[Seaddle, Two months ago]
Seaddle - a beautiful coastal city on the West Coast of Equestria - was the place chosen by the ex-Wolf Desert Bandit, Yamcha, and his best friend, Puar, to start their new lives in the pony kingdom. After receiving bits from Princess Celestia herself, the dynamic duo wandered across the city, looking for jobs or any sort of employment. Having a source of income was important for anyone looking to provide themselves.
For weeks, however, they have found nothing, for the only things Yamcha was capable of were martial arts and playing baseball. Furthermore, his ponified body vastly limited him in many things he took for granted when he was a human, and this influenced him in his quest and everyday life. With no other option, they resorted to the plan they used to do back on Earth whenever they were running low on money: have Puar attract children and adults alike and make them pay to see him use his shape-shifting ability.
They went to one of the city's parks next to the sea, and once having reached their destination, they put themselves near a group of ponies that were conversing, playing, or just relaxing from the stresses of life.
"Alright, Puar," said the light-blue pegasus, "You know the drill."
"Hai, Yamcha-Sama!" exclaimed the cat-like shapeshifter as he began to fly around the area, performing aerial stunts to draw the attention of some ponies. The plan worked as a few colts and fillies saw the tiny blue creature flying just above a nearby field of flowers. Seeing this, the group ran towards him, drawing the attention of the other foals as well. Having caught their attention, Puar slowly flew away with the foals following him.
The ex-bandit of the Diablo Desert noticed that everything was working as planned and prepared himself for the next phase. A few seconds later, Puar reached his best friend, followed by the group of foals, and landed on his head with a happy face. The joyful crowd of fillies and colts stopped in front of the black-maned pegasus, all the while looking at the magical creature.
"Hey there guys," greeted Yamcha with a smile, "I see that my little friend here drew your attention."
"It's so cute!" stated one of the fillies.
"What is it though?" asked a colt with a curious tone.
“How can it fly?” asked another colt.
"What's its name?" asked another filly.
"Hehehe," giggled the azure pegasus, "His name is Puar, and he's a Shapeshifter."
"A Shapeshifter?" one of the foals asked with intrigue.
Yamcha used one of his wings to cover half of his face as Puar flew next to his head, and told, "Cute and rare animals that can be found only in the Southern Transformation Kindergarten. It is where they live, befriend young fillies and colts, and where we teach them the Art of Shapeshifting." Then, Yamcha removed his wing from his face and used it to shield his voice from unwanted ears as he stooped his head down towards them and almost whispered, "But it's a secret, okay?"
All of them nodded with a smile, then one of them asked, "Does it mean that we can make him change form?"
"Yep," he answered with a smile, "You name it, he turns into it."
"Even a spoon?" asked a filly.
Puar immediately turned into a spoon, surprising them all. After that, they started naming things to see the blue-furred Shapeshifter transform into them.
“Okay Puar! I dare you to change into a boat!” said a colt in a confident tone.
In just a blink of an eye, Puar had turned himself into a long rowing boat. The colts and fillies were surprised to see him change into something so big so quickly.
“Oh, I’ve got it! Puar, change yourself into a house!” said an excited filly with a blue bow.
And just like that, Puar had turned himself into a two-story, brightly colored house with a porch. The crowd gawked at the sudden change that Puar had done, with his actions even attracting other nearby bystanders to his show.
“Can you change yourself into a tower?” asked a curious filly with glasses.
Puar instantly changed his form into a mighty castle tower made from red bricks, becoming as tall as some of the nearby buildings. The fillies, colts and even the adult ponies bystanding in the side were left mesmerized by the form the Shapeshifter had turned into.
“How about something small this time. Puar, change yourself into a hedgehog,” asked a colt that was smaller than the others.
The once mighty, red-bricked tower vanished, leaving some of the ponies from far away bewildered over the sudden disappearance. In the wake of the change was a tiny rolled-up furry ball that suddenly sprung up, revealing a small brown and white hedgehog.
The gathered ponies came closer to see the tiny creature, their hearts melting at how adorable it looked.
“Okay, now for something bigger. I dare you to change into a bear!” said a colt in an excited tone.
The once tiny hedgehog turned itself into a giant bear, who stood on its hind legs and roared at the gathered crowd of foals and adult ponies.
“Uhh… how about a sunflower this time?” asked a nervous filly.
Puar did as told and changed himself into a sunflower, standing tall and proud as it was blooming with color.
With the surrounding ponies viewing the majestic sunflower, one curious filly decided to speak up: “Oh, I know! Puar, can you change yourself into Princess Celestia?”
The Sunflower that once stood tall and proud turned itself into the Sun Princess herself, who wore a calm and motherly gaze. The crowd of ponies was left aghast at how detailed and accurate the Shapeshifter mimicked their ruler’s appearance. They all marveled at the fact that he could even become the princess herself.
Not too long ago, the parents, who were looking to where their foals had gone, saw them gathered near a pegasus. Once there, they all witnessed how they were enjoying themselves in seeing a small creature changing its shape. They too began to enjoy the event and found it interesting, including how the unknown stallion commanded the cat-like being.
Yamcha noticed the gathering of adult ponies nearby and smirked, preparing for the final act. He gave instructions to Puar to turn into a pony and told him to speak with a wave of one of his hooves. With ease, the Shapeshifter did as instructed: "Hi!" he greeted, "I'm Puar! Nice to meet you!"
The crowd gaped at the fact that the little creature was able to mimic a pony and soon started cheering and applauding.
The ex Wolf Desert Bandit bowed down while Puar turned into a hat and turned upside-down, something that made the parents and bystanders believe he was a sort of street artist. So, they happily placed some bits in it and left with their children, satisfied by the show they had witnessed. The bystanders too added their bits in, feeling happy to have witnessed quite the spectacle. After that, Yamcha left as well with a sensation of victory as he looked at the almost full hat.
As he was walking down the city's streets, Puar restored his original form, but kept the lower part of his body with a bowl shape to store the golden coins they just earned. "That was a bit tiresome," commented the Shapeshifter, "But it worked as always."
"The old 'Street Artist' trick never fails," proudly assured Yamcha, then he asked, "How about we go get something to eat? You must be hungry after using the 72 Heavenly Transformations Technique so much."
Right after that, Puar's belly grumbled a bit, confirming what his friend just said. "Hehehe," they both giggled as they searched for a restaurant.
As they were looking for it, Puar noticed a medium-sized blue building with a signboard featuring two ponies fighting on its roof. Next to the door, there was another one with the words 'Seaddle Martial Arts Training Center' written on it. Through the windows, one could see some ponies practicing martial arts.
"Yamcha-Sama," he called out, drawing the warrior's attention.
"What is it Puar?" he said as he stopped. The Shapeshifter pointed at the said building, and Yamcha turned his head to see it. He noticed that it was a martial arts school and watched the ponies fighting for a moment.
"I think we've found some employment," commented Puar with a smile that his friend returned.
[Equestria Express, Now]
"Yamcha-Sama!" shouted Puar, snapping his friend from his dreams.
"Woah!" he exclaimed as he suddenly awakened and almost fell from his seat, "What's the matter? Are we already in Baltimare?"
"No, but we're almost there," he answered as the azure pegasus yawned, then he continued, "Our team will be in trouble if you end up somewhere else while sleeping."
"Hehe, don't worry, Puar, I just took a quick nap."
Suddenly, a grayish-blue coated mare with a long silver tail and pale-amber colored eyes entered the passenger car. She was wearing a mane-pin with a waning crescent moon to hold her short messy ponytail in place as her silver mane was hanging on the left of his face with sidebangs, almost covering her left eye. She was also using a mane-tie - with the same lunar symbol - on her tail and had two cute little fangs coming out of her mouth.
"Hey guys," said the female unicorn as she approached them, "Are you two ready? Cause we'll be shortly arriving soon."
"Of course we are, Moonlight," answered the ponified human, "Seaddle will make it to the games, with the qualifications being nothing short of an easy walk."
His teammate smiled and replied as she sat on the seat in front of him, "We're about to face the most skilled warriors of the kingdom; I'm thrilled!"
"Hey, where's Apple Cobbler?" wondered Yamcha.
"Right here!" exclaimed the pale-yellow maned mare from above, as she stood on her seat, "Ready to kick some flanks like apple trees!"
"I like your enthusiasm," praised the ex Wolf Desert Bandit, "Motivation is everything in Martial Arts. Those guys from Manehattan you told me about won't stand a chance against our team, but we should keep an eye on the others too."
"Looking at the previous editions of the Equestria Games," intervened Moonlight, "Baltimare and Whinnyapolis are strong teams as well. Although the Crystal Empire might catch us off guard. This is their first time attending the games after all."
"Well, all we can do now is sit back and relax. We'll find out once we get there shortly," replied Apple Cobbler with a smile as the others agreed with her.
[Vanhoover Express]
Meanwhile, the Vanhoover Combat Team was eating some food before their arrival at Baltimare. Well, mostly one of its members. The ancient demon-like creature known as Majin Buu was happily devouring everything edible on the table as Mr. Satan was talking with the third member of the crew.
"Are you sure he's going to be okay on the ring?" asked Soundwave - a light-gray coated, black-maned pegasus mare with a side braid mane-style and three black sound waves as a Cutie Mark - as she was looking at the chubby pink monster, "Eating that much before a fight doesn't end well most of the time."
"Don't worry," he replied with a grin, "Buu is going to be alright. Indigestion was never an issue for him."
"If you say so," she commented as she witnessed her teammate eating an entire cake with a single bite. "I just don't want our trump card to be out of commission," she then said with a smile.
"We probably won't even need him," he proudly stated, "Vanhoover already has the great Mr. Satan on its side! I doubt there's a pony in this kingdom that can match my strength and speed." He then laughed a bit as he thought, "At least if I don't count Goku, Vegeta, and the others. I need to qualify and win at the Equestria Games if I want to be famous again. Not to mention that Buu is bankrupting me."
"Manehattan has the strongest team yet," Soundwave pointed out, "So, I hope you're right because a team needs at least two members still standing to qualify."
"That battle royale will be a piece of cake, don't worry about it," assured the brown-coated pony with a confident smile.
[Baltimare, 5:00 p.m.]
Baltimare, a sizable harbor city on Equestria's East Coast, was ready to host the Martial Arts event qualifications for the Equestria Games. The Pegasi were finishing their removal of clouds from the sky, the Earth Ponies cleaned the city's streets, and the Unicorns prepared the Rising Sun Arena for the fighters. The city's mayor wanted to make an impression on the ponies coming from all over Equestria; the town needed to look good, and the stadium had to be safe. Luckily enough for him, the Pegasi hadn't scheduled a cloudy or rainy evening, so everything was perfect.
The trains transporting the teams of their respective cities arrived at the station, with their passengers disembarking at the platforms. A thick crowd of ponies filled the place as the teams' delegations tried to form groups before going to the Athletes Village, the location where the fighters would have passed the night after the end of the event.
Seaddle's group gathered near the exit of the station and gazed at the beauty of the city's traditional houses and buildings, not to mention the clean streets. "Hey, this place looks nice, doesn't it?" commented Yamcha with a smile.
"It's a bit rustic if I were to compare it with Nocturnia," replied Moonlight, "But it's lovely indeed."
"Gotta say, I’m appreciating the aesthetics so far," intervened Apple Cobbler, "It reminds me of Ponyville, but bigger!"
Puar was beholding the town as well until he turned his head and saw Vanhoover's group standing six meters away from them. Of course, he had to tell his friends what was going on, "Yamcha-Sama, guys."
"What's the matter Puar?" asked Yamcha with a smile as both Moonlight and Apple Cobbler turned their heads as well.
"I think that winning won't be that easy, after all," he said in a worried tone as he pointed at the group in front of him.
Confused by his words, Yamcha looked at what his friend was pointing and gasped, "What in the world is Buu doing here?!" he thought, then he noticed the brown Earth Pony, "And there's Mr. Satan too."
"What's that creature?" asked Moonlight in awe, "I've never seen anything like that before."
"Seems like a monster made of bubblegum to me," commented Apple Cobbler with a raised eyebrow.
"His name is Majin Buu," stated the ex Desert Bandit, "And it's better not to underestimate him because of his looks."
"He's an acquaintance of yours, I presume," inferred the silver-maned unicorn with a soft smile.
"Yeah, he and the brown pony are friends, actually," he answered as he started walking toward the rival group, "Just give me a second."
Meanwhile, another tough team gathered near the train station's exit. Manehattan's fighters were waiting for all the delegations to be ready as their chaperones were looking at the city with marveled eyes. Vegeta, one of the combatants, had his eyes closed and his forelegs crossed as he rested his back against a nearby column. He became the leader of the team after proving himself far superior to the former squad combined.
He was thinking about testing Goku and letting the others take care of the rest of the fighters, as he believed that they were just a bunch of weaklings, unworthy to fight against the Prince of All Saiyans. He was there only to know how much he increased his strength, how big the gap was between him and Kakarot, and how much he needed to train to close it.
Bulma and Trunks, part of Manehattan's group, were looking at the surroundings, admiring the retro-looking houses. At least from the Earthlings' point of view. However, their gazes happened to fall upon the fat demon standing 11 meters on the left. "Hey, look," said the azure-maned scientist, "It's Majin Buu."
“Yeah, it’s him alright.” Added Trunks.
Right after she pronounced that name, Vegeta suddenly opened his eyes and turned his head to see that the ancient creature was there indeed. "What? What is he doing here?" Then he noticed that there were also Yamcha and Mr. Satan. "Hmpf, they're attending the Games too," he inferred, then he added with a confident smile, "Maybe this evening won't be as boring as I thought." Of course, the presence of Majin Buu was what drove those words.
"You know that thing?" asked Speed Wagon, one of Vegeta's teammates.
"That 'thing' can blast you off to space," answered the black-maned pegasus with his usual stern expression, scaring a bit the dark purple-coated Earth Pony, "It's best if you fools don't dare to challenge him."
Before anyone could say anything else, a familiar voice spoke, "Bulma! Vegeta!" The couple turned their heads and saw Goku approaching them with that cheerful smile of his, along with Goten, Princess Twilight, and their friends from Ponyville.
"Goku! Guys!" greeted back Bulma with a smile as her old friend's group reached them, "Long time no see!"
"Yeah, but it's weird to see you all here," he said as Goten and Trunks started talking with each other, "Don't tell me Vegeta is going to fight in the games too."
"Hmpf," grunted the said pegasus, "Of course. I'll take any chance to beat you in public."
"Hehehe," giggled the alicorn stallion, "Good, at least I know for sure that there will be somebody strong in the games!"
"Buu!" suddenly exclaimed Pinkie as she sped off towards him. Her friends turned their heads and saw that the pink creature was there too. Goku and Goten also noticed Yamcha, Puar, and Mr. Satan, much to their surprise.
"Pink Pony!" exclaimed Buu with a huge smile as he grabbed the party planner and lifted her above his head. As their laughter echoed, their friends were watching the scene with a smile marked on their faces.
[Rising Sun Arena, Porta Triumphalis, 6:20 p.m.]
Once settled in their lodgings, the martial artists gathered in the Colosseum-like stadium as about 80'000 ponies were ready to witness the best fighters of the kingdom fight to qualify for the Equestria Games. The combatants were waiting behind the gates of the arena like legionaries as the mayor was making a speech. They all were wearing armbands with the colors of the flag and the flag of their respective cities, done with the intent to make them recognizable for the public.
"This is interesting," said Twilight as she was reading a book about Baltimare, "The Rising Sun Arena was formerly used to train Princess Celestia's Royal Guards and for martial games. Over time, however, it became accessible to the populace and is mainly used for local events."
"Hehe, this just reminds me of the old times of the World Tournaments back on Earth," commented Goku with a grin and a tone of excitement. "Also, thank you for joining us at the last moment, Rainbow," he said as he looked at the rainbow-maned mare.
"No problem, Goku," she answered with a smile, "You guys helped me with the Aerial Relay, this is the least I could do for you. Besides, how could I say no to kicking some flank for fun?"
Twilight closed her book and said, "But some of Goku's other friends are among the competing teams. Aren't you a bit nervous? Because I am."
"I'm pretty sure their presence alone is enough to avoid them, hehe," nervously replied Rainbow.
"Don't you worry girls, I'll take care of Vegeta and Majin Buu if necessary," assured Goku, making both mares smile in relief.
Meanwhile, not too far away, Yamcha's team was in the middle of a briefing. "These are just the qualifications, so we should focus on keeping us whole and intact while gathering information about the rest of the fighters," explained Moonlight with calmness in her tone.
"Yeah, you’re right, but with Goku, Majin Buu, and Vegeta on the playground, it won't be that easy," sighed Yamcha. Despite being happy to see his friends again, he didn't expect them to attend the games and thus making things way more complicated. “Have to be careful when going against them, but I recommend just avoiding those three at all costs.”
"Are they that strong?" asked Apple Cobbler with curiosity.
"Strong would be an understatement," he stated as he was looking nervously at the ground.
"It doesn't matter really," replied Moonlight, much to the Yamcha's confusion.
"What do you mean? They’re leagues ahead of us!" stated Yamcha, who tried to warn his friend about the might of his old friends.
"Oh, Yamcha," she answered as she slowly shook her head with a small smile, "If you know your opponent and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles."
This sentence caught him off guard as he didn't expect such a reply, but it made him start to think about the situation. “She’s right,” Yamcha thought, “maybe things are not as bad I think it would be.”
On the other hoof, Apple Cobbler was giggling, "Hehe, you went Old Wise mode again, huh?"
"Just doing my part," she replied with a smile.
Meanwhile, Mr. Satan's team was silent, though the self-proclaimed savior of Earth was thoughtful as well, "I didn't know Goku, Vegeta, and Yamcha would have attended the games too. Majin Buu is strong, but after what happened on the cruise ship, I don't think he will be enough to win. I hope we won't have to fight them today."
Vegeta's team was in a similar state to Hercule’s team. They were silent as the prince of all Saiyans had only two things in mind: to qualify and meet Kakarot in the Equestria Games to defeat him. As much as his blood was boiling for a fight with the clown himself, he had to remind himself that this event was only the qualifications and that the real prize would be in the actual tournament itself.
The presence of Majin Buu did complicate things just a bit, while Yamcha and Mr. Satan weren't even worth mentioning, at least for him. But he knew that Yamcha was too much for the fools he had as teammates. So, he still needed to be careful, something that pissed him off a bit as he was essentially forced to look after weaklings.
Suddenly, the gates opened, and the roar of the excited public echoed through the corridor as the light of the sunset bathed the warriors. Equestria's best martial artists entered the arena, marveling at the incredible amount of ponies gathered to see them and at the size of the sandy field itself.
[Rising Sun Arena]
The arena was 200 meters long and wide, with a 10 meters tall wall separating the spectators' area from it, having once served for security measures. In the eastern wing of the structure was a medium-sized terrace with balustrades and a golden ring resembling Princess Celestia's Cutie Mark on it, meaning that it was the royal seat. On each side of the arena, there was a scoreboard that featured 49 flags, each containing the number '3' beneath each of them.
"Damn, this stadium is packed!" exclaimed Yamcha in awe.
"It’s incredible that it is still able to hold so many ponies inside, despite its old age," agreed Moonlight as she was fascinated by the ancient architecture. Suddenly, several royal guards appeared in the spectator area, near the 10 meters tall wall. Surrounding the arena, they cast a spell that created an invisible, cylindrical-shaped, 60 meters tall magic shield meant to protect the public from the fighters' attacks. Another enchantment was cast, this time by ordinary unicorns, to create a border 10 meters away from the magic shield.
After that, a royal guard entered the arena from an opening point and flew in front of the warriors. As she was in the air, the cheering crowd went silent as she removed her helmet, preparing to speak: "Martial Artists!" her voice was heard throughout the entire stadium. Seeing one of the rulers among the participants below, she courteously bowed, "And Princess Twilight, welcome to the Rising Sun Arena!" The crowd cheered wildly when she said the last part of the sentence. With her oratory skills being put to work, she patiently waited for the cheering to die down.
Once silent again, she raised her head and continued, "I'm not into long explanations, so I'll be quick: the battle will last 30 minutes, within which your teams will fight for supremacy. To qualify for the Equestria Games, you need at least two fighters within the red perimeter. Magic and any other special abilities are allowed, but to wield weapons or magical artifacts will result in immediate disqualification.” After eyeing the combatants below, she added, “The match will start as soon as the unicorns turn the hourglass behind you upside down. Good luck and may the best of you prevail!” After saying that, she left the arena as the magic shield closed itself completely.
They all turned to see, as right above the gates they came out was a giant hourglass being held by two unicorns, standing on each side. Realizing this, all of the forty-nine teams scattered across the arena to not be attacked from behind or the flanks at the very beginning. As they all were on guard, with a few exceptions, the unicorns holding the hourglass turned it upside down, marking the start of the battle.
All of the 49 teams stared at each other until most of them began to engage. The clash of the fists or magic attacks shook the battlefield as a curtain of sand momentarily covered the area. Goku was happy to see that the opponents were stronger than he thought, and went into the battle with an excited smile. Rainbow and Twilight expected that, but they couldn't say anything as the former was attacked by a Griffon from the Baltimare Team. However, Dash was able to dodge her in time and took off. The griffon noticed it and took off as well, starting an aerial battle with the kingdom's fastest pegasus.
At first, it seemed that Rainbow was fleeing from her opponent, but she then suddenly did a complete U-turn and tried to use her speed to increase the force of her punch. The griffon counterattacked with a punch too, making it clash with the azure pegasus's. Immediately after, they started exchanging blows until Dash got the upper hoof thanks to her speed. She landed several hits on the griffon by dashing from several directions, stunning her for a moment. However, the Baltimarian fighter recovered quickly and counterattacked by matching her foe's speed. Only clashing trails could be seen by the public until they stopped engaging and started flying in a circle while keeping eye contact with each other. Their flight in circle ended with them head-butting the other while still staring at each other's eyes with confident and excited smiles.
Meanwhile, Yamcha was fighting against a fighter from the Whinnyapolis Team, as he was thinking about his squad's overall strategy. He had to hide his real abilities during this match to make it work, so no techniques and Ki manipulation unless forced to use them.
The warrior from Seaddle put those thoughts aside and hit his opponent with a punch, breaking his stance. Then, he kneed the unicorn upward, lifting him from the ground, and ended the assault with a straight, pony-style, double-kick, sending him diagonally to the sky. Much to Yamcha's surprise, the pony from Whinnyapolis stopped in midair as if he was able to fly. The truth, however, was that the unicorn was using his magic to levitate himself and mimic the ability of flight. "Wait, magic can do that?!" he thought surprisingly. However, he couldn't process the information because his opponent counterattacked with a kick, using his higher position to increase the impact force. Such a strike forced Yamcha to the ground, but he quickly stood up and got into his fighting stance with a confident smile. "This is just like the old days of the World Tournaments."
As Yamcha was busy, Vegeta was standing in the middle of the battlefield, looking for somebody worth fighting with. Suddenly, a pegasus from New Horseleans charged at him from above, but the prince sent him against the magic shield with a mere wave of his hoof. "Hmph, worthless insect," he said with his usual stern look.
"Pathfinder from New Horseleans is out," announced the referee as a pegasus pony updated the scoreboard by replacing the number 3 under the city's flag with the number 2.
"Tsk, I'm just wasting my time here," commented the black-maned pegasus with his eyes closed as he was contemplating the idea of fighting either Majin Buu or Kakarot to not die of boredom. However, a voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Don't be so full of yourself, Manehattan," said that voice with a slight French accent.
Vegeta opened his eyes and turned his head to see a unicorn approaching him. She was a pale-gray mare with a long, undulated tail colored three shades of light-blue, and an undulated, cornflower-blue ponytail-style mane, with two lighter shades of blue streaks, which was covering the left side of her face. Her eyes were sapphire blue, and she had a setting sun with a fading palm in front of it as a Cutie Mark. He sensed her energy and was a bit surprised to find out that she was stronger than most of the fighters there, so he asked, "Who are you?"
"You may call me 'Mirage' during this little encounter," answered the fighter from Monacolt with a smile, "Who do I have the privilege to fight with?"
The pegasus smirked and said proudly, "Vegeta. Try to not forget it." After that, the black-maned pegasus tried to catch her off guard with a quick punch. Vegeta wanted to test her reflexes to see if she could handle hand-to-hand combat with him at least for a bit, but he didn't expect what came next. Mirage dissolved like smoke as soon as his punch touched her, something that took him by surprise, but his state of shock increased when he sensed her energy behind him.
"Wow, you pegasi are truly the definition of speed," she commented, "I almost didn't see that coming."
Vegeta snapped from his shock and exclaimed, "Hmph, don't be so confident just because you dodged one of my attacks!" Right after that, they both disappeared and started throwing punches and kicks to each other, but each blow was dodged or blocked by the other, as they moved all across the arena. The Saiyan prince was surprised by the fact that the mare could keep up with him, but then he smiled confidently upon realizing that the Equestria Games would be more entertaining than expected.
Meanwhile, Mr. Satan was fighting against an earth pony from Foaledo as Majin Buu was watching, and Soundwave was battling a Trottingham fighter. The brown-coated earth pony blocked a flying kick from his opponent with his right foreleg. Then, he grabbed his leg and started spinning him around until he threw him at Majin Buu, whose belly made his foe bounce on it, sending him against the magic shield along with three other ponies in the process.
"Flint Match, Skyline, River Song, and Crimson Rose from Foaledo, Salt Lick City, Horsolulu, and Chicoltgo are out," announced the referee.
"Hahaha!" laughed Mr. Satan, "This is what happens when you dare to challenge the Great and Powerful Mr. Satan!"
[Trottingham, Outskirts]
Approaching the town of Trottingham, there was an azure-coated, pale cerulean-maned unicorn with a magic wand as a Cutie Mark, who was pulling her mobile stage. She stopped abruptly for some reason and started looking around with suspicion in her eyes. "Somepony is trying to steal the title of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" Then, she shouted, "WHOEVER YOU ARE, THAT TITLE IS TRADEMARKED!"
[Rising Sun Arena, Spectators Area, Baltimare]
Meanwhile, the Mane 4, Spike, Puar, Bulma, Trunks, and Goten were watching the battle below. They couldn't see anything but Rainbow fighting with a griffon at first because of the sand curtain generated by the clash of the martial artists. As soon as the dust dissipated, they could notice that Goku was fighting random ponies here and there, something that made a drop appear behind Goten's head. "Dad sure did miss fighting, Hehe," he commented with a nervous smile.
"Rainbow Dash seems excited too," said Applejack as she was watching her fight.
"Yeah, she's having fun with that super-duper fast griffon," commented Pinkie with joy, "Who would've thought that the martial arts event could be so fun?" Right after that, a pegasus slammed against the magic shield making a funny face, something that caused Pinkie to laugh.
“Morning Glide from Stratusburg is out!” announced the referee.
"Twilight doesn't seem to be into it, though," noticed Rarity as she saw the princess standing still and looking around.
"Maybe she's scared or she doesn't want to fight," guessed Fluttershy in a slightly worried tone as she was petting Puar.
"I don't think she's scared," replied Spike as he was looking at the princess, "I think she's feeling like a fish out of water right now. She's not a fighter nor an athlete after all."
"But she did fine durin' the Runnin' of the Leaves and the Aerial Relay tryouts," pointed out Applejack, "What's the matter now?"
"Yeah, but those were races, essentially," replied Spike, "This, however, is fighting. The times she fought was because the situation forced her to do so."
"Oh, I hope she'll be okay," said Fluttershy as she could just imagine how uneasy her friend was feeling right now. She would hate to be in her hooves.
Spike turned his head to see the yellow pegasus and said with a smile, "Don't worry Fluttershy, I'm sure she'll be alright. It's nothing she can't handle. "
"Hey, look," said Trunks, "That lady is fighting with dad!"
Bulma couldn't see them until they stopped, then she commented, "You're right, Trunks! I didn't think there could be anybod - I mean, anypony - that could match your father apart from Buu and Goku."
Rarity looked at the mare they were talking about: “I swear I have seen her from somewhere, but where?” That was until she realized who the unicorn was and gasped, "It can't be! She's Mirage of Monacolt!"
"Who?" asked the rest of the group in confusion.
"Mirage," she sighed, "She's the daughter of the Duchess of Monacolt, as well as one of the icons of fashion in Prance! I didn't know she was interested in martial arts; this is quite the gossip!"
"So, a prince versus a future duchess? Quite interesting, but the result is obvious," commented Bulma as if titles mattered in combat.
[The Arena]
Meanwhile, Vegeta and Mirage restarted their exchange of blows. The prince threw a punch, but it was blocked by hers; he then tried to deliver a kick, but the unicorn vanished. She instantly appeared behind and double-kicked him, sending him a few meters away. However, Vegeta used his momentum to perform a few somersaults and land on his hooves. Then, he turned, and with a cocky smile, he stated, "Playtime is over."
The black-maned pegasus unleashed his white aura as he was increasing his power. The sudden burst of energy caused a shockwave that sent several ponies against the magic shield while shaking the ground beneath. “Steel Hooves, Autumn Harvest and Rainstorm from Dodge Junction, San Franciscolt and Las Pegasus are out!” the referee announced.
Mirage protected herself from the mighty wind with a magic shield as she was looking at his opponent in awe. “A pegasus using magic?” she internally said, "What kind of sorcery is this?"
After he finished powering up, Vegeta looked at his opponent and said with a cocky smile, "I hope I didn't scare you with my power."
"Oh, no, au contraire, mon ami (Oh, no, on the contrary, my friend)," she answered with a confident smile, "I'm just impressed, that's all."
"Let's see if you can still keep up with me, mare," said Vegeta, right before rushing to her with tremendous speed.
Yamcha, in the meantime, blocked a punch coming from his opponent and counterattacked, but the unicorn from Whinnyapolis nullified the strike with his magic shield. He was growing frustrated because of that: it was true that he was able to block or dodge his attacks, but, at the same time, he couldn't get through that shield, resulting in a protracted stalemate.
The fighter from Seaddle jumped high in the sky all of a sudden and used gravity to increase the impact force of his punch. To defend himself, his opponent activated his green magic shield again, protecting himself from Yamcha's hoof. The blow made the dome-shaped shield sink a few centimeters into the sandy field while generating a small shockwave and moderate winds, but it failed in its attempt to shatter it.
Then, the warrior put his hind legs on the shield and used them to acquire momentum and perform three backward somersaults, landing on his hooves six meters away from his foe. “That damned shield. I need to bypass it if I want to get rid of him, but how?" But then, his opponent charged at him as he dropped the shield, making Yamcha realize something, "Wait, he has to deactivate the shield before attacking which means... of course! How could I not notice it before?"
Yamcha prepared himself and, as soon as the unnamed unicorn threw his punch, he grabbed it and pulled his foreleg to himself, forcing his foe to get closer. An instant later, Yamcha used his free foreleg to land a heavy blow on his opponent's belly, sending him several meters away from him. "He can't activate the shield if I'm too close," he thought with a cocky smile.
Suddenly, a charging buffalo from Appleloosa appeared and rammed Yamcha, propelling him toward the border of the arena. The azure-coated pegasus buried his hind legs into the sandy ground to try to stop the colossal beast from pushing him out of the red area, but it was futile. So, he unleashed his white aura to increase his power, slowing him down. However, Apple Cobbler freed Yamcha from the attacking bison by kicking him on his side, sending the warrior from Appleloosa several meters away.
"Don't worry, Yamcha," she said as she gave him a quick smile before going after the stunned buffalo, "I got him!"
The pegasus sighed in relief and said, "I didn't see that tank coming at all." But suddenly, the unicorn he was battling before appeared out of nowhere as he was performing a flying kick to send him beyond the red line. Unfortunately for him, Yamcha quickly reacted by grabbing his hind leg and threw him out of the red area with ease.
"Glistening Shield from Whinnyapolis is out!" announced the referee.
"I wonder how Moonlight is doing," he thought as he walked to the center of the arena, looking for another opponent.
Son Goku was desperately looking for a strong opponent to fight with, so he battled dozens of fighters hoping to find one, but they couldn't withstand a single strike from him. Therefore, he thought he could fight with Majin Buu, Vegeta, or even Yamcha to have some fun. However, both Vegeta and Majin Buu were already busy while Yamcha was nowhere to be seen. He sighed, but before he did anything else, Twilight approached him and said, "Hey Goku, something wrong?"
"Still looking for a fight," he answered in a slightly sad tone, then he turned his head toward her and asked, "What about you? Already fought somepony?"
The lavender princess was a bit hesitant, but then she replied, "Well, not exactly. I'm not so eager to start a fight for no reason. I know this is supposed to be a sort of test, but it's just stronger than me. Besides, everyone here just avoids me, possibly because I'm a princess."
The black-maned alicorn looked at her for a moment, then he smiled and said, "Don't worry, there are still the Equestria Games for that. Just make sure to be ready by then."
"Thank you," she sighed in relief, then she said, "I wonder how Rainbow Dash is doing."
As if to answer, a flash of lightning-bolt blinded them both for one second, after which the referee announced, "Goldstone from Baltimare is out!"
They raised their heads and saw their Rainbow-maned friend in the sky with a victory smile, meaning that she was the one who eliminated the griffon. She was still looking at her downed opponent as she thought, "Who knew that an old trick like the Buccaneer Blaze would have been so useful one day?"
"She's fine," both Twilight and Goku said in unison. Once they lowered their heads, they noticed that a pony was flying toward them. Not because he was attacking, but because he was thrown away by somepony else. The alicorn duo quickly sidestepped, letting the unfortunate pony keep his path toward the magic shield. Then, they saw a unicorn mare with little fangs approaching them.
"Greetings, alicorn warrior and Princess Twilight Sparkle, fourth ruler of Equestria," she said, as she stopped once she was six meters away from them.
Goku noticed that the energy of the mare in front of them was higher than most of the fighters in the arena, and even her Ki's nature was different. Of course, this sparked the stallion's curiosity, "Who are you?"
"I am Moonlight, Knight of the Lunar Guards," she answered, then she pointed at Goku and exclaimed, "I challenge you to a duel!"
"Lunar Guards?" wondered Twilight with both confusion and curiosity.
"Do you know them?" asked Goku.
The princess shook her head and replied, "It's the first time I ever heard of them."
"What shall it be?" asked Moonlight, waiting for an answer, "Will you abandon your honor and flee?"
The black-maned alicorn smiled in excitement and stated, "I never flee an opponent; I accept your challenge!"
Moonlight smiled a bit and asked, "May I have your name, alicorn warrior?"
The scarlet-eyed stallion got into his fighting stance and answered, "I'm Son Goku, but you can call me Goku."
"Very well, then!" she exclaimed, mimicking her opponent's action, "Brace yourself, Son Goku!"
Son Goku attacked first by rushing at her and trying to connect his punch with her cheek. However, Moonlight ducked and moved her head 10 degrees upward, then she cast an attack spell on the alicorn's belly, forcing him to retreat. The ponified Saiyan was caught off guard by that attack, and the pain he was feeling was proof that he wasn't dealing with a pushover. He smiled in excitement and attacked again, but this time his opponent mimicked his action.
Goku threw another punch, but it was blocked by the mare, who crossed her forelegs. Moonlight counterattacked with a fake fist that the black-maned alicorn dodged, believing it was a real attack. Then, Goku tried to exploit the apparent aperture, but his opponent turned her ongoing strike into a defensive maneuver, deflecting the route of his blow five degrees left. As a result, the scarlet-eyed stallion missed his target, thus allowing the silver-maned unicorn to land a roundhouse kick on his cheek.
The black-maned alicorn was sent six meters away, but he performed three sideways somersaults to recover from that blow, and, with a smile, he rushed toward his opponent. Moonlight attacked as well, and they started throwing and dodging each other blows at high speed. During the blow exchange, Goku noticed that he was faster than her, but her fighting style was so efficient it could convert attacks into defensive movements and vice-versa. That was why he couldn't break her defense while she could land some blows on him.
Goku tried to land a punch on her, but Moonlight did a 180-degree spin, dodging the attack, and elbowed him on the chest, letting him out of breath. The blow was strong enough to force the alicorn to retreat several meters away. The stallion was catching his breath as he was thinking about the moves of his opponent: it was the first time he encountered a fighting style that integrated both defense and offense at the same time. However, that didn't stop him from smiling at the challenge in front of him.
Not too far, another battle was unfolding. Vegeta was struggling with Mirage despite using all his power in base form, not because she was stronger, but because he couldn't lay a hoof on her. Each time he touched her, the future duchess dissipated like smoke, just to reappear somewhere else as if anything happened. Of course, this advantage allowed the unicorn to land a few blows, much to the prince's irritation.
"Stop fleeing, you coward!" he shouted in anger, then he calmed himself a bit and mocked, "Are you truly a fighter? Or are you just a buffoon that likes to pull out tricks to hide their weakness?"
"Oh là là," she said as she appeared a few meters away from him, "We're getting impatient, aren't we? I'll be a fool if I take you on frontally, that's why I use strategy instead; this is the most basic lesson about Martial Arts, mon ami. If your idea of fighting is just showcasing power and strength, it means that you're merely a vulgar brawler and not a martial artist."
"What?!" Vegeta growled at her remark.
However, before he could retort, he felt Kakarot's power increasing. He glanced to the side and saw the black-maned alicorn unleashing his aura as he set his sights on a dark blue-coated, silver-maned unicorn that was ready to fight.
“Well then, monsieur, shall we resume our fight?” Mirage confidently said as she got into a fighting stance.
“You’re damn right about that,” Vegeta said as the two fighters charged at each other.
Yamcha sensed Goku's ki increasing too, so he got closer to see what was going on. Once he was close enough, he noticed that his teammate, Moonlight, was the one fighting against him. He was impressed and surprised as he didn't think she could force Goku to power up, although he never figured out how strong she truly was; for some reason, he couldn't sense her ki very well, especially at night as it disappeared completely.
"But her opponent is Goku, I don't know how much time she'll resist."
Meanwhile, Moonlight was looking at her opponent, who was showcasing a confident yet excited smile as he bathed himself into that white aura. He had the same ability as Yamcha, meaning that he just increased speed and strength along with his power. She braced herself for his next attack, something that didn't take too long to happen.
Goku rushed toward her, but instead of going for a frontal attack, he performed the Afterimage Technique and evolved it into the Afterimage Strike. His action caught the unicorn off guard as she expected a direct blow and not such a technique. She was surrounded by at least eight moving Goku's, so she was a bit confused, but kept her guard up anyway. The black-maned alicorn began the assault, attacking her from all directions.
Initially, Moonlight held on, thanks to her unique fighting style. However, the attacks increased in frequency and became more random, something that allowed her foe to land some blows on her. She couldn't track the real Goku as every afterimage radiated energy, making her believe they were real clones. From outside the pressing area, it seemed like she was being attacked from all directions at once.
The stallion finished the attack by landing a kick on her belly, making her bend as she was on two legs. Then, he kicked her chin, forcing her to the air, and used his momentum to perform a somersault and jumped high to reach her. The assault ended with a roundhouse kick that sent her 15 meters away. Moonlight landed on her back and laid on the ground for a few seconds as a bit of blood could be seen running down her mouth.
The silver-maned mare was heavily breathing as she cleaned her mouth with her left hoof and looked at the stain of blood on it. She proceeded with cleaning it with magic as she looked at the sky, noticing that the sunset was about to end, but it still needed some time. "I still can't ask the Moon for its grace, as the eternal star is yet to set," she thought as she slowly started to stand up again.
"This fight is already over," stated Goku, much to the mare's surprise, "You're strong, but you can't beat me; there's no point in continuing this duel."
"He thinks he already achieved victory," analyzed Moonlight as she got into her fighting stance again, "Which is perfect."
Goku just shook his head at her action and tried to end it with a fast-draw attack, but he didn't expect his opponent to dodge it. "What?! She can still react to my speed despite being weaker??" he thought, surprised as he landed behind her, "Well, another Afterimage attack should get the job done then."
The alicorn stallion performed the Afterimage Strike once more, surrounding her again as she was seemingly doing nothing. Moonlight, unexpectedly, broke her stance and closed her eyes as she started breathing. Those who were watching the duel couldn't understand what she was doing, for she was wide opened for an attack. The amber-eyed unicorn inhaled through her nose and exhaled through her mouth as if she was doing breathing exercises.
"I can feel it," she thought as she kept on breathing, "Through my horn, through my head, through my legs, down my body, into the ground...I can feel the pulse of life." As a golden aura engulfed her body, she chanted, "My heart is burning...with the heat of a raging fire!" She then opened her eyes and said as she raised her right hoof, "I have you now, Son Goku! I'll send this energy through the ground!" Instants later, she punched the ground, making it glow golden, "SENDO HAMON OVERDRIVE!"
A golden vortex of energy filled the ground and all of the moving images of Goku were destroyed by what seemed like golden electricity coming from the sand. All of them but one, who was sent tens of meters away. The stallion laid on the ground while a bit of that gold-colored electricity was still punishing his body. Twilight ran to help him as he seemed semi-paralyzed while Yamcha couldn't believe what just happened.
"I'm sure her power didn't increase at all, yet she just turned the tables around somehow!" thought the ex-Desert Wolf Bandit in awe.
"Are you alright?" asked Twilight in worry as she helped him to stand up again.
"I don't know," he answered as his body felt like if he was just electrocuted, "My body feels a bit rigid."
"That is the side-effect of my technique," said Moonlight as she approached the alicorns, "I put a bit of that energy into you to slow down your movements. Right now, you are slower than me."
"What?!" he said.
"This is what happens when one makes bold statements based on excessive confidence. It makes you careless and vulnerable."
Goku opened his eyes wide at her statement, realizing what he just did. He was doing the same action that led to his defeat and the destruction of Earth, along with his old friends at the hands of Beerus. These were just qualifications for a mere game, but what if she was a villain? What if the paralysis was stronger? His expression changed all of a sudden and said, "Twilight, get back."
The lavender alicorn was a bit worried about her friend, but she obeyed and let him finish his fight. The stallion increased his base power to the max and flew toward Moonlight to end the duel once and for all. That weird energy in his body, however, reduced his speed, enough to put him on the same level as her. So, she was in perfect control of the situation. Moonlight noticed that her opponent's mood and behavior changed, meaning he was upset. If he was upset, then it was likely he was acting through impulse, making his next move predictable: he probably wanted to end the fight with a single blow.
"It's too late for that," she thought as she extended one of her forelegs, blocking a powerful punch coming from Goku. However, something weird was happening: a blue ripple was going through her extended foreleg, her midsection, and through her other foreleg which was charging a punch. "COUNTER!" she exclaimed as she landed that punch on the stallion's cheek, sending him against the magic shield. The kinetic energy of Goku's punch was transferred to Moonlight's, meaning that she hit him back with his strength and not hers.
All of Goku's friends in the spectators' area couldn't believe what they saw, until the referee said it, "Son Goku from Ponyville is out!"
“Dad lost?” Goten said in shock.
“Wait, Kakarot got beaten?” Vegeta thought in bewilderment.
“WHAT! Goku lost?!” Rainbow said as she saw her teammate laying outside the red line.
“No way, Moonlight actually defeated Goku!” Yamcha said out loud.
“Now THAT was something that I did not expect,” Mr. Satan internally said as he was fighting against a Fillydelphia team member.
Right after that, the sun hid beyond the horizon and the moon arose. Goku was slowly standing up when he, Yamcha, Twilight, Vegeta, Mirage and the ponies nearby saw a delicate gleam coming from Moonlight. Her silver mane glowed like the moon, her pupils turned more similar to those of a cat, and a pair of bat wings appeared out of dim light.
A whistle could be heard as the last grains of sand reached the bottom half of the hourglass, marking the end of the 30 minutes. “Fillies and Gentlecolts! The qualification round is over!” announced the royal guard pegasus from before. The public roared at the news, stomping and cheering in joy and excitement after witnessing the intense match.
Twilight marveled at what she was seeing. “She resembles Flutterbat, but way less spooky and more… regal, almost divine, in a way.” However, she put those thoughts aside and ran towards Goku to help him out. Some of the other ponies approached the bat-winged 'alicorn' in awe, and with a few asking her questions, much to her annoyance. Fortunately, Apple Cobbler saved her from the crowd.
After counting the scoreboards underneath the flags of each city, the Royal Guards, specifically the pegasus royal guard, made another announcement, “From the results, we have gathered, seven teams have made it to the Equestria Games! In alphabetical order, the successful teams are as follows: Canterlot, Fillydelphia, Manehattan, Monacolt, Ponyville, Seaddle, and Vanhoover. The winners will meet the Crystal Empire, meaning that there would be eight teams in total in the Martial Arts Event! Congratulations to the victors of this match, we look forward to your performance in the Equestria Games!”
Roaring applause and cheering were made by the spectators, as the final words were spoken over the results of the qualifications. During the announcement itself, Applejack noticed that one of her cousins was among the fighters all of this time, much to her surprise. “Well shoot, it’s Apple Cobbler!”
Goku was still thinking about what happened earlier, something that both Rainbow and Twilight noticed. "Hey, is everything alright, Goku?" asked Rainbow.
He snapped from his thoughts, and with a burst of nervous laughter, he answered, "Y-yeah, I'm fine. I was thinking about that weird golden energy, that's all."
"Oh, but you can ask her later, we all are going to the same place after all," Twilight added.
"Y-you're right, hehe," he replied with a nervous smile. Twilight, on the other hoof, wasn't convinced of what he said but decided to let it go, as it could be just her imagination.
Mr. Satan, Majin Buu, and Soundwave were happy to have qualified for the games, but the former knew that his road to fame was an uphill battle, as his team would face Goku, Vegeta, Yamcha and even that mare that defeated the former. He just hoped that Majin Buu was strong enough for them.
Vegeta was glad to have his team, as well as Kakarot’s, qualified for the Equestria Games, where he would go all out and not hold back. “I will make sure not to make the same mistake as that clown today,” he internally assessed. His match with Mirage, however, did make him consider new strategies and tactics to deal with magical opponents such as her.
Meanwhile, Yamcha was thinking about Moonlight and Goku's fight. For a long time, he thought that only the strongest could win a battle, especially when the Saiyans came to be. But his teammate just proved him wrong; anyone could indeed defeat stronger foes, with the right technique, style, strategy and more. "We still have a few months before the games itself," he thought with a confident smile, "I'll use the time to develop a new technique or something, and not even a Super Saiyan will keep my team away from victory!"