "Crystal Saber!" Sunset yelled and inserted her Animal Crystal, a small orb which mixture of gold and red in color and had a small bird inside it. She pointed the blade skywards and it emitted a song which reached all the way to Canterlot Mountain, and inside, two piercing green eyes opened and two mighty wings began to flap as volcanic force began to build and soon the mountain erupted and a truly gigantic red bird with golden trimming on the head, beak, tail feathers and wingtips emerged and flew towards the Org with unmatched speed before flapping it's wings and creating powerful fireballs with each mighty flap which hit the Barbed Wire Org with tremendous and powerful force. Soon, the barrage of flame was over and the Org fell over before exploding in a huge fireball with the Phoenix Zord letting out a screech of victory. "Well, I'd say he was well and truly scorched." Lightning smirked as all four Rangers demorphed, their task over. "H-Hey, anypony see what happened to the human?" Sunburst asked nervously and Lightning waved him off dismissively. "Bah, who cares about him?" "But he's a Ranger!" Vapor Trail shouted at her in disbelief as Sunset looked on in shock, her thoughts running wild. How could one of her fellow teammates be so callous and cold? Sure, the Ranger may have been human, and she'd practically been raised on the stories of what the humans had done when they were around, but still... "Human or no Human, he's still one of us, and we have to find him!" Vapor shouted back at Lightning, but before the Thunderbird Ranger could retort, the entire park was covered in shadow as a giant floating island in the sky, resembling a turtle suddenly emerged from the cover of clouds and all four Rangers were turned into pillars of color, each matching their suit and teleported upwards, never noticing a white pillar following them... (To Be Continued...) Author's Note Oh boy, I do so love leaving you on cliffhangers with this story don't I? Relax, as the story goes on, that'll happen less often, unless it's a multi part story arc. Anyways, on the chapter, we at last get to see all four Wild Force Rangers (And one of their zords) on screen at last, so to speak, and get small snippets of their personalities, which will be expanded on given that Robert is now... Well, a powerless Ranger, and he'll stay that way for quite a bit, allowing him a little bit of time to get to know Ponyville's residents better and shave off some of the fear towards him, which I'd say he already has with Sparkler and the CMC. You know, I originally was going to have Shining Armor save Robert's life and show more of his worthiness to be the next Magna Defender, but I figured with his scene in the previous chapter I've shown enough for now, and seeing as how Robert saved Sparkler's life, I figured it was only fair for her to do the same in turn.
