The Legacy of the Z-Fighters
Chapter 4: Homecoming (Part 2)
Previous ChapterNext ChapterRainbow groaned as she let her face fall onto the surface of the table before raising it about three inches before letting gravity make her its mare once more and slammed her face into the table.
"I'm so bored," she moaned.
In the booth adjacent to her own, a familiar overall-toting apple farmer sighed in annoyance.
"Eighty-three," she counted off.
Before Applejack, Rarity was holding a hand of playing cards, examining the numbers and symbols that were used for their game. Carefully, she plucked two cards and placed them atop a growing pile.
"Two aces," she announced confidently.
Applejack plucked three cards from her own hand and slapped them onto the pile unceremoniously.
"Three twos," she dully replied.
"Go fish!" Pinkie replied.
Applejack sighed as she picked up the 27 accumulated cards, not caring for the fact that Pinkie was continuing to simply spout out the names of random games.
"I mean, seriously!" Rainbow stated. "Why are we even here!?"
"Eighty-four," Applejack counted.
"Did Twilight just send that message out to prank us, because this is totally LAME!" Rainbow shouted as she slammed her forehead into the table.
"Eighty-five."
"Would you stop that!?" Rainbow shouted, turning around in her seat to glare at Applejack.
"Somepony's gotta keep count," Applejack replied, not even moving to look at Dash.
"Count of what!?" Rainbow half-shouted.
"Rainbow, please don't get upset at Applejack," Fluttershy interjected quietly, "if, that's alright, that is... I mean, you know she's just egging you on, and, um... you're just letting her win."
Applejack smirked as Rainbow blinked a few times in surprise.
"My goodness, Fluttershy, how observant," Rarity commented. "I can see that Child Psychology minor truly at work."
"Hey!" Rainbow detested.
"But still, I also wonder what Twilight could have meant when she sent us those rather hastily made messages," Rarity commented.
The alabaster mare laid down a hastily scribbled letter addressed to all five of them, likely for the convenience of the sender, that simply said, 'There's something important we need to discuss talk about show emergency meeting at Sugarcube Corner. Twilight and Trixie.
Suddenly, there was a pair familiar cries from outside the bakery. The five ponies looked to each other as they recognized the voices: Twilight and Trixie. They all shot out of their seats and rushed outside to see why they had screeched in such a manner. When they got outside, they saw the two familiar ponies on the ground, crying, and holding a small colt.
"Twilight? Trixie? What's wrong?" Rainbow asked.
Twilight and Trixie slowly stood up as the colt gazed upon the five mares.
"G-girls, we'd like you... to meet our son, Goku."
\\\//////
Spike groaned as he began to regain consciousness.
He then fought to try and keep his stomach from rupturing like that alien from that horror movie he saw a year ago.
Every single fiber of Spike's being felt like it was being frozen, burned, cut, stitched together, and then repeated a million times over. His muscles were burning with an intensity comparable to Celestia's Sun, stretched out and pulsating like some kind of wild animal that was gorging on his pain alone. His bones felt like taffy, being stretched out, and his mind was spinning, burning, crumbling, and pounding like a DJ PON-3 concert in Tartarus. Despite being a dragon, he felt as helpless as a Breezie.
Worse still, he couldn't hear anything besides shouting in his own head.
'Well it's not my fault they were trying to kill him!'
'We could have handled it some other way!'
'Like how!? What could we have done while we were stuck inside the damn ball, you damn prune!?'
'We could have made a gust of wind to blow them away!'
'And then they'd get to this guy, because HE would have been blown away too, and we would be getting eaten by some fat-ass failure of a dragon!'
'Am I the only one who heard, like, five people scream, "what" really, really loudly?'
'SHUT THE HELL UP NAIL!'
'Hey, I'm on your side, jackass!'
'Will both of you shut up!?'
'What!? What is there to discuss that we already haven't in the last 1,000 years!?'
'How about the fact that we're literally killing the one sentient being that can house our last bit of consciousness!?'
'Oh. Shit, that's right.'
'Probably should have noticed when he started screaming.'
Spike didn't notice he was screaming in pain until the voices pointed it out. It wasn't clear when it had started, but Spike was also vomiting quite a bit as well. He felt some of the bile of his stomach go down the wrong way, and began to hack on his own puke. The dragon tried to roll over, or simply move, but couldn't find the strength to do anything besides choke on his own bile.
After what felt like hours, Spike managed to cough up the last of the bile from his lungs and resumed screaming.
Spike tried to examine where he had ended up, but could barely see anything beyond the edges of his rather small bed.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine in just a few hours," a familiar voice spoke.
The source of the voice came into view, revealing the blue creature that Spike saw when he first blacked out. In its stubby, blue hand was a small, green bean. Just as Spike was beginning to form cohesive thought, he fell asleep, his sight fading as he closed his eyes.
'So... anyone for some Foosball?'
\\\//////
Twilight and Trixie cracked their eyes open after their group of friends had made their surprise of the situation abundantly clear. Goku, the poor colt, never saw it coming, and was still holding his ears as he wore a pained expression.
"O-owie," he groaned as tears fought to break free from his eyes.
The couple removed their hands from their ears as Twilight blushed furiously, trying to find the words that she had thought out 183 times before getting to town.
"Well... you see, forest- um... Trixie... tree, and... the..."
"What Twilight means to say," Trixie cut in, blushing just as brightly as Twilight, "is that we were training in the Everfree Forest when we found Goku here. Would you like to say hi, Goku?" Trixie asked, leaning down to the colt.
Goku's expression had calmed after the shock and pain had worn off, and was now rubbing his right ear with a solemn face.
Before anypony could react, a pink blur closed in on Goku, encasing him in an aura of sugar, happiness, and pink.
"OHMYGOSHICAN'TBELIEVEYOUTWOFOUNDTHISADORABLECOLTINTHEWOODSOHMYGOSHHE'STHECUTESTTHINGI'VEEVERSEENSINCEPOUNDCAKEANDPUMPKINCAKECAMEHOMEFROMTHEHOSPITALANDHE'SSOSMALLANDREDANDOHMYGOSH!!!!!!!"
Goku, the poor colt, never saw the blur coming and was unprepared for the spinning hug that the tornado of fun known as Pinkie had brought unto him. The pink mare crush the colt in her grasp and spun fast enough to give Dash a run for her bits, shouting about parties and crying gallons upon gallons of happy tears.
The colt being held by Pinkie adjusted to the momentum of the spin and began to gather his wits.
This large mare was hugging him tightly while smiling and talking and spinning, reminding Goku of when Grandpa had him master one of the techniques that he was taught. Goku assumed that this mare was happy to see him, and responded with a massive smile of his own, and hugged her right back.
As the two spun and hugged, or Pinkie's version of the two together, 'spugged', the rest of the mares were displaying their varying reactions to the happy couple.
"Oh, I can't believe you two finally adopted! I've been waiting for so long to make a familial attire for you! Although, I have to say, I didn't expect to see such a dark shade of orange in your family, but now this just adds so many possibilities!" Rarity said with a small applause.
"'Bout time you two tied the knot and settled in for family life. Ah'll be sure ta welcome him to the Apple household soon 'nough, sure as sunshine!" Applejack hooted.
"From the Everfree Forest!? Goodness! I hope he hasn't been in there his whole life... I can't believe that somepony would leave a colt in the most dangerous forest in Equestria!" Fluttershy stated.
"Are you two serious?" Rainbow asked. "That's awesome! Aw man, you two better bring that colt to my practices. I'm not letting a new member of my friends' family go without seeing my awesome stunts!" Rainbow said with a series of mid-air loops.
The two magical mares blushed intensely under the welcoming words of their friends. They all hugged, laughed, cried (though Rainbow refused to admit), and cheered for the news of their newest addition to their own little family.
"Wait, where's Pinkie and your colt?" Fluttershy asked.
All six mares suddenly looked back to see that, as they should have expected, Pinkie had taken the colt into Sugarcube Corner. Through the window, they saw the colt be sat down by Pinkie as she brought him a massive triple-layered cake with orange and black frosting.
\\\//////
Goku tilted his head in confusion as he looked at the large object before him.
"Ta-da!" the pink mare, Pinkie, stated with a wave of her hands. "Whaddya think?"
Goku cautiously sniffed at the thing before him.
"What is it?" he asked.
Behind him, the door opened up as the other ponies, including his two new mothers, entered.
"It's a super-scrum-diddly-umpcious cake for you!" Pinkie said excitedly.
"But... what's a cake?" Goku asked.
Pinkie slammed a hand over her mouth as her eyes widened in pure shock, her pupils barely visible in the white void of her eyes. Tears began to flow down her cheeks like twin waterfalls.
A hand was placed on Pinkie's shoulder, pulling her away from Goku as the blue mare with too many mane colors talked to her.
"Pinkie, he lived in the Everfree for Stars know how long! He probably doesn't know what half the food we have is, let alone a three-layered cake."
"How did she even bake this so fast?" the white mare asked.
"It's Pinkie, ya gotta stop questioning when she's involved," the orange mare stated.
A hand found its way onto Goku's shoulder, and the colt looked up to see Twilight.
"Goku, I'd like you to meet my friends, and, if they're willing, your Aunts," she said with a smile.
Goku smiled back and looked to the other mares as the orange one came up to him.
"Shoot, Twilight, like ya'd need ta ask us that. Course Ah'd be willing to be a part a' your family, same fer all us. Name's Applejack," the orange mare said as she crouched down to Goku's level. "Ah'm yer Apple-family Aunt. Ya ever want some of the best apples in Equestria, ya come find me, got it?"
"Wow, best apples in Equestria? That sounds delicious!" Goku replied cheerily. "Glad to meet you, Aunt Applejack!"
Applejack lowered the brim of her hat as she smiled warmly, trying to hide the tears that she was producing.
The white one came up to Goku and crouched as well, smiling warmly.
"Oh, aren't you just adorable?" she cooed. "Welcome to the family, darling. You can call me Rarity. If you ever want a new change of clothes for any occasion, come find my home around that corner across the way. Does that sound good?"
"That sounds great! Thanks!" Goku replied happily.
Rarity stood to the side as she wiped away some tears of her own.
Twilight was whispering with one of the other mares before she nodded and the mare came up to Goku.
The next mare had a long, smooth pink mane and a yellow coat. She approached Goku with a kind smile and spoke softly.
"Hello, Goku, my name's Fluttershy. I take care of animals by the Everfree forest. I heard you used to live there, is that right?"
Goku nodded.
"Yep. Grandpa raised me in his old hut when he was training to be a martial arts master!"
Several glances were exchanged by the other mares. A few had already begun to make assumptions about the likely dead-beat grandparent that would raise their children's foal in the middle of the most dangerous forest in Equestria. Two already knew the tragic truth, but none knew the reason the grandfather had chosen to live there.
"I see... and, if you don't mind me asking, what happened to your grandfather, Goku?" Fluttershy asked.
Goku's expression drooped a bit, but he still wore a sad smile regardless of knowing the fate of his former caretaker.
"He died when I was six. A group of monsters got him when I was asleep, and he gave me his greatest treasure," he answered.
Rarity held a hand to her mouth, gasping lightly, as Applejack shook her head in sorrow, knowing the pain the colt must have suffered. Rainbow Dash was staring at the colt, disbelief in her eyes, while Pinkie's waterfalls of tears seemed to break whatever dam kept them back.
"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that," Fluttershy whispered to the colt.
"It's alright. He said that his life was full enough if he made sure that I still lived."
"Goku, I'm sorry if this is pressing too hard, and feel free to not answer the question, but do you know what happened to your parents?"
Goku nodded.
"Grandpa said they died with the rest of our village, during a massive attack, when I was born. He said that I was the only survivor, because my mom died protecting me."
The mares in the room didn't even bother holding back tears at this point. This colt, this small child, had been living in the most dangerous place in possibly the entire world for his whole life because somepony was cruel enough to slaughter an entire village, leaving only one colt and his grandfather, before monsters took the only family that he had left, leaving him alone, unguided, and unloved for who knows how long.
"I-I'm so sorry to hear that, G-Goku," Fluttershy managed to sob out.
Goku smiled reassuringly towards all of them.
"My Grandpa says that as long as I keep living, everyone that died will be proud of me, no matter what I do or where I end up."
"That's... so... inspirational!" Pinkie shouted.
Twilight rubbed the tears from her eyes as she approached Goku.
"Goku, I'm so sorry. I... I wish I had done something earlier. I wish that I could have helped at any point," Twilight stated as she knelt down to Goku's eye-level. "I promise you, I'll make sure that you have everything I can give you. Trixie and I will be there for you whenever you need us."
Trixie knelt down next to Twilight as she reached her arms behind both, her lover and her son.
"I swear that I'll be there for you, Goku. No matter what, if it's a monster from the Everfree or something personal, I'll be there to help you."
Goku smiled widely as his eyes started to water. He wiped his face with his arm before he hugged both of his new parents.
"Thank you. Thank you all."
The rest of the mares joined in on the family hug, enveloping the colt in a myriad of colors as he made a promise.
'I swear, I'll become strong enough to defend you all. Just like mom, dad, and Grandpa.'
\\\//////
Celestia sipped at her cup of tea, the flavor forgotten as she pushed herself to focus on the document before her. Again and again, she read the paper, trying to find one reason as to why she shouldn't just burn this one along with the seven-hundred and eighty-five pages that were sent directly to her, detailing the environmental hazards and social-economic impact that would come from the use of illegal toilet paper in the Griffon Embassies.
"I swear to everything that's good and pure in this world that bureaucrats nowadays are just looking for ways to piss me off," she growled to herself as she chugged the last few drops of tea from her cup.
"Perhaps it's a game they've devised when we first came to power," Luna suggested. "I think the betting pool is just getting massive, what with this new bank system and investments over time, as you've said. What could have been merely a handful of bits could be millions right now, all waiting in some vault until the day comes where one of us snaps and tries to destroy Equestria. Again," Luna added playfully.
Celestia smiled at her sister, sitting beside her on a throne with the opposite theme of her own. The doors to the throne room suddenly burst open at the opposite end of the hall to show a mailmare scrambling through the hallway, her hat flying off as she rushed to get to the thrones of Celestia and Luna. Sixteen Royal Guards stood between the seemingly crazed mailmare and their beloved Princesses, hefting their spears up to ward off the pegasus.
However, they didn't count on the mare tripping over the shoulder-strap and inadvertently chucking the letter straight through their ranks. The letter flew between the armored Guards and landed right on Princess Luna's lap.
"Sorry," the mailmare stated as she slowly got up at spear-point, "I almost missed the letter before clocking out. Oh, and um, important- I mean, urgent letter from Princess Twilight Sparkle," the mare finished with a salute, her shoulder strap breaking at that moment before cluttering to the ground.
As the mare tried to contain all of the mail she had dropped in a panic, Celestia waved off the Guards with a smile on her face. Truly, this would be a well needed letter on the progress of the new school-project system that Twilight was beginning to implement in Ponyville. Celestia gazed over to see Luna's eyes practically merging with the words on the parchment, the Princess of the Night's smile growing like a Discorded plant.
"HUZZAH!"
Luna's Royal Canterlot Voice nearly blew Celestia out of her seat, had she not seen that coming and held on for dear sweet life. The Guards, however, went tumbling to the ground as the mailmare's letters were sent flying across the entire hallway.
"So, Luna, it's good news, I take it?" Celestia asked with a smirk.
Luna grabbed Celestia by the shoulders and pulled her in for a hug as they both stood up.
"THE TIME FOR CELEBRATION IS AT HAND! WE MUST-"
"Luna! I know your excited about whatever this is," Celestia interrupted, "but don't you think you should tone down the-"
"TWILIGHT SPARKLE HAS ADOPTED A SON!" Luna countered.
\\\//////
'And... Nailed it! Haha!'
'Oh, that is total bullshit!'
'You know, I never really got around to asking this, but Nail, how did you make any of this.'
'Well, people think that the mind is-'
"WHAAAAAAAAT!?"
'Oh my me, why!?'
'Ow, my ears!'
'Why do we hear things so clearly so far away!? What was our species' point of developing this kind of hearing!?'
'I don't know!'
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