Previously on Power Rangers...

"Field trip!" shouted Rainbow.

"It's not a field trip. We're on official business," stated Twilight.

"It's the panther zord. The last location was in the Amazon rainforest."

"My lord. We have found another of the zords."

"Retrieve the zord at all costs, Thorax. No doubt the rangers have also discovered it and are on their way there to get it."

"Do not worry, my lord. I give you my word that I will return with the zord," said Thorax as he got up and instructed the officer he was with to follow him.

"What is the word with Chrysalis?" asked Sombra.

"She's currently keeping the Crystal Quartz Ranger occupied," said the mutant. "With him distracted, we have one less problem to deal with," stated Starlight.

The blur missed its target as Thorax threw his daggers while twisting his body. The daggers hit the blur as electricity flowed through and made the shadow tumble along the ground. Thorax and the rest of his men looked at the shadow as it got to its feet to reveal it was the panther zord. The feline zord growled as it didn't like Thorax and the others trespassing on its property.

"Capture it," said the general as two minions with a net approached the beast.

"Is that..." asked Rainbow, poking out from behind Ash.

"That's the zord we're looking for," said Aj as she eyed the black panther.

"Guys, the zord's getting away!" said Ash as he instructed the girls to follow him to go after the zord.

"You guys, go!" said Rainbow, still keeping her eye on Thorax as he scowled at the girl before him.

"Rainbow!" said Applejack, trying to get her attention.

"Go! I got business!" said the blue ranger as she pulled out her saber and held it backward.

"Come on!" said Ash as he told the girls to listen to their friend and went off.

"Don't let it escape!" instructed Thorax to Sabor.

"You insignificant speck!" growled Thorax as Rainbow slowly got to her feet.

"Come on!" shouted Rainbow as she egged Thorax to get up and continue their fight.

Back in Canterlot City, Shining Armor was shown rolling around for patrol. The young man quickly came to a stop as he popped out. Behind him, several more SUVs began to pull out as out came his team. In front of them were some minions as they were terrorizing some citizens.

"Get everyone to safety. Move!" shouted the Captain as some men fired at the horde.

Some minions noticed the Crystal Soldiers as they charged and engaged with the humans.

"Crystal Power! Activate!" shouted Shining Armor into his Morpher.

His morpher shined as it glowed before enveloping him as he transformed into his suit in the blink of an eye. The Crystal Quartz Ranger joined the fray as he single-handedly took out the minions. Watching from afar and behind a corner were Starlight and Chrysalis. With Ash and the others currently away, the Dark Lords decided to spread chaos during their absence. However, Shining Armor held the line while fending off their minions.

"Even with Ash and the other rangers gone, we still have to deal with the Crystal Quartz ranger," said Starlight.

"Do not fret. It's all part of the plan," said Chrysalis.

The mutant then stepped back as she changed into her disguise of Cadance. By now, Shining Armor was finishing up the remaining minions; he struck them down with his saber as they all disappeared. The ranger powered down as his team began to check on the citizens.

Once Shining Armor and his team reported back to HQ, the Captain was at his vehicle as he began to pull out his keys. He was tapped on his shoulder as he looked behind him to the left but saw nothing. He was then tapped on his right as he turned but saw nothing. He then went to unlock his vehicle when he noticed his keys were gone.

"Looking for something, Captain."

Shining Armor turned around as Cadance, specifically Chrysalis, stood in her disguise. The young woman was holding the Captain's keys as she jiggled them.

"Hey," said Shining Armor as he smiled upon seeing the young woman.

"Sorry, but I need some way to get your attention," smiled Cadance as she tossed the keys back to the Captain.

"So... where have you been since last time?" asked Shining Armor.

"Oh, just here and there," stated Cadance.

"Care for some coffee?" asked Shining Armor.

"I'd like that," said Cadance as the young man opened the door for the woman to enter; he hopped into the driver seat and started the SUV as it zoomed away.

"Perfect," snickered Starlight as she watched Chrysalis work her magic in occupying their foe.

Shining Armor and Cadance stopped at a local coffee shop as the young man grabbed the cups given to him by the barista. He began to walk toward the table where the woman was as she smiled. She quickly turned to the small hand mirror she had as in the reflection was Starlight, whom she was contacting.

"What's the status of my son?" asked Chrysalis.

"According to Pharynx, Thorax has found the panther zord. However, the rangers have also found it. At the moment, it's a race to whoever can get the zord." explained Starlight.

"Keep me posted," said the mutant as she ended the call and turned back just in time to see Shining Armor handing her her drink. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," smiled the young man.

"So... Shining. How's that issue with your little sister been?" asked Cadance.

"Take a guess. I've tried to tell her to drop what she's involved in, but she doesn't listen. Here I am, putting my life in the line of fire, and she wants to do dangerous things. What if one of these days, she leaves home and doesn't return? What then? I don't think I could live with myself if that happened?" stated Shining Armor as he expressed concern.

"Well, I'm sure if what she was doing was really dangerous, she would know when to walk away," stated Cadance. "You said so, yourself. She's a smart girl; her friends are there to keep her from doing anything risky. I'd say she's in pretty good hands."

"If only I could believe that. Hearing you say that puts my worries at ease," said Shining Armor as he smiled at Cadance.

"Just doing my job," smiled Cadance as she sipped her bitter black coffee.

Deep in the jungles of the Amazon, a chase was happening. Ash and most of his team were running as fast as they could. The team had managed to find the missing zord; however, they weren't the only ones. Thorax and his group also came into contact with the zord, as it was now a race to see who would get it first.

The rangers ran through the brush, with a group of minions running beside them. Ash began to swing his sword to the side as he took out some minions while running as they fell and rolled. The others all began to swing their sabers as they did the same; in front of them was the panther zord. It noticed the two groups chasing it as it leaped over a huge brush.

The two groups came to a large clearing as they stopped and looked about. They wondered where the zord went as they scanned the area but saw no sign.

"Where'd it go?" asked Sunset.

"I don't see any tracks," stated Twilight.

"Great, now what are we going to do?" wondered Sabor.

He and Ash then looked and saw each other. They stared in silence before both jumped back and prepared to fight. The two charged forward as the girls turned to the minions, and the two sides began to fight. While that was happening, another fight was occurring. Rainbow, who had stayed behind, was currently standing her ground against Thorax; the girl didn't like being mocked by the general, especially after their last bout where he kept taunting the girl as he managed to evade her with her superspeed and tossed her around like she was nothing.

Rainbow held her lance firmly as Thorax stood across her, daggers between his fingers. The general was flicking his fingers up and down while holding his knives. The girl shifted her stance as Thoracz threw his daggers. Rainbow spun her weapon about as she blocked all of the mini knives; the girl then began to charge at the mutant. Thorax made more daggers appear as he threw them at the ranger coming at him. The girl managed to deflect all the knives tossed her way as she vaulted into the air and twisted her body. Thorax backflipped back to avoid danger as Rainbow landed. The girl continued to charge at him as Thorax ran forward; the girl went for a swing, and Thorax ducked and extended his back leg outward as he caught Rainbow in the back to make her drop to a knee. She turned as she was slashed by Thorax and was sent tumbling through the ground.

"You picked the wrong mutant to fight, blue ranger," taunted Thorax. "Save yourself the humiliation and surrender."

"Fat chance!" said Rainbow as she got up.

"You just don't know when you're beaten."

"Of course I don't! Because I never lose!" said the girl.

"Then I'll have to teach you what it's like to be a loser!" stated the mutant as he stomped the ground.

Thunderbolts from the sky suddenly hit the Rainbow, causing an explosion. The girl felt their power and was pushed back again, tumbling to the ground. She struggled to get up as the pain coursing through her body hurt.

"I'll say it again. If you know what's good for you and you value your life-"

"And I told you before," grunted Rainbow as she willed herself to stand up. "I'm no quitter!"

Thorax merely slicked one of his daggers as he threw them out as a barrage of knives headed toward the girl. Rainbow saw them coming as she used her superspeed to zip out of the way. She was soon caught by Thorax, who also took off and caught her in her superspeed as he jumped in the air with her and slammed her down. A hole in the shape of Rainbow's body appeared as he looked down; Rainbow was slowly crawling out of the hole as she still wanted to keep on fighting despite the beating she was taking.

Thorax looked at the ranger as she was shown reaching and grabbing his foot. Rainbow began to use Thorax to pull herself up slowly as she stared at the mutant. Thorax swatted away her arm before kicking Rainbow in the chest and knocking her down. The general began to stalk his target slowly.

"Prepare to die, blue ranger!"

"No!" shouted Rainbow as she felt a power surging. "AHHH!" The girl's body began to shine her color as she got to a knee and put her arms out; her falcon animal spirit appeared in its mirage-like state and collided with Thorax, sending the mutant crashing into some trees as they broke upon impact.

"Battle Armor, Online!" shouted Rainbow as she touched her Morpher.

The girl shined once more as she began to undergo her transformation. Rainbow's suit changed as she was powered up as the wind blew against her cape. Thorax got to his feet as he saw the girl as she twirled her spear in her hand before aiming it at the mutant.

"You think your new suit can match my powers?" taunted Thorax.

"Let's find out!" responded the girl.

Thorax threw his daggers this time. Rainbow angled her spear to block all of the knives when she spun it. She stopped as Thorax punched the ground. Thunderbolts rained down as Rainbow looked up and held her cape above her, creating a barrier that blocked and held off the attacks by the general. Thorax glared at Rainbow as the girl managed to avoid his attacks.

Rainbow then ran toward Thorax; the general barely had time to put his arms up as the girl zoomed past him. Rainbow turned around while in superspeed as she leaped and did several backspin kicks in succession; Thorax managed to put his arms up as Rainbow's spin kicks pushed him back as he skidded to a halt. The monster screamed as he made copies of himself appeared. They all had their knives turn into claws as they rushed forward.

Rainbow used her spear to block one of the copies before she turned and blocked an attack from another copy that zipped into reality before it zipped away, and she turned behind her to block the other copies' attempt. The girl kept her defense up as Thorax moved so fast that he appeared and reappeared. Rainbow began to backstep quickly as Thorax zipped in and out, trying to slash at her.

"What's the matter?" taunted Thorax as he used his speed to push back the girl backing up. "I thought you were fast!"

Rainbow was ducking and sidestepping Thorax's assaults as she spun and used her cape to block his latest slash to allow her a chance to get some space. Thorax leaped into the air, brought his arms up in an X, and threw his knives as they spread out, to which Rainbow quickly slid forward and came to a halt. The girl then air dashed to strike Thorax as she juggled the general for a bit before delivering one final slash to send him flying.

Thorax growled as he skidded to a halt and launched his next attack. He threw out lighting pillars as Rainbow was dodge rolling out of the way. The girl was closing in on Thorax as he sent out his attack, to which he turned into a lightning bolt and zigzagged about before connecting and reappearing as the two clashed. Both kicked off at the same time as they backflipped to safety. Thorax took off upon landing as Rainbow began to run; the general had his hands glow with electricity as he somersaulted into the air and slammed the ground. Rainbow was caught in a wave of electricity, sending her flying. The girl recovered as she saw Thorax attempting to do another somersault into a ground pound as she did a dodge roll at the last second. The girl avoided another slam by Thorax as she used her momentum from her last roll to dash forward and hit Thorax; she was slashing at him with her spear before she struck him with it and threw him back.

The mutant growled as he stared at Rainbow. The girl was panting as she was starting to lose energy. Thorax looked where the ranger struck him as a chuck of him was badly damaged.

"You're learning," said Thorax as he commented on Rainbow's ability to learn his attack pattern and avoid his attacks while counterattacking him when he was exposed.

Thorax chuckled as he kicked it up a notch. Turning into a lightning bolt, he zipped across in front of Rainbow before returning to his original position. The sparks of lighting soon faded. Rainbow wasn't immediately by the taunting of Thorax as he did again. However, he faked her out as he appeared by her side; Rainbow turned to spot him but was unprepared to block his attacks as Thorax got some good licks in before kicking her in her midsection.

Thorax took off as he zipped across two times, leaving two sparks in his place as he appeared on the third zag across to strike. Rainbow noticed it as she was hit. Thorax disappeared to do it again; this time, she ignored the two sparks and turned to block the general's attack. Thorax stepped back and went for another attempt; he went faster, to which Rainbow still managed to keep track and avoid his sneaky attack using the sparks of lighting left behind as a distraction. Thorax went for a third time as he appeared far away from Rainbow and shot a lightning pillar toward her.

The girl looked to avoid it, but Thorax appeared as she began to run and stopped her as they clashed. The pillar now changed direction as it was coming at the ranger. Rainbow managed to slide under Thorax's attack as she dodged and rolled out of the way of a pillar. However, more pillars began to head her way as she avoided them at the last second. The last pillar she avoided as she stopped on a knee but was caught off guard by Thorax, who had leaped into the air and come down on her three times as he slashed across her body to make her fall to the ground again.

Thorax attempted to do the same thing again, but Rainbow perfectly countered all three times as the final one. She did an upward swing with her lance; it caught Thorax and juggled him before slamming him down.

"Alright. It's time for you to go!" shouted Thorax as he began to charge himself with electricity.

The general then created a lightning arena around him and Rainbow as he began to make copies of himself. They all moved as Rainbow tried to figure out which was real but was too slow as they all barraged her. Thorax kept up the pressure as his first copy ran at Rainbow, which she prepared to block, but instead, it did a feint attack and cartwheel to the side before attacking, catching Rainbow in her blind spot. The second did the same as it struck the girl. The final one came down on her in a flurry as she tossed into the air, doing a front flip and colliding with some trees.

The mutant laughed as his copies did also. They all ran and disappeared; Rainbow struggled to get up as she felt her power run out. She got to her feet and noticed a Thorax running at her as she was prepared this time. The girl didn't block at first but waited for the copy to fake her out, do its cartwheel, and then block its attack. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a second one coming in to attack as the one in front of her disappeared, and she turned to block it. That one was gone as she prepared for Thorax's flurry rush of coming down on her; she counted the number of times he did that and then struck him on the last one as she used the pillar of light that was caused when he slammed the ground to cover her action and get the general right in the chest.

Thorax growled as he looked to finish Rainbow off using his ultimate move. He disappeared and reappeared in several copies as they ran around Rainbow quickly; the mutant created a lightning ring around the girl as Rainbow noticed it. Rainbow jumped just as Thorax and several copies came out of the lightning ring to strike her at all angles, barely missing her legs. She looked safe, but Thorax reappeared before her and yelled as a thunderbolt struck down, and the ring exploded. Rainbow acted instinctually as she threw her spear at it, hitting the general, but she was hit with a massive thunderbolt, which exploded.

The explosion was loud as it created a shockwave. It headed toward where the others were, all being pushed back from the energy. Ash rolled before he looked up to see a small thunderbolt emitting from the jungle tops, as he knew what that meant.

"Rainbow!" said the boy.

"Hurry to the general!" said Sabor as he and his minions left to rush toward their leader.

Back with Rainbow and Thorax, the two were laid on the floor as both hit each other rather hard. Rainbow's power-up reached its limit as she returned to her basic suit. Thorax grunted as he sat up, pulled out Rainbow's spear stuck into him, and tossed it away. The monster looked at his downed foe as he felt pain and fell to a knee.

"General!" shouted Sabor as he and some minions appeared. "Get him patched up!"

Thorax hated that his men had to see him in such a weak state, but he was in no mood to argue. His soldiers helped him as he eyed Rainbow, who crawled about on the floor toward her weapon; the mutant kept his gaze on the girl as she powered down and her suit vanished. Rainbow's true identity was exposed to the mutant as he got a good look at the foe who managed to keep up with him.

"Rainbow Dash!" shouted Sunset's voice as it could be heard through the canopy.

"My lord, let's leave," said Sabor, as he knew that if the others came, they would be at risk.

The minions all began to turn tail and run as the ones carrying Thorax also booked it. Thorax turned his head back to see Rainbow lifting her head to eye him just as Ash and the others emerged from the jungle to see Thorax leaving but put that aside as they saw Rainbow on the floor.

"This is just the beginning... Rainbow Dash," said Thorax as he now knew the blue ranger's identity and his rival.

The girl saw Thorax retreat as she planted her face down.

"Rainbow!" shouted Ash as he skidded to a halt.

The others followed suit as they looked at their comrade, whose head rested in Ash's arms. The girl still showed signs of life, but it was clear the fight with Thorax took a lot out of her.

Back in the city, Shining Armor and Cadance hung out in a fairground. The mutant in disguise tried her best to grab the ranger's Morpher, as she couldn't get it if they just talked. So she suggested they head to a place full of activity in an attempt to steal it while he wasn't looking. The young man was currently having a water blaster and firing at a rubber duck to make it go across the screen. The young woman saw how focused Shining Armor was as she saw his Morpher. The mutant slowly had her hand crawl toward his wrist, and just as she was about to grab it, the alarm to the booth went off.

The person running the booth handed Shining Armor his prize, which was a small plushie, as Chrysalis quickly hid her hands behind her back and put on a fake smile. The Captain gave her the plushie as she said thanks, but underneath her fake smile, she growled. They played more activities and games as Chrysalis tried her best to get the Morpher off of Shining Armor, but something was always in the way. The young woman snuck off for a second as she hid behind a woman's stall and took out her hand mirror as Pharynx came on the screen.

"What's the status of your brother?" asked Chrysalis.

"It seems Thorax has run into some complications."

"What complications?"

"It seems the panther zord has eluded him. And he's taken quite a thrashing from his battle with the blue ranger. Sabor and the others are getting him back to health before continuing their mission." stated Pharynx.

"Keep me posted," said Chrysalis as she ended the call with her son.

"Cadance? Where are you?" said Shining Armor as the mutant heard the voice of the human.

The Captain looked about as Chrysalis appeared and opened the door to only close it to make it seem like she had just gotten out of the bathroom. The ranger looked at the woman as she smiled. After cutting off with Chrysalis, Pharynx was shown in the lair as Starlight leaned against a wall.

"It seems both our missions are failing," said Starlight as she overheard the conversation with her comrade.

"Not yet. Thorax may not have the zord just yet, but neither do the Rangers. The hunt is still on. As for my mother, she's keeping the Crystal Quartz ranger distracted." said Pharynx. "For now, everything is at a stalemate."

Rainbow was shown lying on a sleeping bag. The girl was inside a tent with a damp rag on her head. Eventually, she began to stir as she woke up.

"Where am I?" asked Rainbow. "Ow, my head."

The girl put a hand on her head as she felt a small headache. Rainbow soon felt something as she looked to her side and saw her zord in its pet form as it rubbed its head against her fingers.

"Hey, buddy. You kept watch over me," asked the girl, to which her falcon responded.

Rainbow smiled as she took the rag on her forehead off. She noticed she was inside her tent as she approached the entrance. Her zord perched on her shoulder as she opened the zipper and looked out. It was already nighttime as the moon was high, and the only light came from the fire in the middle.

"You're finally awake, huh?" said Ash.

The girl turned as she noticed the boy sitting by the fire and poking it with a stick.

"Hey. Um, what happened?" asked Rainbow.

"You got banged up pretty good against your fight with Thorax. We arrived just in time."

"Let me guess, he got away," said Rainbow.

"Yeah, but... I doubt he and his men will be moving out anytime soon. You gave him quite a beating." said Ash.

"Well, that's what he gets for messing with me," said Rainbow as she sat on another log.

Ash's wolf pup appeared and leaped into his lap as it howled at the moon.

"I'll give you this. Not many people can hang with Thorax."

"I just... I just didn't like how he was taunting me. Not just him but how fast he moves. I hate not being the fastest thing." said Rainbow.

"Don't let your ego cloud your mind, Rainbow. Focus on the mission. If there's one thing I know about Thorax, it is that he's cunning. If you allow him to get inside your head, he's already. He's master at taunting others." said Ash as he spoke from personal experience of dealing with the Dark Lords.

"His attacks hurt like hell. Every time I got hit, I felt some electricity flowing through me."

"That's Thorax's power. Not only is he fast and smart, but he has electricity powers. He can move like a thunderbolt and hit with the same power as one. His personal choice of weapons is his daggers. He can charge his small knives with electricity to deal with those attacks." said Ash. "It's a miracle you survived with him. Thorax is pretty efficient when it comes to accomplishing his tasks."

"Next time, I'm gonna squash that bug for good!" stated Rainbow as she clutched her side to show she was still in pain.

"You still need time to rest. Don't worry. We still have plenty of time to find the zord. Right now, you get some sleep." stated Ash.

"Fine," said Rainbow as she got up and began to head back to her tent with her zord.

"Just know, Rainbow. After today, you just made an arch-enemy," said Ash, focusing on the fire.

Rainbow halted when she heard what Ash said. The girl looked at her leader, who was focused on the fire. She wanted to ask him something but thought it best to save it for later as she entered her tent. While the rangers were resting and regrouping, their foes did the same. Thorax was at his base as he was shown recharging his power. The mutant looked at his hands as the fight with Rainbow from earlier played in his mind.

Thorax was thinking about how the girl somehow managed to keep up with his attacks and speed as she dealt him some significant damage. He would surely have destroyed the girl if it had not been for her powered-up form. And then there was her true identity; the mutant saw her face and learned the blue ranger's full name.

"This is only the beginning, Rainbow," said Thorax as he now had his arch-rival to look forward to for future battles.

To be continued...