In a secret underground chamber in Canterlot Castle, a baby dragon named Spike saw—on several monitors—the entire above-ground portion of the castle blown to smithereens. To his superior—a purple unicorn named Twilight Sparkle—he exclaimed, “Oh, no! The castle’s in ruins! What’ll we do?!” “We’re safe right here, Spike,” Twilight reminded him. “Teleport five ponies to us from Ponyville!” she commanded him. “All right, Twilight—I will,” he answered, and pushed a sequence of buttons on a console.

Meanwhile, out in the streets of Ponyville, five civilian ponies—terrified by the news about Canterlot Castle—huddled together for their safety. Suddenly, they transformed into five colored streaks of light and shot across the sky toward Canterlot. When they transformed back into their corporeal forms, they found themselves lying on the floor of the secret chamber below where the castle used to be. “Are you OK?” they asked one another. “I think so,” they answered.

“Everypony, step through the vortex!” called Spike to the five civilian ponies. The command left the ponies confused until a pair of double doors opened to reveal a vortex. The sight of the vortex terrified them again—especially the yellow pony. “Ponies, please step through the vortex,” repeated Spike, because the ponies were frustrating him. They trotted slowly through the vortex—one by one—holding hooves with one another every step of the way through.

The ponies fell a long way—about ten times the height of any of them—down to the bottom floor of the chamber. “That was close!” cried the blue pony. “That was scary!” exclaimed the yellow one. “Where in tarnation are we?!” wondered the orange one aloud. “This place is bo-o-o-o-oring!” complained the pink one childishly.

“Hello, ponies,” announced Spike to the five mares. “Welcome to Canterlot!” he added. “Canterlot?!” gasped the white pony with glee. “The elegance—the glamor—the sophistication!” she exclaimed. “I always wanted to visit Canterlot,” she sighed, “and I just did!”

“My name is Twilight Sparkle,” announced the purple pony. “This is Spike, my no. 1 assistant!” she added, pointing to Spike. “He’s so cute!” cooed the yellow pony, cuddling Spike with her wings. “I know—right?” agreed Twilight Sparkle. “Anyway,” she continued, “may I ask you what your names are, please?”

“I’m Rainbow Dash!” answered the blue pegasus proudly. “Applejack,” answered the orange Earth pony. “And my name’s Pinkie Pie!” answered the pink Earth pony cheerfully. “I’m—erm—Fluttershy,” answered the yellow pegasus softly and shyly. “My name is Rarity!” answered the white unicorn with flair. “Everypony,” announced the purple unicorn, “we have an emergency on our hooves.” “Oh, dear—anything but that!” gasped Fluttershy, terrified by the news. “This,” said Twilight, pointing to a monitor, “is Nightmare Moon—a wicked alicorn who just destroyed most of the castle.” Then, some dark-coated pegasi appeared on the monitor, and Twilight continued, “These are called Shadowbolts.” She explained, “I summoned all of you here to help defend the land of Equestria from Nightmare Moon and her henchponies.”

Twilight Sparkle presented five two-piece bracelets to the ponies whom she had summoned, telling them, “These are your Hooflets.” She continued, “They will let you transform into five superheroines—the Pony Rangers.” She gave one Hooflet to each pony, telling her, “Each of you will have a unique color and designation.” She announced, “Rarity, you are Pony Ranger 1—Pink; Fluttershy, you are Pony Ranger 2—Yellow; Pinkie Pie, you are Pony Ranger 3—Blue; Applejack, you are Pony Ranger 4—Green; and Rainbow Dash, you are Pony Ranger 5—Red.” After looking at the monitor, she told the new Pony Rangers, “It’s time to put your Ranger powers to use; the Shadowbolts are approaching quickly, and you must stop them from destroying Canterlot any further!” “We will stop at nothing to buck those bullies clear out of Canterlot!” cheered Pinkie Pie. The Pony Rangers called out, all at the same time, “Pony Rangers—let’s go!” After shouting their respective Pony Ranger designations, they morphed into powerful superheroines in colorful suits. “All right, everypony—let’s nail Nightmare Moon’s minions!” called out Rainbow Dash. The Rangers stood proudly and prepared themselves for hoof-to-hoof combat against the Shadowbolts.

When the Pony Rangers set hoof outside, Shadowbolts surrounded them on every side. “I’m not afraid of you, you ruffians—neither of you yourselves nor of your tacky uniforms!” taunted Rarity. She bucked and punched the rogue Shadowbolts with all four hooves and with all her strength, as did everypony else. “Take that, you devils!” she cried. “So long, you rowdy rodeo rejects!” hollered Applejack, who managed to throw the dark hoof soldiers down to the ground like a rodeo champion. “Oh, my—I’m so sorry; that was an accident!” squeaked Fluttershy in shock after she tripped the Shadowbolts in fright. “There’s no stopping us!” shouted Rainbow Dash after knocking the Shadowbolts down with her signature aerial attacks. “WHOOPEE—GO-O-O-O-O, TEAM!” cheered Pinkie Pie at the top of her voice as soon as all the Shadowbolts fell over in defeat. “Great job, everypony!” said Rainbow Dash. “Pony Rangers!” everypony called out in unison.

The Pony Rangers, still morphed, went back inside the Power Chamber—the secret chamber below where Canterlot Castle once stood. “Congratulations, Pony Rangers, on your first victory together!” announced Twilight Sparkle. “You fought very well together!” commented Spike. “But—those Shadowbolts were so scary!” complained Fluttershy. “It’s OK—you had your friends to protect you!” countered Pinkie Pie. “Strength in numbers, Fluttershy,” agreed Applejack. “And friends always fight on the same side!” added Rainbow Dash. “What a team we are, darlings!” exclaimed Rarity. Finally, the Rangers doffed their helmets to reveal their identities to one another and to Twilight Sparkle and Spike. They formed a circle, put their front hooves in the center, and raised them high as they called out, “Pony Rangers!”

Next Chapter: 24 Minutes Over Ponyville Estimated time remaining: 13 Minutes