//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: More then just one... // Story: Defender of Equestria // by x-Kiryu-x //------------------------------// Wham! Bam! Smack! The large sandbag landed on the floor loudly, the sand inside it spilling all over the floor. Kiryu stood in front of it, panting, wearing a white shirt and track pants, barefoot as well as covered in sweat. The past few weeks have been nothing but training for him, while he hasn't been training on a way of fighting, he's been training on his strength, from carrying weights around to just exercising, but... Kiryu didn't feel like he was getting stronger, not enough. Looking down at his open palms, the saiyan frowned, he was getting strong, yes... but not fast enough! Sighing, he turned around and started walking to his room, once he entered he decided to take of his shirt, revealing his now even more athletic body underneath it, from chubby, to thin, to slightly muscular, the saiyan's metabolism seemed high with his body taking in every ounce of training and turning it into strength. Sitting on his bed, he turned to his left and grabbed his computer and opened up the very handy internet. But after a few minutes of getting nothing but bodybuilding sites and stereotypical dojo advertisements, he sighed once more and closed his laptop before placing it aside. Suddenly, his door opened, Celestia walking in. "Son...? You left the training room early today, is something the matter?" She asked. Kiryu looked down slightly before back up to his mother. "It... it's taking me too long to get strong and... and I still don't know how to fight, all I do is swing my fists and feet around hoping for the best... I need to learn from someone strong!" He exclaimed. The alicorn frowned at her son's problem, while one side of her was worried that he would want to go out there and fight another wanted to support him and help. But... she wasn't a teacher, not when it came to that, her fighting is more complex, not to mention she could hurt him comparing her strength to his. Tapping her chin with her hoof, she then suddenly thought of someone who could help. Smiling she turned around. "I think I know who can help you my son." Kiryu blinked before hopping off his bed and following his mother, grabbing his shirt and putting it back on as he followed.. And after a short walk, they had reached Celestia's now rebuilt room, missing one bookcase at the moment. Reaching into one of the shelves on the wall, she began looking for something trough all the other parchments, the recent remodeling mixing up her organized scrolls. But with a small gasp, she found what she was looking for. Turning around to face the saiyan behind her, she used her magic to levitate a small scroll in front of the boy. "Kiryu, this scroll contains a map to an old friend of mine, who I am sure will gladly help you on your journey." She said as Kiryu reached with his hand and grabbed the parchment. Unrolling it, he looked at the information sketched on it. It was a map that lead from Canterlot all the way to what looked like a beah. Blinking, Kiryu then looked up to his mother. "So, someone strong lives there that can help me?" He asked. The alicorn nodded. Looking down, the saiyan thought to himself for a moment. 'But... mom is strong... why can't she teach me? Maybe cause I'm not a pony... or cause she's too strong. Maybe the person she's leading me to walks on two legs like me... and walking the journey actually might even make me stronger as well..." Smiling, he looked up before nodding. "Alright, this sounds great! Thanks mom!" He exclaimed as he went to hug his mother. Celestia gladly returned the embrace with a wing. "Now, whenever you decide to go and get there, you let me know, I have a feeling you'll have a lot of training to do." The currently eight year old saiyan looked up smiling before nodding in agreement. "Yeah, I don't care if I have to miss my birthday, I'll gladly skip one to get stronger!" Celestia giggled. "So, does that mean I get to eat your cake?" She asked. Kiryu chuckled, his fuzzy tail wiggling behind him as he continued to hug his mother. "Hey... let's not get crazy here mom..." He said. Kiryu quickly dried his damped hair with a towel, his hair spiking up after that, a few stray hairs poking out here and there. After that, he just as quickly placed on a white shirt and track pants, his tail wiggling trough a hole in the back. And finally he finished tying his left shoe before getting up and placing his closed fists on his waist as he looked at himself in the mirror, smiling as he turned around, a smirk on his face as he glared cockily at nothing. Walking forward, his shoes made loud thumping noises as he walked out his door, grabbing a backpack on his way out. Placing it on his back, he turned to the side starring at the long hallway before him. Blinking once, his furry appendage waggled side to side behind him as he lowered his body slightly, clenching his fists. And with as much strength as he could apply to his feet, he dashed forward into a sprint, the backpack safely attached behind him, ensuring it wouldn't fall off. Reaching a set of other hallways, he skidded as he made a left turn, running past by many surprised ponies working around the castle. Until he reached the place he was heading for, the main entrance. Smiling, he picked up the pace as he slammed the doors open, and just before he reached the stairs, he jumped as high as he could, easily reaching the walkway at the bottom and even slightly further, landing with a loud thud, the stone beneath him slightly cracking under his strength. "Alright, today it begins, I start getting stronger! That way no monster can hurt my friends!" He exclaimed to himself as he quickly dashed forward once more, reaching the streets of Canterlot in no time at all. With his feet moving at such a high speed, making it seem like they were nothing but a blur, the saiyan prince sped by many of Canterlot's citizens, many nobleponies grabbing onto their hats, others shielding their eyes from the sudden gust of wind while other jumped back from the sudden blur passing by them. Kiryu smiled as he sprinted down the road towards Canterlot's exit, but he slightly gasped as he saw a unicorn filly in the middle of the road, too busy reading a book to see him coming. Sticking out his tongue slightly to the side, he quickly took a quick hop and shifted his weight forward as he raised his fists in front of him. The filly gasped as she finally lowered her book and saw Kiryu. Time seemed to slow down as she saw the smiling saiyan fly over her, her violet eyes shining as she couldn't stop looking away at the boy over her, too busy concentrating on the path before him to notice her looking at him. And before she knew it, he had landed behind her and continued his run with a quick burst of speed. Quickly, she turned around and blinked slowly as she watched the boy run farther away. "Was that... prince Kiryu?" She asked out loud to herself. Slowly, she placed a hoof over her mouth. 'It's true what everyone says...' She thought. And then a blush formed on her cheeks and the tip of her ears. 'He does look cute...' After running a good distance, Kiryu had started walking, the metallic hooks and zippers around it occasionally hitting one another, making it sound odd in between the sounds of animals, insect and just the ambiance of the forest he was on. Looking down at the map in his hand, he hummed, he was already half way there, but he was starting to get bored. Without wanting to waste his energy and keep running, the saiyan rolled up his map and knelt down, taking his backpack off and placing it in the ground in front of him. Placing the rolled up parchment inside, he then started digging around, trying to find something. "Where is it...? I know I put it around here somewhere... aha!" Kiryu smiled as he pulled out a slightly white taped covered Walkman, in the front of it scribbled in what looked like black marker was scribbled ' Tia' ', and under that, 'Kiryu'. With his smile growing slightly bigger, he reached into one of the small side pouches in his backpack and pulled out a white and black checkerboard color scheme, with a piece of tape labeled 'Mixtape 5'. Spinning it around in the tip of his index finger, Kiryu then placed it in the music player and closed it. Closing his backpack and placing it on his back, he then placed the Walkman on his waist by attaching it to his sweatpants. Lifting the headphones over his head and on his ears, he started walking forward and pressed the play button, music slowly starting to play as the first track began. Humming silently, he awaited to hear the true opening of the song. And soon enough, he heard those familiar notes and the music pick up. The saiyan was an odd kid, his taste in music, while very open, also lead him to like music not from his generation, why he liked it, nobody knew. Maybe it had something to do with his mother listening to it while taking care of him in his toddler years. 'Thank you for the mixtape mom!' He thought as he closed his eyes and bobbed his head to the beat. Walking in rhythm to the song, he soon sang alongside, his tail wiggling behind him as he soon began hopping over patches of mud and water in front of him, not wanting to get one of his favorite pair of sneakers dirty. Still singing, he continued his walk, deciding to relax a bit before reaching the place where he would get stronger. His hands swinging forward and back as the saiyan walked. Meanwhile, somewhere else, far away, someone else was hearing the same song. Opening her onyx black eyes, the girl listening to the song bobbed her head in beat to the song, her long semi spiky hair shaking with each movement. The girl's name was Rin. And just like Kiryu, she was a saiyan, currently sitting in her space pod. Wearing a full bodied black jumpsuit, with white gloves and boots, one shoulder pad on her right while the left only had a strap over her shoulder, a fuzzy brown tail wrapped around her waist. And an emblem on the right side of her chest. Looking around her pod in slight boredom, she looked at all the souvenirs she had decorated her pod with, from pictures to postcards and even a tiny little sun hanging near the window. Blinking, she reached out and grabbed one picture in particular. A photo of her and a group of several other races clad in similar looking armor like hers. They were all sitting down, eating but posing for whoever was taking the photo, she was over the shoulders over the one with orange short hair. And she was smiling. Her eyes showed slight sadness as she stared at the picture. Opening her mouth, she finally spoke. "I won't let you down... you may have been defeated in battle, Guldo, Jeice, Burter, Ginyu... and you... Reecome..." The saiyan's eyes watered slightly. Looking to another photo, she blinked, a small tear going down her cheek. It was a photo of her and a thin looking being, dressed in purple armor similar to the one's in the other picture. A nervous expression on his face as he smiled, Rin sitting beside him eating ice cream. "Even you lord... no... Frieza... I'm sorry it was a saiyan that struck you down..." She said out loud. Placing the photo in her hand back on the wall, she then wiped her eyes with her gloved wrist. Lowering her hand, her expression went back to that of being seemingly emotionless. "I will continue the Ginyu force legacy, after I find this other saiyan, then maybe... I can repopulate the saiyans." Closing her eyes, she let the music sooth her and let her relax as she shifted her body back and began getting comfortable before drifting to sleep. Her space pod flying at high speeds across space, several planets and a large sun seen in the distance as her space pod left a white trail of energy behind it, looking like a sort of comet.