To the Stars...

by The Bricklayer

First published 18th of June, 2018

The world's become nothing but ice, the sun burnt out long ago. And so, the last survivors of Equestria look to the stars...

Long ago, the sun expanded, and and the world died and the sea and skies boiled, moon melting. As the planet cooled, it became an almost lifeless icy husk. However, the Princesses foresaw this, and created bunkers for the ponies to dive deep into. Underground cities, really. In these underground worlds, technology thrived and now, the ponies look to the stars in hopes of finding a new world, a new Eden. However, the galaxy's a dangerous place and it's not for the timid. As it was once said: “If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home, and crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here! It's wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross; but it's not for the timid.”

The galaxy at large is under the rule of the evil Dark Matter syndicate, and with only prototype suits and voyagers to help defend themselves against their relentless onslaught, sometimes what has been called Equestria's greatest, wonder if they should have run along home. Sadly, there's no turning back now. And maybe, just maybe, they'll become the Paladins this galaxy needs...

Say the Change!

(Kyurangers Adaption.)

Prologue: The End, and the Beginning

5 Billion Years, that’s how long Equestria was expected to last before the sun finally went, but our calculations were wrong. The end of all things came much sooner than expected, our Sun, Celestia’s sun was far older than any of us thought. We’d been preparing for the end of the world for the last few decades now, ushering our ponies into great underground bunkers in hopes they’d survive the coming cataclysm and escape the heat as me, and the rest of the planet broiled. If we could have, we would have run to the bunkers as well. But when the end came, it fell to us, the four great Alicorns to hold back the sun for as long as we could. -From the Journal of Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship.

The sun, it had filled the sky like an angry inferno until it had consumed nearly the entirety of space. Only small streaks of angry crimson remained along the horizon, the last vestiges against the oncoming inferno. The once grandiose yellow orb pressed down as a blazing ball of death upon the very word it had cared for and brought life warmth for a millennium. Smoke rose from the blackened wasteland, whipped up into churning maelstroms by the howling winds.

The earth, it glowed like fresh coals under the sun’s brilliance, a light so great, and yet so terrible. All of the planet was burning, breathing it’s last final gasps of life. All save for one location. The Crystal Empire. A tower of inky blackness stretched up high into the sky, where high above the moon hung in seeming defiance of the end that was to come. Luna knew it could not hold forever, but if she died, she was going to do it with dignity.

The Empire blazed with light, the central tower of the grand castle a beacon of shining hope. Though it was well within the eclipse of the moon, the sun could not be denied. Nor would it be stopped by some meagre alicorn. This was a force of nature, something that had been building for years and years, and nothing, not even the Princess of the Moon, Tides, and Dreams could or would be able to stop it.

But she’d be damned if she wouldn’t try, Luna thought to herself as she raised a gauntlet set upon her wrist, and pressed a purple Orb made of some otherworldly crystal down on it. “Say the Change!”, the gauntlet had shouted, and Luna responded.

“Constellation: Draco!” she said in reply, and a purple light covered her body leaving her in a form-fitting bodysuit, with chest armor, and a blazing star set on it. Irony really, given what was fast approaching. There was a legend surrounding this orb, that it had fallen to Equestria from space so long ago, from an age even older than Luna’s. She knew not from where it came from, only that it possessed powers untold. Perhaps it was meant to be used as a tool, with the knowledge it contained to improve all of Equestria and the worlds beyond?

Luna didn’t care about any of that right now, all she cared about was buying herself a little more time. It was a selfish desire, she admitted. But after years of caring for her people, perhaps a little bit of selfishness was allowed was it not?

But it would all be for naught in the end, she mused, even as she watched an ethereal purple serpentine dragon wind around the moon and cover it with its power. Caress it, protect it from the sun just a little longer. Why she was doing this, she didn’t quite know. The planet was burning, and nothing could stop it. Perhaps, Luna mused, she wanted to be a hero just one last time and save what little remained of her former position.

This hell, it wouldn’t last much longer though. Twilight Sparkle took some comfort in that. A small comfort sure, but it was a comfort nonetheless. She was going to die, there was no getting around that. There was nothing she could do. All of those decades of study and creation of both the vaults and what lay within, of sleepless nights and hectic days forgoing sleep and food and liquid at times. She, when she fled to the last holdout for ponykind, she took nothing but what she could carry and that was only a few tomes she had managed to salvage out of a selfish need to be where she belonged in death, with her books which had managed to be a comfort throughout of her years even when everyone else left her side. She had just her books, her memories and one impossible task.

Now that she’d admitted that this was a problem beyond even all of her power, all of her wisdom, somehow it relieved a great deal of stress from her mind. It was a relief, amazingly, to be with who she most cared about in the final days of Equestria. Her sister in Cadence, her aunt in Luna and her lover in Princess Celestia. And who knew, right? Perhaps one day, she’d meet everyone she once knew in some other world. Oriande, the ponies called it. The afterlife. It had other names, Skyhaven in the Hippogriff and Griffon tongues, The Great Hoard in the tongues of the Changelings, and Niflheim in the language of the dragons.

She fought back a sob, accepting she was of her death, she was not infallible. She thought of Spike, of ages long since past when he was just a simple baby drake and an assistant helping her out with various tasks that she couldn’t handle herself. But every child had to leave it’s nest, and as Spike gradually grew throughout the years, Twilight soon figured this out. Her heart broke when she had to send him away to the dragonlands, but she knew that’s where he belonged, with his own kind and not ponies. She took a small comfort in the fact that he’d gained two loves there, the Dragonlord Ember, and the wily young dragoness and fellow student of Friendship Smolder.

It had been so lonely in her home after those painful first few days, she found herself checking Spike’s room every so often just to wake him up, only to remember that he’d left. Starlight left as well in time, going on the road with Trixie. Twilight smiled, she remembered their wedding. It was as grand as you’d expect it to be when one of the newlyweds in question was a stagemare.

Perhaps it was during all of this and maybe because of it, Twilight gained a certain desire to be a mare, and not just this Princess that was closed off from the world in her castle with nothing but her books for company. But who? Most ponies only wanted to be with her just because she was a Princess, and nothing else. Her friends, they either weren’t interested in romance, or had fallen in love with somepony else.

Perhaps it wasn’t surprising then, she turned to Princess Celestia and became enveloped in a whirlwind romance with her former mentor. The Princess of the Sun -Now the very object of their doom ironically enough- knew exactly what it was like to be placed atop a pedestal, and to be seen as this unapproachable, godlike figure. And given their many years together spent in close proximity as master and student, there were already suitable foundations for a romance. Sure, ponies talked, and of course they would, with some calling Celestia a cradle robber. Personally, both Twilight and Celestia laughed this off, given that Celestia was older than anybody else and anyone she romanced would look young in comparison to her.

Twilight head’s swivelled up from looking down at the streets of the Empire, which once bustled with ponies going about their day to day jobs as she heard a cry ring out. Her ears perked up, she knew that voice. Then, she saw the massive dragon that encircled and wrapped itself around the moon protectively, shatter like glass. The sun reached moon, and wrapped its flares around the smaller body and hugged it tightly. And then, the moon began to melt, turning into thick globs that rained down upon Equestria. Some would probably hit the vaults, she suspected, and Twilight hung her head in mourning for the ponies inside them.

Twilight broke off into a sprint and ran towards Luna, who was sobbing as she lay prone on the balcony, the purple bodysuit that covered her fading away. The orb that once rested on her wrist gauntlet, it popped off and rolled away, off the balcony into the streets below.

“T-The Sun!” Luna choked out through her tears. “It… it killed her! It killed my moon!”

As Cadence rushed to embrace her aunt, Twilight ran towards the throne room and towards Celestia. She ascended the dias up to the throne and looked at her lover, whose face was physically strained, pulsing orange veins beginning to show. Her magic aura glowed as bright as the sun itself, as she pushed all of her power into holding it back just a little longer.

“Twilight…” Celestia coughed out, her throat raw leaving her voice barren as a desert. “So… There is nothing more we can do?”

“None. You know something, I’ve realized one thing,” Twilight commented, as she watched Cadance carry Luna into the room. “I’m old enough to know that a longer life isn’t always a better one. In the end, you just get tired; tired of the struggle, tired of losing everyone that matters to you, tired of watching everything you love turn to dust.”

“I’m just being realistic,” she clarified. “The ground beneath our hooves is spinning at… Oh, 1,000 miles an hour and the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour, and I can feel it. We can feel it. The planet, groaning out in pain and crying for mercy. We’d like to think think it’ll last forever: people and cars and concrete. But it won’t. We knew this, and yet we believed we could save ourselves. We tried tuning the mirror portal to other worlds, for our ponies to flee. And some did, but others couldn’t bear to leave their world behind and so that’s why the vaults and bunkers were built over the last few decades we had left. Underground cities, for protection from the coming fire. Our child… he’s inside one of them just outside the empire. He’ll never know us, except for our journals and memoirs that we left him. It would have been selfish to keep him with us, but…”

“Our legacy, it must continue. The ponies, they’ll need someone to guide them,” Celestia sighed sadly, wanting to embrace her child one last time. “This world… it was never meant for us to keep was it?”

“No, it was not,” Twilight admitted sadly. “So Celestia, just let go. You made a world, you and your sister for ponies to be proud of, but our age is over. Please, just let it go. The ponies, they don’t need us. When they emerge when the fire has passed and the world’s cooled down, it’ll be up to them to decide how to live. Now it’s time to let go, Luna could use her big sister right about now…”

Celestia chuckled. “When did the student surpass the teacher?”

Finally letting go, relenting at Twilight’s words, she gave her lover a long, last kiss, and after what seemed like far too little of a time, she let go, and pulled her niece and her sister into a hug. The world became ablaze with light, and in a few seconds, it was all over in a blinding flash. Fire consumed everything around them, and howling winds sent the castle crashing to the ground and it shattered. As Twilight fell into the fires below, she closed her eyes and welcomed death’s sweet release.

Eventually, the world was to cool down, and rebuild, as a whole new circle of life began. The world became like glass, covered in snow and ice as ponies hid away in their bunkers developing new sciences to survive in the frozen hell that lay miles above them. Geothermal was the new way to go, with power coming from Equus’s very core itself. Volcanic heat now powered everything, from simple appliances to entire electric grids. New life on the surface evolved, with nudges from the planet’s natural magical field helping them along the way. Creatures great and small made of pure crystal thrived in this wasteland, showing that even after all the lights went out and a planet was subjected to eternal night forever more, life would find a way.

However, everyone knew it was a dying world, with temperatures slowly dropping by the day. Soon or later, temperatures, which were already reaching -100 at times, would drop even lower, and in probably a few hundred years it would be -400 degrees up top. Even with volcanic heat powering everything, it was soon becoming evident that the world was no longer capable of sustaining the natural Equestrian life form in it’s current state. And nobody was planning on evolving fast enough to survive in a frozen hell.

So, eyes turned to the stars, and to the mirror portal. Expeditions were planned to leave the world via this way in a matter of days and hopefully find a new Eden. However, as with any great ambitious plan, there were a few hitches. Everyone knew the Mirror Portal was a long shot, it’d be amazing if it survived all of these years and was still functional in any capacity, so eyes turned to the stars.

Great ships had long been planned and constructed to carry the ponies to the worlds beyond, and expedition leaders had been picked out. Paladins, they were called, Equus’s best and brightest. Paladins to lead and protect the natives to the uncharted lands beyond the skies. And of course, every knight needed their steeds. But how were these steeds to be powered, and what would they do? Well, one pony, who we’ll get to in just a brief second thought he had an answer.

Nobody quite knew how, but in the rubble of the Crystal Empire the Draco Constellation Kyutama had been recovered. Somehow, it had survived Equus becoming scorched by solar flares, and from it, new technology was derived and slowly developed over the years. Other Kyutamas, developed from the same general magic of the stars, were created by a top scientist called Stripped Gear -The many times great grandson of Lyra Heartstrings and Bon-Bon- and his crew. Some he called Skill Kyutamas. These were to convey simple powers like the Cancer or Gemini Kyutamas. Others, were far more powerful. Six different Kyutamas, along with the original Draco Kyutama, powered suits of armor built to withstand the heat of combat and the pressures of deep space exploration alongside powerful mecha/fighter craft called Voyagers.

The lead of which, was based on the Cerberus Constellation. This massive three-headed sea green-toned ship powered by the Cerberus Kyutama and flown by the Prench pony Flashfire was designed to be the star of the show if you will, the greatest Voyager fighter craft ever built. Some wanted Celestia and Twilight’s son Stardust for the role, but it was eventually decided he was better suited leading the ponies on the massive colony ships that the voyagers were to be protecting.

Other ships were designed as well. The Wolf Voyager, the Bull Voyager, the Eagle Voyager, the Swordfish Voyager and so on. Each drew power from a constellation, like the Cerberus Voyager before them. In order, they drew power from the Lupus, Taurus, Aquila, and Dorado constellations respectively.

“Yee-Haw!” a voice proclaimed as a sea green ship rocketed past several of those same towers of ice, glittering and twinkling in the lights that the ship emitted.

“Easy there, don’t want to overdo it.” Stripped Gear’s voice crackled through the comm systems. “New upgrades I installed to the thrusters and afterburners, I just want to make sure that they work. Don’t push it, we don’t want to overcook the engines.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s just… this ship you made, and the Kyutama that powers it, they feel so alive!” Flashfire commented as he used the controls to turn his Voyager on its side so that it would fit through the very narrow gap in an icy canyon, before turning it skywards and rocketing back down towards a large hole in the ice that led deep inside the planet’s interior. All around him, crimson red crystals of every shape and size that comprised the cavern walls. “It’s just that they give this ship a… je ne sais quoi.”

“Next thing you’re going to do, is get married to it eh?” Stripped Gear joked. “Now, test the other systems, I want to see how well the new upgrades affect the ship’s maneuverability.”

“What do you think I’ve been doing, acting like some sort of clown de cirque?” Flashfire asked, as he sent the ship around a very tight corner, dodging and weaving between the blood-red crystalline structures all the while before he engaged the thrusters and rocketed out of the cave through a very tight hole. He shot across a wide open plain, as a bunch of ice crystal comprised foxes sniffed the ground for their latest meal, which was usually very small worms burrowing in the ice. They strained their heads upwards as the Cerberus Voyager shot over their heads, its pilot smirking all the while.

“Yeah, I’d say the systems are certainly and definitively tested. Come back to base.” Stripped Gear ordered.

Coldcast, the pilot of the Wolf Voyager found himself atop the headquarters of the Galaxy Garrison headquarters late one night. Now, the entire headquarters was surrounded by an energy shield, or barrier dome if you preferred made of hexagonal plates of magic and powered by like everything else on this damned world geothermal energy. Protected the entire structure and the grounds from the biting cold and windchill.

Coldcast, he was an interesting sort. From the Griffon kingdoms, -at least that’s where his family tree was supposed to lie- fancied himself an explorer and adventurer and general all-around action hero. The reality was far from it. He had only managed to get himself assigned to the Wolf Voyager because both Flashfire and Flurry Heart (One of the only two remaining Alicorns left alive) took pity on him really.

He did hold a love for the stars and was quite the astronomer though so he had that going for him. Often times, he suspected that’s the only reason aside from Flashfire that he was the pilot for the Wolf Voyager and the holder of the Lupus Kyutama. Didn’t really get along with anyone, as he preferred to keep to himself. More often than not, he’d been approached by a mare or hen or some other type of female who’d ask him out for drinks, only to be swiftly rebuffed.

Flurry often suspected it was because his parents died on him at such a young age, and he grew up in his vault’s orphanage. He wanted to make something of himself, and didn’t want to rely on anybody to help him along. Or hinder him.

The snow-white griffon found himself looking up to the stars, and smiling as he raised his telescope to the stars, and his eyes wandered through the sea of the inky black night. Here, alone amongst the galaxy’s greatest work of art was the only place he could find a sense of peace and belonging.

“So, I’ll be up there soon huh?” Coldcast mused as his eyes drifted towards the Ursa Major constellation, and for a brief moment, one of his crystal blue eyes drifted towards his gauntlet or Kyuchanger as it was called. For a moment, he wondered if there was a Kyutama based on that. He knew the Ursa Minor got one, so it was possible it’s big brother had a Kyutama created to draw on that constellation’s mystical powers.

You may wonder why the constellations were thought of to begin with, to create powerful suits, mechas and abilities. It was said, and Coldcast only knew of this because of his classmate Jabari who was half zebra and half horse, that long ago they were believed to be the creations of the gods themselves and held ancient mystical powers. Jabari took this belief seriously, and wouldn’t waver on it. Personally, Coldcast dismissed this as hogwash and found it especially ridiculous coming from a stallion who was otherwise well versed in various areas of science. But then again, if the Voyagers were any indication maybe he wasn’t quite so cracked in the head after all…

“Well, the final frontier it is then I suppose…” Coldcast murmured to himself as he retracted his telescope and pulled out a small little box and some headphones. It was then, having finally been distracted from his stargazing that he finally took notice of the fact that someone else was up there with him. Jabari, he knew it to be in an instant from the gold fur and the black stripes. He wore a black leather jacket, and was wearing headphones that were connected to a small laptop computer with what looked to be a satellite attached to it.

“Hey, come here to rock out?” Coldcast asked curiously, as he pried the headphones away from Jabari’s ears. “Because seriously, I’ve heard Radio 2’s got some really great tunes!”

Jabari glared at him.

“And here I thought you didn’t take much interest in socializing, especially with someone like me. Didn’t you dismiss me as a nutcase a few nights ago?” Jabari asked in an icy tone.

“Call me curious,” Coldcast remarked simply as he leaned in closer, only to be smacked away by his fellow Paladin. “I have to ask, where’d you get all this stuff? You raid a supply closet or somethin’?”

“I built it, actually,” Jabari replied smugly.

“Right, top of your class scientist…” Coldcast muttered. “So what are you listening to actually, if not rock and roll?”

“Transmissions!” Jabari replied, adjusting his glasses. “With this little baby, I can scan all the way to the edge of the solar system. Started out as a hobby I admit, probably expecting nothing to come of it, but-”

“But what?” Coldcast finished.

“But why am I even explaining all of this to you?” Jabari continued.

“Eh, I’m an astronomer, so I have a natural interest in space. Not just in stars and the like, but everything else associated with it. Not like there’s much else to be interested in…” he muttered sourly.

“True, everyone’s focused on the stars nowadays, I suppose I just fell in line,” Jabari grumbled bitterly. “I guess if we’re going to be on a team together, can’t have any secrets. And I’ve got a big one…”

“What, you’re secretly a mare in disguise? Cause listen, I won’t judge if that’s the-”

“Not that, you asshole!” Jabari snapped. “Listen, the world as you know it, it’s about to change. I’ve been scanning the systems, and picking up… well, alien radio chatter. I can’t translate most of it, but I can make one or two words out. It’s on repeat. Dark Matter, Dark Matter. That’s all I can really say,”

“Okay, so you are insane. Got it,” Coldcast said, and Jabari simply pressed a button on his computer.

Out of the speakers, came a single distorted voice saying in what was quite possibly the vilest tone possible: “Dark Matter, Dark Matter.” just as Jabari had said.

“What the fu…” Coldcast trailed off, and backing away from the computer more than a little unnerved. On pure instinct, he went for his Kyutama.

“Now now,” Jabari warned. “No need for that, just a message. A very creepy message, I admit, but just a message. Don’t even know how old it is,”

“...And that makes me feel so much better,” Coldcast sighed, pocketing his Kyutama.

“If it helps to make you feel any better, that was about my first reaction as well,” Jabari shrugged. “Nearly morphed into Aquila Pink right then and there!”

“Don’t you think we should, uh, report this to the higher-ups? I think Stardust and Flurry would love to know about-”

Before he could finish, a bright flash lit up the sky, and an orb rocketed high above them, leaving a trail of glowing red and orange fire behind it as it entered the planet’s atmosphere with a loud sonic boom.

“Okay, what in all of the name that is holy was that!?!” Coldcast screeched, leaving Jabari to look at him critically.

“...Maybe you should be the one piloting the Eagle Voyager with a screech like that one.” he deadpanned.

“Er, are your priorities a little skewed right now?” Coldcast asked in a flat tone, eyebrow raised. “I mean, a giant hunk of space rock that’s possibly connected to alien lifeforms just fell from the sky and you’re debating switching Voyagers with me?”

“...What makes you think it’s alien?” Jabari asked, this time his eyebrow raised.

“Well, it probably isn’t, but you pick up a transmission from something called Dark Matter and then that happens!” Coldcast proclaimed, pointing towards the large purple smoke cloud rising in the distance where the thing had landed. Probably hit some magnesium, he mused.

“Probably just a coincidence,” Jabari commented, being the more logical of the two. “I mean, what are the chances of that actually happening? Million-to-one I say!” he put in.

“Who cares, I’m still going to find out what it was,” Coldcast said, extending his wings, setting his goggles down over his eyes and then putting a small device on his chest which almost at once covered his body in a skintight thermal bodysuit. The griffon then flew down towards the ground to a hoverbike. “Most interesting thing to happen around here in decafebs!” He gunned the throttle, and rocketed off in the distance. Jabari could only sigh and run a hoof down his muzzle.

“...And now I’m going to have to be the one to go in after him and save his sorry butt when a Crystal Crawler decides the taste of chilled Griffon is very appetizing…” he grumbled, before leaping off the roof and going to a hoverbike of his own. “Flurry will probably have my head on a platter in the morning, but right now…?” he sighed, before donning a similar bodysuit going off after his friend.

When they arrived, both Coldcast and Jabari were treated to an incredible sight. A dark purple ship, covered in smooth curves and blinking lights resting neatly in a crater. Small little magnesium fires were surrounding it, each one white-hot and melting the snow and ice around the area.

“See, told you it was alien,” Coldcast replied smugly.

“And I submit to your reality, even if I still reject the theory that it’s related to this Dark Matter,” Jabari replied simply, with a small sniff.

“So who do you think it could be, friendly aliens, coming to drop by and say hi and improve our lives before they eat us?” Coldcast deadpanned.

“You read too many books, you know that right?” Jabari asked in a flat tone. “Besides, Dark Matter, it could be related to anything. Doesn’t have to be a species name or the name of some galaxy-spanning empire. As it is, Dark Matter as we know it is a theorized form of matter that is believed to account for approximately 80% of the matter in the universe, and about 25% or perhaps maybe more of its total energy density. The majority of dark matter is thought to be non-baryonicin nature-”

“Like you said, I read books so I know what it is,” Coldcast cut him off. “Still doesn’t mean that it’s friendly though.”

“You’re really hard to like, you know that right?” Jabari stated in an annoyed tone.

“And you two,” a familiar Prench accent said as a red-coated pony removed his cornflower blue Perseus Kyutama from his Kyuchanger, revealing the form of Flashfire. This particular Skill Kyutama had the ability to camouflage one with his or her environment. “Are in so much trouble. You aren’t even qualified to fly your Voyagers yet!”

“Aw crap…” Coldcast muttered. “Busted.”

“Well, as long as we’re here and I’m stuck with you two imbéciles, might as well make the most of it and have a little look-see as to who’s greeting us…” Flashfire sighed.

A figure, scorpion-like in shape with a humanoid torso and completely metallic staggered out of the ship, with a rectangular head with one gleaming eye shining a searchlight in their direction. All three Voyager pilots quickly ducked behind some ice. Sadly, it seemed this robot could detect heat signatures and fired a beam of energy in their direction.

“Move! Rapide comme vous pouvez!” Flashfire barked as all three ran for it before sharing a look. “Well, it’s not friendly and it obviously wants to kill all, so I say we introduce ourselves eh?” the pony commented, and both Jabari and Coldcast smirked before all three took out Kyutamas and primed their Kyuchangers. All the while, the arms of the robot sprouted twin-pronged blades.

“Say the Change!” the Kyuchangers all exclaimed in unison before three Kyutamas were locked in with a clicking sound and given a small twist.

“Lupus!”
“Cerberus!”
“Aquila!”

Author's Notes:

Okay, I admit, that was a rather dark beginning for a Sentai adaption. Killing off all of our favorite MLP characters just like that, like I just snapped my fingers like Thanos would with his Infinity Gauntlet? I apologize for any tears shed.

I also apologize for the broad strokes taken with everything, such as some of the names being changed, and the fact that this whole story doesn't start off as a space rebellion against an evil empire with nine Rangers and instead starts off with ponies looking to escape a dying world with what they have.

But rest assured, we'll get to epic space battles and the like. For now, comments, thoughts, and critique are welcomed.

Enjoy, what I'd like to believe would be the theme for this series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USXQ758nVBQ

Part 1: Scorpius

The robot chuckled as soon as it saw the three ‘intruders’ enveloped in an explosion, now that they were dealt with, he could move onto other things.

However, a familiar grating tone reached his audio receptors.

“Did you think we were dead? ‘Cause if so, you need to get that optic of yours checked!” Coldcast’s voice shouted. The robotic centaur/scorpion turned to face it and saw in Coldcast and the other two’s places what could only be described as costumed heroes. The robotic warrior made a hissing noise, and his blades crackled with energy.

“Paladins…” he thought to himself as if he’d had run-ins with these particular types of heroes before.

Coldcast adjusted his gloves, and punched his fist. His costume was form fitting, and looked actually looked like it was made out of leather in some ways, and bore a fur collar. A singular blue star adorned his chest, with a bright, light blue orb at the center of it. Though the legs looked like rock walls, they were slim and smooth to the touch. The helmet resembled a wolf’s head, and bore a glittering image of the constellation Lupus as the visor.

The others were similar, except they seemed to be made out of tight spandex instead of leather. The sea-green one, he bore a Cerberus constellation as his visor and a small cape draped from his back, a unicorn’s horn sticking out of the helmet. Like Lupus Blue, he bore a star on his chest

The pink one was no different, and had the image of the Aquila constellation on his visor and also had a star on the center of the costume.

“Three Stars shining in the sky,” Flashfire shouted as he drew his sword, his Prench accent coming out. “Space Squadron, Kyurangers!”

“I wasn’t expecting to run into Star Paladins on this mission, but no matter, they’ll just be more obstacles to be removed. However, an adaptation must be made.” the robot thought to himself.

The robot let out another hissing noise, and the legs changed with a shifting of parts from eight arachnoid ones to just two humanoid ones, although the robot still retained the stinger tail that hung from its back and swayed in a dangerous looking manner.

“What are you after, ya hunk of junk?” Coldcast asked, holding up a claw-like weapon. “Whatever it is, we’ll stop you all the same!”

The robot said nothing, except for two words: “Dark Matter.”

It was evident by Blue and Pink’s stances that these words had caught them off guard.

“Would this be a good time to say, I told you so?” Coldcast deadpanned.

“How ‘bout we wait till after we render this guy into scrap metal?” Jabari asked, holding out a small red pistol.

“You can try, paladins. But you will not succeed!” The robot growled and thrust his foot into the ground, creating a small crater around it. “Spike Volley!”

With that, his arms shot out a flurry of spikes that flew towards the Rangers at blinding speeds, cutting into their suits and drawing blood. The three Rangers tried using their weapons to either slash or shoot the spikes out of the air, but eventually more and more got through and they were forced to take cover behind some ice.

“I have an idea, follow my lead!” Flashfire shouted, before summoning from his belt buckle a black Kyutama and inserting it into his Kyuchanger. “Andromeda!”

“So that’s how it’s done…” Jabari mused.

With that, chains erupted from the ground and bound the robotic enemy from head to toe.

“Hah!” Coldcast shouted, leaping out from behind cover and pointing at his foe. “Let’s see you try and break out of that one!”

“I may be stuck, but your overconfidence will be your downfall Paladin of Lupus. Scorpius System Fireballs, activate.” The robot stated calmly and fired off balls of searing hot magma from its’ eye. Flashfire raised his sword to block the blows, bt was sent flying back.

The Robot clasped his hands together and performed a double-handed slam on the ground, his arm blades charging it with electricity, igniting the magnesium below him and sending all three Rangers flying back from the sheer force of the explosion.

“Ugh… Please tell me that got him,” Coldcast muttered.

“He’s an alien robot from the stars beyond made out of some sort of metal none of us have ever seen, do you really think a simple magnesium explosion would kill him?” Jabari asked flatly.

“Nngh…” The robot groaned as it struggled to get up. The chains had been snapped, but his body was heavily dented and singed from the blast. “What… what are you?”

“Like we said, we’re the Kyurangers,” Flashfire smirked. “Ou sommes-nous simplement trop pour vous?”

“I’ve run into your kind before…” the Robot stated. “They never were much of a challenge. You think you’re the only ones with Kyutamas in this or any other galaxy? Where’d you think that Draco Kyutama I tracked came from? Granted, I am impressed that you managed to reverse-engineer its technology,”

“N'y pense même pas,” Flashfire spoke in a warning tone, charging his weapon up for another attack. It ignited with a blazing flame. He turned to Coldcast. “Hold him steady!” he barked out.

“Right!” Coldcast smirked under his helmet. “Got just the thing!”

He pulled out the Cancer Kyutama, and a red claw of energy erupted from his back, and grabbed the Robot in its pinchers.

“What do you hope to accomplish?” The robot asked, batting at the pincer with its’ metallic limbs. “I am galvanized with the strongest metals in the galaxy!”

“Simple,” Flashfire remarked as he charged forwards. “Bifurcation!”

He set his Cerberus Kyutama in his blade, making it cry out: “Galaxy!” before slashing the robot right down the middle. To his surprise however, the legs fell forwards, but the top half of the robot just entered his ship. Inside, it attached itself to the cockpit, and wires sprung out from the bottom of the torso entering crucial systems and charging them up. And then, the entire ship began to shift and change, with four pronged legs popping out, a singular eye appearing from underneath metal plating, and a massive stinger tail erupting from the back of the ship, with a laser cannon at the end, glowing a ugly green color.

“Fools! You cannot stop a morph-capable robot such as myself!” The robot roared as he stared down on the tiny Kyurangers. “Now prepare for your extermination at the hands of the Dark Matter Empire!”

“...Okay, remember when I said neither of you were qualified to pilot your Voyagers yet?” Flashfire asked, looking towards Coldcast and Jabari, who nodded weakly. “Consider this on the job training!”

“On the job? You really think we can do it? We’ve barely had any time to get used to them!” Jabari asked nervously, and Flashfire gave them a serious look.

“I believe in you. Now, let’s hope this thing is feeling lucky!” he said with a snap of his fingers, before all three Rangers gave their Kyutamas flicks and pointed their gauntlets to the night sky.

Suddenly, a massive blue wolf erupted from a mountain of pure ice, and raised its head to howl at where the moon once would have been centuries ago. A dark pink and black Eagle flew over it, with the three-headed Cerberus Voyager right behind. Three massive Kyutamas appeared, and each locked themselves in place on each of the Voyagers as the rangers leaped into their cockpits.

“Alright then… What was it my father used to say?” Jabari mused to himself as he adjusted himself to the controls, using joysticks to control his mecha in the orb-shaped cockpit. “Oh yes. Now you find the strength in your heart to appeal to his good nature, and if you can't, find the strength in your arms to beat his ass senseless.”

“I don’t think we can appeal to his better nature,” Coldcast snarked. “So we’ll skip to beating this guy’s ass senseless. ...Does he even have an ass?”

“Now who’s got skewed priorities?” Jabari asked in an amused tone, as he flew the Eagle Voyager away from the Scorpius Mech, who trained its stinger tail onto the bird.

“It’s still you!” The scorpion mech fired its’ stinger tail at the eagle, trying to hit the wings or engines. “Die! Fall! Black out! Disappear!”

“Yeah yeah, we get it already…” Coldcast snarked, rolling his eyes.

“The plan is this,” Flashfire told his teammates. “Lead this thing on a chase, tire or overload its main weapons systems, then we strike. Simple to understand, non?”

“I highly doubt that robots ever tire,” Jabari remarked, lifting a brow. “Y’know, because they don’t have lungs or anything used for breathing? I kinda think these things can go on forever…”

“We’re too close to Vault-182. We have to get it away from there. If that thing steps on the vault, everyone inside will be crushed. There’s some canyons up ahead, we can lead this thing there, box it in!” Flashfire ordered. “Keep up the pressure all the while, make it focus its attentions completely on us!”

The scorpion mech continued to fire on the Eagle Voyager, its’ lasers painting the ground and causing plumes of flames and debris to rise. As more shots were lobbed and the sharpened legs dug into and rose from the ground, nothing but destruction enveloped the area. Icy walls were torn to pieces, large cracks formed in the ground, and snow burst out as colossal holes were formed in the ground. Some water even started to spill from the canyon walls as the fight ensued, with the water trickling down towards the Wolf and Cerberus Voyagers.

The scorpion walker’s singular eye fired a huge blast of energy towards all three Voyagers, hitting them all as they tried to break away. The shot grazed their sides and burned the colours off as the mechs all collapsed to the ground.

“Dammit!” Coldcast punched the console. “So, you want to play huh? Let’s play.”

With that, the Wolf Voyager pounced at one of the walker’s legs, and bit down on it. Its teeth sank into the metallic connectors that kept the robot standing, causing it to tumble to the side.

However, it soon regained its footing and began to stand back up, if only on three legs, the legs digging in deeper into the snow and ice.

“That accomplished what, may I ask?” The robot taunted, launching another wave of shots at the wolf Voyager, causing the ice it was standing on to combust and break beneath its’ feet. “Nothing but you being sunk!”

“Coldcast!” Jabari shouted in fear, the rational part of his mind telling him the Voyager’s systems should keep him alive, but he was still afraid for his sorta friend nonetheless. The Eagle Voyager opened up its beak, and fired a stream of pink energy towards the walker hitting it directly in the eye.

“Grah!” The walker looked away as the eyeshot knocked it backwards, the claws tearing the ice even more. “Trying to blind me, huh? How pathetic and cowardly!” The stinger reared itself, and fired at the Eagle Voyager again. Mortar shots erupted from the walker’s back, and came down all around the area like meteorites, with the two Voyagers forced to dodge and weave between them.

The Cerberus Voyager opened all three of its mouths, and fired an energy beam from each. “Have some of this!” Flashfire smirked.

The walker staggered back once more, and that gave Jabari his opening and he pumped his Voyager’s wings full of magic, the two glowing a deep pink lighting up the night sky. The Eagle Surged forwards and sliced through the stinger tail, chopping it right off.

“No!” The robot howled. “How dare you! Pitiful, insignificant fleshlings!” The machine gathered energy and crackled with dark purple lightning. “I will not be mocked and taunted like this! Not by you or anyone!” Looking to the sky, it sent a purple spherical shockwave out.

The blast sent both the Eagle and Cerberus Voyagers crashing into the ice and snow. “Bon sang, all systems jammed. Rebooting!” Flashfire shouted.

The scorpion robot clawed its’ way forward with the three legs it had left. “Prepare for your extinction, fools!” And its’ eye laser began to charge up and let off a final blast; one that would end the Kyurangers here and now.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Coldcast shouted, as he and the Wolf Voyager leaped out of the frozen seas and canceled the blast out with one of his own. The mech landed in front of the two downed Voyagers, standing near them protectively. “You want to get to my friends, you have to get through me first,” Coldcast growled out.

“C-Coldcast…” Jabari whispered in shock, never seeing this side of his friend before. He’d always remained aloof, uncaring about anyone except himself. “W-what happened to you, what’s gotten into you?”

“Agh, you two grow on me, what can I say?” he muttered. “Now get those engines rebooted, so we can finish this creep, and give this “Dark Matter” what for eh? Flashfire, you said these mechas were meant to combine once, didn’t you?” he asked.

“Yeah, but would it really work now? He’s cut off our flying powers,” Flashfire groaned and tried to reboot his systems. “Par les néithers de Celestia...”

“Pump ‘em full of magic, that’s what these things run on right? Much magic as you got! We’ll just have to give them a hard reboot!” Coldcast shouted.

Flashfire sighed, and then pumped his entire Voyager full of magic, before lights began to flicker on as systems rebooted, one by one. A voice recording stated: “Celesti-AI back online. Welcome, Paladin. Megazord configuration systems operational.”

“Oh… Oh yes!” Flashfire cried as his Voyager slowly began to lift off the ground, with the Eagle soon to follow. The Celesti-AI was a part of the Great Sun herself, a small bit of her consciousness saved to databanks by Princess Flurry Heart and Princess Twilight. “Now we’re talking! Alright then, you wanted a fight? Congrats, you got one! Voyagers, on me! Time to finish this!”

He took off his Kyutama, and inserted it into a slot and spun the small globe-like trinket, with the other two following his maneuvers exactly.

“Megazord Sequencing Ready. Combine!” the Celesti-AI stated as parts began to shift, and both the Wolf and Eagle Voyager’s Kyutamas detached to allow them to link up with the Cerberus Voyager. Mind you, it was still missing legs, but booster rockets where the empty sockets were fired up, and engaged a flight mode of sorts, with the Eagle’s wings detaching from its body and grafting themselves to the Megazord’s back. “Shooting Star Megazord! Ready for battle!” the Celesti-AI announced.

“So, you’ve grown up a bit. Doesn’t change a thing!” The scorpion-bot taunted roared and launched more blasts at the Megazord.

The Eagle’s beak opened and formed an energy shield absorbing the blasts completely.

“That all you got?” Jabari asked in a bored tone. “I say we finish this.”

“Exactly. Alright then,” Flashfire stated. “Let’s test your luck!”

Both the Wolf and Eagle Voyagers primed themselves with energy, before creating a massive meteorite of energy before it was tossed at the scorpion walker.

“Meteor Crash!” Flashfire roared, and once it hit, the red unicorn allowed himself a smirk. “Échec et mat.”

“No! I will not be stopped by the likes of you!” The scorpion took the hit and the pilot inside felt the whole entire chassis crumple and collapse under the sheer force of the meteor. It finally exploded, bathing the area with flames. “Never!”

Flashfire felt it prudent to inspect the remains of the walker, and it was a very good thing that he did, considering he found the pilot amazingly enough still clinging to some small shard of life. The robot crawled forwards, inch by precious inch, its claws digging into the ice below gripping it tightly.

“Proceed with caution,” the Celesti-AI warned. “I believe, even as crippled as this robot is, it could still possess some mechanism of defense.”

“Well, we’ll just have to see about that won’t we?” Flashfire commented, before thrusting his sword in the robot’s back, with the body shaking before crumpling to the ground.

“What… What was that thing?” Jabari asked, visibly shaking in fear. “Where did it come from, and who sent it?”

“It… It said something about the Dark Matter Empire, that’s all we know.” Coldcast whispered, his voice as soft as the grave. “Jabari, you were right. We’re not alone, and whatever’s out there,” he continued, looking up at the moonless sky. “It’s not friendly. Should we even…?” he asked, thinking about what else they might run into out there if the plan to take to the stars went forwards. “I know this world’s going to freeze over eventually, but maybe we should freeze along with it.”

“Listen,” Flashfire said sternly, grabbing ahold of Coldcast by the shoulders. “We’re Kyurangers, and the Paladins of Equus, for better, or for worse. Now, I don’t know what’s out there, same as you, and Hell, I’m scared as you believe it or not. But I do know one thing, we have to get off this planet, and find a new home. I don’t like going into the unknown blind, blind about what what’s out there, but as my ancestor Princess Platinum once said when she found what was to become Equestria, and settled it: “If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here! It's wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross… but it's not for the timid. Nobody ever said this expedition would be safe, but we have to undergo it, or we die. But, as your commander, I’ll be with you every step of the way. I’ve always been, haven’t I petit frère?” he asked softly, pulling Coldcast into a hug.

“Y-Yes, grand frère.” Coldcast whispered in reply, wiping away tears as he did so. He’d managed to catch the Prench phrase perfectly, and it sounded as if he’d been speaking it all his life.

“Much as I hate to ruin the sappy moment guys,” Jabari spoke up. “Have a gander at this!”

He held up something gathered from the burning wreckage, and both Coldcast and Flashfire felt their eyes widen in abject shock. What the zorse was holding up, could only be a Kyutama. This one was mainly purple, with an orange crystal. It was marked with the number 02, and all three Rangers took a gander at their own Kyutamas.

The Lupus, marked with a 03. Aquila, marked with 08 and Cerberus was marked with a 00 representing it being the first, the prototype.

“What the hell…?” Jabari asked, before he remembered something. “What did that robot say? Oh yes! Now I remember! He said: “I’ve run into your kind before… They never were much of a challenge. You think you’re the only ones with Kyutamas in this or any other galaxy? Where’d you think that Draco Kyutama I tracked came from?” That’s what he said, right?” Jabari asked. “Now that I think of it, the Draco Kyutama has a number code as well! Marked with a 10, right?”

“We need to talk to Stripped Gear, see what he knows. He was partially responsible for reverse-engineering the Draco Kyutama in the first place, and creating our Legend Kyutamas and the Skill ones like Cancer and Gemini as well,” Flashfire stated firmly, before gesturing to the broken remains of the Robot. “Grab him, we’ll see what we can learn from whatever’s left of him.”

Groaning out in pain, Coldcast lifted the remains of the Robot onto his back and pulled out both the Gemini and Cygnus Kyutamas from his belt and then attached the Gemini Kyutama to his Kyuchanger, and suddenly there were two of him and two Cygnus Kyutamas as well. Both Cygnus Kyutamas were used, and two swan-themed hoverbikes appeared in front of the Rangers. Coldcast’s clone vanished in a stream of stardust.

Coldcast loaded the remains of the robot onto the back of his bike and gripped the throttles, while Jabari and Flashfire climbed onto the back of the other bike. They flew off back towards the Garrison Headquarters, never noticing the Robot’s eye flicker once before dimming again.

Far above them, atop an icy mountain looking towards the spiral galaxy known as the Milky Way that shone brightly down on the normally darkened planet of Equus, a figure stood. Unusually, he seemed to have no need for the thermal suits that the native inhabitants had to wear. Instead, he just wore a dark blue suit and tie, a brown trenchcoat and a pair of red trainers. In the pockets of his coat, sat a silver cylindrical object with a blue tip. In one of his hands, a gold Kyutama marked 04.

“Oh… How does that legend go?” the figure asked himself, rubbing at his chin in thought before he snapped his fingers in remembrance. “Oh, I know! When the universe falls into evil clutches and its people shed tears, the Kyutama will choose nine saviors, the Kyurangers, who will save the universe. That’s how it goes right?” he asked to no-one in particular before chuckling as he gripped the Kyutama in his hand, using his other hand to rub the back of his head sheepishly. “Well, I must say, I never imagined I’d be chosen. I mean, I’m the worst choice to save anyone, let alone the entire universe from the clutches of Dark Matter! But all the same…”

He flicked his wrist, and a Kyuchanger of his own appeared before he locked the Libra Kyutama in it.

“Libra!” he stated, before morphing into a gold-clad figure similar in design to the previous Kyurangers with a set of scales as his visor.

Far below the howling winds and negative degree temperatures of the aboveground, rested a miracle in engineering, and magic. Deep within the caverns of the planet, behind sealed vault doors rested underground cities. Powered by geothermal generators with lava flows running through cities like rivers, and with buildings sparkling and twinkling like days gone by in old Manehatten, these technological wonders were the last safe haven of the residents of the planet Equus.

Tapping his hooves to a beat unheard as he worked upon the latest upgrades to the Kyuranger suit system, was a tan pony going by the name of Stripped Gear. Dressed in a lab coat, and little glasses, this pony also happened to be the bearer of the Dorado Yellow powerset.

Doing a small dance with his cane as his horn lit up in a green tint of magic levitating various tools to work on the Kyuchanger gauntlet, he hummed an old song under his breath.

“If there's a race in life you'd win
I'll be here below the stratosphere as long as you're in it
Can't flutter for nothin, but they still got a rise
I'd love to be flapping instead of just tapping, but that's just not happening.
I'll never be fly like you
Fly like you
Fly like you

“I was scratchin' an itch that I just couldn't find
And mah little pegasister was there by my side
I asked “Honey, you got a wing you can spare?”
Her feather flicked a fly and she just said
“Grow a pair.”

Some may have given him odd looks, and called him morbid but he liked the tune really. Not sure where he’d first picked it up, but it had been stuck in his head ever since. Some may have called him bigoted against pegasi or any other flyer, but that was further from the truth than it could possibly be, given he originally considered a pegasi friend of his for the Aquila Powers thinking a flying Voyager would come naturally to them. It wasn’t his fault that the pegasus in question couldn’t be bothered to pry his head from his work, and that Jabari aced the tests needed to be able to fly a Voyager.

...Okay, so maybe he held a bit of a grudge, but he knew he couldn’t let that get in the in the way of his very important work.

“Important work, it seems, that’s about to be increased…” Stripped Gear commented when both Flashfire and Jabari wheeled in a broken robot on a cart.

“...You know Jabari, when you were a little foal, you always brought home pets like Vulptexes and the like asking if you could keep them. I imagined you’d grow out of it eventually, and you did. Or so I thought.” Stripped Gear commented in a deadpan tone.

“Were these Vulptexes ever dead?” Flashfire asked flatly, and it took a minute for Stripped Gear to realize that was a joke relating to the current state of affairs. “How goes the upgrades?”

“Well, for one I should be able to increase the Chamaeleon’s powers so that it, like the Perseus Kyutama should be able to camouflage itself with the environment. Also worked on the Corvus Kyutama, which sends a target into a realm of permanent despair. Bit grim, I know, but it’ll catch on! I promise you that!” Stripped rambled. “Oh, and don’t get me started on the Aquila’s flight upgrades!”

“Focus Stripped,” the Twilight-AI said from near his desk, an almost perfect hologram of Twilight Sparkle herself, made completely up of lines of code. It had been developed in the same base way as the Celesti-AI. For all intents and purposes, they were Celestia and Twilight Sparkle. “Geez, and they called me erratic whenever I got my mind set on projects…” she mumbled to herself.

“Where’s dinner?” Stripped asked. “Can’t work on an empty stomach, especially not with what I’ve just been handed!”

“Spada’s working on it, as always,” Twilight reminded. “You’re getting forgetful again. I envy you really, having a sense of taste and the actual ability to eat. From what you say about his cooking, it’s like an orgasm in your mouth!”

Jabari and Flashfire shared a flushed look, while Coldcast busted out laughing. Eventually, Flashfire set the apparent Scorpius Kyutama down on Stripped’s desk. The unicorn’s eyes widened considerably.

“Where’d you get this? I sure as Hell would have remembered if I made another Legendary Kyutama…” Stripped trailed off, eying this new one closely.

“Well, that’s quite the tale and it relates to our new friend here,” Flashfire explained gesturing to the robot.

“Fascinating, simply fascinating!” Stripped exclaimed as he examined the robot’s inner workings with a little scanning device. “This simply cannot be from Equus!”

“Yeah, we sorta figured that out when it was trying to kill us with a giant scorpion mech,” Jabari deadpanned. “Sorta like our Voyagers, but much, much larger and deadlier. A Mega-Voyager if you will.”

“Oh… Oh my,” Stripped whispered. “There’s something I think you, and all the other Voyager pilots need to see in that case. You too Twilight! Come along!” he continued, gesturing for the others to follow, just as Spada arrived on the scene with a tray of sushi.

The mostly yellow carapaced Changeling sighed to himself, always so unfocused that one. Stripped Gear, he was like a pavlova in some ways, and that meant he was notoriously hard to work with at times. He grumbled something under his breath, before sighing and following after his fellow Paladins.

If he had looked back, he would have seen the robot’s singular optic blink once more, before dimming.

He was in for a shock, pretty much dropping his tray -After recovering it, and more importantly the food with a small field of magic from his horn- when he saw what was nestled deeper inside Stripped’s lab. As ever, the lab was in a state of what could only be described as organized chaos, various half-finished devices and inventions and such scattered about. On a big bulletin board, with various drawings and photos stuck to it with thumbtacks was what seemed to be an entire collection of such things all centered around one such creature, a massive purple dragon, from the Neighasian lands in design.

“What… What have you been working on?” Jabari whispered. If there was a pony in the cities more intelligent than him, it was Stripped Gear and there was always a method to his madness. Jabari had just yet to figure it out right now.

“I… I can’t explain it really. After I started work on reverse-engineering the Draco Kyutama, I found myself drawn out to this general area,” Stripped said, and gestured with a pointer to a canyon. The very same canyon, in fact, Flashfire had remembered testing the Cerberus Voyager’s new upgrades in. “It’s like some energy, and I know this sounds completely unscientific really, was telling me to just… search. I haven’t even told Princess Flurry Heart or Prince Stardust about this yet!”

“You’re right,” the Twilight-AI spoke up. “It does sound completely unscientific, but at the same time completely fascinating, I can see why you wanted to investigate this further. What’d you find? When searching, I mean?”

“Well, I didn’t really know at the time, until I stumbled across this area!” Stripped Gear piped up, gesturing with his pointer to an area on a map written on in black marker: “Energy source!”

“So, what is it?” Spada asked.

“Outcropping of giant ice boulders, leading into a giant cavern covered in these sheer ancient markings. Each tells a slightly different story, but they all tell of this purple dragon coming to save them in times of great crisis. And, what’s more, they all tell of clues leading to some great event, some great… disaster. Initially, I thought it was of the sun going out oh so long ago, but now after you brought in that robot and told me of you and your comrades’ story Jabari,” Stripped continued, with everyone else in the room looking at the zorse as Stripped continued. “I’m not so sure about that. What I am sure of is this, we need to have a look at those caves. So, who’s with me?”

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to anybody, several ships similar in make to the Robot’s flew high above the wreckage of the scorpion walker.

In the lead ship, a purple-furred wolf-like creature grimaced as he looked over the flaming wreckage. “So, there’s life on this planet sufficiently advanced enough to defeat one of our scouts. Interesting…” he thought before going to the comms. “Central Command, this is Lupus. The scout, it’s been destroyed, and I detect no signs of the Scorpius Kyutama.”

“Well, that’s interesting isn’t it?” a deep voice commented. “Lupus, continue your search of the area, see what you can find. Raze the whole planet to the ground if you have to! I want the Dragon found!”

“Sir, there’s… something else,” Lupus replied. “Detecting an energy signature of some sort to the northwest, in the remains of some sort of castle.”

“Send a squad of Invaders to check it out. You’re the Karo of this system, so it’s your responsibility to keep order. Eriedrone out.”

“Yes, commander.” Lupus nodded, before rocketing off towards the former Crystal Empire. It was time to take matters into his own hands now.

Author's Notes:

Okay, first off, huge thank you to Shadowmane PX-41 for the help he provided on the first real Mecha fight of the series. This should a reassurance to those of you who read Wild Access, we'll be seeing the main Mecha fight much sooner than it did there.

Now, for Kyurangers fans, the name Spada should sound familiar, and I thought it'd be an interesting twist if he got his powers swapped with Green's. His personality is basically the same, he's just now the Green Ranger and a Changeling. Mind you, a yellow one referencing his original color from the series. Also, yes, the Doctor is the Gold Ranger of this series. Because... well, why not? He's already got the perfect qualities to be a Ranger really if you're familiar with him. I do however, give full credit to Axle the Red Exorcist and his story Shining Lucky Stars for the idea. So credit, where credit is due.

Now, I still need suggestions for Silver, Skyblue and the Phoenix Soldier. Scorpius Orange and Taurus Black I've already got narrowed down, along with the Draco Commander so any suggestions along with the usual comments and critique are welcomed.

Part 2: Mysteries in the Dark

Spada always hated the cold, went against every natural instinct he had to go to some cold climate and just live out the rest of his life there. There was a reason he preferred the underground cities over the frozen overworld. The sheer feel of the biting, howling, slashing winds against his carapace and chitlin felt wrong in every sheer way.

Changelings, back in their early days were jungle-borne creatures. They’d grown and evolved in the depths of dark, rainy, sweaty forests far beyond Equestria’s known borders and far off any known map’s borders even. There were no jungles now of course, nor would there ever be again, save for artificially created climates inside the cities or onboard the colony ships. But every Changeling, even those born long after the sun was but a memory, longed for those lands and Spada was no exception. Oh sure, if the old texts were correct, these jungles were not for the faint of heart, you had to fight to survive against whatever wanted you as it’s next meal, but that’s how Changelings, in their original form at least learned to be the top predator. Running and hiding, sticking to the shadows and draining love dry from any being unlucky enough to be caught in their mandibles. He could only guess some of this of course, as even long before he was born, Queen Chrysalis had sought it fit to destroy most of the texts relating to Changeling origins and it was only with the combined efforts of Twilight Sparkle and Thorax that what little remained was saved.

From what he remembered in old diaries, usually gained via sneaking into Stardust’s private quarters under the disguise of a guard (Security was rather lax in detecting Changelings, Spada had found) it wasn’t an easy task to say the least. Take for example one entry by Twilight.

“Hot. Wet. Hellish. Acid Rain. The chaos lands are all that stand between us, and what Thorax’s texts refer to as the Hivemother-Land. The jungles of old where the very first Changelings hatched from their eggs. Of course, standing between us and those jungles, isn’t just foul weather conditions. Pits of boiling hot lava, with very few spots of safe drinking water nestled inside caves where acid rain can’t contaminate it. Of course, that’s not the worst of it at times. No, that title would belong to the chaos spawn. Foul beings, indescribable in words. I can barely spare a glance at them without going mad. They’re constantly shifting between various monstrous forms, and the rare times they’re not in a that state, they like their creator are in some sort of chimera-like state.

“Green skinned with a hide tougher than even the strongest of leathers, and covered in boils. Thank Faust Thorax seems to have this sixth sense, if you will calling out to him, leading us through this blackened and charred wasteland. I swear, by the time we get through this pit and get a definitive marker set up so that ponies can create a teleportation link between wherever the mother-hive is and Canterlot along with Thorax’s hive, I’ll probably never feel clean again by the way this journey’s going. This foul pit, it has a way of getting to you. Time seems to stand still when you can’t see Celestia’s sun no thanks to the constant cloud cover. As I sit here, in a cave, I do long for home, and for the comforts of my wife’s wings. ...Shit, I have to move. The chaos spawn, they’ve spotted us. Time to run and hopefully fight to see the next day. Or at least the next hour…”

Spade shuddered at the descriptions he found therein, but somehow, in some way, he probably would have welcomed the challenge. New land to explore, and possibly a new culture to bring his culinary skills to. Sure, Discord himself had noted: “You can’t reason with them. Or at least I can’t. Fact is I've never known anyone who did.” However, going into that Chaos Lands like they did, Twilight and Thorax had unknowingly laid the seeds for the future. In fact, their mission back then, it wasn’t that far removed from one of the main missions of Project Horizons, as it was beginning to be called. Seek out new cultures, understand them and perhaps make new allies along the way. No, that wasn’t right. Hopefully make new allies along the way. Go where no Equus resident had gone before, cheesy as it sounded. And Spada intended to be at the forefront of this mission, wherever it led.

Food connected everyone, it was a universal language. The fact of the matter was, even if you couldn’t speak someone else’s tongue, you could win their hearts and minds through their stomachs. That’s what Spada intended to do, find new cultures, and find new dishes to serve throughout the galaxy. Might have been a challenge sure, but again, he welcomed it. It probably would have surprised nobody then, that Spada was a descendant of Pharynx, the famous (Or infamous, depending on your perspective) warrior-king of the Changeling hives of old. Spada, he wanted to see the galaxy, and for it to taste Equestria’s many delights. Small wonder then, he accepted the prospect of being Chameleon Green. It made perfect sense in his mind. Chameleons, and Changelings, they shared a sort of kinship in that both could easily blend into their environment and nobody would ever find them for hours unless they chose to show themselves before then. A Shinobi Chef, odd combo some might have thought, but it worked for him. After all, Spade mused, he was already a cook and most didn’t think of Changelings becoming chefs. But for him, it was a necessity.

Life was harsh growing up in the under-cities, he was just a simple drone amongst many other changelings in his family, with no hive leader. So he rose to the challenge of caring for everyone else in his hive, small as it was. No, his family. He took to cooking, even at a very young age because there was simply very little else to do. He had to, cook for his siblings or let them starve. Sometime later, he didn’t quite know when, but when he was on the verges of becoming a young adult, it hit him. That was what he’d do. Become a master chef like Saffron Masala, Gustave Le Grand, Hellfire, and all the rest! That was his dream, let everyone taste his cooking and what he had on offer. And now his client list, if he had his way, would extend to the whole galaxy and beyond.

Of course, Spada was so lost in thought about his future plans that he didn’t really have the ability to pay attention to where he was walking, namely in this case one very large crystal stalagmite. Mind you, when he smashed into it nose first, he did finally pay attention.

“Oh, oh!” Spada groaned out in pain, rubbing his busted, bleeding nose. “For the hivemother’s sakes! Third time this week, and to add insult to embarrassment and injury, crystal… I’d never thought I’d find something that hurt worse than walking into a solid wall!” he exclaimed, his normally yellow chitlin turning a bright tomato red.

“You need to keep your eyes front and center, on the present least for the time being I say,” a massive voice rumbled as a dark pink-feathered parrot with silver eyes looked down at Spada. Around her neck was a thick black crystal of some sort hanging via a string. Her thermal suit did her quite a few favors, as like all the others it was rather form-fitting and therefore emphasized the bird woman's figure. “Not to the stars, confusing as it sounds.”

Spada sighed to himself. Commander Fågel Bredsida, or Taurus Black as she was also known was one of the only Equus residents he could never quite get a read on. She was rather guarded, kept her emotions and played them close to her chest. ...Her very nice chest, Spada was forced to admit. For a parrot anyways. Not that he was interested in that sort of thing.

“You seem to enjoy going out of your way to get under my carapace, don’t you?” Spada remarked, giving Fågel a flat look.

“Perhaps,” Fågel admitted, a trace of a smile reaching her beak. “But you need to keep your eyes on the road ahead, and not the one you have yet to reach.” she trailed off, before kneeling down to his level and wiping some of the blood off his nose and then booping it. Spada flushed red again.

“Oi, slowpokes!” Coldcast’s voice called from somewhere up ahead. “You two comin’ or what? I’d really not rather half to explain to Princess Flurry why we lost two of her best pilots in a cave while we were off on some wild goose chase! Unless… you two lovebirds have something else in mind, in which case don’t let moi hold you up!” he cackled, and Spada flushed red for a third time and tried to sputter something out in return. He failed, but points for trying at least.

“Apologies for my half-brother,” Fågel sighed, rubbing her forehead with a claw. “He’s hardly what you’d call… intelligent in some aspects. Griffon really should put more faith in Stripped Gear really. He’s never steered us wrong before.”

“...Trust me,” Spada sighed. “You learn to deal.”

Princess Flurry Heart, to say she was having a good day was liking saying Discord was good for your mental health in the long term. First Contact with an alien species, didn’t go as well as she would have liked.

As her hooves hit the metal grating of the catwalk below her, which was the only thing keeping her from falling hoof first into a river of lava, she sighed to herself as she clutched the new and frankly rather mysterious Kyutama that had been recovered from the ship’s wreckage. She’d always known or at least suspected that the Kyutamas, they’d had some non-Equestria nature in terms of their origin, and this only confirmed it.

Snapping her fingers, a stream of data appeared alongside her, and solidified into a holographic version of her late godmother, Princess Celestia.

“Troubles, my dear?” Her godmother asked. No, the Celesti-AI, that’s all it was. Flurry Heart had to remind herself not for the first time in the last couple of hundred years. This was just a crude copy of her beloved relation, nothing more. Made of streams of data and code, and given her memories. “You know I’m always here to talk if you so wish.”

“Thanks, but no thanks…” Flurry muttered.

“Listen, I may not be your actual godmother, as you seem quite keen to remind me on numerous occasions, but I’m crafted from the same cloth as it were.” the Celesti-AI stated.

“No, you’re not! You’re… You’re just code, a little thing made to reassure the current generation of Equus’ residents that in some way, their ruler is with them. Same with Auntie Twilight!” Flurry shouted, fighting back a sob. Having to look at this… thing every day, it hurt her. Knowing that if her real godmother hadn’t been so foolish to believe she could hold back the sun, she might have been with her today, along with her mother and her aunt and Princess Luna as well!

“Oh Flurry…” the Celesti-AI whispered, a small tear dripping from one of her eyes. Flurry blinked a bit, AIs couldn’t have emotions, could they? They certainly couldn’t cry if that was the case! No, she told herself, it was just another aspect of realism that had been added to the programming, another piece of coding designed to simulate an actual pony. And that’s all the Celesti-AI was, just another simulation. And in Flurry’s mind, some sick joke the fates had played on her. Here was Celestia, along with Auntie Twilight, walking around and yet at the same time… they weren’t. “I can’t pretend to understand or possibly imagine what it must be like for you, seeing someone with your late godmother’s appearance and memories walking around this city, -To say nothing of Twilight- so I won’t try. But let me be understood, this isn’t the end of this little conversation. Far from it. Now, I can only presume you called me because you need a little help. Is that right, My Little Pony?”

Sighing, Flurry tossed her the Scorpius Kyutama. “Here, see what you can make of this.”

As Flurry walked, she passed a group of ponies in lab coats at a console muttering to themselves under their breath. She only barely caught what they were saying, namely something about a massive heat signature burrowing deep beneath them.

“Oh, this is indeed intriguing,” the Celesti-AI mused, with a raised eyebrow. She recognized it instantly for what it was, and to say she was surprised was an understatement. “And here I thought the only Legend Kyutama on Equus aside from Draco, were the Cerberus, Aquila, Dorado, Taurus, Lupus, and Chameleon ones.”

“They are,” Flurry replied, nodding her head in confirmation to the Celesti-AI’s statement. “And yet this turns up in the wreckage of an alien crash site…”

“Grasped in the hands of some robot, who had the ability to turn his ship into some sort of massive metal fighting machine, not unlike your Voyagers,” the Celesti-AI commented in return. “So I heard. The resemblance is uncanny,”

“No, it’s scary actually,” Flurry replied, with a shake of her head. “Your old self, the original Celestia, both she and Luna knew the Draco Kyutama came from somewhere beyond this planet didn’t they?”

She’d now gone onto another catwalk, and this one was high above a hanger bay, where below sat a vaguely half-dome themed ship, named after her late father Shining Armor. It was to be one of the many, many colony ships that were to ferry the last residents of Equus to whatever New Eden they happened to find. Equipped with the latest in defense technology with only the ship known as the Orion -The fleet’s flagship, along with Prince Stardust’s personal command center- surpassing it, it was hoped it could resist anything thrown at it.

Near it, ponies worked night and day to both repair and maintain the Voyagers. Currently, they worked hard on the Bull Voyager, which could only be described as some massive tracked tank with a bull’s head fitted to the front to act as some sort of battering ram if needed. Nearby rested the Wolf and Eagle Voyagers, still being worked on after their last battle with the scorpion walker. The Eagle Voyager, in particular, was having its atmospheric controls and energy shielding fixed after they had taken major damage from one of the scorpion walker’s final attacks. In theory, the Eagle Voyager was supposed to act as a scout, and be able to fly ahead even in the most caustic of atmospheric conditions and still kept its respective Paladin alive to report back on what lay beneath.

For a moment, just for a moment, Flurry gazed at these machines in wonder. They were the best of the best, flown by Equestria’s brightest minds and their most skilled pilots. She actually envied them in some ways, they didn’t have the restrictions of being stuck on some massive colony ship half the time so they could see what lay ahead of them. And what’s more, they could take the fight to an enemy if they were allowed, instead of just waiting back and defending a colony ship like the Shining Armor and the Orion were intended to do. All the while, the Celesti-AI continued on.

“Well, we didn’t. But we had suspicions, my sister and I,” the Celesti-AI corrected her. “Late one night over Canterlot, there was this meteor shower. We thought nothing of it at the time, why should we have? Showers like this, they’d been going on before we were out of our mother’s womb. But the very next morning, Fizzlepop Berrytwist of Twilight’s personal guard showed up, Draco Kyutama in hand. Our top scientists worked for hours on end to try and discern what it was or where it even came from, and yet we could find nothing. Only an inscription embedded in the base.”

“An inscription?” Flurry asked, as she stopped in her tracks and crossed her arms. “What’d it say?”

“Well, if I recall correctly, it went: “When the universe falls into evil clutches and its people shed tears, the Kyutama will choose nine saviors, the Kyurangers, who will save the universe.” or something close to that,” the Celesti-AI replied. “Never thought anything of it at the time even if it befuddled scientists for ages, but now with the appearance of this “Jark Matter” or whatever they choose to call themselves…”

“Yes, it does bear looking into doesn’t it?” Flurry mused, placing a hand under her chin in thought.

“Unfortunately, I can’t help you anymore on this particular aspect. It’s beyond my realm of knowledge. However, you might want to check in with Stripped Gear, he’s the one who seems to know the most about these Kyutamas and all, given he created the other Legend Kyutama and the Skill Ones as well, simply by working backwards from the technology of the Draco Kyutama,” the Celesti-AI advised.

“Sadly, I can’t just go off and ask him right now. Him, along with the rest of the Paladins went off to investigate some strange energy signature in what used to be the Ghastly Gorge,” Flurry replied. “Didn’t say much about it, just up and left.”

“Well, there is one other pony you might try asking,”the Celesti-AI hummed to herself before handing the Scorpius Kyutama back to Flurry. “Namely, ‘my’ son, Prince Stardust.”

“Yeah, I just might do that…” she mused. “Thank you, Celestia,” she stated, before running off towards the Prince’s place of residence. It was only a few minutes later that Flurry realized she’d referred to the Celesti-AI by what she did.

Grumbling to herself for her little slip-up, she eventually found herself in Stardust’s quarters. The Prince’s personal quarters really hadn’t changed much from the last time she saw them. Wall to wall bookshelves, with holographic maps of various star formations, nebulas and nearby planetoids projected from emitters on the walls. The room had been darkened to make these projects as visible as was humanly possible. It was filling the room to such an extent that it was really quite frankly rather overwhelming.

Flurry sighed to herself, and her horn glowed a very light gamboge yellow color before it flicked all the emitters off, and turned the lights in the room back on. The Princess groaned to herself, the least her fellow Royal could do was be considerate enough to let her walk around his quarters without much incident. Namely, her not tripping over some armchair or something and breaking a leg. Sure, she and Stripped were about the only visitors he got on a somewhat semi-regular basis, but the least he could do was be considerate to them, right?

Eventually, the door to the Prince’s bedroom opened and Stardust himself stepped out. For a brief moment, Flurry caught glimpse of what looked to be a tank full of some green liquid in the corner of his room. Whatever was inside, she couldn’t exactly discern due to the fact that the liquid itself was so thick. Not that it mattered anyways, considering the doors to the room shut soon after Stardust entered Flurry’s field of vision.

“Ah, Flurry!” Stardust greeted, and took her hand and kissed it. “Always such a pleasure to see your face.”

Stardust was every bit Twilight’s son, that much was for certain. He bore the same general lavender coat color, and had a dark purple mane -nearly translucent- that seemed to flow with a life of its own and was filled with what looked to be stars. Probably something he inherited from his aunt Luna, Flurry often suspected. He always exuded class, thanks to the fancy gold-buttoned, epauletted uniforms he was always clad in, and the dragon-headed cane he walked with.

“Sadly, wish I had the time, or desire for small talk,” Flurry replied, all business. She tossed the Scorpius Kyutama to him. “So, what do you make of this?”

“Stripped Gear’s latest creation?” Stardust guessed. “No, he would have told me if he’d made another Legend Kyutama, wouldn’t he? And yet…”

“That’s exactly what this is,” Flurry finished. “I presume you’ve heard of the wreckage we found out near one of the Vaults?” she inquired.

“Yes… first contact with an alien race and they try and destroy us. Not what I would have wanted, really…” Stardust mused, rubbing his chin. “Gah, bet if they had a listen to this new track by Count Leon they might have been more receptive.”

He snapped his fingers, and from the speakers, a short little ditty began to play.

“Ranger, Ranger
Kyu-Kyuranger
Oh, Kyuranger
3! 2, 1! OKyu!

“Good morning, Mr. Sun, Mr. Fireball
You're so bright, I just can't get enough!
High-high-high tension! Go, go, with a high touch!
And those sparkling lucky, lucky Kyutama
3! 2, 1! OKyu!” a male voice sung as Stardust did a little dance, swinging his cane around without a care in the world, before Flurry knocked him flat with a punch, and shut off the music with her own finger-snap.

“Be serious, for Faust’s sake!” Flurry snapped, and held the dragon-tipped cane to Stardust’s face. “Your Aunt Luna used this to become the first Kyuranger, and buy Equestria some time, and here you are treating this thing like a mere trinket and dancing with it like you’re Flashfire’s too many greats-grandmother Trixie Lulamoon on stage! And this whole First Contact thing, not something to joke about!” she exclaimed, getting the mental image that if Stardust had met this robot, he would have brought out a synthesizer and played Axel F on it as a greeting, dancing while doing so.

“Sorry,” Stardust apologized, though Flurry got the distinct feeling he didn’t really mean it. “It is admittedly odd though, an alien having possession of a Kyutama,”

“Which is exactly why I came to you,” Flurry replied. “You know more about the Kyutamas than anyone aside from Stripped Gear and as I can’t exactly get into contact with him, I thought I’d come to you for help on this. Just a little bit of history on the legend of the Draco Kyutama and the nine saviors would help. Small things,”

“Yes, well, unfortunately, I don’t know anything about it. You’d have to ask Celestia, or rather her AI recreation,” Stardust replied sounding about as fond of it as Flurry did. “She’s got the memories, after all, right?”

“I did, and she directed me to you. Said you’d know more,” Flurry replied.

Stardust frowned for a brief moment. “Ah well, every program has its glitches right? When Stripped Gear gets back, I’ll confer with him on working on her. Best to check Auntie Twilight’s AI as well, now that I think of it,” he replied in a dismissive tone.

Flurry didn’t quite know why, but she felt her magic crackle a bit and got the distinct urge to punch Stardust for referring to the AI versions of her aunt and her godmother as glitched. However, before she could do so, the entire city rumbled, and both Stardust and Flurry had to grab onto something before they fell to the floor.

“Commander Ares!” Stardust barked. “What was that?”

“Don’t know sir, but it’s origin point just came from somewhere outside the Crystal Empire. Hacking into the nearest vault entrance exterior camera to have a little look-see… I’ll transfer it to your quarters.”

With that, a holographic emitter brought up a scene from outside Vault T-245’s entrance doors. A massive purple and silver tower with two spinning gear-like rings, drilling deep within to the planet’s surface. Near it, were various little humanoid aliens wearing stark black suits with either purple or lime green trimmings, and silver helmets to hide their faces. The tower, or more likely their ship hummed and pulsated every half-second or so.

“Sir!” Commander Ares shouted. “Planetary Geothermal levels, they’re dropping! Whatever that thing is, it’s sucking us dry!”

With that, both Flurry and Stardust’s eyes widened.

Meanwhile, in the city’s labs, a light flickered on and a head began to move, observing the various scientists working it over.

“Fascinating,” the Scorpius Drone thought to itself. “They think they killed me. Quite arrogant little lifeforms, really.”

He noted a nearby screen showing the Moraimar, as it was called, beginning to suck the planet dry of all of its energy. It’d take a few days, considering the size of the planet but he could wait. Nothing the locals could do to stop Dark Matter anyways. He chuckled as he watched the various scientists go into a panic over this new ship and debate amongst themselves on how to stop it. This only solidified his theory.

“Now,” the Scorpius Drone thought. “Time to set about relocating the rest of my body…”

If he was capable of smiling, he would have.

Far away, unaware of what was going on, the Paladins of Equus were deep within the formerly known Ghastly Gorge’s caverns. Once housing Quarray Eels, ponies or any other type of being had been far too afraid to explore what lay within and discover the caverns’ secrets. Until now, that is.

“By the Hivemother…” Spada whispered as he, directly in front of him gazed at a truly awesome sight. Embedded deep within the crystalline structures was a massive purple dragon, clutching what could only be described as a massive purple orb in its front claws, gilded gold.

“Okay, was someone watching too much Draken Orb Z when they built this, because correct me if I’m wrong, but that thing looks a little too much like Shenlong for my liking…” Coldcast trailed off.

“I highly doubt that Shenlong was the main inspiration for whoever or whatever created this,” Jabari deadpanned. “Pretty sure Draken Orb Z wasn’t around when these were all just caverns over tens of thousands of years ago via my last counting. Hell, it’s only thanks to erosion we’re able to explore these places now, and even then we had to wait for the eels to die off to even get this far into the cave…” he whispered, as he ran a hand up the crimson red cavern walls, just trying to see if there was any way to break past the crystal and free the truly magnificent beast within.

“Anyone got a pickaxe or somethin’?” Jabari asked, and Coldcast burst out laughing.

“I highly doubt a pickaxe is what is going to smash through those walls!” he cackled, clutching his sides in mirth until he let out a yelp when Spada hit him atop the head with a stirring spoon.

“Don’t mock someone’s kitchen!” he barked out.

“But… but this isn’t even a kitchen!” Coldcast muttered to himself.

“It is to them,” Spada replied, pointing to Stripped Gear and Jabari, who were inserting Skill versions of their Legend Kyutamas into their gauntlets. “I have my kitchens, they have their laboratories. Both are about getting messy, creating experiments to bedazzle others!” he proclaimed, his eyes seemingly sparkling in wonder.

“Dorado/Aquila!” the zorse/unicorn pair shouted, and holographic manifestations of their respective Voyagers began chipping away at the crystal to free the dragon inside.

“Hmm, a Draco Kyutama, and now a Draco Voyager… I wonder,” Stripped murmured to himself theories beginning to form in his mind, before everyone jumped a little at the sound of a loud explosion from behind them.

“Well, worry no longer!” Lupus snarled, bringing out what looked to be twin sickles of purple energy. “Because you won’t live long enough to see the fruits of your labors. I really have to thank you for leading me here, it’s been ages since the Draco Voyager’s been seen. Let me show you my gratitude…” he smirked the golden orbs that passed for eyes narrowing.

“Who do you think you are?” Coldcast snarled, reaching for his Kyutama.

“Lupus, Karō of the Pegasus System and your new overlord.” the wolf creature smirked, and Coldcast let out a growl and slammed his Kyutama into his gauntlet.

“So, you think you owe claim to the name Lupus?” he asked. “Let’s see about that, shall we? Star Change, Lupus!”

With a flash of blue light, a roar of rage, and with his claw weapon in hand, Coldcast charged into battle...

Author's Notes:

Okyu! (Sorry, couldn't resist using Xiao's pun.) So, at first I did think a yak or minotaur would fit the idea for Taurus Black, but then I figured it'd be too obvious of a choice and I thought, why not have a member of Captain Celaeno's species take that role instead? Change things up a bit? I mean, it's not like I'm already taking great liberties with the source material anyways.

Also yes, that was the ending theme to Kyurangers (If not translated into English) Stardust did a little dance too. I'm not sorry. Nor am I for the shameless Dragon Ball Z joke. Because really, tell me this isn't a reference to Shenlong?

I find it funny that my fellow Ranger writer Shadowmane's villains are all wolves, and here I debut a high-ranking wolf villain. Agh, anyways. Plenty of foreshadowing here. Some subtle, others... not so much. As ever, comments, thoughts, and critique are welcomed.

Part 3: Lupus

Lupus’s eyes widened in abject shock as he saw the griffon, whom he’d previously dismissed as being nothing more than a nuisance that could quickly be dealt with charge at him, in the all too distinctive armor of a Paladin, wielding a claw-like weapon with glowing blue blades of energy.

The blades hummed with a distinctive energy as they met Lupus’s own sickles, crackling as they did so, leaving trails of light as they slashed through the air. A fist met Coldcast’s stomach sending him staggering back accompanied by a grunt of pain before he was socked across the jaw by a hard right cross.

Coldcast regained his bearings, and only just in time as well, considering Lupus came at him with two powerful swings from his sickles, glowing a sickly dark purple.

Coldcast quickly switched out Kyutamas, and slammed the Aquarius Kyutama into his gauntlet, and fired a jet of pure scalding water at Lupus. Lupus let out a howl of pain, and threw one of his sickles, aimed directly at Coldcast’s head. The griffon let out a yelp as he just barely rolled to the left, and the sickle impaled itself in a nearby wall of red crystal.

Coldcast let out a roar of pure rage and swung his claw weapon again with Lupus simply sidestepping to the left and grabbing Coldcast’s arm with a paw before twisting it with a sickening cracking noise. Lupus then threw Coldcast into the ground, and placed his boot on the Blue Ranger’s stomach. He pried his sickle out of the wall, and smirked.

“For a moment there, I actually thought you’d be a challenge. Guess I was wrong about that,” Lupus smirked as he ground his heel into Coldcast’s stomach. “You’re too full of rage, wanting to prove yourself. That much I can discern. Hardly worth the title of Paladin.”

“Are you… gonna talk or… are you gonna fight?” Coldcast, despite having the feel of a steel heel brushing and bending his flesh out of shape, still held strong in the face of his adversary.

“There’s no honour in defeating a weaker opponent. Perhaps, if you brought whatever ragtag friends you have along with you, then it would be interesting.” Lupus leaned down to his face. He failed to notice the air shimmer around him, before a green blast of energy sent him flying back, and a figure striding forwards as he dropped his camouflage.

“I’m sorry, were you talking about moi?” Spada asked, the Changeling now fully morphed and pulling out a rapier weapon. “Pleased to make your acquaintance. Just call me the Shinobi Star, Chameleon Green!”

“Just one? How sad,” Lupus stood off of Coldcast and lumbered towards Spada. “I was expecting more from these so-called ‘warriors’ I was informed of. That robot we sent to your planet, well useless as he was, did gather some useful data. He did let us know there were more Paladins out there,” Lupus grinned, and for a moment Spada felt a chill run down his spine. There was something about this one, just made his withers shudder. Lupus pulled out his sickles once more, and spun them in his hands with both making hums of energy. “Fine by me.”

Lupus bore his own weapon, and promptly swung them upwards at Spada. The Changeling, to his credit did block most of the blows with a few rapid swings of his rapier and even got in a few of his own, but one powerful kick from Lupus sent him flying through a wall into another cavern, leaving him across a very narrow bridge, with a deep yawning chasm below. Howling winds rushed up from beneath, and Spada just barely managed to keep his balance.

“This is just insulting now. Where’s the fun in this?” Lupus taunted, before he clapped his sickles together, forming an orb once they made a complete circle. Said orb then launched a series of laser blasts at Spada and the ground around him. The crystals comprising the bridge below Spade began to crack, and he extended his wings before going skywards and thrust his rapier at Lupus. Like a chameleon's tongue aptly enough, the strikes were long, and whip-like, lashing out at the Karō making him stumble back before Spada kicked him in the face.

Wiping the blood off his muzzle, Lupus let out a low growl. “So, I was right. You’re more bark than bite, Guess you really do deserve the title of Paladin after all…”

“He’s not the only one,” a female’s voice commented, before Lupus whirled around to see Stripped Gear and Fågel staring him down. “You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. I admit, Coldcast is a bit of a fool for charging in like he did, but the title of being Lupus’s paladin, very important to him. He had to work for what he had, and here you are, trying to take that away from him,” Fågel hissed out, the lavender parrot drawing what looked to be a double-bladed axe. “Probably the nicest thing you’ll ever hear me say about my half-brother, so treasure it. Star Change: Taurus!” she shouted, before changing into a massive black armored warrior. Heavily armored, the star on her uniform was just barely visible and her visor looked like a pair of massive bull horns, extending far past her helmet.

“Agreed, time to shut you up.” Stripped Gear smirked, the unicorn going for his Kyutama as well. “Star Change, Dorado!” he shouted, before shifting with a flash of yellow light into his costume. His visor was unusual as well, being shaped like a swordfish and actually ending in a sharp point.

“Alone, you are weak and powerless. But together? Well, that’s an entirely different story.” Lupus had a sadistic grin on his face as he smashed his sickles against the ground, causing the edges to turn hot-orange as if they had been heated up to a thousand degrees. “I’m going to enjoy severing those heads from your necks, paladins.”

“We’ll just have to see about that, won’t we?” Coldcast asked, as he finally regrouped with his team as Spada ran to their side. They were soon joined by Flashfire and Jabari as well, already morphed.

“The Beast Star, Cerberus Seagreen!”
“The Howling Star, Lupus Blue!”
“The Shinobi Star, Chameleon Green!”
“The Sword Star, Dorado Yellow!”
“The Winged Star, Aquila Pink!”
“The Armored Star, Taurus Black! Six Stars, shining in the Heavens! Space Squadron, Kyuranger!”

“Well, isn’t this cute. Six Paladins, didn’t know I was quite so well off!” Lupus laughed. “Let’s even things up a little, shall we? Invaders!” he bellowed, snapping his fingers as the footsoldiers of the Dark Matter empire teleported in.

“Guess they haven’t had their stomachs filled yet!” Spada quipped.

The Paladins all charged in on the foot soldiers, arms bore as they started to open fire and swing their melee weapons around. It wasn’t an easy battle to say the least, as one wrong step would leave someone slipping and falling down into the yawning abyss below. And Lupus knew this full well.

“One side!” He laughed, as he elbowed Jabari in the face, making the young zorse stagger and nearly lose his balance before he was pulled back by Fågel.

“Oh no, not losing you yet kid!” the parrot shouted, pulling the zorse close to her chest. Jabari flushed under his helmet, knowing full well how… developed the bearer of the Taurus powers was under her armor.

“Going to need some breathing room here!” Fågel shouted, even as she cut down Invaders with her axe. Flashfire nodded.

“Got an idea on how to give you that,” Flashfire nodded before letting out a bark of: “Jabari, prends soin de me prêter un coup de pied rapide comme tu veux, hein?” he asked.

“You’re so lucky I understand Prench…” the Pink Ranger muttered sarcastically, before going for his pistol and inserting the Telescopium Kyutama into a small slot on it. A holographic scope was projected, and Jabari fired a few rapid shots of pink energy at some of the Invaders.

“Maybe they should call you the Shooting Star, eh?” Stripped Gear joked, as he punted a invader off the bridge.

“No thank you, would just lead to me getting all full of myself,” Jabari replied simply. Nearby, Flashfire inserted the Serpens Kyutama into his gauntlet, and fired, unleashing a swarm of spectral snakes into the hoard.

“Et pour finir le travail…” Flashfire murmured before switching to the Aries Kyutama, firing a burst of yellow energy in the shape of a ram’s head at the remaining Invaders sending them all into dreamland. “Nighty-night, don’t let the bedbugs bite!” he taunted.

“Oi, I take offense to that!” Spada shouted. Flashfire, of course, ignored him.

“Stripped, get back to the main cavern, I want that Draco Voyager unearthed, you understand?” Flashfire shouted, and Stripped nodded in understanding and broke into a sprint, before Lupus leaped in front of him, blocking his path.

“Nice as the prospect of one of the long-lost Voyagers being reclaimed by a Paladin is, I’m sorry, but I can’t let you do that.” Lupus smirked before the ground rumbled once more. “In fact, you won’t even leave this place alive!”

Once more, he snapped his fingers, and several long tendrils reached up from the depths of the chasm and grabbed each of the Kyurangers save Coldcast. Each and every single slimy, gold, wriggling limb rose further out, revealing a colossal beast that was more worm than humanoid. With a series of massive maws on its’ head and shoulders, as well as more tendrils, it was a true monstrosity of flesh and blood.

“Behold the Abhorrence! Unholy tamer of all that is mortal, and the instrument of your demise!” Lupus watched the flailing rangers struggle to escape. “You might as well call it the Deathworm in your common Equus tongue. The name fits anyhow.”

With a screech of rage, Coldcast shoulder charged Lupus, and knocked him back into the main cavern. “Just you and me now…” the griffon growled out before going for the Cancer Kyutama, and like before, a large red pincher of energy erupted from his back and squeezed Lupus tightly.

“Let them go…” Coldcast whispered. But to his surprise, Lupus slowly pried the pincers apart before firing another orb of searing hot energy at him, knocking the griffon back into a grouping of stalagmites, crystal flying everywhere as they shattered and demorphing the Blue Ranger.

“You cannot stand against what I am alone, boy.” Lupus cracked his neck as he tilted it. “And with your friends on the edge of death, you have no hope of standing your own in this universe.” He then grabbed Coldcast by the neck, tightening his grip. “I know your type. Like I said, you just want to prove yourself to everyone, you’re so full of rage you just welcome the challenge; regardless of whether or not you may die. Such a stance on the world is your very undoing, as I am about to demonstrate!”

Coldcast suddenly freed himself from Lupus’ grip and knocked him back with a kick to the stomach before picking up his fallen weapon, and it shifted into a sword, not that far removed from Flashfire’s own blade. Even as he re-engaged the Karō, he flashed back…

Three Years Ago: Galaxy Garrison Boot Camp:

Coldcast found himself outside the headmaster’s office. Again. Ponies whispered as they passed him, and laughed once they thought they were out of earshot. There was Coldcast, in trouble again with his temper, they commented. Such a sorry excuse for a Paladin, they laughed.

Coldcast had to clench up his fists into a ball and hold himself back from punching a wall in sheer rage. No, that would only prove them right, that he was a loose cannon who couldn’t control his temper for the life of him, a bully.

“But that’s what I am, right?” Coldcast asked himself in a whispered tone, even now hearing Headmaster Stoneheart yelling at his adopted older brother/possible father figure behind his desk. “A bully!”

Headmaster Stoneheart had every reason to be angry at him, given that he’d sent two of his fellow classmates to the infirmary in a fit of anger, after they’d mocked his parents. Or lack thereof.

“Look at me, dios mío…” Coldcast muttered under his breath, and put his head in his hands. “What am I even doing here? I’m just a sad, sorry excuse of a griffon with not even a bit to his name, or a family who even gives a mierda about me…”

He could still hear Headmaster Stoneheart and Flashfire arguing, even as small tears fell from Coldcast’s crystal blue eyes. “Agh, what am I even doing here, I’ll just fuck something up again, and then again! Today, it was two ponies sent to the medical wing, what next? Four, five? All because I can’t keep my damned temper in check?” Coldcast whispered to himself. “Sometimes, I just want to do something right for once in my life, but then… I should be able to do something right, I know I should!” he continued, before pausing and speaking in an even quieter tone of voice that nobody could hear. “S-So I try, and sometimes I do it right, but then, I just can’t because oh Faust I want to be a hero to Equus and then I fuck something up so majorly that everyone tells me that I just fucking can’t! That’s what I am, worthless!” he sniffled, barely fighting back the next wave of tears that threatened to fall. “What Flashfire, he was thinking when both he and Flurry chose me as a potential pilot for the Wolf Voyager, I’ve no clue…”

Coldcast was so caught up in himself and his personal self-depreciation that he hadn’t realized the arguing from Stoneheart’s office had fallen silent. Nor did he notice the soft, warm red-furred arms pulling him into a deep hug.

“Now, you listen to me, okay petit frère?” Flashfire’s voice came out soft, but firm. “Listen well, and listen hard m’kay? I did not just spend the last hour and a half arguing with that bâtard you call a headmaster to see you self-deriding yourself like this!”

Coldcast’s crystal blue eyes widened, he never heard his hermano (If not by blood) ever raise his voice to that level of fierce protectiveness, or swear for that matter. Okay, maybe Flashfire swore at some other point, it was just never around him.

“Everything, and I do mean everything Stoneheart had to say about you, completely and utter shit you understand?” Flashfire continued, still in that soft and loving, but stern tone of voice. At some point, he had put the Lyra Kyutama into his personal Kyuchanger, making it emit soft, tranquil music. Hopefully, Flashfire mused, this would help calm his little brother. “The stallion’s a jerk, we both know that. I argued against him being placed in charge of this school, only for Stardust, the little royal bâtard who probably never socialized with a teenager in his life to override me and put him there anyways!”

If Coldcast’s jaw wasn’t slack before, it sure as Hell was now. He’d never heard Flashfire speak ill about anypony in a royal position, and had drilled into Coldcast to treat both rulers of Equus with decency and respect no matter what.

“Sure, you’re a bit on the obnoxious side, rather aloof, but I wouldn’t blame you in the slightest,” Flashfire continued. “Growing up like you did, in the New Manehatten orphanage, going through the system and family homes as many times as you did? It’s a miracle you turned out as well as you did, really. Merde, I’d be rather independent myself in that sorta situation. And you kid, you are freaking amazing, and you’ll probably continue to astound me one day. You got into the freakin’ fighter program, and that’s hardly an easy feat as it is! I didn’t just choose you as a potential Wolf Voyager pilot just because I felt sorry for you or anything like that. You have a talent, a natural raw talent. Seriously, you were thrown into the program and right into the simulations without you having to read the material -Again, I have Stardust to thank, and his bullshit reasoning that we need new pilots, quick as possible- so, of course, you’re going to make a few slip-ups.”

Big wet eyes met Flashfire’s own. “Trust me, there’s no such thing as being picked at random or arbitrarily. Not in my book. Someone recognized you for what you were. Nobody, nobody who’s a fuck-up gets to be in that position you understand?”

“B-But what about the kids I sent to the medical wing? What about them? Dios mío, their parents are going to be pissed at me!” Coldcast whispered.

“Let me deal with them. Those little brats, way out of line and let me assure you, I’ll override the headmaster’s authority, and Hell, Prince Stardust’s as well if I have to, and get them suspended at the very least!”

“No… No, I don’t want you to have to deal with-” Coldcast stammered out before a finger was placed over his beak.

“The blowback? Please. Like I could give a damn about what some rich parents who let their kids walk all over everyone else have to say!” Flashfire scoffed, and Coldcast bit back a chuckle. “If anything, I might just have words with them as well! Because trust me, anyone who raises their kids like that, they deserve a good harsh talking to, maybe a few swats around the derrière as well!” the unicorn continued.

Coldcast finally laughed, at the sheer mental image of Flashfire taking grown parents over his knees and spanking them. Flashfire finally smiled at this.

“Good, that’s what I like to hear. You, just laughing at something and not belittling yourself.” he said, finally releasing Coldcast from the hug. “Now, back to class with you!”

“W-What about…?” Coldcast whispered, the griffon not daring to finish.

“Directeur Stoneheart?” Flashfire finished, spitting out the name in disgust. “If he gives me trouble, he might just find out he wound up with more than he bargained for! Besides, I don’t think he wants to argue with me more than once today already so you needn’t worry.”

As he picked himself up off the ground, Coldcast let out a low snarl as his blade glowed a sharp blue. “No, that’s where you’re wrong Lupus, if you even deserve that title. You’re no Karō,” he spat. “I honestly pity those under your rulership. Because you are nothing but a tyrant, pure and simple. Karōs, you know what they are? On my planet, they were top-ranking Samurai officials, advisors to Daimyos. Oh sure, Samurai means one who serves, roughly, but you? Well, all I see is the one who oppresses. Time to fix that.” he stated simply, before letting out a battle cry as Lupus’s eyes widened and he quickly combined his swapped out his sickles for a sword. Like the sickles before it, it too glowed with a sickly purple hue marking a sharp contrast to Coldcast’s own blue blade.

Metal met metal, sparks flying off the blades as they met. Even as Coldcast went sword to sword with his opponent, he flashed back once more.

“Okay, all you need to do is just hold your blade like so. That simple,” Flashfire instructed, both him and Coldcast in a large training room, with a dark blue hexagonal floor beneath them, capable of creating holographic structures. “Come on, you can do it.”

Coldcast grunted as he saw his mentor/big brother go through some simple sword maneuvers, almost like a dance. He made it sound so simple, but when Coldcast tried any one of these maneuvers, even something as simple as a thrust all he ended up doing was send the sword flying out of his hands.

“Your grip was too loose that time, Cold. You need to hold it tighter.” Flashfire said as he came over, patted his shoulder, and pointed to his tightly grasped hands. “Just think that sword is the most important thing in your life, and never let it go. Let your hands become a clamp that nothing can escape from, and that sword will never leave them. Here, let me show you something, what I want to work you towards.”

With a battle cry, Flashfire charged towards a holographic version of Queen Chrysalis, and flipped in mid-air before letting out a cry of “Regulus Impact!” as the blade came down, the tip spitting out small little meteorites as it did so. The hologram? Didn’t even stand a chance.

“Whoa… Mierda.” Coldcast breathed out and watched as Flashfire sheathed his sword and approached him.

“Now, show me your fighting style. And remember. Tight grip on the sword. The tighter, the better,” Flashfire pointed to another projection of Chrysalis. “Use whatever means you like.”

Coldcast let out a battle cry, and charged right towards Chrysalis, his sword aimed at her like a spear. A blast of green magic from Chrysalis’s horn, and the griffon soon found himself on his ass.

“Well, that didn’t go as planned…” Coldcast muttered, taking his own stupidity with good grace. “Dios mios, that hurt.”

“Your enemy will try and fight back, so you need to be sure to be prepared for when they do retaliate.” Flashfire nodded, before running towards that very same projection, which shot more and more bolts at him. “Time every strike, and either meet it or evade it.” He said, while demonstrating. “Only then, will your enemies fall at your hooves… Er paws, in your case.” With one final vertical strike, the hologram shattered once again.

Coldcast smirked, before charging forwards once again. Chrysalis, like before fired off green energy blasts, but this time the griffon either deflected them, or absorbed them into his blade before he took a running leap off a raised section of the floor, and his blade came down.

“There you go. You’re learning now.” Flashfire patted him as he dealt Chrysalis the final blow. “But it won’t all be one-on-one fights, you know. Now, let’s go through some more maneuvers…”

Back in the present, Coldcast and Lupus continued their sword duel.

The words ringing in his head, he managed to find moments to strike Lupus’s blade as he attacked, knocking it off course or completely bouncing them back to his side. Looking for an opening, it took Cold a while before he dealt a swift blow to Lupus' chest, causing him to stumble backwards.

Lupus let out a low growl and charged his blade with an eerie purple energy. “Black Hole’s Devastation!” he roared, before sending a pure dark orb, which had formed at the tip of his sword right towards Coldcast. In the split second before the orb was fired at him, the griffon noted that a distinct sphere not unlike a Kyutama had been attached to Lupus’s blade hilt.

“Is that—“ Before he had time to finish, the black orb hit him, pulled him into a small vortex, where he was barraged with a series of invisible attacks before being spat back out before Lupus’s eyes.

“It had to have been, nothing else I’ve seen grants that sort of power,” Coldcast thought, heart pumping and adrenaline rushing through him. “No time to think on it now, I’ve got to deal with this guy now!” he continued to himself, before going in for several more strikes, all blocked.

“I’ll grant you this,” Lupus mused. “You’ve had some experience with the sword, and whoever taught you is a very good combatant, but sadly… You’re just not at my level yet. Still, if you’re so inclined, you could join Dark Matter. A Paladin, they make very formidable combatants. We treasure every soldier who joins our cause, and believe me, you’d make a fine one.” he complimented.

“Ir al Tártaro.” Coldcast spat.

“Very well then. It’s your funeral.” Lupus went back to his sickles, and twirled them before putting them in a scissor-like hold around Cold’s neck. “Any last words before I close these up?”

“Yeah. Just one. Regulus Impact!” Coldcast snapped, before a pure wave of blue energy sent the Karō flying backwards, ripping up the ground as it did so. Clutching his bleeding chest, Lupus let out a hiss.

“Wh-what?! How?!” He felt the blood trickle onto the hand around the wound before he opened a portal with his free hand. “Another time! You will not end me here, Paladin!” And he barrelled through the vortex, leaving Coldcast behind.

Meanwhile, the other Paladins were still flailing about in the Deathworm’s tendrils.

“Anyone got a plan here?” Stripped shouted.

“You’re the egghead!” Fågel snapped. “You’re supposed to be the one thinking up how to escape beasts like this!”

Unusually, or perhaps not given his personality, Flashfire seemed rather calm. He’d managed to free one of his hands and pressed down on his Cerberus Kyutama. There was a crashing sound as something massive broke through ice and crystal, and the Deathworm along with the Rangers found themselves staring down three dog’s heads.

“The Cerberus Voyager! Yes!” Jabari fist-pumped as the mech stared the Deathworm in the mouth. The massive Voyager then shot a barrage of gold energy beams from its eyes ripping apart the Deathworm’s tendrils and sending the Rangers in freefall. Jabari’s tune immediately changed.

“Oh, not good, not good!” the zorse squeaked out before he found himself -Amongst the others- in the Voyager’s hold, and he let out a sigh of relief. “...I wasn’t worried, were any of you?”

“Oh, I don’t think he’s very happy!” Fågel shouted, as the Deathworm screeched in rage and pain somewhere behind him.

“I’m picking up a heat signature following you, advise escape to avoid destruction.” the Celesti-AI commented and Flashfire sighed.

“Yeah, tell me something I don’t know…” he muttered before pressing a button on his console as the Voyager did a barrel roll to avoid a blast of sickly green energy sent from the Deathworm’s center eye. Flashfire’s fingers were a blur on the central console’s keypad, keys lighting up as he inputted commands. “Bring me up a map of the tunnels Celestia. Show me the best route out of here, and away from that… thing. Coldcast, please tell me you’re alright!”

“I-I’m fine, s-sent that wolf running. Where are you?” the griffon replied, sounding rather out of breath.

“Oh, the usual. Outflying something massive and defying death. A vol de la mort if you will.” he commented lightly, before turning his attentions back to the Celesti-AI and letting out a small growl of frustration. “Celestia, need that map…” he muttered. “Any time now would be good.”

“Okay. There’s a safe way out through a series of ice-tunnels nearby, but that monster’s probably going to chase you down if you take it. Basically, I hope you’ve got the afterburners on, because it could trigger a catastrophic cave-in if you’re not quick enough.” Celesti-AI pulled up a map of the path ahead, along with the cave network and which route they needed to take. “Happy flying, team.”

“W-What!?!” Jabari sputtered out, his voice coming out once again as a squeak.

“Real encouraging there…” Flashfire muttered to himself in a low tone. “Well, if we’re going to do this, might as well make it magnifique, eh?”

“Yeah, real great time to channel your ancestor, this!” Jabari snapped. Flashfire ignored him, and muted the comms. Needed no distractions, he just needed to fly.

The deathworm screeched loudly and tunnelled after the fleeing Rangers, tearing through the ground like paper, submerging and leaping out of the ground itself, leaving nothing but holes in its’ wake, it was like a massive, screwed-up, monster dolphin that had escaped from the zoo; and it was hunting down the Paladins.

“It’s just like a sink, just like a sink…” Flashfire murmured to himself. “Think of it as a grease trap, think of these tunnels like that.”

“500 feet, 400 feet, 300 feet…” the Celesti-AI informed.

The Cerberus Voyager was mere inches away from the beast, as shrapnel of ice rammed against it and the surrounding walls. The ground itself was coated in a thick veil of ice and mist as the beast continued to burrow and leap, again and again, until they finally managed to make it into the caves.

From there, the Deathworm stopped jumping, and instead wormed its’ way through the extensive caverns and floes, screeches echoing out as it readied for its’ next strikes. It finally burst out of the walls, charging straight into the ship and smashing it against walls. It ricketed and wobbled as the team tried to stabilize, but Deathworm itself disappeared into the cave network again.

“Thank Faust, think we lost it…” Flashfire sighed, wiping the sweat off his brow, before turning on the comms once again. “We’re home free, te-”

His words were swiftly cut off when the Deathworm erupted from the ground, spraying the Voyager’s exterior with even more shards of ice.

“Merde…” Flashfire muttered. “Okay, so it’s a battle you want eh? I can do that.” he sighed, before taking his Kyutama out and putting it on a central pad on the console.

“Shooting Star Megazord transformation sequence primed,” the Celesti-AI informed, as the other Rangers leapt out of the hold and summoned their own Voyagers. “Combination sequence ready.”

“Let’s rocket!” Flashfire smirked as he saw the Wolf and Bull Voyagers running below him, before the back halves tilted upwards with the Cerberus Voyager linking up with them complete with small hisses of steam. The Swordfish Voyager connected to the Megazord’s right arm port, and the Eagle Voyager, the left. The Chameleon Voyager replaced one of the heads of the Cerberus, the left one specifically, forming some sort of massive shoulder cannon. Finally, the central head on the Cerberus had its jaw fold down, revealing a mouthplate covered face, with two stoic yellow eyes staring the Deathworm down.

“Shooting Star Megazord online.” the Celesti-AI informed as the combination completed itself and all six Rangers joined each other in the main cockpit.

“Let’s see what you got, eh big guy?” Fågel asked, cracking her knuckles as the Megazord took one massive step forwards, sending shards of ice flying into the air.

The deathworm let out another ear-piercing howl as it dove back into the icy network of tunnels, which caused the whole place to rumble and shake from top to bottom.

“Tracking,” Stripped Gear informed as his screen showed a little reticle tracking the worm’s movements. “Locked on target.”

As soon as the deathworm emerged, it was greeted by a green tongue made of energy lashing at it like a whip. The coil wrapped around its’ body and began to glow brighter, as steam shot off of where the energy rope wrapped around it. The Deathworm was pumped full of amp after amp of electricity, and it screeched out in pain.

Eventually however, it broke free and fired a beam of green energy from its sole eye sending the Megazord staggering backward.

“So, like to play rough huh?” Jabari asked. “Let’s see how you like a taste of this. Should warm you up real quick!” he smirked, as the Eagle Voyager’s wings slashed at the deathworm like some sort of giant metal fan before they ignited and dealt out a devastating blow.

The deathworm crashed into the cave, and that was the kicker. Stalactites tumbled from the ceiling, and the very entrance they came through began to collapse along with the rest of the caverns. It was a cave-in, and one that would swallow everything whole if they didn’t move now.

Sadly, the deathworm had no intention of letting them go quietly. It reasoned, if it was going to die, those little fleshlings inside their giant armor suit would go with it. Firing another blast of green energy from its central eye, more damage was dealt as it pushed them towards the avalanche of snow and ice.

“Systems red-lining!” Jabari warned. “We need to finish this, and finish it fast!”

“Got just the thing!” Flashfire smirked as he pressed another button on his console, with the others following suite. The Megazord lined the Swordfish Zord up with the Eagle Zord like it was holding a bow and arrow, and fired a piercing beam of light right through the deathworm’s heart, leaving a massive gaping wound.

“Rangers! Get out of there fast!” the Celest-AI called as the fight ended and the deathworm let out one final screech. “Unless you move, you’ll never leave these caves alive!”

Firing the jets on the Megazord’s back, it rocketed out of the tunnels and to the deep black of the sky above, which had never looked quite so welcoming...

Author's Notes:

Okay, so first off, huge thanks to Shadowmane for co-writing the fight scenes in this chapter, of which I admit there were a lot of but what's wrong with that? Besides, I left quite a bit of space in for Coldcast's character development, or at least backstory.

And no, before anyone asks, I will not be naming every other chapter after a constellation. Just only when it suits me.

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

Part 4: More Questions than Answers

Lupus, as he teleported inside the Moraimarz, looked out the window as a horrific screech filled his eardrums, nearly making them burst open and deafen him completely. His particular species, they had more heightened senses than most, so of course things like this, they would hear and it wasn’t a completely pleasant sensation.

Long ago, their particular species had evolved on a desolate desert planet, where food was scarce and life a daily struggle to survive. An increased sense of smell, to pick up carrion and better hearing to tell when predators were approaching was needed. Eyesight was increased tremendously as well, so you could see what was coming to eat you before it got there.

This very same eyesight was nearly blinded by a bright flash, and then a huge fireball that lit up the moonless skies. Lupus’s eyes narrowed as he looked out the window to the cold, unforgiving wastes beyond.

“Well, color me impressed. I knew they were good, but killing off a Deathworm? Well, might not just be the Blue one who I have to consider inducting into Dark Matter really. Lord Eriedrone might disagree, but this isn’t his system. I rule the Pegasus System, not him,” Lupus thought, emitting a small growl as he clutched a small silvery Kyutama in his fist. It was emblazoned with a winged horse. Flicking his wrist momentarily, a gauntlet appeared. Like the Rangers’ own Kyuchangers, it was tipped off with a small blaster and had a star-shaped interlock on top of it. However, the colors were very different. Unlike the red and silver the Rangers used, this particular Kyuchanger was colored a deep black and had purple detailing.

“Say the Change!” the Seize Blaster remarked, in a dark tone of voice. Mirroring the motions the Rangers used, Lupus clicked down on his Kyutama.

“Pegasus.” Lupus stated simply, placing his Kyutama into the gauntlet and giving it a little flick. He was covered in a silver and black torso armor, with the shoulder pads resembling wings and the chest piece, a horse’s head. He chuckled, he’d honestly love to see how the Rangers dealt with the mere idea of a Dark Paladin. But that was for another time, Lord Ikargen and Lord Eriedrone had sent for him.

Gesturing to an Invader, he looked at him pointedly. “Ready my personal Moraider for liftoff. We’ll leave this planet to rot. Suck it dry of it’s Planetium, and then let these ponies see just what happens when their precious planet blows in front of their very eyes,” he smirked. “I’m amazed they’ve survived this long without a sun or moon, and to be frank if it were allowed, I’d have some on our side as shock troops. But in the end, I suppose, it’d prove far too troublesome.”

However, Lupus did note to table the idea for later. He’d gotten local species, with the power the Kyutamas granted, to become Paladins to guard their planets in exchange for money and doing whatever Dark Matter requested of them. Perhaps, if he was feeling merciful, just before the planet exploded, he’d offer these creatures one last chance. If they declined… well, that was their choice really. He couldn’t force them.

The Invader nodded, before walking off. However, two figures walked up, carrying gold metal staves that could double as grenade launchers. Strongindavers, they were called. With glowing yellow eyes, and heads resembling an ace of spades, one could liken them to the infamous Flatwoods Monster of West Virginia. In fact, you’d be forgiven for mistaking them for the same creature. These creatures, they served as bodyguards for everything from Local Administrators of planets, to Karōs to even the Vice-Shoguns themselves.

“Milord,” one of the Strongindavers said, bowing his head and quickly motioned for his colleague to do the same. “We’ve found something, deep in the ice. You may want to come have a look at this.”

Lupus raised an eyebrow, but was intrigued nonetheless. “Show me.”

After riding an elevator down, Lupus found himself outside the Moraimarz in what looked to be the ruins of a once-great castle. A broken shard of a large crystal pillar lay in front of him, and Lupus carefully stepped over it.

“Huh, so these creatures actually had an empire once,” one of the Strongindavers remarked, looking up towards what used to be a mighty tower, now broken and shattered in half, in some areas partially melted as well. “Seems rather… hard to believe. Especially now, when they hide underground like sand worms on your home planet, Lord Lupus. Middle of nowhere, and we find… this.” he commented and picked up a heavily frozen book reading “Supernaturals” on the cover before tossing it behind him in disgust, as the sound of drilling echoed all around him.

“Never forget, even amongst the tiniest of creatures, even the most unassuming can pose a threat,” Lupus commented. “Take the Abborence of my planet. Never would you assume it to be so dangerous for its size, and yet in a few hours you’d find yourself losing all of your breath, and then choking on your own blood soon as it latched onto you,” he commented, in a vaguely threatening tone as he held up a little jar, containing what looked to be a small, silver serpent. Needless to say, both of the Strongindavers got the point and laughed nervously.

“Now, about this thing you found, what is it?” Lupus asked, and one of the Strongindavers gestured for him to follow, leading the purple wolf-like Karō to a once-great hall. In the center of the room, -beyond which lay a partially melted mirror of some sort. that seemed to shimmer and on rare occasions show another world beyond it that glistened with tall skyscrapers seemingly made of glass.- lay a dark-colored horn, crackling with a purple energy. It looked as if it’d been ripped off the tip of something, or sliced off. It wasn’t like a unicorn’s horn, it was more curved if Lupus had to be honest. But still, his suit’s sensors were off the charts as they detected energy simply radiating off the horn.

His eyes narrowed, and he motioned for several Invaders to come forth. “Get this thing boxed up and put in a containment module, and be very careful about it. While I wouldn’t mourn any of you, the last thing I need is Lord Eriedrone complaining to me about losing me on a simple artifact retrieval.”

Then, another Strongindaver ran up, panting and seemingly out of breath. “Sir, vessels on approach. Their energy signatures, they match the ones picked up earlier just before the Deathworm’s life signs went!”

Lupus smirked. “Excellent. Let them come,” he stated simply, and everyone stared at him in shock even as the Karō let slip the small jar from his hands before teleporting out. If Lupus had a method to his madness, he wasn’t saying a thing on it. At least… not yet.

Stripped Gear, even as he saw the towering form of the Moraimarz appear through his cockpit window, suppressed a nervous swallow. The central tower of the ship -because really, what else could it have been?- seemed to be looking directly at him. It bore a distinct face, like that of a tiki’s or a moai’s and for a moment the tannish unicorn wondered if the ship was in some way alive, pulsating with purple energy as it was.

He bit back the thought, either from not wanting to ponder the possibility or just dismissing it was frankly ridiculous. There was no way that ship was alive… right? No, it couldn't have been. It was probably just one of Dark Matter’s tricks, a way to intimidate their opposition.

“Well, I have to admit even if only to myself,” Stripped thought to himself, even as he used the controls to urge his Voyager onwards. “It's quite the effective fear tactic. So, I will give them credit -If only a little, -the self-righteous pricks- for that.”

The inside of his Voyager’s cockpit, like his lab, was rather cluttered with little boxes of various tools and half-finished devices laying strewn about, in a rather haphazard fashion. No sense of rhyme or reason to it. Any normal person would have a hard time making sense out of the chaos, really, with only Stripped himself knowing where everything was. All around him, small monitors glowing a distinctly blue hue showed various forms of data, amongst other things like the topography of the area around him and compositions of various metals. In effect, it was basically Stripped Gear’s home away from home. He could even monitor the performance, and damage levels of the other Voyagers from here, making him, in essence, a very important target. There was a reason he was encouraged not to go out in the field if only as a last resort and backup were scarce.

Projected on a small emitter, was a hologram of Celestia comprised of various streams of data. Opposite this, was a projection of Stripped’s many great grandparents Bon-Bon and Lyra Heartstrings. A constant reminder, he told himself, of where he came from. His family, Lyra’s family, had come from the Marish Isles and started off rather poor even when Ponyville was first founded. They had to fight for what they had, build their lives from the ground up. Being immigrants escaping a country that was mired in civil war, they had no roots to speak of when they first settled in Equestria.

But somehow, his family managed and got themselves well-established in Ponyville over the years, bringing their native recipes from their homeland with them. Shepherd's Pie or Cottage Pie as it was alternatively known, was a particular favorite. Comprised of a mixture of mashed potatoes, minced lamb or beef, and varying vegetables it may have hit like a brick, but filled you up quite nicely. Comfort food, really. The other popular dish his family brought was called Champ, a mix of mashed potato, scallions, butter, and milk. Of course, business only increased when Bon-Bon was thrown into the mix and brought her delightful candy confections into the family. Some of these creations of hers, like Lunar Jello or Gummy Bears, still survived to this day in one form or another, something Stripped was particularly proud of.

Like all the members of his family in the early days, he had to fight for what little he had, and make his way up the rungs of the ladder to get into the position of Stardust’s top scientist. It was a valued position, as you’d expect, and wasn’t easy to get to. Several other ponies had relied on dirty tactics to make sure Stripped didn’t get into the favored position, such as sabotaging various experiments of his he intended to present to the Prince.

Needless to say, when he reverse-engineered the Draco Kyutama on a whim or a pure flight of fancy, he won the title and gained something he was still very much proud of to this day. Respect. Finally, he had something to lord over the lower classes with and say, “Yes, I did this, not you!”

A bit snobbish of him, he admitted, but he felt he was entitled to being the way he was after all the fighting he’d done to get there. It was a long way to the top, he admitted. Still, at times, he had to admit, it was like a mountain in some ways. Once you got there, it got quite lonely and at times, when he knew nobody could overhear him, he desired some form of companionship. Maybe not someone who could understand all of his scientific gobbledygook as it was often called but just someone who he could talk to at times. Maybe it was his own fault he mused, for lording his position over others, making them know he was superior not only in status but in intellect as well.

A small concussive explosion knocked the pony out of his internal musings, and he snapped himself to attention.

“What was that?” he asked, before he looked downwards. Near the massive ship was various crab-walker mounted cannons, firing blast after blast of energy towards the Kyurangers.

“You’d think they wouldn’t bother with small snub fighters like ours…” Stripped pondered, but the Celesti-AI was swift to correct him.

“Yes, you would think, and normally you’d be correct. You wouldn’t be worth the attention, however…” she trailed off, placing a hand to her chin in thought.

“What is it?” Stripped stated quickly, impatiently having no time for nonsense.

“That ship, it’s burrowing deep into Equus’ surface. There’s a large energy transfer going up into the belly of the beast, as it were and seemingly stored there,” the Celesti-AI continued, seemingly unfazed by Stripped’s rudeness. “At the same time, I’ve rerouted the Voyager’s sensors to scan the planet’s interior. The magma core, it’s destabilizing. I have reason to believe these two events are connected.”

Stripped’s sea-green eyes widened in shock as he realized what Celestia was getting at, and opened the comms.

“Everyone, focus fire on that ship! If we don’t destroy it fast, this planet’s going to explode!”

“Well, you heard him,” Flashfire’s voice crackled over the comms. “Get to it! Alright, Dark Matter… Time to test your luck! Allons-y, team!” he shouted, as a battle cry. “Fågel, Coldcast, take out those cannons! Everyone else, focus fire on that ship,” he ordered.

Soon, Fågel rammed one of the twin cannons with her tank-like Voyager, while Coldcast’s own grabbed one of the walker legs in its jaws and tossed it into a cliff making it go up in a fireball.

“Jabari!” Stripped shouted over the comms. “You’re with me. While Spada and Flashfire shoot up that thing’s armor, we’re going to do a cut and run, you understand?”

“Got it.” the zorse smirked, knowing exactly what the unicorn was thinking. Stripped watched as the wings of the Eagle Voyager glowed pink, while his own Voyager’s fins glowed yellow before both ships shot forwards and sliced the ship down the middle in a blur of motion.

“Take that!” Jabari shouted in glee, before his smile faded. “Uh guys, not wanting to ruin the party here, but I’m running models here, and I really think we’ve got a major problem on our hooves here. And I do mean major.”

“What do you mean?” Coldcast asked, not really wanting to know.

“Well, thinking about it, that planetary energy has to be gathered up for something, right? So, ran a few scans on the ship’s core, and it’s gathering it and devoting all power to weapons systems, probably for one huge blast. Needless to say, I don’t think we want to be within firing range.”

“I’ve got an idea,” Stripped mused. “Everyone, prime your weapons systems. Time to fight fire with fire.”

Placing his Kyutama into a small slot, and twisting it he watched as the others mirrored his movements. Stripped then pressed down on his Kyutama, and his Voyager shot out a beam of energy from its beak. The others were soon to follow.

“All-Star Crash! Super Galaxy Variant!” Stripped shouted, as the Moraimarz fired a huge, cutting beam of purple energy. The beams battled for dominance, before the next thing anyone knew was the massive ship going up in a huge fireball. Stripped allowed himself a smirk. “Checkmate.”

High above Equus’s atmosphere, Lupus allowed himself a smirk as he sat in his flagship’s bridge. The massive Moraimarz was of the dreadnaught class of ships, and was designed to wage full-scale war on a planet. It’s hangers held legions of fighter craft, ready to be deployed at a moment’s notice along with several smaller Moraimarz as well.

In front of Lupus, several holographic screens, each a deep violet tint similar in hue to the lights in the hallways, -which were a darker shade of purple themselves- rested in direct eye's view. One depicted his flagship itself, which was needless to say, titanic. Each individual piece linked together, with all of the belts turning like clockwork. All three of the smaller gears were armed with spear-like platforms, with different rooms on the inside. All of them looked very similar, though, so it was impossible to tell which one housed what. And surrounding this structure, was one single massive gear turning in unison alongside the smaller ones.

The other screen depicted a massive creature, burrowing deep beneath the planet’s icy surface, seemingly growing in size with each passing minute.

“Perfect…” Lupus mused. Sure, they’d stopped his first Moraimarz from draining the planet dry, which he entirely expected. That wasn’t the real goal, no. His main plan was to tire these Rangers out, before sending his legions in for the kill. He knew they were perfectly capable warriors as soon as the Scorpius Drone’s assault vehicle had been trashed.

“Milord, you’ve got an incoming hail from Don Armage.” a Strongindaver said, bowing as soon as he entered the bridge.

“Onscreen.” Lupus stated, quick and to the point. And so the orders were followed, with a new holographic screen replacing all the others. On it, was what could only be described as a massive bow, with a singular arrow loaded up and ready to fire. A golden frame with a blue loading mechanism and arrow filled it. Spikes adorned the edges, a sign that could have easily identified it as a hostile ship, if anything. A singular string of light-blue energy coiled from the bow through the arrow itself, almost like a power core being controlled and stabilised. The Ark, the flagship of the Dark Matter fleet and the main place of residence for Don Armage.

“Commander…” a voice growled out, and Lupus felt an involuntary chill run up his very spine as a cloaked figure appeared in front of Lupus, replacing the Ark. “I hear you’ve been having… difficulties in acquiring this new planet we’ve discovered. Was the assault craft I gave you not sufficient in subjugating the population?” Armage asked.

“We have them on the edge of a string.” Lupus said, unable to keep his voice from stuttering. “I plan to-”

“I care not for your plans!” Armage barked. “Your last failure in subjugating a planet, they rebelled and destroyed themselves, and not a single drop of Planetarium was gained in the process! And look at you. The deed split your spirit to the bone, as shown with your progress on this backwater world, without even a sun to light it’s days!” he roared, and clenched his fist. “I’m sending Sir Ikargen to assist.”

“S-Sir Ikargen?” Lupus whispered in fear. “But he’s a rabid dog! He can’t be controlled!”

“Nevertheless, you will await his arrival,” Armage argued. “You may wonder, why I keep such a “rabid dog” as you refer to him on my payroll? Permit me the chance to explain. A cur's weakness, properly manipulated, can be a sharp tool in anyone’s hands. Especially my hands. Yessss, even Sir Ikargen has his… fallacies. Weak as you both are, I believe you, together, can fix this disaster you yourself created, Lupus.” Armage stated leaving almost no room for argument. Almost.

“V-Very well, but…” Lupus stammered out.

“But what?” Don Armage asked, narrowing his violet eyes.

“Your… condition,” Lupus replied delicately. “I may have found a solution.”

“A solution you say?” Armage asked, leaning in closer in such a way that he practically towered and overshadowed the much smaller Dark Matter member. Lupus, trembling held up a small orb of energy, in which was contained the curved horn he’d found on the planet’s surface.

“Tests have been run, and there’s an unknown factor of energy emitting from this horn. It might just be enough for you to finally take physical form and go into battle personally.”

“While I have no desire to go into battle myself, not when I can control the galaxy’s inner workings with the mere palm of my hand, I admit, a new body after the destruction of my last one is very desirable. Congratulations, Lupus, you may have just migated your failure somewhat.” Armage replied, before vanishing. Lupus slumped back in his chair, and let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“Ikargen… Just the last thing I needed…” Lupus thought to himself. “As if things weren’t bad enough. Knowing him, he probably won’t be coming alone. He’ll probably have that whore of his, Madoka along as well! I swear, if she calls me a jelly brain even once, I’m shooting her and damn the consequences…”

Back deep beneath the icy manifolds of the overworld, Stripped Gear set back to work on what he did best, experimentation and creation. His lab, suffice to say, was a mess. Scientists and researchers were in a frenzy, passing beakers and vials of liquid around the room to other assistants. Apparatus had all been set up and nearly all of them were being used. Bunsen burners were lit and heating up some of the chemicals, while centrifuges spun and distillers lit themselves. Because of the way everyone was moving, the chance of spills and breakages happening were very high, and it was a miracle that there had been none of that yet. Of course, that could have just been him tempting fate, as many of the ponies nearly crashed into one another as they worked with their materials and devices.

“Oi!” Stripped shouted, as one pony nearly smacked into another, carrying the arm of the ill-fated Scorpius Drone in his hands. “Last thing we want is those chemicals -Does nopony read or even understand the words highly flammable anymore?- blowing something up just because they get rattled a bit?” he barked, before letting a hand trail down his face.

“I swear, the ponies I work with…” he thought in disgust, before grabbing the arm out of the assistant's hands and placing it on his table, his hooves clanking against a piece of metal grating below, that just so happened to barely traverse a small river of pure molten magma.

Stripped, at times, honestly wished he’d been given a better or at least safer workspace. This was one of those times he mused, as he wiped sweat off his brow before pulling a monocle out of his lab coat’s pockets and began studying the arm’s inner workings, some of the outer armor plating having been removed for better access a few hours before. It was true enough, the lab he’d been given was hardly compliant with OSHA safety regulations.

With all of the recent chaos in the outside world, the ceiling above had entirely caved in and submitted to the grip of the icy world, and now stalactites hung tenderly above the devices, and looked sharp enough to rend any experiment to pieces with a single drop. There was also a cold atmosphere around, as the heaters had been worn thin from constant overuse. In fact, if not for the bunsen burners, the room would have been almost utterly devoid of heat, and many of the ponies were shivering even now despite their thermal suits as they hustled to get their work done on time. They were just glad the floor hadn’t frozen over, or dampened by any spillages, or everything would have gone belly up for all of them.

“How goes the roof repair work?” Stripped asked another pony, even as he continued looking at the Scorpius Drone’s arm.

“Plates are being moved in to cover the hole, and the Galaxy Garrison headquarters is willing to lend us some shielding, but it might be a while before we get that,” Jabari said with a sigh, looking over what looked to be a thruster pack with wings. They seemed to be made of some otherworldly material, and perhaps they were, but knowing Stripped he’d probably found something from a failed invention of his and repurposed the materials. The pony was a master of magitech after all. Beautiful streaks of amber, tied and woven together with metal made up the celestial-like wings. If Jabari remembered correctly, these were meant to be an upgrade for his suit, to give him flight capabilities and if everything worked out, applied to the rest of the non-flight capable Rangers as well.

“Wonderful…” Stripped muttered to himself, with no small amount of sarcasm in his voice. Then an eyebrow raised in interest as he looked at the arm in front of him a little closer.

“Hey, Jabari, bring your Kyuchanger over here will you?” he asked, with Jabari shrugging before taking the gauntlet off his wrist and handing it over to the unicorn.

“Now, if my hunch is correct…” Stripped muttered, before he fitted the Kyuchanger to the arm laying in front of him.

“So, what’s that prove?” Jabari asked. “All of the Kyuchangers were made for a universal fit, so that anyone could wear them.”

“Yes, but remember, we found a Kyutama in the wreckage of the scorpion mech.” Stripped reminded, and he and Jabari shared a glance.

“You don’t think…” Jabari trailed off before his expression turned nervous. “Now that I think of it, one of the assistants said they found this amongst the robot’s parts.” he continued, bringing out what looked to be a Kyuchanger but in purple and black instead. He quickly replaced his own with this dark version on the robot’s arm. Understandably, he was suitably unnerved by this sight. What was about to happen next wouldn’t soothe him in the slightest.

“Yeah, just as I thought,” Stripped muttered. “Now, I only need one more thing to prove my theory…” he mused, before bringing out the Scorpius Kyutama and pressing down on it.

Almost as if in reaction, the dark Kyuchanger proclaimed: “Say the Change!”

Jabari then carefully watched as Stripped placed the Kyutama into the little slot on the gauntlet and flicked it. Almost in an instant, the arm was covered in orange armor, not unlike the Ranger’s own suits.

“That confirms it, doesn’t it?” Stripped sighed. “For better or for worse, that robot sent to attack us is or was a Kyuranger.”

Taking the time to digest that frankly disturbing information, a long silence permeated the air.

“So…” Jabari whispered, his voice trembling. “Dark Kyurangers? Is… Is that even a thing? I mean, how can that even be a thing? I mean, the Draco Kyutama and all of the technology we derived from it was created for good, wasn’t it?” he whispered and Stripped nodded. Jabari then had a horrific thought. “How long do you think the Draco Kyutama spent wandering the galaxies before it crash-landed here, on Equus?”

“Hundreds, maybe thousands of years?” Stripped guessed as a reply. “In that time and in those days, space travel would take a long time. Anyone could have picked it up and studied it.”

“Exactly, anyone,” Jabari replied with a nod. “Anyone, and that includes Dark Matter or whatever became the group. They easily could have created their own Kyutamas and tech based around them, and from the looks of things I’d say they did,” he stated.

“I need to talk to Stardust. He needs to know about this.” Stripped stated firmly, standing up before his gaze turned to behind him. Resting on a table behind him was the Scorpion Robot’s head, gazing at them soullessly.

“Hey, did you bring that in?” Jabari asked. “I know I sure as Hell didn’t…”

“Might have been one of the lab techs, I don’t know. So much hustle and bustle it’s nigh impossible to keep track of anything sometimes. Still…” Stripped trailed off, eyeing it warily. He tapped the optic, to see if he could garner any reaction but nothing happened.

“Listen, I’m just going to go look at my star maps, maybe annoy Coldcast a little. Anything but standing near that… thing. It’s beginning to freak me out, really.” Jabari muttered, before turning to leave the room.

“Agreed.” Stripped said, before following suite. What neither of them noticed was as soon as they left the room, the optic blinked.

Stripped’s hooves broke into a sprint as they ran down the corridors, alleyways and through the streets of the undercity, as it were. Ponies, amongst various other species, peered out of their windows and stepped out onto balconies to get a good gander at the frantic scientist.

Going for his belt, he pulled out the Boötes Kyutama, colored bright green in the central crystal and inserted it into his Kyuchanger. Almost in an instant, he felt a burst of speed as he rounded a corner, his lab coat billowing behind him like a cape of some sorts. He kicked up dust, and various pieces of trash as he ran through the city center and out of another alleyway.

Stopping only momentarily to catch his breath, he resumed his run and brushed past various citizens who let out yelps and on some occasions, cursed at him as he neared the city center.

Stripped made a mental note to apologize, but right now he had more important matters at hand, really.

Eventually, he did reach the Prince’s personal quarters, or tried to anyways as something else caught his attention. Two red armored guards, helmets covering their faces carrying long bladed staves were wandering the corridors of the Prince’s personal residence. They seemed to pay him no mind, which was understandable considering this wasn’t the first time Stripped or anyone else for that matter had visited this place. What was strange was their presence in the first place, and how unnerved they seemed.

Maybe it was because of all the recent chaos, Stripped figured, but he’d never seen this particular brand of guard before. Then again, he’d never seen Stardust with any form of guards. He’d heard the rumors of course, that Stardust’s guards lurked in the shadows and you’d never see them coming but he’d always dismissed them. Bit too secret police-like for his tastes, if you asked him.

But here they were, clear as day. Or at least, maybe the inspiration for the rumors. The armor itself, was a combination of robes covering the body, and a thickly armored helmet that covered the face completely, leaving no features visible. You couldn’t even tell what race these guards were, or even if they were organic in nature. For all Stripped knew, they could have been robotic. Questions ran through his mind, even as he, out of pure instinct and caution hid behind a corner and waited till the guards left.

Sticking to the shadows, the unicorn cast a spell over himself that made him almost but not completely invisible. He found himself drawn, for whatever reason, to a rather unremarkable door. However, that’s only at first glance, the door for whatever reason felt unnaturally cold to the touch. The fact was, below the door were small clouds of mist. Gritting his teeth and looking to make sure nobody was around, Stripped carefully cut open a small hole in the door and found himself in a chamber of pods. Stasis pods, each carefully controlled so that whatever was inside them stayed a frosty sleep.

No, not whatever, Stripped mentally corrected himself. Whoever. Going to a computer console, he checked the status of the pods' occupants. Only one had someone inside it.

“Suppose you’ve slept long enough, man…” Stripped remarked, pressing a button on the pod’s side, and it opened with a hissing sound. What was inside, shocked Stripped to the core. A dark green insectoid body, with two red pincers sticking out of the forehead like a stag beetle. The unicorn’s eyes widened. He didn’t need to be a genius to know who this was.

“Pharynx…” he breathed out, as the Changeling’s eyes slowly fluttered open.

Part 5: Oh, the times, they are a Changin'...

New Manehatten Medical Wing, Cold Storage:

“E-Easy there!” Stripped said gently as he watched the dark-green changeling’s eyes slowly flutter open, and then Pharynx still clad in a light blue hospital gown stumbled forwards almost in a drunken manner.

Grunting out in pain as the massive Changeling fell into the smaller unicorn’s arms, Stripped murmured: “I got you there, big guy. Question is, what are you doing here? I mean, I would think the medical logs would show you being stored away, or even still alive for that matter…”

It was almost like someone wanted to keep Pharynx’s existence a secret, Stripped mused. But, why would that be?

“Ugh, where am I?” Pharynx muttered before he noticed his current situation. “And who are you?” he asked, pulling himself out of Stripped’s grip.

“Name’s Stripped Gear. Scientist, and might I just say what a pleasure it is to meet you!” Stripped babbled, forgetting his manners and rapidly shaking Pharynx’s hand. “I mean, you’re a friggin’ living legend. You do know that, right? This is absolutely meretricious!”

“Oh great, a fanboy…” Pharynx muttered to himself in a tone that could only be described as complete and utter disgust. “I was warned about ponies like you, the ones who practically strip themselves naked and throw themselves at the object of their… desires,” he grumbled. “Maybe if you were a mare, I’d accept the offer but a buck? No way. This Changeling is quite straight, thank you very much!”

Stripped flushed a bright red at that, realizing what his fanboying over a living legend of old Equestria could have come off as, namely something akin to being stalkerish.

“Oh, if Jabari or Faust forbid, Spada got wind of this, he’d never let me live it down…” the unicorn thought to himself.

“My deepest apologies Lord Pharynx,” Stripped replied, regaining his composure, fixing his lab coat and turning back into Stripped Gear, well refined and dignified scientist from the Marish Isles. “Sorry, just meeting someone so famous is… Well.”

“Yes, yes, I get it,” Pharynx waved him off. “You’re overwhelmed and all that shit.”

“I forgot how rude that Changeling was, at least according to historical records,” Stripped sighed to himself. “Silly me.”

“Not that of course, I’m offended by you calling me a living legend,” Pharynx murmured, scratching his chin. “I’d consider that a compliment. But again, I have to ask, where in the Hivemother’s name am I?”

“New Manehatten, the Medical Wing. Well, at least I think this is the medical wing, last time I checked it didn’t have a cold storage unit.” Stripped murmured, rubbing his chin in thought. “Then again, maybe it did and I just forgot about it. Been so many things on my mind lately that I sorta just… deleted a few of them,” he continued. “Maybe it’s time to up the nicotine patches. Again. This seems like a three patch problem…”

All Pharynx could do was stare in bug-eyed (Pun fully intended) bewilderment as Stripped continued pacing back and forth. The Changeling groaned, realizing what sort of person he had to wake up to.

“...You’re one of those eccentric genius types aren’t you?” he muttered. “Only thing worse than a fanboy…”

“Yes. Do you have a problem with that?” Stripped asked in a confused tone. Since when was being a genius a bad thing?

“Yes, of course, I have a problem with that! I’m just woken up from a Hivemother only knows how long of a nap, and I wake up to a fanboy who probably doesn’t know that Equus doesn’t revolve around the sun because he deleted said information from his mind!” Pharynx shouted in a fury.

“Oh, how, what does that matter? So we go around the sun! If we went round the moon or round and round the garden like a teddy bear, it wouldn't make any difference! And for the record, the Sun collapsed thousands of years ago, so that should tell you how long you’ve been asleep!” Stripped snapped throwing his arms up in the air, quite frustrated by the lack of information he had. He hated not knowing things. Drove him up the wall. “Now will you shutty-shut up so I can work out why you were in cold sleep since before the sun burnt this whole planet to a crisp and then everything froze over?”

Any other person, any other time, Pharynx would have probably grabbed Stripped with his horns and smashed him into the ground several times in classic Changeling warrior fashion for telling him to shut his trap, but he was so caught off guard by how long he exactly he’d been asleep he found himself frozen in shock.

“T-That long?” Pharynx whispered out in shock. “Then that means the P-Princesses a-are…”

Pharynx found himself unable to finish the sentence, tears forming in his eyes. He may not have liked Celestia or Luna for their more pacifistic ways, but even he had to admire how they managed to keep a whole country intact just by sheer friendship alone.

“Dead? Yes, quite,” Stripped said, his tone finally going back into a more sympathetic one, realizing who he was talking to again. Pharynx, whenever he went under and for what reason, everything was all well and good and the sun was shining in the sky. Now, that was hardly the case and everything and everyone he ever knew was dead and gone, just dust in the wind. “If… If you need some time to yourself, I can-”

“No, no point in mourning over something I can’t change. They’re dead, my brother’s dead and I’m just going to have to accept that,” Pharynx murmured, trying very hard to hide his emotions and to his credit, he mostly succeeded, but even Stripped could see the Changeling trying to fight back the tears from behind his violet eyes. So Stripped did the only thing he could do, and pulled Pharynx into a deep hug, and allowed him time to cry.

“Shh, let it out,” Stripped whispered as he heard Pharynx’s muffled heartbroken sobs, and Stripped held the Changeling ever tighter, rubbing his back in a calm, comforting manner. “It’s alright, I’m here for you my little… changeling,” he said awkwardly, not really being the first to know how to comfort somebody, and especially not someone like Pharynx or someone in said Changeling’s situation.

Eventually, tears were spent, and Stripped finally released his hold on Pharynx.

“...Never let anyone know that happened, okay?” Pharynx requested. “I do have a reputation to keep up, after all.”

“Pinkie Promise. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” Stripped nodded, and Pharynx let out a groan. Stripped looked confused. “What? That’s not something you break!”

“That cheesy-ass promise is still around?” Pharynx muttered, astounded.

“Hey, Pinkie herself may be gone, but her legacy sure as Faust isn’t,” Stripped replied. “...Pretty sure she has this ancestor around here somewhere now that I think of it.”

“I pity the fool who dated her. For one thing, you’d need to keep up a lot of stamina in the bedroom,” Pharynx remarked in his normal grumpy tone, but with a trace of amusement. “And a set of earbuds and a good amount of patience, for dealing with a mare who is basically… well, a child really,” he said, and Stripped actually laughed at that. Pharynx smiled. “But in all seriousness, I’m glad some things haven’t changed despite everything that’s sure to have happened.”

“Yeah, say what you will about ponies sometimes, but we’re an enduring lot,” Stripped replied. “Marvelous, isn’t it? Now, you’ve asked me a few questions, so I think it’s only a fair deal that I ask you at least one no?”

“Fair enough,” Pharynx admitted.

“Alright then. So, I just have to ask, why were you contained in that cold-sleep pod to begin with? Knowing what I’ve read about you, and heard from a few ponies and Changelings (Pharynx smiled at this, knowing that his species was still quite alive and well) I can only presume that you locked yourself away in that pod so that one day you could return when Equestria was in need of some great warrior right? Working theory, but right now it’s the best I’ve got.”

“It’s a nice thought, but no,” Pharynx corrected. “Sadly, I contracted this frankly rare illness for Changelings after helping my little brother clear out the last of Discord’s Chaos-Spawn near the First Hive deep within Equestria’s jungles. They called it by a simple name, the Black Plague. Thankfully rare, as it’s almost always fatal. At the time, it looked like I was dead in the water.”

Stripped nodded, he’d read of the infamous disease. Rare in Celestia’s time, it had been killed thousands during the times of Princess Platinum. Contemporary signs of the plague, varied and rather imprecise. As one pony put it: “In men and women alike it first betrayed itself by the emergence of certain tumours in the groin or armpits, some of which grew as large as a common apple, others as an egg… From the two said parts of the body this deadly gavocciolo soon began to propagate and spread itself in all directions indifferently; after which the form of the malady began to change, black spots or livid making their appearance in many cases on the arm or the thigh or elsewhere, now few and large, now minute and numerous. As the gavocciolo had been and still was an infallible token of approaching death, such also were these spots on whomsoever they showed themselves.” Nowadays, the cause is known to come from rats carrying the germ known as Yersinia pestis, but before then it was an unknown agent.

“So how did you…?”

“Survive?” Pharynx asked. “Radical new treatment, proposed by Nurse Redheart in Canterlot. Lock me in that cold-sleep pod, and then pump it full of various cleansing agents. I had to be watched around the clock by trained medics. Didn’t know if it would work, but considering the alternative…”

“Yeah,” Stripped swallowed. “Guess someone forgot to let anyone know when it was time to wake you, right?” he joked lightly and Pharynx laughed in return. Stripped then rubbed his chin once more. “Still, it’s a very good question as to why nobody told anyone you were in that pod for all this time…”

The sound of a cough was heard, someone clearing their throat to speak. Both Stripped and Pharynx whirled around to see Prince Stardust, clad in a dark purple nightgown complete with a gold shooting star sewn into the material. Pharynx raised an eyebrow at this, but then noticed the coloring of the Prince’s mane and his coat. It didn’t take long for him to figure out who the Alicorn was related to.

“Huh, so what do you know? Celestia and Twilight finally pulled their heads out of their asses, stopped dancing around each other and rutted like rabbits!” he thought.

“Um yes, I must apologize for that Lord Pharynx,” Stardust sighed as he leaned on his cane, two of the faceless red guardsmen at his side holding long pronged staves which crackled with electricity. “I really must. No excuse.”

“I should say so…” Pharynx hissed, a snake-like tongue briefly emerging from his mouth. One of the few remaining traits of his original pre-metamorphosed form. “Left me to gather dust, your parents did!”

“And you have every right to be angry with them, Faust rest their souls. Hell, I can bring up their AIs so you can shout at them if it makes you feel any better,” Stardust said kindly, “May not be the real thing, at least if you ask my aunt Flurry for her opinion on the matter but-”

“AIs?” Pharynx asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

“Yes, I said AIs,” Stardust replied. “My parents, they managed to save their personalities to databanks before the sun went nuclear and burnt Equus to a crisp. They did this in order to help out future generations and imbue them with their wisdom to make sure Equus never forget where it came from.”

“A wise choice, I admit,” Pharynx sighed. “Doesn’t stop me from being angry at them, trust me on that, but I’m not going to take it out on them, considering there’d be no point in yelling at somepony for something they can’t change.”

“Surprisingly mature of you, Lord Pharynx,” Stardust replied, thanking the stars. His gratitude would be short-lived.

Mind you, doesn’t mean I can’t do this.” Pharynx stated, before drawing back his fist and socking the Prince soundly across the jaw.

Groaning out in pain as he rubbed his bleeding mouth, Stardust watched as his two guards pointed their staves at Pharynx. He quickly raised his hand to stop them.

“No. Now, there’s no need for that. I suppose I deserved that,” the Prince admitted, calming them. That was a curious trait about Stardust. Despite all his quirkiness, he always had this strange ability to calm others with just simple words. It was like he never seemed to get angry enough to raise his voice. These two traits, Stripped had to figure, Stardust had probably inherited from Celestia. He was just glad Luna wasn’t one of his mothers, otherwise, Stardust probably wouldn’t have been quite so calm and well-mannered. “I probably got off lucky, really.” the Prince shrugged.

“Damn right…” Pharynx muttered to himself. “If I’d hit you any harder, you’d probably get a broken jaw at the very least!”

Stripped winced at that. Yep, it seemed some things would never change.

We later find Pharynx along with Stripped and Princess Flurry Heart walking over the hanger bay of the Voyagers via catwalk. Pharynx, in interest, observed the various ponies and other assorted species set to work on the various fighter craft, amongst the larger colony ships. Over the radio, a rather cheery (Well, somewhat) song played as sparks flew and metal was grafted to ships to armor them further.

“Another day o' cloudy skies
feelin' low an' I don't know why, I
guess it shouldn't be news to me now
it's been this way for centuries, but I'm holding out

“I heard from legends and crystal balls
sun gave warmth to the great and small
I saw the smiles good ol' Ray put on their face
It ain't too much to want gentle grace

“This pessimism brings my brain a schism,
splittin' up my mind
But I know before too soon I’ll find
Footsteps on my porch of ultraviolet kind…” a feminine voice song, (Velvet Remedy was her name as Pharynx would later learn) and Pharynx noted Stripped bobbing his head to the music. Pharynx, to his disgust, noted he himself was tapping his hoof to it as well. Damned thing was much too sappy for his tastes.

I suppose a minute or two should be diverted to the colony ships themselves, which I haven’t I admit, described all that well.

Streamlined and curved, these ships were a masterwork of engineering. Having taken over twenty years to complete for each one, these ships were truly gigantic compared to the Voyagers. (And those could combine into a mecha!) Sporting a half-saucer shape at the back that curved into a more straight shape as you went further back, with three massive thrusters completing the whole creation. Covered in a bronze metallic hue, these ships could carry 20,000 of the Equus population, easily. Five of them in total, not counting the flagship which was a different matter entirely.

The flagship, the Orion? This was a ship, that if possible, was even more of a masterwork of engineering than the colony ships. It was a massive dagger-shaped ship armed to the tooth and supporting a crew of 20,000 also. It was easily dwarfing everything else and was meant to be the personal craft of Prince Stardust. It also supported hanger bays for each of the created Voyagers so far, six in total. There were rumors there was a seventh, hidden hanger for the Draco Voyager as well as one presumed it must have existed in Stardust's theories long before it had been discovered in the Ghastly Gorge.

“So these are how you plan to escape this barren husk?” the Warrior-King noted in interest. “I must admit, I am… intrigued on how the technology has developed during my very long nap.” Pharynx remarked.

“Well, not like we have much choice. Stay, and we freeze,” the Twilight-AI spoke up, her hologram walking up to Pharynx’s side. Her expression grew softer as she looked at him. “It’s good to see you again, my old friend. You had no idea how happy I was when I heard you were awake.”

“Tell me,” Pharynx asked in his usual gruff tone. No sense in, like he said before, in getting angry over something that couldn’t be changed now. “I know some of the Changelings have survived, but has my hive…?” he trailed off, not daring to think of the alternative.

“Yes, you have a few descendants,” Twilight replied. “One of which is a member of the Paladins I’m sure Stardust or Flurry has told you about. One Spada Venture. Good cook, from what I’ve heard.”

“Trust me, man is a master in the kitchen,” Stripped chipped in. “His cooking? To die for! You should see what he does with a Colcannon! Faust, if I didn’t know better, I’d swear he was from the Marish Isles!” he sighed wistfully.

“We’ll get to him in a minute,” Pharynx butted in, putting a stop to Stripped’s drooling. “Actually, no Princess, nobody’s told me a single thing about these ‘Paladins’.”

“Hand-picked from a single species, the best of Equestria’s best,” Flurry put in. “You’ve already met one in Stripped here, and your relation Spada is another. Meant to guard the larger colony ships with those Voyagers you see below and meant to engage in first contact with alien species. Something, which I embarrassingly admit, has not gone well so far.” she flushed, and Pharynx raised an eyebrow.

“How so?” he asked.

“Well, had a encounter a few days back. This massive alien ship crash-landed out near where the Empire used to be, and it’s pilot engaged in combat with three of the Paladins. It was just barely contained. The wreckage is being studied now, but we have a much larger problem,” Flurry continued.

“I’m listening,”

“Well,” Flurry replied to him. “Apparently, this robot was the first line assault force against an empire known as Dark Matter. We’ve, as in the Paladins, engaged one of what they call Karō in combat already, and as of right now we’ve only managed to drive him back in temporary retreat. Even now, his flagship and Faust knows what else hovers above our atmosphere in stationary orbit.”

Pharynx’s fists clenched, and his amaranth-colored wings fluttered in agitation. “And you can’t just go and attack, why?” he hissed out, forked tongue once more making an appearance.

“This is why.” the Twilight-AI spoke up, and gestured to Stripped who simply lit up his horn and brought up a small holographic screen of the flagship of Lupus’ fleet. It was a peculiar design to say the least, but Pharynx did note the two massive cannons on the bottom of the uppermost ‘spike’ that was aimed directly at the planet.

“Those two cannons you see?” Stripped asked. “One shot from them, and boom, could bring the whole place crashing down on top of us. While we could, in theory, evade detection and send up small snub fighters like the Voyagers to destroy them as they’d be too small to register on the sensors, as of right now they’re in the shop. Took a little too much damage from our last battle with Lupus, when he sent his pet Deathworm after us.”

“Deathworm?” Pharynx asked quizzically.

“Trust me, you don’t want to know,” Stripped replied with a small shudder. “But to put it simply, we’re screwed right now.”

Pharynx slammed a hand on one of the metal railings of the catwalk, denting it. “And to think, I used to be a warrior who would be able to take on almost any foe! And now, here I am, sitting around unable to do a thing just because I don’t have the ability to pilot a Voyager! Look at me, a warrior and former captain of the guard who basically has to sit around doing nothing while his kingdom -his kingdom!- is under threat! In essence, I’ve been laid low!” he snarled, both Flurry and Stripped visibly backing away from Pharynx and his frustrations. His head then whirled around to face Flurry, and he stepped dangerously close to her.

“If you had woken me sooner, maybe, just maybe I might have been able to have been chosen by your precious Prince Stardust to become a Paladin! I mean, who decides who is Equestria’s best? Yes, Equestria’s best! Don’t think I didn’t miss that! Not Equus’ best, Equestria’s best!” he roared.

“You think I like this either?” Flurry snapped. “I didn’t even know you were even in the city! Because someone, namely Prince Stardust decided to keep that information from all of us, -Faust knows why- and let you sleep. I thought you dead long ago! I considered at the time, the possibility of checking, just checking to see if your body had somehow survived in that tank and not rotted to just a skeleton, but Equestria burning to a crisp and then icing over put a hold on that!” she continued, her massive white wings flaring out in anger. “Hell, a lot of us had to stay in sleep pods ourselves while Equestria cooled down, and in those first few years, it was chaos as I was the only one old enough at the time to try and get everyone in order, as Stardust was just only ten years old! He didn’t know how to rule, so I had to do it in his stead while his tutors -Namely the AI versions of his parents once we finally got them up and running- taught him everything he needed to know!” she finished, panting and breathing hard from her little rant. Pharynx, he looked quite quayed and backed off.

“I’m… I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” he whispered, hanging his head in shame. “It must have been hard…”

“Oh gee, you think?” she snapped, before storming off in a huff and vanishing in a teleportation flash of light yellow magic.

Stripped, during all of this, had stayed quite silent in fear of getting either Pharynx or Flurry’s rage directed at him. Nervously, he reached out to touch Pharynx’s shoulder.

“Come on, let’s get you something to eat. Food always helps to ease the mind. A good hearty meal, that’s what you need.” he said, patting the Changeling on the shoulder.

A loud rumble was heard beneath their feet, and both Stripped and Pharynx shared a look.

“What was that?” Pharynx asked cautiously.

“Part of me wants to think it’s just a minor earthquake, we get them from time to time, but…”

“But what?” Pharynx asked.

“Well, considering Lupus is hardly the stupid sort, one must wonder. I, in his position, would figure that we would find some way around our little problem and that assumes he knows our Voyagers are damaged so even if he had those cannons to rain Hell from above, he’d have a backup plan in place. You would, wouldn’t you?” Stripped inquired.

“Yes, quite.”

“Exactly,” Stripped replied. “Listen, I’ll run some simulations and some models, just to see if I’m being paranoid and these earthquakes are natural, or something otherworldly’s the cause of them. You, you just get something to eat okay?” he asked, not as a Paladin of Equestria but as a friend. “Might just help calm the nerves.”

“S-Suppose you’re right. Maybe that’s all I need, just a good meal or two…” Pharynx murmured. Eventually, with the help of the Twilight-AI, he found himself in the large cafeteria where most of Equestria’s military regiment ate. For the most part, it was a stark white in wall color, lined with green detailings conforming to the minimalist style of the rest of the city’s interior design.

At one table, a certain pink parrot named Fågel sat, idly picking away at her food with a spork. It was a traditional dish from her homeland, called Raggmunk. It was basically a potato pancake served with the traditional lingonberries.

Pharynx sighed, noting her loneliness -His brother must have been laughing at him from above, seeing him try to make nice with someone- and pulled up a chair next to her. The parrot looked up at him, giving him a warning look.

“If you’re here to flirt, don’t bother. Not remotely interested,” she stated coldly.

“Yeah, wasn’t going to do that,” Pharynx reassured, biting back a snappy comment. “Just looked like you needed someone to talk to, that’s all.”

Fågel sighed to herself. “Well, you’re certainly braver than most, that’s for sure.”

“You do realize I was once someone suicidal enough to fend off a maulwurf alone?” Pharynx asked, in a deadpan tone. “So I doubt talking to some parrot is going to be decremental to my health.”

Fågel tried to hide her laughter of course. To her credit, she mostly succeeded and just made it look like she was laughing softly to the point where it made things seem she was laughing at him. After a while though she stopped herself.

“Look I am not some parrot that is the best to speak to by yourself. I did so many things in the past that would make others scream and blush in horror. It’s moving on with life that you learn that you might be more than you think,” she replied, in that thick Icelandic accent of hers. Pharynx somehow got the feeling standard Equestrian wasn’t her first language. He bit back a laugh.

“And yet, here you are. A Paladin. Don’t think I didn’t notice that gauntlet on your arm, Stripped Gear had one as well. Inquired to Twilight about them, all the Paladins have one or the other, makes them be able to change into this squad called the Kyurangers, whatever that’s supposed to be. Frankly, a rather brash title if you ask me really.” Pharynx remarked in return.

Fågel sighed nodding as she did so, and held up her Taurus Kyutama before placing it on the table in front of Pharynx.

“One would think being what I am would make me feel better about my life. Sadly no I wasn’t there for my half-brother. I wasn’t there for my family. So, he has to grow up in the system, feeling nobody gives a damn about him except for that adopted big brother of his in Flashfire AKA Cerberus Seagreen. There is more to my life that most don’t know about. The fact I was even given this thing makes me feel like I must… I must forget the past or doom myself to repeat it.”

“You might want to explain this to your half-brother then,” Pharynx replied. “He’d probably love to know about all of this. Hivemother knows if I grew up in the system, and found out I had a half-sister who could have been there but wasn’t? I’d be pissed. You’re lucky I was raised with a decent amount of respect for women otherwise I’d be punching you in the beak ‘bout now.”

Fågel laughed weakly.

“Yes tell him that I murdered someone then I was placed in jail for half my life. It turned out it wasn’t murder but the ponies family used his death to punish me. I was hired at a young age to steal something from this guy, named Cold Steel. I scared him he backed up and he fell out of the window. I was accused of murder and that was that. Prince Stardust’s guards chucked me in the bin. He told me I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He said don’t hate me for protecting my families image by destroying yours,” she’d lowered her voice by this point, not wanting anyone to overhear that their precious Prince Stardust was in fact, a bastard and not this wise, all seeing if not slightly eccentric Prince who’d lead everyone to safety.

Pharynx’s fists clenched, and he let out a growl. “Knew there was something off about that pony. Far too nice, nobody’s that nice unless they have something to hide,” he muttered.

“For years Pharynx, I felt I deserved it. I still feel I do. The fact is if I didn’t get hired to steal I would still be with my half-brother. That’s something I can’t control now. The fact I am in the eyes of some, just a hardened murderer. Even though I did this the Prince has been very respectful to me. Even though I don’t trust him.”

“Can’t say I blame you. What’s that old phrase? Keep your friends close, and keep your enemies closer. Gotta say, guy’s got balls, making someone he framed for a crime a defender for Equus.” Pharynx admitted, in a slightly admiring but more disgusted tone of voice.

“I feel this was bound to happen. The ponies of this land were too... I don’t want to be too rude although I might have to be. They were too weak. I knew sooner or later if something like this happened, they wouldn’t be able to handle it because it’s not the Power of Friendship they need to fight this. I feel the ponies relied too much on that Princess of theirs.”

“Seemed to work for them, till the sun went nuclear and burnt everything to ashes.” Pharynx shrugged. “I mean, when I went into cold sleep, Twilight’s school was thriving and relations with the rest of the planet were at an all-time high. And look at everyone now, collaborating to find a way off this icy rock. Hell, these Paladins, they’re each a member of one of Equestria’s species. Changelings, griffons, ponies and… well, whatever you are. Wouldn’t be surprised if there was a dragon in there somewhere. Doubtful, given they’re cold-blooded creatures, but today’s been full of surprises.

Fågel sighed.

“I never saw the old world if I did I would ask what caused it? Of course, I forgot when I asked this once. That the sun was magic, and I wish I knew what type of magic. So I could understand why it blew up like that. But I doubt I will ever learn what type of magic it was. Maybe the magic is what caused it. Or maybe everything just has it's time,” She shrugged. “If I knew magic I would understand it more. But I am just a simple creature. Just saying though, the Elements of Harmony, wielded by those six mares, may not have been the end-all solution at times. I mean, they certainly didn’t stop the sun from broiling Equestria right?” Fågel asked,

Pharynx sighed, and rubbed his temples. “Maybe you’re right, and maybe I’m wrong. Still doesn’t change the fact that I’m pretty much useless right now. I mean, I’m a warrior and here I am, sitting at a table eating…” Pharynx checked his plate and shrugged. “Don’t know what this is, while there’s a warship hanging miles above our heads, with it’s cannons pointed directly down at us, and I can’t do a single thing about it because I wasn’t singled out to be one of these Paladins of Equus!” he ranted throwing his arms up in the air in frustration.

“Oh I don’t know you could do a lot you’re still a changeling you know. Can’t you change form? I know that is not much but you could do so much for the ponies of this place. You could shapeshift into something that gives them laughter, hope, something to want to prance about with and be happy for once. Being a Paladin is not the main thing, you know.”

On any other creature, that might have worked.

Pharynx simply lifted an eyebrow at her. “I hardly think I’m a comedian. You do realize who I am, right?” Pharynx, the Changeling who was captain of Thorax’s personal hive guard, a warrior born and raised. I don’t have a hive anymore, so I’ll have to take on what’s left of the old world as my kingdom. And right now, my kingdom’s under threat by something I can’t pretend to understand, but I have to do something about!”

“I don’t know the best way. But...” Fågel said and when she stood up, she dropped a set of Kyutamas, including the skill variant of the Chameleon Kyutama. “Maybe it will come to you and you can fly with the wind,” she said with a wink, and Pharynx smirked, grabbing the Kyutamas and pocketing them before dashing out the door.

Pharynx quickly found himself situated in the cockpit of the Chameleon Voyager, working out the control scheme to the ship, pressing buttons until the whole cockpit began to light up with a humming sound as consoles came to life all around him.

“Figured you might do something stupid,” Stripped Gear’s voice said as it crackled over the comms.

“Stupid?” Pharynx asked as he placed the skill version of the Chameleon Kyutama on a little slot on the central console. “That’s one word for it. Suicidally reckless would be another. Downright crazy, another choice. There are a few other ways of describing this, take your pick.” he deadpanned.

“I’d choose brave,” Stripped replied. “That’s why I’m transferring the Twilight-AI to your… Well, not your ship but you know what I mean right? She’ll be able to walk you through piloting the ship undetected, as once you breach the atmosphere I’ll be out of contact with you.”

“It’s Twilight,” Pharynx corrected. “May be just bits of lines of data and code, but to me, she’s the Princess of Friendship I made friends with. So keep that in mind.”

“I… I see,” Stripped murmured, feeling rather ashamed of himself. “Sorry, I tend to forget that.”

“Well, don’t. Understand?” Pharynx reminded sharply.

“Yes… Um, anyways. I’ve been making upgrades to the Chameleon Voyager in my spare time, gave it the Perseus Kyutama’s cloaking abilities. Now, it really is a like a proper chameleon. Now, that skill Kyutama, I don’t know how you got it, but unlike the Legendary variant, you won’t be able to morph with it. However, it and any other Kyutamas you may have, you can still use. Check the side compartment, to your left. Should be a spare Kyuchanger in it. Always keep on in every Voyager, in case someone loses one.” Stripped informed.

Sure enough, when he checked, he found a spare Kyuchanger just as Stripped had said he would that refitted itself to the size of Pharynx’s arm.

“Okay, brace yourself,” Stripped informed. “Launching in five, four, three, two, ONE!”

Then Pharynx found himself pushed back into his seat as his ship was launched forwards, like being shot out of a cannon. Icy caverns passed by in a blur, and quickly turned to snow and then stars as Pharynx found himself out amongst the cold, unforgiving blackness of space. In front of him, looming ominously was Lupus’ flagship.

“I like to dream yes, yes, right between my sound machine
On a cloud of sound I drift in the night
Any place it goes is right
Goes far, flies near, to the stars away from here

“Well, you don't know what we can find
Why don't you come with me little girl
On a magic carpet ride…” an old song played over the speakers -Spada had this personal mixtape installed in his Voyager- as Pharynx locked the Perseus Kyutama into place on his gauntlet, and the Voyager faded into the night.

“Powering off all non-essential systems,” the Twilight-AI informed. “Less risk of us being detected that way.”

Pharynx really wasn’t sure if he wanted to know what Twilight meant by non-essential systems.

“Good to see you’re following in Rainbow Dash’s hoofsteps,” Twilight replied as she set a course for the flagship. Pharynx raised an eyebrow at that, and Twilight clarified as she brought up a screen of a rainbow-maned mare with wing feathers of varying shades of the rainbow as well reaching all the way from red down to green. She was wearing a bright orange jumpsuit as she stepped into an almost pure white rocketship. “Sometime after you… well, went under for lack of a better term, Rainbow decided to get really daring, and not just be the first pony to perform a Sonic Rainboom but be the first pony to breach the heavens as well.”

“Yeah, that sounds like her…” Pharynx muttered. “Exactly like her. That ship of hers? Definitely her design choices I suspect. How far did she get?”

“She breached the atmosphere before… before we lost contact.” Twilight whispered sadly.

“I’m… I’m sorry.” Pharynx whispered, wishing he could give a comforting hug to Twilight.

“No time to dwell on the past,” Twilight stated, removing herself from ‘her’ memories. “Preparing to dock with the Moraimars in 3, 2, 1.”

Pharynx soon found himself outside the Voyager, which was still under cloaking and looking into deep, yawning dark hallways illuminated only by purple light. How long he had till the Dark Matter empire or at least the commander in charge of this ship detected him, he didn’t know. So Pharynx knew he had to set to work at once.

“Okay, so what do I…?” Pharynx muttered to himself. “Yeah, real smart Phar, get onboard a ship and expect yourself to disable it’s weaponry even if you don’t know how anything works!” he grumbled.

“Sounds like you need a Doctor, then.” a Trottingham-accented voice said from behind him, and Pharynx whirled around with a scythe in hand only to find himself face to face with a rather foxy looking man clad in a blue suit and a brown coat. A small, cylindrical silver device with a blue tip stuck out of one of the coat pockets.

“Doctor who?” Pharynx glared. “I don’t need a Doctor, just a hands-on manual for disabling important systems, and a map.”

“Well, you’re in luck, because you’re getting a Doctor anyways, and as for that map…?” the strange man trailed off, before revealing he too wore a device that looked suspiciously like a Kyuchanger. Next, the oddball of a man pulled out what looked to be a gold Kyutama depicting a compass. “Say hello to the Pyxis Kyutama, points you to anything, anywhere.”

He set it into his Kyuchanger, flicked it and next thing Pharynx knew, a small gold map of the entire ship was in front of him. A small red dot flickered in a part of the ship, and the ‘Doctor’ put a finger into his mouth and then held it up as if he was checking which way the wind was blowing. Pharynx didn't bother telling him that there couldn't possibly be any wind, as he knew it was futile.

“Mhmm, I say… that way!” he exclaimed before dashing off down a hall. “Now come along, got a bit of work to do, and not a lot of time to do it! Allons-Y!”

“Great, so I’m stuck with a certified lunatic.” Pharynx muttered even as he for reasons unknown to him, followed. But as he did so, little did he notice the Chameleon Skill Kyutama began to glow a bright silver and depict a snake instead...

Author's Notes:

Okay, so your first proper introductions to Pharynx, the Doctor, and Fågel. Now, I apologize if Fågel's demeanor put you off her as a hero, she's just cynical and frankly rather jaded. Now, I contacted Megaskullmon, or Malla as I better know him to help me get a solid baseline for writing her, and that's just what he happened to come up with. If you don't like her, just tell me why and I'll see what I can do to work around her personality and make her more... relatable at least.

Now, as ever, comments, thoughts, and critique are welcomed as ever.

Part 6: Silver and Gold (AKA 3, 2, 1, Showtime!)

Lupus’ Moraimarz:

To say Pharynx was having a good day was like saying a Manticore was a little kitten who’d play around with a ball of catnip. To recollect, he’d been woken up from a thousand year nap, found out the world he knew was gone for good and replaced by an icy husk, then found out a ship was hanging over his ‘hive’s’ head so to speak and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it and now he was onboard that same ship following a madman who called himself a ‘Doctor’.

“So yeah, not a good day. Not a good day at all.” the forest-green Changeling thought to himself as he ran after the longcoat clad-madman who for whatever reason had a Kyuchanger as well. First instinct was telling him that this Doctor had stolen the thing from Stripped Gear, but how in the Hivemother’s name would someone like this man gotten into Stripped Gear’s lab and then gotten out without being noticed? I mean, it wasn’t like the Doctor was the most subtle person in the world, really.

Hoof and foot clanked against the metallic floor as Pharynx followed the Doctor, whose Pyxis Kyutama was projecting a gold arrow that (presumably) pointed to the weapons systems of the Moraimarz.

“You sure you know where you’re going?” Pharynx drawled sarcastically.

“If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t be controlling this thing now, would I?” the Doctor just tightened his grip on the Kyutama and just ran a little faster down the darkened hallways. “Now, we need to get where we’re going as fast as possible, before old Lupy can muck even more stuff up.”

Pharynx held his Kyuchanger up his mouth and spoke into it. “Twilight, please tell me you know of a guy with a gold Legend Kyutama based on the Libra constellation?”

“Yeah? What about it?” She asked, the miniature projection tilting her head towards Pharynx.

“Cause I’m looking at one. Bit insane if you ask me, this man. Calls himself a Doctor, even if really don’t see him having any sort of medical degree in the slightest. To be honest, wouldn’t want him at my bedside…”

“Oi, I heard that!” the Doctor shouted. Pharynx, of course, ignored him and continued.

“Did Stripped Gear make more Legend Kyutamas than the ones I know about, namely the six we know of so far? Because of my count, and I’m factoring in the Draco Kyutama along with the one we recovered from that Scorpius Robot, this makes nine.”

Twilight seemed rather surprised by this turn of events. The thought of more Legend Kyutamas was an interesting prospect, but more importantly would be the people who would be able to control such powers. If not the team and their own kinds, then what else? Perhaps a monster, a bandit on the run from the law, or even a harmless animal could hold them and be blessed with their powers. But that was just nonsense to her, as only those chosen by Legend Kyutamas could control them… right? Right?

“...I’ll take your silence as a no then,” Pharynx sighed to himself, looking skywards. “Twilight, can you calculate how long we have before the Chameleon Voyager’s cloaking ability runs out, and everyone knows we’re here?”

“I already did a check while you two were babbling on about the coordinates. We should have at least thirty minutes before our cover’s blown.” she went back to her station, typing on the computer console. “I can try and make it last longer, but I’d need to draw power from the engines, and that could hinder our escape.”

“Yeah, would really rather not drain the fuel cells. I don’t think Spada is going to be happy that we ‘borrowed’ his ship, really…” Pharynx remarked.

The Doctor seemed pleased by this prospect.

“Oh, so you’re not the only one who’s stolen a ship around here?” the man asked, as they rounded another corner before patting Pharynx’s forehead and kissing it. “Nice to know!” he said cheerfully, and the Changeling just let out a growl.

“Please don’t do that,” he stated, knowing full well he’d probably go ignored.

“You know, this tech of this Stripped Gear fellow, while it’s pretty nice and all, I can’t help but notice that there are a few design flaws that could be sorted out in future modes,” Twilight, still fixated on her screen, spoke back to the others. “For example, the hyperdrive system has to go into cooldown for at least three hours after one jump, meaning that getting in and out of war zones is almost impossible to do without taking damage,” she remarked. “Second, with all the new weapons being developed each and every day, these regular plasma cannons and lasers are really starting to feel like dinosaurs. But the stuff this ship could do with a graviton displacer or a pair of ionic cutters and nova beam launchers? That’d be able to tear down a class-9 warship with barely any effort required, provided the cells are properly primed and charged, that is. Am I rambling? I feel like I’m rambling.”

“Yeah, you are. Why don’t you just marry that damn thing already?” Pharynx deadpanned before turning to the Doctor and asking: “You know a single bucking thing about what she’s talking about?”

“Most of it, yes. Though, I’ve never heard of ionic cutters and nova beam launchers before.” the Doctor barely rotated towards Pharynx’s side. “Granted, I’m not really one for weapons systems. I prefer a more… pacifistic approach to things.”

“Pacifism doesn’t win fights, though. And against this Dark Matter Empire, they’ll meet your pacifism with nothing more than bloodshed and laser fire from what I’ve seen.” Pharynx just crossed his arms and gave a stare to the Doctor. “Trust me, Doc. I’ve seen it all before. And besides, if you’re what I think you are, you’re really in the wrong line of work. Because if that really is a Legend Kyutama, you’re a Paladin and that means fighting monsters.”

“Now, who said Paladins always have to jump feet first into a fight? I mean, how do you know it can’t just be someone with a little sonic screwdriver and just his words to change the outcome of a battlefield?”

“A sonic what?” Pharynx asked.

“You know, a sonic screwdriver?” the Doctor asked, waving the device in front of the Changeling’s face.

“A sonic screwdriver,” Pharynx repeated in a flat tone. “Oh, did anyone just look at a screwdriver and think, ooh, this could be more sonic? What, did they have some cabinets to put up or something?” he asked sarcastically. “Who the Hell are you anyways?”

“I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm nine hundred and three years old, and I'm the man who's gonna save your lives and all the lives of the people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?”

“With a screwdriver? Now, if you had guns and a good aim, I’d believe you, but so far, you just handle all the technical stuff, like this ship.” Pharynx eyed the Doctor from top to bottom, feeling his body for muscle mass.

“Ooh, feeling me up already are we?” the Doctor teased. “Didn’t think we’d gotten to that point in our relationship!”

Pharynx growled, and he swore he could have heard Twilight giggling and squeeing to herself. He groaned. Great, a shipper on deck. Last thing he needed.

“Anyways, we should be arriving shortly,” said Twilight, her console beginning to beep and flash. “Remember, thirty minutes and the camo is going to drop, so we need to get out before that happens.”

“Fifteen minutes actually,” the Doctor cut in. “We’ve spent half our time arguing about what kind of man I am.”

“Ugh! You two just need to learn to get along with each other.” Twilight groaned to herself, and Pharynx got the distinct sense she’d just facepalmed.

“Me, get along with him?” Pharynx and the Doctor asked in unison, pointing at the other. “No way!”

“Now, this mission’s even harder because of the halved cloak time. No messing around, you two. If you do need to vent a bit, then do it without attracting the attention of the entire facility.” Twilight stated as she just rolled her arms and watched as several Strongindavers ran up, cudgels in hand. “Idiots, I swear…” she thought to herself.

“Well, there goes the silent approach…” the Doctor remarked as he inserted his Libra Kyutama into his gauntlet. “Star Change: Libra!” In the blink of an eye, the Doctor was consumed by a bright golden light, and his attire had entirely changed. A singular star on his chest with an orb at the center of it, just like the other Paladins on Flashfire’s team. His arms and legs were golden, and he had a pair of smoothened pauldrons on his shoulders. His visor was themed after a scale.

“The Trick-Star! Libra Gold!” the Doctor proclaimed, the sheer energy run-off from the morph sending a few foot soldiers flying backwards into walls and igniting the air around them causing a few explosions of pure energy.

Pharynx was about to shout the same morphing call as well, before he growled remembering that he hadn’t been chosen as a Paladin. All just because he wasn’t, for whatever the Hell reason, ‘special’ enough. Cursing Stardust’s name under his breath, the Changeling’s wings flared briefly in his anger. Pulling out his scythe, Pharynx let out a battle cry as he charged towards the Strongindavers.

“Doctor, you go on ahead, find that control room. Me, I’ve got some frustration I need to take out on these bunch…” Pharynx growled. One of the Strongindavers charged towards him, swinging his cudgel in an attempt to cave the Changeling’s skull in, but Pharynx lunged forwards and grabbed him with his antlers before lifting the monster up to the ceiling.

“Quick question. Any of you assholes know how we used to fight before we metaphorized?” Pharnyx asked, in a rhetorical tone. “No, none of you? Okay, here’s your answer.”

With that, he slammed the Strongindaver into the ground once, and then lifted him up before smashing him into the floor once again in a quick, brutal fashion. “Now, if you were smart…” Pharnyx remarked. “You guys would just run along home.”

The Strongindavers just ran towards Pharynx, like a herd of stampeding bulls, but he just vaulted over all of them and swung his scythe, sending a red and black shockwave towards them all, which struck most of their backs.

“Guess not. I have a need to vent anyways, and I suppose you’ll have to do.” Pharynx muttered.

His strike, it didn’t take them out, but it was clear it did some damage. That much was clear. The beasts stumbled and staggered around as Pharynx twirled his scythe and made a taunting motion with his free hand.

The Strongindavers did exactly as the Changeling warrior expected, and charged once more. Pharynx inserted the Scutum Kyutama into his gauntlet and projected a cyan hard-light energy shield that all three remaining Strongindavers slammed right into. Pharynx then switched that out for the Cancer Kyutama, and a crab’s arm and pincher erupted from his back, and grabbed one of the Strongindavers, who was picking himself up off the floor and threw him into a wall.

“Eat it, ya freaks!” Pharynx fist-pumped and readied his scythe again for the next Strongindaver. “Now, who else wants a taste of the new-and-improved Pharynx?!”

The Strongindavers shared a look, and just charged at him. Clearly, while they had great physical strength, their intelligence left a lot to be desired.

Pharynx cut one down with a swing from his scythe blade and flipped over the second before grabbing him and spinning him around before he swung once more and slashed the Strongindaver across the chest taking him out.

“Anyone else?” he asked casually as if this entire thing had just been a stroll through the park for him. When nobody else appeared to challenge him, he shrugged. “Guess not. Now to find the Doctor…” he thought before running off down another hallway. That had been incredibly therapeutic.

Meanwhile, the Doctor had found the central control room for the weapons systems of this ship. While he knew perfectly well he wouldn’t be able to disable every weapons system in time before the camouflage on the Chameleon Voyager ran out, he could at least disable the two large cannons currently pointed at Equus.

Currently, he was standing on a catwalk lit up by various purple lights that lined either side, and in the center of the room was a very large rotating orb that fired out various electricity bolts from time to time. The catwalk, I should point out, was the only thing keeping the Doctor from falling into the abyss below him.

“Geez, does nobody ever read “Ship-Building Safety 101 anymore?” the Doctor wondered aloud, shaking his head. “...Right, Pyxis Kyutama. Never fails to locate anything. Though I must admit, an actual instruction manual for disabling this thing might have been nice…”

He pulled out his personal weapon, a crossbow-like tool and aimed it at the energy core. “Good idea, or bad idea?” he asked himself before sighing and lowering it. “Oh, who am I kidding, it’s a terrible idea. Just another in a long list of terrible ideas by yours truly…” he muttered in distaste, thinking back to a certain Moment in time.

He was distracted from his internal musings when he heard the sound of feet pounding up against the metal catwalk from behind. Whirling around, he pointed his energy crossbow at the threat, only to find it was just Pharynx.

“Oh, it’s just you,” he sighed in relief, nothing the Changeling now covered in a green substance that could only have been Strongindaver blood. Frowning in distaste for the lives lost, the Doctor spoke “...And I see you managed to deal with your little problem. Surprised you’re not morphed though. I mean, I would have expected you to be a Paladin if only for your sheer nerve. I mean, it’s not everyone who steals a ship with barely any supplies on board and hopes to disable a piece of technology they know nothing about!”

If the Doctor was talking about Pharynx or himself, it wasn’t clear.

“Don’t, just don’t…” Pharynx muttered bitterly, looking directly at the Doctor’s morphed form. If you listened closely, you could detect a hint of jealousy in his voice.

“What?” the Doctor asked, lifting his arms. “You were able to transform too y’know.”

“That’s just it… I can’t. All because this,” Pharynx snapped, holding up the Skill version of the Chameleon Kyutama. “Is nothing like those damned, bucking Legend Kyutamas!” he bellowed. “Oh sure, I get the special abilities and all that crap but I’m far from being able to morph like you or the other Paladins can. All because I wasn’t chosen, all because I wasn’t ‘special’ enough!” he shouted, his voice breaking half-way through.

“Is… that was this is about?” the Doctor slowly raised his hand, reaching out for Pharynx.

“Maybe, maybe not! I sure as Hell don’t know!” Pharynx bellowed. “All I know is, because I was never chosen, or even considered all because I wasn’t woken up in time, I never got my chance to be like you, Flashfire or any of the other Paladins!” he shouted, his voice coming out as a choking sob.

“Calm down,” Twilight’s voice came from their radios. “You got rid of those Strongindavers, and that’s all that matters for now. We can sort out the rest, including Pharnyx and his transformation deficiencies later.”

“Transformation deficiencies…” Pharynx muttered. “You make it sound so trivial, Princess. You know that right?”

“Right... Sorry.” Twilight replied.

“Sorry, sorry for what?” Pharynx questioned.

“I’m just sorry for you not getting a Kyutama. You deserve one, and why you weren’t woken up from your cryosleep earlier is beyond me. Because trust me, if anyone deserves to be a Paladin it’s you Pharynx.” Twilight said softly.

“Yeah, well words won’t fix my current situation…” Pharynx grumbled. It was clear he was touched by the words of the AI, although he definitely wouldn’t show it. He was one of those types that wore his stronger emotions on his sleeve. Anger and sadness, he found it easier to show that rather than something like kindness or joy in general. He’d spent so many years closely guarding his emotions, it was simply just hard for him to show those kinds of things in public.

“Hardly the big three, two, one showtime welcome back debut I wanted, really…” Pharynx muttered. “I know, uncharacteristic of me yes, but… but just once I wanted to be seen as something else, a hero maybe than Thorax’s grumpy big brother.”

“Oh Pharynx…” the Twilight-AI whispered to herself. Searching her memory banks, she did remember that despite being the older of the two, Pharynx was hardly, if ever acknowledged for his deeds. He was hardly a king who led the Changeling race to a new age, he was just a simple warrior. If she remembered correctly, and she did, the only creatures who really showed appreciation for Pharynx and what he could do aside from his brother and maybe his hive was Twilight herself, and that was only after the warrior helped lead them (As in Twilight herself along with Thorax) to safety through the Chaos Lands.

“Underappreciated, maybe a bit feared?” the Doctor asked softly. “Yeah, I know what that’s like.”

“How would you?” Pharynx asked sharply, eyeing the Doctor, with the smaller man shrinking a little under Pharynx’s frankly rather intimidating gaze. “How would you know? HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?” Pharynx boomed, and the Doctor took a step backwards, a little nervous of the angry Changeling. “How in the everlasting CHRYSALIS, would you EVER have known about any of my issues and inability to transform like you can?!” He howled, stamping the ground vigorously. The catwalk below them shook a little, and the Doctor looked rather nervous it might give way.

“Pharynx!” Twilight barked in warning, and the Changeling took a few deep breaths, attempting to calm himself.

“Well, maybe not the inability to transform bit, but feared? Yeah, I know a thing or two about that. I’m called the Oncoming Storm, the Predator by more than a few, hated by a few galaxies just because of what ruin I leave in my wake…” the Doctor whispered.

“This power of mine… Compared to yours, it makes me look like some kind of mutated monstrosity.” He shivered, feeling the back of his spine where that claw had burst out. Wasn’t there now, but... “If you are some kind of space-faring monster hunter disguised as a pacifist, then I must seem like another target to you, huh?”

“Well, a monster hunter might be stretching it a just a teensy bit, as I just go where I’m needed, even if I don’t know it at the time,” the Doctor replied. “If you ask me, you’re hardly a monster. I mean, out of all my years of living, you actually have to be one of the most fascinating creatures I’ve run across. I mean, a Changeling. That would imply…”

“Fascinating?” Pharynx blinked on the spot. “Those are… odd words, coming from you.”

“Trust me, I’ve seen just about everything in this universe you can possibly imagine. Bad gods, mad gods, demigod and every horror you could think up, some of which would drive you mad on the spot but you? You’re something else. I did a bit of research on Equus’s species, and I have to say the Changelings have to be some of the most interesting of the lot! I mean, you can change yourself into anything you want for Rassilon's sake!”

“Yeah, but not all of us are friendly creatures. Just ask some of the other drones in my hive.” Pharynx slumped down and laid his arms on the ground. “Then there’s the queen, Chrysalis. Ever heard of a tyrant queen? One who wants to keep conquering and conquering until there’s nothing left, just to keep her lings alive? Oh sure, she’s long dead by now, but the memory still remains in ponies minds. I can imagine, even thousands of years on, long after the sun and moon are gone, they still remember her from ancient texts. And I served her, loyally,” Pharynx sighed before chuckling bitterly. “Look at me, sniveling like a little larva. Hardly the mighty, fearsome warrior my brother remembered me as.”

“You have a brother?” the Doctor tipped his hand.

“Yeah. Well, I did anyways. He went by the name of Thorax. He’s, like, the complete opposite of me,” Pharynx nodded. “All sappy and ooey-gooey about love being shared instead of taken. Not to mention all the changes he made to the hive ever since he became the king. Feelings forums for crying out loud, and flowers! Made me sick to my stomach when I saw what my hive had become. We were warriors, we just took what we wanted, and what my brother was turning my race into? Oh sure, worked out in the long run and built alliances but…”

“That sounds awfully familiar…” the Doctor put his hand to his chin, thinking back to the time when he met with the Zygons, and tried to integrate them with a foreign race. It worked, for a time, until one branch decided to try and go back to their old warrior ways. In the end, it took a plea to stop things from going completely out of control. “Ah. Ah, right. And when this war is over, when you have a homeland free from humans, what do you think it's going to be like? Do you know? Have you thought about it? Have you given it any consideration? Because you're very close to getting what you want! What's it going to be like? Paint me a picture. Are you going to live in houses? Do you want people to go to work? Will there be holidays? Oh! Will there be music? Do you think people will be allowed to play the violin? Who's going to make the violins? Well? Oh, you don't actually know, do you? Because, like every tantruming child in history, Bonnie, you don't actually know what you want! So let me ask you a question about this brave new world of yours. When you've killed all the bad guys and when it's all perfect and just and fair, when you have finally got it exactly the way you want it, what are you going to do with the people like you? The troublemakers? How are you going to protect your glorious revolution… from the next one? Maybe you will win! But nobody wins for long. The wheel just keeps turning. So come on. Break the cycle.” the Doctor repeated, word for word. “That’s what your brother did, right? Break the cycle your previous queen started, didn’t he?” he asked, and Pharynx nodded.

“But now, we don’t have a king or a queen. The changelings pretty much scattered all over the place, trying to find somewhere to live. Wouldn’t be surprised if the old hive’s been completely collapsed now that we’ve left.” He sighed and turned his back to the Doctor. “Where do you go when you lose absolutely everything? Your monarch? Your family? Your home?”

“I know how you feel, Pharynx. My home planet, Gallifrey is no more too, I’m afraid,” He shuddered, thinking back to the fall of said planet as he walked back up to Pharynx and stroked his back. “I’ve been in the exact same position as you. Time Lords perished, then Gallifrey followed. There was a war, and we all lost. Don’t know where I’m going next after all of this. I’m not sure why this Kyutama,” the Doctor continued, holding up his Libra Kyutama as he spoke. “Chose me, out of the blue, but it did. Maybe it has faith in me, I don’t know. Maybe it wants me to free the universe from Dark Matter’s tyranny.”

“Wait, choose you? How can a Kyutama ‘choose’ you?” Pharynx asked, eyebrow raised.

“I don’t know, but there’s a legend. “When the universe falls into evil clutches and its people shed tears, the Kyutama will choose nine saviors, the Kyurangers, who will save the universe.” Yes, that’s how it goes…”

“Aww, so sweet,” Lupus’ distinctive voice said and both Pharynx and the Doctor whirled around to see him walking towards him sword drawn. “Sadly, no universe-saving from either you. In fact, neither of you are making this off this ship. I’ve got to give you props from the sheer nerve, from getting this far, sneaking aboard thinking you can turn off my cannons and destroying the cities below but… As they say, close but no banana.”

Pharynx swore to himself, he’d forgotten they were on a time limit here. Cracking his knuckles, the Changeling grinned. “Ah, so you’re the boss of this operation? Well, pleased to say I’m shutting it down. No, me and the Doctor are shutting it down.”

As the Doctor set to work on turning off the cannons, Pharynx let out a roar, his fist drawn back and punched Lupus across the jaw. Normally, it would have fractured the jaw with how powerful his punches were, but Lupus just shrugged it off and punched him directly in the muzzle busting his nose and drawing blood, grabbing his next strike and delivering a left hook.

“Oh, you really are a brave one aren’t you?” Lupus sneered. “Remind me of that Coldcast griffon, and yes, I remember the names of all my enemies. At least, the ones who are able to stand against me. You, well let’s see if you can mimic him. He was morphed, you sadly are not.”

“Coldcast? Y’mean that runt with the Wolf Voyager? Gotta say you can’t be all that tough if he beat you…” Pharynx just delivered a powerful kick to Lupus’s chest, staggering him backwards. He took the opportunity to run back to Lupus’s face, grab it, and throw him over his head and onto the ground, only for him to be swept off his feet as Lupus got back on his.

“Cocky little bastard, aren’t you?” Lupus remarked, wiping away the blood from his mouth. “But you’ll know your place fairly soon.” He lunged his claws at Pharynx’s neck, only for him to be grabbed and thrown to the side, as Pharynx leaped back up and stamped on his belly.

“You were saying?” Pharynx asked with a smirk. “You were going to make a remark about me being this little whelp or something?”

“You are.” Lupus threw himself into Pharynx, knocking him onto his back. He then laid himself on top of Pharynx, weighing him down and holding his arms and legs before delivering a strong headbutt to Pharynx’s head. “You just refuse to accept your frailty.”

“Frailty?” Pharynx asked, turning into a massive cross between a spider and an insect in a flash of green flame, and using one of his legs to send Lupus smashing into a wall on the other side of the room. “Never heard of it,” he said, as he resumed his original bipedal form.

“A polymorph, eh? This should be interesting.” Lupus grinned and cracked his claws. Meeting his foe again, he reached behind himself and attached metal claws to himself, grinding them together and watching the sparks tumble down onto the bridge. “Hopefully you’ll put up more of a fight than that Paladin. And, just to make things more interesting…”

Lupus flicked his wrist, and a black and purple version of the Kyuchanger appeared on it.

Lupus inserted the Pegasus Kyutama into it, and a form of armor appeared on his body with a silver flash of light.

The Doctor, looking up from the control console he was hacking into, saw this and his eyes widened. “No, it couldn’t be. Could it?”

From the flash of dark energy, a suit similar in design to the Doctor’s appeared, but there was a pair of black wings stretching out from the chest, which had a horse’s head sprout out from it.

The Doctor’s eyes widened under his visor. “Lupus! That’s the armor of the Pegasus System! I can’t believe… No, I can. You bastardized it for your own use.”

“More like improved it. Such a poor, poor thing it was, underwhelming in the hands of the people who held it.” Lupus chuckled to himself, taking up a combat stance as a weapon appeared in his hands. “They stayed their hands, I will not.”

“It? He happens to be a living thing, just like you and me, and you shut off his mind!” the Doctor snarled. “Pharynx, you need to get out of here, now! You can’t stop him, not when he’s wearing that armor! At least not alone!”

Even as Lupus rushed forwards in a blur of speed, Pharynx didn’t even waver. “I’m a warrior Doctor, and a warrior never runs from a battle. Maybe I should, but you, you have to take those cannons offline. I’m just buying you a little time, that’s all… Oh, and Doctor, it’s been an honor.”

With that, he was sent smashing through several walls, and out into the blackness of space in almost an instant. Lupus laughed, even as he saw Pharynx’s body began to freeze over.

“Well, I guess you weren’t such a challenge after all. And here I was expecting more from someone who managed to fight me hand to hand… Ah well, wishful thinking I suppose…” Lupus mused.

Pharynx, even as he felt his body begin to freeze up, little by little with the ice slowly creeping up to his face to meet him, and his breathing began to slow swore he saw the Skill version of the Chameleon Kyutama began to glow a sharp silver. He thought it must have been a hallucination from the lack of oxygen, but he swore he saw a ghostly silver snake began to appear in front of him.

“So… This is what fate delivered me to, eh?” The snake-like entity slithered and approached Pharynx. “You are in real danger, I sense. There is no mistaking it.”

“Yeah, well considering I’m about to die from lack of oxygen and I’m probably talking to a hallucination caused by it…” Pharynx deadpanned, defiant to the last.

“You are not going to die. The spirits of the stars will not allow it, so long as you and your kind have a purpose.” The snake-deity touched his chest. “If anything, this Lupus is overstepping himself, and upsetting the divine course which we have mapped out. So, what is your greatest desire?”

“W-What do you think?” Pharynx coughed out. “If you’re watching all of us, then you know what I want. To become a Ranger, a Paladin just like everyone else.”

“Ah. Aligning yourself with the forces of good. A wise choice, young one,” the ghost said. “And just what we need at a time when evil is tipping the scales beyond repair.” It tapped his heart, causing a brief glimpse of light to appear. “But you had better hurry. Your Doctor friend is about to meet Lupus’s claws, and no doubt he will continue to hound the rest of the Paladins as well.”

“Believe me, Lupus is going to get what’s coming to him, and then some.” Pharynx snarled, as the spirit of the Ophiuchus constellation coiled around him, before vanishing into a now completed Ophiuchus Legend Kyutama as Pharynx’s body began to glow a sharp silver.

“Say the Change!” his gauntlet proclaimed, and with a trembling hand Pharynx pressed down on his Kyutama and set it in the device.

“Star Change, Ophiuchus!”

Author's Notes:

Okay, last chapter of the month. Now, I figured because of that it needed not only to be humorful and witty but emotionally charged as well. Now, one might think the Doctor alone could pull this off, and maybe he could have but I wanted a lot of the focus on Pharynx as well. Hard to do, write this character who's more than this snarky, grumpy Changeling warrior. So, huge props to my co-writer for the chapter, Shadowmane PX-41. Now, not sure if that came at the cost of the Doctor's focus, so I need your thoughts on that.

Now, for the Ophiuchus spirit summoning scene, I was trying to write it like Shenlong, but Shadow had other ideas. I quote: "I'm trying to write him like Mal'damba in voice." He's from a game called Paladins, apparently. I quote, again. "His snake, Wekono, spits poison at his enemies. Then, when he reloads, he quite literally THROWS THE SNAKE at them, and stuns them if he hits.

And the funny thing is, he's classified as a HEALER.

Yeah. His other moves are a gourd that heals allies and damages/slows enemies, a healing gaze that's hard to aim but heals well if you hit it, and a dash where he can take zero damage for the duration.

As for his Ulitmate, he throws an orb that becomes a massive hallucination of Wekono, that makes enemies get the Feared debuff, where they can't attack or use any abilities, and they can't even control where they move. It's great for flushing players out and getting the jump on them."

Part 7: The Nine Saviors Gather

Pharynx, even as he felt his body begin to freeze up, little by little with the ice slowly creeping up to his face to meet him, and his breathing began to slow swore he saw the Skill version of the Chameleon Kyutama began to glow a sharp silver. He thought it must have been a hallucination from the lack of oxygen, but he swore he saw a ghostly silver snake began to appear in front of him.

“So… This is what fate delivered me to, eh?” The snake-like entity slithered and approached Pharynx. “You are in real danger, I sense. There is no mistaking it.”

“Yeah, well considering I’m about to die from lack of oxygen and I’m probably talking to a hallucination caused by it…” Pharynx deadpanned, defiant to the last.

“You are not going to die. The spirits of the stars will not allow it, so long as you and your kind have a purpose.” The snake-deity touched his chest. “If anything, this Lupus is overstepping himself, and upsetting the divine course which we have mapped out. So, what is your greatest desire?”

“W-What do you think?” Pharynx coughed out. “If you’re watching all of us, then you know what I want. To become a Ranger, a Paladin just like everyone else.”

“Ah. Aligning yourself with the forces of good. A wise choice, young one,” the ghost said. “And just what we need at a time when evil is tipping the scales beyond repair.” It tapped his heart, causing a brief glimpse of light to appear. “But you had better hurry. Your Doctor friend is about to meet Lupus’s claws, and no doubt he will continue to hound the rest of the Paladins as well.”

“Believe me, Lupus is going to get what’s coming to him, and then some.” Pharynx snarled, as the spirit of the Ophiuchus constellation coiled around him, before vanishing into a now completed Ophiuchus Legend Kyutama as Pharynx’s body began to glow a sharp silver.

“Say the Change!” his gauntlet proclaimed, and with a trembling hand Pharynx pressed down on his Kyutama and set it in the device.

“Star Change, Ophiuchus!”

“Screw fate, and screw destiny, the world needs me now. Sure, victory’s not certain, but when has it ever been? And besides, isn't the smallest chance of victory enough of a reason for anyone, even an age-old Changeling such as I to keep on fighting? The world needs us. The world -No, the galaxy- needs the Power Rangers.” Pharynx thought to himself, pushing himself forwards through the vacuum of space as his body began to glow with a silver light as six glossy dragonfly-like wings opened up from his back, with the light nearly becoming blinding in intensity. His focus, his eyes were only trained on one singular thing ahead. The Doctor, and Lupus. He had some unfinished business to take care off.

Back aboard Lupus’ ship, things were going… quite badly. “Well, this was rather anticlimactic,” Lupus mused, pointing the Doctor’s own crossbow at him. “Funny, been chasing you up and around the galaxies for the past few years now, killing anyone you ever got close to, and now… here it all ends. With me, pointing your own weapon at you and about to blow your head off. And to think, you and the bug were so close to succeeding…”

Suddenly, a silver orb of light smacked Lupus in the chest, sending him flying backwards with the crossbow clattering to the floor. The light faded away as the Doctor removed his hand from his eyes, to reveal a silver-clad figure, with scale designs on his costume, and a red and blue scythe strapped to his back.

“Miss me?” a familiar voice asked, as the new Ranger turned to look at the Doctor, revealing his visor to be styled after a King Cobra poised to strike. “The Warrior Star, Ophiuchus Silver!” Pharynx shouted, as he drew his scythe and advanced towards Lupus, who was struggling to pick himself up off the floor. Spinning the scythe in his hands, Pharynx couldn’t resist a little smirk. “Now, I’m going to make you my little bitch.”

Placing his Kyutama in the scythe’s slot, making it shout: “Galaxy!” he swung the scythe and sent a silver slash of light towards Lupus and then grabbed the crossbow off the floor and powered this weapon up as well, sending a shot of gold energy at the Karō.

“Ophiuchus Impact!” Pharynx shouted as the strikes hit, ripping the Pegasus armor apart with a sound like glass shattering.

“What… No, that’s impossible!” Lupus roared, as the Pegasus Kyutama clattered to the ground, smoking. The Doctor smiled as he picked himself back up off the floor and went back to work on deactivating the cannons. He looked at Lupus, and then at the newest Ranger.

“The universe is big. It's vast and complicated and ridiculous. And sometimes, very rarely, impossible things just happen and we call them miracles,” he remarked. “You want to shut up now, before you make an even bigger fool of yourself?”

“You… you are just a Madman in a box!” Lupus roared and charged towards the Doctor, before Pharynx simply knocked him to the floor with another energy blast from the crossbow.

The Doctor sighed. “Guess not…” he muttered before clearing his throat. “Lupus, something you really ought to know. Believe me, there’s something you’d better understand about me ‘cause it’s important, and one day your life may depend on it: I am definitely a Madman with a box!” the Doctor crowed, before the controls to the cannons sparked, and he smiled at Pharynx. “Like I said. I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm nine hundred and three years old, and I'm the man who's gonna save your lives and all the lives of the people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?”

Looking at the crossbow, Pharynx sighed to himself. “So uncivilized,” he muttered before tossing it aside and raising his Kyuchanger and activating the comms feature. He demorphed, wings folded back against his body and now spouting even larger red antlers to mark his new status as the hive King of the Changelings.

“This is Ophiuchus Silver and Libra Gold to the Paladins below. Got one simple command for you. Give ‘em Hell.”

Equus:

Flurry stood alone, in a field of wheat that seemed to go on for miles with a clear blue sky, sun shining down on her white-furred form as she just sat. Just sat there and talked. The sky occasionally flickered and instead of a sky, showed a huge metal ceiling instead. Of course, this whole place had to be an illusion, there’d been no place like this on Equus for centuries.

A soft wind blew through the field, gently brushing the wheat stalks as something rumbled above. Lupus’ ships, bombarding the planet. Flurry sighed, she figured Lupus would have a back-up plan just in case those cannons were to be disabled. Music played softly in the background, from a conjured radio.

“When I step around, I hear the sound
c-clip a clopping' up and down the street
the shuffling' of hooves, it surely proves
that I'll see you 'fore the day's complete

What is this wonderful feeling in my head?
Had it before I got up and outta bed
Just wanna wear a smile and come find you for a while…”

She wondered, was this what death felt like? Was this what death felt like for her aunts and her mother when it came, when Equus burned and screamed and cried out for mercy? Quiet, and serene, with them at peace accepting the end of the world? She supposed she’d never really know, to be honest.

Not that she minded death, she’d failed as a leader in so many ways already. She’d failed to predict that others were out there, in the skies high above the planet who had darker intentions. Maybe searching for a new home was a fool’s venture. After all, if what Lupus’ transmission had said was true, there really was no point. The galaxies were Dark Matter’s now.

Idly tossing the Scorpius Kyutama in her hand, she chuckled to herself sadly. “Look at us, we barely make a dent in their forces, and they strike back with a vengeance,” she mused. “I’m not my godmother or hell even my mom Princess Cadance, far from it. She’d have already made a plan to stop this, stop all of this. Probably befriend them all, and convince them to break free of their chains.

Levitating a cup of tea to her mouth in an aura of gold magic, she took a sip from it, and idly hugged a small yellow and green snail plushie to herself as she sat on the blanket. It was old, and beaten, but it was one of the few things she still had to remember the old world by.

“Oh…” Celestia’s voice said sadly, running a gentle hand through Flurry’s mane. “This should never have been your burden. None of this. We should be there for you, helping you through this…”

“B-But you’re not, are you!” Flurry choked out. “You’re… You’re just bits and streams and lines of date and coding, given my aunt’s memories!”

“But for better, or for worse, I am the Princess of the Sun, Celestia Invictus.” the Celesti-AI stated. “Sure, my title’s just for show now, something for me to boast or brag about if I was so inclined as there is no sun for me to raise or lower, but that’s just semantics now isn’t it? I am Princess Celestia, just as my wife’s AI is Princess Twilight Sparkle. You may not believe it, and you may never believe it,” the AI said, walking around Flurry with her dress ruffling slightly in the breeze. “May think me as fake as that sun, that breeze, and this field but I’m here for you, and I always will be.” she said, sitting down next to Flurry. “Now, what would a real Princess of Equestria do? Sit down and have tea in a generated paradise while her planet was under attack, or do something about it?” Celestia asked, offering the Scorpius Kyutama to Flurry.

“But I’m not a real Princess of Equestria! Hell, Equestria doesn’t exist anymore! It’s gone, burnt to ashes!” Flurry sniffled. The Celesti-AI gave her a look, as if to ask if she really believed in that sort of crap. It was the same look she gave her whenever she told the AI she was just bits of data and coding cocked up by Equestria’s brightest minds.

The Celesti-AI sighed, and gently shook her head. “Oh, you do have a lot to learn don’t you? Equestria is not a place. It never was. This could be Equestria, this room right here. Equestria is where our people stand. Even now, right now, those people need your help. So, get to it, Flurry Heart, daughter of the Princess of Love, and now Paladin of the Stars.”

She gently waved her hand over Flurry’s wrist, and a Kyuchanger styled gold and white appeared. Flurry’s eyes widened. “How…?”

“Well, a girl’s still got to have some secrets right?” The Celesti-AI winked, before vanishing. Flurry’s eyes narrowed in affirmation. She knew what she had to do, and slammed her Kyutama into the gauntlet.

“Say the Change!”

“Star Change: Scorpius!” Flurry shouted, and felt her whole body -As it began to glow a bright orange color- begin to be filled with a brand new energy, warm and comforting like her aunt’s embrace and filled with power beyond imagination. Even as she felt it, she thought to herself: “I swear Celestia, AI or not, -who’s to say with magic involved after all- I will make you proud. I’m one of the last of your lineage, and I will live up to your expectations of me. No, the people’s expectations of me. I am a Princess of Equestria, I protect the light and it’s people. I protect order, and I will protect the Galaxy. Now, as Flashfire likes to say, Dark Matter, it’s time to test your luck!”

As her wings unfolded, and Flurry rocketed upwards with a loud sonic boom through the cavern ceiling blaze with a burning light and a scorpion’s stinger beginning to materialize on her still forming costume she smiled. She hoped that Dark Matter was wishing on stars for luck, because they’d need it. It was time to take back her planet.

Flurry, even as she breached the atmosphere in a ball of fire incernating some of the Dark Matter starfighters by the sheer heat waves blasting off her alone, found a control console along with everything else that came with it forming around her in streams of date and code. On the computer screen in front of her read the words: “Scorpion Voyager Online”.

All around her, Flurry could see chaos. Laser shots flying every which way, and saucer-shaped craft swarming around her like trillions of angry wasps, with the Rangers right in the middle of all of this chaos as Lupus’s flagship loomed over the planet ominously. Flurry swore she saw a silver flash of light near the ship, but brushed it off as just her imagination.

“Uh guys,” Stripped Gear’s voice crackled from over the radio, and Flurry looked left to see the Swordfish Voyager destroying starfighters with seeker missiles. “Not sure if you’re getting this, but I’ve just gotten a new reading. Similar to that drone that Dark Matter sent down to kill us, but different.”

“Tu es sûr de ne plus boire? C'est impossible ... n'est ce pas?” Flashfire asked in complete and utter disbelief.

“No, I’m sure I’m quite sober, and from the looks of it I’d say it’s very possible.” Stripped Gear replied, with a presumed roll of his eyes. “I mean, I’m seeing a giant orange scorpion so…”

“Question is,” Coldcast asked as his Voyager bit down on one of the saucer-shaped craft and tossed it into another, the two colliding in a fireball. “Who’s the pilot, for Celestia’s sake?”

“Shape up Paladins,” Flurry barked over the comms. “Just because there’s a new addition to your ranks, doesn’t mean you should fall all over yourselves and act like a bunch of foals trying to figure out who it is. Got more important matters to deal with anyhow.”

“W-Wait, Princess Flurry?” Flashfire shouted in shock. “Is that you? How did you…? Actually, I’m not even going to bother to ask. Just grateful you’re here, madame. Welcome to the biggest scene of chaos et désordre Equus has ever seen since Discord came into being. Not sure what it is, but having you on our side now with Kyuranger powers, it brings a certain… je ne sais quoi to the team.”

“What, you trying to sweet-talk her or something?” Jabari teased, his Voyager’s wings slicing a fighter craft in two. “Because seriously man, I really think she’s way out of your league. Just sayin’.”

“Like I said, just like foals now that I’m here with powers…” Flurry thought to herself with a roll of her eyes.

“Just shut up…” Flashfire muttered. “Okay, Princess, the plan is to get inside that ship, and shut it down and pull Lord Pharynx, or should I say Ophiuchus Silver out alongside his new friend.”

“Well, that explains the silver flash…” Flurry mused. “Okay, but we’ll need some breathing room first. Way too many ships to even attempt that right now,” she noted.

“Quite,” Flashfire noted. “Okyu then! Time to serve these guys a second helping of pa-”

“Hey, food metaphors?” Spada barked up. “That’s my thing. My thing, you hear?”

“As I was saying, or trying to anyways,” Flashfire continued, completely ignoring him. “Team, form up on me. Time for a new combo! Séquence de transformation Megazord, en ligne!”

Nobody needed to understand Prench to catch his meaning there.

“Wondering when you’d give the order…” Jabari smirked.

“Ah, ah, hello!” the Doctor’s voice piped up, the sounds of blades clashing in the background. “This is the Doctor AKA Libra Gold speaking. Main cannons of Lupus’ ship are offline, thought you’d like to know that. No planet busting for him, although I am detecting something moving towards your home base. Just to inform.”

“I’ll get the base defenses online, and the Royal Guard alerted,” Flurry replied, sending a message down to the planet and to Stardust and his personal Praetorian Guard to ready themselves for battle. “Anything else, Golden Boy?”

“Yeah, got a little present for you. Sending you my Voyager along with Pharynx’ for your big mecha via remote control.”

Sure enough, a golden ship that looked like a set of scales was flying towards them. It was accompanied by a silver craft that looked like a snake’s head.

“That’ll do.” Flurry shrugged, as she pressed the transformation button on her console.

“Shooting Star Megazord transformation sequence primed,” the Celesti-AI informed, as the other Rangers leapt out of the hold and summoned their own Voyagers. “Combination sequence ready.”

“Let’s rocket.” Flashfire remarked -He was growing to like that phrase- as he saw the Wolf and Eagle Voyagers flying below him, before the back halves tilted upwards with the Cerberus Voyager linking up with them complete with small hisses of steam. The Scale Voyager connected to the Megazord’s right arm port forming what looked to be a pair of giant buzzsaws, and the Snake Voyager, the left. The Swordfish Voyager replaced one of the heads of the Cerberus, the left one specifically, forming some sort of massive shoulder cannon, and the Scorpion Voyager replaced the right head to form another shoulder cannon. Finally, the central head on the Cerberus had its jaw fold down, revealing a mouthplate covered face, with two stoic yellow eyes staring the oncoming hordes down.

“Shooting Star Megazord online.” the Celesti-AI informed as the combination completed itself and all six Rangers joined each other in the main cockpit.

“Let me remind you guys of who you’re dealing with,” Flashfire said, as weapons primed themselves. “The Beast Star, Cerberus Seagreen!”
“The Howling Star, Lupus Blue!”
“The Shinobi Star, Chameleon Green!”
“The Sword Star, Dorado Yellow!”
“The Winged Star, Aquila Pink!”
“The Poison Star, Scorpius Orange!”
“The Trick-Star! Libra Gold!” the Doctor’s voice called in over the comms, with two more soon to follow.
“The Warrior Star, Ophiuchus Silver!”
“The Armored Star, Taurus Black! Nine Stars, shining in the Heavens! Space Squadron, Kyuranger!”

“Now, let our friendship take on the universe!” Flashfire shouted, as the Megazord swung the Scale Voyager’s arm like some giant yoyo, ripping and tearing into swaths of ships, while the Snake Voyager opened up its jaws and fired a green cutting beam of energy, taking out at least a hundred more. The Swordfish and Scorpion Voyagers finished the job with shots of their own, selecting targets and then firing powerful single shots of energy.

“Now for you…” Flashfire smirked, disengaging the Megazord combination, and pointing his ship right towards Lupus’ personal Moraimarz practically surfing the massive fireballs left behind by the combined explosions of the fighter craft.

“Maintenant, j'ai envie de faire un peu de bruit. Donnez à ces gars quelque chose à retenir par nous.”

“...Pretty sure they’ll remember us already,” Jabari stated flatly before letting out a resigned sigh. “But dispatching the beat and it’ll be shouting. Trust me, you’ll love this piece,” he smirked, picking something from his personal playlist. “Oh, and Coldcast? I do listen to Radio 2 every once in a while.”

“That’ll do,” he smirked beginning to nod his head to the beat.

During all this chaos, nobody noticed, but one singular craft did manage to make it out, and headed down to the planet below. “I’m going to need you guys to back me up. Cannons are offline for the time, yes, but they could easily get repaired if we don’t do something about them now. Coldcast, Jabari, you trust me?” Flashfire asked.

“Always, grand frère.” Coldcast nodded.

“Course I do.”

“Good, give me covering fire. Those cannons, they’re mine. Rest of you, go give this ‘Doctor’ and Lord Pharynx a hand. Sorry Princess, you may be the leader of the free world and all that, but out here, I’m in charge.”

“Quite,” Flurry agreed. “Wouldn’t have it any other way. I knew I made the right choice in selecting you.”

Flurry wished him good luck as she watched the three Voyagers rocket towards the Moraimarz. Flashfire soon found himself in what looked to be a long metal trench running along the sides of the ship, towers attempting to shoot him and his friends down.

“Okay, okay…” Flashfire reassured himself. “Just like canyon runs back home. Only in space, and getting shot at.” he muttered, as the walls got ever narrower, with Coldcast and Jabari forced to form up behind him, leaving them very easy targets. Up ahead, the two main cannons of the Moraimarz loomed over them ominously.

“Getting very little wiggle room here…” Jabari murmured. “Projecting and running a few models now, seeing if we can make it out of this… well, alive. Seeing our chances.”

“Turn off those models, never give me the odds,” Flashfire stated. “Feeling a bit lucky today, actually. How ‘bout you guys?”

“Luck is an arbitrary concept. It has no meaning, or no scientific proof,” Jabari sniffed. He heard a small growl from Coldcast over the comms and backed up a little. “But I’ll believe in you, just this once.”

“Good,” Flashfire said in response before checking the schematics of the trench. “Okay, it’ll narrow up, but think of this like a grease trap in a sink. Soon, we’ll have this wide open area in front of us like a bowl that’s right up under the exhaust port of the cannons. That’s our opening. I’ll fire something up into those cannons, but Jabari, you create a window for Pharynx and the Doctor to get the Hell out of there okay?” he ordered. “‘Cause this boom, it’s gonna be a big one. If I’m right, might just blow up the whole ship. Or at least half of it. Or at least a massive hole in the side of it. Honestly, I don’t know what’ll happen. Alien fuel sources, rather unpredictable.”

“Lovely…” Jabari deadpanned. “Just want to let you know, if we die doing this? My family will have lawyers ready to sue the asses off your family.”

“Keenly noted, cadet.” Flashfire swallowed nervously.

Back on the planet below, Stardust was in a Hell of a lot of trouble. For one thing, one massive Deathworm, even larger than the one that had menaced the Shooting Star Megazord in the caverns a few nights before had currently erupted from the grounds of the city, and was smashing everything in sight. The city was ablaze, and the Praetorian and Royal Guards were barely containing the chaos, ushering civilians to safety and firing upon the creature with pulse rifles. Mind you, it was all for naught but a valiant effort all the same.

“Seems even if Lupus went by any small chance,” Stardust mused as he slammed the Draco Kyutama into his cane and raised it skywards. “He wasn’t going to let us off lightly. Like a child, this one, won’t just let us have a victory. No, he rage-quits, saying screw you guys. Saying, if I can’t win, neither can you!” he mused, before slamming the cane back down and shouting: “Star Change! Eye of the Dragon!”

As he was coated in a form-fitting purple body suit, he mused to himself: “The Path of the Dragon is a long and harsh one, but a glorious one in the end. If I don't do it, who will? Someone must carry on my aunt’s legacy as the first Kyuranger, Draco Violet, so why not I?”

Lighting his horn, he created a rotating shield of runes to block the energy blasts from the Deathworm’s central eye. The shield shattered, and Stardust was sent flying back, unfurling his wings and sending blasts of energy like snakes towards the Deathworm.

Nearby, unseen by anyone in all the chaos was this squid fellow making his way to the lab, shooting down anyone who tried to stop him with an old hunting rifle style weapon. He sighed in distaste as soon as he saw the dismembered state of the Scorpius Drone, and it’s Dark Kyuchanger which had been pulled apart at the seams.

“And to think,” Sir Ikargen mused. “You were once one of our best.”

He heard the sounds of hoofsteps running up from behind him, and turned to shoot, only to find two arm blades sticking out of the two red-clad guards’ chests. Ikargen smirked a little, as he saw the Drone’s central eye light up briefly and the blades fall to the ground and retract into the arms. Picking up the head, he smiled once more. “Looks like you’re not out of the fight yet. Dr. Anton built you well… As for your Kyuchanger, it’s no big loss as we have many more. Your Kyutama, we’ll recover it, all in good time. But I’ve been here too long already, risked too much.” he thought, grabbing the head and teleporting out in a flash of blue light with a snap of his fingers.

Back with Stardust, he called out to his fellow Rangers. “I need your assistance. A Deathworm, it’s breached the city limits!” he called out telepathically. “I… I don’t know how to stop it!”

“Relax, soon as we finish up here, we’ll come down to give you an assist. Remember, we’ve always got your back Prince.” Coldcast told him, before he found a blue lightning bolt symbol adorning his chest orb. Five other rangers, they found similar items as well.

“Loyalty,” Coldcast whispered.

“Kindness.” Flashfire mused.

“Generosity,” Spade smirked, knowing the old legend.

“Laughter!” the Doctor shouted, not really knowing why.

“Honesty…” Pharynx trailed off, not believing his own eyes even as he dueled Lupus, sword to scythe in the hanger bay keeping match with his every swing. The Chameleon Voyager was right behind him.

“And Magic,” Flurry finished. “I… I never thought we’d see them again. The Tree, i-it burned to the ground…”

“Like I said Flurry, you still have much to learn. The Magic of Friendship, it’ll always exist. Flashfire, he believed that,” the Celesti-AI lectured. “After all, why do you think he said your friendship would take on the universe? If there’s ever to be one constant in this universe, and amongst the residents of Equus, it’s that particular brand of magic will never die. Twilight knew this, that’s why she started that school so long ago.”

“Aww stop it, you’re going to make me blush!” the Twilight-AI said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head with a hand.

Soon, the six elements found themselves gathering in front of Stardust, and placing themselves in his rune shield, before blasting the Deathworm with a rainbow stream of light. As it let out a horrific screech, the Deathworm began burning alive, before it was nothing but a pile of ash on the floor.

Back up in space, Flashfire was beginning to rethink his grease trap idea. The tower gunners had gotten their eye in, and as tightly bunched together as they were, the three Voyagers made great targets.

“Break off formation, take out those towers,” Flashfire commanded, and Jabari and Coldcast flew upwards and began taking out as many enemy artillery towers as they could.

“Any time now…” Pharynx chimed in.

“Relax, got this one in the bag, lining up my target. Sure, may not be the biggest target in the world, bit more than two meters but that’s about the size of a Crystal Fox back on Equus right? Used to hunt those for target practice. Just a slight tip though, you may want to get out of there. Fast.”

“You are a fool,” Lupus snarled. “You don’t even have the slightest hope of standing against Dark Matter. They will come for you, destroy anything and everything you’ve ever known. Go on, you and your friends can take up my offer, I’ll show you leniency even now,” Lupus said in an affable manner. “You can become Paladins, but just ones of the Dark Matter Empire.”

“Sorry, but I think I’ll have to pass on that remark,” Flashfire said as he entered the bowl area, and lined up his sights. Coldcast shot past him in a blur of blue motion, and blasted open a hole in the Moraimarz’s plating before he leaped out and kicked Lupus in the face.

“Coldcast,” Pharynx remarked.

“Lord Pharynx. Doctor,” Coldcast replied curtly. “Get to the Chameleon Voyager, I’ve still got a score to settle with this guy,” he said, placing the Boötes Kyutama into his gauntlet and in a blur of motion was scoring kicks and punches across the face faster than Lupus could blink. Finally, the torment ended, with Lupus flying back into some barrels.

“9.9 seconds, that was the time until your despair,” Coldcast smirked, noting Lupus bleeding from his prior wounds from his duel against Pharynx and coughing up blood from the mouth. “Also, that’s not coincidentally enough, the time it should have taken for Commander Flashfire to have taken out your planet buster cannons. So, uh, love to stay and chat, but… nos vemos, hombre.” Coldcast saluted, as explosions began to erupt all around him. Breaking into a sprint, the threesome headed for the Voyagers as the place exploded and collapsed all around them.

“DARK MATTER FOREVER!” Lupus roared before he was caught up in a fiery explosion. Next thing anyone on the planet below saw, was this massive flagship lightning up the skies like a supernova for just one minute, and then nine ships flying away from it.

“Échec et mat.” Flashfire commented.

A few days later, it was finally time to leave Equus forever. Hovering above the Galaxy Garrison Headquarters were the colony ships, with residents slowly filing into their respective assigned ships one by one.

Coldcast took one last look at the icy horizon stretching out in front of him, and sighed to himself in reminisce.

“Never thought I’d be sad to leave this icy old dump behind…” Coldcast muttered to himself, adjusting his jacket. It was dark blue, for the most part, with a light blue collar and armbands with a silver star on the back. The other Rangers wore similar jackets adorned in their own colors.

“Remember it not as it is now,” the Twilight-AI advised in a comforting tone with a hand on his shoulder. “But as it was in times long since past. It’ll always still be your home.”

“Y-Yeah…” Coldcast sniffled. “Yeah, I will. It’s just… this place, crappy as it’s been has been my home for years and now…”

“I know you feel man. We all do mi hermano.” Jabari said. “And I'll be here for you. We all will. Not the only one who’s going through the same thing. Remember that.”

Nearby, some young changeling grubs were chattering excitedly over Pharynx and his new shiny thick gossamer wings and tall crimson antlers. Currently, the new king was rocking a young one to sleep in his arms while wearing a chef’s apron reading “Kiss the Cook” of all things. He looked decidedly ridiculous. Apparently, he’d been helping Spada who nearby, was chopping up fish amongst other goodies and throwing it into little cold storage containers that were being loaded onto the ships.

One ship, in particular, stood out. It was Flurry’s ship, the Shining Armor named, of course, after her late father.

Outfitted with anything and everything one could imagine, it truly was a ship befitting of a Princess. Stepping into the Bridge, she felt a sense of awe and wonder even as Equus residents saluted and one shouted: “Captain on deck!”

Then she saw it, the captain’s chair. Sleek, polished a fine silver color and fitted with red velvet, it was truly bespoke. On either side sat two chairs for her most royal attendants. One for Flashfire, the other for the Captain of her Royal Guard.

Flurry smiled as she adjusted herself in her chair -her chair- and pressed a button off to the side, bringing up a holographic version of Princess Luna.

“So, where would you like to go, niece of mine?” Luna had to ask, and Flurry looked at the endless horizon in front of her and smiled.

“Ask me, Luna,” Princess Flurry requested. “What do you see?”

“I see… stars?” Luna replied quizzically, an eyebrow raised.

“Exactly, hundreds upon hundreds of star systems, each holding a possible Dark Matter colony for us to take down, and there’s the possibility out there as well that there’s a new home for us as well. So you know what I think?” Flurry asked, and just pointed to a random star system.

“Yes?” Luna asked.

“Hmm, I think somewhere… out in that direction. Engage.” she said, as the screen in front of her became a blur of light. Next stop? Everywhere.

Author's Notes:

Okay, so you have your nine saviors, and Equestria is now nothing but a memory. From here on out, it's the rest of the galaxy with worlds beyond your imagination.

Now, on the chapter. I admit, I easily could have ended it when Stardust went Draco Violet, but no. No, I said, Lupus had to be dealt with. Also, Layton, I took your advice, as you may note, and added in a Luna-AI made just for dealing with ship-related matters. Like the other two, she's got her original self's memories, but it's only now that she's been brought online.

As ever, comments, thoughts, and critique are welcomed.

Part 8: What was Lost, Shall be Found

The Shining Armor:

The wheatfields again. Flurry honestly didn’t know why she found herself drawn out to this place. She knew perfectly well it wasn’t even the real deal, but the six-billion-year-old (Give or take the odd century) Alicorn couldn’t seem to care less. And to be frank, why would she? It was peaceful, calming to just sit in this seemingly endless field under a bright blazing sun, have a cup of tea and contemplate things free from the stress of captaining a ship that as of right now, had no real planned destination in mind.

And of course, there were other… issues.

Before the group had left Equus for the final time, the Doctor had made it very keen to mention something of grave importance.

“Well, you’ve really gone and done it now haven’t you?” he remarked, inside the Shining Armor’s conference room, the other eight Paladins seated around him along with Prince Stardust. “Lupus, though low on Dark Matter’s list of highly beloved commanders for some of his previous perceived failures, -failing to kill me amongst them- he was still a Karō nonetheless. And Don Armage, he isn’t going to be too happy when he’s heard one of the 88 galaxies under his rule has been freed.”

“I-I’m sorry,” Jabari had stuttered out nervously, looking about ready to faint. “Did you say eighty-eight galaxies? As in Dark Matter controlling all of them?”

“Yes, I did say that, and with a Karō just as powerful as Lupus controlling each and every one of them. You’re considered a threat now in Dark Matter’s eyes, now that you’ve taken out one of these Karōs, along with his entire fleet. They’ll be after you now, you do know that right?”

“Who? Who’s going to be after us now?” Flashfire demanded. “I have a responsibility, not just to my team but to all of those colonists aboard those ships to lead them to safe passage and now you just go on and tell us there is no safe place in the universe for us, and what’s worse we’re going to be hunted down from the sounds of it, Dark Matter’s personal assassins!” he bellowed, his horn crackling with energy in his anger.

“Yes, Sir Ikargen and Madoka,” the Doctor replied. “That’s who will be coming after you. Make no mistake, once they find you they will not stop till you are nothing but dust in the wind. Get this through your head Flashfire Lulamoon of Equus, they are fearsome, nigh-unstoppable, and relentless. You must hold your ground, you understand me? You must hold your ground against them, otherwise when they catch up to you, and I’m making this perfectly clear that they will, nothing will stand in their way from killing each and every last one of you and enslaving the colonists and taking them under Dark Matter’s employ.”

“Hold up a second, let’s take a few steps back here,” Jabari remarked. “You said one of Lupus’ previous perceived failures was not killing you. Why, why would you be so important?”

“Because…” the Doctor sighed, and took his time to do so. “In the not too distant past, I took on Don Armage and Lupus when he was one of Armage’s previous Vice-Shoguns, and defeated them both nearly killing Don Armage.”

At this, all eight other Paladins’ jaws collectively dropped in unison. This odd quirky man, who was armed with nothing but his brain cells and a simple sonic screwdriver -whatever the hell that was- was claiming to nearly have killed the leader of Dark Matter himself?

“You’re… you’re screwing with us, right?” Pharynx sputtered out. “Just trying to bolster your reputation so you can get us to think we need you!”

But then he saw the look in his new companion’s eyes, the fire of a warrior and someone who’d seen far too much for someone who looked so young. And at once, he knew he was speaking the truth.

“How did you do it? How did you?” Pharynx stated, his eyes narrowing and seemingly boring a hole right into the Doctor’s soul.

“It’s… it’s a story I don’t like to talk about, but I suppose you have a right to know. 50 years ago, when Dark Matter was only just rising, in its infancy I saw fit to oppose them. Now, I’ve never been one for war, hated it so much in fact so for just one single moment in time, I said to myself, forsake my principles and become a leader, not a healer. Now, you have to understand, the name I chose. The Doctor? That’s a promise, whenever one of my people choose their final name they must go by that promise for life. I chose the name of the man who helps people, the healer and for hundreds of years I went about gallivanting off through the universe doing just that. But when Dark Matter started taking over systems, little by little, I knew what had to be done. At first mind you, I refused, just helping out the victims of Dark Matter’s tyranny wherever I could. But the time would come when I was forced to step up, and become not the Doctor, but a Leader.

“My people, you must understand, they have this special ability. Nearing the end of their natural lifespans, or nearing any sort of unnatural death they can regenerate into another body, gaining new personality facets and a new appearance in the process. Now, I’d heard of this sisterhood, on the planet Karn who could work dark magics to control my species’ regeneration factor, create exactly the body that was needed. My name, my real name - that is not the point. The name I chose is the Doctor. The name you choose, is like... it's like a promise you make. He's the one who broke the promise. No, I broke the promise. But either way, I let the sisterhood make me into what was needed. The Doctor of War. As the Good Book said, and so did I: “Physician, heal thyself…” and I was changed. Throwing away my old values, I remembered an old legend.

“When the universe falls into evil clutches and its people shed tears, the Kyutama will choose nine saviors, the Kyurangers, who will save the universe. That’s the way the legend went. I gathered up warriors, one from each of the 88 constellations and led battle after battle against Don Armage and his forces, decimating them. But little by little, my troops began to fall one after the other, until there was only three of us left facing down Lupus and Don Armage himself on the home soils of my homeworld, Gallifrey. Oh, you should have seen it before the war. Beautiful orange skies at night, snow-capped mountains, fields of red grass, and trees with leaves of bright red silver.

“The three of us, the first Kyurangers were standing with our backs to the wall. Corvus Black, Lyra Cyan and me, Leo Red. Lyra was the first to fall under Don Armage’s blade, although he had sent Lupus into retreat to lick his wounds. That particular form of cowardice, that’s what I suspect got him demoted down to the rank of Karō. Corvus Black, he took a blow meant for me from Armage himself, and in my rage, I converted all of my remaining regeneration energy into pure power, and added it to the powers of my Kyutama and fired one powerful blast at Don Armage seemingly destroying him.

“Now, for the longest while as I stood in the bloodied fields I had thought Don Armage defeated and so I resumed my roamings of the universe in shame for what I’d done. Sure, I’d stood up for what was right, but I’d gotten so many killed in the process. But then I heard rumors, whispers that Dark Matter was building itself up again. And when I came to your planet and saw that attack drone coming down to claim the planet for the organization, I knew I had no choice but to rejoin the battle. The universe offered me a second chance. Don’t know why I took it, but the embodiment of the Libra constellation offered me his power, the power to restore the universal balance and become a true savior. A shield to your swords.”

While this, of course, was a lot to take in, Flurry still couldn’t help but feel the Doctor was leaving something out. During his story, he had taken quite a few melancholy glances towards her Scorpius Kyutama. That is, if it ever was hers in the first place. It led her to wonder, and this tied into that robot having a Kyuchanger, was it possible that the drone sent to attack them with his one cycloptic eye and his arm blades was one of the Doctor’s troops as well? Now just only reprogrammed into serving this ‘Don Armage’?

Perhaps she’d never know. If the Doctor did, he certainly didn’t feel keen on speaking on the matter. For that at least, she couldn’t exactly blame him.

Elsewhere aboard the Shining Armor, one Fågel Bredsida AKA the Armored Star in Taurus Black was having… issues. Namely, with Pharynx. Oh sure, she liked and respected him but their previous conversation was starting to nag at her.

“He’d probably love to know about all of this. Hivemother knows if I grew up in the system, and found out I had a half-sister who could have been there but wasn’t? I’d be pissed. You’re lucky I was raised with a decent amount of respect for women otherwise I’d be punching you in the beak ‘bout now.”

Fågel laughed weakly.

“Yes tell him that I murdered someone then I was placed in jail for half my life. It turned out it wasn’t murder but the ponies family used his death to punish me. I was hired at a young age to steal something from this guy, named Cold Steel. I scared him he backed up and he fell out of the window. I was accused of murder and that was that. Prince Stardust’s guards chucked me in the bin. He told me I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He said don’t hate me for protecting my families image by destroying yours,” she’d lowered her voice by this point, not wanting anyone to overhear that their precious Prince Stardust was in fact, a bastard and not this wise, all seeing if not slightly eccentric Prince who’d lead everyone to safety.

Pharynx’s fists clenched, and he let out a growl. “Knew there was something off about that pony. Far too nice, nobody’s that nice unless they have something to hide,” he muttered.

“For years Pharynx, I felt I deserved it. I still feel I do. The fact is if I didn’t get hired to steal I would still be with my half-brother. That’s something I can’t control now. The fact I am in the eyes of some, just a hardened murderer. Even though I did this the Prince has been very respectful to me. Even though I don’t trust him.”

As much as she hated to admit it, that damned Changeling had a point. Coldcast, at the very least, deserved to know the truth no matter how ugly it was. She’d heard from so many sources about just how rough he had it growing up really, constantly bullied for not having a family that cared about him and for just getting into the Galaxy Garrison program and then becoming a Voyager pilot via Flashfire and Flurry Heart pulling some strings. Of course, she knew this last part to be false. Nobody got into the Garrison and then gained the honor of being Lupus Blue like that, if you showed that you had the aptitude you earned that right. She was willing to acknowledge her brother as Lupus Blue, he’d shown that he deserved that right so many times. She’d heard his first battle with the forces of Dark Matter over the comms.

“Alright then… What was it my father used to say? Oh yes. Now you find the strength in your heart to appeal to his good nature, and if you can't, find the strength in your arms to beat his ass senseless.”

“I don’t think we can appeal to his better nature,” Coldcast snarked. “So we’ll skip to beating this guy’s ass senseless. ...Does he even have an ass?” he wondered to himself and Fågel found herself chuckling a little at that remark. Never change Coldcast, never change, she told herself.

“Now who’s got skewed priorities?” Jabari asked in an amused tone.

“It’s still you! Die! Fall! Black out! Disappear!”

“Yeah yeah, we get it already…” Coldcast snarked, rolling his eyes, and Fågel fought back a chuckle.

“The plan is this,” Flashfire told his teammates. “Lead this thing on a chase, tire or overload its main weapons systems, then we strike. Simple to understand, non?”

Fågel nodded as she heard the plan over the comms, her fellow Galaxy Garrison cadets pacing or biting their tongues in fear as the laser blasts flew, and missiles fired.

“Dammit!” Coldcast shouted in frustration, and the sound of something being punched was heard. “So, you want to play huh? Let’s play.”

“That accomplished what, may I ask? Nothing but you being sunk!” the robot roared before Fågel heard the sound of a laser being fired, and then ice cracking and shattering, and a loud splashing sound.

“Coldcast!” Jabari shouted in fear, and Fågel felt her heart skip a beat. No! She shouted to herself even as the sounds of battle continued in the background. Not him, anyone but him!

That battle continued, but Fågel paid little, if any attention and turned her head away from the radio so nobody could see her cry and mourn for the loss of her only family.

“Bon sang, all systems jammed. Rebooting!” Flashfire shouted.

“Prepare for your extinction, fools!”

“Oh no, you don’t! You want to get to my friends, you have to get through me first,” Coldcast growled out, and if Fågel didn’t know better, she could have heard the sounds of triumphant sweeping music as the Wolf Voyager let out a howl of victory upon its pilot breaking through the ice.

“C-Coldcast… W-what happened to you, what’s gotten into you?” Fågel heard Jabari ask, and she smirked. Nothing Jabari, she told herself. Nothing that was already there. It just took him a little time to find it.

“Agh, you two grow on me, what can I say?” he muttered. “Now get those engines rebooted, so we can finish this creep, and give this “Dark Matter” what for eh? Flashfire, you said these mechas were meant to combine once, didn’t you?” he asked and Fågel smiled proudly as she heard her half-brother take command of the situation. “Pump ‘em full of magic, that’s what these things run on right? Much magic as you got! We’ll just have to give them a hard reboot!” Coldcast shouted, and she heard the distinctive sound of systems coming online, and parts shifting and merging before the battle was finally turned.

With the distinctive shout of “Meteor Crash!” and an explosion, Fågel let out a cheer. Sure, it was drowned out by everyone else in the little room cheering as well at the sound of the explosion, but she didn’t care. That was her half-brother saving the day, and she’d tell that to anyone who dared argue otherwise.

“So now what…?” Fågel had to ask herself. For all she knew, Coldcast still hated her guts and he had every right to. She wasn’t just called the Armored Star for her suit’s inbuilt heavy armor. No, she chose to call herself that just for how closely guarded she kept her emotions. Not letting anyone see the real her as it were.

As she walked, below her she saw the distinctive form of the Draco Voyager as it was beginning to be called amongst the inhabitants of the Shining Armor. Themed after an Asian Dragon, bearing an orb in its two front claws clutching it like a precious jewel to its chest, aside from dark metallic purple armor it had now been given a golden kabuto helmet presumably to ram something and to protect the pilot.

Now Fågel had heard the rumors, who hadn’t after all? The middle section of the Voyager bore what looked to be two distinct ports and so whispers of it possibly combining into a Megazord of some sort with two other Voyagers had begun to spring up amongst the crew. Stripped Gear and his team of lab rats seemed especially interested in confirming this. She’d even heard they’d thought up a name for this possible new mecha, the Dragon King Megazord or whatever the name was and if it was viable they were thinking of porting a small section of the consciousnesses of either the Luna or Twilight-AIs over into it, to help guide the controllers of this theoretical Megazord. Emphasis on theoretical. Fågel personally? She wouldn’t believe it till she saw it.

Fågel grimaced, as elegant as this new Voyager was, it certainly wasn’t helping her solve her current situation. Grumbling, she walked off towards the ship’s bar. She needed a drink. Hopefully, they’d have some Brennivín or Tequila in stock…

Far and away, on the ship known only as the Sagittari-Ark resting amongst a hoard of other Dark Matter warships was Don Armage. He replayed the footage of the destruction of Lupus’ fleet over and over, laughing each time in amusement as he did so.

“A fitting end for that failure,” Don Armage thought to himself. “Yes, I’m down one Karō but I still rule over the rest of the universe. 87 galaxies, all under my benevolent guiding hand. Sure, they may think different, think of me as a tyrant but without me? The universe would be in chaos. Crime is almost non-existent now! Overpopulation is merely nothing but a memory! Balance has been restored!”

Armage smiled. Before he came along, the universe was awash with chaos. Planets, galaxies were caught up in wars that were seemingly without end. He helped bring order to this universe, show them what true perfection was. Showed them something beautiful, something they never even would have thought of, wrapped up in their own petty self-desires as they were. He smirked.

Was it not true that everyone tried in their own way to fulfill their own desires? His desire, now that was simply to bring peace and desire to the universe. He flashed back, to when he was battling that pathetic order, known simply as the Knights of Gallifrey.

He’d grabbed Corvus Black by the throat, and said this to him, casting one eye towards the Doctor as he called himself AKA Leo Red holding him back with a wall of telekinetic force. The broken and twisted body of a robot designed after a scorpion lay nearby, arm-blades shattered. “Let me tell you something about my home. It was like most planets; too many mouths, not enough to go around. And when we faced extinction, I offered a solution. I would be fair about removing their problem children. It would be ugly yes. Destructive, indeed! Insanity, quite. But all the same, I believed it a fair and just reason. Quell the rising tide which faced us. Nobody was above anyone else in my mind. My quelling extended to rich and poor alike. They called me a madman... but if I hadn’t I knew what I predicted would come to pass one way or the other. Time would judge me in the end I knew, but in the end, I knew what was best for my people.”

“You’re no god, you don’t get to decide who lives and who dies!” Corvus Black choked out, before with a sickening Snap! his lifeless body fell to the bloodied earth beneath.

The Doctor let out a shout of: “NO!” and ran towards Armage, his crossbow firing blast after blast but Armage deflected them all the same.

“It’s pointless to resist fate. You can’t fight it. Run from it, sure you can try. But destiny? Destiny… Destiny, it just arrives all the same. And your destiny is to end here.”

But still he resisted, the Time Lord pulling out his Leo Major Kyutama and placing into a slot on his crossbow, making it state: “Galaxy!”

“Well, we’ll just have to see about that, won’t we?” the Doctor growled out, charging up his crossbow with all of the power he had left and it began to glow a bright burning red before it fired. “Allons-Y,” he said softly before Don Armage felt a sharp blow hit him in the chest and all went black.

It had taken him years to recover, build a new body for himself, but he here was all the same. And now, his dream had finally come to pass. And nobody, especially not some upstarts from some backwater planet in the Pegasus system would stop him.

The Shining Armor:

Meanwhile, Fågel had drowned her third bottle of scotch. Sadly, no Brennivín or Tequila in stock but this would do nicely in the meantime she supposed till someone synthesized some more. Soft piano music played in the background, an instrumental version of this old song called “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” if Fågel remembered correctly.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” Luna’s voice remarked, as she popped up from a small emitter on the bartop.

“The song?” Fågel asked. “Yeah, I suppose. Heartbreaking, really but beautiful.”

“Didn’t mean the song,” the Luna-AI replied, chuckling to herself at some private joke before gesturing out the viewscreen. “Tell me, what do you see?”

Fågel craned her neck to look out of it. Stars, that’s what she saw. Millions upon millions of twinkling lights, each illuminating their only tiny little world. For a moment, and just a moment Fågel felt actually intimidated by just how small she was compared to the galaxies in front of her.

“Frightening, yes. But absolutely marvelous and exquisitely beautiful as well,” the Luna-AI continued. “Yes, you can turn along and run back home if you so desired, I myself was frightened at the galaxy’s majesty at first. Well, at least my original self was. But I remembered, I had someone to enjoy it with, the person closest to me. Kept me from being scared, allowed me to see the stars for what they truly were, the Lady Faust’s own personal artist’s tapestry of colors, created just for us. Be a real shame if you didn’t have someone to share them with as well right?”

Fågel winced, knowing exactly what the AI was hinting at. “But… But how do I…?”

“Talk to him?” Luna finished for I. “Oh Fågel, I’m sorry for you, I really am. Nobody should have had to go through what you did, and believe you me, I shall have words with my sister’s son for that. He shames her lineage. But what you need to do right now?” she continued, poking Fågel in the chest. “Is talk to your half-brother. He needs you, now more than ever. He doesn’t have a home to go back to, so the only thing he has now is his family. And that includes you, whether you like it or not. So go talk to him. Poor griffon can’t spend this whole trip alone with only his adopted big brother and his few friends to comfort him whenever he needs it. He needs family, actual blood-related family. A big sister to hold him when he cries, cheer at him when he wins a battle and laugh with him whenever he tells a joke. Believe me, speaking from experience here, when nobody else is there for you, your family always and I mean always will be there for you.”

Fågel felt like she had been slapped across the face, and in a way, she supposed she had been. But Luna was right, there was no avoiding this any longer. So, with that, she took the long journey to her brother’s quarters, and carefully knocked on the door.

When it opened, and the griffon turned to look at her, Fågel took a deep long sigh before asking: “Brother? We need to talk, and I mean about everything…”

Author's Notes:

Okay, so a few things. Yes, let's get the elephants in the room out of the way first. Yes, there was a Leo Red at some point, so you are free to speculate a bit more on him. Also, yes Armage is a partial homage to MCAU Thanos.

Secondly, the flashbacks. I've been told I'm horrible at reusing scenes, so in this case, at least I tried to rewrite them, tell the one in question from Fågel's perspective.

As ever, comments, thoughts, and critique are welcomed.

Part 9: While You Were Away...

The Shining Armor

For the first few days away from Equestria, all went well. Despite the Doctor’s predictions, there had been no Dark Matter attacks or anything resembling such. Flashfire had surmised a simple solution. In his words: “We can’t ignore the possibility that with Lupus gone, his entire galaxy is in chaos. He had subordinates under him, and those subordinates had subordinates. It’s like a pyramid, with Lupus being the base to support everything in this case. Take away that base, and everything crumbles and falls into chaos. Everyone’s trying to grab power where they can, try to make it to the top and become Lupus’ successor. I doubt they’d be concerned with us, least not for the moment. They’re trying to re-establish order in the system, and as long as we stay out of anyone’s way we should be fine.”

Of course, some took issues with this. Jabari being one of them, even now as he played Vivaldi Danza Pastorale (Celebration of Spring) on his violin, nicknamed the Bloody Rose he thought back to what he’d told the Beast Star:

“And if someone gets any ideas? I mean, the best claim to being Lupus’ successor would be to slay us, his killers!” Jabari had argued.

“Think about it, could anyone have time to go after us?” Flashfire had replied. “I mean, everyone’s so busy fighting with each other vying for a piece of the pie if you will they couldn’t possibly go after us. And that’s presuming anyone aside from those two assassins the Doctor mentioned even know our names, much less where to even look for us!”

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right about that. Those two, they’re the ones we should worry about,” Jabari murmured, while idly tossing the Pegasus Kyutama in his hand. “Let’s hypothesize for a moment. No scientific basis for this except for one theory I have. Remember the Scorpius Drone? Old One-Eye, with the arm blades and the stinger tail?”

“Par le créateur…” Flashfire sighed while shaking his head. “How could I forget, that’s not exactly a face that’s going to be going away anytime soon. What exactly are you getting at?”

“I think I might know,” Stripped Gear piped up, snatching away the Pegasus Kyutama from his grip. “This had been bonded with Lupus for Faust knows how long, right? And that Scorpius Kyutama from the looks of it was bonded with the drone. I don’t think any traces of that bond will be going away any time soon.”

“Exactly,” Jabari put in. “Now I’d noticed before we left Equus that the remains of the robot had gone… missing shall we say. Maybe someone threw them in the lava, bit too creeped out by the head. I wouldn’t have blamed them frankly, but it’s also quite frankly possible that someone stole them in hopes of fixing that thing up, and that someone is with Dark Matter and that very same someone knows how to track the signature of a Kyutama bonded to one of their members. And we have two of those types of Kyutama now. It’d be far too easy for someone to follow our trace energy we’re leaving behind now that those two Kyutamas are in our possession.”

“Well, we can’t just dump them now, can we?” Flashfire murmured as he cast a look towards Flurry Heart, who was making a map of the known galaxy on a small datapad. “I mean, one of them’s a Kyutama now bonded to our newest Ranger.”

As he finished the song, and sat down on a nearby chair putting the Bloody Rose back into its casing and closing it up he briefly cast a glance outside a nearby viewscreen to a section of space where a day before a wormhole had rested.

“I don’t like this, not one bit…” Jabari muttered to himself. He was distracted by the sounds of fins clapping together and turned his attention back to his ‘audience’. He sighed. Right, he told himself. He’d forgotten that the pool room for all its peace and tranquility was home to a collection of Equus’s last remaining sirens. Creatures who just loved a good song or two.

Sirens, like most of Equus’s creatures, could be described as a hodgepodge. Most of their being was a long sleek serpentine shape that could vary from the length of a small bus to a train depending on age with a fluked tail but grafted to the upper body of a horse-like creature. The body swapped out the fur with scales, the hooves with fins and a fin to replace the mane normally found on a horse’s head to complete the deal. Long ago considered dangerous due to the actions of a specific trio sent away to some long forgotten world by Starswirl the Bearded, it was found in later years most were generally peaceful and just wanted to be left alone or sing their songs to those who would listen.

“You’re worried, aren’t you?” the lead siren who bore a delicate salmon pink covering her scales asked. Crescendo, her name was if Jabari remembered correctly. The other two accompanying her was a light teal green and the other a pure albino respectively.

“Yeah, I’d be worried if something was wrong with me if I wasn’t worried about Flurry,” Jabari sighed, casting another glance outside the viewscreen. “We all are. Soon as she, Coldcast and Spada went through that wormhole to find out what was on the other end and it closed up…” he trailed off, before shaking his head. “Agh, maybe I’m being paranoid. All the scans Stripped Gear ran on that wormhole, and to be more accurate what was on the other end said it was safe, no signs of Dark Matter ships to speak of.”

“No. No,” Crescendo spoke softly, shaking her head and resting a massive fin on Jabari’s shoulder. “You’ve got every right to be worried. And you’re not the only one really.”

Jabari looked at her in surprise, eyes widened. “S-Seriously?” the zorse asked.

“Yep, seriously,” Crescendo replied, nodding her head in turn. “Not even a few hours ago, Flashfire himself walked in here, probably hoping the waters would take things off his mind. I dunno. But I could tell he was afraid for Flurry, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.”

“Flashfire, afraid?” Jabari asked, blinking in surprise. “No… No, I can’t imagine that. Seriously, the buck’s always been calm, cool, and collected under any form of pressure. Reason why he was chosen to be the leader of the Paladins.”

“Oh, is that what you think?” Crescendo asked, teal-blue eyes eyeing him critically. “Ever considered that’s just a mask? I mean, everyone has a breaking point. Even him. Pressure’s going to get to him eventually, and believe me if losing a leader if only temporarily isn’t it than I don’t know what is! Seriously, here’s what happened…”

Humming a song under his breath in Prench, that’s where she found him. Entering the pool room where she and her sisters called home, she heard the jacket-clad unicorn singing to himself, perhaps not realizing she was there or maybe just not caring. Maybe he wanted to see her. Why else would he enter this particular room singing a song? Most of the crew only entered this room for the calm tranquil atmosphere it provided, or to listen to her or her sisters sing but Flashfire was definitely not most of the crew suffice it to say. Whenever he visited her, even just to talk or observe her it was not without some hidden reason.

“Ce pouvoir miraculeux fait son entrée ici

“Ah, ce point éloigné se rapproche
Donc je ne suis plus jamais rempli de regret
Plus vaste que le ciel
Je vais utiliser ce pouvoir pour y faire face
Voler, le temps jugé tout

Le temps a jugé tous les destins
Passage dans le "maintenant"
Le temps a jugé tout au ciel
S'élever de plus en plus haut...” he sang to himself. Crescendo couldn’t resist a chuckle, her great-grandmother was the lover to a Prenchman and so she knew some of the language if only just. Here Flashfire, the holder of the Cerberus Kyutama singing a song about the sky when he was drawing from the constellation of a decidedly ground-based creature. Then again, some of the lyrics fit really like the ones about rising higher and higher and such, with a distant goal becoming ever closer.

“You could swoon a mare with a voice like that, ya know?” Crescendo burst out laughing as she poked her muzzle from above the clear waters. “Make ‘em fall right into your arms. Seriously, if I didn’t know you were a demisexual then…”

Flashfire balked, not even allowing Crescendo to finish whatever she had to say, possibly some bawdy joke as was often the case with her. Nice as she was, like most sirens she could still be seductive or crass when she wanted to be. “How the hell did you-”

“Figure that out?” Crescendo finished. “You’d be surprised on how much certain crewmen gossip on your sexuality, some of them with seemingly nothing better to do. Honestly, I hate it really. Pony’s private life should be his private life, ya know?”

“Yes, quite.” Flashfire grumbled. “Remind me to keep my personal files under better lock and key. Thought I could trust crewmen and women to keep certain things to themselves…”

“But to serenade moi with your lovely voice and grumble about busybodies isn’t why you’re here, is it?” Crescendo asked, tilting her head sideways. “You need advice, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I suppose…” Flashfire mumbled, shuffling his hooves in embarrassment and letting the mask drop. Crescendo, she was one of the few creatures on Equus aside from Coldcast he allowed to see his true self. Long ago, when he was deep-sea diving for fish to feed a Vault whose food supply had run dangerously low with new food days away, Crescendo and her pod had saved him from a giant squid who’d decided he’d make a tasty snack. Ripped the damn thing in half with their jaws and made a meal out of it, Crescendo leading the charge and soothing the squid into a tranquil state with her singing before her sisters went on the attack.

“Honestly, and you must not let this get out but I’m really worried here. I mean, here we are far away from Equestria or anything resembling home and I’m expected to lead a group of heroes from different races and backgrounds with widely diverging personalities as some sort of ‘team’. Seemed easy enough back when I was planetside, but now that we’ve left Equus far behind…”

“Trust me, if anybody’s going to find a way to make it work, it’ll be you Flashie,” Crescendo grinned, showing a set of razor-sharp teeth. “Listen, you think it’s easy for me either? I mean, I’m managing an entire pod of sirens who aren’t exactly comfortable being far from any real bodies of water and only get fed via fish and calamari thrown from a bucket! I have it worse than you do, always afraid that I’ll have an uprising on my hands. Or fins, as it were. Thank Faust for Concerto and Muse, otherwise, I’d go crazy!”

“Yeah, I suppose…” Flashfire murmured, leaning over the railing to look down into the tank below him where he saw the two other fully grown sirens swimming about with the rest of their podmates. It couldn’t exactly be called a pool, not with how massive it was or how deep it went. Most of the crew just preferred to call it a pool for one reason or the other. Maybe because some used it for recreational swimming. Not like the sirens really minded, they were happy for the company. Even they got bored of spending time with just their own species, social animals as they were.

“Point being, I know you’ve got this. You wouldn’t have been picked to be the team leader if Stardust didn’t believe you were the best choice.” Crescendo said kindly.

“Yes, well Stardust hasn’t exactly made the wisest choices in the past has he?” Flashfire muttered. “I mean, leaving Pharynx to become chilled Changeling for the past few billion years for one! And let’s not even get into the crap he pulled with poor Fågel!” he scoffed. “For all I know, he may have chosen me at random. Irony really, for all I told my petit frère on how there was no such thing as being picked arbitrarily I can’t help but wonder if the same applies to me at times…”

“Now, that’s enough of that!” Crescendo barked. “You, Flashfire Lulamoon, are Cerberus Seagreen, leader of the Kyurangers and if you were picked as the team leader then there has to be a reason for it. Now get that right through your head, okay?” she stated firmly. She would have used the pun ‘Okyu’ as she heard Stardust and Flashfire on rare occasion use but the tone wasn’t right for the setting as of right now. “Don’t make me leap on out of this damn pool to slap you upside the head with a fin, ya got that?”

“...Got it.” Flashfire squeaked out, in a small timid tone of voice before he regained his composure and adjusted his jacket letting the small embroidered silver star on the back gleam in the light. “You’re quite right, I’m the leader of this squadron and despite all the crap we’ve been through, I’ve got faith in the heart that I can pull this team together. After all, fire only forges the steel bonds of friendship non?”

Crescendo shot him a fang-toothed grin. “Now that’s the spirit! That’s the buck I’m used to seeing. Now, you’ve got a job to do, non?” she asked, going into a bad Prench accent imitation that actually made Flashfire burst out laughing.

“...You’re terrible, you know that?” he remarked.

“Hey, anything to see you smile again. World’s just not right without Flashfire smiling a bit.”

“Now, none of what I just said leaves this room okay?” Crescendo requested with a small flush gracing her features, and Jabari was nodding all the while even as he took it all in. If he didn’t know better, he would have sworn the siren had a crush on his boss. But that was ludicrous… right?

“Exactly. Now how did it go again… Oh yes, cross my heart and hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye,” Jabari repeated, doing the time-honored motions with his hands before Stripped Gear’s voice crackled through the commlinks.

“Uh Jabari, you may want to get up here. There’s something you might want to have a look at…” the unicorn remarked in a slightly nervous tone of voice.

“I’ll be up there on the double!” Jabari said, breaking into a spring but not before sending Crescendo a thankful look.

“Okay, what am I looking at here?” Jabari had to ask, his suit’s amber wings unfolded, and two small oxygen hoses hooked into a tube on the flight suit’s back. Currently, he was floating outside the ship, in what could only be called a cosmic mothball storm. His hands were resting in the suit’s holsters, ready to draw twin laser pistols if needed. Looking through his visor, the Pink Ranger scanned the area, trying to get any readings at all from these strange objects. He was getting electrical currents but not much else.

Nearby, Flashfire was in his suit as well wearing a similar propulsion device, his sword in its sheath. His cape had retracted into his shoulder armor somehow, Jabari didn’t know exactly how he managed to do that. Stripped Gear’s suit upgrades never ceased to amaze him really. These new wings definitely completed the Aquila Pink look though, he had to admit.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say snowballs,” Flashfire remarked as he reached out to touch one only to get a small zap. “Snowballs with a shocking surprise that is…”

“That’s a terrible joke,” Jabari said flatly, shooting the unicorn a glare under his helmet.

“Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood,” Flashfire shrugged. “Crescendo says I’ve got this stick up my derrière, and that I need to lighten up more.”

“Isn’t just Crescendo who says that…” Jabari thought to himself with a slightly amused smile. “Stripped, you got anything for us, like say on whatever the Hell these things might be? What are they, cosmic snowballs that’ll just drift us on by harmlessly or something we should be actually worried about?”

“Okay, running analysis now…” Stripped Gear’s voice crackled through the comms. “Honestly, I can’t make any real heads or tails of ‘em. I’d suggest you bring one of them into the ship’s lab for further study really. Just be careful m’kay?”

“Trust me Stripped,” Flashfire said as he grabbed one of the ‘snowballs’ in an aura of magic. “We’ll be real careful. Now, what about that project you and Jabari have been working on, the one that’ll bring Flurry and the others back to our reality?”

Further scans of the wormhole from before, just as it had begun to close had revealed it was a trans-reality breach. Happened very rarely, but happened it did on this particular occasion. Personally, although he would never dare voice these thoughts aloud, Flashfire though Flurry a imbécile for taking the Draco Voyager in herself and not letting him do it. But Flurry was a stubborn one as Flashfire had rapidly found, and was a particular fan of the saying: “Never ask someone to do something you wouldn’t do yourself.”

Part of the reason why he admired her so much at times really. Just not on this occasion. Especially when his petit frère was one of the two Rangers that followed.

“Ah yes… That. The Cancer Claw Cannon. Name needs some work, but it should do the job just nicely I think. Just needs a few more fine-tunings and adjustments and we should be okyu to go!” Stripped chimed in.

Jabari slapped a palm to his face and let it slide down his visor.

“Oh no… Not him too, I thought Flashfire and Stardust were the only ones who made that horrible pun…” he thought to himself, quite unamused.

Eventually, the twosome would return to Stripped’s lab which wasn’t that far removed from the one he had back on Equus. Just as messy and chaotic as ever, with partially constructed Skill Kyutamas laying about. Jabari swore he caught a glimpse of one that looked to be blue and white, themed after the sun and the moon but he really couldn’t make out much detail in it’s half-constructed state. It looked to be gathering dust really, moreso than some of Stripped’s other projects. Now that he thought of it, Jabari had heard Stripped occasionally muttering on how he just couldn’t harness this one Kyutama’s powers and on how impossible it looked to be to actually complete this one.

Maybe this Sun and Moon Kyutama was what he was talking about.

As Flashfire levitated the little ball of ice and electricity into a little glass container before quickly shutting it Jabari cast his eyes to the centerpiece of the room as it were.

A massive cannon, hooked up via wires and tubes to the Cancer Kyutama held in this small glass container and glowing red with energy. The theory was -at least in Jabari and Stripped’s minds- that this thing would magnify the Cancer Kyutama’s powers by one hundredfold and project a giant claw to rip open the walls between the dimensions and bring Flurry and company home. To help with this process, and narrow in on the exact dimension that Flurry had landed in, the Circinus and Telescopium Kyutamas were being used as well, their power being drawn into the cannon.

Personally, Flashfire thought this plan was a bit overly elaborate and a little bit on the crazy side, but if it helped in any way whatsoever then he allowed Jabari and Stripped free reign on doing whatever they could to get Flurry, and more importantly Coldcast and Spada back.

“Okay, you can expect results within the hour!” Stripped cried out. “Trust me, whatever this thing is, as soon as I know what it is you’ll be the first to know rest assured. Now shoo, I work best when left in private! Not when a bunch of other ponies are standing around eying me!” he barked, looking at all of his lab assistants who were chattering amongst themselves. “Shut up everybody, shut up! Don't move, don't speak, don't breathe, I'm trying to think,” he remarked, before looking at a particular member of the Praetorian Guard, a dark grey pegasus. “Commander Nimbus, and with all due respect face the other way, you're putting me off.”

“But-” Nimbus tried to speak, before Stripped held up a finger and put it to his lips.

“Ep-Ep-Ep! No buts out of you mister. What did I say? Now turn your back!” he barked, making the pegasus flinch.

Grumbling, Nimbus did so as Flashfire and the rest took their leave.

“...Real pain to get along with, isn’t he?” Flashfire muttered under his breath leaning towards Jabari as the zorse shook his head.

“Believe me mate, you have noooooo idea.” he murmured before they tried to enter a lift, but the doors took several moments to actually open. Flashfire frowned, he needed to have this ship be given a once-over it seemed, left the planet in such a hurry not all of the primary systems could have been working properly. This could be signs of a much larger problem. If only he knew how large...

In any case, Flashfire found himself in his quarters, reading through a book just to calm his mind. Any book would do, even something as mind-blowingly dull such as “Theories of How Rats Evolved”. As long as it got him thinking on something other than that of Flurry Heart and whatever danger she may have gotten herself into.

“Faust, can’t believe I was such a fool,” Flashfire thought to himself as he pressed a few buttons on his quarter’s personal replicator for a shot of black coffee. It was his preferred beverage of choice, stemming back from his early days learning to be a pilot in the Galaxy Garrison Naval Academy and working long nights and writing up school reports and the like.

Taking a note of how this coffee was strangely cold, he replicated another which was without fault. “More repairs to do. I’ll have to have the engineers check over every inch of this ship before things get dangerous.”

He then turned his mind back to Flurry.

“I let her go off on that little jaunt through the wormhole. I know she said it was just to see what it was like on the other side, see if there was a calm peaceful world -A new Eden as she so calls it- but I can’t help but think that she’s trying to lead Dark Matter’s assassins away from us with the Scorpius Kyutama. I should be doing that, not her!”

Flurry Heart wasn’t the only steadfast believer in that saying of: “Never ask someone to do something you wouldn’t do yourself.” Flashfire believed it as well. He would never, never put any of his men or women on his team in unneeded danger if he could do the damn job himself. Leadership was a learning process just like riding a bike except in this case and Flashfire knew this very well, that you never stopped learning. But one of the key things he had always known was respecting your comrades and what they could do, trust in them and believe in them. Work with your team, learn their limits. If they reached their limits, then that was fine. But you needed to respect them all the same.

Flashfire remembered the story of how one commander in the Royal Guards of old skimped out work one day just to have a quick night in with a hooker, and because of that some rogue Changelings breached a city’s defenses and almost took control of it had the Royal Guards not got their fighting spirit back in the last minute and held the line to the very end till reinforcements led by King Thorax and Princess Twilight themselves arrived, returning from the Chaos Lands.

He, this commander, in the end, said he never respected his troops to hold the line against what was probably a doomed city anyhow. Cowardice, that’s what it all came down to and he lost everyone’s respect in the end. He’d also heard tales of how the legendary Shining Armor AKA Flurry’s father had led his troops into battle against Wendigos at the borders of the Crystal Empire near the end of Shining’s lifespan, and although Shining fell eventually he held that line and encouraged troops terrified of the oncoming hoard back into battle. That was the kind of man Flashfire looked up to, someone who would hold the line against any threats to Equus till the bitter end, someone who respected their troops and their abilities and knew what they could do if they really tried.

“So, why can’t I be like that kind of commander…?” Flashfire asked himself as he took a sip of his coffee. “I should have put my hoof down, stopped her!”

“And yet for all your comments on respect for the troops and their abilities, and your love of the phrase: “Never ask someone to do something you wouldn’t do yourself.” and yet in the end, you still fail to heed it,” the Celesti-AI remarked, her projector flickering slightly as she strode across the room and knelt down next to Flashfire on a chair. “She knows her abilities, and that of her troops as well as you do. Yes, last of the Princesses she may be, but her going into that wormhole like that it commandeers respect from the rest of the legions you’ve got at your beck and call. Shows them she’s not afraid of anything, and add to that she knows you and Stripped Gear and everyone else onboard this ship would find a way to return her if something were to go wrong.”

Her projector flickered again, as well as the ship’s lights briefly. Flashfire noted this and filed it away on his datapad for more repairs for the ship engineers. Last thing they or anyone else needed was the loss of the Princess AIs. They weren’t just responsible for controlling Megazord operational systems and things like that, they were a sign of comfort and guidance to the crew. That even in the darkest days things would come out alright and light would return. If they were lost now Faust only knew what would happen.

“Yes… Yes, you’re quite right,” Flashfire agreed. “I’m worrying, when I should be planning on how to get Flurry back. You and Crescendo were right. I’m Cerberus Seagreen, leader of the Kyuranger Squadron and the commander of that regiment. It’s high time I started acting like it.”

“Yes, but for now put Flurry out of your mind, it’s having an effect on you. Making you tense, relax a little. Let Stripped worry about Flurry and your teammates,” Celestia advised. “Go have some fun, I hear my sister decided to put on a little concert in that bar everyone seems to frequent. Just let your worries leave you for a little while, okay?”

“A-Alright,” Flashfire nodded, noting Celestia flicker once more. “I’ll try.”

Meanwhile lurking beyond the Shining Armor’s sensor range lay a silver, streamlined craft themed after what looked to be a giant squid with some massive solar sail propelling it. A more elegant piece of machinery from a more civilized age. And now the personal ship of one Sir Ikargen.

“So, it’s done?” Eriedrone’s voice asked, as a hologram of the ruler of the Sagittarius System appeared on the central console. In his hands, was a massive golden halberd axe that could also double as a bow befitting the system he presided over as a Karō. While Eriedrone was certainly no fan of Lupus, the death of a Karō and the chaos that followed could not go unignored.

“Yes, quite. Those little fools aboard that ship have no idea what I just practically gift wrapped them on a silver platter. Not even an ink-ling of what’s about to happen to them, and their ship.” Ikargen laughed. He had to consider himself rather lucky, with three Rangers gone his task was made all the more easier.

Eriedrone rolled his eyes.

“Can the puns will you, Ikargen and actually act with the grace and status your title as one of Dark Matter’s master assassins grants you. I swear, between you and Madako…” Eriedrone grumbled.

“Yes, I apologize. I will not act like such a…” Ikargen trailed off before it seemed he practically had to spit the words out. “Jelly brain like she seems to half the time.”

“I still cannot believe, that Lupus even if he was a spineless coward who abandoned our Lord to die, got defeated by a bunch of Equines from a backwater planet that we thought lifeless years ago!” Eriedrone ranted. “Last I checked, only thing that place was good for was harvesting Planetium with the Moraimars. Still, definitely keeping an eye on it and it’s inhabitants now. Especially with that ‘package’ Lupus managed to deliver to Don Armage before he… passed.” Eriedrone continued, quickly regaining his composure. “Haven’t heard much about it from the main battlefleet, but it seems to have his interest.”

“Anything for our lord and Master to bring balance back to the universe…” Ikargen trailed off. “But no time for speculation, at least for me. I have the luxury of sitting back and watching the show…”

Eriedrone smirked. “I envy you, I only wish I could see the looks on those Paladins faces, especially the former Leo Red’s when their own ship destroys them! I’ll have a fleet on standby, ready to mop up the mess.”

“Shouldn’t be much of one to mop up, Milord, not when all of this is over. Shame really,” Ikargen sighed. “But at least things will be over, quick and simple. And with a grand fireworks show as well!”

Ikargen chuckled as he flew off behind the cover of a passing asteroid. Sometimes, he really loved his job.

Back onboard the Shining Armor, things continued as normal. Flashfire and Jabari were enjoying that concert put on by the ship’s band with the Luna-AI taking up role of the lead singer, with various other instruments like a brass section and a piano giving it a jazzy swing beat. It seemed Luna to everyone’s surprise, had quite the set of pipes.

“Someday you’ll notice – I pray that you’ll realize
These wings on your back aren’t a dream
At last, you’ll have all you need to escape to
The world where you’ll finally be free

“This was all a Cruel Angel’s Thesis from the start
Brought to life, out window now it’s taking flight
Scorching pathos if you betray your memory
Follow this deviant-divine philosophy!”

Flashfire had actually taken up a mare’s offer to dance and although it seemed he had two left hooves, it brought a smile to Luna’s face to actually see the stallion open up more. In the back, near the bar one Fågel/Taurus Black of the parrot species was serving up drinks. She seemed annoyed about something, muttering something under her breath about how the lifts tried to kill her earlier. Jabari noted to have an engineer check that out later.

“What… what is this?” Jabari dared to ask as his fellow Kyuranger served him up something green in a glass.

“Faust if I know, it’s just green and it tastes good!” the parrot remarked with a shrug before going off to serve a pure black griffon with light blue markings around his eyes. The lights flickered a little, along with Luna’s avatar but it seemed to be nothing of notice. May have just been a glitch in the power cells, Jabari resolved to check it out later.

Jabari eyed his drink carefully, before taking a swig and spitting it out right all over a nearby pony’s face.

“Damn lying bird…” he grumbled. “Tastes good my flank!”

He then began to shuffle his hooves and bob his head to the song as he listened in closely to the lyrics, it did seem to be made for them in some ways. Perhaps a bit pretentious, he mused as he began to snap his fingers to the song but it fit.

“Shining more than these stars that bathe the galaxy
Go forth, young boy, and you’ll become a legend

“With grace, and in my embrace
You fall deep into sleep, so tempted to stay
In the morning that falls,
You alone will be called
By message from the realm of dreams…”

He groaned, knowing if Coldcast here that little griffon would have this smug look plastered all over his beak never letting the zorse live this down thinking him of a stallion who rarely left the comforts of a good book. He idly wondered what the griffon was doing, and if it was as any fun as this.

...Coldcast grunted out in pain before his wings unfurled and he rocketed towards Mar’Zek slamming a right hook into his face making him stagger.

“Oh wings, how I’ve missed you so…” Coldcast laughed giddily.

Though it did knock him around, the armour covering his face softened the blow. He snarled and slammed his sword against the ground, causing the parts to dislodge and become part of a razor-sharp whip held together by a light purple stream of energy.

“What, you overcompensating for something?” Spada quipped.

“I have raided more than a thousand worlds. You cannot stand against me and my technology.” He then swung said whip at Spada and Flurry, slicing them repeatedly, but leaving Coldcast alone. The Blue Ranger leaped over the next swing before slicing Mar’Zek from behind and then flying away to avoid the next strike…

“Probably not.” Jabari shrugged. Then, he along with everyone else heard the sound of the ship’s main broadside cannons began to fire.

“What the flying…?” Flashfire trailed off before going for his comms. “This is Commander Flashfire of the Shining Armor hailing the Piercing Arrow! You guys okay over there?”

“Yeah, about as well as can be expected,” a female griffon in the garb of a captain commented over the comms. Mostly white feathered, with blue makeup around her eyes. “Still, what the fuck’s going on over there, you guys just took a potshot at us!”

“Hell if I know, but I’m going to find out. Stripped, you got any idea what’s going on around here, this whole ship seems to be going nuts!”

“Ah…” Stripped trailed off nervously as the lights flickered once more. “I’m afraid I may have. That cosmic snowball you brought in? Yeah, no snowball. It’s… it’s…”

“Well, spit it out! I don’t have all day!” Flashfire barked.

“It’s an egg. A Deathworm egg. Seems a variant of the breed got into the power cells, and now it’s got control over the whole ship. There’s already been power surges and fluctuations in the Nova Drive, engineers are heading down to try and stop that from going but these problems will continue if you don’t kill that thing! Not just major ones like our own laser cannons misfiring, but it’s all the little ones as well such as the projector emitters and the flickering lights! Eventually, this ship will go into core implosion as it tries to compensate for every little glitch in the system. You’ve got to stop this worm, now!”

Flashfire nodded in understanding as the Praetorian guardsmen along with Fågel began directing everyone to safety, gesturing for everyone to proceed in a calm and orderly fashion.

“Great, what else could go wrong?” Flashfire muttered as the cannons fired once more, this time towards the Solar Radiance. Then, he got his answer as the lights all over the ship finally went leaving everyone in pitch black. “...Merde.”

Making their way down to the lower decks with only flashlights and pistols in hand, the two soon found themselves waist deep in water. Slogging through the water, Jabari pointed his pistol every which way anytime he thought he saw movement. As he pointed the flashlight attachment at each corner of the room, all that he could see were the steel walls and the water by his hooves. The only sound being that of the soft hum of the lighting. Pipes lined either side of the zorse’s vision.

“What the hell happened…?” Jabari muttered to himself. “I’ve been down in the maintenance decks before, and they’ve never been flooded.

“Pipe to the Sirens’ tank must have burst open somehow,” Flashfire said with a shrug. “That’s my best guess anyway.”

“So, where do you think those eggs came from?” Jabari wondered. “Think we just drifted into them by accident or did someone leave them there for us? Leave them there hoping we’d pick one up, and take it onboard?”

Flashfire gave him a look, as if to say: “What do you think?”

“Right, seems like just a spot of bad luck but can’t be that. I mean, not really. I’m willing to bet everything I own that one of those two assassins the Doctor warned us about left them there, betting on our own curiosity. And we just played right into his hands…” Jabari muttered. “By the Creator, we’re such a pack of idiots!”

A distant bang filled the area, with metal twisting and crunching accompanying it. Although it was a far-off sound, it was still something to send an icy shiver down both of their spines. The grips on their guns tightened as they tried to trace the noise, only for it to echo and reverberate around them.

“It knows we’re hunting it…” Flashfire murmured to himself. “Cornered animals only get more dangerous in these scenarios, so keep your aim steady and watch your fire. I’m pulling up a map now, should give us a location as to where we are.”

“Thing is, though. Are we hunting it… or is it hunting us?” Jabari asked as he pushed forward through the murky waters with Flashfire.

“You really want an answer to that question?” Flashfire asked. “Okay, there’s a T-Junction up ahead. If luck’s on our side, we should meet up with the creature there.”

“Oh, good,” Jabari muttered sarcastically. “And here I thought you were going to suggest we split up.”

“Faust no!” Flashfire remarked. “I’ve seen a few horror films, and I always know what going off alone leads to!”

“Look. We don’t have time to argue, Flashfire. For all we know, Don Armage could send out another attack, so we need to get this place fixed up as quickly as possible. And if that means having to split up, then we have to take it.” Jabari pulled out his Kyuchanger. “Plus, have you forgotten who we are? We’re a team; one with superpowers. If anything, this monster should be more afraid of us.”

Suddenly, another bang echoed throughout the corridor; this one much louder than before. The audible sound of metal structures collapsing could be heard, with the occasional, slightly inaudible pipe dropping too.

“Oh, that can’t be good…” Flashfire muttered. “Look Jabari, I did some studies on the bodies of the Deathworms we’ve encountered before, back when they were still… alive. You don’t get it, do you? You still don't understand what you're dealing with, do you? The perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility.”

“Please tell me you’re not admiring the abomination?” Jabari deadpanned.

“Hardly,” Flashfire replied simply. “I’m just stating the facts as presented to us.”

“...And it’s normally Stripped Gear who’s doing that, sounding so cold and blunt. You sure you haven’t been spending too much time around him?”

“He’s your boss, not mine. I should be asking you the very same-” Flashfire trailed off before holding up his hand in a motion for silence. “Hold up, what’s that? Swore I heard something.”

He was met with nothing but silence. The only thing that had changed was the scent. What had remained a silent, aroma-less, flooded corridor, was now coated in a thick scent. An acrid, vile, horrific scent that permeated both of their nostrils and wormed its’ way through Flashfire and Jabari’s bodily systems.

“Oh, par Faust c'est le rang!” Flashfire muttered in a tone of disgust. “Well, if anything, we know we’re close.”

“Yeah, that sounds so reassuring…” Jabari muttered. Something shrieked in the background, sounding like it was coming from all around them, and neither Jabari nor Flashfire knew which way to point their weapons.

“Alright, enough of this fumbling about in the dark!” Flashfire muttered before holding up the Pyxis Kyutama and placing it into his gauntlet. Soon a golden compass projected itself in front of him, before pointing towards the direction of the Deathworm, down yet another pipelined corridor.

And sure enough, another noise came. Only this time, it was the closest of all. Multiple crashes sounded, with metal being torn up almost rhythmically. However, despite the compass tracking the Deathworm’s position, it wasn’t there, even though the noise got closer and closer to Jabari and Flashfire.

“Oh, I’ve got a bad feeling about this…” Flashfire muttered. “Says we’re right on top of it, and yet…”

“Oh no,” Jabari muttered as his eyes widened in realization. “It’s a deck below us! Move, now!”

As soon as he stopped talking, the Deathworm erupted from the ground beneath him and smashed Jabari into the ceiling. It watched as he fell back down, straight over his gaping maws. Shots hit the Deathworm, and it whirled it’s three heads to look Flashfire right in the eyes.

“Alright, you bitch…” Flashfire muttered. “You want to eat something? How about me for a change? I’m nice and tasty, aren’t I?”

Snarling and howling in its’ tongue, the Deathworm charged towards Flashfire, flailing around wildly as it took shot after shot after shot. Unlike the others he had seen, the blaster fire either bounced off of it, or barely did anything to stagger it. Also, instead of the golden scales the Deathworms usually bore, this one was covered in a sharp silver hide.

As the Deathworm launched a green beam of energy from its central eye, Flashfire switched out for the Scutum Kyutama and projected a light blue shield of hard light energy in front of him. The beam bore against the shield, but did nothing to penetrate it. As it tried to intensify the ray, all that it ended up achieving was the shield reflecting the beam around the corridor, tearing through more of the hulls in the process.

Suddenly, a barrage of pink energy shots bounced off the Deathworm’s back, with Jabari firing shot after shot from his pistol.

“Hey, ugly! Yeah, I’m talking to you! Get away from the commander!” Jabari shouted, catching the creature’s attention.

The Deathworm barreled towards Jabari, prompting him to let loose another string of shots. Knowing what would happen, the zorse used the Serpens Kyutama and let loose manifestations of silver snakes that swarmed the Deathworm. Jabari smirked.

“You know, back in the Galaxy Garrison, everyone used to make assumptions about me, and they were mostly wrong ones. About how I was this little nerd who’d never amount to anything,” Jabari stated as a plan began to form in his mind. He knew of one thing exactly that could bite down on that thing’s hide and rip it in half. “They’re still wrong.”

Mouthing something to Flashfire, the unicorn nodded and went for his comms. “Stripped, the teleportation system still up and running? Got a plan to deal with this thing!”

“Not in the slightest, but buy me a bit of time and I’ll see if I can get it back up and running! Nimbus, give me a hand over here! This isn’t a one-pony job!” Stripped’s voice barked out.

The Deathworm mounted another attack, and this time, he managed to grab hold of Jabari. He tried to shoot the shots from his blaster into the thing’s mouths, as it was clear that the hide wouldn’t be penetrated. As he went for the gun and tried to get a clear shot, however, the beast thrashed and flailed around as it tried to claw him apart, and his shots were diverted around the room. One light went, then the other, and before they knew it, the whole area was blanketed in total darkness. Neither of them could see anything, and all they could hear was the angry howling and thrashing of the Deathworm.

Jabari and Flashfire ran for it, using the holographic map projected by the Pyxis Kyutama as their only guide through the maze of tunnels.

The Deathworm continued to hound them, its’ cries and echoes ringing out through the darkened maze of tunnels. More and more parts of the ship were torn apart in the process. And once again, the reverb masked its’ position. It could have been right in front of them, or miles behind.

“Okay, okay…” Flashfire muttered to himself. “Should be just around this next junction.”

He turned as soon as the compass pointed to the left and with Jabari following and soon the two were in a small room that was basically the filtration control area of the ship’s pool. A small little hole filled with water was in front of them, and from behind came a screeching sound.

“On three,” Flashfire said as he and Jabari morphed. “One, two, three!” he said, leaping into the pool with Jabari following. A crashing sound followed as the Deathworm entered, and Flashfire smirked.

“Now, we’ve got you right where we want you…” he trailed off, before using the Andromeda Kyutama to bind the monster in thick unbreakable chains. “NOW!”

A loud roar was heard, and the next thing the Deathworm knew was a set of razor-sharp teeth biting down on it, hard. The very distinctive teal-blue eyes of Crescendo glinted in the murky waters before she and her sisters pulled the creature apart with Jabari and Flashfire looking away not wanting to see what was happening.

“Oh, she’s so getting fed a bucket load of Calamari after this, and a personal performance of Au Clair de la Lune from me and Bloody Rose.” Jabari thought to himself. Later that next day, the Rangers as ship repairs got underway, readied to fire the Cancer Cannon and retrieve Flurry and the others from whatever alternate universe they’d landed in. Suddenly, Stripped Gear began swearing profusely at the top of his lungs.

“What? What is it?” Flashfire asked urgently, a small part of him beginning to panic.

“Faust damn it all! That Deathworm knocked the targeting systems all out of whack! I can’t get a lock on the dimensional rifts!” Stripped exclaimed before a thoughtful expression cast itself upon his face. “At least… the ship can’t.”

“Already ahead of you,” Flashfire smirked. “Voyagers, scramble! The AIs are still being rebooted, so we’re going to have to do this combination manually!” he ordered, as he teleported into his Voyager and was launched from the hanger being thrown back into his seat by the sheer force of the propulsion.

Soon, parts began to shift and change as the Libra, Serpent, Bull and Eagle Voyagers attached themselves to ports on the Shooting Star Megazord and the Cancer Claw Cannon was teleported into its hands.

“Locking on…” Flashfire said. “3, 2, 1… Fire!” he ordered, before the Megazord pulled the trigger and the power of all three Kyutamas used to create this cannon combined and fired a massive red claw of energy that pried open the wormhole once more. Flashfire let out a sigh of relief as he picked up a familiar signature.

“Thank Faust, thought we’d never get in touch with you Princess!” Flashfire sighed in relief. “Whatever you’re doing, best you drop it ‘cause we can only hold this portal open for so long! I was never worried of course, but-”

“Liar, he was pacing back and forth in his quarters for hours!” Jabari’s voice chimed in.

“S-Shut up!” Flashfire stammered out, his face turning pink. Soon, he let out a sigh of relief as he saw the distinctive forms of the Chameleon, Wolf and Draco Voyagers appearing through the wormhole and finally let himself relax. They were home. She was home.

“So, anything interesting happen while we were gone?” Flurry had to ask, raising an eyebrow at the Megazord holding what looked to be a massive cannon.

“Well…” Flashfire trailed off as he and Jabari shared a look.

Author's Notes:

Okay, first off huge thanks to Shadowmane PX-41 for his help on the final stretch of this chapter, the one that's one big walking homage to the Aliens franchise. Actually, I should mention this chapter takes place alongside his Equestrian Rangers chapter, "The Stars Align" which details what Flurry and the others were up to. Go read it if you haven't already. Link below.

/story/368556/13/equestria-rangers/the-stars-align-crossover-with-the-bricklayer

Anyways, aiming for a Flashfire focused chapter here, although I admit Jabari got quite a bit of focus as well. Not sure if he stole the spotlight or not. That's up for you to decide, really.

Part 10: Into the Mists

The Shining Armor

Groaning, Flashfire flopped himself down into his bed, not even bothering to undress himself. He’d just been out a meeting with the rest of the important members of the ship’s crew in Flurry’s ready room. The Equestrian Star, damaged from cannon blasts. Same story with the Orion, the Piercing Arrow, and the Solar Radiance. And that wasn’t counting the internal damage the Shining Armor itself had suffered thanks to the Deathworm’s rampage. While it never actually got control over the ship per say, this particular breed of creature seemingly had a natural electric current running through it’s body. Threw it’s tendrils in various primary systems, overloaded them and made everything go haywire.

“Damage report coming up now,” the Twilight-AI told him. “You want me to put it up onscreen or…”

“Stave it off till tomorrow, I’m exhausted really. Merde, we all are with all these repairs that need to be done. Stupid, silly mistake investigating those Deathworm eggs like Sherlock Hooves wannabees, even stupider to bring one onboard,” Flashfire grumbled, with the Twilight-AI running her fingers through his mane in a comforting manner. “We got lucky, no other way of saying it. We just got lucky that we managed to stop that one that got aboard thanks to our own stupidity, and even luckier that we had the good sense to grab only one of those and not the whole cache.”

“Stupidity?” the Twilight-AI questioned. “Was it really? Because Deathworms, and this is only a theory mind you given what I’ve seen so far, but Dark Matter seems to have complete and utter control over the species. How do you know those eggs weren’t left out there for us? I mean, the Doctor said we’ve got assassins after us now, how do you know they didn’t plan on banking on our curiosity?”

“...That makes me feel slightly better, but not by much. I mean, we still brought the damn things aboard right?” Flashfire asked before getting up out of his bed and going over to a replicator and asking for coffee, black. Taking a sip of his drink, and thanking Celestia it hadn’t been replaced with a plant or something like he heard Coldcast’s alcohol had a few days before. Some of the synthesizing machines still were on the fritz apparently. Another job for the chief engineer. If the gal wasn’t so quiet and didn’t like him so much, Flashfire suspected she’d have honestly exploded at him by now. And broken food and drink synthesizers weren’t the only problems. Just a few hours ago, he’d been witness to an argument between the chief medical examiner and his drafted nurse in Spada.

“The knitter isn't working!” Lightspeed had shouted at the Changeling in a bout of frustration while helping an engineer who’d been caught in a small accident not that long before.

“Try a splint, then,” Spada had suggested, only to receive a look of confusion.

“A splint?” the dark red stallion mouthed.

“Yes, a splint. It's a very ancient concept. Honestly, by the Hive Mother I wonder how you got appointed without basic knowledge of older medical practices,” Spade snapped in frustration, before taking a deep breath. “You take two flat pieces of wood or plastic, a bandage. The broken limb is kept immobile. I’ve had to do this a few times back on Equus in my hive with a few of the younger grubs at times when they broke something. Crude yes, but it’s effective enough and all we got till medical bay systems are repaired.” he continued, with Lightspeed giving him a bewildered look.

“That's crazy! That's not practicing medicine!” he exclaimed, with Spada facepalming and then making a noise of frustration muttering under his breath about how ludicrous it was a simple cook was more qualified for this job right now than someone who learned actual medicinal practices. Needless to say, tempers and nerves were at an all-time high. What Flashfire suspected was everyone needing some time away from the ship to relax and unwind, but that was obviously impossible for multiple reasons.

“Oh, yes it is! It's a time-honored way to practice medicine: with your head, and your heart, and your hands. So jump to it!” Spade had barked and Flashfire was snapped back to the present via Twilight’s voice.

“Yes, you did, but you didn’t have any way of knowing they were alien eggs did you?” Twilight asked him with Flashfire grumbling out a reply as he went over his daily report that he was supposed to send to Flurry. “Get some rest, I’ll finish this up for you.”

“No, no need. I’m supposed to do this damn thing anyways,” Flashfire replied, and Twilight chuckled. Flashfire gave the holographic projection a look. “What’s so funny?” he had to ask.

Twilight stifled another giggle. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were romantically interested in my niece. I mean, you’re loyal to a fault to her, and you’re always striving to impress her.”

Flashfire was rendered speechless for a few minutes, unable to ponder where the hell Twilight even got that assumption. It was just simple loyalty to one’s boss, that’s all it was. And striving to impress bit? That was a simple part of his nature, from a young age he’d always had this drive to be the best at whatever he set out to do, so much so that he often got called ‘Teacher’s pet’ more than a few times as he went through school. Not that he particularly cared, as he knew if he wanted to be one of the ones making it as a pilot for the long talked about and theorized Voyagers being just good enough to make it by would not be acceptable. No, he had to be one of the best of the best. That’s all there was to it.

“For all the good it does, she’s practically unapproachable. And besides, even if I was interested in her, which I’m not,” Flashfire replied. “She’s so out of my age range it’s not even funny. I mean, she’s billions of years older than I am!” he proclaimed, and Twilight probably would have chuckled if she could read his thoughts. He was contradicting himself, and he knew it. He admitted if only to himself as saying it aloud would cause no end of remarks, that Flurry was, in fact, a very beautiful mare. So what if she was a bit stern? She had to be in her position, fooling around like an idiot -Stardust’s face popped into Flashfire’s mind about then- was quite unbecoming of a Princess.

“Same could be said about Celestia when I started dating her…” Twilight reminded him. “Age is but a number for immortals right?”

“...Since when did this become a discussion about my romantic life?” Flashfire asked. “This was supposed to be a discussion about damage reports!”

“I heard no discussion of the kind,” Twilight replied with a small smirk. “But, alright. I’ll oblige you and stop nagging at you about this. Instead, I have other suggestions. Stripped wanted me to inform you that there’s this very dense nebula nearby, gases so thick that any sensors on Dark Matter ships would find it impossible for them to breach it. Would make a good hiding spot till repairs are completed on the colony ships. Worth a thought.”

“I made an error in judgment, Twilight. It was short-sighted and it was selfish, all just to satisfy my own curiosity. Our own curiosity. And now all of us are paying for my mistake,” Flashfire muttered. “So yeah, it’s more than worth a thought to entertain. I’ll send this up the ladder to Flurry and Stardust, ask them to direct the ships to that nebula and chart a course for it. For the next few days, that’ll be our little hideaway, and once repairs are complete we’ll make a break for the next system,” Flashfire remarked, writing this down on his datapad for the daily report. “Bring the nebula up onscreen, will you? I want to see just what we’re getting ourselves into.”

Twilight, pressing a few buttons brought up the nearby nebula on a nearby viewscreen. It was a beautiful sight really, dark swirling clouds of midnight blue and purple hues that dwarfed the massive colony ships, perfect for them to hide in with nobody being the wiser.

So transfixed by it’s beauty was he, Flashfire was deathly silent for the next several minutes.

“...Something wrong?” Twilight asked, laying a hand on his shoulder.

“No, it’s nothing,” Flashfire replied, with a small smile and a shake of the head. “It’s just so… Well, I don’t know how to describe it properly, except perhaps elegant. But no time for gazing at the scenery porn, we’ve got a job to do.”

“No,” Twilight replied. “I’ve got a job to do, your job is to get some rest. You’re exhausted, and there’s no room for a tired commander in the Paladins, so get some sleep and whatever plans you have, we’ll go over with them in the morning.”

“But-”

But Twilight was having none of it, and she simply pressed a finger to his forehead and in almost an instant Flashfire fell back into his bed eyes closed and snoring softly. Twilight smiled, before shutting out the lights and dispersing herself.

That next morning, in the ready room Flashfire made a radical proposal. He’d been thinking about this all throughout breakfast, and had come to the conclusion that it was the only possible viable scenario.

“I think it’s time we start looking into other options,” he remarked, with Flurry, Stardust and the other Paladins looking at him.

“Other options?” Stardust asked. “Please elaborate.”

“Think about it,” Flashfire commented, gesturing to the nebula outside. “For the time being, we may as well be sitting ducks. Our ships are damaged, and we don’t even know if hiding in this nebula will work.”

“Twilight’s ran the calculations,” Stardust replied. “She says that Dark Matter’s sensors shouldn’t be able to penetrate any of this.”

“Yes, but she’s only using calculations based on what we know so far,” Jabari pointed out, seeing exactly where Flashfire was going with this. “I mean, those ships we encountered in Lupus’ fleet? Hellishly powerful and frighteningly dangerous yes, but for all we know Dark Matter may have even more powerful ships with even more advanced sensors. For all Twilight knows, for all we know, we could be just sitting at the tip of the iceberg. They could find us, as I doubt they’re particularly happy about us blowing one of their rulers to space dust,” he agreed. “We need to start forming a coalition, gather allies if only for our own safety as we travel across the universe. And fight back against Dark Matter.”

“Wait, wait…” Fågel piped up, the parrot looking uncharastically nervous. “I’m one for kicking ass, but who died and appointed us guardians of the universe? I mean, we’re just five ships and a couple hundred starfighters plus two mecha against 87 Galaxies worth of tyrants. We got lucky the first time, who’s to say the second will be the same?”

“Exactly, 87 galaxies worth,” Flashfire stated. “Now, call me crazy, but isn’t in the job description of the Element of Kindness to free people from a cruel dictator? Hell, isn’t it in the job of any Element of Harmony to save Equus and her allies? Our planet may be gone, but it’s just a ball of rock and dust in the end. Equus is a people, and apologies in advance if I sound preachy here like some sorta cosmic messiah but our job as Element Bearers and embodiments of the Magic of Friendship is to extend that idea to other races, and stop evil wherever it hides. Am I not wrong?” he asked.

A silence permeated the room for several odd minutes, but finally, it was broken when Flurry nickered. “May be the damn death of us as a race, but…” she sighed before pressing a button on her chair opening up a comm channel to Summer Afterglow, the Kirin in charge of navigations. “Summer, find us the nearest inhabited planet, I’d like to know who we share our galaxy with.”

“On it!” a perky feminine voice cried. “Seems there’s this planet, Vera it’s called in the local tongue. Water world for the most part, detecting a few villages on the coastlines. Not much, but could be worth a look.”

“Okyu then,” Flashfire piped up, before internally groaning at his usage of that terrible pun before groaning some more as Stardust gleamed. “Prepare an away team. Spada, Stripped, Doctor, you’re with me. Doctor, I’m going to need you as a guide, you’ve faced the Dark Matter Empire, what are we likely to expect?”

“Planets, they’re ruled by the local Magistrates placed there by Karōs. Your basic oppressive tyrant, designed to do anything they can to keep the locals in line. Of course, now that the Karō is dead,” he commented, with both him and Coldcast sharing a smirk. “Things have likely devolved into chaos, with the Magistrate trying to do anything and everything in his power to show he should be next in line for ruling this Galaxy.”

“Well, we’ll just have to knock him off his pedestal won’t we?” Stripped remarked. “Count me in, always up for a good explore!”

“Well then, you heard the man,” the Doctor exclaimed. “Let’s get to our Voyagers and start extending the hand of friendship eh?”

As they walked to the hanger bay, the Doctor searched through his memories as to who might have been the local Magistrate. “Okay… Okay, Planet Vera. Goneshi, if things haven’t changed should be the one manipulating things down there. Just look for the guy dressed like a scuba diver, that'd be the one. He’s easy enough to spot.” the Doctor remarked. “Very egotistical. He loves to be in charge. It’s all about him, in his mind.”

“Ah, the narcissistic type,” Stripped remarked. “Should be easy enough to take care of, we’ll just hold up a giant mirror and ask him to look at himself before we blast him.”

“Oh, if it were only so easy…” the Doctor remarked as he entered his Voyager’s cockpit and began bringing systems online with presses of buttons. “He’s narcissistic like any good dictator yes, but far from stupid. You don’t rule over an entire planet’s populace by getting stupid. Chances are, he’s likely holed up in his ship which he’s placed somewhere out of sight. I’ve run into this guy before, on another planet. His distinctive appearance makes him easy to find, so he hides and controls things on a planet from the shadows through various means. One time, it was a puppet ruler. Rassilon only knows what he’s doing this time.”

“Well, whatever it is,” Flashfire remarked. “We’ll just have to put a stop to it. All Rangers, call in. Cerberus Seagreen ready.” he stated, as engines began to fire up with a whir and a hum.

“Libra Gold ready. Allons-Y!” the Doctor proclaimed

“Dorado Yellow, ready,” Stripped put in. “Switching on marine armaments. Harpoons and depth charges at the ready.”

“Chameleon Green ready,” Spada put in. “Commander, I assume you want me to extend my Voyager’s cloaking field to the other ships so we don’t arouse suspicion?”

“Mhmm,” Flashfire nodded as the bay doors open. “Now, engage.”

With that, all four ships rocketed out of the Shining Armor and their pilots readied themselves for whatever was to come.

Almost as soon as the foursome entered the atmosphere, vision became more or less a fantasy as surrounding the four ships on all sides was a thick heavy fog, probably created thanks to the planet’s natural weather patterns. With a small yelp, Flashfire maneuvered his Voyager just in time to avoid smashing his ship into a mountain peak.

“All scanners, set to wide range. Radar, give us a map of the area!” Stripped said. “Echolocation activated, plugging in Delphinus Kyutama for full maximization of their abilities,” As the unicorn activated his Kyutama along with everything else onboard, a wave of energy from the Swordfish Voyager was projected, and a map of the area around them, mountains included was projected allowing safe passage through the fog-covered terrain. “Okay, seeing a safe spot for us to set down just a few clicks ahead. There’s a village nearby as well, I’d say we talk to the natives. Figure out what’s going on here.”

“I agree,” the Doctor put in as the scale-themed Voyager set itself down. “Vera, it’s known for it’s crystal clear waters and yet what I’m detecting can only be described as sludge. Something’s polluting this place, and I have a sneaking suspicion as to what…”

“Goneshi?” Flashfire asked, and the Doctor gave a grunt of confirmation. “Well, least we know he’s around.” the unicorn continued as the group made their way down a mountain pass to the coastline, where a small village had been set up with the buildings made out of a combination of various gathered stones and wooden logs. Various fish-like creatures -Vaguely reminding Flashfire of the inhabitants of Klugetown- were gathered around a small altar, praying to some sorta god.

“...First alien civilization we meet, and it’s crap,” Stripped muttered, before the Doctor slapped him over the head.

“Oi, be nice eh? You really need to stop setting your expectations so high! Not every civilization is going to be high-rise buildings with technology beyond your own. Some of these, just starting to walk!”

“Doc’s right,” Spada remarked. “I mean, take what you’re given. Personally, I think standing on the shores of another world, quite literally in this case, is just eccezionale!”

“You lot are so easy to please…” Stripped huffed, crossing his arms. “Now say, what’s going on here? Can’t be praying for rain, now can they? Place is wet enough as it is, really…”

“Well, let’s just keep quiet and listen, shall we?” Flashfire asked, gesturing for everyone to take cover behind a rock as a low moan echoed across the bay.

Suddenly, from out of the mists came a truly massive form, a humpbacked creature with a long neck and a tiny head with two glowing yellow eyes.

“...Okay, so what is that?” Stripped muttered while Spada crossed himself and murmured: “Dalla madre di Hive…”

“Your tributes are not enough!” a deep voice bellowed from the creature. “How am I supposed to cleanse your seas if I am not well fed!”

“I’m sorry, but the fish, we can’t catch enough of them thanks to these waters! What little we’ve given you on offer, that’s barely enough to feed you, let alone our families! Please Lord Dialos! Just… Just give us a little more time!” the elderly shark-like village chieftain pleaded, clutching onto his staff.

“Your bargaining posture is highly dubious,” the creature remarked. “But very well, you have just one week to pay up, or I shall leave this place and never return…” he warned, before vanishing once more into the mists just as quickly as he’d appeared.

“Some God…” Spada muttered in disgust. “Hardly the merciful sort! Asking for more food than they can provide, and then bidding them ciao if they refuse!”

“Odd really,” the Doctor mused, rubbing his chin in thought. “I thought the people of Vera had grown past worshipping gods of any sort,”

“Well, desperation drives ponies to do strange things, really,” Flashfire mused. “Their seas are filled with a toxic sludge, and from that they can barely find enough food to feed themselves so I suppose turning to prayer isn’t that odd… Still, I’d want to talk to the villagers, find out what’s truly going on around here. Shall we?” he asked, and nobody disagreed. “Quite. Allons-Y!”

Their arrival was treated with whispers and fearful glances, some of the villagers pointing to Flashfire and Stripped’s horns and the whispers only increased, some beginning to think witchcraft was responsible for the poisoning of the seas.

“People of Vela, we only come in good faith,” Flashfire said, mustering up all the diplomatic skills he’d been taught over the years. “I apologize for the sudden entrance, but really, we bring you no harm. Fact is, we wanted to talk actually.”

“Or poison our waters even more!” one villager shouted, reaching for his trident but Flashfire didn’t flinch, and with a movement of his hand pushed it away. He didn’t look particularly perturbed at the bows and arrows aimed at him either. As ever, he kept cool and calm under pressure. No sense in panicking, considering if he did that in any situation -even one as minor as this- that panic might spread to his teammates.

“I assure you, had nothing to do with that. Fact is, we’re just as curious as to what’s going on here as you are really,” Flashfire replied. “Name’s Flashfire Lulamoon of the starship Shining Armor and these are my friends Spada, Stripped Gear and the Doctor. Bit cold around here, is this normal for your planet?”

“I apologize,” the village chieftain said. “You came at a really bad time of year, the wet season always brings rather chilly temperatures. Good for fishing the local waters, but not much else. Alas, we don’t even have that particular luxury now…”

“Well, might be able to mend that if only a little,” Flashfire said, pulling out one of his personal favorite Kyutamas, -The other two being Andromeda and Lyra- a bright orange orb with a flame on it. This one used the powers of the Ara constellation and projected a hearth crackling with a warm flame. He looked towards Spada, with the yellow Changeling nodding and pulling out the Pisces Kyutama which created a massive fish and with a few quick movements of a kitchen knife he filleted it and began cooking it over a spit. “Never let it be said that I don’t try to help those in need.”

“How…?” the chieftain asked as the villagers gasped in awe. Stripped’s eyes narrowed slightly, it always struck him as odd that Flashfire favored Kyutamas to perform tasks like lighting a fire, teleporting in a fish or binding something in iron chains when all of these things could easily enough be done via simple spellwork. Fact was, he’d rarely seen Flashfire use magic compared to some of the other unicorns aboard the Shining Armor.

Spada bowed. “Molto Bene, all in a day’s work for yours truly!” he proclaimed in glee, just soaking up the praise.

“They’re called Kyutamas, they harness the powers of the 88 constellations. Not entirely sure how they work, you’d have to ask Stripped Gear over there for that,” Flashfire continued ignoring Spada’s showboating, and looked towards the coastline where Stripped was investigating the waters with a hand-held scanning device with the Microscopium Kyutama attached to it. Flashfire sighed and rubbed his temples. “I apologize, the man gets caught up with his work a bit too much at times.”

The chieftain laughed. “It’s okay, I know the feeling. Why, when I was a young lad, I was the village’s chief hunter and was constantly devising new ways of catching food. Some ideas worked, some didn’t.”

“So, what’s with the sea god thing?” the Doctor remarked. “Gotta ask. Been here once before, and as far as I remember you lot never prayed to any ‘Dialos’. Fact is, I’ve never even heard of this Dialos. I've seen fake gods and bad gods and demigods and would-be gods; out of all that, out of that whole pantheon I’ve never even seen or heard of this guy until today.”

“Smart money’s on the would-be god…” Spada muttered to Flashfire, who only nodded.

“Well,” Flashfire commented in return. “I’d be a fool to take that bet. Several kinds of fool really. But back to the Doctor’s original question, how’d this all start anyways?” he remarked, turning back to the village chieftain. “I mean, it’s not like you just woke up one day and found that your water was poisoned and started praying to some new god who just conveniently showed up out of nowhere?” he drawled.

The chieftain's expression said it all, and Flashfire could only facepalm before muttering: “Tell people there's an invisible man in the sky who created the universe, and the vast majority will believe you. Tell them the paint is wet, and they have to touch it to be sure...” to himself. “There’s a famous saying, and that’s: “There’s a sucker born every minute.” To be frank sir, you are the sucker in this situation.” Flashfire remarked, and the chieftain seemed to think this over for a few minutes, before his eyes widened.

“...No, no it can’t be.” the chieftain whispered.

“Fear’s a very powerful motivator in the hands of a con artist. And I think that’s exactly what we’re dealing with here, a simple flim-flam artist,” Flashfire remarked. “Granted, he has a lot of style and showmanship but a con artist nonetheless who’s just using your fear to feed his lazy arse. All the warning signs were there, you just failed to heed them. Stripped, your scans please?”

“Yes, yes…” Stripped remarked. “While I don’t have scans of the water molecules when they weren’t polluted, and I’ll have to go by the theory that all H20 molecules in the universe no matter the planet are the same here, the molecules I got from the water?” he commented, sucking in a breath. “Suffice to say they’re not exactly what you call pretty. Fact is, I compared them to the output of molecules put out by Dark Matter ships and the similarities are striking. Frightening even. There’s a Moraimarz out in those waters somewhere, and I know it. I’d stake my reputation on it.”

“If what you’re saying is true, and we’ve all been had,” the chieftain spoke up, gesturing to his villagers and some alarmingly low caches of fish. “How do we stop this so-called god, unmask him in front of my people who I’m afraid are far more gullible than I am? You must understand, my reputation is on the line here, I was the first to believe in this guy and so they followed. Flashfire, Stripped, for all your wisdom, how can you help us?”

For that, neither had an answer.

Night came, and even as Spada continued to feed the villagers with fresh fish instead of the stuff that had been dredged up out of the polluted waters, Stripped and Flashfire sat on a hillside observing the village trying to come up with a solution to everyone’s woes.

“Well, this is a predicament really, isn’t it?” Stripped remarked, as he leaned on the doorway of a small stone hut. “Obviously, we can’t just go up and blast the Moraimarz to pieces. Okay, we could, but if the Doctor’s right and I have no reason to doubt his credulity we’d have to take in the worry that the Moraimarz could assume its mecha form. And as there’s not enough Voyagers to form a mecha and thanks to the cloud cover we can’t send up a signal to the Armor for backup.”

“Well, that’s the thing about the Moraimarz,” Flashfire remarked. “I’d assume like our Megazords it’d have to have someone inside it for the Moraimarz to assume a mecha form. So, if we could draw Goneshi -as really, who else could it be?- away from his ship then you could go and take the Swordfish Voyager and blast the Moraimarz to pieces with depth charges, torpedos or whatever you would wish to use,” he continued, rubbing his temples. “But there’s our second problem, isn’t there? The chieftain. If we did this, we’d just ruin his reputation amongst his villagers.”

“Bah, who cares?” Stripped remarked. “In my honest to Faust opinion, If we had to earn our age by thinking for ourselves at least once a year, only a handful of people would reach adulthood. I thought that about our planet, seems to hold true for the rest of the universe as well eh? They, and by that I mean those damn villagers, learn to need to think for themselves instead of just following the whims of whoever comes their way. They’ve fallen for one false god before, who’s to say they won’t again? Look, I get that they need a village leader to guide them through the hard times, but treating him like a god? Mite foolish if you ask me. Of course, let’s talk about the real problem here, and that’s namely you.” Stripped remarked, turning to look at Flashfire.

“...Okay, how can I be the real problem?” Flashfire replied eyes narrowed.

“You’ve been put under a lot of pressure lately. Between this bout of foolishness, the deathworm and leading a militia of freedom fighters? Surprised you haven’t cracked like an egg,” Stripped remarked. “You know, I could relieve some of the pressure if you want…?”

“If you’re talking about rutting me hate to say it but I view you as just a friend man,” Flashfire remarked. “Try Jabari though, pretty sure he’s gay given he opted to be the Pink Ranger,” the unicorn deadpanned, and Stripped burst out laughing.

“Well, dunno why your mind automatically gravitated to me rutting you, that’s something for the ship’s consular not me, but what I was talking about was taking over as leader of the Paladins, if only for a little bit,”

“You?” Flashfire laughed. “You’d be too stuck up in your lab to lead a militia force, you’d be thinking over plans for days before even launching an attack on Dark Matter!” he scoffed and Stripped burst out laughing in return.

“And here I thought you were too tightly wound to even have a sense of humor. But you’re right, too thinky to actually be much of a leader and concoct battle plans on the fly if need be. We’d need someone with the right amount of brains, but someone who’s still crazy and determined enough to do something stupid if need be. But that doesn’t detract from my point,” Stripped remarked. “You’re under way too much pressure, far more than any pony should be put under. Everyone’s just looking to you for answers half the time, and I’m just afraid there’ll come a time when you won’t have any.”

“...And you’re probably absolutely right as always,” Flashfire muttered, wringing his hair in frustration. “You’re right, everyone’s constantly looking towards me for an answer and merde, one day I probably will crack like an egg under all of it. I’m supposed to be the calm, cool, collected leader of the Paladins, not this guy who’s possibly tipping towards the edge of insanity. Barely get a chance to relax, and be myself. No, I always have to be on call, 24 hours a day. Don’t know how Flurry manages it, don’t know how Stardust manages it but they pull it off and they’ve got even bigger responsibilities than I do!”

“Like I said, that’s where the shadow leader comes in,” Stripped replied. “Now, I don’t mean me, but find someone you can trust explicitly and delve off some of your duties to them. A Number One, if you will. You’re Flurry’s Number One, who’s to say you can’t have one of your own?”

“I’ll… I’ll think on it,” Flashfire admitted. “But for now, we have a problem to solve. How can we get old fishface far enough away from his ship for you to go in and blow it out of the water?” he asked, before snapping his fingers in remembrance of an earlier portion of the conversation. “False gods, that’s it!”

“...Okay, I’m a genius, and even I admit I’m not following you.” Stripped remarked.

“Think about it, if this guy wants to keep up appearances as a god, how would he react if these villagers got themselves someone new to worship? Like, say, a hero from beyond the stars…?” Flashfire said, pressing a button on his belt that ejected a Kyutama. One yellow in color, with a crown on it, Flashfire idly tossing it up in the air.

“Okay, I like the way you’re thinking, but how are you going to get the villagers to follow you? They believe Dialos is a god, their true god. Their savior even!”

“Just leave that to me, I just have to expose Dialos for the charade he is, and the whole thing should come crumblin’ down.”

“Veleens,” Flashfire sneered in a mocking tone, wearing a crown atop his head and red robes around his body. He grabbed a large piece of fish off of a nearby table and ripped it in half, placing the two halves on either side of his muzzle. “You all act the same—” his accent was forced, thick, and brought immense shame to everyone of the nationality tenfold— “always so predictable and filthy in the ways you act. You destroy, loot, pillage, and track dirt across the carpets you spend thousands of hours just to make!” He threw the fish to the side and flopped onto his back. “My, this is ever so lush! Did you make it with the hide of your wife’s boyfriend?”

A deafening silence befell the village, with some of the onlookers blinking and at least one cough shattering it all for a brief moment. Flashfire felt his mind race. Clearly desperate times call for desperate measures. He bolted upright and looked around, his eyes eventually landing on a solid gold idol of the one he hated the most. With a forced, exaggerate trot, he approached it and glanced down at it. A smirk etched itself onto his face as he turned around.

The onlookers gasped. Some proceeded to faint. One of them vomited. At least two children cried. The elderly fled, leaving clouds of dust in their wake. The chieftain looked on, with this unreadable expression on his face. “Flashfire, I hope you know what you’re doing…” he thought.

“I love the relief one feels after a long day of work.”

“You’re pissing on the idol of Lord Dialos,” an onlooker said.

“It’s the Equestrian way,” Flashfire remarked before thinking to himself: “Come on Stripped, better hurry on up here and find Goneshi’s ship, this is about the most vulgar five minutes of my life I’ve ever spent, and I’m about to die of embarrassment here!”

Far below the coastline, Stripped inside the Swordfish Voyager was scanning the waters for anything that even resembled a Moraimarz, until finally his ship’s sensors pinged wildly and the unicorn smirked before firing a set of twin torpedos at the massive ship just as he saw a figure swim away from it.

Above, Lord Dialos had made his appearance, humpbacked creature form and all. “You petulant fool!” His voice tore through the air, sending many of those that looked on in awe flying back.

Not Flashfire though. He stood proudly, a comically large smile on his face. He adjusted his crown and cleared his throat. “That’s God-King Petulant Fool to you, oh-glorious false one!” He walked up to Dialos, thanking the stars for the many hours he’d done practicing theatre. “Bow before the one-true false one!”

Dialos furrowed his brow. “You dare call me a false god!?” he roared. “You shall die like the rest who have called me a false-false god!”

Flashfire sidestepped out the way of Dialos’ false flipper, brushing off any dust that had landed on it from the false one’s destructive attack. “No!” he proudly proclaimed once his cloak as pristine as his toothy grin. “I am the true-false one and you’re the false-false one!”

“Impossible!” Dialos barked. “I’m the true-false one and you’re the false-false one!”

A sudden sensation of god-like stupidity overcame ‘Dialos’ as Flashfire smirked and raised his Kyuchanger and placed a sea-blue Kyutama in it. Firing a stream of water from his weapon, Flashfire aimed the stream at ‘Dialos’. From his hiding place in on of the village huts, the Doctor now noted the Corona Borealis Kyutama had been swapped out for one depicting a river, probably that of Eridanus.

“...Did Stripped really make a Kyutama for every one of the 88 modern constellations?” the Doctor whispered to Spada, who only shrugged.

“He’s a scientist, even they get bored sometimes.” Spada shrugged, before he grimaced upon seeing Goneshi’s true form. That giant monster he first appeared as? Just a small little model atop his head, which was covered in some dripping pink goo that partially obscured his face. The rest of the creature’s body was covered in portholes, all sorts of tubing and the feet were two flippers, making him resemble a diver just as the Doctor had described. “...Mio Dio, there’s ugly and then there’s that.”

“You're… You're no God!” Goneshi exclaimed in shock, desperately trying to keep up the rapidly failing ruse. “Veleens, seize this false idol!”

But nobody was having any of it. “You're right,” Flashfire remarked as he threw off his robes and crown and resumed his normal tone. “And neither are you. Never been a fan of gods anyhow. Right raging pain in the ass. As for who I am, so glad you asked. Star Change!”

“The Beast Star, Cerberus Seagreen!”
“The Trick-Star, Libra Gold!”
“The Shinobi Star, Chameleon Green!”

“You know, for a god you made a pretty poor one. They're supposed to be subtle, moving in mysterious ways. Quite the contrary with you. You I found obvious, and moreover ostentatious and vulgar. Now…” Flashfire said, well aware of the irony behind his statement as he drew his Astral Blade. “Time to test your luck!”

Goneshi pulled out a trident and swung it with the blow being blocked and Flashfire kicking the Magistrate in the stomach before leaping away as from out of the mists Spada struck with a few quick thrusts of his rapier. The piercing strikes landed, but Goneshi was quick to retaliate by catching the sword in the trident by letting it pass through a gap and twisting it.

Spada simply kicked him in the stomach. Goneshi staggered back, only for Stripped Gear to leap out of the waters clad in his Ranger suit with a shortsword in hand and slash him across the back.

“The Sword Star, Dorado Yellow! Four Stars shining in the Heavens, Space Squadron Kyuranger!” he cried. “Surprise! Your little Moraimarz, pumping out the pollutants and sucking this planet dry of its energy? Now just a scrap pile.”

“Oh, really?” Goneshi pounded his chest with his hand before driving his trident tines across the ground towards Stripped, lightning following with it. “Well, soon, you’ll be joining it!”

Spada jumped in, and used the Scutum Kyutama to create an energy shield to block the lightning. Flashfire met the swung trident with his blade, turning back to look at the villagers, bolts of electricity spitting off across the ends of his blade as the trident continued to strike it.

“Not to point any fingers, but this is a false god. If anything, it’s another one of Don Armage’s monsters,” Flashfire said to the villagers as he continued to fend off the lightning strikes. “Now, if that completely throws your beliefs and religions on its’ head, then I’m sorry. But as a Kyuranger, I’m just doing my job in keeping the universe safe. And that means I have to slay your heretic,” He bashed the hilt of his blade into the monster’s face, causing it to tumble backwards. “You’re not upset about that, are you? Listen, I should know a thing or two about flim-flam artists or ponies with a flare for showmanship, my whole family lineage consists of them. Stage magicians really, but the principle is the same. Wow you with a bit of dazzle, and maybe take you for all you’re worth. That’s what Goneshi was doing here, polluting your waters, and taking whatever fish you had left for himself.”

“I’m no fake! I’m as real as you or him!” Goneshi gestured to Spada, spitting a miniature spark out at his chest, only for Spada to reveal he was just an clone conjured up by the Gemini Kyutama. “And trust me, this pain you’re about to feel is real too…” He twirled the trident around and slammed it into the ground, sending a web of lightning across the ground.

Suddenly, a flurry of rapier strikes hit Goneshi, the real Spada leaping out of the mists before roundhouse kicking the Magistrate in the face. “Non oggi, idiota!” Spada exclaimed.

“Look, don’t blame your chieftain for falling for any of this,” Flashfire said, as he fired several energy blasts from his horn at Goneshi before striking him with a Regulus Impact. “He’s as fallible as any of the rest of us here, he can make mistakes. If anything you should be blaming this guy. He’s the real trouble-maker here. He works for Don Armage, the Emperor of Dark Matter. Do you wanna worship someone who works for an evil emperor?”

He smirked under his helmet when the villagers all pointed their bows at the monster.

“There you go. Now, everyone’s got some common sense around here,” He said to himself. “Now, let him have it, everyone!”

Flashfire leaped up in the air as the Monoceros Drill replaced his left arm while his team aimed their Kyuchangers at him.

“All-Star Crash!” Stripped shouted, as he, along with the Doctor and Spada fired three energy beams at Goneshi making him stagger backwards towards the seas before Flashfire in a blur of energy shoved the Monoceros Drill right through Goneshi’s chest, piercing a massive hole in it before kicking him off the cliff.

“Looks like I’m sunk! But soon, rangers, you will be too!” Goneshi roared before he fell into the sea causing a massive plume of it to erupt as he landed in the waters.

“Yeah yeah, tell it to someone who cares. But I’ve got a message for your boss. We will take the universe back!” Flashfire shouted as Goneshi went up in an explosion.

Later, the village chieftain met up with the crew of the Shining Armor as it hovered overhead.

“I’m… I’m so sorry we had to drag you into our mess, we should have seen Goneshi for what he was sooner,” the chieftain apologized, bowing his head in shame. “It seems, even this old shark can be fooled just like the rest…”

Flashfire laid a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, like I said the man had a lot of showmanship and he preyed upon you at your most desperate hour. Hell, even I admit I probably would have been fooled. He was that good.”

“I… I just wish there was one small thing we could do to repay you.” the chieftain murmured and Flashfire looked thoughtful.

“Well, you’re not the only ones under Don Armage’s heel. How’d you like to help save the universe?”

The chieftain smiled. “Yeah, I think I’d like that.” he said as behind him, various squid-like fightercraft rose up from behind his village.

Author's Notes:

Okay, first off, huge thanks to Shadowmane for the fight scene, and another thank you to Vertigo for dragging himself out of retirement just for the moment of Flashfire going completely over the top in terms of acting like he did.

Now, should point out this series will be continuity heavy, with each chapter building off a previous one. But like Silver-Quill says...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaNEoUA_u_o

So... Yeah. Anyways, comments, thoughts, speculation, and critique are always welcomed.

Part 11: We Got This

The Shining Armor:

Coldcast honestly couldn’t sleep that night, or at least not very well. He kept casting glances outside the window, to the nebula beyond with the purple and blue storm clouds and gases crackling with lightning of some sort.

Coldcast groaned, and tried to turn in his bed so he couldn’t see the clouds, something about this nebula -Safe as it was from Dark Matter sensors- just made him unwary. Maybe it was his natural griffon instincts saying to him that anywhere unknown was a danger to be avoided. He’d heard his race’s history, about how Griffonstone was colonized and the dangers that lay beyond it’s walls. Anywhere outside that stone city was to be avoided at all cost. You did not venture off time-tested trails, you did not explore unknown caves, and you certainly did not go off looking for adventure no matter what.

“Dios Mios, I hope Flashfire’s having a better time down on Vela than I am up here…” the snow-white griffon thought to himself as he tossed and turned in bed trying to fall back to sleep. The problem was, because of the thickness of the nebula’s gases and just how deep the ship was in them to hide from Dark Matter scout ships, it made it impossible to get any transmissions off the ship so Coldcast had no idea on what was going on down there. He still remembered the briefing in Flurry’s Ready Room the day before.

“I think it’s time we start looking into other options,” Flashfire had remarked out of the blue, with Flurry, Stardust and the other Paladins looking at him. Coldcast had a weird feeling in his throat. Whenever Flashfire spoke like that, without any hesitations, he knew that he was serious about it. He knew that this wouldn’t be easy for them to swallow, with all the stuff they had done already, but they couldn’t keep doing the same thing over and over again if it yielded no results.

Coldcast looked nervous, as he knew his adopted older brother all too well. When he got desperate for a real victory, he tended to get crazy plans-wise. As much as Flashfire loved to put on the calm, cool, collected leader front he knew Flashfire was just as nervous as the rest of them. He was just better at hiding it than the others.

“Other options?” Stardust asked, rubbing his chin with a hand. “Please elaborate.”

“Think about it,” Flashfire commented, gesturing to the nebula outside. “For the time being, we may as well be sitting ducks. Our ships are damaged from Dark Matter’s last attack with that Deathworm, and we don’t even know if hiding in this nebula will work.”

“Twilight’s ran the calculations,” Stardust replied. “She says that Dark Matter’s sensors shouldn’t be able to penetrate any of this.”

Personally, Coldcast was privately agreeing with the Prince. Best to play it safe, not take any unneeded risks. Staying in this nebula for the time being -As unnerving as it was to his instincts- was the safest bet, at least until the colony ships were repaired.

“Yes, but she’s only using calculations based on what we know so far,” Jabari pointed out, seeing exactly where Flashfire was going with this, and Coldcast looked at the Zorse in shock. Jabari was intelligent, yes, but the issue with him was that he was a bit arrogant on his beliefs and his intelligence believing that any other opinions other than his own were to be dismissed outright. Coldcast didn’t want to see him get into any trouble. Hypothetically, and actually Coldcast was more then willing to bet beyond a hypothetical situation, that there were plenty of things out there Jabari hadn’t or wouldn’t have planned for given the sheer vastness of space. It was just like Griffonstone’s borders in a way. Nobody knew what lay beyond safe passage, and everywhere you looked there was likely to be something out to get you. Still, he had to admire Jabari’s tenacity, the stallion never gave up. Plus, his mastery of the violin was undisputable. Could make a mare swoon if he really put his mind to it.

“I mean, those ships we encountered in Lupus’ fleet? Hellishly powerful and frighteningly dangerous yes, but for all we know Dark Matter may have even more powerful ships with even more advanced sensors,” Jabari continued. “For all Twilight knows, for all we know, we could be just sitting at the tip of the iceberg. They could find us, as I doubt they’re particularly happy about us blowing one of their rulers to space dust,” he agreed. “We need to start forming a coalition, gather allies if only for our own safety as we travel across the universe. And fight back against Dark Matter.”

As everyone discussed their opinions and methods of defeating the empire, Coldcast could only watch, and let everything fester in his head. Their victories, losses, scars, it had all been gathering and building. How much longer until it was all turned around on them, and everything they worked for fell apart? He’d heard of the arguments in the medical bay between Spada and his boss, everyone was stressed to the point of breaking and from the looks of it that very thin line between stress and outright madness was continuing to be trod. It was only a matter of time before that line… snapped.

“Wait, wait…” Fågel piped up, the parrot looking uncharastically nervous. “I’m one for kicking ass, but who died and appointed us guardians of the universe? I mean, we’re just five ships and a couple hundred starfighters plus two mecha against 87 Galaxies worth of tyrants. We got lucky the first time, who’s to say the second will be the same?”

“Exactly, 87 galaxies worth,” Flashfire stated. “Now, call me crazy, but isn’t in the job description of the Element of Kindness to free people from a cruel dictator? Hell, isn’t it in the job of any Element of Harmony to save Equus and her allies? Our planet may be gone, but it’s just a ball of rock and dust in the end. Equus is a people, and apologies in advance if I sound preachy here like some sorta cosmic messiah but our job as Element Bearers and embodiments of the Magic of Friendship is to extend that idea to other races, and stop evil wherever it hides. Am I not wrong?” he asked.

The Elements of Harmony and Magic of Friendship. It had been a long time since Coldcast had heard those words. If only they were still here today, then Dark Matter would have been stomped out long before any of them came together. But sadly, without any of the Spirits to bear the elements, there was no hope for any of them. Even after mention of the elements themselves, Coldcast had to wonder whether or not anyone would still be fit to don them, given the harsh conditions of their world.

Oh sure, he and some of the other Paladins had channeled them at times like during the battle with Mar’Zek or during the final battle with Lupus, but were they really cut out to actually wield them? Wasn’t it just ponies who were meant to wield Equestria’s most powerful form of magic anyways? He was just a simple griffon who barely made the cut from flight school, no matter what Flashfire said. Sure, he’d been hearing rumors that Stripped was creating Kyutamas to channel the Elements themselves, but like the Sun and Moon Kyutama before them, these new Kyutamas had malfunctioned in testing. Nobody, not even the supposedly qualified bearers like Flashfire or even Coldcast himself had managed a successful test in using them.

A silence permeated the room for several odd minutes, but finally, it was broken when Flurry nickered. “May be the damn death of us as a race, but…” she sighed before pressing a button on her chair opening up a comm channel to Summer Afterglow, the Kirin in charge of navigations. “Summer, find us the nearest inhabited planet, I’d like to know who we share our galaxy with.”

Coldcast looked outside the window of his quarters, and groaned to himself. First thing in the morning, he was replicating some curtains. At least that would be a distraction from the hardships of the universe, no matter how tedious they be.

“Celestia?” Coldcast asked. “You there? Please tell me you’re there!” he shouted into the darkened room. No response. Wearily, he let out a sigh and slumped his head downward and ran a claw through his feathers. Right, he’d forgotten his holographic emitter in his room was still broken.

“Well, nothing for it then,” Coldcast thought to himself as he climbed out of the bed tossing the covers aside and turning on a light and grabbing a plasma torch. If nobody was going to fix the damn thing, it was time to get his paws dirty and greasy and do the damn himself. Removing a panel, he exposed the wiring behind it. “If you want something done, you gotta do it yourself… Yeah, that’s right! You got this!”

Spinning the repair tool in his hand, he set to work. Little by little, wire after wire began to be sautered and repaired, until finally after what seemed like an eternity the Celesti-AI’s emitter flickered back into existence.

“Hello, Coldcast. Are you alright?” the Celesti-AI spoke sweetly to him as light began to flood into his room. “Had a pleasant sleep? Good portions of food?”

“...Do I look alright?” Coldcast deadpanned, pointing to his bloodshot eyes.

“Terrible, sleepless nights? I’m sure that I can rectify that issue.” the Celesti-AI spoke softly. “Would you like some hot cocoa to soothe your anxiety issues?”

“Anxiety? Anxiety is what I feel when I burn a steak or some other form of meat, not easy cooking for a whole ship and filling in for Spada at times you know. This... this is more like…” Coldcast stated, unable to get the words out, looking directly at the nebula outside and then back at the Celesti-AI. Every time he even looked outside that window, he felt old fearful instincts cropping up, a sort of daze like he was dizzy and something he couldn’t place creeping up in the back of his throat.

“Hmm…” the Celesti-AI murmured to herself rubbing her chin in thought and observing Coldcast’s reactions and body language. “Dizziness, nausea, unspeakable dread? You feeling any of that right now, by perchance?”

“How’d… How’d you know?” Coldcast whispered.

“You don’t have as much confidence in your voice as you used to, and your palms are sweating more than usual. Tell me, what are your fears, young one?” the Celest-AI asked as she projected a holographic image of herself into the room, who came up to Coldcast and laid a hand around his shoulders.

“You’re… You’re the wise all-knowing ruler of Equestria right?” Coldcast asked, his voice trembling. “At least, that’s what your original self was right?”

“Yes. That was me. But following the destruction of Equestria on Sunfall Dawn, I was digitally reconstructed as an AI as you remember,” Celestia nodded. “Now, I act as a guardian and custodian for the Voyagers and for the Paladins themselves. That also makes me your legal guardian, and as such, I am responsible for you; almost like a parent in a way.”

“Okay… I honestly prefer to think of my brother as my legal guardian given he’s always been there for me, but right now…” Coldcast murmured, rubbing his head feathers. “Dios Mios, I’ll take who I can get for advice right now. Okay, maybe I don’t have the nausea, but all those other symptoms you mentioned, they’re there.”

“I recommend spending some time in a nice, quiet environment. If you want, I can simulate Equestria before Sunfall for your pleasure. Is that what you wish, Coldcast?” She asked.

“...Is there a phobia of being feeling left behind, or alone?” Coldcast nervously inquired, this being quite shameful for him. He never wanted to admit that behind his tough exterior, he was just this lonely little griffon still looking for a few friends. That was why he was so loyal to those he had. Simply because he wanted to keep them.

“The correct term is Athazagoraphobia. And having that fear, while rare or at least not often discussed by many, is perfectly natural. You grew up in the system, did you not?” the Celesti-AI asked, honestly unsure if she was suited to talking to Coldcast about this particular type of fear. This was more her sister’s territory, the realms of the psyche. But right now, she was all Coldcast had. Coldcast nodded at her request.

“Yeah, I did,” the griffon replied, his voice coming out as barely a whisper. “I didn’t have that many to rely on, just my big brother Flashfire. A-And right now, he’s off on some mission to some water world to try and gather us some allies in the fight against Dark Matter,” he sniffled. “And every time he does go off on some venture without me, I always have t-this lingering fear he won’t make it back or-”

“A perfectly understandable fear, I myself, if I was put in your position, would probably be feeling the same even if I knew very well my sibling was a competent leader or fighter in his or her own right. But there’s something more, isn’t there?” the Celesti-AI inquired, and Coldcast nodded. “Something that you don’t want to talk to me about, is there? Something you don’t even know yourself, but your subconscious tells otherwise.”

“Well, I know what I think it might be. It’s my sister. Okay, half-sister, Fågel AKA Taurus Black.”

“You have a half-sister?” Celest-AI asked, blinking her eyes in surprise. Wasn’t like she was expected to keep track of every crew member aboard the ship, there were over 20,000 of them.

“I didn’t even know. Seriously, even I didn’t know she was my media hermana. Least not till just a few days ago. Here’s what happened…” Coldcast began to explain…

“Brother? We need to talk, and I mean about everything…” came a familiar Icelandic tone, causing Coldcast to look up from his book on various constellations. Currently, he was looking up the background of the Orion constellation.

“Fågel? What is it?” Coldcast, pulling his head out from his book and locking gazes with her. While he wasn’t exactly the most familiar with her, as Fågel wasn’t exactly known for being sociable in the slightest he did know of her status as a fellow Ranger.

“Look. There’s a…” Fågel began, before stopping. She wasn’t actually sure how to begin really. Coldcast took notice of her hesitation.

“There’s a what?” he asked quickly.

“There’s a reason why never could look after you,” Fågel sighed, with the parrot’s frown plastered wide across her face. “I know that you might not believe me, or want to believe me after what I say, but it is the honest truth. I wouldn’t be telling you this if I didn’t feel confident in it.”

“Fågel, you can tell me anything.” Coldcast still walked over and placed one of his hands on her back. “We’re always going to be together, no matter what we may say or do. So, what’s up?”

“I’m a wanted outlaw, or well at least I was for a time,” She said so quickly that she had to cover her mouth after saying it.

Coldcast blinked twice, then ended up letting out a chuckle. “I’m sorry, what was that? I thought I heard you say that you were a wanted outlaw.”

“I am. And I wasn’t exactly forced to kill someone or anything; the stallion was too freaked out and he fell out of a window,” Fågel immediately turned away and looked out the window, out towards the stars in the cosmos. “Coldcast. No-one on this ship knows it yet other than you. Well, you and Prince Stardust who put me in this damn position in the first place.”

“I’m sorry, what? Prince Stardust?” Coldcast asked, blinking once more in shock. “What does he have to do with any of this? Why weren’t you there for me? In fact, who are you Fågel? Out of all the members of the Paladins, aside from Stripped Gear, you are the one I know the least about for fuck’s sakes!”

“There’s a damn good reason why you don’t know about me; or are even allowed to know about me. I specifically wanted you out of my life! If you knew… If you knew anything about me… Well, if you did, I’m… I’m not sure you would be able to handle it. No, I know you wouldn’t be able to handle it!” Fågel stammered, taking a few verbal steps backwards.

“Fågel, tell me now. Please… I just found out you could have been there for me and yet you just now said you couldn’t!” Coldcast shouted, tears streaming down his face. “Do you know how long -How long!- I had to fend for myself in the New Manehatten orphanages just because nobody could bother with a screw-up like me? It wasn’t until Flashfire came along that I actually had a family, a familia! He’s mi hermano to me how, my older brother you understand? So, what are YOU!?!” Coldcast roared, and choked back a sob, the poor griffon’s entire body shaking.

“I’m your half-sister, Coldcast!” She blurted out loudly, tears streaming down from her face and a long built up dam of emotions finally breaking.

“Wh...What?” Coldcast stammered out. “I… I have actual blood familia? A media hermana?” he whispered, unsure if he should break down in sobs, punch Fågel in the face, yell at her to get out or do all three.

“It’s true, Coldcast. And I’ve been related to you longer than you remember,” She reached out for him, only for him to lightly swat her hand away. “I know that it’s harrowing, but it’s true. I’m your blood familia, as you put it.”

“Then… Then why were you never there for me? I understand being in prison, but what after you got out? Why did you never come and look for me?” Coldcast asked, his voice barely a whisper.

“The monsters. If they saw me on the field working with you, they would hunt me down to the ends of the universe and back.” She lowered her head. “Look, I know it’s a flimsy excuse, but honestly, it’s the best one that I can muster up.”

“I… I see. Just give me some time to think on this, okay?” Coldcast asked.

“I… I understand,” Fågel nodded before taking her leave.

“And that’s basically it really,” Coldcast explained to the Celesti-AI. “I have a half-sister in Fågel of all creatures, and I don’t know really what to think on that really.”

“A half-sister?” the Celesti-AI parroted. “I see. And her crimes, at least the ones you consider crimes such as leaving you for abandon left a lasting impression on your soul, dampening your spirit.”

“...You sure you’re not Luna’s AI in disguise, ‘cause I heard being blunt was her thing.” Coldcast deadpanned.

“Lun-AI, while being the blunt type, is still my sister. We still enjoy each other’s company and draw from each other at times,” she replied.

“How exactly do you rebuild your relationship with your half-sister who purposefully left you for abandon, and didn’t exactly give a damn about you up till now?” Coldcast asked, a dangerous edge in his tone bordering on a growl.

“Perhaps you both need a mission together with each other; one fraught with danger and peril. If the both of you survive and co-operate to overcome it, then that would be a good start to reconstructing your relationship. The only problem now is how to find such a mission...”

“...You are kidding right?” Coldcast asked. “I mean seriously, does any sane person want to put their life and limb on the line? I sure as hell don’t! And I doubt Fågel would either. In case you missed the memo while you were offline Princess, we’re actually trying to avoid that kinda thing for the time being.” Coldcast deadpanned.

“Alert! Alert! Unknown organisms detected in the lower bays!” An alarm rang out throughout the ship, as lights lit up red. “All security staff are to ready for battle and viral control measures. All non-essential personnel are to stay in their quarters.”

“...Wonder what that’s about?” Coldcast wondered to himself. He tried contacting the bridge, and when that failed he tried contacting anyone else important. Sadly, nothing seemed to be working. What he did next surprised even him, and he didn’t quite know why at the time and perhaps he never would but he immediately reached for his Kyuchanger and radioed Fågel in on the comms. He gave the Celesti-AI a look, idly wondering if she was some sorta psychic.

“Fågel! What’s going on around here?” he asked. “Can’t reach anyone on the inter-ship communications!”

He was met with nothing. No signal, and no noise except the crackling of static on his comms device.

“Come on, come on! Work with me here…” Coldcast pleaded, and finally, his half-sister’s voice came crackling through.

“Coldcast? What’s going on here?” She said, her face finally appearing on the device.

“I was about to ask you the same question. Ship’s just gone to red alert, they’re saying something about viral infection control measures!” Coldcast barked.

“I heard. I’m heading to the bridge right now. There’s some sorta spores in the air, vines of some sort all over the ship walls like some sorta whacked out kudzu. Beats the hell out of me what they are, never seen anything like ‘em before. Are you… alright?” She asked, still rather unsure on how to address her half-brother.

“Yeah, fine,” Coldcast stated, before he began to cough from the spores he’d only now just noticed coming in through his doors and reached for a nearby medical cabinet and quickly pulled on a gas mask. “...Least, I will be. What about you? I assume you’re planning to seal off as many doors as possible? Keep whatever this is from spreading?”

“Yeah. I’m gonna execute the lockdown procedure on the lower decks as soon as everyone down there manages to evacuate. Once that’s all said and done, we can talk about getting rid of whatever’s causing the problem.”

“I’ll join you in access corridor 59-B, that sound good? It’s right near the closest maintenance access, and we should be able to meet up there.” Coldcast replied. “Sound good?”

“Yeah. see you soon.” And with that, the video turned off.

“Stay safe… hermana.” Coldcast whispered, and blinked in surprise and looked at the Celesti-AI’s smirking face before thinking: “Damn alicorn, why does she always have to be right all the time? Can’t she be wrong just once?”

Coldcast kicked the doors to his quarters open after powering himself up with the Hercules Kyutama and stepped out into the corridor before letting out an audible gasp of shock.

The corridors that he had once seen and walked through before were completely askew. What was the floor was now the ceiling and vice versa. Thick, black vines with pulsating veins grew on each section of the area, and spores were being released into the air from the mass that sprawled the walls. There were even a few shrieks to be heard deep from within, as if a monster had infiltrated the ship itself.

“Okay, that is just messed up,” Coldcast murmured as he carefully took a few steps through the darkened corridor, the lights flickering every so often now and again. “...Here we are again. Deja Vu much?” he muttered, remembering the Paladin’s previous experience not just a few days before in dealing with dark creepy corridors and an unknown cause. Of course, this time he was the one walking through them, not Jabari and Flashfire.

Engaging the Pyxis Kyutama and mentally asking for it to find his sister, he was soon greeted with a gold arrow pointing in the direction of where his sister was located currently. Coldcast, breaking into a sprint ran off down that direction.

As he ran through the dark and desolated corridors, -cutting through vines with his Astral Claw as he went- the sounds of metal twisting echoed in his ears, and the very floor beneath him began to rumble. Within the darkness, he swore that he could see a shadow lunging through it, a distorted and abhorrent shriek accompanying it. Following that were the distant screams of one of the crewmembers.

Coldcast fired a few shots from his Kyuchanger, and downed a small fattened centipede-like creature, resembling an alien tardigrade. Maybe that’s what it was, a version of the normally sub-microscopic creatures mutated beyond measure. But, even with the beast downed, there was still the shadow from before, prowling the walls with a distorted growl.

Well, there was before a screech of rage -A battle cry!- filled the air and a dying shriek followed that, before Fågel emerged from the shadows holding her Astral Axe., with the Ara Kyutama in her gauntlet.

“I hope I’m not too late.” She said as she dragged the body of the monster behind her, heaving it over her shoulder, the creature looking rather scorched. “...Turns out, these things really don’t like fire either. You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Coldcast replied. “And you’re just in time. Alright, so is everyone on the maintenance decks evacuated?”

“Yeah. I was able to get the last of them out. Unfortunately, the lockdown procedures were activated a bit quicker than I had imagined, so now we’re both stuck down here until someone can get us out. And even then, with the monsters in here…” Fågel tightened the grip on her bloodstained battle axe.

“Oh, there’s always a way out. We just have to make our own,” Coldcast stated, pointing to a maintenance hatchway above them covered in the alien kudzu. He produced an Ara Kyutama of his own, and created a small campfire, and almost at once the vines began to retreat in fear of the heat. “See? Nothing to worry abo-”

Before he could finish, a massive crash rang out through the corridor, and the sounds of metal being torn apart sounded in both of their ears. A titanic roar came from the newest beast, which was a giant, husking monstrosity the size of the corridor itself. With a circular mouth with spikes on the inside, large tentacles growing and flailing out of its’ mouth, and a set of gigantic feet, it stumbled towards the both of them; its’ mouth just big enough to devour them whole.

“I really, and I mean really do not want to become a victim of Neighponiese Tentacle Hentai!” Coldcast squeaked out and began firing at the creature, with his half-sister looking at him in shock. The laser shots just bounced off of the monster and hit the walls and floor around it; it didn’t even seem fazed when a few shots when into its’ mouth.

“Really? Is now the time you pick to make jokes?” Fågel asked, prepping her Taurus Kyutama and her battle axe.

“Helps lighten the mood,” Coldcast murmured. “You’ll come onto my sense of humor in time.”

“Ah, shut up,” Fågel stated before unleashing her Aldebaran Impact at the beast sending a purple energy wave at it slicing it right down the middle and covering the two in blood and gore. “...Ugh, this is going to take weeks to get out of my feathers!” Fågel muttered, before another roar sounded from somewhere nearby.

“No time for complaining, just climb!” Coldcast shouted, pointing to the hatch above them. Fågel took the hint and began climbing up the hatch with Coldcast following.

“H-Hello?” Jabari’s voice asked nervously through the comms. “Is there anyone out there?”

Coldcast’s breath caught in his throat. “J-Jabari, is that you? Please tell me for Celestia’s sakes you’re still alive somewhere!”

“Coldcast! Thank Luna and Celestia. Good to hear a familiar voice. Yeah, I’m alive, though for how much longer I don’t know. Me and Flurry, we’re dealing with a situation on the bridge. Mind you, I’ve got some info for you. Whatever these things are, they seem to originate from the outer hull of the ship. At least that’s my working theory. I’ve detected a large mass that’s attached itself to the ship, I think it’s trying to procreate its offspring inside the Armor.”

“Procreate?” Fågel asked in disbelief. “You gotta be kidding me!”

“Well, you have any better ideas?” Jabari snapped, as something moaned almost orgasmically from above them. “Maybe whatever this is, it thinks we’re a fellow member of its species thanks to some sort of sexual dimorphism. The female, or something close to it. Yes, I know it’s disgusting, and weird, but it’s what I got for you. Get that thing off the hull, and we might have a fighting chance here!”

“...Well, you heard the stallion. Time to teach this thing a few manners about public indecency eh?” Coldcast joked as they continued to climb.

Awaiting them up topside was a thick cloud of purple and blue miasma and nebulous fog, amongst Celestia knows what else. Weapons in hand and fully morphed, the two defenders of the universe slowly took it a few steps at a time, barely able to see a few feet in front of them thanks to the nebula’s gases.

“...Okay, okay…” Coldcast murmured as he got used to the sound of his boots clanking against the metal beneath him, magnetized to the ship’s hull with the boot magnets making a somewhat audible humming sound. “Deep breaths, deep breaths,” he told himself. “Nothing to fear, nothing you haven’t trained for spacewalk wise. You’re just inside a fog, a nebula’s fog but just a fog all the same.”

All of this, it went against his better instincts. Griffons, like most flying creatures of Equus were naturally claustrophobic in a way. They wanted space, to be free and to fly. Now, Coldcast could handle this while he was in his Voyager as he knew that could fly and he knew at times there often greater concerns when he was flying the Wolf Voyager but outside it and in this thick of haze? That was a different story entirely.

To keep himself calm, Coldcast had tuned into the Celestial Radiance’s radio station, allowing himself to listen to the calming piano notes of the old piece titled “Clair de Lune”.

“You alright Fågel?” Coldcast breathed out, watching the towering form of the Armored Star walk steadily in front of him, her helmet’s horns cutting through the cosmic fog.

“Yeah, fine as I can be I suppose,” Fågel replied as she gripped her axe tighter, with Coldcast doing the same with his claw weapon. “There’s a massive tardigrade creature out here somewhere, and we can’t see it. All we have is a beeper that’ll alert us when we get close to it.”

Right now, that very same beeper was beeping at a steady, subdued pace. No cause for alarm just yet. Just yet.

“...And when we get close to it, that beeper will likely become redundant as we’ll probably see it, and it us. Then we’ll become Neighponise fetish fuel and then eaten.” Coldcast deadpanned.

“...Are you always like this Coldcast?” Fågel asked, looking back at him.

“As I said, keeps me calm in the face of danger, just joking about. We all have our coping methods,” Coldcast muttered. “But just fuck me with a hoof-full of sunfire, as this is crazy even by my standards!”

“...Have you been taking swearing lessons from that little mare? The one they call the Toaster Fixer?” Fågel asked, at about this time under her helmet looking about ready to slap her younger sibling for his colorful choice of words.

“...Might be the other way around actually at times, in exchange for basic repair skills.” Coldcast shrugged as the beeping began to become more fervent in nature, putting both Paladins at an alarmed state. “Oh, oh! Hold up, we’re getting closer!”

Then, a tendril came out of the mist, from out of nowhere and swatted Coldcast to the side, with the griffon at the very last moment opening up his wings and managing to remagnetize himself to the hull of the Shining Armor as the creature came into view. Like it’s much, much smaller offspring, it was both magnificent and terrifying in equal measure, dripping with a fang-filled maw and tendrils swaying about from inside the humpbacked creature’s mouth.

“...See, what did I tell you? Neighponiese fetish fuel crap right there!” Coldcast shouted as he readied his Astral Claw and placed his Lupus Kyutama inside it making it proclaim: “Galaxy!”

He ran towards the creature, leaping left and right to avoid the swings from its tendrils as his claw glowed and then leapt skywards beginning to spin like a buzzsaw crying out: “Lupus Impact!” and striking the creature with two blue slashes of energy before leaping backwards as the creature let out a roar of rage but seemingly looked unfazed for the most part. Sure, it was bleeding in a few places but the wounds were healing faster than either Kyuranger could re-open them.

“Any ideas? Cause I got nothin’,” Coldcast murmured as he took a few steps back in fear, with Fågel following suit.

“Hey, don’t look at me. It was your idea to come up here in the first place!” she snapped back.

Then, over the comms, Coldcast heard the sounds of three Astral Blasters firing, and the sound of a spear slicing through flesh and the shout of: “Get the Hell off my ship!” from Jabari. Coldcast’s eyes narrowed.

“No, we got this. WE GOT THIS,” Coldcast snarled, his suit beginning to glow blue as the ornamental star on his chest began to form a symbol inside it. A symbol of a white cloud with a multicolored lightning bolt. Fågel’s eyes widened under her helmet as she saw this, knowing exactly what it meant. “That ship, our crewmates. They’re our family, just like you are Fågel,” Coldcast. “And I am sure as Hell never, ever, leaving them to die! Coldcast, Lupus Blue and the Element of Loyalty!”

Fågel nodded, before saying her own title: “Fågel Bredsida, Taurus Black! Two Stars Shining in the Heavens, Space Squadron Kyuranger!”

“Now…” Coldcast smirked. “Our friendship, it will take on the universe! And that includes you!” he shouted, before both he and his hermana aimed their Kyuchangers at the creature with Ara Kyutamas at the ready.

“Twin Star Crash!” they shouted in unison before firing blue and purple energy beams respectively at the creature, blasting it backwards before their eyes widened as the creature grabbed them both with its tendrils even as it shrieked out in pain from the burning, searing blast.

Then, a high pitched shriek filled the air as from out of nowhere, a winged form with a golden beak and talons fired twin purple fireballs from its beak slicing through the tendrils holding Coldcast and Fågel. Next, the remote-controlled Eagle Voyager grabbed onto the monster with its talons and firmly tossed it out into space never to be seen again. All across the Shining Armor, without their ‘parent’ to sustain it, the offspring and the vines began to die off one by one as one very tired Jabari slumped to the floor behind the safety of the Scutum Kyutama’s conjured energy shield and let go of his Astral Blasters, the twin pistols clattering to the floor.

“Thank… Thank you Coldcast, and you too Fågel...” he whispered before slipping into unconsciousness. Later that very same day, Flashfire and his team along with some new allies in tow would return to the ship only to find both Coldcast and Fågel along with everyone else covered in some sort of gunk.

“...You don’t want to know.” Coldcast stated simply at Flashfire's raised eyebrow. “Celestia above, I need a bath.”

Author's Notes:

So yes, this chapter takes place at the same time of the previous one, and picks up off from the little cliffhanger left at the end of Part 8 because as Silverquill always says:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaNEoUA_u_o

And we all know how much of a sucker I am for that. Now, a huge round of applause to Shadowmane, as he worked his ass off co-writing all but the climax of this chapter so to speak helping me get back in the game for this story as it were.

So, for once, not a monster related to Dark Matter in any way as the villain of the week. Just a one-off threat. Also, Coldcast will not be the last member of the Paladins to become a new Element Bearer as chapter 7 hinted. As for who next will be gaining the power of an Element of Harmony... Well, you'll just have to wait and see, won't you? As ever, comments, thoughts, and critique are welcomed.

Part 12: Scars

Author's Notes:

Okay... Trickey subject matter ahead, and I really am not sure if I dealt with it correctly but... Anyways, huge thanks to both Vertigo and Shadowmane for helping to write the flashback scenes with Pharynx.

“Oh, now that is paradise…” Stripped Gear commented from inside the safety of his Voyager’s cockpit as he gazed out at the planet in front of him. Covered in massive cities and equally if not more so industrial parks, there wasn’t a single green spot to be found on the entire planet. It was devoted solely to production and development. This was the exact reason why when Flurry and Stardust learned of the place, they had ordered Stripped along with Pharynx and the Doctor to travel to this planet Zigama being its name so they may possibly form an alliance with the locals. If that could be accomplished, maybe from what the Doctor had told them, the locals would be all too happy to repair the battered colony ships.

Two massive mechanical rotating rings surrounded the planet, both housing cities of their own if the Doctor’s information on them was to be believed.

“For you and your wet dreams maybe,” Pharynx grumbled. “Me, I hate the cities, and I hate industry. Now, I’m no tree hugging hippie, but a place like that? Makes me feel cramped really. “

“Didn’t the Changelings have any sort of technology?” Stripped Gear inquired. “Or did you just use whatever you found?”

“No, the Changelings were hardly an industrious race, we didn’t ‘make’ anything for ourselves, any technology from any races we ran across we just assimilated and re-worked for our own usage. The ultimate consumers, some of us were called,” Pharynx replied. “Now, onto more important business. Doctor, the local Magistrate? What do we know about him?”

“Bringing him up on-screen now, and transmitting all necessary data to your Voyagers,” the Doctor replied, pressing a few buttons inside the Libra Voyager’s cockpit, and soon both Pharynx and Stripped paid witness to the hologram of one very fat reptilian creature with attire and armor resembling the burial mask of the ancient Baladi ruler Tutankhamun. A wine glass was held in one of his hands. “Yes, I know he’s an ugly one, but what were you expecting? A handsome brute? Anyways, if there’s one word that you could apply to this guy, it’d be the Deadly Sin of Greed. Why? Well, this guy right here thrives on stripping planets of their wealth and leaving the inhabitants to fend for themselves on what little they have left.”

Pharynx let out a hiss of anger, sounding almost like a snake poised to strike fittingly enough. “Bet he just sits around on his golden throne rolling in money doing nothing, and just has his servants bring him whatever he desires, am I correct?” he asked in a tone of barely disguised disgust.

“Yeah, that’d sound like him. He’s a disgusting fellow, to say the least,” the Doctor growled. “Greed, it’s a curious thing. It plunges a man deep into the mire of this world, so that he makes it to be his god, as one fellow once so elegantly put it.”

Pharynx sighed to himself even as the three Voyagers entered the planet’s atmosphere.

“Something wrong?” Stripped asked in a tone of concern. “You’re not… reminded of how the Changelings used to be are you?”

Pharynx let out another sigh. “Can’t believe I’m letting you play shrink to me and get inside my head, but yeah. This guy… Reminds me far too much of how the Changeling race used to be, we took far more than what we ever actually needed everywhere we went. Left entire civilizations bare and dry to the bone. You think the Badlands were always a desert dry to the bone? No, before we came along they were a thriving location, a virtual paradise till Queen Chrysalis stripped the place of everything it had in just a few short decades, less than thirty years. And I helped her do so proudly. That’s… That’s why I’m so intent on dethroning this guy. Repentance for my own sins.”

“I… I understand all too well, I’ve got my own sins I have to pay the piper for someday,” the Doctor remarked in a sympathetic tone. “That’s why I’ll gladly help you with anything you need, Pharynx.”

“T-Thank you.” Pharynx whispered, and if a single tear dripped from his eye he wiped it away before anyone could notice.

Equestria, six billion odd years ago. A burning village, black insectoid creatures sucking inhabitants dry of any love they had in them and cocooning them aboard massive airships to store them away for further meals at a later date. Ponies that were trying to flee the scene were swiftly shot down by green bolts, launched by the insectoids. The process was repeated ad infinitum, until all of the screams had been silenced. The other insects that weren’t attacking the citizens were tearing through the buildings and houses, physically, and with their own bombardment of ooze-coloured lasers. As the population dwindled, the settlement did as well, with gnarled and charred wood littering the ground, turning into ash mere moments later. The waters and air were soon plagued with the stench of death, as the remnants of the battlefield that was one a village painted the scene.

“Your majesty. The town has been entirely destroyed. Not a single pony remains.” Pharynx stood before his queen and bowed loyally, hand on chest. “As for their love, it all but belongs to us. Soon, they’ll be nothing more than empty husks, free to do with as you see fit.

“Very good, Pharynx,” The queen chuckled softly and coiled her fingers together. “This should prove to that fool Celestia that her ponies cannot survive on friendship and magic alone. If you want to defend yourself, you have to fight all those who dare to impede your progress; using whatever means necessary.”

Lust, that could characterize Chrysalis down to a T, she wanted it all. Pharynx smiled, his fangs bared, before he heard the sound of soft whimpering coming from an alleyway. Another victim for his kind. He slunk away and tore through whatever debris the noise was hiding behind, revealing a small filly, who let out a very high-pitched and ear-piercing scream at the sight of him.

For a brief moment, Pharynx had second thoughts. This filly had done nothing wrong, so why should he harm her? He reached out a hand to touch her, try to comfort her in his own way. But as he did so, the soldiers by his side quickly tackled her and scooped her out of his reach, proceeding to drain her of her love and spirit her away to the ship above.

“That’s one of the sneaky little traits of these ponies. They will do anything to get themselves out of trouble; regardless of who they are, what they do, or how they choose to survive,” Chrysalis watched as the girl was lifted skyward. “We are not ponies, Pharynx. We never will be ponies. Don’t ever let yourself become distracted by their tactics. It looks bad for you, and it could arouse suspicion that could send my hive into a frenzy.”

“But… But she did nothing wrong!” Pharynx stated in shock, only to be slapped across the face.

“That’s what they all do. Princess Celestia did all the wrong things when she exiled us. Ponies, despite what they say about us are the real evil in this world,” She hissed, her tongue licking his ear canal sadistically making Pharynx tingle in anticipation for what he knew was to come soon. “You are not a pony, Pharynx. You are a good man; a loyal Changeling, under my rule. Don’t have second thoughts now. I wouldn’t want my best soldier losing his resolve, now would I?” she asked in a seductive tone, stroking his chin.

“Of… of course not, my Queen. My fault entirely,” He hung his head and bowed once more. “Anyway, what are your orders now?”

“To the next town, raze it dry, suck the inhabitants of every inch of their love!” Chrysalis ordered as her Changelings chittered in excitement. “Do you hear me? Every inch! Bleed them dry!”

“How many towns do you think we need to destroy before we’re ready to challenge that tyrant Sun Princess?” A drone asked, with a malicious grin on its’ face.

“Several, maybe several dozen. I don’t care, as long as there are some ponies left for me to use as my personal playthings. I hear there’s a wedding coming up,” Chrysalis remarked, returning that grin ten-fold revealing a maw of razor-sharp vicious looking teeth. “I say we… gate-crash it hmm?”

“Weddings. They’re full of love, aren’t they?” Pharynx’s ears twitched at the sound of the Queen’s orders. “Where is this wedding, your majesty?”

“Why, over at Canterlot, of course. Where else?” Chrysalis pushed her hands together, hearing the bones in her fingers click. “Not only do we get to feast, but we also have a chance to put an end to that pretty precious Princess Celestia once and for all. Kill two rocs with one stone, I say. And with this hoard-” she gestured up to the flagship above her head “-she doesn’t stand a chance in hell of defeating us! Now onwards, my children, to Canterlot!” she roared as the Changelings took to the sky. “We’ve got gifts of our own to bestow to the blushing bride and her groom!”

“Pharynx?” Stripped Gear’s voice asked as the three Paladins walked through the streets, snapping the Changeling King back to the present day. “Please tell me you’re there.”

“Y-yes. I’m here, your Majesty.” Pharynx replied, out of pure reflex. He snapped out of his memories and looked up into Stripped’s eyes. “Sorry, I just zoned out for a second.”

“If you say so…” Stripped murmured, not missing what the Silver Ranger had called him, but deciding not to comment on it. As he observed the city around them, Stripped sighed in what was an almost orgasmic pleasure. “See, what did I tell you? Heaven for a guy like me! Certainly an improvement over Vela I dare say!”

The crew now stood in a titanic city; much larger than anything that they had ever seen before. It was almost like an entire mountain, made entirely out of metal, and pumped full of shops and streets; with people scaling it countless times. Large TV screens filled most of the gaps, and there were all sorts of people, from all walks of life and from all corners of the universe casually chatting to each other, sharing what stories and news they had. There were many more ships parked in the docks behind them, some of which made their Voyagers look minuscule by comparison. Nobles, fishermen, mechanics, and more came from the docks, gracing the city with their presence; all dressed in their usual attire and ready to do business with the inhabitants.

“Ah, Zigama, it never does anything by halves.” the Doctor mused.

“Well, at least we don’t stand out,” Pharynx deadpanned, gesturing to their jackets and comparing them to the rags and jumpsuits the civilians wore. “By the Hive Mother, at this rate, I fail to see how we’ll avoid notice!”

“Well, only one thing for it then…” the Doctor remarked, gesturing for the group to follow. “Allons-Y!”

As Pharynx and Stripped followed after the possible madman, Pharynx once again went into another flashback, into a grand city not too far removed from this one.

Canterlot, its’ defences had been shattered like glass, thanks to the barrage of fire from the drones and their flagship. Orbital strikes and cannon blasts from the space-age ship laid waste to the castle, tearing down the roof in seconds, and causing the wedding guests to scatter; all except for one princess of the sun, and six other individuals. But pretty soon, they seemingly abandoned Celestia for their own accords, before Pharynx landed before them.

“Ponies. Your princess, and as an extension; you are charged with the banishment of my queen, Chrysalis. I, Pharynx, have come to collect, and count up your sins before we rip your emotions straight out of your body.” He declared, pointing his gun at the six ponies before him. “Do you have any last words before my crew tears you to shreds?”

“Canterlot will never fall, and your Queen, someday soon perhaps, she will learn to see the error of her ways.” Said the purple one, who would later go on to become one of the four princesses who died attempting to stop the sun from scorching the planet; Twilight Sparkle.

“Look at you, acting all defiant. It’s cute. No really, I think I can practically feel the love coming to me right now.” Pharynx sadistically joked and primed his gun for a shot. “But as you can see, your princess has fallen, and so too has your kingdom.” He stretched his arms out, the Changelings demolishing many of the buildings behind him as if on command. “You have nothing to protect; nothing to defend. Nothing to DIE for. All you have left are your lives, and now, you forfeit them to the Changeling Empire!” He fired a powerful blast at Twilight Sparkle from his gun, striking her directly, and launching her back against the wall.

“We… we will never quit, not as long as the Magic of Friendship exists.” Twilight coughed out, blood stains covering her fur and the tip of her horn.

“You say that, but clearly-” The drones started to fire on the rest of her friends, causing them to scatter or try- and fail - to fight back “-You are weak. Undisciplined. And obviously, that friendship of yours you so love to preach about did not exist today. Your friends and even your beloved solar Princess, I seem to recall them abandoning you in your hour of need.” He stomped over to Twilight, grabbing her by the scruff of her neck. “You are not brave; in your command of your pony magic and pony ways-” he emphasized the words viciously “-you’ve simply forgotten the feel of defeat, failure, and death. Allow me to re-educate you…” His gun charged up for another shot.

Pharynx shook himself free of those memories, he had work to do and he couldn't dwell on the past. Not now. He still felt guilty for those days, taking a whole city and being partial to almost bleeding it dry. He would not allow this ‘Gamettsui’ to do the same.

As the threesome walked through the city, more signs of Gamettsui’s tyranny began to make themselves apparent. Various locals had collapsed in the street from pure exhaustion, just trying to make ends meet for their families at the factories.

The Doctor’s eyes widened when he saw a green-scaled dog-like alien fall to his knees before he rushed over and helped the man up, dabbing at his face with a wet rag he’d pulled from his coat pockets.

“Rassilon damnit…” the Doctor growled to himself as some medics rushed over with the alien (A Syrien if the Doctor remembered correctly) whispering hurried thank yous. The Doctor turned to his comrades. “Now do you see? Now do you see what Gamettsui is willing to turn this planet into just so he can satisfy himself and his abominable pleasures?” he growled out in fury before his voice turned into that of a hiss. “He’s not just that monster from under your bed or in your closet, he’s the real deal. Just like every other member of Dark Matter’s entourage. So get this straight through your head right now, once we start dealing with more and more of Dark Matter’s commanders and start freeing galaxies, there will be no turning back. But someone needs to stand up, show the galaxy that free will along with hope, laughter and all that comes with it still exists.” he stated, as his veins glowed blue and yellow briefly. If either Pharynx or Stripped Gear took notice, they said nothing. “Now,” the Doctor asked. “Are you with me?”

“Yes, quite,” Stripped Gear stated. “It’s not even a question.”

“Exactly. Now, what do monsters like Gamettsui have nightmares about?” Pharynx asked, fingering his Ophiuchus Kyutama. “Well, suppose we’ll just have to find out. If we’re lucky, the answer will be us eh?” he smirked devilishly. “I’ve robbed a few cities dry of their hope and everything that matters to them and I will have to pay the piper for that someday soon and face judgment. But in the meantime, I think it’s time I start returning the favor. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, yes? Well, it’s time we do unto Gamettsui and Dark Matter as a whole as they would do unto us.”

“....You had something good going there, gotta say,” Stripped Gear remarked. “But that whole quoting the Golden Rule thing? Even if I agree with the sentiment, you sorta ruined your whole speech right there a little bit, just sayin’.” he stated, with the Doctor nodding.

“Oh shut up…” Pharynx muttered before his eyes widened as he turned his attentions to a big rotating screen. On it, appeared the face of Gamettsui. Both Stripped and Pharynx winced.

“...Now there’s a face only a mother could love.” Stripped murmured to himself, with the Doctor nodding.

“Hello everyone, can you see me well enough?” Gamettsui asked before an Invader leaned into his ear and whispered something. “Oh, sorry, sorry! Let me pull back and then I can start this whole thing over again!”

He snapped his fingers, and the camera pulled back to reveal Gamettsui sitting on his gilded throne, covered in the most lavish of jewelry with a mound of gold coins all around him, and a scantily-clad felid woman with maroon fur chained to his throne. An expression of obvious displeasure was on her face.

“Wait a tick…” the Doctor muttered as his eyes went from the woman to a particularly sparkling piece of jewelry hanging around Gamettsui’s neck via a chain. “That’s Baroness Manx, and that’s the Eye of Bastet, said to be the envy of a thousand systems! Her personal treasure! It’s worth about the wages of the whole planet for an entire week, you’d have to fight tooth and nail -Quite literally in her case- to pry it away from Manx’s family!”

“Evidently he did, Doctor,” Pharynx stated, master of the understatement noting the broken look on the former Baroness’s face. It was like she’d lost all hope. He growled, and clenched his fists hard enough to draw a bit of blood. “So you can add theft to his list of crimes.”

“Okay, let’s try this again!” Gamettsui exclaimed and clapped his hands, clearing his throat as the camera turned to reveal several beautiful women, also clad in scanty clothing. “These lovely ladies you see before you -Quit drooling Megatsuyoindaver, I can see you from behind the camera!- are your former Baroness’s advisors. And now, they’re mine. Excuse me, allow me to correct myself. They’re going to be Dark Matter’s in just a few short moments as I’m holding an auction. See those ships gathering above?” Gamettsui asked, and everyone including the three Kyurangers looked up and saw a group of Dark Matter Moraimarz warping into orbit. “Well, they belong to some of my fellow Magistrates, who need some pleasure in their life if you know what I mean. Now, you can save these beautiful women if you manage to somehow outbid them, but I doubt it. So say your goodbyes!”

“Okay,” Pharynx stated, slamming one fist against his palm. “If you want to stop me from doing something stupid, here’s your chance. Because I’m about to teach that little worm a lesson or two in respect. So, either of you two feeling moronic enough to try?” he asked, turning to Stripped and the Doctor, who simply shook their heads.

“Nope, all I have to ask is… what’s the plan?” the Doctor asked, and Pharynx simply smirked.

Pharynx’s plan turned out to be beautifully simple. The Doctor and Stripped Gear, in disguise as space pirate scum, would go to the auction and keep the guy in charge of it distracted while Pharynx himself dealt with Gamettsui. And if possible, rescue Baroness Manx. The Gold and Yellow Paladins had found themselves in a town square, amongst a crowd of alien space scum. Towering above them was the city skyline, comprised of massive factories and cleverly hidden amongst the machinery to the untrained eye, Gamettsui’s personal Moraimarz.

“Can you gimme one thousand, one thousand! Can you give me two thousand, two thousand! I want a three thousand here, a three thousand!” the Strongindaver in charge of the whole shebang fired off at almost ludicrous speeds, continuously getting the crowd of Indavers and their bosses pumped up as they continued to cry for louder and louder pricing on for the women on display, both the Doctor and Stripped Gear chipping in just to keep on buying more time. “Four thousand, four thousand! Five, give me some five thousand here!”

The Doctor, he was dressed in a long black button-up coat with goggles around his neck and his hair styled into a punk’s mohawk thanks to the Coma Berenices Kyutama. Stripped, he’d just opted for a simple brown cloak that covered his face and horn.

Stripped cast a quick glance to one of the women, a light-blue felid wearing barely anything except a bikini that only just barely covered her extremities. He let out a nicker of displeasure at this debasement and looked at the Doctor.

“I know,” the Doctor murmured. “I don’t like it either, but for the time being we’ve got to keep this going.”

“Shame we can’t just take on all of these guys at once…” Stripped muttered, idly fingering the Corvus Kyutama attached to his belt. “Sure, it’s suicide but the chaos would allow those poor ladies up there to escape.”

“Or get recaptured.” the Doctor pointed out.

“Gimme a ten, and I repeat a ten thousand!” the Strongindaver shouted over the raucous of the crowd. “No, no! Bump that up to twenty thousand! Seriously, beautiful women like this going for cheap prices! No, no sir! Gimme a twenty thousand, a twenty thousand! Gimme a thirty thousand! A forty thousand!” he echoed as the cheers and shouts grew ever louder.

“Come on Pharynx, surely it can’t take you this long to dethrone a madman. If I was doing this, it’d already been over within five minutes or so… Got to think up a plan here… Cause a bit of chaos…” the Doctor murmured to himself rubbing his chin as he did so, before he had a lightbulb moment and looked directly at Stripped. “How would you describe me, Stripped? Resourceful? Dynamic? Enigmatic?”

“Incredibly pretentious. Disruptive. A plonker, a right pain in the arse and last but not least someone with no sense of fashion,” Stripped deadpanned before tilting his head. “Is that what you were asking for?”

“No, but disruptive is what we need here eh?” the Doctor remarked before brushing past a bunch of Invaders and staggering onto the stage like a drunkard before shoving away the Strongindaver and taking the mic.

“Doctor, what the Hell are you…?” Stripped trailed off, before he smirked. Of course, that would do it. A bit of confusion from the auction being disrupted by some seemingly unknown drunken space pirate, that would definitely buy Pharynx the time he needed.

“Hello Detroit!” the Doctor said with a cheery wave as Stripped groaned and facepalmed. “This… This is Detroit right? I mean, it’s certainly a crappy enough planet filled with crime and corruption producing enough steel to probably count as Detroit! You get what I mean, right? Seriously, have none of you all been to Earth? Lovely place, always seems to attract the unwanted, although I’m not sure why. Bit dull really.”

One of the Strongindavers under another Magistrate’s command -A Jersey Devil resembling creature called Denvil- ran up to the stage as the Doctor shouted: “Fight, fight! Fight for your right to party!”

The Doctor was then shoved up against some barrels, and the Libra Kyutama in his pockets went flying free and landed in front of both Denvil and his bodyguards who all shared a look.

“Oh for the love of Celestia…” Stripped muttered as he threw off his cloak and dropped the ruse as weapons were drawn and most of the Magistrates started heading for their ships in fear, having already heard what happened to Lupus. It seemed some of Dark Matter actually had some intelligence in it after all.

Both the Doctor and Stripped shared a nod and slammed their Kyutamas in their Kyuchangers which as ever, proclaimed: “Say the Change!”

“Star Change!” both Rangers shouted as they morphed in gold and yellow flashes of light respectively and the whole square erupted into chaos. Punches and kicks began to be thrown, and blades clashed as the Invaders and their commanders reached for their weapons.

Stripped called out: “Dorado Impact!” as he swung his sword to create a quintet of yellow energy slashes that he hurled at a group of Invaders and Strongindavers destroying them in fiery explosions. Suddenly, the scorch of an energy whip hit Stripped’s back making him scream out in pain as Denvil laughed and lashed him a few times more with his whip.

“Back off!” the Doctor shouted, and fired his Astral Crossbow twice making Denvil stagger as the Doctor helped Stripped up off the ground.

“You alright?” the Doctor asked, and Stripped nodded weakly. The Doctor’s eyes narrowed under his helmet, he swore he could have seen Stripped’s back and spine comprised mostly of mechanical parts but as soon as he looked again there was only scorched fur. The Doctor blinked, maybe he’d only imagined it.

Denvil snapped his fingers, and with a loud screech, a massive cycloptic form with a scorpion’s tail smashed through the crowd, twin arm blades of crackling blue energy springing out from its wrists. Denvil laughed, before with a finger snap he teleported out in a purple flash of light up to his ship.

“Didn’t… Didn’t we destroy that thing? In fact, I specifically remember studying its parts and taking the Scorpius Kyutama from it!” Stripped shouted before he had a thought. “...Huh, I wonder if it remembers.”

A swing from one of the arm blades that nearly cleaved Stripped in half answered his question.

“...Yep, I’d say it remembers.” Stripped remarked as the Scorpius Drone’s eye glowed menacingly.

“The Queen always loved me. I was the best at what I did. Admittedly, that was what every other drone I knew did. Infiltrate, pillage, kill, and protect the hive. Still, something of this scale was unprecedented if not unwelcomed. Canterlot. The heart of Equestria. A princess.”

Pharynx pressed himself up against a wall. Three guards stood stoically down the hall. One taller, bulkier, and heavily armored towered in front of the other two. It was this one his eyes lay on.

“My brother—the runt of the clutch—was always the quietest cheerleader of mine. His eyes lit up when I returned, only to sputter when the glorious stories of my achievements were told to the rest of the hive.”

The guard gave a salute before turning around and marching down the hallway, his spear at the ready.

“To be known as the Changeling who spearheaded the infiltration of Canterlot…:

The guard marched passed Pharynx.

“I'd be…”

The guard turned a corner. Pharynx swiftly followed behind, leaping onto the back the guard. He wrapped a claw around his neck and raised the guard's neck. A smile formed on his face as a sickening snap! filled the air.

“A hero. No, make that a legend.”

Pharynx observed his new form as he took on the guard’s appearance, and then picked up the guard’s dog-tags up off the floor and read them. Toren huh? So that was his new name, at least for the time being. Poor bastard should've asked for a better one.

Pharynx took a deep breath, observing the grandiose sights that surrounded him. “It'll almost be a shame to bring oblivion onto this place when my fellow hive members come raining down and the Queen marches in and demolishes the Royal Sisters’ thrones,” he thought to himself. “Gah, I shouldn't think such things. I sound like my brother.”

“Sir!”

Pharynx rolled his eyes and turned around, saluting the petrified guard that galloped up to him.

“S-sir! I heard something and got here as fast as I could!” The guard took several deep breaths, wiping sweat away from his brow. “What was the disturbance?”

Pharynx blinked. “Nothing. You were hearing things.”

“Surely that wasn't the case!” the guard protested. “I saw a figure lunge out of a corner! I got my eyes checked yesterday and the doctor said I have perfect vision.”

“Hindsight is 20/20. He's lying. It’s absolute nonsense if you ask me, and I personally think you’re getting paranoid,” Pharynx remarked. “Celestia and Shining have got the entire city on lockdown for a reason, might be starting to get to you, Make you start to see things that aren’t there.” he shrugged.

“M-maybe you're right,” The guard let out a shaky sigh. “Mind if I patrol with you?”

“No,” Pharynx grunted as turned his back to the guard. “Get back to your post before I give you an actual reason to question your eyesight.” He levitated his spear over to the guard's eye, a hair's length from it. The guard nodded, before walking off. Pharynx sighed as he leaned up against the wall, it was going to be a long infiltration…

Back in the present time, on Zigama, the now Changeling King found himself infiltrating yet another type of fortress using the form of a rat to crawl through the maze of air ducts to find Gamettsui’s office.

“Really, I’m pretty much anything from subtle and yet I have to be the one to infiltrate this guy’s ship?” Pharynx thought to himself. “Suppose if you think of a stupid plan, I suppose you’re the poor bastard who gets to carry it out. Lucky me. Lucky me…”

All the same, eventually Pharynx found himself above Gamettsui’s office and kicked open the grating noticing the convenient absence of Gamettsui himself. Mind you, Baroness Manx was still there, and still chained to Gamettsui’s throne.

Manx’s eyes narrowed in on Pharynx and she thought to herself: “Thank the Maker… She’s heard my prayers, finally… something to eat that isn’t that slop that lizard dares to call food!”

Pharynx, noting the predatory look in the Baroness’s eyes quickly changed forms back to his default state. Manx tried to let out a yelp, but Pharynx quickly planted a claw over her mouth to silence her.

“Shh…” he hissed out. “Don’t know when Gamettsui is coming back, could be any second now. Don’t worry, I’m getting you out of here,” Pharynx stated in a reassuring manner, noting how frighteningly thin Manx actually was. If one looked close enough, you could actually see her ribs. Pharynx let out a growl unknowingly startling Manx and making her eyes widen in fear. Gamettsui had been starving her. No wonder she looked so desperate to eat him. Mind you, he probably would have made a good meal but still... “But you need to stay quiet as you can, okay?” Pharynx requested, and Manx let out a small whimper as Pharynx sliced the chains apart with his scythe.

“Who… who are you?” Manx asked in fear. “No, what are you?”

“I’ll explain later,” Pharynx replied, his eyes darting from right to left in search of a fast exit in case Gamettsui decided to return at that very moment. “Right now, we’re leaving. Can you stand?”

“Just… Just barely.” Manx whispered, and Pharynx nodded before attempting to help her up only for his arms to get swatted away with one paw leaving a deep gouge mark in his chitlin. “Don’t touch me, p-please… Just don’t…” she whispered fearfully, and Pharynx gauged her reactions. His eyes widened as a very disturbing and moreover very disgusting possibility came to mind.

“No, he wouldn’t have…” Pharynx thought to himself as his breath caught in his throat before his eyes narrowed. “No, he would have.” he thought before he suddenly felt sick to his stomach, realizing what he must have come across as when he clamped his claw over Manx’s mouth.

Lurching back with an expression of self-disgust, Pharynx whispered: “T-That bastard, that monster. He raped her. He raped her…” before he let out a roar of rage and smashed a vase with a fist. Manx flinched and curled herself up into a ball going into a terrified silence. Pharynx looked disgusted with himself once more before he knelt down to her level.

“Okay, I’m not going to hurt you. Gamettsui, he’s a different story, but I shall not hurt you. I’m going to get you out of her, and then I’ll kill Gamettsui along the way if he’s ever unlucky enough to stand face-to-face with me. Tell me, how long did he…?” Pharynx asked, his tone showing a rare gentleness.

“F-Five… Five days. Five days!” she sobbed, before Pharynx pulled her into a hug and let her cry, stroking her fur softly. Then, a very distinctive laughter reached both of their ears as Pharynx whirled around to see Gamettsui laughing his ass off, clutching his rather rotund belly. Manx shrank into herself in fear.

“Oh, she was a delicious prize…” Gamettsui remarked, licking his lips and Pharynx let out an unearthly snarl as he reached for his Kyutama before deciding against that.

“No, you don’t deserve the honor of a morphed defeat. You’re just trash, lower than that actually. All you deserve is just a beat-down from your King, plain and simple. Quick and brutal.” Pharynx decided as he grabbed Gamettsui by the stomach with his antlers, raised him above his head and slammed the Magistrate into the solid metal floor several times leaving a small crater.

But Pharynx wasn’t done yet, as he then grabbed Gamettsui by the throat and hurled him into a wall. By now, the Dark Matter creature was bleeding considerably. Pharynx snorted in disgust, that was enough for now.

“Be glad I was feeling merciful today…” Pharynx snarled ripping the Eye of Bastet off Gamettsui, before he looked at Manx and handed it back to her. “I believe this is yours, my lady. Come on, we’re taking our leave.”

“Y-Yes,” Manx whispered. “And thank you. I never asked your name though, did I?”

“No, I suppose not. It’s King Pharynx of the Planet Equus, and member of the Space Squadron Kyurangers.”

“S-Space Squadron?” Manx asked, her eyes widened in shock having heard a raging Gamettsui screaming his vengeance towards them for destroying Lupus and his fleet. It was then he’d… Manx bit back some bile as she remembered what happened next. She sniffled, and Pharynx laid a hand on her shoulder gently.

“It’s okay, if he’s smart he won’t ever touch a woman again. And it’s Ophiuchus Silver, in case you were wondering. Now, as I said, let’s get out of here.”

Manx nodded, without saying a word before the two ran out of the office eventually reaching the battle site down below. “Stay here,” Pharynx told Manx, who nodded once more as Pharynx raced out to the battlefield, morphed and threw a flying side kick into the Scorpius Drone’s chest making it fly backward. He turned to Stripped whom the Drone had savagely been striking at with a bitter fury, and helped the pony up. “Sorry I took so long, had some garbage to deal with. Now, let’s finish this.”

“Right!” Stripped nodded as he, the Doctor and Pharynx all aimed their Kyuchangers at the remaining foot soldiers and fired an All-Star Crash at them destroying them in a rather large fireball.

“Oh, that never gets old!” Stripped laughed before a still bleeding Gamettsui staggered onto the battlefield and Pharynx let out a growl.

“So, you’re still alive?” he snarled. “Allow me to rectify that mistake!”

But the Changeling King was in for a surprise as Gamettsui injected something into his forearm and before anyone knew what was happening the Magistrate was a truly colossal size.

“Bow your heads!” Gamettsui proclaimed as he loomed over the group.

“What the fuck…?” Pharynx asked as the Doctor rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

“Ah yes… I may have forgotten to mention this, but all of Dark Matter’s commanders carry on them a syringe of that stuff. Genetically engineered Megabeast DNA, makes them… well, do that.” he admitted.

“And you couldn’t have mentioned this earlier?” Pharynx muttered to himself before Gamettsui was bombarded by blasts from the Cerberus and Eagle Voyagers.

“Well, what are you three waiting for?” Jabari asked. “Come on, big or not he’s still just a member of Dark Matter who’ll fall like all the rest!”

Teleporting inside their Voyagers, parts shifted and moved into place as the Libra and Ophiuchus Voyagers became legs, with the Eagle and Swordfish Voyagers moving into place as the Shooting Star Megazord’s arms.

“No, this won’t do,” Pharynx stated. “Commander Flashfire, permission to switch spots with Jabari?”

“Permission granted, but why…?”

“Let’s just say I want to finish this one off personally.” Pharynx snarled, in a tone of complete and utter rage that frightened anyone who heard it. Jabari quickly took the message and shifted spots with Pharynx; the Eagle Voyager becoming the left leg, and the Ophiuchus Voyager became the right arm.

“Alright you bastard,” Pharynx snarled as he slammed the Hydrus Kyutama into a slot on his console. “This is your judgment.”

The Ophiuchus Voyager’s jaw opened and unleashed a flurry of snake heads made of green energy. Eight in total, each biting and snapping at their opponent making him stagger back before a massive ball of orange energy was charged up and fired blowing a massive hole in Gamettsui’s chest, before the Magistrate exploded.

As Flashfire stated his usual taking back the universe quote, Pharynx sighed and slumped back in his chair. Justice was served.

Back aboard the Shining Armor, even as repairs were conducted by a thankful populace Pharynx watched over Manx, who was being checked over by one of the ship’s medics. As he watched the medic patch Manx’s wounds, with the maroon-furred felid long have been given more flattering and suitable attire, Pharynx’s fists clenched. “It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone. You can get knocked down, and it hurts and it leaves scars. But if you're a leader, the people you've counted on will help you up. And if you're a leader, the people who count on you need you on your feet. And her subjects will need her.” he thought thinking not just of her, but his own mental scars. “I swear to protect her, with my life if need be. That is my duty as King of the Changelings, to protect my subjects. She may not be a Changeling, but she displayed extraordinary courage in the face of that monster and I would gladly call her one of my own hive.”

Part 13: Hope Springs Eternal Part 1: Noblesse Oblige

Planet Jume:

Now normally, the planet Jume was a peaceful desert world, the worst problem one could encounter being the risk of heatstroke. Or, you know devoured whole by a giant worm but that’s a minor trifle. This, of course, was all before Dark Matter came to call.

Now, because of the planet’s unusually high amount of Planetium, Dark Matter had sent at least seven Moraimarz -Yes, seven. You read right- down to the surface to collect it. Thankfully for Jume, hope wasn’t all lost. A distress signal had been picked up via both the Shining Armor and the Piercing Arrow along with their newfound allies from Vela and Zigame and a shock trooper squadron consisting of seven of the Paladins along with fighter craft from both Zigame and Vela had been sent down to assist.

“Stay in formation, no breaking off from the pack for any hot dogging maneuvers,” Flashfire ordered, calm and collected as ever. “We take them one at a time, simple as that. If anyone tries to stop us, hit ‘em hard and hit ‘em fast. Blow them out of the sky, show them that we will take the universe back!”

As he said this, the Eagle and Swordfish Voyagers rocketed by him and fired barrages of missiles at two Moraimarz, taking them out. Another of the Moraimarz was destroyed by one of the ships from Vela landing atop it, and crushing it with its tendrils.

“Alright people, we got this, grr!” shouted Garu, a fighter pilot from the planet Zigame as he double-teamed his fighter craft alongside Coldcast inside the Wolf Voyager. He threw a salute to Coldcast with his paw, before remarking: “Really love your choice in ships there! We’re like two of a kind!”

“Oh, that must mean I’m Canis Major, and you’re Canis Minor then…” Coldcast teased as they opened fire on a ground of Dark Matter fighter craft blowing them out of the sky.

“Grr, don’t be stupid! I’m no little pup!” Garu remarked in return, while Coldcast only laughed.

“You two going to kiss anytime soon?” the Doctor teased over the comms as his Scale-themed Voyager shifted into a mini mecha which began slicing through fighter craft with the spinning disks on its arms. “Maybe I should arrange a wedding, eh?”

“OH SHUT UP!” Both Coldcast and Garu shouted, much to everyone else’s amusement. With a loud sonic boom smashing boulders beneath them, the Cerberus Voyager rocketed overhead and fired three energy beams from its three jaws. These three beams ended up utterly destroying a massive sized Deathworm that was about to strike the Libra Voyager in the back with one of its tendrils before Pharynx could take it out with his own Voyager’s weapons.

“Thanks for the assist,” the Doctor remarked, before gesturing with a finger to Pharynx behind him, who was making his own Voyager assume it’s mecha mode. “He never gets me anything.”

“Hey, I would have stopped that worm in its tracks, you should have given me a moment or two eh?” the Silver Ranger snapped.

“Do you have to work really hard at the whole brooding bad boy thing? Like seriously, do you get up in front of the mirror every day and say, yes, this is who I want to be?” the Doctor joked, and Pharynx let out a flurry of curses at him even as he made his mecha practically Rider Kick one of the Moraimarz ships destroying it in a sorta repeat of earlier that week with what he did to the Scorpius Drone on Zigama.

“Now who should we be possibly be preparing weddings for, eh?” Coldcast smirked, quite eager to get some of his own back. “Seriously, you two have got the whole old married couple argument act thingy down to a-WOAH!”

Just then, right in front of everyone’s eyes, the final three remaining Moraimarz shifted into their mecha forms, welding parts of their central structures as lances.

“Alright, form up on me everybody, time to take this battle up a notch or two. Shooting Star Megazord formation Alpha-Beta engaging. Let’s rocket!” Flashfire commanded as he saw the Wolf and Bull Voyagers running below him, before the back halves tilted upwards. The Cerberus Voyager linked up with them complete with small hisses of steam. The Libra Voyager connected to the Megazord’s right arm port forming what looked to be a pair of giant buzzsaws, and the Ophiuchus Voyager, the left. Finally, the central head on the Cerberus had its jaw fold down, revealing a mouthplate covered face, with two stoic yellow eyes staring the three massive mecha down. “Alright then, let’s dance.”

Now, you may have been wondering how Dark Matter wasn’t exactly getting wind of what was going on down on the planet below. Well, high above the atmosphere in aboard the Piercing Arrow, Jabari and Stripped Gear worked hard to hack into a satellite above the planet to keep the local soldiers from broadcasting an SOS signal to the main fleet. Meanwhile, highly skilled crew members of the Piercing Arrow worked to control the Eagle and Swordfish Voyagers.

The satellite itself, it was mostly bright red, with two translucent blue reflective solar panels. Stripped Gear had his own ideas in mind for this Dark Matter creation, turn it against them somehow at a later date, but first, he had to hack into its systems. And that was no easy task, to say the least.

“How’s things going up there, Stripped?” Flashfire asked, as the Shooting Star Megazord swung its right arm around throwing the buzzsaws of the Libra Voyager around ripping and cutting into the Moraimarz Mecha, before the slices were followed up by blasts of green energy from the jaws of the Ophiuchus Voyager. One of the mecha had already fallen to this brutal onslaught.

“Oh, about as well as can be expected…” Stripped remarked even as the Ophiuchus Voyager blasted a hole in one of the three Moraimarz’ torsos, sending the mecha crashing to the ground in a fiery explosion. “Me and Jabari should have this thing under our control in… oh, about five minutes or so? How about you guys?”

“Oh, we’re managing,” Flashfire commented, as the Shooting Star Megazord engaged the final mecha, the Megazord blocking thrusts from the Moraimarz’ lance with its fists. “Alright everyone, switch to formation Alpha-Alpha!”

The Libra and Ophiuchus Voyagers detached and were replaced by the Swordfish and Eagle Voyagers respectively. After several battles, the team had learned to function the Shooting Star’s scramble combination feature as it had been termed by Stripped without the help of the AIs. The Libra and Ophiuchus Voyagers resumed their mecha forms, and both grabbed ahold of the remaining Moraimarz by an arm allowing the Shooting Star Megazord to strike it in the chest with the wing blades of the Eagle Voyager, both wings glowing with a pink flame.

Next, the Swordfish Voyager was used as a blade as well, the bill functioning as a rapier sword and striking the Moraimarz mecha in the chest one final time impaling it in a riposte maneuver after it had parried the Moraimarz’ lance. The Moraimarz staggered back, and went up in a fireball though the keen eyes of the Doctor had noticed a figure leap out of the mecha before it went up.

“Here it comes everyone, round two!” the Doctor cried, as a Strongindaver named Moretsuyoindaver injected the Megabeast DNA into his forearm and grew to Megazord size. “What, no ‘Bow your heads!’?” the Doctor asked, knowing the Magistrates loved that particular quote.

“You will fall, and operations on Planet Jume will resume regardless of this setback!” Moretsuyoindaver snarled, aiming his cudgel at the Megazord and firing balls of energy from its tip, making the Megazord stagger back. He also fired balls of energy at various fighter craft, shooting them out of the air.

One by one, allies fell as their ships exploded in horrific fireballs claiming lives, death deciding not to be picky that day. The faces and the names Flashfire would remember, not just the ponies under his command but those few ships and their pilots from both Zigama and Vela as well. Thunder Night, Windfire, Kero, amongst others. He’d make sure they got burials deserving of their status as heroes. Viking funerals, like those from Fågel’s homeland.

“Oh sure, entropy will claim everything eventually,” the Doctor shrugged as his Mecha sliced into the Strongindaver’s skin drawing blood. “But doesn’t mean we should give up, not while there’s still hope left in this universe. If everyone lends their voice to the same dream, anything’s possible.”

His veins glowed that light blue and gold color again, and once more the Doctor took no notice.

“Hope is nothing but a lie. The universe will fall to Dark Matter!” Moretsuyoindaver snarled, slamming his cudgel into the Megazord’s side making it stagger before a slash across the chest from the Swordfish Voyager was given in retaliation.

“Do you ever shut up? Dark Matter this, Dark Matter that!” Pharynx asked in a growl, his mech roundhouse punching Moretsuyoindaver in the face, before Moretsuyoindaver retaliated and knocked both the Libra and Ophiuchus Voyagers out of the battle with energy ball blasts from his cudgel. “Controls are jammed!” Pharynx shouted, with the Doctor confirming the same thing for his Voyager. “It’s up to you guys.”

“Relax,” Coldcast smiled as he slammed the Loyalty Kyutama into a slot in his cockpit making the blade of the Swordfish Voyager glow with crackling lightning. “The Element of Loyalty has your back. We got this.”

The Megazord raised it’s blade high towards the sky, and the clouds began to boil over before lightning began repeatedly striking Moretsuyoindaver again and again making him stagger. His cudgel clattered to the ground with a mighty Clang! just as the Shooting Star Megazord struck him across the chest several times with the wing blades of the Eagle Voyager.

“Stripped!” Flashfire shouted as Fågel made the Megazord kick Moretsuyoindaver in the face. “Progress report!”

“Almost…” Stripped murmured to himself, before letting out a shout of triumph. “Done! I got it! Might even be able to lend you lot a little hand!”

Pressing a button on his console, he managed to turn the satellite's reflective panels towards the direction of the sun, and aimed the lights right at Moretsuyoindaver, cutting through the already dispersing storm clouds and momentarily blinding the Magistrate.

Flashfire, taking advantage of this momentary upper hand, slammed the Aquarius Kyutama into a slot on his cockpit’s console and the Eagle Voyager then fired a stream of scalding hot water at Moretsuyoindaver making him scream out in pain.

“Not so talkative now, are you?” Flashfire asked with a small smirk. “And for good measure… Let’s follow up with one of my personal favorites…” he remarked before switching out the Aquarius Kyutama out for the Andromeda and fired black iron chains from the Eagle Voyager’s mouth completely entrapping Moretsuyoindaver. “You know, I’ve had enough of this little bout of ours, really. Time to finish this, what do you guys say?”

“Agreed,” Coldcast remarked. “Toying with him and experimenting with different Kyutamas was fun before, but now it’s just starting to wear thin. Let’s finish this. This planet’s suffered long enough under Dark Matter’s thumb.”

“And I’ve got just the thing to do so.” Flashfire agreed. “Spiral Galaxy Galactic Finish!”

Pressing controls on his console, he got the Megazord to line up its arms in such a way that the Eagle and Swordfish Voyagers would serve as a makeshift bow and arrow as what looked to be a manifestation of the milky way galaxy formed in front of them as a targeting sight. Next, one furious piercing shot was fired, right through Moretsuyoindaver’s chest before the monster staggered backwards, and then exploded, but not before saying: “Dark Matter Forever!”

Flashfire? As for him, all he did was a simple thumbs-down and a remark of: “Échec et mat. As I said, we will take the universe back. Piece by piece if we have to. Kyurangers, victory is ours…”

He then took a look at the destroyed remains of their allies' fighter craft and what little ships actually remained. “But what’s the cost?”

Light years upon light years away nestled in Dark Matter’s main battle fleet was the personal ship of Don Armage, where even now the the ruler of the 88 Galaxies strode through the corridors, his cloak thrown back to reveal a pure black skeleton head with a bulbous brain visible. If death had an avatar, perhaps this was what he would look like to the mortal eye.

“It’s a rare sight seeing you away from your system, Scorpio,” Don Armage commented, as he walked with a dark suited man, rather handsome in appearance with his luxurious black locks and his purple tie only reinforcing that notion. The only indicator of him not being human in any way was the massive scorpion’s tail complete with stinger trailing from his back. He looked like he might have been a kind man once, a warrior who would gladly have defended his people. But make no mistakes, the Karō of the Sasori system was now nothing but a monster. It wasn’t always this way of course, but those days were nothing but memories to him now like dust in the wind.

“Yes, well even I need to break from ruling my system, the politics of doing such a thing can make one rather weary,” Scorpio remarked with a heavy sigh, as two black-robed guards with red visors -Almost resembling dark Kyurangers in a way- carrying energy pikes followed them. Don Armage’s personal bodyguards, the Veils of the Shadow. “My second-in-command, he can take care of things over there in the meantime.”

“I always meant to ask, why did you ever choose to follow me?” Armage remarked curiously, turning his head to face Scorpio’s.

Scorpio only chuckled, causing Armage to look at him only the more curiouser. “I’m sorry, allow me to explain,” Scorpio remarked. “Those who own power and privilege have a duty they must fulfill. That's what Noblesse Oblige means. Sometimes you have to get your hands dirty in order to do that.”

“Exactly,” Don Armage mused. “I had to get my hands dirty to fulfill my dream, although look what happened as a result. The Universe is now be set right. It has been made over to fit my unique view of what should be, and what always should have been. Balance has been restored. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be… and when the end comes, I hope they remember my exploits. Of their savior.”

Scorpio chuckled.

“Careful now, I doubt the universe wants their savior to gain an ego,” he remarked teasingly and Armage chuckled and looked at him.

“You were happy on your home planet were you not?” Armage remarked.

“Y-Yes, I was…” Scorpio replied, and Armage chuckled and wagged a finger.

“Tut tut, it’s not nice to lie to your lord. When I arrived on your planet, it was the same story with everyone on that world. You lot, you were almost on a regular basis going to bed hungry. Scrounging for scraps. Your planet was on the brink of collapse,” Armage remarked, and Scorpio nodded, that much was true. His world was a barren desert, where living was a luxury only gifted to those strong enough to fight for their survival. “I was the one who stopped that. Or rather, I was the one who gave you the power to stop that miserable existence you called living. You know what’s happened since then, ever since you took up my sword? The children, your children and even your dear brother born have known nothing but full bellies and clear skies. It’s a paradise. Hope Springs Eternal, I believe that’s the saying yes?”

“Yes, yes it is,” Scorpio remarked. “Hope springs eternal. People always hope for the best, even in the face of adversity. It is in everyone’s nature. We’d lost that sense of hope, until you came along.”

“No, that is incorrect,” Armage replied. “It was when you came along that hope could finally return to your world. And for the record, I truly apologize for what you had to do. The hardest choices require the strongest wills, alas.”

“Yes, quite sadly that is the barren truth of the matter. Speaking of strong wills, what about the Kyurangers?” Scorpio asked, just for a moment wondering if he was overstepping his bounds. It seems he had no reason to worry, as Don Armage only chuckled.

“Those little runts?” Armage asked. “They’re barely stepped out of their wombs. They’re not worth a consideration.”

“But milord, and forgive me if I overstep my bounds here,” Scorpio remarked. “They’ve already managed to destroy one of your Karōs and all but free the Pegasus System from your rulership. Only Magistrate left is Denvil, and as soon as they defeat him, -and mark my words, seeing their success rate so far, I wouldn’t bet against it- that galaxy will be free. They’re building a rebellion, even as we speak at this very moment!”

“The Pegasus System,” Armage mused. “And Lupus… Both were weak. That system, I honestly considered barely worth my attention. The only reason I had it under my control was for the Planetium it would provide, and so nobody there would get any bright ideas about thinking that I am not the universe’s savior and only a tyrant to them. I did them no wrongs, did I not? What my Karōs choose to do when they’re handed their systems is simply up to them.”

“Perhaps…” Scorpio mused as the two continued to walk down the ship’s corridor. “But it is at least worth considering, a small display of your power to put them back in line.”

“A small display, perhaps,” Armage remarked. “But what would be the point? After all, even rebellions grow weary and they still have eighty-seven Karōs to face, along with the rest of my forces. They will tire eventually, and then they will be put down like the rabid dogs they are. Who knows, perhaps you will get the lucky chance of being the one to do so.”

“Perhaps…” Scorpio mused as Armage unfolded his hand, and brought up a hologram of the universe at large.

“Tell me Scorpio, what do you see?” he asked.

“A universe, completely and totally under your control. Trillions upon trillions of lives basking in your glory.”

“Exactly, it was nothing but a dream once but now I have made it a reality. Like you said, Noblesse Oblige. Those who own power and privilege have a duty they must fulfill. I fulfilled my duty, and now I reap the rewards. Just like you did, your planet is now out of its infancy days and has grown into the brightest jewel in it’s system. Am I not correct?”

“Yes, you are correct. Quite correct. It is indeed something I should be proud of.” Scorpio sighed before something beeped on his wrist gauntlet. “I’m sorry, it seems there is a matter I must intend to. A small… insurrection on my homeworld.”

“Be strong, be fast, and be swift. Show them no mercy my Karō,” Armage remarked as he watched Scorpio change into his true form, an armored monster wearing an orange-flamed long coat and a dark red mask that left only one eye visible. His hair was now tied into a dreadlocked ponytail. “Show them something… beautiful, show them the true power of the scorpion.”

“As you command,” Scorpio said with a bow. “Yes, it seems my people need a reminder of just who rules the universe.”

“And just who is that? Who rules the universe?”

“You, my lord. Shogun Don Armage.”

“And who rules over you?” Armage asked.

“You do.”

“Exactly,” Armage stated, and smirked as he watched Scorpio teleport away. Even a rabid dog could be controlled with the right amount of ability. “And speaking of abilities,” Armage mused as he walked into his treasure room and towards the central plinth where inside a dark purple orb rested that strange horn Lupus had recovered from Equus before his untimely demise. “Now I must uncover yours, my friend. Oh, they may think me playing with fire, getting to close to getting burned but I argue otherwise. With the right amount of persuasion, even the creature this once belonged to shall bow to my whims. Armageddon shall come, but only to the weak after I fuse my power to this lowly creature’s.”

He raised his right hand, sparking with purple electricity, and fired it at the horn hoping to absorb the power it contained for his own usage although sadly the energy backfired and only was directed towards him. The two members of the Veils of the Shadow that had been following him took the blasts, and were rendered to nothing but dust.

“A pity,” Don Armage thought as he shook his head. “It seems further persuasion will be required before I can bend this creature’s power to my whims. So be it.”

The Shining Armor: Prince Stardust’s Quarters

Back aboard the Shining Armor, as it left the planet Jume far behind, Stardust sat in his quarters alone and thought to himself. “My parents, they had a dream once. I’m doing the best to follow that dream… right?”

He thought back, it was a vague memory but he still remembered bits and pieces of it. It was enough, just enough. He remembered a burning orb, something hellishly bright and an innate sense of fear. He was only five years old then, he remembered Flurry Heart rushing inside the crushing darkness, clutching him tightly.

“Flurry, what’s going on? Why is the sun so…?” Stardust asked in fear.

“Everything’s going to be fine, okay? Just you watch, your parents are holding the sun back at this very moment. They’ll succeed, just you watch okay? This… This is just so we don’t get in their way, you understand okay?” Flurry stated, fighting back a sob.

Had Stardust known she was lying -And in hindsight, he suspected deep down he knew he already did- he probably would have been more scared than he already was.

Just then, Celestia appeared before them striding through the crowds.

“It’s okay my son, I’m here.” she said softly.

“Mommy, what are you doing here?” Stardust asked as he rushed into his mother’s arms, only for his own to go right through her. Blinking in shock, Stardust asked: “Mommy, why can’t I touch you? Please, answer me! I want… I want to see you! I want to know what’s going on!”

“I’m sorry my son,” Celestia whispered, a small tear dripping from her eye. “But I can’t be with you right now, I can only project myself with my magic.”

“Mommy, why can’t you be with me right now? Why are you crying? Where’s Auntie Luna? Where’s Auntie Cadence? Where’s mommy Twilight?” Stardust asked frantically in fear.

“I’m sorry my son, but we can’t be here for you right now,” Celestia told her son. “By Faust, I wish we could, but we have to save the world right now. But I-I promise, no I Pinkie Promise,” Celestia continued, her voice beginning to break. “When the day is over, all will be set right. C-cross my h-heart, hope to fly. S-Stick a cupcake in my eye.”

“Mommy, what’s going on? Why is it so hot? Why is everyone so afraid?” Stardust demanded in a tear-filled fearful tone of voice, frantic to know what exactly was going on as he watched ponies, griffons, zebras and various other assorted other species rush pash him. “Please! Tell me, I want to know!”

“It is nothing for you to worry about my son. As I said, by the end of the day when all is said and done everything will be put right once more and I will be able to hold you in my arms once again.”

Stardust knew now, that even back then despite all her stubbornness and denial Celestia knew their homeworld was about to be charbroiled to a crisp. She just couldn’t bring herself to tell her son, or even admit to herself that was the truth of the matter. Wasn’t that the way, everybody having their dues in life to pay someday?

“Are you sure?” Stardust asked even as Flurry helped him into a pod of some sort. “Please tell me I will see you again mommy!”

“Yes, you will. You’ll see all of us someday, I can promise you that,” Celestia said before she reacted to a scream of rage and pain in the background. A scream of pained despair.

“T-The Sun! It… it killed her! It killed my moon!” Auntie Luna screamed out somewhere far away from Stardust’s field of vision, as Celestia bit back a sob.

“Mommy, what does Auntie Luna mean?” Stardust asked fearfully. “What does she mean about your sun killing her moon?” he asked, even as he watcher his mother’s project began to grow ever more strained, her horn glowing an even bright shade of gold than before. For a brief moment in time, her hair seemed to flare up like an inferno, and her eyes turned into orange slits before they resumed their normal appearance as Celestia bit back a sob, pulsing orange veins showing all over her face.

“I’m… I’m sorry, I’m so sorry my son,” Celestia whispered, tears streaming down her face. “I wish you didn’t have to know, but it seems I have no choice. That promise I made? You know the one? It’s one I’m afraid Twilight and I will have to break. The sun, it’s currently scorching the planet to a husk, and I’m… I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold it back for much longer. Listen, I know you’re afraid, but there’s one thing I want you to do for me. Can you do that, my son?” Celestia asked, as she watched Flurry seal herself into a pod as well.

“Y-Yes, mommy…” Stardust nodded, even as he bit back a sniffle of his own.

“Carry on Equestria’s legacy, teach the magic of Friendship to everyone, it’s just what Twilight and I would have wanted you to do understand? Carry on our wills. Be the next Prince of Friendship, carry on my will. Carry on Twilight’s will. Carry on Luna’s will. I’m sorry, I wish I didn’t have to force this on you my son,” Celestia sobbed, her tears coming down ever harder now seemingly turning to steam from the sheer broiling heat of the sun. “But I have no choice. You are my legacy, you are my son. My little sunshine, my little Stardust. Please, can you do this one last thing for your mother?”

“Y-Yes, I’ll try,” Stardust whimpered even as the cold sleep pod began to seal over him. “C-Cross my heart, hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye.”

“T-Thank you, my son. Maybe… Just maybe someday we will see each other someday soon, out amongst the stars. But I’ve got to go now. Luna… she needs her big sister. Goodbye my, son, and remember me. Remember Equestria.” Celestia asked, before the pod fully sealed and Celestia’s project blinked out of existence forever.

Stardust sighed and sucked in a breath as he walked out of his quarters. There was no time to dwell on the past now, he had more important matters to attend to. He cast a glance to the big cylindrical tank in the corner of the room, the one that was impossible to see inside and ran his fingers along the glass. He sighed, he’d visit the occupant inside later.

“I promise, I won’t let you down mother…” Stardust thought. Soon, he found himself amongst a crowd of various members of the ship alongside Velans and Zigama natives mourning those lost in the battle to free planet Jume from Dark Matter’s tyranny. Although there were no bodies to be recovered, Flashfire insisted on the highest honors being bestowed upon those who had fallen. Viking style funerals, and in place of the bodies personal effects important to the fallen.

Baroness Manx, she was dressed in all black robes with a veil over her face, Pharynx laying a hand on her shoulder in support with Garu by her side. Behind them, was Jabari, playing a tune on his violin with the Doctor lending his voice as the caskets were launched out into space.

“Sing with me, sing for the years
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears
Sing with me, just for today

“Yeah, sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
Sing with me, just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away…”

“Atten-Hut!” Garu shouted as the Shining Armor’s cannons fired off rainbow balls of light. They weren’t just mourning the dead but celebrating their lives that they’d lived as well.

As soon as the proceedings were over, Manx whirled around on Flashfire and Stardust.

“You did this…” she hissed out, claws bared. “You led my people into a slaughter, and now you have the nerve to do this? We don’t even have any bodies!”

“Hey!” Garu snapped. “This wasn’t their fault, grr! This was Dark Matter’s, and no one else’s! Lay the blame at their feet, not our saviors!”

“Saviors? SAVIORS!?!” Manx screeched, with Garu taking a small step back in fear. “You have the nerve to call them saviors after they led some of our best pilots into a slaughter?”

“Hey, in case you forgot, we weren’t the only ones to lose friends today,” Garu snapped. “The Velans, and the Equus, they lost friends as well! Remember that before you go barking off unfounded accusations!”

Manx let out a hiss, before she sighed and turned tail heading back to her quarters.

“Do… Do you think she’ll be alright?” Stardust asked nervously.

“I know Manx,” Garu sighed, the blue Syrien shaking his head sadly. “At least, I did before that lizard bastard came along and defiled her. She was always a kind and understanding sort, grr. She’ll come around and see reason… eventually. She just needs time to mourn like everyone else.”

“I hope you’re right…” Flashfire sighed before he watched Pharynx march off after Manx. “Hey, where you going?”

“To talk to her.” Pharynx stated, saying no more on the matter as the doors shut behind him.

Author's Notes:

Okay, a few notes. I easily could have ended this chapter here with Armage trying to take on Sombra's powers, but I figured I could still squeeze a bit more story out of this such as the flashback with Stardust.

Other notes? The prolonged battle with the Magistrate of the day? Consider that me making up for not giving you a good Megazord battle with the previous one. Also, yes Kyuranger fans, the Garu in this chapter is the one you're thinking of complete with verbal tic. Might not be a Ranger here, but I'll try to make him useful.

Also, an early-bird cameo of Scorpio long before the Rangers face off with him.

As ever, comments, thoughts, and critique are welcomed.

Part 14: Hope Springs Eternal Part 2: Fighting Spirit

The Shining Armor:

“Okay, we’re now hovering over the planet Argos. Not to be confused with the constellation,” the Doctor stated, as he brought up a viewscreen. He, along with the rest of the Paladins were in the Shining Armor’s conference room currently looking at a mostly desert planet, with small patches of heavily industrialized cities here and there. “It’s hot, dry, and mostly what you’d call Hell outside the city walls. The citizens, they use Geothermal power to get by, and draw their water from the soil and conserve it in huge water tanks for when it’s needed,” the Doctor explained. “It’s quite ingenious really. Just over a thousand years ago, they were barely scrubbing to get by with their day to day life and now look at them! Oh, I love it when civilizations rise up, and surpass their limits and go beyond what’s said to be supposedly impossible!” he chorused, throwing his hands up in the air in excitement.

Nobody else seemed to particularly share his excitement, and in fact were actually all staring at the Time Lord and Gold Ranger with expressions of boredom and annoyance.

“Can you just get on with it Doctor?” Stardust asked. “Just tell me, is this the last planet we need to free in this system? The last planet with a local Magistrate lording over it?”

“Yeah, should be…” the Doctor murmured as he rubbed his chin with one of his hands in thought. “Unless I missed one. But that’s eh, let’s say highly doubtful and get on with things shall we?” he asked, clapping his hands together. “Okay, Magistrate. Denvil. A few of you, me amongst you have met him before, back on the Baroness Manx’s planet. Slender, long neck? Conjuring up a picture in my mind for you all?”

“Yeah, I remember him,” Stripped muttered. “Setting that pet Scorpion Drone of his on me. Nearly sliced me to ribbons with those arm blades it has had Pharynx not shown up when he did.”

Pharynx chuckled. “It’s what I do, really… Pleasure saving your ass, by the way. Really, you belong behind a desk, not in the field sorry to say.” he remarked with a small smirk.

Stripped snarled, and rose up out of his chair with a growl. “Why I oughta…”

“Easy boys, you can settle your little pissing match later, maybe kiss and make up?” the Doctor told them firmly, with just a hint of a teasing note in his voice.

“ME? KISS HIM!?!” Pharynx and Stripped shouted at each other, pointing at one another as well. “NO WAY IN HELL! YOU MUST BE OUT OF YOUR MIND!” they shouted in unison.

“Aw, already speaking in unison, do I hear wedding bells on the horizon?” the Doctor teased, with Stardust joining in.

“Stripped and Pharynx, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!” Stardust singsonged. “First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the little unicorns and changelings in the baby carriages!”

“He’s such a child.” Flurry thought to herself, facepalming even as the Doctor and Prince Stardust laughed their asses off.

“SHUT UP!” both Stripped and Pharynx shouted at the two. This only encouraged the Doctor more, and he turned his Sonic over to a nearby speaker making it play a snippet of one cheesy as hell love ballad.

“Lying close to you feeling your heart beating
And I'm wondering what you're dreaming
Wondering if it's me you're seeing
Then I kiss your eyes and thank God we're together
And I just wanna stay with you
In this moment forever, forever and ever…”

Pharynx let out a hiss, his tongue flicking back and forth as he seemed to contemplate how best to murder the Doctor.

“Well, you know what they say, denial isn’t just a river in Baladi…” Stardust joined in. “Seriously, you and Stripped? Just start snogging the living daylights out of each other already!”

“Children, I work with such children!” Flurry mentally screamed.

“...They are so in love with each other…” Fågel commented as she looked at the now furious Pharynx and Stripped, before leaning in and whispering to her half-brother. “Seriously, they are. Tell me, are they not kæri bróðir minn?”

Coldcast chuckled to himself, and passed a bag of bits to her underneath the table before his expression turned more serious. He sighed. “Can we go back to an older subject, something that’s been on my mind as of late?”

“Sure, can do. I suppose we can, what’s your troubles? You need a Doctor?” the Doctor asked. “Cause if so… There’s one right here…”

“Shut up…” Coldcast muttered. “It’s… Well, no reason to beat around the bush about it really. It’s the Baroness Manx. I’m just worried about her, how she’s holding up after being... “ he had practically force the next few words out of his mouth. “Raped.”

Everyone in the room now wore a grim expression. “Best as to be expected one supposes,” Spada muttered to himself, shaking his head sadly. “I mean, she’s not breaking down into tears or anything like that, she’s a strong woman or cat rather but I do notice she shies away from every male on the ship except possibly that Syrian named Garu and Pharynx here. Her knight in shining chitlin I suppose you could put it.”

“I’d rather not be treated as some sort of hero for doing what I did,” Pharynx remarked, with a small sigh. “I was just stopping a monster from treating a woman as his plaything. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“And I’m glad you did,” Flashfire stated, laying a hand on the Changeling King’s shoulders, Pharynx’s wings buzzing slightly. “Merci beaucoup for that. I mean it. Seriously thank you so much for what you did. Much as I hate to think of it, most creatures probably wouldn’t have been so kind. Sure, they might have rescued Manx and slaughtered that bâtard for what he did, but keeping an eye on her like I know you are? That’s just going above and beyond really.”

“She’s not even your species, you barely know her. Just why do you care so much?” Pharynx asked in that gruff tone of his.

“Do I need a reason to?” Flashfire asked, though Pharynx being so good with emotions as he was, knew he was probably hiding something. Stripped, having known his friend for so long knew the same thing as well. But both also knew pressing Flashfire, at least for the moment would do them no good.

“No, I guess not. You do have every right to be concerned, one supposes. It’s in your nature, you’re just that kind,” Pharynx admitted. “Surprised you didn’t sign up to be ship’s counselor really.” He remarked.

“Eh, just not me. I like to be in the middle of things, and I’ve always loved the stars,” Flashfire said in reply. “Sitting behind a desk even if it was to help others work out their issues just wouldn’t feel right for me. Maybe someday, when Dark Matter’s defeated and we have a new home I’ll consider it but for now…?”

“Getting back on topic,” Pharynx continued. “If I could, or rather if Manx would allow it I’d probably take you with me. Might help with the healing process. Who knows? It’ll be a long road ahead, for both of us but a King must be prepared for any task no matter how difficult.” he stated, getting up from his chair and walking out of the room.

“Who died and anointed him King of the Changelings anyways?” Stardust asked in confusion, and Spada leaned over to whisper to him.

“Well,” the yellow drone replied. “Technically his brother was royalty so that meant if Thorax were to die -and he did- he’d be next in line for the throne.”

“....I thought Pharynx was his older brother?” Stardust remarked.

“True yes,” Spada confirmed. “But Thorax was the one who became king so that put Pharynx second in line by default. And as we haven’t had a true king for years, not since at least the sun went supernova I suppose Pharynx’s natural genetics took over. See, and I don’t know how to explain it properly as I don’t entirely understand it myself but when a hive senses it has no true ruler it appoints one at random. But when someone with royal blood running through their veins comes along, like say Pharynx who was technically a prince in a way they would get nominated.” Spada explained to Stardust, who only nodded along.

“So, Denvil. What are we to expect from this guy?” Stardust asked, absentmindedly fiddling with the sculpted dragon’s head on the top of his cane.

“Oh boy, this guy is everything I’m not,” the Doctor replied, sucking in a breath and pointing to the hologram of Denvil with a pointer stick. “Authoritarian, with a real penchant for loving the rules to a ridiculous degree. Makes everyone under his control do unbearably hard tasks, and should they fall from exhaustion -and they generally do- he whips them and orders them to get back up. He drives people to the point of exhaustion, that’s how he subjugates his planets.”

“Well, nothing for it then,” Stardust replied as he got up out of his chair rising to his full height and his horn began to crackle with magical energy as he gripped the head of his cane. “Time to take this planet back. I’m leading the away team. Spada, Fågel! You’re with me. Space Squadron Zyuranger, move out!” he proclaimed, raising his cane skywards.

“It’s Kyuranger, get it right!” Spada shouted, smacking him upside the head.

“...What, I’m not allowed to get creative? Plus, there are ten of us now…” Stardust trailed off.

“Mio Dio…” Spada muttered, rubbing his forehead in pain with a claw.

Meanwhile, as the Voyagers were prepped for launch Pharynx made his way to Manx’s quarters. They were generally a calming place to be really. However, because of Manx’s rather traumatic experiences, Flashfire had personally requested that hers were even more calming than the norm.

It was filled with mostly light colors like mild whites and greens along with a piano with plush cushions on every chair, and while it had a massive window that looked out into space that could be changed with the push of a button to a jungle landscape or a flowery field. At Manx’s request, some of her items that had been recovered from her office back on Zigama had been placed in her room. Ancient tribal stuff, like old shields and hand-woven tapestries depicting intricate yet beautiful patterns now hung from the walls. Manx just thanked her god that Gamettsui had been too stupid as to recognize their value.

Manx, fiddling with some beads her great-grandmother had given to her back when she was just a young kitten looked up when she heard a soft knocking at her door. For a moment, she flinched and flashbacked…

“Oh Manxy…” Gamettsui’s voice called as he knocked on her office door, with Manx trying to scurry away to the most out of the way place possible so he couldn’t possibly find her. “Can’t a little kitten come out to play with his master? It’s not nice for pets to disobey orders!” he laughed.

She shuddered, forcing the bile down her throat and reminding herself that Gamettsui was long dead now, slaughtered by Pharynx. “C-come in.” she whispered, and with a small hissing sound the door opened and Pharynx stepped inside.

Pressing a button on the side of a nearby wall, the viewscreen depicting the imagery of the stars outside the ship changed to that of a calming jungle pool, with a waterfall in the background and various animals like a cheetah and a leopard drinking out of it. Soft tribal music played in the background, complete with native chanting.

Manx pulled a leopard printed blanket over herself. Even though she was far from what you could call immodest at the moment, it was still a force of habit. She’d worn that slave outfit for what felt like an eternity it was now almost second nature to her to cover herself.

She heard the sound of what resembled an energy blast fired from a gun and then a distinct thud, followed by two more similar sounds.

“What was…?” she asked.

“The Draco, Chameleon and Bull Voyagers launching via a sorta catapult system. We’re about to start work on freeing Argos from Dark Matter’s control,” Pharynx answered. “But enough about that. Are you alright? Do you need a glass of water or anything? I’m sure I can replic-” he started off, sitting down beside her on the couch.

“NO!” Manx shouted suddenly, before she sighed. “No, I’m fine. I don’t like to be coddled, treated like someone who’s about to break any second now. Yes, I know what happened to me, but I don’t want to be treated like some sort of fragile piece of glass.”

“What happened to you was horrible, no denying that,” Pharynx replied softly, surprising even himself with the gentleness in his tone. It was something he didn’t even he knew he possessed. Then again, maybe for the most part he never had a reason to be gentle with anyone. It was always the rough tough, bruiser Changeling Captain of the Guard everybody wanted or expected of him so that was what they always got. “It was something nobody should have to go through, and I’m not trying to treat you as this fragile piece of glass. I’m here to simply talk with you, that’s all. Try to help you move on, that’s all.”

“I have moved on, it’s over and done with. Understand?” Manx stated firmly in a tone that left no room for argument. Or well, it would have had Pharynx not been in the room with her.

“I’d say you haven’t,” Pharynx replied. “After all, don’t think I didn’t notice the brief moment of hesitation before you allowed me to enter, and don’t think I’m blind to not see you covering yourself up with that blanket when it’s anything but cold in here. Look, I’m going to be brutally blunt with you,” Pharynx stated, his veins flashing a brief orange color. “Brutally honest. You haven’t moved on. You’ve most likely got PTSD, amongst other things and maybe you never will fully move on from this, but I can help you through it. And… And I’m not the only one.”

“What, you’re not the only one who knows someone who’s been violated?” Manx asked, blinking in surprise.

“Maybe, maybe not. I have my suspicions that someone does know, although I won’t voice them just yet. But a lot of the Equus residents, they’ve gone through some sort of traumatic event. Losing your home to ice will do that to you. You could talk to Coldcast, kid’s had it rough from what I understand. Grew up in the system, Hive Mother knows what only happened to him there. Or when Fågel or Stardust get back from freeing Argos, talk to them. Fågel, she was a wanted criminal for a time. Stardust, had to know his relatives died trying to save their world. Point is, a lot of us are broken in some form or the other. Flashfire, he mentioned to me a few days ago about starting this support group, let everyone get their feelings out in the open.”

“He’s… He’s a kind one, and I do admire what he’s trying to do, but I think being raped is something entirely different from watching your parents die or being a wanted parrot.” Manx replied.

“Perhaps. Perhaps not, I’m just trying to help you here. I just wanted to make sure you understood that. We’re all just looking out for you here, even your own people. Garu, he’s stayed aboard the ship and even become a member of the crew just because of how concerned he is about you. I have to admire his loyalty. If the Element of Loyalty wasn’t already spoken for by Coldcast, I’d honestly vouch for Garu there using it.”

“R-Really? He actually went that far for me?” Manx asked in surprised. “He actually switched from the crews of my planet’s flagship to your colony ship?”

“Yes, and it’s all just because he knows you need the support of your people right now and he said, and I quote: “I’ll be damned if I don’t give it, grr!” Pharynx stated, morphing with a green flash of fire into an exact replica of Garu, fur and all. To the Changeling King’s surprise, Manx actually laughed at this.

“Good impression, though I think you need to work on just toning down that aggressiveness in your voice a little bit if you want to completely fool people. Also, stop standing like a king all regal and such. Garu never does that,” Manx criticized. “Completely ruins the whole bit, really,” she stated, as Pharynx transformed back.

“B-But… I-I am a king… King Pharynx, of the Changeling Hive! My aggressive tone is to intimidate enemies!” he stated in annoyance, though inwardly he was smiling. At least he’d gotten Manx to open up a little bit, which was the entire goal. And she was smiling and laughing now which was even better. Thorax was probably rolling in his grave laughing his ass off out of how much of a fool his big brother was being made to look but he’d punch him the face when he died to remind him.

“You’re adorable, you know that?” Manx smiled. “Seriously, I can see why I keep hearing rumors of both you and Stripped being… ‘shipped’ is it? You two do share similar qualities, you’re always so serious half the time.”

“Bah! Me and him, dating? What a ridiculous comparison! We are nothing alike!” Pharynx muttered, as he crossed his arms and huffed. “Yeah, this is going to be a thing now isn’t it? Yep, it definitely is…” he thought to himself.

“Also, you do realize ‘pharynx’ refers to the part of the throat behind the mouth and nasal cavity and above the oesophagus and larynx right? Not a very intimidating name when you think on it.”

“Q-Queen Chrysalis was running out of names that day!” Pharynx stuttered out. “I swear she named a changeling Bob eventually!”

Manx just laughed her ass off.

The planet Argos:

Planetside, the three Kyurangers had found themselves in the midst of yet another towering city, a dome of energy high above them to keep the hot sun from beating down on them. The streets were eerily quiet, really.

Almost reminded Stardust of a ghost town, the Prince thought to himself as a sheet of paper blew by.

“...Okay then, monster. How hard can it be to find a monster?” Stardust asked, more than a little unnerved. Both Fågel and Spada kept their gauntlets primed, and at the ready aiming them into the alleys to blast any potential Invaders or Strongindavers who decided to pop out of the woodworks.

“Maður, mér líkar þetta ekki... Ekki einn hluti. Bara ekki einn hluti.” Fågel murmured nervously in her native language. It still bewildered every one of the Paladins on how an Icelandic parrot could be a half-brother to an Azteca-speaking griffon. “Bara rólegur, bara of fjandinn rólegur.”

“Hmm,” Stardust agreed with a nod of his head. Truth be told, Fågel was far from pleased to work with the pony who put her in prison and kept her from her only remaining family but for the sake of the mission she’d just grin and bear it.

Then, a scream pierced the air, and everyone’s hair or feathers stood on end.

“What was that?” Spada asked. “Please tell me that was just the wind.”

“Hálfviti,” Fågel admonished. “Since when is it ever ‘just the wind’?” she asked in a deadpan tone, giving the changeling a flat look.

“Good point,” Spada agreed, and he heard another sound, this time a pained groan. Training his ears in the direction of the sound, he gestured to them to follow. Placing a Kyutama into his gauntlet, he suddenly had a dog’s nose and began sniffing the air, and it wrinkled as his nose picked up the very distinct odor of fresh blood. The power of Canes Venatici, the Hound. “Molto bene! This way, amici!” he shouted running down an alleyway his Kyuchanger at the ready just in case they ran into trouble.

What he found, was an alien -resembling one of the Grays- nearly half whipped to death and looking completely starved.

“Fågel, tend to his wounds! Quickly! Velocemente ora!” Spada barked with an increased sense of urgency before placing another Kyutama into his Kyuchanger and summoning a fish out of mid-air before cutting it up into little bitty pieces with his Astral Rapier. As Fågel quickly began bandaging up the alien's back and applying salves to help along with the healing process, Spada gave a little bit of the fish to the alien. “Here, eat this. Get some of your strength back. Take your time. We can wait,” the changeling said, sitting himself atop some nearby crates.

“What happened?” Stardust asked. “C’mon, you can tell us,” he stated gently.

“Cosa, sei pazzo?” Spada shouted angrily at the Prince, with Fågel giving him a particularly dirty look as well. “We don’t know if this guy’s going to live or not and you want to ask him questions?”

“Look, like it or not, we need to know happened. What’s going on around here, that sorta thing,” Stardust said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “More information we get, the better chance we have on stopping Denvil.”

“Fottuto bastardo…” Spada mentally growled to himself, his tongue flicking back and forth out of his mouth in his anger. Right now, he so desired to mess up the Prince’s pretty boy face and good.

“No… No, it’s alright,” the alien started, grunting out in pain as he did so. “Name’s Kalternecker, that’s what they call me,” he said, visibly straining himself to speak. “Denvil, he did this to me. When I wouldn’t do his ‘dance lessons’ along with the rest of his troupe. Tried to run, but he whipped me good and so that’s why you found me as you did.”

Spada let out another hiss of anger, and clenched his fists, his claws digging into his chitlin and drawing blood. “Don’t worry, we’ll stop him. You, you just rest easy now understand?” he asked, placing the Aries Kyutama into his Kyuchanger and firing it, knocking out Kalternecker and sending him into dreamland. He then opened up a comm channel to the Shining Armor.

“Okay, Spada here. Got someone coming up to sickbay, prep a medpod. Severe burn wounds from an energy whip, signs of exhaustion and starvation as well.” he informed as Fågel summoned her Bull Voyager, and placed Kalternecker inside it before the Bull rocketed up back up to the ship. The energy dome above the city parted briefly, creating a small hole for the ship to enter though before it re-sealed itself.

“You do realize that leaves us without a limb to form a complete Megazord right?” Spada asked. “Just wanted to point that out.”

“I’ve got Pharynx on standby,” Fågel replied. “He’ll be ready to assist when needed.”

“Okay, nice to know. That Ophiuchus Voyager of his, it should come in handy,” Spada nodded in reply, before he made another hiss of anger. “Right now though, let’s find Denvil. He’s got a few crimes to answer for. Bastardo’s got a lot of pain coming his way, and I’ll be damned if I don’t get to dish out a bit of that main course of it!”

“Guess that means I’ll be the second helping then, and Stardust the just desserts right?” Fågel chuckled darkly, and Spada nodded before once more drawing on the powers of Canes Venatici to hopefully sniff out the Magistrate. Sadly, this was only going to end in failure as there were too many scents in the city for even the powers of the Bloodhound constellation to find just one guy. He needed the scent of Denvil beforehand to work with it, to find him. He was like Trusty from the movie Lady and the Tramp in a way while using the Canes Venatici powers. The powers of Canes Venatici’s sniffing abilities were simply too acute to concentrate on one scent at a time.

So, when that failed, Spada opted out for an even possibly weirder ability. The powers of Camelopardalis. This Kyutama allowed him to stretch his neck to a ludicrous degree, and allow him to see all over the city, and the Changeling’s sharp eyes pinpointed a crowd led by a long-necked alien in a nearby square.

“Got him,” Spada smirked triumphantly before grimacing. “Man, he’s even uglier in person, gotta say…”

“Well, you know the way, so…” Stardust commented, and Spada nodded after disengaging the Camelopardalis powers before unfurling his wings and flying off.

Soon, he and his two fellow Rangers found themselves in the middle of that very same city square where as Spada had seen, Denvil was cracking his whip and ordering everyone to go through some monotonous dance routines to the Oompa sound of a tuba. Behind him and his dancing troupe, were twin banners. They both were mostly white, depicting the logo of Dark Matter, which was two massive black claws grasping a galaxy in their clutches.

“Man, those dance moves, and that music. They fail to get the beat of my burnin’ heart pumpin’!” Stardust stated, pointing the tip of his cane at Denvil. He was a long-necked creature, with two small bat-like wings, a massive forehead, and two very large ears. “Think it’s time we change your tune, eh?”

“W-What? K-Kyurangers?” Denvil stammered out, staggering backwards in shock upon recognizing their uniforms and equipment.

“It’s Zyurangers now, but whatevs,” Stardust replied with a shrug of his shoulders before placing his Draco Kyutama into the dragon head at the top of his cane. “Guess that means it’s showtime I suppose.”

“Say the Change!” the cane sung as Stardust opened the head up, before biting it down on the Kyutama.

“Draco~!” the Prince proclaimed, before raising the cane high and then slamming it back down. “Star Change, Eye of the Dragon!”

“...Kyurangers, and that’s the end of it,” Fågel muttered before she and Spada pulled out their own Kyutamas and slammed them into their Kyuchangers.

“Say the Change!” their gauntlets requested, and the two were only far too happy to comply and reply to that.

“Chameleon!”/“Taurus!” they shouted in unison before proclaiming “Star Change!”

A purple circle of runes came down and covered Stardust transforming him into his costume while the constellations of the Chameleon and Taurus appeared in front of Fågel and Spada and lit up before they gained their uniforms as well.

“The Dragon Ma-Star, Draco Purple!”
“The Shinobi Star, Chameleon Green!”
“The Armored Star, Taurus Black!” Fågel shouted. “Three stars shining in the heavens, Space Squadron Kyuranger!”

Denvil cracked his whip, and shouted: “Invaders, get them!”

Soon, the whole square erupted into chaos and discord as both Invaders and Strongindavers sprung out of seemingly everywhere. Some attacked and barraged the Kyurangers, while others began rounding up the rapidly scattering citizens.

“So, you like a bit of order in your life do you?” Stardust asked, using his cane as a sniper rifle and shooting Invaders in the head, before doing a spinning flip in mid-air and striking down a Strongindaver with a headshot. “Well, I say we spice things up a bit with a little bit of chaos!”

He snapped his fingers, and while his horn glowed it wasn’t a particularly prominent glow as it should have been. Nevertheless, broiling angry storm clouds appeared above them and began summoning bolts of lightning taking out footsoldiers.

Under her helmet, Fågel’s eyes narrowed. That was odd, very odd indeed. But she put her thoughts aside as more foot soldiers filled the square to take the place of their fallen comrades.

“Okay, this is getting out of hand here!” Spada shouted, even as he used his rapier’s blade to take out a few Invaders at a time with parry and then riposte movements or simple quick thrusts and jabs of the blade. “I mean, this is crazy! Need some breathing room here!”

“Providing.” Fågel stated, before bringing out the Skill version of the Taurus Kyutama and summoning a hard light projection of her Voyager that if you excuse the pun, bulldozed down a group of Strongindavers. She then slammed her fists into the cobblestoned ground below her, sending a bunch of foot soldiers flying skywards before she used her personal Impact and sent out arcs of energy slicing the soldiers apart.

Laser fire was sent her way as punishment and she threw up a shield using the Scutum Kyutama to block it, but eventually, the Strongindavers joined in as well and fired blasts of pure plasma balls from their bazooka staffs and shattered the shield like glass.

“Oh no, you don’t! Nobody lays a hand on my subjects!” Prince Stardust shouted as the Strongindavers advanced upon the now fallen Fågel chuckling darkly. Creating a ball of energy in his hands, he soon formed it into a towering whirlwind of purple energy and sent it their way. “Just because you’re not dragons, doesn’t mean you can’t fly in style! Courtesy of Stardust Airways!” he laughed as the Strongindavers and their Invader cohorts hit ground groaning out in pain.

Roaring out in rage, Denvil leaped towards him a sword at the ready and the two clashed blades briefly, metal singing out as sparks flew before Denvil kicked the so-called “Dragon Ma-Star’ backwards with a strike to the stomach making him stagger.

“That’s what you get for disrupting the order and harmony of my planet!” Denvil cackled, before lashing out with his whip striking Stardust several times and the Alicorn screamed out in pain with every scorching strike. Sadly, while Stardust definitely had the combat power to keep up with a lot of major enemies, he didn’t have the fighting experience due to him not going out in the field much. This was the simple reason why he was losing, badly.

Eventually, with a cry of “Prince!” Spada leaped into view and let the whip wrap around his rapier blade before pulling the whip from Denvil’s grasp. “How’s that for harmony Denvil? Two teammates, watching each other’s backs!” Spada proclaimed, his earlier rage and fury towards the Prince forgotten. “You alright?” he asked Stardust, whose costume was smoking a bit. Stardust nodded.

“I’ll live. Him, on the other hoof…”

“Well, I must admit to the elaborate coordination between you two…” Denvil mused. “But sadly, your harmony won’t be enough to match this one…” he smirked, before snapping his fingers and a Deathworm erupted from the ground below the Rangers, who braced themselves for one Hell of a fight…

“Today just isn’t our day, is it?” Stardust asked himself.

Hearing all of this, no thanks to the Dark Matter satellite Stripped Gear had hijacked was Pharynx and Baroness Manx. They’d brought up the battle on the viewscreen, and were bearing witness to the Deathworm kicking the asses of all three of their fellow crew members.

“Goddess…” Manx whispered before her eyes narrowed. “There’s got to be something we can do. Does this ship have orbital bombardment capabilities?” she asked, turning to Stripped Gear. “Well, does it?” she asked urgently, the Baroness side of her on full display for the first time. Pharynx felt a little turned on by it actually. Just a little.

“A-Are you crazy?” Stripped sputtered out. “Even if it did, and because this is a colony ship it doesn’t, getting a precise lock and not hitting any of my fellow Rangers would be next to impossible!”

“Guess that settles it, prep my Voyager,” Pharynx stated. “I’m going down there. A King always protects his subjects.”

“Getting the dynotherms underway, prepping megathusters.” Stripped nodded. “Everything’s ready to go.”

“Right then. Star Change, Ophiuchus!” he called slamming his Kyutama into his gauntlet and morphing.

“Well, I’m not going to sit around here being useless either,” Manx replied as she changed the viewscreen to inside the factories of Argos, where a despondent populace was mining precious ores deep within inside their planet while a watchful Denvil stood on a catwalk whip at the ready.

“That man… that devil. He reminds me far too much of my own Master. He tore that race’s hope away from them, and now I’m going to help them take it back,” Manx stated, before whipping her head around to face Jabari who had been watching this whole thing anxiously. In the background, the sound of a distant thud and a laser sound going off was heard as the Ophiuchus Voyager was fired out of the hanger bay. “Jabari, you play the violin right? You know someone who can sing?”

“Y-Yeah, I do. Crescendo, a member of the Siren race. B-But why?”

“In my culture, long before we were an industrialized civilization music always helped to lift our spirits. Hell, it still does even when Gamettsui enslaved us. Take me to her, we’re about to lift some spirits. Stripped, prep that satellite. Get it broadcasting on all frequencies.”

“Just give me the beat and I’ll have it shouting.” Stripped stated even as Manx and Jabari ran off with Jabari summoning his violin and bow from his room with a flash of magic.

“Crescendo, are you ready to do what you do best?” Jabari asked as they entered the pool room, with the siren nodding. Jabari smiled and looked towards Manx as he began to play a tune. Soft, but sweet. But more to the point, hopeful.

“People of Argos,” Manx stated, with the satellite broadcasting every word she had to say, along with the music Jabari was playing and Crescendo was humming. “You’ve had your hope stricken from you, ripped from your very beings! I, Baroness Harx Manx know what that’s like as well. My people, they were defiled. Now you are suffering under a cruel master, just like my people were. But no more, rise up! Rise up, and take arms!”

“Someday you’ll notice – I pray that you’ll realize
These wings on your back aren’t a dream
At last, you’ll have all you need to escape to
The world where you’ll finally be free

“This was all a Cruel Angel’s Thesis from the start
Brought to life, out window now it’s taking flight
Scorching pathos if you betray your memory
Follow this deviant-divine philosophy!” Crescendo sang loud and clear, Jabari’s strings singing a song of hope, and of prayer and as if spurred on by this both the people of Argos and the Rangers themselves seemed to regain their fighting spirit.

One powerful slash to the deathworm’s chest by Fågel and her Astral Axe finished the job. Meanwhile, the people in Argo’s mines and factories took up various improvised weapons and charged the very stunned Denvil who was quickly taken out by this onslaught.

“With grace, and in my embrace
You fall deep into sleep, so tempted to stay
In the morning that falls,
You alone will be called
By message from the realm of dreams…

“These group activities... Are hard to do!” Denvil proclaimed as his final words before he went up in a fireball of an explosion.

“Shining more than these stars that bathe the galaxy
Go forth, young boy, and you’ll become a legend!”

Of course, that wasn’t the end of things. It never would be as Denvil had a little mutation in his DNA, one that allowed him to grow giant-sized whenever he lost enough blood or his heart stopped beating. Both of which had happened in the past few moments.

Flying in his Voyager’s Mecha mode, Pharynx Rider-kicked the local Moraimarz destroying it before he linked up with a now rapidly forming Dragon Knight Megazord. Stardust had already leaped into his cockpit and pressed the transformation button, with the massive Asian style Dragon beginning to shift and change. The head armor detached and the entire mech folded down in the center to become a pair of legs and a torso, with the head and tail becoming feet. A red visored head popped up, and the Kabuto grafted itself on top with the Ophiuchus and Chameleon Voyagers forming arms.

“Like a Dragon, but with style! So, you want a game with continues?” Stardust remarked, before taunting. “Sorry, not in this game of life! Here, you don’t get any!”

Both Spada and Pharynx nodded, before Spada pressed a button on his console and a long whip-like tongue shot out and grabbed Denvil, wrapping itself around him tightly.

“Consider this payback for earlier!” Stardust shouted, before the Dragon Knight Megazord tossed Denvil skywards, the whip letting him go before the Ophiuchus Voyager’s jaws opened and began to charge up a beam. It then fired, eradicating Denvil completely leaving no traces of his body behind.

“Consider that a checkmate Dark Matter, and now a message for you. We will take the universe back!” Stardust then shouted as the Megazord basked itself in the glory of a cheering populace.

Aboard the Shining Armor, Flashfire looked on to Manx with a smile.

“Seems she’s getting better. Little by little, the old Manx is returning.” he thought before quietly taking his leave. Had anyone been paying attention on the bridge, they might have noticed a brief blip on their sensors, before it vanished.

“Seems it’s time to take matters into my own hands…” Sir Ikargen muttered aboard his ship, clutching a Kyutama with a Black Hole on it, the Scorpius Drone’s cycloptic eye watching him carefully...

Author's Notes:

Okay, so yeah. Not sure about a few things. Like for one, if I had portrayed the healing of Manx correctly, and even then if I did there's still more to come.

Not sure if the fight scene with Denvil needed to be extended, or it's as good as it is. Really not sure on a lot of things with this chapter. But that's where your feedback comes in, always welcomed.

Next time... Maji ka!? Majide!? Majida! Shō taimu!

Part 15: Hope Springs Eternal Finale: One Last Hope

Equestria: Six Billion years ago…

“Have to say Dash, this is crazy, even by your standards…” one Spitfire Magnus remarked to one Rainbow Dash, the latter being dressed in an orange space suit with a small badge pinned to it, depicting both Celestia and Luna. “Not saying I don’t support it, but still this is pretty much something else…”

“Hey, if someone’s got the right stuff as it were,” Rainbow Dash remarked, the two walking on a metal catwalk, grating clanking beneath their hooves. “It’s most likely to be me. I’ve been training for months to do this, and I’m hyped as all hell for this!”

In one of her hands, she held her helmet. Spitfire looked to her left, and she saw a massive crawler carrying a pure white space shuttle nose pointed skywards to a launch pad. It was a massive miracle of both magic and science that this had been pulled off really. But somehow, with the modern-day geniuses of Starlight Glimmer and Twilight Sparkle combined with the old time mage abilities of the legendary Starswirl the Bearded this amazing feat had been pulled off.

Spitfire was still trying to wrap her head around it, really. By their side was Flurry smiling supportively at Dash.

“Hey, give her some credit Spitsy. Like Rainbow said, if anyone’s going to do this, it’s her!” Flurry remarked cheerfully, giving Rainbow a pat on the shoulder. Over the radio, Twilight could be heard speaking.

“..that age-old ponykind thirst for excellence and knowledge. I say, every step up the ladder of science. I say each and every adventurous reach into space from the moment we first gazed our eyes to the stars in our telescopes. All of our combined modern technologies, magicks and imaginations... Faust above, even the wars that we've fought, have provided us the tools to finally step onto the final frontier.

“Through all the chaos that is our history through all of the wrongs and the discord, through all of the pain and suffering through all of our times there is one thing that has nourished our souls, that sense of grand adventure!

“The dreams of an entire planet, not just ponykind but griffon, zebra, changeling, yak and dragonkind are focused tonight on that brave soul and the mare I’d be proud to call my friend -Twilight’s voice cracked a little at this point as she fought back tears- traveling into the heavens. Godspeed!”

A chorus of cheers greeted Rainbow as she stepped out for the crowd to see, and she waved to the roaring and cheering thunderous applause.

“Thank you, thank you all. Now don’t think I’ll be forgetting you guys, just a simple trip round the moon and back. But space? Well, it’s about to become a little bit more awesome now!” Rainbow shouted, flipping the peace sign. As the crowd roared ever harder, Flurry looked towards Spitfire, who if she didn’t know better seemed to be crying.

“A-Are you alright?” Flurry asked.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just my finest Bolt’s gone above and beyond what I, no anypony expected of her and now she’s about to touch the heavens if even for the briefest of moments,” Spitfire whispered, with a small sniffle. “So if anyone’s got a right to cry, I’d say it’s me.”

“Hey, look at the bright side. You managed to hold back the flood this long didn’t you?” Flurry said, patting the retired Wonderbolt captain on the shoulder. “...Unlike Rainbow’s parents.” she teased, and Spitfire laughed. She’d practically seen both Bow Hothoof and Windy weeping into a bucket last time she saw them.

Rainbow smirked as she got inside the capsule, and seat belts strapped her into her pilot’s seat forcing her backwards into her chair.

“Hey Gallus, is it supposed to feel this tight?” Rainbow asked over the radio.

“Yeah, yeah! It’s fine, completely fine!” the griffon and current Element of Loyalty bearer remarked. “You’ll be able to unbuckle yourself when you hit the no-grav zone. Fly freely about to your heart’s content. But for now, I’d say you strap yourself in and buckle up and enjoy the ride!” he commented over the radio in reply. “Like Twilight said, Godspeed ma’am.”

“Don’t call me ma’am, makes me feel so old!” Rainbow joked, and Gallus laughed.

"Okay, checking ignition sequences. Priming up dynotherms now. Mega Thrusters should be free to go any second now. Everyone, sound off!”

Retro, go flight. Booster, you are go flight.” Smolder shouted.

“Ecos, go flight,” Sandbar confirmed. “Trajectory. Go flight.”

“FlDO,” one Gilda Gruff added, with a little smirk that seemed to say ‘Go Dash’. “Go flight.”

“EVA go flight.” another unknown pony, possibly Starlight added.

“EQUUS Phoenix, you are go for flight. Starting up ignition sequences now.” Twilight stated over the radio. “Any last minute words Rainbow?”

She’d soon be regretting that poor choice of words.

“Yeah, just one. Let’s rocket, and create a new legend!” Rainbow shouted, gripping her flightsticks tightly, before pressing a button above her, and music began to play.

“I like to dream, yes, yes
Right between the sound machine
On a cloud of sound I drift in the night
Any place it goes is right
Goes far, flies near
To the stars away from here...

“Well, you don't know what
We can find
Why don't you come with me little girl
On a magic carpet ride…”

“3, 2, 1, we have liftoff!” Twilight and Gallus shouted in thunderous cheer and soon the crowd was to join them as they saw the Phoenix, brazen to take Equus into a new age lift off into the night sky firing jets of flame from it’s boosters.

Suddenly, on Gallus’s computer screen an alert popped up, and Gallus’s eyes widened in alarm. “Twilight, get over here now!”

Twilight’s eyes were soon to widen as well.

“Rainbow, you’ve got an leak in the fuel cells. Abort! Abort! For Faust’s sake, just abort!”

But it was far too late, for as soon as the Phoenix began to fade from vision a bright light lit up the night sky…

“RAINBOW!” Flurry shouted in fear, jumping out of bed as she threw the covers off of her. Soon, the doors to her quarters opened and Flashfire ran in Astral Blaster in hand as he heard Flurry’s sound of fear.

“Flurry, you alright?” he asked in concern, seeing the now sniveling mare. He quickly pulled the covers up over her, and wrapped an arm around her.

“No… No, I’m not alright. Just… memories. Of a time long since past, and something that never should have happened,” Flurry replied, her voice a tear-stricken whisper. “All the calculations were made, everything was accounted for, but…” she began to mumble to herself like she had so many times before. This wasn’t just a one-time night terror. No, she’d had this memory before, and she knew she would have it again, having long viewed it as one of her greatest failures.

Flashfire handed her a cup of hot Earl Grey tea, and just let the hours pass by slowly as he held Flurry in his arms. The newest mission could wait, right now his Princess needed his help.

Morning eventually came, and Flurry was treated to a sight. Voyagers were already prepped under Coldcast’s suggestion, and Flurry could see why as the jewel in front of them? It was exactly what they’d been searching for ever since they left their old home.

“...A new Eden.” she breathed out. The Doctor, however, didn’t look so sure, and every alarm bell in his mind was going off even as the Corvus Kyutama he gripped in his hands ever so tightly glowed and pulsated with power.

Personally, Flashfire didn’t exactly see why the Doctor was so concerned, so terrified of them coming to this world really. Feeling the grass in his fingers, he smiled as he took a bite out of a Zap Apple plucked from a nearby tree. He didn’t quite know how an alien world had Zap Apples, but he wasn’t complaining really. Not as good as the grapes and wine back home, but it had its charms he supposed.

“Still, wouldn’t hurt to be cautious I suppose. Just jumping headlong into a situation without knowing what’s going on would be folly,” Flashfire mused to himself as he pulled his pistol out of its holster and scanned the area, his eyes darting from left to right.

“Guys, you seeing anything? Anything at all?” Flashfire asked. “The Doctor warned us about coming to this planet for a reason. I want to know why. Also, keep an eye out for that crashed ship. Maybe, and I’m probably reaching here, the Doctor’s warning and the ship crash-landing are connected in some way.”

There was no response, just static crackling and an eerie groaning sound coming from Flashfire’s commlink.

“Okay, odd…” he murmured, as he tapped his Kyuchanger once or twice. “Might be some atmospheric interference. Best to get Jabari on the horn, have his Eagle Voyager scan the skies.”

Jabari’s personal Voyager, it had been designed to fly in the most dangerous of atmospheres, ones too toxic for normal breathing, or too covered in gases for safe flight. It had been decked out with sensors, and long-range scanning devices to give a complete picture of the area around it.

“Jabari? You there?” Flashfire asked. “Sound off if you can hear me!”

Once again, there came no answer.

“J-Jabari?” Flashfire asked nervously. “Please tell me you’re there!”

He engaged the Pyxis Kyutama, hoping for it to work it’s magic and point in the direction of Jabari or anyone else for that matter but no such luck. All it was doing was just making a golden arrow spin around wildly.

“Okay, magnetic interference?” Flashfire wondered aloud, knowing that there were certain types of rocks and metals that could make any type of compass go haywire. Perhaps even one that was powered by the cosmos itself. Popping the Kyutama out of his gauntlet, Flashfire groaned. “Going to have to do this the old fashioned way I suppose… These hooves were made for walking I guess.”

Grabbing a stick up off the ground, he used it as a cane much like a hiker would do as he began to walk into a nearby forest shouting his team’s name all the while. Despite the forest being widespread and endless, his voice didn’t echo off of any of the trees, and the footsteps that he took seemed very floaty, as if he was walking on clouds. As he picked up the pace and even started to run, he noticed that the horizon wasn’t coming closer to him at all. If anything, it was like he was entirely stuck in place, running on the spot, even though the entrance got farther and farther away from him.

“What the…?” Flashfire muttered as he looked up all around him, trying to find the sun. “Feels like I’m going in circles here.”

Out of caution, the unicorn quickly morphed with a whisper of: “Star Change.” But as he did so, he realized that his suit wasn’t coming to him. In fact, his Kyutama seemed to have lost all of its’ energy when he tried to use it.

All it did in fact, was make a low beeping, humming sound.

“Okay… Now, this is just getting odd.” Reaching for his Astral Blade he’d been carrying around on his back, he drew it as a low growl came from somewhere behind him. Or was it above? He couldn’t really be sure. Twirling the sword in his hands, he steadied the blade. No fear, no fear. That’s what he was telling himself, keep calm under pressure and the situation would resolve itself.

He took more and more steps. And this time, the exit not only came towards him but seemed to stretch and contort in such a way that the very fabric of reality tore itself up once he got far enough, bringing him into a completely different environment.

All around him was a darkened and almost totally destroyed version of the Shining Armor’s bridge.

“What the fu…” he trailed off, still gripping his blade.

“You did this,” A single voice echoed through his head. “All of this. All of those senseless killings? They came back to bite you in the ass.”

“Senseless?” Flashfire asked to the voice. “They were monsters, warlords, conquerors! So whoever you are, won’t you kindly just shut it?”

“You haven’t told them yet,” the voice whispered, sounding like it was right next to him, and then it wasn’t. “About your little secret? Oh, Flashfire Lulamoon, you’ve got more secrets than the galaxies have stars, and you won’t let anyone in on one. single. one.” the voice chuckled darkly. “Maybe it’s because… Oh, isn’t this funny, the great Flashfire Lulamoon is afraid of what his team would think of him if they knew?”

“SHUT UP!” Flashfire roared, swinging his blade widely. “You don’t know a single thing about me, not one you understand?”

“Murderer. Killer. Savage. All the words to describe Kyurangers such as yourself, and those abhorrent people you consider your friends,” the voice continued as he blindly swung at the air, hot tears streaming down Flashfire’s face. He’d never felt so alone, so helpless in all his life. He’d always had his friends to be there by his side, and now? “You are no hero, and your fleet is not a beacon of hope and justice. It is only a sign that, when you defeat Don Armage, you will only serve to carry on his warmonger history. Accept that fact, and give up this unhealthy life. Only then will you be able to repent.”

With that, the world darkened all around him. Meanwhile, Coldcast had found himself sliding down a crater, finding a blackened and charred ship into the impact area, long since beyond the point of repair. His boots crunched the stone beneath him, and one claw gripped an Astral Claw tightly. Never hurt to be too careful.

“Okay, this is Coldcast. If anyone’s reading this hermanos, well I think it’s safe to say that any hope of salvaging this ship, and saving whoever was inside is long gone. Beacon must have been broadcasting for who knows how long. Strange though, with this much damage, you’d have thought…”

No response came, only static crackling and a weird groaning noise. Coldcast’s fur and feathers raised on instinct, a cold shiver coming over him. Something was wrong, and he knew it.

“Anyone read?” Coldcast asked, only to receive more static. He groaned. “Great, going to have to fly a bit higher, hopefully find a better transmission point,” he muttered. Extending his wings, the griffon flew to the highest peak he could find in the nearby area, and tried broadcasting again.

“This is Coldcast of the Shining Armor, does anyone copy? I repeat, does anyone copy?”

Nothing but a crackling noise. He repeated the same thing over and over again, but ended up with the same result.

“You gotta be kiddin’ me…” Coldcast muttered as he looked at his Kyuchanger. “Fine time for you to crap out on me now. I thought you were built to last!”

“I’m disappointed, Coldcast. I really am,” Flashfire’s voice appeared, as did he, stepping out of the mists. “Look what happened to us. To you.”

“H-Hermano?” Coldcast whispered as he took a good hard look at Flashfire, something seemed wrong about him. The way he stood, the look in his eyes.

“Don’t call me your putain grand frère!” He dashed to his side, threw him to the ground and stomped on his back violently. “You killed all the other Kyurangers with this stupid plan of yours! They’re dead because of you and your shit!” The rage in his eyes was pure and untapped, almost catching on fire with how passionate he felt. “So now, I’m going to kill you!”

He grabbed Coldcast by the throat, and held him over a ledge. Below, were jagged icy spikes.

“Look familiar Coldcast? Remind you of anywhere?” Flashfire asked mockingly. “Reminds me of home, doesn’t it? What it became…”

Coldcast snarled, and kicked Flashfire in the stomach making him stagger and Coldcast hovered over the spikes and back on top of the mountain peak.

“Grand frère, w-what’s happened to you?” Coldcast whispered.

“I know exactly what’s happened to me. I’ve seen the truth,” He hissed out, before giving him a one-handed chokehold, grip tightening with each second. Coldcast coughed a little. “The truth that we’re not Kyurangers, that we’re not heroes, and you dragged us all into this stupid little game of yours. I never should have adopted you, just left you in the systems to rot!”

Coldcast kicked his brother in the shin, and just barely held off furious sword strikes with his own blade. He ducked and swung low, striking Flashfire in the chest before a punch caught him off guard making Coldcast stagger. Flashfire threw another, but this one was blocked by Coldcast’s blade.

“R-remember these moves, that duel-viper beheading strike? You taught me them, r-remember?” Coldcast asked, his voice shaky. “N-None of what you’re saying grand frère, none of it’s true! N-None of it! I didn’t drag us off on this mission, it was Flurry’s idea and yours for that matter to help save whoever was on this planet,” Coldcast pleaded, fighting back tears, even as a blow from Flashfire’s sword knocked him to the ground. Flashfire ground his hoof into Coldcast’s chest, and even as the griffon tried to reach for his Kyutama he knocked off the ledge with a swing from his blade.

“Element of Loyalty? You have no loyalty to begin with! You left your team behind, you rushed into battle without thinking, and you aren’t completely on board with the team’s decisions!” Flashfire howled. “You are not fit to bear the sigil of Rainbow Dash. Nor are you fit to even be called her successor! You don’t deserve what you hold. And you certainly don’t deserve to hold anything anymore!”

He raised his blade before bringing it down, and all went black.

Somewhere else, Flurry found herself wandering through a field, mountains behind her, with her Scorpion Voyager parked in the safety of a grove of trees.

“Mom, you would have loved it here. By Faust, I just know it…” Flurry whispered, briefly seeing her younger self -clutching her Whammy- and her mom running through the fields, before collapsing in a fit of giggles.

The grass stood proudly in the field, swaying to and fro in the gentle breezes, flicking morning dew lightly around it. Butterflies would flitter down and land on nearby flowers for brief instances, before going off on their merry ways. The mountains in the distance were topped with snow and stood on the horizon, acting as a makeshift cradle to hold everything else behind them in safety, and the houses nearby were all immaculately built, as if they were Equestrian houses of old, inhabited by ponies that Flurry once knew and loved.

“I wonder,” Flurry thought, her mind once more briefly lapsing into memories of the distant past. “Rainbow, would this have been what you might have found in your space explorations?”

“3, 2 1, liftoff!”

“Space, it’s about to get a little bit more awesome you guys!”

“Rainbow, you’ve a leak in your fuel tank. Abort, abort!”

KABOOM!

Flurry shut her eyes in remembrance, remembering the great fireball that had covered the skies that day. Rainbow was supposed to bring Equestria into a new age, like a Phoenix rising from the ashes but instead all she ended up becoming was ashes herself.

She fought back a tear, she couldn’t get caught up in her memories now. She had a ship to find, and a crew to rescue. Holding up her Kyuchanger, she spoke into it. “Any luck out there? Flashfire, Coldcast? What’s your status. Jabari, King Pharynx, what about you?”

She tapped the Kyuchanger, hoping for some sort of response. When none came, she decided for a different channel instead, and contacted the ship.

“Flurry to the Shining Armor, something’s gone wrong. Can’t get ahold of anyone. I suspect Dark Matter interference. Please respond. Over.” she stated, a chill beginning to run up her spine knowing something was deeply wrong here.

Much like the others, nothing but silence. Silence as the world around her began to change. It went to her old room in the Crystal Empire, back when she was a baby. Nothing but her old crib and her toys, as her old weapons and gear vanished, and her clothes turned back into regal robes, complete with crown and silver necklace. Oddly, there wasn’t the telltale sound of guard hoofsteps and metal armor clanking. Flurry, at once knew something was wrong. She just couldn’t place her finger onto what.

“Do you remember this? Your innocence?” Cadence asked as she stepped into the room. “Before the time when our planet burned out?”

“Yes, of course, I do. But what are you doing here, your AI still isn’t finished being uploaded into the matrix, and I know for a fact I’m definitely not on the ship. So please do explain, what’s going on around here?” Flurry questioned, the tip of her horn beginning to glow a light gold.

“Matrix? There is no matrix. You’re home. You don’t need to do anything anymore,” Cadence just came over and gave her a hug. “You don’t have to be living in such a harsh, desolate world, Flurry. You can stay here, with us. Everything will go back to normal in no time.”

“Yeah, you raised me, taught me everything you knew and that included passing on protecting those closest to you. And right now, there’s a crew that I love and protect that needs my help. So mom, if that’s who you really are, I have to go.”

“Why, your friends are all here too, Flurry.” Cadence showed Flurry out the door, to see the rest of her team alive and healthy, giving her happy smiles. “No more worrying about them, okay? You’ve got one life to live, and it should be a happy one.”

“I’m actually quite happy as I am mom,” Flurry stated, waving her hand and making the ‘team’ vanish. “Very happy. So stop screwing with me, who are you?”

“Your mother. And one who did not raise you this way.” Cadence’s demeanor vanished as she lit up her horn and coated Flurry in a spell, causing her to get smaller and smaller, as well as shorter at the same time. “You are not stubborn. You are accepting. Accept me, and accept that this is the world you want and will have,” She glared. “Your friends have become too much of a bad influence on you. Especially that Flashfire pony. What do you even see in him?” She asked. “I’ll raise you from scratch all over again to prevent those kinds of mistakes from ever happening again if I have to. You like being a foal again, don’t you?”

Flurry was having none of that. “No, you’re not my mother. I should have suspected something was wrong ever since I stepped foot on this planet,” she stated, shaking her head. “And for the record, being a foal was lousy. Always having to cry whenever I wanted attention, having you put me up in pretty little dresses. Faust, half of those I’d rather burn than be seen in public with.”

“Then DIE!” The illusion vanished, and a thing that could only be described as a great black mass with only a vague resemblance to her mother impaled Flurry with a pure black energy rod. “I hate you, Princess Flurry Heart of Equestria. I’ve hated you from the moment I saw you. I should have killed you when I had the chance to, but me simply being your mother always kept on holding me back.” It said, leaning in closer to her face. “You are scum. You are so perfect, so unflawed, so arrogant to your weaknesses that you have become the worst ranger on your team because of it. Well now, I think it’s time you got a wake-up call to how pathetic of a character you really are! You’re not the daughter Cadence wanted, just a caricature. And a really bad one at that.”

“W-Weaknesses?” Flurry whispered. “No, no. That’s not true. You know so much about me, don’t you? Then you should know why I’m so closed off, I never want to lose anyone important to me again. I’ve billions of years old, I’ve lost so much, Rainbow just being the first. Then dad went, and then several lovers I’ve taken over the centuries. And then finally you when you and Luna, and Twilight and Celestia died trying to stave off the sun from scorching Equus to a crisp! So, tell me, do you blame me?”

The thing ignored her, and shifted into a darker coated version of Flashfire, seemed to be a popular get-up these days. “Ohh, lovers. Now there’s something interesting. Flashfire, you know he’s sweet on you right? Why’d you think he came running to your rescue after he heard you scream from that nightmare of yours earlier this morning?”

“F-Flashfire… loving me?” Flurry whispered, for the moment forgetting the mention of how the thing seemed to know about her nightmare when by all rights it shouldn’t have. The thing morphed back into Cadence.

“That’s right, he’s very sweet on you. Your own personal knight in shining armor. And yet you, the daughter of the Princess of love spun him, and keep him at arm’s length!” it laughed.

“We’re professionals, colleagues. Nothing more. Is there anything wrong with that?” Flurry asked.

“How can an Alicorn possibly be in love with someone who isn’t immortal?” The monster asked, driving the rod further and further into Flurry’s body. “How could you possibly love someone who will die before you even reach middle age? Face it, your own coldness, that’ll drive everyone away from you eventually.”

With that, Flurry’s world went dark.

Somewhere else, Pharynx was searching the rocky mountain passes for Coldcast, having heard his transmission and stepped into a cave and lit up a fire with the Ara Kyutama just to keep himself warm. Changelings hated the cold, after all, being insectoid in nature. He was amazed he’d lasted as long in this blizzard as he had. His wings were nearly frozen over, and ice was beginning to form on the tips of his antlers.

Suddenly, a howling wind rushed inside the darkened cave and blew out the small fire Pharynx had made for himself.

“Great… Just great,” he muttered and tried to use the Ara Kyutama once more. But this time, nothing happened and just like Flashfire’s Cerberus Kyutama before it, the Ara Kyutama only made a low humming sound. “...What the…? Alright, Stripped. Please tell me your little creations don’t glitch out after so many uses…” he muttered to himself, before blinking as he saw the whole cavern had changed in front of him.

Changeling corpses; thousands of them littered the area. The drones had been stripped of all their flesh and bone, leaving nothing but the brittle hides they wore behind. Helms had been scattered and crushed, and torn wings also adorned the slaughtering grounds. The bodies of his brother, Thorax, and his former queen, Chrysalis were also visible, and their faces had been stomped into the ground, crushed beyond recognition.

“T-Thorax?” Pharynx asked in shock, rushing over to his brother, who was missing one of his distinctive antlers. In the back of his mind, he knew this couldn’t be him as he knew his brother had died long ago but all the same, he’d wanted to see him ever since he’d woken up from his cold sleep. “W-Who did this to you? Who did this to our hive?”

“The same being who will destroy the Kyurangers, and any other threats to my reign.” A deep rumbling voice boomed out, followed by an armoured figure with an oversized sickle sword. “I am Don Armage. And I am the last thing you will ever see.”

“Yeah, I doubt that. Star Change!” Pharynx snarled, rising to his feet in a vengeance filled fury with a flash of silver light as he morphed.

He leapt towards Don Armage, both swords meeting each other and clashing with each other, blow for blow. Each of Don’s attacks had a black contrail around them, while Pharynx’s were notably faster than usual leaving behind glimmers of silver light.

Blades rang out in the hellish landscape, as Armage and Pharynx clashed, with the Changeling King striking with an almost frightening fury as he managed to draw blood. Pharynx then managed to land a hard right hook to Armage’s ghoulish face, not even thinking about the possibility of how or why Armage could be here when Armage from what the Doctor had explained didn’t likely see them as any sort of threat at the moment. He just wanted blood, and vengeance for his hive and for his brother.

“May not have been the best big brother in the world Thor,” Pharynx stated as he managed to cleave Don Armage’s weapon in half. “But I always tried to look out for you, just hope you understood that.”

Suddenly, Pharynx was blasted backwards by a powerful blast of wind from Don Armage, who was now using a massive gunbai, or a Japanese war fan. The wind was soon accompanied by flames, turning the cyclonic winds into a searing tornado. Armage laughed all the while.

“You changelings… You like heat, don’t you? Is this enough for you, little snake?” Armage asked, before driving his sword into the ground. It began to turn red, as flames began to spring up from it. A wall of fire surrounded the two, boxing Pharynx in. “Look at you, your loyalty to your hive and yet you couldn’t even protect them from me! How do you expect to protect the galaxy, if you couldn’t protect your family? You’re no King, you’re hardly even worth being called as such! Your brother would be sooooo ashamed of you…” Armage laughed. With that, he impaled Pharynx with a long black rod as the Changeling King began to lose consciousness. “Been fun talking to you, but I’ve got places to go and a universe to keep in balance.”

With that, Pharynx fell to his chest and blacked out completely.

Sadly, the last hope for rescue of the other Kyurangers was dealing with his own problems. Jabari, he’d managed to hit some thick fog flying in, and was now currently sitting in a wrecked Voyager. He’d long figured out something was interfering with communications, but what exactly?

“Okay, think here,” Jabari mused to himself. “What do you remember happening? Well, aside from the obvious fog that seemed to spring up out of nowhere? It was almost as if the planet itself was reacting to our presence. But no, that’s silly. Hardly scientific even! Still…”

He thought back to some old myths, ones he’d long dismissed as hardly worth his time. Myths of varying Zebra tribes.

One legend of one tribe that persisted held the belief that the stars were the eyes of the dead, while a similar tribe held steadfast to the idea that they were the spirits of those unwilling to be born. Some members of this group believed that they were the souls of those so long dead that they were no longer ancestor spirits.

On the other hand, Zecora’s parent tribe (And Jabari’s as well for that matter) pictured the stars as hanging from the solid dome of the sky by cords. There was a myth of a being so vast, and so intelligent dangling these stars, hoping some foolish young tribesman or tribesmare would leap out to touch them, only to be sucked into this great black void. He’d long ago dismissed this belief as old rubbish, Jabari had, but maybe there was some truth to it. After all, space was vast enough, and it had been said to have given birth to Discord so who knows what else persisted out there?

He vaguely remembered his grandmother speaking of this being, the one who dangled the stars like lures hoping to catch an unwary zebra as someone who fed on the despair of lost souls. He brought your hopes up with a brilliant white light -like say, a star- of some sort and then as soon as you reached this star you traveled into a world so dark you’d never return. Jabari’s heart started to pump faster, and he began to sweat as he slowly begun to realize just how much trouble he was in.

Calling for any of his teammates on the comms, he received no answer. With a grunt of frustration, he summoned a Kyutama from his belt buckle and slammed into a section of his control console. The Kyutama was mostly orange and depicted a pump drawing on the powers of the Antlia constellation.

Jabari smiled and turned the systems on as the whole interior of the cockpit began to glow with an orange hue. The tank began to glow back to life and regain its’ neon lights, though they had been changed to the colour of the Kyutama itself, and was more radiant than usual. The Eagle Voyager let out a screech, and its wings began to burn with a flaming fury, far more intense than the norm.

“Oh yes!” Jabari smirked, as he slammed the control console with a hand in triumph before his eyes narrowed. “Alright then Kukata Tamaa, let’s see you try and get one over on me!”

As the Eagle Voyager took flight once more, Jabari’s thoughts raced. He knew he wouldn’t be able to save his fellow Rangers, at least not directly, but he knew he could at least try and get a message to them. Placing the Capricornus Kyutama into his gauntlet, he spoke into it.

“Listen, I don’t know if any of you all can hear me, but listen up. Whatever you’re seeing, it’s not real. It’s a fake, a veil created by a monster from my tribe’s myths. Calls himself Kukata Tamaa, literally meaning ‘Despair’. That’s what he’s making you do, toying with your minds and making you see your worst nightmares come to life. That’s what he does, before he devours your very being! So if any of you can hear me for the love of Faust, fight back!”

Jabari wasn’t sure if anyone heard him or not, but someone did. Flurry to be exact, who was still pinned to the wall by the mock version of her mother.

“Okay, I accept the fact that maybe not letting anyone in held me back, not just as a pony but as a Ranger. That what you want, you happy now? I’ve been so afraid, for so long that I’d lose someone so close to me, I never wanted to let anyone in again. But now, just looking at you, who literally feeds off the hopelessness of others… well, time for that to change. I realize now, that I was wrong. My friends you see? They’ve been the ones giving me hope to continue on this mad quest of ours. And guess what? Our hope and our friendship will take on the universe and that includes YOU!” Flurry roared, prying the rod out of her chest as the whole world around her returned to normal, and she stood facing off against a pure midnight-black figure in a field. With a sheer blast of energy from her palm with wings spread wide, she forced the figure back.

Suddenly, a glowing orb landed in her hand, and she looked at the new dark-red Kyutama which seemed to depict a helmet of some sort. Also, instead of the usual numeric codes a Kyutama normally bore, this one simply read ‘KR’ in rainbow letters.

Shrugging, Flurry slammed the Kyutama into her morpher, making it proclaim: “Wizard, please~!”

Flurry blinked, that was a new one. But she could definitely feel the power flowing through this Kyutama. She fired after giving the Kyutama a gentle push, and a rift opened in the sky above. Out of the rift, a young man sprang. This one was different to the ones in the mirror world she had seen. This one’s skin wasn’t quite as colorful, a simple pale tan rather than the veritable rainbow she had seen then. His auburn hair was neck length, with the bangs sweeping across his forehead. Oddly, he wore a giant hand as his belt buckle. Straightening out his black jacket that was worn over a light red shirt, he took in the scene in front of him. Strangely, he didn’t seem to be all too surprised by this summoning.

“So, I presume you’re the one who’s been causing all of this despair?” the man asked in a deadpan tone looking at Kukata Tamaa. “Generally, creatures who look like you, well they never mean good intent for anyone,” Adjusting a black ring on his hand, his gaze turned to Flurry. “Young miss, you look like you could use some hope.”

“I already found my hope, but an assist would be nice. Name’s Flurry Heart. Yours?” Flurry asked.

“Souma Haruto,” the young man answered, moving his black ring to his belt buckle. “The Last Hope.”

“Driver On!” the belt called out, turning silver and the hand growing more than twice its normal size. Smirking, Haruto flipped a switch on his belt, changing the direction the hand was pointing. A jingle started to play from the device and it chanted, “Shabadoobie touch to henshin~”

Slipping a red ring onto his other hand Haruto added, “But right now, you can call me, Wizard.”

Moving his hand down, he placed the red ring over the belt. “Flame, please!” Throwing his arm out to the side, a red magic circle sprang out, symbols that Flurry couldn’t identify filling it. The magic circle started to move, passing over Haruto while his belt chanted, “Heat, heat, heat, heat!”

Getting the memo, Flurry slammed her Kyutama into her morpher.

“Say the Change!” it declared as Haruto’s own transformation finished.

“Scorpius!” Flurry shouted, looking at Haruto. He was standing in armor, a red helmet seemingly made of jewels covering his face. The visor had no traditional eye portion, instead having silver brackets divide it into antennae, forehead, eye and mouth portions. A black coat that went down to his ankles covered his torso and parted at the chest to reveal more of the jewel-like material beneath it. On either side of the coat flaps were three red squares made of the same material.

“Wow, flashy,” Flurry remarked as Haruto took in the orange Ranger’s costume and general motif.

“Huh, so the powers of the constellations aren’t limited to villains anymore?” Haruto mused. “Gentaro would be excited to hear that. Though then again, it doesn’t take much to excite him.” he remarked in a deadpan tone.

“I’ll ask about him later, right now I think it’s time to shut this guy up.” Flurry said, surging forwards, fist drawn back. Despair just threw up a shield made up of this black globulus substance that seemed to absorb the punches, before sending a powerful spout of the stuff right back at the Orange Ranger.

Meanwhile, the other Rangers were recovering from the depths of their own despair, and Pharynx had managed to pin ‘Armage’ up against a wall with his antlers before delivering a powerful punch that utterly destroyed the fake. His eyes widened, Pharynx now taking in the empty cavern.

“So, they were never there…” he whispered, before letting out a growl. Flashfire meanwhile, had found Coldcast and was dueling his copy blade to blade before with a simple strike beheaded the doppelganger with the body turning into sand. Coldcast raced up to embrace his big brother, letting the tears flow as Flashfire whispered calming words to him.

Back with Flurry, Haruto nodded and switched out the black ring for an orange one and flipping the switch on his belt again. “Upachi magic! Touch to go!~” It sang out, Haruto waving the ring over his buckle. “Connect, please!” A smaller rune circle formed beside his head and he reached into it. From it, he pulled out a large silver gun with a hand design similar to his belt on its side. Throwing his arm out, he fired multiple, large silver bullets out of it. The bullets flew, curving in their arc to slip past the monster’s shield.

Flurry smirked, before she dashed forwards taking advantage of the monster’s surprise and sent him skywards with a supersonic punch that created a miniature Sonic Rainboom in the process. Kukata Tamaa was then sliced through the middle by one very fast Eagle Voyager glowing with orange and purple flames, jawblade in its beak before Jabari leaped out of it to drop kick his old monster from under the bed in the face.

“Who… who the hell do you think you are you brat?” Kukata Tamaa asked, coughing up some sort of black goo. Flurry looked green at this.

“Jabari Swift, Aquila Pink! Also, the man who managed to figure you out,” Jabari declared with a small smirk, pointing directly at the old myth. “You’re old, Tamaa. Washed up. Just the boogeyman from someone’s closet. And I’ll be all too happy to shut the doors on you. Star Change!” he shouted, morphing into his own Ranger form and drawing twin Astral Blasters.

“So, someone’s taking after Tsukasa?” Haruto remarked, as he and Jabari fired on Tamaa. “Good on you, pink is a good color for a hero.”

“Just shut up gem-boy, and help me kick this old myth’s ass,” Jabari grumbled, still none too pleased with the color he got handed.

Pulling the thumb on his gun, its barrel flipped upward and a blade sprang out. “You can call me, Wizard. And keep firing while the young miss and I go in.”

Jabari nodded and kept up the suppressing fire, although he elected not to tell Wizard that Flurry was pushing six billion by this point so she hardly could be called ‘young’ in any sense. Tamaa fired a stream of black goo at Jabari, who simply flew backwards extending twin amber wings as he did so and continuing his firing at the creature all the while.

Haruto slapped his red ring onto the hand of his sword, red flames suddenly swirling around the blade. “Flame slash strike!” the weapon called out, Haruto sending the flames flying and burning away an oncoming stream of goo before it could hit Flurry. Flurry nodded gratefully, before impaling the monster with a stinger tail, and hurling him skywards before teleporting above him and axe-kicking him back towards the ground. This was where a series of flashes of light intercepted the creature as Pharynx, Coldcast, and Flashfire finally arrived on the scene.

“Sorry for how late we are Princess,” Flashfire stated, looking at the creature with more than a trace of anger. “Had business of our own to attend to.”

“He got to you too huh?” Flurry sighed, and all three nodded as they drew their weapons. “Meet Wizard, he’ll be lending an assist for this battle.”

“Battle? Didn’t know there was going to be one,” Pharynx growled. “Only just us wiping this guy up off the ground after we reduce him to a greasy smear.”

“Good point, shall we finish this?” Haruto asked. “It’s time for the finale.”

Replacing the red ring on his hand for another that was more ornate, he flipped the hand on his belt and hovered the new piece of jewelry over it. “Flame Dragon!” Haruto spread his arms out to the side, a red magic circle forming behind him. All the while, the five Kyurangers lined up their shots. A dragon made entirely of flame rocketed out of the circle, circling the young man while his belt shouted, “Burn, burn, burn, burn, burn!”

The dragon roared, flying into his back and his armor changed. His coat was entirely red, with silver shoulder pads that had red gems in their centers. On his chest it looked like the eyes and top of a dragon’s head were poking out, surveying the battlefield. The antennae on his helmet had been replaced with long horns and there was a red jewel at the center of his forehead.

“All-Star Crash!” the Rangers shouted as they fired their Kyuchangers at the monster, with Haruto leaping up into the air to perform a flying side kick, his boot encased in flame. All attacks met, and the monster exploded sending hoards of black goo everywhere.

“Échec et mat,” Flashfire stated, as he gave a thumbs-down motion. Haruto chuckled and canceled his transformation.

“Checkmate? Odd choice, but to each his own I suppose,” Haruto commented, as he began to glow gold and fade away. “Oh, it seems it’s time to take my leave. But before I go… Here, catch!” he said to Flurry, tossing an orange-toned ring to her. “Something to remember me by, and so that you’ll never lose hope even when times get dark.”

With that, he fully faded away. High above on a clifftop, stood Sir Ikargen, his face lined with pure rage. He didn’t think the Rangers would have an ink-ling of a chance on this planet. Growling, he lined up his rifle and fired.

BANG!

Author's Notes:

Okay, huge thanks to both Shadowmane and Thunderclap for co-writing a lot of the scenes for me, and generally busting their backs to make this chapter come together. But now, it's showtime...

Part 16: Aftermath

Flurry, as soon as she heard the loud BANG! of the gunshot reacted. On pure instinct, she threw up a shield of pure gold magic over the group, and the bullet only very nearly pierced the shield. The shield cracked, but didn’t shatter.

She looked up to the top of a jagged cliffside and saw the figure the Doctor had described as Sir Ikargen loading another round into his rifle.

“Move, now!” Flurry barked to her subjects. “Not sure if this shield can withstand another shot, and I sure as Tartarus don’t want to chance it!”

Not needing to be told twice, the Ranger got moving as shots whizzed over their heads. One nicked Jabari in the leg, causing him to scream out in pain as blood splattered the rocky ground. The rocky ground which hadn’t been there before, Flurry had noticed. The fields had rapidly faded away, as soon as Kukata Tamaa had been defeated. It seems with his death, the carefully and meticulously crafted illusion of a perfect paradise had shattered like glass. Now the only thing that was left was a arid rocky cragged wasteland, with a dark green miasmic sky partially obscured by thick cloud cover.

Hardly paradise.

Coldcast rushed over to what was possibly his best friend, and helped him up. “I got you,” Coldcast grunted out. “Seriously though Jabari, ya need to lay off the hayburgers.”

“...What, you saying I’m fat?” Jabari joked, in spite of his wounds and despite the danger.

“Maybe a little. When we get back to the Shining Armor, you’re going on a crash diet. Best friend’s orders!” Coldcast replied as the two got moving.

“...I thought it was Doctor’s orders? Pretty sure you’re not qualified.”

“Best friend’s orders, they amount to about as much.”

Then, a loud shriek that both knew all too well echoed from above them, and the Scorpius Drone now installed with a new dark Kyuchanger leaped out from behind some rocks arm blades extended and crackling with energy.

“Oh, you got to be kidding me!” Jabari shouted. “What’d we ever do to tick that thing off?”

“Smash it’s mecha and steal it’s Kyutama?” Coldcast deadpanned as he raised his Astral Claw to block one of the blade strikes, while Jabari went for one of his pistols and fired at the robot shooting it in the chest.

“Move it!” Flurry shouted as she threw her spear impaling the robot to a rock. “I’ll cover you, just get to your Voyagers! I’ve already sent a transmission, they’ve locked onto our location and are converging now!”

“How are you going to…?” Jabari asked before his voice trailed off as he remembered Flurry’s title, especially after seeing dust and sand beginning to get kicked up along with orange and red autumn leaves. Luna, or at least her AI version had told him that Flurry’s birth had created a massive weather system or something to that effect and therefore she’d become the Princess of the Seasons when she’d become sixteen, in charge of controlling and managing Equestria’s weather patterns.

This combination of dust, sand, and leaves blinded both Sir Ikargen who’d leaped down to join his partner and pulled out a rapier while the Scorpius Drone had pulled Flurry’s spear out of his chest.

“Damn you!” Ikargen shouted, even as a hoard of icicles was sent his way, both him and the drone using their blades to cut them to pieces.

“Crude words coming from someone who was supposedly knighted if your title is any indication!” Flurry snarked back.

More swearing followed, and as the group emerged from the maze of rocks they could see their freedom. The Scorpius Drone jumped out of nowhere with a Kyutama with a little fox painted on it in his gauntlet, blades at the ready. Ikargen was soon to follow.

“Where the Hell did they come from?” Coldcast shouted, as Flurry nodded at Flashfire, who tossed her his sword and she began dueling both the drone and Ikargen driving them back with both her swordsmanship abilities and her magical prowess.

Swinging wide, she sent an arc of orange energy at the two, knocking them back.

“That Kyutama…” Jabari noted, his eyes narrowing in on the design etched in on it. "That would be Vulpecula or the little fox. Known to be tricksters, so why can’t it give the ability of camouflage?”

“Maravilloso!” Coldcast snapped in a sarcastic manner. “Anything else we should be aware of?”

He got his answer soon enough when Sir Ikargen pulled out a purple and black Kyutama and placed it in a slot on his rifle making it state in a deep voice: “Black Hole Kyutama.”

“Faust!” Coldcast shouted, as Flurry and just about everyone else for that matter leaped away to avoid miniature black holes fired at them. “Man, they must really want to kill us, don’t they? I’m almost flattered that they think we’re that important!”

Flurry dodged more blade strikes before using her suit’s stinger tail to knock away the Scorpius Drone with one wide swing dealing with one threat for the time being. “...We need to talk about your ideas of flattery.” Jabari deadpanned even as Pharynx inserted the Serpens Kyutama into his gauntlet, and sent a barrage of spectral snakes towards Ikargen to give Flurry a chance to retreat.

“Give up,” Ikargen stated, as he implanted his sword in the ground and readied his rifle for more shots, the squid-like being almost seeming to be smirking in triumph. “Been a long hard road trying to kill you, but it's the end of the line.”

“...Yeah, might want to rethink that.” Flurry said with a distinctive smirk as she heard a very familiar engine’s roar and from behind some mountains the Cerberus Voyager emerged and fired a barrage of missiles at both Ikargen and the Scorpius Drone sending them flying. Seizing their chance, the Kyurangers all teleported into the massive Voyager as rocketed out of the planet’s atmosphere.

Ikargen let out a roar of rage as he picked himself up off the ground. It seems desperate times called for desperate measures.

“Madako, I need your assistance…” he stated into his comms.

The Doctor, suffice it to say was not a happy Time Lord when he found out several of the Kyurangers, Flurry, and Flashfire had explicitly gone against his warnings on landing on the planet Corvus. He’d warned them, he mentally yelled. Rassilon, even the Corvus Kyutama had warned them against landing on this planet in it’s own way!

Even now, the satellite Stripped Gear had hijacked alongside Jabari was picking up the transmissions coming from the planet below, the gunshots and the shouting of the various Kyurangers. Gritting his teeth, the last Gallifreyan flashed back to before all of this happened.

Voyagers were already prepped under Coldcast’s suggestion, and Flurry could see why as the jewel in front of them? It was exactly what they’d been searching for ever since they left their old home.

“...A new Eden.” she breathed out. The Doctor, however, didn’t look so sure, and every alarm bell in his mind was going off even as the Corvus Kyutama he gripped in his hands ever so tightly glowed and pulsated with power.

“Ready the landing craft,” Flurry said. In the background, various crew members including Stardust along with this white dragon-like pony with ram’s horns sticking out of her head gazed on in all. “We’ve found it.” she breathed out.

“Already marked out potential landing sites,” Jabari remarked, bringing up a hologram of the planet and gesturing to these landing sites with a pointer. “Color-coded of course, because what are we? Animals?” he laughed.

Flurry raised an eyebrow.

“...Okay, technically we are but you get my point. Continue on Princess.”

As Flurry did so, the Doctor gripped the Corvus Kyutama tightly in his palms pulsated with a dark power, he knew what exactly it’s abilities were. They were supposed to send someone into a world of despair, that someone with only a strong enough willpower was able to escape from. This was… concerning on multiple levels. One, that this Kyutama was reacting the way it was on this particular moment, and that Stardust had specifically ordered Stripped Gear to construct this particular Kyutama. If he didn’t know better, it’d be something Dark Matter would be more likely to use!

Speaking of Stardust, the Draco Ranger was currently dancing around with his cane, twirling in in his hands as a disco ball lowered from the bridge ceiling. Stardust, all the while sang this odd song in Neighponiese.

“Dare mo ga oozora ni
Sorezore no tadashisa wo
Kagagete arasou sono saihate ni
Nani ga aru to iu no

“Don't stop movin' on!!
Mirai wa mugen no kanousei no naka ni aru yo
Kimi no kokoro ga ugoku shunkan
Unmei mo ugokidasu!”

Predictably, everyone was ignoring him. The Doctor more so than most, he’d gotten used to the Prince of Summer and Spring’s weirdness -Ever since he was borne, Flurry’s title had been split in half with him taking up the warmer months- via this point. It was just part of his rather annoying character.

“No.” the Doctor stated, slamming the Corvus Kyutama on the bridge’s table, letting everyone look at it pulsate with black and purple energy.

“No?” Flashfire asked. “Please tell me you’ve finally lost it, can’t you see what’s out there?”

The Doctor’s eyes widened in surprise, surely Flashfire could see what he was seeing! Instead of this New Eden that Flurry was talking about, the Doctor didn’t see a jewel in the darkened seas of the cosmos. Instead, he saw a dark planet covered by clouds and storms, emanating a form of menace. It was incredibly frightening really, and actually made the Doctor want to run off and curl up in the smallest hole he could find.

“Do you?” the Doctor asked critically. “I’m warning you right now, don’t you dare land on that planet, whatever you do! Seriously, I’ve never been this serious in my entire life! Whatever you do, don’t leave this ship. Pack up, move onto the next planet!”

Flashfire blinked, and for a moment he looked concerned -perhaps breaking free of the planet’s spell for the briefest of moments- before his expression resumed its normal state.

“You’re being paranoid,” Flashfire remarked. “There’s nothing to be worried about. We’ve found it, a new home, and a base of permanent operations for us to conduct our war against Dark Matter. Besides, don’t you hear it? There’s a distress signal coming from that planet below, and as Paladins it’s our duty to answer it. As I said, you’re just being paranoid.”

“Am I?” the Doctor asked. “Can’t you see the Corvus Kyutama? I mean, look at it!” he shouted, gesturing to the Kyutama in question.

“...Yeah, I see it. So?”

“So, don’t you think this is a cause for concern?” the Doctor asked the Cerebus-themed Ranger. “It acting up like this? I’ve heard legends, about this great void in space that swallows up anything and everything, feeds on their hopes. Dangles this little lure in front of them, before snapping its jaws up tight,” the Doctor continued, and he did note Jabari flinch in what was possible recognition. “This whole planet, and that distress signal? It’s a lure, a trap! Send me down there, because trust me on this. Didn't anyone ever tell you there's one thing you never put in a trap. If you're smart, if you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow, there's one thing you never, ever put in a trap. And that’s me. Put me down on that planet, and I guarantee that whatever’s waiting for you down there, I’ll send running for it’s life.”

Flashfire looked thoughtful for a moment, possibly some of the Doctor’s warning getting through to him. “Okay then, we won’t send down the landing craft. Just a few of us will go, scouts to see if it’s safe. I’ll lead.”

“No, I will.” Flurry stated. “It’s the duty of a Princess to protect her people isn’t it? I’d never ask anyone to do something I wouldn’t do myself Flashfire, and that includes putting me in danger. Yes, a Princess I may be, but I’m also a Paladin myself don’t you forget. I can handle myself, Doctor.”

“If you say so…” the Doctor trailed off hesitantly, no small amount of fear filling his voice for what he suspected was about to transpire.

“And transpire it did…” he whispered to himself back in the present time. “Damn them!” he shouted, slamming a fist on a console before walking off in disgust.

The rest of the ship’s crew could only watch, and Stripped Gear sighed to himself. They and that meant Flashfire and Flurry would have a lot to do to win back the Doctor’s trust.

A few days later, it was requested by Stardust that the entire crew got some downtime before they left onto the next galaxy, just to recover from the events of the happenings down on the planet Corvus. Flashfire, for one of the few times in his life, was actually thanking the normally ignoramus of a Prince he had to take orders from, and so went back to his usual routine of doing what he did whenever he needed to unwind as it were. That is, partake in the ship’s theatre troupe, this time playing the titular role in a play from his homeland: Cyrano de Bergerac.

“You were like a brother to me. Do you remember? We used to play in the park near the lake.” Spada stated, almost perfectly in-character as Roxanne. Now normally, it was Crescendo projected via hologram who played this role but sadly tonight she was unavailable. Ever since her recital of a Cruel Angel's Thesis that helped free a certain planet, she’d found herself quite busy playing in the ship’s musical groups.

“Yes, of course. Every summer, you came to Bergerac.” Flashfire, or rather Cyrano in this case replied. He had to admit, it was rather awkward using another male as Roxanne considering her role in the play but needs must. Besides, this was acting really. Spada had asked if he could change himself into a more feminine version of himself using the Virgo Kyutama or just his natural abilities but Flashfire had just looked disturbed by that. Plus, a little offended actually, stating that if he didn’t know how to act when improv or something of that ilk was required he’d never become truly great.

“You used to make swords out of the reeds, and when you cut your hand you would come running to me, and I would say, Let me see. Oh! How did you do that?”

“Playing near the Porte de Nesle.”

“And how many did you play against?”

“No more than a hundred.” Flashfire returned. Flashfire had long had an interest in the arts, the classical Shakespony-style theatre being one of his greatest interests alongside the clarinet. It was one of those few areas that he felt truly at peace. Perhaps it was his heritage, given his many great grandmother was a stage performer in her own right. A different type of stage performer he admitted, but he felt he had to honor her in some way given her wife was a great hero of old Equus.

“Tell me!” Spada pleaded. “Tell me!”

“No,” Flashfire stated, almost in monotone. Just like he’d been throughout the whole night. Spada found that rather odd really, he’d been a regular throughout the ship’s various plays and he knew when Flashfire was at his best. Tonight, it was evident something was off as the Beast Star was reading through his lines in a rather lifeless manner. Just going through the motions. “Let it go. Let it go. You tell me what you were going to say. Do you dare?”

“I do dare. I love someone.” Spada returned, attempting to try and get Flashfire back in the swing of things but no matter what, nothing seemed to work. Not even transforming mid-line into a copy of Roxanne would work.

“Ah!” Flashfire replied, rather caught off-guard by Spada’s transformation, his voice coming out as more of a squeak than anything else.

“He does not know.” Spada continued. “Not yet at least. But he is proud, noble, brave and beautiful.”

“Beautiful?” Flashfire stated, this line was supposed to be read in shock and perhaps a bit of envy, but once more it came out only lifelessly.

“What's the matter?” Spada asked, not only in-character but in a voice of concern for his friend. Something was definitely wrong here, Flashfire hadn’t been the same since he came back from Corvus. Perhaps whatever he experienced down there, it’d affected his performance.

“With me? Nothing. It is my hand. He is in the Guards?” Flashfire asked.

Spada/Roxanna nodded. “Since this morning. Baron Christien de Neuvillette. In your own regiment. Promise me. Promise me to be his friend."

“I promise.” Flashfire returned.

“Oh, I love you. I must go now. Oh, and tell him to write me. A hundred men! What courage!” Spada shouted as he walked off-stage as this particular act ended. Scattered applause filled the room, polite clapping.

...Oh, but I have done better since.” Flashfire muttered, largely to himself. As soon as the curtain felt, he hung his head in shame and threw off his costume and punched a wall bloodying his knuckles. “Damn it…” he muttered. “Damn it all. What’s wrong with me? That’s normally one of my favorite parts of the play!”

Flashfire knew all too well what was wrong with him really, it was guilt. Like a crushing weight upon his soul, he felt it. And he knew exactly why it was there. He’d ignored the Doctor’s direct warnings about traveling down to Corvus. The Doctor was supposed to be their guide to the universe, and Flashfire along with Flurry and Stardust were supposed to listen to him. But they’d done exactly the opposite when it came to this particular situation. Oh sure, some of that could be chalked up to them being put under Kukata Tamaa’s spell but not all of it. No, some of it could be attributed to them not listening to their own common sense and just seeing Corvus for what it was. Something that was far too good to be true.

He knew Flurry felt it as well, considering what had gone on only a day or so prior just after the crew had returned from the Hell that was Corvus.

And he suspected the crew knew it on some level as well, considering he’d been stopped by Spada in the hallways at one point.

“Hey uh Flashfire? Just wanted to bring something up. I know it’s probably not my place, but lately there’s been a point of er, concern among some of the crew. It's, well, it's the Princess. She's been a bit elusive lately.”

“Elusive?” Flashfire asked eyebrow raised.

“Hasn’t left her quarters really, not even to join the daily briefing amongst the staff.”

Flashfire sucked in a breath. “Your point?” he asked, despite having a sinking feeling he already knew why his love hadn’t left her quarters.

“People take comfort in talking to her. When they see that the Princess is happy, they're happy,” Spada continued. “I know it’s her privilege to do what she wants, but I’m going to drop protocol for a moment. You have to admit, it is pretty odd really. I’d advise you to check up on her. Hive Mother knows you’re one of the closest to her, most likely to get something out of her.”

Needless to say, Flashfire had followed Spada’s little tip and had gone to visit the Princess in her quarters. What he’d found, had been… interesting to say the least.

The room had been darkened, allowing the starlight to fill the room as Flurry just sat down in her chair and observed the view. “Astronomical phenomena helps one to focus your mind I’ve found,” Flurry said not even looking at him as Flashfire walked in, but still acknowledging his presence. I like to imagine that each star represents a single thought. A single hope, a single dream.”

“Rather new agey of you, really,” Flashfire remarked as he sat down beside her. “Listen, the crew, they’re-”

“Starting to get worried?” Flurry finished for him. “Let them. They should be worried, if we’ve got an incompetent leader at the helm.”

“By that, I assume you mean Stardust?” Flashfire joked trying to lighten the mood in his own way. His veins glowed a light pink even as he did so. He’d been noticing a few crew members have this same effect from time to time. Six in particular really, him amongst them. He wasn’t quite entirely sure why this happened, but he did have a working theory that he’d begun to suspect was probably quite sound after he’d heard Coldcast had become the new Element of Loyalty. The question was, who would become the next Element Bearer, and of which Element?

“Spare the jokes commander,” Flurry replied. “I meant me. A Princess, who ignores sound advice from a man who’s probably been gallivanting around this universe for longer than I’ve been alive. I made a mistake, simple as that. We both did.”

“Yeah, that’s true. But we can’t let it control our actions. Listen, I’ve got a performance of Cyrano de Bergerac coming up soon, you could join me if you want on-stage. Might help broaden your mind. Plus, Crescendo isn’t exactly available at the moment so we’re short one Roxanne.”

“Sorry, I’ll pass on the offer. Acting’s never been my forte.”

“And what if I told you I'm not leaving until you join me?” Flashfire said sternly. “Besides, if you ask me, you put up a damn good mask. God knows this mission’s put up a lot of stress on you, and yet ever since we left our home you’ve never been really one to show much emotion, never let anything get to you. At least, that’s how it seems on the surface. Otherwise, Tamaa probably wouldn’t have affected you as bad as he did.”

“How much do you know?” Flurry asked in a dangerous tone, whirling on him.

“Not as much as I’d like, I admit, but just enough. He had to have done something to you, Goddess knows he got into all of our heads. He knew things, I don’t know quite how, but he knew things about me that he never should have any right to.”

“So?” Flurry stated coldly. “See a therapist. Hell, see Pharynx. I know you’ve been petitioning to put him up as ship’s consular.”

Flashfire let out a growl and stomped off. As stubborn as a mule, this one.

“...I just want to get through to her, is that too much to ask? All of us, we all went through something,” Flashfire whispered aloud as he wandered the corridors of the ship aimlessly, no particular direction in mind. Eventually, he found himself in an empty storage room, and took out his clarinet. Looking at it briefly, he then decided to play it. Maybe it’d help clear his mind. Playing a soft, almost haunting and sorrowful melody he didn’t really hear the hiss of the bay doors opening behind him.

“It’s beautiful, you know,” Flurry said, distracting Flashfire from his playing. “Why you decided to be a pilot, I’ve no clue. You’ve got talent as an artisan. And you’re so remarkably kind, you putting up with me and my stupidity is evidence of that.”

“...Well, a stallion one supposes must have many talents. Keep his options open.”

“So, you two numbskulls are finally talking again?” Pharynx’s voice asked, as he too entered the cargo bay.

“What’s your place in all of this?” Flurry asked, and Pharynx chuckled as he sat down on a nearby storage crate.

“Flashfire, he asked me here. Wanted my opinions on his actions, and whether they were sound ones. Suppose while I’m here, might as well give my opinions on yours as well Princess. If you don’t mind that is,” he stated.

“Well, who am I to ignore advice from a Changeling King?” Flurry shrugged. “They’re awfully good at sensing feelings. Makes them good listeners, and counselors.”

“Bleagh, please don’t make me the ship’s counselor. Damn position reminds me too much of my brother’s Feelings Forum! Hugbox central,” Pharynx stated gruffly as he rolled his eyes, his veins glowing a bright orange. If either Flurry or Flashfire noticed, then neither of them pointed it out. “But… You want me to be blunt huh? Well then, the only thing I can say is you're idiots. The both of you,” he stated, catching both Flashfire and Flurry off-guard. And he wasn’t finished. “This New Eden of yours, hell it may not even exist! If you just keep on clinging to a false hope, then, in reality, you’re never going to get any stronger. You’re just holding yourself back. I apologize if that sounds cruel, but you did want my opinion, and now you’re getting it.”

With that, he took his leave. As he walked away from the storage room, he soon found his palm glowing with a strange orange light, and he opened it up to reveal an orange Kyutama with three little red apples inside it.

“...Huh.” he stated.

Back with Flurry and Flashfire, the two looked at each other.

“So…” Flashfire started.

“So…” Flurry replied. “You think he’s right? That we’re clinging to some false hope?”

“Perhaps, perhaps now,” Flashfire remarked. “I don’t honestly know. Maybe a new home for us exists out amongst the endless sky, maybe it doesn’t and our time has long since passed. I just honestly don’t really know. But what I do know is, he’s right on at least one aspect. We are idiots, the both of us.”

“Can’t deny that. I suppose we should take a quote of my mom’s to heart, I guess. She once said to me: “Don't be afraid of being scared. To be afraid is a sign of common sense. Only complete idiots are not afraid of anything.”

“Heh,” Flashfire laughed. “That’s quite true, really. Another old saying, another old nugget of wisdom for you. “Idiots are of two kinds: those who try to be smart and those who think they are smart.” In the last few days, I think we were of the second sort.”

“So…” Flurry began, feeling there was no sense in beating around the bush any longer. “What exactly did you see? On Corvus, I mean. What exactly did Kukata Tamaa make you see?”

“Well…” Flashfire stated, his voice shuddering. “Our entire mission, gone to ruin. Our ship, destroyed. He played upon my inner fears. All this while, I’ve had these feelings that every screw-up, my fault or not, my team will end up blaming on me.”

“The burden of a leader,” Flurry whispered. “They look up to you, and at the same time they place all of their hopes and dreams on you. Trust me, I should know.”

“Yeah…” Flashfire stated, before he remembered something else. Something else Kukata Tamaa had said.

“You haven’t told them yet. About your little secret? Oh, Flashfire Lulamoon, you’ve got more secrets than the galaxies have stars, and you won’t let anyone in on one. single. one. Maybe it’s because… Oh, isn’t this funny, the great Flashfire Lulamoon is afraid of what his team would think of him if they knew?”

Flashfire took a deep shuddering breath, and then he spoke. “You’re probably wondering why I’m taking an interest in Baroness Manx, and her… condition.”

“I thought it was just because you were naturally kind. Granted, you’re showing more interest in her case than anyone else aside from Pharynx, but… Oh Faust, you’re not saying…?”

“Exactly that. It wasn’t to me, but one particular member of my family, they know all too well it’s like to go through that sort of hell. I won’t divulge who it is,” Flashfire said, his mind’s eye picturing a pure white dragon-like pony with ram’s horns. “But let’s say this case is more personal for me than it should have been.”

“Did… Did you catch whoever it was who committed the act?” Flurry asked, and Flashfire nodded.

“Yes, yes I did. Let’s say nobody will ever have to worry about him ever again. Now for you, what did you see?”

“More like what I heard,” Flurry replied. “Everyone’s right about me, I am too closed off in my emotions, I’ve lost so much over my lifetime. Lovers, friends, family… I guess I didn’t want to feel that hurt anymore. But out here amongst the stars, where I’m closer to my subjects than I ever would have been on Equus, I guess that rationale isn’t really logical anymore…”

She and Flashfire continued their talk long into the night, and if anything besides feelings were exchanged between them, well that was their little secret to keep.

Later, that very next day Flashfire picked up where he’d left off in his role of Cyrano de Bergerac, and this time he had a new Roxanne to accompany him.

“He is a soldier too, in your own regiment in fact! Yes, in the Guards, in your company.” Flurry said, reciting the lines as if she knew them by heart, and as for Flashfire? Well, his return to form was a graceful one indeed.

“Ah!” Flashfire said with such conviction, you’d have believed he was indeed Cyrano believing Roxanne was talking about him whilst in fact she was really talking about Christian.

“And such a man! He is proud, noble, young, brave and very beautiful. Very beautiful indeed!”

“Beautiful?” Flashfire asked nervously.

“Whatever is the matter?” Flurry/Roxanne asked.

“Nothing, it is just my hand! That is all!”

Well, I love him. That is all. Despite this, I’ve never saw him anywhere at all except at the Comedie. But, oh!” Flurry shouted. People talk about people, and I hear things. And I know he is in the guards.”

“Y-You do?” Flashfire stuttered out, his character hoping that ‘Roxanne’ was talking about him.

Yes, one Baron Christian de Neuvillette. In your own regiment, as I said. Promise me, promise me this. Promise me you will be his friend.”

“I… I will.” Flashfire whispered, playing the part of the heartbroken love so perfectly, and as the curtains began to close, this time he was not greeted with scattered polite applause but a loud thundering chorus. Flashfire smiled, he was back. And this time, he had the courage to face the Doctor. Both him and Flurry.

Author's Notes:

Yes, yes, I know I said after last chapter I wouldn't be updating this story any more this month, but I didn't have the heart to leave you on a cliffhanger until December. Okay, originally a good portion of this chapter was going to be devoted to Coldcast dealing with the after-effects of what he saw on Corvus, but I've been doing some thinking. As of late, sometimes he's been getting too much focus while other characters that needed it got shafted. So, that's why Flurry and Flashfire were the leads here.

Another thing that got cut, well it was actually the Doctor's little moment warning the crew about Tamaa. For whatever reason, it was supposed to be in the previous chapter but I didn't get around to writing it. So, on that note decided to build this whole chapter around that. And in a way, I suppose it worked out for the best.

Another thing that got cut from this chapter was the actual debut of our next Karo, Eriedrone, AKA the leader of the Sagittarius system. Decided using him would make the intro that little bit too cluttered and chaotic, so he got axed. Rest assured, you'll see him soon enough.

As ever, comments and thoughts are appreciated.

Part 17: Flashfire Lulamoon

Flashfire honestly didn’t know how it’d happened, really. One minute, he was up in his Voyager conducting atmospheric surveys of a planet, and then a loud explosion and the next thing he knew was he found himself face deep in a pile of snow. Wreckage lay around him, fires having long been snuffed out because of the biting windchill. In front of him, was a deep yawning chasm of staggering proportions.

Behind him, buried in a mountainside was what remained of his Voyager. Coldcast had picked himself up off the ground, and before he could do so let out a scream of pain as he clutched his leg. Broken, it seemed. He wasn’t going to be going anywhere, at least not like this. Grabbing ahold of a piece of shrapnel, he snapped it in half before he used it as a makeshift pair of crutches and began moving. Standard protocol normally dictated him to stay near his ship and await rescue, but given the howls he heard in the distance and his current state, he figured it best to get moving and get as far away from here as possible before the scavengers came.

“An accident maybe?” Flashfire thought to himself even as he used the scarf on his uniform as a makeshift muffler. “Meteorite showers are common in this part of the galaxy, we were all warned about them by the Doctor and he asked us to keep part of our sensors scanning for incoming. Sadly, from the look of it I didn’t exactly pay mind to that warning. Seem to be doing that quite a lot lately. First Corvus, and now… well, wherever this is. Going to take a miracle to find me, this storm isn’t going to do me any favors.”

First things first, he noted. Find shelter from the storm, make a fire to keep warm. His eyes lingered to the little carrier strap on his waist, holding his personal favorite Kyutamas like Andromeda, Lyra, and Ara. Not to mention that other one.

Ara, the Altar Kyutama, Flashfire mused. The Altar Constellation, thought to be once worshipped by those who favored the arts of witchcraft and sorcery. It’d long been an important constellation to the early unicorns.

And it was especially important to him.

Flashfire then let out a bitter chuckle at the irony. No, it wasn’t the fact that he was back on a planet resembling the one he swore to leave behind. No, it was the fact that he tossed his adoptive sister’s rapist on a place similar to this. No, while it wasn’t frighteningly cold, it was still a desolate wasteland. While Flashfire didn’t kill him, he might as well have. He’d rationalized it at the time as a rapist deserving no place in life, but sometimes he wondered… did he go too far, leaving him to die like that? They could have just locked him up in the brig, or placed him under armed guard for the rest of the journey, however long it may have been.

Pushing those thoughts aside for the moment, he set his thoughts on the here and now. Surviving the night. While this planet had a sun, it was bitterly cold now even with it blazing high above. Once night fell, and Flashfire had no honest to god idea on how long he had till that came, then it was game over.

“So, journey’s end for me I suppose…” Flashfire thought as he set his stuff down on a nearby rock, now inside a small cave of some sort. His hands briefly went to the Astral Blaster he kept at his side, but decided against it. No. A smarter, or perhaps more cowardly buck would end this quick. But he had faith in his friends, and in himself. He had faith he’d find a way to survive this, and he had faith in his friends that they’d find him… somehow.

Gently nudging his horn, just trying to urge it onwards to light up even a little and eventually, he was successful and his horn sparked little green embers that quickly died out. Whether it was from the cold winds, or his own… issues he didn’t entirely know.

He’d have never have been qualified if they knew. Hell, he suspected he probably did fail Galaxy Garrison Qualifications, and someone who liked him decided to give him a free ride through anyways.

There was a reason he took to Coldcast so well, poor kid was struggling just like he was. They both had a different form of issue, but they were still two birds of the same feather in a way. They both had problems, and they both needed each other.

Coldcast’s were just more… obvious you could say.

Flashfire smiled in remembrance at the day he first met the snot-nosed little griffon. Spunky as all Hell, had a bright mind and a drive to succeed. But he had his problems. For one, growing up in the system did him no favors. While it did give him this desire to prove everyone wrong, it also gave him so many lingering insecurities it wasn’t even funny.

Flashfire and he still didn’t entirely know why to this day took to the loner of a griffon and took him under his wing as it were. Maybe it was the fact that he could tell both had some severe problems, maybe he just wanted to do it because he knew nobody else probably would. In either case, both quickly formed a bond of brotherhood that not even Dark Matter would break. Fact was, he would surmise that their brotherhood would take on the universe.

Thinking, letting his mind work. That’s how Flashfire would survive, he realized. Not give into despair, think of something other than what was otherwise a hopeless situation. Keep the brain at work, use those little grey cells. That’s what was usually the first to go in a time like this, someone’s sanity. Flashfire intended to make it be seen fit that in this situation, that wasn’t the case. His body would go before his mind ever did.

Equus: Galaxy Garrison Training Camp

It was six years ago -Give or take- when they first met. Flashfire was a recent graduate himself and already ranking high on a few of the teachers list of recommendations for the Voyager Flight Squadron program. He’s faced pretty much every simulator there was, and got high marks on all of them. Written theory tests, the ones that asked you what you might do if you faced a specific sort of issue in space such as crash landing on some desolate world or having troubles communicating or negotiating with some sort of foreign culture? Those were no issue for the 21-year-old Lulamoon either. Thankfully, there were no tests that catered specifically for some particular Equestrian race because Flashfire knew that's exactly where he would have stumbled and everyone would have figured out his little secret.

In short, barring a few minor hiccups here and there the young unicorn was doing fairly well for himself. If asked, he would have just remarked that he was proud to be doing his duty for his species. Just following in the hoofsteps of his so many times great auntie Luna when she did her part to try and save Equestria from the coming fire. He was just doing his family proud.

Mind you, in truth he personally thought Luna has committed a senseless form of sacrifice even with the powers of the Draco Kyutama as there would have been no stopping the sun no matter how much you tried. He personally thought that all four Princesses should have made for the bunkers as soon as they knew the sun had entered its entropy. Quite a few would probably deride him if they ever knew what he thought, but Flashfire had no time for foolish endeavors no matter the purpose. If it couldn't be done, it couldn't be done. Simple as that.

Mind you, there was probably a part of him that went against this defeatist way of thinking but more often than not it was ignored. Not helping this was Flashfire’s unique set of circumstances, a rare genetic disorder that appeared in his family. It skipped a few generations, but Flashfire was one of the ‘lucky’ ones. He simply put, thanks to this mutation couldn't perform magic like most unicorns could. Even performing the simplest of spells was next to impossible for him and strained his body greatly. Now, it was common knowledge among the garrison that Flashfire was never seen performing magic but nobody knew exactly why. The most common speculation was that he had such huge reserves that like the now legendary Twilight Sparkle before him he needed special training to control his magic.

“If it were only that…” Flashfire muttered in self-disgust as he stepped out onto the school grounds, shaking his head. “If it were only that.”

More often than not, he managed to keep himself from thinking on it too much and start to feel sorry for himself but every now and then…

A sea of chatter caught his attention and his ears perked up from the commotion. His amber eyes drifted across the grounds to where he saw a sea of recruits clad in their distinctive orange and white jumpsuits surrounding a simulator, with Professor Stripped Gear amongst them. His bright yellow Dorado Kyutama hung around his neck via a chain as always.

“Oh, that's right… I forgot it was today…” Flashfire murmured to himself as he watched a cadet of the hippogriffia species step into this box-like simulator. These things were meant to prepare you for the real deal, the powerful X-90 class fighter craft that were meant to protect the colony ships. Flashfire had found a personal favorite in the fast, maneuverable RGZ-95 ReZEL Waverider manufactured by Kshatriya Industries. Today’s item on the agenda? The simulation nicknamed the Kobayashi Maru after something from this old sci-fi novel series. The unwinnable one, at least in theory. It was meant to judge how cadets braced with failure. Started out simple enough, but the conditions the cadets faced escalated fairly quickly as they progressed through it eventually hitting a level block. Something that was impossible to beat.

Only thing was, the cadets didn't know this particular scenario was a no win one. They’d only be told that after each one had their go. This test was specifically designed to weed out the arrogant cocky ones who were in no way suited to pilot the Waveriders in any significant capacity. Personally, Flashfire expressed both his support and his doubts about this particular thing to Headmaster Gills. On one hand, yes, he’d see the cocky young bâtards weeded out but on the other if the cadets knew that this scenario was unwinnable ahead of time they might just try their damndest to beat the system, break the game. On the plus side, he’d see who he would truly want backing him up on the battlefield. However, the way this thing was designed it was in no way going to give anyone here a proper judgment on how one dealt with death as well as life on the battlefield in a flight command situation. Another thing though, if the cadets knew they were going to lose no matter what, they might adopt a defeatist personality to the dilemma and might not even bother.

In a way he supposed, debating this pile of crap was a Kobayashi Maru in itself.

One cadet, the young male hippogriff from before had made it all the way through to level three and was now piloting a mock commander variant of the Waverider assault craft in the simulation leading his crew throughout an asteroid belt. Next level, the meteor storm.

Then, the hippogriff flunked as he lead his crew headlong into a massive asteroid. Groaning, he stepped out and his scores were tallied. Next up was this white griffon, who rapidly caught Flashfire's eye as he rapidly soared through the levels eventually making it through to the meteor storm.

“He's going to hit the level barrier soon…” Flashfire thought. “But he just doesn't give up!” He continued to think as he watched this recruit -Coldcast if he remembered right- dodge each and every meteorite sent his way. By this point, his Waverider had evolved into a mock version of the Eagle Voyager and once more a sea of chatter had broken out.

“Wow… look at him go! He's on fire!” someone shouted, and a few agreements joined in as Stripped rapidly began jotting down notes. However, there were some dissenters.

“Look at him,” the hippogriff from before muttered crossing his arms. “Who does he think he is?”

“Punk comes from nowhere,” this earth pony agreed with a small nod as the griffon reached what was supposed to be the final level, this flight over a magma jet covered planet. “And where does he think he gets off showing off like that?”

“Comes from nowhere, and that’s all he'll ever be! A nobody!” the hippogriff agreed, and Flashfire noted Coldcast was beginning to lose his focus thanks to the remarks. Small beads of sweat appeared on his face even as he dodged jets of flame. He started making small rookie mistakes, and eventually the inevitable happened. A magma jet erupted and the simulation came to a screeching halt.

“Shut up…” Coldcast whispered as he climbed out of the simulator, with what looked to be tears streaming down his face making the cadets only laugh harder. “Just shut up, you hear!?!”

Finally, Flashfire had enough, and finally speaking up, he let out a tell of: “Be silent!” and the crowd listened even as he pulled Coldcast aside. “Ask yourself, what would you get out of this? I didn't see any of you lot doing better than he was!” He roared. If Stripped Gear wanted to say something, he thought the better of it.

“Come on kid, let's get you away from these little snots,” Flashfire said in a soft tone towards Coldcast, who nodded weakly.

“T-Thank you… but you didn't have to step in back there…” the young griffon whispered.

“Didn't have to, but I did,” Flashfire replied before he put a hand on the young griffon’s shoulder. “Listen, if it makes you feel any better -Coldcast was it?- that test was rigged from the start. You were never supposed to win. Nobody is.”

“Sure seemed like I was going to win…” Coldcast muttered.

“And that would have been your mistake right there, thinking you were unbeatable. Cocky thinking like that, only going to get yourself and your flight squadron killed. The whole point of this test? Its to gauge one's reactions to failure,”

“Real fine job I did back there then…” Coldcast muttered before Flashfire looked him dead in the eye.

“You mustn't let mistakes weigh you down. Acknowledge them and take what you've learned to move on. That is the privilege of being a man,” Flashfire stated kindly, his veins briefly glowing pink. “Sure, you screwed up back there but to be honest, in your situation anyone would have. The question is now, what will you do with them?” Flashfire asked poking the younger pilot in the chest.

“I… I don't know,” Coldcast whispered with his head hung low before he looked back up at Flashfire. “Hey, why the Hell are you helping me anyway? What do you get out of this?” he shouted.

“Absolutely nothing,” Flashfire stated.

“Then why…?” Coldcast whispered once more. Flashfire simply gave him a smile.

“Does being kind need a reason?” Flashfire asked. Now he remembered where he’d heard Coldcast’s name before. He’d sworn he had somewhere else before, it was only now he was recalling where. Coldcast, he was someone from the orphanages enrolled in the Garrison via Prince Stardust’s Lend a Helping Hand program and was rapidly catching a few eyes thanks to his abilities. Whether that translated to one of the Legend Kyutamas choosing him for whatever reason was another question entirely but Flashfire personally saw potential in the kid. He’d want him backing him up on the battlefield in his personal Waverider fighter craft, the Kyushu. “Personally, I think this entire version of the Kobayashi Maru is flawed. If I had my way, I'd change the whole damn thing around. Make it truly unbeatable. As it stands now, it is in a rather winnable state.”

“...Wow, you're a real confidence booster, you know that right?” Coldcast drawled.

“Just being… well, I wouldn't say realistic but what I'd do is provide the cadets an impossible choice of some sort. Save a doomed supply craft or at least try to before getting attacked by this unbeatable force, or leave the craft to its own demise. Either way, you’d get a good judge of reaction there. You’d see how pilots face fear in the face of certain death. Whether they show bravado and want to go out in a flamme de gloire, show cowardice and not do anything at all or maybe something else.” he shrugged.

“...And you haven't been made a teacher why?” Coldcast asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Beats me,” Flashfire shrugged once more. “Guess I'm a little bit too arrogant for that in some way. Or maybe I just wouldn't do well in a classroom full of still wet behind the ears snot-nosed brats who only got here because their parents paid good money. Not someone who does well with others I guess.”

“Which begs one to wonder,” Coldcast remarked as he looked towards the Cerberus Kyutama hanging around Flashfire’s neck. “Why do you have one of those? I'm not stupid, I know what having one of those means.”

“Found it in the ice one day, or rather below it when I was lending this friend of mine a helping hand. Saw a bright glow, and there it was. Needless to say, took everyone by surprise really… Agh, look at me. I'm babbling. Coldcast, the point is while others may not see it, I do. You've got potential, you just need someone to help you along.”

“And that someone is you?” Coldcast asked skeptically.

“If you want.”

Flashfire chuckled, the two did learn a lot from each other in those early years. Knocked the arrogance out of both of each other.

“Sure wish those teachings could come in handy now…” he thought as the blizzard began to rage…

The winds howled outside as Flashfire waited rescue. It’d come, all in due time. He just needed to wait, and survive until then. That was all. Keep his brain active and working, avoid making it the first thing to go. He needed his brain if he was going to survive the night, providing that particular problem ever arose and he wasn't found within the next few hours.

“À mon seul désir…” Flashfire thought to himself. That particular saying was an old one, first found on the now ancient tapestry titled the Mare and the Alicorn. It had many possible translations, but the one Flashfire preferred -Wasn't sure why- was this: “My greatest desire.”

It was pretty damn unclear what the weaver’s greatest desire actually was and as aforementioned it may not have even translated to that. Flashfire frowned, his thoughts were starting to get all jumbled up, confused. Nonsensical. Why now of all times would he be thinking of some ancient tapestry and it's possible meanings? Right now his greatest desire was to get off this blasted planet, this frozen Hell.

He knew perfectly well the dangers of self-diagnosis and the possible inaccuracies that often came with it, but this jumbled up branch of thoughts combined with the fact that he knew from his suit readout that his core body temperature was dropping lead him to only one possible conclusion amongst many. Hypothermia. Flashfire laughed bitterly, as if to add to everything else today when the lady Faust decided to make him her personal chew toy, now accompanied by all of that was hypothermia setting in! What a good laugh, what a nice piece of hilarity that must have been for her.

Now, more than ever he needed to get off this planet. Right, he couldn't wait out rescue that might never come. Well, a rescue that might never come unless he started to get proactive about the whole thing. So, unless he did something, and he wasn't entirely sure what yet the snow would be his grave. He wouldn't even need a shovel, the snowfall would do the burial for him.

No mourners, but then again what little did they need to mourn about? Not much like Flashfire had contributed much to the world besides being a great pilot.

Flashfire smacked himself in the face about then, idly wondering if suicidal thoughts were part of the disjointed mess of confusion that came with the onslaught that was hypothermia. Of course he’d contributed something to the universe aside from being a fair pilot. Without him, Coldcast, his sweet -well, maybe not exactly sweet- adopted baby brother would be lost and alone. Flurry Heart… well, he wasn't still entirely sure where he and her stood. That was something he’d had to figure out with her if -no, when- he got out of this mess.

Question was, how to do it exactly? Well, the most obvious way was figuring out a way to transmit his location back up to the Shining Armor or at least it’s scout craft like what would have been his fighter squadron called the Nahel Argama had he not become a Voyager pilot. So instead, some kirin named Spring Showers got the position. Two problems with his plan though. One, the raging storm outside his cave and two more than likely his communication system onboard his Voyager was most likely wrecked and beyond his skill to repair. Advanced ship mechanics was not one of those courses he’d aced he shamefully admitted. Might have been in part due to him spending so much time making out with his then-girlfriend at the time in Crescendo. Yes, that one. So she was a siren, did it really matter?

Suppressing another shiver, his mind not to thinking about how to get out of this mess. Sure, he failed advanced ship mechanics badly, but he still recalled some of it. That some of it might have been just enough to fix the Cerberus Voyager’s communication systems and get off a communication up to the ships. They’d never leave him behind, that much he knew. As soon as they realized he was missing, they’d get set to work on finding him. He shivered again. He knew this was his body’s way of fighting off the cold but that still didn't make it any less pleasant. Then again, pleasantries had been few and far between as of late.

Suddenly, he noticed a strange glow and pulled out his Cerberus Kyutama which was now flashing intermittently.

“Okay…” Flashfire slurred out, his voice sounding as if he was drunk. Another symptom of hypothermia, he vaguely remembered. “That's strange.”

Not really having any time to ponder what that could have possibly have meant, Flashfire grabbed his sword and pulled his hood over his head as he headed back out into the blinding cold.

Almost in an instance, the winds hit him biting and slashing into his clothing as his fur began to ice over. Flashfire quickly pulled out his Ara Kyutama and used it to ignite his sword. The magical fire, it’d hold… for a little while anyways. Hopefully just long enough.

Hope, that's all he had right now. That and his intelligence.

He just had to put faith in both of them and believe that they’d both be enough to get him out of this mess. After all, there really wasn't much else he could do in this instance he thought even as he began cutting a pathway back to the crashed remains of his ship. All the while, his Kyutama continued to blink brighter and faster and something howled in the distance.

Night had fallen by this point, the hours going by in a blur. By this point, Flashfire could barely see more than a few feet in front of him even with the Ara Kyutama. To help him deal with this particular problem, he materialized the skill version of the Aquila Kyutama and placed it in his gauntlet giving it a gentle little nudge. Flashfire groaned when nothing happened. He’d forgotten that the skill versions of the Legend Kyutamas were next to useless unless used by their chosen Paladin.

“Memory loss…” Flashfire remembered, his head In a daze just barely able to remember where he crashed. Not helping was the fact that nearly everything looked the same by this point in this whiteout. “Another symptom.”

He gritted his teeth and forced himself to remember where exactly in these snow-covered hills he’d crashed into. Another howl cut through the late-night air. Flashfire shuddered, and not from the cold. He really did not want to meet whatever those howls belonged to.

However, it seemed fate had made up its mind for him as something leaped out of the darkness and blindsided him. With a crashing sound, Flashfire landed in a snowdrift as his sword flew out of his hands. He then caught a glimpse of his attacker, two piercing yellow eyes belong to this tusked canid creature covered in thick wooly fur.

Flashfire went for his pistol, but it seems he hadn't need to have bothered as the thing spotted his still flaming sword and ran off in fear. Sending a mental prayer to whoever was listening, Flashfire picked himself up off the ground and retrieved his weapon before forging on ahead. He was practically stumbling now, staggering as his sickness got worse and worse.

This was foolishness, folly really. But there wasn't much choice in the matter. He had to, no he needed to make it back to his ship or else the cold would eventually claim him. Flashfire was afraid, he’d admit that. He was alone, probably close to death and there was every chance he’d never be found. A little nagging voice in his head just told him to give up now, let the cold take him. He deserved his rest. Flurry and Coldcast, they could pick up where he left off. Someone else could become Cerberus Seagreen and the leader of the Rangers.

By this point, Flashfire was very content to listen to that voice. He didn't know why, but his body kept pushing itself forwards in spite of it all, and in spite of Flashfire wanting to just give up and die. It’d be quick, it would be just like taking a long nap. In fact, death after all, one of his family members once said, was just the next great adventure. But some small part of Flashfire was ignoring every lick of common sense and was still clinging onto that last flicker of dim hope.

He hated that part of him. Yet again, his old defeatist mindset was returning, and even as he took another step forwards he stumbled down a hillside, rolling and tumbling into the snow before he finally hit bottom.

But what was at the bottom of that hill was something he never could have expected. In the midst of some rocks was a Voyager. Not his Voyager, but a Voyager all the same. It was small, red, and looked like a little four-legged lion complete with a tiny mane. By this time, Flashfire’s personal Kyutama was glowing brighter than ever almost like a mini supernova.

It didn't burn or sear, in fact it was like an almost comforting warmth in his hands. And then he spotted it. In a small snowdrift glowing bright red was another Kyutama with the head of a lion inside its orb-shaped crystal. That's when it clicked inside Flashfire's head. This was why his Kyutama continued to glow, it was resonating in response to another Kyutama and another Voyager.

“But… but what good will this do me?” Flashfire asked himself. He chided himself for being stupid. Of course it would do him good if he did this right and brought this sleeping titan out of its long hibernation.

“The… the rescue team!” he slurred out. “Even if they don't recognize this signature, they'll still come looking won't they?”

He smirked, hope slowly beginning to return to his mind and to his body. He pushed himself towards to the unknown Voyager, shoving the Lynx Kyutama into his Kyuchanger just to improve his vision. He eventually found a door, and using the Hercules Kyutama pried it open with a brief burst of strength returning to his arms.

“Just… just one last hurdle, that’s it!” Flashfire breathed out. “Come on man, you can do this! Allons-Y!” he declared as he staggered inside the half-frozen cockpit. Slamming the Ara Kyutama into a slot, the ice slowly began to thaw and melt away. Now, all he had to do was figure out a way of awakening this giant and send out any form of signal. Prying open a small hatch, he quickly found himself with a soldering kit, a hammer and a small wrench. Back to basics, that’s what he’d have to go to. Remember every lesson he’d ever learned about repair and hope that it still applied here to this ancient-looking craft. And it was ancient, around the age of the Draco Voyager if he had to take a guess. Possibly even older. It had just been sitting here, waiting for someone to come along and bring it back to life.

Flashfire chuckled to himself as a vague memory stirred itself to the surface. Something someone had once said, something that he never should have forgotten and under normal circumstances would never have. It was just a collection of simple words, one phrase really but it had stuck with him throughout his entire life ever since he first met the stallion who first said it.

The phrase? “Where there's life, there’s hope.”

Equus: Galaxy Garrison Training Camp

“Where there's any form of life, there’s hope. That's the phrase I like to live by,” said one Stripped Gear of Equestria as he walked with his friend Flashfire Lulamoon to their next class. “There is no such thing as a no win scenario. Not in my mind. There never will be. Even if there’s only the slightest chance of a victory, well I'll take that chance. Because that’s the kind of stallion I am.”

The stallion, aside from being in training to be a top scientist had his perhaps overly ambitious eyes on the medical corps. Said it would net him all the mares, that they loved a buck in scrubs. Flashfire didn't know what he was on about really, just one love in his life -even if said love happened to be a siren- was good enough for him. While both Flashfire and Stripped came from very old family lineages, that was about the only thing connecting them really. The two couldn't have had an odder friendship. One, a rather arrogant and admittedly intellectual stallion who preferred test tubes over ponies, and the other a young stallion with a love of the arts and a known magical defect. Yet somehow they clicked, and in fact Stripped was possibly one of the only ones who knew of Flashfire's disability.

“Well, you're confident,” Flashfire stated in a deadpan tone, adjusting the tie on his uniform. In his shoulder bag, he carried several play scripts for the Garrison’s drama club including a certain play crafted by this Kirin named Autumn Blaze oh so very long ago.

“You carry yourself with confidence, and nobody bothers you. Here, watch this!” Stripped said as he leaned up against an empty classroom’s door and adjusted his glasses. “See here? This is how cool guys lean against things. When you see a guy leaning against a thing looking this cool, you think, “Wow! That guy doesn't have a care in Equestria. Not a guy who leans on things that cool.” So tell me, do I or do I not look cool?” Stripped asked.

“You look like you're trying too hard to be on the cover of a bad noire novel,” Flashfire deadpanned as Stripped Gear then fell flat on his arse. Flashfire had to fight back a laugh. “Anyone ever tell you that you're a complete imbecile at times?”

“E-Excuse me?” Stripped stammered out in shock. “Me, a complete imbecile? Did you not see the scores I got on my IQ test?”

“Evidently the machine was faulty,” Flashfire continued to deadpan. “I mean, you couldn't say I'm more of a try-hard even if you tried. See what I mean?”

He gestured to several mares nearby who were giggling at poor Stripped as he tried to pick himself up off the floor. The most prominent of which was this griffon hen, mostly white-feathered with some blue markings.

“...Wow, talk about taking a guy's pride and chucking it out the bloody front door…” the chocolate-brown unicorn muttered.

Eventually Flashfire took pity on him and helped him up.

“See, I'm going to give you a piece of advice now,” Flashfire continued. “Mares, griffon hens, whatever. They don't care about any of that. They like a buck who’s honest with himself, instead of someone who tries to be something he’s not.”

He mentally added to himself mares probably wouldn't go for a pony who kept a skull in his dorm room fridge for experiments.

“Yeah yeah…” Stripped muttered. “Only reason you know so much about romance as it is, well that's simply because you're dating a siren.”

“Well, to be fair they were the original romantics…” Flashfire remarked. “So Crescendo would know wouldn't she?” he pointed out.

“Yeah yeah…” Stripped Gear muttered. “You're just jealous of my IQ!”

“I honestly don't see what there is to be jealous of, if you ask me,” Flashfire replied as the next bell rung. “Now come along, Stoneheart’s a real pain in the derrière and only Celestia knows what he'll have to say if either of us is late for class.”

Stripped shuddered. If there was one thing both he and Flashfire could unanimously agree on without question, it was in fact that Professor Stoneheart was indeed a real pain in the arse.

Eventually, classes ended for the day without much incident -Stripped hadn't even made anything blow up for once!- and the two ponies found themselves back in their dorm room later that night. Flashfire, as he looked out his dorm window to the icy plains beyond the school grounds wondered what it was like, back in Equestria's Golden Age. Back before Sunfall Dawn as it was called. He’d seen the simulations and paintings of course and read about it in datapads, but he had never felt the green grass beneath his hooves or felt the warm sun against his fur.

Nearby, at his desk Stripped was working on one of his little experiments as always even as Velvet Remedy’s soft voice came crooning in through the airways. There Stripped sat, fine-tuning the crystal orb-like structures of the Taurus Black and Dorado Yellow Kyutamas. Flashfire wasn't sure how the young unicorn had managed it. How he had somehow figured out how to reverse engineer the Draco Kyutama and mass produce its abilities. And yet somehow he’d manage to do exactly that.

“So, I gotta ask,” Flashfire commented, just barely looking up from his textbook. “What inspired you to do it? I mean, what did you just wake up one day and decide, hey I'll start reverse engineering Princess Luna’s signature trinket? Or how did you do it?

“I… I honestly don't remember truth be told,” Stripped remarked with a touch of embarrassment. “It just called out to me, y’know? Least that's what I like to think,”

“You know any normal pony not knowing exactly how or why he reverse engineered an ancient artifact from beyond the stars would probably consider that worrisome right?” Flashfire remarked.

“I like to believe it was an inspiration sent to me by her!” Stripped replied haughtily.

“And who’s ‘her' exactly?” Flashfire asked, raising an eyebrow.

“She’s always been there, lurking in the back of our minds. As long as us ponies believe in that goddess called Possibility, anything could happen!” he declared, and just like that, the Dorado Yellow and Cerberus Seagreen Kyutamas flew into Stripped and Flashfire's hands. “See what I mean? I like to believe these things are alive in some way, and where there's life, there's hope.”

Even now, as Flashfire struggled to get the Leo Minor Voyager back online he repeated those words to himself.

“Come on Red…” he whispered. He honestly didn't know why he was talking to a machine, it wasn't like it could hear him and talk back. But for some reason, just like he did with his personal Voyager, he felt a living emotional connection with this one. “You can do this, you can pull yourself together. You feel it don't you? Just like me. You want to get up and move, to be king again. You're the same as me aren't you? You felt trapped, without hope. But that's where you're wrong. Nobody's without hope, not really. You just got to believe. Now come on boy, roar for me!”

Little by little, as he spoke lights began to flicker back on, red lines covering the inside of the cockpit even as Flashfire recalled old memories on ship repair and set to work on fixing this one.

“Do you hear me boy? You know, I thought getting out of this was yet another Kobayashi Maru, an unwinnable scenario. But then I remembered some words a friend told me once. Do you want to hear them?” he asked. A low groan seemed to be his response. “Good, I thought you did. They went: “Where there's any form of life, there’s hope. That's the phrase I like to live by. There is no such thing as a no-win scenario. Not in my mind. There never will be. Even if there’s only the slightest chance of a victory, well I'll take that chance. Because that’s the kind of stallion I am.” There's hope for you here boy, you understand me? Now roar for me boy. ROAR!” Flashfire shouted, and just like that all lights came online, and two bright yellow eyes on the Voyager’s face opened and the leonine ship let out an earthshaking roar before firing a bright red beam into the heavens as it pierced the night sky. “Okay, good. Glad to have ya back with us boy. Now, if there's anyone up there listening, anyone who has a problem with me and my new philosophy of there never being any no-win scenarios and me and my friends taking on the universe… to HELL with you!”

Seems someone did want to take an issue with that little declaration as outside several familiar howls cut through the air and Flashfire heard the distinctive Vworp! Vworp! Vworp! sounds of teleportation. Flashfire looked outside and saw several of the ‘Warp Hounds’ as he’d come to call them gathering. He patted the control panel of the Voyager before grabbing both the Ara Kyutama and his Astral Blade. There was that old saying about when the wolves were knocking at your door you either turned and ran or you stood your ground. Guess what Flashfire chose.

“You stay here okay? I'll be right back. Seems some unruly mutts need a few lessons in manners,” he told the mech before heading outside. “Well, here I am! You want me? Come and get me!” he shouted at the hounds, gesturing to himself. “But there's something you gotta know first before you do. My name. I am Flashfire Lulamoon, the last of the Lulamoon and Glimmer lines, and the Howling Star Cerberus Seagreen and you do not frighten me. Now, I believe it's time to test your luck.” he stated in a perfectly calm tone before charging into the fray.

Blood flew and spattered the snow as Flashfire cut down the first two of the five hounds with his sword, before the third leaped towards him fangs bared. Flashfire loaded up the Canis Minor Kyutama and fired, making this third hound roll over like some over-affectionate puppy dog, tongue out and panting.

“Well, now that's just disturbing…” Flashfire mused. That'll be haunting his dreams for a while, that one. He didn't have much time to think on this, as the fourth hound tried to bite down on his arm only for its fangs to meet the starmetal of his sword and shatter on impact. Flashfire then punched it in the face before he heard a Vworp!

Next thing he knew he was sent flying backwards into a snowdrift via another hound, much larger than the others and bearing a red stripe along its back marking it as the pack leader. Flashfire's eyes widened. He recognized this one, it was the same one that had attacked him before! It evidently recognized him as well, hiding by the rage-filled eyes. His hands went to the strap on his waist and he fished out that Kyutama. He fired, sending a swarm of pink butterflies towards the Warp Hound pack leader momentarily blinding it as he scrambled away.

“Good little papillons. And thank you… Fluttershy, for lending me access to your Element of Kindness.” Flashfire thought. But he wasn't out of the fire yet, as more Warp Hounds came teleporting in to assist their pack leader. And as for Flashfire, the energy from the Hercules Kyutama was beginning to run out and he felt the symptoms of hypothermia beginning to set in now stronger than ever before. As the hounds closed in, laser fire lit up the snow as three distinct ships flew in making the creatures stagger. One themed after a blue wolf, another a yellow swordfish, and finally an orange scorpion.

“I knew… I knew you guys would come. I had my faith in you…” was Flashfire’s last thoughts before he slipped into unconsciousness.

Author's Notes:

Okay, so whopping return to form after my trip to New Orleans. Funnily enough, over 90% of this chapter was written while I was there, except for the first thousand words or so, via tablet and as anyone who's ever done that can tell you... Not fun. Not fun at all.

Anyways, I was hoping this chapter would provide some more insights into Flashfire's character, who's always been one of the more closed off Paladins really. And provide an answer to that massive secret a certain embodiment of despair hinted at a few chapters back. Hell, this has been hinted at since Vela really, with Stripped noticing the fact that Flashfire almost never uses magic if you may remember.

Okay, the Leo Minor Voyager. Ironically enough in the show, despite the fact that all it gives the Mecha is a shoulder cannon, the Kyurangers actually gained this as their final powerup, this thing somehow surpassing the massive Delta Base Megazord-like Orion Voyager. That sorta logic beats me really.

Now, the hypothermia. Now, I looked this up on Mayo Clinic, and it says the symptoms are as follows:

Shivering
Slurred speech or mumbling
Slow, shallow breathing
Weak pulse
Clumsiness or lack of coordination
Drowsiness or very low energy
Confusion or memory loss
Loss of consciousness
Bright red, cold skin (in infants)

Now, if it seemed to come on rather fast for Flashfire, keep in mind that I wasn't exactly clear on the timeframe in this chapter (Quite on purpose I might add) just to make it that little bit more believable. But I'll state it here, quite a few hours did pass between the time Flashfire crashlanded (And keep in mind he was already out in freezing temperatures then) and the time he set out to find his Voyager once more. So, plenty of time.

As ever, feedback and your thoughts are welcomed.

Part 18: Holly Jolly

Author's Notes:

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas...

The Shining Armor:

“Sleigh bells ring… Hey!” the Doctor exclaimed as he walked through the hallways of the colony ship wearing a big red coat and handing out cookies in the shapes of trees to anyone who’d take them. Passing Baroness Manx by, he booped her on the nose and asked: “Are you listening?”

A very confused Baroness Manx just scratched her head before shrugging as the Doctor continued on his way still singing that merry tune to anyone who’d listen.

“In the lane, snow is glistening
A beautiful sight
We're happy tonight
Walking in a winter wonderland

“Gone away is the bluebird
Here to stay is a new bird
He sings a love song
As we go along
Walking in a winter wonderland…”

“I’d think we’d have enough memories of snow and ice, me especially thank you very much…” grumbled out Flashfire as the red unicorn emerged from the medical wing wearing nothing but a hospital gown. “What’s got you in such a chipper mood?”

“...Wait, you seriously don’t know what day it is?”

“December 24th, and no, why should I care? Just another day on the calendar for me. Can’t see why you’re so holly jolly, really…” Flashfire remarked, and at this, the Doctor’s jaw dropped completely, his platter of cookies clattering to the floor.

“...Wait, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten your species variant of Christmas!” the Doctor exclaimed. “I-I t-thought today of all days would be a big day for you!” he stammered out in disbelief before mumbling: “...Well, guess that explains why the ship isn’t decorated or anything, or why I haven’t seen anyone trying to hide presents from anyone else.”

“No offense Doctor,” Spada said piping up, as the yellow Changeling drone walked down the hallways. “But I doubt a day where some of the founders of Equestria nearly froze to death via Windigo is a particularly fond memory for ponies for fairly obvious reasons, given how they spent the last couple of hundred years,” he deadpanned. “And that’s not mentioning all the other species on Equestria really.”

“B-But that’s the entire point!” the Doctor sputtered out. “It’s not about the snow and ice, or the freezing your bones off. It’s about celebrating how you overcame your prejudices and formed Equestria in the first place, defeating the Windigos in the bloody process for Christ’s sake!”

“Perhaps,” Spada commented, bringing the Doctor to a corner out of earshot where he’d attract much less attention. Spada really hated people making a scene. Gave him more emotions to feed on than what was healthy. “But you gotta understand, ponies along with the rest of us haven’t had much happiness since Sunfall Dawn. It’s always been surviving to the next day, and trying to find a way off Equus before it froze over completely. Haven’t had much to celebrate since then. How do you even know about Hearths Warming, along with our other Holidays anyhow?”

“...May have done a bit of research, hopping around Equus’ timeline every so often,” the Doctor explained. “You know, this and that. Always deeply fascinated by you lot. You and humans always have this… Je nais quoi about you, this need to survive no matter the odds.”

“...Not even going to ask about the time-travel thing, probably just going to get a headache I’d really rather pass on. But I see where you’re going with this,” Spada replied. “Now of all times, with Equus dead and gone we do need to remember our heritage or risk losing all memory of it entirely. If you’ve got a plan, I’m on board with it… whatever it may be.”

“Wait, seriously?” the Doctor asked, giving the Changeling drone a stunned look.

“Yep, seriously. The more ingredients in a dish, the better it’ll be! Molto Bene!” Spada exclaimed, punching the air.

“...I assume that’s your way of saying you’re with me?” the Doctor asked in confusion, rubbing his head as he did so. He’d always had trouble understanding Spada’s little cooking-related metaphors. He didn’t mind them, as they added a certain charm to the young changeling but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be confusing at times.

“What do you think?” Spada replied, the green ranger giving him a flat look. “Besides, it’s not like I have nothing else to do around here. Okine -this half dragon, half pony creature for the record- named Nightingale's taken over duties as the assistant nurse for the medical bay. Wasn’t my calling anyways, I prefer head cook,” he shrugged. “But before we go on this little venture of yours, there’s something you need to see.”

“Oh?” the Doctor asked curiously, raising an eyebrow. “Do tell…”

“Just want to show you a few of us haven’t entirely forgotten the holiday traditions, that’s all,” Spada replied, motioning for the Doctor to follow. He took in a deep breath, and then let it out. He didn’t like going into this part of his past but he had to tell someone eventually. Honestly, he would have rather have liked to tell Pharynx about this really, and that wasn’t because he was his King but because changelings understood other changelings better than anyone else because of their whole sharing emotions shtick. Pharynx may not have been the biggest fan of his brother’s Feelings Forum for various reasons -Hive Mother knew Spada had heard the dark green Changeling call it a hugbox amongst other things- but it did have it's uses. Even Pharynx admitted that more or less.

“Well, that’s nice to hear I suppose…” the Doctor replied, noting Spada’s uncharacteristic uncomfortableness about this whole thing. He normally was this confident perky little bug, but right now he seemed to be anything but. He almost seemed… Well, the Doctor wouldn’t quite say ashamed but that was the closest approximation really.

The Doctor, even as he idly tossed his Kyutama up in the air before catching it in his hand a few times, watched as Spada pressed a few buttons on a door panel, configuring something and stepped into a blue grid lined room. The room itself, it was soon transformed into this cavern packed wall to wall with Changelings of every shape, size, and description including one which the Doctor swore to be a younger version of Spada. It was hard to tell really, considering Spada did share his appearance with several other members of his species. This made the Doctor idly wonder why the changeling never… well, changed his appearance into something more unique coloration wise.

The entire room didn’t really seem all that inviting, what with the poor living conditions of everything and the changelings in raggy clothing bustling up against each other in a clamor of noises like buzzing and chittering in grumpy, angry tones. But still, somehow the Doctor got this feeling of homeliness, and maybe that was in part due to this young changeling handing out loaves of bread and other meager food sources to everyone else and trying to keep them in good spirits. A fake tree, covered with tinsel made out of paper-mache and lights that looked to be barely lit was in a corner of the room, a cut-out paper version of Princess Cadence serving as its star.

Cadence, the Doctor remembered correctly, was a hero amongst changelings not for just simply being the Princess of Love which was a powerful emotion for them, but for being one of the first Equestrians to accept the creatures for what they really were when she invited Thorax into her kingdom. And to think, Cadence’s first experience with the creatures was when their current queen crashed their wedding and nearly ran off with her husband!

The Doctor knew at once that this changeling, even if he never said a word had to be Spada. The fact that he was handing out food, and he was trying to keep an upbeat demeanor even in this mess of a hive was evidence alone of that.

“Now now, Hodgins, Wingbeats! Share, plenty of food for everybug!” Spada lectured, in that distinct Calabrese accent of his before muttering: “...Yeah right, and Santa Hooves will bless us with better living conditions this year. Just too many mouths to feed, and not enough space to go around…”

“...Pretty devoid of holiday cheer aren’t you Spada?” another changeling, this one with bright red chitlin, commented having overheard him.

“What’s there to be cheerful about?” the past Spada asked, even as the present-day one tried to look away in shame, not wanting to watch this holographic projection of his old home. “I mean, it’s the same year after year. And the hive just keeps growing. I mean, I know it’s not your fault you have to be Queen on some days and give us eggs -Blame the Hive Mother for creating you that way really- but every year it just gets that little bit harder...”

“I know kid,” the older changeling said, coughing slightly. “But you have to smile for everyone, especially on today of all days. The rest of the hive, they seem you as something of an idol you know. You don’t have to give up food from your personal food stores, and yet you keep on doing so even if it means you have less for your own family,”

“...What, what happened to the Changelings?” the Doctor whispered in stunned horror. Last he heard of them, they were thriving like every other creature on Equus.

“What do you think happened?” the present day Spada asked bitterly. “Sunfall Dawn happened. We all got shuffled up and bunched up together in vaults, and I think a few of the higher ups just… forgot about us for a time. Busy taking care of their own species. Even when you think everything’s perfect, and we’ve all put aside our differences, some species have a very long memory and never forgot about old grudges,” he growled, his cheery demeanor dropping before his smile returned. “But what can you do, eh? You just smile, and pretend nothing happened.”

“But-” the Doctor started.

“Just be quiet and listen,” Spada told him sternly and watched as his past self was given a short little lecture by his King and sometimes Queen. Kanzaki, he would later explain to the Doctor. That was his name.

“Now, listen…” Kanzaki explained and the red-toned changeling King sighed. “I know. Hive Mother above I know,” he stated in a pained expression of someone who’d seen just that too many winters. “Losing your ma and pa, couldn’t have been easy. But you’ve got your little sisters to look out for, and you not smiling on Hearths Warming? They won’t be smiling either. You need to give them hope kid. Losing your parents, that’s a sad thing indeed yes. But you know what’s even sadder? A young changeling not smiling on Hearth’s Warming Eve. For the sake of your sisters, strive to become a man they’d be proud of. Hell, you might even one day replace me as King.”

“...Yeah, not quite sure I’m ready for that step,” past-Spada laughed, and Kanzaki laughed a little as well. “But I get what you mean, gotta keep bringing these little ones some form of hope right? After all, it’s all I can do…”

With that, Spada pulled out a little bell and rang it. “Alright everybug, time for a little singing and caroling, just to remember the Princess who gave us a new hope. She wasn’t called Cadence without reason, after all! My oh my, I’ve heard she could carry a tune!”

With that, this small but packed little hive seemed to cheer up immensely, and began to sing in time.

“Silent night, holy night...
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace…”

A tear slipped down the Doctor’s face, and he wiped it away quickly as the simulation of the past faded out. “So that’s why…” he whispered.

“Yeah, that’s why I’m both so dead set on keeping everyone smiling, and keeping everyone from forgetting the memories of Equus’ past traditions, simply because they brought hope to me as a little ‘Ling,” Spada whispered, wiping away a tear of his own. “Doctor, I ask of you now. Will you help me?”

“It would be my honor,” the Doctor replied as he straightened his tie. “After all, that’s what my title means right? The man who makes people better.”

“Oh, hey ho the mistletoe…” Spada hummed largely to himself as he and several other drones helped string up garland along the halls of the Shining Armor with a little help from a few other changeling drones. And of course, the Doctor, who’d taken to wearing this fake white beard.

“What the Hay are you doing?” Stripped Gear asked in his Marish accent as he and Pharynx walked on by, an aqua-blue changeling flying past on his wings. “Seriously, what the Hay are you lot doing?” he asked, tilting his head in confusion. It was sorta cute actually, especially when Pharynx mimicked this motion.

“Getting into the seasonal spirit!” Spada chirped merrily and looked at his current King. “Don’t tell me you of all ‘Lings have forgotten!”

“...Oh right, Hearth’s Warming.” Pharynx muttered, shaking his head. “Too cheery for me...”

“Figured about as much…” the Doctor mumbled. “Here, have an apple!” he said, tossing one to Pharynx.

“Well, if one a day keeps you away then gladly…” Pharynx muttered as he bit into it.

“You’re such a Snowfall Frost, you know that right?” that same aqua-tinged changeling drone joked with a small laugh just barely hiding her giggles behind a claw. “I mean, crack a smile why don’t you? It’s good for you!”

“Hey, maybe his face would break if he did!” a light green drone joked in response as he hung up some mistletoe above his own quarters. “Hive Mother knows he never smiles!”

“Is… Well, all of this really necessary?” Stripped asked, gesturing to all the garland hanging above his head, and batting away a piece of Mistletoe a particularly mischievous changeling was hanging above his and the Doctor’s heads.

“Depends,” Spada replied.

“Depends on what?” Stripped parroted.

“Depends on if you want to see some happy faces on this crew,” Flurry commented, having long been informed on what the Gold and Green Rangers wanted to do. Celestia knew they’d never get her approval to decorate the ship unless they asked her personally. She’d have their heads otherwise. “And a happy crew is a well-functioning crew is it not?” she asked, eyeing both Stripped and Pharynx sternly daring them to raise an argument.

“True enough I suppose…” Stripped Gear admitted, with a long sigh. “...I admit it’s been far too long since I’ve had anything to be really all that happy about.”

“Same,” Pharynx admitted, smiling briefly. And no, his face didn’t break when he did so contrary to popular belief. “Carry on boys. Carry on.”

“I’m a girl,” the aqua-colored changeling huffed crossing her arms. Both the Doctor and Spada shared a wince at this and sucked in a breath. Talk about embarrassing. “...See if I leave anything in your stocking for that remark.”

“Did you know?” the Doctor whispered to Spada, who shook his head.

“No, but I’ll pretend I did…”

“I HEARD THAT!” came a shout.

“...Yeesh, touchy…” the Doctor murmured to himself and laughed a little at Spada’s expression. “You informed Crescendo and Jabari on your plans?”

“Said they were only too happy to help, even if Crescendo admitted she didn’t entirely understand this whole shebang as she put it,” Spada replied. “Even managed to rope in her sisters.”

“The more the merrier!” the Doctor chirped cheerfully. “Molto Bene!”

“...That’s my line,” Spada grumbled half-heartedly, a small smile tracing his facial features. “Anyways, they’re gathered in Night Bird, with Luna ready to lead the singing as ever. Or at least direct. Crescendo can be awfully fussy it seems about someone other than her doing the singing. Could get quite messy if I don’t resolve the situation,” he muttered in a worried tone sucking in a breath.

“Well, that’s a siren for you. They guard their abilities to charm a crowd with their voice jealously so…” the Doctor replied.

“Relax, I’ll work it out even if I have to threaten Crescendo and her siblings with a lesser feeding of fish than normal,” Spada replied. “She probably won’t be happy about that, but if needs must I will do what I have to so that everyone has a happy Hearth’s Warming, The Three Days of Freedom, Blue Moon Festival, Snilldar Fest, etcetera. You get the idea.”

“I’m surprised you’re keeping all these traditions straight in your head,” the Doctor replied in a rather impressed and complimentary tone.

“Eh, I’m a task-master and organizer extreme if I have to be,” Spada shrugged and the Doctor gave him a look.

“...You got Twilight to help you, didn’t you?”

“Yeeeeeah, I admit I did,” Spada replied with a sheepish grin. “Turns out she’s not so pleased about her charges forgetting some very old traditions that date back a couple million years. Ranted and raved for quite a bit when I explained what I was doing. Hearing’s just barely came back as it is!”

“How angry was she?” the Doctor inquired.

“Well, let me put it this way,” Flurry chimed in with a small chuckle. “If changelings could absorb a hologram’s emotions, Spada here would be bloated!” she said and at this the Doctor winced.

“That bad huh?” he asked and Spada and Flurry nodded in unison before the Doctor quirked an eyebrow at Spada. “By and by, you’re still celebrating the Blue Moon Festival? I thought that was where griffons sat at a table with their family members, try not to claw each other’s eyes out and give each other gifts they know they won’t like?”

“It’s still a tradition isn’t it?” Spada replied with a small nervous chuckle. The Doctor sighed and muttered something under his breath about changelings who were way too damn generous for their own good.

Eventually, everything went according to plan -more or less- and quite a few of the ship’s crew members and their families were gathered at Night Bird to listen to a choir sing. Those that couldn’t fit into the bar were listening in on the ship’s intercommunications system. The whole Luna/Crescendo issue had been sorted out, with a bit of niggling from Flashfire and Crescendo had eventually given in. She and her sisters were projected holographically from their tank and were now sharing the stage with Luna’s own hologram.

As they started to sing, Flurry smiled at Flashfire.

“See, not so bad is it?” she asked him and Flashfire simply shook his head.

“I guess not,” the unicorn replied, as he sent a certain Changeling and Time Lord duo a small approving smile. The two nodded back at him and glanced at their two new Element Kyutamas in their grasp. Generosity and Laughter had finally returned. “Guess I just needed someone to remind me of what I’ve been missing. Oh Hay, what I forgot I was missing even.”

“In the meadow we can build a snowman
Then pretend that he is Parson Brown
He'll say, Are you married?
We'll say, No man
But you can do the job
When you're in town

“Later on, we'll conspire
As we dream by the fire
To face unafraid
The plans that we've made
Walking in a winter wonderland…” the choir sung, and a certain Princess of the Sun somehow despite being a hologram managed to conjure up a Hearth’s Warming themed Kyutama in a gold flash of magical light. When inserted into the Kyuchanger, and used this Kyutama conjured up twin trees covered in ribbons and ornaments, along with several presents.

Flashfire smiled as the song ended, and rested his head in Flurry’s shoulder. All for a time at least was well. And if you asked him, well he wouldn’t have anything any other way.

Part 19: The Shepherd

Author's Notes:

Well, you asked for it, and me and Shadowmane provided it. Finally, at long last a Stardust centered chapter. Thoughts are welcomed.

Celestia supposed it started soon before Sunfall Dawn, and what she had told her son even as the sun broiled Equestria to a crisp.

“I’m sorry my son, but we can’t be here for you right now. By Faust, I wish we could, but we have to save the world right now. But I-I promise, no I Pinkie Promise. When the day is over, all will be set right. C-cross my h-heart, hope to fly. S-Stick a cupcake in my eye.”

“Mommy, what’s going on? Why is it so hot? Why is everyone so afraid? Please! Tell me, I want to know!”

“It is nothing for you to worry about my son. As I said, by the end of the day when all is said and done everything will be put right once more and I will be able to hold you in my arms once again.”

“Are you sure? Please tell me I will see you again mommy!”

“Yes, you will. You’ll see all of us someday, I can promise you that. I’m… I’m sorry, I’m so sorry my son. I wish you didn’t have to know, but it seems I have no choice. That promise I made? You know the one? It’s one I’m afraid Twilight and I will have to break. The sun, it’s currently scorching the planet to a husk, and I’m… I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold it back for much longer. Listen, I know you’re afraid, but there’s one thing I want you to do for me. Can you do that, my son?

Carry on Equestria’s legacy, teach the magic of Friendship to everyone, it’s just what Twilight and I would have wanted you to do understand? Carry on our wills. Be the next Prince of Friendship, carry on my will. Carry on Twilight’s will. Carry on Luna’s will. I’m sorry, I wish I didn’t have to force this on you my son But I have no choice. You are my legacy, you are my son. My little sunshine, my little Stardust. Please, can you do this one last thing for your mother?”

“Y-Yes, I’ll try. C-Cross my heart, hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Tell someone they would save the world, and chances were they’d probably get it into their heads that they’d do exactly just that. Celestia, honestly at the time meant well but she never knew things would get so far.

“The Path of the Dragon is a long and harsh one, but a glorious one in the end. If I don't do it, who will? Someone must carry on my aunt’s legacy as the first Kyuranger, Draco Violet, so why not I?”

Even before that incident, his first recorded morph Stardust had got into his head that he would be the one to be the greatest hero Equus had ever seen, and in his words: “I am a man who walks the path of the heavens to rule over everything, Stardust Sparkle. The Eye of the Dragon, and a national treasure.”

Celestia knew she should have stopped him then and there, but she relented. No, she was hesitant. Why wouldn’t she be? Stardust was her son after all, and she raised him even if only as an AI to be the one to shepherd the last of Equus and what remained to the stars, finding this new home for them.

Only the best was good enough for her, only the best swordsmen and tutors, and only the best cooks and only the best of anything was good enough for her. In hindsight, she’d failed him just like she failed her adoptive nephew Blueblood. She, by her own stupidity and her own hubris had failed to notice what her son was growing into, an arrogant young man who believed he could do anything he desired once he set his mind to it. And the problem was, over half the time he could do that thanks to the tutors he’d been given making him believe that he was the best of the best.

The first thing Celestia did, well that was have herself be reintroduced to Stardust a few years after he’d awakened and her personality was uploaded into an AI Matrix.

“Got a surprise for you,” Flurry had said, leading Stardust to this room full of databank after databank, lights blinking on and off as streams of data uploaded themselves through wires and cords towards one huge central processing unit with a holographic projector. “Been a few years in the making, but…”

Switches were flipped on, and in a swirling blue form of data and code, the familiar figure of Celestia Solaris came to life once more, taking in a deep breath and sighing.

“M-Mom…?” Stardust asked, the thirteen year old’s mouth quivering. He knew what both of his mothers had sacrificed, all just to buy him and the rest of Equestria a little more time. “Is… Is that you?” he whispered as he reached out to touch the projection.

“Hello, Stardust.” Celestia gave him a smile, despite the modulation in her voice. “How long has it been? How long have I been… gone?” she asked not entirely sure if she wanted to know.

“Thirteen years, at least from my perspective. It’s probably been longer for you, really,” Stardust replied still not exactly able to believe it. Flurry nodded in confirmation, not exactly believing this was actually Celestia. It was just a crude copy of her, thought up from data and the memories everyone had of her in the history books.

“One million years, that’s how long it’s been,” Flurry stated coldly. “One million years since the Sun burned.”

“A million years?” Celestia recoiled as those words sunk into her digital cortex. Despite being a faux created to ease the pain and supply some sense of comfort for the crew, even she knew how to properly emote. “What of Twilight? And her friends? Are they…”

Celestia cursed herself in memory and let out a small sniffle, Twilight’s friends had died long before Sunfall Dawn due to the simple passage of time, and Twilight… Her wife, the only chance she had of surviving was if someone had uploaded her to this matrix like they did herself.

“Please, don’t pain yourself, ‘Celestia’,” Flurry stifled the pain herself with a wince. “There was nothing we could’ve done to save them. Unicorns, pegasi and Earth Ponies are… sadly mortal.”

“And those you did save, did they make it to the bunkers? Is Equestria’s dream… alive?” Celestia asked hesitantly, noting the cold aloof tone in Flurry’s voice. Of course Flurry would never accept her as she was now, to her she must have looked like a poor copy of her real aunt just staring her in the face like a ghost.

“Well… yes and no, in a way.” Flurry swallowed. She knew that this day was coming. “Those that we did save? Well, you see, there’s this… problem.”

“What sort of problem?” Celestia asked, even if she already knew. After the sun would burn out, Equestria and it’s lands would cool down, rapidly to the point of the next great ice age. A global freeze, impossible to stop and with every passing year the planet growing ever the more colder.

“Yes, they were moved to the bunkers but after that, some of us are still trying to work our way through the new status quo. The new undercities, they won’t protect us from the cold forever. Sooner or later… Equus, it will become uninhabitable.”

“Un… uninha…” Stardust was still trying to figure out what the word meant.

Celestia sighed. She knew Stardust would have to grow up, but she hoped it wouldn’t be this fast. “Uninhabitable, an adjective. It means: unfit for habitation.” she told her son.

“Basically, it’s so cold that nopony could live there, unless they turn into ice sculptures.” Flurry patted his back and pulled him close. “Nopony can stay alive on the planet, Stardust. At least, not on the surface.”

And even then Flurry knew she was lying to him, as even living underground wouldn’t save them for long. One day soon, Equus would freeze over in every place from the pits and it’s nooks and crannies. Nopony would be able to survive, not even Alicorns. And so this, she explained to both her ‘aunt’ and to Stardust.

“Mom?” Stardust, now shrivelling in his spot hid half of his face behind his mane. “Where do ponies go after they go to sleep forever?”

“That’s… that’s a question I’d like to know the answer to as well,” Celestia whispered, thinking of both her parents and the many friends and lovers she’d lost throughout the ages. Stardust, she sighed to herself. No child of hers or anyone else for that matter should have had to grow up this fast. And yet because of the circumstances he would have to.

“Flurry, have you kept it?” Celestia asked, and in hindsight she would recognize this moment as the one that possibly became her greatest failure. “My sister’s Kyutama?”

“Yes… Yes, I have.” Flurry replied, fishing it out of her pockets showing off the bauble to the Celesti-AI. “Never left my side, auntie.”

“Give it to him, now.” Celestia ordered, looking towards Stardust.

“No. No way. Absolutely NOT!” Flurry threw her hands to the side. “He doesn’t deserve to go through this kind of pain! He’s the only living memory I have of you and Twilight!”

“Flurry, as much as I love you, I do but you’re being selfish,” Celestia replied sternly. “You can’t rule solo forever, and I hate to sound arrogant here but the residents of Equestria have always looked up to me as a guiding figure. I know you’ve done your best to keep my son out of the spotlight, but he’s always been destined to help lead Equus to a new age now more than ever!”

“Then forgive me for what I’m about to say, but destiny can go and suck a fat one!” Flurry snapped as she violently slammed her arms to her sides and crossed them. She turned her back to the AI, barely even giving her the luxury of a glance. “I’m not putting him through this, he deserves to be able to act like a thirteen-year-old just that little bit longer!”

“If… If I might have a say?” Stardust whispered nervously. “You’re not asking for my opinion on this, and I want to help save my people, however I can. So… I’ll do it.” he said, taking the Kyutama and in a gold flash of light a long cane tipped with a golden dragon’s head manifested in his other hand.

“Please, Stardust. I don’t want you to die…” Flurry’s eyes quickly flooded with tears as she looked at the thirteen-year-old placing a hand on his shoulder. “This is a dangerous job, and a massive responsibility. Not just dangerous as in mommy burned the food or daddy forgot to pay his taxes again, but dangerous dangerou-”

“Save it!” Stardust shouted, slapping her hand away. “You’ve always treated me like a child. Well, guess what! I haven’t been a child for years, not since I saw my mother die right in front of me!”

“I… I see.” Flurry whispered looking away to hide her tears. “So be it.”

And so the training began.

First thing Celestia had asked of her subjects was to get Stardust properly trained up in the art of swordsmanship, asking a pegasus known as Stormrage Fury -Who looked every bit of his name, what with his wild light blue lightning shaded mane and dark blue coat- to do the job. In a room designed specifically to imitate any environment requested, the two stood on everchanging cubes that could shift places or change size and dimension at a moment’s notice. In his hand, his cane tied to his belt, Stardust held a prototype version of the sword Flashfire would later use. Funnily enough, Stormrage would later teach Flashfire all there was to know about swordplay as well.

“Are you sure that you’re up for this, kid?” Stormrage asked as the cubes began to take form as their new battleground. “Swordplay’s a tricky thing to master; even for seasoned veterans like myself.”

“Trust me, I’m more than ready. I’m taking up my aunt’s responsibly to walk the path of the heavens and become the Dragon’s Eye.” Stardust replied, his Draco Kyutama placed in a slot on his sword.

“Then all you need do is say the change.” Stormrage nodded before his student whipped out his cane, and placed his Kyutama into it with the dragons head biting down on it.

“Star Change: Draco! Eye of the Dragon!” Stardust shouted, morphing into Draco Violet with a flash of light, and pulling a hood up over his helmet as the star on his chest plate glimmered with light.

“Now then. Let us begin.” Stormrage clapped his hands, right as the landscape turned into a mountaintop, the unicorn standing below raging storm clouds. A pure circle ring of combat, with what seemed like an endless drop into the abyss looming over the edge. “The first rule of swordplay is that your opponent will take any chance they get to strike you down. Like so!” He immediately dashed towards Stardust, his sword curved back and ready to strike.

Stardust leaped backwards and extended his wings to their full length and landed atop another cube that had jotted up from the landscape before flying forwards and meeting Stormrage’s blade in a flash of sparks. He struck fast, though that was to be expected with his age and stature. His blade clashed with Stormrage’s over and over again, but none of the hits seemed to break through his stance.

“Rule two. If your attack doesn’t break them--” Stormrage countered with a kick after the last hit and drove him across the ground with his hands “--Then get creative.”

He then fired off blasts of lightning from his horn, forcing Stardust to roll to the left and either catch them with his blade or just outright dodge them. Next, Stormrage gathered up some cyclonic winds in his blade and flung them towards his opponent.

“If you can’t face the howling winds…” Stardust muttered. “Then stomp them out at their source!” he roared, flinging a wave of purple flames from his sword towards Stormrage. These connected and detonated with sheer force, knocking him backwards. Before the dust settled, Stardust took the opportunity to dive in and swing downward with his blade, only barely missing its’ mark as Stormrage sidestepped at the last second.

Stormrage became a blur of motion, slicing through Stardust again and again at simply mercurial speeds before the Alicorn even had a chance to strike back or get his bearings.

“Equestria’s always been under threat! It’s always been besieged by dangerous creatures!” Stormrage shouted, knowing very well what he was talking about given who his many greats grandmother was, the infamous Tempest Shadow herself. “Who’s to say the future will hold any differences? If you’re going to protect it, you need to be more than just a simple pony. Now come on! Let loose!”

Stardust smirked. “Gladly.” he commented, forming a rune circle below Stormrage’s hooves, and four dragons of purple flame erupted from below it knocking Stormrage skywards before he was sent flying into another mountain by a blast of gathered lightning from Stardust’s sword.

“Lesson three, always use your opponent's powers against them if you can right?” Stardust asked with a cocky smirk, his helmet’s normally opaque visor temporarily becoming see-through.

“If you can use them against them. IF.” Stormrage stomped the ground viciously, causing a shockwave to spring out from his spot. Holding his sword to his chest, he took up a samurai’s pose. “Just you try it, boy.”

Stardust smirked walking forwards. “You know, just because I’m not able to use your powers against you right now, it doesn’t mean I can’t use my own.”

One of the things he’d been taught before how to use a sword was the access of his own inner magical abilities, and as the Alicorn of Spring and Summer that guaranteed a large amount of magical powers. For one, binding Stormrage in wooden vines that were blooming and sprouting with pink flowers before unleashing a blast of pure solar energy from his lance of a horn. “Like so,” he said with a snap of his fingers. “Let me say this for starters. I’m Celestia Solaris and Twilight Sparkle’s sun, so that means I’m pretty damn strong if I do say so myself.”

“You’re just an arrogant punk kid, if you ask me,” Stormrage replied grunting out in pain. “Your strength being the real thing? You got that by birth, and up till now, you’ve only relied on that to defeat me, not real swordsmanship skills. You’ve had it drilled into your head that you’re some sort of savior. Get with the times. Saviors, single solo saviors who are out to save anything and everything like some sort of messiah? They don’t exist anymore. Not since Princess Twilight Sparkle and company found the Elements of Harmony all those millions of years ago and freed Luna from her corruption.”

With that, he swung at Stardust, the Alicorn barely having enough time for his blade to block the strike, and then the next and then the next after that. “Get it through your thick skull. You’re nobody, nothing without that parentage! You’d just be another whelp I’d have to build up!”

Stormrage’s words may have sounded cruel, but he was being harsh for a very good reason. Unlike Stardust’s mother, he could definitely see there was something wrong with the stallion. He was arrogant, hot-headed, and believe he was above everyone else. That was not the sort of attitude they needed for the Prince of Equestria and the heir to Luna’s Draco Violet powers. So, he had to rely on the old break you down to build you up strategy. That was, get Stardust so angry he cast aside his arrogance and wanted to actually prove to his teacher that his strength was in fact rightfully earned. “I trained for years to get this strong, this skilled! What did you do?” Stormrage asked. “Absolutely nothing! Celestia just handed me off to you, and expected me to teach you to get good. Trust me, it’s going to be a hard-won battle, an uphill one with your personality,” he lectured, continuing to duel Stardust blade to blade. “That power, it was made to protect. Show me you’re worthy of it.”

“RRRRRAAAAGGHHHH!” Stardust roared out in rage as he charged forwards towards Stormrage, even as the environment shifted around them to a beach with crashing waves all around him, and rocky spikes jutting up from the cliffs. “Shut up! Just shut up!”

“Seems more like the power to destroy than to protect,” Stormrage snarked as he flew back to Stardust in a blur of speed, sword beared for another fatal blow. “Now, let us see if that anger makes your hits sloppier…”

Stormrage grabbed Stardust by the helmet and slammed his head into the ground with a powerful thud, before picking him up in a gambroge-shaded aura of magic and tossing him into a boulder. As he collided with the stone, Stormrage barrelled through like a bull, sending Stardust across the ocean. Stormrage clenched one of his hands into a fist, and a plume of water erupted from below Stardust sending him back towards Stormrage, the young alicorn landing at his feet.

“All washed up yet?” Stormrage asked with a small chuckle. “Look at you, a Ranger and yet I’m beating you at every turn. Hasn’t it gotten through to you yet? Your anger is ruling you, making you sloppy.” He watched Stardust go for his blade again, but a single stomp on his hand stopped that. “Give in. The spar is over. Let’s get real, kid, there’s no proper way you’re going to defend Equus and her inhabitants like this.”

Stardust swung his blade then, meeting Stormrage’s own, and the duel continued. This time however, something was different. The fight was less of a one-sided slaughter and more of an elegant dance of the blades, Stardust having cooled his emotions and actually meeting his teacher blow for blow, actually recognizing the strikes when they came and how to intercept them best.

“Okay, perhaps I was wrong about you,” Stormrage concluded, the environment changing back to this basic landscape full of cubes, the sky devoid of any defining features and just this black abyss. “Perhaps now we can train properly, instead of me smacking you around like a doll. What do you say?” he asked.

“I’d… I’d like that.” Stardust panted out, and Stormrage smiled even as the cube he was on raised itself high above the alicorn, before Stormrage took a running leap off of his platform his vlade cracking with magical lightning.

“Prepare yourself!” Stormrage shouted, and so Stardust did…

Celestia at times, did wonder if that was enough. Just training her son in the art of swordsmanship. When her wife was finally revived, Twilight had told Celestia it probably was. After all, Stardust still had a long ways to go before he could ever be considered a ruler of any sort.

This was the argument they had.

“You… you are kidding right?” Twilight asked. “S-Seriously, you are kidding me!” she stammered out in disbelief. “In what possible way right now do you think our son is fit to rule?

“In EVERY way, Twilight Sparkle. He is fit to rule in every way possible,” Celestia bit back at her, if not literally. “Think about it. How many other children do we have that are Equestrian Royalty?”

“Just him, but open your eyes, Celestia,” Twilight snapped back, wanting to slap her wife upside the head. “You keep on telling your son he’s going to be the savior of Equestria, it’s last hope or whatever you’ve been putting into his head and look what’s happened! For crying out loud, he thinks he walks the path of heaven or whatever! Is that not a tip-off that something’s severely wrong here?”

“If I recall, you were in the same position, weren’t you?” Celestia lifted an eyebrow. “Didn’t you use to be a lonely recluse until I sent you to Ponyville?”

“And how, in any way is this similar to that?” Twilight snapped back before she began rubbing her temples. “I wasn’t arrogant enough to basically call myself a damn god, for Faust’s sakes! And don’t you start on us being basically gods, because we aren’t! We’re technically dead as it is, and living on only because of data and simple scientific ingenuity!”

“But that's the thing. You didn’t want this. He didn’t want this. And I didn’t want this either, but every time we don’t want something, it turns out that we NEEDED it.” Celestia gave Twilight an arctic cold, silencing glare. “Whenever we don’t want something, we need it. When we need something, we don’t want it and are not obligated to have it by law. It is an odd rule, and one that I’ve questioned myself, but it turns out that it works. So don’t go against the will of fate, Twilight Sparkle. It doesn’t look good on you.”

Twilight growled, before turning on her hoof and snapping her fingers teleporting off in streams of data. But not before leaving her wife with one last piece of advice through tear-filled eyes. “I’d suggest you look at our son Celestia, and start looking at him hard. Because one day soon, this will come to bite you in the back, I just know it.”

Celestia thankfully, did start to listen to Twilight’s advice, remembering that she was often her rock at times, thinking back to her original counterpart’s last moments.

“This world… it was never meant for us to keep was it?”

“No, it was not,” Twilight admitted sadly. “So Celestia, just let go. You made a world, you and your sister for ponies to be proud of, but our age is over. Please, just let it go. The ponies, they don’t need us. When they emerge when the fire has passed and the world’s cooled down, it’ll be up to them to decide how to live. Now it’s time to let go, Luna could use her big sister right about now…”

Celestia chuckled. “When did the student surpass the teacher?”

Finally letting go, relenting at Twilight’s words, she gave her lover a long, last kiss, and after what seemed like far too little of a time, she let go, and pulled her niece and her sister into a hug. The world became ablaze with light, and in a few seconds, it was all over in a blinding flash. Fire consumed everything around them, and howling winds sent the castle crashing to the ground and it shattered. As Twilight fell into the fires below, she closed her eyes and welcomed death’s sweet release, Celestia accepting it as well.

“Yes… when did the student surpass the teacher?” Celestia whispered to herself. “What happened to me?”

With that, she teleported off to where she knew her son was now, in the robotics lab learning from one of the scientists on everything he could possibly be taught.

“Test Tube!” Celestia barked, looking towards the lab coat wearing unicorn with vials of green energy slung around him like a bandolier and safety goggles atop his head. He looked up at the shout of his name, away from him and Stardust’s current project, a mechanical frame that looked strikingly like a pony complete with an artificial magical core using nebula gases to replicate magical energy. “Can I borrow my son for a bit?”

“Of course, your majesty. I’ll get him right now!” Test Tube bowed before darting off to collect Stardust. He soon returned with the now twenty-one-year-old Alicorn in tow. Time had passed, and Stardust had grown into a fine young man, rather handsome really if Celestia were to believe any of the rumors from the mares and such.

“You called mother?” Stardust asked politely, idly tossing his Draco Kyutama in his hand out of sheer force of habit. His coat now bore an image of the legendary Azure Neighponiese dragon simply called Seiryu, fittingly enough.

“I’ve grown… Well, a bit worried. Been hearing some things, especially from my wife about you. Maybe she’s being overly paranoid, she does have a tendency to do so you know, but can’t a mother be worried about her son?” Celestia asked.

“My other mother?” Stardust blinked. “What do you mean? Surely, she loves me just as much as you do.”

“Yes, she does and do not ever think one of us loves you more than the other. We both just have different ways of showing it. Twilight’s the one who always cared for you in your nursery, remember? I was always the one worrying my head off over what you’d become. Seems the roles have swapped between us really.” Celestia chuckled to herself before continuing. “I’ve been hearing… rumors really. Call it concern.”

“Rumours? Who would dare to spread slanderous filth about the royal family?” Stardust’s hand tightened ever so slightly at that remark. Celestia winced, those words reminded her far too much of her late nephew’s demeanor. “I shall smite them where they stand, mother!”

“That’s the kind of rumors I’ve been hearing,” Celestia sighed sadly as she shook her head. “Ones that sadly, seemed to be quite confirmed. You growing far too arrogant in yourself. Remember this my son,” she said sternly. “You are not above anyone else. We are still just ponies, like our subjects. Not gods. Get that straight through your head, understand?” she asked, staring him down.

“But… mother. Are we not the crown and their family?” Stardust stammered out, his eyes widened. “Are we just servants to a higher power than our own?”

“Yes, we are,” Celestia replied. “That higher power being the people of this planet. We serve them, not the other way around. That was the one rule I always went by when me and my sister ruled Equestria for millions of prosperous years.”

“Mother…” Those were the only words he could find the strength to muster.

“Never let yourself be consumed by the illusion that you’re all-powerful, because you’re not. I’m only alive because of science. If you can call being a hologram alive, that is. Remember, there is always something that can kill us. We are not, nor never will be gods. To think otherwise is sheer folly.” Celestia continued to lecture.

“I…” He wanted to argue the point, but even he knew when it was the right time to fold. “I understand, mother. I’ll do my best to make you proud.”

“That’s all I ask.” Celestia smiled before walking out of the room and finding a very proud Twilight smiling at her.

“Thank you…” Twilight whispered before embracing her wife.

Time flew by of course, as it always did and now Stardust was at thirty years of age and out amongst the stars in a Colony Ship fighting off against an evil empire determined to rule the universe.

“Divert all power to forward cannons!” Stardust barked out as ships from all sides besieged the Orion. “Give those fools a message from me. Don’t mess with Equestria!”

Cannons fired with a mighty thundering roar, blowing some of the scout ships to pieces. Now all that was left was this massive Moraimarz flagship, planet-buster level cannons aimed right at the colony ships.

“And here we go…” Stardust muttered as several laser shots rocked the ship, but he held firm and grasped his Draco Kyutama in his hands. “Stripped, Jabari, I need you to meet me in Hangar Bay 3! Get to your Voyagers, we’re taking this fight to the enemy!”

“Say the Change!” Stardust’s cane shouted out as he raised it skywards Draco Kyutama slammed into it.

“Star Change: Draco! Eye of the Dragon!” Stardust shouted bringing the cane back down, before a purple star appeared above his head and showered him in energy morphing him even as he ran towards the nearest lift.

Meeting the Pink and Yellow Rangers in the Hanger, each leaped into their Voyagers and were fired out of the Orion and towards the massive Moraimarz, the cannons trained on the rapidly approaching fighter craft, Waveriders from the Orion and the Shining Armor having been launched as well to clear some breathing room.

“Combine!” Stardust shouted before pressing the combination button on the Draco Voyager’s central console. The head armor detached and the entire mech folded down in the center to become a pair of legs and a torso, with the head and tail becoming feet. A red visored head popped up, and the kabuto grafted itself on top with the Eagle and Swordfish Voyagers forming arms.

“Dragon Knight Megazord, ready for battle!” the Kyurangers called as systems came online, the Megazord standing in the sun’s glow.

“Now, you listen up you hear?” Stardust shouted towards the pilot of the Moraimarz. “This machine here? This mecha? Our friends' hopes and dreams are etched into its body, transforming the infinite darkness into light! Unmatched in Heaven, and on Equus; one machine, equal to the gods! I am Stardust Sparkle, the one who walks the path of the heavens and bestows upon you the gift of the Dragon’s rage! I reach out to grab tomorrow's path with my own hands, and smash through the barriers that make up the impossible! The Dragon Ma-Star, Draco Violet!” he shouted.

“The Sword Star, Dorado Yellow!” Stripped joined in with Jabari finishing the roll call.

“The Winged Star, Aquila Pink!” he echoed. “A part of ten stars shining in the heavens, Space Squadron Kyuranger!”

“Time for you to clear on out of our way!” Stardust roared, and in an echo of Flashfire’s previous statement on the planet Jume he called out. “And I’ve got just the thing to do so. Spiral Galaxy Galactic Finish!”

Pressing controls on his console, he got the Megazord to line up its arms in such a way that the Eagle and Swordfish Voyagers would serve as a makeshift bow and arrow as what looked to be a manifestation of the milky way galaxy formed in front of them as a targeting sight.

Next, one single piercing shot was fired through the Moraimarz before explosions ignited all over the ship before it went up in one massive fireball.

“Checkmate!” Stardust roared. “Let this be a message to anyone who dares cross Equus’ way, be it Dark Matter or anyone else. We will take the universe back!”

Smiling from his cockpit, Stardust then turned his attentions to his personal quarters where inside the massive tank lay Discord’s broken body, all of the chaos energy being sucked into tubes and deposited inside another tank. “I will help Equuskind evolve, no matter the cost.” Stardust thought to himself even as the Cadence-AI turned back to Celestia both quite unaware of what lay inside Stardust’s quarters.

“You raised a good kid, you know that?” Cadance asked.

“Yeah, I think I did…” Celestia thought with a tear in her eye.

Part 20: Eriedrone

“Move it, move it!” Flashfire shouted, as he used the Cancer Kyutama to keep the various forces of Dark Matter back, a massive red claw of energy sprouting from his back. He used it to swipe away the Invader soldiers, or redirect them away from the fleeing citizens of the planet of Keel. It was mostly a tree-top based world, with its villages based in the trees high above the swampy wetlands below.

Running across rope bridges, the various Rangers fought on very thin and very precarious ground that in the high winds rushing up from below them could easily turn against them.

“Monoceros Crash!” Flurry shouted, leaping into a large group of Indavers -Monoceros Drill equipped and slamming them up against one of the massive trees that made up the village.

On a bridge below her, Fågel fired a streaming hot jet of water using the Aquarius Kyutama at another group of Invaders before switching it out for the Centaurus Kyutama and her lower body changed into that of a horse. Galloping forwards, she sliced and diced through the hordes of grunts with her Astral Axe before leaping skywards, her body shifting back to normal. Slamming her personal Change Kyutama onto her axe, she lunged forwards and let out a cry of: “Aldebaran Impact!” and slammed the axe into a gunship that was firing upon both Rangers Silver and Gold.

The gunship was sliced in two with the smoking remains falling to the forest floor beneath her. Knowing the ground was coming up fast, Fågel once again switched Kyutamas and engaged the Cetus Kyutama, firing a blast of water not unlike the one you’d see from a whale’s blowhole that propelled her back upwards. She did a flip in midair and landed on another wooden platform before helping Pharynx take down some more foot soldiers. Two Strongindaver charged forwards at them from either side, and both she and the Changeling King shared a look.

“Oh no, you don’t!”

“Aldebaran Impact!”
“Ophiuchus Impact!”

Both swung their weapons and took out the advancing forces before they heard the sound of another gunship.

“Oh hell, they just don’t give up do they?” Fågel asked.

“Got you covered!” a voice shouted through the comms before the sound of an eagle’s screech was heard, and the Eagle Voyager flew in just as the gunships arrived, before wings ignited in purple flame and cut right through the enemy ships.

“Good word Jabari, but we’ve still got a Moraimarz to worry about,” Flashfire told him, even as he redirected the citizens of the treetop city into the various craft that would carry them up to the Shining Armor which was laying in low orbit. Easily visible through the treetops was a Moraimarz, stuck deep into the ground and glowing a bright purple as it drained the planet of its energy.

“Stripped, how’s that fire support coming along?” Flashfire asked as he clashed blades with a Strongindaver, sparks flying as their blades met a few times before he finally sliced it down with a Regulus Impact. “Getting hammered down here! And that Moraimarz isn’t going to destroy itself!”

More Invaders came to try and take out the Beast Star, before Flashfire whipped out his sidearm and fired upon them, sending the soldiers down in just a few quick blasts of laser fire.

“Sorry!” Stripped said, as up above Dark Matter flagships warped into orbit, taking fire upon the Shining Armor. “Currently can’t provide that -Oh, for Faust’s sake!- as you’re not the only one getting hammered here!”

He was suddenly thrown to the floor as an explosion rocked the ship. “Shite…” Stripped muttered to himself as he picked himself off the floor, wiping away some of the blood from his mouth. “Alright then… That’s the way you want to play it? Have a taste of this! All gunners, prep for fire control. Lock on, and fire upon those flagships!”

Parts on the Shining Armor’s hull shifted and moved in whirring and clanking sounds before massive cannons were revealed, and with heavy thuds, they expelled powerful blasts of energy at the flagships.

Seeing the laser fire exchanged in the sky above him, explosions becoming visible in the evening light Flashfire then pulled out his sword once more as he leaped onto a passing Eagle Voyager.

“Jabari! Moraimarz, dead ahead! Lock on target, and fire!”

“But… But the shielding on that thing is just too thick!” Jabari sputtered out. “There’s no way a single Voyager’s weapons would breach the outer walls, never mind destroy it!”

“Not just a single Voyager you have with you is it?” Flashfire asked, before slamming his personal Kyutama into his sword, and making it glow with a cyan light. “Now, are your weapons systems locked on?”

“Y-Yes, but…” Jabari stammered out, before he realized what his commander was planning. “Oh, that is genius. Should have thought of it earlier!”

“Yeah, well I’ll give you the credit for the idea on the mission report,” Flashfire remarked as the Moraimarz began to come up fast. “...Assuming we don’t splatter on impact.”

“Wait… what?” Jabari asked, blinking and then his eyes widening in shock.

“No time for second-guessing,” Flashfire remarked as he calculated the odds of this actually working in his head. Like Jabari, he figured out pretty quickly that they weren’t good. “It’s time to test both of our luck! Now or never after all. And now is a… Regulus Impact!” he shouted letting loose a powerful energy slash from his sword while Jabari fired a beam of pink energy from the Voyager’s ‘beak’.

A powerful explosion rumbled through the forest village, the shockwave snapping rope bridges and sending various Invaders tumbling to their doom. Flurry had to use the Andromeda Kyutama to anchor herself to the tree with an iron chain. Then the fireball came, and Fågel used the Scutum Kyutama to throw up an energy shield to shield the rest of the team and the villagers in their transport craft from a part of the blast wave.

As soon as the dust and smoke cleared, trees being scorched in some places but still standing tall as if a seeming testament to their great age. As for Jabari and Flashfire, Jabari had thrown up an energy shield in the nick of time right before the explosion would have consumed them both.

“You are an idiot, an absolute idiot…” Flurry muttered giving Flashfire an affectionate glare. “But I love you for that, you know that right?”

“Oh relax, he’s not just a normal idiot,” Pharynx remarked. “He’s an idiot of quite an unfathomable force, whose idiocy overcomes Equus’ gravity.”

“Yeah, that is he is…” Flurry chuckled as she looked at the fleeing Dark Matter ships. “Rangers, I believe our work here is done.”

Back aboard the Shining Armor, everyone was going over what they’d learned on Keel. For some reason, for the last few weeks, they’d found Dark Matter was targeting planets with abnormally high levels of Planetium. Okay, maybe that wasn’t so weird as it meant more energy for their ships and weapons, it was exactly how Dark Matter knew which planets held the most planetary energy that confused them.

“I just don’t get it…” Stripped said before letting out a yawn having been at this for hours, Jabari and a few of the other scientists onboard the ship having pitched in to help. “Been just going over all the planets we’ve gone by, and there’s no seeming way to connect them beyond their abundant mass of Planetium, and the only way we know about the planets having these abnormal masses is by scanning their surfaces, while being on the surface!”

“Hmm, exactly,” Jabari said before pulling up two holographic screens, with Flurry and the rest of the Rangers watching intently. He pulled out a pointer and gestured to the first screen which showed a planet’s infrastructure glowing a bright red and orange hue. “See, this right here is a normal planet and its amount of Planetium. And this…” he said, gesturing to another screen showing a planet glowing a bright blue and white shade. “Is a planet like Keel, just bristling at the seems ready to burst, chock-full of the stuff. Now, what we need to figure is where the next planet like Keel is, and why exactly the Dark Matter group is targeting them in the long run. Hell, we need to know what they even what with a normal amount of Planetium. We’ve been able to figure out just a small sample of the stuff would power a warship’s core, via studies of Lupus’ Moraimarz but why would Dark Matter need so much?”

“They’re gluttoning themselves, fattening themselves up like pigs!” Stripped said, slamming a fist down on the table. “That’s what they’re doing. And the worst part is, we don’t know why or how to get to the next planet in advance before they reach it, simply because we don’t know what that next planet is!”

“It gets worse,” the Doctor said, speaking up for the first time. “Before I deliver to you the good news, there’s some bad news first. Remember Jume? That planet that was so heavily guarded and cost us so many troops?”

“Yeah, how could I forget…?” Flashfire muttered, rubbing his forehead. There’d been a lot of funerals that day.

“Well, sad thing is, I sent that Dark Matter aligned satellite we hijacked back there and it came up with this…” the Doctor continued, pulling up a screen of his own that showed several Planetium-filled Moraimarz leaving the planet before it blew up in a nearly blinding explosion. “They went back. Those bastards went back!” the Doctor nearly snarled.

“All of that hard work, for nothing! All of those lives, for nothing!” Flashfire shouted, before swearing quite heavily in Prench staining the air blue as he punched a bulkhead cracking it. Panting and sweating hard, he strained out: “And… and what’s the good news?”

“There’s this hub,” the Doctor continued. “Dark Matter has a few of these scattered across the galaxy, sending ships to and fro to destinations chosen by whoever runs the base. I’m willing to bet that if we take one of these hubs for ourselves, wipe it clean of every scrap of information it has then we can find out what exactly Dark Matter’s Endgame is, or at least a part of it.”

“Okay then, it’s official. Dark Matter wants to go to war with the entire galaxy, we employ some guerilla tactics of our own,” Flurry agreed. “Doctor, where’s this nearest hub?”

“Just a few short light years from here, shouldn’t take less than an hour to reach it. Trouble is, it’s gone dark from preliminary scouting and it’s in the middle of an asteroid belt made up of this nasty form of metal that pretty much ruins communications unless you were specially prepared for such a thing. Dark Matter is, which is what worries me when I said this base has gone dark.”

“Maybe they’ve abandoned it?” Stardust suggested. “Oh well, I suppose the only way we’ll find out is if a few of us go on ahead and have a little look around. I’d suggest the Piercing Arrow along with Pharynx and Jabari stay behind, keep a good eye on this planet just in case Dark Matter decides to make a return trip. I’ll encode the date for the Dragon Knight Megazord to you, Pharynx, just in case you need it.”

“Solid plan,” Pharynx agreed, possibly for the first time with this idiot. Truth be told though, he was wondering why him? The leader of Keel, a woman named Eris apparently was so in love with him, having heard of his feats amongst the Kyurangers she’d tackled him upon hearing that they were to save his planet. And as you might have guessed, Pharynx was not a touchy-feely guy. ...Personally, it was of his mind he should just suck her love dry and leave her as an emotionless husk just to be rid of her, but he doubted anyone else would have been a fan of that. “So, guess that means you’ll be going to the hub?”

“Yes,” Stardust nodded in confirmation. “Or, I would be if I didn’t have things to do here. Instead, I’m electing Flashfire, the Doctor and Stripped, Coldcast and Fågel to go in my place.”

“...You just don’t want to put your poncey ass in the line of fire, that’s all…” Pharynx muttered under his breath in an inaudible tone. Truth be told, both he and Stripped were rather suspicious of Stardust, ever since Stripped had found Pharynx sealed away, and they hadn’t bought any of his excuses. To be honest, if it didn’t count as high treason they would probably be investigating him. Stripped had half a mind to do that anyways.

“Well, you heard the man. To the Voyagers!” Flashfire barked out before an explosion rattled the ship. “What the Hell was that?” he asked, pressing a comms button.

“Sir, we’ve just had Dark Matter warships drop out of warp! They’re locking onto us, seeing a teleportation signature already!” a voice from the bridge.

“You say signature, as in just one?”

“That’s right sir!”

“So, looks like he’s finally arrived…” Flashfire murmured as he drew his sword, having suspected this was going to happen sooner or later. “Ladies and gents, looks like our next Karō has arrived. In which case... Pleure le chaos et laisse glisser les chiens de guerre.”

And so Eriedrone was met, the Karō bearing this massive golden halberd that looked like it could do some damage and wearing this long green robe.

“So, you’re the leader of the Sagittarius system?” Flashfire commented. “And I was expecting something more… I don’t know, tape à l'oeil I guess. Like this horse-being with a giant bow and arrow, not… well, whatever the hell you’re supposed to be. But, let’s get on with it.”

“Where’s the usual destiny and honor speech you and the other Rangers are so fond of? About how your friendship will-”

“Say the change!”
“Cerberus/Lupus/Draco/Scorpius/Aquila/Libra/Dorado!”

Flashfire socked him across the jaw making Eriedrone stagger. “Speech that!” Flashfire remarked, morphed into his ranger form wiping the blood off his gloves. “I’m not in a really good mood right now, especially after learning after what happened to Jume so you can just shut it.”

“Very well then,” Eriedrone commented. “I always viewed words as pointless conjecture anyways.”

With that, he held his halberd suspiciously like a bow, and Flashfire’s eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of a Kyutama depicting what else but the Sagittarius system attached to the weapon.

“Move, now!” Flashfire barked out as he saw Eriedrone point his weapon at the ceiling, and a massive horde of golden arrows reigned down upon the group. Each one that hit, caused a small explosion, and Flashfire and company were sent hurtling into the next room.

Picking themselves up off the ground, they bore witness to Eriedrone chuckling.

“I thought as much, you’re just as pathetic as I predicted. How’s it feel having your own powers turned against you?” Eriedrone chuckled.

“You talk too much…” Flurry stated, grabbing the Monoceros Kyutama, slamming it into her Kyuchanger and activating the Monoceros drill and surged forwards. Eriedrone, at what seemed like lightspeed- sidestepped out of the way before catching her and throwing her into a bulkhead. Before any of the other Rangers could even attempt to strike back, Eriedrone was on them in a second and firing more of his energy arrows at them. Waving his hand even as the other Rangers arrived, the rest of the team could only watch as Eriedrone and his opponents vanished into this black void.

When Flashfire awoke, he was in what could only be described as this shadow realm, a crude copy of the dimension he was familiar with. Indeed he could see Pharynx and Spada trying to figure out where the team was but he could not interact with him, nor could Coldcast and the rest.

“Wondering where you are?” Eriedrone asked, as he smacked Stardust to the floor. “One dimension over, two spaces to the left. Welcome to the Shadow Realm, something only us Karō and Don Armage himself can access. You can call it the upside down version of your dimension. The shadowed veil.”

“Flurry was right, you do talk to much. I thought you viewed that as pointless conjecture?” Flashfire asked, as he swung his blade hoping to activate the Ara Kyutama but to his surprise it wasn’t happening. It seemed the nebula gases that powered the Kyutamas were different here, which in hindsight shouldn’t have surprised him, rendering them useless.

Eridrone said nothing, and slashed Flashfire across the chest several times, sending him staggering, and the same fate met the rest of the Rangers even as they tried to take on the Karō. He either side-stepped out of the way with his sheer speed or just overpowered them with sheer might. Then, he ran forwards in a green blur and sent them sprawling back into the Kyurangers’ normal dimension, throwing up a wall of arrows to prevent anyone else from interfering.

“Oh, so that’s how it is…?” Flashfire asked. “You only talk when it suits you best, AKA when you like to brag about your power?”

Eriedrone grabbed him by the throat before he threw him into the floor. “You know, I’ve been doing some studying of how you’ve led the team so far, with my various spies across the universe and I have to say I’m not impressed. You’ve bungled about so often, it’s lucky you’re still alive! Like take landing on that planet designed to eat your despair. You ignored all obvious warning signs and were nearly killed for it. Then you landed on that ice planet, and nearly died of hypothermia,” Eriedrone stated, continuing to lay both a verbal and physical smackdown on Flashfire. “And just now. Keel. You nearly got you and your Pink Paladin killed just destroying one Moraimarz. We have thousands. One destroyed is of no consequence. Face it, Beast Star, you’re a terrible leader. And because of that, your team is dead. Now, I’d like to say I’m reveling in killing you myself, but that’d be a lie. Instead, I’ll just finish you quickly and with a little help at that. Now, I really must thank both Flurry and Sir Ikargen for what’s about to happen now, because without their contributions this next bit wouldn’t be possible.”

Flurry was genuinely confused on that before her eyes widened as she realized what Eriedrone meant as he brought out a Kyutama with the letters KR on it, and pressed down on it.

“Soiya! Bujin, to the Stage!”

A swarm of locusts filled the room, and this dark voice proclaimed: “Darkness Arms! Ōgon no Kajitsu!” and when the locusts cleared, standing there was this silver armored warrior. It bore chest armor in black and purple coloring resembling apple slices of all things and a stylized helmet resembling the katakana for evil, with a sword resembling a purple orange slice in one hand. Around his(?) belt was a sliced open padlock depicting this strange sword he held.

“I am the Golden Fruit, and the arbiter of your devastation. I am one of the Femushinmu, I am Kougane.”

Shrugging, Flurry slammed the Kyutama into her morpher, making it proclaim: “Wizard, please~!”

Flurry, even as she clashed her spear with this ‘Kougane’ or whatever he called himself going blade to blade with him, continued to think back her battle with Kukata.

“So, I presume you’re the one who’s been causing all of this despair?” the man asked in a deadpan tone looking at Kukata Tamaa. “Generally, creatures who look like you, well they never mean good intent for anyone,” Adjusting a black ring on his hand, his gaze turned to Flurry. “Young miss, you look like you could use some hope.”

“I already found my hope, but an assist would be nice. Name’s Flurry Heart. Yours?” Flurry asked.

She knew exactly what had happened, now that she thought about it hard enough. Someone else, that Sir Ikargen creature had been watching and taking data away from the Wizard Kyutama, and now Dark Matter had been able to create a one-off Rider Kyutama of their own. Mind you, it only needed to be a one-off considering Eriedrone was the one who did the summoning.

“Souma Haruto,” the young man answered, moving his black ring to his belt buckle. “The Last Hope.”

Spinning around to avoid a powerful sword strike from this so-called Golden Fruit, she struck him with her suit’s scorpion tail stunning him briefly, giving Coldcast a chance to rush forwards and strike the dark Rider across the chest with a powerful slash from his Astral Claw.

Slipping a red ring onto his other hand Haruto added, “But right now, you can call me, Wizard.”

Flicking the cutting blade on his belt once, the dark Rider summoned fifteen apples of purple energy and with a jab of his sword sent them flying towards the Rangers.

“Darkness Squash!”

Thinking quickly, Stardust slammed the Pavo Kyutama into his cane, before a manifestation of a peacock’s tail feathers sprung up from behind him. Even as the apples flew towards his team, he launched the tail feathers like darts at the apples and Kougane.

Before anyone could get the chance to take a strike at Kougane, Stardust and then the rest of the Rangers were struck across the chest by Eriedrone’s halberd.

“When… When we focus on one, we get slaughtered by the other!” Flurry panted out, and to make matters worse Eriedrone had thrown them into his Shadow Realm once more rendering the usage of any more Kyutamas impossible. Well, any of their own anyways.

Kougane pulled out another sword, this one seemingly having a gun built into its hilt and slammed it against his first sword combining the two. He flicked the cutting blade on his belt once more, and a wave of pink energy resembling an orange flattened the Rangers to the floor just in time for Eriedrone to hit them with another wave of arrows.

“Look at you… Like the Femushinmu, you fall easily,” Kougane stated. Flurry wanted to ask why this Rider would ally themselves with Dark Matter, but then again she knew from personal experience some people just liked to kill. Now, after all this was over and done with, maybe Kougane would turn on Dark Matter and slaughter them. Not that it really mattered, considering they may not live to see that. “And your allies, whoever they may be cannot be here to save you.”

Flurry looked out a window and saw that the Piercing Arrow and the Celestial Radiance's lights had gone dark. The other colony ships were soon to follow. Presumably someone -That someone being Sir Ikargen most likely- was performing acts of sabotage and leaving the ships open to the Dark Matter warships’ own laser fire.

“Madako, it’s so nice to see you’re coming in use,” Eriedrone commented. “This should be finished within a matter of minutes.”

What had happened was this. Madako, Sir Ikargen’s right-hand woman had teleported onto each of the ships, and disabled their primary core functions. Anyone who tried to stop her, she just shot to pieces with her gun. Or if she was feeling particularly cruel, turned them with one shot into a puddle of slime. Pop went the pony, so to speak. It was a nasty way to go, but sadist as she was, Madako reveled in it.

“Exactly, these jelly brains never knew what hit them!” Madako cackled, as she teleported onto the next ship on her list, repeating the process. Meanwhile, the battle with Eriedrone was not going… well.

He swung his halberd and brought it down on Flashfire, or he would have had Flurry not struck him with her stinger tail stunning him. Sharing a look with Flashfire, she asked: “Do you trust me?”

“Always,” Flashfire asked. “Whatever you’re going to do Flurry, do it.”

Flurry nodded with Flashfire nodding back. Slamming her palm into the bulkhead beneath their hooves, the bulkhead began to rust and rot away. That was one of the powers of being the Princess of Autumn and Winter. Everything rotted and died before spring came and brought with it new blossoms. Flurry rarely, if ever, used this power, as she honestly thought it a fairly disturbing power considering the implications of just what exactly it could do.

But in any case, the floor beneath Eriedrone and Flashfire gave way and knocked Eriedrone into such a state of shock that he lost control over his Shadow Realm and allowed Stardust to hit him with a blast from the Aquarius Kyutama just as Flashfire and his now solo opponent fell down into another deck.

Now, it was just a battle -for Flurry and her Rangers at least- against Kougane. She just hoped Flashfire could hold his own against Eriedrone long enough for whatever reinforcements they had left to arrive.

“Darkness Au Lait!” Kougane’s driver called out as he sent a massive apple comprised of dark energy towards the Rangers, with only the combined powers of the Aquarius and Cetus Kyutamas holding it back. Jabari then leaped backwards, disengaging the Aquarius Kyutama’ power, and letting loose with his twin Astral Blasters riddling Kougane with laser fire.

Then, Flurry and Fågel surged forwards readying their individual finishers.

“Antares Impact!”
“Aldebaran Impact!” both Rangers cried out as together, their combined weapons slashed Kougane across the chest and as they ran past him, they spun around and let the Doctor use them as a stepping stone for his own Impact finisher, which sent a multitude of various energy arrows from his crossbow weapon towards Kougane...

Meanwhile, Flashfire went sword to halberd up against Eriedrone jumping up to avoid a low swung strike from the blade, only for Eriedrone to once more use the Sagittarius Kyutama again, and hit him with a swarm of energy arrows.

“I’m still surprised at you, you continuing to persist in this futile endeavor,” Eriedrone remarked even as Flashfire screamed out in pain as he was struck across the chest once more. Even when he tried to meet Eriedrone’s halberd with an Ara Kyutama-infused strike from his sword, Eriedrone simply feinted and got in another slash.

“For some reason, you’re still continuing on in the face of certain defeat. You know, a real leader would know when to pack it up, and go home. I promise you, there’s nothing wrong with admitting defeat. Honestly, stupid as he was, Lupus saw the potential in you lot and I must admit a group of Dark Kyurangers on our side would be useful. Just not you of course.”

He began socking Flashfire across the jaw. By now, the Ranger had been knocked out of his morphed state and his chest was covered in bloody wounds.

“Like I said, you’re a terrible leader. You’re reckless, stupid, and have almost gotten you and your team killed so many times by now it’s not even funny anymore.”

Eriedrone was met with only silence at those words.

“What, no response to those accusations? In my experience, heroes would be bellowing out their beliefs, about how we're wrong!” Eriedrone remarked even as Flashfire struggled to stand, the broiling heat of the core beneath him. Flashfire looked towards the miniature sun that powered the ship’s fusion reactor, and the lack of guardrails that were on either side of the catwalk. The catwalk that both he and Eriedrone were currently fighting on. He thought back to his time on a certain ice world, and how his failure to check for asteroids had led him crash-landing onto it and nearly dying in the process.

“Come on Red…” he whispered. He honestly didn't know why he was talking to a machine, it wasn't like it could hear him and talk back. But for some reason, just like he did with his personal Voyager, he felt a living emotional connection with this one. “You can do this, you can pull yourself together. You feel it don't you? Just like me.”

Sure, that little mishap had yielded some form of reward in the Leo Minor Voyager, but the point was he never should have been on that planet, to begin with.

“There is no response to you calling me a bad leader, leveling all those accusations at me. And you know why? Because you're absolutely right in saying I'm a terrible leader and I've made a lot of mistakes. And I'll be paying for them, but you know something else? Even if all of the galaxies cry out and scream for my head, I'll never stop extending a hand to help. If I didn't the regret curling up inside me... That would be far worse than any accusation or punishment you could level at me. Flashfire Lulamoon, the Element of Kindness and the Howling Star.”

With that, Flashfire threw his sword at Eriedrone, who simply laughed and sidestepped out of the way, but what he didn’t predict was what happened next.

“Pegasus!”

Flashfire came flying at him, a hoof leveled at his chest and sparking with a light green energy, the ranger himself now clad in the Pegasus Armor that Coldcast had ‘reclaimed’ from Lupus. Suddenly, Eriedrone found himself hit again and again by a blinding blur of light, Flashfire coming in for another pass around the room every time and never giving Eriedrone a chance to react. Finally, he grabbed his sword again to slow himself down, and disengaged the Pegasus Armor before shouting out: “Regulus Impact!” as he slashed Eriedrone across the chest with one powerful swing. Eriedrone staggered back, his armor partially destroyed and let out a snarl.

“Very well, another time.” he stated with a small bow acknowledging such a worthy opponent before teleporting out in a green flash. Flashfire demorphed and returned to the others, just as they finished off Kougane in an ‘All-Star Crash’ attack, the belt collapsing to the floor as the only evidence he was even there to begin with.

“Eriedrone? Y-You defeated him, all by yourself?” the Doctor stammered out in shock.

“That’s my Grand frère for you!” Coldcast cheered pumping the air in victory.

“No, not killed as you think,” Flashfire corrected. “Just sent into a retreat.”

But the biggest shock was yet to come, as eyes widened as they stared upon Stripped Gear, half of his skin torn off, falling away and exposing electronics underneath. Everyone stared wide-eyed in shock, not knowing what to do or even how to process this revelation.

“I’m… I’m a robot?” Stripped Gear asked, one of his optics blinking out in shock as he held up a hand studying every wire and every gear in it before parts of his body sparked from all the damage taken to it. Even as Stardust and Flashfire screamed out his name, he fell towards the ground...

Author's Notes:

Well, that just happened.

So... Yeah, that's Eriedrone and Madako. Rest assured, this won't be the last clash with either of them. And yeah, the Pegasus armor is back after a long absence. ...Least in my case, unlike Kyurangers proper, I won't have to worry about it falling apart because of poor suit design.

And Kougane. Yes, another legendary Rider summoning, even if this time it's of an evil Rider. Now, before you all go off on me for letting the 'Golden Fruit' get his ass handed to him so easily, remember he was tanking multiple finishers anyways, and even in Gaim Proper, Kougane as Kamen Rider Jam took damage from Mitchy's Budou Ryuhou suggesting his defensive capabilities as Jam are quite low.

Now, another thing, I was going to use Fourze's Bounce Back as music for Flashfire's final strikes against Eriedrone as he donned the Pegasus Armor, but it just didn't feel right for the sour tone of Flashfire accepting what a poor leader he was. Hell, the only reason you got Time of Victory and Missing Piece in the last chapter as insert music was that their over the top heroic lyrics contrasted with Stardust's true nature.

As always, comments, thoughts, and suggestions are welcomed.

Part 21: Domo Arigato...

Author's Notes:

Okay, we are back. In more ways than one, I should add. First off, huge thanks to Seriff Pilcrow for providing the medical explanation for the magic conductivity. Secondly, for what comes next... How afraid are you of the dark?

Shining Armor: Medical Wing

“How… How could we have not noticed?” Flashfire murmured to himself, pacing back and forth outside the medical way his hooves clanging against the metal flooring. “...How… How could I not have noticed? He’s my best friend for crying out loud. ...I… I should have noticed something like this, don’t you think?” he stammered out nervously to no-one in particular.

Inside the medical wing, a few of the more gear-minded members of the crew had been brought in and to try and assess the damage to Stripped Gear -who Flashfire only now recognized the meaningfulness behind that particular name- while other mechanics set to work assessing the damage to the other ships. Stardust had ordered any non-essential personnel, which basically meant anyone but him- out of the medical wing.

“Hey, you shouldn’t blame yourself, commander,” Fågel said, putting a hand (talon?) on his shoulder. “Sorta managed to slip by everyone’s notice really, this sorta thing.”

“...Fair point, but I’m his best friend. I’m supposed to know everything about the guy!” Flashfire remarked, some bandages wrapped around his chest to stem away the bleeding. The back of his mind was telling him to get that looked at, given Eriedrone did not go quietly into that good night as it were. But right now? Flashfire had bigger concerns.

“So, I have a few good friends? But yet, I don’t know everything about them really,” Fågel remarked. “Just for the record Commander Flashfire, that’s all I’m saying,” she commented, trying to reassure her boss. The jury was still out on the matter if it actually worked.

Flashfire smiled slightly, glad to hear his Taurus Black had managed to find a few people she considered friends outside the team, given her… unique circumstances. Not everyone wanted to associate themselves with a crewmember marked as a former criminal by Prince Stardust himself.

Flashfire was very curious as to who said friends were, but he wouldn’t pry into Fågel’s personal life lest he wanted to be hacked to death by one massive axe. Plus he had more important things to worry about anyways.

“You know,” Spada commented as he observed Flashfire. “Those bandages won’t hold back the tide for long. You really ought to have that looked at. Just sayin’.”

“Later,” Flashfire waved him off dismissively. “I’ll be fine for the time being. I’m more concerned with everything else going on than myself for right now. How are the repairs on the Piercing Arrow and the Celestial Radiance's systems going?”

“Too soon to tell really,” Spada said and winced as Flashfire clutched his chest in pain. “We should know within a few hours but… You sure you don’t want to have that looked at?”

“I’m quite sure, so can you shut up about it?” Flashfire snapped, and Spade stepped backwards a bit in fear. “...Sorry, sorry, it’s just…”

“Yeah, yeah. I understand. It’s the shock and all. Rattled us all quite badly, Stripped Gear being a cyborg, robot… whatever he is. But just sayin’,” Spada replied calmly and softly. “You will have to get those injuries looked at.”

“And I will, in my own time!” Flashfire stated. “I want to worry more about my friend, and what I can do right now.”

“And I’m sorry to say, and I don’t mean to be harsh here,” Fågel put in. “But you’re not a robotics expert, there’s nothing you can do for Stripped Gear. At least not right now. When he wakes, that’s another story as he will probably won’t take this revelation calmly but right now you need to reassure the crew. When they see that one of the Captains of the Guard is worrying and fretting, they start to worry and fret.”

“...Yeah?” Flashfire replied. “Well, maybe they should start to do that!”

“...What… What do you mean?” Fågel stammered out before Flashfire gave her a hard look.

“You know perfectly well what I mean. We just got boarded by a Karō and quite a few of us are in the infirmary from his attack, and two of our ships are currently under heavy repair thanks to his little minion,” Flashfire replied. “I’d be concerned if anyone wasn’t worrying and fretting.”

Flashfire groaned to himself. It’d been weeks and weeks on end since the five ships had left Equus and the known galaxy behind, and now they were in what equated to possibly Hell. He’d heard the old sailors tales, about before the seas had frozen over and when Equestria was thought to be nothing but a flat plane. The whole idea was archaic conception, but in the early days of travel, he’d heard that some crews planned to tie their captain to the mast and threatened to kill him if they did not turn back from unknown lands. On early maps, long before Celestia and Luna came to power, the world was portrayed as a disk floating in the ocean. Some pony, his -it would be a him, really, because most of all the great early thinkers were stallions- once said: “Equus is flat and rides on air; in the same way the sun and the moon and the other heavenly bodies, which are all fiery, ride the air because of their flatness.”

As aforementioned, nowadays thanks to modern science and perhaps a bit of courage on the part of early explorers this line of thinking was viewed as ridiculously antiquated. Mind you, Flashfire couldn’t help but compare their situation to the early thinkers in a way. Here they were, on the verges of unknown territory with possibly only a very loony alien to guide them. Sure, they’d made friends in other planets and their inhabitants once they’d freed them but very few societies often ventured beyond their own galaxies it seemed. No thanks in small part to fear of Dark Matter, who’d been ruling for a very long time now indeed it seemed if Manx was correct. She honestly hadn’t known a time when her people weren’t suppressed by Dark Matter’s thumb.

“...It’s starting to get to you huh?” Fågel remarked. “The burdens of leadership. You know, what you need… Well, what you need is a Shadow Leader of sorts, someone to take the reins when you’re not capable. The weight of the world, or the universe in this case… it’s not all on your shoulders no matter how much you think it to be.”

Flashfire bit back a chuckle. “...You know… You know, Stripped, he said something awfully similar to me once. Back on… Vera it was I believe.”

“Like I said, that’s where the shadow leader comes in,” Stripped replied. “Now, I don’t mean me, but find someone you can trust explicitly and delve off some of your duties to them. A Number One, if you will. You’re Flurry’s Number One, who’s to say you can’t have one of your own?”

“Well then,” Fågel remarked suppressing a chuckle of her own. “I’d say he’s a very wise stallion then. Bit insufferable in his intellect, but very smart one. I honestly don’t give a damn if he’s a robot or not, he’s still the same old guy isn’t he?”

“...Yeah, that he is. That he is,” Flashfire replied sitting himself down on a nearby bench. “Probably should listen to him more often really, might do me a damn bit of good.”

“Is it just me, or does he seem a bit more… reserved than normal?” Spada noted, whispering this to Fågel with the parrot nodding in response. She’d noticed a lot of changes in Flashfire of late. Sure, she’d stayed silent on them but she figured it often wasn’t her place to say much on her commander. But she had noticed. Oh yes, she had noticed. She’d noticed how tired the stallion had seemed of late, how prone to cursing himself when he thought nobody was listening. She, at various points had thought it was a good idea to talk to somebody -if not Flashfire himself- on this, like maybe Pharynx given changelings could sense feelings and probably could tell what was wrong with Flashfire easily enough but she thought the better of it. After all, it simply wasn’t her business.

But then again, looking at Flashfire now she figured maybe she probably should have said something to someone earlier. The stallion wasn’t a god after all, no matter how much the younger members of the crew looked up the Kyurangers and thought them flawless.

The simple matter of things was, they weren’t. Flashfire was no exception. The burdens of a leader were often the worst things to bear, and probably the hardest. Fågel knew Flurry had it bad, having to pretend to be this perfect Princess who could say everything was fine and have to get everyone to believe her. On the totem pole, Flashfire was practically one step below her really given he was one of the Captains of the Guards in a way and the leader of the Kyurangers, Equus’ main defenders. But how did you convince a stallion so stubborn and so used to doing everything his way that maybe… just maybe a little help was allowed every now and then?

Simple answer, you poked and prodded at him in the gentlest of fashions until he finally relented and let you help him instead of him helping you. She’d heard Flashfire’s proclamation over the commlinks, yes she had.

“There is no response to you calling me a bad leader, leveling all those accusations at me. And you know why? Because you're absolutely right in saying I'm a terrible leader and I've made a lot of mistakes. And I'll be paying for them, but you know something else? Even if all of the galaxies cry out and scream for my head, I'll never stop extending a hand to help. If I didn't the regret curling up inside me... That would be far worse than any accusation or punishment you could level at me. Flashfire Lulamoon, the Element of Kindness and the Howling Star.”

He wanted to reach out his hand to everyone in the universe, and that alone had earned him his Element but he needed to understand this. Sometimes… Sometimes you didn’t have to do everything alone. No, there was no lottery on Friendship in Fågel’s mind. In fact, she probably would have had this to say: “I would be afraid, yes, maybe I would be. I should be, about… Well, about what-ifs, maybes, and possible outcomes due to frankly poor decisions on my part. I got thrown in prison for a reason. But Friendship… well, that’s like anything else in the universe. You grasp it tight, like a friend and it’d never steer you wrong. It just took some of us a little longer than others to realize that.”

Little did she know this, but she was muttering this aloud, and Flashfire was hearing every word ears folded up in shame as he listened to the parrot. He chuckled, when did she get so wise? He sighed sourly, maybe she should have been leading this team, not him. Celestia knew he’d made far too many mistakes on his part to be worthy of that honor.

But he felt a warm glow in his palm, something comforting and he opened it to see his Cerberus Kyutama pulsating. Apparently, it disagreed. It wouldn’t have picked him for a reason if he didn’t possess some redeeming quality of leading a team. Cerberus, the guardian of the underworld yes, but a guardian nonetheless. And he was the guardian of his team. The pack leader, if you will. They were his pack, and he had to protect them… no matter how hard it got.

Turning his head back towards the medical bay, Flashfire watched Stardust and his little gang of scientists get back to work on repairing -No, not repairing, Flashfire corrected himself. That made it sound like Stripped was anything less than a pony- Stripped Gear. He would have words with Stardust, rest assured. After all, there were very few ponies smart enough to create something like Stripped Gear and the Prince was amongst those very few...

Groaning, Stripped found himself awakening in the med bay, and on pure instinct, he looked to his right to see if… that was there, all the while using his hand to feel his face. No, he felt nothing mechanical, saw nothing mechanical. Maybe he had just been imagining things really.

“Sounds awfully illogical of me, but…” Stripped thought to himself. “The alternative is much worse really in my mind. I’m a pony, not a… robot. Aren’t I?” he asked himself as his hooves touched the floor. Slowly but surely, he took a few steps forwards.

And that’s when he got a good look at himself in the mirror. Staggering backwards in shock, what used to be a crystal-blue eye was unmistakably an optic. Some of the skin had been peeled away to reveal the mechanical workings.

“How… How long?” Stripped whispered, having heard hoofsteps come in. He turned around to face Stardust. “How long have I been…?”

“A cyborg?” Stardust asked. “Well, maybe robot is more technically accurate as it’s just your brain and horn that are organic, but… Well, it’s been as long as you’ve been alive. 30 years, give or take the odd month?”

That really didn’t reassure Stripped much.

“Did… did anyone know?” he whispered. “Did… Flashfire know?” he asked, feeling the hurt of possible betrayal run through him.

“No, he didn’t. He’s been surprised as everyone else really, to be honest. He didn’t take it… well.”

Stripped observed Stardust was wearing what looked suspiciously like makeup around his left eye. Stripped fought back a chuckle, seems Flashfire had ‘words’ with the Prince. He’d have to thank him for that.

That stallion had a horn so far up his arse at times it honestly surprised Stripped that the insides hadn’t been ripped wide open. Celestia’s son he may have been, and while he suspected some of Celestia and Twilight’s DNA rested somewhere in that arrogant exterior he just lacked the proper guidance to use it properly. It was very telling he considered himself a national treasure. At least if what Flurry’s mutterings were to believed. Polite as she was, even Stripped held no illusions that Flurry disliked her relation. She just didn’t make it known publicly. You’d have to have something wrong with you to like him, Stripped thought personally.

Peeling away some of the false skin and fur covering his body, Stripped winced slightly when he saw more wires, gears, and other assorted mechanical bits underneath it. He wouldn’t quite call it steampunk, as magic held the entire thing together but it wasn’t what he’d call the pinnacle of technology either.

“Are… are there any more like me?” Stripped questioned.

“No,” Stardust replied thought Stripped wasn’t quite sure if he was to be believed. “You’re the only one like yourself. Me and your other father, Test Tube thought about designing more but dear old mom shut us down, calling it… unethical. I thought I was advancing the course of science but Celestia begged to differ once she found out what we were up to...”

It was about then Stripped socked the stallion across the face once more, repeating Flashfire’s actions.

“Well, damn right you’re not advancing the cause of science,” Stripped snapped, some of his Marish Isles accent coming out in his speech. “No, you’re just playing God. What gives you the right to do that? To play God and create new life?” he shouted.

“Because… Because I am one?” Stardust asked blinking slightly in confusion.

“No, you’re not, far from it. Gods and Goddesses are supposed to be perfect, and you sir are anything BUT!” Stripped snapped. “You’re just a self-absorbed arrogant little arse who got everything handed down to him, and nobody to tell you what’s right and what’s wrong. Hell, you probably needed help wiping your own arse didn’t you?”

He advanced on the Prince once more but two of his Praetorian Guard rushed in and held Stripped back. Flashfire walked in to try and defuse the situation, knowing this could get ugly quite fast.

“You, leave,” he told the Prince with a glare. “Let me talk to him.”

“But… But he’s my son, I think I should have a right to explain the circumstances of his creation to him don’t I?”

“You’ve explained enough,” Flashfire stated sternly. “Now go, before I change my mind about letting Stripped pummel you to a pulp. Hell, I’m tempted to join him really,” he continued just barely fighting back a growl. He turned to the Praetorian Guard and looked at them, eying their featureless helmets. “And yes, you can put it on the record I just threatened the Prince. Personally, go on. See how well it goes over with the crew that you arrested one of the Kyurangers and threw them in the brig or wherever.”

The two guards, hands on their pistols appeared to consider this over for the next few moments before relenting and they, along with Stardust walked out of the room.

“...Goddess above, I’ve got such a headache dealing with them,” Flashfire muttered rubbing his head in pain. “Between them, and reassuring the crew it’s been abject misery.”

“...Why would you want to reassure the crew…?” Stripped asked allowing himself to relax a little and taking a few deep calming breaths. Flashfire was here, someone he trusted. He could relax.

“Well, we just took a savage beating from a Karō and two of the colony ships are in really bad shape. They’d have every right to be worried. Damage reports are just coming in now. The Piercing Arrow might have to be left behind for a while, at least until everything’s repaired and that could take at least a good solid month with the damage Madako did to it. The main drive’s been trashed, the ship’s power core is almost completely drained of energy. Everyone’s migrating down to the planet below, I’m on edge waiting for news of a transporter accident.”

Stripped bit back a chuckle. “...Well, at least you don’t have it any easier than I do. In fact, you might have it worse,” he muttered hopping back up on the bed. “My whole world’s just been rocked, and here I am griping about it when there are bigger matters at hand.”

“No, you’ve got every right to be… stunned for lack of a better word I suppose,” Flashfire said gently. “Celestia knows I was.”

“...Can you please not use Celestia around me for the time being?” Stripped requested. “Not sure I feel about her given how badly she raised her son. How badly she and Twilight raised him.”

“Fair enough,” Flashfire agreed. “Though to be fair, well… for over half his life Celestia wasn’t exactly present per say. Just for the record.”

“Yeah… Just for the bloody record,” Stripped muttered fingering his Kyutama. “How… How much of me is cybernetics, anyways?”

“99%,” Flashfire replied. “99%. Excluding the brain, your lungs and your horn. Those are organic. Taken from some dead pony, which I suppose I can’t exactly fault Stardust for at least. Some long dead pony. Apparently donated his organs to charity when he knew he wasn’t going to live particularly long.”

“...Did this story come from Stardust or Test whatever his name is? Because quite frankly-”

“You can’t find it in yourself to believe them?” Flashfire agreed. “Yeah, well, neither can I for the record. So I did my fact-checking. Turns out they’re not lying about that at least. Turns out there are in fact records of at least one unicorn -maybe more- donating their material to charity when the rest of their body started to stop functioning.”

Stripped hmmed to himself, the theory itself was sound. He knew certain medical texts spoke of how magic in unicorns worked. In unicorns, the horn was a bony -hollow to allow certain fluids important to magical conductivity- protrusion that contains a higher number of blood and special nerve cells than any other part of the body. Furthermore, unlike other peripheral nerve cells, the nerve cells contained within the horn had cell bodies that are located inside the horn itself. They're kind of like brain cells in that way. There was a reason some medical researchers call the horn ‘the third brain.’

To put simply, the horn is not the only part of a unicorn's body that has magic in it. It's just the part that has the most magic. Stripped had done tests -per Flashfire’s private requests- to find out exactly why he couldn’t perform more than just the simplest of spells without becoming tired and the simple answer was thanks to that genetic disorder of his, well… He lacked a lot of the nerve cells that were required to perform the magic casting itself.

“Well, I’ll be damned, not everything coming out of that stallion’s arse is a lie,” Stripped muttered. “You and I need to have a few talks about him later, like real talks. You, me and Pharynx. Maybe Flurry, I’m not sure how much I trust her right now.”

Fågel had told him, in private, how she’d witnessed Stardust using storm magic when facing off against that idiot Denvil and his men. Chaos magic. Not like the regular storm magic pegasi could use, but something far more… devilish, almost like the chaos magics the god Seth was said to use.

“I’d agree, much as I hate to admit it. I’m not sure how much the royalty beyond Princesses Luna and Cadence can actually be trusted right now. May be my marefriend or not, but Flurry did a lot of stuff over the years with Stardust. Not sure how much of it is really… ethical.”

“...Knew there was something going on between you two, you were just keeping secretive about it,” Flashfire muttered with a small chortle. “But I think you’re putting too much fear into Flurry into activities. Yes, only the paranoid survive but I say you should trust Flurry. She’s always been one of the nicer of the two Royals currently still alive. Luna knows I’ve caught her muttering unkind things about Stardust under her breath when she thinks nobody’s around. Plus, you two are cute together in your own way.”

“...Cute? Us?” Flashfire stammered out, looking more red than usual. He knew Stripped was deflecting, trying to get away from the fact that his whole world had been flipped upside down from under him. He wanted to talk about something else. He’d let him… for the time being. “Y-You seriously think that?”

“History repeats. You’re like her knight in shining armor… Or knight in shining spandex as the case may be.”

“It’s not spandex,” Flashfire muttered. “It’s a self-absorbing, self-expanding microfiber that was specially designed to take impacts and create itself from virtually nothing.”

“I call it like I see it, if it looks like a duck walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it’s probably a bloody duck. And our suits look and act like spandex -they even chafe like the damn stuff- so they’re probably spandex!” Stripped remarked.

“Well, what about Fågel’s suit? She’s certainly not that massive and covered in muscles like her suit seems to make her out to be!” Flashfire questioned.

“...Okay, that’s powered armor. Okay, you happy? They’re not all spandex…” Stripped trailed off before the two broke down laughing. “Oh, look at us, debating the qualities of our super suits. They’re cool, that’s what matters innit?”

“...Well, I wouldn’t say mine is cool. I have a cape, yes, and shoulder pads but it makes me look too try-hard and let’s not even get into the color! It’s sea-green for cryin’ out loud!” Flashfire remarked throwing his arms up in the air. “And what is with the explosions every time we morph? You’ve seen the things right? Surely you have!”

“Yeah, just energy run-off from the sheer power contained within the Kyutamas. I mean, this is cosmic energy we’re talking about. That shite is powerful!” Stripped exclaimed before holding up his Kyutama. “I mean here contained in this tiny little globe -about the size of your palm really- is enough cosmic energy to power a whole ship! Enough cosmic energy to power this ship in fact, we should be lucky this stuff hasn’t blown us up really!”

“Yeah… Lucky…” Flashfire murmured looking towards Stripped Gear with a forlorn expression. He wondered which was better, dying from an explosion or learning your whole life was a lie.

As Flashfire and Stripped walked along the hallways of the Shining Armor, suddenly explosions rocked the ship and Flashfire was thrown to the side and would have cracked his skull clean open on a bulkhead had his friend not caught him at the very last second.

“...Thanks. You know people will talk now, right?” Flashfire noted on the way Stripped was clutching him tightly.

“...Isn’t that all they ever do?” Stripped teased. Flashfire blinked for a second, maybe Stripped hadn’t been deflecting. Maybe he was perfectly fine and had accepted what he was without a second thought.

“What’s going on around here?” Flashfire barked into a nearby comm once he’d regained his bearings, using the Lacerta Kyutama to be able to stick to the floors just in case another meteor hit and he was thrown. “What the flying feather was that?”

“Meteor shower, commander!” a female voice responded. Pegasus named Wind Spirit, or Earth Spirit if Flashfire remembered correctly. He didn’t exactly expect himself to know or remember every crewman’s names. Just the ones he considered friends. “Came out of… AGH! Came out of nowhere!”

“You alright Spirit?” Flashfire barked in concern.

“Tsukikage here Commander!” another voice, again female answered. “Sorry, my sister’s a little banged up. Had an explosion at her console. She’ll be fine, but we’re getting battered up here! Suggestions?”

“Can… Can we risk the Voyagers?” Flashfire asked.

“Sorry sir, but not right now I’d reckon,” Tsukikage replied. “Too many meteors out there. You’d likely get yourself destroyed in the process. One hit, and boom. There goes the core and you up with it.”

“Damn the risks! It’s not just us we have to worry about, it’s Vela as well. There are people down there, getting rained on by those rocks! Something’s got to be done!” Flashfire barked.

“...I’d be… I’d be willing to do something,” Stripped said grasping onto a handhold and Flashfire looked at him in shock. “What, don’t look at me like that. Robot or not, I’m still a member of this crew, and if you’ve not forgotten a certified genius. May be no Twilight Sparkle, but I’m still intelligent, and moreover, I’m still a Paladin meaning I can’t just sit down and do nothing.”

“But-” Flashfire started.

“No buts, no buts!” Stripped snapped. “Robotic, yes. Yes, I am. Still coming to grips with that. But as I said, I’m still a member of this crew and still a paladin of the Stars. I swore an oath, the day I first slammed this,” he said holding up his Kyutama as his morpher materialized around his wrist. “Into that. When the people of the universe cry out for help, we come running. That’s what we always do. No matter who we are, or where we came from, we come running. We’re Power Rangers, right? Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do?”

“Right…” Flashfire admitted rather humbled in his brief moment of cowardice and loss of composure. “But what are you going to do?”

“Oh, I’ll think of something…” Stripped smirked. “Toss me the Leo Minor Kyutama, I’ve got a plan. Been working on modifying that Voyager, making it useful. Can’t quite sinc it up with the Megazords just yet, -key word being yet here- but I think I can use it to blast those rocks out of the sky.”

“Good luck.” Flashfire said as he tossed Stripped the Kyutama in question.

“Say the Chan-”
“Dorado!” Stripped barked out and with a flash of yellow light morphed into the Sword Star. Heading towards the hanger bay, he climbed inside the Leo Minor Voyager and activated it before powering it up with the Antlia Kyutama. Orange lines glowed all over the cockpit before the entire floor below the Voyager opened and it was dropped into space. The benefits of the Antilla Kyutama increased the speed of the Voyager, allowing it to evade the meteorites.

“Stripped Gear!” Fågel’s voice crackled over the comms. “What in Celestia’s name do you think you’re doing? Have you finally lost it?”

“One, don’t use that name around me, and two! ...I’m saving the planet. Now do you want to help me, or not?” Stripped Gear nearly growled out.

“...Okay, okay. Just hope you know what you’re doing…” Fågel murmured.

“Of course I do, when don’t I ever?” Stripped asked in a smug little tone.

“...Yep, you’re definitely back. Alright, I’ll set all defense systems at maximum. Photon cannons should be online in just a moment.”

“Good to know, I’ll hold these things at by till then.”

“How…?” Fågel asked before muttering: “Wait, don’t answer that. Knowing you, it’s going to be something you’ll be smug about for the next week and a half.”

“Got that right…” Stripped thought. And they doubted him!

“And now for my next trick…” Stripped Gear murmured allowing his optics to narrow in on the oncoming meteorites and his brain to run through all the possibilities of survival. They were quite low… Or they were before Stripped imputed some new variables -like say the modifications to the Leo Minor Voyager.

“Super Star Combination! Leo Cannon Activate!”

Allowing it to split down the middle, the massive tail folded forwards as the entire Zord grew to the appropriate size thanks to the help of the Ursa Major Kyutama. Docking onto the back of the Shining Armor, Stripped took aim and fired off several red-toned laser blasts knocking meteorites out of the sky. When one or two slipped by him, the Shining Armor’s own weaponry took care of them before they could hit another ship or the planet below.

Finally, Stripped Gear allowed himself to relax as the meteors stopped coming and snapped his fingers. “Checkmate. ...Oh yeah, still got it. Robot or not… I’m still me. That's one thing that'll never change...”

Part 22: Under Cover of Darkness Part 1

Author's Notes:

Okay, huge thanks to Thunderclap for his help on a certain section of the chapter. He knows the one. Anyways, from here on in I'm going to try and make Celestia repent for her vast errors in judgment. Whether or not it works, that's up to you I think.

“Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like

“On a, Jupiter and Mars
In other words, hold my hand
In other words, baby, kiss me…”

This was the song that reverberated throughout Stripped Gear’s lab, the unicorn robot humming it to himself as he attempted to finish the Sun and Moon Kyutama. Flashfire had put together a team and even now was flying under cover of darkness towards the communications hub. In essence, this hub controlled all of the communications in this section of the universe and if it were to be sabotaged Eriedrone would have been dealt one major blow.

Stripped wasn’t worried. Flashfire knew what he was doing, everyone knew their assigned tasks. Stripped wanted to go with him as part of the team, but Flashfire had shut him down outright saying Stripped was needed back here, developing new Kyutamas. Privately, Stripped wondered if Flashfire was still concerned about his psyche regarding recent revelations and all.

Pah! Stripped thought to himself, he was being a worrywart as ever. Flashfire could worry about the tiniest things sometimes, no matter how minute they were in the long run. Okay, yes sure a few of Stripped’s memories were falsehoods to keep him from catching on about what he really was but he was fine, really!

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that and you may start to actually believe it…” Stripped thought to himself. To be honestly sure with himself, he wasn’t quite sure how alright he actually was. Every so often, he caught himself looking in the mirror just to make sure he was still flesh and not showing any machinery. Shame? Was that it? Could a robot even feel shame?

Even as he worked through the late night, Stripped Gear’s weariness began to take over and soon he found himself drifting off to sleep. A restful sleep though, it would not be.

Stripped found himself on a table, hospital table in a darkened room. Shadowed forms moved about beyond his field of vision. Muffled words and phrases were spoken. A slow beeping of a heart monitor was audible.

Stripped Gear tried to move, but found himself strapped to that table.

“What… What’s going on?” he whispered, frantically and without hesitation. “Let me go!”

Dark Matter, that had to be it. They must have somehow gotten aboard the Shining Armor and had captured him while his guard was down. Yeah, that had to be it.

“Warning you right now, this is a grave mistake you’re making here! Trust me, when my friends come, and they will, you lot will be in for quite the nasty surprise!” Stripped barked. “Hell,” he continued a small smirk coming to his face. “I bet you a few bits I’ll be out of here within a few seconds, just you watch! I’m a genius you know, like a bonafide, certified genius! I created more than a few Kyutamas, and give me a few seconds I can probably whip one up that’ll lockpick every one of these restraints!”

“Genius is something earned, not programmed into a machine,” one of his captors replied, hot breath felt on Stripped Gear’s face. If he had blood, it would’ve froze. He recognized that voice, and it wasn't anyone from Dark Matter.

“F-Flashfire, what are you doing here?” Stripped whispered. “Get me out of this!”

“Can't do that, cher ami,” Sarcasm dripped off that last word, the red unicorn leaning back to reveal a grin of his own. “We're here to take a quick look at what makes you tick. Won't be long.”

Stripped Gear’s optics widened, and he tried to conjure up some magical energy only to realize to his horror that his horn had been chopped up and was lying off to the side on a table.

“Y-You can’t do this,” Stripped Gear shouted, his breathing becoming faster with each passing moment, his heart beating that little bit faster. “There’s… There’s regulations about this!”

Regulations that Stripped Gear, well he was all too aware he ignored when he and Jabari took apart that Dark Matter robot. Granted, maybe there was something to be said about it being an enemy or spoils of war or it being thought to be dead, but in hindsight…

“You’ve ignored your fair share of regulations,” Flashfire countered, seeming to pick up on Stripped's own thoughts. “Besides, it's not like we're doing anything cruel. Can you even really feel pain?” he questioned. Around his neck was the Dorado Kyutama hanging by a little chain. Stripped Gear let out a little hiss at this, and his anger and fear only grew at the sight of his Kyuchanger being placed off to the side.

“We went to school together, we were best friends!” Stripped Gear shouted, even as another figure moving about in the darkened room came into view. Stripped scoffed. Of course, ‘Prince’ Stardust himself. His creator for lack of a better word. Of course, he of all ponies would be here, the arrogant little arse.

“You were merely programmed to be friendly towards him,” Stardust dismissed, showing off some bits of wire. “A being of wires and servos can only mimic the thoughts and feelings of flesh and blood and bone and soul. You have none of those things,” he stated in a cold, clinical tone.

“Well, it could be argued that…” Stripped trailed off, trying to stay even that little bit defiant. Maybe if he got them thinking, they’d release him. “Seriously, it could. Don’t all living beings have a soul of some sort? ...Well, except maybe you of course,” Stripped said looking towards Stardust.

“You're not a living thing, you're a machine,” Stardust answered. “Given memories and the facade of emotions before being set out into the galaxy.”

“Oh, I’d argue machines are still alive in a sense. They think, and if you prick me, do I not… bleed?” Stripped asked. “Oil, or whatever sure but it’s still blood in a sense.”

“You're grasping at feeble straws,” Stardust said, grabbing at tools. “You know all too well that oil serves a completely different purpose than blood. And, unlike a real living thing, if you're destroyed, everything you are can be rebuilt. Life is precious because it is finite and unique; you're neither of those things.”

“Finite and unique,” Stripped said. “I’d say that describes everything in this galaxy, no this universe. Yes, everything has it’s time, and everything and everyone is different, but is this such a bad thing? Think about it, you created me just as an experiment, -you playing God- but as I’ve proved I’ve grown beyond that. I’ve helped you both in saving the universe. Created your weapons, your suits, your gear…”

“A machine built to take in information doing just that isn't special. One doesn't stand in awe when a toaster makes toast the perfect golden brown,” Flashfire stated taking a sip of his coffee. “Believe you me when I say this mon cher ami, I take no pleasure in doing this.” he continued moving a machine with a mechanical arm tipped in a drill over to him.

“Then why…?” Stripped trailed off.

“Orders are orders, and I admit I have some curiosity that needs to be satisfied. Like, just how pony are you? Or are you more machine than stallion?” Flashfire asked taking another sip. “You have to admit, even to yourself, you have to wonder these things from time to time,” he remarked casually as if this wasn’t really all that bothersome to him. “You’d do the same to me, I’m sure…”

“No… No, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t take and rip apart a friend just to satisfy any form of curiosity!” Stripped pleaded tears leaking down the sides of his face.

“And if I was not a friend?” Flashfire asked. “What then?” He put his cup down, positioning the drill to Stripped's forehead. Stripped had noticed the bottom half of his body was being slowly removed from the top. “Rhetorical question; you already showed what you'd do on that Dark Matter robot. If you really believed what we're about to do is wrong, you'd have never done it yourself.”

“Wait, wait… Maybe we can talk about this!” Stripped continued to plead.

“Eh, the time for talk is over, I’ve got an experiment to conduct!” Stardust stated cheerfully fully ripping away Stripped’s bottom half. “And don’t worry, I’m sure your replacement Ranger will do just fine…”

With that, he lowered the drill towards Stripped’s face as it began to spin up…

Stripped shot up with a start, panting and sweating and feeling somewhat sick to his stomach. Walking over to a nearby sink basin, he quickly began running cold water to his face before recoiling as he saw not flesh and fur but steel and wires. Letting out a scream of fear, he pulled the tap from the sink and held it in his hands for a few moments before tossing it away. With that, he sunk to the floor whispering all the while.

“I’m a pony, aren’t I…?” he whispered to himself over and over.

Meanwhile, unaware of what exactly was going on back on the Shining Armor with his friend Flashfire and his team had landed inside the hub’s hanger bay. Carved out of a massive asteroid, the entire place seemed to be virtually unguarded and almost nothing seemed to work. Even the lights were at a low hue -just barely illuminating the long empty corridors- which gave everyone involved in the whole matter an uneasy feeling.

Coldcast and Fågel trained their weapons around corners, ready to strike if needed. “I don’t know about this,” the Doctor murmured to himself scanning the area with his sonic. “I’m one for adventuring, and discovering new things but this entire place right here… I don’t like it.”

“Yeah, neither do I…” Flashfire murmured flashlight in hand before he pulled out a pistol and pointed it down a hallway as he heard the sound of retreating footsteps. Sadly, he saw nothing. Swearing softly to himself, he reholstered his weapon. “Oh, what I’d give to actually see my foe in front of me… Least I know who I’d be attacked by…”

“You know,” the Doctor began, starting to babble in his outright nervousness. “Almost every species in the universe has an irrational fear of the dark, but they're wrong because it's not irrational.”

“Yeah, it’s common sense, basic survival instincts,” Flashfire remarked. “You don’t know what’s in the dark, so you don’t know what’s coming to get you.”

“No, it’s not that. It’s what’s in the dark, it’s what’s always in the dark. It's Vashta Nerada,” the Doctor murmured. “Trust me, they’re always there. You can sometimes see them, those little dust particles in the air. That’s them.”

“B-But they don’t harm anyone…” Fågel trailed off gripping her axe ever tighter. “Do they?” she asked nervously, not sure she really wanted to know.

“Oh, they’re on every planet and every species needs to feed somehow. More often than not, you don’t notice when they feed. Sometimes a hiker goes missing here or there, or a camper but…” the Doctor commented before shrugging. “C’est la vie. For them anyways.”

“I take back what I said. I long for the days when we didn’t have you,” Flashfire stated. “My team was never freaked out quite so often. Now, if you’re not going to shut up, can you at least make yourself useful and actually tell us what to expect, aside from the boogeyman in the closet? Like who runs this place?”

“Okay, it’s generally a higher ranking magistrate, someone the Karō trusts with the utmost implicitly. Generally very competent at what they do, and generally very dangerous. Which is why I’m nervous, because normally we’d have been detected by now. But it’s all quiet as you can see… Or not see rather.” the Doctor explained.

“...So that’s why you’re placing the blame on these Vashta Nerada creatures right?” Coldcast asked, his eyes briefly looking upwards getting the feeling he was being watched. “Por el sol y la luna …” he muttered. “So let me ask you this Doctor, how do you know Dark Matter doesn’t already know we’re here?”

“...That’s the thing, I don’t.” the Doctor admitted with more than a tinge of nervousness in his tone even as unknownst to anyone a pair of sharp yellow eyes watched them from the shadows before blinking out of existence.

Meanwhile, back on the Shining Armor Pharynx and Flurry were in the middle of a spar. Flurry, sweatpants and sports bra while Pharynx just went shirtless. Kyutamas hanging around their necks as ever, the two went head to head fists and hooves meeting each other in a flurry of motion.

Wiping the sweat off his face, Pharynx finally relented. “Let’s… Let’s take five m’kay?” Pharynx requested wiping his face off with a wet towel. “Besides… Besides I’ve got more important things on my mind…”

“Explains why you couldn’t keep up, usually you do give me a run for my money,” Flurry remarked as she sat down on a nearby bench. “So, what’s on your mind? Gotta be something heavy really… Usually, you don’t give a damn about anyone’s problems. Usually.”

“Not true, I just pretend not to care, but don’t let that get out okay?” Pharynx pointed out. “I’ve got a reputation to uphold here!”

“Noted,” Flurry chuckled. “Severely noted.”

“Anyways, it’s about Stripped. Been hearing up and down the ship he hasn’t removed himself from his quarters since he discovered his true nature,” Pharynx replied. “Starting to get worried actually…”

Normally Flurry would have made a joke about not knowing how Pharynx cared, but considering the seriousness of the situation, she decided against it.

“Yeah… same here…” Flurry admitted. “Discovering you’re a robot and nobody ever bothered to tell you…?”

“Yeah, it’s gotta weigh on the psyche. Sure, he’s about as cheerful and possibly insufferable as ever at least on the surface, but I’d be willing to take a bet he’s just putting up a mask. A revelation like that, it’d rock anybody’s world and throw them for one Hivemother of a loop. Doubt he needs just a friend, -he’s got a few of those like Flashfire- he needs some reassurance really. That nothing’s changed between him and us. That we think nothing of him being a robot, that he’s still the same old Stripped Gear to us. A rock, if you will.”

“Yeah, I get what you mean…” Flurry agreed. “When my dad passed away, mom… she wasn’t exactly herself. Tried to hold herself up, and smile for her subjects but anyone could tell something was different. Same with me, tried to make it look like everything was alright but…”

“...You just couldn’t could you? One day or another, that mask broke didn’t it? For both you and your mother?” Pharynx inquired. He could only guess at what happened, given he was put in cold storage and left to be forgotten about -damn that Stardust!- long before Shining passed.

“Yeah… I just broke down crying in public one day, meeting a stallion in the Royal Guard who my dad’s organs had been donated to. He was pumping blood with the same heart my father used to have. I just broke down, right then and there…” she whispered in shame before Pharynx put a hand on her shoulder.

“To be honest, I can’t say I blame you. If it was my brother, and I’d been around long enough to see him pass and I’d stumbled upon someone using his organs I’d have probably have done the exact same thing as much as I hate to admit it,” Pharynx replied. “As much as we like to propagate it, we’re hardly emotionless rulers who just have to smile for the benefit of our subjects. We’re still thinking, living beings. Stripped, despite being mechanical in nature… he’s the same way really. He thinks like us, he bleeds like us, he shares our same fears does he not?”

“...Damn it Star,” Flurry grumbled. “Why not tell him from the start that he was a robot, why keep it bottled up all these years and just wait for Stripped to find out himself? I mean, even you with all your arrogance had to know this would end badly didn’t you…?” she asked.

“Because, he simply is that arrogant. Remember, this is the stallion who considers himself to be a national treasure. He simply doesn’t factor a lot of stuff into his plans, or treats others like they’re below him. How he could be Twilight’s child at times is beyond me honestly…” Pharynx muttered -his wings buzzing angrily- wanting to very much punch that oh so perfect Prince in his oh so perfect face.

“I suppose it’s my fault really…” the Celesti-AI admitted as she flashed into existence shame filling her words.

“No, gee… Really, you fault?” Pharynx asked sarcastically. “This is such a suuuuurrrprise…” he drawled.

“Pharynx!” Flurry hissed. “I apologize for him.”

“No, no apologies are needed,” the Celesti-AI admitted. “I admit, I do deserve every bit of scorn and punches, metaphorical or otherwise thrown my way. If I’d just kept a closer eye on my soon, instead of handing him off to tutors then maybe he may not have turned out so bad…”

“We can’t worry about what we may have done differently, we can only work to change the present,” Flurry told her aunt. “It might be a long hard road, but I think we can knock that arrogance out of your son.”

“Yeah, we think,” Pharynx huffed crossing his arms. “Emphasis on think.”

He was ignored. “Thank you, that’s all I can ask. And I will do my best to aid you in your task… As I should have been doing as a mother long before.” the Celesti-AI stated.

“There… There is something you should know if you are willing to help us,” Pharynx stated. “It was brought to my attention that at least once your son used chaos magic. This is… concerning for a multitude of reasons.

“Yes, indeed it is…”

Back aboard the communications hub, the group seemed to have reached what must have been the main room, judging from the large number of consoles in front of them along with a massive projector. What it normally projected, one could only guess.

“Okay, lot of these consoles are broken, possibly beyond repair,” Fågel analyzed before muttering to herself under her breath in her native language. “But if luck holds out, I think I can get a few of them running…”

“Yeah, if luck holds out,” Coldcast muttered. “Celestia only knows that’s something we’ve had a good amount of lately…”

“Oh, don’t be so pessimistic!” the Doctor commented helping Fågel with the repairs. “You really should be more upbeat, like me!”

Coldcast scoffed. “Right, this coming from the man who was talking about what’s always in the dark, shadow monsters out to eat you…” he muttered.

With a cry of triumph, the Doctor smiled as some of the consoles returned to life. Meanwhile, Flashfire kept watch having that same feeling that his little brother had before. That something was surely watching them.

“Coldcast?” Flashfire asked in a tone that hid a bit of nervousness. “Keep your guard up. I just got this feeling really… I don’t think we’re alone.”

“Yeah, same here. And I don’t mean dear sis and the Doctor. No, I think… There’s something else here as well. Not sure what it is,” Coldcast murmured before he let out a yelp and pulled out a pistol. “Ack! I swear, something just touched my shoulder! It was like it was there, and then it was gone.”

“Did you feel anything?” the Doctor asked whipping out his sonic and scanning the room. “Like a hot or cold spot or anything like that? Because really, most ghost stories are complete nonsense. It’s more likely a rift. A weak point in time and space. A connection between this place and another. That's the cause of ghost stories, most of the time,” he explained.

“...Who said anything about ghosts?” Coldcast asked. “And you going on about rifts in time and space… Yeah, that makes me feel so much better.” he deadpanned.

Fågel meanwhile gestured for Flashfire to come over as both Coldcast and the Doctor scanned the room but found nothing. At least for the moment. “This hub, right here… It picked up something… Not sure what, but something odd. Like… Like a signal or something. If I didn’t know better, this old communications signature… it’s Equestrian…”

“Equestrian?” Flashfire asked, raising an eyebrow. “How in the name of the Sun and the Moon could you get something Equestrian this far out? I mean, besides us? And this signal, it’s so degraded… It’s so old.”

“I know, right?” Fågel asked nodding her head. “It’s very odd. If I didn’t know better… No, it couldn’t be. I’ll ponder this another time, right now I think we better worry about dealing with this base…”

“Well, if you’re talking about sabotaging it, pretty sure the meteor storms in the area did that for us,” Flashfire murmured. “This whole place took a battering.”

“No, that’s the thing,” Fågel disagreed. “Dark Matter, they build their communications hub in the middle of an area known for meteorite storms and not expect to get battered? That’s just stupid, and they’re anything but stupid.”

“Parrot’s right,” the Doctor agreed with a little nod of his head. “If I didn’t know better… Just by observing the scorch marks on the walls not to mention the lack of any real guards -seriously, has anyone seen an Invader anywhere?- I’d almost say there was a battle here.”

“What, like everyone just turned on each other in a fit of sudden madness?” Coldcast questioned suddenly wondering if being here was a good idea.

“Possibly, yes. I can’t really say,” the Doctor admitted. “I don’t know. I don’t like not knowing things.”

“...You seem to say that a lot,” Coldcast muttered to himself. He then eyed a pair of golden eyes peeking out of the shadows and struck with his Astral Claw. “Ah, there you are!” he cried. “Knew I wasn’t being paranoid!”

A dark mass flew by him and reformed atop a computer console revealing a well-dressed man clad mostly in this midnight blue coat that hid most of his features except for a pair of glowing yellow eyes. Atop his head, he wore a top hat, and around his neck a massive tribal mask of some sort.

“Who the…?” Flashfire asked going for his sword, only to be punched backwards into a wall by a massive shadowy fist. “...Right, guessing I don’t have to go out on a limb here and guess you’re the proprietor of this place, am I right?”

“Shadios, at your service!” the magistrate said doing a little bow.

“...Bit on the nose with you, weren’t they?” the Doctor laughed before he and the others brought out their Kyutamas. “Sorry to say, but we’ll be taking this place over.”

“Go ahead and try, last idiots that did got driven off,” Shaidos remarked. “I swear, my former employers do not take me deciding to change jobs all that well. Crows!” he shouted, snapping his fingers as out of nowhere men dressed like old-time mobsters with pale white faces appeared. In their hands were either axes or tommy guns.

“Say the Change!”

Even as the Rangers morphed, they set about fighting off these new, strange footsoldiers.

“The Beast Star: Cerberus Seagreen!” Flashfire shouted as he used the Scutum and Cetus Kyutamas in combination to create a shield and then blow back some of the crows with a jet of water.

“The Howling Star: Lupus Blue!” Flashfire shouted as he went claw to claw with Shadios before kicking him backwards.

“The Armored Star: Taurus Black!” Fågel shouted as she used the Gemini Kyutama to form a clone of herself and strike down some crows. “New packaging… same old product. Losers.” she thought.

Meanwhile, the Doctor stated “The Trick-Star: Libra Gold!” kicking a crow in the face before using the Pavo Kyutama and launching peacock feathers like missiles to thin out the crowd. “Four Stars Shining in the Heavens… Space Squadron Kyurangers!”

Even as more crows and some invaders swarmed the area, Shadios turned into darkness once more and struck down the Rangers using a blinding blur of speed and chuckled. The Rangers had been soundly demorphed by this powerful attack.

“...Okay, so maybe there are in fact shadow monsters out to get you…” Coldcast muttered as he picked himself up off the floor blood dripping from his mouth.

“So, you’re the famous Kyurangers, or at least four of them,” a dark chuckle rang throughout the room as the projector came online displaying the symbol of Dark Matter before a white cloaked figure appeared. At the same time, Madako -who looked like a walking squid wearing a gas mask of all things- stepped out of the shadows with a machine gun in hand. “Have to say, I’m not impressed…”

“Don Armage…” the Doctor growled out. “So you are still alive…”

“Wait, that’s Don Armage?” Coldcast whispered. “...Lovely.”

“Yes, and you will bow in his glorious presence!” Madako laughed, a high pitched and extremely annoying laugh. “You are such jelly brains. We baited a trap, making this place look all abandoned and you fell for it hook line and sinker! You practically waltzed right in here!”

“Yes, they did didn’t they?” Don Armage asked. “I have to say, you and Shadios should be commended. You have done such fine work today, bringing me the head of the one who defeated me all those years ago…”

“It was such a pleasure, milord!” Madako laughed once more. The Doctor almost wished he were deaf, so he didn’t have to suffer from her laughter.

“Doctor, how does it feel to be in the face of utter despair once again?” Armage asked. “Surprised to see me? Credit where it’s due, you using all of your regenerations and all of the power of your previous Kyutama to defeat me almost succeeded. Almost. For that, you have my utmost respect. I’m honestly surprised you came crawling back to me with a new team, and new powers at that!”

“Yeah? Well, I’m like a bad penny in that way. I just keep on turning up!” the Doctor grunted out. “So, I see you’ve still got hangers-on like Madako here. What, too scared to do your dirty work for yourself?”

“No, it’s just I’m not really that interested in swatting what is merely a measly fly. Yes, you and your team may have freed several galaxies and planets here and there but it’s nothing in the long run. I’ve still got control over most of the universe. To put it simply, or in a term Flashfire may enjoy… You’ve been checkmated.”

With that, he vanished just as a man wearing what looked to be a plague doctor’s mask as his face and an extremely nice gold and black suit complete with top hat and cane waltzed in. And then, all Hell broke loose.

Meanwhile, back aboard the Shining Armor Stripped was still trying to balance trying to figure out what he was and finishing the Sun and Moon Kyutama.

“You know, you don’t have to go through this all alone,” the Luna-AI said as she appeared inside his quarters striding up to him and helping Stripped up off the floor. “Me and my sister, we’re here for you.” she said, and sure enough, Celestia appeared alongside her sister.

Needless to say, Stripped wasn’t pleased to see her. “Oh, look… It’s the brat’s mother.”

Celestia flinched, and Luna let out a hiss of anger briefly turning into a form that resembled Nightmare Moon but then Celestia sighed. “No, I deserved that. He’s right, I should have done more. And starting today, I will. But first, I will help you. Robot or not, you are still one of my subjects and nobody will think any less of you for not being flesh and bone. You are still Stripped Gear, remember that,” she stated firmly, pouring some of her magic into the unfinished Kyutama. How an AI was able to do exactly that, it was impossible to understand. But nevertheless, both she and Luna were doing just exactly that. Powering up this Kyutama with their own magic. “And it is my duty as your Princess to help you through your woes no matter what they may be. Whether it be helping you decide what you are or punishing my brat of a son. I am, for good or for ill Celestia Solaris.”

Luna smiled at her sister before speaking to Stripped as well.

“When you are scared, when you are brave, when you are happy, when you are sad, when you reach the darkest depths and the lowest lows, when you truly believe that every part of you is insignificant, remember that you are important, you are incredible, you are amazing. Just remember that there is still hope. There will always be light. Even in the darkest hours. Moonlight is no exception. You are illuminated no matter the circumstance. Never forget that. Now go on, the universe is waiting,” Luna stated as the finished Kyutama glowed. One side was themed after a shining red sun while the other was a golden crescent moon. “Your friends need you.”

“You’re… You’re right. I’m still not sure what I am, and it’ll be a long time before I probably do, but I do know one thing…” Stripped said slowly picking himself up off the floor and grabbing the newly created Kyutama. “My name is Stripped Gear, Dorado Yellow and the Sword Star. And I am a Paladin with a duty to the universe to free it from Dark Matter and it’s evil. I have a duty to my friends to save them from whatever darkness threatens them. And today, starting today the galaxy will burn a little brighter.” he stated, flicking his wrist and letting his Kyuchanger appear.

“Say the Change!”

“Dorado!”

Part 23: Under Cover of Darkness Part 2

“Oooh, more players to the party,” Madako cackled as she raised her gun and watched the top hat-clad man walk into the room. “You guys are so screwed now!”

Flashfire observed the man, with his plague doctor mask. He carried himself with an aura of refinement, but something about him… Flashfire would not be so proud to not admit he was more than a bit nervous just looking at him. He looked towards Shadios, and noticed the monster -despite having no visible face to speak of- seemed to be rather worried as well. Flashfire wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

“Damnit, of all times not to have the ability to perform some sort of teleportation spell…” he thought to himself. “The octopus was right, we waltzed right into a trap without knowing it! Fantastique…”

“So, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say you two know each other?” the Doctor asked having observed the same things Flashfire had. “Because really… You two do seem like old chums, mates really!” he chirped. “Did you two use to get together and play DnD or something? ...Oh, is that what this is, a game night after you kill us kinda thing?”

The man in the plague doctor mask shot a look at the Doctor as he leaned a little on his cane. “Don’t presume to know what brings me to your world, I have no desire to play this… peculiar game you speak of.”

“...Now would be a very good time to leave,” Fågel murmured as Invaders and Crows swarmed around the foursome. “Let these two fight it out. Clearly, they have some issues to resolve. Besides, the crossfire? Might just destroy this communications hub. Job done for us really, sabotage complete.”

“Yeah, I don’t think they’d let us leave,” Flashfire muttered. “Besides, if we take control over this station we can relay our own messages to the rest of Eriedrone’s quadrant. Might even inspire an uprising or two!”

“Since when did you take up this hero shtick?” Fågel asked. “Our job is to protect the colony ships as they find a new home!”

“Yeah, so that’s the way it started, yes,” Flashfire muttered. “But my ideals changed soon as these idiots started threatening my people. My people. Besides, we’d never get any peace as long as Dark Matter rules the galaxy. So, they have to go.”

“You jelly brains done talking amongst yourselves on how you’d like to die?” Madako asked. “Invaders, get them!” she barked, and the grunts pointed their laser rifles at the Rangers.

“Yes… Before you do all that,” the plague doctor masked man stated. “I’d like to call a halt to these proceedings. There are things that must be… discussed.”

“Bah! Discussion time’s over, my Lord wants me to kill any who interfere in Dark Matter’s operations!” Madako shouted, firing her weapon at the man. “And that means you!”

The masked man dodged the attack and steadied himself back up. “It’s treason then, and the Shadow Line does not tolerate traitors,” he said as he tapped his cane on the ground twice and swirling darkness appeared around him as humanoid figures dressed in black with white faces and black hats pulled over them appeared holding axes and tommy guns. “Crows, open fire!”

Fågel and Coldcast took to dealing with the Crows while Flashfire and the Doctor dealt with the Invaders, Flashfire using the Scutum Kyutama to throw up a shield to block their laser fire.

“Aren’t you a unicorn?” the Doctor asked, using his crossbow like an axe to thin out the forces. “Can’t you do magic?”

“Well… Yes…. No! Look, it’s a bit of sore point with me! We’ll talk about this later okay?” Flashfire stated using the Ursa Major Kyutama to enlarge himself to the size of a small giant and thin out the herd as it were smacking and kicking away Invader and Crow alike.

“You’re a unicorn who can’t do magic? Well, there’s irony for you…” the Doctor muttered.

“And you’re a Doctor who doesn’t heal people, so touche!” Flashfire said before he let out a yelp as Madako pulled out a cat-o-nine tails and pulled him down to the floor with a loud crash. She chuckled and took the Ursa Major Kyutama from his grasp.

“Think I’ll be taking this one, it’ll go along great with the others we have!” she laughed doing a little skip pocketing the Kyutama before firing her weapon at Coldcast who just barely blocked the shots with Flashfire’s sword. Coldcast yelped as he just barely ducked to avoid a thrown top hat, which would have cleaved his head clean off. The hat whirled towards Shadios who grabbed it with a massive claw before tossing it back towards the masked man.

“You always were a poor throw Baron!” Shadios mocked. “Now get off my base!”

“You’re nothing more than an upstart,” the Baron said as he gripped his cane tight and drew out a sword that swirled with dark energy. “You abandoned your duty to the Emperor and our Empire, and for that, you will suffer.”

“Anyone else get the feeling we got in the middle of something we shouldn’t have gotten in the middle of?” Fågel deadpanned, manhandling -or rather womanhandling- Madako before tossing her into a nearby console.

“...About par for the course for us really... “ Flashfire murmured engaging the Serpens Kyutama and sending a swarm of spectral snakes towards this so-called Baron. Shadios had already fled and it seemed Madako was taking the same route. Sure, Kyurangers she could handle but Kyurangers and a new face who she didn’t know a thing about? She figured it was wiser to flee. She had a prize she could take back to Don Armage anyways.

The Baron spun his cane sword around and slashed through the spectral snakes as if they were nothing. “You’re going to have to try harder than that,” he said with a growl as he pointed his sword at them. “You’re fortunate that I have bigger things to deal with here than you right now, I will deal with you once the traitor is eliminated.”

“Look, maybe we can strike a deal,” Flashfire said putting away his Kyutama. “See uh… Shadios is sort of an inconvenience for us. We sorta want him gone as well.”

The Doctor slapped his hand to his face. “...Oh, and here we go, making deals with the villains. I can’t tell you how many possible ways this could go wrong…”

Flashfire ignored him. He was a pragmatic sort, and he could definitely take advantage of this situation really. Here he had someone who wanted Shadios gone just as much as he did, and he could -with a bit of effort- turn this sort of chaos to his advantage. Considering he didn’t know if backup was coming, he needed an edge.

“You would strike a deal with the Empire of the Shadow Line?” The Baron asked as he glanced at Flashfire. For a moment he looked like he was thinking about it before sheathing his cane sword and took out an old looking pocket watch that he opened up and looked at with a frown. “Shadios betrayed the Grand Design, and I only have so much time left I can remain in this world right now.”

“How so?” the Doctor asked out of curiosity. He wasn’t pleased with the whole idea, but he could see the advantages. If Nero was on a time limit that Shadios had somehow worked around… Well, that did solve two problems. One, it gave them a possible clue on how to beat Shadios and secondly it meant Nero couldn’t stay forever.

“Your reality is toxic to my kind, as it is to Shadios,” he answered as he closed his pocket watch. This was a potential opportunity for him, all he needed to do was buy time. “Shadios must have figured out a way around this. Very well, I will send what support I can to deal with Shadios as well. He likely has a device on his body that serves as a personal life support device, if you take that out, he will have four hours before the universe kills him.”

“Nice to know. However… Given what we’ve seen so far I think you’re more than enough,” Flashfire commented. Personally, he’d like to keep as many of these Shadow Line guys out of this as possible. On one hand, he knew the dangers of allying himself with this guy, but on the other Nero seemed like the type to keep his word. “So, I assume we have a deal then?”

“We have a deal, I will need to return to my base of operations to avoid my own death, however,” Nero said as he nodded a little. He reached into his pocket and took out a strange looking device and tossed it to Flashfire. “That’s a communication device, I’ll get in touch with you once I can return.”

With that, a sound like a train’s whistle filled the air before a black blur rushed by and Nero was gone.

“You’re not serious about this whole enterprise are you?” the Doctor asked, Fågel nodding along with him as the foursome walked through the hallways. “That guy… Seriously, he’s hardly the trustworthy sort. Call me paranoid, but I’ve just got a bad vibe from him just standing even near him, and you’re allying yourself with him?”

“Course I don’t trust him, I trust him about as far as I can throw him which believe you me isn’t very far,” Flashfire replied. “But right now… We don’t have much of a choice do we?” Flashfire asked. “Think about it, do you see any help coming? Not saying we’ve been abandoned -hardly!- I’m just saying we might not get help for a really long while. We need an edge over Shadios, and a guy who can hide in the shadows indefinitely is a definite problem don’t you agree Doctor?”

“Yes, but you’re essentially making a deal with the Devil,” the Doctor said with a frown. “He likely has an ulterior agenda. Who’s to say when he fled, he didn’t go off somewhere to work on whatever that may be?”

“I have more respect for a man who lets me know where he stands, even if he's wrong, than the one who comes up like an angel and is nothing but a devil,” Flashfire refuted. “The Baron is the man in this scenario, and you are the Devil. Since you’ve come onboard this crew, I’ve never been able to trust you properly. You’ve always had something to hide. Yes, you claim to be a Time Lord, but I have seen nothing that demonstrates this and you claim to have defeated Don Armage in the past -and while he seems to acknowledge this- you have said very little of what transpired back then. For all we know, you may be in part responsible for letting Armage rise to power. Or you may be a liar. I do not know. For all I know, you may be a mole, a trickster sent in here to invade our ranks and report back to Armage on our actions. We have seen our fair share of trouble since you came onboard after all.” Flashfire stated.

“Woah, woah…” Coldcast stated eyes widening slightly. “You’re not seriously suggesting what I think you are… Are you? Those acts of trouble, just random coincidence or us actually engaging Dark Matter and them retaliating in some way.”

“Maybe, maybe not. I don’t know,” Flashfire said. “That’s just the thing, I really do not know a damned thing about you Doctor and that’s what makes me very distrusting of you right now…”

“Fair enough. And I trust you, for the simple reason of what you said. You at least let me know where you stand, unlike that Nero chap,” the Doctor replied before he held up a hand for the foursome to stop. “And if it makes you feel any better…”

Flashfire, Fågel, and Coldcast peeked their heads from behind a corner out to see a large group of Strongindavers guarding their Voyagers. They quickly hid before they could be seen by the group.

“...It’s not like any of us are going anywhere fast are we?” the Doctor finished. “So, whether you like it or not until we get out of out latest fix… you’re stuck with me.”

“Joy,” Flashfire muttered quickly using the Perseus Kyutama to allow everyone to blend into the environment as a squadron of Strongindavers marched past cudgels in hand. The effect, while it only lasted a short time did allow them enough time to quickly get away before they could be discovered.

“...It’s only a matter of time before they find us, you know,” the Doctor commented. “We can’t spend our time running and hiding forever. And that’s presuming that Baron keeps his word. That device he handed you, may be just a fancy piece of junk.”

“...Well, not like we have much choice do we?” Fågel commented. “I mean, Shaidos… He’s pure shadow and we can’t force him out of that state. Unless of course, someone were to attack him with magic…” she said looking towards Flashfire.

“Yes, how is it you can’t exactly perform magic,” the Doctor inquired. “I thought that all of you Equestrians could do that?”

Flashfire’s eyes narrowed. The way he worded that, it sounded like the Doctor had run into an Equestrian before. Long before he met up with any of them. How that was possible he wasn’t quite sure yet. But all the same, he explained. “Much as I hate to talk while there’s every possibility that we’re in a situation where the walls literally have ears… I suppose I owe a few of you an explanation…”

“You don’t have to tell them if you don’t want to…” Coldcast said to his older brother in a reassuring tone. “It’s your secret to keep.”

“Not when it starts endangering my team, it isn’t,” Flashfire said. “...Okay, basically my problem is… I have a genetic disorder. Comes from one side of the family, the Glimmer side to be accurate. Skips every few generations or so, and I got lucky enough for it not to skip mine. It’s a mutation in the nerve cells of the horn. As you know, In unicorns, the horn contains a higher number of blood and special nerve cells than any other part of the body. Sure, yes other parts of the body have magic but to be precise It's just the horn is the part that has the most magic. That’s why Stripped Gear, despite being a robot can perform spells. And in my case, the mutation kept the nerve cells from developing enough for me to perform any real magic. You might as well chop off my horn and turn me into an Earth Pony for all the good I can do with spellwork…” Flashfire whispered before the Doctor embraced him in a hug. A thick, bear-like hug really. Sorta a glomp really.

“I’m sorry… I really am,” the Doctor whispered after releasing him. “...I… I never knew. If I did, I wouldn’t have-”

“Please, I don’t want any pity thrown my way. I’ve learned to deal with my lot in life, and that’s that.” Flashfire stated, awkwardly shuffling his hooves before adjusting his jacket. “Now come on, best we get moving before we’re found…”

With that, they set off again. Meanwhile, up in space Stripped was traveling towards the communications outpost in his Voyager, the newly created Sun and Moon Kyutama in hand. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Pharynx asked over the comms. Princess Celestia had been kind enough to inform him of the state she had found Stripped Gear in. “I know you don’t like pity, but I am very concerned with you as a friend. You’re in an existential crisis right now, and while I may be cold to a fault I am very concerned with you going out onto the battlefield in the state you are in.”

Stripped sighed. While he was glad both Pharynx and Celestia were concerned about his welfare, he could take care of himself. And right now… Well, he had bigger worries than his own psyche. “Go bother your own subjects, your own hive Pharynx. Existential crisis… Yes, it’s true I’m in the middle of that and no normal person would let me out onto the battlefield we do not have much choice do we?” he refuted.

“As ship’s consular, I’m taking you under advisement and I will be keeping an eye on you,” Pharynx stated. “I do not like the idea of someone in your state of mind going out onto-”

“Again, I hear what you’re saying but right now there are bigger problems at hand. We haven’t heard back from Flashfire and his team and that is a worry. And right now, I’ve got the only ship who can get to them fast enough with this new Kyutama and possibly save them.”

“And what if they are no longer able to be saved?” Pharynx asked. “I don’t like thinking about it as much as you do, but you have to consider the possibility that Dark Matter may have killed them by now.”

“Then if that’s the case, I’ll not just complete the mission in their place, but avenge them. Stripped Gear out,” he said in reply cutting off the communications link. He saw the asteroid out his view port, this massive jagged rock bigger than all the rest. He also saw two cannons popping into view, rocks moving out of the way to reveal them. Stripped Gear began to get multiple warning lights, saying that they had locked onto him. He chuckled. So, that was the way they wanted to play it was it? Pressing a button on his center console, the Voyager became like a gold comet and scythed through the cannons with a powerful cutting motion before turning around and heading towards the hanger bay. A squadron of Strongindavers rushed up to meet him, rocket launchers in hand before Stripped engaged the autopilot and let them have it with a set of torpedos. Then, the floor below his seat opened up and Stripped Gear jumped down into the hanger and engaged his Dorado Impact sending a series of yellow energy blades towards the remaining soldiers taking them down.

Grasping the Sun/Moon Kyutama tightly in his hands, Stripped broke off into a sprint down the hallways cutting down any foot soldiers who opposed him with his sword.

To his surprise however, shadows in front of him moved and twisted before punching him squarely in the face and reshaped themselves into the form of Shadios.

“Well now, so there’s a fifth Equestrian rat in my maze…” the former Shadow Line soldier chuckled darkly. He created a massive claw poised to strike, and Stripped braced for death…

However, the next thing Shaidos knew was a shockwave of pure energy sending him flying back. Stripped looked up and saw the Doctor, sonic pointed directly at the creature.

“Now do you trust me?” he asked Flashfire.

“Maybe a little,” Flashfire remarked drawing his blade and together he and Stripped began forcing Shaidos back into the main communications room. “Et nous voilà à nouveau. Comme un rond point, cette…” he muttered just as the device the Baron had given him beeped.

“Everything is ready on my end, what’s the situation?” the Baron asked as everyone morphed.

“We have engaged Shaidos,” Flashfire said, even as the being turned into shadow once more. “Attempting to deal with him, although your help would not go unappreciated.”

“Who, my help?” Stripped asked with a small smile. “So glad you asked! Here, catch! The latest example of my brilliance, comin’ at you!” he said tossing the Sun/Moon Kyutama like a fastball and it landed squarely in Flashfire’s Kyuchanger.

“Solar Mode!”

Suddenly, Flashfire felt a burning heat envelop him before his cape burned away, and a blazing light emitted from his helmet making Shaidos scream in pain as he reformed into a more solid shape. Sun-like ornaments were now jutting out of Flashfire’s helmet.

“Shining Star! Solar Cerberus Seagreen!” Flashfire called and he smirked as Shaidos staggered backwards.

“The light… it burns!” he screamed. “Turn it off!”

“Yeah, that’s the power of Celestia’s sun for you!” Stripped shouted before leveling his blade at Shaidos and doing a little snap of his fingers. “Now, as Flashfire would say… I believe it’s time to test your luck!”

A loud train whistle cut through the air and the Baron appeared once more wisely standing behind Flashfire. “Luck has nothing to do with it, I think. Just pure and simple science. We Shadow Line members spurn the light. Shadios, you’ve made your final mistake, and we’re here to make sure you pay for it.”

He threw his hat once more, and knocked Shaidos to the ground and just as the Shadow Line member was recovering, the Baron recovered his hat and fired a large blast of pure dark matter towards Shaidos.

Amazingly, the creature was still standing.

“That is… interesting. It seems he has absorbed enough Tenebraean Energy to withstand attacks of even my caliber,” the Baron observed. “He will take quite a lot of power to-”

Just as he stated this, it seemed the Doctor’s suit gained a new surge of power from the light the Solar Kyutama’s power created. Glowing a nearly blinding white, the Doctor surged forwards and barraged Shaidos with a powerful series of punches before picking him up, and tossing him towards Coldcast who had pulled out a sword and was charging up an attack.

“Okay, so gold -and presumably silver as well- is affected by powerful heat and light as scientific laws would dictate,” Flashfire observed. “Now, what would happen if I threw magic into the equation?” he thought and switched modes flipping the Kyutama upside down completely revealing a new port.

“Lunar Mode.”

Now instead of a sun, Flashfire bore a crescent moon sticking out of his helmet.

“The Moody Star, Lunar Cerberus Seagreen.” Flashfire stated, noting Coldcast’s suit was the one powering up.

“That mask on his chest,” the Baron stated gesturing to it with his cane. “That’s where Shaidos is storing his Tenebraean Gathering system. Destroy it!”

He along with Coldcast leaped forwards with blades in hand and struck the monster across the chest, Shaidos letting out a sharp scream of pain.

“Goodnight mush
And goodnight to the old lady whispering “hush”
Goodnight stars
Goodnight air
Goodnight noises everywhere…” the Baron stated as Shaidos staggered forwards before falling and exploding.

Suddenly black energy rushed outwards of the creature’s fallen form and flew out through the hanger bay and began reforming into this massive black figure that began blotting out the stars behind him. Rushing to their Voyagers, the Rangers took off and began firing lasers at the reforming creature.

“Power levels… they’re skyrocketing on this guy! I don’t know what’s going to happen as soon as he reforms completely!” Stripped shouted as his sensors went haywire. “And to be honest, I’d rather not be the one to find out!”

“Well, you know the drill by now ladies and gents. Megazord time. Activating Shooting Star Megazord combination sequence,” Flashfire commanded as he saw the Wolf and Bull Voyagers running below him, before the back halves tilted upwards. The Cerberus Voyager linked up with them complete with small hisses of steam. The Libra Voyager connected to the Megazord’s right arm port forming what looked to be a pair of giant buzzsaws, and the Swordfish Voyager, the left giving the mecha a massive blade. Finally, the central head on the Cerberus had its jaw fold down, revealing a mouthplate covered face, with two stoic yellow eyes staring the three massive shadow being down. “Alright then, let’s dance.”

The Baron, for his part simply observed the situation.

“Rangers, such, curious beings…” he said as he leaned on his cane and stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment. Above him, the two massive beings went sword to claw. “Perhaps they may yet be a problem for us though. Especially this bunch...”

“Sorry we’re not seeing eye to eye here!” Shaidos shouted, throwing open his coat and revealing a huge number of eyes -uncountable really- that fired laser beam after laser beam at the Rangers. The Megazord shook from the barrage, alarms ringing throughout the cockpit and lights flashing red.

“Alright, that’s it…” Flashfire stated as he made the Megazord strike the monster across the chest. “Through playing around. Let’s finish this!”

The Megazord surged forwards even as Shadios fired eye-laser after eye-laser at it or threw asteroids at it. Slicing through the lobbed rocks or using the Scutum Kyutama to create a shield to block the lasers, the Megazord charged up its saber and sliced clean through and through Shadios. Behind the mecha, Shaidos went up in a purple explosion of Tenebraean Energy. Flashfire however, paid this no mind and leaped down towards the Baron with sword drawn.

“And now for you,” Flashfire stated, Coldcast having followed him just in case his older brother did something stupid. Usually it was the other way around, but in this case, Flashfire had a stressful week so there was no telling what he might do. “See, did you really think I’d be letting you go free? Sorry, not in this case. Needless to say, I can’t trust you as far as I can throw you. Whatever you got up to in this universe while you were gone… I’m rendering it moot. And I’m relieving you of your head.”

“Really? You think it’s going to be that simple,” Nero said as he leaned on his cane. “I am not some rank and file creature like you’ve fought before. I am one of the Court of Shadows, tasked to carry out the Emperor’s Grand Design.”

Flashfire knew not these titles, but he did know Nero probably wasn’t just boasting. And yet, he had to be stopped. “Say I let you go, what then? What damage will you do to this universe?” Flashfire asked resting his sword on his shoulder. “What would happen if I lay down and did nothing?”

“We are here because we need Tenebraean Energy,” Nero said as he eyed the two Rangers for a moment and then looked back up at the Megazord. “Had the traitor continued to draw on the needed energy then your universe would have been destroyed.”

“And you’re so different?” Flashfire asked pointing his sword at him. “You can hide from the devil, but he'll always find you. That went for Shaidos, but it goes for you as well. I am not the devil in this situation, but you are. You saying you need Tenebraean Energy, or in other words dark matter which happens to be the very stuff this universe or any other is made of… That confirmed the theory I’d been nursing since we first met you. You are just like Don Armage and his Karōs, no matter what words you use to disguise yourselves. And you must be stopped where you stand.”

“There are things you do not understand,” Nero said as he pulled his hat down over his eyes for a moment. “The Grand Design must be carried out regardless of the cost. There is no alternative.”

“And if that cost is destroying universes?” Coldcast asked, the young griffon flaring his wings in anger. He gripped his astral claw tightly in his paw. “Dude, you sound just like Armage. Trying to justify your own sick actions upon the universe even if there is no justification. The ends never, and I mean never should have to justify the means!”

“You think it’s that simple? If you were in our position then you would understand,” Nero said. “You saw what happened with Shadios, you know what happens to traitors in the Shadow Line. You say the ends should never justify the means, but sometimes they have to.”

“And never once have you ever thought of thinking for yourself, instead of obeying your Emperor's grand design? No, you’re too cowardly to do so… And instead you just want to hop from universe to universe destroying it. Time to set you straight…” Coldcast stated cracking his knuckles before slamming the Loyalty Kyutama into his gauntlet and firing a blast of rainbow-tinted lightning at Nero, who dodged and threw his hat at the griffon. Coldcast dodged once more, and slammed his claw into the ground sending two powerful slashes of energy towards Nero. Nero leaped backwards as he caught his hat once more but was blindsided by Flashfire who had sent a hoard of pink butterflies towards him.

Flashfire then sent a Regulus Impact towards Nero who could only catch it with his hands. “The hardest choices require the strongest wills,” he stated, sending a wave of dark energy towards Flashfire and Coldcast flooring them. He then threw up a bubble of dark energy around them all to prevent the other three Rangers from interfering. Grabbing the demorphed Rangers by the throats, he summoned his Kuliner. “Maybe what happens next will make you think wisely on your choices from now on. If you somehow manage to return to which you call home… Think on my words.”

The next thing Flashfire and Coldcast knew was being rushed through the walls of various worlds before being thrown headlong into a field of grass next to a lake. Across the lake sat a temple with a lion statue in the center. Behind them, Nero. “I bid you the best of wishes Rangers, and I hope you succeed on your quest of saving your universe from Dark Matter’s evil.”

With that, he summoned his Kuliner again and took off to only Celestia knew where. As for Flashfire and Coldcast, they were left wondering where they were, and how exactly they could return to where they came.

“Well, at least I’m not alone this time in being lost…” Flashfire murmured before his eyes widened as he saw a man with black hair -accompanied by this blue dog creature- walk up.

“You’re exactly right, you’re not alone…” the man smiled. “Name’s Lucky, what’s yours?”

Author's Notes:

Yes. He's here. The Super Star himself, along with Garu in tow! Well, suppose it's only fitting the adapted Rangers meet their source material right? Just for fun really. Anyways, huge thank you to RuinQueenofOblivion for co-writing this chapter for me, and more precisely doing Baron Nero right.

Normally I'm trying to do these chapters by myself here, but it wouldn't feel like a Rails of Reality crossover without her input. And believe you me, she really shined here, along with teaching me a few things about her Shadow Line that I found very interesting. My only worry is she doesn't remove them or her Rangers too far away from the Source Material in such a way that it barely resembles ToQgers.

Anyways, enough of my fretting. As ever, comments, thoughts, and critique are welcomed. And no, saying "No, not Lucky!" does not count as critique.

Part 24: Testing their Luck

Author's Notes:

Fair warning, massive spoilers for the ending of Kyurangers in this chapter, so if you're still on that series or haven't watched it... Uh, oops?

The Shining Armor:

“Explain to me what happened, all over again,” Stardust said walking along the halls of the ship. “You’re saying to me that some Baron took two of my team and tossed them only Mom knows where?”

“...Yeah, uh, that’s basically what happened,” the Doctor stated. In the background, the communications station for Dark Matter was beginning to blossom with small explosions before finally going up in a massive one that cut it clean in two. All the useable data had already been transferred off by Stripped Gear and a technical team before magical explosives had been laid and detonated. “Look, I applaud them for wanting to stop another threat, I really do, but that was just foolish.”

“And tell me Doctor,” Stardust said whirling around and poking the man in the chest with his cane. “Why didn’t you go and stop them? You consider yourself something of a savior right? So why didn’t you save my team?”

“L-Like I said, it happened too fast, and besides by the time I could do anything Nero or whatever he called himself had thrown up a barrier!”

“A barrier you didn’t even try and breach!” Stardust bellowed grabbing the Doctor by the neck and slamming him into a bulkhead. All the while, he’d grabbed the man’s sonic screwdriver and pocketed it. He figured if the Doctor couldn’t use it to save his team, he wasn’t worthy of having it. “If you’re the Doctor, the man who claims to make people better why the hell didn’t you do so in this case? You could have made them smart enough to not challenge an unknown threat on their fuckin’ bloody own!”

Panting and sweating, Stardust released the Doctor and turned around to the small crowd of crewmembers who had started to gather. “What are you looking at?” he shouted. “You’ve all got jobs to do! So… Go ahead and get back to work! Come on, we’ve got two members missing and nobody gets left behind! We will not be leaving Keel’s orbit till we retrieve our lost crewmates, got it?” he bellowed.

The crew members, mumbling to themselves under their breath and shuffling their hooves slowly departed from the corridor as Stardust threw his hands up in the air in frustration and nickered. “...Nutter.” the Doctor muttered largely to himself once the alicorn was out of earshot. But the pony was right, much as the Doctor hated to admit it. He should have done something, anything really to help and instead, he froze up for one minute too long. “Some fine excuse for a Doctor I am…”

As for Stardust, the stallion continued to grumble angerly to himself even as he reached his quarters. Flurry was waiting for himself outside to try and talk to him, but he brushed her off with a mutter of “Save it…” before collapsing on his bed, falling face forwards. Dimming the lights, he sighed and tried to get some sleep. Maybe an idea of how to help the Doctor would come to him in the morning. For now, Flashfire and Coldcast would have to fend for themselves. With any luck, they landed in some safe universe with nothing to put them in any real danger. Maybe they landed in that universe Flurry had told him about, the one with the other Rangers and those wolves. At least, if they landed in that universe maybe they could lend a helping hand to those Rangers who sounded like they needed all the help they could get.

Rolling over onto his back as he looked up to the ceiling, which displayed a holographic image of his home galaxy, a spiral formation he thought on how far the ships had come. In just a few short months, they were far away from Equus and while they were contending with the Dark Matter syndicate they’d found several planets that could house them perfectly. Keel for example. It was a heavily forested world, with a perfect atmosphere for breathing and the inhabitants didn’t really seem to mind others all that much. ...Mind you, saving them from Dark Matter may have had something to do with that, Stardust reasoned, so it might have been impossible to tell how they would have reacted in the long run. Granted, for whatever reason the planet’s spiritual leader seemed to be infatuated with Pharynx -the grumpy old ‘Ling- despite being half his age. She could probably welcome the Equestrians into the world if she wanted and soothe the people into accepting them.

Idily tossing his Draco Kyutama into the air and catching it, he sighed before a small voice in the back of Stardust’s mind asked: “So, you’re still not telling him on how you gave him the idea for the Kyutamas?”

That much was true, Stripped Gear’s ideas for the Kyutamas -at least the Skill ones anyways- were not his own. Stardust, while programming Stripped Gear had slipped a few ideas of his own into the cyborg’s brain. Personally, Stardust at times wondered why if he had the ideas for most of the Skill Kyutamas, why didn’t he create any himself and let his ‘son’ do all the work? Perhaps it was this. Perhaps maybe he wanted his 'son' to feel a sense of accomplishment at doing something? All fathers wanted their sons to make something of themselves and feel pride for them.

But the fact of the matter was, he’d implanted the ideas in his ‘son’s’ head, and had given him energy direct from the body of Discord himself calling it nebula gas and just let him run wild with it. Personally, Stardust wasn’t quite sure how Discord died in the first place, given he was a spirit of chaos and all that but Stardust often theorized maybe… maybe he’d died of a broken heart. Fluttershy being the first, but as soon as all of his other and only friends had passed he just lost that will to live. Maybe that wasn’t the case, but it was the one Stardust liked to think of being the truth. Mind you, he wasn’t proud of defiling a hero of Equus’ corpse, even if that little voice in the back of his mind told him it was for the betterment of Equestria and it’s future. To make them evolve into the heroes they needed to defeat Dark Matter or any other threats they might possibly have faced.

“Still makes me sick to my stomach though… Discord was like an uncle to me, I suppose. Don’t remember him very well, but all the same, I do have vague childhood memories of him making me laugh with his tricks. And here I am, defiling his body even if it’s for a good cause!” Stardust thought to himself in disgust.

“But when love turns to hate…” that same little voice in the back of his mind asked. “What are you supposed to do? Run away like a scared little filly, or stand and fight?”

Meanwhile, Jabari was going through the data recovered from the comms station before it went up. What he was most curious in was the possibility of an old Equestrian signal being picked up by the station and was frantically trying to patch it up. It had gotten to the point where he’d shooed all of the lab assistants out of his laboratory.

“Come on… Come on…” Jabari muttered before swearing and slamming a hand on the table. The damn signal was too old to even make heads or tails of it. “...Fucking junk Dark Matter technology and fucking junk I have to work with!” he shouted throwing his hands up in the air and choking back a sob. “...Why… Just when I had a chance to finally figure out what happened… why did everything have to crap out on me…?”

Hearing the young stallion’s sniffling as he walked past the lab, the Doctor peered his head in and his footsteps going unheard gently walked up behind Jabari.

“Hey, you alright?” the Doctor asked laying a hand gently on his shoulder. “If… If you want, I can leave…” he said. “I’ve… I’ve got other things to do anyways, like trying to redeem myself for my error in judgment earlier…”

Truth be told, he needed an excuse to leave. He wasn’t that good on dealing with crying people, stallions or otherwise. Pitiful as the sight was, the Doctor felt really awkward intruding.

“No… No,” Jabari murmured wiping away his tears. “It’s… It’s fine. Everything’s… Fine.” he muttered.

“Doesn’t look fine to me…” the Doctor trailed off, being careful about this situation. Last thing he wanted was for the zorse to turn him into something like say, a frog. He figured as intelligent as Jabari seemed to be, he probably knew how to do it. So needless to say, the Doctor was very wary on how he phrased certain things around him. “Or is a crying stallion a good thing from where you come from?” he deadpanned raising an eyebrow as he did so.

“Yeah, suppose you got me there,” Jabari admitted. “Alright, don’t know why I’m talking to you about this but-”

“Hey, I’m a trustworthy guy!” the Doctor replied. Jabari raised an eyebrow and the Doctor laughed sheepishly. “...Okay, maybe not that trustworthy.”

“...Well, no turning back at this point,” Jabari sighed. “You saw me blubbering like a little schoolfilly, so I might as well explain myself.”

“Did you have to use that particular turn of phrase? “No turning back”, that's almost as bad as “Nothing could possibly go wrong”, or “This is gonna be the best Christmas Walford's ever had!” Trust me, avoid those words if at all costs. That’s like jinxing yourself, that is,” the Doctor pointed out before Jabari glared harshly at him. “...Righty-o… Shutting up now!”

“Long long time ago, when I was just about… five years old I suppose Equus got the idea to go for space travel once again billions of years after the disaster that was the Phoenix. That explosion scared everybody straight, kept them from wanting to see the stars. Right foolish if you ask me. If you have the technology, what’s stopping you from going ahead and trying again?” Jabari asked. “But nope, nobody wanted to. If space could claim one of their heroes, what chance would some normal pony have? Now, fast forwards a couple billion years when the planet is going to freeze over and eventually become inhospitable to anyone. Space travel is suddenly looking like a very viable idea. So cue Project Mercury, or as it would later be called Project Horizons. Dear old dad… he decided to be one of the first cosmonauts to test the advances in space travel technology made since then.”

“...Oh, I can see where this is going…” the Doctor murmured to himself shaking his head.

“Yeah, it worked up to a point. The shuttlecraft launched alright, and I saw it from my vault but eventually, it lost contact with the planet. That was a little over a decade ago. Whether my dad’s dead or alive, I don’t know. But I intend to find out. That’s why I chose to become a Kyuranger, to find my father.” Jabari stated holding up an old photo of a golden-furred horse smiling heavily as he looked at a far younger Jabari playing with a toy rocket while a zebra mare looked on fondly.

“...And finding out this comms station had recorded an Equestrian transmission reignited your hopes, am I correct?” the Doctor asked with Jabari nodding in reply. “That’s good. Never give up on your dreams. Even if this lead turns out to be bunk, there will always be others out there… Somewhere amongst the stars. And I’ll help you every step of the way.”

“No. As much as I appreciate the offer,” Jabari sighed as he got up and walked off. “This is something I have to do by myself. No ifs and or buts about it, family matters are family matters. You understand?”

“Yeah, I suppose I do. But you have to understand this as well. Some people live more in twenty years than others do in eighty. It's not the time that matters, it's the person. Don’t always get so wrapped up in your work that you forget the people around you, and let them pass you on by.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jabari asked.

“You’ll figure it out, someday…” the Doctor said looking towards a photo on Jabari’s desk. One of him and a barely smiling white feathered griffon. “Now Coldcast, whatever could have happened to you…?”

Kyurangers Universe: Planet Luth, Kojishi System

The Doctor’s question would be answered easily enough really, considering Coldcast along with his adoptive brother found themselves walking through a grand garden. A massive castle could be seen up atop a high cliff, lion heads adorning the castle battlements every so often. Coldcast, looking at Lucky’s attire -a white coat with red lion heads- figured this was very much an intentional design choice.

“I apologize for dropping in on you like this,” Flashfire admitted. He was honestly surprised when this Lucky character didn’t even blink at him being a unicorn. If he was in a different dimension like Nero had said, then chances are Equestria may not have existed here. So he or any other unicorns for that matter probably didn’t exist either. But then again, given Garu -whom Flashfire had known to have seen aboard his ship- existed here who was to say really? “Believe me, wasn’t exactly our choice in the matter.”

“It could have been,” a nasty little voice in the back of Flashfire’s mind said. “If you hadn’t been so stupid in challenging Nero when you didn’t know what he could do. You knew he could travel dimensions, by his own admission no less!”

Flashfire made a small growl and pushed the thought out of his head. “So, you’re Lucky, is it? Interesting choice of names,” he remarked cordially. Truth be told, he was frankly feeling rather nervous. He was hardly a diplomat really, and given the fact that Lucky looked like royalty with his manner of dress and there was a castle in the background it didn’t take long for Flashfire to put two and two together. Needless to say, Flashfire didn’t want to screw this one up even if his track record with diplomacy had been less than… stellar. Personally, back on Vela Flashfire did always wonder if he’d made the right decisions liberating the people from that idiot god wannabe. Granted, he was being cruel just to be kind, but there was always that little fact that there was a very good chance the people could have turned on him, He was lucky he wasn’t lynched if he was honest even if Stripped and a few others did tell him he made the best of a really bad situation. Granted, there was a remarkably huge difference between dealing with a desperate people with a false god and a royal who seemed to be a genuinely nice person.

“Actually, I don’t mind unexpected guests,” Lucky stated in return as they walked past a small babbling brook. If Flashfire didn’t know better, he swore he saw a very tiny red lion -about the size of a toy- drinking from this brook. He blinked, must have been his imagination getting the better of him. Way too many lions around here. “Plus, me getting mad over someone dropping in me would be frankly hypocritical considering the way I er…” he stammered, his face flushing a bright red.

“Way you what…?” Coldcast asked with a slight grin.

“...I may have met my future teammates when my space speeder broke and I crash landed right in the middle of a battle…” Lucky finished, and Coldcast burst out laughing.

“Well, that’s one way to make an impression león rojo grande!” Coldcast said, and Flashfire blinked. Sometimes he forgot what nationality his petit frère was at times.

“How’d you figure out who he was so quickly, grr?” Garu asked. “He hasn’t said a word he’s Shishi Red!”

“...Wait, he’s a Red Ranger?” Coldcast blinked before idly tossing his Change Kyutama up in the air. “...Shoulda guessed I suppose. I was only making comment on the red on his coat and the ludicrous amounts of lions around here.”

“Ah, I see…” Garu trailed off watching Coldcast toss the Kyutama up in the air again. “Wait, where’d you get my Kyutama, grr?” he said reaching for it.

“Your Kyutama? This is my Kyutama!” Coldcast stated. “You’ve got one hanging around your neck, dumbass!” he shouted pointing to Garu’s neck where around it lay indeed his own Kyutama on a small chain.

“...Oh, so it is!” Garu muttered. “My bad!”

“...I’m surrounded by imbéciles,” Flashfire muttered. “Annnnnnnyyyyways, suppose I haven’t properly introduced myself. Commander Flashfire of the Shining Armor, and Cerberus Seagreen.” he said sticking out his hand and letting Lucky shake it.

“So, you’re a Kyuranger too? I didn’t know the Cerberus could be tamed completely, nor did it pick out a Ranger to pilot it… The thing ran amuck on Earth when we unearthed it, and we needed the Hercules Kyutama just to rile it back into our grasp.”

“Plus, I’ve never even heard of this Shining Armor!” Garu pointed out.

“...Right, universal differences here. I presume you, being the Red Ranger with a lion theme pilot the Leo Voyager or whatever it’s called here?” Flashfire said rubbing his head. He was beginning to get a headache. Now he saw why Coldcast mentioned how much he hated interdimensional travel. Too many constants and variables to keep track of.

“Yosh!” Lucky stated pumping his fist. “The girl has never driven me wrong yet! I presume it’s the same way with you and your Cerberus Voyager?”

“...Yes, although I don’t assign a gender to it. It’s just a machine after all.” Flashfire stated.

“...And yet I notice you call the Leo Minor Voyager boy at times…” Coldcast snickered. “Don’t pretend you don’t like it grand frère!”

“Wait, you have Caesar in your universe?” Lucky asked in surprise, his and Garu’s eyes widening briefly in shock. “...Have to say, I wasn’t expecting that. Yossha, lucky!” he shouted punching the air once more.

“...Oh, so you’re one of those hot-blooded ones?” Flashfire deadpanned. “Absolutely lovely.” he said although if you looked closely you could detect a small ghost of a smile. Lucky, in some ways -perhaps with his positive outlook and can-do attitude- did remind him of his petit frère.

“What’s wrong with being hot-blooded?” Lucky asked, grabbing Flashfire by the shoulder and pulling him close. “I mean, it gets you all fired up when something goes your way!”

“...Please don’t do that.” Flashfire stated not really pleased with his invasion of personal space. There were only two people in the universe who he allowed to get that close. Needless to say, neither one was Lucky.

Lucky and Garu just laughed as the foursome made their way up to the castle. Once inside, Lucky treated his guests to dinner. It was the only polite thing to do really. Flashfire observed Lucky did seem to adhere to the Golden Rule, namely, treat others as you would want to be treated. Not that this was a bad thing of course, Flashfire would have encouraged it but it boggled the mind to him -even an Equestrian- how someone could be this cheery or this nice!

“Then again,” Flashfire admitted. “I suppose I haven’t had much to be cheery about for a good long while…”

“So, in your universe you’re fighting Dark Matter instead of the Space Shogunate Jark Matter?” Garu asked eating some meat off a bone. “...Syrian… I thought one universe filled with those creeps was enough…”

“Hey, if they were defeated in your universe,” Flashfire said placing his Kyutama on the table. “Then chances are we can kick their derrières in our universe right?”

“If we ever get back to it, that is…” Flashfire thought, that same nasty little voice in the back of his head returning once more.

“Yeah, friendship is a powerful thing,” Lucky said doing that air punch once more. “With it, you can definitely take on the universe! If you ask me, those Dark Matter guys should really be checking their horoscopes and testing their luck against you lot.”

“Yeah, but so far we’ve only managed to free 2 and a half galaxies out of eighty-eighty. This will not be an easy job, no matter how you look at it,” Flashfire replied his eyes widening briefly when he saw that same little lion from before -this had to be Caesar- jump up on the table, grab a bite of food and start playing with the Cerberus Kyutama like it was a ball of yarn.

“Down boy!” Garu shouted with Caesar letting out a small hiss and swiping at him before a stern glare from Garu and another shout got him to obey.

“...Said from the dog to the cat.” Coldcast murmured before taking a bite of his meat. “Damn, this is good! No, seriously, this is maldita buena mierda! Spada would be jealous!”

“Wait, you have a Spada in your universe? Has he managed to open up a nine-star restaurant like he has here?” Lucky asked excitedly.

“...Trust me, if we had the time, the Changeling probably would. He’s certainly got the ability to do so,” Flashfire agreed. “He’s easily the best cook a stallion could meet, and definitely the man I’d have chosen to wield the Chameleon Green powers…”

“Wait, green? Our Spada is a yellow here!” Garu shouted in shock eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. “...I’m sorry, I just can’t imagine Spada of all people as a ninja…”

“Hey, a Changeling makes the perfect ninja. Trust me. Spend enough time around them, and even then you’ll still nearly jump out of your fur!”

“What’s a Changeling?”

“Shapeshifting bugs who come in many colors and are renowned for their stealth abilities?” Flashfire asked slowly. “...You don’t have those?”

“...Well, we might but from the sounds of it for all we know they may not be easy to find here in our universe…” Garu stated before his eyes looked towards one of the suits of armor in the dining hall. One he could have sworn was watching him. “For all we know one could be here right now! There isn’t… is there?” he asked looking towards Lucky and grabbing onto his arm nervously. “T-Tell me there isn’t!”

“I dunno... “ Lucky trailed off booping the wolf-like creature on the nose. “If there was, it’d be awfully embarrassing for us when we-”

“Please, I’d rather not hear about any of that over dinner…” Flashfire muttered rubbing his temples before taking another sip of wine. He figured he’d need it really. “Merde…”

Coldcast meanwhile was laughing his ass off, barely able to stay in his seat. Eventually, the conversation quieted down and it turned darker and more solemn. “So, if you have a Dark Matter in this universe then I can only assume you have a Don Armage as well right…?” Lucky asked swallowing nervously at the thought.

“Unfortunately yes. Right before we got sent here,” Flashfire sighed. “Me and several of my teammates had a run-in with him. Not physically mind you, but as a hologram.”

“Creepy as all hell, let me tell you!” Coldcast shuddered. “I’m amazed he’s still alive after what our Leo Red, the Doctor did to him. Apparently if what he said is corrected, he burned through all of his Kyutama’s energy and all of what his people call regenerations as well just to deliver a blow he thought would kill him.”

“Wait, there weren’t any guys named Cuervo with this Doctor of yours were there?” Lucky asked.

“No… Not that I know of, although the Doctor really doesn’t say much on his past,” Flashfire admitted. “One of the many reasons I can’t trust him really, but that’s besides the point. Why do you ask?”

“Armage… at least our Armage has a nasty little habit of possessing people. When Cuervo lay dying after this big huge battle on the planet Corvus against Armage where a friend of ours -Tsurugi- fought him, Armage decided to possess Cuervo and gain a new body in the process.”

“...:Lovely,” Flashfire muttered. “...Still, it might explain why Don Armage is still alive in our universe. When I get back to the Shining Armor, I’ll have a few words with the Doctor. After I throw him in the brig for withholding information from us!” he snarled his horn flickering a brief light green in anger.

“Wait wait, it might not be like that,” Lucky stated. “For all we know, you Armage is simply powerful enough to survive an attack like the one you described. Scary thought all the same, but if he doesn’t need to possess someone that’s good… right?”

“...Yeah, I suppose.” Flashfire admitted. “Still, possession…”

“If you think that was bad, then you’re going to love this one,” Garu stated. “Cuervo, despite framing himself as a friend to Tsurugi, was hardly anything but grr! No, all he wanted to do -the little feathered bastard- was just wanting to ride the coattails of Tsurugi's fame and be remembered in his legend. That’s all there was to it!”

“Sounds a bit like a guy from my planet’s past, Stygian. Mind you, he let himself be possessed by a dark force known only as the Pony of Shadows because he was jealous of his friends and their deeds and never being appreciated. He wasn’t a bad sort, and after he was freed from that darkness was finally recognized as the hero and strategic expert he always was.” Flashfire replied. “Somehow, I doubt that was the case for your Cuervo.”

“...I do wonder at times if Tsurugi had recognized him more things might have turned out differently, but then again from what Tsurugi told me he had nothing but fondness for him right up till the end. Hell, even after Cuervo was revealed as Armage, Tsurugi wanted to save him in a sense,” Lucky said. “...I like to see the best in people, I really do, but I don’t think there was any good in Cuervo. Tsurugi was just blinded by his memories for his friend because trust me Cuervo was not a nice person. It’s very telling that unlike Armage's other hosts, Cuervo actually maintained his complete identity, allowing Armage to use him as a host to take over and subjugate the universe. They just had personalities that similar in some aspects. That’s what he was like.”

“If I may… How was Armage finally defeated, maybe we can take a few notes here?” Coldcast asked.

“Well now,” Garu said rubbing the back of his head. “That’s quite a tale! Lucky here got the bright idea, after seeing our commander Xiao get absorbed by Armage to get all of us to throw our own Kyutamas inside him as well and see what would happen.”

“It’s slightly more complex than that, but yeah,” Lucky agreed. “Armage was apparently born from the despair and suffering of the peoples of this universe and when the twelve Kyutamas were thrown inside him he had a bit of a breakdown and then absorbed everyone else. Needless to say, this backfired on him quite badly. Granted, it took quite a bit of luck on our parts, but we managed to convince everyone he absorbed to fight back and empower us with their hope. And in the end…?”

“You took the universe back,” Flashfire smiled. “Goddess above, chances are I’d have to see that to believe it, but it doesn’t sound like something you can make up due to how outright weird it actually is. Sounds exactly like something out of an old horror novel, your Armage. Complete eldritch abomination, him. Which scares me even more to think about what our Armage is like…” he sighed having suddenly lost his appetite putting down his fork and moving his salad bowl away. “Lucky, if I may…?”

“Sure,” he said. “Ranger to Ranger right?” he asked leading Flashfire away from the two blue Rangers. Behind them, as they walked they could hear the sound of both Garu and Coldcast morphing and then a shout.

“Hey, we have the same costume!” Coldcast exclaimed in delight.

“I know right! Garu, Ookami Blue! You?”

“Coldcast Lulamoon-Bredsida, Lupus Blue!”

Flashfire and Lucky shared a laugh at the two’s antics even as Lucky led Flashfire out onto a balcony, only the stars above them as the two stared out at the great expanses of vast forests and lakes that made up this part of Luth.

“...So, what’s the issue?” Lucky asked.

“Gah, I don’t even know anymore… Leadership doubts maybe? It’s just I keep on making stupid mistake after stupid mistake. Like for example, challenging the Baron who threw me and Coldcast here without any real plan aside from pummeling his ass into the ground.”

“You learn to live with it, and keep going,” Lucky said. “God knows I’ve had doubts about my capabilities more than once. But Xiao, he told me this really. I can still hear him, even now saying this to me. “Lucky… Leadership is hard to define and good leadership even harder. But if you can get people to follow you to the ends of the earth, you are a great leader. Ultimately, leadership is not about glorious crowning acts. It's about keeping your team focused on a goal and motivated to do their best to achieve it, especially when the stakes are high and the consequences really matter. It is about laying the groundwork for others' success, and then standing back and letting them shine.” I kept those words to heart, and even if I made mistakes I still accepted them. It’s par for the course of being a leader, nobody’s perfect. You make mistakes, you stumble, but then you pick yourself right back up and learn from them.”

“I know, and forgive me if I sound like I’m whining here but sometimes it feels like I have-”

“The whole world at your back?” Lucky nodded. “Pushing you, and it keeps putting pressure onto you? Yeah… Been there. But I’ve learned to deal with it. Part of being a leader, and in my case a King as well.”

“Yeah. A wise man once said, very wise in fact… He said this. “A man does what he must - in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures - and that is the basis of all morality.” Flashfire agreed. “We do not let our worries, our fears, our choices define us. We define them. We decide what to do with our worries, and shove them to the wind to be what we are needed to be…” Flashfire stated. “...Now, if only I could listen to myself more often. Instead, I have to keep having friends knocking sense back into me.”

“That’s what they’re for, to pick you up when you fall,” Lucky agreed. “To be honest, I’m proud to include you in that list. Friendship doesn’t have to be contained to one universe after all…” he smiled before that smile faded. “And truth be told, I could use an extra hand or two at the moment.”

“Eh?” Flashfire asked.

“It’s about my kingdom. Something’s been going on, something… odd.” Lucky said, resting his hands on the wrought-iron balcony railing. “Fires with no discernable causes. I was hoping to contact my friends in the Rebellion but for right now I wanted to handle this on my own. But that’s gone far enough. A village burned down just last week. I was going to send a message to Xiao and see if he could send anyone but then you guys showed up distracting me from doing so. And seeing as how you and Coldcast are Kyurangers in your own right…” Lucky trailed off with Flashfire nodding in return as Caesar leaped up on his shoulders.

“Well, nothing more needs to be said there,” Flashfire smirked adjusting his coat. “Trust me, it shouldn’t even be a question. People are in danger and need help? That sounds like the job of a Kyuranger right there. Tomorrow, when we’re all rested we’ll go to the scene of the latest attack and see what’s what okyu?” Flashfire asked.

“Okyu!” Lucky said giving a thumbs up before fist-bumping Flashfire. “...Your Xiao does that too?” he laughed.

“Nope, don’t have a space dragon to help us. Instead, we have a pretentious as all hell prince who thinks he’s the Goddess gift to ponykind. Lovely…” Flashfire stated in a tone of complete and utter disgust thinking on what Stardust would look like with a broken nose. It was a very nice fantasy. “But anyways… I promise you this case will be solved. In fact… Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” he continued making Lucky blink.

“Uh…?” he trailed off rather dumbfounded.

“...It’s an Equestrian thing, don’t question it.”

As promised, and quite possibly a case of avoiding idle hands setting in both Coldcast and Flashfire walked down into the villages that very next morning. Or what remained of them anyways. Every last building had been burnt to a crisp, with only the basic foundations left.

“...Okay, this is odd,” Flashfire observed. “No, like seriously this is really odd.”

“Eh?” Garu asked. “It’s a burnt down village. What’s so odd about that?”

“Yes, it’s been burnt down to their it’s foundations, but that’s the oddest thing about it really,” Flashfire commented. “Look around,” he said gesturing to the smoldering remains. “Now, there’s a forest around us yes?”

“Yes, but what are you getting at…?”

“I think I know,” Lucky commented. “He’s right. Any normal village fire… It’d have set the forest around us ablaze. Gah, can’t believe I didn’t notice this sooner!” he said facepalming.

“So, what you’re saying is somehow some arsonist managed to be so very good at his job that he managed to avoid setting fire to the trees while he burnt this village to a crisp?” Garu commented. “That’s impossible! Nobody’s that good!”

“Apparently, someone is,” Flashfire noted. “I suspect, no I hypothesize that what we’ve got here is a precision arsonist of sorts. Someone who didn’t just go take a torch from somewhere and set fire to a building and watched the flames catch the next building alight and so forth. No, in some strange way they were precise and somehow targeted each building and each building only. Like a sniper rifle that shot flames, if you will.”

“See, now that does sound ludicrous!” Garu barked.

“Ludicious yes, but seemingly the only explanation. My only question is this,” Flashfire posited. “How did the village guards not see the sniper, and if they did why didn’t they take him down? Nobody’s that ineffectual!”

“...Well, our Royal Guards used to be…” Coldcast muttered. “And besides, isn’t it a sniper’s job to not be seen as he takes his shots? That is, if we’re going for this ‘theory’ of yours.”

“...Well, think I’ve got an answer to at least one of your questions anyways,” Garu commented as he walked over to one of the guards, sound asleep. “They fell asleep on the job! Hey you,” he said, slapping the man’s face with his paw. “Wake up! Ya hear me? Wake up!”

“Out cold, this one…” Coldcast murmured, his wings fidgeting nervously. “I don’t like this… Not one bit you hear?”

“Grr, what’s with this strange stamp on his armor, grr?” Garu asked gesturing to this massive red stamp mark on the guard’s armor.

“Feeling traces of some magical residue…” Flashfire noted as he ran his finger along the stamp. “Something I haven’t felt since… No, it couldn’t be.”

“Couldn’t be what?” Lucky asked. “If you think you know something, go on. Share it!”

“It’s a working theory in my mind right now, and I’d rather not share it until I’m sure of myself.” Flashfire replied.

“Well, isn’t that just lovely…” Garu muttered seemingly not taking notice his fellow Blue Ranger had left the area. Flashfire however, was more observant and he had. Finding Coldcast sitting on a rock next to the village gates -a pair of white pillars adorned by winged lions- stroking Caesar’s head, Flashfire sat down next to the younger griffon.

“It’s catching up to you, isn’t it?” Flashfire sighed. “The very real possibility we may never make it… home. I’m surprised you don’t blame me, considering I’m part of this whole mess.”

“Yes, that you are but then I’d only be putting the blame on part of the problem. I’m partially responsible as well considering I did very little to stop you,” Coldcast sighed. “Let’s face it grand frère, I should have done more.”

“Maybe, maybe not. We can’t change the past, can we? Even attempting to do so would be foolish. No, we worry about the present and what we can do.”

“And besides, if I’m right then we may be able to get home after all.” Flashfire thought to himself.

“Say we don’t find a way home,” Coldcast asked. “Say we spent an unknown amount of time searching the galaxy for a wormhole back home -and that’s presuming this hypothesized wormhole even takes us back home- and yet we find nothing. Then what?”

“We go on with our lives here in this universe. We change, we adapt as needed. Our crewmembers, the ones back on the Shining Armor, they can adapt as needed to our loss. They’ve got Flurry, and she’s a natural borne leader. Yes, they’ll be down two less Rangers but they will adapt. And that’s presuming there are only nine to ten Kyutamas in our universe. If these two share a constant, then there’s actually twelve legendary Kyutamas out there. So there would be nine saviors regardless.”

“I notice you don’t count Stardust in that…” Coldcast smirked.

“Should I have a reason?” Flashfire remarked. “He’s hardly legendary savior material is he?”

“Nope, he isn-” Coldcast started off with a barking laugh before his eyes widened as he saw a glint atop a hilltop. “Hey, grand frère, look up there. Right up there! Over the crest of that hill!” he shouted.

“Yeah, I see it. Someone’s moving about up there!” Flashfire said and looked towards Caesar. “Go, tell your King that something’s amiss. We’ll go on ahead, have a little look-see!”

As Caeser ran off, Flashfire and Coldcast broke into a sprint as they ran up a forest path following the glint in the sunlight. As soon as they reached the crest of the hill morphing as they did so, they saw it. Two monsters, one massive and red with what looked to be giant stampers on each hand and the other made of black flames with a massive magnifying glass as part of his body.

“Yeah, just as I thought…” Flashfire stated as Crows surrounded the twosome. “The Shadow Line. Knew you were involved in this little incident as soon as I felt that stamp mark on that guard. Awash with the distinctive energy signature you guys put off. Very sloppy.”

“Well, I must admit neither of us was really counting on a unicorn to actually pick up on our signature…” Nero said. “Very clever of you, actually.”

“And I can only presume the plan of attack is to distract everyone with burning villages, sunlight focused through the lens of your guy to cause the flame and guards stamped asleep while you gather the energy you need from this universe am I correct?” Flashfire questioned.

“Right again,” Nero said bowing and doing a tip of his hat. “I must admit, I didn’t really know what planet this exactly was otherwise I would have prepared a stronger defense. Nevertheless, two of my finest monsters, Magnifying Shade and Stamp Shade along with myself against the two of you seem like fine odds. And to make things fair for you, if you defeat us in combat I will send you back to your home universe. Fair bargain?” Nero asked offering up a gentlemen’s shake.

“Noted,” Flashfire said taking the offer. “And trust me, we are going to defeat you.”

“We’ll see,” Nero said as he began going sword to sword against Flashfire leaving Coldcast up against the two Shades. Coldcast avoided the Stamp Shade’s heavy blows but was left wide open for a small focused sunbeam to the chest making him emit a shout of pain before being kicked backwards.

Coldcast extended his wings and flew forwards slashing the Stamp Shade and the Magnifying Shade across the chest with his Astral Claw before smirking as the Stamp Shade’s yellow eyes widened in fear.

“Yeah, I’m just that good la persona repugnante!” Coldcast smirked before Lucky’s boot met the Stamp Shade’s chest sending the creature rolling along the ground.

“And here you wouldn’t let us join in on the fun?” Garu asked as Nero and Flashfire dueled in front of him. “Shame on you!”

Lucky fired his Seiza Blaster at Nero making him stagger back. “Looks sorta familiar, that one…” he mused before pulling out what had to be a truly massive Kyutama and slamming it into his gauntlet.

“What’s up? Super Say the Change!”

Spinning it, he morphed into a white ranger while Garu changed into his own ranger form. The Stamp Shade, seeing he was outnumbered now took a run for it and ran towards the Kuliner.

“...A White Ranger and a Red Ranger in one?” Coldcast rubbed his head kicking a crow in the stomach. “Something’s wrong here…”

“You… You dare threaten my subjects?” Lucky asked angrily. “Get lost, I won’t ask again!”

“The Grand Design must be carried out, so I will not leave!” Nero yelled before sending a massive blast of shadow energy towards Lucky which he blocked with his sword. “Do not interfere!”

“Oh, I dare interfere. As soon as you started threatening my kingdom, then I had to take action. The Miracle Star, Shishi Orion White!”

“The Beast Star, Ookami Blue!”

“The Beast Star, Cerberus Seagreen!”

“The Howling Star, Lupus Blue! Sokkyō Ucha Sentai… Kyurangers!”

“Now…” Flashfire and Lucky said together as they pointed their swords at Nero and his monster. “Time to test your luck!”

Rapidly cutting down the Crows, the Rangers raced towards the Magnifying Shade and Nero.

“You know, if you win this might be the last time we see each other?” Lucky asked slashing the Shade across the chest, before snapping his fingers and opening up warp gates to summon a hoard of weapons to barrage it with.

“Ah, goodbyes are not forever, and like you said,” Flashfire commented grabbing a second sword out of the air and doing a double Regulus Impact to the creature. “Friendship extends beyond interdimensional boundaries right?”

“That I did, yes…” Lucky admitted. “And if this is the case, I can only wish you the best of luck in defeating your foe. But for now, let’s finish off this one yes?”

“Quite!” Flashfire stated readying up his finisher along with Coldcast, Garu, and Lucky readying theirs.

“Do we look there, or there, or where?!” the Magnifying Shade asked as attacks came at him and Nero from all sides. Nero growled and shoved the monster in front of the oncoming Infinish Blast and Twin Star Crashes before taking a run for it.

“Coward!” Flashfire yelled running after Nero.

“I call it pragmatism,” Nero said, the two one again going sword to sword. “Besides, my time is almost up in this universe anyway.”

Flashfire tossed his weapon aside, and grabbed the summoned Ryutsueder out of the air and fired it, the rifle scoring a few shots to Nero’s chest before Nero blasted Flashfire backwards with a wave of shadow energy. Another weapon was summoned, the Houou Blade and once more Nero and Flashfire went sword to sword.

“My offer still stands, if you defeat me in singular combat I will send you and your comrade back to your universe.”

“Believe me, I will do just that!” Flashfire shouted. “Phoenix End!” he roared sending a flaming strike towards Nero sending him staggering back.

“Very… Very well.” Nero admitted as Coldcast ran up with Astral Claw in hand. “You shall have just that,” he stated snapping his fingers and the next thing both of them knew, Coldcast and Flashfire were sent hurtling through universes with the blow of a steam whistle. And when the rush and the roar was over, they found themselves on a familiar forested world.

“Keel…” Flashfire murmured pressing down on his Kyuchanger and sending up a distress beacon. “...I’ll be damned, the man actually kept his word…”

“You were expecting him not to?” Coldcast asked his eyes widening in surprise.

“Eh, there was always that odd chance, yes. But he did do a gentlemen’s agreement and I suspect he would want us out of his hair…” Flashfire mused as Coldcast laughed his head off and the low hum of a Voyager was heard somewhere above the trees...

Part 25: Starman

“Man, I dunno... “ Coldcast muttered as he studied some of the star charts. “It’s like that constellation’s been there forever!”

“We’re in space,” Jabari commented only briefly tearing himself away from a radio where a catchy, upbeat pop song was playing. “Of course that constellation is going to be there ‘forever’ as you put it.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know that! I’m not stupid!” Coldcast returned with the griffon’s feathers ruffling at the insulation. “It’s just, all the other constellations -Pavo, Dorado and the like- have moved respective to our position and yet that one,” he continued gesturing to the collection of stars known as Capricornus. “Doesn’t seem to have done any of that. It’s really odd for me as an astronomer...”

If he didn’t know better, Coldcast would have sworn Capricornus was actually following them. But that was impossible, wasn’t it?

His ears then perked up at the song Jabari was listening to. Catchy little number, had him snapping his fingers.

“Little Sophia Strange in ‘73
Her daddy’s yelling tirades at the TV
Hey man be cool!!
Sweeping the screen - rebel freak with a twist…”

“...Mind you, what’s even odder than that is you listening to music. I didn’t know you could tear yourself away from your own work long enough to have fun.” Coldcast deadpanned.

“I can multitask, you know. Plus, it’s good to mix business with pleasure,” Jabari kicked up his legs and folded them across one another. “You should tell that to Flurry. After so much time being a Princess, I think it’d be great to see her smile and work at the same time.”

“Pretty sure I’ve seen her smile… a few times,” Coldcast refuted. “Usually whenever my grand frère is around. But you didn’t hear that one from me okyu?” he asked before mentally groaning at that downright cringeworthy pun. Stardust’s phrase was starting to catch on amongst the whole crew, and it was terrible.

“What I’ve discovered is that if you treat your work like it’s all just a game, then you can get tons more stuff done without even thinking about it. If Captain Flurry did the same, then we’d be miles ahead of Dark Matter and all of their cronies in the stuff we could do,” Jabari flashed Coldcast a grin. “And I know that it sounds a little bit like we might get unfocused, but there’s times and places for everything. If you don’t relish the little things in life, you completely blow it in the moments that matter.” Jabari sniffed.

“Yeah, well excuse me if I take my work seriously given who we face,” Coldcast replied quirking an eyebrow. “You sure you’re feeling alright? You’re usually so wrapped up in your work that you hate being bothered. Has the Jabari I know and love to tease been replaced with one of King Pharynx’s changelings?” He asked quite tempted to call this one in just because of how… weird it really was.

“Trust me. I can tell a changeling from here. And I know for a fact that’s the real Jabari you’re talking to, Coldcast,” Pharynx stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself to the other Kyurangers. Coldcast yelped and nearly jumped up a few feet up in the air.

“Man, do you mind not doing that?” Coldcast grumbled. “Not very good for my heart, you know! One of those days…” he grumbled before muttering something frankly rather rude under his breath in Spanish and hoping Pharynx hadn’t heard it.

“Hey. One thing Chrysalis taught me is that you always have to stay hidden. Better that you take to the shadows before your enemies can. Would you rather get dropped on by Dark Matter, or get the drop on them?” He smirked, wrapping his muscular dark green arms around Coldcast’s shoulders. “Anyways. What’s that song you’re listening to, Jabari? Is it a Zebrican custom I’ve not seen before?”

“...Pretty sure all Equestrians listen to music, but for your information, it’s a piece by Quiggles Startrail. Been listening to him since before we left Equestria actually, he was part of my first few tests on gathering alien communications.” Jabari replied.

Coldcast nearly fell out of his chair at this, his jaw dropping in shock. “What!?!” he yelped. “But you told me the first communication you managed to get was that Dark Matter message!”

“I didn’t want to tell anyone that it was alien until I was sure. For all I knew at the time, the music could have been coming from one of the vaults by some singer making a name for himself.” Jabari replied curtly.

“Never been a fan for songs myself. The Queen outlawed them from the hive approximately 746 cycles before I was hatched. Guess she didn’t get it either,” Pharynx just rolled his eyes. “Still, what’s so special about this one, Jabari? You got some kinda pet project you’re working on behind our backs?”

“No, not really. I just happen to be a fan. Quiggles’ songs… They’re peppy, upbeat. Give me something to be hopeful about. Do I need any more reason than that?” Jabari commented.

“Unless they’re a source of love, I ain’t buying. Still gotta work off that insatiable Changeling hunger, y’know,” He shook his head. Coldcast rolled his eyes. Pharynx did realize Changelings were all too happy to share love between each other right? He was pretty sure that was the reason they changed into their colorful selves, to begin with. Then again, Pharynx was… Pharynx. “But hey. Ponies like pony things. I’ve come to understand that. So… you just keep doing whatever you’re doing. I’m gonna see if Flurry needs a sparring partner.”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure she has one of those in Flashfire…” Coldcast muttered before looking green at the thought. Oh, he so did not need to think about his brother doing… Well, that!

“True, but she’s gotta learn how to handle multiple threats at the same time. Last thing we want is multiple Karos pinning us down,” Pharynx said, strolling out of the lab. “Ciao, Coldcast, Jabari.”

“...He so needs a girlfriend,” Coldcast muttered shaking his head. “He really does. Might make him loosen up a little…” he murmured before groaning at the images that filled his head about then.

“...You know, there’s nothing exactly ‘wrong’ as it is with your older brother having a marefriend, right?” Jabari pointed out. “Flashfire’s a perfectly grown adult so he’s allowed one and I personally would be proud of him for finally falling for someone.” he continued.

“Yeah, but would you want to think about your brother/father figure having sex?” Coldcast asked.

“Ugh… Yeah, no. Just no,” Jabari muttered. “Not my fault though that your mind runs the gamut from X to triple X. Think on that!” he commented before sighing to himself in a sorta sad way.

“Okay, okay. Jeez! No need to shoot the prophet, Jabari…” Coldcast holding his paws up in a defensive manner. A small sigh escaped from his beak shortly after. “Quiero decir, hombre!” He muttered before noticing Jabari’s expression and walking over to the zorse putting a paw on his sorta friend’s shoulder. “Hey, something wrong?”

“It’s been… It’s been so long since I’ve seen any of my parents after the whole… well, y’know what I mean.” Jabari choked on his own words, trying so hard to fight back tears as his eyes were on the verge of bursting with them. “This whole thing with Dark Matter isn’t helping much either. I can’t… I can’t move on, Coldcast. I can’t think of anything other than the feeling that I let them down; that we let all of our families down by letting Equestria die,” he sighed as Coldcast listened. “I try to put myself to work, so as to forget all of this stuff about mom, about dad, about everyone I loved back home, but… But it just never goes away. It’s always there. Every night, I close my eyes and still see dad flying up into stars unknown and mom crying when he goes out of contact.”

Coldcast wrapped his arms around his best friend from behind and pulled him into a hug. Jabari blinked in shock, knowing Coldcast wasn’t exactly one to show affection of any sort to anyone outside of people he really trusted. He remembered what the griffon was like back at the Galaxy Garrison academy, rather aloof and closed off only really interacting with him or Commander Flashfire.

“And I presume you listening to Quibbles or however you pronounce his name actually helps you… somehow?” Coldcast asked dropping the jokey and sarcastic attitude for once.

“No. It doesn’t help me forget. It does, however, give off a more calming, more peaceful vibe around here,” Jabari said. “I don’t want this place to become a reflection of me; sad, unable to do anything, lifeless at the thought of what was lost.”

“Man, have you ever considered therapy?” Coldcast asked. “Seriously, that’s what the Cadence-AI was brought online for. No, strike that!” he said smacking Jabari upside the head and whirling him around so Coldcast could look the zorse dead in the eyes. “You are not sad and lifeless. Fact is, you put your heart into your work more than anyone I’ve ever met, and considering I know Stripped Gear, Pharynx and my grand frère that is saying something. Seriously, you pouring over that Equus-style transmission we recovered… If that doesn’t say anything about how much hope you’ve got in you then I don’t know what the flying feather does man.” he stated.

“Still, can hope restore the dead? Can hope save everyone long-since gone from our memories?” Jabari asked, splaying his hands down on the table. “I… I don’t even know if it can anymore.”

“Maybe it can’t,” Coldcast stated flicking Jabari across the forehead with a talon. “But you sir, need to stop focusing on what you can’t do, and instead focus on what you can do. Besides, seeing you all mopey like this? Doesn’t feel right. You should be getting up in my face telling me to stop slacking off work, or making sarcastic comments or something!”

“You’ve heard it so many times before, Coldcast. I see no need to repeat something that should be committed to memory by this point,” Jabari breathed. “In any case, it should be me who should stop doing nothing, and get back to work,” He went over to the radio, turning it up just as another song from the singer started to play. “And if this helps me to do it, then so be it.”

“You know, it’s odd really…” Coldcast murmured as he turned his attention back to the Capricornus constellation. “This singer… Dark Matter, you know how oppressive they are right?” he asked and Jabari only gave him a flat look. “...Right, stupid question…”

“So, what’s your point?” Jabari asked picking up his violin for whatever reason and attempting to play along with the song.

“Just saying here, not trying to speculate or anything like that but why would Dark Matter allow this singer to continue to sing especially when his songs are so… hopeful?” Coldcast asked.

“Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On a, Jupiter and Mars…” Quiggles sang from the radio only emphasizing Coldcast’s point.

“Do they want a possible uprising on their hands?” Coldcast wondered aloud. “...Maybe they’re not as smart as I gave them credit for…”

“Or maybe they just don’t care,” Jabari commented. “I mean, one single singer is hardly any threat to their regime and let’s face it, they have bigger things to worry about than one guy singing.”

“Personally, it could be either or. All the same… people do tend to get influenced pretty easily. All it takes are the right words at the right time, and people will coil around you like snakes on a tree branch.” the Doctor commented peeking his head in and once again Coldcast nearly had a heart attack.

“Locks on that door, that’s what we need,” he muttered. “Anyone ever tell you it’s rude to eavesdrop?” the griffon remarked.

“Well, eavesdropping is just one part of science, isn’t it?” The Doctor walked in, approaching Jabari and his radio. “You never know everything without getting an ear in without them knowing.”

“It’s also considered rude,” Coldcast pointed out. “Do you have any, and I mean any concept of basic social skills?”

“Eh, social skills are overrated. That, and well, let’s just say I’m more of an antisocial butterfly, if such a thing’s possible. If it is, then a lot of ponies back home would have had a lot of problems...” Suddenly, his ears pricked up, lulled in by the song’s notes and lyrics. “What are you listening to, Jabari?”

“Quiggles Startrail’s newest single,” Jabari said humming the notes briefly before playing them on his violin. “Does it matter?” he asked setting the violin down and crossing his arms.

“Well yes. Especially given what kind of music this Quiggles is singing…” The Doctor whipped out his Sonic Screwdriver, scanning the song with it before the light blipped repeatedly. “It’s rare to see in this corner of the galaxy, but if my theory’s correct, this song has some little triggers planted deep within the music, timing, and words to the song themselves. It’s like a tangled web with a treasure at the bottom of it, luring people in.”

“In plain Equestrian Doctor?” Coldcast asked. “Please, no poetry.”

“He’s talking about subliminal messaging, you dunce,” Jabari stated. “Though personally, I think you’re just paranoid or your sonic needs a few checkovers. Seriously, the sheer idea in itself is implausible. Honestly, if Dark Matter wanted to use this they’d be a bit more subtle about it. I mean, it’s what everyone would expect from them right? Use a mega-popular pop star as their mouthpiece. And anyways, what would they hope to achieve? The songs are very upbeat, kinda hard to lull a galaxy into complacency with pieces like that if you ask me.”

Coldcast raised an eyebrow at Jabari not entirely sure if the fanboy -there were seriously some things he’d rather not know about the Zorse- was in denial or not.

“I’ve had to upgrade my Sonic at least five times today. That is seriously the last time I walk into the bridge while the microwaves are on the fritz... The whole device was knackered beyond repair, yet through some miracles, we were able to get the old girl restored and working much better than ever.”

“...Who thinks up a sonic screwdriver anyways?” Coldcast asked. “Ooh, did you have some cabinets to put up and you thought to yourself… Oh, hey! I can make this screwdriver more sonic! Or did you have a lady friend you wanted to please?”

“Oh, hardy-har-har, Coldcast. I’ll have you know that this is some of the best Gallifreyan technology you’ll ever find this side of the cosmos,” the Doctor snarked. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. Jabari? Do you mind if I use your scanners? I need to decrypt these messages the songs are trying to give us…”

“There is an easier way to find out you know,” Jabari said as the radio told everyone of an upcoming concert for Quiggles on the planet Jark. “Why don’t we go ahead and ask Quiggles ourselves?”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind being locked out by security and denied entry backstage. Honestly, I think that this way is much faster,” said the Doctor.

The radio then said Quibbles was hosting a contest, right before the concert. Whoever came up with the best cover of one of his songs or showed up with the best singing voice, in general, would get an exclusive all-access backstage pass to him. Jabari simply looked smug. “An idea has just presented itself.”

Coldcast and the Doctor just gave him a flat look. “...You just want an excuse to get up close and personal with your favorite singer don’t you?” Coldcast deadpanned.

“Eh… No?” Jabari replied nervously. “Besides, you have to admit this is a perfect opportunity to find out from the source himself,” he stated. The Doctor groaned to himself seeing Jabari wouldn’t be swayed.

Coldcast went for his communicator, establishing an immediate link with the bridge. “Flurry. Change of plans. Divert the ship to planet Jark. We’ve got a concert to catch.”

Flurry decided it best not to ask.

Planet Jark

“You do realize this is the stupidest idea ever possibly conceived, right?” one very grumpy Pharynx asked. He was wearing what was possibly the most ludicrous outfit anyone had ever seen him in, and if were possible he would have died of shame long ago. He was covered from foot to head in Quiggles merchandise, with not a single piece of clothing not naming one of the songs or showing a picture of the celebrity in question.

“Stupider than trying to outrun a Deathworm or fighting Lupus alone?” Flurry spoke through the comms. “You’ve been through worse, Pharynx. This shouldn’t be too hard.”

“One, I look like an idiot -you could have at least made me look like a security guard- and two, don’t you think a giant Equus style colony ship hanging above the planet Jark will have people asking questions? We are pretty famous by now I think…” Pharynx replied dryly.

“That’s what the disguises are for. We’re keeping the ship higher than the usual orbit too. Like you said, not gonna attract anything,” said Flurry. “Anyway. I just hope that for your sake, Coldcast, that this is related to the campaign we’re running against Don Armage and Dark Matter. I swear to my mother, if you took us just to see some trashy celebrity singer then—”

“For your information, Flurry Heart of Equestria, Quiggles is not trash. Nor will he ever BE trash. Seriously, methinks that you’ve been Luna’s been rubbing off on you a bit too much,” Jabari interrupted. “Besides, if you believe the Doctor then we may have stumbled upon a huge Dark Matter plot.”

“Yeah. You never know. Dark Matter could be hiding under a simple thing as this Quiggles whatever his name is,” Pharynx harrumphed, glaring skyward. “Another thing I learned. Suspect everyone and everything. We never know for sure, do we?”

“I thought you were here to look at things from an unbiased point of view?” Coldcast asked. He’d been chosen to look like the security guard wearing a nice black suit and tie. “Not be overly paranoid.”

“And I still am. Both paranoid and unbiased. I can be both, can’t I?” He gave Coldcast a stare. “That, and any excuse I can use to get off of the ship and bash some Dark Matter freak’s skull in, I’ll gladly take.”

Coldcast facepalmed when he saw everyone staring at the Changeling King before glaring at him. “...Right, have you not ever heard of keeping your voice down?” he hissed out before looking back at the other musical groups. “Nothing to see here folks, he’s just going through some of the lyrics for the song we’re going to sing. Move along!” he laughed nervously hoping they’d believe that.

Jabari shook his head, the zorse being dressed in a bright red yukata and pink -and extremely flamboyant- feather boa with sunglasses over his eyes. And to top it all off, he wore this blond wig. Coldcast was trying very hard not to bust out laughing on the spot. His friend looked extremely ridiculous to say the least.

“There’s embracing your role and then there’s taking things that little bit too far…” Coldcast thought preferring the grumpy workaholic Jabari to… well, whatever this was.

“In any case, you guys need to get to Quiggles one way or another. If this plan of yours works Jabari, get what info you need and let’s get going,” Flurry reminded. “Pharynx has a point. We don’t want to stay any longer than necessary.”

“...If we can stop Jabari from orgasming on the spot if we meet Quiggles, then yeah…” Coldcast deadpanned. If looks could kill, the expression Jabari gave him next would have incinerated him on the spot.

“You’re going to enjoy taking the mickey out of your friend all throughout this, aren’t you?” the Doctor asked, dressed in gaudy orange and gold clothing covered in glitter. “Seriously, you are.”

“Eh, it’s the little pleasures in life,” Coldcast remarked. “Besides, this is about as stupid as you can get. So assuming Dark Matter doesn’t out us as soon as they see us… Well, might as well have some fun before I die right?”

“Yeah. Fun. Right,” Pharynx huffed. “Seriously, I look like some kind of pinata at a foal’s birthday party.”

“Embrace it, man,” the Doctor replied. “You look good!” he said barely holding back sniggers. Pharynx glared. “Anyways, if we want to get Quiggles to notice us… We have to be noticed. So, smile!” he said holding up a camera. Then, without any indication, he took some shots, posing in different ways so that he could get some more angles. “Oh. Oh yes, boys. Look good for the people. You could be the next Quiggles with looks as good as yours…”

“Kill me. Now.” Pharynx thought with a forced smile while Jabari went along with the whole thing and smiled while holding up his violin.

“Yesssir folks!” Coldcast piped in. “These two, this duo! They will be the next Quiggles, just you watch! Idol groups, overtaking the galaxy by storm! Pop stars are so old-fashioned! Now now, don’t crowd them!” he continued getting everybody to stand back as they continued walking forwards while the Doctor continued snapping photos.

“There we go. Gallifrey’s most handsome haven’t got anything on you, boys. Magnificent!” He tried to do what looked like a combination of knee-walk dancing and camera shots, leading to some angles that caught the boys’ chins mostly, with the night sky as their backdrop. While he did this, someone dressed in a pink bunny suit rushed past. Presumably a backup dancer for some group.

A nearby security guard stuck their hand into a pocket, pulling out a phone. They dialed in a number, brought the device to their head and said, “Hey, boss? You’re gonna want to see this…”

In just a few minutes, a guy dressed in a leopard print suit with bright red hair walked down to meet the group. He tapped on the Doctor’s shoulder, instantly pulling him from the camera’s scope.

“Oh, I assume you are Quiggles?” the Doctor asked noting how Jabari was struggling to contain himself. Coldcast quickly gave Jabari a look, and the zorse settled down.

“Not exactly, but I am associated with Quiggles. And I must say, you three warrant a bit of an examination,” he said, eyeing up Jabari, Pharynx, and the Doctor. “Especially you, sir. Are you a super fan of my client, perchance?”

“Um… yes?” Jabari said. “Listened to his very first production piece, Hearts Aligned! Inspired me to take the path I am on today, with Heart★TwoPiece!”

“Well, methinks that you might be able to blow us away one way or another,” said the employee. “After all the strange rumors we’ve been hearing, it could do us good to host this little contest for the fans; make them restore some faith in us.”

“Strange… rumors?” the Doctor pressed. “What’s going on?”

“Some people have been saying that our songs have… well, sparked a bit of physical debate recently. Something about some people wanting to take up arms and oppose this silly thing called a Dark Matter Empire,” he said. “I personally have no clue what in the world is going on, but the media is cracking down hard on us for this whole facade. Anything we can do to make the people happy again is a welcome change, I say.”

“And yet you don’t want to attract Dark Matter’s wrath right? You and Quiggles. Am I right?” the Doctor asked.

“Yeah. I don’t want someone to take us to court over the fans and their beliefs…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “You weren’t… one of those fans, were you?”

“No, me? Never… While I do like to fight the system as it were, physical violence at concerts?” the Doctor asked detecting a hint of nervousness in the man’s voice. This and Jabari’s reaction to him gave him the feeling that the manager was more than he said himself to be. “Uncalled for if you ask me! People should be allowed to enjoy their music in peace.”

“Nice to know we’re on the same wavelength, as it were. Now, go on. Mustn't keep Sir Quiggles waiting!” he said shooing the foursome off.

As this happened and the manager walked away nobody noticed an exact duplicate of the Doctor rush up some stairs and into a projector room above the concert arena. Here, in this out of sight place, he would be able to get much better scans of the music Quiggles was putting out. This way, combining the power of the sonic his duplicate held he would get all the information he needed and this way see if Dark Matter really was putting subliminal messaging inside Quiggles’ music. The bunny-suited man was already in the room with him and stripping out of his fursuit to reveal Stripped Gear.

“Well, that was thoroughly unpleasant. Almost burned up in there!” Stripped muttered to himself wiping off a few beads of sweat from his face. “I assume your Gemini clone got the information we needed?”

“Yeah. Turns out that these songs are causing people to fight Dark Matter,” The Doctor commented fingering the Gemini Kyutama. The Last of the Time Lords shrugged to himself. “Maybe they could join the crew? We are getting a bit short-staffed in some areas especially the cooking staff…” he trailed off. He winced, best not to mention that to Spada. Then he’d never hear the end of it.

“Bit counterproductive isn’t it?” Stripped remarked. “If I were Dark Matter, I’d place the subliminal messaging in such a way that it would make them completely subservient to them. But.. No, Dark Matter seems to want to make themselves look like catastrophic morons.”

“Unless… Unless that’s what they want to do!” the Doctor realized.

“Then that would make them catastrophic morons,” Stripped reaffirmed before his optics widened. “Unless… Oh, sweet Cadence…” he whispered in realization. “That’s exactly what they want! They want to know exactly who opposes them! This way, they can round up their most dangerous foes and take them out all in one clean sweep!”

“And we’re not considered for that list? I’m insulted!” the Doctor muttered.

“Get serious Doctor!” Stripped shouted before his voice became lower as the true horror of what had really transpired set in. “In fact, I’m willing to bet with how much of a fan Jabari seems to be, they anticipated us coming here! Hell, they wanted us to come here!” Stripped shouted and he was only vindicated when two Strongindavers along with Madako walked in weapons trained on them. Stripped’s optics widened before he and the Doctor felt mighty blows crash over their heads and all went black.

“Jelly Brains…” Madako sighed before gesturing to her henchmen. “Boys, take these sad sacks out of here. We’ll decide what to do with them later. For now, allow the Kyurangers to proceed. We’ll only spring the trap on the rest of them later…”

She waltzed over to the fallen Gemini Kyutama and picked it up off the floor. Her eyes twinkled. Now this one could come in handy she thought to herself. Meanwhile in a dressing room backstage, both Pharynx and Jabari were going over through some last minute preparations being gussied up if you will by stagehands.

Pharynx shooed them out of the room wanting to talk to Jabari in private ushering in Coldcast as well from outside his post at the door. “You know this is stupid right? And I don’t mean the costumes.”

“So you’ve been saying,” Jabari said with a slight roll of his eyes. “It’s noted.”

“I have to ask, for someone so supposedly smart… Why are you such an idiot?” Pharynx asked. “You know this smells like a trap, and we probably just waltzed right into it.”

“Yeah, I have to agree with Pharynx,” Coldcast sighed. “Our faces are probably known to every Dark Matter agent in the galaxy and we just were allowed in without any sort of trouble? I mean, what’s up with that? You gotta admit, Jar, this whole scenario stinks something rotten!”

“He’s right, it’s too easy,” Pharynx added. “If Dark Matter really is backing Quiggl-”

“They can’t be, they possibly can’t be!” Jabari shouted catching both of his fellows off-guard. “They just can’t… I believe in Quiggles!”

“Oh for the Hivemother’s sake…” Pharynx muttered facepalming. “Surely you can’t be this stupid… Open up your eyes Jabari. We’ve been had, and we just practically signed our own death warrants the moment we walked into this place!”

Coldcast tried to raise communications but only got static. He swore softly to himself. Of course, they were down. He remembered the astrological reports, the nearby star was supposed to be giving off solar flares right at this moment. While harmless to them, the type would make raising any communications nigh-impossible. And he knew Dark Matter had planned on this very sort of mishap occurring. He slammed his head up against a nearby wall. He was such an idiot.

“Okay, so why do you believe in Quiggles? Please don’t tell me it’s just because you’re a fanboy,” Pharynx said. “Because I hate dealing with such naivete. And don’t say it’s because of the image he propagates. Take it from me kid,” he continued looking Jabari dead in the eye. “Celebrities, their public image is rarely how they really act in private. 90% of the time, you deal with frauds. I’ve only met a few famous ponies or otherwise that are really how they are described or thought to be, like Princess Twilight for exampl…”

Coldcast quickly shut up Pharynx with a rather nasty glare when he saw Jabari’s body literally shaking with sobs. Walking over gently to his friend, Coldcast sat down beside him wrapping a wing around him in comfort.

“Hey, it’s alright. You can talk to me. Shh…” Coldcast whispered as he pulled his friend in close for a hug letting him cry into his shoulder until all tears were spent.

“Alright, it started like this…” Jabari began to explain once he’d calmed down enough.

The planet Equus, just a few years ago at the Galaxy Garrison. Jabari had only just started listening into the radio transmissions off-planet. He often took to the rooftops, just for some peace and quiet, away from the noise and chaos of his classmates.

As he tuned into various transmissions, Jabari smiled to himself. He’d make up the classwork over the weekend. The headmaster didn’t care, not really. Not as long as the work was done and turned in. Aside from that, it didn’t really matter when exactly Jabari did it. And up here, well… He could actually be alone with his thoughts really. Personally, he liked it out here with the stars shining down brightly from Luna’s -well, not exactly Luna’s anymore really- night sky and the colder winds of the ice fields blowing into his face.

“Alright now… Come on… Work with me here!” Jabari muttered as he tried to establish contact with any intelligent alien life out there in the galaxy. He wasn’t stupid. He really found it rather hard to believe that of all the possible millions upon millions of planets out there in the galaxy that there wasn’t anyone else out there who could reason and think for themselves in such a way you could label them sentient. It was foolish to think otherwise, ignorant even! So, that’s why Jabari had set his sights to the stars in hopes of maybe making exterrestrial contact. Then, he heard it. Another voice.

“You raise me up… You make me fly…” a male voice came out of the speakers.

“Yes, yes, a hit!” Jabari shouted in excitement doing a little dance and punching the air in victory. “Go Jabari, go Jabari!” he sung before realizing how much of an idiot he must have sounded. “Um… Yes, hello? I’m very sorry about that. Just so excited to meet you. Name’s Jabari. ...Okay, I suppose you already know that from my little ramblings. First thing you need to know about me... Well, I like peanut butter, and I like peanut butter cookies, but I hate peanuts. They're so dry. Also I sweat a lot. I mean in general, unrelated to the peanuts. Is this okay? I don’t sound too nervous I hope…” he rambled. “You know, all my life I’ve been waiting for this. A chance to talk to actual intelligent alien life! All my life I've been waiting for an opportunity like this, and here it is, screaming “Go Jabari! Go Jabari!”

Jabari facepalmed upon realizing he got no response from the other end of the line. Oh dear sweet Celestia, he must have sounded like such a confounded idiot he thought. But then, he did hear something. That same voice again. It sounded almost like… singing?

“You raise me up… You make me fly…” the male continued to sing, and Jabari sighed to himself. Great, not really extraterrestrial contact at all. Just some idiot singing. Granted, it really was an inspiring song to say the least but…

“Great, way to set your hopes up Jabari…” the zorse muttered to himself. But for whatever reason, he continued to listen. He wasn’t sure why, maybe he was entranced by the singer’s astonishingly good voice. He’d almost call it a crush, maybe. Slapping himself in the face, Jabari muttered: “Get ahold of yourself man…”

For night after night, Jabari stole away what private moments he could and tuned into the singer. He eventually learned his name, Quiggles Startrail. Odd name, yes, but given some of the names Equus residents got he really had no room to talk. Hell, his full name basically meant Swift Swift! At one night, Quiggles finally spoke. Jabari knew Quiggles wasn’t talking to him directly, but honestly? He felt like Quiggles knew he could hear him.

“Thank you, thank you for all your dedication,” Quiggles said. “Honestly, you guys… tuning in to my performances every night? You’re starting to get me noticed. People are starting to talk about me. Even in this galaxy’s condition, you’re giving a young man hope. I don't know where I'm going from here, but I promise it won't be boring. And I want to say, you lot…? You’re honestly the best support a man could ask for. Thanks to you, my first album? It’s shooting up the charts like a shining star. But I’ll be honest with you. The truth is, of course, is that songs don't have to be about going out on Saturday night and having a good rink-up and driving home and crashing hovercars. A lot of what I've done is about alienation... about where you fit in society. I don’t know my place in society yet, but I know you’ll all be there with me. Let’s have a bit of fun, shall we? I don’t know where we’re going from here on this journey, and maybe there is no journey at all -we may arrive and depart at the same time- but I do know one thing. The trail of stars you follow me on, it’s sure to be alive with mystery and intrigue. So, follow me will you?”

Jabari knew he’d follow this man on his journey. Somehow.

“Look, I know it sounds stupid… But Quiggles?” Jabari whispered. “He made me feel better about myself, helped me sort a few things out. Hell, he’s one of the reasons I got so confident on flying in the first place. He honestly felt real, authentic to me. I want to believe in him, believe in the man I know he is.”

Coldcast smiled. “Then I’ll believe in him with you,” he said giving a thumbs up. “Come on, let’s save Quiggles. Now dry those tears, you’ve got a show to put on!”

“Personally, I think going through with this is a grand display of idiocy that’ll only get us killed,” Pharynx stated as he readied himself. “But… No backing out now I suppose…”

“Hey, look at this way!” Jabari said. “If they love you, maybe you can soak up a bit of love before you die.”

“...Yeah, swell.” Pharynx deadpanned. “Out with a… bang.”

“It’s a good way to go!” Coldcast chirped. “How I’d probably want to go out.”

“...I really wouldn’t want to be inside your head at times, you know that right?” Pharynx muttered looking skywards and wondering just who exactly had he managed to piss off for his life to go this particular direction. Discord, probably. Yeah, that made enough sense to him. This was the kind of thing that old chaos god probably reveled in.

Pharynx and Jabari reached the stage just as another musician -a heavy metal guitarist- was booed off the stage for apparently butchering “Fly Me to the Moon.” Pharynx had caught some of it, and winced.

“Jabari, do me a favor. Honestly, if anyone ever asks me in my life what my nightmares look and sound like, please tell them I’m gonna refer to that.” he sighed still clutching his bleeding tympanals.

“Noted.” Jabari said.

“There is as much chance of you being a pop star or a rock star as me flying to the moon or Kalos tomorrow morning for breakfast. It’s never going to happen,” Quiggles stated as the frankly rather disappointed Syrian left the stage. “Anyways, next up is… Oh, someone my manager met on the way. Call themselves Heart★TwoPiece. And yes, the star is part of the spelling. Now, I’m not a fan of the idol group format, but let’s see what they can do anyways eh?”

Holding up his violin and running the bow across the strings, Jabari smiled. “Now, this one… It’s actually one of your own.”

“One of my own? I’m… I’m touched actually. Which one is it?”

“LuckyStar,” Jabari answered and Quiggles blinked out in shock.

“R-Really? That… That one I haven’t done in ages, one of my old managers pushed me away from it. Saying it would never catch on!”

“Well, did with me. Helped me out when I was in a bit of a dark place, hoping it’ll do the same for another generation.”

“Well then,” Quiggles said. “Fire away! I’m interested now…”

And he only ever grew more interested as Jabari played the song on his violin with Pharynx providing the piano accompaniment. Softer, more subdued than the original song but actually more beautiful this way.

“On this world, there are countless stories continuing
What will we feel when we touch them, see them?

“Sitting around and thinking won't tell you, so hurry on a space journey
Don't make up excuses not to go

“Careful not to shine too bright! You're lucky stars!”

The crowd themselves, they were actually clapping along to the song as Jabari put his heart… No, his soul into the music. Now, while he fancied himself a man of science, this was his hero he was in front of. He had to put his all into this piece and he had to make sure everyone knew it. Jabari spared a look towards the Silver Ranger and smiled softly. Who knew Pharynx actually knew how to play? Well, he supposed all those long hours with Manx did rub off on him in some way given he had caught the Baroness playing piano when she thought nobody was watching.

“When the ground is shaking you leap, leap, leap, leap
Let me clear even the darkness of the universe,
Oh yeah! Oh yeah, oh yeah & good luck!

“Connecting unnamed stars together
As if to make a constellation someday
Thinking with someone

“Connecting… I want to protect the radiance of this universe…”

Finally, the song ended and both members of the group were greeted to raucous applause. Coldcast was actually crying, though he’d very much deny that to anyone who later asked him. Well, almost everyone was applauding the group. Quiggles, on the other hand, sat unimpressed and looking almost… bored?

“That’s not even good enough for a hotel lobby. In fact… I dare say if you had lived 2,000 years ago and sung like that, I think they would have stoned you. And by Rao, the name? Heart★TwoPiece? What, did you come up with that in the bathroom?”

Jabari’s jaw dropped and he fought back tears while hushed whispers actually broke out amongst the audience. However, it wasn’t Coldcast who came to the zorse’s defense.

“Now listen here you…” Pharynx growled jumping off the stage and picking up Quiggles by the shirt. “The kid, he played his heart and soul out for you. So what gives you the right to-”

“Because it’s my work?” Quiggles said before Pharynx punched him to the floor. He probably would have done more had Jabari not stepped in.

“No, you don’t need to defend me,” he stated to the Changeling King who stared at him in shock while his wings buzzed angrily. “I know what you must think of him, but some battles are not yours to fight. Quiggles, you once said this. “There, in the chords and melodies, is everything I want to say. The words just jolly it along. It's always been my way of expressing what, for me, is inexpressible by any other means.” Did you not? That’s what I was subscribing to. I refuse to believe the real Quiggles Startrail would have changed this much. I refuse to believe that you are the real Quiggles.”

Slamming the Eridanus Kyutama into his gauntlet, he fired a little river of what revealing who was truly in front of him. Yes, Quiggles was in front of Jabari but at the same time, a figure similar to Denvil sat over his shoulder.

“Damnit!” Manavil exclaimed as both Coldcast and Jabari blasted him into existence. “And I had this plan going so well! And you had to come along and screw it up!”

“Sorta our job, really…” Pharynx stated pulling out his scythe and placing the Triangulum Kyutama on it. Sending a gold prism-themed slash towards the Magistrate, he floored the creature before just narrowly ducking a sword swing from the Scorpius Drone who chose that moment to reveal himself. Madako was soon to follow.

“Oh, you Jelly Brains!” Madako laughed as the crowd screamed and scattered with Coldcast helping to get them to safety. “You walked right into our trap!” she cackled. Even as Pharynx morphed and dueled the Scorpius Drone, he looked upwards to see both Stripped Gear and the Doctor lowered from the ceiling in chains. “Damn shame I couldn’t get all of you, but five will do. Don Armage will consider it repentance even after you screwed up his plan to get rebels to reveal themselves.”

“You bit-” Pharynx started before the Scorpius drone kicked him through a wall.

“Naughty naughty, language!” Madako chided wagging her finger. “Mama spank!” she laughed lashing out with her cat-o-nine-tails making Pharynx scream out in pain. Coldcast and Jabari shared a look even as henchmen swarmed the stage. The question on their minds was simple.

“Now what?”

It didn’t take long for a solution to present itself. Soaring down through the skies was the Scorpion Voyager, Flurry at the controls. The tail of the ship arching upwards, it fired a laser beam at Madako sending her flying backwards. Even as it hovered in the air above the concert venue, Flurry leaped out and morphed in an orange flash of light helping Pharynx up.

“You alright?” she asked, the scorpion tail on her suit flicking dangerously. She looked at Pharynx and soon regretted it. It was an ugly sight, to say the least. Even though the threads of his costume, she could see his back partially ripped open by Madako.

“Y-Yeah, I’ll be fine. Her on the other hand…” Pharynx chittered his wings buzzing angrily as he swung his scythe dangerously. “Can’t say the same for… G-Glad you stuck to the plan. So damn glad.”

Now, what plan you might have asked? Back aboard the Shining Armor before they made planetfall, the Doctor and Coldcast had warned everyone involved in this about the scheduled solar flare. They knew it would knock out communications so they said if they didn’t return within two hours max, to send someone to come and get them. Mind you, they hadn’t expected that someone to be Flurry. Not that they were complaining mind you.

“Let’s close off this concert with a bang shall we?” Flurry smirked as she slammed her change Kyutama into her Astral Spear the others mimicking her movements even as Invaders swarmed them.

“Galaxy!” the weapons all called.

“Antares Impact!”
“Altair Impact!”
“Ophiuchus Impact!”
“Alpha Lupi Impact!”

Sending powerful slashes or shots of energy through the Invader hoard, they were quickly cleared out. The Scorpius Drone’s eye widened in what looked like fear, before he fished out a Kyutama with a fox on it and vanished from plain sight. Manavil had also fled to his own ship as well. Flurry sighed, they’d deal with those two another time. Right now they had bigger priorities.

“You… You Jelly Brains! You… You ruined everything!” Madako shouted before she trained her rifle at both the Doctor and Stripped making everyone step backwards. “Well, almost everything. Kill me, and they drop.”

“I dunno. I believe I’ve got a pretty fast trigger finger…” Jabari commented readying another Altair Impact. “I calculate you’ve only got 0.43 milliseconds between the time you have to fire and the time you die from a good shot. Not a very big window. How much you willing to risk?”

“Everything for Dark Matter,” Madako said. “But how about you. Are you willing to risk your friends?”

Madako smirked when Jabari lowered his weapon before she cackled and teleported up to the ship, but not before firing off twin shots at both the Doctor and Stripped.

“NO!” Flurry called, rocketing towards the two before she saw the shots pass right through them. To her surprise, however, no blood or anything. Just a flickering of holograms. Her scream then turned to one of pure rage. Madako had played them, quite successfully. Throughout everyone’s gambits this whole day, she had the last laugh in the end.

“They were never here…” she whispered clenching her fist and her suit’s scorpion tail smashed the chains out of pure rage letting the holograms drop. “Faust damn it!”

Later, when the solar storm finally passed and everything was back to normal Quiggles readied for his concert but not before giving Jabari his rightfully earned prize money. The machine that generated the subliminal messaging had been found microchipped in his brain and with careful spellwork from Flurry had been destroyed. Sadly, while there would be no uprisings against Dark Matter just yet, quite a few lives had been saved and that at least was some sort of victory.

“Hey listen man, never got the chance to thank you properly,” Quiggles said as he readied himself for the show. Like both the Doctor and Jabari had suspected, he and his manager were one and the same. Just different attire and some careful makeup work. Not that Jabari was going to spill the secret. “So, just thanks for believing in me. And I’m willing to believe in you and your friends. Tomorrow belongs to those who can hear it coming. Can you hear it? The tomorrow with your friends being found safe and sound? I can.”

“Yeah… So can I. Just one question though…” Jabari trailed off.

“Why the disguise? Well… As an adolescent, I was painfully shy, withdrawn. I didn't really have the nerve to sing my songs on stage, and nobody else was doing them. I decided to do them in disguise so that I didn't have to actually go through the humiliation of going on stage and being myself. Guess that carried over to me when I decided to self manage.” Quiggles shrugged and Jabari could only laugh.

Author's Notes:

Okay, yes... A tribute to the man himself. Had to be done, given his alias and all that. First off, huge thank you to Shadowmane for help in writing the first half of the chapter. Massive thank you. Admittedly, we did sorta screw up -at least at first- the whole idea with the subliminal messaging bit until Ruin pointed out what we were basically doing was The Force Unleashed but with pop music.

Also, if anyone asks, Alpha Lupi is a real thing. The brightest star in the Lupus constellation. Believe me, I checked.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvfC109XyYA

Part 26: The Rescue Mission

“And oh, it started out off simple enough, that’s for sure… It’s just that when we got onboard the ship things started to take a turn for the very weird…”

“So, why are we the ones going in and not some other starfarers? I mean, sorta a bit out of the way right? Shouldn’t we be more concerned with Dark Matter, or finding a new world?” Stripped asked as the Cerberus Voyager pulled up alongside the massive cargo ship. A loud hiss was audible as the airlock connected. “I mean yes, what happened to this ship is sad and all, but we’ve got bigger worries.”

“And there may come a time,” Jabari pointed out as he grabbed an energy rifle. “That we may be in need of an assist ourselves. Like it or not, we’re pretty much all alone out here so any allies we can get ahold of? Well, I certainly wouldn’t be complaining if I was you.”

The threesome jumped down into the airlock and then another hiss as it opened into the cargo ship itself. Landing on the floor below with a soft humming sound as their boots magnetically locked onto the plating, the energy rifles hummed and glowed with a soft green light.

Before them was a metal prison masquerading as a ship; steely surfaces spanning as far as the eye could see that branched off into numerous corridors. Each step the three took echoed clearly, the only other sound being the occasional drop from a water pipe that hung out at the far edge of the hall that was accompanied by the dim light of dangling wires that let off a few sparks.

“This whole place gives me the creeps really,” Jabari remarked training his rifle down a hallway. His ears twitched. He swore he could have heard… something. Something almost heavenly; the song of a thousand angels that beckoned with promises of the most beautiful of desires any mortal could ever dream of.

“Any of you hear that?” Jabari asked fingering the trigger.

“Hear what?” Flashfire asked inspecting a panel. Seemed like it had been ripped apart, almost in a panic.

“...Swore I heard something, not sure what. Maybe you’ll think I’m crazy, but it almost sounded like… I don’t know, singing?” the zorse replied.

“It’s probably just your imagination Jar,” Stripped returned. “The ship settling or something like that.”

A deafening silence fell over the three as they continued on. The lights of their weapons and gear provided minimal illumination as the hallway stretched on and on, seeming to never end and only grow. A few extra corridors would come into view, their own paths stretching into an abyss of darkness with promises desired only by ravenous predators that could stomach the worst of decay and grime.

“Do any of you smell something?” Flashfire asked sniffing the air and gripping his rifle ever-so tighter.

“Yeah, I smell it…” Jabari answered wrinkling his nose in disgust. The hair on the back of his neck was standing up, something inside him telling him to just… run. Run and never look back. He knew what it was, old instincts kicking in. Pushing them aside, he answered with a: “Smells like… well, like something rotting.”

Breaking into a sprint, the two ran down a hallway with Stripped calling after them. Shouting warnings, or not to leave him. They couldn’t tell really. Finally, they pulled to a halt. But not because of Stripped’s yells, but because of what they saw before them.

Strung up by the wires of the ship’s electrical system were the remains of a dragon. Its scales had been torn off violently and scattered around like rose petals beneath it with some of them having been so crudely ripped off that they contained muscle. A single arm bone stuck out and have a massive bite mark on it.

Strung up next to the dragon was a another creature, canid-like, which had a massive gaping hole where its torso should be; the end of the corridor visible from the hollowed-out mess that should have been its body emitting an odor so foul, Flashfire covered the gore-stained floor beneath them with the breakfast he’d had that morning

“Lightweight.” Jabari remarked though truth be told he looked like he wasn’t too far behind.

“Are you insane? Are you not disturbed by this!?” Flashfire hissed out.

“I am, but I can keep my composure unlike you.” the zorse remarked before he lost it at the sight of a scrawl on the wall. In an eerie green tone were words.

They read: “Please stop killing us!”

Then, something pounding against metal. Flashfire reacted fast and with a whir and a hum drew his rifle and pressed down on the trigger in a frantic motion firing off several shots.

“Celestia!” Stripped said as he just barely tried to dodge the shots. “You trying to get us all killed?” he asked, his breathing heavy before he spotted the scene in front of him. “...What the fuck…?”

“Very good question, really…” Flashfire whispered his breathing returning to normal as he traced his finger in the green blood on the wall. “That’s what I’ve been wondering. What happened here? Aside from the obvious, I mean?”

Stripped knelt down in front of the scene and sighed. “...Ripped apart. Claw marks. One of these two is a Syrian, so I’d normally say it was a lover’s spat gone bad but look at the message on the wall,” he said. “Syrians have green blood. So it couldn’t have been the dragon. They have crimson blood, darker than ours. And the obvious question, why would our furry friend here write a message in his own blood?”

“To throw everyone off his trail?” Jabari asked. “Or her, or whatever…”

“It’s that or another victim we haven’t found wanted to beg for mercy without giving away their position,” Stripped replied.

“...Yeah, thanks for that image,” Jabari deadpanned. “Like I wanted to lose any more of my lunch than I already have. So, what are we looking at here? Classic murder by serial killer, or a sudden fit of space madness?”

“Well, either one would cause a ship such as this to send out a distress call,” Stripped returned. “Or it could be Dark Matter. No, disregard that theory. What would an empire want with a simple cargo ship?”

“Could be carrying something they consider illicit,” Jabari theorized. “Like supplies to an enslaved planet’s population. Any number of things, really…”

Nerby, Flashfire was trying the comms. “Flashfire to the Shining Armor. Things have… well, they’ve gone sour. Crew’s dead.”

“I wouldn’t bother,” Stripped said tapping the wall of the ship with his finger. “The material these panels are made out of? Makes it impossible to get any communications through. For better or for worse, we’re all alone out here.”

“Alright then…” Flashfire sighed.

“So, do we abort?” Jabari asked.

“No,” Flashfire replied his eyes hardening. “No, we have a job to do here. We find out who -or what- did this, and then we stop them.”

“I love it when you’ve got your priorities straight sir,” Jabari smiled cocking his rifle. “Right behind with you on that matter,” he said softly his green eyes hardening.

The three traversed down one of the ship’s many foreboding corridors. Their decision wasn’t random, however. An ear-piercingly loud screech pierced through the air, causing the three to wince in agony as their ears rang for several agonizing seconds. The sound bounced off the metallic surface of the ship’s interior with each of those seconds that went by until everything became deafeningly silent.

“What the hell?” Flashfire said, whipping around in almost an instant. “Ce navire continue de devenir plus effrayant à l'heure actuelle…” he muttered under his breath.

“Comme si ce n'était pas déjà effrayant?” Jabari inquired much to Flashfire’s surprise. He didn’t even know the zorse could speak Prench. Then again, given the lad was a genius he shouldn’t have been that surprised…

“Bon point,” Flashfire admitted. “Okay everyone, keep your eyes open. No surprises, got it?”

Jabari nodded with one of his hands going for his pistols strapped to his pants legs.

The three entered the corridor, their eyes nearly unblinking as their weapons lights illuminated the world ahead of them. What was once a narrow hallway however widened into a shower room that looked as though it had never been touched. Several stalls were each lined up against each other, the curtains all shut. Up ahead, with curtains of their own, were a few baths that were filled to the brim with water.

Flashfire turned to Jabari and Stripped. “You two investigate the stalls,” he said. “I’ll go up ahead and look at the bathtubs.”

“And exactly why are you going to look at them?” Jabari asked.

“Because I want to.” With a huff, Flashfire walked, his hands firmly gripping his weapon and his eyes peeled on each and every one of the stalls as he cautiously walked by them.

“Oh Flashfire…”

It was as he approached the first bathtub that Flashfire’s attention was broken. A soft voice filled the air and beckoned to him. It came from the farthest bathtub on the left; angelic in nature and yet vaguely familiar.

“Oh Flashfire. Come.”

Furrowing his brow, Flashfire raised his weapon and walked over, his steely gaze focused on the tub. The closer he got, the clearer the voice became; never changing the three words it spoke the second time. Their almost seductive tone and demeanor were the same.

‘I wish this accursed thing would shut its trap.’

“I heard that.”

Flashfire stopped; a faint blush on his face. ‘Oops.’ He nervously chuckled before continuing. As he reached the tub, he gazed around. On instinct, he went for the Kyutama hanging around his neck. Better safe than sorry.

Nothing.

The tub was empty; full like the others, but nevertheless devoid of any sort of life. A bar of unused soap adorned a small holder on the side of a wall with a bottle of shampoo next to it.

“Oh Flashfire… you came to me.”

The voice filled the air once more, this time close. Too close. Flashfire’s eyes narrowed, he knew that voice. But it couldn’t be… could it?

Then, he saw her. Just below him. Her face was unmistakable. Her beauty was unbridled in this galaxy. Her smile was angelic in nature. Her eyes were hypnotic.

Flurry Heart.

“Alright then…” Flashfire murmured to himself. “Okay, really odd. I know she’s back up on the Shining Armor. So what in the flying feather is she…?”

The shimmering image of Flurry Heart rose out of the tub and stood before him, a warm smile on her face. “Flashfire, you look confused. Something the matter?” Flurry asked getting up out of the tub and Flashfire on instinct averted his eyes. He knew she was there, and a part of him definitely desired to look at her but his own nature forbad it. No, they weren’t married yet. Plus, something about this whole scenario was off. He knew it. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, his instincts telling him to run.

“You look nervous. But hey, at least there’s a friendly face…” Flurry whispered tilting his face up to meet hers. Flashfire was redder than normal by now. “...Right?” she asked rubbing his shoulders before wrapping her arms around his neck, her bare breasts pressed to his chest.

“Uh listen, there’s something I… I have to do…” Flashfire stammered out. Her form was almost ethereal in nature. Spectral, more like.

“And it’s not me?” she whimpered, a tear running down her red cheek.

“There’s something aboard this ship,” Flashfire whispered noticing for the first time how unnaturally cold Flurry felt. “I… I have to find out what it is and stop it.”

“Oh, I’m aware.” Flurry Heart’s frown changed into a grin; a malicious evil radiating from her body. Her eyes slowly rolled into the back of her head, the retinas snapping in twine. “I’m very aware.”

Before Flashfire could react, Flurry Heart wrapped her arms around him and pulled him backwards; a loud splash filling the room. Flashfire’s world became blue, and he began coughing and choking. All he could see before him was the pupiless, grinning face of his marefriend; the one he considered his true love.

“Do not be afraid of my embrace, my love,” Flurry Heart said, her words as soft and clear as they were just moments before. “Soon, we will be together forever, just as we were back onboard the ship.”

“Yeah, I doubt that,” another voice stated. Also familiar. Then, the sound of a laser rifle discharging several times, and ‘Flurry’ screaming out in pain. Then, Flashfire felt her grip finally loosen and gasping for air he reemerged spotting Stripped holding a smoking laser rifle his golden optics narrowed.

“...What… what the…?” Flashfire gasped out.

“Hell if I know, but I heard a voice I knew didn’t belong here. And then I rushed over here and saw… whatever the hell that was.” Stripped stated. “Man, you really know how to pick ‘em don’t you?”

Flashfire didn’t look amused. Soon, the group re-convened and Flashfire explained what had just happened and his thoughts. “Female specter picking everyone off one by one, luring in the unlucky with her voice and looks? Total ripoff of a siren's tactics. And I would know, given I dated one.” the unicorn commented with a visible note of fury in his voice. He really didn’t like his marefriend being used as a weapon against him.

“...We still need to talk about that one…” Stripped remarked before his smile returned. There were some more… scientific aspects of that particular relationship he was curious on. “Like for one, how did you and her have-”

“Is this really the time for that?” Flashfire replied with a slight blush. “Besides, think we’ve got bigger worries than my ex-girlfriend. Like say a certain-”

“A certain spook? I don't have to accept that it exists, because quite frankly I don't believe in ghosts, but I'll give it the satisfaction it exists in a physical sense,” Stripped said before continuing. “I May not believe it exists in any sort of spiritual manner, but there you have it. A specter exists. You exist. I'll give you that much,” he shouted down the corridor and half expected something to answer back. Nothing did. “I just happen to believe there's more scientific rational then immediately jumping to ‘Ghost!’ that's all.”

“...Like dude, seriously you gotta accept there's going to be weird shit,” Jabari returned to Stripped. "We fly around in giant ships shaped like various animals, or in one case a friggin' scale all the while fighting a universe spanning empire possibly helmed by an eldritch abomination! We have no room to talk about strange I should think. Now look, I may be of the scientific persuasion, but if it looks like a duck and talks like a duck and walks like a duck... Then it's probably a duck. That's probably a ghost right there.”

“I’m not so sure it is a ghost. Like I said, still on the fence about this,” Stripped commented. “Flashfire, did you see it actually appear out of thin air like a ghost?”

“It was… it was in the water,” Flashfire said. “Then it was standing before me. It was naked, but it was just like her. I could feel her. But at the same time she wasn’t…”

“All there in a physical sense?” Jabari questioned and Flashfire nodded. “Okay, I’m going to sound very unscientific here, but I’m going to go with ghost.”

“A ghost that turns into a naked Flurry Heart?” Stripped rolled his eyes and scoffed. “No, I’m still not buying it. Whatever it is though, bet you an astro-bit that’s our culprit.”

“Not even taking that bet,” Flashfire stated. “What I want to know is how it got here. I doubt it was here on the ship to begin with. More likely it climbed aboard somehow.”

“So, an intro-galactic hitchhiking… whatever? Why not?” Stripped shrugged. “I’ve seen enough crazy by now to accept that theory.”

“Right. You go check the cargo hold, Jabari? You come with me, I want to see the captains’ logs.”

“Why just me?” Stripped asked. “Why do I have to be the buck who goes off alone?”

“I’m banking on the theory that whatever this is, it changes into whoever you love most. And as you can’t exactly er… get it up so to speak I’m pretty sure you’re unaffected by that.”

“And what if it decides to turn into my Galaxy Garrison school crush? What then?” Stripped narrowed his optics “I swear on my nonexistent dick: I die to some sort of stupid space ghost, I’m coming back to haunt your stupid Prench arse.”

“Relax, you said it yourself, it’s not a ghost. So that means we can kill it. If it bleeds, we can kill it,” Flashfire said.

“I’ll go with him, just in case,” Jabari stated. “I’m curious to see what exactly we’re dealing with here. I don’t like leaving you alone, but I hate leaving Stripped alone as well. Besides, can’t fool you twice right?”

“Perhaps,” Flashfire agreed. “But if you hear any singing, -any form of it at all- just run like Hell.”

“Wait, so just like that?” Earth Spirit asked Jabari taking a sip of her wine. “You just left him?”

“Yup,” Jabari smiled. “We left him like he was chopped liver. Mind you, I was pretty damn certain he could handle himself. Make no bones about it, Flashfire was pissed and I don’t think he’d let himself be used again. Stripped on the other hand, I was more concerned about. He was an unknown variable in the equation.”

“...You basically just wanted to be near that ghost and see who you loved most, right?” Skywind asked the blue griffon raising an eyebrow as she crossed her arms. Jabari was strangely silent. That is, until he came up with a response that was as well thought out as his plan with Stripped was.

“Absolutely… Not. As I said, I was concerned about the unknown variable. Look, I trust Stripped, but I didn’t trust that thing not to pull a fast one and show him something like him being a normal pony. I was there to bail him out if things went sour. ...As they tend to do around us really. Anyways, this is what Flashfire told me what happened when he went to the Bridge…”

“I want you to know, Jabari, that with this plan of yours: it’s more likely that we’ll all end up dead.”

Flashfire marched forward, stifling a maddened laugh. His two fellow brothers-in-arms behind him were glaring plasma daggers at each other over something he couldn’t care less about. “I don’t, for a second, understand. Do you really want to potentially sacrifice one of us to some sort of transforming space ghost because Stripped doesn’t think it’s real?”

“Oh, I know it’s not real. Or at least not a ghost,” Stripped said smugly crossing his arms. “If it bleeds, we can kill it. You did say that didn’t you?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah… that I did,” Flashfire admitted rubbing his temples. “Sorry, it’s just this entire ordeal is starting to get to me…” he muttered before marching off a corridor with a shout of: “Remember what I said, okay? If you hear singing, run like Grogar himself is after you.”

“Absolutely,” Stripped said with a smug little smile. “Also, I need to know who I love the most so when this mission was done, I’m able to reaffirm myself as the best member of this crew and let off some steam inside their—”

“...More information than we needed thank you very much…” Jabari muttered with a small blush.

Arriving onboard the bridge, Flashfire winced when he saw the state of the crew. Shoving a dead body aside with a muttered apology, he pulled out the Sun/Moon Kyutama and used the solar end as an extra light source. Setting it down next to a computer bank, he set to work before chuckling.

“...Right, the concentration of Celestia and Luna’s power, and you’re using it as a simple desk lamp. Real classy there Flashfire…” he muttered.

“Ship’s log entry one. Our destination: JG1739 of the Eriedrone Quadrant. Eighty-seven thousand miles away. Arrival in mere seconds, but I've opted to wait since I've spent most of this trip in my personal chambers wondering if my parents were right when they said I'd amount to the errand boy for idiots. I've been tasked with leading my usual band of complete isotope eating cockwaffles with retrieving an unhatched egg of a Primal Siren. Apparently, the royal family of SD7204 wants it for their soon-to-be crowned son; the prince of that blasted place. I’ve heard of these sirens; they’re malicious in nature, but can be tamed to be… questionable associates to whoever owns them.

“According to the family, their son wants one as both a guardian and a lover. I nearly puked when I heard that given their son is as desirable of a lover as my own mother. I digress, however: the family gave us the rundown of what we should do to keep this thing from hatching and turning us all into my personal desired state: dead. Keep it in a below-zero room and whatever we do, don’t go near it. That’s it. If my guess is correct, I’ll be the only one to understand this while every other room temperature IQ crewmember sits around trying to clean their rifles with their faces.”

Flashfire rolled his eye and played the second log.

“Ship’s log entry two. We got the egg. We lost Jeffrey to a giant fly trap that ate him. I won’t miss him. He had sex with my wife behind my back and hit my child. Maybe I should let that fly trap eat my wife as well.”

Flashfire shuddered for a bit and then hit play for the third log.

“Ship’s log three. I’ve spent the past week making sure that the rest of the crew understood how to make sure we don’t die. To do this, I’ve played the instructions on an endless loop over the ship’s announcement system. In order to do this, I’ve removed any and all emergency alert systems for every important system. This includes the engine cooling system, the water system, and the indoor plumbing. We’ve already had the plumbing fail sixty-seven times because Richardson thinks that eating burritos for each meal is a good idea while having severe stomach trouble. I’ve taken it upon myself to lock him in the freezer so he’ll die. Sadly, the freezer broke and now he’s stuck eating the frozen burritos. Nobody will go into the freezer now, so we’re stuck eating prepared meals that we brought from our wives. Or in my case, my kid, who cooks like my wife, only he understands that I like my sandwiches cut in triangles and not squares.”

Flashfire sighed and rubbed his temples once more. “Okay, that’s nice and all, but when do we get to anything use—oh, there’s two left. Here we go…”

“Ship’s log four. Okay, this is bad. For starters, when the freezer failed, the temperature in the egg’s room also broke. I guess I should’ve figured this out, but I don’t get paid to keep watch on ship maintenance. I just make sure that those idiots are all inline to make sure they don’t die on the ground. Richardson was the maintenance guy… oh, wait. Shit. He’s been in the freezer. I think that’s why he’s been screaming about the egg this entire time. I thought he just wanted to eat some eggs. I shouldn’t have been throwing eggs at the door as a joke. Welp, I guess I should go let him out.”

Flashfire hit play on the final log.

“Ship’s log five. Welp, I got to the egg’s room and it hatched. I saw a trail of dead crewmembers on the way there. I’m now staring at the thing. It looks like my mother. Given that this thing is said to take on the thing I find the most beautiful, that sorta makes sense. Yes, I have a wife, and she’s beautiful, but who doesn’t love their mother more than anything else in the universe?”

Flashfire admitted that made sense as he paused the log. If he actually knew his mother, he probably would have seen her instead of Flurry.

“Oh god… AAAAHHHH! AGGGGGGHHHHHHH! AAAGHHHHHH!” the log’s owner screamed before all went silent. Flashfire sat there for a few moments in silence before his eyes narrowed. They needed to get off this ship. Now.

“Stripped… Stripped?” he said into the comms before silently swearing. “...Right, forgot about that issue.”

With that, he picked up the pace and ran…

Meanwhile, Stripped and Jabari had made it to the cargo hold with weapons trained on anything that moved. Mind you, all they’d shot so far was a couple of rats but given what they were dealing with caution was of the essence.

“So, what do you think we’ll see?” Stripped had to ask. “Beautiful sexy buxom alien space babe, or a mess of machine parts ready to be built into the most genius device ever known to ponykind? We should call this thing Erised. Backwards for Desire. Fits, doesn’t it?”

“...Nicknaming the fetish monster already, are we?” Jabari muttered. “Let’s get serious here, how do you think this thing… appears?”

“Water’s been present in the major spots so far. The corridors, the shower room. I’d say it uses water like a gateway. I’d need to see this in action to confirm my theory,” Stripped replied as he climbed down a ladder into the storage compartments. He fought back a shudder. This was a maze of massive crates and containers, and it would be all too easy to get ripped limb from limb by this beastie he mused as he heard water dripping somewhere in the background.

“...World’s most deadly game, this…” Jabari swallowed nervously. “You know, my family tree believe it or not contained quite a few big game hunters. Celestia wasn’t exactly a… fan.” he rambled in his nervousness.

“I should think not,” Stripped said as he shone a light down an empty container before sighing in relief. Nothing there. “I’m certainly not a fan of hunting animals for sport. Necessity maybe, but not sport.”

“Never realized you were a fan of wildlife conservation…” Jabari commented chuckling as the mood around them lightened briefly. He chuckled even louder as he imagined a nude Stripped holding up protest signs.

“...Something so funny?” Stripped inquired.

“Nah, never mind me. Just laughing at… something...” Jabari trailed off as the two shone their lights on a massive egg that had been cracked open from the inside, oozing out some sort of slime from within.

“...Well, we know where this thing came from now…” Stripped muttered before a loud screech was heard. “Wits about you now!”

Jabari nodded and split off from Stripped’s path, taking the right side of the egg while Stripped took the left side. It was here that he could see the chaotic sight that the creature had left behind. Several destroyed containers, computers, and other various bits and pieces lay strewn across the ground.

“...Lady Luna above…” Stripped muttered. “You certainly didn’t take your time did you Erised?”

‘Of course not.’

A disembodied voice echoed through Stripped’s mind. It was his own, but… lower. Softer. Livelier even.

Stripped blinked and scanned the world in front of him. For as far as the mortal eye could see, there was nothing but shells of the colossal egg next to him and destroyed pieces of technology that, to him, were alien.

“Uh… hello?”

Silence filled the air for a few seconds until the voice returned. ‘I’m beneath you.’

Stripped craned his neck down, but was met with what he’d seen before: destroy pieces of technology. It wasn’t until he saw his necklace slowly rise up that he connected two and two together.

Where the yellow gem once lied was a golden iris; blinking like the softest of souls brings about happiness to those that come into contact with it. It stared deep into Stripped’s metallic soul, having become an unblinking vigil to him.

‘Hello, Stripped.’

Stripped was far from stupid, he knew exactly what his greatest desire probably was. And that eye… he knew who it belonged to. Luna only knew he saw it in his dreams for the past month.

“You’re… me, aren’t you? Well, not me me, but the me I’d like to be…” Stripped asked.

‘Such a clever little one, aren’t you?’

“I’d like to think so, yes. I was built to be a genius.” Stripped replied eloquently.

The iris blinked once more, this time staying shut and trickling out of the necklace; first slowly and progressively getting quicker until Stripped was surrounded in a golden, yet somewhat murky, substance.

“...You know there are so many perverse sexual jokes I could make right about now, right?” Stripped remarked.

The liquid converged into a small circle in front of Stripped, slowly rising up into the sandy-gold body of Stripped; a faint smile on his face. ‘What if that's what I wanted you to think; to feel that way?’

“Then I’d say you’re nuts, but then again I sorta already figured that out with the stunt you pulled with my best friend,” Stripped replied. “I’m egotistical, yes, but not egotistical enough to feel aroused looking at… well, myself. Flashfire’s great great… so many greats grandmother Trixie maybe, but not me. But in any case, what do you get out of this? Sexual pleasure -Luna’s withers forbidding- as you toy with your victims and make them go out with a bang if you will as you viciously murder them?” he commented crossing his arms as the nude form of his doppelganger walked around him like some sort of animal circling its prey. Which was a rather fitting metaphor, one supposed. “Just trying to figure you out here, that’s all.”

The creature turned its head to follow Stripped, which rotated repeatedly as he circled it. ‘What exactly is it that you wish to figure out?’

“As I said, what you get out of all this.”

‘The thrill of the hunt.’

“Of course…” Stripped muttered. “But why change into your victims’ greatest desire or whoever they care for most before killing them?”

‘You’re a curiosity, aren’t you? You’re not like the rest… You’re not a normal pony. No, you’re… well, I hesitate to even call you a living being in the traditional sense,’ the other Stripped remarked. It caressed Stripped’s metallic cheek, sending a frigid sensation through his body. ‘Curious, most curious.’

“I could say the same about you if you weren’t a mass murdering psychopath.” Stripped remarked.

‘But aren’t you a part of that psychopathy? Are you not a trained killer by nature? Having fought?’

“Only in self-defense, only to help others who couldn’t help themselves. I’m not like you, who kills only for killing’s sake,” Stripped returned with more than a hint of disgust. “You’re a rather poor copy of me when all is said and done.”

‘But I’m also what you really want. To be truly… alive,’ the doppelganger replied. ‘Is that not correct?’

“Yes… yes, I admit that’s true. This is what I want. Not to be wires and circuits, with just a few donated organs so I can conjure something up. I want to be… well, thinking, breathing… bleeding.”

The doppelganger placed a hand on Stripped’s shoulder and stood in front of him. It caressed a hand over his body; the metal slowly being replaced by his desired body. ‘If you come with me, I can make all of your dreams come true,’ it cooed. ‘Everything you desire can be yours if you just come with me. All that you’ve ever loved will be yours; all that you desire you can have to your heart's content.’’

Stripped reached out to touch his doppelganger’s cheek and enveloped him in a kiss as the thing wrapped itself around him. Stripped felt a sharp pain in his chest, and realized a little too late something was trying to rip him open. And it probably would have succeeded as well, had Jabari not shown up in the nick of time astral blasters in hand firing upon the creature. In the blink of an eye, it vanished but as to where… that was a mystery.

Stripped stood, shuddering as the gaping wound in his chest slowly started to repair itself.

“What… what the hell did you do that for?” Stripped shouted. “...I… I was…”

“Getting yourself killed?” Jabari asked, before slapping Stripped right across the cheek.

“You stupid bastard!” Stripped slapped Jabari back the zorse looking unfazed. “You son of a bitch I was going to be alive again! I was going to be free of this accursed fucking metal prison!”

Jabari was having none of this nonsense and once again he drew back his hand this time with even greater force.

“You hit me again!” Stripped said, stunned with the slap actually ripping open his skin and exposing metal, circuitry, and wires. “Not even my own father hit me!”

“...Well, I’m not your father am I?” Jabari deadpanned before his voice softened as Stripped began to break down sobbing. “...Look, I know that thing threw you for a loop… It probably would have done the same to me if I was in your position, but right now we need your genius if we’re going to survive long enough to get off this ship. You’re alive. You’ve always been alive. Robot or not, you are Stripped Gear, and that’s all that matters to any of us. Do you really think we care about who or what you are? No, it’s not the circumstances of one’s birth that matters. It’s what you do with your life afterward. And if you want to sit around feeling sorry for yourself, well then… fine by me…”

“Yes… Yes, you’re right,” Stripped murmured the wound healing itself. “But we’re not going to just get off this ship and run with our tails between our legs. No, we’re going to kill this son of a bitch before it harms anyone else. Make no mistake, it’s learning and it’ll learn there’s a way off this ship. Escape pods, or the Voyager. We cannot let this thing make it to civilization. We need to kill it.” he stated firmly as he picked his rifle up off the ground. Oddly, the floor in front of them was dry he noted. And yet somehow, the creature had appeared…

“Dear Boreas…” Skywind whispered. A shattering of glass. The wine hit the floor, splattering the crimson substance all over her, Wind Spirit and Jabari. “...Is… Is that really how Stripped feels about himself?”

“Yes, and I swear if you let that get around… then you will not like the results…” Jabari warned a dangerous edge in his voice.

“Okay, so no water in the area,” Wind Spirit murmured, the earthy brown pegasus rubbing a hand on her chin in thought. “So how did…”

“I’m getting there… Have a bit of patience okay?”

“Hmm, yes, that bears a thought…” Stripped mused as a theory began to form in his mind before he turned back to Jabari. “You ever heard of optography?” he asked and the zorse nodded.

“Old superstition. The last thing someone sees can be captured in their eye, right?” Jabari remembered not entirely sure what Stripped was getting at.

“Yes, certainly an alluring if not rather frankly quite a morbid method to solve crimes and gather information. I’m thinking we could put that method to use here, see exactly what the crewmembers saw before they died. Now, the science is barely refined and I’m being generous here as you should know, but I believe we can do it. Honestly, I’d really want a good look at this creature’s true form, just so I know exactly what it was that tried to kill me.”

“Nice to know,” Flashfire commented as he walked up, looking exceedingly disturbed by this thought.

Jabari read his expression, he knew what the red unicorn was thinking. He had to be beating himself up inside, thinking about what-ifs or maybes. He immediately cut that line of thought off.

“Not your fault,” Jabari told the stallion. “Hardly. You did what you thought was intelligent. You could hardly know that this thing could affect the mechanical as well as the biological.”

“...Yeah, yeah, I suppose…” Flashfire mused.

“So, what’d you find out from the captains’ logs?” Stripped asked.

“Aside from the fact that the entire crew and their benefactors lacked precognitive thought?” Flashfire asked. “Well, I know that this creature really hates cold. Like, really hates it.”

“Nice to know,” Stripped smirked. “So, how can we make this entire ship a very unhappy place for Erised? The answer, environmental controls. I’ve got a readout of the ship’s schematics, and they aren’t far from here.”

“Perfect,” Flashfire smirked although he swore there was something… off about one of Stripped’s optics. Might have been his imagination, he didn’t know. “Though we still don’t know how this thing travels from place to place.”

“I’ve been working on a revised theory actually,” Stripped answered. “Reflection. Not just water, anything that’s like a mirror. In the cargo hold, it was entirely dry. Not a drop of water to be found. And how could there be? It was far too hot really. Almost like a tropical planet. My theory is the creature somehow made if more liveable, which is why we’re sweating like pigs. Maybe it fools around with the humidity in the air somehow. I don’t know. But I do know if it’s not water, it has to be a reflection.”

“Any reflection?” Flashfire asked, surprised.

“Each and any,” Stripped replied. “Hell, could be with us right now, inside one of our eyes and we’d never know it! Listen, I’ll go up to the environmental controls, get this place cold while you two get the Hell out of here. It’s going to get very unpleasant around here very fast.”

“No,” Jabari said as he put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I’m not leaving you.”

“Neither am I. We see our missions through to the end,” Flashfire stated. “We started this together, and we end this together.”

“Well, lucky for you, you don’t hate the cold right?” Stripped deadpanned and Flashfire actually laughed at that.

It wasn’t for several seconds of laughter that reality struck Flashfire like a freight train. He stopped and took a small step back. “Wait… you’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Oh, quite. We cannot afford to let this thing reach any civilized planet. Besides, I’m not flesh and blood like you. This won’t really be much of a bother to me. Besides, who better to be live bait than the one the creature liked the most?”

“I hate you,” Flashfire replied flatly.

“I love you too dear. Now, let’s get to work shall we?” Stripped chirped out.

Eventually the group reached the environmental controls, Stripped’s finger plugging itself into the systems. Lights turned on, and Stripped’s optics flashed with lines of code. “Okay, I’m in. Now, as soon as this place starts to get colder, we should see a reaction.”

Flashfire gripped his rifle tightly. “You say that like you know it’s here in the room with us.”

“Of course it is,” Stripped said pointing to his own left optic. “Been with me since I left the storage room.”

“And it could’ve come out at any moment, right?” Flashfire asked. “How lovely. How do I know that you aren’t that abomination right now?”

Stripped gave him a glare.

“...Okay, I know you’re you now.” Flashfire muttered.

“Oh, and just when I thought I’d have to say your Galaxy Garrison nickname is-”

“Ah, it’s you. Definitely you. I thought we said never to speak of that one ever again.” Flashfire muttered. Little by little, the room began to grow colder and soon one could see their breath. Stripped began to squirm out in pain as something… something began to ooze out of his optic. It was thick like paint but clear as water. It poured onto the ground with increasing intensity.

And it kept pouring.

Through Stripped’s agonized screams, the liquid—which had begun to fill up a fifth of the room at this point—converged at the center of the room, slowly forming into a gelatinous, flesh-colored monstrosity. A large, empty maw protruded from the center of its body, surrounded by half a dozen bony arms. Spider-like in build, the creature had this large upper mass that resembled a torso complete with two extra arm-like appendages sprouting out from it. Flashfire nearly retched in disgust when he realized what exactly had nearly seduced him.

The creature screeched out in both rage and pain and tried to clamber off but Flashfire even as the cold threatened to take him as well let out a roar and fired several black iron chains at it.

“Oh no, you son of a bitch; you monstre putain de balless. You aren’t getting away. We’re going to ride out this chill, and you… you’re going to die. Droit à l'enfer avec vous!” Flashfire shouted.

“You used me,” Stripped shouted a massive crab’s claw erupting from his back. “You turned yourself into what I hated most about myself, that I’ll never be normal and you used that against me! So freeze!”

The creature’s screams turned nearly ear-piercing by this point. Jabari’s ears were bleeding by now, and Flashfire's weren't far behind. The creature thrashed around trying to break itself free before finally it fell limp and thudded to the floor with a loud clatter. Finally, the cold relented and the heat returned.

“...Let’s never… never do that again okay?” Flashfire asked.

“Agreed,” Stripped nodded. “You didn’t have to do that you know, neither of you. I could handle myself.”

“But I wanted to. We wanted to. You’re our friend. And if we can’t rely on friendship, what can we rely on?” Flashfire asked.

“...I see. Now, let’s go home, shall we?” Stripped asked and Flashfire nodded.

“Yeah, let’s,” he said as the threesome started back. “Just one question though… What if… what if there are more of those things like that out there?”

Nobody provided a solid answer for that, and that perhaps was the most unnerving aspect of it all really…

“So, in the end, we reported this incident to both Stardust and the real Flurry, kept them apprised of the possibility of any more of these… abominations being out there. The creature’s planet of origin, well we all made a decree to never go there for any reason.”

“...How do you know you really killed the creature?” Wind Spirit asked her hand shaking. “How do you know it didn’t show you what you wanted most, it… dead at your hooves?”

With a sigh, Jabari got up off his chair and looked out towards the stars. “...Honestly, I can never be actually sure at times. I just have to hope it’s really gone. But in the end… well, what do you think of Stripped now?”

“...I… I take back whatever I had to say about him. He’s… he’s not useless,” Wind said with Sky nodding along. “Fact is, he’s possibly the best member of this crew I’d ever think of.”

“Don’t let him hear that. The last thing we want is him to actually get an even bigger ego than he already has…” Jabari remarked and a shared chuckle came from the threesome. “Seriously though, do not say what I told you to Stripped. Celestia knows I feel terrible enough telling you two this already as it is, even if it was just to prove a point.”

“...Yeah, well I think you proved it well enough,” Sky murmured. “To think, he saved you both with just his mind…”

“And that’s the part we all like about him, isn’t it?” Jabari smiled. “Now listen, don’t you two have maintenance duty with Crazy Diamond? Celestia knows the donkey’s been complaining about the vents not circulating for the past week and a half.”

Sky and Wind both shared a look and a nervous chuckle with Sky rubbing the back of her head with a hand, the blue griffon blushing bright red.

“...Yeah, suppose we should get on that…” she admitted before quirking an eyebrow. “Just one thing though. You never met the creature, at least personally. Do you have any idea what it would have changed into if you did?” she inquired before a nasty glare was sent her way by Jabari.

“No, and I’d rather have not. Now off with you two!” he barked and the two scampered off before Jabari smiled to himself. Yeah, he sorta already knew what he probably would have seen, thinking of a gold-furred stallion much like himself.

“...I’ll find you. Dad.” Jabari thought as a rocket’s boosters roared in his head.

Author's Notes:

Okay... Now this was one of the most... unique if not fun chapters to write. Bit of a breath chapter after the last one in some aspects, in others not. Huge thank you to Vertigo, really. Without him, could not have created the horrific atmosphere that this chapter provided. Seriously, he took a basic idea of a creature that leaps around through reflections and as Flashfire put it: 'bit of a siren rip-off" and turned it into something truly horrifying.

Obviously, the inspirations for this chapter were the classic Lost Galaxy episode "The Rescue Mission" and the DW episode "The Black Spot". Also took a bit of inspiration from "Beyond the Aquila Rift" from Love, Death, and Robots. Anyone who's seen that episode should guess exactly what.

Anyways, as ever, comments and thoughts along with critique are welcomed.

Part 27: Snowfall

“Did you, or did you not lose contact?” Fågel asked of her compatriot, soft snow flurries falling to the ground of a snow-covered forest, a dark and foreboding environment. The parrot never particularly liked the woods, she liked to be flying free in a clear blue sky with nothing holding her back. And yet here she was, under cover of darkness in a forest where the trees seemed to be getting thicker and thicker with each passing moment. “Tell me.”

She looked to her colleague, her eyes unblinking. They remained fixated on the world in front of her and nothing else. Her breathing remained oddly steady. The contrast was unnerving in of itself. Yet, the unrelenting sensation of silver eyes boring their way into her had caused her to betray the trust that she'd gained for her partner.

Wind Spirit. That was her name. She’d vaguely seen the pegasus around the ship a few times, not actually making contact with her, but then again Fågel really didn’t have time for friends as is.

“Answer me,” Fågel asked giving her a little shake. “Where’s Jabari, where’s the rest of the landing party?”

Wind Spirit finally blinked and shrugged, a faint “I dunno,” escaping her mouth. She turned her head and scanned her surroundings. “Maybe they just left and forgot us.”

“Don’t be so daft,” Fågel disagreed, the Sun/Moon Kyutama serving as a small flashlight, the parrot peering out into the oppressive darkness. Something moved in the shadows, long and limber. “No man gets left behind, remember? And I’m sure as hell not going to leave my team behind, and nor would they do the same for us.”

She sighed, remembering how this entire mission started. There had been rumors of a Dark Matter observation post out here, one that could easily have been tapped into. Say to… hmm, search for where the Doctor and Stripped Gear were held. Fågel didn’t like it, those two in the hands of the enemy. She could only guess at how much information they’d divulged already. She knew the two were strong, some might say stubborn but she also knew that when you wanted information, there were plenty of ways to get it. The parrot rubbed her arm, where a scar from long ago lay under her sleeves. In prison, she’d had to fight to stay alive, and at times… well, sometimes she’d been involved in things she would have cared to forget.

“I don't know where they are,” Wind sneered. “I told you already that I don't. I still don't. That hasn't and won't change.” She turned her back to Fågel. “If you so desperately wish to make contact with them, be my guest.”

Fågel knew something was wrong with the pegasus, sure she’d never spent any amount of time around her but she knew Wind was normally the upbeat sort. Peppy even. The kind of peppy that made Fågel want to throw something through a wall. Swinging her axe, a tree falling with the strike, Fågel quickly made use of the timber and began building a fire. Behind her, Wind had taken a seat on the ground, staring out into the foreboding maw of the forest.

“You gonna help?” Fågel asked.

“I can hear them.” Wind blinked and sighed. “The trees call to me. They want me. They beckon. They scream. They beg. I want to go.”

“You’re no Earth Pony, and trees can’t talk,” Fågel replied. “So cut the crap. You’re starting to freak me out here!”

Wind shook her head, blinking repeatedly as if she'd just been stirred from a deep sleep. “H-huh?” She frantically looked around before her eyes rested on an axe. “O-oh, yeah, sorry. I, uh, I was thinking about some weird old story I'd been reading earlier and it must've spang to mind!” She let out a forced giggle. “I’ll help!”

Fågel shook her head. Although she liked to consider herself an observant sort, she knew how to pick up on social cues and the like. She’d also picked on a few admirers on Jabari’s part. Usually of the mare variety. And Fågel had a sneaking suspicion that the pink stripes on Wind Spirit’s jacket were not there just because she was a mare.

“No accounting for taste, I suppose,” Fågel mused. “If I had any choice in crewmembers, I would not pick Jabari. He’s nice, I suppose, in that pretty boy way but a bit too nerdy. ...dunno why they say brainy is the new sexy. Give me a man who’s the classic kind of sexy. Muscular.”

Maybe it was down to personal taste she supposed, Fågel aware she was gifted with the powers of the Bull. Maybe that had rubbed off on her or something. Bah, she could consider it later. Right now she had more important matters to deal with. A, she had to find her squad. B, she had to get Wind up and moving before they all froze to death. And C, -or maybe one of those little footnotes you put in brackets- then they’d all get the hell off this planet. It all just felt… wrong, from the very air they breathed to the ground they walked upon. Jabari had mentioned a man-eating planet once. Fågel hoped this wasn’t a repeat of that occasion.

As I said, Fågel considered herself an observant sort. She knew Wind Spirit was not reciting something from an old story. There was something definitely wrong with this entire planet.

“Just… Just stay out of the shadows, okay?” Fågel asked, using the Sun/Moon Kyutama as a makeshift lamp while she continued chopping wood. “...I don’t like this place, not at all… So you listen to me, alright, featherhead? If you see something moving in the shadows, or the trees start talking to you again, tell me and stay exactly where you are. This place makes all of my instincts go all funny.”

Wind waved a hand dismissively. “You sound like my mother. Oh so worrisome, yet when have I ever gotten into trouble?” She stuck her tongue out. “I'll be fine.”

“If I sound like your mother, then good,” Fågel said taking the remark as a compliment. “You should always listen to your mother, she’s generally the smartest person you’ll ever know in your life.”

“Yeah, well, mine left my father when I was 5, then got drunk and tried to kiss an oncoming train,” Wind said. “If she was the smartest person in my life… what's that make you?”

Fågel noted a surprising portion of the crew of the Armor had family issues, including her own relation in Coldcast. She wondered if that meant something. “Well, I’d say I’m picking up where your mother left off. If she dropped you like a hot rock, well, consider me picking you back up.”

“So, you going to sing me a lullaby, then?” Wind asked.

“If I need to, yes,” Fågel replied in absolute seriousness, no snark. “You and your sister Earth need some positive family reinforcement if you ask me.”

“Aw, you're so sweet,” Wind beamed. “Thank you.”

Fågel smiled and gave Wind a hug.

After several minutes of chopping down trees, Fågel gathered the wood and kindled a fire, which roared to life and sent a heavenly warmth through her and Wind. A temporary freedom from the oppressive and oncoming chill.

“It's nice to have some semblance of hospitality on this frigid hellscape,” Fågel muttered. “It reminds me too much of home.”

“Least this place has… trees, and wildlife and things,” Wind said searching for something nice to say about this world. “Home was just ice and snow.”

“Home wasn’t depressing as all hell,” Fågel drawled. “And it wasn’t filled with any manner of things that wanted to kill everything around it.”

“So?” Wind asked. “Just because it didn’t want to kill all didn’t mean it wasn’t depressing. Let me tell you, the moment I see another Galaxy Garrison corridor it’ll be too soon. Too much stark white, and all that. Wasn’t very welcoming.”

“It wasn’t meant to be welcoming, you dunce,” Fågel replied in a complete deadpan. “It was meant to be a military base.”

“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Wind said. “Care to tell me how war is hell and being blown until you’re just a crimson mist?”

Fågel’s earlier good mood had evaporated. “I survived prison, I think I can survive war. Hell, we’ve practically been at war with Dark Matter since we met them, and we’re still alive, aren’t we?”

“Though not for lack of trying…” Fågel mused to herself, remembering the many traps and tricks they’d stumbled into, sometimes on purpose and sometimes due to their own stupidity.

Wind was about to question what exactly Fågel had been in prison for, but one glare of her pink eyes quickly silenced her. “So… Um…” Wind asked. “We’re going to have to eat soon, right? And seeing as how I can’t exactly leave here, by your orders no less, I assume you’re going to just go off into those woods alone, and maybe stumble into something we can eat?”

Fågel answered with: “If I must, yes. But check your supply kit, it’s per regulations that when we land on a planet with unfamiliar dangers and environment we bring enough food to last four solar cycles. That is, if you were careful enough not to eat it all in one go. Don’t think I haven’t seen you stuffing your face in the cafeteria back aboard the Armor.”

“What can I say,” Wind replied with a small shrug. “I’m a growing mare, so sue me!”

“So am I,” Fågel drawled. “...But you don’t see me chowing down on anything my hands can grab. Swimsuit season’s coming up after all, and I’d like to stay thin!”

“Swimsuit season on a starship, that’s a thing?” Wind asked.

“Semantics,” Fågel waved her hand dismissively. “Just semantics.”

Truth be told, she didn’t like sitting around here while Jabari and the rest of the crew were off Celestia only knew where. But something was circling her and the campsite, and until she knew what she was dealing with, Fågel didn’t fancy making a dash for it. She looked at the Pyxis Kyutama, it seemed to be on the fritz. Had to be the weather, Fågel decided. Or the planet’s strong magnetic field. If the damn thing was cooperating, she would have chanced a run. She would have at least known which direction Jabari was in. Now that she thought about it, said the field was probably responsible for the comms being so bad.

“Damn this planet,” Fågel thought. “The sooner I get everyone back aboard the Armor, the better.”

Something moved in the shadows out of the corner of her eye, and Fågel drew her pistol. Firing off a few shots into the darkness, she sighed, almost in tired lethargic fashion. What was the point? With her luck, said animal probably just tanked the shots. Again, she cursed the planet under her breath. Today was not turning out to be a fun day, she mused. Such was the luck of this crew, she supposed.

Wind suddenly turned her head back to the forest, her gaze once again becoming unblinking and unwavering. The world had become still and deafeningly silent.

Then it began. At first, it was faint, no louder than the sound of a gnat flying around. With each passing second, however, it grew louder. Soon, it was a pencil tapping against a table. Then the as loud as a foot stomping against wind. Then a boulder crashing through a window. Then a bomb.

Wind covered her ears. She had heard when Fågel was asking where the crew was. She had heard it when she heard the forest call her name. She had heard it second she landed on the planet. A buzzing. It echoed in her ears. It rang in her head. Her stomach turned. Her eyes ached; tears rushing down her cheeks. She wanted to rip her skull out. She wanted to scream..

“Wind?” Fågel noticed teammate’s discomfort and quickly rushed over. “Wind, what’s wrong?”

“I… I can hear it. I can hear it all!” Wind stood up and raced ahead. “It calls, it calls!”

“WIND!” Fågel shouted as she ran into the forest, Astral Axe in hand. As she ran, she thought back to how this all started…

Several hours before...

“It’s not pink, it’s magenta!” Jabari argued to Fågel, his eyes fixated on his ship. The bright pin- sorry, magenta Eagle Voyager really cut a sharp contrast against the dull muted tones of the snow-capped forest. “And in any case, don’t you think we have more important things to worry about, like finding that outpost?”

Fågel pulled the hood of her cloak up, the wind chilling her to the bone and scything into her face. She pressed a button on her Voyager, the massive vehicle opening a panel in its side to reveal rifles. They were quickly grabbed and placed in the hands of the squadron. “Yeah, sure, keep telling yourself that one Jabari. Pink’s pink,” the parrot said. “Can’t disguise that one.”

The hum and the whir of a pulse rifle charging itself with magic. Several more sounds just like it followed. Fågel furrowed her brows, they were going to be without backup for a short while, at least until that outpost was in their hands. The Armor was up above, but well out of sensor range. No sense in letting the whole quadrant know that they were here, and having the place radio for help bringing a whole fleet down on top of them. Though the bright pink eagle ship in the white snow might do that job for them if they didn’t find some way to cover it up.

All of the Voyagers emitted a unique energy signature. Yes, this was useful for finding them if you ever found yourself lost. To be honest, looking at the deep forest surrounding them on all sides, Fågel considered that a very real possibility. But it also meant they were very easy to find by those who you didn’t want to have any real contact with. Say… Dark Matter soldiers.

“So, what do you think lurks on this hellhole?” Jabari asked. “I bet there are snow worms that’ll eat us.”

“Hardy har har,” Fågel replied. “Don’t quit your day job, you may kill someone with your comedic timing.”

Jabari just took out his pistol and fired at several of the trees, covering the Eagle Voyager with snow. “Simple, but effective,” the scientist said. “Not everything needs to be overly complicated.”

“Yes, I agree…” Fågel glared daggers at Jabari. “Now tell: was it really necessary to shoot that so close to me?”

Jabari just smirked. “Maybe.”

“...what a team,” Wind Spirit muttered from behind them, a golden furred kirin nodding along with her. “And these two are our commanding officers? They’re like children.”

“I heard that!” Jabari yelled back. “Don’t worry, we’ve done this a hundred times before. Our banter is by no means anything abnormal. In fact, it’s a part of our standard operating procedure!”

He turned to Fågel. “Think they believe that?” he whispered.

“Is the sky red?” she whispered back.

Jabari was forced to concede his point. “Taiyang, Earth. You’re with me. We’ll go to the west, and Fågel, you go with Wind to the East. Classic pincer maneuver. Dark Matter will never know what hit them.”

Earth and Taiyang followed him into the forests, Taiyang, in particular, casting a longing look towards the Eagle Voyager. The kirin uttered: “We should stay… we should stay.” as if he knew something they didn’t.

Fågel didn’t exactly look reassured, knowing exactly how well connected the kirin species as a whole was to nature.

“Oh, they will,” Fågel drawled regaining her composure. “That is If we keep yammering on like this.”

“Now, now,” Jabari said. “No need to be sassy. Get to work and all your fears will be alleviated.”

“Pot, meet kettle,” Fågel called as she and Wind entered the woods. “Seriously...”

“Fears be alleviated, huh?” she thought to herself, swallowing to herself as she looked around her.

As they walked, Fågel took notice of the forest’s generally oppressive air, like it was squeezing the life out of them. It reminded her of the stories she’d been told as a young chick, about the infamous Everfree. A forest so dark, and so dangerous looking into it was like staring into the eyes of the abyss. You’d be lucky if you didn’t blink. Of course, the Everfree didn’t exist now. But all the same, Fågel was severely reminded of every story she was ever told of it.

Every culture had their stories about the woods or the forests or whatnot. They always seemed to be lawless places where magic went wild or where lessons about not straying off the path were told. Monsters from one’s wildest imagination or deepest nightmares roamed free ready to snap up those who came foolishly unprepared.

Fågel didn’t like forests, it must be said. As a bird, she didn’t like enclosed spaces in general. It was a miracle she hadn’t gone crazy long ago from prison or the vaults or even the ships. Maybe she had, and she just hadn’t realized it. She noted she wanted out of this forest. It was like it was sucking something out of her as she continued to walk through. Maybe it was her fight or flight instincts, but something about this forest felt so deeply wrong to her. If she were a more superstitious sort, she’d almost say it had a mind of its own.

Looking behind her, the parrot saw Wind just barely keeping up. At several points, Fågel found herself having to stop to allow the mare to keep up with her. She raised an eyebrow, was the pegasus really that out of shape? Impossible! She was a member of the Royal Guard, or what passed for it in this day and age. They should have knocked any laziness right out of ponies!

“Then again…” Fågel thought to herself. “This walk isn’t exactly easy on me either. Odd really. I mean, I’m not exactly as fit as some other members of this team but I’m still a fairly athletic sort. I’d have to be, just to even qualify as a Ranger.”

“You alright back there?” she shouted to Wind, the pegasus pulling up the hood of her cloak. Noting the color, Fågel chuckled to herself. “Or are you afraid of the Big Bad Wolf, Little Red Riding Hoof?”

“Me, afraid?” Wind laughed nervously, and perhaps a bit more listlessly than Fågel would have liked. “No, no, I’m fine!”

“You don’t sound fine…” Fågel said narrowing her eyes slightly in curiosity. “You sure we don’t need to stop, take a break and all that?”

“And basically say I’m slowing the big bad Black Ranger down?” Wind asked sorta in a snappish manner regaining some of that fire of hers. “No, not on your life!”

“Well, at least you’ve got some spirit,” Fågel appraised. “And here I thought you were getting bored!”

“It’s an adventure, so why would I get bored?” Wind asked though her tone betrayed her. Something Fågel would have been a fool not to miss. “Fighting evil, kicking Dark Matter ass, yay…”

Fågel suddenly drew her axe and whirled around to slice a multi-eyed wolf-like creature down the middle, blood pooling in the snow. “You also have no spacial awareness. Had I not noticed that thing when I did, you’d have been killed you ditz.”

“Oh, really?” Wind blinked before stepping away from the gory mess at her feet. “...silly me.”

Fågel had a higher sense of fight or flight from her time in prison, so she knew when she was being watched. Her hearing was also better than average, as being a female inside a prison did not end well if you weren’t careful. What she did NOT understand was how Wind didn’t notice that monster, a pegasus normally had very high spatial awareness. And yet Wind didn’t sound as if she cared, or from the look of her even if she did could have moved fast enough to dodge. Was she that much of a useless lump?

Taking a few deep breaths, Fågel calmed herself. She’d barely reacted in time to stop it herself, so she had no room to chastise Wind. “This forest will be the death of us, and not just via animals. It’ll drive us all mad!”

After a few more minutes of solid walking, the two came across what looked to be a small farm, seemingly abandoned. The structure itself was decrepit, made of wood that has been weathered away by the ferocious and unrelenting winds of the planet.

“Think anyone's home?” Wind asked quietly.

Fågel shook her head. “No one in their right mind would live in a place like that on a planet as cold as this.”

“Clearly, someone tried…” Wind murmured as she walked up to the door, before knocking gently. When she didn’t get a response, she settled for kicking it in. “Plus, we were nuts enough to stick around on Equestria, and this place is just as cold…”

What she found inside the farmhouse put her in for a shock. A man, sorta resembling a squid of sorts, curled up in the back of the living room.

“Visitors?” The man stood up, two abnormally long tentacles acting as legs quivering as he walked towards the mares. “Visitors for little old me?”

“Um, hello.” Wind took a slight step back and waved. “We, uh, are looking for some bad guys.”

The man walked towards them, slowly and almost lethargically. “No, no, no. There are no bad guys here,” He motioned to the world outside. “The lands, the weather, the skies, they took all the bad guys long ago.”

“What… exactly do you mean?” Wind asked.

The man frantically pointed outside once more. “You! You, young one, would do yourself a big favor and flee this damned world,” he said almost in a daze. “Life here cannot exist. She doesn't blossom as she does on other worlds. Her light sputtered out long ago and if you don't flee, so too will yours!”

“...alright, who’s been drinking the nihilism juice?” Wind wondered to herself before muttering: “Alright then… we’ll just be… uh, on our way then, I suppose?”

Fågel wasn’t giving up so easily, spooked as she was. “Explain what you’re on about.”

Short, simple, and direct. Just the way she liked it.

“The buzzing!” the man screamed. “The buzzing! It reveals to me the secrets of life and it drives those who hear it mad! The shadows, the speak! The trees, they beckon! The skies reveal a trillion worlds where they yearn to feed! All the eyes; forever damned to a million deaths until the Gods come to save us once and-”

The alien let out an agonized gasp, his breathing becoming stagnant, as he seemed to see something behind both Wind and Fågel that they had yet to notice. He clutched his chest, and fell to the floor, motionless. Fågel ran over to him, and began shaking him. “Sir? Sir!” the parrot shouted continuing to shake him before finally giving up. Her face fell. “...Heart attack.”

“H-Heart attack?” Wind whispered in fear. “But he seemed…”

“Perfectly healthy?” Fågel finished. “Don’t delude yourself, something… or someone scared him so badly that he died of fright. The question is, what?”

“No, a better question is why are we standing around here when whatever did that to him, well it could be lurking about going after us next,” Wind pointed out. “We should be running.”

“Did you notice how he was talking?” Fågel asked.

“Like he’d gone on full nihilist?” Wind interjected.. “Yeah, kinda hard not to notice really. What of it?”

“Nothing…” Fågel murmured though from her tone and facial expression Wind had a hard time believing her. “...Just… nothing at all.”

“Oh, pft, nonsense,” Wind then said seemingly changing her mind. Or maybe she hadn’t, Fågel mused. Maybe she was so afraid she was looking for an ordinary explanation for things. “You saw the way he was talking. He was a lunatic who’d clearly been ill! We must’ve frightened him, he got worked up, and he had a heart attack… He was an old man, these things happen. And sorry if I seem insensitive here, but we’ve got bigger worries here. That? That was nothing, nothing at all.”

“Screw nothing,” Fågel muttered in suspicion. “Something’s going on around here…”

Wind clamped a hand over Fågel’s beak as she clutched her laser rifle in the other hand. “And if you want to live, keep your mouth shut. Something’s out there…”

And it was true, as a dark shadow blotted out the window. It was massive. A single horn protruded from what looked like a head, narrow, grey in color, and covered in fur as thick as a fist.

A low, yet still audible, growl permeated through the air as the crunching of snow filled the air. Each step shook the ground like a small earthquake. Slowly, the growling grew louder, going from sounding like a dog going on the defensive when an intruder was near to a mother bear that had just watched its cub get butchered by a poacher.

“What the hell is that thing?” Wind asked, her voice shaking.

“I-I’m sure it’s just the local wildlife,” Fågel replied softly. “It’ll go away after a bit.”

Deep down, Fågel knew that wasn’t the case. Considering the last member of the local wildlife she’d seen tried to eat her alive and all. Each step the thing outside took, the vibration grew more intense, until the growling was just outside the house; the thudding feeling like it’d register on the Richter scale.

Pure hot breath smudged up the window outside. And then Fågel realized something, as the dark shape outside wasn’t actually the creature itself.

It was another farmer.

BANG!

A single, titanic crash came from the door as it was thrown off of its hinges and barreled across the room. A cataclysmic howl ripped through the air, shattering the windows and sending thousands of small shards of glass raining down.

A wolf-like creature, much larger than the first two had met was in the room, and Wind let her trigger finger fly. Bright red shots of light impacted the monster just as it roared before its eyes rolled back up into its head and it slumped forwards.

“...By Celestia,” Wind whispered. “What is that thing?”

“A good solid meal, if we can drag it away from this place. There’s another farmhouse nearby, help me drag it over there,” Fågel gestured to the next building over. “...On the other hand, something that big, it’ll attract predators from miles around… We’d have to eat it quickly.”

“It’s not worth the risk,” Wind decided. “We need to get going.”

“...On the other hand,” Fågel mused. “In this cold weather, we need all the energy we can get. Let’s just hope nobody else is as crazy as we are in this weather to be out and about.”

Somehow, they dragged the body over to the next house over, but when they got inside the twosome almost lost their appetite. Frozen in a silent tomb, a quiet soliloquy to the fact that this planet had once possibly thrived was another man, and his family.

“It’s… it’s like they lost the will to live,” Wind whispered looking away. “They just went to sleep and…”

“...and they never woke up,” Fågel whispered in reply looking at the pictures along the wall where the man smiled, happy with his family. They seemed so recent, and it was heartbreaking how just everything seemed to have changed so fast for the family. It was as Wind said, it seemed as if they’d just suddenly lost the will to live, and decided to sleep and never woke up.

“It doesn’t feel right does it?” Wind asked as she slowly bit into the monster’s flesh. She hated meat on principle, but she really had no room to be choosy right now. “...like, it just doesn’t feel right. In the next room over, it’s a tomb. And here we sit, having dinner like everything's… well, almost normal.”

“Trust me,” Fågel replied. “I don’t really feel all that right about any of this either. But we need to keep our strength up, pack on the pounds. We’ve still got an outpost to take control of.”

“Can… can we just choose another outpost?” Wind asked. “No communications system has to be worth… this. Seeing all this death.”

“Can’t be picky, unfortunately,” Fågel replied perhaps a bit colder than she would have liked. “There aren’t many communications outposts that aren’t heavily guarded, and we’re running low on time. The longer we waste, the more likely our friends are going to spill every ounce of information they know.”

“And say we do find the Doctor and Stripped. What then? What next?” Wind argued. “Do we raid the base on some sort of suicide run? As powerful as the Megazords are, I’m not sure we have the ability to strike a full Dark Matter base and not suffer heavy losses.”

“...There’s a plan in place,” Fågel said. “Been going over with it with Stardust, Flurry and a few others. And what do we do, just leave our friends to rot? Because if you’re suggesting that…”

“I’m being realistic,” Wind said. “Your time spent in prison, it may be clouding your judgment. You wanted to be rescued, and you got out by luck. So you want to rescue your friends, keep them from enduring the same treatment you were put under.”

And the worst part was, Fågel couldn’t even deny it. Rubbing her arms absentmindedly, she thought back to the day Stardust visited her in her cell, showing her the Taurus Kyutama. He said she’d be chosen, and if she didn’t pick up the call he’d just leave her there as a criminal deserved. She snorted in disgust, Stardust put her there in the first place as he needed a scapegoat for a high profile series of robberies and Fågel just happened to resemble the general build of the thief.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought…” Wind said to Fågel.

On this, they then ate in silence.

Back aboard the Shining Armor, as the mission devolved into chaos, Flurry had her own suspicions.

Before he’d descended onto the planet below, Jabari had been talking steadily with Coldcast and the two had been looking at the stars with shared anxiety. Something was wrong here, and she knew it. Jabari had many issues, largely due to his upbringing and desire to prove himself but when he got anxious it wasn’t without reason.

“Something wrong, Princess?” a younger pony named Emerald asked, she had noticed the orange Ranger’s worry. “It’s the mission, isn’t it? They’re not back yet, it’s been hours…”

“If it were only that…” Flurry muttered to herself cryptically. “No, I fear something larger is at work. I hate to think about what.”

She held a hand to her forehead. “...Forgive me, Ms Gauze, it’s just that I've been under a lot of stress lately. So many missions going sideways, and now the Doctor and Stripped are in the hands of Dark Matter. My subjects -MY subjects- are going through only Faust knows what and there’s very little I can do to help them right now.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Emerald muttered leaning up against the bulkhead with her arms crossed. She was a Crystal Pony, so her arms glittered in the light. “Flashfire, he’s been worrying himself sick. You can’t see it on his face, but you can tell in his actions. He’s throwing himself into his work, and every now and then he snaps at someone.”

Flurry laughed bitterly. “...we’ve all been on edge lately, haven’t we? No chance to stop and just take a break… And I doubt we’ll get one soon.”

“Maybe that’s Dark Matter’s plan, drive us so crazy we just… crack from under all the pressure,” Emerald suggested.

“It is entirely possible,” Flurry conceded after mulling the thought over in her head. “Goddess above, what I wouldn’t give to see this Don Armage and punch him right in the face.”

“Not very Princessy or friendshippy of you, is it?” Emerald asked cocking an eyebrow.

“I stopped with friendship in regards to Dark Matter as soon as they attacked my homeworld, my subjects,” Flurry said as her reply. “They declared war on Equestria, who is already on the brink of collapse and so they crossed a line.”

Not for the first time, Emerald was reminded just because Flurry was a Princess, it didn’t mean she was soft. She didn’t give in, and nor would she ever do such a thing. She wouldn’t consider it even. She could be as stubborn as a mule, even when being as beautiful as an icy glacier.

“Careful now,” Emerald teased herself. “You wouldn’t want Flashie to think you’re admiring his Princess a little too closely would you?”

Flurry had taken her leave. At first, she knocked on the door of Stardust’s quarters but got no answer. Then she just imputed an automatic code given to both her and Stardust that allowed them to access anyone else’s quarters at the drop of a hat. She respectfully avoided going into Stardust’s quarters normally, but right now she needed the Draco Voyager.

“Okay, Dusty…” Flurry mused to herself as she wandered around the room. “Where are you?”

Idly, one of her hands drifted to a certain cane that allowed Stardust to morph into his own Ranger form. She felt a small tingle upon touching it. It felt unusually warm in her hands, like the fire of a dragon’s heart somewhat fittingly. It did not blaze to the touch, it felt almost… right in her own hands.

“Something the matter?” Stardust asked and Flurry let out a yelp as the cane clattered to the floor.

“Everything’s the matter,” Flurry said in reply. “They’ve been gone too long.”

Somehow, and even Flurry wasn’t sure how she pulled it off but there she was in low orbit above the planet with Stardust in the Draco Voyager. The purple serpent was hidden behind an asteroid and gazed upon the stormy gray stratosphere below.

“No way in the Writer’s Quill are we breaching through that weather,” Stardust grumbled. “And that’s assuming we don’t get detected on the way in.”

“But still, don’t you think we should-” Flurry started before her fellow royal cut her off.

“Try?” Stardust asked looking back at her. “As much as I’d like to, I have to look at the bigger picture here. The moment I try and breach the atmosphere, the moment I even think for a second I can try there goes our position. And a thousand ships will be right up on top of us before we could have a second to blink. Not even the Megazord would be able to hold them off.”

Flurry punched the bulkhead so hard she was amazed she didn’t shatter right on through. “Damn it! I know that! It’s just… I can’t leave them down there! Something’s gone wrong, I can feel it!”

“Both Jabari and Fågel are some of the best of the best,” Stardust replied. “They weren’t chosen by the Kyutamas for no reason.”

“You seem to put an awful lot on faith, and especially on these things,” Flurry replied fingering the Scorpius Kyutama hanging around her neck. “Why not put faith in pony ability for once?”

“Who says I’m not?” Stardust asked. “It was their ability that made the kyutamas chose their masters after all.”

Flurry conceded his point. “Look, the moment we can move,” Stardust continued. “We will. But right now, we have no choice but to sit and wait.”

The Draco Voyager let out a low humming noise, the internal lights flickering almost as if in agreement. “...Great,” Flurry grumbled to herself. “We’re leaving the decision making up to little orbs. Wonderful. This country has definitely fallen on hard times…”

Back in the present, it’d been a few solid hours since Fågel had set back into the woods in pursuit of Wind. The world around her had darkened from the thick canopy that loomed above her, the dozens of branches looking like the craned necks of giants.

“The longer I stay on this planet, the creepier it gets…” she thought before opening up the comms. “Please, please work…”

To her surprise and relief, Jabari answered.

“Fågel? Where in Celestia’s name have you been?” the zorse inquired with more than a hint of anger. “We were supposed to meet up hours ago!”

“Ran into… well, I’d guess you’d call it a little hiccup.” Fågel replied. “This whole planet… It’s like it’s draining of us of our very will. Sapping it.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” Jabari observed. “Made it to the outpost. And the Invaders? Didn’t even put up a fight. They were all just resting up against something. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say we caught them napping. Frankly rather creepy really. Oh well, the communications tower is in our hands now, though given our experiences I personally want to get the hell off this planet as soon as we can. Where are you? I’ll send Taiyang or Earth to come to find you.”

“Faust if I know,” Fågel replied. “Look… Look, this entire forest? There’s something wrong with it, I’d advise you to…”

“Fågel? Fågel? You’re… you’re breaking…”

Then the comms cut out, and Fågel let out a loud: “Damn it!”

Letting out several heavy breaths, Fågel rested up against one of the many trees. Her eyes scanned the world around her as a thousand thoughts raced through her mind.

“That son of a bitch better find me.” She groaned. “I don’t intend on dying out in a frozen cesspool like this. It isn’t on my bucket list. Goddess, I’d much rather be back in prison than out here.”

Slumping down, Fågel stared up at the canopy. For a brief moment, she could feel it stare back at her, an overwhelming sense of malice filling her soul. Hatred, disgust, and a unbearably heavy weight take over her, like the weight of an entire planet collapsing onto her back.

All at once, the energy she had to pursue Wind was sapped from her. She felt tired. She felt hopeless. Fight or flight had vanished. The frigid world felt like the fiery pits of Hell itself. The canopy descended, the world becoming as dark as the starless night sky.

“What the…” Fågel weakly shook her head. The canopy continued to descend, a world of its own forming that created a luminous circle at the center of it all.

It was hypnotic.

It was beautiful.

“No, no, Goddess, no.” Fågel struggled to stand up as the… thing seeped towards her. And then she heard a voice in her mind, something she so despised so much.

“Is that all you’re going to do?” Stardust mocked. “Is this how you give up so easily, dying on an unknown planet to the frost and snow? I thought you were tougher than that! You survived prison and reunited with your only family. ...well, I guess I’ll have to break it to Coldcast that you-”

“Shut up…” Fågel whispered to the voice, slowly picking herself up the ground using her astral axe to support herself. “You don’t control me… not anymore.”

Grimacing, she glared at the abomination that was now mere inches from her. The once luminous circle had become a sickening green color. Lifting up her axe, Fågel brought it down atop a gooey head comprised of nothing more than muscle that erupted like an infected abscess.

“By the Goddess, what was that!?” Fågel breathed out before remembering she didn’t have time to ponder that question, she had a pegasus to find. Breaking off into a sprint, she slammed the Pyxis Kyutama into her gauntlet. The path was clear now.

All around her, Fågel could hear the shifting and stirring of trees and the crunching of snow. The world was coming to life. Growls, groans, and sounds so horrible they would drive a lesser being to madness ripped through the air. A putrid odor accompanied it all; a wretched, vile scent that rivaled the smell of a corpse left out in the desert sun for hours on end.

And then she saw her, Wind laying up against a tree already half-frozen.

“Wind!” Fågel rush to her partner’s side. She was still breathing, barely. “You hear me? It’s alright, I’m here now. I’m going to get you out of here.”

“...what, what took you so long?” Wind breathed out. Fågel’s eyes darted from left to right, trying to find the clearest path out of the forest.

“Wind, I’m so sorry,” Fågel replied. “We can’t stay here though, there’s something- I don’t know what, but it’s-”

“You left me here to die!” Wind snapped. “You-you left me here, didn’t you?”

Fågel lifted her partner up, doing her best not to shake her like a ragdoll. “Tartarus no, as I said we don’t leave anyone behind. You know that right? You’re my partner.”

“Then why in the Goddess’ name did you leave me here!?” Wind said as tears welled up in her eyes. “I’ve been out here for four damn hours! I looked everywhere for you! I saw Faust knows what everywhere; they looked like they crawled out of Tartarus itself!”

“Four hours!?” Fågel held back to the urge to slap herself. “Wind, it’s only been fifteen minutes!”

“Fif-fifteen m-minutes?” Wind whispered. “But… but that’s impossible…”

“It’s this place, this planet… or it’s inhabitants. They sap the will out of you, and drive you to despair or god knows what. We should have never have come here, you were right all along,” Fågel whispered. “We should have skipped this planet, and found the next outpost. In any case, I’ve been searching for you ever since you left. I’d never leave you to die, understand that?”

“I… I understand that now,” Wind replied looking Fågel directly in the eyes and seeing her resolve. “Fay… Can I call you Fay? When we get back to the ship… if we get back to the ship, can we take a trip to the hot springs?”

“Y-Yeah, I’ll make sure of it,” Fågel replied smiling at the nickname before frowning again as she heard a low howl, followed by a growl. “But first, we need to get out of here.”

Pressing a button on her Kyuchanger, she activated the Bull Voyager’s automatic recall. “Hopefully it’ll get here, or Jabari’s search party will find us. Either or is preferable.” Fågel explained.

“Jabari, but he’s supposed to be…”

“The outpost got seized,” Fågel said as she picked up Wind and started to run. “The mission is complete. Just don’t worry about it, we’re getting out of here.”

“Easier said than done, isn’t it?” Wind remarked hearing that low howl again.

Fågel winced, a shiver running down her spine. “I guess I don't have to tell, but just to be safe: If you see anything, tell me.”

“Y-Yeah,” Wind replied. “Will do…”

Her eyes widened as a massive lupine creature wearing a bony mask bounded out of the wolves, trees crashing and falling like dominos. Demonic red eyes glowed out behind the mask, and unbridled hatred bored its way into the twosome.

Already Fågel felt herself grow weak, but she steeled herself. She thought of Stardust and her blood boiled with rage. Placing Wind to the side, she morphed and unleashed a series of powerful punches, the armor burning red like the sun.

“I… I am the armored star, Taurus Black, and… and right now I feel as if I can’t lose. Especially not to you, you FREAK!” Fågel snarled, the bony mask cracking. “I’ve got too much riding on me, too many counting on me. And you… you’ve got a lot to answer for, you Big. Bad. Wolf! Here’s my happy ever after, beating you to a pulp!”

Finally, the ‘wolf’ counter-attacked, a massive tail swipe sending Fågel flying, but she landed in the snow placing her fist in the frost to slow the speed of her landing. She looked up, large swaths of the fine, powdery substance falling around her, to see the looming figure of the wolf tower over it.

Then, several shots littered the wolf’s fur, and Fågel looked up to see both Jabari and Wind, rifles at the ready, with Taiyang in the back. Distracting the wolf with a series of shots, they allowed Fågel to take a running jump off a boulder before she charged up her axe with purple energy.

“Aldebaran Impact!” Fågel shouted, slicing the wolf down the middle as whatever remained turned to ash. She let out a few heavy breaths, her vision waning. Before long, Fågel slumped forwards into the snow and slipped into the realm of unconsciousness.

“So, this was what we fought for?” Flurry asked, both Wind and Fågel being loaded into a medship behind her. Emerald Gauze watched over them. Flurry tossed the two weary ponies a concerned look. Next, she looked up at the dingy communications outpost, half destroyed by the wind already.

“Yeah…” Jabari admitted with Stardust at his side. “Time to see if it was worth it, eh?”

He fiddled around with the knobs, and eventually got a transmission out.

“Ah, outpost TC-B, haven’t heard back from you in cycles,” another voice came from the other end of the line. “This is Scorpio, everything all right down there?”

Jabari had a brief moment of panic before he took a deep breath and answered. He knew that this was likely a high ranking member of Dark Matter, probably even a Magistrate or higher. He couldn’t lose his cool now.

“Uh, had a slight weapons malfunction. But, uh, everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all fine here, now, thank you. How are you?” Jabari answered. Okay, that wasn’t technically a lie as such. There were a few weapons malfunctions, as in the people at the triggers didn’t want to fire them.

“....Um… Good,” Scorpio answered somewhat befuddled. “Listen, I know you have a bit of a thankless job, so… Um, keep holding out there. We’ll be sending you a squad to relieve you. Hang in there, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, we will!” Jabari said in reply honestly surprised about how well this was going. “Oh… Um, by the way. Local gossip said two of those Kyurangers got captured. Anything you know about that?”

“What’s your operating number?” Scorpio asked in suspicion. Jabari quickly looked at the tag on one of the Invader uniforms.

“#47657576737575,” Jabari replied as Stardust sucked in a nervous breath behind him. Jabari motioned with his hand for the Prince to shut it. Stardust surprisingly complied. The looks both Flurry and Jabari were sending him might have had something to do with it.

“...Okay, don’t tell who said this, but we’re keeping them on a base on Centaurus Alpha 5. You know the one. Now, get back to work, okay? I can’t be seen gossiping with you lot.”

“...Rude,” Jabari muttered as Scorpio hung up. “But… we have them. I repeat, we have them.”

Up in his quarters aboard the Armor, Flashfire breathed a sigh of relief. Mission accomplished, it would seem.

“So, how’d you do it?” Wind asked of Fågel. “How did you keep yourself from going under that thing’s spell?”

“I thought of… well, I thought of someone,” Fågel answered looking towards Stardust. “Him, actually.”

“Oh, so you have a crushie wushie on the Prince?” Wind asked. “Can’t blame you, he’s yummy.”

“Don’t delude yourself,” Fågel drawled. “He’s a complete child, makes my blood boil over with rage. I’d rather kiss an Invader! Puh! No, he made me so mad I just put everything out of my mind. Thought with a clear head.”

“...That makes sense.” Wind conceded.

Author's Notes:

So, we're back... Back in black, you might say. ...Okay, that's a terrible pun.

Honestly... I have no excuse for being absent since May. None. Absolutely none. (Give Vertigo a huge hug eh? Massive help here.) So, I decided to just pick myself up my ass and write something. I blame RWBY's Alone in the Woods and the Apathy Grimm for this chapter. Can you tell?

As for why Fay got her time in the spotlight... why not? Taurus Black doesn't really get much time to shine in this story -largely because of her name, not kidding- so I decided to remedy that.

Next time, Flashfire finds himself in a quandary as he deals with two rival civilizations while the Doctor and Stripped try to escape their confinement... Also, chickens. Trust me, it'll all make sense.

Part 28: Flustercluck

“Well, this is interesting,” Flashfire remarked as he went over several datapads, the information gathered from that one communication outpost a certain former Shadow Line member had called home. “Vraiment, je dois dire. C’est tout à fait fascinant. Now, if only I knew what to do with this information…”

“Yes, well…” Snow Rain, a teal blue changeling drone uttered rubbing the back of his head. “I felt it was worth bringing to your attention, sir, given the… uh, ramifications of this.”

“Est-ce que je ressemble à un prince?” Flashfire asked raising an eyebrow. “Bring this to Stardust, or Flurry, or one of the AIs even.”

“I would, but the AIs are under routine maintenance and Flurry and Stardust are off on the other colony ships so you were the first one I thought of,” Snow replied. “I mean, you are the leader of the Kyurangers so that puts you at a pretty high rank…”

“Lécher les bottes… Ne croyez pas que je sais que ce ne vous concerne pas vouloir un meilleur ensemble de quartiers...” Flashfire muttered to himself, thankful to Celestia that Snow couldn’t understand a word of Prench. Now normally, he’d never be so rude, but he’d had a long week ever since Stripped got himself captured so he was starting to feel the strain. It was outstanding he hadn’t cracked yet thanks to this. Quite a few training droids had been sliced in two by his sword over the past week perhaps needless to say.

“Look, no matter what you may think my intentions to be,” Snow commented. “I think this is worth looking into! I mean, think of it, if these supply ships came where I think they came from…”

“Oh, I agree,” Flashfire replied with a small nod. “I do think it’s worth looking into, trouble is we don’t have time to waste just yet, I’d rather not explore anything until my teammates are safely back aboard this ship!”

“I get that, I do,” Snow said in return. “The Hivemother only knows if it were members of my hive in Dark Matter’s clutches, I’d tear the universe apart till I found them Hell or high water.”

“Well, can’t fault you there,” Flashfire replied before he sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Celestia and Luna above…”

“And see,” Snow put in. “This is exactly why I think you should pursue this. You’ve been putting yourself under a lot of pressure lately. Black and Pink are off on that world securing a communication post, right? So they have the best chance of finding your friends. You sir, with all due respect, need to focus on something else. Put your brains where they’re better suited.”

Flashfire blinked several times before rubbing his forehead with a hand and then murmuring: “Bon, alors vous avez votre nouveau quartier Snow. Merde…”

He was absolutely right, and Flashfire knew it. He had been putting too much thought and worrying too much over a task which his team had well in hand. And what Snow had found was definitely worth a look or two into at any rate.

You see, what he had found were flight logs from Equestria, back during the days when space travel was just starting to be a viable option of escaping the planet. It had come back into vogue, if you will. Flashfire shuddered to think how they’d gotten into Dark Matter’s hands. With any luck, they couldn’t make much sense of the Equestrian script -which was a possibility, given to them Equus was just another planet for them to suck dry of energy- and had just stored it away.

Flashfire had also found trajectories for flight paths upon deeper searching. It seemed at least two ships had been launched at one point, and while there was no telling if they’d reached their destination, it was worth the look. This was down to two reasons. One, Equus had inhabitants out there, possibly lost and confused. And secondly, and more importantly, if a new Eden had indeed been found well then that meant maybe the colony ships could find somewhere to finally settle down.

Flashfire relished that possibility, which made him feel more hope than he’d ever had in a very long time. “Still, it won’t do to announce this publicly just yet,” the unicorn mused to himself. “Say this does turn out to be a wash. There’d be riots if I told everyone we’d found a new home and it turned out to be false tidings.”

There was another possibility, one he hated to consider but he had to anyways. This was all one elaborate trap by Dark Matter. Which was exactly why when the proper trajectories were plotted, only a probe would be sent until Flashfire knew for certain that what he was seeking was the real deal.

“Damn it, who’s out there…?” Snow murmured looking out to the stars.

“Some little lost lambs,” Flashfire said softly. “Now let’s go see if we can go ahead and find them, and bring them home…”

Flashfire rose from his seat, an air of authority about the Beast Star.

“Cordon off Astronomy,” he then said looking Snow directly in the eyes. “I want 24-hour guards around the clock at the doors, don’t tell them why but I want them there understand? No information must leak out. None. I don’t care how you do it, but get it done understand?”

“Understood!” Snow said saluting in spite of himself.

“...and please,” Flashfire groaned. “Don’t salute, makes me feel more important than I really am.”

“But you are important,” Snow remarked. “...aren’t you?”

“Not if I had my way,” Flashfire said in reply. “If I had my way, I wouldn’t be a member of the Kyurangers, I’d be an archivist or a teacher at the School for Unicorns. But c’est la vie, right?”

He clutched his Kyutama tightly for a moment, before grabbing his jacket and throwing it on, the singular embroidered silver star in on the back glistening in the light.

In Astronomy, the two faced a problem. “...this is a bit of a sticky wicket, as they say, isn’t it?” Flashfire commented pouring over some old texts and logs. “See, there’s been no records of any launches. ...well, at least none recorded.”

“Who made the recordings?” Snow asked peering over. “...oh, wait, I see. Gleaming Days. He was related to that Luster Dawn mare. Dad told me he could never keep records for the life of him.”

“Well, if we can’t look for flight records,” Flashfire decided after a few quick moments of thinking. “We’ll just have to look at the luggage.”

Snow snapped his fingers. “Of course! The manifest! Brilliant!”

“Exactly, someone had to load this ship. You can learn a lot about people from their luggage, and this is probably no different,” Flashfire before cursing record keepers under his breath in annoyance. “Now, taking in the time it would take for these ships to launch and for them to journey to these theoretical destinations, we can calculate a rough date on when they were launched and look for ship manifests around that date!”

After a few more minutes of solid thinking, Snow shouted: “I have something! See, right here. The Mariposa. Another word for butterfly, not sure if that’s significant.”

“It may very well be,” Flashfire said taking a sip of his coffee. “...wow, this is interesting. Two hundred and twenty-five Starshine branded computers, twin monitor beacon satellites, seven hundred commlinks, fifty spinning wheels. Cattle, chickens, pigs. Not DNA, far from it. I mean the actual livestock itself. Incroyable. Why would anyone carry such an insane mix of cargo?”

“Perhaps they were preparing for the worst,” Snow muttered. “Or…”

“Out with it! If you’ve got a theory, theorize for me!” Flashfire demanded growing more and more hopeful by the moment.

“There were a few on Equus who advocated for a return to simpler times, back when we didn’t rely on so much technology and relied on nature’s power and our magic to sustain us,” Snow mused. “Perhaps…”

“...Yes, perhaps so,” Flashfire agreed with a small nod. “But if this was a ship full of utopians, why carry all this technological baggage? It doesn’t fit.”

“You’ve got me guessing as well,” Snow said. “It’s like one giant puzzle, and we’re just missing those last few little pieces.”

“Well, when we find our friends,” Flashfire then continued. “I just suppose we can ask them outright. That should fill in the gaps I think.”

“When should I send out the probe?” Snow asked. “As much as I’d like to think this is one massive breath of relief, you mentioned it yourself on the way over. This could be a trap.”

“It’s one pretty well thought out one if that’s the case,” Flashfire commented. “Dark Matter would require access to our records alone to… No, I’m willing to take a gamble here. Have my Voyager readied. This I must see for myself.”

“Wow,” Snow said blinking in shock. “When you want things done…”

“I get them done,” Flashfire said. “Now what are we standing around for?”

He began to walk towards the door before a thought occurred to him. “...Blast it all, these Equestrians have been isolated for goddess only knows how many years. The shock of seeing a Voyager themed after the legendary guardian of Tartarus himself would probably scare them dead.”

Snow felt it best not to mention he saw the ship every day and it still frightened him, it was like it was looking directly at him. If he didn’t know better, he’d have said it was following him.

“I’ll take one of the Skimmers,” Flashfire said. “Probably less frightening. Have the Piercing Arrow or the Solar Radiance follow me, we can’t have the Armor leave orbit yet. Tell them to have cargo shuttles on standby.”

“So, the wait is over then?” Snow remarked. “We’re telling everyone about our little discovery?”

“...well, it was going to get out sooner or later I suppose…” Flashfire murmured. “Can’t keep anything secret aboard this ship. Especially not when I know you’re listening outside the door, Coldcast!”

He directed this shout to the door, where a nervously chuckling Coldcast was listening in. The griffon gave a little shrug as he walked into Astronomy.

“...can’t blame a bird for getting curious,” Coldcast remarked. “I mean, you post guards outside my workspace without telling anyone why, and then you expect anyone not to come asking what’s going on?”

“What’s that they say about curiosity and cats?” Snow uttered before a glare from Flashfire shut him up.

“If I may, there’s a planet not too far from here, just the next system over that could support life,” Coldcast remarked referring to his star charts. “Hooooooooowever, there is a problem.”

“Such as?” Snow asked.

“There is no evidence of any form of any advanced communication network. And yet you theorized that they brought a lot of technology. So where is it?”

“Sure it’s not the wrong planet?” Snow asked.

“There’s not many life-supporting planets in this system, and I did the calculations. This system is where the Mariposa would have ended up,” Flashfire said. “So that’s just another mystery for us to solve, isn’t it? It keeps getting curiouser and curiouser…”

“Well, at least his mind is off Stripped and the Doctor,” Snow said leaning over to the griffon. “Good plan of yours mentioning this to me, and having me mention it to him.”

Coldcast smiled. “Anything for my dear brother,” he replied. “Besides, I got curious as well as if we actually had something here and I wanted to look into it.”

“Then why didn’t you bring it up to him?” Snow replied. “He’s your brother.”

“You’ve seen his mood lately,” Coldcast whispered back. “It’d be like entering the lion’s den!”

“So you threw me into it?” Snow remarked with Coldcast giving a ‘basically’ nod. Snow had to suppress a groan “...Oh, lovely. Somehow I’m thinking now I would have enjoyed the other away mission more…”

Far away in another system rested the perfect prison, a Dark Matter stronghold resting between twin black holes, on an asteroid caught between them. It would take a genius to chart a course to land on the planetoid directly, so everyone was transported in from a nearby space station making that the only way in or out.

Presuming, of course, you even got to the transporter, that is. Dozens of guards patrolled the corridors, with Strongindavers leading them.

There hadn’t been an escape within a century, and quite honestly Sir Ikargen doubted there ever would be.

He hated his job, really. He’d been doing perfectly fine hunting down certain Paladins until a certain Karō had seen fit to plant him here.

“Commander Scorpio,” Sir Ikargen said to the hologram in front of him. “With all due respect, I should be out where my talents matter the most, hunting down the rest of those Rangers! Not playing babysitter to a prison that has never had a breakout within the past century.”

He knew what Scorpio had pulled, the Karō had been tired of his repeat failures again and again so that basically meant reassigning Ikargen to a spot where he wouldn’t cause trouble. It was comparable to being assigned to Antarctica, really. Nobody would really miss him, and here everyone would forget about him.

“Don’t think of this as a failure,” Scorpio instructed. “Think of this as a better use of your talents, really. If someone does escape, you could just snipe them from your guard tower and that’d be the end of it.”

Ikargen glanced at his rifle, resting in a corner of the room. “It’s not the same, the thrill of the hunt is at it’s best when your opponents actually put up a fight. Here, boxing them in and just taking them out from a distance is the act of a coward! It’s hardly deserving of someone of my talents!”

“I see no talents whatsoever,” Scorpio said dismissively, his tail waving behind him the stinger at its tip looking poised to strike. “If you had any, I suspect you would have put them to use long ago.”

Ikargen felt a fit of rising anger in his body, but he quickly quelled it. It wouldn’t do to get angry at his commander, Scorpio wanted that. He was testing him to see just how he reacted.

Ikargen wasn’t quite sure where or how Armage had found and recruited the scorpion being and it had always been a subject of curiosity amongst certain members of Dark Matter. There were sillier rumors of course, such as that Scorpio was Armage’s spawn. But everybody knew it was impossible for Armage to love anyone, so how could he reproduce? The most prevailing theory was of course that like most members of Dark Matter’s higher-ups, Scorpio had once been but a simple citizen of the galaxy, found on some backwater planet desiring power. And Armage had granted it, giving him a new body in exchange for the utmost loyalty.

That was how it was with Ikargen, actually. Once, Ikargen had been but a simple big game hunter who on his home planet had been respected in his craft. But he had grown bored with just simply shooting down the local wildlife and somehow, had stumbled on Dark Matter operations on the planet. He, on a bout of fun, had decided to hunt down as many of the troops as he could. He’d sent them running and let their blood pump and when he finally had them on the edge of giving up in despair, he freed them.

Now obviously, these sorts of things tended not to go unnoticed. Armage himself had been on the planet that day and was none too pleased with Ikargen’s idea of a game. But he’d also knew not to let good talents go unwasted. He needed a personal assassin. Two of them in fact.

Madako had been a bit of an annoyance, but she’d always been the one who Ikargen had been partnered with and she did her job well. No, they did their jobs well.

Every empire had its troublemakers and its dissidents, after all. And soldiers couldn’t be everywhere at once without causing a stir, so you needed people to do away with your enemies quickly and quietly. After all, riots on planets were nothing any prosperous empire wanted to deal with. The people needed to be kept complacent, and propaganda accompanied by puppet rulers placed in the wake of assassinations of troublesome individuals was how you pulled that off.

Ikargen had been all too happy to be this cog in the machine, as it provided him with a certain status in the Dark Matter empire. It also meant he was feared, as nobody wanted to be on either his or Madako’s hit list.

“Consider this a chance to prove yourself,” Scorpio continued on. “You fell so far, and now you have to climb out of the pit. I actually have faith in you, great trials beget great rewards.”

Was he lying out of his ass, and telling Ikargen what he wanted to hear? Perhaps. It just made Ikargen angrier and made him want to prove to Armage that he still had a use beyond this. “Eriedrone disagrees, of course,” Scorpio put in. “But the dragon doesn’t see beyond what’s in front of him, and has never thought beyond how he can settle a problem beyond using his fists. I think you can work your way out of this.”

“And of Madako?” Ikargen asked. He knew he was pushing his luck. But he had to ask the question anyways. “She’s a loose cannon, without someone taking care of her…”

“It has been taken care of,” Scorpio replied. “Rest assured, we wouldn’t allow the… tch, jellybrain off of her leash without someone holding it.”

Scorpio was smirking under that mask, Ikargen knew it. Just about everyone hated that insult Madako liked so much. How he did wish she was there to hear that!

“So your will shall be done,” Ikargen said with a small bow before cutting the transmission. Hopefully, there would not be any trouble today.

Of course, as Ikargen should have known, trouble had a way of finding itself at your doorstep especially when you didn’t want to invite it. Take into consideration the Doctor, and Stripped Gear.

There in their cell, they sat, studying the patterns of the guards and their patrol routes. “...well, we really need to book a new travel agent don’t we?” the Doctor uttered as he tapped his finger against the wall in time to the guards marching.

1.
2.
3.
4.

He tapped it again to this rhythm.

1.
2.
3.
4.

A drumbeat, you could almost compare it to.

“I blame Jabari,” Stripped uttered feeling rather naked without his Kyutama. “It was his foolish desire to prove himself that got us into this mess.”

“He had no way of knowing that concert was a Dark Matter trap,” the Doctor replied. “The kid just wanted to follow his desires.”

“And his desires nearly got him killed, and us captured!” Stripped said with a snort. “He should have listened to his instincts instead. They should have told him that was trap in plain sight!”

“Nobody, unless they were exceptionally paranoid would think ‘hey, maybe a concert is part of an elaborate Dark Matter trap to find dissidents’!” the Doctor fired back. “It’s not exactly something you normally think about, now is it? Okay, yes, maybe I thought about it, but I’m exceptionally paranoid by nature.”

“...this is a real mess of a problem, innit?” Stripped sighed. “...Oh, bet you’ve got some real inspirational quote at the ready, don’t you? I can see it now…”

“Actually, now that you mention it…” the Doctor trailed off with a trolling little grin. ““You’ve got a choice: ...you can just give in. You can give your jailers what they want. Switch off another light and in the ocean of darkness bow your head and cry. You can despair for your kids, and they can despair for you. But what does this choice give you? Have you any great new happiness now? What does your unhappiness give to your children? Why did you make this choice? Why did you walk into the trap of captivity?”

“See, that’s my problem with you Doctor,” Stripped said getting up in the Lord of Time’s face. “You make big boasts, and all too inspirational quotes, but you almost never back them up. You can recite and wax poetry all you want, but that still doesn’t change the fact that we’re stuck in here.”

“For now,” the Doctor said gently pushing Stripped away. “Unlike you, I haven’t resigned myself to my own fate. Haven’t you been keeping time?”

“I don’t have a watch, so no,” Stripped drawled. “How could I possibly have been…”

“You see, but you still don’t see,” the Doctor said before Stripped opened his mouth with the Doctor raising his hand to silence him. “Or in plain Equus, as I know what’s coming next, you miss the blindingly obvious! 1, 2, 3, 4, that’s the time in which the guards outside are marching to.”

“We’re still trapped in here,” Stripped said. “Just knowing the rhythm in which the guards march doesn’t exactly help us get free.”

“Ah, but yes it does…” the Doctor said looking like he was waiting for something. “You see, it means I can do this!”

Here, just as an Invader passed the cell door, the Doctor flicked a small pebble and watched it bounce off the ceiling and then a corner and then off an Invader’s helmet. It knocked a keycard from him. And then the keycard clattered in front of the door, and the Doctor quickly grabbed it before anyone could notice.

“And now, we wait,” the Doctor said quickly pocketing it in his jumpsuit. “It’s impossible to do anything right now, so we wait for a shift change. That’s when we make our move.”

“Don’t bother young ones,” an alien from the cell across them said, looking truly ancient. His skin was covered in wrinkles and he bore a long white beard. The Doctor, at this, looked offended. He was not young! “I’ve been here for a century and a half, and I’ve seen many try and fail to escape from this prison. You aren’t the first, nor will you be the last.”

Behind him was a true mammoth of a creature, towering and bristling with muscles.

“Should we really be talking about escape, out in the open?” Stripped asked before gesturing to the guards. “I mean…”

“And do you wonder why they don’t step in?” the alien asked. “It’s because they know how this works, how many people have tried to escape and how many have failed. It is only a delusion, a dream in that of a hopeful mind.”

The Doctor looked him in the eye and he saw it, someone who had lost all hope from years of being stuck in this torment. And then his resolve tightened. Nobody should ever have to feel this pain, of having lost all hope and just waiting and wanting for their day to die.

“We’ll do it tonight then.” he said. Both Stripped, and the alien stared at him.

“...don’t you see?” the alien asked. “Look around, many of us have been here for decades. We’ve all tried to escape at one time or another.”

“No.” the Doctor said.

“No?” the alien asked in confusion.

“No, you tried to escape only once. Each and every one of you. And then you gave up, just because you thought it too hard. You accepted your fate,” the Doctor lectured, and Stripped knew this wasn’t directed at just the alien. “Or more accurately, you accepted what you thought should be your fate. You gave in too easily. Maybe you should be in here if you’re not willing to try. Unlike you, however, I don’t give in so easily. If someone says I should give up hope, if someone says something’s impossible, I aim to prove them wrong.”

The alien laughed. “...you remind me of how I was in my youth. What’s your name, stranger? Might as well know who I’m confined with.”

“The Doctor, just… the Doctor. Nothing else. And my friend here is Stripped Gear. The Yellow Ranger, the Sword Star. I’m the Gold Ranger, the Trick-Star.”

Whispers ran up and down the hall, of the Rangers who had conquered the impossible and defeated Dark Matter at every turn. Perhaps… there was hope after all.

“Very well then,” the alien conceded. “I am Taimuk, and this here is Ragnar. A pleasure to meet you, Doctor. If we’re going to be confined here, might as well get to know each other better eh?”

“If you’re flirting with me, just… stop,” the Doctor said. “I don’t intend to get to know you in that manner. However, if you’ll have me, I will help you get out of here.”

“Very well then,” Taimuk said sighing in resignation.

The Solar Radiance

“...you’re what?” Snow blinked, the changeling leaning towards the comm tab to make sure he’d heard right. “Repeat that, over?”

“Yeah, there’s about two hundred or so odd ponies down here, give or take,” Skywind said over the comms. “It’s… well, yes, it’s paradise down here -green grass, actual green grass!- but um…”

She paused for a moment. “Well, this is one of those moments you really have to see for yourself. Flashfire’s sorta got into a… um, well, minor debate with the colony leader.”

She sounded as if she was this close to just either going into a groan or a sigh. Whichever came first, really.

At first, Skywind when she’d heard… well, she’d felt that same sense of ship-wide relief everyone else had felt when Flashfire had announced this whole thing. She’d heard parties had broken across all ships, so zealous in fact that most of the Royal Guard practically shrugged and gave up trying to stop them. Just before she’d left in fact, she’d bore witness to a group in engineering dancing a jolly old jig of sorts. She was half tempted to join in, really.

That ‘Neutron Nova’ stallion was pretty cute. Though to be honest, Sky never understood what all the song and dance was for, it must have been a pony thing. Though she honestly ever doubted she’d catch someone like Flurry or Flashfire singing. Stardust, that was another story, though said songs would probably be odes to self-praise.

However, Sky was needed elsewhere. There was no time for this, at least at the moment. Maybe later. She was a duty-minded hen, and if Flashfire requested a Royal Guard presence on his little excursion then that’s what he’d get. ...Not that he needed have bothered really, given what she found when she landed on the planet was… well, it sorta the last thing she expected. In a way, the hen was reminded of old Equestria, -which now that she thought about it, she’d heard Flashfire making remarks to expect as such- with miles and miles of farmland and little pink houses and barns.

Sky was half certain half of the Apple Clan was here, along with a few of the kirins from the far reaches of Equus. Guess those rumors of Applejack hooking up with that one kirin had some small amount of truth to them after all. She doubted them all related though, and if they were… she shuddered to think. Now Sky knew exactly why the old stories of all being descended from one pony, this Faust character were generally not thought of too much.

Least in her opinion.

“So, what’s the condition?”

“Of the planet?” Sky asked before answering blissfully: “Paradise…”

“I mean of the people down there,” Snow said. “...though knowing this planet is nice is nice too…”

“Get them up here,” Coldcast barked out. “I’ve just contacted Flurry, and she’s overjoyed and if I hear right she’s coming to meet them personally. Whatever the problem, we can handle it up here right?”

“Um… Yes… well, but…” Sky stammered out before she sighed. “Oh well, I did try and warn you…”

Snow and Coldcast shared a look wondering what possibly they could be needed to be warned about. The transporter glowed in front of them, and what they expected to see was not what they got at all.

Farm animals were now in front of them, a pig sniffing Coldcast’s legs while a menagerie of chickens clucked out angrily. Barrels of hay now lay strewn about the room, along with milk jars. And if that wasn’t enough…

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

A bell jingled as a white and black spotted cow sniffed at a nearby crew member, apparently mistaking her feathers for grass. And yes, before you ask, she was being nibbled on.

“Is… is that a cow?” Coldcast asked as several of the chickens escaped and darted out the doorway.

“Yep… Yep, that is definitely a cow…” Snow blinked slowly not really sure what to make of all of this. “...that’s a cow…”

“So this ship’s got cows now,” Coldcast said. “...well, at least Spade will finally have that cold milk he’s been wanting to serve up in the cafeteria.”

“So where’s the cream cheese then?” Snow asked. “...I mean… I’m surprised there’s no goats.”

“Security, you'd better get somebody down here. Right away.” Coldcast said still in that ‘trying to process this sort of thing mode. His voice was a complete monotone.

“...I’m… I’m not sure security is equipped to handle this.” Snow remarked watching chickens peck at his legs.

“...well, it’s either them or animal control,” Coldcast replied. “And I’m not sure we have animal control. ...can someone take the pig out of here, will you?” he asked.

“I’ve got a word for this.” Snow remarked.

“Yeah?” Coldcast replied. “What’s that.”

“Flustercluck.” Snow returned.

“...Yeah, that fits.”

Flashfire soon joined them, along with a stallion in overalls who looked to be in charge of everything, at least judging by the way he was talking animatedly with the Beast Star.

“Sir, would you happen to be married? It’s just…” this man said. “I have a daughter, and… Well, you seem like a well to do stallion. Would you be interested?”

“No,” Flashfire said and the stallion turned to Coldcast.

“He’s not interested,” he said.

“I’m not interested.” Flashfire repeated after the farmer.

“You sure?” the farmer asked.

“I’m quite sure!” Flashfire said.

“He’s quite sure,” the farmer remarked. “Now, you wouldn’t happen to be the Captain of this finnnnnnnnnnnnnneeeeee vessel, would you? It would certainly explain why you get to dictate decisions without so much as a by your leave!”

“What’s… what’s with the animals?” Snow asked, even if he was really rather hesitant to know.

“I’m sorry,” Sky said wiping the sweat off her brow as she tried to escort the cow out. “It was either this or arguing till Tartarus froze over. Apparently, their farm’s on Pear family land and if they didn’t get their animals out they’d be stolen as recompense!”

“...Here goes that old feud again…” Coldcast said in that tone you’d know was of one experiencing absolute dread. “Apples and Pears, fighting tooth to claw! ...Looks like it’s time to warn the security teams and prep the medical bays.”

“I’m actually not an Apple,” the farmer corrected extending a hand. “Extremely Rich, at your service!”

“...Oh,” Coldcast uttered. Somehow he got the feeling that this Rich character would be running this ship inside of a solid week. One look at Flashfire and he knew the unicorn shared the same feelings.

“What have we gotten into this time, brother dear?” he had to think.

“Just… just transport it all to cargo hold 3,” Flashfire said with a little dismissive wave feeling a headache coming on. “...and somebody inform the captain that he’ll be getting a few extra guests.”

“Alright everyone, back into this infernal machine!” Extremely Rich shouted ushering for a few of his farmhands back towards the transporter.

Later, Flashfire found himself in the midst of more chaos as farm animals made a great calamity of noise in the cargo hold. A mare sat nearby, milking a cow as Emerald Gauze ran a scanner over another’s belly muttering: “Two hundred and twenty-three… and two more in the next two days.”

Flashfire then suddenly noticed several ponies putting up bricks they’d pulled from… somewhere and he realized what they were doing. “Now, now, I wouldn’t do that!” Flashfire stammered out.

“Why not?” Extremely Rich asked.

It was then the sprinklers came on to extinguish the blaze, and perhaps needless to say the cargo bay and everyone in it was soaking wet.

“Oh, there you are. Your hospitality leaves a Celestia of a lot to be desired! You don't offer us a bite to eat or anything to drink, and when we build a fire to cook a little something, the place goes insane!” the kirin mare Emerald Gauze had been scanning shouted as she ran up, embers licking at her mane and looking as if she was about to go full Nirek.

“...Not that you could tell the difference…” Flashfire thought with a shudder of fear.

“Some Captain you are!” the mare snapped.

“Her name’s Timber Frost,” Gauze whispered to Flashfire. “She’s pregnant with two, don’t stress her.”

“...I was worried about her stressing me!” Flashfire whispered back to Gauze before turning to Timber. “My deepest sincerest apologies. I was unaware that you had not been instructed in the use of the food dispensers. Allow me to…”

“No, no,” Timber said. “I can figure it out myself, shouldn’t take a genius to operate. Nor do I want some Captain who can’t be bothered to be even remotely hospitable show me what to do!”

“I’m… I’m not the captain…” Flashfire stammered out, and the mare’s tune suddenly changed.

“Oh, that’s different then,” she said sweetly before she glared at him. “And what are you staring at? Have you never seen a mare before?”

“...Sorry,” Flashfire said. “I’m just… stunned by all of this. I’ve been expecting… well, I don’t know what I was expecting. Certainly not a full-fledged farm though! All the same, pleased to meet you, ma'am.”

He was polite enough to avoid saying Timber scared him.

“You’re a Prenchman, are you?” Timber asked doing a small curtsy. “Well, some wealth and culture to our humble little abode. Bet you were born in New Canterlot, or something.”

“...New Ponyville actually, but that’s beside the point,” Flashfire corrected. “Listen… I should really be getting back to work, I’ve got plenty of others to help settle in, not to mention my ship needs a maintenance check.”

No, this was him totally not saying he wanted to get away from this frankly terrifying example of the female species.

“You do you, but I've dozens of frightened and hungry children and women to look after. And I can’t rely on my husband,” Timber said looking towards Extremely Rich. “He’d much rather shout at Almond Pear.”

“...This is you guilt-tripping me, isn’t it?” Flashfire asked. “...Oh well, it can’t be helped I suppose. You got me, I’ll do some of the work. It just simply wouldn’t be polite to leave a mare such as yourself in distress.”

“Pay no heed. She's a fine girl. She's not usually so sharp-tongued.” Extremely said before Timber shouted for him to follow. Emerald looked towards Flashfire, and if she didn’t know better she’d have said he seemed to be shaking with rage.

But he wasn’t and in fact when he turned he was looking about ready to fall over with laughter.

“Sir?” Emerald inquired, the crystal pony looking quite understandably surprised by this sight.

“Sometimes… Mrs. Gauze, you just have to bow to the absurd!” Flashfire commented before he felt a tap on his shoulder and looked to see Extremely Rich.

“Begging your pardon sir, but I have a question to ask… what about the other colony?”

Flashfire’s eyes widened slightly before he asked nervously: “...Other colony?”

Back at the Centaurus Alpha 5 prison colony, the Doctor, Stripped and their new companions exchanged stories to pass the time before the big escape.

“Okay, so there I was in my lab, alright?” Stripped talked animatedly complete with gestures. “They put me in charge of a class back at the Galaxy Garrison, a 20 something-year-old in charge of 16-year-olds. I’d had to step out just for a minute, and while I’m not entirely sure what happened next, Jabari -Aquila Pink- told me his chemistry partner got the idea to make high explosives. Like I said, 16-year-olds.”

“Go on,” one of the prisoners said. “What happened next?”

“So, I went on down the line praising everyone for their initiative, everyone was doing something different you see, and then we got to Jabari and his partner. Both were giggling like fools. Knowing the age of the class I got assigned to teach, I had a sort of suspicion as to what was going on. So I asked, and I’ll never forget this response I got nor what happened next.”

“What do you have there?”

“Nitrated toluene ring.”

“How many nitrates?”

“Three.”

Now everyone was looking at this sight in confusion. Stripped simply answered: “TNT.”

Now, there was nothing to worry about. It was stable in this solution form. Nothing dangerous until you evaporated off the solvent. Stripped didn’t get a chance to explain this, however. What happened next was utter chaos as several chemicals got knocked into a trashcan creating this small mushroom cloud.

“...As soon as the hazmat team got called in, I turned to Jabari and his friend and said this: “...well, I don’t think I’ve ever passed a class so quickly, but you made everyone understand the basics of chemistry!”

“...well then,” the Doctor said with a small laugh. “That certainly livens up things, doesn’t it? Gives it this sorta… Joie de vivre.”

“Sent them to detention anyways,” Stripped said. “But I had to admit it taught everyone a lesson or two, even if that lesson is how to create dynamite.”

“Think you can apply that lesson here?” the Doctor considered. “I mean, an explosion or two would certainly cause a bit of a distraction.”

“You’d need to get into the laboratories,” Taimuk said rubbing a hand through his beard. “For obvious reasons, they’re heavily guarded. Let’s face it, as much as I’d love to get out of here, we need to think realistically. Explosions are fanciful things. We need practicality.”

“That’s assuming you even get out of this cellblock, and past the guard tower,” Ragnar said with a huff, the giant looking towards the guards passing their way. “There’s this massive sniper tower with this new guy in charge, saw him when I got brought out for work. Squiddy looking fellow.”

“Sir Ikargen…” the Doctor mused. “...so what’s he doing here?”

“Wait, you said work right?” Stripped said.

“Yeah, what of it? We make weapons for Dark Matter, though if you plan on using them don’t think on it. They’re DNA locked to Invaders. Nobody else can use them,” Ragnar said. “Shame really, I’d love to take a cannon to the face of the guy who shoved me in here.”

“...Yeah… Uh, let’s not…” the Doctor stammered out. “I… I’m not the world’s biggest fan of guns.”

“And yet you got gifted with a crossbow, irony,” Stripped deadpanned. “Oh well, if worse comes to worst, I’ll fire it myself. Assuming we get ahold of our Kyutamas really…”

“Ikargen likely has them,” Taimuk said. “He’s a hunter, from what I’ve heard. And if you are really who you say you are, he’s got them locked in his office, under high security like trophies.”

“...Hmm, we’d need a distraction, though if I was Ikargen I’d have some fanciful lock only I can access as a back-up measure…” Stripped mused. “I’d need to know… Yeah, that might work if I could just get access to it…”

“What’s he pondering?” Ragnar asked.

“...I almost hesitate to ask…” the Doctor said in a whisper. “Knowing him, it’s both ingenious and contains multiple ways to get ourselves killed if we screw up at any point in it. ...so, par for the course then!”

He said this with an unnervingly cheerful smile.

“Not exactly reassuring,” Ragnar muttered. “Is there a safer option?”

“We’re trapped in a supermax prison nobody’s broken in or out of guarded by one of the best snipers in the galaxy, caught between twin black holes and hundreds upon hundreds of guards,” the Doctor drawled. “What do you think?”

“Point taken,” Ragnar said. “Taimuk, you know this guy right? Down in 2B, good with electronics? Think you can send it down the wire that…”

“Can’t say he’ll help,” Taimuk replied. “It’s a bit of a… well, me and him had this little disagreement over rations about a few weeks back and we’re not on speaking terms.”

“They’re married.” Ragnar said to the Doctor, who nodded slowly.

“Ah, that explains it…” the Time Lord said before doing a double-take. “...wait, you can get married? IN A PRISON?”

“One of the prison’s little oddities, to create a sense of false hope I suppose…” Taimuk sighed. “...How I’d like to get out of here and get married for real…”

“Assuming Sling still wants to talk to you in the end,” Ragnar grunted.

“Assuming, yes…” Taimuk replied.

“Well, if all goes well,” Stripped said. “And by that, if all goes well, I need this Sling chap onboard -so get cracking- we should be out of here in… oh, give or take a few days. Presuming, of course, nothing goes wrong.”

The Doctor laughed.

“What?” Stripped asked.

“...nothing goes wrong?” the Doctor pointed out. “You are aware of who we are and our general luck right?”

Stripped slammed his head up against a wall muttering something to himself. “...I see your point.”

With a bit of tracing the star charts, and a few more calculations and sensor adjustments, another colony was found on the other side of the planet, blocked by natural mountain ranges. Flashfire didn’t like leaving the Armor alone for too long, but he had faith in his marefriend to be able to handle anything that came up.

“Solar Radiance to the colony of Swallowtail,” Flashfire transmitted down to the planet below, Extremely having given him the name of whom he was supposed to be talking to. He thanked whoever was listening that the ship had decided to crash land and split into two, more or less, with one group of colonials taking one side of the paradise planet and the other group taking another side. “This is the Solar Radiance representing the planet Equus and the United Planetoid Alliance, anyone down there?”

“Yes, this is Madam Winter Breeze,” came a female voice, an icy blue pegasus mare wearing a dark suit coming up on the screen. “Prime Minister of Swallowtail. You say you hail from Equus? I’d thought we were forgotten about.”

“I'm afraid the sad truth of the matter is, you got lost in the bureaucracy,” Flashfire laughed in embarrassment. “But despite the lateness of our arrival, we're here now and we're eager to renew ties. You… are aware you are not the only colonists on your planet, right? The southern hemisphere has…”

“Excuse me?” Winter asked. “...other colonists? But I thought… ...Oh well, guess I’ve been thinking a lot of things lately. Oh well, you can tell me about it later, I suppose, I need your help. I’ll explain when you get down to the planet.”

“...If I may,” Flashfire said politely. “I don’t respond well to demands.”

“This is a plea,” Winter said making Flashfire sit up. “Now, please, help us.”

The transmission cut off.

“...well, that was strange,” Flashfire commented. “She seemed awfully interested in getting our help, even if she won’t explain why.”

“Forgive me for sounding paranoid,” Emerald Gauze said. “But you could be walking into a very dangerous trap. Dark Matter could have already gotten to these colonists.”

“Perhaps so,” Flashfire agreed. “But if that was the case, we’d see their ships already and secondly, Dark Matter isn’t so foolish as to miss a separate colony like the one on the southern hemisphere. They’d snatch them up too. And forgive me for saying this, but our new friends in the cargo bay don’t seem quite so intelligent enough to be spies and saboteurs.”

“...Agreed,” Emerald Gauze said after a few moments of consideration. “In any event, I’d like to join you.”

“Agreed, a medical professional is always welcomed,” Flashfire said before going for the comms. “Coldcast, need you down with me and Emerald Gauze. Advise caution.”

Let it be said Flashfire hated the snow and frost, ever since he’d gotten off that one planet. The adventure may have yielded him an extra Voyager but it still scared him to death to even think of snow. There was a reason he was both thinking of taking up a farm when this was all over and was so glad to be out of the cold and inside a warm building.

What he did not expect to see when he walked into the building was Winter Breeze gaining an identical twin of sorts. “Welcome to Swallowtail. I'm Spring Breeze, Minister of Health. Yours?”

“Flashfire, and this is Coldcast and Emerald Gauze.”

“A griffon, a unicorn, and a crystal pony,” Spring said with interest. “A curious mix indeed. Your arrival really is serendipitous, this way if you please? I’ll escort you to Madam Winter.”

Emerald would have been a fool not to notice how on edge Spring seemed, and Flashfire noticed it as well by the look he sent her. They also would have been fools to not notice the three identical zebras hanging about the front desk.

“Triplets?” Flashfire asked in suspicion. He then corrected himself upon seeing a fourth walk by. “...Quadruplets.”

Something was very wrong here, he thought to himself a sinking pit forming in his stomach.

“Oh, how so?” Emerald asked of Spring.

“Well, perhaps I'll let the Prime Minister explain that,” Spring replied.

“Is there some medical problem we should know about?” Emerald inquired. “Madam Winter sounded desperate.”

“I think it best if the, er…” Spring began to trail off.

“Prime Minister explains that?” Flashfire asked before answering the unasked question. “...Yeah, somehow I thought you might.”

When they got to Winter’s office, Emerald had one piercing question to ask. “Tell me, is your entire population made up of clones, Madam Prime Minister?”

“...clones?” Coldcast asked.

“Clones,” Flashfire confirmed with a nod.

Winter Breeze sighed and leaned back in her chair, wondering if it was a good time to switch from tea to alcohol. But she explained all the same, as she took them into a nearby observation lounge.

“Sirs and Madam, we need your help. During our landing on this planet, the skin of our ship was breached. Only five of the colonists survived. The progenitors weren't willing to just give up and die, and they were scientists…”

“...and so you turned to cloning,” Flashfire finished. “...well, I suppose I can’t entirely blame you. Two mares and three stallions hardly represent a sufficient gene pool from which to build a society. And without knowledge of the other colony... If I may, how did you suppress the natural sexual drive? Drugs? Punitive laws?”

“A little bit of both, actually,” Winter said. “...Trust me, the idea of dating my brother was a… little repugnant to me so really nobody minded in the beginning. I suppose it sorta snowballed from there if you forgive the frankly poor pun. However…”

“However what? I see there’s a but coming in a minute…” Flashfire asked wanting to get to the point of all this. Even so, he had that sneaking suspicion. “How did they manage to overcome the problem of replicative fading?”

“And to answer your question, the one I know you're about to ask…” Winter said before she took a deep breath and sighed. It was obvious what she was about to say was hard on her and had been troubling her deeply for a while now. “No, we haven't overcome replicative fading.”

“Then you have got a problem," Emerald said before she explained upon seeing Coldcast's confused look. “See, each time you clone you're making a copy of a copy, right? So, after a short while, the genetic material begins to… fade.”

She paused to let the implications sink in.

“Damned if you do, damned if you don't…” Flashfire murmured sadly.

“Essentially, yes,” Winter said in the tone of one who was resigned to her fate. “Help us… please.”

Flashfire didn't need to be asked twice. Leaning forwards he asked one simple question. “How?”

What he did not expect was to be asked to be cloned. Actually, he did expect it knowing Winter’s tone. She was just that desperate. But Flashfire wasn’t sure how to feel about this. So he turned to Emerald Gauze for extra information, quietly taking her aside.

“Doctor, how desperate is the colony's situation?” he asked in a solemn tone.

“They've got two or three generations, at tops, really, then the fading will be terminal. They're among the walking dead now. They just haven't been buried,” Emerald said with a sigh. “...So, what will you do?”

“I just don’t know…”

“It’s ultimately harmless,” Emerald said. “...if not ethically debatable.”

“Harmless maybe, but one Flashfire Lulamoon is unique, perhaps even special. But a take a hundred of me, a thousand of me. What then? Does it diminish me? I can't even…” Flashfire murmured before he considered the options. It was either this or letting these people die. “I know this seems drastic but really, we do have much in common. They're ponies fighting for survival, like us! Would we do any less? Could we do any less?”

Normally, I’d glad you’d be coming around to my line of thinking,” Winter said peeking her head in having heard the tail end of things. “...Forgive me, I couldn’t help but overhear. I admit we get into more moral issues than one can possibly imagine.”

“I think I can imagine a few examples,” Emerald said. “Say we clone someone just for organs, as what if we need a transplant on the fly? Would the clone just accept his death or would we have to treat him as another pony entirely? Another living being?”

“When you get down to it…” Winter Breeze said. “You wouldn’t know, would you? Not until it came time to… pull the plug if you will.”

“There has to be another option!” Flashfire decided. “I hate to say it Ms. Breeze, but even if we did allow you to clone us, in fifteen generations you’d be right back to the same problem. The end’s closer than you’d like to think.”

“I know,” Winter Breeze said. “It’s only prolonging the inevitable…”

“What you need is…” Flashfire trailed off before it hit him. “...Oh, I’ve got a crazy idea, but it just might solve a whole lot of problems. What you need Madam Breeze, is fresh breeding stock.”

“Yes. They have the energy and drive, and the clones possess the emotional maturity and technological knowledge. Well, this whole thing started off together, it does seem fitting they should end up together…” Emerald said in thought.

“...what do you…? The other colony!” Winter realized. “Well, I can’t say I don’t actually mind the possibility of having to move out of these cold mountains. I have to say, a farm does sound tempting… It's a match made in heaven.”

“Unfortunately, it’ll have to be one Tartarus of a shotgun wedding!” Flashfire said. “Well then, let’s get to work, eh?”

Of course, there was a few teething troubles really. Neither colony leader seemed particularly interested in the other. “Me, allow my family to marry into these high-class snobs? I think not!” Extremely Rich shouted.

“And I won’t allow my ponies to marry into the families of these uncultured swines!” Winter snapped.

This went on for a bit with both sides tossing insults at the other back and forth before Flashfire had finally had enough. “That’s enough out of the both of you! I will not allow posturing and bigotry to destroy this meeting. Now please, sit down!” Flashfire shouted. “Madam Winter, you know how close the end is to your culture, would you really let it happen thanks to your own stubborn pride?”

Next, he turned to Extremely Rich. “And you. Ponies are well known for helping each other in need, extending the gesture of friendship. You married a kirin, and have two half kirin children on the way. Are these ponies really all that different, cloned or not? Would you really turn them away?”

“I don't know. There are so many difficulties....” Extremely sighed sitting down in his chair. “We’d be willing to learn, but…”

“And us,” Winter said with a small blush. “For years we have denied… our, er, more carnal needs. How can we learn to put that aside?”

“Well, you put a young couple together and you let nature take its course,” Flashfire suggested with a deadpan look. “It’s really all that simple.”

“Oh, Goddess, it's so…” Winter started.

“Frightening?” Extremely asked. “Trust me, this an act of courage for me as well, but Flashfire’s right. We shouldn’t turn our fellow ponies away, it’s just not right!”

“Yes, yes....” Winter agreed. “Quite!”

Admittedly, she had seen a stallion with kids, quite elegant in his white fur coating. She wouldn’t be remiss if she didn’t say she liked what she saw. This was a bit scary, but then again her ancestors thought the same thing about cloning she suspected. There really was no other option here.

“Yeah, this was definitely a day for me to take up the drink…” Winter thought as she extended her hand, and shook Extremely’s own. Flashfire could only look on with a smile. And like a real butterfly emerging from his cocoon, things seemed be looking towards a bright new future.

Author's Notes:

Okay, so yeah... an adaption of Up the Long Ladder from Star Trek the Next Generation. ...well, I suppose one Star Trek adaption is allowed, given the genre here.

Now, as any Trek fan will tell you, this was not one of the good episodes. It's actually quite telling that Enterprise did an episode on cloning better. Yes, seriously. RuinQueen, who I must thank for allowing me the useage of Winter Breeze, put it best.

It ignores the actual ethical issues of cloning, that the clone is still human regardless of how its born. If you look at other stories that address the issue, even in Star Trek, either the clones are still treated as being living beings by many (such as various portrayals in The Clone Wars series) or if they have to be killed, there is a good reason (killing the Thrawn clone in the original EU to avoid the threat of Thrawn from returning)

Enterprise, you know the series that everyone hates for mostly legitimate reasons (seasons 3 and 4 were actually good, but not important here... okay kinda important this was a season 3 episode), actually did it better. There was an episode where the chief engineer was badly injured, so they cloned him to get organs to heal him. The clone was treated like a member of the crew and it addressed the ethical issues of creating a new life only to kill it so another life could be saved. When the clone finally was used for that purpose (willingly I might add), he was given a proper funeral and send off by the crew because they had become so close to him

So... um, Yeah. Yeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaahhh. Take Riker's clone a few years later. He would very much be treated as his own separate person in a way. As it stands though, Up The Long Ladder? it's a funny but still very early TNG episode. There's a reason Star Trek TNG is the trope namer for Growing the Beard.

Irony. Snodgrass wrote this episode but she also wrote Measure of a Man. Possibly the first true classic of the show.

Meh. Also, the story Stripped tells? It was inspired by one of the tales here. https://io9.gizmodo.com/these-are-all-your-most-insane-lab-stories-1695309166