//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: Lunaverse: Galaxy Rangers - Secret Agent Dinky // by Rixizu //------------------------------// Secret Agent Dinky Chapter 6 by Rixizu Dinky and the other foals looked around for any path to safety as Miss Cheerilee and Kragolark fought each other while the room filled with water. Sparks flew, and the two exchanged blows but the Libra Ranger was at a clear disadvantage. Kragolark shrugged her attacks off with ease. Looking for a place to flee, the foals followed Apple Bloom when she spotted an emergency staircase. “Ugh, not more stairs!” Dinky despaired. Stupid shortness! “Don’t fret Dinky.” Apple Bloom put a comforting hoof on Dinky’s back. “We can make it!” Dinky returned the filly’s reassurance with a smile and a nod. The entire class entered the stairway and climbed with everything they had. Miss Cheerilee and Kragolark followed them and fighting as they went. Obviously, their teacher wanted to avoid fighting in water which would slow her down. I hate stairs so much! Dinky thought every curse word in her somewhat limited dictionary. Sweat formed on her brow and her legs felt like they were on fire. She missed a step and slipped twisting her right leg at an uncomfortable angle. “Are you okay?” Apple Bloom asked. “I’ll be fine.” Dinky figured it wasn’t a serious sprain, but it still hurt pretty bad. Below their climbing, Miss Cheerilee screamed as a barrage of fireballs hit her dead on in the chest and she tumbled down several flights of stairs. A kick from Kragolark sent Cheerilee into the ever-climbing water and their teacher disappeared sinking like a stone. ”Miss Cheerilee!” Dinky and the rest of the class screamed in horror. “Well, that was fun!” Kragolark said cheerfully. “I’ll have to remember to recover her body later. Can't have such a strong body go to waste. Still, I can’t let the foals escape even if there’s nowhere for them to run.” No! No! No! We’re all finished! We are going to die! No! It was over. Tears flowed down Dinky’s face as the hopelessness of their predicament hit her. “Through here!” Diamond Tiara held a nearby door open and rushed the other foals inside. “But!” Dinky wanted to say more, but her new best friend Apple Bloom stopped her. “We ain’t finished yet.” Apple Bloom said. “Ah won’t let this be the end!” It sounded crazy, but Dinky followed inside and Apple Bloom broke the door controls with a hoof. “Hopefully, that will slow her down.” Sweetie Belle observed the dower looks on her classmates' faces. “Cheer up! Miss Cheerilee still not beaten. I didn’t see her unmorph, so she’s still out there!” Dawning realization hit Scootaloo’s face. “You’re right! She’ll come back and save the day at the last minute, all hero like!” “In the meantime, we need to get to the cockpit.” Diamond Tiara said. “Maybe we can work out the controls and get us out of here. Starting right now, I’m in charge. Follow me.” “I thought I was supposed to be in charge!” Dinky said in protested. “Miss Cheerilee said so!” “Change of plans. I am far more suited to the job.” Diamond Tiara replied her head raised up high. “Sides, we don’t really have time to argue about this.” She pointed towards the bone sword that cut through the metal door like it was melted butter. Before Dinky could reply Diamond Tiara was already running off as fast as her legs could carry her. The other foals didn’t really like the idea of Diamond Tiara being in change, but they followed the spoiled little filly for now. Dinky limped with them grumbling to herself. “So, do you know where we are going?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Of course, I do.” Diamond Tiara replied. “I have an excellent sense of direction. I know exactly where we are. I did a little exploring on our last trip.” “You better!” Scootaloo said. “Though here.” Diamond Tiara pushed a button next to a door and revealed a staircase. “Ugh, not more stairs!” Dinky said in despair. They, of course, also seemed to go up for forever. “Shut up and get inside.” Diamond pointed to the door that Kragolark had almost cut a hole through already. She didn’t have to repeat herself and the whole class ran inside it. Diamond locked the door by breaking the controls. They climbed, and it was Dinky’s turn to lag. The class cheered her on, but it was no use. Her short legs and injury made the hike too difficult. It forced her to rest for a few minutes. "Sorry guys, but you might have to leave me behind," Dinky said. So far Kragolark hadn’t found the staircase they were hiding in, but she couldn’t be far behind. “No.” Diamond Tiara gave no room in her voice to argue and Dinky stared at her in shock. “We aren’t leaving anypony behind. Dinky doesn’t weight too much. Is there anypony that thinks they could carry her?” The entire class looked exhausted and many of the foals shook their head. Apple Bloom’s face filled with determination. “I can." Dinky allowed the apple farmer to carry her on her back. To her surprise, Apple Bloom seemed to be barely slowed by the extra weight. “Why are you doing this?” Dinky asked in wonder. “I thought you didn’t like me.” “I don’t, but I’m the leader and you’re my responsibility.” Diamond Tiara replied. “Daddy always tells me it's a leader’s duty to protect everypony under you.” “Huh.” Dinky wondered if she misjudged the bully a little. Mom always said most ponies had good in them even if it was hidden deep deep down and it would always appear when you least expected it. This, however, did not mean they would ever be friends. Diamond burnt that bridge with a firebomb long ago. “Where are we now?” Snails asked as they entered one of the doors in the stairway. “Kitchen.” Diamond Tiara replied. “Just a little further and we will be the main meeting room.” Scootaloo beamed. “Which has a lift.” "Can you let me down?" Dinky asked. "I think I can manage on my own now." Her leg felt better and walking on it wasn't as difficult anymore. Apple Bloom let her down and blushed. “Sure thing.” “Come on.” The entire class ran after Diamond Tiara and exploded into cheers as the familiar main meeting room with its couches and tables came into view. “The lift should be right here.” Scootaloo’s voice trailed off when she saw a familiar bone sword poking out of the console ruining it beyond any use. “Yo!” Kragolark waved a hoof in greeting. “Come on!” Sweetie Belle shouted. “Argh, will you ever leave us alone?!” Scootaloo stomped a hoof on the ground. “Not good!” Diamond Tiara wailed. “We’re doomed!” Snails hugged Snips in utter despair. The entire class broke into hysterical cries for help. Is this the end? Dinky thought of her mother and how she’d never see her again. I’m sorry mom! I’ll never do a bad thing again! “No!” To everypony’s astonishment, Apple Bloom jumped in front of them and paws at the ground ready for a fight. “You’re not hurting my friends!” “You got a lot of guts filly.” Kragolark tilted her head. “I like that. Real initiative. How about you join us?” Apple Bloom blinked. “Excuse me?” “The Previlxiya Empire could use ponies like you. You’ve seen what I can do. Anything you can imagine, we can give you. Nothing is beyond our hooves.” Apple Bloom paws at the ground. “Never! Ah won’t abandon my friends!” Kragolark rolled her eyes. “Nevermind. Friendship and all that junk. Really, I’m offering you power and wealth beyond imagination, and you want to stick with a bunch of foals that will forget you even exist in a few years. Trust me, when you grow up. These so-called best years of your life barely matter. I doubt these so-called friendships of yours will even last half a decade if that.” “No!” Apple Bloom said at the top of her lungs. “Dinky’s different. She’s kind beyond words. She won’t abandon me.” Her voice broke up at those last few words. “Apple Bloom.” Dinky didn’t know how to respond to that. "Whatever," Kragolark replied, "no skin off my hooves." Apple Bloom’s face filled with determination. “I will never join you. I’m sick of creatures like you telling me what I should think and feel. I-I want to be free to love and cherish what I want. I want to stand by the ones who actually like and care about me!” Apple Bloom dove at Kragolark with surprising speed and it caught the older mare off guard and threw both of them to the ground. Apple Bloom didn’t stop and grabbed Kragolark by the head in a tight headlock. “Go!” Apple Bloom did her best to contain the older mare, but it was clear it wouldn’t be for long. “Get to the cockpit. I’ll hold her off.” Dinky stared at her friend in shock. “No, I can’t leave you!” “Please!” Apple Bloom replied. “It’s the only way.” “Get off!” Kragolark pulled Apple Bloom off her with a hoof and threw her into a wall. Much to Dinky’s bafflement, Apple Bloom stood up with little difficulty and transformed into Big Mac with a wave of green energy. “Go! Now!” Big Mac (?) gestured with his head towards a corridor. After the initial shock of Apple Bloom’s transformation, everypony reluctantly rushing into the indicated location. "Interesting," Kragolark said, "it seems I'm not the only one who isn't what they seem." Big Mac charged at the villain at full force and slammed into her like a freight train, but it only knocked Kragolark off balance for a moment and Big Mac let out a cry of surprise when his opponent lifted him off the ground and threw him to the floor. Big Mac struggled to his hooves and charged again, but this time Kragolark dodged past him and kicked him in the gut. The big guy grunted but didn’t let up using his head as a battering ram, but it only annoyed his opponent. The entire class screamed as Big Mac crashed in front of their escape route and stared in shock as the filly turned stallion transformed into something else. The creature was a pony-like colt only a little bigger than Dinky herself and pure black with teal insect-like wings. He had holes in his legs and horn. Dinky had seen nothing like him. He bled green blood and raised his head with a pleading look. “Please run.” The creature said in a weak voice. Whatever this bug-like pony was, he had risked his life to protect her. More than anything she didn’t want to abandon her friend. Dinky didn’t know what she should do. “We need to get out of here!” Diamond Tiara pulled at Dinky’s leg. “I can’t just leave him!” Dinky said tears in her eyes. “We have to!” Diamond Tiara’s face was filled with pure terror. In a flash, Kragolark was in front of them. "Too late. Nice try though." The villain summoned a sword from thin air and pointed it at Dinky’s head. “I take no pleasure in this, but it needs to be done.” “No!” “We’re doomed!” “Trixie save us!” Dinky closed her eyes ready for the end and hugged her strange new friend. It got her coat bloody, but she didn’t care and bug-like colt took comfort in the gesture. That was all Dinky could hope for in the end. There was a clash of steel and a moment later, Dinky realized she wasn't dead. She peeked open her eyes and saw Miss Cheerilee in her ranger armor blocking the sword with a hoof. She threw the sword aside with a single motion. “Who needs Trixie, when I’m here?” She punched Kragolark in the face and this time it actually seemed to cause some damage. Kragolark groaned. “I will never be rid of you, am I?” “Never. I protect my students, whatever the cost.” Miss Cheerilee summoned her whip. Kragolark summoned back her sword. “That’s it, this time I’m cutting off your head. Maybe then you will stay down.” “Try it.” Cheerilee gestured at Dinky and the black figure on the ground. “Get him to safety. Just be careful. He’s seriously hurt. Move him slowly.” Dinky sniffed. “Yes, mam.” And pulled her new friend away as carefully as she could and her teacher faced off against her opponent. Kragolark swung her sword at Miss Cheerilee’s chest, but their teacher dodged past it and jabbed several times into Kragolark’s face and finished with a headbutt. “Irritant!” Kragolark shot a burst of fire from her hoof and Miss Cheerilee flew back into a nearby wall. Cheerilee got back to her hooves and jumped past another incoming fireball and summoned her whip again. She slashed Kragolark several times in the chest though it still did little damage, more of an annoyance than anything else. Kragolark caught Miss Cheerilee’s whip, and it wrapped around her hoof harmlessly. “Bad move.” Miss Cheerilee pushed a button on her morpher and Kragolark screamed when the whip glowed with bright energy burning her hoof. “Solar Sting!” Miss Cheerilee pulled her whip free and hit Kragolark right in the chest. “Curse you!” Kragolark clutched at her injured hoof black and burned from the power of the Libra Ranger’s whip. “Fine, whatever. You win in this round. Savor this victory. Once our King is reborn, Princess Luna and your little world falls!” She disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Miss Cheerilee unmorphed. She was a little unsteady on her hooves but otherwise fine. "Is everypony all right?” The class nodded and Miss Cheerilee came up to Dinky and the one who used to be Apple Bloom. “Not good. We need to get him to a doctor. Watch him while I get us out of here. We can’t have Kragolark returning a second time, can we?” She darted up the path and disappeared behind a turn in the corridor. “Are you okay?” Dinky asked. “Um…” “Thorax.” The bug pony replied. “Thorax.” Dinky smiled. She liked his name. It fit him. "I'm sorry Dinky, I've been lying to you this entire time." Thorax said, "if you hate me, I understand." Dinky shook her head. “I can’t hate you, you save my life.” “Yeah, we are happy about that and everything, but what are you?” Diamond Tiara crossed her hooves. “So does this mean Apple Bloom was a bug pony this entire time? Who would have thought?!” Sweetie Belle said. No kidding. What a revelation! "I always thought something different about her, him, whatever," Scootaloo added. “What is it like being a bug?” Snails asked. “Is it cool?” The entire Zord lurched indicated that they were finally moving and Dinky let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. "I'm a changeling actually," Thorax said, "and it's cool I suppose." “You’re not the real Apple Bloom, are you?” Dinky asked. It all came to together. It explained so much like the Apples’ strange change in behavior. Oh no, the day Trixie feared has finally come to past. Impostors are taking over Ponyville! “Yeah, but not that I wanted to, of course!” Thorax looked at everypony fearfully. “They ordered me to! I didn’t want to hurt anyone!” "Okay, okay," Dinky said trying to calm him. Freaking out would be bad considering his wounds. "I kinda figured that. Once Miss Cheerilee gets back, you can explain everything.” “Oh no, is this an alien invasion?” Rumble grumbled. Thorax blinked. “Alien invasion?” “So, what planet are you from?” Scootaloo asked. “Is it Mars?” “How about Neptune?” “Alpha Centauri?” "What is it like where you come from?" Dinky asked. “Do you have purple skies where you live?” She beamed with excitement beyond words. She never thought she’d ever meet an alien even as a secret agent in training. "I don't really know what you are talking about," Thorax replied reluctantly. “You’re not from space then?" Dinky asked and the entire sighed in disappointment. "No," Thorax said confident in his answer, "I'm a changeling like I said." “Ah, a changeling.” Miss Cheerilee said walking back into the room. “Ditzy told me about your kind.” “Mom?” “Intelligent shapeshifting insect creature that fed off of love. They tried to invade Canterlot a few months ago.” Cheerilee continued. “They might have succeeded if it wasn’t for your mom and Lt. Sleuth.” "Oh yeah, I guess mom mentioned something about that," Dinky recalled something about a skateboard being mentioned and that was about it. Her mother’s crazy stories bled into one other after a while. "Yeah, that's us," Thorax said looking down, "what happens now? Are you going to turn me into the royal guard?" "Miss Cheerilee, don't hurt him," Dinky said, "even if he's a changeling, he's still a good pony...er bug." Cheerilee smiled and put a hoof on Thorax’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, nothing will happen to your friend. But, you have to tell me what happened to the real Apple Bloom and what your queen is up to.” “If I do that, the queen’ll kill me!” Panic filled Thorax’s face. “You don’t know what’s she’s like!” "Okay, okay." Cheerilee held up a placating hoof. "But ponies are in danger and I need you to be brave. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. You don’t have to tell me everything right now, but can you at least confirm that Apple Bloom is alright?” "Yes, none of the ponies we took were hurt," Thorax replied. Cheerilee let out a breath. “That’s a relief. We will deal with that when the times comes.” After seeing how horrible and broken up Thorax looked, Dinky gave him a comforting hug. “Don’t worry, we’ll protect you! We won’t let that mean old queen get you.” The rest of the fillies and colts gave their agreement. Was it Dinky's imagination, or where Thorax's wounds getting better before her eyes? “Yes, whatever she’s planning, I will put a stop to it.” Cheerilee gave him a wink. “I’m good at that sort of thing.” "I hope so," Thorax replied though there still was no enthusiasm in his voice. --- “Ah’m glad to do business with ya, Iron Will.” Applejack said as she showed her guest to the door. “Yes, this new advertisement will light the world on fire!” Iron Will flexed his enormous muscles and did a pose. “Pulverize your taste buds with Apple Trust Apples! They won’t know what hit them!” Iron Will beamed. “Excellent.” “This will spread your apple far and wide across Equestria and even beyond that!” Iron Will tipped his fedora to her. “Leave everything to me!” Applejack rubbed her hooves together as she watched the fool leave her house. Perfect, soon these gullible ponies will all be enjoying our apples. She chuckled to herself. "I would like to have a word with you." A mare said stopping Applejack before she got back into her house. “Oh, it’s you again.” Applejack sighed. “Peppo was it?” "Caramel Apple." The mare replied through clenched teeth. Applejack examined her hoof and picked away a pebble that had gotten caught on it. “Sure, whatever. What do ya want this time?” “Cousin, I don’t know what you are playing at, but the price you selling our apples at is ridiculous and unfeasible for any long-term profits. They don’t even remotely cover the costs it takes to pick and ship them. At this rate, you will ruin everything the Apple Trust has built for the last hundred years!” Applejack yawned. “And?” This only enraged Caramel Apple further. “You are literally, and I mean this in the correct way of using the word as in what I am saying is a literal truth, going to drive us to bankruptcy soon. Why can’t any of you higher ups in the Trust see reason?” Applejack turned her back to the mare to go back into her house. “Are ya done now? Ah’m a busy mare.” “That’s it.” Caramel Apple pointed an accusatory hoof at her. “My farm is breaking away from the Trust. I don’t care how many contracts are broken, or how many times I get sued for it. I won’t support this madness!” “Ah see.” A dark look went over Applejack’s face. “Um, I’ll be going now.” Carmel Apple said uneasily and took a step back. She screamed when she bumped into good old Big Mac. "Take hur inside," Applejack ordered. “Yes, ma’am.” Big Mac grabbed the mare in a not so polite way and she screamed in pain as he pushed her inside the house. “Please, don’t do this Mac.” Caramel Apple said in terror. “We’re friends, right? We used to hang out all the time when we were foals!” Applejack took delight then Big Mac turned into his real form and the mare screamed her head off. She stopped when Big Mac bit her and paralyzing venom filled her veins and she went slump. Wonderful, now they had to replace another pony. Every replacement risked exposure if the Changeling wasn’t careful. She found it was best only to replace a few. Despite their skill at infiltration, fooling family members and friends wasn’t easy even with extensive research. No matter. They only needed to keep up this illusion for a little time longer, a week or two more at most, then Equestria and all these pathetic ponies and their delicious love would soon be theirs forever.