Chapter 7: Fast Track
The next day brought no attacks.
This relaxed Billy somewhat, yet he was still on edge waiting for a surprise attack to come out of the shadows at any moment. Sensing his edginess, both Princess Celestia and Luna were giving him a wide berth until he figured out a way to strengthen their current forces. Twilight couldn't be expected to go into full Dragonfire Mode at the beginning of every battle. Doing so would risk the transformation into a human becoming permanent. He had no idea what a unicorn-turned-human would look like and he wasn't so keen to find out. While his Acceptance Powers were slightly stronger than those of the main six Rangers, he wasn't about to shoulder the pressure of battle alone. His eyes flitted over the Dimensional Doorway and he sighed softly. The Ultra Rangers could come and help with a battle or two, but he was sure they had more than enough on their plates without him adding to it.
In addition to giving him a wide berth, Princess Celestia had gone on a diplomatic visit to the Changeling Lands. However, this was just a front to warn Queen Chrysalis about Night Shade and to inform her about his return. Even though the relations between their lands had been somewhat strained by the rogue attack, they had been friends first and foremost. Princess Luna would be holding the fort until her return and had promised to try to remember all she could about the Trotters to give them the tactical advantage. Billy wasn't so sure exactly how that would work but was willing to give Luna the benefit of a doubt.
Walking over to one of the consoles, he absently picked up a report that was printing out and stared blankly at the words before frowning slightly. According to what he was reading, there had been a tiny spike of power at the abandoned temporary outpost, which was nothing new. There had been small spikes in the outpost since they had left as the power tried to flow to connections and consoles that weren't fully whole or even in one piece. That being said, the only power that could be active was the Emergency Power as he had disconnected the Main Generators at the temporary outpost a few days after settling into the Command Tower. He would only start to worry if the automated scanners registered a large surge of power. Scrunching up the report, he tossed it in the nearby basket before turning to regard the Dimensional Doorway with interest yet again. Perhaps, instead of asking them for help, if he just called them to update them on the situation…yes, that would be wise. Upgrades had allowed the image transmitted to become as clear as a High-Definition TV set so theoretically…
"Billy? Princess Celestia? Anyone there?"
Blinking at the familiar voice and light on top of the Dimensional Doorway, Billy rushed to the console and pressed down on the Transmit button. With a faint crackle of energy, the Dimensional Doorway communicator sprang to life to reveal the face of the Orange Ultra Ranger. The Asian boy was dressed in some sort of uniform that resembled an employee of a hotel, but the Midnight Blue Ranger could hear the sounds of battle behind him.
"Weihan, good to see you again. Is everything all right?"
The Ranger smothered a chuckle and shook his head. Billy's eyes widened as the Orange Ranger ducked as a slightly off-white energy bolt impacted against the screen. Holding up a finger, the Orange Ranger pressed a button on the console in front of him and turned to apparently yell at the figures behind him. Why he would be yelling at his attackers was a mystery to Billy until he caught sight of them. There were three obviously female figures behind him…clad in crystalline Ranger Armour coloured off-white, black and deep blue respectively. Directing them to a flat platform that Rainbow Dash had described as the Simul-Deck, the young Orange Ranger pressed a few buttons and a holographic horde of zombies materialised. Stepping back for a moment, the boy watched the unfamiliar Rangers prepare themselves before hurrying back to the communication unit.
"Sorry about that. New Rangers need to know the limits of their Powers. Three out of seven isn't too bad of a start. How are things on your end?"
Billy gaped at the new information for a few moments and tried to process it. The Ultra Rangers had recruited three new Rangers into their ranks, but the design of their Armour had more in common with the Morphin Rangers than the Ultra Rangers. To truly understand the difference between the Ultra Rangers and the new Rangers, he would have to have a side-by-side comparison; but all that could be done later.
"Not good. We have a new enemy that apparently has ties to both Discord and Nightmare Moon. He's called Night Shade and his generals are called the Trotters. We were on the ropes battling all four when he pulled back his forces and attacked with a generic giant monster. Now…we're waiting and training harder than before."
As the Orange Ranger digested the new information, Billy's thoughts turned to the new Rangers once again. His talks with the Zordon of their dimension before the Countdown had made clear that there were ever only thirteen Ultra Crystals created and no more. Maybe these new Rangers weren't part of the Ultra Rangers at all and were part of a new Ranger team to defend the Earth in the future. He heard a snort come from the boy in front of him and he realised, somewhat belatedly, that he had been speaking aloud the entire time. Opening his mouth in an attempt to explain himself, Weihan shook his head and held up a hand as the sounds of training continued behind him.
"Don't worry about it. Apparently the Crystal Coins were always in the Ultra Crystals but were released yesterday. They reacted with seven girls but only three have joined up so far. I'm hoping the other four will change their minds before Xonix comes back."
"Comes back? Sure is taking a while for him to recover… How hard did you hit him two years ago?"
Weihan shook his head as he looked back. Behind him, the three Rangers had gotten over their battle nerves and were tearing into the simulated zombie horde with ease. He had a feeling that they were going to be needed in Equestria for a few battles and wanted them to be in top form. The others could deal with Jabarkas and Bree could be given a spare communicator and access to the Ultra Cavern and, if the need arose, allow AJ and her friend access. The others had made it clear that the Crystal Rangers were to be his responsibility as he would be the one that was nearest to them. Pile that on top of his duties to the Ultra Rangers and his course work…well, it was almost enough to make him scream in frustration. The only good part that he could think of was that, in theory, he could amalgamate the leadership of the Ultra and Crystal Rangers together…but the Crystal Rangers already had a leader. He would cross that bridge when it came…or plough through the bridges in his path.
"I'm sure he would have healed by now…I don't suppose you've seen any homicidal dragon things walking around the place?"
"Not more than usual."
As the two Rangers shared a laugh, Billy heard the distinctive crackle of teleportation behind him and the surprised sounds of Twilight and Fluttershy as they registered the human on the screen. However, before any words could be said, a sound from behind the Orange Ranger made him leap up just in time to deflect a blast from the Simul-Deck. Quickly assessing the situation, the Ranger nodded to himself before leaping up, flash-morphing and drawing his Sabre to quickly destroy the hordes of simulated undead that were quickly overwhelming the trio. As both trios of Rangers watched the swift brutality of the Orange Ranger, the Ranger in the black armour suddenly looked over to the screen and froze in shock. Following her line of sight, the other two Rangers saw the ponies on the screen and gaped openly – even though they were wearing helmets.
As the last of the computer-generated zombies fell away, the Orange Ranger demorphed and chuckled at the sight.
"Time for Dimensions 101."
TBC…
AN: To be continued in whatever Powers Unleashed chapter aligns with this one.
