//------------------------------// // 15th Light: Friendship In Danger / Fight Together! (Part 2) // Story: Shine on! Ultrawoman Aster! // by Michael_Ravencroft //------------------------------// Sunset’s body ached all over, her eyes were still shut, but she could feel something soft underneath her. Which was strange as not too long ago, she felt the rough dirt of the forest floor. Sunset slowly opened her eyes, wow, even her eyelids ached. Slowly, but surely, she managed to open them, and what she saw surprised her. She was not in the middle of the forest anymore, there was a roof over her head, and now that her eyes were open, she could see that she was on a mattress. Slowly, Sunset sat up, feeling woozy upon doing so. She could hear something bubbling, and that’s when she spotted a cauldron a few feet away. She took in more details, it looked as if she was in a hut of some kind. There were shelves that held various glass containers filled with unknown liquids, substances, and other things Sunset could not outright identify. When she turned to her left, she saw someone at a counter, grinding up some plant before bringing it to the cauldron. “You…” Sunset spoke after recognizing the woman. “You’re that woman…from last time.” The woman poured what she had ground up into the cauldron and turned to Sunset. “I am, indeed. I’d advise taking it slow, you are still recovering from the poison. And what I have brewing will help with the aftereffects of riding the poison. I’m sure you want to go back into the fight as soon as possible.” Sunset tried to sit up more, but her body was against it, and she eventually hit the mattress again. “I do…but, who are you? And you live in this forest?” The woman stirred the cauldron as she thought about her answer. “As to what I am. The closest word would be a ‘sage’, and yes, I do live in this forest.” “Okay…are you human?” Sunset asked. “Depends on what your definition of ‘human’ is. Someone who looks like you? Someone who bleeds the same blood? Or someone who walks on two legs?” “Okay, okay, no need to get philosophical on me. Do you at least have a name? I’d like to call you something.” The sage hummed in contemplation for a moment before answering, “The name ‘Zecora’ has appealed to me. You may call me that.” “Alright, Zecora. How do you know I’m Aster, and how are you still alive in this place?” “Those answers in due time, but I think there is a more pertinent question you should be asking yourself,” Zecora remarked. Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Such as?” “Why you could not use your other forms.” Sunset struggled to sit up, and when she did, she said, “Okay, how the hell do you know that?! Were you there?!” Zecora shook her head. “The Everfree speaks to me sometimes, and it sensed some turmoil in you. So, what troubles your heart?” “What do you mean? What does my heart have to do with my powers?” Sunset asked in confusion. Zecora sighed as she stopped her stirring and walked over to the bed, she then smacked Sunset on the head, causing the teen to yelp and fall back onto the mattress. “I see you have yet to learn your lesson, fully.” “OW! I’m still sore from all that fighting! That hurt!” Sunset argued. “I can see it clearly now that you are before me, you wish to shut off your heart to those around you, but what I can’t understand is, why?” Zecora questioned. Sunset turned away from Zecora, “Because…I’ll outlive them! I found out some things about myself, about my past. Becoming an Ultra granted me long life, I won’t die from old age, nor will I ever age! Meanwhile, my friends will all grow old and eventually die in front of me! I…I don’t want to see that…I’d rather remember them as they are now. And I’d rather they forget me.” “You seem to have forgotten something in learning about your past. The true source of your power,” said Zecora as she walked back to the cauldron. “True source?” “Think about it. How did you obtain the Ultra Coins?” Sunset thought about it, she got each of the coins from the girls, Max and Leo she got from Applejack and Rainbow. Cosmos and Agul she received from Fluttershy and Pinkie. And the last two, Orb and Hikari, were from Rarity and Twilight. Apart from Ultraman, Ginga, Victory, and Gaia, all the others came from her…friends… “Aw, crap…” Sunset smacked herself in the forehead, only to regret it a moment later. “OUCH! Ugh!……You’re telling me that my power comes from them? My friends?” Zecora kept her back to Sunset as she stirred. “Is that so strange? Bonds of comradery, of friendship, and of love, few things are stronger in this universe than these things. Why shouldn’t such things be the source of great power?” “But…” “No warrior stands alone, there are always those who back them. Who help them, even if it is not on the battlefield, they are always with them.” Zecora walked over to her counter and got an empty bowl. She then brought it over to the cauldron and poured some of its glowing contents into the bowl itself. The sage walked back to Sunset and presented her with the bowl. “Drink this, it will relieve you of your physical pain, and restore your fighting strength. You should be at full power to transform again, but you will require this to ensure your body can keep up.” Sunset, with the aid of Zecora, was able to sit on the edge of the bed. The teen took the offered bowl, taking a sniff of the glowing liquid. “This is going to taste bad, isn’t it?” Zecora shrugged. Sunset rolled her eyes. “Down the hatch.” \\\***/// (A few moments ago…) A S.M.I.L.E. airship flew through the air and stopped just above the Everfree Forest, right at the spot where Aster landed. The door on the side of the ship slid open and revealed Fluttershy. She was wearing a black and silver suit that shined in the lights of the aircraft, it looked like armor, but was flexible like spandex. The shy teen had no weapons, but she did possess a belt that had a tracking device on it. Vice Commander Luna was piloting the craft, and once she got the aircraft stabilized, she said, “You have one hour, Fluttershy. I do not want to leave you in there any longer than is completely necessary. If you cannot find her this time, we’ll try again. I will remain in the sky and extract you, whether you have her or not. That is the condition of this mission.” “I understand.” “Very well, you’re clear to drop.” Fluttershy took a few deep breathes before she let herself fall out of the aircraft. As she fell, Fluttershy tapped into the power of her true Vivirendan form, and right before landing, had completely transformed. She landed perfectly onto the forest floor on all fours, not once showing any pain or discomfort from the impact of her landing. The outfit she was wearing had automatically expanded and shifted, allowing a hole to form for her tails, and stretching to match her new musculature and frame. Fluttershy stood up and found that the suit was still comfortable to wear. If she had not been looking at it, Fluttershy would sworn that she had nothing on. “Rarity, this is amazing! I really need to thank her for this. Now, then.” Fluttershy got down on all fours and sniffed the ground, using her enhanced senses to pick up on any lingering scents. Sunset was here, there was something dangerous here as well. But there’s a third scent…strange. It smells human, but at the same time isn’t. A hybrid like Dashie or Scootaloo? Fluttershy pointed her head in the direction of where the scent was going. “Whoever it is, they took Sunset in that direction.” Suddenly, Fluttershy started hearing growls coming from around her. In a matter of seconds, she was surrounded by a pack of the wood wolves that Rainbow and Applejack warned her about. Fluttershy got back down on all fours and growled at them all, flaring her tails in a showing of aggression. “I don’t want to harm you, but I will if you impede me from finding my friend!” One of the wolves attacked her from behind, but one of Fluttershy’s tails lashed out and whipped the wolf across the face with enough force to send it crashing into a tree. A second came at her from her left, but Fluttershy sped towards it, grabbed it by the throat with her right hand, jumped, and then tossed it into another of its packmates. The Vivirendan performed a somersault in the air before coming down on another and slashed it with her claws, causing green, sap-like blood to come out of it. Another two attacked from behind, but Fluttershy was very aware of her surroundings as she used two of her tails, raising them up, and then bringing them down like a couple of hammers on the heads of the two wolves, smashing them into the ground hard enough to leave an imprint of their heads. Fluttershy turned around, her eyes narrowed as she growled at the pack, making them whimper. “What’s the matter? Are you afraid of me? Good!” Fluttershy’s eyes shined as she used her Stare on the remainder of the wolves. All of them went stark still, their bodies paralyzed. Fluttershy used this opening and went in for the kill, tossing, slashing, and even biting the last of the wolves, and ending up as the victor. However, the ones that were “killed” began to put themselves back together, and after they did, Fluttershy released a loud roar that made them all whimper more. The Vivirendan snorted, she knew this would drag on if she continued to fight, but at least she made her point that she was not to be messed with. With that settled, she ran in the direction of the scent, bounding from tree to tree as she followed the trail. She hoped whatever else was in this forest had not harmed Sunset. They all saw the footage of the battle; she was outnumbered and was hurt by some kind of poison. We need to get her to the medical station as soon as possible, who knows what that monster’s toxins are doing to her! “AUGH!” Fluttershy came to a skidding halt as her ears twitched, picking upon a familiar voice. “SUNSET!” The bestial girl kept running, the sounds of disgust were coming in the same direction of Sunset and the stranger’s scent. The alien teen burst through some bushes and found herself in a clearing, and in that clearing was a large tree that had a hut built into it. Fluttershy would have to contemplate that later, she needed to save Sunset. Wasting little time, she ran straight for the door and kicked it open, getting into attack position as she said, “Sunset, I’m here to save you!” “Augh…God, that tastes terrible,” said Sunset. “Fluttershy?!” “Sunset?” Fluttershy took a moment to read the room. The hut was spacious, and very homey, and Sunset was sitting on a bed with a mysterious woman standing next to her. And Sunset looked alright. “Um…I’m confused.” “Ah, a guest. This is rare,” said Zecora. “Also, continue to drink that. You must finish it, or you won’t be healed completely.” “Ugh…great.” Sunset braced herself and downed the entire contents in one go. “…Oh man…next time, try to make it taste better.” A green glow went off around Sunset for a moment before fading away. And when it did, the pain was gone. All her aches and pains from the battle were gone. “Wow, it works! I feel great!” “You’re welcome,” Zecora replied as she took the bowl and went back to the counter. Fluttershy, while still confused, walked further in, and asked, “Sunset, are you alright?” “Y-Yeah…I am…Why are you here?” Sunset asked. “I came to save you, but…” Fluttershy turned to Zecora. “It looks like you were already saved. Sorry about your door…” Zecora shook her head. “No apologies needed. It can be mended.” Sunset looked away from Fluttershy and said, “You shouldn’t have…” Fluttershy reverted to her human form and looked Sunset in the eyes. “Sunset, you’re not the only one who has to go through this. I’m the same.” Sunset looked directly at Fluttershy with shock. “Wait, you mean, you’ll live forever, too?!” Fluttershy made a wavey motion with her hand. “Vivirendan have long lifespans. Longer than humans. And we age slower once we hit physical maturity. For me, that’ll be on my eighteenth birthday. So, I’ll still age, but very slowly.” “How slowly?” Sunset asked. A sad look appeared on her face. “Slowly enough to see all our friends pass on before me. I’ll still be here for some time longer after that. Provided I keep myself healthy. But otherwise…I’ll pass on sometime in the future. So, you’re not the only one who has to live with the idea of outliving your friends, Sunset. I dread it every day.” Sunset rubbed her left arm and asked, “How do you deal with it?” Fluttershy smiled as she reached out and took both of Sunset’s hands into her own. “Make as many happy memories as you can. Fill your heart and mind with love and happiness. That’s what I’ve decided to do. I know it will hurt, one day, when they’re gone. But I know the memories I’ve made and happiness I’ve shared with our friends, even you, will help me through that dark time to come. But for now, I cherish every day I’m with them, including you, Sunset.” Sunset started to cry, she hated crying, but here she was, crying again. I’m such an idiot… Fluttershy released Sunset’s hands and brought her into a hug. “I’ll still be here to help you through it. But even then, don’t ever let that pain stop you from creating memories with those you care about now, or with new friends in the future. You don’t have to be alone forever, Sunset.” “Thank you…I’m sorry.” The Coin Keeper on Sunset’s hip started to glow, Sunset slowly broke the hug and opened it. When she reached in, she took out the six Ultra Coins that had been grayed out earlier, but the moment she did, the grayness evaporated, returning the color and shine to them. Zecora smiled as she said, “This is the power of your bonds, of your friendships, Sunset Shimmer.” “I get it…I won’t forget again.” {Fluttershy, come in!} “Vice Commander Luna, what’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked as she pressed the tracking button on her belt. {The Space Beasts are back! Have you located Sunset?!} “She has, I’m right here,” Sunset replied. {Sunset! Oh, thank God, you’re alive! What is your condition? Tell me honestly, I am not about to lose you for a third time!} “I’m fine, pick us up. I got a score to settle.” {On my way.} Sunset looked to Zecora and smiled. “Thanks for healing me. Will I see you again?” “If you find yourself needing counsel, simply enter the forest. I will find you,” Zecora remarked. Sunset nodded and ran outside, Fluttershy bowed to Zecora and apologized once more before leaving her hut. After they got outside, a whoosh of air struck them, and that’s when they saw the airship descending. Sunset and Fluttershy quickly boarded the aircraft and closed the door behind them. “Sunset, I’m glad you’re alright! Are you sure you’re okay?” Vice Commander Luna asked. “I am, Auntie,” Sunset replied in a teasing tone. Luna blushed a little, but nonetheless nodded. “I can’t believe you made it to this clearing without assistance.” “Not really, Zecora helped me out,” said Sunset. “Who?” “The woman living in that hut down there.” Luna looked out from her window and said, “I don’t see any hut, Sunset.” Fluttershy and Sunset both gave the commander a confused look. “What are you talking about? It’s right – what?!” Sunset went wide eyed as she looked through the window. “SHY, LOOK!” Fluttershy opened the door of the airship and gasped. The hut and tree were gone. There was nothing aside from grass in the clearing. “What…is something wrong?” Luna asked. Sunset and Fluttershy glanced at each other, a silent understanding passed between them as Fluttershy closed the door. “No, get me halfway to the city, and I’ll do the rest.” Fluttershy placed her hand on Sunset’s shoulder and said, “Not this time, you’re not going in alone.” “What do you mean?” “We’re picking up some help.” \\\***/// (Canterlot City: 5 minutes later…) The mysterious figure was standing atop a tall skyscraper, looking down upon the city below. The figure had already summoned three more monsters, one was dinosaur-like in appearance, with dark gray armor scales, a thick body made of muscle, and a long tail that whipped around and smashed through some of the buildings. This creature was known as Golza. The second was avian and flew around the city, appearing as a hybrid between a bird and a dragon, with club-like feet, a large wingspan with leathery membrane wings, red eyes, and a sharp beak. Its name was Melba. The third monster was another hybrid-like monster, it had mantis-like sickles for arms, a long-scaled tail, a large horn upon its head, and glowing yellow eyes. This one was simply known as Super C.O.V. (Cosmic Organism Vanguard). “Where are you, Aster. Surely you don’t intend to hide? How long do you think this little Phantom Zone can last? They can’t keep it on forever, eventually they’ll have to shut it down, and then real havoc begins.” A bright flash of light appeared out of the sky, and from it landed the Herald of Light herself, Ultrawoman Aster. The ground shook beneath her as she made impact, her eyes glowing in the dark of the night as she rose into her fighting stance. “A new group, huh? That’s fine, you’ll all go down the same!” Aster proclaimed. The figure chuckled. “Such bravado, I can’t wait to crush it. Attack!” Melba flew down, preparing to strike Aster, however, did not move an inch from her spot. And that’s when it happened. Several rapid-fire beams of sparkling blue light rained down on Melba, causing several explosions along its body and forcing the avian monster to pull away from Aster before it could attack. Out of the sky a Gungir appeared, but it was twice as big as the normal Gungirs. This one had the custom paint scheme of Rainbow Dash, and was flown by her, codename: Pegasus Custom. The junior ace pilot dogged Melba and fired more of her rapid-fire energy blasts from the nose of her ship. Melba managed to dodge them and counterattacked with its Melbanic Beam, firing its own rapid fire energy blasts at her. While they were in their dog fight, Super C.O.V. charged for Aster, but again, she did not move. Just then, two huge blasts of sparkling blue light struck the monster from the front, sending it flying backwards as the blasts exploded on its chest. The second of the custom vehicles appeared, the Goliath, codenamed: Sleipnir Custom. Applejack shifted into high gear as the treads ground into the pavement and propelled her forward. Super C.O.V. managed to get back up, and once it did, its chest released a few flashes of energy before they coalesced in the large horn on its head, releasing its own huge blast of energy at the Sleipnir. However, when it hit, there was some scuffing, but it was barely anything close to damage. {YEE-HAW! Let’s get ‘em, RD!} {You got it, AJ!} Golza was confused at first by the extra fighters, but then it was punished for taking its eyes off Aster. The Hero of Light dashed straight for it and gave the monster a strong uppercut with her Starry Smasher. Golza backed up, growling in both pain and anger from the hit, it opened its mouth and retaliated with a blast of its Ultrasonic Ray. Aster dodged the first blast, on the second she dove behind a building, letting it take the blast instead of her. She jumped from behind it as soon as it went down and fired off several Beam Bullets from her right hand. Unfortunately, Golza merely absorbed the heat of the explosions once they hit, nullifying the damage. Once it had, it returned the attack in the form of a heat wave that blasted through several buildings before slamming into Aster. Her body released several sparks, but she managed to stay standing. Aster looked to the skies and saw Rainbow in her Pegasus Gungir battling it out with Melba, and Applejack in Sleipnir Goliath against Super C.O.V., so she had to step it up. “Bestow, the strength of the brave!” || ULTRAMAN LEO! ||  “Bestow, the power of the bold!” || ULTRAMAN MAX! || “Ignite the flames in my heart!” || BURN UP! SOLARIS MAXIMUS! || Aster’s body erupted with red light and flames, shifting herself into her powered form, Solaris Maximus. The powered-up hero knocked her knuckles together and charged straight for Golza. The hulking monster did the same and stomped its way to her, the two met in the middle and body slammed against each other, sending debris flying into the air from the shockwave of their slam. Aster cocked back her right fist and punched Golza in the face, firing off one her revolver cylinders and releasing a blast wave that knocked the monster a few feet back. “I’ll burn you away with the flames of my heart!” Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was getting dogged by Melba, the avian monster was relentless in its pursuit, but it seemed as if it was not about to give up. Rainbow Dash looked down and saw that Aster had shifted to her red form. Rainbow Dash remembered the day Sunset obtained that form from herself and Applejack. If Sunset’s stepping up, then so am I! Throw caution to the wind and cut the sky! Rainbow hit a switch on her console, and immediately the boosters kicked in and propelled the Pegasus higher into the sky until they were now above Melba. Once this was done, she hit a second button, making the screen display the words, [STAND UP: PEGASUS]. The modified Gungir’s body began to shift and open, and in a matter of seconds, the fighter had transformed into a humanoid robot fighter with a glowing visor that shined in the moonlight. The Pegasus flew down, even faster than before, and sped past Melba. The flying beast flew by it as well, but after a moment, both of its wings were cut off, sending it falling towards the ground. The Pegasus turned around and revealed that two blades of light that were extending from the top of its forearms. On the ground, Applejack was getting into a shooting match with Super C.O.V., the two of them exchanging fire. Applejack noticed that her girlfriend and her friend were getting serious as their foes were getting beaten back. Well shoot, Ah ain’t gettin’ left behind! Let’s go, Sleipnir! Applejack hit a button on her console, her HUD displayed the words, [STAND UP: SLEIPNIR]. The Space Beast fired another of its beam attacks and caused a huge explosion to erupt where the Sleipnir Goliath was. The machine was obscured by flames, but just then, two glowing green eyes appeared in the flames, from those flames appeared the Sleipnir, flames lapped over its hulking body as its twin cannons were now shoulder mounted cannons, and it now possessed two huge fists. Those two fists began to glow as energy coated them, once in range, the Sleipnir gave the monster a one-two punch, each hit causing a shockwave of energy to erupt, and to finish it fired off both of its cannons at point blank range, creating a powerful explosion that sent Super C.O.V. crashing through several of the buildings before landing in a heap on the ground. The mysterious figure could not believe their eyes. “Since when do they have machines like that?! Alright, fine, let’s up the ante! Gan-Q! Reicubas!” \||/ GAN-Q! \||/ \||/ REICUBAS! \||/ Gan-Q made a reappearance, alongside another new monster. This one looked like a giant crustacean, with a large pincer arm on its right, and a shorter one on its left. It had a long lobster-like tail, and glowing blue eyes. The Space Beast, Reicubas. Aster saw the two new monsters but was in the middle of a grappling match with Golza. Thankfully, that was not the end of their backup. The ground beneath them began to rumble, and out from the middle of the city appeared a sixth monster, but this one was one that Aster was relieved to see. The Terra Beast, Gomora. The saurian monster had someone riding on its shoulder, it was Fluttershy, and in her right hand she held one of the Aster-X blasters. Gomora roared mightily into the air as it made a b-line for Reicubas, body slamming the monster and taking it through several buildings, away from Gan-Q. “WHAT?! I DIDN’T SUMMON THAT!” A S.M.I.L.E. airship dropped out of the sky and came into view of the city. The side door slid open, and standing in a row were Rarity, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie, each one armed with an Aster-X Blaster, and suited up for battle. There were straps hooked onto their combat suits, keeping them from falling out of the airship as Vice Commander Luna flew in and brought them in range of Gan-Q. “FIRE AT WILL, LADIES!” “YES, MA’AM!” Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie charged up their Aster-X Blasters and fired a triple beam attack at the monster from behind. The three beams hit the back of Gan-Q’s head and caused an explosion on its back to go off, making the giant eyeball monster stumble forward. Gan-Q gave off an angry warbling sound and used its telekinesis to launch some debris at them. Rarity and Pinkie intercepted by firing their Aster-X Blasters, while Luna launched interceptor missiles from underneath the ship, hitting a few that got by them. Twilight took careful aim with her newly modified sights, making even a complete amateur like herself able to hit with pinpoint precision. Once her target had been locked, she fired her next shot straight into the monster’s eye. Unfortunately, that was a mistake, as the beam was absorbed by its eye. Aster saw what happened and had a bad feeling. “That’s it!” Aster broke off their grapple and cocked back her right fist. “BREAK BUSTER!” Aster struck Golza in the gut and fired all six cylinders at once, sending a super powerful wave of energy and force through it that threw the hulking monster into the air. Just in time for Gan-Q to fire back the beam it absorbed, and hit Golza, resulting in an explosion that sent the monster flying into another building. “I ask for the gift of kindness!” || ULTRAMAN COSMOS! || “I ask for the gift of protection!” || ULTRAMAN AGUL! || “Let the waves of my soul quell your rage!” || FLOW AND CRASH! COSMIC WAVE! || Aster sped towards Gan-Q and called upon her Aqua Blades, once in range, she slashed at the monster’s giant eye, damaging it, and making the monster have to close it. “I will wash away all cruelty with serenity!” Gomora and Reicubas were going at it claw and pincer, the giant monsters slashed and smashed against each other, throwing their weight around into their attacks as they fought ferociously. Reicubas fired a blast of cold energy from its mouth, but Gomora countered with its Super Oscillatory Wave attack. The two beams struck each other, creating a powerful explosion of steam that blanketed the area around them. It was in that steam that Reicubas took advantage of the situation, charging forward and grabbing Gomora with its large pincer, getting a strangle hold around its neck. Fluttershy, in her bestial form, roared and jumped off Gomora’s shoulder as she charged her Aster-X Blaster. Once she was on the large pincer, she slid down it and fired the weapon straight at its face, she held the trigger down and continued the beam attack as Reicubas’ face was exploding with showers of sparks that eventually made the huge crab monster release Gomora as it tried to swipe at Fluttershy. However, her fast beast reflexes allowed her to easily dodge the attack, firing a few more shots before she jumped high into the air. At that moment, Gomora appeared just in time to catch her with its right claw, holding fast to her as it charged up its three horns and crashed into the crustacean, headfirst. Gomora roared as it enacted it Super Oscillatory Wave: Zero Shoot. A burst of energy passed through the horns and into Reicubas, creating another huge explosion that sent the beast flying onto its back, where it landed and remained motionless. Gomora looked down at Fluttershy, and Fluttershy up at him, and together they released roar of triumph. \\\***/// The mysterious figure as getting angrier, she could not let this stand. The figure grabbed their cloak and threw it off, letting it fly off into the wind as her form was revealed. She was teenage girl, with locks of curly blue hair, freckles, and pale red eyes. She wore a combat suit that was black, with some silver armor plates. Overall, the teen would be cute if she was not scowling in rage. “Fine then! You want something done right, then you have to do it yourself!” The teen girl raised the Dark Ring up and released its power, wrapping her in a field of energy that transported her into a version of the starry nexus, but this one was not as bright, it was darker, and had hues of purple that made up what light there was. The teen’s body from the neck down was coated in red light as she pulled out each of the cards that summoned the Space Beasts. “Golza! Melba! Reicubas! Gan-Q! Super C.O.V.!” \||/ GOLZA! \||/ \||/ MELBA! \||/ \||/ REICUBAS! \||/ \||/ GAN-Q! \||/ \||/ SUPER C.O.V.! \||/ As she did this, her body started to change, shifting from an older teen into that of a girl of ten years. “Unite and become a great evil!” \||/ FUSION UP! \||/ All five defeated monsters transformed into pure energy and shot themselves towards the tallest building. The sphere of dark energy fell off the top of the building as all five monsters’ particles infused themselves into the sphere, and in a matter of seconds, the sphere broke apart and revealed a brand-new monster! \||/ FIVE KING! \||/ The new monster landed with a great crashing “THUD!”, sending cars flying into the air along with shattering many windows, and cracking the street. This monster was an amalgamation of all five Space Beasts, it had the pincer of Reicubas for its right arm, its left arm had the giant eye of Gan-Q, its heads were a melding of Golza and Melba, while its torso combined features of both Golza and Super C.O.V. It also possessed the legs of Super C.O.V., the armor-plated skin of Golza, and Melba’s wings and tail. This was the super fusion monster known as Five King. “They fused together?!” “Yes, or to be more specific, I fused them together.” Aster was surprised to hear a voice from this creature, it sounded child-like but distorted. “Are you saying you’re the one who brought them here?!” “Brought them? No. I summoned them! I can summon a lot of different monsters, and fuse some of them together! Like this adorable creature of destruction! I’ve been sent to put an end to you, Aster! And make way for my Master’s return to glory!” The same one that Chrysalis once served, and the same Master of those three leviathans. Guess I made his list, thought Sunset. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have to kill you now! Catastrophe Spark!” The different body parts of Five King began to glow, and from each of them a different kind of beam attack was fired off. Three different energy beams and multiple scattering energy bolts flew in Aster’s direction and everywhere else. Gomora took cover behind some buildings, but they only barely gave any protection against the attack. Luna quickly ascended to get them out of harms why, while Rainbow Dash in her Pegasus took evasive maneuvers. Applejack’s Sleipnir brought its arms up and weathered the attack thanks to its thick armor. Aster, still in her speed form, used that speed to quickly evade the attacks the best she could. Meanwhile, the child controlling Five King laughed manically and happily as she unleashed total destruction upon the entire area, blasting away until there was barely anything left standing, and the area was awash in flames. “HAHAAHAHAHAHA!!! So much for the mighty Aster! You can’t stand up to me and the power of the Dark Ring!” “Shine the power of bonds!” || ULTRAMAN ORB! || “Shine, the power of knowledge!” || ULTRAMAN HIKARI! || “The stars are aligned for victory!” || CONVERGENCE! PLANET REVIVE! || A bright flash of purple light erupted from the flames and snuffed them all out, revealing Aster in her powered balance form, Planet Revive. Gomora rose with a mighty roar from the rubble as he stomped his way over to Aster, with Fluttershy having retaken her position on his shoulder. {If this brat wants to take it to the next level, then let’s do the same, AJ!} {Gotcha, RD!} {Wait, we haven’t had a chance to test that feature–!} [SEQUENCE INITATED: TITAN STAND] The Sleipnir fired off the boosters in its feet, launching itself into the air as the Pegasus flew over it. The two machines began to open as their various parts interlocked and combined. Once it was over, the new machined stood just a few inches short of Aster’s full height in her original form. The heavy armor and light armor of the Pegasus and Sleipnir melded together, forming a lean looking robotic fighter, with the wings of the Pegasus Gungir releasing jets of energy that looked like feathered wings. The twin cannons were moved to the hips, while gauntlets of Pegasus had combined to form a hilt, from which a large energy sword was brandished. [SEQUENCE COMPLETE: TITAN READY] Twilight sighed in relief that the two machines were able to pull off that addition, she had gotten the idea after the whole Halloween Incident and integrated it into Sleipnir and Pegasus, but they have yet to do a proper test run. {Twilight, you are the GOAT!} Rainbow stated over the comms. {Ah’ll be, this is somethin’ else! Way to go, Twi!} Applejack praised. Aster was amazed as well, but she would voice her opinion on how cool it was later. “Alright! Witness our united power!” Gomora and Fluttershy roared, Rainbow Dash and Applejack released a battle cry, and Aster got into her attack stance before all three of them charged for Five King. “UGH! CATASTROPHE SPARK!” Five King unleashed its destructive barrage at them, but Aster channeled her power into her right foot and came down with a hard stomp. “EARTH BRINGER!” The green energy surged through the earth as multiple walls of reinforced rock jutted forth from the ground out in front of them. The multiple beam attacks slammed into the walls of earthen dirt and rock. Each one exploding with their destruction, but when Five King blew through all of them, Aster was not there. “Mercury Racer!” A streak of silver light struck Five King in the face, and then the gut, and then it received a kick from the back. Five King whipped its tail around, trying to trip up Aster, but she was too fast to have that happen. The Herald of Light jumped up into the air and called out, “JUPITER STORMER!” as several bolts of orange lightning rained down on Five King, creating explosions of sparks that flew out from its body. The Titan robot brought both of its cannons to bear, charging up its energy, at the same time, Gomora gathered power into its horns. Together, Gomora and the Titan fired off their individual beam attacks at Five King. However, Five King raised its left arm and used the eye of Gan-Q to absorb the energy attacks until they stopped. The super monster then took that energy and fired it back at them, causing a huge explosion to go off near them. Gomora turned its back to avoid Fluttershy from getting hit, while the Titan managed take the brunt of the explosion as it put itself in front of Gomora to protect him and Fluttershy. Luna flew in and had the girls fire their Aster-X Blasters, hitting the monster in the back of the head and getting its attention away from their comrades. Five King turned to their direction and called out, “Flash C.O.V. Shot!” as several bolts of energy flew from its chest and stomach and headed towards Luna, Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie. Luna took evasive maneuvers, and managed to dodge some of them, but one was on a collision course with them. “Neptune Wave Crashing!” A deluge of blue glowing water surrounded the airship, acting as a shield to protect them. Five King saw that it was Aster and unfurled its wings to fly up and meet her. Once Aster was sure the ship was safe, she reopened the dimension and sent a wave of the glowing water straight for Five King. The super monster used its Gan-Q eye to absorb the empowered water and laughed at her. “Are you stupid or something?! I just absorbed their attacks! And now you’re going to just do something like that?!” However, Aster did not stop, in fact, she didn’t seem close to stopping. Something that was worrying the creator of Five King. “H-Hey! What’s going on?! Why aren’t you stopping?!” “This attack opens a portal to a dimension of endless water, I’m only using my power to open that dimension and control the direction of the water, so I’m not really using up that much power doing this. And since it’s an endless ocean dimension, well, figure it out!” Aster landed on the ground, and when she did, Aster waved her hands around, the air around them became chilled as vapor trails of freezing cold followed her movements. “Pluto Ice Razer!” Aster brought her hands together and fired bright blue beam of cryo energy at Five King. When the monster rose, it was immediately struck by the beam, encasing the fusion monster in a block of ice the size of an iceberg. Five King tried to free itself, but the ice was too strong, making any effort to break it futile, and absolute zero cold of the ice made it incredibly difficult for the monster to build up its energy. In fact, it felt as if the ice itself was sapping that energy every it tried to power up. “WHAT?! C’MON! MOVE YOU STUPID THING! THIS IS SO UNFAIR!” The Titan flew down from the sky and floated on Aster’s right to Aster, Gomora came stomping over, with him and Fluttershy taking their place at her left, while the airship got into position above Aster. “EVERYONE! LET’S END THIS!” Aster swiped left arm across her chest, creating four spheres of varying sizes, and then swiped her right arm upwards, creating five additional spheres of different sizes. Fluttershy, Twilight, Pinkie, and Rarity powered up their Aster-X Blasters, the Titan readied its twin cannons, and Gomora charged its horns again. Five King managed to pick itself up from the crater, and that’s when the girl inside eye’s widened with shock. “GRAND CROSS STRIUM!” The spheres combined as Aster formed an L-shaped pattern with her arms and fired a beam of aurora light, the Titan fired its twin hip cannons at full output, shooting twin columns of energy. Gomora opened its mouth and fired its Super Oscillatory Wave beam attack alongside the others, at the same time, the girls fired their Aster-X Blasters, all the beams combined into one huge blast of power that roared straight towards Five King. “Screw this!” The girl within waved the Dark Ring out in front of her and was immediately ejected from the fusion monster as the combined attacks completely obliterated Five King, setting off a massive explosion that leveled half the city in the process. A dark sphere floated high in the air above the city, the girl, whose suit shrunk to the same size as her, stomped angrily against the sphere and growled in rage. “Next time, Aster! Next time I’ll end you!” The sphere took off into the night, leaving Team Aster standing, victorious. \\\***/// (Saturday: Dorms, 12:03 p.m.…) After the battle was over last night everyone was excited. The plan that Twilight and Pinkie came up with was a success, and they managed to beat back the summoner of the monsters. Although, any real celebrating was saved for today, as everyone was dead tired after all of that. Sunset had asked if they could still have the party, but no surprises. Something that Pinkie was more than happy to agree to. The girls had gathered in their room, and once they had, Sunset stood up and decided to clear the air. “Hey…listen…I’m sorry for being a jerk to you guys yesterday. I know you wanted to throw this party for me to show how much you guys care about me. And I didn’t really act like a good friend despite what you did…” Twilight stood up and gently placed her hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “We understand Sunset, it’s hard knowing that you’ll outlive us. Honestly, I’m still coming to grips with it myself.” A round of nods was seen from the rest of the girls, it seemed they, too, were struggling with this information. “I’ll admit, knowing that you’re always going to remain young and beautiful forever does irritate me just a bit,” Rarity threw out there. “It’s so unfair.” “Rares, c’mon now,” said Applejack. “Well, some of us work hard to look this fabulous, Darling! Excuse me for wanting to have eternal beauty at the very least! Humph!” Rarity huffed as she crossed her arms. Sunset began to chuckle, which broke into laughter. Rarity could not help but do the same as the others joined in. After a moment, Sunset said, “I don’t know what other surprises lay in store for me, I have a feeling all of this is only the tip of the iceberg, but…even so…I do hope you guys will stay by my side. And I promise, I’ll always have your backs, no matter what happens.” Pinkie bounced up next to Sunset and globed onto her. “Of course, we will, silly! We’re all BFFs! From now until forever!” Sunset began to tear up a little as she replied, “Thanks, Pinkie.” “Group hug!” Pinkie announced. “Wha – wait – hold up!” It was too late as the girls surrounded Sunset and gave her big hug. The bad girl huffed, squirmed, and then surrendered to it. “Fine…just this once.” Sunset let the warmth of the hug envelop her, as she basked in the feeling of having friends. Just then, something flashed within Sunset’s mind. Images of a crystal palace, herself, and a group of girls who were sitting at a table, all of them smiling and laughing, there were seven, not including her, and one of them felt like they were looking directly at Sunset, but not in a threatening way, more like…affectionately. “Sunset? Sunset?!” Twilight called out. “W-What?” “You zoned out, what happened,” the spectacled girl asked. Sunset looked at each of the girls and said, “I think I just saw another of my memories flash before my eyes…And I think I saw my friends from the past…? I…I had friends in the past, too.”