The Origins (#1)

by LightningStar626

Chapter 4: Secret Agents Lightning Star and Karly Crystal to the Rescue!

Chapter 4: Secret Agents Lightning Star and Karly Crystal to the Rescue!

~The next few hours and missions went wild for the Rainbooms. After they rescued the first student, Pinkie Pie was the first to spot something in the distance. What she saw was an army of Devil's minions guarding and loading a bear-sized cage into a large wagon. It was a pitiable sight. The sides of the cage were barred with thick iron and inside were some of Steven's students, girls and boys all between the ages of twelve to sixteen, all hunched together in a shaking huddle. Many of the younger children were sobbing, while the older ones were doing their best to comfort them. However, they were the ones that were still trying to process all that was happening around them, and were beginning to get anxious just by looking. Rarity growled at the sight, and was at the ready instantly to punish this villainy before her very eyes. Twilight and Sunset agreed. So they began to hatch a plan and whisper it to the others. As soon as the students saw that somebody had come, they crowded to the bars of the cages, gesturing and banging helplessly to get out. This caused the minions to turn and spot the Rainbooms, however. And once they did, they charged. Rarity leapt up swiftly with a swirl of her hair. Walking easily towards the danger, she examined the minions' movements, then put herself into action. She began to conjure up diamond fragments as she walked. They were simple crystals but enough to penetrate the crossbow arrows that suddenly rained upon her and the girls. Finally, the minions ran out, and had nothing else left to defend themselves. That was when the Rainbooms made their move. Rainbow was stoked all the way.~

"Take that!" she began to yell.

~Lashing out with her fist and using all the martial arts she was taught, Rainbow Dash fended off the minions strongly. As did the rest of her friends. Fluttershy, not so much, but, she was able to duck down and make one of the minions trip over her so he'd sprawl onto the muddy grass. After that tremendous battle, the minions were defeated, and they fled into the copse of trees before any more of them got hurt. Applejack approached the wagon, and to the cage of the helpless students. She gripped onto the iron bars tightly before rattling them, then pulling on them with all her might. Unable to withstand the power of her strength, the bars immediately snapped into two pieces and were ripped from their standing point. The students were free. For a long moment they all stood there, wide-eyed, entranced by the Rainbooms and their magic. Then, a young girl toddled towards Applejack with outstretched arms. The cowgirl felt herself blush when they hugged while Rarity just smirked with her hands on her hips and laughed out loud at the happy sight. All were safe and in an instant, the Rainbooms were surrounded by a bustle of teeangers all wanting to reach out and touch them. They felt loved. Eventually, they told the students to go to CHS and meet with Steven.~

---

~As the Rainbooms came closer towards Canterlot City, the more students they found. Like headless chickens, they just found them wandering alone in the fields while avoiding danger at any cost. It was a relief though that these ones were found unharmed thankfully, and it was a breeze to get them to CHS. After finding some more lost teenagers in another grove of trees, The Rainbooms decided to do a quick count-up.~

"Okay, Twilight," Sunset panted. "How many students have we found?"

Twilight scanned through her notebook. "So far, we have found one hundred and fifty-nine students…" she answered.

"Well, that's good but thousands could still be at large." said Applejack.

Rainbow gave a sigh. "I really wish Mr. Secret told us exactly how many students he has." she said. "Then we'll know how many more we have to go!"

"If only we had an extra pair of helpers..." Pinkie Pie put her hand over her chin. "...and, well, you know, someone that knows the students and is friends with them. Someone that can handle those mean minions along with us! Someone heroic; someone adventurous; someone fearless! Someone like…"

"Lightning Star and Karly Crystal?" Fluttershy asked timidly.

"Yeah!"

"I'm...pretty sure those were their names."

"I'm sure too. We need to find them!" Rainbow determined.

"But, where could they be?" Rarity asked.

"I don't know. But Mr. Secret said they could be anywhere…"

"'He's sure we'll find them hanging about somewhere', if I recall his words…"

~With that, the five began searching up the lands, while Sunset and Twilight stayed. Twilight was just going through her trusty notebook, counting up all the numbers again, when she heard a noise rustling in the trees above them. At first, she assumed it was just a bird, since they are seen very frequently around these parts, but when she noticed the shadow dancing on the ground from the trees was much larger than she anticipated, she got suspicious. Sunset noticed her worried glances, but the other girls didn't and just kept on ranting.~

"What if we find some more trouble? It might lure them over here!" suggested Pinkie.

"I think we've gone through enough trouble already, Miss Pie..." said Rarity. "...and I don't believe in finding it again!"

"Our troubles are only just beginnin', Rarity," Applejack chuckled. "It ain't over til the big apple falls from the tree!"

The fashionista groaned. "That's what I'm afraid of…"

"Hey, what's wrong, Twilight?" Sunset asked.

"I...I feel like we're being watched…"

~The whole group fell silent. The rustling in the trees continued, and as the girls got closer, it began to shake more violently and loudly every second. The next instant, Lars the minion fell from the tree onto his feet in front of them.~

"AH-HA!"

~He gestured a hand movement. Then, a huge net fell from the tree. But, instead of falling upon the Mane 7 and trapping them, as that's what they assumed was meant to happen, it landed on Lars, and the weight of the mesh threw him to the ground instantly. He pulled a blank slate expression on his face before writhing around, trying to get free.~

"Okaaay. That was poorly planned." he admitted.

~Thankfully for him, they had a plan B. Within the next couple seconds, ten minions leapt up from the bushes and swiftly pinned down the Rainbooms before they could even have a chance to articulate what was going on. And since their arms were the first thing that got the minions' attention, they could not touch their geodes to activate the source. All they could do was scream and struggle in surprise.~

"NOW, we got 'em!" one of them laughed.

"Excellent!" Lars cheered, before continuing to struggle himself. "Now get me out of this, you idiots!"

~Three minions stalked up to Lars and began to tug on the net. It took a few moments, since the knotting looked as if it was done up by a young toddler, but eventually, the minions untangled the netting and freed their co-worker from its trap. He was not happy with them however.~

"Ugh, when I said 'throw the net', I meant on them, not me!"

"Well, it was Brames' fault!" one of his companions complained, pointing at another minion. "He's the one who told me to throw it where you were standing!"

"Sorry!" the minion named Brames replied. "Maths and calculating angles aren't my strong suit. I don't even know why you appointed me to do that job!"

"Does it entirely matter now!?" another minion spoke up. "No! We caught them. That's all that needed to be done."

"You're right."

~A grinning Lars stood before the struggling heroines as they were dragged to their feet, and gloated over them proudly. Then, the minion peered at the geodes around their necks. He smiled grimly.~

"I told you we would be back, Rainbooms…" he hissed.

"No, you didn't," Rainbow jabbed. "You just ran like cowards!"

"Wait...you know our name?" Twilight quired, shocked to hear him say that.

Lars replied with a scornful laugh. "Heh. That's right. We know everything now… Our boss informed us of you. He seemed to have teamed up with three girls that know alot about you. What did he say their names was again? I didn't hear much since someone decided to talk over it!" he gave an obvious look towards Leos, who rolled his eyes back. "Right, what-was-it-again? The Dangers? The Dapperlings?"

Sunset gasped. "The Dazzlings!"

"Yeah! That's it! The Dazzlings!"

"Oh no!" Fluttershy gasped.

Rainbow was speechless. "Then...that means…"

"They have found Devil and joined forces with him!" Sunset gasped. This news set everybody talking at once.

"Huh. I figured it would have taken at least more than two chapters for them to 'Work things out'." said Pinkie, looking up at the fourth wall.

Lars moved right to her face. "Well, you figured wrong!" he spat. "Oh, and, of course, another thing…" he went on, "...the boss wants your magic now. Since the Dazzlings told him everything now, he's been dying to get you. He appointed us to capture you and bring you to him."

"So this means no more going after Secret's students! Practically, your work here is done!" Leos laughed out loud, to which the girls gazed evenly.

Lars nodded along. "Oh! Also, if I recall, the Dazzlings told the boss something about a land filled with ponies called Equestria. Dunno what it's about, it sounds girl-ish, but he said that world will be his next target once he's through with you and this world!"

~At this, Sunset Shimmer's eyes widened. The thought of a mad doctor going over to her homeland and conquering it shook her to the earth. If he succeeds, what will become of it? And what will become of all her friends and mentors back home as well? Princess Twilight, Princess Celestia... All will be in danger! Sunset couldn't not hide back her anger.~

"You wouldn't even think about stepping hoof into that world!" she screamed at the minions.

"Hoof?" Lars quired, before bursting out with laughter. "Please! I get it it's a world filled with ponies, but that pun was so stupid!" He stopped laughing after a while and sneered. "Just think, soon, you will have these precious necklaces of yours be taken away from you, and they will be drained of their magic for our Master Devil. Soon, he will have the power, he will be supreme, and all will be his kingdom!" Lars laughed maniacally.

"NO!" Rainbow screamed and struggled. "You are not going to get away with this!"

"Silence!" commanded Leos. "Of course, we're gonna get away with it! We almost already have." he smiled. He turned to Lars. "Right, I think I've had enough chit chat with these brats now!"

"Agreed." Lars added. "Let's just take them to Master Devil now."

Leos nodded and flashed a look at his other companions. "Alright, lads," he began, "Hold them firm, and make sure they don't use their powers." he demanded. "We can't afford any mistakes. Knock them out if you have to."

"...who put you in charge?" one of them suddenly snarked. "Also, I'm pretty sure we can handle a bunch of children, Leos." The entire group began to stare. "Let's just go."

"No!" Sunset gasped and began struggling desperately. "Come on, girls, We can't have failed already."

~Tears began to swell up in Sunset's eyes as they were frogmarched away. Lars took the lead. Rainbow Dash fought vainly, so, as expected, she was knocked unconscious with a single blow to the back of the head. Applejack followed afterwards. Things were really starting to look bad for the girls now, so Sunset Shimmer looked around desperately to find a way out. Her first natural instinct told her it would be best to shout for help, but this may cause the minions to knock her unconscious too, which she didn't want. Next, she tried to manage an escape route to run at if she slipped out of her captor's grasp. but that proved to be difficult since everywhere she looked there were trees ahead on every mile, and the minions were sharply eyeing her and holding her tight in an iron grip. She was beginning to lose hope. Suddenly, another rustle occured from the distance. Then, an unknown white figure leapt out from over the trees and performed a one way-sided punch straight into Lars' jaw, causing him to fall back and splutter a little bit of spit from the sudden impact. Sunset, Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were shocked. The stranger was female and she wearing a cyan-blue and magenta-pink striped sleeveless jacket whose hood covered her entire head, so nobody knew who she was.~

Lars was furious, nonetheless. "Hey! What's the big idea, you- !"

~He stopped in his sentence. As the stranger threw back her hood, she shook aside her long fluffy glorious golden locks of hair before sparkling her bright blue eyes at the Rainbooms, giving them a sense of comfort. She seemed to be the energetic type of person, and was pumped up to throw another punch at another minion. She looked around the same age as the Mane 7, and wore a simple white long sleeved top underneath the striped sleeveless jacket and with a small cyan star badge clipped on the front beside the high zipper. She wore classic, navy blue jeans and neon blue trainers with pink highlights. Sunset was in awe to see a person like her and was gladly relieved to see her come to their rescue in an act of heroism. When the minions saw her face, they all knew exactly who she was and chroused her name in fear.~

"Agent Star!"

~Sunset looked across to them then back, stunned. It was Lightning Star! One of the girls Steven mentioned. They found her! Or rather, she found them. The rest of the Rainbooms stared in awe.~

"Causing trouble again are we, Lars?" Lightning Star asked with a smug look.

"Ugh, what's it to you, Agent Star?" Lars scowled, getting up from the ground. "You know, these girls aren't even from your school, why are you defending them? They don't concern you!"

~Lightning looked back at the Rainbooms. They all had kindly faces, and she watched as their eyes twinkled with hers in sync. From there, she began to feel like there would be some sort of special connection and understanding between her and them. For a brief moment, Lightning felt her skin tingle strangely and she wondered what this rescue would mean for the future. Nevertheless, she stood up for them.~

"Just because they aren't from my school, doesn't mean you still have the right to pick on them!" she replied. She then turned to the nearby bushes. "Come on, Karly Crystal! Let's show these minions what we do to people who bully innocent civilians!"

~Just then, another teenage girl poked up from behind a few bushes and by a tree root. She must've been the other girl Steven told the girls about, as Lightning Star said her name, Karly Crystal. This one seemed to be more prone to stress when faced with pressure of any kind, and seemed quite mentally fragile and sensitive to criticism. It was obvious that she shared a quality with Fluttershy. She was nothing like Lightning at all. As for her appearance: her ashy brown hair was tousled and naturally messy. She also had fair skin, rosy cheeks, and two very unique different coloured blue eyes. Twilight immediately recognised this condition as heterochromia indium- where there are two different colours in the iris of each eye, this girl seemed to have one eye colour sky blue, while the other one was cyan. Her small, plain magenta scarf drooped down to where her collarbone was, and matched her casual, comfy dark cerise jumper with three light pink stripes across the chest. The sleeves also dropped far down to her arms. Underneath, she wore fluffy lavender purple shorts with lighter baggy knee high socks and dark classic trainers. Her clothing choice is likely down to her insecurities surrounding her body image. Interestingly, it seemed that Karly never developed breasts during puberty, and was entirely flat-chested.~

"Oh! Umm, o-of course, Lightning!" Karly called in a soft, mellow tone of voice. "Iiii just…need you...to give me a few...minutes..." suddenly she tripped on the tree root. "Ahh!" Thump! "Oww…"

Lightning sighed. "Ugh, Karly. You gotta be more careful around here."

"Oh, I have a bad feeling about this…" said one of the minions.

"Ah, shut up, man. You're yellow," sneered his mate. "C'mon, We just defeated seven girls, what's two more?"

"Exactly! So get them!" Leos commanded.

The minions began laughing. "Oh-ho-ho-ho! We are going to crush you!"

~They chucked their struggling load onto the ground, then glided quickly across the grass towards them. Lightning and Karly set themselves up for a fight. Firstly, Lightning swiftly ducked an upcoming blow then seized the leg of the one that threw it and jerked it up from under the minion. He fell on his back and cried out. Lightning then leapt to pin him, but he rolled away. As he bounced to his feet, Karly accidentally brought him back down again with a stumble, as she was facing another minion. Nonetheless, when she fell, her feet came up and she kicked the minion she was fighting in the chin. Lightning helped her, before punching another minion that came behind her quickly. Now fighting desperately, the minions charged, kicked, scratched and punched, but they were no match for Lightning. The Rainbooms, who were watching aside, stared in amazement, but said nothing. They were impressed that she could handle their quick movements with her own. Finally, the minions were beaten and backed into a corner. Gasping angrily, Lars grabbed a tree branch and raised it over his head to bring down. Karly cowered and leapt back, but Lightning swung a right-hand haymaker as quickly as she could. It caught Lars in the solar plexus and he went down in a heap.~

"You wanna repeat that phrase of crushing us?" said Lightning. "Or should I say it now?"

Lars growled. "Let's get out of here, lads."

"But- "

"I said, let's go!" Without another argument, the minions fled. "You haven't seen the last of us!" Lars' voice yelled as he joined his crew.

~Lightning shook her head at the comment, but never spoke out. Several groans were suddenly heard from behind her so she looked over to see the Rainbooms still on the floor, groaning in agony. Karly rushed to their aid.~

"Oh god, are you alright?" she asked them.

"Well, besides being thrown to the ground and leered at and threatened by a band of ruffians, I'm still in perfectly good shape. Thank you." answered Rarity, as she sorted herself out.

Twilight stood herself back up and went across to where they stood. "Yes, I'm fine. And...thank you so much for helping us out. You were...amazing." It was the best Twilight could manage, overawed as she was by the talent of the girls.

Lightning turned around from her shoulder and held Twilight's gaze for a moment. "No problem, it's what we do." the girl replied, smiling.

~As they helped the rest of the girls up to their feet, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were just coming too.~

Rainbow was the one that groaned first. "Ack! Urrrgh…? What happened? Where are we?"

"Did we just fall asleep?" Applejack asked, rubbing her head. "I can't remember…"

"You were knocked out, darlings." Rarity explained. "But not to worry, we're safe. Thanks to these brave, young girls."

Karly blushed and giggled. "Aww, shucks!"

"Hey, wait," Rainbow said, now that her eyes were focusing again. "Are you…?"

"You are the two girls Mr. Secret was on about! Lightning Star and Karly Crystal!" Pinkie Pie interrupted. The pink girl began hopping all around them. "We found you, we found you, we found you, we found you!"

"My god, you're hyperactive…" Lightning said, unblinking. "...but yes. I'm Lightning Star. Secret agent, student of Pixel High, and daughter of the wealthy, talented leader of the S.T.A.R Agency. It's a family thing." She felt Karly ruffle her jacket behind her. "Oh, yes, and this is my best friend, and partner, Karly Crystal." Lightning introduced.

"H-hi."

"Nice to meet you!" Sunset replied, shaking Lightning's hand warmly. "My name is Sunset Shimmer."

"My name's Twilight Sparkle." Twilight greeted. The rest of the girls introduced themselves.

"The name's Rainbow Dash!

"I'm Applejack. Pleasure to make yer acquaintance."

"I'm Fluttershy…" Fluttershy whispered shyly.

"I am Rarity. Pleased to meet you."

"And I'm Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie spoke rapidly. "But you can call me Pinkie, or Pie, or Pinkie and Pie! I don't mind, wanna be friends?! I'm friends with mostly everybody around here- SAY YES!"

"Uhh, yes?" Karly quired.

"Well, it's nice to meet you all too!"

~One by one, Lightning shook everyone else's hand and smiled. Sadly, the meeting didn't last as long as she figured. Afterwards, the Rainbooms turned serious and asked if they could all talk with each other for a quick moment of time. Lightning felt suspicious, but agreed happily. So, walking over to a much safer area, the nine girls sat in a circle on the lush green grass and began the discussion. Karly interrupted quickly, however, before a word came out, as she had many questions to ask the Rainbooms first.~

"So, how is it that you know us?" she began. "Did someone tell you? Who told you? How much more do you know about us? And why were those minions chasing you? Did you do something to them? What happened? What's going on?"

"It's a long story…" Sunset started.

"So, I think it's best if we start from the beginning!" Pinkie bursted in.

~She got up from her seat suddenly and hopped over to a larger secluded area. She cleared her throat and began talking like an old-fashioned story narrator.~

"Once upon a time, in a land, far, far away, there was a pony princess, named Twilight Sparkle…"

"I think that's too far back, Pinkie." Twilight interjected.

"Yeah, I was just going to start with the book," said Sunset.

"Oh! Okie dokie! I can start there for ya!" Pinkie cleared her throat again. "Once upon a time, in a school, not far, far away, there were two girls named Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, dusting out the basement and finding their textbooks." She suddenly screamed. "Ahh! A rat, quick get it! Use that book! Blast! Ooh! Gasp! Wow! Magic flying everywhere, another portal tearing open! The book is going crazy! A strange man flies out!" She puts on a deep voice similar to Steven's. "My name is Steven Secret, my students are in danger, you must find them!" She went back to her own original voice. "You got it, sir!" She then crouched down and messed up her hair as she put on a snarky, goofy voice to imitate the minions. "HEh Heh hEH! We ArE meAnIe mIniOnS wORkiNg foR ThE eVIl bAd GUy, Dr. DE-viLl, hE haS tEaMed uP wItH ThE DaZZliNgS, gIve Us yOuR mAgIc!" she returned to her own voice. "Never!" Then back to the minions' voice. "As YoU wISh! GeT 'Em, bOYs!" Finally, she imitated Lightning's voice and went back and forth between hers and the minions' and doing movements. "Not so fast! AHh! It'S LiGHtNinG StAr! Begone from here! Punch! Kick! Bang! Pow! NoOooOO! We wILl bE bAaaaaAcK!" She then stopped. "And now we're here." she bowed. "Any more questions?"

~Lightning and Karly both appeared to be still perplexed and a little bit weirded out. But, Pinkie didn't see it.~

"Yeah, I think they got it."

Rainbow asked. "Did you?"

"I mean... This certainly explains a few things," exclaimed Lightning. "But...I'm also very skeptical about it all."

"You and me both, Lightning," Karly added. "But, backing things up a bit, you said the name Steven Secret? Have you found him?"

Fluttershy nodded. "Uh-huh. He's safe at our school at the moment." she answered.

"He is? Oh, that's a relief! We've been looking everywhere for him and I was scared something might have happened!" Karly sighed happily. "Okay, I'm glad to know that my uncle is alright."

"Uncle?" The Rainbooms quired.

"Steven is Karly's uncle," Lightning explained. "And she has a very close relationship with him, as do I, since he used to work with my dad before becoming the principal of our high school."

"Oh, I see." Rarity chirped.

"That must be nice. Having a family member working in the same school you go to." Twilight said, as her brother too worked at her former school, CPA, for a short while.

"Well, it has its downsides, actually." Karly confessed.

Lightning agreed. "Yeah, bullies will come at you, you always have to be on your best behaviour and you have to do all the work, no slacking whatsoever."

"Oh. I suppose that's true."

"I think we're gettin' a little bit off topic here now, y'all." interrupted Applejack.

"Oh! You're right." Lightning realised. "But, umm, do you mind going through all that's happened in full detail now again? Sure, Pinkie's little play was sorta helpful, but not so much."

"Of course." Sunset obliged, giving out a small chuckle.

---

~With that, Sunset Shimmer began to explain the story of how Lightning and Karly got here into the world and what is now happening because of it in full explicit detail. She tried to answer all of Karly's questions as well as she could along the way, but didn't have the greatest of answers for some. Thankfully, Karly nodded in understanding, and Lightning assured her it was alright if she couldn't answer. Sunset thanked her. After twenty minutes, Lightning and Karly had finally gotten up to where the Rainbooms were and knew what was fully happening now. Sunset would have got on even further about who exactly these Dazzlings were, but she felt as if she should tell them some other time. Once she has gained more trust in them, only then will she confess who they, and even she, were and where they originally come from. But for now, the good proportion of detail she told will have to do.~

"So, here's the problem," said Sunset, now up to the present point. "Your arch enemy, and our arch enemies have teamed up and started working together in this world."

"Which means double the badness!" Pinkie added.

"They've already ordered for our capture, since the Dazzlings have told this Devil all about us and what we are capable of." said Twilight.

"We haven't met the man yet, but from what I've already heard about him, I can tell he won't rest until he gets filthy hands on our magic." Rarity said.

"So, the nine o' us will have to work together if we wanna save ourselves an' help out ya fellow school students get back to ya own world!" Applejack exclaimed.

Fluttershy nodded slowly. "It's a dangerous task, and I'm still really scared about it, but now that we've found you, I'm confident we can do it."

"So, what do ya say?" Rainbow grinned confidently. "You two in it to win it?!"

The two best friends exchanged a curious look, but after a while they smirked with complete understanding. "Absolutely." Karly answered.

"After all, it's a secret agent's duty to protect and serve!" Lightning said proudly. "Also, it's up against Devil. Of course, we're coming."

"Excellent!" said Rarity. "We'll have this thing sewn up in no time, then!"

"Wait an apple pickin' minute," Applejack interrupted. "Did y'all just say that y'all secret agents?"

"Oh! Umm...yes. Yes, we did." Lightning gave a nervous-sided smile before groaning and turning the other way around. "Darn it, I've got to stop telling random people this! Otherwise it wouldn't be a secret anymore!"

"Well, we kinda figured it out already, actually," chuckled Sunset.

Rainbow chuckled too. "Yeah. And it certainly explains why back then those minions called you 'Agent Star' and 'Agent Crystal'." she then said.

"Oh yeah, they did," Lightning realised. "Ugh, bunch of blabbermouths. They are always up to something, you know. That's why we helped you and chased them off. I can never stand them!"

"I don't blame you." Fluttershy sighed.

"Well, I'm happy to hear that you've agreed to join us." Sunset said, moving on from the conversation.

"Agreed! Welcome to the party, Lightning Star and Karly Crystal!" Pinkie congratulated them. "From here on out, we will adventure together in a team of nine and vanquish all that stand in our way!"

"We're looking forward to it." Lightning smiled.