I sit upon my throne within the palace of Vegeta, one of my advisors standing nearby as I watch my son and daughter play with toys in the center of the room. My son is a crossbreed between a human and a ninetales, his fur icy blue and his eyes pure white. My daughter is mainly a saiyan with a slight bit of human, her hair purple with pink tips and her eyes a tint of magenta.
I sigh as I stare at them, thinking about the events that would occur when they got older. In their current states, they are younger, more innocent and pure. Something I truly miss despite all the time that has passed.
“What are their names?” a slightly familiar voice asks, genuinely startling me. I look to my right, surprised to find Princess Luna standing there.
“...Hello, Luna,” I tentatively greet. “What… What are you doing here?”
“Say Princess Luna for now, please,” she requests. “I have simply entered your dream.”
“Entered my dream?”
She nods. “Yes. I possess a unique dreamwalking ability which allows me to enter dreams at will.”
“... Huh. I see. So, anyway..” I look back at my children. “They’re names are Mikazuki and Vokhum. Former being my daughter, latter being my son.”
“Mikazuki meaning Crescent Moon…”
I smile. “You know your Japanese?”
“If that is what your version of Kirinese is, yes.”
“Hm. Well, in case you want to know, Vokhum is Dwarven for Black Sun.”
Princess Luna stares at Mikazuki and Vokhum, smiling. “Where are they now?” she asks. “I would like to meet them.”
My ears droop. “Gone.”
…
Her ears droop as she understands the implication. “I see… What happened, if I may?”
I look at her. “Are you sure you want to know?”
Luna looks at me. “Whether or not you would like to simply tell me or show me, yes. I would like to know.”
I sigh, looking down. “They were fighting against someone called Cell Max. They lost, and…” I take in a breath.
“Would you rather tell me another time, when you have some preparation??” Luna asks before I can talk further. “I can see that this is a hard topic for you.”
“How wouldn’t it be? They died right in front of me. …” I sigh. “Yeah, I’ll… I’d need some preparation. The details are… gruesome, to put it in a word.”
Luna nods. “Tis’ fine. Now. Switching topics, I came here specifically to see about the full-power Saiyan form you mentioned.”
I look at her. “Did you… want me to show you it here?”
“Yes. Tis’ much safer to do so in the dream realm.”
“... Um, ahem. Yeah, sure. I can… show you it.”
Nodding once more, Luna uses her powers to blank out the castle, replacing it instead with an expansive grass field.
I look around, standing up from my still-present throne, surprised at how easily she seemed to change my dream on such a whim.
“Woah.”
Luna smiles. “Now please,” she begins, whisking away my throne, “Show me your full-power form.”
I take in a deep breath, pushing all thoughts out and focusing on my transformation. Crystals form at my feet; water forms around the crystals and create a rippling effect. Then, as the transformation truly begins, the water shoots into the air like a pillar, enveloping me.
My hair turns black, save for the purple tips, and it begins flowing like a wave in water. As this happens, an aura appears around me, glowing like water beneath a moon, before my tail suddenly turns translucent.
Once the transformation is complete and the pillar of water is gone, I stare at Luna, slightly holding my hands out from my sides as to give her a proper look at what has changed.
The princess respectfully holds her hands behind her back, staring at me and simply taking in each detail of my form.
“Well?” I ask.
“Tis’... intriguing,” she replies.
“You say that a lot.”
“It is how I speak, Umiya. Or is it… ‘Queen’ Umiya? Judging by the castle you were dreaming about?”
I nod, crossing my arms. “Yes. Technically speaking, I’m the queen of planet Vegeta.”
“I see. Anyway. Is this form your most powerful?”
“Mhm.”
“In what situations would you use this form, seeing as you are already extraordinarily powerful in your standard form?”
“... Depends.”
"Then-"
"Wait a minute," I interrupt.
With my senses heightened by my saiyan form, I sense a being of extensive power elsewhere in Equestria. One I have not sensed before.
"Do you feel that?" I ask, looking around.
"Feel what?"
"The being with increased power level."
Luna narrows her eyes. "Whatever do you mean?"
"They're a decent way south of us. It's like someone is going through the country, gaining power abnormally quick. … They might be absorbing power from others."
Luna stands still, ears twitching as she stares into nothing.
"... You are right, Queen Umiya. I can sense the increased power as well."
"Just say Umiya or Umi, please."
"Of course. … What could this power be?”
“I don’t know. But what I do know is that it’s coming straight for us. At the rate it’s going, I’d give it three days before it gets here.”
“And you said that it was slowly gaining power, so that could cut its travel time down to thirty six hours.”
I stand there, feeling and thinking about the power, genuinely wondering what it could be.
“I’m gonna wake up,” I say.
“Excuse me?”
“I’m gonna wake up. Wake up and tell the others.”
Before the princess can say much else, the dream blanks out completely. Opening my eyes, I sit up straight in my bed and look around. After getting off my bed and spending a few minutes stretching, I put on formal attire and walk out of my room.
Minutes later, I round a bend and meet up with Princess Luna who is already telling Twilight of what is happening.
“-just finding it hard to believe that you can sense somepony slowly gaining power from hundreds of miles away,” Twilight says, rubbing her eyes as she stares at Luna.
“Tis’ a power alicorns pick up as they grow older,” Luna states. “You will feel it in due time. But back to the topic, the power is approaching the empire and will arrive in thirty six hours.”
“Can I at least sleep for a few more hours, then?”
“Do you want to die?” I ask as I stop next to Luna.
“No,” Twilight replies. “I just don’t want to prepare with less than five hours of sleep.”
Luna crosses her arms. “Many from my time planned entire battles with less than four hours of sleep, Twilight. You can do the same if you put your mind to it.”
Twilight tries to disguise a yawn as a sigh. “Fine. Just… Give me ten minutes to get ready, alright?”
Luna nods. “Very well. Alert your friends.”
Turning, she begins walking away from Twilight’s door and toward another. I follow.
“Where are the others?” I ask.
“My sister is behind this door,” Luna states before knocking.
Knock Knock Knock
She steps back, staring at the door and waiting patiently. After a dozen seconds, she knocks again, harder this time.
Knock Knock Knock
“Hold on,” Celestia asks from inside. Half a minute later, she opens the door and is surprised to find Luna and I. “Luna? Umiya? What are you two doing here?”
“Sister, me and Umiya have sensed a power which is slowly increasing in strength,” Luna states. “And it is slowly approaching the Crystal Empire.”
Celestia stares at Luna, wearing a knowing expression. “Is it…”
Luna nods. “Yes.”
“Who is it?” I ask. “Do you two know?”
“Who’s coming to the Empire?” the familiar voice of Cadance asks as she exits her room and walks over.
“Tirek,” Celestia and Luna state, looking at the pink mare.
Cadance’s eyes widen. “What?!”
I tilt my head, curious. “Who’s Tirek?”
“Tirek,” Luna begins, looking at me, “Is a centaur from centuries past. He came from a distant land with his brother to conquer Equestria and steal all the magic for himself. His brother saw sense, he did not. So his brother alerted us and we subsequently banished him to Tartarus. Evidently, he seems to have escaped.”
“I…” I take in a breath. “I see.”
“We need to prepare,” Celestia states.
“You don’t say,” I reply. “Look, I’m gonna go get something to eat, then maybe I’ll meditate for a bit. See the three of you soon.”
“Uh… Whaa?” is what Cadance lets out as I turn and walk away. “You’re just gonna…”
“Evidently, she is,” Luna says as I round a bend.
I find myself wandering aimlessly through the halls, eating a bucket of KFS as I think about Tirek. A centaur, able to absorb magic as quickly and efficiently as it is, heading right for the Crystal Empire.
…
It makes a big part of me want to break my rule of only helping worlds when it directly affects me. Well, not a rule, exactly, but more of a subconscious thing developed from a thousand years of jumping between worlds.
Tirek is, by and large, one of the few true threats to me. Several of my powers are completely nullified if he’s able to absorb magic, power, anything along those lines. My technique and rhythm are totally thrown off and I don’t have enough time to adapt to full-throttle fighting without the powers.
I take in a breath as I think about the last time I had a good fight. A proper fight. One that wasn’t clear cut like most fights I get into. I remember the adrenaline, the anger, the desire to win.
I let my breath out. A part of me is genuinely excited. A part of me wants to feel all those things again. But a part of me is also terrified that such a being could exist in this cutesy fantasy world. Like, how could these ponies even hope to fight Tirek? I’m sure the four princesses combined would put on one hell of a show, but at the end of that show, they would lose. There’s no way I can think of that they would win.
Pursing my lips, I turn around, walking back the way I came as I think heavily about actually helping the ponies. Sure, it would let them live, but this stupid roadblock of a thought makes its way into my mind. A thought involving the timeline. The bottom fact is that I’m not meant to be here. That’s not to say my very existence is throwing things off, nor is anypony knowing about me, but if I directly interfere with what is probably a major event in this world, it could throw off the timeline.
I punch myself in the head. “Are they meant to live peacefully, or be enslaved?” I ask, hating myself for having thought of the stupid timeline. It’s what always gets me, is the question of the timeline. The stupid question that juxtaposes me to no end.
Technically speaking, I could just leave the universe and be done with it. Put it out of sight and out of mind. But I can’t. Again, that stupid thought prevents me from doing the deed.
I sigh. There’s really only one thing to do, and that’s to just ask the princesses if they want my help. Keep the question short and succinct; not add anything that’ll fry their minds such as the timeline. Just tell them how it is: Do they want me to fight Tirek, or do they want me to sit it out?
I start walking back to where I last saw the princesses. I round corners and walk down halls, hoping they are still there. Hoping they will give me a straight answer. Hoping that-
“Umi?”
I stop suddenly, backing up to look down a hall I had just passed to find Celestia.
“Oh. Hi. Celestia,” I greet, walking up to the princess and stopping.
“Where are you going?” she asks with a raised brow.
“To find you and the other princesses,” I reply. “I need to talk to you all about something important.”
“About Tirek?”
“Involving him. Now where are the others?”
“They went to eat,” Celestia replies.
“Could you show me? This is a question that involves all of you.”
Celestia turns around. “If you insist.”
Sighing, I follow the princess through the halls, ignoring the various guards staring me down at every turn. I follow her down a flight of stairs before turning once more, soon finding that we’re walking toward the meeting room from yesterday. Celestia opens a door, respectfully holding it open for me before closing it behind. I don’t say thanks, entirely because I’m focused on scanning the room for whoever is present. Luna, Twilight, Cadance, and the white stallion from the arena.
Celestia sits down next to Twilight, who is the first to notice me. “Umiya! What are you doing here?”
I sit down away from everyone. “I’m here to ask you all something.”
“What might that be?” Luna asks.
I take a deep breath in, steeling myself for what I’m about to ask. “Do any of you want me to help you?”
Silence is what follows. They all just stare and blink.
“...Excuse me?” Cadance asks.
I sigh. “I am a being from a wildly different universe. Do any of you want me to fight Tirek, or should I sit it out, let you do the work, and not screw with anything else?”
The princesses stare at me, confused.
“What do you mean?” Twilight slowly asks. “Are you asking us if we want you to not help us?”
I nod. “Yes, that is exactly what I’m asking.”
Cadance scowls. “So you’re fine with all of us dying?”
I scowl back. “That’s not what I said. I’m just asking if you want me to help or not.”
“Well, yeah! Obviously we want you to help us!”
I clear my throat. “What I mean is, I am technically not supposed to be here. The only reason I’m here is because I jumped universes with my powers. There is no other way I could possibly be here other than me being an interdimensional being. So, my question is, do you want help from someone who isn’t meant to be here, or do you want me to not help and let your universe be.”
Another pause of silence. They all look at each other, Twilight and Celestia quietly conversing with each other.
Looking around at the near-silence, Luna decides to speak first. “I, personally, am of the mantra that if you are here, then you may as well help us. I do not see why you shouldn’t, if you are willing to do so.”
“Okay, so that’s one vote for me helping,” I say before looking at Cadance. “What about you?”
“Please help,” she immediately requests. “I want to win whatever this battle is.”
“That’s two.” I look at Celestia and Twilight. “And you two?”
The princesses stop their conversation and look at me, quickly trying to think of answers.
Twilight is the first to do so. “As much as I feel like me and my friends should be the ones to fight this… I have to say yeah. It would be nice for some help.”
“That’s three.” I eye Celestia. “So? Celestia? What about you?”
Celestia stares at me, her expression pensive. “Personally, I don’t want you to help. For the simple fact that as you put it, you’re not supposed to be here, so you’re…” She takes in a breath, relaxing. “Not supposed to help us,” she calmly finishes.
I slowly nod. “So that’s one against me.” I look at the others, who are surprised at Celestia’s stance. “Do any of you have anything else to say?”
Silence. Just dead silence. I hope for an answer, but none say anything for whatever reason.
I sigh. “Alright. Help it is. You all formulate a plan, I’m gonna go eat.”
“Did you not eat already?” Luna asks as I stand up.
“I did,” I reply. “The joys of fast metabolism are joyful.”
“Fair point, Umiya.”
Nodding, I turn and walk away, somehow not feeling in the mood for KFS.