> Saiyan Of The Sun > by IndigoStorm27 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue, Friezas Fear, Planet Vegetas End! A Last-Minute Escape, A Child's Fate Unkown! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prologue, Friezas Fear, Planet Vegetas End! A Last-Minute Escape, A Child's Fate Unkown! Planet Vegeta, Age 737 Planet Vegetas Lower Living District. A lone saiyan male rushed through the streets of the living district, pushing other saiyans out of his way, in an attempt to reach his mate Mizuna and his son Bage, when he returned from his most recent mission off planet. However, this will not be a happy reunion, as the saiyan, whose name was Totoma, had just received dire news. He was told by his training partner, Bardock, that the tyrannical emperor Lord Frieza was planning to destroy their planet and its inhabitants. He burst through the door to his abode, sweat beading on his forehead, to the shock of his mate, who was just greeting their son. "Totoma, what has gotten into you?! You almost made me blast you!" Mizuna snapped at her mate, annoyed at the sudden arrival. Totoma disregarded this, however, and merely grabbed Mizuna's shoulders in a panic. "Mizuna listen to me, we have to get Bage off the planet, now!" Totoma shouted, grabbing his spare scouter and handing it to his son, who stared at his father in confusion. "What? But I just got back on the planet. Lord Frieza ordered all saiyans-" Bage was cut off by his mother, who merely regarded Totoma with a look of indigence. "Why? What could be so important, that we have to send our son off planet after he just got back?" Mizuna questioned, clearly against this sudden behavior from her mate. "Look, I only just found out myself, OK?! I just met Bardock a few minutes ago, and he told me that Frieza had him and his squad killed! He only survived by hiding under their corpses, and he tried to warn everyone that Frieza was going to destroy the planet, but they just laughed when he told them! He warned me that we should head off-world, and I intend to listen if only to get Bage off the planet," Totoma explained hurriedly. Mizuna stared in shock, coming to terms with the information she had just been given. Meanwhile, Totoma started to gather supplies for his son. Mizuna finally snapped back to reality, grabbing Totomas arm, and pulling him to face her. "DESTROY PLANET VEGETA?! HAVE YOU LOST IT?! YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE PROOF THAT FRIEZA WANTS TO DESTROY THE PLANET!" Mizuna shouts at the top of her lungs, tears welling up in her eyes. Totoma couldn't meet those amber eyes, only grimacing as the weight of the information came back on him again in full force. Bage could only stare in worried confusion, as his parents stood there, one being forced to bear the severity of the situation, and the other unable to cope with it. Mizuna finally moved, rushing over to Bage and embracing him, tears flowing down her cheeks. Bage flushed since he wasn't used to such blatant acts of affection from his mother. "Mom, cut it out. This is weird," Bage muttered, trying to wiggle out of his mother's embrace. It was a fruitless effort though, as his mother squeezed all the tighter. "Bage, listen to me. If your father is right about this, then a lot will be resting on YOUR shoulders, alright? Don't forget, you are a proud saiyan warrior, and to hell with anyone who would stand in your way," Mizuna said, voice wavering as she held back tears. Totoma finished gathering the small amount of supplies he felt were necessary, and he turned to his son, pulling him into a one-armed embrace. "Bage, I'm not as good at affection as your mother is, but just know that I'm proud of you son. You'll do great things, I'm sure of it. Before you go, I want you to have my spare scouter. It's one of the latest models a low-class saiyan can get their hands on. Treat it well. Now, come on," Totoma gestured for both of them to follow, as he headed out to the pod dock. Planet Vegeta was a bustling hub of activity, as more saiyans had arrived in the past few minutes. Totoma had a harder time pushing through the crowd than he did before, and he could see Frieza's ship entering the lower atmosphere. It was almost time. The pod deck was unguarded, which wasn't unusual given the circumstances. Totoma activated a pod and punched in a random set of coordinates, that would take his son far away from the planet and its inevitable fate. Bage could only stare in confusion, and a small amount of trepidation as he had recognized the ship in the sky as Friezas. "Father, what's going on? Why would Lord Frieza want to destroy the planet anyway?" Bage questioned his father, desperately trying to make sense of the situation. Totoma didn't answer his son's queries, only continued to set up the pod, before grabbing it and heading out. "Totoma, is this really happening? Is Frieza actually going to destroy the planet? Haven't we served him loyally? Why is he doing this?" Mizuna asked, fear now evident on her face. Totoma looked towards her, unsure of how to explain. He decided on a straightforward explanation. "He's afraid of the Super saiyan. He thinks that one day, we'll rise up and overthrow him with the might of the super saiyan," He explained, setting the pod down on the ground on the outskirts of the living district. It was far enough out that no one would notice and perfect for them to launch the pod without the Frieza force noticing. "Get in Bage. I'll explain what's going to happen. I've melted the transmitter in that scouter, so they can't hear us," Totoma directed his son. Bage climbed into the pod, still holding the scouter his father had given him. He looked to his mother, hoping for her to say that this wasn't true, their planet wasn't going to be destroyed. Unfortunately, he never got that, as Mizuna rounded on Totoma. "You mean this is all over some silly legend?! Frieza is wiping us out over some STUPID LEGEND?! It's just some fairy tale told to young saiyan children, to give them something to strive for!" Mizuna shouted, in disbelief that the almighty Frieza was frightened by a campfire tale. Totoma didn't answer her, instead handing the bag of supplies to Bage. "Son, if this ends up being a false alarm, I'll come to find you alright? But if this is happening, and Frieza goes through with this, then there's one thing I want you to know. You will be one of the last remaining saiyans, and as such you should never stop fighting until you're strong enough to kill that bastard one day. I know you'll do great things, and whatever happens, just know I'll always be proud of you," Totoma said as the pod closed and began its take-off sequence. Bage got one last look at his parents before the pod blasted off, shooting into the upper atmosphere. As he left Planet Vegeta's orbit, he saw a massive ball of energy hanging over Frieza's ship, before it descended towards the surface, impacting and sending a shockwave across the planet. Moments later, a massive lance of energy erupted out the other side, and the planet detonated. Bage's face morphed into one of horror as his home was obliterated right in front of him. The shockwave from the explosion reached the pod in seconds, knocking it off course into deep space. The coordinates set by his father were scrambled, and during the violent shaking of the pod, Bage hit his head on the roof and was knocked unconscious. Meanwhile, the pod shot into deep space, its destination unknown. Unknown Craft, Planet Vegeta outer system. 3 figures watch as Planet Vegeta is destroyed, via a set of screens, two of which zoom in on a saiyan caught in the blast. "That's the guy, right there, Bardock. He doesn't look so threatening to me," one of the figures calls out, snickering. A second figure crosses their arms, smirking. "Anyway, he's space dust now. And there goes the whole monkey farm. Now, this is live entertainment," The second figure states, before noticing a pair of pods leave the planet. "Huh? What's this? Someone's getting away. Magnify the image." "Right. I'm on it, Salza," a third figure says, zeroing in on the two pods. "I want an interior view as well." Salza orders, watching as the screens change to show two saiyans, one an infant, the other around 12 years old. "That's it! Got it!" The figure at the console calls out. "Where do they think they're going?" Salza asks, scowling. "It looks like one is heading towards a planet called Earth. The other, strange, I can't get a lock. Intercept course on the first one?" The third figure asks. "Yes, I want them killed." Salza demands, before a fourth figure interrupts. "Belay that order," the figure says, hovering over to the screens. "Yes sire!" the figure at the console resetting the course. "But, sire, there's two saiyans escaping!" Salza states, and the leader cuts him off with a raise of his hand. "Frieza's the one in charge of this quadrant. Let him clean up his own mess. I've got 7 planets to destroy by the end of the day. Why should I allow myself to get behind schedule just to cover his mistake? Besides, it's just a couple of Saiyan children. They're no threat to us. Ah, look at that smug expression. What foolishness. He's so pleased with himself that he's blinded by his arrogant pride. That could be King Vegeta on one of those space pods for all he knows. You've got a lot to learn, brother. Let's get out of here," The figure orders, the craft turning and speeding off. BAGE CURRENT POWER LEVEL: 2500 > Chapter ONE: Crash Landing! A New Home? Or a Disguised Prison? Celestia Meets a Saiyan Warrior! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter ONE: Crash Landing! A New Home? Or a Disguised Prison? Celestia Meets a Saiyan Warrior! Planet Equis, Age 737; Celestial year 1788 Mount Canterhorn overlook In a glistening white city perched on a mountainside, a lone figure gazes at the moon, a look of guilt and sadness upon her face as she sees the craters on its surface forming the shape of a unicorn mare. "Nearly 1000 years, and I still can't rest easy at night knowing you're still gone because of my ignorance, and hubris," The figure spoke, standing, and turning to head back into her bed chambers, removing the crown from atop her head. "I wish I could go back, and do things differently, maybe you would still be by my side," she muttered, solemnly, gazing into the jewel affixed into her crown. A mare stared back at her in the reflection, reminding her of what she had lost. "I can only hope that, in time, my student will be ready to-" She was cut off, as a sudden rumbling caused the room, no, the entire city of Canterlot to shake. A deafening roar caused windows across the castle to shake in their frames, some shattering due to the strain. Immediately, she raced back out to her balcony in search of the source of this sudden thunderous noise. "What in Faust's name?!" she cried, barely able to hear herself speak over the cacophonous sound. She looked to the sky in time to see a massive fireball racing towards Canterlot, as it zoomed by her balcony, missing it by mere inches. She could feel the intense heat, it having been enough to melt the marble of her railing. She watched it fly towards the base of Mount Canterhorn, crashing with a loud THOOOM. 'A meteor, so soon after speaking of my sister? Could this be a sign that she's listening?' Celestia thought to herself. She decided to fly down and investigate, in case it caused any damage to the area. Upon reaching the crater, she noticed that the meteor had pinged off the side of the mountain, and landed a short distance away, the crater glowing a faint orange from the heat of atmospheric entry. 'Strange, this object looks metallic, this is no ordinary piece of space debris, I should be cautious.' She thought to herself. Her role as Alicorn of the Sun meant that the heat was no issue, and feeling like a pleasant bath, as she approached the object. Suddenly, the object emitted a hiss as a cloud of steam burst forth, the front raising. 'This is no meteor, this is some sort of strange craft!' She inched closer but was forced to dodge out of the way as an orb of light shot from the craft, and whizzed by her head, impacting the side of the mountain and detonating. Immediately raising a shield to protect herself, another orb impacted her shield, detonating and causing cracks to form. 'Such power, enough to damage my shield! There's someone in this craft!' she jumped into the air, spreading her wings and firing a beam at the craft, but it was smacked away by a figure jumping out of the smoke! "I've got to admit, you might be the strangest creature I've seen so far, and strong too. You might be a decent challenge!" The creature announced as the dust settled. A sudden beeping came from the figure as its left eye lit up, flashing with an odd yellow light. POWER LEVEL:2370 "2,370? Pretty high for an animal, but maybe you can provide some entertainment until I can figure out what planet I'm on," The figure called out, "FURY LANCER!" A beam of energy shooting from its outstretched palm. Celestia could barely react in time, the beam nearly piercing her left wing. She proceeded to fire a beam back, but the figure dodged it with no issue. "I am no animal, creature. I am Princess Celestia, Ruler of Equestria, and I do not appreciate being attacked and insulted, stand down at once!" She proclaimed. She didn't want to harm the creature, but she would defend herself and Canterlot. The figure just stared up at her, its expression unreadable, before it laughed, doubling over. Despite this blatant disrespect, she could tell by the sound of its voice that it was young, perhaps only 13, and male if she had to guess. "Oh man, that's funny. 'Stand down at once!' she says. Honestly, I'm surprised you can even speak, let alone dodge that blast, but I tell you what, if you can land a single hit on me, I'll 'stand down' How's that sound?" The figure proclaimed. Celestia pondered this ultimatum, deciding that if she could minimize the damage to the area, she could find a diplomatic solution to this situation, and salvage first contact. "Very well, but I should warn you, I am far more powerful than you might realize. I did not become ruler by being weak, and I-" She suddenly felt a searing pain in her chest as a blast hit her square in the chest, and she screamed in agony. She hit the ground and used her magic to rip off her now mangled chest plate. Had she not been an alicorn, the blast may have killed her. "You should work on talking less, and focus on the fight you're in. I held back on that blast, otherwise, you'd be a corpse right now. Maybe if you were paying attention, you could have avoided that," The figure stated, standing over her. She stared up at him, barely able to contain the tears pooling in her eyes from the pain. She hadn't been injured like that in some time, and her chestplate enchantments hadn't even stood a chance against the blast. Almost as if it hadn't been magic, but some sort of pure energy. She struggled to stand, as that blast had done more damage than she first thought. "Y-Your power is incredible, but I am not beaten. I will not let you harm my subjects," She spoke through clenched teeth. If she fell to this creature, her subjects would be powerless to stop him, and even if she could best him, her wounds would leave her hospitalized, and unable to do even minor tasks. She would have to rely on her centuries of experience, hoping she could outsmart him. "You can barely stand, let alone continue to fight. Just accept that you're beaten, and I might just-" He was cut off as a blast of light erupted from her horn, blinding him. "AGH, my eyes! How did you-" A blast suddenly hit him in the shoulder from behind, knocking him to the ground, before a pair of manacles appeared on his wrists and ankles, restraining him. "You might be more powerful than I am, but I have more experience with combat. I have ruled for centuries and faced countless foes. You are certainly the most unique opponent I've faced, but per your challenge, you will stand down," she declared, her tone carrying an air of authority, and spoke of years of wisdom. This was no animal, but a ruler. He stared up at her, weighing his options, and attempted to break the bindings around his wrists, but they held strong. "Those are enchanted to be unbreakable. Only I can remove them. Now, do you yield?" She asked, and he felt compelled to nod. His pride was wounded, after falling for such a cheap trick, and he knew that he could easily just kill her, but figured if he did he'd have an entire country hunting him down. His options were limited, either surrender and leave his fate to this, Celestia, or he could resist, and most likely just be imprisoned and/or killed. Neither option was preferable, but he didn't have much choice in the matter. Suddenly, his stomach chose that moment to voice its hunger, much to his chagrin. Celestia raised an eyebrow and then got an idea. "Creature, if you yield, you have my word that I shall not have you imprisoned, and I can provide you sustenance in my castle, is this agreeable?" She queried and awaited his response. He looked to the side as if mulling it over, before reluctantly nodding. After all, a free meal wasn't something to be refused, especially considering he hadn't eaten since before returning to Planet Vegeta, his father had rushed him off the planet before his mother could make dinner. If this princess was willing to feed him, maybe he could spare her, for now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Canterlot dining room, 2 hours before sunrise He had to admit, the castle was quite impressive. Then again, he had never seen King Vegetas' palace back home, so he had nothing to compare it to. The stained glass windows he saw on the way to the dining room weren't all that interesting to him, aside from one that depicted a creature terrorizing several of what he could only imagine were natives of the planet. Celestia had removed his restraints after they had entered the castle and told the guards that he was a guest and not a threat. He couldn't help but think that this was a security risk. After all, he had nearly killed her with just a single blast, and his scouter read out that the highest power level amongst the guards was a mere 300. How could a ruler employ such weaklings to defend her, if she overpowered them nearly 10 fold? He scowled, wondering how they had survived this long with such an incompetent ruler. A monarch shouldn't be so naive when it comes to an outside force. He was pulled from his thoughts by a series of food carts being brought in from a side door, and several servants lining up next to the table dividing up the platters along the length of it. He noticed there wasn't much variety in the food, most of it being vegetable-based, although there were a couple of meat-based dishes that looked good. "Please, indulge yourself. I do not know how long it has been since you last ate," The princess said as she waved her wing to gesture to the many platters. He immediately dove into the meat dishes, eating with reckless abandon. Celestia's eyes widened, having never seen such a display of ravenous consumption, not even from griffon warriors. "I see you are quite famished, and prefer a meat-based diet. I'm glad I had some prepared," She remarked in awe, as plate after plate of food disappeared before her eyes. He nodded, pausing for only a moment to catch his breath, before resuming his feast. Celestia signaled to the cooks to prepare some more meat dishes, before grabbing herself an apple from one of the plates of fruit. "By the way, I've neglected to ask your name, or even what you are. I can't exactly keep calling you creature, Mr...?" She probed, figuring she could learn more about him, to better understand how he came to be on her planet. He stopped his gluttonous eating, swallowing a massive chunk of meat, and gazing at her with narrowed eyes. "Name's Bage, I'm a saiyan," He stated, before taking another bite off of a hunk of meat. Celestia racked her brain, trying to remember if she had heard of anything called a 'saiyan' before, but came up blank. This was truly an extraterrestrial being, and one that was quite powerful, their altercation proving that. She felt as if he hadn't been trying during that fight, as her beam had barely left a mark on his strange armor. Upon closer inspection, she had never seen armor quite like it, the material looked like some sort of ceramic, or perhaps even a type of foreign metal. If her armorers could replicate the material, her guards could withstand attacks that would shatter stone, with no injuries. "While we're on the topic, what exactly are you, Your Majesty?" Bage asked suddenly, without even looking up from his food. The tone caught her off guard, she was so used to ponies being afraid to speak their mind to her, that the gruff nonchalance was surprising. She took a moment to compose herself, before replying, stating, "I am a pony, an alicorn, to be specific. I am one of the four pony races that live in Equestria. On that note, where do you hail from?" She replied, curiously. This was good, he was trading her information about himself, in exchange for information from her. If she could discern where he was from, she could- "Pfft, like I would just come out and say that right off the bat. Besides, what good would it do you, when you don't have a way of getting there?" He spat a piece of gristle as he said this, prompting her to sigh. Or maybe he wouldn't. She wasn't surprised, if the roles were reversed she would hardly give up the location of her homeland that easily. So he didn't trust her, just as she did not trust him. No matter, with enough time, she could learn more about him, and these 'saiyans'. Clearly, they were a warrior race, as even one as young as Bage seems proficient in combat. "I suppose it wouldn't do me any good, being as you came from off-planet. On another note, how old are you? I presume you must be quite young, but I'm not exactly certain," she inquired, his stature signified youth, yet looks could always be deceiving. He didn't answer at first, continuing to take bite after bite of food, with no signs of slowing. Her eyes panned across the table, realizing that in the few minutes they had been speaking, he had piled up nearly 2 dozen dishes, and was already starting on a third stack. His appetite was incredible, he had to have eaten nearly his entire body weight in food, yet showed no signs of getting full. "I'm about 10, maybe 11, haven't checked in a while. How old are you, 70?" Bage muttered through a mouthful of meat, an act that would've disgusted her, had she not seen a minotaur victory banquet, some 400 years ago. She had been cleaning potatoes out of her mane for weeks afterward. "You flatter me, but I am well over 3,000 years old," she said this with an air of nonchalance, expecting him to be in awe, or even disbelief. However, her expectations were shattered when he simply shrugged and said "Cool," before continuing to eat. Her jaw dropped, she had figured he would at least try and ask her if she was serious, or even joking, but he had just accepted it at face value. If Luna had been in her place she most likely would have blasted him where he sat. She sat down on her haunches, as she pondered this saiyan, wondering what his life could have been like if he took such a proclamation with nary a second hesitation. Her pondering was ended when he suddenly gave a mighty belch and reclined in his seat. "Ah, man that was just what I needed, your cooks have some talent," Bage sighed, rubbing his stomach. He had cleaned off every platter of meat on the table, a feat even most griffins would have had trouble achieving. She blinked, before realizing he would need somewhere to stay. It was almost time for her to raise the sun, after all. She frowned when she realized she had been up all night. She'd have to cancel day court. 'A tragedy for all' she mused with a small smirk. "Hey, by the way, where can I get some sleep? Getting knocked out isn't the same as getting a decent rest, after all," Bage disclaimed, catching Celestias' attention. "Knocked out? When were you knocked out, and by whom?" she asked with some concern. Alien or not, she still had an urge to help others, kindness having been one of her elements. This was met with a yawn, as he simply turned and walked off, stretching his arms behind his back. He looked back at her and announced, "After I left my planet, I got jostled by some turbulence, and got knocked senseless. No big deal." Celestia had no idea how to approach that. He seemed to have no issues, such as signs of a concussion, nor did he seem to be in pain. Additionally, he didn't seem too bothered, so perhaps this was normal for him ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Canterlot, South wing, Guest rooms Celestia had managed to catch up with Bage fairly quickly, thanks to her longer legs, however, he was still rather fast for someone of his size, being nearly eye-level with her snout. He had to be nearly 17 and a half hooves tall, almost as tall as her, at 18.75 hooves tall. She supposed that this was normal for his race, but with no other members of his race to compare, she couldn't know for sure. He seemed to be curiously looking about, admiring the many tapestries of the castle halls. "You seem interested in the castle's artwork, would you like me to tell you about them?" Celestia asked, but Bage shook his head. "Nah, not really, I'm just trying to avoid more pointless conversation. You're kind of boring, like a grandma trying to relate to her grandkids," Bage stated, lacking any and all tact. Celestia was shocked, insulted even. How did he make it this far in life if he went around insulting his elders like that? "GRANDMA?! YOU HAVE SOME NERVE, TALKING TO ME LIKE THAT! ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THAT-" She felt something clamp her muzzle shut, looking down her muzzle to see a hand. "Calm down, I was joking, jeez. You're gonna wake up the whole castle, screaming like that - " Bage rebuked, taking his hand off her muzzle " - besides, you're the one who said you're over 3,000 years old. You should consider acting your age." With that he put his arms behind his head, and walked into one of the open rooms, throwing the maid that had been cleaning it out onto her flank, along with her cleaning supplies. The door slammed shut, and the lock clicked into place. The maid looked at Celestia, and asked, "Your majesty, is that a visiting dignitary?" shakily picking up her cleaning supplies. Celestia felt her eye twitch, and turned toward the poor maid. "Yes, and a rude one at that. Now, if you would be so kind, could you please draw me a quick bath in my washroom? I believe a quick soak will help me calm down." Celestia rubbed her muzzle with a hoof. The maid curtsied, "Of course your majesty, right away." The maid then rushed off to the royal washroom. Celestia watched her go, and sighed. This was turning into a very sour day. Celestia Current Power Level; Night: 2370 Bage Current Power Level: 2500 > Chapter TWO: A New Dawn, A Fresh Start! Bage Meets Celestias Student, and an Irritating member of Royalty! Celestia Gets More Than She Bargains For! The Might of an Oozaru! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A New Dawn, A Fresh Start! Bage Meets Celestias Student, and an Irritating member of Royalty! Celestia Gets More Than She Bargains For! The Might of an Oozaru! Canterlot Royal bedroom, Celestia's private chambers. Celestia cracked her eyes open several hours later. Her connection to the sun told her that it was just past noon. Luckily, she had raised the sun before collapsing onto her poster bed. She was about to clamber out of bed when a knocking at her chamber door made her groan. "I swear if this is Blueblood complaining about another servant, I'm going to wring his neck," she grumbled, half-heartedly placing her crown atop her head. She shuffled to the door and opened it, surprised to see Raven standing there. "Ah, Your Majesty, good afternoon. You missed breakfast and I was wondering if perhaps you were up late again, stargazing," Raven remarked from behind her parchment. "There's... some creature waiting for you in the dining room. Apparently, you two are, for lack of a better word 'acquainted'?" Raven asked, as she looked up and nearly dropped her quill in surprise. "Your Majesty, you look terrible! I told you, you need to stop staying up till odd hours of the night!" She exclaimed, using her magic to try and smooth out Celestia's mane. "Believe me, I had no choice in the matter," Celestia snarked, scowling. She began making her way towards the dining hall, Raven trailing behind while still fussing over her disheveled appearance. As she drew closer to the dining hall, she heard raised voices echoing down the corridor, and facehooved. "Oh lovely, they've already met," Celestia mumbled, already identifying the voice of Blueblood. "GUARDS, COME QUICKLY! THERE'S A WILD ANIMAL IN THE DINING HALL!" Blueblood's voice rang out, followed by an equally as loud reply from her newest... guest. "WILD ANIMAL?! I'LL SHOW YOU A WILD ANIMAL, HOW'S ABOUT YOU LOOK IN THE MIRROR YOU POMPOUS SHIT-FOR-BRAINS!" came Bage's gruff reply, the volume nearly rivaling that of the Royal Canterlot Voice. Celestia nearly barked with laughter but composed herself. She gripped the doors with her magic and ripped them open, to reveal a rather comical sight. Bage had Blueblood lifted by his shirt collar, and Blueblood had a gravy boat held in his magic pouring onto Bage's head, the savory liquid running through his hair and dribbling down his armor. As amusing as the sight was, she was not in the mood, and shouted in the RCV, "THAT IS ENOUGH, BOTH OF YOU! I'M IN NO MOOD TO DEAL WITH SUCH INANE BEHAVIOR! BAGE PUT HIM DOWN; BLUEBLOOD, LEAVE US!" Bage immediately dropped the prince, making him land face-first into a gravy puddle. Blueblood proceeded to cough and splutter, trying to blow gravy out of his nose "Oh, look what you've done, you overgrown ape! I'm filthy, and this was my best dress shirt!" Blueblood whined, trying desperately to wipe the gravy off his shirt. Bage simply snorted and walked over to the table, sitting down and grabbing a plate of hay bacon. "Maybe next time you won't try and throw me out of a window, and call me 'filth' you spoiled runt. All I was doing was eating breakfast," Bage disclaimed, before taking a bite of bacon and nearly choking. "Blech, what the hell is this? It tastes like dirt!" Bage spat, throwing the platter across the room, which proceeded to smack Blueblood in the face. "OOW! Aunty, PLEASE, do something about this wretched creature! I shall not stand for this abuse!" Blueblood bemoaned, rubbing his muzzle with a hoof. Celestia felt a blood vessel pulse in her forehead and growled. She grabbed Blueblood in her magic, and shoved out the door of the dining hall, slamming it behind him. Afterward, she turned to Bage, and simply glared at him, as if daring him to say something else. Bage simply stared back, before turning to the table and grabbing a breakfast sausage, biting into it and giving Celestia a deadpan look. "What? He started it, and besides he probably deserved it," he claimed, shrugging. Celestia felt her mane start to catch fire, and took a couple deep breaths to calm down. This was truly a sour day, and she felt it would only get worse from there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Canterlot Throne room Celestia sat on her throne, massaging her temples. How did this day go so wrong? It's like Discord had broken free, and unleashed the worst prank imaginable, purely to torment her. Luckily, today was when she would meet with Twilight to discuss her studies, and hopefully regain some semblance of control over the day. As if on cue, the doors to the throne room opened and her student walked in with her nose in a book, as per usual. Celestia smiled and was about to greet her student before the doors slammed open again and Bage walked in. "Hey Princess, do you know where I can get some training? I don't want to get soft hanging around a bunch of weak ponies," he called out, startling Twilight so much she dropped her book. "Bage, I'm certain you can make use of the royal guards training area, but I'm currently meeting with my student," Celestia remarked, gesturing to the now stock still Twilight. Bage looked at her quizzically, as if sizing her up. Twilight on the other hand merely stared back, a look of fear mixed with curiosity evident on her face. Bage stepped closer and knelt to look Twilight dead in the eye, making her squeak in fear. "Wh-What a-are you?" Twilight managed to choke out, her need to sate her curiosity, overpowering her fear. Bage didn't respond, simply staring. Eventually, Twilight inched closer, stepping around him, to get a better look at his armor. "I've... never seen clothing like this before. It's like... rubbery and pliable, but firm," she noted poking at it with a hoof. She glanced up at his hair and attempted to part it with her magic, but it simply bounced back into place. "Your hair looks strange like it defies gravity. Not like the princess's mane, it's different." Bage scoffed, before standing up and crossing his arms. "Great, a nerd. Just what I need," he jabbed, closing his eyes. He turned to walk out of the room but felt something grab his leg. He looked down, but there was nothing there. "W-wait! You didn't didn't answer my question!" she cried, trotting up to him. That's when she noticed his tail, wrapped around his waist like a belt. "Is that a belt? What's it made of?" she asked, grabbing it with her magic. The effect was immediate, Bage going stiff, before collapsing to his knees. "Hey, let go you br-brat!" Bage tried to pull his tail away, but his muscles wouldn't obey. He was completely subdued, and by a child no less. He fumed, desperately trying to wrest his tail from whatever force she had grabbed him with, but no luck. "Wait, this is attached to you. Is this a tail?" She began rattling off question after question, asking about everything from his tail, to his fur, and hundreds of other things. He was getting pissed off, but he was powerless until she let go of his tail. Bage couldn't believe he was being held in place by some brat as if he were a common pet. "Damnit, just let go, you little runt!'' He hissed through clenched teeth. "Perhaps your species evolved from primates, but then why would you still have your tail? Maybe you travel by climbing across treetops, but that wouldn't explain the need for armor." Twilight rambled, and finally, Bage had enough, and let his aura explode. "I SAID LET GO DAMNIT!" He yelled, blasting Twilight back with the force of his energy. Celestia grabbed her and glared at Bage as he sped off, slamming through the doors to the throne room. Celestia sighed, knowing that trying to talk to him would only result in a shouting match. She felt Twilight move in her grasp and looked down, expecting to see her shaking in fear, but instead saw her vigorously scribbling on some parchment. It appeared that Bages' outburst, rather than scare her, had piqued her intellectual curiosity. She smiled softly and had an idea. 'If I push the two of them to be friends, perhaps I can solve two problems at once' - she thought to herself - 'and help Bage settle into Equestria all the easier.' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Celestia found Bage pummeling several training dummies in the combat arena, noting the shattered guard armor surrounding the area Celestia found Bage pummeling several training dummies in the combat arena, noting the shattered guard armor surrounding the area. She cleared her throat to get his attention, though if he heard her, he didn't show it. "Bage, I have a proposal for you, if you're interested," she called out to him, and he responded with a grunt. "I would like to have a sparring match with you, and should I best you, I'd like to take you under my tutelage," she told him, knowing that he wouldn't resist a chance to beat her for last time. "Heh, really? Alright fine, but if I win I want you to build a proper training area. This one sucks, and these combat dummies are too fragile," he turned to her as he said this, tapping the strange-looking glass on his head, which started beeping. POWER LEVEL: 24,700 Bage's eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open. "WH-WHAT?! 24,700?! H-How? You weren't that strong before, what the hell did you do?" He shouted, fear growing apparent in his eyes. Celestia merely smiled before using her magic to don her armor, summoning it with her magic. She looked at him with a slight grin, actually getting excited for a battle for the first time in centuries. "You seem surprised, did you not notice the sun high in the sky? My power is tied to it after all," she stated as if merely noting the weather. Bage grits his teeth but shakes his head, getting into a battle stance. "SO WHAT! It's just a cheap trick, just like that little light show you did last night!" He exclaimed and charged a ki blast. "You can't beat a saiyan warrior with cheap tricks! I'll show you just how strong I am!" He told her. She raised an eyebrow but decided to take his word for it. It's not like he could pull out any tricks of his own. "How about we take this away from Canterlot, so as not to cause too much collateral damage?" She asked, to which he smirked. "What's wrong, don't want your subjects to see you get your ass handed to you?" He goaded. She simply smiled and shook her head. "Oh, I assure you, that is not the case. Also, I do not have an ass, donkey slavery was outlawed some 600 years ago," She stated, prompting him to tilt his head in confusion. "The hell is a donkey? Never mind, yeah let's go," He dispelled his blast and took to the air, Celestia following behind whilst using her magic to lift a sphere containing Twilight. They traveled a fair distance from Canterlot, heading out to the Badlands. As they landed, Celestia couldn't help but take note of the odd choice of destination. "Pray tell, why exactly did you lead us here? I doubt you are very resistant to the heat of a desert," She asked, setting the sphere of magic down. Bage simply chuckled, and gestured to the barren land around them. "If we're gonna do this, I'd rather not destroy the one place I can reliably get food. Besides, you're not afraid of a little heat, are you?" He taunted, but she didn't rise to take his bait. "Hardly, I merely thought that an area like the forest would do better, considering your monkey heritage," she jabbed, and he scowled before quickly smirking and taking off his scouter. "Oh, believe me, I'll show you just how much of a 'monkey' I am," He muttered, before placing the scouter into a pocket in his armor. Celestia found his word choice strange but chose not to comment. "Wait, do you not need that device to sense power? Why did you remove it?" She asked, before noticing another ball of ki in hand, and felt his power drop sharply. "Don't worry about that, you should worry about yourself!" He shouted before tossing the ball into the air. "POWER BALL, EXPAND!" He shouted, causing her to look up at the orb as it grew to nearly 5x its size. "What is that, how is that going to help you?" Celestia demanded, confused as to why he would use the attack to create a ball of light in the sky. Bage didn't respond, he simply chuckled. "Just watch, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, one not one many others get to enjoy." He told her as he looked up at the ball of light. The effect was immediate, his body going stiff as he started to grunt. Celestia felt his power shoot up, to a level she hadn't felt since King Sombra had been banished. Celestia watched as his body began to bulk up, and fur began to spread across his body. His face bulged outward, and his teeth grew razor-sharp. "What is this? What have you done?!" she cried out, but he didn't respond. He simply continued to grow reaching nearly 88 hooves tall. She looked on in horror as the saiyan had turned into a monster. His only response was to roar, and stomp towards her. She quickly moved out of the way, grabbing the sphere containing Twilight and moving it to safety. 'This is impossible, how could he grow to such a colossal size? He nearly dwarfs the castle!' She thought to herself. The giant ape roared and moved to grab her, but she dodged out of the way. "How did you hide such a powerful transformation from me?" She yelled, but he merely roared in response. 'So he's completely mindless in this state, I won't be able to talk him down.' She thought, trying to come up with a plan. He was rather slow and unrefined in this state, showing he did not use it often enough to truly control it. Perhaps she could use that to her advantage. The ape roared and swatted at her, but she stayed just outside its range. 'I could try to blind him again, but I would have to get close.' She fired a beam of magic at him, but it merely glanced off his armor. Flying up, she conjured a shield and flew straight at him. The ape looked up in time to get smacked in the face by the shield before a burst of white blinded him. He roared in pain, rubbing his eyes, while Celestia thought of a plan to take him down. 'He seems almost impervious to damage, how am I supposed to... - ' That's when she remembered something, ' - HIS TAIL! It completely crippled him when Twilight grabbed it! Perhaps if I remove it, he'll detransform. I only have one shot though.' She quickly flew around behind him, and grabbed the massive tail in her magic, making the ape roar out in discomfort. She flew up, dragging the ape off its feet, and sending it crashing to the ground. Then she shot a blast of magic through the base of the tail, severing it. It crashed to the ground, shaking the area. The ape roared as it began to shrink, leaving Bage lying facedown, scuffed and beaten. "Ah, How? How could you beat my oozaru form?! This doesn't make any sense!" he screamed, beating the ground with his fist. Celestia smirked, before lifting him with her magic. "Make sense? What fun is there in making sense? Besides, It's simple, I simply have more experience with combat than you do," she snarked, lifting Twilight's bubble with her magic. Somehow, throughout the entire fight, she had continued to furiously scribble on her notepad, having found the entire battle to be incredibly fascinating "This is amazing! I've never seen Princess Celestia fight before and against such a large opponent!" Twilight gushed, and Celestia simply giggled. "I'm glad you found the experience enlightening, my dear student. Now, let us return to Canterlot so Bage can recover from his 'ass being handed to him'," Celestia joked, causing Bage to grit his teeth and growl. Unbeknownst to the group, they were being watched. A pair of blue eyes appeared on a nearby rock, before a blast of emerald flame consumed it, leaving a small lizard in its place. The lizard crawled into a nearby crevice and disappeared. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Deep Space; Planet Vegeta debris field Lord Frieza stared out at the void that had previously been occupied by Planet Vegeta. He smirked, before chuckling at the memory of the foolish monkey that had attempted to stand up to him. "Ooooh, Ho, Ho, Ho, of all the planets I've ever destroyed, that one will always hold a special place in my heart! Oh, how I wish I could've seen the looks on their faces, as I destroyed everything they've ever known!" He heard the door open behind him and turned to see Zarbon and Dodoria walk in. "Lord Frieza, I have some news. It seems that some pods managed to make it off of Planet Vegeta before it was destroyed. Two to be exact," Zarbon stated, Dodria grumbling in response. "Can't believe some of 'em managed to scamper off. Now they're prolly gonna start breedin'," Dodoria muttered, crossing their arms and pouting. Frieza merely chuckled at this, too Zarbons confusion. "Oh really? Tell me Zarbon, did you detect any high power levels from either pod?" Frieza asked, too which Zarbon shook his head. "Then I don't see the issue! So a few monkeys managed to survive, so what?" Frieza remarked, turning back to the window. "After that little display, any monkey that thinks they can stand up to me is either stupid or suicidal. Though considering they're average intelligence, I'm inclined to assume the former," He joked, chuckling to himself. "Well yeah, but what if they get strong enough to challenge you? What about that, 'Super Saiyan' we heard about?" Dodoria remarked, to which Fireza responded with another laugh. "Well Dodoria, if you're so frightened by the two whole sayains that managed to escape, you're more than welcome to track them down. I feel it would be a waste of time. With no king and no orders, they're liable to just kill each other like the savages they are, or be killed off by the populace of whatever planet they land on. It's better to just ignore them. They're hardly worth the trouble," Frieza states while grabbing himself a glass of wine. "As you say, Lord Frieza. I still don't like it, but I guess if they were an issue, they wouldn't've run with their tails 'tween their legs," Dodoria relented, looking to Zarbon, who merely shrugged. "Of course, they aren't an issue, It would take far more than just two monkeys to threaten my rule. Now, let us head back to Frieza planet 79, I'm famished," ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bage lay in a hospital bed, wrapped in bandages and feeling hurt not just from his wounds, but his pride. He'd been beaten not just once, but twice, by a namby-pamby pony princess! And to top it all off, the most insulting part, was she had cut off his tail! The humiliation, the sheer fact he had let her get close enough to do it, is what hurt the most. His father would have killed him if he were there, calling him a disgrace to the saiyan race. Although, now that he thought about it, he was having trouble remembering his father, like the memory was blurry. 'Hmmm, maybe that knock to the head did more than I thought,' Bage mused, not noticing that Celestia had walked in. "Greetings, Bage. Or should I say, my student?" Celestia said with a sly smile. Twilight giggled from beside her, having lost all trepidation around the saiyan. Bage could only scowl, the bandages wrapped around him preventing any real movement. He wasn't even sure why he needed them, it's not like he was injured. At the same time, Bage noticed that Twilight wasn't alone, there was another kid next to her. This one was orange, with a firey mane. She regarded him with a look of curiosity, mixed with annoyance, like she had been dragged from something to go look at a zoo exhibit. "This is what you called me for? A beat up, hairless ape? What a waste of time," the new pony sneered, Bage decided to call her Flare, until he learned her name. He liked her attitude though, reminding him of his sister, Shiso. She hadn't returned to Planet Vegeta, having been on a personal mission for the king. 'Lucky her, miss elite saiyan, with her power level of 12,000.' Bage thought, pouting. "How's about I shave you, see how you look?" Bage goaded, hoping she took the bait. She did, much to his amusement. She went red in the face, and he almost thought he saw steam come from her ears. "WHAT?! HOW DARE YOU? DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO I AM?!" she shouted, stomping right up to his bed, and poking him in the ribs. Bage simply laughed, loving the reaction. "Aw, what's wrong? Did I hurt yer wittle feewings? HAH, you remind me of my sister," Bage told her, catching Celestia's attention. "Sister? You have a sibling? How many more of your race are there?" Celestia asked, to which Bages smile fell, and he looked to the side. Celestia realized she had touched upon a sensitive subject, and was about to retract the questions, when Bage spoke up again. "Don't know, a couple, maybe a dozen or so. Most of us were wiped out when our planet was destroyed." Bage began picking at the bandages wrapped around his chest, not looking at any of them. Celetia felt her jaw drop, and realized they may be sheltering one of the last members of a soon to be extinct race. Now she knew why he was so abrasive, and combative. He had most likely watched his people die. She felt her heart weigh heavy with sorrow. "I'm sorry to hear that, I suppose you have nowhere to go then?" She probed, to which Bage gave a half hearted nod, turning away. "Who cares? So his planet is gone, boohoo," Flare said, and Celestia glared at her. "SUNSET! APOLOGIZE IMMEDIATLEY!" She shouted, causing Sunset to wilt. So that was her name, Sunset, well he was close. "He started it," she said, looking down at the ground. Celestia knew bringing Sunset along had been a bad idea, but before she could chastize her further Bage laughed. "Ah don't worry about it princess, if she wanted to hurt my feelings she'll have to try harder than that. I've heard better comebacks from a saibaman, and they can't even speak properly," Bage said, much to Celestias chagrin. "That's kind of you to say Bage, but Sunset needs to learn to get along with others, being as the three of you will be learning together," Celestia told him, making him scowl. "What the hay is a 'saibaman', some kind of pet?" Sunset asked, Twilight also looking at him with curiosity. Bage shook his head, shifting his posture a bit. "Nah, they're basically plant people, we grow 'em for training. More often than not they get blown to pieces," Bage explained, causing Twilight to stare in shock, and even Sunset recoiled at the way he so carelessly spoke of killing the creatures. "Wait, you 'grow them'? Like crops?" Sunset asked, and Bage nodded. "And you just kill them, for training?" She continued, and Bage nodded again. "How do you think we train new saiyans for battle? Teach them their ABC's?" He joked. Celestia grimaced, but figured this was just another aspect of his culture that came with being a warrior race. At the same time, the thought of cultivating an entire race simply for destruction didn't sit right with her. Shaking her head, she simply stood by as Sunset and Twilight bombarded him with questions, such as what his planet was like, how old his race was, and so forth. Bage, for the matter, was less than cooperative, giving short one or two word answers, much to Twilights annoyance. Sunset, on the other hoof, found it amusing. It seems she enjoyed having someone to banter with that could actually keep up with her insults. At the same time, she saw the smile on Bage's face as he retaliated her insults with jabs of his own. It seems she had found a kindred spirit for Sunset, even if he was a different species. She could only hope that Sunset would tone down her attitude by having someplace to vent it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Badlands, Changeling Hive. Chrysalis' throne room Queen Chrysalis sat listening to the latest report from one of her drones, resisting the urge to yawn. It was the same old issues, time after time. A tunnel collapse, A Tatzlworm sighting, love stores dropping by the day. She wished one of them would bring her something new. She jumped when the door to her throne room opened, and one of her scouts walked in, looking both worried, and afraid. She waved at the drone speaking to her, signaling it to leave. She looked to the scout, who simply shook where it stood. She glared down at the scout, waiting impatiently. "Well? Speak!" She ordered, causing the scout to jump. "M-my Queen, I bring news of the ponies, they have a new development," the scout reported, making Chrysalis raise her eyebrow. "Really now, and what is this new 'development' S-5931?" She asked, leaning forward. "I was able to bear witness to a battle between the Sun Princess, and a strange creature. It was able to grow to a massive size, and actually gave the Princess some difficulty. After she bested it, I saw her capture the creature after it returned to normal, and take it back to Canterlot." S-5931 bowed to her, and awaited her response. She pondered this information, and checked the scouts memory through the hivemind to confirm. Chrysalis saw the opportunity in this, and smiled. "Well done, S-5931. This new information is invaluable, you've earned an extra love ration for this," She commended. "Thank you, My Queen. I live to serve," S-5931 said, and Chrysalis sent him away. She replayed the memory of the battle, noting the ball of energy the creature launched, hearing him, she gathered it was male from the sound of it's voice, call out 'power ball expand'. The size was incredible, dwarfing most other creatures, and nearly rivaling an Ursa Minor. If she could get that creature on her side, she could easily conquer the entirety of Equestria, and the thought made her grin. 'If that creature is capable of giving Celestia a hard time, he would make for a very dangerous enemy, but a very valuable ally,' She mused, and ordered her spies in Canterlot to keep a close eye on this "Bage". She already had a plan forming in her mind, and gave a malicious chuckle. Celestia (High Noon) Power LEVEL: 25,000 Celestia (Early Evening)Power Level : 15,300 Bage Power Level: 2,600 Bage (OoZaru)Power Leve: 24,000 Bage (Battle Damaged) Power Level: 1,900 Twilight (Preteen) Power Level: 350 Sunset (Teen)Power Level: 930 Queen Chrysalis Power Level: ????? > Chapter THREE: Bage Learning Friendship? A Kinship is Born! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bage Learning Friendship? A Kinship is born! Unknown Location Bage found himself in a dark void, barely able to see 2 feet in any direction. As he strained to see anything, he heard a dark, cruel laugh behind him. He spun around, but couldn't find the source of the laugh, almost like it came from all around him. "Well, you are certainly a strange one. And powerful too, a warrior to be sure, I respect thee," the voice echoed through the void, yet almost felt right in his ear. "Where the hell am I? And who are you calling strange?" Bage called out, his voice also echoing. The voice merely laughed in response, and it pissed him off. "Stop toying with me, damn it!" he yelled, firing a blast off in a random direction. The light from the blast illuminated a small area around it as it shot off, but it was quickly consumed by the darkness. "This darkness is all-consuming, creature. Your magic will do thee no good," It spoke, and Bage could see strange figures appear in the darkness, then again it could just be his mind playing tricks on him. "You may call me, Nightmare Moon. I am the rightful ruler of Equestria, my throne was stolen by my sister. I am sure you have heard of her?" The Nightmare asked. "Sure, but what does that have to do with me? Don't tell me you want my help, 'cause I'm not gonna help someone who won't even look me in the eyes," Bage shouted, prompting the darkness to shift. "Such an attitude, but I can understand the distrust. As for why you cannot see me, my power is weak, my true form is sealed away. I could only reach out to you due to your connection to my moon. Your 'Oozaru' form requires a full moon, correct?" Nightmare Moon asked, to which Bage nodded. "Well, I can allow you to transform anytime you wish, once I return to the throne. I shall bring about night eternal, and you can stand by my side. A warrior for a Queen, What say thee?" Bage considered the offer, it was tempting. He wouldn't have to play along with Celestia and her student plan. But then he thought of his father and remembered that he was a saiyan warrior, not some lapdog for a pony boogeyman. "So you want me to help you beat your sister, just so you can take back the throne, and doom the planet to freeze? If you were such a good ruler, why haven't I heard of you? No deal, miss doom and gloom," He told her, and he felt the darkness constrict. Like she was trying to strangle him, but didn't have the appendages necessary. "Tch, so you would decline my offer, in favor of HER? And here I thought you to understand conquest, but you are poisoned by the sun's touch. Very well, saiyan, but know this, when I break free from my imprisonment, you will not see mercy from me. I shall make your death painful." Nightmare Moon's voice faded into the void, and his vision went pitch black. His eyes flew open and he shot up in bed, panting. "What the hell, was that? Great, now I'm having nightmares, this place sucks." He grumbled, flopping back down. He looked up when the door opened, and Celestia walked in, with that motherly smile that he was very quickly finding irritating. "What do you want Princess? Unless you're here to tell me I can leave this bed, I'm not in the mood to talk," he groaned, but Celestia said nothing, simply closing the door behind her, and locking it. Bage thought this was odd, as locking the door seemed unnecessary. Suddenly, Celestia burst into green flames, startling him. In her place was a small, black bug-looking pony, simply staring at him with its big greenish-blue eyes. "Alright, that's new. I get the feeling you aren't Celestia," he said, as the bug pony approached his bed. The bug pony opened its mouth, and emitted a strange sound, like a chitter and a hiss mixed into one sound. At the look of confusion Bage gave, the bug lit on fire again, this time looking like a guard. "There, can you understand me now?" The bug-guard-pony asked, and Bage nodded, still horribly confused. "What in the name of Ginyu's jockstrap are you? And can I punch you? All the guards here are just really punchable." Bage said, and the bug guard shook its - his - head. "Listen, I've been told to keep an eye on you, by order of my queen. You are Bage, correct?" The buguard asked. Bage nodded. "Good, and to answer your question, I'm a changeling. A race of insectoid equines that can change their form at will. I must ask that you keep our existence a secret, as the Equestrians are very hateful towards our kind." the changeling explained, Bage giving a slow nod in response. "So, why exactly are you being asked to watch me? You aren't working for that Nightmare Moon bitch, are you? Cause I don't like her," Bage said, still reeling from the nightmare a few moments ago, in more ways than one. The guardling tilted its head, before shrugging it off. "Uh, no. We have a hive out in the badlands, where one of our scouts witnessed you face off against the Sun Princess. It caught the queen's attention when the scout reported in," the changeling explained, making Bage's eyes widen in realization at the thought that these 'changelings' had possibly been watching from right in plain sight, and Celestia didn't even realize. "We felt that your power would benefit the hive. As such, Queen Chrysalis has decided to make contact with you and keep tabs on your activities. Before you go thinking we'll be following you around, don't worry. We're very good at maintaining secrecy, " the guard said, making Bage snort in derision. "Do you find something amusing about what I said?" Bage nodded, making the changeling frown. "So, you say you're good at maintaining secrecy, but then you just waltz in here, looking like Celestia, don't check to make sure we're alone, and just reveal your true self to me without taking the time to see if I'm trustworthy? Right, real good at secrecy," Bage chuckled, causing the changeling to grimace. "Okay, perhaps I was a bit careless, but if you weren't trustworthy, why did you not immediately shout for a guard?" The changeling asked, and Bage simply stared at him, before snorting again. "Well, that's because the guards don't like me. They say I'm 'a threat to Canterlot's security' or something like that. Besides, I'm stronger than all the guards so they don't need to stand close by. Speaking of which, how did you get through the guards to get here?" Bage asked, but the changeling turned towards the door and flinched. "I can not stay any longer the Sun Princess draws near. I trust you won't betray my presence," it hissed before lighting up with emerald fire and disappearing. True to the bugs' word, the real Princess Celestia walked through the door not a second later, and looked at him strangely. "Bage, why was this door locked? It must remain open at all times, in the event of an emergency," Celestia chided him, and Bage just rolled his eyes. "Maybe because I wanted some privacy. Is that a crime now? Besides, I don't need to sit in this bed any longer," Bage told her, taking off his bandages. Celestia raised an eyebrow at this and watched as he jumped up, and started stretching his limbs and cracking different joints. "Oh yeah, that feels better. Now, didn't you say something about being a student? If we're gonna do this I'd rather get it out of the way now," Bage said, slipping his armor back on. Celestia shook her head and gestured for him to follow. "Now Bage, this is not just a one-and-done sort of lesson. I'm going to be teaching you alongside Sunset and Twilight to learn one of Equestrias' greatest virtues; Friendship. I can tell you are quite like Sunset in that you feel you don't need to make friends, but I assure you that it is important to make at least one friend," Celestia explained, causing Bage to groan. "Seriously? What makes you think I want to sit around all day and learn 'friendship' when I can spend that time doing something that I can benefit from? Like training, or fighting, or training?" Bage said while counting on his fingers. "Bage, you said training twice." Celestia pointed out. Bage just stared at her. "Yeah, and?" He countered, and Celestia deadpanned, facehooving. They continued in silence, passing by several doors, before coming to a large open doorway, through which were a bunch of bookshelves. "Welcome to the Canterlot Royal Library, this is where I shall be teaching you and Twilight most often," Celestia spoke and pointed to Twilight sitting at a table a short distance away. "Wait, I have to read? Ugh, just kill me and be done with it. By the way, why didn't you mention Sunset in that? Isn't she your student too?" Bage mentioned, and Celestia nodded. "Yes, she is. Unfortunately, however, she has been rather obstinate when it comes to learning alongside Twilight. She fights me at every turn when I try to help her open up. I had thought that having you here would make her change her mind since you two seemed to connect just a bit, but clearly, I was wrong," Celestia lamented with a sad look on her face. Bage plopped down into a chair, which immediately broke under his weight. He frowned and just crossed his legs, staring at the massive stack of books next to Twilight. "So, you must really like to read, huh?" Bage grabbed a book from the stack as he asked this, and realized an issue. "Um, what kind of language is this, anyway? I can't make sense of it," he said, turning the book around in his hands. "You mean you can't read? That's embarrassing," Twilight jabbed, causing Bage to grit his teeth. "I can read just fine! Your books are just written in symbols and nonsense!" He shouted. Celestia grabbed another book, and cast a quick spell on it, handing it to Bage. "Try this one, it might seem more legible. If not, we may have to teach you our written language," Celestia noted, and Bage studied the cover for a minute, before shaking his head. "I can read a few words here and there, but most of it is still scribbles and symbols," He tossed the book over his shoulder as he said this, before standing up. "Maybe you can just tell me what I need to know, I'm not the scholarly type," Bage told her, and heard Celestia sigh. "Bage, I'm far too busy ruling Equestria every day to sit and tell you everything you need to know. Then again, I'm also too busy to teach you how to read our language. Perhaps I could get Sunset to help teach you, being as she decided not to show up." Celestia muttered, both to herself and to him. Right at that moment, as if summoned, Sunset walked in with a cup held in her magic, a frown spread across her face. "I'm here, I just slept in. I swear, it's like you raise the sun earlier and earlier just to mess with me." Sunset grumbled before shooting a glare at Celestia. "Ah, good to see you join us, Sunset. Fashionably late as usual. You're aware that coffee is not allowed in the library, correct?" Celestia asked disapprovingly. Sunset just yawned and nodded. "Haaaaa... Sunset, I have a task for you. Bage is unfamiliar with our written language and needs someone to teach him. Would you be willing to do this?" Celestia asked, knowing Sunset wasn't nearly awake enough to comprehend the request, and would probably agree without thinking. Sure enough, Sunset nodded without looking up, before her eyes widened. "Wait, What? NO! I-" Sunset tried to protest, but it was too late. "Sorry, can't hear you, I have to start day court, Good Luck!" Celestia called as she galloped out the door. Sunset stared after in shock, mouth gaping and eye twitching. "Huh, so teach what's the game plan?" Bage asked, trying not to burst out laughing. Sunset simply growled, before grabbing his ear in her magic. "OW, HEY WHAT GIVES?!" he screamed in pain. "Come on, monkey boy. Let's just get this over with." Sunset spat, practically dragging him out of the library. "OWW, LET GO! COME ON, THIS IS SO NOT FAIR, THAT HURTS!" Bage yelled through the pain. Twilight didn't even look up from her book. "Wouldn't wanna be him, yeesh," Twilight remarked, grabbing another book from her stack. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Canterlot West Wing, Sunsets Bedroom Bage massaged his ear, glaring at Sunset, who glared back. Being dragged across the castle did little for Bages' mood, and Sunset wasn't in the best mood herself. "Let's get one thing straight, I don't want to to teach you, I don't want to do anything with you," Sunset told him, stamping her hoof. "If I could ditch you in the garden maze, I would, but I feel like you would just run to Celestia about it." Bage snorted, "Really? What do you think I am, some coddled child? If you can't do this just say so, and I'll leave," He told her, making her sneer. "I CAN do this, I just don't want to. If you don't want to do this, just leave," she shot back, and he smirked. "That sounds like quitter talk. I don't give up when it comes to a challenge, no matter what it is," he declared, and Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Challenge? This isn't a challenge, it's teaching you how to read. Not surprising given your monkey nature," she jabbed, and Bage chuckled. "I can read just fine, your books just don't make sense to me," He told her, crossing his arms. "If you can read, why did Celestia say you can't? I think you're just embarrassed to admit you're illiterate. Aw, the poor monkey can't figure out words," Sunset joked, smirking. "Big words for a little pony. Did you come up with that yourself? How original," Bage snarked, rolling his eyes. Sunset grit her teeth, glaring at him. 'Why does nothing bother him? Anypony else would have run off by now. Then again he isn't a pony.' she thought. "It's a wonder how Celestia keeps you around, considering you don't seem to give a shit. Maybe your talents would be better suited towards something of your caliber, like heating up homes in the winter with your hair, Hot Head," Bage cracked, causing Sunset to splutter. "Hot Head?! Listen you dirty ape, before Twilight showed up I was Celestias' prized pupil. I've been under her tutelage since before you even got here!" She shouted, and Bage snickered. "Keyword being 'was', now you've been thrown to the wayside and it hurts, doesn't it? Knowing that you were passed over by a kid almost half your age?" He asked with a grin, and that was it. Sunset screamed, picked him up with her magic, and tossed him out her window. Bage quickly righted himself midair, shaking glass shards out of his hair. He looked over at the window, and saw Sunset looking dumbfounded. "You... can fly? How? You don't even have wings!" She pointed out, and Bage smirked. "I could teach you, if you want. In return you show me how to read your confusing writing. Deal?" he proposed, and Sunset mulled it over, before nodding reluctantly. "Fine, but I'm not going slow for you," She declared, and Bage hovered back through the window. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Canterlot Study Hall, Three Weeks Later Bage found that despite Sunsets' attitude she was a very good teacher, and he had picked up how to read Equestrian rather quickly. He, on the other hand, had a hard time teaching her how to tap into her energy, and she wasn't very cooperative with the learning process. "What's the point in learning how to use my 'energy' when I can just use my magic?" Sunset muttered, rubbing her temples with her hooves. "Because you can't fly with magic, at least not as far as I know. If you can't do this, there's no shame in quitting," Bage told her, knowing she'd get upset and try to prove him wrong. "I can do, anything, monkey boy. I'm not quitting," She snapped, and concentrated on her 'center of being' as he called it, to try and focus her energy. "You're just gonna hurt yourself like that. You can't pull it out, you have to draw it out. It's not like magic, where it just flows and you can manipulate it at will. It's your lifeforce, if you're not in tune with it, you can't access it," Bage explained, and she growled in frustration. "You're not helping! This is just pointless! How did you learn how to do this so easily?" She asked, and he shook his head. "Saiyans have an innate ability to access their energy. Some saiyan children can shoot off energy bolts right out of the incubation tank. For me, It took a little while, and some instruction from my dad. It's just a learning curve that you have to try and get over. Once it clicks it's easy," Bage told her, and Sunset tried again, this time letting her mind go blank, and relaxing her muscles. She felt... something, like a warmth in her stomach. It was like a ball of heat in her gut, and she focused on it. She reached out to it, and felt something form on her hoof. "Hey, you did it! Nice work!" Bage said, and she opened her eyes. In her hoof was a ball of light, about the size of an orange. "It feels so weird, like water. So what do I do with it?" She bounced the ball back and forth between her hooves, and Bage grabbed it. "HEY!" she shouted but Bage held his hand up. "You shouldn't go playing with it, this thing could seriously wreck anything it touches. You're about as strong as an average Saibaman right now, so this ball could probably blow a hole in the castle wall." he scolded, and Sunset frowned. "You mean those things you blow up, and use for training?" She pointed out, and Bage nodded. "They can be pretty strong for a saiyan fresh out of the incubation tank. You'd fit right in on Planet Vegeta though, trust me. Well, not totally but attitude wise, definitely." he chimed, and Sunset just huffed. "You keep mentioning an incubation tank, what is that?" She asked curiously. "Oh, that's what saiyan babies are put into so that their mothers can still go out on missions. It helped keep as many saiyans working for Frieza as possible, since down time was frowned upon," Bage explained, dispelling the energy ball as he said this. "Wait, so you aren't born normally? You just get put into a tank, and grown like some lab experiment?" Sunset imagined that kind of thing happening in Equestria, and shuddered. "Well, yeah. How else would you do it?" Bage countered, and Sunset blinked. He was either messing with her, or he really was that clueless. "Nevermind, now that you've got the energy part down, you can work on the other aspects. Flight for example, or even strength and tanking damage," he listed, the strength part catching her attention. "You can use this to get stronger? Like, powerful?" She asked, Bage simply demonstrating by picking up a bookshelf with one hand. "Yeah, see? You still have to train to get to this level, but you can amplify your power by a lot." Bage put the bookshelf back down with a thud, and turned back to Sunset, who was smiling excitedly. "Train me," She demanded, surprising him. Bage crossed his arms, and stared her down. She stared back, waiting. The stare-off continued for a bit, before Bage shrugged. "Ok, just don't be surprised when you get tossed around." He turned and walked off, leaving Sunset perplexed and irritated. She galloped after him, grumbling to herself. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Canterlot Armory, Blacksmith Forge Bage strolled into the forge and waved at the smithy. The old earth pony blacksmith gave a nod in return, before going back to striking a fresh blade. Bage grabbed a pair of coveralls and goggles, and walked over to the anvil. Sunset watched, bewildered, as Bage talked with the blacksmith, though she couldn't hear what was being said. She saw the blacksmith nod and point towards a corner, and Bage gave him a thumbs up. He grabbed what looked like a chestplate, and walked back over to her. "Alright, I've been waiting for this. Lets go." Bage strapped the chestplate over his armor, and she noticed him visibly buckle when he did so. "What is that, training gear?" She questioned, noticing he was walking slower now. Bage didn't answer, checking all the fasteners on the plate, before jumping a couple inches off the ground. The stone cracked when he landed. "Weighted training gear, yeah. This is something I saw on a planet I was sent to a long time ago, and I wanted to try it. Now we can train properly without me being too strong for you. Give me a day or two to get used to this, and then we can train, ok?" He told her, and walked off. "Great, now what am I going to do for two days?" She mumbled. "I need to stop talking to myself." Sunset face-hooved, and started walking back to her room. Bage (Weighted Gear) Power Level: 1,000 Sunset (Ki Awakened) Power Level: 1,000 > Chapter FOUR: Sunsets Training Begins, Bage Finds a True Rival! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunsets Training Begins, Bage Finds a True Rival! Canterlot Guard Training Area, Early Morning Bage walked into the training area to see Sunset waiting for him, a training sword held aloft in her magic. He scoffed and shook his head, he had a lot to teach her. "You won't need that, this isn't sword training. I like the can-do attitude though," He called out, but Sunset didn't respond. As he got closer, he saw she was asleep. "Tch, you really fit the bill with a name like Sunset." Bage joked, grabbing the sword from her magic, and tossing it to the side. The sword clattered against the floor, and Sunset snapped awake. "Huh, what? Oh, about time you got here," Sunset muttered, yawning. Bage rolled his eyes, knowing she was probably only here for a few minutes. "It's barely past sunrise, but ok. I'm guessing you're ready to get started?" Bage asked, setting up some training dummies. "Yeah, where's your sword? How are you going to train me if you're unarmed?" Sunset grabbed the sword from earlier, and Bage just chuckled and shot a beam from his finger, blasting the sword to splinters. "That's how. Were you even paying attention yesterday? That and actual fighting," Bage told her. Sunset stared in shock at the remains of the training sword, and realized what he meant when he said 'Seriously wreck anything it touches'. If he could do that with a small blast, what could he do if he got really mad? She had only just managed to make a ball of energy, and he could turn a wooden sword to smithereens. "By the way you have more than enough energy to do that, you just need to hone it." Bage didn't even glance back at her, still moving the dummies around. "I do? What makes you so certain? All you've seen me do is make a ball," Sunset remarked, and Bage pulled something out of his pocket. "This is a scouter, it lets me read out a being's power level. Here, I'll show you." Bage placed the scouter onto the right side of his head and tapped it. It let a series of beeps and lit up with a bunch of flashing lights. Power Level: 1000 "About 1,000, pretty high, and about what I'd expected. You'd be nearly half as strong as Celestia at about midnight. Not bad, considering you just learned energy control. But you've got a lot to learn." Bage took the scouter off and put it back in his pocket. "Like flight? That's what I'm really interested in, the rest is just icing," Sunset waved her hoof, making Bage raise an eyebrow. "Icing, huh? Hate to break it to you, but we aren't stopping at just flight. You've got me looking forward to sparring with someone who can actually keep up, even if I'm wearing weighted gear. We're going all out, and this place is probably gonna get wrecked," Bage countered, grinning. Sunset stared at him, trying not to show her trepidation. She hadn't planned on this turning into a full thing. "What do you mean by 'all out' exactly?" Sunset chuckled nervously, tapping her hooves together. "Exactly what it sounds like; I'm teaching you how to fight, how to use your energy for blasts and beams, how to fly using your energy, and we're gonna get strong at the same time. Hope you're ready to take some punches and dish 'em out too." Bage kicked a large box toward her, and it slid to a stop in front of her. She opened it and saw a set of armor that looked like his. "I had the blacksmith make a set for you, though it's not as durable. I don't exactly know what my armor is made of, so I couldn't tell him." Sunset looked the armor over, noting that it was designed for a quadruped, but the design was identical to Bages' own. "Go ahead and put it on, you'll need it," Bage commented. Sunset picked the armor up and noted it was in multiple parts, one for her chest and barrel and sections for her legs that clipped onto it, as well as hoof boots. "I need all this for training? Seems a bit excessive," Sunset noted, to which Bage walked over to a dummy, drew his fist back, and punched it. The dummy exploded all over the training area, with bits of straw landing all over the weapon rack. Sunset stared in shock at the display of force, and Bage turned towards her. "That was me holding back, still think you don't need that armor?" He asked, and Sunset shook her head frantically. "Good, now suit up, we're burning daylight." 'He's going to kill me. I made a huge mistake' she thought. Bage picked a piece of straw out of his hair and flicked it away. "I can tell from that look that you're having second thoughts, but trust me, that won't happen to you. That armor is meant to withstand a blast from Celestia, and your power level and mine are about equal. You'll be fine, I promise," Bage assured her. Sunset quickly put the armor on, finding that it was surprisingly comfortable, and stretchy. "How's the fit? I didn't know what to tell him for your measurements, so he went with just a standard unicorn mare guard, I guess he was pretty close," Bage explained while leaning on a support beam. Sunset patted the chest of the armor, not even able to feel the minor pressure from her hoof. "Why don't the other guards have this? It seems like it should be standard," She wondered out loud and Bage just shrugged. "Couldn't tell ya, but it might be because it's not good against blades. They go right through," Bage told her, making Sunset glad he wasn't using a sword. "Now, let's get started. Go ahead and focus on your energy, and imagine it flaring out like a fire." Sunset closed her eyes and focused, trying to draw that warmth she felt yesterday. She felt something envelop her body, pulsing erratically. "Alright, you're doing great. Keep that up, but don't force it. Relax, you're too tense, you have to let your energy do the work." Bage watched as Sunset's aura pulsed and flared, but it steadily calmed down. After a few seconds, it died down, before disappearing. Sunset dropped to her knees, panting, and Bage walked over and helped her up. "Huff, why is that, huff, so hard? How do you, huff, do it so easily?" Sunset gasped, sitting down again. Bage sat down next to her and crossed his arms. "You have to remember, I've been doing this since I was three. I've got experience that you don't. But you're new to this, and the progress you've made is amazing. Most saiyans would have an easier time of this since we can just access our energy with only a little training, so don't beat yourself up over it." Bage patted her back, nearly knocking her to the ground. "Sorry." Sunset shook her head and stood up again. "It's fine, I didn't even feel it." Sunset's eyes widened. "Oh wow, this armor IS pretty good." Bage nodded, patting his own armor. "See? Told ya. This stuff is great for fighting hand to hand, or hand to hoof I guess," Bage said standing up. "Now let's continue. Try again, but this time don't tense up. You'll never get the hang of this by brute forcing it." Sunset tried to focus on her energy again, but this time she let her muscles relax. This time she felt the energy flare out again with much less force, like a gentle candle flame rather than a blazing wildfire. She opened her eyes and saw a pulsing white energy surrounding her body. "I think I did it. It still feels like I'm burning energy, but it's not exhausting." She waved her hoof around, watching the energy move with it. "You've got it. Now, focus on lifting off the ground. It's a little scary at first, but once you're used to it, you can focus on moving around in the air." Bage demonstrated by lifting off the ground with his own aura. Sunset jumped, trying to do the same thing but fell back to the ground. "No, that's wrong. Let your energy do the work. It will provide the lift, you just need to focus," Bage crossed his arms and set back down on the ground. She tried again, imagining she was lifting off like a pegasus, and nearly felt her heart stop when her hooves stopped touching the ground. She looked down and saw she was a foot up in the air, Bage smiling at her. "Alright, good. Don't panic, you'll just crash and get hurt. Stay up as long as you can." Sunset nodded, wobbling as she focused on staying in the air. "It's like being caught in a wind storm. It's so freeing, this must be what pegasi feel like all the time." She turned to look at her flank and nearly flipped over. "Careful! Just because you aren't up that high doesn't mean you can't hurt yourself, stay focused," Bage chastised, frowning. Sunset glared at him but kept still, trying to maintain her lift. Eventually, her energy died down, and she fell back to the ground where Bage caught her. "I didn't need you to catch me, I could have landed on my own." She jumped out of his arms, sneering. "From a foot off the ground, maybe not. Next time I'll just let you faceplant, so how you feel then." He snarked back, smirking. Sunset just waves him off, frowning. "One more thing, and don't take this the wrong way, but you might want to cut your mane short." Sunset looked at her mane, blinking. "It can get in the way when you're flying, and it can be a liability when you're in the heat of-" Sunset stomped a hoof and growled. "Shut the hell up about my mane! What makes you think you know anything about mane style anyway!" She turned and galloped off, leaving Bage confused. "O-K, guess we're done then." Bage shrugged and walked out of the training area, bewildered. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Bage waited in the training area the next morning, practicing some punches and kicks in the air, when he heard hooves clopping down the hall. He looked over and saw Sunset walking in, her mane cut short. "I see you went with my advice. I don't know why you made such a big deal about it yesterday," Bage remarked. Sunset just grimaced, glaring at him. "Just shut up, lets get back to what we were doing yesterday." Sunset floated a cup over to him, which he grabbed. "What's this?" He sniffed the cup, smelling something rich and pungent. "Coffee, the staple of every night owl and late night worker." Sunset sipped from her own cup, while Bage simply stared at his. He tentatively took a small sip, recoiling from the taste, but decided it wasn't bad, simply unexpected. "Lets focus on me learning how to fly. Also, I did some reading last night. According to the Japonese, the energy your so used to using is called 'KI' or life energy." Bage blinked, before shrugging. "That does help save time, instead of saying energy. Looks like books are good for something other than kindling." Bage downed his cup of coffee, and belched. Sunset wrinkled her nose at that, but stayed quiet. "So, you were doing good yesterday, and you managed to stay up for a decent bit of time. So I'd say we can work on maneuvering through the air, and after that, forming ki blasts and other abilities." Bage formed a ball of energy in his palm. "You remember how to do that, right?" Bage watched her make a similar ball of ki over her hoof, and sip her coffee. "Perfect, now go ahead and lift off from the ground, using your ki to push yourself in any direction." Bage lifted off and demonstrated by moving backwards toward a wall, then moving forward again. Sunset flared her aura, lifting off like yesterday, though she still wobbled a bit. Willing herself to move forward, she shot towards Bage at high speed, causing him to hold his hands out to catch her. "WOAH! Jeez how do you control your speed?" She looked up and saw she was right in Bages' face, and frowned. "Let. Go." She pulled away from him, and flew backward, crashing into the weapon rack and sending swords and spears everywhere. "Ow, seriously how do I move without rocketing around in any direction?" Bage crossed his arms and sighed. "You're not letting it do the work, you're forcing it. Just limit how much ki you use, and you can move slower." Bage touched back down, cracking his neck. "Yeah, that doesn't explain anything. How do I 'let it do the work' when I don't know what I'm doing?" Sunset was getting frustrated, and Bage saw that he'd have to take a different approach to teaching her. "Look, it's more simple than you're making it. How about this, how do you breath?" Bage asked. Sunset stared at him, unamused. "That's even less than unhelpful!" She yelled, and Bage shook his head. "You just do, you don't think about it. It's something your body does, this is the same. If you think too hard about it, the ki has too much force, and you go flying. Just relax, and let the ki do the work." He explained, and Sunset tried again, this time letting her muscles go slack. Her body moved forward slowly, she tried to reverse, and shot toward the wall again. "RELAX!" She stopped, her back touching the wall gently. "I did it. I actually did it!" She pumped her hoof in the air, and Bage snickered. "Congratulations, you managed to do what most others can manage at the age of 6," Bage chuckled, making Sunset grit her teeth. "But still, good job. Now, try and go higher." Sunset looked down at the ground, then looked back at Bage. "I'm plenty high up thank you!" She yelled. Bage just stared up at her, before lifting off the ground and flying toward her. "If you don't cut that mental tether to the ground, you're going to limit yourself in every way, and you'll never be able to do this." He grabbed her by the forelegs and dragged her upward. "HEY, LET GO!" Sunset tried to pull away, but he kept his grip tight. "Not if you're going to chicken out when you've made so much progress." Bage continued to go higher and higher, the training area growing smaller in her sight. "W-Wait, I don't like heights! Can we go back down, please?" Sunset pleaded, but Bage ignored her, letting her hooves go and watching her float there. "You wanted to fly, so here you go." Bage took a deep breath in, enjoying the freedom that came from being so high up. Sunset looked down at the tiny spot that was Canterlot and let out a small squeak. Her pupils shrank to pinpricks, and she latched onto Bage. "Guh, HEY! What gives?" Sunset stared downward, shaking. "Look, if you want to go back down, you'll have to relax and do it yourself." Bage pried her off and pushed her away, as she struggled to steady herself. "HEY! You need to RELAX, and let your ki carry you back down. If you fall, I'll make sure you don't turn into paste on the ground," Bage explained. Sunset gulped, trying to calm her nerves. "You didn't tell me you were going to fly me up several miles into the air," Sunset whimpered, trembling. "About 170, actually. High enough that the air is cool, but not too thin. Since I arrived here, I've been flying up this high just to think. It's an old habit I have, helps me clear my head." Bage stared out at the horizon, admiring the expanse of Equestria. "This place is pretty peaceful, not something I'm used to. It's been a long time since I was able to take a break from conquering planets. Ever since I was 6 I've been sent from planet to planet, killing it's inhabitants, blasting the surface until there's nothing left of the race that called it home. Just so Frieza can sell it. So many dead, and for what? A couple thousand credits? I've never thought about it before, I can't believe I was a pawn for him for so long. Then to top it all off, as payment for our servitude he blows up our planet, and kills every saiyan on it." Bage closed his eyes, frowning. Sunset stared at him, unsure how to respond. Bage opened his eyes, looking at her. Sunset stared off into the distance where Bage was looking, barely able to see the beginning of the Frozen North. She realized she wasn't panicky anymore, and her ki had calmed down. "I think I'm calm enough now, we can probably head back down." She felt herself start to drop, and almost panicked again. She took a deep breath, and let her muscles relax. He had a point, it was pretty peaceful up here. "I can see why you do this, it's like gravity isn't even a factor," she remarked. Bage laughed, and dropped his aura, freefalling back to the ground. She started after him, watching as he become a small dot. 'Idiot.' She quickened her pace, flying back down. She finally managed to make it back to the training area, where Bage was waiting next to a cart of food. "Hey, I had some food brought out, since its about lunchtime." Bage was already digging into a massive plate of... some mind of meat. "Thanks, I guess." Sunset lifted the platter off, seeing a rather nice looking garden salad, with shredded arugula. "Hm, my favorite. How'd you know?" She looked up at him, and he swallowed. "Celestia told me." He went back to eating. She turned back to the salad, grabbing a fork and digging in. Neither noticed they were being watched, as a guard shifted into the from of a maid, and ducked out of sight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Changeling Hive, Royal Chamber Chrysalis looked over the interaction between Bage and Sunset Shimmer, a grin forming on her lips. "Wingless flight, energy based attacks. This Bage truly is a marvel. It seems that Celestia's student has also taken an interest in him, for the same reason. We'll have to keep an eye on her as well." She motioned toward a drone, who bowed and relayed the message to the scout who was assigned to the task. "These things he's teaching her, could we replicate it?" She asked the drone. The drone gave a quick nod. "With time, we can teach the warrior lings how to harness this 'KI' for our own purposes." The drone stated, and Chrysalis smirked. "Good. If we can master these techniques, we can push our invasion up ahead of schedule. Equestria will be ours for the taking, and not even Celestia could stand up to our might!" She shouted, her changelings cheering over the hivemind. "We shall become the most powerful force in the world, a true superpower! We will feast upon the love of Equestria, and any other nation on Equis. With this 'KI' we could even take on the mighty Minotaurs of Minos, or the Griffin Empire in Griffonstone! Our armies will be unstoppable, unmatched, and our love shortage will be at an end!" She announced, the roar of the hivemind echoing in her mind. "Prepare yourself, Celestia. For soon, the Changeling Hive shall rise and claim this world for our own. And it will all start with Bage. MHMHHAHAHAHAHA!" Bage (Weighted Armor) Power Level:1,000 Sunset (Ki Training)Power LEvel:1,100