//------------------------------// // A Friend Returns // Story: Gong Yi Tem Ponies // by TrombonePlayingPony //------------------------------// Allan stood with one foot balanced on a wooden pole, holding himself completely still high above the ground. His eyes were closed as he meditated, focusing completely on his breathing. In. Out. In. Out. In- “hurk!” Suddenly a human and three ponies fell on top of him, sending him crashing into the ground at the bottom of the pile. “Ow!” the human shouted. “I think we landed on a rock.” Allan recognized the voice before groaning. “You have a bad habit of thinking flesh is rock, hombre.” “Wait a second,” Ben said. “Spanish? Knows about the rock thing? Oh crap, I landed on someone who knows me.” “We landed on someone who knows you,” Lyra corrected. “Now is not the time,” Ben responded. “Got time to get off?” Allan mumbled into the dirt. “Trying here.” One by one, the ponies got off of Ben, giving him a chance to get off of Allan. “Oi, that sucked. When we get back, Nyx, you are so going in a time out.” “Aww,” she pouted. Allan got up in a crosslegged position, rubbing his head as he looked around at the dimensional travelers. “So what’s going on Ben? Cause last I checked, you were pretty busy.” “This little devil,” he said pointing at Nyx who was looking sheepish, “cast a portal spell that backfired. So this was completely unplanned.” Allan sighed. “Well at least that’s easy to fix. I’ll just…” Allan held his hand behind him, only to get nothing. “Oh, right. I let Twilight study the claws.” “Oh, speaking of which, I guess I did promise to visit her after I got the watch in check. Guess this is as good a time as any. I even brought Nyx like I said.” “And your family,” Lyra added, checking to make sure Scootaloo was okay. “Yeah, that too.” Allan shrugged. “Hey, you do what you want. I gotta train though. It ain’t just idiot robot makers and ponies in cat costumes anymore so I need everything I can get.” “That sounds so cool!” Scootaloo said as she got against Allan’s leg. “What kind of robots? Were they deadly super robots? And what about the ponies in costume? Are you a super hero?” “I’m not a hero.” Allan stated flatly, causing Scootaloo to take a step back. “And the robots look like someone tried to make a barrel into something useful. And failed.” “But aren’t heroes the ones who stop bad guys?” she asked, not understanding how he wasn’t a hero. “Ya, well heroes don’t end up being tricked by bad guys and being sealed in stone for two and a half years. Heroes are supposed to win, and if I’m going to win I need to train.” Ben looked at Allan a little confused, remembering how the kid used to be. “Well, I’ve definitely missed something since Kat and I left. Um, we’re gonna let you get back to work then, we’ll go see Twilight.” He started to urge the ponies to walk back with him, slowly distancing themselves from Allan. “Good. Now, where was-” “Hey kid!” Dojo ran in, the scroll in his claws flashing with light. “We got a Shen Gong Wu alert!” Allan had gotten much quicker since the last time Ben saw him, grabbing the scroll from Dojo and taking to the air on the Longi Kite before any of the ponies could even utter a sound. Dojo would have gone with, if only he hadn’t been grabbed by Nyx who was hugging him and squeeing. “He’s so cute!” Dojo flailed about, his face turning red as he lost air. Master Gongniu stepped out, seemingly not reacting to Ben and the other’s presence. “I was hoping I could see my apprentice before he headed off. He has been rather strict in how he spends his time since returning.” Ben nodded solemnly. “I know the type. Seen many like him before, putting the entire world on his shoulders.” He shook his head. “Kid needs to wise up.” “I believe that is somewhat the fault of the ponies around him.” Everyone looked to the gates to see Luna, walking in solemnly before raising an eyebrow at Ben. “Are you from another universe?” “Aye, we all are.” Ben waved his hand over the ponies that came with him. “Hi Luna!” Nyx waved, while still holding Dojo, though had loosened enough for him to have fresh air. He gasped before grabbing Nyx by the muzzle and turning her head so they were face to face. “Would you mind loosening up a bit?! Your standard Dojo has a limited air supply.” Nyx pouted slightly, letting him go. She lowered her head, sniffling. “I-I’m sorry.” “Oh no. No, no, no, do not do that.” Dojo muttered in fear. Then he saw the tears beginning to fall. “Anything but that!” Nyx seemed just on the brink of full on sobbing before Dojo sighed and wrapped himself around the filly, patting her on the head. “There, there, no need to cry.” Nyx hugged him lightly, as if he were her favorite stuffed animal. Ben smiled at the little filly. Then looked at Luna. “Allow me to introduce myself, name’s Ben. This is my special somepony, Lyra Heartstrings, my adopted daughter, Scootaloo, and the little filly hugging the dragon is Nightmare Moon.” Luna rose an eyebrow at that last one but otherwise wasn’t too phased. “I suppose that’s not the most inane claim I’ve seen with Allan’s multiverse travels.” Nyx scrunched her nose at Ben, looking angry. “You know that’s not my name. I’m gonna tell mommy you called me Nightmare Moon!” “Oh gods!” Ben cursed. “Please don’t tell Twilight that! She’ll make me do the chores for the next month. That’s so much work!” Luna and Gongniu practically mirrored looks of indifference, while Dojo just sat lazily in Nyx’s hooves. Ben sighed and picked up Nyx and Dojo, placing them on his head. “Better?” “Better. You’re off the hook.” Ben hung his head, Nyx giggling at him. “These ponies ruin my life, I swear it.” “Ahem?” “Except you and Scoots, dear.” “Better.” Luna cleared her throat. “You were worried about Allan, correct? Or was I wrong in that regard?” Ben shrugged. “I’m a little indifferent.” Lyra rolled her eyes. “Excuse him, Ben has sort of a uh...prejudice, against humans.” Luna rose an eyebrow… again. “Is he not human?” “Only half now,” he answered truthfully. “Better off for me.” “Dad used to be a lab experiment,” Scootaloo said. “He said it’s what made him good at what he does.” “Well… if Allan does return, I need to speak with him. I’m afraid he’s going to push himself too far.” “Then I assume what we spoke about you did not agree with?” Gongniu asked. “No, no I do not. Now, I must return to Canterlot.” Luna then turned and left the temple as Dojo’s snoring suddenly rang out as he had apparently fallen asleep in Nyx’s hooves. “D’aww,” Nyx cooed, snuggling Dojo. “Well, if you need us, we’re gonna go see Twilight. I have a promise to fulfill that I recently remembered.” *     *     * The Flim Flam brothers mobilized their drones as Wuya seemingly stared into space. After a while, Flam couldn’t help but be curious, walking up to the frozen ghost and passing a hoof through her. “Wuya, you there?” She suddenly shook her head vigorously before glancing about the room, her eyes eventually falling on Flam. “Don’t interrupt me! I am sensing something… peculiar.” “We’re already heading to get the Wu, Wuya. What, is there another one?” “No. This is not a Wu I sense, but an opportunity. One that I will not waste.” Flim raised an eyebrow. “What kind of opportunity?” Wuya flew into his face. “Don’t trifle yourselves with this! I will handle it myself. Should everything go well, things will get even better than they already have.” She chuckled evilly before phasing through the wall, leaving the two brothers confused but not with enough time to question it. *     *     * The group headed to Twilight’s library, somewhat off put by the fact it wasn’t a giant crystal castle. “Mommy still has her library,” Nyx commented. “Funny.” “How so?” asked Lyra. “I thought all of the Twilight’s would have castles.” “It’s like Kat says,” Ben replied. “Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey.” They walked into find a Twilight stomping around in anger. “I can’t believe he just came in here and took it in the middle of my experiment! I’ll have to start the entire process over again. Hours of work, gone!” “Knew he was no good.” Spike grumbled. “Did we come at a bad time?” Lyra asked, startling the pony and dragon. Both turned to look at the group, confused. “Lyra? Scootaloo? Who are these two?” “Oh ow, ow, Twilight,” Ben said. “It may have been a while, but I thought you would have remembered your favorite human.” Twilight squinted at Ben for a moment before noticing the device on his wrist and gasping. “You! You’re one of the aliens that showed up before!” "That’s right!” He said happily, putting Nyx down on the floor, Dojo still sleeping on her back. “Told ya I’d visit again.” “Yes, you did.” Twilight sighed. “Sorry if I don’t seem as excited as I should be. Allan ran in here earlier and took his Wu in the middle of my test, ruining the results. I’ll have to start completely over when he gets back.” “Well that sucks for your egghead stuff,” Scootaloo commented. “Scootaloo,” Lyra said with a warning tone. The filly winced from the tone. “Sorry mom.” Twilight just shook her head, but Spike was not so quiet. “That guy’s a jerk! He shows up, with all of that Shen Gong stuff following him and puts everyone in danger! And then after everyone being sad for him when he was trapped for years, he comes back and just ignores us all!” “Well, from what I saw,” Ben started, “It seems to me he’s still stuck in an isolated state. Heck, if it’s anything like I went through, it means that he was probably still conscious while stuck in stone.” Spike crossed his arms, grumbling. “Doesn’t mean he has to be such an a-” “Spike! Finish that word and you are grounded!” Twilight’s scolding shut Spike up rather quickly, allowing Twilight to take a moment to address Ben. “Yes, I would love to study your device’s abilities. Are you sure it’s under control though?” “Much better after the last few months events,” Ben said, displaying the watch. “Oh, and also like I said, I brought Nightmare Moon with me.” He pointed at the little filly, ooing and aahing over the books on a far shelf with a dragon on her back. “Huh,” was all Twilight responded with, to Ben’s absolute shock. “Why aren’t you freaking out?! Why does everyone keep ruining my fun nowadays? Ponies aren’t fun anymore.” Lyra rolled her eyes and patted her boyfriend’s leg comfortingly. “It’s just… after three years of Allan’s crazy stuff, it doesn’t cause me the mental breakdown it used to. Or maybe I’m starting to get into the years where motherhood sounds kind of nice.” Twilight managed to keep her serious face for about a second before snickering into a hoof. “Can’t even say that with a straight face.” “....I give up.” Ben sat down nearby Twilight with a huff, sticking out his arm. “I still feel like Grim.” “You need to stop referencing that show, honey,” Lyra said as she took a seat in a nearby chair, rubbing her belly. “It’s not fair to your friends.” “It’s an apt description though,” Nyx commented as she and Scootaloo went over the books. Ben waved his hand at Nyx. “See? She gets it.” “I don’t.” Spike spoke. “Neither do I. What kind of theatre show did you see?” Twilight questioned. “Theatre show?” asked Lyra. “No, we were talking about a television show.” Both of them just looked at Lyra like a deer in headlights, cricket chirping being heard until Twilight turned behind her. “Owlicious, I told you to stop bringing your food in here! It attracts bugs!” A hoot was all that replied as Twilight turned back with a roll of her eyes. “I’m sorry, but what is tell-e-vision?” Ben facepalmed. “Of course you had to be a backwards Equestria. It’s basically a movie player in your house, except you get the movies from receivers instead of an actual movie reel.” Spike just muttered “Uh oh” before Twilight was in Ben’s face. “You have what?!” “It’s a level of technology,” Ben said as he pushed Twilight down. “It allows for instant entertainment and education. A lot of ponies use it to watch the news or the latest episode of their favorite program.” “But that- but he- I- Allan- worlds- bah!” Twilight spat out in a few moments before throwing her hooves in the air. Before anyone could ask just what language she was speaking, Spike spoke up. “She’s saying she surprised you have that stuff cause the only other place stuff like that has come from is that world Allan visited on Nightmare Night. And he refused to let Twilight see what he got from there as well, saying something about ‘advancing technology too quickly’ or something.” “Oh….well I have Scoot’s portable DVD player kept in a pocket dimension you could borrow.” “Hey! That’s mine!” “I’ll get you the latest model, sweetheart,” Ben said. Scootaloo grumbled. “Fine.” She walked back to Nyx, mumbling, “Giving away my stuff, hmmf.” Twilight looked positively ecstatic. “Can I see this ‘DVD player’? … please?” Ben drew a circle in midair and pulled out a square little device with a large screen and a few buttons on it. “Just don’t break it on the first go. Things ain’t cheap, ya know.” Twilight grabbed it in her aura delicately before giving Ben a quick hug. “Wish we had gotten you instead of Allan. You’re way cooler than him.” Spike commented. “I get that a lot, but that’s mostly because I care more about the ponies than humans.” Ben shrugged. “I’m speciest, it’s a thing. By the way,” he tossed Spike a piece of taydenite. “Try that, my Spike says they’re better than sapphires.” Spike looked at the crystal skeptically before taking a nibble of it… and then devouring the entire thing faster than you could spell taydenite. “That was delicious!” “Thanks, made it myself,” Ben said with a smirk. Twilight was looking over the mystical player of DVD’s just as a tear appeared behind her, the being stepping out bumping into her and causing her to drop the thing. As it crashed into the ground, Allan glanced at it for a moment before saying, “Whoops.” “Allan!” Ben shouted. “What the heck, man?! You just broke my daughter’s DVD player!” Allan shrugged. “So buy her a new one. Also Twilight, here.” He tossed the claws at her before heading for the door, juggling a blue orb in his other hand. “Oh, nuh uh, you ain’t walkin’ away this time.” Ben grabbed Allan’s shoulder and shoved him to a nearby chair. “You ain’t walkin’ outta’ here until we talk, bub.” “Whatever it is ain’t more important than keeping the world from falling to Chase.” He tried to stand up only to be pushed down again. “Get off.” “Nuh uh, because you clearly are letting something get to your head and it’s messing up your friendships. Now, I may not like humans, but I ain’t gonna let friendships be destroyed over something stupid. Now spill.” “Spill what?!” Allan suddenly shouted, a complete opposite from the neutral tone he had since entering. “The fact that I was given the task of protecting Equestria and failed?! The fact I got sealed away, allowing evil to run free and become more powerful?! Or the fact that all of that was because I let myself be fooled into thinking the one other human in this world was a friend?!” “And that means that you just seal yourself away even further?” Ben asked getting in his face. “Because that’s what you’re doing. You replaced a stone prison with one of solitude. And you know what? It ain’t gonna make anything better.” “So what? I’m just supposed to give up?!” Allan pushed Ben back, standing. “Just admit I can’t beat Chase and let him run free? Cause that’s what it sounds like you are saying bastardo!” “Wrong!” Ben grabbed Allan by the edge of his tunic and pulled him right to his face. “You’re supposed to use every advantage you got! And you’re ignoring your greatest weapon by acting this way!” “I’ve got a weapon for ya.” Allan growled. “Orb of Tornami!” The orb in his hands suddenly shot a burst of water out, sending Ben into the shelves behind him. Allan put the orb away and brushed his hands off before opening the door to the library. He only got that far before Ben tackled him to the ground. “I told you,” he said rolling Allan over, “You ain’t leavin’!” Ben slammed his right fist into Allan’s face before tossing him back into the library. “I ain’t through with you yet.” “You think you can stop me? Serpent’s Tail!” The Shen Gong Wu appeared in his hands and he flew forward, passing right through Ben’s stomach before floating above him. “Doubt your arrows will do much against this.” “True, but you’re forgetting something big.” Ben raised his fingers. “I’ve got special abilities.” He snapped his fingers and Allan suddenly found himself sitting in one of Twilight’s chairs, strapped down, and his scroll in Ben’s hands. “Don’t mess with a celestialsapien, boy.” Allan struggled against the bonds, growling the entire time before huffing. “Fine. What do you want, you hijo de puta?” “I want to know why you think isolating yourself from your friends, basically the only family you got right now, and hiding away in that gods forsaken temple is a good idea. What do you think you’re trying to prove?” Allan seemed hesitant to answer for a moment before sighing. “I just… everyone expects me to defend them and I can’t. I feel like I need to live up to their expectations. So I train. And train. Until the day where I face Chase and beat him I will train to make sure that day comes.” “And what happens then?” Ben asked him seriously. “What happens when you beat him? Huh? Ever think of that, supposedly great Dragon of Light?” “I didn’t really care. I knew everyone would be safe. They can hate me for what I did to do that but it doesn’t change the fact that things came out better in the end.” Ben sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You stupid, stupid fool.” “Look… can you just let me go now? You got your mierda answer.” “Don’t you get it!” Ben blew up in his face. “You’re playing right into your enemy’s hands!” He backed off a little, running his hand down his face. “The more you push away your friends, the more you’re going to be forced to do this on your own. If you don’t have any kind of back up plan, how are you going to be able to safely say that you can win? Do you even know who you’re friends with?!” “Playing right into…” Allan seemed to think about that for a moment. “He tricks me into being sealed away, something that put Discord away for a thousand years. If I had come back then, I would have no allies.” He slammed his head into the back of the chair. “Well I feel like the biggest burro now.” Ben just shook his head as he snapped his fingers again, freeing Allan. “Look, trust me, I know it’s hard to see the light in situations like this, but you have to. Just like Kat told you, you need to stay on the right path, and your friends are going to be your greatest bet to do just that.” He turned Allan towards Twilight and Spike. “Without them, you’re destined to fail. With them, you will only ever succeed. I think a friend of my sister summed it up pretty good one time: ‘There’s a lot of things you need to get across this universe. Warp drive… wormhole refractors… You know the thing you need most of all? You need a hand to hold.’ Or hoof, in this case.” Allan sighed before glancing at Twilight. “Sorry Twilight. About ruining your experiment and generally being an a-” She glared at Allan just before he spoke. “Jerk.” “It’s fine, Allan. We didn’t mean to put you under such stress.” She levitated the broken machine. “Though you should probably do something about this.” “True.” He chuckled a bit before facepalming. “Oh geez, now I have to deal with Rarity and Luna. That’ll not end well no matter how I approach it.” “Heh, don’t worry, Al,” Ben said clapping his shoulder. “I’ll stick around with ya for a little bit to clear it up with your lady friends. Of course, then Twilight’s gonna examine my watch for probably several hours, now that it’s working again. But before we go see them, I got something to say to you.” Allan rose an eyebrow at this. “Why do I get the feeling I should pull out the Two Ton Tunic?” Ben cleared his throat and spoke. “Everybody knows that everybody dies. But not every day. Not today. Some days are special. Some days are so, so blessed. Some days, nobody dies at all. Now and then, every once in a very long while, every day in a million days, when the wind stands fair and friends come to call, everybody lives.” The entire room was silent, looking at Ben either in shock, awe, or pride. Allan, feeling like a weight had been pulled off his shoulders, couldn’t help but smirk before slapping Ben on the back. “Hombre, I better not get so philosophical when I reach five thousand. I would barely be able to understand myself.” Ben chuckled a little. “Only when ya need to be, Allan. Only when ya need to be. Now then, while Twilight and the others chat, how about we go clear up your romance issues?” Allan rose an eyebrow. “When did I say it was romance?” “Let’s call it intuition. Besides, Luna’s quite a catch wouldn’t you say so?” Ben nudged him a little. Allan blushed looking away before muttering, “She isn’t the one I’m worried about talking to.” “Come on,” Ben said while pushing Allan out, pretending he didn’t hear the muttering. “Let’s go see Rarity first.” Once he had pushed him out of ear’s reach, Allan turned his head and glared at him. “You picked Rarity first cause you knew I wasn’t interested, didn’t you, you pirado?” “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Allan,” Ben said, ever-so-innocently. Back in the Treebrary, Twilight looked at Lyra with a raised eyebrow. “And you’re dating that wacko?” “Well, he is the father of my baby,” Lyra said while rubbing her belly. And once again, Twilight went crazy while the humans walked off.