//------------------------------//
// Battle: Important Discussions 
// Story: Dragon Ball Z: Daughters of Destruction 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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"Lord Orvus," Applejack said, turning to the creature that was the Supreme Kai of Time for this universe, who glanced over at her for a moment as well, as he appeared to be curious about something, "is there someplace where Rainbow and I can have our discussion? Preferably someplace where we can be alone for a few minutes if possible."

"Yes, there is a chamber of the Great Clock that you two can use," Orvus replied, to which he held up a hand and a swirling vortex opened near where the two girls were standing, though that was before he beckoned for them to walk through it, "I'll open the portal again when I feel that the two of you have reached an agreement or understanding with each other... though if you do decide to fight each other I'll just teleport you to the nearest planet, so you don't destroy part of the Great Clock in the process."

Applejack guessed that this place did more than keep time, like Chronoa's Time Nest did, and that damaging it would harm the timelines in some manner, to which she nodded her agreement and beckoned for Rainbow to follow her. The two of them respectfully bowed their heads to Orvus and passed through the vortex that had been opened in front of them, though when they appeared on the other side they noticed that they were in some sort of small eating area that didn't appear to be connected to any apart of the Great Clock. Applejack approached the table and looked back at Rainbow, who was still annoyed about what they had talked about a few moments ago, before the vortex closed behind them... to which she took a seat and beckoned for Rainbow to do the same.

It took Rainbow a few seconds to make up her mind and took a seat across from Applejack, though she also crossed her arms and stared into Applejack's eyes, who remained calm despite what was happening at the moment.

"So, what exactly are we going to talk about?" Rainbow asked, because she could easily get back to what they had been talking about after their memories had been restored, but she truly wanted to know what her sister was thinking about at the moment.

"First we need to discuss your arrogance," Applejack replied, to which she held up a hand to stop Rainbow from saying anything, as she already knew that her sister would try to say something about that before she even finished talking, "You need to understand the position we are in at the moment, as we have finally stepped away from the realm of mortal enemies, such as Goku and Vegeta, and have placed one foot inside the realm of the gods. Rainbow, it took us almost twenty years of training to get close to a level of power that was able to stop someone like Kid Buu in his tracks, despite the fact that none of our attacks could actually kill him, and he was the closest thing to a god we have fought since training with our father."

"I fail to understand where you are going with this," Rainbow said, though at the same time she remembered the fight with Kid Buu, as that had been a perfect opportunity to demonstrate that she wasn't someone that anyone could mess around with in a battle without her lashing out at them.

"Our father has had millions of years of experience training with Whis and perfecting his skills," Applejack stated, though at the same time she silently hoped that this wasn't the tone for the entire conversation, as they would waste time if this continued for too long, "we, on the other hand, have had only twenty years of training and we're still nowhere near the level that our father is on. As for Sunset, according to her story she was destined to become a God of Destruction and, despite the lack of experience she has, her full power is much greater than anything we can throw at her over the course of a battle. I'm pretty sure that our fusion state wouldn't last too long against her full power as well, despite the fact that we dominated her when she was at fifty and seventy-five percent power."

"We could always try a Potara fusion, instead of the Fusion Dance," Rainbow commented, remembering what Goku and Vegeta had done when she and Applejack were fighting Super Buu as Raijack, while recalling how Vegito had looked and acted before Super Buu had taken him into his body.

"That's not the point Rainbow," Applejack said, to which she let out a sigh as she resisted the urge to bring a palm to her face, as it appeared that this discussion was going to be difficult after all, "The point is that our father has had millions of years of experience and practice, while Sunset was destined for this position the moment she was born, so its not like the two of us are suddenly going to obtain the power to smash either of them into the ground and win a battle... despite what you think anyway. Yes, I also understand what we are destined to become gods one day as well, if the Avatars and our parents' words are anything to go by, but so far our power in our Avatar states are nothing compared to the power that a true god commands."

Rainbow stared at her sister for a few seconds, wondering if she was trying to prove something to her with her words, while at the same time thinking over the two fights that Applejack had mentioned. She reviewed everything that had happened during their fight with their father, who they had been dominating for some time before he started to get serious and released more of his true power. As much as she hated to admit it, but Applejack was right that their father would have beaten them in the fight had she not suddenly manifested the powers of the Avatar of Creation and asked if they could pause the battle for some time. She then switched to their fight with Sunset, where they had used all of their powers against her and found that they stood no chance at beating her two on one while she was only using fifty percent, only to find that Raijack could easily dominate that level and still overpowered her after she switched to using seventy-five percent of her power.

She then recalled the feeling that had passed through her body when she and Applejack felt a drop of Sunset's true power slip through the seal that she willingly placed on herself, indicating that she had much more power than what they could generate as Raijack... and she hated to admit that, once she thought about it, she had to agree that it would be some time before they could even fight on equal footing with their father or Sunset.

"So what do we do about that?" Rainbow asked, though at the same time she softened her gaze, as there was no reason for her to be absolutely furious with Applejack at the moment.

"We continue our lives and continue our habits," Applejack replied, to which she lightly smiled for a moment, as it appeared that her words had struck a cord inside Rainbow's head, one that had been put there thanks to living in Universe 7 for so long, "just because we can't best either of them right now, at our current level of power, doesn't mean that with some additional training we won't be able to climb the ladder. Someday the two of us will stand in front of our father and fight him while he's at his full power... though honestly I'm not sure what the outcome of such a battle would be, since we have never seen our father fight with his full power before."

"I'll concede to that point." Rainbow said, knowing that Applejack spoke the truth, as neither of them had seen their father use his full power before, not even when they were kidnapped so many years ago, though that was before another thought entered her mind, "Since we've been talking about our father and Sunset, that raises another question; which universe should we call home?"

"The answer to that should be obvious," Applejack replied, to which she glanced out the window that was near where they were standing and looked out at the stars that were surrounding the Great Clock, "Rainbow, we may have been raised in Universe 7, but we were born in Universe 13 and there are ponies that are no doubt worried sick about us. I know that Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith have likely been worried about me since we walked through that mirror some time ago, though they'll be happy to see me, despite the fact that my body has changed since they last saw me. Besides, there's someone whose likely been depressed since you walked into the mirror and left her behind, someone that's close to your heart... just like Big Mac and Apple Bloom are close to my heart."

"Really?" Rainbow asked, to which she reflected on the memories that came from Universe 13, as that was where the person, or rather pony, in question would have come from, though not a few seconds later a set of memories came to the front of her mind and a word accompanied them, "Scootaloo!"

"That's right," Applejack said, though she was proud to see that Rainbow was able to remember what had been important to her back before they entered the mirror, to which she remembered something about the poor pegasus she had been referring to, "You know, I just had a thought about Scootaloo's inability to fly; Twilight's a smart person and likely discovered a way to mimic the transformation that happened to her, Celestia, and especially us."

"Where are you going with this?" Rainbow asked, as while she knew that Scootaloo would be overjoyed to be able to fly she didn't want to put the young pegasus through the ordeal of crossing through the mirror, traveling to another world and forgetting who she was, and then having her own adventure that may or may not kill her in the process.

"Rainbow, if Twilight figured out how to mimic the effects of someone crossing through the mirror, she might be able to cast a spell on Scootaloo to make her like us," Applejack replied, though even as she said that she could see some of the other ponies seeing what happened and causing the entirety of their world to change into their current form, "Though such an idea would have its own drawbacks and Twilight, along with Starlight I'd wager, would be the only ones to figure out a safe way to do it without some serious consequences."

Rainbow nodded for a moment, knowing that it would have been cruel for them to give Scootaloo the ability to fly, after teaching her how to manipulate ki, only to curse her with something else in the process... to which she shook her head and knew that they would visit Twilight later to inquire about this train of thought.

"So, whose heart do we break?" Rainbow inquired, to which Applejack looked up at her sister, because she was a tad bit shocked to hear her sister utter those words, as they weren't something that she usually said in either of her lives, "Do we choose to live the rest of our lives in Universe 7 with our parents and our new friends, while at the same time breaking the heart of one of our closest friends... or do we choose to live in Universe 13, where we were originally born and lived until we entered the mirror, and break the hearts of our parents."

Applejack already knew that if they picked Universe 7 they would devastate Twilight to the point where she broke down into an emotional mess, especially since they were two of the first five friends she had made after being sent away from Canterlot. At the same time, however, she was sure that Beerus and Chronoa would be equally devastated if they decided to return to their home universe, though she suspected that they would be more accepting of their decision since they had been trying to tell them this for some time. She was also surprised to hear that Rainbow was actually considering what might happen when they made their decision, which made her more proud of her sister... though that didn't stop her from holding firm to her own decision while she waited for Applejack to speak her mind.





While Rainbow and Applejack were busy talking with each other, and coming to terms with what their memories told them, Beerus couldn't help but sigh as he walked over to Sunset, who was currently staring out at the various stars and only glanced over at him when he stopped near her.

"Lady Sunset, can I talk to you for a few minutes?" Beerus asked, causing most of the assembled group to look at him, though at the same time Sunset raised an eyebrow as she turned towards him, "Alone if possible."

Sunset nodded her understanding as a second vortex appeared near the two of them, to which she and Beerus walked through the gateway that Orvus had opened, where he found them standing on a platform that had a stand in the middle of it, one that was watching over a planet. From what he could tell Orvus liked to have individual stands for each life growing planet, though instead of reading the name on the stand he turned his attention to his fellow God of Destruction, who was leaning against the nearby railing.

"So, what did you want to discuss?" Sunset asked, though at the same time she had an idea what that something was, but she was more interested in hearing what Beerus actually wanted and said nothing about her thoughts.

"What are you doing to do about this situation?" Beerus asked in kind, choosing to get to the heart of what was going on around them, instead of beating around the bush and wasting both of their time, while at the same time hoping that Sunset understood what he was referring to.

"Situation?" Sunset inquired, though at the same time she resisted the urge to chuckle, because it appeared that Beerus might be blowing Rainbow and Applejack's conversation out of proportions.

"Regarding the decision that my daughters could make in the near future," Beerus replied, knowing that Sunset likely knew what he had been referring to, though if she wasn't playing around he didn't want to insult her by suggesting something that wasn't true.

"Oh, that," Sunset said, to which she stood straight and stared at Beerus for a few seconds, though she already knew how she was going to respond to this question, "Nothing."

"What do you mean you'll do nothing?" Beerus inquired, as he was actually shocked that Sunset wasn't going to do anything in regards to the decision that Rainbow and Applejack were about to make, especially if they chose him over their old friends, "They were originally denizens of your universe, so wouldn't you want them to remain in your universe and live out the rest of their days with you and the other ponies of their home world?"

"Normally it would be hard to deny that your statement is true, but this situation is different," Sunset replied, to which she simply shrugged at Beerus, because she had something in mind that he might not have considered, "I would be happy if Rainbow and Applejack decided to chose Universe 13 as their home, as it would make Twilight feel better knowing that two of her friends had returned home. I would also understand if they chose the opposite and decided to make Universe 7 their new home, despite the heartache that it would cause Twilight in the end, because I knew that they would be following both of their hearts. Beerus, I'll be fine with whatever decision the girls make, as it is something for them to decide on their own... without any gods trying to persuade them into choosing one universe over the other."

Beerus stared at Sunset for a few seconds, taking what she had just told him into consideration as he thought about what the girls could decide, and knew that she had to be right in this regard, as it was ultimately up to Rainbow and Applejack as to which universe they called home after today. A part of him would be overjoyed if they decided to stay with him and the others, especially after everything they had gone through since their arrival on his planet, but the other part of him knew that he was be saddened if they picked Universe 13 as their home. He was conflicted, because if Universe 7 was chosen as the girls' home then Twilight's heart would no doubt shatter in the process, while if Universe 13 was picked he and Chronoa would be saddened by their decision... but they would have known that the girls had done what their hearts were telling them to do.

He glanced at one of the other platforms that were resting in the air around them, despite the distance between where he was standing and the one he chose to look at, and wondered what Rainbow and Applejack were talking about at that very moment.

"I also have a question for you," Sunset commented, snapping Beerus out of his thoughts for a moment, where his eyes glanced over at his companion for a few seconds, "You said that Chronoa is the love of you life and that she is Rainbow and Applejack's mother, though oddly enough I noticed that neither of you are wearing anything that would symbolize a union between two lovers. You love Chronoa, right?"

"Yes, of course I do!" Beerus almost snapped, though he caught himself before he did anything he might regret, to which he took a few deep breathes before he turned to Sunset, "What sort of question is that supposed to be anyway?"

"Just stating some observations before the real question." Sunset replied, noticing the hint of anger that had been in Beerus' voice when she asked the question, despite the fact that she had seen their affection towards each other since they arrived on Equus, "I also noticed that you never once called her your wife, while at the same time she never once referred to you as her husband, despite the fact that your love for each other is as clear as day."

"I'm still not seeing your real question," Beerus said, though a part of him was wondering if she was referring to a wedding ceremony or something, the one thing that he and Chronoa had agreed to skip because neither Rainbow or Applejack would have been present for it.

"I'm just curious about something," Sunset stated, to which she sighed and focused her attention on Beerus, who simply stared at her in return as he clearly wondered what she was going to say, "Are the two of you ever going to bother with a wedding ceremony, or is this as far as you two are ever going to go?"

In truth Beerus had no idea if he and Chronoa were ever going to go through with a wedding ceremony, though it wasn't because of what the other Gods of Destruction said when they learned that one of their number was in love with the Supreme Kai of Time for their universe. Originally they had agreed to skip such a ceremony because it would have happened without Rainbow and Applejack present, as it would have made a fine memory for them to have in the future, but now that he had been reunited with the girls, and their memories had been brought back, he wasn't sure what to do about that anymore. As he thought about this he had to wonder if Chronoa ever wished that they had done a wedding ceremony back when the girls were still little, or if she was thinking about doing that down that all of them had been reunited, but there was no way of knowing without asking her.

Beerus mentally chuckled at the image of him and Chronoa getting married, because it had been something that the person he had been in the past would have laughed at and ignored, though now it was something that he actually took into consideration and wondered about when he wasn't thinking about his daughters.

"Honestly, I don't have an answer for that question," Beerus said, though this time he walked over to the railing that Sunset was leaning against and stared out at the Great Clock, choosing to focus on the large structure they were in instead of letting that question plague his mind, "I guess the best thing I can say is that Chronoa and I should talk about it once we get back home... its not something I can decide on without asking her what her opinion is, despite the fact that I think I know what she might say to the question."

Sunset nodded and turned her head so she could look out at the various platforms that were moving around the area in front of them, where she spotted a darkened platform that must have once looked over Fastoon, a planet that had been obliterated for the greater good of the universe. She guessed that Orvus was looking for a planet to replace the one that had been resting on the platform, though she was sure that he would find one at some point in time, especially with all the planets the other ponies had been sent to thanks to Discord tampering with the mirror. She also reflected that Discord had been quiet since they came to the Great Clock, though she had to wonder if that meant that he might have found something or if he just wanted to be ignored.

Her thoughts were interrupted a few seconds later as another vortex opened behind them, to which she and Beerus turned around and spotted both Whis and Celestia standing in the area they had been in when they entered this area... and it appeared that it might be time for them to rejoin the others.

"Orvus has reopened the portal to where Rainbow and Applejack went," Celestia said, to which both Beerus and Sunset nodded, as they had expected as much, though they both knew what that statement truly meant, "and it appears that they have reached a decision."

"I, for one, am eager to hear what they decided," Whis added, though at the same time he silently admitted that he would prefer it if the girls decided to stay with Beerus and Chronoa, because they made one big happy family and he didn't want to see them be in two different universes, "and I'm sure that everyone else is eagerly waiting to hear what the two of them have decided on."

Sunset and Beerus walked over to where Celestia and Whis were standing, which was followed by the four of them walking back into the vortex and traveled back to the area that the rest of the group had gathered in, though it appeared that Orvus had moved everyone to a larger seating area so they didn't crowd up the area with the memory machine. They were both glad to be in a larger area, though they both returned to their own groups and stared at the vortex that Orvus had opened, which would take someone to the area that the girls were gathered in. A few seconds later the vortex shimmered and Applejack stepped out of the swirling mass, though not a few seconds later Rainbow followed after her, to which Beerus smiled when he noticed that Rainbow was no longer annoyed.

That told him, and the others, that Applejack had managed to calm Rainbow down without causing her to explode and tear part of the Great Clock, though a few seconds later the vortex disappeared and Orvus floated over to where the group was standing... to which everyone focused on the girls as they waited to hear what they decided on.

"So, I'm guessing everyone is waiting to hear our decision?" Rainbow asked, though at the same time she rubbed the back of her head for a few seconds, a gesture that made Beerus wonder if they were actually going to choose Universe 13 over Universe 7.

"Indeed we are," Celestia replied, though as she spoke could could tell that everyone else was getting anxious, as this was one decision that none of them knew the answer to, save for the girls that had made the decision, "So, are you two going to choose Universe 13, or are you going to choose Universe 7?"

"Rainbow and I, after a few minutes of discussion, decided on picking Universe 13." Applejack answered, though as the words left her mouth she noticed two things, the first being that Twilight looked relieved to hear that they were picking her and the universe she lived in, while the second was the look of sadness that appeared on their parents' faces.

Beerus would be lying if he said that he was saddened by their decision, as he was actually sad to hear that the girls picked their old universe inside of his, though at the same time he nodded his head and remained silent, because he understood the reasoning behind their decision... despite the fact that neither of them had said a word behind why they picked Universe 13. Despite the fact that Chronoa was also saddened by the news, like Beerus was, she also understood why the girls would have chosen their old universe over their new one, though Beerus walked over to her, knelt down beside her, and wrapped an arm around her neck. They had been expecting this decision to be the chosen one ever since they first decided to make sure their girls knew their pasts, so they did their best to avoid breaking down and smiled at Rainbow and Applejack.

"If I may ask, what made you pick Universe 13 over Universe 7?" Whis asked, though while he had a feeling that it had something to do with their memories returning, and recalling who they used to be, he wanted to see what they said about their decision.

"Its not that we're ungrateful for our parents raising us, but there are a lot of memories for us to recall and other ponies that we need to meet," Rainbow said, though at the same time she glanced over to Gale for a moment, as if she was already recalling someone that Gale reminded her of, "Applejack wants to spend some time getting to know the rest of the Apple Family again, and maybe spend a day or two with them, while there's a certain someone I need to go look for and see if I can help her in any sort of way. Besides, something tells me that our parents will want to visit us every now and then to be sure that we're fine with our new universe, and spend some time with us."

"And I'm fairly sure that you and Applejack will want to do the same thing," Sunset commented, to which she turned her attention towards Beerus and Chronoa, who both looked up at her with a look of curiosity in their eyes, "Lord Beerus, Lady Chronoa, the two of you and your friends are welcome to visit Rainbow and Applejack as they settle back into their old lives, or whatever they do with their new lives... provided that you let us know of your visits ahead of time."

"What about me?" Gale inquired, as while she knew that she wasn't originally from Universe 13, as she had been born in Universe 7, she didn't want to be separated from her sisters when they explored their old lives and rediscovered what had been taken from them.

Rainbow and Applejack glanced at each other for a few seconds, as they actually hadn't considered whether Gale was even going to voice an opinion on the matter, before they briefly nodded their heads and turned back towards the group, making them wonder what was going on.

"Well, according to my memories I have a house in the same small town that Twilight's castle is in," Rainbow said, to which she offered Gale a smile, because she already had an idea that might work out for all of them, "and I'm fairly sure that there's a spare bedroom located near the master bedroom. So I think that it might be best if you took the spare bedroom and moved in with me, once we get back to Equus anyway."

Before anyone else could say anything, and comment on what Rainbow had said about her old life, they heard the sound of what they assumed was an alarm of some kind, to which they all turned towards the source of the noise and stared at Whis and Celestia... who were currently staring at their scepters at the moment.

"We won't be heading back home anytime soon," Celestia commented, though at the same time Beerus noted that there was a hint of curiosity in her voice, which made him wonder what the Angels had seen in their scepters.

"The Grand Priest has called for the gods to gather in Zeno-sama's palace," Whis added, though that was followed by him glancing at Rainbow and Applejack, silently telling Beerus that he wondered if this was a meeting to discuss the people that would replace him and Shin, or if it was about Sunset and her universe.

"A summit of the gods," Beerus said, mulling over the information for a few seconds, as this wasn't something that happened very often and was generally because the Grand Priest, and by extent Zeno, wanted something from all the Gods of Destruction, their Angels, and their Gods of Creation, "That certainly kills the mood... when do they want all of us to gather in the palace?"

"In the next half hour," Whis answered, though he was surprised by the suddenness of this call, as it happened too soon after the girls made their decision on which universe they wanted to call their home.

Beerus let out a sigh as he stood up straight once more, because it appeared that the time for relaxing was over and that it was time for him to meet the other Destroyer Gods face to face once more... but this time around he would be joined by the newest member of their group, though he hoped that the other Gods of Destruction welcomed Sunset with open arms and didn't laugh at her. He could already imagine what could happen if a war broke out among them if someone pulled the wrong string while all thirteen of them were gathered together, though he silently hoped that nothing like that happened while they were in the presence of Zeno. Despite the fact that he disliked some of the other Destroyer Gods, and was neutral with the others, he didn't want anything bad to happen to any of them, to which he wondered what they were being called in for.

One thing was definitely a certainty in his mind, in the next thirty minutes he would know what was going on and what the Grand Priest wanted with all of them.