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// Chapter 4: The Saiyan 
// Story: Dragon Wish 
// by DanishDash 
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Everything was dark, Daniel was not aware of anything around him. He had been like this since yesterday, out cold. Yet, soon enough he started to come around, at the sound of loud talking.

"But we can't know for sure." Said a voice that was sweet, yet firm.

"I can't believe you're taking its side, you saw what it did, what it could have done!" A raspy voice replied, jolting Daniel's mind more awake.

"It is not an IT, it's a he!" The sweet voice replied, though with a hint of frustration.

"Enough." A third voice said, sounding stern, yet not angry, just serious. "The creature's mind is coming around, he is waking up."

A shiver ran down his spine, how did she know? A fourth voice then joined in, sounding more motherly, but nonetheless stern. "Then let us hear what the creature has to say. Captain Shining Armor?"

"On it, ma'am."  A fifth voice, this one male, replied promptly.

At that point Daniel decided to open his eyes, expecting to find himself, well, he didn't know what he was expecting. He didn't have a lot of time to consider his situation. What he found was not what he expected, but perhaps should have not been surprised to see. His wrists and ankles had been chained, and he was in the middle of a large cage. He could move, but the chains were just short enough that he could not touch the bars of the cage.

His eyes moved around, his heart racing as he understood what was happening, and what had happened. He was in a large hall, very beautiful, if he was not surrounded by serious looking ponies in armor and spears. Not far in front of him was a group of six ponies, the ones from the party at the farm. Then behind them a set of stairs, leading to a platform with two thrones. Upon them sat a large white, well, what? 

The white creature with her long flowing mane was not small enough to be a pony, but did not look like a horse. It had wings, and a horn, unlike any other pony he had seen. It was clearly female, and clearly in a position of authority, perhaps the planet's ruler? Her eyes were fixed on him, and Daniel got the sense he was being analyzed, or studied. She didn't look angry, but she did convey the seriousness of the situation through her gaze.

Daniel felt the urge to look away, but he only looked to the second large pony. She too was female, and she too was larger than the more normal pony. Like the big white one, she had both wings and a horn. Her fur however was dark blue, and her mane, while flowing like the other's, looked like the star filled sky. Her eyes did not seem to study him, or if they did, it would be like someone studies an enemy. She looked angry, or at least, ready to deal out some serious punishment.

Their roles were still unclear to him, both had thrones, and both seemed like to be on equal footing. So maybe they both ruled? Like a king and queen? Maybe they were mother and daughter? Married? Daniel didn't know, and right now he didn't care. The mood in the hall was heavy, and Daniel had the sense that he was on trial.

They had stripped him of his armor, leaving him only in the garments he wore below it. It felt strange, having worn it for so long, he almost felt naked without it. His tail was still there, thank god for that, but that did made him wonder how they got him to transform back? Unless they held out until morning?

"Creature." The white uniwinged horse spoke. "Do you understand Equish?" Daniel looked up at her, nodding. He could speak, but was unable to find his voice as he was still taking everything in. "Then you will listen, and answer when asked a question." Daniel nodded again, but felt there was no real choice in this matter. "Good. I am princess Celestia, co ruler of Equestria, and this is my sister." She gestured with her wing to the dark blue uniwinged horse. "Princess Luna, my co ruler."

Daniel made a face, thinking if they ruled this planet, shouldn't they be queens? Princess Luna picked up on it instantly, and snapped at him. "Do you have something to say, creature?"

Daniel met her eyes, feeling a surge of irritation of being called a creature. "My name is not 'creature'." He stated, a little surprised by his own boldness. Maybe this new body had given him a bit of Saiyan pride? Because he couldn't imagine himself talking back to her like that if he was still a normal human.

Luna looked like she was about to say something, but princess Celestia cut in before she had the chance. "Then let us start with that. What and who are you?"

That was the million dollar question, wasn't it? He was a kid, but was he even human anymore? No, Daniel didn't feel like a human, the things he could do, the potential he now had went beyond human capabilities. But was that what he was going to answer? He was human, but now another race all together after a birthday wish? No, that just wouldn't do.

First of, he had no idea if they would believe her, and second of all, he had no idea if he could trust these ponies. Better to keep his card close for now, and give them half the truth, part of the story, but not everything. With his mind made up, he looked Celestia in the eyes.

"My name is." 

He paused. Was his human name the one he wanted to use? Didn't sound like a Saiyan name, but he didn't really know many examples. For a brief moment he considered taking Goku's Saiyan name, but that felt cheap. He didn't want to be like another person, he wanted to be himself. Still, Goku embodied both worlds, life as an Earthling, and his Saiyan heritage. Perhaps he could do that too? Besides, he didn't want to lose himself, his name after all was the only thing his birth parents had given to him, and he didn't want to lose that connection.

"My name is.. Da.. Daiko.." Perhaps it was not the most intimidating name, but it embodied both worlds in his mind, and he was happy with that. He was Daiko, the Saiyan. "I'm a Saiyan."

"A Saiyan." Celestia repeated, testing out the word. Then she looked a bit more serious. "Then tell us, Daiko, why did you attack us last night?"

Daiko froze, for a moment, he had completely forgotten he had transformed into his Oozaru form. His eyes moved around the ponies around him, some of which had bandages on them, like the Rainbow manned one. That made him feel guilty, and looked up at Celestia with a worried expression.

"Was anyone killed..?"

Celestia raised an eyebrow, noting the tone in his voice, the concern. Deciding to calm him, and see how he reacted she shook her head. "No, thankfully, nopony was hurt."

Daiko visibly looked relieved, Luna however, grew frustrated. "You attacked us, tell us why," she demanded.

Now he looked at her, though this time he looked more embarrassed, and guilty than before. "It wasn't on purpose, I ca-"

"Not on purpose?!" Luna growled in disbelief, cutting him off. "You transformed into this massive monster, and you're telling me it was not intentional."

Daiko glared at her, standing up. "If I could control it, why would I want to pass out when.." He stopped himself, then looked at Celestia. "Wait, how did you stop me?"

A small cough came from the group near the stairs. It was the kind of cough that was meant to draw attention. A purple unicorn stepped forward. "I figured out your powers came from the light of the moon, or at least, it triggered it. We managed to slow you down until Princess Luna moved the moon beneath the horizon, away from sight."

Daiko titled his head. "How did you know that would work?"

The purple pony looked almost happy to explain it to him. "Well, it's quite complicated, but I think I can explai-"

"Not now." Luna cut in, ignoring a disappointed looking Twilight, and fixed her eyes on Daiko. "You, speak up. Why did you attack our ponies?"

"I didn't mean to!" Daiko replied, walking closer to the bars, but the chains stopped him from going any closer. He didn't notice, and the strain increased on the chains, making them almost groan. "I can't control the transformations, most Saiyans can't, it takes a lot of special training." He was frustrated, and his muscles tense, straining the metal even more. The guards moved in just a little closer, ready to strike if Daiko tried anything. He didn't notice.

"Why are you here?" Celestia then asked, her voice calm and collected.

The question and how it was asked calmed Daiko a little, she wasn't accusing him, yet, and that strangely relaxed him. Still, he looked guilty, again because he could not tell them the truth, he could only tell them what he knew and try to spin it the best way he could.

Clenching his fists, he looked her straight in the eyes, his face serious. "I was sent here to eliminate all intelligent life, and make the planet ready to be sold off."

The mood changed, it was like every pony in the room let out an emotional and soundless gasp. Celestia narrowed her eyes, taking the statement very seriously as she would not tolerate any threats to her little ponies. Daiko expected her to ask more into it, but she changed the topic to something he didn't expect.

"How old are you, Daiko?"

The question caught him off guard, and for a brief moment he considered lying, but he could tell, somehow Celestia would know if he lied about this. "Ten.."

Again, there was a sort of soundless gasp in the hall, as if none of them could believe, or at least, didn't want to believe he was so young. Even Luna looked uncomfortable about it. Celestia said what they were all thinking, or had tried to avoid thinking about. 

"You're a child." She stated, so every pony in the hall heard. "Why send you, a child, to do that deed?"

He bit his lip, not liking how she seemed to put verbal pressure on the ‘child’ part. Daiko had never liked to be treated as a child, mostly because his foster parents never did, and so felt more vulnerable when people had done it. 

"That's what we do." He then answered. "Saiyans are warriors, we live to fight. When we are first born we are sent to low level planets to take it over, as a test. Those who survive are taken back, those who do not.." He stopped, not liking the story he was coming up with, but it was the only one that made sense to him when thinking about the Saiyan culture. "There is no room for weaklings, and so they are not desired."

The more he thought about it, the more the whole Saiyan thing seemed like a crazy thing to wish for. He had desired adventure, not death and destruction. It was one thing to read about it, see cool battles and read cool lines, but when it became reality, it suddenly revealed its true ugliness. 

"How long have you been here for?" Again, Daiko felt Celestia knew the answer, but she was guiding the conversation. Where she was trying to lead it he had no idea.

"I don't know, about two weeks I think." He replied, shrugging a little.

"And your transformation was not intentional?" 

"Yes.."

"Did you even plan to attack us in the first place?"

Daiko looked up at her, surprised, and a little confused. The same went for Luna, and the group of pones. Even the guards seemed a little unsure.

"Well I.. No.." Daiko admitted. That really was the truth, he didn't want to hurt anyone, and the truth was, the potential for a real fight scared him, though he didn't want to show it. "Truth is, I'm pretty weak compared to other Saiyans my age.. I was likely sent here to die."

That was mostly a guess, but Daiko felt pretty confident in that assumption after having tested out his limits. He was strong, but not much stronger than what Goku was when the manga first began. Other than that, he had very little fighting experience, which was a drop in the sea if he was born as an actual Saiyan. Not to mention he could barely fly, and he had laughable Ki control. A Saiyan his own age could likely kill him without even batting an eye.

"This is a remote planet, with a low power level. Likely it is not even desired at all, just a convenient place to send me off to." Again, a total lie. Daiko had really no idea about the value of this place, or how remote it was. Still, he had just appeared, and so assumed he really was the only Saiyan in existence, which meant nobody would be looking for him. 

There was silence for a while before Celestia spoke up again. "Daiko, if you were to be freed, would you swear never to harm anyone?"

Luna looked startled at her sister, but Celestia ignored her for now, keeping her eyes locked on Daiko. He looked back at her, seeming equally as shocked as Luna. He didn't understand, was she offering him freedom? "I.. Uhm, I don't understan-"

"Do you swear never to harm my little ponies?" Celestia asked, cutting him off. 

Without thinking much about it, he nodded. "I promise.. I won't harm anyone."

Celestia seemed satisfied with that for now. "Very well, then I think we can come to some understanding. You are a child, Daiko, and I don't think any of us wants to punish a child for actions he had no control over. You're intelligent, and that monster you became was clearly not. Since no pony was killed, I think we can come up with a way for you to redeem yourself and even become an Equestrian citizen." 

"Sister, what are you doing?" Luna asked, looking confused and a little annoyed.

It was subtle, but Celestia gave Luna a tiny look, as if telling her they would discuss it later. Without any reply, Luna fell silent, seeming to have an unspoken understanding with her sister. 

"Ponyville was damaged, though not beyond repair. I think it would be fair to have you go there, and help the town recover." Again, a soundless gasp of disbelief could be felt. "You're a child, and so I won't send you to jail, but you still have to face the consequences like anypony else. I believe in redemption." She glanced at Luna for a brief moment, then continued. "And I do not believe you to be evil. Be warned, if that turns out not to be the case, you will not find yourself getting off so easily next time."

Daiko gulped, nodding. "I understand.."

"Good." Suddenly, Celestia seemed a little more cheerful. "We also need to find you a place to stay while in Ponyville. You're a minor, and while the circumstances force us to be creative, you should have a guardian to look after you, not to mention teach you about Equestria and our customs." She looked down to the elements of harmony, so did everyone else.

None of them seemed eager, Pinkie didn't count, because she was always smiling and bouncy, and that was not the place for him. Rainbow still had a grudge, maybe because she was the most injured, so she would not be good either. Applejack seemed to hold one as well, but not at the same scale as Rainbow, so she was an option. Twilight, well, she meant well, but Celestia knew all too well her curiosity and overthinking would create more problems. Rarity would be a better option, while she still seemed disturbed, she seemed more willing thanks to her generosity. 

"I'll do it." Fluttershy said, raising her hoof. 

Daiko looked at her, having a feeling he had seen her eyes before. The other ponies looked more surprised than anything, even Celestia seemed slightly bemused. The rainbow pony looked even more shocked, or maybe outraged. "What?! Fluttershy, how can you-"

"Fluttershy." Luna cut in, gaining the yellow pony's attention, along with the rest of the group. "Are you sure you would want to open your home to this, Saiyan?"

Fluttershy seemed nervous, but still had a look of determination about her. "Yes," she replied with a firm nod.

"Very well." Celestia nodded, then looked at Daiko. "Do you accept this arrangement?" 

Daiko hesitated, he still wasn't sure what to think about all of this, but maybe this could be the beginning of a new and better life. He looked at Fluttershy, he sent him a small and gentle smile. Something about her made him want to trust her, and in that moment, he did trust her intentions, and so looked back at Celestia. 

"Yes, I do."