//------------------------------// // Boxing Day Part 2 // Story: ULTRA LIVE! Sunset Shimmer // by Cojo5536 //------------------------------// “What did you say?” Cadance asked in disbelief. “I moved Equestria into its’ own pocket dimension to escape the Ultras’ constant fighting,” Celestia repeated, slowly. “But, how!? That should be impossible! And, if it isn’t, I should have known about it!” Luna demanded. “Yeah!” Pinkie agreed, “That’s like, loco in the coco! And trust me, when I say something’s crazy, I mean it’s COMPLETE BATSPIT!” “In this world, it is,” Sunset interjected, “But in Equestria, it’s a simple matter of knowing the right guy.” “What’s that supposed to mean!?” Rainbow snapped. “In Equestria, there is an immensely powerful entity called Discord. He had control of reality at his fingertips. He could turn clouds into cotton candy that rained chocolate milk, or make houses float, or even make them grow legs and walk. If anyone could help her pull off a feat like pulling an entire planet into a pocket dimension, it would be him,” Sunset gazed at Celestia to gauge her reaction. Celestia was unable to meet her gaze. “So I was right. You enlisted Discord to help you with the move.” Taro, meanwhile, had become distracted by Celestia’s sudden confession when it finally hit him. “Wait! You!? You’re the one that caused Planet Equis to disappear!?” “Wait, you know about Equestria, Taro?” Sunset asked, shocked. “Yes and no. It was a planet that the Ultras had visited, but I was never there myself. We feared that it had been destroyed four millennia ago, but none of the usual suspects claimed responsibility. When there were no longer any leads, we had to drop the case.” “Wait, FOUR MILLENNIA!? But our history regarding Celestia only dates to a millennium!” Cadance shrieked. “Wow, you ponies really are clueless,” Rainbow snarked. “Do not mock us, foal. We may not be as old as your little friend Taro there, (HEY!) but we are still much older than you,” Luna threatened. Rainbow, however, continued, undeterred. “Look, just because your planet has a sense of time, doesn’t make that the universal one,” Rainbow explained. At the princesses’ blank stares, Sunset added, “What Rainbow means to say is that time on different planets is kind of weird, and hard to track. With stuff like distance, which means that the condition of a planet that you can see with a telescope, may not be the condition that it’s currently in. Due to the speed of light, and the orbit of a planet around its sun, there are just too many factors to consider a single true measurement of time. As a result, intelligent life would just use their native units of time to make things easier. And that’s not even getting into what time is like in a pocket dimension.” “While all of this is interesting, Sunset, I’m more troubled by Celestia’s motives,” Taro interjected. “Taro’s right, Sunset. What kind of logic do you run on, Your Highness?” Rarity asked, peeved. “My logic was perfectly sound!” Celestia barked, offended at the implied insult. “Says the mare who couldn’t tell me apart from a bug wearing my face,” Cadance snarked, shutting Celestia up. “Now, Ah don’t know much about Ultras, but Ah think he described them as, like, space cops?” Applejack said, unsurely. “Right, but to them, they would be galactic City Guards,” Sunset corrected. “Your point?” Celestia growled. “They don’t go around causing trouble,” Wallflower answered, “They respond to someone else causing trouble.” Celestia gaped in disbelief, before emitting two breathless huffs of humourless laughter, “Huh. Huh. I don’t believe this. This barbarian has all of you eating out of the palm of his hand!” “BARBARIAN!?” Taro roared before Celestia violently snatched him up. “You listen here,” she hissed, “If you think I will allow a violent creature like you to replace me in Sunset’s heart, you’ve got another thing coming!” “HEY! PUT DOWN MY FRIEND!” Wallflower screamed, sounding the bell for the ensuing brawl. *////* Outside, lying in wait, a pair of aliens observed the happenings from the concealing position of their hunting hide. “Oh, hm hm hm. Looks like something has got them riled up. I don’t know why the principals are there, or who that, quite frankly, offensively pink older woman is, though,” Icarus said from behind a pair of binoculars. “Doesn’t matter. They’ll all die just the same,” Metron replied from the device he was tinkering with. “That’s the other thing. Why haven’t we just grown and flattened the place already?” “Why get our hands dirty when…” Metron paused for dramatic effect, as the last piece of the device fell into place with a whir, “They can do it for us.” Icarus rolled his eyes, “Classic Metron experiment.” “Are you complaining?” “Hell no! I don’t like you, but while your kind has never taken the next logical step with it, it has been proven to work. All your kind was lacking was a more efficient dispersal method and you would’ve been golden.” “Wow, that’s quite possibly-” “Shut up! We’re not having a moment!” *////* From her secluded corner of the room, away from the fight, Fluttershy’s phone began ringing. “Hello?” Fluttershy answered her phone then all of a sudden her eyes flashed red. She then took the phone off her ear and walked up to Rarity to smack her across the face, shocking everyone. “Fluttershy...?” Rarity trembled as she held her cheek. “You are an arrogant, vain and pretentious bitch!” Fluttershy snapped. “You act like you’re so much better than us because you think you’re a fashion expert! But you’re not! You also don’t listen, especially when I told you I was uncomfortable modeling for you! But you kept insisting!” Fluttershy then grabbed Rarity’s hair and started shaking her friend violently. “Fluttershy!” Applejack and Pinkie Pie managed to break Rarity and Fluttershy apart. The fashionista had mascara running down her face while Fluttershy kept kicking and screaming as Applejack tried to restrain her. “What’s wrong with yer!?” Applejack demanded as she tried to keep a hold of her usually gentle friend. “She’s being influenced,” Ginga warned Sunset. “By who!?” “Sudden, horrifically violent outbursts like this is a hallmark of the Alien Metron.” “METRON!? HE’S BEHIND THIS!?” “It’s their favorite experiment. When smoking was wildly popular, they tainted cigarettes with a form of extraterrestrial poppy to drive humans to violence. When smoking fell out of favor, they moved on to infesting cell phones with a frequency to achieve the same effect.” “What? When could he have-?” Suddenly, Pinkie’s phone began ringing, and Sunset realized, “Don’t answer that, Pinkie! Metron is using our phones to send some kind of crazy dog whistle! Pull your phone battery out, and then go make sure the Crusaders are okay!” “O-okay!” Pinkie said, hair flat and scared, pulling out her phone’s battery, then running upstairs. “Rainbow! Go with her!” Sunset commanded as she ran over to Fluttershy’s phone and reached for it, but a red, electrical barrier repelled her. “Damn, I can’t reach it! I’m gonna have to break it!” Sunset yelled to no one in particular. “Git the fire poker!” Applejack yelled from where she was still restraining the smaller girl, until Fluttershy gave up on attacking Rarity, and decided to attack Applejack instead. “Here!” Cadance shouted over the fighting girls as she threw the metal rod to Sunset. “Thanks!” Sunset chirped and then with a mighty swing, brought the fire poker onto Fluttershy’s corrupted phone. It took several swings, but eventually, the phone was left in pieces, and Metron’s waves were silenced. Fluttershy, now free from the alien’s influence, slumped into a tired heap in Applejack’s arms. The footsteps coming down the stairs announced the return of the rest of the house's occupants. “What happened?” Sunset asked. “Metron called Sweetie’s phone, but we managed to cut him off before she answered,” Pinkie answered, relieved. “What’s happening?” asked Sweetie Belle, with a voice that sounded on the verge of tears. “Not now! Rainbow, get to the window, and tell me what you see!” Sunset ordered, then went to Applejack and Fluttershy, “How is she?” “Wore ‘erself out jes’ swingin’ like she did, but otherwise okay,” Applejack replied. Sunset let out a sigh of relief at that bit of good news. However, her relief was short-lived, as she remembered the fight that was incoming. *////* “NO! DAMN IT!” Metron howled in frustration, as he smashed his device. “Oh well,” Icarus shrugged, “It was a good idea while it lasted. However, I think that this will require a more… hands-on approach, hm hm hm.” Icarus began marching to the farmhouse. “Yeah, seems so,” Metron growled, following behind the bat-faced alien. *////* “I know they’re out there, but I can’t see- wait a sec, here they come!” Rainbow said from her watch by the window. “APPLEBLOOM! GET THE GUNS!” Applejack commanded the younger apple. “What’s goin’ on!?” the terrified girl asked, “Are the aliens comin’ after our cows again!?” The room went into confused silence as the group tried to process what had just been said. A gaze at Pinkie Pie also proved unhelpful when the hyperactive girl responded, “Don’t look at me, even I think that was out of nowhere. Which is weird, since I’m me.” Applejack blinked, then just shook her head and said, “Jes’... Jes’ get them, ‘Bloom.” “O-okay? C’mon, girls,” Applebloom said to her friends as they exited the room. “What are you intending to do!?” Princess Celestia demanded. “What do you think? We’re getting ready for a fight,” Sunset replied, “As long as they stay around human size, we might be able to beat them without ever needing to fall back on Ginga.” “What!? No! This isn’t the way, Sunset!” “Are you daft, Your highness!?” Rarity demanded from where she was tending Fluttershy, “You saw what those two ruffians turned Fluttershy into?” “Of course I did but that doesn’t make it right to respond with violence!” “Oh, what would you suggest then, Sister!?” Princess Luna challenged, “That we just lie down on our backs like a submissive manticore, huh!?” “No! I think we should try to reason with them before things escalate!” “They opened the hostilities, Auntie!” Cadance protested, “I highly doubt that they have any interest in talking things out.” “That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t make the attempt!” “Ah got the guns, AJ!” Applebloom called as she returned to the living room, now followed by Big Mac. “AJ, what’s this about?” the usually quiet Apple asked. “Uh, this is gonna sound weird, but there’s a couple’a aliens outside that want to kill us, and we need the guns to fight back,” Applejack summarized. “Why? Are they here for the cows again?” Another pause, followed by Pinkie screaming, “SERIOUSLY! QUIT TAKING MY JOB!” Applejack shook her head again and handed Rarity a pump-action shotgun, “Here, this one’s yours.” “If you think I’m going to use that massive thing, you are severely mistaken, dear.” Applejack gave the fashionista a flat stare, “Rarity, we all know about how you got into competitive shooting after that Candle Wick movie.” Rarity’s face turned red with embarrassment at that callout and sighed. Taking the shotgun and four shells from the farmgirl, she tucked the stock of the weapon under her cheek, performed a perfect quad-load, and racked the action. Her friends watched the process with great interest, save Applejack, who was currently loading a lever-action rifle. “NO!” Princess Celestia suddenly screamed, catching the attention of the room, “I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS TO ESCALATE FURTHER!” “Sorry, Your Royal Highness, but this here is my family’s property and we have a right to defend it!” Applejack said firmly. “Eyup!” Big Mac agreed. “NO! I DON’T CARE! THIS BARBARITY IS NEVER THE ONLY ANSWER, AND I WILL PROVE IT TO ALL OF YOU!” “And how do intend to do that, sister?” Princess Luna asked, incredulously. “I’M GOING TO GO OUT THERE AND TALK THIS OUT! DON’T TRY TO STOP ME! THAT GOES DOUBLE FOR YOU, LITTLE TOY!” Before anyone could stop the rampaging Solar Princess, she was already out the door. *////* Princess Celestia confidently approached Icarus and Metron, certain that she could end the fight before it even began. “Hm hm hm, well you’re certainly not who we expected to see first,” the bat-faced alien said. Celestia stopped several paces away from the pair, “Before we begin, which one of you is Icarus, and which is Metron?” The bat raised its hand, “I’m Icarus, he’s Metron, and begin what?” “Negotiations.” The fish-eyed Metron emitted a horrid snort of laughter, “Negotiation!? You want to parley, is that it?” “There will be no fighting here,” Celestia said as she stared down the two aliens. “You will not fight here. I forbid it.” “Hm hm hm, you hear that, Metron?” Icarus chuckled. “She ‘forbids’ it.” “Yeah,” Metron snickered. Who was she to command them anyway? She was nothing compared to their master, Dark Lugiel. “Sorry, but you’re not the boss of us.” Celestia’s eyes narrowed angrily at the two aliens. “Go in peace and you will not be harmed,” Celestia warned as she summoned up her magic. “Sorry, but we can’t do that,” Icarus remarked. “Let’s make this quick. I have a ticket to go watch a Sapphire Shores concert,” Metron stated. There was a pause as the fish-eyed alien’s words sank in. Then Icarus screeched, “YOU WHAT!?” “What?” “We’re here on the cusp of possibly the most important battle of our lives, and you’re more concerned about missing some human popstar’s concert!? Where is your head at because I’m not going to get killed because you got sloppy!” “Oh, me getting sloppy!? What about you!?” “What kind of comeback was that!?” “Who here has a shrine to Countess Coluratura!?” Icarus let out a gasp. “Lies! Slander! How dare you!?” “Hey! You picked this fight! Are you going to finish it!?” ‘They’re not listening,’ Celestia thought with growing anger, ‘I need to force them to listen somehow. Wait, I can petrify them from the neck down to hold them in place until I can reason with them. Yes, I can still salvage this!’ Celestia threw her hands forward... in a motion that only served to attract the aliens’ eyes back to her. “What are you doing?” Icarus asked, bewildered by the woman’s actions. Celestia glanced at her hands, then repeated the motion. “I think she’s trying to attack us somehow,” Metron said. Celestia attempted her spell several more times before realizing just how powerless she truly was in her current form. “Hm hm hm, I do believe you’re right. Shall we show her how it’s done?” Icarus taunted while raising his hands at Celestia. “Gladly,” Metron replied while raising his own hands to attack. “ULTRA PSYCHOKINESIS!” Taro shouted as he suddenly unleashed a psychic burst that knocked the two aliens over, sending them tumbling over each other. “Sunset, now’s your chance!” Sunset dashed out of the house and dragged her former teacher out of the line of fire. “They’re clear, open fire!” Applejack commanded loudly. The farmhouse erupted into a thunderstorm of gunshots and lead. Unfortunately, the aliens’ hide was made of much sterner material than human flesh, and the effectiveness was little more than if they were using paintball markers. The bullets still stung, though. “Okay! You brats wanna get rough!? Let’s get rough!” Icarus shouted pulling out a Dark Dummy Spark and Spark Doll. DARK LIVE: TYRANT! Icarus merged with the incomplete Spark Doll and grew to gigantic height. Now complete, Tyrant sported Icarus’ large ears as it roared. “HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW, GINGA!?” Sunset, seeing Tyrant, took out the Ginga Spark but Celestia grabbed her hand to stop her. “Sunset, don’t!” Celestia yelled. She did not want to see Sunset get hurt. Sunset looked at the hand grasping hers and then firmly but gently removed it. “Princess, I have to. If I don’t, then that monster is going to go on a rampage and destroy Applejack’s entire farm and my friends. It may even go and destroy the city and hurt innocent people. I can’t let that happen.” “But, Sunset...” Sunset turned away from Princess Celestia and broke into a run, summoning the Ginga Spark Doll at the same time. “Here we go, GINGAAAAAAAAA!” Sunset shouted as she touched the Ginga Spark to the Spark Doll’s foot. ULTRA LIVE: ULTRAMAN GINGA! The light of the galaxy engulfed Sunset as she merged with Ultraman Ginga who grew to gigantic size. Now, the galactic silver titan of justice stood in the girl’s place. Princess Celestia's mouth hung agape as she witnessed her former student become an Ultra Warrior. *////* “This thing looks like a mishmash of monster parts,” Sunset studied the chimeric beast. “You’re not wrong, Sunset. Tyrant is a monster created from five different monsters, possessing all their power in one body and is more than the sum of their parts,” Ginga explained. “Well, it’s still just one guy. We can take him,” said Sunset confidently. “Wait!” Ginga urged, but Sunset was already preparing a Ginga Thunderbolt. “GINGA THUNDERBOLT!” she cried, only for the attack to be drawn into the markings on Tyrant’s torso, “What!?” “That’s what I was trying to warn you about,” Ginga groaned, “That mark on its stomach is the mouth of a monster called Bemstar. It draws in energy attacks, and if your hand or leg gets caught in it, it will hurt.” “Oh, now you tell me.” “You didn’t even give me a chance to- Get ready, here he comes!” Tyrant charged forward, right ax raised as though it were a screaming barbarian, but Ginga sidestepped the overhand swing, then caught its backhand. However, Tyrant easily escaped the grapple, throwing Ginga to the ground in the process. The misshapen monster then attempted to crush Ginga with its mace hand, but Ginga rolled to the left, leapt to his feet, and countered with an ax kick to the back of Tyrant’s head. Not giving Tyrant a chance to recover, Ginga grabbed hold of the monster’s head and smashed it into the ground, followed by an elbow drop, before ending with a series of punches on the pinned monster. “Grr, get off!” Icarus growled as he slapped Ginga away with Tyrant’s tail, but Ginga rolled back to his feet some distance away. “What’s wrong? Can’t take a girl being on top?” Sunset taunted, charging Ginga at the now standing Tyrant. However, rather than meet Ginga’s charge, Tyrant opened its torso and sprayed a stream of toxic mist, bringing Ginga to a halt, and breaking Sunset’s focus with a coughing fit. With Ginga distracted, Tyrant closed the distance with a right jab to his head and stomach, a left uppercut that launched Ginga into the air, then pushed him away with its Death Fire ray. Before Ginga could even correct himself, something wrapped around his ankle, and pulled him down to the ground with a crash. “Uhgh, what was…” Sunset drifted off as she noticed a short spear, attached to a chain that was wrapped around Ginga’s ankle that led from Tyrant’s mace, “Oh, son of a…” With a sharp yank to the right, Tyrant began swinging Ginga over its head like Applejack with her lasso, before smashing him back to the ground. Tyrant retracted his spear as Icarus laughed and mockingly slapped its ass at Ginga. However, as Sunset brought Ginga into a kneeling position, a horrifying realization hit her… “Wait. Where’s Metron!?” *////* While both giants fought, Metron remained where he was, leering at the group. While Icarus had Sunset’s attention, he could do whatever he wished with this group. Maybe even capture the Rainbooms for his master so Fall could suck out their magic. “Well, time for me to take care of business,” said Metron as he decided to finish them off. “No!” Wallflower denied as she stood in the alien’s path, surprising everyone but not impressing Metron. “You? You seriously think you can stand up to me? You got no magic, no powers, and no chance. Face it, you’re nothing. But I’ll be merciful. Run along and just forget about all of this,” Metron said mockingly. Wallflower’s fists clenched at hearing Metron’s dismissal. In truth, she was shaking in fear but hearing him talk down to her just brought back memories of being overlooked, underestimated, and being dismissed. It went so far as people just forgot she existed, which hurt and it made making friends hard. And then she met Taro, and Sunset Shimmer, becoming someone important in this new war between the forces of light and the forces of darkness. While she could not use the Ginga Spark, she still supported Sunset, Taro and her new friends. She may not be magically gifted like the Rainbooms or as strong as Lightning Dust and Gilda, but she sure as hell had spirit. “No,” Wallflower whispered as her features hardened. “I’m not going to step aside! You want them, then you have to go through me!” All of a sudden, a light began to shine in front of Wallflower and she reached out to it. The light faded to reveal a Ginga Light Spark. While Metron was stunned, she took out the Gaia Spark Doll and activated it with her Ginga Light Spark. ULTRA LIVE: ULTRAMAN GAIA! Wallflower emerged from the light as a human-sized Ultraman Gaia and she threw a punch that sent the stunned Alien Metron staggering back. Ultraman Gaia did not let up and delivered a series of fast and powerful punches. “I’m so powerful,” Wallflower awed at herself as she looked at her hands then set her sights back on Metron. “You little brat!” Metron snapped. “You think just because you fell into some power by luck, you can beat me!?” “Given what I’ve seen from you so far, yeah, I think so,” Wallflower said with confidence. Metron furiously stammered. Wallflower’s newfound confidence was seriously pissing him off. Unbeknownst to him, his anger had begun generating a dark aura, that finally reached its peak with a cry of, “I WILL CRUSH YOU!” The darkness completely overtook Metron’s form and grew in size until the aura dissipated, revealing the now bigger alien. “Okay, Wallflower, you’ve pissed him off. Now what?” she wondered aloud to herself. “Wallflower!” Taro barked, “You have to become giant to match him!” “How!?” “Make a fist with your right hand, and thrust it skyward!” “That sounds too-” Wallflower began, but the crumbling of dirt falling from a giant rising foot interrupted her, “Well it’s best I’ve got to go on.” Assuming the pose Taro suggested, Gaia was engulfed in an aura of light that grew along with him, tripping Metron in the process. “Oh, shit! It really is that easy!” Wallflower exclaimed in shock. Metron recovered from his fall, then shook his misshapen hands in rage and charged while Gaia returned to a fighting stance. Metron attempted a jump kick, but Gaia sidestepped, then countered his backhand with a throw. The alien rolled back to his feet, and countered Gaia’s punch with a headbutt, then raised his arms for a double hammer strike, but the Ultra blocked the attack with his left arm before retaliating with a straight right punch. Gaia charged at Metron again to press his advantage, but the alien now threw a curveball, as he raised his hands and a bright flash emitted from them. Wallflower desperately rubbed at her eyes, attempting to clear them, with Gaia imitating her motions. Metron immediately used his opening, ramming Gaia with his shoulder. Gaia stumbled back but regained his balance before he delivered a roundhouse into Metron’s large head followed by another before driving a foot into the alien’s gut with enough force to knock him to the ground. The alien grew angry. This was some human girl who lucked into power. How could she be beating him!? “Alright girl, let’s see you play with the BIG BOYS now!” Metron roared as he grew to his full, gigantic size. Wallflower gasped as she saw how big her opponent had become and started to tremble in fear. However, a soothing presence calmed her down and filled her with courage. “Two can play at that game!” Wallflower raised her first. “Let’s go! GAIAAAAAAA!!!” Gaia’s body glowed as he bellowed and grew to match Metron’s height. Once he was gigantic too, the Ultra grabbed Metron and dragged him away from the Apples’ house. Gaia landed near where Ginga and Tyrant were fighting and punched Metron in the face. “Wallflower?” Sunset questioned as she saw Wallflower inside Ginga. “Het, Sunset! Need help?” Just then, Ginga’s Color Timer began flashing, “Do I have to answer?” “Let's switch dance partners!” Wallflower suggested. “You got it, Wallflower!” Sunset agreed, “Just keep your hands away from Tyrant’s belly button, and you should be fine!” The two Ultras switched and confronted their new opponents. Ultraman Gaia landed an uppercut into Tyrant’s jaw while Ginga kicked Metron right in the stomach. “Come on, you fish-eyed freak! What’re you gonna do with those hands!? Tickle me to death!?” Sunset taunted, punctuating it with a punch to his face. As if in answer, Metron crossed his right arm across his chest, then threw it forward with a flash, revealing a giant katana. “... Or you can do that! That’s cool too!” Metron charged at Ginga with a horizontal swing, followed by an upward swing, but Ginga nimbly dodged both. However, when Ginga sidestepped Metron’s chop, the alien kicked him in the back, causing him to stumble forward then slashed his back. Though the attack sparked against Ginga’s armor, it still hurt the Ultra. When he turned to face Metron, the alien cut his chest, producing more sparks. Ginga staggered back into a kneeling position, looking up at Metron, who stood with a savage posture. Meanwhile, Gaia fought Tyrant. Their exchange had been fast, and brutal so far, with neither holding a strong advantage. Finally, Tyrant managed to tag Gaia with a chop from its ax, then an uppercut with its mace, then hooked its ax behind the Ultra’s head, and threw him away. The kaiju fired its spear, managing to ensnare the Ultra with the chain as it wrapped around his neck. Wallflower could feel the chain choking her and grasped it in her hands. As if responding to her peril, Gaia's body glowed and he changed. Standing before Tyrant now, was a much bulkier Gaia, with blue patterns on his sides. The Ultra then took hold of the chain and pulled. Tyrant’s feet left the ground as Gaia swung him over his head like a lasso, before slamming him to the ground. Tyrant scrambled back to its feet and fired a stream of energy arrows from its ears, but Gaia threw up a barrier, before jumping over it to deliver a flying kick to the monster’s throat. Back with Sunset, she had Ginga summon his Ginga Saber and sparks flew as she crossed swords with Metron. The flashing of Ginga's color timer increased in frequency. She was running out of time. Ginga pushed out of the blade lock, then rolled out of the way of Metron’s next attack which landed on the Apple Family’s barn. "NOT THE BARN! Okay, now Ah’m mad!" Applejack yelled. As soon as she said this, her Honesty bracelet flashed and turned her into a ball of orange light which flew into Ginga's color timer. Applejack now stood beside Sunset within Ginga. “Applejack?” “Let’s make this varmint pay for smashing up my barn!” Sunset handed her friend the Ginga Spark and she touched the Honesty bracelet with it. ACTIVATE! HARMONY AUGMENT! GINGA HONESTY! Ginga’s Zenshin Crystal glowed orange as Applejack took control. Metron ran in a mad charge at the supercharged Ginga, wildly swinging his sword, but Ginga grabbed the blade in one hand, appearing to glare at the alien. The Ultra then punched the side of the katana, shattering the weapon, before dealing an uppercut that sent Metron flying skyward. The alien landed on its back with a mighty thud, causing the ground to shake and tremor. Ginga, for his part, silently marched up to the alien, prompting Metron to quickly roll to his feet and fire a storm of lasers at the Ultra. The attack splashed off Ginga’s armor harmlessly while he continued to march up to the alien. Realizing that his attack wasn’t working, Metron swung his arm at Ginga, but the Ultra blocked it, slapped it away with a chop, spun the alien around with a backhand, then sent Metron skidding across the ground with a punch to the back. Back with Wallflower and Tyrant, the fused monster was, again, sent sprawling by a blow from Gaia. The kaiju quickly got back to its feet and launched its spear again. Gaia caught it and began a tug-of-war with the monster. Inside Ultraman Gaia, Wallflower was losing patience, “I. Am sick. Of this DAMN! CHAIN!” With one last pull, the chain snapped with a sharp CRACK and sent Tyrant tumbling backwards. Before Wallflower could cast aside the broken spear, however, Taro suddenly called to her, “Wait, Wallflower! Don’t throw the spear away!” “What!? Why!?” “Charge it with your light, and throw it! That’s how I defeated Tyrant the first time!” “Oh,” Wallflower turned to Ginga, “Sunset, Applejack! Throw Metron over here! I’ve got something for them!” Ginga turned to Gaia, nodded, then turned to the charging Metron. Ginga caught Metron’s swinging right arm, planted his left hand against the alien’s chest, and launched him into Tyrant, who had only just stood up. Wallflower now channeled Gaia’s light into the stolen spear and threw it perfectly. It flew in a graceful arc through the air and embedded itself in both alien and monster, effectively stapling the pair to the ground. “Now!” Sunset called, as she and Applejack reached their right fist out in preparation, while Wallflower brought her left hand to her chest, and raised her right hand straight up. As the Ultras performed their movements, a mighty cry sounded through the orchard. “GINGA HARMONY SHOOT!” “PHOTON STREAM!” Though the beams impacted separately, their power wasn’t diminished. The forms of Tyrant and Metron held for a moment before erupting into the biggest fireball anyone standing below the Ultras had ever seen. Once their foes were destroyed, Ginga dropped to one knee and began panting heavily as he dissolved into light particles. “Sunset!?” Wallflower called, worriedly, as Gaia also disappeared and she turned back to normal. *////* Once Sunset and Applejack changed back, the adrenaline wore off and they collapsed once the fatigue caught up with them. “Hoooo-weeee! That sure takes a lot outta ya when yer that close, huh?” Applejack gasped as she sat up with her hands pressed against the ground behind her to balance herself. “Yeah. I mean, I’ve timed out before, but I don’t usually win when that close,” Sunset panted as she wiped the sweat off her brow. “Thanks, AJ.” “No problem, Sunset.” “Sunset!” They heard Wallflower call out, “Applejack!” “Over here ‘Flower!” Sunset responded as she called the green girl over. “Oh, thank goodness. Are you two okay?” “Yeah, just a bit winded.” Wallflower sighed in relief, but a sudden gust of winter air made her shiver, “Well do you mind being winded somewhere warmer?” Applejack and Sunset laughed for a moment, before picking themselves up, and returning to the farmhouse. *////* When the trio reached the house, they found the Princesses Luna and Cadance excitedly talking with the rest of their friends. With a chuckle, they approached, drawing the attention of Applebloom who suddenly gasped. “APPLEJACK!” In the blink of an eye, the youngest Apple had bowled over her sister in joy. Sunset laughed, “Oh, yeah, sure. Go to her. It’s not like I’m the one wh-” She never got a chance to finish as both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo ran into her, knocking Sunset into the snow. “That was so cool!” Scootaloo cried. “Why did we ever doubt you!?” Sweetie followed up. While the Crusaders fawned over their heroes, Princesses Luna and Cadance made their way over to the three girls. “I wasn’t so sure it was such a good idea to come here, but that was totally worth it!” Cadance said with poorly contained joy. “Indeed. That was stellar performance ladies!” Luna cheered with more subdued excitement. The three ladies in question started blushing at the royals’ approval. “Please stop,” Wallflower quietly squeaked, not used to such attention as she had always been in the background. She nevertheless smiled at being acknowledged and appreciated. “Nonsense!” Luna jovially retorted, clapping Wallflower on the shoulder, “You were possibly the bravest of us all, throwing yourself in front of that beast as you did.” A tap on Luna’s shoulder drew her attention to Pinkie, “Um, Your Majesty? Not that what you’re saying isn’t nice, but you’re kinda laying it on too thick for Wally.” Luna paused, but then noticed that her hand was significantly lower now than before, probably because Wallflower was on her way to going into the fetal position in embarrassment. Luna quickly recoiled from the girl, “Oh my goodness! I’m so sor-WAGH!” Luna had attempted to bow apologetically, but she moved too fast, and only managed to lose her balance and faceplant into the snow. The laughter followed immediately and only grew at the unamused expression on the Lunar Princess’ face. When the giggles finally died down, Applebloom took the Ginga Spark from her sister before she could stop her, “So how does it work!? Huh? Huh!? Can I try it!?” Sunset snatched back the Ginga Spark from the irresponsible girl, eliciting a whine from the Crusaders until they noticed the glares from everyone. “Do you think this is a toy? Like it’s just part of some game we were playing?” Sunset began seriously, “NO! If this needs to come out, it means lives are at stake! What? Did you think those aliens were making empty threats!? LOOK AT THE BARN! DOES THAT LOOK FAKE!?” The Crusaders looked down in shame while tracing little circles in the snow with their feet. “NO,” they answered in unison. “Exactly! Besides, it only works for me,” Sunset explained. “That’s not true!” Applebloom blurted out, “Applejack used it when you were fightin’ earlier!” “Ah can only do that after Sunset has transformed, ‘Bloom. Trust me, we tested it,” Applejack retorted. “And even if you could get it to work, you need a Spark Doll to actually activate it,” Sunset added. That bit of information seemed to make Scootaloo perk up, “What’s a Spark Doll?” “Uh, they’re kinda like toys, but they all have a symbol on their left foot, like this,” Wallflower explained, using the Ultraman Gaia Doll as an example. “So, they’re like toys, and have an icon on their left foot?” Scootaloo’s eyes widened, “Holy crap!” In an instant, the young tomboy had run off, leaving the rest of the group perplexed. “What’s got her in such a hurry?” Sunset asked while looking at Rainbow who just shrugged. *////* Sitting a distance away, Princess Celestia stared forlornly at her former student and the excited humans surrounding her. “Why? Why did things have to end like this?” “Because they had already made up their minds to fight,” a masculine voice, revealing the source as Taro, said. Celestia huffed, “Well, of course, you would say that. Your kind clearly thrives on combat.” “This may come as a shock to you Princess, but we Ultras would also prefer to resolve all conflict peacefully.” “Like what?” “How about Ultraman 80, who once threw a fight to get a favorable outcome.” That was news to Celestia, “He deliberately lost a fight?” “Oh yes. A parent and child pair of monsters arrived on Earth after a disagreement in space. The parent wanted its child to return to space, but the young monster was being a brat and was refusing to follow its parent. 80 resolved the problem by attacking the parent, forcing the child to come to its rescue. Once the young monster had fully committed to its efforts, 80 willingly allowed himself to be beaten to finalize their bond being repaired. Once that was over, the monsters just… left. Earth was pleased because the monsters were gone, and the family was pleased because they were together again.” “Aw, that was sweet,” Celestia cooed. “The problem is that not all our enemies are unwilling or incapable of ending things peacefully. We also need to think about the innocent people who may get hurt when the aliens or monsters go on a rampage. Surely, it must be the same for you. Tell me, how many times have you considered getting personally stuck in, only to decide against it because ‘it’s Twilight’s responsibility’?” Celestia didn’t answer, her silence proving Taro’s point. “I see. And how many times has your inaction nearly doomed Equestria?” Celestia sighed, “Far too many times, I’m afraid. But… What can I do? I intended for Twilight to take my place, eventually, but she can’t do that if I, myself, am still an utter mess.” “Why does it have to be just you or Twilight? Why not both of you? Why not Luna and Cadance?” Taro paused, “Why not all of Equestria?” “What do you mean?” “Do you think that there is only ever one to six Ultras active at any point? Of course not! Planet Ultra has hundreds if not thousands of agents across the universe, along with our allies on U40 and O-50. You have a military just sitting around gathering dust with inaction when they could be aiding Twilight and her friends overcome their obstacles. You have a nobility that has grown fat, selfish, and lazy by coasting on old names and titles, while doing nothing to live up to them, when you, with your greater authority, could demand better from them. Keeping the peace in Equestria should be a collaborative effort, not a solo one. But then, after ruling alone for about a millennia, being told that you can do no wrong, it was only natural that you would actually start believing it.” Celestia chuckled humorlessly, “Isn’t that the truth? I mean, I’ve basically spent the entire night making up excuses for my mistakes, instead of owning up to them.” She then let out a sad sigh and continued, “Now Sunset’s Hearth- er- Christmas Eve is ruined, and I have no idea how to salvage this.” As tears began to fall from Celestia’s eyes, Taro could only pity her. She was a girl, trapped in a cage of mass expectations, only to finally get a moment of escape, to discover that she had failed to meet those expectations. “I can’t tell you the entire process, but I have a good idea of how to start.” Celestia looked at the Ultra sadly, but, this time with slight hope. “Go over to Sunset right now and apologize.” Celestia tilted her head, “Just like that?” “Yes. However, you must be sincere and specific. If you apologize without actually acknowledging what you did wrong, it only perpetuates those bad habits you have built up over the past thousand years. Once you have done that, making up for your other mistakes will come naturally.” “I don’t know, that seems too easy.” “Of course it is, so long as you’re sincere about it.” “But-” “Oh, just shut up and talk to her, before I use my psychokinesis to make you talk to her!” Taro sternly commanded. “Okay, okay!” Celestia said placatingly, and stood up, “Oh dear.” *////* “So what was that about the aliens stealing your cows?” Pinkie Pie asked. “Oh that!? Hehehe!” Applebloom began giggling, “Applejack’s a great sister, but she has moments that make ya go ‘wait ya thought that was a good idea?’ Years ago, she saw some squirrels eating some mushrooms, and she thought, ‘well they seem tah be fine, guess they’re fine fer’ me tah eat too.’ Sure ‘nuff, few hours later, she’s in bed, sicker than a dog, screamin’ about how the aliens are comin’ for our cows.” The Gang erupted into laughter, save Applejack, who looked confused, “That never happened.” “Enope,” Big Mac spoke up, “It definitely did.” “Yeah,” Rainbow added, “I bet you were so baked that you forgot what year it was and if you were a guy or a girl!” The Gang began laughing again, until they were cut off by a voice that could rival Fluttershy in meekness, “Sunset?” The redhead turned to the voice, and found Princess Celestia nervously fidgeting with her hands, “Yes, Princess?” That stung more than the Solar Princess thought it would, not even “Princess Celestia”, just “Princess”. That only proved how overdue, and needed, this apology was. Suddenly Celestia went into a steep bow, “I’M SORRY!” That threw Sunset for a loop, “What?” “Sunset, I am so sorry my teaching methods convinced you that ascension was the only way to my heart. I’m sorry that I snubbed you of something that you really did deserve. I’m sorry that I hid you away from the world, then paradoxically demanded you make friends in your age group. I’m sorry that I failed to be the mother you so desperately needed growing up,” Celestia ranted, with increasing desperation, “But most of all! I’m sorry I banished you from the castle, leaving you with a lifetime of hatred and fear, that I refused to accept any responsibility for causing. I don’t want to lose you Sunset, can you ever forgive this out of touch old mare?” Sunset was conflicted. As apologies went, it was not quite on the level of Applejack’s “marriage proposal”, but was more or less what could be expected from an immortal Alicorn Princess. However... “Apology accepted. But!” Sunset barked before Celestia could get too happy, “Do I fully forgive you? No. You had years to correct how you taught me before I broke into the restricted area of the Royal Library and ran through the portal. Yet, through either ignorance or negligence, you failed. Sure it might’ve been unreasonable for you to try and make it up to me when the portal opened again naturally, but then Twilight found a way to keep the portal open, and you ran out of excuses to try. By your own admission, you only came through because you were more afraid of being replaced by Taro and Ginga than for my own sake. Someday, sure, I may forgive you, but that will be a marathon, not a sprint. If I have to work off my sins, then it’s only fair that you’re held to the same standards.” Celestia drooped sadly, but replied, “Yes, Sunset.” “Hey!” Scootaloo suddenly cut in, “If you guys are done with your little pity party I’ve got some stuff for you to look at.” Dropping the bag she was carrying to the ground, she unzipped it, causing an Ultraman figure to tumble out. “A Spark Doll?” Wallflower asked. “Ace Nii-san?” Taro followed. “What?” Rainbow asked. “Sorry. This is my adopted brother, Ultraman Ace.” “And there’s more where that came from,” Scootaloo continued, pushing the bag towards the Gang, “Take a look.” Kneeling down to take a look inside, Sunset’s jaw dropped, “Holy shit, Scootaloo! Where did you find all of these!?” “Dunno, apparently we thought that they were part of a scavenger hunt or something during our blank period,” Scootaloo suddenly shivered, “Hey, could we take this back inside? It’s cold out here.” Realizing the tomboy had a point, the Gang retreated into the farmhouse. *////* Once the Gang was indoors, they began sorting through the Crusader’s Spark Doll collection. “You know,” Sunset said, suddenly, “There’s something I don’t get, Applebloom.” Applebloom cringed, “Is this about Anon-A-Miss?” “Nono, nothing like that! It’s just, why do you and your friends call yourselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders?” “Huh?” “I mean, Cutie Marks don’t exist here, so what gives?” Applebloom paused, “... What’s a Cutie Mark?” “... Seriously?” Sunset asked, “You named yourselves that just at random?” “We were stuck fer a name, and just pulled words out of a hat.” Sunset sighed, “For the record, a Cutie Mark in Equestria, is a sort of magical butt tattoo that advertises what your special talent is.” Suddenly, a random stray thought passed through Sunset’s head, “Oh! How about, the Canterlot Mystery Club?” “Huh?” “It makes sense, right? You can still keep the acronym, and with the amount of stuff that happens at CHS, there are actual mysteries to look into. What do you think?” Applebloom thought about the name, then gave Sunset a massive smile and glomped her, “I love it!” Though Sunset was surprised by the sudden display of affection, quickly recovered to return Applebloom’s tight hug. Unfortunately, their tender moment was interrupted by Rainbow’s immature giggling. “Hey, look! This one has a face on its dick!” she giggled. “That’s Mukadender, the Trickster Centipede,” Taro corrected, “It’s capable of harmlessly detaching its own head and neck, while still maintaining control of its body. Its most severe weakness is that damage to its detached head is felt in its body, so if the head is destroyed, the body, lacking a controlling element, goes with it.” Rainbow paused, “... So it’s a detachable dick.” Rarity smacked Rainbow upside the head, “Honestly, Rainbow! There are children present!” She reached into the bag and blushed upon seeing the figure she had pulled out, “Oh my! Who is this Greek god of a man?” The Doll was an Ultra, that much was certain, but there were some important details that raised questions over his identity. For one, he was predominantly black and red, with some silver, and gold sections. A blue star marked both his massive, helmet-like head and chest, unlike the Ultras the Gang had seen so far, that had fairly simple shapes for their Color Timers. However, his most outstanding feature was that, even by Ultra standards, he was massive. An absolute unit of pure muscle, that looked like he could break granite just by flexing at it. “Ultraman Titas, from U40,” Taro answered, “He is from my son’s team, the Tri Squad.” “Wait, U40? Aren’t you guys from M78 usually?” Sunset asked, scratching her head. “In my home universe, there are several planets with their own forms of Ultra. Titas is from one such planet, U40. On that planet, only eight individuals can become giant Ultras, known as the Great Eight. Fate seemed stacked against Titas from the moment of his birth. See, he was descended from the Hellar Army, a collective of U40 traitors that believed that they should be conquerors, as opposed to agents of peace. As an aside, if Hellar had succeeded M78 would have stepped in. Despite his unfortunate ancestry, Titas, through great trial, and tribulation, managed to join the Great Eight, eventually joining up with my son, Taiga, on a mission to O50.” “Does that have anythin’ to do with that body o’ his?” Applejack asked, with a blush of her own.” “No, that was inspired by a late friend. He is quite proud of his physique.” “Can you blame him!?” Cadance asked, fanning herself, “The stallion looks like he could bench Mount Canterhorn and still ask for more weight!” “More like Ultraman ‘Tight-ass’ amIright?” Pinkie asked. The pun caused the entire room to die inside “Pinkie, what did we say about puns?” Sunset asked, groaning. “Hey, I saw an opportunity and I took it!” “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should,” Celestia said. “Glass houses, Princess,” Sunset barbed. Celestia considered reprimanding Sunset but ultimately decided that Sunset had a point, and kept her mouth shut. “I like this one,” Fluttershy suddenly said as she held a blue Ultraman, “He seems gentle." "That's Ultraman Cosmos, Fluttershy. You and he would've gotten along," Taro said. “Why?” “Well I, personally, haven’t worked with him, but Ultraman Zero has and according to him, he is a great believer in defeating evil through kindness. Make no mistake, however, while the Luna form you see now lacks offensive power, he hides a blade under that silk. If Cosmos changes to his Corona or Eclipse form, he has deemed you as unsavable and must be destroyed. Fortunately, he would rather save that as a last resort.” Fluttershy smiled, then turned to Scootaloo, “May I take this? I mean, if that’s okay with you?” “Sure, take them all,” Scootaloo said, “You’d probably get more use out of ‘em than us.” “I think that everyone should take some. Don’t want to get caught with a Light Spark but no Spark Doll on you,” Sunset said. With a chorus of agreement, the room began dividing up the Club’s Spark Dolls. After everyone had their preferred Dolls, the Christmas party resumed for another hour before Celestia looked at the time. “Well, Luna, Cadance, I believe that we should be getting back to the portal now,” she said. Luna looked at her sister, then uttered a disappointed sigh, “Yes, I suppose we should.” “Aw, and I was having so much fun,” Cadance moaned. “As you said, Cadance, your husband is waiting for you,” Celestia reminded. “I can take you back,” Fluttershy said, “My car has enough space for all of you.” “Wait, Fluttershy!” Sunset said, “Could I speak to Princess Celestia? Alone?” Though she was surprised, Fluttershy agreed and led Luna and Cadance out to her car. Now, with their privacy, Sunset began, “Look, I know that I said that I can’t forgive you yet.” Celestia looked down sadly "But I also realize that I reacted poorly. I threw a tantrum like a brat and went through the mirror just to spite you. So it would be unfair to not give you some guidance to help us get to that point." Celestia brightened up immediately, “YES! WHAT DO YOU NEED!?” “I need you to apologize to Twilight,” Sunset said. “For sending her out on those missions without guidance?” “Well, that, and raising her into an overly dependent, neurotic mess, and dumping princesshood on her without asking what her plans for the future were,” Sunset replied. “Oh,” Celestia said, “Yeah, that would be a good idea.” “You don’t have to do it as soon as you get back, but just try to do it soon, okay?” “Okay,” Celestia said. Then, Sunset did something that she hadn’t been expecting. She hugged her. “I want to forgive you, really, I do. But I need to know that you’re willing to change, and grow along with me,” Sunset explained. Celestia’s eyes suddenly widened in realization, before her face softened and she returned the hug, “Sunset. I think I finally understand what I’ve been doing wrong.” “Huh?” Sunset asked, pulling away. “I’ve been the immortal, always right ruler for so long, that I no longer know how to be a flawed mortal. You have my word, Sunset, that I will make you proud to call me mom!” Sunset was so taken aback by Celestia’s declaration, that she never got another chance to speak before her former mentor was out the door. “What?” *////* In the mirror room of Ponyville Castle, Twilight paced anxiously in front of the portal with a crazed look on her face. “I should go after them! No, it’s fine! It’s fine! They’re grown mares that can take care of themselves! Oh, who am I kidding! They know nothing about that other world! What will they do if they get mistaken for their doppelgangers!? Oh, buck it, I’m going after them now!” Before Twilight could carry on the portal began glowing, throwing out a certain trio of Alicorn princesses. “Oof!” “Ow!” “D’oh!” “YOU!” Twilight shrieked, “WHAT WERE YOU THREE THINKING!? RUNNING OFF TO THE HUMAN WORLD WITH NO WARNING, OR PREPARATION!?” “Hey, it was Celestia’s stupid idea!” Cadance said, but then continued, “Even though it did end up being an incredible time, with aliens, and monsters, and giants, and… I’ve just noticed that this isn’t helping, bye!” Cadance teleported away before Twilight could begin a two-hour-long lecture, forcing the purple alicorn to turn her scorn to the remaining two, “What did she mean?” “Uh… A pair of aliens appeared at the party, and Tia tried to talk to them,” Luna explained. “WHAT!?” Twilight shrieked. “It’s okay!” Celestia placated, “Sunset and Wallflower dealt with them!” “THAT’S NOT THE POINT!” Twilight cried. “You’re right, it isn’t,” Luna said, “See, while we were there, some things came out about our sister that I believe you should hear from her.” “Huh?” Twilight asked, the wind taken from her sails. “Yes, now if you don’t mind, I need to make sure that Blueblood hasn’t burned Canterlot to the ground.” Luna teleported away as Twilight continued staring at Celestia, “Princess? What did Princess Luna mean?” Celestia considered delaying the conversation until a later date, but her promise to Sunset snaked its way into her mind. With a sigh, she decided to just rip this particular bandage off, “Could we take a seat first? I’m sure that you would rather be sitting down for this.”