Rita laughs as she destroys her former prison, causing the astronauts to flee in terror. Calling out after them, she continues cackling.
“Don’t leave! You’ll miss my ‘coming out’ party! That’s when I destroy the nearest planet!”
Derpy gasps as the camera points to the sky to reveal a nearby planet.
“Is that Earth?!”
Arc nods. “Yup.”
The scene turns to the sign in front of the Angel Grove Gym and Juice Bar. Derpy giggles.
“Angel Grove? Was this show filmed here too?”
Arc chuckles as he shakes his head. “Nah. That place is probably just a set somewhere.”
“So the name ‘Angel Grove’ is just a coincidence?”
“That it is.”
Arc turns to the reader, effectively breaking the fourth wall as he winks.
“Or is it?”
Derpy looks to him. “Huh?”
“Nothing.”
The interior of the gym is shown as dozens of teens work out or socialize with friends. Jason and Zack are sparing. Kimberly is practicing her gymnastics on a balance beam while Trini practices her own style of martial arts. Billy comes out in a white karate outfit and approaches Jason and Zack. Derpy looks to Arc again.
“They all know each other?”
“Presumably. At least the boys know one another.”
Bulk and Skull approach the girls and ask them out. Refusing, they are accused of thinking they’re too good for the pair. Derpy makes a face.
“What pigs!”
“Derpy?”
“They think those two should just have to go out with them!”
“Well…”
Zack approaches the girls to defend them. However they ask him not to interfere as they want to handle the problem themselves. Derpy looks to Arc.
“Why did they…?”
“Just watch.”
Bulk and Skull charge the girls in an attempt to prove themselves. However they are promptly thrown onto mats effortlessly. All assembled laugh as Kimberly suggest the punks join Jason’s karate class. Derpy grins.
“So they DID know each other!”
Arc shrugs. “Sorry. I haven’t seen this show since I was a kid.”
The scene changes to that of the moon. Rita looks down on the Earth before turning to her minions.
“Finster! Start making putty patrollers!”
“Yes my queen!”
Goldark brandishes his sword. “I’ll lead them down and make the Earth yours, empress!”
Rita laughs as Derpy’s eyes grow wide.
“She’s going to attack?!”
“Yup.”
“That means everyone’s in danger!”
Arc grins. “True. I guess there must not be anyone whom can stand up to them and all is lost.”
“It’d make for a really short show then.”
“Then we’ll have to hope someone has a plan.”
The camera again returns to the gym. Jason is teaching a martial arts class in which Billy is a student. After giving his friend some one-on-one attention the class is interrupted by the two bullies from earlier. Bulk and Skull make their way to the front of the group and approach Jason.
“Teach us how to beat people up!”
“Yeah!”
Skull makes a series of stereotypical fighting sounds as Jason rolls his eyes before responding.
“Martial arts was not developed to hurt others.”
Bulk scoffs. “We did NOT sign up for a geeky karate class.”
Jason decides to call his bluff. “Okay, Bulk. Maybe you’re ready for some more advanced training techniques.”
Derpy giggles. “I don’t think that large man could do… whatever it was that strong looking fellow was doing.”
“It’s called ‘karate’. The art of fighting unarmed.”
“No weapons?”
Arc shakes his head. “Just hands and feet traditionally. Television shows sometime have them use weapons though to add effect to a scene.”
“But that doesn’t explain what he hopes to learn due to his size.”
“Bulk thinks he knows everything. That generally blows up in his face though, which is why Jason is putting up with it.”
Jason does a kick. Bulk (amazingly) somewhat copies it. Skull claps happily as Bulk looks proud of himself. Derpy raises an eyebrow.
“That was actually pretty good.”
Arc chuckles. “Wait for it.”
Demonstrating a Tornado Kick, Jason watches as Bulk falls flat on his face trying to copy it. Everyone laughs at him as Skull nervously claps. Arc shakes his head.
“Never liked that guy.”
“The big one?”
“Him either. But I meant his friend, Skull.”
“He appears to be just going along with whatever he’s told.”
Arc scoffs. “Those two are inseparable. You never see one without the other. And Skull always seems to be the hapless lacky.”
“One might look at it another way, Arc.”
“Oh?”
“Maybe he’s really just THAT dedicated to his friend.”
“What do you mean?”
“Think about it. Skull clapped when Bulk did the move successfully. But he also did the same when his friend failed. No matter what would have happened there I get the feeling he still would have supported him.”
Arc puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “An interesting way of looking at it, I suppose. Guess my younger self never really looked at it that way.”
As the group of teens talk around a table, an earthquake breaks out. The scene turns to a strange command center where a large ethereal creature orders his assistant to summon forth five teenagers. Arriving, the kids look around at the computers. As they do so the robot from earlier approaches them to protect his systems. Tripping, the kids help them up as the ethereal voice rings out. Derpy’s eyes grow wide.
“That thing summoned them?!”
“Yeah. His name’s Zordon.”
“What is he?!”
Arc shrugs. “Some kind of interdimensional wizard, I think. His mechanical assistant is named ‘Alpha’. Think of the latter like comic relief.”
Special belt buckles appear on the teen’s midsections. Informing the group of their new ‘power morphers’ Zordon explains about the power held inside. However the teens reject his story as nothing but fantasy and leave the building. Trudging through the desert they attempt to walk back to town. However Rita watches from overhead angrily.
“So, you think you can stop me, do you?!”
She turns to Finster.
“Finster! Hurry up with those putty patrollers!”
Derpy turns to Arc. “She’s going to beat those humans with clay dolls?”
“They can bring them to life.”
“What?! How?!”
“No clue. Think of it like a really big plot hole.”
Rita fires a magical blast at the teens as they dive for cover. A number of gray suited minions surround them. One by one the kids are beaten by the puttys and tossed into a pile. Derpy grimaces.
“Even the one that knows how to fight isn’t able to beat them.”
“Yeah. Not sure why though. I mean, those gray guys aren’t even really fighting. They’re just kinda… posing.”
“Why don’t they just use their powers?”
“They’re building up to that. Look.”
The teens hold out their morphers and call upon their powers. Transforming into the Power Rangers they strike poses. Derpy giggles.
“Now they’re doing it!”
Arc grins. “Admittedly, looking back at this old stuff I didn’t realize just how cheesy it was.”
Derpy grins. “I like it though! They’re not giving up or backing down!”
They are teleported to the city center which is, for some unknowns reason, under attack by advanced puttys. The Power Rangers effortlessly defeat their opponents together. As the scene return to the moon they see Rita yelling at her minions.
“Finster, those stupid puttys are getting beaten by a bunch of pimple-faced nitwits! They’re pathetic!”
One of her minions looks to Rita. “How about making Goldark big with your wand?”
Rita storms off. “I always have to do everything myself! Finster, I’ll deal with you later!”
Returning to her balcony overlooking Earth, Rita holds up her wand.
“Magic wand make my Goldark GROW!”
Throwing the wand, it lands in the dirt point down. A strange energy emanates from it causing Goldark to grow to the size of a skyscraper. Derpy gasps.
“What the…?!”
“That’s how pretty much every episode works. They fight Rita’s puttys then the main monster attacks, gets beaten, and is enlarged by Rita.”
“Sounds like it could get repetitive.”
“When you’re a kid and can only watch one episode a day, it’s still really cool. A marathon might be too much though. So if you want to change the channel…”
“Can we at least see how it ends?”
“Sure.”
Goldark marches through the city as Jason calls out.
“Back off, fang face!”
Zack grins. “The good guys are here!”
Billy strikes a pose with the others. “Get off our planet!”
Trini calls out. “Cause we’re the Power Rangers!”
Kimberly lets out a battle cry. “And we’re not backing down!”
Jason reaches skyward and cries out. “DINOSAUR POWER!!!”
The rangers call forth their zords. They combine into one large tank-like contraption. Charging forward, they are forced to endure Goldark’s attacks before getting in close and switching to the Megazord. Derpy grins as she leans forward excitedly.
“It just keeps changing!”
Arc puts a hand on her shoulder as he chuckles. “And that’s what made this cool when I was a kid.”
The Power Rangers face Goldark hand to sword, but the battle is still very one-sided. Derpy covers her eyes as the Megazord takes several hits.
“They’re not doing so well.”
“Wait for it…”
Jason looks up as he calls out. “Power Sword!”
A large sword falls from the sky and lands in front of the Megazord. They pick it up and move to face Goldark again. He snarls.
“Argh! This isn’t over! I’ll be back!”
Making a few strange movements he vanishes. Derpy gasps.
“Where did he go?!”
“Back to the moon castle.”
“But he was so intent on fighting!”
Arc frowns. “Goldark’s a coward who doesn’t like an even fight. So when the Power Rangers called for their sword Goldark knew he’d have to fight them on even terms.”
“So he ran back for reinforcements?!”
Arc shakes his head. “Nah. He’s running back to Rita. They’re going to regroup and come up with a plan.”
“What happens next?!”
Arc chuckles as the scene changes to that of the moon castle again. “Watch.”
Rita seethes as she turns to her minions.
“I CAN’T BELIEVE THEY BEAT US BACK!!!”
Turning to her champion, she continues her tirade.
“GOLDARK! YOU FAILED!”
“It won’t happen again, empress!”
Rita storms out of the room. “SHUT UP! I’VE GOT A HEADACHE!”
Derpy giggles as Arc mutes the television.
“That was a good ending.”
“How’d you like the battles?”
“It was really interesting how they were able to run and jump like that. But I didn’t think that robot battle ended very well.”
“Too fast?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m guessing they originally made the episode longer. Probably wanted an hour time slot for this one to flesh out the characters and story more.”
“Why didn’t they?”
“I can only assume they couldn’t get the network to go for it. The show was new and completely untested at the time so they didn’t want to risk it.”
Derpy appears hopeful. “Can we watch more?”
“If you want to, sure.”
“Um… can you do something for me though Arc?”
“Sure. What is it?”
Derpy looks away as she blushes. “Well… now that we’re done eating do you think we could… um… cuddle?”
Arc chuckles. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
Handing over her now empty plate, Derpy watches as Arc sets them along with his own on the nightstand. Rolling over his legs, Derpy lays her face on his chest and looks up at him as he finishes clearing the bed. She giggles.
“You’re warm.”
Arc grins. “Cold?”
“A little.”
Arc motions to the dresser nearby. “You could put some more clothes on.”
Derpy smiles sheepishly. “I suppose that would help, yes. But, um…”
“Something wrong?”
“Noy exactly ‘wrong’, no. I just… wanted to be with you in a bit of a… different position.”
“Like what?”
Nervously, Derpy tugs at one of her bra straps.
“I… I’d really like to lie with you as I did when I was a pony. Completely bare. Would… would that be okay?”
Arc nods. “Sure. But only if you’re sure that’s what you want to do.”
Taking a deep breath, Derpy unclasps her bra and pulls it off. Laying her body against Arc again she reaches under the covers and slips out of her panties. Tossing the undergarments on the floor next to the bed Derpy turns her attention back to Arc as she smiles nervously.
“Done.”
“How do you feel?”
“Very… exposed. Exposed but free.”
“Is that good?”
“I feel that it is, yes.”
“Feel?”
Derpy grins. “Your skin on mine. It’s absolutely amazing.”
Arc smiles at her. “I like this too.”
“That’s good. After all, I didn’t want to make you do anything that might make you uncomfortable.”
She giggles and continues.
“But at the same time I felt that you were ready for this.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well… after we heard just how far you and Applejack went, the others and I felt that you wanted to take our relationships to a more serious position.”
“They weren’t mad about it though, right?”
Derpy shakes her head. “Oh, not at all! But we all wanted something like this from you. At least in some capacity.”
“Capacity?”
Derpy smiles nervously. “I… probably shouldn’t tell you this, but… everyone involved in this future herd wants to do things with you uncovered, Arc.”
“Well, I suppose that’s normal when in love. At least as long as everyone concerned agrees on where the lines are drawn, that is.”
“Boundaries?”
Arc nods. “Gotta have em.”
“And is this pushing those boundaries?”
“No. Truth be told I’ve been slowly edging toward more intimate acts since I got my memory back.”
“It’s good to see you opening up and letting others in, Arc.”
“I couldn’t mourn Cherry forever.”
“Dinky and I were kinda worried you might try to.”
“Part of me wanted to.”
“What changed?”
“Time.”
“Huh?”
“There’s an old saying here on Earth. ‘Time heals all wounds’.”
“So you… what exactly?”
“Moved on. But I don’t think I could have done that without her sticking around.”
Derpy giggles. “Cherry is really happy helping out at the orphanage.”
“She does have that motherly charm to her, yes.”
“But she had the same problem.”
“Dying tends to do that from what she told me.”
“Knowing that you can see the one you love but can’t be with them. I felt that way about you for a while myself.”
“You did?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because I didn’t want to mess up our relationship. After all, if I confessed my love and you didn’t feel the same it would have ruined our…”
Arc interrupts her. “…our relationship?”
“Arc?”
“Something we all want.”
“Cherry too.”
“We both had to move on, I guess.”
Derpy sighs. “Like I was prepared to do.”
“Prepared to?”
“Something Ember said to me when she was helping me to a hospital appointment one day. She mentioned that I had better tell you how I felt, or someone else might take you away from me.”
“But you didn’t.”
Derpy shakes her head. “Not for over a year, no.”
“Why not?”
“Because, like I told Ember, if you were with the one you loved… then I’d be happy knowing you were happy.”
“That’s really… wow.”
“I meant it too. Still do actually. If you decide later that I shouldn’t be part of the herd then I’ll accept that. The only thing I ask is that you continue to be Dinky’s father.”
“Derpy, I…”
Derpy interrupts him. “No, really. If you ever feel that there are too many whom are ready to join the herd and willing to marry you, feel free to…”
“…leave you?”
“I was going to say move on actually.”
“Can I ask you something, Derpy?”
“Anything.”
“Do you love me?”
“More than anything in the world, Arc.”
“Then how can you possibly entertain the idea of me leaving you?”
Derpy closes her eyes and smiles. “Because you won’t be leaving me.”
“I don’t understand.”
“If you decided it wasn’t meant to be I know that you’d still be there for me and Dinky. Just not on a romantic or sexual level. So you can do that anytime you want without having to worry about me or my feelings. But please understand that they won’t change a bit.”
“Then there’s something I need to say to you, Derpy.”
Derpy nods but does not open her eyes. “Go ahead.”
Reaching over, Arc puts his hands on Derpy’s bare back. Concentrating, he Blinks. Disappearing, he and Derpy reappear where they were a moment ago. However now Arc is on top of Derpy. She opens her eyes in surprise just in time to see Arc’s hands land on her shoulders as his face approaches hers. Meeting the young woman’s warm lips, Arc kisses Derpy passionately. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Derpy leans into the kiss with a deep moan of pleasure. Meanwhile, back at Mio’s campsite, Mio works diligently on her machine. Frowning, she shines a flashlight inside an access panel.
“What the…?”
Reaching inside, Mio pulls out a part and looks it over cautiously.
“Where did THIS come from?!”
Turning to look over her notes, she glances back at the part several times as she checks the diagrams.
“It’s not anywhere on here. That and I don’t even know what this IS!”
Rubbing her eyes for a moment, Mio sighs.
“Maybe I’m just working too hard. Putting things where they don’t belong.”
Poking her head inside the machine again, she looks over the circuits and wires before consulting her notes again.
“These aren’t right either! What did I DO?!”
Scratching her head, Mio puts the papers in her coat pocket before picking up her tools and turning back to the machine.
“Guess I’d better get to work making this right.”
As she reaches inside the access panel something slams her head against the metal housing. Seeing stars, Mio falls to her knees before rolling over to lie on her back. Dazed, she look up, her vision muddled. Seeing a strange creature looking down at her Mio hears a strange voice ring out.
“Sorry, friend.”
Headbutting the young woman, Brightwing watches as she loses consciousness. Fluttering over to the supplies, she grabs pack of electronic zip ties. Carefully putting them together to form a longer cord, Brightwing wastes no time binding Mio’s hands and feet together. Finishing her task she looks the unconscious woman over. Seeing her coat and pants soaked with muddy water Brightwing flutters over to the tent, grabs the sleeping bag, unzips it completely, and flies back to Mio. Laying it on the ground next to her, Brightwing lands on Mio’s chest and Blinks them onto the sleeping bag. Hopping off she folds the cover over Mio and carefully zips it shut before turning back to the machine and flying back toward Mio’s tools.
“Brightwing need to get to work! So much to do and not much time to do it!”
As she does so, Diva and Mustang watch on from their bird spy. Diva clenches a fist as she speaks.
"What is that THING doing?!"
Mustang chuckles. "Getting the drop on our errant Sergeant Mio it would appear."
Brightwing picks up the tools and flutters into the machine's open port. Diva gasps as she stands.
"We have to stop that thing!"
Mustang scoffs. "Oh? And why's that?"
"Because it'll make a mess over there!"
"And?"
Diva appears confused. "But I thought you wanted Mio to finish that device?"
"That I do."
"Then why...?!"
Mustang smiles slyly as he leans forward in his chair. "Remember, I never stated what exactly constituted 'done', my dear."
"You mean...?"
"Yes. That little creature is going to do The Organization quite a favor."
Diva rolls her eyes. "How?!"
"That is what you will have to wait for, my dear."
Pulling her into his lap, Mustang wraps one arm around Diva's belly as the other rests on her cheek. Leaning in close, he whispers to her.
"And believe me... you won't have that long to wait."
Grinning, Diva leans back and begins tenderly kissing Mustang's cheek as he continues to watch the monitors. Meanwhile, Arc and Derpy break their own make out session. Arc pulls back and looks Derpy in the face as she opens her eyes and grins widely.
“That… was amazing, Arc!”
“It was good for me too.”
“How though? I’m not that good at kissing.”
Arc smiles at her. “Because I did it with someone I Honestly care about. We can both learn about each other together.”
Derpy reaches up and takes one of Arc’s hands. Smiling happily, she pulls it under the covers and places it on her hip before speaking.
“Do you want to… get to know each other’s bodies better now?”
“Derpy?”
Derpy closes her eyes as she pulls him down onto herself. “I’m ready for a real stallion to take me intimately.”
Arc puts his arms around her back and whispers in her ear. “We will someday, Derpy.”
“Anytime you’re ready for me to lift my tail…”
She pauses, thinking.
“Um… humans don’t have tails.”
Arc chuckles. “No, they don’t.”
“So what does a human woman say to make sure their special someone understands that she’s ready for sex whenever they are?”
“I think you just said it.”
Derpy appears confused. “But I didn’t…”
“That message was received loud and clear.”
“And how do you feel about that?”
“Flattered that you think so highly of me. But this isn’t the right time.”
Derpy sighs. “I suppose not.”
“However when the time IS right I’ll let you know.”
“After Rarity and Rainbow Dash?”
“Huh?”
Derpy giggles. “They’re going first and second. Oh! Hammer and Ember are still arguing over whom goes third. Rainbow Dash told Hammer she’d share second with her, but…”
Arc groans. “Let’s talk about something else please.”
“Sorry. I guess I got a bit carried away there.”
“Thank you.”
Derpy smiles nervously. “Um… more Power Rangers?”
“If you want to, sure.”
“I do. It’s a really cool show.”
“You don’t think it’s… corny?”
Derpy raises an eyebrow. “Um… not really sure what that means.”
“Well then… let’s see about trying to get caught up.”
“Huh?”
Arc gestures to the still muted television. “The episode’s half over.”
“Then why don’t we take this opportunity to take a shower?”
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”
Derpy pushes the covers off revealing her bare skin. As Arc turns away respectfully he feels a hand in his.
“Arc?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you coming?”
“Where?”
“The bathroom.”
“That’s okay. I’ll just use…”
Derpy giggles. “When I said ‘why don’t we take this opportunity to take a shower’ I meant the ‘we’ part.”
“Well… if you really want me to, okay.”
“I do, Arc.”
Leading him down the hallway to the bathroom, Derpy gets the water going and steps into the shower with Arc. She picks up the soap and a washcloth before turning to him with a hungry look on her face.
“I’ve been wanting to do this with you for a long time, Arc.”
“Me too admittedly. But might I make a request?”
Derpy appears confused. “What is it?”
“Could I wash you first?”
“Okay. But only on one condition.”
She wraps her arms around his neck and leans into his ear before whispering.
“You have to wash all of me.”
Nodding, Arc whispers back.
“That I can do.”
The pair shower and return to the room together. Lying back down, both in their birthday suits, Arc pulls the covers over them as Derpy snuggles up to him. Looking down Arc hears her teeth chattering.
“Are you really that cold?”
Derpy nods. “I’m… not used to this body. Remember, it doesn’t have a coat or mane.”
Arc puts his arms around Derpy and begins rubbing her back. “Don’t worry. You’ll be warm in no time.”
“With you here I sure I will. But can you turn the television back on?”
“Don’t want to miss the next episode?”
Derpy grins. “Right!”
Chuckling, Arc grabs the remote with his magic and pulls it to himself. As the next episode starts Derpy turns around to watch. Arc looks down at her.
“Having a hard time getting comfy?”
“Just having trouble seeing the screen over the covers.”
“I have an idea.”
Grabbing the nearby pillow, Arc props himself up. Motioning for Derpy to lay back he holds her between his legs as she leans back to rest her head on his chest. Smiling contentedly she sighs.
“Heavenly.”
“Comfy?”
Derpy nods as she closes her eyes. “More so than you know, Arc.”