Shine on! Ultrawoman Aster!

by Michael_Ravencroft

10th Light: Meet the Sparkles / Underground Attack!

Sunset was standing in some strange city, it wasn’t Canterlot City, that much she could tell. It was a gleaming city, very advanced from what she could tell, the landscape was made of some kind of platinum, so were the people, but they were faceless. 

“Hello…?” Sunset asked as she walked about. 

The people avoided her, the faceless phantoms just going about their day. 

“Hello? Where am I?” Sunset asked again. 

Sunset continued to wander, her eyes spotting a large castle in the distance, with winding spires and a strange light hovering over it. For some reason, it radiated with a calming light. Sunset felt some sort of familiarity with this place, but she couldn’t figure out why. 

Suddenly, the sky went dark and the people stopped what they were doing. The sky was then filled with dozens of shadowy creatures, each one ready to descend upon the city. Sunset instinctively readied herself to transform, but the StaRaizer didn’t come out. Sunset continued to try and summon the device, but it still wouldn’t appear. 

The monsters that littered the sky descended like meteors and the moment they did, fire swept through the city. Sunset put up her arms and screamed. 

Sunset awoke with a start, body dripping with sweat, hair a mess, and her chest rising and falling with each labored breath. The redhead grabbed her phone, it was already five-thirty. Sunset groaned, she hadn’t had a dream that bad in a long, long while. Not even fighting the Space Beasts caused her nightmares. But why did she see something like that?

Hell if I know…

Sunset found that sleep eluded her, plus, her clothes were sticking to her skin thanks to her sweating a moment ago. With the decision made for her, Sunset disrobed and jumped into her shower, letting the hot water soothe and relax her body, hoping that it might help her get back to sleep. No such luck. By the time she was done it was already six, her stomach grumbled. Deciding to get an early jump on breakfast, Sunset opened the door and was surprised to see Twilight cooking something in the kitchen. 

“Oh, Sunset, you’re awake? I thought you were going to sleep in since it’s the weekend?” Twilight asked. 

“Couldn’t sleep too well, so I just decided to get up at this ungodly hour,” said Sunset. 

“It’s just six in the morning,” said Twilight. 

“Like I said, ungodly.”

Twilight giggled. “I’m making some eggs and toast, did you want some?” 

“Sure.”

Sunset dragged herself over to the small table that was their dining room and sat down. Not long after, Twilight arrived with a plate of scrambled eggs and toast with jam on it. Once Twilight sat down, Sunset started eating. When she was halfway done she asked, “So, what’s on your agenda today?”

“Nothing much, I was just going to go visit my house today,” said Twilight. 

“Huh, something up?” Sunset asked. 

“No, I had spoken to my parents and they wanted me to come and see them, nothing major, just a visit.” Twilight took a swig of her OJ and paused to look at Sunset. “Um, if you don’t have anything planned, do you mind taking me? And possibly staying with me?” 

Sunset blinked. “I think it’s a little too early to meet your folks, Twi. I mean, you’re great and all, but I don’t think they’re ready to know about…us.”

Twilight gave Sunset a cockeyed look. “Uh, Sunset what are you…” Then it hit her and Sunset blushed. “Sunset!” 

The girl in question chuckled. “It’s too easy sometimes, but then I see that cute pouty face of yours and I can’t help myself!” 

Twilight crossed her arms and gave her a roll of the eyes. “Anyway…will you or won’t you?” 

“Will. I honestly got nothing better to do, and as far as I know, the team is out doing their own things.”

Twilight sighed with relief with that confirmation. “Thank you, I suggest we stay overnight, we have a spare bedroom, so you’ll at least need a pair of pajamas.”

“I’ll have to get my other ones, the ones I wore last night are damp and clingy,” said Sunset absentmindedly. 

Twilight blushed again. “O-Oh my…um…d-did you have one of those dreams?”

Sunset cocked an eyebrow. “ ‘Those dreams’ what do you – OH! Oh. I get what you mean.” The redhead leaned forward and shot Twilight a teasing look. “Why, you want the dirty details?” 

“NO! Sorry forget I asked!” 

Much like their last excursion out, Sunset rented a SMILE vehicle and drove the two of them into Canterlot City. As they drove, the cityscape gave way to a suburban area, Twilight gave Sunset directions as they continued down the various streets, eventually ending up before a two story house. It had a large porch, as evidenced by the patio furniture, along with a two car garage off to the right side of the house. 

Sunset pulled up against the curb and eyed the house, it was brown in color and fairly large and looked cozy. Both girls went to the backseat and grabbed their small bags of overnight clothes, Twilight led the way up the walkway and to the front door. From her skirt pocket Twilight took out a key and unlocked the front door. 

“Mom, Dad, Spike, I’m home!” Twilight called out. “And I have a guest too!”

When Sunset entered she took stock of her surroundings. It felt homey. There was a staircase to her right next to a coat closet, to her left was the living room with a large flat-screen TV, a couch, armchair, and a loveseat. At the center was a coffee table with a glass center and wooden frame, the legs were made of wrought iron and painted black. Right below the TV was a fireplace, electric, as far as Sunset could tell. 

There was a sound, as if someone was scrambling up top. Within seconds someone was at the top of the stairs. It was a young boy, about ten years old, he was kind of scrawny, had spiky green hair, and intense green eyes. He was wearing a purple shirt and a pair of khaki shorts. The boy himself had a big, bright smile on his face as those green eyes locked onto one girl in particular. 

“Twilight, you’re home!” he exclaimed. 

Within seconds the boy was bounding down the stairs before jumping straight at Twilight and tackle hugging her to the floor. Twilight let out an “oomph” followed by a “thud” as the two of them hit the floor. The young boy nuzzled the side of Twilight’s cheek affectionately, making Sunset chuckle. 

“Okay, I’m happy to see you too Spike!” 

With a slight shimmer of his body, Spike transformed before Sunset’s eyes. His body began to morph until his smooth skin turned into purple scales, his clothes seemed to morph at the same time, allowing a scaly, three-foot-long tail to come out. His fingers turned into claws, and his mouth turned into a muzzle, and Spike’s ears turned into frills. 

Sunset blinked a few times and then asked, “Uh…Twi, Spike just turned into a lizard.” 

Spike immediately stopped and looked up and panicked as he shifted back to his human form. “Uh…Uh…I…”

“It’s okay, Spike,” said Twilight as she got up. “This is my friend from school, Sunset Shimmer.” 

Spike blinked. “Wait, you have a friend that’s not me or Shining Armor? Who are you and what have you done with Twilight?”

Twilight rolled her eyes ruffled his hair. “Hilarious.”

“Twily?” Sunset, Twilight, and Spike turned towards the door down the hall and from it emerged a woman. 

Sunset had to blink a few times, because either Twilight had an older sister or her dad married someone way younger than him. The woman before her was wearing a white blouse and black skirt, her eyes were a baby-blue color, and her hair was purple with white streaks. She had fair skin, and looked beautiful, she was definitely a looker. 

The woman walked down the hall and stopped before her daughter and gave her a big hug. “Welcome home, baby!”

“Thanks, Mom,” said Twilight. 

Ah, she is her mom. Damn…!

Twilight and her mother broke the embrace, with the former turning to Sunset. “Mom, this is my friend, Sunset Shimmer.” 

Twilight’s mother looked a little shocked. “Twilight, you have a friend?! And you were bringing her over?! Why didn’t you tell us, we could’ve done something special!”

Sunset smiled awkwardly and waved her hand. “No, no, you don’t have to do anything on my occasion.”

“Nonsense! It’s not everyday my little Twily brings home a friend! Oh goodness where are my manners,” Twilight’s mother offered her hand, “I’m Twilight Velvet Sparkle. But I go by Velvet.”

“Nice to meet you,” said Sunset as she shook Velvet’s hand. “Honestly, I was wondering if you were Twilight’s big sister.”

Velvet gave a lilting chuckle. “You have no idea how many times I hear that. But it’s true, I’m her forty-year-old mother, but it’s nice to know I still pass for a younger woman.”

“Hey, where’s Dad?” Twilight asked. 

“He’s out running some errands – which reminds me, I should call him and tell him to pick something up! Will you be joining us for dinner, Sunset?” Velvet asked. 

“Yeah, I’m staying overnight, at least.”

Velvet clapped her hands together. “Wonderful~! Twilight, show her the guest room and I’ll go call your father.”

The three teens watched as Velvet disappeared back into her office, Twilight led Sunset. On the way up, they passed by a few rooms, one was left open and had posters of superheroes and action figures. Sunset assumed that that was Spike’s, but then she came to another one and saw the second one that was similar to the other. Another door, Twilight’s room she assumed, had a bookshelf filled with all sorts of tomes on many different subjects, a small chemical lab in one corner, and a PC on another side of the room.

The spare bedroom was, well, a spare bedroom. It had a nightstand, a king sized bed, and a dresser with an attached mirror, simple, which was fine, Sunset didn’t need much for a night’s stay. Sunset placed her small bag on the bed and looked to Twilight. 

“So…Spike,” Sunset began. 

“Yeah…he’s an Alien Dragonoid. We’re all human, but Spike, he’s my adopted little brother,” said Twilight. 

Sunset sat at the edge of the bed and asked, “How’d that happen? I hear it’s kinda hard for human families to adopt an alien child, a lot of red tape and crap.”

“Normally, yes, but with Spike it was different. You see, it was when I was six-years-old and I was out stargazing with my Dad. One night we saw what we thought was a shooting star, but that quickly turned into a meteor that smashed near our area. Dad’s an astrologist, and I’m just as big a nerd as he is, so we investigated. Turns out the meteor was a purple looking egg.” 

Twilight leaned against the doorframe as she recalled the memory. “We took it to his lab and alerted SMILE, it wasn’t radioactive or contaminated with any germs, so I was allowed to carry it around. What I didn’t know was that I was warming up the egg with my body heat until it hatched, and Spike was born. We tried to look for any Dragonoids in the area missing an egg, SMILE even reached out to the Dragonoid Embassy, but nothing. So we adopted him, of course Mom and Dad had to jump through all the legal hoops, but we managed it.”

Sunset smiled. “That’s cool.”

Just then, Spike knocked on the door. “Hey, Mom, Mom says she wants to know if pizza’s okay for dinner tonight since it’s a ‘special occasion’?!”

Sunset raised an eyebrow and Twilight blushed up to her ears. 

“Y-Yes, that’s perfectly fine! You know what I like!” Twilight quickly turned to Sunset. “Sunset, y-your like pepperoni too, right?!”

“Yep.” 

“GOOD, GREAT! Go tell Mom, Spike!” Twilight stated stiffly. 

Spike shrugged at Twilight behavior and went back downstairs. Twilight face palmed and dragged that same palm down her face. 

“Did he just…call you Mom?” Sunset asked as she smirked. “Twi, Sparky, is there something I should know about you? Be honest, is Spike your lovechild?”

Twilight made an “X” with her hands and shook her head. “No! Nothing like that! For gods sake I was six! He imprinted onto me! I was the first person he saw, and he called me… ‘momma’…as he got older we told him that I wasn’t his mom, and that I wasn’t old enough to be his mother. Since scent is a strong way for Dragonoids to know their parents, my Mom spent a lot of time with him, since apparently my Mother and I share a similar scent. But every once and awhile he’ll call me ‘mom’ without realizing it…”

Sunset chuckled. “That’s really cute, Twi.” 

“Cute…but embarrassing.” Twilight slumped. “Do you have any idea the looks I got when I was younger whenever he said that out loud? I don’t really mind it at home, but out in the open, it gives people ideas.”

Sometime later, Twilight’s father, Night Light, a man with cobalt blue hair and pale yellow eyes, walked in with a few pizza pies. The man was just as ecstatic about his daughter having an actual friend as Velvet was. Once they all sat at the table, Sunset couldn’t help but ask about Spike calling Twilight “Mom”. 

That seemed to tickle the two parents’ funny bone, which also made Twilight slide down in her seat as her face heated up from embarrassment. Spike seemed completely unfazed by it, he understood why it was embarrassing to Twilight, but he also couldn’t help but think of her that way sometimes. 

“Oh yes, Spike used to do that all the time, less so now, but back then, it was so cute,” said Velvet. 

“I remember this one time Spike got lost in the supermarket, he kept crying out ‘Momma, Momma!’ again and again until one of the workers found him. Velvet and I got there and were trying to calm him down, when Velvet tried to hold him he said ‘Not the Momma!’ and threw a toy at her head.”

Sunset had to bite down hard on the piece of pizza to keep the food from flying from her mouth from laughter. Spike finally seemed embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his head. 

“When Twilight made it to the station, he immediately calmed down and waddled over to her, he was so adorable. Of course the workers gave us some looks, but that’s to be expected, but whatever, the heck with them,” said Velvet. 

“Hey! Why don’t we talk about Sunset! We haven’t let her say anything!” Spike interjected. 

Twilight flinched and quickly said, “No, no, let’s keep this going! I mean, what about that time when Spike and I–!”

“Twi,” Sunset spoke gently. “I don’t mind, really. What do you want to know?”

“Well, what drew you to going to SMILE?” Night Light asked. 

Sunset shrugged a little. “I was adopted by the Commander/Principal of SMILE Academy, Celestia Solstice, so you can say I just decided to go there just because, at first anyway.”

“Oh my, I’m sorry, I didn’t know…” Velvet stated. 

“It’s fine, honestly, I also have zero memories of my past, so I couldn’t tell you if I had a good life or bad one before being adopted. At first I just joined SMILE because, well, what else was I going to do. But, after awhile, and after meeting Sparky here, I decided that I want to help protect the world.”

It was as simple a thing as Sunset could manage to say, because it was true, she didn’t have much in the way of direction when it came to her being Aster, or what she should do with her life. After meeting Twilight, it just clicked in her head that this was what she was meant to do, what she wanted to do. 

“Wow, I didn’t know our little Twily inspired you so much,” said Night Light. 

“I wouldn’t say ‘inspired’,” said Twilight sheepishly. 

“Don’t sell yourself short, Sparky.” Sunset gave her friend a playful jab to the shoulder. “You gave me some clarity, which was what I really needed, and a little push in the right direction.”

Velvet smiled at the way Sunset and Twilight interacted, she and her husband had feared that Twilight’s introverted nature would prevent her from making any kind of friends outside her family, but seeing Sunset Shimmer put those fears to rest. 

“It’s also great that we’re on the same team,” said Sunset. 

Twilight flinched. 

“Team?” Night Light asked. “You mean, sports?” 

“No, although Twi almost got nailed by a dodgeball one time. No, we’ve been granted Special Agent status, and we’re on a team along with five other girls,” said Sunset. 

Velvet narrowed her gaze. “I see, and, what kind of activities did you go on?” 

“Oh…uh…” Twilight stammered. 

“Well, Twi’s not really a ‘in the field’ kind of person. But she has helped in modifying a Gungir and Goliath. Oh! And she made these blaster weapons that shoot the same energy as Ultrawoman Aster, they came in real handy during that kidnapping case that we worked, well me, AJ and Rainbow Dash, and Flash, but–”

Twilight swiftly stuffed a slice of pizza into Sunset’s mouth in an attempt to silence her. Sunset was about to ask why she did that, that is until she noticed the tense looks in Night Light and Velvet’s faces. Spike seemed to have read the room and kept his focus on the meal before him. 

“Twilight, if you don’t mind, can we talk a little later in my study?” Velvet asked. 

“Y-Yes, Mom,” said Twilight. 

Sunset didn’t understand why, but the rest of dinner was tense after that moment. She helped clean up and put away the leftover pizza, afterwards, Sunset headed upstairs and decided to get changed into her sleepwear. When she was done, a knock came at her door, Sunset walked over and opened it to find Spike on the other end. Sunset leaned against the doorframe as she crossed her arms. 

“If you’re trying to sneak a peek at me, it’s usually done without knocking first, but I’ll give you credit for being polite,” said Sunset with a smirk. 

Spike blushed. “T-That’s not why I came here! I’m not a perv!” Spike settled down and sighed. “It’s about what happened at dinner.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow and invited Spike inside. He sat at the edge of her bed while she leaned up against the wall. 

“Momma Velvet and Dad, they’ve never really been that enthusiastic about Mo –uh – Twilight going to SMILE,” said Spike. 

“Why not?” Sunset asked. 

“They were afraid of Twilight getting caught up in Space Beast and alien stuff. Kind of like the stuff you were talking about at dinner. Twilight wanted to go there because she knew SMILE would allow her to ‘broaden her horizons’. Even though she knew they were mostly about defending the Earth, they are the best. Twilight eventually wore them down and they allowed her to join, on the condition that she wouldn’t do anything dangerous.”

Sunset suddenly realized her faux pas earlier and tensed up. “W-Wait, all that stuff I said, she wasn’t involved in any of it! True, she did make the blasters, and the mods to the machines, but she hasn’t been involved in any battles or anything!”

Spike nodded. “I figured, Twi’s brave, but she’s not like a hardcore fighter or anything. She’s more the brains behind the operation kind of girl. But I think Momma Velvet and Dad feel that that’s just as dangerous, and that it’s only a matter of time before she’s pulled into a mission like that.”

Sunset was starting to worry. “How bad is it?” 

“Don’t know…” Spike fidgeted. “Honestly, I miss seeing Twilight, I was kinda sad when she left for SMILE. But I know it’s what she wants and it’ll help her to be a great scientist. But, Momma Velvet and Dad might just take her out and put her in some fancy school closer to home. I’d like that, but I know it’d make her sad.”

Sunset suddenly felt more worried than when she was off world and had to deal with that Zodio civil war. And that scared her more for some reason, not the monsters, not the aliens, but losing someone she had come to call a friend, that made her scared. 

“Crap…I should’ve kept my stupid mouth shut…”

Velvet and Night Light were in the study with Twilight, the young girl sighing as she awaited her parents to ask their questions. 

“I’m going to tell you now. No, I haven’t been involved in any of the recent operations having to deal with Space Beasts or aliens. My expertise has mainly been in lab work and engineering.”

“Well…that’s good to hear, Twilight, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t get called on at some point,” said Velvet. 

“SMILE doesn’t force me to do anything that I am not comfortable with. As I am a student, any dangerous assignments or potentially dangerous assignments involving a minor does require the permission from a parent or guardian. And of course, I’d call you if that were the case anyway.”

Night Light leaned back in his chair and sighed. “I know…we know, but, Twilight, we’re just worried is all. I mean, there was that incident when the Phantom Zone didn’t appear.”

“Yes, and I was there for that. In fact, I helped in the restoration of the Phantom Zone generator,” said Twilight. 

Both Velvet and Night Light looked at their daughter with eyes wide with shock. 

“SMILE is aware of my expertise, and wouldn’t put me in a situation where they knew I wasn’t physically able perform the task they need of me. Plus, I trust Sunset, as well as my other teammates,” said Twilight. 

Velvet sighed as she rested her right hand against her cheek. “When Shining Armor decided to join the military, we were worried, but we knew he’d be fine…but when you said you wanted to go to SMILE Academy…” 

Night Light leaned forward and clasped his hands together. “We know that SMILE is more on the front lines when it comes to things regarding aliens and Space Beasts, and the military is the secondary line of defense, that’s why we aren’t as worried. You’ve only ever shown an interest in science, so going to SMILE kind of threw us for a loop for a minute.”

Twilight couldn’t blame her parents for feeling the way she did. Even she questioned her choice at first, but all the data showed that SMILE was on the cutting edge of science and technology, mostly because they integrated a lot of technology and knowledge from other worlds in order to advance our defense systems and Earth’s medical knowledge as well. So it only made sense that Twilight wanted to go there, and even though SMILE was in the business of training people to become defenders of Earth, it also knew that not all wanted to enter into a career with SMILE, which was way they allowed students to come in who weren’t specifically going to join SMILE after graduating. 

“Twilight, we just don’t want you to get hurt. Shining Armor is in the military and we worry everyday about him, but as we said, SMILE is the first line of defense, which means if there’s any kind of attack, or counterattack, it’s SMILE getting hit or attacking first,” said Night Light. 

“We respect your decision, Twilight, but, we’re still not thrilled about it. So, we’ll trust you to not take risks and do anything dangerous, but if you get hurt because of SMILE, then we won’t hesitate, we’ll pull you out,” said Velvet. 

Twilight’s eyes widened with shock. “MOM?!”

“I’m with your mother on this one, honey. I’d rather you’d be alive to hate us than dead,” Night Light added. 

Twilight wasn’t one to go against her parents, and right now, she felt like telling them that getting hurt was unavoidable, something was bound to happen, but the school jumped through hoops to ensure the safety of every student in the school, even those who were pulled away for missions. But at the same time, Twilight felt that if she fought them on this that they might just go ahead and unenrolled her. 

“I understand,” said Twilight as she left the room and trudged up the stairs. 

Twilight entered her room and plopped onto the bed and sighed heavily into the comforter. She knew that there were a myriad of different schools in the city that boasted high academic potential for her, but after spending the time she had at SMILE, none of them could compare. 

A light knock came at the door and Twilight thought it was one of her parents, but when she angled her head towards the door she noticed that it was Sunset. Twilight rolled onto her side and looked at her friend with a small smile on her face. “Oh, Sunset it’s you.”

“Hey, Twi, you alright?” Sunset asked. 

“Yeah…kind of…” Twilight answered. 

Sunset sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. “I’m sorry, I should’ve read the room better…I didn’t know your parents weren’t onboard about you going to SMILE and here I am bragging about the crap we get into over there…”

Twilight waved her hands as if to dismiss that. “No, you don’t have anything to apologize for! I mean…what you said was true, I wasn’t directly involved in any of those operations, they’re just a little overprotective.”

Sunset walked over and sat at the edge of her bed. “Still, I’m sorry. I guess they don’t think too well of me either.”

“Actually, I think they like you.” Twilight mused as she sat up. 

“I don’t want to sound like a jerk or anything…but is it that surprising that you have a friend?” Sunset asked. 

Twilight looked down at the floor as a sad smile across her lips. “I wasn’t a very social person in elementary and middle school. Even when I was younger, I was smarter than the majority of my peers. While being a prodigy sounds like something amazing, it isn’t always. What they don’t tell you about is how lonely it makes you feel. That adults seem to give you more attention or try to measure you to that prodigy and foisting high expectations.”

Sunset’s brow furrowed. “How’s that any of your fault?! Sounds like they’re parents were the problem, and their egos, not you.”

“Intellectually, I knew that. But the little girl in me was still hurt by it. So I became a little – okay a lot – introverted. I guess that was another reason why I wanted to go to SMILE. With so many different alien races in the school, surely there would be a handful or more who were smarter than me. I never thought I would meet someone like you…or become friends with you right away,” said Twilight with a smile. 

Sunset smirked as she crossed her arms. “Someone like me, huh?”

Twilight bumped her shoulder against Sunset’s. “You know what I mean.”

[ALERT! ALERT!]

“You gotta be kidding me?!” Sunset exclaimed. 

Both girls whipped out their holoframes, and sure enough there was a warning for a Space Beast attack. The sounds of rapidly approaching footsteps drew their attention and the girls watched as Velvet appeared in Twilight’s doorway, while Night Light zoomed past her and towards Spike’s room. 

“Girls! We need to go to the shelter, NOW!” Velvet stated. 

Sunset thought quickly, she needed to get out there and become Aster. “A-A-Actually, I just got a call to come in as quickly as possible! Yep! So, you guys head to the shelter, and I’ll head out now! Like, right now!”

Sunset put her holoframe away and rushed past Velvet who looked confused. The older woman glanced at her daughter and asked, “You didn’t get a message too did you?”

“No, but let’s hurry and go!” 

Sunset took the rented SMILE car and drove out to as remote a place as she could find. Once she was sure she wasn’t in sight of anyone, she quickly summoned her StaRaizer and entered the starry nexus. 

“Grant me the strength of a hero!”

“Grant me the power of a galaxy!”

“Release the light within me!”

Light erupted upwards towards the sky, as the giant of light, Ultrawoman Aster, arose with a sparkling entrance. The Phantom Zone washed over the area, separating the dimensions and shelters from the current one they were placed in. Aster was about to fly out towards the city, that is until the earth beneath her feet began to rumble. 

“What the…?”

As soon as she said those words, something big burst from the ground before her. Aster was thrown backwards as something struck her chest and sent sparks flying everywhere. The Ultra hero rolled around and then quickly recovered, getting into a kneeling position as she shot her head towards what had attacked her. 

The dim light of night made it hard to make out, but her enhanced vision was allowing her to make out some details. The creature looked like a mole, but it had eyes that were bright yellow, and it’s fur was purple, with its underbelly a lighter shade of purple. It’s front paws had four long talons, while it’s hind feet had three. It’s snout had razor sharp teeth, with two buck teeth in front, and it’s nose blossomed like a flower. 

The creature gave a roar as it locked eyes with Aster. The Ultrawoman stood up and released her own battle cry as she charged for the mole monster. Both the monster and giant slammed against each other, Aster threw a punch at its head, but the oversized paw of the monster blocked her attack. The mole monster used its body and slammed back against Aster, causing her to lose her balance.

The Space Beast raised its right claw and swiped it across Aster’s chest again, causing more sparks to fly from her body. Aster grunted, but then channeled energy to her hands and fired off multiple Beam Bullets at the monster. The beam bullets hit their marks as sparks flew from the mole monster, but the creature looked unfazed by the explosions. 

“Tough hide huh? I got something for that!”

Aster’s body glowed red and then was engulfed in raging flames. 

When the fires died out, Aster had entered her power form, the revolver chambers on her arms and legs spun once, and locked when she entered her attack stance. “I’ll burn you away with the flames of my heart!”

Aster began her charge towards the mole monster, just as its left claw came down and struck her. But thankfully, Solaris Maximus boasted not only great offense but also defense. While the blow did damage, it was minimal compared to earlier, allowing Aster to wind up her left fist and punch the monster right in its chest. The mole monster was sent skidding backwards, destroying several houses as it did so. 

Aster slammed her right fist into the palm of her left hand and said, “That’s right tough guy, I can dish it out twice as hard!”

The mole monster made some hissing sounds and then flexed its claws. The claws began to glow with a dim white color, and there was a distinct humming sound in the air. The mole monster fell forward and struck the ground, immediately a plume of dirt and dust was shot into the air, obscuring Aster’s view. The Ultrawoman hurried to its location, but only found a giant hole in the ground. 

Aster got on guard, she couldn’t figure out where the attack was going to come from, not with that creature going underground. Suddenly, the ground beneath her feet began to rumble, as quick as before, the mole monster erupted from the earth and slashed at her back. The creature’s talons hurt more than they did last time, most likely due to the white glow, she figured. 

She quickly turned around and readied to unleash an attack, but the creature was gone, having ducked back down the hole it sprang from. Without missing a beat, the mole monster attacked again, slashing her side and causing more sparks to fly from her body. Aster grunted with annoyance and frustration, not to mention pain as well as those attacks were starting to hurt. All she could do at the moment was stand firm and brace herself. Well, that wasn’t all she could do. 

“Okay, you want to play this game, then let’s see how you like THIS!” Aster’s body began to build up energy, her body ignited with flames that grew bigger and bigger. She felt another rumble beneath her feet and then cried out, “NOVA BURN!!!”

A giant explosion of fiery energy burst forth from her body, burning everything around her. The sphere of fire expanded further and further until it was at least an even hundred meters radius. When it was over, Aster was standing in a smoldering crater, the ground hissing as steam wafted off the molten rock. She looked around, trying to find any trace of the monster, but so far couldn’t see it. Still, she was on edge, that was too easy, even for her. 

Unfortunately, she wasn’t going to have time to verify as her Color Timer began blinking red. Dammit…I can’t stop now, I’m not even sure I got it! The red light continued to blink, in less than a minute she would return to her human form and be completely defenseless should the monster still be there, but that also meant that an entire neighborhood would be left to its mercy. Three hours…just gotta hope it doesn’t do anything until then. 

Aster jumped into the sky and took off, her body shimmering and transforming into light as she landed somewhere far from the battlefield returned to her human form. Sunset quickly took out her holoframe and called Celestia. 

{Sunset, are you alright?}

“Yeah, don’t worry about me! Listen, I’m not sure if I got the monster! It was digging around underground, so I’m not sure if my last attack even destroyed it! It could still be roaming around down here! Don’t deactivate the–!”

Just as she said those words, the purple sky began to vanish, and the burning crater that Sunset, as Aster, left behind was erased as if nothing had happened. 

“–Phantom…Zone…”

{Oh no, I’ll have them reactivate it immediately, are you still able to fight?!}

“No! I’m out of time, I need to wait at least three hours! I can transform again, after an hour, but that’ll only give me one minute of active time!”

Celestia nodded. {I understand, I’m having them restart the Phantom Zone, we’ll send in Gungirs and Goliaths with seismic detection equipment and–!}

Suddenly, a rumbling sound caught Sunset off balance and nearly made her fall. It was then that a call was coming through, the name read “Twilight Sparkle”. With fear in her heart, Sunset tapped on the incoming call and Twilight’s face appeared. 

“Twilight, what’s wrong?!” Sunset asked. 

{Uh…S-Sunset, I-I don’t want you to panic…cause I’m trying not to…b-but I think the Space Beast found the shelter!}

“WHAT?!” Sunset brought up Celestia alongside Twilight’s screen. “Celestia, hurry up and turn on the Phantom Zone!”

{It’s activating in three…two…one!}

As soon as Celestia gave that countdown, the Phantom Zone spread across the sky. Sunset went back to Twilight and said, “It’s back up, you should be safe now!” the ground shook again and on Twilight’s end as well. 

{That doesn’t explain the rumbling though! Hold on.} Sunset and Celestia watched as Twilight moved around. She stopped and then did something off-screen. {Oh dear…um…we have a problem…The Phase Space Generator isn’t working!}

Celestia and Sunset were stunned silent. The generator was responsible for keeping the shelters out of sync with the Phantom Zone, wasn’t working…

At the War Room inside SMILE Academy, Celestia and Luna held a meeting regarding the issue with the shelter, along with the Space Beast, video conferencing Captain Spitfire and Captain Magnus, and one of their structural tech experts, Torque. From Sunset’s description of the creature and the satellite images from when it landed, the Space Beast was a Maulwurf. They brought in a specialist from the Preserve, a Dr. Fauna, a woman with icy blue hair and lemon-yellow colored eyes. According to the doctor, the Maulwurf was a subterranean creature that could vibrate its talons at supersonic speeds in order to dig through solid rock, and steel.

The creature had a thick hide, allowing it to withstand the rough sediment and heat of the underground of its native world. Maulwurfs were extremely aggressive creatures, and more often than not, were vindictive in nature. They would chase down whatever crossed them and destroy it. However, knowing their foe was only half the battle, they still had the issue of the hundred or so people who were now in harm’s way. The theory was that the Maulwurf must’ve retreated further underground during Aster’s Nova Burn attack, and because of that, when the Phantom Zone was brought down, it must’ve nicked the shelter with its talons and damaged the Phase Space Generator. 

{Right now, we have few options, that Maulwurf is a predator, it sure as hell knows that there is prey close by and will more than likely attack it,} said Captain Magnus. 

{Its eyesight is very poor, but it’s hearing is perfect, so long as they remain as quiet as possible, then the Maulwurf won’t find them,} said Dr. Fauna. 

{Then why don’t we just make some noise up top? Make it think that there’s more food on the surface than where it’s at?} Captain Spitfire asked. 

Dr. Fauna shook her head. {Maulwurfs won’t abandon an easy kill, especially one that’s close by and within its reach. If anything, it might come back up after it’s done with that shelter…} 

Luna tapped on her holoframe and brought up a three-dimensional replica of the shelter and the surrounding area via a hologram. It showed the residential area, and a cube structure about two miles down under the ground. It was made up of four cubes, one at the center which spread out into three additional structures labeled “Supplies”, “Medical”, “Recreation”, and the center serving as “Residential”. 

Luna studied the structure and asked, “And we’re sure the generator is damaged? Perhaps it’s a system error?”

“Even if it was, the system is closed off. The shelter receives input from the shelter captain, once the shelter captain has confirmed the shelter is full, they close the doors and activate the generator manually, it’s done that way to prevent hacking from the outside and causing an incident like the one we have now,” said Celestia. 

{Can it be repaired? I’m sure at least some of the civilians have experience in mechanics, maybe if we send instructions, they can repair it?} Magnus suggested.  

Torque shook her head. {That’s a negative. I wouldn’t recommend a novice work on it, plus, we don’t know how extensive the damage is. And if that creature is circling them like a shark, then the noise from the repairs could draw it towards them and then…well…}

Celestia clenched her fists, they were quite literally between a rock and hard place. For now, the civilians were safe, but it would only take one errant sound and the Maulwurf would tear apart the shelter like a can of sardines and feast on the people inside. It was too deep below ground to attack, and even if they used weapons made to penetrate to that depth, they ran the risk of damaging the shelter. 

Her thoughts turned to Sunset, her last communication with her young ward informed her that Twilight was able to relay the information about the Maulwurf to the rest of the shelter occupants, that would at least ease their worries about the people making unwanted noise and attracting the Maulwurf’s attention. From there, their communication had been through text messages. They were also receiving the same kind of messages, monitoring the communications coming from the shelter, as well as receiving several calls from different people, asking what SMILE was going to do to help them? Celestia knew Sunset was going to feel at fault for this, she silently prayed to whatever god was listening that something would happen, Sunset was starting to open up, and Twilight Sparkle was the reason behind that. She didn’t want to see Sunset retreat back into herself and become distant like she used to be. 

Twilight sat huddled against the terminal, the lights were still working, and she managed to hack her way into the operating systems of the shelter to rig the machines for silent running. It reduced them to a low hum, but given the hearing of the Maulwurf, it only made it aware that they’re there, but not enough to pinpoint their location. The children were told to remain quiet and still, the adults admonished them harshly if they spoke above a whisper or giggled too loudly. In reality, Twilight didn’t think a child’s giggle would make that much noise, so long as the entire shelter didn’t break into hysterics than they’d be fine. 

Mothers with babies had made their way to rooms that had extra insolation, afraid their babies’ cries would draw the monster’s attention. 

Twilight scanned the room with her eyes, the residential area was about a hundred meters tall and had several rooms that could fit at least five people at max, it might be a bit cramped, but it was better than nothing. There were floors upon floors stretching upwards, while at the center, there was a small grassy garden with a fountain, now shut off, of course. 

Three large doors led to the different areas that were used for different purposes, the main building had a medical ward, but that was mostly for stabilization before moving them into the medical wing of the shelter. 

Twilight had her mother, father, and Spike sitting on her left. Velvet hugged Spike close to her, he was visibly scared, shaking in her arms. Some would make fun of Spike, he was a Dragonoid, and Dragonoids were known for their fierceness and often no-nonsense attitudes, but Spike wasn’t like that. He was gentle, dorky, a great cook, just as good as their mother, and very smart. Twilight didn’t rightly care what others thought of Spike, he was fine the way he was, he didn’t need to act like other Dragonoids. Plus, given their current situation, it was perfectly natural to seek comfort from your parents. 

Night Light had his arm draped over Twilight’s shoulders, offering his comforting presence without hindering her work. She smiled, remembering the times before when she was held in the strong arms of her father, feeling like nothing in the world could harm her. A slight rumble made everyone freeze for a minute, but when nothing happened and they relaxed a little. 

The young genius looked down at her holoframe and saw a message from Sunset that read, [How are things right now?]

[Tense…there was a rumble just now. It’s like we’re in a sinking raft and there’s a shark swimming around just waiting for us to fall in.]

[Dammit…this is all my fault! I should’ve…I don’t know…!]

Twilight sighed sadly. [Sunset, it’s NOT your fault. You didn’t send the Maulwurf to Earth. You didn’t damage the Phase Space Generator. The only thing you did was try and defeat the monster, but it went somewhere beyond the reach of your attacks, it’s not like you could help it. So, stop blaming yourself, I know we’ll figure a way out of this.]

[……Just hang on, Sparky. I’ll get you guys out of there.]

Twilight smiled, leaned back, and sighed. 

“Trying to think of something, Twily?” Night Light asked in a whisper. 

“Yes…Sunset’s given me some information from SMILE regarding what they know of the Maulwurf. Thankfully we were able to get everyone to be silent before we gave ourselves away. Right now they’re trying to lure it up to the surface by making as much noise as possible, but they’re not sure if it’ll take the bait with easy prey nearby.”

Night Light made a grim expression. “Quite the conundrum…”

Twilight continued to think, there had to be some way of making the Maulwurf go away from them, but also drive it upwards towards the surface. It was sensitive to sound, could barely see…sensitive to sound. 

Sensitive to sound…? Twilight looked about the room, the various speakers that lined the different levels. She slowly started to lean forward a bit, her brain working overtime. Twilight quickly hacked back into the shelter’s systems, looking up the audio system’s configuration. Night Light, Velvet, and Spike could see Twilight’s intense look of concentration, she only ever got that way when she was close to getting an idea. 

Then that expression warped to one that reminded them of a mad scientist. “I think I have a solution!”

“Twi, this plan is bogus!” Spike stated in a harsh whisper. 

“It’s not ‘bogus’, it’ll work.

Twilight had messaged Sunset, Commander Celestia, and Vice Commander Luna about her plan to make the Maulwurf go away from the shelter. She would hack the audio system of the entire shelter and release a loud feedback that would hurt the Maulwurf’s ears so bad that it would run away. Problem was that it had been strong enough to travel through the rock and sediment around them. Twilight deduced that the center Residential area, with its structure and height, would better amplify the sound waves and penetrate to the outside. The downside to this plan is that it was going to hurt their own ears. 

“Twi, there’s no way anyone’s going to be able to withstand that much feedback blaring in their ears!” 

“I know, we’ll have the people inside move to the other three locations, then we’ll set it off,” Twilight explained. 

The plan was relayed to the rest of the people in the shelter, some were highly skeptical of Twilight’s plan, a plan thought up by a teenager wasn’t exactly an easy sell to a bunch of scared adults. But thankfully, with a mass message to the residents of their shelter via their holoframes and cellphones, instructing them to lesson to a one, “Miss Twilight Sparkle, Special Agent of SMILE ''. 

The police and SMILE agents that were inside with them were helping with the redirecting of the people into the other three areas, packing them in as best they could. While they were doing this, Twilight was rigging the audio system, once in awhile she had to stop when Sunset messaged her. 

[This plan of yours is nuts, Sparky.]

[Maybe, but it’s better than nothing. By now you should be able to remain transformed for at least one minute. I hope that’s enough time for you to take care of the Maulwurf.]

[I’m going to make every second count! I won’t let it get away from me again!]

Twilight smiled and wrote, [I know you won’t. ☺] Twilight continued to type against the hard-light screen of her holoframe, putting all her mental power into her work as her family hovered close by. 

One of the officers walked up to them and spoke softly. “We managed to evac the entire residential area, Supply, Recreation, and Medical are filled to capacity.”

“Thank you, let’s move to recreation,” said Twilight. 

The Sparkle family and the officer swiftly, but calmly, made their way down the long hallway that connected each module of the space. Just then, the hall began to rumble, making the others stop. The rumble got stronger and stronger until they realized with a panic that it was getting closer. That was when they heard the shearing of metal, they looked to their left and watched as the Maulwurf’s talons were digging through the wall and was about to slash right through it at any second. 

Twilight, thinking quickly, pushed her parents forward, Spike, letting his human disguise fall, used his Dragonoid strength to pull both his parents forward and onto the other side just as the talons cut through the tunnel. Twilight hurriedly ran the other way towards the Residential area and closed the door behind her. The fear and panic was starting to grip her yet again, much like that day when Sunset saved her, the trembling of her hands, the rapid beating of her heart, it felt like she was having a heart attack. Twilight mentally knew that this wasn’t what was happening, it was a panic attack, right down to the cold sweat she was experiencing. 

She was alone, and the Maulwurf was practically on the other side of that door. Her vision started to blur and Twilight’s legs felt weak, she felt like she was about to pass out, about to die. At that moment, an image of Sunset appeared in her mind, of the flame haired girl looking at her with a confident smile, no worries that she would come through for her. 

Twilight focused on that, her plan, she had to finish her plan. But now she’d be subject to the feedback the moment she activated it, and the sound could not only bust her eardrums, but possibly rupture her organs and brain. She acted quickly, going into one of the rooms and pulling out the mattress, and then going into another room and pulling out its mattress. She then grabbed as many pillows as she could find and piled her findings onto the floor. With some ingenuity, Twilight was able to fashion herself a little fort, with the mattresses, she made a six walled structure, lined the inside with as many thick pillows as she could find, and used the sixth mattress to close it like a crypt. 

Twilight used some pillow cases to wrap around her head, pinning her ears back to muffle whatever sound would be coming at them. She had to remove her glasses, but made sure that the button was ready to hit and start the reaction. Twilight’s breaths were erratic, and she was more than sure she’d pass out before this was over. But she had to do it, or else everyone was going to die, including her. Steeling her nerves, Twilight hit the button, dropped the hollowframe and covered her already covered ears. 

Almost immediately the entire Residential block came alive with the worst sounding feedback imaginable. It was so strong that it made the structure rumble, Twilight gritted her teeth and huddled into a fetal position. The small crypt of mattress and padding that she created was only minimally dampening the sound, the pain was still there, but she needed to endure it, just a bit longer. There was another sound that caught her attention, the sound of a creature crying out in pain. 

Sunset had her StaRaizer on, waiting for Twilight’s plan to go into action. Not a moment later, her holoframe went off and alerted her to the sound wave pulses taking place beneath her feet. Her holoframe was secretly connected to Celestia and Luna’s command center, granting her a sonar image of the Maulwurf’s position. 

It showed the creature, which was close to the shelter, suddenly shooting straight up and away from the structure. Sunset fist pumped as she watched the monster ascend faster and faster, she was about to shut off her holoframe and transform, but that’s when she saw something that made her heart plummet. 

“YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME?!” 

The sonar showed that the Maulwurf stopped about a half mile from the surface and was just holding there. Sunset wanted to throw her holoframe to the ground, it was so close, but still too far for her attacks to reach. The feedback would only last for a minute, and she didn’t have any way of attacking it from the surface. 

“C’mon, there’s gotta be something! Twilight’s going to die if I don’t!” Sunset begged to anyone, anything that would listen to her. 

Something must’ve heard her as the StaRaizer device’s sun-star emblem began to glow. Sunset held out her arm, and from the StaRaizer arose two Ultra Coins. Unlike the previous ones, these two had a silver finish on the back, but also had the images of two Ultra Warriors on the front. Sunset took the two coins into her left hand and held them close to her heart as she closed her eyes. 

“Gaia…Victory…” Sunset opened her eyes and narrowed her gaze. “Alright then, let’s do this!”

A bright beam of light shined straight up into the sky, and from the pillar of light appeared the giant known as Ultrawoman Aster. Unfortunately, as they predicted, an hour of charge time granted only a minute of fight time as her Color Timer was already flashing red. 

“Then let’s not waste time!” Within the starry nexus, Sunset summoned her Stellugger into her right hand, and in her left, she readied the two Ultra Coins. “Let’s go you guys, lend me your power!”

Sunset placed the first coin into the top slot of the Stellugger. 

A red Ultraman appeared to her right, it looked similar to Agul, but different. She then placed the second coin into the second slot. 

Another Ultraman appeared to her left, this one sported glowing, yellow crystals, one of which was shaped like a “V” on its forehead. The two Ultramen broke down into particles of red and yellow energy that energized the Stellugger in Sunset’s hands. 

On the outside, the weapon was sparking, releasing arcs of yellow and red lightning as it readied to unleash its power. Aster turned the Stellugger around, putting it into a reverse grip, she then grabbed it with both hands and raised it over her head. 

Aster dropped to one knee as she stabbed the ground beneath her with that Stellugger. The bladed weapon, upon making contact with the ground, exploded downwards, the electrical energy passing through the ground like a spider’s web as it raced downward. Aster could feel it, she was one with this energy, and what was better, she could sense the presence of her enemy. Aster locked onto the unsuspecting Maulwurf and struck. 

Down below, the Maulwurf was surrounded by the red and yellow lightning, energizing the rock and sediment around it. The soil and rock began to move around the Maulwurf, surrounding it in a sphere of empowered rock, the creature tried to claw its way out, but its claws were proving useless against this. In a matter of seconds, the energy that empowered the rock coalesced to it and made the rock sphere rise up like a bullet. Aster watched as a giant sphere burst from the ground some five meters from her position. Once in the air, the energy reached critical mass and then exploded in the air, destroying the Maulwurf in a shower of sparks. 

Ultrawoman Aster sighed in relief, she quickly struck the ground with her weapon and sent a dust cloud up into the air, obscuring her as a flash of light went off inside the cloud, and a few seconds later, she was nowhere to be seen. 

Sunset visited Twilight in the hospital, thankfully her quick thinking to muffle the sound saved her any permanent damage to her hearing, there was a ringing in her ears that made it hard for her to hear anyone speaking, but the doctors assured her that that would go away after a few hours. Of course, Sunset almost had her own panic attack when she heard what Twilight did, she had to admit, that was a crazy – if not ballsy – thing Twilight did. And honestly, Sunset was proud of her for taking control of her fear like that. 

When she arrived at Twilight's room, she saw that Spike was sitting at her bedside, he was writing something onto his holoframe and showed it to Twilight, she chuckled a little and nodded before writing something down and showing it to him. 

Sunset knocked, alerting him to her presence. Twilight looked in the same direction Spike was and was happy to see Sunset. She was about to say “hi”, but remembered that Twilight wasn’t going to be able to hear her, at least not for a while, Twilight even had bandages wrapped around her ears to help protect her ears as they healed. A sad expression appeared on Sunset’s face as she sat down on Twilight’s left. Sunset took out her holoframe and wrote down, [I’m sorry this happened to you.]

Twilight rolled her eyes and wrote, [It’s not your fault, Sunset! Stop blaming yourself! It’s not like you could’ve predicted that that would happen! Just like I couldn’t predict that the Maulwurf was going to attack the tunnel connecting the Recreation to the Residential area, but it did and I did what I had to do. As painful as that was…] Twilight rubbed her ears for emphasis. 

[I know I just…] Sunset stopped when Twilight grabbed her hand and made Sunset look her in the eyes. The flame haired girl could see it without Twilight needing to speak, yes, she was scared and terrified, but she did not blame her for a second. There was trust in her eyes, trust that she knew that Sunset would prevail over the Space Beast, and that trust was rewarded. 

Sunset nodded and squeezed her hand in a silent reply that she understood. Just then, something glowed between Twilight and Sunset’s held hand. That light flowed into Twilight and in a matter of seconds her expression changed to one of shock. 

Spike shot up from his seat and asked, “What the heck is happening?!”

When the light faded, they released their hands. Sunset was surprised to see that an Ultra Coin was in her hand, it wasn’t a new one, but one she already owned, Ultraman Cosmos.

Twilight started to remove the bandages around her ears, much to Spike’s protests, but when she did, she smiled. “I can hear! The ringing’s gone!”

“Seriously?!” Spike asked. 

“Yep!” Twilight chirped happily. 

Spike globed onto his mother/big sister and nuzzled her cheek affectionately, while he did that, Sunset looked down at the Ultra Coin in her hand. 

Did…Did you do that…for me, Cosmos?

There was no voice, but a glint of light from the eye of Cosmos was all the answer Sunset needed. 

Thank you.

“Mom, what was that light about?” Spike asked. 

“Well…let’s just keep that a secret for the time being, alright?” Twilight asked. 

Spike looked to Twilight and then back to Sunset, and then to the shiny coin in her hand. “Honestly, right now, I don’t care. So long as you’re feeling better, that’s all that really matters!”

Sunset smiled happily as she pocketed her Ultra Coin. “So, what did your parents say? Are they…Are they going to take you out of SMILE after this?”

“Actually, they changed their minds on that. Apparently the way I handled all that back there made them a little less afraid of letting me stay there, they said that before SMILE there was no way I would’ve implemented such a plan, or been able to do what I did. And I’d have to agree, but I came very close to not coming through,” said Twilight. 

Sunset reached out and patted Twilight on the shoulder. “But you did, and thanks to you, Aster was able to blow that thing away.”

Twilight smiled at Sunset. “Thanks, and because of all that, they want me to stay at SMILE. They think you and that place are a good influence on me.”

Sunset chuckled mischievously as she smirked. “Oh if only they knew that I was corrupting their precious daughter, secretly turning her into a delinquent with each passing day! Mwahahaha!”

Spike deadpanned. “Please, there’s no way Twilight could pull off that whole ‘bad girl’ look.”

For some reason, that seemed to offend Twilight. “And why not?” 

“Because…well…you’re you,” said Spike innocently. 

“And because you’re too adorkable,” said Sunset as she pinched Twilight’s cheeks. 

Twilight swatted Sunset’s hand away and said, “I am NOT adorkable!”