//------------------------------// // Filler Chapter 5: The Tatzlwurm // Story: Dragonball Super: Rise of The Super Alicorn God // by UltraInstinctGoku //------------------------------// [Ponyville's Outskirts, Somewhere] Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom were walking in the nearby grass fields, not too far from Ponyville. The first two were wondering, curious about why the farm filly wanted all of them to follow her. “Maybe Apple Bloom found something new that could lead to us obtaining our Cutie Marks?” Sweetie Belle pondered. Usually, they would first meet at the Cutie Mark Crusaders HQ, otherwise known as the treehouse within Sweet Apple Acres, to choose their new activity together. What was it that makes this case so different? "Hey, Apple Bloom," called Rarity's little sister, "Why are we here again?" "Yeah," supported Rainbow Dash's number one fan, "You were acting pretty weird before!" Not too long ago, Sweetie Belle was busy fixing Rarity's creative room, while Scootaloo was going around Ponyville with her scooter. This all changed when Apple Bloom summoned both of them for something she deemed important. "Don’t worry girls, y’all gonna see it sooner than later," The yellow-coated filly responded, trotting towards a bunch of bushes in the distance. The orange pegasus and the alabaster unicorn looked at each other for a moment as they followed their friend. "What do you think it could be?" asked the latter, receiving a shrug of the shoulders from the former as an answer. A few minutes later, the Crusaders reached the bushes and, as their friend instructed, hid inside them. Once there, Scootaloo asked, "So, where's this 'important thing' you wanted to show us?" Apple Bloom, however, couldn't answer because of the sound of a nearby explosion. Instinctively, they moved the leaves to see what caused it and saw the ones responsible for the loud noise. They saw Spike and their friend, Son Goten, practicing Martial Arts with his father. The movements and techniques done by the two of them left the Crusaders amazed, marveled at the skills showcased by both father and son. Spike, on the other hoof, was sitting on a rock with his eyes closed, meditating in peace. "Is this what you wanted to show us, Apple Bloom?" whispered Scootaloo with an excited tone. "Yeah," she answered, "Ah discovered their place of trainin' by chance a week ago. Though Spike wasn't here the last time I checked." "Do you think he's taking lessons from Goten's dad?" wondered Sweetie Belle. "If practicing Martial Arts means teaching me how to fly like Goten, then sign me up! I want to be one of his disciples too!" exclaimed the orange-coated filly with stars in her eyes. Since Goten's arrival, she learned that there was another way to soar through the skies: one that didn't involve wings nor magic. The young hybrid told the Crusaders that he learned how to fly thanks to his big brother, Gohan. Not only that, his flying ability was actually a 'technique’. In order to master the secrets of Bukujutsu, or ‘Dancing in the Skies Art’, one had to know at least the basics of Martial Arts. Meanwhile, Goku was exchanging some blows with his son, while also introducing him to the Turtle Style of Martial Arts. Goten was first trained by Chi-Chi, then Gohan, and was briefly trained by Piccolo. Nowadays, however, he was more influenced by Trunks' fighting form, who obviously based his style from his father. Goku wanted to fix that, as fighting wasn't just about using raw power and strength, but also tactics and strategy, especially against stronger foes. The Turtle School's fighting style was, as its name suggested, inspired by the sea turtle's mechanisms of offense and defense. The style's defensive stage, the carapace, consisted of letting the opponent attack first to make him uncover all or part of his secrets, as the fighter saved energy defending himself thanks to his vigor and reflexes. On the other hoof, the offensive stage, the bite, was meant to take advantage of the foe's disregarded defenses to counterattack with unspeakable speed and strength, ending the battle as soon as possible. Goku realized for a moment that his obsession for battles got in the way of the principles of that style. It was ineffective in prolonged battles against stronger foes, and he tended to let his fights last for too long because of his excitement for battle. As a result, he rarely used 'the bite' and overused its defensive stage. Instead, he mainly relied on a somewhat Vegeta-esque approach when it came to attacking. After his first fight with the prince, he never used the Turtle Style in the same way as before, and that was even more evident from the Cell Games onwards. "Dad," Goten snapped his father from his thoughts, "Are you okay? You turned thoughtful all of a sudden." The scarlet-eyed alicorn blinked for a moment before answering with laughter, "It's nothing Goten, I just understood a few things. There’s nothing to worry about." The young unicorn smiled and replied as he got into the Turtle Style's fighting stance, "Okay, then. Can we resume our training?" "Yeah," he nodded as he got into the same fighting stance as his son. Of course, they wouldn't have used their power, due to there being no need for it when learning a fighting style. Moreover, Goku didn't want to disturb Spike, who was focusing on his Ki to unleash it. However, before they could resume their training, they were interrupted by the sudden sound of a branch breaking. They both turned their heads and noticed three fillies hidden in the nearby bushes. This alerted the Crusaders, who had surprised expressions on her faces, but before they could say or do anything, Goten spoke, "Apple Bloom? Sweetie Belle? Scootaloo? What are you doing here?" The three fillies came out of the bushes, finding it pointless to stay hidden by now. Once they were all out of there, Apple Bloom tried to answer, "Well, we were-" However, she was interrupted by Scootaloo, who said with a smile, "We were watching you practicing Martial Arts. You told us you wanted to be a Martial Artist like your dad, but you didn't tell us you were that good already!" "I was just practicing a new style," replied Goten as he rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, you mean like Karate instead of Kung Fu or something?" asked Sweetie Belle. Goten was confused by her question, "Karate? Kung Fu? I never heard of those." Goku noticed it and explained, "Twilight has a book about Equestrian Martial Arts. I'm still learning how to read in Ponish, but that book mentioned both Karate and Kung Fu. I think those are fighting styles from here." Goten's doubts dissipated thanks to his father's explanation, but he would take a look at that book later anyway. Unlike Goku, the young unicorn was educated enough to write and read in English, Earth's equivalent of Ponish, so he wouldn't have difficulties in reading it. On the other hoof, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were left confused. It seemed that they both never heard about Karate or Kung Fu, despite practicing Martial Arts, and they found it weird that Goten's father didn't know how to read Ponish. They decided not to touch the last topic as it could be embarrassing for their friend and his dad. So, they choose to clarify the first one. "You never heard about Kung Fu or Karate?" asked Apple Bloom with intrigue, "What kind of martial art were you practicin' then?" "The Turtle School's fighting style," Goten answered with a smile. "Turtle School?" asked Scootaloo in confusion. "Yep, the one and only," intervened Goku, "On Earth, there are multiple Martial Arts Schools that teach a specific fighting style. I don't know all of them, but I do know some, such as the Turtle School, the Crane School, the Chin-Star School, the Panther-Fang School, the Orin Temple, and King Chappa's Temple." "Oooh," understood the Crusaders in awe. Goten already told them that he and his dad used to live in a world called 'Earth’, and now they just learned a piece of information regarding their home. However, Scootaloo snapped from her awe and asked, "Mr. Goku, does one of those schools teach flight? I mean, Goten said it was a technique or something, instead of magic." "Yeah," answered the scarlet-eyed alicorn with his trademark smile, "Flight is the Crane School's signature technique. It makes sense since theirs is called the 'Crane Style' and cranes can fly!" The orange-coated filly broadly smiled at this: she had a chance to learn how to fly right before her! She tried to ask Goten if he could teach her before, especially after Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's mockery on her inability to fly during their flag-carrying routine. However, the young unicorn had no idea on how to teach a technique to somepony that couldn't use Ki, and it wasn't something one could learn in two days either. But now, things were different, as she wasn't in such a hurry, and Goten's father was surely capable of teaching her that technique. "Girls," she called as she turned away and nudged them into a group huddle to have a 'private' discussion, catching them off guard, "I have an idea: why don't we practice Martial Arts? Maybe we'll obtain our Cutie Marks by doing it!" "Ah don't know Scoots," said Apple Bloom, "Tried Karate with Rainbow Dash once, and it didn't work out so well." "Rarity practiced Judo once, but I don't know if I can do it too," replied Sweetie Belle. "But these aren't ordinary Martial Arts," justified Scootaloo, "I mean, what school teaches you how to fly without the need of wings? And Celestia knows what else! Even Spike is trying." The trio took a quick look at Spike, who was still meditating on that boulder. Then, Apple Bloom resumed the conversation, "Well, now that Ah actually think of it, it's not that bad of an idea. And Ah don't know what to do to obtain our Cutie Marks anyway." "We tried many things," commented Sweetie Belle with a smile, "And I think this is in the less extreme, yet most interesting one so far. I'm in!" "Awesome!" exclaimed the orange-coated pegasus with joy. The trio broke the circle and was about to talk with Goku about the topic, but said alicorn spoke first, "We heard everything, you know." "What?!" they exclaimed in shock. "I told you guys that it doesn't work, especially if you do it right in front of ponies," supported Goten with a drop behind his head. The Crusaders smiled sheepishly for a moment, but then Scootaloo asked with a hopeful smile, "So, do you accept?" Son Goku began thinking about it as he was looking upon them. "What should I do? I would need to bring them to Earth first, and I don't know if Rarity and Applejack will let their little sisters go to another world, let alone allow them to train martial arts. Besides, I don't even know if I'll be able to train them properly." Before he could come up with a conclusion, Rainbow Dash landed next to them all of a sudden and said, "Phew, that was close." "Hey, Rainbow, what's up?" greeted the stallion. The speedster noticed she wasn't alone and greeted as well, "Hey, guys! What are you doing here?" "Just training," answered Goten with a smile. "And we were watching them," said Sweetie Belle. "I thought you were at the train station with the others to wish goodbye and safe travels to Fluttershy," commented the scarlet-eyed alicorn. "I was," she replied, "But then, Discord appeared out of nowhere, asking for personal nursemaids." "Nursemaids?" wondered Scootaloo. "Is he ill or something?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Yeah," confirmed the speedster, "And since Fluttershy is out to see the Breezies, he wanted all of us to replace her. Can you believe it?" "But if he's sick, why did he go to the train station instead of staying at home?" asked Goku in confusion. "That's what I thought!" Rainbow exclaimed, finally having somepony sharing her viewpoint. "Well, It isn't something to be worried about since he can still go around," stated Goten, "I'm sure he'll be fine in no time." "Now," said Scootaloo, changing the subject, "Did you make a decision, Goku?" "Huh? What decision?" asked Rainbow in confusion. "They want me to teach them Martial Arts." "What!? Really?" asked Rainbow in a surprised tone. "Yes!" exclaimed the trio in unison. Goku thought about it again. With his mind clear on an answer, he spoke up again, "Alright, I’ll train you lot." His answer made the Crusaders jump in joy, with Scootaloo being the happiest out of all of them. Then, they approached Goten, who understood what they wanted to do, and together exclaimed as they high-hoofed, "Cutie Mark Crusaders Martial Artists!" "Hehe, yeah, but we won't start right away," explained the stallion, "I'm already training Twilight, Spike, and Goten, and I'll have to ask some things first." "Speaking of asking," intervened Rainbow, drawing Goku's attention, "Do you think there's some room left for another student?" "Who?" asked Goku in confusion. "Me, of course!" exclaimed the rainbow-maned mare with a smile, "I'm still impressed by Twilight's performance back in Rainbow Falls, and I don't want to be outclassed that easily, so... can you train me, please?" A drop appeared behind the alicorn's head as he thought, "At this rate, I'll have to open a Martial Arts School." But then, he answered, "Okay, I'll train you too, but you'll have to wait just like the Crusaders." "Awesome!" exclaimed the speedster in excitement. Right after that, they all heard a groan, something that made them turn around to see Spike, who was looking at them with an annoyed expression. "You guys, it's not easy to concentrate with all that talking." The group laughed nervously in response. Goku forgot they were too close to him, so their rather loud conversation was getting in the way of his training. "Sorry, Spike," he apologized, "We're done here anyway, so you can restart and try using your Ki." The drake nodded and resumed his effort in creating a Ki orb between his claws. On the other hoof, Goku returned back to teaching Goten the Turtle Style, with Rainbow Dash and the fillies watched them all from a reasonable distance. [Ponyville, Star Swirl the Bearded Traveling Museum] Meanwhile, Twilight was walking around the stands and tents that were showing several items that once belonged to one of the most skilled wizards in Equestrian history with her sister-in-law, Cadence. The lavender princess wanted to spend some time with her and bond as sisters, instead of having to deal with state affairs and the fate of Equestria, something that tended to happen almost every time they met. So, a relaxing activity such as visiting a museum was ideal for the two mares, where they could observe, chat, and overall just enjoy the opportunity given to them. For half an hour, both mares beheld some of the ancient artifacts showcased in the place and were about to enjoy more of the Star Swirl's belongings at the main tent. "So, Twilight," Cadence said, breaking the ice as they were heading for the big tent, "Did you do anything exciting recently?" The question confused the lavender mare as she asked, "Anything exciting? What do you mean?" "I don't know," answered her sister-in-law with a calm smile, "Maybe it was just my imagination when I saw you flying away from the Crystal Empire a few days ago." "Oh, THAT," nervously giggled Twilight, "Hehe, it was just a silly race with Rainbow Dash. Nothing special." The crystal princess's eyes wide opened and answered, "You were racing? I thought athletics and sports wasn't your thing." "Well..." she tried to explain. Cadence, however, continued, "Which reminds me... The Aerial Relay tryouts were taking place in Rainbow Falls that day." Then, she realized in awe, "You and Rainbow Dash went from Rainbow Falls to the Crystal Empire and back?" "To be honest, she was the one who chose the route," justified Twilight. "No, no," she tried to elaborate, "I mean, you had problems with your flight skills some time ago, and now you can fly fast enough to reach the Crystal Empire in no time. How did you manage to improve that quickly?" "I just went through the most exhausting training I've ever done in my life," she answered as she felt a cold running down her spine when she remembered her first week at Training Island. "I thought so," replied the Goddess of Love, "But no pony can improve that much in such a short time, at least not with ordinary training." "That's because Goku is teaching me martial arts," she replied with a smile, "And his training method is quite unorthodox and a bit reckless at times, but it's effective and does produce results overall." The pink princess was aware of a certain Son Goku since her sister-in-law mentioned something about him being a new friend in one of her letters, but what caught her off guard was that he was teaching Twilight the art of fighting. Expectedly, her statement left the mare perplexed. Unlike her brother, Shining Armor, she never expressed interest in that field. As far as she knew, Twilight loved science, studying, reading, and the mystic arts, so it didn't make sense for her to practice martial arts all of a sudden from her point of view. Unless... A smirk appeared on Cadence's face as she was looking at Twilight, who didn't notice it all. “So this new stallion is teaching her? Could it be?” she pondered. She first needed confirmation, though, so she tried to gather more info. She didn’t get her specialty in love and romance without a reason. "Interesting. And you get to see him every day, I presume? I mean, if he's teaching you martial arts." "Yes," she answered with a smile, "He's living with me, and Spike, currently. So-" She, however, abruptly stopped, realizing what she just said and with who she was talking. She turned her head and saw her former foal-sitter looking at her with that 'I caught you' face of hers. "Well, well, well," she smirked, "Looks like we got a filly with a very special somepony." "What?!" exclaimed Twilight as she blushed a bit, "No! We're just friends!" "Uh-huh… ," Cadence said, unconvinced, "It's quite suspicious that prior to meeting this stallion, you were never interested in sports. Now, however, you're actively practicing it, training in martial arts nonetheless! Furthermore, you even let this stallion live with you," she said as she was circling Twilight like a hungry shark. "T-that's because he had no other place to go," justified the lavender mare, who was blushing profusely and getting even more nervous, "And it's the only way I could learn about Ki." The crystal princess's smirk vanished as she asked, "Wait, you said 'Ki'?" "Yes, you know what it is?" asked Twilight with intrigue. "Celestia told me something about it a long time ago," she answered, "But it isn't exactly something known to everypony. Which makes me wonder, how does your friend know about it, enough to a point where he teaches others how to use it?" "It's a looong story," she replied as they finally reached the museum's biggest tent and entered. As they admired the ancient items, Twilight explained to her the events that unfolded two months earlier. To say that the Goddess of Love was shocked by the tale her sister-in-law told would be an understatement. The unusual events that happened not so long ago then started to make sense. "That explains the shooting star that destroyed a mountain near the Crystal Empire, and why the sun and the moon were sharing the same sky," commented the pink alicorn as they left the tent, "Not to mention the almost everlasting earthquakes. But seriously, alien ponies and a God of Destruction? That seems more like the plot of some sort of action comic." "Yeah, you’re right to assume that. To be honest with you, I was skeptical when I first heard his story, but it's all true," stated Twilight as the duo headed for another stand, "And the weirdest part is that Princess Luna and Princess Celestia were friends with Lord Beerus. I'm surprised you didn't know about him until now." "I'm relatively new when it comes to being a princess after all," replied Cadence with a smile, "If both my aunties befriended him, it means he visited Equestria long before the Nightmare Moon incident. It's not that weird if you think about it." "I think you're right about that," agreed the lavender alicorn with a smile. "But that isn't going to stop Shining Armor from thinking what I thought earlier. And I'm not completely sure that you’re having him for purely academic reasons," Cadence commented as her smirk appeared again. Twilight blushed again and shouted, "WE'RE JUST FRIENDS!" This action, though, drew the nearby ponies' attention, making the moment more embarrassing for her. But then, she was hugged by one of Cadence's wings, calming her down. "I was just teasing you, Twilight," she kindly said, "But I'm serious about Shining." Twilight sighed and said, "I'll deal with him when the time comes." Then, she smiles with enthusiasm, they were just a few meters away from their destination, and gasped at the sight of an artifact inside a glass box, "The candlestick Star Swirl used to light the way when he was exploring the caverns of Maretania!" Cadence saw it as well and commented in awe, "It is! I can't believe I'm getting to see it in real life!" After those words were spoken, however, the item started rattling until it suddenly became a mini, cerulean-colored Discord, something that made both princesses yelp. The little creature sneezed once, casting a spell that made some wizard hats to fly away by themselves. Then, he got out of the glass box as blue foam and re-assembled himself once he reached the ground. The sudden appearance of the God of Chaos would have annoyed Twilight if it wasn't for Goku's training. The difficulties she went through during that month on Earth far outweighed those she had in not seeing Discord as a nuisance. As a result, she had a surprised expression instead of the usual irked one that was present whenever the Spirit of Disharmony showed up. On the other hoof, Cadence was on guard as she wasn't sure if the chimera-like creature would have tried something or not. After all, she had no interactions with him, but only known him from what he did to Equestria two years ago, as well as the stories the Princesses told about him. "Discord? What are you doing here?" asked Twilight with intrigue. "Oh, dear, dear Princesses," he said with a theatrical tone and added with a serious one, "I'm sorry to say that I'm sick." After that, he coughed, making both alicorns to turn their heads as they covered them with either a hoof or a wing, and said, "Blue flu." "Blue flu?" asked Cadence in a skeptical tone as she never heard of this disease before. "Ah, I fear I've already given it to poor Applejack and Rarity," stated the Draconequus, right before sneezing. However, the crystal princess was able to cast an invisible Magic Health Bubble around her and her sister-in-law before he could unleash the sneeze upon them. "Good thinking," praised Twilight. "Indeed," Discord agreed as he rested his head on the magic bubble, and added, "How would Twilight nurse me back to health if she was sick too? You will be letting me stay at your place until I'm all better, won't you?" "There's no room for a fifth pony at my place," she calmly answered, "Though, I'm sure you already knew that." "But taking in the sick and the desperate - isn't that what Fluttershy would do?" he asked in a dramatic tone, but then he started with the mind games, "Isn't 'helping' something that friends do for friends? Unless, of course, you're saying that you're NOT my friend." After that, he turned and crossed his arms with a sulky expression. "You're right," Twilight agreed, "But, as far as I know, if a pony is so sick, he or she doesn't go around Ponyville choosing nurses." Then, she stared at him and asked, "Are you sure you're as sick as you claim to be?" Discord turned to see her staring at him. For a mere second, he thought that Fluttershy was in front of him, but he then he shrugged it off and answered, "Of course! I thought the blue skin and all of the sneezing was enough to notice it." "If you have the strength to go from...? Where do you live again?" "Oh, it's quite a nice place," he answered as he showed them his home with a spell, "It stands between the pocket dimensions. I call it 'Chaosville.'" "As I was saying," continued Twilight, "If you have the strength to go from there to here, you don't need somepony to take care of you. The only thing you need is either some rest or finding the cure to this blue flu, a task that shouldn't be that hard for the Lord of Chaos." "Well, now that you mention it," said Discord as he dispelled the enchantment, "I already know the cure for my disease." "And you didn't use it because...?" asked Cadence with a raised eyebrow. Discord wrapped himself around Cadence's Health Shield and answered with a grin, "Because its most important ingredient can be found in a place too far away from here. I can't travel that far in my condition." "Yet you made it from outside our dimension to here," Twilight thought as she rolled her eyes. "You see," began to explain the Draconequus as he used a spell to illustrate what he was about to say, "On a hill at the very edge of Equestria, there grows an exquisite magic flower. Pick the flower as it drops its petals at sunset. Then you can make a magical soothing elixir to cure the blue flu. Beware, though, for its guardian: the Tatzlwurm." "The Tatzlwurm?" asked both Cadence and Twilight in confusion as the illustration disappeared. "Yes," replied the Lord of Chaos as he stood in front of them, "It's another reason for me to not go there in such a weakened state." Right after that, he made appear some blankets around his body and a thermometer in his mouth to emphasize how weak he said he was. The lavender alicorn sighed at his antics, but at least this one was a more believable excuse. Though, she thought there was still something off about all of that: Discord looked in good enough shape to defeat whatever this Tatzlwurm was, despite the blue skin and the sneezing. But, she would have given him the benefit of the doubt, "So, where exactly are Cadance and I heading to?" "Well," said Discord as he appeared next to them with a lollipop in his mouth, a fisherman hat, sunglasses, a Hawaiian black shirt, and holding a map of Equestria, "You'll want to head north, turn left, then— Oh you know what, it'd be much easier if I took you there myself." "I thought you were in no condition to travel," pointed out Cadence as the Draconequus used the map to make a paper hat and put it on Twilight's head. "I'm not," confirmed Discord as he appeared between the princess, then he chuckled as he put his arms around their necks, "We'll need to make some arrangements." [Ponyville Outskirts, Somewhere] Meanwhile, Goku and Goten were in the middle of a battle, both using or trying to use the Turtle Style, as the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Rainbow Dash were watching them, with Spike still meditating from afar. Both father and son were standing four meters away from each other while in their fighting stances. The young unicorn attacked first by jumping and firing several Ki blasts at his father. Goku stood still, waiting for the attack, but just when the first Ki orb was about to touch him, he disappeared. The alicorn reappeared on a nearby tree, something that Goten noticed. The Saiyan hybrid resumed the attack, trying to catch his father off guard by jumping and throwing a punch, but Goku just jumped on another tree before he reached his position. Goten was frustrated because each of his strikes failed to hit his father, but he resumed the assault anyway. He tried again to punch Goku, but he began to jump on other trees to keep the distance. However, the little unicorn followed him. His first strike came from above but missed, breaking the tree's branch; the second one came from beneath, missing again with catastrophic consequences for the poor tree, and the third one came from behind but failed to hit its target. The unicorn stopped following his father and started charging a Kamehameha as his sight was set on him. "HAAAAAA!!" shouted Goten as the light-blue energy beam headed at the elusive alicorn. However, Goku stopped moving and began to spin until he vanished from sight, letting his son's attack to destroy the tree he was on. This move caught Goten off guard, something that the alicorn wanted to capitalize on. Son Goku reappeared several meters behind him, in mid-air, and fired several Ki blasts at his son, who couldn't react in time. Goten was hit by the Ki barrage and sent several meters away, but quickly recovered and fell on all fours. However, his father was already attacking as he saw a medium-sized blue Ki orb directing toward him, so he quickly fired a Ki blast to counter it. Unfortunately, Goku's Ki orb was stronger than Goten's, so the former broke through the latter and hit the young unicorn. Despite the blow, he performed three backflips to stand on all four legs again. Rainbow Dash and the Crusaders marveled at the display of power, especially the fillies. Unlike the speedster that already witnessed the battle between Lord Beerus and Goku, they didn't know that Goten was that strong, fast, and also capable of firing magic from his hooves. The same impressions were also given to his father. Meanwhile, Goten started charging another Kamehameha, but he was quickly surrounded by several afterimages of his father. However, it wasn't the usual Afterimage Technique as the clones weren't standing still, but moving to several directions, something that confused the colt. Little did he know that it was the most advanced stage of that technique: the Afterimage Strike. Goten stopped charging the Kamehameha and got into his fighting stance as he tried to figure out where his dad was going to attack. However, his Ki sensing abilities didn't help him this time as Goku's technique seemed to have multiplied his spiritual presence. In other words, he was at his mercy. Goku took advantage of Goten's confusion and punched him on the cheek, sending him toward a tree that was six meters away from his position. Goten crashed into the said tree, ending up in a sitting position. "Oww!" grunted in pain Goten as he was massaging his left cheek, "That hurts." Goku approached him with a smile and said, "That’s how 'the bite' works, Goten. You either have to wait for the right moment or create the conditions to catch your opponent off guard." "Now I get what you mean dad," nodded Goten as he stood up, then he asked with curiosity, "By the way, what kind of moves were those?" "The first one is a little trick I used to defeat Krillin a long time ago," answered Goku with a grin as he remembered the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, "And the thing I did earlier was the evolution of the Afterimage Technique. I used it on Tambourine when I was a kid." "Who's Tambourine?" asked Goten in confusion. "Hehe, I forgot that I still have to tell you the rest of my adventures," he nervously said. Before Goten could say anything else, the Crusaders and Rainbow reached the two fighters, amazement and wonder plastered over their faces of the fillies. “That was so cool, Goten! Ah never knew you were such an amazin’ fighter,” Apple Bloom said with a smile. “Yeah, you’re skills and techniques were just mesmerizing to look at it,” Sweetie Belle added. “Not only that, you were jumping around and firing blasts, going so fast in the air and throwing punches like they were nothing! Then you fired that even bigger blast from your hooves instead of your horn, and then they were explosions, but you scratched it off like they were nothing and-” Scootaloo couldn’t even finish her sentence as a noticeable, high pitched squeal came from her, due to the absolute thrill she had from watching the captivating battle. Rainbow Dash landed next to her number one fan, placing a hoof on her shoulder to calm the filly down. She then added: “Gotta say Goten, I was quite impressed by your little display before. You’re definitely the work of your dad,” she said with an approving smile on her face. “Hehehe, it’s fine guys. But that wasn’t really anything special” Goten nervously said, looking at the ground while rubbing the back of his head. A faint blush appeared on his face. “What are you talking about?! That was awesome!” Scootaloo exclaimed with a smile on her face. “Yeah! It’s not like the average pony can do what ya just did!” Apple Bloom said, supporting Scootaloo’s claim. “If this is what you can show us now, then I can’t wait to see what else is in store from you,” Sweetie Belle complimented. Although he was quite overwhelmed from the compliments, Goten shook his head and looked at the fillies in front of him: “Thanks guys, I really appreciate the praise you gave to me, it means a lot,” he ended it with a smile that reflects the appreciation he had from his friends. Goku was silent throughout the whole situation, his trademark smile adorning his face from the praise given to his second son. He felt a sense of pride, coming from the fact that he, as well as the others, trained the colt to the point that he could stand on his own. Not only that, he was quite the formidable fighter for his age. Although he still had some rough edges, he just had to work with Goten even more and train him well enough to overcome his problems, something he felt that he could do in no time. “Still though, I just can’t wait to be able to fly like that! Did you see how fast he went?” Scootaloo asked the other Crusaders in excitement. “Yep, and don’t forget those stances and movements that Mr. Goku and Goten did. They stood on their hindlegs with ease,” Sweetie Belle said. “Not to mention dem punches they were throwin’. Bet you those could knock off a whole tree!” Apple Bloom added. Rainbow Dash then decided to speak up, “I mean, the moves and stances are cool and all, but is nopony going to mention the blasts that came from those two?” “Now that you mention it, Ah’m just wonderin’ how big sis is going to react to me flyin’ around and shootin’ blasts from me hooves,” Apple Bloom commented. “Don’t think Rarity would like the idea of me flying around in general,” Sweetie Belle said, later adorning a mischievous smirk, ”Hehehe, the amount of pranks I could do to her would be astounding.” “Girls, you think that, once we get our Martial Arts Cutie Marks, we will be going around, saving ponies while beating up bad guys? Like in those comics?” Scootaloo asked in fascination. “Who knows Scoots, only time will tell if we will get our Cutie Mark or not,” Apple Boom said with a shrug of her shoulders. While all of them were fawning over the prospect of gaining new abilities, Goku felt his belly grumble. Despite his hunger and need for food, he wanted to check Spike before calling in a break. He left the group to their own devices and approached the baby dragon, who was still trying to create a Ki orb. He was about to tell him that he could stop for now, but a small spark between the dragon's claws prevented it. The spark became bigger, turning into a small Ki sphere, something that surprised Goku. His surprised expression turned into a happy one as he said, "Spike, you can open your eyes now." The purple dragon obeyed, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he noticed the green Ki orb he just created. With a joyful expression and tone, he shouted, "I did it!" "Good job, Spike," praised Goku, "You're a step closer to learning how to fly!" Immediately after, Rainbow Dash and the Crusaders, including Goten, reached them and marveled at the orb of magic held by Twilight's number one assistant. The speedster flew toward him and commented, "So, this is what you were trying to do all this time, huh?" Suddenly, the orb vanished as the drake started panting slightly, then he replied, "Yeah, but I didn't think it would have been so tiresome." "It's because it's your first time using Ki," answered Goku, "Now, you just need to get used to it." "Awesome!" exclaimed Scootaloo, "Still can’t wait to learn all of those Martial Art things!" "Hehe," giggled the alicorn, "We'll talk about that later. For now, I wanna get something to eat." Spike stood up and said, "Let's see if Applejack can help us with that." [Ponyville's Market] After that, they left the area and headed for Sweet Apple Acres. When they reached the town's market, they spotted both Rarity and Applejack. However, there was something wrong with them: they were light-blue and seemed ill. They were sneezing and crashing into things because of it, something that worried the group. The Crusaders, Goku, and Rainbow quickly approached them to help. Rainbow Dash helped Applejack to stand up as Goku stopped Rarity from accidentally demolishing Cherry Berry's fruit stand. "Geez, Applejack," said the speedster, "What's with the blue coat and the sneezing?" "It's cerulean, not blue," pointed out Rarity, who was standing up with Spike's help. "Whatever," replied Rainbow, "Why are you both like this anyways?" "Discord!" exclaimed both mares in unison. "So, he infected the both of you," concluded the rainbow-maned mare, "Hah! I made the right decision when I got out of there." "It ain't funny, Dash," replied the apple farmer with a slightly annoyed tone. "Well, I believe he made it on purpose," commented the fashionista as she was about to sneeze, but Sweetie Belle prevented that by putting her hoof on her nose. "Thank you, darling," she said with a smile. "You betcha," agreed Applejack, "I think he wanted to ruin Twilight and Princess Cadence's hootenanny as soon as Fluttershy told him about it in her letter. The illness is just an excuse!" "Hootenanny?" asked Goku in confusion. "Informal gathering," answered Apple Bloom, "Ya know, when ya meet a friend and the both of ya do something together." "Oh, right, Twilight told us about it," he replied, "And that also explains why I sense her and Discord along with somepony else getting further and further." "What?!" exclaimed the mares in unison. "We need to-" Applejack tried to say, but she wanted to sneeze. Fortunately, Apple Bloom helped her by putting one of her hooves on her sister's nose. "Thank ya," she said, then she continued, "We need to help them. Who knows what Discord is plannin’!" "I think we need to help you both first," said Spike, much to their surprise. "He's right," supported Goku, "Discord will be the one in danger if he makes Twilight angry, hehe." He said that mainly because of the experiences he had with angry women, especially Bulma, Chi-Chi, and Blonde Launch. They were scarier than any foe he faced down before, in his opinion. He thought Twilight was no exception, despite the fact she was the most patient female he ever met, except for Fluttershy and blue-haired Launch. Though, the rest of the crew but Goten and Spike didn't understand what he meant by that. "Well, somepony knows how to cure them, right?" asked Scootaloo with intrigue. "Zecora!" exclaimed Apple Bloom, "She can help us!" "Right, let's head for the Everfree Forest," supported Rainbow as they all headed towards the border with the fearsome forest. [Equestrian Southern Borders, Somewhere in the Sky] Twilight and Cadence were pulling a massive, golden carriage on which Discord was happily resting as they flew toward the end of the kingdom. “How did Cadence and I convinced ourselves into doing this?” the lavender alicorn was asking herself, but then shrugged it off. The sooner she got the flower, the faster the Draconequus would have left. Not to mention that she was used to Goku's training, meaning that pulling heavy objects was no longer an issue for her. The same, however, couldn't be said about the Goddess of Love, who wasn't in her top physical condition, especially when it came to flying. The calm life in the Crystal Empire and her duties as a princess made her neglect her physical exercises to stay fit, and all the sweating was proof of that. Despite that, though, she was still able to keep up with Twilight, so she wasn't THAT out of practice, right? They soon arrived at their destination: a rocky desert environment was right ahead of them. The border was delimited by the grass field as there was a sharp, straight line between it and the sandy ecosystem. There were countless rocky pillars, hills, and small mountains on the other side, making it even more desolate than it already seemed. Once they landed, Discord pointed at one direction as it looked like he was in a bad state, and said, "It's just at the top of that hill." Twilight and Cadence turned their heads to see the hill he was pointing at. It was a tall, grassy hill, meaning it was still within the borders of the Kingdom, but they had to climb it if they wanted to find that flower. Not to mention, it was protected by a creature named 'Tatzlwurm,' so it wouldn't even be as quick as the former unicorn wished to. As they were heading for its top, Twilight apologized to her sister-in-law, "I'm really sorry about this. All I wanted was to have some peaceful quality time together." "I know," she answered as she gave her a reassuring look, "I was looking forward to it too." Once they reached the top, they were surprised by what they saw. A few meters away from them, a tree-sized flower with pink petals was decorating the otherwise empty grass field. They expected normal-seized flowers, not a tree disguised as one of them. However, there was something off. "Well, here's the flower," said Twilight, "But where is this Tatzlwurm?" As if to answer, the ground began to shake violently. "What in Equestria?!" exclaimed Cadence, who was taken aback by the sudden earthquake. A few seconds later, a gigantic worm-like creature came out of the ground, much to the alicorns' surprise. Its scaled-body was grayish violet and had a red mane-like structure behind its fuchsia head. The creature roared, revealing its tripartite jaw and the three black tentacles contained in its maw. "AAAAH!" they both screamed as Cadence sidestepped to avoid the worm's bite and took off to not be in range. On the other hoof, Twilight backflipped twice to do the same and got into the Turtle School's fighting stance, much to the pink alicorn's confusion. When the Tatzlwurm arose again, the lavender mare attacked by rushing toward it and hit it with an uppercut, making the creature to scream in pain. Then, Twilight flew backward and charged at the worm-like being's midsection with her knee, sending the Tatzlwurm to the other side of the hill. The librarian's actions surprised the crystal princess, who couldn't believe what she just saw. She told her she was practicing martial arts, but she just kicked away a 50-meter long creature. What kind of training she had to do to gain such strength? As she was wondering, though, Twilight continued her assault with an attack spell from above to finish the creature off. However, something unexpected happened: the Tatzlwurm created a magic shield around itself, nullifying her attack. Right after that, the giant worm opened its maw and fired a green magic beam at Twilight, who dodged it. Though, it was a distraction as the creature jumped high enough to reach and hit her with its tail, sending the alicorn to the ground. She, however, was able to land on her four legs as the impact created a small crater underneath her. Immediately afterward, the Tatzlwurm went under the ground to take advantage of the surprise factor. Twilight knew this and closed her eyes as the ground beneath was shaking. When she opened them, they were blizzard-blue and smaller than usual, meaning she activated the Spirit Sight. She quickly set her sight on the ground, spotting the worm's Ki signature, and jumped backward as her foe just came out from there with her maw wide-opened. The failed attack made it vulnerable, so she approached the creature as fast as lightning and punched it with her left hoof, making him go out of the hole. Then, she used the ground to increase her thrust and punched it on the midsection with her left hoof. The blow bent the giant worm, who roared in pain, but it wasn't over yet. Twilight used her momentum to kick the creature's jaw and punched again its midsection with a perfect dual combo that made it retreat a few meters. With a jump, the alicorn was about to hit the top of the Tatzlwurm's head, but the creature created again a magic shield around it, something that stopped her attack. Once Twilight touched the ground, the creature rotated upon itself to hit her with its tail again. However, the lavender alicorn blocked the blow with her left foreleg. The attack was so strong that it generated a shockwave that swept away all the grass in the area, creating a small crater where Twilight was standing. The lavender princess took advantage of the situation and grabbed the worm's tail, then with a rotating movement, she lifted the creature and smashed it onto the ground so hard it created a trench. The Tatzlwurm stopped moving after that, meaning she defeated it. It was just unconscious as she could still see the creature's Ki with Spirit Sight. She stopped using the technique as Cadence approached her, "Twilight… is that really you?" "Uh, hehe, yeah?" Twilight said with a raised brow. The crystal princess giggled and said, "Imagine Shining's face if he was here." Twilight imagined her brother with his jaw touching the ground and giggled at it. However, that brief moment of calm didn't last as the ground began to shake again. They turned their heads and saw the Tatzlwurm rising again as a green magic aura engulfed it. The creature emitted a ghostly whisper as four thin, creepy, almost skeletal arms with long, thin claws grew out of its midsection. Its tripartite jaw wide-opened as a big eye with a red pupil emerged from its throat; all of that as the giant worm doubled its size. "What in Equestria is that?!" asked Cadence as she back-stepped once. Twilight was intimidated as well by the looks of that thing, but then she closed her eyes and started to calm her mind as Goku taught her to do on Earth. Once she had her emotions under control, she opened her eyes again and got into her fighting stance, much to the crystal princess' surprise. Suddenly, the lavender mare teleported in mid-air, at the same height as the eye of the creature, and cast an attack spell. However, the Tatzlwurm shattered the magic beam with a mere punch. Then, it stared at Twilight as its eye glowed and fired several magic beams at her like a machine gun. The princess evaded all of them, but then teleported back to the ground to catch the monster off guard. Unfortunately, it spotted her in an instant and hit her with a magic beam. The attack was strong enough to generate a small explosion, much to Cadence's worry. A few seconds later, the curtain of dust generated by the explosion vanished, revealing Twilight with her forelegs crossed. That blow hurt her a bit, but it wasn't something to be worried about. She quickly dashed toward the creature to punch it, but the monster protected itself by crossing its arms. Then, it caught her off guard by grabbing her, using its tentacles and violently threw her to the ground, making her dig a trench in the process. While she was on the ground, the Tatzlwurm attacked again with a barrage of magic beams, but a light-blue magic shield appeared around the downed alicorn and deflected them all. When Twilight recovered from that blow, she saw that Cadence was protecting her. Before she could say anything, the crystal princess charged at the monster, who attacked her with another storm of magic beams. The pink alicorn evaded some and deflected the rest using her wings as shields. Then, with a quick burst of speed, she appeared above the giant worm as her light-purple eyes were glowing. She dashed toward the creature to punch it, but the Tatzlwurm counterattacked with the same move. The clash between both blows generated a powerful shockwave that cut the nearby rocky pillars in half, but the monster got the upper hand. Cadence was sent near Twilight but landed on her four legs. "You know how to fight?" asked Twilight in a marveled tone. "After what happened with Chrysalis, I took a lesson or two with auntie Luna," she answered with a smile. Suddenly, the giant monster buried its four claws into the ground, making countless black spikes to grow out of it. Both Alicorns looked at each other for an instant and nodded, then they flew low on the ground, taking opposite routes. The spikes kept on growing as they followed both mares, who were flying around the titanic beast. Once they met, both princesses rose to the sky as the spikes created a pointy wall around the monster. After that, Cadence stopped in mid-air as both her eyes and horn glowed and said, "Blizzard!" A giant dome-like shield appeared around them as a snowstorm unleashed, decreasing visibility. It only affected the monster, though, as Twilight used the Spirit Sight technique, and Cadence could see through the fog thanks to the spell she just cast. Then, she backflipped as she started falling, and created a vertical arc of crystalline light with her horn. Once she touched the ground, she performed a roundhouse kick, creating a horizontal arc of magic that crossed with the vertical one. Finally, she used her momentum to punch the intersection, "Crystal Spear!" A beam of crystal light unleashed from the crossed bows and directed toward the Tatzlwurm, who was still dealing with the weather. However, it noticed the oncoming magic-based attack as it was breaking through the fog and shining brightly, so the monster rose all of its arms as they glowed green and tried to smash it onto the ground. Cadence's spell, though, was quite powerful, so it took the monster a lot of effort to nullify it, but it was able to succeed. Unfortunately for the worm, it was just a distraction, for Twilight appeared from the curtain of dust that hammer-like blow generated, catching the Tatzlwurm off guard. Unbeknownst to Cadence and herself, her irises and pupils turned red as she had a serious expression. The lavender alicorn hit the creature with an ax-kick first, hurting its head. Then, she dealt a combo of punches and kicks to its eye, making the mutated worm to roar in pain. The Tatzlwurm tried to stop her with its tentacles, but she used them to increase her momentum, hitting its midsection hard with her knee, propelling the creature toward the top of the dome-like shield. Each of her blows seriously injured the creature, who just fell motionless onto the ground. After that, the snowstorm ceased to be as well as the shield, while Twilight's eyes returned to normal. They both were panting as the downed creature returned to its previous form. Then, Twilight and asked, "Are you okay?" "Yeah," she panted, then added with a smile, "Better than okay, actually." Before Twilight could reply, they felt the ground shaking again and saw that the Tatzlwurm began to move again. "What?! Again?!" exclaimed the lavender princess, who couldn't believe that it was still able to fight. Though, she sighed in relief when she saw that the creature was going into the ground. "Discord had a good reason to not go here alone after all," commented Twilight with a smile, happy to see that he could be trusted after all. "Speaking of which, let's take the flower and make him that elixir," replied Cadence. Twilight nodded in response as they both reached it, took it, and left the hill. Once they reached the place where they left Discord, they saw that he was dancing and singing, not to mention that his skin wasn't blue anymore. "To the ends of Equestria!" he was chanting, "To face such great danger! And she did it for me! She did it all for me, for me, for me!" He was laughing before he saw both princesses looking at him with angry expressions, but their irritated looks didn't make his grin disappear. Twilight dropped the giant flower she was carrying and faced Discord, "You... were... FAKING IT?!" Her previous doubts dissipated because of the Tatzlwurm, so finding out that she was right since the beginning felt like a slap to her face. Even Cadence wasn't happy at all. "I was," he replied as he placed her on the ground again, "But I had a very good reason." "We're listening," she said in an angry tone. "Well, I was in my thinking tree," he started to explain as he made appear a tree beneath himself, "That's where I do most of my really deep thinking - I was there, and I said to myself, I said, 'Discord, your friend Twilight says that she's your pal, but she never writes and she never pops in for a visit.'" Then, he made the tree disappear and approached the duo, "'Now that she's a princess, maybe she's decided that she's too good for you. But how was I supposed to know for sure that I'm truly still friends with one of the most important ponies around?'" He then grabbed Twilight with his tail and ended, "By seeing if you would go to the ends of Equestria for me, of course. Which you did, literally. Congratulations, Twilight, you passed my friendship test!" After that, he gave her a golden necklace with half a heart featuring Discord and proceeded to complete the heart with his necklace that featured his thumbs up covering most of Twilight. She looked at the necklace for a moment, then she stared at Discord with a calm yet angry look as the Draconequus was playing with a flag as if nothing happened. He noticed it and said, "Why the angry eyes? You love passing tests. It's not because my little exam put a damper on your visit with Princess Cadance, is it? Made it so that there was no time for you two to focus on your friendship?" To add further salt to her injury, he was openly mocking her. His pleased grin and the innuendos just made her even more pissed off, activating her red eyes again as she gritted her teeth. For a fleeting moment, her coat turned pale-orange, something that worried Cadence and scared Discord a bit. However, before anything else could happen, the ground shook again, and the Tatzlwurm went out of the ground again. "Does this thing know when to surrender?" asked Twilight in an angry tone. "I don't know," said the Lord of Chaos, "I thought I've already dispelled the power boost spell I cast on him." "You what?!" "It was all part of the test," he justified. But before the librarian could kick his flank, the Tatzlwurm sneezed at him before returning under the ground. Right after that, Discord turned green, and several green points appeared all over his body. Fortunately, Twilight and Cadence were still protected by the Health Bubble, so they wouldn't have been infected. When Discord started sneezing, Twilight's eyes returned to normal as Cadence asked, "Are you okay, Twilight?" "My anger disappeared all of a sudden," she said with a satisfied smile as she looked at Discord, who was sick for real now. "No. I mean, your coat changed color for a second," she elaborated, "Are you sure everything is okay?" Twilight didn't know what she meant with that, but answered with a smile, "Yes, why should there be something wrong?" Cadence started thinking that maybe it was just her imagination, so she let it go and changed the subject, "Anyway, I want to tell you that Discord didn't put a damper on our visit at all." "Really?" asked Twilight in a surprised tone. "You see, life in the Crystal Empire is wonderful, but it's become a little predictable," she explained, "So, relaxation is the last thing I need. I enjoy a little excitement now and then." She then hugged Twilight and continued, "And facing that Tatzlwurm with you just made me realize even more how lucky I am to have somepony like you as a friend. We may not see each other very often, but I know you'll always be there when I need you." "Sorry to interrupt your moment," said Discord, who couldn't stop sneezing and didn't feel good at all, "But can you help me, please?" Both mares ended the hug and proceeded to help the sick Draconequus and carried him back to Ponyville. [Ponyville, Nightfall] Fortunately, Fluttershy returned from her travel to see the Breezies and was able to host the Draconequus in her cottage. Cadence and Twilight created a magic health bubble around Discord so that he could be cured without being accidentally infected. After that, the crystal princess had to go, so Twilight accompanied her until their arrival at the train station. “So, this is a goodbye for now,” Twilight sadly said. “Yes, though I have to admit, my time here was definitely worth it,” Cadence said while putting a hoof on Twilight’s chin, making her look into her eyes, “And I can’t wait to go back again to meet you,” she said with a sincere smile. Twilight then hugged her former foal-sitter, who returned the favor. Their moment was interrupted by the sound of the crystal train whistling, indicating that it was ready to leave. Cadence then ended the hug, and went towards the front carriage, with Twilight adding, “Send Shining my regards!” Cadence then turned around, and said with a smile, “Don’t worry, I will!” Once she boarded the train, it started to leave the station. Twilight looked at it gaining momentum as the locomotive leaving the station, with her eventually leaving herself. On her way back to Fluttershy's Cottage, she ran into Goku, Spike, Goten, the Crusaders, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack, who just returned from Zecora's home after both mares were cured of the Blue Flu, a fake disease as the Zebra stated. "Girls! Guys! How was your day?" "The real question is how was yours with Discord around," replied Applejack with a worried yet annoyed tone. "He ruined your day with Cadence, didn't he?" asked Rarity with an annoyed tone. "Hehe," giggled the lavender alicorn, much to the mares' surprise, "Quite a lot happened today, maybe even too much, in my opinion. For instance, fighting a magic-powered gigantic worm." "Wow!" exclaimed Rainbow, Goku, Goten, and the fillies in awe, "Really?!" "Mmhm,” she said with a nod, “Let's go to Fluttershy's place, I'll tell you what happened in the meantime," she replied with a smile as they all headed for the yellow pegasus' house.