https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK7AGhiin-o

Ponyville

“No, no, you see,” Lightning remarked as she walked through the streets of Ponyville with Rainbow Dash, Wonderbolts flight training having been called off today due to the projected weather forecasts. Lightning honestly couldn’t blame her Captain, given the skies above Ponyville were covered in an ominous thick fog of grey storm clouds, with not even a beacon of Celestia’s sun shining through. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the air was hot and muggy. There was a reason Lightning had only elected to wear a sports bra and jogging pants today. Both were black, covered in jagged neon green streaks of lightning. “That whole story about me taking down a monster solo, completely made up. Completely!”

“Oh?” Rainbow asked, a pair of white earbuds hanging around her neck as a music player was attached to her hip. “So what’s this I heard about you using a version of one of my moves to bring down Hell from above on this Org?”

“...Okay, I may have done that, but the other Rangers wore him down for me! That’s all it was!” Lightning said, and Rainbow laughed, slapping her friend on the back.

“Well, I will give you this,” Rainbow commented. “You’re certainly not the reckless squirt I took on as my wingmare in training, that’s for sure!”

“Squirt!?!” Lightning snapped in mock-fury. “I’m no older than you are!”

“In body maybe…” Rainbow trailed off, fighting back laughter. “Maturity… Eh, let’s say that’s another story entirely m’kay?”

“Why you!” Lightning shouted, reaching for Rainbow to grab her in a neck hold only for the other mare to pull away laughing like a fool, her cackles filling the streets.

“Still not fast enough,” Rainbow remarked. “Just still not fast enough.”

“Oh, you want to put that to the test?” Lightning asked, her wings unfurling. “Want to put that to the test? Cause I feel the need for speed right about now really.”

“Your funeral, really,” Rainbow replied. “Just don’t come crying to me when I leave you in my dust, Dusty!” she laughed, before taking to the skies in a cyan streak of light with Lightning soon to follow in a golden one.

“Dusty, now there’s a name that brings me back…” Lightning thought to herself sadly and wiped away a small tear as she and Rainbow darted through the skies punching holes in the clouds as they did so.

“You see Rainbow?” Lightning Dust asked, as the two relaxed in a hot tub, high above the flickering street lamps of Ponyville late one night. Rainbow had elected to come over to Lightning’s cloudominium once she’d heard her marefriend had gotten ahold of a hot tub, saying she wanted to test it out for herself. “No so bad, is it? Doesn’t hurt your reputation as a tomcolt any does it?”

“No, suppose you’re right Dusty,” Rainbow sighed as she slipped down below the waters, leaving only her head visible. “...Promise not to tell?”

“I won’t say a word about this as long you don’t,” Lightning remarked resting her head and looking up towards the stars. The Orion Constellation was particularly bright tonight, she noted. It was an unusual interest of Lightning’s, to be sure, but she always loved astronomy and classier things like violin music. Possibly yet another way to distance herself from her father, she supposed. She could name you every star in the night sky, and then some, she liked to brag to anyone who would listen. Anyone usually being Rainbow, Vapor or her brother mostly. Mainly because Lightning never could quite work up the nerve to tell anyone outside of her immediate close friends of her interest in something most would perceive as something not particularly jockish and rather girly really.

The violin composition playing in the background? It was called Violin Sonata in F minor (Mendelssohn), apparently composed by this Germane dude named Felix Mendelssohn back in 1825 and while it lacked the sheer dramatic flare of his other more famous work the Violin Concerto in E minor this one was more calm, tranquil. Elegant, really, if Lightning had to put a name to it and describe it in one word.

Rainbow wrapped her arm around Lightning’s shoulders and brought the mare in for a kiss. Not a quick, intense, passionate kiss as was per usual for them, but a more slow, soft loving one. The two’s lips locked for a solid minute or so, -and in Lightning’s mind, a wonderful eternity poetic as that sounded- before Rainbow finally had to pull away to come up for air.

“You know, one day,” Rainbow commented. “They’ll both be weaving constellations of us really. Lightning Dust, Rainbow Dash, once we’ve hit the big time at last and become full-fledged Wonderbolts! I think I’ll call mine the Supernova!”

“Not sure how that’s how it works, hon,” Lightning giggled to herself and booped her marefriend on the nose. “But whatever floats your boat.”

“Tomato, tamato,” Rainbow remarked. “We’ll have our names up there in the stars, you’ll see. I mean, Leo Major, Leo Minor. Ursa Major, Ursa Minor. Constellations can have duos, right?” she asked. “...I am right about that, am I?”

“Well, someone’s feeling cocky tonight…” Lightning teased. “Still, it’s a sweet thought. And yeah, they can.”
Rainbow laughed. “Of course this is me we’re talking about, eh?” She remarked, and Lightning laughed before that laughter faded as she saw Spitfire looming over them, her wings flapping slowly as she stared the couple down with critical eyes.

Rainbow stared up at Spitfire. “Uh…” She stands quickly saluting out of pure reflex. “H-Hey Ma’am…” she laughed nervously.

Spitfire let out a chuckle.

“Thought something was going on between you two,” the Captain of the Wonderbolts remarked. “I mean, you two sneaking off at odd times and places and making weird excuses for doing so like your hamster needed bathing would strike anyone as odd. I mean, I know for a fact neither of you even own a hamster!”

Rainbow took a deep breath she shifted feeling extremely uncomfortable right now. “I.. I..” She gulped a bit not sure what to say. “We didn’t mean to lie to you Cap...captain.”

“You didn’t have to, you know,” Spitfire remarked. “I mean, it’s not like I’m against any of this really. I mean, I’m all for my teammates getting to know each other better, if you know what I mean,” she laughed again, this time waggling her eyebrows a little.

Rainbow chuckled weakly. “I enjoy getting to know the others. Just not in that way.. Ma’am,” she stated quickly.” I'd rather be spending time with the ones I care about, that’s all” A nervous smile formed on her face trying her best to not lose her nerve.

“Never knew you could sound so sappy,” Spitfire teased. “New side of you I’m seeing tonight. You compose romantic poetry as well?”

“Oddly… Yes?” Rainbow smiled weakly, and both Spitfire and Lightning stared at her bug-eyed, Lightning actually looking more than a little miffed that Rainbow hadn’t shown any of this to her.

“Just no pony ever asked. I keep it to myself since.. Well, I’m too shy to? Mystic Mother knows Rarity would never let me hear the end of it...” She shifted again looking a bit unsure how to recite one, especially in front of her boss.

“Well, I’ll just leave you two lovebirdies to your alone time eh?” Spitfire remarked. “Long as it doesn’t interfere with either of your jobs, I’m cool with it. We cool with that? You understand that recruits?”

“Yes Ma’am!” Rainbow shouted, with Lightning nodding fervently as well.

“Good, because the last thing I want is to find you two snogging in the sky attempting to join the 3,000-mile high club while performing stunts at a show. Next thing you know, somepony winds up… Well, they wind up in a FULL BODY WING-AND-HOOF CAST DRINKING THROUGH A STRAW!” Spitfire suddenly shouted.

Rainbow just stared at Spitfire for a few brief moments, Now, she had to ask to satisfy her now peaked curiosity. “Did two of your teammates snog in midair and another pony crashed into them causing this?”

Spitfire’s only response was to mutter something along the lines of “Damn fucking Fleetfoot.” No more words needed to be said, given Fleetfoot’s… reputation so to speak.

“You mean Fleetfucker.” Rainbow laughed, before Spitfire gave her a stern look and flew off.

“...Well, that was something I didn’t expect to see tonight. Great, now I’m going to have Fleetfoot fucking another ‘Bolt in midair emblazoned in my mind’s eye forever…” Lightning muttered to herself. “Anyone got the Brain Bleach?”

“Pretty sure Twi’s got some, I’ll ask for it in the morning. Good thing she never asks questions.” Rainbow admitted, before Lightning gave her a look, eyebrow raised.

“Romantic poetry, really Dashie? And you never gave me any?” she asked.

“I… well, I can get a bit corny. I didn’t want to you to think me as one of those corny mares.” Rainbow stroked her mane, chuckling nervously to herself.

“Alright, what’s bothering you?” Lightning asked. “Cause I know you can get corny, known that for a long while given what you pulled last Hearts and Hooves Day, with the big heart in the sky. Spitfire shake you up a little?”

“You could say that. But I do have another one in my head if you... Wish to hear it.” Rainbow smiled sweetly trying to save face with her marefriend.

Lightning crossed her arms. “It ain’t the poetry Rainbow, it’s the damn principle. It’s been about a year now since we started dating, and you haven’t even said I love you yet! We haven’t said that! It’s Spitfire isn’t it, you’re worried she may secretly hate internal fraternization.”

“...Given Fleetfoot, can you blame me?” Rainbow mumbled. “But yeah, that’s exactly what it is!”

“Oh, now you’re just being ludicrous,” Lightning remarked. “If Spitfire hated us dating, and she’s known for a while now given what she just told us, she would have made it known to us both!”

Rainbow sighed, she had… something in her eyes, something Lightning really couldn’t place. “Lightning, I was hoping that I could do this for you tonight. Just with Spitfire showing up it kind of got sidetracked. Just are you willing to listen to me?”

“Sure, fire away.”

Rainbow looked up to the moon and began reciting a prayer to Luna. Taking a deep breath, she smiled taking Lightning's hand, grasping it tightly in her own “I know Lightning I haven’t been the best marefriend to you. I know I haven’t said I love you. But this poem comes deep from my heart,” She took a deep breath. “I look at you. I just see an amazing mare that’s grown up so much since I first met her, and is willing to be with a pony like me. I don’t consider myself worthy of you at times. But while you’re near me my heart beats. I may not say I love you. But I am one of those that doesn't say it although I can show it.. In my mind, actions speak louder than words. Words, that aren’t needed unless you know deep inside what you really want to show. Mystic Mother above, I know that sounds sappy, but…” Rainbow took a deep breath before reaching quickly towards where she’d hidden a little black box besides the tub inside little bucket of towels. Lifting up the little box, she asked: “Will you do this wonderful thing and marry me?”

“I… I… I…” Lightning stammered out, her thoughts running wild. One part of her mind, it wanted to accept especially after Rainbow’s confession, but the other knew this was a big step and was wondering if she was really ready for this.

Rainbow took her hesitation as her answer, just looking at the ring box before putting it aside on a nearby table. Fighting back tears, she stood up, unfurled her wings and muttered: “I… I see. Just… Just when you’re ready, okay?” she asked, before going inside to change back into her normal clothes and fly away into the night…

Back in the present day, Lightning landed behind Rainbow in one of Ponyville’s many sidestreets -Somewhere around Carousel Boutique if she remembered- and sighed to herself. “Goddess dammit, I’m such an idiot. I want to accept that, Mystic Mother knows I do, but Rainbow taking me back?” she thought to herself, laughing bitterly as she looked skywards. “Oh, now that’s a good joke.”

Rainbow sounded like she was crying a bit, perhaps loudly enough to be heard. “Oh boy, I’m such a complete idiot. Should have known she’d never accept, not with me springing it on her like that…” she trailed off. Next, Rainbow tossed a fake smile towards Lightning Dust’s direction, before looking back at the sky and wincing at the oncoming storm. “So, tomorrow then? When the weather’s cleared up? Still got a few tricks to practice before the upcoming show.”

“Yeah, tricks…” Lightning whispered, before nodding as Rainbow took her leave. Lightning let out a scream of frustration and stamped her hoof. Goddess, she was such an idiot.

Letting her thoughts wander as she strolled through the streets, ignoring the threatening rumbles of thunder in the background, she smacked head-on into Robert, whose wounds were still patching themselves up from their battle with Neighsay or Savior as he’d started calling himself.

“Oh, I’m sorry, so sorry!” Lightning apologized profusely, noticing Robert wincing out in pain. “Sorry, lost in thought…”

“No, it’s fine. Ranger healing powers, they work fast. By this time tomorrow, probably will just have another scar to boast.” Robert replied in a dismissive tone, waving his hand. He idly wondered what was bothering Lightning, but decided it best not to ask. It was probably her business, and not his. Plus, Lightning had this tendency to snap at anyone who budged into her private life, as he remembered from the whole Silver Spoon incident.

“...Er, dare I ask?” Lightning remarked, noting Robert’s black and magenta attire in spur of his usual orange and black SPD jacket.

“...Sorry, while I repair my regular uniform, decided to bust this out instead. Created it a few months back, directly after the whole Drakkon’s Reign thing. Homaging it to a certain passing through Kamen Rider.”

“...Thought you hated his guts.”

“Eh, guy’s a jerk, that’s for sure, but he kicks ass. And he has his moments.” Robert remarked.

“Eh, I have to ask, what are you doing out and about anyways?” Lightning remarked. “I mean, have you not seen the weather?” she asked, pointing skywards.

“I’ve noticed,” Robert deadpanned. “I was waiting upon your boss, Captain Spitfire, Sunset ‘suggested’ she come down to help me with a few of my… well, let’s call them issues and leave it at that till the weather put a damper on those plans. You?”

“Planning to spend the day with Silver,” Lightning lied. “Weather screwed that up as well.”

Robert looked skeptical. “Then why were you and Rainbow…?” he trailed off, not realizing his mistake until far too late.

“Just drop it, okay?” Lightning hissed out, giving him a warning glare. Robert laughed nervously and wisely decided to change the subject.

“Hey, is it just me or is Bon-Bon glowing more than usual today?” he asked, leaning towards Lightning and gesturing to the Sweet Shoppe window, where Bon-Bon was packing up a box of caramels.

“...Now that you mention it…” Lightning murmured, before shaking her head and letting out a growl. Great, she was thinking of marriage again. “...You’re a real perv, you know that right?”

“Just a simple observation,” Robert remarked, honestly confused why Lightning was being bitchier than normal today. Was it something he said? Certainly couldn’t have been something he did. Recently anyways. ...He hadn’t put itching powder in her clothes for weeks!

“And I was making one as well,” Lightning sniped. Robert arched an eyebrow, yeah there was definitely something going on with Lightning but it would be wise of him not to press any further. Or at least not ask her, maybe Vapor would know.

“So, lunch little miss Point Break?” Robert offered. “Know this great indoor cafe, makes a nice Caesar salad.”

“Fine by me, as long as you agree to stop springing references that I probably don’t know a thing about on me,” Lightning replied. Eventually, the two arrived, placed their orders and while waiting for the food to arrive Lightning elected to satisfy her curiosity about something that had been nagging her for a while. “Okay, spill. What’s with you and Kitsunes? I mean, even before you got your powers you had this whole fox motif, and I seem to remember you making a remark about visiting this place called Mount Inari a few times back in your time.”

“Just always found them intriguing, I mean foxes have always been my favorite animal. Just ask Wyatt if he ever returns god forbid, he’d be able to tell you a story or two. As for the Mount Inari thing, when I arrived in Japan just to escape the madness that was America -Irony really, winding up back here- I felt I needed guidance, and sometimes those schwachkopf uncles of mine weren’t always the best choices I felt,” Robert explained. “So, why not just ask one of the local gods? Plus, a good mountain trek allowed me to get some peace and solitude, something Japan rarely affords. Allowed me to get my thoughts together, put my mind at ease,” he admitted. Outside, the rain that had been threatening to pour all afternoon had finally let loose down on the streets in a torrent, leaving both thanking their respective Gods that they’d gotten to the cafe when they did.

“Makes sense I suppose,” Lightning remarked. “Still, aside from being nine-tailed foxes, what exactly are Kitsunes? I mean seriously, what are they?” she inquired.

“It’s sorta difficult to explain really. Mind you, there's this particularly old story about a Kitsune, one I've always been particularly fascinated by that could help a little,” Robert remarked. “If you care to hear it.”

“Fire away, can't be any more boring than your Ranger history lessons.” Lightning deadpanned. Robert looked more than a little miffed at that but cleared his throat before speaking.

“Long ago, in the year 545 A.D, Ono, an inhabitant of Mino spent the seasons longing for his ideal of female beauty. He met her one evening on a vast moor and married her.

“Simultaneously with the birth of their son, Ono's dog was delivered of a pup which as it grew up became more and more hostile to the lady of the moors.

“She begged her husband to kill it, but he refused. At last one day the dog attacked her so furiously that she lost courage, resumed vulpine shape, leaped over a fence and fled.

"You may be a fox," Ono called after her, "but you are the mother of my son and I love you. Come back when you please; you will always be welcome."

“So every evening she stole back and slept in his arms.

“And so, because the fox returns to her husband each night as a woman but leaves each morning as a fox, she is called Kitsune,” he explained. “Apparently, in classical Japanese and I'm not sure how true this is as I'm far from an expert on the language,” Robert admitted. “kitsu-ne means come and sleep, and ki-tsune means always comes. Mind you, nowadays it just means fox but, there you have it I guess,” he shrugged, before he heard a distinctive four-note beeping sound coming from Lightning’s Growl Phone and his Kitsune Amulet.

“Hey, guys?” Vapor’s voice came in through their Morphers. “Might want to tune into Canterlot Radio, Celestia’s making a national address.”

Both Rangers shrugged but did as Vapor asked, and were treated to the voice of the Princess of the Sun. Celestia took a deep breath, and sighed to herself. “My little Ponies, this is one of the hardest speeches I’ve ever had to make to you, to any of you. I’ve been wanting to put this off for days, save you from the truth figuring it best you believed in what you’ve been told for centuries by your parents, their parents but no, the curtain, the charade must drop,” Celestia stated, with ponies all across the nation now listening in explicit interest. “It is for the best, the truth would have found itself a way to out one way or the other after all. I do not raise the sun, nor does my sister raise the moon. We never have, nor have will we ever do so. It was just a lie we cooked up, to make ourselves seem more powerful than we really are in actuality, just to make us seem like Gods. It was a mutual agreement then, just as the one to finally drop the charade now is. Now, what you do with this information is entirely up to you,” Celestia explained. “Either you can depose us, and instate your own government or you can let us be and have us continue ruling. It is your own decision. Either choice you make, as this is your choice not ours, would not anger us. It would, in fact, please us for you to start finally making your own decisions instead of us doing that for you.”

With that, the message ended leaving the cafe in silence, before whispers broke out amongst the gathered ponies on what to do. Lightning sat agape, mind racing once more. For years, she’d been told the Princesses raised the sun and the moon, and now here they were confessing to do nothing of the kind. Similar thoughts ran through other ponies heads, nopony quite sure what to do for the time being.

Nopony perhaps, but somebody however… That was a different story. A loud explosion came from somewhere outside, and a very familiar set of laughter. Robert’s eyes narrowed, he knew that voice.

“Bunglay…” he snarled out before looking at Lightning. “Time to get to work.” he said.

“R-Right,” Lightning stammered out, before collecting herself. She could think on Celestia’s confession later, right now there were more pressing issues to deal with…

“So,” Bunglay laughed as ponies ran wild in the streets as the hunter/space pirate sent energy waves from his sword, destroying shops and homes in massive explosions of fire and energy, all just to draw out the Rangers. “Your precious little pony princesses aren’t all what they’re cracked up to be, are they? Well, this just makes things crackin’ interesting!”

“Bunglay,” Robert remarked as he and Lightning ran out to meet him, noticing the convenient lack of any foot soldiers this time. Looks like Bunglay wanted to face them alone really. “And here I was beginning to almost miss you. Haven’t you gotten the message by now, you’re not wanted. Earth is closed for today for you, and as a matter of fact it’s closed permanently to your kind! Now clear off, before we have to send you packing like we always do.”

“You?” Bunglay laughed. “Send me packing! Oh, now that’s a cracking good joke, that is! Don’t I always wind up kicking your arses? You must be remembering things wrong. Allow me to kindly give ya a refresher course.” he remarked, cracking his neck.

“Oh well, tried to be nice about this…” Robert muttered, before he and Lightning called out: “Legendary Wild Access!” and morphed with Robert drawing his pistol, spinning it and remarking: “Hade ni ikuze!” before letting off a few shots which Bunglay deflected with his anchor. He then rushed forwards in a blur of movement, using his hand to grab onto Robert’s head and search through his memories, before teleporting away, and throwing two balls of blue energy that reformed into the previous Ranger villains Levira and Rito Revolto respectively.

“...I retract my previous statement,” Robert remarked with a shake of his head, and a sigh of disgust or disappointment. It was hard to tell really. “Really, this is the best you can throw at us, the same old tired tactics, and out of all the villains you choose you pick these two losers for your memory puppets? I’m almost too bored to bother,” he muttered before turning to Lightning. “So, Miss Bucky Barnes, ready to give these three an arsekicking?”

“Who's this Bucky Barnes character, and is she cool?” Lightning asked, as the two dodged flamethrower blasts from Rito, Bunglay just sitting on a chair to watch the fun unfold.

Robert smiled, and nodded. “Hell yeah, he was cool. Badass even.”

“You hear that Levira?” Lightning shouted as she dodged said monster's missiles. “I’m Bucky Barnes! And you… well, you’re still dead and ugly.”

“...Sorta got away from you, that one, didn’t it?” Robert smirked not even bothering to correct her on Bucky's actual gender, and Lightning glared at him from under her helmet.

Rito sent another surge of hot searing flames towards the two. What happened next nobody could have predicted. Robert in a moment of pure rash instinct stepped in front of the blazing inferno and shielded Lightning with his cape, the flames licking away at the cape’s own black embers stitched into the fabric. He didn't even know if it would work to be entirely honest, he was banking on the cape being there for a reason really and not just built in there because the costumes’ designs being patterned after each Ranger’s individual personalities.

Lightning used this opportunity to score a powerful kick to Rito’s face, possibly breaking his jaw and then a right cross to Levira’s face.

“You know something Levera or whatever the Hell you're called,” Lightning remarked with a critical tone in her voice, “That lipstick? About the only beautiful thing on you, highlights your pale face and distracts people away from those cables you dare call hair. Seriously, I know this mare. She’d be able to give you some beauty tips, might be able to save you somehow.”

“You do realize she’s long dead, right? Not much point to giving her beauty tips,” Robert remarked in a deadpan tone as he flipped over Rito and then grabbed him, spun him around and with a few lightning fast jabs of his fingers began trying to hit pressure points.

“Oh… right.” Lightning muttered, flushing in realization before Levira’s fingernails sharpened into razor-like claws scoring nasty slashes and gauges in Lightning’s fur, with Lightning only spinning to the left in time to avoid a powerful axe kick. Levira’s shoulder pads opened up to reveal missile launchers once more, and fired off another barrage. This time, instead of dodging them, Lightning flung the missiles right back at her with powerful gusts of wind created by powerful wing flaps. Levira only avoided being blown up by projecting a hard light screen of green energy. She tried to strike again with her claws, only for Lightning to keep her at bay with lashes of one of her whips.

Back with Robert, he was continuing to try to reach Rito’s pressure points with lightning fast jabs. He would have succeeded, possibly, if Rito had any flesh or muscle to speak of. Instead, all he ended up with was being knocked to the muddy streets below by Rito’s flamethrower.

“...Right, next time you try that remember to check if they're all skin and bones first.” he muttered and flipped up off the ground and pulled out his Kitsune Blaster, placing the blade of the Shadow Saber over it and fired. “...Should have just done this from the start, he muttered before shouting out: “Kyuubi Kage Seibai Blast!” and launching a howling maw of blue flames at Rito taking the memory clone down for good. However, before he could join Lightning and give her a helping hand, another Memory Clone formed into the infamous Five Fingers of Poison member Stingerella, the master of both the toxic dance and the scorpion style.

“Oh fu…” he trailed off before he was hit by a barrage of powerful spin kicks to the face. Lightning’s eyes widened under her helmet as she saw this, only for Levira to knock her back with another missile barrage. Curiously, during all of this Bunglay hadn't made a move. In fact, he’d teleported away. Lightning had figured he now figured that they weren’t worth his time any more.

“We're getting our asses kicked here!” Lightning exclaimed, as she struggled to pick herself off the ground.

“No… no kidding!” Robert coughed out as the two monsters in front of them advanced, laughing evilly. Just then, a energy manifestation of a plesiosaurus head shot towards both Stingerella and Levira from out of nowhere and struck them making them stagger back before shooting back to its owner and morphing her.

“What is it with me and continuously having to pull your fats out of the fryer. Amaterasu above…” Emily muttered, shaking her head as she drew her Spin Sword. “I'll handle Levira. Think you two can handle Stingerella?” she asked.

“Believe me,” Lightning muttered as she reached for one of her whips once more. “We can so handle some bug.”

“Good.” Emily said as she went blade to blade with Levira and then rushing past her leaving bolts of yellow lightning in her wake calling out: “Lightning Fury!” before whirling back around in mid-air and pulling out her Dino Morpher and placing the Blaze Charger in it and then fired. Flaming manifestations of a plesiosaur and an allosaurus head circled and then bit down on Levira before she could throw up any sort of light screen. “Now… Let’s finish this,” she said, pulling out yet another Dino Charger depicting a Deinosuchus, a form of ancient crocodile. Emily pressed down on it, before placing it in her Morpher and gained bronze armor including two crocodile jaws on her arms. She fired, just as Levira put up another screen of light and fired missile after missile, while Emily spun like a drill and smashed right through it, and Levira who went up in a fireball a gaping hole in her stomach.

Meanwhile, Lightning and Robert were fighting off Stingerella, or they would have been had the monster not kept them at bay with her spinning dance-like fighting style.

“You know something?” Lightning asked. “I'm really beginning to hate scorpions!”

“Any ideas?” Robert asked, narrowly avoiding a skull-shattering side kick from Stingerella.

“Something… Something that'll break through her defenses!” Lightning exclaimed, snapping her fingers and then using her hands to catch a kick she twisted her arm like she was using a screwdriver and sent Stingerella spinning to the ground.

“Something like that?” Robert asked, with Stingerella quickly recovering and standing on her arms before flipping and attempting to use axe kicks on them both.

“Yeah. Get her off guard again,” Lightning shouted. “I've got an idea on finishing her! Why not combine our respective magics in Orion Mode and see what happens?” She theorized.

Robert looked more than a little miffed at chi simply being labeled magic when in fact it was a universal energy present in all beings but he nodded all the same. “Sounds like a plan.” High above, Levira had grown to massive size and was fighting the summoned Kitsune Zord claw to claw, the Vampire Bat Zord swooping in and slashing her across the chest with his wings.

“Sorry we're late,” Sunburst called standing atop his Zord. “Thrax struck again, sent an Org themed after a Voodoo Doll after us.”

Robert, even as he spun away to avoid another one of Stingerella’s strikes decided it best not to ask. Above him, the Phoenix Zord was blowing Levira’s launched missiles out of the air with blasts of flame.

“Oh, so nice to get in a good fight again!” the Kitsune Zord laughed and grinned devilishly. “You miss me kit?”

“Like a bad headache…” Robert snipped back, sensing many more of this very same thing coming his way in the near future.

“Nice to see you did!” the Kitsune Zord smirked before grabbing Levira’s jaws and prying them open his throat glowing orange. Levira’s eyes widened as if to say no, this couldn't be happening. The Kitsune Zord grinned devilishly, as if to say oh yes it was. “Lunchtime!” He roared, before force feeding her a blast of flame so intense that what was left of Levira’s body just simply turned to ash or melted away in gruesome fashion.

This intense display of violence had frightened Stingerella so much, she’d dropped her guard and this had allowed Robert to knock her back with a chi-infused palm thrust. He and Lightning then shared a nod. Firing bars of golden energy from their claw gauntlets, the two Rangers encased Stingerella in a gilded cage. Then, they charged up their Crystal Swords.

“The reviews are in, Stingerella, and they all say your performance stinks!” Lightning exclaimed as both she and Robert raised their swords skywards creating a rotating circle of runes above them. “Now, face our lightning dragon flame roaring!”

From the circle, a European style dragon made of flame and lightning emerged and flew towards Stingerella and bit down on her before twin slashes from Robert and Lightning's weapons finished her. Or so they thought. Apparently, she’d gathered enough fear from the populace to be able to grow to massive size.

“And here we go…” Robert muttered in a tone of resignation and hung his head. “Time to show this bitch some real animal power. Wild Zords, combine!”

With shifting and whirring sounds, the Leviathan Zord split in half and his head and jaw folded open to become feet and the tail split open at the back as the Kitsune Zord’s back legs folded up into his chest.

Excess metal in his chest detached to form twin katanas and it’s head folded downwards to become a chestplate as his front legs detached with hisses of steam with the wings of both the Phoenix and Thunderbird Zords detaching as the tail feathers sprouted clawed hands and both Legendary Bird Zords became the arms. The Phoenix sported the kanji for fire on her winged shoulder pad and the Thunderbird, the kanji for lightning on his own.

A tusked head popped up from the Kitsune Zord’s neck, and the Vampire Bat Zord, wings detaching as it grafted itself onto the back of the Megazord and it’s head moved upwards and became the helmet.

“Animaria Guardian, online!” Sunset called, smiling as she heard familiar systems coming online, weapons readying themselves for battle. “Stingerella, you’re in trouble now!”

Old memories filling them, remembering exactly what to do, all five Rangers placed their Crystal Swords into slots on their control consoles. Except… this was not how they’d ever done things before, and so performing this action had a drastic effect on the Megazord’s power levels and a golden glow began to fill the cockpit even as Stingerella began to do a series of cartwheels towards them.

“Power levels… They're skyrocketing!” Vapor shouted, the light starting to become almost blinding in intensity. “Not even when we formed the Winged Animaria Guardian to fight Solar Flare were they this high!”

“...The Lights.” Robert whispered, and everyone looked at him. “Don't you see? We've never used the Lights of Orion in conjunction with the Megazord before and if I'm right on what’s about to happen…” he muttered, theories beginning to form in his mind. Those theories were soundly proven right when golden armor covered every inch of the Megazord, even giving it a multi-pointed crown of sorts. “Orion Guardian, online!”

Even extra armor wasn't going to be enough against Stingerella's strikes however, as they were just as deadly as before, some actually sending poison into the Megazord’s internal systems and sapping away at it’s power. And thanks to the added weight from the armor, it was nowhere near as maneuverable as before.

Emily, in the Plesio Charge Megazord managed to pry Stingerella away for a brief moment and deal out some devastating right hooks but that didn't solve the Wild Force team’s problems. Suddenly, just as Stingerella managed to pry herself free from Emily’s grip, a green blur hit the monster again and again, resembling some sort of small eagle or falcon in the brief moments anyone could catch a glimpse of it.

“No… No, it can't be…” Sunset whispered to herself. “The Soul Bird?”

“Yes Sunset, it’s me,” the legendary Wild Zord said as Sunset found herself gripping a new green Animal Crystal. “For too long I've stayed inactive in the fight. That cost me dearly when the Master Org destroyed my home and then my chick. No more destruction, no more.”

The Megazord gripped the Bird’s tail feathers just as her beak opened. As this happened, Sunset placed the Soul Bird’s Animal Crystal in her Sword, and it became a glowing blue scimitar. The beak then spouted a similar blade as well, with Sunset shouting out: “Soul Strike!” before the Orion Guardian raised its blade skyward and brought it down in one powerful clash cleaving Stingerella in two.

Striding forwards, Emily fistbumped the Animaria Guardian with her own mech and smiled. “You did well today Rangers, you did well.”

High above in his ship, Bunglay smirked. They weren't the only ones. During the fight, when he searched through Robert's memories he’d managed to place a hidden camera under his skin connected to his neuro-pathways. And now everything Robert saw, including the Animarium’s wildlife, he would see as well.

Author's Notes:

Okay, took me several ideas before I finally decided on what this chapter was going to be about. One, as stated from the Discord conversation below revolved around this:

The BricklayerLast Wednesday at 6:16 PM

Have half a mind for the next Wild Access chapter (And this is in no way related to me re-watching Armageddon) for Thrax to just say screw it the monsters for once, grab a passing meteor and smash it into Ponyville, with lampshades from Robert commenting on Earth and PR teams seems to be meteor magnets.(edited)

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ScootalooLast Wednesday at 6:16 PM

Suuure its not related to re-watching Armageddon, suuuure

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The BricklayerLast Wednesday at 6:17 PM

Because seriously, how many times in Super Sentai and PR combined has a meteor tried to smash into Earth by this point?(edited)

It's something you pretty much expect by this point.
That, and an Evil Ranger of sorts.

Another idea was Lightning spending the day with Silver till something happened and she and Robert had to team up. (The whole Guardians of the Galaxy thing was always in every draft, along with the Megazord's return.) So anyways, this is what I ended up with, Bunglay returning and the full nature of Lighting ad Rainbow's relationship revealed in one particularly gut-punching way. Thank you Malla for that. And yes, the whole miniature Soul Saber thing is a reference to the Megablades, the Super Ninja Steel Blaster and the like, along with the miniature version of the Time Force Megazord weapons that Wesley Collins always used for the finisher moves.

As ever, comments, thoughts, and critiques are welcome.