//------------------------------// // Chapter Four: Planning Ahead, One's True Strength // Story: Dragon Ball Equus: A New Evil // by Pen Dragon //------------------------------// Chapter Four: Planning Ahead, One’s True Strength “Hahahaha! It seems that you’ve won quite the audience! It’s a shame they don’t realize your true intentions.” Frieza said with a grin matching Jacks and he couldn’t help but look back at his fellow frost demon. “And it’s best to keep it that way… Give them a bit of hope for the time being… I don’t plan on being some hero for them. I only let them live cause they know everything about the world we find ourselves in. Once we learn enough… I dispose of them. I need a crew of warriors and intelligent beings. Not some weak feeble minded ponies.” He answered as he waved to the ponies. “Excuse me… Can someone point me to the nearest shopping district?” “This isn’t the time to be fooling around!” “That’s what you think, but I only need a few things from these ponies as payment for saving their sorry asses.” He replied before he felt a hoof grab hold of his hand. Turning to see Melody Heart with a kind smile, pulling him over to a shopping district. “Right this way! What do you need Lord Frieza?” She asked kindly as she continued to pull him which only began to irritate the frost demon. “Can you please release me? Your hurting my hand!” He said, earning a blush from the mare as she released her grasp from him. “So sorry… Um… Anyways, what is it that you need, Lord Frieza?” She asked, bowing her head slightly as the frost demon rolled his eyes. He wasn’t used to being praised let alone bowed too, but Frieza only laughed in his head, being the opposite of Jack. “I need a map of this… World called Equus, a history book, and lastly a cloak?” He asked, folding his arms as Melody nodded her head and began to make her way into a shop. Chuckling to himself, Jack couldn’t help but appreciate the sentiment from the mare. ‘To think that these ponies would do anything I tell them, just because I had saved them. How very naive.’ “So, would you care to tell me what your up too?” Frieza demanded as Jack scuffed. “Right now, we don’t know anything about this damn place, our best option is to gather info and lay low for the time being, at least until we figure out what our next move is.” He explained, but before Jack could continue, he felt a light tap on his shoulder, startling him as Melody was standing next to him with everything he had asked for. “S-Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you! I was just here to give you what you asked for.” Melody replied as she handed him the saddle back with her teeth, Jack couldn’t help but chuckle as he took the bag in his hands and began to look inside, finding a brown cloak inside with a map and the history book he had asked for. Everything was going according to plan so far and Jack was all the more pleased with Melody’s work. “It’s no problem at Melody, I have to say that I didn’t expect to get all of this so quickly. Do I have to pay?” He asked, but Melody shook her head to the side and smiled at the frost demon. “Nope, it’s free of charge for you… Especially after you saved our village from… Whatever that thing was?” She said, shivering from what had happened earlier. Although Jack couldn’t help but wonder how Raditz didn’t know who he was, considering how he was the most infamous villain in the Dragon Ball franchise. “Well… thank you for giving me what I have asked for… But I’m afraid this is where we part ways.” “Oh, well… Thank you again… I do hope we’ll see eachother again.” Melody said, saddened as she waved goodbye to the frost demon who simply smiled and continued to walk away, putting on the cloak, but what she didn’t know was that Jack had plans that for their little town later down the road. Back in Ponyville Sunset couldn’t help but wonder if Luna would be alright. Ever since she received a letter from Princess Celestia about the attack on a small village near Trottingham and how Luna went to go investigate it, she was beginning to worry that something terrible could happen to the lunar princess. “Hello, Sunset… Are you in there?” A feminine voice called out to her and Sunset felt a little glad that one of her friends had dropped by, using her magic she unlocked the door and opened it, revealing Fluttershy, carrying a picnic basket. “I… I brought us some lunch, are you alright?” “Thanks Flutters, but I’m fine, I just received a letter from the princess about a village being under attack… And Princess Luna heading there to hopefully deal with it.” She replied as the two made their way over towards Sunset’s kitchen. “Oh my, I do hope she’ll be okay?” “I hope so too Fluttershy, but I keep getting this nagging feeling that there’s something bigger going on here… And I think it has something to do with these dreams I’ve been having lately.” Sunset explained, as the pegasus in front of her gave off a curious look of worry. “What did you dream about?” “I… I saw something… A demon with pale white and purple skin… And its voice… It’s laughter… frightened me.” She explained as the unicorn began to shake slightly before Fluttershy had wrapped a wing around her friend, calming her down. “It’s okay Sunset… I’m sure it was just a dream a nothing more.” Fluttershy said, reassuring the unicorn that everything would be okay. “Your, I guess I’m overreacting a bit… Thanks Flutters.” She said, smiling back at the pegasus as she too returned it with a smile of her own. “So what did you make us for lunch?” “Daisy Sandwiches and a small salad.” She replied, unaware that the pair was being watched outside Sunset’s window, by two tall figures, both wearing black cloaks as they looked towards each other. A Feminine voice spoke out. “Chapel, shouldn’t we be dealing with this pony right now? I find it odd that this pony knows about Lord Fr-” “Don’t say it out loud Hop… They are only dreams, but I see where you are coming from. These dreams this mare is having could be a problem for the master’s plan and as much as I would like to take this one out now, we can’t… especially since she’s allied with those pesky princesses.” The other figure said with a growl. “For now, we retreat and report our findings, I think this will be interesting information for our master.” Meanwhile, Jack was now resting atop of a tree in what is supposedly called Whitetail woods, and he admitted that the scenery was calming to some degree and gives him time to look over the history of Equus and see what he could learn from it. And much to Frieza’s dismay, it was the only thing they could do at the moment, especially since the former tyrant wasn’t in control. “This is foolishness! How long are you planning on reading? You should be conquering villages and gather forces to do your bidding!” Frieza stated in anger, since the two had been up in that tree for quite awhile as Jack continued to read everything he could. “We need to know everything about this damn place before we even consider making a move. Besides I’m not interested in conquering like you, I want revenge for what that Merchant did to me and Audrey. Everything was fine until that sly bastard sent us here… Not only was I turned into you, but I have you in my head annoying me.” He said, closing the book and stood up and jumped down, making a perfect landing. “Well you aren’t any closer to having your own revenge! Even if you find this fool, what’s to say he won’t kill you on the spot… You have no allies, no army, no empire, and no friends to help you. If you want your revenge then you must start by conquering, after all… This world is gonna be mine so I suggest you get to work.” Frieza ordered as he smirked at his counterpart, but Jack simply rolled his eyes as he soon reached Chapter 17 of Equestrian History and what really peaked his interest was the fall of the one known as Nightmare Moon. “Hey, Frieza… Looks like we might be in more trouble than we originally thought?” Jack asked as he continued to read through the first page. “From what I’ve read so far, there are two immortal beings that can raise both the Sun and Moon, possessing magic unrivaled across the world and one of them had tried to take over Equus until she was imprisoned on the moon itself for a thousand years by her eldest sibling.” “So not only are we dealing with lowly life forms but immortal beings as well? Well then, this just means you have to get stronger it's as simple as that.” Frieza explained as he smirked at Jack who gave the frost demon a deadpan stare. “Easier said than done Frieza… If you ask me… The only way we can really win is if we gather allies… Cause even if I do find a way to control all of your powers, it won’t do me any good if I’m beaten and have no one to help.” Jack countered as he continued to look through the book, skipping several chapters until he arrived on Chapter 32, the realm of Tartarus. “Now this looks interesting, it says here that Tartarus is a prison world created to hold some of the most infamous criminals and monsters throughout all of history.” “Hahaha! Then that’s where we shall look, after all it’s best that we do gather subordinates who at the very least have some brains, unlike that saiyan monkey.” Frieza commented as his famous grin turned into a scowl from the mere thought of Raditz back in that little village. Not that Jack blamed him, considering he also despised the brainless saiyan. “It’s probably best that we don’t get ourselves involved with any Saiyan’s… not until I can learn to control these powers I have and I’m pretty sure that Raditz was sent to attack that town. Meaning there has to be someone a lot stronger than him… But that could all just be wishful thinking.” Jack added before closing the book and placing it inside the bag that the ponies have given him. Leaping out of the tree and landing safely onto the ground, the frost demon began to travel through White Tail Woods in hopes of finding a clearing to test out his powers and get some control over them. Once he had reached a clearing, Jack began to survey his surroundings until he spotted an old dead tree between to others. Smirking to himself, he pointed his right index finger and began concentrating, trying to imagine the ki energy surrounding him before, but at a single point. Yet nothing appeared. “Hmm… I managed to do it before… So why can’t I do it now?” “Because you lack the necessary training to control you energy… Simply imagining it won’t help you pathetic ape.” Frieza commented with a scuff in his tone, not pleased at the way Jack was envisioning a Ki blast. “At least I’m trying… All you do is give me poor advice and lower my self esteem.” Jack retorted as he glared at his fellow frost demon. “If you want use my magnificent power, then you should at the very least focus on controlling your energy and master the ability of flight soon after… Then you can use my techniques.” He explained, scowling at Jack who gave a deep sigh and began to take the same stance as before and began to power up. “Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” Jack’s energy soon began to rise as his body was surrounded by a dark purple aura, feeling his anger boil as the veins in his muscles began to bulge slightly. His eyes began to widen and strain as he shouted at the top of his lungs, before unleashing his energy across the landscape, devastating the surrounding trees in his destructive power, reducing everything to ash, until he was standing in the large crater he had made. When the smoke cleared, Jack only stared in utter shock at his work, more so than Frieza who was gawking at the frost demon from his display of power. “How the hell did you access all of that power? You couldn’t even use a fifth of it before and now you suddenly broke your limitations?” “I… I honestly do not know.”