The Legacy of the Z-Fighters
Chapter 8
Previous ChapterNext ChapterGoku watched as all around him, lights flashed and ponies crowded, more so than he even thought lived in the town. If he wasn't being bombarded with a continuous stream of question after question, he might have been able to ask himself how this many ponies had fit into one room. As the lights kept flashing, a few figures moved in front of them to block the strange lights.
"Alright, everypony, I think that's enough photos for the moment," a warm, soft voice spoke loudly.
Almost instantly, all of the commotion and flashing stopped and Goku was able to see the figure standing before him. At the same time, he began to sense the presence of the figure, and nearly dropped his jaw.
Standing before him was a pony that stood taller than anypony he had seen so far. She had a massive horn and gigantic wings that were unfurled slightly, used seconds ago to block the flashing lights. The mare wore a long, flowing white and gold dress that matched her brilliantly shining coat. Her mane and tail were a myriad of colors, flowing in an invisible wind as Goku stared in awe.
Slowly, the figure turned around to look down at Goku, a smile as warming as the sun's rays beaming onto him as she gazed at him with majestic purple eyes.
As Goku looked up at her, he couldn't help but feel absolutely crushed by the astounding power she held within. Altogether, her appearance, the warmth she radiated, and her overwhelming power, he could only guess her to be the entity of the Sun herself.
"P-Princess... Celestia," he gasped, the weight of her power hanging over him like a mountain.
She smiled at him and knelt down to get closer. Goku didn't flinch under her gaze, and stood still as a rock as he watched her close the distance. She raised a hand and put it on Goku's head, running her hand through his mane as she kept that same, kind look in her eyes.
"Hello, Goku," she said softly, her eyes watering at the edges.
From behind her, Goku could see another figure close in on him.
This mare was almost as tall as Celestia, except like a mirrored version of the Princess. She had blue fur, a black and blue dress, massive wings and a long horn (neither as large as Celestia's own, though), and calm, blue eyes. Her mane looked like the night sky, wavering on an ethereal plane that reminded Goku of the sky's reflection in a river. Without a doubt, this was Princess Luna.
Like Celestia, she bore down a power that Goku could barely comprehend.
It felt as though the rest of the sky above was about to drop onto his shoulders, yet they stayed with her as she carried it effortlessly.
"Aren't you the cutest little colt," Celestia said as she cupped Goku's cheeks.
The colt was frozen in awe, feeling the combined power of the Sun and the Moon sharing the space he was in. He felt so insignificant compared to their massive energies, as if one wrong glance could crush him like an ant.
And all it did was tax his ability to not challenge them to a fight right then and there.
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Twilight and Trixie watched with teary eyes as the Princesses crowded their son. Beside them, Twilight's parents were crying as they laid eyes on their first grandchild. Cadance and Shining, however, were stunned and were caught in a storm of mixed emotions. Shining was proud beyond belief, seeing that he now had a nephew to share his parental advice with. Cadance, however, was somewhere between squeeing with joy and seething with envy, having been unable to get pregnant for so long. Still, they watched as Princess Celestia and Luna stood up and motioned for the rest of their family to join in.
Twilight stepped forward as Velvet and Night Light came up to the colt, Velvet picking him up and holding him before her.
"Ah, I can't believe how absolutely adorable you are!" she squealed.
"I can't believe it! We're finally grandparents!" Night Light half-shouted as he and Velvet squeezed Goku between them in a hug.
Twilight leaned in close to Goku, who was looking around with a confused look on his face.
"They're my parents, Goku," she whispered, "and now they're your grandparents."
Goku smiled as he returned the hug, squeezing them tightly.
Night Light felt a series of cracks from his back as he loosened his hug on the colt and Velvet set him down. He twisted his torso a bit to the side and sighed in relief.
"Woo, now that's a strong grip!" he stated with a hearty chuckle.
Shining Armor and Cadance approached the colt now, Cadance openly crying as Shining, "leaked liquid pride," as he put it. They both reached down to hug the colt as they introduced themselves.
"Hello," Cadance started, "I-I'm Cadance, your Aunt-in-law."
"And I'm, Shining Armor, your new uncle," Shining introduced himself.
Twilight walked up to Goku and tapped his shoulder to get his attention. When he turned around, Twilight saw that he was almost ready to break into tears as well, his smile wide and warm. She gave him one more hug, a few moments longer than anypony else had given him thus far, and released it once more to address the rest of the party.
"Again, I want to thank you all for being here in one of our family's most important moments. And I don't mean just the Sparkle family or the Royal family. I want to thank you all, as a member of Ponyville, for being so welcoming to this colt. Please, everypony, let's celebrate this occasion the way we do in Ponyville!" she cheered.
Pinkie shot up from the crowd and shouted.
"PAR-TAY!!!"
Cheering erupted as the music came on and ponies began to dance and talk with each other. A good portion of the party goers, however, broke off to take more pictures of the colt and tried to throw more questions at them. Thankfully, the Royal Guards were starting to filter out the press and were attempting to section off the back of the Throne Room. As they did, the closest members of Twilight's family, friends and relatives alike, crowded around the colt as they gave their welcomes to him.
Twilight felt a tap on her shoulder, however, and turned to see Princess Celestia with a concerned look on her face.
Without hesitation, Twilight broke off from the group and followed Celestia to a corner near the windows. When they were secluded enough that the music playing was barely audible, Celestia spoke.
"Twilight, first, I want to say congratulations, and I couldn't be happier that you've made such a monumental step in your life," she started with her kind and motherly tone that everypony knew her by.
"Thank you, Celestia," Twilight replied. "Does this have anything to do with him?"
Celestia shook her head.
"No, not your son," she replied with a small smile. "I thought you should know I received a letter form Spike earlier today."
Twilight's eyes widened suddenly as she remembered the dragon that usually lived here.
"Oh, feathers! I can't believe I didn't notice Spike was gone!" she cursed herself while slapping her palm to her forehead.
"It's fine, Twilight. I sometimes forget about dignitaries that planned their visits years ahead. Have you ever tried to keep a serious conversation with a Griffon Minister with a serious case of bed-head?" Celestia teased.
"Princess!"
"He's fine, don't worry," she assured. "I just thought you'd like to know that he... needs to be away for a while."
"What? Why? He could have come to us for help."
"It's a dragon matter. He wrote that he found a place that can help him learn how to resist certain... cravings," Celestia hesitated.
Twilight's ears drooped as she looked to the floor.
"So... he's..." she trailed off.
"Only for a few months, he said. A few years at the most."
Twilight took in a deep breath before slowly exhaling, nodding slowly.
"Alright. Thank you, Princess," Twilight said with a sad smile. "I'm still gonna miss him."
"Something tells me you'll have enough on your plate in the meantime," Celestia added with a smile.
Twilight gave her former mentor a hug which was returned immediately. When they let go, Celestia ran a hand across Twilight's cheek, wiping away a tear before smiling warmly.
"You're going to do great, Twilight."
The lavender alicorn nodded once more and went to rejoin the group that was growing around Goku. As she joined in, Celestia sighed contentedly in the corner, holding her hands close to her heart.
"Seems like yesterday," she reminisced.
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A lone figure walked a dimly lit, concrete road in the midst of a sprawling metropolis. She wore a jean jacket over a black shirt, and a pair of black workout pants. On her back was a bag filled with exercise equipment, like dumbbells, jump rope, and some bottles of water. Sweat crossed the brow of the filly as she wiped it away with her free hand, only carrying her equipment in the other. She blew a few strands of her bright red mane out from her face, her green eyes piercing the dark alleyway.
"Why did I hafta come down this way?" she asked herself, looking around to see the nearest buildings having boarded off their windows with rotting wood.
Around the filly were decrepit and abandoned stores, their windows shattered and their shelves dusty and bare. A few of them had faded signs that were easily older than anypony she knew. Some of the windows were boarded up, but still had nothing left to safeguard.
She was about to bolt when she felt the urge to check out one of the abandoned stores. The filly glared at the store's broken exterior, easily able to peer inside to examine the cracked concrete floor, turned-over counter, and worn out door in the back. Despite its unappealing appearance, she was entranced by the door and what it could possibly hold behind it.
"Ah... what's wrong with me?" she asked herself before placing her bag on the ground and walking up to the store.
Without a front door, she easily strode into the abandoned shop, yet didn't take the time to look behind the counter or the shelves for anything that she could have sold. Instead, she focused solely on the door before her. Without hesitation, she reached towards the handle and twisted the knob. With a creak, the door slowly gave way to her strength, and soon the streetlights illuminated the room, or rather, the only thing left that was literally bolted to the floor.
A small, rusty safe stood in the corner of the room, defiantly withstanding time and trespasser for Celestia knows how long. The filly brushed her red mane out of her eyes as she crouched down to it. Before she reached the dial on the safe, however, the door fell to the floor with a clang, the hinges choosing that moment to give out.
Despite the surprise, the filly did not flinch from the impact. Instead, her eyes were focused on a small orb sitting on a pillow. A bright orange ball with five red stars in the center. Without a second wasted, the filly reached for the orb and removed it from the safe, staring into its orange light. When it was free of its former captivity, the orb seemed to emit a faint glow.
"Whoa... gonna keep you around," she said to the orb.
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