Chapter 34: Reflections

Previously, at the Neighponese-style castle…

All the harem cows, 117 of them, were gathered into the large hall the lead wife used to hold court in the harem palace. The walls were all ornate wooden lattice work and sheer curtains with eunuch hallways surrounding the central area on all sides.

The cows were all silent and obedient, huddled in the center.

"Keep a constant watch on these females. They are highly suicidal. No one goes in or out and absolutely no silk allowed of any kind," Shining Armor ordered 20 of the newly arrived guards.

All Equestrians.

"Yes, sire!" they all shouted and saluted.

Shining Armor left to oversee the rest of the occupation of the castle.

"What's sew-a-saddle?" one asked another.

"I don't know, sounds contagious."

"Alright, ponies." The officer in charge said, "Normal prisoner round procedures. Patrol the area and physically check on them every fifteen minutes. Keep your distance and use your disinfection charms. Whatever condition this is, the prince warned us for a reason."

Shining Armor walked to the central courtyard where the most severe individuals from the dungeon were being laid out on gurneys. There was almost no walking room between them.

"Captain," Shining Armor walked up to the lead medic. "Report."

"Two of the guards that were attacked by a freed prisoner and the prisoner in question have died. Interrogation of the guards and document search show he was convicted of burglary and murder. We are no longer undoing any needle restraints until we can confirm their identities." He looked over the courtyard, "However, those that were punished with severance can no longer use this ki in any form. From what the specialists among the prisoners said, they are all the former officials and servants of the demon emperor and their families. The strategic damage to their filaments has almost completely nullified any healing spells we have on hand… we had begun emergency amputation of necrotic tissues, but nothing could stop the bleeding. We've stopped all operations accordingly. Eight deaths resulted.

"That the information gotten from the Eastern specialists is greatly helping with alleviating symptoms is the only good news I can offer," he looked back at Shining Armor. "They said severance is only supposed to be used in serious cases, but not in the patterns used on them." He leaned in and began to whisper, "They think they might be the 'forbidden circles' that are used for torture and execution, and at least one of the new puncture doctors is a black agent to one of the eastern emperors."

Their heads separated and Shining Armor nodded. He trotted off.

He entered the training grounds, where the monks were overseeing the thousands of samurai, near naked, bound, and gagged.

As he looked around, he saw some new injuries among the prisoners.

"Any problems?" he walked up to Lord Mutaito.

"Just some strategic breakage. Everyone tis high and mighty until someone taketh an arrow to thine knee."

"I need to talk to you, alone."

He nodded and followed him to the side.

Shining Armor cast a dome around them. "Anti-sound spell. No one can hear us."

"Very well," Mutaito nodded, slightly tilting his head. "Continue, young stallion."

"What can you tell me about the black agents from the empires and the forbidden circle needle techniques?"

"As an ambassador, nothing. As a stallion who watched a happy calf soar through the sky on the back of yellow clouds her entire youth, while Yajirobe tis Neighponese, the merchant caravan he came with art from Weigh, and I noticed large numbers of Formǎsa accents in the group. It tis a large island in between Neighpon, Weigh, and Wu and has traded hoof many times. It is a land of merchants and pirates. If you have coin, you are welcome no questions asked, even today."

"You think Weigh is behind this coup?"

"I think an uneducated sloth was fed with dreams and got a big head," he answered. "Attacking the royal family of Equestria after all the hard work to reestablish diplomatic ties?" He shook his head. "It makes no sense. But gaining control of the free districts within the satellite empire, that tis a goal worth pursuing.

"Thou did well not to call him shogun out of normal equestrian politeness. From what I've been told, even a thousand years later, the emperor tis still a puppet to the military's supreme general. He rules Neighpon unquestioned. By calling him that, thou would have ceded all power to him and given pretense for that attack."

"Even if I fell, my wife is still an alicorn. She would return with the full force of Equestria behind her."

"Prince," Mutaito said, pointing behind him.

Shining turned and saw a soldier running up. He dropped the bubble.

"Sire," he saluted. "Your presence is requested. We've found a hidden armory behind a false wall." He paused, "There's something in there we have no idea what it is."

Shining turned back to Lord Mutaito, "Would you come with me."

They walked through the mess in the throne room into the back rooms. They came to a fancy bedroom and saw a stairway behind the open false stone wall.

"This looks completely real," Shining Armor said, feeling the door.

"Analysis shows it is real. The stone is sliced unbelievably thin and is used as veneer. If a soldier had not tripped on a mat and face planted into the wall, we would have never found it."

The group continued down; the way lit by magic crystals.

"This place stinks of kayaku," Mutaito said as they reached the bottom of the steps and entered the large vaulted room.

They saw the soldiers milling about with poles made of wood, metal, and string.

"Ah, jus," Mutaito said. "The Kohane traders first brought this kind to the islands. You have never seen one?"

"Never," Shining Armor said, taking one in his magic. "This string is burnt? Some kind of candle wick?" He looked at Mutaito.

He nodded. "It's used to set fire to the kayaku. It explodes in the pipe and shoots a ball out faster than an arrow."

"These don't have strings in them," a soldier handed over another version.

Shining Armor moved a metal lever back and forth. "Looks like the ball is put in here then closed."

"The ones with string were all thrown in a pile in the corner covered in dust," the soldier said. "These were all lined up along the wall, in the racks, and in most of the wooden crates we opened. The other crates were full of these," the unicorn floated over two pieces of yellow metal fitted together. "It would fit perfectly in the opening."

Shining Armor examined it closely. "The tip is hollow," he said, pulling it away from his eye.

"I have never seen a kind that did not use string," Mutaito said. "These must be from the current age."

"Who are the Kohane?" Shining Armor asked.

"I know no other word for their kind. It means the red feathers. They were unusually coated compared to the Shī Jiù from the mainland, but I'm sure they are considered as beautiful in the West as their Shī Jiù brethren in the East.

"Western feathers… Do you mean the griffons? Birds in the front and felines in the back? Hybrids with ponies have pony rears."

"Yes, that is a Shī Jiù," he nodded.

Shining Armor turned to the soldiers. "Pack all this up and bring it to the palace. We'll need evidence of griffons' involvement in the coup, even if it is simple arms dealing to an idiot."

Shining Armor walked out of the hidden room with Lord Mutaito. "Would you be willing to walk with me? Or did you think you are needed back with the monks."

"If you need counsel navigating our ways, I will remain. But I have a favor to ask. Do you have an update on the princess?"

Shining Armor poofed a communication crystal.

"One would think relying on magic like that would be a weakness."

"It's an artifact spell. All I have to do is think hard enough and the item returns to me from my poofing chest."

"Is that how unicorns do it?"

"No, it's military. It's supposed to be used for emergency weapons, lock picks, stuff like that. It can be used by pegasi and earth ponies too. Does the empire not have something like that? It's been surplus for decades now. Old spellcraft."

"And what do you use it for?" he asked suspiciously.

"Emergency rations are a completely legitimate use of a poofing box. Also works on getting the crumbs out of the bed."

Mutaito chuckled.

He spoke into the crystal, "This is Prince Shining Armor. Any reports from Lieutenant Flash Sentry on the status of Princess Chichi?"

"This is Rock Candy at the palace. High priority report. The family of Minister Gin was detained at the rail station trying to leave the empire. His father and brother are still at large. To the Prince's question, no update. Let me make contact."

"That sounds like something thou would need a crystal for all the time."

"That's Flash's job."

"Who tis not with thee."

"Verm is taking reports."

"Who tis also not with thee."

"All the officers share where I am, how else do they keep finding me in random places."

"Thou should not be in random places to begin with."

"I'm not literally in random places, you know."

"I would hope not."

"Sire. Word from Lieutenant Flash Sentry. The Princess was rushed into emergency surgery over an hour ago. He has no other information."

"What?! Why?"

"He said he has no other information. She was rushed into emergency surgery a couple minutes after the admission exam began."

"That sounds life threatening."

"Thou's face tis panicked. If thou teleports, take me with thee."

Shining Armor lit his horn.

"Wait!" a guard shouted as he ran up, but they disappeared.

He got his call stone out. "Shining Armor just teleported away with Lord Mutaito. Anyone know where?"

"He was just asking about an update on the minotaur princess at the hospital," a voice said.

"So, he just probably teleported back to the capital? Who's in charge now?"

"Probably Vermarine Quartz," another voice said uncertainly.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN OVER HALF OF THEM ARE DEAD?!"

"Twenty-nine of the cows killed the other eighty-eight," the pony said. "Strangled from behind with their leg coverings. There… There wasn't a sound. No signs of struggle or resistance. We don't know how so few overcame so many."

"Didn't the prince tell you they were suicidal?!" Vermarine Quartz shouted.

"Yes. So, we all took standard disinfection protocols with contagious diseases."

Vermarine Quartz paused as his brain made a screeching noise.

"Wait… Don't tell me all of you have no idea what suicidal means?" He looked at the others in the room. "Hey! Other Equestrians! Do you know what suicidal means."

They all shook their heads or answered no.

He stomped his hooves on the table and stood up. "You're all idiots! Suicidal means somepony wants to die so bad they would kill themselves!"

"What?!" all the Equestrians in the room scream, with some adding "That's not possible" or similar phrases.

"But that's not what happened! They were murdered!"

"Apparently, it's tradition here that when a leader dies, all his wives are to be strangled to death with a silk cord. They helped each other!"

"What?!"

"The harem was all gathered into the largest room we had with open walls to watch them from all angles. WHAT WERE THE TWENTY OF YOU DOING, SOLDIER?!"

"Standard prisoner patrol. Checks every fifteen minutes."

"So you all left them alone long enough for all of them to kill half then half again?! Where are they all now?!"

"Tied and confined in individual rooms with all dangerous objects removed."

"I highly doubt that," Vermarine Quartz walked around the desk. "Azurite! Kyanite! Come with me. We'll grab more as we go."

The Equestrian soldier looked pissed as he entered the harem palace with Vermarine Quartz and the thirty crystal pony soldiers he picked up on the way there.

He led them to the closest of the hallways.

Vermarine Quartz saw only a handful of guards in the hallway.

"Where's the prince?" one asked as they all gathered.

"Left back to the city for urgent business," Vermarine Quartz said. "I'm in charge. You're all being relieved of guard duty." He looked behind him. "Stallions. Begin checking the rooms."

"There have been no intruders or resistance from the prisoners," one of the equestrians said indignantly. "It's been perfectly quiet."

Vermarine Quartz's eyes widened. "Check the rooms now! Now!"

"How many are left?"

"Sixteen. We successfully revived seven, the others were stopped mid attempt."

"Report."

"The equestrians tied their arms in the front instead of properly restraining them. Multiple said they did not understand why we made that distinction. The cows had full use of their hands. Thirteen were dead, hung from the wooden beams with their bed sheets. Revived seven who were hanging. They are being chain teleported to the city instead of local care for their safety. The others were in various stages of the same method when we stormed in."

"Get the healthy survivors to the palace dungeons in one of the troop transports. And tie their arms behind their backs this time."

"We're not as poorly trained as our colleagues from the south."

At the hospital…

Shining Armor, his guards, the monks, and Goku were in a room with three doctors.

"Wait. Wait. What? Please repeat that again," Shining Armor held up a hoof.

"I said, we removed the rotting fetus," the doctor repeated again. He continued, "Along with a large amount of necrotic tissue in her pelvis. While we can replace simple things like an artificial bladder, she's permanently lost two-thirds of her digestive track, and of course, all her reproductive abilities. While not necrotic, she does have kidney damage that will leave her with reduced function. Any recovery of lost tissue will have to be determined by a urinary tract specialist."

He then looked at the doctor to his right.

"As for the damage discovered to her mana filaments," she started. "In all my years of specialty, I've never seen anything like it. It is definitely deliberate, and it took a lot of work to figure out what its effects would be. But some older damage that did not fully scar shut the channels would have redirected the magic flow in a way to flood the pelvis with magic that would mimic what happens when pony mares go into their yearly estrus. But then the permanent destruction of other filaments, completely cut off all magic from the lower abdomen. There are also more partial blockages to the pelvic muscles. It would cause the muscles to contract. There were also small blood spots that matched the same pin holes seen around her head. These added interruptions would have caused further constriction, preventing the passage of the corpse and leaving it to rot in her stomach."

"They tried to force a pregnancy, only to kill it? Why?"

"To save his honor and legitimize his claim to the throne," Lord Mutaito looked at Shining Armor. "As I said, she has to die a very certain way. Dying while pregnant not only proves he did his duty as a husband, but also does not burden him with an unwanted heir after her death. If she did not die from natural causes, he would lose respect."

"There is nothing natural about this!" the doctor shouted.

"And only a husband can see a woman's naked body. Not even a doctor is supposed to and accusing one of seeing a married woman in such a state is an easy way to get disowned and banished by their clan, then found dead in an alley. And it's not like anyone in the harem would tattle. With her gone, any one of them could become head wife and have his heir." He looked back at Shining Armor, "And I can guarantee the guard who will resign today is not the only one who cares absolutely nothing at the very best of circumstances."

"Wait…" the third doctor's eyes narrowed. "Who did we just save? Her name was never recorded."

"You just saved Chichi-hime."

All three doctors stood up.

"You just had us save one of Sombra's servants?!" one shouted.

"I'll start the papers to throw her out." The mare moved to leave the room.

Goku stood up. "You will not!"

There was a gust of wind in the room. A huge pressure began to bear down on all of them. The floor tiles shattered and couldn't decide between floating and being ground into dust.

"If anything happens to her, I'll make sure everyone here regrets it!"

Suddenly the floor gave way and everyone fell down a story.

Luckily, it was a storage room for linens.

"Everyone ok?" Shining Armor coughed in the dust.

"For now," Goku hissed.

Everyone looked up and saw him still floating where the floor used to be.

Goku removed his goggles. His eyes glowed ominously.

"GOKU! I TOLD YOU TO KEEP YOUR POWER DOWN!" King Kai's familiar voice cut through everyone's minds.

Goku's eyes returned to black and he put the goggles back on.

Shining Armor saw Lord Mutaito's ears pinned back. If he was visibly scared, what just happened was a serious threat he could not counter.

After being rescued from the fallen room, the staff gave them a wide berth. Shining Armor casted a hearing enhancement spell on everyone. It did not have any effect on Goku but that was expected.

So far in the last forty-five minutes, there was an attempt to overdose the princess on her post-surgery pain meds. Then to remove power from all her supporting equipment and monitors. Then to stop all her medications, pain, antibiotic, or otherwise to let her suffer as much as possible.

It took the next attempt where the staff had unlocked the window and began bullying her to jump for the staff to figure out about the hearing spell.

It is also how the prince and his companions discovered she had woken up and not been told.

Then the new cows arrived with more crystal guards.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

"Yes, sire. All of them said they did not know what suicidal meant and assumed it was a disease."

"We are taught not to let ourselves be taken alive in a war against dark magic or griffons in basic! What the buck?!" Flash fumed.

"Vermarine Quartz did an informal interview with equestrian guards he ran into on his way to the harem palace. None knew what it meant, several had mental breakdowns and needed medical intervention just being told the definition. Some doctors once told what happened needed intervention as well."

"I am rarely disappointed," Goku said. "I will say I'm very disappointed in you guys."

"Please don't judge all of us by their standard," Shining Armor said. "I am even more disappointed than you as a ruler and commanding officer." He poofed his stone. "I am going to have a long talk with the palace guards. It will take an hour for the transport to get there. They need to be thoroughly briefed." He trotted down the hall, searching the glass doors. He entered an empty room and slid the door shut behind him.

"Is there a flower store nearby?" Goku asked.

"There's one on the ground floor," a soldier said.

"I'll take you, Goku, and pay," Flash said. "Come with me."

He led Goku towards the elevators.

"I'm going to visit the princess," Lord Mutaito said standing up.

Mutaito walked into the room. There was a mare crystal unicorn guard in the room.

"May I spend some time alone with the princess?" he asked. "Thou know I am not a threat."

She nodded, "I will be waiting at the door then." She walked up and handed him a notebook and pencil. "Her vocal cords are still weak," she said before exiting the room.

"(I see a baby ray of sunshine, sleeping on a cloud,)" Mutaito sing-songed in old Neighponese as he pulled up a chair.

He went to put his hoof on her hand, but she pulled away. He sighed and put the notebook and pencil in her lap. "(I'm sorry it took so long. But being the pawn to the powerful is the curse of every daughter of the nobility.)" He sat down. "(You are still loved at the temple. I'm sure several monks will volunteer to be your husband if no one appropriate is found.)"

She took the notebook in her hands and wrote in shaky characters.

"(Yes, we have become very aware of the attitude of the ponies' views on what happened. They seem to forget it was his decision not to fight back that left this farmland in good enough shape to feed the empire after liberation. It will take another decade to purge enough dark magic from the soil for the rest of the farmland to reach sustainable levels. Otherwise, the empire would have been instantly absorbed into Equestria. But even crystal ponies are overly emotional, just not as severe as the southerners.)" He looked up, "(But you have been removed from the politics for so long. Let the stallions worry about these things. Thou hath nothing to worry about, especially with the emissary's identity. Thou hath the full wrath of heaven as thy shield.)"

She wrote something again.

Mutaito read it. "(I do not know, baby ray. I do not know where your Son Goku is. He is an orphan made heir to the childless lord of Mount Paozu. But on this side of the mirror, your father began his criminal career by killing the stallion who became their Son patriarch in his youth. The forests are rife with monsters and bandits according to my modern counterparts at the embassy. Home only to those who do not want to be found. But please do not dwell on such things. The reflection in a mirror is reversed, not identical. Fate has no meaning, especially in marriage. While he does love her, it was just as arranged as any other marriage. Neither had any choice in the matter. No rational father would take the answer of 'What flavor is it?' as a confirmation unless it was already decided long beforehand.)"

She pressed her lips together and looked out the window.

Goku burst into the room, with two different bouquets of flowers, get well balloons, and a massive teddy bear.

"(Hey! Princess Chichi! I got stuff for ya!)"

He put the teddy down in a spare chair. "(Since Mutaito keeps saying we are opposites,)" he turned around and held out the bouquets. "(I got the flowers my Chichi loves and the ones she hates. Which you want?)"

Chichi-hime started to sneeze.

"(Yeah, the ones she hates makes her sneeze too,)" Goku put the good flowers on her blanket and stuck his head out the door. "Hey, nurse! Give these to someone who needs them, ok?"

After a few moments, Goku came back into the room. "(Ok, that's taken care of. So, what kind of sweets do you like? I tried mentioning what my wife likes, but I guess they don't exist here yet because not even the monks knew.)"

Chichi-hime turned her head.

"(You don't want any?)" Goku tilted his head. "(Ok then, what do you want? …You want me to leave? … Do you have any friends you'd like to talk to instead? I can teleport using a ki technique. I can bring them right into the room.)"

Chichi glanced back at him.

"(Hakuchi? You have a pet kiji? Ooooh… no my family's name is Nimbus. I was given him by my Master Roshi.)" Goku looked at Mutaito, "(Oh wow, I didn't know you two had that type of relationship.)"

"(Emissary, let's do this at a later time. I do not have a whistle and that bull snapped hers so she could not escape.)"

Goku smiled. (Oh, don't worry about that. I just use my fingers.)"

Goku bounded over to the window and opened it.

"(Wait!)"

But Goku had already put his fingers in his mouth and blew.

Not long after, a cloud came to the window.

"(Hi! I'm Goku. I'm looking for one of you named Hakuchi, is he nearby?... Oh, I see. Can you send a message? … Oh, not me,)" Goku looked back in the room. "(It's Princess Chichi. She's his favorite.)"

The cloud moved to look through the window. Then rushed in the room squeezing past Goku. Goku stubbled backwards.

"(You could have asked,)" he said, straightening his shirt.

The kinto'un hovered over her bed, its front part bending as it looked her over.

Chichi raised her hand.

The kinto'un came close to her fingers, then dramatically recoiled. It turned its back.

Chichi started to gasp and shake.

Everyone on the entire floor heard it and stuck their heads out of doors and around corners.

"(SON GOKU! THOU'T AN IDIOT!)"

Those close enough saw Goku fly out of the room and crash through the opposite wall, also shattering the glass doors.

Shining Armor stuck his head around the corner and saw Goku climbing out of the hole with Lord Mutaito practically foaming at the mouth at him.

"What's going on?!" Shining Armor ran up.

Goku and Mutaito looked at him.

Mutaito went back into the room.

Goku stomped past Shining Armor.

"Flash, after Goku!"

"Right!"

The two ran past each other.

Shining Armor ran into the room.

He saw Chichi-hime practically convulsing in bed with Mutaito trying to calm her down.

"I'll get a doctor!" He turned around only to find Mutaito already behind him.

Shining Armor looked between the bed and the door as he spoke.

"And haft the nursing staff here do what, exactly?" Mutaito said angrily. "Huh? Huh? What exactly? What will they do?"

Shining Armor took a deep breath.

"Good," Mutaito said. "Use thy head, for once."

Shining Armor turned around as Chichi-hime still trembled and was making weird sounds.

"What do you need me to do?"

"I need thou to leave," Mutaito ordered. "This tis what crying looks like with the voice paralyzed and the eyes blocked. Get out before she chokes on the foam forming in her throat."

Mutaito forcefully shoved him out and slammed the door.

Flash followed Goku out an open window. He looked around, but did not see him. Then he heard a whistle.

Flash flew up to the two remaining stories to the roof and peeked over the edge.

He saw Goku start to scream at a cloud in another language his translator spell wasn't picking up.

Why is he— wait, what's a cloud doing inside the dome?!

He saw two other clouds suddenly fly down and join the first on either side.

Wait… are those some kind of living being?

Flash continued to watch what he concluded was definitely some kind of two-way conversation. Then the clouds flew off.

Goku turned around. He was definitely angry, but he also wiped his eyes as he was taking sharp breaths.

Flash lowered himself out of sight and hovered just below the railing.

Should I keep following him or report to Shining?

"I can feel your life force, Flash Sentry. I'm not going anywhere. I'll be inside in a minute."

"He was having an argument with some kind of cloud creature?" Shining asked, confused.

"Kinto'un," Seigo said. "Sacred beings of pure harmonics. Only mortals with pure hearts can even touch them. Everyone else phases through like ghosts."

"Those were mentioned during the transport ride, correct?"

"Yeah," Kame said. "Only Lord Mutaito and Princess Chichi were ever permitted to ride on their backs… They must have turned their backs on them… the princess at least…"

"Why?"

"Could your soul stay pure and unsullied after over a year of torture she suffered?" Seigo looked at Shining Armor like he was stupid.

"That's not fair," a guard said.

"The laws of the universe are not fair," Kame said, shaking his head. "They could not choose to let her touch them any more than I can cast unicorn magic from my naked forehead. Not like kuro actually exist."

"A kuro?"

"Kuro kinto'un," Mutaito walked out. "A kinto'un that has fallen to darkness and corruption. As such the impure can ride them, if they live that long. All kinto'un are more like single thoughts than fully independent minds. Every one of them would feel it and know its location at all times. A kuro would be hunted and killed with more ferocity than the Great Six hunting a dark mage."

"I see…" Shining Armor said. "How is the princess?"

"Calm enough she won't choke. Her eyes became moist at the end, so her tears haft not fully withered yet." He sighed. "At least she tis not in danger of her eyes leathering over from dryness."

"Did the kinto'un really reject the princess?" Seigo asked.

Mutaito nodded his head solemnly.

The monks all lowered theirs.

"What's the significance?" Shining asked.

"It means she has lost her guaranteed seat in heaven," Mutaito said. "Although it does not automatically curse her to the hells."

"Do those clouds have that kind of power?" Flash asked surprised.

"Absolutely."

"And Goku was screaming at three of them?!"

"Don't worry. It's not going to hurt me in the slightest."

Everyone turned and saw Goku walking out of a room.

"Thou art the only mortal who could say such," Mutaito said.

Goku sat down. He looked exhausted. "I just finished talking to King Kai. He's not happy. Not in the slightest. I'll probably be contacted by the Supreme Kai once he finds out about this to hear it directly."

"About what?" Shining Armor asked.

"The guardian of this planet is in a coma. Been so for thousands of years. Meaning this planet's been careening through life like a car without a driver and a brick on the gas."

"I don't know what that means, but it sounds bad."

"The Mother of the Skies could not intervene directly as a guardian, but she could bless mortals to do her will. She spread herself too thin with her final act. Sometimes if enough of her power gathers a fleeting spirit will appear. But such are only dreams of the dream."

"And in Ponish?" a guard said rudely.

Lord Mutaito glared at him. Then sighed. "At the moment of creation, all the Forms were born, perfect and unchanging. The most powerful was Kaminaga who brought all others under her power, except one. As all things in perfect balance, there was an opposite. The Unmentionable went to war with Kaminaga and painfully wounded her. But as a Form, she could not die. So, she tore herself in two, and the one maddened by pure pain forwent her consciousness, transmuted herself into essence, and encapsulated the Unmentionable One turning to crystal. But now torn, imperfection came into existence. The other Forms went to save reality and sacrificed their own consciousness to give all they had to her, becoming the Great Jimba. Although the sacrifice stopped the bleeding, it left her weak. She fell into sleep. But from the imperfection she already bled out became the universe, and from the universe came the dream of Kaminaga: The Mother of the Skies, Nakagami. Nakagami fell into her own sleep after giving too much of herself to her chosen ones, the Jinguushi."

"I have no idea what you just said…" Shining admitted.

"Huh…" Goku scratched his nose. "Sounds like Piccolo."

"I'll assume that's not a flute," Shining said.

"No, it's a person. Or I guess some might call him a people? His kind can fuse and separate into separate beings. Piccolo was one person that turned into two. Then one of the halves fused with a separate person, then the two halves came back together, so one person made out of three."

"That… just gives me a headache…" Flash said.

Goku looked at him. "Yeah, just do what I do and don't think. Works great!"

Everyone made small sounds before whatever they wanted to say died in their throats. Several either pinched their noses or put their hoof between their eyes.

While Goku and the monks flew to the Far East district to eat native foods, Shining Armor and his guards were eating hayburgers and fries in the hospital cafeteria.

"Oh, this has been one hay of a day," Shining Armor said. "I can't wait till Cadence gets back."

"She is going to love how we walked straight into an ambush…" Flash said before taking another bite.

"Surprised a letter hasn't popped in my face yet," Shining said in between bites, "With the Heart failing in front of Equestrian press this morning, it's had to have hit the newspapers by now. I wonder what could be more important than THAT as a headline."

"The dark mage could actually be real," a guard said.

"Buck, I completely forgot about that."

"You forgot the reason Princess Cadence left you alone and in charge?"

"I believe it," Flash said.

Shining looked at Flash, "You're not helping."

"Oh, you want help? Ok," Flash picked up a handful of fries. "Oh, little Shiny," he circled them around, "Open wide for the choo choo."

Shining shoved him off the chair with his magic.

Flash started to laugh. The others joined awkwardly.

Flash fixed his chair and sat back down. His laughing turned to a sigh. "This sucks."

"Yeah…" everyone agreed.

"Thank you for your diligence, West Kai."

He bowed. "Of course." He looked over at the tea picnic. "Is that really one of them?"

The Supreme Kai turned around and looked at Elder Kai and the pony soul. "Yes. He was the first to cross over, so we intercepted him." He looked back. "Go back to your duties."

West Kai bowed and left.

The Supreme Kai looked at the large dolly cart stacked high with documents and sighed.

"Elder," he pushed the cart up to the table. "The report from West Quadrant has arrived."

Donut Joe kept looking up and up. "That's a huge stack…"

"Don't worry, young soul," Elder Kai said standing, "We can learn through osmosis. There's no need to read every single page."

"That is an ability my wife would be jealous of."

"Oh, I'm sure she would. I will be back."

The two went a short distance away and he saw the two raise their hands and the stack begin to glow.

"This doesn't make any sense…" the Supreme Kai said. "All souls living and dead are accounted for, just like all the others. When a universe is created, it has a fixed amount of souls. No more can be created. Where are they coming from? Earth's dragon can bend the rules of the world but can't do the impossible."

"If any beings can find a loophole in reality, it's the dragons…" Elder said. "This is why mortals shouldn't be using those damn things," he said frustrated. "The universe is as chaotic as it is without them adding more work to our payload. Trying to bring order to creation is already like herding cats."

"What have you learned from our guest?"

"Nothing we did not learn from absorbing the wiki from the internet pad Bulma provided. Seems it's on the verge of another conflict, but not one foreshadowed in any of the writings. Shen Long pulled information from somewhere else."

"Please don't tell me we'll need to look into this 'fan fiction' content…"

"Let's not jump the gun down that hole and look at all other options first. The only kind I like reading about is when all participants have two legs…"

The group had taken Goku to a restaurant. As plates and bowls stacked higher and higher, their wallets were regretting their life choices.

Goku took a break from swallowing everything in sight whole. "(What's Chichi-hime's favorite food here? Maybe we can bring it back for her?)"

"(Sweets will not solve losing your seat in heaven, Son Goku,)" Kame said.

"(Khen Rinpoche, you've barely eaten,)" Seigo pointed out.

"(Son Goku…) Mutaito started. "(Did you act with such confidence because you are an idiot, or would an Earth kinto'un accept the princess?)"

"(I wouldn't have whistled otherwise,)" Goku said. "(Your kinto'un are so different. Maybe because they aren't directly ruled over and have been making their own decisions for so long. Even if a golden kinto'un wouldn't let her ride, a black cloud is always available.)"

Kame spit out his drink. "(A Kuro?!)"

The entire restaurant stopped and turned to look.

Mutaito raised his hoof and everyone went back to what they were doing.

"(Yeah, but Korin needs to personally gift one to a person while yellow ones are free to approach anyone they want.)"

"(I'm surprised kuro aren't killed at birth,)" Seigo said.

"(I guess that's the difference between having a ruler or not,)" Goku said. "(I'm surprised the guardian of this planet didn't give the control of the kinto'un to anyone if she did so to the point of collapse with her other duties…)"

"(Only you would have the courage to question the wisdom of the Mother of the Skies,)" Kame shook his head.

"(Son Goku,)" Mutaito said suddenly. "(When you go to Canterlot to find your Prince Vegeta, would you visit the embassy shrine? There's a monk named Pixiu I would like to talk to. He's a very large Panda. Can't mistake him for anyone else)."

"(Yeah, sure.)"

Mutaito pushed his chair away from the table. "(I will be right back.)" He walked over to the counter.

"(Hey can I get another?)" Goku asked the wait staff that came to collect the dishes as they started to stack on the floor, again.

The staff all froze. A waiter's eye twitched. "(Of course, honored guest.)"

"(Thank you!)" Goku grinned.

Mutaito came back with two thin boxes wrapped with a handkerchief marked with the store's seal. "(I believe it's time I head back to the castle to check on things. Deliver these to the princess for me, Son Goku.)"

"(Wait! Leave your coin bag!)" Kame shouted as he walked away from the table.

"What do you mean, you won't treat anyone else?!" Shining Armor shouted at the director of the hospital.

"When we questioned the cows, they said the injuries the princess has to her filaments is called severance and is done to the worst criminals so their bodies wither and rot alive. The hero that purged Sombra's servants from power did it to all his followers. As an independent institution, we can refuse anypony for any reason."

"You're daring to defy my direct orders?"

"We are an independent institution. Besides, the only way to even begin to hope to treat such extensive injuries is a live filament transplant. There are hundreds of severed prisoners. How many thousands of good beings will you order for organ harvesting for a procedure with a 50/50 success rate even with a healthy individual, let alone the walking corpses the reports are describing. There is no saving these corrupted, evil ponies. As a doctor, all I can recommend is to inject them so they go quickly and painlessly. Not that you will find a single pony that will administer the medications in this empire. They deserve everything that has happened to them, and even if it takes them another two years to die, it is not enough."

Shining Armor's face twisted in anger. He turned to leave.

"Oh, before you go. A bit of advice. If you continue on this fool's errand, I recommend you bring in another southerner to the palace—"

"As a royal food taster."

Shining Armor slammed the door behind him.

"Did he just really threaten to kill the royal family?" Flash said. "Shining, I can't believe I'm saying this, but we can't win this fight. We have a full rebellion on our hands."

"We should just let them all die then?" he snapped back. "There's children!"

"They won't get any help here. Dome up."

Shining Armor casted a sound barrier.

"Only chance would be taking them to Equestria," Flash continued.

"We'll need to commandeer an Equestrian train with a fully Equestrian crew. But those trains will take four days at their fastest, while one of ours would take less than a day."

"We'll need to do things ourselves," Flash said. "Don't allow any crystal ponies to know what we're doing."

"I'll need to teleport them to the train myself," Shining said looking down. "We can't do it at the train station. We'll need to park the train out in the fields and load them away from prying eyes." He looked back up. "I'm going to teleport us back to the palace and get a royal decree written. If I'm seen at the station hunting for a train going south, everypony will know what we're doing. You head there in foot soldier armor. Nothing to show your rank. You're just another pony."

Flash saluted.

Shining teleported.

Goku poked his head in, "(Hey Chichi-hime. Lord Mutaito gave me two boxes of wagashi for you. They are all shaped like cute little animals.)" He gave his goofy grin.

Chichi-hime looked at him, then looked away.

Goku sighed and walked in.

"(Just because a kinto'un denied you, doesn't mean you're going to burn.)" He put the boxes on the nightstand. "(Me and my kids are the only members of King Kai's warriors that can ride a yellow kinto'un. And black clouds aren't looked down on. They are personal gifts from the Lord of the Sky, Korin, and not to be dismissed. I'm surprised they are destroyed here. It's the yin and yang. The karmic wheel seems out of balance here. The day everything is perfect, everyone dies. Trees stop fruiting, rice doesn't go to seed. No animals are born. Life just… stops.)"

Chichi-hime made a gasping sound.

Goku spun around and raised his hands. "(Wait, don't cry. Please. Lord Mutaito said you could choke.)"

Chichi-hime looked back at him.

Goku straightened up and dropped his arms to his sides.

He sighed, "(I don't think things will be as easy as trying to find someone named Kakarot for you to marry…)"

Goku glanced around the room and grabbed a chair. It was short for him, causing his legs to splay out. But he was at least eye level now.

"(I don't think there ever was a copy of me here,)" Goku said.

"(But the mirror is a reflection. There should be a copy of everyone here. Maybe he lived a thousand years ago. There must be a descendant of noble character somewhere in the peasantry.)"

"(That's just it… I'm not human, what people here call a Rén. Just like there is this planet and Earth, there are thousands and thousands of other worlds. I'm a Saiyan, born on a planet called Vegeta. I was sent to Earth and adopted out as a baby after my parents died. This place is a copy of Earth and only a copy of Earth. I doubt there's any copies of the other aliens or our kids if we can have them with Rén. Me and Prince Vegeta have kids with Rén women, but Namekians like Piccolo and Dende can't.)"

Goku looked at the ground, "(I know everyone says I'm dumb, and I just go along and joke with it. But I do think. I think hard. I've been thinking about everyone I know that would have a twin here. Someone I would want my wife to marry if I was never around. But… I've affected everyone's lives for the better. Oolong was a tyrant that constantly kidnapped women. Yamcha and Puar were thieves and highwaymen. Your family was, well, your family. Tien and Chiaotzu were assassins. Krillin was originally a monk who fled the temple for being bullied by the other students. I mean, look what happened to Yajirobe here without me around…)"

"(What is that filthy ronin like in your world?)"

"(Just a fat, easy-going, lazy, dude. He actually lives in Korin's temple and helps a lot growing sacred plants that can't grow on the ground. But he's a very talented samurai. I wish people wouldn't call him a coward. He's been pivotal to winning so many battles, even if it's using surprise attacks and sneaking up on people from behind. War… isn't sparring or a duel. I've… had to learn that the hard way sometimes…)"

Goku got up from his chair, got on his knees and put his head on the ground. "(I'm going to do everything I can, princess. I know every single god, from lesser spirits like Earth's Korin up to the Supreme Kai himself. I'll do whatever it takes, even if it means resorting to dragon magic. I won't rest until you're better.)"

"(What do you mean 'dragon magic'? Earth is not supposed to have magic.)"

"(Shen Long was a gift from the Namekians. There's also the Namekians' personal dragon Porunga. They have power even the Kais can't match.)"

"(Power greater than the Kais? I don't believe you.)"

Goku leaned up. "(Actually, it's not unheard of. I'm actually stronger than him if I transform, so are a few others I know. The current Supreme Kai became one after his predecessor was murdered by a Majin.)" Goku smiled, "(In my experience, there is always someone stronger. That's why I love traveling, even if someone isn't technically physically stronger, they might know a move that will put me on my back. Would you like to hear about the time I spent on Yardrat? It took a year to learn how to teleport, and that is supposed to be one of the easiest things to learn.)" Goku's smile became awkward, "(I'm not saying I gave up, just moved on to other things.)"

Chichi-hime looked away, "(I would keep the fact dragons are slaves to these Namekians to yourself. They are a proud and fearsome race and will go to war without a second thought.)"

"(Wha… Oh! They aren't natural born dragons. They are statues brought to life. I'm probably the only non-Namekian to see their statues.)"

"(That makes it sound even worse.)"

Goku gave another awkward smile, "(Yeah, Prince Shining Armor said the same thing. That's why I said 'resort.' I'm not going to make a wish to the Eternal Dragons against someone's will.)"

Chichi-hime was quiet for a while.

"Chichi-hime?"

"(Can you…)" she began. "(Move the nightstand to the left side of my bed?)"

"(Oh sure,)" Goku stood, effortlessly picked it up and walked around the bed. "(Want me to open the lid on one of the boxes for you?)"

"(If you wish…)"

Goku put the table down, undid the napkin, then opened one of the boxes. He put it on her lap. "(Here you go.)" He then lifted the next box's lid so it was just barely opened. "(Ok. Don't eat them all at once.)"

"(I'll be out in the hall if you need me,)" Goku began walking out of the room. "(Oh! I almost forgot,)" Goku reached into his pocket. He tossed a cylinder on the floor and in a puff of smoke, a box appeared.

"(What was that?)"

"(Dyno cap. Pure tech. No magic required.)" He pulled a small package from the box.

Goku unwrapped a small crystal bell and put it on the nightstand. "(Here. Since you can't talk yet. I already told the guards I got you a bell, so they will be listening for it.)"

Chichi-hime watched him touch the box again and it turned back into a cylinder. "(Ok, now I will be out in the hallway if you need me,)" he said, stuffing it back in his pocket.

Goku walked out.

The guard then poked her head back in. "Princess, can you ring that bell so I know its sound?"

Chichi-hime picked it up and gave it a ring.

"That has a very pretty ring to it. Enjoy your bean candy." She went back into the hall.

Chichi-hime put the bell back and fully opened the box on her lap. She chose one shaped like a white bunny and popped it in her mouth.