It started off like any other night Sunset supposed, as she locked blades with a Red Tyrannosaurus Sentry, letting out a battle cry as she did so. Well, normal as it got for Ponyville these days.

Kicking the Sentry in the stomach, she then elbowed her/him in the visor, cracking it and making the red-armored warrior stagger back a bit. Nearby, she heard Applejack’s Sengoku Driver call out: “Soiya! Pine Arms! Pulperize and destroy!” and watched as the Rider’s twin swords were replaced by one Hell of a chained frail which she swung around before kicking the frail into a -Ironically enough- Samurai Sentry.

Sunset took a glance skywards, and saw the purple dome that covered the entire town, all the way from the south end that dwelled the Everfree to the north where beyond, lay the mountain passes that hid Canterlot. Sunset silently thanked… Well, to be honest, she didn’t know who to thank but she did it anyways for putting this up. She knew after Ponyville fell, Canterlot would probably be next on the agenda for Dai-Shocker and Thrax’s combined forces.

After Ponyville fell. Those words rang out on her mind, and Sunset gripped her sword tighter. Not if she had anything to say about it. Watching as the Tyrannosaurus sentry whipped out a staff, with a blade on either end, Sunset sighed.

“Just a glutton for punishment aren’t you?” she thought as she charged back into battle...

World of the Coinless, a few hours before…

“So, is the new armor ready?” Kimberly asked, quite impatient. A Pterodactyl and a Mastodon Sentry flanked her, weapons ready. While the Pterodactyl Sentry carried a sniper rifle, the Mastodon carried what looked to be an assault rifle, that fired lasers that could be set to stun, or kill. “I swear, those Samurai Rangers had better have been worth it, for all the trouble and resources we went through to get their Samuraizers…” she grumbled.

Nearby, she’d overheard chatter of the Hyperforce incident, as it’d been called from some of the troops. Kimberly smirked under her helmet, that bitch Scorpina, while foolish, had yielded results by finding Serpentara even if she did plan to go off on her own and destroy the western seaboard and rule her own little patch of land.

Personally, she admitted, those new rangers, while foolish to think they could take Lord Drakkon on, were helpful. They did play a part in recovering the ancient War Zord after all. Mind you, problems were persistent in getting the massive dragon which her Lord intended to be his flagship online. First of all, there was the power, which seemed to run out quite quickly. A lot of it just went into getting Serpentera into the air. If this thing was going to be used, that problem had to be solved, quite quickly.

“I wonder…” the Ranger Slayer thought to herself. “That new Power Set Lupin discovered, the one that seems to run off of those battery-like Dino Chargers, could it be the key to our problems?”

Noting to bring the idea up to Finster Five later, Kimberly -Probably out of sheer boredom and impatience- continued to listen in on the Sentry chatter.

“Hey,” one of the Gold SPD Ranger sentries (Often taking the role of battlefield commanders) asked to one of his fellows. “You heard about Zedd and Rita’s marriage on the Galactic Battlenet?”

The Battlenet was currently Lord Drakkon’s personal news source/Propaganda spouter for the galaxy at large, and every planet had a station to broadcast it from, from Earth, all the way to the fringes of the universe to planets like Mirinoi and Edenoi.

“Yeah, still can’t believe they got hitched,” another SPD sentry responded. “She’s the shrillest person I’ve ever met in my life.”

His friend nodded in sympathy and understanding.

“Oh, you’re telling me…” the other responded as he began rubbing his head in memory, probably a phantom pain “I can still remember the “I’ve got a headache!” screeching she always did. Gave me headaches myself, ironically.”

“Still can’t believe we failed to get both the Power Sets for the RPM and SPD Rangers first time 'round,” another Sentry, a Samurai based one, joined in grumbling under his breath. “Really, Drakkon’s robot duplicate getting smashed to pieces by a teenage doctor, and our forces getting decimated by the second-choice SPD team.”

“Second choice, second best.” the first SPD Sentry added, in an eerie uncanny echo of Cliff, AKA A-Squad Green.

“So, when do we ship out, to that new universe Dai-Shocker discovered?” the Samurai Sentry asked. “Does anyone have any clue? I’m getting bored here…”

“When Drakkon gives the orders, that’s when.” the Ranger Slayer stated, all three Sentries standing at attention and saluting. “It’s only a matter of time…”

As if to answer the question of when that time would be, with a hiss of steam, the doors to Finster Five’s lab opened with a hiss of steam, and out stepped Lord Drakkon, newly armored and with more power than ever. The chest shield was slimmer with a pyramidal look for the shoulder guards. The icon on the chest itself had changed: two branches converging into an arrowhead. At his side was a thin-bladed katana with a white sheath.

The Zeo Sentries, along with a few others, actually showed a rare moment of being completely stunned, and weapons clattered to the floor in shock at the sight of their Lord’s new armor.

“Pick up your weapons,” Drakkon ordered in disgust, stepping over to Kimberly. “Finster Five is already working to make more samurai sentries. I want you to choose who will make up the core of the new Solaris sentries.”

“Sir, Commander Thace is already working on handpicking his best of the best for this, and I’ll be hand-picking some of my own men for the transfers,” one of the Zeo Sentries said, referring to Thace of the Tyrannosaurus corps. “So, I assume your power merge with the Samurai powers was a… success?” he asked carefully.

Drakkon glanced over his shoulder, balling a fist. “You will speak when spoken to, sentry.”

Getting the hint, the Sentry very quickly shut up.

Drakkon stepped forwards, and walked down the halls with his Ranger Slayer and Sentries in tow towards his throne room. Passing by the throne, two Sabertooth Sentries standing at attention, he walked towards the balcony and looked out on over his kingdom.

Burning green lights lit up the courtyard below, where hundreds upon hundreds of his loyal soldiers awaited, and mecha along with airships were being prepared for battle. Drakkon raised his arms as he prepared to address the nation, Kimberly by his side.

“My loyal soldiers, we gather once more to bring the glory of our unity to another world. Another set of rangers pretending to be heroes.” Lowering his arms, he stared out at the assembled army intently. “These pathetic rangers protect a tyrant, who wiped their native humanity from the face of the Earth. We will not let this stand; their wretched society will fall beneath our boots!”

The soldiers raised their various weapons and roared in approval as various airships took to the sky piloted by the Mastodon sentries. Several White Rhino sentries, aside from using their standard mecha, piloted Tuliphopper Lock Vehicles on loan from Dai-Shocker. Finally, Sabertooth sentries took control of hover-tanks.

“Now…” Drakkon said, unsheathing his blade and raising it skywards. “Let the reclamation… begin!” and was greeted with more roars of approval. He then turned to Kimberly. “Ready the Gravezord, if worst comes to worse, we’ll use it to grind these “rangers” beneath our boots. Now, if you excuse me, I have a certain unicorn to contact…”

Drakkon made his way to another chamber, and pressed a button that brought up Somber’s face on a holographic screen.

“All is prepared on my end,” Drakkon stated, physically having to force himself to bow to this… lower being who he dared call Master, gritting his teeth as he did so. There was only one ruler of him aside from Empress Rita, and that was himself. “Are you ready to contact Thrax and tell him to ready his armies for battle?”

“But of course,” Somber said, flashing Drakkon a quick, fang-filled grin. “We are ready on our end as well. But, I have one bit of news I think needs to be shared. A few of the Kurokage Troopers we’ve lent to Thrax have overheard that he suspects us of treachery.”

Drakkon chuckled. “Well, he’s no fool, I’ll give him that. Every tyrant would wisely watch his back. Even if there are no daggers to stab it,” he replied. “Any other concerns?”

“A few of those Rider pests have managed to find their way to the universe of these new Rangers,” Somber added. “Decade is among them of course as are Wizard, OOO, and Gaim. Send your forces accordingly if you wish to retrieve the rest of the power sets you seek.”

Drakkon swore quietly, under his breath but otherwise kept his composure.

“You do suspect how they got to this new universe, correct?” He asked. “I warned you from the beginning, Lupin was never to be trusted, too much of his aunt in him. After all, how else would those so-called “Rangers” gain the ability to summon Decade? Pathetic as he is, he and his Rider allies would provide an annoying nuisance that would delay me and my re-taking of Earth.”

“At the moment, I have no solid proof of betrayal from Lupin,” Somber stated, an irritated look crossing his features. “But, I share your suspicions of him. You are very wrong about how much of his aunt is in him. If he was anything like Daybreaker, he would’ve turned on us far sooner.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of Somber. Though I do not question your choices, he is still Celestia’s nephew, adopted or not. There’s far too much good in him, you would be wise to rid yourself of him.” Drakkon argued.

“A Rider is no easy thing to replace,” Somber said, crossing his arms over his chest. “But, if we catch him having a change of heart about his place in Dai-Shocker, then you can crush him beneath the foot of the Gravezord for all I care.”

Drakkon chuckled at the image of a Blud reduced to paste beneath the Gravezord’s heel. “Ah, there is another thing,” he remarked.

“Do not leave me hanging in suspense,” Somber said, waving at Drakkon to continue. “I am sure you’re itching to test out your new Samurai form,”

Drakkon smirked under his helmet, and pulled out his katana and slashed the air cutting through it with ease. He did this, all just to test the sword’s weight and balance. “Yes, it’s about Twilight. Not the one who calls herself Wizard and has that Drake waiting around on her hand and hoof like a butler, but the one from the Ranger universe.”

“Has something changed with her?” Somber questioned, quirking a brow. “I would think that she’d be beneath your notice.”

“Hardly,” Drakkon replied. “How intelligent do you think she is? How eager to prove herself, how much hero-worship do you think she has in her? Remember, you yourself said your Twilight looked up to Celestia like a mother, the little suck-up. In your own words, is that not a direct quote?”

“Hmm, I see your point,” Somber admitted, tapping his fingers against his arm. “So, what has developed?”

“Nothing yet, but I do have my suspicions,” Drakkon answered, knowing Somber wasn’t known for his patience. “Consider this, if I was that planet’s guard, I would keep the Drivers of the Kurokage Soldiers along with any of their weapons under strict lock and key would I not? But, if I were a student of a certain Princess, I would probably know enough powerful spells to break into wherever the Drivers and weapons are stored, and repurpose one for my own usage. While I don’t have confirmed proof that this has happened yet, it’s something to consider…” he trailed off.

“I will have Genm send out some of her spy drones to keep tabs on that Twilight,” Somber stated, his hand going still on his arm. “If she’s found a way to use the Driver, we’ll know. With luck, she’ll only have a Pinecone Lockseed.”

“And if she finds a way to this “Helheim” you told me about?” Drakkon questioned.

“Then we are to act under the assumption that she has an arsenal of Lockseeds at her disposal. I will have Genm send Finster-5 the data on all the non-Energy Lockseeds that we have on record. That will tell you what all of the possible weapons she could have obtained.”

“A wise choice, my liege,” Drakkon replied, once again physically forcing himself to say this. “I must end this call, I have an invasion to begin, and a world to reclaim. But one more thing, milord, I would suggest you pay another visit to Thrax to both reassure him of your loyalties, and warn him about what may be coming his way.”

With that, he ended the call. Drakkon smirked under his helmet. “Soon,” he thought. “Those Rangers will learn their place, and the tyrant sun will be dethroned.”

Wild Access Universe: Thrax’s Lair:

“Goldar, a progress report?” Thrax asked. “Did you send the Inves to Twilight Sparkle’s place of residence as I requested?”

Goldar walked into the room. “Yes, however… It seems Somber was right, they cannot be controlled. While I did open up a crack to Helheim, no Inves took the bait it seemed and spilled through to the other world. There is something more worrying, however.”

“Really?” Thrax growled lowly, rising off his throne and gripping his staff. “Tell me, what is ‘more worrying”, that plan’s failure, or me?”

“You, milord,” Goldar replied, once again in suck-up mode as Robert probably would have coined it. “However, an unprecedented variable came into play. Twilight Sparkle actually jumped through the crack, believe it or not.”

“If she were a lesser pony, I would say, as the humans call it, a dead duck. However, I highly suspect that’s not the case is it?”

“No, I watched personally, she managed to find herself a Lockseed, and become one of these Riders herself. Themed after a European knight of all things, with a Banana Lockseed at her disposal and managed to slay the Inves that were supposed to be sent after her. I would have stayed longer and see what developed, but I got the feeling something else, far more powerful than me, or even you milord was watching. There’s something about that forest that… unnerves me, as much as I hate to admit it.”

Goldar expected a blow, or even death to come for his cowardice, but nothing of the sort did.

“Yes, Somber Shield really didn’t explain much about this Helheim did he?” Thrax mused, placing a finger under his chin in thought. “I want to have words with him. Shame he’s never around when I need to talk.”

As if in response to the complaint, a distortion appeared and Somber stepped through. The armored tyrant bowed his head to Thrax, a neutral expression on his face. “Greetings, Thrax, how have my gifts been treating you?”

“They’re complete and unadulterated failures. The Kurokage Troopers might as well be cannon fodder with the Riders around, and the Inves cannot be controlled, nor trusted to do anything I desire.” Thrax replied, getting right to the point.

Somber chuckled, unperturbed by the blunt tone Thrax was taking with him. “The Riders were a small snag in our plans, that I will admit. But don’t give up on the Inves just yet. Imagine leading one or more to the heart of Manehattan. The Rangers would be forced to deal with it and you could send Goldar to enact what it is you truly desire.”

“Yes, but the problem is, getting a Inves to do what you want. They’re animals, and the only thing they think about is their next meal. Plus, I’ve already lured the Rangers away with a divide and conquer strategy once, with Goldar in the place of the Inves while I tried to take the Crystal Empire,” Thrax replied. “This, I should add, was an unmitigated disaster. The Rangers were down their leader, and even when Goldar nearly killed them, she returned stronger than ever, and what’s worse, in the Empire, your counterpart managed to fend off my forces with the help of a brand new Ranger!” he continued. “My mother and father, whenever they repeated plans, they were always failures. I do not intend to go down the same path.”

“Very well,” Somber said, waving his hand to Thrax. “I will not tell you how to enact your conquest. Though, with the arrival of the Riders, I will see if one of my generals will offer up her personal vanguards to assist you. Aside from that, we have reason to believe that the Twilight of your world is in possession of Rider tech.”

“I’m not surprised. Seeing her best friend be a hero and beat back my forces day after day?” Thrax mused. “She’d become troubled, and envious. It was only a matter of time before she did something foolish,” he continued before smirking. “Still, Alicorn or not, she’s unlikely to be that skilled in the usage of any Rider technology and I doubt she’s got her hands dirty in a real fight aside from her usage of the Elements of Harmony. And even now, those are gone from what I hear…” Thrax chuckled.

“One can never be too careful when it comes to conquest,” Somber offered, adjusting his gauntlets. “Still, I have offered my report, I will let you get back to your plotting and the Shadowbolts should introduce themselves within the hour.” Snapping his fingers, a distortion appeared in front of him. Just as he was about to step through, he turned his head to Thrax, the air seeming to get cold and heavy. “One thing before I leave; I have been nothing but cordial with you, Thrax. Raise your hand against me, and you will see what becomes of my enemies.” With that, he stepped through the ripple and left without a trace.

Thrax grimaced. “Goldar, ready our forces. We strike within the hour.”

The Animarium:

Meanwhile, the Rangers found themselves eating a home cooked dinner via Spike’s claws and Shayla’s hands under torchlight in the central temple of the Animarium.

“Seriously, you made this?” Vapor asked Spike, eating a cooked fish. Pegasi, unlike most ponies did, in fact, eat meat, given that they were half-bird. “Because man, this is good! Seriously, how have you not gone out on your own and become a chef, or at least one’s apprentice?”

Spike waved her off, though he was clearly soaking up the praise. “Aw, it’s nothing much. I’ve just read a lot of cookbooks and watched my mom in the kitchen. Besides, if I left out on my own, Twi would pudge up from too many trips to Hay Burger.” He puffed his cheeks up and held his hands out to demonstrate.

Sunset chuckled. “Sounds like her, our Twilight can’t cook to save her life! Seriously, she’s a danger to be around in the kitchen. My advice, if she cooks something, just run,” she advised. “Just do that. Her cooking is probably liable to be called hazardous waste one of these days...”

“One of us has to make sure Sombra eats right.” Spike sent a look at Wyatt and Twilight. “These two wouldn’t know how to feed a kid if it was tattooed on each other’s foreheads.”

Sunset’s eyes, along with nearly everyone else’s for that matter, pretty much bugged out of their heads. “Sorry, did you say Sombra, as in I’m obsessed with crystals Sombra and possessed your brother Sombra? How’d that come about?” she asked nervously.

“Spike had the bright idea to mix his UniSaPo medals with the magic the Crystal Heart was giving out,” Wyatt answered, pointing a thumb at the drake. “Instead of whatever the heart was gonna do, it reverted ole Smokey into a colt with no memories aside from his own name. And since dealing with Sombra was part of Twi’s test, she had the bright idea to put him in her care.”

“...Just when you thought things couldn’t get any weirder,” Robert muttered, rubbing his forehead in pain. “Great, you’re pretty much raising the Anti-Christ! Mein Gott…”

Twilight frowned. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call him that. Just because he’s an umbrum doesn’t make him evil.”

Twilight wasn’t the only one to give Robert a piece of her mind, and both Vapor and Sunset smacked him upside the head.

“Sensitivity issues…” the Princess of Empathy warned him.

“Seriously, he’s just a cute little colt,” Vapor put in, her eyes practically sparkling at the thought of playing dress up with the child Sombra. “What harm could he do?”

“Jesus, guy tries to speak his mind around here…” Robert muttered, or grumbled depending on your perspective.

Wyatt grinned, reaching into his pocket. “Cute is right. You wanna see pictures?” Holding up a camera, he shook it for Vapor Trail. The pony in question nearly squeed at the prospect.

“Yes, please!” she shouted, getting up from her chair, and brushing past Sunburst and Lightning knocking them to the ground as she ran over to Wyatt.

Tapping a few buttons, Wyatt held the camera so Vapor could get a good look at a snapshot showing Sombra on his first day of school. The colt was making himself look small and was wearing a red shirt with a black pair of shorts.

“Awwwwww…” somepony cooed, though this came not from Vapor but from Lightning. Everyone stared at her, and the pegasus just gave them a look. “What, I’m a mare too you know. I’m allowed to like cute things!”

“...Gotta be the Wild Pegasus Whiskey I had earlier, has to be getting to me…” Sunburst murmured to himself. No way in Tartarus would Lightning act like this, she was probably the rudest and uncouth mare he’d ever had the displeasure of meeting!

“Mind if I end things tonight with a song, just to soothe us all to sleep?” Vapor asked, going for her guitar.

“I’m not gonna say no to music,” Wyatt said, letting Lightning hold the camera so she could look through it. “I’ve always found it helps digestion.”

“I’d like to turn this into a career and all, but you know, Ranger duties and all…” Vapor whispered sorrowfully, as she went for her instrument. “Anyways, been studying up on older tunes and I found this. A tribute to you, Wyatt.”

“Careful, the last thing he needs is an inflated ego,” Twilight teased, leaning against the man in question. “He’s already hogging most of the space in our room.”

Vapor giggled, before she began to play.

“Looking up upon the stars,
where various sagas are shining
Just like the constellations,
only by connecting them with lines,
does a Legend begin

“Go through the dimensions flickering like auroras
And dive into that straying Parallel world

“On the road, everyone is in the midst of a journey
In order to encounter their true selves
Let’s keep on walking for now, for We’re all travelers
Everything’s spreading out right in front of my eyes

“Just when will the 9 paths ever overlap
The road will probably change
to continue into a new dawn
Bear witness to it, Journey through the Decade

“No matter how hard we gaze
into the scenery taken from beyond the lens
The truth is the thing that is projected into
the eye of our hearts…”

Vapor would have continued, but as if someone had it out for everyone, the fountain practically erupted, and everyone’s eyes widened as they knew what this meant.

“Knew he couldn’t stay still for long…” Sunset muttered. “Give a man power, and watch him play with it!” she remarked, before she heard the distinct sound of the Kitsune Blaster cocking and saw Robert standing up and pointing the weapon at Wyatt’s head.

“Before we go, someone has something to tell us, don’t they?” Robert asked, his voice an eerie calm. If you listened closely, you could detect a mix of anger, and fear in it. Same tone of voice he took with the ponies who put Sunset in the hospital a while back, actually. “Little secret they’ve been neglecting to tell us…”

Before Twilight could light her horn up, Wyatt held his hand up to stop her. “Seriously? Pointing a gun at me? Seems pretty extreme since I willingly told you everything last time we talked.”

“You’d be surprised what I’d do when I’m pissed off enough,” Robert replied, holding his ground. “Sure, you told me, but them?” he asked, gesturing to his fellow Rangers. “You know what’s likely waiting for us when we face Thrax and Dai-Shocker’s forces next, but they don’t!” he said sharply.

“Okay, my point is, they’re your teammates, which means it was your priority and responsibility to tell them, so I have to question why you didn’t when you had all day to do so.”

“I was expecting you to do it, considering it’s your little secret and all. Your little war, not mine. It just happened to spill over into my dimension. Your responsibility, not mine. This is your mess, not mine.” Robert replied, still using that sharp biting tone. “Now, about Drakkon. Will you kindly tell everyone what and who Thrax is allied with?”

“First off, it’s not a secret,” Wyatt shot back, crossing his arms. “Second, whether I was here or not, Drakkon would have come, so don’t lay that blame on me. Third, again, YOUR teammates. You should have gone straight to them and told them, not sit around waiting for me to do it when you already knew!”

“ENOUGH!” Sunset barked, grabbing them both in magical bubbles. “I don’t care whose responsibility it is, spill!”

Rolling his eyes, Wyatt sighed. “Alright, alright, I’ll just explain. I’ll probably do better than Dirty Harry over there anyway.(Robert actually looked pleased at this comparison, before Sunset shot him a glare) Drakkon is a general of Dai-Shocker. But unlike the other generals, his powers aren’t based on Rider tech. He’s a version of Tommy Oliver that stayed evil. Together with Repulsa, he took over the world and killed two of the original rangers along with Zordon. He merged the green and white Ranger powers and used the other power coins to make an army of Ranger Sentries. He’s got a god complex and wants to eliminate all other rangers in the multiverse.”

There was a brief stunned silence, before the volcano erupted.

“And you couldn’t have told us this before!?!” Lightning roared at him. “Seriously, and as much as I hate to agree with Robert, you should have told us this first thing! It would have been useful information to know!”

“Forgive me if telling you slipped my mind considering Sunburst putting a sword to my throat right off the bat, the monster attack right after, and Twilight nearly going into a rampage after learning what happened to humans in this world,” Wyatt said, giving the mare a flat look in his bubble. “It was an eventful first day.”

“What’s done is done,” Sunset said, giving Robert a pointed look as she released him and Wyatt. “Can’t change the past, but we can deal with the present, and right now that’s stopping Thrax, Drakkon and whoever the hell else wants us dead. Now, it’s Morphin’ Time!”

Soon, everyone was on the moonlit streets of Ponyville, clad in either their Ride Wear or Ranger uniforms, and greeted with a hoard of Ranger Sentries, Tengas, Putrids, Kurokage Troopers and Inves led by both Goldar and the Ranger Slayer, who Robert noted had an uncanny resemblance to Psycho Pink. Robert wondered if that was intentional.

“Right, forgot to mention the evil Pink Ranger in my second telling of the story,” Wyatt said, pulling out his blaster as a couple Tenga charged him. He fired a few shots, hitting the bird monsters in the wings and knocking them out of the sky.

“Buh-bye bird brains…” Sunset said, as she too knocked some out of the air with a blast from her horn, before leaping backwards to avoid a swing from the Ranger Slayer.

“Huh, can see why you were left out. Who’d want to speak about you?” Sunset asked as she lunged for a swing, and Kimberly simply side-stepped out of the way to avoid it.

“Aww, I’m flattered…” the Ranger Slayer said, as she went for her Bow of Darkness. “You know me as Kimberly, but I'd prefer you call me your executioner!” Suddenly, the madwoman threw a purple ball of energy up into the air, and next thing anyone knew, Ponyville was covered in a dome of dark sickly purple light. “Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide…” she mocked.

She fired her bow, and Robert and AJ jumped out of the way, with Robert looking towards the farm mare. “Please tell me you’ve got some Energy Lockseeds on you, Jimber Arms looks awfully good ‘bout now…” he remarked, firing a few shots into the Inves hoards, before slashing another across the chest with his Crystal Saber, and kicking it into some Putrids.

“Orion Mode, activate!” Robert then shouted, gaining the classic golden adornments of the Lights of Orion powered Lost Galaxy Rangers, with his Crystal Saber lengthening to a full-on blade. Impaling the sword in the ground, he knocked a few Kurokage Troopers back with a shockwave of light before swinging wide and slashing a Yagi Inves across the chest a few times, as it charged towards him like a bull. “Welcome to my nightmare!” he commented cheekily, in a callback to Goldar’s earlier taunt.

“Ah reckon Ah’ve got what yer after,” AJ said with a smirk, securing a Genesis Core to her driver. Reaching down, she pulled out a clear Lockseed that bore the image of a lemon on the front of it.

With a click, the lock opened. “Lemon Energy.” In one quick motion, AJ put the lock on her belt, clicked it shut and pushed the lever down to slice the lemon open. “Soiya!” The driver called, a lemon and orange appearing in the air from a zipper before mixing. “Mix! Orange Arms: Path of Blossoms, to the Stage! Jimber Lemon! Ha! Ha!” Applejack’s armor got heavier, the front of it being yellow while the rest was black. In her hands was a red bow that due to its size, didn’t appear capable of doling out too much damage.

“Reckon you can handle the Ranger Slayer, pardner?” Robert asked in a really bad southern accent, as he saw a couple of Mastodon Ranger Sentries heading towards them, laser rifles in hand. Letting the claw gauntlet on his hand vanish in a flash of gold light, he went for his Kitsune Blaster. “I’ll back you up as much as I can, but for right now, time for a day at the firing range!” he commented, before leaping backwards as the Sentries fired and the Orange Ranger let off a few shots of his own.

“Looks like I should show off something of my own,” Twilight commented, using her Connect ring to grab a strange item and secure it to her wrist.

“Drago Time: Start up!” the device called out, three multi-colored copies of Twilight appearing from magic circles and carving their way through the Putrids. The original Twilight quickly switched her Connect ring for her Copy, making a duplicate of her gun and firing both at the charging Ranger Sentries.

Sunburst as well, had gotten the same idea to deal with the Sentries and went for his Orion Mode as well, sending out slashes of pure black smoke at some Samurai Sentries as they clashed down a side street under the light of a lamppost, and before they could raise their blades to guard, blood spattered Sunburst’s helmet. Red, human blood.

“No… No, it can’t be…” Sunburst thought. Nobody seemed to take notice of this, not even his fellow Rangers. Sunset had her hands full with Goldar and some Tyrannosaurus Sentries, and Lightning and Vapor found themselves facing a Seiryu and Byakko Inves, respectively. The first was a humanoid Chinese dragon monster, spitting out hot blue blasts of flame, and the second was a jade green tiger monster with razor-sharp claws.

The Seiryu blew a continuous stream of flames, singing the streets and causing the two pegasus mares to keep their distance. Seeming to take advantage of their distraction, the Byakko dashed at Vapor and sliced her across the chest with its claws.

Vapor grimaced out in pain, clutching her bleeding chest but went into Orion Mode and just as the Seiryu breathed another blast of blue flame, she caught the flames with her Sword and tossed them back at the Inves making it stagger back. She let out a scream of pain and fell to the ground, Spike catching her. Lighting let out a snarl from under her blood covered visor, having just dealt with a few Tengas.

“Let me take it from here, okay?” Lightning asked. “Spike, can you handle the tiger? Hot Stuff’s all mine! Nobody does that to my sister, nobody…” she growled out, her metallic wing looking positively menacing in the moonlight. She went into her own Orion Mode with a crack of thunder, and raised her blade.

“I think I can fix this kitty,” Spike answered, removing two of his medals and pulling out two matching yellow ones. “In fact, let’s make this a regular catfight.” Slotting in the medals, he ran his scanner on the trios of medals.

“Lion, Tora, Cheetah!: La-Tah, La-Tah, La-Tora~! Tar~!” Spike’s belt sang, his armor quickly changing. His helmet had a spiky, golden mane with deep blue eyes. His arms remained the same but his chest now depicted a lion and a cheetah in the symbol. His legs had flexible yellow armor with the boots resembling sneakers.

Lightning struck with the fury of a thunderbolt, each time striking the Seiryu Inves with an electrically charged blade. Whenever it breathed out a blast of fire, Lightning either caught and sent back the blaze or dodged it outright, only to strike again. However, one strike swipe from the Seiryu Inves’ arm sent her flying back, and the monster loomed over her, poised to strike. However, a trident was soon jutting from the creature’s stomach, and as it was pulled out, the Seiryu fell forwards and exploded with Vapor standing over the remains clutching her weapon, with her other hand over her bleeding chest.

“L-Lightning, really, how many times? Charging into battle like that…” Vapor coughed out before she fell forwards, dropping her weapon which hit the ground with a clatter. Lightning caught her.

“Easy girl… You get back up to the Animarium, Shayla can take care of you. Got that?” she asked in a soft, warm tone. If anyone had been listening, they’d sworn Lightning had been replaced by a Changeling.

“G-Got it…” Vapor whispered, teleporting out as Lightning frowned.

“Down a Ranger already…” she muttered, and raised her blade to rejoin the fray. She eyed Sunset, who was going sword to sword with Goldar, and raced off to help her friend.

Spike and the Byakko circled one another, both waiting for an opening. The Byakko moved first, charging with its claws outstretched for Spike’s throat. In a burst of speed, the drake ran around the Inves and slashed at the monster’s back. Following up, he jumped at the Inves and hit it with a rapid bicycle kick.

Meanwhile, AJ and the Ranger Slayer took each other on, Sonic Arrow to Bow of Darkness as they leaped across rooftops. AJ drew back her bow, the tip of the weapon glowing with bright energy. Taking careful aim, she fired at where she thought that the Slayer’s feet would be to trip her up. Once she fired, the Ranger Slayer quickly blocked the shot with a swipe of her bladed bow.

“Where are you even aiming, hayseed?” Kimberly taunted, returning fire on Applejack.

“Ah’m just gonna pass on a smart comment,” AJ replied, quickly firing her bow to intercept the slayer’s attack. The two continued to trade shots, their attacks colliding to form a series of small explosions.

A few shots hit the Ranger Slayer in the shoulders, as Robert leaped onto a rooftop holding one of the Mastodon Sentries’ assault rifles. He fired again, and this time Kimberly (No, the Ranger Slayer, he reminded himself. This wasn’t Kimberly Ann Hart, not anymore) jumped to the left and drew back her bow. In almost the same instance, he was hit being sent flying backwards into Applejack as they tumbled onto a rooftop.

“Women, mares, all the same… They always fall for me.” Robert commented in that same cheeky tone.

“Sorry, but Ah ain’t gonna roll in the hay with a stallion that can’t hack a day on the farm,” AJ told him, pushing him off her so she could rise to her hooves.

“Sunset would kill me anyways…” Robert commented, tossing the rifle aside in disgust and pulling out his own personal weapon. “Now, I say we shut this bitch up, agreed?”

AJ removed the Lemon Lockseed from her belt, inserting it into a hole on her bow. “Now Ah’m likin’ the way yer thinkin’, sugarcube.” Energy built around the tip of her bow as she slowly lowered it to line up with Kimberly. “Ah think it’s time to put a rabid dog down.”

“Please, don’t compare her with Old Yeller…” Robert remarked. Meanwhile, he gathered up a very familiar orange mist in his hands before shouting: “Call to the Beast Inside, Free the Kitsune!” and launched a very familiar form at the Ranger Slayer, which ripped and tore into her armor with its claws.

AJ followed suit, unleashing a massive arrow that rocketed towards the injured woman. It made contact, an image of an orange and lemon appearing before an explosion erupted. Before the two could celebrate, the smoke cleared revealing that a distortion had separated Kimberly from them and prevented them from landing the final blow.

A very big distortion at that, and something massive, and monstrous now towered over the two and the rest of Ponyville to boot. Sunset looked up from her fight, and let out a low: “Oh shit…” as she saw what towered above them.

Looking like the world’s most nightmarish idea of a Megazord, the Gravezord lived up to it’s nickname, being made up of parts from all the Thunderzords. The White Tigerzord made up the main body, and legs, but it’s left arms was made of the Red Dragon’s head for a shoulder, and as an arm it’s tail. The right arm however, was made up of the Unicorn Thunderzord, with the Lion Thunderzord’s claws springing out. From the back, were fused the Firebird’s wings, and Tor’s head completed the whole ensemble.

“Oh, now that’s just wrong…” Robert muttered in both a mix of disgust, and rage. Seeing these famous Zords bastardized like this, and thrown together without any respect for the dead just made his blood boil.

“Say hello to the Gravezord, and your destruction…” the Ranger Slayer laughed from inside the cockpit as the sky went blood red, and crackled with lightning. Twin gold eyes gleamed down at them, and it was as if death himself was staring them down judging them for their crimes.

With a snarl, the remaining Rangers called out: “Wild Zords, descend!”

Author's Note

Four Words: Shit just got real.

(Oh, and in case you think we're making the Gravezord up, well... Hasn't made it's offical debut in comics yet, but I'll bet you money it will sooner or later.)