//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: ULTRA LIVE! Sunset Shimmer // by Cojo5536 //------------------------------// Fall sighed as the magic window dissipated. What a shame. She quite liked Icarus to be honest. She could not afford to dwell on their defeat, however. She had students to teach. “So, class,” she said, turning to a long table lined with people, “What have we learned from this?” Her students were none other than the greatest villains Equestria has ever known. Lord Tirek the centaur was now a human male. With his youth and vitality restored, he sported a muscular build. His silver hair was in a ponytail while his attire consisted of a white wife-beater with a leather jacket, denim jeans, and black leather boots. In short, he resembled a biker. “Ultraman, huh?” Tirek remarked. “Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time.” Sitting across from Tirek was an attractive, black-skinned woman with pronounced canines like a vampire, green-blue hair, and clad in a form-fitting teal dress that showed off a curvy figure. This was the Changeling Queen Chrysalis. “Wait, you know of this thing?” Queen Chrysalis asked. Behind Tirek sat a vile yet regal-looking man with wild, jet-black hair done in a mullet and dense sideburns. He was wearing a metal-plated dress vest, a red jacket with white fur trim, and a silver crown. This was the deposed King Sombra of the Crystal Empire. “What? You have never heard of The Giant and the Crystal Dragon?” King Sombra questioned. Across from Sombra sat a trio of girls. The first, was an orange-skinned girl, with a matching mass of curly hair. This was the leader of the Dazzlings, Adagio Dazzle. “That old mare’s tale?” she scoffed. “Get real.” On Adagio’s right, sat a punkish looking girl with purple skin, and purple pigtails. This was the right hand of the Dazzlings, Aria Blaze. “Yeah! A race of ponies that lives underground? Whatever.” On Adagio’s left sat a ditzy, blue-skinned girl with matching hair that was tied up in a ponytail. This was Sonata Dusk, the third wheel of the Dazzlings. “You guys, do realize we’re looking at a literal alien right now, right?” she asked, indicating Baltan, standing in a dark corner of the room, “I think we’re past saying that anything’s impossible.” A young woman with maroon skin, piercing blue eyes, a red mohawk and dressed like a punk spoke next, “Well, would you look at that. The idiot of you three actually said something clever.” This was the commander of the Storm King’s armies, Tempest Shadow. Standing beside Tempest Shadow was a tall man with a similar build to Tirek. He had dark grey skin, snow-white hair, and a matching beard. His attire consisted of a grey turtleneck with black slacks, leather shoes and a black trench coat over him. This was the Storm King. Rather than engaging with his commander and new comrades, he silently glared at the Baltan, remembering the events that led him here. (Flashback) Storm King had been preparing for his next conquest when Fall and Baltan walked through a portal into his throne room. When she proposed that he and Tempest join her, the resulting argument was a vicious back and forth that finally resulted in the Storm King declaring loudly, “ENOUGH! I AM THE STORM KING, AND I WILL NOT PLAY SECOND FIDDLE TO SOME HAIRLESS APE AND HER PET BUG! NOW SCRAM THROUGH THE PORTAL YOU CAME FROM AND DON’T COME BACK!” “You can try to make us but I came here for a reason and I’m not leaving until I’ve completed it,” Fall challenged. “Fine by us.” “Would you like me to deal with them, sire?” Tempest asked. “What and waste your talents?” Storm asked, “No, they ain’t worth it. Zee, go fetch me their heads!” “Yes, sire,” the heavily tattooed female griffon replied. As the griffon approached, drawing her sword, Baltan moved in front of Fall protectively. “Oh, you wanna be first? Brave, but STUPID!” Zee shrieked as she swung horizontally. The sound the blade made upon contact with the alien was akin to a railroad spike on a chalkboard. Yet, despite this mighty blow, Baltan remained standing until a translucent shell appeared and fell away as the alien laughed mockingly. “Wh-what?” “What are you doing!? Kill them!” Storm barked. “Y-yes, sire!” Zee yelped and went for a vertical strike. This time, the Baltan did not just take the attack, but divided out of the way, creating two of the aliens! This finally made the Storm King stand up and take notice. “What kind of trick-?” “Oh, no tricks, just Baltan science,” Fall taunted. Zee hesitated, unsure of which of the laughing aliens to face. Rather than wait for the griffon to make up her mind, the Baltan on her left fired a white destruction ray from its pincers, throwing her into a pillar. While Zee survived the attack, her wing was broken, and her side was severely burned. Tempest Shadow initially stared in shock at the display but then grabbed an Obsidian Orb with a snarl, “HOW DARE YOU!” “Ah ah ah!” Fall said with a finger waggle, “I think you should check where you’re standing before you try anything.” A harsh heat began building on Tempest’s back followed by the telltale laugh of the Baltan having already teleported behind her. “Now about joining my team?” (End flashback) “Your Highness?” Tempest whispered. “What’s wrong?” “Nothing,” Storm replied, not wanting to alert Fall to his contempt. The last member of Fall’s small cabal of villains was a fairly new addition to Equestria’s long list of enemies. She was a purple-skinned girl with matching hair and a teal stripe running through it. She could have passed for Aria’s twin with her looks. Her name was Starlight Glimmer, former leader of the place known simply as Our Town, and self-proclaimed sworn enemy of Princess Twilight Sparkle. Though now surrounded by Equestria’s worst of the worst, she was wondering whether she should have just taken Twilight’s offer. “Um… Would you be so kind as to explain Mr. Tirek?” she asked. The former centaur glared at her for not calling him Lord Tirek, but obliged, “Very well. Long before Celestia and Luna took their thrones, giant celestial entities watched over Equis. No one could say where they really came from, but it was known that they came from the stars. Ultramen. Every so often one would appear, followed by a few months of conflict, then several years of peace. Then, around the time the two princesses arrived on the scene, the Ultras just stopped appearing.” “And when was this?” Fall asked. “Oh… About a thousand years ago if memory serves.” “So right around the time everything went to hell. Why did no one take action against Equestria before then?” “I don’t think you quite appreciate how powerful the Ultras were in comparison to anything in Equestria at that time. The legendary Grogar, the (supposed) father of all Equestrian monsters, did attempt to stand up to them when he first arrived on the scene, but after numerous failures to create a monster that could defeat them, he decided to get personally involved. According to this, mostly, lost legend, he turned himself into a giant monster to battle the first Ultraman. While some versions of the story say he did survive the fight, he was severely injured, and was left terrified of them.” Storm King scoffed, “If not even Grogar could stand up to these things, what chance do we have?” Fall gave Storm a glare, “Tirek, please explain to this simpleton what makes us different.” “Yes ma'am,” Tirek said, then walked to the front of the table, while pulling out his Dark Dummy Spark, “This is a Dark Dummy Spark, a device of immense dark power.” “Really?” Storm King heckled, “Because all I see is a foal’s toy.” Baltan raised a pincer at Storm King, causing the other occupants of the room, save the mouthy tyrant, to shrink in their seats. While not all of them had seen the Space Ninja in action, idle chatter while watching the fight had shown that the bipedal cicada was not one to test in combat. Chrysalis learned first-hand how brutal the alien was when it single-handedly trounced her entire hive at once and destroyed her anti-magic throne. Tirek frowned, but continued, “Our... unruly guest aside, when the device is coupled with a Spark Doll, in this case, a... Um, What did you call this one?” “Kemur Man,” Fall whispered to him. “A Kemur Man! When the tip of the device is touched to the Doll’s left foot,” Tirek performed the action to demonstrate, becoming engulfed in a dark aura. DARK LIVE! KEMUR MAN! The aura dissipated, revealing a humanoid alien with a tube on its head standing in Tirek’s place. “You become the Doll.” “Big whoop! So you turned into a living toy. Am I supposed to be-” Storm King was cut off by purple slime splashing onto him, almost appearing to dissolve him. The event got the attention of everyone in the room. “This toy is capable of spewing a slime from its head tube that transports its prey into a pocket dimension in its body,” Tirek explained then looked at the rest of his soon-to-be colleagues, “Anyone else feels like mouthing off?” A chorus of no’s and similar responses came from the ‘class’. Fall chuckled, “Alright, Tirek. As contemptible as I find that loudmouth, I still need him. Could you bring him back, please?” Tirek grumbled, but complied, unceremoniously dumping Storm King back into his chair. “Thank you. Now, there is more beyond the Dark Dummy Sparks,” Fall began, causing the entire room to perk up, “I’ve got another project in the works that will get even more mileage out of their power. Though, it will take some time to prepare. In the meantime, the Dazzlings will get you acquainted with this world. Being able to pass yourselves off as human will be absolutely critical to your survival here.” “And how long will this “project” of yours take?” a voice boomed from outside the room Tirek changed back into his human form with an odd dread forming in his chest. “Who. Was that?” Fall sighed, then said with a sneer, “My ‘benefactor’, Dark Lugiel.” Footsteps entering the room, announcing the presence of the only other being with more authority than Fall. However, his appearance was not a face any of the cabal had expected. “YOU!?”