//------------------------------// // 1st Light: Welcome to S. M. I. L. E. / The Hero Rises! // Story: Shine on! Ultrawoman Aster! // by Michael_Ravencroft //------------------------------// [Welcome to the Space Monster Interception League of Earth, otherwise known as S. M. I. L. E! First off: congratulations for being selected to join this elite peace keeping force, but your journey has just only begun! As of today, you will be entering SMILE Academy, a place dedicated to not only preparing you for the rigors of fighting in the League, but to also furthering your education, should you feel that during the course of your enrollment you find that SMILE is not for you, you can take all you’ve learned and pursue another career!] [SMILE Academy sports the latest in technology and accommodations, all students are required to stay in the dormitories that are on campus and must abide by the rules set forth:  Curfews are enforced, all students are to be back at the dorms no later than 10:00 PM.  Dorms are separated, one houses only the girls and the other only the boys. Under NO circumstances are boys allowed in the girl’s dormitories and vice versa. Next it should be noted in case of a monster attack, the Phantom Zone Emitter will be activated, all students – except for those with special assignment or permission – must go to the nearest Phase Space Shelter immediately. SMILE base may be on campus, but you are not allowed to engage in combat operations without the expressed permission of a senior officer or under life or death circumstances. Next –!] “Okay, that’s getting old,” said the girl with fiery hair as she closed the holographic welcome packet.  This girl was sitting at the back of a bus that was ferrying a batch of new first year students to the most prestigious school, SMILE Acadmey. The teenager huffed as she looked out the window, seeing the vastness of the so called “Everfree Forest”.  It was a strange anomalous forest that grew during, what had come to be known as “The Incursion”, where creatures called Space Beasts had come to attack Earth, it was in fact thanks to this forest that The First Incursion was stopped, creating a barrier that forced the waves of monsters back and threw them across the stars.  Since then, SMILE Base and the Academy had been built at the center of the huge forest, there was a large enough clearing that both could be accommodated equally. That very barrier that saved the world had diminished over the years, allowing some monsters to get in and cause havoc, but with SMILE, they were quickly taken down.  “Or so the story goes…” said the girl with fiery red and yellow hair.  The road leading to the academy was a long bridge that ran from Canterlot City to the Academy and base. Several students filled the bus, all of which were in varying degrees of excitement. From her spot in the back she could spot a few students she could tell she wanted to steer clear of, not that she thought that they weren’t good people, but because she wasn’t in the mood to get chummy with anyone. Suddenly, the bus stopped, making the fiery haired girl look out the window, there seemed to be some car parked on the side of the bridge. From what she was able to see, there was a tall woman with tri-colored hair, pink, beige, and lilac. Her lavender colored eyes conveyed a sisterly aura that would probably make most young teens confide in her, as well as make both genders swoon.  “Not me,” she said aloud. The bus stopped and the driver got out to see what the problem was. While the bus driver was talking with her, the fiery haired girl could spot someone else in the car but was having a hard time making out who. After a minute of talking, the older woman seemed happy and went to the back of the car to pull out a suitcase, the driver opened up the cargo area and helped her put the luggage in, from the passenger side, a girl emerged that actually made the redhead pause and pay attention.  She was slender, with black rimmed glasses framing her mousy face, and brought attention to her amethyst colored eyes. Her hair – which was done up in a ponytail – was a dark violet color, with a light steak of purple and pink running through it.  This girl was wearing the school uniform, a blue blazer with the SMILE emblem over her left breast where her heart was. The redhead made a note of her appearance, the uniforms didn’t allow for much individuality, so the students had come to accessorize a little to give them individuality, either by wearing the uniform a different way or putting on little buttons or making slight – but Academy approved – alterations.  Hers was a little more laid back, she let her white shirt hang out instead of tucking it into her skirt, only leaving the middle button of her blazer buttoned, and left her collar open. She let the ribbon hang loose, on her collar she had a pin that was in the shape of a sun, with one have red and the other half a golden-yellow in a sort of yin-yang pattern. Compared to the girl outside, she seemed to follow more to the dress code.  “Kinda cute, though,” she commented.  The bus driver ushered the girl onto the bus and went back to talk to the woman again, probably wondering if she’d like a ride the Academy. The redhead watched as the new girl began walking down the aisle, most of the students were still being their rowdy selves, with some offering the girl a seat. She politely declined their offers and continued her journey down the aisle until she was at the back of the bus.  “H-Hi,” the nerdy girl greeted.  “Hey,” the redhead replied.  “Um…I’m sure you picked this spot back here to be alone…but…would it be alright if I…sat over here, too?”  The redhead glanced up at the girl quizzically. “It’s a free country, sit where you want.”  “Right, sorry! I just, you looked like you wanted to be alone, and I didn’t want to intrude or –!”  The redhead held up her hand in a stopping gesture. “Just sit down, please.”  The nerdy girl smiled awkwardly and sat down in the right seat. She had been clutching a digital tablet the whole time, and once she sat down immediately swiped it open and began reading something. The bus driver concluded his conversation with the woman and continued on their way towards SMILE Academy. After a good five minutes of travel, the redhead asked, “Car trouble?”  The nerdy girl snapped her attention from her tablet and to the redhead. “Oh, um, yes. The battery appeared to have died, I must’ve told my sister-in-law several times to get it replaced, even though my calculations indicated that given that her car’s an older model and not incorporating Ziestral power cells, that it would possibly die out halfway before reaching the Academy.”  “Uh-huh, guessing you don’t like to be tardy to things, huh?”  The nerdy girl shuddered. “That word is like taboo to me, besides, I’ve wanted to get into SMILE Academy ever since I was a little girl!”  “Let me guess, you want to save the world from monsters?” the redhead asked.  The nerdy girl began to play with her bangs a little. “Well…nothing as grandiose as that…I’m mostly wanting to advance my academic career, and SMILE Academy is the best of the best. Besides, you don’t necessarily have to join the organization, some just go on to further their careers in other fields.”  The redhead shrugged. “That’s cool.”  “Um, if you don’t mind, what’s your name?”  The redhead observed the girl sitting in the opposite seat. She wasn’t here to make friends, and she definitely didn’t see the need to get close to anyone. Still, this girl seemed to be less hyper than the rest of the students, so she didn’t see any harm. “Sunset, my name’s Sunset Shimmer.”  “Oh, that’s a pretty name! M-Mine’s Twilight Sparkle, it’s nice to meet you,” said Twilight.  Sunset grinned a little. “Same.”  \\\***/// [S. M. I. L. E. Academy, 9:10 A. M.] The bus finally joined a caravan of several others that were ferrying students, teachers, and SMILE agents. To say that the school and the base were vast would be a huge understatement. The school itself stood like an ivory castle, with tall spires that led to different observatories, a large quad was set at the center, and a statue of the first agent of SMILE, the founder and creator, a woman simply known as Faust. A small staircase led up to the main entrance, where many of the students were filing in, off to the right path stood several buildings which looked like apartments, no doubt the student dorms. To the left were the training fields, some of which both agents and students used.  But behind the school was the towering SMILE Base, it was one of many, but this was considered the first and best of them all. The base had domes structures built around it, with a central building that had a flight control tower as well as a scanning equipment meant to detect any anomalous changes in the atmosphere. There was a larger structure behind the domes, one that housed the mobile weapons of SMILE, like their Goliath tanks, carriers, official SMILE urban vehicles, and of course the Gungir fighters that were routinely patrolling the airspace. The main center piece of the entire structure was a large spire that sat in the center of the base and Academy, but it was currently not in use. Sunset slid on her backpack and dragged her rolling suitcase behind her. According the schedule, orientation would be held at 10:30 A. M. so that the students could unpack in the dorm or just walk about after the long bus ride. Sunset walked down the stone pathway up to Dormitory Alpha, once inside, Sunset noted that the commons area was quite large, sporting a few chairs and sofas, as well as tables to sit and eat.  Sunset went to the holographic map that was mounted in the middle of the commons area. Many students were crowding around the terminal as they got their room assignments. Sunset pulled out her a device called a “HoloFrame”. With a flick of the wrist the device parted down the middle and extended out a good six inches, the center of the rectangular object created a hard-light screen, displaying various apps and other things. Sunset held the HoloFrame up to the terminal and immediately the device began downloading and registering her.  After about a minute, Sunset brought the device closer and tapped a few buttons until the device read, “Room Assignment: Room 326”. Nodding, Sunset walked to the elevator’s, she waited a moment until the crowds died down, she really didn’t like sharing a cramped space with half a dozen people. Thankfully her prayers were answered as one of the elevators opened and Sunset was the only one around, she quickly entered and pressed the button for the third floor.  “WAIT!” cried out a familiar voice.  Sunset recognized that voice, they may’ve only met just this morning, but it was unmistakable. She briefly contemplated just letting the door close, but then sighed heavily as she pressed the button to keep the doors open. As expected, Twilight Sparkle came stumbling into the elevator, suitcases and all. Sunset hurriedly pressed the button to close the doors to keep anyone else from rushing in, sharing an elevator with one other person was tolerable to six.  Twilight was panting as she slumped against the wall, making Sunset chuckle as she said, “If this is going wind you that easily, training is going to be murder.”  The nerdy girl blushed in embarrassment. “I-I was never that physically active…mostly studying and science projects and reading…I realize now how poorly that has impacted my stamina and body.” Sunset gave Twilight a once over, looking her up and down. Twilight was slender, small waist, not much up top, but the uniforms didn’t help, they sometimes made a girl appear flat, Sunset had found that to be the case upon donning the uniform herself. Her skin was a slightly pale, showing that while she may have spent most of her time indoors, she had gone outside enough to not appear ghostly. Compared to Sunset’s lightly tanned skin and lean build, she could see why the girl was embarrassed.  “Eh, you’re not that bad on the eyes, and some guys actually dig the whole nerdy librarian look.”  Twilight blushed again as she fixed her gaze at her shoes. “I-I-I wouldn’t know, I’ve never actually dated anyone…nor am I particularly looking for romance.”  “That’s cool, neither am I,” said Sunset.  The elevator dinged, the doors sliding open to show a multitude of their fellow students meandering through the halls to find their assigned rooms. Sunset had to admit, this school really spared no expense, the hallway walls were painted sky-blue, with immaculate white doors, and plush, velvety carpet. Sunset opened up her HoloFrame again and began walking as the device gave directions, after a few turns Sunset stopped before her room, but paused when she noticed that Twilight had followed her.  “Uh…can I help you?”  “Sorry, it’s just…I think that’s my room.” Sunset raised an eyebrow, she quickly snatched Twilight’s HoloFrame out her hands so fast that it took Twilight a minute to register it. The redhead looked at her device and Twilight’s, and sure enough, both had the same room number, which could only mean one thing. Sunset gave the device back to Twilight and said, “Guess we’re roommates.” “Oh, is…is that bad?”  Sunset looked at her for a moment, thinking about the question. “I was hoping to be alone, but I guess it doesn’t matter. I call top bunk now or whatever’s closer to the window. Got it?”  Twilight shook her head.  “Okay then.”  Sunset placed her HoloFrame against the pad next to the door and immediately the door unlocked, Twilight followed behind her, putting her HoloFrame against the pad to register that she was also in the room. Once inside, both girls went wide eyed with surprise.  It wasn’t so much a dorm room as it was an apartment. The room was spacious, with a large couch at the center, a recliner to the right of that, and a flat screen TV mounted on the wall. There was a wood coffee table below that was set between the chair and sofa, with a fruit basket that read “Welcome!”. The girls walked further inside and spotted a kitchen, it had a small island in the middle, complete with a dish washer, stove, refrigerator, and sink. From the sink there was a flat top bar with stools sitting on the other side, and a small table that could at least seat four comfortably. Further back the girls spotted sliding doors that led to a balcony, which gave an impressive view of the campus, base, and forest.  Sunset broke to the right and opened the door, Twilight followed suit to get an idea of what her room would be like. Inside was a queen-sized bed, complete with a desk that was placed into the corner of to the bed’s right side, a closet, and a dresser, with a TV mounted above it. On the left side of the room, was a bathroom. It was a standard one-person bathroom, with a walk-in shower.  “Huh, well that’s a bummer, guess no relaxing soaks in a tub, but I can make do with this. They really go all out with this stuff,” said Sunset.  “It reflects how much the backers of SMILE are investing in their organization, and the students. I figured it was going to be a cramped room with two beds, but this is something else,” said Twilight.  “You got that right.”  Once the bedrooms were chosen, Twilight and Sunset went to unpacking their things. Sunset paused as she moved some of her unmentionables away to reveal a sort of bracer. The device was red in color, with an eight-pointed gold star painted on both sides. The top part had a similar sun symbol design, but it was a raised blue crystal that looked as if it could be pushed down. On the top of the star button was a round slot, and at the bottom of the star symbol was another slot. Lying next to it were two coins, one that had the strange image of a warrior of silver and red, and the second had another strange looking warrior with blue crystal armor pieces.  “Can’t leave these things lying around.”  Sunset placed this bracer on her right forearm, and when she did, a silver belt appeared around her waist. This had a case strapped to it, which Sunset unhooked and opened. She placed both of the coins into the case and hooked it back onto the belt, and immediately as she did so, the bracer and belt vanished into particles of blue and red light.  \\\***/// [Assembly Hall, 11:45 A. M.] Since they were now officially roommates, Twilight seemed to stick by Sunset as they headed out for the Assembly Hall, Sunset grinned a little, feeling as if Twilight was a lost little puppy following her around. Once they arrived, they saw that the whole auditorium was filled with a deafening roar of people talking over each other. As they took their seats, Sunset once again took notice of the rest of the students filling the seats. Two girls seemed to be getting into an arm-wrestling contest, one was wearing a cowboy hat, and the other had rainbow hair. There was a third who seemed to be refereeing the spectacle, she had bright blue eyes and a bouncy, curly head of pink hair.  A little off to the side she spotted two others, the one with violet hair was really done up, having taken every measure to make her uniform show her individuality, adding white frills to the cuffs of the blazer, along with accentuating the hem and collar with gold trim. The girl she was speaking and the girl next to her seemed to just be listening rather than doing any talking, she had long pink hair, a shade lighter than other girl, her teal eyes conveyed understanding, and meekness.   Aside from them not very many others stood out to her, there was one other girl with silver hair who was performing some sleight of hand magic, a rather large bulky boy, another boy with blue spikey hair that had a Rock n’ Roller vibe to him, and another girl who had blonde hair, and had wall eyes.  The auditorium went silent as a woman took center stage, holographic screens appeared above her, allowing her face to be seen by everyone in attendance. The woman walking up to the see-through podium had long, midnight blue hair, her shimmering aquamarine eyes had a piecing look to them as if peering into your soul. This was accentuated by the woman’s graceful application of black mascara and navy-blue eyeshadow. She wore a SMILE uniform, the left side of the chest bared the crest of SMILE, but her right side displayed her badge, which had four stars on it that indicated her rank.  Once at the podium, the woman tapped the mic to make sure it was working and said, “Hello, and welcome to SMILE Academy. I am the Vice Commander, as well as the Dean of Students, Luna Solstice. As the Dean of Students, I also head the Disciplinary Committee, I will remind all students and returning students to adhere to the rules.”  Strict as ever, thought Sunset.  “Now, here to give you some context on our pristine base and school, allow me to introduce you to the Headmistress and Commander of SMILE Concordia Base, Celestia Solstice.”  From the entrance, another woman walked up. Her uniform was all white, barring the gold trim around the shoulders, and around the cuffs, and on her badge, it showed a sun with four stars at the center. Her skin was a beautiful pale color and flawless, her hair was three colors of green, blue, and pink, and her fuchsia eyes shown with a motherly warmth despite her obvious high rank in the organization. Celestia and Luna were both tall women, but Celestia still towered over her by a head. Celestia cleared her throat and said, “Thank you, Vice Commander Luna. Welcome my new students and returning students! I am happy to have you all for another year here at SMILE Academy! Now, I know not all of you are here to join our organization and are here to further your education before moving onto whatever you are aspiring to. Let me be the first one to say this, you needn’t feel pressured nor ashamed for not joining. Defending the Earth is a noble endeavor, but so is chasing after your dreams, whatever they may be.”  “Here at the Academy, you’ll learn and grow over the next four years, some who have come here not wanting to join sometimes end up joining right after graduation. That is why you all will be taking some courses in engineering and maintenance, biological science, and astronomy. As well as some basic training courses. SMILE was created to ensure that another event like The First Incursion never happens again, and for the past twenty years, we have been able to repel all manner of Space Beast attacks, as well as covert alien operations.”  Celestia took the mic and began walking around, looking up to the faces of the students to connect with each of them. “The future is what you make of it, take what you learn here and apply it in your endeavors, whether it is defending the Earth or achieving your dreams, I only ask that you give it your all!”  The students all stood and clapped their hands in a standing ovation, for a moment, Sunset locked eyes with the Commander, Celestia smiled and then walked back to the podium to continue. “Alright, now, I would also like to talk to you all regarding ‘Special Operations’. These are kind of onsite work-study programs where you will be able to work alongside our fellow SMILE agents, whether it is in maintenance, logistical support, civilian evacuation – but only when accompanied by a senior agent, and research and development. Those of you who have been selected for this are to report immediately to your designated stations when the alarm sounds, and yes, you will be given slight leeway in your classes and some assignments, but you are still expected to maintain your grades either way, monster attacks or no monster attacks, understand?!”  As one, the entire student body answered, “YES MA’AM!”   The rest of the orientation dragged on into the class structure, the rules regarding the dorms, and off campus excursions. Sunset had long tuned out what Celestia was saying, but snuck a glance at her roommate, watching as she gazed upon the Commander, eyes as big as saucers and practically sparkling with admiration and enthusiasm. Sunset had to admit, it was cute in a nerdy way.  After everything was done, the students were dismissed to go about the campus or whatever they wished. One of the perks of being a student, was the ability to rent a car from the campus, provided they had passed SMILE’s driving course before entering or during their stay in SMILE, so Sunset decided to head into the city. I’m going to be spending a majority of my time here, might as well go and have some fun away from here. Just then, Sunset stopped when she spotted Vice Commander Luna and Commander Celestia talking with her roommate, she really wasn’t in the mood to talk to Celestia, so she quickly did an about face and – “Sunset Shimmer?” Damn it! Sunset slowly turned around and waved at Celestia, “Heeeeey…Commander…”  Celestia rolled her eyes at Sunset’s pitiful greeting. “Oh please, you can call me Auntie Tia, and of course you can call Luna Auntie Lulu!”  Luna’s eye twitched. “Please, don’t.”  Twilight blinked a few times as she looked between Celestia, Luna, and Sunset. “W-Wait, a-are you related?!”  Sunset crossed her arms in front of her chest and said, “Not really, just…on paper. They’re more or less my guardians. Guardians which I remember asking not to talk to me so much around here.”  “We’re just making sure that you are acclimating well so far,” said Luna.  “I am ‘acclimating’, just fine, thank you.” Sunset quickly grabbed Twilight’s hand and began dragging her away, ignoring the nerdy girl’s blushing embarrassment. “See ya later!”  “Uh-Uh, Sunset where are going?! Sunset?!”  Both Commanders watched as the two girls left through one of the entrances, Celestia sighed and placed her hands on her hips as she gave Luna a stern glare. “Really, Luna, can you at least try and be a little less…well, there’s another word I’d like to use, but since we’re among our students, I’ll just say: uptight?”  Luna rolled her eyes. “Sister, you treat that girl in a much too familial way. Lest you forget what she is and what she can do?” “I haven’t forgotten at all, but perhaps treating her as family will have a more positive impact than treating her differently,” said Celestia.  “Agree to disagree, Sister.”  \\\***/// [Canterlot City, 2:15 P. M.] Sunset had dragged Twilight along with her to the city, in all honesty she was acting instinct rather than thinking it through, but in the end, they found themselves at the Crystal Palace Mall, sitting in the middle of the food court. Upon surveying the area, it seemed that Sunset wasn’t the only student who wanted to get away from the campus for a bit, as there were some students who were still in uniform either walking about the mall or in the food court. There were possibly more, but they may have already switched to their regular civilian clothes.  The two girls were sipping on some smoothies that Sunset had bought, the air around them had become silent and awkward. Twilight looked as if she wanted to say something, but Sunset’s slight scowl made her stop before the words could leave her mouth.  “Sorry.”  “W-What?”  “I mean, sorry for dragging you out here…I wasn’t really thinking, and I just acted…Probably scared you a little, huh?”  Twilight gave an awkward smile. “Well, maybe not so much ‘scared’ as much as ‘surprised’. Do you not like the commanders?”  Sunset released a sigh as she leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. “I don’t know, I don’t hate them…I guess that’s something…it’s complicated.”  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be prying,” said Twilight.  “Don’t worry, it’s actually nice to have someone to talk to, I’ve always been a loner…for as much as I can remember, anyway.”  That caught Twilight’s attention. “Wait, what do you mean by that?”  Sunset thought about it for a moment, she was going to be living in the same dorm with this girl for the foreseeable future, and it couldn’t hurt to have at least one person to trust. “Truth is…I don’t remember much about myself, can’t remember my parents, where I lived, or anything. The last three years I’ve been shipped around until I ended up living with the commanders, and they enrolled me in this school to help me and probably to keep an eye on me. Sorry to say you got stuck with a bit of a problem child as a roommate.”  Twilight shook her head. “It’s not your fault you have amnesia, but…can I ask you something?”  “Yes.” “Well…I never really had a friend – I’ve always been a bit socially inept…” Sunset raised an eyebrow at Twilight.  “Okay, I am socially inept, but I kind of want to change that. I know in order to advance anywhere in life, you need to socialize, make connections, and not just business ones, but ones built on trust,” Twilight explained.  “Sounds like you’re talking about friendship.” “Yes that! And…I don’t know if this is too forward of me…but, I’d like it if we could be friends?” Twilight asked nervously.  Sunset couldn’t help but chuckle at that wording. “I don’t know…tell you what, make it friends with benefits, and then I’ll agree.” “Oh, I’ve never heard of that kind, but if you want to be friends like that, I wouldn’t mind trying it!” Twilight stated enthusiastically.  The redhead spat out her smoothie onto the table. “Are you serious?! Do you even know what that means?!”  Twilight blinked.  “Oh god, you really are socially inept…” Sunset ran her hand down her face. For a moment, she thought about letting her agree, but she wasn’t that evil. “No, no, we’ll just be friends, not the other one.”  “Did I say something wrong?” Twilight asked, nervous that she may have damaged a potential friendship right out of the gate.  “It’s…give me your ear.”  Twilight leaned forward and allowed Sunset to whisper into her ear, after a few seconds Twilight’s face was burning bright red to the point that steam was practically coming out of her ears. “Sunset Shimmer!” Twilight exclaimed as she pulled back.  Sunset laughed at her reaction, making the nerdy girl pout. “Sorry, sorry, but seriously though, I wouldn’t mind. Just letting you know now, I’m a handful.”  Twilight cleared her throat, “I’d be lying if I said I probably wasn’t the same way, but others have said otherwise.” She then grabbed her smoothie glass and held it up. “To new friends?”  The fiery redhead chuckled and brought up her glass, “New friends.”  *tink* Suddenly, an alarm went off from their HoloFrames. Every student in the food court immediately pulled them out and opened them to see what was going on.  [Code Red: Imminent Space Beast Attack. If you are receiving this message report to the nearest Phase Space Shelter immediately, SMILE Assault Teams have been dispatched.] “Crap, Twilight we need to – Twilight?”  Twilight was beginning to hyperventilate, her pupils shrinking to pinpricks as her body began to shake.  Sunset quickly slipped her HoloFrame back into her blazer pocket and went around the table to Twilight. “Twilight, you’re having a panic attack, I need you to focus!”  “I…I…can’t breathe!”  “Yes, you can, look at me!” Sunset made Twilight look her in the eyes. “We need to leave and head to the shelter, I know you’re scared, but I’m right here!” Twilight kept her focus on Sunset’s eyes, trying to control her breathing and the hammering of her heart. It was strange, but Twilight did feel herself calming down, whenever this happened, the only other people who could get her to calm down was her parents, her big brother, and her sister-in-law/former babysitter. But Sunset, somehow, was having the same effect on her. After a few seconds, Twilight’s breathing steadied itself enough to where she didn’t feel like she was going to pass out.  “You with me?” Sunset asked.  “Y-Yes,” Twilight stated in weak tone.  “Good girl, let’s go!”  \\\***/// The airspace around Canterlot City was blanketed with SMILE’s specialized aerial fighter jets, code named Gungirs, a nod to the ancient war god of Norse mythology, Odin’s, spear. The aircraft had a blade like design, sporting bow mounted twin photon repeater cannons, and missile launcher that was released from the Bombay panels beneath the aircraft. On the ground, several tank-like vehicles were scrambled and lined up. Each one was colored blue, and was heavily armored, on top of the tanks they sported a large plasma cannon, these powerhouses were code named: Goliaths.  Suddenly, a wave of violet light washed over the entire area, a slight distortion in reality occurred, but then it stabilized. After this happened, the sky was no longer its bright blue color, but was now a light purple color.  The squadrons watched as a meteor fell from the sky, but once it got closer to the city, it began to slow down until it hovered a few feet from the ground. The flames surrounding this meteor were dark violet, releasing sparkling embers that crackled and popped. The meteor began to show cracks, as if it were made of glass. After a moment the meteor shattered, and from it appeared a giant monster. The beast landed upon the earth with a thunderous BOOM, releasing a screeching cry. Its body was covered in a blue-gray, exoskeletal, armored hide, with gnarled teeth sticking out from its maw. Its arms had several rows of long spikes, and at the end of its right hand was a spiked mace weapon, where its left hand would be, was instead a long-curved metal hook. The monster’s eyes glowed a bright orange as its tail thrashed about. The Goliath tanks immediately fired upon the beast, releasing bursts of plasma energy straight at it. The energized ordinance impacted against the monster and exploded, it didn’t appear to cause it too much damage, but did succeed in grabbing its attention. The monster inhaled and then exhaled a jet a flames that roared down the street and washed over the tanks, thankfully the Goliaths and Gungirs were equipped with energy shielding, however, it wasn’t permanent. The Gungirs broke off into teams of three and nosedived for the monster.  The photon cannons fired rapidly on the creature. The flame attack was ceased as the monster used its hook arm to shield itself from the rain of photon bolts. The Gungirs broke off as another three followed up behind them and launched several missiles. Each struck the beast’s head, shoulders, arms, and back, exploding against its armored body. Unfortunately, their attacks seemed to do little more than irritate the behemoth. When the next trio arrived, the horn on the top of the beast’s head began to release a series of bright flashes. The Gungirs that were flying in all began to scatter, but some did not escape, the flashes managed to pierce their eye shielding and temporarily blinded them.  Several Gungirs fell out of the sky and crash landed in the city, thankfully their shields weren’t down and saved them from meeting a fiery end. The monster was not done yet as it reared its head back and launched the curved horn on its head. The blade horn sailed like a boomerang, whipping through the air as it hit a few more of the Gungirs and taking them out of the fight. One of the fighter’s broke off from the rest and followed behind the blade-horn, the code name written on the side of this fighter was “Blitz”. When it reattached to the monster’s head, the rogue Gungir released one salvo after the other, continuously firing its photon cannons into the beast’s face.  At the same time, one Goliath tank revved up its engine and charged up its plasma cannon. The tank fired a concentrated charged beam blast straight at the monster face, combining into a powerful explosion that made the beast cry out in pain as it stumbled backwards and crashed into some buildings.  The rogue Gungir pulled up and rejoined the rest of the squadron, but not before getting an earful from their captain.  {Dammit rookie, I told you not to pull any crazy ass stunts like this! This ain’t the simulator!} {Sorry, Captain Spitfire, but if I didn’t that thing was going to keep taking out our fighters! Ma’am!} An audible groan could be heard coming from the other line. {Yeah, you and that tanker did good, but that trick won’t work twice, next time you might get a face full of fire. Your shield’s reading at 30%, hang back with the rest of us. That’s an order Private Dash.} At that moment, a voice with a southern drawl called in and said, {Sorry to interrupt, but that overgrown lizard is gettin’ back up again!}  Indeed, the monster was getting back up, and looked none too pleased that it had gotten the equivalent of a sucker punch to the face. The monster inhaled again bellowed out more of its intense flames, bathing the ground and sky indiscriminately in its blazing rage. Many of the structures around it began to explode and crumble under the intensity of the flames forcing the SMILE forces to fall back.  \\\***/// This is not good, Sunset thought.  It had taken a bit for Twilight to find the strength to run, Sunset had hoped the adrenaline would be enough to get her strength back after her panic attack, it was, but not to the degree she was hoping. Nonetheless, Twilight was able to finally get her legs moving the way she wanted to, but her lack of physical activity was showing as her breathing was labored, her muscles crying out in protest of how long the two girls had been running.  Both of them had to stop several times while the battle was going, the monster had appeared not too far from the mall, and the nearest shelter was close to the battlefield. Sunset had thought to take the car, but a rogue chunk of debris had fallen right onto the car, caving it in and making it useless. The girls stopped again in an alleyway, catching their breath. Sunset took out her HoloFrame and checked their position, from what she could tell, they were one block away from the shelter. Sunset looked to Twilight, her body slumped up against the wall of the building as her chest heaved, if it was just herself, she could make it easily, but Twilight… “L-Leave…me…Sunset…!” Twilight stated between breaths.  “What?!”  “You…You’re faster…You’re not as tired…as I am…! At this rate…we’ll…we’ll both die!”  Sunset’s brow knit at that. “I am not leaving you to die out here! We’re getting to that shelter if I have to carry you there!” Or…there’s another option… Suddenly, a roar from the monster ceased all thoughts running through their heads. An orange glow grew in intensity from around the corner, and not soon after that flames washed over the buildings, slamming into them like a freight train and causing them to fall over.  “TWILIGHT!” Sunset shouted as she dove for her new friend.  They both hit the ground just as a large chunk of the building slid down and crashed against the other. Pieces of debris cascaded on both sides, cutting off their escape, and right over that, the flames.  Sunset and Twilight coughed as dirt covered them and the dust hung in the air. Twilight took out her cellphone and turned on the light, seeing how they were alive. Miraculously, the building fell in just the right way to allow for a small pocket to form, however, that was not exactly a good thing. It didn’t take long for both girls to feel the heat radiating around them, turning their small refuge into a brick oven.  “At…At this rate, we’ll die from heatstroke long before those flames get to us, that’s also factoring in our current physical condition!” The redhead gritted her teeth, there was something she could do, something that she wasn’t sure that Celestia and Luna would like. Just then, she felt Twilight’s arm wrap around hers as she held tight, feeling her body shaking in fear and terror. “Sunset, I’m scared, I don’t want to die…”  Screw it! Sunset bent down on one knee and looked Twilight in the eyes. “I need you to make me a promise, right here, right now, Twilight!”  “W-What promise?” Twilight asked.  “Whatever you see today, you will never speak a word of it to anyone at school! Not your family, not anyone! Do you understand?! Please promise me!”  Twilight nodded vigorously and said, “Yes, I promise!”  Sunset smiled and patted Twilight on the head, earning her a confused look from the bespectacled girl. She then stood up and held out her right arm, within seconds the entirety of their refuge was engulfed in blinding light, but for Sunset it was different.  All around her was a starry nexus, and upon her right arm was the bracer. A silver belt appeared around her waist, and on it was the case from earlier. She opened the case and pulled one coin that had a figure drawn on it and said, “Grant me the strength of a hero!” Sunset placed the coin into the top slot of the bracer. A red essence flew out from this coin and appeared on her right, this being looked similar to the first, but his body was more silver and red.   || ULTRAMAN! || Sunset took another coin and said, “Grant me the power of a galaxy!” before placing it into the bottom slot. From that coin a blue essence flew out and appeared next to her in the form of a man, with blue crystals embedded into its body. || ULTRAMAN GINGA! || “Release the light within me!!” Upon saying this Sunset pressed down on the crystal sun in the center of the bracer, causing it to glow bright blue as she thrust her arm into the air.  || SHINE ON! ULTRAWOMAN ASTER! || The two Ultramen transformed into light and swirled around Sunset until her body absorbed their light, creating a galaxy of swirling stars. From that galaxy, a being rose up, no not rising, growing.  From the outside, where the rubble was strewn, and the flames continued to roar, a light shined from the spot that Twilight and Sunset were trapped under, causing the buildings to blow apart. A wave of sparkling, azure light washed over the entire area, extinguishing the flames. The wave eventually slammed into the monster, causing sparks to fly from its body as it was hurled onto its back. All SMILE forces paused to watch as a giant of light appeared, the light that coated that giant began to dissipate and reveal the giant’s true form. This being was female in appearance, its body, arms and legs, were all colored bright red. Along the sides of the giant was an eight-pointed star pattern that was printed on the hips, drawing a silver line going down the outside of her legs and up along her sides, and from the sides they branched onto her midsection to form two wavy lines. The middle bands joined at waist to form a makeshift belt, completing the circuit around her back. Wrapped around her left wrist were a silver bracelet that had an embedded turquoise jewel, the giantess also sported a pair of anklets that also had the turquoise colored jewel in them, while her right arm sported the same bracer as Sunset. Her upper body was covered in a silver armor plate, with intricate sigil markings that run upwards along curved wing-like engravings. At the center of this armor plate was a bright blue, crystal sun, the object was fastened to the armor by a gold metal edging that outlined the star.  The giantess’ head was silver colored, her eyes were slightly slanted, and glowed a bright yellow. The plates around her mouth were angled like a “V” and upon either side of her head were sharp, horn-like frills. Upon her head was a blade that started at the forehead and rand down the back of her head, like a helmet plume or a mohawk, and at the center of her forehead blade was a blue oval shaped crystal. “I am…Ultrawoman Aster!” The Ultra Warrior announced as she assumed a fighting stance. After picking itself back up, the beast’s eyes shined as it cried out with another screech, as if challenging the giantess of light.  Barabba, that’s your name…I know it for some reason. Aster took off like an Olympic sprinter, charging straight for the creature, she cocked back her right fist and punched Barabba right in the face. The beast reeled from the impact, stumbling backwards, Aster didn’t let up as she got in close and delivered a left hook to the monster’s stomach, making it cry out in pain. Barabba inhaled and bellowed out a stream of flames at Aster, forcing her back a few feet. The flames lapped off her body, causing small sparks to fly off, but Aster held her ground as the flames continued to stream.  The Ultra Warrior crouched low and then jumped into the air as the flames continued onward. Aster flipped around in midair and stopped a few feet over the monster’s head, she then descended as she wrapped her right fist in sparkling energy, Barabba looked up at the last second as Aster cried out, “STARRY SMASHER!”  Aster slammed her energized fist into the side of the monster’s face, sending it flying several feet as it slammed through several buildings at once. Aster wasn’t about to give the creature a chance to counterattack as she dashed towards it again, energizing her fist again to deliver another powerful blow to it. But before she could do so, Barabba rose up and its blade-horn flashed several times. Aster was unfortunate enough to have her eyes get a full view of the flashing light as she skidded to a halt as spots danced in her vision.  Barabba rose up from the rumble and then aimed its hook-claw right at Aster and fired it, a chain materialized as it continued to sail towards Aster. The chain and hook managed to wrap around her neck and Barabba pulled forward, causing Aster to lurch forward and fall onto the ground. Barabba reeled her in quickly, bringing her to his feet as it raised its right arm, and brought down its mace hand onto Aster’s stomach and chest, causing sparks to fly from each impact and making the Ultra Warrior grunt in pain from each strong strike.  Aster had to get out of this, but her options were limited, she had to wait for the perfect moment to get out. When Barabba had had its fill with bashing her with its mace, the beast raised its head back as flames began to spill from the sides of its mouth, preparing to unleash another fire attack. Aster took this chance as she swung both her legs back and struck the monster in the gut with both of her feet, making it back away and belch out its flames too early onto a building nearby.  However, Barabba still had its chain wrapped around her, giving the monster some leverage over her. The beast’s horn began to glow again and with a flick of its head, launched the bladed boomerang-like weapon at Aster. The Ultrawoman moved to the right and reached out for the weapon just before it passed her by. Aster grabbed Barabba’s weapon and used the weapon to slash at the chain. The weapon cleanly cut through the materialized chain, causing the rest to go completely slack. Barabba roared in either pain or anger as it lost not just one, but two of its offensive weapons.  At that time, the sun symbol on her chest began to blink red, and Aster knew she had to end this quickly. Just then, both of her forearms began to glow brightly. The Ultrawoman’s yellow eyes shined as she widened her stance, bent her left arm to a ninety-degree angle, and crossed her left forearm over her right. Energy continued to gather more and more, creating sparkling stars that coalesced into on spot. The name, the name of her strongest attack rang in Aster’s – in Sunset’s – head as she bellowed it out.  “ASTRONIUM RAY!!!”  A beam of blue light and golden sparkles shot out, tearing up the street and buildings in its wake. The beam struck Barabba with the sound of resounding thunder. The monster roared in pain as the beam continued to deal continuous damage to it, but, after another couple of seconds, the lizard-like monster exploded into a fiery nothingness. Aster quickly ceased her attack, panting as she saw that Barabba had been completely destroyed, no trace remaining of the lizard monster from the stars. Aster turned around and saw that the Goliath tanks were still training their weapons on her but had not fired. The Gungirs in the sky were still flying around, and no doubt ready to attack should she do anything else.  Better get going. Aster jumped straight up, taking flight and zooming through the air. One of the Gungir’s, with the code name “Blitz” written on it, flew after Aster. The Gungir fighter managed to get alongside Aster, the pilot looked in Aster’s direction, and as she did, Aster glanced towards the Gungir and gave a little salute before doubling her speed and leaving the fighter in the dust. Aster continued to fly until she vanished from sight.  As the pilot of the Gungir brought her fighter into a hover, the voice of their Commander called out, {Space Beast eradication confirmed. Begin recovery of all fallen aircraft and personnel and prepare for Phantom Zone deactivation.} It took a few hours for the Cleanup Crew to collect the wreckage of the down Gungirs, but thankfully there were no casualties. After all the Goliath and Gungirs headed back to their standby positions. The sky changed from its light-purple hue back to a bright blue. As the Phantom Zone dropped, the damage that was done to the buildings was erased. The fires were snuffed out, and all the damaged vehicles were returned to their original positions, as if the battle had never happened.