[Planet Vegeta, 40 years ago]
In a Saiyan house, inside a highly advanced incubator, there was a semi-dormant monkey-tailed baby with a peculiar hairstyle. The newborn was embraced by a warm liquid that filled up the enclosed apparatus and was useful for his growth. The room was silent: only the low noise of the incubator could be heard. However, the sound of steps broke that silence.
The baby felt that something gently touched the incubator and heard a harmonious voice that made him feel protected, even more than whatever he was immersed in. It was a female voice, and it could be compared to a lullaby in terms of beauty. He heard that voice frequently. He felt exposed when it left, but safe when it returned.
"How are you today, my little Kakarot?" asked that heavenly voice in a caring tone.
[Ponyville, Golden Oak Library, today]
Son Goku woke up all of a sudden after hearing those words. He looked around to confirm that he was still in the guest room of Twilight's home and sighed in relief right after. "What was that?" he wondered. Then he looked at the bed next to him, on which Goten was supposed to sleep, but he wasn't there. He was about to track down his Ki signature, but a groan along with the sound of something thrown against a wall stopped him from doing so.
"What's wrong, Twilight?" asked Spike's voice.
"Ugh, I've gone through every book in Ponyville, Spike," she answered, "and there isn't a single mention of the mysterious chest that came from the Tree of Harmony, nor anything about the keys needed to unlock it!
The Alicorn stallion left the room to see what was going on down there. His and Goten's room was located on the top floor of the library, and their voices were coming from the second floor, so he decided to go to that place. Once he arrived, he could see how much of a total mess that part of the library was. There were several books scattered everywhere on the ground, what remained of a duster, and some scrolls here and there.
"Uh, what happened here?" he asked in confusion.
Hearing the voice of their friend, Spike, who was wearing a pink apron decorated with a dark pink heart, and Twilight turned to see him standing at the base of the stairs that led to the upper floor. "Oh, hi Goku," greeted the dragon, "And to answer your question, this is how the library usually looks when Twilight needs to do one of her research projects. You'll get used to it."
"What research project?" asked the ponified Saiyan in confusion.
"I'm looking for information about the chest in the Tree of Harmony's cave," answered the lavender Alicorn, "Something tells me that opening it will be of huge significance and importance."
"Oh, so that's why you were reading all those books during this week?" he asked, remembering that the mare was reading books all the time, even when she was outside.
"Yes, and the most frustrating thing is that I didn't find anything!" she exclaimed with an annoyed expression.
"Well, we can still check in Canterlot," tried to cheer up Spike, "I'm sure we'll find something there. I mean, it has one of the biggest libraries in Equestria after all."
"You're right Spike," confirmed the princess, "But If the library in Canterlot doesn't have anything, I don't know where else to look!"
There were a few seconds of awkward silence, then Goku spoke, "Changing the subject, do you guys happen to know where Goten is?"
"He left this morning," answered the lavender princess, "It's his first day of school, remember?"
"Oh, right," he replied, but then he realized, "Wait, you said he left this morning?"
"Yes, it's afternoon right now," said Spike, "You slept a lot, you know? I thought that martial artists always woke up early."
"Hehehe," he sheepishly laughed as he rubbed the back of his head with his left hoof, "To be honest, this is the first time it happened to me."
"Don't worry, Goku," replied the princess, "Maybe you were just tired. You were training your mind for the whole week, so it doesn't surprise me. Mental training can be as demanding as physical training."
"Yeah, besides..." tried to support Spike, but he suddenly felt something coming from his belly, almost like he wanted to vomit. Goku noticed it and was about to ask him if he was alright, but he stopped as the dragon burped and a scroll materialized from the emerald flames he had cast. Twilight used her magic to grab the said object and started reading the message written in it.
Goku was confused and asked, "Uh, Spike? Were you eating paper recently or something?"
"Hahaha," laughed Twilight's assistant at his question and answered, "No, Goku, this is how Princess Celestia and Twilight communicate most of the time. Years ago, the princess had cast a spell on me that made my fire able to teleport scrolls. When she sends a message, it materializes through my flames; and when Twilight needs to send a message, I just cast my fire at the scroll, and it goes wherever Princess Celestia is."
Goku thought that it was a curious way of communicating. However, he couldn't say anything because Twilight spoke first, "Change of plans, it seems that we don't need to go to Canterlot after all, but to the old castle in the Everfree Forest instead."
"And here we go again," commented her assistant in annoyance. They were going to that forest too much and too often in his opinion. He was frankly sick of that place.
"Do you want to come with us, Goku?" asked Twilight, ignoring her assistant's comment.
"Sure, it’s not like I have a lot to do right now," answered the ponified Saiyan, "But after that, I'll teach you both how to use your Ki, as I promised."
Stars appeared in their eyes after his statement. Spike couldn't wait to be able to fly and fire energy spheres to impress Rarity, while Twilight was excited to learn everything about that mysterious energy. “Who knows, maybe I can even write a book about it,” Twilight thought happily. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go," said the lavender Alicorn as she was about to leave the room with Spike.
"Wait," stopped the black-maned Alicorn, "Is there anything to eat first?" he then asked with a nervous smile while rubbing the back of his head.
"Oh, don't worry about that," answered the purple dragon, much to Goku's confusion.
[Everfree Forest, near the Castle of the Two Sisters]
Half an hour later, the trio reached the wooden bridge located 30 meters away from the ruins of the castle that once belonged to the Royal Sisters. Goku was carrying a cart half-full of apples as he was eating one of them with the help of his magic. Fortunately, Twilight and Spike foresaw he would have been famished once awakened or else he would be starving right now.
Once they entered the castle, the stallion spoke, "So, Princess Celestia told you that you might find a book here that will help us open that chest, right?"
"Correct," confirmed the princess, "We just have to find the library in the old castle."
While they were exploring the ancient building, Goku recognized some places he saw with Twilight after drinking that potion and remembered the fight that led to the destruction of the castle. Ten minutes later, they finally found the place they were looking for: the library. It was a dusty corridor-like room full of spiderwebs, debris, and rubble, which was partially illuminated. There were three desks, two of them were on the right side of the room and seemed to be in good conditions, while the third one was on the left side, but it was wrecked.
Twilight didn't seem to care to all of that since she was more focused on the vast quantity of books stored there. She gasped happily and said as she flew toward the mine of knowledge, "Wow! Look at all these ancient books! It's a veritable goldmine of information! I can't believe it! Woo-hoo!"
"Hehehe," giggled Goku, "She really loves books, huh?"
"You have no idea," answered Spike as he started approaching the lavender mare along with the stallion, "Her family and friends aside, books are the things she loves the most."
"That means she loves books as much as I like fighting," he replied with a smile.
"I guess you can say that," said the little dragon, who was still unaware of the stallion's obsession for battles. Suddenly, he ran into a spiderweb and fell near the remainings of a statue on which there were some rather big spiders. He yelped when he saw it and said in a nervous tone, "Uh, heh-heh. So, uh, guys. Uh, ready to head home?" The place had become too creepy for his standards, so he wanted to go away from there as soon as possible.
"Are you kidding?" happily asked Twilight, then she said as she literally submerged herself into a heap made of books and scrolls, "This place is perfect!"
"Hehe," giggled Goku at her cute actions, then a Star Spider came down from the roof and stopped near his face. "Wow, I don’t I think I ever saw a spider this big before," he commented while looking at the arachnid.
"Oh, you know," said Spike as his teeth were chattering in fear, "They're just spiders, nothing to worry about."
Goku noticed that the dragon was afraid, so he grabbed him with his magic and put him on his back as he walked toward Twilight. Her number one assistant thanked him as they reached the mare and started helping her with the research.
[Ponyville Schoolhouse]
Meanwhile, Son Goten was listening to what his new teacher, Miss Cheerilee, was talking about. The topic in mind was an event called the Equestria Games. The young unicorn found that here, classes were way easier than those of Earth, and it was something that he liked. That meant he could spend more time with his dad and finally start to train and become as strong as him. Another thing he liked was that all of his new classmates were very friendly toward him. Well... almost all of them.
Two fillies, well known for bullying those who didn't possess a Cutie Mark, the so-called 'blank flanks', appeared to be friendly at first. But once he saw how they were behaving toward three fillies, he tried to stop them. As a result, the fillies known as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon revealed their true colors, and now he was their target just like the fillies he defended. Their names were Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom, and after that event, they befriended the ponified Saiyan hybrid.
"... So, any questions?" asked the cerise-coated Earth Pony with a smile.
"I have a question, Miss Cheerilee," said Goten as he raised his right hoof, drawing everypony's attention.
"Yes, Goten?" replied the teacher, giving him the floor.
"Are martial arts among the athletic pursuits in the Equestria Games?" asked the black-maned unicorn.
"Yes, they are," she answered with a smile, "Why do you ask?"
"Huh," snorted Diamond Tiara, "You're telling us that you want to be a martial artist, don't you? You can't even use your magic, let alone fight."
"Yeah," supported Silver Spoon, "You're a weakling."
Goten frowned at this, but before he could reply Scootaloo spoke, "And? Even if that was the case, what he wants to be is none of your business."
"Girls!" exclaimed Cheerilee a bit loudly to make them stop, then she gave the floor to the white-coated unicorn.
"I asked because my dad could be interested in participating if I tell him this," he answered with a smile.
The cerise-coated mare was about to ask him something else, but the school bell rang, marking the end of the lessons. The class began to leave the classroom as the teacher was saying goodbye. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom, also known as 'Cutie Mark Crusaders', met Goten near the exit and started talking.
"We are sorry for that, Goten," apologized Sweetie Belle.
"Yeah," supported Applebloom, "it's just your first day of school and you already have to deal with those two."
"And it's all our fault," concluded Scootaloo in a sad tone, remembering that all started because he defended them.
"It's not your fault, girls, it's theirs," replied the Saiyan hybrid, much for their happiness, "But do you know why they're like that?"
"Because they think they're better than us just because they have a cutie mark," answered Apple Bloom.
"And they flaunt them, sometimes," continued Sweetie Belle, "They even threw a party in honor of Diamond Tiara's Cutie Mark once, do you believe it?"
"Yeah, and..." wanted to support Scootaloo, but the continuous noise of the school bell prevented that from happening, "Hey, why is the bell still ringing?"
The trio and Goten noticed that their classmates were looking at something on the roof, so they went to check it out as well. Once they reached the crowd of foals, they directed their gaze toward the source of the noise and found out why the bell didn't cease to ring. A pink earth pony was under the said object and was using her head to make it ring. The mare wasn't unknown to them: she was Pinkie Pie, the best party planner in Ponyville.
"Miss Pie?" said the black-maned unicorn, wondering what she was doing.
"What's she doing?" asked Apple Bloom in confusion, but the answer to her question came pretty fast.
"That's good enough, Pinkie Pie," shouted Cheerilee, who went out to see why the bell didn't stop ringing.
The energetic mare stopped what she was doing, looked at her, and asked, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, you can stop now," answered the teacher with a smile.
"Okey-dokey!" happily exclaimed the Element of Laughter as she jumped down the roof, reaching the ground on her four legs. Then, she noticed Goten and the Cutie Mark Crusaders and sped off toward them, while the crowd was leaving the place, and greeted, "Hi guys," then she asked, "Hey Goten, do you want to come with me to the Everfree Forest?"
The colt was a bit caught off guard by the sudden question, but he answered, "Yes, Miss Pie, but why do ask?" he said in an unsure way.
"Hihihi," giggled Pinkie, "There's no need to be so formal with me silly, we’re friends: call me Pinkie Pie or just Pinkie," she then replied with one of her grins.
"Okay, Pinkie," he nodded, then he tried to repeat his question, but the pink mare spoke first.
"I wanna throw a 'Finish ringing the school bell' party," she began to explain, "But I don't have any bluebells, so I need your help to pick some."
Goten was laughing nervously because of her statement. “Does she really want to throw a party just for that?” He thought, “Pinkie loves parties as much as dad loves fighting, that’s for sure.'' The Cutie Mark Crusaders didn't find it weird coming from Pinkie, she always threw a party, even for the most simple things.
Naturally, they were present during the 'Welcome to Ponyville/Equestria' party she threw after the Summer Sun Celebration, but that was the only time they saw those two interacting. In fact, they didn't recall having seen the young colt in the town until today. "Uh, since when did you two become good friends?" asked Scootaloo, wanting to get their questions answered.
“We only saw you two together during the party the last week,” Sweetie Belle joined in
"Yeah, an’ after that, we'd not seen ya anymore until today," supported Applebloom.
"That's because I went to visit my best friend in Manehattan afterwards," he explained.
"Oh," said the Crusaders, meaning that they understood the reason why they didn't see him around.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" encouraged the colt as he turned to see Pinkie, "Let's pick those flowers!"
"Let's go, then!" exclaimed the Element of Laughter as she sped off toward the Everfree.
"See you later, girls," said Goten before flying away to reach the pink mare, much to the fillies' amazement. At first, they thought that they were seeing things since unicorns weren't supposed to fly, but all of them witnessed that he took off and soared through the sky, so it wasn't an optical illusion or something. They looked at each other for a few seconds, still with their jaws wide open, then they smiled in excitement, realizing that they befriended somepony that could fly without wings nor magic. They were sure about that since he still didn't know how to use his magic, so they had many questions that they wanted to be answered.
[Everfree Forest, Castle of the Two Sisters]
Goku, Twilight, and Spike were still in the dusty library of the castle. The princess was still searching for information about that mysterious chest, but her assistant and the ponified Saiyan were doing something else. They really wanted to help, but the stallion still needed to learn Ponish to understand what was written on those books, while the dragon was too scared of all the creepy noises that could be heard in that place.
Spike asked the black-maned Alicorn something about his past, both in order to know him better and to ignore the fact that he was in a creepy old castle full of big spiders, scary statues, and who knows what else. Goku smiled and started telling him about the time he lived with his grandpa, Son Gohan, in the Mount Paozu. He continued his story, telling him when he met Bulma and the beginning of their adventure to find the Dragon Balls.
The more he talked, the more the baby dragon wanted to know. His story was getting better and better, especially when the stallion started telling his story with the Red Ribbon Army. It was so interesting that it even drew Twilight's attention, making her unconsciously stop reading her book. His story was comparable to Daring Do, but it wasn't fiction, making the story even more amazing.
The princess paid particular attention to the fact that one of Goku's friends, Yamcha, was his enemy once. It confirmed once more that the magic of friendship was something present even in other worlds. It also made her understand why the stallion defended Discord a week ago.
"And what happened next?" asked Spike in excitement.
The ponified Saiyan was about to answer, but the lavender Alicorn spoke first, "Wait, before that, what if I get some candles? It's getting dark."
Both Goku and Spike looked around and noticed that it was true, but the latter noticed that Twilight wasn't reading that book and asked, "Wait, were you listening to him all this time?"
The Element of Magic closed the book in her hooves, and replied a bit sheepishly, "Well, I couldn't help but listen to his story, it's just so... amazing."
"And the information about the keys to open that chest?" asked her assistant a bit in confusion. It was the first time that something could draw her attention in the middle of one of her research, especially if it was as important as this one.
"Well, we looked for information all week," she answered, "I think a little break won't hurt anypony."
"Let's get those candles, then," happily replied Spike, "I want to know how Goku defeated this Major Metallitron guy!"
[Entrance Lobby of the Castle]
Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Rarity were standing in the room, admiring the ancient tapestries of the destroyed building. Well... Rarity was admiring them. The yellow pegasus was more concerned about finding her little bunny, Angel. The reason why they were there was that the Fashionista asked the shy mare's assistance to borrow one or two of those textile fabrics to restore them. Although she revealed it just when they already reached the ruined castle, Fluttershy already agreed to help her.
Fluttershy was looking around to find out where Angel was. “That reckless bunny... he shouldn't be hanging around alone in such a dangerous place,” she thought in frustration. Then, she finally spotted him... or it would be better to say that he showed up. The Pegasus pony quickly approached her pet and kindly lectured him in a worried tone, warning the little creature about the hazards hiding in a spooky place like an abandoned castle.
Angel didn't even listen to her as he and Rarity just walked away. He really cared about Fluttershy, but she was too overprotective most of the time. If only she wasn't so afraid of pretty much everything...
The yellow-coated mare noticed that there was no pony in the room and ran toward her friends to not be left alone in that scary place.
Right after that, Applejack and Rainbow Dash arrived in the place. They were competing for the title of 'Most Daring Pony' and, since the Bee Stare challenge just evened up the score, the earth pony suggested to go to the Castle of the Two Sisters. The speedster was wondering why she chose this place for their next challenge, "Uh, what's so daring about this place? This is where we got the Elements of Harmony."
Applejack smirked and answered as she reached the stairs in front of them, "When I was just a filly, Granny Smith told me of an ancient legend." She then turned to see her friend and continued, "When Nightmare Moon was banished, not every last bit of her dark magic went with her. Granny used to say, when night falls on the castle, that magic takes the form of... the Pony of Shadows!"
"You mean like a ghost?" asked Rainbow with a hint of fear in her tone.
The apple farmer spookily replied, "Nopony knows!"
"Ugh," was the speedster's reaction. If she wanted to scare her, she needed to try harder than that.
[Unknown Room of the Castle]
Meanwhile, Rarity found a tapestry with the picture of Princess Luna in a perfect state, considering how old it was. Then, she kindly asked Fluttershy to remove it from the wall in order to bring it back to her boutique and restore it. The shy pegasus tried to remove the fabric, but she couldn't even move it. Noticing this, the Fashionista suggested her to try from below, something that annoyed a bit the Element of Kindness. “She could at least help me with her magic!” She thought.
Fluttershy just tried to forget it and listened to her friend's instruction. However, the shy mare accidentally activated a mechanism that made the wall rotate of 180 degrees, much for Rarity and Angel's surprise.
On the other side of the wall, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were talking about that legend, but it seemed like they didn't notice the wall turning around. Maybe because they just arrived after it happened.
"I don't see what's so daring about an old legend," commented the cyan pegasus, "Plus, I don't believe in ghosts."
"Oh yeah? Did you forget that Goku can summon them?" asked the Element of Honesty with a smirk. The speedster remembered that he called upon fifteen ghosts during his battle against Lord Beerus, so they did really exist.
"We-well, he isn't here, so there are no spirits in this place," she replied, trying to keep her cool.
While she was speaking, Applejack noticed that the tapestry next to them was moving. She raised her head to see that something was behind the fabric and quickly warned her friend in a scared tone as she slowly pointed her left hoof toward the thing, "You might wanna rethink your position on that."
Whatever was under that arras started to yell in a spooky tone, scaring the earth pony and the pegasus. As if the forest wanted to make it worse, a storm was about to begin, and a bolt of lightning and its consequent crash of thunder made the moment even scarier for both mares, who started running in fear. The Element of Loyalty quickly understood why her friend brought her here: only the most daring pony of all could stay in this castle all night without being scared off. So, she accepted the challenge.
[Library of the Castle]
While Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity were going through a spooky time, Goku, Spike, and Twilight already got a candelabrum and returned to the library. The baby dragon and the princess couldn't wait to hear more of their friend's story.
The Element of Magic also wanted to ask him many things, as well as to tell him her adventures with her friends, but she couldn't find the time to do it because of what happened right before the Summer Sun Celebration and her research to unlock the mysterious chest. Goku was about to restart telling what happened in the Muscle Tower, but a white bunny jumped up onto the table all of a sudden. "Huh?"
Twilight immediately recognized the little pet and said in confusion, "Angel?"
"Angel? I didn't know you had a bunny, Twilight," commented the ponified Saiyan.
"He's not my pet, he's Fluttershy's," she replied, "And I wonder why he's here, she will be worried about him."
"Oh, I can use Instant Transmission to bring him back," suggested Goku as he began petting the bunny, who was enjoying it.
"Good, Fluttershy will be glad to see he's alright," said Twilight with a smile. The black-maned Alicorn closed his eyes and started tracking down the pegasus' Ki signature only to discover that she was in the castle as well, and she wasn't alone.
"Weird," he commented as he opened his eyes, "Fluttershy is here in the castle, and she isn't the only one."
"What?" asked Twilight in a surprised tone.
"Yeah, I sense the presence of Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and Goten too."
"But why are they here?" asked Spike in confusion.
"I don't know, but they're not together," he replied, "They're moving in pairs... Well, Applejack and Rainbow, as well as Pinkie and Goten, are moving. Fluttershy and Rarity aren't."
"If Pinkie is involved, it must be a sort of party or game."
"Without inviting us? I don't think so," replied Twilight.
"Well, why else they should be here?" asked Spike in confusion.
"I don't know, but it's something we'll find out," answered the princess as she started leaving the library followed by her assistant. Goku followed her too as Angel jumped up onto his back. Usually, the little bunny would distrust unknown ponies, but that stallion had something that made him worthy of his trust, just like Fluttershy.
[Somewhere in the castle]
While Goku, Spike, Twilight, and Angel were leaving the library, Fluttershy and Rarity found themselves trapped in a dark place. They ended up there after the yellow pegasus' struggle under that hanging fabric. One of them probably activated a trap while they were walking away from that wall or at least that was what they thought. In fact, Angel activated the trap and then left the place.
The Element of Generosity was frustrated by the fact that she couldn't achieve her goal as fast as she wanted, and now she had to deal with the hidden hazards of that ruined castle. "I'm starting to wonder if maybe this castle doesn't want my expertise!" she exclaimed as she cleared the area with an Illumination Spell, revealing that they were in a small, closed room.
As soon as Fluttershy could see again, she noticed that Angel wasn't there and started to be worried about him, "Oh dear. Angel? Rarity, have you seen him?" she asked as she was checking every spot in the room, hoping to find her little bunny.
"I'm not sure he made the trip down with us, dear."
Her statement made the pegasus worry even more and said, "Oh, goodness! We have to find him. An ancient castle is no place for a bunny. He could get hit by falling debris, or the floor could give out under him! Oh! He could be trapped in a dark place with no way out!"
Rarity flatly replied, "I can only imagine how that might feel." It wasn't like they weren't in a similar situation, right? Then, she looked around, and noticed a hole, big enough for a foreleg to pass through it, in the wall next to her, "Hmm..."
Meanwhile, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were walking through the Hall of Hooves: a corridor adorned with tens of stone hooves across the walls, holding a torch. Rainbow Dash was leading the way, and Applejack was two meters behind her. Both of them were scared, but their will to be the most daring pony didn't allow them to admit it. Suddenly, the speedster felt somepony's hoof around her neck and immediately thought that it was Applejack.
“Um, AJ, I felt a hoof touching my neck. If that was you, then give up and admit that you're scared,” she said while looking and pointing forward her torch, trying to light up the dark hallway ahead.
“Uh, Dash, it wasn’t me who touched you,” she said in a confused and scared tone.
Hearing that, Rainbow turned her head and brought the torch closer, just to see that the hoof around her neck was coming from the wall next to her, something that scared both her and Applejack. They both fled the scene, screaming in fear.
The hoof belonged to Rarity, who gasped and quickly retracted it after touching something beyond the wall. Her action scared Fluttershy, who asked in a frightened tone, "Rarity! What is it?"
"I felt something... alive!" she exclaimed in fear. However, that answer didn't scare the Element of Kindness. In fact, it restored her hope to find Angel.
"*gasp* Angel!" she happily exclaimed as she put her hoof in that hole to touch her beloved bunny and tell him that everything was alright. However, the only thing she touched was the nearby stone hoof, activating the secret door that moved them to the Hall of Hooves.
This just ended the patience of Rarity, who exclaimed in frustration, "Well, tapestries or not, I have had just about enough of secret passages, mysterious presences, and unappreciative castles!"
She was about to leave, but Fluttershy stopped her, "But we can't leave now," she said in a worried tone, "Not with Angel lost somewhere in this dangerous old castle!" Then, she started to panic as she said, "He could be trapped under a crumbling statue, or stuck high in a tower without food or water or any friends at all!" The poor pegasus didn't know, however, that her beloved bunny was in the safest place in Equestria: Goku's back.
Talking about him and his group, they were going toward the Hall of Hooves, when suddenly the sound of an organ started echoing across the castle. "What was that?" asked Goku in confusion.
"You mean, the creepy sound of a haunted pipe organ?" asked Spike with a scared expression.
"Organ?"
"It's a large musical instrument," started to explain Twilight, "Having rows of tuned pipes sounded by compressed air, and played using one or more keyboards to produce a wide range of musical effects. You really don't know what an organ is?"
Goku was a bit confused by her explanation, but he surprisingly understood most of it. "You'll be surprised at how many things I don't know," he replied with a nervous smile as the sound of that instrument could be heard again, scaring Spike.
"Well, let's keep looking for our friends. Do you know where they are?"
The black-maned Alicorn closed his eyes and tracked down everypony's Ki in the castle. Then he spoke as the organ's sound echoed again, "They are in different parts of the castle, and some of them just changed positions rather quickly."
"What do you mean?" asked the princess in confusion.
"I don't know, a few seconds ago, I sensed Rarity and Applejack's Ki inside the castle, and now they're outside."
"That ability of yours is very useful," praised Twilight, "I'd like to learn it."
"Hehe, your and Spike's training will start tomorrow, so don't worry about that," he replied, "But let's look for Fluttershy, we still need to bring Angel back to her."
What they didn't know was that it wouldn't be as easy as they thought: In fact, each and every time they were near the yellow pegasus, she moved to a totally different spot of the castle somehow. They could even hear screams coming from some of their friends, something that worried the trio. They tried to reach them, but the result was the same as with Fluttershy. All of that while the organ was still playing in the background.
Things kept going like this for fifteen minutes. They were all going to different parts of the ancient building by passing through a room that connected several corridors. While fleeing, the pairs switched companions, without even noticing it, over and over again. Fluttershy was flying scared with Rainbow Dash, Rarity was running next to Applejack, who entered a different corridor. Spike and Angel ran toward another one as Twilight and Goku directed to the one in front of it.
Fluttershy went out from that same corridor while carrying Angel on her back, not even noticing it, and entered the one in front of it. Goku was running to the second corridor on the right, and Rarity was right behind him. Twilight was flying alone to another one, but she stopped as she saw Rainbow Dash dashing toward the third corridor on the left, and quickly followed her. Spike came out from a hidden passage in the floor, only to be turned into a living tornado by Applejack's charge. The little dragon eventually stopped but was grabbed by Twilight's magic as she entered another corridor.
In the end, Goku, Twilight, Spike, and Angel were standing on a corridor that overlooks a room that connected six other passages, three on the left and three on the right. The lavender princess was a bit frustrated by the situation. It was like the castle itself was preventing them from reaching their friends. "Ugh, it's no use," she said, "How can we reach them with all these secret passages?"
"Hehe, all this running around in a place like this reminds me of when I, Bulma, Yamcha, Puar, and Oolong assaulted Pilaf's base," commented Goku with a grin.
Spike was about to say something, but the screams of five well-known mares prevented him from doing so. They all turned their heads to see that their friends were in the room below, either running or flying screaming in fear all around. Rainbow Dash was flying around and had no clue where she was going. She accidentally hit a tapestry, which fell on the crying fashionista, who said, "I just wanted to restore ancient art!"
The speedster's random flying scared Applejack as well, who was trying to escape from what she thought was the Pony of Shadows. By doing that, she went on a fallen pillar that Fluttershy was trying to lift because she thought that Angel was being crushed by it. Somehow, the Pegasus, as well as her friends, didn't notice the others' presence as her only thought was her little bunny who was trapped under the rubble.
"ANGEL!" she cried as Rainbow and Applejack were trying to escape from nopony and Rarity was crying while covered by the previously fallen tapestry.
Twilight had enough of it and shouted as she cast an Immobilization Spell, "Alright, everypony, STOP!"
The Mane 4 stopped moving, screaming or crying, and everything became silent again. Applejack swore she heard Twilight's voice so, she opened her eyes, and said, "Twilight?"
By hearing the apple farmer, the other mares understood that their sudden immobilization was due to the librarian's magic and calmed down a bit. However, Fluttershy was still worried about her pet, "Must... Save... Angel," she struggled to say as she was trying to lift the fallen pillar, but the said bunny showed up, making her realize that she was crying for nothing. "Oh," she said as she blushed in embarrassment.
Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, noticing the yellow pegasus below, "Fluttershy? What are you doing here?"
"She's with me..." answered for her Rarity. Twilight dispelled the enchantment as she, Goku, Spike, and Angel reached their friends. The ponified Saiyan was amazed by her technique and wondered if he could learn spells like this one to improve as a martial artist. To immobilize the opponent could be very useful if he ever needed to use the Spirit Bomb again. Maybe he could ask Twilight if she can teach him how to use his own magic.
"Goku, you're here too?" commented the speedster as the lavender princess freed Rarity from that thick textile fabric.
"Yeah, I wanted to help Twilight with something," he answered with his trademark smile, "But I do have to say, why were you running around like that...?"
"Scaring each other?" completed Twilight.
"Well, that depends," answered Applejack.
"On what?" asked Spike.
"On whether or not you guys are the Pony of Shadows," replied Rainbow Dash as she pointed her left hoof toward them.
"The Pony of Shadows?" asked Goku in confusion, "Who is he? Is he strong?"
"Oh, that's just an old ponies' tale," stated the princess with a smile.
"Yeah, just like ghosts and resurrection," sarcastically replied the baby dragon.
"Touché," admitted Twilight, "But even if that legend was true, I doubt he would be a match for you, Goku."
The black-maned Alicorn was about to say something, but the sound of the organ restarted echoing across the castle, scaring the Mane 4 and Spike. They all embraced Twilight and Goku while trembling in fear as the baby dragon asked, "If all of you are here, who's playing... that?"
"Well, there's only one way to find out," stated Twilight as she and the ponified Saiyan directed toward the source of that sound while carrying their scared friends. They walked for ten minutes before reaching the instrument's room. It was a medium-sized space with a staircase in the middle, on which there was the instrument that bothered the Mane 4 and Spike for so long. They saw that two dark figures were playing it and everyone but Goku and Twilight hid.
"The Ponies of Shadows," whispered in fear Spike as the white-coated alicorn was approaching the unknown ponies along with the lavender princess. The figures didn't seem to notice their presence as they kept on playing the organ. Once reached them, Twilight used her magic to remove the cloak from one of the ponies, and Goku did the same with the other one, revealing that they were Pinkie Pie and Goten.
"Hi, you guys!" greeted the pink Earth Pony.
"Hi, dad! Did you know we can totally play the organ?" asked the young Saiyan hybrid, "Because we didn't!"
"Pinkie?! Goten?!" exclaimed the Mane 5 in unison as they were coming out of their hiding spot. They didn't expect the duo to be the ones who were playing that thing the whole time. Or to be in the castle for that matter. Spike and Twilight weren't that surprised since Goku told them that they were there.
"Check it out!" exclaimed Pinkie as she and Goten began to play the 'Charge!' theme.
"Wait," said Rainbow as she flew toward her, "You guys are the Pony of Shadows?"
"The pony of what?" asked the Element of Laughter as she kept on playing the organ, and barely paying attention.
"Who's the Pony of Shadows?" asked Goten in confusion.
"See? What'd I tell ya?" rhetorically asked Twilight while pointing her left hoof towards the flying cyan pegasus. There was no Pony of Shadows on the loose as she predicted. Her friends just let fear get the better of them.
"Hey, Goten, how was your first day of school?" asked Goku.
"Great!" he answered with a smile, "I made lots of friends and the lessons are not too difficult."
"I'm glad to hear that. It means you won't need to study too much and you'll have some time to train with me." This statement made the black-maned Unicorn smile broadly. "But I am curious, what are you doing here?" he then asked in confusion.
"Oh, Pinkie asked my help to pick some flowers."
"Flowers?" intervened Applejack, "I thought she went to ring the school bell all week!"
"Oh, yeah!" Pinkie replied as she stopped playing the organ and turned to see her friend, "I only had to ring it for, like, five minutes! They said that was good enough!" Then she restarted playing the instrument, "Eh, can't imagine why..."
A drop appeared on the back of Goten's head as he remembered how she was ringing that bell. He still wasn't used to Pinkie's weird behavior.
"So then, I decided to throw a 'Finish ringing the school bell' party!" continued the mare as Twilight and Rainbow just rolled their eyes, "But I didn't have any bluebells, and you CAN'T throw a 'Finish ringing the school bell' party without bluebells. So, I asked Goten for some help, and we went to the Everfree Forest to pick some, but it started to get so chilly." Then she started playing happy organ music as she kept on talking, "We had to wrap ourselves up in the tarps we were gonna use to gather flowers, and then we saw Fluttershy and Rarity. But they went into the castle before I could invite them to my party. Luckily, Goten told me that all of you were here, so we entered the castle to help you all with your party!"
"What party is that?" asked Rarity.
"Uh, the 'Everypony come to the scary old castle and hide from each other while we play the organ' party?" she replied as she played a note, activating a trap right beneath Spike, who was thrown in the air. Luckily, Goku stopped him from falling with his magic. "Duh!" she exclaimed as she jumped away, and the rest of the group was looking at her with confused expressions. Not even the rest of the Elements were always used to her antics, that was for sure.
[Library of the Castle]
Fifteen minutes later, they reached the library as Spike was telling the Mane 5 what he, Twilight, and Goku were doing in the castle. When the lavender princess heard that Goku didn't understand Ponish, she immediately remembered that he wasn't from their world, so it was something to be expected. She immediately told him that she could teach him and Goten how to read and write. The stallion wasn't sure whether to accept or not at first. However, he remembered that reading and writing were part of Master Roshi's training when he was a kid, so he, just like Goten, accepted.
Twilight was happy: it meant that she could be both a teacher and a student. She would have taught them Ponish, and maybe even Magic, while she would have learned everything about Ki and their world! Cultural exchange at its finest!
"So," intervened Rainbow, "You weren't scared of this place at all? Not even a bit?"
"I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared," admitted Spike.
"And I was too busy reading to even care about it," stated Twilight.
"Why should I be scared of this place?" asked Goku in confusion, "When I was just a colt, I was in places similar to this castle in which there were way more dangerous traps and other things."
"You were using past experiences to deal with something like this in the present," concluded the princess. This statement made her think about something, "I've just thought of a great idea! Why don't we keep a journal?"
"A journal?" asked Goten in confusion.
"Yes! That way we can learn from each other and maybe someday, other ponies will read it and learn something, too!"
"What a splendid idea!" exclaimed Rarity as she was fixing the tapestry that previously fell on her.
"I know what my first entry will be," commented Applejack, "'Dear Diary, I'm glad Granny Smith's legend wasn't true'."
"Me too," said Rainbow, who was flying near the apple farmer.
"Me three!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, popping out from a nearby chair, "Because that means you two are still tied for 'Most Daring Pony'!" Right after she finished her sentence, she accidentally pushed the back of the chair, activating a mechanism that opened a secret door next to them. Everyone noticed this and wanted to take a look at the revealed room, so Twilight took the candelabrum with her magic to illuminate it.
They saw an almost perfectly conserved room with shelves of books on the right, two big windows representing a starry night and the break of dawn, a chaise longue with three pillows on the left, two cushions near the windows, and a little square table with a book on it.
The lavender princess approached the book as the rest of the group followed her. Then, she proceeded with reading the title, "'The Journal of the Two Sisters'."
"You can read it later, Twilight," commented her Number One Assistant, "I want to know what happened in the Muscle Tower."
"What's the Muscle Tower?" asked Fluttershy in confusion.
"Goku was telling us his adventures on Earth when he was a 'colt'," answered the Dragon, "And they are pretty cool: they totally can match those of Daring Do."
"What?!" intervened Rainbow, "I mean, I know how awesome Goku is, but that's something I'll judge."
"Well, now that I'm thinking about it, we don't know almost anything about you, darling," said Rarity to Goku.
"Yeah, what if you start telling your story from the beginning?" asked Applejack.
"I want to hear it too, dad," supported Goten with a smile.
The black-maned Alicorn just smiled and said, "Okay, I'll start again, telling it from the beginning, but I warn you all, my story is pretty long, so it's better if we take a seat. Thankfully, we have a cozy room that’s perfect for storytelling." Rarity, Angel, and Fluttershy sat on the cushions, Applejack and Rainbow Dash sat next to them, Twilight sat on the chaise longue, and Spike and Goten sat next to her. Once everyone was ready, Goku began telling his past, "Well, many years ago in the Mount Paozu region..."