The Kugutsu Threat! (Part 1)

Sunset was on a special mission today. Today, Sunset was going off planet for the first time, at least as far as she could remember. Which wasn’t much. Fluttershy had been asked to join in a mission, as both a student with Special Agent status, and a member of the Preservation team, to go and help on a planet that was having some…issues, with the local wildlife. Fluttershy’s natural ability to speak with different forms of fauna was essential to this. When asked what kind of animals she was going to be dealing with, Fluttershy told her friends that they’d be big enough to be classified as Space Beasts.

With that said, Sunset immediately volunteered to assist with the mission. Although, this did receive some blowback from Vice Commander Luna…

“I’m sorry, but I do not think that this is a good idea,” said Luna.

“Fluttershy’s going to be on a planet filled with creatures as big as Space Beasts, if anything, I need to be there in case things go south,” Sunset argued.

Luna crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “And what if there’s a Space Beast attack on Earth in the meantime? Aster is our most powerful weapon, what if a powerful Space Beast comes and you’re not here to fight it?”

“Applejack and Rainbow’s new Gungir and Goliath pack enough punch to drive away a Space Beast, on top of that, we still have the Aster-X blasters, all those combined should be enough to take down, if not drive away, a Space Beast,” Sunset shot back.

Luna huffed as she looked to her eldest sister. “Commander Celestia, you can’t be thinking of allowing this? This will leave us vulnerable to attack!”

Celestia was silent for most of the talk, contemplating her options. She had to admit, Luna did make a very good point, Sunset as Ultrawoman was their best anti-Space Beast weapon. However, the thought of only viewing her as a weapon made her feel sick. Sunset was not a weapon, nor was she anyone’s property, she was a young girl, and one who was concerned for the safety of her friend. An admirable thing, considering Sunset’s indifference towards friendship to begin with. Although, Celestia was certain that she wasn’t ready to say the word “friend” completely, yet.

“Vice Commander Luna does present a very valid point,” said Celestia.

Luna smirked, and Sunset was about to open her mouth to argue.

“However, Sunset is not a gun that we draw one moment and holster the next. She’s a living being and is free to make her own decisions. We will have Miss Applejack and Rainbow Dash on standby and have the Aster-X blasters handed out to three of our best marksmen. Besides, Miss Fluttershy and her family are still on surveillance are they not? In that case, it would be prudent to allow someone close to her, but also reports to us, to be watching over her. Besides, your trip shouldn’t be more than a two to three days max anyway.”

Luna looked at her sister with shock. “Wha – but – T-Tia?!”

Sunset smiled and then raised her hand to salute Celestia. “Thank you, Ma’am!”

\\\***///

[SMILE Controlled Launch Port, Canterlot City. 8:10 AM…]

Sunset had to admit, she was a lot more confident about going when she was in Celestia’s office, now that she was actually sitting in the spaceship that was about to take her and her friend into space, to a different planet no less, Sunset was getting a little nervous. Fluttershy sat next to Sunset, the kind alien girl gently placed her hand atop Sunset’s, noticing how tense she looked.

“You really didn’t have to come with me, Sunset,” said Fluttershy.

“I…I know I don’t have to. But I just…you know, got a little worried…just because Gomora is on our side, doesn’t mean they’re all nice. And knowing that, if one of them gets too riled up, you’ll need someone as strong and big to take it down,” said Sunset. “I’m just surprised that they’re allowing you off planet, considering what you told me last time.”

Fluttershy smiled appreciatively at her friend. “Well, once in a while, the Preserve can use its power to allow me to make special trips like this for work related purposes, provided I have a designated SMILE agent embedded with the crew.”

“And that would be me.”

“I’m happy it is you. Most times they’ll send a nice Agent, or one that’s really serious and…” Fluttershy’s kind visage diminished for a moment as one of irritation and sadness took its place. “…often really suspicious of me.”

Sunset smiled and confidently said, “You don’t have to worry about that, I know who you are.”

Fluttershy’s smile returned, and it got even bigger when she saw someone else approaching them. The girl who sat across from them was very familiar to Sunset, with olive skin, bright red hair, and azure eyes.

“OCELLUS?!” Sunset exclaimed.

She wore the same type of space suit as them, white, slightly form fitting, with patches on their arms indicating who they are. On Sunset’s right arm was a patch that had the SMILE insignia as well as the letters of SMILE showing each word they represented. On Fluttershy’s right arm was the same patch, but on her left arm was the patch for the Wildlife Preservation Group, same as Ocellus.

“W-W-What are you doing here?!” Sunset asked.

“I joined Fluttershy as part of the Preserve. I wanted to make amends for what I did in wrecking some of it,” said Ocellus.

“And I’ve told her she doesn’t have to, but she insists,” said Fluttershy.

“Plus, I do like learning about different creatures, and that’s not just because I’m a Changeling. So, I asked if I could come and I was approved, especially since they said you were coming along, Sunset,” said Ocellus.

“Heh, heh…Now I feel as if I was played somehow.”

[Attention all passengers, will be begin lift off. Our destination is planet Zodio, in the Beellor Galaxy.]

Outside the ship was angled out on its launchpad, the ship was oblong shaped, green stripes ran along the ship's length, and with the insignia of the Preserve group painted on the side. When the green light was given, the ship’s engines ignited, and the ship rose into the air. The ship rose higher and higher, breaking through the atmosphere and fighting gravity. After a few minutes the ship eventually made it out into the open space.

[Good morning passengers, this is Captain Star Chase. We’ll be activating the warp drive and arrive at our destination in no less than five hours from our exit. Total Warp travel time will be thirty minutes.]

The ship began to glow with blue light, and in the next second, the green striped ship zoomed off into the distance.

\\\***///

Thirty minutes had passed, and the ship was in the Beellor Galaxy, now their five-hour journey began. The passengers were free to move about the ship, so Sunset walked around to keep herself from getting too bored. Sunset couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she felt different now that she was in space. She wanted to say…stronger, unfiltered. Sunset continued to walk about the ship, there was a nagging voice in the back of her head that told her that she should be sticking close to Fluttershy as per her job, but the people on the ship all knew Fluttershy wasn’t a threat to anyone, except to those who cruelly hurt animals, or her friends.

Sunset was about to head back to Ocellus and Fluttershy, but then her ears picked up on something. There was a slight banging sound coming from the cargo hold. Sunset decided to check it out, just in case there was a problem that the crew needed to be alerted to. The flame haired girl entered the cargo hold, there were several large crates around, the ship had two levels. Sunset worked on the first level, listening for the sound again.

*bang, bang*

Sunset turned on the lights, but unfortunately, the lights didn’t get to all the nooks and crannies of the hold, which made Sunset have to use the flashlights that were mounted next to the entrance. After taking one, Sunset walked through the hold, listening carefully as the sound as it went off again.

*bang, bang*

Sunset was starting to become less concerned that it was a noise the ship was making, and more concerned that it might be a person. In that case…Sunset switched the flashlight to her left hand and readied her right to fire a beam bullet, just in case. The echo the banging sound made was making it hard to pinpoint, but it was getting louder the further in she got.

*BANG, BANG*

The young woman turned to her right; the banging sound was coming from the crate that was marked “Cleaning Supplies”. Sunset took a deep breath, setting her hand aglow before hitting the button that opened the crate. And from the metal container rolled out a girl, she continued to roll until she hit the container on the opposite end, ending with her upside down. The girl was about thirteen, most likely in middle school. She wore a black tank top, with an orange hoodie over it. She wore black shorts, had lightly tanned skin, and her hair was purple and spikey. The young girl groaned as she rubbed her head and grumbled when she noticed the way she had landed.

Sunset walked over to her, her turquoise colored eyes meeting the opal colored eyes of the girl lying on her back. “So, we have a stowaway.”

“Eh, heh…hi?”

\\\***///

“Scootalua Allgood! What were you thinking?!” Fluttershy scolded. “Sneaking onto a starship?! Stowing away in a metal container?! Do have any idea what could’ve happened to you if Sunset hadn’t found you?!”

The last couple of hours had been spent alerting the Captain of the ship, as well as the Wildlife Preservation crew about Scootalua, or Scootaloo as she preferred. Unfortunately, they were too far into their flight plan to turn back now, so the decision was made to press on to Zodio, Fluttershy had told the captain that she would personally take responsibility for her during the duration of the trip. With that assurance, Scootlaoo was confined to Fluttershy’s quarters, which was where she, Ocellus, and Sunset were listening to the pink haired young woman give Scootaloo an earful that only a mother could.

Once Fluttershy was done, Fluttershy took a deep breath and hugged Scootaloo to her, which surprised the young girl for a moment before she returned the hug.

“Despite all that, I’m so glad you’re okay,” said Fluttershy.

“Sorry,” said Scootaloo.

“You should thank Sunset, had she not been there, we might not be having this conversation.”

Fluttershy released Scootaloo, allowing her to face the “bad girl” and said, “Thank you, for saving my life, I mean.”

Sunset shrugged and then smiled. “Kind of what I do. But now I’d like to know who she is, and why she’s here.”

“Oh, of course. This is Scootaloo Allgood, she’s the daughter of two of the Preserves two top field specialists, Snap and Mane Allgood. They’re actually running point on this mission and we’ll be going there to help them,” said Fluttershy.

“Huh, I see, and just how were you able to survive that long in the cargo hold, it was pretty cold, and there’s not that much oxygen in there?” Sunset asked curiously.

Ocellus’ eyes scanned her form, it didn’t take her long to recognize some similarities between Scootaloo and another girl she knew back at SMILE. “She’s like Rainbow Dash, she’s half Alien Avian. Alien Avians can withstand high altitude cold temps and can operate with less oxygen when at higher altitudes, and sometimes under extreme circumstances.”

Sunset blinked. “Well, can’t get more extreme than in a locked container.”

Scootaloo’s jaw dropped. “How did you know?!”

Ocellus blushed. “Well…” The Changeling girl let her azure plasma flames rise around her, briefly allowing Scootaloo to see her true form before going back to her disguise. “It’s because I’m a Changeling and can see DNA just as easily as I’m looking at you.”

“Wow…” Scootaloo gasped.

“Okay, and how do you two know each other?” Sunset asked.

“Oh, that’s easy, she’s friends with my big sis, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo stated proudly.

“Wait, Rainbow Dash has a sister?!” Sunset and Ocellus exclaimed.

“Not quite. You see, Rainbow Dash had said she’d take Scootaloo under her wing. In the Avian culture, it’s not just a saying, it’s a pledge to accept another person or Avian as an official part of their family. Since there aren’t that many Alien Avians, or more specifically, half-Alien Avians, Scootaloo really looks up to Rainbow, and of course, Rainbow couldn’t resist having her number one fan also be her little sister. Plus, Scootaloo had been following Dashie around since she was smaller,” Fluttershy explained.

Scootaloo blushed as she looked up at Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, don’t tell them that! It’s embarrassing!”

Sunset and Ocellus couldn’t help but giggle at the thought of seeing a young Scootaloo shadowing the bold and brash Rainbow Dash.

Just then, alarms started to go off, Sunset opened the door and caught one of the other crewmembers and asked, “Hey, what’s going on?!”

“We’re getting attacked by some Corvus and an Aquila!” the crewmember stated before dashing off down the hall.

“Some what and what?” Sunset asked.

“Those are some of the creatures from Planet Zodio! But what are they doing this far out?” Ocellus questioned.

The ship began to rock back and forth, causing the girls to be launched towards Fluttershy’s bed, and ending up in a pile. Sunset dragged herself out of it and said, “Doesn’t matter why, they're attacking!”

Sunset got out of the pile and ran towards the door, but not before Fluttershy called out, “SUNSET!” The girl in question stopped and turned around. “Don’t destroy them if you can help it…”

Sunset smiled wearily. “I’ll try, but if they leave me no choice…”

The flame haired girl left it there and ran down the corridor. Sunset found one of the air locks and prepared to open it but paused. “Dammit, if I use the airlock, they’re going to know something’s up…” Sunset’s right forearm began to glow as her StaRaizer appeared. “Okay, guess there’s a way to do this without ripping the ship apart. I’m trusting you, StaRaizer!”

Light engulfed Sunset as she was transported to the starry nexus, opening her Coin Keeper, Sunset took out her first Ultra Coin.

“Grant me the strength of a hero!”

|| ULTRAMAN! ||

“Grant me the power of a galaxy!”

|| ULTRAMAN GINGA! ||

“Release the light within me!”

|| SHINE ON! ULTRAWOMAN ASTER! ||

A flash of light shot out from the ship, passing through the metal and grew until it became the giant of light, Ultrawoman Aster. It was now outside the ship, that Aster could see exactly what was attacking them. Two creatures that resembled crows flew around in a death circle, they’re bodies were ethereal, with different points of light that formed a kind of constellation, the body of the creature was a shimmering mauve color, with red eyes that shone bright in the dark of space. The third creature resembled an eagle, with points of light that formed a constellation pattern on its body, and shimmered a bright yellow color, and had the same red glowing eyes.

“They’d look cool if they weren’t trying to kill us,” said Aster.

The first Corvus flew straight at Aster, but she quickly flew to her right just as the creature got close, and then the second one came along. The second Corvus brandished its talons and grabbed Aster by the shoulders, whisking her upwards and away from the ship. The Corvus flapped its wings once and flipped upward, throwing Aster up even higher. The Ultra Warrior spun for a few seconds before stopping and righting herself. She was about to fly down, until the Aquila came in and wing bashed her in the side, causing sparks to fly. The Aquila came around again, and struck her on the opposite side.

The Aquila wasn’t just fast, it was strong too. The giant bird came around for another attack, but Aster wasn’t having it. She raised her right hand and fired off several Beam Bullets, each one hit its mark and exploded against the creature’s body, causing it to release a shriek as it backed away from Aster. With the Aquila distracted, Aster flew down towards the ship and coated her right arm with sparkling blue energy as she came down with her Starry Smasher right on top of Corvus number one, and then fired more Beam Bullets at Corvus number two. All three birds of prey were watching her now, trying to determine the best course of action.

Aster took her time to analyze the situation as well, something was off about the way they were acting, especially with that red glow in their eyes. “I wonder…”

Within the starry nexus, Sunset once again reached into her Coin Keeper and brought out two Ultra Coins.

“I ask for the gift of kindness!”

|| ULTRAMAN COSMOS! ||

“I ask for the gift of protection!”

|| ULTRAMAN AGUL! ||

“Let the waves of my soul calm your rage!”

|| FLOW AND CRASH! COSMIC WAVE! ||

Aster’s body was engulfed in blue light and water, transforming her into her fluid form, Cosmic Wave. “I will wash away all cruelty with serenity!”

The two Corvus gave a threatening caw and charged for Aster. The moment they came close, Aster masterfully redirected the first Corvus away from her, letting that one ram itself into the second due to her redirection. The Aquila came next, baring its sharp glowing talons, but Aster managed to get away from it as well, utilizing her incredible speed to dodge the creature and make it ram itself into the two Corvus. The three creatures, now ticked, began bickering and fighting amongst themselves, allowing Aster the time she needed.

“Aura Rect!”

Aster’s hand glowed as she released a sparkling aurora of energy towards the three creatures. The Aquila and two Corvi suddenly stopped bickering and attacking each other, their eyes going from a harsh red to a bright and soft cerulean. Aster slowly approached the shimmering birds with her hand extended outwards. The Corvi and Aquila looked at her hand for a second, the Aquila then placed its beak into her hand, and Aster flipped her hand around to pet the giant eagle on its head. Aster in turn did this for each of the Corvi, the three great birds then took their leave, heading the same way they were about to go.

“Best I run escort until my timer goes out.” Aster flew over to the cockpit and said to the pilots, “I’ll guard you for as long as I am able.”

The pilots nodded and flew off alongside Aster.

\\\***///

[3 Hours Later…]

“Holy crap, I can’t believe that worked!” Sunset exclaimed.

Eventually, they reached the planet. Surprisingly enough, Sunset was able to maintain her Aster form throughout the entire three hours instead of her normal three minutes. Although, when they reached the planet and entered its atmosphere, Aster’s body glowed and shot back into the ship as a beam of light.

“I thought you could only maintain that form for three minutes, how were able to pull that off?” Ocellus asked.

“No idea, but I will say, when we made the transition from space and to the planet, I could feel a change, like I was getting less energy or something,” said Sunset.

“Huh…well, I’m sure Twilight will be interested in this development.”

Sunset chuckled. “Oh, I’m sure she will. On that note, what were those things?”

“Constellatins, they’re from the planet we’re on now. It’s strange that they came out that far.”

“I knew something was probably going to happen. By the way, I never got around to asking, why is it that we’re here? I know they said they needed Fluttershy, but for what exactly?”

“Oh…well…we’re possibly going to be preventing a…ahem…civil war.”

“………WHAT?!”

When the ship landed the group of scientists, as well as three students, and one stowaway, departed the ship. The planet had a green colored sky, with white fluffy clouds, and lush green forests. However, the sky had several more of the same creatures they encountered in space, the Corvus and Aquila, all bearing the same star patterns on their bodies. Along with them were smaller – relatively speaking – bird creatures, its body was shimmering blue and had a different star pattern on its body, they sort of resembled swans. The group got into a large vehicle that sported six wheels and armored plating.

The transport traveled a good distance, and along the way the saw many more of the Constellatins, there were some that were monstrous scorpions that were a deep yellow color, wolves that were a bright navy blue, bulls that were green in color, and various others as they made their way to a campsite about five minutes out. Temporary structures were built, with some serving as labs, others as medical bays, and a few more were lodging. The vehicle came to a stop and the group disembarked.

Sunset, Ocellus, Fluttershy, and Scootaloo all inhaled deeply, the atmosphere was the same as Earth’s, allowing for the group to walk around without the need for air tanks. As the group made their way further in, two people approached them. The first was a man, brawny, with some stubble peppering his jaw line. He had dark purple hair, and mauve colored eyes, his skin was bronzed from long hours out in the sun and wore a hat with crocodile teeth (collected from crocs who lost them through natural means mind you). The woman next to him was obviously an Alien Avian. Her skin was a pink color, with large feathered wings that were of the same color protruding from her back. Her hair was blonde, long and shimmering, and where her ears should be, were smaller wings that twitched to and fro as if picking up on sounds. Her nails were sharp, almost like talons, white as ivory, and had a nice sheen from them. Her eyes were a light purple color, which matched a certain stowaway’s eyes.

“Dr. Allgood!” Fluttershy called out.

“Yes!” Both the man and woman answered in unison.

That got a chuckle out of the group, from what Sunset could deduce it must be a running gag. She then noticed that Scootaloo ducked behind herself and Ocellus, trying to hide her presence. Fluttershy separated from the group and went up to the Allgoods, the Alien Avian hugged Fluttershy while the human male shook her hand, his movements nearly lifting Fluttershy off the ground. If it wasn’t for the fact that Sunset knew Fluttershy was an alien herself, and clearly stronger than she let others realize, she’d have worried that the large man might break her arm accidentally.

“It’s good to see ya, Fluttershy, shame it’s under such circumstances,” said the man in an Australian accent.

“We promise, next time, we’ll just come visit without it being work related,” said the female Alien Avian.

“It’s no problem…although, speaking of visits…” Fluttershy nodded towards Sunset and Ocellus, both girls walked towards them, the doctors noticing that there was an extra pair of legs following behind them. “Doctors, these are my friends from SMILE. Sunset Shimmer, a teammate of mine, and Ocellus, she’s new to the Academy and new to the Preserve team. Sunset, Ocellus, this is Dr. Snap Allgood,” Fluttershy pointed to the man, “and his wife, Manera Allgood.”

“Nice to meet ‘cha,” said Snap.

“Likewise, and call me Mane,” said Mane. “But, who’s that behind you?”

Scootaloo flinched. Sunset peered over her shoulder and nodded towards Snap and Mane, silently saying, “Better do it now.” With a sigh, Scootaloo walked from behind the two girls, making Snap and Mane gasp.

“SCOOTALOO?!” Mane and Snap exclaimed.

“Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad,” Scootaloo greeted nervously.

The two teenagers stepped back a bit to give them room. Snap and Mane approached Scootaloo and got down on one knee before her. The two parents, without a word, wrapped their arms around their daughter, Scootaloo forgot all about the fact that she was going to get in trouble for what she did, it was a small, microscopic concern compared to this moment. Scootaloo returned their hug as best she could, but considering she had two pairs of arms wrapped around her, that was a little difficult. A long minute passed by before Mane and Snap released their daughter and looked at her directly.

“Scoots, I can’t believe you’re here,” said Snap.

“Nobody told us you’d be coming! It’s not a holiday back on Earth is it? Did we miss one?” Mane asked her husband.

“I don’t think so. I’ve been keepin’ up to date as far I remember…” That’s when snap realized. “Wait, shouldn’t you be in school right now, young lady?”

And the moment had passed. Scootaloo chuckled nervously. “Y-Yeah…kinda.”

Mane’s smile turned to a small frown. “Scootaloo, what happened?”

“I sorta, maybe jumped on the ship when I heard they were going to the same planet you were working on,” said Scootaloo with a small, yet nervous smile.

“And how did you sneak on board the ship and not get noticed before now?” Mane asked.

“She hid in a container and got locked in it. But I found her and let her out,” Sunset answered.

“YOU DID WHAT?!” They exclaimed in shock.

“Scoots do ya have any idea how dangerous that was?! They very well could’ve left that container on the ship the whole trip and never opened it!” Snap scolded.

“Scootalua Allgood, what on Earth was so important that you risked doing such a reckless thing to come and see us?!” Mane asked.

Scootaloo went silent, which intrigued the three teenage girls. During the trip, when it came to the subject of why she had snuck onto the ship, Scootaloo was particularly vague with the details. Fluttershy, indeed even Sunset and Ocellus, had figured it was just to see her parents, seeing as their job took them to faraway places and probably not home as much as they wanted to be.

Snap and Mane noticed her silence and were now wondering if there was more to this than the young girl was letting on. However, they couldn’t overlook the fact that what she did was incredibly dangerous, and stupid.

“Scoots, if ya don’t want to tell us right now, that’s fine. But ya mother and I have a bit of a crisis goin’ on here, and it needs fixin’ before things escalate farther than we have now,” said Snap.

“But we’re not done talking about this, so until we’ve resolved this, you’re grounded to our cabin. Understood?” Mane asked, although it was more like an order than a question.

Scootaloo sighed in defeat. “Yes, Ma’am.”

\\\***///

After Scootaloo was left at their cabin, the three teens along with Snap and Mane, began their drive to their destination.

“Okay, so let’s give ya the rundown. We told ya there’s a civil war breaking out, but we never told ya between who. There are two factions, one is led by the Leo, King Regulus,” said Snap.

“Regulus?! But the last time I was here, he was ruling with fairness, he’s a protector! Why would he be doing that?!” Fluttershy asked.

Snap shook his head. “No idea, which is why we need you to ask, as far as we can tell, there’s been no immediate change to the environment , the population of all the different Constellatins hasn’t drastically decreased, so the prey to predator ratio is nominal.”

“Who’s the other faction led by?” Sunset asked.

“A large Ursa Major, the second strongest Alpha on the planet aside from Regulus, Chief Uudora,” said Mane.

The transport passed through rough terrain but managed to roll with the bumps and dips. The trail had markings that it had been traveled through by large creatures, making Sunset get a little edgy about meeting these Consetalltins. Sunset leaned next to Ocellus and whispered, “If things get bad, I might need to transform. If that happens, can you back me up?”

Ocellus nodded and whispered back, “I don’t know how much I can do against creatures like what we’re about to see, but I’ll at least keep everyone safe.”

They drive continued for about a couple of more hours, finally arriving at a large rock formation. There were several lionesses forming a perimeter around the rock formation, their fur shimmered gold, and their eyes…their eyes were red. Along with the lionesses were green bulls, the Taurus, and others like the wolves, and flying overhead were some Aquila.

Snap stopped the transport and looked back towards the girls. “Sunset, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Ya ever been around a wild animal?”

Black King, Meteor Bird, Zetton, Barabba, and then I got licked on the face by Gomora. “Kind of…”

Mane turned around and said, “Well, we’ll just say this anyway. Don’t make sudden moves, keep your actions slow and calm. They’re edgy right now, we don’t need to provoke them. Regulus is like the king of this planet, so when we see him, bow your head, we’ll let you know when it’s okay stop.”

Sunset and Ocellus nodded.

The group of five exited the transport, and just as the two doctors instructed, they moved slowly and calmly, hands out to their sides. Two giant lionesses approached their group and Fluttershy stepped forward.

“We request an audience with King Regulus, we only wish to speak to him,” said Fluttershy.

The two lionesses looked to each other, their noses sniffing the air around them. They eyed Sunset and Ocellus for a moment, but then they nodded in the direction of the rock formation.

“They said that they would bring us to the King, and to follow them.”

The five followed the two giant lionesses into the den, several more of the lionesses were either eyeing them, or attending to their cubs. But the interesting thing was that the ones that were eyeing them had crimson eyes, while the others that were attending to the cubs had blue. The lionesses led them further in, and straight to the den of the King. Regulus sat upon his rock, his mane shimmering like solar fire, the star pattern upon his body was brighter compared to the others, possibly due to his alpha status among the other Constellatins. Upon his forehead was an eight-pointed white star. To his right was his wife, a lioness that shown as bright as the King, showing her status as the Queen of the Pride. To Regulus’ right was a young cub, a male Leo, the beginnings of a shimmering fire mane were forming around his neck and on his head. What was interesting, just like in the rest of the den, the King’s eyes were crimson red, and lioness and cub’s were blue.

The two guard lionesses bowed to the King, the group followed their lead and did the same. Regulus regarded them and gave a growl. The two lionesses raised their heads and backed away.

“Now,” said Mane.

The group lifted their heads and looked upon the royal family. Shy walked up and said, “Greetings, King Regulus. We’ve come to you, seeking answers. From what I am told, your kingdom is on edge, and a war is going to break out with Uudora, the Ursa Major. Please, tell me why this is?”

While the growls were unintelligible to the others, to Shy’s ears, she could hear the words clearly.

“What I do with my kingdom is none of your concern,” said Regulus.

“It does concern me, you are like a good friend to me, as well as most of us assembled here! You’ve been at peace with Uudora, you’ve ruled the planet with fairness and strength, why fight her? Please, if you tell us what is wrong, maybe we can help you?”

The Queen glanced to her husband and said, “Husband, perhaps it could not hurt to hear her words.”

“Do you question my decisions Reiru?”

The lioness shook her head. “No, Regulus, but would it not be helpful to have an outside perspective.”

Regulus stamped down his paw down, causing a slight tremor. A testament to the strength this creature possessed. The King then turned to his left, his mane swishing a bit as he said, “I do not. Why should I let a human tell me what to do?!”

Reiru, the cub, and even Fluttershy raised an eyebrow at that.

Snap slowly walked up to Fluttershy and said, “Fluttershy, what did he just say…?”

“I think something’s wrong…we should leave.” Fluttershy bowed to the royals. “I’m sorry, King Regulus, we meant no offense. We only sought knowledge. We shall leave if that is your wish.”

The cub looked like he wanted to protest, and so did Reiru, but they remained silent. Regulus turned back to face them and said, “Very well, leave here, humans.”

About twenty minutes later, the group had entered their transport and Fluttershy gave the others the translation of what happened. Afterwards, Snap and Mane’s brows furrowed.

“Is something wrong?” Sunset asked.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve met the King, Queen, and Prince. They’ve seen me in my true form, and they’re also keenly able to determine who is and isn’t human. And of course, the blatant fact that he lumped Dr. Mane into the human category, even though she’s in her true form, isn’t a mistake that they make. I’m sure the Queen and Prince could tell that Ocellus wasn’t human, but Regulus didn’t seem to acknowledge it.”

“…We may have another problem.” Ocellus spoke up, looking pensive as she did. “When King Regulus moved to face Queen Reiru, his mane moved just enough for me to see…it.”

“It?” Snap asked.

“The mark of the Kugutsu.”

Sunset’s eyes widened, but Fluttershy, Snap, and Mane didn’t know what she was talking about.

“I’m sorry, what is Kugutsu?” Mane asked.

“You two are aware of Ultrawoman Aster, correct?” Ocellus asked.

Snap and Mane nodded, it was hard not to know about the hero giant that was protecting the city and destroying Space Beasts.

“The very one that helped Gomora and saved another creature?” Snap asked.

Ocellus nodded back. “The other creature was me. I’m a Changeling, I was forced to fight against her. And the following week, another attack happened, a creature known as a Belzeb, came to kill me. The Belzeb have strong mind controlling venom called Kugutsu. Once injected, the victim loses all control of their body and essentially you become their slave. To fight and die as they see fit.”

“That’s horrible!” Mane exclaimed.

“When one is infected, a red rash forms at the injection spot. When the King’s mane moved, I saw it. It was hidden under his mane, but it is there, he’s under the control of a Belzeb, and the Belzeb respond to their Queen, in this case…”

“Chrysalis. The Changeling Queen and leader of the Dark Changelings. But what does she want with this planet?” Sunset asked.

“An army,” Fluttershy spoke. “Constellatin’s are a strong race of creatures, an army led by Regulus…”

A grim thought appeared in Ocellus’ mind, a vision of Hive Prime getting overrun with Constellatins, all controlled by Chrysalis.

“We should talk to Uudora, if this Belzeb creature is around, maybe one of the other Constellatins might’ve seen it.”

\\\***///

[2 hours later…]

The team made it to the opposite faction, which had taken up camp at the base of a mountain. Several more Constellatins made up this faction. Canis Majors, which were golden brown color. Monoceros, which were essentially unicorns, were colored silver and had shimmering horns. There were also Lynxes that prowled the area, their bodies colored black like space itself. In the sky above were Pegasi, which were magenta colored, and some Corvi.

Like before, Fluttershy spoke to the guards, which were a pair of Monoceros. The two unicorns nodded and had them come into the mountain. There were more creatures inside, some were other Ursa Majors, some were Aries, which were red, and others like Scorpios. The two Monoceros guards led the team further in, and it was here they saw her. The second Alpha of the planet, she stood about sixty-one meters tall, had shimmering mauve fur, her eyes were blue, and her claws were long. Next to her was a cub, an Ursa Minor, with sky blue fur. One thing that Sunset noticed that was similar between both Uudora and Regulus, was that they both had an eight-pointed star mark in the middle of their foreheads, a possible mark of their Alpha status.

“Uudora, Chief of the Ursas, thank you for seeing us,” said Fluttershy.

The giant bear sat down and leaned its head down. “It is wonderful to see you as well, young one.” Uudora looked to the group and tilted her head curiously. “Hmm, you travel with new company. The human male and the bird female I have seen before, but the other two…she smells similar to a Musca, and the human female smells…different.”

Fluttershy sighed happily, Uudora could recognize them, plus, not one of the Constellatins assembled had red eyes. “Chief Uudora, you are at war with Regulus, correct?”

Uudora snarled at the mention of the Leo’s name. “I once thought him a fair and noble king, who knew better than to try and wrest control of all creatures. He may rule, but I am an Alpha as well. Ursa have always been independent, and now he wishes to bring all of us under his tyranny!” Uudora gave a short roar before adding, “Well, I will not stand for it!”

“Chief Uudora, we have suspicion to believe that King Regulus’ actions may not be his own,” said Fluttershy.

Uudora cocked an eyebrow. “Explain yourself.”

Fluttershy did, explaining about what they found out while speaking to Regulus, as well as the Kugutsu venom and the possible Belzeb infestation. “Have you, or any creature, seen anything strange on your planet?”

Uudora thought on this. “Not much…however, I have heard from the Musca that they sensed the beating of wings that were not their own. I too have heard such unfamiliar buzzing around our camp.”

Fluttershy turned to her team, “Uudora says she may’ve heard the Belzeb around here!”

Sunset already knew what she needed to do. “Okay, I’ll check it out, if one of these big guys could point the way.”

“Hang on now, we can’t let ya go out searchin’ for something that dangerous. You may be SMILE, but you’re our responsibility, we can’t let ya go,” said Snap.

Sunset raised her hand as if to dismiss his concern. “I appreciate it, but I’ll just recon and come back.”

“I’m coming with you,” said Fluttershy.

Sunset was about to say “no”, but one look at Fluttershy’s determined face made her think otherwise.

“Young one.” Fluttershy looked up at Uudora. “You should know, that Regulus has issued a challenge to me. The day after tomorrow, we will fight.”

“What?! B-But we just said–!”

“All the more reason. If his will is not his own, then he will lead all of us into ruin. As another Alpha, I cannot allow that. If you are unable to find an alternative, I will have no other choice.”

Fluttershy grit her teeth but nodded reluctantly.

\\\***///

A Lynx led Sunset and Fluttershy through the forest, the timid girl assumed her true alien form, wanting to be ready in case something happened. The Lynx made a few grunting sounds, which Fluttershy translated. “He says, ‘I heard the strange buzzing up ahead’. And I think he’s right, I can smell something in the air, something bad.”

Sunset looked up at the Lynx and said, “Thank you, but stay here, we’ll go on ahead, we’ll be too small for them to notice.”

The Lynx nodded and stayed low to the ground. Fluttershy and Sunset headed towards the scent, with Fluttershy leading the way. About a meter from where they left the Lynx, Fluttershy raised her hand in a stopping motion. The alien girl nodded her head towards the front, Sunset nodded in understanding. Slowly, they approached the edge of the tree line, and then moved some leaves around to see exactly what they were suspecting. Huddled around a large cliff, rested several of the Belzeb. The buzzing sound they made was unnerving as they scuttled around. The two girls released the leaves and took a few steps back.

“How many do you think there are?” Sunset asked.

“Many, from what I could tell, about…fifteen or twenty, there’s way too many for you alone, Sunset,” said Fluttershy.

Sunset looked around, and then looked up and had an idea. “Maybe not. Who said I had to fight them all? I can just burn them away.”

“How?”

“We’ll need that Lynx, c’mon!”

Sunset and Fluttershy ran back to the Lynx, Fluttershy informed him of what they saw, but then Sunset told him her plan. “I have a plan for them. I want you to balance me on your paw, and then toss me as high as you can into the air.”

The Lynx and Fluttershy tilted their heads to the side, it was rather cute. “Um…Mr. Lynx here is asking, ‘Why would I do that? I don’t want to hurt you’.”

“Trust me, I can get them all in one shot if you do.”

The Lynx looked at Fluttershy, and she at him. Fluttershy knew that Sunset could transform into Aster, but this request was quite odd. Nonetheless, the alien girl managed to assure the Lynx that Sunset would be alright. Reluctantly, the Lynx let Sunset kneel on its paw.

“Fluttershy, once he tosses me into the air, I want you both to run in the opposite direction as fast and as far as you can, you got it?!”

Fluttershy nodded.

“ALRIGHT, LYNX, TOSS ME!” Sunset shouted.

The Lynx yowled and then tossed Sunset into the air as hard as it could. Sunset braced herself as the g-forces pushed down on her as she ascended higher and higher. Down below, she could see the clearing and the cliff where the Belzeb were huddled around. Sunset’s speed gradually slowed, and then she began to drop, Sunset angled herself towards the cliff and quickly summoned her StaRaizer, surrounding herself in the starry nexus.

“Bestow, the strength of the brave!”

|| ULTRAMAN LEO! ||

“Bestow, the power of the bold!”

|| ULTRAMAN MAX! ||

“Ignite the fire in my heart!”

|| BURN UP! SOLARIS MAXIMUS! ||

Plasmatic flames erupted around Sunset’s body, growing bigger and bigger as her entire body transformed into her powered form of Solaris Maximus.

“I’ll burn you all away with the flames of my heart!”

Aster’s body erupted with flames. The flames grew bigger and burned hotter as she quickly descended towards her target. The Belzeb down below saw a bright, fiery star, staring at it as they could not determine what it was. Those raging flames were then absorbed by Aster’s body as she performed the classic “superhero landing” pose as she touched down on the ground before the face of the cliff. The Belzebs’ eyes all glowed red as they readied to attack, but then Aster looked up, her eyes glowing with power.

“Nova Burn!”

Aster’s body exploded into a fiery dome of destructive power. The dome grew bigger and higher as it engulfed everything in a twenty-meter radius. The Belzeb released a screech as they were all burned away, even their ashes were burned into nothing, the cliff broke apart into rumble, then turning into molten lava. Aster ceased her attack, the fiery blast furnace dissolved into embers as Aster stood up and surveyed her work. A crater had formed due to her attack, smoldering and as the area hissed from the intense heat that she used to burn the Belzeb away.

“Probably best I take care of this.”

Aster’s body glowed blue as a wave of water rose around her, transforming Aster into her Cosmic Wave form. Aster rose above the crater and concentrated her energy, creating a large sphere of water above her head, Aster then threw the giant water ball straight down into the crater. The water ball exploded upwards, instantly putting out any small fires from her attack, and cooling the crater, which generated a huge cloud of steam that rose up high into the air. Aster flew out of the cloud and used her Ultra Vision to peer into the distance, it was there she saw Fluttershy and the Lynx, who were standing on a cliff far from Aster’s attack.

Aster flew over to where they were, surprisingly, despite seeing her display of power, the Lynx didn’t seem threatened by her. “Wow, surprised he isn’t scared of me after what I did.” Lynx looked to Fluttershy and then to Aster and then began to grunt and growl. Fluttershy listened and her eyes widened. “What’s he saying?”

“Sunset, he says that you remind him of a blue Ultraman who came to their planet a long time ago!”

Despite her face being unable to express, that didn’t stop Sunset from making a shocked gasp upon hearing this. “You mean…He’s seen me?!”

“Not…hold on.” Fluttershy listened closer to what the Lynx said. “No, not you specifically, he says the Ultra was a male, but was blue and moved fluidly like you.”

A blue Ultraman, within the starry nexus, Sunset looked at her StaRaizer, and looked at the top coin she first inserted to activate her Cosmic Wave form. “Was his name…Cosmos?”

The Lynx yelped happily.

“He says, ‘Yes’.”

Aster landed beside the Lynx, who purred as he nuzzled against Aster’s leg. The giant of light petted him gently, making the Constellatin relax. “That explains it…”

“Explains what?” Fluttershy asked.

“When I cleansed those Corvi and Aquila, the ones that attacked, they became really friendly towards me…I think…I think they thought that I was Cosmos, or I reminded them of him at least.”

Aster’s body glowed and the Lynx pulled away, watching as she shrunk down and became Sunset again. The fiery haired girl sat on the grass and Fluttershy sat next to her. The Lynx laid down as well, giving her a pleading look to keep petting him, despite her change in size. Sunset chuckled and patted his jaw, she wasn’t sure how much the Lynx was enjoying this, given that she was much smaller, but she supposed it wasn’t how big she was, it just the feelings that were put into the action.

Sunset summoned her Coin Keeper and pulled out Cosmos’ Ultra Coin. “I gathered all these coins, each one representing an Ultra Warrior. Ultraman, Ginga, Leo, Max, Agul, Cosmos, and now Orb…yet I still have no idea who I am…”

“Sunset…?”

“Oh…yeah, you didn’t know. Only Twilight does…yeah, I don’t have much of any memories of my childhood, my past is a complete blank to me. I know how to fight, I know how to transform into Aster, and that’s it. I don’t even know what I am. Am I human or an Ultra? Which is my real form? And if there are other Ultras out there, where are they?! Why haven’t they come to help me?! I’ve collected these coins with their powers, you’d think that mean I was bound to meet them at some point?!” Sunset stopped petting Lynx as she looked down at the grass.

Fluttershy wrapped her tails around Sunset in a comforting fashion, and then wrapped her arm around her shoulders. “I didn’t know you were suffering like that…”

“Only Twilight knew…I was debating whether I should tell you all or not…”

“I’m sorry you don’t remember your past, but whether this is your true form, or Aster, it doesn’t matter. What matters is what you do now that defines you. You’re my friend, a hero, and a kindhearted person,” said Fluttershy.

Sunset shrugged at the last one. “I don’t know if I’m that kindhearted.”

“I don’t think you would’ve asked Commander Celestia to let you come with me if you weren’t. Plus, I think that coin thinks so, too.”

Sunset looked at the Cosmos Coin again, for a moment, the carved image of the coin’s eyes shined blue, as if agreeing with Fluttershy. Well of course you would, you came from her.

“Alright, enough of my pity party, let’s head back. Hopefully that was all the Belzeb, now we just need to figure out what to do about King Regulus…”

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Shine on! Ultrawoman Aster! - Michael_Ravencroft

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