AN: One year ago today, the first chapter of Rangers of Equestria was published. One year later and that's finished with 14 chapters written of the second story…where everything intensifies.

Chapter 14: Wolfish Surprise

"It's too strong!"

Fluttershy had barely squeaked out the words before the cockpit shook violently around her. Flapping her wings, she flew up off the platform as it buckled and creaked ominously, the Zord moving in unison with her motions. They hadn't even fought for five minutes and the monster had practically destroyed any chance of using the Warriorzord combinations against it. Glancing nervously to one side of the battlefield, she saw the badly battered form of the Apple Flyer listing on its side, belching smoke from a large tear in its side. The Red and Blue Rangers weren't injured any further but they were out of the battle until further notice. Rarity was hanging back with the Generosity Harmonyzord and blasting the creature with every weapon on her Zord. Pinkie had tried the same but it seemed that, no matter how fast they were fired, frozen eggs weren't the best against a rampaging beast.

"What do we do now? Can we lure it out of the city?"

The Yellow Ranger swallowed hard and looked around for a suitable place to lead the creature. Everywhere she looked was either burning or destroyed and the battle was getting dangerously close to the Royal Palace. Good friend or not, she doubted Queen Chrysalis would like Celestia's Rangers destroying the place where she lived. She hated stepping up and taking charge, but she was the only one that could under the circumstances. Pushing her fear and uncertainty away, she opened her mouth to give orders, silently wondering why she could hear a Lion roar inside her head.

"Rarity, get its attention and lead it to the south. If we get it away from the cave, there is a possibility that Tricksy can't directly power it. Pinkie…destroy the cave and everything around it. Applejack and Rainbow Dash…um, you two can either stay or teleport to the Command Tower and watch from there."

Although no replies came back, Fluttershy knew her words had been heard. The still form of the Apple Flyer vanished in a burst of sparks and two teleportation beams streaked off in the direction of Canterlot. The Generosity Harmonyzord launched a burning mass of flares into the eyes of the creature, causing it to roar in anger and pain and lumber towards the mechanical beast. Inside the motion-control cockpit of the Zord, Rarity swallowed and backed away from the monster while continuing to fire the lasers and flares. She knew Fluttershy had the beginnings of a plan in her mind and, whatever it was, that it would surely work out…eventually. Checking the rear cameras constantly to ensure nothing else was destroyed; the Green Ranger's Zord leapt into the air and landed a few kilometres away from the cave. Wincing at the tremor produced by the landing of her Zord, she fired off another volley of flares at the creature before checking on the others.

As expected, Pinkie was blasting the cave with her cannons. However, what wasn't expected were the projectiles used. How exactly water balloons were expected to destroy anything was anyone's guess, but she shrugged it off as normal for things revolving around the Pink Ranger. Fluttershy was still in the air, proving she was both an effective commander and a capable strategist, blasting the back of the creature with the lasers on her Zord. Every few minutes, a crescent of 'razor' wind would strike the monster and push it away from the cave. Over the radio, she could hear excited shouts coming from the Command Tower, but Rarity forced herself to stay on task. The last thing anyone needed was for her to be distracted and…wait, where did the monster go?

"Above you!"

Sliding the Zord backwards, Rarity bit back a yelp of surprise as the monster landed inches away from the Zord. Limbs flailing wildly, she accidentally selected an attack that she had been told about but never had the courage to execute in battle. The horn in the middle of the Zord's head glowed once before the covering on the tip retracted into the metal covering, revealing a glowing green and purple core. The monster growled in confusion and bent over to see what the metal horse was doing. A few seconds later, a bright flare of light erupted from the tip and blasted the creature's eyes; the burning energy destroying the sensitive organs in an instant. The damage didn't end there as the energy penetrated the toughened skin of the creature and affected its nervous system. As the monster raised its hands to claw at its now useless eyes, it found itself unable to move from its hunched position. For a few precious minutes, the monster was immobile and was kicked away from the city centre by the Generosity Harmonyzord.

"Good work girls. Now I can destroy the monster."

The voice washed over the speakers inside the Zords and, as one, the Rangers looked toward the horizon for the source. Running over the flat plains was the Wolf Shogunzord, the metallic animal gleaming in the light as it passed by small towns – startling the local ponies. Knowing that they had done all they could do, the three Rangers hung back and wondered exactly what the Wolfzord could do that their Zords could not. As the monster finally began to regain some movement, the head of the Wolf came up and blasted a thick blue laser at the side of the creature. As the energy impacted against the side of the creature, a wave of ice and frost expanded to engulf the monster in a thick coat of what looked to be solid ice.

Inside the cockpit of the Wolf Shogunzord, Billy began running through the final preparations needed to perform the untested operation. He knew everything would work perfectly and the earlier shortage of energy he had encountered was pretty much negated by the addition of the Ninjetti Energies. Releasing the control sticks, he pulled out a keypad from his left side and began typing in the final touches. Already, he could see the ice covering beginning to crack as the blinded monster struggled violently from within. Flicking an eye over the recording of the Prism Beam, he made a mental note to check the output as the flash shouldn't have had the ability to blind the monster within moments. Or maybe it was a side-effect of the tinkering the Ultra Rangers had done, he didn't know. Pressing down on the activation button, he heard the sub-reactors hum to life and felt the Zord shift around him in preparation. Exhaling slowly, he called out the command.

"Wolf Shogunzord, Shogun Mode!"

Powerful jets on the underside of the feet blasted to life and rocketed the Zord into the air. Panels along the lower flanks opened up to reveal sturdy 'sheaths' of armour. The back legs straightened as much as they could and the feet flattened themselves out. The sheaths locked into place over the straightened legs to form sturdy supports and a few remaining pieces slid over the feet to form boots. Billy nodded to himself and turned his attention to the upper half of the transforming Zord. In various simulations he had run, this was where everything went pear-shaped. The front legs underwent the same straightening process and the feet turned ninety degrees in their housings to form claw-like hands. A grinding sound reverberated through the cockpit as metal slid over metal to pull the limbs to the sides to form arms. From the belly of the Wolf came four fully-formed sections of armour that slid over the arms to provide more strength and support. The cockpit shuddered as it slid back, away from the head, and the Midnight Blue Ranger swallowed as he felt himself rotate so he was looking up at the sky. He could see the tail detaching from the rear of the Zord and connect with more pieces of metal that had come off from the flanks of the Zord, forming a jousting lance. Wrapping his hands around the control sticks, he initiated the final step.

The cockpit shuddered once again as the head of the Zord rotated ninety degrees, resting against the chest of the transformed Zord for a brief moment before locking into place. From the back of the Zord, where the concealed turrets had been housed, rose a head that was styled in the shape of a wolf-themed samurai helmet. Allowing the cockpit to finish righting itself, he waited for the four clicks that signalled everything was in working order. They came in rapid succession and he ticked them off mentally as the jousting lance attached to the back of the humanoid Warriorzord. Switching off most of the rockets, he allowed the Zord to land on the ground as thin sheets of armour covered the joints at the 'shoulders'.

"Wolf Shogun, transformation complete."

TBC…