Chapter 137: Vulpesylvanian Campaign
Part 1: Force for War
TIME: 14:41 EET
DATE: War Day 1039/7 Secundus, 1005 C.S.
LOCATION: Athens, Principality of Vulpesylvania
Everyone was assembled. The Equestrian Marines were being reorganized, and whatever equipment we could, was being salvaged from the sunken vessels. The Vulpes were providing our troops with whatever they could.
Which was why I insisted on as much cross-compatibility as possible.
Prince Stavros: "The Macedonkians will invade here, through the plains. As we feared." He nodded, then looked to me. "What can we get from NEIGHTO in the next four days?"
K: "I can get troops from Roam." I nodded. "I know you have some distrust of them, but they're the nearest ones, and they have some combat experience. Moreover, they're friends of mine."
Raven: "Why four days, sir?" She shrugged.
Prince Stavros: "We have run war games against Macedonkia to great length. Four days is how long it takes them to get to Athens." He frowned. "Especially if they have help."
K: "You think the Blowgarians and Tarpangoslavians might help? Or the Shquiptarians? Only Shquiptaria and Blowgaria stand to gain land." I shrugged.
Prince Stavros: "They are the most likely. The Herdiets would have been a threat.. err.. if you hadn't blown up part of Moscow." He gestured to the map.
D.N.P. Totonni: "My Prince, we finally have reliable scouting reports." She and Blinda came in, and handed out hastily scribbled notes. "Corfu has been invaded. Ioannina's Militia and the 4th Infantry Brigade are engaging the enemy in Epirus. Only militia forces remain in Corfu. A general offensive has begun in Argeios. From reports, there are three Divisions of Macedonkians invading. The enemy in Epirus is one Division of Shquiptarians. We are outnumbered." She looked to me. "We only have one and a half Divisions of front line troops, half a Division of Marines, and perhaps three quarters of a Division of Militia in all of Vulpesylvania. We face four, as of now."
K: "We have one Battalion of Marines with us." I shrugged. "Raven, get ahold of Roam, Germaneigh, Prance and Ambleion. I want everything they have, here. Call back to Equestria and mobilize the rest of the 1st Marine Division." I looked to the Prince. "What are your defensive plans?"
Prince Stavros: "We have gamed to fall back in controlled measures all the way to Athens, while attempting to inflict as much damage to the enemy as possible. Our war goal is to make invasion as painful as possible, and ensure stay-behind forces and special operations teams cause the enemy great losses behind the lines. Our final defensive line is at Corinth, if they take the Capital. We.." He cleared his throat. "..agreed that if they break through at Corinth, we sue for peace."
Blinda: "We have one major advantage, sir." She smiled a bit. "The enemy is attacking with nothing but hoof infantry, hoof-borne artillery, and cavalry." She shrugged. "They have no observed aircraft or armored vehicles."
Prince Stavros: "This is why we pushed to get our armored vehicles into production as fast as possible." He nodded. "We have enough to equip two Mechanized Infantry Brigades."
K: "Alright. Gaze, Norfy, Cosmic, take command of those Mechanized units. Get them moving and start using them to our advantage. Forest Spirit, you have operational command with Makara. Use our Marines to blunt their advances and start setting defensive lines with the local militia." I looked to Havoc. "You and Seven start working up Spec Ops missions to penetrate behind enemy lines. And I mean into Macedonkia itself. Target anything you think looks good - railheads, supply depots, convoys. Unlike Earth, every soldier is both a potential transport force and a fighter. On Earth, we used horses to transport supplies before we had vehicles." I shrugged. "What about the islands?"
Prince Stavros: "They have militia forces.. but that's it." He shrugged. "We have the Inner Islands Defense Fleet to protect them from naval invasions, but we haven't enough ships to cover everything."
K: "Could the enemy capture those islands in a flanking maneuver, and attack Peloponnese from the south or east?" I tilted my head.
Prince Stavros: "That.. this is.." He blinked. "We never considered that. They could leap from island to island and get very close."
K: "I'll take that as a 'yes.'" I nodded. "Spirit, I'll need a couple Marine companies."
Forest Spirit: "Take the Marine Guards from the ships. That'll give you 244 Marines." He nodded back.
K: "Alright. Our remaining warships will assist the Vulpesylvanian defense fleet." I shrugged. "Meanwhile, I'm taking a team and going to Mount Olympus. Squirk is on his way there, and wants to kill the Gods." I pointed at Prince Stavros. "That's Tirek's real goal. If he can kill Foxes, too, that's great, but he needs your Gods dead." I nodded. "He's aware Leviathan granted us his power. They'll do the same, and he can't have that."
Prince Stavros: "Yes, I see." He scowled. "Take whatever you need."
K: "Trucks." I nodded. "Girls, you're coming with me." I looked over to them. "No one else." I looked over at Dusk.
Dusk: "..you can't be serious." He frowned.
Rarity: "I'll be fine, darling." She patted his foreleg.
K: "I am. Considering Sharpeye was compromised, I have no idea what the threat is to Prince Stavros, YOU'RE a Royal Guard, and..." I gestured.
Dusk: "..thus the only one qualified to keep him alive that you know you can trust." He scowled. "I get it. I don't LIKE it, but I get it." He nodded.
K: "Trixie, stay with him. Jack.." I looked over to him. "..whatever you can teach her, teach her." I nodded.
Jack Pot: "I'll do my best." He frowned a little.
Brindle: "Oh, we'll be fine." He patted his shoulder. "Between your daughter and my son, we'll be fine."
Steela: "Steela not like this, either." She snorted. "But, Steela is sworn to follow your orders." She nodded.
K: "Meanwhile, the rest of you, group up in threes and fours, and embed yourselves as Advisors in Vulpine units according to your specialties. Help them any way you can." I nodded to the rest of them. "Buy us more than four days." I looked at CAG evenly. "I think we can stretch it to six."
Rapid Bearing: "Mmmm.. give me a chance, I'll make it seven." He smirked. "I assume we have the Prince's authority to direct our units as we need?"
Prince Stavros: "YES." He nodded firmly. "Our troops are largely bereft of combat experience. You all have it. Please. For my foxes."
Norfy: "You got it, your highness." He nodded to Prince Stavros.
K: "Alright. You have your assignments." I gestured to them. "Get going." Then looked at Sunset. "Get the girls ready. Get whatever you need. We will probably be doing some mountain climbing."
Sunset: "You got it." She got up with Toola and Fluttershy, and moved off.
Rarity: "Well, darlings. This shall be quite the adventure." She smiled a bit.
Applejack: "Yeah." She nodded. "Honeybun.." She looked over at me.
K: "Yes, my love!" I turned in my chair to face her.
Applejack: "..how bad this gonna be?" She tilted her head.
K: "Eh." I sighed. "There'll be a lot of casualties. The Macedonkians have proven to be tough customers." And shrugged. "It figures Tirek would do this. He might not've known I was here, exactly, but he knew well enough I was on my way, and that he needed to remove the Vulpine Gods from the war completely." I gestured, as Rainbow came up to me.
Sherby: "Hey, K." He tilted his head, with a funny little grin. "Mind if I take over the Defense Fleet?"
K: "..spell it out." I nodded.
Sherby: "We're probably outnumbered. I'm a Pirate. I literally live to be outnumbered and outgunned." He shrugged, smiling. "I can take the Defense Fleet and start engaging the enemy, Pirate style. Keep them off balance. Maybe make a big dent in them. Certainly keep them from taking any major islands."
Sargasso Sea: "..I'll back him up, K." She put a hoof on Sherbet's shoulder. "He's a Pirate, I'm an Admiral. I can do sea fighting and command."
K: "You two, work together." I nodded. "Take Ochre Wave with you, you'll need a good Marine leader."
Sherby: "You got it, K!" He cackled a little. "Come on, Sarg'!" She was just about PULLED away.
Rainbow Dash: "Kinda silly for me to say this, but I'm glad she's doing better." She shrugged her wings.
Rarity: "You're quite on point, Darling. Her brother being shamed had her in a bad place for a long time. She did her job, but she lacked.. gusto. I think Sherby is going to light a fire beneath her." She nodded.
K: "Sherby is just unflappably happy." I shrugged. "Nothing gets him down." I smiled a bit.
Rarity: "Indeed, Darling." She nodded with a grin. "Now, we should go gather our equipment."
K: "Of course." I nodded, and got up.
We had piles of salvaged gear from the Sunstone in the palace's storage area. Most of our stuff was fine - CAG's quarters had been above the floodline for the most part. We got our equipment out, along with my personalized Grant.
Rarity: "I can only hope, Darlings, that the Gods are as jovial as Poseidon apparently was." She shrugged, checking her rifle. "What can you tell us of Squirk?"
K: "He's an octopus, and usually has a lobster assistant named Crank." I nodded. "He had the Flashstone in antiquity. It was supposed to have been destroyed, if I recall." I shrugged. "I guess Tirek unsealed him and promised him dominion over part of this area in exchange for his help. He USED to rule a chunk of what's now Equestria."
Applejack: "So's he's 'nother ancient enemy." She frowned.
K: "Yes, but he was mortal - I thought he was long dead." I shook my head.
So, now we'd have to go find the Vulpe (Greek) Gods. In the middle of an Invasion. Of course, Tirek would never make this easy.
[End of Part 1]
Part 2: Fiesta
TIME: 17:22 EET
DATE: War Day 1039/7 Secundus, 1005 C.S.
LOCATION: Lamia, Central Vulpania, Principality of Vulpesylvania
Our team was in a pair of locally-produced jeeps. Ours had an 11mm machine gun on it, Sunset's had a 106mm Recoiless Rifle on hers. We packed extra food, water, and whatever else we thought we needed. The trip to Mount Olympus was set to take six hours. Half way there, was the city of Lamia.
15th Company, 1st Marine Battalion was also with us. The commander, Captain Steel Glintz, a dark blue Pegasi with a brownish-reddish mane and tail, was aboard an M-17 Edson along with 1st Platoon. The rest of the company was in trucks. We disembarked.
Sigmask was acting as his Company Sergeant.
Sigmask: "We'll set up here, K." He nodded.
K: "Make this town a strongpoint." I nodded to the Captain.
Capt. Glintz: "Understood, sir. The commander of Lamia's Militia is over there in the governmental offices. We'll have them bring you some Petrol, General." He nodded.
K: "Alright. We're going to grab a meal." I nodded.
I noted that the town center was very quiet. Not many Foxes were moving around, and this told me, they were preparing to evacuate, or some already had. They were probably afraid the Macedonkians would get here too soon.
There WAS one restaurant open, though...
Sunset: "Over here, K!" She motioned.
Fluttershy: "Yes! It smells wonderful in here!" She beamed a grin.
So, we went over to the smallish building with a sign out front saying "CANTINA DE FIESTA" - my hackles went up instantly.
A bouncy pink pony in a Navarese dress and halter top slid out from the front doors, and motioned to all of us.
Fiesta Fritter: "BUENOS DIAS, MI AMIGOS!" She cheered. "Come! Refresh yourselves!" She motioned for everyone to follow her.
Applejack: "..that's a Pinkie Clone.." She said to me in low tones.
K: "E'yup." I imitated Mac.
So, we went in..
Fiesta Fritter: "Me llamo Fiesta Fritter! Come, come! I have delicious tacos! And Churros! And fresh Horchada!" She zipped into the kitchen.
I noted.. these ARE NOT NAVARESE DISHES. They're "traditional Mexican."
And they literally are unknown outside of Mulexico.
She brought out a gigantic platter of tacos - fish and pork. Balanced on her head was a pitcher of Horchada. Her flank was balancing a plate of churros.
She set these down at the large, central table, and bounced over to us, ushuring us into our seats.
I just let it happen.
Fiesta Fritter: "You need to eat hearty if you're going to fight!" She beamed a grin, and clapped her hooves. "AND! What go good with food? MUSICA!" She whipped a guitar out of nowhere.
She tuned up the guitar.. and played.. La Bamba.
I just listened, and smiled. None of the other g-
Sunset: "That was great! When did you get ahold of Richie Valens?" She leaned over the table, smirking, half-finished pork taco in one hoof.
-right, Sunset spent time on Earth.
Fiesta froze.
No one else got it. I just.. tilted back and grinned.
Fiesta: "W-Why, what ever do you mean, Seniorita!?" She did a 'play it off' chuckle. "Sunset, you are too suspicious of me!"
K: "We never told you our names." I shrugged.
She froze up again.
Applejack: "Come off it, Fiesta. We knows y'all're one'a Pinkie's clones. It's fine, sugarcube. Princess Celestia's promised y'all're t'be treated like y'er yer own mare, now." She nodded. "Twai' ain't gonna come 'round 'n' try'n pop ya like a-"
K: "-Pinata." I put in.
She sighed a long sigh, hoof to her chest, and smiled.
Fiesta: "So.. we can has a real fiesta, then?" She leaned in, manic twinkle in her eye.
K: "You have an hour." I nodded.
Fiesta: "YAY!" She cheered, and confetti burst from her grasp.
How much of "Pinkie" did THIS clone have? It didn't matter - she was happy. And I was happy that she could find that kind of joy, after everything that'd happened with her and Pinkie.
After an hour, she had a bag of leftovers she made us take.
Fiesta: "Come back, mi amigos." She smiled, and embraced me.. and kissed me.
Oh. She had -THAT PART- of Pinkie.
Yeah, that was no friendly kiss.
Getting back to the Jeeps as the troops had refueled them, Applejack gave me a thump on the hip. Not hard, just a reminder. And a smile, and a small shrug, as if to say, if she wanted a kinky pink'y party for two, it better be for three, and include her.
Love my horse wife.
[End of Part 2]
Part 3: Go, Go
TIME: 19:17 EET
DATE: War Day 1039/7 Secundus, 1005 C.S.
LOCATION: Terpsithea, Thessaly, Principality of Vulpesylvania
We had to slow down. The area was getting dark. The small town of Terpsithea, just outside of Larisa, already had a Militia check point. We drove up to it.
Centurion Sergeant Cordon Rogue: "General K! Sergeant Cordon Rogue." He saluted as we approached - and much like his name, he was very orange indeed. "We have quarters for you, and a garage for your vehicles."
K: "Thank you, Sergeant." I nodded. "We're quite tired. Though we did have a large dinner not long ago." I shrugged. "Some tea, if you've any, would be nice."
Cordon: "Indeed, sir." He nodded, and motioned for us to follow.
Rarity: "It will be nice to get some rest. Climbing a mountain isn't going to be easy, Darlings - remember last time." She nodded.
We were led to a large house. Inside, several Militia personnel were milling about, setting up sandbags and emplaced machine guns. I noted that of the six they had, four were Pershings, and one was still chambered in 9x35mm. War aid.
Cordon: "Sorry if the room's a bit small." He shrugged.
K: "We'll take anything we can get." I patted his shoulder. "There's a war on." I smirked. "Better this than sleeping in an olive grove." And shrugged.
Sunset: "No kidding!" She nodded firmly.
Rarity: "Dear Sergeant, is there a place a lady could get a quick shower, hmm?" She batted her eyes at him.
Cordon: "Ah-er-yes, right th-" He motioned to a Corporal Prime. "Corporal Eveready, show Miss Rarity where she can clean up!" And passed her off to the Vixen.
I flopped down on a sofa that was rather large-ish for Foxen, and quickly got comfortable. Without ceremony, Applejack was right on top of me.
Even after Rarity got back, she found a spot nearby.
None of us wanted to say it, but we all had a TERRIBLE feeling, and finding comfort with each other was our stress response. We knew that if Squirk was back, something horrible was afoot. Outside of Tirek, Squirk had been one of the worst ancient Tyrants, and his command of the Flashstone ensured his cruel reign.
And we had to fight him. Because no one else could.
TIME: 07:56 EET
We were woken up by the sounds of fighting. A few gunshots, yes, but it quickly became clear that the fighting was hand-to-hand.. or.. claw-to-... something.
K: "UP!" I stated, and everyone was instantly diving for weapons.
Crashing through the window was something totally unexpected - it looked like a giant Starfish.
I cleared leather before anyone else, and shot it three times with my Dager. Only to see three holes ripple through it as though it was made of clay.
Applejack: "WHU'L GUNS AIN'T GONNA WORK!" She snorted, and wheel-mule-kicked it in the center of its star, sending it into the wall.
It burst apart.
Rarity: "..oh, dear. And I -just- had a hooficure." She snorted, and dropped her Sherman-Spencer, drawing her combat knife.
K: "Come on!" I drew the Sword of Rainbow's Light and jumped out the window.
The Foxes were struggling with these enemies. They were an even match and then some. The stronger foxes were putting up a good fight, but there were so many Clay Starfish, it was hard to gain ground.
K: "GET'EM! FIGHT!" I pointed my sword.
We charged into the street battle. Sunset instantly resorted to fire magic, which was effective if she used high level spells. Rarity was being more crass, using her ability to manipulate minerals to simply tear chunks out of Clay Starfish, or shred them when she found some gems at a jeweler's store that she broke open.
Rainbow Dash was boxing them like a prize fighter, using her wings to keep her out of reach of the enemy, and swinging in for a hard impact when she could. Fluttershy was making use of the environment, dropping barrels of water, paving stones, and roof tiles down on the Clay Starfish.
Toola Roola showed off her Parkour skills again, using the walls and street to keep herself moving, and throwing the Clay Starfish into either AJ or Dash's attacks, or crashing down on them if she got enough air.
I was just using the sword like a machete - slashing through them whenever they got close. Stabbing them, when I had to. There was plenty to go around. The fight lasted.. about six minutes.
We were panting and heaving as the last Clay Starfish went down and shattered.
I looked around and realized all of the Foxes were down, too. Injured, beaten, bloodied, but not many dead.
K: "WHAT the HELL was THAT?!" I finally said.
Hermes: "Oh, that's just the START, babe." He descended from the heavens quickly, and landed before me. "Listen, I can't stay here long - you know the rules, man. Squirk is close. You need to stop him." He shook his head. "But the Elements of Harmony aren't going to work."
K: "So, what do we do?" I shrugged, resheathing the sword.
Hermes: "The Gaea Pendants." He pointed to mine. "YOU.. already know what to do." He smirked, like he knew a very funny joke.
K: "How?" I blinked.
Hermes: "..don't these Clay Starfish remind you of.. Putty?" He smirked, then grinned broadly.
K: "I don't know w-" I froze. "NO!" I shook my head. "NO NO NO NO!" I waved my hands in front of me.
Hermes: "You know it, babe." He snickered to himself. "Explain it to the girls. Remember, use it when you have to." He patted me on the shoulder. "See you on Olympus!" And off he flew.
Applejack: "That was Hermes, huh?" She frowned. "Whut'n'Tarnation was he talkin' about?" She shrugged.
K: "Come on. I'll explain." I motioned for them to follow me. "SERGEANT!" I called back to him.
Cordon: "We.. we'll be okay.. just... bruised, sir." He motioned for us to go.
Sunset: "What is this, K?" She shrugged, as we ran.
K: "Spandex suits and power coins." I shrugged.
Sunset: "NO FREAKIN' WAY!" She laughed.
Applejack: "Whut're y'all on about!?" She scowled.
Sunset: "You'll see, AJ. And it's going to be EPIC." She beamed a grin.
K: "Just.. when I call out, and you'll know what I mean, grab your Gaea Pendant and focus your energy into it."
Rainbow Dash: "NO PROBLEM!" She beamed a confident grin.
We rushed out into the field around the town, and started looking around for him. He wasn't hard to find.
K: "SQUIRK!" I pointed to him.
Squirk: "Aha! The HUUUUMANNNN!" He hissed at me. "Well. GO AHEAD!" He waved two tentacles at me. "Try to shoot me!"
I sighed, pulled my Dager, and fired exactly once. The bullet hit his shield, and shattered.
K: "As I thought." I shrugged.
Rarity: "And Hermes said the Elements would be useless." She made a concered 'mrr' sound.
K: "...you can't be serious. This can't be happening!" I frowned.
Sunset: "Wellllllll... seems that way." She shrugged.
K: *Sigh* "Alright. Well, if we're going to do this, we're doing it right."
I love you, honey.
Cringe be damned, we were taking this absolutely seriously.
K: "IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!" I grabbed my pendant.
Rarity: "GENEROSITY!"
Toola Roola: "LAUGHTER!"
Rainbow Dash: "LOYALTY!"
Fluttershy: "KINDNESS!"
Applejack: "HONESTY!"
Sunset: "MAGIC!"
K: "UNITY!"
I don't know what the girls saw, but I saw a tunnel of rainbow light, and I instinctively held my arms out as the light wrapped around me. A tight but flexible suit of light wrapped itself over me, with solid pauldrons, and solid bracers over my forearms. The Sword of Rainbow's Light took on a more fantastical shape, and a sheath for it appeared at my waist. As the light died down, I found myself in a..
GREEN POWER RANGER SUIT!
If Jen was here, I would be absolutely raped to death. Jason David Frank was her favorite ranger.
(RIP JDF)
The light dissepated, and I could tell my head was inside a helmet, but the helmet neither felt heavy, nor unwieldly. I rolled my neck, and looked at Squirk.
K: "Looks like you just messed with the Mighty Morphin' Friendship Rangers." I pointed at him, casually.
Really, given the white diamond motif of the suit, it DID look a LOT like the original MMPR ranger suits, but the helmets were shaped differently - especially when I looked at the girls.
Sunset: "OH YEAH!" Red Ranger, of course. "You're goin' down!"
Rarity: "You cannot resist, darling." Black Ranger.
Toola Roola: "The only picture I'm painting, is your defeat." Pink Ranger.
Rainbow Dash: "Even with eight arms, you still can't pry our friendships apart!" Blue Ranger.
Fluttershy: "I can't let you be mean to ANYONE else!" Yellow Ranger.
Applejack: "Time ta show you how we do things down in Ponyville." White Ranger.
Well.. that.. kinda fits with Seasons 1 and 2. Technically, they were different series and what-all (anyone that's a rabid fan of them knows what's up here), and technically... Applejack and I were both in Ranger colors that Jason David Frank wore.. interesting that the reflection of my human wife would become the Ranger she most wanted to be.
I felt as though something metaphysical was going on, here. No matter, though - we had a monster to fight.
Squirk: *Hink'a-hink'a-hink* "You really think those flashy suits can do anything to ME!? HAH! Take your best shot!"
We would, too. It seems that every possible trope was coming home to roost.
[End of Part 3]
Part 4: Mighty, Raw
TIME: 08:17 EET
DATE: War Day 1040/8 Secundus, 1005 C.S.
LOCATION: Terpsithea, Thessaly, Principality of Vulpesylvania
More Clay Starfish. He summoned them to try and wear us down.
Green Ranger: "Rainbow Kunai!" I held my hands out, instantly knowing what to do. Two oversized Kunai appeared in my hands.
Red Ranger: "Come on, girls!" She rallied the troops.
We charged into the pack. The Clay Starfish were SO MUCH easier to fight in the Ranger Suits. They came apart in just a few hits. Or one good Weapon strike. There were at least sixty of them, and I did kill down ten myself. It was quite a good workout. This time around, they didn't so much as touch us.
Once we were through the pack of his little rabble rousers, we dashed up, and faced Squirk.
K: "Alright, Calamari Breath. Time to give up." I vigorously pointed with my left forefinger in a grand display of overacting.
Squirk: "NOT A CHANCE!" He summoned up a large spear, and charged at us, running along on his eight limbs with shocking speed.
He hit me, first, and I was blindsided, being knocked aside. Sunset tried to grab the spear, but he yanked it back HARD, and the sharp tip grinded along her inner arm, and blew out a shower of sparks, sending her to the ground.
Rarity was next, diving down from above with her Yari. She tangled with Squirk's spear briefly, before he twirled his spear inside her block, and jabbed her in the chest, hard, producing another shower of sparks, and sending her to the ground.
Fluttershy took him next, she was armed with two Jitte. She managed to tangle his spear, but he countered by slamming her in the side with two of his tentacles, and threw her roughly to the ground.
Sunset had a standard Sword, and she charged right in, clashing with him, and certainly doing better than Rarity or Fluttershy had, blocking his shots, and avoiding his tricky tentacles. So, he hit her with eye lasers, and sent her flying.
Applejack had a Kusari-Fundo, or weighted chain, like a Meteor Hammer. She slung it around like she would a lasso, except, she landed two hits with the weight, tangled the spear, and almost managed to disarm him. He yanked her chain, pulled her close, and headbutted her, causing her to fly away.
Rainbow Dash was next. And what cooler a weapon than a pair of nunchucks? She had them, and she used them well, constantly keeping them moving in ways that would make Bruce Lee proud, landing a thump on one of his tentacles, when he was a moment too slow. However, he countered her with a jab with the back of his spear, to her throat, then flipped her around, and slammed her into the ground.
Toola Roola was last. She had an Otsuchi, or "war mallet." She used this to pound two of his tentacles into a rock just as he finished with Rainbow Dash, and made him hop around in pain. He retaliated with a fireball spell and sent HER flying!
Green Ranger: "Alright, enough fooling around." I stood up, and dismissively flicked my hand down to my side. "Bring 'em together, Rangers!"
Toola's Otsuchi became the main part. Rarity's Yari became the cross bar. Collapsed together, Dash's nunchucks became the barrel. Fluttershy's Jitte became handles. AJ's Kusari-Fundo wrapped around the entire weapon, holding it together. My Kunai became the projectile. And Sunset's sword became the rear grip. We took our positions behind it.
All: "RAINBOW FRIENDSHIP CANNON, FIRE!"
Squirk: "Uh-oh!" He blinked, seeing it.
A massive bolt of rainbow energy fired from the cannon, and sent my Kunai travelling at light speed through Squirk's body. He was hit with it. Massive explosions of sparks and flames shot out of the impact zone. He fell over, smoking.
All: "FRIENDSHIP RANGERS!" We all struck poses.
Squirk: "Ungh.." He managed to get to his feet. "YOU THINK TIREK GAVE ME SO LITTLE POWER!?" He snorted at us. "Watch THIS!"
He threw a large jar at his 'feet' and, when it exploded, he suddenly grew to be the size of a ten story building.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh shit. Phase Two time.
Black Ranger: "What do we do, now, darlings?!" She was a bit distressed.
Green Ranger: "Don't worry - we have the power to take him, even now. We can call on mystical machines called Zords. And together, we can take that big guy down." I pointed at him, cockily.
White Ranger: "And how do we do that, honeybun?"
Green Ranger: "Follow my lead." I nodded.
It seemed that, no matter what, I could never avoid things like this. No matter - Squirk was a target, and we had the power, overwhelming power, to defeat him. I was pretty sure this would be a one time thing, though.
Time for a Zord Battle.
[End of Part 4]
Part 5: Zord
TIME: 08:26 EET
DATE: War Day 1040/8 Secundus, 1005 C.S.
LOCATION: Terpsithea, Thessaly, Principality of Vulpesylvania
We were facing off against Squirk, in what might be one of the craziest battles we'd ever done, yet. He was the size of a ten story building. But, we had a secret weapon of our own...
Together, we all reached up to the sky and called out.
All: "WE NEED ANI-ZORD POWER, NOW!"
Oh, yeah. This is happening.
From a giant cloud, swooped a massive white raven. It screeched in the sky, and its incredibly detailed feathers flared out as it slid into a glide.
Applejack: "HIYA!" She flew into the air and slid inside it.
Out of the ground, in a cloud of dust, came a giant wolf. Blue in color, it dashed from the earth, and got to incredible speed.
Rainbow Dash: "AIYAH!" She zoomed into the sky, and dove inside.
From the river nearby, there was a huge splash, and out from there, came a massive pink otter-zord. It hit the ground running, undulating with its gliding movemements.
Toola Roola: "HAI!"
She took a short running leap, and dove inside.
From the forests, we heard a lumbering gait, and out from behind the trees, came a gigantic deer mecha. Yellow streaked along its back, it galloped at full speed.
Fluttershy: "YAA!" With uncharacteristic speed, she rocketed into the sky, and slid aboard.
The mountain snows gave way to a cloud from which a trunk appeared, glistening in diamond-like flakes of snow. A massive elephant, with huge ears.
Rarity: "AYIAAAAA!" She levitated into the sky, and flashed over to it in a jet of dark light.
Flames jetted from the ground, and out from them, came a massive red dragon - European styled, to be specific. It took flight, and glided past us.
Sunset: "HAIIIIAAHH!" She, likewise, rocketed into the sky and went aboard.
The nearby swamp gave sudden birth to a massive Fox, green colored along its mane and tail, the tip still in silver. This one was mine. I could hear him calling to me.
K: "HAAAAAYAAAAAAAAAAH!!" I felt the Sword of Rainbow's Light give me flight, and I slid aboard it.
In the cockpit, I felt immediately at home. I knew exactly what to do.
K: "RANGERS! Give Squirk a blast from your weapons! We have to weaken him!" I called out.. "..alright, Fox, let's see what you can do." I felt the controls.. yes.. this felt right. "FOX ANI-ZORD! BATTLE MODE!"
In an instant, the Fox lifted into the air. The forelegs partially retracted into the shoulders, and the hips adjusted forwards, so the Fox Zord could stand on its hind legs.
Rarity: "Oh, coming right up, Darling."
As my Zord transformed, I watched the Elephant Zord fire a blast of razor sharp diamonds in a beam, and blast all along Squirk's 'chest' area.
Applejack: "COMIN' IN HOT!"
The White Raven dove from the skies, and its wings slid out in front of it, only for its feathers to fire like missiles, impacting Squirk and the ground, obscuring his vision.
Sunset: "SUCK FLAME, CALAMARI BREATH!"
She dove down like a giant fighter jet, and bathed Squirk in flames, fire breath from the Dragon Zord's mouth.
Fluttershy: "WE CAN DO THIS!"
The Deer stopped its gallop before Squirk, and bowed its head.. a massive cloud of mechanical butterflies flew from around it, and hit Squirk, detonating.
Toola Roola: "You're going DOWN!"
The Otter Zord lifted a log from nowhere, and heaved it at Squirk, almost knocking him over.
Rainbow Dash: "MY TURN!"
The Wolf Zord stopped at the top of a small cliff, struck a pose, and howled. The sonic vibrations fired along the ground, and finished the job of knocking Squrik down.
K: "Let's do this." I nodded to myself. "Come on, Fox.. let's show him what we can do."
The Fox Zord hopped to the left, then the right, produced five giant throwing stars as Squirk got back to his "feet," and flicked them at the giant octopi. They exploded when they connected. The Fox Zord drew its short sword, and did a fast drive-by, slashing the monster in the midsection, and producing a shower of sparks.
Squrik: "IMPRESSIVE! BUT NOT AS POWERFUL AS ME!"
Squirk summoned a massive energy ball, and fired it at all of us. The impact was on the ground at our 'feet' and the resulting blast knocked down all the Zords.
K: "Alright.. that tears it! Rangers, power up your Crystals." I grabbed the medallion from my neck, and it transformed into a crystal. "It's MEGAZORD time!"
This was soooooooo getting out of hand.
Girls: "MEGAZORD POWER!"
I don't know if I would retell this part of the story, when I got back. Maayyybe.. if I wanted some 'fun' with my dear love.
Nah, I better tell her. She'd slap me stupid if I didn't.
The Zords all started to deconstruct themselves before me. The Deer and Wolf, both roughly the same size, soon transformed into a pair of legs. The Otter became the waist. The Elephant transformed into arms and shoulders. The Dragon interfaced with the Raven and became the head, chest, and back wings.
Sunset: "ANI-MEGAZORD, ONLINE!"
From the Elephant's trunk, which was now a sword sheath, they drew the Sword of Friendship.
I smirked. This meant there was an Ultrazord form.. with the Fox added. We still had a trick up our sleeves.
The Megazord charged Squirk, and landed a massive hit, sending him reeling. A sword slash hit one of his arms, and while he blocked, it produced a shower of sparks. I took this chance to sneak up behind him, and pepper his back with Shuriken.
Squirk: "TWO AGAINST ONE!? NOT FAIR!" He waved his tentacle in the air, and suddenly, there was a giant Lobster next to him.
CRANK! His 'faithful' assistant.
K: "Rangers! You get Squirk, I'll get Crank!" I veered off, and charged with my short sword (it's actually some kind of a large Kunai, in the Ninja tradition), doing a flyby attack.
Crank countered, sending a huge Lobster claw into my Zord's midsection. I felt us fly off our feet, and us crash land. I rolled my controls.
K: "Come on, buddy, we can do this." I said, talking to the Zord itself.
We got to our feet, and as we did, I pulled a move from the Shogun's book, and flicked Shuriken at Crank, hitting him several times. I then pulled at the end of the Kunai with the other hand of the Zord..
K: "RAINBOW KUNAI STRIKE!"
..it became a chain, and we danced around, twirling the Kunai as energy collected on it, gaining momentum for the Kunai, until we threw it with expert precision, impaling Crank in the face! A massive energy blast, and the Lobster fell down.. and exploded in a massive cloud!
As I did, the Ani Megazord landed at our feet, smoking.
Sunset: "We need some help here!"
K: "Fine - ULTRAZORD MODE!"
The Megazord levitated, as did the Fox Ani-Zord, and partially came apart, with the head and wings separating, the Fox Ani-Zord now forming armor from its forelegs, and greaves from its hindlegs, it slid over the Ani Megazord, as the head slipped back into place. The head was then topped with a Fox head helmet.
I found myself in the Megazord cockpit, at the center, with Sunset ahead of me.
All: "ANI-ULTRAZORD, POWER UP!"
The Ultrazord struck a pose, as the Sword of Friendship was fused with the Kunai, giving it a large diamond-like tip. This was twirled in the Ultrazord's hand.
All: "ULTRAZORD SWORD OF FRIENDSHIP!"
We, together, all made the same 'slashing' motion with our right arms/forelegs.
Obediently, power collected in the tip of the Sword of Friendship.
Squirk: "YOU'LL NEVER BEAT ME! NOT IN TEN THOUSAND YEARS!" He charged at us, recklessly.
All: "FRIENDSHIP STRIKE!"
The Ultrazord reared back, and in a massive wave of rainbow energy that followed the arc of the swinging sword, we sliced through Squirk's body.. like a laser.
He froze in mid-step.
Squirk: "NO.. NOOOOOO! THIS CAN'T BEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
He fell face first.. into the ground.. and exploded.
All: "MIGHTY MORPHIN' FRIENDSHIP RANGERS!"
The Ultrazord struck a pose, twirled the sword once, traced the back of the sword along the sheath, then resheathed the giant blade.
We had just fought a full Power Ranger Battle, including a THREE stage Zord fight.
My wife was going to rape me until my hips were powder.
I would enjoy every second of it.
{End of Chapter 137}
