Author's Note
Last story of the Trilogy.
Of Burgers and Brawlers
The group released their demo the night of recording. Learning from their predecessor's mistakes, they made the tracks publicly available for preservation. If anything happened and they lost the disc or files, Twilight would be able to download them from her journal. As an extra precaution, they backed everything up on an external hard drive. The following morning, Spike made a suggestion.
"We still don't have any of the toys from Cooler's Revenge. McDonald's has a ton of 'em in stock right now. We should try to get ahold of 'em while we can."
"You're obsessed with that movie, aren't you?"
"I could say the same thing about you and Shadow Hearts, Ms. Wizard Puncher."
"Excuse me! Albert is a warlock, not a wizard, thank you very much! How dare you, sir!"
"Takin' lessons from Rarity, I see."
"What? I can be dramatic."
"Needs some work."
"Well, duh! I just started practicing."
"Fair enough."
"Come on, wiener-face. We have to raise our cholesterol thanks to your insistence on corporate pandering."
"You want a toy, too."
"What was your first clue?"
"Probably the excessive amounts of sass you're giving me right now."
"Oh, hush. I'm entitled to talk back to wimpy anime nerds."
"Bet I could beat you in a wrestling match."
"You're on!"
The pair tackled each other, trying to push the other to the ground. Thanks to his training with Shining, Spike was stronger than he looked. The match ended in a draw.
"Okay," Twilight huffed, "I think that's enough. Come on. Let's get going before they're all out."
"Fine by me."
On the way to McDonald's, the siblings discussed the soundtrack present in their version of the film.
"Everybody seems to hate the Nu Metal sound for our release," Spike lamented, "Personally, I think it's cool. Rock and metal don't get nearly enough love in the other industries."
"I agree. Even when we do get metal soundtracks, the movies themselves usually aren't that great. DBZ is the exception when it should be the rule."
"Definitely. Even crappy movies are ten times better when they have decent music."
"Maybe we should make our own movie sometime. A horror flick with music on par with 7 Angels 7 Plagues would push the genre to new heights."
"I'm down. Right now I wanna chill, though. We put in a lot of work last night."
"Oh, definitely. I was just throwing it out there as a suggestion."
"We're almost there. I'm freakin' starving."
"Try not to eat the box."
"Aw! That's the best part!"
Twilight giggled. Seeing her brother filled with such childish wonder cleansed her in a downpour of innocence. It was as though her heart was changing to resemble the heroes they admired...
Inside, the siblings picked a booth near the western wall. They stared out the window with curiosity while they waited for their food.
"Which toy do you want?" Spike asked.
"Super saiyan Goku." Twilight replied.
"Always a classic."
"How 'bout you?"
"Fifth form Cooler."
"He does look pretty epic, I will say. I brought our camera so we could get a picture for the journal."
"Just imagine if we get 'em. I'd be the king of the lunch table at school."
"If they knew half the stuff we were into, you'd be the God for the entire year."
"I guess so."
The cashier called out their order number. They barely made it back to the table before tearing into their boxes.
"Holy crap," Spike shouted, barely able to contain his excitement, "I got it!"
"Me, too!"
"No way! The odds were like one in a hundred bajillion!"
"That's sick! Let's prop 'em up next to each other like they're fighting side-by-side."
"Heck yeah! Let's do it!"
Twilight took several photos to make sure at least one came out clear.
"This is the stuff of legends." Spike remarked.
"Hurry. Let's eat so we can get home and put them on the stand."
The pair quickly finished the meal and headed out the door. After a few steps, they stumbled across two familiar faces.
"Applejack!? Apple Bloom!?"
"Yo, Twi," Applejack called out, "Wasn't expectin' to run into y'all here!"
"We came to pick up a couple toys."
"Talk about a coincidence. That's why we're here."
"Which ones are you guys after?"
"A.B.'s after fifth form Cooler. I'm lookin' for base-form Goku."
"We don't have base-form, but we did get Cooler and Super saiyan."
Apple Bloom gazed intently at Spike, who was clenching the Cooler figure tightly.
"Can I have it?" she asked.
"Now Apple Bloom," Applejack scolded, "They paid for it."
"It's cool," Spike assured, "Just let us take a couple more pictures and it's all yours."
"Gee, Spike," Apple Bloom squeaked in delight, "That's awful nice of ya."
"Goku would do the same."
"Yeah. I guess he would, wouldn't he?"
"Hey, I have an idea! A lot of rap artists are writing songs about anime now. Why don't we write a metal song all about Dragon Ball?"
"That's a great idea," Twilight concurred, "I'll call up the others when we get back to the house. You guys can meet us there when you're done. We can trade for whatever you guys get."
"Sounds good to me." Applejack agreed.
Twilight and Spike waited for the others to arrive before taking the rest of the pictures. They'd already written the song by the time they got there. They combined their toys, taking several shots with a freeze frame of the movie in the background.
"Too bad we're not in the same class," Apple Bloom said to Spike, "We could make a grand entrance at school on Monday."
"Tell me about it," Spike replied, "I might have to request a temporary transfer just so we can get it done."
"You guys ready to record?" Twilight asked.
"Yep." Spike confirmed.
"All right. Let's do this."
Pinkie used her sticks as makeshift metronomes, exploding into a progressive beat on the fourth count.
"AN EVIL FORCE THE STARS CAN'T QUELL! WHEN ALL OUR HOPES SEEM TO BE FELLED! A BURST OF LIGHT CUTS THROUGH THE SKY! A RAY WITHIN SPARKS THROUGH MY EYE! THE STRENGTH OF ONE IS STRENGTH OF ALL! WITH BLINDING FAITH, YOUR TERROR WILL FALL!!!"
Pinkie transitioned into a blast beat. Rainbow, Twilight, and Applejack rapidly strummed the lowest strings on their instruments in a death metal-esque breakdown.
A few days after recording, the group received a contract for a record deal. After talking it over with the others, Twilight burned it to ashes with her horn.
"We're just friends trying to play music and have a good time," Twilight posted, "Money is so common it's almost worthless. The bond we share only comes along once in a lifetime, if that. Temptation means demise. Fight for what matters. Selfish desires will only lead to ruin."
In their minds' eyes, everyone gazed towards the future. As long as they stayed true to themselves, a lifetime of fulfillment was the only path ahead. They were ready to face whatever came their way, and nothing, NOTHING, would stop them. Twilight realized this was how Spike must have felt when Flurry was born. He finally had a reason to live - a reason to be.
"I see now...I see everything..."