Bardock Lives

Chapters

Chapter 1: Descent
Chapter 2: Escape
Chapter 3: Stronger
Chapter 4: Return
Chapter 5: Foresight

Chapter 1: Descent

He saw it; something he never thought he’d see. Frieza’s demise at the hands of his own son. Kakarot, his low-level son would defeat Frieza, the most powerful being in the universe. It was a beacon of redemption for the Saiyan race.

Bardock smiled as his body was being destroyed. The armour on his body was breaking away and his clothes were being disintegrated in the blast that would destroy Planet Vegeta. But that didn’t matter to him anymore. His eyes went blind as the last hint of his life faded and he felt nothing. Bardock had died.

Meanwhile in Equestria…

“Come on, Spike, we’re going to be late. The others are already waiting for us.” Twilight nudged the little dragon as he scuttled about the Library, trying to finish packing before Twilight could talk again.

“I’m going as fast as I can, Twilight. Jeez, anypony’d think you’ve never seen a meteor shower before.” he closed the last of the suitcases and placed it next to Twilight’s own.

“Spike, this is going to be the first meteor shower I see with all my friends, Princess Celestia and Luna included. My parents are even going to be there as well as my brother and sister-in-law. This is very important to me, Spike. And with Equestria on the verge of war against the changelings, it’s an incredible thing the princesses are doing by taking the time to watch it with us.”

Spike stopped listening as Twilight rambled on and on about the importance of the meteor shower and the sacrifices half the attendants were making. He grinned slightly as he found himself ready to go while Twilight was lost in her own little world, fantasising about the evening.

Rainbow Dash hadn’t packed anything other than an autograph book and a quill for the Wonderbolts to sign should she come across them. Applejack had the honour of packing the food for the trip, along with Pinkie who had contributed deserts with the bundle. Rarity packed too much and gave the others the foreboding sense that she’d be held back at the station to choose what to leave behind as that amount exceeded the weight limit by three times. Fluttershy seemed sad to go as her animal friends waved goodbye from the Library. Finally, Twilight had packed her telescope, protractor, compass and constellation charts in one suitcase while she’d packed a pair of pyjamas and a few (twelve) books to read on the way to Canterlot as well as after the meteor shower and on the way back home the next day.

As they all reached the station, the inevitable happened. Rarity had begun to kick up a fuss about the contents of her baggage being only the bare essentials for a girl to remain beautiful in Canterlot. Despite her self-proclaimed infallible arguments, she was ordered to reduce the contents by half, which kept the others on the station for a further twenty minutes, leaving them all barely enough time to get on the train.

“Honestly Rarity, you should have learned from the last time you took the train to Canterlot. We nearly missed our schedule.” Rainbow Dash groaned at the white mare who seemed rather sulky.

“I wouldn’t have let that happen.” Twilight chimed in before Rarity could come up with some other prattle to defend her position. The others looked to Twilight for confirmation.

“What do ya mean, Sugar Cube?” Applejack asked, taking her Stetson off as she sat down in her seat.

“I’d have boarded this train without waiting for her. If she or any of you guys missed the train, then tough luck.” Twilight stared out at the window, looking up at the sky. Spike cleared his throat.

“Uh, the thing you have to understand is that meteor showers are really important to Twilight. She was born the instant a meteor shower started one night.” The others leaned away and nodded as they made realising sounds. “It’s actually how she got her name. The Meteors were sparkling in the twilight. So there you have it.”

With the story of Twilight’s name concluded, the six ponies, plus one dragon began to discuss the exciting events of the night before them. While Twilight was focused on the sky outside, Spike explained that Celestia had planned the evening out, leaving plenty of time between dinner and the appearance of the meteors.

“Hey, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash called, drawing the unicorn away from her daydreams.

“Hm?”

“What exactly are meteors made of?” she asked. The others quieted down to hear the answer. Twilight took a moment to consider her response.

“Well, there are a few theories. One suggests that meteors are pieces of other worlds that have died long ago, possibly before our world was even made. They’ve travelled from billions upon billions of light-years away, never changing their course unless the gravity of another world shifts them.” the ponies took interest in her details.

“Ooh, ooh! How long’s a light-year?” Pinkie asked.

“A light-year isn’t a unit of time, Pinkie. It’s a unit of length. A single light-year is approximately six trillion miles.”

“Woah!” the others said, leaning back in their seats.

“So what are the other theories as to the origin of meteors?” Rarity asked. Twilight cleared her throat.

“Well another suggests that in space, there are dust particles, much like those little bits of dust you see near your bedside lamp; if a gravitational centre begins to develop, those bits of dust will come together and compress, growing bigger and bigger until they become stone. And they’ll just keep on compiling, growing in size and mass. At other times, meteors will come together, and over the course of time, will become one. Personally, I prefer the first possibility. I relish the thought of other worlds, other civilisations that once existed and a piece of them is on its way here.” Twilight looked out to the sky once again, smiling at the prospects.

“Other civilisations… maybe there were ponies that walked on two legs?” Rainbow Dash suggested.

“Ooh, yeah! And ponies with three eyes!” Pinkie chimed in.

“Or one eye… if that’s alright to say.” Fluttershy squeaked. Twilight huffed in amusement at their simplistic thoughts.

“There’s always the possibility that they weren’t ponies, but something else entirely.” The others felt a sense of unease at that prospect, except for Pinkie Pie who began to think she meant Timber Wolves that could speak.

The train pulled into Canterlot, where Shining Armour, Cadence and Twilight’s parents were waiting with smiles on their faces. Twilight lit up as she saw her parents. It felt like ages to her since she’d last seen them. She introduced her friends who gave them their customary greetings.

“It’s a pleasure to meet all of you. We never really got the chance during Shining and Cadence’s wedding. My husband and I were only able to attend the ceremony. Duties forced us to leave sooner than we wanted.” Twilight’s mother said.

“Right, Twilight, y’all never said what it is your parents do for a livin’.” Applejack replied, turning to the lavender unicorn.

“Oh, right. Well our parents are in fact nobility. My mother owns the leading bank company in Equestria; the Commonewealth. And Dad is one of the three influential powers that deal with liaising to other races. He’s got a pretty good silver tongue when it comes to negotiating.” Rarity almost fainted at this knowledge. She’d been friends with Canterlot nobility and she didn’t know it.

“But Twilight, when I was sent here to design a dress and you arrived for your party in an incomplete one, all those ponies didn’t recognise you.” she said. Twilight’s father interrupted.

“That’s because there is a huge difference between those ponies and us. They are rich and adopt the title of nobility in order to enlarge their popularity. Actual nobles such as ourselves are known only by name and rumour. They don’t know what we look like, which allows us to go through the city uninhibited by…fakers.” he replied, taking on a somewhat dark tone.

Rarity chuckled nervously. “And to think I wanted to be like them. Rich and powerful. You must think me a horrid pony.” she said. Twilight’s father cleared his throat.

“No. By all means. Become rich and powerful. But do not pretend to think that you’re more than you really are. To act pompous is to demean nobility, and we dislike it.” Twilight gave her father a slight kick.

“Dad, stop being such a purist in front of my friends. Or do you want to become cactus boy again until the meteors come?” she threatened. Twilight’s mother chuckled nervously.

“Yes, dear. These are Twilight’s friends, after all. Be nice.” The blue stallion sighed and smiled at Twilight.

“I meant no disrespect or insult. I’m sure Rarity will be a wonderfully rich mare some day and will adhere to my… request.” he said. Rarity nodded.

“Of course, kind sir. Perhaps I will learn from you during my visit?” she suggested.

“Oh, Ah don’t think you’ll have time to learn anything, sugar cube.” Applejack interrupted, a smile planted on her features.

“And why not, Applejack?” Rarity demanded, turning to the orange farm pony. Rainbow Dash strode up beside Applejack with a similar smile on her face.

“Because your luggage isn’t on the train.” she squeaked, trying to hold in a laugh. Rarity went wide-eyed and ran to the baggage department to search for her things. There was a moment’s pause before a shrill scream could be heard from beyond. Applejack and Rainbow Dash both burst out laughing.

“Dash, she’s gonna kill us when she finds out you hid her things on the roof of the train.” Applejack cried.

“You mean the train that’s departed the station and is half a kilometre in that direction?” Twilight asked. The laughing stopped and was followed by worried screeches as Rainbow Dash shot off after the train.

“Twilight, couldn’t you just teleport the bags here?” Spike asked. Twilight smiled.

“Already done.” The group laughed at the turmoil that had transpired in the matter of a minute and prepared to head for the castle.

The greetings were as formal as possible with a stressed out Rarity and a hyped up Pinkie Pie in the group, but Twilight managed to greet her idols and in-laws with a calm expression. Surprisingly, Luna was the first to break formalities as she pulled Twilight into a massive hug. Fortunately, she’d managed to eliminate the regal voice from her repertoire.

“Oh, miss Sparkle, ‘tis a delight to see you once again. We are most pleased that you came to visit.” Twilight felt her back crack, which helped to relieve some of the tension she was having over the evening.

“It’s nice to see you too, Luna… you’re looking as young as ever, no pun intended.” Twilight replied, gasping for air as the alicorn released her.

“Thank you Twilight Sparkle… I’m sorry, was I too rough?” she asked, inspecting the unicorn as she panted.

“Little bit. But I’ll be fine. Just need to get the other lung working again.” Twilight pounded her chest and coughed a bit, leaving Luna quite guilty as she hung her head in embarrassment.

“Hey, if you can’t crush your niece, then who can you crush?” Spike asked, trying to cheer the lunar princess up a bit.

“The nephew?” Rarity mumbled. Shining looked at Rarity with questioning eyes. “Not you, the other one who prances like a magnificent poofter at social gatherings.” Luna and Cadence both laughed.

“I can’t believe you said that.” Cadence said.

“We can’t believe you think he only does it at social gatherings.” Luna added. At this point, even Celestia let out an amused chuckle at Blueblood’s expense.

“My dear friends and family, Dinner will be ready soon. I’ve allowed two hours between then and the show for you all to prepare or make any last additions to anything you see fit to bring with you when we go looking at the meteors. Twilight, we’ve opened up the observation deck in your study as we believe it would be the best place to view them.” Celestia began. Twilight beamed with happiness as her greatest desire was coming true.

Dinner had been spectacular. It was a buffet of various fruits and vegetables, all served fresh, sliced, steamed, fried, smoked and battered to serve everypony’s tastes. Desert was an assortment of muffins, cupcakes, ice creams in various colours, including a rainbow, chocolates, biscuits, sweet breads, doughnuts, the works. Everypony was satisfied with the meals and had gone off to get themselves ready for the big event. This meteor shower was a rare event. Usually, the meteors would only come once every ten years, but this set had approached five years early.

Twilight was the first to wait, having been given the time to prepare in her study, it was only natural. Celestia and Luna both appeared first, taking their places beside their friend, niece and (in the case of Celestia) student. Twilight’s parents emerged afterward, seating themselves beside Celestia, then Shining Armour turned up with Cadence and sat beside Luna. Applejack appeared and sat behind Twilight, positioned slightly to Twilight’s right side nearer to Celestia. Fluttershy mirrored her and sat closer to Luna. Pinkie Pie bounced into view and took a space next to Cadence, Rarity sat next to Twilight’s mother and inadvertently bowed to both of them, eliciting a chuckle from the father. Finally, Rainbow Dash hovered in and perched on a cloud just above and behind Twilight. She made sure not to inhibit anypony’s vision of the night sky as the stars came out.

“It’s almost here, I can feel it.” Twilight began. There was silence as everypony looked out for the first.

“There!” Luna called, her hoof following the meteor as it passed by.

“Ooh, another one!” Pinkie called as a second one shot into view. Each pony managed to call out to a meteor as they all began to rain across the world.

“Woah, that one was close to the planet’s surface.” Rainbow Dash said, rising to her hooves in anticipation. “Hey, you think one will land here?” she asked.

“We should be so lucky, Dash.” Twilight began. “We might find one of your space ponies colonising on it.” she mused. Rainbow Dash chuckled sheepishly as every pony began to laugh.

No sooner was it said, than a meteor broke off from the others and angled towards Equestria. Fluttershy was the first to call it out.

“Oh, look at that one. It’s coming this way.” she said in her timid voice, but she was heard none the less. Luna examined the trajectory of the meteor.

“Oh boy.” she said, drawing everypony’s attention.

“What is it, sister?” Celestia asked. Luna swallowed first before she answered.

“If I’m right, then given the trajectory of the meteor and the speed at which it’s travelling, we all have exactly ten seconds to move from this spot because it’s going to crash right here.” she said. Every pony screamed in both suspense and fear as they either took to the sky, ran or teleported to safety. Twilight remained behind, curious about the meteor. It didn’t flow like one would. It was spiralling. She erected a barrier around the observatory just in time. The object touched the barrier and it stretched inward, slowing the meteor down to a crawl.

The barrier popped like a bubble and a strange creature landed on the floor of the observatory.

“What in Equestria?” Twilight muttered to herself as she examined the creature. It was tall, bipedal and virtually hairless save its mane and a tail like that of a monkey’s It seemed to wear tattered and burned clothes beneath a strange armour plating that remained attached to the waist. It was a fragment, but probably enough to replicate.

“Twilight, what happened, why didn’t you…” Shining Armour burst through the door, only to see Twilight standing beside the strangest thing he’d ever seen in his life. He was followed shortly after by Celestia and Luna who saw only the creature.

“Sister, what is it?” Luna asked, creeping closer to look at it better. Celestia’s words hollowed the bones of every pony in hearing range.

“I don’t know.”

Chapter 2: Escape

Bardock awoke on a bed. It was soft compared to what he was used to, but he didn’t really care. He forced himself to sit up, ignoring the searing pain that rushed through his body. He was a Saiyan Warrior and he wouldn’t let his body stop him from doing what he wanted or needed to do, his pride wouldn’t allow it. As he growled low at the pain, he looked around the room he was in. It was primitive in design and there was next to no technology present inside. He spotted an entrance to another room which seemed whiter than anything he’d ever worn in his life.

He struggled to his feet, removing the covers over his body. It was then he noticed he was naked, no big deal. Bandages covered his torso, arms and legs; still nothing to care about. He walked around the room he was in, inspecting everything he could. He looked inside a strange wicker basket to find his old clothes, or what remained of them. To his disappointment, his bandanna wasn’t present, nor were his weighted wrist and ankle pads. He growled at that. All that remained was the underwear that was torn in various places. Next to useless in his mind. He walked into the next room and noticed a very primitive shower.

“Ugh, might as well take the opportunity.” he removed the bandages and stepped into the shower. He turned the knobs and felt chilling water. As he played around with the knobs, the water turned from cold to lukewarm, then to hot. It stopped at a temperature that was just right for him to enjoy. He then proceeded to wash himself.

It took him a minute to notice the strange bottles with text wrapped around them. He observed the lettering, but it was alien to him. He placed the bottle back and continued to just rinse his body clear of any dirt.

When he’d finished, he found a towel and dried himself off. As he left the shower, he spotted some new clothes. He lifted some of them and noticed the pants were similar to what he used to wear. He threw them on and found they breathed to allow flexibility to his legs. The torso was similar in shape to his armour, but it was just clothing like his pants, a black material that breathed.

“Huh. Where am I?” he asked himself as he looked around once more. There was a sound, like knocking on the floor. He turned around to find a door opening. A strange equine creature emerged with strange colours and a bowl of fruit and bread. She had a horn sticking out of her head and large round eyes.

Bardock stood where he was, just staring at the horned equine as she entered, closing the door behind her and locking it. She had a lavender coat with a dark purple mane and tail. A pink streak lined up on one side of her mane, adding more colour to her features. There was a strange mark on her flank. Noticing this, Bardock brought his gaze back to the equine’s eyes. She’d stopped and stared at him, the bowl now on the floor in front of him. He sat down, crossing his legs. He reached over to one of the apples and took it. In three large bites, it was gone, core and all. The equine just sat and watched him as he grabbed another fruit and consumed it just as quickly. She seemed surprised when the entire contents was gone within a minute.

Bardock and his guest just sat there, staring at each other. It felt like a staring contest mixed with the silent game. Unfortunately for Bardock, he was an impatient person. He growled at her and spoke up.

“Alright, what do you want?!” he demanded. The lavender equine just rose to her hooves and walked out the door without a word. Bardock watched her leave, and then kicked the bowl across the room. It got stuck in the wall opposite him. The strength of the walls surrounding him made him realise something.

Twilight closed the door behind her. Her friends were waiting impatiently on the other side.

“Well? What happened?” Rainbow Dash asked, pulling the unicorn away from the door. Twilight cleared her throat and sighed.

“Well, he speaks our language. He asked me what I wanted. Apparently he has a bigger appetite than Pinkie. The food was gone in a minute. I imagine it would have taken less time, but he was clearly giving me time to take something for myself.”

Pinkie grinned at Twilight and wrapped a hoof around her. “Nonsense, Twilight, nopony has a bigger appetite than I do.” she said. Twilight felt a slight squeezing going on, as if to indicate Pinkie was annoyed at the prospect.

“Well you can debate that with him in a contest.” she replied, escaping Pinkie’s grip. Celestia and Luna both entered the walkway.

“What’s your opinion of him?” Celestia asked.

Twilight shook her head. “It’s difficult to say. He seemed harmless enough at first, but if that were the case, he wouldn’t have survived entry into our world’s atmosphere. He’s obviously strong, but I can’t tell just how strong. And I can’t really say much about his personality. He’s short tempered to say the least.”

Before anything else could be said, a strange sound resonated throughout the room the creature was in. Light shone through the cracks in the doorway. There was an explosion from behind the door, smoke and dust seeping through the cracks soon afterwards.

“Oh dear Celestia!” Twilight exclaimed as she forced the door open. Every pony stepped through and gazed upon the large hole in the wall.

“How in Equestria did he do that?!” Rainbow Dash asked.

Bardock ran through the streets of this strange world. The gravity was so light here he had to be careful not to accidentally jump into the air with every step he took. He had planned on not being seen by any of these equine creatures, but subtlety was not a redeeming feat for him. The best he’d done was hiding under the bodies of his dead teammates, letting Dodoria believe he’d killed him. He growled at the memory, but stopped running as he began to wonder; how did he get here?

It was impossible for him to even be alive. He didn’t doubt Frieza’s power; if he could destroy a planet, why not a Saiyan? He’d killed Saiyans before.

The train of thought was lost to him as he heard the armoured hoofsteps of his pursuers. With a grunt, he pushed onward. He wished he had his headband at least, but the clothing provided would have to suffice. While he had no doubt he could destroy these worthless creatures easily enough, he had no intention of doing anything else but returning to his homeworld and confronting Frieza once more. With the ability to grow stronger every time he was close to death, he believed he might be strong enough to actually defeat him.

As the Saiyan turned another corner, he ran right into one of the guards who pointed his spear at him.

“Ah, to hell with this.” he growled, extending his hand in front of the spear. The guard looked confused as he went to gently touch Bardock’s hand with the tip of the spear, only to receive a bright light and searing pain as the world around him exploded and vanished in a white light. It took him a second to realise it was him that was dying.

Bardock smiled as he looked at what remained of the guard: nothing. He knew that blast would have attracted the others’ attention. He abandoned his stealthy escape and took to the air.

Back at the castle, Princess Celestia and the Elements of Harmony could see the strange creature hovering in the air. How he was able to do it without wings baffled them all. As the creature flew away, Rainbow Dash shot after him, leaving her rainbow trail behind. Celestia and the others remained where they were, confident in Dash’s ability to capture and subdue the enemy.

Rainbow Dash caught up to Bardock easily. The Saiyan heard her wings flapping and looked behind him. He angled around so he could face her directly.

“Not bad, girl. Not many can keep up with a Saiyan.” he said. Dash smiled.

“I’m the fastest Pegasus in Equestria, nopony can keep up with my speed.” she boasted. Bardock smiled cockily at her.

“We’ll see about that.” he then proceeded to increase his speed to a point Rainbow Dash had difficulty keeping up. The Saiyan and Pegasus quickly began to turn the pursuit into a race as they were neck and neck with each other. Dash was on the verge of a Sonic Rainboom.

“Watch this!” she called over the wind. Bardock took interest as he saw her begin to break the sound barrier with a multitude of colours in front of her. She was close to doing it when she noticed something weird. Bardock was doing something similar. Wisps of white fire began to appear around him and as Dash went into the Sonic rainboom, Bardock burst into flames and kept up with her.

“You’re good kid, but my Saiyan pride won’t allow me to be defeated unless it’s in battle." Bardock straightened his body and increased his speed and energy output, managing to get a whole head ahead of Rainbow Dash who struggled to go faster than she already was. But she was at her limit and Bardock was beginning to move even further ahead. She noticed that unlike herself, This ‘Saiyan’ wasn’t breaking a sweat as he flew. Whatever he was doing, it was akin to a Unicorn’s magic.

“How can you fly without wings!” Dash called out to him. Bardock slowed down and returned to beside her.

“The same way I can do this,” Rainbow Dash stopped her flight as Bardock extended his hand out to her and a ball of light emerged from within his palm. Her instincts told her that the light was dangerous. Sadly, Bardock stopped next to her as well and continued to charge his energy wave.

“Crap crap crap crap!!!” Dash cried as she tried to fly downward, but Bardock appeared out of nowhere right in front of her.

“I won’t kill you unless you get in my way.” he warned. Rainbow Dash nodded. If she could come away from this alive, at least she’d get another chance to chase him down, and perhaps race him again.

The last thought disturbed her. Why would she want to race him again? He was clearly a threat to Equestria and her duty and loyalty to her kind should have taken precedence over wanting to race someone faster than herself.

Bardock lowered his hand and the energy vanished as quickly as it had appeared. He then disappeared in a flash, leaving Rainbow Dash searching for any sign of the Saiyan. With no leads, Dash flew as fast as she could back to Canterlot castle.

Bardock looked up at the sky, watching the rainbow shoot past. He hid behind a tree whenever he suspected she was looking his way. When she was out of sight, he looked around. The trees were strange and disfigured compared to the other forest trees he noticed on the way over. The trees he stood amongst now were wilder and older than any others.

It didn’t matter to him either way. The inhabitants of this world were no match for the likes of him. He walked further into the forest, listening to the silence that seemed to gather around him as he progressed. It didn’t take him long to discover a cave where he could rest and recover a bit longer. He still felt pain from Frieza’s Supernova. As he made his way toward the cave, however, he was stopped by five heads that slithered out and connected to a single body.

“Hydra, eh? Alright. I could do with something to let my frustration out on.” Bardock clenched his fists and smiled, getting into his fighting position. The middle head went for a simple strike, hoping to swallow him whole, but Bardock saw this coming. He grabbed the Hydra’s jaw with his hands and held it open, dragging a pair of grooves in the ground as he was forced back. Another head went to attack Bardock from the side. The Saiyan huffed at its attempt and forced the head he held to intercept the second attack. The second head bit the first and pain was felt throughout the hydra. In it’s moment of disarray, Bardock fired an energy wave at the creature, taking out two of its heads. The hydra paused for a moment and began to grow two more heads.

“So the rumours are true about you guys. Alright, let’s see how you handle this!” Bardock ran straight at the creature, jumping into the air between their necks. The heads of the Hydra grew confused as they searched for their attacker. The Saiyan landed on the Hydra’s back and grinned. He lifted his hand and threw it down in the creature’s spine, penetrating its scales and surface. The Hydra screamed in agony as Bardock took a hold of the spine that joined the creatures together and crushed in in his grip. The monster lost all feeling into its body and crashed to the ground, unable to move. The heads were still active and writhing around in pain.

“Heh, guess you weren’t all that tough after all.” he jumped off the creature’s back and grabbed it by the tail. With abnormal force, he began to swing the hydra around, starting out slowly, then increasing in speed. The Hydra screamed, likely for mercy, but Bardock released the Hydra and it went flying into the air. As it spun around out of range, He charged the same energy attack as what he’d fired at Frieza and threw it after the creature. A massive explosion occurred and the Hydra was nothing but a memory, soon to be forgotten. Bardock then went into the cave and took a seat somewhere near the back. He leaned against the wall and went to sleep. He would begin training his body again in the morning.

Author's Note

I know I said I'd only be focusing on the Darkness series, The Pony Piper and Next Generation, but someone desperately wanted this story updated. So here it is.

Chapter 3: Stronger

The image of cities burning and the high pitched cackle of a familiar entity entered Bardock’s mind and he awoke from his deep slumber. He was sweating from head to toe in the nightmare as he realised the cities he saw were those of this world. He shook his head clear of the afterimage and rose to his feet.

“Frieza…” he growled, clenching his fist. The memory of Vegeta’s destruction was still fresh in his mind and his hatred for the tyrant ran deeper than the blood in his body. He looked out to the mouth of the cave. The morning had arisen quickly compared to what he was accustomed to. Nevertheless, the nightmare made sure he was fully awake. He walked out of the cave and flew a few feet above the forest in search of a water source. He didn’t have to search far. Perhaps a mile off, he came across a lake that seemed to be abundant in aquatic life.

“Huh, I guess I could eat those; though what I’ll have tomorrow is a problem.” he descended upon the lake and rested just on the waterline, seemingly standing on the surface. He unravelled his tail from around his waist and dipped it into the water. He raised it up and down slightly. “Come on, you little…” he began to grow impatient. He suddenly felt the water shift around him and he jerked his tail out of the water, which was followed by a decently sized fish. He punched the amphibian hard in the side and the creature went stiff, falling back into the water and rising to the surface. With a satisfied huff, he grabbed the fish and flew over to the edge of the lake.

Having gathered some wood, he ignited it with his energy and threw the fish over the fire, letting it cook. He took a seat next to the fire on a fallen tree and waited patiently for it to finish. While doing so, he reflected on his nightmare. Had it been just that, a nightmare? Or was it another vision? Either way, it drove Bardock to grow stronger. He had a very good idea of the difference between his power, and Frieza’s. His ultimate attack was absorbed and added to his enemy’s; and with such ease. Frieza had been on a whole other scale to his minions, even Zarbon and Dodoria, his right hand men were just insects of the highest calibre compared to him. Bardock growled again; his team, his friends had all died at the hands of someone who didn’t even compare to Frieza on any level.

The Saiyan was brought out of his state of mind when the fish began to smell cooked. He took a bite of the animal, ignoring the scales. It was different, but he liked it all the same. It was then that he noticed a creature of the strangest make. A wolf made of wood. Stopping from his breakfast to look at the timberwolf, Bardock noticed that eyes were surrounding him, much like the eyes on the wolf in his view.

“Pack hunters, huh?” he asked, putting the fish down and standing to his feet. “Come on then. I need the exercise.” he said, getting into a fighting stance. Every wolf rushed him from every angle other than the lake itself. He cracked a smile and dove out over the water, hovering above. The wolves made no attempt to swim to him, but began to surround the fish instead.

“Huh, waste of time and energy.” he muttered. Using a single energy ball, he hurled it at the wolves and the entire land went up into oblivion. Water from the lake began to fill the crater that was left behind and Bardock growled.

“I won’t find any challenging fighters here. Perhaps I should return to civilisation and see how long I can last against them.” he thought aloud, taking to the skies. He stopped high above the clouds and looked around.

“Alright. Where can I get some good practise in?” He calmed his senses and just looked around. It wasn’t until he was completely calm that he felt something on the border of his mind.

“What’s this? Power? I can sense power? How interesting. I never would have thought that possible. This could come in handy without a scouter.” he said, turning towards the source of the power. He smiled as the feeling turned opposite to him and rested in front of his perception.

“East it is.” He then forced his energy to flow around him and he was off quicker than a flash toward what he would soon find out was Dragon Territory.

“He’s not an Ancient, no matter how much he looks like one. That tail of his makes him something else entirely.” Princess Celestia muttered to herself, drowning her friends out of her thoughts.

“Wait, he had a tail?” Applejack asked, looking to Rainbow Dash who shrugged, clearly not having noticed it.

“Yes, he had it wrapped around his… waist?” Twilight tested the word. She seemed satisfied with it and let it stand.

“Ah still can’t believe he beat Rainbow Dash. And he didn’t have any wings to boot.” Applejack chuckled nervously as she watched Dash deflate at the subject. “Sorry.” she added.

“What I want to know is what he plans on doing, and what actions we should take regarding him.” Celestia said, resting on her haunches.

“Well he didn’t kill anypony except out of self-defence. Perhaps he’s generally peaceful?” Fluttershy suggested.

“No, one of the guards survived but was very shaken up. We managed to get some information out of him and it seemed as though he just decided to avoid stealth and go on the offensive.” Shining Armour had entered the room in time to hear Fluttershy’s hypothesis. He hugged his younger sister and saluted Celestia.

“So he was being patient with us?” she asked, skipping the formalities. Shining nodded.

“I believe so.” The princess made a frustrated sigh and turned to Twilight for answers or at the very least, suggestions.

“Perhaps an offering would be in order. If we can create a truce between Equestria and this strange creature, we may be able to aid each other. Did he have anything on him that seemed important to him?” The ponies all began thinking about what he looked like when he emerged from the stars.

“There was that armour fragment we found above his tail. Perhaps Rarity could make more of it.” Twilight suggested. Rarity beamed at the prospect of such a challenge.

“Ooh, I would love to do so. I may even be able to make some for the guards. It’s as hard as steel, but it also breathes and stretches like nothing I’ve ever seen before.” she stretched her smile from cheek to cheek as she imagined the business prospects of such clothing.

“There was also that red cloth around his head. And those heavy red things around his arms and legs.” Pinkie interjected.

“Weighted clothing of that size and magnitude would be difficult to make… But not for me, I have an idea.”

Bardock landed on a mountain peak overlooking the main territory of the dragons. Hundreds had gathered in one place and were nesting in a large crater, seemingly acting like one large family. The Saiyan had seen it in many species, but these dragons seemed more… sophisticated.

“Well, not going to get any training waiting for them to spot me.” he said, extending his hand. With his fingers clenched, save one, a small ball of energy began to appear on the tip of his finger and shot out to the centre of the crater.

Bardock smiled when a small explosion no larger than a small house erupted, attracting the attention of the dragons. What made him happy was the fact that they didn’t seem physically hurt by the blast. They’d prove to be a challenge yet, especially in numbers.

“Come on!” he goaded them. Nearly every dragon rose to challenge him, their maws opened wide. He met them half way and began the battle. His foot collided with one dragon’s head and knocked it off it’s trajectory. He then punched another and broke its nose, causing it to fall back a while to inspect the damage. One dragon was grabbed from behind by the Saiyan and suffocated as he used both his arms like a vice around the creature’s neck. That dragon fell to the ground, leaving the others to fight instead. Bardock began laughing as he found he was too fast for them. But he enjoyed himself as occasionally; one would get its teeth into him and take a chunk out of his body. He would then turn of that dragon and knock him away while fending off the rest of them.

“Alright, time to die!” he said to them. He flew high above them, leaving them to scramble around amongst themselves to find him. Using the same attack he’d tried to kill Frieza with, he hurled it at the cluster of dragons and watched as they exploded into pieces and a red cloud was all that remained, falling towards the ground very slowly.

“Not bad. Surviving that might make me a little stronger. But I need someone more powerful to fight, someone who can keep up with me.” His thoughts turned to the purple equine he’d met in that room shortly before escaping and he received a short vision from the image.

He could see the equine looking at him with her head tilted to one side and a smile on her face. They were in some sort of wooden home with books stacked neatly on every wall.

She giggled. “Oh, Bardock!”

Then his vision faded and he was left hovering in a stupor. He looked at his hand and clenched his fist. While he didn’t want to return to such shamefully weak creatures, it interested him that out of all the equines he’d seen, that purple one as well as the blue one didn’t fear him like the others.

“I should go back there anyway, maybe correct that little problem. Besides, I want another race.” he said, speeding off back to where he’d come from.

The trip was short and his small wounds irritated him, but did nothing else. He was certain he could escape should the need arise. Perhaps they would heal him again. For some reason, he imagined every single equine looking in some way or other like the two that had stuck in his mind. But he remembered the guards had been white, brown or even dark grey. He stopped just short of the edge of the city and proceeded at a slower speed to the castle, resting on the spire of the tallest tower. If he was going to escape again, he would need to get the layout of the streets. Unless of course he just decided to blow everything up, which would have been the easier choice, but something about that idea unsettled him. Perhaps it was because he’d done such a thing under the employ of Frieza. It didn’t matter. He would destroy the city if he had to.

Having gotten good mental image of the streets and alleys, he believed he would easily be able to sneak away if he required. He then proceeded to land before two guards who were guarding the front gates. Bardock had confidence in his eyes and it was shown through his crossed arms.

“Take me to your leader or some shit like that.” he said to the gurds who looked at each other for clarification before pointing their spears at him.

“Come with us, then.” one of the said. Without uncrossing his arms, bardock walked forward, the doors to the palace being opened for him. Several more guards joined the two and ‘escorted’ the Saiyan to the Princesses. Bardock revealed no annoyance or unease as more spears were pointed at him. This alone unnerved the guards. Bardock could feel an energy emanating from beyond two large golden doors. No, not a single energy, eight different ones, one standing out more than the others. It was the third strongest power level, but something about it spoke raw potential, which struck a familiar cord with Bardock. He liked raw potential; he had it too, as did his team which was why Frieza had them killed. As the doors opened, he smiled upon entering, seeing the shocked expressions on all the equines’ faces.

Author's Note

Many of you asked to bring back Bardock's visions, and I thought why not. Then I remembered that the Changelings were supposed to be the antagonists in this story, but what's a Saiyan story without someone much stronger on the horizon?

Chapter 4: Return

Celestia watched as the alien stood before her and her closest friends and sister. He seemed confident in her eyes and with crossed arms, he showed it. She wondered what was playing through his head at that moment, what his plan was. Surrounded by guards, not to mention the Elements of Harmony and the Princesses themselves, he should have had next to no chance, but he was still confident. Granted, he didn’t know the extent of Equestria’s might, but numbers alone should have overwhelmed him, and with the wounds he’d mysteriously sustained… he was planning something.

“Welcome back.” Celestia said, building up a façade of fearlessness that mirrored his own. The alien registered her welcome and nodded.

“Let’s get one thing straight; I’m not here because I prefer you weaklings over the wildlife in that forrest. Actually they put up a better fight, so did the dragons.” Bardock wiped his chin free of any dirt that may have gathered with his thumb and it made every pony there gasp. They figured out he’d fought against at least one dragon and defeated it.

“Then why are you here? You wasted such effort to get away from us before. What made you come back?” Luna asked.

Bardock shrugged. “Who knows?” the answer didn’t settle well with either princess, but Twilight kept searching for something. She’d unconsciously begun leaning closer toward him in order to get a closer look at the creature that had so easily bested the royal guard and even killed one.

Bardock noticed the purple mare’s curiosity and met her eyes with his own. She seemed to freeze under his gaze. “Perhaps it’s this one here. The first amongst you to actually face me. And maybe it’s that blue one with the wings over there. The only one that seems to share my competitiveness. Suppose I’m curious about these two. What would you do?”

Celestia and Luna looked at each other with puzzled conflict. While Twilight and Rainbow Dash would both undoubtedly try and learn from this creature and impart what they knew themselves, the ever-present danger of his sheer strength remained and doing so would endanger the two mares. Celestia was not about to let her favourite student endanger herself to such a degree. Nightmare Moon, Discord, King Sombra, all the enemies she had faced so far were known to Celestia and she knew Twilight and her friends could handle them, but this creature, completely strange and different in every way was an unknown variable.

“Would you be willing to sign a contract of peace between our two species? We’d rather not go to war.” Celestia interjected.

Bardock chuckled at the prospect, finding an ironic sense of amusement. Given the strength of these beings, it would have hardly been a war, also as far as he knew, he was the last of his kind, save his son Kakarot, but there was no way to reach him.

“Sure, why not? So long as that peace treaty wouldn’t include the other species on the planet. As a warrior, I’d rather not give up fighting, else I might just break that treaty in order to have a good war.” he smirked at the white mare who seemed less that amused at his condition for peace.

“Very well. I’ll have the contract drawn up later today… in the meantime…” Celestia looked to Twilight and Rainbow Dash. “The two ponies you seem to take interest in will… show you around Canterlot and introduce you to its populace.” Bardock huffed and turned to leave when he heard the voice of the purple ‘pony’.

“Wait, we made you some peace offerings.” she called. Though Bardock wasn’t one for gift giving or even receiving them, he was curious as to what they could possibly make with stubby hooves. He stopped walking away, guard-free since the mention of peace between species calmed them down. He turned to her and raised a brow.

“Really? This should be interesting.” he said. He then noticed a white mare with a curly purple mane carrying a table on wheels. It had a drape over it and Bardock could tell something was under it. Genuinely interested, he waited for the white mare to unveil their work. When she did. Bardock was shocked to say the least. Though he hid his surprise, he could hardly believe all his old clothes were resting on the trolley before him.

“You fixed these? I’d have thought it impossible.” he said. lifting the main article, his Elite Battle armour. The thigh guards rested at either side of the chest piece.

“Not fixed, Replicated. Rarity here managed to copy the material of what remained of your armour and construct a whole new set. The design itself was improvised. Though you mistook it for the original thing, so she must have hit the nail on the head with its design.” The purple mare replied, walking up beside him. Bardock placed the armour back down and picked up the headband.

“I suppose you copied this too?” he asked. The mare shook her head.

“Actually, I added to that one. There wasn’t much of it left so I just restored it. It was a very interesting shade of red actually.” Rarity chimed in. Bardock huffed with what appeared to be amusement.

“It used to be white.” He then proceeded to tie the headband around his head and adjusted it to his liking. He looked up and ahead of him, his face seeming more serious than before.

“I remember taking this off my friend after he died.” he said, removing his tank top. He tightened his tail around his waist and proceeded to don the armour. When he was comfortable with the fit, he unravelled his tail and wrapped it around the armour as well. He then pulled his boots on and proceeded with the weighted wrist and ankle pads.

“I’m particularly proud of the weighted clothes. They were even more difficult to create than your armour, for some reason. You may have noticed, but I doubled the weight on each pad without adding size to them.” Rarity commented, gushing as she saw her work combined together on him. Bardock lifted one arm and clenched his fist.

“Yeah, I can definitely feel it. I’m just glad you didn’t decide to put weight into my headband.” he said. Rarity giggled and covered her mouth with her hoof.

“No, there would have been a reason that garment wasn’t weighted. But I must ask. Would you consent to allowing me to make armour like yours for the Royal Guard here? It would boost my business higher than anypony else’s. I just thought I should ask your permission.” the mare asked. Bardock ignored the reason as to why she wanted the design and shrugged.

“I guess. It’s not as if I own the rights to the armour. My people did deal with the creators of it, so unless you’re planning on asking a completely different species from my own, it’s all yours.” he replied. Rarity seemed to squee on the inside as she fainted and fell back into Applejack’s hooves.

“There she goes again. Really chafes my hide when she does this.” she muttered, dragging the pony away.

Rainbow Dash took the opportunity to challenge Bardock.

“Alright pink skin, think you can beat me in a race with those weights slowing you down?” Bardock looked at the rainbow maned Pegasus and smirked at her.

“Maybe you’ll have a chance this time.” he retorted. Twilight cleared her throat and caught the attention of both parties.

“Rainbow Dash! Now is not the time. There’s so much we need to learn about this creature. Like his name and what he is.” she interjected.

“Well aren’t you a buzzkill?” Bardock asked, eliciting a hysterical laugh from the one known as Rainbow Dash. Twilight exchanged a dark stare at the Saiyan and proceeded as though he’d said nothing.

“This laughing stock behind me is Rainbow Dash.” Twilight began. Rainbow Dash stopped laughing and addressed the purple mare.

“Hey!” she argued.

“And My name is Twilight Sparkle. She’s a Pegasus and I’m a Unicorn. What’s your name and what are you?” she asked, pointing a hoof to Bardock.

“My name’s Bardock… and I’m a Saiyan.” he replied. Rainbow Dash scrunched her nose.

“Bardock? That’s a weird name.” she said. Bardock huffed.

“Oh, and Rainbow Dash doesn’t make you sound like a raging dyke?”

“Hey!”

“And no offense, Twilight, but your name sounds like the title to a bad series of stories.” Twilight pursed her lips at the comment.

“Hah, shouldn’t surprise her. She’s a Librarian and she reads all sorts of bad books.” Dash said.

“And unless you want the latest issue of ‘Daring Do’, keep talking, Rainbow.” The cyan Pegasus shut up immediately. Bardock huffed once more and proceeded to walk out the doorway, leaving the ever silent princesses to their uncertainties.

“So, Bardock, what’s a Saiyan exactly?” Twilight asked, trotting alongside the tall man. Bardock scratched the back of his head.

“We’re a warrior race who value strength over anything else. We worked as planet traders. Saiyans like me were sent to other worlds, where we would reduce the surface to slag and then sell it.” Twilight shied away at the prospect, but picked up on something she felt was important.

“I noticed you said that you worked as planet traders, as opposed to still working as such. What happened?” she asked.

“Who knows. I’m here now, not there.” he replied. Twilight could tell he was avoiding the subject to a degree, but given the fresh nature of the relationship between himself and Equestria, she was not about to press him for information. Rainbow Dash however, did not see things so clearly.

“So what brought you here?” she asked. Bardock stopped walking and turned to her. He had a somewhat pained expression planted on his face.

“I’m not the kind of guy to really care about why things happen or how they happen. I just make things happen, specifically; I fight.” he then turned back around and took to the skies, leaving a cloud of dust behind.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash coughed amongst each other and looked at the fading figure.

“I guess the tour’s over.” said Twilight.

Chapter 5: Foresight

He saw it again. Frieza, laughing like the demon he was over the destruction that paved the world of the ponies. While he cared little for the weakling creatures, the thought of Frieza returning both frightened and angered him. That spiny little bastard, sitting smugly in his hover chair. It was quickly becoming clear to Bardock that he should either find something on this world to make him stronger, or suffer a more permanent fate than before, like his home world.

...Twilight giggled at him. "Oh, Bardock."...

That vision too. Twilight, the unicorn. What was her role in all this? Stupid visions. He could never truly hope to comprehend the full meaning of each vision. Frieza was deffinitely coming, that much he knew. But when? Where would he land? Then there was Twilight. Were they friends? Couldn't possibly me something more. While appearance meant little to him, strength was important. If he couldn't defeat Frieza, then perhaps their son could...

Bardock shook his head of such a thought. He stood up, balancing himself so he didn't trip over the edge of the castle tower's roof. Granted, he could fly, but it would be embarrassing should he actually lose balance. He took to the skies regardless and looked around for anything worth his time. With his arms crossed, he descended upon Twilight who seemed to be concerned about something.

"Bardock, there you are. I've been looking everywhere for you. Thank Celestia you're safe." the purple pony said. Bardock raised a brow at this. Why wouldn't he be safe? He'd literally blown the toughest this world had to offer to bits. Very little would be able to endanger him. Before he went to say anything, he noticed something about each individual pony that had him... mildly curious.

"I've been meaning to ask about those markings on your bodies. What purpose do they serve?" he asked, pointing a finger to Twilight's flank. She followed the trail and smiled, glad to inform him of some general knowledge relating to Equestria.

"These are what we call cutie marks. They're magically imprinted to our bodies the moment we discover our unique natural talents." she began. "My brother, Shining Armour was the Captain of the Royal guard until recently. His cutie mark resembled a blue shield with four stars, one large one on the shield, and three smaller ones over it. It symbolised his devotion to the throne and its protection." she explained.

"Go on." Bardock said, hoping she would explain her own mark to him.

"Some cutie marks can be blatantly obvious, while others can be rather... befuddling. Take Rarity and Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash's cutie mark is relatively straight forward. A cloud with a chromatic lightning bolt means she was born to be the fastest pegasus in Equestria, she follows that destiny by having joined the Wonderbolt Academy, a team of ponies devoted to speed and teamwork." she explained. Bardock nodded. "Then you have Rarity. Although she's a fashion designer, her cutie mark consists of three blue diamonds. This is because of her insane ability to detect gems and the like through magic, like a metal-detector. She then uses these gems in her fashion designs."

"I see. And what about yourself?" Bardock asked.

"Well, I am a student of magic, which happens to be my special talent. As such, learning all I can about the different forms of magic allows me to discover everything from this world to the stars above. I'm a scientist, astronomer, librarian and sorceress." she replied.

"So you'd be rather good at this magic?" Bardock asked.

"The best since the legendary mage, Starswirl the Bearded. Or so they say." she replied, blushing at the end. So that's why she was in his visions. It wasn't through future attraction, but because he would come to respect her as the strongest of her kind, however weak she still was compared to him. That was his prediction at least.

"Then being as knowledgeable as you are about this world, what exactly are the strongest creatures around?" he asked.

"It's actually a bit of a tie between ponies and dragons. Physically, dragons are the superior, but ponies hold their own when it comes to magic, or power as you'd call it." she replied.

"So, you're more powerful than the dragons?" he asked, a hint of excitement tackling his tone." Twilight nodded. "Show me."

In Canterlot city square, a ring of ponies left room for the two beings ready to combat each other. One combatant was familiar to them, Princess Celestia's personal student, Twilight Sparkle. The other was spoken of in recent rumours, the Saiyan warrior, Bardock. Twilight's friends had gathered in the ring behind her. Their concern was evident in the way they looked between their friend and Bardock.

"Twi, are you sure you should be doin' this?" Applejack asked, leaning forward a little.

"He wants to test my abilities as a mage. This could be my chance to impress him and get on better terms with him. That would be beneficial for us all." she replied.

"So long as you're sure, darling." Rarity said, doubt coating her voice.

Bardock just stood where he was, one arm pulling at the other in a stretching motion before mirroring the motion with the other arm. He then crossed both arms and cracked his neck to either side. What he wouldn't give for some of the healing liquid from a medi-chamber. He was ready to go.

"Give me your best shot, kid!" Bardock dared her, hoping to goad her into doing exactly what he said. If only he had his scouter, then he'd be able to tell how strong she was right off the bat.

Twilight took his bait and smiled. She'd learned that her magic was something to be proud of, and she planned on demonstrating it to the naive Saiyan. "Okay, here we go!" she replied. Twilight knew her magic was strongest when her emotions took over. So that's what she did, keeping the subconscious thought to abstain from harming the innocent watchers in her demonstration.

Bardock felt it. The slight tingling directly ahead. What was it? It was familiar, a feeling he got whenever he increased his power. Was this her power he was sensing? Twilight's body began to turn from Lavender to cream, and her mane and tail both waved slightly before bursting into flame.

[..."You ruthless...Heartless...Bastard!!!" Goku cried as the recent death of Krillin played over and over again in his mind. Frieza himself just laughed.

"I think the brat should go next." the tyrant said. Without warning the planet around them began to shake and rattle. Bits of the ground began to break away from the collective and rise around Goku.

"You're going... to pay... for that!!!" Lightning struck fairly close to the angry Saiyan, turning part of him into a silhouette. His hair began to spike like his power level, veins showing clearly throughout his entire body.

"HaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!" The Saiyan's hair turned gold and his eyes flashed green with power. He'd done it, he'd become the warrior of legend. Goku, Bardock's son had become the Legendary Super Saiyan...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAkSg8TzDTs)

Bardock shook his head free of the image, pride still sticking to him as he focused on his own battle/demonstration. He was just in time to see a fairly large ball of magical energy flying towards him. He threw his hand forward, some energy of his own fighting against the so called magic. To his surprise, Déjà vu struck him as his own energy was absorbed into twilight's. Irrational fear got the best of him and he hurled his most powerful attack at it with a defiant yell. To his relief, Twilight's magic dissipated and Bardock's attack was left flying into the air. It exploded a fair way away, leaving no-one harmed.

The incident left Bardock rattled. In his mind, he blamed the visions for distracting him and making him panic, but he knew in his heart that he was deftly afraid of that particular outcome.