//------------------------------// // I'm not a hero // Story: Gong Yi Tem Ponies // by TrombonePlayingPony //------------------------------// Ponyville wasn’t very active the next morning, understandable after the all-day party they had. I opened the door to the library, only to be met by the gecko that had been cowering behind Twilight when I first got here. He gave me a strange glare while I just stood there awkwardly. “Uh… hola.” He continued to give me that look before turning toward the stairs and calling out. “Twilight! That weirdo is here.” I rose an eyebrow at this. “Uh… did I do something to get under your scales, little gecko?” He growled. “I’m not a gecko.” And to prove his point, he breathed a gout of green fire. “I’m a dragon.” “Ah, right, my bad. Back to my question though, why are-” “Allan, you came!” Twilight trotted down the stairs. “Spike, how about you go out for a bit. Maybe see what Rarity is doing.” He seemed to light up for some reason before running past me and out the door. “What’s his deal?” I asked, pointing a thumb behind me. “Who, Spike? He’s got a bit of a crush on Rarity is all.” Crush on Rarity? Oh… that might explain why he was so hostile toward me. He thinks I’m moving on his girl. I shook my head. Eh, I’ll deal with it later. “So, are you ready?” “Yep!” She took a seat on a nearby couch before a notepad and quill appeared floating next to her. I took the seat next to her, laying the scroll down on the floor nearby. I noticed her watching it the entire time. “Twilight.” That snapped her out of her daze. “I already told you. No studying Wu.” She grumbled something I couldn’t hear. “So, where do you want me to start?” *     *     * The remainder of the week turned out to be nowhere near as exciting as the start of it. I helped Rarity clean up around her home, hung out with Sweetie Belle sometimes, all the while having to keep Twilight away from my Wu. The only thing that broke up the quiet was when Twilight had gotten two tickets to some ball and the rest of her friends, and eventually the whole town, kept trying to bribe her for the second ticket. Of course, the solution came when Celestia realized “Oh ya, Twilight has more than one friend” as she sent tickets for every one of them, including Spike and I. There were also two more Wu alerts from my scroll, but I didn’t reach either place in time to even see the Flim Flam brothers, let alone stop them. Stupid Longi Kite. You’d think something made to look like a dragon would be rapido. The last day of the week came. The time my supposed trainer was supposed to arrive. Thing is, I had no idea what he looked like, or who he was, or where to meet him. With nothing else in mind I decided to head over to Sweet Apple Acres to see what Applejack was up to. As I flew in, I found a large red stallion looking like he was struggling to pull a large load up the road. I landed next to him and asked “Hey, you need help with that?” For a moment the stallion gave me a stare that foreshadowed the “no” he was about to give. He then seemed to think about it for a moment, looking over the cart. “I’d appreciate it.” He said with a nod. I pulled out the Ruby of Ramses and aimed at the cart. The entire thing glowed red and the stallion suddenly seemed surprised at the lack of weight. “There you go señor.” We started walking down the road. “Where is this going by the way?” “Sweet Apple Acres. It’s my family’s apple orchard.” “Ah, so you’re related to Applejack.” “Eeyup. She’s my sister. Name’s Big Mac.” “Allan. Nice to meet ya.” He nodded. “Heard about how you looked out for her and her friends when they went into the Everfree. You got a good heart in ya.” I scratched the back of my head. “It was nothing. Most of the time it was them keeping me out of trouble instead of the other way around.” We reached the gates of Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack saw us approach, but when she saw the cart stuffed full she got mad. “Big Mac! What I tell you about filling up the cart too much! You could have gotten yourself hurt right before the biggest harvest of the year.” “I got it all in one trip though. Besides, I wasn’t hurt so no harm done.” Applejack rolled her eyes. “I bet if it hadn’t been for Allan finding you, you’d be in quite the mess.” She turned to me with a smile. “Thanks fer that, by the way.” I shrugged before putting the ruby away. “It was nothing.” Unfortunately, I hadn’t realized Big Mac had undone his harness. Meaning there was nothing holding the cart back from rolling down the hill. Applejack gasped. “The cart!” I turned to see the thing picking up speed and fumbled to grab my ruby. The ruby juggled in my hand as I tried to point it the right way before I finally got a hold on it. “Ruby of Ramses!” The cart turned red and ground to a halt. The cargo on the other hand kept going as it soared through the air. I was sure the next sound I was about to hear was a crash. But none came. Instead each crate, one by one, seemed disappear in a blur before being placed back on the cart. Before any had touched the ground they were all back in place. I just stood there agape as Applejack hooted. “Well darn tootin Allan! That was mighty impressive work.” “Uh… Applejack? I didn’t do that.” “It seems you are quick to act, but not quick to think.” An elder voice spoke as it stepped out from behind the cart. The owner of the voice seemed to be a minotaur with light blue fur and grey hair. His body was thin, wrinkles clear in his face, yet at the same time he felt stronger than I could possibly ever be. The robes he wore were primarily white, though a bit of red was present in the ensemble. The minotaur seemed to just look at me, pulling a hand through his goatee before speaking again. “I see the princesses did not lie when they said you had no training.” My brain finally caught up and realized who the heck this guy was. “O-oh! You’re the trainer they sent, right?” “That is correct. I am Master Gongniu.” He bowed slightly. “The princesses told me of your mission. A noble goal, but it would do you well to not rely on these ‘Shen Gong Wu.’” He spun around and kicked the cart, sending it straight into the barn, not a single crate out of place. “You can only find true strength within yourself, and only if you are willing.” I stood there for a moment, agape at what I just saw, before shaking my head. “Uh… ya, I guess I’m willing.” He looked over me with the same neutral gaze. “Very well. Follow me.” He walked off, not down the road mind you, but into the field opposite Sweet Apple Acres. I looked at Applejack and Big Mac, both just as confused as I was, before I jogged after the strange minotaur. *     *     * I walked behind Gongniu for about an hour, just walking through fields silently. There were a few times I had wanted to ask something, but for some reason I felt like I was being tested. What kind of results were supposed to come out of this I will never know. We reached the top of a small hill, on the outskirts of Ponyville. There were no roads nearby as far as I could tell, just open grassland. I was too busy looking at my surrounding to notice Gongniu stop before I ran straight into him. I fell back on my butt while he didn’t seem to budge. “Yes, this will do.” He spoke. He pulled out a large roll of paper and a brush, placing them on a large stone before beginning to draw something on it. I watched for a moment before I couldn’t hold it in anymore. “What are we doing here?” “We will need a proper place to train you. Ideally, this will be where you sleep and live as well.” “I don’t really need a new place to live. I mean, eventually I should stop living with Rarity, but I think an open field might be a bit large of a downgrade.” “It will not be just a field for long.” He finished with what he was drawing, motioning for me to take a look. He had drawn a temple of sorts. “Neat. Who we going to get to build this?” “You will build the temple. I will provide everything you need.” I just looked at him like he was crazy but no “I was joking” or something along those lines came. “Are you kidding? A building like that will take months for just one guy to build. Especially a guy like me.” Gongniu turned to look at me, the same gaze as always only this time it felt like I had kicked a puppy while strangling my grandmother or something equally gut twisting. “You will build it, not because it is the easiest or quickest way, but because you will learn from the experience, as one does with many of life’s many journeys.” I had no idea how construction work was supposed to make me fight better, but with a stare like that I couldn’t say no. He rolled up his paper and stowed them away in his robes once more before turning and heading toward Ponyville. “Come, young apprentice. We have much to do.” Suddenly my scroll began to glow and Gongniu turned to look. “Is something the matter with your scroll?” “Nah. This just means there’s a new Shen Gong Wu.” I pulled it open to reveal the Fist of Tebigong. Basically, it punched stuff really hard. Ya, I know, creative right? “Well sorry Gongniu, but I gotta go. Longi Kite!” The kite appeared on my back and I took to the skies, not even waiting for a response from the old minotaur. *     *     * Soon I was flying above a canyon, following the arrow on my scroll. Wasn’t long before the canyon converged with others to form a large bowl like opening in the earth. At the center was the Fist of Tebigong. Nice, I actually made it before the two brothers this time. I realized what I just thought and facepalmed. Why did I go a jynx it? From another canyon off to the side came a swarm of cider bots, followed by their leaders riding the things. They saw me just as quickly as I saw them before they shouted. “Cider bots! Attack!” The bots all aimed their guns at me leaving me feeling rather exposed in the air. I quickly pulled the ruby out and aimed at the stone floor. “Ruby of Ramses!” A chunk of the earth was ripped out and I quickly dived to the ground behind it, the shots ripping causing chunks of rock to go flying but otherwise leaving me intact. “Allan! So nice of you to show up!” Flim mocked me over the gunfire. “Yes, we were just thinking how much more fun it would be to take Shen Gong Wu right in front of you!” Flam added as I watched them head toward the fist. “Oh no you don’t!” I was about to get up and chase them when one of the droids shots got through my barrier, nearly taking my head off. “Fine, I’ll deal with these guys first. Ruby of Ramses!” I collected a hovering swarm of smaller stones from the ground before tossing them over my head in the direction of the bots. I heard a few explosions and dents made in metal, taking it as my cue to move. “Longi Kite!” I flew toward the brothers, slamming into Flim just as they reached the fist and sending him flying. I placed a hand on the Shen Gong Wu, Flam doing the same with his hoof as it began to glow just as the locket had. I smirked. “Looks like we’re doing that whole Xiaolin Showdown thing again. I wager the Ruby of Ramses.” “I’ll wager my Third Arm Sash. The challenge will be simple. This canyon will begin to fill with water. First person to fall in loses.” “Alright, I accept.” We both got in each other’s faces as we yelled out: “Let’s go! Xiaolin Showdown!” Suddenly the canyon began to rumble and shake as rock pillars rose up from cracks in the earth. The walls of the canyon stretched high into the air, as various holes in the stone opened up. The Fist of Tebigong disappeared from our grasp before the two of us jumped back, glaring at each other. “Gong Yi Tem Pai!” As soon as we spoke the words, the holes along the stone walls began gushing with water. I quickly jumped onto a flat piece of stone. “Ruby of Ramses!” The stone lifted a few feet off the ground. As I balanced myself, I looked over at Flam to see him climbing up one of the stone pillars with his Third Arm Sash. Water rushing in just beneath me reminded me what the goal was before I rose myself into the air, flailing back and forth somewhat as I did so. Flam reached the top of a nearby pillar before lashing out at me. “Third Arm Sash!” The arm threw a punch at me, throwing me off balance and forcing me to abandon my flying carpet for a nearby stack. I quickly turned around and threw my floating platform into the pillar he was standing on, forcing him to jump away to grab another. I ignored him for now though and focused on keeping above the quickly rising water. I made it to the top of my own rock stack, shakily getting to my feet. I was suddenly hit upside the head with a stone, coming from Flam himself as he pelted rocks with his sash. “Cut it out!” I yelled at him before aiming the ruby at him. “Ruby of Ramses!” I picked up Flam in the red glow before throwing him aside, the water looking to be his next destination. I crossed my arms and waited for victory. “Third Arm Sash!” The sash stretched out as far as it could, wrapping around one pillar before grabbing onto another. This created a slingshot that Flam landed perfectly in, sending him right at me. I couldn’t react fast enough before a hoof slammed me square in the head. I tumbled head over tail before hitting the water below and it was all over. Quickly the scenery returned to normal as I sat on the ground dripping wet. The brothers laughed at me before allowing their bots to pick them up and fly away, all the while mocking me. I didn’t listen though. I was too…. too everything! Too angry with myself for screwing up like that, too annoyed with the princesses for assigning me the job instead of just getting someone else to grab the Shen Gong Wu, and too depressed at the fact that I had failed everyone who had trusted me. With a sigh, I pulled out the Longi Kite and flew back toward Ponyville, in no rush to see anyone. *     *     * When I made it back to Carousel Boutique it was night. I opened the door as quietly as I could but the bell hung above the door did me in. “Allan, is that you?” I heard Rarity call from the other room. I tried making my way quickly to the guest bedroom but she made it out before I could even get to the stairs. “Oh it is you! Did you manage to get there in time?” I rose an eyebrow at her. “What do you mean?” “Why, the Shen Gong Wu of course. That’s what your minotaur friend told us at least. Did those two get away with the Shen Gong Wu again?” I grumbled. “Yes, and my ruby. I got beat. Bad.” Rarity seemed to realize how down I was as her face turned to concern. “Oh don’t worry Allan. You can always get the next one.” She said with a hopeful smile. I just growled and shook my head. “So I can just fail again?! No, I knew that first showdown was just luck and now it’s run out. How am I supposed to fight them with just the Longi Kite?” “Don’t you have the princess’ locket as well?” “I’m not using that. She trusts me to keep it safe. That’s one of the few things I can actually do right.” I turned and walked up the stairs. “I’m going to bed. Tell Gongniu he doesn’t need to train me anymore and for the princesses to find someone else.” I imagine Rarity had more to say but I wasn’t going to listen. I just wanted to be alone. What was I thinking? That I could be some kind of hero? No. I’m just some guy in his early twenties stuck in a place I know nothing about. I’m not strong. I’m not fast. I can’t do magic or fly without needing to resort to Shen Gong Wu. I’m just… nothing. I threw the scroll against the wall of the guest room before falling face first into bed. I just wish I could go home.