It's Morphin Time: A Power Rangers Story
Chapter 18: Chapter 17
Previous Chapter Next ChapterAuthor's Notes:
I greatly apologize for how long it took to get these out. I've been going through a lot, went through some MAJOR changes, and well... ugh.
But, I'm trying to get back into the swing of things here, so for the next four days I'll be posting the next four chapters of It's Morphin Time. Hope you enjoy these. I had a lot of fun, as this is kind of my favorite kind of plot to write.
The Rangers all ran deeper into the forest, Applejack and her team surrounding the Green Ranger in a circle. One by one, all five of them ran in to attack her with their weapons, but somehow, this Ranger was able to intercept and block all of their attacks with her dagger and gunblade.
Eventually all five of them attacked her at once, but the Green Ranger ducked underneath their attacks and held up her own weapons. She then pushed upward knocking them back and spun around firing at each Ranger with her laser, knocking them back.
Rarity rolled to her feet first, thus she was the one the Green Ranger rushed toward, clashing her gunblade with Rarity's axe.
“Oooh! You look strong. Let's see what you got!” The Green Ranger said with gleeful malice, pushing Rarity back. She then slashed wildly with her gunblade, but Rarity managed to block most of the blows. She was clearly getting overwhelmed though.
“Rarity, hang on!” Twilight cried. She rushed toward the Green Ranger with her lance ready and slashed downward, but was taken aback when she then used her dagger to pin Rarity to a tree so she could use her gunblade to block Twilight's attack, “What?!”
“You got spirit. I like that,” the Green Ranger grinned behind her helmet. She pushed Twilight back, and then fired at Twilight with the gunblade's laser, shooting rapidly and causing Twilight to fly into a tree.
“Twilight!” Applejack shouted. Before she could do anything, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy rushed at the Green Ranger. Pinkie Pie fired her arrows while running, but their tenacious foe slashed Rarity in the chest, knocking her out and then went to block Pinkie Pie's shots. She was occupied so much though that she wasn't able to stop Fluttershy as she jumped over the Green Ranger and kicked her in the back.
The Green Ranger turned to face Fluttershy, but Applejack rushed in right with her blade and met the Green Ranger's blade in a weapon clash. The two of them clashed blades for a few seconds to a minute, both of them seeming about even in terms of skill with a blade. The Green Ranger was so much more aggressive though.
The two of them jumped away, just as Rarity rushed in with her axe, slashing the Green Ranger and knocking her back a bit. She then retaliated by doing a jumping spin kick, kicking Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy back at the same time. She then turned around and slashed Twilight just as she was about to attack her, and then fired at Pinkie Pie before she could ready her arrows.
“Um, guys? We're kinda getting our asses handed to us!” Pinkie Pie groaned, rising to her knees.
“This is, insane!” Rarity cried, “How is she so powerful?!”
“Something doesn't feel right about her,” Fluttershy rose to one knee and looked at the Green Ranger closely, “Her energy feels off and unnatural.”
“What do ya mean unnatural?” Applejack asked, her and the other Rangers forcing themselves to their feet.
“She feels like one of us, but I'm sensing something demonic within her as well,” Fluttershy squinted behind her visor, “Wherever the demonic essence is coming from though, it doesn't feel like it's connected to the Morphing Grid.”
“What are you?!” Rarity asked, “Are you a demon sent by darkness that sent Luna?!”
The Green Ranger laughed arrogantly, “I bet you'd like that. I don't know about anyone named Luna, but you are right about one thing,” she pointed her dagger at the Rangers, “I'm the Shadow Lord's' star child. His Avatar of Darkness.”
“Avatar of Darkness? What in tarnation is that?” Applejack asked, once again getting in her fighting stance, “Some fancy word for the Antichrist?”
The way the Green Ranger chuckled was chilling, “You...could say that.”
“W-what…?” Applejack asked, the group slowly backing away from the green armored warrior.
“This power was exactly what I needed,” the Green Ranger began slowly walking toward the Power Rangers, “With this, I'll unleash an age of darkness and chaos, starting with this planet. First order of business, kill the five posers standing in front of me!”
The Green Ranger rushed at the Rangers, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy all rushing up first to try and push her away, but all of them were knocked back on her way to where Applejack was. The two of them clashed swords, but the Green Ranger pushed Applejack back into a tree using her blade to hold her there.
Applejack kneed the Green Ranger in the stomach to push her back, and then slashed her in the chest two times, with the Green Ranger blocking her slashes with her gunblade. The way she positioned her blade, all she had to do was pull the trigger and she fired at Applejack's stomach point blank, actually knocking her back and onto the ground.
“No!” Fluttershy screamed, shooting to her feet and rushing up to the Green Ranger. Said Green Ranger turned to face Fluttershy, and met her daggers with her own odd dagger.
“You seem familiar,” the Green Ranger said, “Have we met somewhere before?”
“I'd remember meeting a crazed lunatic like you!” Fluttershy answered, making the Green Ranger laugh arrogantly again.
“Ooooooh, you cut so deep, Yellow Ranger,” The Green Ranger taunted, “But I bet I cut deeper.”
Before anyone could ask what she meant, she gave her answer in the form of kicking Fluttershy back into a tree. She then charged up her gunblade and slashed Fluttershy hard in the stomach and chest.
“FLUTTERSHY!!!” everyone screamed. At the sound of that name, the Green Ranger tilted her head looking at the Yellow Ranger on the ground.
“Flutter… shy…?” she then grunted in pain and held her head, dropping the weapon and staggering away from the group, something was wrong. Twilight slowly rose up and looked at the Green Ranger intently.
The Green Ranger shook her head, moaning in pain. Her moans became louder, until it apparently became far too much to bear and she ran out of the forest.
“What was that all about?” Pinkie Pie asked folding her arms.
“Whatever happened, let's just be glad that it did,” Rarity said, “We need to check on Fluttershy!”
Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight all ran to Fluttershy, who was lying on the ground unconscious, “How's it look?” Applejack asked.
“It looks bad,” Twilight said, turning Fluttershy around to examine her closely, “But I need to take her back to the Command Center to really tell.”
Applejack nodded and rose up; pressing her fingers to her helmet, “Hear that? We need a pick up. Five to transport.”
“Got it,” Spike's voice was heard directly in the Ranger's ears, “I'm bringing you all back.”
A second later, all five of them were engulfed in bright lights that shot into the sky and vanished, leaving no trace of the Rangers being there, or the fight that just took place.
The Green Ranger managed to get back into town, which was currently vacant due to how late it was. She staggered to a particular location, one that she didn't recognize. No wait… didn't she recognize it? Wasn't this place important?
Where was she going? Why was it important to get to that place?
That name kept echoing in her head. Fluttershy. What was that name? Who was that person? Why did she feel like she knew them? Because she… did? Yes! That's right! She did know that name!
The Green Ranger looked up at the small house in front of her. She looked at it closely, recognizing the address. Right… this place. It was… it was a place where she was safe. A place where she didn't have to be afraid.
She then turned her back to the door and leaned against it, slowly falling to a sitting position. Her breaths became faster and more panicked as reality started to come back to her. She remembered everything now. Slowly her hand rose to her face, touching the helmet. Immediately she jumped and looked at herself, finally snapping out of whatever daze she was in. Her gaze locked on her hand, and she tested something, willing something to appear.
In her hand appeared a large green and golden dagger, with an odd hilt that looked like a flute.
As she looked at the odd shaped weapon, the armor began to dissolve, revealing a panicked Rainbow Dash thankfully back in her original attire. Her eyes widened as she realized the dagger was not vanishing. It was real.
Rainbow Dash couldn't hold it together any longer, and thus gave a loud panicked scream. On instinct she reached into her pocket, pulling out the Green Power Coin, and threw it as far away as she could.
“GET AWAY FROM ME!!!” she screamed. She then turned to the door and fiddled around with her keys, pushing inside. In the living room, she realized that she still had that weird looking dagger in her hand. Something inside of her was screaming at her to not throw it away.
It's my greatest treasure…!
My prized possession…!
My… my…
“Stop it…!” Rainbow Dash seethed, throwing the dagger in a nearby chair and holding her head in frustration “Stop it! It's gone now! That stupid coin is-” she then remembered something, and slowly turned around to look at the couch. Her heart sank and she covered her mouth in horror at what she saw sitting on the arm of the couch.
The Green Power Coin. And it was still flashing.
“No…!” she sobbed backing against a wall, “I'm not his pawn…! I'm not…! I'm not! I'M NOT!!!” she screamed, suddenly furious as something within her awakened, “I AM NOBODY'S PAWN!!! I AM A DRAGON!!! DRAGONS DO NOT YIELD!!!” Rainbow Dash roared, picking up the Green Power Coin and gripping it tightly in her hands, “You think you can control me?! With this power, I'll-” Rainbow Dash stopped herself, holding her head in pain, “What's going on with me?! Why… why am I…”
Caesar…
“Caesar…?” Rainbow Dash asked, the odd voice whispering in her ear sounding dark, and oddly cultured.
Find… Caesar…
Everything… will make sense…
“Who's Caesar…?” Rainbow Dash asked. Instead of an answer, she heard something play in her head. A melody. Over and over again, as if her mind were trying to memorize it. It sounded almost like something you'd hear for a parade, and it felt almost like the song was trying to call out to someone.
Her attention was drawn to the dagger. She slowly walked over to it, picking it up and examining the flute part. Could she play this…? That feeling within began to take hold, and she slowly brought her flute to her mouth, ready to call-
“Dash, are you in?”
Rainbow Dash snapped back to reality again, just in time to see Soarin come inside. When he saw Rainbow Dash, he looked relieved.
“Thank God!” he said walking over to her, “I tried to call, but you didn't pick-” he stopped, eyes stuck on the dagger, “Dash, where did you get that?”
“Soarin…!” Rainbow Dash collapsed into his embrace, breaking down completely. She didn't get anything that was happening to her anymore. Why was she hearing voices again? What was that armor and dagger? More importantly… did she really hurt Fluttershy?
Back in the Command Chamber, Twilight had Fluttershy in another room, lying in what appeared to be a glowing pool of water, her head resting on a soft raised surface. She was unfortunately still unconscious though.
Twilight folded Fluttershy's clothes and placed them next to her towel, and then knelt next to her, a serious and somber look on her face. For Fluttershy's sake, she really hoped she was wrong, but so far, all of the evidence…
“Hey,” Spike said softly, a bit behind Twilight, “You should join the others. I'll take over here.”
Twilight nodded slowly. Without a word, she rose up and began walking back to the main chamber. Before she could leave, Spike placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Twilight, what's wrong?” Spike asked, “You can talk to me, you know.”
Twilight bit her lip and turned to Spike, “Spike, if you suspected that someone was dangerous, and a friend of yours was super close to them, would you tell them?”
Spike took a deep breath and pondered that, “Huh, well I'd get more evidence first, that way you don't end up accusing someone of something they didn't do, you know?” Twilight nodded attentively, “But, once I get more information, I'd have to tell them. Especially if I care about them. I'd definitely tell someone though. Someone I can trust to not make a huge deal about it.”
Twilight nodded slowly taking that in, “Thanks Spike,” she hugged him and went to the central chamber, where Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Celestia were in mid discussion it seemed.
“But who the hell was that?” Rarity asked, “And how long has she had the Green Power Coin to be able to do all of that?”
“She couldn't have had it for long,” Applejack said, “We'd have seen them sometime before this if that were the case.”
“What if she's just like how we were when we first got our coins?” Pinkie Pie asked, “Maybe she's just going off of her instincts?”
“I don't think that's it,” Twilight said, shaking her head, “She was too good of a fighter. I think she herself was just that good.”
“Whoever that was, I sensed a great darkness from her,” Celestia said, catching everyone's attention, “Far more than what was within Luna.”
“Were ya able ta figure out who that was?” Applejack asked Celestia, “She's connected to the Morphin' Grid, right?”
“Not completely,” Celestia said gravely, “Although the Green Power Coin draws from the Morphing Grid, it only uses that to manifest the armor and weapons. The source of the Green Power Coin is the legendary Dragon of Destruction, Caesar.”
“Caesar?” Rarity asked, mirroring her companions' confusion.
Celestia rose from her throne and floated to the pool of water in the middle, waving her hand over it. Within the pool of water, the Rangers saw a large ferocious mechanical looking beast. It looked similar to their Battle Zords, but with sharper edges making it look more sinister. It was shaped like a dragon, standing upright with a build similar to Godzilla, and was mostly green with golden highlights. Its claws were razor sharp; it had a silver face and snout with sharp teeth, and mechanical red eyes. Its armor made it almost look like it was wearing samurai armor with a distinct circle on its chest with six red lights all glowing, and its tail looked like it was a drill.
“This is the Dragonzord, Caesar,” Celestia explained, “He was created by a demon named Discord, the Master of Disharmony. My Rangers and I attempted to fight him, but he proved too powerful for us. Many people died in that battle, and we were sure that Caesar would take the Crystal Heart.”
“Okay, I know this is supposed to be scary,” Pinkie Pie whispered to Rarity, “but this just looks like the coolest Kaiju flick of all time. Like, better than Godzilla.”
“Hush you,” Rarity lightly scolded, even if she had to admit Pinkie Pie was right. It did look cool.
“It was actually Luna who saved us,” Celestia continued, showing Luna walking forward toward Caesar, playing what at first glance looked like a flute, but on closer inspection was the dagger the Green Ranger used, “In an earlier fight against Caesar, we managed to break off a piece of his armor. Using that, Luna created a special dagger that acted as a flute, and played the song that calms and commands Caesar. Using that song, she was able to tame the Dragon and saved our Kingdom. We then studied the energy of Caesar, and through that fashioned the Green Power Coin, which is infused with the power of Caesar. It was then that Luna was chosen, not by me, but by Caesar himself, to become the first Green Ranger.”
“So… ya mean that thing is somewhere out there?” Applejack asked, trembling a bit at the realization of what this might mean.
“I am afraid so, Applejack,” Celestia said turning to the Rangers with a grave expression, “He is currently sleeping, and his energy has been dormant for quite some time, so I cannot sense his location. But I can tell you that he is the source of the Green Ranger's terrifying power, and it is only a matter of time before she learns the March of the Dragon melody, and awakens the Dragonzord. When that happens, I fear for what it could mean for Ponyville.”
Suddenly, the air got heavy, as they all stood before the image of the Dragonzord, looks of fear and horror present on all four Rangers present.
“Was Caesar… tainted along with Luna too?” Twilight asked.
“Caesar has undying loyalty to whoever he recognizes as his master, and thus follows the will of whoever possesses the Green Power Coin. When Luna fell into the darkness, his will became the same as hers. The same will be the case with this I am afraid. If the Green Ranger plays that song and awakens Caesar, he will follow her every command without question.”
“Okay, I get it,” Pinkie Pie laughed awkwardly, “So we don't want Mecha-Godzilla to rampage through the city.”
“No, this could be potentially worse than Goldar,” Rarity added thoughtfully, “We have to stop her from awakening that dragon!”
“So, what do we do?” Applejack asked Celestia, “How do we stop the Green Ranger?”
“For now, your top priority is to find the Green Ranger, and stop her from summoning Caesar,” Celestia stated seriously, “Spike and I will look into what to do about the Green Ranger herself, but for now, focus on that task.”
They heard a shrill scream and a loud slap from the healing room. A few seconds later, Spike groaned as he walked out, nursing his cheek.
“Well, I can confirm that Fluttershy is just fine now,” he groaned. A second later, Fluttershy stormed out of the healing room, fully clothed and face red in embarrassment and anger.
“Everythin' alright, Fluttershy?” Applejack asked.
“No. I woke up naked in a bathtub, and he was in the room with me!” Fluttershy folded her arms and scowled at Spike, “I bet he was having pervy thoughts about me.”
“For the last time, I was just making sure you were alright,” Spike defended, “And you were completely submerged from the shoulders down; I literally saw nothing until you shot out of the water to cover yourself.”
“Hmph!” Fluttershy turned her nose to the air.
“You are impossible,” Spike sighed in defeat.
“Besides that, how are you feeling, darling?” Rarity asked rubbing Fluttershy's back.
“I'm alright now,” Fluttershy said, “Whatever that water was, it healed all of my injuries. So,” she looked around, “Did I miss anything important?”
“Hoo boy did ya,” Applejack said, “We'll fill ya in on the way. Celestia, we're headin’ back to my place.”
“Leave that to me,” Spike said, rising up to go to what looked like a table with runes on it, “I can transport you all right back to Applejack's backyard.”
“Good luck, Rangers,” Celestia said, “Please, stay safe out there.”
Spike put his hands on two of the runes and closed his eyes, and the Rangers were all transported out of the Power Chamber. Once they left, Spike turned to Celestia.
“So, how fucked are we?” Spike asked sitting down in a nearby chair, “Compared to Luna and Goldar the last time.”
“This is much worse,” Celestia said, biting her thumb nail nervously, “With this new Green Ranger, and the looming threat of the Dragonzord, it's only a matter of time before Discord is released.”
Spike nodded slowly, “Okay, that's bad. I'm going to get to work then,” he quickly shot back up and began looking into the Green Ranger himself. As he worked, Celestia shuddered to herself thinking of what was to come. Her Rangers were still so young, and they hadn't been Rangers for long.
This might be too much for them.
When they all got back to Applejack's place, they filled Fluttershy in on everything. After she was up to date, it was decided to just finish the sleepover. After eating most of the pizza and watching a movie, the five of them were mostly ready to turn in.
But around 2 in the morning, Twilight couldn't sleep, so she decided to head outside for a bit for some fresh air. As her blue and purple pajamas were very light, she could actually feel the cool night air very nicely on her body. She really liked it out here at Applejack's farm.
She just couldn't shake the feeling that something was really wrong. So far, the few signs she had supported her fears, but there just wasn't all that much in terms of evidence. She didn't want to accuse Fluttershy's friend of something she didn't do, but still…
Someone held out a slice of pizza in front of Twilight, “Cold pizza makes everything better,” Pinkie Pie said, wearing a cute pink and white onesie with a large hoodie with drooping rabbit ears at the top. In her other hand was a slice for herself apparently. Twilight smiled and took the slice of pizza.
“Thanks Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said softly.
“So, what's up?” Pinkie Pie asked leaning over the banister next to Twilight, “You've been acting sorta funny since we got back.”
Twilight thought back to what Spike told her. Could she count on Pinkie Pie for this? Maybe she could open up to her a bit.
“Pinkie Pie, I need to tell you something, but you can't tell anyone about this yet,” Twilight said turning to Pinkie Pie seriously, “Especially not Fluttershy. Not until I know more.”
Pinkie Pie slowly took a bite out of her pizza, never taking her eyes off of Twilight, “Sure thing, Twilight,” she said after swallowing.
Twilight took a deep breath, “I think Rainbow Dash is the Green Ranger.”
“Wait, what?!” Pinkie Pie cried.
“Shhh!!!” Twilight urged, “Keep it down!”
“But… why?” Pinkie Pie asked Twilight, “That's kinda random, isn't it?”
“Well, maybe a bit, but there is evidence to support it,” Twilight said, starting to eat her pizza slice, “For one thing, the way she spoke. She mentioned a thirst for blood, and when Rainbow Dash met me in the forest, she was talking about the same thing before she snapped out of it.”
“That was ominous,” Pinkie Pie said.
“Also, when we called Fluttershy's name, the Green Ranger ran off,” Twilight continued, “And remember how all of a sudden Rainbow Dash looked a bit different.”
“It was subtle, but yeah, she did seem to fill out a bit,” Pinkie Pie said thoughtfully, “I mean, I can see where you'd be coming from Twilight, but I don't know.”
“Neither do I. That's the only reason why I'm not bringing this to the others yet,” Twilight said, “Just in case I am wrong, and I hope that I am. But if I'm right, then we need to get Fluttershy away from her.”
“She'll be crushed if it turns out Rainbow Dash is the Green Ranger,” Pinkie Pie said, looking to the side concerned.
“That's why until we know more about this, she can't know,” Twilight said, “Pinkie Pie, I need your help in figuring this out.”
“Me? What can I do?” Pinkie Pie asked unsure, “Rarity and Applejack are way more capable.”
“Not for this,” Twilight said, “Pinkie Pie, you and Rainbow Dash already sort of hit it off, so you need to get close to her and see what's really going on here. Please, Pinkie Pie. I'd do it myself, but I'm awkward around new people, and I know she'd be able to tell I'm suspicious of her.”
Pinkie Pie sighed, “I really am the best person for the job. Alright. I'll do it, Twilight. I'll see if I can get close to Rainbow Dash.”
Twilight beamed and hugged Pinkie Pie tightly, “Thank you so much, Pinkie Pie!”
Pinkie Pie smiled returning the hug, “No problem, Twilight. We're a team, after all.”
Next Chapter: Chapter 18 Estimated time remaining: 56 Minutes