Love in the Garden of Shadows
"Help me!"
The cries of the young colt rang loud through the air as he moved his tiny legs as fast as he could; galloping at full speed from his pursuer. The chaser's wooden body creaked and made snapping noises sit moved to chase after the tiny morsel of a meal that it was hungrily hunting down.
The timberwolf was gaining on the small tan colt rapidly, and before long, it would be atop him.
The tiny pony tripped over an unfortunately placed stone that refused to budge, and he fell forward onto the grass, tumbling for a few feet before ending up on his belly. He saw Ponyville not even too many paces away, but as he looked behind him, the horrible realization that he would never make it back dawned on him, and he curled into a sobbing ball as the timberwolf pounced, ready to sink it's teeth into him.
He waited for the pain to hit; for the terrifying creature to rip his flesh to bits and end his short life. He realized after a few seconds that he pain had not come. He was still whole and alive.
He noticed a shadow on the ground in front of him, and turning back to see what was casting it, he gasped and a big smile spread across his face.
"It--it's you!" He excitedly cried.
The biped stood between the young colt and the timberwolf, holding the wood-made creature's snout with his green and clawed hand. His huge white cape flowed like it was part of the air itself majestically, and he held the creature's scared gaze with his own hard stare.
Piccolo raised the timberwolf up to level with his face.
"You should've stayed in your den." He said simply.
He delivered a quick punch to the creature, breaking off it's lower half, then tossed the rest into the air and spit out a powerful beam from his mouth that incinerated the remaining body like twigs in a roaring blaze. The sticks did not levitate to regroup as they normally would. The namekian had slain the beast for good.
The little tan colt trotted up to him, a wonder filled look in his brown eyes as he stared at his savior.
"Wow!" He breathed. "You were awesome!"
Piccolo looked down at the young pony and gave a quick smile. "Thanks, kid. It was no problem. But you really shouldn't be out near the Everfree Forest; it's dangerous."
"I know..." The young pony admitted sheepishly. "But I just wanted to go on adventure..."
The Guardian of Equestria chuckled a bit. "Well, you can have all sorts of adventures in life; but why don't you save the more perilous ones for when your older, ok?"
"Ok!"
Piccolo turned to walk away, and the little guy stopped him. He turned around to see what the young colt wanted.
"Thank you so much!" He said.
"It was nothing. Just part of the job." Piccolo replied.
The little pony shook his head. "Not just for that; you saved my mommy and my big sister with the Dragon Balls! You're my favorite hero, Mr. Piccolo!"
The namekian's eyes widened a bit and he gasped curtly at the last part of the colt's statement.
"Mr. Piccolo..?" The pony pressed. "Are you ok..?"
There it was again, this time at the front of the sentence. That moniker...
Without a word, Piccolo took off into the air, leaving the confused young colt on the ground below.
"Wait! I'm sorry! Was it something I said..?"
* * *
Night came across the Equestrian plains as Piccolo meditated atop a small hill not far outside of the small town of Ponyville. That kid...he had called him Mr. Piccolo...that was a name only two people had ever called him, and one of them was lost to him..
"Gohan...it's been far too long..."
The oldest son of Goku; a boy he had helped raise into a great fighter and an even greater person. He had been Piccolo's first real friend, and was like the son he never had, nor could ever have. It had been over a year since their last good-bye on Earth...
"Gohan...I want you to know..I've loved you like a son...you were the only one who truly understood me. You were...are...and always will be..my best friend..."
"I love you too, Piccolo...and I hope your mission goes successfully."
"Good-bye, Gohan..."
"Let's not say good-bye...let's just say...until we meet again..."
"Until we meet again..." Piccolo repeated Gohan's final words to him under his breath. "I wish I knew when that would be..."
Deciding it was peaceful enough for him to drop his guard for awhile, he lay down on the rocks, and drifted into sleep. Perhaps some rest would help him forget the day's reminder of what he no longer had...at least until something else reminded him.
* * *
"Gohan!" Piccolo shouted circling around their opponent. "Take him from the other side, we'll combine our blasts into a synchronized attack and take him out!"
Gohan nodded an affirmation and took off in the direction Piccolo had instructed him. He unleashed his potential power as a white aura engulfed him, and his power level rose immensely. Piccolo gave a proud smile to the half-saiyan before turning his eyes back on their enemy.
"Special Beam Cannon!"
"Kamehameha!!"
The beams from the two fighters connected and exploded magnificently against their target, causing a huge dust-up. Just as he thought they'd won, the dark figure dashed out of the cloud of smoke, and soared fist first straight through Gohan.
"Ah! No!" The namekian shouted in shock as he watched his best friend become nothing more than a husk as he fell to the ground, all energy gone from him.
Piccolo soared as fast as he could to try and catch him before he splattered against the hard rock below. He caught Gohan's body at the last second, and stared into his first pupil's dead eyes as they stared into nothingness; a look of fear and hurt frozen on his corpse.
"Gohan! Why?!"
The dark figure stood directly behind him, and as Piccolo whirled around, he launched a rage filled punch straight at the oppressor. The dark figure caught the attack effortlessly and held Piccolo's arm there. The grip was strong, and Piccolo could not escape it even with all his strength.
"Hahahaha! You must feel so useless, Piccolo!" The horrifyingly familiar voice cackled.
The dark figure now had a face; it was none other than Prince Sapphic himself.
"No...impossible! You're...you're dead!"
Sapphic smiled evily. "Yes...and you'll be joining m soon!"
The changeling tyrant raised a ki infused fist up and moved to punch the Guardian of Equestria's head off his very shoulders.
"I'd say that's enough." A female's voice cut though the air.
Sapphic screamed in agony as he body cracked and crumbled before exploding in a white light, revealing a friendly face behind where he'd once been.
"Princess Luna..?"
"'Tis I, dear Piccolo." She confirmed.
"Then..this is a dream..."
"Yes it is. Although the way I see it, it seems more like a nightmare...not the least which of many you've been having recently."
Piccolo looked down at his hands as if examining them for something even he himself wasn't sure of. "You've been watching my dreams..."
"'Tis my duty to watch the dreams of all those in Equestria, or at least those of which live under my wing of the world."
There was silence between the two, and after a tense pause, Luna stepped closer.
"What troubles thee so, Guardian?" She asked with sincere worry in her lovely tone.
The namekian hesitated before answering. "I...I sometimes wonder if...if I made the right choice coming here..."
The princess raised an eyebrow, and a briefly noticeable gleam of worry crossed her eyes. "Whatever doth thou mean...?"
"When...when I came here to become the Guardian of Equestria, it was because I felt that...that I had to do something to help...to put right what that madman, Sapphic made wrong..." He explained. "But...in the process, I lost something very important to me; something I thought I was prepared to be without."
He looked at the alicorn with a genuine expression before he continued. "I lost a bond..."
Luna nodded in understanding. "I assume the bond you speak of was with this Gohan you continue to have nightmares of losing.."
"That's right."
Luna observed the namekian's body language and saw how tired he looked; even in the dreamworld, the weight of reality was bearing down heavily upon him, and it looked as though there was nothing she could do to help him. But, that did not stop her from trying.
She had grown quite fond of Piccolo's company in the past year, and each time she saw him, she couldn't help but think of his selflessness he had shown in the fight against Sapphic when he not only shielded her from probable death, but even gave up a majority of his energy to heal her wounds. He'd fought tooth and nail to help save Equestria; to help save her. She'd always wondered how she could return the favors he had given to her world.
Perhaps there was one way...
"This bond you have with this Gohan....I can tell it was strong between you both..."
"He was like family to me..." Piccolo told her.
"Is a family what you would seek?"
Piccolo thought on that. His loss of his connections to Gohan had really taken their toll on him; every night, the same kind of terrors. Gohan would always die in some horrific way, and he would be unable to help him. Luna had once told him that dreams had meanings...
"...So what's the meaning of this one?" He finished aloud.
"Pardon..?"
"The meaning of my nightmares." He said. "What are they trying to tell me? You said dreams have meanings, and reveal either our greatest desires or deepest fears. Why is my deepest fear losing Gohan...?"
Luna had no answer at first; the question had been sudden, and had thrown her original plan of discussion off track.
Piccolo was worried about his lost bond with this Gohan from Earth; he continued to dream of losing him in battle and being unable to help him.
"Perhaps...your true fear isn't actually losing Gohan to death...but perhaps your true fear is that he has become like this to you."
The namekian turned to the princess, with a look that prompted her to explain further.
"You fear losing your bond with Gohan; I think these dreams are actually trying to tell you that you haven't lost it. You still have him in your heart and in your memory. But, as is displayed by your inability to help, your nightmares are trying to tellyou that..."
She paused.
"Tell me what, Princess?"
"...Tell you that he is beyond your help now." She finished.
Piccolo had a feeling she might say that; Gohan had gone beyond needing him long ago, back when Majin Buu terrorized Earth. He'd become so strong, and so powerful. He really didn't need the namekian's help at all. But they had remained best friends throughout the years following; still making memories with each other like it was nothing.
But now that he had come to Equestria, he had a new set of responsibilities, and none of them were Gohan.
"Maybe...maybe you're right, Princess..." He said, staring into the sky of dreamworld. "He...hasn't needed me for a long time...maybe...it was me who needed him."
"And now that you can no longer help him, I believe your dreams are telling you that it's time to let go." She finished for him. "Dwelling on the past is no way to live life. I know this from experience, as I too have regrets of things already done."
She moved to place a hoof on his shoulder in a comforting manner.
"Fate brought you here to help us, and you have been doing wonderfully, dear Piccolo." She continued. "Your place is here now...here with Equestria; with the Dragon Balls; with the ponies..."
She looked away.
"With me..." She nearly whispered.
Piccolo's ears were too large to miss it, however, and he turned his gaze to the dark blue alicorn in a questioning manner. She flattened her ears in embarrassment and blushed as she continued.
"Ever since you saved me during the battle with Sapphic...I too have been having recurring thoughts." She admitted. "Thoughts about...about you...how noble and brave of a being you are. How selfless and honorable..."
As she spoke, she moved to stand in front of him, gazing into his face with her big blue eyes.
"You gave up everything you ever had on Earth to become a force for good here in Equestria, and that shows dedication the likes of which no stallion I have ever seen in my long lifetime has ever had in anything. You speak of bonds, and not wanting them to break...perhaps...perhaps the lose of your time with Gohan...was to create a new bond with another...perhaps...with...me...?"
"Luna..." He sighed tiredly. "It would never work between us...for one, we would never be able to have any naturally born children. I am a namekian, and we are genderless, meaning no reproductive capabilities. And on another note...I don't know if I could handle relationship...especially how I am now."
Luna's eyes fell at these words, and she drooped her ears and head low.
"I'm sorry, Princess--"
"Please..." She cut him off "You do not have to refer to me with such formality. If another reason is my title, than let it not be so. And as for the offspring, it matters not to me. I just want to help you to heal...and perhaps...to forge a new bond to help soothe the pain of this broken one. I am not trying to replace your Gohan, or even make you forget about him; I merely wish to show you that you do not have to continue to suffer anymore."
She placed her forelegs upon is chest as she continued to speak; her tone rising in urgency with each word.
"I want to change your horrifying nightmares...into blissful dreams...I hate to see hat you gave everything for us, and still we have nothing to give to you in return. Please...Piccolo...let me help to ease your pain..."
She inched her muzzle closer to the namekian's lips, and Piccolo dared not to move. As her soft lips met his, he found himself melting in her embrace as she wrapped her forelegs around his neck, her wings spreading out abruptly. He started to kiss her back, closing his eyes and embracing her as well.
As the kiss ended, Piccolo realized they were back were he had been prior to going to sleep. Was he awake?
Luna saw his confusion and simply said; "Indeed, we are back in the real world, dear Piccolo."
Well, that cleared that up. He looked deeply into the blue eyes that were trying to hypnotize him, and found he couldn't look away. Had she placed a spell on him? He didn't feel any strange presence in his own energy. Perhaps he did need to forge a new bond, and this was what fate had in mind for him.
"You don't know what your getting into..." He breathed.
"Mayhaps that is the fun of it." Luna cooed at him, not releasing him from her embrace.
"Well...you know that I once blew up the moon...right?"
Luna blinked, but after a moment, chuckled. "Well, I have...confidence...you'll have no reason to do so again."