//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: The Gala (Part 4) // Story: Equestria's False Saiyan // by Denchik //------------------------------// -Equestria, Canterlot- Goku Black entered the royal palace once again, using his ki to levitate the food that he had bought from Applejack. The false saiyan received multiple odd looks from the nobility that was inhabiting the castle, but paid absolutely no attention to them. He noticed a large queue of ponies moving up the same stairwell that Goku Black went up to greet Princess Celestia. The ex kaioshin noticed Twilight Sparkle standing near the tall alicorn who, at the time, was greeting the upcoming mares and stallions by giving them a forced smile and a hoof shake. The purple mare lowered her eyes to check how long the chain of ponies was, only to notice the false saiyan staring at her with a small smirk and having some apple products floating around him, making the poor librarian gulp. Drops of sweat began forming on Twilight Sparkle's forehead, which showed how afraid the purple pony was of something going wrong. Heck, something could have already gone wrong, considering that he had Applejack's products with him! "Princess Celestia, why didn't you tell me that Goku Black was here?" inquired the unicorn, looking at her mentor with shock and awe. "Oh, Twilight... Hello! I wanted to... Greetings! Tell you... Welcome to the Gala! About him... Ladies, it's been quite a while!" began the solar monarch, only to stop and address somepony that made it closer to her. Twilight Sparkle quickly nodded and continued to greet each and every stallion and mare, with the final thing being left for the mare is to hope that Goku Black wouldn't go on a killing spree... While the purple unicorn was experiencing fear due to the false saiyan's appearance, Fluttershy thought that it would be a good idea to prepare a trap that would catch some animal. Thecontraption consisted of a cardboard box, a carrot, a stick that had a rope tied around it. The piece of wood held up the small rectangle, which allowed the timid pegasus to quickly remove the stick from it's place, allowing the box to fall on some unsuspecting animal that just wanted a small snack. "I just have to be more bold, like Twilight says!" whispered the pale yellow mare, grabbing the rope with her mouth. She began walking backwards, making some distance between her and the little trap. "I'm so sorry to have scared you, my friends! But I'm leaving now, so you can all come out!" exclaimed Fluttershy, her loud words being slightly muffled by the object in her mouth. The pegasus ran behind a bush, trying to hide so that no creature would see her. Almost instantly, Fluttershy felt the box drop without her needing to pull the rope, making the timid mare smile. She ran up to the rectangular object, being quite confident that she has caught something. "Gotcha! It's okay. I promise not to hurt you. I just wanna be your... friend?" began the pale yellow pegasus, stopping her speech when she noticed that the little trap didn't catch an animal but, in fact, the elderly stallion Mr Greenhoves. He had the box on his head and was munching on the carrot. When the male pony noticed the mare, he raised his head off the ground and began making eye contact with her. "Mmm... Sounds good to me!" replied Mr Greenhoves, swallowing the remains of the vegetable. Fluttershy's expression changed to the one of annoyance. She gave the older stallion an agitated look and turned around, thinking of some other plan to capture these creatures... The false saiyan has made it to a room that had some tables in it. Much to Goku Black's annoyance, he didn't notice any chairs accommodating the piece of furniture. Though, it is to be expected, considering that these mortals don't really have any use for them if they could just eat while standing. Goku Black gently put the pile of food on the table, using his abilities to materialize a chair for himself. He sat down on the said single-seated wooden furniture and began to consume the products that he had bought. The false saiyan began his feast with the apple fritters. He bit into the edible material, tasting and savoring each and every flavor. Goku Black's eyes went wide after he tried the apple fritter, being genuinely surprised at how good it was. "There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" rang a familiar voice near the ex kaioshin, making him turn his head around and notice a smiling Warmheart looking at him. The nurse began walking towards the false saiyan who, at the time, was enjoying himself far too much. The bipedal creature attracted many looks from the nobles, along with the mare. The mares and stallions looked at Warmheart for a different reason. They were surprised that she is friends with such a creature and how tasteless her fashion sense was. "Are you going to eat all of that?!" inquired the bewildered mare, noticing just how much food the ex kaioshin had on the table. Goku Black's gaze shifted to his... 'acquaintance' and nodded, looking back at the products after answering Warmheart's question. 'This food is so... amazing compared to what they fed me at the hospital. This damned saiyan body seems to have quite the metabolism...' thought the false saiyan, finishing the apple fritter.The ex kaioshin decided to target the apple pie next - using his telekinesis to cut it into multiple pieces and levitate them, consuming the parts one by one. "Hey, can you share?" asked Warmheart, looking at Goku Black with rather pleading eyes. The ex kaioshin shrugged and continued to consume the pie, making the mare grin. She took one apple and began to eat it slowly while looking at the false saiyan who, unlike Vegeta and Goku, was following table manners. Goku Black eventually finished eating the apple pie and now he moved onto eating apple fries, consuming them one by one. Warmheart finished eating her treat and put the core near the giant pile of apples, glancing at the false saiyan who has just finished his apple fries. "Well, are you enjoying the Grand Galloping Gala so far?" asked the smiling nurse, trying to make small talk. The ex kaioshin darted his eyes towards the smiling mare who was waiting for him to answer the question. "So far, it's not as bad as I thought it would be." casually replied the false saiyan, turning his attention back to the food in front of him. Seeing how focused Goku Black was on consuming the remaining foodstuffs, Warmheart rolled her eyes and decided to wait for the ex kaioshin to finish his meal if she would want to get anywhere in communicating with the saiyan. Rainbow Dash stood a couple of dozen feet away from a very hungry Goku Black, thinking on what she should do for her idols to notice her existence. "Come on, Rainbow! If they don't notice you, you gotta make them notice you." thought the rainbow-maned pegasus, gently tapping her head with her hoof. Suddenly, the cerulean pegasus got a brilliant idea. She began walking up to some poor, unsuspecting smile whilst smiling like a cheshire cat. When Rainbow Dash got close enough to the gullible stallion, she began to gain speed rapidly and rammed her head into his flank, sending the poor grey pony flying. When Count Caesar began descending, the cerulean pegasus began flying towards the earth pony as fast as he could, generating enough force to make the ponies' dresses move as if they were being blown by the wind. Eventually, the quick mare managed to catch the unfortunate stallion, with him landing on her back. Rainbow Dash grinned and turned her head to face Spitfire. Though, much to her dismay, the golden pegasus kept talking with some random fan, making the cerulean pony scowl. She decided to knock off Count Caesar off her back with the back hooves, causing the earth pony to land on his back. She turned around and began walking away, passing by Rarity and Prince Blueblood who, at the time, were heading the opposite way. The white unicorn at his point was beginning to seriously regret going on this little date due to the fact that the royal stallion showed absolutely no chivalry. "Just give him a chance, Rarity. His princely side is sure to come out if you're just patient..." mumbled the fashion designer, trying to calm herself down. When suddenly, Prince Blueblood stopped Rarity by raising his hoof and placing it in front of the unaware mare. "Miss Rarity! Stop!" exclaimed the white unicorn. The mare looked down and noticed that the stallion stopped her from entering a small puddle of water. Rarity's expression changed to the one of happiness, seeing as how her patience has begun to pay off. "Oh. Prince Blueblood! How chivalrous." commented the fashion designer, blinking twice while her gaze was fixated on the stallion. "One would hate to slip." grinned Prince Blueblood, looking back at a happy Rarity. "Yes. One certainly would." "One's cloak would take care of the problem." "Oh yes, It will." said the white unicorn, waiting for the stallion to do something. Rarity was shocked when she realized that Blueblood wanted her to use the cloak that she was wearing. The fashion designer furrowed her eyebrows and used her magic to take off the piece of fabric, putting it on the body of water. Prince Blueblood began walking over the magenta coloured cloak with it soaking in the spilled liquid. Rarity followed the unicorn, narrowing her eyes at him. She lowered her head and picked up the piece of clothing with her teeth, putting the wet cloak on the dress. While this whole scene was unfolding, nurse Warmheart looked at the mare and stallion from a distance and was disgusted by how the royal pony behaved. "The nerve of that stallion..." muttered the mare under her breath, darting her eyes back to the false saiyan. Goku Black has eaten everything that he has bought, leaving a huge pile of apple cores behind. ‘That was the best meal I‘ve had since my arrival to this world...‘ thought the false saiyan. He moved his chair back and got up, his eyes now focused on the mare in front of him. "What did you wish to discuss, mortal?" inquired the ex kaioshin, remembering that Warmheart tried to initiate in some small talk. "Oh um... I just wanted to ask if you could take me home in about an hour or so?" inquired the mare, wanting to leave the royal ball rather soon. "Yes, mortal, I can." replied the false saiyan, bearing his usual stoic expression. Warmheart grinned after hearing his answer and nodded. The mare blinked and, after opening her eyes, Goku Black was nowhere to be seen. The nurse looked around her and found no trace of the ex kaioshin, which made her think that he used his teleportation spell to go somewhere. Warmheart shrugged and continued on her way, waiting for one hour to pass... Goku Black appeared in a pretty large corridor that lead towards a balcony. The former kaioshin saw the princess of the night standing on it, trying to make her night more beautiful by moving the stars around. The greyish blue mare's horn was coated with a magnificent dark blue aura, showing every being that she has been using her magic. The false saiyan quietly crept towards the light blue mare, trying not to alert the busy alicorn. "This doesn't seemeth right..." whispered Princess Luna, not exactly happy with how she had placed the star. Goku Black looked up at the night sky and was somewhat impressed by how this goddess made the atmosphere look so pleasing to stare at. The false saiyan heard the whisper and raised his hand, preparing to move the star by himself with his telekinesis. The former kaioshin began to move the celestial object with a moderate speed, making the princess of the night absolutely confused. "Why is this star... moving by itself?" inquired the princess, narrowing her eyes and taking a closer look at it. Princess Luna was, in a way, slightly frightened by the celestial object moving without any force. After a couple of seconds, the star was in place, which formed the Leo Constellation. The alicorn gasped in shock and stared with surprise at the beautiful group of stars. "This looks most wondrous! I am curious to findeth out who did it... I'll have to tell Celly the news!" said an ecstatic Princess Luna, turning her head around and bumping into something as she did so. The greyish blue princess looked up and saw the false saiyan looking at her with a very tiny grin. "Hello." said Goku Black, making the immortal alicorn's eyes turn wide. She quickly used her magic to teleport to the other side of the balcony and frown at the saiyan. "WHAT BUSINESS DOES THEE HAVE WITH ME, SAIYAN?!" asked the princess of the night, using her royal canterlot voice and preparing a magical beam that she would smite the false saiyan with, just in case. The sheer force of Luna's speech caused Goku Black's hair to get slightly blown back a bit. "If you must know, Princess, I'm just here to speak with you rather than murder you. Though, you're making me consider the second option much more." replied the false saiyan in a low, cold voice, making the princess of the night roll her eyes and not break her gaze. "How do we know thou aren't lying?" asked the greyish blue alicorn, not trusting Goku Black at all. The former kaioshin's frown dropped and was replaced by a stoic expression. "If I wanted to, I would have killed you many, many times over by now..." retorted the false saiyan, making the princess feel slightly uneasy. She remembered how terribly Nightmare Moon was outclassed by this being and how her magic barely had any affect on his dream world. The mare of the night decided to ease her expression a bit and stop charging the blast. "Alright... What did you wish to speak about, Goku Black?" asked Princess Luna, her gaze being fixated on the being that stood before her. "I wanted to find out more about you. Tell me, why did you change after the six mortals used something that they call 'The Elements of Harmony?'" wondered the former kaioshin, making the alicorn feel rather uncomfortable to talk about it. None the less, the princess of the night decided that it would be a better idea to reply to the curious saiyan rather than avoid the answer. "The Elements of Harmony relieved me from the evil that has corrupted me..." replied the Lunar Princess, looking rather saddened after she uttered it. Goku Black felt that it this subject was not quite easy for this goddess to speak about, but decided to press it further. "What evil?" asked the false saiyan, walking up slightly closer to the mare. The greyish blue alicorn felt that it would be the next question and sighed, preparing herself to mentally answer this particular request. "The being that you faced, Nightmare moon, is sort of like a corrupted version of me. She formed from my bitterness and jealousy towards my sister... Because of what happened, Celestia banished me to the moon for one thousand years..." responded the princess of the night, hanging her head low. Goku Black stood next to Princess Luna and noticed how difficult it was for this alicorn to speak about her past. "Why were you jealous?" wondered the false saiyan, deciding to push the questioning even further. "The ponies of Equestria did not appreciate my night as much as they loved Celestia's day..." responded the princess of dreams, making the former kaioshin raise his eyebrows. He was rather surprised that this goddess would turn evil because no mortal enjoyed her night. The false saiyan looked up at the sky and was furrowed his eyebrows, confused as to why these creatures didn't like such a beautiful night sky, especially when it was made by a diety. "Your night looks rather wonderful." said Goku Black, attempting to cheer up the lunar princess a bit. The mare raised her head and began looking at the former kaioshin with a confused expression. She was not exactly sure if she heard the being in front her correctly. "Thou think our night is beautiful?..." asked the princess of the night, to which Goku Black lightly nodded and looked at the alicorn in front of him. The greyish blue princess almost gave the false saiyan a small grin due to her mood brightening slightly. She did not expect the murderous villain complimenting her night at all. "I wish to ask... Why do you hate mortals?" inquired the Princess of the Night, making the false saiyan's expression go grim. "I've seen the truth about mortals. They just destroy the planet's natural beauty and they are a threat to the entire universe. As long as mortals exist, there would be absolutely no peace in the multiverse. That's why I decided to cleanse it by killing them." replied Goku Black in a cold tone, making a chill run down Luna's spine. She was bewildered and rather shocked to find out the reason behind his hatred towards mortal beings. "How did you find out this 'truth'?" asked the greyish blue alicorn, taking some interest in the former kaioshin's story. "My master, Gowasu, and I traveled to a planet that was inhabited by mortals. When we first arrived there, we saw a rather horrid scene before us: one creature was assaulting and attempting to kill another for... who knows what reason. I've traveled one thousand years into the future with Gowasu to see if it the society would change. Both of us have arrived and saw that nothing changed absolutely..." said the false saiyan, telling the princess of the night his little story. Luna now began to understand Goku Black's hatred for the mortals a little bit more, but was still unimpressed with his explanation. "I see... Well, you consider yourself as a god, correct?" wondered the princess of the night, earning a small nod from the saiyan. "Then... Why don't you show these mortals that you speak of an example? On how they should treat each other rather than wiping them out?" suggested the greyish blue alicorn, watching Goku Black intently. The former kaioshin lightly growled at the lunar monarch, being disappointed but not surprised that a fellow deity has such an abhorrent view of mortals. "My job was to look over the universe and create life in it, not to interfere with the lives of mortals. Plus, we gods must be superior to these creatures so that they wouldn‘t grow stronger than us." explained the false saiyan with a tiny smirk on his face, making the princess of the night roll her eyes. “Thou have broken the rules anyway! And why art thou afraid of mortals surpassing the gods?“ retorted the immortal mare, making Goku Black glare at the monarch of the night. “They do not deserve to have power similar to that of a god! Son Goku, the mortal that I have swapped bodies with, defeated me! How would you feel if a being that you consider a mere ant defeated a goddess such as yourself?“ ranted the former kaioshin, causing Princess Luna to walk back one step. She now understood that this being had both a superiority and a god complex. “Son... Goku?“ “Yes. I swapped my precious body with that saiyan so that I could achieve all of his powers and put them to good use.“ Explained the false saiyan, making the greyish blue alicorn rubbed her eyelids with her hoof. She was also surprised to find out that Goku Black was also a hypocrite. “Think about it! Mortals need to be exterminated! You wouldn‘t have been banished to the moon if these ponies paid at least some attention to your night.“ Stated the former kaioshin, his words driving deep into Princess Luna‘s heart. In a way, the princess of the night agreed with the false saiyan. But, on the other hoof, she became Nightmare Moon because of her failure to control the jealousy... “Thou art partially correct. But, doesn‘t it seem to be illogical for such a ‘god‘ like yourself to swap bodies with a mere mortal?“ inquired the mare, making the false saiyan‘s expression turn stoic once more. She waited a minute for Goku Black to answer her question, with her being confused as to why it took him so long “I had to make sacrifices... By becoming one with Son Goku, I have taken on the sins of mortals and the failures of the gods to deal with said creatures... This is truly the work of a god...“ replied the former kaioshin, his expression showing something that the alicorn of the night didn‘t expect to see – sadness. She seriously wanted to leave this mad being alone but decided against it. The princess of the night still genuinely believed that she could help this saiyan and set him on the correct path...