The Legacy of the Z-Fighters
Chapter 5: Homecoming (Part 3)
Previous ChapterNext ChapterThe group made their way through town, disregarding stares and whispers as they closed in on Twilight's Castle. The young colt looked up every now and again to see the large purple building he would soon call home.
"Oh, it's just so exciting!" Pinkie shrieked.
"I know, and I'm beyond happy right now," Twilight replied, "but please, let's just try to keep this news to just-"
"I have to throw the biggest 'Welcome to Ponyville' party EVER!" Pinkie shouted as she took off, the mares unable to see her as she turned into a blur.
"Oh, great, now she's going to get the whole town crammed into the Castle," Trixie complained.
"Well, look at the bright side," Applejack started. "Least ya'll won't have ta avoid talkin' 'bout him. Besides, Ah think it'll be best ta get all this outta the way."
Twilight and Trixie sighed in resignation.
"She's right, you know," Twilight admitted.
Trixie nodded in defeat.
"Moving right along, then," Rarity started, "since there's going to be a party tonight, I suggest we invite the Princesses too, if you feel they should be involved, Twilight. I was hoping to spruce something up for our cute wittle Goku~," she cooed, petting his messy mane.
"Actually, I already wrote them a letter when we were at Sugarcube Corner. I think they might have gotten it, but I'll send another just in case. I've just gotta find Spike first."
The group continued on in silence for the next few minutes. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime to Twilight and her friends, they had arrived at the doors to the Castle of Friendship. The alicorn and showmare turned around to smile at Goku.
"Goku, I'd like to welcome you home," Trixie said, tears in her eyes.
Goku slowly walked past them and up to the large doors. He stared at them before turning back to his parents.
"Wow, this place is a lot bigger than I thought! Thank you."
The mares all felt their hearts melt at the display. Just then, Applejack's eyes widened as she looked at her wrist.
"Aw, shoot! Ah forgot ta make it to the Schoolhouse ta pick up the Crusaders!" she cursed herself. "Ah'm gonna go find Big Mac, an' see if he can bring 'em here for tonight. See ya!" she called as she took off down the road.
The mares all waved back at the apple farmer as they made their way inside.
"Now that we're here," Rarity started, "I'd like to get down to business. Goku, darling, how would you like a new change of clothes for tonight?"
"What? What's wrong with my Gi?" he asked, holding the faded blue fabric before his face.
"Oh, nothing at all, deary!" Rarity insisted. "It's just that I think you'd look adorable in a cute little suit! A pale blue fabric with lavender trims, just like your mothers' coats! Twilight, Trixie, wouldn't you adore a matching set? Oh, maybe a little orange fabric for a handkerchief! It would make such a beautiful portrait! Maybe I should ask if Thunderlane's cousin would like to takes pictures of the occasion? Oh, posh, he's all the way in Manehatten, he won't be back for days."
As Rarity lost focus, Twilight and Trixie chuckled to themselves.
"Well, Goku, we'll let Rarity get to work. If you'd like to look around, just let us know. I've got to send some letters," Twilight said as she walked away, Trixie staying to watch the alabaster mare bring her colt to the Castle's own mini-clothing store.
\\\/////
Scootaloo sighed as she watched the clock on the wall slowly tick by. Second by second, she waited as the big hand on the clock hit 12, the small hand almost smack-dab in the middle of the 4. Below the clock, Miss Cheerilee was finishing her reminder on whatever homework the class would likely have to turn in next Monday. Thankfully, she was being merciful around the beginning of the school year, and was only giving them ten-question worksheets to do over the weekend to get back into the school-focused schedule.
Only a single minute stood between school and the sweet freedom of the weekend. The pegasus filly tapped her pencil impatiently against her desk as she rested her head on her left hand. Beside her, Sweetie Belle was packing up her notebook and a sheet of paper, likely with the homework's problems written on it. She barely glanced over in Scootaloo's direction before giving the pegasus a nod.
She turned her gaze right to see Apple Bloom keeping her hand on her bag as well, ready to bolt from the classroom the moment the bell rang. Steadily, Scootaloo shoved the pencil into one of the pockets on her messenger bag, embroidered with Daring Do's Cutie Mark, and wrapped the strap around her wrist.
"... and we'll have the forms ready to hand out by this time next week," Cheerilee finished, having discussed the planned field trip with those who were paying attention. "Well, I hope you all have a fun and safe weekend."
RRRRRRRIIIIIINNNNNGGGG
The Crusaders burst from their seats along with everypony else in the class, sans Cheerilee. The three fillies smashed into the doorway to the schoolhouse and opened the doors for the rest of the class, basking in the sunlight.
As the rush to get out of class calmed, the three Crusaders looked around for Applejack, who was supposed to bring them back to the farm for a weekend-long slumber party.
"This is gonna be great!" Scootaloo cheered, raising her fist to the air.
"Darn right!" Apple Bloom agreed. "I can't wait ta get home, put on my lazy clothes, and just hang out with ya'll."
"I'm really looking forward to this, too," Sweetie Belle agreed.
Apple Bloom started to look around for her sister, but was shocked to see the red giant that was her older brother.
"Big Mac?" Apple Bloom called.
The massive wall of red fur and muscles that was Big Mac strode over to the three fillies. The Apple-family stallion received a few coos and stares from the elder sisters and caretakers of the students, being just as much a magnet for attention as ever. When he got to the Crusaders, he got onto one knee and extended his arms to his sides.
"Come 'ere, ya'll," he said in a kind baritone.
The Crusaders all considered him to be their mutual big-brother figure, Sweetie going so far as to try and hook him up with Rarity, they all went up to give him a large shared hug. He gave them a collective pat on their backs as he let go and stood up.
"It's good to see ya, Big Mac, but I thought Applejack was picking us up. What happened?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Heck if Ah know. Looked like she'd been cryin' over somethin', but she ain't the least bit sad, far as Ah can tell. She just told me ta pick ya'll up and bring ya ta Twilight's Castle. Somthin' 'bout a party tonight fer Twilight an' Trixie."
The Crusaders gasped together.
"Are they finally getting married!?" they cried in unison.
Big Mac chuckled. He remembered when they had first set up the two magical professionals together on a date in the barn. They left when the two arrived, knowing that their plan would work while they went to sleep. Thankfully, they didn't see the mess those two made during their... union.
"Maybe. Ah figured we'd go an' see-"
The sound of a microphone being tested caught the attention of everypony there, along with those across town in every direction.
It was the sound of the town's emergency broadcasting system booting up.
About 98% of the time, however, it was used for announcements like a new shop opening up, weather changes, or when Pinkie wanted to share some news.
"Good afternoon, everypony!"
Which was now, apparently.
"Pinkie Pie here to tell everypony in Ponyville to get ready for a shinniest-diggiest-shin-dig you ever dug with your shins in your life!"
Silence followed as they waited for the inevitable translation.
"Tonight, starting at 6 o'clock, at Twilight Sparkle's Castle of Friendship, we're hosting a celebration for something so super-riffically-astounding that I can't even make myself spoil it if I tried! Bring everypony you can, and bring lots of cameras~! Thank you for listening, and I'll see you all there! PARTY TIME!"
The sound of the broadcast system turning off started a chain reaction, everypony discussing with each other over what the party could be about. Some suggested that it could be an expansion for Ponyville, or perhaps a new law was being passed, or even that it could have something to do with Twilight Sparkle's interventions with the Equestrian Board of Education.
"Are ya sure it ain't their wedding plans?" Apple Bloom asked slyly.
Big Mac shook his head.
"Ah don't know. If Miss Pie couldn't spill the beans if she was tryin' ta, then it must be somethin' really out-there. C'mon, let's find out," he said, walking down the road.
The Crusaders smiled to each other before walking together as they followed Big Mac to the Castle.
\\\//////
"I have never seen anything like this before," Rarity commented, looking over Goku's attire.
She could see some resemblance between his shirt and the karate outfit that Rainbow trained in, but the shirt was nowhere near as rough as her shirt, nor was it close to fitting him properly. Not to mention that the pants were a bit baggy, as well as tied together at his ankles, right above his hooves. She could see the fabric tearing up above the knots, likely having been cut to fit him. His Grandfather likely made this outfit out of his own clothes, rather than going into town and buying something for the colt. Why he would avoid contact is completely beyond anything Rarity could guess, but still, she felt her heart tug at each thing she checked.
Then, she looked by the belt and- 'wait a second,' she thought to herself.
Rarity noticed that the belt was rather thick and rounded, more like a rope than a piece of cloth, but unlike rope, it was covered in fur and fit snugly around the colt's waist.
"Goku, what is this belt?" she asked.
Goku looked back to see her pointing at the rope-like object in place around him.
"Oh, you mean my tail?" he responded.
Rarity was about to ask what he said before the rope moved on its own. Like a snake uncoiling from its position, the rope-like tail slowly rose to its full length. The alabaster mare was too stunned for words, just staring at Goku's tail. She had seen some odd tails, like Rainbow's being able to sport six colors, Celestia's blowing on an invisible wind, Nightmare Moon's turning into mist and slapping her, and even Discord's tail being used as a hand, but this... this was something else entirely.
The tail was covered in the same short and brown fur that made her mistake it for a rope, and seemed to move freely like a snake. However, it was still in the same spot that a colt's tail would have been either way, but now it was beyond any ability to not notice. The colt's tail reminded her of a monkey, and immediately, she chastised herself for comparing Twilight's soon-to-be foster child with a wild animal. But sill, even though she knew she shouldn't she had to say-
"Is that a monkey tail!?" Rainbow Dash shouted.
Rarity turned to see that Rainbow had walked in on Rarity's workshop-away-from-home, having been set up weeks after their first encounter with Starlight Glimmer. Rainbow was staring, wide-eyed at the colt's tail, watching with her mouth wide open as Goku turned to look at her, his tail moving as well.
"Oh, hi Aunt Rainbow!" Goku greeted. "What's up?" he asked casually, oblivious to their shock.
The pegasus merely stood frozen in the doorway, staring and struggling to find words.
"Oh, there you are Rainbow," another familiar voice said from the hallway, "I was looking fo-"
Fluttershy stopped in the doorway and dropped her jaw at the sight of Goku's tail. The colt looked between the three mares, trying to find out what they were doing.
"What's everypony looking at?" he asked.
Fluttershy slowly walked past Dash and Rarity, kneeling before Goku. She brought her hand up to try and grasp Goku's tail, but he quickly turned the other way, his tail instinctively wrapping around his waist.
"Hey! What was that?" he asked.
"Oh, my goodness!" Fluttershy stated, realizing what she was about to do. "I'm so sorry, Goku! I was just... I-I've never seen a tail like that. I didn't mean to... I'm sorry..."
Goku blinked in confusion.
"You've never seen a tail before?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.
"I, uh... I've never seen a tail like yours before... I mean, it's-"
"Dude, you've got a monkey's tail!" Rainbow asserted once again.
"Rainbow!" Rarity countered. "Will you please stop saying things like that!?"
"Well, she's right," Goku admitted with a laugh.
The mares turned to him.
"Grandpa told me that I just had a different tail because I'm special. I never really knew what he meant, but now I see why he told me that somepony might think mine's weird. Your tails all look like your manes. But I didn't think it was that bad. After all, it's really hard to climb up things with just hooves!" he finished with a laugh.
The three mares stared at the colt's tail as it waved in the air behind him. Rarity couldn't stop herself from imagining all the different ways that she could incorporate ones tail as a belt in the next few seasons, while Fluttershy thought back to when she had met a few families of primates while in college. Rainbow, however, only stared, unable to make heads or... tails, as the case were.
Trixie walked in to see the three mares staring at her newly adopted son, and smirked as she saw they had finally noticed what had been bugging her for so long.
"I see you've noticed Goku's tail," she said as she walked by them.
"Trixie, did you know this whole time?" Rarity asked.
"I did, but why would that concern you? That just makes him all the more special," she said as she wrapped her arms around Goku's torso.
The showmare lifted Goku off the ground easily before hugging him tightly.
"I think somepony might need a bath before tonight," Trixie said lovingly.
Goku just snuggled deeper into the hug, making Trixie smile wider as Rarity and Fluttershy "aww"ed at the sight. Rainbow smirked as she shook her head.
\\\//////
Shining Armor flipped through the pages of the current novel he was reading, wherein he was enthralled by the mix of familial drama and high-stakes action. Pirates, treasures, wenches and alcohol were the bread and butter of this epic saga, and Shining was sinking right into it.
Speaking of sinking, Shining felt his seat shift as a familiar warmth began to rub against him.
"Ahoy, Captain," Cadance whispered in a seductive tone.
The Crystal Prince looked over to see his wife dressed up as Starry, the main-mare of the novel he was reading. It was a simple dress with an apron strewn into the front, but the way she rounded it out made it oh so alluring.
"To what pleasure do I owe this maiden?" he replied, getting into character.
"You've been given permission to come aboard, Captain," she said slowly, bringing her hand up his back, "but be careful, this ship can rock hard once she... gets wet," Cadance finished with a wink.
Shining folded the page before tossing the book aside. He embraced the hold his wife had on him as their lips met. Their tongues wrestled for dominance as their bodies moved on their own, grinding up on each other to warm up. As they separated at the lips, their tongues remained connected for a brief second before Cadance backed up and smirked.
"Now, for your-"
A sudden flash and pop from behind Cadance revealed Princess Luna with a massive smiled practically carved into her face. Without warning, she grabbed Cadance and teleported again, leaving a confused Shining Armor.
"Wha... What the fu-"
Before he could finish his sentence, Luna returned and grabbed Shining by the shoulder, taking him with her.
\\\//////
Twilight Velvet finished typing on her archaic typewriter, the smell of ink and rust a fuel of inspiration for the older mare. She stretched her arms upwards and interlocked her fingers, finally done with her new entry for her Pirate-themed thriller series. Apparently, Cadance had taken a liking to her work, and with the Crystal Empire's trading branching out every-which-way it could, she decided to write up some historical fiction for the re-awoken populace.
Velvet got up from her seat in the Study, a room shared by her and Night Light to hold their favorite off-handed hobbies, such as her husband's collection of ships in bottles, which had given her the idea of the pirate theme. She left the room and went down the stairs. Before she could make it to the landing, she smelled tea brewing in the kitchen. With a smile, she came around the corner to see-
"P-Princess Celestia?" Velvet stammered.
The alicorn Princess smiled warmly to the writer, getting up and moving in to hug her.
"Velvet, it's been far too long. When was the last time we saw each other, Twilight's Coronation?" she spoke with that always warm voice.
"Yes, I think it's been a while. How have you been," Velvet asked as she hugged the Princess for a bit.
"I've been doing well, thank you. I must say, though, I've been too busy to see what works you've put out lately."
"Oh, don't worry about it. So, what brings you to our humble abode?" Velvet asked.
Princess Celestia brought a teacup to her lips and sighed as she relished the warm brew. Velvet looked over to the stove to see Night Light holding a kettle. He shrugged to his wife, not aware of what the Princess wanted to discuss with them.
"It's about your daughter and her marefriend," Celestia said happily.
Velvet and Night Light exchanged a look of uncertainty.
"Is there something wrong? Did-" Velvet gasped, "did they break up?"
The Princess chuckled.
"No, quite far from it. Here, read this," she said, levitating a letter before her.
Velvet and Night Light both held one hand on the letter as they read. Within seconds, their faces went from worry to shock, and from shock to pure joy. The two parents began to tear up as they quietly cheered to themselves, holding each other tightly.
\\\//////
Goku held the towel close to his damp form, enjoying the feeling of his new mother drying him off with another towel. Trixie had been drying his mane for some time, and had noticed something odd. First, when he went into the water, his mane didn't straighten out, it merely went limp. Secondly, when she started to dry his mane, it didn't tangle into a mess like every other mane, no, it kept its shape.
"Goku, honey, is there something about your mane you'd care to tell me?" she asked.
"Well, Grandpa did say that he could never change it, no matter what. He said that it's been this way since I was born."
"That's... odd," Trixie noted.
Beyond his mane and tail, however, the bath went relatively smoothly. His coat was splattered with dry clumps of dirt and grass, and showed in the murky brown tub that was draining behind them. Trixie was a bit surprised when Goku's tail had picked up a loofah and scrubbed his back with it, but found it quite cute in a way, like how she would practice magic in the bath when she was a filly.
At this moment, though, she felt better about this time of a daily routine than she ever had before. Now, she was sharing this time with somepony that would love her and cherish these moments as well. Trixie felt her heart tugging at every second that she shared this time with Goku.
"You two clean yet?"
Trixie and Goku turned to see Twilight smiling in the doorway, smiling as widely as ever.
"He is, but I'm going to wait until the tub drains," Trixie replied.
"Alright, good," Twilight stated. "So, Goku, are you enjoying yourself? Are you happy here?" Twilight asked.
Goku nodded.
"Yeah, I feel great. Thank you both, again. I remember when I lost Grandpa, I thought I lost the only family I'd ever have, but he told me that one day, another family would welcome me in. Thanks for being my family."
Trixie held him closer and tighter than before, crying in joy as Twilight joined them. They sat there, enjoying the moment and each other.
\\\//////
Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle all walked into the Castle, watching above as Pinkie seemed to shoot from wall to wall, decorating the entire place with streamers and banners of all kinds. At the end of the Throne Room, Applejack and Fluttershy were setting up tables that would likely hold hundreds of snacks and drinks for the townsfolk that would occupy the massive palace.
"Heya, sis!" Apple Bloom greeted.
Applejack turned around to see the Crusaders begin to unload their schoolbags.
"Whoa there, this hall's gonna have ponies out the wazoo, Ah'd be careful where ya put those bags, girls," Applejack warned.
The three sighed in compliance, knowing that a Pinkie-party of this scale would likely cause them to lose their bags if they were kept in the middle of the room.
"So, what's the big event?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Ah reckon' ya'll go see Twilight 'bout that," Applejack answered with a smirk. "Big Mac, git your fat flank ever 'ere an' help us set up, consarnit!" Applejack shouted.
As the red stallion made his way to help with the setting up, the Crusaders made their way up the massive stairs of the Castle. Once at the second floor, they deposited their bags in Rarity's mini-workshop, wherein Sweetie attempted to communicate with her sister only to find her deep in concentration, making an outfit that looked to be too small for any of the three fillies.
They quickly left the room, and tried to locate Twilight or Trixie. Apple Bloom was about to knock on a door before she heard the sound of a bath running. She turned away and walked back to the other two Crusaders as they searched for either mare of importance.
After checking a majority of the rooms on the floor, Scootaloo closed in on the door to one of the guest rooms, this one directly to the right of Twilight's own bedroom. Before she could knock, however, she heard Twilight's voice on the other side.
"And you're sure you're okay with wearing this? I don't want you to be uncomfortable," Twilight spoke to somepony.
"I'm alright. It's really soft," a voice responded, sounding like a young colt.
Scootaloo immediately motioned to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to get over to her. Just as they got close, the door opened up.
The fillies stopped dead in their tracks as they looked inside to see Twilight in the doorway. She looked down at them and smiled.
"Hey girls, how are you three doing?" she asked cheerfully.
"We're alright," Scootaloo answered, "what's going on? We heard Pinkie announce that there's going to be a party tonight, but she didn't say what it was about."
"Then Applejack told us to find ya if we wanted to know what's going on," Apple Bloom continued.
"So we searched the Castle and now we're kinda waiting for you to tell us. I thought you and Trixie were going to announce a wedding! Am I close?"
Twilight blushed furiously at the notion, the event now seemingly closer than ever before, given the circumstances. Alas, Twilight had to shake her head.
"Not yet, hopefully, but it's still a big event."
"Then what's with the party?" Apple Bloom asked.
Twilight stepped out of the doorway to reveal the room to the three fillies. When they looked inside, they dropped their jaws in shock.
In the middle of the room stood a colt about a head shorter than any of them, his black, spiky mane easily making up for the rest of his height. His fur was a dark orange, almost red. He wore a pair of pale-yellow khakis, likely made by Rarity, and a blue buttoned-down shirt with short sleeves. His tail, they noticed, was tucked around his pants like a belt, and was thinner than most.
"Girls, I'd like you to meet my new son, Goku."
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom's faces broke into massive smiles as they took in the news. Scootaloo, however, couldn't focus on what Twilight had said, or what her friends were doing in that moment. Her eyes were locked onto the orange sphere that weighed on a necklace around the colt's neck, holding four red stars in the center of it.
She was looking at the Four-Starred Dragon Ball.
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