Blooming Talent

by Griffin Productions

Everlasting Sunset

The ponies, minus Maud, looked at Piccolo in utter disbelief as he finished his telling of the events that brought him and the others to Equestria. Luna couldn't fathom it; the sweet young filly from Sweet Apple Acres a fearsome and powerful warrior? The alicorn just could not pictureit. And even harder for her to believe, the mare now had a body similar to a bipeds?

She couldn't picture it, but she knew Piccolo was not lying. His eyes had never left them the entire time he had been speaking, and he spoke his words without hesitation, as if recounting a memory rather than making up falsities.

The namekian looked out at the perpetual sunset from the single window the room provided. Luna would have helped it along, he had learned, but she was far to weak still from her fight with the usurper changeling, and could not muster the strength for such a feat. As he looked out across the flat and rocky surface of the plains, the light the sun was giving off reminded him a bit of Vegeta's suicide bomb technique he had used on Majin Buu so many years ago. It had been just as radiant and fearsome looking as the sun here now was, but this sight was quiet; almost sinister in it's silence. A blast without a sound. Piccolo hoped he was just overthinking things, and that this memory was not a sign of things to come.

Luna trotted up beside him as he continued to look out at the eerie sight of an everlasting twilight.

"You are....troubled, Piccolo?" She asked, as if she wasn't completely sure.

He hesitated a moment before answering, still gazing at the horizon. "No. Just an old memory that this scene reminds me of...."

Luna did not understand, but did not pry anymore. What the namekian had told them of his plan seemed a bit ludicrous, and even impossible. Then again, she had not seen just how strong young Apple Bloom had become. As her thoughts switched to the mare from the Sweet Apple Acres, she thought that she had not seen much of anything relating to Apple Bloom in years.

She had not even taken a look into Apple Bloom's dreams after the one named Applejack had passed years ago; it seemed rude to her to do so at the time. But after Piccolo had told her of the nightmarish memories she suffered from each night until this Goten had come along, the guilt of not being there to help her through it burst it's way into her mind.

She would have to apologize to Apple Bloom when she saw her next, if she did at all. 'Twas unacceptable what she had neglected in the years passed.

Both Luna and Piccolo's senses pinged all of a sudden, as a massive power level began nearing them. Piccolo smirked once he recognized it.

"Looks like she's here."

Apple Bloom? This power couldn't be Apple Bloom, Luna thought. It was far too large for an earth pony; and yet, she sensed more than just earth pony power within the approaching visitor. Some of the energy felt familiar to some of Sapphic's own, and another part she had not sensed before. If this was Apple Bloom, Luna was going to eat her pony socks, if she ever found them again.

The being came into view, and landed slowly outside in the view of the window. Piccolo's grin turned to a slight frown as Appleten walked closer to them; she was soaked n what appeared to be green blood that was now caking her clothes and fur. The gore was spattered all over her body from head to toe, and it seemed that only her mane and face had not gotten more than a little bit on them. She sauntered somberly over and finally made it to the window.

Luna's jaw hung wide open at the sight. If this was Apple Bloom, she knew there had been some major changes that had happened since she'd seen the mare last. The color of her mane being only a small part of that. Hadn't Piccolo mentioned something that she had 'fused' with this Goten character? This must be the result, and it's power adding to it's appearance, made the biped showered in blood very terrifying to look at. The only thing that did not look menacing were her sad and swollen brown eyes. She looked as though she had been weeping.

"Appleten, are you ok?" Piccolo asked the potara warrior.

She simply shook her head in a no gesture, and looked pleadingly up to the namekian. She didn't have to speak to get the message across. She had been to her hometown, and she had seen something there that had killed her inside.

Piccolo rested a hand on her shoulder, which she did not push away.

"Don't worry." He said, looking her dead in her sorrow filled eyes. "We're going to make sure that bastard pays dearly for this."

Suddenly, the namekian was pulled nearly out the window by the fusion fighter in a tight embrace. He would have embraced her back, but she had pinned his arms to his sides, so he merely let her squeeze him as long as he needed to. He thought of Gohan in that moment, and how he had never actually given the boy any physical affection beyond a few head pats. This only made him happier that Appleten saw him as enough of a friend for this.

* * *

Sapphic sat atop his throne overlooking his new grand chamber; many of his changeling brethren wandered around as they awaited whatever mission the king had for them.

He sat up and decided he hadn't hard the battle reports for awhile, and called one of the drones over to him. When the drone arrived, he spoke.

"What's the situation with the acquisition of Equestria's cities?"

he changeling looked rather nervous, which caused Sapphic to look at him in a quizzical way; although, underneath that death mask, the changeling probably only saw a snarl. He didn't care either way.

"Speak, brother." He spoke loudly.

"Uh...the...uh...the group from Manehatten hasn't..uh...reported back in...sire."

"What?"

"Neither have...the...patrols from Ponyville or Cloudsdale..." The drone continued shivering. "It's...it's, uh, as if they just vanished, my liege..."

Just vanished? Impossible. But was it? He thought back to that godlike power level he had felt not too long ago, and suddenly a small pit formed in his stomach. He had nearly forgotten all about it, and now that his patrols were up and vanishing, that only left one possibility in his brain; this force, whatever it was, was destroying his changelings.

"You said Ponyville did not report back?" He questioned, standing up suddenly.

The drone confirmed this and shrunk down as if to shield himself from the wind.

That was very close to Canterlot, and too close for Sapphic's comfort. This force was going to have to be dealt with.

"Stay and guard the prisoners and the castle."He commanded, beginning to walk down form his perch. "I am going to investigate these disappearances myself...and crush whoever is behind them beneath my heel."

Comments

[Mallory S Nocturne]

And the springtrap's set...

[ponylover2]

next chapter please