Power Rangers SUPER Starfleet (Starfleet Humans)

by DakariKingMykan

Rating: everyone
Tags: Equestria Girls, Spike (EqG), Science Fiction, Sunset Shimmer, Horror, Adventure, Twilight Sparkle (EqG), Alternate Universe, Human, Original Character, Fluttershy (EqG)
Length: 129114

The Rangers are back, and face on Vulcan's descendant

In a magical world outside of our own, the moon aligned with the stars, opening a powerful portal, and the evil Vulcan broke free into our world. Ruthlessly, Vulcan and his legion of followers plotted to conquer Earth, but the rangers fought valiantly and finally put him out of action!

BUT... hidden in the shadows, Vulcan left a small part of himself which evolved into a whole new threat to carry on his legacy.

Now, the Earth's greatest heroes must rise again to save the world from destruction.

...POWER RANGERS SUPER STARFLEET!!" 

Published 2017-10-03 17:10:07 UTC
Last updated 2018-01-27 03:45:43 UTC

Episode 1: Vine with Me (The Rangers Return)

(Opening Theme)

When the evil does call,
and our world starts to fall
A hero will fight to make things fine!

With our friendships so bright,
we will fight with all our might
just as the stars and goodness must shine…!

GO, GO POWER RANGERS
Believing is all that we’ve got!
GO, GO POWER RANGERS
Make evil forces prevail naught

STARFLEET FOREVER,
POWER RANGERS… ALL TOGETHER!

GO, GO POWER RANGERS
Believing is all that we’ve got!
GO, GO POWER RANGERS
Make evil forces prevail naught

STARFLEET FOREVER,
POWER RANGERS… ALL TOGETHER!

POWER RANGERS “SUPER” STARFLEET

EPISODE ONE

On a tiny rocky island, a few hundred miles from Mystic Island, the prison tower still stood undiscovered, and still house so many different monsters and villains from the dimensional universe.

On the shores of the island, three despicable creatures, Vulcan’s former minions, wearily climbed up out of the waters where they had been swimming for weeks since falling from the sky.

Marla: A very beautiful humanoid lady. She had pale grey skin, pointy ears, long, flowing light pink hair that ran all the way near the ground. She wore a red, sparkling, armored vest with a black skirt attached and matching black boots on her feet, and long fingerless black gloves. If her ability to create more Lingos was as skillful as her diva-attitude… who knows what she’d be capable of.

<Bronc: A big muscular armored creature, and the computer and technological expert of the group. He was much taller and muscular than the others. Very little of his actual body was scene as he was covered in head to toe in white and blue armor, complete with a helmet hiding his features. He almost looked robotic, but he wasn’t.

Keto: A mage, though shorter than the others, about up to Marla’s upper-body. He skin was gold colored, he wore a black witch hat, a red cape, a green robe, and he carried a long metal staff with an upside-down crescent-moon with a large red ruby in the center at the top.

All three of them were soaked to the bone and panting stressfully, “I never thought we’d make it!” cried Keto “I’ll never swim again for the rest of my life!”

Marla tweaked her nose in attempt to clear her sinuses from all that salt water. “My hair, my clothes, by nose…!” she whined “You two are going to pay for this! I MEAN IT!! It’ll take a miracle to make me beautiful again!”

Keto sighed, “How can you be thinking about all that at a time like this!”

“I think about my looks all the time.” sneered Marla.

Bronc could only grumble to himself, “I should’ve let the rangers destroy me when I had the chance than put up with this!”

They all entered the tower, and all the prisoners were roaring and groaning loudly.

“We’re starving!”

“We haven’t been fed in weeks!”

“Let us out of here!”

The minions ignored the whining and retreated to the top of the tower where they used to meet with Vulcan in the lab.

“What are we supposed to do now?” asked Keto.

“I don’t know!” sneered Bronc “With Vulcan gone, we need a new plan!”

“…I couldn’t agree more.” said a voice from across the room. The minions looked towards the entrance of Vulcan’s private lab and saw someone standing in the shadows.

“Who are you supposed to be?” Marla rudely asked.

The creature stepped forth, and much to the minions’ surprise, he looked exactly like Vulcan; humanoid like alien, and he wore a black armored vest, with a black overcoat, with matching black pants, black boots with spikes at the toes.

Only he was half Vulcan’s size, his scaly skin and his fiery hair were blue instead of red.

“…Vulcan?” Bronc asked in disbelief.

The creature snickered and said, “Not really. The name is Nacluv, and I’m your new boss.”

Marla raised an eyebrow, “Nacluv?”

“It’s “Vulcan” spelled backwards.” said Keto.

“That’s correct.” hissed Nacluv “Your leader, Vulcan, created me in his image and gave me his very thought patterns. His reasons were that I would continue his legacy, if in the unlikely event he’d fall. So here I am.”

“Uh, yeah… like I’m going to take orders from a shrimp.” Marla teased, “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’m going to hit the hot-tub.”

Nacluv didn’t take kindly to her insults, and demonstrated, by blasting a blaze of fire at, just missing her, but making a huge hole in the wall, frightening her and her comrades.

“Did I forget to mention Vulcan gave me his powers as well… and they’re JUST as lethal? So maybe you ought to show a little more respect next time!”

Marla fearfully turned round, and as for Keto and Bronc, they also gave in and bowed their heads to their new master.

“That’s more like it.” hissed Nacluv. “Now, go and feed the prisoners and report back here! We’ve got a lot of work to do…”

“YES SIR!!” the three shouted, and they dashed off to get to their duties, while Nacluv sat himself in the big chair by the computers, “I think I’m going like being in charge, and my first directive: Destroy the rangers, and then conquer the world!”

He laughed wickedly, but then his voice cracked, “I think I need time to work on that.”

(Que Intro)

Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash, Buddy Rose, William Stirskewer-- also known as Rhymey, his tight girlfriend, Fluttershy, and their ally and part-time History teacher, Lightning Dawn…

The former Power Rangers… we’re in a deep dry spell.

It had been three weeks since their victory over the evil planet broker, Vulcan, and ever since then, there hadn’t been any new monsters sent to attack Mystic Island; not even a single Lingo.

It meant the rangers could catch up on their normal lives.

Lightning continued to teach his history classes at Canterlot High, while being constantly annoyed by the local school diva, Nikki Trent, trying to flirt with him!

Of course, the other rangers had their own part-time jobs and major hobbies as well.

Fluttershy continued her work-study, to be a vet, at the animal shelter. Even the most ferocious of ill-tempered animals seemed to melt by her gentle attitude… that or if she gave them a strong STARE every so.

Rhymey gave poetry-readings at the town Library, to teach children more about it and to like it; sort of like a poet-laureate.

Some of the children even began to adopt his style of talking in rhyme.

Buddy did loads of work at the community garden, and took time to work at the Farmer’s Market selling flowers and vegetables he grew.

Meanwhile, Sunset decided to do some volunteer work at the hospital. This way, not only could she help other people, as well as the hospital staff, but she could also be close to her other friends.

Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Starla Shine, Dyno and Myte, and of course, Artie, her really tight boyfriend; all of them still lying in coma’s which they had been for two months ever since being hit by that big explosion caused by Vulcan and his minions.

Dr. Penny Sillion assured her, “They’re getting stronger every day, they won’t be out of it forever, you’ll see.”

Sunset really hoped so. She missed her friends dearly, especially Artie. She stood by his side and held his cold hand. “I’m here for you, Artie.” and she looked at all her other friends “I’m here for all of you.”

Suddenly, she felt Artie give her hand a tiny squeeze, even though Dr. Penny told her they were just soft muscle reflexes that would occur every now and then, each and every time she felt one, Sunset’s hopes grew brighter, feeling that Artie and the others would wake up soon.

As for Rainbow Dash, when she wasn’t busy practicing her guitar or her mad soccer-skills, she worked as a part-time Pizza Delivery girl. With her speed and efficiency, she got loads of tips, and every now and then, she’d run into a little problem…

Today, she was delivering two pizzas to a nearby neighborhood, when she spotted a bunch of punks stealing from the outdoor food stands.

“Hey!” the grocer shouted, which alerted the punks to scram, and dash up the streets. “Stop those kids!” the grocer begged.

Rainbow put down the pizzas on the steps towards the apartment house, and ran off after the punks cutting them off by taking a short cut through the allies.

“Hold it right there!” she yelled at them. The punks stopped, and turned round. “Hey, who are you? The cops?” the leader joked. “Nope, I’m a pizza delivery girl.”

The punks laughed hysterically at her, thinking this was a joke, but Rainbow could see this was going to get ugly.

“You just delivered yourself a death-wish, girl!” the leader snapped, and he lunged forth to punch her, but Rainbow skillfully swerved, and kicked the guy hard in the gut, making his other four punk friends jump at her.

Rainbow narrowed her eyes, and cracked her knuckles, “Go ahead… Make my day.” she hissed.

The fight was on, but even though the punks were much bigger than she was, Rainbow evaded all their attacks, and easily punched, kicked and knocked them all down like bowling pins until they were all lying flat in the street, “Did I also mention I’m the blue ranger?”

The police came and apprehended the punks, but Rainbow didn’t have time to stick around and endure the praise she would get. She had pizza routes to get on.

Little did she realize, she was being watched by Nacluv and the minions as the hid within the shadows of another alley.

“I say we go for her now!” said Keto.

“Not, yet!” snapped Nacluv “We’ll wait until they all get in one place, and then capture them all at once.” He turned and asked, “You think you can handle that, Vinery?”

A green planet like creature, covered in green bark like skin, and a vine-line tentacles hissed, “No problem, boss. Once those rangers are bound by my vines, I’ll suck the energy and the power right out of them!”

The rangers all met up for lunch in the park that day; all six of them. “And this is supposed to be a Saturday?” groaned Buddy “I’ve never worked so hard, either that or it’s just the boredom talking.”

“I don’t mind working on Saturday…” said Fluttershy “I just love taking care of all the animals at the shelter. The doctor says I’ll make a fine vet someday.”

“If it’s something you like to do,
No one has the right to question you.” said Rhymey.

“I couldn’t go a day without my poetry,
Without it or my rhymes… it just isn’t me.”

Rainbow sighed boringly, “Well, pretty much trashing those punks in the alley were the most exciting thing that happened to me all weak, and they were lightweights.”

“Hmm…!” Lightning said “I guess we all miss a little of the action, but then again it’s not like we should wish for the world to be in danger again.”

All the rangers agreed, especially Sunset. She had just finished writing a letter in the magic journal to Commander Lightning Dawn in the Dimensional Universe to see how he and Starfleet were going on.

“How’s it going back there with them?” Buddy asked.

“Not very good.” replied Sunset “Up until now they’ve only captured barely half of all the escaped prisoners, but their galaxy is still in grave danger. On top of that, they’re still nowhere nearer to fixing the portal in their world, so we still won’t get our energizers back for some time.”

Everyone sighed, still feeling the rut they were in sink into them.

Fluttershy then turned her head and saw a familiar couple walking down the street. Celesto Grand Ruler, their team mentor and his wife, Principal Celestia taking their infant children on a stroll.

The gang waved over at them, and the couple waved back and then strolled over and joined their friends.

The babies, Castor and Leilani, cooed from their double carriage. “Aw, aren’t you two cute.” Fluttershy cooed as she playfully tickled their little chins.

“Trust me, they aren’t so cute when they’re spitting up on you all the time.” Celestia joked.

“At least it gives you both something to do.” said Buddy.

Celesto sighed, he was well aware of the rangers’ boredom, “If only you all understood and were as into work as I am, you’d be so busy you wouldn’t have time to complain, and speaking of which…”

He reached into his pocket and passed them each their respective morpher-badges, which had been upgraded for stronger powers.

“Funny, they don’t look any different.” said Rainbow. “I assure you, we’ve managed to update most of the ranger technology and equipment.” said Celesto “Twilight’s been working non-stop, even after I tell her to have a break. I practically was willing to pay her to stop and have a rest.”

Everyone chuckled, and Rhymey said,

“That’s our Twilight, a worker so tight,
And she never stops working, ‘til things are all right.”

Back at the rangers’ secret base, located deep under the island, Twilight Sparkle was working harder than ever with Celestos team of scientists to keep all the ranger technology updated, much to the chagrin of her pet talking dog, Spike.

“Twilight, when are you going to stop…? It’s been weeks since a monster attacked.” Spike groaned.

“Spike it’s more than just keeping the tech up-to-date,” said Twilight “I’m doing what I enjoy, and I’m expanding my own mind by improving things. Just imagine what I could do for the world someday, I could be the greatest female science-engineer in history!”

With that, she got right back to work, while Spike groaned and went back to sleep.

While back in the park, the babies looked sleepy themselves. “Uh, oh; I think we should get you two home for your nap.” their mother cooed.

“Yes, we should go.” agreed Celesto “We’ll see you all later.”

“Say bye-bye, babies…” Celestia cooed, as she playfully made the kids wave their tiny hands.

Soon they were gone, and the rangers finished their lunches. “Well, how about we hit the soccer-field?” Rainbow suggested. The others all agreed, but Sunset and Lightning both had to use the portable restrooms first after eating so much.

“We’ll catch up with you guys later.” Sunset called. Then she and Lightning hurried off, while the other four rangers hit the field to play two-on-two… unaware of the imminent danger at hand…

Vinery peered round a tree and snickered, “They may not be all together, but at least I’ll have most of them, and the last two will follow. Master Nacluv will be pleased.”

While the four rangers played about, they played guys against girls. Naturally, Rainbow was a superstar at scoring goals, but when Fluttershy got the ball, she just gave simple kicks with her feet, allowing the boys to easily steal from her and catch up in goals.

“Come on, Fluttershy, you’ve gotta do better than that.” groaned Rainbow.

“Sorry, I’m still not all that into extreme sports.”

Rainbow sighed and decided to take the next shot herself.

“Come on, we’re ready.” shouted Buddy.

“Ready and steady!” rhymed Rhymey.

Rainbow welcomed their challenge, and narrowed her eyes as she positioned herself ready for the big kick.

She took a running lunge for the ball, but just as she was about to kick…

…She was ensnared by large vines!

“Rainbow!” cried Buddy, and then he and rhymey were ensnared, followed by Fluttershy, and they were all dragged off.

Meanwhile, Sunset and Lightning finished in the portable washrooms, both feeling much better. “I can’t play too long now, I still have to get Monday’s history lesson ready.”

“Oh, joy to that…” Sunset teased, but when she and Lightning got to the field, they couldn’t find the gang anywhere; just Rainbow’s soccer ball lying on the ground. “That’s odd…” said Sunset “Rainbow wouldn’t just go off and leave her favorite ball lying here.”

Lightning suspected a prank and called out, “Come on, guys… joke’s over.” but nothing happened. Both he and Sunset were getting worried.

Meanwhile, Lightning’s pet talking robin, Krysta, was happily flying about like she always did, as free as the breeze. “Ah, yeah… this is my idea of relaxation.” she said to herself.

She flew in lower, over the forest near the park, when she suddenly spotted what looked like a monster. “What the…!” she cried as she perched herself on a tree limb.

She looked down and saw four of the rangers bound to four separate trees by thick vines. The four of them were struggling hard.

“What’s with these vines!” growled Buddy “They’re not like anything I’ve seen.”

Vinery and Nacluv approached them snickering, and Nacluv hissed, “And they’ll be the last thing you see as well, Power Rangers.”

“It can’t be…!” cried Fluttershy.

“Who the heck are you?” asked Rainbow.

Nacluv chuckled, “I’m… you’re worst nightmare come true.”

The rangers struggled, but they still couldn’t break free, nor could they reach their morphers to call for help.

“It isn’t over yet!
There’s still Lightning and Sunset.” said Rhymey.

Vinery and Nacluv laughed, “I haven’t forgotten about them.” said Nacluv “By the time they even figure where you are, it’ll be too late.”

He snapped his fingers allowing Vinery to proceed. “Say bye-bye, rangers…” he hissed, and his eyes began to glow red, at the same time, the vines binding the rangers glowed softly as did the rangers.

“The vines, they’re sucking out our energy!” cried Buddy.

Krysta couldn’t bear this, “I’ve got to find Lightning and Sunset!” she cried, and figuring they were somewhere in the park, she flew off as fast as she could.

Lightning and Sunset had spread out and looked all over the park. “Did you find them?” Sunset asked.

“Obviously not, and neither did you.” replied Lightning

“But we found you!” snapped a voice. The two rangers turned round and couldn’t believe their eyes; it was Marla, Bronc and Keto. “It can’t be!” cried Sunset.

“That’s right… we’re baa-aack.” chuckled Keto, and his comrades snickered with him.

“Did you miss us?” Marla teased.

Lightning clenched his fists and snarled, “Where are the others?”

“That’s the least of your concern!” said Bronc “Soon they’ll all be destroyed, but don’t worry, we’ll make sure you’re there to greet them on the other side!”

With that, he fired his helmet eye-lasers, forcing Sunset and Lighting to jump for it!

“Song of Ember Nova!” Keto shouted, and as the Chaotic Mugician he was, his song played, and unleashed a barrage of fireballs at the two rangers, forcing them to hightail it into the shrubs.

Kapow!! A big explosion!

“I got ‘em!” Keto cheered, and he began to dance like a goofball celebrating his victory… when suddenly…

Sunset and Lightning, came leaping out from the shrubs, both morphed for the first time in a while. “You got nothing!” snapped Sunset, “Nothing but a good beating coming to you!” added Lightning.

The minions growled, and Marla decided, “Well… why don’t we tune things up a bit!” and she threw a few threads of her hair into the ground creating a swarm of Lingos-- her army of drones.

“It’s been a while…” said Sunset “…It’s time to Shine!”

Lightning agreed, and the two of them leapt in and began to attack the Lingos mercilessly having never lost their touch.

“It’s a good thing we stuck to our training all this time.” Lightning said as he punched a Lingo hard.

“You got that right…” Sunset added as she kicked down two more.

As they continued to make short work of the Lingos Krysta came flying in shouting “Lightning…! LIGHTNING…!!”

“Krysta…?”

“Lightning, I found the others! They’re in a clearing in the forest, and they’re in big trouble!”

Sunset and Lightning gawked at each other, with concern expressions behind their helmets.

While deep in the woods, the rangers were already starting to feel weak and were fading fast.

“Can’t… keep up… much longer!” groaned Rainbow.

“It’s no use, we can’t break free!” cried Buddy.

Rhymey and Fluttershy struggled, but it was hopeless to escape, especially in their weakened state, while Vinery only laughed at them and he spoke to Nacluv, “What do you think boss?”

Nacluv snickered, “Well done, Vinery. Just keep it up a little longer. I want them to have absolutely nothing left when we deliver the kill!”

“I’ve got to go after them.” said Sunset, “Lightning, keep me covered.”

“You got it.” Lightning agreed, “Krysta, show her the way!”

“Right!” cried Krysta “Follow me!” and she flew off with Sunset running after her.

“Oh, no you don’t!” shouted Marla, and she prepared to lung for them both, but Lightning leapt in and kicked her hard and sent her crashing into the other two, knocking them down.

“I’m going to make you guys wish you never came back!” he sneered at them.

“Pretty big words for a lonesome ranger!” scoffed Bronc.

“Let’s get him!” shouted Keto.

The fight was on!

Meanwhile, Krysta led Sunset through the woods. “Come on!” she called to her, and Sunset stayed close behind. Soon, they both arrived in the clearing and saw the others nearly passed out while bound to the trees.

“Hang on, guys, I’ll get you out!” cried Sunset, and she pressed on her morpher, followed by the female automated voice shouting, “Summon Weapon!”

“Star Scepter…!” Her weapon appeared and she gripped it tight, but before she could make a move, “Sunset, look out!” Krysta screamed, but a pair of vines whipped her, knocking the scepter out of her hand, making sparks fly.

“Welcome, red ranger…!” Vinery called as he came into view, “I was expected you’d come; now I get to destroy you and your fellow rangers all at once!”

Sunset growled, but then she looked over at her friends, feeling she had to free them and fast, but as she took one step towards them, Nacluv appeared right next to Fluttershy, with his claws just inches from her neck, sneering “I wouldn’t do that if I were you!”

Stunned for just a split second, Sunset just stood there, and Nacluv then blasted her hard and sent her crashing back. He laughed at her, and then turned to the monster, “She’s all yours, Vinery.”

The monster snickered, and approached Sunset, “Time for you to get under wraps!”

Sunset looked ahead, and saw her Scepter laying ahead of her, “I think not…” and she jumped just as the vines were launched, missing her, and she rolled along, grabbing her weapon, and blasted at the creature, and then she quickly spun round on her heel blasting at the vines that bound her friends, and making Nacluv jump away.

The four weakened rangers didn’t get up, not having the strength to, but remembering what their morphers were capable of, Sunset jumped over, “Hang on guys,” and she activated their morphers transferring large bursts of energy into their bodies, restoring their strength.

“Sunset?” groaned Rainbow.

“What’s going on?” added Fluttershy.

“It’s okay guys. Right now I need your help.” said Sunset “You up for it?”

“Are you kidding? We’ve been waiting for some action!” said Buddy.

“Nothing to it
But to do it.” agreed Rhymey.

The four rangers stood together, and Rainbow made the call. “It’s Morphin’ Time!”

“Morphing Sequence… Ready!” said the automated voice, and all together the rangers shouted, “STARFLEET MAGIC… POWER ON!!” and pressing their badges, they morphed into their ranger outfits.

“Yeah, we’re back!” cried Sunset “And ready to shine!”

Nacluv growled angrily, “I’ve gotten what I need to know. Let’s get out of here!” he called to Vinery, and he teleported away thanks to the new devices Bronc whipped up.

“He’s gone!” cried Fluttershy.

Vinery, on the other hand refused to leave, “I’m not leaving so easily! I said I’d destroy you, and that’s what I’ll do!” he launched his vines at the rangers, forcing them to evade, and he then proceeded to whirl them around like whips, hitting each of the rangers, making sparks fly.

“That does it!” snapped Buddy, and he summoned his own weapon, “Plasma Whip…!”

Gripping his whip tightly, he skillfully lassoed the vines all together.

“Hey, let go of me!” shouted the monster.

“Sorry, you didn’t say “please!” Buddy teased, and he gave his whip a huge yank sending the monster soaring, and then crashing on the ground hard.

The other rangers then summoned their weapons.

Rainbow: “Sonic Cannon!”

Rhymey: “Raid Blade!”

Fluttershy: “Strong Shield!”

“You think I’m scared of those puny toys of yours?!” shouted Vinery, “Time for you to get under tight wraps!”

“We’ll see about that.” snapped Sunset, “Go, guys!”

The rangers all lunged forth, and while Vinery put up a valiant effort, the rangers managed to strike, slash, and blast at him hard.

“This isn’t going how I planned!”

“You should’ve run while you had the chance!” shouted Sunset, “Okay, guys… bring ‘em together!”

“RIGHT…!!” the others agreed, and the merged their weapons together.

“Weapons Combine!”

“Star-Slammer… Ready!”

It had been quite some time since they last used their faithful Star-Slammer, but they all stood together as Sunset held the mighty weapon, and she whirled it round and round over her head like a lasso, that began to glow brightly.

Altogether, the rangers shouted, “STAR-SLAMMER… ULTRA-STRIKE!!” and Sunset gave the weapon a huge slam, hitting the monster hard over his head. Vinery screamed and roared as his body was enveloped in multi-colored lightning bolts, and he exploded… KAPOW!!

The rangers rejoiced in their victory.

While outside the woods, Lightning punched Marla, kicked Bronc, and threw Keto hard, still staying as strong as ever. “You guys give up yet…?”

The angry minions growled at him, but they weren’t ready to quit just yet… that is until they noticed the explosion lifting from above the forest.

Back at the tower, Nacluv saw the whole thing on the screens, and as if he were outraged enough that Vinery didn’t listen and retreat when he told him to, “Keto… do your thing!” Nacluv shouted into the new radio system.

Keto acknowledged, “Time to grow up,” he teased and then held his staff up shouting, “FORTISSIMO!” and he launched his most often used mugic, which brought Vinery back from the explosive waves and grew him to gigantic proportions.

“Now this is what I call feelin’ Vine!” the huge monster joked!

“Ah, man!” cried Lightning, and the minions snickered and decided to leave him and his fellow rangers at the monster’s hands before teleporting away, much to Lightning’s chagrin, but he and the others rangers now had bigger problems to deal with.

Sunset contacted the base, via her morpher-com, “Launch Star-Jets!”

“Summon Zords!”

From their secret base under the island, the five mega jets soared through a long launch tunnel and flew out over the sea, then made a huge turn heading back towards the danger site.

Once the jets were in view, the automatically beamed the rangers into their respective cockpits, ready for battle. “Okay guys, let’s bring ‘em in.” said Sunset.

“WHOO-HOO! This is going to feel awesome!” cried Rainbow.

The other three all shook their heads playfully at her giddiness, but really they also felt as eager as she did deep down.

“Zords Combine!”

For the first time in a while, their zords combined once again.

“Jet-Star Megazord… Ready!”

“Go get him, guys!” Lightning called up to the megazord.

Vinery on the other hand was not impressed, “Bring it on!” he snarled as he charged forth, striking the megazord hard with his vine-whips, but the megazord just stood there taking every hit and not even flinching.

“Oh, you think you’re so tough, huh?”

“We don’t think; we know!” barked Sunset.

Rhymey then pulled on his controls, making the Megazord raise its arm and sock the creature hard in the chest, and Fluttershy made the other arm punch him again!

“Our turn…!” Buddy said to Rainbow, and they both made the megazord jump and give the monster a good flying kick, that sent him rolling along the ground.

“Good shot, but not good enough!” shouted Vinery, and he unleashed his vines, ensnaring the zord tightly.

“He’s got us! We can’t move!” cried Fluttershy.

The rangers pounded at the controls, but their megazord couldn’t move an inch.

“Here, let me give you a lift!” sneered Vinery, and he rasied the megazord up high and slammed it hard on the ground, rocking the rangers about inside!

“So much for your first fight…!” Vinery roared, but suddenly his vines were blasted at and snapped from the side. “What?!” he shouted as he turned round and saw a giant Lightning whom had fired the blast from his gauntlets, “It’s my first battle back too, you know!”

The monster was outraged, while the megazord stood and brushed the vines off. “Thanks, Lightning…!” Sunset called “Now let’s finish this creep!”

With that, the megazord drew it’s sword from behind.

“Uh, oh! This isn’t good.” cried Vinery.

“Charge it up…” shouted Sunset.

“Star Saber… Engage!”

The saber began to glow, and the megazord whirled it once in a big circle, creating a large star in front.

“STAR SLASH… GO!!” shouted the rangers, and the megazord gave a huge slash, sending the star soaring at the monster, hitting him hard.

Once again, Vinery began to flare and jolt! “THAT’S A WRAP!” he shouted as he exploded once again-- actually, the explosion was just a powerful transformation; the flames were not real at all. The monster was magically shrunk down and imprisoned in a clear sphere which was beamed aboard the cockpit.

“Way to go guys!” Lightning cheered. The other rangers all rejoiced as well, and Sunset called it for the first time in a while, “Monster Captured! Mission Complete!”

Back at the Tower, the minions were all outraged!

“I can’t believe it!” Bronc thundered at Nacluv, “We almost had them, and you told us to retreat?!”

“Looks like you’re not all like Vulcan as you claimed.” Marla teased, but this only earned her an angry blast from her boss, burning the ends of her long hair. “Hey!” she shrieked.

“Next time, I’ll aim straight at your face!” Nacluv hissed, “Today was just a test. Obviously those rangers aren’t as out of practice as I thought. After all, you shouldn’t underestimate your enemy.”

“I get it…” said Keto “At least I think I do.”

Nacluv sighed, but he knew this was just the beginning, and he vowed that he wouldn’t quit until the rangers were beaten for good!

Meanwhile, the rangers rode the zords back to base where Celesto, Twilight, Spike, and all the gang were waiting for them, and Rainbow immediately asked, “How come the alarms didn’t sound when that monster attacked?” to which Twilight embarrassingly admitted “Would you believe we were working on the console then…?”

The rangers all sighed irritably.

“Okay, okay, settle down now.” said Celesto “Things still worked out alright in the end, since all the other controls were working.”

“Don’t forget me…” said Krysta “I helped out too.”

Lightning stroked her little head, “We’re all grateful, Krysta.”

Buddy then clenched his fists, “Just the same, it was close. That Nacluv almost actually got us.”

Flutterhy agreed, “He’s just as cruel and as nasty as Vulcan ever was.”

“And don’t forget the minions, too,
So it’s obvious what we have to do.” said Rhymey.

The others all agreed, and Sunset said, “Looks like our dry-spell is over. The Power Rangers are back and ready for action.”

The others all agreed, and now there wasn’t much to do but prepare for the long war ahead.

Episode 2: Test of Question

EPISODE TWO

It was the first Monday of May, and the very last month of school before summer. This meant final exams were coming for the students of Canterlot High.

Many of them had already begun their hard cramming and buckling down to ace their tests, which weren’t for a few weeks, but many of them wanted to pass, especially those who wished to graduate.

Durring a break period, the rangers and Twilight went to the school library to do some quick crash studying, and while Twilight didn’t seem too worried as she buried herself in her books, while the rangers were all bored to the bone.

“Oh, this is giving me one heck of a headache!” groaned Rainbow “Math, Literature, Lightning’s History course, Biology… It’s just half the stuff I have to work on.”

“Come on, Rainbow, we have to keep going,
All this will help us keep our futures flowing.” said Rhymey.

“He’s right…” said Sunset “After all, if we want to graduate, we need to pass these courses to get the last credits we need.”

Fluttershy however looked a little sad. “You having trouble?” asked Buddy.

“Oh, no… it’s not that. I’m just worried about graduating. Remember what we all talked about when the semester began?”

The others all stopped and looked up from their books in concern. They remembered wondering what would happen to them when they all would graduate, since they wouldn’t have school to hang out at anymore.

“I guess we’ve been so preoccupied with all this ranger stuff, we didn’t have time to think about that.” said Buddy.

Now all of them felt a bit concerned about what to do, but the bell rang and they all had to head off to their next classes, “We’ll talk about it later.” said Sunset.

With that, they all packed up and headed off.

Meanwhile, Nacluv was going over the computers of the many types of monsters locked up in the prison, and while he did so, the minions were all arguing over ideas of how to get the rangers.

“I say we send a creature to mess up their appearances.” said Marla “Then maybe they’ll know what it’s like when they mess up me.”

“That is so lame it’s not even funny…” groaned Keto, “I say we sent a magical creature to turn those rangers into slimy worms. Then they’ll never be able to fight us.”

“Ha!” snapped Bronc “I’ve got a better idea: We send a computerized creature to steal more of their secrets to use for ourselves.”

“If by better you mean dumber!” jeered Marla.

“You can’t talk to me, that way!”

“You two are both crazy!” sneered Keto.

Nacluv grew so annoyed with their bickering that he turned in his chair and let out a small shout, catching their attention, “How Vulcan ever put up with you three is beyond me!” he grumbled, and the minions felt ashamed.

“Besides, I already have an idea…” and he clapped his hands calling forth a creature he had ordered to be released.

The creature had a large book for its head with open pages, a ruler for his left hand, and a drawing compass for his right. “Crammer at your service, sir.” he hissed to Nacluv “I’ll beat you those rangers by giving them a lesson they won’t soon forget.”

The minions were all confused by the sight of this creature, but Nacluv seemed impressed. “Maybe you could teach these three a lesson?” he suggested.

The minions felt shivers run down their spines, but then Crammer demonstrated his power… off-screen.

“What’s this supposed to be?” asked Marla.

“I don’t know.” replied Keto.

“I think I know…” said Bronc, but before he could do anything else, all three minions received a nasty shock from whatever it was that Crammer gave them. “Sorry, guess you’re not smart enough.”

Nacluv chuckled, “Just what I was thinking.” he said hinting at the minions. “Now, go and challenge the rangers. Make it good…”

“You got it, boss.”

(Que Intro)

That day at lunch, the rangers all went outside in the soccer-field, to get a breath of fresh air on a sunny day. Rainbow and some of the others were kicking the soccer-ball around, but Twilight was still buried in her textbook.

“I don’t know how and where you get this concentration from, Twilight.” Sunset said playfully. “Really, well I don’t know where you don’t get it from.” Twilight teased.

The girls giggled, Fluttershy was busy making a list of potential hangout places for the gang after graduation.

“There’s my place… or at the mall… or even at the base.” Suddenly, she nearly broke down, “Oh, who am I kidding? This isn’t working at all.”

The other girls shook their heads pitifully, “Fluttershy, it’ll be alright.” said Sunset “You should worry more about passing exams first.”

Sadly, that didn’t make Fluttershy feel any better. Now she felt more nervous with all the pressure returning to her.

As if that weren’t bad enough, Nikki came along and mocked, “Aw, poor Fluttershy nervous about exams?”

Amber and Dionne snickered at her, much to the ire of the others. “Shouldn’t you be studying, Nikki?” Sunset asked.

“Don’t need to. I, like totes got the finals nailed.” gloated Nikki.

“Oh, really…?” asked Twilight, “Then surely you know the circumference of a hypotenuse is how long in measurement from the correct angle.”

Nikki froze, and her cronies looked confused. “Like, what did she say?” asked Amber.

“I don’t know.” said Dionne “Tell us, Nikki, you said you knew all that stuff.”

“Um… yeah… well… I, uh…”

Suddenly, Rainbow kicked the ball, “HEADS UP!” she shouted and Nikki ducked down just in time letting the ball zoom over her head, just missing her by a few inches.

“Whoa, are you crazy?!” she panted stressfully, “I… I need to go chill. Come on girls.”

Then they were gone, but Twilight and Sunset felt that Nikki just used that as an excuse because she was bluffing about the whole “Having it nailed” deal.

“What’s up with her?” asked Buddy. “Ah, don’t worry about.” said Sunset.

Rhymey then noticed Fluttershy was a little shaken.

“Hey,
You okay?” he asked.

His girlfriend looked up and she tried to hide her worries, but he could already see it; the pressure of studying, and the thought of what to do after graduation.

“Come on; let’s go for a walk,
And you and me, we can talk.”

He held out his hand so gentlemanly to her, and she smiled lovingly as she softly took it and they walked off together.

“Aww…” the others cooed, and decided to let them have their privacy. “They’re so cute together.” Rainbow said, and the others agreed.

Rhymey and Fluttershy loved taking walks together to help them forget their worries.

“Um.. Rhymey… do you wonder what’ll happen to all of us down the road?” Fluttershy asked.

Her boyfriend pondered deeply,

“What the future holds is a mystery,
for you, for me, or for anybody,

I guess it’s all a matter of what you want to do,
But one thing I know that I want; that’s to always be with you.”

Fluttershy blushed, and turned away feeling warm inside, but then then she rested her head softly on his shoulder as they continued to walk, and he pecked her head.

Suddenly, he stopped, and Fluttershy snapped her eyes open. “What is it?” she asked, but she saw herself…

There, floating in midair before them was a math equation; “1+1=…”

Fluttershy and Rhymey looked at one another, and then Rhymey raised his finger at the math problem, and he magically drew in the answer; “1+1= 2” and like that, the problem vanished in a small flash.

Suddenly, another question appeared by Fluttershy: “Define Hypotenuse…”

Still confused, she put in her answer, “Hypotenuse: The longest side of a right-triangle.”

That question vanished too, but then many more appeared, and both Rhymey and Fluttershy, and the many bypasses gawked in curiosity and confusion.

“What is all this about?” Fluttershy wondered aloud.

“It’s unusual, no doubt.” said Rhymey.

“Oh, it’s more than unusual!” snarled a voice, and the by-passers screamed as Crammer appeared. “This is your ultimate test, but you’ll fail!”

Rhymey and Fluttershy clenched their fists.

“Whatever you are, whoever you may be,
We won’t let you win, you hear me?!” snarled Rhymey.

“Wrong answer!” snapped Crammer, and at once, lots of the floating questions turned red and began to shoot lasers beams at everyone around, making small explosions!

Rhymey and Fluttershy backflipped out of the way just in time, barely being missed. “Everyone, get out of here!” Fluttershy shouted to the civilians.

The people ran for their safety, and after which, Rhymey activated his morpher-badge…

At the same time, Sunset’s badge began to flash red, “Uh, oh… trouble!”

Suddenly a whole stampede of panicking people came rushing from down the street, “I think we know which way it is.” said Rainbow.

“I’ll head to the base and run a check. Good luck guys.” said Twilight. Then she dashed off and hid behind a tree, where a secret entrance to a jump tube; the network of which were honeycombed all over the island for quick travel to and from the rangers’ secret base.

“Let’s go, guys!” cried Buddy, and off they went, and they all ran off just as the school bell rang for the start of next period, but the rangers were given special excuses when duty called… provided of course they catch up with their homework and make up assignments.

Meanwhile, “Here’s a question for you…” hissed Crammer, and from his magic compass, he unleashed the question: “How will the rangers win…?”

Naturally, he didn’t even give Rhymey and Fluttershy a chance to answer it, and made it turn red automatically, shooting at them.

The two rangers dodged the laser fire again, and nodded at one another. “It’s morphin’ time!” cried Fluttershy.

“Morhing Sequence… Ready!”

“STARFLEET MAGIC… POWER ON!!”

“Okay, you…!
It’s one against two!” shouted Rhymey.

Crammer laughed at him, “Oh, yeah, well, tell me what two times eight is? It’s sixteen!” and with that, he unleashed at least sixteen different questions, sending them straight at the two rangers, not even giving them a chance to look at them before being fired upon.

Sparks and explosions flew all about, knocking the rangers down, but they got up and lunged at him before he fired anymore questions at them, but even still, Crammer proved to be just as good at fighting as well…!

Rhymey punched for him, but got blocked by the creature’s large ruler arm, and he was swatted away, and Fluttershy kicked at the creature, but she got struck hard, with sparks, the compass arm, which was sharp like a sword.

“Oh, my…!
Fluttershy…!” Rhymey shouted as he dashed to her side.

“Face it, you two power punks don’t have a chance!” snarled Crammer, but he suddenly got blasted at from behind, “What the?!” he growled as he turned round and saw the other three rangers.

“Then why don’t we add three to the two?” Sunset teased.

Rainbow lowered her cannon, and the other two rangers ran up to their friends, “You guys okay?” asked Buddy.

“Yeah, thanks you guys.” replied Fluttershy.

Cramer just snickered, “Well, well… three plus two is five, but what’s one plus a dozen?” and with that a swarm of Lingos appeared, “Get them!”

“Let’s rumble!” shouted Sunset, and she and the others dashed forth, punching, kicking, and stomping all over the Lingos with ease, but Crammer still proved a dirty fighter, as he fired more quick questions out of his compass which blasted the rangers all over without even giving them a chance to answer them.

Rainbow tried to shoot the questions down with her cannon, but her blasts went right through them, like passing through thin air, and the lasers still shot at her.

The other rangers huddled around, “You okay, Rainbow?” Sunset asked. Rainbow felt okay, but outraged as well “And I thought cramming for a test was rough.”

“How are we supposed to beat him like this?” asked Fluttershy.

“The answer is… YOU’RE NOT!!” shouted Crammer, and he unleashed so many questions completely surrounding the rangers from all angles.

From his tower, Nacluv watched the whole thing on the screens, and he chuckled softly, “School’s out, Rangers…”

The questions were on all kinds of subjects, but there were so many all over the place, the rangers got woozy just looking at them all. Some of the questions didn’t even make sense as they seemed misprinted.

“Spell “Mousetrap” in just three letters:…”

“If you have 2 Coconuts, and your friends had 3 Coconuts, how many Coconuts would ten people like you and your friend have?”

“What is the square root to the power of 29 of the trigonometric amplitude of 87 divided the quantitative hydraxis of 956 to the power of 77…?”

“Ugh! The blood is rushing to my head!
All these questions make me see red!” groaned Rhymey.

“Get ready, guys. On my mark…” Sunset said softly to the others, and her friends caught on, while Crammer snickered “Final answer… rangers lose!” and with that, all the many questions turned red and fired so violently, making a big explosion where the rangers stood.

“At last, I got them!” Crammer shouted, and he laughed and cheered for joy, but little did he realize that the rangers had escape through a secret jump-tube where they were standing, and just escaped with their lives.

They rode the jump tubes straight to their secret base, and once there, they removed their helmets but remained morphed.

“That’s as close as I ever want to cut.” panted Buddy.

Celesto and Twilight were there to greet them, so was Spike, and they held a briefing to discuss about Crammer and his cheap tricks.

“I never thought studying could be so dangerous before.” said Twilight.

“That’s what I tell you all the time.” Spike muttered to himself.

Rainbow clenched her fists and pounded the central table, “That monster’s as crooked as a curveball. Even if we got a chance to answer his questions and make them fade, he’d just make them shoot us anyway as if we guess wrong.”

Sunset sighed, “Which leads us to the really big question: How can we beat him if he keeps cheating us?”

Celesto chuckled softly, “I think you’ve just answered your own question there.” The gang all gawked at him, “Think it over again; you can’t beat Crammer because he cheats at his quizzing you, so perhaps you can use that to your advantage.”

The rangers caught on…

“You mean we can cheat him at his own game.” said Fluttershy.

Rhymey then grinned widely,

“And I think I know how…
Let’s go back, right now.”

“Wait, what’s your idea?” asked Sunset.

“I’ll explain on the way,
Right now just don’t delay.” said Rhymey.

That said, the rangers grabbed their helmets and headed back for the jump-tubes.

“I’ll call up Lightning.” said Twilight.

“He was teaching a class, but he should be free now at period change.” added Celesto.

Indeed, the bell rang and Lightning dismissed his History class. Unlike his fellow rangers, nobody knew of his identity-- that he was the Cosmic Comet Ranger-- and due to his being a teacher he couldn’t just waltz off in the middle of class whenever he wanted, without someone ready to stand in for him, despite the overall importance.

Now that the period was up and next period would begin shortly… Once his classroom was emptied, his morpher-badge beeped from inside his blazer-pocket.

He doubled-checked to make sure no one was watching, and then he answered, “This is Lightning…”

“Lightning…” Twilight called to him “The others are heading downtown. There’s a monster on the loose, and they’ll probably need some backup.”

Just then, someone came into the classroom; Principal Cadance, a ranger ally, and she was still in charge of Canterlot High since her Aunt Celestia was on maternity leave. “I can watch the class for you. Uncle Celesto just called me.”

Lightning nodded, “Thanks,” and then he grabbed his morpher and headed off, out of the building and headed through a secret jump-tube nearby, and on the way, he morphed.

“Cosmic Comet… Power On!”

Meanwhile, Crammer, still believing the rangers were beaten, walked around town. “Now that the rangers are no more, I’ll start crushing the city. Nacluv will be pleased.”

…And with that, he unleashed a swarm of his powerful, cheating, questions upon the city, making lasers fire. Breaking holes in buildings, blowing up the streets and frightening the people.

“Guess the people aren’t too smart!” Crammer cackled.

“That’s what you think!” shouted a voice.

“What?!” Crammer was very surprised to see all the rangers, and Lightning, standing there. “But… but I destroyed you!”

“Way wrong answer, pal.” said Sunset “Now it’s our turn to teach you a lesson!”

One-by-one, the rangers did their roll-call.

Sunset: “Evil’s Dread! Starfleet Red!”

Buddy Rose: “Let’s make the scene. Starfleet Green!”

Rainbow: “We’ll see things through. Starfleet Blue!”

Rhymey: “Though peace and Woe! Starfleet Yellow!”

Fluttershy: “Quick as a Wink! Starfleet Pink!”

Lightning: “Fightning all danger! Comet Ranger!”

And altogether they shouted “…POWER RANGERS… SUPER STARFLEET!!”

“All right… Next question: How annoyed am I, and how fast am I going to destroy you?!” and he launched more cheating questions at the team.

“Spread out!” shouted Sunset, and they all jumped away just in time before the lasers fired.

“So what’s the plan again?” Lightning asked.

“Listen to me,
And you will see…” rhymey said, and then his whispered his plan that he already had told to the others.

“Aha! I got’cha.” said Lightning.

With the rangers all spread out, Crammer fired more questions than ever to shoot at them. “You can’t escape, Rangers! You’ll have to fail the test sometime!”

The rangers dodged and evaded as many of the questions as they could, and some of them tried to face the monster head on to distract him from unleashing any more.

The creature ruthlessly thrashed his weapons at the rangers, knocking them all off. “Sorry, that’s not the answer we’re looking for.” he teased, and then unleashed a huge swarm of more questions.

“Now or never,
Time to get clever.” muttered Rhymey.

He signaled to all the other Rangers by waving, and they all waved back ready to put the plan into action.

“If you can’t answer the questions, you’ll answer to the power!” shouted Crammer, and that’s when the questions turned red and prepared to fire.

“NOW!!” shouted Sunset, and all the rangers quickly leapt right over towards the monster, just as the lasers fired, and then they quickly rolled out of the way causing the shots to blast the monster instead!

“Hey, it worked!” cried Buddy.

“Great plan, Rhymey!” said Fluttershy, and her boyfriend gave her a thumb-up.

Crammer on the other hand was looking really beat up and smoldering from all the blasting. “No fair…!” he groaned “You guys cheated!”

“It’s you who cheated.” snapped Lightning “And you know what we do to cheaters…”

Sunset agreed, and she and the rangers brought their weapons together.

“Weapons Combine!”

“Star-Slammer… Ready!”

“I’ll give you guys an extra boost,” Lightning said and he activated his gloves…

“Come Gauntlets… Engage!”

“Huh? Oh boy…!” cried Crammer as he watched the rangers prepare their attack.

“STAR-SLAMMER… ULTRA-STRIKE!!” as they waved the weapon round and around, “Comet Trail… Fire!” Lightning shouted, and he gave some of his power to the weapon, strengthening it.

WHAMM!! The weapon slammed right on the creature! “I CAN’T ANSWER TO THIS!!” Crammer shouted, and he exploded just like that!

Nacluv saw the whole thing, and clenched his fists, “You think you’re so smart rangers? Well, see if you can answer to this…!

…Keto!”

Keto nodded and aimed his staff out the window, “FORTISSIMO!”

The magic Mugic launched, made its way to Mystic Island and worked its magical music, sparing Crammer from capture and grew him to a tremendous size.

The giant creature laughed and taunted, “There’s no questioning me now!”

The rangers grunted, and Sunset called the base, “Jet-Star Megazord…!”

Their zords were launched and already combined, and the rangers beamed aboard.

As for Lightning, he powered up himself.

“Comet Striker, Armor up!”

“Summon Armor!”

First he grew into a giant, and was then coated in a suit of armor, becoming his own megazord.

“Comet Striker… Ready!”

The rangers’ megazord raised its fist, whishing Lightning good luck.

“Ha! How about a little crash course before the big test…?!” Crammer shouted as he charged forth.

“Let’s get him, guys!” said Sunset.

The two zords fought valiantly, punching and kicking hard, but Crammer managed to strike them both with his compass and his ruler, making sparks fly.

Crammer laugher, “Too bad, Rangers… now try your brains at these!”

“He’s created more questions!” cried Fluttershy.

“Everybody, hang on!” said Sunset.

The lasers fired, striking the two zords hard, “Whoa!” Lightning groaned, and the other rangers were rocked about in their cockpit, followed by a sharp right-tilt! “We’re going over!” shouted Buddy.

CRASH!! The Megazord fell on its side!

“No! Guys!” cried Lightning, and suddenly the monster ambushed him. “Six take away five leaves one! You may as well give it up, Comet Ranger! It may be one-to-one, but to you it may as well be a million to none!”

He rammed numerous strikes into Lightning making sparks fly all over.

“Lightning’s getting creamed up there!” cried Rainbow. “We’ve gotta help him!”

Rhymey agreed and got an idea,

“Let’s split the words up and attack from all sides.
It just may work and turn the battle tides.”

“Right…good thinking, Rhymey.” said Sunset “All right, let’s break ‘em down.”

With that, the megazord glowed and split up into the five separate star-jets and flew off.

Lightning extended his blades out from his arms, and both he and the monster engaged in a double-handed swordfight.

Their weapons clashed and sparks flew, and they engaged in a struggle. Finally, Crammer raised his foot and kicked Lightning hard in the chest, knocking him back, and then slashed at him hard making him fall over.

Crammer laughed at him, “Test is over, and you failed.” He then unleashed a whole swarm of more questions that aimed right at him, but as they fired their lasers, their beams were intercepted by other laser fire, sparing Lightning from harm.

“What the…?!” Crammer shouted, and that’s when the five Star-Jets.

“Looks like the test isn’t over quite yet.” said Lightning.

The monster growled, and Lightning called up to the others, “Let him have it, guys!”

“Yeah!” agreed Sunset “Rangers, fire at will!”

“Ah, yeah, I love this part!” cried Rainbow.

With that, the rangers steered their jets downward and opened fire, shooting their lasers all around Crammer to distract him, and then strike him hard with their missiles.

“I didn’t cram for this!” groaned Crammer, and then he saw Lightning stepping up and he sneered, “I’ll bet you didn’t study for THIS either…”

His two blades began to glow, and he spun round once in a slow pirouette as the scene around him became an illusionary field of space as comets passed by. “SUPER SPACE STRIKE!!” and he thrust forward, striking the monster hard!

Crammer flared up and screamed, “I FAILED THE TEST!!” He exploded, was imprisoned, and Sunset beamed him aboard her cockpit. All the rangers rejoiced, and they all made the call, “MONSTER CAPTURED! MISSON COMPLETE!”

At the Prison Tower, Nacluv was fuming angrily. “Who’s idea was it to send that no good failure of a monster after the rangers?!”

The minions all shuddered fearfully by their master’s wrath.

“Well… speak up!”

“Um… well… it was your idea, actually.” Keto stammered.

Nacluv felt a little silly, “Oh… that’s right.” he grumbled, “Still, that doesn’t mean I can’t take my outrage out on you three!”

The minions freaked out and ran as Nacluv fired his flames at them from afar. “Come back here!” he shouted “Don’t run away from me when I’m blasting at you!”

School was already out by the time the rangers got back, and you can bet, Principal Cadance loaded them down with lots of homework, and in Lightning’s case a few spots of overtime work without pay.

The rangers were all badly dismayed, but Cadance reminded them, “Now, now, you all know the arrangement we have.”

Buddy sighed, “We don’t get paid enough for what we do.”

So, while Lightning went off to get his lesson plans ready, Cadance was at least kind enough to let them stay after school and do their work in the library, and when they arrived, they found Twilight was there already working on her own make up assignments.

“Mr. Grandruler said… “Honourable as your intentions are, you too have to make up for boycotting class in the middle of the day.”

“Then, why are you grinning?” asked Fluttershy.

Twilight pointed cheekily at several tables across where Nikki and the Jazzies, actually studying?!

Nikki looked up and whined, “My mom’s making me cram extra hard for exams, or she'll take my credit cards away. This is totes lame!”

“It’s lamer than lame!” added amber.

“It’s so lame, even lame looks remotely decent.” whined Dionne.

The rangers couldn’t help but snicker, and then they all sat down together with Twilight to do their homework, but Fluttershy began to feel worried again about exams and graduation coming up.

“Are you still worried about what we’ll do after that?” asked Sunset.

Fluttershy nodded, “I know we’ll have to face it, but… I don’t know if I can.”

Rhymey comforted his girlfriend,

“Remember what I told you today?
…Only you can decide your own way.

I don’t know really know what will come… but,
I hope we will all be together, no matter what.”

Fluttershy smiled, and placed her hand over his, and all the others joined hands wanting to keep to that word.

Episode 3: Hot Stuff Cooking Through

EPISODE THREE

Early one morning, Bronc was working hard in his workshop, perfecting a project he started long ago. He was laughing and talking to himself in a way that made him sound like a crazy scientists. “Yes… YES!!” he shouted. “It’s finally working.”

Keto came into the workshop, having heard him shouting, “What’s finally working?”

Bronc hated it when people barged in on him while he was working. Nevertheless, he showed him his special project. It was a machine creature which Bronc called a Robotic Knight, armed with a strong cutlass in his right hand, a large buzz-saw for his left hand, and strong metal plating.

“If all my calculations are correct, this should give us a great lead in crushing the rangers for good.”

Keto wasn’t sure what to think as he gazed at the creation. “Um… yeah, well, when you’re through with that, you think you can come up and help us come up with a real idea?”

Then he left leaving Bronc infuriated, and he angrily shoved all his tools to the floor in a fit of rage, “A real idea?!” he grumbled “I’ll show them a real idea; I didn’t even tell him about the best part of my little creation yet.”

With a pair of long tongs, he grabbed a glowing piece of ore he had forged. “Once I install this, the really exciting part begins.”

(Que Intro)

Twilight and Professor Brain were working hard in the laboratory, within the rangers’ base.

“Right, are we ready, Twilight?”

“Ready, Professor!”

“All right then… power on!”

Twilight switched on the controls, and Spike ducked down behind her leg nervous shaking as powerful beams of energy fired at a monster dummy at the end of the room, imprisoning it in a sphere within a split second.

“Oh, wow!” Twilight cried, “IT WORKS!!”

“Satisfactory! Most-Most-Most Satisfactory!” added Brain.

Spike howled in joy, but then he stopped and asked “Um… what did you just do again.”

“We’ll explain when the others get here.” replied Twilight. After that, all she, the professor and the lab technicians did was ogle proudly at their success.

Later that day, the rangers were all summoned to the base for the announcement of their new success.

First Twilight made them all view footage of past battles, at the precise moments when the rangers used the Star Slammer to finish the monsters off the first time. “You called us here just to show us all that?” Rainbow asked.

“No, there’s more.” said Twilight “Now you all know what usually happens at this point.”

Sunset nodded, “Just before the monster is captured and imprisoned, it grows.”

Surely enough, the next bit of footage showed just that-- Keto’s Fortissimo mugic working its magic and making the monster grow, thus sparing the creature from capture.

“So what’s all this about?” asked Buddy.

“Well, that’s just it…” Celesto cut in, “Professor Brain has…” he stopped when Twilight cleared her throat and gave him a straight look, “Ahem, Professor Brain and Twilight…” Twilight nodded at him “…Have increased the capturing power.”

“So, we’ll be able to capture the monsters much faster then?” asked Fluttershy.

“Correct…” replied Celesto, and he typed into the controls and showed every one the blue prints. “Once we transfer the upgrade to your weapons. As I just answered Fluttershy, you’ll be able to capture the monsters much quicker before Nacluv can order that they be grown.

So, I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you all the leave your morphers here for a while so we can make the transfer.”

Now the rangers all felt concerned,

“But what if a monster should appear?
We’d be in such trouble. That is clear.” said Rhymey.

“Well, let’s just hope that doesn’t happen.” said Lightning, “We could use this upgrade after all.” With that, he and the others turned in their morphers, promised to have them back soon.

“We better go or we’ll be late for first period.” said Sunset.

“Oh, joy!” groaned Rainbow, and all the rangers walked off together, and Twilight had to go with them. She couldn’t be excused with exams coming up, and the technicians could easily perform the upgrade without her being there.

She took Spike with her, stuffing him into her knapsack. She was allowed to bring him to school, leaving him in the care of her Principal Cadance, sister-in-law,

Celesto sighed as he watched the rangers head through the jump-tubes, “You do so much for us, rangers. It makes me proud to know and help all of you.”

That day, the five rangers and Twilight all shared the same Home Cooking class and the class was taught by the Cafeteria workers, Cupcake and Carrot Cake.

“All right everyone…” said Mr. Cake “Today, we have a very special guest joining us. Please, Welcome Cookie Dough, Mr. Grandruler and Principal Celestia’s personal home chef.”

The rangers knew Cookie Dough very well, having had many meals at Celesto’s mansion cooked by him, while the other students seemed honored and amazed he was there, and they whispered about to one another…

“That guy’s a world-renowned chef!”

“I heard he once cooked for the Queen of England.”

Cookie Dough cleared his throat, “Now, everyone, your teachers have asked me to take part in this special assignment of yours. All of you are going to use whatever foods are provided for you, and try to create the best kind of dish that you can, and I personally shall sample your dishes.”

Rainbow raised her hand “You mean this is some kind of cook-off?”

“That’s correct…” said Cookie Dough “And I’m a master chef, so I have great expectations, but try not to let that get to you.”

Fluttershy already was shuddering nervously as the pressure got to her.

“There’s one other thing…” Cookie continued “If you manage to score more than 90 points with me… you’ll be excused from your written exams and have passed this course.”

Many faces light up with joy, while Twilight seemed shocked of the thought of skipping the written portion, and she raised her hand, “Um… why should we not have to do our written exam?”

Cookie chuckled, “Because, Cooking isn’t really just something you learn on paper. It’s all about making it real. Knowing all the types of food and tools is just part of it, but actually using them is the real task. So, if you get it right… then you already have proven you’ve learned all you need.”

With that said, everyone got straight to work, but they didn’t have to rush as the project would last for a few days, in case other people had to prepare meals that required a waiting period, and at least students were allowed to work in groups of two or three.

Rhymey and Fluttershy worked together, naturally being distracted by one-another, and blushing, but they managed to work well together.

Twilight was working with Sunset, and they had so many different kinds of foods that Twilight literally calculated how many different kinds of dishes they could make and then how they could be prepared.

“Come on, Twilight… let’s just pick a dish and get to work.” said Sunset.

“We will, I just need to calculate how much time we need to spend working on it.”

Sunset sighed, “This could take a while.”

Meanwhile, Rainbow and Buddy were already hard at work creating their own meal, while noticing that Nikki and the Jazzies weren’t doing a thing. They were just standing at their stations looking grimly at the tools and foods as if they had never cooked in their lives, which Nikki suddenly confirmed…

“Why am I even doing this?” Nikki complained “As if theses skimpy aprons and these gross bandanas didn’t already make me want to puke.”

“I don’t touch knives!” whined Amber.

Dione simply turned on the stove, and the soft pilot light from the element surprised her. “Okay, this is really freaking me out.”

“What’s wrong Girls; you never cooked before?” Rainbow teased.

Nikki didn’t take kind to that and marched over to their station and sneered, “I don’t cook, I eat, and I’ve eaten finer things than you dweebs ever could cook.”

She then noticed a bowl of tomato sauce Buddy had made, and put her pinky in it “So there…” and she proceeded to lick her finger clean.

Buddy quickly tried to warn her, “Uh… Nikki I wouldn’t do that! That sauce has…” but Nikki had already taken a lick, and at once, she gasped, and he face went bright red as steam shot through her ears, and she took off round the room gaging and screaming!

“…Ghost peppers in it.”

Nikki dashed back to her station panicking, “Water…!! WATER!!!”

Panicking themselves, Amber and Dione grabbed the faucet nozzle, switched on the water and sprayed Nikki hard, drenching her from head to toe.

The entire class laughed at her, but the teachers and Cookie Dough were from impressed. “That’ll be enough mischief ladies.” snapped Mr. Cake, “Your grade as well as part of your future depends on how well you can cook.” added Mrs. Cake.

The girls felt humiliated and in disgrace, while Nikki was infuriated, especially with Buddy and Rainbow, “I’ll fix those two, and pass this course at the same time!”

Amber and Dionne had a good feeling it was time for a Jazzie revenge.

Meanwhile, Keto was demonstrating her new idea to Nacluv and the others. “Behold, Fryer Chuck!”

The creature seemed to resemble that of a large cooking cauldron, with a passive frying pan shape for his head, and his special ability was creating vast amounts of heat that cooked anything it touched, as well as summoning large cauldrons to cook his victims.

“The heat is on.” he hissed “Do you like your rangers charred, or well done?”

“Hmm…” Nacluv said “How about… extra-crispy?”

Marla and Keto snickered along with their master at the joke, while Bronc was still sulking behind his mask.

“What’s got you so down?” Marla asked.

“Nothing…! I’ve got work to do.” Bronc huffed, and he stormed off.

“Now what’s got him so riled up?” Nacluv wondered, “Oh, well... Get out there, Fryer, and cook those rangers good for us.”

“You got it!” Fryer hissed, and he prepared to teleport off.

Meanwhile, Bronc was still grunting as he worked on his Robotic Knight, “They can’t respect me! They overlook my ideas…! Well, I don’t trust them to succeed, but you I trust you shall restore my honor!”

Meanwhile, Vice Principal Luna was out walking Spike, since Principal Cadance was far too busy. “I still find it amazing how intelligent you are, that you still require a walk to do your… business.”

“…It’s a dog’s life.” retorted Spike.

Krysta came flying along while out on her patrol, “Hiya guys, what’s new?” she asked.

“More as in what is old.” Luna groaned as she pointed down at Spike. She really wished he would hurry up and do his business, but suddenly, her perked up his head and sniffed the air deeply. Then he growled angrily!

“What’s wrong?” asked Krysta.

“I smell something foul, and it isn’t what I want to do!” replied Spike. Then he took off, yanking his leash out of Luna’s hand. “Spike… Stop…!” Luna shouted as she chased after him.

“Oh, boy…!” Krysta groaned as she pursued after them both.

They arrived in the park, and all three of them halted when they saw Fryer Chuck, with a massive cauldron pot, and a whole gaggle of civilians he had captured, bound by chains and dangling over the pot.

He turned round and looked right at the trio, “Well what have we here?”

“RUN!!” shouted Luna, but as she and the pets turned to flee, they were suddenly surrounded by a swarm of Lingos.

The pets managed to slip past them, being small and swift, but Luna was unable to overcome the swarm and was taken hostage.

Soon, she was dangling over the hot cauldron as well, and the heat was just sweltering, making it almost hard to breathe.

“This ought to get the rangers attention.” Fryer hissed, “And once they get here we’ll have a real cook-off!”

The pets saw everything behind the shrub. “We’ve gotta go get the rangers!” cried Krysta. “But wait… they still don’t have their morphers.” Spike pointed out, “We can’t just ask them to rush into battle without their powers.”

Krysta would have agreed, except seeing all the poor people suffering and fearing for their safety… even Spike suddenly agreed, “You’re right… let’s go!”

Back at school, the period had ended, and all the students decided to finish their food project the next day.

“I hope Cookie Dough likes our dishes.” said Sunset.

“So do I.” added Rainbow “It’ll be nice to have less exam to worry about.”

Fluttershy was still rather nervous about the project. “What if I make some sort of mistake? What if Cookie dough doesn’t like the dish Rhymey and I make? What if he fails us so badly he’ll never let us cook again!!”

She was really starting to panic.

“Calm down, Fluttershy, nothing will go wrong.
Not as long as we work together, things will go right along.” said Rhymey.

The others agreed and gave Fluttershy more confidence. “It’s just a test, Fluttershy. You don’t need to be super perfect. Just pass it…” said Buddy.

Fluttershy smiled, but suddenly Lightning came running down the hall while the period had changed. “Lightning, what’s up?” asked Twilight.

“There’s trouble… Krysta and Spike called me form outside my window. There’s a monster in the park and he’s got hostages!”

“HOSTAGES?!” the others cried softly.

“Yes, including Vice Principal Luna.”

“Come on, let’s go!” cried Sunset, and the six of them dashed off.

While the classroom was totally empty the Jazzies snuck in and crept to the refrigerators where the rangers had stored what little bits of concoctions for their projects to use the next day.

Nikki then held her hand out to her friends, and they each passed her two shakers full of extremely hot pepper flakes. “Let’s spice it up a bit.” Nikki hissed as she began to sabotage the rangers’ foods but sprinkling large amounts of flakes into the foods which would soon melt away, but leave the foods super spicy.

Amber and Dionne snickered.

Later on, the monster was growing impatient. “Where are they? I’m getting a heatstroke waiting for those rangers to show up.”

The rangers and Twilight hid behind a bush with the two pets.

“Oh, those poor people!” cried Fluttershy.

“We can’t just sit here. We have to do something.” said Rainbow.

Twilight called Celesto on her cellphone and informed him of the situation.

“I was afraid of this…” Celesto said, but unfortunately he could not get the morphers to the rangers yet, “The upgrade isn’t fully finished yet. If we disrupt the process, the morphers could get damaged, possibly beyond repair. We just can’t risk it. The second it’s done I’ll get them straight to you.”

With that, he hung up.

The rangers continued to watch the hostages suffering, and finally decided that powers or not, they to help the people somehow.

“Let’s go.” said Sunset, and she and the rangers leapt through the bush leaving Twilight to look after the pets.

“You there…!” Sunset shouted.

Fryer turned round, “Ha! There you are. Like moths to the flame.”

“You let those people go right now!” shouted Lightning, but the monster only laughed, “Someone’s hot-tempered, and speaking of heat…” he demonstrated another specialty of his by unleashing a heat blast from his very face… as it was a frying pan after all.

KAPOW… there were big explosions that struck the ground, just barely missing the rangers, and still knocked them all back.

Fryer laughed at them, “What’s the matter, not hot enough for you?”

Infuriated, the rangers jumped back onto their feet and charged!

“So that’s how it’s going to be, huh?” snapped Fryer “Lingos…!” and at his command, his swarm of followers rose and charged at the rangers.

Even while morphed, the rangers fought valiantly against them.

“Take this!” Rainbow shouted as she gave a Lingo a good kick in the chest.

Fluttershy was ambushed by two more, “Couldn’t we talk about this?” she asked, but her enemies charged her, forcing her to attack and knock them both down with one swing of her fist, “I guess not.”

Buddy leapt in the air over a swarm of Lingos taunting, “Ever play leapfrog?” He landed right behind them and then gave a swift spinning kick, tripping them all over. “STIIII-RIKE!”

Rhymey was faring well too, as he punched, kicked and tackled the Lingos to the ground.

“You’re going down,
You sick clowns!” he shouted. He almost didn’t make a legit enough rhyme, but it didn’t bother him much. At least the Lingos were down!

Lightning and Sunset managed to break-through the ambush and attack Fryer, but even with their combined efforts, he was much stronger than the Lingos were; skillfully blocking their every attack, and then proceeding to attack them back.

Lightning and sunset managed to avoid getting hit and rolled away from him, regrouping with the others.

“This guy’s tough!” Sunset groaned.

“How are we going to beat him?” Lightning wondered.

“You’re not…!” snarled Fryer, and he used his powers it make another huge cauldron appear from under the rangers.

“Hey!” snapped Rainbow.

The monster chuckled, “And, for an extra bit flavor…” he created a large barrier of flames around the pot so the rangers couldn’t jump out. “The heat is on!”

“It’s getting hot,
Here in this pot!” cried Rhymey.

“Tell me something I don’t know.” snapped Buddy.

“If we don’t get out of here, we’ll be cooked!” cried Rainbow.

“That’s what you get for not having your powers.” chuckled Fryer, and with that, he intensified the heat, “Coming up, rangers stew!”

The rangers were suffering horribly. It was getting so hot it was hard to breath, and all they were sweating so hard it was horrible watch.

Twilight and the pets could only watch helplessly from the bush. “Lightning…! Guys…!” cried Krysta “Oh, I can’t watch this!” and she hid her face behind her wings.

“We’ve got to help them somehow!” cried Spike.

“Yeah, but what can we possibly do!” cried Twilight. She was right. They had no way to beat that monster, or stop his cooking powers.

The rangers were starting to lose consciousness from the heat.

“Some…body… help!” groaned Fluttershy.

“So… hot!” cried Lightning “So very… very hot!”

Fryer laughed “Your goose it cooked rangers! MORE HEAT!” and he increased the heat even more!

Sunset, though weary, was growing infuriated. She clenched her fists tightly and actually found a few bits of strength to stand on her feet, “I won’t… let my… friends… suffer!” she shouted, and she suddenly began to glow brightly.

“Hey, what’s going on?!” cried Fryer.

The rangers looked at their friend, and knew they weren’t seeing things. Sunset’s natural alien powers were awakening.

“Look at Sunset!” cried Spike.

Krysta looked up over her wings, “What is she doing?”

Twilight just stared in awe, and adjusted her glasses to stare more clearly.

“Time to break this firewall…!” Sunset shouted, and she fired a beam of bright light at the fire.

“Oh, no you don’t!” snarled Fryer, and he unleashed more fired from his face trying to intensify the wall, but even still, Sunset refused to give in, “I… Will… SAVE…MY…FRIENDS!!” and with her determination, she glowed brighter than ever, and this gave her the boost of power she needed to shoot straight through the flames, destroying the wall, and strike the monster hard, sending him rolling along the ground.

The two cauldrons disappeared, and while the hostages were still dangling from their chains, the rangers were released, and thanks to Sunset’s glowing, they were restored to their normal temperatures.

That’s when sunset stopped glowing, as her power had been used.

She felt a little woozy after doing so, but her friends were ever so delighted.

“Sunset, you saved us!” cried Buddy.

“Thank you, Sunset!” added Fluttershy.

Sunset smiled and gazed down at her hands, knowing that her friendship powers had saved her and her team once again.

“That does it! Now I’m really getting boiled!” snarled Fryer “I’ll just have to finish you off the old fashioned way!”

The rangers stood ready to brawl again, when suddenly Celesto showed up. “Rangers…!” he called to them, “Here…!” and he tossed to them their morphers, now fully energized.

“Thank you, sir!” Sunset called to him.

“Insolent human!” shouted Fryer, and he launched a blast at Celesto, but he ran for cover.

The rangers clipped their morphers back on, and Sunset shouted, “…It’s Morphin’ Time!”

“Morphing Sequence… Ready!”

The first five rangers morphed, “STARFLEET MAGIC… POWER ON!!”

Then Lightning morphed, “Cosmic Comet… Power On!!”

The rangers then summoned their nearly supped up weapons. They all looked exactly the same as before, but the rangers trusted Celesto when he promised they had been upgraded. “All right! Time see what these new babies can do.” said Sunset

“I’ll roast ya!” shouted Fryer, and he charged forth, as did the rangers.

While the five rangers dealt the monster, Lightning leapt over to the hostages. They were all passed out a little from the heat, so they hadn’t seen him morph or Celesto giving the rangers their morphers back. So secrecy was safe.

“Hang on, folks. I’ll get you down.” Then he blasted at the chains with his comet gauntlets, breaking the metal, and all the people fell with a thud, but it wasn’t that bad. They began to come to their senses and were delighted to be freed.

Celesto and Twilight dashed over, and Celesto said “We’ll take care of them. Go help the others!”

“Right…!”

Meanwhile, the others were fighting hard against the monster.

Rhymey slashed at him hard with his sword, and the monster blocked his attacks with his strong arms, but as an expert fencer, Rhymey found his way around and slashed the monster hard. Sparks flew and the creature backed away a bit.

“My turn…!” shouted Buddy and he lassoed his whip round the monster’s leg. “Here, let me take you for a spin!” and he whirled the monster around and around like a hammer-throw.

“PULL!!” shouted Rainbow, and with that, Buddy let the monster fly, letting Rainbow and Sunset shoot at him with their weapons, hitting him in midair.

“That does it!” shouted Fryer, “Take this!” and he fired the biggest and strongest heat-blast he could muster up, which headed straight for the girls. “No…!!” Fluttershy shouted as she leapt in the way with her shield armed, intercepting the blast and sending it right back at Fryer.

KAPOW!!

“That burns!” he groaned.

Lightning rejoined the group just in time, “Did I miss anything?” he asked casually. “No, you’re just in time for lunch; monster soup.” said Sunset “Bring ‘em together guys!”

“Weapons combine!”

“Star Slammer… Ready!”

“Let me boost it up.” Lightning said.

“Comet Gauntlets, Engage!”

“Comet Trail… Fire!” He charged up the Star-Slammer, and the others aimed it at the monster. “STAR-SLAMMER… ULTRA-STRIKE!!”

The monster roared as he watched the rangers slam him hard, enveloping his body in sparks and flames, “WHOA!! TOO HOT TO HANDLE…!!”

KAPOW!! He exploded, and thanks to the weapons upgrade he was already imprisoned in a sphere!

Nacluv was furious, and he thundered at Keto, “Don’t just stand there! Make him grow!”

“I can’t! He’s already been captured! My spell won’t work!” cried Keto.

Nacluv flared up in anger, ready to roast the little mugician. “Yikes…!” Marla cried as she ducked behind a counter, not wanting to watch.

“Hold it…!” Bronc shouted “It’s not all lost yet. It’s time I showed you all my creation.” and with that, he pressed on a remote control he held, and at once a beam of light shot out of the tower, and flew over the sea heading straight for Mystic Island…!

Meanwhile, the rangers rejoiced in their victory. “They really worked!” cried Rainbow.

“Now Nacluv won’t be able to make the monster grow.” added Buddy.

With that, Sunset picked up the monster in his sphere and decided to call it, “Monster Captured… Mission--!”

Suddenly, there was a loud crash, and something huge appeared! “What’s that?!” cried Fluttershy.

“It’s a giant robot!
That is what!” cried Rhymey.

The Robotic Knight stomped its huge feet and raised his sword to strike.

“Look out!” cried Sunset, and she and the rangers all jumped away just in time before the huge blade could hit them.

Sunset then contacted the base, “Launch Star-Jets!”

“Summon Zords!”

The Jets were launched and came to the rangers’ aid.

“GIGANTIFY!” Lightning shouted, and he pressed on his morpher.

“Giant-Mode, ready!”

With that, he grew into a giant, and at the same time, the other rangers combined their zords.

“Jet-Star Megazord… Ready!”

“Let’s take this creep!” said Sunset.

“RIGHT!!” the others agreed.

The Knight glared at the zord and lunged forth, while Lightning leapt up and began to attack the robot’s metal plating, only to then get slashed at with his sword. “Whoa! This guy’s strong!”

The megazord then grabbed the knight by his right arm, only for the robot to saw it with his left arm, creating a shower of sparks. “Veer off!” cried Rainbow, and she pulled on the controls getting the megazord away before its arm was sawed off.

Back at the tower, Bronc laughed, “Thanks to special ore I fused, not only is my Robotic Knight gigantic, but his power is increased immensely. The rangers have finally met their match!”

“Hmm… well done, Bronc.” said Nacluv “Perhaps I’ve underestimated your talents.”

Bronc snickered thankfully.

The Knight slashed at the megazord, bashing it hard back, and kicked at Lightning hard with his strong legs sending him rolling along.

“I think we’re going to need some extra power, guys!” Lightning called to the others.

“Just what we were thinking.” agreed Sunset. “Ultra-Star Megazord… go!”

“Summoning armor!” shouted Lightning, and his Comet Striker armor appeared.

“Zords Combine!”

With that, the armor combined with the megazord!

“Ultra-Star Megazord… Ready!”

“Power’s holding steady!
We are ready!” said Rhymey.

The robot charged at the megazord, but thanks to the rocket thrusters on its back, the megazord sprinted out of the way.

“You missed us!” Rainbow teased.

The robot, despite having no feelings or emotion, seemed to be growing infuriated as he charged forth with its sword ready for attack… until Lightning leapt in and kicked the sword away. “No, No, No, that’s not nice.” he mocked.

Still infuriated, the robot powered up his saw to slice, but the megazord grabbed its left arm in one hand and karate chopped the robot’s arm with its over hand, slicing the saw blade end off.

“Okay, here’s our chance!” cried Sunset “Charge up the Star-blast Wave!”

The zord’s chest armor, arms and head all glowed brightly as pulsing flashes appeared.

“Energy Charge, Ready!”

With the energy systems charged, the rangers all shouted together, “STAR BLAST WAVE… FIRE!!” and at once… POW… the zord fired four major streams of energy combining it all into one big golden wave of power that flew straight at the robot, blasting it hard, and piercing right through its metal plating, disrupting its system.

The robot sparked, and small explosion erupted from its body, and it fell over and really exploded… nothing fake. Since it was not a monster, and could not be captured, it was really blown to scrap-metal.

The rangers all rejoiced, and as the monster had already been defeated earlier, sunset merely called, “…Mission Complete!”

Back at the tower, Bronc was infuriated. “I don’t believe it!” he thundered “They destroyed my beautiful creation!”

Surprisingly however, Nacluv wasn’t really angry that the plan failed, “…A mere minor setback, Bronc. You did provide us with a backup plan. So I suggest you start working on improving your designs for these knights of yours.”

Keto and Marla were shocked, “But he still didn’t beat the rangers.” cried Keto “Shouldn’t you punish him?”

Nacluv turned to sneer at him and Marla, “Maybe I should punish the two!!”

Keto shuddered fearfully, and Marla whined “But why me? I didn’t do anything!”

“Exactly… you did nothing at all, so the rangers beat us again!” snarled Nacluv.

Marla and Keto screamed and they ran off, while Bronc could only chuckle, “Serves them right for disregarding my talents.”

The next day at school, the rangers all got back to their cooking class, still unaware of Nikki’s sabotaging their foods, and Nikki actually came in with a terrine containing an actual dish she seemingly made.

“Good luck dorks.” she teased at them.

“We don’t need luck, Nikki.” Sunset sneered at her.

“Ah, just ignore her.” said Twilight “Let’s concentrate.”

She and Sunset made a special chili, with beans, ground meat, and some of Buddy’s hot sauce to spice it up.

Rainbow and Buddy blended up some vegetables to make a special vegetarian drink for an athlete, promising that one glass would have the nutritious equivalent of a full steak meal.

Rhymey and Fluttershy made spaghetti, with a few vegetable mixed into the noodles, and topped it off with a golden mushroom cream sauce.

All of them used food they had prepared the previous day that Nikki had spiked with hot-pepper, and Nikki couldn’t wait to see the looks on Chef Cookie Dough’s face when he tried their dishes.

“Okay class… let’s taste those foods.” Cookie announced.

He started with Nikki’s meal. “Hope you like it sir. We spent hours making it.”

She pulled off the lid of her terrine, revealing a delightful casserole made with rice, pork slices, and melted butter.

Cookie tasted it, “Mmm… this is fantastic ladies.” he didn’t rate it just yet, he had to wait until had tasted everyone’s dishes.

He tried other students’ cooking. Some were good, some were not, but he gave them all confidence and encouragement.

Then it came to the rangers.

He tasted the chili, “And it was pretty spicy, but not insanely spicy, just enough to make Cookie fan his tongue. “Fantastic! Just like chili should be!”

He sipped Buddy and Rainbow’s drink, “Oh, my! The vegetables combined with the ground up spices; it’s like an entire meal in one drink!”

Rainbow and Buddy slapped each other a high-five.

And then he tried Rhymey and Fluttershy’s pasta, “Oh… Oh, my! This is… exquisite!” he shouted “The mushroom sauce spiced with the pepper, the way it mixes with the noodles and the flavours of the vegetable to reduce spice and sweetness!”

Rhymey and Fluttershy were confused by what he meant about spiciness, since they never added anything spicy. “You… really like it?” asked Fluttershy.

“Like it… I LOVE IT!!” cried Cookie. “That also goes for you all.” He said to the other ranger, “All of you definitely get the passing requirements, and are excused from the written exam!”

The rangers and Twilight rejoiced, but the Jazzies were outraged “How can this be!” cried Nikki.

Amber wasn’t so sure, “I think maybe when they cooked up and prepared their foods, the spices got mixed in too well!”

“No way!” said Dionne “I think I have a book that can totally confirm that.” she reached into her knapsack to pull out a book, but something fell out.

“What is that?” Cookie asked.

Nikki gasped and stood in front of the object. “What’s what sir?” she asked trying to play innocent, but Twilight picked up the object, which was an empty plastic food tray with a price tag on it. She read the label aloud…

“Chinese Pork and Rice, with melted butter: Simply heat in microwave and serve. Your local grocery store: $12.95.”

Some of the students laughed, and Cookie tapped his foot in front of the Jazzies. The girls tried to cover up their deceit, but Cookie said to them, “You get A for effort, ladies, but I suggest you study hard if you want to actually cook.”

The girls sighed in humiliation, knowing they would have to take the written exam now.

“I am, like, so embarrassed!” Nikki groaned, and she picked a small bean out of a salad bowl near her, forgetting she had spiked, and unlike the other cooked foods… she got blasted by the spice hard, and took off at a fiery pace!”

“Nikki, here!” cried Buddy, and he offered her a pitcher of water he and Rainbow used for their drink. Nikki grabbed it and splashed it over her face, washing her hat off her head, and soaking herself in the process, making everyone laugh at her more.

Episode 4: Fashion Freakout

EPISODE FOUR

Nikki was standing in the middle of a flowery field, and she could hear the sound of someone reciting a poem…

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly

At the end of the field, Nikki could see him… Lightning Dawn, the hunkiest teacher she had ever known. He looked right at her and winked lovingly, making her feel all squishy inside.

Lightning casually approached her in a soft and slow passion, and he reached her, looking her deeply in the eyes…!

“…Nikki!” he snapped, waking her from her daydream! The students all laughed at her. “Have you been paying attention at all? This poem of Flanders Field is on your final history exam.”

“Oh, is that all?” Nikki said fluttering her eyes at him. The students couldn’t help but giggle at how cute it seemed, but Lightning was frustrated and embarrassed.

In a split second, he threw out into the hall, “Go to the Principal’s office! I don’t want you disrupting my class again!”

“Wouldn’t you rather give me detention instead…?” Nikki asked sweetly, but Lightning saw straight through her as another one of her attempts to be alone with him, and he just shut the door as he went back inside.

“Poor Lightning...” Sunset whispered to Rainbow “He’s got trouble, all right, and not in a good way.” Rainbow agreed.

Amber and Dionne were worried about Nikki and the way she fawned all over Lightning like that, and still thought she was in way over her head.

As Nikki sat in the office waiting for her hearing from Principal Cadance, she couldn’t help but scribble on her notebook a poor drawing of Lightning’s face, with hearts all around it.

A nerdy kid, who sat beside her peeked over her shoulder, which grossed her out, “Get away, Dweebo!” she snapped. The poor nerd felt hurt, but he was soon called in to see Principal Cadance about a few proposals for the school.

As he walked past the big bulletin board, Nikki noticed a poster on the board telling of the upcoming fashion show on Friday afternoon. It was an annual event in which Canterlot High often held in May near the end of the year, and all students were allowed to participate.

This gave Nikki an idea of how to get Lightning to notice her in a whole new way.

(Que Intro)

Class was out for break period, and Lightning walked down the halls. “Nikki is driving me crazy!” he groaned “She’s left me six love notes, in two days.”

“Whoo-hoo…” Rainbow teased “Someone’s hot for you lover-boy.”

Sunset and Twilight couldn’t help but snicker, but Lightning didn’t think it was so funny. “I never had this kind of trouble at Crystal Prep Academy. Just the same, I’ll be glad when term is over and I won’t have to put up with all this anymore.

I’ll catch you guys later, I have a faculty meeting.”

He walked down the hall just passing the boys and Fluttershy as they came round the corner, and they didn’t fail to notice he seemed a little frazzled. “What’s wrong with him?” Buddy asked, but the girls gave him a straight look telling him, “Nikki again. Dang…!”

“Oh, how sweet.” Fluttershy said.

Even Rhymey couldn’t help but admire the cuteness, as well as Nikki’s determination.

“Well, Lightning’s not interested, that much we know.
I think it’s time we all concentrate on the fashion show.”

He held up the poster.

“Yeah, remind me why we’re doing this again?” asked Rainbow. “It’s to honor Rarity.” replied Twilight “She loved the annual fashion show, and always worked her best. Even I enjoyed modeling for her.”

Sunset nodded, “We’re doing it so we can send our hopes and messages to all the people in hospital. Even our friends...”

The friends all took a moment of silence, thinking about their friends in the hospital. Sunset remembered working on her volunteer job. None them seemed to be any better yet, and she didn’t know how much more she could take.

“You okay?” asked Fluttershy.

Sunset took a deep breath, “I’m okay. Let’s get to the sewing room.”

Meanwhile, outside, across the street from the school, Marla noticed a poster on a lamppost about the Canterlot High Fashion Show. “Ahh, this takes me back… back to when I reigned supreme on the fashion-walk.”

She went into a deep daze as she dreamt of her glory times before turning to crime and getting locked up by Starfleet.

“Marla!” Nacluv snapped, knocking Marla out of her trance in a shock, “Oh, Master…”

“You told me you have a plan to beat the rangers, and here I find you slacking off…?”

“Oh, but I do have a plan, sir…” said Marla, and she introduced him to her companion, Stitchlana; a seamstress monster. With a large spool of red thread for her head, multicolored fabric stitched all over her body and she spoke with a Russian accent.

“I not fail you, Nacluvich. I will be beating the rangers!”

Marla explained the plan, “She’s made special clothing for the rangers to wear, and once they put them on they won’t be able to remove them.”

Nacluv blinked once, “And how does that even help us beat them?”

“My clothes not just stick to rangers’ bodies…” replied Stitchlana, “They will be coming under my control.”

“Ah, I see…” hissed Nacluv “And we make them destroy each other. Very interesting...”

Marla and Stitchlana grinned at one another.

“You may proceed, but don’t mess this up!” Nacluv threatened, and then he vanished--teleported back to the tower. “Ooh, that little shrimp!” grumbled Marla. It felt so insulting for her to being bossed around by a guy half her own height, yet just as dangerous.

“Never you be minding.” said Stichlana “…We have plan to do.” She cackled wickedly and began to work her wicked magic before Marla’s eyes.

Marla snickered softly, “Careful, Rangers. You’re in for the fashion show of your lives!”

At the sewing room, lots of students were already preparing for the show. Boys and Girls were modeling in the outfits made, and some of the boys whistled at how hot some of the girls looked in swim-suits… much to the girls’ disgusts.

“Perverts…!”

“Pigs…!”

The rangers and Twilight were all disgusted by the way some of the boys were behaving, but they had no time to worry about that now. They were all struggling with the sewing and making of outfits.

“Ouch!” groaned Sunset “Watch the needles, Fluttershy!”

“Oh, sorry…!”

The boys scrounged through the fabrics and couldn’t figure out the best ones to make for their own designs.

And Rainbow, she couldn’t work the sewing machine worth beans, and accidently ended up sewing random fabrics together in a weird combination. “Ugh! How did Rarity do this?” she groaned.

Even didn’t have the answer to solve this problem, “I know the basic functions of a sewing machine, but I’ve never actually sewn before.”

Buddy sighed, “What were we thinking before we got into this?”

Before anyone could answer, there was a knock at the classroom door, and a mover lady came in pushing a large rack full of beautifully designed clothes. “Pardon me…” the lady asked in a Russian accent “I am having delivery here for classroom from Carousel Boutique.”

The rangers felt confused. They knew that Carousel Boutique was Rarity’s family business, and that Rarity usually had dresses and outfits sent all the time.

“How could Rarity have sent it this time? She’s in a coma.” said Fluttershy.

Twilight looked at the clipboard and saw it was already signed and approved of by Principal Cadance, and the signature was not forged. She knew her sister-in-law’s handwriting.

“Thank you, we can take it from here.”

The lady nodded and scurried off, but little did Twilight or the others realize was she was actually Stichlana in disguise!

The creature’s human eyes glowed red and she grinned wickedly, “In few moments, rangers will be wailing on each other.”

The rack was full of all kinds of beautiful outfits that the students went crazy over, but there were plenty for all the models to try.

“I still think it’s strange for Rarity’s store to send us all this when Rarity’s not even here.” said Fluttershy.

“Ah, never mind that…” Rainbow said “Check this out…!” and she came out from behind a curtain wearing a punk biker’s outfit, complete with leather vest, hat and matching boots.

“Whoa, wicked!” said Buddy.

Rainbow stared in front of the mirror and did some cool poses while admiring her reflection.

Rhymey tried on a special cape with sleeves,

“Mmm, I think this is slick and sly.
What do you think, Fluttershy?”

Sunset tried on a frilly looking fedora hat and sunglasses. She began to act like a well-classed woman, “I say… I feel just like a duchess at a gala.”

The others chuckled, but Rainbow suddenly slapped Sunset across the face. “Hey! What was that for!” she thundered.

Rainbow was confused herself, “I… uh… I didn’t do that.”

Then Rhymey stepped up and stomped on her foot. “OW! What gives!” she shouted.

Rhymey couldn’t believe it himself,

“All of sudden I felt a big rush,
My foot rose and gave yours a crush.”

Sunset suddenly began to quiver, and she felt this strange rush, and tackled the others to floor, wailing on them, forcing them to retaliate.

“Guys cut it out!” shouted Buddy.

“Please, why are you fighting?!” cried Fluttershy.

“Wait, look…!” snapped Twilight, she motioned at the other students who tried on the clothes that were brought in, and they were all behaving the same hostile way; fighting and attacking one-another, but not really doing it out of free-will.

“Help me!”

“I can’t control myself!”

Twilight grabbed her alien scanner out from her backpack and looked through it. “Their voluntary muscles are out of whack. It’s like they’re being controlled by something strange.”

“It’s got to be the clothes.” said Buddy, “When they put them on, that’s when they started acting weird.” He called to the others, “…Guys, take those clothes off!”

The others still had their normal will to listen and understand, they suddenly found that clothes would not come off.

“They’re stuck!” Sunset cried as she pulled on her hat. Rainbow couldn’t seem to lift her vest off an inch, and Rhymey couldn’t get his cape off either. Worse than that, they all began to wail on each other even more, as well as the other students.

Vice Principal Luna was passing by and heard the commotion in the sewing room. “What is going on here?!” she demanded to know, but when she saw all the students going crazy, she was shocked, and she would have tried to break them up, but Buddy, Fluttershy and Twilight ushered her out into the hall and locked the door on their way out.

“This school does not tolerate such behaviour!” said Luna.

“It’s not their fault.” Twilight said, trying to defend the other students, “It’s those clothes, they’re making them lose control of their nerves.”

All of this seemed too strange and nasty to everyone. Buddy clenched his fists, “I’m betting this has “Nacluv” written all over it.”

The others agreed, and suddenly Fluttershy looked down the hall, “There’s that lady who gave us the clothes.”

Stichlana saw them and ran for it.

“Let’s get her!” shouted Buddy, and he and Fluttershy took off. “Hey, wait for me!” cried Twilight, and she ran after them.

Normally, Luna didn’t approve of running in the halls, but this was a full-thread emergency, but all she could do was stay behind and look through the door window at the students still wailing on one another.

“I had better call Celesto.” she said to herself and got out her cell-phone.

The two rangers and Twilight dashed all through the school chasing Stitchlana all over the place, and eventually cornered her outside, where Marla and a load of Lingos were waiting for them. “Surprise-Surprise…!” Marla teased

“I knew it!” snapped Buddy.

“You’re the ones who messed up our friends!” added Fluttershy

Stitchlana snickered and magically dissolved her disguise revealing her true form. “I am being surprised you did not try clothes on. No matter! We crush you anyhow!”

“My thoughts exactly.” hissed Marla, and the Lingos all stood ready for a brawl.

Buddy and Fluttershy nodded at one another. Twilight then took cover behind the school doors, and then Buddy made the call, “It’s Morphin’ Time!”

“STARFLEET MAGIC… POWER ON!”

“Get them!” shouted Marla, and the Lingos charged forth.

The two rangers made fast work of the Lingos, leaving Marla and Stitchlana exposed, but the monster was ready for this. “You take this!” she shouted, throwing several large sewing needles at the duo that exploded on contact knocking them down.

“You okay, Fluttershy?” Buddy asked.

“I’m okay.”

Stitchlana snickered, “Not for long you won’t be being.” and she unleashed a wave of magical threads at the two rangers, binding them and whirling them round.

When they stopped spinning, Fluttershy was wearing a cute little apron with a bunny on the front, and Buddy was wearing… a frilly pink tutu. “This is so embarrassing…!” he groaned.

Suddenly, he couldn’t control his nerves and lunged at Fluttershy, attacking her fiercely. “I… I can’t control myself!” he cried. Fluttershy suddenly began to attack him right back. “I’m sorry, Buddy! I can’t stop!”

“Oh, no!” cried Twilight.

“Oh, yes!” chirped Marla “The rangers are wailing on each other and they can’t control themselves, and soon they’ll destroy each other.”

Buddy and Fluttershy leapt at each other in a high-jump kick, striking each other hard.

Meanwhile, inside the school, Lightning knew nothing of what was going on as he and Cadance exited the Principal’s office. “Lightning, you know you can’t keep dumping Nikki on me every time she flirts with you.”

“Hey, better you endure her company than me.” said Lightning.

The two shared a laugh, but then Lightning’s morpher beeped as Celesto called him. Thankfully, no one was around to see him answer other than Cadance.

“This is Lightning…”

“Lightning…” Celesto called over the radio, we have a serious emergency on our hands. Rendezvous with Twilight and come to the base at once.”

Cadance felt very worried, and suddenly, VP Luna came dashing down the hall. “Cadance…!” she cried “We have much trouble in the sewing room upstairs.”

Cadance decided to check it out while Lightning headed off to meet with Twilight. “What’s going on?” he asked, but he suddenly could see Buddy and Fluttershy fighting each other, with the monsters outside laughing at them.

“The others are fighting each other upstairs in the sewing room.” Twilight said.

Lightning felt deeply concerned, and really wanted to get out there, but he knew what he was told. “Come on, let’s get to the base.”

He and Twilight ran off, and Twilight stopped by the Principal’s office to pickup Spike.

Spike was just about to dig into a full bowl of his favorite dog-kibble, when Twilight scooped him up, “Hey!” he snapped, “Not now, Spike. We’ve got trouble. I can’t leave you alone here and unsupervised.”

Spike could only watch helplessly as his precious dog-bowl got further and further out of his sight. “No!!”

Nevertheless, the trio arrived at the base, and they viewed all the images taken from the school security cameras, the students were still fighting with each other in the sewing room, and Buddy and Fluttershy were still battling each other in the schoolyard.

“A very diabolical plot.” said Celesto, “It seems that the only solution would be to get those clothes off of them.”

“Yeah, but how?” asked Twilight “I saw it with my own eyes. They can’t remove the clothes, it’s like they’re fused on.”

“Well, why not shred the clothes, or burn them?” Spike suggested. “I remember once at Crystal Prep when some mean girls put glue in Twilight’s shoes and she couldn’t get them off.”

Twilight felt really embarrassed remembering that.

“The point is, I had to chew and shred her shoes to bits to get her feet out.”

The humans thought it over, and despite the great risks involved, “It seems to be our only choice.” said Lightning “I just hope we can do it without having to hurt everyone.”

Suddenly, the alarm went off…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time\_continue=10&v=GWXLPu8Ky9k

Images on the screens showed the monster was already causing trouble about the town—latching more of her cursed clothing on the civilians and making them wail on each other just like the students and the other rangers.

“I have no choice. I have to get out there.” said Lightning.

The others agreed with him, but Celesto cautioned him “Be careful, Lightning. If that monster curses you, the city will be completely defenseless.”

“Talk about pressure.” grumbled Lightning. Nevertheless, he dashed for the jump-tubes and was on his way.

“Now we have to figure out how to break those clothes off the others.” said Twilight.

“Like I said, let’s just shred them off.” said Spike.

“Or better yet…” Twilight said suddenly having an idea “We’ll vaporize them off!”

“What are you thinking?” Celesto asked, but Twilight had already dashed off for the labs. Celesto and Spike gawked at once another and then followed her.

Meanwhile, Marla and Stitchlana were rather enjoying themselves seeing all the people, cursed by the clothes, attack each other.

“Marvelous!” cried Marla “Soon the entire city will be at each other’s throats, and then we can proceed to infect the world. It’ll only make it that much easier to takeover.”

“Think again!” shouted a voice.

“WHAT?!” the villains shouted, and that’s when Lightning, fully-morphed, leapt up and over them. “Your little fashion streak ends here!”

“Argh! You!” shouted Marla.

“Where did you be coming from?!” snapped Stitchlana.

“Never mind where I came from and worry where you’re going; Down!”

Lightning lunged and the villains, fighting them two-on-one.

Stitchlana punched and kicked, but Lightning blocked her every attacked and kicked her hard and away.

“Why you…!” Marla shouted, and she extended her long hair, grabbing Lightning by the wrists and began to struggle for control with him. She pulled, he pulled back. “Blast him!” Marla shouted, and Stitchlana threw her explosive needles at him, striking him hard and rolling him along the ground.

“You are slick ranger, but I am being slicker still.” hissed the monster, then she launched her threads to try and ensnare him, but Lightning rolled out of the way just missing them.

“I hope Twilight moves fast!” he said to himself “I could use a little help.”

Back at the lab, Twilight had concocted a special formula of corrosive material, but softened it up with a few alterations so that it would eat against certain types of material, but not harm the human body.

“That should do it.” she said as she added the mixture into a spray-can. “Now, let’s test it.”

She tested it by spraying a simple face cloth on the table. The spray had a lovely scent too, which Twilight had mixed in to cut down on the horrid regular odor. Surely enough the cloth insnatly dissolved into thin air, while the table remained unscathed, “It works!” cried Spike.

Twilight even touched the end of the wet spray-nozzle with her finger. The liquid felt wet to the touch, but she didn’t feel anything. “It’s safe to use.” she concluded.

“Right…” said Celesto “Get the spray to the school, quickly.”

Twilight nodded, and grabbed a couple more spray-cans already prepared, and then she dashed off.

At school, inside the sewing room, the students were still going crazy, and by this time they had been fighting each other so long they were growing extremely exhausted from fighting and defending, and still they couldn’t seem to control their nerves to stop.

“I can’t… take it… anymore!” groaned Rainbow as she aimed a weak punch at Rhymey, which he easily dodged.

“This… cursed… cape vest.
I… need to… get rest!” Rhymey groaned, and he gave Sunset a small shove into a gaggle of mannequins, but because the hat was still attached to her, she bolted right up again onto her feet. “Somehow… we’ve got to… control ourselves!” she groaned.

Help was on the way, as Cadance and Luna stood outside the classroom door armed with cans of Spray given to them by Twilight.

They shook the cans, nodded at one another and then dashed into the room, spraying the air hard. Sure enough, the sweet-smelling mixture dissolved the evil clothing, and unfortunately some of the students’ regular clothing, forcing them to hide behind curtains of quickly put on anything else they could find, but finally they stopped wailing on each other.

The rangers felt so relieved, and their clothes hadn’t dissolved too much.

“Rather an undignified way to save people, but it worked.” said Luna.

“I hope the others are okay too.” wondered Cadance.

At that very moment, Twilight dashed outside to see Buddy and Fluttershy were still fighting, and both of them seemed a little tired.

“Hang on guys!” Twilight called to them as she dashed on up, and sprayed them with her formula dissolving the apron and the tutu. Their ranger suits were unaffected being made of completely special material and polymerized alloys. Still, Buddy and Fluttershy stopped fighting each other.

They were both badly out of breath!

“Twilight…” Buddy said.

“…Thank you so much!” added Fluttershy.

“Thank me later.” said Twilight “Reenergize yourselves and go help Lightning. I’ll send the others to join you.”

The two rangers nodded and touched their morphers, activating the energy boost to restore their strength, and then they went off.

Meanwhile…

“Take this!” Lightning shouted as he blasted at the two villains with his comet gauntlets, making a huge explosion that sent the villains flying high and crashing down hard. “My nails…!” Marla whined “That’s it, you’ve had it, ranger!” and she unleashed he hair in furious locks and bound Lightning tightly.

“Hey, let me go!” he demanded.

The villains snickered at his hopelessness. “Now it’s time you try on new outfit, eh rangervich?” teased Stitchlana.

“No!” shouted Lightning “…I won’t let you!

“Fool, choice is not yours!” snapped Stitchlana, and she fired her threads at him to slab him into an outfit… but suddenly, the other rangers arrived on the scene, and Rhymey, wielding his sword, jumped in and slashed at the threads.

Then Rainbow got out her cannon, “Take some of this!” and she blasted at Marla’s long hair, snapping it and freeing Lightning.

The rangers all regrouped. “You okay, Lightning…?” Sunset said.

“Yeah, thanks for coming, guys.”

Marla shrieked, “MY HAIR!! MY BEAUTIFUL HAIR!! You Rangers will pay for that.”

“Not as much as you will for turning us against one another!” snarled Sunset. The other rangers all agreed as they held out their weapons.

“Oh, really!” thundered Stitchlana, and she fired her explosive needles.

“Not this time!” snapped Fluttershy and she blocked the attack with her shield, allowing the others to dash at her and Marla.

Rhymey with his sword, and Buddy with his whip, struck the two villains, followed by Sunset with her scepter and Rainbow with her cannon, blasting them hard.

“That does it, I’m outta here!” cried Marla, and she teleported away. “Wait, don’t be leaving me here!” cried Stitchlana. “Don’t worry, we still want you.” Sunset teased. “Bring ‘em together guys!”

“Weapons, Combine!”

“Star-Slammer, Ready!”

“This is not being happening!” cried Stichlana, but it was. The rangers already powered up their weapon, but before they could even use it…

Nacluv saw everything from the tower on the monitors. “Not this time, rangers.” and he turned to Keto and nodded at him. Keto agreed and marched straight to the window, “FORTISSMO!” firing his mugic just in time!

The mugic made it to the island and made the monster grow before the rangers could attack her!

“Stichlana is feeling bigger, yes!” she roared.

The rangers gasped, and were outraged they couldn’t get her fast enough.

Lightning stepped forth.

“Comet Striker… Armor up!”

“Summon Armor!”

Lightning grew into a giant and donned his battle-armor.

“Comet Striker… Ready!”

Sunset then called to the base, “Launch Star-Jets!”

The Jets were already on their way and were at the danger site in almost no time and combined.

“Jet-Star Megazord… Ready!”

The two zords gawked at one another and raised their fists in salute.

Stitchlana laughed at them, “Try these on for sizes!” and she unleashed her threads, enwrapping the two zords, and slapping on them a pair of matching overalls. One was Red and the other was Blue.

At once, the zords suddenly turned towards each other, and began to brawl!

“The controls are locked out! It won’t respond!” cried Rainbow.

Lightning tried all he could to resist the pull, but he raised his right arm and punched the megazord hard, sending it back a few steps.

“Oh, guys!” cried Lightning. He really wished he hadn’t done that, but he couldn’t control himself, neither could the others as their megazord drew its sword.

“No! Not the Star Saber!” cried Sunset. She and the others pounded on the controls, but the megazord marched right over to Lightning, whom had, against his will, extended his battle blades.

The two engaged in such a sword fight, the monster laughed and bounced with glee. “This is being more fun than being at circus.”

The two zords slashed at each other hard, and they both fell over. “OOF!” shouted Lightning, and the others were all rocked about in their cockpit.

“We’ve got to try and break out of this suit somehow!” shouted Buddy, and that gave Lightning the idea. “That’s it!” he shouted, remembering that the suit was attached to his armor, but not to himself. “Comet Striker… Armor Down!”

His voice command worked, and his armor glowed brightly and disappeared, effectively destroying the cursed overalls as well.

“What?!” snapped Stitchlana “You can’t do that!”

Lightning ignored her and rejoiced that he was free from the control, but the megazord was now right before him. “Sorry to do this, guys, but it’s the only way.” he called to the others, and he powered up his gauntlets.

“Comet Gauntlets… Engage!”

“Comet Trail… Fire!” and he blasted at the megazord, rocking it so violently and the rangers inside, but in the end, he had disintegrated the cursed overalls, setting the zord free.

“All right, Lightning! We’ve got control!” cried Sunset.

The monster was outraged, “I be breaking you limb-from-limb with my own hands!” and she charged forth growling like a banshee, and threw her explosive needles.

“Okay brat,
You can take that!” shouted Rhymey as he pulled on his controls, making the megazord swings it’s sword, batting the needles right back at Stitchlana. Sparks and explosions burst all over her as she fell and rolled along the ground!

“Okay, Star Saber ready!” shouted Sunset.

“Star Saber, Engage!”

Once the sword was powered up, the rangers shouted, “STAR-SLASH… GO!!” The megazord slashed, and the monster was struck hard. She began to flare up and jolt. “I HAVE POPPED MY STITCHES!!”

KAPOW!! She exploded, was imprisoned in a sphere, and beamed into the cockpit.

“Alright…!” Lightning cheered, “Way to go, guys!”

The others cheered and rejoiced too, and Sunset made the call, “Monster Captured! Mission Complete!”

Back at the prison tower, Marla was in her room, playing around with a whole load of dresses and outfits. “Does this one make me look fat?” she asked at the Lingos, and naturally her henchmen couldn’t make up their minds. “Oh, don’t be spoilsports.”

Nacluv came into the room. “Marla, where did all these come from?” he asked.

“Stitchlana made them all for me before the mission began.” replied Malra “Oh, aren’t they beautiful! Just the ones I used to wear at fashion shows.”

Nacluv took a good look at them, “Yes… I suppose they are beautiful.

It’s almost a shame that I have to do this!”

“Huh?” cried Marla, and she watched horridly as he master used his powers to roast all her beautiful clothes to piles of flaming ash, leaving her with nothing but her normal outfit that she was wearing. “No! My dresses!” she sobbed.

Nacluv snuffed and scolded her, “You should’ve destroyed the rangers. Failures DON’T get rewarded!”

Then he left his disgraced minions to bewail her loss.

Marla was now growing infuriated, not just with the rangers, but Nacluv as well. “Someone is going to pay dearly for this!” she thundered.

A couple days later, after all the drama that had happened, the students managed to rebuild and make more outfits just in time for the fashion show.

Twilight was working back stage, and the five rangers were still going to model while Lightning sat with the adults in the audience. Celesto and Celestia were there, and even brought their babies.

“This is going to be so wonderful.” Celestia said.

“Well, it’s better than just working or staying home all day.” said her husband.

Castor and Leilani shook their rattles almost as if in excitement for the show to start.

Finally, the show was ready to begin, and Twilight’s placed her knapsack down on the table, and went to take her position to move some props in… not realizing that a can of her clothing dissolver fell out of her open bag and onto the table.

The show began, and the rangers were the first ones out, each taking turns, all of them were wearing clothes and outfits they managed to put together from inspiration of the attack, as well as leaving sewing to the professional students... in a team effort.

Fluttershy wore a green strapless dress, with a butterfly mask over her face. The audience loved her, while she was trying hard not to succumb to the butterflies in her stomach.

Rainbow dash came out wearing a punk girl outfit, identical to the cursed one she wore before. Complete with leather vest, hat, boots, and she looked really slick.

Then out came Rhymey and Buddy, dressed in two matching tuxedos with top-hats and tails. Rhymey’s was yellow and Buddy’s was green.

(0:13)

They even performed a small tap-dance to the tune “Tea for Two” to show off their outfits even more, which the crowd thunderously applauded.

The boys slapped each other a high-five.

Then Sunset came out, modeling in a red swim suit, with a yellow flame design at the bottom, and she wore a large fedora hat, and shades making her look like a dashing sun babe.

She threw off her hat and shades and then hopped on a surfboard on stage and pretended to ride the waves as a large fan blew on her to simulate the wind.

Nikki then prepared to take her turn, and she was wearing a very elegant and expensive gown. The top part was black and sparkling, like a night sky, and the dress was large and long that cycled her beautifully and cut off at a V-shape in front of her legs so she could walk. The fabric was white and ruffled with a slight touch of pink at the bottom.

“I can’t wait to get out there and show everyone this little baby.” she said in her mind “This gown cost me a month’s worth of credit card deposit, but at least I can return it when I’m done.”

Then she saw Lightning in the crowd, and she really couldn’t wait to show off in front of him, believing that one good look at the dream she was wearing would make him fall head-over-heels for her.

She began to sweat a little. “Ooh, I need some deodorant.”

Unfortunately, she didn’t have her purse with her, but she did notice a can of spray near Twilight’s backpack. It wasn’t labeled, but being the reckless girl she was, Nikki smelled the lovely scent, “This’ll do…” and she sprayed herself all over.

“Nikki, you’re on!” Twilight snapped at her.

“All right, don’t have a cow!” Nikki snapped back, giving her the can of spray as she went to take her position.

Twilight looked at the spray-can and gasped when she realized what Nikki had obviously done, but it was too late to warn her!

“And now next on the walk…” the announcer called “Ms. Nikki Trent and her design, “Sparkling Night.”

That’s when the curtain opened wide, but instead of admiring and aweing at her, the crowd gasped! Nikki couldn’t understand it, until she looked at herself and realized she was standing on stage… with nothing on but her underwear and her bra!

Humiliated worse than she had ever been before, Nikki screamed and ran off the stage and out of the atrium. Amber and Dionne were also embarrassed in the audience, and then ran off after her.

“Okay, that was unusual.” said Lightning.

The adults agreed and were just as shocked, while backstage, the rangers had a feeling what happened. “Twilight…” Sunset called to her, and Twilight, sheepishly held up her spray-can, “…I tried to warn her.” she said innocently.

Even though Nikki had horribly embarrassed, they all couldn’t help but laugh at the humiliation!

Episode 5: Rangers in GameLand

Author's Note

*Sighs* Even I think the song I used was a tad lame, but it was the only one I could think of, and Rhymey IS singing to little children whom can benefit from it.

It's called a "Business Headache" (We all have to do things even if they annoy us in stories)

Episode 5: Rangers in GameLand

EPISODE FIVE

With exams only a couple weeks away, students were cramming harder than ever to make sure they passed. Others, like Twilight who already would pass their exams were cramming extra hard to get a perfect score.

Meanwhile, others were having it hard to balance school, and part-time jobs, even the rangers.

Twilight was at home, cramming through her books and notes non-stop. Her brother, Shining Armor came in with a tray of food for her, knowing she wouldn’t even stop to come down for dinner, but she didn’t even notice him.

Shining Armor and Spike gawked at one another and shook their heads sharing pity for Twilight.

Buddy was planting some flowers at the community garden, while reading a text-book, and by accident he had taken the flower out of the pot and planted the pot instead. “Oops…”

Sunset did her rounds at the hospital, checking up on all the patients, and even her friends, but every pause in between she stopped and went over some school notes she had brought with her.

Fluttershy had gone to the Public Library after work to catch up on her own studies, as well as listening to Rhymey read poetry to his class of minors.

He was actually reading them a poem of his own, which was actually a song he knew, detailed the importance of brain power and how important it is to stay in school. “Feed Your Brain”

The children all began to join in and sing with him…

At the end of the song, the children all cheered and felt a new sudden burst of wanting to read more books and learn more that they could, and before they left, Rhymey told them…

“Remember children…

Don’t be a fool. Just remember this one rule.
The way to be cool is do your best in school.”

The kids cheered at the idea before running off, and Fluttershy thought it was a beautiful sight, seeing how well-respected her boyfriend was for what he was doing for others.

The two of them left the library, together, deciding not to push themselves too hard, and it was getting late.

They walked down the street hand-in-hand, taking a long moment to gaze into each other’s eyes.

They came up to the arcade, “Hey, isn’t that Rainbow Dash’s motorbike?” asked Fluttershy.

“I’d recognize it anywhere
But what is it doing there?”

There suddenly came a loud cheer and shouts of awe coming from inside the arcade. The two dashed up to the doors and could see through the glass, there sat Rainbow with a crowd of people around her as she dominated a video game, and every challenger that came her way.

“Ah yeah…! Who’s the queen of games now?!” she boasted.

While at the prison tower, Bronc was watching Rainbow on the monitors. “So, Blue ranger is into video games, is she.” he said to himself

(Que Intro)

Another challenger stepped up to the game Rainbow was excelling at: “Galaxy Guild II”: A combat-strategy game where players controlled a fleet of soldiers armed with weapons and high technologies, and they went around conquering worlds of the realm while eliminated any threats or opposing forces.

Rainbow was reigning queen of the game because she played it constantly, and even had a home version of it, which was how she became so good.

The challenger tried all he could, but Rainbow flattened him within the first two minutes. “And down you go!” Rainbow boasted.

“Ah, no fair!” the challenger whined, but he decided to accept his defeat.

The crowds cheered for Rainbow, and hailed to her as the undefeated champ of the night.

That’s when the arcade manager came over to give her an offer. “You really got this game figured, Rainbow. That’s why I’d like to give you this…” and he handed her a small yellow ticket.

“Whoa!” Rainbow cried as she studied the card, “This lets me test out the new Galaxy Guild III game!”

A lot of people in the crowds turned super jealous. All had heard of the new game that hadn’t been released yet, but was going to be as soon as it was properly tested.

“Gosh, Rainbow…” said Fluttershy “I bet you’re really excited.”

“Excited?!” asked Rainbow “Totally stoked doesn’t even begin to describe! I feel like celebrating. Pizza’s on me chums.” She meant that literally, as she held up a bag of coins she had won from all her victories that afternoon.

As they left the arcade, the manager grinned sinisterly, and then retreated into the backroom, where the actual managed was bound and tied up by two Lingos. The imposter then transformed, revealing himself a Lingo in disguise.

The Lingo did gestures to his comrades saying that first-phase was completed. With that settled, his comrades simply knocked the manager unconscious and left him bound and tied up in the backroom, and then vanished.

At the prison tower, Bronc was training in what appeared to be a post-apocalyptic world. Zombies, monsters, and all kinds of creatures surrounded him.

The creatures all attacked mercilessly at him, but he evaded their attacks and then countered back--punching them hard with his super fists, and zapping them all with his helmet eye-lasers.

“Are you convinced now?” a loud booming voice called to him.

“I am…” Bronc responded, and with that, the virtual images around him faded away, revealing the normal rooms of the tower.

“Wow! That is so cool! I want a turn…” said Keto, but Marla gave him a nudge, “Can it, shorty!”

Next to Bronc there stood a monster called Hacker Jack. He was a creature coated in black armor, with an actual, large game controller on his chest and wires looping through and around his spherical-shaped head.

“You see, Master Nacluv…” Bronc said, “My plan to beat the rangers at their own game is to give them a game that they cannot beat. Already, my forces have set the Blue Ranger for the trap, and once she falls in there will be no escape for her.”

Jack raised his arms boasting, “When Blue Ranger enters the gaming I shall create, her fellow rangers are sure to follow, and once they are all in… they shall never come out.”

Nacluv found this plot to be very interesting, “Very well, you may proceed. But be warned, Bronc; I’m getting tired of all the failure around here. You destroy those rangers, or it’s your funeral!”

Broc bowed to him, “We shall not fail you.” and then he and Jack teleported and were gone.

“Humph!” Nacluv grunted, and then he turned to face the other two, “What are you two looking at?!” he sneered at them. He then slammed Marla the feeding tray, “You feed the prisoners!” and then he gave Keto a mop and bucket “You, you’re on cleanup. This place is only fit for pigs!”

Marla and Keto were livid, but didn’t dare protest, fearing their master’s wrath. “I never thought I’d say this, but I’m beginning to really hate him!” Keto whispered to Marla.

“For once, I actually agree with you. Something just may have to be done about him.”

While out at dinner, the five rangers sat at the café and enjoyed their pizza. Rainbow was gobbling them down like crazy.

“Rainbow, take it easy.” said Sunset.

“Sorry, I can’t help it.” Rainbow said with her mouth full, “I always get way hungry when I’m this excited. I’ve been waiting for months for Galaxy Guild III to come out, and I get to test it out tomorrow.”

“Well that’s fine and all, Rainbow, but don’t you think you should be studying for final exams?” asked Buddy.

“Yeah, but all that cramming hurts my brain, and there’s nothing like taking a break and playing some games. Besides, it’s not like I’m slacking. Games are educational too.”

Fluttershy felt confused, “They do? My mother often told me it was bad to play too much.”

“Nah… That’s not really true.” said Rainbow “Video games can educate you. They help you develop a sense of coordination, how to prepare and plan ahead and how to calculate moves and possibilities. In fact, some video games are actually built for education like some I played as kid. They taught me history, math, geography…”

“Well, it seems there are certain things a game can do,
But it’s important not to neglect your normal studies too.” said Rhymey.

The others agreed, and Rainbow sighed, “If it’ll make you guys better, I’ll do a little crash studying in the morning.”

“Well, okay,” said Sunset but later, after your game test, we were all thinking of meeting at the library for a study group.”

“Okay, I’ll be there.” Rainbow said, and then she mumbled to herself “Anything to stop you nagging.”

The next day, the arcade was closed “…For Game Testing” as the sign read.

The manager of the arcade was still a bound and gagged in the backroom where he had been kept all knight. Hacker Jack once again assumed the manager’s form.

“Blue Ranger is on her way.” he hissed to Bronc.

“Excellent. You know what must be done?”

“I promise I will not fail you, Master Bronc.”

Bronc nodded, “And just to be doubly sure that you don’t. I too shall be joining in the game. Once Blue Ranger is trapped in the world we’ve set up, the rest will be sure to follow,

…and that will be their undoing!”

Soon, Rainbow came to the Arcade. “Man, it feels great to get away from those books.” she said to herself, “Now the real fun begins.”

The door was unlocked and so she let herself into the empty place. It felt kind of creepy to be inside. There were no other people around, all the games were turned off; it really felt more like a ghost town than an arcade.

“Ah, hello…” the manager called to her, “Glad you could make it. Are you ready for the test?”

“You better believe I am. I could hardly sleep last night.”

The manager led Rainbow into the back of the arcade where the new Galaxy Guild III console was set. “Please…” the manager said as he offered her to sit at the stool.

Rainbow eagerly took her seat, and studied the controls. “Doesn’t seem too different than what I usually play. This should be easy.”

The game was started up, and Rainbow really liked the opening credits and exciting scenes-- so many landscapes, buildings, monsters, and a whole load of new characters and weapons to use.

She created her avatar; a warrior with blue cybernetic armor and of course gave her the name, “Wonderbolt 117” which was her normal username. “I can’t believe there’s 116 other Wonderbolts.” she muttered.

“Are you ready to lose…?” the manager asked sinisterly.

“Me, lose? Never…” said Rainbow.

“Oh, but you will lose this time, Blue Ranger!”

“Huh?” and before Rainbow knew it, the screen glowed brightly. So bright, she covered her eyes, “Whoa! What’s going on?!” she shouted as she felt herself being pulled through a virtual vortex.

She reappeared in a moon-like landscape, as her own avatar. “Whoa, am I going crazy?” she cried “I’ve… BECOME… my own character?!”

She heard the sound of an evil laugh, “Take a good look while you can. It will be the last thing you ever see!”

Then Hacker Jack appeared on the scene, but he was only a hologram. This made Rainbow realize “…I’ve been set up!” she tried to contact the others, but her morpher was missing.

“It’s no use, little ranger.” said Jack “You’re in my world now, and here you’ll play my way. If you want to escape, all you have to do is win.”

“What? I just have to beat you?”

“Oh, but you won’t…” hissed Jack, and he pressed on his chest controller, punching in a few simple command codes, and at once, monsters and aliens began to appear all over the landscape, and one alien shot her with a ray-gun, making sparks fly! “Whoa!” she cried “That’s hot!”

Jack laughed, “Just a little bit of hacking I did. Though this world is giant video game, everything that happens is as real as it gets.”

Rainbow fully understood the horrors now, “If I lose in here… it’s Game Over!”

The monsters were still surrounding her, and knowing she had no other choice, she ran for the nearest weapon lying around she could find and equipped herself with a multiple-laser sniper. “Adios hotshots!” she called as she blasted at the creatures, blowing them all to bits. “Alright… who’s the Queen of Games?!” but her rejoice was short-lived as the monsters suddenly appeared right back again, completely rejuvenated. “Hey! What gives? They should be blown to bits? They can’t revive themselves!”

Jack snickered, “Weren’t you listening? We’re in my world, and I make all the rules here. These monsters will never truly remain down long. They’ll just keep coming and coming until you’re defeated.”

He laughed wickedly, and Rainbow felt worried as the creature continued to come for her.

While in a secret location, Bronc commended Jack for his cunning modifications. “Look at her. She’s lost in the very games that she loves, and soon the other rangers will share her fate.”

A while later, the other rangers all met at the library for their study session, except for Rainbow. “Where is she?” Sunset asked “She’s already fifteen minutes late.”

“Ah, she’s probably still hooked on that video game.” said Buddy, “At least we can still study.”

Suddenly, their morpher coms went off, and the loud beeps earned the rangers a Shush from the librarian “Sorry…” Sunset said “We’ll take this outside.”

The librarian nodded and watched the rangers head off.

Once outside, Sunset answered the call from Celesto. “Rangers, is Rainbow Dash with you?”

“No, she’s not. We’ve been waiting for her.” replied Sunset.

“Is something wrong?” asked Fluttershy.

“Possibly…” replied Celesto “I was monitoring the city, when Rainbow’s signal was suddenly lost. We’ve been trying to contact her, but the line can’t seem to reach her.”

Twilight and the technicians had already checked over the consoles. “Everything’s in perfect working order.” said Twilight. “Something must’ve happened for Rainbow’s signal to cut out.”

“Did you get that, Rangers?” Celesto called to them.

The rangers did hear and they agreed to go look for her, and logged off. All of them had a pretty good idea who was behind all this…!

“I think it’s time we paid,
a visit to the arcade.” suggested Rhymey.

Sunset agreed, figuring it would be the best place to start. So they all headed down the street to the arcade, and found the door was still wide open, even though the sign said “Closed for Game Testing.”

“That’s weird. Shouldn’t the door be closed and locked?” asked Fluttershy. The others felt the same way, and they softly went inside.

“Hello?” Sunset called out, but nobody answered.

All the games were shut off, and all the lights too, which made the place seem a little creepy.

“Hey, what’s that?” Buddy suddenly asked. Everyone looked and saw a single game console was the only thing that was actually lit.

“Galaxy Guild III?” said Sunset “This is the game Rainbow was going to test.”

Rhymey looked at the screen, and he gasped,

“Oh, no…!
It’s Rainbow!”

Everyone gawked at the screen and saw the game was actually being played, and the recognized the character’s face behind the helmet visor. “It is Rainbow!” cried Buddy.

“How did she get in the game?!” cried Fluttershy.

Not even thinking, Sunset took hold of the joystick on the console, and at once, the screen began to glow brightly.

At the same time, back at the base, the remaining four blips on the screen that represented the rangers’ positions went out. “They’re gone!” cried Spike. “We can see that, Spike.” snapped Twilight.

Celesto examined the location on the map, “That’s the arcade, and now I’m more than convinced something evil is at work.”

Sadly, not one of the friends knew what to do. Going too near the arcade was too risky-- falling into the trap themselves. “Run a full scan of the area. There must be something we can do. I don’t care what it is… we have to get the rangers back, or the city is virtually defenseless.”

“What’s happening?!” cried Fluttershy.

Suddenly, they were all transported into the game themselves, and were wearing battle suits identical to Rainbow’s; each in their own designated ranger color, but their morpher’s were gone and they couldn’t contact the base for help.

“Whoa! Check it out!” cried Buddy.

Everything around them looked exactly the same as the alien environment they saw on the screen. “We’re actually inside the game?!” cried Sunset.

The rangers all took a moment take in how slightly cool everything seems, but suddenly, Fluttershy gasped, and she stuttered and stammered hard.

“Fluttery…?” rhymey asked, as he turned round, and he gasped…
“…Oh, my!”

The other turned round and saw a whole bunch of snarling aliens and zombies coming at them.

“If I remember right, you have to shoot at them.” said Buddy. “Shoot at them with what?” asked Sunset, but then she saw an automatic machine-gun and a box of ammo lying on the ground, “Oh…”

She picked the weapon up and fully loaded it. “How do you work this thing…?” but one little pulling of the trigger and the weapon went crazy, shooting blasts all over the place. Sunset could barely hold herself still, and he shots went all over, forcing the others to duck and swerve.

Fluttershy even got hit on the shoulder, “Ow!” she cried “That… that felt real?!” she cried.

Sunset’s gun finally ran out of ammo, but at least she shot all the monsters as well. “Well, at least they’re gone.” she panted.

Rhymey looked on ahead,

“Uh oh…
I don’t think so.”

Surely enough, the monsters had all returned, just as snarly and brutal as ever. “Any other suggestions?” asked Buddy.

“Yeah… RUN!!!” cried Fluttershy, and off they ran as fast as they could go, but it seemed that wherever they went, more monsters appeared and began to follow them. Some of them were even flying beasts, either with wings or rocket packs.

“We can’t outrun them!” shouted Sunset, “We’ll have to shoot them down again. At least it’ll slow them down!”

The others agreed, and they split up to grab whatever weapons they could find lying around--lasers, explosions, Fluttershy even found a large bazooka.

“It’s on!” Fluttershy sneered, and she fired a single shot in the air, blowing a ton of monsters out of sight.

Rhymey leapt up, and rolled along the ground before standing upright and blasting a single laser beam through a whole line of monsters, wiping them out.

The rangers didn’t realize that they were being watched by Bronc and Jack from their hideout in the game. Jack snickered, “Pretty good rangers, but not good enough.” And he fiddled with his chest controller, punching in more commands to rejuvenate the monsters, making them even stronger than before.

“They’re still coming at us!” shouted Sunset.

Buddy punched one monster down, killing it, but then the monster returned and looked stronger than ever, and slashed him back! “Whoa!” he groaned “That felt so real! These guys mean business!”

Suddenly, they all could see a large alien complex up ahead. “Let’s head there!” shouted Sunset, and they all ran for it as fast as they could go.

Buddy stopped a moment, and pulled out a plasma-grenade. He quickly tossed it out into the field, and the bomb exploded making a huge pit before the monsters halting many of them in their tracks.

“That’ll slow them down.”

Of course, the flying monsters were still able to give chase, but the rangers managed to reach the complex. The front gate was already wide open, so they just barged right in, and lucky for them the door shut behind, sealing the monsters outside.

The rangers all sighed heavily in relief, and then turned their attentions to their new surroundings.

The inside the complex was just like an ordinary high-tech place-- corridors, ramps to other levels, high walls and large boxes as obstacles.

Still, the rangers were no closer to finding Rainbow anywhere. Let alone figuring out a way to escape the game.

“If only we had our morphers,
If only Rainbow had hers
Then we could find her, and escape the monsters.” said Rhymey.

The others agreed, but suddenly they could hear the sounds of running coming from way down the hall. “Someone’s coming!” cried Fluttershy.

“Weapons ready…” said Sunset, and everyone held up their guns as the footsteps grew nearer, but it turned out to be Rainbow. “Hey!” she called to her friends.

The others were delighted to see her, and they all huddled together in a group hug. “Rainbow, what’s going on here?” Sunset asked.

“I’ll answer that for you…” shouted a familiar, evil voice. The rangers turned round and found Bronc and Hacker Jack standing together.

“Does that explain it?” Rainbow asked the others. The others clenched their fists at the villains.

“See, I told you I’d get them all here.” Jack said to Bronc.

Bronc nodded, and then he spoke to the rangers, “You all play a fine game, but now your skills will be put the ultimate test here in our fortress.”

Jack then fiddled with his controller and he summoned forth, what appeared to be, and army of armored Lingos, wearing suits of armor and holding powerful sniper-rifles.

The rangers were virtually surrounded at all angles. “I knew I never liked video games much!” Fluttershy whimpered.

Bronc and Jack snickered, “Any last words, Rangers?” Jack asked.

Despite the obvious peril, Rainbow took out one of her big guns, “Get your game on!”

“Rainbow!” snapped Sunset!

“ATTACK!!” shouted Bronc, and the Lingos began to fire their weapons all over, aiming carefully so as not to accidently shoot one another.

“Look out!!” shouted Buddy, and he and the others all jumped out of the way before the blasts hit, and Rainbow already began to return fire-- blasting back at all those Lingos, shooting them into digital bites.

“Anytime, guys…!” she called down, meaning she wanted help!

The others agreed, and joined her in battle, shooting the Lingos, tossing explosives at them. They even took a moment or two to engage in psychical combat, which was another gaming function.

Despite their best efforts, Jack laughed at them and fiddled with his controls summoning the Lingos right back and stronger than ever. “Now it’s my turn.” he hissed, and he controlled the Lingos to open fire, hitting the rangers mercilessly, making sparks and explosions flow all over.

Not only did the rangers feel the pain from the shocks, but their helmet visors warned them that their energy and power units were starting to run low!

“This isn’t working!” cried Fluttershy.

“I know!” shouted Rainbow, and she gazed back at the monster, “That creep’s controlling the outcome of the game! He’s making it so we can’t win!”

“That’s the idea…” Jack called and he summoned more Lingos.

“Face it, Rangers… your time is running out.” remarked Bronc.

This made Sunset finally realize, “Maybe if we try defeating them… that could snap us out of here.”

Rainbow tried to warn them that she had already been trying, but the other rangers already lunged at them, “NO, WAIT…!”

The rangers fired with everything they had, only for their shots to suddenly vaporize before reaching the targets. “They’re being shielded by a barrier!” cried Buddy.

The two villains snickered, “Just a little of our own hacking.” said Bronc “Shoot at us all you like, Rangers, but in our world we cannot lose. All the programing here and all the hacking we’ve done-- you haven’t a chance.”

He then demonstrated by firing his lasers, straight through the barrier, and hit the rangers.

Now their suits were nearly out of power and energy, which meant their end was just around the corner.

“Mercy me,
This cannot be!” cried Rhymey.

“How can we possibly beat them at their own game?!” squealed Fluttershy “They can just hack their way around all our attempts.”

But hearing her say that gave Rainbow a crazy idea, “Of course…!” she whispered to herself, “Why didn’t I think of this before?!”

The Lingos continued to attack and the rangers were forced to fight back to defend themselves however they could, but their weapons were running out of ammunition. Plus, the more the Lingos kept coming back, the stronger and stronger they became, making them able to stand up to even the most brutal of assaults.

“We can’t keep this up!” cried Sunset, and then she looked over her should, and what she saw confused her big time-- Rainbow was just running against the walls, and shooting blindly at nothing in particular. “Rainbow, what are you doing?! We need your help!” but Rainbow just continued to go berserk all over the place—shooting at the walls, the floor and ceiling, hopping around in circles, and simultaneously switching gear and weapons, “I sure hope this works!” she said to herself.

Soon, the rangers had reached their limits. All their weapons were out of ammo, and if either of them took one more shot, they would be finished. The four of them lay on the ground, weak and beat up.

The villains snickered, “I told you this mission would be a success.” Jack said.

Bronc nodded and then instructed a swarm of Lingos to take their places, forming a ring around their rangers and pointing their guns straight at them, while Rainbow stood where she was-- having stopped her crazy flailing around-- “Say goodbye to your friends, Blue Ranger.” Bronc called at her, “Then it will be your turn.” but Rainbow’s lips curled into a cheeky smirk, “…I don’t think so.”

“Huh?!” snapped Bronc, as he watched as the Lingos guns suddenly vanished into thin are. “What?!” cried Jack. “What have you done?” asked Bronc. “I… I didn’t do anything!” cried Jack, and he fiddled with his controls trying to get the weapons back, but they wouldn’t appear. “How is this happening? I programmed this world perfectly!”

“I Am Error…!” Rainbow teased, “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from years of experience, games like this are packed full of bugs and glitches that can be triggered when the player behaves mysteriously or does something crazy, and it can lead to something great, or something disastrous!”

Some of the Lingos began to pixelate and vanish into nothingness. Even the villains themselves were starting to pixelate. “What’s happening…?! I can’t move!” cried Bronc! He then thundered at his ally, “Do something you, over grown computer bug!”

“I can’t!” cried Jack “My controls will not respond!”

The other rangers, though still weak, were ever so astonished. “I don’t believe this.” cried Buddy “All these bugs, they’ve completely turned the tables on these goons.”

Suddenly, Rainbow herself began to pixelate. She herself was not immune to the glitches she had caused, “Lucky for me, I have a backup plan.” And she dashed right off.

“Rainbow, come back!” cried Fluttershy.

“Where’d she go?” asked Sunset. She suddenly got her answer as the Lingo army suddenly got shot at from directly above. Everyone looked up, and there stood Rainbow, actually standing way up high within the solid ceiling of the fortress!

“Impossible!” shouted Jack “You can’t be up there? The ceiling is solid; you should not be able to pass through it.”

“Normally, that would be the case…” Rainbow called, “But thanks to the glitch I was able to zip myself up here. Pretty neat trick, don’t you think.”

“Way to go,
…Rainbow!” Rhymey called to her, and he and the others watched as Rainbow blasted away more of the Lingos, and thanks to the errors, Hacker Jack was unable to bring them back! “This can’t be happening!” the monster shouted.

Bronc was furious, “It doesn’t matter to me where you stand! I can still blast at you from here!” That’s what he tried to do, but his lasers wouldn’t fire. “What? No!! I’m still bugged!”

Hacker Jack looked up and Rainbow, “Why aren’t you being affected?”

“Duh…!” Rainbow called to him, “Because I’m outside of the game-frame.

The lower area where you two creeps are is overrun with bugs and errors now, making it so you can’t use your weapons, but I’m, literally, on a different playing field where the bugs can’t get to me, which means I have the full right to bear arms!”

With that, she blasted out the remaining Lingos. The other rangers cheered her on, and now the villains were completely defenseless. They still couldn’t move, couldn’t hack the game, and thanks to Rainbow’s glitches their defensive barrier was useless now, leaving them completely exposed.

“Like I say…” Rainbow gloated, “Video games can teach you a lot too, especially of what to expect when the game suddenly breaks around you.”

She switched her gear for a huge bazooka, and aimed it straight the villains, “Too bad neither of you learned that…!”

POW!! She fired a huge rocket that struck the villains hard, effectively beating the game and transporting everyone out of the game.

They all flew out of the console in great beams of lightning, zooming out the open the door and landing in the streets.

The villains were completely outraged. “You blew it, you cybernetic fungus!” growled Bronc.

“Who are you calling a cybernetic fungus?!”

“I know what I’d like to call you both…” Sunset called. the villains turned and saw the rangers were all morphed and holding the Star-Slammer, “…I’d like to call you guys toast! It’s time to shine!”

“Star-Slammer… Engage!”

The two villains gasped, and didn’t know where to run as the rangers prepared to attack. “STAR-SLAMMER… ULTRA-STRIKE!!”

“KETO, HURRY!!” Bronc shouted.

Nacluv heard and saw everything from the monitors, “Well, what are you waiting for?!” he thundered.

“All right already!” snapped Keto, “FORTISSIMO!!” He launched two magical mugics, sending them off to the island, and both Bronc and Jack grew into giants before the rangers could attack!

“Time to play in the Big Games...!” Jack shouted. He and Bronc both laughed wickedly, but the rangers were already prepared and called for their zords, “LAUNCH STAR-JETS!”

“Zords Combine!”

“Jet-Star Megazord, Ready!”

Bronc sneered at the rangers’ megazord, “Ha! Two against one…? No problem!” but suddenly he and Jack got blasted at by Giant Lightning, “I think that about evens the odds.”

“Great timing, Lightning.” said Sunset “Now, let’s get ‘em!”

Lightning had it out with Bronc to keep him distracted. The two of them exchanged punches and kicks like crazy. Bronc then kicked Lightning hard and flipped him flat on his back!

He laughed at him and loomed over him for the kill, “So much for you, Comet Ranger.” but as soon he raised his huge fists to attack, Lightning kicked him hard in the gut, sending him rolling along the ground, “So much for you, helmet-head!”

Bronc roared in outrage, and rushed in for more brawling.

While they duked it out, the other rangers faced the monster with the megazord. The two figures stared each other down, softly pacing in circles waiting to attack. “Game on…!” shouted Jack, and he lunged at the megazord, “Bring!” shouted Rainbow, and the pulled on the controls making the megazord dash forth.

The megazord aimed to punch, but the monster hit his control and gave a huge leap way up and out of sight.

“Where’d he go?” asked Buddy.

“I don’t know!” rhymed Rhymey.

The monster suddenly dropped down, and then hit his controller again, dashing forth with such speed and ramming the megazord hard. The rangers screamed as they were rocked about and the megazord fell on its back!

“Game’s up rangers!” Jack taunted them, “And you can’t glitch your way out of this one.”

“Yeah… and we don’t have to!” snapped Sunset. “Do it, Rainbow!”

“Yeah…!”

Rainbow pounded on the controls, and the megazord bolted up right, making the monster jump, “What the…?!” and in a swift thrust, punched the large controller breaking it in half. “A’RGH!! No!! That was a limited edition!” Jack cried.

“Looks like your game is up now.” said Sunset “Star Saber, Ready!”

“Star Saber… Engage!”

While the megazord charged up, Lightning and Bronc were engaged in a huge struggle, and the both gave each other such a huge hit sending each other flying back hard.

Then, finally, the megazord’s saber was fully charged. “STAR-SLASH… GO!!” the rangers shouted, and the monster was slashed hard! “GAME OVER!!” Jack shouted and he exploded and was imprisoned.

“Quick, beam him inside!” cried Fluttershy, but before the tractor-beam could be fired, “Oh, no you don’t…!” Bronc shouted as he leapt in and grabbed the sphere with the monster in it.

“Oh, no!” cried Lightning.

With the monster safe in his clutches, Bronc sneered at the rangers, “You got lucky today, but there’s always next time, Rangers!” and with that, he teleported away and was gone!

“Oh, no…! He got away with the monster.” cried Rainbow. Sunset pounded the console, and she couldn’t bring herself to make the call this time, “We’ll get him next time. At least everything’s safe now…”

When Bronc shrunk down and got back to the tower, Nacluv demanded an immediate explanation. “Forgive me, master…” Bronc groveled, “I know I failed you, but at least I saved Hacker Jack from capture.”

“Perhaps…” hissed Nacluv, “I suppose, for that, I can spare you for your BLUNDERING!!” his shouting made Bronc jump, “But mess up another plan, again Bronc, and you’ll be wishing the rangers captured you! Now, get out of my sight!!”

Bronc obeyed and left his master in peace, but he was very livid for the way he had been scorned, and as he stomped down the hall, Keto and Marla, whom had been listening to everything, though Nacluv was really going out of line, even though Bronc failed, at least he saved them form losing another monster.

“That’s it… he’s going down!” Marla whispered to Keto, and Keto agreed. “Uh, but… how? How are we going to overthrow him?”

Even Marla couldn’t figure that out, “We’ll find a way, in the meantime just play it cool.”

The rangers found the real manager of the arcade and freed him. The man was ever so grateful, “How would you all like to have free game passes for a month?” he offered them, but the rangers, freaking out of having more games to play, dashed out the door!

“Two months…?” the manager called.

The rangers all got back to base, and explained the situation to Celesto. “Bronc got away with the monster.” Sunset said “We’re sorry, sir.”

Celesto took pity on them, “The important thing is that you’re all safe, and so is the city.”

“So, I guess the lesson learned here is that it really is bad to play too many video games.” said Twilight.

“Yeah, but… really…” said Fluttershy “We only were able to pull out of things because Rainbow plays so many games.”

“So, I guess that means there really is no lesson to learn here.” said Buddy.

“Maybe…” Rainbow cut in, “But I learned I’ve had enough games for a while. I may as well just focus on other things…” and by other things, she meant rocking and sports, which she demonstrated by jamming on her guitar while kicking a soccer-ball around… only to then stumble and fall to the ground.

The others couldn’t resist a small chuckle, and even Rainbow chuckled at herself, “Maybe I should stick to just one at a time.”

Episode 6: Deep Ocean Danger

EPISODE SIX

On an offshore oilrig somewhere in the Pacific the drillers had just struck a new batch of oil after days of hard work and digging. The oil was now loaded into shipping drums and these were being loaded onto a large taker boat to take the oil to the mainland.

This tanker was one that belonged to Celesto’s company, and the foreman of the oil drilling contacted him by satellite phone. “It’s all loaded, Mr. Grandruler. Thanks to your tanker, we’ll reach the mainland ahead of schedule.”

“Very good, just remember our deal. I need some of that oil myself.” Celesto said, “Okay, thank you.” then he hung up. He now had just enough time for a little breakfast and coffee before heading for work.

Celestia had already eaten and was now feeding the babies their breakfast. Luna was helping her sister feed her little niece and nephew, before she would have to head for work herself. She wasn’t on maternity leave like her sister.

As Celesto stood at the sink in the massive kitchen, cramming his toast and sipping his coffee, he couldn’t help but gaze at his loving family. His wife looked over her shoulder and gazed lovingly at him, “You know, you could help feed your own children.” she teased.

Her husband pretended to be insulted, “I paid for their food. So in a way, I already did my share.”

They shared a small chuckled, and a smooch. Then Celesto gave his kids a small peck on their little heads. “You-two be good for your mommy.” he cooed.

“I must go too.” said Luna, and she pecked her niece and nephew goodbye. “Have a good day, sister.” she said to Celestia.

After they left, Celestia sighed. She actually missed going to work, but someone had to take care of the children; which she enjoyed anyway… and the school term was almost over anyway.

“Oh, kids…” Celestia cooed to the babies, “One day you’ll understand how it feels to work, and maybe you can help your Daddy fight evil.” She giggled softly, but the babies just looked confused.

Meanwhile, Nacluv gathered the minions before him. “I suppose you’re all wondering why I brought you here. I’m wondering myself since I hate the stinking sight of you all for your constant mess ups.”

The minions took offense to that!

“However, I’d like to show you all the setup for what will be our latest plot to crush the rangers.” He activated the monitors and showed them the images of the oil tanker traveling across the sea.

“An oil tanker?” asked Keto, “How can that help us?”

“Obviously… we’re going to make a deal with the rangers.” sneered Nacluv “From what we know, these humans can’t bear it when an international disaster occurs. Therefore, we’re going to threaten the ocean with that boat and the oil it has.”

“Ah, I see…” said Bronc “Instead of fighting the rangers with brute force, we’ll fight with logic. They would have to surrender.”

Nacluv nodded, “For this, I have selected just the monster we need: Aquarian.”

The creature walked in. She resembled that of a grey fish-woman, but with silvery crystal armor and ghastly green hair, sharp fin blades on her arms and legs. She even had a large shark tail coming out behind her back, and she had gills on her neck.

She was rather beautiful looking. Keto and Bronc couldn’t help but ogle at her, which instantly irked Marla. “I suppose you do look pretty, but I’d hardly consider you on my level.”

Aquarius gave Marla a simple glare and approached her. Once right in front, she gave a huge roar, exposing her immensely sharp teeth, which according to her profile were strong enough to bite through steel.

Marla yelped and hid behind Bronc.

“That’s not even the best of my powers.” Aquarius explained, “My best specialty is that I can meld myself in water, making myself completely invisible. That taker won’t even know what hit it.”

Nacluv snickered, “Now that’s my kind of girl monster.” much to the annoyance of Marla.

(Que Intro)

The bell rang for lunch period. Exams were now only a week away, and the school was preparing the students by giving practice exams, which didn’t have all of the actual questions and problems to solve as the real tests would, but it would give students a feel so they wouldn’t fall into any panics. Whether they passed or failed didn’t matter... they were just practice tests.

Sadly, even with all this easing, Fluttershy was still a bit nervous. It was hard for her to concentrate as she imagined hearing all the problems were laughing tauntingly at her, and the broke off the page and circled round her head, mocking her for her inadequacy.

“Fluttershy…!” Lightning suddenly called to her “Exam’s over. Hand it in please.”

“Uh…?” Fluttershy looked down at her History exam and realized she hadn’t answered a single question. Lightning also noticed this, “Fluttershy…” he said looking at her with concern, but seeing how she was already looking distraught and he took pity on her, “If you want to talk about it, I’ll be here during lunch, okay.”

Nikki overheard this, and while she would have loved to have laughed at Fluttershy, she quickly rubbed out all her own answers on her own paper, hoping Lightning would want to see her at lunch as well.

“It’s not going to work, Nikki…” Lightning said as he picked up her exam, “And besides… you wrote the answers in pen. You can’t erase that.”

Half the class laughed at her, and even Amber and Dionne couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle each, which irked Nikki.

Sunset, Rainbow and Twilight however, felt concerned about Fluttershy.

Meanwhile, Krysta was flying about over the sea, away from the island, where she enjoyed the silence and privacy. Just she and the salty sea air-- Then again, a flock of seagulls here and there were pleasant company.

“Hey guys, what’s up…?!” Krysta called to them…

The seagulls only wailed at her. They couldn’t speak English like she could, but she could still understand them. “That’s easy for you to say…” she joked, and she soared off.

A little later, she looked down below and saw the big oil tanker that was still on its way to the mainland with its shipment.

Onboard the massive boat, the sailors were all keeping a watchful eye on their course, speed, and schedule. They could see the mainland ahead, and they were bang on schedule, unaware of the imminent danger they were in.

Aquarius was lurking in the water, and she spotted the boat from afar. “This should be easy.” She snickered, and with that, she melded into water, completely disappearing and dashed for the boat.

“Captain…” one of the sailors called “Sonar has detected something moving in the water off the port side.”

The Captain looked with his binoculars, but he couldn’t see anything on the surface, but he suddenly could see the motion of the water as something seemed to be coming at the boat with incredible speed. “Veer Off, Hard to Starboard!” he shouted.

The sailors prepared to veer off, but suddenly, they were grabbed by large threads of pink hair, and pulled away.

“What the…?!” the captain cried, and suddenly, Keto appeared behind him and gave him a huge whack to the head with his staff, knocking him out cold. The security alarm was sounded and guards rushed into action with their weapons ready.

“Ha! Try this…!” Keto shouted, “Refrain of Denial!” His powerful mugic disarmed the guards and rendered all their weapons useless. Keto was pleased that while his mugics couldn’t affect the rangers due to their upgrades, at least it still had a good use to overpower normal humans.

The guards were still not willing to give in and were willing to fight hand-to-hand, when suddenly the ship was hit and rocked hard, knocking them all off their feet. That’s when Aquarius leapt out of the water and onto the deck, breaking through large boxes with her massive teeth!

Her presence frightened guards so badly that they surrendered and groveled like babies.

That’s when Nacluv and Bronc appeared. “Well done! The ship is ours.” hissed Nacluv.

Bronc then proceeded to opened more crates which contained the drums of oil. “With all this oil at our hands, we can hold the entire world in demand!”

“My thoughts exactly.” agreed Nacluv, “And now we even have hostages to further enforce the world to our whim. Nothing can stop me this time!”

He laughed loud and manically.

Krysta saw everything from way above and away. “I’ve got to warn the rangers!” and off she flew towards Mystic Island.

Meanwhile, at lunch, Fluttershy came to talk to Lightning, and the others rangers came for moral support. “Fluttershy, you shouldn’t let the exams get to you like this.” said Lighting.

“I know…” peeped Fluttershy “I try, and I try but it’s still hard.”

Sunset placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, “It’s really not that bad, Fluttershy. If you had lived my old world of Equestria, the exams I used to take were nothing like this.”

“What we’re they like?” asked Buddy. The others wanted to know as well. Sunset agreed to explain, though it felt kind of rough on her as she would have to remember all the bad times!

“In my world, as Queen Celestia’s former student-- when she was Princess Celestia-- my exams weren’t just reading and writing and basic skills. I had to master my own magic and spells, but…” she paused, having a look of regret on her face, “I was younger and blinded by my own greed and spoiled attitude. I couldn’t get what I wanted fast enough. So I abandoned my studies, and that’s how I came here to this world.

…I think you all know the rest.”

The others all nodded, and it all brought them a bit of sickly feeling remembering when Sunset used to be evil.

“To be honest, you didn’t crack nearly as much as I did.” Sunset said to Fluttershy, “You can do it, because you have a better reason to.”

“She is right… we all do.
That’s why I know we can all make it through.” said Rhymey.

Fluttershy began to feel better, and Lightning was pleased. “Nevertheless…” he said “…As your teacher, I still expect you to come by after school and retake the practice test.”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, there was a tapping sound outside the classroom window. “Krysta…” cried Lightning, and he let his little friend inside. The poor little bird was exhausted. “What happened to you?” asked Rainbow.

Krysta looked insulted and through her panting sneered, “You try flying fifty miles as fast you can and tell me you’re not ready to fall to pieces!” She finally caught her breath and explained what she saw.

“Nacluv hijacked an oil-tanker?!” cried Sunset.

Krysta nodded, “I saw it myself. I don’t know what he wants with it though. I couldn’t hear him from that far away.”

Suddenly there was a sound of a sinister laugh echoing outside, “Attention, Power Rangers…!”

“That voice…!” cried Buddy, and outside, in the skies above the city, Nacluv appeared as a large image of himself. Many of the citizens all over looked up in fear and in worry.

“This is an ultimatum, Rangers.” Nacluv declared, and the images changed to show the tanker out at sea. “I have seized this tanker and all the oil it had loaded on it. I plan to dump it all into the ocean, thus polluting the waters and killing all life it touches.”

You can expect, the rangers, especially Fluttershy were livid and shocked.

“And if you’re thinking of trying to stop me this time, you should know I have hostages as well.”

The next images shown were all the sailors and guards aboard the tankers. All of them were bound and gagged and under the watchful guard of the Lingos and the minions.

“I will give you one chance, Rangers.” hissed Nacluv, “Surrender, and hand your morphers over to me. If you fail comply within two hours, I will sink this vessel, releasing the oil and destroy these men.

Surrender or your ocean pays the price.” he laughed wickedly, and the images vanished from the skies.

“We better get to the base.” suggested Sunset. The others agreed and headed out through the window, and went to the nearest jump-tube without being seen.

Meanwhile, Nacluv had taken the boat further out into the ocean. Naturally, the coast guard and the sentinel heard of the hijacking. One of the guards had pressed an emergency alert switch during the struggled before he was bounded.

Naturally, the forces found there was very little could do. They couldn’t shoot at the boat, without risking of making it sink, and taking the oil with it, and Nacluv was prepared to fight off against anything anyone tried to get anywhere near the boat.

Nacluv snickered, “You see, I told you all this is how to form a master plan. Now it’s only a matter of time before the rangers come. They’d be fools not to.”

“But boss…” Keto pointed out, “The rangers are always up to nasty tricks. What if they try to pull another fast one on us?”

“He’s got a point…” added Marla, but Nacluv snuffed them off. “You’re talking a bunch of nonsense. With all this, plus Aquarius patrolling in the water below, we’ve got all the cards.”

“They’ve really got all the cards this time.” cried Rainbow. Celesto was almost inclined to agree, “They certainly what they were doing they planned this. The problem is what do we do about it?”

Fluttershy felt her heart breaking at the thought of the oil being spilled, and all the fish and other sea-life it would kill. “We can’t let them do it!” she cried “We can’t let them kill all those fish.”

“We won’t let them, Fluttershy.” said Buddy. He wasn’t pretending or just trying to cheer her up. He too, as a fiend of the environment and all the plants he looked after, was just as concerned for the nature at risk. “We’ll find some way to work it out.”

A moment of silence followed, nobody seemed to have any ideas. Not even Twilight. “This is Nacluv we’re dealing with, and I don’t think we can trust him.”

Rhymey agreed with her,

“Even if we surrendered, what’s to say?
That Nacluv won’t go ahead anyway.”

Lightning was growing frustrated, “And we can’t take the zords out there either. He’d probably be ready for us.”

Another moment of silence followed, and Sunset finally asked “So… does that mean we… surrender?”

Nobody liked the idea at all, but they just couldn’t risk the tanker being sunk and the oil breaking loose.

“No way!” snapped Spike “You guys can’t just give in. Can’t you just take the risk of it? So what if a little oil leaks out, we can always clean it up after, and who knows, it may not do too much damage.”

Krysta landed right on his head and sunk her talons right into him, shouting “How can you even suggest such a thing?!!”

“Krysta, stop that!” shouted Lightning, and Twilight picked the bird off her dog’s sore head.

“Look, I only meant…”

“Save it, Spike.” Twilight scolded “What you suggested is not only insane, it’s completely foolish.”

“Twilight is right…” agreed Celesto “That boat was carrying enough gallons of oil to kill every fish for miles. But the oil isn’t even the only problem. The tanker itself is nuclear-powered. If they sink that boat and the reactor gets damages, it could kill all marine-life in the ocean as we know it for the next few centuries. It could even cause an irreversible pollutant that could endanger human-life as well.

Do you think, even for one minute, that we can take such a risk?!!”

Spike hid behind Twilight, cowering in fear of all the scorn he was getting. “Okay, I get the idea.”

Just as they were about to consider surrendering again, Professor Brain entered the room, “Begging your pardon everyone, but I feel I just may have the solution to your problem.”

Everyone turned to face him with eager eyes. “What have you got, Professor?” Celesto asked.

“Well, sir… it had always come to my, eh… er… suspicion that Nacluv would try and force you into a surrender. So I had begun a special project just for the occasion.”

He then clapped his hands for his team of experts to present his idea to everyone. (Off Screen)

Everyone saw the idea, and couldn’t believe their eyes.

“No way.” said Sunset

“I can’t believe it.” added Buddy.

“Wicked…!” cried Rainbow.

“This is marverlous,
And great for us.” said Rhymey.

“Wow.” Fluttershy simply peeped.

“Professor, how did you do all this, and why didn’t you tell us?” asked Lightning.

“Yes, why didn’t you tell us?” added Celesto, he seemed rather strict as to why he was not informed. “As I had said…” replied Brain “I had created this for just such an occasion. I thought it best to keep it aside until so.

And in any case, this will still involve a great risk.”

Again, a moment of silence came as everyone pondered over the plan. Twilight calculated the odds and risks. “Well, it’s not as dangerous as it was before, and it’s the best we’ve got.”

Everyone looked over at Celesto, “All right, then. But I don’t have to say this twice, Rangers… Be extremely careful!”

A while later, the patrol boats were still near the area of the hijacked tanker, but still unable to do anything at all due to the risks.

“What is taking them so long?” Marla whined, “All this salt air isn’t good for my hair!”

“I’m getting seasick just listening to your whining.” grumbled Keto.

The Lingos kept the ship’s crew under tight guard, and suddenly, one of them pointed up at the sky as a chopper came soaring in. “This is it…” Bronc said “The rangers have arrived.”

Nacluv snickered, “I knew they wouldn’t be able to refuse.”

The rangers came sliding down, unmorphed, on zip-lines, landing softly on the deck of the boat. The chopper then reeled in the lines and flew off, just leaving them there.

The Lingos surrounded them, but did not attack. The minions all stood at the head of the circle, and Nacluv glared wickedly at the friends. “Greetings, Rangers, I’m glad you’ve finally come to your senses.”

“Never mind that…” sneered Sunset “We’re here, now release these men and get off this ship!”

“Uh-uh-uhn…” said Nacluv “First thing’s first: Hand over your morphers, now!”

Lightning held out a small case, and he opened it wide to show the six morpher badges resting neatly in a foam block. “If we give them to you, will you let these men go and leave the boat?” Lightning asked.

“Certainly.” hissed Nacluv “I have the mind of a great business dealer after all.” he referred to Vulcan’s mind.

The rangers didn’t take good comfort in that, but Lightning still handed over the case to Bronc. he snickered wickedly. “At long last, the Power Rangers are no more!”

Nacluv nodded and ordered the Lingos, “Hold them!”

“Hey!” snapped Rainbow “We did as you said! You said you’d let us go!”

Nacluv snickered, “And I will let you go… go down to the bottom of the sea that is. After all, if I’m to takeover this world, I want to make sure than no one interferes again!”

“Why you big…!” Buddy sneered, but he couldn’t find the words to say.

“Throw them over the side and prepare to sink this tub!” Nacluv ordered, and Lingos began to shove the rangers along with the men.

While they struggled, Bronc wired a huge bomb in the center of the deck. “There!” he snapped as he activated the countdown. “This thing will go off in five minutes, and nothing can stop it now!”

Keto was giddy with glee, “I can’t believe it-- we’re actually going to do it!”

“Pinch me, I must be dreaming!” added Marla.

Suddenly, the five star-jets zoomed in overhead. “What?!” snapped Nacluv “What’s going on?”

“It can’t be…!” cried Bronc.

“Oh yes it can!” Sunset hollered. Lightning road in the seat behind her, and the other rangers all saluted from their own jets as well.

Furious and confused, Nacluv blasted the supposed rangers on the deck, with his fire powers, blasting them to pieces and revealing, “…Robots! We’ve been tricked!”

Bronc check the morphers in the case, they were fake too-- made out of plaster. He angrily smashed the case on the deck, breaking the fake morphers.

“Now that that’s settled, I’ll take that.” said Sunset, and she used her Jet’s tractor beam to pull the huge bomb up. “No!!” shouted Bronc, and he tried to shoot at the jet, but Rainbow had already rocketed up high, jettisoned the bomb, and shot at it with her lasers… KAPOW!! Blowing it up harmlessly in the air

“My turn… said Sunset, and she fired her own tractor beam, taking all the hostages with her.

“Oh, no you don’t!” shouted Keto, “Song of Embernova!”

Fireball swarmed all around Sunset’s jet, forcing her to swerve and dodge. The jet got hit a few times. “I’ve got to get these men to safety!”

“Right, I’m doing down. I’ll keep them busy!” said Lightning. With that, he ejected and leapt down hard onto the deck. “Get him!” thundered Nacluv.

The Lingos went crazy, “Bring it on!” Lightning sneered, and he fought back ruthlessly, kicking them down, tossing them over the side and into the water below.

The three minions then went at him. The three of them lunged at him, but Lightning leapt up high causing them to bump into each other hard and they all fell into a huge pile on top of one another.

“Must I do EVERYTHING MYSELF?!!” thundered Nacluv!

That’s when he and Nacluv began to brawl hard. Even though Nacluv was very short, he just as powerful and strong as Vulcan was, and his short height made it easier for him to didge Lightning’s kicks and punches, while he slashed at Lightning hard, making big sparks! He then gave Lighting huge kick, bashing him hard into a boc, and the vibrations caused another box of oile ontop of it to tip over and fall into the water.

“Oh, no!” cried Lightning, “Guys, get that box before it breaks open!”

“We’re on it!” said Buddy, “Rhymey, Fluttershy… let’s go!”

“All right!” cried Fluttershy.

“With all our might!” rhymed Rhymey, and with that, the three jets dove into the water.

Nacluv laughed, “Try all you like, it’ll do you no good!”

“Oh, yeah!” sneered Lightning, and he leapt over, kicking him hard in the chest, sending him skidding along the deck.

“Master!” shouted Bronc “Let’s help him!”

His comrades agreed and attacked Lightning hard, but Lightning knew he still had to buy the others some time.

Keto saw there were going to need more power to deal with the rangers below, and he held his staff over the side of the boat, “FORTISSIMO!” and shot his mugic into the water!

“What’s he doing?!” Lightning wondered.

Down below, the other three rangers spotted the crate of oil. It had broken wide open when it crashed on the seabed, but the oil drums were all still intact as they sat in a cluttered pile.

“Oh, thank goodness!” cried Fluttershy.

“Let’s get them out of here before they spring a leak.” said Buddy. He was about to activate his tractor beam and seize the drums, when suddenly his sonar went off with a warning, and something hit him and other jets as well.

“What was that?!” cried Fluttershy. She got her answer when Aquarius appeared out of nowhere. She was also very big thanks to Keto’s mugic.

She laughed at the rangers and sneered, “Surprise, rangers! I am Aquarius: Scourge of the waters, and I shall be destroying you as well as your ocean now.”

“Not if we have a say!
You won’t get your way!” shouted Rhymey.

Aquarius glared at the jets with her sharp teeth.

“Shoot her!” shouted Buddy, and he and the others fired their missiles, but the swift monster zoomed around the rockets and struck each jet hard as she passed.

“She’s too fast!” cried Fluttershy.

Buddy called Rainbow and Sunset, “We need back up down here!”

“We’re on our way!” Sunset responded.

She and Rainbow steered their jets down towards the water, “Cannonball!” Rainbow hollered as she splashed down.

“Hey, fish-face…!” sunset called, and she and rainbow both fired their missiles, but the monster melded into water and vanished. The missiles missed and exploded, and the force of the explosion slit one of the oil drums open.

“Oh, no!” cried Sunset.

“This is not good!” added Rainbow.

“We’ve got to get the drums out of here now!” cried Buddy. He tried to steer his jet inward, but Aquarius rammed him hard and gnashed her teeth at the side of his jet. “Whoa!” Buddy cried.

“It’s no use!” she thundered, “Here in the water I’m twice as fast and slick, and you can’t even try to hit what you can’t even see!”

She demonstrated her wickedness by striking the other jets. The rangers couldn’t even try to pinpoint her on sonar-- she was too fast.

The oil was spilling out even more.

“There’s got to be a way!” cried Fluttershy.

“There is…” hissed Auqaruius “…You get destroyed!!”

She charged again, when suddenly a missile went right past her, frightening her into appearing. “What the?!” she turned round to see a whole bunch of mini-subs, from the coast guard and the sentinel.

They couldn’t contact them over the radio because their communications still worked on different principles, but the lead craft flashed its lights twice at Sunset’s jet, signaling they had come to help!

“Perfect, that gives us all the help we need.” said Sunset.

“Fluttershy and I will get each drum,
You guys fend off that monstrous bum.” said Rhymey.

“Got’cha!”

Rhymey and Fluttershy steered into to grab the drums.

“No! I’ll stop you!” shouted Aquarius, and she melded into water again, vanishing from sight.

“Not this time you don’t!” shouted Buddy, and he veered his jet right in the path the monster was going to reach the others. She was forced to veer another way, and two sentinel subs blocked her way.

“That’s it! Now I’m angry!” she thundered. Her teeth and her finlike blades actually shimmer while invisible. She lunged forth and slashed at all the crafts hard, shaking everyone in their cockpits. “Keep it together, guys!” Rainbow called.

The crafts continued to hold steayd and did all they could to give Rhymey and Fluttershy their opening.

Soon, the two jets reached the leaking drums and grabbed them in their tractor-beams, hauling them to safety. Not too much oil had leaked out to cause much panic.

“Let’s get them out of here!” said Fluttershy.

“Right behind you, dear.” her boyfriend rhymed.

Their jets leapt sprang out of water and dumped the drums back onto the boat.

Lightning was still struggling with Nacluv and his minions. Marla shoved him hard, Keto bashed, him, Bronc shoved him again and Nacluv gave Lightning huge slash sending him skidding up the deck, and his suit ran out of energy, and powered down.

“That’s one ranger down!” sneered Nacluv, and he rushed into finish Lightning for good, but Rhymey and Fluttershy hovered their jets down and pointed their lasers right at him, making him back away, right with his minions.

Lightning got back onto his feet.

Fluttershy contacted him through his morpher, “Are you okay, Lightning?”

“I’m fine, just a little bruised.” He answered, and then he sneered at the villains, “Okay, Nacluv, the jig is up! We’re taking this tanker, and you’re coming too, as our prisoner!”

Nacluv turned wound and saw the sentinel and coast guard boast pulling alongside the ship, with men aiming their guns right at him.

Still, he wasn’t quite licked yet. “You could take me in if you desire… but will you risk it?!”

Before anyone would question him, he blasted a huge hole clear through the hull of the tanker, causing it to start sinking!

“Oh, no!” thundered Lightning.

“We can’t let the boat sink!” cried Fluttershy.

While the rangers and the gunmen were all distracted, Nacluv laughed and saw this as his chance to escape, “So long, Rangers!” and he and his minions vanished off the deck.

“A’RGH!!” growled Lightning, but he had no time to be angry now.

The commander of the sentinel mothership called to them with a megaphone, “Lift the boat out of the water and put it on our deck. We’ll handle it from here!”

The rangers agreed, and Lightning leapt off the sinking ship onto one of the other boats where he’d be safe, and Rhymey and Fluttershy used their jet tractor beams and pulled the boat safely onto the mothership where it, too, would be safe.

Now all that was left to do was beat the monster.

Rhymey and Fluttershy dove back below. Their friends and allies had taken quite a beating, and a couple of sub crafts were down, but still intact, and everyone else still hadn’t given up yet.

“Have no fear,
We are here!” Rhymey hollered.

“Great, we could use more power.” Buddy called.

“All the power in the ocean won’t save you now!” thundered Aquarius, and she zoomed past the crafts striking them all again.

“Okay, that’s it!” snarled Rainbow “We’ve gotta sink this fish right now!”

“And I think I know how…” said Sunset, “Everyone, huddle together.”

All the many crafts huddled in a big circle, pointing their weapons outward, “All right, FIRE!!”

Their lasers and missiles shot out all around, and eventually the monster got hit in a huge barrage. “Whoa…!” she groaned as she reappeared looking all battered and woozy, “I feel seasick!”

“Now’s our chance!” cried Sunset “Tractor-beams, capture-mode, ready!”

“Tractor-beam Engage!”

“FIRE!!”

All five jet’s launched their beams at the weakened monster, blasting her hard and actually shrinking her down. She was imprisoned and beamed into Sunset’s cockpit. “Monster Captured! Mission Complete!”

The rangers cheered, the aquanauts whom helped them cheered, and Ligthning heard the news over his com, and he and the other sailors were cheering as well. “Way to go guys!”

Nacluv was so furious that his screams echoed all over the tower “I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS HAPPENED!!!” and he turned to face the minions “This is all YOUR faults!”

“What? Us?” whined Marla.

“I come up with a perfectly good master plan, and you three messed it all up again!”

Bronc tried to protest, “But master, the ranger…”

“QUIET!!” thundered Nacluv “I don’t want to hear any excuses! GET OUT…!! GET OUT ALL OF YOU BEFORE I BLAST YOU ALL TO THE MOON!!”

“You heard him!” cried Keto, and he and his comrades ran off swiftly, leaving Nacluv to angrily kick over a table. “Ooh… I’ll get you for this, Rangers! Just you wait!”

When the rangers got back to Mystic Island, School had just gotten out for the day, but the rangers were at the base for their debriefing, and Celesto just got off the phone with Washington.

“Good news…” he said to the others, “The sentinel took the taker to the mainland and the oil is still safe; all thanks to you. Well done, Rangers.”

The rangers all nodded proudly.

“And what about the spilled oil in the water?” Fluttershy asked with concern. “It’s all fine…” Celesto assured her “I spoke with the coastguard, not too much oil leaked out and it’s already being cleaned. So no fish will be hurt.”

“That’s wonderful news!” said Buddy “Just the same, we just barley manage to pull it off, thanks to the Professor’s robot dummies of us.”

Professor Brain felt flattered, “Well, you know as they say: Fool the mind, and…er… victory is yours. Nonetheless, I dare say Nacluv may not fall for the same trick again. I must prepare to work on more projects.”

He went off to the lab.

“Speaking of working…” Lightning said while looking at Fluttershy “Don’t you have a practice test to complete, like we promised?”

Fluttershy blinked once, but she didn’t seem to be too nervous about it, or the real exams coming up next week. “If I could get through what we did today, I can pass a little test…” then she acted nervous again “…I hope.”

The others all sighed funnily.

Episode 7: Infection Info

EPISODE SEVEN

Not much further to exams now, and the rangers were feeling confident about their success, and they were even starting to come up with new places to hang when school was out.

“We could always hang out in the park.” Buddy suggested.

“Oh, I like that idea.” said Fluttershy.

“No, way… I say we hang at the skating arena.” said Rainbow “I could even get a rock gig there.”

Fluttershy stammered, “Oh, um… well…”

“Or how about the library…?” Twilight suggested “Then we could read study and plan ahead for our futures.”

The others only sighed at that suggestion,

“Much as we know you like to study,
Isn’t the point of holiday to be free?” asked Rhymey.

“We do have a long road ahead laid of us,
We should enjoy some free time made for us.”

Fluttershy didn’t know how to respond. She was hardly ever good with taking side when there was more than just one.

“Well, I don’t think it really matters much,” said Sunset “Just as long as we can still hang out together. That’s all we really want.”

The others realized how right she was, and they agreed to carry on the conversation after school.

Meanwhile, The Cutie Mark Crusaders, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Daphne Dill-- better known as DD, whom also attended Canterlot High’s Elementary Division, were walking down the halls to their class contemplating on how to spend their summer vacation.

“I’ll most likely be doin’ twice as many chores.” said Applebloom, “I really wish Applejack was awake by now. I really miss her.”

“Tell me about it.” said Sweetie, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I actually miss the way Rarity complained about things.”

Scootaloo and DD felt bad for their friends. DD still had her cousin, Buddy, and Scootaloo treated Rainbow like a big sister.

“I just makes me feel upset that we can’t do much about that.” said Scootaloo.

DD agreed, “Yeah, but at least we can be there for each other, just like we will next year at school.”

Her friends agreed, and it was one reason they liked to go to school, was so they could hang out all the time…

…But they were in for quite a shock when they passed by the main office. The door was opened just a crack, and the girls could hear Celesto talking with Luna and Cadance.

“We’re going to have to sell.” Celesto said. Hearing the word “sell” made the girls stop, and listen in.

“Are you sure about this, Uncle?” Cadance asked.

“I agree…” added Luna “Is there no other way to the budget.”

“I’m afraid not. I’ve gone over the books; we just can’t afford it anymore. As soon as school is over, we’re selling the place, and that’s final.”

The ladies sighed, but the complied with the decision, while the girls felt their hearts breaking. Scootaloo dropped her book which alerted the adults. “Who’s there?” Luna called.

Scootaloo grabbed her book and ran off with the girls before they were spotted.

“They’re going to sell the school?!” cried Sweetie.

“They can’t do that!” wailed Applebloom, “I love this school! It’s been part of my life since first grade!”

The girls fell into silence, not knowing what to do now!

(Que Intro)

At the prison tower, Bronc had been working hard for some time and finally managed to bust Hacker Jack out of his spherical prison. “Hey, what gives…?! I’m still tiny!” he groaned.

“I know!” growled Bronc, “I can’t seem to understand the technology and power that shrunk you. There’s no way I can undo it.”

Marla then cast a look at Keto, “Well, what are you waiting for? Make him grow with your Fortifizer… whatever?”

Keto felt insulted, after all this time she didn’t get the name right! “That’s “Fortissimo” and it doesn’t work that way.”

“Well that’s just swell!” grumbled Nacluv “All we’ve got is a five-inch tall monster. I’m sure we can take over the world now.”

“On the contrary, master… there may be a way.” said Bronc “We may not be able to make him grow, but with a few modifications, I may be able to give him new powers.”

Marla wasn’t impressed “Like that’ll do any good.”

“Quiet!” snapped Nacluv, “Go on, Bronc. What are you planning?”

“My plan is simple, sir,” said Bronc “To control the world, why not control how it operates. For that, we turn to the global power grid of the planet.”

He fiddled with the computers and showed to everyone, “Within all electronical devices, are circuitry and power grids that control how things work. If I modify Hacker Jack’s controls, he’ll be able to alter and corrupt the world’s power supply, and deliver all that to us.”

Hacker Jack complied with idea, “I can do all that no sweat.”

Nacluv pondered for a moment; the very thought of all the world’s power belonging to him, while all the humans would plunge into dark ages; they wouldn’t be able to survive, back up their financial costs, and many more.

“Very well, Bronc… you may proceed. I want every bit of power that can be harnessed, and I want it fast!”

Bronc agreed and Hacker Jack couldn’t wait to get his hands on all that power!

After school, the Crudasers met in the playground in the closed in elementary area of the school grounds, all of them were looking a little grim over what they had heard.

Buddy came along on his way out, and he noticed them, “Hey, girls… what’s up with you? What happened to your smiling faces?”

DD looked up at her cousin and asked to confirm, “We heard Mr. Grandruler talking about selling. Is it true?”

“Sure is, girls.” replied Buddy. The girls all looked sadder than ever.

“But why…? Why is he sellin’?” asked Applebloom.

“Well, the place just isn’t making enough money anymore, and there’s no sense in putting up with it anymore.”

“Well why won’t Mr. Grandruler just put in more money?” asked Scootaloo “After all, doesn’t he have all the money in the world?”

“Well, I don’t think he has all the money in the world girls, but it’s his decision, and if he wants to sell, we can’t really argue with him, not without a good reason anyway.”

Now the girls felt upset, and angry.

“I’ll see you girls later, I have to head to work.” said Buddy, and off he went.

Sweetie Belle bolted upright, “No! I’m not going to let Mr. Grandruler shut down the school.”

“Neither will I!” agreed DD, and the other two agreed as well. “Somehow, we gotta let the people know what’s happenin’ so they’ll band together with us.” said Applebloom.

“I think I know the way to start.” said Scootaloo.

She and the girls went to a Cyber Café a few blocks away from school. Scootaloo was taught by Rainbow Dash how to use computers, when it came to playing games on the internet. “Okay, I’ve emailed all the students in our class and asked them to spread the word.” she told her friends, “By tomorrow morning we should get a ton of people to band together and stop the sale of the school.”

“I hope so…” said Sweetie “I can’t bear it if the school gets sold.”

The others all felt the same, but all they could do, for now, was wait for responses and support.

Indeed, many of their classmates got the email, saying that Celesto was planning on selling Canterlot High, and they were just as concerned as anyone else was, and they emailed friends from other elementary schools, and they emailed more friends, and it wasn’t long before parents becoming concerned…!

Celesto couldn’t close down Canterlot High, it was one of the best schools on the island--considering there weren’t that many schools on the island anyway.

Soon parents were gossiping all over town and in the suburb areas, and were beginning to make plans for protests to Celesto for being too cheap to pay up.

While all that was happening, Bronc had completed work on upgrading little Hacker Jack, so now he had the power to manipulate all electronic systems. His gaming powers were no longer useful, “But I don’t need them anyway…” he said “Once I get guys all the power, my old tricks will be as weak as floppy-disk.”

“Whatever!” grumbled Bronc “Get ready to be digitized.”

Jack agreed, and using his newly fixed controller on his chest, he digitized himself into the tower’s computer system. Bronc snickered, “Now, I’ll input the codes, and send him into the world’s power-grid.”

POW!! A beam of electrical-light shot out of the tower, bounced off a satellite, sending the light beaming into a master computer system within the United States.

Inside the circuitry, Jack was surrounded by all kinds of information, codes, systems, “All mine!” he hissed, “Now let’s cause some damage!” and he set straight to work, stealing power and disrupting the systems.

Federal and Corporal Databases were already beginning to go haywire, much to the people’s confusion.

The Worldwide Stock-Market and banking accounts began to crash, making the people fall into panic.

Worse than that, blackouts were starting to break out worldwide. Lights went out all over cities leaving homes without power, hospitals without necessities, and many people without conveniences.

Hacker’s and technicians were baffled, but try as they did not one of them could detect the source of the problem, and couldn’t seem to find ways to restore the systems. Anything they tried was automatically deleted, or could never pull through due to the systems malfunctioning.

“This is incredible!” shouted Jack “All this power, all these resources. The Earth will belong to Nacluv.” Then, as he began to attack more files, he decided, “Of course… why not have a little fun and alter some personal records. This will make the humans fall into complete and total chaos.”

The power surge hadn’t hit Mystic Island yet, and everyone was still seemingly unaware of what was happening.

Celesto was working quietly at one of his many office complexes, he was looking over some financial documents for his big sale, and he sighed heavily, “I’m going you a lot.” He said as he looked down at picture of the place.

Suddenly his phone rang. It was one of his many clients who had called to scold him.

“What do you mean “how could I not pay money into the school?” It’s funding is just fine!”

He got two more calls on his phone, they, too, were protesters, calling him out.

“You cheapo!”

“How can you do such a thing to our community?!”

Celesto was growing frustrated and turned off his phone. “What is with these people?”

His secretary then called over the intercom, “Mr. Grandruler… we have a problem.”

“I’m a little busy right now.”

“But sir, a large group of protesters have gathered outside the building.”

Celesto opened the blinds and looked down the many floors of the skyscraper, and surely enough he could see an angry mob of students from Canterlot High and their parents, all were protesting.

“Save the School! Save the School! Save the School!”

“What is all this?!” Celesto grumbled, and he flicked on the computer to check Canterlot High’s webpage, and what he saw made him livid! “…Celesto Grandruler prepares to closedown Canterlot High due to lack of funding?! Is this Multi-Millionaire and businessman too cheap to help the kids and adults he supported so much anymore?!”

He couldn’t believe such a thing was posted! “I would never sell Canterlot High!”

He was about to print a counter-post to the article, when suddenly his computer began to act up, and the lights in the building flickered, and soon the power went out completely leaving him unable to clear his name.

“I have to get out of here.” And luckily for him, there was a secret panel behind a bookshelf in his office, that wasn’t electrical powered. It revealed a jump-tube, which he used to head for the base where he would be safe and figure out what was going on.

Meanwhile, Sunset and Buddy met on the sidewalk between the hospital and the community garden, after both getting off shift. They both heard about the protests. “I can’t believe this.” grumbled Sunset.

“He wouldn’t sell the school, especially not without telling us first.” agreed Buddy.

Rainbow came along, and held up her phone, “Did you guys hear about…?”

“We know.” the others quickly said.

“Who could’ve started this crazy thing?” Rainbow wondered aloud. The others didn’t know.

Then Lightning came along, “You guys are not going to believe this…” he said, but the others held up their phones showing him they knew about the School Protest. “Not just that…” said Lightning “I’ve been fired from my teaching job.”

“What?” Sunset snapped. “It’s true; I just got this email from the board. I’ve been let off due to budget cuts.”

The others couldn’t understand this at all, and suddenly, Rhymey came running up to everyone, completely out breath!

“Rhymey, what’s wrong…?” asked Buddy.

“Forgive me… as I… pant and… wail.
Fluttershy… she’s in jail!”

The others were all shocked beyond words. “What in the world would they arrest Fluttershy for?”

Rhymey looked to be on the verge of tears, the thought of his girlfriend in jail couldn’t be anything short of frightening.

Suddenly, the street lights began to flicker on and off, but it was too early for them to be coming on anyway. The sun was still plenty bright, and people were starting to run about in panic.

There was even a small traffic accident as a bus swerved and skidded to a halt because it’s electronic destination board kept changing, confusing the driver. This cause many cards to smash into the bus and into each other.

No one was hurt, thankfully, but the people were very angry, and upset, and began to argue fiercely with one another.

The rangers were totally speechless.

“Lightning…!” Krysta called. Lightning held out his hand for her to land on it, “…Its chaos. The whole island is going crazy!”

“We just noticed…” said Lightning.

Just then, Twilight called the rangers over their coms. “I think you guys better come to the base! We’ve got a huge problem here.”

“We’ve already a bigger problem here.
The police took my Fluttershy dear!” cried Rhymey.

“It’s okay. She’s here with us. Mr. Grandruler bailed her out.” said Twilight “Just get here, quick!”

Hearing that Fluttershy was safe, Rhymey gave a huge sigh of relief, but still, the rangers all headed for the nearest jump-tube.

Meanwhile, Hacker Jack continued to destabilize and corrupt more power systems worldwide, as well as alter citizen records, and he transferred all that power by air-waves to Nacluv’s island.

Nacluv and his minions stood atop the tower as all that energy and power was being formed into a massive energy ball. “Yes… it’s wonderful!!” Nacluv cried for joy, “All the power in the world, mine… ALL MINE!!”

“Oh, it’s so wonderful!” cried Marla “And the best part of it is, the rangers have no way of stopping this takeover this time.”

Keto gave her a nudge with his staff, “Don’t jinx it! Will you.”

“Oh, relax…” sneered Bronc “Even the rangers won’t be able to pull a fast one thing time.”

“For your sake, Bronc, you had better be right.” hissed Nacluv.

Once the rangers got to the base, Rhymey embraced Fluttershy tearfully, but not as tearfully as she was. The poor girl was positively hysterical! “I’ve never been so scared in my life!” she wept, “It was cold, and dark, and lonely… and those bars…!”

Rhymey hushed her and comforted her…

“Shh, please stop… no more!
My heart is already sore!”

Poor Fluttershy didn’t know if she’d ever be the same again. “Why would the police arrest me?” she wanted to know.

“I think we all want to know that.” agreed Rainbow.

Twilight checked computer files, “According to the All-Points-Bulletin, Fluttershy is considered Armed, Dangerous. She’s wanted for Assault…

Battery…

Battery in the First-Degree…

International Terrorism…

Credit-Card fraud…

…And a whole load of loitering fines.”

Everyone gawked in such shock. “Wow! All that?” said Spike “You ought to fix those, Fluttershy.”

Rainbow gave him a small flick at his ear for that, “Spike, how could you? Fluttershy couldn’t do all those things!”

“But it’s here in the files!” said Twilight “I can’t understand it but something’s corrupting the world’s power grid. That’s why you were all brought here.”

“Yes…” added Celesto “I’m sure you’ve noticed, Rangers, so many strange things are happening, not just on our island, but around the world as well.”

Twilight punched up images on the monitors on how all electronic systems everywhere were going crazy, causing panics and widespread confusion all over. This caused police records and citizen files to get all mixed around, which was why Fluttershy got arrested.

“Whoa! I’ve heard of a bad day, but this takes the cake.” said Buddy.

Suddenly, everyone could hear the sound of babies crying. They all turned and saw Celestia and Luna brining the babies into the base.

“Sorry to drop in on you all like this.” said Celestia, “I just got the babies to sleep when a protesting mob came outside the mansion. They threw rocks at the windows and shouted so loud keeping them awake.”

“A mob?” asked Celesto “Let me guess, they were protesting for me and the whole school conspiracy?”

The ladies nodded, and Celesto groaned. Still, they managed to calm the babies down, but that still didn’t solve the mystery of the world’s power calamity.

Their base wouldn’t be affected as easily because it was powered by solar panels and water intake from the sea.

“I think I have an idea…” said Twilight, and she worked at the computer. “What are you doing?” asked Sunset.

“I’m going to feed a program of vast power into the system. Then, if whatever’s affecting the other systems gets to it, we should be able to figure out what’s going on.”

Soon she launched the program, which uploaded quickly. They all waited a few minutes, and suddenly the computer buzzed as the screen flashed red. “Got it!” snapped Twilight, “Now I’ll just isolate the source…”

Hacker Jack found himself struggling with this new program, “Hey, what’s going on? Crazy data… you’re mine!”

The image appeared on the computer screen. “Figures this would be Nacluv’s doing.” said Sunset “So what do we do now?”

Twilight did some calculations on the computer, “If the program I just launched attracted him here, all we need to do is create a strong surge of computerized data, it should burst Hacker Jack out of the computer systems… like ejecting a disk super hard.”

“Yeah, um… just one problem though.” said Rainbow, “All the power in the city has gone haywire. Where are we supposed to get enough of it?”

“That and we can’t do it here.” said Buddy “We can’t let Jack break into our secret base.”

“I’ve already thought of that.” replied Twilight “Rangers, come with me.”

She grabbed her knapsack, and headed for the jump-tubes. The others, curious as ever, followed her.

“I do hope they can solve this problem.” said Luna. The others all agreed.

All over town, people were still going crazy. So much power lost, so many files altered, a so much chaos and confusion… it was a real nightmare!

People were already beginning to loot stores and places in all the madness. The police were unable to deal with trouble this big. Even military intelligence couldn’t handle this much chaos all over the world, especially with their own computer systems down, and their own soldiers getting caught in the chaos as well.

The Cyber Café was empty, and carelessly not even locked, when the rangers came along. “Good, the place is empty.” said Twilight “And the computers are still here… perfect.”

“What exactly do you want done?” asked Fluttershy.

“First I need you guys to morph.” replied Twilight “We’ll the power the computers using your rangers powers.”

The rangers gawked,

“Yeah, I see,
Isn’t that risky?” asked Rhymey.

“Maybe, but it’s the best we’ve got.” said Twilight “The monster won’t be able to resist feeing on your ranger powers, and he won’t be able to absorb them with what I’m planning.”

She then began to move six of the computer tables so that the computers all formed a special hex-like circle. “If this works, we can channel the power at different angles, which will trap the monster, and eject him right in the middle.”

The rangers all blinked once, “I suppose… it could work…” Fluttershy said, pretending to understand it all.

“Well then, come on guys…” said Sunset “It’s Morphin’ Time!”

The others agreed, and the first five rangers morphed…

“STARFLEET MAGIC… POWER ON!!”

…then Lightning morphed.

“Cosmic Comet… Power On!”

“Okay, what next?” Sunset asked, but before Twilight could answer, everyone heard a small clattering coming from behind the coffee counter.

“What was that?” cried Fluttershy.

“Who’s there?” Buddy called out, “I’m coming over!”

He leapt up and over the counter, and when he found no one was there, he assumed someone was hiding in the cupboards on the counter-island.

He opened the doors, “Oh…”

It was the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and they looked nothing short of terrified out of their minds as Buddy walked them round the counter.

“Girls, what are you doing here?” asked Sunset.

“We were scared!” cried Sweetie, “When all the lights started going crazy, and the computers shut down, the people went crazy like pigs without their slops.” added Applebloom.

“We couldn’t go home because we didn’t want to go out there with all the accidents and people running about outside.” said Scootaloo, “So we hid in here, hoping everything would quiet down.” added DD.

The rangers saw no harm in letting the girls stay with them, as long as they promised not to get in the way of things that were about to happen, as well as keep the secrets they were about to learn to themselves.

“Okay, let’s get started.” said Twilight.

Each ranger stood in front of a computer in the circle as Twilight booted up her laptop to prepare the upload. The girls all watched over her shoulder, “Now remember, girls, not a word about this to anyone.”

“It’s okay…” said Scootaloo “We hardly understand much of what you’re doing anyway.”

Soon the program was ready, “Okay, Rangers, activate your morphers.”

One-by-one, each ranger activated their morpher, transferring the energy to other computers, and Sunset went last, “Time to shine!”

The power surge from the morphers, flying out in six different colors, actually powered the computers, just like Twilight planed. “Too cool!” said DD.

The rangers were told to stand exactly where they were and to keep the power going. Moving away would disrupt everything.

“Right, now the program…!” said Twilight and she enabled her new codes into the system. “It’s got to work! It’s got to!”

Inside Cyber-Space, Hacker Jack was starting to feel a bit full up, “I think… that just about do it!” he grumbled “Master Nacluv should have all the power he needs about now.”

Suddenly, a new stream of power he had never seen before caught his attention, “Hey, what have we here…?”

He followed the power and discovered it and many identical streams just like it. “Come to papa!” he hissed, and activated his controller to absorb the information, only for the process to suddenly stop “What?!” he snapped as he read the warning “Cannot be Downloaded?!” No tells Hacker Jack what he can and can’t take!”

Try as he would, that little monster just couldn’t seem to get the programs, and he ended up chasing them all around, unaware of the trap he was about to fall into.

Twilight managed to track the monster on her laptop, waiting for the signal to reach the center of the screen, “Not yet…!

…Almost…!”

The girls were shaking nervously, and the rangers continued to hold their positions and kept their powers going, but they, too, were growing nervous. Rainbow muttered softly behind her helmet, “Come on… work…!”

Fluttershy gave a nervous squeak!

Jack tracked the power sources into one place, “Ha! Now I’ve got you!” he shouted, and he made a dive for them all, but suddenly, the powers began to go crazy, actually ensnaring him. “Hey, what’s going on?”

“Eject!” shouted Twilight, and she pounded on the “Return” key, engaging the command, and all the computers glowed brightly, each firing a beam of light into Twilight’s laptop, and… POW!! The monster came shoot out like a cork on a bottle, and he crashed onto the café counter… still tiny.

At the same time, the energy that Nacluv was harnessing at the tower simply stopped, and it vanished into the air. “What?!” snapped Nacluv “What happened to my power?”

“It’s gone!” shouted Keto.

Marla couldn’t believe her eyes, and Bronc was livid as he growled, “No…! It cannot be…!” He quickly dashed downstrairs and realized that Hacker Jack had been ejected from the power gird.

“Well, well… looks like your little plan’s a bust.” Marla teased.

Bronc roared at her like a furious lion, scaring her off. “I’m not finished yet! I’ll send out a robotic knight! Launch!”

The Lingos obeyed, and launched the robot off for Mystic Island.

“Get him!” shouted Sunset, and she and the rangers jumped to capture the tiny monster.

“Uh, oh!” snapped Jack and he leapt out of the way. Due to his small size, he wasn’t very easy to see, and he had tons of space to leap too. “Looks like bigger isn’t always better, Rangers!” he teased.

Rainbow jumped at him, Buddy jumped at him. Rhymey and Fluttershy jumped for him and ended up bumping into one another while the monster roamed free around the café.

“Don’t let him get away!” shouted Lightning, but suddenly Celesto contacted the team. “Rangers, red-alert…! A robotic knight is attacking the city!”

Lightning decided to go for the robot solo while the others would stay and try to catch Jack. “Good luck, Lightning.” Sunset called to him.

“Right…!” replied Lightning, and he dashed outside and already could see the gigantic robot heading straight for the town.

“Comet Striker, Armor up!”

“Summon Armor!”

“Comet Striker, Ready!”

One Lightning was grown and armored up, her turned to the metallic menace, “Okay you overgrown bucket of bolts, let’s rumble!”

The robot eyed at Lightning, rather fiercely, ready to show off its upgrades that Bronc had installed on it.

Lightning punched and kicked hard, but the robot blocked him with its strong arms, and slashed him hard with its sword, and then started up its buzz-saw. “Oh, boy!” groaned Lightning.

The robot swung his huge saw, forcing Lightning to swerve and dodge to avoid serious damage.

Meanwhile, the other rangers were still having a hard time catching Hacker Jack.

“Each time we miss!
We can’t catch him like this!” shouted Rhymey.

“He’s right!” cried Fluttershy “Every time we spot him, he jumped somewhere else! He’s just too small and fast!”

Rainbow jumped at him and missed him again, “There’s got to be a way to slow him down!”

“If were outside we could blast him with our weapons but not in here.” Buddy pointed out.

The Crusaders had been hiding behind the counter the whole time watching the rangers fruitlessly trying to capture the tiny monster.

“Look, I know we were told not to butt in…” said Applebloom, she didn’t have to go any further. The girls all agreed to help the rangers catch the monster.

Sweetie Belle noticed the pictures still full of cold coffee and loads of sugar shakers, “And I think I know just how.”

Thinking cleverly, the girls poured a load of sugar into the coffee, making a very sticky mix, now all the needed was to duck behind the counter and wait for the right moment.

The rangers jumped, and lunged and rushed at the monster, but still Hacker Jack eluded them, causing the rangers to crash into the tables and each other.

“Your processing isn’t up to speed, Rangers!” Jack called to them. He looked over his shoulder and saw a broken glass window, “Now I’m outta’ here!”

He leapt over to the counter to leap through the glass and out of the café. “Now!!” shouted Scootaloo, and she and her friends popped up from behind the counter and sploshed him with pitchers full of their sticky stuff…!

“WAAAAAAAAH!!” roared Jack, “I... I can’t see!” he tried to jump, but found he was stuck to the top of the counter.

“Hey… great going, girls!” hollered Buddy.

“Awesome!” added Rainbow.

Sunset then stepped up, and activated her morpher, hitting Jack with a beam and imprisoned him in a sphere, “Got’cha!”

The gang all rejoiced.

While outside, Lightning struggled as he held the robot’s sawing arm hard, with the whirling saw just inches away from him. The robot then prepared to swing at him with his sword, but at the last moment, Lightning ducked down, causing the sword to miss him, and the robot ended up slicing his own sawing arm off, severely damaging its internal circuitry as well.

“Ha! Missed me…!” Lightning teased, and he extended his blades, “But I won’t miss you!”

The others all ran out of the café just in time to see Lightning unleash his finisher.

“…SUPERSPACE STRIKE!!”

POW!! Lightning struck the robot hard, making is spark and jolt like crazy, and it fell over backwards and was blown to bits!

“He did it!” cried Fluttershy.

“All right!
Out of sight!” Rhymey cheered.

All the gang rejoiced, and Sunset and Lightning both looked at one another, making the call together.

Sunset held up the imprisoned monster, “Monster Captured…!” and Lightning gave her a high thumb, “…Mission Complete!”

At the tower, Bronc was outraged, “How can this have happened?!” he thundered “My best plan failed me!”

Marla could only scoff, “I told you it wouldn’t work.”

“Yeah, thanks for jinxing us!” grumbled Keto.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash as Nacluv burst furiously into the room. Bronc felt he was in for a bigtime scolding form his master, but sparingly, he calmed down and said, “Well done, Bronc.”

“What…?!” snapped Marla and Keto.

“Sir…?”

“We lost a lot of the energy, but I managed to store a good deal of it. It could prove to be most useful to us in the future.” he snickered “Again, well done.”

Bronc bowed respectively, “Thank you, sir.”

Nacluv left, and Marla and Keto were livid, while Bronc could only snicker at them, “Looks like I’m not as useless as you two after all.”

His comrades were in disgrace!

The next day, thanks to the rangers, computer systems were able to reboot and restore all the data lost with backups and hard drives. Power restored normally, and files were corrected.

Fluttershy received one-thousand dollars from the police for their falsely imprisoning her, which she donated to the animal shelter clinic she worked at.

Lightning got his job back as well, even though in a week, school would be out.

There was, however, one thing being address, and that was the news of Celesto selling Canterlot High, when it was discovered that the column on the school site was real, and not from the chaos.

The Crusaders confessed to their deed, and early in the morning before school started, they were brought to the Principal’s office by the rangers, to await a hearing from the grownups. Their teacher, Cheerilee, was there too.

“I’m really disappointed in you girls.” she scolded them “Why in the world would post such a column on the school’s website?”

The girls felt ashamed, “We just didn’t want Mr. Grandruler to sell the school.” said Sweetie.

“What?” said Celesto.

“Sell the school?” added Cadance.

“Oh, girls… we aren’t going to sell the school.” said Luna.

The girls blinked once, “You’re not?” they all asked. “Of course not.” replied Celesto “I would die before I sold off Canterlot High. I built and run this school to help people. This school is a gem in the community, and it’s done so much for so many.

Whatever made you think I would sell it?”

The girls felt embarrassed to admit it, but Applebloom came forth, “We heard you talkin’ in the other day, and you said you were gonna sell the place when school ended.”

The adults exchanged concerned looks between one another, and Luna finally understood that loud crash she heard outside the door, “Apparently, you didn’t eavesdrop on our private conversation long enough.” she scolded.

Celesto agreed, “We weren’t talking about selling the school.” And he reached into his briefcase and pulled out a photo of an old restaurant called “The Place”

“It’s been on the island long before I first came here.” Celesto explained “They make really great chicken fingers. So when the owner retired, I bought the deed to the joint. But now it’s really growing old, it’s falling apart in ways it just can’t be fixed, and it’s just not making money the way it used to. So I’m going to sell it.

These things happen, but we’ll all miss it, and we’re doing this for the better of the community.”

“Oh…” said the girls, now they felt really silly, “We’re very, very sorry now…” said DD.

“Well, sorry as you may be girls…” said Cadance “You still caused a lot of trouble for Uncle-- I mean, Mr. GrandRuler.”

Celesto agreed, and even though he knew of the girls being very heroic in helping the rangers to catch the monster, they still didn’t know that he himself was in charge of the rangers, and even so, their heroisms did not excuse what their actions had caused him. All the embarrassment, humiliation, as well as the windows on his house that protester broke with rocks and bricks.

“You will stay after school every day until summer-break and help prepare the building for summer shutdown, and then you will come to my mansion and work off allowances for the windows that were broken by protestors. Fair…?”

The girls nodded in agreement.

“Good, that’s settled.”

As the girls left the office to head for class, the rangers were outside the door waiting for them. “Well, I hope that’ll teach you girls not to eavesdrop.” said Sunset.

The girls promised not to eavesdrop anymore, unless it was good reason. “You know, it’s kind of your fault too.” Scootaloo said to Buddy.

“My fault…?”

“Yeah, you didn’t tell us they were planning to sell a restaurant.” said Sweetie.

“Well, I thought you knew. Everyone’s heard of “The Place.”

The girls shook their heads, and much to Buddy’s surprise, none of his friends had heard of it until today either. “Ah, come on… anybody?”

Everyone just shook their heads at him again. “Well, that’ll teach me to get my facts straight too.”

Everyone chuckled at him.

Episode 8: Animals on Show

EPISODE EIGHT

Even between school hours and cramming for exams, the rangers still had their jobs, and Fluttershy was at good work at the Animal Shelter. She fed the animals, tended to them, and as a Vet in training, in was part of her work-studies to give them checkups, supervised by Dr. Fauna of course.

Spike and Krysta were two of her patients that day as well, but they had to be careful not to speak for fear of breaking cover, as well as gaining unwanted attention from unscrupulous people.

“There we go…” Fluttershy said as she finished fluffing Krysta’s feathers with a special comb. “Your feathers are all nice and healthy looking.” She looked up at Lightning, “You must take really good care of her.”

Lightning teased along to keep up the act, “I don’t know. Sometimes I think she takes care of me.”

He winked at his little bird, and she actually winked back at him.

Dr. Fauna was most pleased with Fluttershy’s performance, and checked her list. “Now, all that’s left is to give the dog his shot.” she said aloud. Spike heard the word “shot” and like most dogs, he began to shudder in fear in Twilight’s arms.

“Come on, Spike. You know you need this.” Twilight said, but that didn’t make Spike feel any better, especially when he saw Fauna preparing the needle.

She handed it to Fluttershy, “I think you should do this.”

Fluttershy, though a little scared of the needle herself, took it and approached Spike. “Oh, I know how you feel…” she said soothingly to the frightened dog, and she stroked him softly, “Everyone gets scared sometimes…”

Then she began to sing a very soothing song, which actually helped all animals she helped to treat.

Everyone gets scared here and there,
We’ve all felt like that, we’ve all had our share
Whether getting your shot, or from some bad dreams
We all get scared time-to-time as it seems
Everyone gets scared here and there,

The little dog looked up at her, actually sensed the sincerity n her soothing voice.

Everyone knows how to feel fear,
When you get that bad feeling that danger is near
It’s okay to feel like you just want to hide,
It’s just one big feeling we all feel inside.
Everyone knows how to feel fear,

Spike began to feel a little less afraid, and smiled softly, and Twilight and Lightning joined with the song.

[Twilight]

If you want to know courage, the fear must come first.

[Lightning]

And soon you’ll find you can stand up to the worst.

[All Three]

Everyone gets scared here and there.

As the song ended, Fluttershy gave Spike a little peck on his head. Then she stood back holding up the empty syringe which she injected into him during the song. Spike never felt a thing, and he licked Fluttershy’s hand thankfully.

Dr. Fauna was most pleased with the results, so were Lightning and Twilight, but Fluttershy felt the most pleased herself.

(Que Intro)

At prison tower, Keto came before Nacluv with an idea, “I’d like you all to meet my new partner, Tamer!”

This monster represented a ring-master with the face of a lion. He wore a top hat and an overcoat. His left arm was that of a chair that had sharp knife blades for its legs, which could also be shot out like bullets, and in his right hand he held a magical whip.

He even spoke like a ring master.

“Ladies and gentle-monsters, prepare for the performance of a lifetime.” He cracked his whip at two of the Lingos, and suddenly, they both transformed into animal; one Lingo was a dog, chasing its tail, and the other acted like a cat, licking its paw.

Tamer tipped his hat to everyone, and they applauded to his power, and began to catch onto the idea as Keto explained, “Thanks to him, we’ll turn the rangers into harmless animals so they won’t be able to get in the way this time. What do you think?”

Nacluv snickered, “I think I like it. Those rangers are in for the performance of their lives.”

Sunset was getting off her volunteer shift at the hospital, and she found Rainbow just pulling up along the sidewalk on her motorbike. “Pizza Delivery, at your service.” she joked. “I didn’t order pizza.” said Sunset, “Well, good, I’m all out anyway.” Rainbow teased.

“Well then, let’s get the others and get some.” said Sunset. “Ah, yeah, I’m up for that.” agreed Rainbow.

They were about to head off, when suddenly a dog came running up to them. “Whoa! Someone’s excited today.” said Rainbow.

The dog jumped up at Sunset, very hyperactively, almost panicking. “Whoa! Easy boy! What’s with you?”

The girls noticed that the dog didn’t have a collar, yet he was too clean to be a stray.

Suddenly a cat came running up the road as she was chased by another unlicensed dog.

A swarm of birds came flying very low to the ground, almost as if they were afraid of flying too high.

Suddenly, Rainbow felt something crawling along her shoes-- a whole load of stray hamsters. “Okay, did something go wrong at the pet shops?”

“Not really, little rangers…” hissed a menacing voice. The girls turned and saw Tamer, along with a swarm of Lingos dressed in circus attire. “Now, for your amusement, I shall now make two rangers disappear.”

“Not if we can help it!” snapped Sunset. She and Rainbow charged to attack, but Tamer gave one crack of his whip. The girls screamed, and in a flash, they had transformed! Sunset was an orange spaniel, with red streaks on her furry ears, and Rainbow turned into a rainbow-colored condor.

The two little animals couldn’t believe it and acted frightened, but they had lost their ability to communicate normally.

The monster laughed, “That’s two down. Take them…!”

The Lingos rushed forth with nets and small cages to catch the two animals.

Sunset and Rainbow were unable to fight due to their new shapes, but Sunset managed to run about and avoid being caught, while Rainbow flapped her wings hard, flying upward and out of harm’s way as well. “Get them! Don’t let those critters get away!” thundered Tamer.

He cracked his whip, forcing the Lingos to try harder. “Maybe a little knife throw will help.” And he launched his knifes from his chair-launcher. Sunset and Rainbow managed to evade the knives and outwitted the Lingos, by making them crash into one another as they dove in to catch them.

Then they headed down the street and were gone.

“G’argh! We’ll deal with them later. There’s not much they can do the way they are anyway. I’ll turn this entire town into my personal circus zoo!”

He laughed wickedly as all the many animals that used to be people.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy was still busy at work at the shelter tending to all the animals. Dr. Fauna took over all the patients and checkups for the rest of the day, so Fluttershy was doing basic chores.

-Cleaning out the cages: “Oh, my!” she groaned with a clothes peg clipped on her nose, and cleaned out all the litter and dirty newspapers.

-Giving the animals baths: “There you go, all nice and clean.”

-Feeding time: “Aw, you must’ve been very hungry.”

Suddenly, Dr. Fauna came into the backroom, and she looked a little frazzled, “Um, Fluttershy, I could use a little help up front.”

“What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked, but when she got up to the front desk, she gasped softly! There was a long, long, LONG line of people carrying so many stray animals that had no collars and no apparent owners.

“These two dogs just rushed right up to me and acted all hyper.”

“A flock of birds just landed right near me.”

“All these hamsters were walking all over my mechanic joint.”

It was the same story for everyone: More stray animals just kept popping up all over the place, and all them were acting hyper and fussy. The people had no idea what to do with them, so they brought them to the shelter, but the lineup was already going well out the door and down the street. The shelter wouldn’t possibly be able to take in all those animals.

Suddenly, two more animals came rushing into the shelter, unescorted-- Sunset and Rainbow, they dashed right in behind the counter and Sunset jumped into Fluttershy’s arms, knocking her down.

“Oh, my…!” she groaned “You’re a really excited dog.”

She then noted how much the dog looked exactly like Sunset, and the Condor that landed on the floor next to her had colors just like Rainbow Dash.

“Wait a minute…!” she got an idea to prove it, since the animals couldn’t talk. “If you’re Sunset, bark once, and if you’re Rainbow Dash, flap your wings twice.”

Sunset barked as told, and Rainbow flapped her wings twice. Fluttershy gasped, “Oh, my goodness! What happened to you two?”

“Um… Fluttershy…?” asked Dr. Fauna. She couldn’t understand what was happening, but suddenly, the people screamed and panicked, for there stood Tamer and his Lingos. Fluttershy screamed too at the sight of the monster.

“It’s show time…!” thundered Tamer, and he cracked his whip about turning more people, including Dr. Fauna into animals. Now the shelter was becoming over-crowded with animals all over the place.

Fluttershy had never seen so many before, and suddenly, she turned round, and the monster was there looming over here hissing, “Hello, my dear ranger…”

Fluttershy whimpered nervously, but in a weird twist, her features hardened, and she kicked the monster hard, sending him crashing into the Lingos.

Fluttershy then shouted to her two friends, “Quick, out the backway!” and she Rainbow and Sunset dashed out into the backyard.

“After them, you faceless morons!” shouted Tamer.

Outside, the backyard was surrounded by a huge metal fence, five feet tall. Rainbow just flew right over it, and Fluttershy, grabbed Sunset in her arms and leapt up high over the fence, like the skilled ranger she was.

Sunset jumped out of her arms, and she and Rainbow dashed off, but Fluttershy couldn’t run as fast as they could, and Tamer’s wipe managed to strike her from that far off, turning her into a yellow cat.

Fluttershy flipped out, and gave a loud cat-screech!

Tamer came into the yard, “That’s it, pretty kitty cat, scream!” He and the Lingos rushed forth to try and chase her and the others, but they all ran off, much to the monster’s frustration. “Run while you can, little beasts. This show’s just getting started.”

The girls managed to make it a few blocks away from that monster and his comrades, and, able to speak to each other, they assess their situation.

“We’ve got to stop that monster, before he turns the whole island into animals.” said Sunset.

“Well how are we supposed to do that?” asked Rainbow “There’s no way we can fight him like this, and we can’t even communicate with the others.”

This gave Fluttershy an idea, “Maybe we can. After all… who do we know can communicate with animals and humans?”

“Spike and Krysta…!” cried Sunset, “Lightning and Twilight usually take them to the park on a day like this.”

“Well, let’s shake our tails already!” said Rainbow, “…Did I just say “Tails?”

Nevertheless, the girls dashed off.

The streets were flooded with so many animals and not as many people. It almost would be as if the people were pets to the animals.

The girls found it hard to navigate through the streets due to all the other animals, keeping in mind that some of the animals WERE actually real animals, and due to their instincts, that began to cause trouble.

Alley cats spotted Rainbow and tried to jump at her, forcing her to fly up higher, while dogs barked at Fluttershy and would have given chase had Sunset not barked back at them, scaring them off.

Then a little mouse trotted by and took one look at Fluttershy, and hilariously… the both of them screamed and ran from each other.

“Oh, look at me: acting like a scardy-cat.”

Rainbow almost chuckled at that, but the trio still carried on their way.

While in the park, Lightning and Twilight were there as promised. Twilight let Spike roam about, and Krysta was already flying amongst the trees and hunting for seeds and worms.

Buddy was also there planting some flower beds, as well as checking the trees, to see if they weren’t getting sick or hurt. Rhymey was there too, enjoying the sunny afternoon and using this as inspiration to make more poems for his class at the library.

Not one of them was aware of what was happening…Yet!

Rhymey just wrote his poem…

“In the park in the light,
In the warm sunlight,
Feel the trees in the breeze,
And things are all right.”

Buddy finished planting his flowers, “There you go, little ones; plenty of sunlight and fresh air for you.”

Suddenly, he began to notice how quiet the park seemed; not many people were around on a beautiful day as this, but he did hear the faint sound of many barking dogs and other animal noises in the distance, and they sounded like they were getting closer.

Spike was digging the ground for bones, when his ears perked up. Being a dog and having a sixth sense for such thing, he could already tell what was coming! “Whoa! Animal Stampede!” he shouted.

The rangers and Twilight gasped, and Krysta fluttered up higher to see out further, “He’s right!” she shouted, “RUN FOR IT!!”

The animals busted into the park forcing the rangers to all take refuge! Lightning and Twilight stood on a bench. Buddy and Rhymey leapt up into a tree where Krysta was, and Spike dove into the park fountain.

Animals everywhere! They ran through the park stirring up a lot of dust, making the gang cough a little.

“What was that all about?” asked Lightning. “I’ve heard of rough animal behaviour, but this is ridiculous.” added Twilight.

Spike jumped out of the fountain and shook himself dry. “I hate getting wet!” he groaned. Just then, he noticed another dog-- Sunset-- standing next to him. “Hey, you look just like Sunset Shimmer.” he said, but the other dog gave a few barks and growls, making him gasp, “Say What…?”

“Spike…!” Twilight called as she and Lightning dashed up to him. “What’s the matter?”

“You guys aren’t going to believe this, but this dog says she’s Sunset!”

As expected, Lightning and Twilight gawked at one another, and before they could protest. The other boys joined them. Rhymey held Krysta, and Buddy held a condor that had a strong resemblance to Rainbow Dash.

“Wait… Don’t me…” Lightning said “That’s supposed to be Rainbow?”

Krysta nodded “It is her. She told me so.”

Then there was the cat, and the animals didn’t have to translate. Rhymey recognized the color, and her eyes anywhere.

“Oh, my, my…
…Fluttershy!”

His girlfriend responded by cuddling up to him and purring, further confirming this.

“I don’t like this at all.” said Buddy.

“Me either.” agreed Twilight, “Let’s get them to the base.”

Once there, the animals were put under a scanner, and the DNA results confirmed they were indeed the other three girls.

“The resemblance is so uncanny.” said Celesto “All-in-all, they seem to be unharmed, and they still seem to retain their human intelligence.”

Rhymey couldn’t help but stroke Fluttershy’s soft cat fur.

“So adorable,
Even as an animal.” he cooed.

Fluttershy blushed and licked his finger soflty.

Lightning then questioned Spike and Krysta, “You say they told you a monster did this?”

“A monster with a magical whip.” replied Spike. “He’s turning all the people in the city to animals.” added Krysta.

“Sounds like this monster needs to be put down before we can try to help them.” said Buddy.

Suddenly, the alarm went off, and Twilight dashed into the lab, “What’s wrong?” Celesto asked.

“Signs of alien activity detected in the town-square.”

The boys stiffened. “It’s got to be that monster.” said Lightning, and he and the others agreed to after him.

“Be careful, boys. Don’t let him turn you into animals as well.” said Celesto.

The boys agreed, and left for the jump-tubes.

Just then, Celesto smelled something strange, “What is that?”

Twilight gawked at Sunset, and the big wet yellow spot on the table under her hind-legs.

“Sunset…!” Celesto sneered. He scolded her almost the same way a master did to a pet, and even the others were grossed out. Sunset felt very embarrassed.

Meanwhile, Tamer had already turned so many more people into animals with the power of his magical whip. “And the crowd goes wild!” he joked “And the best of it is, not a power ranger insight.”

“How about three then…!” Lightning called as he and the others, already morphed, appeared on the scene.

“Show’s over, you…!
And we’ll save the people too!” shouted Rhymey.

Tamer laughed, “Pretty good words there. We could use a rhyming creature in my show.”

Rhymey growled.

“This guy is already starting to annoy Me.” said Buddy, “Let’s get him!”

The others agreed.

“Attack them!” Tamer shouted to the Lingos.

The Lingos rushed forth, and the three rangers fought back valiantly, flipping them over, kicking them into one another. Lightning even gave them a few good blasts with his comet fire-power.

“So much for them!” he said.

“Now for our next act…!” Tamer shouted, and he launched his knives at Lightning, hitting him and making sparks fly.

“Lightning!” cried Buddy as he and Rhymey dashed towards him.

“I say,
Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” replied Lightning, “Let’s get him!”

The three boys charged forth. “So, you want an encore, eh?” snarled Tamer, and he rushed in as well, swinging his whip and thrusting his blade-chair-arm to block their every attack, and strike them hard, sending them all flying back.

“Show’s over, Rangers… time for you to join the troupe…!” he held his whip ready, ready to turn them all into animals.

“Oh, no you don’t!” shouted Buddy, “Plasma Whip!” gripping his whip tightly, he flung it out, ensnaring the monster whip in his own. “Hey! Let go!” shouted Tamer. “Sorry, you didn’t say please!” Buddy teased.

“My turn,
Now you’ll burn!” said Rhymey, “Raid Blade!” his sword appeared.

“Sorry to cut this short!” sneered Tamer, and he launched more knives at them, but Lightning skillfully leapt in and blasted the knives to bits. “Guess you need more practice.”

The monster growled, and suddenly… Rhymey leapt high over, and gave huge slash with his sword, cutting the monster whip, to Tamer’s horror! “…No…!! My magical whip…!”

With the destruction of his whip, his evil spell was broken, and all animals turned back into humans instantly.

Even the girls changed back to their normal selves at the base.

“They did it! The boys did it!” cried Sunset.

“No!! My greatest show is a bust!” cried Tamer.

“Don’t feel bad, we still want you.” said Lightning. He and the others stood together and charged up their weapons for their finisher.

“Comet Gauntlets… Engage!”

“Plasma Whip… Engage!”

“Raid Blade… Engage!”

“Go!” Lightning shouted, and he and the boys fired their finishers straight at the monster, but suddenly, music could be heard, and the monster was shielded by a powerful barrier. Their attacks couldn’t hit him.

Quick as it came, the barrier ceased, and Keto snickered. “Did you like my little trick Rangers.”

The boys grunted angrily.

“Thanks to my “Prelude of Protection” your pitiful attacks were reduced to nothing for that one instance. Now I’d like to perform my next act that I’m sure you all know well…

…FORTISSIMO!”

With the power of his mugic, Tamer grew huge. He still didn’t have his whip back, but he laughed manically, “Now we’ve hit the BIG TOPS!”

Before anyone could say or do anything else, the monster got blasted all around. “What?!” snapped Tamer, and the five Star Jets flew overhead.

The girls were already morphed and in their cockpits. “Hope we didn’t miss the show.” Sunset called.

“Great timing girls…!” Lightning called back to them.

Keto saw this was going to get ugly. “They’re all yours, Tamer! Destroy them all!” then he vanished.

Tamer roared ferociously, while Buddy and Rhymey beamed into their jets.

“Time for me to hit the big time.” said Lightning “GIGANTIFY…!!”

“Giant-Mode… Engage!”

Then he grew large and tall.

“Ultra-Star Megazord!” Sunset shouted.

“Zords Combine!”

“Ultra-Star Megazord, Ready!”

Tamer laughed at his opponents, “Now, for your viewing pleasure, I shall make these rangers and their zord disappear… by cutting them to pieces!” and he launched his knives at them. Lightning rolled one way, and the Megazord zipped the other way, missing the shots.

“Not to worry, I’ve got plenty!” he fired more knives.

“Yeah, well we’ve got plenty too… plenty of guts!” shouted Lightning, and he leapt in and actually grabbed the knives in his hands.

“Hey, you can’t do that!” shouted Tamer.

“Sure I can, and I also do this…!” and he threw the knives back at him, making sparks fly, blinding the monster.

“Now, it’s our turn!” said Sunset “Charging energy blast!”

“Energy Charge, Ready!”

Once the charge was ready, the rangers shouted, “STAR BLAST WAVE… FIRE!!” the wave was unleashed, enveloping the monster. “SHOW’S OVER FOLKS!!” he screamed, and he exploded, was imprisoned and beamed into the cockpit.

“That was for the animals, and humans!” Fluttershy called.

Sunset nodded, and made the call. “Monster Captured! Mission Complete!”

Back at the tower, Keto was strapped to the wall by Lingos, and Nacluv held a regular whip in his hand, and patted it threateningly at Keto for failing him again. “No, boss… please!” he whimpered.

Nacluv just sniggered at his fear, “And now, Ladies and Gentle-monsters, presenting the biggest failure about to be reprimanded. Will he ever learn his lesson and BEAT THE RANGERS WHEN HE’S TOLD…?!!

…Let’s find out!”

With that, he began to mercilessly whip at Keto, making sparks fly, while Marla and Bronc just ate popcorn and enjoyed the show. “Now this is what I call entertaining.” said Marla. Bronc merely nodded as he reached for more popcorn.

Later on, the rangers and Twilight all met up in the park, which was now bustling with people playing with their pets.

Fluttershy sat with Rhymey, and he couldn’t help but stroke her arm. It wasn’t like it felt when she was a cat, but her skin was just as soft and lovely as ever.

“You were quite cute when you were a cat,
But I’m glad you’re you again, and that’s that.”

Fluttershy blushed softly, and then cuddled against him and purred like a cat, just for kicks.

“Go long, Spike!” Sunset said as she threw a Frisbee, and Spike caught it in his teeth. “Too bad I didn’t try that when I was a dog.” Sunset joked.

Twilight giggled, “Better than using the lab bench as a bathroom.”

Sunset felt embarrassed.

Rainbow then witnessed Krysta digging up a worm from the ground and she ate it. “Eww…!” Rainbow gagged “If that’s how I had to eat, I’m glad I’m not a bird anymore, but I will miss the flying.”

“…To each their own.” Krysta said with her beak full.

The three ranger girls still felt a little more understanding of animals now form their experiences, even if it was short.

“Animals sure can have it tough, especially when they can’t always communicate clearly with others.” said Sunset.

“Well, I still think they’re all special. Every one of them…”

Buddy couldn’t help but prank her at that one, and placed a little rubber mouse on the bench next to her. “Hey, Fluttershy…” he said and pointed next to her. She saw the mouse, and leapt up off and behind the bench.

The others couldn’t help but laugh a little, and Buddy revealed the prank.

“Still think all animals are special?” Lightning teased.

“Well, yes… I think…” Fluttershy squeaked “As long as they don’t prank me like that.” and she gave Buddy a straight look, and Buddy shrugged softly but playfully.

Episode 9: Secrets of Power

EPISODE NINE

One afternoon, about two days before exams, Nikki and the Jazzies were walking down the street from the mall. “So like, what did you pick out for the graduation prom?” Amber asked Dionne.

“The crispy frilly original… It’ll totes make me hot for graduation prom.”

“Hey, you two… Zip it!” snapped Nikki “I’m getting fed up with all this talk of the prom.”

“Whoa, like, what’s with you?” asked Amber. “Still upset that Lightning hasn’t taken interest.” Dionne teased. This earned them both a fierce glare and growl from Nikki. “Shutting up now…!” the girls peeped.

Nikki was still really upset that after all this time, Lightning hadn’t shown a speck of interest in her, and now she was likely never to get her chance if she passed her exams and graduated.

She angrily kicked a soda can lying on the ground, and sent it flying far up the street, indicated just how irate she was. The Jazzies could see she wasn’t kidding. They had never seen her so angry before.

“Maybe I should just give it in.” Nikki grumbled to herself.

Suddenly, as the girls turned the corner, there was an alarm sounding at the cosmetics store as a swarm of Lingos and Marla came out with bags of stolen makeup and jewelry. “What a haul!” Marla cried with joy, “It’s been a while since I did a little shopping.”

Suddenly, the police arrived right on the scene. “Freeze…! We have you surrounded. Put the merchandise on the ground and get your hands up!”

“Whoa! This is wicked!” Nikki said. Keeping well behind the corner and out of sight, but not wanting to miss any of the action, she got out her cell-phone and began to video record everything.

Marla only snickered at the police, “Put my hands up…?” she teased, “Like this…?” and she raised her hands, and fired her fingernails at the men and the cars, making sparks and small explosions fly.

The men were all knocking down, and a couple of them were injured. They didn’t stand much of a chance against baddies like these.

Marla scoffed at the pitiful men, “You Earthman are so pathetic I’m surprised we haven’t conquered this planet yet.”

“And you never will!” shouted a voice, and that’s when the Comet Ranger leapt in from out of nowhere.

“Hey, a ranger!” cried Amber.

“This ought to be interesting.” added Dionne!”

“Quiet!” snapped Nikki “I want to hear clearly.”

Marla was already irritated, “Can’t you rangers ever stay home where you belong?!” and she ordered the Lingos to attack!

Lightning lunged forth, punching one Lingo in the gut, tripping up another, and blasting three more with his comet power.

Marla then jumped into battle herself, punch and kicking like crazy, but Lightning blocked and dodged her attacks and then he gave her a huge high-jump kick in the chest, knocking her down.

“Give it up, Marla!” shouted Lightning, but Marla whined as she stood, “Ugh, I’ll get you for this, ranger! Just you wait!” and she vanished leaving all her bags of stolen cosmetics behind.

Lightning was furious that she got away, but at least he was able to return all the goods she had tried to steal. The store managers were very happy and thankful to him, as were the police and the good citizens watching.

“Happy to help out.” said Lightning “See ya…” and off he ran, round another corner.

Nikki grunted, wanting to catch more of Comet Ranger on camera. “Come on, girls; let’s see if we can follow him.” and she dashed off with her friends catching up.

Even though no one could catch up with the speed of a ranger, Lightning had merely parked his motorcycle, around a couple of corners, away from people who had gathered at the cosmetics store.

He looked around quickly, and when he could see no one around, “Okay I think it’s safe…” he pressed on his morpher and powered down his suit… unware that Nikki and the others saw him.

Nikki gasped, and her mouth hung open, as did her friends.

“No way!” cried Amber.

“It can’t be…!” added Dionne.

Nikki stood where she was, practically frozen into complete shock, but her mouth suddenly curled into a smile as she regained her senses and watched Lightning ride off on his motorcycle.

“Lightning… is the Comet Ranger!” Nikki said under her breath, and she looked down at her phone. She began to breathe like a crazy woman.

The others didn’t like where this was going.

Nikki had just snatched what she felt was her golden ticket to making Lightning all hers!

(Que Intro)

Marla was throwing a major tantrum when she got back to the tower! She kicked over tables, smashed a chair and let out a huge roar that echoed all over the tower.

“That Comet Ranger! I’ll get back at him, somehow!” she thundered.

“Yeah, yeah, we’ve heard.” scoffed Keto “When you actually come with a plan, let us know.”

Marla growled and kicked two of her own Lingos down, and Keto decided to run for his own safety, going past Nacluv on the way. “Marla, usually this isn’t in my best interest, but I have something for you.”

He presented to her a powerful scepter. It seemed to be made from brass, but the top of it was glowing wildly. “For me…?” Marla asked “What is it?”

“A special wand that we all created…”

Bronc and Keto walked into the room, and explained how it was created; through Bronc’s forging the metal, Nacluv combining and infusing the powers within from some of Keto’s magic and the power they had stored from their failed computer takeover.

“We may be on the verge to creating a whole new line of weapons that can beat the rangers, and increase our own powers as well…” said Bronc, “But we do need to test it first.”

“And it wasn’t easy to make. So you better beat the rangers.” Keto sneered, but Marla was at a loss for words and just stared down at her new wand, already feeling its immense powers coursing through her.

She snickered wickedly, now feeling she had everything she needed to get back at Lightning!

She tested it by zapping some of the Lingos with a small zap of magic, and they were instantly destroyed in a shower of sparks, just using a small bit of the power.

“Hmm, I’m liking this.” Marla hissed.

Nacluv snickered, “Go and do us proud.”

The next day, in school, Lightning was walking down the hall for his first class of the day, when suddenly, Nikki stepped right up in front of him from around the corner. “Hi.” she simply said, her face was really close to his!

Lightning winced softly anyway, and then he sighed annoyingly, “Good morning, Nikki. Please excuse me.”

He walked right around her to continue on his way, but Nikki cockily turned round and called to him, “See ya later, Comet Ranger.”

Lightning stopped dead in his tracks, he quickly tried to cover for himself, “Um… I’m not the comet ranger.”

“Oh, yeah, you totes are.” said Nikki “After all, whenever the rangers run off, you’re always absent from class yourself, and I also have… this…!” She held up her phone and showed the video she filmed the other day, making Lightning’s stomach churn.

..He was totally busted!

“Oh, no!” he muttered under his breath, and Nikki shut her phone and fluttered her eyes wickedly at him. “I guess maybe, deep down, I always knew.”

“Nikki, this isn’t funny!” said Lightning “You have to give me that phone.”

Knowing fully-well how he’d go about this, Nikki used it to her advantage, “Only on one condition…”

Lightning had a feeling what was coming next!

“You have to take me out after school.”

“Why that’s blackmail!”

“I know…” teased Nikki “You could always refuse, and then I’d just put this vid up on the net for everyone to see, and then everyone would know who you are.”

Lightning knew he was stuck now, and going to see Cadance wouldn’t help him out of this one.

“See you in class…” Nikki cooed, and she blew him a kiss and walked off with her phone, Leaving Lightning all stunned and aghast.

During second period class, he gave the class a free period to do quiet studying for exams the next day.

Sunset couldn’t help but notice how frustrated Lightning seemed as he just sat at his desk with open files, but not even looking at them. He just had a strange and worried look on his face.

She also noticed Nikki looked up from her book every few moments and looking straight at him, then fluttering her eyebrows at him, making him feel more nervous than ever.

Twilight noticed this too, as did Rainbow, and they all began to suspect something was up. Soon, the bell rang, and Lightning didn’t even remind everyone about exams the next day, nor did he acknowledge everyone just leaving.

The girls decided to confront him, “Okay, what’s going on?” Sunset asked.

Lightning still didn’t move or make a sound.

“Lightning…?” Twilight called.

No response!

Rainbow hated herself for what she was about to do, but desperation called for it. She took a bottle of water out from her backpack, and sprinkled a little over Lightning’s head, snapping him wide awake to his senses again. “Whoa! Hey…! Rainbow…!” he snapped.

“Welcome back to Earth, Spaceman.” Rainbow sarcastically joked, “Mind telling us what alien spooked you this time?”

Lightning knew he couldn’t hide this from his friends at all, and decided to tell them.

Meanwhile, Marla was standing atop a skyscraper in town, with a squad of Lingos by her side for backup. “Now then…” she said as she stroked her powerful wand, “What clever sort of destruction could I muster up first?”

Then she spotted the cosmetic store she tried to rob the other day. She snickered sinisterly and unleashed a small wave of magic on the store, causing massive explosions, blowing bits of debris about and frightening the people.

Nobody was hurt, yet, but Marla was just getting warmed up. Next, she blasted at the traffic lights, causing cars to smash into one another, and then blasted at many lampposts, knocking them all down like dominoes and shorting out power in the near area.

Marla laughed maniacally, “This is incredible!

Now that I’m all warmed up… Come on out, Rangers! I’m waiting for you!”

Back at school, Lightning told the girls everything. “How could I have let this happen?!” he asked himself in frustration.

“This is low; even for Nikki.” said Sunset, “Can’t you just hold her in detention?”

“That won’t do any good,” Rainbow pointed out “She’d still upload the video she took.”

“Besides, I can’t.” said Lightning “Last day of school is the day after tomorrow. No one can put in detention at this point. Only those were already in detention are not excused.

Oh, what am I going to do?! I can’t go out with Nikki! It’s high unethical for a teacher to date a student… I’m not even attracted to her!”

Before anyone could answer, their coms went off as Celesto called them. “Come in Rangers! Red alert! Red Alert…!”

Sunset answered her com, “What’s happening?”

“Marla has been seen terrorizing the town and causing damage. Twilight, come to the base at once. The rest of you, round up the others and head downtown.”

Lightning sighed, “Great! What else could wrong today?” he grumbled.

“Let’s go!” cried Sunset, and she and the other girls dashed out of the room and down the hall, while Lightning slipped out through the window so as not to be seen by anyone else…

…But Nikki saw him through the large windows in the hall. There was no doubt in her mind he had been called to perform ranger duty. “He is so hot when he sneaks off like that!” she sighed. She looked down at her phone, “And as long as I have this… I’m smoking!”

Amber and Dionne were getting creeped out. Never had they seen Nikki getting so incredibly carried away.

Meanwhile, people downtown were running amuck in panic as Marla continued to terrorize them all with her new powers, when the rangers finally made it to the scene.

“Look at this place!” cried Buddy.

“Oh, my goodness!” whimpered Fluttershy.

“Oh, my badness…!” Marla shouted, “You sure took your sweet time showing up.”

The rangers’ features hardened, “Whatever you’re up to, it ends here, Marla!” sneered Sunset.

Marla scoffed as she held up her wand, “Ha! You’re so confident in yourselves, you didn’t even let me show you my new toy…” and she gave a little extra power to her Lingos, making them stronger than ever. “Now we’ll see who ends here!”

Sunset then gestured to the others, and declared, “It’s Morphin’ Time!”

“Morphing Sequence… Ready!”

“STARFLEET MAGIC… POWER ON!!”

“Cosmic Comet… Power On!”

Once they were all morphed, “It’s Time to Shine!” Sunset declared, and the rangers did their role call!

Sunset: “Evil’s Dread: Starfleet Red!”

Buddy Rose: “Let’s make the scene: Starfleet Green!”

Rainbow: “We’ll see things through: Starfleet Blue!”

Rhymey: “Though peace and Woe: Starfleet Yellow!”

Fluttershy: “Quick as a Wink: Starfleet Pink!”

Lightning: “Fighting all danger: Comet Ranger!”

And altogether they shouted “…POWER RANGERS… SUPER STARFLEET!!”

“Ha!” growled Marla “Is that all? Get them!” she called to Lingos, “…But leave the Comet Ranger to me!”

The Lingos complied and charged, at the same time, the rangers rushed at them as well.

Sunset punched hard, but the Lingo actually grabbed her fist and socked her hard in the gut, then shoved her hard into another Lingo that pushed her down hard, and kicked her in the side. “I don’t remember them being THIS strong before!”

Rainbow and Buddy each got flipped over hard.

“What’s with these guys!” grumbled Rainbow.

“It’s got to be what Marla did.” Buddy deduced “That wand she has must’ve made them stronger.”

Rhymey held his sword, and took several swings at the Lingos, but their speeds as well as their strengths were increased as well. They dodged his every attack, and then one Lingo actually caught the blade of the sword in its hands, just like that. They it flung the sword way up and out of Rhymey’s hands.

“No…!” Rhymey cried, and then…
“Whoa!” he shouted as he was kicked hard on the chest and sent skidding right into Fluttershy. “This isn’t working!” she groaned.

Marla laughed as she stared Lightning down, “Looks like your chums have had it, but that’s nothing compared to what I’m going to do to you!”

“You think I’m scared…?” snarled Lightning. “Oh, you will be, once you get a taste of my wand and the power it gives me!” protested Marla, and she fired a large blast at Lightning, which he evaded and then he leapt right over began to brawl with her.

He punched, he kicked, but Marla skillfully blocked his every attack, and then struck him hard with her wand making sparks fly. “Is that the best you’ve got?” she taunted, and she blasted him hard, sending him rolling along the ground!

“Man! This is tougher than I thought!”

“And it’ll only get tougher still!” Marla thundered, and she used the power of the wand to make herself even stronger still! Her muscles began to bulge, and her face became more monstrous than ever! “YEAH…!!” she roared.

“Uh, oh… I’ve got a bad feeling about this!” said Lightning.

Marla raised her wand up high and roared loudly, unleashing a spreading wave of power that struck all the rangers, and even her own Lingos, and the rangers were all hit hard, and their suits powered down!

All of them felt beat up, while all Marla could do was laugh at them, “Looks like I have all the power now, Rangers, and it feels GREAT!!”

“We can’t beat her like this!” cried Sunset “We better retreat.”

The others agreed, and they all ran together trying to break for a jump-tube.

“Oh, no you don’t! Not this time…!” shouted Marla, and she aimed her wand and fired a huge burst that just barely missed the rangers, but the force of the explosion knocked them all over anyway.

“You rangers aren’t giving me the slip this time! I’m going to destroy you all right here and now!”

She fired another blast.

“Scatter!” shouted Sunset, and everyone jumped away, just missing the attack and the explosion.

“That won’t work this time either!” shouted Marla, and she raised the wand up high, creating a huge electrical pulse that began to zap many small lightning shots all around, making big explosions wherever they hit. The rangers were barely able to keep up and avoid them.

“We’ve gotta get out of this place,
And retreat to the base!” shouted Rhymey.

“Easier said than done…!” Buddy called.

More shots and explosions were fired out, and the rangers ended up all jumping into one place, all huddled together, to avoid the shots.

“Now I’ve got you!” thundered Marla, and she aimed the wand right at them to fire again…!

…But nothing happened!

“Huh? What the…?” Marla grumbled. She tried again, and again, but no magic fired from the wand.

“Now’s our chance!” cried Sunset, and she and the team succeeded in making a clean getaway, much to Marla’s outrage! “A’RGH… WHAT WENT WRONG?!!”

Bronc and Keto appeared on the scene, and Keto explained “You used all the wand’s power and exhausted it. Maybe you shouldn’t have gotten so carried away attacking the city, or the rangers would have been destroyed by now.”

Marla growled angrily, but Bronc calmed her, “We’ve come here to give you a recharge, but this time… don’t blow it! Nacluv is losing patience.”

With that, he got out a special box that contained more of the magical energy created to help recharged the wand.

“By the way… like your new look.” teased Keto. Marla only growled like a bear at him.

Back at the base, while the rangers waited for their powers to be fully-charged up again, they also contemplated on how to beat Marla and her new wand. Even though they had escaped, they could tell she would recharge and strike again.

As for Lightning, he still had his own trouble. He had received and message from Nikki over Canterlot High’s website. He viewed it on his phone: “See you tonight, Handsome… unless you want OUR little secret to get out there.”

“Ugh!” Lightning groaned.

“Wow, she’s really holding all the cards on you.” said Spike. Lightning gave him a straight telling him that he wasn’t helping.

“Right now, we have other things to focus on.” said Sunset. She turned to Twilight who was working at the computer, “Got anything for us?”

Twilight turned in her chair, “I’ve analyzed the flow of the energy from your discerption. It seems to be a combination of electro-magnetic discharges and some of Keto magical spells from his mugic. Your suits can’t handle it too much.”

“Yeah, I think we pretty gathered that.” said Rainbow “But what can we actually do about it? I don’t think we can hope for her to waste the wand’s power again.”

The others agreed to this, but what would work against Marla while she had the wand. Just looking at her was enough to tell them they couldn’t beat her through normal means.

“How about our Able Boost?” suggested Buddy “Could it give us an edge?”

Twilight typed up a simulation of the rangers all using their Able-Boost: “Scenario Failure!”

“It wouldn’t work. The time limit on the mode wouldn’t last long enough for you to do enough damage to her.”

The rangers all sighed, but Rhymey suddenly had an idea,

“Maybe we’re looking at this all wrong,
Marla may be very strong,
She could beat us all on a dime,
But what if instead… we attack her one-at-a-time?”

A moment of silence followed, and everyone seemed to like the idea. Twilight even punched up another simulation “Fifty percent chance of success. It could work.”

“Well, I say we try it...” said Fluttershy. The others agreed with her, and the rangers prepared to head off.

“Lightning… a moment please…” Celesto said.

“Uh, oh…” Lightning murmured, feeling he knew what this was about. “Look, sir… I’m sorry about all this.”

“Never mind all that.” said Celesto “…What are you going to do about Nikki?”

Lightning shrugged, “I don’t know what I can do. As long she holds my secret, maybe I’ll just have to comply.”

“You could…” said Celesto “But consider this: What if there was a way to use that secret to your advantage? What if you could make it so it wouldn’t harm you anymore?”

For a moment, Lightning seemed puzzled. Then, all at once, he had the perfect solution.

“Hey, Lightning! Come on!” Rainbow called to him.

“Ah…!” cried Lightning and he rushed off with the others. He stopped for a moment and turned back to face Celesto, “Thanks again.”

Curious, Twilight asked, “What do you think he’ll do about Nikki?”

“I’ve known Lightning a lot longer than you, Twilight.” replied Celesto “Sometimes even he needs a little help to choose his course of action, just as everyone does. But usually, whatever he decides can have very surprising results.

…Just wait and see.”

Meanwhile, Marla, with her fully-charged wand, was still terrorizing the city, but she didn’t let herself get carried away this time, not wanting to waste her power, and she didn’t even have to use the wand…!

Thanks to the power she absorbed before, she had more than enough strength to lift a car up with just one hand, and she threw he hard against a wall making a huge explosion, sending bits of burning debris flying all over and frightening the people.

The police, once again, foolishly tried to stop her, and this time, they were joined by the swat team! The men were all armed with fancy armor and carrying strong looking guns.

“Huh! Some bozos just never learn.” hissed Marla, and she used just a small bit of power form her wand to zap all over at the cars and fans, blowing them up and sending all the men flying all about and crashing to the ground, injuring them. Those who didn’t get hurt ran away in panic!

“Who’s up next?!” thundered Marla.

“…You are!” shouted Sunset, and she and the rangers all leapt onto the scene.

Marla laughed at them, “So, have you come to your senses? Are you ready to surrender yet?”

“Not on your life!” sneered Buddy.

“When we’re through with you, you’ll be the one wanting to surrender!” added Rainbow.

“Wrong answer!” thundered Marla, and with that, she summoned more Lingos, and enhanced their strengths with the wand’s power. “Go get ‘em!”

The Super Lingos charged forth, but the rangers suspected this. “Okay, just do as I do.” said Sunset, and she leapt into action, and rather than fighting the Lingos herself, she merely dodged and evaded their attacks, until the two accidently attacked each other. The forces of their enhanced strengths caused them to knock each other out!

“What?” snapped Marla “Impossible!” but she watched to her horrors as the other rangers did the same thing: dodging the Lingos’ attacks, and letting them inadvertently take out each other. “They may have increased in strength…” said Fluttershy,

“But their brains are still small in length.” rhymed Rhymey.

Marla was livid, but then Lightning stepped up, “Ready for round two?” he cockily asked. Marla roared, having wanting to get back at him all day. “When I’m through with you, you’ll be magical dust!”

“We’ll see about that! Able-Boost, Activate!”

“Able-Boost Mode… Engage!”

“There, that about evens the field!”

“Ha! It’ll take more than a little boost to beat and my wand!” thundered Marla and she fired a blast right at him, which Lightning dodged swiftly with his enhanced speed.

“My turn!” and he leapt up in a high-jump kick, striking her hard, but not doing her much damage.

Marla swung her wand, and batted him hard, but Lightning managed to stand strong and attacked furiously, landing a few punches on her before his Able Boost time was up. “Oh, no! Not now!” he groaned.

This gave Marla an opening to jump-kick him hard and sent him skidding hard along the ground, crashing into a lamppost.

Marla chuckled, “So much for your power, now have a taste of mine!” she raised her wand, ready to blast him, when suddenly as she brought her arm down, Rhyme blocked her with his sword, having activated his own Able-Boost.

“Oh, no…
I don’t think so!”

Then he began to battle with her, showing off his skills as a fencer. He got hit once or twice, but managed to return Marla the favor by slashing at her twice, making sparks fly.

Then his able boost ran out, “Why you…!” Marla thundered, and she swung her arm to hit at him with the wand, but Rhymey flipped way up, dodging the attack, and there stood Sunset and Rainbow, boosted up and having their weapons charged up!

“Surprise…!” Sunset shouted, and she and Rainbow fired their weapons, hitting her hard making sparks and explosion.

Marla fell over, and in her stumble, she threw the wand way up, making it fire a huge blast that began to bounce off the buildings and the street.

“Look out!” shouted Rainbow.

“I got this!” called Fluttershy, and she leapt up high, already boosted and intercepted the blast with her shield and sent it right back to Marla striking her hard in a big explosion.

“The wand…! Where is it?!” she thundered. Then suddenly she spotted it lying on the ground, but as she reached over to grab it, Buddy lassoed it with his whip, “Uh-uh-uhn… mustn’t touch!”

He then flung the wand way up high, “Now guys!”

With that, each and every ranger charged up their weapons, and slashed at or blasted at the wand, utterly shattering it to bits, and releasing the magic in a bright, flashing explosion.

“NO…!!” screeched Marla.

The rangers all rangers huddled together and Sunset called out to her, “It’s over, Marla! Make it easier on yourself and just give up!”

Though Marla had lost the wand, she still wasn’t willing to admit defeat, “You may have destroyed my wand, but I still have the power I absorbed earlier!”

She demonstrated what she meant by making herself grow into a giant, using the bit of magic from Keto that was fused into her. “Still think I’ve lost now?” she thundered at the rangers!

“She just can’t take a hint.” said Lightning, and he activated his morpher, “GIGANTIFY!”

“Giant Mode… Engage!”

…And he grew large himself, not bothering to don his armor, needing more speed.

“Jet-Star Megazord…!” Sunset called, and the ranger’s megazord appeared.

The rangers were all beamed inside. “All right… let’s get her!” said Sunset.

Marla growled as she flexed her sharp nails, “Which one of you should shred first?! I know… both of you!”

Lightning and the Megazord charged forth, but Marla soon proved to be she was just as strong as she promised. She clawed at the Megazord, hitting it hard with each slash, making sparks fly all over and rocking the rangers inside.

Marla then gave a huge kick, knocking the megazord down on its back.

“Hey! No one does that to my friends!” shouted Lightning.

“Oh, yeah?!” sneered Marla, and she fired her nails right at him, hitting him in multiple strikes and sparks. Lightning barely managed to stay on his feet and he lunged over, kicking and punching hard, while Marla blocked his every attack her with arms, and then she whirled round and her long hair tripped him up like a whip.

He landed flat on his back, and Marla loomed over him pointing her sharp nails at him fiercely, “Any last words, Ranger?!”

Suddenly, she felt something tapping her back; she turned round just in time for the megazord to punch her hard in the face, actually knocking her away.

“Ah, yeah…! That felt sweet!” said Rainbow.

“Are you okay, Lightning…?” Fluttershy asked, and she controlled the megazord to give him a lift up. “Yeah, thanks guys.”

Marla groaned as she rubbed her face, “What’s happening? How could they have done that?” she began to pulsate and feel weaker. “No! My extra powers…!”

This was the chance the rangers had been waiting for. The megazord drew out its sword, “Let’s get her!” shouted Sunset.

The megazord and Lightning dashed forth, attacking hard. Marla tried her best to defend herself, but as her powers weakened further, she found herself unable to keep up.

SLASH!! She got hit by the sword.

POW!! Lightning kicked her hard and sent her rolling along the ground.

“We’ve got her on the ropes!” cried Lightning.

The megazord nodded at him, and… as Marla stood up, not only was she losing power rapidly, but she was beginning to shrink in size. “NO… I DON’T BELIEVE THIIIIIIIIIIIS…!!”

She was back to her normal size and normal looks as well. Seeing how she didn’t stand a chance now she decided it best to flee. “You’ll pay for this, Rangers! Mark my words!” then she vanished and was gone.

Lightning and the megazord slapped each other a high five, “Well, we didn’t capture her…” Lightning said, and Sunset agreed, “Nevertheless… Mission Complete.”

Down below in the streets, many civilians were cheering and hollering out to the rangers for saving the city. Although many damages were made, it wasn’t too serious, and everyone had good insurance anyways.

“Hey, this is perfect.” Lightning said to himself, and he shrunk down to his normal size.

“Hey, what’s he doing?” Buddy wondered aloud.

Lightning then powered down his suit exposing his true identity for all to see.

“Hey, I know that guy.”

“He’s a teacher at the school.”

“Somehow, I always knew it was him.”

The other rangers were still confused at why he had just revealed his identity like that.

Meanwhile, the three minions were shoved into Vulcan’s old solitary confinement cell by Nacluv.

“Why are we being locked up?!” whined Keto, “Marla’s the one who screwed up!”

“Be quiet you…!” Marla sneered.

“As far as I see, all three of you blundered in this one.” said Nacluv, and he had a point. Marla failed in her mission, and Bronc and Keto didn’t build the power strong enough, “Why don’t you all take a time out and think about what PATHETIC FAILURES YOU ARE!!”

With that, he sealed them all inside!

Bronc angrily pounded at the metal-door with his huge fists, but he couldn’t even dent it! “Well that’s just lovely!” he grumbled.

“Why am I being punished for something you did, Marla?” growled Keto.

“Why you little…!” Marla thundered, and she proceeded to strangle him, when suddenly the three of them could all hear soft snickering echoing through the tiny vent shaft in the cell.

Three female voices then called to them…

“You three serious need a break.”

“If only you were more like us…”

“…Then you’d actually get somewhere.”

The minions felt insulted.

“And just who are you three?” Marla called through the vent.

“Uh, uh, uhn… you be nice now.” said one of the voices, “Or we may not tell you how to get rid of Nacluv.”

The minions all fell silent and pondered over an idea. Would they dare take up these mystery voices on their offer, or how did they know these three could even help them overthrow their master.

Only time would tell…!

The next day… This was it-- Exam Day, and Nikki was in a rather bad mood.

“Like, what’s got you so riled up?” asked Amber.

“You like you totes lost you credit-card.” added Dionne.

Nikki held up her phone which showed images of the morning paper, showing Lightning’s face and a headline reading “Comet Ranger Reveals Face.”

She had totally lost all control over making Lightning date her!

And… as Lightning walked through school, every student stopped to stare at him, some even asked for his autograph, and other girls asked for his number, now that they all knew who he was.

Of course, Lightning, as a teacher, did not accept such overblown praise and hushed them all, “Quiet! Off to class, you have exams today.”

The students naturally complied.

Then Lightning approached Nikki, and he actually fluttered his eyebrows at her, knowing he had beaten her at her own game for good! “Hope you studied for exams, Nikki.” he teased.

Nikki felt most insulted and broke her phone in half in her raging fit. “Oh, no…!” she cried when she realized what she had done. Her friends could only pity her.

As Lightning walked off to teach his first class, the other rangers and Twilight caught up with him.

“Smooth move, Lightning.” said Sunset.

Lightning agreed, “It sure feels good not having to keep this secret anymore. Besides, like I said, School’s nearly out anyway. I won’t have to put up with Nikki anymore.”

Fluttershy felt a bit concerned, “Are you sure it was a good idea? I mean, what if someone you care about gets in trouble?”

Rainbow scoffed at that, “That’s already happened many times, and we always end up saving the day anyway.”

Rhymey agreed,

“As long as we believe in each other and what we can do
There just may not be a thing that we can’t pull through.”

Lightning cleared his throat, “I… uh… hate to break this up, but shouldn’t you all get your classes?”

“He’s right. It’s exam day!” Twilight exclaimed excitedly. The others just stared at her awkwardly, “Only you could be this excited about it.” Buddy joked.

The rangers all split up to head to their homerooms, and as for Lightning, he stopped outside the door to his first class and realized he could wear his morpher in public now. He grabbed it out of his pocket and stuck it on the front of his shirt. “Much better…”

Episode 10: Down in Freezing Flames

EPISODE TEN

The Last day of school had arrived, and some students didn’t even bother showing up that day. What was the point? There was nothing much left to do.

Other students were looking at big board posted at the front of the school to see who made graduation! The rangers all made it. They passed their exams and everything!

“Awesome!” cried Rainbow. “We’ve graduated High-School!” added Buddy, and they slapped each other a high-five.

Fluttershy was in tears of relief, “Thank goodness! Oh, my, gosh!” she panted.

Rhymey comforted her to calm her,

“I knew you could do it,
There was nothing to it.”

Sunset was pleased to see that she made it as well. It was a sign that she had really improved since her old ways.

Of course, it still meant that they would no longer have to stay at school. No place to hang out most of the time. “What’s going to happen to us now?”

Even Twilight felt concerned, “We still haven’t thought about that.”

All the rangers began to worry about that, and their worries turned to sadness as they saw many students hugging one another… saying goodbyes for the summer, or long goodbyes as they prepared to head off to college or were moving away.

It broke out into an emotional song as people began to sing while saying their goodbyes…

Lots of sad and teary faces, the rangers felt just down…

(Que Intro)

The minions were all put hard to work, cleaning the tower from top to bottom, feeding and tending to the prisoners, cleaning the equipment, all under Nacluv’s orders. “And do a good job…!” Nacluv thundered from the top floor “If you can’t even beat the rangers, then at least do your chores right!”

And he left the grumbling minions to their work on the lower floor.

“Ugh, this is insane!” whined Marla “I just had my nails done!”

Keto and Bronc were more fed up with her whining, but they too were just as disturbed by Nacluv’s treating them. Ever since he had hatched he acted like a self-absorbed control-freak child. Despite the fact he WAS a child in body that was no excuse.

“At least when Vulcan was in charge, he didn’t treat us this cruelly.” grumbled Keto “Well… okay, maybe he did, but not this much.”

Much as Bronc hated to admit it, “You’re right; he is no master. He has squandered his position. Something will have to be done.”

As Marla continued to sweep the floors, she noticed a small note peeking out from under the large sealed door from the solitary-confinement cell next to Vulcan’s empty cell. The note read:

“We can still help you get rid of Nacluv, all we require is a big boost of power. Trust us!”

Marla figured it must have been those three ladies they spoke with through the vent the other day, but who were they? They didn’t tell their names or even leave a signature on the note.

She showed the note to her comrades. “How do we know we can even trust them?” Marla asked, “And how do we know they actually stand up to Nacluv?”

“We don’t…” said Bronc “The decision is still ours to make.”

They all pondered for a while, and suddenly Nacluv called down to them, “I don’t hear any chores being done…! Maybe I should lock you all up again until you remember whose master here!”

This helped them make up their mind, “…He’s history!” Keto whispered.

His comrades agreed, and Bronc came with an idea to make the mutiny go more smoothly, but first they would need to find a monster to assist them. “I know just the one…” he hissed.

Nacluv was in the top room of the tower going over the monster profiles and data on the computer. “Those three dummies couldn’t beat the rangers if they were blindfolded and handcuffed. I guess it’s time I acted, but who should I send out with me?”

“Ahem! Pardon me, master.” Bronc said as he entered. “I thought I told you to get to work?” sneered Nacluv. “Begging your pardon, sir, but I just had one idea how to finally get the rangers.”

He brought in a monster that was two toned beast. Half of him was fiery red, the other half of hi was icy blue. He had large fangs, flames for hair on side and icicle like spikes on the other half, and his claws were long and sharp. The right side claw was scorching hot; the other side was frigid cold. “Frost-Fire, at your service.” he hissed

Nacluv seemed far from impressed, “I don’t recall my telling you to free a monster!”

“Oh, don’t mind him, I asked to be let out.” said Frost-Fire “I’ve always wanted to fight alongside the mighty Nacluv.”

“Mighty… Nacluv…?” Nacluv asked.

“Oh, yeah… I just knew that if I fought alongside you, then no one could stop us, not even the rangers.”

Nacluv’s interest was starting to peak. “Hmm… And just what sort of powers do you possess?”

The monster demonstrated on two of the Lingos, with his right claw he burned one Lingo into ashes, and with his left claw, he froze the other Lingo in a block of ice.

Nacluv snickered. He especially loved the fire bit seeing as his own powers were fire. “This could be quite interesting after all.” And he decided “All right then… we have work to do. The rangers will never be able to stop us this time.”

As the due headed off, Frost-Fire turned back and winked at Bronc, as he was in on this little plan the whole time.

Keto and Marla entered the room, “Um… someone run me by this again?” Keto asked.

Marla klunked him on the head and explained, “Nacluv may be an element of fire, but he won’t be able to stand up to the ice power. So, when he least expects it, Frost-Fire will hit him with all the ice power he’s got, and that’ll weaken him so we can overthrow him.”

“Oh…” remarked Keto, “But what about those other three in the cell?”

“We’ll help them…” replied Bronc “Just have to set up a few things first. After all, trust can be quite an issue.”

Meanwhile, since classes were pretty much inoperative due to the start of summer break, the students were free to come and go as they pleased. Surprisingly however, most students stayed, just to hang out with friends until the final bell. Clubs were holding meetings to discuss summer schedules, and the athletics teams were all practicing their games.

The rangers were also keeping up with their training, while at the same time trying to figure out where to hang out now than they’d be graduating.

The jumped over large walls, swerved around large cones, and even did some sparking with one-another.

“We could all hang out at Starcamp like we did before.” Sunset suggested, but Buddy pointed out, “No good, we have jobs now. We’d have to work. I don’t think we could take all that pressure.”

“We could try hanging in the park.” said Fluttershy, “I mean… if anyone thinks that’s a good idea.”

Much as Rhymey hated to disagree with her, he said,

“Except if it’s a rainy day.
Then we couldn’t go anyway.”

Fluttershy sighed.

“Well at least it’s one place we can try,” said Rainbow “But, even still, the bad guys are still out there. I don’t think this’ll be an easy summer for any of us.”

The others couldn’t disagree with that. Even Krysta and Spike felt as annoyed with all the monsters and bad guys ruining perfect days. “If only we could find out where their prison tower is.” said Spike, “Then we could put them out of commission for good.”

Twilight shook her head, “We’ve tried that before, Spike, but that tower comes from an alien world. It’s made of materials we don’t have here on Earth, and all that power inside it renders it even more undetectable.

To be honest, I don’t know how we’ll ever be able to find it.”

“Well, I think I may know a way.” said Lightning, and he explained how during his travels, as a world adventurer, he was in The Congo of Africa. “I was chasing some thieving drug-smugglers into the jungle, but I got bitten by a poisonous snake.”

“I remember that too well…” said Krysta “You passed out, and I had no idea what to do. I thought you were a goner.”

Lightning patted her on the head softly, and continued explaining how he awoke to find he was in the care of some African witch doctor. “Her name was Zecora. She found me and nursed me back to health. Once I was back on my feet, I wanted to resume my chasing those bad men, but I hadn’t the slightest where to start looking.

That’s when Zecora helped me again. Apparently she was gifted in in such arts that allowed her to spirit-read. Thanks to her, I tracked down the bad men and their operations were busted.

I wanted to run back and thank her, but… she mysteriously disappeared. Her hut was gone, and I never saw or heard from her again.”

The rangers all thought that an exciting story. “So, you think this Zecora person can help us find the enemy’s tower?” asked Sunset.

“It’s worth a shot…” replied Lightning, but then he fell silent, and everyone realized why. “Lightning…?” peeped Fluttershy, “Are you saying…?”

Lightning nodded, “I’ll have to go find her.”

No one said a thing, all feeling rather concerned about this. If Lightning left, they’d be short one ranger. How would they get on without him?

Suddenly, their morphers went off followed by Celesto calling them from the base, “Rangers, signs of alien activity detected in the city park.”

Sunset responded, “We’re on our way!”

All the rangers dashed off, and Lightning and the pets headed for the base, via a jump-tube.

Soon, the rangers, all morphed arrived on the scene, and found the park looking a bit upside-down! “The trees…! The Grass…! The Flowers…!” Buddy cried. Some of the plants were all charred and burned; others were frozen in blocks of ice.

“Oh, my…!” Fluttershy cried. Seeing all this broke her heart as well as Buddy’s.

“Whoever did this has gone way over the line.” grumbled Rainbow.

“I wouldn’t say that, Rangers.” shouted a voice. The team turned round just in time as Frost-Fire unleashed a blast of flames at them making large explosions that knocked the rangers all over.

“What, too hot for you?” the creature taunted, “Maybe you should cool down!” and from his left claw he unleashed a freezing breeze. “Look out!” shouted Sunset, and the rangers all rolled out the way. The blast, instead, hit the park gazeebo behind them, freezing it instantly.

“Whoa! He turned it into a solid iceberg!” cried Lightning.

“And the same I’ll do to you as well!” thundered Frost-Fire “Or maybe I should just roast you instead…?”

With that he fired more flames, which the rangers dodged, and then he unleashed more ice, and both Rhymey and Fluttershy got their legs encased in ice blocks!

“I can’t move my legs!” cried Fluttershy.

Rhymey shivered hard,

“S-S-So cold this ice!
This d-d-d-doesn’t feel n-n-nice…!”

“Hang on guys!” Lightning called, and he planned to blast the ice off of them with his comet –powers, when suddenly he got bombarded by another fire blast, and he fell over.

“Nacluv!” shouted Sunset.

Nacluv laughed, “The one and only.” and thanks to his distraction, Frost-Fire blasted all the rangers with his freezing powers, encasing them up to their necks in ice.

“He’s got us!” cried Rainbow.

“Man this is brisk!” Buddy chattered.

Nacluv chuckled as he admired his new Power Rangers Popsicles. “Well done, Frost-Fire. Together, we do make an unstoppable team.”

“We sure do…” agreed the creature, but then he secretly thought “Too bad you’re about to join them soon.”

Twilight observed the rangers being frozen on the monitors, and Spike began to panic, “This is so not good! How are they going to get out of this one?”

Twilight calculated possible plans, “If anyone of them can somehow activate their Able Boost mode, they can bust right out of the ice and free the others.”

“Yeah, um… how are they going to do that when they can’t move their arms?” Krysta asked.

“I think I know a way.” said Celesto, and he sat himself down at the controls and began to work, “I just hope the morphers aren’t frozen solid.” but unfortunately for him, they were as the signal he was trying to send couldn’t get through. “Blast! If the morphers weren’t frozen I could send a signal to activate them. This way it could melt the ice just enough for the rangers to break free.”

Twilight pounded the ground angrily, “What are we going to do?”

Nacluv and Frost-Fire had lined all the rangers up in a neat little row. The poor heroes were beginning to lose consciousness as their nervous systems began to shut down due to the ice!

“I’ve waited for this for a long time!” Nacluv hissed as he prepared to blast the rangers to bits “Never again will you interfere with my plans! Goodbye, Rangers!”

Suddenly, Frost-Bite blasted him with his ice-waves, “A’RGH!! Hey! What are you doing?!” and before long, he too was encased in a huge ice block. Unlike the rangers, Frost-Bite got him completely from head-to-toe, and he laughed at him. “You’ve just been burned… freezer-burned!”

Back at the prison tower, the minions were preparing the next part of their plan. Bronc had run a special set of power lines from the stored electro-energy absorbed from the computer heist. Running the lines along the tower and into the solitary cell…

“Okay…!” Bronc called through the door, “Are you three ready in there? You better not betray us. We had a deal!”

“Take a chill.” One of the ladies called.

“Yeah, we get it already.”

“Now throw the switch so we can bust out of here!”

Bronc sighed, and then he nodded at Keto telling him to do it! “Here goes…” Keto said as he threw the switch, transferring the energy along the lines and into the cell.

Soon there was a big glow emitting from the cracks in the door, followed by the sounds of beautiful singing.

The doors opened wide, and there stood three human girls: Adagio Dazzle… Aria Blaze…and Sonata Dusk also known as “The Sirens!”

Together they sang…

“And we’re… Back…!”

Keto couldn’t help but feel bedazzled by their beautiful looks and their voices. They sounded like really hot pop-singers, while Marla was hardly impressed, “Show offs.”

Adagio stretched her arms up, “Whoa! It feels so cool to be out of that cell!” and her comrades agreed, but then Bronc cleared his throat, “Sorry to interrupt, but I believe we had a deal…”

“Yeah, yeah, we remember.” said Aria, “But… once we overthrow Nacluv, we’re in charge.” added Sonata. “You got that?”

“WHAT?!” the three minions shouted. “That wasn’t part of the deal.” whined Marla. “Well, too bad. It is now.” sneered Adagio. “Of course, now that we have all our power back, we could just split and leave you guys to face Nacluv.” added Aria. Sonata nodded, “And after he finds out that you three betrayed him I don’t think he’s going to be too happy. Do you?”

The minions knew they had been duped, and fearing worse for when Nacluv would find out, and that this was their only hopes in getting rid of him, they were forced to comply with their new masters.

The three girls snickered sinisterly.

Meanwhile, Nacluv and the rangers were still frozen, and Frost-Fire was laughing hysterically at the seven ice blocks. “I wonder which one I should destroy first…” then he eyed at Sunset “Of course! What better way to start than by taking out the lead ranger.

He was about to deliver the finishing blow, when suddenly Nacluv’s ice began to glow brightly from within. “What the…?”

In a bright flaring blast, Nacluv burst free from his ice block, and you can bet he was outraged! “YOU!!” he bellowed, “You tried to destroy me as well?!!”

He unleashed a furious wave of flames, striking the monster hard and sent him rolling along the ground, “Oh, yeah? Well take this!” Frost-Fire shouted, and he unleashed more ice at him.

The two villains began to brawl hard, and though Nacluv was shorter than his opponent, he proved to be just as slick and strong and Vulcan was. He sprinted around, and slashed at the creature with his claws making sparks fly, and blasted him hard sending him skidding along the road.

“Any last words, Traitor…?” Nacluv sneered as he stomped forth, and he fired a blast which the monster dodged causing Sunset’s ice block to break slightly, exposing her morpher to the open air.

“You missed me!” Frost-Fire mocked, and he shot a combination of fire and ice and him, making a huge explosion blast hitting Nacluv hard and knocking him so hard against a tree, snapping the trunk! The tree fell over with a huge crash.

He got up, literally, blazing with outrage.

The two monsters continued to brawl…

…and the team at the base viewed everything. “I can’t believe this!” cried Spike “Two monsters fighting each other. This is one for the books!”

Celesto was more concerned with Sunset’s morpher now being exposed. “Maybe it’ll work now!” he hoped, and he typed in the enabling codes. “Come on…! Come on…!”

Back at the park, the two monsters leapt at one another and both hit each other in the face hard. The two fell to the ground with a hard thud, unaware that Sunset’s morpher was activating.

“Able-Boost Mode… Engage!”

Sunset’s suit began to glow, warming her up to regain consciousness, and her extra strength allowed her to break free from the rest of the ice. “Whew! That’s much better.” she said to herself, and then she proceeded to punch, chop, and kick at the ice-blocks holding the other rangers, just as her Able Boost ran out.

With the alien ice gone, the rangers regained their senses and consciousness at once.

“I see
We’re free!” cried Rhymey.

“But how?” asked Fluttershy

Sunset stood before her team and gave them all a high thumb, “Welcome back, team.”

The rangers were delighted, and then turned their attention to the brawling villains. It was almost unbelievable for them to see with their eyes.

“I will destroy you!” thundered Nacluv!

“Not if I beat you first!” shouted Frost-Fire!

As the two monsters charged at one another, the rangers fired at them both, blowing them both down.

“Sorry to break up this little spat, but we’ve got a score to settle with the both of you!” snarled Sunset.

The monsters were livid, “Hey! How did you escape that ice?”

“Never mind that!” snapped Rainbow “You two won’t escape; not where you’re going!”

“Why you arrogant pests!” snarled Nacluv, and he raised his arms to fire a blast, but all he managed to fire was a few small sparks! “What?! Oh, no…!” His power was getting weak from being encased in the ice and for battle with Frost-Fire for so long.

“Too bad…! I still have plenty of juice left.” hissed Frost-Fire, “But just to be safe-- Lingos, attack!”

With that, a gang of Lingos popped up and attacked the rangers.

“Let’s go!” shouted Sunset, and she and the rangers lunged forth with their weapons ready.

“Have a nice trip!” Buddy hollered as he lassoed a Lingo’s leg and flipped it into two more.

Rainbow blasted all the Lingos in her way with her cannon, “And a-one! And a-two…! And stay down!”

Rhymey and Fluttershy were surrounded, but they nodded at one another. With his sword and her shield armed, they stood back-to-back and began to spin in circle. As the Lingos attacked, Fluttershy blocked them with her shield, and Rhymey came along and slashed them to bits with his sword!

Sunset had already beaten the Lingos around her and was now attacking the monster, while Lightning went after the weakened Nacluv! “You’re going down!” Lightning shouted. “I know you are, but what I!” protested Nacluv.

He managed to slash at Lightning twice, making sparks fly, but he was getting more and more exhausted, which gave Lightning his advantage. They met up in a struggled, “What? Feeling tired?” Lightning mocked, “Well take a rest…!” and he kicked him hard in the chest, sending him rolling along the ground.

“I will not stand for this!” growled Nacluv.

Frost-Fire unleashed a waved of flames, but Sunset leapt right up and over missing the blast. Then Frost-Fire tried his ice attack. “Not this time…!” snapped Sunset, and she charged up her weapon!

“Star Scepter… Engage!”

“FIRE…!” Sunset shouted, and she fired a blast of mighty magic from her scepter, cutting through the frigid winds and hitting the monster hard with big explosions and sent him crashing hard into Nacluv. “Get off me!”

The rangers all grouped together, “You two have had it!” said Sunset “Bring it together guys!”

The other agreed and joined their weapons…

“Weapons Combine!”

“Star Slammer, Ready!”

“My turn!” shouted Lightning, and he powered up his gauntlets,

“Comet Gauntlets, Engage!”

“Uh, oh…!” cried Frost-Fire, “This can’t be good!”

Nacluv only growled irritably, and the rangers launched their attacks! “STAR-SLAMMER… ULTRA-STRIKE!!”

“Comet Trail… FIRE!!”

The attacks came right for them, and in act of desperation, Nacluv grabbed Frost-Fire and threw him right in the past of the attacks, sparing himself from harm!

“THE WAS COLD!!” the monster shouted as he flared up, “I’VE BEEN BURNED!!” and he exploded in midair and was imprisoned.

Much as the rangers were glad the monster was caught, Nacluv was still loose. Not only could they not try and capture him again until their powers were recharged for another attack, but they were all pretty livid with what he just done to spare himself. “I can’t believe he’d stoop that low!” growled Rainbow.

Nacluv snickered, “Count your blessings while you can, Rangers! I’ll gather my strength again, and when I do… rest assured… I… WILL BE THE VICTOR…!!”

With that, he activated his teleporter and vanished, leaving the rangers completely outraged. “I can’t believe we were this close to actually getting him!” wailed Buddy.

Lightning clenched his fists. This helped him make up his mind about his decision more than ever.

“Well, at least we got you…” Sunset said as she scooped up the sphere with the monster in it. “Monster Captured! Mission Complete!”

When Nacluv got back to the tower, he still felt exhausted from his ordeal and decided to recharge himself by using the computerized energy he had stored. “I’ve got to restore my powers.” He groaned as she made his way to the chamber where the energy was stored, only to find much to his horrors, “…It’s gone!”

He looked all around, but the energy he had harnessed was nowhere to be seen.

“Lose something?” Bronc said from behind. Nacluv turned and saw his three minions standing at the door way with sinister smirks on their faces. “I was hoping Frost-Bite would have finished you off, but it doesn’t matter anyway.” said Marla.

Nacluv grunted, “You three set me up?!”

“Wow, someone has their thinking cap on today.” mocked Keto. He then decided to let it out, “We’re done with you, so take a hike!”

Nacluv never felt such anger building inside him, “You… how dare you…! I AM YOU MASTER!!” he thundered.

“Not anymore.” snuffed Bronc “We have new leaders…”

The Sirens then made their entrance through the door. He could tell by the way they looked so fresh and strong that they were given all the computer power, converted into the three rubies they wore around their necks.

This only further infuriated Nacluv. He wasn’t going to stand for this mutiny. “When I’m done… blowing you all… TO ASHES!!” he thundered, and he tried to blast them all in a blaze, but forgot that he was still weak form his ordeal, and he still hardly had enough power to even roast a meatball.

“I think you need to chill,” said Adagio, “Ladies…!”

The other two snapped their fingers in a pop-style rhythm, and the three of them began to sing to magical music that filled the air.

“Ooh… I love it when they sing.” murmured Keto,

[Adagio]

You wanna conquer, but you blew it,

[Aria]

So now this is your honourable dismal.

[Sonata]

You call yourself a master, but if you knew it

[All Three]

You’d see that you’re just plain abysmal!

THREE STRIKES AND YOU’RE OUT
Take a hike, it’s no psych
You’ve lost the fight
THREE STRIKES AND YOU’RE OUT
Get it straight, no debate
Get outta’ sight
THREE STRIKES AND YOU’RE OUT
You can’t choose, you just lose
You know we’re right!

…OUT!!

The song was very catchy, the minions and the Lingos couldn’t help but move to the beat. As for Nacluv; as the Sirens continued to sing, he suddenly felt himself being magically lifted off the ground. “Hey! What’s happening?” he groaned.

The Sirens smirked at one another, and took hold of him, dragging him along the tower as they kept singing.

[Adagio]

You disappoint the team, so you’re time has come

[Aria]

A unanimous decision is easy,

[Sonata]

You’ll never play again at bat and then some,

[All Three]

So pack you’re thing, ‘Cause you’re history!

THREE STRIKES AND YOU’RE OUT
Take a hike, it’s no psych
You’ve lost the fight
THREE STRIKES AND YOU’RE OUT
Get it straight, no debate
Get outta’ sight
THREE STRIKES AND YOU’RE OUT
You can’t choose, you just lose
You know we’re right!

…OUT!!

As the Sirens sang a humming solo, everyone came out on the roof of the tower, and the girls aimed Nacluv far out to sea. Nacluv struggled and fuss about, but he couldn’t break free of the magic that bound him. “You’ll all pay dearly for this!” he thundered.

“Yeah, yeah… now don’t come back.” Marla taunted. “It’s been fun while it lasted.” Bronc added as he removed the teleporter pack form Nacluv’s belt, and Keto even took a moment to bash him upside the head with his staff, and the Sirens sang the chorus one final time.

THREE STRIKES AND YOU’RE OUT
Take a hike, it’s no psych
You’ve lost the fight
THREE STRIKES AND YOU’RE OUT
Get it straight, no debate
Get outta’ sight
THREE STRIKES AND YOU’RE OUT
You can’t choose, you just lose
You know we’re right!

…OUT!!

As the song ended, The Sirens gave Nacluv a huge blast, sending him flying out over the sea like a rocket, far, far away, and he crashed in the waters.

Never had he felt so humiliated! “I’LL GET YOU ALL FOR THAT!!” he screamed out over the vast distance, but all he managed to do was attract a group sharks that came at him, forcing him to swim off in extreme panic.

The villains on the other hand cheered for joy that Nacluv was gone. “QUIET!!” The Sirens shouted, and everyone silenced themselves. “You think we’re going to celebrate, just like that?” sneered Adagio, “Well we so are not…!” added Aria. Sonata nodded and them smiled cheekily and said “…Not without snacks!”

Everyone cheered and began to party to celebrate a new era of their plans to conquer Earth.

Meanwhile, the rangers, unaware of the villains’ mutiny were very relieved to have captured at least Frost-Fire, and dropped him off at the base to put him in storage with the many other monsters they had captured. After which, it was already late in the afternoon, and time for school to close, but all students, loyal and respectable, decided to stay for the final assembly as the staff all bid their goodbyes.

The rangers and Twilight all had front-row seats. Principal Celestia had come as well, as she was part of the staff, and she brought the babies with her, and Principal Candace addressed the crowd of students.

“Another school term has come to an end. I want you all to know, that it was an honor to be your principal for the short time I had, and now I’d like to wish you all good and happy summer, and for those of you who are graduating this year, I wish you all the best of luck in the long road of life ahead. However, I will let Uncle-- I mean, Mr. Grandruler deliver the closing speech.”

The student snickered at how cute it was the way she quickly corrected herself as her uncle took the podium. “As I look out on all of you, I see not just students, not just well educated minds, but human beings with potential, courage, idealism; these are the tools that will help you progress through life. Remember, you are “You” and only you can decide what path you will take, where life will lead you. As I look upon you, to return next year for another term, I wish you all a happy summer, and to those of you completing your education with us and graduating… good luck… and god speed!”

The crowds applauded, and with that… it was over; time to leave school for the summer.

Students flooded out of the building cheering for joy as they headed on their way for a well-deserved summer, even the teachers were delighted to be out as well.

Later on, at sundown though, the gang all had one other goodbye to say to; Lightning was already packed up, and Celesto arranged for one of his company choppers to take him over to the mainland, to the airport to catch his plane for Africa, and Krysta was going with him too.

The group gave him all a big hug, and Fluttershy almost broke out crying, “I’m really going to miss you!”

“I’m not going away forever…” Lightning reminded everyone, “Of course, I… don’t know how long I’ll be away either. Zecora could be anyway. She may not even be in the Congo anymore, but I have to find her.”

Everyone understood, and Celesto approached him and shook his hand with honor, “I’m proud of you, Lightning, and I wish you the best of luck.”

Lightning nodded thankfully.

He then looked at Twilight, “You sure you did it okay?”

Twilight nodded and replied, “I reprogramed some codes from your morpher. We’ll be able to call upon the Comet Striker when we need it. It’ll be operated by remote-control.”

Lightning smiled almost lovingly at her, “You’ve grown up a lot, Twilight Sparkle.”

She smiled at him, almost tearfully, and she hugged him again. He held her softly, never feeling this close to her before since their time at Crystal Prep Academy.

Lightning decided to leave before everyone else got emotional. “I’ll keep in touch everyone. Farewell for now.”

“Bye, everyone…” Krysta cried softly from in her small cage, “Bye, Spike.”

“Take care, Krysta.” Spike whimpered, and he cried just like the little dog he was.

“God Speed, Lightning Dawn…” sunset whispered as she and the others watched Lightning climb with his luggage into the chopper, and in almost no time, the chopper was off for the mainland.

“Wave bye-bye kids…” Celestia said as she waved her kids little hands softly as the chopper flew further and further away.

Cadance wiped her eyes with a hankie. “I think I better get home. Shining Armor will be worried.”

“I’ll go with you.” said Twilight, and she went off with her sister-in-law carrying Spike with her.

The other rangers decided to head home to supper, and to think about their long summer ahead of them.

“Come…” Luna said “We should go home too…”

Celestia and Celesto agreed, but they just couldn’t take their eyes off the chopper as it was still in plain sight over the sea, and a small fair wind blew through their hairs.

“The gentle caress of the summer breeze…” Celestia murmured, and a small sad song began to play, as she, her husband and sister began to sing “The Summer Wind”

(0:35)

And in a montage, each ranger respectively adjourned home, and Lightning, waiting at the airport, and saying as he looked out towards the dusk skies and The Summer Wind.

Episode 11: Dance, Dance Ranger-Lution

EPISODE ELEVEN

The Sirens recalled how they were one banished to the Human World, hundreds of years ago. They spent all their time as the human girls they took the shape of, and with the power of their enchanted ruby pendants, they used their music to achieve their own ends.

Unfortunately, the more they used their powers, the more their powers began to run out, and the Human World didn’t seem to have the proper Equestrian magic they needed to sustain their powers with… until they came to Mystic Island and discovered Canterlot High and its connection to Equestria.

However, the girls were still far too weak to begin a conquest themselves. That was what lead them to the discovery of the ancient crypt under the island, where they discovered the resting place of five ancient evil beings: The Demonites.

Together, they teamed up in attempt to take over the island and the world, and the girls had their powers temporarily charged. However, the girls discovered, too late, The Demonites were only using them to achieve their own wicked desires, and had turned on the girls as well.

After being cornered by Commander Lightning Dawn and his Starfleet forces from this world, The Sirens’ pendants were completely destroyed, and with them went their magical singing and powers as well.

The Demonites were destroyed, but shamed and defeated, the girls decided to flee through the portal in front of the school and headed back to their home-world, only find themselves on, what was now, United Equestria, and right into the mercy of Starfleet and all its forces.

They were arrested and tossed into solitary-confinement where they had spent nearly three years perfecting their singing. They no longer needed magic alone to sing like goddesses, but to escape their cell…

“…Well, I think you all get the rest.” said Adagio. She and the others enjoying comfort in their new freedom as the Lingos did their nails, they even permitted Marla have her nails done too, while Bronc and Keto were equally pampered as a thank you for all they did.

“It sure feels great to be out.” sighed Aria “Now that we are, and charged up, we can start planning our revenge!”

“Sweet!” said Sonata “Um… how are we going to do that again?”

The other two seemed annoyed, and then Bronc stepped up, “Adagio…” he said, but quickly corrected himself when she gave him a stern look, “Pardon-- Mistress Adagio.”

Adagio smiled, “That’s better.”

Bronc cleared his throat, “As I was saying, perhaps it would be best if we were start spying in the rangers in their daily lives. It might help us to decide a course of action.”

“He’s right.” said Keto “After all, with the Comet Ranger out of the way; it may be easier to get at them now.”

“Hmm, good point…” said Aria “We’ve been locked up since, like… forever! We should observe what we’re dealing with.”

Marla snickered, “Trust me; the rangers are a lot tougher than they look.”

“Oh, yeah…? Well so are we.” hissed Sonata, “Um… we are… right?”

Her two comrades sighed, “Yes, Sonata!” grumbled Adagio. Aria could only grumble to herself.

(Que Intro)

Two days had passed since Lightning left and school was out. Most students were just kicking back and enjoying their summer, while others were working at their jobs.

So far, the rangers found it easier than they thought to hangout, either at the park, at the mall, one of their respective homes, or even at an outdoor café.

However, the graduation ceremonies and prom were to take place the next day. Many students were already well prepared and many of them had dates. Some wouldn’t be attending because they had work, and Sunset was one them, she had to work at the hospital that night.

The rangers all met at the park to talk it all over. “Shame you can’t come, Sunset.” said Rainbow “The prom is going to be held at one of Grandruler’s five-star hotels. How awesome is that?!”

The others agreed, it would be awesome, but not every single Grad Student felt that way. Nikki came along with her friends, “Will you zip it about the prom?!” she groaned.

The team could see that she had really let go of herself ever since Lightning left for Africa. Now she had lost all chances to be with him period, and she looked rather frazzled-- hair not curled right, wearing the same dirty bleached clothes, looking she hadn’t slept in days.

The other two Jazzies seemed fine.

“Whoa! Really let yourself go there.” said Sunset.

“Ah, she’s just upset that she doesn’t have a date for the prom.” said Amber, Dionne nudged her hard, “Shut up! You weren’t supposed to say that.”

Nikki just let out an uncaring belch. “Like, whatever. I couldn’t care less about some silly prom… and the fact that there aren’t any other cute boys for me to ask out, and Lightning’s gone!” he voiced was getting louder and louder all the time as her anger spiked. “… I need some ice-cream.”

Then she went off with her minions following her.

Rainbow just blew a raspberry at the mean girls. “They can moan all they want. At least we get to enjoy tonight.”

“I’m sure it’ll be pretty.” agreed Fluttershy. She then gazed over at Rhymey and he held her hand.

“I’m glad to be going with you,
There’s nothing else I’d rather do.” he said to her.

His girlfriend giggled, she even remembered how lovely it was when he visited her at the animal shelter, gave her a flower and gentlemanly asked her to be his date, even though he knew she would say “Yes.” Just be romantic.

“Are you coming tonight, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked. Surprisingly, Twilight nodded, “I’ve already got my dress picked out and…” she giggled softly, trying to find the nerve to mention her date’s name, so Spike blurted it out, “She’s taking Shining Armor.”

“Your brother?” chuckled Sunset chuckled. The others, and even Twilight couldn’t help but giggle, but it was still a sweet thought, and Shining Armor was doing a good thing by being there for her.

“How about you, Buddy? Who are you taking?” Twilight asked.

Buddy looked down at the ground for a moment, “Actually, I don’t have a date myself.”

He felt everyone in the gang staring at him, and they all had shocked expressions. “You didn’t ask anyone?” asked Rainbow.

“No, I’ve been too busy helping to replant all the trees and other plants in the park since the last battle.”

Everyone looked around, and the park looked great with all the plants healed or replaced, “So, does that mean you’re not coming?” asked Fluttershy. “Well, I don’t know about that yet.” replied Buddy, “I can still go even without a date.”

His friends, however, could see right through him.

“But you wish to have a date,
To you, that would be great.”

Buddy sighed, and nodded shyly.

Sunset patted him softly on the shoulder, “Don’t feel bad. I don’t have a date either, and I don’t actually want one.” She referred to the fact that Artie was only guy for her, and he was still in a coma, along with the rest of the friends.

This made everyone feel a bit down, missing their friends and wishing they were awake. Still, they couldn’t let it rule over them and stop them from living their own lives in the present.

“You can always come and hang with us.” said Rainbow. The others agreed. “I’ll think about it.” said Buddy, “I got to get back to the community garden. Later, guys…”

The others still felt bad for Buddy, wishing there was something they could do for them.

Little did they know that the villains were watching in on everything, “Aw, poor little ranger wants a date.” Adagio mocked.

“Hmm, perhaps that High School Prom will be a perfect place to get at the rangers.” said Marla.

The Sirens agreed, “Especially if WE happen to show up.” said Aria. She touched her newly restored ruby pendant, “It’s about time we tried these things out on the humans again.”

Bronc nodded and said, “And I know just the monster to send to help back you up, Mistresses.” He typed into the computer and showed them all a monster that seemed to resemble that a weird record and stereo system. His body seemed to be that of a huge steroid hi-fi with a record spinning and loud speaker in the front. “He is called Amp, and he has the power to send out ultra-high frequency musical waves that can destroy anything in its path.”

Keto snickered at the idea, “Cool, it’ll be a regular disco night.”

The Sirens all snickered, and their eyes glowed green. They loved the idea of performing again.

The next day, with the Prom coming at night, the rangers offered to help prepare the hotel lobby for the festivities. The place was absolutely beautiful with all the chandeliers hanging above. There were white and silver balloons to help reflect lighting. Large round tables set up to serve dinner, which the hotel kitchen staff would be personally catering.

Celesto helped with the supervising of the setups, as he did own the hotel. “We need so more tables over there, and keep the dance floor open.”

Sunset spread the table clothes neatly over the tables, and Celesto complimented, “Very nice, Sunset. I think they look just fine.”

She smiled at him, “We can’t thank you enough for all this; letting us have the prom here at the hotel.”

“Well, nothing’s too good for my graduating students; reminds me of my time in college before I joined the air force. Now those were parties. Of course I… didn’t actually attend them. I was busy with my studies, I just saw them.” He felt rather sheepish to admit all that, and cleared his throat as he headed back to work.

Sunset giggled when Twilight came up to her. “What was that all about?” she asked. Sunset felt it best not to tattle. “I have to head to the bathroom.”

Rainbow had already set up the Disc-Jockey station was grooving to the tunes. “Ah, yeah, this is going to go sweet tonight.”

“Can’t disagree with that…” Buddy agreed as he danced with her to the groove. Then they had to stop and keep working. “So, you found a date yet?” Rainbow asked. “Nah… It’s too late now. I’ll probably just hang with you guys… or maybe not even come.”

“What are you talking about? It’s not too late yet.”

Fluttershy and Rhymey came up to them, “I think I know someone you can take, Buddy.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, you know my friend, Tree Hugger? She teaches yoga at the community center.”

Buddy smiled almost lovingly, “Yeah, she’s beautiful. Real hip too, and she loves flowers and gardening as much as I do.”

Buddy had only run into Tree Hugger several times during his last year of High School when she had just transferred, and he was amazed how much he and she had in common when it came to plants and nature.

Fluttershy was hoping he would feel that way, “We’ve been talking to her, and… she thinks you’re dreamy.”

“What?” Buddy playfully snapped “Get real.”

Rhymey chuckled and said,

“No, she said it herself and it’s true.
If you ask her to prom, she’ll say yes to you.”

“Really…?” Buddy squeaked, but then he caught hold of himself “Oh, I mean…cool. I… uh…” he stuttered and stammered, “Bye!” and he dashed off.

The rangers exchanged funny expression and giggled softly, thinking Buddy was really going in hard, and they felt everything would be alright.

What nobody realized is that outside the hotel, the Sirens were hiding in the shrubs with Amp by their side. They saw Buddy leave the area. “I’m going to go follow him.” said Adagio “You three know what to do here?”

The others nodded, “Fear not…” hissed Amp “I’ll play those rangers a tune they won’t resist.”

As the rangers and others continued to work, they could suddenly hear the sound of music being played. “Rainbow, that’s enough testing the sound machine.” Celesto called.

“I’m not doing anything…” Rainbow said, and she pointed to the stage. No one was at the sound station controls, and that music was getting louder in frequency, and suddenly, Rainbow found herself dancing uncontrollably.

Then Fluttershy and Rhymey began to move and groove…

“What’s happening?” cried Fluttershy.

“I dance and I hop,
I can’t seem to stop!” said Rhymey.

Soon almost everyone in the entire room was dancing and grooving, and then everyone could hear the sounds of humming which made them all fall into a trance. Sonata and Aira came through the doors humming to the music. Behind them was Amp as he continued to play the music from his disc-machine, strengthening the trances.

Everyone just kept dancing, and their eyes were glowing bright green as the villains took the stage, and the two Sirens conversed in singing voices.

“It’s working, hey, they’re under our spell.” sang Aria. “We can bend them to our will like before, only better.” added Sonata. This was all thanks to the upgrades of their pendants, as well as the help of their monster friend.

“Why don’t we tune it up a notch?” hissed Amp and he made the music play faster and stronger, forcing the people to dance faster and harder, and because they were all in a trance, they couldn’t realize they were doing it, nor could they call out for help.

…And they didn’t have to!

Sunset finally came out of the washroom, only to realize everyone was dancing to some strange music playing, and some familiar voices humming. She didn’t seem to fall under the trance herself, but she recognized all this too well-- Everyone dancing uncontrollably, their eyes glowing green, and those voices singing!

“…It can’t be!” she cried to herself, and she raced to the front of the lobby and saw with her own eyes, Sonata and Aria singing on stage with a monster playing music, and cursing everyone into dancing.

“We’re gonna dance them ‘til they fall on the floor.” sang Sonata, “Ditto… then they won’t have a chance to fight against us at all.” added Aira.”

Sunset clenched her fists, and realized they had to be stopped. So she quietly slunk around to avoid being seen, in hopes to catch them by surprise.

Meanwhile, Buddy had reached the community center. He walked along the soft green grass by al the trees near the parking lot where the Yoga class was meeting. Kids sitting on multi-colored mats and waring loose clothes-- T-shirts and light pants fit for the exercises, and there she was.

A nineteen year-old light green skinned girl with big red dreadlocks and a bandanna atop her head, “There she is!” Buddy said nervously to himself, and he was already sweating a storm.

“Whoa! Great sesh, everyone; really dug the vibes.” Tree Hugger said to her students, “Bliss out for now, and keep those chakras smooth to keep the peace.”

The kids agreed and ran off into the community center to get their clothes, while Tree Huger was left to pack away the mats and her boom box that played soothing music and sounds.

She didn’t notice Buddy was staring at her from the other side of the grass-field. He was panting nervously trying to get a-hold himself, “Okay, Buddy… you can do this. She’s just a girl.” he said to himself.

Suddenly, as he finally began to move towards her, a swarm of Lingos appeared all around him. “Ah, man, not now!” he groaned. He had no choice, duty always came first, and he dashed off to fight the swarm, and he was so far away now, that Tree Hugger couldn’t hear a thing.

Buddy flipped over landing on his feet and began to attack brutally-- punching and kicking the Lingos one-by-one and knocking them all into bits of dandruff.

After they were gone, he looked back to where Tree Hugger was, only to find out she was gone. “I don’t believe this!” he groaned irritably.

Suddenly, he began to hear the sound of someone singing, and he was actually being levitated off the ground. “Hey, what’s happening?!” he cried, and that’s when he saw her…! “Adagio…?!”

“Long time, no see…” she sang, and her voice levitated him higher and higher, and she suddenly stopped and let him fall to the ground hard. He wasn’t hurt, but he was enraged, and in shock that she was actually here.

Adagio then began to sing again, and Buddy began to slowly fall into a trance himself. “Time for some payback…” Adagio sang, “You’re gonna suffer just like your friends for what you did to me and my gals!”

Buddy found himself slipping away as the trance got stronger and stronger. Suddenly he started dancing himself to Adagio’s power. She didn’t even need the monster there to handle just one ranger and nobody else.

Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Amp laughed wickedly, “Now this is my idea of golden tones. Soon, the rangers will all be destroyed, and nothing can stop up from taking over the world!

The two Sirens agreed as they kept on humming but suddenly, they heard someone shouting, and the monster turned just in time as Sunset came dashing across the stage and leapt over, kicking him hard in the chest and sent him crashing into the Sirens.

The three villains fell off stage, and the music stopped, which in turn broke the trance and released the people back to their senses.

“What happened?” asked Rainbow.

“Look!” cried Fluttershy pointing at the villains.

“Uh, oh…!” Sonata and Aira cried. They quickly got up and starting to sing again to restart the trance “Everyone, cover your ears and get out of here!” shouted Sunset.

Everyone, even the rangers and friends covered their ears and headed for the exit. “Oh, no you don’t! Party’s just getting started…” hissed Amp, and he spun his record hard creating a sonic wave of power that blasted as the door, shattering the glass, bursting the balloons and knocking many of the people off their feet, but they still kept their ears well-covered so as not to fall under the spell again.

Sunset stood before the villains ready to brawl, and the sirens knew the music wouldn’t affect her because she was an alien from the same world as they were. The natural Equestrian magic within her prevented her from falling under the spell.

“Looks like we blew it, Aria.” said Sonata. “Gee…! What was your first clue?” grumbled Aria. Amp stepped forth, “Leave this to me. I’ll teach her respect for the tunes.”

The girls agreed, and teleported away, which made sunset realize, “That’s Bronc’s technology! They’re working for Nacluv!”

“Wrong!” snapped Amp “Nacluv is history. We jive to a new era, and speaking of jiving! Adagio must be grooving it out with your other ranger pal!”

Sunset, gasped, “…Buddy!”

And indeed, Buddy was still suffering under Adagio’s spell, because unlike Sunset, he wasn’t originally from the Dimensional Universe, and only his actual Starfleet powers could shield him from the spell, but without his energizer it was no use!

Adagio kept right on singing, and Buddy kept on dancing unable to control himself. “Face it big you, time is almost up.” sang Adagio.

Even though Buddy couldn’t control his body, he could feel his exhaustion getting to him, and he couldn’t even speak to cry out for help.

Sunset felt very annoyed and worried, and her friends joined her by her side, and they looked ready to go. Sunset nodded and declared, “It’s Morphin’ Time!”

“Moprhing Sequence, Ready!”

“STARFLEET MAGIC… POWER ON!!”

Once they were morphed, they all headed outside and the monster chased them down-- this way they could fight more safely.

“You can’t run away from me!” Amp bellowed, “Time to face the music!” and he began to play more of his wicked music to try and control them all again, but this time, “Hey, nothing’s happening.” said Fluttershy

“Our helmets must be filtering out the soundwaves.” said Rainbow.

The monster realized this, but he wasn’t beaten yet, “As I said… DANCE!!” he thundered as he strummed his record, blasting a sonic-wave at them all, making sparks and explosions, knocking them all off their feet.

Amp laughed, “Now, let’s meet our new dancers…” and he summoned a load of Lingos to attack the team. “Get them!”

The Lingos charged forth. “Come on, guys… Let’s rumba!” said Sunset.

While the rangers dealt with the Lingos, actually using simple dance-steps to outwit them…

…Inside, now that they didn’t have to keep their ears covered, Twilight and Celesto slipped away from the crowds so as not to reveal their connections to the rangers.

“We need to activate Buddy’s morpher.” said Celesto “If he is being cursed by Adagio, this can help him.”

Twilight agreed and booted up her laptop, “Starting program now.”

Meanwhile, Buddy had just about had it; he was so tired from all the dancing that he flopped to the ground. “What’s the matter, had enough?” sang Adagio, and she approached him threateningly, “You’ll be the first to pay up.”

She was about finish him off in his weakened state, when suddenly Buddy’s morpher began to glow, startling her and knocking her out of sync with her spell. “What’s happening?” she cried.

“Morphing Sequence… Ready!”

“All right!” cried Buddy, and using what little strength he had left, “Starfleet Magic… Power On!” he morphed, which reenergized him to full strength. “That’s more like it!” he snapped as he bolted up onto his feet.

Adagio tried to sing him back under her spell, but Buddy’s helmet shielded him. “Let’s try a new dance…” he sneered as he stomped his way towards her, “It’s called Villain Beat down!”

Knowing she was beaten, and her friends appeared near her, “Adagio, let’s split!” shouted Sonata, “Yeah! Let the monster handle things.” added Aria.

Adagio nodded and bid Buddy, “Later.” and she and the others vanished.

Buddy grunted angrily, especially when he looked back to where Tree Hugger once was with her class. His chances of asking her to the prom totally crushed, but he had no time to dwell on that when his friends needed him, and off he went.

The rangers had just finished off the Lingos and were attacking the monster, but Amp managed to stave off their every attack and hit all the rangers with big punches, and he zapped them all with more of his sonic-waves, blowing them all over again.

“This guy’s really tough to beat,
He keeps knocking us off our feet.” cried Rhymey.

The monster snickered, “And this time you’ll stay down. It’s time for the last dance, rangers.” He stomped forth ready to blast them all again… when suddenly, his arm got lassoed by the plasma whip preventing him from reaching his hi-fi!

“Buddy!” cried Sunset.

“Mind if I cut in…” Buddy teased, and he yanked on his whip hard flipping Amp over on his back. “Hey! No cutsies!” he whined.

The rangers regrouped…

…But back at the tower, the villains regrouped as well as The Sirens stormed in. “Keto, do it!” shouted Adagio.

“Coming right up…!” Keto complied, “FORTISSIMO!”

“Hey, that’s kind of cool.” said Sonata.

The mugic flew to the island and worked its power to turn Amp into a giant. “Whoa! These feet were made for stomping and that’s just what they’ll do!” he roared.

The rangers grunted and Sunset activated her morpher. “Launch Star-Jets…!”

“Summon Zords!”

The jets were launched, the rangers beamed aboard and the jets combined at once.

“Jet-Star Megazord, Ready!”

“Ha! So you wanna dance, huh?” scoffed Amp “Then let’s boogie!” and he began to use his magic music again which actually made the megazord start dancing all on its own.

“The controls are locked out!” cried Sunset.

“The high-frequency sounds must be tuned to our systems!” shouted Rainbow.

The rangers pounded and pulled on their controls, but couldn’t get their megazord under control.

Amp laughed at them, “Now, why don’t we do another little dance; Breakdance, that is.” By “Breakdance” he meant controlling the megazord to dance straight towards the hotel and would smash into it.

“It’s coming straight at us!” shouted Celesto.

Twilight typed into her laptop all she could, “It’s no use! I can’t get the remote-control unit to function. The H.F waves are blocked me out!”

The megazord was getting closer and would soon smash the building to bits!

“It’s no good, we can’t get her under control!” shouted Buddy.

“Oh, we’re going to crash!
Smash it to trash!” shouted Rhymey.

“Oh, my!” whimpered Fluttershy, and she covered her helmet visor with her gloves, not wanting to watch.

Celesto suddenly had an idea, “Send in the Comet Striker, and fly it exactly where I tell you to.”

Twilight complied, “Summoning zord!”

Even without Lightning being there, just as promised, the reprograming summoned the battle armor and it all connected together into a remote-controlled fighting machine.

“Comet Striker, Ready!”

With Twilight controlling it from her laptop, she steered the zord on a course right into town, and she set its sighting on the monster from afar. “Target acquired.”

Celesto nodded, “Ram it!”

Twilight pounded on the controls, and the Comet Striker zoomed straight for the monster, keeping well away from the soundwaves so as not get affected.

“Huh?” Amp shouted, and WHAMM!! He was rammed really hard and crashed overtop his hi-fi system, destroying it and stopping the soundwaves, freeing the megazord from the curse just in time.

“Hey, we’ve got control again!” cried Sunset.

“Yes! Way to go, Twilight!” Rainbow cheered.

Amp got up wailing, “My tunes! They’re all smashed up! Rotten rangers…!”

“Aw, don’t feel bad. We still have one last dance for you!” sneered Sunset “Ultra-Star Megazord!”

“Zords Combine!”

“Ultra-Star Megazord… Ready!”

Once the megazord was formed, the rangers had already charged up the energy charge.

“STAR BLAST WAVE… FIRE!!” the wave was unleashed, enveloping the monster. “I’M TUNING OUT!!” he screamed, and he exploded, was imprisoned and beamed into the cockpit.

The rangers rejoiced and Sunset declared, “Monster Captured! Mission Complete!”

Back at the tower, The Sirens were outraged, and Marla couldn’t help but mock them, “Well, well… looks like you’re not as skilled you thought you were. The rangers beat you anyway.”

The angry girls turned towards her, and each sang a note levitating her off the ground and then dropping her on her bottom! “Ouch!”

Bronc and Keto winced, while the girls snuffed, “We’ve been locked up a long time, and it’s our first day on the job! Give us a break!” growled Adagio.

“We need more time to perfect ourselves,” said Aria “And in the meantime, we’ll just let the rangers think they’ve won.”

Sonata just scratched her head and shrugged.

Later on, despite the minimal damages done, it wasn’t too serious and the prom was not canceled. Everyone was fixed back up easily, except for the broken front doorway, which Celesto planned to have completely renovated.

The graduation speeches and acceptances were already well over with, and now the big party was on. Everyone was dressed in their finest formal wear. Rhymey and Fluttershy were already dancing with each other, and Twilight was dancing with her brother as promised.

The other three rangers all stood together, even Buddy was there, though he was still feeling a bit bummed about not having his own date to dance with.

“Oh, cheer up, Buddy. It could be worse.” said Sunset. “Yeah, you could be here with one of The Sirens.” Rainbow joked. As funny as the others felt, they knew it was no joke now that The Sirens were on the loose, and teamed up with Nacluv’s former minions. All the rangers knew they would have to remain on the tips of their toes now.

“Hey… at least I have my friends, and that’s cool to me.” Buddy said.

The girls patted his shoulders and smiled at him for being such a good sport, and such good sport was about to be rewarded…!

Buddy felt a small tap on his back behind him. He turned round and was surprised! There she was, wearing a beautiful lilac gown, and in place of her bandana, she wore a small band of white flowers. “Hi, Bud…”

He couldn’t help but stammer, “T-Tr-Tree Hugger… Uh, where’s your date?”

She giggled, “Actually, I was coming to chill with Rhymey and Fluttershy, but they told me you’d be here and… well…” she paused “They told me you tried to ask me…”

Buddy looked over his shoulder, and Rhymey and Fluttershy both winked at him.

Buddy felt so nervous he didn’t know what to do until Rainbow patted him forward, “Well don’t just stand there, boy. Ask her to dance.”

“Um…” he stammered “Would you like to dance with me?”

She grinned rather lovingly at him, “…Groovy.” and she took his hand and the both walked off to the dance floor.

As they danced along, they passed Rhymey and Fluttershy, “Thank you!” he whispered to them, and his friends smiled back at him.

Rainbow and Sunset then went to get some punch, and wouldn’t you know who was serving it; Nikki, and she looked just as sour as ever. “What do you dweebettes want?” she groaned.

“Uh… some punch.” Rainbow remarked.

Nikki sighed and poured the girls each a glass, and she decided to get a little even with them for making her feel so bad. So she got out a small vial of extremely sour lemon juice and spiked one of the glasses.

“You know, Nikki… you don’t have to feel ashamed.” said Sunset.

“What do you mean? I’m not ashamed.”

Rainbow shook her head, “Ah, come on, girl. Lighten up. You’ve graduated high school, and that’s quite a feat. Compared to this, having a date doesn’t matter. Maybe you’re smarter than any cute boy could be.”

Nikki took what she said seriously, and actually felt a little better, “Gee… thanks.” she said with an honest smile on her face. Sunset and Rainbow then poured their own glasses of punch and walked off leaving Nikki feeling almost touched, “They’re probably the nicest peeps I ever hated.” she said to herself, and she was lost in her sudden feelings that she took a sip from the very glass of punch she had just spiked!!

At once she gasped and her face cringed as her eyes watered, but the others took no noticed and just continued to enjoy a lovely night.

Even Celesto was very pleased to see all the students enjoying the festivities, and he too received a slight pat on his back from his wife, who had taken the night off, leaving the babies in their Aunt Luna’s care, “May I have this dance?” she asked him.

He smiled lovingly at her, and they joined the rest of the crowd on that beautiful night.

Episode 12: Star Light, Satellite

EPISODE TWELVE

The Congo, Africa…

It was sundown there, and a kindly lady was walking home from with a bag of groceries in her hand, when suddenly a man dashed by and stole her purse! “My purse!” the lady cried “Stop that man!”

The man pulled out a gun as he ran warning the people, “Anyone who tries DIES!!” and his threat seemed to work as the people backed off… except for one person-- Lightning Dawn, who came leaping from around a corner and kicked the gun out of the man’s hand.

The man, still deterred grabbed another gun out from his coat, but before he could try and use it, Krysta came soaring in and snatched the gun away, leaving the man to face Lightning hand-to-hand, but of course he didn’t have a chance against martial arts that Lightning knew, and he was knocked out cold after one good kick to the chest and hitting his head on the ground.

Lightning returned the purse to the woman, and she was ever so grateful. “How can I ever repay you?” she humbly asked, and Lightning replied “I’m looking for someone. Her name is Zecora…”

The woman suddenly turned frightened and ran away in fear. “No, wait…!” Lightning called but she had already gone, and so had everyone else when they heard him mention that name. “Ugh! This happens every time!” Lightning groaned.

Krysta landed on his shoulder, “It’s getting late, let’s just go back to the hotel room.”

Lightning agreed, and off he went.

He had just arrived in The Congo two days ago, and he asked people if they knew about Zecora, but every time he asked, the people would run away scared.

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to check out the jungle tomorrow.” Lightning said. “I was afraid of that.” murmured Krysta, but she knew it was vital to their mission to find Zecora or any clues that could help them find her.

“I wonder what the others are up to.” Krysta wondered.

It was only midday on Mystic Island, and Sunset was in the park by herself starring at a single large rock on the ground before her. “Okay… come on, Sunset. You can do this.” she said to herself, and she held her hands out over the rock and stared at it hard. The rock began to glow softly in a white light and it quivered, but then it just stopped, and Sunset groaned, “No, no… come on!” and she tried even harder, only to make the rock explode and throwing her back.

Everyone else in the park turned to face her way.

Twilight and Spike, out on their usual walk, saw her and dashed over to help their friend. “Are you okay?” Twilight asked. “What were you doing?” added Spike, but he spoke softly so as not for other people to hear him.

Sunset got back onto her feet and brushed off her clothes, “I was trying to home in on my natural magic, but it’s just not working. I thought maybe it could help us if The Sirens try to attack again.”

Twilight and Spike thought that a great idea and maybe it would give the ranger team another edge in the long battle ahead. “Come on, let’s go to the base.” said Twilight “We can try running some tests.”

Sunset leapt at the idea, and off they went… far, far away from the park and away from prying eyes so they could use a jump-tub, and they headed off to the base.

(Que Intro)

At the prison tower, Bronc showed his latest creation, via the computer screens, to The Sirens, “Behold, Mi-Ladies… this satellite shall be put into the planet’s orbit. Once it is established, you will have the power to transmit your enchanted singing into powerful electronic-waves.”

The Sirens took great interest in the images they saw, “And with this,” said Adagio “Anyone who is anywhere will fall under our trance.”

“Mmm… I like this, a lot.” hissed Aria.

Keto cleared his throat, “Hate to be a wet blanket, but what if the rangers get wise to us?”

“We’ve thought of that,” said Sonata “We asked Marla to select a special monster to keep us backed up. What’s taking her so long?”

That’s when Marla came in and cleared her throat, “Presenting a monster very dazzling, not as good as me, but just the same… Starlight!”

Starlight: A beautiful monster wearing a white and silvery shining outfit and skirt with big stars all over. Her skin was all gold and shimmering and she had long hair, almost as long as Marla’s, with more stars and shimmers. As well as being able to traverse through space, she had the power to shoot laser beams out of her eyes, launch pulse blasts from her hair, and throw her stars like shurikens “Twinkle-Twinkle, I’m ready for a fight.” she hissed.

Adagio snickered as she and the other two stroked their pendants, “…It’s blast off time. We’re going to rock the world.”

At the base, Twilight ran all the tests that she could and invited the other rangers to watch and help if needed.

Sunset was sitting in a chair, and around her head she wore a band of wires that were connected into machines that would help her focus. “Okay, Sunset, try it again.” Twilight said as she placed a simple tennis ball on the table before her.

Sunset took a deep breath and relaxed as Twilight activated the machines.

Fluttershy twitched nervously, and she squeezed Rhymey’s hand making him groan softly, but he, too, was just as nervous.

“Okay, here goes…” Sunset said, and she focussed her sight on the ball, concentrating hard. The machines began to hum and vibrate, getting louder and stronger as Sunset continued to focus.

The ball began to quiver. It seemed to be working, but suddenly the whole table began to vibrate, and the warning buzzer sounded. “System overload!” cried Twilight.

“Quick! Shut it all down!” shouted Celesto.

Sunset gasped and stopped herself, and quickly threw the headband off just as just as sparks began to fly from some of the consoles! The rangers all ducked down and everything powered down before too much damage was done.

The rangers helped Sunset up. “Are you alright?” asked Buddy. “What happened?” added Rainbow.

“I don’t know…” groaned Sunset, but Twilight inspected the damage, “The circuitry overloaded and shorted out. It was too much for it to handle.”

Celesto shook his head, “It’s too dangerous to continue like this. We can’t keep risking our equipment or Sunset. I think we should forget this for now.”

The team reluctantly agreed.

“I don’t understand it. It’s worked several times before.” Sunset recounted during the final battle with Vulcan, and how her natural magic activated, even though she didn’t have her energizer, her magic saved them all and put Vulcan out of commission for good.

Then the magic was present again when the rangers were almost broiled alive in Fryer’s pot. If the magic hadn’t kicked in, they all would have been cooked!

“Never mind, Sunset.” said Celesto, and he addressed the team “Anyway, I have a new mission for you all.”

Everyone followed him to the main chamber where he showed them his latest idea on the monitors; a satellite in orbit around the Earth. “This is part of my company. It helps to monitor our accounts and phone signals, but now we’re going to make a little adjustment.”

He typed into the console and showed a simulation of a big dish being attached to the satellite, “This adjustment with launch a powerful but harmless field of high-frequency waves that can block out The Sirens hypnotic powers.”

The rangers were highly impressed with all this. “And that means The Sirens won’t be able to brainwash people and use them to their advantage.” said Buddy.

“Exactly.” added Celesto “We head out at once.”

“Wait… “We?” asked Fluttershy. “Yes. I’m coming with you this time” replied Celesto, and the team looked at him with concern, “Well, do you any of you know how to tinker with satellites? Do any of you even know how to spacewalk?”

The rangers stammered, but it was obvious they didn’t, and would need Celesto’s experience as an astronaut. “Right, that’s settled. Prepare the star-jets.”

Soon, the star jets were prepared with the dish mounted atop Sunset’s jet. Celesto got out one of his old spacesuits and extra oxygen and he hugged Celestia warmly. “I’m really worried about you doing this.” she whispered to him. Her husband understood; the past several times he went into space he ended up in grave danger, “Well, third time lucky.” he joked nervously, “I have to do this, or The Sirens will have a free hand. You understand, right?”

Celestia nodded, and she kissed him deeply, which brought tears to some of the rangers’ eyes.

Celesto then pecked the babies heads, “You two behave now.” he said sweetly them, and the babies only cooed while reaching up at their father.

“Good luck, Celesto.” said Luna. Her brother-in-law nodded, and then he fit his helmet on. “Okay, let’s begin.”

The rangers, already morphed, put on their own helmets and beamed into their respective jets. Celesto road in the extra seat behind Sunset, and the jets were tilted upright on a launching ramp.

“Radio check, Rangers…” Sunset called, and her other teammates called to her.

“Green Ranger: read to fly.”

“Blue Ranger: Let’s kick it.”

“Yellow Ranger: Ready and Steady.”

“Pink Ranger: Um… Okay.”

Celesto nodded, “… Three, Two, One… launch!”

POW!! The thrusters fired and the jets rocketed into the sky. “WHAA-HOO!! I Love this part!” cried Rainbow. The other rangers sat back and enjoyed the ride too, but Fluttershy still felt frightened out of her wits every time, but she tried her best not to scream.

Meanwhile, the villains had observed everything and were well aware what the rangers were up to. “Get up there, quickly!” Adagio shouted, “Whatever it takes, don’t let them get their satellite in orbit.”

“Right…! Time for this star to shine!” said Starlight, and she glowed with a mystical light and rocketed up into the sky, and at the same time, Bronc sent up the satellite on a small rocket he had built, which was coated in the same metals as the tower, meaning that no earth force could detect it. Even the rangers couldn’t detect it.

Ket even aimed his staff up high at Starlight, “FORTISSIMO!” and made her grow in midair. “There, that should give her a boost. Let’s see the rangers get out of this one.”

The rangers had made it into orbit, and were approaching the satellite target. Sunset parked her jet on free float several feet away. “Okay, we’re in position. She’s all yours, sir.”

“Here I go.” said Celesto, and with the canopy slowly opening, Celesto slowly began to rise out of his seat, using hit suit thrusters to keep steady. “Twilight, have you got a lock on us?”

From the base, Twilight viewed everything on the monitors and the radar. “Everything’s A-Okay. You’re clear to proceed. We got your family here too.”

The two sisters sat in chairs right next to her, and each holding one of the babies in their laps. “Wave high to Daddy…” Celestia cooed waving Castor’s little arm and Luna wave Lelani’s

Celesto chuckled over the radio, and then he set to work while the rangers maintained a constant vigil. They wanted to make sure nothing bad would happen to Celesto this time.

“If anything happens to you this time,
We’ll be here to help you on a dime.” said Rhymey.

“Thanks, Rhymey. It makes this job feel all the more easy.” said Celesto, and he set to work reconfiguring the satellite systems so the dish could be attached. “How’s the view looking?”

The rangers looked around in astonishment at the wonders of space all around them, and their beautiful planet below. “It’s so beautiful. So silent.” said Fluttershy.

Spike felt a little envious of the others as he viewed everything on the screens, “I wish I could be up there. It looks so cool.”

Twilight stroked him softly, “Maybe someday, Spike.”

Buddy looked all around, and suddenly he thought he saw something!

“Buddy, what’s wrong?” asked Sunset.

“It’s nothing; I just saw a small shooting star in the atmosphere. I guess I’m just a little edgy. I keep thinking something’s going to happen any second.”

“Ah, don’t let it get to you.” said Rainbow “There’s nothing out here that’ll get at us.”

…Right at that split second, “Rangers, alert!” cried Twilight.

“I think you spoke too soon.” said Fluttershy.

“What’s up, Twilight?” asked Sunset. “I’ve detected a strong sign of alien activity heading straight your way. It only just came up on the screen. I don’t know where it came from through.”

The rangers checked their radars and could see a little blip a-ways ahead of them and heading their way. “We’ve got to check it out.” said Buddy.

Fluttershy looked over at Celesto, “We can’t just leave you.”

“I’ll be fine; you rangers go and stop whatever that is. I’ll call you when I’ve finished here. Now go!”

Heeding this, the rangers rocketed off in their jets. “Look sharp guys, it’s coming up fast.” said Sunset.

Suddenly, almost without warning, there was a bight twinkle in the distance and something zoomed past the five jets spinning them round in circles. The rangers quickly leveled themselves off, “What the heck was that?” snapped Buddy.

“That, Rangers…” snarled a deep voice, “…was the beginning of your defeat.”

The Rangers could all see the monster clear as the stars themselves. “Get her!” shouted Sunset, and she and the rangers pointed their jets straight at Starlight, but before they could even pull their weapon triggers, Starlight zoomed past them all again spinning them out like crazy.

“I can’t stand this whirl!
I think I may hurl!” shouted Rhymey.

The rangers leveled off, but Starlight zoomed past them again spinning them in the other direction. Then she stopped, “Now have a taste of the stars!” and she fluffed out her long hair, firing a barrage of pulse blasts pulse-blasts at the spinning jets.

The poor rangers were rocked about harder than ever. “I’m gonna blow chunks everywhere!” Rainbow cried.

Starlight laughed hysterically and mockingly sang,

“Twinkle-Twinkle, Power Geeks,
You’re going go down in star-streaks!”

From afar, Celesto looked up and he couldn’t bear to watch this too much longer as it distracted him from his work. “Rangers, form the megazord. Then you won’t spin out as much.”

Sunset, just barely hanging on, complied. “He’s right!” she groaned “Let’s bring it together guys.”

The rangers all sickly called, “RIGHT!” and they activated the transformation-sequence.

“Zords Combine!”

“Jet-Star Megazord, Ready!”

The rangers all felt a little better as they sat in the cockpit. “All right, let’s try this again.” said Sunset.

“Ha!” scoffed Starlight “You think I’m impressed? Take this!” and she zoomed past them again.

“Firing jet thrusters!” shouted Rainbow, and powerful rockets fired from beneath the megazords feet, which stopped them from spinning out. “Good thing we had those installed.” said Fluttershy. “Sure makes it easier to fight in space.” added Buddy

“Oh, yeah?” sneered the monster, and she grabbed three of the stars off her dress and toss them like shurikens, hitting the megazord hard and rocking the rangers inside.

“That’s it! Now I’m mad!” snarled Rainbow, and she rammed on the controls making the megazord thrust forth, “Bye-Bye!” Starlight said as she zipped out of the way.

“Where’d she go?” asked Fluttershy.

“Can’t say so.” rhymed Rhymey.

Suddenly, lasers began to shoot all around them. “She’s bombarding us!” cried Sunset.

“Really…? I didn’t notice!” snapped Buddy.

Suddenly, there she was just ahead of them, waving and taunting, “You-hoo! Here I am!”

The rangers zoomed at her, only for her zip off instantly. “Hey! Over here!”

“She’s toying with us!” growled Rainbow. “We’ve got to try and stop her!”

What the rangers didn’t realize was the monster was only distracting them to allow Bronc’s satellite to assemble itself in orbit, a little ways away from the battle zone.

Bronc snickered wickedly, “The satellite is in perfect orbit. Power levels at full and ready to go. When you’re ready, Mistresses…”

Adagio smirked, “Well done, Bronc. This is going to be sweet.”

Marl and Keto felt insulted. “What about us?” whined Marla “I chose the monster.”

“Yeah, and I made her grow.” wailed Keto.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” said Aria “Let’s just take over the world first and then comment one another.”

“Come on, let’s jam!” said Sonata, and she and the others warmed up their voices as they stepped up to a microphone linked to the satellite controls, and they began to sing of their own songs: “Under our Spell!”

As they sang, the minions, the Lingos, practically all the prisoners in the tower grooved to the beat, while at the same time, the sound was beamed up to the satellite and transmitted in soundwaves all over the world.

People in the streets suddenly stopped dead in their tracks as they head the music.

People who were in bed and asleep awoke to the sound.

Even Lightning and Krysta heard the song in The Congo, “What’s that sound?” asked Krysta. “I don’t know,” said Lightning “But it feels so…” he didn’t finish as his eyes glowed green and he began to groove to the cool beat, and Krysta did the same, as did everyone anywhere who heard the sound.

However, within the rangers’ base, Twilight and the others were unaffected due to being too far underground, and the strong metallic padding of the metal shielded them as well.

The alarms sounded, making the babies cry! “Oh, it’s okay, kids. It’s okay….” Celestia said as she and Luna comforted the babies. “Kill hose alarms!” Luna called out, and the alarms were switched off.

“What’s going on?” Spike asked.

Twilight typed into the computers and could see the people in the streets all acting strangely and some strange music playing in the air. “It’s The Sirens!” cried Twilight, “But I don’t see them anywhere.”

Luna and Celestia looked at the monitors and judged by the many people affected at once, “The must be transmitting their song somehow.” said Luna. “Can you detect the source?” asked Celestia. “No, I can’t. The signal’s locked out, I can’t trace it, but it has to be from somewhere.”

Celestia picked up the mic and spoke to her husband, “Celesto…!”

“Yes, Celestia, I heard.” replied Celesto, “There can only be one explanation…” he looked up and could see just a little ways towards the horizon a soft glowing light form another satellite, not of Earth-Design. “Rangers, you must destroy that satellite!”

The rangers understood, except they were still being taunted and attacked mercilessly by Starlight, “Kind of preoccupied here!” Rainbow said.

Celesto groaned, “Twilight, can you send up the Comet Striker?”

“Negative! The sound waves are interfering with the summon control.”

Celesto sighed, and clenched his fists, “I guess it’s up to me then. I’ll have to destroy it myself.”

“What?!” snapped Celestia “Honey, don’t!”

“Are you crazy?!” added Spike.

“There’s no argument! I have to!” said Celesto, and he fired his jets and leaping hard off his own satellite. “I hope my fuel supply can hold out.”

The monster was so busy having fun beating the rangers up that she didn’t see the tiny astronaut going past her.

“You rangers haven’t a chance!” she thundered, “I am master of all the cosmos. This is my domain, where I rule!” and with that, she blasted the rangers hard with her laser, and threw more stars at them making the megazord flip over and over backward.

“I’m getting really tired of this spinning!” groaned Fluttershy, and she reached for the controls to correct the rotation, “No, wait…!” snapped Sunset “I think I have an idea, just trust me.”

“Ugh… I hope we can hold out!
In all this tumbling…Ooh… about!” groaned Rhymey.

The monster gazed at the tumbling megazord and taunted “What’s wrong, Rangers, feeling space sick? Well, let me put you out of your misery!” and she prepared to sprint forth, exactly what Sunset waited for. “Now…!”

The megazord drew it’s saber and gave a huge slash just as Starlight was about to ram it, hitting her hard and making a big explosion that sent her tumbling backwards! “Hey! You can’t do that! It’s not fair!” she whined.

The megazord finally straightened out and looked ready to face her. The monster was livid, “I’ll show you!” and she dashed forth, but much slower than before due to being struck so hard.

“It’s worked!” cried Sunset “That should level the field a bit.”

The megazord could now avoid Starlight’s attacks much easier, and hit her with its own attacks full force.

“Take this!” shouted Starlight as threw more stars, “Think again!” sneered Rainbow, and she fired the rockets boosting the megazord way up avoiding the stars, then soaring down hard and ramming the monster sending her down towards Earth, but she rocketed right back up again, “Why you…!” she thundered and extended her hair.

“Look out!” cried Fluttershy.

Starlight unleashed a barrage of pulse-blasts and fired her eye-lasers. The megazord swerved round the blasts, and used its sword to block more shots, but still got hit by other blasts.

At least they were keeping the monster well distracted as Celesto finally reached the alien satellite. “The Sirens’ little operation is about to have a mechanical accident.” He said to himself as he prepared move in and sabotage the machine, but suddenly, before he could start, the satellite fired another beam at him and held him in place.

“Celesto!” cried Celestia.

“Oh, no!” added Luna.

The rangers saw this as well, “Mr. Grandruler!” cried Sunset. “What’s happening to him?” asked Rainbow.

A small monitor-screen came out from the satellite, and Bronc appeared on it, laughing at them. “Just a little precaution I took.”

Celesto struggled and fired his jets to the point of exhausting the last of his fuel, but he couldn’t break free from the tractor-beam.

“You let him go right now!
Or we’ll bust you, and how!” shouted Rhymey, but the rangers were suddenly rocked about, as Starlight latched onto the megazord, grasping it hard to prevent it from moving at all. “We’ve got a better idea…” she hissed “You rangers surrender, and we just may not throw your precious leader down to Earth.”

The rangers were flustered! Neither one of them, not even Celesto could see a way out of this so easily. Worse than that, every second they delayed, The Sirens’ soundwaves continued to spread and affected more and more people all over the world.

“Time’s wasting, Rangers,” Bronc called “What’s it going to be? Or perhaps I should make things a little more persuasive!” With that, he pressed a controller he was holding which extended a claw like crane and placed it round Celesto’s helmet, threatening to crush it and expose him to the deadliness of space.

Celesto reached up and pushed on the claws as hard as he could, but of course the weightlessness didn’t help him find the push he needed. “Surrender while you can, Rangers, or say farewell to your friend here first!”

The rangers pushed on the controls all they could, but the megazord couldn’t break free from Starlight’s grip, and the claw was starting to close in round Celesto’s helmet.

Celestia, tearfully looked away from the computers and buried her face in her sister’s shoulder.

Even Spike couldn’t look and jumped into Twilight’s lap, whimpering.

Sunset watched in horror and extreme worry as this seemed to be it. She then looked down at her hands, clenched them into fists and decided to try one last idea. She stood up from her seat.

“What are you doing?” Rainbow asked.

Sunset then held both her hands at the viewport and concentrated. “Sunset, don’t…!” cried Buddy, but Sunset began to glow brightly as she focussed on the alien satellite, which also began to glow.

“What?!” snapped Bronc, “What’s happening?!” he fiddled with the controls all he could, but nothing responded, and his monitor went out as the magic got stronger.

The megazord started to glow too, “Hey… Hey…! What is this?!” shouted Starlight. The megazord began to quiver as it gained strength and power back, and the rangers weren’t even touching the controls.

In a swift shock, the megazord sprung its arms and legs out, knocking the monster off, and the alien satellite began to malfunction and spark from within, deactivating its tractor beam, freeing Celesto.

Sunset then gave a huge roar, and POW!! Like magic, the satellite was kicked out of orbit like a soccer-ball, and headed straight for the sun, crashing into it and was gone!

“My satellite!” shouted Bronc.

“OUR TRANSMISSION!!” cried The Sirens

With the satellite gone, the transmission waves ceased, and the people slowly began to awaken from the spell all over the world, including Lightning and Krysta.

“They did it!” cried Twilight.

Celestia turned and wiped her eyes smiling in relief.

Sunset’s magic ceased, “I did it!” she cried “I really did it!”

“Way to go!” cried Rainbow.

“Awesome!” added Buddy.

The monster was outraged! “You think it’s over? I’ll blast you rangers into stardust!”

Sunset sat down at her station, “Not before we fix you! Star Saber Power up!”

“Star Saber… Engage!”

The saber was powered up and ready! “STAR SLASH… GO!!” shouted the rangers, and the megazord slashed at the monster sending the large star straight for her. “Whoa!” Starlight cried as she tried to dash for it, but she foolishly couldn’t outfly or avoid it and got struck hard.

“FALLING STAR…!!” she hollered as she exploded just like that. She was imprisoned and beamed inside the cockpit. “Well done, Rangers!” Celesto called to them.

The team at the base rejoiced as well as the rangers, and Sunset made the call, “Monster Captured! Mission Complete!”

“Um… not quite complete.” said Celesto “We still have one job left.

The rangers remembered, and then made the megazord scooped him up in its hand and took back to their own satellite to finish the installment.

Meanwhile, the villains were all outraged. “I can’t believe they got out of it, again!” whined Marla.

Bronc angrily threw his remote to the ground, smashing it to bits. “How did they do it?”

The Sirens, as frustrated as they were, could already tell the problem, “Red Ranger must be homing in on her natural magic.” said Adagio “She used it on us once before. Nothing else could explain it.”

“Well that’s just dandy.” grumbled Keto “What if she learns to master it? We won’t have a chance against the rangers.”

“Quit your whining…!” snarled Aria “It’s obvious she hasn’t mastered them, which still leaves us with an open edge. We’ll just have to work harder to beat them all the next time before it gets worse.”

Sonata nodded, and then she asked “That means we’ll win right?” The other two and the minions could only sigh in annoyance. “…What?”

With the satellite finally reprogramed and adjusted, it was already doing its think and firing its filter-waves into the air around the world. Now The Sirens wouldn’t be able to hypnotize people with their music anymore.

“Well done, Rangers.” said Celesto as he sat atop the megazord overlooking the Earth below “But even with this satellite, we haven’t stopped The Sirens entirely. They will strike again. Who knows what other mysterious powers they may have?”

The rangers all agreed, but they were all still curious about Sunset and her magic. “How did you do it?” asked Buddy.

“I’m not sure.” Sunset confessed, “I tried and tried before and it didn’t work like it just did.”

Rhymey thought it over and recounted the past times the magic had been used perfectly.

“Perhaps it is because
of all the danger there was.

You hated to see any of us in danger, and all the world too.
That could be the answer of why the magic worked for you.”

“He could be right…” said Fluttershy “After all, we normally only use our super powers for good cause and reason.”

“Yeah, but what about our super strengths and speeds?” asked Rainbow, to which Buddy responded, “That’s naturally enhanced genes. They were given to us by magic, but it’s not quite the same as the magical powers Sunset used.”

Regardless of any of this, at least they had a clue to help Sunset regain control of her powers, but they all decided that this would come in time. For now, they all just headed back down to Earth to await their next mission.

Episode 13: Break like the Wind

EPISODE THIRTEEN

Mystic Island, apart from having the big metropolis on it, also had a few small farmlands, and Equestrian Clubs, and things like that.

It had been a week since Summer Vacation, and Star Camp would be open soon for attendees. Though none of the rangers would actually be able to attend this year since they all had work and college studies, as well as their ranger duties, but today, they were all at a horse ranch on the western side of the island where the fields were wide open and very lush with forests and trails all around…

All the rangers were helping ride horses to help determine which ones were perfect to send to Star Camp as part of the horse activities. Twilight was with them too, and so was Principal Celestia; as an ex-champion horse-rider and jumper, this was her perfect activity, test riding the horses.

The girls found this all wonderful too as they all walked their horses through down the trail. Fluttershy giggled as she felt the wobbling of the horse walking, “This feels kind of funny.”

Celestia rode up alongside her and instructed, “Squeeze your knees more, then you won’t wobble so much.”

Fluttershy did as she was told, and she stopped wobbling. She took a moment to pat the horse kindly, to which the horse nickered happily.

Buddy and Rhymey on the other hand didn’t feel so optimistic. They weren’t exactly into horses like the girls were.

“I feel like a fool.
This is so uncool.” Rhymey groaned.

“Ah, come on, Rhymey. This is fun.” said Twilight, “I wish I had done this sooner.

Buddy could only sigh, “Whatever it is that draws chicks and horses together, I’ll never know.”

The girls could only roll their eyes at the typical boy-mannter.

“Hey, the field’s wide open here.” said Sunset “Maybe we could gallop?”

“Ah, yeah, I’m up for that.” said Rainbow.

“Did she say “gallop”?” Buddy asked, and you can bet both he and Rhymey were not up for it.

“No Sir'ee!
Not Me!” said Rhymey. Buddy argeed and both decided to just get off, but Celestia rode up behind them, “Oh, no, you don’t, boys.” she scolded, “We need to test the horses' speeds and durability, and that means galloping. If we do it, then so do you. Okay?”

The boys sighed but they complied.

Soon everyone was galloping across the fields and feeling the wind in their hairs. “YEE-HAW! Ride ‘em, girl…!” Rainbow hollered.

“This is so neat!” cried Twilight.

The boys were bouncing up and down like eggs in a frying pan, and they looked really silly.

“Okay, get ready to stop!” Celestia called, “And… Whoa!” the girls all stopped their horses perfectly, and Rhymey did too, but while Buddy stopped his horse he felt so numb from all that rough bouncing that he slipped right off the saddle and landed on a pile of dung in the ground.

“Eww…!!” everyone else exclaimed, and Buddy carefully got up and observed the stained back of his pants, “I guess it was number two.” he grumbled. That’s when the others couldn’t help but laugh at him softly.

(Que Intro)

The gang rode back to the stables. Buddy’s filthy pants stained the saddle seat. “Luckily for me I keep spare pairs in my backpack.” he said, and he went off to change. The others were still chuckling softly at how funny it was for him to fall in horse dung.

The Ranch Owner, whose name was Bill came out of his house with Celesto after discussing a business deal for the horses, “I’m truly grateful for what you’ve done for us.” Celesto said. “Oh, it’s nothing…” replied Bill “The horses get well-treated, everyone gets a fine ride, and also… a little cold hard cash never hurt anyone either.”

Then Bill headed off to do some of his own chores, but he stopped a moment and sniffed the horrible smell. “Ooh, is that what I think it is?” he asked.

Rainbow came with the dirty saddle in her hands, “It sure is.” and she went off to clean it. Celesto gave her a hand and showed her the proper way to clean a saddle from his experience as a former stable-hand. “That’s right, don’t use too much polish or the seat will be slippery.”

Fluttershy helped to feed the horses. “There now, some nice oats for you, and if you eat it all… I’ve got sugar-cubes.”

The horses eyes twinkled and they began to eat up their lunch.

Sunset and Rhymey were mucking out the stalls, and wearing clothes pegs on their noses to block the horrible smell. “Ugh!” Sunset groaned as she scooped a bunch of dirty hay into a wheelbarrow, “This stuff is way gross.”

“You’re telling me
It sure is nasty.” agreed Rhymey, and the horse in the stall next door let out a huge toot followed by a huge plopping sound.

Sunset and Rhymey gawked at one another, not liking how that sounded and almost not wanting to go get it right away.

Celesto could only chuckle at them, “Trust me,” he warned them, “It’s grosser than it looks.”

He then heard the sound of a horse neighing outside. He walked out of the stables and saw Celestia still ridding.

She looked so proud and beautiful with the wind blowing in her long hair. Celesto sighed heavenly at some of the good memories it brought back, of when he was a simple stable-boy working at the Equestrian club. That was where they met and began to fall in love, and when he made enough money, he bought a horse for her; Bud, whom, everyone remembered, was euthanized after a serious accident that broke two of his legs.

The years after that were hellish, but everyone already knew the story and it was all well behind them, and they preferred to focus on the here and now.

Meanwhile, at the prison tower, The Sirens smelled something awful. “Eww, what is that!” Adagio groaned. “Ugh, it makes me want to gag!” said Aria. Sonata took a whiff off the air and fainted.

Even the Lingos couldn’t stand the smell, despite not having visible noses.

That’s when Keto came in, holding his nose, “I think I found just the monster we can use.” he said, and that’s when a large skunk-like creature entered the room, and he spoke in a French accent. “Enchanté, Ladies. I am Monsieur Odeur. My name, s'il vous plaît, means…”

“…I think we get it.” groaned Keto.

The girls held their noses, and Adagio asked “You think you can beat the rangers by stinking them to the ground?”

The monster felt insulted, “Madame, you insult me! My odor, if you will, is strong enough to burn through even zee metal plating on zis tower. Regarder…!” and he turned to face the wall and unleashed a wave of powerful spray his tail, blasting a hole right through the metal… and stinking up the place worse.

The Sirens and Keto began to cough and gag. “Fine, you got the job!” cried Aria. “Just get him outta here!” shouted Sontata.

Keto agreed, “Come on, fella.” and he lead the giant stinker away, but his smell still remained much to the girls’ disdain.

As Celestia continued to ride about exercising the horse, Spike snuffed. “I don’t get what the big deal is.” he asked Twilight “All people do with horses is ride them around; that hardly seems like much a use.”

Twilight shamed him for that, “Spike horses are strong and swift creatures. They help pull heavy loads around farms, and way back in the days they were quite a way to travel, either by horse and buggy or just riding along. In fact, a horse’s top speed is almost 50 kilometers per hour, that’s as fast a car. That’s where the term “horsepower” came from.”

Spike felt overwhelmed, “Oooo-kay then.”

Celestia rode up to her husband and smiled down at him from up on the horse. “You ever thought of riding with me?” she asked. “No way…” said Celesto “If I never rode a horse when I was a stable boy, you’d never catch me on one now.”

“Ah, come on, it’s easy and fun.”

Her husband refused, and the rangers took note of this. “Sir…?” asked Buddy “You wouldn’t by chance be… scared, would you?”

Celesto looked nervous and began to sweat a little, “Uh… s-s-s-scared? Me? Of horses?” he cleared his throat, “Of course not. I used to work with them all the time.”

“But did you ever ride one?” Sunset asked. Celesto hesitated, and Celestia recalled, “He never did, and I think it’s clear why.”

Celesto had no choice but to come clean, “Alright, I admit it: I am… a little bit scared.”

Rainbow held in the urge to break out laughing, and Celesto explained his reasons why. “Working at the stables I’ve forgotten how many riders fell of and got hurt. Celestia was one too, after all. Sprained arms, broken legs, a few sore bottoms... I didn’t want that happening to me, especially considering any injury like that would probably ruin my chances of getting into the air force, and I’d never become an astronaut.”

Rainbow couldn’t laugh at that. “He’s a point. Those people could reject you for so much as having a small kink.”

Fluttershy approached Celesto, “If you’re really scared, we won’t force you, but you could still try it.”

All the rangers gave him the same expression, even the boys despite their earlier non-enthusiasm. Celesto looked up at his wife, and she held out her hand to let him climb up on the horse with her.

It was impossible for him to resist the loving look she gave him, and he found himself reaching up to take her hand… when suddenly he stopped and sniffed the air…! The others sniffed too. “Ugh! What’s that smell?” groaned Sunset.

Rhymey plugged his nose and rhymed, “I can’t tell!”

The smell was getting stronger and stronger, and it annoyed the horse, and Spike too. “Ugh! I can’t stand it!” he groaned, and he dashed off and actually jumped into a wheel-barrow of mucky hay from the stalls, “Ahh, that’s mildly better.”

Celestia’s horse was getting fussy and she had to jump off and get it into the stables where they air wasn’t quite so bad.

“Where’s it coming from?” asked Fluttershy.

“Salut, Rangers!” shouted a voice, and Odeur leapt down into the field. “Well that explains it!” growled Rainbow.

“Hon-hon…” laughed the monster, “You think I am stinker, Non? When I thorough with you, you shall look like… how you say… roadkill!”

The rangers all stood together, and Sunset still holding her nose sneered, “I don’t think so you, overgrown stench! It’s Morphin’ time!”

“Morphing Sequence… Ready!”

“STARFLEET MAGIC… POWER ON!!”

Once they were morphed, the air-filters inside their helmets made it easier to breath. “That’s much better.” said Fluttershy.

“Okay, guys… Time to shine!” said Sunset, and the rangers did their role-call.

Sunset: “Evil’s Dread! Starfleet Red!”

Buddy Rose: “Let’s make the scene. Starfleet Green!”

Rainbow: “We’ll see things through. Starfleet Blue!”

Rhymey: “Though peace and Woe! Starfleet Yellow!”

Fluttershy: “Quick as a Wink! Starfleet Pink!”

And altogether they shouted “…POWER RANGERS… SUPER STARFLEET!!”

“Pah!” snapped Odeur, “You think I am zee scared?! Lingos, Attention!”

A swarm of Lingos appeared, all wearing gasmasks, and they rushed forth. “Let’s go!” shouted Sunset, and she and the others leapt in and attacked!

“I don’t know what’s worse!” Rainbow growled as she kicked two Lingos down, “The monster, or these stinkers!”

“Perhaps it’s all of them.” said Buddy and flipped another Lingo over, and the others fought valiantly as well until all the Lingos were gone-- knocked into bits of dandruff. “So much for them, now let’s go after Stinker there.” said Sunset.

The monster chuckled, “Did someone say… Stink?!” and he unleashed a wave of his potent spray, clouding the air and making the rangers gag. Even with their helmets on, “Ugh! That’s horrible!” cried Buddy.

“Ugh! The smell,
It’s making my nose swell!” shouted Rhymey.

“I can’t stand it!” shrieked Fluttershy!

“Hon-Hon-Hon…!” Odeur laughed “I do better than zat!” and he fired his stronger spray which burned away at the grass and trees, shrivelling them up, and which hit the rangers hard, making sparks and explosions fly. Their suits were still able to take the blasts, but it only made the monster laugh at them more.

The smell reached the barn and Bill’s house, and everyone covered their noses hard. “Mercy! What is that?!” cried Bill. He had no idea of what was going on outside, and the stench was so horrible that he collapsed on the floor.

“Bill!” cried Celesto.

Celestia coughed and gaged, “I… can’t… breathe!”

“Celestia!” her husband called.

Twilight suddenly came in, wearing a respirator masker with a small oxygen jar. “Here, I brought these from the base!” She tossed two more to the adults and they quickly put them on and stressfully caught their breath.

Spike came in, very filthy from the manure he rolled in and wearing a mask of his own. “The horses!” he cried when he noted they were starting to look faint.

“We’ve got to drive them all out of here!” said Celestia.

Twilight agreed, and they quickly tacked up two of the horses and hopped on their backs to drive the rest out of the back entrance.

Celesto opened the gates of the stalls and drove the other horses out by hand, “Come on! Hurry!” he called to the horses as they all dashed past him.

Spike had to leap out of the way as the horses charged at him on their way out, “Hey, watch it!”

The horses were all safe, but the rangers weren’t as the monster blasted them again, knocking them all over in small explosions.

“We can’t let him… get us like this!” Sunset groaned as she stood. The rangers all struggled to their feet and charged at the creature. “En garde!” he thundered at them as he extended his sharp skunk-like claws.

The rangers tried their hardest, but the smell and lack of air slowed them down and made it hard to concentrate. Odeur, unaffected by the stench of his own smell, slashed at the rangers hard making sparks fly, and sprayed again making more explosions.

“This isn’t working!” cried Rainbow “Our suits have almost had it!”

“Sunset, can’t you use your natural magic?” asked Buddy. “I can’t concentrate enough in all this.” replied Sunset.

The smelly fog was getting thick, but even from the barn, Celesto could see the danger the rangers were in, and he knew he had to help them-- maybe distract the monster to give them a chance to get away…

…but that would mean himself getting close to the danger; really close, and be able to get away fast himself. Fortunately there was still one tacked up horse left. “Oh, my…!” he whimpered, but taking another look and seeing what danger the rangers were in, what choice did he have?

He decided to go for it, but he would need something to distract the monster with… and he had just the idea, regardless of how gross it was.

The rangers rushed forth to try again only for Odeuer to slash at them again, knocking them all away and causing them to de-morph. The poor rangers lay on the ground, feeling very weak from lack of air as well as the beatings they had just taken.

“You Stinky-Face rangers!” the monster taunted “I have won zee battle, now you shall lose zee war, Oui!”

The rangers could barely struggle to their feet. “We’ve… gotta… get outta… here!” groaned Fluttershy.

“We’re… too… weak… I fear!” rhymed Rhymey.

“We’ve gotta… get out of the fog!” cried Buddy, but really, he and the rangers were so weak they could only limp softly. “Hon, Hon…! You try to run… you cannot get away!” the monster sneered, and he rushed towards them to finish them off, when suddenly… SPLUT!! A great big slab of horse dung hit him right in the face and blinded him! “A’RGH!!” Odeur thundered “Qu'est-ce que c'est ! Ugh, it smells horrible!”

The rangers were confused, but looked up and saw Celesto, actually riding a horse out to them, with a respirator over his face, and an extra-padded feedbag over the horse’s face so it could breathe better.

“Rangers, catch!” Celesto shouted, tossing them each a respirator. The rangers put them on and caught their breaths to regain enough strength, “Hurry!” Celesto shouted as he rode off with the rangers dashing after him.

By the time the monster brushed the smelly muck from his face, he saw the rangers had gone. “Ha! They run off like scared little cats! The city, she is mine to conquer! Hon-Hon-Hon…!” then he vanished out of sight to head off and cause more destruction.

The rangers had safely made it to base; Celesto didn’t join them as he had to ride off to get his horse to safer grounds with Celestia and Twilight, as well as call and ambulance for Bill, whom was still unconscious, but they all kept in close contact with one another via the monitors.

“We managed to get the horses to safer grounds away from the smell.” Celestia said, “Are you all okay?”

“We are, thanks to Mr. Grandruler.” said Sunset “That was some quick thinking and riding out there.”

Celesto was still in shock that he actually rode a horse like that, and without any proper lessons either, but then again his years of being a stable-boy and overhearing and watching lessons, as well as watching Celestia ride a lot taught him much.

“Is Bill alright?” asked Fluttershy.

“He’s fine.” replied Celesto, “The doctor just called, he just needs to rest and catch his breath. The bad stink will also fade away into nothing and the air will be cleared soon.”

The rangers were glad of all that, “But that monster’s still out there, and it’s got to be stopped.” said Buddy.

“Which means we’ll have to endure the smell,
The last time it didn’t work out so well.” said Rhymey.

“Maybe not…” Celesto said, “But you should be able to fight the monster back using his own style. Remember, when I threw that muck at him, even he couldn’t stand the smell of it.”

Rainbow felt a little queasy thinking about it, “I don’t think I would either.”

Even Fluttershy felt it was disgusting, “But how are we going to do all that stuff?” she asked. That’s when Professor Brain came into the room, “I believe I have the solution to that.”

He presented them all with their morpher badges, “I have enhanced the air-filters within your helmets, so you should be able to withstand the scent and a special coating of a resident formula so the fumes shan’t affect your suits either.”

The rangers graciously accepted their morphers back, “Well that takes care of that,” said Sunset, “…But what can we use to fight the monster with?”

The professor answered her by handing her a special can of spray. “This formula, when sprayed shall producer a rather foul odor, similar to that of… er… I believe you understand. It should stun the monster long enough for you to able to attack.”

Sunset took the can of spray, and that’s when the alarms went off. “Looks like I’ll be using it sooner than I thought.”

Twilight spoke to the rangers, “I used my laptop; I found the monster. He’s heading east towards the city from the ranch, but he’s not alone; Keto is with him!”

The rangers, already armed and ready for action, left for the jump-tubes.

Meanwhile, a load of trees were blasted by Odeur’s horrible stench, shrivelling them to the point where they fell over. The monster then leapt right through laughing, “That was too easy, Non?”

Keto popped through wearing a gasmask followed by more Lingos, also masked up. Keto grumbled “How do you stand with yourself?”

Odeur didn’t bother to comply and just gazed out at the open city ahead of him at the bottom of the hilltop. “Oh-Oh-Oh…! The city is defenseless, and not a ranger in sight.”

Keto chuckled, “The perfect time for us to conquer the humans!”

“Not if we can help it!” thundered Sunset, and she and the other rangers jumped onto the scene with their weapons ready. “Zut A lors!” snapped Odeur “You stinky faces, you have some nerve to show up again!”

Rhymey scoffed at the monster and said,

“Nerves have we,
And it’s you who is stinky!”

The monster growled, and Keto was growing annoying. “You’re not going to get the best of us this time rangers! Get them, Lingos!”

The Lingos charged, “Go!” shouted Sunset, and she and the rangers charged forth.

Sunset leapt over one Lingo, kicked another away and used her scepter to blast another one down.

Three more charged for Buddy, and he lassoed them all at once with his whip, “Sorry, line’s busy.” He joked and charged his whip, sending a blast of energy along the line and blasting the Lingos to bits.

Rainbow shot every Lingo that came at her with her cannon, “Too slow, fellas.” the taunted.

Rhymey slashed his sword at each Lingo that tried to get at him.

“Nice try!
Sorry guy!
How’re you doing, Fluttershy?”

“I’m doing just great!” Fluttershy hollered as she used her shield to block the Lingo’s attacks, and then kick and punch back at them.

“I’ll show you!” snapped Keto and he waved his staff around conjuring a mugic, “Cannon of Casualty!” which blasted a huge wave of fire at Fluttershy. “No, you don’t!” she thundered at him and charged her shield up.

“Strong Shield… Engage!”

She intercepted the blast and sent it sailing straight back at him and Odeur, hitting them both hard. “Good shot, Fluttershy!” said Sunset.

Odeur was furious, “You are thinking it is funny?! Ah! Then taste my spray!”

“Give it your best shot.
Show us what you’ve got!” taunted Rhymey.

The monster roared and unleashed his treacherous spray directly at the rangers, hitting them full force. “Touche!”

“Nice shot.” cheered Keto.

Suddenly, in a bright flash, the rangers came running through the smog, much to the villains shock. Odeur sprayed them again, but nothing happened. Not even a small spark or a gag from any ranger.

“C’est Impossible!” cried Odeuer. “How are they doing that?!” added Keto

“Never mind that!” shouted Sunset “Now, try this…!” and she aimed the spray-can at the villains, hitting them with an abnormally strong puff of fumes that burst from the nozzle.

The horrid smell actually made the monster gag. “Sacrebleu! What is this?! I… I cannot stand zee smell!”

“It’s working!” cried Sunset “Now’s out chance! Everyone, get him!”

The rangers complied and dashed forth.

“Oh, no you don’t!” shouted Keto, and he poised his staff ready to cause more mischief, when suddenly, Spike jumped in from out of the shrubbery and leapt up to Keto face knocking his mask off and exposing him to the rancid fumes. “Ugh!!” he groaned, and accidently threw his staff towards the bushes, “Oh, no!” and he scrambled to look for it.

Spike snuffed behind his own mask, “So much for him.” and then he watched as the rangers went at the monster, attacking him fiercely and making sparks fly. Odeur tried his best, but the stench from the spray, as well as the rangers being unaffected by his own stench put him out of a chance.

He got punched, kicked at, blasted and slashed. Sparks and explosions flew all around and the creature was sent rolling along the ground. He got up furiously spouting French slurs in a tantrum.

“Alright, guys! Let’s do it!” said Sunset, the rangers agreed and…

“Weapons Combine!”

“Star-Slammer, Ready!”

The Star-slammer was formed. “Time to cage this stinker for good!” sneered Sunset.

Keto finally emerged from the shrubs having found his staff, but as he looked up, “Oh, no! I’m too late!” he cried as the rangers already shouted, “STAR-SLAMMER… ULTRA-STRIKE!!”

They struck the monster hard with their weapon, and Odeur screamed and flailed about screaming, “I AM ZEE STINKING OUT!!” and he exploded and was imprisoned before Keto could make him grow.

“No! I don’t believe it!!” he thundered, and he vanished out of sight.

Back at the tower, the other villains saw the whole thing on the monitors. “Not only did that monster reek, but so did Keto’s plan.” grumbled Adagio.

“It’s not over yet.” said Bronc, and he called out “Send out a Robotic-Knight!”

POW!! A robot was fired in a ray of light from the tower, all the way to Mystic Island.

“Whoa!” cried Buddy “Looks like we’re not through yet.”

“Time to bring in the heavy artily.” said Rainbow. Sunset agreed and activated her morpher, “Ultra-Star Megazord…!”

“Summon Zords!”

The massive hulking machine was already combined and appeared on the scene, beaming the rangers inside and ready to deal with the metallic-menace.

The robot charged forth and swung it’s sword at the zord, but the zord zipped off to the side. The robot then started up his buzz-saw.

“Watch out for the saw!” cried Fluttershy.

“No problem.” said Sunset, and she pulled on the controls and made the zord leap way up and over to the backside of the robot.

“Surprise, big boy…!” Rainbow taunted, thrusting on the controls hard for the zord to rush forth and shoving the robot hard onto the ground with a crash!

“Now’s our chance before he gets up again!” cried Buddy.

“Right!” agreed Sunset “Charge up energy wave!”

“Energy Charge, Ready!”

With the energy systems charged, the rangers all shouted together, “STAR BLAST WAVE… FIRE!!” and at once… POW… the zord fired the wave, striking the robot hard and blowing it to bits!

Spike leapt for joy on the ground and he howled victoriously, and inside the zord, Sunset made the call, “…Mission Complete!”

Back at the tower, The Sirens were forcing Keto into mending the damage to the walls and to clean out the entire tower of the smell that Odeur had left, as punishment for his failure, and without a mask or peg for his nose. “Ugh! This is so gross!” he groaned “Why do I have to do this? I’m not even a mechanic!”

The Sirens could only pitifully look at him; shake their heads, and all remark, “Poor little stinker!”

With the monster gone, the air soon cleared up. The rangers helped to drive the horses back to the ranch, and Celesto got off the phone with the hospital.

“Is Bill alright?” Twilight asked.

“The doctor says he’ll be just fine, but he won’t be able to come back until tomorrow. So, we’ll all have to take care of the ranch until then.”

The rangers all agreed, and felt it was fair, especially since it would give them all a chance to fix any damages caused by the villains that they could.

The team worked all afternoon, replanting the grass, fixing the fences, and Fluttershy tended to the animals, as well as helping give Spike a bath considering how dirty and smelly he was from the muck.

“This is my reward for helping?!” he groaned as the girls washed him, and he retaliated by shaking himself dry! “Ah, Spike…!” Twilight scolded.

After a good cleanup and lunch, they decided to head out riding again, to keep the horses in shape.

Rhymey and Buddy were still not too fond of riding like the others were. “I was hoping we wouldn’t have to do this again.” said Buddy.

Rhymey sighed,

“Well, there’s nothing more we can do,
We’ll have to take another ride or two.”

The girls couldn’t help but giggle at how cute the boys looked being so stubborn and grumpy, but then, they all looked up ahead and saw two figures already walking their horses out in the field; Celestia and Celesto.

They were riding side-by-side, and actually holding hands. “I’m so happy you got over your fear of riding.” said Celestia. Her husband chuckled softly, “You know… this is sort of fun. Maybe I should’ve tried this years ago.”

The leaned over and kissed on the lips. “Care to race to the end?” she asked. “You’re on!” and they rode off across the trail.

“Aww…” the rangers all said as they watched the couple ride off, and then they themselves rode off to catch up with them all, on a sunny afternoon.

Episode 14: The Rangers and the Restless

EPISODE FOURTEEN

You’d think that summer vacation was a time for relaxing and enjoying life. Only half-correct…!

The rangers still had their hard days at work, and some were studying for college and all that stuff, and that combined with their ranger duties was pretty exhausting stuff.

One morning, the rangers all met up at the park where Twilight had invited them on a picnic with her brother, her sister-in-law, and Spike.

“Hey there…!” Shining Armor called, but he suddenly retracted his pleasantry when he noticed how beat the gang looked. Everyone looked tired, frazzled, as if they wanted to fall over any moment. “What happened to all of you?” Twilight asked.

Sunset let out a yawn, “We’re just tired.”

“I had to work two whole shifts last night.” said Rainbow “One of the delivery-boys called in wanting to take a Saturday night off and the manager just let him. So I covered his route.”

“I had to cover up the entire community-garden.” said Buddy “The weather was calling for rain last night, and we don’t like our plants to get overwatered.”

Cadance raised an eyebrow, “But it didn’t rain last night. Not a drop.”

“I know!” groaned Buddy “Don’t the weathermen ever get it right?”

Rhymey stretched out and said,

“Well, the weather was just great,
Fluttershy and I went on a date.”

His girlfriend nodded, “We went to the movies, then out for a pizza, and a romantic stroll here in the park.” Everyone awed at how romantic that sounded, “…But we lost track of time, and we didn’t get home until late. We didn’t mean to do it, and our parents understood.”

Still all the rangers felt like coming out on the picnic, feeling the fresh air would do them all good. “I slept like a baby last night.” said Twilight “I was studying for college, and then suddenly I just felt heavy like a rock and I went out like a light.”

“Yeah, thanks to the sleeping powder in your water.” Spike blurted. Shining Armor and Cadance tried to hush him, but he already said it! “Sleeping powder?” Twilight asked, looking at her relatives in shock, “You two drugged me?”

“Well… um… yeah.” Cadance confessed “Look don’t get us wrong, we know you love your studies, but you need your sleep too. I hate I when you pull those all-nighters, and your.”

Shining Armor chuckled, “One time, she was so tired she left her dorm room in her PJs.”

The others couldn’t help but chuckle at that, but Twilight sneered sourly, “Believe me, it was far from amusing.”

Still, the rangers soon began to feel more awake after lunch, and playing in the field, unaware that Marla was watching them from within a high tree. “Play now while you can, Rangers. Once my plan is put into action, you’ll be history.”

She snickered and vanished.

(Que Intro)

By the end of such a lovely day, the sun was beginning to set and everyone felt tired enough to sleep for a week.

“This has been such a nice day.” said Fluttershy, “I really like spending time with all of you.”

“You do?
Me too.” said Rhymey, but then he let out a big yawn.

“I think we all should get home.” said Buddy. Rainbow stretched out and said “I’ll sleep like ten logs tonight.”

The friends bid each other good night, and they all walked their separate ways.

Spike was already super tired, and Twilight scooped him up in her arms. She and her realities began to sing to a song that played as they headed home, and saw how equally tired everyone else was in the city.

(25:36)

[Twilight]

At the end of the day when the night comes
After you’ve had a really long day
And you’re strength is low, and you’ve got a heavy head
Then it’s time for folks to go to bed.

[All four]

At the end of the day when the night comes,
Some people go along their way

[Spike]

To their homes to sleep, and to dream a lovely thought
As they recharge their strengths a lot.

[All four]

At the end of the day when the night comes,
The stars and the moon come out to play.

[Shinging Armor and Cadance]

And the silence stirs as everything is soft and plain
‘Till the day comes round again

[All four]

And the silence stirs as everything is soft and plain
‘Till the day comes round again

As it got darker and the stars came out, Marla stood atop a high-rise deep in town. “This is it…” she hissed, “Are you ready, Sandy?”

Next to her, stood a female, humanoid monster dressed in a purple robe with black stars all around it, a wizard’s, and long black hair. She looked more sinister than charming.

“I’m all set.” she hissed, and she grabbed a large pouch of magic sand. “This sand, when spread out all over town will cast a magical spell that will keep all the humans wide-awake. They won’t be able to sleep even if they want to.”

Marla snickered, “And of course if the humans don’t sleep, they’ll fall into chaos all over, and the rangers… they won’t be able to throw a punch, let a lot stand in battle. Do it, Sandy!”

Sandy nodded and leapt high up, floating on a dark cloud, “Wakey-Wake humans.” She snickered as she poured her cursed sand through the air.

The people of course, didn’t suspect a thing, and yet as the night continued, those whom had gone to bed were tossing, turning, pounding their pillows, readjusting their bedsheets. Some even tried sleeping facing the wrong way-- with their feet at the head of the bed and their heads at the other end...

…But no matter how hard they tried, they just couldn’t seem to fall asleep. Regardless of how sleepy they felt, it was no use. Everyone just remained wide awake, right up until daylight.

Twilight’s radio-clock went off at eight in the morning, and the reporter spoke in a very groggy voice. “Good morning… at to some of you if you managed to sleep… and… oh, heck with it…”

That’s when Twilight pounded the snooze button as she lay flat on her bed, with her eyes wide open and looking very red with bags under her rims. Spike lay at the foot of her bed, and he looked just as baggy-eyed as she did.

He tried to stand up, but he felt so floppy and wobbly that he fell right off the bed. “Spike…!” Twilight groaned as she turned to look over the bed to see her little dog flat on the floor. “I’m so tired right now, that didn’t even hurt!” he groaned.

Twilight then heard a loud crash coming from the kitchen, which snapped her upright softly, and she found a few seconds of strength to rush downstairs. There, she found Cadance attempting to make breakfast for everyone, but she seemed to be a little backwards-- putting a plate in the toaster. Pouring coffee into a potted plant, and all she did was pick up one spoon, and she actually keeled over forward as if her weight had become unbalanced. “I can’t sleep!” she groaned.

Shining Armor was sitting at the table with a newspaper in front of his face, and he let it fall down over the table revealing that he, too, was as weary and baggy-eyed as everyone else.

“How could we all not have slept well?” groaned Twilight.

“I don’t know!” said her brother, “I just couldn’t keep my eyes shut! Even the sleep powder I took didn’t work, and I took three whole dosages.”

Cadance struggled to her feet, “You took that much?!”

Her husband nodded, “And I didn’t sleep a wink.”

Twilight and her family weren’t the only ones in this state; all over town people were baggy-eyed, grumpy and not quite themselves; unable to concentrate due to lack of rest. People were late for work, barely able to bring themselves to walk forward, and people who were driving, ended up crashing their cars into one another, causing traffic pile ups in the streets and loads of delays.

Unfortunately, even some of the police and paramedics were exhausted from lack of sleep, and it was very hard for them to help anyone. However, not everyone in the city was completely exhausted. Those who worked very late at night were still naturally awake, including more paramedics and police and all that, and they were able to help, but even they wouldn’t be up and about for good. They usually went home to sleep in the morning after a long night’s work, but they, too, would soon find themselves unable to rest and be just like everyone else.

..Celesto was among them. He had been working very late, but he didn’t seem too tired yet. He looked down from his office complex, and he began to have a sneaky suspicion. “I’ve got to get to get to the rangers.” He said to his driver, but unfortunately, the driver was too tired to see straight, and of course with the roads all blocked off due to the many accidents, “Um… maybe I’ll just walk.”

“Very… good… siiiiiiiiiir.” The driver groaned and he collapsed over the steering-wheel, right on top of the horn. Celesto moved him off the horn before getting out of the car and heading off.

As he walked along town, he looked all over at all the many people whom were getting grouchier, and falling into more misfortune due to weariness, “This can’t be an act of nature.” he said to himself “This has “evil” written all over it!”

He let out a huge yawn, and he quickly reached into jacket pocket and pulled out a simple bottle of pills. He popped one in his mouth and let it dissolve on his tongue. Within moments, he felt a little better, but he had to hurry and round up the rangers fast.

By using the jump-tube system, he was able to get all over town, and round up each ranger, one-by-one form their respective homes and get them to the base.

He also brought Twilight and her family, as well his own. All of them were suffering from the same problem.

“I hardly got any rest time,
I’m almost too tired to even rhyme!” groaned Rhymey.

Rainbow moaned as she held her head, “I feel like I’ve been to three whole rock-concerts.”

Buddy yawned, “I was so bushed that even a real bush looked more rested than me!”

“What’s wrong with all of us?” cried Fluttershy “Why can’t we sleep?”

“When you find out… fix it!” grumbled Sunset.

Twilight and her family looked ready to pass out, but still they couldn’t.

Baby Castor and Leilani were fussing about. They were groaning softly, too tried to cry; which spared everyone even bigger headaches than they already had.

Celestia herself was also very exhausted, “I was up all night with them.” she groaned, “They couldn’t sleep. Even I couldn’t sleep.”

Luna let out a huge yawn, “None of the house staff got their rest either.”

Celesto got out a small alien scanning device, and held it over Celestia’s face. “I knew it…!” he said. His wife groggily looked up at him, “Celestia, you’re covered in some kind of alien compound.”

“What…?” groaned Celestia, but her husband then scanned everyone, and surely enough they were all covered in the same substance. He even scanned himself and found that he, too, was covered in it.

He fed the information into the computer. “It’s a kind of sand that seems to be affecting our central-nervous-systems. No matter how tired we get, we won’t be able to sleep even if we want to.”

“Can’t we just wash it off?” asked Spike “You know, take a bath? I can’t believe I just said that.”

Celesto ran a simulation test, but to his dismay, “Whatever this stuff is, it effects as well as outside. Washing it will have no effect at all.”

Everyone, although still groggy and fatigued, understood everything. It took no skill for them to understand this was the work of their enemy. “If we’re not well-rested, we don’t stand much of a chance in a fight, do we?” said Sunset.

This was confirmed as Celesto scanned the city and found the effects were registering all over the island, but the mainland hadn’t even been touched yet.

The monitors showed more and more accidents happening in the city because of people who were so incredibly tired and unable to concentrate on their doings and surroundings.

Then, the alarm sounded. The loud sound annoyed everyone most irritably. “Shut that off!” shouted Shining Armor.

Celesto quickly shut them down. The babies finally were scared awake enough and began to scream and cry, much to everyone’s annoyance. “We’ll take them to a quieter room.” said Celestia.

Her sister agreed, and they both managed to pick themselves up and carry the frightened babies away. Celesto hated seeing them all bent out of shape and restless, but remembering that the alarms sounded, he saw the source on the monitors; he saw Sandy standing atop a high-rise laughing, “Now that everyone’s wide awake, Come on out, Rangers! I’m waiting for you!” and she leapt down from the building and began to cause havoc in the streets, and the people were so tired they could hardly run.

Celesto clenched his fist in anger, but then he himself began to feel a little weary. So, he popped another one of his special pills, while the rangers were all struggling to get up. “We’ve… gotta go… out there.” said Buddy.

Fluttershy nearly fell off her feet, but caught the chair to balance her, “We can’t! We can barely stand, let alone stand to fight.”

“Maybe not,” said Celesto, and he handed out a pill to each ranger, “Put these on your tongue and let them dissolve.”

“What are these?” asked Rainbow. “They’re pep-pills.” replied Celesto “They have stimulants in them. They’ll give you a little bit of strength and restore your awareness for a short while.”

He explained that he had them because, “As a hard-working business man, sometimes I have to pull out all-nighters. There are some things that happen in my companies that I have to tend to myself, and that my workers can’t handle alone. I can’t afford to miss a single step, so these pills help keep me awake so I may focus.”

The rangers suddenly began to feel a little better. They didn’t feel so groggy anymore and could stand up straight and concentrate better. “That’s more like it...” said Sunset.

“I feel completely brand new,
Like I have the strength of ten plus two.” said Rhymey.

“What are we waiting for then.” said Rainbow “Let’s get out there and bag that monster!”

The others agreed, but Celesto warned, “Remember, the effects of the pills won’t last too long in your condition. In a while they’ll start to wear off, and when that happens, you’re all going to be dangerously exhausted!”

“Then we’ll just have to take that monster out faster.” said Sunset. The others agreed, and off they went, but despite his hoping for the ranger’s success, Celesto couldn’t help but feel more worried for them than ever before.

He then put his bottle of pills on the table, near Twilight and her relatives, and then proceeded back to the computer to monitor the action.

While in town, more and more people were collapsing from being overly exhausted, and still they could not rest. While Sandy, accompanied by Marla and a squad of Lingos were still causing havoc, blasting up the streets, blowing up empty cars, knocking over lampposts, and taking a few shots at some of the buildings blowing small chunks out of them.

“Where are those rangers?!” sneered Marla. “Yeah, it’s way past their waking time.” added Sandy, and suddenly, the rangers appeared, already morphed. “You want us, here we are!” Sunset called to the villains.

Sandy couldn’t believe what she was seeing, “What’s this? They don’t seem as tired as they ought to be.”

“It’ll take more than that to keep us down!” Sunset sneered.

“Ha!” scoffed Marla “Then maybe you need a good workout.” and she ordered the Lingos to attack! The rangers lunged forth as well and began to attack the Lingos back.

Celesto saw this on the monitors, “No, No! That’ll wear the stimulants out faster!” but he didn’t have a chance to warn the rangers as they were already far too distracted in the battle.

As the Lingos began to diminish, the rangers suddenly found themselves slowing down, allowing the remaining Lingos to put up a better fight and hit them hard. “What’s happening?!” cried Fluttershy.

“The pills, they’re wearing off!” shouted Buddy. That’s when a Lingo kicked him right into Rhymey, knocking both rangers down.

“That’s more like it...” hissed Marla, and she leapt in at Fluttershy and Rainbow. The girls fought as bet they could, but Marla slashed at them hard with her sharp nails, making sparks fly and sending them both down.

As for Sunset, she tried to attack the monster, but Sandy was not only able to dodge her every attack with ease due to Sunset’s increasing weariness, she had another few tricks up her sleeve.

She grabbed Sunset by the fists holding her in place, “They call me Sandy for a reason you know!” she shoved her off hard and then reached for her sandbag, “Because I can control sand as well!” she threw a huge handful up in the air, and then magically shaped it into a huge fist that socked Sunset hard and sent her rolling along the ground.

“Sunset!” cried Rainbow as she and the others groggily dashed up to her and helped her up, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, barely.” replied Sunset.

The rangers were all looking rather fatigued, barely able to stand, which made Sandy laugh, “What’s wrong, little rangers, didn’t get enough sleep?” she threw another handful od magic sand up, “Maybe you should all… LAY DOWN!!” the sands took on the shapes of daggers and bombarded the rangers hard, making sparks and small explosions erupt all over, and down the rangers went, flat on the ground.

Marla laughed and mocked “Look at the so-called Power Rangers now; too tired to even lift a hair.”

The rangers struggled, but could barely get on their knees, let alone stand up.

“My weariness has reached its peak.
So… tired… so weak!” groaned Rhymey.

“Can hardly… see straight!” said Fluttershy.

Celesto was exceedingly worried, and growing more exhausted himself, but he still couldn’t sleep because of the cursed sands, but he didn’t dare take anymore pep-pills as it was dangerous to take too many at once.

“This very bad!” he groaned. He did however think of one last possible resort, but even then it would be super dangerous to try. Even through his weariness he managed to reach for the controls and activated the rangers’ morphers by remote, triggering their energy boosts, which helped restore their strengths again.

“Whoa!” cried Buddy as he found power to get back up again, “What happened?”

“Our energy boosts have been activated.” said Sunset.

The villains were outraged, “Don’t you rangers ever know to stay down!” thundered Marla.

“Guess, not…” said Rainbow “You’ll have to show us, or rather let us show you!”

“Oh, we’ll show you alright!” snarled Sandy, and she threw more magic sand and caused it to spread into a giant dust cloud. “How can you fight what you can’t even see?!” she called out.

Marla couldn’t stand the sand. “Ugh! I’ve got sand in my hair!” she groaned “I’m getting out of here! You’re on your own now!” and she vanished and was gone.

The rangers could hardly see through all the sands.

“I know what’s trying to do:
Stall us until our energy is through.” said Rhymey.

“He’s right!” cried Fluttershy “We’ll be too tired to fight.

…Hey, that rhymes too.”

Celesto then called over the com. “Rangers, listen to me.” he cried as he summoned all his strength, “There’s a chance, but it’s risky...” and he explained to them “When the sand starts to fade, activate your able boost mode.”

The rangers already realized how dangerous that would be. “When our able boost runs out, we’ll be too tired to even see straight.” said Rainbow. “I know, but we have to risk it.” said Sunset.

Rhymey then snapped his fingers,

“I think I may have just the plan,
It’ll help us escape from this sand span.”

The rangers all huddled together and listened to Rhymey idea.

“Not bad. It might just work.” said Buddy. The others agreed, and suddenly, all was quiet.

The monster stood outside the sand-cloud. “Not a sound,” she said “Those rangers must be weakening by now.”

The waved her hands and the sand subsided. There were the rangers, on the ground, and they indeed looked weak and fatigued.

“So tired!” groaned Sunset.

“I… need… rest…!” said Rainbow.

The rangers all flopped flat on the ground and held perfectly still, much to the monster’s delight. “Perfect! They can’t even move.” She moved in closer and formed a sword out of her sand, actually grabbing it and prepared for the final strike, “Now, Rangers, take a good long rest… forever!” but as she brought her arm down to strike, CLANG…!! Rhymey blocked her sword with his.

“What…?!” Sandy snapped, and Rhymey bolted up right and knocked his opponent’s sword out of her hand. “How did you…?!” Sandy sneered, but Rhymey suddenly slashed her and send her rolling along the ground.

That’s’ when the other rangers all bolted up onto their feet with what energy they had left, much to the monster’s surprise. “How can this be? You should all be wiped out by now!”

“Should, but not!” said Sunset, “Alright, guys; Able Boost time!”

“RIGHT!!” the others agreed, and they activated their able boosts.

“Able-Boost Mode… Engage!”

Once they were powered up, they all felt as if they had rested well and had enough strength to lift the moon. “Get her!” shouted Sunset, and one-by-one the supped up rangers charged forth, striking the monster with huge punches and kicks, not even giving her a chance to react.

“Now it’s my turn,
Feel the burn!” Rhymey shouted, and he powered up his sword.

“Raid Blade… Engage!”

He gave his sword a huge slash, striking Sandy hard, enveloping her in waves of lightning bolts, “Why you sneaky pests!” Sandy thundered.

Celesto cheered from the controls, “Way to go, Rangers!” but then he felt very weary, and his vision almost blacked out. “Okay, this isn’t good!”

“Quick! Now’s our chance!” said Sunset “Form the Star-Slammer!”

The others agreed…

“Weapons Combine!”

“Star-Slammer, Ready!”

The rangers all stood together ready for the final strike…

…But back at the tower, Marla saw everything on the monitors, “Oh, no you don’t, Rangers!” and she turned round to bark at Keto, but he was one step-ahead of her; already at the window with his staff ready. “…FORTISSIMO!”

The mugic reached the island and worked its power, turning Sandy into a giant! “Sand’s ahoy now!” she thundered!

“Oh, no!” cried Rainbow “We weren’t fast enough!”

“We’ve got to call the megazord!” said Buddy. “Right…!” Sunset agreed, but before she could call the base to launch the Star-Jet’s, her able boost wore off, as did the others’. All at once, they all felt every last bit of strength they had leave them, and they all just collapsed, and their suits powered down.

“Oh, no…!” Celesto cried as he watched the monitor. All five of the rangers were totally out of it. They still couldn’t sleep and they didn’t have enough energy to even speak! Worse than that, the monster was now free to terrorize the entire city!

“Summon Jet-Star Megazord!” he called out “Switch to remote-control settings!”

His weary technicians agreed, and the megazord was on its way out.

The giant monster gazed down at the pitiful rangers lying in the street. “Say goodnight, Rangers! I’ll stomp you like bedbugs!” She raised her foot, ready to stomp on them, but before she could, the Jet-Star Megazord came flying in and rammed her hard and out of the way.

The monster could hardly believe her eyes; a zord not being manually piloted.

The megzord then looked down at the rangers, and scooped them up in its huge hand and placed them far away up the street, away from the monster before turning back.

Celesto controlled the megazord from his station at the base, “Okay you! Let’s rumble!” he grumbled, but he then yawned hard and rubbed his eyes. “Come on, stay awake!”

“You think I’m scared of you?” shouted Sandy “I’ll crush you like an empty tin can.”

She rushed forth and crashed into the zord hard. The two hulks swung their fists and kicked their legs, blocking each other’s attacks.

POW!! The Megazord landed a hit, “Take this!” shouted the monster, and she punched the zord back twice, and then kicked it hard in the chest sending it back a few paces.

“Come on…!” Celesto growled as he pounded on the controls, but finally his weariness was catching up to him too hard! He could barely concentrate now, and he finally collapsed out of his chair from over-exhaustion. And he lay flat on the floor, unable to rest and unable to control the megazord any longer!

The zord just stood perfectly still, much to Sandy’s delight. “What’s wrong, getting sleepy, are you?” she mocked and she threw more sand up making giant knives, “Take a rest!” she pelted the megazord hard and sent it crashing upon the ground hard.

It was hit so hard that it was already running low on power and needed maintenance. Luckily, its emergency system came in, and, in a flash, the zord separated into the five Star-Jets and flew back for the base.

“That’s it! Run along to bed now.” the monster called out, and she laughed, “So much for that. Now to destroy the city…!”

That’s what she wanted to do, but suddenly… WHAMM! Something slashed her from behind. “YEOW!! Hey…!” she bellowed “What the…!” She turned round and there stood the Comet Striker, also piloted by remote-control.

Sandy was furious! “This is really starting to annoy me!” she thundered, “I’ll show you!” and she reached her sand bag, but before she could grab any sand, the Striker lunged forth and, using it’s blades, slashed the sack right off spilling the sand all over. “No!! My magic sand!” cried Sandy.

The Striker stood where it was and ready to brawl some more.

“I’ll smash you to bits with my bare-hands!” the monster thundered, and she lunged forth, punching and kicking like crazy, but whoever was controlling the striker seemed to be fully alert, and made it block and evade the attacks so easily, and then proceeded to slash Sandy hard making sparks fly and sending the monster flying and crashing down hard.

“This is tougher than I thought!” Sandy groaned as she stood, and that’s where The Striker was already charged up and used its Super-Space-Strike finisher; striking the monster hard.

Sandy flailed around as her body was enveloped in currents of energy, “IT’S BEDTIME FOR ME!!” she shouted, and she exploded and was imprisoned while The Striker just stood tall and proud…

…And back at the base, Twilight, who was controlling it all that time, proudly declared “Monster Captured! Mission Complete!”

With the monster captured, her evil spell was broken. The cursed sand dissolved right off of Twilight, her friends in the base, and every single person in the city, only at that precise moment; everyone just collapsed into a deep and well needed sleep!

The entire island was totally silent. Not a car was moving, not a machine was going, all was silent and still as the people all got their rest.

While back at the prison tower, Marla felt exhausted and felt ready to turn in. “I feel like I could sleep for a week.” she said to herself as she adjourned to her cell for a nap, only to find The Sirens standing there waiting for her, and they didn’t look pleased.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Adagio asked slyly.

Marla let out a yawn, “It’s been an exhausting day, with all that work with the rangers, and getting the sand out of my hair…”

“And FLUNKING your mission as well!” snarled Aria. Sonata shook her head pitifully, “Not cool, girl! So we’ve decided…” that’s when she dropped a whole load of equipment into Marla’s arms, “You’re going on the nightshift tonight; watch all the prisoners, feed them, and maintain the peace.”

“What…?!” Marla whined, “But Bronc and Keto were supposed to be on shift tonight.”

Adagio snuffed and then turned to the guys, “Keto… Bronc… you get the night off. Marla will cover all your shifts.”

The guys laughed wickedly and Keto jumped for joy before running off, much to Marla’s outrage, “But… but I… I’ll be working all night long!” she whined.

“Yeah, sucks to be you.” said Aria.

Sonata yawned, “I think I’ll get me some shuteye.” And she motioned to the other prisoners, “If she starts slacking, let us know… and we’ll DOUBLE her punishment!”

The other two agreed and wandered off with her, leaving Marla annoyed and upset with a long and exhausting job ahead of her, much to her misery! It was going to be a long night for her.

It wasn’t until sundown that all the people began to awaken again, feeling quite better after getting some rest.

The rangers had awoken as well and made it back to base to find the rest of their friends were back on their feet as well.

Twilight told everyone what had happened, “After Mr. Grandruler collapsed and the megazord deformed, I used one of his pep-pills.” Everyone else was able guess the rest. Celesto was pleased with her, “Well done, Twilight. You really helped save us all.”

The rangers all offered their thanks to her, and Shining Armor gave her a playful noogie. “Hey, that’s my little sis.”

Twilight blushed and giggled, but she did feel proud for what she had done.

“Controlling the megazords by remote; maybe we should do that more often.” Rainbow suggested, but Sunset disagreed, “I don’t think so. It’s a fine way to do it, but it’s much better when their piloted manually from within.”

“Sunset’s right,” agreed Celesto “We’ll keep controlling the Comet Striker by remote until Lightning returns, and the megazord normally in the regular cases.”

Every agreed, but suddenly they each and all let out a huge yawn. Despite the rest they had all just gotten, it wasn’t nearly enough for them considering they had all been wide awake for nearly 36 hours and only a few hours of sleep.

“I think we should all head home…” Celestia said as she and Luna came into the room, looking better rested, though still tired, and carry the two sleeping babies in their arms. Celestia then eyed at Celesto, “And you’re coming home too, you’ve been up for way longer than the rest of us because of those pills.”

Her husband nodded in agreement, “I could use a goodnight’s sleep.”

Rhymey yawned and said,

“We shouldn’t have trouble sleeping tonight.
I think we’ll all drop out like a light.”

The others all agreed, and they all decided to head home, and as the sun went down and the stars came out, Twilight and all her friends were singing that same night song again.

At the end of the day when the night comes
After you’ve had a really long day
And you’re strength is low, and you’ve got a heavy head
Then it’s time for folks to go to bed.

At the end of the day when the night comes,
Some people go along their way
To their homes to sleep, and to dream a lovely thought
As they recharge their strengths a lot.

At the end of the day when the night comes,
The stars and the moon come out to play.
And the silence stirs as everything is soft and plain
‘Till the day comes round again

And the silence stirs as everything is soft and plain
‘Till the day comes round again

Everyone sang the song softly to themselves as they all slipped comfortably in their beds and fell into a deep and blissful sleep.

Episode 15: Gift from an Old Friend (Part 1)

EPISODE FIFTEEN

Lightning and Krysta had explored the vast jungle for a few days, with what camping gear and supplies they had. Krysta even flew overhead for aerial search.

Eventually, they found a small clearing deep within the jungle center, which they both recognized well. “This is the place…!” cried Lightning “I remember this is where Zecora had her hut.”

Krysta looked around at all the trees and brambles, “Yeah, I recognize it too, but I don’t see any hut anywhere.”

They looked all around, and the area was completely clear, as if the hut had been moved. There was not a trace of it to be seen anywhere. “I don’t believe this.” said Lightning “We came all this way and she’s not here anymore. Then again, it was anticipated.”

“What do we do now?” asked Krysta. “We keep looking, that’s what.” replied Lightning “We’ll have to keep asking people if they know what happened.”

Krysta blinked once, “Um, I don’t mean to sound discouraging, but we tried that before, and everyone just ran off like cowards.”

Lightning knew this, but he still wasn’t willing to give in.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of twigs snapping, like being stepped on, which startled him and Krysta. “Who’s there?” Lightning called, but neither he nor Krysta could hear or see anyone.

Suddenly, Krysta got struck by a tranquilizer dart and she flopped into Lightning’s hands, “Krysta!” Lightning cried, and then he himself got shot in the neck by another dart, and he fell unconscious too.

There was a rustling sound from the bushes, and three sinister looking men loomed over Lightning. He was a skinny bald man with a big blag mustache, and his two goons were big and burly men.

“Lightning Dawn, we meet again.” the man hissed, and he told his goons, “Put him in the cage, and his bird in the little cage. I won’t have them interfering in my plans this time!”

One of the goons scooped Krysta up in his hands, and the other picked Lightning up and held him over his back hauling him away.

(Que Intro)

Sunset found herself standing in a strange place, a kind of special void with stars, comets and planet dancing all around her. “Um… Oooo-kay…” she said to no one in particular.

Suddenly, there came a flash of white light, and there before her appeared someone she knew from long ago, “Flash…!” she cried “…Flash Sentry!”

“Hello, Sunset.”

It was him, but in his normal human shape. He didn’t appear to her in his Crystallite Alien form.

“What’s happening? I thought you were dead?” asked Sunset.

“I am indeed…” replied Flash “But this is the only way I am able to communicate with you, for I wish to give you something special that will no doubt help you and your friends battle your enemies.”

“Help us?” Sunset asked with great interest. Flash nodded and explained to her, “Sometime ago, while my mother and I were plotting treachery to the human world, I had hidden a small portion of my alien powers within a secret place. I had never told anyone this not wishing for unscrupulous people to get their hands on it, but I feel it shall serve you and your friends well.”

Sunset asked almost excitedly, “Well, tell me where to find it.”

Flash shook his head, “I haven’t time to reveal the entire puzzle, but I can tell you where to find the first clue: Look behind my old locker at Canterlot High.”

He began to fade off. “Wait, don’t go!” Sunset called to him, but everything suddenly faded out to white…

…And she woke up! She rubbed her head as she came to her senses, yet that dream felt so incredibly real. She almost didn’t know whether to believe it or not.

She rounded up the other rangers and Twilight, and they met at the outdoor café for a quick breakfast. She told them all about her dream…

“You’re sure about this?” asked Twilight. “I’m positive.” replied Sunset “In my home-world, when ponies have dreams like that it’s usually for a reason, like a message.

Look, I know it sounds crazy, but I think we should trust in what Flash had to say.”

A moment of silence followed, and Rainbow broke the silence saying, “I believe you…”

“So do I.” added Buddy.

Sunset felt a little flattered, “You do?”

Rhymey nodded and explained,

“For three years we’ve had strange powers and fought evil beasts,
After all that’s happened, nothing seems impossible to say the least.”

Fluttershy agreed, “How can we not believe you, Sunset. Besides, if it’ll help us beat The Sirens, who are we to question?”

Sunset smiled warmly was most thankful for her friends, but neither she nor the others realized that Keto was hiding behind the corner and listening to everything they said. “Wait until I tell The Sirens this!”

He got back to the tower, and was about to enter The Siren’s room. He could hear them singing from within.

Suddenly Bronc blocked him off. “And where do you think you’re going?” he asked “The mistresses have requested they not be disturbed. They are in the process of perfecting their singing powers.”

It was in vain that Keto could try and get through, plus, now that he thought, even he didn’t wish to interrupt the beautiful singing he heard. “Fine, I’ll tell you what I heard. The rangers are going on a little treasure hunt to find a hidden power which they plan to use against us.”

Bronc winced once, “Oh, are they now?”

Marla poked into the room, “Treasure? Power…? Sounds like something maybe we could use as well. We’ll just have to find it before they do.”

“…And I know just the monster that can help us.”

He led his comrades to a cage where a monster named Prospector sat. He looked very much like his name, a plump yet strong looking monster, with a shaggy beard and a bent up cowboy hat. He was armed with sticks of dynamite on a sash, a strong shovel and a sharp pick on his back.

His weapons couldn’t help him while he was locked up, but he was very surprised when his cell was opened. “What in tarnation is goin’ on?” he asked.

“Get up, Prospector!” said Bronc “You’re coming with us on a little treasure hunt.”

At first, Prospector didn’t seem interested, “I’ve been in this here cell for over a-hundred years, and I ain’t about to leave for…” he suddenly snapped upright, “…“Treasure” did you say? Well, saddle up and let’s ride! YEE-HAW!!”

Marla and Keto were starting to feel unimpressed.

Meanwhile, the rangers contacted Celesto and asked for him to unlock the school. When he was told of Sunset’s dream, he, too, was rather enthusiastic of seeking this power Flash had left for them.

It was rather dark inside the school; then again Summer Vacation had only started a week and a half ago. All the lights were out, and all the windows were covered with shade flaps to keep the sunlight out of the building and heating things up over the holidays.

It was still bright enough to see where to go anyway, and everyone took a moment to pass Flash’s memorial plaque in the school entrance hall. It read…

“Dedicated to the memory of Flash Sentry.
A strong-minded individual who showed us all the true meaning of honour, and that sometimes, life and people’s actions are not actually carved in stone, but you can choose how to shape it.”

The rangers and Celesto held their heads low, taking a moment to remember him, and though Twilight didn’t know him that well, she bowed too.

Spike poked his head out from Twilight’s knapsack, “Um, remind me what happened again?” he asked. “I’m not trying to be disrespectful.”

Rhymey filled in everything with his rhymes.

“The real human called Flash had died long ago
And this Flash took his place, this we did not know,
Until he and his mother revealed who they were,
…Evil aliens or wickedness and power!

They sought to control our world as it was,
And Lightning Dawn came to stop their cause
It was there that we first gain our powers and might,
And we confronted they aliens and engaged in a fight.

In the end, Flash’s mother had been destroyed,
While her son was attacked, turned humanoid,
His evil power had gone, they were no longer there
But Flash lost his memories, and his mind was bare.

So he lived the life of a normal Earth boy
There were many things that he did enjoy.
Then, a while back, while we were all at camp
The Sirens and the Demonites did tramp,

These evildoers reawakened Flash’s mind,
The memories of his evil ways he had left behind.
His powers crept forth, and while he became very strong,
He chose not to be evil, he knew that was wrong.

He could never betray the goodness he had come to great terms
So he fights on our side against the evil worms!
The battle was won, and victory was claimed
But Flash had been struck, he was badly maimed.

He died right there, he had met with his end.
We were all heartbroken to have lost our dear friend.
So we made this plaque to honor his memory.
And that brings me to the end of this summary.”

Rhymey clutched his chest, feeling deeply moved by his own poetry. The others all felt deeply moved. “That was beautiful, Rhymey.” said Celesto “Very moving.”

Fluttershy held her boyfriend’s hand to calm him, and Rhymey caught hold of himself.

“Okay, what was it that Flash told you, Sunset?” Rainbow asked. “He told me to look behind his old locker.” replied Sunset.

Flash had had several lockers in his time at Canterlot High, like most students would get a new locker every year. So the team decided to visit the locker he had from his first year when he was still originally evil.

There was no lock on the door, but the locker was completely empty inside. “Great! Nothing at all.” groaned Spike, “Maybe it was just a dream after all.”

Sunset shook her head; “Flash said to look BEHIND the locker, which may mean…” she reached out for the coat-hook on the back of the locker and just as she thought, it was a fake wall that fell forward revealing a hole in the solid school wall.

“Incredible.” said Celesto. He examined the hole, “This alcove has been carved out of this solid concrete, and yet it was here all the time and no one noticed.”

“Can you see anything?” asked Fluttershy.

Celesto switched on the built-in flashlight in his walking-stick to see. The alcove was very small, but there was a small metal box inside it.

“What is that?” asked Buddy.

Nobody could tell, but Celesto opened it, and inside was nothing more than an ordinary white stone with a hint of blue.

Twilight scanned it with her alien-tracker, “It’s definitely not of Earth origin, but I can figure out what it is.”

“I know what it is.” Sunset said as she took the stone, “I used to study these things back in my world. This is a location stone. It acts like a sort of radar whenever you’re near something magically linked to it. Flash must’ve hidden his power away and enchanted this stone to help him find it.”

“Well that’s fine and all, but how do we use it to find the power?” asked Rainbow.

Sunset said nothing, but instead she just held the stone out in front of her and began to walk downt he hall. “Sunset…?” Fluttershy called.

The team followed her to the front-doors and out of the building. That’s when the stone gave of a dim pulse of light. “It’s flickering…” said Twilight. Sunset nodded, “As we get closer to the power, it’ll glow brighter and faster. Let’s go.”

The team began to wander off following Sunset, unaware that their enemies were peeking around the corner of the building.

“They’re off!” said Keto “Let’s get them and take that stone.” He began to rush, but Bronc held him back sneering “Not yet, idiot! First we’ll let them lead us to the power, and then we take it right from them and use it to destroy them.”

“We can conquer the world for all I care,” Marla sneered, “Just as long as I don’t have to stand next to this ugly guy much longer.” she hinted at Prospector. “Well, you ain’t no pleasant company yourself, missy!” he scoffed at her.

The two glared at one another growling fiercely. “Stop bickering!” snapped Bronc “Let’s go!” and off they went to pursue the rangers.

Meanwhile, Lightning began to slowly awaken from his knockout. “What happened?” he groaned “The last thing I remember… I was in the jungle… and Krysta…

…Krysta!”

He finally awoke fully to realize he was locked in a steel cage with thick strong bars hanging from the ceiling of a big cave. “Krysta…?” he called.

“I’m here!” she called, revealing she was in little birdcage also hanging on the ceiling away from his.

“Aha! So she can talk…” said voice.

“That voice!” Lightning snapped, and he looked down and saw the very man whom he recognized all too well, “Kasko!”

The man snickered, “That’s right; Jo-Jo Montgomery Kasko: Prospector, treasure hunter, oil-driller extraordinaire.”

“…And drug smuggler, thief, embezzler, and international eco-terrorist!” Lightning added “I remember, every time you come up with a scheme I always end up trouncing you.”

Kasko’s features hardened, “Well you won’t be this time. I’ve made sure of it. He held up Lightning’s backpack, “I’ve confiscated all of your belongings and weapons. You and your little feathered friend won’t be lucky this time.”

Lightning clenched his fists, and then realized his morpher was gone too. That’s when he saw it clipped onto his backpack. Kasko had obviously confiscated it, but he didn’t seem to realize what it was.

“What do you want, Kasko?” Lightning demanded to know.

Kasko snickered and didn’t see much harm in explaining, “I want the oil that’s hidden somewhere in the jungle.”

“Oil? There’s no oil in the jungle. There isn’t an oil-well within miles of here.”

“You’re wrong!” shouted Kasko “And I have proof it exists…” he reached into his jacket and pulled out a small vial of black liquid. It sure looked like oil, but Lightning couldn’t believe it was. “Where did you find that?”

“That’s of little concern to you now.” said Kasko “I know there’s oil somewhere in that jungle, and I’m going to find it, even if it means I have to drill right through it!”

Lightning and Krysta gasped. “You can’t just drill through the jungle! You’ll poison the environment, and you’ll endanger the animal life.”

Kasko naturally didn’t care, “That’s hardly, my problem is it? Besides, I need to know where to dig, that’s why I was out there seeking that old hag, Zecora.”

Lightning was surprised to hear he knew of Zecora.

“I’ve heard the stories of that witch. If anyone can find where that oil is, she can. So I searched the jungle all over looking for her, but instead I found you… lucky me.

I’m not letting you get in my way this time, Lightning Dawn!”

Lightning suddenly heard the sound of growling, and Kasko’s two goons brought in two huge cages from outside the cave containing man-eating lions they had captured in the jungle. Kasko planned to release them from their cages while he and his goons escaped. “Even if you manage to break out of that cage, you’ll be just in time for these cats’ dinner.”

Lightning gripped the cage bars tightly.

“Oh, and one last thing…” said Kasko, and he snapped his fingers instructing one of his goons to lower Krysta’s cage down to him, “I’ll be taking your little bird pal. I’m sure I could interest people in a talking bird for a fortune.”

“Why you…!” Krysta thundered as she flapped furiously.

Lightning pounded angrily on the bars of his cage, “You won’t get away with this, Kasko!”

Kasko scoffed, “This time… I think I will.” And he laughed as he left through the cave entrance taking all of Lightning’s belongings and Krysta with him.

“Lightning…!”

“Krysta…!”

One of the two goons then placed a small explosion on the locks of the lions’ cages, while the other goon cut the ropes letting Lightning’s cage fall to the floor.

“Let’s go!” Kasko called to his goons, and the two men dashed outside into the jeep, and Kasko pressed on a remote control detonating the charges on the cage locks, freeing the lions. The foul creatures began to move towards Lightning’s cage and they roared at him.

Kasko and his men had already driven away, feeling they had seen the last of Lightning Dawn and any trouble he could give them. “No!! Lightning! Lightning…!!” Krysta screamed.

Kasko merely rattled her cage, “Squawk all you want, feather-head, it’s just going to make me richer.” he laughed.

Meanwhile, the rangers had been walking a lot, following the stone’s guidance. They were now all walking in the park and the stone was blinking very fast and very brightly. “I think we’re almost there.” said Sunset.

“I hope so! The suspense it killing me!” said Rainbow.

Suddenly, the stone was no longer pulsing but rather glowing very brightly. “This is it!” cried Sunset “This must be the place.”

Everyone looked down by their feet and deduced the hidden power had been buried under the ground. “I guess we start digging.” said Buddy “Um… did anyone bring a shovel?”

A moment of silence followed as the others all felt very silly. “We were so wrapped up in excitement, we forgot to bring any tools.” said Fluttershy.

Rhymey suggested,

“Maybe morphing will do.
We can blast our way through.”

“You leave the blastin’ to me!” shouted a voice. Everyone turned just in time to see lit sticks of dynamite flying straight at them. “Look out!” shouted Celesto, and everyone ducked down hard as the sticks flew past them, exploding as they hit the ground.

That’s when everyone looked and saw the minions and the monster. “Ah, shucks, I missed.” said Prospector. “Well just don’t miss again!” grumbled Marla.

“What are you colds doing here?!” Sunset sneered. “Duh…We came to take the power, and you just led us straight to It.” replied Keto.

“Your choices are simple, Rangers.” hissed Bronc “Either hand over the power, or we’ll plow right through you and take it!”

The rangers all nodded at one another, knowing their answer and Celesto and Twilight ran aside and out of the way.

“It’s Morphin’ Time!” shouted Sunset.

*Morphing Sequence, Ready!”

“STARFLEET MAGIC… POWER ON!!”

Spike poked his head out from Twilight’s backpack hollering, “Go get ‘tm, guys!” only for Twilight to shove him back inside where he’d be safer.

“Alright, let’s rumble!” said Ssunset, and the others agreed with her while the villains snickered and Bronc instructed the monster, “Prospector, leave the rangers to us. You just get that power.”

“You got it.” said Prospector, and he grabbed his pick and his shovel.

“Go!” Sunset shouted, and she and the rangers charged forth, while the minions rushed in as well, giving Prospector his opening to run through to the spot.

“Don’t let him dig it up!” shouted Buddy.

“I’ll get him!” said Rainbow, and she grabbed her Sonic Cannon and was ready to shoot at the monster, but suddenly, Bronc fired his eye-beams at her, blasting her over, “Looks like I got you!” he sneered and he leapt straight at her to brawl with her.

Marla battled with Buddy and Sunset, punching and kicked them hard, and while they blocked her attacks with their arms and legs, she tripped them up with her long hair. “Have a nice trip?” she teased, and then she launched her nails at them. The two rangers barely managed to roll out of the way, but as they looked ahead, they could see Prospector…!

“Well ol’ girls…” he said to his pick and shovel “…Let’s dig in!” and he began to hack and plow at the ground, quite skillfully for an elderly looking monster.

“Rangers, stop him!” Celesto thundered from the bushes.

Rhymey and Fluttershy saw the monster and dashed for him, “Oh, no you don’t!” Keto sneered, and he raised his staff shouting, “Surge Song!” casting his mugic upon himself, his comrades and Prospector, increasing their strengths and speed.

“Nice!” hissed Marla, and she punched Buddy and Sunset hard in their chests making sparks fly.

Bonc Blasted Rainbow hard and Keto took one swing of his staff, like a bat, and sent Rhymey and Fluttershy soaring off and crashing onto the ground.

“Oh…!” Celesto groaned with his hand against his head. “This is so not good!” cried Twilight.

The minions were now stronger than ever, and Prospector was able to dig harder and faster. “We can’t let them get the power!” cried Fluttershy

“Let’s go Able Boost!” suggested Buddy.

“Good idea.” said Sunset “Activate!”

“Able Boost Mode… Engage!”

The minions grunted and stood strong and tall, as they and the rangers lunged at each other. With their enhanced speeds and strengths, their attacks flew more furiously than ever, and the sparks turned into small explosions; the attacks were so forceful!

While they brawled, Prospector continued to dig, and he was now up to his waist in a deep hole, and he suddenly found something, “YE-HAW!! I’ve struck it rich now!” he shouted, and he pulled out was appeared to be another metal box like the one found in Flash’s locker.

“Oh, no!” cried Rhymey.

“He’s found it!” said Fluttershy, and at that moment the rangers’ able boost ran out, leaving them rather exhausted, and the minions gave them all a strong shove sending them all tumbling into a big pile on top of one another.

“Rangers…!” Twilight called.

The effects of Keto’s mugic wore off too, but unlike the rangers, Keto and his comrades were not exhausted. “Too bad, rangers…” Keto mocked, “Looks like our little plan worked out after all. Yeah…!”

Bronc and Marla snickered, and then they and Keto regrouped with their monster. “Open the box, Prospector.” said Bronc. “I’d be obliged to.” replied the monster, and he did as he was told.

As soon as the lid was flicked open, the inside of the box began to glow brightly. “What is that?” wondered Rainbow.

Out from the box came a small glowing ball of light. This was obviously that small bit of power Flash had buried away, and now the villains had it, and they were all snickering wickedly. “All together now…” Marla said, and she and her comrades all lay their hands on the orb of light. All at once, they were all enveloped in the light and began to take on bigger, stronger and fiercer shapes!”

Marla’s muscles were bulging, and her eyes glowed red. Her teeth became sharp fangs while her pink hair turned dark red. Her voice was now raspier and more sinister than ever.

Bronc’s huge arms were glowing with a dark light, and his armor and robe had changed in color, from blue, silver and white, to black, red and purple, and our from his helmet spring a pair of bullhorns.

Keto has actually grown taller, and was now the same height as Marla. His troll-like appearance had changed, he now seemed much more handsome, but wicker as well, and his staff was now covered in spikes with a large mace atop the point.

Prospector had also changed. He now appeared to be more youthful, and his beard was gone. His clothes had all changed as well. He looked more like a dashing young cowhand, rather than a crusty, chubby prospector. “Well I’ll be gall darned.” he hissed “I feel like a fresh gold nugget dipped in polish!”

The villains all snickered and gazed at the rangers. Though they were starting to gain their strength back and stood to their feet, “I think we’re in big trouble.” said Buddy.

“Really…? I didn’t notice!” whimpered Sunset.

As for Lightning, he was still trapped in the cave and with the lions roaring and clawing at his cage! He had no idea how he was going to escape this one!

To Be Continued…!

Episode 16: Gift from and old Friend: Part 2

EPISODE SIXTEEN

Those hungry lions continued to roar at Lightning’s cage, trying desperately to get at him. If they kept this up, the chances were they would shake the bars down and maul him to death.

Suddenly, Lightning began to smell something, like fresh meat, filling the cave and leading outside. “What is that?” he wondered. Whatever it was, it seemed to be subduing the lions, making them follow the scent and out of the cave, thinking there was some wild animal nearby that they couldn’t resist over Lightning.

Lightning was most surprised and couldn’t understand it in the least… until he saw, at the entrance of the cave, someone was standing there, wearing a big burlap cloak and hood concealing their entire body and features. Lightning couldn’t recognize who it was, but the person then slid a small sharp knife all the way along the ground and right up to the cage where Lightning grabbed it and realized he could use it to cut through the bars of the cage.

He looked up to thank the person, but found whoever it was had already gone. “Hey! Wait! Hello?!” he called, but no one answered.

Much as Lightning wished he knew who that person was, he decided to free himself quickly before the lions came back, “Hang on, Krysta! I’m coming!”

Meanwhile, the four, super-powered villains stared the rangers down. “Take a look at us now, Power Pests…!” hissed Marla. “This time you won’t escape!” added Bronc. Keto and Prospector snickered.

The rangers, though still a little pooped from their Able-Boost giving out, knew they couldn’t give up. “Let’s get ‘em!” shouted Sunset. The Rangers agreed, and everyone got out their weapons.

“Summon Weapons.”

Sunset: “Star Scepter!”

Buddy: “Plasma Whip!”

Rainbow: “Sonic Cannon!”

Rhymey: “Raid Blade!”

Fluttershy: “Strong Shield!”

The villains only snickered, and rushed forth. Their newly acquired powers gave them great speed, allowing them to rush right past the rangers, knocking them all down as sparks flew all over.

“Call that the quick-draw.” Prospector teased.

Twilight, Spike and Celesto, still watching from shrubs, didn’t like the look of this.

The rangers bolted up onto their feet. “Come on…!” shouted Buddy, and he and the others lunged forth, attacking like crazy, only to get punched, kicked, and slashed at really hard by the villains new super strengths.

Fluttershy raised her shield, but Keto took one swing with his mace staff, hitting the shield and making a huge explosion, and then he kicked her back hard.

Rhymey then jumped in to fight for what happened to his girlfriend, swinging and slashing his sword while Keto countered with his staff, like a skilled warrior, and actually getting the best of Rhymey.

He struck the sword hard and then blasted him with magical blast, without even shouting out a mugic spell.

“Take this!” Rainbow shouted as she fired a huge blast from her cannon at Bronc, but Bronc merely stuck out his huge hands actually intercepted the blast and sent it back at her, hitting her hard.

Buddy gave a shout as he tried to whip at Marla, only for her to effortlessly catch the whip in her hands and yanked him towards her, “Heee-eeey…” she hissed in his face, and then slashed at him and his whip with her super sharp claws.

Finally, Sunset and Prospector battled. She swung her scepter, but Prospector, thanks to his newly restored youth, he swerved and dodged her every attack with ease. “That the best you can do, Lil’ Lady?” he taunted her, and then he swiftly grabbed his pick and slashed hard, hitting Sunset and knocking her back hard!

“Sunset!” cried Rainbow as she and the others rushed over to her side and helped her up, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” replied Sunset, but when she looked at her Scepter “Whoa! Look!” she cried. It was all dented, chipped and charred. All the rangers’ weapons were in the same state.

“Our weapons!” cried Buddy.

“They’re all busted,
Charred and rusted!”

“This is SO not good!” grumbled Rainbow.

“What do we do now?” cried Fluttershy.

The villains snickered and Prospector called to them as he lit up two sticks of dynamite, “That’s easy, just sit back and be blown sky high!” and he tossed the two sticks.

“Look out!” cried Sunset, but as the sticks flew in closer, Spike leapt out of Twilight’s backpack. He jumped up high and snatched the two sticks in his teeth like fetching.

“Whoa did you see that?” cried Rainbow.

“Hey, ya little mutt…!” snarled Keto, and before anything else, Spike hurled the sticks back towards the villains, and the exploded right at them, making a cloud of dust.

“Good boy, Spike!” said Twilight.

“Rangers… come! Hurry…!” Celesto shouted. Even he could see that the battle could not be won, and it was best they all retreated.

“Let’s go, guys!” snapped Sunset, and she and the rangers began to retreat.

“Oh, no you don’t!” shouted Bronc, and he began to fire multiple super laser blasts from his helmet in random spots through the smoke, and Keto helped by using his staff to fire more shots.

“Hold it! Wait!!” snapped Marla. Her comrades stopped firing, and when the smoke finally cleared, the rangers were nowhere to be seen. “Dag-Nabit!” grumbled Prospector “Them varmints made a clean getaway!”

As outraged as the villains were, they actually didn’t mind all that much. “We’ve already toasted their weapons.” said Keto “And we didn’t even break much of a sweat doing it.”

“Precisely.” said Bronc “With these new powers we can quite literally flatten this whole city, and the rangers won’t have anything strong enough to battle us this time!”

Marla snickered, “It sure feels nice to be on the winning side for once!” The men all looked at her with strict expressions. “What?”

The rangers made it safely back to base, but their weapons were complete wrecks. “My poor cannon.” cried Rainbow, “When I get my hands on those creeps, I’ll break them limb-from-limb.”

“Unless they broke us first.” said Buddy.

Professor Brain examined the weapons and assured everyone, “Your weapons will be online again very soon. I must set to work now.” And he went off with his team of scientists to fix the busted weapons, but the rangers didn’t feel too optimistic.

“Even if our weapons get fixed, they’ll just get busted again.” said Sunset “Now that those creeps have Flash’s power there’s no telling what they’re capable of.”

Rhymey stomped his foot in frustration,

“If we’d had only gotten the power sooner,
Things could’ve been great,
But we didn’t…
… We were too late.”

“Is there anything we can do at all?” asked Fluttershy.

Celesto thought it all over, “Much as we can repair the weapons, I really don’t know it’ll do any good. As you said, we don’t know what the aliens are really capable of with that power now.”

A long moment of silence fell. They all needed a plan, or even a miracle!

Meanwhile, Kasko and his goons had retreated to their hideout, a deep underground warehouse, away from the towns and villages where he couldn’t be seen. Here, he put Krysta, in her cage, down on a table where he had a lot of blue-prints of the jungle spread out, and that he was going to setup a huge drilling operation.

“You’ll never get away with this, Kasko!” said Krysta. Kasko only chuckled, “And just who’s going to stop me this time? Certainly not Lightning. He’s lion chow by now.”

Krysta felt very worried about Lightning, and she couldn’t bear to think of the worst!

“Oh, don’t worry...” teased Kasko, “I’m sure those lions will keel over anyway, once I’m through with my plans.” and he showed her his plans to bulldoze down the jungle in order to setup drilling.

“You can’t do that!” snapped Krysta “The animals won’t have a place to live, and besides, you’d just be wasting your time. There is NO oil in the jungle!”

“Of course there is!” snarled Kasko, and he held out the vial of black liquid. “There must be a whole well out there, enough to make me richer than all those tycoons out there.” He paused and looked down at Krysta “And I’ll make much more when I present a talking bird to the carnivals. I’ll be richer than richer!!”

“Yeah…? And What if refuse?” asked Krysta. Her answer was Kasko pointing a gun at her threatening to shoot. “Oh, sure; like you’ll really shoot me. Then you won’t have a talking bird anymore.”

Kasko growled and lowered his gun, “I’ll worry about you later. Right now I have a project to deal with and oil to claim!”

That’s when one of his goons came in, “Sorry to bug ya, boss, but the team’s all set up.”

Kasko grinned at that news, and he picked up the cage “Come on then. It’s time you saw me actually get away with a plan.”

He then left for the exit, leaving his blue-prints behind on the table, feeling than no one would possibly find them, and he had extra copies.

Instead of taking their jeeps, Kasko actually had a chopper which would get him to where he needed to be much quicker. “Let’s go!” he thundered, and off they went, unaware that they had been seen by that stranger in the ragged robe and hood.

This person knew what they had to do and set off back towards the jungle.

As for Lightning, it took him a bit to cut himself through that cage, and then it took him even longer to make it through the jungle, following the tire-tracks Kasko and his goons left on the grounds. Finally, he reached his own jeep, in a clear, just outside of the jungle, where he got a long drink of water from one of his canteens. “Good thing, Kasko didn’t find my jeep.” He said to himself, but he knew he had no time to rest, Kasko still had Krysta and his morpher, plus he couldn’t let him foolishly dig up the jungle for some non-existent oil.

He continued to follow the tire tracks as best he could, and one the way, he thought back to the hooded stranger that saved him from the lions and helped him escape from the cage. He still had the knife that the stranger gave him. “Who was that?” he kept wondering.

He was so lost in his wondering, even for that brief moment, his jeep hit a small blew out his tire, and his jeep began to spin out of control. “Whoa!!” he cried as he fought for control, but he ultimately had to jump for it, getting out just in time as his jeep fully tipped over. It didn’t explode, but it was now useless to him.

“Ah, man!” Lightning groaned, but fortunately for him, he could see another jeep parked twenty yards away from his own by a small rocky building. Figuring it was Kasko’s hideout, he crept over quietly in case of anyone guarding the place lurking nearby.

When he discovered the place was completely unguarded, not to mention the door wasn’t even locked, “Typical, Kasko; he never thinks anyone will break into his hideouts.” Lightning said to himself, and he let himself in.

Unfortunately, once inside, he couldn’t find Krysta, or anyone for that matter. “I must’ve just missed them!” he grumbled. Then he noticed the blue-prints left behind and was onto Kasko’s plot.

“It’s ingenious… set up operations on the fa-side of the jungle where no one can see them, and the authorities won’t be able to get anyone out there, and they dare not fire and gasses for fear of hurting the plants and animals.”

It still burned him up that Kasko was going to needlessly wreck up the jungle and endanger so much animal life for some non-existent oil.

Of course, he had no time to alert the authorities himself. He had to get to Kasko and figure a way to stop him himself. At least there was a jeep outside he could use, and he didn’t even have to use a key, but just crank it up at the front, and off he went.

“I hope I can figure out how to stop them!”

Meanwhile, Twilight tried inputting so many computer simulations of many ways to stand up to the villains and their super powers, but not one of them would succeed; every single scenario was a guaranteed failure and would only result in the rangers being destroyed. “Ugh!” she groaned and began to bang her head against the keyboard, “Come on! There’s… got… to… be… an… answer!”

Spike stopped her banging, “Well breaking your skull isn’t going to help much.”

Twilight sighed and patted her dog’s head, but this didn’t help anyone come up with any ideas.

“Man!” groaned Buddy “This should be easy. I mean, it’s Flash Sentry’s powers, and Rhymey, you and I faced them before.”

This made Rhymey suddenly realize,

“Yes, we did face it before,
But now I’m thinking of something more.”

He and Buddy both thought back and remembered that Flash was a Crystallite, and his alien form-- Crystal Armor, strong sword-- didn’t look a thing like how the villains looked now.

“Hey, they’re right.” said Fluttershy “I remember Flash didn’t look a thing like those creeps did. Of course I was almost too scared to look at Flash in his alien form.”

Rainbow remembered as well, but now she felt her head spinning, “What are we trying to think here?” she asked “We saw them… they absorbed the power. They have it now.”

Sunset thought really deeply and even remembered a lesson she once learned as Celestia’s student back in Pony World, “Remember one rule of Magic and Friendship, Sunset: Things are not always what they seem.”

“Things are not always what they seem.”

She was so lost in her thoughts; Rainbow was calling to her and waving her hand in front of her face. “Sunset…? Yo’…! Earth to Sunset…! Are you okay?”

Sunset bolted up out of her chair, making everyone jump. “I want to go back to the digging spot.” she said “I think there may be something we overlooked.”

Before anyone could reply, the alarm sounded. “Whoa! Mega trouble!” cried Twilight, and everyone could see for themselves; the villains were causing much havoc in the city-- breaking up the streets, blowing up buildings, and all kinds of wickedness!

“But, our weapons aren’t ready yet!” cried Fluttershy.

“Oh, yes they are…” said Professor Brain as he came from the lab, pushing a small trolley cart with all the weapons lying on top, fully repaired.

The team was astonished that he got them fixed in such a short time, “Well, I always had anticipated they would need fixing, and I did always work best under pressure. I’ve even given them… eh… er… a special formulated coating so they shan’t burn too easily, but I must say, we haven’t had a chance to test it.”

“Never mind, we’ll have to do what we can.” said Rainbow.

“Come on, let’s go!” cried Buddy, and the rangers all dashed for the jump-tubes, but Sunset stopped at the last few feet and asked Celesto, “Please sir… just check out that spot again. I’m sure there may be something there.” then she was off.

Celesto thought it over, and while it was crazy to leave at a time like this, “Twilight, takeover. Spike, you come with me.”

“Huh?” asked Spike.

“But sir…” said Twilight. “Just come!” Celesto said to Spike, and he told Twilight, “Monitor the fight and keep me updated.”

Spike complied with his wishes, and the two left Twilight alone at the monitors.

KABOOM!! Prospector blew up a brick wall that lead straight into a bank in town, exposing all the gold inside. “YE-HAW!” he shouted “My first mother-load! Now I feel even younger!”

Several citizens gawked at what he had just done. “WHAT ARE YOU LOOKIN’ AT?!” he thundered at the people, and the trio of minions began to terrorizing them all and the city more, forcing the people to run away.

“Who’s next…?” shouted Marla.

“You’re next!” snapped Sunset, and she and the rangers all leapt onto the scene.

“You again!” snarled Bronc “Don’t you rangers get it?! We’ve won this time!”

“You guys will never win!” said Rainbow. “Not as long as we’re still around!” added Buddy.

“Well, we can fix that!” shouted Keto, and he fired a blast from his staff, forcing the rangers to dodge. “Get’ em!” shouted Sunset, and the rangers all lunged into battle!

“Let’s ride!” hissed Prospector, and he got out his shovel and pick and charged with his comrades.

The rangers fought valiantly as best they could. Their weapons proved to be much stronger, like Professor Brain promised, but even still, the villains fought more fiercely than ever, still having the upper-hand.

“We were just toying with you before.” hissed Marla “Now have a taste of our full-powers!” and with that, she slashed hard at Fluttershy, knocking her shield away again. She didn’t break it, but now Fluttershy was left exposed, and got slashed at hard by Marla’s claws.

“Hey…!
You’ll pay!” shouted Rhymey and he lunged at Marla, swinging his sword like crazy! Marla parried his attacks with her claws swiftly, but Rhymey actually managed to hit her hard in the face, making sparks fly!

“A’RGH!!” Marla groaned. She couldn’t believe he actually hit her, but she was completely outraged, and kicked him hard in his chest, and knocking him back hard.

Buddy lashed his whip catching hold of Keto’s staff. “Got’cha!” he thundered. “Who has whom?” Keto sneered, and his staff began to glow as he sent a wave of magical energy from the staff, along the whip and right up to Buddy, shocking him hard and making small explosions go all over, and poor Buddy was knocked off his feet and sent skidding along the ground.

“This isn’t working!” cried Rainbow, and she fired her cannon straight at Bronc. The explosions did hit him and he did growl as he brushed the smoke off him, “Now I’m mad!” and he lunged straight at her, tackling her to the ground and knocking her cannon away.

“Hang on, Rainbow!” cried Sunset and she ran her way over and jumped up high for a high-jump kick. “Oh, no ya don’t!” shouted Pospector, and he threw two sticks of dynamite at her, blowing her down.

Sunset landed with a crash and then bolted upright as the monster came at her with his shovel and pick. Sunset defended herself by parrying his moves with her scepter, and blasted his shovel out of his hand away, but he struck her hard with his pick, making sparks fly and sending Sunset rolling on the ground.

“Sunset!” cried Rainbow, Bronc only sat on top of her, pinning her to the ground, “Never mind that, and worry about me!” he hissed at her and he began to ram numerous punched into her.

“Hang on!” Fluttershy called as she and the boys rushed over and all kicked at once, actually shoving Bronc off of Rainbow. “Thanks guys!”

The trio were glad she was safe, but they each felt like they had kicked a solid rock wall, and their feet hurt a little.

“What’s wrong, Rangers? Can’t take the power!” taunted Bronc.

“Well, let us put you out of your misery!” shouted Keto, and he and the others all stood together and unleashed beams of energy through their eyes, making a big explosion and sent the rangers soaring all about and crashing down hard.

Twilight couldn’t bear to watch this on the monitors too much longer. “Rangers, are you alright?” she called into the radio.

“Yeah, in a matter of speaking.” replied Sunset.

“These guys just won’t go down.” said Buddy, “Our weapons are holding out, but I don’t think we can handle them like this much longer.”

“Try to stay strong.” said Twilight. “Use your Able Boost if you have to, but not all at once; just one of you at a time.” She just hoped she had suggested the right thing, wondering what happened to Celesto and Spike.

Celesto and Spike had revisited the digging scene. The hole was still there and so was the empty box the villains got their powers from. “Okay, remind me… what are we doing here again?” Spike asked. “We’re going to test Sunset’s theory.” replied Celesto “Maybe we did miss something. So you go in the hole and sniff around a bit for anything unusual.”

Spike sighed, “The things I do for the team.” but he complied and slid his way down into the hole where the box had once been buried.

No sooner had he gone in did Twilight contact Celesto via his cane-radio. “What is it, Twilight?”

“The rangers are in trouble. They can’t hold against the villains much longer.”

“Keep monitoring the fight, and if things get serious tell the rangers to retreat. Out…” Now he was deeply concerned, and was actually hoping Sunset’s theory was correct and that they would find something useful.

Meanwhile, Kasko had a full load of bulldozers, shredders, and even a few wrecking-cranes all setup and heading towards the jungle, and even a couple of drilling vehicles for digging once they had broken through.

Kasko stood, wearing a big golden hardhat and held copies of the plans while snickering. “This is sweet!” he snickered “This Jungle’s about to go bye-bye, the oil will be mine, and no authorities in sight or even that pest, Lightning.”

His goons chuckled, “Hey, Boss. Looks like one of your plans is finally gonna work out after all.”

Kasko took offense to that, “I accept your resignation!”

“But Boss…!!” cried the goon, and the other goon laughed at him.

Krysta was still stuck in her cage in the chopper, and her cage sat right next to Lightning’s backpack which had much of his tools and his morpher clipped on the front, and though she couldn’t see through the door or windows what was about to happen, as she was too low and on the floor, she didn’t like the sounds of those roaring machines getting all prepped up to take out the jungle.

Kasko and his team were so busy preparing, and due to the loud sounds of the machines, they couldn’t hear or see Lightning pulling up and hiding behind a rock-formation.

Using a pair of binoculars he found inside the jeep, he could see the machines, Kasko, and his chopper. He could see inside, “Krysta!” he cried softly, “And my backpack!” he could see his morpher too. “Ah!” he groaned, realizing he could never get close enough with Kasko so close, and all the other workers. Plus, Kasko and his goons were still armed with heavy shotguns and jungle weapons. “If only I could morph, then I’d been bulletproof and I could take them all out.

If only I had some kind of distraction.”

Alas, he had no weapons, no tools; except for the knife that stranger had given him. Other than it, he had nothing to distract the men.

Little he or the men know, that the very stranger who gave Lightning the knife, was lurking at the forest edge, and was armed with large coconut husks with tissue cloth sticking through them.

The stranger then rubbed two branches together to make them hot and burn, which they then used to light the clothed fuses!

“Okay, let’s do it!!” Kasko shouted, signaling for the demolition to begin.

To Be Continued...!

Episode 17: Gift from and old Friend: Final Part

EPISODE SEVENTEEN

Suddenly, coconuts were thrown out from the thickets of the jungle right near the vehicles. They hit the ground and exploded unleashing green clouds of smoke.

“What the…!” shouted one of the drivers, and he suddenly began to feel woozy and collapsed, falling out of his seat and out of the vehicle.

“It’s knockout gas!” cried another driver as he slammed his door shut and rolled up the window to keep himself safe from the fumes.

“What’s going on!” shouted Kasko, and that’s when two more coconut gas-bombs were fired at him and his goons. “Run!!” he shouted just as they exploded and unleashed more gas.

Lightning saw the whole thing and wondered who was doing that, but they seemed to be giving him to opening he needed to sneak over to the chopper.

Krysta flapped for joy when she saw him, “Lightning!!” she cried. “Shhh…!” snapped Lightning “Don’t worry, everything’s going to be okay.” He grabbed his morpher and Krysta in her cage. “It’s time Kasko got a taste of ranger power!”

Kasko was growing really irritated with all these coconut gas-bombs, and he armed his rifle. “Shoot into the thickets.” he said to his goons. The goons agreed, and the three men began to shoot right through the trees and brambles.

The stranger ducked down to avoid getting hit, but unfortunately the men shot so recklessly that one of their shots caused a huge tree-limb to fall right on the stranger’s head, knocking them unconscious.

When the coconut bombs stopped coming, Kasko assumed they hit their target. “Let’s see who’s in there.” He and his team were about to move in…

“Not so fast!” Lightning shouted.

Kasko winced, “That voice…!” he turned round and saw Lightning, morphed, “Game’s over, Kasko!” Lightning said to him, “Give it up, or face the consequences!”

Kasko, completely outraged that Lightning had survived, shouted to his men, “Shoot him!”

His goons fired their every last shot at him, but Lightning’s ranger suit didn’t even get scratched, much to their chagrin! “So that’s how you want it?” said Lightning “Fine by me!”

Kasko was still not willing to admit to defeat, and whistled to the remaining workers in their big machines to get at him! The workers complied and revved their machines, bounding straight for him, while Lightning stood on-guard and ready to take them on!

Meanwhile, the other rangers weren’t faring so well. Four of the rangers were on the ground, looking weak and beaten up, and Sunset was fighting with the villains until her Able-Boost wore out leaving her feeling weak and tired as well, which gave the villains the opening they needed to blast her hard and send her to the ground with the others.

“Sunset!” cried Rainbow.

The villains all laughed, “Face it city-slickers,” said Prospector “Whoever has the gold and the power makes all the rules.”

The others looked confused, “How does that ever work in this situation?” asked Keto. “Who cares?” said Marla “Finally, after all this time, these little freaks are going to be destroyed.”

Bronc snickered, “And with no more power rangers, conquering this world will be a snap!”

The villains all laughed with the thought of their victory, while the rangers barely managed to sit up right. “It’s no use! They’re just too strong!” cried Sunset.

“Our suits are almost out of power.” cried Fluttershy “What are we going to do?”

Marla suddenly bound all the rangers up in her long red hair, and held them all together. “Take a deep breath, Rangers. It’ll be your last!” she laughed at them, and she began to put pressure on them, holding them tighter.

“What might!
So tight!” groaned Rhymey.

“Can… hardly… breathe!” cried Buddy.

The others villains chuckled, and prepared to finish the job once and for all!

Spike was still looking in the hole, and Celesto shone a flashlight down inside so the dog could see well. “Do you see anything?” Celesto called to him.

“Nope, nothing but dirt.” replied Spike, and then…! “Wait…! I smell something, something metallic!” and he began to dig with his little paws and he unearthed a second box, identical to the one the villains had stolen.

“Heads up…!” Spike called and he tossed the box way up where Celesto caught it. Celesto then looked at the box closely wondering what could be inside it.

“Um, hello…” Spike called “Still down here. Need help up!” but Celesto was too memorized by the box to hear him, and seeing as the box wasn’t locked, he lifted up the latch and inside was another large glowing orb of light. The light leapt up, up, and then split into six smaller pieces. Five of the lights flew off in the same direction-- towards the city, while the sixth one headed up, up into the sky, and flew off far to the East-- bound for Africa

“What was that?” he wondered.

“What was what?!” Spike called “Help me out of here!”

Marla continued to tightening he grip round the rangers, while her comrades stood ready to fire and destroy them forever. “Farewell, Power Rangers!” hissed Bronc. “It was fun while it lasted.” added Keto.

“Draw!” shouted Prospector!

Suddenly, there was a bright flash, and the villains all looked up and saw five glowing orbs of light fly in out of nowhere. “What are those?” asked Keto, and before anyone could answer, the lights began to swirl and dart at the villains like pesky mosquitoes.

The villains swatted at the lights as they all flew by, and they all began to spin in circles and crash all over one-another and the lights then turned to Marla, swirling around her, and even darting right at her, actually hitting her, knocking her down, and causing her to let go of the rangers.

All of them looked at the lights. “What are those lights?” asked Buddy. None of the others could tell… until the lights swirled around each ranger, and sank into their morpher badges, which made their suits glow brightly.

“What’s going on?” asked Rainbow “I can feel my strength growing again.”

The villains couldn’t believe what was happening either, and everyone, they and the rangers, heard a voice calling to them.

“Rangers…! It’s me, Flash!”

“Flash?” cried Sunset “What’s going on?”

“No time to explain, just listen carefully.” said Flash “I have merged my special power into your suits. Whenever you need, call upon the “Crystal Battle Armor.”

The glowing stopped, and Flash said no more, leaving the rangers astonished and anxious to try this new gift out.

“But how is this possible?” asked Fluttershy.

“Is it even probable?” rhymed Rhymey.

“Never mind, I say we try it out, now.” said Buddy

Sunset agreed, “You bad guys are in for it now.” she sneered at the snarling villains.

The villains growled.

“Ready, guys…?” Sunset asked the others. “READY!!” they replied, and all together they shouted, “CRYSTAL BATTLE ARMOR!!”

Somehow, their morphers had been reprogramed as even the automated voice called out, “Crystal Armor, Engage!”

The rangers all began to glow brightly as shimmering sparkles flickered around their suits, followed by a wild and dramatic effect scene-- in which each ranger was encased in a crystal spike that emerged from the grounds beneath them. The tips of the spikes then opened up like blooming flowers, as each ranger stood before an exploding background.

The villains glared at the rangers in extreme shock; each of their suits were coated in a light powdered-blue crystal-like armor-- shoulder pads, torso armor, armored samurai like skirts, even their helmets were replaced with silvery guards with visors, and spikes atop the heads, and each ranger was armed with a special crystallite saber, sheathed on their backs.

Twilight witnessed the whole thing on the monitors, and was amazed, almost beyond words. “The power levels are going crazy!” she said with glee. “It’s even stronger than the Able Boost!”

“It worked!” cried Sunset.

“Whoa! This feels so neat!” exclaimed Rainbow.

“I almost feel like I’ve got my Starfleet powers back.” added Buddy.

Rhymey clenched his fists feeling so much power coursing through him.

“Now that we’re back at our best,
Let’s put these new powers to the test!”

“Yeah!!” shouted Fluttershy. For the first time in a while, she never felt so brave, willing and able.

Bronc clenched his fists, “I don’t care how fancy you look in those costumes! We’ll still take you all down.”

“YEAH!!” the others agreed.

“We’ll just see about that!” said Sunset, and she drew out her sword. “Let’s go, guys!”

The others drew their swords and cried out like ready warriors!

“Get ‘em!” shouted Marla.

The villains all rushed forth and the rangers lunged too.

Marla swung her claws at Fluttershy, striking her armor hard making sparks fly, but Fluttershy didn’t feel a thing, nor did she even flinch.

“What?!” snapped Marla. Fluttershy snickered, and then gave one slash with her sword, knocking Marla back hard.

Bronc went after Buddy and Rhymey, ceaselessly swinging his fists and shooting at them, but now only did this new armor make the rangers stronger, it made them swifter as well; making it easier to dodge all the attacks. “You can’t dodge me forever!” Bronc growled.

“We don’t plan to!” said Buddy.

Rhymey agreed and rhymed “Take this, you!” and they both punched him hard in the chest and back with their free hands, making small explosions, and severely damaging Bronc hard. The two rangers slapped each other a high five that make sparks upon impact.

Keto and Rainbow stood starring each other down, ready for the fast draw. “Think you’re so cool with that fancy armor?” Keto scoffed. “Sure I think, unlike you!” Rainbow sneered.

Keto growled and unleashed a huge magical burst from his staff straight at her, but Rainbow held out her sword and the blade actually absorbed the power right inside it, and reflected it right back at Keto, knocking him back really hard.

“Wow! Super-Cool…!” Rainbow exclaimed.

Then finally, Sunset was battling with Prospectror, her sword and his pick and shovel. “No yella belly varmint’s a’gonna me from my gold…!” Prospector growled.

“One, it’s not your gold!” snapped Sunset, “And two…” she paused and gave her sword a huge swing, breaking the shovel and pick to pieces, “…I don’t have a yellow belly. I’m the red ranger.”

Prospector found himself surrounded by all five rangers. He was unarmed and had no time to light up any dynamite he had. “Oh, Nellie… I’m in for it now!” he cried.

“You’re through, Prospector!” said Buddy.

Seeming to already have some knowledge of their new powers, the rangers were ready t try their new finisher moves. “Crystallite Sabers, Ignite!” cried Sunset.

“Crystallite-Saber… Engage!”

All the sabers were glowing with a bright and shimmering sparkle, and each ranger pirouetted around making circles of energy waves above their heads. “CRYSTAL SLASH!!”

They all slashed their blades, striking the monster, and he roared and cried out as his body was basked in light, dispelling the magic that made him young and reverting him back to his old crusty self again. “I’M TOO OLD FOR THIS!!” he growled, and he exploded and was still imprisoned in a sphere.

The minions couldn’t believe what just happened. “Forget this! Let’s split!” shouted Keto.

“Never!” shouted Bronc, Marla agreed with him, until the rangers all turned to face them, still glowing brightly, “Um… on second-thought…” Marla cried. Even Bronc couldn’t deny it now. “We still have our new powers rangers, and we’ll see you again! Mark my words!”

Then they vanished and were gone!

“We’ll be here waiting for you creeps!” thundered Sunset.

The rangers looked all around at the damages the villains had done, and the tips of their swords began to glow. “Now what’s happening?” asked Fluttershy.

Sunset took a good look at the light. “I wonder…” and she held her sword out over a few cracks in the road, and all at once, the cracks were fixed in a glow of bright light. “It’s restoration magic!”

The others stared at their swords in awe and then they unleashed their magic about the town, restoring all the damages done, and while the magic could not heal physical human injuries, at least the city was back to normal.

With all this settled, Sunset picked up the sphere containing the newly captured monster, and made it official. “Monster Captured! Mission Complete.”

While all that happened, Lightning approached Kasko and his team of mighty machines, when out of nowhere, this light came flying in and zapped his suit, and he too donned Crystallite Armor.

“Oh, no, look at him now!” one of the goons cried.

Lightning had no idea what was happening or how it was happening, but he liked this new power, and while he didn’t have a sword like the other rangers did, he didn’t need one. Instead, he had a huge bazooka, linked to his gauntlets by a threading of wires.

“You guys are toast!” he said deeply as he cocked his weapons.

“Crystal Cannon, Engage!”

Even the workers in their mighty machines knew this was bad and all began to rush out panicking. “Come back here you cowards!” Kasko shouted “DON’T LEAVE!!” but even his goons fled the scene as well.

Kasko turned round, just as Lightning fired his weapon, unleashing a huge wave of light straight at the machines, blowing them all up in a colossal explosion.

The explosion was so massive that it alerted the attention of the authorities, whom were already on route to the danger zone in choppers and jets with paddy wagons on the land below.

“What the heck is that?” One of the men cried.

“Let’s check it out.” said another.

At the dangers sight, the smoke had cleared from the ground, and Kasko looked up and gasped in horrors! All the machines had been blown to bits of burning scrap-metal, and Lightning stood looming over him in a threatening pose.

Kasko had no chance at all now, and he surrendered.

That’s when the authorities arrived on the scene, and Kasko practically dashed up to them, wailing “I admit it! I did it! I did it all! Just please… Please… keep me away from that guy!” he motioned at Lightning.

The police looked over at Lightning, “He’s right.” Lightning responded, “Follow the tire-tracks from here, you’ll find the underground warehouse with all their plans and everything else you need, and there’s a whole bunch more of them that ran East.”

The police chief instructed his men to chase after all the runaways, “But what about all this mess?” he asked to Lightning.

“Stand back.” Lightning simply said, and he used his powers, just like the other rangers had, and magically made the burning heaps vanish and restored the grass to normal.

“Whoa!” the chief exclaimed “Neat stuff.”

Lightning nodded, and de-morphed, and he helped the police survey the area, and he gave his side of the story and everything.

Soon, the men were all locked up in the paddy-wagon, and Lightning had taken the vial from Kasko to see what the liquid he found really was.

“I’ll get you for this, Lightning Dawn!” Kasko threatened “All that oil was almost mine!”

“Oil?” asked the Chief “I’m telling you, bucko; there is no oil in these parts.”

“That’s what I told him.” Lightning said as he came up with the vial in his hand, “This stuff is just a greasy hair-tonic. People in this country use it all the time.”

Kasko felt horribly humiliated.

“Well, let that be a lesson to you.” said the chief, and then he motioned for the driver to take the crooks all away to jail until the international authorities would decide what to do with them.

As the wagon drove away, Kasko kept calling out, “I’ll get you, Lightning Dawn! I’LL GET YOU!!”

Lightning sighed, “That’s what he always says.”

Suddenly, he noticed Krysta was sitting on a tree branch over by the jungle and was waving at him, meaning she had found something! “Oh, excuse me a moment, will you?” Lightning asked, and the chief let him go.

Lightning bounded over the jungle brush, where no one could hear him talk to Krysta, “What is it?”

“There’s someone over here.” cried Krysta. Lightning quickly leapt round the tree, and to his surprise, “That’s the person that helped me.”

He realized the person was unconscious, and pulled the huge fallen tree-limb of off the body, which made the person’s hood fall down, revealing the face of a pale-skinned African woman with white and black stripped hair. “Zecora…!”

It was her! Lightning and Krysta would recognize her anywhere. She looked exactly the same when they saw her long ago.

“We’ve got to get her some help.” said Lightning, and he scooped Zecora up in his arms to take her back to the police.

Meanwhile, the villains made it back to the tower, and The Sirens stood where they were they were, staring sourly at them with their arms folded, and tapping their toes.

“Let me see if we get this right.” said Adagio “You had all this power, and yet you still got whooped by the rangers?”

The minions, nervously stammered, and tried to come up with their excuses, “Oh, shut up already!” said Aria “We forgive you.”

The minions gawked at their leaders with confusion and shock. “You actually forgive us?” asked Marla.

“Duh!” said Sonata “You may not have a beat the rangers, yet, but you still got these wicked powers, just as we’re perfecting some powerful moves of our own.”

Adagio nodded, “Once we have things perfected, and YOU THREE learn to control your new powers… we’ll destroy those rangers.”

The minions, ever so grateful, got down by the girl’s feet, groveling and kissing their hands. “Thank you, mistresses!” said Bronc.

“We’re truly grateful to you all!” added Keto.

The Sirens only felt akward.

The Rangers made it back to base where Twilight, the professor and all the rest of the team would have a field day wanting to study the new Crystal Powers infused into The Ranger’s suits.

“This is extraordinary.” said Twilight “I’ve never seen anything like it, but until we understand more about it, it’d probably be best to save this armor-mode as last-minute resorts.”

“Still, I’m glad we managed to fix all that damage.” said Fluttershy “Now Mr. Grandruller doesn’t have to pay for all the repairs.”

Even Celesto had to a agree, “While I am relieved that everyone is safe for now, the villains are still at large, with their new powers after all.”

“He’s right.” said Rainbow “They’ll be back, and they might be stronger than ever.”

“Maybe…” said Buddy “But they know that we have the crystal armor, and it can easily stand up to them, for now.”

Rhymey agreed, but he thought deeply of something and asked,

“There were two boxes down hidden from view.
Sunset, why did Flash not tell this to you…?”

Sunset shook her head, “I don’t know…” but she was about to get her answer when there was a flash of bright light shining in the room, and Flash’s spirit appeared before them all once again.

“It’s because you woke up too fast, I didn’t have time to tell you in your dream.” he answered “All I could give you was the clues of where to find it.”

Sunset felt a little silly.

Then Spike asked sternly, “The why didn’t you just come to us now and tell us everything?”

“Because my spirit wasn’t free enough without my full power being unleashed.” replied Flash, and he immediately told everyone his story.

“I remember, while still originally evil, I had hidden not one, but two special boxes containing essences of my alien powers. One box contained small powers of my evil magic, and that was the power the villains had dug up. I suspected that they would try and steal the power if they knew you were searching for it.”

The rangers all had sour looks on their faces. “He knew we’d get into this trouble.” Rainbow whispered.

Flash went on and explained, “The second box contained more magical essence of my strength and crystal armor. I knew the villains would never find it, but you would, despite the lack of evidence, because I knew Sunset would understand things.

I knew her for… quite a while, remember?”

He referred to the time how they used to date, which made Sunset fell a little embarrassed, and ashamed as it reminded her of her mean-girl days.

“Still, now that you’ve all taken my power, it helps my spirit to rest even more knowing it is being used for good, and with it your enemies won’t stand a chance! Not even with the powers they still have.”

Celesto bowed gratefully to him, “Thank you, Flash. This is truly a remarkable gift you have given us. I only wish there were some way to repay you.”

Flash shook his head, “Think nothing of it. Besides, spirits don’t need that much anyway.”

Everyone held in a laugh, but it still saddened them that he was… dead after all, but Flash didn’t seem to mind one bit. “Farewell, my friends… and good luck ahead.” Then he vanished, and was gone. He wouldn’t be able to help them much anymore, but everyone felt satisfied that he had helped them a great deal.

Episode 18: Rising worries

Author's Note

this ep may be short and the plot a bit dry, but I am getting freakishly bored of this fic (still several eps to go to make 26) plus, it's hard to juggle two separate plots at once

Episode 18: Rising worries

EPISODE EIGHTEEN

Lightning brought Zecora back to town, escorted by the police chief and his remaining team, straight to the hospital.

“We need some help here!” Lightning called out. The doctors and nurses came out with a stretcher. “What happened?” asked the doctor. “A tree-limb fell on her, it hit her really hard. I think she has concussion!”

The people got in closer, but as soon as they removed Zecora’s hood, and saw who she was, they backed away in fright. “It’s Zecora!” a nurse cried.

“Keep her away!” cried another one.

Lightning was livid and confused, “She needs help!”

The doctors and nurses hesitated, and naturally, because of their oath to help people, no matter whom they were or how they felt, they were forced to help her out. “Let’s get her settled in.” said the doctor.

Lightning stopped one of the nurses and asked, “What’s with everyone? Every time I so much as mention her to anyone, they all act as if they’ve seen a ghost.”

The nurse decided to tell him everything.

(Que intro)

At the Prison Tower, The Sirens were practicing their singing, which helped to test their new powers, by levitating a few simple objects on the table, and even levitating the table itself.

“Cool, it works!” cried Sonata, but by speaking, she broke the concentration, and the table and objects crashed down on the floor, “…Sorry.”

The others sighed, but they were content that their new magic was working out, but it still needed some work.

“I think you all sounded incredible.” said Keto. The Sirens felt flattered, “Thanks, I guess…” said Adagio “But in the meantime, you might want to send a monster out already?”

“Yeah, we need to keep the rangers distracted so they don’t get onto our big plans.” added Aria “And if the rangers get destroyed… whatever! Just let us practice.”

“You got it…” said Keto, “And I know just the one for the job.”

He left the chamber, and called down to Marla and Bronc, “Okay, let him out!”

His comrades nodded at him and then opened a cell releasing a new monster. He was called Float-A-Bob, and he seemed to be a rather weird looking monster. His head resembled that of a life preserve with a monstrous face, and his body, though it looked like a big balloon, it was solid like steel, for it was a giant air-tank.

“BOOYA! I’m ready to blow!” he chuckled.

Keto teleported down to the others and explained, “The bosses inspired me.

I did some research on this guy, and he’s got the power to make things rise off the ground like balloons. Think of it; how can the rangers fight if they’re stuck in midair?”

“Hmm… seems plausible.” said Marla “But we have all these super powers. Why don’t we just go and crush those pests ourselves?”

Bronc gave her a flick to her head with his fingers, “You dummy! You heard what the mistresses said: We need to keep our powers for what they’re really needed, it’s all part of their plan… whatever that may be. If the rangers get us in battle, everything could be ruined.”

“Ha!” scoffed Float, “You just leave those rangers to me. You won’t need any big plans when I’m through them with them. I’ll float them up so high, they’ll be helpless.”

Then he headed off, and Keto snickered “This is going to be fun.”

Bronc and Marla on the other hand, smelled another failure in the making.

When Float arrived in the city, “Now, let’s see. What would get the ranger’s attention?” and then he realized, “Ah… of course.”

He began to inflate smaller preserver-shaped, which were actually powerful explosives that he pitched into the streets. KAPOW!! KABOOM!! Explosions erupted all over, damaging the streets and frightening the people. “Talk about a blow up.” Float laughed.

The Rangers, already morphed, arrived on the scene in no time. “You there!” shouted Sunset “Whoever you are, knock it off or we’ll knock you out!”

“Ha!” snapped Float “You’ll have to blow your way through my friends first.” And he called forth a swarm of Lingos, “Attack!”

The Lingos rushed forth, and rangers lunged at them.

Sunset did a tornado kick, and knocked one of them down easily. Then elbowed another in the guy and flipped it by the arm and flat onto its back.

Three more Lingos charged and Rainbow and she began to act like a sports commenter and a soccer-player. “The field’s wide open! The offense is closing in…!” she called it right as the Lingos attacked, and she gave a single a dramatic soccer-kick, knocking them all down in one shot.

Buddy brawled the Lingos that came at him, “You’d think with all that power they absorbed, they’d improve their fighting styles.”

“Guess they never learn.” said Rhymey, and he bonked two Lingos’ heads together, “Which is why they burn!”

Fluttershy was surrounded by several Lingos, but she waited until they all lunged at her at once and then leapt up high, causing them to crash into each other.

“Got’cha!” hissed Float, and he tossed two special preservers straight at her, which ensnared her and bound her tightly, and cuffed her legs together. “Help…! I can’t move!” she cried.

“Fluttershy!” shouted Sunset, and before she knew it, the monster ensnared her as well, and the others.

“What is this?” snapped Rainbow.

“Man, these things are snug tight!” added Buddy.

Float laughed at the helpless rangers, “What’s the matter? Feeling a bit down? Well, let ME give you a lift!” and his head began to glow brightly, along with the binds around the rangers.

“Uh-oh!” cried Sunset “I know what this is! I recognize the glowing.”

“What is it then?” asked Fluttershy, but she suddenly got her answer as she began to rise up off the ground like a balloon, followed by each of the others.

“We’re rising off the ground!
We’re air-bound!” cried Rhymey.

“It’s levitation magic…!” said Sunset “We’re just going to keep going higher and higher!”

The monster laughed at them as they continued to rise, “That’s right, until I decide to let you down that is… which I will… from way high up, and you’ll plummet to your doom!”

The rangers whimpered behind their helmets as they rose higher and higher into the air. They couldn’t reach for their morphers, and even if they could break out of the binds, they’d just fall anyway.

“Whoa! High… High… Very high!” cried Rainbow. Much as she loved flying, she didn’t like being suspended high up over things!

“Sunset, can’t you use your own magic?” asked Buddy.

“I don’t think so…” said Sunset “These hoops are too tight, I can’t concentrate!”

The rangers continued to rise, and Float laughed wickedly. “Now, I think I’ll do more. I think I’ll lift this entire city way up into the sky and smash it down hard!”

He unleashed more hoops, giant ones that fit perfectly around the many large buildings in the city and lifted them weightlessly into the air, with so many people stuck inside them, panicking and yelling out for help as the buildings went higher and higher.

At the ranger’s base, the alarms were going off like crazy. “Sir, are you seeing this?!” cried Twilight. Celesto nodded, “If those buildings come down, it’ll make the biggest mess we’ve ever known, maybe even damage to the island to the point of sinking.”

Spike gulped nervously at such a thought, “What are we going to do?”

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Zecora was being treated to, and Lightning was aghast to hear of why people were so freaked out over her…

It turned out that many conspiracies about Zecora were spread throughout the land, that Zecora was more of a wicked witch rather than a witchdoctor-- the way she would live deep in the jungle, gathering strange ingredients like spider legs, or ivy plants and things like that.

Then one day, there was a fire in the jungle where her hut used to be, and it was believed that she started it, as she was tired of people seeking her out asking for her to help them with her powers to communicate with spirits and nature, and she just disappeared, and was only seen every so often by passersby who had seen her in her robe as she crept through town at night.

“Well, that’s just silly.” said Lightning. He didn’t believe for one minute that Zecora would do such things, not the way he knew her.

The doctor came out, and Lightning looked at him with anxiousness on his face wanting to hear the results. “She’s got a little bruising on her head, but she’s stable for now.”

Lightning was relieved, “Will she wake up?”

“She should, but it will take time.” replied the doctor, “I’m surprised you brought her here, of all the people. Some of the other patients are feeling creeped out.”

Lightning sighed, “Look, I don’t know what you people think, but that woman saved my life earlier, and years ago as well, and she even helped me out. I think I know her better than any of you do.”

The doctor and the nurse didn’t know what to think now, but they promised to do all that they could for Zecora. Then they went off to tend to other patients, leaving Lightning with nothing to do but wait until Zecora would awaken.

Suddenly he could hear a tapping on the window in the hallway. It was Krysta, she, like all pets, wasn’t allowed in the hospital. Lightning made sure no one was watching, and opened the window.

“How is she?” Krysta asked.

“They say she’s alright…” he paused.

“But…?” Krysta asked.

“Well… I can’t watch her every single second. Visiting hours will be over soon anyway. So I want you to watch outside her window.”

“You think she’ll try and make a break for it?”

“She might. There are a lot of stories going on about her, but we can’t let her get away. Remember, she’s the only one that can help us.”

Krysta agreed to keep watch.

Meanwhile, the rangers were flying higher and higher still, and were now over-one-thousand feet high.

Some of them were shivering…

“Ooh, it’s getting colder as we go higher.
And it won’t be long before magic will expire.” said Rhymey.

“He’s… right…!” chattered Fluttershy, and she motioned with her head at how the hoops were starting to lose their light.

“The magic…!” cried Sunset “It’s fading...!”

The rangers all looked down, and what a drop it was. Not to mention all the buildings that were rising up beneath them, all full of panicking civilians.

“I feel sorrier for those peeps than for us.” said Rainbow.

Buddy struggled and pulled, “It’s no use! These hoops are too tight! We can’t break free.”

“Even if we could, how can we possibly save all those people and the buildings?” asked Fluttershy.

Down below, Float-A-Bob was snickering wickedly, “I think they’re just about high enough. Any second now, they’ll start falling like rocks, and then I’ll send the buildings to crash down right on top of their remains!”

Unfortunately for him, back at the rangers’ base, “I’ve got it!” said Twilight “We’ll send out the Star-Jets and fly them on remote. We’ll catch the rangers in the cockpits and use the tractor beams to hold the buildings.”

Celesto thought it over, “It’s feasible, and it just may work.

Alright! Do it!”

Twilight nodded, “Launch Star-Jets!”

“Summon Zords!”

The jets were launched…

…And not a moment too soon.

“Now!!” shouted Float, and his floatation spell ceased on the rangers, their hoop binds vanished, and the rangers began to plummet down, down, down…!!

“It was nice knowing you, guys!” Rainbow called to her friends.

“Ah, man! This is it!” cried Buddy.

Float could see them falling from the ground and he laughed at the sight, “Happy landings, Rangers!” but suddenly the Star Jets came soaring in up over him, “What the--?!”

“Look! The Star Jets!” cried Sunset.

Celesto then called over the radio, “Rangers, try to fall into the cockpits of your jets.”

“I don’t think I can make it!” cried Fluttershy.

“Yes you will,
Just keep still.” said Rhymey.

Fluttershy did as she was told, and didn’t flail around…

…while at the base, the others were controlling the Star Jet’s moments. “Steady! Steady on!” said Celesto.

Twilight and Spike were feeling sweaty and nervous. They had to aim the jets exactly right and keep the approach steady. “If we’re off even by so much as inch, we could end up hitting the rangers hard!” cried Twilight “It’ll slice them in half like bananas!”

“Here they come!” cried Spike “The cockpits are open.”

The jets hovered softly beneath each ranger, and every slowly began to rise up, catching each ranger so they each landed safely in their seats. “Whoa!” cried Sunset “What a catch!”

“Talk about a wicked aerial stunt!” said Rainbow.

Fluttershy didn’t know if she’d ever feel the same again, but Rhymey was glad she was safe.

“Hey! That’s not fair!” wailed the monster “Rotten Rangers, you cheated somehow!”

“Rangers…!” Twilight called to the team “Use your tractor beams to grab the buildings. Hurry before they fall!”

“Got it, Twilight.” said Spike “You heard her guys. Let’s help those people.”

“Firing tractor beam!” said Buddy.

All the jets beams caught each and every building, steadying them out just as the levitation magic ceased, much to the monster’s annoyance!

“That’s it! Blow up my plans? I don’t think so!”

Keto saw everything from the tower monitors. “I couldn’t agree more.” he said, and he decided to call upon one of his old tricks. He stepped up to the window and held his staff out, “FORTISSIMO!!”

The magical mugic flew to Mystic Island and worked its spell on the monster, making him grow to a giant size.

“Whoa! Look!” cried Rainbow.

The giant monster stood tall and laughed wickedly. “Now let’s have a REAL airshow!” he taunted, and he unleashed more of his explosive hoops at the jets. The explosions rocked the jets hard, and shook their rangers about in their cockpits. Worse than that, the buildings were all shaken about, and the poor civilians inside were rocked about hard!

“Hold it steady!” cried Sunset “We can’t drop the buildings!”

“Oh! Those poor people!” cried Fluttershy.

Buddy whirled his jet round to face the monster, just as he unleashed more explosives. “Fire lasers!” shouted Buddy, and he blasted two explosives to bits, but the force of the explosion still caused the tractor beams to wave softly, and rock the buildings about.

“Ah, man!” cried Buddy “We can’t even fight to defend ourselves. We’ve got to keep that monster distracted so we can set the buildings down!”

“But how?” asked Rainbow “We can’t form the megazord, not with the buildings in tow.”

Twilight heard their concerns, “It’s okay, we thought of this.” She said to the rangers, “I’ve sent the Comet Striker.”

“That’s great,
But we can’t wait.” said Rhymey

“We must set these buildings where they were at the start,
If we don’t… then soon they’ll shake apart.”

“Let’s hurry!” said Sunset, and the jet’s all veered off to put the buildings back where they belonged.

“You can’t fly away from me!” Flat called to them, “I can shoot you from this far!” and he suddenly was rammed hard as the Comet Striker crashed right into him and sent him rolling along the ground.

The Striker stood ready, punching its fists together, and the monster got onto his feet, “Okay you oversized tin-can! Now I’m full of hot air!” and he rushed forth, punching and attacking like crazy.

“Try me, Air-head!” Twilight sneered, and she hammered on the controls while keeping her eyes on the monitors, making the Striker fight back.

The Striker punched and blocked the monster’s fists, and socked him hard in his metal chest, but didn’t cause him much damage, while the monster kicked the Striker back, making sparks fly.

The two then collided in a great big fist struggle and pushed against one another.

The monster laughed, “Now take this!” and he socked the zord hard in the face, knocking it back a few paces. “Now for my next trick, the flying explosives!” shouted Float, and he fired his explosives right at the zord, creating many explosions, and the Striker fell over on its back.

“Oh, no!” cried Twilight.

“Come on, Twilight! Get it back up!” cried Spike.

“I’m trying!” yelled Twilight as she hammered the controls. “Come on! Come on…!”

Float approached the fallen zord, “Looks like someone could use a little lift. Or in your case, a big thrash…!” and he raised his arms to strike the zord hard, when suddenly he got slashed at by the Jet-Star Megazord and its sword.

“Looks like your problems just doubled.” Sunset called out.

The megazord then gave the Striker a hand and helped it upright onto its feet.

“Ha!” scoffed the monster, “Try these on for size!” and he bound the two zords in large hoops, holding them tightly in place. The megazord even dropped its sword to the ground.

“The legs, I can’t move them!” cried Rainbow.

“The arms are stuck too!
What’ll we do?!” added Rhymey

“Going up!” hissed the monster, the hoops glowed just like before, and the two zords were lifted right off the ground. “He’s lifting us up again!” cried Fluttershy.

“Oh, no he’s not! Not this time.” said Sunset “Ultra-Star Megazord, Now!”

“Zords Combine!”

The transformation worked, and succeeded in breaking the bindings as the zords combined together.

“Ultra-Star Megazord, Ready!”

And the since the megazord was capable of flight, it used its rockets to soften its landing, and Float-A-Bob’s magic wouldn’t work on it like the others! “Now I’m really steaming up!” the monster growled, and he meant that quite literally as hot air seemed to burst through him.

“Well, here…! Let us cool you off!” said Sunset. With that, the zord raised its fists, fired its rockets, and thrust forward, punching Float hard in his metal tank, puncturing it and letting all the air out in a huge burst of clear smog.

“My air tank…!” Float cried out “My beautiful tank! Look what you’ve done!”

“Now’s out chance!” shouted Sunset “Charging energy blast!”

“Energy Charge, Ready!”

Once the charge was ready, the rangers shouted, “STAR BLAST WAVE… FIRE!!” the wave was unleashed, enveloping the monster. “I’M FEELING A LITTLE AIRSICK!!” he screamed, and he exploded, was imprisoned and beamed into the cockpit.

The rangers cheered and rejoiced, and Sunset declared, “Monster Captured! Mission Complete!”

Back at the Prison Tower, the villains sulked. “Well, that didn’t go very well at all.” said Marla.

Keto angrily slammed his staff into the wall in outrage. “If only I could’ve been out there, then they and that city would be in ruins!!” He kept on smashing and pounding the wall in his tantrum until The Siren started singing, and their magical voices actually soothed him.

“Feel better now?” asked Adagio.

“Yes… as a matter of fact I do.”

The others all sighed, “I can understand his frustration as well.” said Bronc “The rangers seem to be getting stronger, more clever all the time!”

“Well so are we…” said Aria “And keep in mind, these pitiful loses don’t mean that much. It just helps us to get them to expose more of their resources and maybe even their weaknesses, which helps bring us closer to beating them!”

“Yeah!” said Sonata, “Uh… how exactly?”

Everyone groaned and just walked away.

“No… really-- What?”

The rangers delivered their capture to the base, where Celesto was just getting off the phone with the construction foremen and authorities on the buildings. He was careful not to let them know HE was the rangers’ manager, “Thank you… and yes I wish I knew more about those rangers too.” and he hung up.

“Well done, Rangers. The Foremen informs me all the buildings are perfectly set down again where they should be. Some of the civilians were hurt, but nothing too serious.”

“I’m very relieved to hear that.” said Fluttershy.

Sunset then stepped forth and explained, “With the Comet Striker keeping the monster at bay. We were able to return to buildings to their proper locations, and then used our Crystal-Battle Armor healing to secure them all in place.”

Buddy cut in, “Once the buildings were all safe we headed straight back to the battle, and a good thing too.”

“Still…” said Rainbow “Even though we came close, that was a pretty lame monster they sent after us. I mean, they have all that power, why didn’t they come after us themselves again?”

Rhymey thought it over and said,

“This is just a thought
It’s all I’ve got.

They may have much power, but do we,
Perhaps they’re testing, observing us closely.”

“It’s possible...” agreed Twilight “There’s no way of telling what The Sirens are really up to.”

Spike felt a shudder crawl up his doggy back. “I hope Lightning’s having better luck in his own mission.”

“So do I, Spike.” said Celesto and he checked his watch, “It’s well after nightfall in Africa now. I wonder what’s going on over there.”

Visiting hours had ended long ago at the hospital, and Lightning had left prior to, but he remained within close vicinity and kept a careful watch outside of Zecora’s window, which was on ground level.

Krysta remained perched in the tree near the window itself.

“I really hope she doesn’t try to flee.” Lightning said to himself, all he could do now was continue to watch.

Episode 19: Scary Thoughts

EPISODE NINETEEN

The summer mornings were bright and often filled with joy and hope for the people who enjoyed the outdoors, but this morning however, Buddy was looking a little down as he worked at the community garden, and this bad sight to be seen, as usually gardening is where he felt most at peace and content; tending to the flowers, picking vegetables for the Farmer’s Market, but not today.

Rhymey came jogging down the street as part of his morning routine, and decided to stop at the garden.

“Hey Hi,
Buddy guy.” he called.

“Just though I’d drop by
And get flowers for Fluttershy.”

Buddy grimly looked up and told him, “Just pick whatever you want, and I’ll ring it up for you at the front.”

His sadness did not go unnoticed, and Rhymey approached his friend.

“Hey…
Is everything okay?
You seem rather grim today.”

Buddy sighed, “It’s Tree Hugger. You know her, right?”

“Not as well as you or Fluttershy,
But we sometimes hangout; the girls and I”

He chuckled softly,

“And if I remember quite right,
The two of you seem to be growing tight.”

Buddy couldn’t deny this, ever since the graduation prom, three weeks ago, he and Tree Hugger hung out a lot in spare times. They’d taken walks, they’d gone to the movies, Buddy even attended one of her Yoga classes, but somehow yoga just wasn’t for him.

The only thing they hadn’t done was share their first kiss yet.

All-in-all, the two of them were growing very close and had lots of the same interests in common, preferably the environment.

It almost looked as if they were ready to take it to the next level, but that was the problem Buddy was having. “I’m thinking…” he paused, “I’m thinking of breaking it off with her.”

Now Rhymey looked concerned, and rather shocked.

(Que Intro)

Tree Hugger was teaching her yoga class on the grassy hills by the Community Center. All the kids were sitting on their mats, and Fluttershy was in the class as well, just for a small visit, she wasn’t a regular student.

The soft music and gentle nature sounds were playing from Tree Hugger’s CD-player as she instructed the class. “Breath deep, seek peace.”

The class did as it was told.

“Now reach waaaaaay up, like your arms are a water wall. Feel the flowing, like magic infestation.”

The class did as they were told and they felt very relaxed. “Yeah, righteous.” sighed Tree Hugger, “Okay… that’s like, it for this sesh… so, everyone, peace out your energy fields, and blessings to y’all.”

The students thanked their teacher and headed off to the center to get changed, while Fluttershy stayed to help her friend clear away the mats. “That felt wonderful, Tree.” she said, “But, you seem a bit more relaxed today than usual.”

Tree sighed and hugged a stack of mats close to her, “Oh, I am like, totally in the clouds. Last night, I and Bud went to this movie that was righteous. Followed it up with a pizza, and then took a stroll in the park under the stars. It was so blissful; I could feel the aura coming from us both.”

Fluttershy loved where this was going, and she loved it all the more that her two friends were finding such interests in each other, like she and Rhymey did. “Did he finally kiss you?” she asked and gawked at her with an anxious, goofy smile wanting an answer, but Tree sighed, “Nah, he didn’t, but I still peaced out mega last night.” she sighed again “I’ve never known anyone like Bud, we are like a totally major match up, if you get what I mean.”

Fluttershy knew exactly how she felt, “I’ll never forget when Rhymey and I first became a couple. It was during the performance we had, and I realized he was the secret admirer leaving poems in my locker.”

She sighed heavenly remembering that day, after the show when she and Rhymey decided to go out and get a milkshake to celebrate their being a couple, and he just sang a song for her.

(0:59)

Fluttershy…
Fluttershy…

Yellow as sunlight, warm as can be
Caring to all with love and with glee
Sweet as a mother caring for all
Timid at times, but sweet like a doll

Fluttershy…
Fluttershy…

When you are smiling, the light does grow
When you are weeping, it hurts me just so
When you are shy you just have know…

You’re Fluttershy…
Fluttershy…
Fluttershy…!

Fluttershy…
Fluttershy…

Lovely like springtime, soft as the breeze
Friend to the creatures, flowers and trees
Magical wonders surrounding you
Helping the world just as you do

Fluttershy…
Fluttershy…

What are the secrets that make you flow?
How does it come to you, where does it go?
It doesn’t matter, I love you so…

Fluttershy…
Fluttershy…

Fluttershy…
Fluttershy…

…Fluttershy!

Fluttershy sighed heavenly. Her cheeks were bright pink, but then she snapped herself back to reality. “Oh, sorry, I got a little carried away.”

“…It’s solid.” said Tree. “I just hope Bud and me end up like you and Rhymey. Solid as ice, calm as the sea, intertwined like the leaves on a tree.”

Fluttershy noted the rhyme in that, “You sound like my boyfriend.”

The girls shared a giggle.

Meanwhile, the boys were talking it over, and Buddy explained his reasons for his thoughts of dumping Tree Hugger “Don’t get me wrong. I really like her; she’s smart beautiful, fun, and just like me in many ways, but… I just don’t think I keep subjecting her to all this danger that I face.”

Rhymey thought it somewhat sweet that he was showing he cared, but he wasn’t all that crazy for the breakup idea.

“I realize that there is a danger,
But do you really want to break up with her?

Look at Fluttershy and me,
We’re as happy as can be.
We don’t let the danger get to us, see?”

Buddy sighed, “I know, I know all that, but you and Fluttershy are different. You’re both used to this stuff, and you both fight the danger together. Don’t you ever get worried about one-another, like you what if you got really badly hurt, or worse…?”

Rhymey couldn’t deny that. Despite his confidence in Fluttershy, deep down there were always some doubting moments when he would worry about her, and she worried about him too.

“See what I mean?” said Buddy “If Tree Hugger always hangs with me, she’ll wind a bigger target of danger than any civilian had. I can’t ask her to risk her life everyday like that, and much as I want to, I can’t always guarantee her safety. What kind of a relationship is that?”

Rhymey honestly didn’t know what to tell him.

“Well, it’s all up to you.
What will you do?”

Buddy sighed, “I don’t know. I just really need some time to think about this, but… promise me you won’t tell Tree Hugger.”

Rhymey nodded, promising not to tell Tree Hugger a thing.

Meanwhile, the villains were spying on their conversation, via the monitors. “Aww, poor Green Ranger’s got girl troubles.” said Adagio.

“Oooh!”the other two taunted, and then snickered.

“I wonder,” said Aria “Do we have a monster we can use to throw in the midst of things?”

“We sure do…” Marla called as she entered the room, “Allow me to present a creature that can strike fear in anyone’s eyes… Bansheeva!”

The monster resembled that of a father stunning, but evil looking banshee-like creature. She wasn’t really a ghost, but she was pale skinned, dressed in a ghostly like robe, and had long dark hair, and she demonstrated her power by morphing into a huge scary specter, that was intangible, and screamed at Sonata.

Sonata gazed into her horrifying eyes, and she suddenly felt weak in the knees, and hid behind the others whimpering, “S-S-Stay away! Keep her away from me!”

The others looked into her eyes, and they suddenly feel victim to the spell as well. All three of them hid under the table. “O-O-Okay… she’ll do!” said Adagio “Can you get her out of here now?”

Bansheeva became tangible again, and snickered, “I haven’t lost my touch. I’m going to put such a scare on those rangers; they’ll be running for their mamas.”

Marla snickered at the thought.

Meanwhile, Rhymey didn’t tell Tree Hugger what Buddy told him, but he didn’t promise not to tell the other rangers. Twilight and Spike were with them, and they all were talking at an outdoor café at lunch.

“He wants to breakup with her?” Fluttershy asked in shock.

Her boyfriend shook his head and corrected her,

“He isthinkingof it, that’s what he said.
But he’s not so sure. He’s really in such dread.”

Fluttershy felt worried for Tree Hugger, she and the others already knew how much Tree liked Buddy, and really wanted things to work out.

“I get he doesn’t want her to be in danger.” said Rainbow “But danger’s still going to happen even they aren’t together. It’s been happening before.”

Sunset soft of agreed with that, “Still, a breakup can be really hard. I should know…” she referred to the time when Flash dumped her-- of course she didn’t know that he, like her, was an alien and plotting against her. “I was so jealous of Twilight; I wanted to blast her into space!”

“What…?!”Twilight and Spike suddenly snapped, and Rainbow quickly corrected them, “She means the other Twilight Sparkle; the princess that we knew once.”

“Ah…” said Twilight “I keep forgetting sometimes. I just wish I could’ve met her once.” She knew that would never though, because Princess Twilight Sparkle had died a long time ago.

“Focus, peeps.” said Rainbow “What are we going to do for Buddy?”

“I don’t think we should do anything.” said Twilight and she poked through one of her text-books, “According to studies, putting pressure on someone can only lead to even greater internal conflict, and doubt in one’s self.”

Spike sighed, “Even out of school, she never puts the books down.”

Twilight gave him a quirky expression for that assessment. “The point is, it’s up to Buddy to decide what to do. We can’t really pressure him, but we can try and be sympathetic, be there for him if he needs us.”

The others agreed.

Meanwhile, Buddy was wrapping up with his shift at the garden, and he was talking to himself, trying to find words of what to say to Tree Hugger. “Tree Hugger, we need to talk…

No, no, sounds too dull.”

He tried again…

“Hey, babe, mind if we talk…!

Ugh! That’s disgusting!”

He cleared his throat and tried a third time.

“Tree Hugger, um… I need to tell you something.”

“Tell me what…?” Tree Hugger asked right behind him, startling him, “Tree Hugger.”

“Whoa, someone’s a little hyped up. You really need to learn to bliss out, ya know. Ease your cells, let your spirit chill.”

Buddy chuckled nervously, “And, how should I do that?”

Tree Hugger fluttered her eyes at him “Well, we can take a walk, and I can buy you lunch in the park.”

He smiled at her, “I’d like that.” he then took her hand and they walked off together.

It was a lovely day to be in the park anyway. Tree Hugger did as she promised and bought Buddy a hotdog, while she herself got a tofu-dog, being a vegetarian. She didn’t mind that Buddy ate meat and didn’t try to force all her beliefs on him, nor he do that to her.

Sometimes he bought for her, and sometimes she bought for him.

As they sat on the bench, just enjoying the warm and blissfulness of the park, Tree Hugger noticed Buddy seemed to be acting a little stranger. “Everything okay?” she asked.

“Hmm…? Oh, I… I’m just a little uneasy lately.”

Tree couldn’t help but ask, “Um… is it about me?”

“What? Oh, no, no… it’s not that, it’s just… well, uh…”

She gave him a small look, which told him she wasn’t fooled, and Buddy realized he had to come clean. “Look, Tree Hugger, I got a problem.” he said, and he hesitated trying to pick his words carefully, “I just don’t think… Well, what’s I’m trying to say is… I… Well, I…”

Before he could go any further, a swarm of Lingos appeared.

“Ah, man!” groaned Buddy.

“Whoa! Like, we were having a moment here!” said Tree Hugger, but the Lingos didn’t seem to care at all and began to swarm in.

“Quick, get out of here!” Buddy yelled at Tree Hugger, and she ran off quickly.

Buddy then contacted the rangers warning them about the park and hurry on over. “Okay, time to get busy.” He said, and he leapt in, un-morphed, and battled the Lingos by himself.

He back-flipped over and kicked an oncoming Lingo in the chest, and then caught another one by the arm and judo flipped it onto its back.

One Lingo tried to punch him from behind, but Buddy spun round dodging it, and punched the Lingo way back and crashing into a garbage can.

The remaining Lingos began to look scared, “What’s wrong,” Buddy taunted “Too scared to fight anymore.”

“Not as scared as you will be, Ranger!” snarled a voice, and Bansheeva appeared on the scene, cackling at him. “Oh, great…! This is all I needed.” grumbled Buddy.

The monster hissed at him, “Don’t look so scared, the fun’s just about to begin, and then you’ll be too petrified to even stand!”

Buddy grunted, and readied himself, “It’s Morphin’ Time!”

“Morphing Sequence… Ready!”

“Starfleet Magic… Power on!!”

Once he was morphed, he stood poised and snarled at the monster, “Okay, you walking nightmare, you’re going down!”

He charged forth to attack Bansheeva, but the monster just stood where she was, not even the least bit discouraged, and suddenly, just as Buddy was ready to attack, she changed into her horrifying spectral form, making Buddy halt in his tracks. “Whoa!” he cried as he looked into the specter’s horrible eyes, and he began to feel very strange inside, and he actually felt weak in the knees while the specter just laughed at him like a horrifying spirit.

The other rangers arrived on the scene, already morphed. “Buddy…!” Sunset called to him.

“What’s wrong with him?” asked Rainbow.

They all saw Buddy face-to-face with Bansheeva, in her normal form, but he was backing away from her, all timid and fretting, “Stay away! K-K-K-Keep away from me…!”

“He looks so scared.” said Fluttershy, “And I know scared!”

Bansheeva moved in closer to the cowering Green Ranger, “Scary, isn’t it?” she hissed “But not as scary as this!” and she fired bolts of lightning from her monstrous eyes, hitting Buddy and making big explosions and knocking him over.

“Buddy!” cried Fluttershy as the rangers all dashed to his side, but he acted just as scared and as shaky as ever. “Keep her away! Don’t let her near me!” he cried.

“Buddy, what’s wrong with you?
What did this monster do?” asked Rhymey.

Bansheeva laughed, “I did to him exactly what I’m about to do to you!”

“Think again!” snapped Sunset, and she and the rangers attacked all at once, but the monster proved to just as good at fighting as well, striking them with her monstrous claws as they all approached. Sparks flew everywhere, and Rhymey fell face-down in a nearby mud puddle, getting wet mud all over the visor of his helmet.

“Help me!
I can’t see!” he shouted.

The other rangers all got back onto their feet. “Wow, she’s tougher than she looks!” groaned Rainbow.

“Well you aren’t so tough!” hissed Bansheeva, “And now I’ll make you even worse!” and she went into scary-mode again. One look into her eyes and the girls were frightened into the same spell Buddy was under.

“Whoa!” cried Sunset “What’s happening?”

“I… I… feel so scared!” cried Rainbow.

Fluttershy was shaking so much, you’d think she was about to explode. She had felt nervous before but never this much! She could hardly even speak.

“You are in my power now, rangers.” hissed Bansheeva “Your fears are rising, and soon you’ll barely be able to stand on your feet. Let alone get in my way of destroying the city!”

The four rangers were cowering and whimpering like scared little kids, while Rhymey was still blinded by the mud and trying desperately to wipe it off. Finally, he grew fed up, and drew out his Raid Blade.

“Never that now…!
I’ve got beat this rat now!”

“What?!” snapped Bansheeva. She was very surprised to see that Rhymey was not scared like the others and actually still willing to fight her, fortunately for her, Rhymey swung all he could, but his sword only went right through her. She was intangible after all.

Still, in this form she couldn’t attack, and had to revert to her solid form.

“You’ve actually got more spunk than I thought!” she hissed at him.

Rhymey turned his head to where the sound of her voice was coming, and dashed at her like a charging warrior, but Bansheeva blasted her lightning at him, blowing him hard, and his suit powered down automatically!

“Rhymey!” cried Fluttershy. She tried to rush over to help him, but the monster blasted her and the other rangers, making big explosions, and they de-morphed as well, now they were feeling frightened and weak.

Rhymey could see now that his helmet was off, and he was really upset to see how helpless his friends seemed, and the monster was moving in to finish them off, but thinking quickly, he grabbed a hand full of the mud from the puddle fell in, and pitched the globs right at Bansheeva, slapping her right in the face and blinding her. “A’RGH! I… I can’t see!” she whined.

“There’s mud in your eyes.” joked Rhymey, and they he dashed over to help the others,
“Come on, you guys!” and he helped get the others away from the monster and dash for a nearby jump-tube, and by the time the monster rubbed the mud from her eyes, was she ever outraged that they had gotten away. “No matter!” she hissed “I’ve got four of the rangers under my fright spell. Now they can’t even get near me without wetting themselves, let alone put up a fight.” She snickered “This city is about to become a living nightmare!”

Once back at the base, the other rangers all felt much better, but Twilight had been monitoring their medical readings all through the fight, “The stress levels… their heartrates… all off the charts.”

“But we feel okay now.” said Fluttershy.

“That’s all because you’re far away from the monster.” said Celesto. He ran his alien scanner over each of the four affected rangers. “Just as I thought: When you looked into that monster’s eyes, your minds and your nerves have all been affected badly. If you go anywhere near Bansheeva again, you’ll start to feel afraid.”

Rainbow sighed, “Well that’s just lovely!”

Rhymey was the only not under the spell, but it wasn’t exactly advisable for him to take on the monster all by himself, even if he knew not to look at the monster’s eyes.

“By the way,” asked Spike “How were you able to fight the monster when you couldn’t even see her?”

Rhymey explained,

“While practicing fencing I was taught ways to fight,
In case if I was blinded or couldn’t see sight.

I use my other senses, feeling, smelling, or hear
Or feeling vibrations along the ground,
That way I can tell where my enemies are,
And determine where they are bound.”

Everyone found this amazing, but it still didn’t help sort out the present situation.

Suddenly, the alarms went off, “What’s happening?” asked Celesto asked Twilight. “See for yourself.” replied Twilight and she showed everyone on the monitors. It was Bansheeva, using her horror-spell to curse all the people in the city to fear her, leaving the city itself vulnerable to attack!

“Don’t look in her eyes!” cried Spike, and he, Celesto, Rhymey and Twilight looked away, and Twilight shut the monitors off!

“Um… can we come out now?” whimpered Sunset, and she and the other affected rangers nervously poked their heads up from behind the table, quivering in fear from their seeing the monster, even just on the screens.

Celesto sighed pitifully, “This is not good.”

“Even so,
I must go!” said Rhymey.

The team knew he was right, and they couldn’t leave the monster to terrorize the city anymore. “Rhymey, be careful.” said Celesto “If that monster curses you, we may not be able to stop her.”

Rhymey was aware of this, and decided to rely on his special fencing training.

“I will do what I can,
Just help the others, man.”

Then he rushed for the Jump-Tubes.

“Rhymey…!” Fluttershy called to him “Please be careful.”

Her boyfriend nodded at her and then he was gone, through the tubes and on his way to battle.

Fluttershy did feel very nervous about him going into to battle alone. Buddy saw this, and this was a perfect example of how he felt about Tree Hugger, and now he was worried about her more, and hoping with all his soul that she was all right!

Meanwhile, many citizens were cowering, and others were running scared as Bansheeva, in her spectral form, spread her fear curse all over. Why even the police were too scared to get out their guns, and just ran for it like everyone else did!

“Yes!!” laughed Bansheeva, “The screams! The fright! I love it!!”

That’s when Rhymey, already morphed, leapt in onto the scene with his sword ready. “You!” thundered Bansheeva.

“You may love fear,
But this ends here!”

Bansheeva growled and began to transform into her spectral form.

“Oh, no you don’t!
Scare me, you won’t!” said Rhymey, and he shut his eyes tightly, preventing the spell from working on him, which aggravated the monster greatly. “Fine then…” She grunted, and she grabbed a parking meter on its pole, pulling it out of the ground and held it like a weapon “We’ll play it your way!”

Rhymey was still about to hear where she was, and he charged forth, actually finding her and their weapons clashed together.

Bansheeva was astonished how well Rhymey was fighting with his eyes shut, and she got struck a couple of times. “Oh, yeah!” she snapped “Take this!” and she fired her lightning blasts, which Rhymey was able to dodge, but the explosion threw a whole bunch of debris from the road at him, hitting him from all over, and gave the monster her chance to strike him!

“Come on…” she taunted at him “Open your eyes, you know you must!”

Rhymey just scoffed at her,

“I won’t let you get to me,
It’ll take more to get through me.”

So the battle continued, and Rhymey continued to fight blindly keeping his eyes shut.

Tree Hugger came round the corner when she heard all the danger and saw the people running, “Whoa! Like what is going on here?” she cried, and then she saw Rhymey and the monster dishing it out…

Their weapons contacted, and the two fighters began to struggle hard, pushing against one another hard, and Rhymey finally kicked Bansheeva hard in the stomach, knocking her back a few paces, but in the midst of things, Bansheeva swing her weapon and knocked Rhymey’s away, and then she blasted him with her lightning before he could react, making big explosions and knocking the lone ranger to the ground.

“Ah, man…!” Tree Hugger cried, and her voice alerted Rhymey’s attention, and the monster’s “Ooh, what have we here!” Bansheeva hissed, “Another victim for my scare game.”

“Tree Hugger, No!
Get out of here, Go!” shouted Rhymey, but it was too late, Bansheeva already went spectral, and zapped Tree Hugger hard under the spell.

“Whoa, like, what’s happening?” cried Tree Hugger “I feel like my chakra’s all stiff and scared.”

“Oh,
No!” cried Rhymey.

He knew he couldn’t go on like this, and needed the other rangers’ help. He just hoped they would be up to it.

Back at the base, the alarms sounded, but Twilight kept the monitors off. They didn’t have to be on anyway to know what was happening. “I was afraid of this.” said Twilight “Rhymey can’t handle the battle alone.”

“…Oh!!” cried Fluttershy “We’ve got to do something!”

“But what?” snapped Rainbow “If we go out there, we’ll be too freaked out to face a fly, let alone that monster.”

Rhymey suddenly contacted the team,

“Rangers, help me!
I need you! Hurry…!”

Then they could hear a girl’s voice over the radio. “I’m totally freaked out here!”

“Tree Hugger!” cried Buddy. This was exactly what he was afraid of-- her being in serious danger. He clenched his fists and dashed for the jump tube!

“Buddy…!” Sunset called, but Buddy had already gone. “Did you see him?”

The girls nodded, and Celesto noted Buddy’s attitude. “He seemed determined to save Tree Hugger.” And he realized “That could be the answer. Maybe if you all focus more on being brave than being scared, it could help to overpower the spell, but keep in mind, it’s just a guess.”

The girls realized this…

“I say we go for it.” said Rainbow. Sunset agreed, “We can’t let the boys face that monster alone.”

“Tree Hugger’s my friend, too.” said Fluttershy “I’ve got to help her, and Rhymey.”

“Come on, let’s go!” cried Sunset, and she and the others dashed for the jump-tubes and were gone.

“You think they have a chance?” asked Spike.

“We can only hope so.” replied Twilight.

Tree Hugger was quivering softly as she backed away from the sight of the ghostly monster. “It’s over for you, girly. No one can save you now.” Bensheeva hissed.

“This is so not cool!” whimpered Tree Hugger, “I need some sonic bliss to clear up. It always cools me down.”

She shut her eyes trying to think clearly, and she began to sing in a deep trance, making unusual sounds.

Bensheeva was not amused and changed into her solid form. “Like that will ever work…” and she prepared to finish her off, but Rhymey charged forth, still with his eyes shut tight, but he got kicked hard in the chest and was sent sliding up the street.

Tree Hugger just continued to sing calmly as she sat where she was, and the monster prepared to get her again, when suddenly her arm got lassoed by Buddy’s whip, and she got yanked hard and went right into a brick wall.

“No one messes with my girl!” Buddy thundered.

“Bud…?” cried Tree Hugger, she didn’t open her eyes, but she knew the sound of his voice anywhere.

Rhymey was glad to see him too, but as the monster got to her feet, Buddy began to feel his fear creeping up on him again. “Oh, no…!” he whimpered.

“What’s wrong, feeling a bit scared?” taunted Bansheeva “I know I would be if I were about to be destroyed!”

Buddy began to back away softly.

“Rhymey… Buddy…!” Fluttershy called as she and the other rangers arrived on the scene, but upon getting closer to the monster, they, too, began to feel frightened again, and found it hard to concentrate.

“Maybe… this wasn’t such a good idea!” cried Rainbow.

Bansheeva snickered, “Oh, this is just too perfect!” and she went spectral again to intensify the spell, making the rangers feel more scared than ever.

Rhymey, still keeping his eyes shut, called to the others…

“Don’t give in to her, Rangers!
Try to be brave and face the dangers!”

“W-W-We can’t!” cried Sunset.

“Ugh! This is so humiliating!” groaned Rainbow.

The monster laughed, “It’s no use, Rangers! You’re all lost, scared out of your nerves, and it’s the last feeling you’ll ever know before you feel the agony of defeat!”

Buddy grunted and groaned as he tried to find his courage… when he, then, heard Tree Hugger singing in her blissful trance…

“Tree Hugger…!” he muttered. The other rangers were soon captivated by the sound too, and were strangely starting to feel less frightened.

“What’s this?!” snapped Bansheeva, and she tried to pour more of spell out into the field, but Tree Hugger kept on singing. She then paused and called out “Let go, Peeps… Bliss out!” and then went back to her singing, which helped to calm the rangers’ spirits even more.

“Whoa…!” said Rainbow “It’s like… the spell’s wearing off.”

“I feel it too.” added Fluttershy.

“No! No, this can’t happen!!” growled Bansheeva, and she changed back to solid, and glared at Tree Hugger, “You’re little song’s over, Missy!” and she prepared to strike her down…

But Buddy finally found his strength again, and he lassoed the monster with his whip and yanked her away from Tree Hugger, and slammed her hard on the ground, “I told you to back off my girl!”

Tree Hugger opened her eyes and looked at him lovingly, and he nodded right at her. His confidence fully restored, the other rangers’ were restored too, and Rhymey no longer had to keep his eyes shut.

“Don’t think you’ve won just yet!” shouted Bansheeva, and she unleashed more lightning bolts. “Dodge it!” shouted Sunset, and all the rangers leapt out of the way. “Get her!”

One-by-one, with their weapons ready, the rangers attacked, slashing and clobbering at the monster. She didn’t even have a chance to go intangible. “Alright, bring ‘em together guys!” said Sunset.

“Weapons Combine!”

“Star Slammer, Ready!”

The rangers stood with their weapon at the ready.

“You think that scares me…?!” thundered Bansheeva, but the rangers ignored her and shouted together,“STAR SLAMMER… ULTRA-STRIKE!!”and slammed on her hard, causing her to be shocked and flare up.

“Wicked cool!” said Tree Hugger.

…But back at the prison tower. “You haven’t won yet, Rangers.” snapped Keto“FORTISSIMO!!”

The mugic rushed to the island, and turned Bansheeva into a giant horror! She laughed and she thundered, “Now who’s small and scared?”

Sunset grunted, but not in fear, and immediately called to the base, “Jet-Star Megazord!”

The Megazord dropped down onto the field at once, and the rangers leapt inside of it.

“Time for a big fright!” shouted Bansheeva, and she went spectral again and began to work her spell.

“Don’t look!” cried Rainbow, and she and everyone else looked down at the consoles. “Everyone, just look at your radar screens.” said Sunset.

Bansheeva could see that her spell wouldn’t work so long as the rangers didn’t look at her, so she changed to solid again. But she still had the upper-hand. “Just because you know where I am doesn’t mean you know what I’ll do.” and she demonstrated by punching and clawing at the zord hard, rocking the rangers about inside.

“I fear it’s the end of you, Rangers.” the monster called to them, and she charged forth, and prepared to fire more Lightning at them all…

…But Rhymey wouldn’t have it.

“Time to instill
A little skill!” he said, and he rammed on the controls, making the megazord draw out its sword, just at the point where Bansheeva unleashed her lightning, but the megazord held the sword, and reflected the bolts right back at the monster, hitting her hard in big explosions and knocking her down.

“Okay, that was scary!” she groaned.

“Way to go, Rhymey!” said Fluttershy.

“Awesome, man!” added Buddy.

Sunset agreed, “Okay, let’s finisher her off! Energize the saber!”

“Star Saber, Engage!”

The sword glowed brightly, and the Megazord made the magic circle and star. Once this was done, the rangers shouted all together,“STAR SLASH… GO!!”

The megazord slashed, and the star flew off, blasting at the monster. Her body flared up and sparked like crazy. “THIS IS PRETTY SCARY!” Bansheeva shouted, and she exploded, was imprisoned, and beamed into the cockpit.

Tree Hugger, watched everything from below, and she let loose and jumped for joy. “Totally righteous!” she cheered.

The Megazord just stood tall and proud, and Sunset declared, “Monster Captured. Mission Complete.”

At the tower, the villains were all sulking. “Well that went swimmingly.” grumbled Sonata.

“Never mind that.” said Adagio “We’ll just let the rangers think they’ve won.”

Aria agreed, “It’ll only make it that much sweeter when WE win.”

The girls snickered, while the minions just walked off.

Once the rangers brought their capture to the base, they all went about their own daily routines, but Buddy was still concerned about his worrying about Tree Hugger. What happened that day proved that even if he did breakup with her, she’d still be in danger, so would all the people. Even if he left the island, she wouldn’t always be safe.

Just then, someone cleared their throat; it was Celesto come to buy flowers for his wife, and wanting a little service. “Sorry, sir.” said Buddy and he helped ring up the pay, but before Celesto left he had to ask, “Still contemplating about Tree Hugger?”

Buddy’s eyes winced, “You mean you know?”

Celesto nodded, “The others told me of your troubles.”

Buddy felt a little frustrated that his friends told, but then again he only told Rhymey, and he only told him not to tell Tree Hugger.

“Look…” Celesto said “I’m not trying to pressure you into doing anything, but do you remember when Celestia and I felt at odd ends, and felt that we couldn’t be together?”

Buddy couldn’t forget that at all; how Celesto was Celestia’s employer, and he was much richer than she was. Most people felt it would awkward if they rekindled their lost relationship. Plus, Celestia had huge temperamental issues.

“Well, do you remember what Pony Lightning Dawn said to us?”

“How could I forget.” replied Buddy “When two people are in love that’s all that really matters.

But what’s that got to do with me and Tree Hugger?”

Celesto sighed and shook his head pitifully, “What I’m trying to say is, we’re very happy together, and do you realize how many dangers have struck and affected us?”

Buddy began to realize what he was saying.

“It’s your choice, Buddy.” said Celesto “Whatever you decide, I just hope you’re not making a mistake the way I did once.” Then he gathered the flowers he bought and went off.

Buddy, now all alone in the big empty garden, just sat and thought very deeply of what to tell Tree Hugger.

Ultimately, in the end, he texted her, and told her to meet with him in the park at sundown.

So they met up.

“Tree Hugger, I need to tell you something.” he said to her.

His girlfriend looked a little down, “Look, Bud… Fluttershy told me how you feel.”

Buddy gasped softly, and felt ready to kick himself for still not being clear with the whole “No Telling” of things. “So, you know how I’ve been feeling?” he asked, and she nodded sadly, “Look, if you really want to break it off--”

“…I don’t.” Buddy quickly.

She froze dead-still on the spot, “What?”

“I don’t want to breakup.” and he explained to her everything he had thought, “There’s always going to be some dangers, and I can’t stop that, even though I fight it all the time, and besides…” he paused and approached her, looking her deeply in the eyes, “I can’t give you up, I just can’t; especially not after you helped me and the others.”

She smiled lovingly at him, and her eyes sparkled.

“Tree Hugger…” Buddy asked sweetly “Will you go to the next level with me?”

His response was Tree grabbed the back of his head and pulling him into a kiss. Buddy melted inside and surrendered to her.

Little did they realize, the other Rangers were nearby, saw the whole thing and went “Aww…!”

Rhymey and Fluttershy were especially happy, and pecked each other softly on the lips.

Episode 20: Go, Go Crusaders!

EPISODE TWENTY

One beautiful day, everyone was in the park on a picnic. Celesto and his family including the babies, Twilight and her family, and the rangers were all together; save for Lightning whom was still in Africa on his mission.

The Cutiemark Crusaders were there too, especially considering Applebloom’s cousin, Babs Seed was visiting from out of town, and pretty much from off the island altogether.

“Me and my folks heard what happened to Applejack. We’ve been worried about her ever since.”

Sunset patted her shoulder, “You’re being very brave, and that’s what your cousin and all our friends need.”

Sweetie Belle agreed, “I miss Rarity more and more each day, I even miss the way she would throw her little tantrums and melodramas.”

Everyone couldn’t help but chuckle at that, still they wished their friends were well again.

“Well, there’s only one thing to do at a time like this.” said Rainbow, and she kicked up her soccer-ball, and the girls and the other rangers all agreed.

“Hey, I’m up for this too.” said Shining Armor, “Come on, Twily…”

“Sorry, I can’t.” his sister said “Gotta take Spike for his little bathroom break.” By that she meant walk, and she already had Spike leashed up and everything. Spike just looked innocently and gave a small bark… remembering not to talk because of the girls not knowing he could.

“Well, I’m for it then.” said Cadance, “I used to play soccer with Twilight all the time when I babysat for her.”

“Yeah, only because I taught you how to play.” her husband joked.

Vice Principal Luna stood. “I’ll keep score and referee.” and then she turned to Celestia and Celesto as if to ask them if they wished to play.

“Sorry, we’ll have to sit this one out.” Celestia said softly as she and her husband were rocking their sleepy babies in their arms, getting them ready for their nap. “You all have fun now.” said Celesto.

The gang ran off to play by the soccer-posts. The teams were simple, a few of the girls on each team, with a few of the rangers, and Cadance and Shining on each team.

“And Go!” cried Luna, and she threw the ball into the field, and the teams went crazy as they went for the ball.

Naturally, Rianbow got the ball first and dashed for the opposing goal, but Scootaloo actually managed to steal it from her, “Good thing I’ve been playing pee-wee soccer!”

They were all having loads of fun, even those who weren’t as adept at the same as others. A few goals were made, tying to score 2 to 2.

“Okay, time for the decider.” said Shining Armor, “Get ready…!” and he put the ball down ready to kick it away from the goal post.

Twilight and Spike were just coming back from their walk and they could see what was coming, “Uh-Oh, it’s my brother’s famousCross-Country Kick.”said Twilight.

“You mean the one where he kicks the ball so hard it goes clear across the field?” asked Spike.

“Just watch.” said Twilight.

Shining Armor was ready, and the players all stood in two rows, with each ranger opposite sided one of the girls.

Shining dashed and kicked the ball super hard, sending it flying straight through the field like a perfectly pitched baseball.

“I GOT THIS!!”the rangers and the girls all shouted, and not realizing what they were doing, they all leapt at and collided hard into each other, right into the morphers, which each gave a huge burst of colorful flashes, and everyone fell to the ground!

“Oh, no!!” cried Sunset.

“Oh!” shrieked Luna, and everyone else ran over to the players to aid them.

(Que Intro)

DD began to awaken, and she groaned softly feeling as if she had collided into an elephant herd. “DD…” Buddy called to her “Come on, DD, wake up.”

“Wow!” DD groaned “Talk about a collision.”

The other Crusaders and Babs began to come to as well.

“Are you girls, okay?” asked Fluttershy.

“Eeyup… at least I think so.” said Applebloom.

Cadance sighed in relief, “You girls sure gave us quite a scare.”

Babs brushed the dirt off of her clothes, when suddenly she realized, “Hey, I’m wearing the yellow morpher!”

Everyone looked and surely enough she had Rhymey’s morpher clipped onto her clothes.

“It must’ve happened during the crash,
Either that, or during the flash.” said Rhymey.

The other crusaders suddenly saw that they all, too, we’re wearing a ranger’s morpher--Applebloom: Red… DD: Green… Scootaloo: Blue… and Sweetie Belle: Pink!

Everyone was surprised and couldn’t figure out how it happened. “I think we should give them back.” suggested Sweetie. The girls agreed, and handed the morphers back to the rangers. However, the morphers stopped glowing.

“What?” said Sunset.

“What’s happened?” asked Fluttershy.

“The morpher’s aren’t working.” said Buddy. Then he looked at the girls, “Wait…” and he held his morpher back out to DD, and it began to glow again near her. The others couldn’t believe this, and even more so when they passed their morphers back to the crusades which made them glow again.

Twilight saw this, and she rushed over to the table where Celestia and Celesto were sitting-- not wanting the girls to learn of her alliance with the rangers, or Celesto’s-- “Are you see this?” she asked. Celesto nodded “How can this be possible?”

The rangers wondered this two, but there was only one explanation: “I don’t know how…” said Sunset “But I think somehow, when we all crashed into one another, our rangers powers were transferred into you, Girls.”

“HUH…??!!”the girls all cried.

“You mean… WE’RE… the Power Rangers now?” asked Scootaloo. The others were shocked too, but they confirmed the theory by performing cool fighting moves, leaping up high and back flipping like skilled gymnasts. “Well I’ll be gall-darned.” said Applebloom.

Celesto could only think, “When they all crashed together, the morphers must have malfunctioned, and that would explain the flashes we saw.

There’s no doubt…The girlshave the ranger powers now.”

Spike rubbed his head, “Well, this is going to take some getting used to.”

The girls couldn’t help themselves and were having too much fun experimenting with their newfound abilities to fun fast, jump really high, even lift objects that used to be too heavy for them, like big rocks, and park benches, and even a huge heavy dumpster.

The rangers-- or rather the former rangers-- were a mix of emotions-- astonished, confused, and deeply concerned.

“This is so wicked!” cried Babs, “I always dreamed of being a power ranger!”

“Um… girls…” Sunset called to them.

“Bet I can jump higher than you, Sweetie.” Said DD. Sweetie chuckled, “You’re on.” And they both leapt up high in beautiful flips.

Rainbow tried to get their attention, “Yeah, but um--”

But still the girls would not listen, and finally Fluttershy stepped in, and took in a huge breathe, “HEY YOU GIRLS!!!” she hollered in an uncharacteristic moment, and he shouting made the girls freeze, and the former rangers too.

Sunset spoke softly and calmly to the girls, “Look, Girls… I know this may seem like fun, but do you realize what this means?” She paused and then said, “You have our powers now, and until we can figure out how to get them back,you girlswill have to defend the city.”

The girls did realize this, and being cocky as ever Scootaloo said, “Well, yeah, but we’ve seen you guys in action loads of times. We can totally handle it.”

“Uh-uhn…no way.” said Rainbow. She being very serious, “You girls may think it looks easy, but it’s pretty scary stuff.”

“Rainbow’s right.” agreed Buddy “Don’t you see, you girls would be risking your lives, and what do you really know about fighting monsters and bad guys?”

Rhymey and Fluttershy nodded, agreeing with their friends, and even the girls were starting to have some doubts of the situation they were in.

Meanwhile, the villains were viewing everything from the monitors. Adagio was snickering, “I can’t believe it. The rangers have actually lost their powers, and now those five little brats have them?”

“A perfect chance for us to launch a full-scale assault, mistresses.” said Bronc.

“Yeah!” agreed Keto, “They’re just kids. We’ll flatten them like bugs!”

“I bet even one of our weakest monsters could do the job.” added Marla.

“Don’t get so cocky.” said Aria “We underestimated kids before, and we got tossed in jail.”

Sonata shivered, “Ooh, I still get goosebumps thinking how uncomfortable those cells can get after a while.”

Adagio agreed, “Send out a monster; not a weak one. We’ll give these so-called “New Rangers” a little trial run.”

Soon, a monster had been sent to Mystic Island: He was simple looking beast. His body was black and bulked up with strong muscles, and he had sharp claws, bull horns, and he growled angrily. “I am Claw-Horn!” he bellowed “Where are those rangers at?”

The people nearby began to panic and ran away, and the monster roared loudly and pounded his huge chest.

The jewel on Celesto’s cane began to glow red, meaning there was danger a foot! “Oh, no!” he groaned softly.

“Not now!” Celestia murmured, and she looked way over at the others across the field.

Surely enough, the morpher’s were flashing red too. “What’s this?” asked Babs.

“The red-alert!” cried Sunset “There’s trouble in town!”

A long moment of silence followed, and the former rangers could barely bring it upon themselves for what was about to happen.

Even Celesto was skeptical about sending the girls into battle, but there was absolutely no choice in the matter.

“I guess there’s no other way.” said Buddy, and he looked at the girls, “You’ll have to deal with this.”

The girls blinked once each, and DD finally said, “Well, I guess we are the Power Rangers now. We better do it.”

The other girls agreed.

“Oh! Please be careful girls!” said Fluttershy.

“We’ll do our best.” said Sweetie Belle.

“Come on! We’ve got to hurry.” cried Babs.

“Right!” said Applebloom “…It’s Morphin’ Time!”

“Morphing Sequence, Ready!”

“STARFLEET MAGIC… POWER ON!!”

It was a good thing the girls had watched and seen the rangers in action so many times, or they would have gotten everything all mixed up. Nevertheless, they successfully morphed, and actually became taller in the ranger suits.

“Whoa! This is so incredible I can’t even describe it!” cried Scootaloo.

The girls admired themselves for a moment, but then Applebloom, as team leader, snapped, “Wake up, girls. We got us a job to do.”

The girls complied, and off they went, dashing through town to find the trouble, while everyone else never felt so worried in their lives. “Do you really think they’ll be all right?” asked Fluttershy, but no one said a thing, unsure of what to think at all.

Claw-Horn was stomping his way through town and making a big wreck of things; smashing through walls, knocking over lampposts and trees in the sidewalk. He growled and snarled ferociously, frightening more of the people away.

The police tried to setup barricades in the road with their cars, but the monster snuffed, “You think that’ll hold me back?!” and he charged forth like a bull. The police panicked and scattered away just as Claw-Horn crashed his way through the barricade, exploding the cars!

The explosion alerted the attention of the rangers. “Look! There he is!” cried DD.

The monster turned at the sound of the child’s voice, “What’s going on here? You’re not the rangers.”

“Oh, yes we are.” said Applebloom, and she and the others did the ranger roll-call...

Applebloom:“Evil’s Dread! Starfleet Red!”

DD:“Let’s make the scene. Starfleet Green!”

Scootaloo:“We’ll see things through. Starfleet Blue!”

Babs:“Though peace and Woe! Starfleet Yellow!”

Sweetie:“Quick as a Wink! Starfleet Pink!”

And altogether they shouted“…POWER RANGERS SUPER STARFLEET!!”

The monster still didn’t know what to really think. “Okay! This is super ridiculous!” he grumbled. “Lingos…get them!”

A swarm of Lingos were summoned, and they all began to rush at the girls. “Alright… Everyone, pick a partner and dance.” said Applebloom, basically telling the team to charge at the villains.

Though the girls had never actually fought anyone before, they proved to be extremely phenomenal! Thanks to the rangers’ powers, as well as their earlier experiments, they were able to punch, chop, kick, and smash their way through all the Lingos using the rangers’ moves.

“Take that!” snapped Babs as she punched one Lingo into another.

“Going airborne!” hollered Sweetie as she high-jump-kicked two more down.

Scootaloo held up the Sonic Cannon “Let’s get busy!” she growled and blasted several Lingos into ashes. “AWESOME!!”

Applebloom and DD went after the monster, punching and kicking like crazy. They tried to attack together, but Claw-Horn blocked their strikes and slashed at them both, knocking them down.

“Appleboom… DD…!” cried Scootaloo “You two all right?”

“We’re okay.” said Applebloom.

“Yeah!” added DD “But this guy’s way tougher than he looks!”

Claw-Horn then fired two strong blasts from his horns right at the girls, making big explosions and knocking them all about. “Whoa! Even salesmen aren’t this pushy.” said Babs.

“I think we need to usethat fancy armorthat the rangers use.” suggest Sweetie.

“Good idea.” said Applebloom “…Everyone remember them words they say?”

The girls all nodded and held up a fist, showing they understood. Then they all stood together and shouted,“CRYSTAL BATTLE ARMOR!!”

“Crystal-Armor, Engage!”

The monster growled when he saw the rangers now coated in their armor. “It’s not about how your armor looks; it’s how it works that counts!” and he rushed forth.

Applebloom drew out her saber, “Ready, Girls?”

“YEAH!!”the girls replied as they drew their swords too, and they all charged at the monster together.

The monster collided into Sweetie, and she blocked him with her sword and punched back, leaving him open for DD and Scootaloo to slash at him, making sparks fly.

Babs and Sunset then leapt in, and the monster swiped his claws at them both, but couldn’t damage their armor suits. “Take this!” shouted Babs, and she sliced off the monsters horns, making him roar in pain.

“Great shot!” said Applebloom, “Now, let’s finish him! Crystal-Sabers… Ignite!”

“Crystal Sabers, Engage!”

Just like the saw the rangers do, the swords were glowing and the girls pirouetted. Then they shouted altogether,“CRYSTAL SLASH!!”

The monster got struck hard, and he roared and shouted as his body flared up, “YOU WERE TOO TOUGH FOR ME!!” and he exploded and was imprisoned.

The nearby people all cheered for joy as they came out of hiding, and the girls were jumping for joy and slapping each other high-fives.

“I can’t believe it!” cried Sweeite “We really did it!”

“YE-HAW!!” cried Applebloom.

The villains saw everything over the monitors, and they were virtual speechless. “Can you believe that?” snapped Marla “They actually beat Claw-Horn!”

Bronc clenched his fists, “It’s not over yet.” and he shouted out “Send out a Robotic-Knight!”

A knight was rocketed out of the tower and sent straight to Mystic Island. The suddenness of its giant size frightened the people once again.

“I guess we’re not through here yet.” said DD.

“I think it’s time to bring out the heavy gear.” suggested Scootaloo. Applebloom agreed, and remembering how Sunset did it, she pressed on her morpher and called to the base, “Launch Star-Jets!”

“Summon Zords!”

The Jets flew onto the scene and automatically beamed the girls into the cockpits, “Whoa!” cried Sweetie “I can’t believe were actually doing this!”

“How do you drive these things anyway?” wondered Babs, and she pulled on the joystick, “WHOA…!!” she screamed as her jet soared way upward.

“YEOW!!” cried Applebloom as she almost did a barrel roll. “This is nuts! We could sure use some help.”

…Such help came right at them as Sunset called over the radio, “Come in, girls!”

The former rangers were contacting them directly from their base, but didn’t let the girls know this as they couldn’t let the girls see it or discover more secrets.

“Don’t worry girls,” said Sunset “We’ll walk you through this.”

“Thank goodness!” said Sweetie Belle “What do we do first?”

“First: take hold of the joysticks before you and hold them level.” said Rainbow.

The girls did as they were told and manage to get the jets flying straight. “Whew, that’s better.” said Babs “What about these buttons up front?”

“Don’t touch those!” snapped Buddy, making the girls flinch but stop in their tracks. “Sorry to snap girls, but those control the weapon systems. We don’t need you blowing up the city now.”

The girls promised not to touch them without being controlled.

“Okay, girls…” said Fluttershy “Look down at your radarscopes. The green dots are you and the red dot is the Robotic Knight. Steer towards the red dot.”

“Got it.” said Applebloom “Let’s move, girls.”

The girls agreed, and steered the jet on the correct course. In almost no time at all, “There he is!” cried Sweetie.

The Robot could see them as the zoomed overhead, and fired its laser beams at the jets making big explosions and rocking the girls in their seats.

“Steady girls!” said Sunset “Try to keep steady!”

The girls managed to maintain control, but they were very angrily at the evil machine that shot at them. “Let’s teach that bucket of bolts a lesson.” said Scootaloo. “How do these weapons work?”

Rhymey answered,

“Each button shoots a missile,
The joystick trigger is for laser-fire
But watch for the robot’s weapons,
Keep your jets flying higher!”

The girls complied and carefully steered towards the robot, and saw it was getting ready to shoot at them again. “Oh, no you don’t!” said DD and she fired a missile straight at its head, disrupting its laser-system.

“Great shot, DD!” cried Applebloom, but the danger was not over yet, for the robot still had its other weapons, and swung its sword at the jets as they passed. “Whoa! That was a close one.” cried Sweetie.

“I got this one.” said Scootaloo, and she fired her lasers at the hulking robot, which hard did too much damage and made the robot seemingly angrier.

“Look out for his saw!” shouted Babs.

Scootaloo steered out of the way just missing the sawblade by a few feet. “Yeow!” she cried “Too close for my taste.”

“Girls,” Sunset called “You can’t beat the robot like this. You need to form the megazord.”

The girls felt excited to do that, and thankfully, the transformation controls were perfectly labeled. “Let’s do it, girls!” Applebloom called to the others, and altogether they activated the sequence.

“Zords Combine!”

“Jet-Star Megazord, Ready!”

The girls all sat in the main cockpit, feeling relieved and joyed that they were able to form the megazord. “Focus, girls.” said Rainbow “Remember, you have to all control the megazord together.”

“Got it, Rainbow.” said Applebloom. “Um… are the controls that hard?”

“It’s just like a video game.
Treat all controls just the same.” replied Rhymey

The girls nervously grabbed the controls and managed to get the hang of it almost immediately. “I think we got it…” said Sweetie “Now let’s bust that bot!”

The megazord caught up with the robot, and the robot slashed for it with its sword. “No, you don’t!” snapped Babs, and she rammed on the controls making the megazord punched the sword out of the robot’s hand.

“Look out for the saw!” cried Scootaloo, but the megazord already got slashed hard as sparks flew, and the robot gave the zord a huge kick, knocking it down on its back, rocking the girls inside.

“That does it!” snarled Applebloom, “Time for the big cut!”

The robot loomed over the megazord, ready to saw it to pieces, but at the last second, the girls made the meazord draw its saber and slice the robot’s saw-arm right off. Then the zord bolted up onto its feet and slashed at the robot twice making it spark and flare up.

“That’s good girls!” cried Fluttershy “Now finish it off with the Star-Slash.”

The girls agreed, and powered up the saber.

“Star-Saber, Engage!”

“STAR SLASH, GO!!”

The megazord slashed, hitting the robot hard causing it to blow up and flare. It fell over backwards and blew up into scrap!

The girls rejoiced with such cheer and joy.

“We beat the robot!” cried Sweetie.

“And we caught the monster too!” added Scootaloo.

“Well then, let’s call it.” said Applebloom, and altogether they all declared,“MISSION COMPLETE!!”

The villains were more outraged than ever!

Bronc angrily thrust his fist into the wall, punching a big hole right through the metal. “This is so humiliating!” he thundered.

“First they beat a monster, and then a huge robot!” whined Marla!

Even The Sirens were growing outraged. “How is this possible?!” snarled Adagio “We lose to the rangers normally, and now we’re getting beaten by a bunch of brats?!”

“I CAN’T TAKE IT!!” screamed Aria, and she kicked over a table.

“Feel better?” asked Sonata.

“Yes, actually I do.”

“There’s got to be some way to beat these kids.” wondered Keto.

The girls made it back to the park, still feeling joyous over the victory, as well as to give the captured monster to the normal rangers.

“Are you girls okay?” asked Fluttershy.

“Are you kiddin’?” asked Sunset “We are so stoked!”

“That was the most awesome experience I’ve ever had!” added Scootaloo.

While the former rangers understood the girls’ giddiness, Sunset had to stop them, “Girls, look… we are proud of you, but you have to realize something now. The Sirens know that you have our powers, and they’re going to try to come after you again because you’re young.”

The girls realized this already.

“Well, if they try to attack us again, we’ll be ready for them!” said Babs.

“It’s good you’re being enthusiastic girls,” said Buddy “But remember how serious this is.”

DD sighed, “Look, we already said we’ll be ready. You saw us in action. With you guys helping us, there’s nothing we can’t do. Isn’t that was being a ranger’s all about?”

Rhymey sighed,

“Well, if you’re sure about it,
Then we cannot doubt it.”

Meanwhile, Twilight was with the adults at the picnic table, where the girls couldn’t see she was looking up ways to transfer the powers back to the original rangers, but she couldn’t come up with anything. “It’s no use…” she said “The morphers would have to be reprogramed completely and then given back to the rangers, but that would mean re-programing the entire system and upgrades. It could take a few days to do so.”

Spike sighed, “Well that’s no good. It would mean giving The Sirens an easier opening than they already have now.”

Celesto agreed, “And we can’t bring the girls back to the base, then they would know of our involvements as well other secrets, which our enemies could extract from them.”

The gang sighed, and all they could do now was continue to search for ways to restore the powers, and hope that the villains were done for the day.

…But no such luck!

The villains had been contemplating it over, and over, and finally, Adagio decided, “Well, you know what they say: “You want something done right… do it yourself.”

The minions looked hopeful, “So we get to fight them ourselves this time?” asked Marla.

“Nice!” hissed Keto “I’ve been waiting to teach those rangers a lesson!”

Aria held her hand up, “Hold your horses!” she snapped “We won’t exactly be fighting them ourselves.”

The minions were confused, “What?! But Mistress Aria…” protested Bronc.

“Quiet!” snapped Aria. The room fell into a hush, “We’ve perfected a special little singing magic, and now is just as good a time to put it to use.”

The other Sirens agreed, and they all stood together, clearing their throat.

“Oh, boy…! They’re gonna sing!” chirped Keto. He really loved it when they sang and danced.

The Sirens started humming as their song started up…

One’s not enough, gotta make it real tough
Gonna take the one and make it into two
And we’re doubling the might, make ‘em all just right
And they’ll serve us, yes they do

If ya wanna be my double…
Ya better come up now, and don’t mess it how
We’re gonna cause the rangers trouble
Gotta give these clones some pow!

…HOOO!!

They came to a posing stop, and their bodies began to glow with bright colors. The minions gazed in awe and then watched as three exact duplicates of The Sirens appeared. They looked exactly the same in shape, but were a little darker in color, and their faces were rather faded.

“What do you think?” asked Sonata “These clones are almost exactly like us in every detail, including power and fighting.”

The minions were impressed, but Keto couldn’t help but point out, “Uh… but you three haven’t exactly fought before, have you?”

Bronc and Marla tried to shut him up, but The Sirens confessed, “Well, we may not exactly be as skilled in fighting,” said Adagio “And that’s where you three come in.”

The minions wondered what they wanted them to do.

Meanwhile, the Crusaders were taking a walk through the neighborhood to clear their minds. “I thought it would be cool to be a ranger.” said Applebloom.

“Well it is,” said “It’s just that all these dangers and responsibilities that go with it. It kinda opens your eyes a bit.”

The others felt the same, but they knew they couldn’t let the fear get to them. “We did promise the others to lookout for the city.” said DD “If we don’t, who will?”

Suddenly, their morphers flashed red again, “Hey! There’s trouble!” cried Sweetie. “Again?!” groaned Babs “Don’t those bad guys ever learn?”

Sunset contacted them, “Girls! The Sirens have appeared in the park. You better get over here, pronto!”

“We’re on our way.” replied Applebloom, “Ready, girls?”

The others were ready. “Ah, man! I love this part!” muttered Scootaloo.

“It’s Morphin’ Time!” shouted Applebloom.

“Morphing Sequence, Ready!”

“STARFLEET MAGIC… POWER ON!!”

They morphed, and were off in a flash for the park.

Upon their arrival, they saw The Sirens clones there, all of them were armed with powerful looking weapons-- Adagio’s Clone had two curved serrated blades, Aria’s held a large spiked spear, and Sonata’s held a huge steel double-axe.

“Take a good look, Rangers!” shouted a voice. The rangers turned and saw The REAL Sirens standing aside with the minions cheering them on, and Adagio called to them, “We’ve created the clones especially for you!”

“And given them great enhancements as well.” added Keto.

Bronc nodded, “I created their weapons, Keto gave them extra strength, and Marla enhanced their speed with a little of her own powers.”

Marla naughtily blew rangers a kiss.

The three clones growled fiercely and began to make their way towards the team. “I think we’ve had enough of this!” said Applebloom “Let’s break out the heavy gear!”

“YEAH!!” the others shouted, and they all summoned forth their weapons.

Applebloom:“Star Scepter!”

DD:“Plasma Whip!”

Scootaloo:“Sonic Cannon”

Babs:“Raid Blade!”

Sweetie:“Strong Shield!”

The girls then rushed into action and began to attack the clones. Sweetie and Babs went after Sonata’s clone. DD and Scootaloo went after Aria’s, leaving Applebloom to face Adagio’s clone by herself.

“Go, girls!” Sunset hollered. She and all the other former rangers, all the adults, and Spike and Twilight were on the other side of the battlefield, cheering the girls on.

“GO, GIRLS!! GO, GIRLS!! GO, GIRLS!”

Spike didn’t cheer, not wanting to break his cover, so he just howled.

The girls took no notice of this, not wanting to break their concentration as they fought.

Clone-Adagio swung one of her blades, but Applebloom blocked it with her scepter. “Ha! Got’cha!” she said, but she forgot that the clone had another free arm with another blade, and she slashed at Applebloom hard, making sparks fly.

The villains laughed and cheered the clones on.

DD lassoed Clone-Aria’s legs with her whip, “I got her!” she cried “Shoot her, Scootaloo!”

“You got it.” called Scootaloo, and she aimed the canon right at the monster, but Clone-Aria growled and raised her spear just as the blast was fired, and she batted the shot back at Scootaloo. Ka-Pow, there was a big explosion and Scootaloo was blasted along the ground hard.

“Scootaloo!” cried DD.

Clone-Aria turned and snickered at her, and then reached down, grabbing the rope of the whip. In one swift pull, she pulled the lathering off her legs and pulled DD right into her and then kicked her hard in the chest, sending her skidding along the ground.

“DD!” cried Buddy “Don’t give up!”

The friends all continued to cheer, while the villains booed and hissed at them for doing so. “Get ‘em, Clones!” shouted Adagio.

Sonata’s Clone growled and swung her axe hard at Sweetie, but Sweetie blocked the attack with her shield and kicked the monster hard in the chest. “Over to you, Babs!” she hollered.

Babs nodded and held her sword tightly, “Alright, you big bully!” she snarled as she and Clone-Sonata dueled with their blades. The sword and the axe collided fiercely and sparks flew with each collision.

Though Babs had never wielded a sword before, she was excelling with such grace, even Rhymey was amazed.

“Look at her go,
Swinging to and fro,
I didn’t think she could, but now I know.”

Suddenly, Babs zigged when she should have zagged and missed a swing, which gave Clone-Sonata the opening she needed and she swung her axe clear across Babs’ chest, making a huge explosion!

“BABS!!” the rangers shouted, and watched as Babs fell to her knees and down onto her back.

“No!!” shouted Applebloom as she saw her poor cousin lying flat on the ground, which gave Clone-Adagio the chance to grab her in a chokehold with her right arm and point her other blade straight at her.

“We’re coming!” shouted Sweetie as she and the other three rushed forth, but were halted by Clone-Aria. She thrusted her spear into the ground, and sent a shockwave of power at the three, knocking them all down in a shower of sparks and explosions.

The villains laughed wickedly “Excellent!” hollered Adagio.

“We’ve got you rotten rangers now!” added Aria.

“Yeah!” said Sonata “Finish them off, Clones!”

The three minions cheered over and over…

“FINISH THEM!! FINISH THEM!! FINISH THEM!!”

Sonata’s clone moved over to where Babs lay on the ground and raised her axe up, preparing for the big kill.

“Come on girls, don’t give up!” shouted Celesto.

“You can do it!” cried Celestia.

“Remember, rangers never give up!” added Sunset.

All the others agreed, and all together everyone shouted…

“DON’T GIVE UP!! DON’T GIVE UP!! DON’T GIVE UP!!”

Their shouting helped Babs find her strength again, and just as Clone-Sonata was about to bring her axe down and destroy her, Babs swiftly thrusted her sword clean through the monster’s gut. The clone roared and screeched in extreme pain.

“NO!!!” cried Sonata.

The other villains were all outraged

Applebloom began to find her strength too, and pulled herself free from Clone-Adagio’s grip just as the monster swung its blade and hit her own self in the face.

As for the other three rangers, “Set weapons on full power.” said DD. The other agreed and charged their weapons up.

“Plasma Whip, Engage!”

“Sonic Cannon, Engage!”

“Strong Shield, Engage!”

“Fire in the hole!” shouted Scootaloo as she and the other two unleashed powerful blasts from their weapons, bombarding Clone-Aria hard in big explosions and sparking flares.

“Wicked…!” cried Sweetie!

“INCONCEIVABLE!!” shouted Adagio

The friends all cheered on the sidelines and watched as the rangers regrouped.

“Okay, rangers,” said Applebloom “Let’s put these critters down for good!”

“RIGHT!!”the others agreed, and they combined their weapons.

“Weapons Combine!”

“Star-Slammer, Ready!”

The three battered monsters looked very weary and could hardly keep their balance, which was the perfect chance for the rangers to strike. They swung the weapon hard and shouted together,“STAR-SLAMMER… ULTRA-STRIKE!!”and slammed the monsters hard causing all three of them roar and yowl as they painfully flared up, and they exploded in three huge bursts of flames!

The friends all cheered louder than ever.

“You did it, Girls! YOU DID IT!!” shouted Sunset.

The Sirens all roared in frustration, and the minions growled miserably. All the villains saw no choice but to retreat, and they all vanished and were gone!

“Whoa…” said Applebloom “We really did it!”

The girls all exchanged high-fives and hugs as their friends continued to cheer for them.

“SWEETIE… BABS SEED… SCOOTALOO… DD… APPLEBLOOM…!!

APPLEBLOOM!!

APPLEBLOOM…!!”

Things suddenly started getting all fuzzy and swirly as Applebloom kept hearing her name called.

“Applebloom…!” Sunset called to her “Applebloom…! Come on, wake up. Wake up.”

Applebloom finally woke up to find she was lying on the ground of the soccer field in the park, and all her friends were gathered around her. “Thank goodness, you’re all right.” said Cadance. “Yeah, you gave us quite a scare.” added Shining Armor.

“Huh?” said Applebloom “But, what about the monsters?”

Everyone looked confused.

“Monsters?” asked Sweetie Belle “What monsters?”

Now Applebloom was more confused than ever, “But I remember it all.” and she recounted her story, “Me and the girls, we morphed, we fought Lingos and monsters. We even got to drive the megazord.”

Rainbow chuckled, “Yeah, sorry to say this, but I think you were dreaming.”

Sunset nodded and said, “When you crashed into me, you hit my morpher and made it malfunction. That’s what that big flash was.”

The crusaders all shrugged meekly, “We all… kinda… did that.” Babs said sheepishly.

Scootaloo looked up, “The rest of us came to at once, but you were still unconscious, Applebloom.”

“Guess you must’ve wiped out worse than we thought.” added DD.

Applebloom blinked twice, “So, I’mnotRed Ranger?”

Sunset shook her head.

“And all that stuff never happened?” asked Applebloom.

“Nope,” replied Buddy “It was all in your head.”

“We’re just glad that you’re okay.” said Fluttershy.

“Just not to scare us again that way.” added Rhymey.

Applebloom couldn’t help but smile, “Golly! That was the best worst dream I ever had.”

Everyone shared a small laugh, and soon they could hear Luna calling over from the picnic table, “Lunchtime, everyone!”

Soon everyone was seated at the two picnic tables and enjoying a well-deserved lunch. Celestia and Celesto fed their babies their bottles of formula they brought. “Aww, so cute…” Celestia cooed.

Everyone else sighed in aww at the loving scene.

“By the way…” said Applebloom “We didn’t break your morphers, did we?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, they’re fixed now.” replied Buddy.

Twilight sipped her apple-juice form her cup and sneakily rolled her eyes over at Celesto, and he caught her out of the corner of his eyes and softly touched her ankle with his foot, commenting her on that quick fix…

…while under the table, Poor Spike was eating his kibble by himself, “Oh, brother!” he groaned softly.

Episode 21: Sunset Shimm...E.R

Author's Note

Like I/the fic had been saying before... Sunset can't stay at Canterlot High forever. The others know what THEY want to be, but if Sunset wishes to continue being the Pony Ambassador, she will eventually need a career of her own.

Episode 21: Sunset Shimm...E.R

EPISODE TWENTY-ONE

Zecora never left the hospital, and Lightning and Krysta continued to man their places for days. Lightning got some food from passing peddlers with bread and food carts, and Krysta snacked on bugs that came into the tree.

Still, the two of them were growing very bored and irritable, but they still couldn’t lose sight of Zecora. If she got away, they’d never find her again.

Lightning even took moments to come into the hospital and ask, “Is she doing any better?” to which he would get the same reply, “She’ll wake up when she’s ready.”

Some of the staff was getting pretty annoyed with this, so Lightning stopped asking them. “Come on, Zecora. Please wake up!” he would mutter to himself.

Meanwhile, at the prison tower, The Sirens gathered the minions before them. “The time has come.” said Adagio “We’ve perfected our magic and singing.”

“Now only can our singing control objects, it can be used to battle as well.” added Aria.

The Sirens demonstrated by singing and humming. Adagio levitated one of the Lingos way up, up, and then dropped down hard on the floor.

Aria and Sonata fired powerful lightning like blasts from their very voices, straight at three more Lingos, blowing them into ashes.

The minions all winced in astonishment.

“Amazing!” exclaimed Bronc.

“Incredible!” added Keto.

The Sirens stopped singing, but they suddenly looked a little woozy. “Are you okay?” asked Marla.

The girls straightened themselves up. “We’re all right.” said Adagio “This is one small side-effect we have with these new powers.”

Aria rubbed her eyes “It can affect our energy flow, which is why; we will need to find stable source of energy and power to keep us stable.”

“Like… energy from the humans.” added Sonata.

Marla thought it over and she had an idea.“I think I know just the humans we can use.”

(Que Intro)

Another day at the hospital for Sunset…

She checked up on patients to see that they were comfortable and tended to. She read stories to children, filed reports for all the doctors and nurses. Dr. Penny even allowed her to assist with checkups she gave to other patients, especially children who were scared of coming to the doctor, especially for immunization shots.

“Oh, it’s okay…” Sunset would say, “There’s no need to be scared. It may pinch for a second, but it’s really good for you.”

Her words soothed the child so well that the little girl didn’t even feel the needle prick her. “There, all done.” said Penny.

“Wow!” cried the little girl. Penny and Sunset smiled, and the happy little girl skipped off.

“Well, that was the last one.” said Penny “Thanks for your help Sunset.”

Sunset nodded with a smile, but then her features changed, “Um… I know I ask this a lot, but…”

Penny gave her a concerned look, and soon they were both in the room of Sunset’s comatose friends, and Penny checked on their conditions. Their pulses were fine, and their blood flows were slow, but that was natural. They just still weren’t conscious, and it had been five whole months since they were first knocked out.

Penny was checking Rarity’s heartbeat. “Hmm…” she said with slight enthusiasm.

“What is it?” asked Sunset.

“I think they’ll wake up any time now.” replied Penny.

Sunset’s heart gave a leap. “Really?!” she cried softly.

Penny nodded, “Come here…” and she then offered Sunset to listen. “Wow…” Sunset murmured as she heard Rarity’s heart beating strong and steadily.

“That’s the sound of a good healthy heart.” said Penny “When you hear that sound it means the patient is doing really fine.”

“That is so neat.” said Sunset.

Penny smiled, “Hey, why don’t you check all of them.”

Sunset found this all most exciting, and rather fun, the most she ever had at the hospital before. She checked the hearts of all her friends, and they were all good and strong. She even looked at the blood pressures. “Diastolic elevation: below normal, not by too much. Systolic pressure: normal.”

Penny smiled and nodded at her “You sure seem to know all this stuff, Sunset.”

“Well, I’ve been watching you and the other doctors and nurses closely.”

Penny did take notice of this ever since Sunset first began her volunteer work, and had been watching her closely. “Sunset… have you ever thought of being a doctor yourself?”

“Huh?” said Sunset. She had never thought of that before, “To be honest, I never actually thought what I’d ever be. I never had time to think of it either.”

She thought of it deeply, and she began to imagine herself all-grown up, and as a doctor, giving checkups to children, tending to those who were sick, and what was more she had a little of her magic to help heal those who were hurt.

dakari-king-mykan.deviantart.c…

She couldn’t stop smiling at the idea.

“Well, if you’re ever interested, I could take you on a work-student, and help you study.” Penny offered.

Sunset agreed to think about it and would talk about it with the others.

Meanwhile, in Africa, Lightning was finding it harder and harder to stay awake, and Krysta… she had already fallen asleep in the tree, and she didn’t notice inside the room of the hospital was empty…! Zecora was not in her bed!

The nurse came along to check on her and found this as well. “Oh! Oh, goodness!” she cried, and she went off to alert the staff, and her voice through the open window woke Krysta up. “Huh? What the…?”

She then could see and hear the people talking inside.

“Gone?! She can’t have gone.”

“She’s not here, and no one saw her leave.”

Krysta flew right out of the tree and over to where Lightning was napping under a tree across from the hospital. “Lightning…! Lightning!” she squawked, and she pecked at him a bit, waking him up in an instant.

“Krysta, what are you…!”

“She’s gone!” cried Krysta “Zecora’s gone!”

“What…?!” Lightning snapped as he bolted upright, and he would have dashed to the hospital, but Krysta already told him, “The doctors don’t know where she is either.”

“UGH!!” Lightning growled, and he felt ready to yank his hair out of his head “Idiot!” he grumbled to himself.

“We blew it!” groaned Krysta “All that waiting for nothing.”

Lightning angrily pounded the tree with his fist, and a small slip of paper that was stuck to the tree with a small needle was knocked loose and fell into his arms. “What’s this?”

Krysta fluttered onto his should, “It looks like a small set of directions.”

They both looked at the small paper, which showed a small map leading away from the hospital, out of the village and into the plains, and finally stopping at what looked like a great big rock in a very lonely and barren place.

“Who left this here?” Lightning wondered.

“Do you think… it was for us to find?” asked Krysta. Lightning had no clue, until he looked at the back of the paper which was marked with a great big Z.

Lightning and Krysta were both in a mix of thoughts. Could Zecora have left it for them?

There was only one way to find out…!

They soon set out across the trail to the outback, following the map exactly, but then came to an area where they were supposed to turn and head off the road, the plain ahead looked rough and badly uneven; not safe to drive on or an accident would happen.

“Guess I better get out and walk.” said Lightning.

Krysta agreed, and hopped onto his shoulder as he started across the plain.

The evening sun began to beat down on Lightning, and he felt hot and sweaty. “I’m beginning to think this was a bad idea.” groaned Krysta.

“Speak for yourself.” said Lightning.

He checked the map again, “That big rock should be around here somewhere.” Then suddenly, “Whoop…!” he found it, by tripping over it.

Krysta fluttered in midair, “I think you found it.”

Lightning could only groan.

At least they had found the rock, “But what happens now?” asked Lightning.

Krysta didn’t know, and there were no instructions or anything on the map, and here they were in a lonely place far from the town.

“Great! Just great!” groaned Lightning “I think we’ve been tricked.”

Just then, his foot hit something on the ground near the rock. It was a small metal chain. “What’s that for?” asked Krysta. Lightning didn’t answer, but just pulled on the chain and saw that it was attached to, what appeared to be, a trap door that opened wide to a secret underground place.

Before Lightning and Krysta could think or react, someone called out to them from inside…

“Enter dis place you may,
But tell no one of dis secret way.”

“That voice!” cried Lightning.

“Those rhymes!” added Krysta.

Not wasting another second, Krysta hopped on Lightning’s shoulder, and Lightning crawled in through the door, which was a giant slide that he slid down, slamming the door shut on the way, and he landed softly on a soft pile of cushions.

They found they were in a deep burrow, perfectly decked with candles and lanterns to light up the place. There was a ting-a-ling sound of beads hanging on the walls and the opening from the slide. There was also a huge cauldron in the center of the room along with shelf-after-shelf of books, parchment, and jars of strange and mysterious things-- mostly powders and liquids, and even more vials of that black hair tonic Kasko had mistaken for oil.

…And there SHE was, sitting at a table with some fresh tea and biscuits prepared.

“Zecora…” said Lightning.

“Yes, I am, just the same.
Who are you? What is your name?”

“I’m Lightning Dawn. I’m the Cosmic Comet Ranger. You and I have crossed paths before.” He held out the knife she had given him, which made her realize he was the one she had helped back in the jungle, but also the same guy she had helped years ago when he was bitten by that snake. She nursed him back to health, and then helped him track down the bad guys he was after.

“I remember you also helped me,
And even though I could not see
I could hear your every word,
…of you and your little bird.”

Krysta’s eyes budged, “You know I can talk?”

Zecora nodded,

“This to no one I shall tell,
For you have helped me to get well”

She explained herself for all this secrecy…

That many sought her out, asking for her help. They were usually men of greed and wickedness, only seeking to find treasures and riches, and ways to gain power. Some of these men even threatened to kill her if she didn’t help them. Poor Zecora knew she couldn’t go on like this. Fortunately she found the burrow they were in now, and was able to convert it into a secret home, away from crowds and she could be in peace, and only lend her services to those who were truly deserving of it.

When she snuck out of the hospital, she knew Lightning and Krysta were waiting for her, needing her help. So she scribbled the little map for them to find her secret place.

“You have proven most indeed,
you do not seek my wisdom in greed.
Come and tell me…
…While he eat and have tea.”

Lightning and Krysta were astonished, and they sat down to the tea and snacks, and Lightning explained to her his needs. “Evil aliens from another dimension have invaded our world. We’ve been trying to locate their secret lair so we can stop them for good.”

Krysta nodded and added, “Our computers and tech can’t pinpoint the alien tower, so we thought maybe you could help us find it.”

Zecora sat silently with her eyes closed.

“Are you all right?” asked Lightning.

Zecora didn’t answer. What she was really doing was sensing his heart deep within, and suddenly she opened her eyes and smiled proudly.

“What your heart is speaking is true.
If it means to save the world, I will help you.”

“Yes!!” Lightning and Krysta exclaimed softly.

Little did any of them realize that not too far away from the spot, as the sun set, someone was approaching Lightning’s parked jet, and his shadow in the moonlight resembled that of afamiliar, monstrous shape,and he snickered wickedly.

Meanwhile, Sunset was still working when the gang dropped by. “Hey, Sunset.” said Buddy “We were passing by and thought you’d want to come out for lunch.”

“I wish I could, but we’re a little short-staffed here today. Most of the nurses and doctors haven’t come in yet.” replied Sunset “Eh, it’s a slow day anyway, and they’re always on call and can be here quickly.

…Besides, I’m actually studying now.”

“Studying?” asked Rainbow “Studying what?”

Sunset told the others, not only about their friends waking up soon, but the idea Dr. Penny suggested to her.

“I think it’s a great idea.” said Fluttershy “I think you could be a great doctor.”

Rhymey agreed,

“You are kind gentle, like a doctor should be,
And you’re willing to help out others, see?”

Sunset smiled, and it was becoming easier to make up her mind.

Suddenly, there was a sound of an ambulance rushing in, and two paramedics, one man and one woman, came rushing in with someone on a stretcher. “We need some help here!” shouted the man.

“Whoa!” cried Sunset, and she sounded the silent alert for someone to come quickly. Until then, having seen things like this before, she dashed up to the people, and asked, “What’s this one’s problem?”

The two paramedics hesitated, “We… uh, found him hurt and unconscious… in an alley.” said the female.

Doctor Penny heard this as she came in, and she lifted up the blankets on the stretcher to see the young, short stumpy man, indeed looked injured. “Where’s my staff when I need them!” Penny groaned, and then she enlisted help with the rangers. “Help me get him to the E.R!”

The rangers all helped wheel the stretcher down the halls, leaving the paramedics to snicker to one another, as they were actually Marla and Bronc in human disguises, and Keto was the one driving the ambulance, while the real driver and the real paramedics were tied up and gagged in the ambulance as well.

“This is going better than we planned.” chuckled Keto. His comrades agreed, “Now for the next step.” said Marla.

“And the rangers will be far too distracted to do much to help out this time.” added Bronc. “Let’s go get what we came for.”

A few other doctors and nurses saw the friends rushing down to the E.R with the patient and joined them all. “You’ll have to stay out here…” Dr. Penny called to the rangers. Even Sunset wasn’t allowed inside while they did their work.

“Oh, I hope they can help that poor person.” said Fluttershy.

The others all hoped so too.

Inside, the team of nurses and doctors lifted the patient from the stretcher onto a bed. His injures looked really deep and extremely painful to the touch. The man groaned and whined painfully.

“Get me 3 C.Cs of sedatives!” ordered Penny “We’ve got to numb his pain and let him rest so we can treat him.”

“Yes, Doctor!” cried the nurse and she prepared a hyperemic needle, but before she could get it to Penny, the patient bolted upright, surprising everyone. “The only ones needed that will be all of you!” he growled, and then he transformed, revealing himself to be a monster. He was all black and blue, and looked all scabby and bruised, but that was his actual scaly skin, and he wore a big white coat, and had a doctor’s mirror band over his eye right eye. “Dr. Pain is in the house!” he snickered.

The people screamed and panicked…

Which alerted the rangers outside, and they rushed over to the E.R “What’s going on?” asked Buddy, but the doors burst wide open as the people dashed out and ran down the hall.

“What the?!” snapped Rainbow

The monster laughed, and alerted the team of his presence.

“We’ve been tricked!” growled Sunset.

Pain laughed at the rangers, “Time to take your medicine, Rangers!” and he held up a huge weapon, a kind of bazooka in the form of a giant hypodermic needle. “Say Aaaaa…!”

The rangers all stood, feeling a little frightened, but suddenly, Dr. Penny crept up on the monster and slammed him hard with a bedpan, knocking him back and forcing him to shoot into the wall, blasting a huge hole to the outside.

“This is a hospital!” Penny snarled, “I’ll not have you disturbing the other patients!”

“Why you…!” the monster thundered, and kicked the wheeled-stretched right over her. “LOOK OUT!!” cried Fluttershy. Penny swerved, but the stretcher crashed into table of trays, sending all the tools on it flying, including the hypodermic full of sedative into the air… and the needle landed straight into Penny’s shoulder!

The rangers all gasped.

“Hey!
Are you okay?” called Rhymey.

“Does this LOOK okay to you?” sneered Penny, and she pulled the needle out of her. “This is going to put me out for… I’d say eight hours.”

“Eight hours?!” cried Sunset “But you can’t…! The other patients need you!”

Dr. Pain laughed wickedly, “Aw, that’s just too bad, because this doc has an appointment… with destruction of the city!” and he bolted out the hole in the wall and headed into town.

“We’ve gotta go after him!” said Buddy. The other rangers agreed, but Dr. Penny suddenly began to drop off due to the sedatives taking effect on her.

“Dr. Penny!” cried Sunset, but Penny was already way out like a light. Not even an earthquake could awaken her after the shot she had taken. Sunset lifted her up and lay her down on another stretcher bed, and covered her warmly with the blankets.

“This is bad!” said Sunset “The hospital’s understaffed, and we’ve got patients that need tending to. I can’t just leave here, not right now.”

The rangers realized her problem, and so Buddy suggested, “You stay here and try to contact the hospital staff. We’ll go take care of the monster.”

Before Sunset could respond, the other rangers dashed out through the hole in the wall and chased after pain.

At first, Sunset was stunned, but she shook herself back to her senses, and the first thing she did was call up Celesto at the base and informed him of the situation. “We’re short-staffed here, and there are other patients that need tending to.”

“Calm down, Sunset.” Celesto said to her “Use the hospital’s emergency-code to contact all the other doctors and nurses. I can send you a few of our Doctors from the base, but you need to help look after things until they arrive.

Once that’s done, join the other rangers at once.”

“Right.” agreed Sunset.

She dashed to reception and contacted as many of the doctors and nurses she could, but it would still be a short while before any of them would arrive.

Even when Celesto’s team arrived from the base, and with what little staff the hospital had. A patient was buzzing from his room. It was an elderly man who was having a heart-attack, and all the other doctors were already bustling about tending to other patients and wouldn’t be able to answer to the call.

Sunset knew she was given strict orders to go and help the other rangers, but knowing a man was in serious trouble and no one else could help him, she dashed down the halls for the old-man’s room, and she could see he was indeed struggling while clutching his chest… finally he passed out!

“Whoa!” Sunset cried “Okay, okay! Don’t panic! You’ve seen this before.” She proceeded towards the elderly man, and began to press down hard on his chest with her hands, “One, Two! One, Two…!” she did that several times, and then she listened for the man’s breathing through his nose. He was starting to breathe, and it looked as if he was fine, but to make doubly sure, and remembering what Dr. Penny had told her…!

She grabbed a stethoscope that was hanging from the wall, and listened to the man’s heartbeat. It was slow to start, but began to pick up, and it was beating as strong and steady for a healthier heart.

Sunset sighed in relief, and the man looked up at her, and though he was weary from his ordeal and couldn’t see he was merely addressing a volunteer due to his blurry vision, he smiled at her and said wearily “Thank you …Doctor.”

Sunset couldn’t believe what she had just done, it felt so frightening, yet at the same time it felt so incredible! But she had no time to endure this, especially not when someone else down the hall was calling, “Help! Help me!”

Sunset raced out of the old-man’s room, and came into another room where a young boy whom had two broken legs had fallen out of bed due to his support harnesses breaking loose. He was cry in extreme pain, which told Sunset his legs had hit the floor hard.

“Take it easy now, I’ll help you.” and she helped the boy get back into bed, but he was still crying and screaming in pain. “It hurts! It hurts!!” he wailed.

Sunset remembered seeing what Dr. Penny did in this situation too. She grabbed a hypodermic and filled it with a clear liquid that she knew was a pain killer. “This is will make you feel better, I promise.” she said to the boy, and she gave him the shot.

In almost no time, the pain killers worked and the boy settle down as he felt the pain going away.

“I did it again.” Sunset said to herself with astonishment in her eyes.

Then would you believe, there was yet another call down the hall for help. Sunset went to see to it too…

Meanwhile, the monster began to terrorize the town by firing his hypo-cannon all over, making explosions-- blowing holes in the streets, holes in more buildings, and even knocking some of the people off their feet.

The monster laughed at all the destruction he was causing, “Looks like some people forgot to pay their medical bills.” he joked, but he suddenly got blasted from behind, “What the…?”

He turned and saw the four rangers, morphed, and holding their weapons out. Buddy assumed the role of team-leader in Sunset’s absence. “Your little destructive binge ends here.” he sneered at the monster.

Pain laughed, “Well, I’m run out of patience, so I’ll summon my nurses!” by nurses, he meant Lingos, which were actually wearing funny pink aprons and nurse caps. “Give these sick rangers their medicine.

Attack…!”

“Ugh! They never quit do they.” groaned Rainbow.

“Let’s take ‘em!” shouted Buddy, and he and the rangers leapt into action, and wielding their weapons strongly, they managed to make short work of the Lingos, but it gave the monster the opening he needed, “This won’t hurt a bit…” he teased as he fired his cannon at the rangers, making a big explosion and knocking them about, “It hurts a lot!”

Rhymey groaned as he sat upright,

“Please say,
Is everyone okay?”

“We’re fine…” said Fluttershy “But he’s sure tougher than he looks.”

“Where’s Sunset already?” complained Rainbow.

Buddy wondered this too, and contacted the base. “Have you managed to contact her?”

“She’s still at the hospital, I was just about to call her again.” replied Twilight, and she switched off the radio to call up Sunset.

Celesto, not knowing of the situation, was growing cross with Sunset. “I gave her specific instructions.” he grumbled.

“Uh-oh…” said Spike “…Sounds like someone’s in trouble.”

Sunset had just finished treating a young woman who had burns on her arms and the side of her face. The wounds were now gauzed and the woman thanked Sunset for helping her.

Sunset smiled. She had helped many patients successfully, but finally one of the doctors came into the room. “What’s going on here?” he asked, and he looked at Sunset “What are you doing?”

“It’s all right…” replied Sunset “I was just helping her. No one else was around.”

The doctor was amazed that Sunset did all that herself, though she was not a licensed physician, he gave her a proud smile and took over for her.

The other doctors and nurses Sunset had phoned had finally arrived and the hospital was better staffed, but Sunset was still amazed by how many patients she had helped, and all by herself too.

She was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts when Twilight called her over her com. “Sunset, come in! The other rangers need you! Get going!”

“Oh!” cried Sunset. In all her running around and helping the patients she had complete forgotten.

She quickly dashed out of the hospital.

“It’s Morphin’ Time!”

“Morphing Sequence, Ready.”

“Starfleet Magic… Power On!”

Dr. Pain laughed as he fired his cannon again, but Fluttershy leapt in and blocked the shot with her shield, and then Buddy leapt forth and lassoed the cannon with his whip, trying to yank it away, but the monster maintained a firm grip.

All the rangers lined up behind one another and offered more pull to their force, but even still the monster was able to maintain his grip. “Looks like someone didn’t take their vitamins.” he hissed at them.

“Come on, guys! Pull harder!” wailed Buddy.

“Heave…Ho!
Don’t let go!” cried Rhymey.

So the rangers continued to pull and struggle, while the monster continued to a pull, “I’m afraid it’s hopeless…” the monster called to them, and he managed to point his cannon straight at the rangers, “I’m calling it!”

The rangers gasped as the cannon was ready to be fired, when suddenly, Sunset leapt into the scene, and using her Star Scepter, shot straight at the cannon, making a small explosion. The cannon flew up high and smashed hard onto the ground, breaking in pieces.

“You should check your diagnostics better.”

“Sunset…! Great timing.” said Buddy.

Sunset nodded at the team and apologized for being late.

The monster was outraged, “You busted my hypo-cannon! You’re going to pay for that!”

“I don’t think so.” said Sunset “Time for a monster-ectomy! Ready, guys...?”

The rangers acknowledged, and brought their weapons together.

“Weapons Combine…!”

“Star-Slammer… Ready!”

The monster growled as the rangers stood ready.“STAR-SLAMMER… ULTRA-STRIKE!!”

The monster got slammed hard and began to flare up. “IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE!!” he shouted as he exploded and was imprisoned.

Keto wouldn’t be able to make the monster grow now.

“Monster captured! Mission Complete!”

The other rangers rejoiced.

He three minions peered round a corner, and rather than being outraged at the loss of Dr. Pain, they simply snickered at one-another. “Those rangers still haven’t a clue.” said Marla.

Bronc agreed, “That monster was just a distraction, and we got off with all that we needed.”

Keto snickered, “Let’s get back to the tower.” Then he and his comrades vanished and were gone.

The rangers went to their base to deliver their capture, and upon arrival, Celesto wanted Sunset to explain the reason why she was late to the battle. The others wanted to know why as well.

Celesto stood with his arms folded, but a rather calm expression on his face, “Well, go on…” he said “You were tending to patients at the hospital.”

“That’s right.” Sunset said with a downed expression, “I just couldn’t leave them there with no one to help them.”

“THAT’S why you were late?” Rainbow asked in shock.

Fluttershy thought it so sweet what Sunset did. “You really helped all those patients by yourself?”

Celesto cleared his throat, silencing the others, and then he looked at Sunset deeply. “Sunset… what you did was very dangerous and highly unorthodox.” he scolded. “You are not a licenced physician, and tending to all those patients while unsupervised could’ve lead to great danger to those people.”

“I know…” Sunset sighed.

“And as if that weren’t bad enough,” Celesto continued “You left your fellow rangers to face the monster themselves when they really needed you to come sooner. If that monster had gotten loose on the city, everyone could’ve been hurt.”

Sunset felt more ashamed than ever.

“And I’d just like to add one more thing…” Celesto said, and he slowly lifted Sunset’s head to look at her deep in the eyes, and he smiled at her, “…I’m amazed.”

Sunset and the others all looked confused, and while Celesto admitted that this didn’t excuse Sunset’s insubordination, “… You did show exemplary skills and helped many people who needed it desperately, and I’m proud of you for that.”

Sunset began to smile.

“But always remember that ranger-duty is always the most important, and should always be on call to help your team when they need it.”

Sunset agreed and promised not to let something like this happen again, but the events that transpired that day helped her make up her mind.

“So you want to be a doctor?” asked Spike. “Why not?” replied Sunset “I’ve already got a knack for some of this stuff, I just proved it today, and Dr. Penny did offer me to study with her.”

“Well, I think you’ll make a great one
It can be exciting for you and lots of fun.” said Rhymey.

“I think so too,” agreed Fluttershy “I’m studying to be a vet, and I think it is fun.”

Sunset thought this all just amazing, all the support she was getting.

But this happiness was all to be dashed when Celesto received a call on his cell-phone from the hospital. “What?!” he snapped “Are you sure of this?”

The team all wondered what was so bad, and when Celesto hung up, he told them, “…Our friends are missing!”

Everyone gasped.

“Missing?!” cried Buddy, and Celesto confirmed this, “The doctor informs me they aren’t in their beds, and they were never transferred and definitely hadn’t awakened.”

Twilight hacked into the hospital’s security system. “I got something!” she said, and everyone huddled around her and watched the screen.

The images showed their friends still unconscious in their beds at the time the monster was loose and Sunset was helping other patients. She and the other doctors and nurses were too busy tending to other serious needs of other patients… when suddenly.

“Hey! Those are the three paramedics that brought Dr. Pain in.” said Sunset, and she and the others suddenly feared they had been tricked more than they had realized. This was correct when the paramedics transformed.

“Marla… Bronc… and Keto!” cried Rainbow “I don’t believe it!”

The next thing everyone saw was the villains’ teleporting their friends away, obviously taking them to their lair at the Prison Tower.

The team was livid, shocked, and extremely worried!

Fluttershy felt tears coming her eyes, “They… took… our friends!!” she cried.

Buddy angrily stomped his foot and pounded the table, “They set us up!” he growled “It was just a ruse to get to our friends!”

Celesto could not believe this happened, and he and the rest of the team couldn’t even begin to imagine what the villains wanted with their friends while they were still in comas.

Episode 22: Part 1: Frienemies

EPISODE TWENTY-TWO

The rangers hardly got any sleep, still worried over their friends being captured by the minions, and wondering what had become of them.

Sunset felt the most worried of all, worrying about all her friends, and especially Artie. “They were going to wake up.” she cried to herself. She felt ready to burst into tears of shame and fear, wondering what was happening to her friends now.

At the prison tower, Artie, Starla, Dyno and Myte, along with Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Applejack, were actually starting to awaken.

Artie was the first to slowly open his eyes. He felt so incredibly weak and sore. His head ached and his vision was a little blurry. “Where am I?” he wondered “…Who am I? Why can’t I remember?”

The others began to come to, but they all felt the same as he did.

“Who am I?” wondered Rarity.

“I… don’t remember.” said Pinkie.

They all soon realized there were contained in large glass tubes that were contacted to a machine of Bronc’s that was actually syphoning their magical energies. They were all still too weary to really complain or fuss and just remained where they all were, curled up on the bases of the tubes.

“Interesting.” said Bronc, and he turned to face The Sirens, “They seem to retain no memories of their past lives. Quite possibly due to the sizeable concussions they suffered in the explosion that knocked them out.”

The Sirens didn’t seem to mind a bit. “Never mind…” said Adagio “Their minds mean nothing to us. All that matters is we get their energy.”

Keto was still confused, “There are lots of other humans in the world,” he said “Some even bigger and stronger than these kids. Why taketheirenergy?”

The Sirens gawked at him in dismay, and Marla flicked Keto’s hat off. “Is there anything you keep under this besides your empty head?” she mocked, “These are the humans that have powers from Starfleet.”

“Exactly.” said Aria “And they also possess Equestrian magic. The very magic we all once used to empower ourselves.”

Sonata snickered, “With this kind of power, we’ll finally be able to take the fight straight to the rangers. They won’t be able to resist what we’ll have for them this time.”

As the magic and energy continued to drain from the humans, all of them were still looking pretty weak, and still couldn’t think straight or remember who they were.

This gave Keto an extreme idea. “I think I know another way we can use these creatures.” he said to everyone.

“Speak up…” said Adagio, and Keto whispered to her his idea to which Adagio grinned wickedly, “Do it!”

Keto snickered and went off to prepare his plan, but the others wondered what he was up to.

(Que Intro)

In Africa, Zecora was preparing for her special-ritual to help Lightning in his quest to find the villains tower. She mixed a whole bunch of herbs and liquids her caldron and set them to burn. The mixture made all kinds of multi-colored fumes that smelled rather horrid. Lightning covered his nose.

Krysta covered her face with her wing and groaned, “My nostrils feel shriveled.”

“You don’t have a nose.” said Lightning.

“You get the idea anyway.” grumbled Krysta.

Zecora was used to all this, having been through this countless times.

“I understand dat you can’t stand da smells of the dust and grime,
But it’s all necessary to make things work. It won’t take much time.”

Suddenly, the candles and lanterns went out as a soft breeze actually fluttered inside the burrow.

“Da spirits begin to speak
You can hear dem as dey creak

The breeze actually made soft howling sounds. Krysta felt chills run down her back, and made her feathers stand up.

Lightning held her close to comfort her.

Suddenly there was a big glowing from the caldron and the fumes seemed to show a shape of the villains’ tower. Lightning and Krysta stared in awe at the images, and Zecora began to slowly see the picture coming together.

“Da spirits began to speak to you,
Somewhere out in the da ocean-blue,
Da tower of the enemies you brawl,
It sits on an island that is very small.”

“An island…” whispered Lightning “Of course! Such an isolated for privacy, and regular planes and ships could never hope to see it in the vast ocean.”

“Well, that’s fine and all…” said Krysta “But exactlywhere isthis island? It could be anywhere in any ocean.”

Zecora hushed her and said,

“Just concentrate my dear,
Soon all will become quite clear.”

Outside of the burrow, that evil creature was moving closer and closer, following Lightning’s footprints in the soft dirt, his shadow loomed in on the big rock near Zecora’s secret entrance, and the creature snickered wickedly.

Meanwhile, back at Mystic Island, the rangers all met up in the park, they all sat together on the bench, but none of them really felt like doing much. All of them sat with their heads down, their eyes half open in sad expressions, while everyone else in the park were happy and giddy and playing and having the time of their lives.

“So…” Rainbow said finally breaking the silence.

“Um…” said Fluttershy, but she couldn’t think of much else to say.

Finally Rhymey stood up,

“Look, this disturbs me to no ends,
We’re all very worried about our friends.”

“That’s an understatement.” agreed Buddy “I just wish we knew what The Sirens want with our friends. Then again, knowing those freaks, they’ll want to use them against us.”

Sunset cringed, and she spoke softly, “Please don’t say that.” All her friends looked at her, she sounded so down hearted, so lost. “I just can’t bear the thought. I mean what if The Sirens are torturing them, hurting them?

What’s to stop them from doing that anyway?”

Now Fluttershy felt her insides aching with worry, almost to the point of tears. “She’s right.” she cried. “There’s got to be something we can do!”

“Yeah, but what CAN we do?” asked Rainbow. “I’m not trying to be insensitive or anything, but if you stop and think about it, all this feeling sorry for ourselves won’t really help.”

“Rainbow’s right.” agreed Buddy “If anything, we ought to train and prepare ourselves for what may come.”

Fluttershy wiped her eyes, knowing her friends were right, and Rhymey agreed too.

“I hear your words and I agree,
We better prepare quite quickly.”

Sunset was still looking down, worrying about her friends, and especially Artie.

“Sunset?” said Buddy, “I know it’s hard. We all feel the same, but we do need you.”

Sunset drew in a deep breath and found her courage to get up to her feet. “You’re right,” said bravely “Let’s go!”

The best place they could possibly train and practice was in the school yard and the track-stadium at Canterlot High.

Even though the school was closed for the summer holidays, Track Teams and Athletics Groups loved to use the track field and the stadium for training. Provided they got permission from Celesto first as he owned the grounds and property.

When the rangers had contacted him and explained their training plans, Celesto was only too obliged to grant them permission, and soon the rangers were training hard-- leaping over hurdles, dodging obstacles, and even taking time to spar with one another… all to the tune of their theme song.

Elsewhere, there was more preparation going on…!

Keto had lined up a row of monsters he had released from their cells. Some monsters were big and burly. Some were armed with weapons. There were even a few who had a few magical powers to launch fireballs, or lightning bolts and things like that.

“What are we doing here?”

“I thought we were being released to fight the rangers.”

“QUIET!!” shouted Keto “You won’t ACTUALLY be fighting the rangers yourselves, but you will be helping us.”

The monsters didn’t understand.

Keto snickered and rubbed his hands together. “Okay, come on, baby, let’s do this.” He whispered to his staff.“…DECOMPOSITION!”

The monsters gasped, and remembered Keto using this mugic before-- His most powerful and deadliest one, that had the power to steal strength, courage, intelligence and power from subjects and transfer them to the caster of the mugic… though at great risk as it meant Keto could get extremely weakened from overusing the power for too long.

The magical music played, and the monster along with Keto all glowed brightly as the energies were transferred from the monsters, leaving them all weak, frail, and practically useless, while Keto absorbed the powers into a special mugic hex rather than absorbing the power into himself. He would never be able to handle that much, not even with his enhanced strength. He’d likely blow himself up just absorbing half of it!

Never the less, the magical hex now stored all the power obtained from the monsters “Excellent!” Keto hissed, but then he felt rather woozy from such a strain and nearly collapsed, but a pair of Lingos caught him. “Thank you.” he said to them.

He ordered the monsters to be sent back to their cells, and then he was escorted to the top of the tower and brought the Hex to The Sirens. “It’s worked, Mistresses.” he said “With this, we can now create monsters that even the rangers can’t defeat.”

The Sirens snickered, and Adagio carefully took the hex from Keto. “If this works, Keto,” said Adagio “We’ll have to talk about a handsome reward for you.”

Bronc and Marla felt cross and jealous of the greatness Keto was receiving, but they couldn’t really complain.

Adagio then activated the hex, which began to transfer the power into all of the humans they had captured.

“What the?!” cried Applejack.

“What’s going on!” shouted Starla.

Dyno groaned, “I feel… I feel…!”

“So strange!” added Myte.

Pinkie Pie screamed as she and all her friends began to transform, taking on monstrous shapes.

“It’s working!” cried Bronc.

Marla backed away whimpering softly as the snarling creatures busted through the tubes that held them.

The combined powers of the monster energies gave each human a different shape and power.

Rarity: A stunning, yet wicked sorceress. She wore a dark purple robe and hood, with a monster silver mask across her face. She has the ability to unleash gem missiles and white lightning bolts.

Pinkie Pie: A nightmarish looking clown monster. Her body was a little chubby, but extremely durable and she wore a birthday hat that could shoot cannonballs out of its top, and she could also throw exploding pie-bombs.

Applejack: She took on the form of a Chaotic Code-master, like Bronc. She wore the same armor, helmet and robe like he did; only her robe was red, white and bronze colored, but just like Bronc, she had huge fists and could shoot lasers from her helmet visor.

The Twins: They had taken on the form of two huge iron warriors. Dyno wore black armor, and Myte wore grey armor. Both of them were fully armored from head-to-toe, front to back, and they each held a strong mace and shield.

Starla: She had taken the form of a spiteful enchantress, with silvery skin, black hair, a black robe, and a magical scepter that house dark magic that could be used offensively and defensively.

And Artie: He took on the form of a strong and fierce-looking beast. With claws, horns, fangs, and was able to breathe fire.

The Sirens gazed in astonishment at their newest legion of monsters, and the best part of it all was, because the humans already couldn’t remember their former lives, and now had the intelligence and minds of monsters, as well as their loyalty to the villains.

“How may we serve you, Oh, Empresses?” Starla said, taking her place as the leader of the monsters.

“Mmm…! I like this.” said Aria.

“I wouldn’t want to be in the rangers’ shoes now.” Sonata snickered.

In Zecora’s hideout, the cauldron was now producing a rather odd image of the Pacific Ocean.

“Da Spirits will now search the ocean blue,
Dey will close in on da tower for you.
Watch as now da narrowing of da field.
Soon da position of da tower will be revealed.”

The smoke then showed a red glowing image, like a circle that slowly began to enclose on an area near Mystic Island, much to Lightning and Krysta’s astonishment.

“It’s that close to the island?!” Krysta whispered. Lightning could hardly believe it himself.

The circle had just enclosed within a five-hundred mile radius near Mystic Island, when suddenly the images vanished, and then the cauldron glowed red.

Zecora gasped in fright.

“What’s happening?” asked Lightning.

The red glow pulsated brighter, and took on the shape a monstrous face.

Zecora explained…

“Da spirits are broken, and I know why.
Dey are warning us… of a great evil is nigh!”

Before anyone could say another thing, the burrow rumbled as if someone or something was slamming onto the ground above. “I’ll go check it out.” said Lightning.

Zecora directed him to her special way out, through a doorway that lead to another secret panel in the ground.

“Krysta, you stay here with Zecora.”

“But Lightning…” Krysta protested, but Lightning had already gone, and Zecora quickly lit p some candles to make it easier to see.

Lightning made it to the surface and was now standing outside under the night sky.

“Well, well…!” called a familiar and wicked voice, “Fancy running into YOU here.”

Lightning couldn’t believe his eyes, “Nacluv!”

“That’s my name. Don’t wear it out.”

Before Lightning could even ask, Nacluv explained how he was there.

“After my minions betrayed me to those silly Sirens, I found myself swimming endlessly for my life through the ocean, and braving those dangers.

But it was somewhat worth it.”

He flexed his muscles, and the fiery veins on his arms pulsated brightly. “I found good strength as I reached the shores of Africa, and have been training in secret so that I may return and exact my vengeance!

…And what do you know, I run into a ranger right here. It’ll be nice for me to have a little brawl before I return.”

Lightning had heard enough, and he looked ready to rumble.

Nacluv then unleashed a huge fiery blast, stronger than anything he had once. Lightning leapt out of the way casuing the blast to hit the ground…

…The force of which shook Zecora’s burrow below, knocking the lit candles all about, and one of them landed behind a pile a sheet curtain, setting it ablaze.

“Oh, no!” cried Krysta.

The fire began to spread to the bookshelves, much to Zecora’s horror, and all the water she had in buckets wouldn’t help put it out.

“We must get out of here,
Come with me little dear.”

She scooped Krysta in her arms and ran for the exit, but at the same time...

“Take this!” Nacluv fired another blast which Lightning dodged, and the blast hit the ground again, causing a small rockslide below, and Zecora’s exit was blocked off.

“No!!”Zecora and Krysta shouted. The exit was completely blocked, and the fire below was spreading, and the smoke was unbearable. With no windows or openings to leak out, the whole place was soon all fogged up.

Krysta and Zecora began to cough and wheeze.

“We… trapped!” choked Krysta.

“No… not, yet we’re not.
Dere’s one idea… that’s worth a shot…!”

She tucked Krysta into her robe sash, fastening her down, and made her way over to the entrance slide, and very carefully began to shimmy her way up. It was a good thing her hands were dry to keep her from slipping.

She made it to the top and burst her way through the trapdoor, and she and Krysta gasped and coughed for the fresh air.

Lightning was glad to see they made it out, “Are you two okay?” he called.

Zecora nodded and Krysta perched herself on her shoulder, but she was shocked to see, “Nacluv?!”

Nacluv snickered, “Ah, a pair witnesses to see your destruction.” he said to Lightning, and then he rushed straight for him.

Lightning rushed at him as well, morphing along the way! “Power… On!!”

The two collided together, and began to punch and kick at one another, while all Zecora and Krysta could do was keep well out of the way and watch Lightning brawl with the evil creature.

Their fists collided, and Lightning kicked at Nacluv hard. Nacluv dodged and slashed at Lightning hard with his claws knocking him away.

“Lightning!” cried Krysta as she saw Lightning just lying on the ground.

Nacluv laughed as he approached him, “It seems you’ve lost your touch for having left your fellow rangers for so long.”

He grabbed Lightning and looked deeply at his helmet, “Take a deep breath. It shall be your last.”

He was about to deliver the kill, but Lightning pulled a fast one on him, by raising his foot up and kicking him hard in the chest sending him back a few paces, and then Lightning bolted up right and shot him with a strong force from his gauntlets, making a big explosion and knocking the creature back hard.

“You were saying, Nacluv?” Lightning taunted “Guess you’re the type who never learns.”

Nacluv was furious.

This battle was far from over.

Meanwhile, the rangers had long since finished their training session. It was not beneficial for them to overdo it, or they would be too tired to get into action.

Sunset took a moment to look all around at the open school-field, and the city in the distances.

“Sunset?” said Fluttershy.

“I was just looking…” Sunset said.

“Looking for any signs of danger?” asked Buddy.

Sunset sighed, “I wish they’d show themselves already, and we can find out about our friends.”

Suddenly, the skies began to grow a little dark with evil clouds. “I think they just heard you.” said Rainbow.

Surely enough, The Sirens appeared,

“Well, hey Rangers.” said Adagio. Aria and Sonata snickered.

The rangers all stood together with strong and stern expression.

“Ooh, some people look a little sour today.” said Aria.

“Maybe we can cheer you up… with the last concert you’ll ever hear!”

The rangers all glared furiously at the villains. “What have you done with our friends?” Sunset asked.

The Sirens snickered, and Adagio replied, “Oh, you could say “Nothing”… compared to what they’re going to do to you.”

The rangers were confused, and suddenly, bright flashed of Lightning struck the ground making bright flashes, and the seven monsters all appeared.

“What the Who…?!” snapped Rainbow.

“No!
It isn’t so!” cried Rhymey.

Even with their monstrous forms, the rangers still recognized their friends anywhere.

“Artie…” cried Sunset, but Artie just glared at her with smoke coming through his big monster nose, “No, Ranger. I only inhabit his body and mind.”

“We all do.” hissed Applejack, “Figured you rangers would wanna see your ol’ chums again.”

Buddy clenched his fists in extreme inner anguish. She sounded like Applejack behind that helmet, but seeing her as well as the others in their monstrous forms really hurt him inside.

The others all felt the same, and The Sirens were only enjoying this, and they agreed as Adagio said, “…It’s show time.” and she ordered the monsters to attack.

The monsters roared and lunged forth.

“Look out!” shouted Fluttershy, and the rangers all leapt out of the way before they were all slashed or blasted at. The Rangers made no attempt to fight back, and they didn’t even morph.

“What, no Morphin’ Time.” hissed Starla.

“No Hiyas or Keyohs!” taunted Rarity.

Buddy looked at the girls, “Girls, come on! Snap out of it.” he said to them, but Starla and Rarity merely zapped at him with their powers, forcing him to dodge again.

“Hey, come on.” Rainbow said “We’re all friends here.”

“We can’t fight you!” added Fluttershy.

The Twins just swing their maces at the girls. The girls leapt away as the maces slammed the ground hard. The boys turned to face the girls, “Haven’t you been listening to what we said?” sneered Dyno. “We are not your friends.” added Myte “We serve The Sirens, and we will destroy you!”

The swung at the girls again…

Rhymey stared down Pinkie, and she snickered at him, “You’re such pests to us, I think I’ll blow my top.” And she fired a cannonball out from her hat that Rhymey dodged, and avoided a big explosion.

Much as Rhymey hated the very thought, he looked over at The Sirens who were snickering-- enjoying at seeing the rangers suffer-- he knew there was really no other choice.

“I do not wish to fight you, my friend.
But we must defend ourselves, or face our end.”

Fluttershy couldn’t believe what her boyfriend had just said, “Rhymey…!”

“He’s right…” added Buddy “I don’t like this anymore than you do, but we can’t just sit and do nothing and let them destroy us.”

Rainbow cringed softly, but she knew he was right, and Fluttershy and even Sunset herself were inclined to agree.

“So you’re going to fight after all?” jeered Artie “This ought to be interesting.”

The rangers all stood together and were ready.

“It’s Morphin’ Time!” said Sunset.

“Morphing Sequence Ready!”

“STARFLEET MAGIC… POWER ON!!”

Once they morphed, they did their roll-call.

Sunset:“Evil’s Dread! Starfleet Red!”

Buddy:“Let’s make the scene. Starfleet Green!”

Rainbow:“We’ll see things through. Starfleet Blue!”

Rhymey:“Though peace and Woe! Starfleet Yellow!”

Fluttershy:“Quick as a Wink! Starfleet Pink!”

And altogether they shouted“…POWER RANGERS… SUPER STARFLEET!!”

The monsters growled, and The Sirens laughed, “Let’s do this.” said Aria. Sonata snickered, and Adagio shouted, “ATTACK…!!”

The monsters and The Sirens themselves all rushed forth.

“Go!” shouted Sunset, and the rangers all rushed as well.

The Sirens began to hum a few notes, and the rangers were suddenly all forced back by powerful energy waves.

“Whoa! What was that?” asked Sunset.

“Just another little trick we’ve perfected.” replied Sonata, and she sang more notes blasting lightning bolts at the rangers, hitting them all hard and knocking them over in big explosions.

“Good one, Sonata.” said Adagio.

Sonata grinned, but the rangers all got up just as the long row of monsters stood before them, and Artie was snickering at them. “You rangers have met your match.”

The rangers all got up, and Sunset tried to get through to Artie and the others. “I know you’re all in there. We don’t have to do this!”

“Silence…!” Artie shouted and he breathed a wave of flames at the rangers, making them all step back hard.

The monsters all rushed forth, and the rangers had no choice but to fight. However, they only fought defensively, merely to block or avoid being punched, kicked or blasted by the monsters.

“What’s wrong, can’t throw a punch?” taunted Applejack “Well I sure can!” and she aimed her huge fist, knocking Buddy back hard, and before he even had a chance to get up, The Sirens sang another note, lifting Buddy high and then blasting him hard, causing him to crash on the ground and his suit powered down.

“That’s one down.” said Aria.

Rhymey fought valiantly with his sword against the Twins, and managed to keep them both at bay for a short while. In the end, Dyno knocked Rhymey’s sword out of his hand giving Myte the opening to bash him hard with his mace, sending him rolling along the ground and de-morphing.

At the base, the friends all watched in horrors. “I can’t believe this is actually happening!” cried Spike “I mean… those are our friends!”

Twilight and Celesto felt the same, and Celesto gripped his cane tightly, “So THIS is what the Sirens wanted.” he said.

Twilight scanned the monsters. “Their power levels are rising through the roofs.”

There was a loud noise on the screen.

Rainbow fired her cannon, while Starla and Rarity nodded at one another combined their magic, producing a wave of energy, reflecting the blast back at Rainbow, hitting her hard and de-morphing her!

Pinkie Pie then laughed at Fluttershy as she glared her down, “What? You’re still scared of clowns?” she hissed. Fluttershy tried not to tremble in fear and raised her shield when Pinkie started throwing her pies at her. Big explosions erupted, one after another; Fluttershy couldn’t take it much longer. Finally, Pinkie blasted her with a cannonball, blowing her back hard and she was de-morphed.

Sunset was the only ranger left, and she fought against Artie alone.

Artie punched and kicked while Sunset blocked his every attack. The finally met together in a struggle, “My goodness, are you still trying to get through to me?” mocked Artie.

Sunset said nothing. She just gazed at him deeply through her helmet. She could actually see the face of her boyfriend behind that monstrous feature. This of course allowed Artie to bash her hard with his head, knocking her back hard.

“Our turn…” Sang Adagio, and she and the others sang a strong note, blasting Sunset with lightning all around. Explosions and sparks flew all around her, and she flipped over and onto the ground, un-morphed!

“Sunset!” cried Rainbow as she and the others dashed over to help her. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I am…” replied Sunset, but the monsters were all laughing at them, and The Sirens stood in front of them all, and the minions joined them. “My, how the tables have turned.” teased Bronc.

“How does it feel to lose, Rangers?” Marla sneered at them.

The rangers said nothing. What was there to say?

“Oh, I’ve waited for this moment a long time.” hissed Keto.

“So have we.” agreed The Sirens.

The friends at the base saw this on the monitors. “It’s no good! They’re outnumbered and outmatched!” said Twilight.

“Man! I sure wish Lightning was here!” cried Spike.

“So do I, Spike…” agreed Celesto “Right now we’ve got to get the rangers out of there.”

Meanwhile, Lightning rushed straight at Nacluv, but the evil creature blasted him hard with his flames, sending him skidding along the ground. “Lightning!” shouted Krysta.

“Oh…!” cried Zecora.

Nacluv laughed and approached the fallen ranger. “This has been quite the warm up for me, and this new strength of mine feels great.” he paused and gazed down at Lightning, “Soon, I’ll return to finish what I started, but first… I’ll destroy you!”

Lightning could only gaze up at the evil creature, panting softly and slightly in fear!

To Be Continued…!

Episode 23: Frienemies: Part 2

EPISODE TWENTY-THREE

Lightning suddenly bolted upright onto his feet, much to Nacluv’s amazement.

“I’m not so easy to keep down.” Lightning said, and then he activated his morpher, “Crystal Battle Armor!”

“Crystal Armor, Engage!”

“Oh, such fancy armor.” hissed Nacluv “You rangers are full of more and more surprises all the time.”

The two figures glared at one another and brawled again while Zecora and Krysta could still do nothing but watch. “Come on, Lightning!” Krysta cheered softly.

“He is a very good fighter,
And his courage is burning brighter.” said Zecora.

“That’s Lightning for you.”

Meanwhile, on Mystic Island, the rangers were still un-morphed and face-to-face with the group of villains and monsters staring them down.

“Any last words…?” Adagio asked, and the villains snarled and growled at them. The rangers still felt rather upset deep down knowing these monsters were really their friends, but it was pointless to try and reason with them.

“No last words, huh?” said Aria, “Suits us fine.”

Sonata nodded, “Adios!”

The villains all powered up, ready to fire and blow the team to ashes.

“What are we supposed to do?” whimpered Fluttershy.

Sunset felt there was only one hope for them, “I hope this works.”

(Que Intro)

Adagio sang out loud, “Feel the power of our Equestrian Magic!” and she all the other villains attacked, firing a barrage of magical waves, pulses, and flames at the team, while at the same moment, Sunset began to glow brightly, along with the others.

“What’s happening?” asked Buddy.

“Why are we glowing?” added Rainbow.

The magical blasts hit them all nonstop, shrouding them all in flames and explosions that leveled the ground and charred the grass where they stood.

The villains all laughed wickedly.

“We did it!” cheered Marla.

“We finally beat ‘em!” cried Keto.

Suddenly, as the smoke cleared, “Wait! Look!” cried Bronc. All the villains gawked in horror, and saw the rangers were still standing with not even a scratch.

“Ah!!” cried Adagio.

“How is this possible?!” shouted Aria.

Sunset smirked at The Sirens, “You seem to have forgotten that I, also, have Equestrian Powers.”

Sonata gawked and blinked her eyes once, “Oh yeah…” she giggled nervously, “How could we forget that?”

Her comrades all glared at her, growling!

“Get ready to run, guys.” Sunset whispered to the rangers, and she concentrated as hard as she could. Then, before the villains could act, Sunset created a huge flash of light that momentarily blinded them all, allowing her and the rangers to dash for the nearest jump-tube and escape to safety.

The monsters were outraged. “They’ve escaped us!” whined Rarity.

“Never mind that.” said Starla “I think it’s perfectly clear they can’t beat us as they are.”

The Sirens agreed as well, “Using their friends as monsters was a great idea.” Adagio said to Keto, and Keto boastingly blew on the tip his staff, “When I’m right, I’m right.”

Marla and Bronc grunted softly.

“Let’s get going.” said Aria “We have a city to conquer, and a world to takeover.”

Sonata giggled with glee, “This is gonna be awesome!”

At the base the rangers were all frustrated and upset. “I just can’t believe we actually had to fight our friends.” said Rainbow.

Spike cleared his throat, “Ya know, it’s not exactly the first time you’ve done that.” he was referencing, Sunset, Flash Sentry, even Twilight and Lightning.

“Thanks for bringing all that up.” grumbled Twilight.

“The point is…” said Spike “You all managed to undo the evil before, you can do it again.”

Much and the others agreed with Spike’s confidence, “Spike,” said Buddy “In those situations, we knew what we were doing and we had our Starfleet and Equestrians powers to help us, but we don’t have them now. It won’t be as easy.”

The others all sighed, knowing he was right.

“Couldn’t we trying our Crystal Armor?” suggested Fluttershy “After all, it can fix things.”

“It fixes THINGS, Fluttershy, not people.” said Rainbow.

Rhymey sighed,

“If only we could split the evil from good,
Then our friends would be just how they should.”

Sunset suddenly thought of something she hadn’t before. “There just may be a way?”

“What did you say?” rhymed Rhymey.

Sunset then looked down at her hands, and clenched them together.

“What are you thinking, Sunset?” asked Celesto.

Sunset didn’t answer, at first, and went to the central table in the room. She pressed a switch which opened a panel in the center of the table, revealing the Dimensional Diary that she could use to contact United Equestria.

As the book rose out from its hiding spot, it was already glowing, meaning someone was trying to contact the human world from United Equestria.

“Hold on…” said Celesto, and he placed the book in its special device which showed its pages on the monitor, and this way everyone could speak into the microphone and their messages would be instantly written on the pages, almost like using an internet chatroom.

The book opened, and there was a message from Commander Lightning Dawn…

“Hello Rangers,

It has been quite a while since we have spoken, but I have great news:

We have almost succeeded in repairing the Dimensional Gateway between our two worlds. Soon, travel will be possible again, and I will be able to return your energizers to you.”

“Oh, that’s so wonderful.” cried Fluttershy.

“We’ll have our real powers back.” said Buddy, and he looked over at Celesto, “No offense, sir.”

“None taken.” replied Celesto.

Sunset quickly spoke her message into the book, hoping Lightning would answer.

“While I have you, Commander, we have a serious situation on our hands at the moment…” and she explained the situation.

Lightning answered almost at once,“I see… that is very disturbing to hear. It makes me wish the portal was fully-fixed now, and we could solve the problem easily.”

The Rangers all felt a bit dismayed. Nevertheless Sunset spoke to the book again,

“I remember you told me once that Princess Twilight Sparkle knew a spell that could separate well from evil.”

Lightning responded, “Yes… it is called “The Splitter Spell.”

The book then began to show magical pictures of the time when Starfleet fought against the Changelings. The evil creatures would seep into the minds of ponies to feed off their energies, but also to take control of the victim and make that victim turn evil.

Princess Twilight Sparkle had perfected a special spell that could separate unnatural sources from the body, which we used to eject the Changelings and any evil energy out of the victim.

Sunset clenched her fists and again, and said into the book as well as her friends, “I think I can produce that very same spell.”

The rangers and the others began to feel hope returning to them. “Do you really think you can?” asked Twilight.

Sunset was rather unsure, “I remember I used to train with Queen Celestia, long before I came to this world, but as you all know the case with me…” she paused “I abandoned my studies and wasn’t able to perfect quite so many spells, and of course being in this world and without my energizer and all that…

But I think want to try, it just may be all we have.”

Nobody said a thing, pondering over the idea, but seeing as there was no other alternative; they all agreed to go for it.

“I must warn you…”Lightning said within the book,“Even if you manage to cast the spell, due to the instability and the limits of your magic, your best and only chance is to cast the magic upon your friends after weakening them down so they cannot resist the power.

I must go now, I am needed elsewhere.

Good luck to you all and I will see you all very soon… I hope.”

He said nothing more and the book stopped glowing.

The entire team had deep concerned looks on their faces. Celesto finally broke the silence, though he himself felt just as bad, “I’m afraid you have no choice.”

This was the hardest thing the rangers ever had to agree upon, but it just had to be done.

Suddenly, the alarms sounded.

“Trouble in town!” cried Twilight, and she punched it up on the monitors. The entire team of monsters, The Sirens and the minions were on the biggest rampage through town ever.

Sunset clenched her fists tight, “Friends or not, we can’t let them destroy things like this.

Let’s go!”

The rangers agreed and dashed for the jump tubes.

Celesto shut his eyes tightly. Despite what everyone had just agreed on, and that it was for the best, he still hated the ideas of attacking his own students… his friends… the people he helped to educate and set off for life.

Twilight felt no different, and neither did Spike, and much as neither of them wanted to, they all had to watch the fight on the monitors.

The police had already begun ording civilians to flee the area and get out of the buildings… just in time too as all the villians began to wreak havoc worse than ever before.

The Twins smashes up the streets with their maces, Pinkie Pie launched her pie-bombs at cars, blowing them up and frightening citizens away.

The other villians all used their vile powers to blast and blow up buildings, blasting them all to the ground.

The Sirens laughed and cackled, “I can’t believe we’re actually winning!” cried Adagio “It feels so… so…!” she paused, and then all three girls shouted together “...AWESOME!!”

The began to sing and old song of theirs, which helped them to blast more magic around and break more things… “Welcome to the Show”

More destruction and more chaos spread all over town. The minions were enjoying themselves a lot. “Ah, this feels so incredile!” said Bronc.

“After all this time, things are finally going our way!” added Marla.

Keto only laughed as he blasted more of the streets, breaking them up even more. “Now, who or what is next?” he asked aloud.

“You’re next… all of you!” shouted Sunset, and she and the rangers all leapt onto the scene. “This time you creeps have gone way over the line!”

The monsters all snarled and jeered at the team. “You should have kept on running when you did.” said Artie.

“We’ve never run from anything before, and we’re not starting now.” said Buddy.

“One thing about being the good guys we know,” said Rainbow “It’s the Bad guys NEVER win!”

“And we’ll make sure of that,
Save our friends and beat you all flat.” added Rhymey.

Fluttershy just nodded fercily without saying anything.

<“It’s Morphin’ Time!” said Sunset.

“Morphing Sequence, Ready.”

“STARFLEET MAGIC… POWER ON!!”

The minions all snickered, “So you want to go again, huh?” sneered Keto “Well, it just makes this even more entertaining than it is now.”

Bronc and Marla luaghed along with The Sirens. “Go, get ‘em!” said Adagio, and the team of monsters runshed forth.

The Rangers all got their weapons ready, and Sunset thought softly to herself to her friends, “Sorry to do this to you guys, but it’s the only way.”

Then she and the rangers charged forth, coliding into the monsters.

Rarity rushed forth to attack Fluttershy, blasting her with her magic, but Fluttershy blocked the attack with her shield, and rammed into Rarity, punching her hard in the chest.

“What?” snapped Aria. “She actually attacked her?!” added Sonata.

Fluttershy felt really bad about that, but this was no time to be sentimental.

“So you do have some fight in you.” hissed Rarity.

“Perhaps this won’t be as borin’ as we thought.” Added Applejack, and she went after Buddy, swinging her fists at him, and he served and dodged her every swing and then used his whipe to lasso her huge wrists together. “Hey!” she thundered as she tried to pull her wrists apart.

“Now take this!” Buddy hollered as he High-Jump Kicked Applejack hard, knocked her back, but she countered by zapping at him with her eye-lasers, knocking him back in a big explosion. He was far from beaten. “I will help you, Applejack. That’s a promise.” he said to himself to help give himself strength to fight on.

Rainbow and Pinkie Pie stared each other down. “Have some pie!” Pinkie thundered at her and threw her pie bombs which Rainbow dodged, avoiding the explosions, “I don’t eat pie!”

“Then eat some lead!” shouted Pinkie, and she fired her cannon-balls.

“Sonic Cannon!” Rainbow grabbed her weapon and quickly fired at the metal-balls, blowing them down.

“Hey! That’s not fair! You cheated!” shouted Pinkie.

“Pinkie, I’m really sorry about this…” Rainbow said with honest guilt in her voice, but she fired her cannon straight at Pinkie, making a big explosion and knocking her down hard.

Rainbow hated herself for that, but she didn’t have time to grieve over it, and she didn’t have to as Marla latched her long hair around Rainbow’s cannon, yanking it away, and then she proceeded to launched her finger-nails right at the rangers, hitting her hard and making sparks fly.

“You may have some fight in you, but We have a lot of fight in ourselves!”

Rainbow growled as she stood, and she lunged forth to attack…!

The Sirens did nothing to help out, just yet. They just sat on the sidelines conserving their powers. “That’s it; wear them all down.” hissed Adagio.

Aria snickered, “Once the rangers are all weak enough, we’ll move in…”

“…And blow them all out of existance!” added Sonata.

The three girls snickered, and continued to watch the battle.

The Twins lunged at Rhymey, both striking him hard with their maces and sent him rolling along the ground.

Rhymey then got out his sword and weilded it,

“You may be two,
But I can take you!”

The Twins snickered, “Your little sword doesn’t frighten us.” jeered Dyno. “We’re fully armored. You’ll never get close to landing a hit.”

Rhymey snickered and held his sword like a proud fencer signaling that he was ready.

The two monsters growled and charged at him. Rhymey leapt up and over behind them both, and the two monsters turned swiftly around!

Rhymey then swung his sword, skillfully parrying the maces as they came at him. He wasn’t holding back this time like he did before, and really putting everything he had into mantaining his focuss.

Even constantly reminding himself…

“Fighting my friends does break my heart.
But if I am to save them, I must do my part.”

He continued to fend off the monsters’ attacks, and the monsters were both growing annoyed. “I’ll get him!” shouted Dyno. “No I will!” thundered Myte. Both of them raised their maces and gave a huge swing, but Rhymey quickly ducked down cuasing the monsters to miss and accidently hit each other hard, making a huge flow of sparks, and bits of their armor to fly off, exposing some of their bodies underneath.

“NOW SEE WHAT YOU’VE DONE!!”the monsters bickered.

“Enough!” growled Bronc, and he thrust his huge fists into the ground, making it shake, knocking rhymey and the monsters over. “You’re supposed to be fighting him, not yourselves!”

The monsters agreed, and now with Bronc’s help, Rhymey was more outmatched than ever and found it harder to battle three tough guys at once.

He got hit more times than he could block attacks, but he refused to give up.

As for Sunset, she was stuck fighting both Artie and Starla at the same time, and Keto was there to help them.

“Give it up, Red Ranger! You’re no match for us.” sneered Keto.

The two monsters sneered at Sunset. “I won’t have to fight you guys.”

The villians were at first confused. “Does this mean you surrender?” asked Starla. “Never!” snapped Sunset. “Fine by us.” jeered Artie and he and the others all rushed her at once.

Artie charged at her, like a rushing bull, and Sunset just leapt up and over him, not even bothering to counter back.

“Oh, yeah…?!” sneered Starla “Take this!” and she unleashed a magical wave of energy at her, and Keto blasted at Sunset with his staff, not needing to call out a mugic spell, but Sunset dodged both attacks.

“Get her!” shouted Keto.

The trio of villians attacked, and while Sunset made her every effort to dodge every blast, and block every punch and kick waged at her, she made no atempt to offensvley strike…“I need to save my energy and build up my magic.”she thought silently to herself.

She suddenly found herself surrounded by the three enemies. Artie unleashed his fire, and Starla and Keto unleashed magical blasts straight at Sunset, which she dodged by leaping way high up, and the blasts struck each of the villians in big explosions.

“Watch where you’re aiming!” shouted Artie.

“Why don’t you?!” snarled Starla.

“Why you big lugheads!” growled Keto, and he and the monsters began to wail on each other.

“Hey! Stop that!” shouted Adagio, and she and the other Sirens blasted their lightning bolts to break them up. “Go after the rangers!” sneered Aria.

“Can it, you sneeks!” snapped Rainbow, and she fired her cannon at The Sirens, hitting them hard and sent them rolling along the ground.

“Ha!” said Rainbow, but got punched hard by Pinkie.

Applejack and Buddy were struggling hard, but Applejack headbutt Buddy hard in the gut and blasted him with her eye-lasers.

Rarity shot at Fluttershy with her magical blasts, knocking Fluttershy’s sheild away, and then she fired again at Fluttershy herself.

Rhymey struggled aginast the Twin’s maces, but it meant he was unable to defend himself agianst Bronc’s lasers, blasting him hard.

Even Sunset got struck, when the villians all fired at her from one directions, making one thunderous explosion knocking her along the ground, straight to where he friends all lay about and struggled to their feet.

“Are you guys okay?” asked Sunset.

“Yeah, in a matter of speaking.” replied Buddy.

The villians all lined up, and the rangers all stood together. Sunset didn’t feel her magic spell qas quite ready to use yet, and even still the villians looked only a little beaten up, but still not nearly enough for her to get a good short.

“Why do you continue?” sneered Artie “Why not surrender and spare yourselves more pain?”

“Because…” snapped Sunset “We never give up, especially not on our friends!”

One-by-one each of the rangers nodded in strongly in agrement.

The Sirens stood and brushed themselves clean. “What are you waiting for?!” shouted Adagio, “GET THEM!!”

The monsters agreed and all rushed forth again, but the rangers were hoping they would do that, and, quickly, they all jumped away causing the monsters to all colide into each other… much to The Sirens chagrin.

“Hey!”

“Move over!”

“Get off me!”

The monsters all began to wail on each other, and now there was no breaking them up.

Rainbow chuckled, “They may have the strnegths of monsters, but they’re still not as smart.”

“Well, at least we don’t have to fight them now.” said Fluttershy.

The Sires and the minions were furious, and while they couldn’t break the monsters up, at least they could still fight the rangers themselves.

“This has gone far enough!” growled Adagio “We’ll beat you rangers ourselves!” the other villians all agreed and growled fericly.

“I think we need to take this up a notch.” said Sunset. The other rangers agreed, knowing what it was time for. Altogether they shouted,“CRYSTAL BATTLE ARMOR!!”

“Crystal Armor, Engage!”

Once they were all armored up, Buddy asked Sunset, “You going to be okay?”

Sunset nodded, “I’ll be fine, I just need a few more minutes.”

The villians didn’t know what they were planning, and didn’t care at the moment. “Go!” shouted Adagio, and the six villians all rushed forth.

The rangers all drew out their swords and charged.

The sirens sang their lungs out, firing huge lightning bolts at the rangers, but the rangers raised their swords, actualy deflected the blast right back towards the villians. “Look out!” shouted Marla, but it was too late.

KAPOW! Big explosions erupted, throwing the villians all about. “Get ‘em!” shouted Sunset, and she and the others all rushed in.

The minions got up quickly and tried their best, but the rangers fought so furiously and fercily! They parried the minions’ every attack with their swords, and slashed at them hard, knocking them all down again.

“You idiots!” snarled Adagio, but she, Aria, and Sonata all looked frigthened as all five rangers glared them down. “You three have had it!” snarled Rainbow. “It’s time to end this, once and for all!” added Buddy.

Sunset couldn’t agree more, “Engage Crystal Sabers!”

“Crystal Sabers, Engage!”

The Sirens all whimpered as they watched the rangers power up their swords. “What are we going to do?!” squaled Sonata.

Aria then spotted the fallen minions. “I think I got it!”

Adagio got the idea and agreed. “Quick…!”

“CRYSTAL SLASH!!”hollered the rangers, and they slashed their swords at the same moment The Sirens sang loudly, and began to absorb magic and energy from the minions.

“Hey!” snapped Keto.

“Our super powers…!” cried Marla.

“Mistresses…!” shouted Bronc.

The rangers attack colided with The Sirens as they absorbed the last of the minions super powers-- reverting the three back to their former selves-- while the power shrouded The Sirens, actually sheilding them from the attack, and made them grow and transform.

“Behold… THE TRUE FORM OF THE SIRENS!!” Adagio growled as she, Aria and Sonata had become their monsterous forms, each resembling a large dragonlike creature, with fishlike tail fins.

The girls roared and unleashed their power through the skies, darkening the entire area!

“Oh my!” cried Fluttershy.

“I can’t believe this!” wailed Rainbow.

The next thing they all saw was the girls rampaging through town, toppling the buildings over like dominos, and using their wicked voices to unleash sonic-waves all over, making more explosions and desruction that could be seen for miles.

Sunset quickly called to the base, “Ultra-Star Megazord!”

“Summon Zords!”

The huge hulking Zord arrived on the scene, fully mobilized and everything.

“Come on, guys!” said Buddy, and he, Rhymey, Fluttershy and Rainbow beamed inside, but Sunset stayed behind, as she needed to deal with the monsters below. “Good luck, you guys.”

“Thanks, Sunset.” said Buddy.

The Sirens growled at the Zord. “You thought we were tough now,” said Aria. “You’ve never faced us in our true forms before!” added Sonata.

“Maybe so,
But here we go!” said Rhymey.

The Zord rushed forth.

“Go, girls!” said Adagio, and one-by-one, she and her comrades flew past the zord, striking it and making sparks fly, rocking the rangers about, and not even giving them a chance to get their focuss.

The Sirens laughed and their voices actually shot at the rangers in powerful soundwaves. “Hang on! We’re going over!!” cried Buddy.

The zord keeled over and crashed down with a loud thud that shook the ground, and Sunset fell off her feet, while the minions sprung to their feet.

The minions glared up angrily at The Sirens for just taking their super powers like that, as if they meant nothing to them. “I never liked those witches from the start.” sneered Marla.

The boys agreed, and while it was tempting to stay and finish off Sunset as she stood alone, they prefered to get their revenge first. “Let’s go!” said Bronc, and they all dashed off.

Sunset got back onto her feet and growled softly, for letting them get away like that, but she had other things to worry about; like the team of monsters that finally broke from their quarrel and were now all standing togetehr and glaring her down.

All seven of them looked really beaten from wailing on each other.

“We… will… beat you… YET!!” groaned Artie.

Sunset merely thrust her sword hard into the ground. “Now’s my chance.” She said to herself, “I sure hope this works.”

She held out her arms and concentrated hard.

“What is she doing?” asked Rarity.

“Who cares? Let’s get her!” snapped Applejack.

The monsters all charged straight at her and pepared to blast at her again, but Sunset’s hands began to glow brightly, and the magic halted the creatures dead in the tracks.

“Hey!” cried Dyno. “What’s happening?!” shouted Myte.

The monsters all struggled and growled, demanding to be let go, but Sunset kept a firm grip on them. “Come on… Come on…!” she cried trying to make her spell work all she could.

While the Zord got back up again, and The Sirens were closing in on it. “How many times do we have knock you down to size?!” snarled Adagio. The other two growled fercily.

“Let’s rocket upward into the darkness.” suggested Rainbow “They won’t find us as easily up there.”

“Good idea.” said Buddy “Firing thrusters!”

POW!! The Zord’s rocket pack fired and, and the Zord headed upward.

“So, you wanna take to the skies, huh?” Aria sneered, and she and the others followed the Zord up, up and into the dark clouds.

“Where’d ya go?” hissed Sonata as she and the others all looked around.

Suddenly, without warning, the zord charged at her from within the darkness and rammed her hard, sending her crashing into Aria, and she crashed into Adagio.

“Got ‘em!” hollered Rainbow.

The rangers pounded on the controls and using the darkness and the radar to their advantage, they continuously rammed, punched and blasted at the evil creatures.

“Yay.” chirped Fluttershy, and she rammed on the controls making the Zord punch Adagio hard and sent her crashing into the others again.

“That does it!” thundered Adagio “Come on, girls; deep breath!”

The others agreed and all three of them inhaled deeply.

“What are they doing?” wondered Buddy.

He got his answer when The Sirens unleashed the biggest and deadliest sound-wave they had ever screeched, causing magical discharges that fired at the rangers super hard and rocking them about inside the cockpit, and the consoles began to spark and short out a little. Nothing was badly damaged, but the zord began to plummet down hard.

“We’re gonna hit!” screamed Rainbow, and the zord slammed hard down on top of a high-rise, crashing it down in such an explosion. Fortunately, the building had been evacuated and there no people in it.

Sunset was very worried of her friends, but she couldn’t break her concentration as she continued to keep the magic strong. “Please work!” she cried. She didn’t know how much longer she could hold out.

As for the rangers, “Is everyone okay?” asked Buddy.

“Barely.” groaned Fluttershy.

Rhymey checked the consoles. They were still intact despite the massive pummeling they had just taken, but the powers systems were failing and would need servicing.

“We cannot hold out for much longer,
The power drain is growing even stronger.”

“First we have to get back up again.” said Buddy.

The zord was still a little banged up and having trouble getting up quickly.

The Sirens descended.

“Too late!” whimpered Fluttershy “They’re coming at us again!”

The Sirens cackled wicked…

Sunset was most disturbed.

“You may defeat us…” Artie sneered “But The Sirens will destroy you and yours friends in the end!”

“No!” snapped Sunset “It won’t be that way… THAT’S A PROMISE!!” and that gave her all the boost she needed to give her magic full-power.

The monsters screamed and roared as they felt their evil energies disappearing, and surely enough Sunset succeeded in separating the Good from the Bad, and the monster forces were vanquished in clouds of smoke, and left behind all of Sunset’s friends, completely restored to normal, and they all collapsed onto the ground.

“I did it!” cried Sunset “It really worked!” She had no time to really rejoice though, as the other rangers were still in trouble. With The Sirens approaching them and the megazord still down and struggling to correct itself… things were looking really bad for the rangers.

“We’ve waited for this, for a long, long time.” hissed Adagio.

“Ever since we were banished to this world,” added Aria “Now we finally will be rid of you pests, and take our rightful places as rulers of this planet.”

Sonata shuddered with delight and excitement, “Pinch me, I must be dreaming.”

Suddenly, before they could attack, they got struck by what appeared to be multiple mugics, all of which were the same.

“Refrain of Denial!

Refrain of Denial!

Refrain of Denial!”

Keto was casting the same mugic over and over again, and each one was draining The Sirens strength and magic.

“You stole from us!” snarled Bronc.

“Now we’re stealing from you!” added Marla.

“YOU… YOU TRAITORS!!” shouted Adagio.

The rangers could not believe this was happening; the minions were actually helping them?!

I’ll never forgive myself for helping the rangers.” groaned Keto “But it’s worth it by getting revenge!”

The Sirens wailed and groaned as the felt themselves growing weaker by the minute. “YOU…!!” Aria roared, and she used what was left of her fading magic to try and blast at the minions, but they vanished out of sight and returned to the tower.

“I don’t believe this!” cried Sunset.

The Sirens were still horribly trapped within the many mugics that continued to weaken them. “Now’s your chance, guys!” Sunset called “Finish them!”

“Right!” said Buddy, and he and the others pulled on the controls with all their might and finally got the zord standing on its feet again. “We have just enough power for one big blast!” said Rainbow.

“Give it all we’ve got.”

The Megazord charged up its energy wave, ready to fire.

“THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING?!!” cried Adagio.

“WE’VE COME TO FAR!!” added Aria.

“WE’RE GOING BACK TO THE SLAMMER!” screamed Sonata.

(4:16)

“FIRE!!” shouted Buddy, and the energy charge was unleashed, striking the three creatures hard in a huge collision.

“So long, Sirens!” said Sunset.

The Sirens wailed and screeched as little explosions erupted all over their large bodies, followed by bursts of bolts of energy and a big white flash…!

KA-BLAM!!!

The biggest and hardest explosion ever seen, that rocked the whole island in a small quake. Sunset fell off her feet and the megazord nearly keeled over again.

The darkness cleared away, and all that was left were three different spheres, each with only one of the girls, in their human forms again, imprisoned inside. All their magic was gone, they had nothing left, and they were completely cut off from each other.

Sunset leapt for joy, and the rangers all cheered and exchanged high-fives and hugs.

At the base, “THEY DID IT!!” cheered Twilight.

Spike howled loudly in rejoice.

“YES…!!! YES…!!” shouted Celesto.

All the technicians and workers cheered for joy.

Meanwhile, Lightning and Nacluv’s battle had long since reached its climax, and Nacluv was looking pretty worn out, but still he would not give in. “You’re mine, Ranger!” he thundered as he charged.

Lightning just held up his cannon, “Time for the big bang!” he hollered and charged up his weapon.

“Crystal Cannon, Engage!”

“Eat power, Nacluv!” and Lightning fired his cannon straight at the monster, hitting him hard.

Nacluv screamed and hollered as large explosions consumed him, leaving a cloud of dust all around.

“He got him!” cried Krysta.

“Yes!!” shouted Zecora.

Lightning, exhausted from battle, sighed heavily as he fell to his knees, and his suit powered down.

Zecora and Krysta went up to him. “Are you all right?” asked Krysta.

“You put up quite a fight.” rhymed Zecora.

Lightning was okay, just exhausted. “At least Nacluv’s gone for good.”

“I wouldn’t bet on that!” hissed a deeper and much eviler voice from the smoke. The friends looked over at the clearing smoke, and what they saw made Lightning and Krysta’s stomachs turn…

…It was Vulcan…!

“I’m baa-aack!” he laughed “My evolution is finally complete, and I have YOU to thank for it, Ranger.”

He explained that he was a creature known as a Pyros from the Planet Emberon, and he like all his people had a special ability to regenerate themselves whenever they got killed. That was why he created Nacluv. He was no descendant, just a reincarnation of himself reborn, but he would need to gain strength and power to evolve back into his proper form.

“I can’t believe this!” said Lightning.

“Oh, believe it…” sneered Vulcan “Thanks to our little brawl, I finally got the last bit of power I needed, and now I can return to my forces and finish what I began.

…But first!” he flared up strongly, “I’m going to be rid of you while I can!”

Poor Lightning had no power left to fight back, but thankfully Zecora had a plan: She stepped right in front of Lightning and grabbed a small vail of red liquid out from her robe pocket, and in a swift motion, she slammed the glass on the ground, making a huge blast of red smoke, which blinded Vulcan, and when the smoke had cleared, Lightning, Zecora and Krysta were nowhere to be seen!

“AAAA’RGH!!” bellowed Vulcan. He took a moment to catch a hold of himself remembering he had only just evolved. “You escaped for now!” he called out, “But know this: Once I am ruler of this world, you’ll be wishing you had let me finish you here and now!”

He laughed most sinisterly, and then, since he did not have a teleporter, he spouted fire from his feet like rockets, and flew off into the sky, heading off to reclaim his rightful place at his tower.

After he had gone, the three friends peeked up from behind a large boulder, and they sighed in relief. “That’s as close as I ever want to cut it.” said Krysta.

“You’re telling me.” said Lightning “This is really bad!”

Zecora quite agreed, but there was very little she could do to help now, especially since her burrow had completely burned down inside, but all was not lost…!

After Lightning had a little rest, he used the power of his Crystal Armor to restore everything to just how it was before the attack.

Zecora was ever so amazed and grateful,

“I have never seen such a power so fine,
But I thank you for fixing the home of mine.”

Lightning smiled, “I guess you and I have a knack for helping each other.”

Zecora smiled at him graciously, but then the moment turned solemn. “Zecora,” Lightning said “I must go. I must warn my friends of the danger that is near.”

Zecora understood fully,

“Words cannot express what you have done for me.
Therefore, I have a small gift for thee.”

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small black charm bracelet.

“I only give these to whom I really trust a lot
And you have done many things that I will never have forgot.
Your heart is pure, and your spirit does shine,
I wish you most luck, dear friends of mine.”

Lightning felt most flattered at the gift he had received, and he hugged Zecora, and she hugged him back. The two were now more than kindred spirits no matter how far away they would be.

Krysta shed a little tear at the beautiful sight.

Soon, Lightning was walking back towards his jeeps with Krysta perched on his shoulder, leaving Zecora behind as she could fend for herself.

“…Until we meet again.”

Episode 24: Part 1: Friend Follies

EPISODE TWENTY-FOUR

Ever since getting back at the tower, the minions were quarrelling non-stop about who should lead now That Sirens had captured.

“I should be the leader around here!” whined Marla.

“May I remind you who the biggest and strongest is?” jeered Bronc.

“Size ain’t everything you know!” protested Keto “In fact, I’m the one who can actually CHANGE sizes around here!”

The minions continued to argue, until the sound of a loud crash stopped them. “What was that?” snapped Bronc.

“Sounded like something hit the island.” said Marla. That’s when the big doors to the tower burst wide open in a fiery explosion frightening the minions and all the monsters in their cells, and what the minions saw next nearly made them jump out of their suits.

“Well, well…” hissed Vulcan “Imagine running into you three again!”

“V-V-Vulcan…?!” stammered Bronc.

“It can’t be.” muttered Keto.

Vulcan looked less than pleased to see them again, “You should consider yourselves lucky; that had you not thrown me out of the tower in the first place, I never would have gained the strength I needed to evolve from that pitiful imp, Nacluv.”

The minions were confused, “He was Nacluv?” whispered Marla to the others.

Vulcan sneered at the others, “I may be willing to fully forgive you all for YOUR TREASONS… if… you, once again, swear your loyalties to me.”

Naturally, the minions felt no option but to comply and bowed before saying,“Welcome back… Master Vulcan.”

Vulcan snickered, “That’s better!”

Meanwhile, the city had been fully restored thank to the rangers and their Crystal Armors’ restoration magic. Some humans did get hurt, but the paramedics and hospital assured them it was nothing too serious.

The last thing that needed restoration was the megazord, but the rangers had run out of power already after fixing up the city, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed back at the base.

“What a cleanup job that was.” said Buddy.

Rainbow cracked her knuckles, her wrists, and even flexed her neck, “Yeah, but hey… The Sirens are history!”

Rhymey picked up the three spheres containing each Siren inside of each,

“We’ve caught them all on a dime,
Hopefully they don’t return for some time!”

“And best of all…” said Fluttershy “We saved our friends too--” Suddenly she realized, “Our friends!”

Artie, Starla, The Twins, Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were starting to come to from their knockout. Sunset went over to Artie and softly helped him up, “Artie? Artie are you okay?”

Artie rubbed his eyes and looked up at Sunset. She smiled most lovingly at him, but he asked, “…Uh… Who are you?”

“Huh?” said Sunset “Artie, it’s me, Sunset.”

“Sun… Set…?”

The other friends began to gawk at one another. “You again…?” Rarity said to Pinkie. “Um… what’s your name again?” replied Pinkie.

The twins gawked at one another, and both said, “You look just like me.” they had no memory that they were twin-brothers.

Sunset and the rangers felt most disturbed by this.

(Que intro)

The rangers saw no alternative but to bring their friends to the base where they were taken to the sickbay.

“Um… mind tellin’ me what this is all about?” asked Applejack.

She and the others were lying on beds with medical wires tagged on their foreheads to read their brainwaves. “It kinda tickles.” giggled Pinkie.

The doctors were all baffled, and one of them shook his head at Twilight. She sighed and had to deliver the bad news to the rest of the team.

“They’re definitely suffering from amnesia.”

The team all sighed miserably. Buddy asked to Sunset, “Can’t you cast some magic on this?” but sunset shook her head, “I don’t know any spells like that.”

The team then all looked at Celesto, and he shook his head. “Sorry, I don’t have kind of tech to handle this. Amnesia is something very that should be handled delicately, or we may end up causing permanent harm to our friends.”

This was most upsetting for everyone. For months, ever since Vulcan first attacked and their friends were knocked out, they had long been wishing, waiting and wanting them to awaken, but they never wanted this; for them to not remember them.

“How did this happen to them?” asked Fluttershy “Did we do it to them?”

“It’s hard to say at this point.” replied Twilight “It could have been a number of things, but I’ve studied this, and hopefully it shouldn’t be too serious.”

“Hopefully?” asked Rainbow.

“Well, yeah…” Twilight said shyly, and she picked one of her textbooks and explained how coma victims are usually prone to losing their memories due to any concussion suffered. “They CAN gain their memories back, but it may take some time, or then again it could almost happen instantly. Maybe we can try showing them all familiar things or remind them of certain events… that could jog their memories.”

Everyone agreed, but before they could make any suggestions, Lightning called into the base from Africa.

“Rangers, come in!”

Celesto switched over to video, and everyone could see Lightning on the screens. “Lightning, it’s good to hear from you again.”

Lightning nodded, “I’ve got great news, but then some terrible news.”

“So do we.” said Sunset, and she explained how The Sirens were captured, but also the problem with their friends.

Lightning felt bad to hear that the others had lost their memories, especially Starla, but there wasn’t much that he could do from where he was now.

Then he delivered his own good news of what he learned from Zecora about the location of the aliens’ tower.

“You’re telling me
It’s somewhere at sea?” asked Rhymey.

Lightning nodded, “Within a five-hundred mile arc distance from Mystic Island itself.”

Rainbow looked almost ready to blow her top. “All this time, they were THAT close to us! UGH!!”

“Well, hey, at least now we know where they are.” said Spike.

“And we know that’s where the minions went.” added Fluttershy “Now we can find the tower, and we can end this for good.”

“It won’t be that easy.” said Lightning, “And that’s my bad news. The minions will have a new leader, now.” he paused “…Vulcan.”

Everyone gasped hard in shock. “Vulcan?!” snapped Buddy “He’s back?! But how…?”

Lightning explained to them his run-in with Nacluv and how he had evolved into Vulcan, which amazed the others.

“This is so not good.” said Sunset “Now he’s stronger than ever. Who knows what he’s capable of doing?”

The others all had worried expressions on their faces.

Lightning then had one request to make, “I’m going to come back, but I can’t take a commercial flight, it would take too long. Can you send me the Comet Striker? Then I can get home quicker.”

Celesto agreed, “I hope you’ll get here safely.”

“I do too. Out…” and Lightning logged off.

“Well Twilight…” said Celesto “Launch the Comet Striker.”

Twilight complied and then said the words herself that the automated voice would say, “Comet Striker, Ready!”

Outside, the Striker flew out from the launch-tunnel and rocketed off on remote-control for Africa.

Meanwhile, Vulcan was pacing along the floors of the tower announcing to the monsters, “The time is near! With my newly acquired powers and all of you fighting by my side… the rangers will finally fall at our hands.

They know of our position, and they will be bound to come here, and when they do… we… will BE READY FOR THEM!!”

The monsters cheered for joy, especially at the thought they were all finally going to be released from their cells.

Vulcan then headed back to the lab on the top floor followed by the minions, “A stirring performance, Master.” said Bronc “I believe you have them all convinced and willing to follow you.”

“Of course they will.” hissed Vulcan, and he flared up softly “After all… we know what happens to traitors around here… don’t we?”

The minions shuddered softly as he were threatening them… which he was.

“Um, just one question…” said Marla “How are the Rangers even going to come here? They don’t know our exact location.”

Vulcan snuffed and turned, “That is for you three to deal with.”

“What? Us?” asked Keto in surprise.

“You heard me…” sneered Vulcan “I don’t care you do it, just find some way of getting them to this island. I have preparations to attend for their welcoming.” Then he left the three to ponder.

“Figures he’d make us do the dirty job.” grumbled Marla.

“How are we supposed to lead the rangers to the island?” whined Keto “Our teleporters won’t work on them.”

“So then… we get them to follow us.” said Bronc. He then snickered softly “And I think I just had an even better idea.”

His comrades looked curious, and he whispered to them what they would do.

The rangers had nothing really much to do. Even though they had a great idea to look for prison tower, they still had no exact coordinates on where to travel. They also thought it much better to wait until Lightning had returned, and then they could all make plans to storm the tower together and really give Vulcan something he wished he hadn’t returned for.

For now, all they really wanted to do was to try to job their friends’ memories, and the best place they knew to start was at Canterlot High.

“Don’t you all recognize this place?” Sunset asked.

The amnesic friends shook their head.

“We all used to go to this school together.” said Buddy.

The friends tried their hardest but they just couldn’t remember. “Maybe, we should look inside?” suggested Starla.

“We can’t just yet.” said Fluttershy “The School’s closed for summer vacation. We need the key to get in.”

That’s when a car drove up and into the parking lot. It was Celestia and Luna, having been told of the situation and wishing to assist the rangers in helping the others.

Soon, everyone was inside.

“Here we are…” said Celestia.

“Surely you all remember your school.” added Luna, but the friends just remained silent as they looked all around the main hall all with deep expressions.

“I think it’s working…!” whispered Rainbow, but her hopes were dashed when Rarity said “My, this is a lovely place.”

“Looks more like a palace than a High-School.” added Artie.

The rangers and the ladies sighed.

Rhymey then suggested,

“Perhaps we should show them even more,
Like things they have done and what they were for.
It could unlock a memory or two,
It seems the logical thing to do.”

Everyone agreed, and took each of the friends around different areas of the school, as a song played…“A Friend For Life”

Fluttershy showed Pinkie Pie and Applejack into the bakeshop, where together they used to have fun in Home-Ec, making all kinds of cakes and treats.

Buddy showed The Twins the woodshop, and he showed the twins some of the many great things they had built-- benched, tables, chairs, even large dollhouses to be donated to charity.

Rhymey took Rarity to the sewing room, and showed her a lot of the beautiful gowns and outfits she had made for all the fashion events, and he even showed her pictures on the school computer of herself modeling.

Luna and Celestia took Starla up to the roof where they had set up many telescopes like they always did for the astronomy club, and even told Starla that she herself was the head founder. The sisters even showed her maps of Starla had made of the many constellations she had seen.

All the friends did seem to show some interest in these fields, but they still didn’t seem to remember too much.

As the song faded out, Sunset was showing Artie around the arts and crafts room, where he had his own private booth, being the top student. She showed him all the many sculptures made from clay, and some actually carved from stone, as well as the paintings of landscapes.

“These are beautiful.” said Artie “Did you make these?”

“No… you did.” said Sunset, and she pointed at the signature on each painting-- “A. Bristles”

“That’s your name; Artie Bristles.”

Artie shuddered and held his head softly. Hearing that name did give a small ring, but still not nearly enough to help him.

Sunset then showed him the extra special paintings that were of her-- Standing in a field of flowers… On a sparkling lake at night… or herself as an angel in the clouds, and many others--

“I painted these?” Artie asked.

Sunset felt a little nervous of what she had to say next, “You painted them… for me.”

“For you…?”

Sunset’s cheeks turned a slight hint of pink, and she shrugged softly with her hands behind her back.

“Um… why are you blushing?”

Still blushing, and feeling various, she answered “You made that for because… you…” she paused “…You loved me.”

“Huh?”

Sunset couldn’t help herself and held his hands. “Artie… I’m your girlfriend.”

Now Artie’s cheeks were blushing, but he felt more confused and a little shocked. “Please try and remember…” Sunset said looking him deeply in the eyes, and hoping with all her heart, but Artie could only shake his head. “I don’t remember, and frankly… you’re starting to make me feel nervous!”

And he walked off, leaving Sunset feeling close to tears, the other rangers peered into the room after Artie had left and heard what was said. All of them felt bad for Sunset, but no one said a thing.

Soon the rangers and the amnesic friends were out on the soccer-field, sitting on the benches. The rangers were discussing with their friends still trying to job their memories.

Celestia, Luna, watched from the parking light by Celestia’s car. Twilight, Spike and Celesto soon joined them. “How’s it coming?” Celesto asked.

“Not very well.” replied Celestia “The rangers are really getting depressed too.”

Spike sighed miserably, “I still don’t see why I can’t go over there and talk to them. I’m sure they’ll recognize me.”

“Because,” replied Spike “Seeing a talking dog could only surprise and maybe scare them even more; just like we all were when you first gained that power.”

Celesto then turned his head to look over at the broken statue at the front of the school. “What is it?” asked Luna. Her brother-in-law just walked over to the statute and felt alone the stone hoping the dimensional portal was fixed.

“Nothing.” he sighed.

As for the amnesics, “Look, we know you’re trying to help us, but it’s just not working.” said Dyno. “Si, maybe you should just let us be and let us trying and make our own ways?”

“Never!” snapped Rainbow “Friends never give up on friends. We always say that!”

“We do?” asked Pinkie. It was nearly shocking for the rangers to hear Pinkie Pie say that among all others, and it was normally she who enforced the no giving up.

“If I were you, I’d give up!” called Marla.

Everyone looked up and saw the three minions marching up the hill of the school-field, with a large number of Lingos behind them.

The rangers’ features hardened, while their friends gawked at the minions and the Lingos. Something about them seemed or felt awfully familiar.

“What do you creeps want?” Sunset asked fiercely.

Bronc snickered, “The same thing we’ve always wanted; to destroy you all!”

“And this time we’re actually going to do it!” added Keto, “Unless you want to give up right now…”

The rangers all stood together, naturally refusing.

“It’s Morphin’ Time!” said Sunset.

“Morphing Sequence, Ready.”

“STARFLEET MAGIC… POWER ON!!”

The others thought is astonishing watching the rangers morph.

“Oh, this is going to be fun.” said Marla, and then she hollered to the Lingo army, “Attack!” The army rushed forth.

The rangers grunted and dashed into battle against the large swarm. The adults, Twilight and Spike rushed over to the other friends.

“Hurry, we’ve got to get out of here!” cried Celesto.

The friends snapped out of their trances and followed the adults to the nearest Jump-Tube.

“Quick, hurry!” cried Spike, and his shouting made the friends halt in their tracks in surprise. “He can TALK??!!” Rarity shouted in shock.

“Never mind that!” snapped Twilight “Just go!” and one-by-one, everyone jumped in and rode off to the base where they would be safer.

Artie took a moment to look back at the rangers as they fought, preferably at Sunset.

“Come on!” Luna snapped, pulling him by the arm and into the tunnel.

The Lingos swarmed the rangers all over, it was hard to concentrate.

Sunset trip-kicked one, but then two more attacked from behind.

“There’s so many of them!” cried Rainbow, and she got kicked hard in the gut, but kept her balance and kicked the Lingo right back.

“Let’s use our weapons!” called Buddy. The others agreed and summoned their weapons forth, which did indeed make the fight easier.

Rhymey hacked and slashed his sword at the Lingos,

“One… Two…
That’s for you… and you!”

Fluttershy saw a swarm of Lingos coming at her, but rather than whimper in fear, “Let’s see you try this!” she called and powered up weapon.

“Star Shield, Engage”

The shield was glowing brightly and Fluttershy, being so uncharacteristically enraged, roared as she held shield out front and plowed right through the Lingos, sending them flying all about.

Back at the base, the friends felt rather strange to be back again.

“Why are we here again?” asked Pinkie.

“I don’t know, but it’s better than being up there with them bad guys out there.” said Applejack.

Rarity was more fixated on Spike, “So… um… you can talk.”

“Yeah, I can.” Spike said sheepishly, “You used to love to hear me talk, and scratch behind the ears.”

“But… how is this even possible?” asked Starla.

Spike didn’t know how to tell them all the long story of how it happened and Twilight wouldn’t let him anyway as she picked him up and put him on the console near her, and she activated the screens to show the fight happening.

The rangers were plowing their way through the Lingos, and knocking them all down like bowling pins.

“Look at them go.” said Dyno. Myte agreed and said, “Strange… look at all that, I think… I…” he stopped and he and all his friends all began to feel strange in their minds.

Celestia whispered to her sister and her husband, “I think they’re starting to remember.”

Celesto agreed undoubtedly, “The villains first ever appeared at about the time the students’ had their accident.”

“So, if they keep watching the fight, perhaps it will help them remember more.” said Luna.

A swarm of Lingos charged at Rainbow. “Eat rays, boys!” she sneered at them, and fired her canon which shot through the creatures, one-through-another and blowing them all into dust.

She then tauntingly blew across her cannon, even though her helmet was in the way.

Buddy lassoed one Lingo by the ankle and yanked hard, flipping it over. He then turned and backlashed three more.

It was then that a large gaggle of Lingos lunged for him at once, “Oh, yeah…?” Buddy sneered, and dashed around the swarm tying them all up together in the whip. Then he powered the whip up…

“Plasma Whip, Engage!”

…and sent a shocking stream of power through the whip, blasting the Lingos into dandruff. “Bet that came as a shock.”

Sunset clobbered many Lingos-- hitting them over the head with her Star Scepter, and then firing a few shots at more.

Now more than half the Lingo army was beaten, but the rest still remained, and the rangers regrouped. “Okay, guys… bring ‘em together.” said Sunset.

“Weapons Combine!”

“Star-Slammer, Ready!”

“Let’s do it!” said Sunset, and she and the rangers stood together and powered up the weapon,“STAR-SLAMMER… ULTRA-STRIKE!!”

KAPOW!! The Lingos were all vanquished in a fiery explosion.

Everyone at the base saw the whole thing, and the amnesics felt their insides give a big lurch as they watched the big explosion as the Lingos were destroyed.

“Whoa! That was intense!” cried Pinkie.

“They’re really good fighters.” said Rarity.

Artie shuddered softly, and he and all the others felt the explosion was bringing on something more. They were starting to see small images in their minds, things that happened before, possibly a big explosion too, but the memories were still far too blurry to make clear.

“They may have beaten the Lingos.” said Twilight “But that’s just half the battle.”

Indeed it was, for now the minions all stepped forth snickering wickedly. They had not thrown a single punch the entire battle. “It’s working.” Bronc whispered to the others, “Now, for the next step.”

Keto agreed, and held his staff up

“Fortissimo…!

Fortissimo…!

…Fortissimo!”

The three mugics worked their magic and the three minions grew into giants.

“Three times the size, wouldn’t you say…” teased Keto.

The rangers grunted, and Sunset called the base. “Jet-Star Megazord…!”

The jets were launched and already combined, and the rangers leapt up and were beamed into the cockpit. “Let’s take ‘em down!” said Sunset.

The minions all roared and charged at the megazord.

Marla jumped at the zord, but it swerve, and Bronc attacked, but got punched out of the way.

“Here I come!” shouted Keto and he charged forth, swinging his staff, actually hitting the zord hard, but only then to get kicked away.

“Take that!” laughed Rainbow, she was rather enjoying herself, “These guys are getting whooped so easily.”

The other rangers found this to be quite odd. “These guys usually put up a much bigger fight than this.” said Buddy.

“Well, it’s not a bad thing, right?” asked Fluttershy.

“Maybe so,
But I don’t know.
I’d say they’re up to something just so.” said Rhymey.

“You may be right.” agreed Sunset “Try to stay sharp.”

The battle continued…

Marla ensnared the zord with her long hair, binding it at the legs, which let Bronc and Keto punch and slash at it strongly, and rocking the rangers about inside.

“Star Saber…!” shouted Sunset, and the zord drew out its sword and cut Marla’s hair binding. “Whoa!” cried Marla as flipped over from the force of the swing “Oh! Why do they always go for the hair?”

“You three have had it!” Buddy sneered.

“Don’t be so sure of yourselves, Rangers.” said Bronc, and he held out a remote control and pressed a big red button, almost at once, he, Keto and Marla had donned special jetpacks he had whipped up.

“What are they doing?” asked Fluttershy.

“Come and catch us, if you can…!” hollered Marla, and she and her comrades rocketed up into the air.

“Let’s form the Ultra-Star Megazord and chase them.” said Rainbow.

“We can’t. The Comet Striker’s gone to Africa to pick up Lightning.” Buddy reminded her.

“Well, we’ll just have to break it down then.” said Sunset “Let’s go, guys!”

And with that, the megazord flashed, and was split up into the five star-jets. “Now, let’s go after them!” hollered Sunset.

“WHEE-HOO…!! I love this part.” said Rainbow.

Soon, the chase was on, much to the minions delight. “It’s working…” said Keto “They’re actually following us.”

“Of course they are…” snapped Bronc “It’s all part of the plan. Just don’t botch it up.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” said Marla.

Soon the chase had gone out over the ocean. Sunset fired her lasers at the minions, which they dodged. Rainbow fired a few missiles, but Bronc and Keto blasted them, blowing them up.

The rangers were starting grow impatient!

“Let’s try the tractor beams.” suggested Fluttershy.

“Right…! Charge them up.” said Sunset.

“Tractor-Beams, Engage!”

The beams were about to be used…

“Oh, no you don’t.” hissed Marla, and she launched her nails at the jet’s making sparks and explosions, and rocking all the rangers about making them lose focus.

“Take that!” thundered Marla, and she and her comrades sped on ahead.

“Why those dirty creeps!
We’ll send them all to the deeps!” growled Rhymey.

The others all agreed and sped their jets to go even faster.

Twilight tracked the jets on the radar. “They’re really going far out.”

Celesto began to have a sick feeling about all this, and finally it clued in, “…It’s a trap!” he snapped, and everyone in the room gasped. “Quick, open the radio channel! We’ve got to warn them!”

Twilight was just about to, when suddenly the computer gave warning, “The signal’s failing!” and at that moment, the radar screen went blank. “They’re gone!” cried Spike.

Twilight tried all she could, but couldn’t pick up their signal, nor-could she activate the remote-override and turn the jets round. “We’ve lost them!”

Everyone felt deeply concerned.

“Where do you think they’ve gone?” asked Luna.

“I dread to think of it,” said Celestia, but she and everyone else thought there was only place of all the rangers were going if they couldn’t be detected.

“Hey, look!” cried Sunset. She motioned at something appearing in the distance.

“Is that what I think it is?” asked Buddy.

“It’s… the prison tower!” said Rainbow “We finally found it.”

“More like we were lead straight to it!” whimpered Fluttershy.

Rhymey pounded his seat in outrage,

“They were battling us out to waste our power,
And then lead us here, right to the tower.”

Suddenly, powerful blasts were shot out from the tower; mostly large fire-balls that struck each jet super hard.

“Whoa!” cried Sunset, and she felt her jet losing height.

“We’re going down!” cried Rainbow.

“Noses up!!” shouted Buddy.

Everyone pulled on the controls as best they could to get their jet’s up straighter, and they just barely managed to as the jets slammed vertically down onto the rocky shores, knocking each ranger unconscious in their seat, and their suits powered down.

While up on the top of the tower, Vulcan, whom had shot the jets down, was laughing wickedly, “Game over, Rangers!”

To Be Continued…!

Episode 25: Part 2: Armies Assault

EPISODE TWENTY-FIVE

The jets lay all about on the grounds of the island, and the rangers were all unconscious and unmorphed inside the cockpits. All-in-all, they were not hurt bad, and the jets only suffered a little damage.

Vulcan then appeared by the jets as the minions touched down from the skies. “As you requested, Master Vulcan,” said Bronc “The rangers are here.”

“And better yet,” added Keto “We’ve battled them out a bit, so their powers can’t reactivate.”

“The best part of it is,” said Marla “As long as they’re here, they can’t be detected by their friends back home.”

Vulcan snickered, “Get them all inside the Tower while their still out-cold. The next phase is about to commence, for the end of the rangers, and the beginning of my reign!”

(Que Intro)

The friends at the base were going crazy!

“What’s going on?” cried Pinkie.

“Are they all right?” added Starla.

“What’s going to happen to them?” asked Rarity.

“Can we help them at all?” added Arite.

“PLEASE…!!” Celesto snapped. Everyone quieted down instantly. “Sorry I yelled, but we can’t think with all this noise. I know you’re concerned, and so are we all. We’re doing the best we can.”

Twilight tried and tried all she could, but it was no use, “I can’t get a lock on the jets at all, and I still can’t contact the rangers.

No doubt, they’re at Vulcan’s Tower.”

Celesto was still visibly frustrated for having not seen through the villains plans, and now he didn’t really know what to do.

“We’ve got to do something.” Spike said.

“I don’t mean to sound negative,” said Luna “But considering the rangers are imprisoned in a tower where Vulcan and an entire army of monsters are lurking, I don’t really see many options.”

“It’s worse than that…” said Celestia “If the rangers have been imprisoned, that means our own island is now defenseless.”

Things were only seemingly getting worse and worse.

Celesto then thought of something, “It’s not quite defenseless, not yet.” and he got out his cell phone, and spoke clear to his operator “Get me Washington. This is matter of extreme urgency!”

While he was on hold, he instructed Twilight to send a message to Lightning.

“Darling, what are you planning?” asked Celestia.

Her husband hesitated as he chose his words wisely, “Something I pray will help us all out.” He seemed very worried “I just hope the rangers are all right! I can’t bear to think what must be happening to them now!”

The amnesic friends, though they could still not remember clearly, felt the same way.

“They seem fine people.” said Dyno, “They were only fighting to protect us and the island.”

Myte held his head. “Strange…” he said “Why does that feel so familiar to me?”

All the friends felt the same and could see more clouded memories in their minds; brave warriors fighting against evil creatures before all this, but still the memories were not quite clear enough.

Meanwhile, the rangers were beginning to awakening.

Sunset opened her eyes and came to her senses, only to realize she was trapped in a jail cell with a magic-canceling manacle locked round her neck. “What the--” she grumbled “Hey, guys!” she called out.

The others were all locked in cells of their own and wearing manacles. “What happened?” asked Buddy.

“The last thing I remember… we were crashing in our jets.” added Rainbow.

The sound of a sinister laugh made them all freeze on the spot, and that’s when HE dropped down, “Welcome, Rangers. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Vulcan!” cried Fluttershy “So youhavecome back.”

Vulcan snickered, “I think that’s already been established, and I’m sure it won’t take much to realize where you are now.”

The rangers already knew they were locked within the cells of the evil tower, and each cell was barred tight and shielded with magical energy barriers which the rangers couldn’t break.

“Hey!” cried Buddy “Our morphers are gone too!”

Vulcan held them up in his grip, “Much as I should destroy them, they are quite necessary for my plot. With these, I shall gain entry to your secret base, and then I will DESTROY it!”

The rangers felt shocked at such a thought,

“You will never get away with this at all.
If you try to enter our base, you will fall!” warned Rhymey.

“Really…?” hissed Vulcan “What makes you think I’m going alone?” he then motioned to how each and every single other cell on every single floor was empty; not a monster was in sight.

He then held up a small portable monitor to show his entire legion of followers were outside and preparing to disembark, and Bronc and the others with the help of some Lingos were fixing up the star-jets to work on their controls.

“You can’t!” cried Sunset “You won’t!”

Vulcan laughed, “With an army of such powerful monsters, as well as your zords…” he paused and held up the rangers’ confiscated morphers here… I think that I CAN… AND I’M GOING TO!!

And this time, I’ve left nothing to chance. You cannot escape these cells. You can’t morph, you can’t communicate with your allies, and those manacles prevent even the strongest f magic being used or affecting you!”

He was right! The manacles were super strong, and even Sunset couldn’t summon any magic at all to try and break them off.

Rainbow marched right up to the bars of her cell, not touching them for the barrier! “You think you’re pretty smart huh?” she snarled “We’ll find some way out of here, and we’ll kick your miserable can like we did the last time!”

“Rainbow!” cried Fluttershy.

“A mighty fine thought…” chuckled Vulcan “But, I didn’t show you the one final part of my plan.” And then he yelled straight up the tower, “LOWER THE BOMB!!”

“BOMB?!!”exclaimed the rangers, and sure enough a large spherical device was lowered in, and its timer, set at Thirty Minutes, was already counting down.

“Big enough to blow this entire island right off the face of the Earth, and you with it!”

The rangers all grunted in fear in concern.

“I would roast you myself, here and now, but I’m anxious to conquer this planet, and the many other planets out there. Once again I’ll be known as the greatest planet broker in the universe!” he was so confident and excited that he flared up with joy.

“Master!” cried Marla “Careful! The bomb…!”

Vulcan calmed himself at once.

“We’ve just about finished, sir.” Bronc called “We can depart as soon as you’re ready.”

Vulcan nodded, and sent them off. “Ta-Ta, rangers.” he gloated at them, “And don’t feel so bad, when my new business takes off, I’ll be sure to dedicate to the ones that helped me gain it… YOU!!” and he laughed manically as he teleported outside.

Fluttershy whimpered nervously as she looked at the bomb, which had less than twenty-seven minutes to go! “What are we going to do?!” she cried.

“But we don’t have our powers,
And we can’t break these bands of ours.” said Rhymey.

The rangers tried all they could, but the manacles were on good and tight, and the force-fields still blocked them from leaving their cells.

“I’m more worried about home.” said Buddy “There’s a whole army of monsters outside about to attack, and we won’t be there to fend them off, and their going OUR ZORDS too!”

Rainbow, completely enraged and frustrated, angrily kicked her solid steel bed with her foot! “Oh…! Ow….!” she groaned as she held her foot in pain.

Outside, Bronc made his final inspection on the Star-Jets. “Are they ready?” asked Vulcan.

“Yes, Master.” replied Bronc, “I’ve supped them up especially, so not even the strongest of neutralizers may jam our controls.”

“Excellent!” exclaimed Vulcan, and he instructed the Lingos to pilot each jet. “Alright!” he then shouted to his vast legion of monsters, “The time is now! The Earth is powerless against us, and waiting to be conquered! Let’s go out there… AND CLAIM OUR FUTURE!!!”

The monsters roared in cheer, and then all began to head off, teleporting for Mystic Island, and the Lingos rocketed up in the Star Jets, able to fly them quite fine.

Vulcan and his minions laughed wickedly as the army flew off, and soon they all teleported off as well, but Vulcan took one last look at the tower, and then h gazed at the morphers in his hand. “So long, Rangers.” and then he was gone.

The bomb was still going, and now less than twenty minutes were left!

Meanwhile, Celesto had commissioned a complete and total evacuation of Mystic Island. Every single civilian was sent off on boats, planes… anything to get them off the island and to safety, fearing an imminent attack was near. Even shining armor and Cadance were sent away, and instructed to take Castor and Lelani with them and watch over them.

Only police men, firemen, and paramedics were left behind to assist in any certain situations that were about to occur, and that wasn’t all…

Once the island was clear, Celesto had requested the Sentinel and the armed forces to send their best resources to aid in the upcoming battle if the rangers couldn’t make it.

Celesto and the rest of the team were still within the safety of their underground base. Celesto did not reveal this location to the army, nor letting it out that this was the location of the Power Rangers’ headquarters.

The army respected this, and kept in contact with Celesto by phone. “Right… standby.” Celesto said to the General, and he put his phone on hold. “Everything’s ready.” he said to Celestia.

“Good, I just hope it’ll help us.”

“We all hope that, sister.” said Luna.

Suddenly, the alarm sounded, and Twilight could see the problem. “Massive signs of alien activity, heading straight for our island.”

Spike looked at the radar and gasped, “Wow! I’ve never so many red blips before!”

“This is it!” said Celesto, and he got on the phone to speak to the general, “Standby! They’re coming!”

The amnesic friends felt their nerves shooting through the roof.

Many monsters and Lingos appeared in the empty streets of the empty city; one-after-another…

“This island’s empty.”

“Not a soul to be seen.”

“Fine by me… Let’s trash this place!”

That’s what the army of monsters wanted to do, but were unaware of the all the military soldiers and swat forces mobilizer all over waiting for the order to attack.

“GO!!” shouted the General.

The men and women leapt out form their hiding places and began to attack with machine guns, laser pistols, and even explosives.

The Lingos fell easily under all that fire power, while the monsters were all enveloped in the many sparks and explosions, but they didn’t fall over as easy.

“Let’s fight back!” one of the monsters thundered.

Projectiles and magical blasts were unleashed like crazy, making more explosions all over.

Many of the soldiers got hit by the forces of the explosions and were thrown back hard. A few even got injured and were helped out by their comrades.

“We need to bring in heavier artillery!”

The General agreed, “Bring out the big guns! Call in the Wonderbolts…!”

“What are they doing now?” Celesto asked.

“They’re busting out heavier artillery.” replied Twilight, “And they just called out for the Wonderbolts air-squad!”

The amnesic friends could hardly believe this was happening. “This is madness!” cried Rarity “All this fire power could flatten the entire town.”

“Well at the least the town was evacuated.” said Starla “After all, buildings can be rebuilt, but lives can’t.”

Artie agreed, “Sometimes you just have to do what’s best.”

There was a moment of silence as the friends all contemplated what was just said amongst each other. “Why does all that sound so familiar?” asked Pinkie.

They all saw more images in their minds and could even voices this time; voices that sounded very much like their own, saying the exact same things, and the images of the fighters were becoming clearer.

“Ay’-Ay;-Ay;… it’s almost clear enough!” said Dyno, “Si, but what does it mean?!” cried Myte.

The adults could only sigh in dismay, but then they turned back to watch the battle on the screens.

Meanwhile, less than five minutes until the bomb went off, and the rangers were completely hopeless. “This is it! We’re done for!” cried Rainbow.

“Oh, my, gosh…!” wept Fluttershy.

Buddy angrily pounded the wall of his cell, “If anyone can hear us… PLEASE HELP!!” he shouted, but even he knew he was being ridiculous. No one could hear him at all!

However, a loud noise could then be heard. It sounded like rocket-engines. “What’s that?” wondered Sunset.

“Oh, me…!
Could it be…?” asked Rhymey.

Suddenly, there was a loud banging sound coming from up, up at the top of the tower, and the ceiling was busted through letting bits of debris fall way down to the bottom.

The rangers a looked up through all the dust and could see none other than the Comet Striker, and Lightning was controlling it. “Hello, Rangers!” He called “I’m Baaa-aaack!”

“Lightning!” cried Sunset. The others were overjoyed to see him, and Krysta rode atop his massive head. “Hi…!” she called.

“Hurry!” shouted Fluttershy “Only Two minutes left!”

“Right!” snapped Lightning “Stand back away from the bars!”

The rangers did as they were told and moved to the very back of their cells, and Lightning thrusted one of his huge blades right across the row of cells, breaking the walls, bars and everything, and the force-fields were automatically shorted out.

“He did it!” cried Rainbow.

“We’re outta here!” said Sunset.

Lightning retracted his blade and held out his huge metallic-hand. “Quick, get on!”

There were only seconds left, but the rangers all leapt into Ligthning’s hand and he raised them, up, up, and out of the tower. Krysta fluttered down into Fluttershy’s arms as Lightning covered his other hand over the others to keep them safe. “Hang on… here we go!” he shouted as he rocketed away from the tower and the island all together.

…3… 2… 1…!!

KABLAM!! The entire island went up in a huge explosion, and was gone… all of it!! Lightning got shaken by the force of the explosion, and the rangers stumbled about within his hands, but Lightning managed to keep himself steady. “You guys okay?” Lightning asked.

The rangers could hardly believe they had just escaped. However, now that the tower and all of its systems were completely destroyed, the anti-magic manacles around the rangers’ necks lost their powers and just detached right off.

“Mercy me,
We’re free!” cried Rhymey.

“All right!” cheered Buddy, and they all exchanged high-fives and hugs, and Krysta chirped for joy. “How did you find us?” Sunset asked to Krysta. “Mr. Grandruler told us to fly out here.” said Krysta.

“Speaking of which,” said Lightning “What’s going on? Why was the totally empty?”

The rangers explained to him everything, and you can bet, Lightning and Krysta were livid, “This time that Vulcan has officially gone too far!” Krysta sneered. Lightning agreed, and he called into the base.

“I’ve got the rangers… they’re all safe.”

Everyone never felt so relieved and delighted.

“I’m so happy they’re all right!” cried Celestia.

“That’s just the good news…” Lightning cut in “The bad news is…”

“Let me guess…” Spike cut in, “Vulcan’s coming to the island too, and he’s got control of the Star-Jets?”

Lightning felt confused, “How did you know that?”

“Because…” cried Twilight, “They’re almost here! I’m tracking the jets now, and I can’t override the controls!”

Everyone in the room exchanged looked of fear and worry, and the Rangers all felt the same.

Lightning didn’t need to hear much more and put all the power he could into his rockets to take himself and the rangers back to Mystic Island.

…But just as the rangers were warned, Vulcan was approaching the island, riding atop Sunset’s star-jet as it was piloted by a Lingo.

“Alright…!” Vulcan shouted “I want it all destroyed! Buildings, people; everything…!”

The minions, each riding atop another jet, complied, and they along with Vulcan teleported off the jets, straight into town, appeared just outside of Canterlot High.

Suddenly, they were ambushed by a swat team. “Attack!” shouted a guard, and he and his troops opened fire with flame-throwers, rocket launchers, and even threw grenades, shrouding the villains in massive flames and explosions.

“Did we get them?” one of the men asked, but he got his answer when the villains suddenly waved through the smoke, revealing themselves barely even scratched, much to the soldiers’ horror.

“That wasn’t very nice.” hissed Marla.

“Our turn now.” said Keto.

The soldier’ dropped their weapons and began to run for it, but the villains shot a few energy blasts making big explosions that knocked the men all off their feet, but they got up frantically and ran for their lives.

Then came in a squad of air fighter jets; The Wonderbolts! They began to fire their heavier machine guns all around the villains, which made sparks fly, and the villains actually took a little bit of damage.

“Ha! Is that they best they’ve got…?” thundered Vulcan, and he whistled loud into the sky, calling for the star-jets to attack. Naturally, the star-jets, being much bigger and stronger than the Wonderbolt Jets, were able to shoot them all down with ease, and forced the pilots to eject before getting blown to smithereens.

The pilots all parachuted away to safety, riding along the wind, but their jets were totalled, and worse, one of them spun out of control and crashed right into the school, causing it to collapse into a pile of rubble…

Much to the horrors or Celesto and the sisters,“NO!!!”they cried, but the school was in ruins!

Twilight was equally as horrified, and so were the friends. Even though they could hardly remember the school, it seemed like such a nice place to be.

Celestp clenched his fists tightly and growled “I built that school… to help students to learn… and under realize that they do have futures!”

His wife felt just as hurt, and it was actually she who grabbed her husband’s phone and shouted to the general, “I don’t care what happened… GET THOSE CREEPS!!”

He voice echoed all through the base and everyone gawked at her with frightful expressions, but it was understandable. However, the general had bad news, “Our forces are losing! We cannot hold them back; some of the soldiers are starting to retreat!”

Since the phone was one Speaker-Mode everyone heard that, and they were all outraged and concerned. Then again, it was understandable, and rather expected. They couldn’t just order the soldiers back into fighting a losing battle.

The soldiers already ran for the docks or boarded their choppers to escape while they could.

“Look at the cowards run.” laughed Keto.

Vulcan scoffed, “So much for them. Now, let’s trash this island! We’ve still got a whole world to destroy.”

“Yes!” said Bronc “Destroy it all.”

“Oooh, it gives me goosebumps.” added Marla.

Vulcan then whistled for an army of Lingos to come forth, and he handed them the rangers’ morphers. “Seek out their base, and leave nothing behind!”

The Lingos agreed, and began to use the morphers’ tracking systems to locate the secret Jump-Tubes hidden all over the area. They found them, and all began to leap through in massive lineups.

As the Lingos emerged in the base, they found the main chamber completely deserted. The quieted down from their growling and moved about cautiously.

“NOW…!!” Celesto shouted as he flipped on the lights, and everyone leapt out from hiding and tackled the Lingos. There were even some security guards that joined in the fight as well.

Celesto slashed his cane at the creatures, making sparks fly as they fell to the ground.

Celestia punched one Lingo hard, and Luna kicked another.

Twilight threw a chair at three more, knocking them all to the floor. “It’s a good thing Lightning warned us about this!” Twilight said.

Spike agreed, and he growled as he leapt up and actually tackled a Lingo to the ground and began to bite and claw at it.

As for the amnesics…

As the Lingos glared them down a sudden feeling of rage and strength came over the friends, and they just jumped in and began to attack the creatures like skilled martial artists.

Pinkie bounced up high and drop kicked two Lingos in the heads.

Applejack charged like a bull straight through another hoard of them.

“Strange!” Rarity called as she kicked another Lingo down “This feels so familiar!”

“I feel like I’ve done this a hundred times before.” added Starla, and she spun kicked three Lingos down in a Triple-KO!

The friends’ memories became clearer; almost fully in view, but now was not the time to think about it.

Artie corned one Lingo and kicked it hard in the chest, forcing it to drop Rainbow’s morpher. He grabbed it quickly, and then called to the others, “Get the morphers! Get ‘em!”

The others agreed and began to attack through the swarm of Lingos mercilessly looking for the ones that had the other morphers.

“Got one!” cried Pinkie, and she chased after a Lingo that had Fluttershy’s morpher. She leapt over, skid across the floor and snagged the Lingo by the legs, making it fall, and Applejack caught the morpher, “That’s two down.”

The Spanish Twins cornered two more Lingos; one had Rhymey’s morpher and the other held Buddy’s.

“Give it up, hombres!” said Dyno. “We got you know.” added Myte, but the Lingos refused to give in, and saw several of their comrades creeping up from behind the boys.

The boys, however, were not fooled by this, and as the Lingos behind them lunged forth, the boys leapt up, back-flipping high-up causing the Lingos to crash into each other, and the morphers went sailing into the boys’ hands.

“VIVA!!”The boys cheered as they slapped each-other a high-five.

Now all that was left was to get Sunset’s morpher, but more and more Lingos were coming through the Jump-Tubes.

“Seal them off!” shouted Celesto.

Luna managed to fight her way past the Lingos and over to the console. Once there, she activated the emergency seal, which blocked off the Jump-Tubes with solid steel casings, and then reversed the suction, so the incoming Lingos were blown right back out again.

Professor Brain came into the main room where all the action was happening. “I say!” he thundered “What it the name of Elburn is going on here!” and holding a small wrench in his hand, he began to bash the Lingos over the head, conking them out cold.

A swarm of Lingos then rushed him all at once. “Oh, my…!” he cried.

“Hang on!” cried Starla. “We’re coming!” added Rarity.

The girls dashed over and began to pull the Lingos away and attack them ruthlessly. “Take that, you scoundrels!” Rarity thundered as she punched, chopped and kicked the Lingos away.

“Hey!” cried Starla. She spotted the Lingo that had the last morpher, and cornered it into a small, slamming it hard against the thick solidness, and taking the morpher. “I got it!”

“Well done!” shouted Celesto.

Pinkie was losing her temper, and faced against a large swarm of enemies, “Alright! Here I come!” she thundered “AAAAAAAHHH…!!” and she rushed forth like a charging bull and gave the Lingos a huge kick, sending them all flying straight into the main control panel...!!

CRASH!! Big explosions and spark flew all over as the systems began to short out.

The lights began to flicker as the alarm sounded, and more control systems began to spark.“Danger! Danger!”called the automated voice“System Overload! Evacuate Base Immediately!”

That’s when the ceiling began to burst open and loads rock and plaster began to fall in, along with malfunctioning, sparking wires.

“EVERYBODY OUT!!” shouted Celesto.

With the jump-Tubes sealed off, everyone dashed to the far back of the base to take either the elevator or the set of emergency stairs that lead up to the garden to Celesto’s mansion.

The staff, the guards, all the scientists and the Professor, everyone made it out safely, just in time as the entire base collapsed inside, destroying the remainder of the Lingos.

“My research facility!!” cried Celesto. This was very crushing to him. His wife and his sister-in-law comforted him. Even Twilight and Spike were most sympathetic.

“Oh, dear…” sighed the Professor.

Everyone felt a little down, but the sound of large noises in the distance made them look towards the city in the distance, which in a horrible sight as buildings fell and explosions ruptured.

“Oh, my!” cried Rarity.

“This is so not good!” said Artie.

Suddenly, they all heard a loud noise coming straight at them from behind. They all turned round and saw the comet striker coming back towards shore. “It’s Lightning!” cried Twilight, “And he brought the rangers back!” added Spike.

“Hey…!!!” Sunset called as she waved to everyone.

Everyone was delighted to see everyone was safe, and Artie realized they still had the rangers’ morphers.

Krysta flew down to stay with the others, and then it was time for the rangers to take the battle right to the source!

Vulcan and his legion of monsters were breaking up the buildings, burning the forests, smashing the streets, and blasting anything else they could find to bits.

The Lingos had even formed the Jet-Star megazord to help with the destruction! Using the star saber, the megazord sliced building in two and made them fall over and crash into rubble.

Try as any of the remaining soldiers would, their weapons and resources were just no match for Vulcan’s forces, and they all had no choice but to retreat, much to Vulcan’s delight. “So much for them!” he continued to admire the destruction of the city all around him. “Once this island is wrecked, we’ll then proceed to destroy more major cities and counties all over… and then…

…THE UNIVERSE!!”

“Not if we have anything to say of it!” shouted Sunset.

“What…?!” snapped Vulcan, and he turned round and saw to his horror, Sunset, the rangers, and the Comet Striker all standing there, glaring at him.

“No way!” cried Keto.

“How did they escape?!” whined Marla.

“I helped them.” replied Lightning “Bet you’re wishing you finished me off now, eh, Vulcan?”

Vulcan growled angrily.

Sunset and the others stepped forth, and they all nodded at one another. “It’s Morphin’ Time!”

“Morphing Sequence Ready”

“STARFLEET MAGIC… POWER ON!!”

“This is it!” said Sunset “No retreating this time!”

Vulcan felt the same way, and called to his monster army, “GET THEM!!”

The monsters and minions charged forth, and the rangers dashed at them. “Lightning… go after the megazord!” Sunset called.

“Right!” agreed Lightning, and he stomped his way over.

“Destroy him!” Vulcan called up to the megazord. The Lingos inside complied and the two machines collided together, punching and kicking each other.

The megazord then used its sword to slash at Lightning hard, “So you want play swords, huh?” Lightning sneered, and he extended his blades.

He managed to block the megazord’s sword with one blade, and strike the zord itself with the other. Still, he couldn’t believe he was actually battling the megazord. How it used to do so much good for everyone, and now it was being used by the enemy… still, this was no time for sentiments, and he continued to brawl.

Down below, the rangers were battling harder than ever as the army of monsters surrounded them; one-after-another!

Even with their weapons, it was not a fair fight for them…

Rhymey and Fluttershy fought against several monsters at once. Fluttershy blocked their attacks with her shield and Rhymey struck them with his sword.

“There’s too many of them!” cried Fluttershy, and she got her shield knocked away, and she was slashed hard and knocked away.

“No…!!” cried Rhymey, and suddenly his sword was parried, and he was struck, “Whoa!”

“Down for the count.” Marla teased, and she zapped at the rangers with her nails, but the two rangers rolled out of the way avoiding the attacks.

Rainbow fired her cannon as many monsters came at her, but for each one she shot, another one seemed to pop up, and another, and another, making her spin round and around in circles as she fired more shots. “Okay, feeling a bit dizzy!” she groaned, and this was the advantage the monsters needed to knock her cannon away and bash her hard and sent her rolling along the ground.

Celesto and all the others rode in three limousines to an area just near the danger zone where they could see all that was happening.

“They’re getting creamed out there!” cried Celestia. “There are far too many monsters!” added Luna.

Buddy whipped, lashed, and strike many monsters with his plasma whip. “Never saw so many!” he groaned.

Keto then caught his whip around his staff, “Oh, you’ll see worse than this!” he teased “Song of Embernova!” and he bombarded Buddy with a barraged of fireballs.

Finally, sunset battled against both Bronc and Vulcan, and she was losing miserably as the two villains punched, kicked and slashed at her hard. “My, how the tables have turned…” Bronc sneered.

Vulcan snickered, “My thoughts exactly.”

The five rangers huddled together. “We can’t beat them…” panted Sunset “Not like this!”

“We can’t just give up!” said Rainbow.

“You can, and you should!” thundered Vulcan, and he unleashed a wave of flames, blasting the rangers hard and de-morphing them.

Their morphers had completely run out of power, and with the base destroyed they had no way to recharge them.

There was worse to come as Lightning himself was starting to weaken, from all the flying he did and all the power that was used up. The megazord struck him hard several times, and he could barely fight back.

“I… can’t… keep this up… much longer!” he groaned.

The megazord gave him a huge shove and knocking him over.

“Look out!!” shouted Buddy.

“He’s falling near us!” screamed Fluttershy.

Celesto watched in horror and he could only shout out “RANGERS…!!!”

To Be Continued…!

Final Episode: Final Part: Return of Starfleet

FINAL EPISODE

Lightning fell over right near where the rangers were standing.

“Look out!!” shouted Buddy.

“RANGERS…!!!” Celesto called from the distance!

CRASH!! The Comer Striker slammed on the ground hard making a cloud of dust. Everyone gawked in extreme shock and horror.

“No! It can’t be…!” Celestia cried ever so softly.

Vulcan and his minions laughed maliciously.

Lightning slowly and wearily turned his head, “No…! Guys…!” he called. However, as the dust settled, the rangers were revealed to be just fine. Sunset quickly managed to tap into her pony magic, and shield herself and the others in a powerful barrier that protected them from the force of the impact.

Everyone else saw across the distance and they were very relieved, but suddenly they saw the barrier fade out and Sunset almost collapsed in exhaustion. “Sunset!” cried Fluttershy as she and other caught her. “Are you okay?” asked Buddy.

“Yeah, but I’m exhausted!” groaned Sunset “I don’t have enough magic to reenergize our strength, let alone our morphers.”

“Um… I think that’s the least of our problems right now.” Rainbow said, and she motioned that the Megazord was stomping its way towards them all. The rangers would never be able to get to anywhere safe in time.

“It’s over, Rangers!” shouted Vulcan “Prepare to be destroyed… by your own zords!” he laughed wickedly.

(Que Intro)

“They’ve got to get out of there!” cried Pinkie. “But how?” snapped Applejack “That huge hulk will hit ‘em no matter how far they run!”

The megazord loomed over, and poised its sword ready to strike, but just as it swung down to do so, Lightning reached up and grabbed the megazord’s arm in his hand, and began to push it back as he got back up onto his feet.

“Oh, no, you don’t!” thundered Vulcan and he prepared to shoot at Lightning.

“Oh, yes, I do!” Lightning growled, and he thrust his other hand with his blade extended straight at Vulcan, striking him hard and knocking him way back.

“Master!!” cried Bronc, and he dashed off after him.

“Wow! Nice shot!” Rainbow hollered up, but Lightning was too busy to hear her as he was back on his feet and knocked the megazord’s sword away; sent it crashing deep into the depths of town.

“Not so tough now! Eh…?” Lightning gloated, and with his blades he slashed at the megazord making sparks and explosions fly.

The minions all dashed to where Vulcan had crashed, and then and a swarm of monsters worked hard to clear the wreckage.

“Hurry…! Dig him out!” shouted Bronc.

Everyone dug frantically at the rocks and bits of debries, and suddenly, the pile began to vibrate and heat up. “Uh-Oh! Hit the dirt!” cried Marla.

Everyone ran and ducked behind more mounds as Vulcan burst through the debries in a firey explosion, roaring loudly and flaring wildly.

The minions didn’t even have to look to feel how infurated he was. They were too afraid to even peek up over the wreckage.

“KETO…!” Vulcan shouted “MAKE ME GROW!!”

Keto hesitated for a moment due to the fear he felt from Vulcan’s snarling voice.

“NOW…!!”

“Right!” cried Keto, and he leapt up over the wreckage and aimed his staff at Vulcan,“FORTISSIMO!!”

Meanwhile, both Lightning and the Megazord were starting to look beat. Both of them each had a bit of power left, but Lightning didn’t know if he could bring himself to actuall take the megazord down, not after how much it meant to him and the others rangers.

Suddenly, the rangers could see…

“LIGHTNING…!!” Sunset shouted up at him.

“LOOK OUT, MAN!
IT’S VULCAN!!” added Rhymey.

Lightning looked behind him, and saw giant Vulcan snickering at him. “Now, Comet Ranger, prepare for your roasting!”

“Lightning, get out of there!” Buddy called.

“Oh, I can’t look!” cried Fluttershy.

With Vulcan in front of him and the megazord behind, Lightning didn’t have much place to go, and Vuclan began to power up for his big attack!

“What am I going to do?!” Lightning whimpered, then suddenly he realized there was only one way to get out of this, and stop the megazord, but this was literally the hardest thing he would ever have to do in his entire life!

The megazord charged right at him to attack, but at the last second, Lightning roared and thrust his sword clean into the megazord’s chest.

Inside the cockpit, sparks and explosions flew all over as the Lingos frolicked about in panick.

“SAY GOODBYE!!” Vulcan thundered.

“NO!!” shouted Lightning, and pulling with all his might, he actually threw the megzord hard into Vulcan, just as he unleashed his firey assault, making a huge explosion right at him!

The explosion was so bright, the rangers, the villians, even the friends in the distance covered their eyes.

The force of the explosion hit Lightning hard, causing his armo to spark and explode. “BAIL OUT!!” he cried as he shrunk down and leapt out of the suit as it fell over and was blowing into scrap bits!

When the explosion faded out, The rangers looked to their horror; they couldn’t see Vulcan anywhere, but their beautiful megazord was all to bits and scrap pieces.

“Our zords!” cried Sunset.

“They’re totally totally totalled!” sobbed Rainbow.

“Ah, man! This is horrible!” said Buddy

They all heard the sound of someone groaning!

“Lightning!” cried Fluttershy.

He was lying on the ground several feet away from them. His suit had ultimately powered out, and his morpher was dead. He himself looked in a bad way; his clothes were torn and had holes and he was covered in sweat and grime.

The rangers ran over and helped him up to his feet, but Lightning gawked up at the destruction. “COMET STRIKER…!!” he screamed. It was such a crushing sight to see the remains of his strong armor burning away.

While in the distance, “Ohh…!” Krysta fainted in such relief that Lightning was okay, but everyone else was all in shock and incredibly horrified at what had just happened.

“I can’t believe that just happened!” cried Twilight. “Me neither!” added Spike “Now we’ve lost all the zords too.”

Celesto felt his insides shredding with grief and concern. “First the base, then the morphers, and now this…!”

Celestia comforted her husband, “At least the rangers are safe.”

“True…” added Luna “And Vulcan seems to be gone too.”

Everyone agreed to that, but Applejack looked out over the distance and gawked, “Um… I don’t think so. Look!”

Vulcan grumbled as he pulled himself up from the burning debries. He looked a little beaten but nowhere near defeated.

“I don’t believe it!” cried Sunset.

“That explosion hit him right flat!
How can he be alive after all that?” growled Rhymey.

“That’s because he’s not so easy to get rid of.” sneered Marla.

The rangers turned, and saw the minions and the army of monsters standing and glaring at them.

“…And neither are we!” chuckled Bronc.

Keto snickered as he stroked his staff, and all the monster sharpened their fangs and prepped their weapons, and Vulcan stood tall and strong behind the army laughing ptifiuly at the rangers. “Well, well… look at the mighty Power Rangers now. They came so far only to fail right here.”

The rangers didn’t know what to say, or do. There was literally no way for them to fight back without their powers, and they couldn’t very well escape as Vulcan planned to dominate the entire world.

But a ray of hope was soon insight yet…!

Though Canterlot High had be competeley demolished in the chaos, the one thing that still remained untouched was the broken statue where the portal to the pony world used to stay… and that portal began to glow!

Small glowing orbs of light emerged from the portal and flew out across the island.

The original five rangers each received one. The lights then rested on the fronts of their shirts and transformed.

“What’s this?!” snapped Vulcan.

“Our energizers!” cried Fluttershy.

“We’ve got them back!” added Buddy.

Lightning also received one. “What? I get one too?”

The friends in the distance all reicveed their energizers as well, even Celestia got hers back. “I can’t believe it!” she cried with joy.

The students all gawked at the energizers on their fronts. “I… I recognize this.” said Artie. The others all felt the same, and suddenly all their memories became as clear as daylight

All their battles and adventures… their friendships and activies… Everything!

It made them all gasp and clutch their heads in sudden shock.

“I… I remember!” said Starla.

“Me too.” added Applejack.

The adults and Twilight all exchanged looks of glee that their friends were finally back to their proper-selves.

“I’m glad to see that too.” said a voice from behind.

Everyone turned round.

“Commander Lightning!” cried Dyno. “Is it really you?” asked Myte.

Lightning nodded, “The portal’s all fixed, but never mind that. Let’s go!”

“RIGHT!!”the others agreed.

“Let’s go guys!” said Sunset, and the others agreed.

“STARFLEET MAGIC!!”

“HARMONY HOUR, FRIENDSHIP POWER!!”

“Valkyria!” shouted Celestia, and she transformed into The Valkyrie of Magic!

Sunset transformed into The Shining Angel.

Their super suits donned for their first time, and their magical strengths and powers fully restored thanks to the energizers being tuned up.

Human Lightning found this to be incredible, “This feels even more powerful than my ranger suit!” He looked behind at his new pony wings, felt his new pony ears on his head, and even admired his new pony tail in back and the white unicorn horn sticking out of his head, “Wicked!”

Vulcan growled fericly, “I’ve had just about enough all this!”

“Well we’ve had enough of you!” sneered Sunset, “Let’s take ‘em down, guys!”

“YEAH!!”the others all agreed, and the battle was on.

All those monsters roared and charged forth, but despite outnumbering the heroes greatly, because the heroes now had their super powers back, they were much stronger, swifter and just plowed their way through things.

Human Lightning gave a huge spinning kick into one monster and sent it sailing hard away. “Whoa! This intense!” he exclaimed.

“Glad to see you’re enjoying it.” said Buddy, and he used his Vine Whip and lashed several monsters at once.

“I’ll get you for that!” thundered Vulcan.

“Not if I get you first!” hollered Rainbow, and she charged straight at him as he body began to shimer brightly,“SONIC-RAINBOOM!”she collided right into him hard making a huge, colorful explosion which knocked him over on his back again.

“Here I come!” cried Fluttershy, and she soared in from the skies, right at Vulcan’s huge face. She and rainbow then proceeded to ram numerous punches at him to keep him down.

Rhymey called up to them…

“Good job, girls!
Now let’s give some whirls!”

He pulled out his Ward Sword, and powered it up,“THRASH SLASH!”he struck hard, sending a bright wave of magic at a swarm of monsters, blowing them up and imprisoning them all in spheres.

“There’s still many more!” hollered Sunset, but that’s when all the others arrived on the field, “Don’t worry! The cavelery’s here!” Artie called.

Sunset looked up at him, and he smiled at her and saluted softly, telling her at the others that he and his friends had regained their memories.

Super Lightning then saluted at Sunset, “Good to see you’re still fighting, Major.”

Sunset nodded, and now, it was time to wrap things up for good.

The Starfleet Humans all got out their weapons and powered up their attacks…

"WHIPLASH STRIKE!"

“SUPER STAFF SPIN!!”

“GALACTIC PROJECTILE!”

“BOOM-BOOM FLARE!!”

All those powerful attacks streaked across the way, striking all the monsters, and the minions blowing them all up and imprisioning them all in speheres.

“So much for them!” said Sunset. Then she turned to look at Vulcan.

Vulcan batted Fluttershy and Rainbow off of him and bolted up onto his feet. “You may have beaten my army, but I won’t be so easily beaten!”

“I wouldn’t bet on that, Vulcan!” thundered Sunset.

“Neither would I!” agreed Super Lightning as he fluttered up beside her and all their friends stood together in a row. The other five Equestria girls had donned their Valkyrie suits, and everyone stood ready for the final blow.

Since Vulcan was much too big and powerful to capture as he was, the only option was to wipe him out for good!

Super Lightning said proudly to Sunset, “Major… you have the con!”

Sunset nodded. “Valkyries of Harmony!” she hollered, and the Valkyries all agreed, surrounding Vulcan in a ring, and firing magical beams formt heir swords to hold him down!

Vulcan wailed as he struggled and pulled, “Release me!”

“It’s time!” said Sunset, and she hovered in the middle as everyone else joined hands in a massive chain with her, transferring their energies into her as she glowed brighter and brighter as she hollered,“Power of the Stars… Power of Friendship… Lend me your might to vanquish this great evil from our world!”

POW!! She unleashed a strong wave of energy straight at Vulcan, striking right through him! Vulcan roared and screeched as body vaporized into nothingness. “MY BUISINESS IS DOOMED…!!” Those were his last words as he was completely vanquished, and the force of the magic spread all over the island, restoring all the buildings and all the damages to normal! Even the zords were all restored, and so was the underground base!

Celesto, Luna, Twilight, Spike and Krysta… as well as any remainin soldiers cheered hysterically.

As for the heroes, they all stood together atop a tall, tall building. Sunset and Super Lightning nodded at one another, and they and their friends all declared together“…MISSION… COMPLETE!!”

With all the evil gone, and the island fully healed and restored, it was safe for all the people to return, and with the aid of their magic, the team rounded up all the spheres ready for Super Lightning to take back to his world where the villians would all be returned to prison where they belonged! Even the spheres from the base were taken away, including the Sirens.

Super Lightning promised to send each Siren to a different prison, so they could never be together again and lead to another escape trick.

“I have to hand it to you all,” said Super Lightning “You all serve your planet and your entire world very well.”

The others all smiled.

“Still, I’m kinda going to miss being a ranger.” said Rainbow. The other former rangers all agreed.

They had already turned their morphers back over to Celesto. “Well, you have your super powers back.” he said “So, the Power Rangers don’t really need to eixst anymore, but we can always recharge these and they’ll always be kept ready if ever needed again.”

“At least our world is safe once again.” said Celestia “And we have all our friends back too.”

All the friends stood with brave smiles on their faces, and Artie and Sunset held hands.

Human Lightning was especially greatful. “I can’t believe I have my own pony powers now.”

His dimensional counterpart nodded at him, “You’ve earned it, and I know you’ll use them wisely just I use my own.”

Starla approached Human Lightning, “Looks like you’re really one of us now.” She gave him a flirtatious look. He blushed softly, and everyone else snickered.

“How come you don’t ge any powers, Twilight?” Spike asked. He really felt she deserved some, and as flattered as Twilight felt, “Face it, I’m just not a fighter. I’m much better at being a tech expert.”

Super Lightning nodded, “Every job on the force is equally as important as another. As long as everyone does their part to help, there is nothing that cannot be done.”

Celesto agreed, “Well said, Commander. We will continue in whatever way we can to protect our world.”

He and Super Lightning saluted to one-another.

Before he left, Lightning had two gifts for Sunset, and the first was a promotional medal. “By my virtue and honor as Commander of Starfleet, I hereby confirm up you, Sunset Shimmer… our world ambassador… the rank of Leituenant Colonel, for your outstanding leadership, extreme bravery, and efforts in saving this world and doing Starfleet proud.”

Everyone applauded for Colonel Sunset, and she and Super Lightning saluted. “Thank you, sir.” said Sunset.

Super Lightning then handed her a special new book. “This is a newer model of the message book.” He explained, and then he held out the matching linking book of his own and showed that when he opened it and Sunset opened hers, she could see a holographic image of him… almost like using a video phone. “I believe this will make communications much easier.”

“This is incredible.” said Sunset “I promise, I’ll take great care of it.”

“Make sure you do.”

With that settled, Super Lightning took his leave. “Carry on everyone… Farewell for now.”

Everyone waved at him, and watched as he climbed through the statue and vanished through the portal.

After he was gone, the civilians began to return to the island from the mainland and soon the city would be bustling and full of life again.

“Now what happens?” asked Rairty.

Pinkie had the perfect answer to that, “I say… WE PARTY!!”

No one could refuse that, and that night, the entire school yard was all decked up and bustling with excitement as a huge celebration was held.

There was rock music, dancing, all the snacks and treats you could think of. The former rangers were really enjoying themselves.

Rainbow was playing her guitar on stage, and Fluttershy and Rhymey were moving and grooving with the other dancers. Buddy was there with Tree Hugger, and Twilight was grooving with her brother and Cadance.

“Groovy party!” said Tree.

“Well, the others have to make the most of it;” said Buddy “They all have to attend Summer School to make up for all they missed.”

“Well, if they graduate, that’d be great,
But what happens when we all have to separate?” asked Rhymey; he refered to the fact that soon they would all be attending college.

This made Fluttershy worry again, “That means we won’t see each other for long periods of time.”

“I wouldn’t say that exactly…” Celesto said. “I wasn’t going to tell any of you this just yet, but…” he paused and showed them all small blueprint plans of a new college campus he had commissed to be built right on the island.

Rainbow hopped off stage to look, “No way! Really…?”

Celesto nodded, and Celestia spoke, “We all know how much you mean to each other. Even we can’t bear to see you all separated.”

“Indeed.” agreed Luna “And after all, you are heroes of this world, and heroes are best when they stay together.”

“Think of it as a belated granduation gift for you, and an early one for the others.” said Celesto “As well as a thank you gift for all that you’ve done.”

The gang couldn’t help themselves and practically tackled him to the ground in a huge hug!

The sisters giggled.

“Hey, where’s Sunset,
Does she know yet?” asked Rhymey.

“I told her this earlier.” replied Celesto “She and Artie went off for a small walk.”

The couple was just on their way back to the party. They walked with their arms looped around one another and Sunset rested her head on Artie’s shoulder.

“I missed these walks with you.” said Sunset.

Artie didn’t know what to say at first, but he felt so wonderful to be with her again. “I was told how much you looked after me and the others. That’s so sweet.”

They gazed deeply into each other’s eyes, and their lips came together for the first time in a long while. Sunset wrapped her arms around Artie’s neck pulling him closer.

When they separated, Artie remembered, “I was supposed to ask you something before all this happened, and now I know I can.”

“What’s that?”

She got her answer when Artie pulled out a small box from his pocket, and opened it to reveal a beautiful silver ring with a diamond on top, much to her astonishment, and she looked at him with wide-eyes.

“Sunset Shimmer…” he spoke softly to her “Will you marry me?”

She was so happy deep down, she nearly lost all expressions, but she casually pretended to hesitate and think it over as she turned her back to him.

This worried Artie. “Well…?” he said wanting his answer.

She turned to face him, chuckling, “I didn’t want to make it too easy for you.

…Of course I will.”

“Alright…!” Artie cried as he picked her up high and twirled her, and she laughed with glee. Then Artie set her down, and they kissed deeply.

Their friends were watching from around the school.

“Ooh-hh-hh…!” Rarity cried as she dabbed her eyes with a hankie “How lovely!”

“He finally popped it.” said Buddy “Way to play, Artie.”

“Aww… so sweet.” said Pinkie.

Sunset and Artie didn’t plan to get hitched right away, as they still had much to do.

Artie and the others attended their summer classes and made up well for the times they lost while they were in the hospital.

By the time summer was out, the new college was finished. Celesto had hired the best construction workers in any business so that everything was setup by the end of summer for the grand opening for students to attend and persue their ideal subjects for careers they sought, including Sunset wishing to persue her new medical career.

Of course, there was one catch: Students did have to manage to pay their own scholarships. Celesto couldn’t spoil them all that much, and it would give the students more of a sense of responsibility.

Eventully, all the friends paid for their entrances, and could all attend campus together, and their professors understood that they were all important fighters and they were allowed to be excused from courses and studies to help fight evil and injustice; provided they made up for lost time.

Still, everything was okay, and the world was safer… at least for now!

POWER RANGERS
SUPER STARFLEET