//------------------------------// // Chapter 14 // Story: Galaxy Rangers: The Movie - Shocker Crisis! // by Rixizu //------------------------------// Galaxy Rangers: The Movie - Shocker Crisis! Chapter 14 by Rixizu “You must be the infamous Trixie!” The mole monster said. “Call me, Molung! I’ll enjoy spattering your guts against the walls!” “I’d rather you not, actually.” Trixie shrank her body low, trying to hide behind a chair. She wondered if she should turn invisible despite Shocker’s anti-illusion gadgets. The brave and noble Night Court nobles looked at each other, wondering if they should run to Trixie’s aid, or just run. Thanks a bunch. A scowl formed on Trixie’s mouth. Somehow, Fisher gained his courage and rolled back the sleeves of his coat, revealing rippling muscles beneath. He slammed his hooves together, eager for battle and charged. Moments later Fisher found himself through the table as Molung slapped him aside and the others screamed in fear, running for safety. After finishing with Fisher, Molung turned his attention towards Trixie. A howl of terror escaped her mouth as a Molung swung a meaty claw at her head, ducking just in time. The Combatponies blocked every escape attempt, brandishing a weapon and out for her blood. “Trixie!” Sparks flew as Princess Luna swooped in, slashing Molung’s thick lumpy hide with her scythe. “Princess Luna!” Trixie’s mentor didn’t look so hot. Blood oozed from a cut on her forehead and she sported a nasty bruise on her left eye. She howled in pain as a black figure appeared from nowhere and punched her, sending the princess flying through several walls. The evil possessed Trixie loomed over her, staring at her with empty eyes behind her helmet. “You won’t win!” The room shook at the princess’s proclamation, using the full power of her voice. “Hear this Shocker! You’re evil won’t haunt this land any longer! Not again! We defeated you once, and my blade will ensure it happens again!” Ambassador Hell snorted with amusement. “Try if you dare, but Shocker is unstoppable.” Ranger Trixie went flying as a burst of cobalt magic impacted into her, throwing her off her hooves. She staggered for a moment but didn’t even seem inconvenienced by the attack. With a single leaping tackle, she sent Princess Luna through several more walls and out of sight. Princess, I’m sorry! I’ll make this right somehow! Trixie had used the distraction to slip away, using her smoke bombs to create more confusion. She hoped and prayed her mentor would survive long enough to retrieve the Elements. Behind her, Molung yelled for the Combatponies to chase after her. Unluckily for them, Trixie knew the castle like the back of her hoof. She’d haunted these corridors for years as a filly. Despite their best efforts; she slipped through their grasp. The lucky arrival of more palace guards slowed down the Combatponies and they battled in the halls. “I am never doing this again!” Trixie gave out ragged breaths as she finally reached the chamber where the Elements were being held. She hated running so much. She stood before a massive door made of several hooves thick magically enchanted steel. This vault contained some of the most dangerous and precious magical artifacts in the world. A metal cage protected the main vault door made of thick steel bars. She doubted a hacksaw could get through them. No guards stood ready to protect the vault, and Trixie guessed they must be off fighting Shocker. She supposed it didn’t matter and reached into her cape to find the key. It fell from her hooves to the ground as the ground shook. The fight between her alternative selfe and Princess Luna reverberated through the castle. “That Evil Trixie is tough. Most bad guys don’t even last seconds against the princess!” Okay, Luna had failed to defeat her sister back during the Longest Night, but that was a special case, and Corona cheated! The castle reverberated again, and Trixie wondered if anything would remain of the building after Shocker’s defeat. After scooping up the key, she ran towards the steel cage and stopped, realizing the key Luna had given her didn’t fit in the keyhole at all. She facehoofed. The princess had given her the vault key but forgotten about the outer cage. Trixie shook the bars with frustration, but they didn’t even budge. Her mentor hadn’t counted on the vaults guards running off to fight Shocker abandoning their post, taking the all-important key with them. She glared at the door’s lock, which mocked her with its impenetrableness. Worse, Trixie has certain a hairpin wouldn’t be enough to pick the lock, at least not before the heat death of the universe. Thanks, Luna, your paranoia of Corona getting the Elements has screwed over everypony! In frustration, she kicked the cage’s bar, wincing in pain when her hoof impacted the hard cold steel. “Having some trouble?” A familiar voice said and Trixie cursed, finding Molung and a horde of Combatponies waiting at the door. “Well, ponyfeathers.” Dread filled her when she realized she was alone in a room filled with Shocker goons with no escape route. Trixie screamed and ducked as Molung leaped towards her, claw extending. He missed and swung again, but this time an idea had sparked in Trixie’s head. She dodged, moving her body towards the metal cage. The Shocker monster aimed for her head, planning to rend it from her body. At the last moment, Trixie leaped into the air, grabbing the bars above her with her hooves, suspending her in midair. The monster’s claws slashed into the steel bars, but they bounced off harmlessly. Unbelievably, it hadn’t even dented them! Really, Luna, you had to go full stops on the vault’s security? Despair filled her when she realized how royally screwed she was. She couldn’t believe the speed of the Combatponies as they surrounded her. Her back slammed against the steel cage, giving her nowhere to run. They formed a circle, creating an arena for Trixie and the monster to fight. Molung slashed his claws together, enjoying the fearful expression on Trixie’s face. That look faded as Trixie blinked out of sight. Combatponies wasted no time moving towards the door, creating an inescapable barrier. They’d been expecting she’d attempt something like this and proved an impassable obstacle. Trying to push her way through only ended with Trixie on her rump. A Combatpony pulled out a strange bracelet and it pinged as it pointed in Trixie’s direction. She screamed in terror as Molung lunged towards her, rolling out of the way in time. She summoned hundreds of clones of herself, which leaped about to confuse her enemy. Unfortunately, the bracelet pinged her again and Trixie screamed in pain as the mole monster knocked her across the room. What could defeat these monsters? “Hold it!” A voice cried out, catching everypony’s attention in the room. Trixie’s heart sank when she recognized the voices. Two earth ponies entered the room, each with red manes. One wore a mustache and the other remained clean shaved. It was the Flim Flam brothers from earlier. “This one is ours,” Flim said, “she needs to pay for the indignities that she and her counterpart have made us suffer!” “Yes, quite.” Flam’s voice held barely controlled rage, still peeved about how Trixie had bamboozled him. The two joined hooves and their body erupted with light. When the light faded, a bizarre lizard scorpion thing remained in its place. “We, Sasoritokages, will be the one to rip her limb from limb!” The duo voice of the monster said. Molung bowed in compliance, extending a gross meaty paw. “Be my guest.” “You have got to be kidding me!” Did the entire universe hate her or something? Was there a cosmic “Kick Me” sign taped to her back? And Trixie was losing track of everypony that wanted her dead at this point. She promised to create a list if she survived this. Sasoritokages lumbered towards her and Trixie’s mind raced for some way to escape this disaster. The creature wasn’t in a hurry, enjoying her helplessness and frantic fear, the jerk. Desperate, Trixie threw a karate chop towards the creature’s chest and winced in pain as her hoof slammed hard against whatever hide this creature had. Trixie rubbed at her sore hoof. They make it look so easy in plays. She searched frantically through her cape, only to find she’d used the last of her smoke bombs. Her only defense was a half-eaten pie wrapped in tin foil leftover from one of Pinkie’s parties. Trixie leaped into the air, grabbing Sasoritokages’s face in a desperate gamble to escape his deadly pincer. The crab scorpion thing flailed, trying to tear off Trixie, but she refused to release her grip, terrified out of her mind. Combatponies scrambled as Sasoritokages lumbered towards them, unable to see anything but the azure pony. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this!” Molung leaped forwards with his claws to gut Trixie, but she leaped out of the way, resuling in the mole’s claws slashing Sasoritokages’s one eye blinding him. The monster howled swinging his pincer wildly knocking over several Combatponies. Sasoritokages continued to slash around the room blindly, trying to find the hated Trixie. Molung and the Combatponies tried to get him under control while dodging his razor-sharp pincer. Trixie used the distraction to crawl under everypony’s leg towards the door. “She’s getting away!” A Combatponies pointed towards Trixie, spotting her amongst the chaos. Trixie wasted no time scrambling towards the door after losing her stealth. Several Combatponies tried dogpiling her, but she darted out of their reach, creating a giant pile of limbs and angry ponies. Shocker goons tried blocking her path, but she flew past them, twisting and turning her body like a pretzel. Somehow, she’d darted past them, through the door and out into the castle’s halls. She grimaced when she accidentally knocked over a priceless vase. “Damn you, Trixie! After her!” --- Twilight followed her brother as he’d led her through the streets of Canterlot. She’d gotten some strange looks from the citizenship, but she ignored them. It struck her how elegant the ancient Equestrian city was. Every building was uniquely crafted, but also blended well together into a beautiful package. She’d seen pictures of the city before Shocker had destroyed it, but it was still a marvel to see. Shame she didn’t have the time to go sightseeing. If they survived this crisis, she’d have Trixie show her around, recalling that the mare had mentioned growing up here. There was a loud boom and two figures emerged from the castle’s roof. A gasp escaped her lips as she first set her eyes on the fabled Luna, Princess of the Moon. She appeared like something from a fairy story. Gracious and beautiful beyond words, and her mane flowed with an entire star field within it. While awe-inspiring, she looked beaten and battered, but still determined to fight. “What the hay is that thing?” Shining pointed towards the black figure fighting Luna with a blazing sword. “That’s Trixie!” Twilight replied. “There are two Trixie?” Shining’s voice cracked. Had she’d just heard dread in his voice? “Shocker has brainwashed her.” Twilight waved a vague hoof. “It’s a whole thing.” They grimaced as Luna got cut across the chest, flying back into the castle. Twilight cursed. Somehow, Shocker had beaten them to the castle and she worried for Trixie’s safety. Indecision struck her if she should teleport to the castle to aid the princess in the battle against the controlled Trixie, or stay with her brother. Leaving her brother alone didn’t sit well with her. A flash caught their attention and she found a panting Starlight standing next to her. “There you are. I’d thought I’d never find you!” “Starlight!” Twilight said in astonishment. “I thought you were staying behind to help with the rebellion!” “I’m not even going to ask what that means,” Shining said, giving up asking any question and just accepting the craziness of the situation. The mare dragged her back leg across the ground, embarrassed. “I know, but this is my world, and I couldn’t abandon it. Besides, Rarity and the others don’t need me. They’re doing great on their own. They’ve already amassed an impressive force against Shocker.” Twilight smiled and nodded in understanding. She couldn’t blame the mare for wanting to protect her world. Besides, it gave them a perfect opportunity to bring the fight to Shocker. “I’m glad you’re here,” Twilight said, “do you know your way around the castle?” “Yes, I’ve been there once or twice.” Starlight replied, though she wore a guilt look for some reason. “Good, teleport Shining, my brother, to the castle and find the Trixie of this world,” Twilight said. “Uh, hi!” Shining waved an awkward hoof. “Wait, Trixie?” Starlight tensed but exhaled a resigned sigh. “I understand. What about you? What will you be doing?” “Henshin!” Twilight transformed into her Rider form. “Protecting the princess, good luck!” Her wings extended and she flew towards the castle. “She can do that?” Shining said, astonished. “I guess so.” Starlight replied. “Though, why she didn’t do that already is beyond me. Grab my hoof, and I’ll take you to the castle.” Shining nodded and they disappeared in a flash of purple. --- “Hold on, was that the crazy cult leader from before?” A voice said. “What’s she doing with Twilight, who’s a superhero now I guess?” Another mare rubbed her temple. “I don’t know. We’ll worry about that later. Saving the princess comes first! Let’s go, girls!” The collection of mares ran to join the fight against Shocker. --- “I hate my life!” Trixie wheezed, trying to get her breath back. She’d found a statue to hide behind and Combatponies ran past her hiding spot in hot pursuit of their despised enemy. What now? After regaining her breath and calming her beating heart, she considered her best move. The Elements were beyond her reach and everypony that might help her were miles away. She put her hooves into her face. How had it come to this? A flash of inspiration struck her. If she could pull the princess aside for a moment, they could open the vault and its vile, evil cage. Or maybe even Twilight, if she’d survived the fight with that evil flying squirrel monster. Her best hope was finding either of them and getting that stupid cage open. After checking the coast was clear, she slunk her way through the castle which stood in shambles. Extensive sections of the roof were missing and fire spread towards anything flammable, creating thick plumes of smoke. Servants created a chain of water buckets to stop the fire’s spread. One maid used her skirt in a desperate attempt to extinguish a priceless painting. Princess Luna howled in pain as a wall shattered when she crashed through it and tiles exploded under her body. Ponies forgot their work and scattered, finding any hiding spot they could. They looked on in worry. They’ve never seen their precious princess receive such a beating before. A wave of pain came over Luna’s face as she struggled to stand. She grimaced as other Trixie jumped from the roof and landed to the ground below, unbothered by the enormous height. Could anything stop this monster? Trixie wanted to rush to her side, but the Great Leader’s appearance and his bodyguard lackey made her reconsider. “Trixie, don’t do this.” Despite being an evil brainwashed Trixie from another universe, fighting her student still brought her pain. “I know you still lie under that armor of yours. Don’t let Shocker control you!” “Don’t bother.” Great Leader said. “Shocker’s control of her mind is absolute.” Princess Luna scowled. “Fight it. I know you can!” “Oblivion Blade.” Princess Luna howled pain as a wave of flame threw her clear outside into the castle garden. Part of the hedge maze burst into pieces when Luna collided with it. The princess retaliated with her scythe and sparks flew as it impacted with Evil Trixie’s armor, but it had no visible effect and Luna cried out in pain as her opponent back hoofed her. Despite the desperate situation, Luna refused to surrender, continuing to plead with the other Trixie, trying to awaken her true self. The evil Ranger froze still like a statue. Hope sprung in her heart, hoping the princess had succeeded in her heartfelt plea. A back hoof to Luna’s face ruined that plan. Trixie cursed. It was obvious Luna was holding back. Didn’t she realize it might get her killed? She didn’t relish seeing her counterpart getting slaughtered by her mentor, but she didn’t desire to see Princess Luna get hurt either. “Photonic Burning Rider Kick!” For the first time in the fight, Trixie’s doppelganger cried out in pain, breaking through several statues before halting herself. “Don’t hold back!” Twilight said. “Don’t worry about Trixie; she can handle a few bruises.” “Twilight Sparkle?” Princess Luna said in astonishment. “Call me Kamen Rider Lux.” Twilight made a pose. “It’s a long story, but we have greater issues right now.” “Another Rider,” Luna said awestruck, “I’ll enjoy hearing the story. Equestria requires saving first.” “So, you finally show yourself, Lux.” Ambassador Hell swung his cape around and pulled out his whip. “It’s about time I join the fight. I’ll make quick work of you like your friend.” Bizarrely, his body transformed, becoming a snake pony thing. “Over my dead body!” Twilight snarled and summoned a sword of light. “This is for Trixie!” She exchanged blows with Ambassador Hell while Luna continued her fight with Evil Trixie. The Great Leader of Shocker continued to watch on impassively. Trixie sighed. There went her brilliant foalproof plan. Now what? Despite being outclassed by everyone, she hated getting sidelined. She refused to twiddle her hooves, doing nothing. “Found you!” Trixie screamed as the ground beneath her exploded in an eruption of dirt, sending her flying painfully into a nearby statue of a mare holding a gold-tipped spear. The impact created a deep crack in the statue which spread up its body. The hoof holding the spear collapsed and it clattered to the ground. After rubbing her back, she winced as she rose back to her hooves. A familiar monster laughed at her pain. “Can I get rid of you already?” Trixie said annoyed. “You’ll pay for what you did to Sasoritokages!” The mole creature said. “It doesn’t matter how far you run, I’ll chase you to the ends of eternity!” “Okay,” Trixie replied, resigned to her fate. She picked up the spear and pointed it towards her opponent. While she was certain it wouldn’t do much, it provided her at least some protection. Molung chuckled, amused by her lackluster defense and charged claws extended. With a flip, Trixie dodged out of the way and stabbed into the creature’s stomach. It scrapped against the creature’s skin, but left him otherwise unharmed. Several more stabs produced similar results. This monster’s hide was too tough. Molung enjoyed Trixie’s panicked expression and with a single swipe of his claw broke her weapon in two. “That was a priceless piece of art!” Trixie wasn’t sure what she was saying, driven by fear and desperation. This only amused her opponent, who lumbered towards her. “Don’t worry Trixie, I’ve got this.” A voice said. One she hadn’t heard in several weeks. In a flash, Starlight Glimmer appeared before Molung and grabbed hold of him. In another flash, she vanished and took the monster with her, leaving a bewildered Trixie behind. “That takes care of that!” Starlight wiped her hooves together after teleporting back. “Starlight Glimmer, what are you doing here?” Last time Trixie had seen her, the mare had tried to indoctrinate her and her friends into her creepy cult. “Saving your flank!” Starlight proclaimed proudly. A thousand questions flashed through her head. In Trixie’s mind, Starlight’s sudden appearance wasn’t a good thing. She sat them aside for now, focusing on the bigger issue. “What happened to Molung?” Trixie asked. “I teleported him several miles away.” Starlight replied. The teleport had exhausted her, but she still wore her typical smug smile. “Don’t worry about him. I’m sure we’ll never see him again.” “What are you doing here?” Trixie gave the mare a suspicious look. “You’re the cause of this aren’t you?” Starlight flustered. “What, no. Never. I never asked Shocker to invade our world! Why do you think it’s my fault?” “You swore revenge against me and my friends after we stopped your evil cult, and you happen to appear again when my world is getting invaded by extradimensional bad guys?” “First off, it wasn’t a cult. It was a cutie mark free paradise that was working fine until you showed up. Two, this isn’t really my fault! Okay, I might have, accidentally, given Shocker a powerful magical artifact that allowed a Combatpony to travel back in time and change history, but I never told them to invade anypony!” “I knew it!” From Starlight’s guilty expression since first she showed up, Trixie knew something was up. And she was right, as usual. The fact Shocker came from an alternate timeline was quite the revelation though. She groaned. Why time travel, of all things? Like she needed more insane complications in her life. Trixie gestured to Princess Luna, who was fending off Ambassador’s Hell arm whip thing with a magical shield. Her mentor’s shield flickered and she grimaced with the effort of withstanding the attack, but her spell held. “Do something about that. This is your fault!” Trixie’s voice dripped with contempt. It was Starlight’s fault Raindrops might be seriously hurt and her mentor was fighting for her life! “Hey, it’s a work in progress!” Starlight glared at Trixie. “I’m doing pretty well, thank you very much!” The two mares glared daggers at each other, reminded why they found the other so irritating. Trixie resisted the urge to deck the other mare. “Girls! We have bigger enemies to worry about!” Before it came to blows, a purple shield formed between them, forcing them apart. “There you are Shining.” Trixie gave Starlight the stink eye, before turning her attention to the captain of the royal guard. “Did you find Pokey?” “Yes, he did actually,” Pokey said, still in the Combatpony getup, “no thanks to you.” “I found him hiding in a pot.” Shining added, and her assistant showed no shame at this revelation. “Yeah, sorry about that,” Trixie said relieved to see her employee safe, “train crashes are pretty distracting.” “Did you get the Elements, Trixie?” Starlight asked. “No, Molung got in the way,” Trixie replied, not wanting to explain her failure. “Glad to hear it. These Elements sound dangerous. Doctor Shinigami will enjoy studying them.” An unfamiliar voice said. Shining gasped as a new pony walked into the garden flanked with several Combatponies. Trixie remembered that a Shocker pony mentioned something about Cadance, but it was still shocking to see the pink princess wearing Shocker’s logo. “Cadance?” Shining said in complete bafflement. “Not the one you’re thinking of,” Cadance replied, “another Trixie, how interesting. Not that the Ranger one proved much of a challenge. I doubt you will prove any more difficult.” “Not if we have anything to say about it!” Cadance cried out in surprise, and then pain as a fist smashed into her face sending her flying. “Raindrops!” Trixie’s eyes welled with tears, overcome with joy and relief that her friend was okay. “Take this!” Lyra strummed her lyre, creating a shockwave that sent the Combatponies flying. Carrot Top and Cheerilee were next, knocking goons on their flanks with several well-placed punches. Ditzy walked in behind them, while not eager to fight, still wore a determined expression. “Guys!” Tears flowed freely down Trixie’s face as she hugged her friends. The gang was together at last and Shocker didn’t stand a chance!