Ultraman Geed scrambled to the Tower, flying haphazardly. He barely registered his rushed apologies to the myriad other Ultras he bumped into. Gotta get there fast, don’t wanna be late… almost there, c’mon! Landing heavily, he panted, letting out a hasty attendance.

“I’m here!” His eyes turned upwards, and he was greeted by legends.

Ultraman Geed’s eyes widened as he took in each Ultra. Ultraman Mebius, who defeated Alien Empera. Ultraman Cosmos, who was Legend and Saga. Ultraman Nexus, who was Noa. Ultraman Hikari, the Chief Scientist and Mebius’s best friend, holder of the Knight Brace, not to forget Ultraman Zero, a legend on his own. And lastly, Ultraman Orb, one of the stronger Next Generation. But the Ultra Brothers stole the show. They stood, their Brother’s Mantles fluttering regally around them, hands behind their backs, in a line. The veterans, who had trained and mentored countless Ultras. Ultraman, Ace, Jack, Zoffy, and Seven. Perhaps the greatest of them all, Taro stepped forward.

“Hello, Ultraman Geed. Now that you are here, allow us to begin.” Taro’s face was solemn. He gestured to Ultraman Zero.

“Me, Ginga, Victory, Ribut, and Orb here were patrolling the western part of Sector EQ-7, since Ribut had been receiving reports on increased unusual Kaiju attacks. We searched the system, and we tracked down a pair of Devil Splinters. They… clashed, and then just disappeared. I used the Ultimate Aegis while the others spread out.”

Zero breathed in. “I DID find them, but they… well, it ain’t easy to explain, but I think… the clash sent one Devil Splinter into what seems to be a pocket dimension. The other one landed on the third planet from EQ-7’s main star, Equis III. Ribut, Ginga, and Victory are standing guard.”

Commander Zoffy stepped forward and nodded. “We’ve assembled you all to track down those two Devil Splinters. Mebius will lead this force, while Zero will take Orb, Ribut, Ginga, and Victory to the other dimension. Before you ask.” Taro interrupted. “EQ-7 is unexplored territory. We don’t know what or who is there. That’s why we’ve also prepared extraction teams, and Sora will track your signals. Once she loses them, we’ll send them in. Your task is to hunt those Devil Splinters, and stop whatever evil they bring.”

The Ultras nodded and leaped, flying off. Taro bid them farewell.

“May the Light guide your path, Ultra Warriors.”

Meanwhile, on Equis III, three hooded girls sat in a quaint little cafe, two facing one, humming an enchanting, soft melody in sync, their voices complimenting each other. All around them, couples, friends, and acquaintances argued. A green mist flowed from the sources of the negative energy, sucked into the red gem each girl wore around their neck. One of them pulled her hood down, revealing a purple-skinned girl with long twintails of a darker purple than her skin and turquoise streaks.

“Ugh. That was barely worth the effort, Adagio. I’m tired of fast food! I need a meal.”

The girl beside her pulled her hood down as well, revealing a cyan girl with a ponytail of the same color with twin dark blue streaks. The girl across them pulled her hood down, letting her long, curly hair, two shades of yellow and held by a spiked hair band, fall down her back.

“The energy in this world isn’t the same as in Equestria. We can only gain so much power here.”

The purple girl, Aria, groaned, crossing her arms and slumping down in her seat.

“Oh, I wish we’d never been banished to this awful place.”

Adagio’s voice was loaded with sarcasm. “Really? I LOVE it here!”

The cyan-toned girl raised an eyebrow.

“For realsies? Because I think this place is the worst.”

“I think you’re the worst, Sonata.”

Aria and Sonata traded barbs as Adagio rubbed her forehead. “I’ll tell you one thing: being stuck here with you two isn’t making this world any. More. Bearable.”

On the horizon, outside the cafe’s window, a flash caught Adagio’s eye. A beam of light shot up into the sky. Adagio jolted up from her seat and ran outside, as two rainbows lit up from the ground and looped around each other, touching at their apex and unleashing a rainbow-coloured beam into the ground, which then manifested as another rainbow, this time firing itself into the sky.

The red gemstone on her neck gleamed. She touched it reverently, her eyes wide.

“Did you feel that?” She looked at Sonata and Aria, trailing lazily behind her. “Do you know what that is?”

The two shrugged. She snarled and grabbed Aria by the collar.

“It’s Equestrian Magic.”

“But this world doesn’t have Equestrian Magic.”

Adagio’s expression turned sinister and she shoved off Aria.

“It does now. And we’re going to use it to make everyone in this pathetic little world adore us.”

The Ultramen reunited over Equis III. “You’re back!” Victory exclaimed as Zero approached. He glanced over to the other Ultras trailing behind Zero.

“… not that I don’t like extra help, but that is a lot of Ultras.”

Zero grinned. “Trusting in your friends…”

“Is an important quality for an Ultraman to have.” Victory rolled his eyes as he finished the quote, but fist-bumped Zero anyways. “Got it.”

Ginga’s eyes caught a flash of light from above Equis III.

“Did you see that?”

Apparently, he didn’t have to point it out. A moment later, a rainbow-coloured beam shot up from the near exact spot, narrowly missing the Ultras. Hikari pulled up a holographic screen.

“Readings on this thing’s all over the place. Energy level is overwhelming, but radiation levels are negligible, and the total power output is close to the regular Ultra’s beam. And yet, heat and thermal energy are close to nothing.”

Mebius nodded his farewell to Zero. “And that’s our cue to go. You guys should leave for your destination as well.” Zero nodded, and called Ribut, Ginga, Victory, and Orb to follow him. Mebius glanced at his team.

“Let’s go!”

The rock, shaped like a demonic eye, soared through the sky. Flame trickled out behind it in a contrail. The people who were awake saw nothing out of the ordinary. It was just a meteor. Some snapped photos. Most just gawked. But then it was as if it never happened. The people resumed their daily lives, and a Splinter of the Devil was left to do its diabolical work.

The exact same happened in a twin dimension. Princess Twilight Sparkle glanced at the night sky, catching sight of the meteor. Puzzled, the alicorn trotted to her telescope and adjusted the lens.

That’s strange. I thought there weren’t supposed to be any meteors this season. And that color looks strange. It’s darker than usual. Ooh, Maybe it’s a special property of the rock? Or is it a new metal?

Excited at a possible new discovery, she looked through the glass of the telescope. Excitement turned to shock, to confusion, then finally an unnatural sensation creeped into her stomach. Maybe she ate too much. Maybe the rock was too strange looking. But, deep down in her gut, she knew the real reason.

From this distance, she could feel the malice radiating off the stone.

For reasons she didn’t fully comprehend yet, the Princess of Friendship felt fear.

She stumbled back, needing to be away from the thing, needed to keep her gaze away, but she was a Princess. She couldn’t let this potential threat go unchecked. Fear spiked in her gut again as she settled her eye on the rock through the telescope, but her blood really froze when she realized which way the meteor was headed.

A low, sultry chuckle reverberated the dark pocket dimension. The sadistic sound bounced and echoed, distorting into a sick, twisted version of itself. Seemingly in the middle of nowhere, there were four screens. Two dedicated to each Devil Splinter, the other two directed at each Ultraman team. A shadowy figure, shrouded in darkness, watched the screens with interest. With a dismissive wave of his hand, they wobbled and dissipated. He didn’t need to say much more.

“I don’t even need to ask at this point.” Another voice, dismembered, a thousand screams, and a single whisper at the same time, here but not here, loud but silent, broke through the silence, while not really breaking the silence at all.

“This is what you have degraded us to? Dealing with… this children’s fantasy land? It makes me sick.” The snarling voice wouldn’t have been out of place on any daemonic creature, humanoid or not. Two other voices affirmed their dissent. The shadow turned to them all.

“I could have left you all to die. I think saving your miserable lives entitles me to their usage however I see fit.” It was sickly sweet, dripping with sugar, sugar so pleasant it boiled. The place of shadows descended into a hush. The figure giggled, the sound grating on the ears, turned away.

“You leave when I say you leave, like the good little Seijin you are.” The degradation drew more than one displeasured snarl or indignant scowl, but they knew better than to lash out.

“For now… we wait. And see.”