The Legacy of the Z-Fighters

by Dragonman461

Rating: teen
Tags: Spike, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Scootaloo, Adventure, Crossover, Anthro, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Other, Original Character
Length: 26317

The Z-Fighters died when they stopped Babidi from escaping Hell. Now, their fighting spirits await worthy souls to reawaken their powers.

Over one thousand years ago, a legendary war nearly destroyed Equestria. A rift in Tartarus was blown open by an evil wizard, and brought forth the most powerful demons from a realm of pure evil. The Alicorn sisters didn't stand a chance against even the weakest of these beasts. All seemed lost.

Before Equestria could become an inferno, however, a massive dragon came spiraling out from the rift. With it, seven powerful warriors came to fight the demons, and vanquished all who dared to harm the innocent.

At the end of the battle, all the demons were either purged or fled in terror back to Tartarus. The wizard had been sealed away by a mysterious golden dragon, and the seven warriors were nothing more than dust.

The first dragon had restored the lands in the blink of an eye, and in a flash, the dragon split into seven orbs, each one radiating knowledge and power of a different one of the seven.

Legends say that if one of a pure enough soul finds one, they would be granted the power and wisdom of whoever they had found.

It was one of Scootaloo's favorite stories that her father had told her. She always believed that they may have existed at one point, but never thought to look for any.

That changed the moment she met a new colt, Goku, and saw the four-starred sphere around his neck.

Published 2015-04-21 23:50:03 UTC
Last updated 2016-02-25 15:36:45 UTC

Chapter 1: The Tale

The Dawn of the Alicorn Sisters brought forth a time of greatness to Equestria. Harvests were always prosperous, the weather was easily manageable, and the wounds of Discord's reign were finally receding into nothing more than memories. It seemed as though the Sisters had brought salvation for all the land, and peace was achieved.

However, beneath the lowest depths of Tartarus, a wizard had broken free.

A Wizard with unmatchable magical prowess.

A Wizard, known as Babidi.

He had broken through the barriers between worlds, and unleashed an army of what many could only describe as demons.

The Alicorn Sisters sought to terminate the wizard before his armies could encompass more than the gateway to Tartarus.

When the Wizard's army fought the Princesses, Celestia and Luna, they showed no mercy.

The Alicorn Sisters were beaten senseless within minutes, and were cast aside by the Wizard, and began to move for Equestria.

Entire villages fell to their onslaught in seconds. The armies were as ruthless as they were plentiful. The skies seemed to darken as thousands upon thousands of bloodthirsty, unstoppable monsters ravaged the entirety of Equestria, bent on destroying everything.

Just as it looked as though all hope was lost, a massive dragon erupted from Tartarus.

Everypony had began to panic at the sight of it. The sky blackened, the Moon and Sun invisible from the eyes of the world as the dragon glowed a golden aura. Then, something happened.

The demons and their Wizard simply stopped.

They stared at the event with fear dominant in their eyes as the dragon roared into the sky.

As the roar began to die down, seven voices cried out in a war-like rage.

Seven powerful auras made themselves known as each one went to a different part of the demon armies, surrounding them in the midst of the Old Country. The Wizard commanded the most powerful pawns of his armies to attack at once.

In the blink of an eye, thousands became dozens, and dust poured from above.

More armies charged at them, and lights danced across the skies of the world.

Spiraling beams of death destroyed hordes of demons, discs of might cut through their ranks like they were wheat to be harvested, and deep, square craters dug them mass graves that would never be full. Blue and purple beams of energy obliterated mountains as the Wizard tried to escape. Before he could, however, a second, golden dragon erupted from nowhere, and sent the Wizard tumbling into the Abyss of the Damned before destroying the Valley of Shadows, sealing the Wizard away forever.

When the dust finally settled, and the planet ceased to shake, the seven warriors were gone.

Instead, seven orbs, each with a specific star pattern, held their places in the sky.

The mighty dragon, gathered them together and waited for three days as the demons fled, and the Alicorn Sisters woke.

They thanked the dragon, and were told to ask for one wish by the dragon himself.

In a flash, those that were lost were standing again, the lands that were ravished were restored, and the damage done by the demons was gone.

The next moment, the dragon spoke to the Sisters that should they desire another wish, they are to find all seven orbs, known as Dragon Balls, and speak the name of the Eternal Dragon: Shenron.

Shenron faded from view as the seven orbs that were once the brave warriors flew high into the air, and scattered out in different directions faster than the eye could see.

Since then, many have sought to find the seven mystical orbs, trying to have their wishes granted to them.

Some legends say, however, that the orbs themselves hid the power of each of the seven warriors, and that if one were to be blessed by any of them, they would be granted a power beyond anything the world has seen-

"Scootaloo!"

The pegasus filly quickly shut the book and stuffed it under her pillow as she grabbed the covers and threw them over herself. On the opposite end of her room, the door opened just as she was making fake snoring sounds. The clop of hooves on the floor came up to Scootaloo's bed as she felt the entire thing shift under her mother's weight.

"You know the lights are still on, right?"

With a sigh, Scootaloo came out from under the covers and smiled to her mother. The mare smiled back, brushing her purple mane out of her face as she brought her right hand up to Scootaloo's face.

"What were you reading this time, Scooty?"

Scootaloo reached underneath her pillow and pulled out the small, hard-covered book of legendary tales. Her mother grasped it in both hands, and examined the cover.

"You really love this story, don't you?" her mother asked.

"I really do, mommy!" Scootaloo cheered. "It's the bestest story of all time!"

Her mom smiled warmly as she ran her hand along Scootaloo's smiling face.

"Well, please get some sleep. We're moving to Ponyville tomorrow, and your father and I need your help getting everything into the carriage."

"Alright, mommy."

Scootaloo began to curl up under the covers as her mother began to tuck her in.

"Goodnight, mommy."

"Goodnight, Scooty."

Her mother gave a kiss to the filly's head as she made her way to the door and flipped the light switch off, darkening the room instantly. As the door to the room shut, Scootaloo began to fall asleep, and muttered to herself as her eyes closed.

"I wish... I could see one of those... Dragon Balls."

\\\//////

In the midst of a forest, an old stallion walked through the darkest parts of the Everfree Forest. The creatures of the forest watched as the old Earth Pony hefted a large bag across his shoulder, using only his left arm to hold it. He wore a light-blue, faded fighting gi, with a black belt across his waist that stood out brilliantly against his white fur.

The old stallion shifted the weight of the bag a bit, making the metals inside clang a bit, scaring away several birds. The amount of metal in said bag was too much for a fit, young stallion, let alone an old one like him. However, he didn't mind as he simply smiled at the strain against his muscles.

He looked down the path in the trees, expecting to see a small village on the opposite end. However, instead of seeing the gates of the village, something horrible was waiting for him. The bag of metal clanged against the ground as the Stallion broke into a sprint for the wrecked piles of wood that were once a barrier to the village. On the ground, the sign of the town's name was broken apart into splinters.

The stallion stopped in the center of the village and gasped in horror as he looked around and saw the state of the once great Dragon Hoof Village.

The houses around him were all battered and filled with holes, a few coated in blood. A few were broken down into piles of scrap, while some looked like they weren't touched. So far, there were no bodies.

Throwing caution to the wind, the stallion shouted.

"What happened!? Where is everypony!?"

Seconds passed on in silence as the stallion continued to look about the village. He shifted downwards in stance and prepared to jump into the air when he heard a response.

"H-help!" a familiar mare's voice called.

The stallion shifted his weight as he burst into a sprint towards the sound of his daughter's voice.

"Tulip!"

Dust clouds were kicked up into the air as the stallion burst around several corners to find the Medical Hut crumbled into a pile, his daughter sticking out of it like a bloody statue. His daughter's blue coat was running with small rivers of blood, and her green mane was burned and torn in several places. Her eyes were filled with tears as she held a small object in cloth wrappings.

"What happened!? Are you alright!?" he asked as he rushed to Tulip's side.

"T-t-t-they c-c-came out of n-nowhere," she barely managed as blood flowed from her jaw. "W-we tried t-to hold them off. But they w-w-were too s-strong... B-Breeze... he d-died."

The old stallion began to cry as he heard of his son-in-law's fate.

"Why? How?"

"T-they came from a-above, and... snapped his n-neck... snuck u-up on him... I... I-I can't..."

The stallion's eyes went to the bundle of cloth and widened as realization struck him.

"No... no, they couldn't have..."

Tulip slowly and shakily held out the bundle of cloth to her father, who took it softly in his hands.

"I... s-stopped them... b-but..."

The father slowly looked away from the bundle to see a large metal rod sticking through his daughter's chest.

"No... no, no No, NO!" he cried as tears flooded from his eyes.

"I... I can hear him, d-dad," she spoke softly. "Breeze... I'm... right behind... y..."

With those words, Tulip went limp upon the metal rod as it snapped and tumbled to the ground, lifeless.

The stallion could barely keep from falling to his knees as his daughter died before him.

The ground around him began to tremble as his rage and pain fused into a blinding inferno.

Before the stallion could lose himself, he heard the bundle in his arms cry.

His rage and pain were replaced with concern and fear as he looked down into the bundle. Carefully, the stallion moved the cloth around to reveal what his daughter had died to protect. To him, it was supposed to be the most wonderful thing in the world to him. Even now, amongst a dead village, the sight brought him hope. The dark-orange fur, the black, spiky mane, and small, delicate frame of a foal kept the old stallion from collapsing right then and there.

A smile began to creep onto the stallion's face before seeing the foal stop crying and curl up in the cloth. Its breaths were fast and shallow, threatening to end the colt's life before it could truly start.

The stallion held the colt close to his chest. He won't let his grandson die like this. Not now.

The stallion rushed through the barren streets as he focused on the one artifact that might help. Upon reaching the smallest hut in the village, he broke down the door and went inside. The interior was incredibly simple, only a futon to the right, a bathing room on the left, and in the center, a pedestal. Atop the pedestal, however, was an artifact that held more value than the rest of the village. It was a small sphere, about the size of a pony's fist, and shone a brilliant orange. Inside the sphere, four red stars seemed to float freely, yet were fixed perfectly in place, always visible from any angle.

The legendary Four-Starred Dragon Ball.

The stallion knelt before the alter of Shenron, and held his grandson towards the mystical orb.

"Shenron," he spoke to the alter, "I beg of you to grant my wish. Our village has been decimated, my daughter dead on a pipe, and all I ask is that you keep her child, my grandson, from dying this night."

He waited for something, anything, to happen. Minutes passed as he held his grandson like an offering to the orb before he looked towards the Dragon Ball and spoke again.

"Please, I'm on my knees, begging you to save this child."

Nothing, still.

"Shenron, please! Please, don't let my grandson die here like this!"

Nothing.

The stallion stood up before the Dragon Ball, rage flooding over his senses.

"You stayed here and watched as our village was assaulted! You did nothing to help then! All I ask is that you save one life! Why are you ignoring me!?"

The ball remained inert as tears streamed down the stallion's face.

Just then, he felt a massive power coming from the Dragon Ball.

A blinding aura of golden energy blew a mighty wind in all directions, bending or breaking parts of the hut as the Dragon Ball began to float off of the pedestal. The stallion watched in awe as the orb of unrivaled energy began to hover towards his grandson, and thought he saw a hand reaching towards his head. Then he felt a tap against his forehead, and saw... truth.

Flashes of battles against tyrants, abominations, and monsters alike seared the stallion's eyes as images of a warrior in orange fought against thousands of foes. Fighting styles, techniques, and names of all kinds filled his head as the wisdom of the universe's most powerful warrior was gifted to him.

More than that, however, he saw what was happening to his grandson. The aura of the warrior filled his grandson's form, bringing almost God-like levels of energy into the body of the foal. In a flash, his grandson's mane became golden, and faded away in an instant. The moment the winds faded, the visions stopped, and everything was quiet. The Four-Starred Ball fell to the ground before them and began to dim, but stopped when it seemed like a simple gem.

The stallion blinked a few times as the information he was given sunk in. Before he could begin to comprehend it all, however, he heard a cry in his arms. He looked down to see his grandson, now crying and flailing like any other foal. His mane became far spikier than before, and his fur was tinted slightly darker.

He smiled at the foal in his arms before looking to the floor to find the Dragon Ball. Right in front of his feet laid the Four-Starred relic. He concentrated on the relic before it began to float in front of him. Without hesitation, he snatched the ball out of the air and held it close to his grandson's face.

"Thank you... thank you," he praised the inanimate object.

His grandson's crying stopped suddenly. The stallion looked to the foal to see him staring up at the Dragon Ball with wide eyes. The foal laughed a bit as he reached up and grasped the orb. The stallion smiled warmly as he made his way over to the futon. As he sat down with his grandson in his arms, he spoke.

"Hello, grandson," he spoke slowly. "My name's Boulder Barrier. But, you" he emphasized with a boop on the foal's muzzle, "can call me, 'Grandpa Boulder'."

The foal laughed as he tried to reach up to Boulder's face to return the gesture. His laughter proved to be powerful as Boulder raised him up so that the foal could reach. When the foal's hand struck, however, Boulder heard a loud slapping sound as he felt pain burst in his cheek. Boulder looked down to his face to see a large mark where his grandson had smacked him. Looking back, Boulder saw his grandson continuing to giggle. Boulder chuckled as he tried to ignore the sting on his face.

His grandson decided then, apparently, to nuzzle against Boulder's chest and began to fall asleep. As Boulder looked down at his grandson and the Dragon Ball, a name rung in his mind. The warrior that died and gave his soul to Equestria, and what little was left to keep his grandson alive. He would do the only thing he could now to honor him.

"And I'll call you Goku," he said as he kissed his grandson's head.

Chapter 2: The Colt in the Woods

Trixie sighed as she felt her magic focus through her horn and around the spheres of water that floated by her. Beneath her, the surface of the water reflected her aura, a light pink, as she held herself above the water with her magic. This kind of levitation would have been beyond her normal reach, but as of late, she had spent almost every waking hour practicing and improving her magic. Ever since that one day, when she ran from Ponyville, only to return years later.

Behind her, a familiar lavender alicorn observed the blue unicorn, studying the flow of magic that went from Trixie's horn.

"Good," she said, breaking the silence. "You've definitely improved your stability since we tried this. Not only that, but I've noticed that you've been a lot calmer since... well, you know," Twilight finished with a blush.

Trixie smirked as she winked at her marefriend.

"Oh, believe Trixie when she- I mean, when I say," Trixie corrected, "that those few hours of talking meant more to me than anything else."

"And since you're over your emotional barriers," Twilight continued, "there's nothing to keep your actual magical power locked away. I'm so happy for you, Trixie."

The show-mare felt her cheeks heat up as she kissed her palm and blew it over to Twilight.

Twilight reached out and pretended to catch it before holding it lovingly to her chest. Unbeknownst to Twilight, Trixie had broken off a small part of one of the water spheres and was preparing to throw it straight at Twilight. After that, she'd plan on dragging Twilight in, and maybe having a little swim with the lavender mare.

Her concentration over the water spheres broke when they both heard a distant cry, followed by a thunderous crack deeper in the forest. Both of them looked over to the source of the sound and watched in fear as a large tree fell to the ground. A gust of wind kicked up when the large tree hit the dirt, but the tree itself was hidden from view behind the thicket. Trixie floated herself over to the edge of the water before nodding to Twilight.

Twilight nodded back before they broke into a sprint for whoever had screamed. They went through the thick bushes and low branches of the Everfree Forest, Twilight keeping up a ward to keep away any and all creatures that would try to hunt them. In minutes, they found a break in the thicket that lead to a long, deep trench that went off in a single direction, leading back to a large tree stump. The stump was cracked in a large area, looking as though the tree had fallen after being struck.

"Twilight, look!" Trixie said, pointing in the distance.

They both watched as a large, splintered wooden column was dragged away towards the incline of the closest mountain, leaving an elongated trench that was continuing to be dug. Twilight and Trixie ran down the newly carved path, hoping to find the source of the destruction, as well as the cry.

Up the mountain they went, the tree seemingly teasing them as it disappeared every time they had thought they were about to catch up with it. This went on for what seemed like hours, until they found an actual path that lead towards something. The shallow trench began to run along a parallel to the path, staying right to the side of it.

After a few more minutes of following, Twilight and Trixie heard another shout, similar in pitch, but definitely louder than before, and certainly belonging to a colt. Above, the tree they were following had been tossed into the air with a velocity that could compare to Rainbow Dash's takeoff speed. The shouting ceased before a blur of red and blue flew up to the tree and smacked it right in the center. The air seemed to rumble for a second before the tree broke apart into a hail of wooden blocks, falling in sync to the ground below, along with the small blur.

"What was that?" Trixie asked.

"I don't know. But whatever it is," Twilight said, cracking her neck as her wings flexed, "it's got a colt up there, and we're going to save him."

Trixie nodded as she began to focus her magic. Twilight motioned for them both to approach cautiously, and ducked behind every third tree on the way up. In minutes, both mares were looking into an open area, and were shocked with what they saw.

A small brick hut, no bigger than a shed, sat near a steep incline towards the top of the mountain. Next to the hut was a pit for a camp fire, several benches, and a rack that held orange cloth above the ground. Several boulders were littered about, some being broken apart with massive cracks, and some intact. In the center of the field, large, two piles of wood blocks rested as a small figure hopped on top of the left one. Twilight and Trixie gasped when they saw it was a colt.

The colt was an earth pony, with red fur and a spiky black mane. At this angle, neither could see his tail, but didn't think of that as they examined him. He couldn't be more than six or seven years old, standing about a head shorter than any of the Crusaders. The colt was wearing a blue cloth over his torso that was too big for him, being tied by a brown, fuzzy rope, and grey pants that were cut near the hooves. He had two blue wristbands on, and was wearing blue boots as well. The colt was panting with a Pinkie-level smile on his face as he chuckled a bit.

"There," the colt said. "That should be enough firewood for a few weeks."

The colt jumped off the pile and began to run for the small hut.

"Grandpa, I'm back!" he called to the hut. "I brought firewo-"

Suddenly, the colt stopped and his smile vanished. He turned over to look at the area where the two mares were hiding and started to shout.

"Hey!" he called out. "I can sense you're in there! Both of you! Are you lost!?"

Twilight froze and looked over to Trixie, who apparently had the same reaction. They looked between each other and the colt before Twilight began to walk forward slowly.

"Hello," Twilight started, walking out of the brush. "Are you alright?" she asked.

Without hesitation, the colt gasped and crouched into what looked like a fighting stance, his arms extended fully as he twisted his body to the right. His legs spread across the dirt, leaving a small gap in the dirt as his face took on a serious look.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked.

Twilight paused and blinked before looking over herself. She was wondering if she had stepped in Poison Joke, but saw nothing wrong with her.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You look like Grandpa, but with wings and that thing on your head," he explained. "Is something wrong with you? What are you?"

The Princess had a bit of a pause in her mind as she tried to figure out why this colt was asking about her wings and horn. Then it hit her.

"Where are you from?" she asked.

"Hey, I asked a question first," the colt pointed out.

"Oh, right, sorry. I have wings and a horn because I'm an alicorn. You know, a different type of pony like you are. I'm not going to cause trouble."

Twilight's words seemed to get through to the colt because his face lost the serious look and he released his fighting pose and stood upright.

"Alright," he said. "So then you're like me and grandpa, but you were born with those?"

"Yes," Twilight answered with a smile. "Well, not the wings, at least. I got them after completing a spell."

"You mean like magic?" he asked.

Twilight nodded.

"Oh, sorry, I almost forgot to introduce ourselves," Twilight started. "I'm Twilight Sparkle. And over there," she pointed to Trixie, who was examining the piles of wood from afar, "is my marefriend, Trixie."

Trixie waved to the two as the colt smiled.

"Nice to meet you Twilight and Trixie. I'm Goku," the colt responded, his smile returning.

"Goku? That's an odd name," Twilight observed.

"Well, Grandpa always said I was an odd colt," Goku said while bringing a hand to the back of his head and laughing.

"Well, who is your grandfather?" Twilight asked.

"He's in there," Goku pointed to the small hut.

"Do you think it'd be okay if I can talk to him?"

"Sure," Goku answered cheerfully.

Twilight nodded before walking towards the small brick hut. Right now, Twilight could sense a faint pulse of magic coming from the hut, barely noticeable until she was able to make out finer details, like marks on the side to number off something, and the strange symbol on the door.

\\\//////

Trixie approached the small colt cautiously, connecting the dots that lead to him.

"Um, Goku, was it?" she asked the colt.

"That's me!" he said.

"I want to ask you something important, and you can't lie, alright?"

"Grandpa taught me to always be honest, so don't worry. Do you need something?"

Trixie looked down at the colt, weighing her thoughts. Goku barely reached her knees at his current height, minus the massive mane. To think that he could have been the cause of the tree's fate was absurd. However, she had grown to accept the absurd, seeing as how she was now dating a Princess, as well as having her senses to audacity dulled after living around Pinkie Pie for months.

"Did you, take down a big tree, and do... that?" she gestured to the large piles of timber.

Goku nodded feverishly.

"I sure did! Grandpa said he was so proud to see me get that technique down!" Goku beamed.

Trixie had gotten it right, then. This colt was something else entirely, possibly enchanted in some way at birth. She bent her knees so that she was down near Goku's level and spoke softly.

"Goku, have you ever seen anything outside of this forest?" she asked.

Goku lost his smile and placed a hand under his chin, looking like he was contemplating a question about the universe itself. After a minute, he broke into a grin and rubbed the back of his head.

"I guess not! I've only ever been in this forest my whole life. What's it like outside, miss Trixie?"

Trixie blushed at the title, and waved Goku off.

"Please, just Trixie is fine. And Twilight and I live in Ponyville, just out that way," she pointed towards the edge of the forest.

Goku blinked a few times and stood on the tips of his hooves.

"Really?" he asked.

"Would you like to see?" she offered, extending her arms.

Goku shook his head with a smile.

"No thanks, I've got it."

Without hesitating, Goku bent down to the ground and pushed off with all of his might. Trixie was almost blown onto her flank by the force of Goku's sudden burst upwards. Rainbow Dash herself would have shed a proud tear if this colt was a pegasus. However, Trixie had to hold back a scream as she watched the colt jump almost a full thirty meters into the air. It almost looked like he paused in the air for a bit before slowly descending, lightly touching down before Trixie.

"So that patch of stuff outside the forest is your home?" Goku asked innocently.

"Um, technically. What you probably saw was Ponyville. We live in the large purple castle next to it."

"Wow, really? That sounds cool. Grandpa always told me about when he saw Canterlot for the first time."

"Really? What-"

"Trixie," Twilight called, "could you come here, please?"

Trixie looked between Twilight and Goku before the colt nodded.

"Go ahead. I want to see if I can find your castle," Goku stated.

Trixie walked over to the small hut where Twilight was waiting, and saw that her marefriend had a worried expression.

"What's wrong, Twilight?"

"Remember that Goku said his Grandpa was in here?" Twilight asked, holding the door open for Trixie.

"Yes, why?"

Instead of answering Trixie, Twilight called out to the colt.

"Goku! Is your Grandpa actually in here!?"

Goku turned to the mares and cupped his hands beside his mouth.

"Yeah! He's in the middle, on the pillow!"

Trixie was confused by the answer while Twilight looked heartbroken.

"That's what I was afraid he'd say."

"Twilight, what's wrong?" Trixie asked a bit forcefully.

Twilight still refused to answer, instead holding the door to the hut open a bit wider to let Trixie in. The former showmare stepped inside and looked around. There was little to no room at all for almost anything. All that was inside was a single bed, around Twin-sized, a table, and a desk. On top of the desk was a pillow, and on it rested an orange ball with four stars.

It took almost a full three seconds for the realization to strike Trixie.

"Oh, stars..." she gasped.

"That's what's wrong," Twilight said sadly.

There was a clatter outside before Goku came into the hut, easily gliding beneath the two mares before he stopped before the ball. He examined it from a few angles before speaking.

"I don't get it, what's wrong?" he asked, as if he didn't know what was truly wrong with the situation.

Slowly, Twilight extended an arm to Goku as he turned around. He watched curiously as Twilight lowered herself and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Goku... where is your Grandfather? Do you know where he is?"

Goku looked back to the orange ball before turning back to Twilight.

"He's dead," he stated plainly.

Trixie felt her heart almost stop as she felt nothing but sorrow for the colt. Here he was, in the middle of the Everfree Forest, living alone in a miniscule hut after losing what she could only guess was his only known relative.

"Goku, do you know where your parents are?"

Goku nodded.

"They're dead, too. Grandpa told me that our village was attacked a day after I was born, and then we started living here. He died a few years ago, before that weird rainbow thing."

Twilight held back a gasp as Trixie closed the distance and took an identical stance to Twilight, placing a hand on Goku's other shoulder.

"Wait, is something wrong?" he asked.

Tears began to flow forth from both of the mares before Twilight spoke again.

"G-Goku, are you all alone out here?"

Goku shook his head.

"Grandpa told me that as long as I've got the Dragon Ball, I'll never be alone in spirit."

Twilight looked over to Trixie before igniting her magic.

'We have to do something,' Twilight communicated magically.

'But what? Are we supposed to just take a colt from the woods into our home without running it by Foal Services?'

'I can pull some strings. We can take him with us.'

'Twilight-'

'We've been thinking about adoption for years, Trixie, and the moment we're given the chance to not only have a foal, but to save it from a horrible life, we're supposed to turn away!?'

'I don't know what we're supposed to do, Twilight!'

'Please, Trixie, he needs a family. He needs a home that isn't in the most dangerous place in Equestria.'

'...'

'Trixie?'

'... if I can contact my cousin in Manehatten, he could find a loophole, in case we need a fallback.'

'Thank you, Trixie.'

'I got it from the greatest mare on the planet.'

The two mares smiled before Trixie spoke.

"Goku, would you like to come live with us?" she almost choked.

Goku blinked in confusion before looking over to the orange ball. He stared at it for a few seconds before he looked back at them.

"Live with you two? You mean like a family?"

Twilight nearly sobbed happily at the thought, bringing a hand to her chest as Trixie answered.

"Yes, Goku. We'd like to welcome you to our family."

Goku beamed.

"Sure! Can we have a really big dinner?"

Twilight almost collapsed as she hugged the colt close to her, crying into Goku's shoulder.

"We can have whatever you want!" she cried out in joy.

Trixie followed right after, wrapping her arms around the small colt as she wept tears of joy into the blue fabric on Goku's other shoulder.

"I promise that you won't ever regret joining our family, Goku! I Pinkie Promise!"

Goku didn't understand why they were crying, but found himself returning the hug, happy to feel the warmth of another pony again after almost a full decade. They all stayed there for a minute, sharing warmth and holding onto each other as Goku thought about what they had just asked of him, then back to when his Grandpa passed. He had found a new family, hopefully a family that would love him and care for him, just like Grandpa said they would.

Behind them, the four-starred ball glowed a bit, the spirit connected to it finally passing on with content.

Chapter 3: Homecoming (Part 1)

Spike groaned as he hefted the harness that was anchored around his shoulders, straining to move the large cart full of gems. His back was screaming in pain at him while his legs felt like they would collapse at any second. The dragon had sweat through his shirt long ago, the damp cloth now showing every scale on his chest and back. Spike dragged the cart of gems through the dirt as he watched Rarity walking in front of him.

"Thank you again, Spikey, for helping me with these gems," she spoke in her elegant voice.

"Anything... for you... Rarity," he managed.

"Really... Spike?" a familiar, higher-pitched voice asked.

Spike knew fully well that Sweetie Belle was also pulling a cart slightly behind him, though hers was not as heavily loaded as his own. He would have liked to look back, just to see if she had dropped any gems so he could get a bit of energy for the long haul.

"Sweetie Belle, don't be rude," Rarity criticized.

"Huh... what... ever."

The three traveled in silence, save for Spike and Sweetie's grunts and pants, as they started to near the line of sight for Ponyville once more.

"See?" Rarity pointed to the town. "Only a little bit further."

As it turned out, they really didn't have much longer to carry the gems, as a fissure erupted beneath the wheels of the cart Sweetie Belle was hauling. She cried in surprise as the harness lifted her into the air as the cart began to sink into the ground. Rarity and Spike turned to see a few paws rise out of the ground and pull the cart down. The unicorn mare rushed over to her sister and began to pull at the harness.

"Let go of her, right now!"

"Give gems, whiny pony!" a voice responded.

Another set of paws shot out of the ground and grabbed Rarity by the mouth and pulled her beneath the surface of the dirt as Sweetie Belle screamed.

"Rarity!"

"Hang on, Sweetie Belle," Spike said as he unfastened his harness.

The dragon rushed over to the filly and began to unfasten her harness as well. As he did, more of the cart was pulled under, the gems spilling out onto the surface.

"Hurry up Spike!" Sweetie Belle cried.

Before the dragon could finish undoing the harness, a fist shot out of the ground and punched him straight in the gut. Spike was frozen in pain as his grip loosened from Sweetie Belle's harness. The fissure erupted even more as the entire cart, Sweetie Belle and all, fell into the pit.

"Spike!" she screamed as a wave of dirt washed over the entrance.

"Gah!" Spike shouted as he sat upright in his bed.

The dragon huffed and puffed as he looked around his room. He was still in bed, thankfully, and was sweating profusely. Spike brought his hands to his face as he sighed tiredly. He'd been having nightmares like that for weeks now, since he had seen Rarity dating that Thunderlane guy. Spike was still furious about that, but felt nothing but guilt every time he had a nightmare like that. Rarity didn't deserve something that terrible to happen to her.

Spike's thoughts drifted back over to Sweetie Belle as he remembered her recent involvements in his life. When he had first seen Rarity and Thunderlane kiss, he stormed off into the Everfree and started punching things, setting bushes on fire, and just raging. She had chased him since the Boutique, and tried to calm him down. It had gotten worse from then on, as he proceeded to yell at her. When he had realized what he had done, she ran off crying.

Again, he remembered that it was weeks ago that had happened.

Spike flopped onto the bed as he examined the recent months of his life. Finally, he had started to grow towards an adult pony build, and had started to gear mentally into what some would consider their teenage years. Granted, he was technically a teenager by pony standards, but considering his bloodline, he was likely still a child in his overall lifespan. Spike glanced over to the clock above his door to see that it was 11:53, and stretched.

After a few minutes of getting ready, Spike had dressed up in a brown tee-shirt and slacks and was prepared to go out and... he hadn't decided on what to do, but he knew that it would just blur by like the past few days usually had.

As he started to walk the halls of the castle he called home, Spike felt his stomach growl in hunger.

"I guess I could get some gems while I'm out," he thought aloud.

His voice echoed in the hallways behind him as he neared the massive doors. He opened one and stepped outside before heading off to Ponyville. If he had looked over to the right, however, he would have noticed a small blur of red and blue.

\\\//////

Goku smiled widely as he walked along the path that his new family had shown him. On his back was a small bag of things he had taken from his Grandpa's hut. There were a few gi sets Grandpa made him, some pants, a spare set of wristbands, and of course, the four-star Dragon Ball that Grandpa had given to him when he died. In the distance, Goku could see the town called Ponyville, and examined everything he could. So far, it looked very different than the hut he had known for most of his life, seeing as how a large number of the houses below were taller and wider than the hut.

To the East of the town, however, Goku felt a presence that was similar to his own, or Grandpa's. It was fading in and out, and made Goku think of the color green.

"We're almost out, Goku," Twilight said to him. "Are you ready to see your new home?"

Goku nodded.

"I sure am!" he responded. "Do you think we could get something to eat soon, too?"

Trixie chuckled a bit.

"I swear, if we don't let Pinkie meet him, it'll be a crime."

Twilight laughed too.

Goku would have laughed, were he not focusing on that strange sensation in the east.

\\\//////

Spike had walked through Ponyville aimlessly almost half an hour ago, and was now kicking rocks around the Gem Quarry beyond the town limits. He figured that since there wasn't really anything for him to do in town, he might as well get some gems fresh from the ground. After walking to a certain spot, Spike suddenly felt the urge to dig straight down into the ground. He tried to ignore the feeling, but the more he fought it, the more he felt the need to dig. Sighing in defeat, Spike began to shift aside the dirt around his clawed feet and leaned down to dig.

Dirt began to fly past his face as he clawed through the layers of dirt. After only a few seconds, he found a large ruby, about the size of his middle claw, but tossed it aside as he felt the need to continue digging. Seconds later, he found an emerald the size of his palm. Again, he tossed aside the gem to keep digging, the urge overwhelming his hunger. He tossed aside three more gems of varying sizes, one emerald the size of a bit, another ruby the size of a tooth, and a diamond that was barely a centimeter long.

Spike started to dig with both hands, ignoring the few gems that got in his way as he threw the dirt aside. Now Spike was starting to hear something in his head, something directing him to dig up whatever was in the dirt. After a few more seconds of this, Spike stopped. He reached in and pulled out a massive sapphire, easily bigger than his fist. It was by far, the largest gem he had ever dug up here.

He wasted no time in throwing it aside as he continued to dig.

Soon, the seconds turned to minutes, but before minutes could turn to an hour, Spike froze as he gazed upon something unusual. Beneath the dirt was a pulsating, orange sphere. It was smooth and perfect in its shape, and seemed to have three five-pointed stars that floated about inside of it. Something in the back of his head told Spike to grab it, but not devour it. Instead, when it was in his grasp, he held it before his face and examined it from every angle. The stars inside shifted around, turning to face his gaze perfectly to show all three stars at once.

"What are you?" he asked the orb.

The light inside the orb seemed to blink in response, a green tint overcoming the orb. Spike's eyes widened as he began to see things flashing before his eyes.

Three warriors, each green in skin and wearing loose-fitting robes stared at each other. They held out their hands and held to each other before a light flashed over them. Only one remained, the one with purple clothes and a white cape. Before him was a large group of fighters in white armor, and small blue bugs. He roared before light overtook his hands and spheres of energy collided with every single fighter, obliterating them in a storm of sheer power.

Spike was so enthralled by the displays of might, that he wasn't aware of the three figures that were towering behind him.

\\\//////

Fume, Clump, and Garble gazed down upon the empty field that had been their source of food for a little more than eight months. They were kicked out of their Clan because of reckless behavior, and weren't allowed anywhere near the Migration as a result. The three had spent their time preying on any ponies they came across, and on occasion, a Griffon.

The Quarry was still an alright place to find some gems, beat up some Dogs, and just blow off steam.

"Can't wait ta chow down that sapphire I've been growing," Clump fantasized aloud.

"Would you shut it," Fume complained, "you've been going on about that stupid thing for the last three hours."

"Anymore talk about that gem, and I'm taking all of it for myself," Garble stated.

"What gives you the right!?" Clump demanded.

"My fist, you numb-skull!"

Garble waved his fist at Clump, who ignored it and stared down at the ground, mouth agape. Garble followed the fat dragon's line of sight and almost dropped his jaw. Sitting in the middle of the Quarry, with a pile of dirt and gems around him, was the little dragon that had gotten them exiled in the first place.

"That little runt!" Garble shouted.

"He dug up my sapphire!" Clump accused, pointing to the massive blue gem.

"Hey, you guys ever wonder if pony-raised dragons taste like ponies?" Fume suggested.

"No way, let's just beat him to a pulp!" Clump stated, slamming a fist into his hand.

Garble started the attack by dive-bombing towards the purple dragon.

\\\//////

Spike watched as the green creature lashed out several punches and kicks that turned the offending parties to dust and occasionally threw a ball of exploding energy. In an instant, the images stopped and the other two figures reappeared. This time, however,they spoke.

"They're closing in fast," the one in the long, white robe spoke.

"Well what are we supposed to do then?" the one with the vest and cloth around his neck asked.

"We take over and fight them off," the one with the purple clothes and cape stated.

"That is a terrible idea!"

"It's either that or we die again! Pick one!"

"Fine, let's just get him out of here and think of something later. Ready?"

The other two nodded before they became three separate lights of green fire, and launched into Spike's form. The dragon felt his muscles scream and his insides burn at the feeling of the souls fusing with his own, and let out a roar.

\\\//////

"RRRAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!!!!!" Spike screamed.

In a flash of green light, and what sounded like shattering glass, a fiery green aura erupted around Spike as his form altered slightly. Spike's arms exploded with muscular definition, along with his legs, looking like some kind of work-out enthusiast. His chest beefed up, shifting his scales to make room for the massive pecs that grew instantly, nearly ripping his shirt open.

The force of the sudden energy surge sent the three attacking dragons flying into the ground. Behind Spike, the three-starred orb lost its green glow and fell to the ground.

Spike looked at the three offenders and cracked his knuckles.

"Who's first?" he spoke in a voice that wasn't entirely his own.

Garble was the first to recover, and looked up to see the pumped up dragon looking right at him. With a smirk, Spike spoke again.

"Guess you're up, then."

The red dragon roared in anger, charging the dragon full-tilt with his fist raised high. Spike smiled the whole time, waiting for the attack. As soon as Garble brought his fist down, Spike's right foot shot up and smashed into Garble's jaw. Garble felt it break apart upon impact, and felt himself being launched into the air. Before he got too high, Spike grabbed his tail and pulled him back down to deliver a powerful punch straight into his face. The blow sent the red dragon flying into the dirt, nearly eighty hooves away.

Without even seeing it coming, Spike leaned left to avoid the double axle blow from Fume. Spike spun around and delivered a powerful shot into his gut with his knee. Fume stood still for a few seconds, blood and puke slowly pouring out from his maw before he fell forward into the ground.

Spike looked down to see Clump staring up at him in horror. Clump stumbled backwards as he tried to hold a nervous smile.

"A-alright, b-b-buddy," he stammered, "let's not get h-h-hasty, alright? Why don't we all just c-calm down, and-"

Clump never finished the sentence, as Spike suddenly vanished from view and delivered an elbow strike to the fat dragon's skull, causing him to black out instantly.

Spike stood still for a few seconds before slowly walking over to the three-starred orb and picking it up. He held it in his claws before he suddenly disappeared. This time, however, it was not from his actions, but from another power altogether.

\\\//////

Goku stopped as he stared out at the empty field that once held the massive power he felt from the forest. He tried searching for the source of the power before a hand came to his shoulder. He looked up to see Trixie standing there, looking at him with concern.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

Goku looked back at the field before nodding.

"Yeah," he answered before walking again.

Trixie watched him walk on with a scared look before continuing behind him.

\\\//////

Spike groaned as he began to stir awake, feeling every single fiber in his body burning. Every muscle, every nerve, every scale felt as if it were burning in the center of the Sun, and were all being stretched like in that one horror movie Pinkie had tricked him into watching.

Unable to try and relax, now more in fear of his situation than anything else, Spike tried to lift himself off of the ground, and found that he was in the middle of a large tile floor. The entire surface was white, save for a few rows of palm and pine trees that were around the edges of the circular platform.

The dragon struggled to move his head, craning his neck to see where he was. When he managed to turn his head, Spike gasped in shock. Behind him was what looked like a small, plain castle with round tops that were yellow. Outside of the buildings were pergolas that had purple fabrics for the top parts. Spike could see the blue sky beyond the building and the edges of the platform he was on, and tried to stand up. Spike found it impossible to stand up, and felt his consciousness slipping. As everything began to turn black, Spike saw the form of something short and quite fat, wearing a large black shirt of some kind with a weird symbol in the middle.

"Well," it spoke in a nasally voice, peering at him from behind sunglasses, "it's about time someone showed up."

With those words uttered, Spike fell unconscious.

\\\//////

Goku looked out at the large sprawling town before him, taking in the senses of everything and everypony within. He had calmed his nerves and remembered his Grandpa's teachings as he felt the spirit of the town and its inhabitants. Everypony inside had the calm feeling of peacefulness, compassion, and happiness. Overall, there wasn't much strength that anypony in particular could talk about.

Then, Goku walked into the town's limits, and everypony started to stare. At first, they were simply turning to wave at both members of his new family, then they looked at him and lost their smiles. Goku still smiled back, of course, but for some reason, a few of them wouldn't look at Goku again. A few murmurs passed by, talking about how the Princess might have done something, or something about a tail. The young colt didn't care about what they had to say, however, as he simply felt around the town.

Twilight waved and greeted a few ponies that were passing by, while Trixie seemed to shy away from a few stares, resting a hand on either Goku's shoulder or Twilight's arm. Every now and again, they would pass by a tall pony wearing a suit of gold-colored armor, and they would salute Twilight. She returned the gesture before saying they were dismissed, and walking away. Goku could sense that they had a bit more strength than most of the townsponies, but weren't much to think about in the long run.

Eventually, they stopped at a large building that seemed to be made of some weird material that Goku couldn't place. Its edges were all white and oddly shaped, and there were a bunch of extra bits that made Goku question it this place was finished. Twilight walked up to Trixie and put an arm around her, holding her close as they whispered to each other.

"Are you ready?" Twilight asked Trixie, leaning closely to her.

Trixie swallowed a lump in her throat as she looked down to Goku.

"I know we said we should, but... I don't know. I just, what would they think?" Trixie asked, worry dominating her features.

Twilight leaned closely and pressed their lips together, a faint tint of pink on both of their faces. As Trixie pulled back, she smiled warmly.

"You see, if you did that more, instead of lecturing, we'd get more things done," Trixie commented.

Twilight pushed Trixie back as she giggled.

"Please, you wouldn't pay attention if we did."

They both looked at Goku, embarrassed that they had just done something like that in front of what they hoped would be their future child. Goku, however, acted as though nothing happened.

"So what's going on?" he asked.

Twilight held her hands together before reaching out and placing them on Goku's shoulders. She knelt down to avoid bending over far enough to reveal anything, and talked to Goku.

"Goku, we'd like to introduce you to our friends, but Trixie's a bit nervous. I'd like to ask you something very, very important, and you could say no if you want to. I promise we wouldn't hold it against you if you refused."

"Refused what?" Goku asked, tilting his head a bit.

Twilight breathed in deeply before slowly exhaling.

"Goku... will you, be willing to call Trixie and I... Mom?"

Goku blinked a few times before he reached back to scratch his head.

"Wait, you want me to call both of you Mom?" he asked.

After a moment of silence, Twilight looked back to Trixie. The former showmare nodded. Twilight looked back to Goku and nodded as well.

"We'd like to take you in and be your parents."

Goku stood there, looking up between the two as he thought of what they had asked. Twilight released the colt and stood back up as she spoke.

"I'm sorry if that's too much to ask. You don't have to answer now, and we're not forcing you to. We-"

"Okay!" Goku interrupted happily.

Twilight and Trixie both felt their hearts stop as they heard the colt's response. What made their hearts struggle to remain intact, however, was when Goku came up to both of them, jumped up, and reached around both of them before pulling them in to a hug.

"It's great to meet you, Mom and Mom!" he cheered.

The two mares felt as if their souls were lit by an unseen force, as tears broke forth like a dam bursting and they both wrapped their arms around their new family. Cries of happiness rang from the two newly accepted parents as they shed tears of joy.

The doors to the building burst open as five mares came out and saw the three on the ground. One of them, flying above, spoke up.

"Twilight? Trixie? What's wrong?"

The couple adjusted themselves and released the colt. He turned around to look at the five new mares while Twilight was drying her eyes as she and Trixie held each other tightly.

"G-girls, we'd like you... to meet our son, Goku."

Chapter 4: Homecoming (Part 2)

Rainbow 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!'

Chapter 5: Homecoming (Part 3)

The 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.

Chapter 6: Awakening the Warrior

Spike felt his senses returning to him gradually, as he lay on a cold, hard surface. Had he been able to think straight, he would be able to remember that he woke up in a bed not too long ago. As his hearing slowly returned to him, there were several grumbling sounds that echoed around him. Spike's entire world seemed to tilt in every direction, as if he were tossed into a box that was falling down an infinite flight of stairs. Numbness overcame his body, and it felt as if every scale was being used as a pincushion.

Slowly but surely, Spike began to awaken.

"Guys?" a familiar voice spoke.

"What now, Nail?"

"I think we've got a visitor."

"That's impo- oh... Oh, crap..."

"Don't complain, this is good! We can properly thank the young lad for saving us."

"Yeah, but how are we supposed to explain who we are, or what we're all doing here?"

"Oh, right... well, this will make for a good laugh later."

Spike could hear the voices far more clearly now, as if they were standing around him. His eyes began to flutter open as his sight adjusted to the light. He moved his arm in front of his face to block some of the light, and slowly started to sit up.

Finally, the dragon was able to fully open his eyes and take in his surroundings.

Instead of the bed he was in earlier, Spike found himself lying on the floor, of all places. His clothes were still there, not damaged or stained in any way, which was odd considering his vomiting earlier. The place he was in looked strange in terms of architecture. The ceiling was slanted and round, like a big shell of some kind, and had grooves all along the top that reached down to the floor. Everything that wasn't white was purple, such as the floor and the stairs he could see in the back of the room. There were some chairs and a few tables spread around, making this alien place look more like a home.

Then Spike looked behind him, and froze.

There, standing right before him, were the three figures from his vision. Each one wore the same clothes they had from the vision, the one with the cape and cloth on his head staring down at him with a scowl. The one with the vest and cloth around his neck looked at Spike with a critical eye, as if scaling him in some manner. The third one, however, was clearly much older, his face wrinkled and a darker green than that of the other two. He wore a long, white garment and was holding a staff and looked at Spike with a faint smile on his face.

"Hello there," the older one greeted. "Are you doing alright?"

Spike blinked in surprise.

"Um... Y-yeah, thanks," Spike answered, moving to get up.

When he stood at his full height, Spike was surprised. Since he was a dragon in puberty, he usually looked down on most ponies in town, especially the Crusaders. These three, however, were far from ponies, standing nearly twice as tall as him. The one in the cape spoke next.

"So, I guess we've got some explaining to do, since you're here. So go ahead and ask any question you want to know."

"Alright... um, where is 'here'?" Spike started off.

"Well, I think we should start with how we got to your world before any answers make... some kind of sense," the third one spoke. "Piccolo, you wanna do the honors, or should I?"

"I'd like to tell it, actually," the old one suggested. "Remember those times you two tried to explain ourselves to those villages that rose around us?"

The other two shuddered in fear of something.

"Don't remind me," the vest-wearing one said, looking off to the side.

"Fine, whatever. Just make it quick."

The older one cleared his throat for a few seconds before silence overcame the area. He tapped his staff onto the ground twice before everything around them faded to black. Spike looked around, trying to find where they had gone, and saw the battle from his vision play out once again.

"It all started a thousand years ago," he started.

"Really!? A THOUSAND years ago? Exactly!? Do you know how many things I've heard in the past few months that also happened exactly a thousand years ago?"

"Be quiet or I'll snap you in two!"

"Sorry! It's just... I've heard that so many times that-"

"I don't care! Just let him tell the story so we can move on already!"

"Yeah, I think we've wasted about 500 words without actually introducing ourselves. Usually this happens in the second chapter, and we're-"

"SHUT UP NAIL!"

'Oh, great, he talks like Pinkie,' Spike thought to himself.

"Getting back to the story," the older one interrupted, "it all started around that time, yes. The barrier between worlds was breached by a powerful magician, who harvested the very magics of his imprisonment as a means to destroy it. He rose an army from the damned depths of Hell, and broke into this world. His name... was Babidi."

He tapped the non-existent ground with his staff once, and an image of the cursed wizard sprouted before Spike. It was a short, disgusting little creature, similar to an insect, and held a ball in its grasp, shooting off magic at both Princess Luna and Princess Celestia.

"Your Princesses were no match for even the cannon fodder of Babidi's army, let alone the wizard himself," he continued. "Within minutes, your rulers were defeated, and Babidi prepared to drain them of what little power they had left."

He tapped the staff again, and the image shifted once more, revealing a massive serpent-like dragon rising from Tartarus, surrounded by seven different lights.

"That's when we came in."

Again, a tap later, and the battle played on. This time, Spike could see six more warriors fighting the demons back. There was one with three eyes, holding his hands like a triangle and... shooting squares... somehow. Then, another one caught his eye, this one with a shaved head that threw discs into the armies, shredding them into nothing. Another one fired large spheres of energy that collided with the discs, creating spectacular tornadoes of destruction. Another two warriors seemed to dance in mid-air before they disappeared in a flash, and one warrior stood in place of where they were. Two more were seen in the distance, both shining a brilliant gold, more powerful and ferocious than the Sun itself.

"I believe that one of us mentioned something along the lines of... Z-fighters?" the old one asked the other two.

"Yeah. Krillin said something like, 'for old time's sake'," the other one said with a faint smile.

"Anyways, we stopped the armies and sealed Babidi away, hopefully for good," the old one explained, the scene changing to show a golden dragon ramming the wizard into an abyss beneath a mountain. "But, by the end of the fight, our physical manifestations were burnt out beyond repair, and our souls began to crumble, and fade. When we were about to die, the dragon, Shenron, infused each of our souls into one of the Dragon Balls."

Spike shot a hand to cover his mouth at the apparent use of obscene body parts for saving a life. Then, the images changed to show that each warrior faded into ashed, a small light representing each of their souls. The dragon, Shenron, apparently, then opened its maw and revealed seven orange orbs, identical to the one Spike found earlier.

Everything snapped into place in the dragon's mind.

"Yes, yes, I know. Perhaps in this world, they should be called something else to avoid confusion, but alas, we no longer have any say in it. Anyways, the balls sealed in our fighting spirits, our knowledge, and ourselves. However, as time went on, we lost contact with the other fighters, and I learned why. Their souls and minds faded into nothing. Sadly, Shenron didn't think to keep us alive entirely, but that's to be expected. We only managed to keep alive in here because of the fact that we three share this space, and thus our minds and spirits are too powerful to fade away in that amount of time alone."

Spike couldn't believe any of this.

Those incredible powers, those warriors that gave their lives to save Equestria... why hadn't he heard of them until now? And further more...

"What does this have to do with me?"

Spike felt a hand on his head before he was turned around to face the one with the cape.

"Because Shenron told us one last thing, before the others faded away. We have to choose a successor. We all had to find someone that can hold our powers without going corrupt, or burning up when they found us."

"Your mind and spirit are strong enough to handle not only our presence," the third added, "but also our fighting prowess. You've proven to have a genuinely righteous soul, and we've chosen you to inherit our powers, our knowledge, and most importantly, the protection of this world."

"B-but... what if I can't handle... all of that?" Spike asked, waving to everything around them, the battle still present yet paused.

The old one tapped his staff to the ground, and they returned to the living space Spike woke up in.

"That right there, that's why we chose you."

"You don't know if you could handle this power. You're scared it'll consume you... and thus, you're cautious to its temptations."

"We'll train you to handle our power, and guide you so you can make it your own."

Spike looked between all three of these aliens. They were prepared to give him a power beyond anything Celestia or Luna, or probably even Discord couldn't compare to. These three were willing to teach him how to control this power and use it for the protection of his friends, his home... everything he knew or ever would know. To think that this is what was chosen for him... it was frightening to say the least.

After a few minutes of silence and weighing it in his mind, Spike looked up to them...

... and nodded.

"Thank you for choosing me. I promise, you won't regret it."

The one in the cape smirked.

"We won't," he said plainly. He extended his hand out to Spike. "Name's Piccolo."

The old one placed his hand on top of Piccolo's arm.

"I'm Kami."

The last one held the underside of Piccolo's arm.

"And I'm Nail."

Spike smiled up at them and grasped Piccolo's hand.

"Spike."

Kami and Nail moved their hands onto Spike's own and they shook once. When they did, their bodies were encased in a blinding white light before everything faded away.

\\\//////

Spike gasped as he sat up straight.

As the dragon panted, coated in sweat, he looked around to see that he was back in a different room than what he remembered. Instead of white or even purple walls, this place looked more like a wooden hut. It was sparsely decorated with familiar masks, and above the counters around the walls hung vials of multicolored liquids.

"No way..."

He looked down to see that his torso was wider than normal, along with the massive muscles he had grown out of nowhere.

'Yeah, you're welcome,' he heard Nail say in the back of his mind.

Spike looked forward and thought of how he would communicate with Nail, Kami, and Piccolo.

'Just think to us, it works just fine,' Piccolo answered.

'Alright,' Spike replied. 'So, what happens now? I mean... how do you guys train me?'

'I believe that a certain friend of ours can answer that,' Kami replied.

Spike heard the sound of a wooden door creaking open and looked over to see somepony he didn't expect.

They were a Zebra, but this one was far from being Zecora. First off, he was a he, judging by the body structure, and apparent lack of a shirt. The stripes on this one were fading, the black and white pallet fading to a generally grey coat. His mane was in a Mohawk like Zecora, albeit shorter and thinner. This Zebra's age was also apparent from the magnificent beard that rivaled the tail of Celestia with its sheer stunning look. The way the black and white facial hairs intertwined reminded Spike of Luna's own mane.

"I see you're awake," he spoke in a deep voice.

Spike tensed up a bit before moving out of the small bed he was in.

"Um, yeah. How did I-"

The old Zebra suddenly pulled a staff out of nowhere, bearing great similarity with Kami's own, and held it out before Spike's chest.

"I sensed your Ki before. You carry the soul of Kami, the one who inspired my people."

Spike blinked in shock as he tried to focus his thoughts.

'Yeah, you're not the first one that found us.'

'To be fair, you are the only one who can house all three of our souls without burning up.'

'Okay, but... how does this guy know you're in here?'

'The same reason you're here now.'

The Zebra set his staff on the ground as he walked up to Spike. Being a Zebra gave the elderly one some advantage in height, standing only a few centimeters above Spike's head. He placed a hand on Spike's shoulder and spoke.

"We studied under the teachings of Kami, Nail, and Piccolo for centuries, using their gifts to watch over this land and protect our families from those that would seek to harm us. In our time, the teachings became commonplace for all of us. If I know those three, it was their intent that you came here, to learn the way we did, and master their teachings so that you may understand the true scale and nature of the life you chose to live. From this point on, we will train you in the ways of our old masters. However, until your training is complete, you cannot leave this place, nor can you interact with anyone whom you might have known before coming here. If you leave at any time before your training is complete, you will remain an outcast from our village, and you shall never know how to properly control your Ki."

Spike stood there as he continued to process everything that has happened up to now. He recalled his waking up to what would have been a normal day, finding the Dragon Ball, and then meeting his three new... mentors? He'd have to ask later, but for now, he was focusing on the weight of this next decision. If he said no... what would become of him? Would he hurt somepony unintentionally? Could he even learn to control whatever powers he had without their help?

The dragon looked up to the older Zebra and nodded.

"Thank you. I swear, I'll learn how to control... whatever I got from them, and I'll use it for good!" Spike swore.

The Zebra nodded as he removed his hand from Spike's shoulder.

"Good. My name is Zanzi, and I welcome you to Zanzebra, Spike," Zanzi said with a small bow.

Spike returned the gesture for a second before Zanzi stood up and turned around. He moved towards the door and stopped abruptly.

"This hut will serve as your place of rest for your time here. Keep it as clean as you can, lest your mind gets to be as cluttered as your living space."

'Hey, I can manage our space fine on my own!'

Spike nodded again to the elder Zebra. Zanzi lifted a finger as he stood at the door.

"I suppose we should start training, then," he said happily.

Spike stood still as a board.

"Hold on a second," Spike stated.

Zanzi looked back to Spike with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes?"

Spike looked down at his clawed hand for a few seconds before closing it into a fist.

"Can I... at least say goodbye to my friends? Just, send them a letter so they know I'll be gone for a while?"

Zanzi nodded.

"Of course. But after that, no more contact with anyone outside this land until your training is complete."

Spike nodded.

"Thank you."

Zanzi pointed to a desk that had a quill and parchment on it and nodded. Spike picked up the writing utensils and took a total of thirty minutes to try and word out his last letter to his friends. With a sweat on his brow and a shaking grip, Spike looked over the letter one last time and whispered something to it before blowing it away in a magical green flame.

"So... what are we going to do? Some breathing exercises? Stretching? Washing a-"

WHACK

'Medic!'

Spike clutched his head as he felt the blunt strike of the Zebra's staff connect with his skull. He groaned in pain, and cracked an eye open to see Zanzi holding up the same finger with a smirk on his face.

"Lesson one: Dodge."

'This isn't going to be fun, is it?' Spike asked the other voices.

'No pain, no gain.'

Spike sighed as he prepared his already unstable mind for the most intense training of his life.

Chapter 7: The Reveal

Goku examined the three fillies that walked into his room. One was yellow with a red mane and tail, and had a bow in her mane. Another was white, like that Rarity mare, and had a similar mane and tail, except hers had pink and light purple swirls. The last one, a filly with an orange coat and a purple mane and tail, looked at him with an astonished look in her eyes. Goku followed her vision down to the Four-Star Dragon Ball.

The other two fillies, however, began talking to Goku, closing in on his face.

"He's so small!"

"I love his mane!"

"Where's his tail?"

"It's there, in his pants!"

"Whoa, that's one a' the coolest tails I've ever seen!"

"Twilight, where'd you find him?"

"Is he really gonna stay?"

"Can he come to school with us?"

"Does he have a Cutie Mark!?"

"What's with his necklace?"

The last one caught Goku's attention before he heard Twilight chuckling off to the side.

\\\//////

"Girls, please, give Goku some space!" Twilight chuckled, watching as the two fillies practically climbed onto him.

As they backed away, Twilight saw that Scootaloo was still staring at his necklace.

"Scootaloo, wouldn't you like to say hi?" she asked, leaning towards the filly.

Scootaloo looked as though Twilight had just phased through the wall, practically jumping back from the mare. She looked back at Goku, and then immediately down to the orb on his necklace. Twilight raised an eyebrow before turning to the other two Crusaders.

"Girls, would you like to introduce yourselves?"

The two looked at each other and smiled widely before each of them wrapped an arm around Scootaloo and faced the colt.

"Ah'm Apple Bloom!"

"I'm Sweetie Belle!"

They waited for Scootaloo's turn for a few seconds before they lost their smiles and looked at the filly. She was still staring at the necklace, as if it were capturing her very soul.

"Scoots, that was your cue," Apple Bloom half-whispered to the pegasus.

Scootaloo blinked and looked to her sides to see that Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were holding her in their usual greeting fashion, and stumbled to remember her name.

"Oh- uh-um... I-I'm, Scootaloo," she finally added.

"And together, we're-"

"THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!" They shouted in unison.

Goku smiled at the display.

"Cool! Can I join you guys?" Goku asked.

"Sure! We'd be honored to have you in our club!" Sweetie Belle answered.

"Maybe he can join our sleepover!" Apple Bloom added.

The first two Crusaders looked over to see Scootaloo still staring at Goku's necklace.

"Oh, for pony's sake!" Apple Bloom cried out.

She grabbed the pegasus by the shoulders and started to shake her about.

"Snap out of it Scootaloo!" she practically shouted.

"GAH!"

Scootaloo stumbled out of Apple Bloom's grip and wobbled in place for a bit as she regained her bearings. When she did, she glared at Apple Bloom.

"What was that for!?"

"You were just sittin' there, gawkin' at Goku!"

"Hehehe, 'gawkin' at Goku'," the colt said to himself.

"I wasn't gawking at him! Whatever that means! I was just... looking at the necklace! That's all!"

"You've been staring at it since Twilight introduced us to him," Sweetie Belle added. "Why are you so interested in his necklace?"

"None of your business, that's why!" Scootaloo replied.

"Girls!" Twilight barked.

The three looked up to see Twilight with crossed arms and a stern look on her face.

"Scootaloo, why were you staring at Goku's necklace?" she asked.

Scootaloo looked at the ground as she kicked her hoof across the floor.

"I... I thought it... looked familiar," she answered.

Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"From where?"

"I saw a picture of something just like it in a book! Daring Do and the One-Starred Ball! I swear, it's got something to do with another book I used to read when I was younger, and-"

Twilight held up a hand to stop Scootaloo from going on for too long.

"Alright. In that case, you can talk about it with Goku. I'm sure he'd love to discuss it with you. Would you like that, Goku?" she asked her son.

Goku nodded.

"Yeah. That sounds like fun."

"Good. See, Scootaloo? All you had to do was just mention it to him," Twilight finished with a smile. "Now, you four play nice, alright? I'll be back up when the party gets started. You three can ask Goku about whatever you want, but make sure you're ready for the party by 6, okay?"

"Sure thing, Twilight!" Sweetie and Apple Bloom answered at the same time.

Scootaloo nodded. "A-alright."

"Bye mom!" Goku said happily.

Twilight smiled warmly as she nodded to her son.

"I'll see you in a bit," she said before leaving the room.

Goku smiled over to Scootaloo, who looked back and blinked in response. He reached back and unfastened the necklace before holding the Four-Starred Ball in his right hand.

"I guess you've heard of them too?" he asked.

Scootaloo nodded as she walked up to him. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom also got closer to the colt to see what the orb was.

"So, is that... one of the real..." Scootaloo couldn't even find the words to finish her thoughts.

Goku nodded.

"My Grandpa gave me this before he died. He said that me and the ball were the only two things left from my first village. He told me stories about how the village was founded around it, learning from a spirit from within the ball."

"Just like in the story!" Scootaloo added enthusiastically.

"Alright, what's goin' on here?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I'm with Apple Bloom, what's this thing?" Sweetie Belle added.

"Have you two never heard the story of the Dragon Balls!?" Scootaloo accused them.

Both fillies shook their heads in response.

"Oh my Luna! It's one of the coolest stories of all time! I'm sure Twilight's got a copy of it in her library! Come on, let's go," she stated.

Scootaloo grabbed both of her friends by the wrists as she dragged them out of Goku's room in search of the legendary tale. Goku, meanwhile, smiled softly as he looked down to the orb.

"I did it, Grandpa," he whispered, holding back tears. "I found a new home, a new family, and friends. Take care of Mom and Dad for me."

With a small gesture across his forehead, Goku ran to catch up with the fillies he had made friends with.

\\\//////

"... Eenope, did not see that comming," Big Mac commented.

"Ah know, right?" Applejack added. "Shucks, startin' ta make me feel like Ah need ta get out there an' find mahself a stallion, already."

"If ya do, bring 'em by so Ah can give 'em an 'Apple Family Welcome'," Big Mac said with a smile.

Applejack playfully slugged her brother in the arm as she chuckled.

"Sure thing, Big Mac."

They continued to set out plastic covers over various folding tables, preparing for the huge amount of ponies that would soon flood into the Castle.

"So... what's the colt like?" Big Mac asked.

"He's a real puzzle, Ah'll tell you what," Applejack stated. "Boy's got some weird mane style, like some kinda saw-blade that started growin' hair. Not ta mention he's got the strangest tail Ah ever did see, looks like some kinda monkey tail."

"Ya said Twi and Trixie found 'im in the Everfree, right? Maybe it's some weird magic from the plants or animals or somethin'," Big Mac speculated.

"Maybe. Short as a sprout, though. Maybe he's around six or seven, 'bout a head shorter than Bloom an' the Crusaders. Actually, fergot ta mention, but his fur's almost the same color as yours."

Big Mac stopped spreading out the tablecloth and looked to see his sister's face. She wasn't lying at all.

"Sounds like an Apple already," he said with a smile.

"Twi and Trixie convinced us ta introduce ourselves as Aunts, and boy howdy... haven't felt like that since Ah first saw Apple Bloom," Applejack recalled, tearing up a bit.

"Ah should bring that colt over ta Granny, see if she mistakes him for a young me," Big Mac joked.

"Doubt she would. Granny's old, but she ain't senile yet, Mac. She'd just as likely give 'em a whole family's worth a' pies. Speakin' a' pies, colt's got energy like Pinkie, hoppin' everywhere an' always wearin' a smile wider than the sky. He's practically fur an' bones, though. Makes ya wonder where he gets all that energy."

"Ya know, Ah should start thinkin' 'bout moving things along with Cheerilee," Big Mac added.

"Go for it, Big Mac," Applejack urged. "Introduce her ta Goku tonight. Heck, colt's gonna need an education, 'specially since he's gonna have Twi as a mom."

They both shared a laugh, thinking of the way Twilight might very well overreact once she started to get her son integrated into the education system.

\\\//////

Scootaloo slammed a book down rather harshly onto the table, denting the spine of the book as she practically tore through the pages.

"It's gotta be in here somewhere," Scootaloo said to herself.

As the Crusaders huddled over the book on Equestrian Legends, Goku looked around in awe. He had been in caves both larger and smaller than this room, but he'd never seen one decorated like this one. There were crystals emitting light on the walls, casting large shadows beyond the large walls that were scattered about. Each of these walls stood in different spots of the room, and were all hollowed out. Each wall held a bunch of different things that Goku didn't recognize, but he could still read the labels on their sides.

"Wow, what is this place?" he asked aloud.

"It's a library," Sweetie Belle answered. "You know, a place where ponies go to look for books and scrolls."

"What's a book?" Goku asked.

Sweetie Belle got up from the table Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were still seated and picked out a random book. She walked up to Goku with it and held it before him.

"See? It's a written or printed work consisting of pages glued or sewn together along one side and bound in covers."

Goku blinked.

"So it's like a scroll-sandwich?" Goku asked.

Sweetie Belle turned her gaze and sighed.

"I've never heard it like that before, but I guess so."

"Oh, alright then!" Goku said with a smile back on his face.

"AHA!"

They both turned to see Apple Bloom practically fall out of her chair as she backed away from Scootaloo's outburst.

"Jeez, Scoots! Give me a head's-up next time!" Apple Bloom chided.

"Sorry, but I found it! 'The Tale of the Mystical Dragon Balls'!"

Sweetie Belle and Goku walked over to see the book, leaning in by Scootaloo's side as Apple Bloom gazed over the pegasus' shoulder. On the pages were eight clearly drawn figures. The largest one was a green dragon, rising out of seven round shapes. The other seven were relatively small, each with their own unique set of clothes and throwing around different attacks that looked like magic.

"Here!" Scootaloo cheered, pointing to the wall of text beside the picture. "You see? It's all right here!"

The other two fillies leaned in to read the text that was next to the drawing, and murmured to themselves as they scanned the page.

"Wow... that's... um," Apple Bloom stumbled, trying to comprehend the tale.

"What does this have to do with Goku?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"How can you not see it!?" Scootaloo cried in frustration.

She sighed and looked back towards the colt.

"Goku, can I see the Dragon Ball?" Scootaloo asked.

Goku nodded.

"Alright, but please be careful," he pleaded.

"I'll be careful, I promise," Scootaloo said as she reached for the orange orb.

Goku handed the Four-Starred ball to Scootaloo, and when it was in her grasp, she slowly brought it to her face. The pegasus turned the orb around, watching the stars twist and turn inside of it as she felt its perfect smoothness rub against her hands.

"Wow," she gasped.

"Equestria to Scootaloo," Apple Bloom called, "can ya get back to why the story's important?"

Scootaloo held the orb over the page, and pointed to the orbs beneath the green dragon.

"See? The legend says that when the seven balls are found and brought together, a magical dragon will come out and grant anypony a wish of any kind. And this is one of them!"

"Doesn't that sound a little 'out-there'?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"About as much as a Princess being stuck in the moon for a thousand years," Scootaloo deadpanned.

A knocking on the Library door drew their attention as Rarity entered the room.

"Ah, there you girls are. I see you've met the newest member of our family," she said happily.

"Hey, Rarity?" Sweetie Belle started. "Have you ever heard of Dragon Balls?" she asked.

Rarity's face exploded with a deep red blush, a shocked look on her face as she froze.

"You know, the seven warriors and the magical dragon that grants a wish when you find all seven?" Scootaloo clarified.

Rarity tried to form words, but was only able to move her mouth as her blush began to die down. After a few seconds of sputtering nonsense, Rarity walked over to the table to see what they were reading.

"Oh, thank heavens," she sighed as she read the page. "I thought that... oh, goodness, that gave me such a fright."

"What's wrong, Rarity?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Oh, n-nothing! Nothing at all! We'll talk about it when your older," Rarity dismissed. "Why would you look something like this up, though?"

"I wanted to prove to them that this story is real after all! Look!" Scootaloo said while holding up Goku's Dragon Ball.

"Scootaloo! Did you take Goku's things without asking!?" the mare scolded, taking the ball out of the filly's hands.

"What? No! He let me hold it to show them the story's real! Don't you see the picture?" She said, pointing to the bottom of the dragon.

"I don't care what some old pony's tale says about a dragon and... orbs, and I certainly wouldn't just assume they're real because of some vague resemblance between a picture and something valuable to somepony else. Honestly, Scootaloo, I think you may be acquiring Rainbow Dash's knack for over-thinking those Daring-Do books."

"But they turned out to be real, too! Just like Nightmare Moon, Discord, and Changelings! They were all myths before you guys fought them! What's the difference between those and this?" Scootaloo persisted.

"The difference is that at those times, we weren't getting ready for one of the most important occasions in our time here in Ponyville," Rarity stated as she turned to Goku.

She bent down to her knees and clipped the ball's strings around Goku's neck, securing it.

"There. Oh, you just look so devilishly cute! Are you ready?"

Goku nodded with a large smile.

"Sure am!"

Rarity stood up and clapped her hands together before waving the children along.

"Let's get to it, then! Time to meet the town!" she said excitedly.

Scootaloo sighed in defeat as she got out of her seat and walked alongside the Crusaders. As she sulked, Goku came up to her side and poked her arm. She turned around to see Goku leaning towards her with a hand cupped to the side of his mouth.

"Don't worry about what Rarity said. I know the story was true, too. Maybe one day, we can go looking for the rest and wish for anything!" he whispered.

Scootaloo smiled at the colt's statement.

"Thanks, Goku. Maybe after this, the girls and I can show you around Ponyville."

Goku nodded as he put his hands behind his head and walked alongside his friends to the party.

\\\//////

Twilight and Trixie stood side-to-side, watching as the main room of the Castle filled up with other ponies from around town. The Cakes were off to the side, catering sweets to a number of ponies, Pound and Pumpkin in a mobile crib as they played with plastic miniatures of a bakery. Tables that were set up for the night were filling up with ponies who were starting to tire out from the dancing (hosted by Pinkie, of course) and local newsponies, taking notes on the occasion.

As the two watched the party start to go into full-swing, the doors were opened fully by two stallions in Royal Guard Solar Armor and two in Lunar Armor. Each one held a spear with a single hand while they teamed up to hold the massive doors open. When they were at attention, ponies began to gasp and bow as the rest of the Equestrian Royalty began to enter the Throne Room.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stepped in first, the former wearing a white strapless dress with gold trimmings while the latter wore a black dress with blue trimmings. They had large smiles on their faces as they waved to the population of Ponyville. Behind them, Princess Cadance and Shining Armor stepped inside, Cadance wearing a flowing blue dress while Shining wore his Officer's Uniform from his time in the Royal Guard. Behind the couple were Twilight Velvet and Night Light, who were holding back tears in their eyes as they looked onto their daughter. Last (and certainly least), came in Blueblood, who looked about as interested in today's event as he would being asked to recite the Equestrian Bank's tax-refund policy.

As the crowd parted to let the Royals walk up to the end of the Throne Room, Twilight and Trixie drifted away a small bit to greet them.

"Princesses, it's an honor to have you all here," Twilight said as she straightened her posture.

The Princesses both bowed to the couple in return.

"It's more than a great pleasure to be here ourselves," Celestia returned, holding back tears.

"It's so wonderful to know that... I suppose we should wait until everypony knows," Luna suggested, trying to not hint at the revelation.

The Princesses parted was and allowed Shining Armor and Cadance to say their greetings as well.

"So... Luna refused to tell us anything," Cadance remarked, shooting a glance back at the blue Princess, "so we can't properly congratulate you until we've heard the news. But, here's hoping it's something good," she remarked, crossing her fingers.

Twilight looked to see her BBBFF looking between her and Trixie, unable to form words.

"Something wrong, Shining?" Twilight asked.

"Nah, I just know that whatever you two are choosing to do right now, it'll make the family happy."

Twilight wiped her eyes as she gave her brother a hug.

"Thanks, Shiny."

The siblings held each other tightly as their parents closed in on them. Velvet in particular was shedding a few tears while Night Light tried to shake the family hug like when they were foals again. As the group separated, Blueblood disinterestedly approached Trixie, the two glaring daggers at each other.

"Wrench," Blueblood spat.

"Bitch," Trixie retorted.

"Whatever it is you two are doing here, try and keep me involved as little as possible."

"Oh, trust me, I hope you'll have as little to do with this as you do with the rest of the world," Trixie replied.

Blueblood turned his head away in the most up-tight fashion, before waving ponies aside so he could find a seat, going so far as to actually push a few mares out of his way.

"He so much as looks at him the wrong way," Trixie whispered to herself.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked back to see Night Light. She remembered when she had first met Twilight's father, years before actually coming to Ponyville.

"Mr. Light," Trixie greeted, a smile and blush on her face, "how lovely to see you here."

"It's always nice to see you, Trixie," Night Light replied with a firm, strong hug.

Trixie embraced him as well, letting the emotions sink in as tears began to flow from her eyes. As they relaxed their hug, Night Light pulled back and smiled before reaching up and wiping her tears away.

"I heard from Princess Celestia," he whispered. "Velvet and I couldn't be happier."

Trixie smiled at the stallion as he removed his arms from her back.

"Of course, it'd be nice if one of you finally popped the question," he teased.

Twilight Velvet chose that moment to reel her husband in, grabbing him by the ear and pulled down forcefully. However, her face was one of happiness and love, betraying her current actions as Night Light was gasping in pain.

"Oh, don't mind him right now. We're just so excited to... you know," she trailed off, winking over to Shining and Cadance.

Twilight came up next to Trixie and wrapped an arm around her before they shared a nuzzle. As they did, Velvet let go of Night Light as they shared a look, Light rubbing his sore ear as they held each other. Cadance and Shining, however, were conversing the condition of the Crystal Empire with Celestia and Luna.

As Twilight and Trixie looked into each other's eyes, they heard a sharp whisper from behind them. They turned around to see Rarity giving a thumbs-up as the Crusaders walked out of the massive doorway.

It was time.

Twilight and Trixie shared one last look, and a quick kiss, as they moved to tell the Princesses and the family. Whispers were sent back and forth between them, and within a few seconds, they were already preparing for the reveal.

"May I have everypony's attention?" Twilight asked, amplifying her voice to Royal Canterlot levels.

Immediately, the crowded room went silent and looked over to see Princess Twilight Sparkle and Trixie Lulamoon standing next to each other, the Royal families on either side while they stood by the massive doors.

"First, I would like to thank everypony for attending this rather hastily scheduled get-together. I'm sure some of you would rather be at home or doing something that would have been more productive than standing around and waiting for almost an hour, and I'm glad to have you all here."

Twilight waited a moment for the message to sink in before she continued.

"I know that there have been rumors going around town lately as to why Trixie and I were seen walking around with a small child. Well, we found the colt living alone in the Everfree Forest, and have decided... to adopt him as our son."

Gasps of shock were heard all throughout the room, whispers and rumors already spreading like wildfires as the closest of their friends and family began to cheer. Mere seconds later, the entire town was clapping and cheering in celebration of the announcement. Twilight locked eyes with Trixie, and as if they read each others minds, they nodded at the same time.

"Everypony," Trixie spoke, "we'd like to introduce you to our son, Goku."

The doors opened to reveal the dark-orange colt with his messy mane, monkey tail, and unbridled smile as he waved to the watching ponies.

The room began to flood with flashes of light and shouts as questions and pictures began recording the reveal of Equestria's newest prince.

Chapter 8

Goku 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.

\\\//////

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.

\\\//////

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.

Chapter 9

Nearly two hours had passed before the party finally started to die down. The music had switched a while ago to a more pleasant, soothing tune as opposed to the rhythmic thumping that seemed to be in music nowadays. Almost all of the guests had filed out already, a majority of the town needing to get sleep for their respective jobs in the morning, and a good number needing to get their foals to bed. The only ones that stayed later were those closest to Princess Twilight and Trixie Lulamoon, along with a few close neighbors that were congratulating the two on their decision, while greeting the newly adopted Prince himself.

Celestia and Luna watched from the edge of the room as Goku was lead off by the Crusaders to meet another few foals.

"Quite the situation in this town, sister," Luna commented.

Celestia nodded.

"Indeed. To think, all these events just keep resurfacing around those six. First the Elements of Harmony, then Discord, Sombra, Tirek, Starswirl's experiments, and now, of all things, them."

"He does strike quite a resemblance, doesn't he?" Luna asked.

Celestia watched as the young colt was herded by other foals, thinking back to that terrifying day.

"The mane is practically a dead giveaway," Celestia stated with a small smile on her face, "but I don't think we should hold him up to that kind of level. At least, not yet."

"Indeed. Still, could you sense his strength?"

Celestia nodded.

"He's already just as strong as Cadance."

"Not to mention his stare. I think he could sense our powers as well."

"There was definitely something different in his eyes when he saw us, but it certainly wasn't fear."

"No, it certainly wasn't. However, I do fear what would happen should Discord try and educate the colt on his own."

\\\//////

Goku looked around him to see that there were more ponies present that were around the size of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Two of them were around as tall as him, a pale purple filly and a white colt with brown spots across his fur. The three fillies he had gotten to know mere hours ago introduced him to the group of young ponies and they all crowded him seconds later.

"Wow, I can't believe you're a prince!"

"What's with your tail? How can I get mine to do that?"

"Where'd ya get that necklace?"

"Look at his mane!"

They were all asking questions too fast for him to answer, each one barely having enough time to be fully spoken. Two more approached through the crowd, trying to get closer to the colt. Apple Bloom saw them and waved them through the crowd, right up to Goku. They were both fillies, one with a silver mane, tail and coat, while the other one was pink with a two-colored mane, dark pink and white, resting beneath a tiara. They smiled to him as they approached.

"Oh my gosh, he's adorable!" the silver one stated.

"I can't believe that Princess Twilight found such a cute little colt in such a dangerous place!" the other one said, examining Goku.

"We couldn't believe it either!" Apple Bloom responded. "Ta think, he's been growin' up in the Everfree for who knows how long..."

"I think it's weird that he doesn't have any scars or scratches," one pegasus in the crowd commented.

"Hey, Rumble's right!" Apple Bloom stated. "How come ya don't have any scars or somethin' like that?" she asked the colt.

Goku tilted his head slightly, confused by what they meant.

"Wait... why would I have scars?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"Because you said you lived in the Everfree forest your whole life," one filly answered.

Scootaloo chuckled to herself before standing ram-rod straight, and spoke loudly.

"You wanna know why he doesn't have scars?" she asked.

Before anypony could answer, she continued.

"Because of this!" she stated, leveling a finger at the four-starred ball around Goku's neck.

The area went relatively silent as the group of young ponies tried to comprehend the (most likely non-existent) logic behind Scootaloo's answer. Before anypony could object, Goku responded.

"Pretty much, although my Grandpa taught me the martial arts that his old village used to practice until he died, and then I started listening to him through the Dragonball."

"That raises even more questions!" one of the fillies shouted.

"Have you never heard the story of the Seven Dragonballs!?" Scootaloo shouted at the group.

\\\//////

"So, this is a major step for you two," Twilight Velvet said to her daughter. "I mean, he's definitely in need of a home, but to just so suddenly take him in? Are you two sure you're ready for this kind of responsibility?"

"Well... the thing is, Trixie and I have been talking about adopting for a few months now, and we haven't been able to decide on anything. Where to look for a foal, what age group we should adopt from, what kind of pony, if we even decide on a pony in the first place... I honestly think that finding little Goku in the Everfree was a sign. And yes, I know this is a huge decision, and that this will indefinitely take up more time than any assignment or test ever would, and I can't say for sure that I know everything will be smooth sailing from here on out. Sure, my friends would absolutely look after him in a heartbeat, and considering how friendly and open Ponyville is, I should feel as though this would be the safest bet with raising a child... but no matter what kind of numbers I run, all I can think about is when Tirek came and nearly destroyed Equestria, or how Discord could do something horrible by accident, or some other villain could wake up from a thousand-year slumber, again, but I can't let those thoughts dominate my life. You and Dad always told me that Shining was the best turnabout in your lives, and how having a child made everything seem so much better. And... with Spike already having left, this castle feels like it could use a little more love. Besides, I've already gone through several conversations to set up doctor's appointments to set up a medical record, a meeting with Foal Protection Services, and a test with Cheerilee to see where his current level of education would be to get him into school as soon as possible."

Velvet smiled warmly and ran her thumb along Twilight's hand.

"That's my little girl, always planning ahead," she sighed happily. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks, mom," Twilight replied, a blush lightening the fur on her face.

The two Twilights opened their arms and shared a hug.

"If only you could convince your brother and foal-sitter to buck-up already," Velvet added.

"Ew! Mom!"