//------------------------------//
// Prep Work 
// Story: The Wandering Warrior 
// by Onomonopia 
//------------------------------//

"Okay, so the first thing that you need to know about Rarity is that she can be a little eccentric. No, a lot eccentric. She's the biggest drama queen I know. But that doesn't make her bad," Tiara promised Ryu as the two of them walked through the streets of Ponyville. Ryu occasionally glanced around at the small town, nodding to the ponies that recognized him and waved. He also gave glares to the ponies that snickered at his rainbow colored gi. "She's just hard to deal with at times. But if you're patient, which heaven knows you are, then she's a nice pony."

"The sooner she can get my gi returned to its original color, the better," Ryu said with a bit of anger in his tone, something that Tiara had rarely heard in Ryu's voice. He then switched his bag over to his left shoulder before narrowing his eyes. "I wish to begin my training to defeat Rainbow Dash as soon as I can."

"Um, sure. We can do that too," Tiara promised as the two approached a massive building, one that looked like a carousel. Tiara winked to Ryu before tapping her hoof against the door, stepping back a good distance from the door afterwards. "She was never really into the whole fighting thing, so while most ponies are in Canterlot for the tournament, she generally stays here."

As if she heard her name being spoken, Rarity threw open the door a moment later and stepped out of the building. Ryu quickly glanced her over, finding her to have more makeup and product in her mane than other ponies, but other than that he couldn't see how she was that much different than others.

"Ah, you've been to Rainbow Falls, haven't you?" Rarity asked Ryu after she glanced at his outfit. "There's only one place those stains come from. No need to introduce yourself darling, there isn't a soul in Equestria who doesn't know who you are. Nice to see you as well, Diamond Tiara. Took a dip in the falls, huh?" Ryu nodded curtly in reply, before Tiara stepped forward. 

"Yeah, he ran into Dash at the Falls and she kinda kicked him into a pool of rainbow water. We're here so that-"

"Don't worry darling, I can get those stains out of that gi no problem," Rarity said before giving the gi another look. "Of course, with an outfit as old and worn out as that it might just be easier for me to make a new one instead. If you want darling, I can throw that out and-"

"No," Ryu said with such finality that Rarity shut up on the spot. "I wish for my gi to be returned to the way it was. If you cannot do that, then I will go elsewhere."

"Oh...I see," Rarity said in a slightly meeker tone, before moving to the side to allow the two of them to enter. Ryu walked into the boutique and glanced around before finding a chair and sitting down on it. Rarity wrapped an arm around Tiara and pulled her close so that Ryu couldn't hear her words. "He seems like quite the insufferable fellow. How have you put up with him for so long?"

"He's normally not like this," Tiara whispered in reply, casting a glance at Ryu to see that he sat with his arms crossed and eyes closed. But it was clear to her that the only thought on his mind was his battle with Dash and what she had said to him. "He's actually really nice. He's just been in a bad mood since Rainbow Dash beat him."

"She did not defeat me," Ryu cut in, causing the two to yelp as his eyes snapped open. "I had not begun to fight her. The next battle will be different, I promise you that."

"That's quite the hearing you have," Rarity said with a nervous chuckle before she approached Ryu, eyes glancing over the gi...and then his arms. "Good Faust they're like boulders. Er, what I mean is, it might take a while for me to remove the stains from your gi. If you do not have anything else to wear, I can always make something for you. Perhaps something that brings out your...features more."

Ryu stood up without a word and grabbed his bag, walking into another room and shutting the door behind him. Tiara and Rarity shared a look as a minute passed before Ryu emerged again, wearing an outfit so hideous that Rarity nearly passed out on the spot.

The outfit was a yellow tank top, a pair of black shorts with green highlights and a skull cap that was of the most vivid purple. Even Diamond Tiara winced upon looking at the outfit, while Rarity straight up puked into one of her trash bags. Ryu threw his folded up gi at Rarity's hooves, before walking out of the store without another word.

"I'll be paying for the cleaning cost. And about the gi...it's all that he has left from his master. That's why he cares o much for it," Diamond Tiara said with a nervous smile, before turning and taking off after the warrior. That left Rarity to pick up the gi and glance over it, shaking her head at both the colors and the shape it was in. 

"Dear me, if this matters so much to him you would think that he would take better care of it," Rarity pouted before her gaze softened. "But if it was from one that he cared so much for, I could see why he'd want it repaired. Alright Ryu, I will have this returned to normal before the day is done."

→↓↘ + P

Tiara lost track of Ryu for a little while, but fortunately for her there weren't that many humans walking around Equestria. After asking a couple of townsfolk, she found Ryu standing in the middle of the diamond quarry. He had strapped numerous rocks to his body and was now practicing his moves while under an amount of weight that Tiara was certain would crush her.

"So you want to tell me that was about?" Tiara asked Ryu as she approached him. Ryu said nothing in reply and instead threw a kick over his head, his leg not shaking despite the twin, massive rocks that were strapped to his feet. He then hopped to his other foot and threw out another kick, holding it in the air over his head before changing legs again.

"I know you can hear me. Please tell me that your little hissy fit back there was because you lost a fight?" Tiara asked and while Ryu gave no answer, she could see from the way his eyes burned that she had discovered the cause. "You've got to be kidding me. You're upset because you lost a fight? Newsflash, everypony loses at some point in their lives. You've lost, the Ambassadors have lost, Dash has certainly lost and even Zangief was defeated once or twice. Granted, it was because a psychopath stole his body, but that's besides the point..."

"I cannot allow myself to lose. I must be the best," Ryu curtly replied before slamming his feet into the dirt and throwing out punches, each one so fast that Tiara had to wonder if the rocks were weighing him down at all. 

"Okay, I get wanting to be the best you can be. It's a good goal, everypony should have it. But seriously, being upset by a single loss? That's a bit too much, even for me," Tiara said with a bit of heat, which grew into Rage when Ryu ignored her. She let out a sigh of frustration before she walked over and sat down in front of Ryu, so that she had no choice but to look at her.

"Why do you fight?" Tiara asked Ryu, who stopped swinging his arms long enough to glance down at the filly.

"I told you. I seek the meaning in battle."

"Yeah yeah, nice and philosophical. But what I'm asking is, why do you, as a person, fight so hard? Is it because your master beat it into you that you had to be the best? Is it because that you want to prove your fighting techniques to the world? Or is it simply that you found it fun?" Tiara asked Ryu. She expected to be ignored or another curt answer in reply, but to her surprise Ryu hung his head slightly for a moment before answering.

"Because fighting is all I have. And if I'm not the best at that...the I have nothing."

'I...don't know how to respond to that,' Tiara thought, wondering what exactly Ryu meant. But despite her asking a few different times, Ryu remained silent as he continued to train. Figuring that she wasn't going to get anything else out of him about his reason for fighting, she decided to try a different route. "So, what's up with that outfit? I mean, that looks way beyond anything that you'd wear."

"You are correct. My closest friend, essentially my brother, got this for me. He thought it would be funny to see someone as serious as me wearing an outfit like this," Ryu said with a small smirk upon his face. "He always did enjoy pranking me. My fear of spiders actually comes from him. He stuck one in my mouth when I was sleeping. Terrified me when I awoke."

"Hah, you're lucky to have somepony you're close enough too to consider them a brother. Everypony I've ever talked to either hated me or sucked up to me," Tiara said with a small grumble, turning Ryu's gaze onto the filly. "Wasn't always the nice little filly that you see before you. I used to be a real jerk. Sometimes I can still be."

"Was that from your mother's side of the family?"

"Okay, one: ouch. Second, you're right. She was the one that taught me to act like her. Took a long time before I finally saw the error of my ways and turned into this saint you see before you," she said to Ryu with a beaming smile, one that made Ryu slightly smile in reply. "But I know were you're coming from, wanting to be the best. I wanted to be the best for a long time as well. But I thought that by belittling others would make me seem that much greater. Didn't work."

"It never does."

"So yeah, for a long time, I was alone. I mean, I had ponies that hung out around me, but they weren't my friends," Tiara said as she lost herself in memories, most of them bad. "But then thanks to three fillies, I managed to change. I managed to cast off the pony that I thought I was destined to be and instead became the pony that I wanted to be. And I've never looked back since that day."

"I see...you were able to overcome your demon and rise even greater. So there is hope..." Ryu muttered to himself so that Tiara couldn't hear him, before he smiled bitterly and cut the rocks free of his body. "You are right Tiara, I have been acting...immature today. And I have put you and others through unnecessary hardship. I apologize."

"Um, it's fine Ryu. You don't have to bow like that," Tiara said as she nervously rubbed the back of her head, annoyed slightly by how low Ryu was bowing to her. "Come on, stop it!"

Ryu rose back up with a smile on his face, before turning his gaze and staring off at the castle resting upon the mountain that loomed over them. 'In a few days, I will finally fight the best that this world has to offer. And I will finally see what all of my training has been for.'

"Hey Ryu, I know you want to train, but there are a few places that I'd like to visit in Ponyville real quick," Tiara asked Ryu, who nodded to her. "Thanks. Been on the road for over three months and haven't seen much of my home. Want to meet a few friends and see how things are going."

"Certainly. I do not mind if...actually, go one without me. I will catch up."

Tiara shrugged before heading off on her own, leaving Ryu standing alone in the quarry. But he wasn't as alone as one would think.

"I was wondering if I would see you again," Ryu spoke to the quarry, even though there was no one standing with him. "I know that you are there. I am beginning to sense whenever you are around."

"That just shows that you are getting stronger. Better. More useful," the voice of the hermit said from behind Ryu, but when he glanced around behind him he saw no one there. "But just because you can sense me does not mean that you are yet at your maximum potential. There are still a few trials more that you must overcome first."

"Care to tell me what those trials are?" Ryu asked.

"You will find out during the tournament. I am expecting many great things from you, Ryu. Try not to disappoint me." 

The silence that followed the hermits words told Ryu that he was gone, but Ryu did begin to ponder what trials the hermit had in store for him. 'He cannot simply mean Rainbow Dash and Zangief. While formidable, they are trials I can overcome with my current skills...I believe. He must mean something else. I must be on my guard.'

Ryu then turned and followed after where Tiara had walked, heading into the town only to find a large crowd of ponies gathered around a stand. Being taller than all of them, Ryu glanced over their heads to see what they were so interested in...only to sigh before he waded through the sea of horses and reach the stand, which was being run by Filthy and Tiara.

"I thought that I said no merchandise," Ryu said to Filthy, who smiled up at Ryu with a red headband that was similar to Ryu's resting on his head.

"Ryu, you said that you did want to wear any of my material. You never said anything about not selling stuff based on you," Filthy replied with a laugh. "Now if you want to sign our contract..."

"I swear I didn't know he was going to do this either," Tiara said with pure honesty when Ryu gave her a look.

"Come on Ryu, there's just excited to support the one fighter that has the best chance of beating Zangief" Filthy informed Ryu, before motioning to all of the ponies that were standing around them. "Is there anything wrong with being a symbol that so many fans look up to?"

Ryu opened his mouth to answer, but before he could a group of foals and their parents approached him. They held up posters of Ryu, all sold to them by Filthy, that they wanted him to sign. Ryu cast Filthy a glare, before his gaze softened and he took one of the posters from the foals. He quickly wrote his masters symbol upon it and handed it back to the now beaming foal.

'Perhaps there is nothing wrong with being looked up to,' Ryu figured as his fans swarmed around him. 'I just hope that I do not let them or myself down. I must win.'