//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Foresight // Story: Bardock Lives // by The Grimm Reaper //------------------------------// He saw it again. Frieza, laughing like the demon he was over the destruction that paved the world of the ponies. While he cared little for the weakling creatures, the thought of Frieza returning both frightened and angered him. That spiny little bastard, sitting smugly in his hover chair. It was quickly becoming clear to Bardock that he should either find something on this world to make him stronger, or suffer a more permanent fate than before, like his home world. ...Twilight giggled at him. "Oh, Bardock."... That vision too. Twilight, the unicorn. What was her role in all this? Stupid visions. He could never truly hope to comprehend the full meaning of each vision. Frieza was deffinitely coming, that much he knew. But when? Where would he land? Then there was Twilight. Were they friends? Couldn't possibly me something more. While appearance meant little to him, strength was important. If he couldn't defeat Frieza, then perhaps their son could... Bardock shook his head of such a thought. He stood up, balancing himself so he didn't trip over the edge of the castle tower's roof. Granted, he could fly, but it would be embarrassing should he actually lose balance. He took to the skies regardless and looked around for anything worth his time. With his arms crossed, he descended upon Twilight who seemed to be concerned about something. "Bardock, there you are. I've been looking everywhere for you. Thank Celestia you're safe." the purple pony said. Bardock raised a brow at this. Why wouldn't he be safe? He'd literally blown the toughest this world had to offer to bits. Very little would be able to endanger him. Before he went to say anything, he noticed something about each individual pony that had him... mildly curious. "I've been meaning to ask about those markings on your bodies. What purpose do they serve?" he asked, pointing a finger to Twilight's flank. She followed the trail and smiled, glad to inform him of some general knowledge relating to Equestria. "These are what we call cutie marks. They're magically imprinted to our bodies the moment we discover our unique natural talents." she began. "My brother, Shining Armour was the Captain of the Royal guard until recently. His cutie mark resembled a blue shield with four stars, one large one on the shield, and three smaller ones over it. It symbolised his devotion to the throne and its protection." she explained. "Go on." Bardock said, hoping she would explain her own mark to him. "Some cutie marks can be blatantly obvious, while others can be rather... befuddling. Take Rarity and Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash's cutie mark is relatively straight forward. A cloud with a chromatic lightning bolt means she was born to be the fastest pegasus in Equestria, she follows that destiny by having joined the Wonderbolt Academy, a team of ponies devoted to speed and teamwork." she explained. Bardock nodded. "Then you have Rarity. Although she's a fashion designer, her cutie mark consists of three blue diamonds. This is because of her insane ability to detect gems and the like through magic, like a metal-detector. She then uses these gems in her fashion designs." "I see. And what about yourself?" Bardock asked. "Well, I am a student of magic, which happens to be my special talent. As such, learning all I can about the different forms of magic allows me to discover everything from this world to the stars above. I'm a scientist, astronomer, librarian and sorceress." she replied. "So you'd be rather good at this magic?" Bardock asked. "The best since the legendary mage, Starswirl the Bearded. Or so they say." she replied, blushing at the end. So that's why she was in his visions. It wasn't through future attraction, but because he would come to respect her as the strongest of her kind, however weak she still was compared to him. That was his prediction at least. "Then being as knowledgeable as you are about this world, what exactly are the strongest creatures around?" he asked. "It's actually a bit of a tie between ponies and dragons. Physically, dragons are the superior, but ponies hold their own when it comes to magic, or power as you'd call it." she replied. "So, you're more powerful than the dragons?" he asked, a hint of excitement tackling his tone." Twilight nodded. "Show me." In Canterlot city square, a ring of ponies left room for the two beings ready to combat each other. One combatant was familiar to them, Princess Celestia's personal student, Twilight Sparkle. The other was spoken of in recent rumours, the Saiyan warrior, Bardock. Twilight's friends had gathered in the ring behind her. Their concern was evident in the way they looked between their friend and Bardock. "Twi, are you sure you should be doin' this?" Applejack asked, leaning forward a little. "He wants to test my abilities as a mage. This could be my chance to impress him and get on better terms with him. That would be beneficial for us all." she replied. "So long as you're sure, darling." Rarity said, doubt coating her voice. Bardock just stood where he was, one arm pulling at the other in a stretching motion before mirroring the motion with the other arm. He then crossed both arms and cracked his neck to either side. What he wouldn't give for some of the healing liquid from a medi-chamber. He was ready to go. "Give me your best shot, kid!" Bardock dared her, hoping to goad her into doing exactly what he said. If only he had his scouter, then he'd be able to tell how strong she was right off the bat. Twilight took his bait and smiled. She'd learned that her magic was something to be proud of, and she planned on demonstrating it to the naive Saiyan. "Okay, here we go!" she replied. Twilight knew her magic was strongest when her emotions took over. So that's what she did, keeping the subconscious thought to abstain from harming the innocent watchers in her demonstration. Bardock felt it. The slight tingling directly ahead. What was it? It was familiar, a feeling he got whenever he increased his power. Was this her power he was sensing? Twilight's body began to turn from Lavender to cream, and her mane and tail both waved slightly before bursting into flame. ..."You ruthless...Heartless...Bastard!!!" Goku cried as the recent death of Krillin played over and over again in his mind. Frieza himself just laughed. "I think the brat should go next." the tyrant said. Without warning the planet around them began to shake and rattle. Bits of the ground began to break away from the collective and rise around Goku. "You're going... to pay... for that!!!" Lightning struck fairly close to the angry Saiyan, turning part of him into a silhouette. His hair began to spike like his power level, veins showing clearly throughout his entire body. "HaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!" The Saiyan's hair turned gold and his eyes flashed green with power. He'd done it, he'd become the warrior of legend. Goku, Bardock's son had become the Legendary Super Saiyan... Bardock shook his head free of the image, pride still sticking to him as he focused on his own battle/demonstration. He was just in time to see a fairly large ball of magical energy flying towards him. He threw his hand forward, some energy of his own fighting against the so called magic. To his surprise, Déjà vu struck him as his own energy was absorbed into twilight's. Irrational fear got the best of him and he hurled his most powerful attack at it with a defiant yell. To his relief, Twilight's magic dissipated and Bardock's attack was left flying into the air. It exploded a fair way away, leaving no-one harmed. The incident left Bardock rattled. In his mind, he blamed the visions for distracting him and making him panic, but he knew in his heart that he was deftly afraid of that particular outcome.