Shine on! Ultrawoman Aster!

by Michael_Ravencroft

4th Light: SMILE in Crisis! / The Phantom Zone is gone!

Sunset was strolling down the paved walkways of SMILE Academy. It had been at least three weeks since her last battle, and things had been quite peaceful so far. Classes were kind of a bore at times, between her and Twilight, the more physics, science, and the math-based classes were a breeze and made up a majority of their homework load. So, with that mostly done, Sunset was free to roam around the campus. 

It was strange for her, having more than just the Commanders know about her secret, but she didn’t dislike it. Knowing someone had her back felt good. Not to mention a more recent discovery in the Everfree Forest, the mysterious cloaked woman, and the acquisition of two new Ultra Coins. Sunset began to wonder why it was that Applejack and Rainbow Dash held those coins? From what they told her, they had no knowledge of ever coming into contact with anything strange like the Ultra Coins, nor had they ever seen Aster until recently. 

This only further exacerbated Sunset’s frustration with her lack of memories. This all tied together somehow, and something inside told her that she needed to find more of those Ultra Coins, and the fact that she felt this way meant that there were probably more of them out there. How many? Sunset didn’t know, but she was hoping that they’d get her one step closer to her past. 

While she was walking, she started hearing the strumming of a guitar on the wind. Sunset turned to her right and saw the boy known as Flash Sentry. In his hands was a navy-blue electric guitar that sparkled in the sunlight, it was one of the newer models, it produced sounds without the need of an amp for practices and small sessions, but for bigger venues, it would need to be hooked up to an amp. For some reason, Sunset felt drawn to this sound, and before she knew it, she was standing next to the bench where Flash was sitting. 

The young musician glanced to his right and said, “Hey there.” 

“Oh, um, sorry I didn’t mean to interrupt,” said Sunset. 

“You’re Sunset, right?” Flash asked. 

“Y-Yeah, I am.” 

“I remember you. You and that rainbow haired girl charged back into the Everfree and gave the Senior Agents a heart attack,” said Flash with a smirk. 

Sunset rubbed the back of her head as she chuckled a little. “Yeah, that was me. So, do you play a lot?” 

“Yeah, I like making music,” said Flash. 

“Really, then, why are you here instead of some music school?” Sunset asked. “If that’s not too personal?” 

Flash shook his head. “Nah, my Dad’s in the military, the regular military. And he thought music wasn’t exactly a good way to make a living, so he decided that I should go here and help make the world safer as a SMILE Student, and the next thing I know I’m selected for Special Agent status. And before you ask, no, my Dad had nothing to do with it.” Flash strummed his guitar a few more times and said, “You seemed pretty interested in this, you wanna try?” 

Sunset nervously chuckled. “Uh, I’m not sure, I don’t think I’d be very good.” 

Flash smiled. “Don’t know until you try?” Flash took off the strap and held his axe towards Sunset. 

Sunset looked upon the instrument and bit her lower lip, she then gingerly reached out to take hold of the instrument. That is until the alarm went off.

[ALERT!]

[ALERT!]

[ALERT!]

The central spire began to release sparks of electricity, and all at once, the entire central spire shut down. Sunset and Flash looked on in shock at what they saw, for the central spire was the very thing that housed the Phantom Zone Emitter, and if it shut down, then that meant that there was nothing to stop the destruction of the city if a Space Beast attacked. At that same time, Sunset and Flash’s HollowFrames rang and stated, “Emergency Meeting”. 

The entire student body had been assembled, and those who were unable to make it into the auditorium were watching via monitors from different places around campus and the base. Commander Celestia stood up at the podium and looked to everyone in attendance. 

“I don’t see a need in hiding this from you, so I will just come out and tell you all, the Phantom Zone Emitter is currently offline,” said Celestia. 

A loud roar of murmurs erupted from the crowd, all of which sounded panicked. Commander Celestia raised her hand and most of the students went back to being silent. 

“As I’m sure you’re all wondering, let me assure you, right now we are looking into how and why the tower was disabled. We haven’t ruled anything out, but top priority has been given to the repair of the tower. That being said, we will be running round the clock patrols in the sky and on land, we’ve also brought in workers from other SMILE bases to help in the repair. For now, go about your activities, but be vigilant. That is all, and thank you.”

The crowds of people began to leave, but Sunset managed to work her way down through them to catch up with her guardians. “Commanders!” Sunset called out. 

Both women stopped as Sunset approached. 

“What exactly happened to the Emitter?” Sunset asked. 

“As the Commander has said, Sunset, it’s still under investigation,” said Vice Commander Luna. 

“How long do you think it will take to repair it?”

“If we’re lucky, less than a day, we can’t afford for the Phantom Zone Emitter to be down for that long. Right now, every minute it remains in its current state is dangerous,” said Celestia. 

Sunset furrowed her brow; this was a crisis. A Space Beast could appear at any moment and cause major havoc to the city. “Alright, I know what I need to do.” 

Rainbow Dash’s squadron had been called out for the patrol. Since the announcement of the Phantom Zone Emitter’s malfunction, it had now been at least eight hours since the late afternoon of when everyone was told. Rainbow’s Gungir was flying patrol, along with several others that were crisscrossing the sky. Just then, Rainbow’s long-range radar was picking up on something, the squadron was alerted and ready to engage, but a stand down order was given when they saw what, or rather, who was flying close to them. 

Ultrawoman Aster was swiftly flying through the skies, stopping close to the squadron and giving them a salute before jetting off. 

{All Gungir aircraft, we have Aster flying recon with us, somehow? Don’t engage.}

{Seriously? She’s patrolling with us?}

{Guess she saw us all flying around and decided to help us out.}

{Hell, right now with the Emitter down, I feel better knowing she’s out here.}

Rainbow Dash smiled as she heard the chatter on the comms, and by the time she looked ahead, Aster flew back around and then rose higher into the air. The Ultra Warrior continued sailing higher and higher, going further than any of the Gungirs could go, stopping once she reached the outer atmosphere. Aster scanned the area, and even peered into the vastness of space itself, trying to pick up on anything that looked like another Space Beast attack. She stayed there for a few seconds, at least until her color timer began to flash red. 

Aster flew back down and flashed the other Gungirs a thumbs up before zooming. 

{Did she just go into the outer atmosphere?}

{Damn right she did, I think she’s telling us that it was clear up there for now,} said Rainbow over the comms. 

{Well let’s not make her do all the work ladies! Keep your eyes peeled and stay alert!} Captain Spitfire exclaimed. 

The Goliath tanks were making their rounds around the perimeter of the city. They couldn’t roll into the city itself, so they had to stay on the fringes. Thankfully their heavy-duty treads allowed them to traverse the seldom travelled routes around the city. 

As they made their rounds, they were given the heads up that Aster was spotted in the area. She was hovering over the city itself, rotating steadily as she looked into the distance. Their heavy tanks couldn’t move into the city, but Aster could at least hover over it and keep watch from there. 

It was the passing period and the tension was still high, but it was probably less than what it would’ve been, this was thanks in part to the news about Ultrawoman Aster doing patrols around the area. Twilight’s literature class couldn’t stop talking about it, especially those who were also Special Agents and piloted Gungirs and Goliaths. 

When Twilight went to her locker, she spotted Applejack and Rainbow Dash, both looked tired from their patrols, and it was showing. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie had joined them, and had the same look of concern as she did. 

“Oh dear, are you two okay?” Fluttershy asked. 

“We’re fine, Sug, don’t fret. Just a little beat from driving around so long,” said Applejack. 

“And flying, I mean I love flying, but those patrols can wear you down,” said Rainbow Dash. 

Pinkie Pie tapped on Rainbow’s shoulder and said, “You’re not the only one who looks like they can use a nap, look.” 

All six girls watched as Sunset came stumbling towards them. Her movements were somewhat labored, and she looked as tired as their two friends. 

“Sunset, are you alright?” Twilight asked. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine!” Sunset said in a chipper mood that was not convincing anyone. 

“Sunset, darling, are you involved in any of the Special Operations going on? Not to sound rude, but you look dreadful,” said Rarity. 

The flame haired girl gave Rarity a deadpan look, but then answered. “Something like that. Can’t really say what exactly, but it’s tiring all the same.”

Applejack, Rainbow, and Twilight glanced to each other, knowing exactly what she had been doing all this time. 

“Um, Sunset, do you mind I can talk with you right quick?” Twilight asked. 

Sunset shook her head as she nearly dozed off standing. “Oh, y-yeah, sure.” 

Both girls walked to a little secluded spot, still within view of the girls, but it gave them enough privacy to speak freely. “Sunset, have you been patrolling around, coming back, and then going back out again?” 

“Yeah.”

“Don’t you think transforming that many times is wearing you down?” 

Sunset leaned against the locker and sighed. “It’ll be fine, Twi, besides, maybe seeing Aster fly around will make the Space Beasts think twice before attacking. If anything it’ll serve as a deterrent until the Emitter’s fixed.” 

“And what if it takes longer than a day?” Twi asked worriedly. 

Sunset weakly smiled and patted Twilight on the shoulder. “I got this, Twi. I’m stronger than I look.” 

Twilight was getting increasingly worried about Sunset. Her friend hadn’t stopped her frequent transformations, heading out every three hours after she recharged, patrolling until her time was up, and then going about her day until she was charged back up. This cycle didn’t stop, even into the wee hours of the nighttime. Several times Twilight caught Sunset sneaking out to patrol, then coming back three minutes later to get some rest, only to wake up again in three hours to patrol once more. By the time Sunset got back to rest up again, her regular alarm to get up and get ready for school went off. 

It was now lunch time, and Sunset was in no better shape than she was before. Currently the flame haired girl had her head down on the table, a light snoring sound coming from her could be heard if one listened close enough. Rainbow Dash and Applejack joined them at their table, their lunch periods matching with theirs today. On some days they’d only see two or three of their teammates at a time, and on other rare occasions they’d have a table filled with the seven of them, but Twilight and Sunset always had the same lunch times. 

Applejack looked at Sunset and had a worried look. “Ah’m pretty sure this is a stupid question. But, has she slept fer anythin’ more than three hours?” 

Twilight shook her head. 

“Jeez, AJ can be a workaholic, but even she knows when to stop and rest! She can’t keep this up, if a monster does show up, she’ll be too tired to throw a punch!” Rainbow stated. 

“On that note, have ya heard anythin’ about it yet?” Applejack asked. 

Twilight took out her HoloFrame and scrolled through the information that was being released to the public and students. “So far they say they’re making progress but aren’t sure when it will be fully operational.” 

“Same thing they’ve been telling us,” said Rainbow. 

Twilight sighed remorsefully. “I wish I could do something for Sunset. But she’s determined to keep the city, and everyone safe until the Phantom Zone Emitter is fixed.” 

Applejack smirked as she said, “Maybe it’s time ya laid down the law, Sug.”

Twilight’s eyebrow rose. “What do you mean?” 

“Sometimes, when it comes to this one here, she can be a mite stubborn about some things,” said Applejack. 

“Hi pot, I’m kettle,” Rainbow commented. 

Applejack blushed and the cleared her throat. “Ahem, well, anyway, sometimes when either of us gets stubborn about something that’s clearly not good fer the other, we usually have to put our foot down on each other to stop it. Do we get angry afterwards? Yes, but then when ya realize it wasn’t out of spite and that it’s because the other person cares about ya, it turns out alright.”

“In other words, Twi, you need to make Sunset get some rest. Don’t ask, tell her.” 

Twilight looked to her still sleeping friend. “I…I don’t know, she’s really…I mean…what makes you think she’ll listen to me? I mean, honestly, what right do I have to tell her to stop?” 

“Yer right is that yer her friend.” 

“And if she doesn’t, she’s gonna collapse soon.” 

Twilight was still new to the nuances of friendship and what was appropriate to do and say in such relationships. Part of her reason not to say anything was the fear of Sunset getting angry with her and not wanting to be her friend anymore. Sunset was the first person she could say is her real friend, and slowly but steadily, so were Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and the rest of their team. But Sunset was the first among them, and losing that would be devastating. However, Twilight couldn’t deny what was before her eyes, her friend was exhausted, running herself ragged to protect everyone, and if a threat did arrive, Sunset would be in no shape to combat it. 

“Okay…I…I need to make a call.”

Eventually, the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period. The entire lunchroom cleared out, save for two girls. Sunset finally awoke from her light slumber, rubbing her eyes as she looked around and saw that everyone was gone save her and Twilight. 

“Oh crap, did I make us late?” Sunset asked groggily. 

“No, the bell just rang,” said Twilight. 

“Okay…Okay, good, we can make it to our next class if we hustle–!” 

Twilight took ahold of Sunset’s wrist and said, “Sunset, we…we need to talk.” 

“But, Twi, we’ll be late,” said Sunset. 

“I called Commander Celestia, I told her you weren’t feeling good and I asked for permission to take you back to the dorms to get some rest. Of course, she knew what I really meant. So, we’re excused from the afternoon classes.”

Sunset looked at Twilight with confusion. “Why would you do that?” 

“Because…” Twilight looked down at her knees as she tried to say the words she needed to. “Because you’re tired, Sunset…Y-You’re tired, groggy, and look as if you’re about to collapse!” 

Sunset sighed and said, “Twi, I told you I’m–”

“‘Stronger than you look’, I know, but you’re still human to a degree! And humans cannot appropriate on the little amount of sleep that you have been getting! All I’m asking is that you sleep for more than three hours. Please?” Twilight almost begged. 

Sunset rubbed the back of her head as she gave a light frustrated growl, her tired mind was not in the best place to think about this kind of thing. “Twi, I need to protect the city. I’m the only one who can do it.” 

Twilight stood up and faced Sunset, look her straight in the eyes. “I am not budging on this, let me take you back to the dorm to rest up a little more!”

“This…This is stupid, I’m going and…and…whoa, things are spinning.” 

Sunset began to lean forward, and Twilight quickly rushed to Sunset’s side to catch her. Thankfully, a combination of Twilight’s help and Sunset’s reflexes managed to keep the young redhead from face planting against the linoleum floor. Sunset looked to Twilight, seeing the worry plastered all over her face. “……Fine, I guess…I guess I’ll rest up more.” 

“Okay, I’m taking you to the nurse’s office then. At least until I’m sure I can get you back to the dorms without you passing out.” 

Sunset awoke sometime later, feeling not as exhausted as she was earlier. The sterile smell that invaded her sinuses informed her that Twilight did indeed take her to the nurse’s office. Sunset was aware of someone near her and looked to her right to see that Twilight was there, her head lying down against a small part of Sunset’s cot. Sunset smiled at the nerdy girl, she didn’t leave her, despite the how difficult she was being. 

“Hey, sleepyhead, wake up,” said Sunset. 

Twilight stammered awake as she looked and saw that her friend had finally awoken. “How do you feel?”

“Better, actually, I’ll probably need a little more sleep than this, but at least I’m not like how I was earlier…” A look of regret befell Sunset. “I’m sorry, Twilight.” 

The young genius merely shook her head. “You don’t have to apologize. I know you want to take your job as Aster seriously, but you’re not some kind of machine. The best way to help everyone is to stay healthy and ready. So, please be more mindful of your health o-or else!” 

Sunset smiled. “Yes, Mom.”

Twilight puffed out her cheeks. “Don’t call me that! I’m being serious.”

[ALERT!]

[ALERT!]

[ALERT!]

Sunset shot up out of the cot, and Twilight sprang to her feet upon hearing the alarm. At that moment, Sunset’s HoloFrame beeped at her as she opened it up. What she saw was a message from Applejack. 

[Sunset, we just got word that long-range scanners are picking up some kind of meteor heading straight for us! They think it’s a Space Beast since it’s correcting its path the closer it gets. It’s traveling fast and will be here soon! I don’t know if you’re okay yet, but we need Aster on this one!]

Twilight looked to Sunset and said to her, “Go!” 

Sunset smirked and nodded. 

She ran swiftly out of the room, definitely feeling a lot better than she did hours ago. She headed outside, to one of the blind spots that Commander Celestia had sent her information on to avoid the cameras. Sunset pulled up her sleeve, and the StaRaizer appeared on her forearm, along with the silver belt and Coin Keeper. Light shined around her as a she pulled out the Ultra Coins. 

“Grant me the strength of a hero!”

“Grant me the power of a galaxy!”

“Release the light within me!”

A bright flash of light went off, and the hero of light, Aster, shot up straight into the air. She rose faster and faster, zooming past the clouds. Twilight watched this and felt a stirring inside her. She couldn’t let Sunset be the only one out there fighting, Twilight knew she may not have the piloting skills, or the amazing powers, but there was another way she could try and help. 

Twilight ran in the direction of the spire, seeing several workers already huddled around it as they frantically worked to get the machine back up and running. The two Commanders were already there, trying to coordinate the effort as the threat was drawing closer. 

“Commanders!” Twilight called out. 

“Twilight Sparkle, what are you doing here? You need to head to the bunkers!” Commander Celestia advised. 

“I know, but I thought I could at least try and help!” Twilight stated. 

Vice Commander Luna sighed heavily. “Miss Sparkle, SMILE’s best are right here and working nonstop to try and fix this, we have all we need.” 

“Please, let me try, Ma’am!” Twilight asked as she stood at attention. 

Celestia eyed Twilight, seeing the flames of determination in the young woman’s amethyst eyes made her feel confident for some reason. “I’ll allow it.”

“WHA – SISTER?!” Luna exclaimed. 

“We need all the brain power we can get, and Twilight has scored at the top of the class in science and engineering, a fresh perspective could be useful. Plus, need I remind you we have an impending threat that could level the city?!” Luna looked as if she was going to offer protest, but when she couldn’t think of a better argument she relented. “Go, you have my permission to assist with the repairs, do what you can and what you must to get this thing back up and running!” 

Twilight saluted Celestia and said, “Yes, Commander!” 

Aster broke through the outer atmosphere. Her eyes caught sight of the incoming object, it looked like a asteroid, but there was something about it that did not sit well with Aster. 

“Whatever, I’ll just blow it up before gets that far!” 

Aster’s forearms shined with power as she brought them together to unleash her signature finishing move. 

“ASTRONIUM RAY!” 

The beam of blue light and golden sparks sailed through space, and in no time at all, the Astronium Ray struck the surface of the asteroid, creating a massive explosion of fire. However, something was wrong, Aster could feel resistance against her ray attack. Aster focused more of her power and doubled the size of the beam, but it was no use, the asteroid flew out of the flames and continued to push against her attack. 

“So, you are a Space Beast! Whatever, I’m not letting you get past me! AAAAAAH!” 

Aster focused more of her power into the beam, using it to at least keep the monster at bay for however long she could. 

Back on the ground, Twilight had been given a schematic on the spire. When she entered the spire itself, she paused. It was a massive cylindrical chamber, spiraling all the way up a good two hundred feet. The real issue, from what Twilight was reading up on, was that the center of the spire, which contained a kind of specialized, crystal glass filament, should be generating a beam of energy that produces the Phantom Zone, that energy is then sent to the top of the spire and emitted over a wide area, relayed by several other towers strategically placed to expand the field itself. 

Twilight walked to the edge of the railing and saw that several workers were further down below, working on the power source to the Phantom Zone. The young genius ran to the closest lift and had it take her down to where the action was. Once at the bottom level, Twilight looked upon the massive machine that served as the base of the spire, and which powered the Phantom Zone. 

The machine itself was about twenty meters in width, and ten in height, not counting the filament that was attached to it. A series to tubes were connected to it, feeding the device coolant to keep it from overheating. There a few super computers attached to it, each one serving as a different station, about five in total, and each one was being manned by different engineers and scientists as they scoured through the computers and tried to figure out what caused the malfunction. 

Twilight opened her HoloFrame and went over the schematic of the spire’s base. This system has a series of fail safes that should always keep it running, backup generators, backup systems, in theory this spire should be impossible to stop short of blowing it up. So…why? Twilight continued to look over the base and her HoloFrame, until something caught her eye. 

It was minute, very out of the way, but there was a part on the machine that wasn’t showing on the blueprints. It was a panel, its seams were thin, almost like they were made that way to be hard to see purposefully. Twilight didn’t know why, but something about this didn’t sit right with her, everything should be listed on a schematic, down the smallest detail, so why wasn’t this on it? 

“Excuse me!” Twilight called out. 

One of the workers, a tall, lightly muscular woman, with red hair, and a bandanna around her head, approached Twilight and spoke to her with an accent, “What can do ya for, kid?” 

“There’s a panel here, I want to see what’s inside of it!” Twilight requested. 

The woman in overalls brought a crowbar with her and knelt to see the crease Twilight was speaking of. Sure enough, there was a crease there, how she had missed it confounded her. “Stand back, dear!” the redhead took the crowbar and worked it into the crease, and with one good pull, she worked the panel off. “Got it!” 

Twilight knelt beside the older woman and both looked inside. A series of circuits boards ran along the walls, leaving only the bottom free to allow crawling movement. The space itself was five feet wide, and about four in height, none of the workers there could fit inside. “I can fit.”

“Pardon?” 

“I can fit inside this crawl space, maybe whatever’s affecting the Emitter is through here?” Twilight though aloud. 

“Young lady, I cannot in good conscience let you go in there!” 

“Look, Miss…?” 

The older woman sighed, “Torque, my name is Torque Wrench.”

“Miss Torque, we don’t have a lot of time to argue about this! Ultrawoman Aster’s fighting a Space Beast, or some kind of asteroid that’s coming straight for us! If we don’t get the Phantom Zone Emitter up by any means necessary, then everyone in the area will be killed from the impact alone!” Twilight argued. 

Torque looked around, trying to see if there was anyone else other than this young girl who could do it. She’d do it, but Torque could tell right away she’d get stuck the moment she tried. 

“I don’t like it, but fine.” Torque unhooked a radio from her belt and gave it to Twilight. “Channel two, dear, and keep talking to me.” She then unhooked her tool belt and gave it to Twilight. “I don’t know what you’ll need in there, but it’s better than nothing.”

Twilight nodded as she got down and began to crawl through the vent. 

Aster’s beam broke off as the asteroid still flew straight for the Earth. With little recourse, Aster flew out towards the space debris Space Beast. Aster slammed her hands against the surface as she pushed back against the monster, but the creature within screeched as it continued forward, pushing the hero back as she tried to stop it, or at the very least slow it down. Unfortunately, her efforts were making just a marginal difference. 

The monster carried the both of them into the atmosphere, flames lapped off of Aster’s body as they both made reentry, but the whole time, Aster continued to push back, continued to fight against this thing. 

C’mon, guys, please get the Emitter back up and running! 

Twilight continued her speedy crawl through the small space, a slight bought of claustrophobia was trying to set in, but all Twilight had to do was remember that Sunset was out there trying prevent a catastrophe, and that she needed to fight just as hard. 

{What do you see, Twilight?}

“Nothing yet, just a lot of circuit boards, they all seem intact, no shorts or damage that I can visibly see. I’m actually almost at the end of the tunnel.” 

Twilight did make it to the end, opening up to a wider space so that Twilight could stand up. What she saw kind of baffled Twilight, above her was the filament which funneled the energy into the spire, but what was before her, from what she could deduce, must be the core. It looked like a tree, but it was made of crystal, its trunk was a dark blue sapphire-like color, transitioning from the branches into a clear diamond-like crystal. Around the trunk were rings that were spinning about, but one of them was off its axis. 

There were wires that led to terminals that were stationed at five points around the tree, most likely connected to the supercomputers outside. Twilight began her investigation, checking the internal terminals to see what had made it malfunction. Twilight looked over the information, compared to the outside terminals, the internal ones seemed to give more data. The three rings that surrounded the tree worked as oscillators to focus the power of this strange crystal tree. 

“One of the rings malfunctioned, so that’s why the Phantom Zone wasn’t working…?” Twilight looked to the middle ring, which was spinning at an odd angle. “Okay.” 

The ground was getting closer and closer, and both Aster and the meteor monster were now a giant fireball that was hurdling towards the city. The color timer on Aster’s chest began to flash red as her time in her hero form was coming to an end. “I won’t let you through, no matter what!”

Sunset took up the Ultraman Leo and Max coins. “Bestow, the strength of the brave!”

“Bestow, the power of the bold!”

“Ignite the fire in my heart!”

A bright flame burned around Aster, transforming her into her powered form, Solaris Maximus. With the increased power, strength, and durability of this form, Aster drew back her right fist and punched the meteor right on its surface, and when she did, one of the cylinders on her revolver gauntlet fired, and discharged a blast of fiery plasma energy. Aster did this again with her left fist, discharging another one. She repeated until all six chambers in both gauntlets had been emptied, and now the surface began to crack, splitting down the middle to reveal a monster with a long beak and rows of sharp teeth screeching at Aster. 

“Okay, yeah, you’re just too ugly to let live,” said Aster as she recharged her revolver chambers and prepared to strike. 

The Space Beast released a burst wave of flames and heat that caused an explosion, making Aster fly off of its body. Aster stopped herself in midair and hurriedly flew after the monster, but it was too late. 

A bright flash of light went off as the roar of a powerful explosion went off all around her. Dust and heat flew upwards and obscured everything in sight. Inside the starry nexus, Sunset’s eyes widened with shock and horror, she had failed, she was supposed to protect everyone, and now they were gone. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and…Twilight. 

The smoke that cluttered the sky was swept away for a moment by a small gust of wind, revealing the sun, and…a purple sky. “PURPLE SKY?!” Aster flew above the smoke and to her great relief, the sky was now a light purple color, which meant only one thing. “THE PHANTOM ZONE IS BACK!” The smoke down below cleared as the creature emerged from its meteor cocoon and roared, its motions creating smalls gusts, revealing the devastation it wrought. “And you're done!” 

Aster shot towards the monster at full speed. She flipped around as she thrust her right leg forward, performing a flying kick. The monster reconstructed its meteor shell. The moment Aster made contact with the shell she cried out, “SOUL CRUSHER!” 

All six revolver chambers fired off at the same time, releasing a pinpoint burst of energy that shot through the shell creating a big hole in the center of the shell. Aster landed on the ground as she cocked back her right fist and thrust her right fist into the breach. “BREAK BUSTER!”

All six chambers on the right arm fired at once, the energy released in the contained space was magnified as the monster blew up in a spectacular explosion that formed a smoldering crater in the earth. Aster quickly inspected the area to make sure the monster was gone, and when she was satisfied that it was completely destroyed, she jumped into the air and took off into the distance. 

“Let’s here it for the hero of the hour, Twilight Sparkle!” Pinkie Pie declared.

The official announcement would not be made until tomorrow, but Twilight was given permission from the Commanders to at least inform her friends of her soon to be granted honors for reactivating the Phantom Zone Emitter. And when she did, somehow, Pinkie Pie managed to set up a party in their dorm room, despite only Twilight and Sunset having access to the room. 

Twilight felt a little embarrassed with the cheers and congratulations being heaped upon her. “Really, it was nothing.” 

“Oh no, darling, you don’t get to downplay the importance of your actions,” Rarity tutted. “If not for you, the entire city – indeed the whole area – would be reduced to a smoldering crater. Aster may have defeated the monster, but if not for you, everyone would be gone.”

Twilight rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. “I-I don’t know about that, I mean, if Aster hadn’t flown up to slow down the monster, I don’t think I would’ve made it time. I guess you could say it was a team effort.” 

Sunset shot Twilight a knowing glance as she lightly elbowed her roommate, knowing full well she was trying to share the credit. “Yeah, but you’re still the hero, Aster gets to be one every day, so it’s your turn, Twi.” 

“I’ll drink to that!” Rainbow exclaimed as took up her cup of punch and chugged it.

“Um, how did you fix it, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked. 

“Unfortunately, since it was a crisis situation, I was given access to some secret information, and because of that, I’m not allowed to say what I saw or how I actually fixed it,” said Twilight. 

Pinkie Pie snapped her fingers, “Ah, shoot, I really wanted to hear how you did it!” 

Twilight waved her hand dismissively. “Believe me, you don’t, it was really technical, and honestly the explanation would put you all to sleep. And, well, the point of a party is to have fun, right?” 

“Yep! And after all that hullabaloo over the last couple of days, the Commanders are given everyone the day off while they look into some things, and to give us some time to relax. All Ah’m doin’ is sleepin’ in the rest of the day,” said Applejack. 

“Our dear Applejack, sleeping in?! Oh it truly must be the end times!” Rarity stated in a dramatic tone. 

Rainbow Dash busted out laughing, Twilight and Sunset didn’t need to know the inside joke to get that Applejack looked like someone who would get up at the crack of dawn. 

A couple of hours passed by with the team laughing, playing some games on a gaming system Pinkie brought over, and others just sharing in conversation. Closer to the end of the second hour, everyone helped clean up as all, save for Sunset and Twilight, left the dorm room. Both girls headed out to the patio outside, and stared up at the star filled sky as they took it all in. 

“Jeez, these last two days were stressful,” said Sunset. 

“I’ll say, and I expect you to catch up on your sleep tonight and tomorrow,” said Twilight in a stern tone.

“Okay, Mom.” 

“Stop that!” Twilight whined. 

Sunset chuckled and eventually Twilight shared in the laughter as well. 

“You know…” Twilight spoke. “I’m starting to come a realization that there are truly things in this universe that we don’t know. I mean, you as Aster, the Everfree Forest, the Space Beasts that come and attack us…” And one more mystery…

“Well, guess we’ll just have solve those mysteries, huh?” Sunset asked.

“Yes, we’ll solve them together.”

Twilight had fixed the ring and placed it back into its proper position, everything looked great, all systems were nominal. “SO WHY AREN’T YOU WORKING?!” 

Indeed, despite the repairs, the Emitter had not activated. Time was running out and Twilight was out of ideas on how to make this strange thing work. 

“Sunset’s fighting that monster, and if it crashes everyone will die! There has to be something else I’m not getting here!” Twilight walked up to the tree, one of its crystal vines draped over her shoulder, but she didn’t pay it any mind. “Please, I need this to work! For my friend! For everyone!” 

Suddenly, the vine that touched Twilight glowed purple. The purple light traveled through the vine, into the branch, and traveled along the branch until it reached the heart of the tree. Twilight didn’t notice it, but when the light reached the heart of the tree, the crystal tree began to glow. That glow began to magnify as a bright light and energy began to build up. The three rings around the tree spun at a more rapid pace as they began to funnel that energy, and in the next moment, a ray of light rose up and struck the filament above Twilight’s head. The light began to fill the giant cylinder and in no time at all, the entire system came back to life. 

Twilight hurriedly rushed to the terminal and verified that the Phantom Zone Emitter was functional again. She didn’t wait for approval or confirmation as Twilight scoured through the system and found the activation protocols for the Phantom Zone, and just as quickly, turned it on. A wave of purple light zoomed outward, and with that, Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. Through the vent she had crawled through, she could hear the faint echoes of people cheering. 

“Miss Torque, are you there?” 

{Yes I am! The Emitter’s workin’ again! Was that you dear?!}

“Yes, as far I can tell, it’s fully functional again!”

{Well come on out here so we can celebrate the hero!}

Twilight blushed from being called a hero, but as she readied to crawl back through the vent, she paused as the light behind her seemed to change. The young genius turned around and watched as the silhouette of a woman appeared, made up of sparkling purple light. Twilight just remained still, not sure what exactly she should do right now. This construct tilted its head to the side, like a dog when it was confused and trying to understand what it was looking at. The construct maiden then turned around and walked back towards the tree, but not before glancing over its shoulder to Twilight. For some reason, she felt as if the construct was smiling at her despite not having any defining facial features. The construct resumed its walk and disappeared, or returned to the tree, Twilight wasn’t sure which. 

“Twi, you alright?” Sunset asked. 

“Y-Yeah, just thinking.