Chapters Bonus Chapter 1- Celestia's Studies: Ponies and Advanced Ki Use
During the two week period following the arrival of the creature known as Vegeta, events unfolded that caused our glorious leaders of night and day to realize that the information on ki users passed down to each generation of monarchy was terribly biased, and horribly inaccurate. The goals of this research was to discover the effects, if any, that advanced ki use had on the effects of each pony species inner magic. We have carefully observed, and questioned, the ponies released from Tartarus by Lunalia: Titan Hoof, Star Binder, and Thundering Sky. Special notes have also been taken on General Bladewing, General Iron Horn, and Rainbow Dash. This report has been compiled at the request of Princess Celestia, and contains information acquired over the last eleven months of extensive research. May future generations benefit from this report.
ALICORNS
At this time, we have been unable to study the effects of ki use on alicorns. We hope to rectify this in the future.
EARTH PONIES
At first glance, earth ponies seem to gain the greatest boon from ki training. The inner magic of earth ponies gives them a natural edge in strength and stamina over the other races, and this especially holds true in the case of ki users. While their strength does not increase any faster than the others, they do have greatly increased stamina. The more proficient they become with ki, i.e. the stronger they become, the more their stamina increases beyond pegasi and unicorns. This allows them to train for much greater lengths of time before showing signs of fatigue, therefore creating the illusion that they get stronger, faster. (This is believed to be the reason as to why Titan Hoof is much more powerful than his two allies.) This also means that they are able to sustain much more damage in combat before succumbing to an enemy assault.
UNICORNS
Unicorns gain two distinct abilities as they gain advanced proficiency in ki use. First, an incredibly strong natural defense against raw magic. While elemental magic still affects them normally, attacks consisting of nothing but raw magical energy must be incredibly powerful to even affect them. And even if it can harm them, the damage from the assault will be severely reduced from what it normally would be. (This is possibly the only reason Star Binder was capable of surviving Captain Shining Armor's Pulse Blast , and the final part of General Iron Horn's Five Point Element Break .)
Next, unicorns are able to grasp the capabilities of ki based abilities much faster than earth ponies and pegasi. This gives them the ability to create a much wider array of attacks than their counterparts, and are even able mix raw magic and ki to create devastating attacks (as displayed by Star Binder's Magicka Helix ).
PEGASI
Where earth ponies gain increased stamina, and unicorns acquire greater defense against magic, the pegasi see a drastic increase in speed. According to Thundering Sky, he possessed roughly one-fifteenth the strength of Titan Hoof, but was still faster. To the untrained eye, this difference in speed is almost unnoticeable in combat, but becomes quite obvious in full flight.
Also, after extensive study, it has been discovered that the mixture of the pegasi's inner magic and ki, after reaching a certain flight speed, is what results in the creation of the fabled Sonic Rainboom . A full burst of ki around the pegasus, after reaching a certain speed, causes the visible light spectrum around them to shatter, and temporarily doubles the user's speed. Due to this drastic increase in speed, the Sonic Rainboom can be used as an incredibly powerful offensive maneuver (though the user will sustain extensive damage, as demonstrated by Rainbow Dash). Unlike what was previously believed, the Sonic Rainboom can be triggered at will.
The Sonic Rainboom will be explained in greater detail later.
SPECIAL NOTES: GENERAL BLADEWING
The effects of General Bladewing's Lightning Form do not decrease with her increased power. Prior to her training, her Lightning Form would boost her strength and speed by approximately fifty times what she possessed in her normal form. This form does not increase her defensive capabilities, ergo she will still sustain heavy damage from stronger opponents.
All of the above information applies to her increased strength. The stronger she becomes, the more powerful she becomes when using her Lightning Form .
SPECIAL NOTES: GENERAL IRON HORN
Though his pool of magical energy is no greater than that of any other advanced spell caster, the unnatural length of his horn (which is almost the same length as Celestia's) allows him to magnify the power of his spells to ten times their normal level. Though, more powerful spells do drain his reserves of magic faster.
SPECIAL NOTES: RAINBOW DASH
Other than the other abilities pegasi have been noted to have, Rainbow Dash has one ability that is unique to her. During situations of heightened emotion, she seems to erupt with an incredibly strong power that she can't normally call upon. The first time this phenomena was observed was during her battle with Thundering Sky. Despite not even being as strong as General Bladewing or her brother, the power that she displayed surpassed that of her foe. This is also believed to be the reason she has been the only pegasus in the last few thousand years that has been capable of performing the Sonic Rainboom , and also the reason she did not have control over it until recently.
At this time, we have been unable to ascertain just how deep this power runs. The stronger she gets, the stronger this power seems to get.
C2- The Grand Tour Begins
C1- Catching Up
CLOUDSDALE
SUMMER , MID-DAY
"AND YET ANOTHER AMAZING PERFORMANCE BY THE TRIO OF SPITFIRE, FLEETFOOT, AND SOARIN'!", yells an announcer over a microphone as the three members of the Wonderbolts land on a platform in the Cloudsdale Arena. The crowd of pegasi cheer wildly for the team of Equestria's best flyers. The three wave at their adoring fans, and take a bow. As they begin to walk out of the center of the arena, Soarin' leans in a little to Spitfire and says, "Ya think she's nervous?"
She sighs and responds, "It's her first performance, so of course. But she'll be fine. Otherwise we wouldn't have allowed her on the team."
High above the arena, sitting on a cloud and adjusting her costume, was the newest addition to the team of amazing flyers. "This is it.... my first live performance as a Wonderbolt! Okay.... need to run over my trick list again before they announce me...." , she thinks to herself.
The announcer below coughs one time to clear his throat. "AAAAAAND NOW! IT'S TIME FOR A SOLO PERFORMANCE BY THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE WONDERBOLTS! CHEER YOUR HEARTS OUT FOR THE MASTER OF THE SONIC RAINBOOM, RAINBOOOOOOW DAAAAAAAAAASH!", he loudly yells into the mic.
Dash pulls her goggles over her eyes. "That's my cue." , she says in her mind as she rolls off the cloud and barrels down towards the arena. "Control speed.... can't hit it too early." Dash slows herself, and judges her distance from the arena. "Just a little more... a little more.... THERE!" , she yells in her mind as she focuses her energy, and surrounds herself in a blue ki aura! She quickly accelerates to her top speed; easily breaking the sound barrier. Just as she reaches the top of the arena, her speed doubles as she hits her signature sonic rainboom! She passes through the bottom of the arena with a rainbow trail following her. She pulls a quick one hundred and eighty degree turn, and flies straight up while spinning at a speed far beyond what the average pony can keep up with.
The rainbow trail behind her follows suit with her movements, and twists with her. She breaks off from her straight flight, but continues spinning as she begins flying in a tight circle. The rainbow trail forms into a tight ball around her, and she begins focusing the energy within her as she tightens the circle even more. Once the rainbow ball has completely shrouded her from sight, she stops, and sends a burst of ki all around her! The rainbow sphere explodes, and lights up the entire arena with a bright burst of multicolored light! Rainbow Dash hovers in the air after finishing her trick; her ki aura still shining brightly.
The crowd remains silent for a moment; trying to comprehend what they had just witnessed. After a few moments of silence, the crowd erupts in roaring applause! Dash waves and bows as she soaks in all the attention she's getting. After several minutes, she flies towards the exit, and to her team's dressing room.
"THANK YOU, EVERYPONY, FOR ATTENDING ANOTHER SPECTACULAR PERFORMANCE BY THE WONDERBOLTS! THEY'LL BE PERFORMING IN CANTERLOT NEXT WEEK! BE SURE NOT TO MISS IT!", the announcer yells as they prepare to close out the show, and usher the audience out of the stadium.
Almost an hour later, Rainbow Dash and Spitfire walk out of the team's personal dressing room; now no longer wearing their uniforms. "Good job today, Rainbow Dash.", Spitfire congratulates. "It's great to have somepony on our team with your kind of abilities."
"Thanks, Spitfire.", Dash responds. "It's been my life's dream to be on this team. When I started training a year ago, I didn't think the power I would gain would lead to this. But finally, here I am. It still feels like a dream.", Dash says as she closes her eyes, and a big smile stretches across her face.
"Haha.", Spitfire laughs. "If this is a dream, then don't wake up. We don't want to lose you so soon after getting you. Once we incorporate your abilities into our team performances, things will get even better. Well, you're free until the meet and greet with fans tonight. I'd suggest finding a place to relax for awhile. This life style can be stressful until you get used to it.", she explains.
"Right. This life style can't be half as bad as the training I went through to get to where I am now!", Dash boasts.
Spitfire rolls her eyes and lets out a chuckle. "We'll see you tonight." She then turns and walks away from Dash.
Rainbow Dash takes a short flight back to the arena she had just performed at, which is now completely empty. She lands at a section of front row seating, and sits there. She leans on a section of railing, and looks out into the area she had just recently performed. "It really is hard to believe everything has led to this...", she says aloud for no pony but herself to hear... or so she thought.
"Well, you'd better believe it. You're living out your dream now, aren't you?", she hears from behind her.
She turns around around to see a light blue stallion with a silver mane. A pegasus that, just one year ago, had died to save her life.
"S-SILVER WIND!", she yells out in excitement at seeing him. She closes the near twenty foot distance between them faster than the eyes could see. "I haven't seen you in almost a year! How've you been!?"
"Well, I've been doing rather well ever since being brought back from the dead. And it seems you have too. As soon as I caught wind that my best student was going to be performing here today, I made sure to clear my schedule so I could be here.", Silver explains to his former weather student.
"It's awesome that you could make it! All the training I've done over the last year really paid off. I was only doing it so I could hold my own in a fight like the one we had a year ago, but it's helped me with so much more!", she excitedly explains.
"It seems so. How strong are you now compared to what.... he.... was when we all fought?", Silver asks.
"Oh... Thundering Sky says that I'm about twice as strong as what he was when we had that big fight. But.... ugh.... I'm still weaker than all of them. The training they put themselves through was way worse than what they did to me! Not to mention your sister and Iron Horn... They've been fighting hard to try and catch up to them in a short time..."
"Twice as strong? In only one year? But, they're still so much farther ahead of you?", Silver questions as he raises an eyebrow.
Rainbow Dash nods. "Yeah. They said some stuff about the old royal family not letting them train a whole lot. But, Princess Celestia is letting us train as much as we want, as long we don't do it near where anypony lives. I can't push myself to the same level they can. I just wanted to be strong enough to fight if I had to. I'm a stunt flyer at heart."
"I'm guessing anywhere within Equestria's borders would be out of the question. Where have all of you been training? Tartaros, maybe?"
Dash shakes her head. "No. Since Lunalia has come back, the princesses don't want anypony going near that place. We've all been training in The Frozen North. That's actually where the five of them are right now."
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THE FROZEN NORTH
A steady stream of light snow falls from the sky down to the frozen ground below. Tall, snow covered trees dot the landscape next to a large lake that is completely frozen over. Far below cloud level, five ponies are battling each other; each with the intent of pushing each other beyond their limits in the pursuit of power.
Bright flashes dance across the sky as two pegasi battle each other in the air. One, a black stallion with a short cut, blood red mane and tail which also have gold streaks running through them; the other, a bright red mare with a long, jet black mane and tail which also have a light purple stripe running through the middle of each. They separate for a moment, and then rush at each other with a front hoof outstretched. Their hooves collide, and the red pegasus is knocked back.
The black pegasus rushes at her, and throws a volley of punches that she barely manages to weave around. "C'mon Babewing, where's all that improvement you've been showing?", he casually asks her in between punches.
She pushes off of him and yells, "I told you to stop calling me that, Sky!"
He suddenly appears behind her, and she feels a hoof run along her flank. "Make me.", he whispers to her.
"GRAH!!!", she screams as she spins hard and delivers a devastating elbow to the back of his head. She then throws a volley of vicious punches and kicks all across his body, and finishes with a double axe handle shot to the top of his head; which sends him flying down to the frozen earth.
As he falls to the ground he manages to mutter, "Totally.... worth it...."
A good distance away, an earth pony stallion that's the size of an alicorn, and with a dark orange mane, watches Thundering Sky get knocked to the ground. "When will that idiot learn? Now....", he turns to face two unicorns standing in front of him; both are in a combat stance. "..... Where were we?"
One of the unicorns, a stallion that is steel grey in color and bearing a horn that is as long as an alicorn's, charges him."Hyaa!," he calls out as he throws a quick volley of punches at his target.
Despite his size, the much larger earth pony easily weaves around the assault. "Come on , Iron Horn. You need to try harder than that. You know how big the gap between our power is.", he says as he dodges. He raises a foreleg and blocks a punch, and they stay locked like that for a moment.
"Titan Hoof...", Iron Horn begins to speak, "... Blade and I won't stay beneath you three forever. We're well on our way to catching up to you."
Before Titan can offer a response, the second unicorn, a white stallion with a white mane and tail, charges Iron Horn. Iron breaks off his attack against Titan to turn his focus on the other unicorn, and they begin trading off hits. They lock forehooves and attempt to push each other back. They lock horns, and begin exerting both ki and magic. Iron begins to slide back, but then he begins exerting more magic and returns the favor. "Star Binder, you may be physically stronger than me, for now, but my magic is stronger than yours.", states Iron Horn.
Star Binder exerts more physical power, and pushes Iron back further. "True, but magic can only do so much once you reach a certain level of power!" The two stay locked in battle as they train themselves to reach further and further heights of power.
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CLOUDSDALE
Silver nods. "I see. Looking back now... it's kind of hard to imagine that ponies we fought and died to beat, so easily became our allies. Hmmmm.... Now that I think about it... Don't you think it's kind of odd that they changed sides so quickly?"
"Me, Blade, and Iron all thought the same thing. But, they've never done anything that was too dangerous with us. Except... ugh... for Sky. You'd think he has a death wish with how he treats mine and Blade's flanks!", she states in an irritated tone. Silver stifles a laugh; remembering how lecherous the black pegasus had seemed the one time they met. Dash sighs one time. "But.... we don't really know why they changed like they did. They don't like to talk about their past much. All we know is that it has something to do with the Elements of Harmony."
"Well...", Silver begins to reply, "... as long as the change is genuine, I suppose it doesn't really matter why."
"Darn it! It does matter! I wanna know!", Dash loudly exclaims.
Silver lets out a long, drawn out sigh. "Think about what they were willing to do before-hoof. They all did some really bad things. Whatever happened to them in their past had to have been pretty bad for them to resort to what they did. Just give them time, and maybe they'll open up about it."
Dash sounds out an irritated groan, and frowns. "Fine. I won't force it. I guess they've got their reasons." She turns herself back to face the empty center of the arena. She rests her forelegs and her head on some railing. "If... if he hadn't shown up when he did, everything would have turned out so much worse. We'd all still be dead, Lunalia would still be evil, and she'd be ruler of Equestria."
Silver follows suit with the same motions she did. "It is really unnerving to think about; knowing that a complete accident is what saved all of us. Fate itself seemed to intervene on our behalf by bringing a fighter with his level of power to Equestria; even though it was against his will."
"Yeah.... he's the one who eventually killed Lunalia, and told us about the dragon balls. I still can't believe he actually let Discord go back with him. I wonder... I wonder what he's doing now.", Dash ponders aloud.
_________________________________________________________
HUMAN EARTH
WEST CITY, CAPSULE CORP. HEADQUARTERS
A loud explosion rocks Capsule Corporation headquarters, and knocks a sizable chunk out of one of the outer walls. As smoke billows out of the hole in the wall, Discord, the lord of chaos, flies out of the building, and stops about a hundred feet from it. He is holding his sides; laughing so hard that he is in tears. "Oh, oh, oh this is PRICELESS! I knew if I came here to this world that I could make up for all of that time imprisoned in stone!"
A yellow beam of energy emerges from the billowing smoke, and drives towards his head! He makes his head disappear, and then reappear after the beam passes him. "Oh, Vegeta. There is no need for such violence. I was only having a little fun.", states Discord while trying to fight back his laughter.
The saiyan prince flies out of the smoke as well; wearing a red sleeveless shirt, blue jeans, and a black leather jacket..... and having Bulma's blue hair, rather than his own! "YOU BASTARD! I TOLD YOU WHAT YOU'D GET!", he shouts in anger as he prepares to fire another round of ki blasts.
Bulma soon walks out as well, wearing a short skirted red dress.... and having Vegeta's tall, black, spiky hair instead of her own! She takes aim at Discord with a sub-machine gun, "DARN YOU! THIS ISN'T FUNNY!", she screams at him as she prepares to fire.
Discord strokes his beard for a moment as he thinks. "Hmm.... AHA! I know what to do!", he excitedly states as he conjures a coffee mug that's as big as he is. "I am now prepared for the after life. Fire when ready.", he says with a sly smile.
"SCREW WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE READY!", shouts Vegeta as he fires a volley of energy shots at Discord. The lord of chaos tilts his giant mug, all the shots reroute themselves into it, and turn into hot chocolate! Bulma yells loudly as she begins firing at her target, but all of her bullets deviate from their course as well, and turn into marshmallows!
Discord tilts his cup back, and drinks from his chaotic mug. "Mmmmmm. Now that hits the spot." He wipes away some chocolate on his beard as he says. "I'm hungry now, care to provide me with something to turn into food?"
Bulma and Vegeta stare at Discord in shock; completely dumbfounded by what he's capable of doing. Though they've had their fair share of his pranks for the last year, they're still not used to just what he can do.
____________________________________________________________________
CLOUDSDALE
"We may never know, Rainbow Dash. It's unlikely we'll ever see Vegeta again.", Silver replies.
"Lunalia might.", states Dash.
"Wait, what? What do you mean that she might?", Silver asks Dash.
"My friend that you met, Twilight Sparkle, got taken from us. None of us really know how, but she somehow opened some kind of portal to a different world, and got sucked inside. No pony knows just where she ended up, but Lunalia is the entire reason it happened. So she's been working on some super advanced spell that will let her jump to other worlds to find her.", Rainbow Dash explains.
"I.. I'm sorry."
"It's okay. Lunalia is gonna bring her back. She wants to set everything right. Because of her, everything changed that day. So much got screwed up. She targeted us because we were the Elements of Harmony. She broke all of us in some way, and now she wants to make it right by bringing Twilight back to us.", Dash continues to explain.
"I'm glad I decided to go to Cloudsdale, that day. After hearing about what happened to Twilight, and what Pinkie did to Star Binder, I'm not sure I could have handled seeing that....", Dash says as her ears slump and she looks down.
"What happened?", Silver asks in a very concerned manner.
"You have to know Pinkie to really understand. She lives and breathes to make other ponies happy! I still have no clue what exactly Star said to her, but after beating her half to death, she snapped on him! She didn't just kill him; she outright mutilated him! My other friends, Fluttershy and Rarity, saw the whole thing. Fluttershy can't even talk about it without fainting. It gave them more nightmares than watching Star murder Princess Cadance!", states Dash. As mental images flash through her mind, she shivers one time. "Scary..."
"It... it sounds like it was.", Silver responds.
Dash lets out a sigh before she continues speaking. "It doesn't stop there. Whatever happened to her.... I dunno anymore. Even after she recovered from her injuries, she stayed cooped up inside for awhile. She seems like she's back to normal now, but something still isn't right with her. Sometimes she talks to herself.... and not in the way we're used to! It's like she's talking to somepony we can't see!"
"Hey, I'm sure she'll be fine. Once Lunalia brings Twilight back, things with your friends will start to shape up again!", he says; trying to reassure her.
"I hope so. I'm afraid if this keeps up, we may start believing this pony she's talking to is actually there.", Dash says in an annoyed tone. "Anyway, I should really be going. I need to go get some food, and relax awhile before tonight. It was cool seeing you again."
"It was indeed. Take care of yourself, Rainbow Dash.", Silver Wind says with a smile as he waves her off.
Dash smiles, and waves back. She then spreads her wings, and takes off into the sky. As she loops around to the other side of Cloudsdale, she begins thinking to herself. "I wonder how much longer we gotta wait? How much longer will it be till Lunalia finishes her..... whatever that spell was called?"
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CANTERLOT CASTLE
Luna and Celestia are climbing a circular staircase that leads to the top of the tallest tower in the castle. A single, blue unicorn maid nervously trails behind them. "Three days.... You've heard nothing from her in three days, and you're only just now telling us!?", Celestia angrily asks her.
"I'm... I'm so sorry your majesty! Please do not be too angry with me.", she pleads as she cowers. "I - I - I was told only to disturb her if absolutely necessary. It's not uncommon for her to ignore my knocks at her door for dinner. This is the first time she's done so for this long. Please do not bring too harsh a punishment upon me!", she continues to beg.
Luna and Celestia look down at the pleading mare, and then back to the double doors that lead into the room. Luna knocks on the door.
No answer.
She does so again. "Mother? Are you okay? Can you hear us?", she asks, hoping for some kind of response.
Nothing. No response.
Celestia looks down at the maid. "Leave us."
She looks up to the princess of the sun. "But-"
"LEAVE US!", Celestia yells.
A look of terror grips the young maid, and she bolts down the stairs.
Luna uses her magic to unlock the door, and she and Celestia walk inside to find an empty room; an empty room that looks like it has not been used for several days. The large room has several tables with open books strewn across them. Writing is scribbled all over, not just papers on the tables, but even the floor itself. A light layer of dust has begun to settle on most of the room. It's clear that this room has not been disturbed for a little while.
"Where... Where is she!?", asks Celestia aloud as she searches around the room.
Luna looks around worriedly as well. "Sister.... you don't think she... turned again?"
Celestia looks Luna in the eyes. "No! We can't assume the worst! She was cleansed by the Elements! There is no way that she returned to her evil ways!"
Before Luna can offer a response, black energy begins to form in the center of the room. "What... what is that!?", Luna cries out. The energy grows in size, and black lightning arcs all around it. Luna and Celestia back themselves to a wall as the energy swells to cover a quarter of the large room. With one bright flash, the magical energy dissipates, and standing where it was is an adult alicorn. Her coat is as black as the night sky. Her mane and tail are a translucent violet, and dark green. Her eyes are a deep shade of blue, and her cutie mark is a pair of crescent moons connected back to back. She stands for just a moment with her wings spread wide, but she quickly loses her balance and stumbles to her knees.
"MOTHER!", Celestia and Luna both cry out at once.
Lunalia, the former queen of darkness, sits on her knees before them. She is sweating profusely, and practically gasping for air. "Mother, what is wrong!?", Celestia asks worriedly.
Lunalia struggles to raise up a hoof, and motion for them to give her a moment. As she gets her breathing under control, she manages to get out two words. "Three..... days....."
"We know, mother. You've been gone for three days. What happened?". Luna asks.
Lunalia shakes her head, and takes in several deep breaths. "No. In three days... gather everypony here." She looks up at them with a big grin on her face. "It's time."
C4- Putting Training to the Test
C3- A Quest for the Meek
"Fluttershy, it feels like we've been walking for hours!", Rarity loudly complains. "Could you please fly above the trees again to try and spot anything that looks familiar?", she begs.
"But Rarity, we've only been walking for about twenty minutes. I really don't think I'm going to see anything different.", Fluttershy responds.
Rarity stops her pegasus friend, and looks at her with pleading eyes. "Please, please, please, pleeeeeease!?", she continues to beg.
Fluttershy lets out a weak sigh. "Okay. I'll check again.", she agrees. She flaps her wings to lift herself from the ground, and pushes her way through the dense tree tops. When she breaches the canopy, she looks around for anything familiar. As she suspected, their surroundings remain unchanged. She pushes back to the ground below, and sits down in front of Rarity. She looks down to the ground and sighs. "Forests, mountains, and valleys as far as the eye can see..."
Rarity slumps her ears, and looks to the ground as well. "What... what happened? Why is this happening?" Fluttershy looks up to offer a response, but she's cut off by a very loud roar in the distance. The two mares look at each other with fear in their eyes, "F-F-F-Fluttershy... How far away do you think that was?", Rarity stutters out.
"It... it sounded pretty far away.", the meek pegasus replies after making a loud gulp sound. "I think we need to keep moving. We should get out of this forest before we run into whatever made that noise...", she suggests.
"I... I concur...", the fashion pony agrees. The two stand up, and begin walking at a fast pace in the opposite direction that the roar came from. They remain silent as they wade their way through the forest; trying to find some end to the wooded area they were forced into. After what seems like hours of walking, they finally reach the forests edge, and find themselves before a beaten dirt path. They can see another forest and more mountains in the distance, but the road stretches out away from all of it for an indeterminable distance.
"Thank goodness. We're FINALLY out of that forest! Let's rest for a moment while we have the chance.", says Rarity. Fluttershy simply nods in agreement. They both sit silently for a few moments; neither of them really wanting to broach the obvious subject of where they were.
Fluttershy finally breaks the silence between them. "Rarity... What do you think happened? Where are we? I don't remember there being some place like this in Equestria at all."
"Fluttershy... I... I don't know.", Rarity states as she begins to mentally retrace the steps of what happened. "Lunalia was casting her spell, there was the big explosion, and then we suddenly find ourselves here. I don't underst- ...wait...", Rarity stops herself as she comes to a sudden realization. She stares wide eyed at her pegasus friend. "We could be where Twilight is!"
Fluttershy jumps up to all fours and gasps. "That's right! We may have gotten caught up in her spell, and ended up where she intended to go! That means...", Fluttershy stops as she begins to think.
Rarity finishes the very thought Fluttershy was running through her mind. "That means it would only be a matter of time before Lunalia shows up! Even if we didn't end up in the exact same place, they must have noticed that we're gone! So it's only a matter of time before we're rescued! We may even be here to help bring Twilight home!", she excitedly explains.
Fluttershy flaps her wings several times in excitement, and then leans forward and tightly hugs Rarity. "We could be the first ones to see Twilight! This may not turn out to be so bad." Before any further words can be shared, the sound of the trees and bushes rustling next to them interrupts their thoughts. They break from the hug, and turn to see that they are being watched by something very big. It has an enormous head, brown leathery skin, and it was clear that its mouth contained a great number of large, sharp teeth.
Rarity nervously gulps and says, "Fluttershy... what is that?"
"It... It looks almost like a dragon... But the head is shaped differ-", Fluttershy's response is cut off as the beast opens its mouth and lets out a loud, bellowing roar! "RUN, RUN, RUN!", she quickly shouts, and she and her unicorn friend break off into a sprint down the road. The giant lizard roars again as it gives chase to them. They both look back to see that its massive size is allowing it to clear the small lead they had gained on it very quickly. It has two long, thick legs, tiny arms, and a long tail. Within moments, it was on top of them, and reaching down with its large head.
It attempts to bite down on both of them at the same time, but they split away from each other, and the beast falls down as it tries to correct its movement. They both rejoin, go around it, and begin to run as fast as they can in the opposite direction. "Oh please no! I don't want to be eaten by that big something! I'm too pretty to die like this!" , Rarity runs through her mind.
The beast is now back up, and in hot pursuit of its prey. Just like before, it quickly covers the distance between them. The two ponies once again attempt to break away from their pursuer, but Fluttershy trips and falls down! Rarity stops, and looks on in horror. Fluttershy looks up to see the creature bearing down on her. It opens its large mouth to reveal rows of massive, sharp teeth. No time to dodge. No time to run. Rarity screams, "SOMEPONY, PLEASE HELP US!!!!"
"POWER POLE, EXTEND!"
The maw of the beast is mere inches away from its prey, when a long, red staff cracks it over the head; forcing its mouth shut, and knocking it unconscious! Fluttershy stares at the beast. It was so close she could touch it with her nose. The beast slowly falls over, and kicks up a veil of dust upon impacting the ground. Rarity runs over to Fluttershy, whom is still frozen in fear. "Fluttershy! Are you okay!? Are you hurt!?", Rarity frantically asks as she wraps her forelegs around Fluttershy.
Fluttershy snaps to attention, and grabs hold of Rarity. "R-R-R-Rarity! That was... eep.", the pegasus lets out a squeak; unable to even finish her sentence. After several moments pass, the meek pegasus regains some of her composure, and is able to form complete sentences again. "That... That was too close, but I think I'm okay. What happened? I thought I saw a flash of red, and then it just stopped."
"I saw it too.", replies Rarity. "But, I could have sworn that I also heard somepony yell." The dust around them clears, and they begin looking around for the source of the yell. Standing at the edge of the road, just ahead of them, is a small creature that's holding a red staff. It stands on two legs, has a white complexion, is wearing a blue gi, and the only place it seems to have hair is on its head. Its hair is black, and seems to spike out in random directions. This strange creature stands shorter than them, and also has the tail of a monkey. The staff it's holding flashes once, and shrinks down to a smaller size. It then slides the staff into a sheath on its back.
Rarity and Fluttershy watch this creature carefully as it runs past them, and up to the large beast that was chasing them. Rarity thinks to herself, "Did this small thing do that!? What is it? Wait... that tail... is it a saiyan!?"
The small boy pokes the beast a few times. "Woohoo!", he shouts. "I never see dinosaurs this big out here! I'm gonna eat good today!", he happily says.
"Um... excuse me?", Rarity speaks, trying to get his attention. He turns his head towards her with a puzzled look on his face. "Did you do this? I mean... knock this beast out with one hit?"
He nods while having a big smile on his face. "Mhm. I was hungry, and it looked tasty, so I'm going to cook it up and eat it. And... hey...", the boy turns his head to the side and studies the unicorn for a moment. "I've never seen something like you here before. You look like a big marshmallow. Do you taste like one too?"
Rarity's face now bears a look of panic and disgust. "Ack! No! I am not a marshmallow, nor do I taste like one!", she loudly replies.
"Oh, okay. What are you then?", he asks. "I've never seen anything like either of you out here."
"I am a pony. A unicorn to be specific, and my friend here is a pegasus.", Rarity replies. She thinks for a moment, and realizes that neither of them even knows where 'here' is. "Um... You said you've never seen anything like us here. Where exactly is 'here'?", she asks the boy.
He cheerfully responds, "This is Mt. Paozu. I live out here."
Rarity looks over to Fluttershy, who is now back up to her hooves, and asks her. "Have you ever heard of Mt. Paozu? I don't believe I've ever heard of it."
Fluttershy shakes her head. "No. I've never heard of it either. Rarity... that means we really aren't in Equestria anymore. What are we going to do? And what if there are more big monsters like this out there? If this is where Twilight is, how will we find her?"
"I'm not sure.", Rarity responds. "We've got to stay calm and think of-", her words stop, and her face turns red from embarrassment as her stomach makes a loud growling sound.
The boy in front of her laughs. "Haha. It sounds like you're hungry."
"Ye-Yes... It would appear so.", Rarity nervously responds. "Well, we were walking through that forest for a long ti-", her words are cut short once again by the same sound, though not coming from her this time. "That wasn't me that time..."
The boy shakes his head. "It wasn't me either."
The two shift their gaze at the yellow pegasus that has, for the most part, remained quiet. She is intentionally looking away from the other two, but her face is clearly red from embarassment. She mutters out a weak, "E-Excuse me..."
"Haha. Looks like you're both hungry." Not one second after he finishes his sentence, the boys own stomach growls loudly. "Haha. Looks like all three of us are! Hey, if you want, you can both come back home with me and we can all eat together.", he suggests. "After all, I've got plenty of this thing to go around.", he says as he motions towards the dinosaur... that was now up and trying to slowly creep away from the group. "HEY!"
It turns its head to look at the boy. It had a very distinctive knot on the top of its head, its face bore a look of panic, and its eyes seem to be filling with tears. It let out a panicked roar as it bolted away from the group as fast as it could.
"HEY! GET BACK HERE! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE MY DINNER!", the boy shouts. "Awww... Now I have to hunt something else.", he says with disappointment.
"Was... was that thing crying?", Fluttershy whispers to Rarity.
"It looked like it...", she responds with a whisper of her own. "Fluttershy, do you think we should go with him?"
Fluttershy looks over to the small boy, and then back to Rarity. "He saved us from that big monster, and offered to feed us. He seems nice. It might be safer if we go with him."
"You're probably right about the safer part. It would be nice to have somewhere safe to sit, and think about what we should do next.", Rarity agrees. She looks back to the small boy that saved their lives. "Ahem, after discussing the matter at hoof, we have decided to take you up on your kind hospitality."
He gives her a confused look. "Hops in what?"
"Um... Your generosity?", she says with a raised eyebrow.
"My general what?", he questions again.
"Uh, she means, we thank you for your kindness.", Fluttershy says.
"Ohhhh. Okay! You're welcome!", he shouts after finally understanding what was said. He walks ahead of them, and motions for them to follow. "My home is this way.", he says, and begins to walk. As the two begin to follow, he turns around and walks backwards. "By the way, my name is Goku. What's yours?", he asks.
"How rude of us. We never made a proper introduction.", states Rarity. "I am Rarity."
"I'm... Fluttershy...", the shy pegasus says to introduce herself.
With introductions finally out of the way, the three converse as they make their way to their destination. Rarity and Fluttershy do their best to explain their situation to Goku, whom has lived in the mountains his entire life, and ask him questions about the area. He, in turn, asks them about themselves and where they came from.
"Goku, are you a saiyan?", Rarity asks.
"A saiyan? What does that taste like?", Goku responds.
"Do you think your other friend is out here?", Goku asks.
"We hope so.", replies Fluttershy. "We're really eager to see her again."
"That's so sad about your grandfather.", says Rarity.
"He's still kinda with me. So I see him every day. You'll meet him once we get to my home.", Goku replies.
It's now late afternoon, and the three finally arrive at Goku's small home. Goku is still full of energy, but Rarity and Fluttershy are barely dragging behind him. They are exhausted from the incredibly long walk. Goku looks behind him to see his two new friends can barely even walk at this point. "You two seem tired. Come inside. I'll let you meet my grandpa, and you can rest while I go get food."
Rarity looks ahead to see the very small building that Goku calls home. "Is that where he lives? That's barely a shack! I suppose I shouldn't complain. Anything is better than sleeping outside." , she thinks to herself.
They follow Goku inside, and once inside, they see something in the back of the small building that looks incredibly familiar: a small orange sphere that contains four red stars. Goku walks up to it, claps his hands together once, and performs a small bow in front of it. "Grandpa, thanks for looking out for me while I was out again today. I made two friends. This is Rarity, and Fluttershy. They're lost out here, and looking for another friend that's also lost."
The two ponies stare at the orange sphere; not quite sure how to respond to the situation. Fluttershy finally gives a small nod, and shyly says, "He-Hello... Sir..."
Goku grins wide. "Okay. You can both rest here, and I'll go get some food! Be back soon!", he shouts, and then heads out.
Rarity walks up to the object Goku was talking to, and stares into it. "Fluttershy... tell me I'm not hallucinating from exhaustion. Please tell me that I'm seeing what I think I am."
Fluttershy walks up to it as well. "It looks like a dragon ball, but it's so small. The ones we saw were a lot bigger than this."
"Do you remember the story Vegeta told us? The one he told us when we asked him about his past? When he came to earth, it was for the dragon balls. The size may be different, but the resemblance is too strong to deny.", Rarity explains.
Fluttershy gasps. "That's right! Maybe the dragon balls from earth are different from the ones on Namek."
"Fluttershy... This could be the answer to all of our problems."
"Wait... This dragon ball? What do you mean?", Fluttershy asks.
Rarity walks over to the opposite side of the ball, and looks at Fluttershy through it. "If we can somehow gather all seven of them, we could summon the dragon, and he could send us home!"
"But what about Twilight? Weren't you saying that this is probably where Twilight was, and that Lunalia will eventually show up? They have to notice that we've gone missing. She'll come for us. We just have to wait."
Rarity lets out a sigh. "Don't you remember what Lunalia said about that spell? In its early stages, it was gauranteed death to use it. Since she lost control of the spell, what if everyone thinks that we died? What if this isn't actually where Twilight is? I hate to say it, but we need to prepare for the worst, and hope for the best. If Lunalia is looking for us, then she'll find us regardless of where we are. But, if she's not..."
"I was hoping you wouldn't say that, Rarity. But, the dragon balls have their own problem altogether. We'd still have to find the other six. We don't know where they are, so how would we find them?", Fluttershy asks.
"I don't really know. But, given our situation, trying to find them is a much better alternative to sitting around and hoping for a rescue that may never come."
The two share no more words. They look at one another and simply nod. Their decision was made. Somehow, they had to complete a near impossible task. Somehow, this fashionista unicorn, and this animal loving pegasus were going to gather the dragon balls. Somehow... some way... they were determined to see Equestria again.
_________________________________________________________________
LUNALIA
Two pegasi soldiers are casually walking outside of a small farming village. "Tell me again why we're actually doing this, Spiral?", one asks to the other.
"Because, Cirrus, the villagers reported seeing some strange magic at the edge of the forest outside of their town. Everypony is still feeling on edge after the incident three months ago. So the king sent us here just to check things out.", he responds.
"Yeah, but it's gonna be nothing. She may have wiped out all of the royal family, except the king and both princesses, but she was beaten. There's no reason for anypony to be so skittish.", Cirrus says as he rolls his eyes.
"You may be right, but the king still doesn't know what caused her to go mad. So he's just being precautionary.", Spiral responds.
"Fine. Let's just do a quick check and get back." The two survey the area where the magical disturbance was reported, and seemingly turn up nothing. Cirrus leans up against a tree and says, "Hmph. See, it's like I said. Nothing."
Spiral lets out an annoyed groan. "Fine. Stand there and do nothing. I'm going to look around a bit more." He walks on ahead to continue looking
"You're wasting your time. You're not gonna find anything.", Cirrus calls out to him. Several moments pass by, and Spiral has offered no response. Cirrus walks to the other side of the tree, and sees Spiral several yards ahead with a look of pure terror on his face. He rolls his eyes and trots over to him. "You'd better not be trying to trick-", he cuts himself short, and his eyes go wide with fear as sees what Spiral has found.
"C-C-C-C-Cirrus... You're the faster f-f-f-flyer. G-G-G-Get back to th-th-th-the castle, and inform the k-k-k-king. He's the only one who could hope to deal with this.", Spiral nervously stutters out.
"You don't have to tell me twice.", Cirrus states, and takes to the sky.
Spiral watches Cirrus fly away. "Oh please hurry. If she wakes up, I won't be able to fly faster than her grasp of death...", he says as he looks down at the unconscious body of Lunalia.
C5- Apple Against the Machine
C4- Putting Training to the Test
Rainbow Dash watches as the creature that is floating high above the ground launches pink energy waves at its two opponents. She can't clearly tell if they successfully dodged or not, due to the distance between herself and the fight. "Okay, I have no idea what's going on. I have no idea where I am, and except for these guys, it looks like there's no pony around for miles." , she ponders as she watches the creature that was high up descend back to the ground.
"Whoa, this fight looks like it would be intense to watch, but I can't really see too well from this far away. I wanna watch, but I don't wanna get dragged into it either. Hmmmm..." , she thinks for a moment as she breaks her eyes away from the fight, and looks into the sky. "Hey! I have an idea!" Dash takes off into the sky as fast as she can, without using ki. She grabs a cloud, and pushes it over the combatants; just low enough so she can clearly see and hear what's going on, but high enough so her cloud will go unnoticed. "That's better. Now I can tell what's happening."
As she looks down on the fight, she picks out the physical features of all three fighters. All three of them were bi-pedal creatures. The one that fired the energy waves earlier easily stood six feet tall. He had long, black, spiky hair. He wore some kind of strange armor, and had on gloves and boots that matched that. The armor was a flat brown and black color, and it matched the contour of his body; with the exception of the shoulders and the parts of the leggings. The legs themselves had no armor, except for what hung down from the main piece. He also wore some kind of green lens over his left eye.
One of the others looked similar to him in appearance, except he was slightly shorter, wore an orange gi, and had shorter hair that spiked out in random directions. Now that Dash had a much better vantage point, she could clearly see that the last one was a Namekian . Green skin, two antennae on its head, and it wore brown shoes and a set of sleeveless clothes that was a very dark shade of purple; almost black. He was also missing an arm. "Wow! That blast must have gotten him! I wonder why these guys are fighting? Who's the good guy? Who's the bad guy? Is there even a good guy, or bad guy?" , she thinks to herself as she watches.
The armored creature lets out a boisterous laugh, and begins to speak with great sarcasm. "HAHAHAHA! Excuse me, could you help me find my arm? You can't miss it. It's green!"
The one wearing the orange gi quickly rushes from where he is to check on his ally. "Piccolo, can you keep going?", he asks him.
"Yeah, Goku. Even with one arm I can keep fighting.", Piccolo says as he covers the open wound with his only remaining hand. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to have any new techniques you've been saving, would you?"
"Hehe. Nah, I've got nothing new.", Goku replies.
"Ha. While you've been slacking off, I've been working in earnest to develop a new attack.", states Piccolo.
"Can you use it with only one arm?", asks Goku.
"Yeah, I can manage it like this. But it takes quite a bit of time to charge up the ki necessary to use it. While I do this, you'll need to attack him by yourself to keep him distracted.", Piccolo explains.
"You got it.", Goku agrees. At this point, their foe begins slowly inching his way towards them.
"I had been saving this technique to kill you with.", says Piccolo.
"And now you might end up saving me with it?", retorts Goku.
"Hmph. If I manage to kill him with this, you'll be next."
"All right. I can't wait to see it. Now, let's see if I can keep him bottled up!" Goku slaps his hands together, and then yells out as he charges his foe head on! "HYAAAAAH!"
Goku & Piccolo vs Raditz
Rainbow Dash watches in disbelief as Goku charges alone. "Is that guy crazy!? They both got knocked around with ease when they fought together! What's he gonna do by himself!?" Goku clashes with his opponent; his attacks easily being blocked and dodged. Piccolo hunches over and tenses up. He takes the pointer and middle fingers of his only remaining hand, and begins concentrating his ki into them. A blue energy aura surrounds him, and electricity crackles around his hand. "Whoa... what's he doing? Is he charging up some big attack? The other guy might be running a distraction! That's actually really smart! This fight is totally worth watching!" , Dash thinks to herself as she leans on the edge of the cloud; really starting to get into the fight.
Goku's punches and kicks are being blocked and dodged with little effort. His opponent finally decides to retaliate, and lets loose a quick volley of punches; none of which are blocked or evaded. Goku's foe hits him in the stomach with a strong kick, and knocks him back a good distance. Goku quickly regains his senses before he can hit the ground, and hand springs himself high into the air! "Tch. You sure are persistent.", says the armored man.
Goku eyes his foe from high in the air, cups his hands together, and brings them down by his side. "Ka... me...", he begins to say.
The green lens on his opponents eye begins to beep, and display symbols. "What!? My scouter ... his power level is going up!" He looks over at Piccolo, whom is still charging his attack. "What!? His power is rising too! One thousand and twenty... and still going up!"
"Ha... me...", Goku continues as a blue ball of energy takes form in his hands.
"WHOA! This is getting really intense! This isn't some practice fight like the ones I've been in. These guys are really going for broke!" , Dash thinks to herself as her wings flare up... and her own power begins to slowly escalate as she loses herself in the fight.
"... HA!", Goku shouts as he unleashes his signature Kamehameha wave! His foe dodges around the initial blast, but Goku shifts his hands and the beam follows his opponent! He attempts to dodge and outrun the beam, but Goku continues to shift its direction to make it follow him.
He finally turns around and shouts, "You've got some nerve!" He sticks his hand out, and the kamehameha explodes against it! The ground around him explodes as Goku's signature attack is completely canceled out.
Goku floats high in the air; a look of complete disbelief on his face. "He... he caught it..."
"Grrr.... HERE! You're big brother Raditz has a present for you!", shouts Raditz as he fires his own energy wave at Goku! The attack reaches Goku much quicker than he anticipates, and he takes it full force! The attack rips apart his gi, and knocks him from the sky. The moment he lands on the ground, Raditz is on top of him. Raditz rears back with his fist, and prepares to deliver a killing blow! "Now, die!" He lunges his fist forward, but stops short as his scouter begins beeping again. The arrows on his scouter direct his gaze back to Piccolo. "Power level... one thousand three hundred and thirty!? He's concentrating all of his power into his finger tips! D-Darn! These guys can manipulate their power level at will!"
Piccolo smirks at Raditz. "Take this on!" He throws his hand forward and shouts, "MAKANKOSAPPO !" A spiraling beam of energy shoots at Raditz at lightning speed! Piccolo's new attack pierces through Raditz's armor with ease, and destroys the top of a mountain that's off in the distance. Piccolo looks through the veil of smoke created from his attack for any sign of life; hoping that he hit his mark. To much dismay, and despite the speed behind his attack, Raditz was able to sidestep his attack, and received only minimal damage. "He... He dodged it...", Piccolo says with a look of worry.
"Wow, what a let down. I really thought that was gonna do it." , Dash thinks to herself as she continues watching.
Raditz's right shoulder guard is destroyed, and the shoulder is bleeding from being grazed by the attack. "To think that you'd actually injure me... You're going to pay for that!", states Raditz as he raises his left hand into the air, and begins collecting ki into it. A ball of energy takes form, and he begins to throw it. "See you in Hell!" Before he can launch his attack, the energy in his hand disipates, and he stumbles to the ground.
"Hehehe. You let your guard down.", Goku states as he tightly grips Raditz's tail.
"What the... a tail!? Is that guy a saiyan!? And if he is, why did he suddenly fall over from his tail being grabbed? Is that some kind of weakness that they have?" , Dash asks herself.
Raditz looks up at Goku; appearing to be straining just to turn his head. "When did you manage to...", he grunts out.
"Piccolo! Start charging that attack of yours!", Goku shouts at Piccolo.
"Goku! You've really outdone yourself! Now hold on tight to him! I can only do this one more time!", Piccolo shouts back, and begins charging the energy needed for his makankosappo again.
"Looks like they've got him! Hmmm... This is still really intense, but I was kind of hoping to find out why they were fighting." , Dash thinks to herself
Raditz strains himself to continue speaking. "K-Kakarrot, y-you would kill your only brother?"
Goku looks down at Raditz in anger. "Shut up! I told you, anyone as cruel as you ain't my brother! Don't you talk about yourself like that, not after you were about to kill me!"
"I-I'll stop! I've had a change of heart! I'll leave this planet without any more trouble!", Raditz pleads.
"Don't fall for it, Goku!", shouts Piccolo. "He doesn't mean what he says! There's no way he's going to do that!"
"P-Please, believe me, my brother!", Raditz continues to beg. "Sure, I've done a lot of terrible things up to now, i-including to you! But, I will keep my promise to you!"
"Y-You mean it?", Goku asks.
"I-I mean it!", responds Raditz, whom is still straining to speak.
"N-No! Don't let go of his tail! That's his ploy!", shouts Piccolo in fear.
"Please, Kakarrot! Believe me!", Raditz continues to plead with his younger brother.
"Goku, no!", shouts Piccolo as he watches his ally let go of their only chance of victory.
Goku releases his grip on Raditz's tail. The elder brother lets out a low chuckle, and slowly gets up from the ground. "HRAAH!", he grunts out as he delivers a devastating elbow to Goku's face! The attack sends Goku flying, and Raditz is on top of him the moment he lands. Raditz drives the heel of his boot into Goku's stomach, and he cries out in pain. "In all my years I've never met anyone as dumb as you!"
"Th-That was dirty!", Goku stutters out.
"Tch. Unlike you, I'm a first-class warrior! I won't hesitate to kill anyone, even my own brother!", states Raditz as he drives the heel of his boot into Goku's stomach again, and he lets out a cry of pain.
"THAT WAS CHEAP!" , Dash shouts in her mind. "His opponent was willing to let him go, and he double-crossed him! That was low down, and dirty! He's willing to kill his own brother after being shown mercy! He's definitely the bad guy! Guys like him just... just... THEY JUST PISS ME OFF!" , Dash runs through her mind as her anger builds to the boiling point.
Raditz's scouter begins beeping, and displays more arrows. "What's this?" He turns his head to look at Piccolo, but the arrows on his scouter weren't directed at him. "Huh? They're pointing up?" He shifts his gaze towards the sky, and his scouter hones in on an unusually low cloud. He presses a button on the side of his scouter to get a reading on what it was picking up. "Power level... six hundred and ten... and it's steadily rising! You thought you could hide someone for a surprise attack!? Pathetic!", he shouts as he blasts an energy wave at the cloud.
"He's firing that at me!" , Dash runs through her mind. She rolls off the cloud just in time to avoid taking the attack head on. Though she narrowly avoids taking any damage, the attack was close enough to shred off the entire underside of her Wonderbolts' uniform. Dash floats down to the ground, and scowls at Raditz. "Jerk! I wasn't even involved! I was just watching! Why did you attack me!?", she angrily shouts at him.
"If you weren't planning to attack me, then why were you raising your power!?", Raditz shouts back.
"I didn't realize it! I was getting into the fight, and then I got really mad watching you double cross your own brother! That was a dirty play!", Dash shouts back.
"Ha! Whatever it takes to survive! I'm still standing, and he's barely alive! Whoever survives is all that counts in the end! And since you're so mad about double-crossing my brother, why don't you step up and do something about it?", Raditz arrogantly suggests.
"Because this isn't my fight. I didn't want to be here, but I'm here anyway. I don't know you, and I don't know either of these guys. I have no idea why you were even fighting to begin with. Just leave me out of this!"
Raditz rears back with his leg, and kicks Goku towards Piccolo. He then crosses his arms, cocks his head to the side, and arrogantly smiles. "Heh. And what if I don't?"
"My uniform is completely ruined because of this guy, and now he's threatening me without even knowing me. I'm not involved with this, and he's intentionally trying to drag me into it. I have no idea just how strong this guy really is, but it looks like I don't have a choice. Time to put all of that training to the test..." , Dash thinks to herself. She narrows her eyes at Raditz and says, "Then you'll make this my fight..."
Raditz throws his head back, and laughs aloud. "Your power level is holding steady at six hundred and fifty. Do you honestly expect to do any better than they did?"
"You've been shouting stuff about numbers and power levels this whole time! What are you talking about!?"
"Th-That thing on his face... it shows an opponents strength and location!", Goku shouts at Rainbow Dash.
"Strength and location... that's it! That's what he meant when he was shouting about their power level going up! Their energy was spiking up as they were attacking him, so he knew it was coming! That's why he knew that Namekian was about to attack him! But that means that thing only shows how much power you're pumping out at the moment. So..." , Dash says in her mind as she thinks about the situation. "Fine. You want me in this fight so badly? You got me.", she shouts to Raditz. She sits down, and starts to tear off what's left of her Wonderbolts uniform.
Goku has managed to work himself up to one knee. "P-Piccolo... C-Can you manage that attack one more time while he's distracted with that thing?"
"Tch. It would be a waste of time. He'll just dodge it again without something holding him in place.", states Piccolo. "But... I may not even have to use it..." Goku gives Piccolo a confused look, and then returns his gaze to the fight that is about to take place before them.
As Dash slowly tears away her uniform, the events that led to this moment play through her mind. "Darnit... I should be focused on finding out exactly where I am, and how to get back. Did Rarity and Fluttershy end up in this world? Is this where Twilight is? And why in the world does this guy want to fight me? Then again... isn't that what a saiyan is all about? Saiyans are natural born fighters. I guess... I guess I'll have to think about all this after the fact. For now..." Dash finishes tearing off her uniform. She pulls off her goggles, and then tosses everything aside. She stands back up, closes her eyes, and lets out a deep breath. She flares out her wings, opens her eyes, and yells, "IF YOU WANT ME, SAIYAN, THEN COME AND GET ME!"
Rainbow Dash vs Raditz
Raditz charges at Dash as he shouts, "YOUR EFFORTS ARE USELESS!" He quickly closes the gap between them, and attempts a punch directly to her face. Dash jumps over Raditz, and lands behind him. As he turns around, she launches at him, and throws a volley of fast punches at her target! He manages to weave around her attacks, but he's having a harder time doing so than he thought he would. He blocks a few of her hits, and manages to land a punch of his own. The attack knocks her back, but she drags her hooves across the ground to stop herself. "Impossible! How could she be that fast with a power of six- What!? Her power has risen to eight hundred and seventy! She's not even charging an attack! How is this possible!?"
Dash flares her wings out, and launches herself at Raditz to resume her assault! She meets him with another flurry of blows, and he now has to put real effort into his movements to avoid her attacks. He raises an arm to block one of her strikes, and attempts to return with one of his own. She raises a wing to block his attack, and then uses a foreleg to throw his arm out of the way. She then drives at his face with a rising knee. He narrowly avoids the attack by tilting his head back, but he's unable to avoid her next strike. She quickly spreads her wings to stop herself, and rotates hard to deliver a powerful kick to the right side of his head! The attack sends him flying, and he hits the ground with a loud crash!
He quickly stumbles back to his feet, and his eyes widen at the reading on his scouter. "Eleven hundred!? This can't be!" She drives in at her foe with a punch, but he manages to catch her hoof. She throws a punch with her other foreleg, but he catches that one as well. Now locked in a struggle for power control, they stare each other down. Her power continues to increase, and Raditz now realizes her power is currently equal to his own. "Twelve hundred!? Nothing on this pathetic planet should be as strong as me!"
"Ha! Thanks for telling me how strong you are! Now get a load of how strong I really am! HAAAAAAA!", Dash starts to shout as she begins focusing on bringing her power to its peak. Raditz watches in horror as her power not only surpasses his own, but goes above and beyond what he's capable of handling!
1300... 1400... 1500... 1600... 1700...
"Piccolo, do you feel that!? That thing is putting out some intense ki!", Goku says in amazement.
1800... 1900... 2000... 2100... 2200...
"I thought I felt a strong power coming from it, but I didn't even imagine it was this strong!", Piccolo replies, also in shock at what he's feeling. "Darn. One more obstacle in my way of world conquest..."
2300... 2400...
"Two thousand four hundred!? You're twice as strong as me!?", Raditz shouts, still stunned by what his scouter is reading.
"Twice? No! I can still push just a little farther!", Dash shouts back.
2500... 2600!
As Rainbow Dash reaches her full power, she pulls out of her power lock with Raditz, and drives both of her forehooves into his stomach; easily breaking through his armor! Raditz has no defense against her strike, and he's sent skidding across the ground. Once he finally stops, he struggles to get back to his feet; the attack from his much stronger opponent having taken a serious toll on him. He grits his teeth in anger at his foe; his rage building to its boiling point. He holds his left hand up in the air, and begins charging up a powerful energy ball. "I AM A FIRST-CLASS SAIYAN WARRIOR! I WON'T DIE BY YOUR HANDS!"
"Hey, doofus! I don't have hands!", Dash retorts.
"HRA! PISS OFF!", Raditz shouts as he hurls the attack at Rainbow Dash! She makes no effort to dodge, and she seems to take his attack head on! The attack violently explodes on contact with its target, and kicks up a large cloud of smoke and debris. Raditz clutches his stomach from her earlier attack. "Darn... her power caught me by surprise. She really got me, but I've got more than enough power to wipe out these other two. Ha, that's what she gets for taking a first-class saiyan so ligh-", his words are cut off by the sound of his scouter. He presses a button on it, and his eyes widen in fear. "No... it can't be!" His scouter was still reading power from his opponent, and it hadn't dropped in the least.
The smoke clears to reveal Rainbow Dash is completely unharmed. Her wings are covering her front where she took the attack. Her wings uncover her front, but remain fully extended from her sides. She stares down her foe, and stands up on her hind legs. She extends her wings and forelegs towards Raditz. Now, it was her turn.
A bead of sweat runs down the side of Raditz's face, and he takes a step back. "What... What are you!?"
As Rainbow Dash charges ki into her forelegs and wings, her memories return to a certain moment during her training.
"What if I ever get into a fight with somepony that won't back down? How will I know if I need to... ya know?", Rainbow Dash asks Titan Hoof.
"Kill your enemy? This is a question you already have the answer to. Look at the last fight you had. You killed Thundering Sky yourself. The next time you have a serious fight, and you wonder whether or not killing your opponent is the right thing to do, just remember the thoughts you had at that moment. Cling to those, and you will have your answer.", he responds.
"He intentionally drug me into a one on one fight that I had no part in. He was willing to kill his own brother to stay alive. He tried to kill me without even knowing who I was. This guy is going down!" , Dash shouts to herself in her mind, as blue energy begins to swirl in a tight ball between her forelegs and wings. "What am I? I am a pegasus pony from Equestria! My name is Rainbow Dash, and I am your worst nightmare!"
"P-Please. Spare me, and I'll leave in peace!", Raditz pleads.
"You had your chance to leave! Now take on everything you've tried doing to us!" Electricity crackles around the energy ball that is now almost a foot in diameter. "See if you can dodge this! SONIC WAVE SPHERE!" Rainbow Dash fires the tightly packed ball of energy at her opponent, and it reaches him faster than he can react! It impacts his stomach, and grinds against him until it breaks through his armor! After breaking through his armor, the power of the attack pierces straight through him with relative ease, and Raditz now has a gaping hole in his stomach!
He falls down to the ground, coughing up blood. Dash drops back down to all fours, and lets out a deep breath. All three that he had tried to kill approach him. Goku looks over to Dash. "That was incredible..."
"Hmph. If you think that was awesome, you should see the guys that trained me. My power is still a drop in the bucket compared to theirs.", Dash replies.
"Quiet, both of you.", Piccolo says to Dash and Goku. He looks down at Raditz and asks, "How long do we have?"
"Hehehe", Raditz barely manages to laugh as he coughs up more blood. "S-So you haven't forgotten. G-good. Once... th-they finish with the planet they're on... one year. They'll be here... in one year." He struggles to raise up his left arm, and he weakly points at Rainbow Dash. "A-And... they're both... much stronger than her." Raditz begins coughing uncontrollably; spitting up even more blood. He breathes in one final deep breath, and air escapes his lungs for the last time.
The weight of the situation they are in begins to take its toll on Goku and Piccolo. Goku clenches a fist. "Grr... We were nothing but jokes to him. And in one year, two more saiyans will show up that make this guy look like a joke..."
Rainbow Dash takes a step back. "Stronger than me?", she questions aloud; completely unaware of the events that she has just altered. By stepping into the fight with Raditz, she has unknowingly changed the course of the future of this world. "What have I gotten myself into..."
_______________________________________________________
CANTERLOT CASTLE, EQUESTRIA
TWO HOURS AFTER THE INCIDENT
Celestia looks on at the remains of the tower they were in when the meteor struck the castle. The meteor caused heavy damage to the castle, and caused the tower they were in to collapse not long after they had evacuated it. She lets out a sorrowful sigh. Though there is a disaster being tended to within the confines of her own castle, she's more concerned about her mother and the friends of her student.
A black stallion pegasus approaches her from behind. "Your highness. Lieutenant Night Haze, reporting."
Without turning around to face him she says, "Status report on the situation?"
"Yes, your highness. We have finished searching the area around the point of impact, and cleared away the wreckage. We have seventeen injured, and...", he pauses for a moment; bracing himself for what he has to say next, "four confirmed dead."
"I... see... Have the families been notified?", she asks; a noted sadness in her tone.
"Yes, your highness. We have also recovered the meteor itself. This... this is something you need to see."
This time she turns around to face him; her face now bearing a look of confusion. "Oh?" He bows to her, and then he leads Celestia through the castle to where the meteor is being held. As they walk, they pass by the point of impact. The crater from the meteor is large. The roof and surrounding walls lay crumbled on the ground. Construction crews are surveying the damage, and deciding on the best method to fix the damage. Though she is saddened by the loss of four of her subjects, she stands tall, and tries not to show the worry that is quickly building in her heart.
Night Haze shows her to small room, and he takes his place standing at the door. Inside are several unicorns that are carefully examining the "meteor" that struck the castle. It was roughly three feet in diameter, and was made of a strange metal that she could not identify. It was a perfect sphere shape, with the exception of several rods that extended from it on each side. There were also several, small, blinking lights on it. The object that lay on the table in front of her was clearly not a rock from space. This was built by something.
"What is this, what could have built it, and why is it here!?"
C5- Apple Against the Machine
"Seriously, where in the hay am ah?", Applejack says aloud as she walks through the devastated city; carefully studying her surroundings. "Big explosion, magic lightnin' goin' everywhere... Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash all got blasted, and then they up n' disappeared.", she says to herself as she mentally retraces what happened. "Wonder if they're all around here somewhere? Guess it's worth a shot."
Applejack takes in a very deep breath. "RARITY! FLUTTERSHY! RAINBOW DASH! Y'ALL OUT HERE!? HELLO! SOMEPONY!? ANYPONY!?" She stands still, and doesn't make any noise; trying hard to listen for any kind of response. She waits for some time, and keeps her ears to the wind. But, much to her disappointment, she hears nothing. She lets out a heavy sigh, hangs her head low, and continues to aimlessly wander. "How could this day have turned out so bad? We were all happy about gettin' Twi back, and then..." , Applejack thinks to herself.
She stops dead in her tracks as a single idea provides a glimmer of hope. "What if this is where Twilight was s'posed to be!? Maybe everypony else is somewhere out there too! That means Lunalia 'll eventually show up, and we can all go home!" , as these thoughts run through her mind, Applejack begins to excitedly skip; not quite paying attention to where she's going. "Yeehaw! This may not turn out to be so bad! Just stick this out for a bit, and ah'll be right back at the farm; apple buckin' mah way through-" , her thoughts are cut when she trips over something on the ground. She rolls forward several feet, and comes to a stop with her hind quarters sticking straight into the air.
"Aw, pony feathers. Ya figure ah'd know how to watch where ah'm goin'.", she says as she stands back up, and dusts herself off. "What'd ah trip over, anyway? Ah didn't step in a hole." She turns around to look for what she tripped over. Her eyes go wide with shock, and an icy chill runs down her spine as she locks onto the culprit: a skeleton. She can't identify what this creature originally was, but it definitely wasn't equine in origin. This creature would have been taller than her, and had feet and hands instead of hooves. She makes a loud gulp, and slowly walks backwards. "On second thought, ah really shouldn't be actin' so calm right now. Ah should find a safe place to hole up, n' stay put till Lunalia comes a callin'."
Applejack resumes walking, though she's being much more careful this time. She makes her way to the end of a street, and is preparing to round a turn when she hears a female voice scream, "IT'S THE ANDROIDS! RUN!"
Applejack stops as she hears the loud scream. "Androids? The hay... wait... Ah've heard that word before. But where?" Before she can prod her memory for the answer, the ground begins to violently shake, and she can hear loud explosions coming from the street she was about to walk down! She hears more screams of terror, and she can see billows of smoke rising from where she was about to turn. She stands in place; confused, afraid, and unable to bring herself to move. One by one, all the screams are silenced, and the explosions finally subside. "Ah... Ah think ah should be goin somewhere else...", Applejack nervously speaks to herself.
Applejack manages to force herself to slowly take several steps back. "Okay... j-just slowly creep away...", she stutters under her breath. She turns away from the street she was about to go down, and tries to walk away from whatever ill fate awaited her on the other side.
"Well, what do we have here?", a male voice says from behind her.
Applejack stops mid-step, and her eyes go wide with fear. "In the name of Celestia, please let this be somethin' jus' askin' what ah am..." , she runs through her mind in a panic. She slowly turns her head to look at the source of the voice. Standing behind her were two creatures she had never seen before. Judging by their frames, the skeleton she found earlier would have belonged to something like them. Both of them stood almost two feet taller than her.
One was a man . He had white skin, shoulder length black hair, and blue eyes. He wore a black shirt, blue jeans, a brown belt, and had a large orange bandanna tied around his neck. He also had on blue and white tennis shoes, green socks, and gold hoop earrings. His shirt had a strange red symbol on it. It looked similar to a bow tie, and had a white R printed on each side. The other was a woman . She too had white skin, blue eyes, and shoulder length hair; although hers was blonde instead of black, and the left side was tucked behind her ear. She wore a blue jean jacket and skirt, a long sleeved black undershirt that has black and white striped sleeves, dark blue stockings, and brown boots.
A bead of sweat slowly crept down the side of Applejacks' face. She had no idea what these creatures were, but she felt in her heart that she had every reason to fear them.
Fear
"Well, Eighteen, what do you think it is?", the man asks the woman.
"It looks like a small horse. A pony, maybe? But why is it orange?", the woman, called Eighteen, responds. "Oh look, Seventeen, someone must have thought it would be cute to tattoo apples on its' flanks, and give it a little cowboy hat." Their words carry a cold, callous feel. With each syllable uttered, Applejack could feel her heart race faster and faster. Her mind screamed for her to try and run, but her body refused to respond to the pleas.
Where her legs refused to budge, her mouth instead began to move. "Um... A-actually... That's mah... mah cutie mark. I-It's not a t-tattoo. And th-the hat is mine...", she nervously stutters out.
Their eyes go wide for a moment at hearing Applejack speak. "Well, it looks like it can talk, and it sounds like it's afraid of us. Eighteen, why don't we show it that it has no reason to be afraid.", Seventeen says with an evil smirk.
"That sounds like a good idea, Seventeen.", replies Eighteen, and she begins walking toward Applejack.
The orange earth pony is still unable to force herself to run. She feels her blood run cold as Eighteen bends down to look her eye to eye. Eighteen extends her arm, and gently rubs Applejacks' right cheek with her hand. There is no warmth to be felt; only the cold, lifeless hand of a human turned machine. It's at this moment that the young farm pony remembers where she's heard the term 'android'.
"My own son, Trunks, came to us from twenty years in the future to tell us about powerful new enemies that were going to arrive in the near future. They were artificially created humans called 'androids'. Their power would be far beyond anything we had ever faced, and would wipe us all out if we weren't prepared. His world had been all but destroyed because of them, and he was the only fighter left."
"You won't have any reason to be afraid...", says the android; just before grabbing Applejack by the throat! "... for much longer." Applejack grabs her arm with her fore hooves; trying to break free from her grip. She finds herself hopelessly over-powered as Eighteen hoists her from the ground with only one hand.
Not wanting to give up just yet, Applejack stutters out. "It-it can't be over yet. N-not till ah let y-y'all meet two of mah close f-friends."
Eighteen narrows her eyes at the farm pony. "Oh? And who would that be?", she nonchalantly questions.
Applejack wraps her forelegs tightly around Eighteen's arm, and swings her hind legs back. "Say hello to Bucky McGillicutty, and Kicks McGee!" She swings forward with every ounce of strength she has, and drives her rear hooves into Eighteens' face! "How'd y'all like that!?", she says as she brings her hind legs back down.
Eighteen doesn't so much as flinch, and her grip on Applejacks' throat slightly tightens. The farm pony feels her heart skip a beat as the android tells her, "Your 'friends' got dirt on my face."
As more and more oxygen is cut off from her body, Applejack begins to realize that this could very well be the end. Her life begins to flash before her eyes, and her hopes and dreams begin to fade. "This... This is really it. Ah'm gonna die in some strange place. Never gonna see Twi' again... Never get to see home again... Ah'll never get to see Applebloom grow up..." , she runs through her mind. She's fighting a losing battle to stay conscious. Her strength begins to wane, and her forelegs drop to her side.
Eighteen pulls her free arm back, clenches her fist, and takes aim at Applejacks' head. "Goodbye, little pony.", she says as she lunges her fist forward.
Savior
Just before her lethal punch can connect, the ground around them violently explodes! Eighteen drops Applejack, and she and Seventeen cross their arms over their faces. Applejack catches a brief glimpse of a figure, shrouded in gold energy, collide with Eighteen, and sends her flying into a building! Seventeen rushes the mysterious figure, and attempts to strike him with a kick. Her unknown savior barely ducks the attack, and fires a powerful energy wave at Seventeen from point-blank range. The beam knocks Seventeen into the same building as his counterpart.
After several moments pass, the inside of the building flashes brightly, and then it comes crumbling to the ground. Seventeen and Eighteen come walking out of the cloud of dust created from the crumbling building, and find that their quarry and the one whom attacked them are no where in sight. "Tch. Darn that Trunks ! He's starting to piss me off!", Eighteen shouts in anger.
"He couldn't have gotten far. Let's flush him out.", suggests Seventeen. He holds out his hands, and begins to wildly fire energy blasts at his surroundings. Eighteen soon follows suit.
Applejack and the man who saved her life are hunkered down in a sewer, while the city streets above them are being ravaged by the angry androids. The young man is tall, muscular, has a light tan, and blue eyes. His hair is short, part in the middle, and is light purple in color. He is wearing dark grey pants, a black tank top, gold boots, and an indigo jacket with a strange looking symbol on the sleeves.
"An animal!? I saw the hair and hat, and thought this was a person. I could have been killed saving a horse!", the young man says with an irritated tone.
"Ah ain't no horse, and ah sure as hay ain't no animal!", Applejack shouts in return. "And... thank you. Ah'd a been a goner if ya hadn't a shown up when ya did.", she thanks.
He stares in shock for a moment; not having expected the orange pony to speak. "N-No problem..."
The explosions get louder, and the ceiling above them begins to crack. Applejack looks up. "Uh, Ya got somewhere safe we could get to? Ah'm not from 'round here, and Ah'd like to kinda not die before ah can get home."
"Um... Yeah. It will be much safer back at my home." he responds; still unsure of just what to think of a talking pony. He bends down and motions for her to get on his back. "Here. Hop on. We need to move faster than we'll be able to run."
"With what he was doin' earlier, guess this guy can fly too." , she ponders. She carefully climbs onto his back, and tightly wraps her forelegs around his neck.
"Hold on tight." A white ki aura surrounds them, and they take flight through the sewers at high speed.
Applejacks' hat flies off her head. By the time she turns her head to look back, they've already made several turns, and she's lost sight of where it fell. "Pony feathers..."
After more than an hour of flying through the sewers, the two finally make their way back to the streets. He motions for her to follow him into a building. Once inside, they're greeted by an older looking woman with long blue hair that was pulled into a pony tail. "Trunks! Where have you been!?", she shouts with concern.
"Trunks... did she just say Trunks!?" , Applejack questions in her mind. "The androids... the way everythin' is all destroyed... Did I end up in that bad future where everyone was dead!?"
"I'm sorry, mother. I went out scavenging for machine parts, and ran into the androids. One of them was about to kill what I thought was woman, so I intervened.", Trunks responds.
"You jumped in!? You know you're no match for them! You could have been... Wait, what? What you thought was a woman?", the woman questions. She finally notices Applejack standing behind him. "Is that what they were about to kill?", she asks with a puzzled look on her face.
"Yes, mother. All I could see at first was the hair and cowboy hat she was wearing at the time. I got the drop on them, and got us away before they could react.", Trunks replies.
Applejack walks up to the woman that Trunks was calling mother, sits down, and extends her hoof. "Hi there. Ah'm Applejack.", she greets.
The woman slowly extends her hand, and cautiously shakes Applejacks' hoof. "I'm... Bulma."
"Bulma and Trunks. It's a pleasure to meetcha both. Hearin' those names... There's one thing ah gotta ask." She turns to look at Trunks. "Are you Vegeta's son?"
Bulma and Trunks' eyes go wide, and their jaws drop in shock. "H-How do you know about my father!?", Trunks frantically asks.
Applejack clears her throat. "Well, ya see, a year ago..." Applejack tells them the story of who she is, where she came from, her interactions with Vegeta, and how she came to this world. Trunks and Bulma listen intently to her story.
"So, he actually mentioned us both?", Bulma asks.
"Sure did. This whole time travel thing y'all gone do 'll work out just fine. Wait... have y'all done that yet?", Applejack asks.
Trunks shakes his head. "No. The time machine won't be ready to depart until tomorrow morning. I'll make the first trip then, and get in contact with Goku. The machine takes a long time to charge, so I won't be able to make the second trip back to help fight the androids for some time."
"I'm against you going back to help Goku fight, but... hearing that everything will work out in the end is giving me reassurance of the matter.", says Bulma. "Applejack, what will you do? Do you have any idea how to get back to your home?"
The orange pony shakes her head. "Nah, no clue. Only thing ah know to do is wait for Lunalia to show up, but there's no way to know fer sure if that'll happen."
Bulma places her hand on her chin, and tilts her head in thought. "Hmmm..." After a few moments, she smiles and snaps her fingers. "I got it! After Trunks gets back, I'll rebuild the inside of the time machine to be able to hold two people, and you can go back with him the second time!"
"That's brilliant, mother! The dragon balls still exist in that time period! She could use them to send herself home!", Trunks excitedly states.
"Y-Y'all'd do that fer me?", Applejack asks; on the verge of crying.
Bulma bends down and places her hand on Applejacks' head. "This is my way of saying 'thank you'. Because of you, we have more than just the hope that everything will be fine; we know that it will." She says with a warm smile.
Applejack almost bursts into tears at hearing that she has a guaranteed way home. "Th-Thank you! Y'all got no idea how much this means to me!"
Bulma stands back up, and looks at Trunks. "Son, go put together a place for her to sleep tonight. I'm going to run through the check list on the time machine again to make sure everything is in order."
"Alright, mother.", Trunks agrees, and he leads Applejack to another room in the building.
_______________________________________________
Applejack is skipping happily through the fields of Sweet Apple Acres. "Yeehaw! It feels so good to be home!", she happily shouts. She jumps over to a nearby apple tree, and hugs it tightly. "It ain't been long 't all since ah been gone, but it feels like it's been years!" She breaks from the tree, and continues to skip through apple orchard; taking in all the sights and sounds of the home she loves so much. And then she spots something that she doesn't remember: a giant apple tree. It's easily three times the size of any other tree in the orchard.
"Ah don't remember this big boy bein' here.", she says with a whistle. She narrows her eyes at the enormous tree, and grins. "Let's do this!" She turns away from the tree, lines herself up, and drives her rear hooves into the tree as hard as she can. She turns back around to see how many apples had fallen from the tree, and her eyes go wide with fear and confusion. The tree was no longer there. In its place was a pony that nearly ended her life with absolutely no effort: Star Binder.
"Excellent form and placement on that kick. Had you any kind of real strength, I would have been in trouble.", he says with an evil grin. Before Applejack can utter a word, she feels a hoof impact her chest! She's sent flying through the orchard, and even crashes through several trees. Her entire body is wracked by pain. The majority of her bones are broken, and she is unable to even make a sound; let alone move.
She feels a hand slink around her throat, and she is lifted from the ground. When she feels herself stop, she slowly opens her eyes. She watches android Eighteen pull her arm back, and clench her fist. "Pathetic creatures like you should just die.", she says as she takes aim at Applejacks' head, and lunges her fist forward!
_________________________________________________
Applejack snaps awake from her nightmare. She clutches across her chest with her forelegs. She's breathing heavily, and nervously scanning her surroundings. It's night out, and she's still in her makeshift room that Trunks set up for her. "A nightmare? That was way too real feelin'." , she thinks as she tries to calm herself. "Trunks leaves in the mornin'. In a few more months ah get to go with him. Then ah gotta find the dragon balls, and ah can go home."
Applejack sighs as her memories return to the incident that happened not long after her arrival into this bleak time period. "Ta think... ah've always been called strong. Not many ponies were stronger 'n ah was. Hay, most stallions weren't even as strong as me. Then all that mess happened a year ago. One punch almost ended everything... Now these androids... Ah'm so weak to these guys it's laughable! They could kill me by just lookin' at me funny!"
The gravity of her situation finally begins to weigh on her. "And ah gotta drop right smack dab in the middle of this whole thing, just for a chance to get home. Ah'm gonna hafta rely on everyone else to help me, while they'll already be fightin' fer their lives. Ain't the first time ah've had to have help, but no pony was gonna die if everythin' didn't go right on those other times. Ah wish... ah wish ah wasn't so darn weak and helpless! Ah cain't do nothin' to help out Trunks or the others, and ah'll be all in the way! Ah hate this feelin'... It ain't right! Does it... Does it really hafta be this way..." After all this time thinking, Applejack finally drifts back to sleep.
__________________________________________
THE NEXT MORNING
Trunks is inside the time machine, and running through the checklist with Bulma to make sure everything is in working order. Bulma calls out something on the list, and he calls out whether it's ready or not.
"Energy levels?"
"Maximum. Check."
"Date input?"
"Correct time frame. Check."
"Goku's medicine?"
"Check."
"Good. That takes care of everything.", states Bulma. She looks around, and notices Applejack isn't with them. "I guess Applejack is still sleeping. She must have been exhausted."
"That would be my guess as well, mother.", Trunks agrees. "She was ripped from her home, and almost killed as soon as she got here. She's probably mentally drained after her ordeal. Well... I'm off."
"Be careful, and don't do anything unnecessary! You don't need to change any more than is-", Bulma's words are interrupted by the sound of Applejack bursting outside, and almost skidding into a wall. Her eyes are bloodshot, and her mane is unkempt. "A-Applejack!? Are you okay!?"
Applejack struggles to catch her breath before she begins speaking. "It... It don't... It don't hafta be this way!", she shouts.
Trunks stands up in the machine, and looks down at her. "What's wrong? What doesn't have to be this way?", he questions.
She gathers her composure, and looks at Trunks with raw determination in her eyes. "Trunks, ah gotta favor to ask ya. When you get back...", she stops, and mentally prepares herself for what she plans to say next.
"Yes, what is it?", he asks with concern in his voice.
"... AH WANT YOU TO TRAIN ME!"
_________________________________________________________
EQUESTRIA
2100 YEARS AGO
Lunalia stands in the midst of a pitch black room. Nothing but utter darkness surrounds her. "Hello? Is anyone out there?", she calls out.
"You betrayed me..."
"What? Who's there?", she asks the disembodied voice.
"You betrayed me...", it repeats.
"I betrayed you? Who are you!? I don't recognize your voice!"
"You betrayed me..."
Before she can give another response, she feels a powerful, evil presence fill the room she's in. She turns to see four glowing, red eyes staring at her. "What... what are you!?"
"I granted you my power... AND YOU BETRAYED ME!", the dark voice screams at her.
_____________________________________________
Lunalia wakes up after the dark voice screams at her. She nervously scans her surroundings to find that she's in a vaguely familiar room; though nothing like the one from her dream. "What was that!? Where am I!? When I lost consciousness, I was outside!" , she runs through her mind in a panic.
"Welcome back, Dark Queen.", she hears a very familiar voice say.
She turns herself around on the floor to look behind her. Her eyes go wide; partly in shock, and partly in fear. Standing over her was an alicorn stallion; the very stallion that was responsible for sealing her in stone.
He stood even taller than her. His coat was a snowy white. His eyes were lavender. His mane and tail flowed in a non-existent wind. They were a shimmering silver, gold, and dark red in color, and the pattern was just like Celestia's. His cutie mark was a silver shield with a sun emblazoned on it. He was looking down on her as though he were ready to remove her from the face of the Earth.
She looks into his judgmental eyes, and speaks to him for the first time in more than two thousand years. "Dawn Breaker..."
C7- The Wants and Needs of Good and Evil
C6- Face to Face
Pinkie Pie is nervously pacing back and forth; trying to no avail to figure out what had happened. "Geez filly, sit down! You're even starting to make me nervous!" , Pinkamena shouts from the back of her mind.
Knowing that aggravating her other side could have rather disturbing consequences, Pinkie chooses to do as she says. She walks over to a large rock, sits down, and leans up against it. "Why did this have to happen? I was really feeling better. I felt like I could throw the ultimate party of parties. And now...", Pinkie says with worry.
"You'd better not be getting all mopey and depressed on me again! You're no fun when you're like that!"
"I'm sorry... I just don't know what to do. How do I get back? Can I get back? I'm stuck on an island in the middle of no where, and I'm all alone. I feel like I could just scream...", Pinkie says in a saddened tone.
"Just do it!" , Pinkamena aggravatingly shouts.
"Do what?", Pinkie asks.
"Scream. Just scream as loud as you can. I need you thinking straight, so do whatever it takes to keep you from getting all depressed on me again. You're so boring when you're like that." , Pinkamena states.
Though Pinkamena has no physical form, Pinkie feels her other side glaring at her angrily. "Okey dokey lokey...", she responds with some reserve. Pinkie stands back up, and takes in a deep breath. She inhales until her lungs are at their maximum capacity, and then lets out the loudest, most ear piercing scream she possibly could. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA..."
As she purges her lungs of all the air she took in, the ground around her begins to shake. "Hey! Stop screaming! You're breaking down a dimensional barrier! Either that, or it's an earthquake. Either way, stop screaming!" , shouts Pinkamena. Pinkie stops screaming, but the ground around her doesn't stop shaking. "Well, that rules out one possibility."
The ground begins to shake even more violently, and Pinkie can feel a level of intensity in the air itself. "W-w-w-w-h-h-h-a-a-at's-s-s ha-ha-ha-pp-p-p-e-n-n-n-ing-g-g-g!?", she questions aloud with a shaky voice as she involuntarily bounces across the ground. She bumps fairly hard into the large rock she was leaning against earlier, and she stumbles over several feet before finally falling down. She lands next to the rock, and starts to try and get up. She ceases her movement as she notices electricity crackling in the distance. It's at this moment that she realizes she's not alone.
In the midst of the arcing electricity, she sees two creatures. They're both hunched over with their hands locked together; trying to overpower the other. One is about six feet tall. He's wearing a blue gi, yellow pants, and black shoes. He has black hair that spikes out in random directions, and white skin. He also has, what looks like, a monkey's tail. The other one is several inches shorter than his opponent. He's wearing a red sleeveless shirt, black pants, black shoes, and also has on a pair of black finger-less gloves. He has tall, black, spiky hair, white skin, and also has a monkey's tail. This one, Pinkie recognizes.
Pinkie lets out a loud gasp. "Pinkamena, that's... that's..." , she says in her mind.
"I know, and don't you dare try to get his attention!" , Pinkamena barks at her.
"But why? If he's here, that means we're not alone..." , Pinkie replies.
"Just give it a little while. I want to watch this."
Goku vs. Vegeta
Vegeta and Goku are locked in a struggle to over power each other. "It's taken seven years, clown, but you've finally grown back up. Now this feels like a more even fight!", Vegeta yells at his opponent.
Goku cracks a smile. "More even fight? My power didn't drop at all from being turned into a kid. We could have settled the score at any time, Vegeta!"
"You think I'm that stupid, Kakarrot!? Until a year ago, you held two levels of super saiyan over me. Defeating you means nothing if you won't go full force!", the saiyan prince shouts back.
"If that's the case, let's hurry and get the practice round over with, and move off planet so we can get the real fight going!", Goku says excitedly.
"My thoughts exactly!", Vegeta says to Goku, just before pulling his right hand out of their lock, and trying to punch him in the face! Goku uses his now free hand to catch Vegeta's fist. Goku lets go with his other hand, and tries to return the favor. Vegeta catches his fist, and they're now back to trying to over power each other. They hold the lock for a few moments, and then break free and lunge their fists at each other. Just before the moment of impact, both fighters disappear from Pinkie's sight!
"Huh? Where'd they go?", Pinkie asks aloud.
"Oh, I bet this is going to be good..." , Pinkamena says excitedly.
The sky itself seems to shudder as bright flashes dance through the air. The two saiyans trade off strikes until Goku gains a slight advantage, and manages to catch Vegeta in the face with a hard punch. The attack sends him hurdling towards the ground, and Goku gives chase. Vegeta rights himself, and lands on his feet. He hops backwards just in time to avoid Goku's diving kick. Goku's legs drive into the ground, and Vegeta capitalizes by delivering a spin kick to Goku's face! The attack sends Goku skidding across the ground, until he manages to regain his senses, and launches himself into the air.
Vegeta brings both of his hands together in front of him, and begins charging a powerful energy ball. Goku follows through with the same motions, and charges his own energy ball. The two saiyans fire their powerful ki shots at each other, and the two attacks meet midway between them. The shots grind against each other for a moment, and then explode... into dozens of brightly colored balloons.
Goku looks on at the balloons; completely dumbfounded. Vegeta clenches his fists, and grits his teeth. The veins in his head bulge out in anger as he yells, "DISCOOOOOOOOOOORD!"
The lord of chaos appears out of thin air, and hovers over Vegeta; laughing hysterically. He wipes a tear away from his eye and says, "Oh Vegeta, you should see the look on your face. It looks a little something like this." Discord's head turns into an exact copy of Vegeta's, and he floats down to look the saiyan prince eye to eye.
"Discord! Why do you insist on constantly pissing me off!?", Vegeta shouts in anger.
Discord speaks in Vegeta's voice, "Because your angry tangents are far too much fun! You don't really get angry, it's more like you become anger itself."
Goku floats down to the ground; holding his sides from laughing. "Discord, no matter what's going on, you always manage to make me laugh. But we're in the middle of something really important right now. It'd be great if you could hold off on the pranks for a little while."
Discord returns his head to normal, and strokes his beard. "Well, I DID fully intend to leave you two alone, but something else caught my attention and changed my mind. I really thought you should both know that you have another spectator," he says as he points towards a certain pink earth pony.
"What are you talking about, Discord? We would have sensed any-", Vegeta stops talking, his eyes go wide, and his jaw drops in shock when he sees Pinkie Pie.
"Well... you've been spotted. Darn that Discord. That was getting good. Have at it, Pinkie." , Pinkamena tells her host.
Throwing any and all caution to the wind, Pinkie Pie makes a mad dash towards the prince of all saiyans. When she gets close, she bounces into the air. "VEGETAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!", she shouts as she tackles the saiyan prince. Vegeta is in such a state of shock at seeing Pinkie, that she's able to pounce him to the ground with ease. She tightly hugs him as she begins to speak at a speed that's incomprehensible to anyone but herself. "I'm so so so so so so so so happyyyyyy to see you! I was so scared, and I thought I was all alone, well except for Pinkamena, but she doesn't really count since she's only in my head, and then I saw you, and I got all excited, and I wanted to tackle you as soon as I saw you, but Pinkamena was all like 'I wanna watch this! Don't interrupt!', and I was like-"
"Is this a friend of yours, Vegeta?", asks Goku.
Vegeta covers her mouth with his hand. "An acquaintance at best.", he says to Goku. He pulls her off, and then stands up and dusts himself off.
Pinkie looks up at Vegeta with a sad expression on her face. "An acquaintance at best? Even after the really awesome welcome party I threw for you?"
"Not much of a party. Shadow Wing saw to that. Now... HOW DID YOU GET HERE!?", Vegeta shouts.
"Well, Lunalia came up with this super duper powered spell that would let her go to other places to try and find Twilight. But when she tried to use it, some really big explosion messed her up. Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and me all got caught in it. When all the screaming stopped, I opened my eyes, and I was here all by myself.", Pinkie explains.
"Hmmm... That was some very powerful magic. I could sense it from all the way in West City. That's what led me here.", states Discord.
Vegeta closes his eye for a moment, and focuses his senses. "I don't sense Lunalia or Rainbow Dash at all. If they aren't here, then it's unlikely the others are either."
Pinkie's ears droop at hearing Vegeta's words. "Aww... I really hope they're all okay..."
"They should be. That spell she used was meant to jump to alternate time periods. You came out in one piece. If they're not here, then they probably got scattered to other places in time." , Pinkamena theorizes.
"Oh! That might be right! Really smart thinking!" , mentally replies Pinkie.
"I know. I think, because you don't." , Pinkamena replies in a sarcastic tone.
Before Pinkie can give a retort to Pinkamena's blatant insult, Goku approaches her. "Hi there. I'm Goku. What's your name?"
"Hiya! I'm Pinkie Pie!", she cheerfully responds.
"So, I'm guessing you're from that world Discord came from?", Goku asks.
"Yeah! I'm from Equestria. That's where I met Vegeta, too! I felt bad for him since all his friends were over here, so I threw this really big welcome party for him so he could make new friends! But then this really big dragon interrupted it, and I didn't get to talk to him again before he left...", explains Pinkie; her tone saddening a bit as she finishes.
"Wow. That's too bad.", says Goku. "Well, Vegeta. I guess we can finish this another time."
"Where do you think you're going, Kakarrot?", questions Vegeta.
"This fight is better settled elsewhere. Besides, looks like you have some catching up to do. I'll leave you two alone for a while. Bye." Immediately after he finishes talking, Goku completely disappears.
"WAIT!", Vegeta shouts, but is too late. "Darn that Instant Transmission ..."
Noticing the agitated look that Vegeta has, Discord realizes he now has one more thing he can do to aggravate the saiyan prince. "Yes, it does look like you two have some catching up to do. See you back at Capsule Corp., Vegeta.", he says with a sly grin, and disappears as well.
Vegeta grits his teeth in anger, and clenches his fists. The veins in his forehead are once again bulging out. "I swear, I'm going to beat Discord to a pulp some day! And seriously, of all the ponies to end up here, why did it have to be... Pinkie?" , he thinks to himself, now noticing that he can't see the hyperactive pony anymore.
Suddenly, he feels extra weight on his back, and two legs wrap around his neck. He then hears Pinkie let out a loud, high pitched yell right in his ear. "WEEEEEEE! LET'S GOOOOOOO!"
"Wh-what are you doing!?", the highly agitated saiyan asks.
"Come on! We can't stay out here like this, and I wanna go meet your family!"
"Why... me...?" , Vegeta asks himself in his mind. "I'll take you back home... but only under two conditions."
"You name it, and good ol' Pinkie Pie will make sure it gets done!", she cheerfully agrees.
"Good. First, no telling anyone about the details of what happened in Equestria. Discord and Kakarrot are the only ones that know anything about my time spent as a pony, and I prefer to keep it that way.", he says as he explains his first condition.
"Okey dokey lokey! What else?"
"No parties."
Pinkie Pie feels her heart sink upon hearing Vegeta's second condition. But, she promised, so she intended to keep her word. The tone in her voice bears a deep sadness as she goes through the motions of her patented Pinkie Promise. "Cross my heart, and hope to fly; stick a cupcake in my eye..."
"I'm not sure what that was... but I'll take that as an agreement. Hold on tight. Otherwise you might fall off.", states the saiyan prince. Without giving her time to respond, he takes to the sky towards West City.
"Okay, the hay happened to you? Despite being stuck in an alien world, you were still super cheerful and happy. What changed your tune?" , asks Pinkamena.
"He said no parties...And throwing parties is my special talent... I wanted to throw one... Not for somepony else, but for me. Since I'm here, I wanted to make new friends." , Pinkie sadly responds.
"Hmmm..."
"What is it, Pinkamena?"
"Nothing. Just deal with it, at least until Lunalia eventually shows up to take you home."
"O-Okay..."
The remainder of the flight to Capsule Corporation is filled with silence. Vegeta and Pinkie share no words, and Pinkamena remains unusually quiet as well. Once they finally land, introductions with Vegeta's family are very brief, as Discord has already broken the news about Pinkie's arrival. She talks a little with Bulma about where she came from, and a little about her short time around Vegeta; ensuring she leaves out the details he explicitly told her to.
"And that's how...", Pinkie stops her sentence to let out a loud yawn, "... Equestria was made."
"You sound tired. Do you need to lie down?", asks Bulma.
Pinkie yawns again. "I guess this time-space jumpy thing took more out of me than I thought. Maybe I should sleep..."
"Okay. I'll take you to one of our guest rooms.", says Bulma as she motions for Pinkie to follow her.
Once Pinkie is in a bed, she falls asleep almost instantly; the events that have transpired have taken a more serious toll on her than she knows. Much more serious...
THE NEXT MORNING...
Pinkie wakes up, and rolls out of bed. She yawns and stretches herself out. "Good morning, Pinkamena." , she says in her mind to her other half. Pinkamena remains silent. "Um, Pinkamena?" Her other side still offers no response. "Hey, why aren't you talking to me? Are you mad at me for getting mopey yesterday?" Once again, Pinkamena doesn't respond. "Oooh. She must be really mad at me." She lets out a loud sigh. "Oh well. She was pretty quiet yesterday, too. Maybe she'll come around later today. For now, I need food."
Pinkie opens the door to her room, and leaves. She walks through the hallways of Capsule Corporation; attempting to locate the kitchen. She searches through the various hallways, and different rooms for almost thirty minutes, and isn't able to locate her destination. Aside from not being able to locate the kitchen, one other thing was beginning to disturb the pink earth pony. "Where is everyone? I haven't found anyone since I woke up."
Pinkie continues to walk and explore the building; now more concerned with making sure she wasn't alone than finding food. She rounds a corner, and now finds herself before an incredibly long hallway. The hallway itself is so long that she's unable to even see the end. For some unexplainable reason, she feels compelled to venture forward, and see where this hallways leads. She walks for what feels like forever, until she finally reaches the end. At the end is a large opening. It looks like there was once a large set of doors here.
Persistent Nightmare
She takes several more steps forward, and stands in the doorway. "Wait... no... This can't be here. This can't be real!", she says aloud. The room she was staring at was not part of Capsule Corp.... It was the main throne room of Canterlot Castle. "No... No... No, no, no! This has to be a dream! But... the only time I dream about this room is...", her words taper off, and she almost breaks down crying when she realizes what is probably about to happen. "... Is... Is when I have nightmares about that day... But, why am I aware? Normally I just relive exactly what happened. Why is this time different?"
As she takes an extra step into the room, she hears a mare's voice scream something; the voice and its words chill her to the very core.
"I'M GOING TO CUT YOU OPEN, AND LET YOUR COLORS RUN!"
The voice she heard was her own, but it wasn't her that said it. Terror grips her heart, and she begins to panic. She takes several more steps forward, praying to Celestia that she won't see what she thinks she will. Her prayers go unanswered as she spots her absolute worst fear... She sees herself sitting on top of a paralyzed Star Binder, hacking and slashing away at his chest with large shards of glass. No longer able to bring herself to take another step, she slumps to the floor. "No..."
She watches 'herself' get soaked in the splattering blood of her victim; her double completely uncaring of the mess she had become. Her copy tosses the glass aside and says, "Let's see what makes you tick... Ah, there it is..."
Pinkie is now laying flat on the floor, and crying her eyes out. "No, no, no, no, no..."
The form before her begins punching at Star's rib cage in at attempt to break through. She finally succeeds, and she looks down at her victim with a playful smile. "I bet you've never had a mare steal your heart like this before, have you?", she says with a giggle. She reaches into his chest with her hooves, and begins to violently jerk and pull on his heart. After several attempts, the vital organ pulls free, and she chuckles as she holds his heart.
"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING!?", Pinkie screams.
"Hehehehe... Don't be afraid... little Pinkie..." Pinkie slowly lifts her head from the floor, and sees that the blood soaked, straight maned version of herself is standing right in front of her... on just her hind legs. She bends down, and places a hoof on the side of Pinkie's face. "It's so good for us to finally meet face to face."
"Pinka... mena?", Pinkie asks with a confused look.
"That's right. Right now I'm not just some disembodied voice in your mind. I can now manifest a form inside of your dreams."
"But... How? This never happened before."
"Hehehehe.", Pinkamena lightly chuckles. "You silly filly. You can put up whatever kind of front that you want, but I know the truth about what happened. I know how you REALLY felt today. You may have played up like you were happy and cheerful, but deep down inside... you were scared witless!" She stops talking, and then points towards the body of Star Binder. "Just like when this happened, you were pushed to your mental limits; further breaking down the mental barriers that separate us."
"I don't get it. Why? How?", Pinkie questions further.
"I am the manifestation of all the darker emotions that you never use. Anger... Hatred... Envy... Despair..." With each emotion stated, Pinkamena vanishes from sight, and returns with a facial expression and pose to match the next. She returns to sight again, and gives Pinkie a seductive look. "... Desire. All of these are emotions that you never use. You've experienced a small portion of these when you thought your friends had turned against you, and hated you. But the day you killed Star Binder... Oh such a joyous day... You experienced all of these, and to the utmost degree that a pony can! Your mind couldn't handle the shock, and thus... I was born. We are two sides to the same coin, Pinkie. We are kept separate by a fragile mental barrier. You need to handle your emotions a little more carefully. Otherwise...", she stops, and an evil grin spreads across her face. "... You might find our roles reversed. You will be the disembodied voice, and I will be in control of the body."
Pinkie looks down to the floor; tears still in her eyes. "How... How do I control my emotions better? I don't wanna be just a voice... I wanna be who I am... I wanna go back home... I wanna do what I'm best at... I wanna throw parties again..."
"Are you so sure that parties are what you're best at? Are you so sure that you haven't been misinterpreting your special talent?"
"I got my cutie mark for throwing parties. How could I be wrong?"
Pinkamena shakes her head, and sighs. "Did you get your cutie mark for throwing the party..." Pinkamena vanishes again, and Pinkie hears her whispering into her left ear. "Or was it because you made them happy?" Pinkamena lifts Pinkie back up to her hooves, and then walks in front of her again. "What you truly wanted on the day you got your mark was to make those around you happy. The party was simply a means to an end. There are other ways to make those around you happy. And the way I now have in mind, will also bring yourself a great deal of confidence and control."
Hearing Pinkamena's explanation of how she had gotten her cutie mark made Pinkie really think about how she's been living. Had she really been wrong all these years? She thinks back to all the parties she'd thrown. She'd enjoyed all the planning and preparation. She enjoyed the food that she always prepared. But then she had a realization of truth. The thing she enjoyed most was seeing her friends smile. She relished in seeing her friends happy, and would often go far out of her way to make sure that they were happy; even by doing things other than throwing a party. "What else is there? What can I do?"
"You are now in a world that has remained under consistent threat by powerful beings from beyond the stars. When one threat is quelled, another arrives years later that is stronger than the last. The saiyans... Frieza... the androids... Cell... Majin Buu... The shadow dragons... Who is to say that many of these do or do not exist in our world? Who is to say that our home will never come under attack from powerful foes that it can not currently fight? If these foes ever come forward, despair will grip the heart of Equestria, and any happiness it once had will fade forever.", explains Pinkamena. "You are now in a position to do something about this. You are in a position become even more powerful than Star Binder, and any of his allies. You are in a position to ensure Equestria forever remains at peace, and therefore... remains happy." Pinkamena leans in towards Pinkie until their noses are touching. "Make Vegeta train you."
Pinkie's eyes go wide, and she stumbles backwards. She nervously stutters out, "W-w-w-what!? N-No! I couldn't! I'm not a fighter! I don't like fighting! And... and... I don't want to kill anypony ever again..."
"You don't have to kill. All you have to do is beat them back. You may not enjoy fighting, but is putting your life on the line to protect others meant to be enjoyed? If anything shows up that has anywhere near the strength level of Vegeta, Equestria's current defenders will be powerless to stop it. You now have the rare opportunity to be trained by one of the most powerful fighters in ANY universe. And you will gain more confidence in yourself and your abilities. Think about it..."
_________________________________________________________
Pinkie is awoken by a knock at her door, and a man's voice calling out to her. "Pinkie. Are you awake?"
She groggily rolls out of bed, and almost falls to the floor. "Y-yeah.", she responds.
The door opens, and in walks Trunks. He's wearing a green business suit, a black tie, and a pair of glasses. "We're about to eat. Mom wanted to make sure you were up so you could eat with us."
"Th-thanks.", she replies, and follows Trunks out of the room.
"You must have been really tired. You were asleep since yesterday afternoon." Pinkie doesn't give a verbal response to Trunks, she simply nods. The events of her meeting with Pinkamena are weighing heavily on her mind. She remains entirely silent during breakfast as she thinks about everything Pinkamena told her.
Vegeta finishes his food, gets up from the table, and prepares to exit the dining room. Pinkie quickly finished her own food, and exits the room as well. "V-Vegeta!", she calls out to him in the hallway.
He turns around to face her. "Hm? What?"
"I... I..." She makes a nervous gulp, and closes her eyes. She takes in a deep breath, re-opens her eyes, and intently stares at the saiyan prince. "Teach me how to fight, and train me to be strong like you!"
He is completely stunned by her request. "Y-You're kidding, right? You can't be serious?"
"I... I am serious! I want you to train me! When I go back to Equestria, I want to be strong enough to keep my home safe from anything!"
"Tch. Forget it. You don't have what it takes to be a fighter. Trying to train you would be a waste of my time.", he replies with an irritated tone, and then walks away.
"But... I... Aww...", she says as she starts to sulk.
"Are you going to let him turn you away that easily?" , Pinkamena asks her.
"But he said no. What else can I do?" , Pinkie weakly responds.
"I didn't say ask him to train you. I said make him train you. Stay on him. Push his buttons. Get him pissed off. He'll eventually snap. Just keep at it as long as it takes."
Pinkie Pie takes Pinkamena's words to heart, and she pursues Vegeta. She begs and pleads with him to train her every moment she's near him. Until finally, evening light has fallen on West City. The sky is dark orange in color, and soon night shall take over. Pinkie is still following him, begging him to train her, and she has finally gotten on his last nerve.
He grits his teeth in anger and shouts, "KAH! ENOUGH OF THIS!" He exerts some of his energy as he shouts, and the walls, ceiling, and floor around him dent in from his power. He doesn't turn around to face her as he says, "Follow me."
Pinkie jumps in excitement, believeing she's finally succeeded in her endeavors, and follows him. They come to a door that is different from any other door she's seen so far in Vegeta's home. Vegeta presses a few buttons on a keypad next to it, and it slides open. He motions for her to go inside, so she does. It's a large circular room, that is white in color. In the center is some kind of strange device that she's never seen before. It looked sort of like a pedestal of some kind, except that it had buttons all over it, and a large black tube that connected to the ceiling. "What's this room?", she asks.
Vegeta presses a few buttons on the keypad that's on the wall inside the room, and the door shuts behind him. "This is a gravity room. This is where I do most of my training.", he says as he walks towards the device in the center of the room.
"Huh? What's a gravity room?", Pinkie asks.
He presses several buttons on the console in the middle. "This."
The machine begins to loudly hum, and Pinkie suddenly finds it difficult to stand up! She's being pulled to the floor with incredible force. "Wh-what... happened?"
Vegeta is having no difficulty standing. "The gravity level in this room is now twice what Earth's natural level is. You now weigh twice as much as what you normally would.", he explains.
Pinkie is straining to talk. "Th-This is how you're going to train me?"
"Train you? I never agreed to train you. This is to prove my point. Give up on your worthless idea."
"He just called your ambition worthless. Are you going to take that from him?" , Pinkamena questions.
Though she's finding it difficult to simply stay standing, Pinkie puts forth tremendous effort, and manages to take a step towards Vegeta. "It's not worthless!", she shouts at him.
Vegeta presses another button, the gravity increases to three times, and Pinkie Pie drops to the floor. "If you're so desperate for this, go talk to Kakarrot. I'm sure he'll do it without a second thought."
Pinkie struggles to gain a hoof-hold on the floor. She finds her gripping on the floor, and she manages to force herself a few inches off the ground. "Because... I... want... you...", she barely manages to grunt out.
Vegeta pushes another button, and the gravity increases to four times. This time Pinkie drops to the floor, and finds it impossible to move at all. The strain of trying to stand in four times the gravity she's used to is too much to bear. "Are you going to let him beat you like this!? GET UP!" , Pinkamena shouts from within Pinkie's mind. Pinkie grunts loudly, and manages to pull one of her legs up!
Vegeta looks at her in shock. "Impossible! She shouldn't even be able to move!" Pinkie struggles to try and push herself up just enough to get to her hooves, but to no avail. No matter how hard she pushes herself, she has reached her limits. Vegeta presses several more buttons on the machine and it powers down. Pinkie is unable to even speak. She lies on the floor, breathing heavily from straining herself so hard.
Vegeta walks to the door, and presses the keypad to open it. Without turning around he says, "Tonight, make peace with whatever deity you serve."
"Wh... Wh-what?", she struggles to respond.
"Starting tomorrow morning, you belong to me."
C7- The Wants and Needs of Good and Evil
"Ugh! How could a home that's so small be so filthy!", Rarity loudly complains as she rinses a a wash cloth into a bucket after wiping it across the floor. The water in the bucket is almost black from dirt and grime that she has cleaned from Goku's small home.
"Well, he has been living by himself for a really long time. Maybe his grandfather never got to teach him how to properly clean house?", Fluttershy suggests as she scrubs the top part of a wall.
"Even so, did he not even learn how to properly bathe!? I'm glad that Goku was willing to take us in, but the stench that follows him is almost unbearable!", the white unicorn continues to gripe.
"Maybe, but we really shouldn't complain. He was willing to take us in, and feed us. He even saved our lives from that... dinosaur is what he called it, right?", Fluttershy reminds her.
Rarity lets out a small sigh. "I know, Fluttershy. This whole situation has me frustrated. I'm just venting."
Rarity and Fluttershy finish cleaning the inside of Goku's home, and dump their filth ridden buckets outside. "Well, that was far more difficult than it should have been. It needed to be done, though.", says Rarity.
It has been two days since Rarity and Fluttershy found themselves in this alternate version of Earth. Having found a friend in the young and fearless Goku, they are doing their best to make due in this unfamiliar setting, and finding ways to pass the time as they think about their primary problem... How do they find the dragon balls, and get themselves home?
They turn around, and look at the orange sphere that has given them some glimmer of hope. "Rarity, I haven't been able to come up with any ideas. Have you?", the meek pegasus asks.
"Well... I've managed to think of something, but I'm not sure if it's going to work, or if it will even be of much use in the grand scheme of things.", Rarity responds. She turns away from the building, and closes her eyes. "For this to work, I need you to hide the dragon ball somewhere in the house. Anywhere will do; as long as I can not see it when I turn around."
"Uh... o-okay.", Fluttershy responds. She walks inside, and looks around; trying to find a good spot to hide the dragon ball. She chooses to simply hide it beneath the small pillow that the ball rests on. "Okay, Rarity."
Rarity draws in a deep breath, and slowly lets it out. Her horn glows brightly for a moment, then she walks back inside, and makes a bee line towards the pillow. She lifts the pillow up with her magic to reveal the four starred ball beneath it.
"I'm sorry, Rarity. Should I have hidden it better?", asks Fluttershy.
"It's quite all right, Fluttershy.", states Rarity. "The object of this exercise wasn't to see how hard it would be to find the ball. It was to see if I could sense the ball with my Gem Finding spell."
The yellow pegasus's eyes light up. "Your Gem Finding spell can pick up the dragon ball?"
Rarity nods. "But in the end, I don't believe it shall be of much use. I can't sense it until I get close, and there is no telling where the rest of them are. If only we had something that could lead us in the right direction. It's a start, at the very least."
Just as Rarity finishes her sentence, the dragon ball glows brightly for a moment, and then returns to normal. The two ponies stare at the ball in silent shock. "R-Rarity... did it just... glow?", Fluttershy asks, almost dumbfounded.
"Y-Yes... Yes it did...", the white unicorn responds. "I wonder why?"
Before they can question the situation any further, they hear a loud crash outside; the sound of crunching metal. The pony pair stare wide eyed at each other for a moment. They look at the door, and then back to each other; unsure as to whether or not they should investigate. Rarity makes a nervous gulp, and then inches towards the door with Fluttershy following closely behind her. The two ease the door open, and look outside to try and find the source of the sound. On top of a hill in the distance, they see a fairly large metal object tipped on its side. They see Goku standing next to it... and he's talking to another person!
"Rarity! There's someone else out there!", excitedly exclaims Fluttershy.
"I see them! Let's go take a look.", suggest Rarity.
The pair leave the small home, and walk towards Goku and the unknown person. By the time they reach them, they had already begun to walk towards them as well. Goku was pulling a fish behind him that was several times his size. The person that was with Goku appeared to be female. She stood a little more than five feet tall, had blue eyes, white skin, and light blue hair that was pulled into a braided pony tail. She wore a pink shirt that came down mid-thigh in its length, and she had a brown belt around her waist; making it appear as though she had on a skirt. Several pouches of varying size and color were attached to the belt, and she wore a brown glove on her right hand.
"Hey there, Rarity and Fluttershy.", greets Goku. "This is Bulma. She's a girl from the city.", he says as he points to the girl. "Bulma, these are my pony friends, Rarity and Fluttershy."
Bulma apprehensively waves at the two. "Um... hi."
"Bulma... That sounds oddly familiar." , thinks Fluttershy. "H-Hello.", she greets in return.
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Bulma.", greets Rarity. "Gems... I sense gems..." , she thinks to herself.
"Okay! Time to go make something to eat!", Goku shouts as he begins walking towards his home.
Bulma, Rarity, and Fluttershy follow him. Fluttershy looks over to Bulma. "So, Bulma, what brings you out to the mountains?"
"I'm looking for something that I think is out here.", she responds. She reaches into one of her pouches, and pulls out a white device that resembles a large watch. She clicks a button at the top of it, and it makes a steady beeping sound. "Yeah. It's up ahead, actually."
"Oh? Would gems of some kind be what you're looking for?", asks Rarity.
Bulma gives Rarity a look of distrust. "Maybe... why?"
"I have my Gem Finding spell active, and I can sense that you have gems of some kind with you.", she responds.
"Hold on. Goku! You know an animal that can use weird magic, yet earlier you had the nerve to call me a witch!?", she asks with an aggravated tone.
Rarity glares at Bulma. "Excuse me, but I am not an animal! I'll have you know that I am a well refined lady, and a fashionista that specializes in using gems!", she states with pride.
"Please... don't argue...", Fluttershy weakly asks.
"A fashionista? How could you make clothes? You don't even have hands! That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! What's next? You going to tell me that you're from another world, too?", Bulma verbally jabs at Rarity.
"Hey. C'mon, you two shouldn't be fightng.", Goku says.
Rarity and Bulma glare at each other for a moment, then turn their noses up, and look away from each other; each letting out a ,"Hmph!"
They reach their destination, and Goku opens the door to his home. The moment he opens the door, Bulma gasps as she sees the orange sphere in the back of the room. She shoves Goku out of the way, runs up to the ball, and picks it up. "I can't believe my eyes! I managed to find another one!", she says with excitement.
Rarity gasps. "Another one!? That means the gems that I sensed on you were dragon balls!"
Bulma looks at Rarity, dumbfounded. "Wait. Did you just say-" She's cut off by Goku jumping into the air, and snatching the four starred ball from her hand.
"Hands off! This is my grandpa!", he angrily yells at her. "Girls aren't allowed to touch it!"
"Grandpa? I thought you told me earlier that your grandpa died?", Bulma asks.
"This is the only memento I have left of him. So hands off.", he responds.
Bulma looks over at Rarity, and then back to Goku. She lets out an aggravated sigh, and then says, "Here. Let me show you something." She reaches into one of her pouches, and pulls out two more dragon balls. One had five stars, and the other has two.
"Oh. You have two grandpas!", Goku says.
"They're not 'grandpas', they're...", she pauses and looks over at Rarity,"... dragon balls. How did you know?"
Rarity gives Bulma a smug grin. "Oh, I know much more than what they are. I also know what they do. So... Why don't you tell me what your wish is?"
"Wish?", Goku questions. "What are all of you talking about?"
"Goku...", begins Fluttershy. "These are called dragon balls. Rarity and I knew what it was the moment we saw it, because we have them back in our world too. There are seven of them in all. When you gather all of them, you can summon this really big, scary looking dragon, and he'll grant you any three wishes you want.", she explains. "W-well... three in our world. Our dragon balls were much bigger. From the story we were told, I think these only grant one wish... Sorry if my explanation was boring to you..."
"Wow...", Goku says; completely amazed by her story.
"Quite. We've seen the power of the dragon first-hoof. The dragon balls could be our only hope of getting home.", explains Rarity.
"Wait... they exist in... your world? So you're saying that you really are from another world?", Bulma questions.
Rarity nods. "We come from an alternate version of Earth. In our Earth, ponies like ourselves are the dominant species, and humans don't even exist. A powerful spell that went awry, displaced us from our home, and sent us here. The dragon balls could be our only means of getting home."
"Crap. This means that they'll want the balls too! I want my wish, darn it!" , Bulma runs through her mind. "Well, I have a really important wish myself!", she states, and then turns to Goku and gives him a big smile. "So, Goku... Why don't you let me have your dragon ball?"
"No! You can't have it!", he says, and then sticks his tongue out at her.
"Oh, but... I know! I know what a boy like you wants...", she says with a sly grin. She turns her back to him, bends over a little, and pulls the back of her shirt up; revealing her butt and panties. "If you let me have the dragon ball, I'll let you have a little feel."
"Why would I want to touch your dirty butt?", he asks.
She turns around and begins shouting at him. "IT IS NOT DIRTY! HOW DARE YOU SAY SOMETHING THAT RUDE TO A LADY!"
"Lady?", Rarity scoffs. "What kind of lady wiggles her dirty flank in the face of a stallion to get what she wants? You are a vulgar, and unrefined young woman. And for that matter, what kind of vulgar thing would you possibly wish for?"
"Vulgar!? I'll have you know that my wish is a noble one, and it's every bit as important as yours!" She places her left hand on the center of her chest, and says with the most serious tone she could muster, "I am going to wish for a cute boyfriend!"
Rarity's jaw drops in disbelief. "A boyfriend... A BOYFRIEND!?", she shouts. "How could you be willing to risk this one chance for us to return to our home over something so absolutely trivial!? Are you that vain, or are you just ignorant!? ... Or maybe your vulgar personality scares away any potential suitor?"
Bulma grits her teeth. "Kkkkkk... There is absolutely nothing wrong with my personality! I could have any guy in the world that I want! I just want the absolute most perfect one! And even if I am vain, at least I'm not some ugly talking horse that has a weird growth coming out of my head that almost looks like a pe-"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!", Goku interjects. "I'm not letting anyone take my grandpa's ball! So both of you stop fighting!"
"Oh... I'm so sorry, Goku.", Rarity apologizes. "I'm so sorry that you had to see that ugly side of myself."
"Oh no. This isn't good!" , Bulma mentally panics. "If this keeps up, I won't be able to get my wish! Think, Bulma, think! You're a smart girl. You can think of a way to even things out, and still get your way... I've got it! This dumb pony was able to sense that I had the dragon balls on me. My dragon radar can lead me to the general area of a dragon ball, but her Gem Finding spell can apparently lock on to its exact location. I could use her. That other pony has wings, so she can probably fly. And then Goku... He trashed my car with his bare hands! He'd make a great bodyguard. Okay... I have to play my cards just right..."
Bulma clears her throat, and begins speaking. "You're right. I'm sorry, Goku. It was wrong of me to argue. And Rarity... I apologize to you too. It was wrong of me to say those mean things. Maybe my wish is vain and ignorant. To make up for it, I just came up with a brilliant idea."
Rarity raises an eyebrow. "Apology accepted, and what is this idea?"
"Well, as I said, I could have any guy in the world. We'd have to do a lot of travelling to find all seven dragon balls. If all four of us travel together to find them, we could all get what we want! I'm sure I could find the perfect guy in our travels. You two could get your wish to go home. Goku would get to see the world, expand on his training, and get even stronger! Plus he wouldn't have to give anyone his ball; he'd just have to let us borrow it to summon the dragon. It's a win-win all around!", explains Bulma.
"Do you think I could get as strong as my grandpa if I travel?", asks Goku.
"Definitely. You'd get to see and experience all kinds of things you can't if you stay here in these mountains.", Bulma replies.
"All right! I'll go, then! But I'm not handing my ball to you until we get all the others. I'll hold onto it until then.", he states.
Bulma smiles, nods, and then looks to Rarity and Fluttershy. "Well? What about you two?"
"H-how do we find the dragon balls? Rarity's Gem Finding spell can't pick them up until she gets close.", asks Fluttershy.
"Hehe. That's easy. We use this.", Bulma says as she pulls out the watch-like object she used earlier. "This is my dragon radar. I designed it to pick up the energy that the dragon balls emanate." She clicks the top button a few times, and then shows the two ponies the green radar screen. "See? The closest one is about twelve-hundred kilometers from here."
Fluttershy's eyes light up. "Rarity, this is exactly what we were hoping for!"
"I know...", Rarity responds. "It almost seems too good to be true. But... This is our only chance. Of course we'll do it!"
"Hehehe... Hook, line, and sinker! I'll use them to get the dragon balls, and then steal my wish right out from under them!" , Bulma schemes. "All right. It's settled then. Let's head out!"
"Yes! Let's go!", Rarity agrees. "If that girl really thinks I've fallen for such an obvious trick, then she's as ignorant as I implied earlier."
_______________________________________________________________
MT. PAOZU
A FEW HOURS AFTER THE BATTLE WITH RADITZ
Rainbow Dash is inside a plane that has a large cargo hold, and is with five people she has just met. Goku is leaning against the inside wall of the plane. He's only wearing his pants, and his chest and ribs are bandaged after being injured in the fight with Raditz. Next to him is his life long best friend, Krillin . Krillin stands a little taller than Dash. He wears the same style gi as Goku, and is completely bald. Opposite Krillin is Goku's son, Gohan . He's much shorter than Dash, and has black hair. He's wearing a long sleeved green shirt, a yellow over-shirt that has a Japanese character symbol on it, and a red hat that has the four starred dragon ball attached to the top.
Sitting in one of the seats in the front was Muten Roshi . He was an elderly man that was about five and a half feet tall, bald, and has a thick, white fu manchu mustache and beard. He wore a green t-shirt that was tucked into a pair of long yellow pants, and a pair of sunglasses with red frames. Piloting the plane was Bulma , a woman with blue hair that was in her mid-twenties. She wore a pair of white shorts, a blue top, and a white jacket.
Immediately after the fight was over, Rainbow Dash discovered that Raditz had kidnapped Goku's son in an attempt to convince him to join him, and kill all life on Earth. The two saiyans that would arrive in one year were coming to do the same thing so they could sell the planet to other aliens. Piccolo regenerated his arm, and left the area without saying anything to anyone; presumably leaving to prepare for the arrival of the saiyans in one year.
The group is currently over a forest at the base of Mt. Paozu, and are heading to Goku's home to plan their next move. Ever since boarding the plane, Rainbow Dash has been explaining who she is, where she came from, how she came to be here, and how she got so strong.
Krillin goes wide-eyed, and blinks several times; his face bearing a look of disbelief. "You beat that monster like it was nothing, and you've only been training for one year!? Goku and I have trained our whole lives and couldn't even hurt him!"
"It's hard to imagine that you're this strong, and have only been training for such a short time.", says Roshi. "You must have had very impressive teachers."
Dash nods. "Yeah, totally. Titan Hoof, Star Binder, and Thundering Sky are insanely strong! Even though they were training me and two others, they still found time to train together. There's no way to even compare them a year ago to the way they are now. And the other two that were training with me, Bladewing and Iron Horn, got way stronger than me. I pushed myself to my limits, but them... I just don't know how they did it."
"It doesn't matter that you were weaker than those others. You're still a a heck of a lot stronger than he was.", says Goku; referring to Raditz. "If you hadn't shown up when you did, me and Piccolo would have been goners for sure."
Dash smiles a bit. "Hehe, yeah. I guess I was pretty amazing.", she somewhat gloats. "But... these guys that are going to be here a year from now... Will you be able to get strong enough in one year to fight them?"
Krillin speaks up, "With someone like you training with us, I'm sure we can!"
Dash gives Krillin a confused look. "What, huh? No, no. This isn't my fight. I only stepped in 'cause that big guy attacked me first. I can't just stick around here. I've got to find a way back home as fast as possible, and find out what that big explosion was!"
"What!? Aw, come on! We could really use your help, Rainbow Dash!", Krillin pleads.
"She's right.", Roshi interjects. "As powerful an ally as she would make, this isn't her planet to defend. She has her own home to worry about, and we can't ask something like this of her."
Krillin looks with concern at Goku; hoping that maybe he won't side with their former mentor. Much to his dismay, Goku agrees with Muten Roshi. "Yeah... We can't ask her to put her life on the line for our sake. She's got family and friends of her own to worry about."
Krillin sighs. "You're right... I shouldn't be begging you to fight our battles for us."
"I'm sorry.", Dash apologizes. "Part of me hates to leave you guys hanging like this, but I've got to get back. Then again, I really have no clue how to get back. I could wait for Lunalia to show up... if she shows up at all. Too bad I don't have the dragon balls. They could totally get me back home."
Hearing the mention of the dragon balls, Gohan reaches up and clutches tightly to his hat. Dash notices Gohan do this, and looks at him; perplexed by his actions. Then she finally realizes what the object on his hat is. Her jaw drops in shock, and her eyes go wide. She points at it with a foreleg, and stutters out, "I-I-I-IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS!?"
Bulma finally speaks up from the front. "You'd be right. That's a dragon ball. If you're version of Earth has them, then why are you just now recognizing it?"
"Well, it's not earth that has them. They're on a planet really far from Earth, called Namek. The Namekians are the ones who made the dragon balls, and theirs' are a lot bigger than that.", Dash responds.
"Our dragon balls were made by Kami, the Guardian of Earth.", states Goku. "We have this ball on Gohan's hat, and I have two more at home. You're welcome to use them if you want."
"What!? Even though I'm abandoning you guys, you'd still let me use your dragon balls?", Dash asks Goku in surprise.
Goku nods. "It's my way of saying thanks for saving the lives of my son and me. You could have just flown away, but you chose to fight instead."
"Th-Thanks. That means I have to find the other four. Any idea where they'd be?", Dash openly asks.
"No.", replies Bulma. "Once you use the dragon balls, they scatter all over the world. But, you can use this to track them down." She reaches into one of her jacket pockets and pulls out her invention, the dragon radar, and slides it across the floor to Dash.
Dash stops it with a hoof, and stares at it for a second. "What's this?", she asks Bulma.
"That's my dragon radar. It picks up the energy that resonates from the dragon balls from almost any distance, which will allow you to find them much easier. Just click the button at the top to zoom in and out."
Dash clicks the button at the top, and the radar displays two different signals. One from her current location, and a larger signal with the number two coming from the direction that they were heading. "Oh, cool! I see where the other two are from here!" She clicks the button until the radar is at its maximum range. Just barely within the range is one more signal, and it's much larger than the others... and displays the number four. "Huh? If I'm reading this right, the other four are already together."
"What? You may be reading it wrong. Let me see it.", says Krillin. He takes the radar from Rainbow Dash, and looks at it himself. "Oh, wow. She's right. The other four are all together. That's odd. They normally don't land together like that.", he says as he hands the radar back to Dash.
"Well, definitely thanks for letting me use this! I promise I'll take good care of it, and return it before I summon the dragon!", Dash happily exclaims.
"Actually... It's been a long time since I've been on a big adventure, and I could use the excuse to get away from my two-timing boyfriend. I'll go with you.", states Bulma.
"Huh?", Dash says with a confused look.
Bulma turns around, and looks at Dash with a cocky smile. "It won't be my first time tracking down the dragon balls."
"Oh. Well, thanks then. I guess it would be useful to have someone with me that's done it before."
Goku's home looms into view as the sun begins to dip behind the horizon, and Bulma carefully lands in a nearby clearing. As the plane powers down and the doors open, the front door to Goku's home opens, and a woman with black hair walks out. She stands a little taller than five feet, her hair was pulled into a bun, but a little was hanging down both sides of her face. She wore a purple dress with an orange cloth tied at the top, and a yellow sash.
The group walks out, with Goku leaning on Muten Roshi. Gohan bolts towards the woman. "Mommy!"
She picks him up, and hugs him tightly. "Gohan, did you have fun being around your daddy's old friends?", she asks with care.
"Mommy, some really scary things happened today!", he says to her.
"Huh?", she says, and then notices the shape Goku is in. "Goku! What happened!?"
"Chi-Chi... We almost died today.", he says to his wife. He explains everything that happened. Gohan's kidnapping, teaming up with his former enemy Piccolo, how a pony from an alternate universe saved their lives... and that even more powerful enemies were going to arrive in just one year.
She looks at Goku with concern. "Oh no. This is terrible..." She turns her head to Dash. "Are you going to help them fight?"
Rainbow Dash shakes her head. "I feel kinda bad for having to leave, but I need to get back home. Some really bad accident is what brought me here, and I'm worried about my friends."
The air hangs still for a moment as no one says anything; the weight of their situation really beginning to bear down on them. Then, as if purely to alleviate tension in the air, Goku's stomach loudly growls.
Chi-Chi facepalms. "You and that stomach are a lost cause. Ugh, dinner is almost ready. You're all welcome to join us, if you'd like."
"Don't mind if I do.", says Krillin.
"I actually am kind of hungry.", states Dash.
"I think I'm fine.", responds Bulma. "I need to head back to West City to get some supplies for the journey. Rainbow Dash, I'll meet you here sometime tomorrow, and we'll get going."
"I'm not really hungry either.", replies Roshi. "I think I'll head back to my island. Would you mind giving an old man a ride, Bulma?"
Bulma narrows her eyes at him. "Okay, but if you try any of your lechery on the way, I'm dumping you out over the ocean!", she tells him. She waves to the rest of the group. "Bye, guys. See you all tomorrow!"
Goku and company wave goodbye to their friends as they watch the plane lift off and fly into the distance. Goku's stomach growls once more, and he says, "All right! I'm starved. Let's eat!"
______________________________________________________________
NEXT DAY, MID-DAY
Rainbow Dash and Krillin are sparring next to a lake far from Goku's home while they wait for Bulma to arrive. Goku is swimming in the deep parts of the lake to hunt fish; his injuries already almost completely healed. He spots one, and kicks it hard; knocking it out of the lake. Krillin sees a large shadow over him, and looks up to see a fish several times his size falling in his direction. He barely manages to dive out of the way as the monstrous fish lands right where he was standing.
"Whoa! Nice one, Goku!", Krillin says to his friend as Goku climbs out of the lake.
"Yeah. We'll eat good again today.", agrees Goku.
"I hope you remember that I don't eat meat...", Dash reminds Goku.
"Hehe. I know. We've got plenty of other stuff.", he responds.
"Good." She lets out a sigh, and looks into the sky. "I wonder what's keeping Bulma? You guys have any idea?", she asks them. They don't respond to her. She turns her head back to look at them. Their eyes bear a look of panic, and are fixated in the direction of Goku's home. "Um, guys? What's wrong?"
Krillin looks to Goku. "Get your clothes back on, quick, and meet us back at your house!", he says, and then turns to Dash. "Come on, Rainbow Dash!", he says with urgency, and begins to run.
Dash gives chase, but is completely confused. "What's going on!?"
"You don't sense that evil ki?", Krillin questions.
"I can't sense ki!"
"There is a strong evil ki coming from Goku's house!", he explains.
The moment he finishes his sentence, Goku rushes past them; large fish still in tow. "CHI-CHI!", he shouts as he runs.
"Wow, I'd forgotten how fast he can be! ... Oh, no! The presence I felt is already gone!", Krillin shouts.
"Ugh, then let's do it like this!" Dash rushes to Krillin, and uses her head to toss him onto her back. "Hold on tight!", she says as she envelops herself in ki, and flies towards Goku.
They catch up to him quickly, and reach his home soon afterward. Chi-Chi is laying face down on the ground, and Gohan is sitting on his knees next to her; crying his eyes out. Goku drops the fish, and rushes to Chi-Chi. Krillin and Dash go to Gohan.
Goku carefully rolls Chi-Chi over. She's bruised and beaten, but she's still alive. "Chi-Chi! Chi-Chi, are you okay!?", he asks her; his voice filled with fear.
She slowly opens her eyes. "Go... ku...", she slowly responds.
"What happened!?", he asks her in a panic.
"Th... Three of them. They came... for the... dragon balls... They took them... I couldn't stop them...", she weakly responds.
"The dragon balls!?", Rainbow Dash shouts. "That was my ticket out of here! But why would- ... THE FOUR THAT WERE TOGETHER!"
Krillin snaps to attention. "That's right! These goons must have already had the other four gathered!"
"NO!", Dash panics. "If they already had the other four, these last three make seven! I've got to stop them before they can summon the dragon!"
"Yeah! If these guys were willing to beat up Chi-Chi to get the balls, there's no telling what they'd use them for!", agrees Krillin.
Goku has taken Chi-Chi inside, and returned with a red staff tied to his back, and the dragon radar in hand. He looks to the sky and shouts, "FLYING NIMBUS!" He then looks back to Krillin and Dash. "I want you two to stay here and look after Chi-Chi and Gohan. This is personal."
"Those guys stole my one chance to get out of here! I'm not letting you go alone!", Dash states.
Krillin looks to Goku. "I can handle watching out for things here! You two go and stop these guys!"
A small yellow cloud flies in, and stops in front of Goku. He hops on top of it, and looks back to Krillin. "Thanks, old friend. LET'S GO, RAINBOW DASH!" The moment he finishes his words, the two take off at a high speed in the direction the dragon radar is leading them.
"Good luck, you two."
After a good deal of time flying, Rainbow Dash and Goku are now out over a vast ocean. In the distance, they can see a massive castle. Goku checks the dragon radar, and sees that the signal is coming from the castle. "That's it!", he shouts to Dash.
However, before she can offer a response, the sky above goes black, and a massive burst of energy shoots into the sky over the castle. After several moments pass, the energy gains a physical form, and manifests as a large serpent-like dragon.
"NO! WE'RE TOO LATE!", Dash shouts in a panic.
Evil
"I AM THE ETERNAL DRAGON! SPEAK THY ONE WISH, AND I SHALT DO MY BEST TO GRANT IT!" , the dragon bellows.
Four hooded figures stand before the dragon. Three of them are around six foot or so tall. The fourth is incredibly short.
The smaller figure removes his hood; revealing a pale face with a few dark green splotches here and there. He reaches his hands into the air and shouts, "ETERNAL DRAGON! GRANT ME, GARLIC JR. , IMMORTALITY!"
The dragons' eyes glow, and a burst of energy surrounds Garlic Jr. "IT HATH BEEN DONE! I SHALL NOW DEPART!" With those words, the dragon disappears, the dragon balls float into the air, and they disperse across the entire planet! The blackened sky then returns to normal.
Electricity sparks around the now immortal Garlic Jr. "Now... I shall take revenge against Kami for his crimes against my father... NOTHING CAN STOP ME NOW! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!", he cackles manically.
View Online
Bonus Chapter 1- Celestia's Studies: Ponies and Advanced Ki Use
C8- Facing the Immortal
Garlic Jr. has an evil smile on his face as he watches the dragon balls scatter to the far corners of the world. "Now that I am immortal, nothing can stand in my way! This is the first step in my plan for ultimate revenge!", he says with a maniacal tone. He turns to face his three minions. "Ginger , Nikki , Sansho ! Excellent work! Thanks to your efforts, I shall soon destroy Kami, and release an army of death and destruction upon this hapless world!"
"THANK YOU, LORD GARLIC JR.!", they all shout in unison.
Ginger stands a little more than five and a half feet tall, and has a slightly toned build. He has dark olive colored skin, and red eyes. He has short pointy ears, no hair on his head, and no visible nose. He's wearing thin red armor that has no leggings or arm coverings.
Nikki stands at just over six feet tall. He has dark blue skin, white eyes, and tall, thick white hair. He is wearing something similar in appearance to a toga with pink shoulder pads, and the pads have two blue spikes jutting out of them.
Sansho is the largest of the three; standing at almost six and a half feet tall, and thickly muscled. He has dark grey skin, yellow eyes, and is bald; with the exception of long red sideburns that hang down to his stomach. He is wearing black armor that is similar to Ginger's, except Sansho's has large shoulder pads with two grey spikes jutting from each one.
Garlic Jr. turns towards a large open door of his massive castle. "This world shall soon be mine, and Kami will be no more!" He then proceeds to walk inside.
His three minions begin cheering in unison. "ALL HAIL LORD GARLIC JR.! ALL HAIL LORD GARLIC JR.-"
"GIVE ME BACK MY WISH YOU JERKS!"
Garlic Jr. and his three minions snap to attention at the sound of an additional voice, and turn around just in time to see an angry Rainbow Dash land on the large balcony they are on. Seconds later, Goku hops off of his Flying Nimbus, and lands next to Dash. He takes a fighting stance and says, "You're the ones that hurt my wife, and left my son scared to death and crying! You're going to pay for that!"
"Oh? It appears as though I have two uninvited guests in my home.", Garlic Jr. says with an evil smirk. "Despite being uninvited, they are still my guests, and it would be rude if I did not show them my... hospitality."
"What wish was so important that you had to beat up a defenseless woman to steal the dragon balls!?", Dash shouts in anger.
"If you really desire to know, then I will gladly provide you with an answer... if you can make it to me." Garlic Jr. turns around and walks inside his castle. Moments later, his voice can be heard from inside. "Ginger, Nikki, Sansho... entertain my guests."
The three creatures take a fighting stance, and stare down Goku and Rainbow Dash with crazed smiles.
"You two won't live long enough to regret coming here. I am Ginger, patron of Garlic Jr."
"We demons of the Makyo Star are the strongest there is. I am Nikki, patron of Garlic Jr."
"We're gonna tear you limb from limb, and paint these halls with your blood. I am Sansho, patron of Garlic Jr."
"It doesn't matter who you are. If you don't get outta my way, you're gonna get floored.", responds Dash with a touch of arrogance.
The three demons chuckle at Rainbow Dash. Once they stop laughing, they speak one word each in the same order they introduced themselves.
"SHOGAYAKI!", screams Ginger.
"NODOAME!", screams Nikki.
"UNAJU!", screams Sansho.
After they shout these words, their already muscular frames increase in size! Their muscles become more engorged, and they grow several inches in height!
Rainbow Dash raises an eyebrow at them. "Well... that's a neat trick."
Music
The three wait for no further responses from their targets. Sansho rushes Goku, and unleashes a fast flurry of punches. Goku raises his arms to block the assault, and he gets pushed back from where he was standing.
Ginger and Nikki charge Rainbow Dash head on. Ginger jumps up and dives down at her with a kick, while Nikki drives at her face with his left knee. Dash rolls hard to her left to dodge the attack, and the two break away from their first strike to follow her. In perfect unision, they let loose a rapid volley of punches at Rainbow Dash. She raises her forelegs to block a strike from each of them, and is then caught in the face with a punch from their free hands. The attack momentarily stuns her, and they each drive a knee into her chest. The combo knocks her back several feet, but she recovers, and back flips to land on all fours.
Goku has almost been pushed back to the edge of the balcony. Sansho pulls back with his left arm, and drives forward with everything he has. Goku uses the slight pause to regain control, and drops down to his hands and knees to duck the attack. He drives upwards with a double open palmed thrust into Sansho's stomach, and the attack knocks him off his guard and off the ground! Goku rolls back, and then flips the opposing way to drive a knee into Sansho's face; knocking him back to the ground. He quickly recovers, and rolls back to his feet. He tries throwing another volley of punches, but Goku catches him by his wrists!
The moment Rainbow Dash lands on the ground, she springs high into the air to create distance between her and her opponents. Ginger and Nikki give chase, and they fly in a circle around her at speeds greater than the average fighter could hope to keep up with. Rainbow Dash is able to carefully follow their movements; now more prepared for the two on one confrontation. Her foes attempt to overwhelm her with a flurry of punches and kicks from all sides, but this time she uses a combination of all four of her legs and both wings to block their offensive.
In unison, they try to strike the back of her head with her elbows, but she raises her wings to block the attack. While maintaining this position, they use their free arms to punch towards her face, but she blocks with her forelegs. They then try to strike her stomach with their knees, but she uses her hind legs to easily stop them. They try the same thing with their free legs, this time aiming at her defenseless back. The split second before their attack hits, Dash envelops herself in ki, and raises her power just a little bit higher. Their attack connects, but Dash is completely unphased!
"My turn.", she grunts out just before vanishing from sight! She reappears, and digs hard into their stomachs with a punch; causing them to hunch over. She slips between them, and sends Nikki flying down to the balcony below with a hard kick to the back. He lands on his face, and the flooring beneath him begins to crack. Before Ginger can recover, Dash knocks him down as well with a fierce punch to the face. He lands hard on Nikki, the floor beneath them breaks, and the two fall through the hole onto another balcony below! Dash smirks, and then glides down through the hole to continue her fight.
Sansho grunts has he fails at trying to pull free from Goku's grip. "L-Let go!", he shouts as he pulls back as hard as he can; all of his effort being in vain.
"Since you asked so nicely!", Goku retorts, and looses his grip on Sansho's wrists. Since he was pulling back with all of his strength, Sansho loses his balance from the sudden release, and stumbles backwards. Goku capitalizes, and rushes forward. He delivers several fierce punches into his opponents stomach, then launches an open palmed strike to Sansho's lower jaw, and then nails him in the chest with a devastating spin kick! The quick, yet powerful, assault launches him into the wall of the castle. Goku runs in, and knocks Sansho through the wall with another powerful kick to the chest.
Sansho struggles to stand up after Goku's powerful assault. He manages to kneel on one knee, and then looks up to see the angry saiyan staring him down. Sansho clenches his fist, and yells loudly as he throws a punch at his foe's face with his right hand. Goku raises his left hand, and catches Sansho's hastily thrown punch. Goku rears back with his right arm, and then knocks Sansho into a tall gargoyle statue with a hard punch to the face.
Sansho falls to his knees after hitting the statue. A small trickle of blood falls from his mouth as he spits out several teeth. "Kkkkk... tch. GRAH! I'LL KILL YOU!", Sansho angrily shouts at Goku. He jumps high into the air, almost to the ceiling of the large room they're in, and brings his hands together in front of him. He concentrates his energy, and a red ball of energy takes form.
Goku doesn't respond with mere words. He cups his hands at his right hip, and focuses his energy. "Ka... me... ha...-"
"DIE!", Sansho yells as he fires a red beam of energy at Goku.
"-Me... HA!" Goku fires his signature kamehame wave to counter Sansho's energy beam. Goku's attack meets Sansho's, and completely cancels it out! Before Goku's foe can even react, he is engulfed by the powerful energy wave, and is almost instantly killed! "That was for Chi-Chi.", Goku says as he clenches a fist. "If those other two are just like this guy, Rainbow Dash should be finishing up soon, too."
Dash lands on the lower balcony; about thirty feet away from where Ginger and Nikki fell. Her opponents are struggling back to to their feet. They eye Dash with angry expressions.
Dash lets out a playful sigh. "I think it's really important for you both to know that I'm not even using a quarter of my power right now.", she nonchalantly informs Ginger and Nikki.
Ginger grits his teeth, crosses his arms over his chest, and grunts loudly; almost sounding like he's in pain. Nikki makes the same sounds, and reaches a hand down to the back of one of his legs. Dash's jaw drops when two curved swords pop out of Ginger's arms! The blades are about the same length as his arms. Nikki rips a large sword out of his own leg! The sword is almost as long as he is tall. Despite pulling the swords from their own bodies, the two appear to be completely unharmed from doing so.
Dash's eyes go wide in shock. "W-wow... That's another... neat trick..."
Music
The two charge her, and resume their tandem assault. They easily weave their attacks together to create an offensive that Dash is having a hard time dodging; even with the large difference in power and speed. After dodging several sets of attacks, Dash manages to roll away from the two, and create some distance between her and her foes.
"Not bad, but ya still can't-", Dash cuts her words short as she feels a slight pain on her left cheek. She runs her hoof across it, and realizes she's bleeding! "Th-They actually managed to cut me! No more playing around..." , she runs through her mind.
Nikki charges her with his sword raised high into the air. He brings the blade down, and attempts to cleave her in two! Dash raises herself up, and catches his blade with her fore hooves! Ginger rushes her from behind, and swings at her mid-section with his dual blades. While still holding Nikki's blade, Dash manages to jump over Ginger's attempted sneak attack. She pulls her hind legs in, and then drives her rear hooves into Ginger's face! The sudden kick launches Ginger into a wall, and Dash uses the momentum from her own kick to jump over Nikki while still holding onto the blade of his sword.
She drives his blade into the floor, releases her grip on it, and then kicks Nikki high into the air. She flies into the air ahead of him, and then sends him flying towards the wall with a powerful punch to the stomach. He collides with Ginger, and the wall behind them begins to crack.
Dash stays airborne, and sticks her wings and forelegs out to her front. She charges ki into them, and a tightly packed ball of energy takes form. "Try this on for size! SONIC WAVE SPHERE!", she yells as she fires her attack at them.
The two look up in horror to see the attack already on top of them. They didn't even have time to scream before the ball of energy pierced through them with ease; killing them.
After ensuring her Sonic Wave Sphere did the job, Rainbow Dash doesn't stop to celebrate this small victory... she has one more fight ahead of her today. She spreads her wings, and flies up through the hole in the upper balcony that was created from her battle with Ginger and Nikki. She lands on the balcony, and walks through the large doorway that Garlic Jr. had use earlier. Once inside, she sees Goku, whom has just finished off Sansho. He senses her, and turns around to greet her.
"Goku, can you sense him from here?", Rainbow Dash asks.
He closes his eyes for a moment, and focuses his senses on finding Garlic Jr. He re-opens them, and points behind them. "Yeah. He's somewhere in that direction. He's staying still. Either he didn't expect us to beat his friends... or he's really sure of himself. From what I sense, he's stronger than these guys, but won't be too much trouble." After finishing his words, Goku starts walking in the general direction that he senses their next opponent. Rainbow Dash follows him, and the two navigate their way through the enormous castle.
"Rainbow Dash.", Goku speaks up. "You can't sense ki, can you?"
She quickens her pace to walk side by side with him, then shakes her head and responds, "No. The guys that trained me couldn't either, so it's something I've never been taught how to do."
"It looks like you'll be with us for a while. That's something I'll be sure to teach you how to do."
Rainbow gives him a confused look. "What? What are you-", she stops herself. Her memory returns to the day she was wished back to life, and seeing the dragon balls turn to stone after they were used. "Wait... Do the dragon balls here turn to stone after they've been used, too?"
Goku nods. "Yeah. And they stay that way for one year."
"Just my luck. If Lunalia doesn't show up, I've got no choice but to fight the saiyans with you guys."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now..." Goku stops, and looks at the large double doors that have loomed into view. "He's on the other side."
"This guy had his lackies beat up Chi-Chi to steal the dragon balls. What was so important that he was willing to do something like that?", Dash openly questions.
"We're about to find out.", says Goku, and pushes the large wooden doors open.
Spread out before them is a massive, multi-floored room. Each side contains large pillars that are supporting large walk ways that lead to other parts of the castle. The room is so high, and the floors so numerous, the two can't tell just how high the room goes. Just as all the rooms they passed through to get here, everything is constructed from black stone. A long red carpet leads from the doorway they stand in, to a large golden throne. Garlic Jr. sits upon the throne; waiting patiently for his 'guests' to arrive. The giant size of the throne makes the small demon appear even smaller.
"Hmph. I see you managed to make it past my three patrons, and did so with minimal injury. Excellent work.", Garlic Jr. says with a smug grin. "I've underestimated you. Perhaps you can make this fun for me.", he says as he hops off of his throne.
"Fun? The only fun here will be for me, when I'm pounding my hooves into your face! I have to wait an entire year before I can go home now!", shouts Rainbow Dash.
Goku takes a fighting stance. "What was so important of a wish that you were willing to beat up my wife to steal the dragon balls?", he asks as he intensely eyes Garlic Jr.
Music
"What was so important, you ask?", Garlic Jr. says with a smirk. "My revenge against Kami is what is so important. And for that..." A gust of wind blows in all directions from Garlic's location. His cloak billows in the wind, and his eyes begin to glow red!
"I-I sense a tremendous power coming from him!", says Goku in shock.
"What!?", respond Dash in the same tone.
"For that I... needed... IMMORTALITY!", Garlic shouts the last word with ferocity as an energy field surrounds him, and he suddenly increases several times in size! His skin color turns to a very dark shade of green, and the spots on each side of his head turn blood red. He now towers several feet over both of his foes, and his muscle mass has drastically increased. His shirt and cloak were shredded, but his pants and boots have stretched to fit his new form.
Rainbow Dash and Goku stare in shock at Garlic Jr.; both fighters completely shocked by his sudden transformation.
Music
"Now...", he begins to speak with a wicked smile spread across his face. "... Let me take you both to Hell!"
Garlic charges Goku and Dash at an incredible speed! The two take a defensive stance to brace for the hit, but he passes right through them without impact! They look up in confusion, only to be plowed through from behind! They both get knocked clear to the other side of the room, but manage to correct themselves and land properly. The moment they land, though, Garlic's monstrous frame is already to them! A hard punch to Goku's chest knocks him into one of the pillars, and it begins to crack.
Dash jumps at Garlic, and plows into the back of his head with a kick. Her foe doesn't so much as flinch as she bounces off of him, and he spins hard to deliver a devastating back-fist strike! The attack launches her into a wall, it indents from the impact, and she falls to the floor. "Th-This guy is really strong!" , she thinks to herself.
Goku is back up, and charges Garlic head on. He delivers a flurry of quick punches to Garlic's stomach, then rears back, and drives in with one more as hard as he can. Garlic simply smiles, and drives Goku into the floor with a powerful down swing!
"HYAAAA!", Garlic hears behind him. He turns to see Dash launching herself at him; hooves poised to strike. She throws a flurry of her own punches, but Garlic easily blocks them with one hand. He sidesteps one of her strikes, and then blasts her through to the next floor with a small energy blast!
Garlic then looks down to Goku, whom is trying to get up from the floor. Garlic raises up his foot, and tries to bring it down on the saiyan. Goku notices his foes' attack, and barely manages to roll out of the way in time. He rolls up, performs several back hand springs to create distance between him and his opponent, and then unsheathes his power pole. Goku charges once more, but this time swings his staff hard as he shouts, "Power Pole, Extend!" The staff greatly extends in length, and smashes against the side of Garlic's head!
Garlic grins, and shifts his eyes to the staff. He grabs hold of it with one hand, and then jerks it really hard; forcing Goku directly to him once more. Goku lets go of the staff too late, as the momentum was still enough to cover the distance between the two, and he pulls up his arms to block the impending strike. Garlic pulls his arm back, and throws another strong punch at Goku. Moments before the attack can land, Rainbow Dash dives in with a strong kick to Garlic's hand; throwing his attack off course, and causing it to miss!
She flies up the length of his arm, and grinds her knee into the middle of his forehead. She pushes off, and then drives in again with flurry of punches and kicks to his chest. Garlic takes a step back, then reaches out, and grabs her with both hands! He jumps high up, spins around, and then drives her into his own throne! The thrones shatters to pieces, and he leaves her lying there to return his focus to Goku.
Goku rushes in before he can turn around, and jumps in with a kick to Garlic's back. The surprise attack does nothing, and his foe spins hard to deliver a devastating elbow strike to Goku's face; which knocks him back into the cracked pillar. With the second hit, the pillar breaks. Before Goku can fall to the floor, Garlic rushes him, catches him on the inside of his arm, and crashes him through every pillar in that row! He drives him into the wall, and laughs maniacally as Goku falls to the floor.
"HAHAHAHAHA! You are both pathetic!", Garlic Jr. says as he walks to the center of the room. "Even if you weren't so weak, you can't kill me! I have eternal life!", he loudly gloats.
Dash slowly rolls to her stomach. A few drops of blood trickle from her nose. "This guy... I'm not gonna be able to handle him without giving this everything I have. Time to up the ante..." , she thinks to herself. She stands up, and then begins to escalate her power to its maximum.
Goku manages to work himself up to a knee. "Heh. Rainbow Dash is raising her power. She's got the right idea. Can't be holding anything back against this guy." , Goku ponders as he watches Dash from across the room. He stands up, and starts removing his weighted clothing. He pulls off his heavy undershirt, his wrist bands, his boots, and they all fall to the ground with a loud thud.
Garlic Jr. eyes his opponents as they stand back up. "Hehehehe. Oh, this is priceless. I've already made it abundantly clear that you can't beat me, yet you still get back up as though you stand a chance. Who are you... Who are you, to think that you can stand up to the new master of this world!?"
"Who... am I?", Rainbow Dash speaks after hearing Garlic gloat. Garlic's arrogance, coupled with his vile plans, is causing Dash's anger to steadily build. "I'll tell you who I am.", she says with a level of intensity. "My name... is Rainbow Dash!" As she speaks, she takes slow, heavy steps towards her opponent. With each step, the hoof that steps forward causes the floor beneath it to crack. "I am from another version of Earth; an Earth where pony-kind rules!"
Music
Dash's anger builds with every step, and every word. "I'm not here by choice! I was forced here! And you stole my chance to go home! Immortal or not..." Dash stops, and stares intently at Garlic. "... I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS!", she screams as she charges him at full power!
Garlic isn't prepared for such a large increase in her speed, and she plows full force into his stomach; stunning him for a moment. She lets loose a furious volley of punches; trailing from the bottom of his stomach, all the way to the top of his chest. She places a hoof on one side of his neck, and flips over him. As she flips, she draws her hind legs into her chest. When she levels out, she bucks him with all of her strength at the top of his back; sending him flying across the room.
As he crashes through the wall to the outside, Rainbow Dash lands in front of Goku. She looks him over, and then turns away from him. "I'd like you to stay out of this. I want him all to myself.", she says, and then takes off after Garlic once more. She passes through the hole in the wall, and is blind sided by a strong kick to the stomach from Garlic. The attack knocks her into the air, and Garlic fires several energy balls at her. Dash regains her senses, and barely manages to dodge the first few shots.
As the final shot approaches her, she sticks her forelegs out, and catches it! She's pushed back slightly, and then rolls the ball over her head. Garlic flies into the air after his target, and lunges at her with a fist. Dash rolls to the side, and easily dodges his punch. Garlic turns, brings his hands together, and tries to bring them crashing down onto Rainbow Dash. She flaps her wings to move back, and Garlic just barely misses her. He lands on the ground with a loud crash, while Dash hovers high above him.
Garlic charges his hands with ki, and fires several blasts of energy at his foe. Rainbow dives towards him while evading his energy assault. She flips around, and takes aim at his face with a diving kick. He hops back to avoid her attack, and attempts to kick her the moment she lands on the ground. She manages to jump over his leg, and then he hurls one of his massive fists at her. She spins in the air, and kicks his fist as hard as she can; successfully deflecting his attack. Knocking his fist away throws him off balance, and Dash takes advantage by driving into his chin with a reverse flip kick.
Her kick lifts him off the ground, and she spins hard once more; catching him in the chest with another devastating kick. The attack sends Garlic crashing through the walls into another part of the castle, and Rainbow Dash lands back on the ground. "It's obvious that I'm stronger, and faster than this guy. If he's immortal then I can't really beat him. Guess I just gotta make him realize he can't beat me either." Dash's arrogant side begins to take over; now realizing she holds a distinct advantage over her enemy. She trots towards the hole in the wall made from her last attack; having a cocky smile spread across her face.
She passes through the hole, and takes several steps inside; noticing this room is almost identical to the one where the fight started; except this one had no throne. Garlic Jr. is up and waiting for her; visibly livid over being bested by something less than half his size. In a rage, he charges her, and starts wildly throwing punches. She easily dodges his haphazardly thrown attacks. After dodging several of his punches, she rolls beneath him, and kicks one of his legs out from under him. He falls forward, and she drives both of her fore hooves into his stomach; once again knocking him into the air.
He stops himself, and then blasts energy at her. She easily side steps the beam, and looks up at him with a smirk. He grits his teeth in anger, and then starts hurling more ki shots at her. She launches herself at him, and easily weaves around his ki shots. Her charge on him was a fake-out, and she flies around him at speeds he can't keep up with. He screams out of pure frustration, and wildly hurls energy balls in random directions; completely missing his target each time, and causing massive damage to the structure around them.
She reappears inches away from his face, and he stops his energy assault. He opens his hands up, and attempts to crush her between them. She sticks her forelegs out, and stop his hands dead in their tracks! He tries, to no avail, to overpower his much smaller opponent. As he stares Rainbow Dash eye to eye, he now realizes that though his life is infinite, his power is still finite, and he stands no chance of outright killing his enemy. Dash pulls her hind legs in, and plows them into Garlic's face; forcing him to relinquish his attack on her.
She drives a hard punch into the bottom of his sternum, then she flips over him, and plows into his back at full force. She flies down at full speed, and drives him into the floor; creating a powerful shock wave, and leaving a small crater from the impact! Rainbow Dash bounces off of Garlic with the impact, and lands close to the hole in the wall she entered from. She carefully watches Garlic Jr; mentally daring him to get back up.
Thunk
A small chunk of stone hits Rainbow Dash on top of her head. She looks up, and realizes that the entire room is collapsing from all the damage Garlic did to it with his energy volleys! She jumps back to the outside, and runs until she feels she'll be out of the way of anymore debris. She watches the structure collapse on itself, and come crumbling to the ground; burying Garlic Jr. under more than a ton of solid stone.
Dash stands, watches, and waits for any sign of movement after the dust settles. When she sees nothing, she smirks. "Hmph. Don't bother getting back up.", she says aloud, and then walks back into the room where she left Goku. As she steps back into the large room, she says, "I showed him what happens when I get mad. Don't think he'll be bothering us again." She says to Goku.
Before he can respond, the large doors to the room open, and in walks an elderly Namekian. He's heavily wrinkled, thinly built, taller than Goku, and wearing a white robe.
"Ah, Kami!", greets Goku.
"Hm. Hello, Goku. It's been some time since we last met.", Kami replies. He then turns his eyes to Rainbow Dash. "So, you're the one that I sensed enter our world.", he speaks to her.
"Um... yeah.", Dash hesitantly responds. "I'm Rainbow Dash."
"I am Kami, Guardian of the Earth. I would like to thank you for defeating that alien invader, and again for defeating Garlic Jr. in my place. I came here to stop him myself, but you two were already fighting him by the time I arrived.", he responds.
"Kami? Hey, you're the one that Garlic guy was wanting revenge on, aren't you? And how did you know I'm not from here, and that all of this was going on?", Dash asks.
"That's right. He did say that right before he attacked us.", Goku mentions. "Why would he want revenge against you, Kami?"
"Rainbow Dash, I can see and sense many things from my lookout, miles above the Earth's surface. I sensed the invader yesterday, and I sensed your arrival as well. I also know of the two saiyans that will arrive in one year. As far as Garlic Jr.'s revenge against me..."
Kami stops for a moment, and clears his throat. "Three hundred years ago, his father and I competed for the throne of Kami. Garlic secretly intended to use the title of Kami for evil intentions. The former Kami saw through his evil schemes, and I was selected to be the successor. Garlic was furious, and he raised an army of demons to destroy the Earth, and the former Kami. However, the former Kami was too powerful for him, and he was defeated, and his powers sealed away. He vowed that, in three hundred years time, he would have his revenge. I never imagined his son would be the one to carry out his evil will..."
Kami continues speaking. "Though I was unable to be here for the battle, I am glad to have found you two here. Goku, I want you to gather all of your allies together, and come back to the lookout. I have special training in mind for everyone, so that the Earth may be prepared for the arrival of this new threat."
He gives Kami a nod in return. "Yeah. I'll get Krillin and the others, and come to the lookout as soon as possible. We've all got to train harder than ever to even have a hope of a chance." He looks down to Rainbow Dash. "Are you going to join us? Even if you don't join us in the fight, we could really use your help getting ready for it. We may even have a few things we could teach you."
"Totally. I'd like to learn how to sense ki, and maybe come up with a new attack. All I have right now is my Sonic Wave Sphere. And you guys could use the help of somepony who can even beat up an immortal! Hahaha!", Dash laughs.
"She... She utterly crushed me! I've been humiliated by a pony! No... NO! It won't end like this! I am Garlic Jr.! I am immortal! I am master of this world! If I can't kill them... THEN I'LL LOCK THEM IN THE DEAD ZONE!" , Garlic screams in a rage in his mind.
Music
The grounds of the castle begin to violently shake. Rainbow Dash looks back to where she put down Garlic Jr., as a loud explosion urges on the already violent shaking! "Did that creep not learn his lesson!?"
The debris covering Garlic explodes, and he rises from the ashes. "DIDN'T I TELL YOU!? I CAN NEVER DIE!", he yells out of raw anger. He begins exerting a massive amount of energy, and the ground around him begins to crack and break. Stone shards from the breaking ground rise into the air around Garlic. He loudly grunts, and the sky behind the castle begins to swirl!
Kami's eyes widen in horror. "No! He couldn't be!"
"What's he doing!?", asks Goku; perplexed by what's happening.
The swirling sky undergoes a drastic change in color. The sky turns a dark shade of red, and a black void opens within it! Moments after the void opens, it creates an incredibly powerful suction; so powerful that even Goku and Rainbow Dash are being drug towards it! The three dive towards separate pillars, and cling tightly to them; fighting to avoid being pulled into this dark vortex.
"IF I CAN'T KILL YOU, I'LL TRAP YOU IN THE DEAD ZONE! IT'S AN UNSPEAKABLE, HELLISH NIGHTMARE THAT YOU CAN NEVER ESCAPE FROM! NO FOOD! NO WATER! NO SUN LIGHT! YOU WILL SUFFER IN DARKNESS UNTIL YOU INEVITABLY DIE!", Garlic screams.
The walls of the room surrounding them shatter, and the strength of the suction substantially increases! Rainbow Dash tightly closes her eyes, as she clings for her life to the pillar; refusing to let go, and hoping it doesn't break. "This isn't fair! Why is this happening!?"
Kami's grip on his pillar slips, and he's sucked towards the Dead Zone! Goku dives off of his own pillar, grabs hold of Kami's hand, and uses his other hand to grab onto a step on the floor. He fights with everything he has to hold on; refusing to give up. "Hang on tight, Kami! I'm not letting go of you! If you go, I go!", Goku shouts.
"This can't be happening! This can't be happening! After everything that's happened, this is how it ends!?" , Dash frantically runs through her mind. As she fights for her life to hold on to her pillar, important memories begin to rush through her mind. Her first sonic rainboom, the day she met each of her best friends, defeating Nightmare Moon and Discord, her own death, being revived... then one specific moment flashes through her mind, and all senses fail her. Every one of her senses focus on this memory. She no longer hears the roaring suction of the Dead Zone. She no longer feels the wind, or her hooves latched onto the pillar. Her grip loosens, and she is unknowingly being pulled towards an unending hell!
Music
"Gone!? What happened to her!?", Dash asks Rarity in a panic.
"I'm sorry... I don't really understand it myself.", Rarity responds with deep worry. "After watching Cadance die, she lost control of herself. All of her magic began pouring out, and she opened some kind of black and red vortex that began to suck everything into it. That unicorn knocked her inside, and that was the last we saw of her.", she replies in tears.
"She's in an alternate variation of earth; similar to the one Vegeta came from. The equine races do not inhabit this world."
Lunalia sighs. "I am unsure. Due to where I'm searching, I can't view things as I normally would. I can only catch vague glimpses here and there. I've caught on to about the point in time she enters this world, but... she soon disappears again. I'm not sure of what happens to her..."
Rainbow Dash is now halfway to the entrance of the Dead Zone, and she suddenly stops. Her mind somewhat returns to her, but is now focused on something entirely different. "Twi... light...", she mutters under her breath as she lands on the ground.
Goku suddenly notices a sharp increase in her power. "What's going on!? She was already maxed out! Where is this coming from!?"
Dash's wings flare out as her inner power begins to surge forth. "Give... her... back..."
"What?", Garlic Jr. questions. "What are you mumbling about? Losing your mind before you die?"
Rainbow Dash stares dead at Garlic as she begins to glow. "Give... Twilight... back... Give... her... back..."
"What are you going on about!?", screams Garlic. "Never mind! Just die!", he shouts as he exerts more energy, and increased the pull of the Dead Zone to its maximum!
With the pull as strong as it is, Goku is no longer able to hold on. His grip fails, and he and Kami hurtle towards the doorway to a world of suffering!
"Twi... light...", Dash says between breaths. Her power surges once more; this time launching a massive beam of energy at Garlic as she screams, "GIVE BACK MY FRIEND, TWILIIIIIIGHT!!!!!"
"What's this!?", Garlic shouts in shock as the massive beam approaches him! Before he can try to move, the massive beam of energy collides with him... and knocks him towards the still open Dead Zone! The pull is far too strong for Garlic to resist, and he is sucked into the dark abyss that he himself opened! His faint cry of terror can be heard as the portal to the Dead Zone slowly closes. Soon, the sky above returns to normal, and the air is calm once again.
Dash's power drops back down to its normal levels. "Twi... This is where you're gonna be, isn't it? That portal... the color... the way it sucked everything into it... It's too similar! I... I know what I need to do..." , she ponders.
"Wow. If that place is anything like he described, I bet he's wishing he didn't have immortality right about now.", Goku says as he approaches her.
"Goku...", speaks up Dash. "I'm going to stay here."
He gives her a confused look. "What do you mean?"
She looks up at him with fire in her eyes. "I'm going to train harder than ever before... and I'm going to stay and fight!"
Lunalia lies on the floor, looking into the eyes of the one whom she once shared the Equestrian throne with. His eyes were filled with hatred and confidence; hers with fear and uncertainty. She has no idea how long she was unconscious, but she can feel that none of her power has recovered; the effects of her spell going awry drained far more from her than it normally would. Dawn Breaker possesses nearly twice the power of Celestia, and in her current state, he could easily kill her.
Dawn Breaker narrows his eyes at Lunalia. "Come back to conquer your kingdom, Dark Queen?"
Lunalia's mind races as she struggles to find her words. "There may be no way to convince him with words alone that I am purified of the darkness that gripped me, but I must try."
"Th-This is not my kingdom to conquer.", she says to him; her eyes still filled with uncertainty. "I am no longer the Dark Queen, nor am I the queen of anything. I have renounced my crown, as I no longer have need of it."
"LIES!" , he practically roars at her. "You were willing to destroy your own kin to take the throne for yourself. You mercilessly slaughtered all who stood in your way, and took sadistic pleasure in each life that you ended.", he reminds her.
She turns her head to avoid his angry glare. Being forcefully reminded of the incidents of her past wrenches her heart. "Th-These things I... I can not deny. There was a time when all I cared for was power; believing myself to be a goddess." She closes her eyes, and lets out a sad sigh. She opens her eyes once more; now filled with determination, and returns her gaze to meet his. "But those days are over. I can never undo the evils I committed. It is a foalish notion for any to believe that I ever could, and I am more than deserving of whatever forms of punishment that are currently running through your mind. But, for now, I can't allow it. There are six innocents that are in desperate need of my aide if they are ever to see their home again."
"Six innocents that require your aide?", he questions. "Cease with your nonsense. Trying to confuse me will do you no good. The only reason you still live is because I allow it."
The determination behind her last words begins to falter; now seeing that pleading her case will be to no avail. But through his words... something slips through. "Why... Why am I still alive? I was unconscious. Even your guards could have dispatched me. Why leave me alive, knowing the threat that I once posed?"
"Because I must ask you the same question I asked you three months ago. To prevent something like you from ever being born again, I must know what happened to you. What was the truth behind your descent into madness?"
She once again averts her eyes. "That is a question I wish I had the answer to. I was hoping... that you could tell me."
Dawn Breaker now bears an annoyed look. "Your words change, but your answer remains the same. You toy with your words, and refuse to provide the answer I seek." He takes in a deep breath, and exhales as a bright silver glow envelops his horn. "I was afraid that this is how you would respond. Fortunately, I have a back up plan in place." He stops for a moment, and his eyes begin to glow as well. "When we discovered you four days ago, I sent a platoon of my best soldiers to Tartarus to ensure that no other creatures had escaped, and to search for clues on how you managed to escape. Once they return, I will have my answers." After he stops speaking, the intensity of the magic surrounding his eyes and horn greatly increases.
Lunalia looks back up to Dawn Breaker, with sadness in her eyes. "I know you believe that my words can not be trusted, but you must believe me. I have been purged of the evil that gripped my very soul. I am no longer the angry beast that you sealed in stone. There are innocent lives that I must protect. Please, you must not strike me down!"
He pays her words no attention, and a large ball of magic takes form over him. "Goodbye... for the last time..." He closes his eyes, and two words run through his mind that he can't bring himself to speak. "My love..."
Before he can strike her down, the door to the small stone room they are in flies open so hard that it falls off of its hinges. Dawn Breaker's concentrated magic dissipates, and he turns his attention to the panicked pegasus that now stands in the doorway. "Sergeant Cirrus? Your platoon should only have arrived at Tartarus this morning. Why have you returned so soon? What has happened?"
He's panting heavily, and tries to catch his breath. His eyes nervously dart back and forth from Lunalia to Dawn Breaker. He finally catches his breath, and quickly bows. "S-Sire. I... I don't really understand this... I just... I can't even..."
A single spark of hope ignites within Lunalia. "Could this be the chance I'm looking for? Is fate going to provide me a way to make him hear me out?"
"Calm yourself, Cirrus.", commands Dawn Breaker. "Gather your wits, and explain what happened at Tartarus. What did you find that made you rush back so soon?"
Cirrus calms himself as best he can; himself still not entirely sure what's happened. He closes his eyes, and takes in several deep breaths. He composes himself, and looks his king in the eyes. "Sire, the unicorns went over it with their magic at least thirty times, and all results came back the same." He stops for a moment, and points a hoof at Lunalia. "Her body is still in Tartarus, just as you left it; imprisoned in stone."
Dawn's eyes go wide. He looks at Lunalia, and then back to Cirrus. "Th-There must be some mistake."
"We thought the same thing, which is why the unicorns checked it thirty times.", Cirrus responds.
Dawn Breaker returns his gaze to Lunalia; uncertainty is visible in his eyes. "I shall give you one chance to explain yourself. Do not toy with your words."
This was it. Fate was giving her the chance she needed, and she was not going to waste it. "What I am going to tell you is going to sound quite far fetched, but will all make sense by the end." She takes in a deep breath, and calmly exhales. "Cirrus is correct. That is my body that is in Tartarus. I currently roam this world as a disembodied soul, thanks to the Curse of the Eternal Stone Walker. However, as you can plainly see, I lay here before you, completely freed from the curse. That is because there are currently two of us in this world; one good, and one evil."
Dawn Breaker's confusion deepens from the beginning of her explanation. "Two of them!? How is this possible!?"
"I am from Equestria's future. A little over two thousand years from this point in time, I manage to break free from the curse, and once again attempt to steal the throne for myself. This time, it is Celestia and Luna who defend it, and... a warrior whose power and ferocity in battle were beyond my comprehension. Within two days of my release, I was defeated. After my defeat, I was purged of the evil that had become my will by the Elements of Harmony."
Dawn Breaker's eyes go wide. "The Elements of Harmony!? They really work!?"
Lunalia nods. "Yes. A few centuries from now, Equestria will find itself in a desperate situation that will require their use. Our two daughters are the ones who discover their secret."
Dawn Breaker's eyes stray from Lunalia. "Celestia and Luna learn to wield the Elements of Harmony..." A smile spreads across his face, and he beams with fatherly pride at the thought of his daughters becoming heroes. But his smile fades when he remembers with whom he is speaking. "As moving a notion as it is, I can't believe your words just yet. You still haven't explained how and why you're here. And what proof do you have that the words you speak are truth?"
"My proof lies in how I got here... I was forced to perfect and perform a spell that we deemed far too dangerous to complete for the sake of saving an innocent life... the Inter-Spatial Distortion Jump."
Dawn Breaker gasps. "What!? But how co-"
Lunalia raises a hoof, and motions for him to stop. "Please, let me finish. I understand that this is much to take in, because much has happened." She closes her eyes, and a look of sadness spreads across her face. "Her name was Twilight Sparkle. She was Celestia's personal student of magic. She possesses a vast pool of untapped magical potential. Though she's only a unicorn, should she ever gain control of this power, her ability would dwarf my own. During the battles that ensued after my recent escape, her inner power violently erupted, and her own power ripped her from this dimension."
"She should not have to suffer for my wrong doings. The only course of action to take was to finish the spell, and find her. After one year of focusing solely on perfecting it, and locating her, I was prepared to make the jump to her location. But... things do not always go according to plan..."
"Mhm... You mentioned six innocents earlier. What happened?", Dawn Breaker asks her; still sounding unsure if he should believe her story.
Lunalia slowly shakes her head. "I'm not sure what caused it, but there was a loud explosion inside the castle. It was powerful enough to violently shake the entire castle grounds. The spell requires absolute concentration, and the explosion was enough to throw me off. Five of her friends that wished to be present for the initial jump got caught up in the spell. Because I lost control, I have no idea where they could have ended up. I didn't even make it to my intended destination."
Dawn Breaker lets out a sigh, and shakes his head. "You didn't make it to your intended destination... What kind of foal do you take me for?"
Lunalia pleads, "My words are the truth! I know it sounds too strange to be so, but everything I've told you is-"
"ENOUGH!" , Dawn Breaker shouts at her in anger. "Maybe there is some truth to your words. Maybe you are from the future. Maybe you did finish the spell. But if you expect me to believe the rest of your elaborate story, then being turned to stone has warped your mind. You were willing to murder your own flesh and blood for the sake of your goals. Every single life you took brought a sadistic smile to your face."
Lunalia shudders, and her eyes begin to tear up. "Please... Stop..."
Her words are completely ignored. "Had I not stopped you, the two that you birthed yourself would have shared the same fate as many others! The only reason I survived is because you toyed with me! And as more and more of your body turned to stone, you cursed my existence! You swore revenge in the worst kind of way! You swore you would escape, and the next time would be bloodier than the last!"
Detailed memories of her rampage begin to flood her mind, and tears stream down her face. "Please... I don't want this..."
"Of course you don't!", he continues to berate. "You don't like the fact that things have not gone as you had planned! You came back to finish what you started, and now you lay here before me without any of your power! The pain you so gleefully caused shall be rectified here and now!"
So Much to Live For, So Much to Die For
"Lunalia! Please, I am your brother! Why are you doi-"
The young alicorn's words are cut short by a black magic spike piercing his neck.
"Brother? No. Ponies have only two names in my kingdom. Servant, or Dead.", Lunalia speaks with a wicked smile.
Two thousand years worth of regret.
Two thousand years worth of sorrow.
Two thousand years worth of pent up emotions.
Two thousand years worth of tears she never found time to cry.
No spell to complete. No goal to keep her mind preoccupied. The sins of her past being thrown in her face. One year after being released from the evil that destroyed her life, and the lives of many others, her emotions had finally reached their breaking point.
"D-Do you th-think that I enjoy this!?", she says through her crying. She slowly works herself to her hooves; finding it difficult with her body in its weakened state. "Do you think I look fondly upon these memories!?" She fixes her gaze on the one yelling at her. "Do you think that I remember with pride taking direct control over Luna, and using her to release me from my curse!? Do you think I love wondering what was capable of driving me to murder my own mother without remorse!?"
The elderly alicorn mare looks up at her daughter from the floor; absolute fear gripping her. Lunalia places a hoof on her target's head. "Soon, my dear sweet mother, you shall become just like our ancestors... a distant memory."
A burst of energy leaves Lunalia as she lightly chuckles, and her target is beheaded.
"Every day that I wake up is a living nightmare! I constantly wonder 'Will I suddenly turn again?', 'Will I wake up one day, and be willing to walk that same path of evil again?', 'Will another like me show up, whom has turned evil without knowing why?' Can you fathom what it's like to beg for death each and every day, but can't let its sweet embrace take you yet!?", she shouts as her tears continue to flow.
Black tendrils leech out of Lunalia's shadow, and wrap around the throat of an elderly alicorn stallion.
"M-My daughter, why are you doing this!?"
"Daughter?", she questions with a raised eyebrow. "Daughter' is not my proper title. It is 'Queen'. I'm afraid I can't allow this transgression to go unpunished." A sadistic smile spreads across her face, her eyes flash with dark magic, and the tendrils snap her victim's neck.
"I long for death to take me! I have no right to live! I would love for nothing more than for you to strike me down! But no matter what my personal wishes are, I can not die just yet! There are six innocent young ponies who need my help! Until I rescue them, and return them home, I can not allow myself to die; regardless of what stands in my way! Once I have fulfilled my mission, you may end my life in whatever way you see fit! I am deserving of no less than the absolute worst!"
The young Celestia stands in front of her foal sister, Luna. "Mother, what's going on!? Why are you hurting everypony!? What are you doing!?"
Lunalia looks down into the eyes of her own daughter. "I am removing all obstacles in my way. And now... I'm going to correct my two greatest mistakes."
Lunalia collapses to the floor; her tears never ceasing. She can no longer bear the burden of her own memories. She buries her head in one of her forelegs, and her sobs turn into a loud wailing. The sounds of her sorrow echo through the corridors of the entire castle.
Dawn Breaker looks down at her; in shock at what he is seeing and hearing. "Everything about her has changed. There is no anger. The dark aura she once exuded is gone. At first I felt she was trying to trick me. But last time there were no tricks. She made no attempt at subtlety. Now... everything about her feels... different."
He turns, and looks at the door lying on the floor. He levitates it back into place, and repairs it with his magic. "Sergeant Cirrus."
The pegasus looks to his king, and bows. "Yes, my king?"
"Lunalia is to be left here, and rumors of her return are to be quelled. A guard is to be posted to the outside of this room at all times, and only the most trusted in the Guard are to be allowed at this post. From now until further notice, only I am allowed to enter this room.", Dawn Breaker commands.
"As you command, my king." Cirrus shakily responds. "But... why?"
Dawn Breaker steps out of the room, with Cirrus following, and he shuts the door behind them. "Because I can feel the truth behind her. I will give her the chance to atone for what she has done, and then... if she still wishes for it, I will give her the release that she longs for."
A/N: This chapter features a lot of characters from the Dragonball Universe being introduced all at the same time. Due to the length of time you have been waiting for this chapter, I will not be going through their physical description like I usually do. However, their names double as a link to their Wiki page in case you don't know much about the character.
WEST CITY, CAPSULE CORPORATION
FUTURE TRUNKS TIMELINE
Applejack is standing in the center of an underground room of Capsule Corp. Her eyes are closed, and her breathing is deep and steady. Trunks sits on the floor, and is leaning up against a wall; watching her carefully.
Applejack tenses up, and grits her teeth; letting out a quiet grunt. A bead of sweat rolls down the left side of her face. "C'mon... Ah feel it... Just a little more..." She takes in one more deep breath, slowly exhales... and she gently lifts off the ground. She slowly lifts higher and higher into the air, and comes to a stop about four feet up. When she realizes that she doesn't feel the floor beneath her hooves anymore, she opens her eyes and looks down. Her eyes go wide, and she cheers excitedly to herself. "Yeehaw! Ah did it! Ah'm really flyi- WAH!", she yelps out as she loses focus on staying airborne, and falls back to the floor with a loud thud; landing flat on her stomach.
"Pony feathers... Ah had it.", Applejack complains to herself.
"Flight will eventually become second nature.", Trunks chimes in. "It's hard at first, but you'll get the hang of it. That was good for your first try, though."
"Thanks. I'ma work hard at this all day. I'll have this down before I let maself rest.", she replies with confidence.
"Good.", Trunks says with a nod. "Understand, though, that right now you have a very limited ki pool to draw from. This will severely limit how long you can stay in the air, and how fast you can fly."
"Makes sense. Ah just gotta train as much as possible. So when it comes time, I won't be dead weight."
"You do know that you won't be strong enough to fight the androids, right? Not with the limited time frame I have to train you.", Trunks asks her.
"Yeah, ah know. But y'all 'er gonna have a hard enough fight as it is. Y'all don't need me holdin' ya down. If ah train from now till we leave, ah bet ah could look fer the dragon balls on ma own. The Apple family ain't never had a fifth wheel, and ah sure as hay ain't gon' be the first!", Applejack proudly exclaims.
"Sounds like your family is full of hard workers."
"Yep. Always has been.", Applejack cheerfully responds. "The Apple family has always been a hardy bunch. Mah family practically founded the town we call home. Since then, we've always been a staple a hard work in Ponyville. Anytime anypony needed a set a hooves they knew could handle the job, they came to us. We're honest, dependable, and... and..." Her speech trailed off, as the next word she intended to say dredged up a painful memory. She looks away from Trunks, and seemingly goes into a daze.
"Had you any kind of real strength, I would have been in trouble."
"And strong...", she finally finishes.
"Applejack, is something wrong?", he asks; noticing her odd behavior.
Her ears droop, and she looks at the floor as she sighs. "An Apple is always as strong as we need to be. Ah've always thought a maself as bein' strong. Ah mean, the only pony in town that was stronger than me was ma brother, Big Macintosh. But, then... one punch... one punch turned ma whole world upside down."
"The incident that happened after my father showed up?", Trunks questions.
Applejack weakly nods. "Yeah... Flyin' without wings, blowin' stuff up... Ah thought it was all just some kinda new magic. But, magic don't affect how strong ya are. Ah kicked Star Binder square in the jaw. Ah put everythin' ah had into it. His jaw shoulda came clean off. But... he... he acted like he didn't even feel it. With one light punch, he broke every bone in ma chest. He knocked me so far and high that it broke two a ma legs when ah hit the ground. When ah came too, everythin' was over. Vegeta was gone. Twilight disappeared. Tha ones who caused all that ruckus turned good. 'For ah had a chance to figure out what was goin' on, it was all over."
"Once ah could hit the orchards again, ah thought ma troubles were over; save for a few nightmares about nearly dyin'. Ah was back to bein' that strong mare ah knew ah was. Then ah got caught up in this mess. Ah wind up here, an' even ran into the androids. Jus' like Star Binder, ah kicked 'er dead in the face... Jus ta get reminded a how weak ah really am..." Applejack places one of her fore hooves against her chest. Her eyes close, and her face bears a look of sadness. "Ah don't belong here. I ain't no fighter. Ah hate fightin'. Should always be some way around things without drawn' somepony's blood. Life back home is peaceful. Ain't no need for anypony not in the Royal Guard ta learn how ta fight. 'T's how it's s'posed to be."
Applejack's mood does a sudden about-face as she pulls her fore hoof away from her chest, and slams it into the floor. "But that ain't tha way it is anymore!", she loudly exclaims. "Ah hate fightin', but ah ain't got a choice but to fight if ah wanna live to see home again! Ah'll fight! Ah'll get strong! Ah'll live to see home again! An' when ah get back, ah'll get even stronger! I'ma make sure that no pony ever has to wake up screamin' to tha same nightmares ah have for the past year! NO PONY! Ah ain't gone be the Apple's first fifth wheel, but ah sure as hay am gone be it's first fighter! Nah let's get back to it. Ah got a lot a ground to cover!"
_____________________________________________________________________
West City, Capsule Corporation
Current Timeline
Vegeta is leaning against the center console in his gravity training room. Discord is lounging in a folding chair he has stuck to the ceiling. They're watching Pinkie Pie march in a circle around the room in three times gravity. Discord looks at his wrist, and miniature sun dial appears there. "Well, she's been going about twenty minutes without stopping.", says Discord; sounding bored. "Impressive as it is, this is rather boring to watch."
"You could just leave.", Vegeta suggests in an aggravated tone. "And how does a sun dial work indoors?"
"Oh ho ho.", Discord chuckles. "The same way your hair stays standing in three hundred times gravity."
"And how is that?", Vegeta asks; knowing full well he's not going get a straight answer from the Lord of Chaos.
Discord smiles, and taps his fingers together. "Because reasons."
Vegeta closes his eyes and facepalms. "Ugh. Why do I put up with you..."
Discord's smile grows wider, and he responds in a slightly higher pitched voice. "Because more reasons."
"You make me regret bringing you here more and more with each passing day."
"Oomph!", Vegeta hears right in front of him. He diverts his attention from Discord, and looks to the source of the sound. Pinkie has slipped, and now lies on the floor on her stomach.
"Get up. You haven't earned a break yet.", Vegeta scolds her.
Pinkie doesn't verbally respond. She takes in several quick, shallow breaths, and attempts to force herself back up. Despite the boundless amount of energy she seems to possess, she feels as though she's already reached her limits, and is unable to stand up.
"If you don't get up now, it's going to get even worse.", Vegeta tells her.
"You know he's not bluffing." , Pinkamena chimes in. "You'd better get up now, or you may not get up ever again."
"I... I can't... It's too hard..." , Pinkie mentally responds.
"You've dug your own grave by asking me to train you.", Vegeta callously tells her as he increases the gravity in the room to times four. "If you thought I was going to take it easy on you in the beginning, then you're a bigger fool than Lunalia when she tried to goad me into killing Celestia. Now get up, or die trying."
Pinkie's best efforts go to waste, as the increased gravity has left her pinned to the floor.
"Is this the best you can do? You're worthless!" , Pinkamena taunts.
"No I'm not!" , Pinkie mentally shouts back.
"You're stuck to the floor. That seems pretty worthless to me. As far as I can tell by this point, convincing you to do this was a waste of time. Guess you don't want to see your friends smile anymore." , Pinkamena continues to berate.
Visions of her friends in despair floated through Pinkie's mind. "Yes... I... do!", she struggles to say aloud, and manages to work her fore hooves to the floor.
"Ha! At this rate you'll either die, or fail at controlling yourself and kill again!" , Pinkamena continues to taunt as she flashes the bloodied images of Star Binder through her host's mind.
"No... I... won't!", Pinkie openly shouts back as she manages to work her rear hooves to the floor. She pushes against the floor with strength beyond what she has; trying to block out the vile images her darker side is forcing into the forefront her mind. "Kkkkkkkkk...", she grunts through her grit teeth as sweat pours from her face, and strains every muscle in her body to fight the intense gravity. Very slowly, her center inches away from the floor. "I won't lose control! I'll see me friends smile! This will be worth it!"
Pinkie Pie's legs begin to stall out from fatigue. "And you had such a good start. You aren't cut out for this. Just quit." , Pinkamena taunts further.
"I won't lose! I won't lose! I won't lose!" , Pinkie chants to herself while she mentally battles her other half, and continues to fight against the increased gravity. Her legs begin to extend again, though now much slower than before. "I... WON'T... LOSE!", she throws her head up, and screams as her legs reach full extension.
Vegeta watches her in disbelief. He is in a state of pure shock. Despite agreeing to train her, he firmly believed she would want to quit after realizing just how hard it was going to be. Yet, here she was, standing in four times earth's natural gravity. "Unbelievable! Just last night this much gravity pinned her to the floor! Was yelling at herself like that really that effective!? It was almost like she was talking to someone else. I wonder if... THAT incident has something to do with this..." , Vegeta ponders. He reaches over to the gravity controls, presses a button, and the machine powers down.
Once the gravity of the room has returned to normal, Pinkie drops to her knees. Her breathing was quick and shallow, and her thoughts were almost incoherent.
"You're welcome." , Pinkamena tells her.
"For what? You were being mean to me!" , Pinkie replies.
"Well, duh. It's called destructive criticism. It helped, didn't it? I think you owe me a 'thank you'."
Before Pinkie can even think over her other half's words, Vegeta unknowingly interrupts the conversation. "Pinkie... Is what Rarity and Fluttershy told me true? Did you really kill him?"
Pinkie Pie's breathing levels out, and she lets out a sigh as her eyes look to the floor. "Y-Yeah... I killed Star Binder..."
"I'd only spoken with you twice before that happened, but what you did completely contradicted the attitude you displayed around me. What happened to make you do that?", Vegeta asks her.
"I... I was just trying to be nice. He was trying to hurt everypony. I just thought he maybe never ever had any friends. I tried to be his friend... tried to show him he didn't have to hurt anypony. But he... he didn't want my friendship. He beat me up... He kept throwing me into a pile of glass. But what hurt more... hurt more than anything..." Pinkie stops talking for a moment, and uses a hoof to wipe away a few tears welling up in her eyes. "He told me I was a waste... Nothing I did was worth anything. After that... it was all a blur. I keep having nightmares about what I did... But the accident itself... I can only remember eency weency teency little things about it... Until I looked in my hooves, and was holding his heart..."
Pinkie Pie is no longer able to hold back her tears, and they begin to steadily stream down her face as she sobs. "I couldn't stop him... and he hurt Applejack... he killed Cadance... Twilight vanished... all because of me. If I had been stronger, I could have stopped. Cadance wouldn't have died, Applejack would have been okay, Twilight would still be home, and I could have stopped Star without killing him..."
"Hmph. You are a fool.", Vegeta tells her with no qualms.
Pinkie attempts to dry her eyes, and looks up at Vegeta with confusion in her eyes. "Wha... What do you mean?"
"You think it's that simple? You think your enemies will just bow down when they realize they can't beat you? No. That's not how it works. When they realize they can't beat you, they get desperate. And, when they get desperate..."
Pinkie leans in closer to Vegeta; drawn in by what he's saying.
"When they get desperate, they're willing to resort to anything that could kill you. No matter how crazy it is."
"B-But if I'm strong enough, they can't beat me...", Pinkie says; trying to contradict the Saiyan prince.
"I said no matter how crazy... That includes something that could potentially kill them too.", Vegeta explains. "When Kakarrot ascended to Super Saiyan, he completely outclassed Frieza. When Frieza realized he couldn't win, he resorted to trying to destroy the planet. Cell did the same thing when he fought Gohan. Majin Buu attempted the same thing when Kakarrot and I fused to stop him. The point is, if you think just being strong enough to stop them is enough, you are a fool."
Pinkie's ears droop, and she looks to the floor. "Are you going to stop training me then... Since I don't want to kill?"
Vegeta puts his hands on her head, and forces her to look him in the eyes. "Hehehe. No. I told you. Until I say otherwise, you belong to me. I will change your way of thinking. You wanted ME to train you, so I will. Before this is over, I will have you molded into a fighting machine."
Pinkie Pie loudly gulps. "What did I let you talk me into, Pinkamena?"
__________________________________________________________
KAMI'S LOOKOUT
"OW!", Rainbow Dash yelps out as she runs face first into the pillar of an archway... for what seems like the hundredth time today. "Do I seriously have to wear the blindfold? I can't even sense you right now, Mr. Popo , let alone these pillars that don't give off a presence at all! At least quit running between them!"
"You need to feel out my presence, and closely follow my movements.", Mr. Popo responds. "As long as you move the same way I do, you'll avoid the pillars."
"Geez. Easier said than done!", Dash complains. "I can't even sense you at all, yet! Just give me some of that weighted clothing you gave everyone else so I can get started on the real training. This just feels so pointless! I need to focus on getting stronger so I can floor these saiyans."
Rainbow Dash is joined by Goku, Krillin, and a group of their close friends that all rank as the strongest fighters in the world; Yamucha , Tien , Chaozu , and Yajirobe . Together, they all hope to reach new levels of strength so they may defend the Earth in one year from the coming saiyans.
"Are these saiyans really that strong?", asks Yamucha.
"Like you wouldn't believe.", answers Krillin. "The one that we fought a few days ago knocked me through Muten Roshi's home with just his tail. He almost killed Goku and Piccolo like it was nothing."
Goku nods in agreement. "Yeah. If Rainbow Dash hadn't jumped in, we would have been dead. She killed him easier than he beat us, and the two that are on their way are supposed to be much stronger than her. Even I'm a bit scared..."
"Wow. That's really unusual for you, Goku.", Tien speaks up. "You're usually the first one to run into the fight. For you to be even the slightest bit scared... These guys must be unreal."
Chaozu tugs on Tien's pants leg. "Tien, do you think we can do it?"
Tien looks down sternly at Chaozu as he clenches his quivering fist. "We don't really have a choice. It's going to take nothing less than everything we have to prepare for these guys."
Yajirobe has stood off to the side, and remained quiet the entire time as though he were thinking about something. "So let me get this straight... The talking horse with wings isn't dinner?"
"Hey, you creep! I can't see you, but I can still hear you!", Dash angrily shouts to Yajirobe.
"Settle down, everyone.", Kami says as he approaches the group. "Rainbow Dash, you need to be patient. Learning how to sense ki will become essential in battle. Being able to react to what you can't see may save your life."
"I know, but... but we don't know how strong these guys are gonna be! So I need to get as strong as I can! I have to make sure I can stop them. I have to make sure this world is safe when Twilight shows up!", Dash responds.
"Twilight? Wasn't that the name of your friend that disappeared? Why would she show up here?", Krillin asks her.
Rainbow Dash nods. "Well, she did the same thing Garlic Jr. did.", she starts to explain as she pulls off her blindfold. "She watched her sister-in-law die, and she lost control of her magic. When that happened, she opened the exact some kind of portal that Garlic did, and got knocked inside. When Lunalia explained where Twilight was, she said she was in a world just like this one where there were no ponies. But the weird thing is, she just kind of appears, and then she disappears again not much later."
"So that's what changed your mind about staying.", Goku says. "Hopefully you're right about your friend."
"Yeah... Thing is, even if she does show up here, how will I know? How in the world am I gonna find her?"
"You may leave that to me.", states Kami with a smile. "I can see much of what is happening in the lower realm. I will keep a close eye out for your friend."
"What!? That's awesome! With that, I won't really have to worry about it, and can focus on my training! Thanks a lot, Kami!", Rainbow Dash ecstatically shouts.
"It is of no problem, Rainbow Dash. Your plight, and the plight of your friend Twilight, is something I am deeply concerned about. Without your aide, this world may perish. This is the least I can do in return for the help you are offering."
Without your aide, this world may perish.
Kami's words echo through Rainbow Dash's mind. "Oh man... I really wish I had pushed myself as hard as Bladewing and Iron Horn did..."
________________________________________________________
THE DEAD ZONE
ONE YEAR AFTER GARLIC'S IMPRISONMENT
"Curse that Rainbow Dash!", Garlic Jr. fumes. "She will pay for defying me, and trapping me in the Dead Zone!" He clenches his fist, and grinds his teeth at the memory of being launched into the Dead Zone by the enraged pegasus. "The Makyo Star draws near, and with it, my full power! Just another day or two in this hell, and I may draw enough power from my home planet to escape this nightmare! Even in this dark abyss, I can already feel its power fueling me. Soon... very soon... I will escape, and I will gather my four strongest minions. With the power of the Makyo Star behind us, that wretched pony will be powerless against us!"
Suddenly, all of Garlic Jr.'s senses are set on edge, as he feels a powerful burst of energy emanate from within the Dead Zone. "What was that!?", he says as he looks in the direction that he felt the surge of energy. His eyes go wide in shock. He sees it, but he can hardly believe it... he was not alone. He can't make out what it is yet, as the creature is a great distance away. The small demon decides to investigate, throws his hood on, and slowly approaches the intruder.
He stops once he is close enough to make out the physical features of this new creature. He stares, once again in shock, at what he is seeing... a pony. Though this one looks different than the one that imprisoned him within the Dead Zone. Having a lavender colored coat, and a horn instead of wings. "This is impossible! How did that end up in MY Dead Zone!? I am the only one that can create the portal to this place! How did- ... Wait..."
"GIVE BACK MY FRIEND, TWILIIIIIIIGHT!"
"Is it possible that this is who that accursed Rainbow Dash was talking about!? But this isn't possible! I must ascertain the truth."
Garlic Jr. continues his approach to the unicorn that has somehow invaded his Dead Zone. As he gets close, he hears her scream. "EVERYPONY I KNOW IS DEAD, AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE I AM!?"
"Time for answers..." , Garlic thinks to himself. "You are in a place that exists beyond time and space."
Twilight Sparkle turns around to see Garlic Jr. The two converse for several minutes. Garlic twists the truth for the sake of gaining information, and Twilight unwittingly falls for all of it. "Oh, tee hee." Twilight giggles. "I was so lost in my own sadness for a moment that I forgot my manners. My name is Twilight Sparkle. What's yours?"
"My name... is Garlic Junior..." He turns away from her, and a wicked smile spreads across his face. "This is perfect! I have no idea how this could have happened, but it has! It is not for me to question... only to exploit! I have duped this pony into believing I actually need her help to escape from here, and gotten her to believe that she probably won't end up back at her home once we escape! My revenge shall be so much sweeter than originally planned! Instead of killing Rainbow Dash, I shall use the dragon balls to send myself, my minions, and the Makyo Star to this... Equestria... and we will lay waste to it! She will return to find her entire world in ruins! And her friend here... hehehe... I shall keep her barely alive, and then kill her right in front of her!"
Garlic turns back around to face Twilight. "So, Twilight Sparkle...", he begins to speak as he pulls back his hood to reveal his face. "Tell me about your home... Equestria."
C2- The Grand Tour Begins
CANTERLOT
Tuesday, 7 AM
The streets of Canterlot are bustling with its usual early morning traffic. Businesses are opening their doors, restaurants are serving breakfast to the Canterlot elite, and ponies are trotting through the streets whilst going through their daily routines. Today is a normal weekday for the residents of Equestria's capital. But, for four ponies and a baby dragon from Ponyville, today is a very special day.
"Ah cain't hardly believe it! We're really gonna get to see her again!", excitedly states Applejack.
"This is going to be great!", shouts Spike.
"This is going to be sensational!", ecstatically agrees Rarity.
Even the normally quiet Fluttershy is visibly excited. "I can't wait to see Twilight again. I hope she's been okay."
Pinkie Pie is bouncing rather than walking. "Are you kidding!? I bet you AAAAAAAALL the sweets in Equestria that she's super duper okay!"
"I'll take that bet." , chimes in Pinkamena from Pinkie's mind.
"DON'T BE NEGATIVE!", Pinkie aggravatingly shouts out loud. Her four friends slow down while they all turn to look at their pink friend; all of them bear a perplexed look. She looks back at each of them and simply says, "What?"
"Uh... Nothing.", replies Spike.
The group continues walking, and reminisces about their time they had spent with Twilight Sparkle prior to the incident a year ago. They laughed and giggled like young fillies until they reached their destination: Canterlot Castle. As they stand before the main entrance, Rarity takes a few steps back, and drops her head as she thinks about the day Twilight disappeared. "Do you... Do you think she'll be angry with me?"
"C'mon, Rarity. Ya know she ain't gonna mad atcha.", states Applejack.
Spike steps in next. "Exactly, Rarity. You know Twilight. She's going to be so happy to be home that it won't matter how she felt a year ago."
"Th-Thank you. All of you. I guess I'm just really worried about all of this...", Rarity says with a sigh.
"Regardless of whatever grudge she may, or may not, have held against you a year ago, my sister is the one pony out there who could find it in her heart to forgive you.", they hear a stallions' voice say.
They all turn to see a white unicorn stallion, wearing black and purple armor, standing in the entryway to the castle. "Do you really think so, Shining Armor?", Rarity asks.
"Of course.", he replies with a nod. He then motions for the group to follow him, and walks inside. "She was always nice, but never good around other ponies. The moment I saw her after her stay in Ponyville, I knew something had changed. And it was a good change. I want to say thanks to all of you for being there for her. She's lucky to have great friends like you.", he says as they walk through the castle.
"We're the lucky ones.", speaks up Fluttershy. "She's been such a great friend to all of us, and not to mention that day we all met her. If she hadn't arrived when she did, there's no telling what might have happened."
They continue to walk, and talk about Twilight as they venture through the castle. They eventually climb up a long, spiraling stair case, and find themselves in front of a large set of double doors. Shining Armor stops, turns around, and begins speaking again. "Everypony, except the generals, that were involved with the incidents a year ago are already inside." He looks away from the group, and now has a look of irritation. "You were warned." Shining's horn glows, the doors open, and the group walks inside.
The moment they walk into the room, a pegasus in a Wonderbolts uniform appears in front of them. "Bout time you all got here!", Rainbow Dash tells the group.
"Dashie!", Pinkie shouts as she pounces on her cyan colored friend. "It's been sooooooooooo long since we've seen you! What's it like being a Wonderbolt!? How was your first show!? How was-", her words are cut off as Dash vanishes from beneath her, and she falls to the floor.
Dash is now standing a few feet from where she was pounced. She dusts off her costume as she says, "It's been amazing! Better than I could have ever dreamed! Wait.... It's only been just over a week since I last saw you, Pinkie."
"Geez. What a prick. She couldn't even ask you to get off of her before dumping you on your face? Then again, I probably would have just knocked you into the door." , Pinkamena says with an annoyed tone.
"Please be nice, Pinka...." , Pinkie says in her mind to her other persona.
"Screw nice. That's what I have you for." , she retorts. "And don't shorten my name like that. I hate it. Do it again, and I'll make you start having more nightmares."
Pinkie slowly gets up and looks at the floor. "Please don't...", she says under her breath.
Dash ignores Pinkie last words; believing she's talking to herself again. Everyone is completely unaware of the existence of her darker personality. Rainbow Dash looks over to her other friends. "So, you guys excited as I am?"
"Course we are!", states Applejack.
"It'll be great to finally have her back!", Spike shouts.
"I can't wait! She's gonna be shocked to see all of us. Bet she falls out when she finds out I made it into the Wonderbolts! But, was there ever any doubt I'd make-", Dash cuts her sentence short as she feels a hoof smack her flank.
"Hey, Dash. Ya gonna introduce me to your lovely lady friends here?", Thundering Sky asks with a sly grin.
Before anypony can say anything, Dash swings around, and drives a hoof into Sky's face. The sudden attack sends him flying through a window with a loud crashing sound. All of her friends stare in shock. "Rainbow Dash! Don't you think that was a little excessive!?", Rarity asks in shock.
Dash's face is red, and she's shaking a hoof in anger. "Not excessive enough....", she replies.
"I'm surprised you don't have permanent hoof marks on you from how often he does that, Rainbow Dash.", Titan Hoof says as he approaches the group. "Between you and Bladewing retaliating like that, maybe one day he'll learn to stop."
Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Spike all look up at the giant-sized earth pony. "Wow... I barely stand taller than his hooves...", says Spike in awe.
The initial shock of seeing Titan Hoof for only the second time soon turns to fear as Star Binder approaches the group. "Eep.... him...", Fluttershy gasps out as she hides behind Rainbow Dash. The rest of the group, with the exception of Pinkie, slowly backs away towards the door. Pinkie stands still, but is nervously looking away.
"Oh look. It's that unicorn you killed. You should crack a joke about stealing his heart. It'll alleviate tension in the room." , Pinkamena says; taunting her other half.
"Please, not now, Pinkamena..." , Pinkie mentally replies.
Rainbow Dash sees what's going on, and moves in between them. "Hey. He's cool now. No need to be afraid.", she says, trying to calm her friends down.
"After what I did, they have every reason to fear me.", Star Binder says. "Such incidents are not so easily forgotten. It is a day that shall forever be engraved in my mind.... a day that I shall regret as long as I exist."
"As you should. Cadance still has nightmares because of you. She may never get over what you did to her!", Shining Armor says with anger.
Thundering Sky has returned from being knocked outside; now bearing an obvious hoof mark on his forehead. He quickly jumps in front of Shining Armor. "Hey, buddy. We're not the bad guys anymore. Alright? We fight for Equestria now, not against it. So just lay off."
"Lay off? LAY OFF!? All three of you can lay off the front you've put up! When are you three going to turn on us again!? All of you can just-", his words are cut short by Princess Celestia.
"SHINING ARMOR!", she shouts. "This is not the time or place for this.", she speaks with obvious irritation.
"M...My apologies, your highness.", he says as he bows. Everypony follows suit, and bows before Celestia.
"All of you, please keep it down. We don't want to disturb her.", Celestia explains as she motions towards the back of the room. Sitting down in a corner of the room, and enveloped by a black magical aura, was Lunalia. Luna, who was standing next to her, approaches the rest of the group.
"She must have focus. Her eyes are delving into worlds far beyond our own.", explains the princess of the night. For the next few minutes, all stood in silence. After nearly fifteen minutes of waiting, the magical aura around Lunalia fades. Everypony in the room silently watches her; eager to see what she will do.
After several more moments, she opens her eyes. Her eyes dart around the room as she takes in her surroundings. She finally looks over to Luna and asks, "How long... How long was I in my spell?"
"Mother, you were searching for almost seven hours.", she replies.
"Seven hours!? She was like that for seven hours!?" , Rainbow Dash ran through her mind. "No way I could sit down doing nothing for that long!"
Lunalia slowly stands up, and stretches herself out. Celestia speaks up. "Well? What are the results of your search?"
Lunalia pops the joints in her wings before responding. "I found her." Twilight's closest friends all jump and shout with excitement. Shining Armor, Celestia, and Luna all let out a sigh of relief. "Do not celebrate yet. Finding her and bringing her back are two entirely separate matters. Finding her was only a matter of time.... a very long time. Today I spent seven hours searching, but I've been searching for her the better part of the year."
Applejack gives Lunalia a confused look. "Now wait just a minute. You hadn' found 'er yet, but you went ahead and wanted us all to show up today?"
"Well, yes and no.", the former queen of darkness replies. "I had narrowed down my search to a specific world. I managed to perfect the Inter-Spacial Distortion Jump spell, as perfect as possible anyway, and the time to make the jump drew near. I had already found her. I was simply finalizing exactly where I needed to jump."
"Where is she, mother?", Celestia asks with concern.
"She's in an alternate variation of earth; similar to the one Vegeta came from. The equine races do not inhabit this world."
Rarity steps up and nervously asks, "Is- Is she okay!?"
Lunalia sighs. "I am unsure. Due to where I'm searching, I can't view things as I normally would. I can only catch vague glimpses here and there. I've caught on to about the point in time she enters this world, but.... she soon disappears again. I'm not sure of what happens to her..."
"I'm not following....", Spike says. "Did you find her or not?"
"I see... Maybe things will become more clear if I explain all of this in more detail. I can't just magically pop into another world, and there she is. I have to focus on a specific time and location in that world before I can make a jump at all. When I search, I can't simply take a quick peek and be done. I have to comb the entire timeline of that world over very thoroughly. To top this off, there are an infinite number of alternate worlds. The fact that I've found her within the last year is nothing short of a miracle."
"An infinite number of worlds!? How is that possible?", asks Shining Armor.
"For each decision we make, there is a choice we did not take. As such, an alternate world exists where the opposing choice was made. That is why these are not truly alternate worlds, but instead, are alternate timelines. Events far, far in the past may be different, which could cause other races to exist other than our own, or our own not exist at all in some cases."
Star Binder now speaks up. "If you're speaking of jumping into different points in another worlds' time, why not simply go back in time here, and stop her from ever leaving this world?"
"Because...", Lunalia sighs once more between words, "... it would change nothing in this timeline. It would simply create another alternate world where things turned out differently. I know this, for I have already tried. I've gone to such lengths as going back, and defeating Shadow Wing on my own. Therefore preventing me from needing me to go into Tartaros, and hence preventing me from ever becoming corrupt. Yes, even with doing this, things here remain the same. Which is why I must venture out, and reclaim the Twilight Sparkle that went missing from this timeline. Do all of you understand now?", Lunalia asks after finishing her lengthy explanation.
"Lu... Lunalia. Will you be safe? Can.. Can you make the jump safely?", asks the meek Fluttershy.
Lunalia nods and smiles. "Yes. Over the last month, between searches, I've made several test jumps to perfect the accuracy of the jump itself. It's impossible to hit an exact point of my choosing. I could be as little as a few minutes off.... or as much as several months. Once I jump, I could return within a few minutes from now, or it may be several months. The spell itself is also very taxing on me. Even with the vast amount of magical power that I possess, the spell consumes almost eighty percent of my magic. To keep myself from nearly dying from magic overuse, I need to wait at least three days before attempting to cast the spell again. Now.... I'm ready to begin. If you would, I ask that all of you back yourselves against the walls, and keep yourselves silent. I require a bit of room, and complete focus for this."
Everypony in the room backs to the walls, and stand side by side. Lunalia stands in the center of the room; her head held high, and her wings in full spread. Her eyes close, her horn begins to glow, and a black aura begins to surround her. All eyes are watching her with anticipation and nervousness as the aura surrounding her darkens, and black lightning begins to arc all around her. Runic symbols begin to appear above and below her.
A JOURNEY'S BEGINNING
Suddenly, a massive explosion rocks the entire castle! Bookshelves in the room tumble over, all of the occupants in the room fall down... and Lunalia begins losing control of her spell! The lightning surrounding her begins striking all over the room!
"NO! NOT LIKE THIS!" , Lunalia screams in her mind as she struggles to regain control of her spell.
Fluttershy and Rarity grab hold of each other in fear. "What's happening!? Somepony stop thi-", Rarity begins to scream but is cut off as one of the black bolts of lightning arcs in her direction, and blasts her and Fluttershy! When the flash of lightning disappears, so too did Rarity and Fluttershy!
"NO!", shouts Rainbow Dash in fear. She attempts to fly to where her two friends were, but is blasted as well! And just like her two friends, she also vanishes!
"Mother! What's happening!? Stop the spell!", Celestia shouts.
"I... I CAN'T! I HAVE NO CONTROL ANYMORE!", Lunalia screams back.
"I ain't waitin' 'round here to get blasted! We gotta get outta here before we all end up like that!", Applejack yells to the others as she runs to the door. She rears back her hind legs to kick it down, but gets blasted and vanishes before her kick can follow through! Before she can even make out a whimper, Pinkie Pie is also blasted by lightning, and vanishes just like the others.
"No... No... Dawn Breaker... please protect them..." , Lunalia prays in her heart to her long since deceased husband, then her spell finally finishes, and she disappears as well.
The magical energy in the air dissipates, and the air in the room settles. The rooms' occupants, however, begin to panic.
"What.... What was that!? What was that explosion!? Where did they all go!?", stammers Celestia.
Before anypony can offer a response, the doors to the room fly open, and Iron Horn rushes inside. His normally calm face is panic stricken. "Your... Your highness's!", he says as he quickly bows and stands back up.
"What is it General!? What was that explosion!?", asks Luna with much concern.
"A.. A meteor! The castle was struck by a meteor! Several fatalities are already confirmed! The structural integrity of this part of this castle is waning! We need to relocate immediately!", he hurriedly explains.
"A meteor!?", Celestia shouts. "Of all the... what... how.... WHY!? WHAT'S GOING ON!?", she screams in panic.
___________________________________________________________
FLUTTERSHY & RARITY
The bright light that surrounds the hugging pegasus and unicorn fades. They cling tightly to each other, and refuse to open their eyes. After several minutes, they realize they can no longer hear the screaming and shouting that was happening in the room they were in, and the air feels completely different. They slowly open their eyes to view their surroundings, and now see that they're in the middle of a dense forest. They gradually pull away from each other.
"Where... Where are we, Fluttershy? Is this the Everfree Forest?", Rarity asks as she looks at their surroundings.
Fluttershy also takes a good look around. "No... this couldn't be. You can see the sun shining through the trees." She gulps down some saliva as she tries to grasp the situation. "I'm... I'm going to take a look above the trees.", she says as she releases Rarity from her grip, and slowly flies into the air. The weak flyer struggles to push through the tree tops, but manages to make it. Once she pushes through, her eyes widen in absolute fear at what she sees before her.
"What can you see? How far are we from the castle?", the marshmallow white unicorn calls out.
Fluttershy pushes back through the trees, and lands in front of Rarity; her face still struck with fear.
"Fluttershy, what's wrong? You're scaring me."
Fluttershy looks Rarity in the eyes. "We're... we're surrounded by tall mountains, and deep valleys. The castle is nowhere in sight... Rarity... I don't know where we are."
Rarity's jaw drops. "What!? If... if... if... we're not... Where are we!?"
_______________________________________________________
PINKIE PIE
Pinkie Pie now finds herself in an entirely different location. The land is flat, more or less, and appears to be dry and very rocky. A vast ocean expands out around her location, and the large patch of land she's on is void of any greenery.
"Wow... looks like you're on a big island with nothing on it." , states Pinkamena.
Pinkie walks around in circles trying hard to think about what happened. "What do you think happened?", Pinkie asks her other side.
"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say... something bad! We're obviously not in Canterlot anymore." , replies her darker side.
"Yeah... This... this isn't good...", Pinkie says as she slumps to the ground.
____________________________________________________________
APPLEJACK
"Where in the hay am I!?", Applejack asks herself as she surveys her surroundings. She stands in, what was once, a large metropolitan city. Buildings that once stood tall, lay crumbled on the ground. Roads that were well paved have been torn to shreds. All kinds of machinery, that the orange mare can't even begin to comprehend the function of, lie broken and busted all over the place.
"This looks like it used to be some kinda big city, like Manehatten or Fillydelphia. But, what the hay coulda happened here!? Looks like there was some kinda big war or sumthin'.", she says aloud to herself.
__________________________________________________________________
RAINBOW DASH
Rainbow Dash emerges from a flash of dark energy, and now finds herself in a grassy plains area. Directly in front of her, she can see a few trees here and there, and can see tall mountains in the distance. "What the... what happened!? What was that explosion!? And what.... what the hay is that!?", she says as she notices a large crater to her immediate left. She walks over to it, and at the center is a large metal sphere. She almost slides down to investigate, but stops when she sees a bright flash of light on the opposite side of the crater.
She looks up to see one creature hovering high in the air, firing two big beams of energy at two other creatures. She's not close enough to make out any physical features. "Okay... I have no idea what's going on anymore."
____________________________________________________________________
LUNALIA
Lunalia appears next to a very small town that's close to a set of large fields. The moment her hooves touch ground, she collapses to her stomach. She's struggling to breathe, and sweating profusely.
"What happened!? What was that explosion!?" , she asks in her mind, "Where did the girls go!? For that matter, where did I end up!? This looks nothing like where I was aiming! That accident... I've used up.... far more magic.... than... I should have..." Her thoughts begin to disconnect. She attempts to try and stand up, but to no avail. "Must.... go.... Have to.... find them.... Up.... to.... me...."
Her final thought trails off as her eyes close involuntarily, and she loses consciousness.