Birds of Disorder, Flock Together
This story would start between two trees. Two, luscious apple trees. Between them, set up neatly on one side and sloppily on the other, was a dark red hammock. The hammock was not the one of interest. No, our focus would be set on the duo sleeping upon this hammock. Two warriors, aspiring to grow to even greater heights.
A formerly shunned half-saiyan laid, arms behind his head, right leg crossed over his left. His skin was fair, though not free of imperfections such as scars and scratches. His lengthening raven hair caught a particularly cool breeze and flowed. His black trenchcoat caught the same breeze, flowing more than it would normally since the belt was undone, the coat left open. His dark brown pants held his form while lacking constrictions, and his white boots did the same. This was Kai, owner of a popular café.
Sprawled over him and just as asleep, was the Element of Loyalty, Rainbow Dash. Now, the two did not often fall asleep together, but Kai had chosen to push the mare particularly hard today. Try as she might, everything was just a bit too much, so she was tired to the point of collapsing. They had agreed after a quick rest, they would get right back to it.
…It had been an hour since then. But that was okay, too. The two of them were simply doing as everypony else on this glorious and sunny day. Enjoying themselves.
That was until a drop of something landed onto Kai's nose, and he stirred awake quickly. He looked around, then to Rainbow Dash. Shrugging off whatever that was, he closed his eyes pulled the pegasus closer… before opening his eyes slightly and moving her to the side a bit. Then he was struck by another curious drop.
Gazing skyward, the cause may have been clear… but it did not make sense.
“A pink cloud?” He winced when a third drop landed upon his forehead. Wiping it up, he gave it a glance and a sniff. Brows rising, he tasted it to confirm his suspicions. “Chocolate milk?”
A raspy but frankly cute yawn gathered his attention, shifting to Rainbow Dash. Her big ruby eyes met Kai's onyx, and she offered a smirk.
“You sure don't waste time, do you?”
“Just who's on top of who?” They chuckled at the banter, though Kai returned to his earlier concerns. “The clouds are weird today.”
“What do you—” She was cut off by the strange rain of chocolate milk. “The heck?” Rainbow Dash went through the same process as Kai, and quickly deduced the obvious. “Something definitely isn't right. I'm gonna head to Cloudsdale and see what's up. Uh… you should… get the other and stuff.”
“Yeah.” The two parted in an instant, and flew off respectively. The saiyan couldn't help a grimace. “…Tch… Cotton candy dropping chocolate milk…”
Chapter 1
Birds of Disorder, Flock Together
Princess of the Sun, Co-ruler of Equestria, Princess Celestia, paced in her throne room. She was nervous. Very nervous. She took deep breaths to calm herself. After all, she was expecting company, and the last thing she wanted was to convey her emotions to them. It would come off as a lack of faith, and Princess Celestia had much faith in them.
Before she could think much more on it, seven figures materialized a few meters in front of her. Kai, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie and Applejack. The recent wielders of the legendary Elements of Harmony and saviors of Equestria, and their saiyan warrior friend. The princess smiled, so very relieved to see everypony arrive even quicker than anticipated.
“Princess Celestia, we came as fast as we could!” Twilight exclaimed, her voice expressing all of the worry her friends felt.
Celestia nodded.
“Thank you, Twilight. Thank you, all.”
“This is serious, isn't it, Celestia?” Hearing the grave tone Kai used stopped Twilight from her rapid-fire questioning, and everypony straightened up.
Again, Celestia nodded, matching his seriousness. Knowing she had the group's attention, she gave a gesture implying to follow, and turned to walk down a corridor.
“I've called you here for a matter of great importance.” ‘Here’ seemed not to be the castle itself, but this particular area of the castle. The long corridor had window panes to either wall, but they had art on them. Crude as it may have seemed, this art told a story. The story of Equestria. “It seems an old foe of mine, someone I thought I had defeated long ago, has returned. His name… is Discord.”
“Discord sounds like an appropriate name…” Rarity grumbled after Fluttershy's fearful squeek. The pane with Discord displayed… a cross-species individual, between a dragon, and a pony, and a lion, and a griffon… those were the obvious ones. Discord, indeed.
“Discord is the mischievous spirit of disharmony. Before my sister and I stood up to him, he ruled Equestria in an eternal state of unrest and unhappiness. Luna and I saw how miserable life was for Earth ponies, Pegasi, and unicorns alike, so after discovering the Elements of Harmony, we combined our powers and rose up against him, turning him to stone.”
“Alright, Princess!” But the continued expression of direness told Rainbow Dash this story was not one with a happy ending… or any ending at the moment.
“I thought the spell we cast would keep him contained forever, but since Luna and I are no longer connected to the Elements, the spell has been broken.”
“No longer connected?” Twilight's question remained unanswered for now. Instead, Celestia slowed as they neared the end of this corridor—to a door of some kind.
“This is Canterlot Tower, where the Elements are kept inside since all of you recovered them. I need you to wield the Elements of Harmony once again and stop Discord before he thrusts all of Equestria into eternal chaos.”
While Twilight understood generally, she still didn't understand why they had to do this. Celestia had to have been better suited for this. She was about to speak out and inquire about such, but was interrupted.
“Heh… They're ready, Tia. Get them the Elements.” They looked to Kai, who looked like he was only just returning from a few panes back. He was also snickering… as if Equestria wasn't in danger.
“What about Kai? What will his role be?” Twilight asked.
“Kai does not possess the spiritual attachment to any Element, and, sad to say, he does not hold the general requirements to wield them. That is another story.” Celestia waved this off. “You six showed the full potential of the Elements by harnessing the magic of your friendship to beat a mighty foe. Although Luna and I once wielded the Elements, it is you who now control their power, and it is you who must defeat Discord!”
After a brief moment of self-doubt, the girl resigned themselves to this and agreed to save Equestria once again. Princess Celestia unlocked this door with her horn, and brought forth a beautiful chest. When she opened it…
…it was empty.
“The Elements! They're gone!” Nopony else had much else to say, being slack-jawed at this unexpected turn of events.
“That chamber is protected by a powerful spell that only I can break! This doesn't make sense!” Lamented Celestia.
However, a laugh cut through the shock. So taunting, so mocking, so condescending, and so chaotic, it could only belong to one individual. Whether they met them or not, it was clear.
“Make sense? Oh, what fun is there in making sense?”
“Discord… Show yourself!” Celestia demanded, everypony looking all around.
“Well, if you insist!” The princess let out a short shriek when something fell upon her, leaving a bump on her head. “Oh, you said, ‘Show your shelf.’, right?”
“Pfft—Ahaha!” …Only Kai seemed to think that was funny. And as he laughed, Discord appeared physically in a puff of smoke. The being of disharmony laughed alongside the saiyan, draping an arm around his neck, and vice-versa.
“Not bad, eh, kid?”
“I didn't even have to help—she set herself up for it!”
“I know, right!” A mix of stares met them. Confusion, irritation, and… slight betrayal.
“Kai… Discord has you under his control! Release him!” Celestia shrugged off the shelf and stood to her hooves, ready to fight.
“Wait a sec'! I'm not under anyone's control.” Kai shook his hands to stop everypony from attacking. He chuckled. “When I was looking at that picture back there, he started talking to me. Thought he'd make an entrance with a joke. I was gonna help him, but, y'know… set yourshelf up for that one, Tia.” To that reminder of wordplay, Discord snickered.
“Kai, you mustn't become careless. Discord is the enemy.” The saiyan rolled his eyes and went to rejoin everypony's side.
“Fine, but can we skip the usual banter?”
“Since you asked so nicely, alright.” Discord laughed, only to stop abruptly. “So, I know everything about all of you, I'm back for revenge, blah blah blah—you get the point. Anything I'm forgetting?”
“Nah, I think we're—” Kai actually stumbled slightly when Celestia pushed him backwards to take the lead in this confrontation. Clearly, she was fed up.
“Where are the Elements of Harmony, Discord?”
“Oh, I just borrowed them for a teensy little while.” Still as elusive and uncaring as before. This irritated the princess.
“You'll never get away with this, Discord!”
“Oh, I'd forgotten how grim you can be, Celestia. It's really quite boring.” Discord waved off, incuring the anger of Rainbow Dash.
“Hey! Nopony insults the Princess!” She was fast. Faster than even Discord had accounted for. Something was slightly different than he had planned… and yet, faster still, was Kai, stopping her with a hand and becoming dead-serious for a brief moment. “Let go!”
“Hm…” He met Discord's stare… then his serious stare faded. “I get it. Rainbow, you're not winning that one. Back off.”
“What?” Seeing his face, Rainbow Dash grumbled and decided to stand down, though she remained poised. The interaction brought a smirk onto their adversary's face.
“Now that one is perceptive. So, Celestia? How does he measure to the last one?” Discord asked regarding Kai. Celestia's eyes widened by a fraction. “Yes, the other one. Liked to talk to himself, so I know all about it. Did you not tell anypony?”
“Be silent, Discord! Tell us where the Elements—”
“Now that I look closely, isn't there a bit of resemblance?”
“Where!?” To her enraged repeating, Discord yawned, fanning himself with a claw while moving his head left slowly.
“Honestly, you're like a broken record, Celestia—” His head abruptly stopped, snapped to the right, and continued moving left. “—broken record, Celestia—” Again. “—broken record, Celestia.” Seeing nothing but jest, Celestia looked to Kai, only to surpress a flinch under his direct gaze. She quickly glared at Discord again. “Fine, I'll tell you, but I'll only tell you my way.” Everypony was all ears. “To retrieve your missing Elements, just make sense of this change of events. Twists and turns are my master plan. Then find the Elements back where you began.”
With a laugh loud enough to fill Equestria itself, Discord snapped his fingers and vanished.
Everypony was a bit less than confident, but this was a situation that allowed no room for error. They quickly contemplated.
“What do you reckon he meant? Twists and turns and endin' back where we started?” Applejack repeated in the hopes somepony could figure it out where she fell short.
“Twists and turns… twists and turns…” Twilight looked out of one of the undecorated window panes and spotted the outside… and thusly, the grass-made labyrinth. Her eyes went wide. “Twists and turns! That's it! I bet Discord hid the Elements in the palace labyrinth!”
Celestia nodded at the group. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could…
“Celestia.” She flinched, looking to Kai. He pointed at her with a glare. “After this, me and you are having a little chat.” That, did not bode well. But luckily, he at least was ready to take care of this first, as were the girls.
“Kai. Let's go.” Rarity nudged him to get him in the direction they would be headed. He grunted, but followed along to the labyrinth.
The palace labyrinth was… well, it was intimidating. Not so much in a ‘There are probably killer monsters inside’ kind of way, but more in a ‘If we fail to navigate a labyrinth the world is doomed’ way.
“W-we have to go in there?” Fluttershy was rightfully afraid.
“Nope! Dopey Discord forgot about these babies!” Rainbow Dash replied confidently, flaunting her wings. She flew up at an angle. “I'll just do a quick flyover and we'll have the Elements in no time.” Or, she would have, if her wings didn't vanish. She blinked right before plummeting to the ground. She was caught by Kai, but her concern was on her back. “My wings!”
The respective pegasi and unicorns freaked out when they lost their wings or horns. The Earth ponies of the group were calm enough to simply feel confusion, rather than panic.
Familiar laughter rang out from around them. Then, with a snap, Discord appeared once again.
“You should see the looks on your faces. Priceless!” He put an arm around Kai's shoulder again. “Right?”
“Not as good as the first one.” Discord frowned.
“Oh, I made you all serious earlier, didn't I? Well, no matter.”
“Give us our wings and horns back!” Twilight demanded.
“You'll get them back in good time.” Discord hovered about for a bit, lifting a finger. “I simply took them to ensure there's no cheating. You see, this is the first rule of our game: no flying, and no magic.” That was… mildly concerning. But it begged another question.
“The first rule?” Rainbow Dash would be the one to ask, noting his curious wording.
“The second rule is everypony has to play or the game is over, and I win.” He snapped his fingers and appeared by Kai again. “Oh, and I'm borrowing this one.” He declared, taking the saiyan by the arm.
“Let go of my brother, you brute!” Rarity screamed, stomping towards them.
Discord almost laughed, but was interrupted by a heavy punch to his face. Kai still in his grip, he retreated slightly to see what hit him.
“How did you move so fast? I took your wings from you!” Rainbow Dash smirked.
“You still forgot something. I can't fly with this ki stuff, sure, but I can still go faster than you!” She readied herself to continue, but Discord simply snapped his fingers yet again, vanishing with the saiyan. “Wait! No, Kai!”
“I… suppose he should be alright for now.” Twilight noted, trying to ease Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and herself at the same time. “He… can handle himself. For now, we need to find the Elements of Harmony.”
Quietly, the group agreed, though it was unfortunate to be down a member. They entered the labyrinth and looked around. Seemed this would be a relatively simple endeavor. After all, Twilight recalled seeing the labyrinth from above several times, both in her youth and recently. She had a somewhat clear mental map. With a gesture to follow her, the student of Celestia led everypony through the labyrinth.
“Well, that was a bust.” Although the riddle seemed clear, there was no sign of the Elements of Harmony. Even more odd, contrary to Twilight's assumption, Discord did not once appear to cheat in this little game of his. Hence, Applejack grumbling as they reentered the castle.
“Welp, it's still raining chocolate milk in Ponyville.” Pinkie gave a grin to the others, hoping they would catch on and do the right thing.
“No, Pinkie!” She pouted. No fun. No fun at all.
The group entered, a bit shameful to have been unable to find the relics, or their friend. However, greeting them when they looked… were the relics… and their friend…
…right next to their new enemy!?
Oh, and Celestia. She looked just as confused as everypony else.
The saiyan and draconequuis were just laughing away, gripping at their sides tightly.
“And so I said to her, ‘Ma'am, I believe you've dropped your coin-purse.’ And she says, ‘Ma'am!? I'm a stallion!’”
Another fit of laughter followed.
“What…”
“…in…”
“…Equestria…”
They finally noticed the girls and waved.
“Yo! This guy's great!”
“Great!? He took the Elements—” Kai pointed to the Elements on the floor, contrasting Twilight's argument. “—took our wings and horns—” Discord snapped to restore those features. “—and…and! And he foalnapped you!” Discord snapped again, envelopping Kai in a cloud of smoke. It faded, and Kai patted himself.
“Found him.”
The girls could only look to Celestia… who could only look at Kai. So, the saiyan explained.
“Seriously, Tia. This guy is evil to you? Sounds like all he's done through time were just a few pranks that went way too far. Discord's hardly what I'd call a villain.”
“Eh, he's out of line, but he's right.” Celestia narrowed her gaze at them.
“It was not, and is not that simple.” Her stance shifted ever so slightly. “Kai, you have displayed much of what anypony would consider treason. Are you on our side… or Discord's?”
…At that moment… something clicked for Kai.
“That's the kind of ultimatum a real villain would give…” Kai stood, shaking off his sudden suspicion. He matched the shifting of Celestia's stance with his own, causing her to tense slightly. “I choose... the side of moving on.” Everyone, even Discord, looked confused at that. “Like I said, Discord's a prankster without a limit. I mean, he can make it rain chocolate milk.”
“Chocolate milk!” Pinkie emphasized.
“But that's kind of all he's done so far. And if he's going down for that, then what about all the pegasi who pull pranks like that?" It was serious, yes... but almost nopony could help looking at Rainbow Dash for a moment. The warrior in training could only glare at him and mutter.
“Thanks , jerk.”
“Kai... I want you to think about this...”
“I seriously am. He's ready to make nice, so, maybe we can, too? Just a chance?”
Celestia observed her subjects. Pinkie still seemed a bit more concerned about the chocolate milk. Applejack didn't seem to be having any of this nonsense. Rainbow Dash was tensed, almost coiled, unsure. Rarity was unnaturally calm, seeming a lot more curious than worried now. Fluttershy and Twilight... they both looked a bit downcast... They wanted to give a chance to Discord. That much was obvious.
With a long sigh, Celestia spoke again.
“What do you propose?
“Well, since you're so scared, Celestia, let's set rules.” The princess' brow twitched at the passing insult, clearly unhappy with this start… but she gestured for them to continue. She'd hear them out, at least. “We decided. For Discord, keep the chaos to a minimum, no comic book space-time stuff, no natural disasters, no hurting ponies unprompted—that sorta thing.”
“And for you girls… no Elements!” Discord quickly lifted a claw to halt the protests, already halfway out of their mouths. They stopped in time to listen, still glaring accusingly. “Ah, ah! On me. Anyone else is fine, just not me. And that's our deal. Well, Celly? How's it sound?” He bowed to the princess, who in turn gave a short shake of her head.
“Nearly acceptable. I want you under supervision so you are not tempted to break this deal.” Discord rolled his eyes.
“Fine, fine. Who gets the pleasure of watching me? If I got to choose, I'd go with your second student. Or… is that third?” That made Twilight curious, but she kept silent.
“You are trying my patience.” Celestia's annoyance was met only with a smile. “I feel that if you simply experienced kindness, you could show it properly. Therefore, you will be staying with Fluttershy.”
Yeah, that was an easy way to make Fluttershy faint. Rarity was quick to catch her. Discord gave a short laugh and shrugged.
“Look at that! I've still got it.”
“I trust you know better than to try to harm my little ponies.” Celestia stated with no small amount of anger.
“Yeah, yeah. No boo boos. I got it. Can we get to something else already?” Celestia gave Kai a look, who caught it and lifted a brow.
“Wha… Oh! You're finally done? I've been waiting for this one.” He cleared his throat. “Discord, I now pronounce you… Chaotic neutral!” A miniature Discord appeared to play a classic rimshot, as Kai pumped his fist midair.
Everypony face-hoofed.
“That was not what I was trying to convey.” Kai shrugged.
“Then it's serious time, huh?”
“Twofold, Kai!” They looked to Rarity in confusion. “If it had never happened, I certainly would never have remembered. However, we had a little agreement, did we not?” Kai's lowered brows meant he understood… but was not pleased.
“What sort of agreement?” Twilight asked for everyone.
“When we were much younger, we agreed upon something. If it rains chocolate milk, Kai would have to tell me whatever secret he had been keeping even to this day.”
“What an… oddly specific wager.”
“We have Kai's eccentricity to blame for that. In any case, I'm anxious to hear what this secret is, Kai.”
“Let's hear what Celestia has to say about this guy who I resemble, first.” Kai put off, directing a look to the princess.
Celestia nodded shortly and beckoned the group to follow.
“We'll converse in the dining room. I imagine this whole fiasco was exhausting to you all.”
“Mind if I come with?” They glanced to Discord. “Been a pretty long time since I had a decent meal… or heard a good story.”
With a sigh at realising, despite past transgressions, Discord would be playing nice at least, Celestia waved a hoof for him to follow, too. He smiled and trailed behind.
In a few moments, the group was seated, some with food, others with just tea. It was silent for a few minutes, awkward and tense at the same time. They simply sat, shifting their eyes around, as if the decor was the focus.
“…This one time, I asked a fat mare if she was going to have a boy or a girl. It was exactly like this.” Okay, nopony could help chuckling at least a bit at that. Discord breaking the ice. Something Celestia never thought could happen.
“Well then, I suppose I'll start as bluntly as possible. Kai, the saiyan I met is named Beet. It doesn't take much guessing to know he must be your father.” Bluntly indeed. Kai crossed his arms and closed his eyes, teetering backwards in his chair.
“Yeah… Yeah, that's definitely that bastard.”
“I'll explain from the beginning. The day he arrived in Equestria.”
To Be Continued…
Author's Note
Good to be back. And welcome back to all of you, as well. Stay along for the ride, yeah?
The air was still within the castle's kitchen. Nopony understood fully, but they knew this revelation was important. Some recalled better than others that, for their similarities, Kai and Rarity were not biologically related, and they had never inquired of their parents' whereabouts, anyway. That said, this already revealed to some that Kai's father was not in the picture, but that he may have played some role in the past. How else would Celestia, and Discord know of him?
"Before you start, I gotta know." Kai interrupted, holding up a hand to the princess. " Why didn't you say anything? You must have known from the second you saw me, so... why?"
A good question. Celestia nodded in response, seeming to have expected it.
"I couldn't know your mental state by then. If he were a sensitive topic..." She trailed off, the possible outcome clear.
"Do I get to correct you if you tell it wrong?" Suddenly smiling again was their newest addition, Discord, apparently pacified by Kai. His question, however, was met with a sharp glare.
"I will ask that there are no interruptions." Discord shrugged, the others nodding in understanding. "Now then. Our first encounter..."
Chapter 2
Not to Be Repeated
"Ah." A short peep of surprise, caused by an awing sight. Princess Celestia had only briefly glanced up from her work, but fortune seemed to choose that moment to smile upon her. Even during daylight, she spotted a trail along the sky. A shooting star, surely.
The princess smiled back at fortune's blessing, then shifted her attention back down. That lasted all of about three seconds, before she, and likely everypony near the castle, was wracked with heavy vibrations. Yet, she could sense the ground had yet to experience such a shock. Her eyes flickered back to the sky. That shooting star was... closer. But that should be impossible...
In an instant, Celestia was to her hooves and already nearly out the castle, magic flaring. The moment she stepped out, her gaze was only on this object that she now realized was no shooting star. With her horn aglow, she cast out her power to slow down this incredibly fast... thing. She did, in fact, slow it down, but her brows furrowed ever so slightly. She slowed it down some, but the spherical object falling seemed to slow itself down by a degree. Still, she did her best to guide it somewhere harmless, considering it was still going far too fast to halt completely.
Celestia breathed a sigh of relief, releasing her magical hold as she watched the object crash in a distant grass field. She was especially thrilled to see that the damage to the area was minimal. The castle gardeners could have that looking good as new in a matter of weeks. But, that was not important at the moment. Right now, she needed to know just what that was, and why it landed here.
When she arrived in front of the object, she could finally give it a proper analysis. Spherical, as noted before, a yet it appeared scuffed, as though it had crashed many times before.Likely what contributed to the grayish color she suspected was meant to have been white. She walked around the sphere, stopping with a hum of curiosity as she faced a reflective, purple glass. It certainly did not fit the rest of the sphere. Could it have been some sort of crystal? Tentatively, she reached a hoof and tapped the glass, earning an oddly satisfying 'Clink'.
Celestia stepped back when it hissed, some kind of vapor emitting from it. For a moment, she believed it to be a living creature and nearly excused herself for touching it. That was until the sphere opened up from fine lines dividing parts of it. When it fully opened, it revealed… someone. Never had she seen such a being as this. Similar to a monkey, and the tail wasn't doing any good to disprove her assumption. Yet, still different, was this thing. It lacked fur, aside from a spiked mop atop the head and a short goatee, each raven black. Likely a male, then... His apparel was even stranger; some sort of black and yellow armor with hip guards, purple spandex-like leg-wear, and black, pointed boots. Her eyes went back to his face, noting something appearing similar in function to a monocle, but much different; like a half-visor from sci-fi comics.
Coincidentally, just as she finished inspecting him, was when the being, eyes still closed, stood from the seat of the sphere. The princess stepped back defensively, watching the individual lightly set foot upon the dirt.
“…The gravity is almost non-existent. Nice.” His tone was low, sounding quite threatening, indeed, his voice deep but slightly scratchy. Onyx eyes flashed open and locked onto Celestia immediately, but rather than become further defensive, Celestia was a little more relaxed. He wasn't immediately starting anything, even after seeing a being different from himself. That was good. And hopefully, his smirk would reinforce that. “Oh, a welcoming party. Quite a reception.”
Clearing her throat, she offered a smile to this strange and unknown being. Regardless of these strange events, a new being has come to Equestria, and she would be hospitable as long as he behaved, and he was, in fact, behaving.
“Hello, sir. I welcome you to Equestria. I am Princess Celestia, Ruler of Equestria.” He seemed humored by her greeting, a cheeky smirk forming onto his face.
“Princess, huh? Well, I'm Beet.” Celestia nodded, patiently observing him lift a finger. "I'm a saiyan, a race of warriors, our planet's out there somewhere, 'alien' is relative, this is my attack pod.” He paused to point at the sphere he came from. "Just a real fast spaceship that thrashes where it lands, no you can't ride in it. I miss anything other than my relationship status?"
Princess Celestia took in the information quickly, as well as an unspoken bit of info. Beet seemed to be well used to this, to the point he knew nearly every one of her questions. That meant he already blew her mind with the fact that there were worlds outside of Equestria, and that this one saiyan had been to so many, he preempted questions he got repeatedly. True to form as a princess of her caliber, she was able to recover from that world-shaker quickly, and focused to address that one question left unanswered.
“Just one thing puzzles me, of course. Why exactly have you come here?” Of course.
Beet crossed his arms, his weight settling on his other leg as he hummed disinterestedly.
“I came here to be challenged.” Celestia lifted a brow, silently requesting further explanation. When he continued to stared back at her obviously, she knew he wasn't going to. So, she assumed what he meant.
“I admit, it has been quite some time since I have played a game of chess…”
“Chess? Uh...” Beet looked confused. "What's... chess?” ...Was he... serious?
“It's a strategy-based game, in which you move several pieces on a board, each moving in varying ways." His mouth formed in a silent 'O' shape, then he pounded his fist into his other hand.
“Right! They call it something different everywhere. Chess is a simple one, I'll use that from now on.” Well, she was glad to have helped. "But, no. I want a challenge.” He reiterated.
“I'm afraid I don't know what you mean.”
“Ugh. A challenge, a fight, a bout, a skirmish, hand-to-...hoof combat? Any of these ringin' a bell, or should I start speaking Dragon? Norok Grah.”
“I understand, now, Beet. I do not speak dragon.” Celestia stopped him. She hadn't even known dragons had their own... wait, he was from another world. What dragon language did he know and why? Well, her curiosity of the mundane aside, the intentions of her guest were clear, and it was time to deal with him. “I don't know who you want to fight or why, but there will be no fighting here.”
“Not yet, anyway.” Beet waved her off, tapping at his odd monocle visor. “Scouter. It reads power levels. I have three. Used to have five. I only fight someone if they break the scouter. And if you were anything to sneeze at, it would have gone off when I landed.” The contraption made a few sounds, and Celestia could see some kind of text appearing across the visor. “Hey, not bad. You've got potential! So how about this?” He lifted a finger. “I'll stick around this planet for a while, and I want you to get stronger. Really wow me, alright?”
“Respectfully, while you may have put a number to my strength, I've yet to be convinced of a reason for becoming stronger. Moreover, I see no need to fight, so I refuse.” Celestia replied, almost insulted at the saiyan's arrogant tone.
“Fine, fine. You'd feel it, anyway. I'll be training, too, after all.” That was where he left it.
An instant was like an eternity. Beet flashed his power, a firey green aura covering him for a little more than a flicker. There was nothing much to remark about the moment. Only that Celestia knew from it, that she needed to be much stronger.
“And, uh, for motivation, I guess I can just wipe out everyone if you say no...” Obviously a most grave threat, hence why Celestia instantly took a stance. But Beet said it in an unsure way. He shrugged. “Eh. Yeah. I guess, when we fight, if you lose, I kill everyone. If you win, I leave. So, I'll be here until then.”
Clearly, this was not good. But, if she was being given a chance to get stronger before facing a strange foe like this... she could have a real chance. And, perhaps in the meantime, she could learn about Beet. After all, he was still going to play nice, just until they fought, and he seemed... interesting, in the most strange way. So, with a sigh, Celestia nodded.
“I'll have a room arranged for you to stay.”
“Sweet.”
And so began a peculiar arrangement of a relative alien living in the castle. Celestia learned that a saiyan really will do anything for a fight...
A chill went up Princess Celestia's spine, and she looked back to figure out why. Leaned against her throne was none other than Beet, looking over the paperwork she was finishing up. He continued to look at the paperwork, before noticing she was looking at him. He flashed her a smile.
“Workin' hard?”
“As I usually do.” Even as she was completing her work, she was using a weight in her magic grasp as well. It had been half of a year since Beet had arrived, and she had no intention of allowing herself to slack off. She returned the smile. “May I help you?”
“Just a question for science.” She set down her quill and nodded.
“Very well.” Beet lean a bit further, putting a finger to his forehead as he began to speak.
“Since there are several sentient and sapient races here, have there been matters of crossbreeding?” Celestia blinked in confusion. She... definitely wasn't expecting that one.
“Why do you ask?” His shrug was both informative and vague at once. “Culturally, that sort of thing seems to be looked upon… differently. Some believe it is fine in the name of love, others believe it to be a curse.”
“Forget the culture for a bit. Say, a griffon and a unicorn bang. How's it turn out? Or even a dragon and a pony? Anything, really.” Celestia stared for a moment, thrown off by his vulgar words, and inquisitive tone.
“It could depend on several factors. I would imagine some survival natures may clash and cause difficulties with birth. However, I would also imagine it could be a perfect split between them. The anatomical structure could be predominantly one, or a combination of both. In fact, I was acquainted with the offspring of a hippogriff and a dragon. I had never known until being told by them, but they appeared to be completely a hippogriff.” Her explanation was helpful, hence Beet's nod of acknowledgement.
“Okay. So, I'm of the saiyan race. Strong people. You're an alicorn. Strong pony. If we got it on, which of our genes would be dominant?” Celestia tried to resist a blush, but that was a rather forward question, spoken so analytically.
“I, well…” She cleared her throat. “I am unsure. Due to my own long-lived nature, I would have to guess the child would turn out like myself to accomodate.”
“Yeah, thought so. Shame.” A few calming breaths took care of her blush from hearing this.
“Are you considering settling down?”
“Not with you, so don't get your hopes up.” The princess decided to laugh, Beet joining a moment later.
“So you are considering settling down.” She smirked when Beet flinched slightly. His brows lowered when he saw Celestia's victorious expression.
“Alright, miss know-it-all. Let's see how much you know about fighting. My year's almost up.” With that, he stormed off, and Celestia face-hoofed.
A full year. A full year had rolled by, and Princess Celestia was ready. She knew this would not be easy, but she had become much stronger than ever before. She stood now, in the same spot she had met Beet before.
The saiyan arrived shortly. When he saw Celestia poised and ready to go…
…he had no reaction. In fact, he hardly even slowed from his walk.
“…Are we… not going to battle?”
“Found something a bit more important.” He dismissed, gesturing a hand for Celestia to follow. She did, and they soon were seated in the palace dining room. “You ever fall in love, Princess?” Celestia blinked, then lowered her eyes slowly.
“I… I have. A few times.” Beet chuckled at her uneasy tone.
“Saiyans are less about love, and more about battle— I've told you this. But there's someone I met recently… She interests me.” That was shocking. Sure, their interactions were actually a bit far and few, but she had come to know Beet as the embodiment of exactly what he kept repeating about the saiyan race. Tough, emotionally inept...so she rightfully believed he would never care for the peace of Equestria, nor its inhabitants.
She straightened up and gave him her advice.
“From my experience, I can only tell you to trust your instincts and your heart. If you make a bad decision, or fail to decide for too long, you will learn regret.” Celestia grounded out seriously.
“Look at you, getting all insightful. I'm more curious. Is it just a feeling that will fade? Will settling really quell this battle sense of mine? Should I really call this place my home?” He teetered in his chair, looking to the ceiling. “Who knows? I'll probably just sleep around for a bit.” She was more used to this by now, understanding that his flirting and sexual forwardness seemed to be a coping mechanism for his misrepresented feelings.
“Is that truly something you wish to do? Would you not prefer sharing such intimacy with this individual who has caught your eye?” To that, Beet only grinned.
“A man keeps his options open, Tia.”
A total of six years passed since the saiyan known as Beet arrived. Throughout these years, Celestia had to admit to herself that she had begun to see him as something of a friend. Not quite a friend, nor an enemy, but certainly close. He would leave for long periods of time, return, share some tea and a conversation, then she wouldn't see him again. She started to see him off, but he had been gone for quite some time, this time. So, she was a little happy to finally sense him approaching. He didn't seem to know how to hide his power, and Celestia had learned to sense it.
Celestia walked out to meet Beet halfway, able to greet him after being gone for so long. She smiled when she saw his form approaching, but that smile fell when she saw his face. It was blank. Unreadable. Whenever he came back, she could always tell that he had some new story or wild adventure. But now? Nothing.
Celestia stopped a respectable distance from Beet, and he did the same, both staring at one another. The princess tried to smile again, but Beet simply turned and walked in a direction. She was no stranger to this direction. After all, she herself had gone this way many times, both alone and with Beet. It led to...
His attack pod. He stopped in front of it and turned, pulling a remote from his chest-piece. He pushed a button, and the pod opened in the time it took for him to return the remote to its usual hiding spot. Then, he smiled at Celestia, finally giving her a reason to smile back.
“Welp, it's been real.” Promptly wiping it away for the third time today... and seemingly, the last time.
“You are… leaving?” He nodded. “But... What of your challenge? Norok Grah?” Beet grinned.
“Oh, look at you... Old P Pal would be proud...” He shook his head, becoming more serious. “Anyway, I overcame a bigger challenge. Sorry to say, but you just wouldn't measure up. So, I guess that's my cue to leave.” It appeared he intended to leave it at that, turning and climbing into the pod.
“…May you at least tell me of this bigger challenge?” Sitting, he gave a short sigh, shutting his eyes and relaxing in his seat.
“Just know that my experiment succeeded—with consistent results. And with that, I commit the one crime my idiotic people refuse: Insurance.” Celestia turned to leave, expecting that to be the end of Beet's explanation. The last she'd see of him. But... he spoke again. “I doubt we'll meet again, but I got a favor. Think you can help me, my friend?” She faced him quickly, nodding seriously. She noticed his eyes were open now, and locked onto hers. “You might see them one day. Tell them—”
“It was you!”
Right at the end of the story, Kai interrupted by slamming his hands onto the table, glaring hotly at Celestia. Everypony jumped in fright, but Celestia held steady, staring back at him.
“'I still care for you, no matter who you are', right!? That... that ruined mom!” His teeth clenched tightly. “It all went downhill the day we got that letter... and you did it...” He froze, sighed, then sat back down. Silence followed, Kai staring at Celestia calmly. Everypony else stared between the two, still taken aback by the story, and now worried about Kai.
“Kai… I was only fulfilling the last request of a friend. I'm sorry for any—”
“You know, I think it all makes sense now.” Celestia found herself interrupted. “I always knew there was something wrong with me, more than just being a freak. I'm just an experiment!”
“Kai! Don't talk like that!” Rarity cut in, scolding worriedly.
“It's true! What number was I? The first? The fiftieth!?”
“Please calm down, Kai! I-I'm sure it's different than it seems.” Twilight also tried to help, but she didn't get through, Kai looking down at the table solemnly.
“Is that why mom hated me...? Because I'm not perfect...?” Eyes went wide. Nopony wanted to... but...
“…What… was that about your mom hating you?” Applejack spoke up hesitantly.
Kai looked to them, quiet at first, but when his gaze swept to Rarity, he sighed.
“Fine… Fine.” Taking a breath, he started his story with a shocking bit of information. “For starters, my name isn't actually Kai. I'm Kabu. It's a saiyan name.”
“What? But, why create an entirely different name?” Twilight questioned.
“…A few reasons. But the secret I always kept… it was never that my mother hated me. It was how I lived my life after it, up until I met you, Rarity.”
Although not clear to everypony else, this was of heart-stopping concern to Rarity. She always remembered trying to pry into his past a bit, usually asking their parents. The looks they gave were… terrible. As if a monster had appeared right behind her. Asking Kai only yielded a single, unspoken answer. A calm but meaningful glare. Never had she asked again.
“I'll start from my mother's death. That pretty much sums up our last few years together.”
At only eight years old, young Kai, or Kabu, returned to his home to find a mare on the floor. The plum coated, auburn maned mare coughed from her prone position, blood escaping in alarming quantities. Kabu rushed forward and onto his knees, picking her up into his arms quickly.
“Mom!?” The mare managed to open an eye, slowly focusing on her son. She wheezed, then shut her eye with a pained and irritable exhale.
“It's… you…”
“Yes, mom! I'm here for you. Let's get you to the doctor.”
“Can't you… take a hint…?” She gritted out, struggling briefly, then coughing up more blood. “I… don't love you. You're an… an inconvenience.” Kabu's eyes went wide. “I'm happy… Trying to take… care of you was too much… Now… I get to be free of the stares… the judgmental stares… Free of this sickness… Free of worry…” She managed to make eye contact with him once more. “Free of you.”
Kabu set her down softly onto the floor, and simply turned to leave.
“…I always loved you.”
“And you were stupid for it.” His fist clenched.
“I know. At least you taught me something.” The saiyan stopped in front of the door. “Love and respect need to be earned. But you and father never tried.”
With that, Kabu left.
…When he returned the next day, his mother would no longer be in this world. Despite himself, he buried her and said his goodbyes.
Street life had become rough. His home felt like a prison, so he abandoned it, while still making sure to lock it up tight and keep any and all keys. His own attachment, and inspiration. He used it to keep himself from succumbing to the allure of returning to that home, no longer his. It was good that he did.
He was an obvious outcast. He had no magic, so even if he knew of such a spell, he would not be able to disguise himself, let alone, get a job or any steady income, not that he would be able to spend that money. As a growing saiyan, the scraps he could pillage from the garbage and unfinished food from plates could only fill him so much. He managed at least to find a place to call his, sort of. An alleyway that connected to Ponyville's sewer systems. A very small system, but a system, nonetheless.
Kabu scouted the town from this alley of his for three months before it became unmanageable. Malnourished, dazed, and generally miserable, Kabu's short sense of morality was dulling to nonexistence. It took a short time for him to rationalize mugging somepony. After all, he needed it more, didn't he? Circular logic took him over. If he did this, he could take products from stands in the market and leave bits as compensation, all without being seen. Strangely, he had enough morality not to bankrupt the sellers of the market.
A random stallion had to take an alley—his alley—as a shortcut. Mistake.
“Don't move.” The stallion flinched and then froze. “Your coin-purse is looking pretty full. I know you can spare a few bits for me.”
“Please, sir, you don't understand. This is all I could gather by selling whatever I had. My daughter is ill and needs treatment.”
Kabu hesitated. Should he really…? This… this definitely wasn't right. He shouldn't do this…
“Fine. Get lost.”
“Oh, thank you, kind sir—” The stallion had turned his head to look at Kabu. Eyes wide, the stallion let out a panicked scream. “M-monster!”
And that…
That.
Was the instant Kabu's morality vanished.
Kabu slammed a fist into the stallion's face and snatched his coin-purse when he was falling.
“I spared him… I spared him, but still... nothing but a beast, huh? A monster.” Kabu smirked to himself. “Fine. Since they all hate me anyway, I'll just give Equestria a reason to fear me!” He clenched his fist. “I'll get strong... and I'll destroy it all!”
And so began a constant flow. Being that Kabu no longer held any moral guide, he no longer needed the bits he planned to keep stealing. He would just steal food directly. He tried to keep out of the eyes of the public, eating what he could and training as much as he could muster.
However, while Kabu was not innocent by any means, he was still only nine years of age, and had not been educated about biology and metabolism, much less a saiyan's. This lifestyle would never last forever.
One month shy of two years had passed, and Kabu was not looking well. He could only stagger to his usual alley, but never even made it inside. Falling against the wall, it took everything to turn and slide down on his back to sit. Kabu's stare was unfocused, his sight blurred and his mind too tired to process anything important. At this rate, he would die. If not to someone killing him while weak, then to starvation.
Kabu flickered in and out of consciousness a few times. The fifth time, he could see two figures approaching him. With as much willpower that he could muster, Kabu focused his sight to see just who would be ending him today.
Unicorns, a couple probably. The stallion having a white coat and a brown mane with a mustache, and the mare a pink coat and a purple mane, both with blue eyes. Kabu blinked, and they were closer.
“Are you okay there, son?” Son… That annoyed Kabu, but he couldn't do much about it except for a tired groan.
“Get… away…” The couple looked to one another, nodded, then looked back to Kabu.
“I'm afraid we just can't.” The mare began. “Let's get you to a warm bed.”
Kabu felt himself get lifted up, and saw the magical aura around him. The mare carefuly set him down onto the stallion's back.
“We'll take good care of you, okay?” Kabu tried to struggle. Truly, he did. As far as her knew, these ponies were scientists, ready to slice him for experimentation. He'd suffered enough.
“Oh, please don't exert yourself. We promise you'll be okay.” She then proceeded to hum. Close to Kabu's ear. Calm, angelic… and familiar.
Mom...
Before he knew it…
…Kabu had fallen asleep.
“From there, Rarity can tell you how things went if you really care that much.” Kabu… Kai, closed his story.
Although stunned into silence, it was Fluttershy who couldn't resist a question.
“Why… did you change your name, then?”
“Somewhere far… Japone, or something. They have a different language, and in it, I found the name ‘Kai’. It means to heal. When I met Rarity, I started to abandon my goal to destroy Equestria. With it, I dropped my saiyan heritage. I was a new pony, with the name Kai.”
Everyone, even Discord, felt rather sickened by this story. How could Kai have lived like that, and turned out to be the usually cheery half-pony they knew today?
“How didn't Rarity know about your name?” They looked to see Twilight squinting. “I mean, if you lived together for a while before changing your name, then…”
“I hardly spoke when I lived there. In fact, we never even knew each others' names until I decided to change mine.” Kai gave Rarity a hug with one arm, which she returned through her slowly falling tears. “It's why she means more than the world to me.”
“I'm so sorry, Kai… I never knew…” Rarity started to sob into Kai's shirt. “I love you, so, so much…!”
“You, too, little sis.” Still holding his sister, Kai looked to the others. “Well?”
There were hardly any other questions to be asked. But, they tried.
“How do you feel about yourself? And Equestria?” Pinkie asked.
“…Saiyans are a proud warrior race. When I feel proud of myself, I just remember being… me. I don't… like myself. I just wish I was normal.”
“Rrgh! That's it!” Rainbow Dash slammed the table in anger, glaring hard at Kai. “You only hate yourself 'cause these jerks hated you! But it doesn't matter what they think! You and Fluttershy taught me that, didn't you!?”
“Rainbow…?” Kai tried to speak.
“No, this is stupid! It just… it just makes me mad!” She tried to find more words to say to emphasize her point, but she just couldn't. Her mind was too distracted with processing the emotions of these stories.
“…Thanks. I wish you wouldn't be angry, but seeing you care so much… is nice.” Kai smiled for the first time in a while, letting go of Rarity, then sparing a look to Discord. “Haven't said a word.”
“What should I say? Kid, it's real tragic, but really. Get over yourself.” Discord's reply was about to earn him a punch from Rainbow Dash, had Kai not raised his hand. Everypony else glared. “I mean, look at me. I popped in here for some revenge. Turns out a place to stay, at least a meal a day, and you to help with pranks and laugh at stupid jokes. May not have been what I wanted, but it's still pretty good. Besides, I still get to give ol' Celly a migraine.”
“That's different! You're evil!” Twilight argued in Kai's defense.
“And planning on destroying Equestria isn't?” No reply to that one… Discord let out a sigh. “Kai. You rolled the die for a start and managed to roll in the negatives. You had a rough time growing up. It sucked, I'm sure. But look at what you have, now. Or does the whole “Having a loving family and friends” thing not cut it?”
Kai looked to his friends. Rarity offering up a teary smile. Applejack tipping her hat. Twilight flashing an awkward smile. Pinkie grinning happily. Rainbow Dash smirking. Fluttershy timidly smiling. Celestia giving an encouraging nod. Discord winking.
Kai laughed. He laughed quite hard, then palmed his face with a few more dying chuckles.
“A cross-species freak lectured by a cross-species freak about making the best of life. Never in a thousand years could I have thought…” He shook his head. “We should get back to Ponyville, everypony. Back home.”
It was particularly impactful for Rarity to hear that, as, although she hadn't known of his past, she knew he never felt at home in Ponyville. Everypony smiled, and Discord gave the half-saiyan a pat on his back.
“I think we should take the scenic route back.” Suggested Twilight. There were no arguments there, so they all stood and prepared to leave. “Oh! I apologize, Princess. Was there anything else you needed from us?”
“No. Thank you all for everything today. You all may leave.” With Celestia's blessing, the group took off, with Discord hovering above.
Outside of the castle, Kai spoke abruptly.
“…Twilight.” She glanced back at him with a smile.
“Yes?”
“Remember a while back, when I said Celestia seemed sad?” Twilight hummed in affirmation. “I was wrong. I'm not getting sadness anymore. Celestia seems… guilty. And it feels obvious. Can you sense it this time?” Her gaze turned to asharp glare for a moment.
“…I don't like to second-guess Princess Celestia.” Then she turned away. “…But yes. It was as clear as the day. Concerning, even.” The mare shook her head. “Maybe it was because she felt she should have told you about your fa… um, that saiyan sooner.”
“Maybe…”
“You don't trust the Princess, do you?” Kai stared at Twilight, and she back at him.
That was all they managed on that topic, as Kai found himself blinded by hooves.
“Ah! Hey, what the…!?”
“Come on, we're already done with the serious stuff! It's time to have fun!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed while moving her hooves from Kai's face.
“Fair enough!”
The silhouette of friends walking through Canterlot was picture perfect. And it was something they would not realize was to be cherished for a long time.
