Tartarus

Getting into Tartarus was easy enough. In his incorporeal form King Sombra was all but invisible, and was capable of passing through most magical barriers with ease. Sure it took a week to get to the entrance in his form (frankly he couldn't wait until he got his power restored so that he could create Shadow Portals) but it was a minor inconvenience. Even the enormous stone gates over the entrance barely posed a challenge for him. He couldn't help but smile at that...

...at least until he got into Tartarus, and noticed that there was a lot wrong.

Rather than a well put together base of operations (which had taken the better part of six months to put together) the place was in shambles. The crystals that once held massive amounts of dark magic were now drained and completely clear. The crystals that once illuminated the place were now barely glowing, and none of his generals were around. Even the Ghouls were missing, which was weird as Weaver often used them to help around his laboratory (reasoning that as voiceless foot soldiers they tended to not ask any questions. He could appreciate that.)

But the most worrying thing to him was revealed as he moved into the largest chamber before getting to the cells; a large machine surrounding a giant crystal, one that he remembered had been filled to the brim with dark magic, which was used to power the other crystals as well as helping to enhance the monsters and accelerate the generation of the Ghouls in Weaver's Dark Pit.

This was the Engine of Woes; a machine designed to absorb the fear and negative emotions of the people of Arcania, converting them to dark magic, which in turn would fuel his power.

But now the machine was silent, covered in a very thick layer of dust. It was kind of sad to see, but his concerns were on the fact that there was no dark magic inside of the main crystal for him to absorb. While there was some dark magic still in the air (it was Tartarus, after all) it wasn't near enough to restore his power or his body. At best it would be enough to at least do some basic spells and to use his Dark Eyes, but other than that he was still all but powerless.

He growled. Why do I feel that Princess Celestia is behind this?

"Probably because she is."

He turned to see a figure walking into view, wearing a large black cloak over his body. He pulled the hood back to reveal-

Weaver, King Sombra telepathically spoke to him, a hint of genuine happiness in his voice my old friend. I'd embrace you if I had arms.

The spider demon laughed, bowing and replying "I'm sure you would. It is good to see you again, my lord and master."

I'm sure it is. Now, can you explain to me why the Engine of Woes is not operating?

Weaver sighed. "Unfortunately, I can. Shortly after you absorbed all but a small amount of the dark magic, Celestia trapped you and the Crystal Kingdom in that time bubble. Your temporal prison was only the beginning of our problems, sadly. The other demons refused to take orders from Insidiroar unless he could prove they came directly from you. As it is I had to stop him from destroying the demons multiple times."

That I can believe, King Sombra admitted. He always did have issues controlling his anger.

"But then, Princess Celestia started enforcing her mandates. 'Harmony above all!' 'Stay positive, even if it hurts!' Not the words she actually used, but you get the idea. Because of that, all of the negative emotions we could use were lowered to a trickle, and thus the Engine lost power. And since none of the Demons would follow us without you here, we weren't able to send out any monsters into Equestria or elsewhere to generate mass panic to fuel it."

And I assume that without the dark magic to draw them up here, the other demons retreated into the depths?

"I'm afraid so."

Contemplating all of this, King Sombra then asked Is Insidiroar nearby?

Nodding, Weaver pointed upwards to a specific cave, one that had a number of weapons embedded in the rock around the mouth. "He's been either meditating or training nonstop, waiting for the day you would return."

Well, let's not keep him waiting, he said, before flaring out his dark aura.

Almost immediately there was a loud shout of "MASTER!" followed by a lion's roar. A large bulky figure jumped out of the cave, doing a front flip before flaring out his black crow-like wings to stop his fall, kicking up a large burst of wind in the process.

Once he landed his wings folded against his body, before turning to his master and flashing a grin that revealed all of his sharp lion teeth (one of his canine's being made of gold) before bowing and saying "Master, it is good to see you are still..." He then noticed King Sombra's lack of a body. "...alive?"

Somewhat. My spirit is indestructible, like always. But my body, as you can see, not so much. He chuckled and continued But it's not something we cannot overcome. Once we get the Engine Of Woes running again, we'll be able to restore my power and get my army back together. Once that happens, we'll craft a new body for me and lay waste to the Crystal Kingdom, so that I may claim my great prize!

"And how do you propose we do that, my Lord," Weaver asked. "With the Engine of Woes out of commission for the moment, we can't just open up Shadow Portals wherever we want. At best we could sacrifice a couple of Ghouls to jump-start the Engine to open a portal, but we'd probably only get enough juice to open it somewhere in Equestria."

That would probably work to our advantage, King Sombra said with a hint of malice. Because while Celestia's mandates to keep the peace and harmony in Equestria might stop people from expressing their negative emotions, it doesn't mean they don't feel them. And if our war with the Crystal Kingdom was any indication, when the common rabble are faced with a demon from Tartarus or even the Ghouls, they panic like a bunch of sheep that just met the Big Bad Wolf.

"And as it just so happens," Insidiroar said with his cat-like grin "there's one demon that's still stayed close to us, despite your absence; Skull Knight. If the Rangers come to fight, he should be able to crush them with ease."

King Sombra doubted that, given how the three had managed to destroy him and make it look easy (when frankly even in his diminished state he'd been a cut above the average Mage) but he kept his thoughts to himself for now. Good. Bring him in. Weaver, get whatever Ghouls that have come out from the Dark Pit, sacrifice the ones we need to jumpstart the machine and prepare the rest for battle.

The two demon generals nodded, and said together "Your will shall be done, my Lord."

As they left to do what they were ordered to, King Sombra couldn't help but cackle. Enjoy your brief respite of peace, Rangers. Prince Diamond. And especially you, Princess Celestia. For it will not last!

The Crystal Castle: The Crystal Kingdom

Thorax smiled as he looked at himself in the mirror, having just gotten changed into some new clothes. Something he was still having some trouble believing.

In the week that followed that fateful day Flash, Twilight and Thorax had gotten acquainted with the rest of the Crystal Kingdom. This had been admittedly a little awkward since, due to the need to keep their identities secret to all but Prince Diamond's most trusted advisors and friends, nobody knew why two Equestrians and a Changeling were walking around in their kingdom.

The answer was simple; tell the truth, but not the whole truth. Instead of being summoned by the Crystal Guardians, the three had met up when Twilight was looking into a magical anomaly (AKA the weakening Time Bubble) with Flash and Thorax deciding to accompany her. They got to the edge of the Crystal Kingdom just in time to see the Crystal Knight Megazord slay the Reaper-Ghoul and destroy what was left of the Time Bubble. After that they decided to explore, saw people were in trouble and decided to lend a hand (Twilight in part because of the actions of Princess Celestia, Flash because he saw people who needed help and wouldn't turn away due to the Code, and Thorax because in his own words "It's the right thing to do.")

Ever since then they've been helping in any way they could.

Flash and Thorax were helping with search and rescue, helping people who had been trapped in some of the buildings during the attacks, or helping families find missing loved ones. Flash had actually found a group of children who were trapped in a sewer pipe, leading to Thorax showing the Crystallix an awesome display of his strength by moving a large chunk of the debris by himself (which they said weighed nearly 2 tons) and chucked it straight out of the city into the nearby mountains, leaving the nearby Crystallix (and Flash) with their jaws touching the floor.

That same immensely strong Changeling then calmly and gently picked up a little girl with a wounded leg, picking her up like she was a delicate china cup, and took her to the nearby medical station without eliciting a single cry of pain and discomfort.

Flash and Volcanion both summed it up internally. This guy really is a gentle giant.[1]

Twilight meanwhile was helping Prince Diamond, the City Council and the House of Nobles to get caught up on the almost 1000 years of history they missed. She tried her best to downplay her own involvement in the more recent events, pretty much saying that she mostly got through via luck and the villains basically being overconfident morons (mostly true in Nightmare Moon's case, doubly so in Discord's.)

In between those moments the Prince had helped the three of them settle into Crystalia; giving them food, shelter, and even some new clothes for Thorax. He also set him up with a barber who was more than willing to take Thorax into their shop and not freak out at the sight of him, as well as pointed him in the direction of some shops to get him some new clothes.

Because of that he now had a few new sets of clothes, one of which he was wearing right now; a yellow t-shirt to replace his old and faded one (which he still kept in the dresser of his room for "sentimental reasons") a new set of "trousers" as the shopkeeper called them (which made sense, as Twilight said that the term "jeans" hadn't been coined until about three or four centuries ago) and a pair of boots that weren't mostly duct tape.

Between that and his hair getting trimmed and thoroughly washed so that it didn't look near as dirty and greasy, he looked like a brand new Changeling.

But as he looked at himself in the mirror, he couldn't help but feel like he hadn't earned any of these clothes. Especially since the Prince paid for them. Something I'll have to work on in the future, I suppose, he mused.

There was a knock on the door of his quarters, and he immediately answered "Come in."

The door slid open to reveal Flash, checking something on his phone before pocketing it. He then smiled at Thorax and said "Looking good, man."

Thorax smiled back. "Thanks. Though I gotta say, I'm not really used to getting all these gifts."

"Well from what I heard, the Crystal Kingdom and its people aren't quite as..." Flash struggled to find a word, before finally settling on "xenophobic, I think the word is?"

"I mean, I get that Equestria has a bad history with the Draconia and Griffonians," Thorax admitted "but you'd think they'd realize that not every member of their species is gonna try and hurt them. Also, compared to them the Changeling tribes haven't had any major conflicts with them."

"Honestly, I couldn't give you a satisfactory answer other than the biggest majority of Equestrians have the mob mentality of sheep, and the shepherds tend to be bigoted jerks at best and xenophobic jackasses at worst."

"Yet that's not enough to make me think that every Equestrian is a total scumbag," Thorax stated, happily smiling at Flash. "I think my two new best friends are living proof of that."

Flash nodded and the two exchanged a fist bump. "Anyway, the Prince is calling for us down in the Command Diamond," Flash said, getting the conversation back on track. "Since we haven't got you a phone yet, they asked me to grab you."

"Okay," Thorax replied. "Lead the way."

The Command Diamond

Prince Diamond sighed as he looked at the monitors in front of him. "It's been a week and so far we've seen nothing," he muttered.

"The Rangers did do a number on him," Garnet replied, looking over another monitor that was displaying information on the Crystal Guardians. "Plus, it's not exactly a quick trip from here to the Gates of Tartarus."

"True. But you'd think there'd be something by now."

Twilight, who had been in the Command Diamond practicing with her sword, replied "I might have a theory on that. But I'll wait until the boys get here to explain it." At that moment the elevator opened, revealing Flash and Thorax as they stepped out. She smirked at that. "Speak of the devil."

"Hey, last I checked we're on the side of the angels," Flash replied with a grin. "Or ancient crystal guardian beasts, as it were."

"And believe me, we appreciate that," Prince Diamond said. He then looked at Twilight and asked "So, your theory about King Sombra?"

Once everyone was gathered around, Twilight began "So, as Flash and I can definitely attest to (and possibly Thorax) Princess Celestia has done her best over the centuries to keep the peace and harmony within Equestria."

"Yeah, the whole 'be nice to everyone, and the 'turn the other cheek,' and 'don't act on your anger,' all that BS," Flash grumbled. "As if we're not allowed to feel anything except for happy positive emotions. What a load."

"Well, I think she's mainly doing that so that King Sombra will have a much harder time restoring his power."

Flash looked at her in confusion, Thorax looked at her with some understanding but a little confusion, but Prince Diamond and Garnet seemed to understand what she was getting at. "Uh, mind cluing us in on what you mean," Flash asked. "And please, explain it like we're young Mages just learning about magic."

She nodded and smiled. "Well, from how Garnet and Prince Diamond explained it, the dark magic that King Sombra uses is fueled by his anger and his hatred. And he's also able to draw additional power to fuel his magic-"

"-from the fear and terror of his victims," Thorax finished. "And I'm guessing he and his goon squad are able to draw more power from negative emotions in general."

"Which explains why Princess Celestia set all of those policies and is trying to make everyone be happy even if it hurts," Flash said, picking up on what the theory might've been. "Keeping the peace means that there's little to no negative emotions. Little to no negative emotions means that whatever's in Tartarus fueling King Sombra's dark magic is gonna run outta juice. No negative emotions, no dark magic juice, no power for King Sombra."

"Which also means that he can't draw in the more powerful monsters and demons from Tartarus, or that Weaver won't be able to make them grow into giant mode." Garnet added. "And that the Ghouls won't spawn or respawn near as quickly."

Prince Diamond nodded. "Not to mention without that 'dark magic juice,'" he said putting air quotes around that with a smirk "he won't be able to restore his power near as fast or reconstruct his body."

"So, that's good right," Thorax asked. "I mean, there's a chance he might not come back? Or by the time he does we'll have the other-" He quickly counted off on his fingers the remaining Crystal Guardians that would inevitably get their own Rangers. "-four Rangers, and hopefully be trained and ready to take him on. Right?"

Twilight sighed. "Yes and no. See, while Celestia's policies to keep the peace has cut down on the negative emotions, it hasn't really stopped people from feeling them. For every person that gets the best news of their life, there's another one who gets the worst news of their life. For every couple that decides to take the next step and get married, there's an equal amount of couples (arguably moreso) that break up. Often messily."

Flash nodded. "Plus, keeping all of those negative emotions bottle up inside is not only really unhealthy, but they won't be able to keep them bottled up forever." Seeing a balloon and a sink, he said "Observe."

Taking the balloon, he held it up and said "This is a person." He then turned on the sink. "And the water is negative emotions." He slipped it over the faucet and turned it on, letting it fill with water. "Now, not being able to properly express it or release it, leads to it building up." The balloon was now filling up to bursting, but Flash left it go. "But we can only hold in so much negative emotions. With me so far?"

They all nodded, Thorax himself digesting the information. "I get what you're saying. And you're also saying that eventually the buildup of negative emotions will make them 'pop,' figuratively, right?"

"Bingo."

Walking up to the balloon, Thorax then picked up a small knife sitting on the tray next to the sink. "Well, there's another issue. Assuming they do manage to get a demon recruited and send him and a squad of Ghouls into Equestria or the Crystal Kingdom," he continued while holding up the knife to the balloon, before looking at Flash. "May I?" Seeing Flash nod, Thorax pressed the point to the swollen balloon, making it pop and splashing water and rubber fragments into the sink. "Those negative emotions turn into fear and mass panic, which will feed his power. Maybe not enough to fully restore King Sombra and his whole operation, but enough to make a monster grow or recruit more monsters. Plus, speaking from experience; fear leads to more fear. The moment the monsters show up or grow giant size, and King Sombra makes it clear this won't be a one-time thing..."

"...everyone's gonna wonder when the next attack is gonna be," Twilight finished with a sigh. "Credit where credit's due, that's pretty smart."

Prince Diamond nodded. "King Sombra wasn't just a powerful dark Mage. He was also a brilliant strategist." He looked down solemnly and added "A lot of knights and even some of the Crystal Knight Power Rangers lost their lives to his tactics."

They all took a moment to digest that, with Flash giving a small "May the fallen all rest in peace."

"That being said..."

He waved his hand over the computer table and brought up a 3D map of the Crystal Kingdom, Equestria, and the surrounding lands. He pointed to a desolate island to the east from the main landmass, one that was mostly just a large crater that was perfectly circular. "The Bottomless Hole," Garnet explained. "The gateway to Tartarus. No less than roughly five hundred feet straight down, with smooth walls all the way. No footholds, no stairs, nada. Anyone or anything that goes down there ain't ever coming back up."

"Yet Sombra somehow found a way to get him and his army out of there and into our world," Flash stated. "But we don't know how."

"Yet," Twilight replied. "When I haven't been getting the rest of the Crystal Kingdom caught up on the 1000 years of history they missed out on, I've been in the Crystal Library looking through everything I can find on King Sombra, dark magic, and everything else I can find related to those topics. I haven't found anything concrete yet beyond what we know so far, but I did find references to something called 'The Engine of Woes.'"

Thorax and Flash looked at each other and both raised an eyebrow. "Do all evil or really bad magical things need to have names that sound kind of ridiculous," Thorax asked.

"Personally I'd say it's more 'on the nose' than ridiculous, but I see your point," she said with a giggle. "But it does seem like the most likely answer we're looking for."

"As for how he managed to get them out of Tartarus, our best is that his dark magic can open portals that bypass the enchantments and spells around the entrance," Garnet guessed.

"Though that probably takes a lot of dark magic to create," Flash said. "And I'm gonna guess that the greater the distance, the more it would take. Right, Twilight?"

Twilight tapped her chin in thought. "Well I'm no expert on dark magic (and hopefully I never will be) and portal spells aren't really an area of magic I'm well versed in. I did read a bit about it in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, but most of what I remember involved portals via artifacts or specially crafted rituals. Most Mages nowadays stick with teleportation because it's a lot faster a lot easier, and a lot more versatile. Even if admittedly it's a little more dangerous."

"How so," Thorax asked.

"With portals it's basically like you're walking from point A to point B, even if they're miles upon miles apart or even across dimensions. With teleportation, you're basically breaking your body down to subatomic particles coated in magic, transporting them to point B, and putting them back together. Aside from the very real risk that you might put yourself back together inside of a wall, if you run out of magic mid-teleport all sorts of bad things can happen to you."

"I'm gonna go with possibly coming out missing a lung or something else important," Flash guessed "or that something important is not where it should be."

Twilight winced. "Those are usually the best case scenarios."

Everyone else winced as well. "I don't wanna know," Thorax said, waving his hand.

"Regardless, if the rule of magic equaling distance still applies to whatever shadowy portal magic Sombra uses, then yes, his portals will have to open up somewhere close to where the Island of Desolation is," Prince Diamond stated. "And given how he'll need fear and lots of it-"

"-he'll probably try to go for cities as his first target," Flash moving the map to the west coast of Equestria and pointing out two cities. "The nearest cities to the island are either Manehatten or Fillydelphia. And if we're going for mass panic, he'll want to go with-"

"-Manehattan," Twilight and Thorax finished, with Thorax continuing "Higher population density means fear will spread a lot faster through the masses, ergo mass panic to fuel his power."

"And Manehattan has the highest population of any city in Equestria," Twilight added. "With Las Pegasus in second and Canterlot in third."

"So if and when he makes his move..." Flash looked to Prince Diamond, who put a red dot over Manehattan. "That's where he'll strike, and that's where we'll be deployed."

Everyone seemed to be in agreement with that. "Until that happens though," Prince Diamond stated "we've got other things to worry about."

He brought up some images on the computer table; Volcanion radiating heat and fire to melt and thaw out the frozen landscape, Fenrir using her magic to draw away the blizzards and snow back to the frozen north, and Kabutomushi using his lightning and immense strength to break the dark crystal spires and then toss their pieces far away.

"Our three current Guardians are active and are working on restoring some of the damage to the rest of the Crystal Kingdom. Progress has been decent; most of the land has been thawed, the blizzards have subsided, and the dark crystal spires destruction means that King Sombra's evil won't be poisoning the land anymore. Plus when Kabutomushi's not destroying the spires, he's charging up the power crystals in and around the city so that we can get all the transportation and other facilities working again."

"Not to mention restoring power to the rest of the city," Twilight added. "Which your crews of engineers are working on fixing up so that that can happen."

"Trust me, they're earning their pay and more."

"But without the other Guardians active, the land won't be fully healed for quite a while," Garnet said. "Tusk's nature magic will get the plant life thriving again, and more importantly, our crops. Hurricana's wind magic will keep the weather in check and hopefully get the thick clouds out of here so that we can see Mister Blue Sky again. Gojira's energy will increase the magic of this land tenfold, including the magic of your Guardians and by extension you guys-"

"Which'll definitely come in handy," Flash stated.

"-and Titano's light will purge all of the remaining darkness from the land, as well as bolster our defenses."

"How long do the other Guardians have left to heal," Twilight asked.

"Good question," Prince Diamond replied. "Let's ask them."

He waved his hand over the computer table, and three separate windows popped up; one for Volcanion, one for Fenrir, and one for Kabutomushi. "How's it going, guys?"

The thawing is going nicely, Volcanion replied. Thanks for the help with that, Fenrir.

Just doing my job, Volcanion.

"And we're thankful for that. Listen, any idea how much longer it'll be until the other Guardians are fully healed and ready for duty?"

Tusk and Hurricana got a day or two tops before they're ready, Kabutomushi answered. The moment they are they'll send out their Guardian Crystals to worthy Rangers. But we got a problem.

To become a Crystal Knight Power Ranger you need both the Guardian Crystal and the Crystal Knight Sword. And unfortunately, when the other Crystal Knight Rangers... um...

"-died in the line of duty," Flash finished. "May they all rest in peace."

Amen, brother. But anyway, when they fell, their swords were blasted out far beyond the city limits, and somehow outside of the time bubble.

"Well, people with physical bodies can't pass through," Twilight explained. "But swords aren't people, so they probably bypassed the spell."

Sadly due to the protective spells we put on them, we can't just teleport them back to us, nor can we just teleport them straight to the chosen Rangers. They have to choose to pick up the swords.

Thorax sighed. "Let me guess; they're all going to be embedded in stone like ours were."

It's impossible for the three of us to say, Kabutomushi replied. We are able to tell where our respective swords are, but we can't see each others unless they're in close proximity to our own. For all we know, the sword could be embedded in a tree or something. Fortunately the protective spells make it so that only the chosen Ranger can pick up their sword, so we don't have to worry about anyone else getting their hands on it.

"Least there's some good news."

That all being said, you got more pressing matters. An airship sporting Equestrian Flags is moving into our airspace.

Twilight scoffed. "I highly doubt it's going to be Princess Celestia coming to apologize."

"She'd first have to admit she did something wrong," Prince Diamond replied. "Which given her track record so far, is highly unlikely."

"Not that you'd ever accept it," Garnet stated. "Given the year of misery that we all suffered because of her attempt to 'help' with her stupid time bubble."

"Still, I shouldn't keep them waiting." Grabbing a communicator crystal from the table to his right, he said "Air Captain Stormwind, I've just been informed of an Equestrian airship entering our airspace."

A woman's voice replied Affirmative, your Highness. Do you want us to turn them away or-

"No, that won't be necessary. Are any of the air docks intact?"

"Dock 16 is still in working order."

"Good. Escort them there. I will meet you there shortly."

"Yes sir."

"And Captain?"

"Yes?"

"I highly doubt it's Princess Celestia on that ship. It's more than likely an ambassador. So please, be courteous."

"No need to worry, your Highness. We'll be completely professional."

"Excellent. I will be there soon." Looking at the three Rangers, he asked "Remember your cover stories?" They all nodded and he said "Well then, shall we?"

Garnet clicked a few buttons on the console, and they all teleported away in a flash of light.

Tartarus

It took roughly a few hours for Weaver to gather up the Ghouls that had formed and emerged from the Dark Pit, a whopping sixty five of them, and got them assembled in the Engine Room.

Along with that, Insidiroar entered the chamber with the demon he had spoke of: Skull Knight. He stood at roughly 7 feet tall, and was wearing armor seemingly made out of bones, with a helmet in the shape of a demonic skull. Peeking through the eye sockets were not eyes but dark red flames, and strapped to his side was a large sword with a bone serving as the hilt.

Seeing the shadowy form of King Sombra, he knelt on one knee and said "My liege, it is good to see you have returned."

And it is good to see you have not abandoned your oath, Skull Knight.

"My sword is yours, as always," Skull Knight replied.

Good. Then once we get you and Insidiroar transported, use that sword of yours to strike fear into the hearts of the Equestrians. And to destroy those meddlesome Power Rangers before they become an even bigger threat. On that note...

He looked over to where Weaver was, picking through the Ghouls and sending a few of them into a clear glass chamber. By the time he was done there were only twenty five Ghouls left to send with Skull Knight and Insidiroar for their attack.

Looking over to the other three, he said "Just sorting through the less than perfect ones. Should have enough here to sacrifice to get you to Manehattan."

Then let's not waste any time, Weaver. Crack the eggs and let's make an omelet.

Weaver did so, raising his magic staff and sending tendrils of black and white magic into the machinery around the chamber, causing it to glow with pale white light.

The effect was immediate, as the Ghouls began to writhe and scream before exploding into black smoke, that smoke then being sucked through tubes at the top of the machine and being fed directly into the Engine of Woes.

Once the chamber was emptied, the crystal in the center of the Engine began to fill with the black smoke, causing sparks of purple lightning to travel from it and into the machinery surrounding it. Gears began to turn, lights began to flash, and pistons began to move up and down.

Weaver smiled, before moving his staff and firing a beam of his magic into a crystal archway. The magic formed a shimmering field, before forming a picture of Times Square in Manehattan.

King Sombra couldn't help but smile as Skull Knight, Insidiroar, and 25 Ghouls began marching towards it. Let the games begin.

The Crystal Kingdom: Air Dock 16

Prince Diamond looked at the airship as it finished docking to the... well, dock. The crew members onboard started tossing out ropes to tie the ship to the posts, and once that was finished a gangplank was lowered. Four members of the Royal Guard descended, clad in silver armor and holding pikes. Once they reached the bottom they split; two standing on the left of the gangplank, two on the right.

"I remember their armor and weapons looking a lot better a thousand years ago," Prince Diamond muttered.

Flash nodded. "Yeah, trust me; it's even worse than you think. Those are ordinary pikes instead of the magic blasting pikes they used to use. Not to mention they've cut their pay, to the point that an entry level employee at a Burger Kingdom makes more in a week than a Royal Guardsmen makes in a month." Seeing the raised eyebrows of Thorax and Twilight, he explained "I worked there during the summer when I was in High School. Trying to help Mom after Dad died."

They both nodded in understanding at that.

And then down the gangplank walked a woman in her late 20s, with long tricolored hair of yellow, pink and purple. Her eyes were a light pink-purple, and she wore a pink dress with purple leggings and matching shoes.

Twilight recognized her in an instant. "Cadance?"

"You recognize her," Thorax asked.

"Yeah, she's my old babysitter."

Flash recognized her as well. "You're telling me your babysitter was Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?"

"Being Princess Celestia's personal student had some perks," she replied with a smirk. Looking at Prince Diamond she said "She's one of the nicest people you can ever meet, so I don't think this'll end badly."

Prince Diamond nodded, though he looked at her in confusion. "You said she's a Princess?"

"Technically she's a Princess Adjacent. She's an Ascendant Avian and the adopted niece of Princess Celestia. I totally forget she was also one of our Ambassadors."

As she got closer they could see that she did indeed have Mage markings along her exposed arms, neck, and forehead; though they were noticeably smaller than Twilight's own.

Once she was close enough, she smiled, bowed and said "Hello. I'm Princess Mi Amore Cadenza from Equestria. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Prince Diamond looked at her for a moment, before chuckling and holding out his hand. "A handshake works just fine, Miss Cadenza. Or is it Missus?"

She giggled before shaking his hand and replying "No. I'm not wearing a ring on my finger just yet."

"A fact that still shocks me to this day."

Her eyes widened and she turned to see Twilight smiling and waving. Her eyes lit up and she happily exclaimed "TWILY!"

Before anyone else could say anything she lunged forward and wrapped Twilight in a rib-cracking bear hug. Twilight smiled through the pain. "Yeah, good to see you too, Cadance. Please don't break my ribs."

"Oh, sorry!" She immediately released her hold. "Sorry, I keep forgetting about the fact that I have partial Terran strength now. I'm just so happy to see you! It's been years!"

Twilight winced. "Yeaaah... sorry. I know I said I would keep in contact but I was just so busy and-"

She stopped when Cadance laughed. "It's okay, Twilight. I know you're busy trying to learn everything you can about magic. But as much as I want to catch up, and meet your new friends," she said looking at Flash and Thorax "I'm on the job."

Twilight nodded. "I get it. We'll catch up later." She then smirked and held out her fist. "Secret handshake?"

Cadance smirked, before they bumped their fists "Up, down, left, right, center," before high-fiving which transitioned into a handshake "Sister-shake!"

Flash and Thorax had to put their hands over their mouths to stop from laughing, though they quickly stood up straight and acted like everything was normal when she shot them a look.

Prince Diamond nodded and said "Well if you'll follow me, Miss Cadenza. I've already notified the kitchens, the tea should be ready by the time we get to the meeting room."

She looked at him confused, before she asked "Um, I'm sorry. Who are you? I don't think I caught your name."

"Maximus Diamond, Prince of the Crystal Kingdom."

Her eyes widened at that. "Oh. I'm sorry, I was told that you were killed by King Sombra when he took over and made this place the Crystal Empire."

Everyone except Cadance looked confused at that. "Um, who told you-" Flash asked, only to stop when he understood. "Princess Celestia told you that, didn't she?"

"Uh, yes..."

He shook her hand and said "Flash Sentry. Nice to meet you, your Highness."

She smiled. "Thank you. Nice to meet you too." She looked at Thorax and asked "And you are?"

"Thorax," he replied, shaking her hand. "Changeling. No last name. A pleasure."

"Same."

Prince Diamond cleared his throat. "Alright, now that introductions are out of the way, if you'll follow me I can hopefully give you the real story of what happened all those years ago."

She nodded. "Okay." She looked at the Royal Guards and said "Can I trust you all not to embarrass me or Equestria?"

The four all stood at attention, and the lieutenant (evident by the gold right shoulder pad) nodded and replied "Yes, your Highness. We're professionals. I assure you that- PRIVATE ZERO!" He marched over to one of the Guards and yanked a Neightendo Switch[2] out of his hands. "YOU! ARE! ON! DUTY!"

As he angrily dressed him down, Cadance groaned. "Yeah, real professional." Looking at Prince Diamond she facepalmed and muttered "This is what happens when you lower the standards so much that people think they're a joke."

"Trust me, I've heard," he replied, before motioning to the door. "Shall we?"

Once they walked off into the castle, Thorax said "Her aura is really nice."

Flash and Twilight looked at him and asked "Aura?"

"It's a thing Changelings can do. We can see the auras of others and feel them as well as emotions. Hers is a nice sky blue, and it feels nice and warm. And I've never felt anyone else so full of love."

"That's how she got her title: The Princess of Love," Twilight stated. "Though I'm honestly surprised that-"

Beep-Beep-Be-Be-Beep-Beep![3]

Hearing the comms go off on their morphers, the three looked at each other and nodded before moving out of sight of the Royal Guards. "Garnet, what's up," Flash asked.

"I need you back at the Command Diamond," she replied. "ASAP! This is not a drill!"

"On our way." He then looked at Twilight and Thorax and said "Time to teleport."

Thorax raised his hand. "Um, actually can we just take the stairs?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Thorax, this is faster."

"I know. But I'm still not used to teleporting. It makes me feel queasy."

Putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder, Flash said "I'm sure you'll get used to it, buddy. But this is probably an emergency, so-"

Sighing, Thorax replied "Fine."

The three of them each pressed a button on their morpher, and teleported away in a flash of light in their respective colors; Flash in red, Twilight in blue, Thorax in Yellow.

The Command Diamond

The moment they arrived, Flash and Twilight both grabbed a hold of Thorax to steady him as he lurched forward, looking a bit green in the face. "Ugh. I hope I get used to that real -urk!- soon."

Twilight immediately grabbed a bucket with her magic (which she noticed a few days ago had turned from her usual purple into an icy blue, which Fenrir said was because of their bond) and brought it over to them, putting it in front of Thorax. "Just in case you... you know."

"Thanks."

Garnet handed him a glass vial of a lime green liquid. "Here, this should help you out with that."

Thorax took it and drank it, grimacing as the flavor hit his tongue. "Ugh. It tastes like liquified brussels sprouts."

"I don't envy you, dude," Flash said. "I hate brussels sprouts."

"Ditto," Twilight added.

"Sorry I can't do much about the taste," Garnet replied. "But it will help get rid of the nausea you're feeling. And I'm working on the teleportation nexus so that it won't cause you anymore internal problems. Same goes for any future Rangers or members of our little motley crew who aren't Equestrian or Crystallix." She sighed. "But right now, we've got bigger problems."

"The King's finally making his move," Flash assumed.

"See for yourselves."

They rushed to the computer table as Garnet pulled up several newsfeeds, showing live footage of Times Square in Manehattan...

...with several Ghouls, Insidiroar, and a monster made of bones attacking people. While the news reporters said there were no deaths yet, several people had been injured.

And they could all see the civilians running away in fear and trampling over each other in a panic.

"Just like we thought," Twilight stated. "Mass panic."

"Putting it on live TV probably isn't helping," Thorax added. "All of Equestria may not mass panic, but they'll be scared."

"Then let's fight this fear with some hope," Flash said resolutely, looking at the others and sharing a nod. "Garnet, the nexus ready?"

"Coordinates are locked. You guys are ready to go."

"Okay then. We'll have to morph in here before we teleport. You guys ready?"

Twilight and Thorax both replied "Ready!"

"It's Morphin Time!"

In unison they yelled out "Crystal Knight! CRYSTALLIZE!"

Once they were morphed they teleported away, leaving Garnet alone in the Command Diamond. "Good luck, Rangers."

Crystal Kingdom: Meeting Room

Prince Diamond took a sip from his cup of tea. "So, what all did Princess Celestia tell you about what happened 1000 years ago?"

Cadance thanked the member of the castle staff who set a cup of tea on the table in front of her, before replying "Well, aside from the aforementioned 'You were killed and King Sombra took over and turned the Crystal Kingdom into the Crystal Empire?' She said that King Sombra was the one who sealed the Crystal Empire away for 1000 years."

"That's a lie."

"She also said that the whole thing happened so quickly that she and her sister couldn't even get over in time to stop it."

"Another lie."

"That the Crystal Kingdom didn't have much beyond their own royal guard, and since it was so fast that none of them were injured."

Prince Diamond's hand tightened around his tea cup. "That's an insulting and downright disrespectful lie."

Noticing this, Cadance winced. "Yeah, I figured as much. I overheard some of your staff talking about plans to set up a memorial for those that fell during the war. My deepest apologies, by the way."

"I appreciate that," he replied sincerely. "And you don't have to worry, I'm not angry with you. And I highly doubt any of my staff or the guards that serve me are angry with you either. Our anger is more towards Celestia than anything."

"I get the feeling that I'm gonna learn why in a moment," she grumbled. "Oh, and this last one is probably going to be the straw that breaks the camel's back for you. So if that teacup is expensive, you might wanna put it down."

Understanding what she mean, he quickly drank the rest of his tea in one gulp and set the cup down. "Didn't want to let it get cold. So," he folded his hands. "hit me. What lie or half-truth could she have told you that would possibly 'break the camel's back?'"

She sighed, before saying "She said that I'm descended from the royal family, and that since you and the rest of the royal family were 'dead' that I am the rightful heir to the throne."

A long and pregnant pause permeated the air for several moments, before Prince Diamond got up from his seat. He appeared calm and collected, but when he spoke it was in an incredibly strained voice "Could you please... excuse me for a moment? I need to-"

Cadance nodded and replied "Take all the time you need."

He nodded before walking through a door into another room, still walking and seeming calm and collected.

But the moment the door clicked! shut, she heard a roar of unbridled rage mixed with anguish and a bit of sadness (along with a laundry list of curses aimed at Celestia that she would never, ever repeat) and the sound of some things breaking and shattering.

Eventually, he walked back in, his silver hair a bit unkempt and a few small cuts on his knuckles. "Sorry about that," he said, taking a towel from one of the castle staff and wipe the blood off of his knuckles.

"Believe me, I'm not that happy with her at the moment either," she admitted.

Sitting back down, he smiled and said "Allow me to set the record straight..."

Manehattan: Equestria

Insidiroar couldn't help but laugh as he observed the destruction around him, feeling the fear coming off of the screaming mortals as they ran for their lives. "Ah, I missed this so much," he exclaimed happily. "The spectacle of chaos, the symphony of terrified screaming..."

Skull Knight laughed as well. "Absolutely. Especially since their terror shall help feed the machine that shall bring our Lord and master back to his full power."

A few members of the Manehattan Police Department tried to step in, pulling out stun blasters and firing several blue lasers. While they did seem to slow down the Ghouls a little, the blasts had little to no effect on Insidiroar and Skull Knight. "Ooo, that tickles," Skull Knight chuckled, before raising his free hand as it glowed with dark red flames. "If this is truly the best that Equestria can offer, then this conquest shall be a breeze." Throwing his hand forward he yelled "SKULL FIRE" and hurled a skull made of dark red flames at the hapless officers-

-that never reached its target as it met a wall of blue ice that suddenly appeared in front of them, turning into steam while keeping the officers safe.

And as the steam dissipated, the Crystal Knight Power Rangers stood there, swords at the ready. "Your little joyride ends here," Flash said, pointing his sword at the two monsters.

Insidiroar growled. "The Crystal Knight Power Rangers. Why am I not surprised?"

Twilight looked at the officers standing behind her. "We'll handle these guys. You need to get the civilians to safety."

"We'll keep them busy while you do that," Thorax added.

The officers looked at each other a bit confused, but eventually they nodded. "Alright, we'll trust you with this," the lead officer replied. "Good luck."

As they ran off, Skull Knight drew his sword and looked at Insidiroar. "Are there any of them you want to take care of personally?"

Insidiroar nodded, before pointing his sword at Flash. "I'll take the red one. See if he's a better fighter than the last one."

Flash growled under his breath, his grip tightening on his sword. He wasn't alone, as Twilight and Thorax also found their blood boiling from that insult towards their predecessor.

All three of them pretty much had the same thought: I'm gonna enjoy wiping those smug looks off of their faces.

Skull Knight replied "Alright then." Drawing his sword, he yelled "GHOULS! We'll take the blue and yellow rangers! Leave the red one for Insidiroar!"

Flash looked at his fellow rangers and said "Let's show these guys who we are. Crystal Knights..."

In unison they yelled out "RISE UP!" before charging at the monsters and ghouls.

And with that, the fight was on!

Crystal Kingdom: Meeting Room

"...and the rest, as they say, is history," Prince Diamond finished, having spent the last couple of minutes giving Cadance the a cliff notes version of the true history of the Crystal Kingdom and the conflict with King Sombra. For some of it he showed her images of it via an Echo Crystal, a specialized Crystal that allowed him to record and then replay his memories for other people to see. He made sure not to reveal anything about the Rangers' identities, only saying that they were chosen by the Crystal Guardians and that for security reasons their civilian identities were kept a secret.

Cadance had spent those minutes listening intently, only asking the occasional question when she didn't understand something, but otherwise she just sat there and absorbed everything.

Once the history lesson was over, she finally said "Well, I'm definitely going to have a serious talk with Celestia when I get back home."

"I wouldn't blame you," he replied. "Being lied to is bad enough, but going so far as to attempt to try to use you as what is essentially a political pawn? That's just unforgivable."

"Not to mention lying about my family history," she added with a sigh.

Yeah, that part had been a bit harder to hear for her.

As it turns out, the Cadenza family had not been even tangentially related to the Royal Family of the Crystal Kingdom. They were more a family of minor nobility...

...until one of her ancestors had tried to get her family to use their magic of love to try and "charm"[4] their way into the Royal Family in an attempt to put one of their future family members on the throne. For that, they had their names stricken out of the Noble Houses and were all but banished from the Crystal Kingdom.

"I don't know what's more insulting," Prince Diamond grumbled. "Her attempt to use you to take control of the Crystal Kingdom, or her thinking that the other houses of nobility would just let it happen. As it is, should I have perished we have contingences in place for that."

"I'm sure," she replied with a small smile. Her face then fell a bit as she asked "But you're sure King Sombra is going to attack Equestria?"

Prince Diamond nodded. "King Sombra will not be satisfied until he brings his terrible dream of an empire that spans all of Arcania to fruition. And honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if-"

Beep-Beep!

Pulling out a clear cube crystal, he asked "Yes, Garnet?"

A hologram appeared above the crystal that showed Garnet, where she smiled and said "The Rangers are in Manehattan fighting King Sombra's forces. I figured you and Miss Cadenza would like to watch it."

Prince Diamond looked at Cadance, who nodded. "Sure. Project it to us, please."

The crystal cube lit up before projecting a large hologram, showing the events occurring in Manehattan.

Almost immediately they saw the three Power Rangers jumping into the fray with swords drawn.

And they were doing a pretty good job of it too, to Cadance's amazement and a bit of delight.

Seeing how she seemed to be enjoying it, he asked "Should I call for some snacks?"

"Please," she replied, not taking her eyes off the projection.

Manehattan

Flash jumped back to avoid a slash from Insidiroar, who laughed and mockingly asked "Is dodging all you can do, Red?"

Smirking underneath his helmet, Flash threw his hand out and yelled "I cast FIREBALL!"

A fireball the size of a bowling ball appeared in the palm of his hand before shooting out towards the monster general.

But instead of dodging or deflecting it with his sword, Insidiroar simply stood there...

...and to Flash's shock, tanked the hit like it was nothing. It didn't even look like it singed his fur. "Uh oh."

Insidiroar laughed before striding forward, raising his sword as black energy ran along the edge. "Insolent child. I am the right hand general of our glorious leader, King Sombra. Compared to my power, your fire may as well be a candle. Allow me to demonstrate. SHADOW CLAW!!!"

He brought his sword down with great force, absolutely cloaked in black energy, which formed into a giant lion claw and blasted out towards Flash.

Not having enough time to dodge, the attack hit him full force and sent him flying away into the wall of a nearby building, his sword falling out of his grasp and impaling itself into the concrete.

Peeling himself off of the wall, Flash groaned. "Okay, that was definitely a lot stronger than I would've guessed."

To be fair, he IS King Sombra's top general. You should never underestimate your opponent, Flash. Volcanion chided.

He could definitely admit the draconic Guardian of Fire was right, and that he had definitely screwed up. "Yeah, got it."

Looking around, he saw his sword set in the concrete and Insidiroar standing between him and it. "Good luck fighting me without your sword," the cat demon said with a grin.

Flash smirked. "Good thing it's not my only sword. Dragonfire Saber!"

With the draconic broadsword in his hands, he got into his stance. "Alright, kitty. Let's go!"

Insidiroar laughed, before readying his sword. "Very well!"

While that was going on, Twilight and Thorax were dealing with the Ghouls as Skull Knight looked on and took note of their moves, attacks, and fighting styles.

Twilight blocked some sword strikes from the Ghouls before unleashing a wave of ice crystals from her sword that destroyed several of them. "That's twelve for me. How you doing, Thorax?"

"BEETLE BOLT!"

The large electric beetle blast wiped out a large chunk of the rest of them. "Twelve for me too," Thorax said, holding the Spark-Beetle Blaster with one hand. "We're dead even."

They both turned to see the last remaining Ghoul, who seemed frozen in terror. Twilight looked at Thorax and asked "Together?"

Putting the Spark-Beetle Blaster away and pulling out his Crystal Knight Sword. "Together."

The two charged forward and struck, their blades slicing through the last Ghoul in an X that caused it to dissipate into black smoke. "Still a tie," Twilight said. "But I'm cool with that."

"Hey, team effort," Thorax replied, before the both of them looked over at Skull Knight. "So, you gonna fight us or just stand there?"

Skull Knight laughed as he drew his sword. "Very well, Rangers. Since you took care of the foot soldiers so easily, allow me to give you a real challenge."

Deciding not to give him a chance to give them a challenge, Twilight teleported behind him and struck Skull Knight with her sword-

-only for him to summon a shield of bones and block it, sparks flying at the point of impact. "Nice try, Blue," he mocked. "But you're a few centuries too early." Before she could react he put his palm against her stomach and blasted her away with a blast of fire, sending her crashing through a few picnic tables.

Helping her up, Thorax asked "You okay?"

Twilight shook the stars out of her head, she nodded. "Yeah. But this guy's definitely stronger than the Ghouls."

Thorax nodded, summoning the Spark-Beetle Blaster. "Then we should probably bring out the big guns."

Conceding his point, Twilight put away her sword and summoning her Ragnarok Fangs. "Give me an opening?"

Thorax replied "Got it" before firing off several lightning shots at the Skull Knight. The shots were immediately blocked by the bone shield and did nothing, but they distracted Skull Knight long enough for Twilight to teleport behind him and attempted to strike him with her Fangs...

...only for Skull Knight to spin around, dodging more of the lightning shots while bringing his sword around and slashing Twilight across the chest, sparks flying off her suit where the sword struck. Skull Knight then backhanded her away, sending her crashing right into Thorax and knocking him to the ground. "Okay, that didn't work out too well," Thorax grumbled, helping Twilight up to her feet.

Twilight nodded. "Yeah." Activating the communicator function in her morpher, she said "Flash, we need some help with this guy."

"Little busy at the moment," Flash replied as he clashed the Dragonfire Saber against Insidiroar's own sword, red flames clashing against black shadows.

Insidiroar laughed before getting in his face. "You're strong, Red Ranger, but surely you realize you and your friends are doomed. Just like your foolish predecessors-"

"Will you just SHUT UP," Flash roared as his flames burned even brighter, burning the monster's eyes and forcing Insidiroar to look away.

This break in his concentration was enough for Flash to break the blade lock, before capitalizing on the opening and delivering a powerful slash from his flame coated sword, forcing Insidiroar back some. He quickly grabbed and pulled his Crystal Knight sword out of the ground, the fire now coating it as well, before spinning around and striking the gigantic cat demon with a powerful fiery X-shaped slash that sent him flying through the wall of a nearby condemned building.

Once he didn't get back up, Flash took off running towards the other battle. "I'm on my way guys. Hang in there!"

As he ran off, Insidiroar stirred before rising up again, a black X now burnt into his golden armor. He chuckled a bit before picking up his sword. "Fantastic. Perhaps THIS red ranger may give me a decent challenge."

Sadly you'll have to wait to see if he'll live up to your expectations.

Surprised, Insidiroar turned around to see a shadowy black portal appear behind him, showing their lair in Tartarus. While he didn't see King Sombra himself, he heard his voice. A bit confused, he asked "Master, are you sure? I can-"

You are nowhere near at your full strength yet, old friend, King Sombra replied. As much as I want those annoying Rangers removed from the game, I don't want you to get seriously injured or destroyed. Need I remind you how long it will take a powerful monster like you to reform in the Dark Pit?

He nodded, seeing the logic in his words. "Very well, Master. Have we at least gathered a substantial amount of fear for the Engine?"

There was a dark laugh from the other end of the portal, before he replied Come and see for yourself.

Insidiroar nodded before walking through the portal, it closing behind him in a flash of black light.

Skull Knight growled before throwing his hand forward and sending an attack of purple fire in the shape of a skull. "SKULL FLAME!"

Twilight threw up an ice barrier, but the attack was far stronger and melted it in seconds.

Unfortunately, this also gave the monster an opening, who threw a few smaller purple flames in the shape of bones. "BONE FLAME BARRAGE!"

Twilight and Thorax both did their best to deflect the bones with her Ragnarok Fangs and the Spark-Beetle Blaster, but eventually broke through their defenses and struck them. It wasn't as bad as it would've been, but it still pushed them back a bit and knocked the wind out of them.

Skull Knight laughed. "Looks like you Rangers are on your last legs. Now to-"

"DRAGONFIRE SLASH!"

The dragon-shaped wave of flames slammed into the monster, sending it flying away and crashing into a trash can.

Flash then ran to his friends. "Sorry I'm late."

"Honestly, you're just in time," Thorax replied, catching his breath.

Twilight nodded. "Yeah, this guy's a real pain in the behind. Especially with that shield."

Flash nodded, putting his Crystal Knight Sword away and readying his Dragonfire Saber. "Well, I've got an idea. Get ready to make a move when you see the opening."

"What's the opening," Thorax asked.

"Trust me," Flash said, readying his saber and coating it in red flames. "You'll know it when you see it."

Skull Knight got back to his feet and growled, summoning his bone shield and raising his bone sword. "That was a lucky shot."

"Luck had nothing to do with it, bonehead," Flash replied, raising his flaming sword up high. "But this next move, you can thank Insidiroar for showing me. DRAGON CLAW!!!"

Like with Insidiroar's Shadow Claw attack, the burning red flames formed into a claw, this one being similar to a dragon's. Skull Knight brought up his bone shield to defend himself...

...but the powerful fire attack reduced the shield to ashes, along with his entire left arm up to the shoulder.

Realizing this was their opening, Twilight teleported forward with the Ragnarok Fangs and got in close to attack, yelling "ICE WOLF LUNGE!!!" and plunging her daggers into his right arm and shoulder, freezing them solid. She then teleported back next to Thorax. "All yours, pal!"

"Got it," Thorax replied, already having his Spark-Beetle Blaster charged and ready, aiming it right at the frozen parts of the monster. BEETLE BOLT!

The lightning beetle smashed into the frozen parts of skull knight, shattering his right arm and leaving him completely dis-armed.[5]

Skull Knight roared in pain as that happened, about to swear his vengeance on the Rangers-

-until he saw the three Rangers with their Crystal Knight Swords, raised and glowing with their respective elements. "Um... mercy?"

The three Rangers shared a look, before Flash replied "Yeah... no. CRYSTAL KNIGHTS!"

"TRIPLE FINISH!"

All three of them brought their swords down, unleashing the attack and striking Skull Knight with the combined waves of fire, ice and lightning magic.

And with all of Equestria watching, the three Power Rangers struck a pose as Skull Knight fell forward, exploding once he hit the ground.

Tartarus

King Sombra, Insidiroar and Weaver looked at the Engine of Woes, with the three of them smiling (not that they could see it given King Sombra's lack of facial features.)

The reason for their joy was evident as they looked at the gigantic main crystal in the middle of the Engine of Woes was now filled with what seemed to be shadows, with black/purple lightning flashing within it. All of them could feel the evil energy emanating from the dark magic, as intoxicating as the sweetest Ponitalian wines.

Though as King Sombra noted by how wispy the smoke looked and the small amounts of lightning... It's only a small amount. Nowhere near enough to reform my body, restore us all to our previous strength, or to draw out the more powerful demons from the depths.

"That is true, Master," Insidiroar stated. "But perhaps Skull Knight can still fetch us more."

Weaver nodded, readying his magic staff. "Give me the order, my Lord."

King Sombra nodded, his voice radiating malicious glee. Do it, Weaver. Make my monster GROW![6]

Once the order was given Weaver raised his magic staff at the Engine of Woes' main crystal, his eight red eyes changing to black and purple. From there, he drew in some of the dark magic and compressed it into a black crystal that crackled with purple lightning. Once it was formed, Weaver spoke in a dark, evil language. "Fallen demon, by order of the king and the power of the Engine of Woes, I command you... ARISE!!!!"

With that, a small black portal opened above him and he fired the crystal through it...

Manehattan

...which shot down and struck the remains of Skull Knight (in this case being a piece of his bone armor.) The crystal then glowed and began expanding and growing, forming a giant statue of the fallen demon, before the crystals shattered and revealed a now giant Skull Knight. "I LIVE," he roared. "THANK YOU, MY LORD, FOR GIVING ME THIS SECOND CHANCE TO CRUSH THESE RANGERS!"

"Fat chance of that happening," Flash said, before looking to Twilight and Thorax. "You guys ready?"

"Oh yeah," Twilight replied.

Thorax nodded. "Always."

"Volcanion, ERUPT!"

"Fenrir, FREEZE!"

"Kabutomushi, STRIKE!"

As the Crystal Guardian Zords were teleported in, Skull Knight growled before firing off a Skull Flame at them. But Volcanion quickly batted it away with his right wing, sending it flying away outside of the city. Nice try, bonehead. But you should know better than to play with fire, lest you get BURNED!

To emphasize his point, he unleashed a powerful stream of red flames that pushed Skull Knight back, eliciting cries of pain.

Fenrir and Kabutomushi followed up on this, Kabutomushi blasting and shocking Skull Knight with lightning before Fenrir froze him in place with a stream of ice.

Though they noticed that Skull Knight was quickly started to break free.

"He's definitely stronger than the Reaper-Ghoul," Twilight noted. "Not by much, but still."

"Not to mention this guy's bigger size means his fire attacks could set whole buildings ablaze," Thorax added.

"Then let's not waste any time," Flash stated. "Crystal Guardians, form the Crystal Knight Megazord!"

Within seconds the three Crystal Guardians combined to form the giant mecha. CrystalKnightMegazord, READY!

The Rangers teleported in and plugged their swords into their consoles before taking combat stances, the Megazord following suit as Skull Knight finally broke free of the ice.

Seeing the giant robot, Skull Knight growled before summoning a giant bone sword. "YOU THINK THAT GIANT TIN CAN CAN DESTROY ME? I WILL DESTROY YOU ALL!"

"Like I said before," Flash replied. "Fat chance. Let's get him!"

The Megazord and Skull Knight both charged each other, their Dragon Sword clashing against his bone sword multiple times with sparks flying off during each impact. When Skull Knight went for an overhead strike, the Megazord blocked it with the Thunder Beetle Shield, before pushing it away and striking Skull Knight multiple times in the chest with the Dragon Sword.

"Thorax, wanna try a new attack," Flash asked.

"You know it," Thorax replied. "THUNDER BEETLE SMASH!"

The Thunder Beetle Shield coated itself in lightning before the Megazord threw a powerful left jab, ducking around Skull Knight's sword and slamming the electrified shield right into his face and delivering its electric payload, sending him skidding back.

"My turn," Twilight stated. "ICE WOLF HOWLER!"

The Megazord turned and aimed its right shoulder (AKA Fenrir's head) at Skull Knight, which opened up and unleashed a powerful stream of ice while making a sound similar to a wolf's howl. Skull Knight wasn't able to dodge, still dealing with the paralyzing electric attack, so he soon found himself coated in ice up to his neck and unable to move.

"Alright, let's finish this," Flash said. "Crystal Knight Ultra Sword!"

As he summoned the large broadsword, outside Skull Knight groaned. "I'D CLOSE MY EYES, BUT I DON'T HAVE ANY EYELIDS!"

The Rangers brought their swords up and then brought them down, yelling "Crystal Knight Megazord: TRIPLE SLASH!"

Unable to dodge, Skull Knight could do nothing but get annihilated by the slashes of fire, ice and lightning.

Once the attack was finished, Skull Knight slowly fell backwards and weakly said "THIS KNIGHT... HAS FALLEN..." before hitting the ground and exploding.

"Monster Vanquished," the Rangers cheered, raising their swords up in victory, the Megazord mimicking them.

Unbeknownst to the three heroes, the people of Manehattan (and most of Equestria via the news reporters) were watching, a bit of fear still present but mostly covered by awe and a bit of hope.

The Crystal Kingdom: Meeting Room

"Whoo! GO GO POWER RANGERS!"

Prince Diamond couldn't help but smile at seeing Cadance jumping and cheering. Looks like they've got their first fan.

Tartarus

"It seems that Skull Knight has failed," Insidiroar stated, kneeling before King Sombra's smoky form.

I figured this would happen. Seeing the surprised look on their faces, King Sombra continued Skull Knight may have been loyal and had his skills, but he lacked the sheer power necessary to crush the Rangers. Not to mention he underestimated them, which is the one thing we should never do. We may compare the Rangers and their allies to ants, but even a group of ants can take down a mighty lion.

"That is true," both Insidiroar and Weaver admitted.

Besides, we got what we were after. He floated towards the main crystal of the Engine of Woes, which now had slightly more smoke and lightning. While it still isn't enough to do everything we want it to, it's still enough to get us started. More Demons will be drawn out of the depths, and each attack will strike more fear into the hearts of the people...

"...and add more fuel for the fire," Insidiroar finished, laughing.

Exactly. If the Rangers destroy the Demons we send out, all the fear they gather gets transferred to the Machine upon their destruction. And if the Demons happen to kill one or more of the Rangers, then we have less headaches to deal with. Either way you look at it, we advance our goals. And in the end...

He looked at his reflection in the crystal, for the briefest of moments seeing the face of his restored form.

Victory. Shall Be. MINE!

The Crystal Kingdom

A few hours later (after the three Rangers teleported back to the Command Diamond and got showers) the group had rejoined Cadance and Prince Diamond once their meeting was officially over. They spent that time talking, with Twilight giving her cover story and explaining what she'd been doing since she got in Crystalia. Flash and Thorax chimed in from time to time, even giving the cover story of how all three helped defend Prince Diamond before the three Rangers arrived.

~~Though while the others didn't notice her seeing it, Cadance did notice that when Twilight used her magic to lift up a book, her Mage markings and aura were the same icy blue of the Crystal Knight Blue Ranger. She didn't say anything about it though, and nobody noticed the small smile she had.~~

"Well, it's good to see the Crystal Kingdom is in good hands," Cadance said, watching the airship sailors getting the ship ready to depart. Turning to the four of them, she continued "I appreciate you meeting with me. And I'm so sorry about what my auntie did one thousand years ago. Hopefully the medicine and supplies I'll be sending to you through the Healing Hearts Foundation will be able to help you."

Yeah, that was one of the things she and Prince Diamond discussed earlier. 1000 years had passed on the outside of the Crystal Kingdom's borders, which meant a lot of advances in medicine. Including vaccines and treatments that didn't exist back then, which made sense since some of the diseases they treated didn't exist 1000 years ago.

Along with that, while Tusk would awaken soon enough and could help their crops grow, it would take some time to get their food stores up to stuff. Especially since Crystalia wasn't the only city in the Crystal Kingdom.

As such the Healing Hearts Foundation, the nonprofit organization that Cadance ran, was going to finance and send aid to the Crystal Kingdom. Food, medical supplies and knowledge of how to use the treatments; all to try and help mend the damage done by Celestia's foolish actions (even if she did end up being right about it weakening Sombra.)

And because it was the right thing to do, but that went without saying.

Prince Diamond nodded with a smile. "I appreciate you wanting to help, Ms. Cadence."

"Please, call me Cadance," she cut him off, holding out her hand. "I'm pretty sure at this point we're friends."

He laughed a little before shaking her hand. "Yes, I suppose we are. Best of luck talking to your Auntie."

Cadance growled "Oh trust me, she and I are going to have a LONG discussion."

Flash whistled. "I'd sure hate to be Princess Celestia right now."

"I can literally feel the rage radiating off of her," Thorax added.

Twilight rolled her eyes before giving Cadance a hug. Cadance broke the hug, smiled and said "See you around, Twily."

"See you, sis," Twilight replied. "If you get a free day and you wanna just hang out, let me know."

Cadance giggled. "Of course." Seeing the ship was ready for departure, she smiled at them all and said "Well, be seeing you. Oh, and if you happen to meet the Power Rangers, let them know that they've got a fan."

She gave a smile and a wink at that, before walking up the gang plank onto the ship.

Once the ship was gone, Flash asked "Um, did that wink mean that she knows we're the Power Rangers?"

Twilight thought about it for a minute, before shrugging. "I don't think there's anything wrong with that. She's clearly not Celestia's biggest fan right now, and even if she was I know for a fact that she's no snitch."

"Probably helps that you two see each other as sisters," Thorax replied.

"True."

Prince Diamond chuckled and said "Either way, we have a friend and a possible ally. And as for what our three Rangers have accomplished today? Excellent work, you three."

They all gave their "Thank you"s, before Twilight asked "So, given how much fear King Sombra probably managed to get from the people of Manehattan, is he going to be sending stronger demons at us?"

"Sadly. But I don't think he'll be bringing out his heaviest hitters right off the bat. He'll need more dark magic to do that."

That was somewhat reassuring to the three of them, though they still felt a bit uneasy.

Sensing this, Prince Diamond said "Why don't you three go get some rest? After today I'd say you've all earned it."

The three of them shared a look, seemingly realizing just how spent they were. So they agreed, though before they left Flash said "If you do need us for anything, give us a call." He held up his camouflaged morpher and added "Ready and willing, 24/7" which the other Rangers nodded in agreement.

"And nobody appreciates that more than me," Prince Diamond replied. "But even heroes need their rest. Off you go."

As they left, he sighed before teleporting to the Command Diamond. Looking at Garnet he asked "Anything from Tusk and Hurricana?"

She nodded. "They just sent out their Guardian Crystals. Once they find their chosen, we'll go from there."

That was some good news. "Anything from Gojira?"

She shook her head. "Nothing yet, unfortunately. I think it's safe to assume that he's in his home in the Crystal Sea," she pointed to the nearby sea on the Crystal Kingdom's eastern coast. "But sadly the energy from that place makes it hard for my scanners to get a good idea on how well he's healing. As for Titano..."

Prince Diamond sighed, before pulling on a necklace around his neck...

...revealing a diamond Guardian Crystal, one that sadly had a lot of cracks on its face. "It's definitely not as cracked as it was when my father..." He couldn't finish the sentence, just shaking his head and continuing "Anyway, he's healing, but I don't think he's going to be ready for quite a while. Which means we won't be able to perform the Coronation Ceremony and I can't take my rightful place as the Crystal King."

"Not to mention you won't be able to morph into the Crystal King Ranger," Garnet added.

"Goes without saying," he replied. "Guess until Titano is healed and ready for action, I'll have to help however I can."

Garnet thought about it for a second before saying "Those three could use a good teacher in how to use their magic and swords to their fullest."

He smiled before looking over at his sword. "That, I can do."

Author's Note

[1] Yeah, I don't know if I brought this up in the first chapter, but while Thorax isn't huge, he's the tallest member of the groupso far at least standing a good half a head taller than Flash and Twilight.
[2] Yes, it's a play on the Nintendo Switch, just like Burger Kingdom mentioned earlier is a play on Burger King. I'm just having all sorts of fun with these names.
[3]

[4] You guys can probably guess what they mean by "charm." Don't act like you don't.
[5] I can just hear the groans from you guys as you read that pun. I will not apologize.
[6]

So, I'm back. Episode 3 is here. Mostly exposition for the villains' motivations and hinting at future events. Plus, introducing Cadance, who will become much more important later. Trust me.

And of course our scheduled dosage of Celestia-bashing, now recommended by four out of five doctors!

Next time, Episode 4: The New Knights.

Until next time, May the Power Protect You.