> Gong Yi Tem Ponies
>  by TrombonePlayingPony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> A hop and a skip and a... talking horse?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

You ever have one of those days where you remember something that you used to love but for some reason you fell out of it? 

In most cases, someone will see something to remind them of their old fad, either some merch or a google search gone wrong. Heck, you might have just thought of it out of the blue, the victim of a wandering mind. 

And again, in most cases the person will either forget about it again or dig up their old favorites and relive the memories they bring. Sharing it with your friends is something that is pretty common as well.

Ya, the more I explain this the further my case seems to not be like most.

It was a subnormal day for me. I was at a convention with some friends, all who wanted to go see the actor’s panel at 1:30 when I really wasn’t interested. It wasn’t that I hated the actors, I’m just not big on learning the behind the scenes stuff. I certainly respect them for their work though since without them I wouldn’t have the stuff to enjoy.

Where was I?... Oh, right. Now I remember. I told my friends they could head to the panel without me and that I would check out the merch booths. So we split up and I made my way there, all the while doing my best to avoid crowds. Ya, not a fan of those. I didn’t have crippling claustrophobia but enough to make me feel on edge if things got too close.

Thankfully being an old pro at the game of avoidance helped me make it to the booths without breaking a sweat, and helped even more inside since the place was even more packed than the rest of the convention center. I started glancing over stands, only stopping my constant walk when I found something I would actually bother buying. Cheap trinkets and things that you put on shelves and forget about made up what wasn’t commemorative T-shirts and hats, the kind I would only wear to this kind of convention.

I was about to give up on finding something really interesting for my tastes when something drew me in from the corner of my eye. Off against the wall was a booth filled with a variety of things from practically anything you could think off. From Portal to Skyrim, Marvel to DC. Heck, there was even a few weapons I recognized from various anime I had watched.

The man at the booth was talking with another customer about some item so I walked up without interrupting. I scanned over the practical treasure trove until my eyes locked on to some kind of metal tube with handles on the sides.

This seems familiar. I pondered as I looked at the object with a puzzled expression. Agh! This is going to bother me all day if I don’t figure out what this is.

“Interested, are we?” I jumped up to see the man who owned the booth now right in front of me. A quick look around confirmed the previous customer had left without making a sound.

Strange. Even with the noise in this place I thought I would at least hear a goodbye or something. I cleared my throat before addressing the man in front of me. “Actually I was just trying to figure out what it is. It looks familiar.”

The man cackled dryly before responding. “Ah, the human memory is a fickle thing it is. If it would help jog your memory, you are free to open it.”

Open it? A quick check confirmed there was a small seam along the center of it, eluding that whatever it was could be opened by pulling on it’s handles. Well, he said it was alright. Plus, the sooner I figure this out the sooner I can leave. This dude is giving me the creeps!

I reached down and grabbed the handles, giving each a gentle tug to find on the inside was a scroll. In the center of it was a blue circle surrounded by an ornamental-looking black border. Some sort of asian characters were written to either side and my hispanic heritage wasn’t exactly helping in translation.

Dios mio this is bugging me. It’s on the tip of my tongue…

“Ay! Now I remember!” I quickly realized how loud I had just spoken before slapping a hand over my mouth. Thankfully only the stand owner seemed to notice.

“So what is it?”

“Huh? Oh, right. This is from that… what was the name of it… Xiaolin Showdown. This was the scroll they used for information on the… magical… whatever’s they were hunting.” That was a really good show, but I haven’t seen it since I was a niño. Mental note: To the internet!

“Yes, those magical whatevers were called the Shen Gong Wu. I’m glad you remembered.”

I smiled sheepishly before pushing the scroll halves back together. “Well thanks for letting me look it over.” I turned to walk away but man’s voice seemed to cut through the ambient noise despite him speaking barely above muttering.

“Are you not interested in having this scroll? I’m sure we can come up with a deal.”

Great, friendly stand owner is showing his true colors now. I faced him and made sure to still be polite despite my less than sunny disposition about some creepy guy trying to convince me to buy what might very well be a piece of junk. “Sorry, but I’m sure there’s no way I could pay for something as well made as that.” I mean, something like that has to go for at least a hundred on looks alone.

The man cackled again before giving me a grin I couldn’t discern was kind or greedy. “Pay? Who said anything about paying? I want to give you this scroll.”

Wait, what? “But… why?” He’d be losing so much money giving me such a thing.

“Let’s just say you weren’t the only one reminded of a past favorite. I’ll even throw in this,” he held up what looked like a ruby shaped conically and given spikes along the base “just because I’m feeling extra nice today.”

He’s giving me two? For free?! I was dumbfounded to the point that accepting the old man’s kindness felt like the only thing I could really do. He handed me the scroll first, allowing me to throw the attached strap over my shoulder before giving me the ruby. As I gazed at the red gem, some light reflected off its surface and hit me square in the eyes. I tried to clear my vision by blinking but something ran right into me.

Ground, meet face. Face, meet… grass?

I pushed myself off the ground to see that the taste in my mouth was definitely grass. Even ignoring the fact that I should have fallen into the merch stand, the floor of the convention center had been rough carpet.

Of course, then I looked up.

I was now in front of a large oak tree… with a door. And windows. And a balcony with a telescope. Okay, so a tree building. Sounds like something Disney cooked up. There was also a sign next to it with the image of a book and the words “Golden Oaks Library” printed on it. A library in a tree? Well, I guess that’s poetic in a way. Bring the paper back to where it originated.

Next thing I noticed was my clothes felt a lot lighter than they were before. A quick check showed I was wearing what looked like… robes? I wasn’t really sure what else to call them. Long sleeved, light yet soft material, primarily red shirt with black lining and white pants. I would have been rather comfortable had it actually been what I was wearing ten seconds ago.

“Tw-tw-twilight? What is that?”

“I don’t know Spike, but be careful.”

“Oh dear. I-I’ve n-n-never seen a creature l-like that.”

Upon hearing voices behind me I thought: Perfecto! Maybe I can ask these people about how I ended up wearing robes in Disneyland. Probably got drugged or some other excuse that actually makes sense! Than all that went out the window, grew legs, and decided to go for a nice jog when I turned and was faced with a purple unicorn giving me the stink eye while a purple and green gecko and a yellow pegasus shivered behind it.

That’s about where I froze as my brain tried in vain to process all this nonsense at once. Not sure how long I spent staring at the thing that should not exist but it clearing its throat- What?! The tiny horned caballo just cleared its throat!- snapped me out of my daze at least for a brief second.

“Excuse me? Are you… sentient?” The purple unicorn just asked me if I was sentient! That thought and a muttered “Dios mio” was all I could manage before I fainted.

*     *     *

Meanwhile, in another part of this magical land known as Equestria…

“Oh they won’t know what hit them Flam!” Flim and Flam, the technological geniuses, were hard at work in what they called their “secret lair”, though the noise from the rave happening upstairs didn’t exactly allude to it being anymore than a basement with a lot of machine parts and other technology lying around.

“Indeed, brother of mine. Once we show them our newest fantastic creation, we’ll have the funding for our real project. And then-”

“world domination-”

“will be ours!” Both chuckled in a manner only they would call maniacal before they were interrupted as the vibrations from upstairs finally managed to cause a shelf full of parts to fall over, turning the duo’s laugh into a joint grumble.

Flim picked up the shelf in his magic. “I can’t believe we couldn’t find a better place than this though. The noise from that mare with the sunglasses is going to make getting any work done a nightmare.”

Flam had already begun sorting through the spilled parts and putting them in their proper places. “Not to mention getting any sleep. We’ll have to make sure we save something special for her once we rule this miserable planet!”

“Oh I can already think of a few- hey, what is this?” Flim levitated an engraved wooden box for his brother to see.

“Why that seems like one of those old puzzle boxes grandma used to send us. Wonder how it got in this pile of parts.” They both pondered it for but a moment before reshelving the rest of their parts and placing the box on the table in the center of the room.

“Shall we try to open it Flam?”

“Indeed we shall Flim! Why, what sort of geniuses would we be if we left this box sealed?”

“We wouldn’t be geniuses. We would be just like all those simpletons upstairs.” And with that the brothers spent the next few minutes deciphering the puzzle box. It turned out to be incredibly simple for the two inventors to crack and they were soon welcomed with their prize of…

“A mask? What a waste of time.”

“Indeed. Perhaps we should throw it to those troublemakers, see how many heads it skips across.”

“Nah, let’s just throw it away. Doubt it will make it that far anyway.” Flam tossed the box over his shoulder, landing squarely in a metal trash bin. “Now, back to our plans to take over the world.”

Little did the brothers know that as they looked over the map they had pinned up on the wall, the “mask” was slowly floating out of the bin. Purple, ghostly tendrils wove their way out the back, forming a wispy body and something resembling arms.

“Any idea where we should start our takeover?”

“Perhaps the griffon kingdoms to the north. Defeating them would send a big message.”

“But is that too close to Equestria? After all, we should save Princess Celestia for last. Manipulating the sun and moon is something even our brilliant minds will have trouble figuring out. How about the cat kingdom of Mewgypt?”

“That is possible, though there are many directions from which we could be counterattacked there. Plus that place is just all sand and sun. The minotaur lands of Austrawlia?”

“Possibly. Easy to defend from sea and air. From there we can fortify our position, move north to Chanda, Korear-”

“Than onward to Rushon!” A hissing voice spoke as the mask came through the map. The brothers took this ghost’s emergence with about as much grace as they have. Which is to say none at all.

“Ah! Cider drones, attack the freaky ghost thing!” Suddenly a stack of cider barrels set up against the wall unfolded to reveal machines beneath the wooden exterior. Each barrel floated into the air on a jet, a magic powered cannon swiveling to their front. The drones fired, scorching the map behind the ghost but leaving it unharmed.

Once the light show had died down, the mask chuckled before slowly floating over to the two brothers who were now cowering under the table. “I see you are planning to take over the world. Seems we have something in common.”

Flam lifted a hoof from his face just enough to see. “W-w-who are you?”

“Me? The name’s Wuya. I just became your new best friend.” She then broke out in evil laughter that only grew with time. The brothers, not sure what to do, joined in the laughter half-heartedly.

> An explanation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I woke up feeling like my head had been bashed into a wall, and considering the crazy dream I had, head injury was a likely option. I mean, purple talking unicorns and tree buildings definitely aren’t what the normal, non-drugee sees everyday. I blinked my eyes open to find my bangs were blocking my view, forcing me to move my arm and brush the hair to the side. 

Seems I’ve put off getting a haircut just a bit too long. With that out of the way, I pushed myself into a sitting position, ignoring the fact the room was wobbling as I tried to figure out where I was. It was pretty dark as the only light source was the starlight coming through the window. The entire place seemed to be made of wood with no seams between the floors, walls, and ceiling, giving it an organic look. There were a few pieces of furniture like a bed, small book shelf, and a basket I assumed was a bed for a dog or something. One door to the room was shut while the other was left partially open to reveal a closet. I was on the floor with a pillow and blanket, which I assumed was because the bed was much too small for me.

Why am I in a kid’s room though? I glanced around for a bit before seeing that the scroll I had gotten from the creepy merchant was propped up against the wall, thought the ruby was nowhere to be seen. I’m not sure why but I reasoned I would feel safer if I had it on my person so I worked on reaching it. Took me a fair bit of time but I managed to stand up and make it over to that side of the room. As I worked the strap over my head, I heard voices coming from behind the one door in the room that wasn’t open.

“I say we send this thing packing. Who knows what it could do if it gets loose!” said a gruff yet feminine voice.

“But it appeared to be sentient. Not only that but a creature like him has never before been seen. Think about what we could learn!” said the voice of the purple unicorn from before.

Wait… if that’s the same voice, does that mean… I looked down at myself to see I was still wearing the robes I had on in my not-a-dream. For a moment I had to lean against the door as my brain went back into overdrive with the bonus of the headache I still had since waking up.

“Qué demonios...” I muttered before relaxing somewhat. So… I’m in some world where tiny caballos with horns and wings not only exist but can also speak. I have no idea how I got here and all I have is these new clothes and some copy of a scroll from a TV show I barely remember.

“But what about the ponies Twi? I don’t want to risk getting any of my kin hurt by some monster.” said the most stereotypical southern accent I’ve ever heard.

Woah there! Hold up! They’re calling me a monstro?! I’m not the mutated horse! Wait… are they all those things? I guess there could be other animals like that gecko.

“Oh come now Applejack. If anything it’s only reason to want us harm would be because you slammed its head into the door frame bringing it inside.” said yet another stereotypical accent, though this one was on the opposite end of the spectrum and sounded rather posh.

I brought a hand up to my head to find a bandage. It was wrapped snuggly around my head with expert care, alluding that someone knew their first aid. As I ran my fingers along the fabric, a sharp jolt of pain was oh so kind as to point out where my head was split open. “Ay!” I muttered, flinching away from the spot. Well that explains why I feel worse than uncle Ricardo after the black friday rush. Still though, that isn’t much of a reason to want to harm someone, even if it is a talking horse.

“I didn’t mean to do that! That feller’s a big one. Besides, Fluttershy here says it’s a meat eater, ain’t that right?”

The next voice I recognized as the third of the voices I had heard outside. At least, I think it was the same but whoever it was never learned to project. “Well… yes. It has canines like a meat eater but…”

“But what?” said an incredibly cheery voice.

“Oh… it’s just… when we saw it in front of the tree it seemed… well, scared. Like it was lost or something.”

Scared? I would more call it “having a mental crisis as logic itself seems to become unravelled” but I guess scared is one way of describing it.

“Well if it’s scared than we need to make it happy! There won’t be any frowns in Ponyville while Pinkie’s around!” said the cheery voice.

“I agree, Pinkie dear,” returned the posh voice. “It should be our job to welcome this new po- er, person to Ponyville, not run it out of town for doing nothing.”

Alright, not too much of a fan of the accent on the latter one, but those two are sounding way better than the bumpkin and her tomboy friend. Still not sure on the purple unicorn and the quiet one but at least they aren’t trying to kick me out.

Now as I was thinking this I failed to realize I was still leaning on the door rather heavily. So when said door suddenly swung out I was left to the mercy of gravity. Thing is, gravity knows no mercy so my face met the floor for the second time.

Look on the bright side! At least you didn’t get grass in your mouth this time. I turned my head up to see six faces looking at me with different degrees of shock, and all of them with muzzles. With my stellar entrance already ruined this was my one chance to try and not look like an idiot.

“Uh… hola.”

Nailed it.

“Oh my gosh, it can talk!” said the purple unicorn I believe was named Twi. She seemed about ready to jump on me, though in a much kinder way than the rainbow haired one and the one with the hat. Gonna guess these two are the bumpkin and tomboy. The other three were much more varied, the pink one bouncing like a ball, the white one smiling softly, while the yellow one was trying to hide behind the white one.

I pushed myself up into a crosslegged position, making sure to go slowly so as to not give any of them a reason to think I was violent. Once I was seated and comfortable, I looked around at everyone still staring at me. It was honestly rather nerve racking to have six people- or ponies I guess- giving me their full attention and I without a clue what to say.

“So… should I ask the first question or shall I let all of you go first?” “Twi” was who I expected to answer first but the rainbow tomboy beat her to it as she got right up in my face.

“What are you here for, huh? You an alien planning to attack Equus? Gonna capture all the ponies and eat ‘em?”

Is she serious? Was all I could think before bursting out laughing. I mean really, have you ever heard something so clearly ripped out of a crappy alien movie? When I calmed down, all the ponies seemed to be looking at me confused minus the pink one who continued to bounce.

“Ehem. In order, I have no idea what I’m here for. One moment I was in a building on a world filled with my kind, and the next I was outside the tree where these two found me.” I waved a hand in the direction of Twi and the yellow one who had miraculously stopped shivering. 

“I am not an alien, at least I don’t think I am. The universe is endless after all. Planning to attack though would be impossible with my kind because the most space travel we have done is go to our moon. Anything further has just been recon drones which are little more than solar powered cameras on wheels.” I noticed Twi had gotten out a notepad and quill and was now furiously taking notes. With no hands. The quill was just moving on its own. No, don’t think about it too much.

“As for capture, you guys seem well beyond my ability. Some of you can fly, this one is using magic as far as I can tell, and if you, “ I nodded toward the bumpkin with the hat “are capable of lifting me, you are plenty stronger than I am. Also, I’ve never had horse meat and considering you are sentient I don’t plan on starting.” That seemed to calm the two of them down.

The bumpkin looked down and pawed the ground with a single hoof before asking “You ain’t too mad about hitting your head on the way in, are ya?”

“What, this?” I rubbed the side of the bandage, causing another pain induced flinch. “Nah.” I said while gritting my teeth. “It was an accident. Besides, whoever you got to wrap me up clearly knew their stuff.”

“That was me.” A small voice squeaked out from behind the white unicorn. I bent my neck enough to see the yellow pegasus looking at me.

Dios mio. I haven’t seen something this cute since Rachel was five. “Well thanks for that. Are you a doctor or something?”

“N-no. I just take care of animals a lot.” Sounds even more like Rachel. Freaky. I was about to ask more about her animals when my face was suddenly filled with pink and my ears filled with superspeed chatter.

“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! You missed the bestest party ever for Twilight but I guess you couldn’t help it since you were all sleepy and such. When Twilight opened the door and said she needed help bringing someone inside I was like ‘Oh no! What pony got hurt?’ but then Applejack came in with you on her back and I was all like ‘Woah! That’s not a pony!’ which was crazy because I already got to meet someone else who wasn’t a pony today named Spike who is a dragon that came with Twilight and-” The rest of her crazed rush of words became muffled as a white hooves clamped down on her muzzle.

I… was that another language? Definitely wasn’t spanish.

“Now Pinkie dear,” the white unicorn spoke as I found out the owner of the posh voice. “You are scaring the poor thing. If I were to guess he has never even met a pony before, correct?”

I was momentarily shocked at her ability to read me before nodding. “Si señora. At least not ponies like you.”

“Ponies like us? You will have to explain that sometime. For now though we should introduce ourselves. I am Miss Rarity, though Rarity is just fine. This little ball of energy,” she nodded toward the pony who was still talking into Rarity’s hooves “is Pinkie Pie. She’s a bit of a handful if you aren’t used to her.”

“I’m Fluttershy.” I was surprised to see that the yellow pegasus had made her way out from behind Rarity and was now standing on her own, though she still hid behind her long pink hair when I looked in her direction. Still cute, but could she be any shier? Wait… Flutter “shy”? So God does have a sense of humor.

The cowgirl pony tipped her hat as she spoke. “Applejack’s the name.”

“And I’m Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in all of Equestria!” You can guess which one said that.

“And I’m Twilight Sparkle. Oh, I’m just so excited! A new species and it talks! I’ll need to write a letter to the princess and-”

“Twilight! This gentlestallion,” Rarity turned to me “you are a stallion, right?”

“Well the male gender is called a man or hombre for my species, but yes.”

“Thank you. This gentleman has enough problems, showing up in a place he knows nothing about surrounded by strangers, without you treating him like a science experiment.”

“But Rarity, just think about it. His species has done space travel with so little magic! Just imagine what we-”

“Whatever it is, it can wait until after the summer sun celebration, which I may remind you is tomorrow morning.” Rarity turned back to me. “I imagine you will be needing a place to stay until we sort out getting you home.”

“I guess, but I’m fine with where I just was. I’ve slept on worse on the few camping trips I’ve been on.” The mention of camping seemed to send a shiver down her spine.

“Oh gracious no! You can take the guest room at my boutique for now. I insist.” Now, normally with someone being as generous as this I’d give them the benefit of the doubt. But considering the last generous person seemed to send me to magical pony world I was less than welcome to the thought.

I rose my hands defensively. “You really don’t need to do that. Besides, if others see me they might think I’m a monstro like your friends here.”

Rainbow Dash cocked her head in confusion. “Monstro? The heck does that mean?” 

It took me a moment to realize I had showed off my heritage a bit. “Oh. Back where I’m from there are multiple languages. Monstro means monster in the second language I am fluent in.”

Twilight perked up at this. “You can speak iguanish! Cómo aprendió a hablarlo?”

Okay, the caballo speaks spanish. “Well first off the language is called spanish where I’m from. Second, to answer your question I learned from my family as I was growing up. But back to my original concern, what about the ponies?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about it.” Twilight said back in english. “When Applejack brought you in practically everyone in Ponyville was here enjoying Pinkie’s party. They all saw you and they’d still be here too if I hadn’t insisted they leave.”

Rarity nodded. “And I will be walking with you of course. With me by your side, no one would dare question you were anything more than a gentle soul.”

With no better excuse to make I conceded to my fate. “Very well. A bed will be better than the floor I guess.”

“Marvelous!” She let go of Pinkie Pie’s muzzle, who was apparently done with whatever story she had been telling. “Do you have any other things you need to bring?”

I checked to make sure the scroll was still on my back, a feeling of security washing over me. “No, though I seem to be missing something. A ruby with spikes along the base of it.”

“Ruby?” Twilight spoke. “We didn’t see you with any ruby when we found you outside the library.” Maldita sea. Guess it got left behind or something. “Is it important?”

I shook my head. “No, it’s just that the ruby and this scroll are the only things I have from where I came from. Even my clothes got changed when I was brought here by whatever it was.”

“Interesting.” She scribbled a few things on her notepad. “Could you tell me more about this? I might be able to find what happened and reverse it.”

“Well, lets see. I was at a convention. Do you all know what a convention is?”

“What, like a scientific convention?”

Rainbow jumped up. “I think he’s talking about comic conventions like nerds go to.” I grumbled at being called a “nerd” having been called it way too many times to count in the past. She seemed to pick up on my displeasure and added a “Whoops. My bad.”

I sighed. “Yes, like a comic convention, only for a larger set of media. While I was there I went to the shop booths, found this one guy selling really cool stuff. One of them was this scroll.” I tugged on the strap. “I looked over it because I thought it looked familiar and the booth owner was more than happy to help me jog my memory. 

“After that, I was about to leave until he suddenly said he wanted to give me the scroll along with the ruby I mentioned earlier. I was surprised and decided there was no harm in taking them. Once I did though the ruby glinted some light in my eyes. I then felt something bump into me from behind and the next thing I knew I was face first in the grass in front of the library.”

At the mention of something bumping into me Twilight gave a sheepish grin. “The something bumping into you was me. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

I chuckled and shook my head. “Well that’s one mystery solved. Still doesn’t explain how I jumped worlds in the split second I was blinded.”

Twilight hummed to herself before trotting off. Pinkie Pie bounced after her along with Rainbow Dash and Applejack, leaving Fluttershy and Rarity, the former of which was the first to talk surprisingly.

“Um… do you mind if... I check your bandage? I mean, if that’s okay with you.” She practically squeaked out.

“Ya, sure. Doctor knows what’s best.” She walked around me and I felt what I think was feathers fiddling with the bandages on my head. As she did this, Rarity seemed to be looking over me oddly. “Is something wrong señorita?”

“Hm? Oh nothing dear. I was just looking at your strange set of clothing. You say you weren’t wearing these before you got here?”

“No. I was just wearing a t-shirt and jeans before. Nothing fancy like this.”

“Well I must say, despite your lack of choosing the ensemble, it rather suits you. Makes you seem… calm yet at the same time strong. As if you were some sort of warrior.”

I blushed at the compliments and even more at how not like me the words were. Calm I guess fits me about fifty percent of the time, but strong? My little sister could pick me up! “Well thank you.”

“A quick question though. You were wearing something before, yes?” I nodded. “Does that mean you normally wear clothes?” I nodded again. “Why is that?”

“Well my race isn’t exactly covered in fur. Plus it’s considered indecent. Always has.”

“An entire race that wears clothes all the time. Why… why that’s just fabulous! Oh the fashions your people must have created! Tell me, just what sort of amazing work of art was this ‘t-shirt and jeans’?”

“I wouldn’t call them a work of art, I’ll say that much. Those clothes were the most casual thing worn mostly. A t-shirt was just a shirt like this,” I tugged on the robes. “but with no break down the middle and shorter sleeves. The one I was wearing was just a single color. The jeans were even plainer than that. Navy blue, button and zipper at the waist, entire thing made of a material meant to last through wear and tear.”

Despite how dull I had tried to make my old clothes sound, which were pretty dull to begin with, Rarity seemed to drink in everything I was saying as if I was some prophet of fashion. She seemed ready to ask even more questions but Fluttershy interrupted.

“You’re fine, though I’ll need to change out the bandages tomorrow morning. It looks like these won’t last further than that.” I now noticed that the side of my head felt a bit moist. Well I guess if I’m going to hit my head, I might as well do it the right way and get a full on concussion.

I got up slowly so as to not make myself dizzy before giving Fluttershy a light pat on the head. “Gracias Fluttershy. I’ll make sure to find you tomorrow.” She gave me a small smile before nodding and walking out the same way everyone else had. I looked to Rarity and gestured toward the exit with both hands.

“Ladies first.”

Rarity seemed somewhat surprised by my manners. “Such a polite man despite everything you’ve gone through.” She said as she walked by me.

“I’ll admit that I’m ignoring a lot of the things that are bothering me right now.” I followed her down a set of stairs into what seemed to be the main room of the library. Twilight was already hard at work and didn’t notice us leave. Outside the air was warm despite it being the dead of the night, though I supposed that made sense as Rarity had mentioned some sort of summer party.

“Oh? And just how much is bothering you?”

“Well, I have no idea where I am, how I got here, or how to get back. As far as I’ve seen so far, what with Twilight levitating a quill and the pegasi having wings way too small for their bodies, this world works on laws that fly in the face of everything I’ve ever known. And that’s not even mentioning the fact that I am right now talking to a unicorn, something that should only exist in mythology.”

Rarity hummed in thought. “You say unicorns don’t exist on your world? But you said you had met ponies before.”

“Yes, but they were just animals. They weren’t sentient, or could talk, or really do much of anything other than eat grass. Also none of them have wings or horns.”

“I… see…” Rarity said, her pace slowing a bit. “Does that mean you only see us as animals?”

“Woah there now! I never said that. I don’t judge people based on their looks and as far as I’m concerned that includes you ponies too. I’ll admit it was a bit of a shock at first but I’m slowly getting used to it.”

Rarity sighed. “Thank goodness. You had me worried for a bit there.” We continued our walk for a bit longer before she spoke again. “Though there is something else I am still concerned about.”

“Que? What is it?”

“You said you eat meat. Is it necessary in your diet because I don’t think I could stand having around.”

I put a hand to my chin as I thought. “Well… there were people in my world who were vegetarian. Basically it meant they didn’t eat meat. From what I can remember they got their protein from other sources like nuts and beans.”

“And you weren’t one of these vegetarians I take it?”

I shrugged. “I never had a reason really. Most vegetarians were like that because they didn’t like how animals were treated or something along those lines. Some seemed to believe it was healthier but I never saw any proof that it was better.” I could already tell where Rarity was heading with this. “If you aren’t comfortable, I can live without meat.”

“Really? I wasn’t going to ask, just suggest you eat it elsewhere, but I thank you all the same.”

Her kindness was infectious to say the least as a smile came to my face. Nice to know I have some friends in this crazy new world. “It’s the least I can do for giving me a place to stay.”

“Oh it’s nothing mister…. oh! It seems in all of the excitement we never asked for your name.”

I thought back for a moment before snickering a bit. “Ya, I guess so. My name’s Allan. Allan Rhodes.”

“A pleasure to meet you Mr. Rhodes.”

“Please, just Allan is fine. We’re friends after all.”

Rarity’s smile seemed to get a bit bigger. “Alright Allan. Thank you.”

*     *     *

“So let us get this straight.” Flim said as Wuya floated about around them. “You were once a powerful witch who was locked in this puzzle box.” He pointed to the box that sat on the table, his brother standing on the other side.

“Except now you’re a ghost, and because you aren’t physical you need us to find these ‘Shen Gong Wu’.”

“Precisely.” Wuya hissed.

Flam held a hoof to his chin in thought. “I still have yet to see what getting you these things will do for us.”

“Why, it will fulfill your dream. World domination will be ours!”

“Ah, now you’re talking. So, you lead us to these magical artifacts as they appear, we take them and then what happens?”

“Then?” She chuckled. “Then the world is plunged into ten thousand years of darkness.” She laughed evilly, the sound echoing through the basement.

“Hmm. What do you think Flim?”

“Sounds almost too easy Flam. We can’t be the only ponies looking for these, can we?”

Wuya grumbled. “No. Unfortunately there is another. A man, not a pony, who has yet to realize the destiny he has before him. Once he discovers who he is, he will become a most formidable foe. You will have to use caution.

“Thankfully I already have one Shen Gong Wu, magically stored within my puzzle box.” As she said this the box snapped open and a red light streamed out. Various balls of the light floated out and spun around, forming the image of a dragon before the picture solidified and the object floated down on the table next to the box.

“This is the Longi Kite. Whoever uses it will be given the ability to fly.” The brothers looked over the dragon shaped artifact with interest.

“Amazing! Sure pegasi can fly, but only the strongest of unicorns could replicate flight using magic, and the wings tended to fall apart rather easily.”

“What other powers do these Shen Gong Wu possess?”

Wuya rubbed together her spectral hands. “All in good time, Flim and Flam. I can feel a Shen Gong Wu readying to reveal itself. Be sure you are prepared when the time comes.”
> The Lunar Locket... and a rainbow cannon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My night with Rarity was about as simple as being in horse world could go. We made some more small talk on the way to her boutique, which by the way was a building with a carousel on top of it. It was even named after the unique building choice: Carousel Boutique. Anyway, once we were there she showed me where the guest room was and it wasn’t long before I was snoozing away.

The next morning she woke me up before the sun had risen for the sun celebration. She figured while I was stuck waiting for my ride home, I might as well enjoy my time here. It took her being a bit more ‘persuasive’ but I finally dragged my butt out of bed. I had let the robes air out overnight so they didn’t stink of my sweat at the least, though I did ask Rarity about finding me some more clothes. She offered to make me some after the festivities, adding another couple tallies on my ‘How much I owe Rarity’ board.

We walked through town, getting a lot of stares from ponies which didn’t exactly help with me feeling comfortable. I was fine with getting glances, but most of these ponies were dropping everything they were doing just to watch me go by. By the time we made it to the festivities the warm feeling I had been building up since meeting all of the girls had been blown away like a fire on a windy night.

“Oh come now Allan. There’s no reason to be shy.” Rarity chided next to me. We were currently sitting in the back of the hall as Fluttershy changed out the bandages around my head. Turns out she was in charge of a bird choir, making me think her thing for animals was more than just your common vet.

“Easy for you to say. You’re not un gigante.” Rarity gave me a confused look. “A giant.”

“Oh, I understand how you feel.” Fluttershy muttered as she let go of my head. “All those ponies watching you just makes you feel so…” she shrunk a bit along with her voice “small.”

Rarity huffed. “Well that doesn’t mean you- hey, what’s going on?” I followed her eyes to my back to find the scroll was pulsing with a golden light. I had almost forgotten I had put it on this morning, the feeling of the strap against my shoulder almost natural.

“Dunno. This trasto isn’t supposed to be anything beyond a fancy metal tube holding a bunch of rolled up paper.” I reached around and pulled it off me, careful not to mess up any of Fluttershy’s work. Pulling it open revealed the blue circle once again only this time it was swirling. Not only that but for some reason I could understand the characters as they began to shift and a picture formed in the circle.

“The Lunar Locket?” I watched as the picture in the circle turned into an animation, showing the amulet being handed to a man and him aiming it at the moon. The moon then began to move with his arm, which was confusing until I read the text next to it.

“What is it Allan?” Fluttershy peeked over my shoulder. I could feel Rarity looking over the other, though she was stretching her neck much further.

“I don’t know. This scroll, at least in the story it’s from, would show the heroes when a special magical object would reveal itself. It would then give them a description of it like it just did right now.”

“You mean the moving picture?” Rarity asked. I nodded. “Then what is all of this?” She tapped a hoof to the characters on the right.

“That’s a written description. And this,” I pointed to the words along the bottom “is the name of the object.”

Rarity squinted at the words while Fluttershy just looked confused. “What sort of language is this?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t able to read it before but now I can. From what I can tell, the object it’s showing is called the Lunar Locket and it has the power to control the moon.”

“Gracious! You mean like the princess does?”

The princess controls the moon? Here I thought a necklace with that power was ridiculous. “Uh… ya, let’s go with that.”

Fluttershy nudged my side. “Um, so if this scroll showed the people in your story when one of these objects showed up, does that mean that one has shown up in Equestria?”

“I doubt it. This thing was probably just made to make random lights and stuff on some sort of timer. Or maybe I hit a button on it by mistake. Trust me, this thing is basura.” Another confused glance from the two of them. “Junk.” Suddenly the image of the man changed to an arrow that pointed at the stage the princess was supposed to appear on.

I was about to question this new omen when the mayor, whose actual first name was Mayor, called for everyone to take their places. Fluttershy flew off to prepare the bird choir while Rarity went to take her spot pulling the curtain back. I closed the scroll, deciding I could wait on finding the off switch after the festivities.

Once the mayor was done with her little intro about it being the summer solstice and such, she finished it off naming a bunch of titles the princess had, one of them being that she not only controlled the moon, but the sun as well. Finally she got to her actual name.

“Princess Celestia!” Fluttershy’s bird choir sang a little song while Rarity pulled back the curtain to reveal… nothing.

That can’t be good. Apparently my thought’s were mirrored by about every pony in the room as they began to mutter to each other. Before anyone could get too rowdy though, a dark blue fog began to form up on another of the three balconies, growing larger until finally taking the form of a pony with both wings and a horn.

There are ponies with both?! Oh, now that’s just cheating. The dark colored pony in armor looked down at the ponies before laughing darkly and going on some rant about bringing eternal night to Equestria. As she said this, she looked toward the window which had been showing the beginnings of a sunrise. Her horn glowed and the moon moved to eclipse the sun.

I wasn’t looking at that though. My eyes were on the locket she had around her neck.

There’s no way… can it? I pulled back open the scroll just to see if my assumption was right. The arrow, no matter which way I turned or moved the scroll, pointed right at the mare. She has the Lunar Locket?! Before I could try to make any more sense of the situation, the mare lashed out with lightning against some pegasi guards, taking chunks of stone out of where they landed before turning back into fog and bolting out the door. The arrow followed her all the way.

“Well what do you expect me to do about it?” I asked the scroll as if expecting an answer. None came of course other than the arrow it continued to give me. I muttered “Trasto.” before putting the scroll on my back. I had gotten on my feet just in time for Applejack to run up.

“Hey! Twi seems to know something about what’s going on. We should try following her.”

I nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Lead the-” A scream interrupted me. I looked to see the balcony Rarity had been standing on was crumbling, apparently having taken one too many hits from the black pegacorn’s lightning. Before anyone with wings could get the chance to help her, it finally broke free, and gravity showed it’s lack of mercy for the third time in the past twenty four hours.

I’m still not sure what happened next but here’s what I remember. I reached behind with one hand as I bolted through the crowd, everything almost moving in slow motion for me. I felt something with weight enter my hand and I pulled it around to reveal the ruby I thought I had lost. I aimed it at Rarity and the falling debris and shouted.

“Ruby of Ramses!”

As I spoke, the rubble and pony together slowed to a halt as a bright red outline covered all of them. I moved my arm slowly down, orienting Rarity out of the way of any debris and placing her on her hooves before releasing the whole thing. Rarity seemed to be shocked at what happened, as was I as I looked to the gem for answers that never came.

Ruby of Ramses? Is this another one of those magical objects from that show I barely remember? And where did it come from? As if on cue, the ruby turned into a golden light before moving behind me and entering the scroll. Well that explains that. How did I call it out though?

Applejack came running up next to me. “Allan! How in the blue blazes did you do that?”

I shrugged. “Sorry señorita, I have no idea.” This surprised her even more but any further questions were cut off by a ball of white fur wrapping itself around my side.

“My hero!” Rarity’s praise made me blush once again, though much less so this time as I was still trying to understand what just happened. Rainbow flew in soon after, scolding all of us.

“What’s taking you all so long? We could have been there by now!” And then she left without giving any of us a chance to explain what the hold up was. Rarity got off my side and ran after her with Applejack, quickly followed by Pinkie and Fluttershy. I shook my head real fast, causing a bit of dizziness due to my injury before running after them.

Here’s hoping it’s not some cliche “end of the world” type deal.

*     *     *

“Ah!” Wuya proclaimed, cutting through the sounds of metal being burned with a blowtorch. “The Shen Gong Wu has revealed itself! It is the Lunar Locket. With it, we will be able to control the moon!”

“Control the moon!” Flim popped up from underneath the machine he had been working on. “Why, that would make world conquest so much easier. We wouldn’t have to worry about having some sort of replacement for Celestia.”

“Indeed brother of mine!” Flam slid out from the other side. “So where are we off to Wuya?”

“The Lunar Locket has appeared in a town called Ponyville.”

“Great! We’ll just grab the cider droids, load them onto the Super Speedy-”

“Wait! It appears to be moving! Now it is in the Everfree Forest and is only going deeper.”

Flam quivered a bit. “The Everfree! That place ain’t natural.”

“Don’t worry about it Flam! Our droids will take care of the hard part. We just need to walk in and take the prize.”

*     *     *

I had to go and jinx it.

We all arrived at the library to find that it was the end of the world. I mean, eternal night meant no sunlight, which at least back on Earth was essential for life to exist. Twilight went into some long winded explanation about what the heck the black pegacorn was while I busied myself trying to figure out the scroll. I had it out in front of me as I tried all sorts of mental and spoken commands to understand how it worked.

Alright, so I can summon the Ruby of Ramses by just thinking it. I did so real fast just to test it still worked. Good. Now if only this stupid thing would tell me what it does! The scroll refused to budge, the blue circle slowly swirling. Oh come on! I continued trying in vain to get the instructions on the Ruby before dropping it on the scroll in a huff.

Wonder what the girls are talking about? I looked over to see they were still deep in talking about how they were going to take down the nightmare queen with good vibes or something. Really didn’t seem to make much sense, but then again, how has anything been sensical since I arrived?

I glanced down at the scroll to the surprise of a picture with a man holding the ruby and using it to manipulate some stones. Is that what it does? I picked the Ruby up off the written instructions only for said text to disappear. Ah, so if I put one of these “Shen Gong Wu” on the scroll, it’ll give me the info on them. Here I thought I was going to have to pull open the rest of this thing to find the instruction manual.

I put the Ruby down so that the instructions appeared once more and went over them real fast. Alright, so it’s a point and shoot telekinesis. Easy. I willed the Ruby back into the scroll, watching the light swirl into the blue circle before packing it up. By the time I was ready so were the girls.

Twilight seemed to realize I hadn’t been listening and whined. “Allan! Don’t tell me you didn’t hear any of that.”

“Uh… sorry. I was trying to make sense of this whole thing.” As I said that I willed the Ruby back into my hand. The ponies’ eyes went wide at the sight, even the ones who had already seen it.

“Since when could you do that?” Twilight remarked. “I checked you for magic while you were unconscious and you were so nonmagical that I had to boost my spell to make it work!”

I shrugged. “It’s the scroll I guess. It stores these objects called Shen Gong Wu. This one gives me the ability to use telekinesis essentially.” I let the Ruby return to the scroll while Twilight started getting all “learning crazy” again.

“It’s able to store objects as energy! Such a magical feat would certainly-” She was thankfully cut short by Applejack’s coughing.

“Uh, hate to interrupt Twi, but we got a nightmare’s flank to kick and a night to not let last forever, remember?” Twilight realized her error and grinned nervously.

“Whoops. Sorry. We can figure out your scroll later. Right now we need to stop Nightmare Moon.” As they headed out I followed them until Twilight turned around and stopped. “You don’t need to come. It will be rather dangerous.”

“So? You act like I can’t defend myself.” I noticed Rainbow doing a poor job at holding back laughter. “What’s so funny?”

“Snrk, you? Defend yourself? Ya right. The guy who fell flat on his face the first time we saw him is going to fight?”

Now I have zero combat training and if anything my lifestyle had pushed me in the opposite direction. Never played sports, never really worked out, I did a lot of walking but that wasn’t for exercise, just day to day things. I was rather clumsy, sitting on the line between underweight and healthy weight constantly.

So to say I had no excuse as to why they should bring me along other than ‘I wanted to figure out this whole Shen Gong Wu thing’ was rather spot on.

Twilight seemed about ready to argue the point further but Rarity spoke up. “He was quite the savior back in the town hall.”

“The guy’s quick on his feet, I’ll give him that.” Applejack added.

“It was rather brave of him to jump to the rescue like that.” Fluttershy quietly said.

And then Pinkie added her own… special part. “He was all ‘Whoosh!’ and then ‘Wererererer’ and then he pointed that crystal thing and was like ‘Ruby of Rabies’ and then Rarity stopped falling!”

This was oddly enough all it took to convince Twilight to concede defeat. “Fine. He can come too.”

I stood up a bit straighter, feeling strangely confidant at the compliments the other ponies had given. “Alright! Besides, just how bad can one forest be?”

*     *     *

Ya. I totally jinxed it again.

We finally made it to some ancient castle deep in the forest after the worst nature walk in history. We literally had been thrown off a cliff, attacked by some lion/scorpion hybrid, had trees come to life before Pinkie made them all poof away somehow, calmed a woeful serpent of his poorly cut mustache, and fixed a bridge.

Twilight and the others went about collecting some rocks that I guessed were important. I decided it was best to stay out of the way and pulled out my scroll to figure out where ms. put-the-world-into-eternal-night was. The arrow formed just in time for me to follow it to some blue fog creeping toward Twilight.

“Twilight!” I called out, her eyes snapping open to see the fog swirl around the stones before her.

“The Elements!” she cried before jumping into the vortex. It swallowed her quickly and began to shrink. Before it disappeared completely, I jumped in after her on the same instinct that had helped me save Rarity.

We both ended up getting tossed on our butts after what I imagine a joy ride through a blender would feel like. I shook my head and looked up to see the pegacorn standing there, the rocks floating around her.

“Hm?” She seemed confused by my presence. “And what kind of creature are thou?”

“Human.” I said standing up. “And I’m also not a fan of the whole ‘eternal night’ thing so it’d be great if you stopped.”

She scowled. “We see. Than you shall suffer like they will!” Her horn began to glow before some kind of energy blast hit her from the side, taking all of her concentration away from me. “Who dares?!”

Suddenly what looked like the love child of a barrel and a droideka flew in, followed by about five others just like it. The pegacorn took to the air to deal with the new threat, leaving the rocks on the ground. Twilight ran toward them while I watched the battle and readied the Ruby just in case.

Robots? Where el infierno do you get robots in a place like this? I glanced around to find two ponies and a floating mask with purple jello attached to it peeking in through one of the windows. At about the same time they noticed me and I heard the mask cry out.

“It’s him! Quickly now, get the Shen Gong Wu!”

You kidding me? There’s competition for these things! I watched one of the ponies strap a dragon statue to his back and call out “Longi Kite!” before taking to the skies. By now, the pegacorn had taken out half the droids but she wasn’t expecting the pony to suddenly fly by, swiping the locket off her neck.

“We’re here Twilight!” I heard Applejack call from the doorway behind us, but at the time it didn’t do much good. Twilight still couldn’t get the rocks to work and the droids were just distracting the pegacorn now. She didn’t seem to notice the loss of her amulet as she blasted through the droids before pulling Twilight away from what she was doing.

I watched the pony who swiped the locket turn around and wave it about to his friends in victory. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t looking where he was going and ran smack dab into a stone pillar. The locket clinked against the ground, landing off to one side of the room. I moved to grab it, but three more barrel-bots flew in and this time there target was me.

Mierda! “Ruby of Ramses!” I grabbed one of the bots in my telekinetic grasp and turned him on his friends, his laser firing non stop. As soon as the others were spare parts, I smashed the bot into the wall a few times before picking up one of the larger piles of rubble in room and dropping it on its head.

It had been a short distraction, but enough for the pony who had flown in to clear his head from the collision and make his way toward the amulet. There’s no way I can get there fast enough! I glanced down at the Ruby annoyed before thinking of something. Unless... 

“Ruby of Ramses!” The square of stone beneath my feet rose out of the ground, causing me to fall backwards but I still stayed on. Let’s see you enjoy this magic carpet ride! I willed the stone forward, the sudden acceleration nearly throwing me off as I was essentially thrown at the pony. The stone platform narrowly missed his head and overshot my intended target as I jumped off and rolled. As soon as everything was right side up again I lunged at the locket, the pony wrapping a hoof around it at the same time.

“Sorry you… whatever you are, but this amulet’s mine!” The pony spoke in what I could only describe as a salesman’s accent. I growled at him in response.

“Not gonna happen!” Our fight turned into a game of tug of war at that point. That is, until the locket began to glow, causing both of us to stop and wonder just what it was doing.

Before either of us could really question it though, a giant rainbow spewing out of the six ponies interrupted our little game. The rainbow wrapped around the pegacorn, said pain-in-the-butt screaming the entire time. And then as sudden as it came, it was gone, the pegacorn now replaced with a smaller, lighter colored version.

“You fool!” Came the hissing voice of the jello mask. “Don’t be distracted by such trivialities!” That shook us both out of our delirium as our tug of war match began again in earnest.

“Allan!” I heard the ponies call out as they realized I was in my own fight. They rushed over but Twilight stopped them before they got too close. “Hang on girls. That amulet is giving off some strange magic.”

“What… what’s going on?” The pony on the other end of the locket babbled. Jello mask and the pony’s twin came over as well, the former apparently understanding what was happening.

“It is a xiaolin showdown. You two must now compete in a challenge where each will wager one of their Shen Gong Wu and the winner takes all.”

“Hmm? What… what is happening?” I heard a soft voice mutter. Turning my head, I saw that the newly colored pegacorn was getting up. She seemed to notice us rather quickly, and even more so what we were both holding. “My locket! Give that back!”

Jello mask was chuckled darkly before floating over in front of the pegacorn. “Sorry, but it seems your locket is something we need to take over the world. You’ll have to just sit there and watch as we beat this human and take it, as is the rules of the showdown.”

That was confusing to me at least. “Rules? Wouldn’t think you were much for rules if you’re planning on world domination.”

“The rules of a showdown are a binding magical contract that no one can break. They are more ancient than this castle or the forest it sits in.”

I rolled my eyes before asking “Okay… so what do we do?”

Jello mask grumbled a bit. “Really? I have to explain this to you?” It sighed. “One of you challenges the other, declares a competition, and then each wager a Shen Gong Wu. Since you only have one that should be easy enough to decide even with your ant sized brain.”

“Huh… alright than.” I looked at the pony still holding on to the other end of the locket. “I challenge… you-”

“My name is Flim.”

“And I’m Flam.” His twin with the mustache echoed.

I snickered. “Really?” They didn’t look amused. “Alright. I challenge you, Flim, to a xiaolin showdown. I wager my Ruby of Ramses.”

“And I will wager the Longi Kite.” Each item let of a pulse of light as we said this, as if to confirm their entry into the showdown.

“The challenge will be…uh…” I glanced around looking for an idea before giving up and picking something generic. “A race. Whoever reaches the Lunar Locket first wins.”

“Very well. I accept your challenge!” Suddenly the glow surrounding began to grow brighter and brighter before dying off completely. Only instead of us all being in the castle, we were now on the moon.

“What the?” We all looked around completely confused until a huge, moon-rock mountain rose up out of the ground, the locket sitting on top of it. Some more rocks rose up and just began floating around the mountain, orbiting it like a moon does a planet. Once everything settled, we all took a moment to collectively wonder just what in the world, or any other, was happening.

“Ah.” Jello mask sighed. “It is always an interesting sight, these showdowns. You never know just what will happen.”

“Allen, you sure you can do this?” called Applejack from the side lines. “I mean, you ain’t exactly the most fit feller.”

“A little late for doubts.” I replied. “I can’t back out now. Besides, there’s now way I’m letting these guys take the locket.”

“This stinks! Can’t one of us substitute in or something?” Rainbow Dash whined.

“Relax. You guys took care of the eternal night stuff. Let me handle this.” Now if only I knew what the heck I was doing.

“Gong Yi Tan Pai!” Jello mask yelled, its voice echoing off the surface of the moon. We all just gave it a weird look until it explained. “It means start the showdown!”

Flim was quicker on the draw than I was as he called out “Longi Kite!” and was off into the air. I was still trying to figure out how I was going to get up this mountain when I remembered we were on the moon and tried jumping. The result was probably the most ungraceful impression of Neil Armstrong you’ve ever seen but it got me up the mountain a bit.

“Are you serious?” Flim chided from his spot in the air next to me. “You think you can beat me with jumping while I can fly? I might as well take it-” one of the rocks floating around the mountain collided with him, interrupting his taunting. I just ignored him and bounced again, this time not looking like a complete dunce.

“You can do it Ally!” screamed Pinkie from down below. As she began to cheer, so too did the rest of the ponies. This brought a smile to my face before I turned back to the task at hand. What the heck am I doing here? Just a day ago I was planning what to do after college and now I’m on the moon racing to grab a magical amulet against a ghost and her two friends. Oh, and in a world with talking caballos nonetheless!

I pushed that line of thinking aside as I bounded up the mountain. It wasn’t long though that I realized I was still falling behind. Flim was moving at practically twice the speed I was. Of course, I’m the genius who suggested a race against someone with a flight Shen Gong Wu. That’s when I remembered I had my own Wu to use.

I called the Ruby to my hands and aimed it at one of the rotating rocks. “Ruby of Ramses!” The rock glowed red and I quickly tossed it at Flim. 

“Look out you fool!” Jello mask cried, though too late for him to react. The stone hit him square in the muzzle as he turned around, resulting in him dropping like a stone down the mountain. I smirked and continued my way up but it wasn’t long before he passed me again. I doubt that’ll work a second time, and he’s still way faster than me. I need someway of speeding myself up!

I flashed back to the castle where I had launched myself with a stone slab before glancing at yet another rock floating by. Well, if it doesn’t work I’m likely to kill myself but like abuela always says: “Better to take a risk and fail than wonder what could have been”. I jumped onto the rock, getting a grip on it before firing up the Ruby again. The stone glowed red and launched straight up the mountain. Flim dodged it with a grin but when he saw I was on the other end of it his jaw dropped. I just smiled back like a maniac as the rock flew right by the peak of the mountain, making grabbing the locket easy pickings.

As I began to fall toward the ground, a golden glow washed over everyone and before we knew it we were back in the castle as if nothing had happened. I felt the weight of the Longi Kite strapped to my back as well as the Ruby and Locket in each hand. Overall I was feeling on top of the world! Or the moon. Take your pick.

“Ha! Looks like you and your lackies aren’t getting this one, jello ghost.” I taunted jello mask as my friends cheered for my victory.

It roared. “Jello?! I am Wuya, dark witch of heylin magic, and this will not be the last time you see the likes of me!” She flew out the window, the two ponies getting picked up by barrel-bots as they followed her.

“Should we go after them?” Twilight asked.

“Pffft, nah. They don’t have anymore Shen Gong Wu meaning they aren’t really a threat anymore. I think we’ll be-”

“Ahem.” I turned to see the pegacorn giving me an annoyed look. “I believe you have something that belongs to me.”

I glanced down at the locket in my hand before raising an eyebrow at her. “I don’t think giving the one who tried to end the world a necklace that controls the moon is the best idea.”

“I don’t think that will be a problem.” A motherly voice spoke. A piece of the sun itself seemed to float into the room through a window before the light died off to reveal another pegacorn. The first looked rather scared at the new one’s entry while Twilight ran up to her.

“Princess Celestia!” The two shared a snuggle before the princess looked to the other ponies, who I had not noticed were bowing until now. Whoops. Should I be bowing?

“Rise, my little ponies. You have all done a great thing today in restoring the Elements of Harmony and defeating Nightmare Moon.”

Is that what the whole rainbow beam of death was? She turned to me. “And you. I thank you in making sure that amulet did not fall into the wrong hands. What you did was very brave.”

I felt my face heat up as it usually did when I was complimented. “Oh it was nothing. Only thing I was really worried about was falling.” Unless you count the constant worry about how in any world I am going to get back home

She smiled softly at my awkwardness. “Bravery is not lacking fear, rather it is being able to face your fears. Now…” she looked at the darker pegacorn who tried to shrink at her gaze.

“Princess Luna, you have caused so much trouble to the innocents of Equestria with your actions. What do you say to this?”

“I… I…” She seemed to be on the verge of tears. I was about ready to see a thrashing from Celestia but she surprised me by sitting down in front of Luna and snuggling her.

“Oh my sister, I missed having you by my side all these years. We were meant to rule together, not fight like this. Please, can we return to how things once were?”

Luna seemed surprised by what she was saying before finally breaking out crying and throwing herself into Celestia’s chest. It was a tender moment that I didn’t want to interrupt so instead busied myself with putting away my Wu. The locket was last to go but before I sent it into the scroll’s storage I stopped and stared down at it resting in my hand.

“What are you going to do with it?” Rarity walked up next to me, expertly reading my thoughts. I continued looking at the locket before sighing and glancing at the two sisters. They seemed to be done with their emotional time so I walked over to the two of them and held out the locket to Luna.

She was surprised that I would so willingly hand it over, making me laugh a bit. “What? You really thought I was going to take this from you? It’s obvious this means more than just moon control to you.” For a moment she seemed confused at my understanding before nodding.

“Yes. I have no need of its power now, but when I was young and still learning, my father gave it to me to help raise and lower the moon each night. It’s the only thing I have to remember him by.” The locket was picked up in a blue aura that matched the one around her horn. It wrapped itself around her neck and she looked down at it warmly. “I… thank you. You didn’t need to return it but you did. You are very generous.”

I felt my blush return in full force. “Nah. I’m just a guy stuck in a world he doesn’t understand with a magical scroll that points me to things like your necklace. I’m definitely nothing special.”

Luna giggled. “Yes, your lack of any sort of training was obvious in the… what was it called, show-lin showdown?”

I shrugged. “Well what do you expect? I was just a student back on my world, one who was studying something that required very little physical strength. The fact I won at all was nothing short of a miracle.”

Luna giggled again, which by the way was adorable. “Then perhaps we should get you a trainer to help you learn, especially if you are going to be in more of these challenges. What do you think sister?”

Celestia nodded. “I agree, though I would like for you to explain just what it is these challenges are at a later date.” I nodded to her as the two of them stood up. “But now is not the time for such things. Now should be a time of celebration as my sister has been returned to me once more.

And with that we turned to head back to Ponyville. Or, at least that’s what everyone else did. I instead opted to faint on the spot.

Ya, I’m definitely hero material.
> As the sun sets
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I woke up with a face full of ethereal rainbow hair, which by the way makes for a great pillow. I would have tried convincing Celestia to sell that stuff but I doubt she could make enough hair to market it. Anyway, crazy get-rich-quick schemes aside, Celestia had insisted she carry me back after my fainting spell. Apparently it had just been due to exhaustion, which made sense what with everything that had happened.

Ponyville was in full swing when I awoke, celebrating the return of Princess Luna. Ponies sang and dance and just enjoyed the sun that was nearly taken from them. I started off staying by the princesses as I explained what I knew about the Shen Gong Wu and what was going on.

“So that’s just about it.” I finished. “It’s your average 'guy get’s thrown into pony world with a scroll that detects magical objects' scenario.” Alright, so that definitely wasn’t my best joke but give me a break! I had been through more in the past twenty four hours than I had in my entire life. Besides, despite how shaken up I was Luna seemed to enjoy it as she giggled some more. Celestia just nodded, obviously deep in thought with all the information I had just dumped on her.

“I see. Might I see this scroll of yours?” I instinctively grabbed hold of the strap across my chest. Celestia seemed to sense how tense I had become and added “I promise you I will not damage it, and I will give it back right after.” Though I felt a bit like a child being chided into giving his favorite blankie for cleaning, I begrudgingly pulled the scroll off my back and held it out to her. She picked it up in her golden magic before pouting a bit.

“I cannot open it. How odd.” I watched her focus intently on the scroll in front of her but as far as I could tell nothing happened. With a sigh she floated it back over to me. “Would you mind opening it for me?” I shrugged and pulled the two halves open with an ease that seemed to double the confusion on Celestia’s face.

I watched her horn glow a bit as she looked over the characters written on the paper but she only sighed once more. “It seems this scroll is beyond me. The words written upon it refuse to be translated magically. I can find no sign of these magical objects you have stored within. And on top of all else I don’t even understand how you opened it.”

I closed the scroll and returned it to its place on my back. “So you mean you can’t get the Shen Gong Wu out of it yourself?”

She shook her head. “No, I’m afraid not. It is some form of magic I have never seen, which is surprising when you are as old as I am.”

I was surprised to hear she was old. She certainly didn’t look it if Applejack’s grandmother was considered old. “How old are you two?”

Luna gave me a look of faux shook. “Now Allen, you never ask a mare how old she is!” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes with a smile along with Celestia.

“If you must know, we are both a little over fifteen hundred years old.” Maldita sea! What kind of health care plan are you on?!

“Wow. You definitely don’t look your age, I’ll give you that.”

“I have my ways. A mare has to look her best after all.” She said nonchalantly before sipping some of her tea. “Now than, I think we’ve held you up long enough. Go enjoy the festivities with your new friends. We’ll talk more about this on a later date.” I left the two princesses at their podium, waving goodbye to Luna before heading off to search for the other ponies. It didn’t take long though as I found Pinkie Pie. Or rather, she found me.

“Ally!” was the only warning I got before the pink blob of fur landed on my back and wrapped its hooves around my neck and waist. “I was wondering when the princesses would be done talking to you. I’ve got to show you something!”

I shifted Pinkie a bit so that I was more comfortable before asking, “Oh? And what is this thing you have to show me?”

“It’s a surprise silly. Now mush! Onward to Sugarcube Corner!” she declared as she pointed in front of us. I just chuckled and followed her instructions, though I’m pretty sure we were going in circles for the first twenty minutes. Sugarcube Corner turned out to be a bakery shaped like a gingerbread house, and right outside was Fluttershy.

“Hey Fluttershy.” I greeted her as Pinkie jumped off my back. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh… well, Pinkie Pie told me you were going to be coming by and I wanted to make sure your head was alright after everything that happened. I mean, if that’s okay with you.”

I chuckled at Fluttershy’s… well, shyness before giving her a light pat on the head. “Sure thing. Let’s head inside first and see what Pinkie’s surprise is about and then I’ll let you make sure I haven’t cracked my head open further.” With that we followed the energetic mare who had already bolted inside. Inside the place was packed as ponies waited in line to get their sweets. Despite the height difference my claustrophobia found reason to kick in, causing me to back up into Fluttershy for a moment.

“Oh, sorry Fluttershy.” I shrunk into the nearest corner of the room in an attempt to get as much space around me as possible. “I’m just… not good with crowds.”

“Oh my. Here, I’ll go see if Pinkie can bring her surprise outside for you. You shouldn’t have to push yourself after everything that happened.” I just nodded to her before she flew above the crowd into the kitchen behind the counter. Once she was out of sight, I darted back out the door, grateful for the fact that most ponies were either celebrating or eating at this time. After a deep breath of air to calm my nerves I found a nice spot on the nearby fountain to sit.

“Hey Allan!” I heard someone call. It sounded like Rainbow Dash but when I looked around I saw no sign of the usually stand out pegasus. “Up here!” I glanced up to see the she was peeking over a cloud as if she was sitting on it.

“Hey Rainbow Dash.” Seeing that she finally had my attention, she flew down and landed next to me so we wouldn’t have to shout. “What’s going on?”

“So you got that magic dragon thing when you kicked that guy’s butt, right?”

I scrunched up my face in confusion before it dawned on me what she was talking about. “Oh, you mean the Longi Kite I won in the showdown?”

“Ya, ya. That thing. You got it?” Rather than just saying yes, I pulled the Kite out of my scroll and into my hands. The thing was pretty big, around the size of a large dog.

Rainbow just watched the entire thing with a focused gaze. “And this thing lets you fly?”

“Well, that’s what I’m guessing. It’s what it did for Flim. Why all the questions?”

Rainbow grinned. “Awesome! That means you and I can go flying together. That’ll be so cool!”

I was genuinely surprised at this. “You want to fly with me? Didn’t you say I was a clutz or something like that?”

“Well ya, but that was before I saw you in action! The way you handled the robots and the moon challenge was pretty awesome. You’ve got to have some guts to pull off stuff like that.”

“Um, thanks, I guess.” Maybe I didn’t look as stupid as I thought I did.

“So come on! Strap that thing on and lets see what it can do!”

“Sorry Rainbow, but I’m waiting for Pinkie to come outside. She had some surprise for me but the place was packed.” Just as I said this, the pink enigma herself landed before us with a cake box balanced on her head.

“I’m super sorry about that Ally. If I had known you didn’t like crowds I would have just brought the surprise to you in the first place.”

I took the box off of Pinkie’s head as the Longi Kite returned to its place in the scroll. “It’s fine Pinkie. You couldn’t have known. So what is this?” I noticed Fluttershy move around to take a seat next to me. I could feel the feathers of her wings begin to fiddle with the bandages.

“Open it silly and find out!” I decided not to waste any time and opened it to find a single red frosted cupcake sitting in the box with the words ‘Welcome To Ponyville Ally!” written in black frosting.

“I still need to give you a proper ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party but since everyone’s going to be partied out for awhile after the celebration I figured I’d give you this for now!” Pinkie’s smile quickly grew infectious and I looked down at the sugary treat.

“Thanks Pinkie. Looks delish.” I took the cupcake out of the box and took a bite. To say it was amazing almost sounded like an insult as it was just… mmmmmMMMmm so good! Dios mio! This place really can’t be that bad with cupcakes like this!

When I was finished with the cupcake, I noticed my head lacked the feeling of tight wrappings. A quick check with my hand confirmed Fluttershy had removed the bandages, so I gave her a questioning look which she was happy to answer. “I don’t know how but your wound has healed really quick. Well, at least for ponies. Do you know how long injuries take to heal for your kind?”

“With what I had, probably would have been at least a week or two before I was fully healed. Wonder what caused it to heal so quickly?”

“Who cares!” Rainbow brashly declared. “If you are all healed up then let’s fly. I really want to see what that thing is capable of.” I rolled my eyes before getting up and bringing out the Longi Kite again. This time it appeared affixed to my back over the scroll.

“Well let’s see what happens, I guess. Longi Kite!” The wings on the dragon stretched out and flapped as soon as the command was given, pushing me into the air. Thankfully the Kite seemed to understand what it was doing more than I did as I stopped rising around fifteen feet in the air, which was about where I was aiming for.

Wow! This is awesome! I continued testing what I can do, finding that it was pretty simple to control. Soon I was flying around in circles with Rainbow watching from above while Fluttershy and Pinkie watched below.

“You’re flying Ally! You’re flying!” Pinkie cheered and bounced around below. Fluttershy seemed impressed by the act while Rainbow not so much.

“You don’t seem very fast.” She declared, spinning around me as if looking for more.

“I’m guessing the Kite isn’t built for speed, though there might be other Wu that are faster.”

That didn’t seem to brighten Rainbow’s mood at all she slumped over in mid-air. “Well that stinks. How are we going to get those?”

I shrugged. “Just going to have to wait until they reveal themselves. I can’t control it.” Rainbow just grumbled more as a light wing flapping came up next to me. Turns out it was Fluttershy.

“Well I think it’s great you can fly. With this and the ruby, it’s like you’re an alicorn.”

Rainbow snickered. “Allen’s a princess?” She managed to hold her laughter back for about two more seconds before letting it loose.

I just gave her a smirk and said “Hey, I might look great in a dress and tiara. You don’t know.” That got everyone else, including myself, laughing. Once everyone had calmed down, Fluttershy poked my side to get my attention.

“Since you can fly, maybe you should try some of the pegasus games they have set up for the celebration. I mean, if you’re interested.” I was about ready to say yes when I glanced down to check on Pinkie. Turns out she had disappeared, leaving me with just the two pegasi.

With a shrug I said “Sure” and followed Fluttershy and Rainbow, all the while just enjoying the feeling of weightlessness.

*     *     *

“Pleeeeeeeeeeeease?” said the purple demon as she tried to give me the puppy dog eyes.

“No Twilight. Also, those don’t work on me. I had a little sister and three younger cousins who all tried just what you are doing.” After hanging out with Fluttershy and Rainbow for awhile before growing tired. I looked around for a place to relax only to find Twilight, and instead of taking a load off I was just telling her to buzz off.

“But why? I thought you wanted to learn more about these shin gone woohoo.”

“It’s Shen Gong Wu. And if I want to learn more I’ll just read the scroll. There’s still a ton of paper in there I haven’t read. Besides, Princess Celestia herself couldn’t figure them out so what do you think you will learn from them?”

“Anything!” she jumped up. “It’s a whole new type of magic. Not only that but we’ve already seen you use them to do things that should be impossible unless you are a unicorn or pegasus. If I could figure out how to replicate them-”

“No way! Stopping the crazy train right here! Having one of each of these things is already enough. There’s supposed to be hundreds of them and I don’t envy keeping track of them all.” She tried the puppy dog eyes in a last ditch effort before grumbling.

“Fine. But I still want to hear more about the world you came from.”

I noticed Rarity walking up behind her. “I promise I will tell you all about it, but later. I doubt Rarity will want to hear me go on and on about every little detail of my world.”

Rarity seemed to catch on to what I was really saying, which was ‘help me get away from the crazy book mare’. “Oh of course. Besides, I need to take Allan’s measurements. He’ll need more clothes if he is going to be staying with us.”

“Clothes?” Twilight quickly looked me up and down. “I just thought you were wearing those for some ritualistic reason.”

“Nope. Humans don’t go naked. It’s actually against the law in some parts.”

“Even if that is true, it’s not like you can’t now. Everyone else doesn’t wear clothes.”

I scratched the back of my head. How do I explain this without being too blunt? “I’m just not comfortable with the idea. How would you feel if you went your entire life clothed and suddenly were asked to walk around naked?”

Twilight put a hoof to her chin in thought. “I suppose I can see your point. Getting more clothes would seem like a priority in that case.” She stamped her hoof on the ground. “Just don’t forget mister! You promised after all.”

“Don’t you worry Twilight.” Rarity spoke as she walked around behind me. “I’ll make sure he’s at your door bright and early tomorrow morning. Isn’t that right Allen?” I was about to argue against it before a horn jabbed me in the back.

I suppressed a small yelp before saying “Sure thing. Tomorrow morning.” Twilight accepted the time and walked off, leaving me with a prissy unicorn still poking me in the back.

“Come now dear. Let’s get to work on your new clothes.” Once I started moving Rarity took to walking next to me rather than behind.

“Maldita sea Rarity. What’s the rush?” I chuckled.

“My apologies Allan. I’m just excited is all! I’ve never had the opportunity to work my craft on someone other than a pony.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Other than a pony? You say that like there are other body types out there. Is it not just ponies across the world?”

“Oh of course not Allan! There’s minotaur, diamond dogs, saddle arabian horses, pandas, iguanas… Honestly, there are so many races it’s a small wonder why we see so few of them in Equestria. Why do you ask though? Are things not so diverse on your world?”

“Not really. I mean, everything you just listed exists in my world, but they’re animals. The only sentient species on my world was humans. We had just as many nationalities however.”

“You’re world must be quite the peaceful place if you only have one race.”

I grimaced a bit as we turned onto the walkway leading to the front door of Carousel Boutique. “You’d think, but it seems my kind will find any reason to fight each other. Well, they don’t have magic so they can’t threaten to blot out the sun but they find ways to compensate.” I pushed the door open, the bell above ringing as I let Rarity by.

“Rarity!” A tiny voice spoke as she entered. I looked for the source in confusion to find a pony smaller than the normal pony hugging one of Rarity’s forehooves.

“S-sweetie Belle! Why are you here?”

The tiny pony stepped back and pouted at Rarity. “Did you forget? Mom, Dad and I are visiting for the sun celebration. ‘Cause you weren’t here, they decided to go out and look for you while I waited in case you came back.” I closed the door behind me, the bell attracting the Sweetie Belle’s attention. Her eyes went wide as she looked at me. “Woah! Are you a minotaur mister?”

I chuckled as Rarity chided her. “Sweetie Belle! That is no way to treat a guest. Honestly, I thought my sister would know better.”

Sweetie looked down at the floor dejected. “Sorry Rarity.”

Deciding that seeing such cute girl… or is it filly? Gah! These horse pronouns are going to be a pain to learn. Anyway, I made it my mission to step in and keep her from being sad. “Relax Rarity. She’s just curious is all.” I kneeled down in front of her and ruffled her mane lightly. “I’m not a minotaur, little filly. At least, not that I’m aware of…” I playfully suggested. “Quick! Check to see if I’m growing horns!”

I bent my head down as Sweetie giggled before her hooves began brushing aside hair. After a few moments she gave me her diagnosis of “Nope. No horns at all.”

I got up, making a show of wiping sweat from my forehead. “Phew! I was a bit worried I’d have to go guard a maze sometime soon.” That got another giggle out of her as I noticed Rarity roll her eyes with a smile behind her.

“Sweetie, how about you continue talking with Mr. Rhodes here while I find the measuring tape? I’m sure he’ll appreciate the company.” Dios mio, I never saw someone so excited just to talk to me. Her eyes lit up with the same child-like wonderment Rachel would get whenever Mom and Dad brought home a new book for her on animals.

It suddenly felt like a needle had jabbed itself into my heart as I remembered my family. I wonder how they are taking my disappearance? Do they even know? I zoned out as the worry ate away at my stomach, not hearing any of the conversation until I felt something poking my leg. I looked down to see Sweetie pawing at my ankle with a worried look on her face.

“Are you okay Mr. Rhodes? You don’t look so good.” I gave her a small smile despite the heaviness in my heart before moving to sit crosslegged next to her.

“It’s fine, little chica. Just a little homesick is all.” She put on a thinking face, looking me up and down as she fell back on her butt.

“You’re from really far away and can’t get back, aren’t you?” Nothing could hide my shock at how well this probably around eight to ten year old pony had just figured that out by looking at me. Well, she is Rarity’s sister. Guess it runs in the family.

“Yes. I’m from another world as far as Twilight and the princesses have been able to tell. How I got here though is still up in the air though.” I sighed, leaning my head against my hand which I propped up using my elbow against my knee.

“Well don’t feel sad. Just because you can’t get back home doesn’t mean you can’t have a home here!” She poked my chest with a hoof. For a moment I looked at the little filly’s face, a small smile and eyes full of life.

You know, she might be young enough to be in Rachel’s grade in school, but they both have that strange adult level of smarts. I smiled. “Thanks Sweetie. I’m glad you told me that.” She smiled brightly before sitting back in her seat. It wasn’t long though before an awkward silence fell, and myself the one being counted on to break it.

“So… do you have any games you play while you’re here?”

Sweetie shuffled a bit on the floor. “No, not really. Rarity is usually working or something. It can get pretty boring.”

“No games huh?” I glanced around the room’s various piles of fabric, my grin only growing larger as a plan formed. “I think I’ve got the perfect thing we can do.”

*     *     *

Rarity moved about her sewing room, picking up parts of the mess that covered it, all the while looking desperately for her measuring tape. “No… no… no, not there… oh, where did I put the blasted thing… Aha!” In triumph, she pulled the end of it out from the bottom of a pile of fabric, flipping over onto the floor in the process.

Rarity sighed at the sight. “I really must clean up once the celebration is over. I swear, it becomes busier every year around this time.” She walked out into the foyer of her shop, calling out she entered. “Allan, I found the-”

Before her stood a patchwork castle, slightly smaller than what an actual castle would be but it still took up most of the foyer nonetheless. She stared agape at the fabric building until she heard her sister’s voice call from the top of the thing.

“Hi Rarity!” she said as she waved. Rarity was about to throw the obvious questions at her when suddenly the entire castle took on a red glow and began to collapse. Before she could figure out what was happening, all the fabric had returned to piles strewn about her shop, with Sweetie sitting on the shoulders of the newest human member of Ponyville holding a large ruby.

“Allan!” Rarity spat out in shock. “How the… I don’t get… what in the world?!”

Allan grinned as he replied “I’ve got a lot of little siblings. You learn how to entertain with what you’ve got on hand.” The ruby in his hand disappeared as he said this. Rarity just stood there, not knowing what to say until Sweetie Belle spoke up again.

“So… can we make a dragon next?”

*     *     *

After Sweetie and mine little adventure (and a small break to let Rarity calm down), we got the measurements for my clothes done as quick as can be. When she asked what style of clothes I wanted, I was about to go with my old clothing before stopping with a quick glance at my current attire. This thing held together rather well. Much better than my old clothes would have.

“How about just more robes like this?”

“I thought these weren’t the clothes you normally wore though?” Rarity asked with a raise of her eyebrow.

I shrugged. “I guess they’ve just grown on me. Besides, it’ll be way easier for you to make more of something you’ve already seen instead of me trying to describe my normal clothing to you.”

Rarity gave me a glare. “Are you saying I’m not up to the task?”

I rose my hands defensively. “Of course not. I just don’t want to give you more work. You’re already housing me on top of making new clothes. Keep this up and I’ll start to feel like a freeloader.”

Rarity’s smile quickly returned. “Oh Allan, don’t feel like you owe me. I don’t mind being generous for a friend.”

“I’m glad you feel that way, but I still feel like I should do something to help you in exchange.” I crossed my arms in thought until I thought of something. “How about I help you keep the place clean?” Rarity’s glare returned quickly. “Not that you aren’t a clean pony! It just seems the holiday outside has left you with little time to keep the place as tidy as it could be. Plus, if you aren’t worrying about cleaning up after every order, you can get your job done faster.”

Rarity seemed ready to object to this before closing her mouth and pondering for a few seconds. In the end she sighed and said “Alright Allan. If you really feel the need to help, I suppose I won’t stop you. If you like, you can even babysit Sweetie Belle since she seems so fond of you.” I moved to pull out the Ruby but she caught me before I could call it. “Not today though! I want you to rest for today. The mess will still be here when you wake up tomorrow.”

At the moment there was a knock on the door. Rarity called out “Sweetie Belle! Could you get that for me?”

A quick “Yes Rarity” was all that we got in response before Rarity turned back to me.

“Now Allan, is there any other-”

“Um, Rarity?” Sweetie called out. “I think you should come in here.”

Rarity headed for the entryway into the foyer, grumbling “Sweetie Belle, just what could be so important as to- Princess!” She bowed in the entryway as I came up behind her. Just as she said, there was a princess in the house. Luna specifically.

“Good day Miss Rarity. I was hoping if I could borrow Allan. There are some things we must discuss.” I rose an eyebrow at this before shrugging.

“Lead the way, princesa.” I followed her outside to find the sun was beginning to set after the long day. I wonder if Celestia lengthened the day to make up for the crazy long night?

We began walking through the town, the place having quieted down to some degree as ponies went to home to rest. “So, what did you need me for?”

“We wished to discuss a few things with you about your unique situation. Considering you are the only one who can understand that scroll of yours, we believe it would be best if you were assigned to collect and safeguard these… what did you call them?”

“Shen Gong Wu. And do you not remember how awkward I was in the showdown? I can bet that any one of your guards could have done better than I did.”

“That is why we have called upon someone to come to Ponyville and train you. It was not easy to find someone who can train a biped like yourself, but my sister and I have many contacts. Also…” Her horn glowed a dark blue and her amulet slid off of her neck and in front of me. “We believe this would be better guarded under your protection.”

I took the amulet and looked at it in shock before raising an eyebrow at her. “Didn’t you just say I need training? Why are you giving me this?”

“Simple. Only you can access the objects in your scroll. It would only make sense to keep it in a place that only someone I trust can reach.” She gave me a small smile.

I looked back at the amulet once more before closing my hand around it. The amulet turned into golden light and slid out of my enclosed fingers and into the scroll. “I’ll keep it safe princess. You can count on me.”

“Please, just call me Luna. I would much prefer it.”

“Well Luna, I promise you this. The Lunar Locket isn’t leaving my scroll unless you ask for it.”

She nodded before turning back in the direction we had been walking. I looked as well to find Celestia sitting in her carriage, watching us approach with her trademark motherly smile on her face. “I see you have informed Allan of everything he needs sister.”

Luna nodded before taking her seat next to Celestia. “Yes. You were right to believe he would take the assignment. He has a good heart.” I blushed a bit before walking up next to the carriage.

“So how should I contact you guys if I need something? I’ll probably want to keep you informed on what Wu Wuya has as well.”

“Just ask Twilight or Spike to send us a letter. After all, she is my student.”

As the carriage began to move, Luna turned and shout “Farewell Allan! Your trainer should be here at the end of the week!” And then off the carriage flew into the air, soaring off into the distance.

Leaving me to just stand there as every law of physics was broken in front of me. Surprisingly enough though, I wasn’t all that shaken by it. I chuckled and turned around to head back to Rarity’s.

“Guess this place grows on a guy.”

> I'm not a hero
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

> But I'll try anyway
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I woke up the next day without feeling any need to get up. Not like I have anything useful to do. It wasn’t long though before a knock came on the bedroom door.

“Go away Rarity.” The knock came again. I tried blocking it out with pillows but the third knock still managed to reach my ears. With a growl I jumped up and headed over to the door before ripping the door open. “What?!”

Turns out it wasn’t Rarity, but Gongniu. He gave me the same neutral gaze he always did only this time I wasn’t in the mood for this basura. “What do you want? Didn’t Rarity tell you I was done?”

“She did. That does not mean I must stop teaching, and from what I’ve seen you could use guidance.” I ran a hand across my face. Will this guy just get the message?

“Don’t you get it old man? I lost. I suck. Get someone else to collect the Shen Gong Wu cause I clearly ain’t the right guy for the job.”

“There is only one lesson in victory, yet a thousand lessons in defeat, young apprentice.” He turned and headed down the hall. “Follow me. I have something I must show you.” Now I was done with this. All I wanted was to spend the rest of the day under the covers. There was… something though. Something pushing me to follow him. I turned to the scroll, still where I had thrown the thing last night. Not a dent was made in the metal cover.

I must be loco to be doing this. I grabbed the scroll, throwing it over my shoulder as I rushed after the old man.

*     *     *

We arrived at the same field we were at the previous day, though this time there was a notable addition of a large pile of lumber, tools, and other things. I paid them little mind as the old man stopped and turned around. “So what? You don’t want me to quit because you already bought all the stuff?”

“Monetary value was never my goal. I was told there was one in need of guidance.”

“Well ya, in fighting. I needed to be able to beat Flim and Flam in showdowns.”

He waved a hand in front of him. “You are lost in more ways than one, young apprentice.”

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever old ma- woah!” Suddenly Gongniu had moved behind me, sweeping my legs out as he did so. I hit the dirt face first, continuing my falling trend. How do ponies eat this stuff? I thought as I spat out grass. “What was that for?”

“Respect. It is a simple concept, one you had yesterday but now lack. If I am to teach you, we must build a strong foundation, just as one does when constructing a building.”

I seriously considered just flying out of here, but yet again that small, crazed voice in the back of my head managed to convince me. “Fine. How should I show you proper respect than?”

“You will address me as Master Gongniu or master. You will bow when you greet me and when you leave. More importantly, you must put your trust in the fact that whatever task I give you, I do so to help you grow, not to take advantage of you. Is that clear?”

I rolled my eyes but went along with it. “Sure thing ol- I mean, yes Master Gongniu.” Oddly enough he seemed pleased at this despite the lack of facial change.

“Excellent. Now, before we begin working on the temple, there is something you must figure out about yourself.”

“And that would be…”

“In the ancient art of Xiaolin monks that I will be teaching you, everything centers around an idea of chi. Everyone’s chi is different, some in more subtle ways than others. All monks learn to use this chi, to channel it through their bodies. Before I can teach you how to channel your specific chi though, we must figure out what element your chi represents.”

“I thought everyone’s chi is different?”

“That is true, and as such, results in variations between different users of the same element. Whatever element you are might follow a similar path to another monk, or you might follow another path entirely. Nothing is set in stone.” He walked over to the large stone from before and sat down crosslegged on top of it. “Take a seat before me and we will begin.”

I was skeptical about this whole ‘chi’ nonsense but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it a go. Course, that’s what I thought about going into the forest with the others and what a pain that ended up being. I sat down in the grass in front of him and waited. For a long time nothing moved but the wind and the grass as the two of us just sat there. After awhile I couldn’t help it and began closing my eyes from tiredness. Enough of this mierda. Just before I felt like I was going to fall asleep, a bright light flashed within my closed eyelids, causing me to jolt and fall over.

“Que demonios was that?” I grumbled as I got back up.

“That was your chi, but only a glimpse of it. It showed itself because of the peace you felt just before you nearly fell asleep and because I was here coaxing it out. The fact you saw so little of it shows just how far we have to go.” He got up and walked over to the pile of building materials. “Tell me, what was it you saw?”

“Well… it was just a flash of light. Nothing fancy really.”

He nodded. “Very well. I would like you to think about what this ‘flash’ was as we begin work on the temple. Now, let us begin with the outer walls. You will need to take these stone bricks and place them where they must go over there.” He looked toward a section of the field that had been marked off, a dirt square drawn in the field. “I will watch your progress from here.”

Alright, now I’m sure I’m crazy if I’m going to go along with this. Strangely enough, the light I had seen gave me a strange hope that this wasn’t all for naught. I got to work laying stone, the entire time thinking about that flash.

It was so short, but I think I saw something. More than just a white light. Like there was something drawn into it. Bricks upon mortar upon bricks were moved from one place to the other, myself barely noticing the strain the large stones were putting on my less than athletic body. What was that? Is it the secret to my element or was it just a smudge on the lens? And why is this bugging me so much?!

“That will be enough young apprentice. It is getting late.” I glanced up from the stone I had just laid down to see that it was just as Master Gongniu had said. The sun was setting, just a sliver above the horizon. A look back at the wall I had been building showed I had built practically half of it. Did I do that?

“Come.” Master Gongniu waved me over. “I will show you where you can rest your head for the night.” I was about to question what he meant but the load of work I had just done hit me like… well, like a pile of bricks. I’m going to be feeling this in the morning. I followed Master Gongniu to the nearby trees. There he had a small camp set up, though lacking in tents, a fireplace, or really any of the usual amenities. It was just a mat with a blanket and pillow to go with it.

“This is where you will sleep until you have completed one of the temple rooms. Sleep well.” And then off he went to wherever I assume he was sleeping. How uncomfortable the mat was didn’t even bother me as I crawled in.

I didn’t see the light this time, but that only seemed to increase my want to figure out what it was.

*     *     *

The next morning I was woken up by Master Gongniu just as the sun was rising. We spent the entire morning doing the same meditative exercise we had done the previous day. After lunch I went back to work on the temple, finishing the wall and even managing to get the gate on it before going back to sleep.

The next few weeks went just about the same way. Training of some kind in the morning, construction work in the evening. After the first week some ponies took notice of what was being built and started coming by to look. A few were ponies I knew and would often want to speak with me but I was focused and told them I couldn’t speak at the moment.

Second week was when the measure of my focus was tested. Not only was that the week I had to build the gardens, meaning a lot of stone pathways being laid out as well as digging to create small ponds, but it was also the week Twilight and her friends kept coming by, worried that I was pushing myself too far. It just also happened that there was a really nasty storm that week. Some error in the weather factory according to Rainbow Dash.

I persevered though. Through all of it. Every night I was tired, and every morning my body ached from the previous day’s work. My training began to become more physical as Master Gongniu began teaching me in earnest, though we still began the day with meditation. Construction became more complex as I moved onto the actual building itself. By the time a month had past we had a single porch and half the room connected to it built as well as the grounds and wall surrounding it.

It was that morning a month later that I was in the middle of meditation with Master Gongniu that the scroll began to glow once more. I’ll be honest, the glow scared me at the time. It felt like lead up to another failure, another bad end. I was about to go accept my likely horrible defeat before Master Gongniu spoke up, his eyes not opening.

“You are not ready yet, young apprentice. One more stone in your enemy’s fortress will not give them the advantage. Not when your own fortress is built with steel.” I nodded despite his eyes not being open before returning to my meditation. Master Gongniu was right. One more Shen Gong Wu would not cause the world to fall.

Another month passed and I started to feel different. In a good way. My body grew used to the constant strain I had been putting on it as the morning’s meditation helped to calm my unruly emotions. My combat training with Master Gongniu left me feeling lighter on my feet as I began to use my senses in ways I hadn’t before. What surprised me though was when at the end of the month Master Gongniu stopped our morning training session early.

“That will do. You have built the strong foundation in yourself just as you have done for the temple.” He motioned to the building, about a third of the way done now. “You have been diligent and focused in your endeavours, but even a warrior should have time to talk with friends. Go speak with them, let them know how you are doing. It will be good for them and yourself.”

I nodded and bowed. “Thank you master.”
> The Dragon of Light
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The moment I got to Ponyville I noticed I was getting a lot of stares, a few ponies even muttering something under their breath to each other. Guess it has been awhile. I stopped and staggered my stance as I heard something: the whistling of a speeding object. I felt something soft slam into me, but managed to keep my ground.

“Ally!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she snuggled into my stomach. She paused for a moment before poking me. “You’re not as soft as you used to be.”

I smiled down at her. “No, two months of training and labor will do that to a tipo. How have you been Pinkie?”

“Oh oh oh! You totally missed it! First, there was this scary zebra who turned out to be really nice. And then there was a magician who wasn’t very nice and some kids led an ursa minor into town but Twilight was all like ‘magic fix-it-uppy thing’ and was awesome! And there was a mean griffon who was friends with Dash, and a dragon spitting smoke, and and-”

“Alright, I get it niña. I missed a lot in two months.” I chuckled. Pinkie suddenly seemed to get rather sad as she looked up at me.

“Why haven’t you come to visit sooner Ally? Did you not care anymore about your friends?”

I sighed before kneeling down and scratching Pinkie behind the ear. “That’s not it at all Pinkie. I just… needed to work some things out. I’m back now though.” Pinkie grinned before gasping as loudly as anyone could ever possibly gasp.

“Oh, I know! We should have a party! A ‘Glad to have you back Ally’ party!”

I stood up laughing before rubbing a hand in Pinkie’s mane. “Maybe some other time Pinkie. I want to see everyone else before I have to get back to work.” She nodded before bouncing off to do… whatever it is Pinkies do.

Wasn’t long though before the next pony on my list of ponies to meet showed up. Actually, it was two of them getting competitive with each other.

“Oh please! I bet I could gather up all those apples way faster flying than bucking the trees will.”

“Ya, but with how often you crash I wouldn’t take the chance wit that. Sides, you’d bruise most of them.” Apparently Rainbow and Applejack were in some argument about apple picking so I waited on the sidelines until it died down before walking in.

“I’d say leave Applejack to the apple picking Dash. If that storm a few weeks back is any sign, you’ve got your hooves full.” Both ponies glared at me for a moment as they wondered who was getting in the middle of their argument before relaxing.

“Allan! That you? You look… bigger fer sum reason.” Applejack put a hoof to her chin while Rainbow just flew a corkscrew around me hooting and hollering.

“Ya! Allan’s back! We thought you’d never get away from that thing you’re building.”

“Master Gongniu says I should have some free time just for friends, so I came down to see what’s going on.” I turned to Applejack. “And ya, I guess I am a bit bigger. I have been doing a lot of hard work.”

“You’ve been working out?” Rainbow said with in a confused tone. “You looked like the kind of guy who would hate that kind of thing. Well, used to anyway.”

“Rainbow!”

“What? Don’t tell me you didn’t think it either when you first saw him.”

Applejack shook her head. “Well it don’t matter now.” She turned to me. “I will say you certainly have done a good job on yerself there. Bet ya eat a lot now too.”

“That certainly seems to be a part of my training. Body needs all the energy it can get.”

“Well here.” She tossed me an apple. “It’s on the house.”

I thanked her and took a bite as Rainbow Dash spun around some more. “Oh man! I wanna see what you can do now! Can you show us?”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “And just how am I supposed to do that?” Her grin was the only response I got before she pounced.

*     *     *

Twilight was having a normal, quiet day tending to the library. Currently she was stocking the shelves, replacing books that had been returned. Everything was calm… until a ball consisting of one human and one rainbow maned pegasus slammed through the door. They crashed through the table and couch she had set up in the center of the room before coming to a rest near the fall wall, Rainbow Dash on top.

“Ha! Gotcha no-woah!” Allan brought his feet up and kicked Rainbow off. As she hit the ground, Allan pushed off the ground with his hands, landing on his feet and taking up a stance with his hands in front of him.

“Sorry Rainbow, but it’ll take more than that to keep me down.” He seemed about ready to charge before he realized where he was. “Woah. Rainbow! Time out!” He held his hands in a T-formation.

“What? No fair! No time- oh, hey Twilight.” Twilight just stood there agape before glaring at the two of them.

“Clean up this mess now!” She growled, the two quickly moving at her command.

*     *     *

After Rainbow and I cleaned up the mess we made of Twilight’s library we apologized to her. Rainbow took off, saying something about being late for weather duty.

“So Allan,” Twilight spoke “You finally come down off that hill.”

I rubbed the back of my head. “Ya. Master thought I deserved a break so I came into town to catch up with everyone.”

“Well that’s good. You have been working yourself so hard lately. We were worried.”

“Allan!” A small voice spoke. I turned to see Fluttershy who zoomed over to me and started poking me in various places. “Are you alright? No torn muscles? No broken bones? Do you feel any pain?”

“Fluttershy.” I stated clearly, stopping her surprise check up. “I’m fine, really. Heck, I’ve never felt better.”

She let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good. I thought with all the hard work you had been doing, you might have… well…”

I ruffled her mane a bit. “Hey, it’s gonna take more than Master Gongniu working me to death to hurt me.”

Fluttershy gave me a little smile. “Oh, that’s good. For awhile I actually thought of maybe bringing you an animal to keep you company, but I didn’t know what kind of animals you liked, and you were always so busy…”

“Well how about we talk about it in a bit. I think Twilight might want something.” I had noticed her looking at my scroll practically the entire time I had been talking to Fluttershy. “Twilight?”

“Hm-wha?” She said, shaking out of her daze. “Sorry. I just… are you sure I can’t study your… whatever you call them?”

“Twilight. No. Besides, I only have one, and I need it in case I have to get a new Wu.”

She cocked her head. “I thought you had the princess’ locket as well.”

“Well ya, but that one isn’t coming out of the scroll ever.” That made her deflate a bit before smiling anyway.

“Well it’s nice to see you. You should probably go see Rarity now if you haven’t yet. Looks like Rainbow’s rough housing did some damage to your clothes.” I looked down to see a few tears in the both the pants and robes.

“Good idea. I should probably get a new set made anyway. Pretty sure my sizes have changed over the past few months.” I looked at Fluttershy. “We can talk about maybe getting me a pet some other time.” She nodded before I walked off, heading to Carousel Boutique.

Upon arrival I knocked on the door. Didn’t take long before my favorite little filly answered the door. “Allan!” Sweetie Belle cheered as she leapt onto me.

“Hey Sweetie.” I held her out in front of me, her being surprisingly lighter than I remember her being. “I hope things haven’t been too boring without me around.”

She shook her head. “No. I mean, they were for awhile, but then I made some friends at school, and now I get to stay with Rarity.”

“Sweetie Belle! Who is it at the door dear?” I heard the mare in question call out.

“It’s Allan! He finally got away from the mean old minotaur on the hill.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Master Gongniu? Mean? I mean, old I guess fits him rather well, but he doesn’t really show any emotion.”

“Than why doesn’t he let you come down and visit, instead making you work all the time.”

“He doesn’t make me Sweetie. I follow his instructions because he’s helping me.”

“How is he-”

“Allan!” Rarity gasped. “My, my, my! You’ve certainly grown in the past two months.”

I blushed. “Ya, I guess I have.”

“Well I certainly approve of this new you. But your clothes! They are so ratty and torn. Lucky for you I have those extra sets you asked me to make, although they might need a bit of alteration what with your… filling out.”

I shrugged. “Hey, if it was made by you, I’m sure it will be great.” Rarity quickly turned around and headed back into the room she had been in.

“Come in, come in. I have the outfits in here.” I put Sweetie Belle on my shoulders before closing the door and heading in. When I reached the back room Rarity waved me onto the same pedestal I had stood on last time to take measurements. Thankfully there was nothing on my head that really needed to be measured as Sweetie’s hooves were currently wrapped around them.

After a few measurements Rarity wrote down the changes on a piece of paper she had. “My word you have grown, but I should still be able to alter your clothes to fit. Just give me one moment and I’ll have that done.”

“Thanks Rarity, you’re the best.” She put the page up in front of her muzzle before turning to head to her sewing room.

“Oh you’re quite welcome Allen. How about you play with Sweetie for a bit in the foyer while I get this done, hm?” I just shrugged as Sweetie cheered before heading out of the room.

*     *     *

Sweetie Belle was having the time of her life flying around on the back of the Longi Kite while I just sat down below and supervised. I had already made one dive to catch a falling filly but I figured as long as I kept an eye out she would be alright. It wasn’t long before Rarity walked in holding a bundle of what I assumed were my robes and gasped.

“Sweetie Belle! Be careful!” Sweetie seemed to get the message and floated down, the kite landing in my hands before she hopped off.

“Rarity, I was fine. Besides, Allen would have caught me. He’s a lot faster now.” I put away the Kite before taking the clothes from Rarity.

“Thanks again Rarity. If you ever need any help with something, feel free to call me up.”

“It was nothing Allan. Anything for a friend. Though I was curious just what it was you have been doing up there with that strange minotaur.”

“Master Gongniu has been training me, helping me grow stronger so that I can do my job better. Though I still have a ways to go before I would call myself a master, I definitely feel more confident about the whole ‘protect the world from evil’ thing than before.”

“Well that’s good. Just don’t push yourself too hard. With how frequent disasters happen around Ponyville I doubt you will be keeping much more away when you are on duty than off.”

“Oh ya. Pinkie did mention a few crazy things happening. Something about creepy zebras and mean magicians and a dragon?”

Rarity sighed. “Yes. A lot has happened while you have been holing yourself up on your hill. Perhaps we can sit down and-”

She was interrupted as the scroll went off, pulsing light as it usually does. Wow, this thing has mierda timing. “Sorry Rare, looks I need to run. Longi Kite!” The dragon appeared on my back before I flew off, heading to the temple as fast as I could. I landed and put the clothes away, than bringing the scroll to Master Gongniu.

“Master, there’s a new Shen Gong Wu. What should I do?”

“I can not answer that for you, young apprentice. Do you feel ready to face your foe, despite your failures in the past?”

“I don’t think I’ll ever feel completely ready… but I think I need to go this time. I just know it in my gut.”

He nodded. “Trusting one’s instincts is often a good path to follow. Go now. Use what I have taught you.”

“Thank you master.” I bowed before flying off and opening the scroll. As I headed in the direction it indicated, it showed me just what Wu I was after. The Sword of the Storms, a pretty simple Shen Gong Wu. It has the power to pick up winds and create tornados. “Now that sounds like a good Wu to come back on a winning streak with.”

*     *     *

I flew above a sandy beach, searching for the sword with little luck. How the heck am I supposed to find this thing if it’s buried? After awhile I was about to just give up and try my luck the next time when I saw something else. About two dozen cider bots digging through the sand as the brothers lounged nearby.

I flew into the tree line next to the beach before putting away the kite and creeping up through the brush. I managed to get just behind the brothers, close enough to hear them.

“I believe this will be an excellent spot to rule the world from, don’t you think Flam?”

“Right you are Flim! Right you are.” Suddenly a metal clang could be heard from one the droids, causing all of us to look up. A droid grabbed the end of what he had struck before pulling out the sword.

“And there we are. Another Shen Gong Wu for us.”

“A shame really.” Flam replied as he got up to take the sword from the bot. “I really did enjoy our little game with Allen.” I quickly flipped into the air, landing on the bots shoulders and touching the sword at the same time Flam did. I gave Flam a smirk as he looked at me in shock.

“Aw! I missed you guys too. Sorry to ruin your tanning though but it’s time for a Xiaolin Showdown!” Flam recovered from my sudden appearance, grinning for some reason.

“How about we make this interesting than? I will Shen Yi Bu Dare you!”

I raised an eyebrow. “You say-what now?”

“It’s a double dare, but with Shen Gong Wu. Wuya taught us about it, and since you only have two Shen Gong Wu, this makes it the perfect time to use it. Each of us now have to wager two Shen Gong Wu, winner takes all.”

Wait, that means… Maldita sea!! They tricked me! I looked down at the sword for a moment. Sorry Luna, but looks like I have to break my promise. I pulled the Lunar Locket out into my other hand while the kite appeared on my back. “Fine, you basura. I wager the Lunar Locket and the Longi Kite.”

“And I will wager the Eye of Dashi and, you know what, how about the Ruby of Ramses? Just so I can knock you down with your own Wu.”

“Not gonna happen this time.” I growled. “The challenge will be whoever can keep from falling the longest inside of a tornado. Last one standing wins.”

“Let’s go! Xiaolin Showdown!”

Suddenly the sand began to shift and spin as two pillars rose up beneath us. The sky shifted to a night sky with a full moon as The sword flew into the air, spinning faster and faster until the wind was roaring around us. The sand below became a whirlpool of sorts, the loose stones from either of our pillars sinking quickly beneath it.

“Gong Yi Ten Pai!”

“Eye of Dashi!” Flam began shooting lightning at me right off the start, letting me figure out fast what the eye did. Guess that’s the one I ignored last month. Let’s hope that doesn’t come back to haunt me now. I dodged every blast he sent my way before grabbing the far edge of my pillar and hanging off of it, using it as a shield. I could hear Flam laughing just barely over the wind.

“This will be too easy! Not only are you slow,” a bolt struck the stone, causing it to shake “weak,” another blast “and an imbecile,” I was beginning to notice cracks “but you have no Shen Gong Wu that can help you in this challenge!”

I have to admit, he has a point. Flying at him will be practically impossible in these winds, and the moon? What good will that do? The stone I was hanging onto fell apart, causing me to slide down the pillar a few feet before I found a good grip once more. And I can’t just hide behind this pillar the whole time! How am I-

“Wait a minute!” I exclaimed as I flashbacked to my training.

*     *     *

Master Gongniu and I were sparring as we had recently begun to. I was obviously rather bad in comparison but hey, I was starting. Long story short, I got knocked down a lot to the point of wanting to just give up.

“What’s the point of this? I can’t even touch you!” Master Gongniu looked over me for a moment before answering.

“Since when had the goal been to touch me?”

“Wait, what? I don’t get it. I thought sparring was supposed to help me learn to fight.”

“The goal of this exercise was not to teach you how to fight. It was to help open your mind to the possibilities in battle. For instance, you always make the first attack, I always counter. You never stop trying to hit me, lashing out in every way possible and sacrificing your own safety as a result.”

“So… what are you saying? That I should try not hitting you?”

“I merely mean not to look at a situation so directly. Why fight the current of a river when you can allow it to carry you?”

*     *     *

“Don’t fight the current.” I looked up at the moon, glowing full in the sky before closing my eyes, feeling the wind blow over me. “Let it carry you.” In that moment, the flash of light came back, my eyes snapping open with determination.

“Lunar Locket!” I held the amulet out and within seconds, what had been a full moon was now darkened, making the entire arena nearly pitch black as a result.

“What the? What the heck are you doing?” I heard Flam call out but I paid it no mind as I leaned back and let go of the pillar. “Longi Kite!” The wings on the kite flared, catching the wind and sending me around the side of Flam. As he looked around, stumbling in the dark, I came at his left and gave him a kick right to the muzzle.

Flam was quick though and grabbed a hold of me with his hooves, sending us both careening into the wind as we fought. I felt him pulling the kite off my back and for a moment panicked. I quickly realized his error though and allowed him the kite as I grabbed the ruby from his saddlebag and kicked off him.

I ended up closer to the ground than Flam was but everything was going just as I wanted it to. “Ruby of Ramses!” I grabbed his entire stone pillar and heaved, sending it plummeting to the ground. This gave me a nice platform to land on.

I waited in the dark for a few moments, seeing if the showdown was over before holding out the locket again. “Lunar Locket!” The moon returned to full, showing that Flam had landed on the opposite side of the platform I had made, the kite hastily attached to his back. He snarled at me before aiming the eye and firing.

“Eye of Dashi!” Lightning came at me, but this time I had room to move. I darted forward, moving side to side as Flam desperately fired shot after shot. I could tell he wasn’t confident in his ability to fly in the storm, meaning I had him right where I needed him.

Once I was about ten feet away, I went on autopilot, just doing what felt natural. Oddly enough, that was sliding the remaining distance so that I was right between his legs. I shot both palms up into his barrel before shouting “Light!”

Suddenly my hands exploded in the same white light that I saw under my eyelids, sending Flam skyrocketing and the Wu he had on him as well. I watched him slam into the sand and sink before the showdown was finally over.

I stood back on the beach, my prizes in various places on my body as I watched Flam dig himself out of the sand, spewing it from his ears and mouth. He growled at me as I put away all the new Shen Gong Wu. “You cheated! What the hell was that last attack?”

I looked down at my hands, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. “Not sure, but I think I’ve got an idea. Anyway, I’m gonna jet. See you guys next time! Longi Kite!” I flew off toward home, only this time I was feeling more light-hearted than ever. Wait till Master Gongniu sees this!

*     *     *

“Ah, so it seems you have found your element after all. Congratulations my young apprentice.” Master Gongniu bowed slightly, I still not really believing what had happened. “Light is not a common element to receive, nor is it easy to master. Should you do so, you could become the next great dragon of light”

“Dragon of light? You mean like Spike?”

He shook his head. “Dragon is a ranking given to the greatest master of a certain element. Currently there are no light users that I know of, leaving you as the highest ranked.”

“Uh, cool I guess.”

He nodded. “I suppose it is. Now, since you have learned your element, the real training can begin. Come.” He stepped outside into the yard before turning and taking his ready stance. I took my own on the other side. Both of us simply watched each other stand for a moment, readying ourselves for whatever the other might-

“Go Ally!! Woo hoo!!” I looked to the source of the noise to find Pinkie and the rest of the ponies sitting on top of the wall watching. I grinned at the sight of them cheering before suddenly the only thing I could see is the grass in my face.

“Do not be distracted so easily, young apprentice. You may be a dragon, but that does not make you a master yet.” I pushed off in a front handspring before turning back to Master Gongniu, at the ready once more. “Let us begin again, shall we?”
> Cats, Kats, and more cats
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a few weeks after the the Sword of the Storms showdown and things had been rather slow. Only one or two Shen Gong Wu had been revealed, none of which I made it to in time. At the moment I was working on finishing the bedrooms for the temple as I pondered how to add rockets boosters to the Longi Kite.

Maybe there’s rocket Shen Gong Wu? Or maybe one that teleports? That would certainly be handy. I took a moment to look over my work so far only to be interrupted by Twilight walking in, carrying my scroll for some reason. “Twilight, why are you here, and why do you have the scroll?”

“I wanted to study it but it won’t open!” She seemed to struggle for a moment but the scroll simply didn’t budge. “What holds this thing together?!”

“It will forever remain a mystery I suppose.”

“I can’t just leave it unknown! The unknown was meant to be learned and studied! If I ignore this now, I might as well throw away everything I have ever been taught!!”

“Sorry Twilight, but it’s not-” Suddenly the scroll began pulsing light, causing Twilight to drop it in shock.

“I didn’t do it!” I just rolled my eyes before moving over to open it. The picture moved to reveal the Rio Reverso, a Shen Gong Wu capable of turning what is old young again. I could feel Twilight breathing over my neck as the picture played out before slamming the scroll closed and bopping her on the nose with it. As she rubbed her new bruise, I swung the scroll over my shoulder and readied the kite for flight.

“Wait! Where are you going?” Twilight asked. I started walking toward the outside, her following and basically forcing me to answer her questions.

“There’s a new Wu active to the south. I gotta jet.”

“Oh! I’ll just teleport you! I haven’t gotten to try my teleportation spell on another person yet” Twilight’s horn lit up as her face scrunched up in concentration.

“Twilight, I don’t think-” Suddenly everything seemed to fall apart as it felt like all my internal organs were sucked through a straw and then spat back into me. I hit dusty ground and began dry heaving in between various curses.

That chica loca is going to get me killed if Wuya and her goons don’t do me in first. I managed to get up once my stomach realized we were still in three dimensions and looked around. There was a small town just to the west of where I had landed, a small sign just close enough for me to read it. ‘Appleloosa’.

I found the perfect place for Applejack apparently. I pulled the scroll out of the kite’s mouth and checked the compass. Due south east. A glance in that direction showed a dust cloud moving toward a rock stack. A bit of light glinted off something at the top, alluding to where my prize was.

Well at least she got me to where I needed to go. I slid the scroll back in the kite before leaping into the air. As I got closer, the roaming dust cloud proved to be a large number of cider bots, carrying a more than pleased looking Flim and Flam.

Time to see what this training has done for me. I thought, drawing the Sword of the Storms. I flew above the droids before folding in the kite’s wings and dropping like rock, blasting a few bots to pieces as I did. Just before I crashed into the ground, I let out a burst of wind and flared the kite’s wings, all but halting my momentum. I stood in front of the pack before reading the Eye of Dashi in my other hand.

“Ah, there you are Allan.” Flim mocked. “We were wondering when you would catch up.”

“Indeed.” Flam nodded. “We thought you might have given up.”

I just smirked and said “Oh no. Not when kicking your butts has become a personal hobby of mine. Eye of Dashi!” I blasted the droids that were carrying them with some lightning before the rest of them spread out, making my shots less effective. Thankfully the things weren’t exactly smart, and easily ran into each other if you pushed them off course.

Wasn’t long before there was nothing but scrap left of the drones that had been attacking me, leaving my focus to Flim and Flam. The two were scaling the stack, using the Fist of Tebigong and Third Arm Sash respectively to help them climb.

I flew toward them, ready to blow them off with the Sword of the Storms but the brothers were ready for me. Flam grabbed Flim with the sash before swinging him at me, his fist leading as he shouted “Fist of Tebigong!” I was hit square in the stomach, throwing the kite off my back, but I managed to grab hold of Flim in the exchange. Flam swung us both about, trying to throw me off before I let go on a rather strong upswing. I embedded the sword into the stone and looked down at them before giving them a salute.

“Thanks for the help guys!” I turned to climb but was interrupted by the stack beginning to shake. Looking back down, Flim was slamming into it with the Fist of Tebigong, trying to shake me off. Visible cracks were beginning to form in the stone and at my height I wasn’t about to get out of this without a broken bone. I stuck the Eye of Dashi into a crack that had formed next to me.

“Eye of Dashi!” The lightning exploded in the crack and travelled down the stack, flashing in their faces. I watched as the two brothers tumbled down the stack with a smirk before turning back to the task at hand. A few moments of climbing after pocketing my Wu and I reached the top, the Rio Reverso glinting a bit of sunlight as I looked upon it. I reached for it, extending my arm to its fullest, my fingers brushing against the metal…and then everything went wrong.

“RATH DOES WHATEVER RATH WANTS!!!!”

Instantly, the rock stack began to shake from the sound of the voice alone. Then, out of nowhere, a large tiger-like creature barreled right through the very base of the rock formation.

The stack leaned in such a way that the Rio Reverso slid away from me, but that was the least of my worries. Without the Longi Kite it was a long way down.

“This is either going to work amazingly or I’m about to become a pancake.” I said to myself as I pushed off the rock and called out the sword again, aiming it downward. “Sword of the Storms!” A vortex of air formed below me, slowing my decent before an AWOL bot slammed into me, causing me to take the last couple dozen yards at the mercy of gravity. I watched from my position on my back as the brothers were carried away by bots, the Rio Reverso in one of their magical grasps.

I would have gotten up to chase them, but Tony the Tiger apparently was still having a temper tantrum and got in the way… again.

“Hey you!” the beast yelled out to me. “You wanna fight Rath, you worthless maggot?!”

I got up and rubbed a hand against the part of my back that had hit the stone. “Look tigre, I’m kind of busy trying to prevent the world falling to darkness. Maybe we can have a pissing contest later?”

“No!! Rath wants a fight now!! Or Rath is gonna go berserk on your teeny tiny butt!!”

Damn, here I thought papa could get scary sometimes. I looked around to find the Longi Kite lying behind him. Just my luck. I readied the sword in front of me. “I’m serious culo, get out of the way.”

“Rath!!” I heard a female voice shout out.

The tiger blinked and scowled in anger. “Agh! Not her again! Rath will kick your teeny tiny butt later! Rath’s gotta jet!” And like a steam engine, he plowed his way right through the rocky terrain, not a single thing stopping him.

I quickly reclaimed the Longi Kite before figuring out where the female voice had come from, which oddly enough was above me. Floating there was a girl with blond hair, some kind of red and white energy coming off of her. She seemed about as pleased with el tigre as I was. “Hey hermosa, that your pet cat or something?”

She regarded me for a moment, before staring off at the path of destruction “Rath” left behind. “No,” she said, “That’s my brother.” She shot off after him, leaving me stunned as to what just exactly happened.

“Do I deal with el gato culo and his floating sister, or try to catch up with the brothers?” I looked in the direction the two ponies had gone to see they were already out of sight. “Guess that makes the choice easy. Longi Kite!” I flew off after the cat creature, thankful it wasn’t heading toward the only town in the region. Eventually I managed to catch up with the two as they were still in mid chase.

“Get back here, Rath!” Hermosa called out.

“Rath refuses to listen to anything you say Gravity Queen Kat Shifter. Rath is out and ready to rumble!!” He rushed right through another rock arch, causing an even larger dust cloud to blow into the air, the girl not even blinking as she soared right through it.

Uh oh! “Sword of the Storms!” I swung wildly, clearing a path through the dust. What I didn’t think would happen is the cat creature getting tossed about by the resulting winds and landing on his butt. He gave me a snarl as I just muttered “Whoops.”

The creature got back up, punching one fist into his open palm repeatedly. “You got a lot of nerve doin’ that, teeny. Rath is gonna have to teach you some respect.”

Before I could respond, the girl floated down right between the two of us. “No! That’s enough Rath! You’ve had your fun, now let my brother out.”

I floated up next to the girl. “Uh, hermosa? I can handle a bit of rough housing.”

“I wouldn’t recommend it kid,” she said not even looking at me. “This creature is much stronger than he looks. More than one god fears his very presence.”

“Well good thing I’m not one of those gods.” I said with a cocky smirk. “Now, you mentioned getting your brother out of that thing?”

“Enough talk!! Rath is gonna pound both of you into the ground!” The creature slammed his fist into the earth and sent out a massive shockwave, crumbling everything around us for nearly a mile outwards.

“Looks like kitty made a mess.” I said as the Eye of Dashi appeared in my other hand. “Too bad I don’t have any water to squirt you with, but this will have to do. Eye of Dashi!” Lightning shot out and hit the creature dead on… and did literally nothing. Que demonios is this thing made of?!

Well, not nothing, actually….it did go and piss it off even more. “Rath is gonna shred you into string cheese, tiny man!!” He brandished his claws and leapt at me, roaring all the way.

“Get down!” The girl yelled as she shoved me away. She pulled a strange device out of her jacket and pointed it at the creature. The tip began to glow green and a strange sound began to emanate from it. Rath quickly put his hands to his ears, roaring in pain. “Give Ben back, Rath. Your time is up.”

I managed to right myself before hitting the ground just as a beeping began to ring out. I had a split second to realize that it was coming from the creature before a red flash blinded me. When it died down there was a guy with a green jacket slouched over where the creature was. And here I thought this couldn’t get any stranger.

The girl crouched down by the guy as he sat up, holding his head and groaning. “Oh gods, what the heck happened?”

“Rath happened. He got loose just before we portaled out.” She helped him to his feet, smiling slightly. “Good to have you back, bro.”

Well, as weird as this has been, it is nice to see them together again. My smile faltered a moment. I miss my family. I quickly shook the thought away before pocketing the eye and sword and floating down next to them. “Everything good here?”

“Yeah,” the girl said with a smile. “Sorry about all that. You’re probably confused as all enfer right now, aren’t ya?”

“I know I would be,” the guy said as he cracked his neck. “Aw, why does going Rath always put such a crick in my neck?”

I shrugged. “Eh. I’ve been confused the entire time I’ve been here really. Getting thrown into talking caballo world and handed magical weapons will do that to a guy. Though I suppose my biggest question would be where you two came from. I thought I was the only human in Equestria.”

They both looked at me in a little surprise with a blink, then at each other, then back to me. “Hoo boy, that’s gonna be a long one to explain. Why don’t we find someplace better than this desert and we’ll talk you through it.”

“We can head to Ponyville. I’ve got a place there and I don’t think Master Gongniu will mind visitors.”

“Ponyville should be fine. Think you can get us there in a flash, sis?”

“Only if he’s okay with it,” she said pointing to me. “You know how temperamental people can be when I teleport them.”

I felt my stomach churn a bit as my earlier bout of teleportation came to mind. “As long as it doesn’t feel like pony teleportation, I should be alright.” I added with a mutter. “Twilight’s going to pay for that one.”

“Well….it might be a little stomach churning, but most tell me it’s more like quick, hard turbulence on an airplane,” she explained.

“Does that make you the stewardess?” I chuckled before quickly adding. “That already sounds miles better than pony teleporting. Fire away hermosa!”

“Si ça te branche,” she said with a shrug. She snapped her fingers and almost instantly, we were standing right outside the Golden Oaks Library. “How was that?”

“Well I don’t feel like someone shuffled my body parts, so I’ll give you a 9 out of 10. Longi Kite!” I flew up a couple feet. “Come on. My place is on a hill on the outskirts of town.”

The girl shrugged, lifting into the air as the guy just stayed on the ground. “Going for a run?” she asked him.

“Yep,” he said with a cheery smile. “I’ll meet ya both there.”

“Alright then.”

*     *     *

“Are you sure this is the place Flim?” Flam called out to his brother. They were currently what could be described as the middle of nowhere, standing in front of an old cabin that looked like cats were coming out of the woodwork.

“Well with the amount of cats here, I’d say so.” Flim walked up to the door and knocked before waiting for a good while for the owner of the house to finally open it. What they were greeted by was an old mare with a pink cloak over her back and a cutie mark resembling an apple tree with golden apples. Oh, and about a dozen more cats.

“Can I help you fellas?” Goldie Delicious asked.

Flim cleared his throat. “Why yes you can. You wouldn’t happen to have heard of the infamous cat burglar, Katnappe, would you?” Suddenly Goldie’s smile became a glare as all of her cats jumped up and surrounded the two brothers, hissing with their back hair sticking straight up.

“And just why would you be looking for someone like that here?”

Flam took a look at their situation, sweat dripping down his brow before swallowing. “You see, we would like to offer Ms. Katnappe a chance to return to her glory days. We have something that we believe will return you to your youth.” Flim pulled the Rio Reverso out of his saddlebag and showed it an unamused Goldie.

“You really think I’m just gonna believe that thing will make me young again? Besides, I have yet to hear what you gain from bringing back Catnape.”

“We need your help, essentially. There are more objects like this, magical artifacts with extraordinary powers. We got lucky and managed to swipe this one from our foe, but its just the one you need.” Flim aimed the Rio Reverso at a nearby tree and fired. “Rio Reverso!” A beam of energy hit the tree and within seconds it had shrunken down to an acorn.

Flam stepped up next to his brother. “If we can get all of these Shen Gong Wu, the world will be ours, and we’ll be more than willing to pay back those who aid us.”

Goldie looked at the acorn in shock before giving the two brothers a smirk. “I think we can come to some sort of agreement than.”

Flim grinned evilly along with his brother. “Excellent. Rio Reverso!” Goldie was struck by the beam as the transformation began. Her wrinkles were made smooth, her physique gained muscle, her hair pulled itself out of the bun it was in as it began to turn a blond color. When all was said and done, the mare before them was everything Goldie Delicious had not been. Young, beautiful, and agile. She purred, testing her vocal chords.

“Yes, this will do quite nicely. Kitties, lay off the nice boys. They’re our guests after all.” The cats backed off as Flim put the Rio Reverso back in his saddle bags. Goldie approached, running her tail underneath the two brothers chins before purring again. “So boys, what’s this you said about world domination?”

*     *     *

“So let me make sure I’ve got this right.” We were currently sitting in the finished half of the temple. Master Gongniu had stepped out, dealing with some issue at the Apple’s farm or something, leaving me with the siblings who were apparently from another world.

And no, they aren’t aliens. Quit thinking like Rainbow Dash.

“There’s this thing called the multiverse, which works just like the theory named after it, and you two are travelling between the universes because…”

“At first it was because someone used my totem, but now we’re trying to track down a villain who escaped from Ben’s world.” Kat explained as she sipped on some tea.

“You wouldn’t happen to have seen a strange man in purple with a full head visor would you?” asked Ben. I still have no idea how he beat us here when he was on foot.

“No, you two are the first things I’ve seen walking on two legs since Master Gongniu. So, you two are looking for a guy, but you were sent to other Equestrias originally by another guy who happens to sound just like the creepy stand owner who gave me this scroll. And you both happened to get your powers and be transported at conventions, just like me.”

“Eh, roughly,” Ben said with a shrug. “I mean, I was just sent via some stupid microchip. Kat actually had a cat. Would have been nice to meet him.”

“He sold you a cat? Here I thought it was just con merchandise.”

“He sold me a plush cat. Dusty came to life when we arrived in Equestria,” Kat said with a longing sigh.

“Ah, that makes more sense. Well, as much sense as some creep handing out powers and then throwing them in caballo worlds can make.”

Kat chuckled a little. “You’d be surprised how many of those he’s conned into other worlds. Enfer, Ben and I aren’t even from the same Equestria!”

“Really? Surprised you two managed to find each other if the multiverse theory is right about infinite possibilities.”

“That’s not the big concerning point,” Ben said with a smile. “Neither of us even knew the other was alive. We’ve been separated for a long, long, time.”

“Huh. Well I guess it was a huge relief for you guys to find each other after the few years you were separated.”

“You have no idea,” they said in unison.

“But you probably don’t want to hear our backstories. Too dark for most people’s tastes.”

I shrugged. “Your choice.” I glanced at the two of them, seemingly enjoying their other sibling’s presence. Wish I could see Rachel again. I grimaced a bit before hiding it, siping my own cup of tea.

“Well, to start off,” Kat said looking shy, “I’m a genocidal military general.”

“And I’ve got multiple personality disorder that kills,” Ben said with a smirk.

“Guessing el gato calo was one of those other personalities?”

“Uh huh, that’s Rath. He’s not very friendly as you guessed. You’d think after so long he’d be calm, but no. That does bring a question to mind. How long have you been in Equestria?”

“Let’s see…” I muttered, looking up at the ceiling. “Today is… the third of October so… a little over three months. I showed up right before the summer solstice.”

Ben gave me a weird look. “Oh buddy. I am so sorry for you.”

“Hey, things have been pretty good so far. I’m good friends with the princesses, heck I even hang out with Luna sometimes when I dream. The other ponies have been great, though Twilight needs to lay off my Wu. Other than being the only one who can understand the scroll, meaning I have to find any new Wu, things have been muy bien.”

“What my brother is trying to tell you, Allen, is that there is a curse amongst the Displaced. Tell me, how old do you think Ben and I are?”

I pointed at Ben. “17,” than at Kat. “21. Why?”

Kat pointed at herself. “1300.”

Ben then did the same. “A little over five thousand.”

I sat there in shock for a moment. “Wow, well damn hermosa. Looks like you figured out whatever secret Celestia has to keep herself looking good.”

“Well, thank you for the compliment, but this is serious. A majority of the Displaced I have run into suffer from this as well. It’s quite likely, Allen, that being a Displaced makes you immortal.”

Ben nodded. “And trust us, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

“An older tree may have more chips in its bark, but it is also stronger for the storms it weathered through.” I turned to see Master Gongniu walk in. I quickly stood up and bowed.

“Master, these two are… friends. Kat and Ben.” I motioned to each as I spoke.

“A pleasure to meet you both.” He bowed slightly.

“Greetings,” Kat said with a little bow.

“Yo,” Ben said with a two-fingered salute. That earned him a slap to the back of the head by Kat. “Ow!”

“Learn some tact,” she chided.

“Now, there is no reason for such things. You two are guests and I trust Allen’s judge of character for the moment.” He turned to me. “As I said, there are positives to even such a curse as immortality. It is best you not dwell on the negative.” I nodded.

“I’ve yet to find one,” Kat said with a grimace. “My life has been nothing but hell.”

“Mines been wacky and crazy destruction,” Ben added ‘helpfully’.

“Can you honestly say that nothing good came of these things though?”

“Mostly? Yes,” Kat said with a determined nod. “As the old song goes, ‘nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.’”

“Not many people cause an entire race to go extinct, eith--ow!” Ben didn’t even get to finish that time before getting hit.

“I see your point, though the fact you stand here today proves that something did come out of your hardships. Now, I believe that is enough talk for today. Allen, it is time you began work on the dining hall.” I groaned but accepted my fate nonetheless.

“Well that sounds boring,” Ben quipped. “You seriously just make him do chores all day? Lame!”

“Ben! This isn’t either of our worlds. We can’t judge it.”

“No but I can still call ‘lame’. I call ‘lame’ on you good sir!” He shouted pointing at Gongniu.

I waved about behind Master Gongniu, trying to transmit the message for Ben to shut up but it was too late as he said, “If you believe so strongly, perhaps you’d like to show me just how ‘lame’ I am.”

“What? Like as in fight you? Yeah, I’m not a fighter. I’m a peace keeper. Plus, you couldn’t lay a finger on me if you tried old man.”

He waved a hand. “No fighting. A simple challenge so to speak.” He pulled a pebble out of his robe. “All you need to do is take this pebble from me.”

Ben shrugged. “Sure, I’ll take a shot.” Kat and I facepalmed in sync as he got up and tried to reach for the pebble. Gongniu pulled his arm back, his face still the calm expression it had been since the moment he had arrived.

“Is that all?”

Ben’s eyebrow rose slightly at the challenge. “Oh, a wise guy, eh? Well, then let’s get on with it.” Once again, he tried to grab for the pebble. And once again Gongniu pulled it back just out of reach.

“I believe Allan has said something about doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results being the definition of insanity. Is this not true where you are from?”

Ben gave him a deadpan look. “Then let’s try it the sane way.” And he just held out his hand. “May I have the pebble, please?”

“You may.” He dropped the pebble in Ben’s hand, myself completely shocked he figured it out so quickly.

“Negotiator mode?” Kat asked.

Ben smiled, juggling the pebble in his hand. “Comes in handy, don’t it?”

“I’ll say.”

“I do hope you learned the lesson I was trying to transmit. Now come along Allen. The dining room will not build itself.”

With a sigh I followed after him, muttering “What I wouldn’t do for a ‘build things itself’ Shen Gong Wu.”
> This is why I prefer dogs
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a few hours of hard labor building the dining hall I was left to my own devices. It didn’t take long for me to find Ben and Kat again as they were currently messing around in the training grounds. From what I could tell where I was standing on the patio, Ben was doing something silly and Kat was laughing at it. 

Unfortunately this just brought up more memories of similar situations with my own sister, which lasted until I finally bashed my head into the support beam I had been leaning on.

Master Gongniu said not to dwell on the negative. Doing so will only cloud my judgement. Another memory of Rachel riding on my shoulders surfaced before I slammed that one into the beam as well. If that’s the case though, why can’t I stop thinking about my family?!

“Penny for your thoughts?” I let out surprised gasp and looked over to see Kat, floating right next to me. I quickly shook my head before returning to leaning on the support instead of killing myself with it.

“It’s nothing really. You guys just remind me of the kind of thing my sister and I once were.”

Ben and Kat looked at each other in surprise. “Wow, that’s something, considering we barely know each other.”

“Ya, but the feeling is there, you know? You guys just have that sibling air about you. It’s hard to explain really.”

“In all honesty,” Kat said looking between me and Ben, “I’m just trying to make up for everything.”

I shrugged. “Makes sense. You guys didn’t really get much time together and all.”

“Don’t feel down Ally!” Pinkie suddenly said as she jumped on my back.

“Pinkie?! Where the heck did you come from?”

“I could sense your frowny face from Sugarcube Corner so I came to cheer you up! Silly Ally, don’t forget what my element is.”

“It’s laughter, but why are you asking me?” replied Kat with an arched brow.

I shifted Pinkie to a less strenous part of my back before speaking. “She means me. You know, Allan, Ally. Kinda similar, at least closer together than Kat and Ally is.”

Ben pointed at his sister. “Kat’s not her real name.”

She nodded. “My real name is Allison, but I changed it to Kat after I came to Equestria. It suited the character I was dressed as.”

“Huh. I wasn’t even dressed like this before coming here. By the way Pinkie, as soft as you are can you get off my back now?”

“Not until you are happy again!”

I glanced at the horizon to see the sun going down, giving me the perfect excuse. “Pinkie, it’s getting late. How about you go home and come back in the morning to cheer me up?”

She hummed about it dramatically in thought before hopping off. “Alright mister, but don’t try to pull the wool over the eyes of Pinkamena Diane Pie!”

I chuckled. “Noted.” And then off she disappeared into whatever subspace she had claimed as her own.

“I will never understand that mare,” Ben said with a sigh.

“It’s Pinkie Pie, don’t question it,” Kat added with a smile. “But back to you Allan. Don’t give up on seeing your family again.” She put a hand on my shoulder. “The multiverse is big. It’s vast, and complicated, and ridiculous. And sometimes, very rarely, impossible things just happen and we call them miracles.”

I let what she said sink in for a moment before nodding. “Thanks Kat. I guess you guys are gonna need a place to stay? We’ve got extra cots.”

Ben shrugged. “I’ve slept on worse.”

“I can imagine.” I said as I led the way into the temple.

*     *     *

The next morning turned out to be an early riser for me, and this time it wasn’t Master Gongniu waking me up for training. This time the scroll decided that now would be a perfect time to spit it’s usual display of flashing lights whenever a Shen Gong Wu is revealed.

“Ugh, where’s the sleep mode on this thing?” I muttered from under the covers as I desperately tried to shut the thing up with one of my hands. Eventually I gave up and threw the covers off before pulling open the scroll.

“What’s with the lightshow?” Kat groggily asked, apparently having been woken up. It’s strange how even like that she’s still floating….come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve actually seen her touch the ground. Oh well, something to ask when this scroll isn’t bugging the heck out of me.

“Sorry about that hermosa. This thing kind of has a mind of its own whenever a Shen Gong Wu reveals itself.” I watched the picture shift a move along with the words as usual to reveal a set of claws, poetically called the Golden Tiger Claws, that apparently allowed the user to transport anywhere. “Well, definitely can’t let Flim and Flam get there hands on that one.” I got up, quickly strapping the scroll on my back. “Duty calls.”

“Would you like some help?” Ben asked from off to the side. He didn’t look much different this morning, but that’s probably due to his hair always looking like a rat’s nest.

I shrugged. “I don’t see why not. Besides, you owe me for losing the Rio Reverso.” I poked a finger at Ben with a smirk.

“Oi! Blame the Voices not...oh shut up Laughter,” Ben growled at...nobody? I just shrugged again, too tired to decipher the insanity that was Ben.

“Whatever. Same body, same problems. Now you guys coming cause I gotta move.” As I said this, the Longi Kite appeared on my back, the scroll taking it’s place inside the dragon’s mouth.

Kat snapped her fingers, instantly wearing her proper attire. “Let’s get to it! I can’t wait to see what these ‘shen gong wu’ are capable of.”

Ben just shrugged. “You just want an excuse to hit something.”

“Hey, as long as she’s hitting Flim or Flam she can do what she wants. The scrolls pointing north of here so lets get going.” I flew out the door, Kat following right behind with Ben...somehow actually keeping up with us on foot?!

And he says Pinkie is the confusing one.

*     *     *

“Explain to me why you brought this girl with you?” Wuya hissed as she circled around the brothers. “She smells like cat litter.”

“Ms. Katnappe here will be just what we need to take Allan down now that he is being trained to fight and use whatever that magic was.”

“That was not magic you fools! It was chi. An energy that is a part of your very soul and when used properly can turn a great warrior into an unstoppable force!”

“Oh please.” Katnappe spoke up, her in the middle of filing her hoof. “This ‘Allan’ you mentioned sounds like some kid pretending to play hero. How you two idiots managed to lose to him is beyond me.”

“Do not underestimate our foe. He is destined to become our greatest enemy should we not stop him in ti-wait! I’m sensing a new Shen Gong Wu!” She gasped. “It is the Golden Tiger Claws.”

“Me-ow. Sounds like just the accessory for yours truly.”

“This is more than a mere hair clip, you idiotic girl! These claws allow the user to be transported anywhere in the world. With them in our grasp, we will be invincible.” She maniacally laughed as the brothers gathered their bots and moved. Each pony was picked up by one until they got to Katnappe who got up in the robot’s face, hissing “Touch the hooves and you become a frying pan. Understand?” If robots could sweat, this one would be soaked as he quickly nodded his head before delicately grabbing her around the barrel and flying after the others.

Wuya ran a ghostly hand down her mask-like face. “These are the idiots I have to work with?” 

*     *     *

The scroll continued to point north until we reached the mountains that line the northern side of Equestria. Once there, the arrow began to spin like a top.

“Apparently we are here, but I don’t see anything. Do you?”

Kat peered out into the dense fog all around us, but only grumbled. “I can’t see a merde thing. What about you Ben? Perhaps you could actually put that watch to use?”

“Not happening and you know why,” he grumbled. “But no, I can barely see you guys.”

I landed and put the kite away before pulling out the sword. “Sword of the Storms!” The wind cut through the fog, revealing a cave before it was quickly re-concealed by the weather. “Guess that explains it. Shall we?”

Ben and Kat both nodded as we entered through the thick haze. “This is just like those Daring Do books Rainbow made me read. This is gonna be sweet!”

We entered the cave, the rock surface slick with moisture from the fog. It felt like the cave was going on forever until we hit a dead end. “Well now I’m confused.”

Kat suddenly threw out her hand and the wall instantly was blasted into pieces. “Better?”

I stood there agape for a few seconds before shaking myself from my daze. “Uh, ya. I think so.” As the dust cleared, a huge cavern with light streaming in on high was revealed. In the center of a hot spring laid the Golden Tiger Claws on a small stone.

I took a step in before stopping. “Alright, there’s no way this is going to be that easy. I don’t have that good of luck.”

“You would be right in that regard.” Flim mocked from above as he, his brother, and some mare in a black cat suit were dropped in by an army of barrel bots right in front of us. “Now, we’ll be taking the tiger claws.”

I pulled back out the Longi Kite. “You two think you can handle these jokers?”

Ben reached into his back pocket and pulled out what looked to be a PDA….that is before it changed into a bow and arrow. “We got ‘em.” He pulled back on the orange energy ‘string’ and fired, instantly head shotting one of the bots. “Bull’s eye!”

Kat reached to her side and pulled a sword out of nowhere. “You get those claws, we’ll handle them.”

I nodded and leapt into the air, only to suddenly have a wingless dragon on my back and a purring pony picking her teeth with one of the claws attached to her hoof. “Nuh uh uh! No cheating.” I put away the kite and tried sweeping her hooves out from under her but she was too fast, getting behind me and bucking hard enough to make an Apple proud.

The cat pony almost seemed disappointed. “Really boys? This was what you asked me to help you deal with?” I was about to get up when half of the remains of one of the brothers bots fell, forcing me to roll out of the way. She can play all she wants. Those claws are mine. I got up and leapt onto the stones scattered about the hot spring, trying to avoid robot parts, cat claws, and scalding hot water.

Meanwhile, Kat and Ben were tearing the bots apart. Ben had taken the high ground on the rocks, knocking back arrow after arrow into the bots. Kat went for the direct approach, slashing and stabbing through the droids like butter.

“This the best you got?” she asked with a wicked grin. “These things are nothing! I bet a breezy could build better robots!”

“Don’t antagonize the bots!” Ben yelled. “They’re already creepy enough as it is without you angering them.”

The cat pony stopped treating me like a ball of yarn for a moment to take notice of the destruction those two were causing before groaning. “Do I have to do everything around here?” she grabbed her saddlebags in her mouth and tossed them at Kat’s feet. A few adorable kittens climbed out, mewing up at her.

“What the?!” She said at the sight. “Cats? I hate cats!!”

“Well than I bet you’ll love my magically altered supercats. Kitties, get her!” Suddenly the cats eyes glowed red and they leapt at Kat, clawing and biting at her. Kat yelled out in pain as they attacked. She reached into her jacket, but one of the little demons took the chance to bite her exposed wrist.

“Ahh!!” She screamed and that strange device fell out of her hand and into the depths. “My sonic!!”

“I got it!” Ben called as he started racing down the rocks. Never thought I’d actually get to see a monkey’s uncle, because Ben would have made the primates proud with his swift movements. Unfortunately, that left Kat buried under the furballs and me without any backup.

I turned and growled at the cat pony. “Alright, crazy cat lady. You’re starting to get on my nerves.” I pulled out the sword and eye, each taking up one of my hands. The pony actually hissed at me in response.

“It’s Katnappe. And that’s what Flim and Flam hired me for. The way they were talking though, you were some great warrior.”

“Hey! I’m still in training!” She put a hoof to her mouth and yawned, only pissing me off more. “Eye of Dashi!” I fired a few lightning bolts at her, but she dodged each one with her, dare I say it, cat-like reflexes. “Sword of the Storms!” The blast of wind managed to make contact, but before she went anywhere she dug her claws into the stone she was standing on. Once the wind had died down, she flipped the hair out of her eyes and grinned with her weird canines a pony should not have.

“Ha! Is that all?” Alright, if Wu won’t work… I leapt at her, swinging the sword, only for it to go right through her. This gave her plenty of an opening as she basically tossed me aside like a used tissue, slamming into Kat but causing her demon kittens to go flying. “This was almost too easy.” She started to make her way toward the claws while I was thrown off by Kat, who growled dangerously at the pony.

“You are so dead, lady!!” Kat’s entire body coated with her aura as she shot forward with enough speed to make Superman go: “Damn!” She slammed Katnappe head on into the rock wall, taking pleasure in the grunt of pain she received in kind.

Her tail swung around and reached underneath Kat’s arm, tickling her and loosening her grip. Once she was on the ground she took up a fighting stance before smirking. “Sorry, little hero’s helper, but it looks like we’re about to win.” I looked to see Flim and Flam basically a breath away from the claws. Maldita Sae! Could really use one of those miracles Kat was talking about right now.

And one did come in the form of Ben bursting out of the water between the brothers, Kat’s device held high as he shouted out “I got it!” He looked over and saw the claws. “Looks like I got these too.”

“Not so fast boy! Third Arm Sash!” The sash wrapped around Flam’s barrel came to life before swiping at Ben.

“Yo!” he yelped as he ducked. “Watch it with those! Gonna hurt somebody...namely me!” Ben dodged another slash, landing just within reaching distance of the claws. “Mine!” he yelled as he lunged for them.

“Fist of Tebigong!” Flim called, as his armored forehoof slammed into the stone and sent the claws into the air. I quickly bounded across the stone and jumped for them, seeing Kat doing the same along with Katnappe. Ben and the brothers jumped practically in unison as well, all of us meeting at a single point in the air and grabbing the claws. We all landed on the stone as the claws began to glow, the usual tell tale sign of a showdown.

Ben smirked. “Looks like we got us a Xiaolin Showdown!” Everyone else holding onto the claws gave him a “dafuq you just say?” look. “Can we borrow some Wu, Allen?”

“Uh… sure.” I tossed him the Eye of Dachi before turning and handing Kat the Sword of the Storms. I pulled out the Ruby of Ramses for myself. “Explain to me how you know what’s going on?”

“Are you kidding me? That show was awesome! How could I not remember it? ...well save for the part that most of that knowledge is forever burned into my brain by constant medical experiments, but I digress. We wager our Eye of Dachi, Sword of Storms, and Ruby of Ramses against your Third Arm Sash, Two Ton Tunic, and Rio Reverso. The challenge: a military obstacle course! First one across the finish line wins!”

“Sounds good to us.” Flim said as he handed the Rio Reverso to Katnappe. “Now then…”

“Let’s go! Xiaolin Showdown!”

The entire area warped around them into a massive military encampment right out of World War Two. Tanks and planes were flying and bombing all around them and gunfire could be heard not too far away. The scenery made Kat smile. “Ah, she reminds me o’ home,” she said with a faux Scottish accent.

“Your home is a dump than.” Katnappe hissed. “Now, are we going to start this thing or what?”

I just grinned before nudging Ben with my elbow. “Hey, you remember the phrase to start this as well?”

“Oh you bet your butt I do!” Ben raised his arms up theatrically and yelled, “Gong Yi Tan Pai!!”

And off everyone darted toward the first obstacle, which was the classic wall climb. Flam made full use of his own Shen Gong Wu to pull himself up the wall with ease while everyone else was basically left to climb. “Third Arm Sash!” He even made a show of just laying back and letting the arm climb up, pulling him along. Ben made a big leap from the base, nearly making it all the way to the top in that single bound. Surprisingly, Kat wasn’t using her powers at all and was seemingly content with just trying to climb the wall like normal.

That left Ben and Flam far ahead of everyone else as they moved onto the next obstacle while everyone else was still climbing. The next one turned out to be the crawling beneath barbed wire challenge, only this time, electricity was easily noticeable as it crackled along the lines.

“Man,” Ben awed at the sight, “I’m more sadistic than I thought. I blame my bio father for this.”

The two dived beneath the wire into the dirt just as the others made it over the wall. Katnappe growled, seeing that Ben was so far ahead before pulling the Rio Reverso out of her saddlebag and aiming it at him. “Rio Reverso!” She mumbled through the handle, the shot barely missing Ben and instead striking the dirt, turning it to stone.

“Hatchat!” Ben blathered in surprise at the blast. “Watch it! You could hit someone with that, ya puta!”

“That’s the idea shrimp! Rio Rev-”

“Sword of the Storms!” Kat swung the blade, knocking Katnappe off the wall with a gust of wind and breaking her concentration. “Don’t mess with my brother!”

Meanwhile, Flim charged at the barbed wire head on and yelled “Two Ton Tunic!” The simple shirt expanded into massive armor which he used to barrel through the barbed wire, cutting a hole through for his team.

“Well now that’s just cheating,” Ben commented as he pulled out Kat’s device. “Just think and shoot, right?” he muttered to himself. He extended the tip and activated it against the wire, the electricity shorting out not long after. “Ha ha! Gotta love this space stuff!”

“Allons-y!” Kat cried as she crawled past him.

“Wait how did you…?” Ben looked over to see, Katnappe sitting on the ground, her eyes spinning and looking like she was about to puke. “Oh, that’s how.”

“Well don’t just sit there niño. Get moving!” I told Ben as I crawled past him on the other side.

“Imma comin!” he said as he crawled even faster, catching up to them faster than I thought he would. “So, plan here. Those three are definitely going to cheat, but we got an ace up our sleeve… I think.”

“Oh? And what might that be?” I picked myself up once on the other side before leaning down and grabbing Ben by the arm to pick him up. Kat grabbed his arm on the other side.

“If the layout stuck to how I tried to make it, the final challenge should be in archery….that or somehow it became the final run from that one episode of Family Guy. I’m hoping for the former, though.”

“Well good thing you’ve got the Eye than. You start firing away when we get there.” We all ran toward the next obstacle, the damned tire run. Flim and Flam were already flopping away with the round devils straddled to their hooves.

Kat chuckled a little. “Amateurs.” Seems that particular challenge was designed for those on two legs rather than four, giving us the time we needed to catch up. We all reached the next obstacle which was… a set of rope swings over lava?! I shot Ben a glare as we stood on the threshold of the pit.

“What? Like I said, blame dad!”

“Not even dad was this cruel,” Kat said as she knocked a rock into the river of lava. “Then again, you wouldn’t know that. Better get to work.”

“Allow me. Ruby of Ramses!” I pulled the ropes toward us, making grabbing each one in succession easy and putting the first rope right in front of us. “Ladies first.”

“Such a gentleman,” Kat said with a roll of her eyes. Ben put his hands behind his head as Kat swung across, making a nice backflip as she jumped off the rope to the other side.

“I really need to rethink this stuff sometimes,” Ben grumbled. “I think some of the Voices’ ideas got mixed into this.”

“I’m afraid to ask if it was el gato culo or another one. Anyway, your chariot awaits.” I pulled the rope back using the ruby, handing it to Ben.

Ben waved his hand dismissively. “Nah I’m good. I’m gonna jump it.”

I opened my mouth to question his decision before remembering him jumping up a thirty foot high wall at the start of all this. “Suit yourself.” I grabbed the rope and swung, landing with a roll at the end before glancing at the competition. Katnappe had made it over easily enough, as well as Flam with his Third Arm Sash. That just left Flim as he dangled from the rope, apparently having lost all momentum.

Ben took a few steps back and then ran straight to the cliff. “Geronimo!” he yelled as he took the leap, landing just by the tips of his toes on the other side. “Woo!! Let’s do that again!”

“How about after you shoot all the targets and keep evil from gaining the ability to teleport anywhere in existence?” I called back as I ran to the archery range. Kat was already working on it, though it was clear she was more of a melee kind of girl. I began picking up stones with the ruby while Flam did the same with his sash. Katnappe on the other hand seemed to be throwing balls of yarn that in mid air would suddenly extend a mass of spikes. They tore through one target in about the most gruesome way someone could rip apart cardboard.

Ben chuckled as he stepped up with his bow in hand. “Stupid girl, doesn’t get how this challenge is won. Allan, Kat, stand close to me.” He pulled back the string and three energy arrows appeared in the bow.

I gave him a strange look before taking a few steps in his direction. A glance over at the other side showed another target down. “Ben, anytime now.” Kat did the same and Ben let the arrows fly, striking all three of our targets dead on. Instantly, a large trapdoor appeared before us and we fell down a massive slide of muck and gunk. Through twists and turns we rode, until it finally deposited us right at the final final challenge: The demolition challenge!

“Just how I planned it!” Ben cried from the bottom of the pile we all made up. I just groaned before pushing my face out Ben’s tangled mess he calls hair.

“Hermosa, not that you aren’t heavy as I would never call a lady fat, but would you mind getting off?”

“Hold on,” Kat pushed herself up, almost cutting into my cheek with the Sword of Storms. “Whoops, sorry, not used to such a big weapon.”

I rolled off Ben to the opposite side to allow him to stand. “Hey, we’re in the lead and in one piece. Like Master Gongniu said, look at the positives.” Suddenly another trap door in the ceiling opened and Katnappe and Flam dropped in, apparently having left Flim to hang above the lava pool. They landed about the same way we did.

“Get off of me!” Katnappe hissed before tossing Flam aside. “I swear, if you broke my hooficure, I will feed you to my cats!”

“Speak of the devil,” Ben said before turning to the objective, which was a mass open field. “Now for the fun! The final challenge: cause as much destruction as you can within the time frame!”

“What time frame?” asked Kat.

“That time frame,” Ben said pointing at a floating timer that was counting down. It was already at forty-five seconds.

I looked up at the clock than around at the field before turning to Ben. “You get this from Rath?”

“No, I snuck onto a military base when I was eight and ended up breaking their fifty year record on this challenge.”

“Huh. Well I guess we should get started. Ruby of Ramses!” I grabbed large chunks of the earth and started ripping them out of the ground before tossing them aside. One particular chunk landed right next to Catnape that was easily twenty times her size. “This’ll be easy with what we are up agai-”

“Rio Reverso!” Suddenly the rock began to glow and fall apart, revealing a Triceratops skeleton underneath! The bones began to shift and put themselves back together before the layers of skin and muscle returned. The completed dinosaur took one look around and began rampaging, tearing up the field as Katnappe just sat their smirking. “He’s on our team.”

Kat glared at Catnape then turned to Ben and me. “Huddle up, boys. I got a plan. Sword of the Storms!” She started to swirl her blade out into the field, creating a massive twister. “Allan!” she shouted over the winds, “I need you to condense this into a psychic field! As small as you can!”

“What you said sounds like Twilight gibberish but I think I got the meaning! Ruby of Ramses!” I wrapped the twister in the rubies red magic, the wind seemingly fighting against me as the ruby pulled this way and that. “Woah, she’s a fighter!” I continued to push the twister into a smaller and smaller space as Kat turned to Ben.

“Ben, use that eye thingy and fill it full of lightning!”

“As you command madam general!” Ben quipped. “Eye of Dashi!” The pendant lit up and fired bolt after bolt of lighting into the condensed storm, creating a deep darkness within the field.

“Just a little more….and you may wanna brace yourselves.” Katnappe and Flam seemed to get what was about to happen and ducked behind the now transfixed Triceratops. I took a moment to pull a bit of stone out of the earth, creating a makeshift wall for us as I continued to fight the wild energy.

“Anytime you wanna say go Kat! This thing ain’t gonna stay balled up forever!”

“One more bolt Ben!”

“One more coming up!” Using both hands, Ben fired one last bolt of lightning into the storm. Thinking quickly, Kat threw herself onto both of us, sending us to the ground as the bubble burst, and my hearing quickly disappeared. I could feel the force of the explosion, but I couldn’t see or hear anything.

When the roar of wind and destruction died down, I glanced up. The timer was at zero, flashing like a VCR you could never figure out how to set. The triceratops had somehow been turned back into a skeleton, the force of the blast apparently having torn the flesh from his body, though Katnappe and Flam seemed in one piece behind it as they trembled. Kat said something but it sounded muffled with my damaged hearing.

“What?!” Kat rolled her eyes and I saw her glowing hand touch my ears.

“Can you hear me now?” she practically yelled into my ear.

“Aye! Yes, I hear you!” I stuck a finger in my ear before looking over at Ben. “Ben, you still there?”

Ben was just sitting there staring off into space. “That….was….AWESOME!!!!! Did you see that?! The entire field just exploded!! Holy cow!! That was amazing!!” He pointed both arms at Kat. “Thank you Dr. Kat!”

With that, everything shifted back into the hot springs we had began in, the Golden Tiger Claws in one hand with the ruby in the other. I watched the brothers and Katnappe flee as bots carried them off, Flim looking rather singed. I chuckled and waved at them with the claws. “I’ll see you guys next time you need a butt kicking!”

Ben looked at the claws in a little wonder. “So...these are the Golden Tiger Claws, huh? If I remember right, they allow for teleportation of some kind.”

“Yep, though probably not that amazing of a power to you since your hermana can teleport.”

“Seems kinda pointless to me, but to each their own I suppose. We should probably get back to Ponyville. Let’s take ‘em for a spin.”

I shrugged before collecting all of the other Wu and raising the claws into the air. “Golden Tiger Claws!” I swung, the claws catching on… something as they tore the air itself, leaving behind a hole in space that had some trippy effects inside of it.

“Woah...trippy,” Ben said as he leaned into the hole. “I think you should lead, Allan. You got the claws, after all.”

“You’re just afraid it’ll dump you in a volcano or something.” Either way, I jumped in, gravity apparently not existing in whatever strange space the claws opened up to. A few moments later I slashed again, gravity reasserting itself as I fell out into the training grounds of the temple.

“Ow,” Ben said. “I think I landed on a rock.”

“No, you landed on me,” shouted a familiar voice from underneath Ben. He looked down to see a familiar lavender coat.

“....oh crap.”

“I see you all return successful.” Master Gongniu walked up as neutral faced as ever. Kat picked herself up while I got up and bowed.

“Yes. The Golden Tiger Claws aren’t going to be used by evil anytime soon.”

“Excellent. I trust that your new friends helped you in this effort?”

“We blew it up!” Ben said just as Twilight blasted him off. “Ow!”

“Twilight, what are you doing here? Don’t tell me you are here to bug me to study my Wu again.”

“Of course not! At least, not right now.” She said as she brushed herself off with a magically made feather duster. “I heard there were other humans and wanted to see them for myself. Perhaps ask some questions.”

Ben groaned as he got up, rubbing his head. “Ow. Geeze Twilight, watch what you’re….what the?!” He just stared at Twilight in shock. “What….how...where….where are your wings?!”

“Wings? I’m not an alicorn. And how do you know who I am?” It took me about a total of two seconds to put the pieces together before I facepalmed with the claws. You telling me she… Dios mio, Equestria is in more danger than with Wuya out and about.

“We both know who you are, Twilight Sparkle,” Kat said as she dusted her jacket off. “My brother and I both come from alternate Equestrias. Where he comes from, you’re an alicorn.”

“Why in the world would I be an alicorn? It just doesn’t make any sense! There are already three princesses and I don’t see any reason why I would be crowned. What achievement did I accomplish to gain such an honor?”

“I don’t know.” Ben shrugged. “I came in after that. The only thing I know is you beat a demon after he blew up your library.”

Her eye twitched. “Blew… up… my library?! Well whatever Tartarus spawn that dared to do that deserved whatever he got!”

“You did get a castle in return. Nyx sure likes it.”

She huffed. “Just who the buck is Nyx?”

“Your daughter.”

And that’s when Twilight.exe crashed as her eye continued to spasm. I waved a hand in front of her face, getting no response.

“Wow, you actually broke her. That’s something I never thought I’d see.”

“Does it help if I say that she’s adopted?”

Her head turned side to side incredibly slowly. “I… I think I need to lie down.” She turned around and stumbled toward the front gates, looking like she just had way too many drinks.

Ben looked at me. “I have one more to push it if you really want to screw with her.”

I shrugged. “Hey, if it keeps her out of my hair for a few days, by all means. Besides, I still owe her for teleporting me to Appleoosa without warning me.”

“Oi! Twilight! Nyx is also Nightmare Moon reincarnate and sealed Celestia and Luna in the sun and moon for a month!” Twilight toppled over, her legs twitching slightly as she tried to process this information. All the while I couldn’t stop snickering to myself.

“Alright, I think that will do it.” I walked over and slung Twilight over my shoulder. “Best get her back home. You two gonna stick around or are you back on the job hunting for purple visor guy?”

“Actually, why don’t you put Twilight down for a moment,” she said while glaring at Ben. “We have a few things to explain and who better to take notes for you than Princess Celestia’s number one student.”

“Former student where I come from.” Kat glared at Ben again. “What? She graduated!”

Twilight mumbled some nonsense into my back before raising her head with a crazed look in her eye. “Notes? I can do notes! Take care of the reincarnation of evil turned into a foal, now that’s crazy, but notes is plausible!”

“To be fair, Nyx is pretty much a scaredy cat nowadays. But moving on. Twilight, you ready to take notes for your human about the grandest thing ever?”

She suddenly teleported out of my grasp and appeared in Ben’s face, notepad and quill floating nearby. “Tell me!” Her face went to puppy dog eyes. “Pwease?”

“Have you ever heard of the multiverse theory?”

“The multiverse theory. A theory created by Flax Tegmark who believed that for every action, a new universe is created in which you did a different action in that particular instance. Why?”

“The theory is true. Completely and utterly true.”

“Wait, so… if it is true…” Uh oh, the Twilight gears are turning. She gasped and pointed at me. “You’re from another universe!” And than at Kat. “And you!” And Ben. “And you!”

“Yep. Like I said, parallel. It get’s wonky or...how did you say it goes Kat?”

“Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey.”

“Right, that. Oh, by the way,” he pulled that strange device out of his jacket. “Here’s your sonic bac--hey!” Twilight had taken the device and was ogling it with wonder.

“And just what does this do? Shoot fire? Transform animals?” She Pinkie gasped. “Tear apart holes in space and time itself?!”

Kat smiled like a troll. “It’s a screwdriver.”

Twilight deadpanned at Kat. “Really?”

“Well, a sonic screwdriver. I mostly use it when I need stealth as it can unlock pretty much anything.” With a sigh she floated it over to Kat. “Thank you, this was a gift after all.”

Ben sighed. “Twilight, after we have you take down the notes, I’ll let you examine the omnitrix. Good enough trade?”

“The omni-wha?”

“This device on my wrist. It lets me transform into over a million different aliens.”

Twilight seemed to hold back the urge to just grab his wrist before shaking her head rapidly.

“Great! Kat, wanna start us off?”

“Alright. Allan, you should be aware of a few others of us Displaced out there. One is known as Auric Fulcrum. He is a friend to all Displaced and knows most everything. If you ever need anything, try looking for his totem, a gold coin. Another good one is Gilgamesh, a warrior of the greatest calibur. You don’t find him, though. He finds you. Don’t worry, he’s practically the most friendly guy you’ll ever meet. Any questions so far?”

“Uh… totem? Que es?”

“Ah! A totem is a Displaced calling card, if you will. It’s their symbol that allows others to call upon them in time of need. Mine is a diamond while Ben’s is a police badge.”

“Okay… do I need one? Cause I can’t just pop a hole in reality like you guys and visit other universes. At least, not right now.” I glanced down at the tiger claws. “Maybe with these, but that has yet to be tested and something tells me missing a universe isn’t the most pleasant experience.”

“That is up to you,” Ben interrupted. “That’s only if you feel you want to help the others out there. It won’t stop them from showing up sometimes, but you wouldn’t be forced out of here. It’s personal choice.”

“Hmm… I guess I’ll make one, though I’m still not sure how the whole traversing universes will work. Anyway, you were listing off Displaced that were friendly. Any bad ones?”

“Oh yeah,” Kat said with a shiver. “There’s this really dark one, Makuta Teridax. Stay away from him at all costs. He does not take kindly to heroes and will destroy you at any chance he gets. I’ve heard of another known as Don, but that’s only through a friend. All I know is that he’s not the nicest guy and is more than willing to kill you if you piss him off. Other than that, there is the...Triad of Madness? I think that’s what they’re called. They’re this group who have special weapons with the ability to mess with your mind. They’re not right in the head either.”

“Triad of Madness? Sounds like something out of one of those Silent Hill games.”

“Wouldn’t know, not much of a gamer and Ben’s tech phobic.”

“I am not!”

“Shut up. Anyway, most Displaced will be there to help you, but more often than not it’ll be for favors. So be sure to judge their character well before accepting any help from them.”

“Makes sense. Look out for Auric and Gilgamesh. Otherwise don’t sell your soul to the devils. Any other warnings?”

“Mostly….keep yourself on the right path.” Kat looked at me solemnly. “Never forget who you are and do not let anger, or fear, or hatred deter you from your path. It will not end well and I speak from experience.”

Master Gongniu spoke up. “As Xiaolin dragon of light, such things will threaten to throw you onto the path of darkness. This is something you cannot avoid however. You must learn to face these emotions, lest you be consumed by them.”

“I understand master.” I turned to Kat and Ben. “So this it? Cause I have to admit, having you guys in a showdown with me made things interesting in all the best ways.”

“Well thanks for tha--woah!” Ben was pulled over by Twilight who started examining the watch with fervor. “...good thing I’m used to this by now. Having the princesses as sisters really got me used to being stared at.”

Twilight was too enthralled by the watch to really react to what Ben had said, her quill dancing across her notepad. I just shook my head. “You said you guys had totems. Would you mind if I got them just in case?” Kat smiled, producing a flawless diamond and a strange, circular badge in her hand. She tossed them to me. “Thanks. Hopefully I won’t have to call you for the end of the world or something, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.”

“Don’t be afraid to if it happens though. It’s a recurring theme after all. Almost like a trope.”

“What the heck is a trope?” asked Ben, whose arm was currently undergoing x-rays.

“Don’t I know it. First thing I was told by the Wuya and her goons when they showed up was ‘We’ll plunge the world into ten thousand years of darkness.’ And that was while Nightmare Moon was standing next to them, plunging the world into darkness. If the next threat so much as says the word ‘darkness’ I might just ‘plunge’ myself off a cliff.”

Kat and Ben looked at each other, then back at me. “Oh buddy, you have even yet to hit craziness yet. When you have some free time, look up the word ‘chaos’ and see what you find.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, along with Princess Bookworm over here.” I nodded to Twilight, her magic currently surrounding Ben’s watch in a ball that would shrink and grow while changing various colors.

“Just don’t touch any buttons, Twilight. You’ll let out a monster that I can’t control.” As he said this, Twilight was holding her hoof above one of the buttons. She slowly pulled her hoof away, looking rather disappointed. “I know you’re curious, but the Voices in my head don’t mind causing as much destruction as possible. Some even make Zeus shake in his sandals.”

“Listen to him Twilight. The one that got out yesterday when I met them was bad enough. I’d hate to see just how crazy the others can get.” Twilight still seemed dejected but nodded nonetheless before letting go of Ben’s wrist.

“Hey don’t pout. Tell ya what, when I get this thing in check, I’ll come back and you can go over the several hundred different aliens I have in this thing.”

Twilight squeed and hugged Ben. “Oh thank you! You’re my new favorite human ever!”

“Hey! I’m the one living here and keeping you safe from evil.” I spoke up.

“Yes, but you don’t let me study your supposedly impossible to exist devices, now do you?” I just grumbled and rolled my eyes.

“Now that’s curious. Why not let her study them? I mean, as long as she doesn’t clone them, I could see it being handy. You never know what hidden powers those things may have. She might be able to even come up with new uses for them. She’s Twilight “Mother bucking” Sparkle after all.”

“I just… well… I don’t want her to… ugh! Fine. She can study my Wu, but the moment I see her trying to replicate any of their effects I’m cutting her off. Like I told her before, there’s enough of these things to deal with without her making more.” Twilight squeed and hugged Ben again.

“And this is why you have a stalker,” Kat said with a smile.

Ben deadpanned at her. “Shut up about Lyra.”

“What, you mean the harp player? She seemed alright to me.”

“She’s been stalking me since I was revived from stone. She immediately made herself my girlfriend, but now….well, she’s kinda nice...and smart...and kinda sexy….I said that out loud didn’t I?”

“Si. You did. I don’t know about sexy, but some of these mares can be pretty adorable at times.”

Ben chuckled. “I’ll bring Nyx too. Of course, the next time all depends on when our authors decide to do this again.”

I looked at Ben like he had just lost his mind. “Our what now?”

“It’s Ben, don’t question it.”

“Riiiiiiight.” I then muttered. “Add that to the list of ‘mierda that can’t be explained.’”

Kat and Ben both shared a laugh, only for us to be interrupted by a loud gasp. We looked over to see a tall, elderly man in purple with a oval visor on his head. “Ten!”

Kat and Ben were both on their feet. “Eon!”

“Drat! I thought I had finally gotten rid of you two! You won’t stop me!!!” He put out a hand and a portal opened up. He ran right through it. “I will destroy you two yet!!”

“Get back here!” Ben shouted as he lunged. Unfortunately, the portal closed before he got near, forcing him to land unceremoniously on the ground. “Dang it! He got away again!”

I cocked my head to the side. “What was his deal? He sounded more stereotypically evil than the Flim Flam brothers do.”

“That was Eon and he’s trying to get to our Earth,” Kat explained as she helped Ben to his feet.

“Alright… not really sure what that means, but I’ll assume its bad.” I put a hand to my chin for a moment before snapping my fingers and pulling the scroll off. With one tug the entire paper became unravelled all over the ground and I began looking over it.

“That jerk wants to find his way to the Earth we came from so he can erase me and Kat from existence.”

“Well that’s not good. Let me just find… ah hah! Anyone got a pair of scissors?” Twilight instantly ported a pair in and handed them to me. “Gracias.” I gently cut out a piece of the scroll before holding it between my hands. “Let’s see if these dragon powers are anything to scoff at. Light!” The paper glowed for a moment before dying off and I took a look at it. “Perfect.” I handed it to Kat. “There. You need my help, you can call me with that. Hopefully by than I’ve figured out multiverse travel.”

“No problem at all, but if you’ll excuse our rude exit, we gotta stop Eon!”

“Go right ahead. Hate to have the two of you wiped from existence after all.” I waved my hands where Eon’s portal had once been as if gesturing to a door. “I’d open the way for you, but… you know.”

Ben made a wave motion with his hand and a portal appeared. “We got it covered, Allan. Good luck with Wuya and the freakos. Ack!” He held his head for a moment before looking back at me. “Ugh, for some reason, Superiority said to talk to Applejack about that cat pony. No idea why.”

“Well you guys have certainly given me a bucket list to go through. Good thing Twilight was here to write it all down.” She gave me a nod before tearing out a few sheets of her notebook and handing them to me. “Gracias, chica.”

“Su bienvenida, mi amigo.” She grinned.

“Merde, you two are on the same level. That’s freaky.”

“Hey, you’re not the only one freaked out. Still thinks it’s weird there’s some strange form of spanish in Equestria.” I shook my head. “Enough about that though. You two have got a plane to catch.”

“Right, come on Ben! We gotta stop that salop!”

“Let’s go! See ya Allan!” Ben jumped through the portal.

“Allons-y!” Kat yelled as she followed, the portal closing right behind her. Twilight and I just stood there for a moment before Master Gongniu spoke up.

“It has been a long day, young apprentice. You can begin on your ‘bucket list’ in the morning. After training and chores of course.”

I groaned but turned and bowed nonetheless. “Yes master.” Twilight nudged me with a hoof. “Yes?”

“Sooooo…. can I study one of your Wu now?” She said with a smile and a glitter in her eye. I sighed before pulling out the Ruby of Ramses and handing it to her. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She darted off, leaving me to wonder just how in the world that would ever become a princess and a mother.

Eh, maybe I’ll get lucky and none of that will happen. I chuckled. Who am I kidding? I have the worst luck.
> A story and a stomach
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was about a week later after my usual bout of training and construction work that I took a peek at the list Twilight made for me. Twilight’s handwriting was about everything you would expect from a scientist: scribbles that are barely legible.

List of objectives given by the multidimensional aliens

1: There is no way I am adopting Nightmare Moon! Even if she is a filly!
2: Research chaos
3: Talk to Applejack about ‘cat pony’?
4: Otherwise be wary of other aliens unless they are named ‘Gilgamesh’ or ‘Auric’.

It took me awhile to decipher the list but I managed. You’d think a girl who lives in a library would have better handwriting. Or is it hoof writing? Wait, Twilight doesn’t even use her hoof. So… magic writing? I shook my head. Something to ask later. Right now I should focus.

I pondered over the list while humming to myself. Well, the first part is beyond anyone’s control as far as I can tell. The last is more of an ongoing “don’t be stupid”. Two sounds like it could prove interesting but since Katnappe is the more immediate threat, I guess three wins. With my plan set out, I headed to Sweet Apple Acres on foot, content to just walk instead of fly around.

*     *     *

The first pony I recognized as I walked into town was Twilight seemingly heading to Rarity’s place. Well, actually the first pony I had seen was Pinkie Pie, but all she did was zoom by me saying something about needing a trombone for a pair of sprites?

Pinkie antics aside, I noticed Twilight had my ruby with her, being carried by a tennis ball with eyes and wings. Alright, que demonios did Twilight do with my Wu?

“Oh hey Allan.” Twilight greeted. “Check out this new animal Fluttershy found. Isn’t he the cutest?” The tennis ball chirped before flying circles around my head. Around its fifth pass or so I grabbed one of its wings, letting me take my ruby back. “Oh, and can I study a new Wu? I might be onto something but I’ll need to see some others.”

“Maybe later Twilight. Call me paranoid, or as Master Gongniu would call it ‘Tiger Instinct’, but I have a feeling I’ll need them today.” I glanced at the thing I was still holding by a wing, the other buzzing frantically. “So what’s with this thing?”

“Allan!” Suddenly my hand glowed a bright purple, forcing my fingers apart. The tennis ball flew back to Twilight and snuggled itself into her mane. “Don’t hurt the little guy! He was just trying to give you back the ruby.”

As far as I could tell, I had done no damage to the thing. “Uh… I’m sorry?”

Twilight humphed. “Well you should be. Now I’ve got to get to Rarity’s. She’s making outfits for everyone to wear for Celestia’s visit.”

“Celestia’s visiting? Why haven’t I heard of this?”

“Because you’ve been spending all your time training. Honestly Allan, didn’t Gongniu tell you that seeing your friends was a good thing for you?”

“Well ya. I just have a lot of responsibilities, you know? Defend Equestria from darkness and all that.”

Twilight sighed. “I know. I just wish you would come down and see everyone more. It’s like you’re in your own little world up on that hill.”

“Isn’t that the idea though? I deal with the Shen Gong Wu craziness so you don’t have to. It’s why Celestia hasn’t made any proclamations about this stuff. At least, I think that’s why she hasn’t said anything. Could be that or she knows it would be mass panic followed by a media storm.”

“Oh, that reminds me. Here.” She teleported next to her a rolled up scroll with a sun seal on it. “This came in from Celestia a few days ago.” She floated it over to me.

“A few days? Why didn’t I get this sooner?” Twilight gave me a glare. “Oh… right.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I have to get going. Make sure you go by Rarity’s later today. Everything needs to be perfect for the princess’ visit.” I watched her trot off before continuing down the road toward Applejack’s place. Everything needs to be perfect? Has she forgotten this is Ponyville?

I shrugged off Twilight’s princess anxiety before opening up the scroll. Maldita Sae. With hand-hoof-magic-whatever writing like this, I can’t help but wonder how it is Twilight’s ended up so bad.

Dear Allan,

As you might have heard, I will be arriving in a few days.

Aren’t they supposed to stamp “time sensitive information” on these kinds of things?

I do hope that Twilight and the other members of Ponyville don’t go too overboard with preparations. I know how Twilight can sometimes get better than almost anyone.

I snickered at the irony before continuing.

Anyway, when I do visit, I was hoping I could see you for a moment. There is something I wish to give you that I believe may help you in your mission.

Regards,
Celestia

I gave the signature a second glance. So does this mean I know both princesses on a “no title” basis? I gave the page one last look over before shoving it in my pocket. And what’s this about giving me something? She had no idea what the Shen Gong Wu were or what kind of magic they had so I doubt it is along those lines.

My thoughts were interrupted as I heard the telltale sound of air whistling around a speeding object coming right at me. I quickly ducked, a rainbow blur just barely missing me as it went by. Soon after there was a loud crash as Rainbow Dash ran right into a couple of tables and chairs outside of a nearby restaurant. I couldn’t help but laugh as she tried desperately to untangle herself before heading over and helping her.

Once she was free and everything was back where it should be, the chairs and tables having somehow survived without a scratch, Rainbow Dash gave me a small glare. “No fair! How did you dodge me so quickly when you didn’t even see me?”

“You might not be able to tell, but a pony going at a hundred miles an hour does make some noise.”

“Ya, well you still have a lot of catching up to do!”

I tilted my head. “Catching up? In what?”

“You don’t remember? We started to rough house but Twilight got in the way. And I’m willing to count this as a win for you, so you have one. Applejack and I tussle all the time and we keep track of who’s winning. Right now, I’ve got 63 wins to her 65.” She grumbled something after that I couldn't hear but I doubt any of it was nice.

“So… wait. Now I’m a part of this war you have with Applejack?!”

“You sure are! That is, unless you don’t think you are up for it.” She gave me a grin that screamed “just try to mess with me.”

I’m not really the show-off-y type, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to wipe the smirk off Rainbow’s face every once in awhile. I shot back a smirk. “Alright, you’re on.” Rainbow jumped into the air with a cheer.

“This is going to be awesome! Anyway, just so you know, there is one rule. You can’t start a fight with someone if they are busy with something. So if you’re training or Applejack is apple bucking or something like that.”

I nodded. “Well that’s good. As fun as this sounds, I don’t think Master Gongniu would appreciate the interruption.”

“Yep. Anyway, whatcha up to?”

“I was heading to Applejack’s. Apparently she might know something about the crazy cat pony I fought when I went to get the Golden Tiger Claws with Kat and Ben.”

“You mean the other humans Twilight mentioned? Why did you bring them and not me?!”

I rose an eyebrow. “You want to come with me to get Shen Gong Wu?”

“Well duh! You get to go around fighting bad guys and saving the world. That stuff is way cooler than sitting around here!”

“But… didn’t you and the others save the world from Nightmare Moon?”

“Well ya, and that was pretty awesome, but we don’t have our elements anymore. The princess took them with her to Canterlot to lock them up.”

Wait, I thought only these six could use the elements. Why lock them up if no one else has the power to let loose rainbow cannons?

I shrugged. “Alright, if you really want and depending if you’re around at the time, I’ll bring you along.”

“Woo hoo!” Rainbow sped around me for about two seconds, nearly throwing me off balance as she cheered. “This is going to be awesome! When is the next one gonna show up?”

“No idea. There isn’t really a pattern to it. The last two were revealed over two days while all the others were rather spread out.”

She slouched at the news. “Really?” She groaned. “Wish we could find them without them being revealed.”

“You and me both. Anyway, I should get going. See ya Rainbow.” I waved as I headed back down the road, Rainbow taking off a few seconds later. Wasn’t long before I got to the edge of town and the long walk to Sweet Apple Acres began.

*     *     *

When I finally made it, the only pony around that I could see was Granny Smith asleep in her rocking chair. With nowhere else to turn to, I walked up to the front door. Before I could knock though I noticed a sound, or rather a distinct lack of one.

“You’ve got sharp ears there, don’t ya sonny?” I turned to see that Granny Smith was now fully awake, her lack of snoring being what I had noticed. “Well don’t just stand there an’ gawk boy! Tell ol’ Granny Smith whatcha here for.”

I guess she could be a light sleeper, but for some reason my instinct is saying something else. I shook off the strange feeling I had before speaking. “Oh. I was just looking for Applejack. A friend of mine said that asking her about some pony dressed as a cat would be a good idea.”

I swear I could hear the sound of a record scratch as Granny Smith seemed to freeze. “Now, I’m pretty old so my hearing ain’t what it used to be, but did you just say a ‘pony dressed like a cat’?”

“Uh… ya. Why?”

She looked over the porch, her stare distant as she seemed to ignore my question. “So, she’s back at it again. Here I thought she had gotten too old for that game.”

“Too old? The mare I fought must have been at least in her early twenties. She certainly acted like what one would expect of the usual spoiled brat of that age.”

“That’s her to the T boy, though how she turned back time itself I haven’t a clue.”

“Well, there is a Shen Gong Wu that reverses aging.” For a moment I saw Granny Smith consider the possibilities of such a thing. I really hope she isn’t thinking what I think she’s thinking. I opened my mouth to tell her “no way” before she shook her head.

“You’ve got nuttin’ to worry from me boy. I’m content with living my life like this, though the least I can do is tell you who you’re really tusslin’ with. You’ll want to take the load off though. This tale is a mite bit long.” I sat down against the wall of the house. “Now, where to begin about Katnappe…”

*     *     *

Katnappe, the cat burglar. Course, she was the only one who took the idea a bit literally. She was one of the best thieves to have ever appeared in Equestria. No one knew who she really was or how she managed what she did but for years the name Katnappe was a stain on good businesses and police reports.

That is, until they called on me.

See, little do many ponies know is that I worked as an apple farmer for only the later parts of my life. Prior to that, I was a member of the Royal Guard’s investigative unit. We were the ones that were called in when the case ran cold, and Katnappe’s might as well have been frozen solid. Three other investigators tried to catch her and fail, passing the case along to me.

At first I hadn’t a care for it. I, among others, had deemed the case unsolvable. Katnappe left too little evidence, her targets were scattered and had no real pattern, and her motivations seemed to be no more than playing a game. All I wanted was to do my time with it and pass it on.

Wasn’t until I found a lead on where she got her magically modified cats that I started taking things seriously. Turns out she had a unicorn who specialized in animals. The crook told me everything he knew about Katnappe, including her next target and when.

So I set a trap. Readied the guard. I myself waited by her prize as the clock ticked down slowly. Lucky us, she appeared. Even more lucky, we managed to catch her.

Turns out I wasn’t as lucky as I thought. Katnappe was family. My own cousin. Goldie Delicious. Course it all made sense. She was always more of a city girl, though none of us faulted her for that. On top of that, she had a thing for cats. Loved the little terrors. But to think that she would go so far as to steal…

She was sent to jail of course. Doesn’t take a genius to tell that. Locked away for fifty years, till she was too old for the game. After that, she took up a home out in the woods and filled her time caring for her cats and holding onto Apple Family heirlooms.

Katnappe’s case was my last. After seeing my own cousin betray me so, I quit, deciding that a farming life was what I needed. Closer to my family, you know? It was a way of assuring me something like that didn’t happen again. The princess was kind enough to give me this land after my work in the guard.

*     *     *

“... and that about does it. Katnappe is something that’s haunted me my entire life, so much so that I’ve seen Applejack take on some of my overbearing attitudes toward family. I wish I could let it go but…” she sighed.

“Wow…” was all I really had to say. I mean, I knew crazy cat lady was good, but a master thief?! And on top of that, Granny Smith was apparently in the guard?!?! My head was spinning just trying to put together everything I had just heard when something landed on it. I glanced up to see a similar set of bug eyes looking down at me, only these were on the body of a blue tennis ball instead of a yellow one.

“Now where in the world did that varmit come from?!” Granny Smith practically shrieked upon seeing the bug. I rose an eyebrow at her.

“Well that’s not the reaction I was expecting. I mean, it is kind of cute I guess, but these things seem to be more Twilight’s thing.”

“There’s more of them?! Boy, don’t you know what you’re dealing wit there?!” My confused face must have been enough of an answer. “That there’s a parasprite! Those nasty critters will eat any food they can get their hands on! Worse is they multiply faster than rabbits!!”

I glanced up at the apparent terror. Wait… if Twilight had one, and she got it from Fluttershy who also had one, and there’s one here… mierda!

“Uh, Granny Smith? How long have I been here?”

“Somethin to an hour. Why?”

“Cause the last time I saw one of these was over an hour ago in the center of Ponyville.” Granny Smith’s pupils went to pinpricks before she leapt out of her chair.

“Run for the hills!” She cried as she moved at a snail’s pace toward the door. I glanced up at the bug one last time before quickly grabbing it with one hand and tossing it up in the air before giving it a good kick to send it flying.

Well that’s one down. I took to the sky on the kite, Ponyville visible in the distance with a swarm covering it. And about a million to go.

*     *     *

Meanwhile, the swarm that had descended upon Ponyville had already been struck by Twilight’s magic, changing their appetite for food with an appetite for… well, everything else. One group of parasprites in particular had begun eating the very soil as they created tiny tunnels.

As one particular parasprite joyfully devoured chunk after chunk of dirt, it soon found its progress stopped by something golden and shiny. The parasprite looked at its reflection in the object with awe before quickly clearing the dirt around his new prize. The object had two bulbous spheres to it, connected in the center by a small rod. It seemed to glow with an unnatural light, only putting the parasprite more in awe.

And making him more hungry.

The parasprite stretched its mouth as wide as it could go before slowly swallowing the object bit by bit until the whole thing rested in his stomach. It licked its lips in satisfaction before beginning to feel a strange tingle as its body glowed with the same unnatural light the object had. Suddenly the small cave it had made in the earth was too small, or rather he was too big. In an effort to free itself from its small confines, the parasprite dug for the surface, devouring larger and larger amounts of dirt as its body grew and changed.

*     *     *

As I flew in to Ponyville, the scene was mass panic and for good reason. Seems these particular parasprites were more interested in eating anything that wasn’t food despite what Granny had said.

“Allan!” I looked down to see Twilight and the others, minus Pinkie for some reason, fighting off parasprites left and right. I landed next to them before drawing the Sword of the Storms, using it to deflect as many as possible.

“Someone want to tell me why these things are eating everything but food?”

“Um… it was Twilight.” Fluttershy spoke up. “She cast a spell trying to make the parasprites think food tastes bad, but then they started eating everything else.”

“I didn’t mean to!” Twilight yelled at she swung at another batch of parasprites with a magically made fly swatter. “I could have sworn this would work!”

I just rolled my eyes before sending another batch of the pests skyward. “We’ll talk about magical screw ups later. For now, we really need to deal with-” Suddenly a roar was let out that would have rivaled Godzilla. Everyone turned in the direction of the sound, except for Fluttershy who had found a new hiding place behind my legs. Good thing she’s so adorable.

A low buzzing was heard as a giant parasprite lunged over a nearby house and bit into it, eating everything except the flooring of the first floor. The ponies inside looked up at the monstrosity before running in terror as they should. This new megasprite had double the eyes and wings of its friends, and even more of an appetite. We watched as it swallowed the house before opening its maw and a stream of parasprites came rocketing toward us.

Thankfully I was able to react much faster than the ponies around me. I leapt in front of the group before spinning the sword like a propeller, creating a tornado of winds that sent the beam of parasprites in all other directions. The megasprite seemed to take notice of my defiance as it began making its way toward me.

I leapt back into the air, getting above the megasprite so that its attention would be drawn away from the town. It took the bait rather easily, though it was certainly eager to snap it jaws at me as I flew left and right to avoid it. How is this thing so fast?! Before I could turn to give it a thrashing, it spewed another wave of parasprites at me. I cut the beam of pests in two with the sword, diverting the flow to either side.

With the parasprites out of the way, the big guy was now close enough to chomp down on me and I didn’t have enough time to move. You know, I really thought my death would be to a weapon, not a parasito. Suddenly the maws of the beast pulled back as it screeched in pain. I could hear a tomboyish voice call out above the screech. “My friends aren’t lunch!”

Rainbow Dash pushed the megasprite back before launching off its head and spinning around it, distracting it as it tried to snap at her rainbow trail.  I flew above the beast before pulling out the Eye of Dashi and firing at will. The lightning bolts struck true but only left small burns on the massive creature.

“Rainbow! Get clear!” I watched her fly off a bit, though she hung around close enough to help again as I put away all my Wu. I dove toward the beast, gaining as much speed as I could for my followup. Let’s see how it likes the- “Two Ton Tunic!” The shirt formed itself around my torso before expanding into a huge piece of armor. I slammed into the creature, taking it to the ground as a massive amount of dust was kicked up by the resulting crash. The armor changed back to a shirt and I leapt out of the cloud, watching it for any signs of movement.

“Allan, you get it?” Rainbow called from above. I watched for any signs for a few more moments before turning and giving her a thumbs up.

“Yep. Looks like its-” Suddenly the beast roared as the dust cloud was blasted apart by a beat of its wings. I looked up just in time to see a stone it had kicked up hit me right in the head. Next thing I knew everything went black.

*     *     *

Rainbow Dash watched in horror as the megasprite burst from the cloud and swallowed Allan whole. It chirps of joy, much deeper than its tiny companions, echoed across the town as he licked his lips. Rainbow’s expression quickly went from one of horror to rage as she sped toward the beast and slammed it right in one of its eyes.

“Spit him out right now!” She screamed as the beast only roared in response before taking a snap at her. She was the fastest pegasus in Equestria though and wasn’t about to be caught so easily off guard. By the time the creature’s teeth had snapped shut, she was already kicking out another eye. This continued on and on as she sped around the beast, her rainbow trail seeming to create a sort of cage for it.

“Ha! You’re not going to hit me you overgrown-” Her cockiness ended up being her downfall though. As she was so focused on the megasprite, she failed to notice two other parasprites holding a plank of wood between them. She crashed into this muzzle first, sending her careening down next to her friends as they continued to try and fight the infestation. Applejack noticed Rainbow’s crash and quickly ran over.

“Rainbow! You alright there?”

Rainbow pushed herself out of the groove in the earth she had created before shaking the dirt out of her mane. “Forget about me! That thing just ate Allan!” She threw a hoof at the megasprite, who was now distracting itself with another house to munch on.

Applejack looked at the beast with shock before turning it into a glare, steam blowing from her nostrils. “Why I’m about to-” A trumpet played out over the chaos as Pinkie Pie came over the hill, covered in a pile of instruments that she played a nice polka tune on. She marched her way through town, the other five ponies looking at her with varying degrees of confusion before noticing the parasprites following behind her in rhythm with the music. Even the megasprite got in on the fun, bobbing up and down in the air as he followed the one pony band.

As Pinkie began leading the parasprites away from Ponyville, Twilight put her dropped jaw back into place before panicking. “Pinkie! She doesn’t know that big one has Allan!” She ran off after Pinkie, the rest of them soon following not long after.

*     *     *

I was woken up by… polka music of all things? “Ugh, why did it have to be polka music?” I groaned as I pushed myself off the slimy ground. “And where the hell am-” I glanced up, finding myself on a small piece of saliva-covered house in a moist, fleshy cave filled with green goop. I quickly brought a hand to my nose. Meirda it stinks in here!

I noticed my platform was quickly shrinking in what I had found out was acid before leaping onto a nearby statue. Wait, acid, flesh walls, the ruins of Ponyville floating about…

“Dios mio, I got eaten, didn’t I?” I asked the bubbling acid, it’s only response to sputter a bit more. Before I could begin to figure a way out that wasn’t the natural way, a golden glow caught my attention out of the corner of my eye.

“Que es-” I held a hand against the glow, allowing me to see the a golden object imbedded in a piece of flesh in the center of the stomach. That looks like a Shen Gong Wu! I leapt onto another piece of debris in the Wu’s direction before the stomach began to shake a bit. The acid began to be kicked up in waves as the flesh the Wu was in bulged. The top of the Wu opened and a small swarm of parasprites came out.

“Are you kidding me?!” I reached back to pull out the sword… only to find nothing in my hand after. “Huh?” I ran a hand along my back to find my scroll was missing! I glanced down at the acid with a worried expression. Please don’t tell me. I shook my head before looking at the oncoming swarm, taking up a fighting stance. I’ll find it later. Right now I’ve got to keep alive!

*     *     *

Back in Ponyville, a wall-eyed pegasus was flying around the wreckage of Ponyville, and doing it upside down nonetheless. As she did this, she saw something glowing above her on the ground. A quick crash of a landing later and she found it to be a shiny metal tube. Curious as to what it was, she picked it up, deciding she would ask Twilight later since she seemed to know so much.

*     *     *

“Light!” I spoke out loud before jumping into the swarm, a white after image behind me as I spun about with foot and hand. A few parasprites managed to latch themselves to my robes, gnawing through the fabric. I landed on another piece of debris before ripping each one off. “Ustedes pedazos de mierda! How Twilight ever thought you little demonios were cute is beyond me!”

The half of the swarm I didn’t swat away quickly turned to follow me as I leapt toward the Wu, careful not to slip on any of the saliva covered debris. Every few jumps I would turn and swat a few of the closely approaching pests, doing my best to keep them at bay. As soon as I landed on the small fleshy island, I grabbed the Wu and flipped over it, tearing the bottom half of it from the creature’s stomach lining.

The effect was instantaneous as the parasprites that had been created suddenly withered into dust. The entire stomach began to shake as the stomach acid swirled beneath me. “Uh oh. This is going to be a bumpy ride!”

*     *     *

Outside, the ponies had finally caught up to the parading Pinkie. Twilight gasped for air as she spoke.

“Pinkie… you need… to wait… Allan… got eaten by-” All the ponies turned to look as the megasprite suddenly didn’t look too happy. A gurgling sound could be heard from the beast before its cheeks began to puff out. Next were his eyes, and then his legs, soon his entire body looked like a balloon that was ready to-

*KERSPLAT*

… burst.

“IT’S IN MY HAIR!!!” Rarity screeched as they were all covered in blueish green bug gunk. The remainder of the group just looked at where the megasprite had once been in shock, a large pile of the goo being all that remained in its place. Before anyone else could get out a word, the goo pile began to tremble before a rather gross looking Allan pulled himself out holding what looked like a Shen Gong Wu in his hands.

As he stepped out of the remains of the megasprite, he muttered various curses only Twilight could really understand before saying “Note to self: Do not explode giant bugs from within.”

That was all Fluttershy needed to hear before she fainted. Meanwhile, Applejack and Rainbow Dash ran over to Allen just happy to see him alive. Twilight just stood there, not sure what she should be feeling at the moment as her face seemed to shift between various expressions. Meanwhile, Pinkie continued to lead the parasprites away before taking an experimental lick of the gunk that now adorned her fur, hoping to have found a new flavor of frosting.

Long story short, she did not.

*     *     *

After I pulled myself from a pile of goo that smelled worse than sticking your face in a cat’s litter box, I was quickly greeted by two ponies, one of them tackling me in a hug at breakneck speed. “Allan! You’re not bug food!” Rainbow yelled out happily from her spot on top of my stomach.

“Si.” I grunted. “Though would you mind getting off? I’m still not feeling so great after all of that.” Before she could reply, Applejack pushed her and offered me a hoof up.

“I swear Rainbow. A guy just barely makes it out of the stomach of a beast alive and the first thing you do is hurt the feller.”

“Hey! I didn’t mean to hurt him! I just really thought he was… well, you know.”

“What, dead?” I spoke up, getting to my feet. “Nah. Takes more than pests to take care of me. Even if they are little pieces of…” I let what I said trail off as I took an experimental sniff of my clothes, finding them to be just as gross as expected. “Dios mio! I need a shower. By the way, anyone seen my scroll?”

“Hey Twilight!” I heard a voice call out as a grey pegasus suddenly swooped in and landed in the pile of gunk I had just pulled myself out of. Her head popped out holding the scroll’s strap in her mouth. “I found this thing and I was wondering if you knew what it was.” As she spoke, one of her eyes slowly went off center, giving her a goofy stare.

“Oh, that would be mine senorita.” I said with a wave of my hand. She turned and smiled at me before dropping the scroll at my feet.

“Than here you go mister! And my name is Ditzy Doo, not sen yor eeta.” I chuckled at her before picking up the scroll and returning it to my back, a sense of safety coming back along with it. Good to have you back, amigo.

I heard a snickering coming from behind and turned to find Celestia of all ponies to be the source. The other ponies quickly bowed while I just stood there dumbfounded. Twilight, naturally, began to freak out.

“Princess! This is just a… uh… a cake we were making for you?” She said with no certainty. Celestia managed to calm her case of the giggles down enough to speak.

“It’s fine Twilight. We were going to have to reschedule my visit anyways. It seems there’s an infestation of some kind of creatures in Fillydelphia. I just came by to quickly give Allan what I promised.”

“Give me something?” I drew a blank for a moment. “Oh, right. The letter. Sorry princess. It’s been one of those days.”

“I can tell. And do just call me Celestia please.” She leaned in close to whisper. “I’ve been trying to get Twilight to call me that for years with no luck.” I nodded. “Anyway, I have here for you a badge. With it, you are officially a member of the royal guard.” She pulled out a small box from under her wing and handed it to me. Inside was a normal looking police badge, only instead of sporting a star or something in the middle of the shield it was a picture that was half sun, half moon.

Before I could ask any questions, Celestia turned back toward her carriage. “I’ll send you a letter with more details later on. Just know for now that badge is a sign of your position as a defender of Equestria.” I just stood there dumbfounded before closing the box back up and putting it under my arm. Within the minute the princess was gone, supposedly to deal with an infestation of ‘creatures’.

Rainbow looked back and forth between me and the box a few times before asking “So… what just happened?” I could only shrug in response.
> The Great Pet Adventure
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After everyone went through the one dozen or so showers Rarity insisted we take (I did mine clothed of course), I headed home to rest. The next day I had some more free time and, taking what Twilight had said into consideration, decided to head into town. The ponies of Ponyville were used to homes being damaged by various crazy happenings and had already put together a good amount of the town.

I found a nice spot in the park to settle down in before pulling open my scroll to figure out our mystery Shen Gong Wu. Turns out it was the Juju Fly Trap, and no it doesn’t shoot parasprites. At least, not anymore. I’m guessing the parasprite who ate it somehow caused it to change its purpose, which is to just shoot normal flies or bees. Not exactly a great Wu but hey, I got it before it was even revealed so I’ll take that as a win.

“Oh there you are Allan.” I turned to see Rarity standing there. “I was wondering if I could ask you for a favor.”

I closed the scroll and stowed away the fly trap before getting up. “Sure Rarity, whatcha need?”

“Ah, you see the gala will be coming up soon and I’ve decided to make the girls and myself dresses for the event. It will be a lot of work so I’ll need someone to watch Sweetie Belle for the day. Do you think you could do that for me?” She batted her eyelashes at me, only causing me to chuckle.

“Come on senorita. You don’t need to act all sweet to convince me. Heck, I would have done it even if you didn’t ask.” Rarity seemed kind of shocked by what I said before walking over and giving me a hug.

“Oh thank you! I’ll be sure to make you something right after I finish with the girls.”

“Hey, I don’t need anything in return. Besides, these robes are pretty formal when not covered in parasprite goo.”

“Oh, that reminds me.” She said as she let go of me. “Could you go speak to Fluttershy? When we were cleaning up she seemed… scared of you. I couldn’t fathom why though.”

“Sure, I’ll check up on her. Where does she live?”

“In a small cottage by the Everfree Forest. You can’t miss it.” I gave Rarity a wave goodbye before heading down the road to Fluttershy’s. Ponies waved to me as I passed by, apparently having heard I was the one who got rid of the big one. I just waved back until I ran into Twilight.

“Oh Allan, there you are. The princess’ letter for you has arrived.” She floated it over to me. “So… any bad feelings about today?” She so unsubtle-y asked for one of my Wu. I just sighed before taking the letter and pulling out the Juju Fly Trap. She quickly picked it up in her magic and began looking over it intently.

“Isn’t this the Wu you found inside the parasprite? What does it do?”

“Shoots swarms of flies or bees, depending on your preference. It’s called the Juju Fly Trap. Just be careful where you aim that thing.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Of course I’ll be careful. Why wouldn’t I be careful? Besides, this Juju Fly Trap looks less dan-” As she spoke, the end of the fly trap opened and a swarm of flies came out, swarming a pony that was standing on a ladder against a house. The pony began flailing about before the ladder fell over backwards with a thud.

“Whoops.” Twilight said sheepishly. “Sorry!” I just shook my head and opened the letter, determined to keep uninvolved in whatever chaos Twilight causes. The letter was once again in Celestia’s curved, elegant handwriting. And yes, I’m sticking with handwriting despite them not using hands.

Dear Allan,

I am truly sorry I had to cut our last meeting so short. I’m sure you have a lot of questions about your new position and I will try my best to answer as many of them here.

Officially you are now a part of the royal guard. The badge I gave you is a symbol of that. Showing it to anyone will allow you inside most places, as well as gives you access to various documents here in the Canterlot archives. Don’t worry about wearing gold armor or having guard duty though as this is only your official title.

Unofficially you are the first of Luna’s agents. Since her return to Equestria, she had no agents to speak of. Normally one would be allowed to choose who they would like to serve under, but Luna seemed so excited at the idea I couldn’t tell her no. I do hope this is alright with you.

Agent of Luna? I scratched my head in confusion. Sounds like I’ve become James Bond minus the nice tux and a hispanic accent instead of british. For princess and country!

Being an agent of either of us is rather basic. All you are really expected to do is defend Equestria, something you have been doing rather well with so far. Luna may ask of you specific tasks but don’t worry about that. She knows you are a busy man and won’t call upon you unless it is urgent.

Beyond that you can ask Luna, as she will be visiting Ponyville soon for Nightmare Night. Based on what Twilight has sent me of your world, it sounds similar to your Halloween so you shouldn’t be too caught off guard by the festivities.

I wish you the best of luck,
Celestia

I looked over the letter one more time, just to make sure I didn’t miss anything important. So… what? It just sounds like she made my current job official and said ‘keep at it’. Is there really a reason for all this? I sighed before stuffing the paper in my robes. At least she told me Luna was visiting. She was fun to hang around last time.

“Alright Twilight, I’ve got to head to Fluttershy’s. Make sure you don’t hurt anyone too badly with that thing, alright?” Twilight nodded before prancing off. Dios mio, that girl gets too happy when research is involved.

*     *     *

Fluttershy’s house was pretty easy to spot. Just look for the cottage next to the forest of doom covered in every animal known to mankind. And no, I’m not exaggerating. She had a freaking bear in her front yard, just sitting there happily doing nothing. A bear!! Not to mention the birds, rabbits, squirrels, cats, dogs, fish in the nearby pond. I would continue but I’d be here all day.

The animals seemed rather curious of me as I approached the door, a few of them even so bold as to climb on my shoulders. I just let them do their thing as I knocked on the door. I heard Fluttershy’s tiny voice call out, “Be there in a second.” After a few moments the door creaked open, though she froze when she saw it was me.

“Hey Fluttershy. Rarity told me you seemed kind of off put by me and I wanted to make sure nothing was wrong.” She shook her head side to side quickly, her face still the look of fear it had been since the moment she laid eyes on me.

“Fluttershy,” I kneeled down as I spoke softly, “What’s wrong nina?” She looked at me for a moment before suddenly speaking all at once.

“I… I thought you were nice and all but nice people don’t make animals explode, even if they are monster bugs threatening the town. I don’t approve of what you did and I find it horrifying that you shook off what you did to it so easily. I’m so sorry!” She squeaked and hid behind her mane, the sound of sniffling being muffled by her long hair.

“Fluttershy, you’ve got nothing to be sorry for.” I brushed some of her hair aside so I could see her face. “You know, you remind me a lot of my sister.”

She sniffed. “Really?”

“Oh ya. She loved animals. Wanted to become a vet when she got older. She wasn’t shy like you are, but she cared for all animals. I still remember the time she hated me for a week because I stepped on a spider. Eventually I got used to not killing bugs that get in the house or anything like that cause I knew if Rachel saw me, I would get a whole lot of lip.”

“She sounds nice.” Fluttershy smiled a bit. “But then why did you destroy the giant parasprite like you did?”

“I didn’t mean to Fluttershy. I was in a stomach filled with acid being attacked by parasprites. I saw the Shen Gong Wu sticking out of its stomach and went for it. I was more focused on defending you all than making sure the parasprite came out okay.”

“I… think I get. I still don’t like it, but I know you don’t mean to do anything bad.” She gave me a small smile. “Oh, I just remembered. You said you wanted to get a pet, right?”

“Ya, I guess I wouldn’t mind the company. Any ideas what kind of animal would be good for me?”

“Well let me see…” She turned to look around her animal crowded home before turning back. “Oh, do come in.” I stepped inside, the animals that had crawled onto my shoulders jumping off as I got up. The inside of the house was cozy and rather well kept for someone who undoubtedly had a ton of animals running around. A few trinkets and picture frames sat on the shelves along the walls, a small couch and rug being the center of the room for the most part.

“Maybe you’d like a squirrel?” Fluttershy held up a squirrel on her nose. “Or perhaps a raven?” The very same bird flew down and landed on her outstretched wing. “Maybe even a snake?” And just like the other two animals, it appeared, wrapping itself up Fluttershy’s hoof before resting its head next to hers.

“I dunno. I was thinking something a bit bigger.”

“Oh I know! Follow me.” We step back outside and she walked over to the bear. “Harry here is a big guy, but he’s such a softie. Aren’t you?” She scratched the bear under the chin, it cooing as it leaned into her hoof.

“Uh… I don’t think-”

“And he does tricks too! Harry, would you mind?” He shook his head before he began to dance around like some sort of circus bear. He even juggled for a bit before doing a handstand. As he was keeping balance though, one of the balls he had been juggling rolled underneath one of his paws, causing him to fall forward on his back.

“Harry! Are you-” Fluttershy’s concern was interrupted by a strange cracking noise. I looked down to see the earth itself was falling apart. I moved to get Fluttershy out of the way but it was too late as the two of us fell into the darkness below.

“Fluttershy! You need to fly!” I called out to her, the wind whistling in my ears. Currently she was keeping her wings locked tight against her side as she just looked in horror below her.

“I- I can’t!” She screamed. I glanced down to see the ground fast approaching, spurring me into action. “Longi Kite!” The kite formed itself on my back, the wings spreading wide as I angled myself toward Fluttershy. As soon as I had her in my arms I flared the wings, slowing our descent just enough that I could shield Fluttershy from the fall. My back hit what felt like stone as the crumbling earth smashed into the ground nearby, alluding to just how bad we could have had it.

“Allan! Are you alright?” I grunted a bit as Fluttershy got off of me, allowing me to sit up.

“Ya. I’ve taken worse hits to be honest.” I put the kite away before looking around. “Where are we?”

“I don’t know. This isn’t my basement.” Fluttershy glanced about in fear. I stood up and placed a calming hand on Fluttershy’s back before walking over to a nearby wall. The entire thing was made of stone like the floor, a burned out torch being held in a sconce. I grabbed it with one hand as I pulled out the Eye of Dashi with the other. “Eye of Dashi!”

The lightning ignited the end of the torch, giving us much needed light. We were currently in some kind of long tunnel, the way we came in blocked off by the rocks that had fallen with us. A new torch sconce could be seen just at the edge of the darkness.

“Well I guess we should find a way out. Stay close Fluttershy.” She nodded before walking up next to me and we headed down the tunnel. We must have walked for a half an hour before coming across a large room. Pillars lined the sides, leading up to a set of stairs with a pedestal at the top of them. There lied a golden object, a Shen Gong Wu shaped like a serpent.

“Is… is that one of your things?” Fluttershy asked. I nodded to her before glancing around, my instincts screaming at me to be alert. And they were correct as I heard the sound of scales rubbing on stone, accompanied by a low growl. Fluttershy was quick to stick herself to my side, shaking in fear as a giant serpent-like creature weaved itself out from between the pillars, it’s head hanging down before blowing soot in our faces with a snort of its nostrils. I noticed unlike an actual snake, this creature had a set of arms, razor sharp claws adorning the ends of his fingers.

I coughed up what I got in my lungs as I spoke. “Man, I am not getting lucky with the giant creatures lately, am I?” I tossed the torch aside before pulling out the Sword of the Storms in two hands. “You wanna go hombre?”

“Hang on.” The serpent spoke as he moved his head to my side. “Is that the ancient scroll of the Shen Gong Wu?”

“Uh… yes. Why does it matter to you?”

“Why does it matter to me? I know the guy who wrote that thing.” Suddenly the serpent shrunk down to the size of your average snake right in front of us. He stuck a hand out like one would to shake. “Dojo Kanojo Cho, at your service.”

“Uh… Allan. Allan Rhodes.” I awkwardly took his claw in my hand and shook. “Oh, and this is-” Fluttershy was suddenly gone from my side, now having wrapped Dojo in a tight hug.

“Oh, you are so adorable! Just what are you doing down here all alone, you poor thing.” Dojo managed to slip out of her grasp before taking in a gasp of air.

“I… was about to explain that actually. Just… no more hugs for a moment, alright?” Fluttershy squeaked and blushed, clicking her front hooves together in embarrassment. “Now, what was I going to say?” Dojo placed a claw to his chin in thought for a few moments before snapping his fingers. “Oh ya. I knew Dashi, the guy who made that scroll and the Shen Gong Wu. He actually assigned me to guard this Wu imparticular, though I can’t really remember why. It has been fifteen hundred years so my memory might be a little fuzzy.”

“So you’re a fifteen hundred year old, size changing snake with arms?”

Dojo deadpanned at me. “No, I’m a dragon. Was that not obvious?”

I shrugged. “Not really. I’ve seen the dragons in this world and most of them have legs and wings.”

Dojo grumbled. “Of course. The only dragons around here getting rep are the ones with ‘extra appendages’. I can fly just as well as they can, and without wings as a matter of fact!”

I held up my hands in defense. “Woah there hombre. I didn’t mean anything by it. I’ve only been in this world for like three months so having dragons at all is still kinda new to me.”

“What, you some kind of alien? Take me to your leader and all that?”

“Depends who you ask. Twilight calls me a multidimensional alien but everyone else just calls me a human.”

“Huh. Well, I suppose since you are here you can take the Wu. Where did you get the Sword of the Storms from anyway?”

“The scroll. It stores all of my Wu.”

“Really? That’s a new one. All that thing did back when I saw it was gather dust.” He slid up my leg before wrapping around my shoulder. “By the way, you mind if I tag along? I’ll admit after fifteen hundred years of isolation, you get kind of lonely.”

I shrugged. “Hey, whatever you want to do. Certainly wouldn’t hurt to have a dragon around.” The three of us headed up the stairs to the pedestal where the Wu sat. The moment I picked it up, the room began to shake and rumble. The pillars in the room collapsed one by one as the entire place threatened to fall on top of us.

I felt Dojo tug on my collar as he shouted “Use the Wu! Use the Serpent’s Tail before we become pancakes!”

I grabbed onto Fluttershy in one arm before holding out the Wu in the other. “Serpent’s Tail!” Suddenly the Wu began to fly upward with the us hanging on to the end of it. When it reached the ceiling, instead of slamming into it we phased through. We went through various levels of dirt and stone before light suddenly hit all of our eyes and I let go of the Serpent’s Tail, it going inert while Fluttershy and I landed on our butts.

“Wha- how- Allan? Fluttershy? Where- where did you come from?!” We all turned to see Twilight standing there in the middle of her library. Spike was next to her, gawking just as openly as she was. I quickly picked up the tail off the ground and deposited it in my scroll. Dojo was still wrapped around my shoulder, his head spinning somewhat.

“Woah. That’s the Serpent’s Tail for ya. Though I must admit, the whole ‘phasing through solid objects’ thing makes me nauseous.”

“Phasing through solid objects?” Twilight gasped before suddenly teleporting in my face. “You found a Shen Gong Wu that can do that? Please, please, please let me study it!” She said with a grin that would rival Pinkie Pie.

“Uh… later Twilight. You still got the Juju Fly Trap anyway.”

“Woah, woah, woah there sister.” Dojo suddenly moved between the two of us, pushing Twilight back by her muzzle. “Grand Master Dashi entrusted me with keeping the Serpent’s Tail out of anyone’s hands except the dragon warrior who holds the scroll, and I ain’t about to break a fifteen hundred year old promise.” Twilight pouted at the dragon who only z-snapped in her face.

“Dojo, you don’t even remember why he wanted you to keep it safe.” I noted. “Also, what’s the worse someone can do with this?” I called it back out and tossed it between my hands. “I wouldn’t call the ability to move through solid objects an end of the world scenario, especially in a world in which magic barriers are a thing.”

“That may be true, but Dojo Kanojo Cho is a dragon of his word.” He stated as he wrapped himself back around my shoulder.

“You’re a dragon?” Spike spoke up. “You don’t look like any dragon I’ve seen.”

“Well of course you haven’t. People would have you believe that the only dragons around are ones with legs and wings. Never a mention of us sleak, serpent-like dragons. Filthy ingrates.”

“Uh… I think we should go. Fluttershy has a hole to fill up in her front yard and I apparently now have a dragon to take care of.” I got up and opened the door, letting Fluttershy out before I stepped outside.

“But wait!” Twilight called. “What about-” I closed the door before more could be said.

“Yesh. That girl’s a crazy one, ain’t she?” Dojo muttered.

“You have no idea hombre.” I turned to Fluttershy. “Anyway, shall we get you home? We should probably get that hole in your yard covered up as soon as possible.”

“Oh, yes, of course. I’m just happy you found a pet after all.”

Both Dojo and I looked at her shock before turning to each other and then back to her. “What pet?” She only giggled in response before heading down the road to her house, leaving the dragon and I confused.
> The Battle with the Kraken
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Captain Sweetie Belle of the Crusader Pirates stood at the helm of her ship, the wind blowing through her mane. First Mate Scootaloo sat in the crow’s nest, searching the horizon for any signs of plunder while Engineer Applebloom worked below deck on the cannons.

*     *     *

“Remind me why you are captain again?” Scootaloo grumbled from the laundry basket tied to a pole she sat in.

“Cause you wanted to be the first to swing onto enemy ships, and Applebloom is good at fixing things.” Sweetie Belle explained from her spot on the cardboard box below. “Besides, I’m the most tactile of us all.”

“Ah think you mean tactical.” Applebloom poked her head out of a hole in the top of the box.

“Ya, that. Anyway…”

*     *     *

First Mate Scootaloo looked over the ocean with her telescope before shouting “Land Ho!” Soon they had landed on a small iguanish island and went to the nearby tavern for a drink. The bartender was obviously a local based on his accent.

“What can I get you ninas?”

“Apple juice. Three of them please.” The bartender quickly slid down the table three boxes of juice, the straws having already been pierced through the pain-in-the-flank spots in the top. They sat there, sipping happily before the bartender spoke up again.

“You three wouldn’t happen to be looking for adventure, would ya?” The girls grinned at each other before nodding at the nice human. “Well, word is there’s a secret treasure on an island not too far from here. No who has ever gone to get it has ever returned.”

“They never came back?” Applebloom questioned.

The bartender nodded. “Nope. Not hide nor hair of them was seen again.”

“This sounds like a good adventure to me!” Sweetie Belle declared. “Where can we find this treasure?” The bartender reached under the bar and pulled out a map, a dotted line leading from the island they were on to a big red X.

“The trip is filled with danger. Are you sure you’re up for it?”

The Crusader Pirates all nodded in sync. “We never back down from a challenge!”

“No way!”

“No how!”

“Well than,” the bartender leaned back, “buena suerte to you.” The Crusader Pirates darted back to their ship, eager for adventure. The treasure would not be so easily won however as they first had to tackle with mother nature herself. A great storm blew over their ship, threatening to capsize them as the waves tossed them this way and that.

“Hang on everyone!” Sweetie Belle shouted above the roaring winds. The ocean sprayed in her face. “Pta! Saltwater!” She cried as she stuck out her tongue. Scootaloo in the meantime was holding onto the crow’s nest, her wings fluttering in the wind. That ended up nearly being her downfall as she was suddenly picked up by the air and sent toward the briny deep below. A yellow hoof dived out and caught her own however, Applebloom grunting from the exertion as she pulled her friend back aboard.

“Thanks Applebloom.” She said as the two hugged the mast.

“Sure. What are crusaders for?” Applebloom returned with a smile.

It took some time but they managed to make it through the storm in due time. Unfortunately for them though, there was another band of pirates waiting to keep them from their treasure. And they were skeletal pirates nonetheless! The fiends quickly boarded their ship, forcing them to fend them off with cutlass and well placed bucks.

“He he he he he!” The skeletal captain chuckled. “Your souls will serve for an eternity under my crew.” Scootaloo took this as a challenge as she swiped through another skeletal pirate. She quickly climbed the mast, grabbing the rope that hung there before swinging over, giving the captain a hoof straight to the face. His head went flying out unto the sea, leaving the rest of the crew confused and lost, making them easy pickings for the Crusader Pirates.

They looted the skeletal ship, finding bounties of candy and other sweets to satisfy their sweet tooths before blasting it out of the water. They happily dined on chocolate and caramel apples as they reached the island where the treasure laid.

They made land, and stepped into the thick jungle. The sounds of various wildlife echoed through the trees as they cut their way through the vegetation. Suddenly, tribal chanting could be heard as blow darts embedded themselves in the nearby trees, just barely missing the three pirates. They looked back to see ponies in strange masks charging at them, spurring them to run.

“Maybe we can try to make friends with them?” Sweetie Belle cried out as they ran. Another wave of blow darts stuck into the stone right next to her, causing her to yelp. Applebloom quickly nudged her forward.

“Ah don’t think they’re the friendly kind.” They burst through the tree line to find a rope bridge stretched across a huge chasm. With nowhere else to go, they ran across, the tribals hot on their tails. Once every Crusader Pirate was across, Applebloom kicked one of the supports for the bridge, causing it detach itself from the cliff side. The tribals all screamed as they plummeted into the mist below.

“Aw.” Sweetie Belle looked over the edge. “And I thought their masks were cool looking.” Despite the loss of such craftsmanship, the Crusader Pirates continued on. They soon found an ancient temple, and at the top was a golden crown, sword, and apple. Each one of the girls quickly grab a piece of each before heading back to their ship.

“Well,” Sweetie Belle said, the crown sitting on her head “That was a fine day of-” The remainder of her speech was interrupted as a guttural sound echoed through the water. The pirates all looked to the port side of the ship… ehem, port is the left.

“Oh, sorry.” Scootaloo spoke before turning her head the same direction as the others. There, a massive beast rose from the water, tentacles writhing as it grabbed onto the ship. Its massive maw let out another screech before-

*     *     *

Rarity was not having a good day. She had spent so much time putting together dresses for her friends only to have them not like them, forcing her to make adjustments to their inane specifications. And to have them shown in front of Hoity Toity of all ponies. Oh she would never be able to live down the disgrace, the shame, the-

A strange, gurgling sound was heard from the backyard, making Rarity just curious enough to overcome her mood to check it out. When she opened the door to the backyard though she was not expecting to find what she did.

Strewn about the place was what looked like various objects and scenery, as if someone was directing a movie on a children’s budget. There was a tiny little bar that only had apple juice cartons, a cardboard box dressed up to look like a black pirate ship, a small little rope bridge that was now broken, and a step stool with a box at the top that looked to have held something at some point. Not only that, but they’re were strange puppet like things strewn about, made from sticks though with no seeable way to hold them together other than magic.

The strangest part of this all however was who was in the backyard. Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo all stood on another pirate ship, this one with their cute little club logo on it. Each of them sported paper hats and wooden swords on their belts, as well as each holding a crown, apple, and sword respectively that looked to have been wrapped in gold foil. Allan, who had been in charge of looking out for the children, was currently standing next to the ‘ship’, covered in strips of her fabric so that he looked wider. A few of his Shen Gong Wu were strewn about the place, hinting at their use in whatever game of pretend they were playing.

When Rarity stepped into the backyard, the four of them freezed as did she. For a while the two parties just looked at each other before Allan got a smirk on his face. The sash he had wrapped around his waist moved around the ship to where Rarity was standing, wrapping around her barrel lightly before holding her above them all. He let out a ‘monster’ roar, giving Rarity an idea as to what was going on.

You know, she thought After the day I’ve had, I guess I could use a bit of fun. Rarity quickly fell into the part of damsel in distress, throwing a hoof over her head as she cried out. Sweetie and the others were quick to jump to her ‘rescue’ and the game continued, all the while she couldn’t help but smile down at the human as he ‘battled’ the fillies.

*     *     *

The day after I played pirate with the little fillies, Rarity’s friends all apologized to her for putting her under such stress. Course, I didn’t really get what the big deal was. A dress was a dress to me. I didn’t say anything though as I didn’t want to ruin the moment. That same day, Rarity came to the temple as soon my free time for the day came around and dragged me to the boutique.

“I told you Rarity.” I said as she pulled me by my sleeve with magic inside her home. “I don’t need you to repay me for taking care of the fillies.”

“Oh, it’s more than that though!” She practically cheered. “When I came out to see you, I was in a horrible mood. You helped me get out of that and I oh so appreciate it.”

I blushed, as per usual. “Hey, what are friends for, right?”

“Yes, friends.” She nodded perhaps a bit too briskly. “Now, as a friend, I want to do something nice for you. So please let me?” She gave me a pout with watery eyes. It was adorable, but yet again I was immune. Still, I could tell Rarity really wanted to show her thanks and I probably wasn’t going to get out of it anyway so I caved.

“Alright, alright. Just nothing with tons of gems or anything all over it, alright?” Rarity squeed and hugged me.

“Oh you won’t regret it! Now come along, I should double check your measurements in case all that training has helped you fill out anymore.”

That seems odd. I thought as she pulled me onto the pedestal. I wouldn’t think two weeks would be enough to see any major difference. I glanced down at her as she wrapped the measuring tape around various parts of my body. Part of me felt she took a bit too long staring at the number. Eh, what do I know? She’s the seamstress, not me.

Once she was done with the measurements, she headed toward her sewing room. “Now don’t go too far. I should have this done in two hours.” She flicked her tail at me before stepping out, leaving me with little to do.

Sweetie’s at school, Twilight is still busy studying the fly trap, Applejack is probably hard at work though she might be at the apple stand. I stepped out into foyer where Dojo was waiting for me. He was quick to take his place around my shoulder as I headed to the door.

“So what’s the plan for today, chum? Kissing babies, shaking hands, signing autographs?”

“Dojo, you do know my job as a defender of Equestria isn’t public knowledge, right?”

“Well what else are ponies going to think about the only human in the universe training in martial arts and using magical weapons? That doesn’t exactly sound like your average babysitter.”

“Hm… true. I just figured everyone thought the temple was a home for me. Not many have actually seen me train, mainly just build the place. Though I guess the whole ‘fight off a giant parasprite’ thing might have hinted at another purpose.”

“Oh, you think?” Dojo asked sarcastically. “So where we actually heading?”

“I figure we’d see if Applejack is in the market and if she isn’t we’ll figure things out from- duck!” I pulled Dojo down as I kneeled down, a flying rainbow object nearly colliding with me… again. This time whoever it managed to pull up and avoid a nasty crash.

“What’s her deal?!” Dojo cried out as he shook like a leaf wrapped tightly around my shoulder.

“Oh that’s just Rainbow. She likes to roughhouse.” I backflipped over another flyby as Rainbow dove at me another time. “Looks like this time she learned how to not crash.”

“And you just let her do this?!”

I shrugged. “I wouldn’t be lying if I didn’t say I enjoyed our first little tussle.” I ducked again, this time grabbing onto Rainbow’s front hooves as she passed by. Soon we were both airborne, Dojo shutting his eyes as we left the ground.

“Dang Allan.” Rainbow grunted. “You’re heavier than I thought you’d be.”

“Hey! That’s muscle, not fat you’re carrying.” She flew toward a flagpole, aiming just right so that as to try and knock me off. I was faster though as I quickly turned myself around and caught it with the back of my knees. I held onto her hooves tightly as we spun around before letting go, her landing with a thud while I just hanged upside down, eyes spinning. Dojo was looking even more green than usual.

“I think…” his cheeks puffed out “I’m gonna be sick!” He quickly leapt off me toward a nearby trash can, the sounds of him losing his lunch following. Once I could tell which direction was up again I flipped myself onto the ground. I gave Rainbow a hand up as she brushed herself off.

“Okay, you definitely won that one.” She smirked. “Though I gotta admit, you look like a monkey hanging from the flagpole like that.”

“Well this monkey just beat your flank. Looks like I’ve got two now.”

“Yep. Guess I’ll have to step up my game before you start catching up. So what were you and that lizard guy doing before I showed up.”

“Lizard?!” Dojo remarked, now standing next to me after having finished puking. Suddenly he grew, wrapping himself around the two of us so he made a kind of wall. His head was held just above me as she breathed steam from his nostrils. “I am not a lizard!”

“Woah! That… is… awesome!”

“Okay, not the reaction I was expecting.” Dojo shrunk back down before returning to his favorite spot. Dash wasn’t done fangirling however.

“How’d you do that? I’ve never seen anyone get so big before! Well, except dragons, but you got as big as they do in like a second!”

Dojo just grumbled something about ‘stupid, legged, ingrates’ while I explained things to Dash. “He is a dragon actually. Just not the same kind of dragon Spike is.”

“I’ve never heard of other kinds of dragons. Are there more of them?”

“They don’t call me Dojo of the Kanojo Cho clan for nothing. There’s a whole family of dragons like me. At least, there was fifteen hundred years ago.” He put a claw to his chin. “I wonder what happened to them actually.”

I shrugged. “I’m sure we’ll figure it out eventually. If not, we can just ask the princesses. They’re, what? Like almost two millennia old? I’m sure they can tell us.” I looked back at Rainbow. “Anyway, you know if Applejack is working the apple stand today? I’ve got about two hours to kill and figured I’d see if she’s doing anything.”

“Nah. She and her family are apple bucking today. With cider season coming soon they need every bit they can get.”

“Dang. Now what do I do for two hours?” Rainbow, Dojo and I stood there a few moments, pondering our choices before Rainbow jumped up.

“Oh I know! How about you show me some of that training you do?”

“And just why do you want to see me train?”

“Cause I bet its awesome! Doing flips and kicks and punches like wah! Heeya! Hiya!” As she spoke she started doing what could only be described as horrible pony kung fu. Dojo seemed to be getting a laugh out of the show while I just shook my head with a smile.

“Alright, if you really want to see how I train I can show you.”

“Oh! I wanna see too Ally!” Pinkie jumped out from behind Rainbow in such a way that past physicists everywhere rolled in their graves. Meanwhile, Dojo and I just had a small heart attack.

“Ack!” Dojo clutched his chest. “Don’t jump out like that!” Pinkie just gasped before somehow jumping onto my other shoulder without tipping me over. She looked over Dojo with extreme interest as she spoke rapid fire.

“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! I’ve never met something like you before which is funny cause I thought the last new thing I’d meet would be Allen here but then that minotaur that came to train him showed up and I was ‘no way will there be another new thing’ but here you are. Are you a dragon, cause you look like a dragon, although what happened to your legs?” She gasped. “Did someone steal them? Were you a secret agent and they strapped you to a table and were like ‘goodbye Mister Dojo’ as they left you to your doom with a laser, and the only way you could escape was by removing your own legs?!”

“Uh…” was all Dojo could come up with in response, which is more than what I managed my first bout of Pinkie nonsense. I picked the incredibly light mare off my shoulder and placed her on the ground in front of me.

“Yes he’s a dragon. No, no one stole his legs. He was just born that way. Also, how did you know he was called Dojo?”

“He looks like a Dojo. Oh wait, I didn’t mean he looked like a place kung fu master’s train, although that would be really cool! Imagine if you could train your kung fu inside a dragon! Wouldn’t that be amazing?”

“No thanks. I’ve already been in one stomach and that’s was one too many for my lifetime. Anyway, you wanna find a quiet place for me to show you guys how I train?”

“Oh ya! Let’s go out by the Whitetail Woods.” Rainbow took to the sky while Pinkie hopped after her. I just walked at my own pace as Dojo finally processed everything that just happened.

“Did that girl just suggest you learn martial arts in my stomach?”

I shrugged. “It’s Pinkie Pie. Don’t question it.”

*     *     *

I sat crosslegged in a small clearing in the Whitetail Woods, my eyes closed as I meditated. Dojo, Rainbow, and Pinkie sat off to my side as I simply cleared my mind of any distractions.

Especially the distractions from an impatient pegasus.

“I’m bored! When are you going to get to training Allan?”

“This is training Rainbow.” I said without moving. “Master Gongniu says that mastery of one’s self starts from within.”

“Well can’t you skip this part and just show us the cool stuff?” I continued to sit there as Rainbow returned to her groaning. I wasn’t about to skip steps but I did try to speed it up for those watching.

“Alright than.” I stood up and stretched a bit. “Now we can get to the physical part.” Both Rainbow and Pinkie squirmed where they sat as I took my fighting stance and breathed. For awhile I didn’t move, just allowing the wind to blow lightly over the forest.

“Um… Allan?” Rainbow called again. “You gonna-” She didn’t finish as I leapt into the air, grabbing onto a branch and launching myself through the trees. I leapt like a ninja, branch to branch, adding in a few flips and running up and down tree trunks just to show off. I landed back where I started before relaxing and glancing over at my audience. Dojo was still asleep, as he had been from the start, while Rainbow and Pinkie were both just looking at me in shock.

“Woah…” was the first word Rainbow spoke. I blushed a bit as I began to feel kind of off with how they were treating me. “That was so cool!”

“Way to go Ally! Woo hoo!” Pinkie cheered, waking Dojo up from where he slept on a branch and startling him into falling off. “Whoops. Sorry Dojo.”

The dragon just grumbled before getting up. “Alright, is this little show over with? Cause I think it’s about time we got back to Rarity’s.”

“Huh. Good point Dojo. Let’s get going.” I held an arm out for him to slide up before waving to the two mares. “Sorry to cut this short but I shouldn’t keep the lady waiting.”

Pinkie and Rainbow waved goodbye as I headed back into town. By now I knew the way to Rarity’s like the back of my hand so it took no time at all to find myself back in the boutique.

“Oh Allan! Is that you?” Rarity called from the back. I let Dojo slide off onto a pillow Rarity had set out before heading toward her voice.

“Ya, it’s me. I figured it has been about two hours so-” The two of us ran into each other as I turned the corner, myself letting her push into me so she took less of the fall. This landed us with her in my lap and I on my butt.

“Oof! Sorry about that Rar-” I looked at her to see she was red in the face and looking up at me. “Uh, Rarity? You there senorita?”

She cleared her throat, suddenly looking anywhere but me as she climbed off. “Oh sorry about that Allan! I must not have been looking where I was going.”

I shrugged as I got up. “No worries. You alright though?”

“Perfectly fine. Now, let me show you what I made.” She quickly turned, pulling out a suit on a hanger. It was like normal suits for the most part. Black jacket, white shirt, black pants. A nice light blue flower adorned the left side and the buttons on the chest and sleeves seemed to be made of a gem that was white like diamonds.

“So… what do you think?” Rarity actually seemed nervous about what I was going to say about her work. Maybe she isn’t feeling well after all the work recently.

“It’s great Rarity. Muy bien. It’ll do perfectly for the gala.” Rarity sighed in relief before floating the ensemble over to me. I hung it over my arm and was about to say my goodbyes when she suddenly spoke up.

“By the way, do you know what you are going to wear for Nightmare Night?”

Wear for… I facepalmed. Right, pony Halloween. Can’t believe I forgot. “I haven’t gotten anything together yet, though I do have an idea if you are willing to help me.”

“But of course Allan! What were thinking for your costume?”

“Well…”
> The Crow Caws on Nightmare Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I adjusted my wide brimmed hat, making sure the mask over my eyes wasn’t disturbed as I did so. The shirt I wore was a low V-neck, string bringing the two sides together. I gave a quick tug on my boots and gloves to make sure they were secure before pulling out the Sword of the Storms from the scroll underneath my cloak.

“Alright Twilight, you sure you can do this?”

Twilight rolled her eyes with a smile. She was wearing some sort of cliche wizard costume with a blue pointed hat and cloak, along with a beard. “Of course Allan. This is just a simple illusion spell. All I need to do is…” she stuck out her tongue in concentration before taping her glowing horn against the sword. In a flash of light the sword turned into a silver rapier. I grinned as I strapped it to my belt, the new sword tying my Zorro costume together nicely.

Luckily for me there was a version of Zorro in this Equestria so my costume would not go to waste. It was kind of funny how many things transfered over from earth. There’s a pony rip off of Indiana Jones, Disney Princesses, Star Wars, not to mention how the calendar has the same days, months, and holidays. I can’t be the only one who finds that odd, right?

“Come on Allan!” Twilight called from the door. “We should get moving. There’s no way I’m letting you keep Princess Luna waiting!”

I rolled my eyes as Dojo lied down on the brim of my hat before following her out. All of Ponyville was in full holiday swing. Ponies walked around in costumes, playing games like bobbing for apples and spider toss while the fillies, colts, and Pinkie Pie went door to door collecting sweets.

Against the night sky, I noticed a black cloud slinking about, taking up a spot right above before letting out a deafening crash. Pinkie and the foals quickly bolted at the sound while I just looked up at the laughing prankster pegasus. Rainbow was wearing what looked like a Wonderbolts outfit turned black, though I’m not really sure what that was supposed to be.

“Rainbow Dash, that wasn’t very nice.” Twilight scolded.

“Oh cheer up old timer. This is the best time of the year for pranks!” I glanced at Spike to seem him choking on candy while I could feel Dojo clutching my hat.

“Look what you did to Spike and Dojo!” Twilight shot back.

“Eh, it’s all in good fun.” She looked off to the side before jumping up. “Oh! Oh! There’s another one!” She pushed the cloud elsewhere, the sound of thunder and screams being an obvious indication of what was happening. I just rolled my eyes and looked around, finding Applejack over by the apple bobbing stations no less.

“Hola Applejack.” I tilted my hat at her as I approached the scarecrow pony. “Who would have guessed you’d be where the apples are.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Ya, ya. Well somepony’s got to refill these things.” She took a glance at Twilight before muttering to me. “Any idea what Twi is?”

“No idea señorita.” Twilight grumbled some more as applause caught our attention nearby. Mayor Mare was making some kind of announcement

“Thank you everypony, and welcome to the Nightmare Night festival! Now all the little ponies who have been out collecting sweets should follow our friend Zecora to hear the legend of Nightmare Moon.” She tried making a spooky voice to scare anypony but all she got was laughter from the crowd thanks to her clown costume.

Zecora however was perfect for the spooky role, the zebra’s costume being covered in spiders and black. I had never actually seen Zecora before, though apparently she had been mistaken for some evil enchantress. Ironic that she plays the part so well.

“Follow me and very soon, you’ll hear the tale of Nightmare Moon.” She walked toward the Everfree Forest, the foals following right behind. Twilight, Spike, and Pinkie went with them while I just watched the parade of costumed ponies go off.

“You ain’t going with them Allan?” Applejack nudged me with a hoof.

“Nah. I think I had enough Nightmare Moon when she tried to take over Equestria. Besides, Dojo here would probably wet my hat.”

I felt Dojo’s shivering stop for a second as his head popped down in front of mine. “Hey! I ain’t no scaredy dragon! I just have an… allergy! Ya, that’s it.” I rolled my eyes as he returned to his spot, Applejack doing the same as I.

“Well if ya ain’t going to follow the little ones, care to try bobbing for apples?”

“Sure. Sounds like fun. It’ll at least past the time until Luna gets here.” I pulled off my sword and stuck it into the ground before placing my hat on it. Took me a moment to get situated over the barrel but once I was, I dove in. Try as I might though, I could not get a single apple. Eventually I had to come up for air, gasping as I did.

“Alright, this game is a lot harder than it looks.” Applejack just chuckled as I notice Rarity walk over, her hair in a massive bun along with bats in various places. Guess she’s a vampire?

“Hello Allan. I must, that costume looks perfect on you! I’m so glad it came out the way it did.”

I stood up and grabbed my hat and sword as I spoke. “Well you are the one who made it. Of course it came out great.” Before she could respond though the sky began to darken as clouds quickly moved in. The silhouette of a flying carriage pulled by ponies with what looked like bat wings appeared in the sky before the cloaked pony riding in said carriage jumped out. She landed softly, throwing her hood back to reveal an alicorn with midnight blue fur and a mane that moved on its own similar to Celestia’s.

Wait, is that Luna? For a moment, the alicorn seemed to be all business as she looked over the cowering ponies before she spotted me and smiled. “Allan! We are filled with joy to see you enjoying the festivities!” Her voice sounded like it had gone through three megaphones before being blasted right in my ears.

Woah, it is Luna! And maldita sea is she loud!! “Hola princesa. You’ve certainly changed in the past few months.”

She walked over to me as I noticed the ponies were starting to pick themselves up from where they were ‘hiding’. “The same could be said about you. It seems Master Gongniu has had quite the effect on your health. We approve.”

I gave my ears a moment to recover before arching an eyebrow. “We?”

She gave me a strange look. “Yes, we. Is it not customary to use the royal we anymore? We must be honest, modern customs have been… difficult to acquire.”

Ah, right. Spending a thousand years on the moon might make you a bit out of place. “Don’t worry about it Luna. Just turn down your voice, would ya?”

Luna opened her mouth before covering it with a hoof and clearing her throat. “Apologies.” She said in a normal tone of voice. “We- I mean, I have not had much time amongst normal ponies since my return. Much of it has been spent dealing with the nobility. Many were not happy to see another princess be placed so quickly.”

“Ya, but that’s politics. Even in my world it was worse than dancing through a minefield in clown shoes.” Luna giggled, the simple act seeming to boost the scared ponies’ confidence.




Meanwhile, in a far away world in a far away Universe

A being sat in her throne, flanked by five thrones, two on her left, three on right, with one last being standing behind her and to her left.

“I’m telling you, Your Highness, I’m supposed to go on the right!”

“But then it’s not symmetrical!”

“Symmetricality can go pluck itself! We’re talking high society propriety right here!”

The queen pouted, steadfastly ignoring the snickers of her friends behind her and the increasing frustration of her butler/bodyguard.

Her bodyguard adjusted his tie and vest once again, trying not to feel too exasperated. He had, after all, just gotten out of the hospital two weeks prior.

‘Goddamn, even with magic, my arm hurts so damn bad right now’

“Anyway, Highness-” “How many times have I told you not to tell me that!?” “-...thirty seven, including this time. Very well, Miss Twilight, what about that scrap of parchment you have there? We all know it’s magical, but I’m afraid that the message on it may simply be a trap.”

Said message went as such, “I am the Xiaolin Dragon of Light. If you fight for peace, then I am an amigo of yours. Evil better beware though, ‘cause as long as I'm around I refuse to let the world fall to darkness."

Queen Twilight wanted to find some way of bringing the ‘Dragon’ into the world, her butler, Crow, thought it was a terrible idea, but would defer to his queen no matter what she did.

“How do you suppose we even summon this ‘Dragon’ anyway? There’s no instructions on it.”

The lavender monarch flipped the scrap over in her hands, eyeing it for any obvious instructions.

“No idea, Crow, but maybe we just… call him? her? forward? Can’t be too difficult, I imagine.”

Crow hid his face behind an immaculately pressed sleeve, “This will only end badly, I’m sure. And I’m still recovering from my injuries to boot.”

“Oh get over it Crow, me and the girls have it covered. I am Queen of Equestria for a good reason, you know.”

“You were elected into office after some nobles took notice of your raising the sun and moon two and a half months ago.”

“Hush,” standing and raising the scrap of parchment, Queen Twilight Sparkle announced with all of the ceremony and pomp she was capable of, “Xiaolin Dragon of Light! I, Queen Twilight Sparkle, summon you forth to this world! Heed my summons and come forth!”

A moment passed with nothing happening. Rainbow Dash coughed in the background before Rarity slapped the propriety back into her.

*     *     *

Luna and I, after getting over the initial awkwardness of everyone thinking she was the evil bringer of night, started heading around and playing games. We did apple bobbing (which neither of us were good at), spider toss, and I even got to do the Zorro ‘Z’ slash in a poster when Luna asked what my costume was. Overall it was a good-

“Xiaolin Dragon of Light! I, Queen Twilight Sparkle, summon you forth to this world! Heed my summons and come forth!”

I turned, expecting to see Twilight behind me only to see no one. Well that’s weird. I could have sworn I heard Twilight call herself a queen.

“Is something the matter Allan?” Luna asked, my stopping in the middle of the road having piqued her interest.

I shook my head. “No, I don’t think- hey, what the?!” Suddenly the Golden Tiger Claws were strapped to my hand and had a mind of their own, pulling me this way and that before slashing a portal and pulling me inside.

“Allan!” I heard Luna call behind me, looking back to see her jump in just as the tear closed behind her. All of us, Dojo included, after a time in the kooky light effects tunnel, were dropped onto a floor made of… Wait, is this crystal?

“Uh, you might wanna get up for this.” Dojo nudged me through the hat.




Crow started as a human and a decidedly not anthropomorphized pony dropped out of nowhere from a tear in reality. As they impacted the shining crystal floors of the palace -‘Goddamn this place is so gaudy’- Crow noticed the golden weapon attached to the human’s hand and the rapier at his belt and immediately shifted into ‘battle mode’, teleporting behind the human and pinning him to the ground with a foot to the spine and a knife at the throat, ready to spill blood at a moment’s notice.

“I see you’ve brought weapons into my liege’s castle. A most unorthodox manner of entry as well. So, have anything to say before I take out the garbage?”

“Uh, let’s see… I have about four señor. Sword of the Storms!” Suddenly the rapier on his belt faded away to reveal a sword made of the same golden metal as the claws he wore. The wind picked up around Crow, throwing him off as the man in black handsprung onto his feet and drew the blade.

Crow himself exploded into a mass of feathers, reappearing in his mission clothing and landing on his feet.

“So it’s a sword fight you want, eh? Then bring it!”

With more explosions of feathers, two pitch black katanas appeared in Crow’s hands, one with a serrated blade, one with a barbed tip.

The man tossed his hat aside, the creature wrapped around it yelling as it landed on top of the pony’s head. He took up a stance with the sword in one hand, holding it like the rapier it no longer was. “Come at me.”

“As you wish.” 

Crow charged at the intruder, swinging both his katanas in hopes of scoring a quick disarming and an easy victory. As both of his swords failed to impact the golden scimitar, Crow, surprised beyond belief, unbalanced himself for a split second as he attempted to change his strike into a disabling slash with the flat of both blades. With him thrown off as he was though, Allan brought his foot and empty palm forward, tripping and tossing him over his head.

Allen did a quick spin of the sword in his hands before turning to Crow with a smirk. “Gotta keep those instincts a bit sharper than that to beat me hombre. Now how about you calm down before-”

“Fire.”

With one simple, deadpan word, Crow brought Allan to a pause before the the hispanic man had to frantically backpedal to avoid the twenty knives burying themselves into the ground at his feet.

“You were saying?”

“Alright, that was kind of neat.” Allan shrugged, the sword disappearing into a scroll on his back. “It won’t work a second time though.”

“Wanna bet?” Crow leapt into the air, throwing both his katanas, which dissolved into clouds of feathers that launched themselves and embedded into a huge tunic of armor that appeared around Allan.

“Two Ton Tunic.” He smirked as the tunic shrank into a regular shirt as a bulbous object formed in his hand. He pointed it at Crow before uttering “Juju Fly Trap!” A cloud of flies shot out of the open mouth, swarming Crow within seconds.

“Son of a bitch!” Crow cried, slamming back into the ground covered in flies. He rolled around in a futile attempt to dislodge the disgusting insects before finally giving up and disappearing with rush of feathers. Once he was gone, Allan took up a fighting stance, his hands in front of him as he scanned the room around him.

“Come on hombre. I gotta get back to Nightmare Night. I don’t have time to deal with you.”

Crow fluttered in right behind an oblivious Allan, waiting but a moment before tapping on the man’s shoulder and whispering, “Right behind you,” flurrying away immediately afterwards. Allan swiped where he once was before grumbling.

“Oh come on!” He threw his arms to his sides. “I already told you I don’t have time for this mierda!”

“Fine. SIDE KICK!” And Crow did exactly as he said, side kicking Allen into a wall in a slight spray of blood.

Strangely enough, Allan was still more or less unharmed, grunting as he hit the crystal. He noticed some of the blood spray that was on him before glancing at Crow. “Wait, this isn’t mine. Are you fighting me while you’re hurt? You loco?!”

Crow merely stood up straight, a faint trickle of blood dripping from his pant leg onto the ground. 

“I’m charged with the personal safety of Queen Twilight Sparkle, and you just popped in out of nowhere with weapons. What am I supposed to do?”

“I dunno, maybe learn to not attack people on sight? I ain’t about to threaten anyone without a good reason, and that reason usually has something to do with the world being in danger or something.” As he spoke, the Wu he had on him disappeared into his scroll and he crossed his arms.

“Hmph. I suppose you have a point. Milady?” Twilight shifted her gaze from Crow’s leg, “Yes, Crow?”

“If you need me, I’ll be in the infirmary re-stitching my leg and abdominal wounds. Please keep safe while I return momentarily.” And Crow fluttered away, the only traces of him being the droplets of blood on the ground and the scattered feathers all over the place.

“Well at least that’s over.” He glanced at Twilight and the others who watched with varying degrees of interest. “I’m just gonna check on my friends.” He didn’t wait for a response before heading over.

*     *     *

After the crazy guy was gone, I headed over and kneeled down next to Luna and Dojo. “Hey, you two alright?”

Dojo shook his head vigorously. “Golden Tiger Claws. Wish I never had to experience those particular Wu again. Also, what was with feather brain?”

“Dunno. Apparently I threatened his queen who looks an awful lot like Twilight if she had hands and other human parts I won’t go into detail about.”

Luna moaned before getting up, looking kind of green. “Where… where are we? And why are there ponies on two legs? And how did we get in a crystal castle? There hasn’t been a building like this since we lost the crystal empire to Sombra a thousand years ago.”

“That’s because you’re in Queen Sparkle’s personal Friendship Castle, uh… Princess... Luna,” Rainbow spoke up from her throne, having shifted into a slouch as soon as Crow disappeared. I turned around, looking over the strange half human versions of my friends. 

“So… anyone want to explain que demonios is going on? Cause suddenly finding myself in a crystal castle with weird looking versions of ponies I know and being attacked ain’t exactly my ideal way to spend Nightmare Night.”

Applejack spoke up this time, “Beats us, last thing t’ happen ‘fore y’all came here was Twi’ fussin’ around with some scrap a’ paper or somethin’. Made a pretty speech n’ y’all popped straight outta nowhere!”

Twilight said nothing, only blushing and hiding her face behind one of her immaculately manicured hands.

“Scrap of…” I facepalmed. “My totem. Right. I didn’t think it would spread that quickly. Probably didn’t help that I dropped in here dressed as Zorro when you were expecting a Dragon of Light.” I glanced around at the group of… I guessed they would be called anthros? Never really was into that kind of thing but hey, I don’t judge. “Did you call me here for a reason? You know, other than the usual Twilight reasoning of ‘I must discover everything’?”

“Well, Mr….?” Twilight started her sentence, but paused when she realized she didn’t know her guest’s name.

“Allan Rhodes, but Allan is just fine. I feel like an old man when people use my last name.”

Twilight continued, “Well, Mr. Rhodes, that… that actually was my reasoning this time. I saw your… Totem? appear out of nowhere and then I decided that I just had to learn about it.” She finished her sentence with a hesitant grin, a blush still present on her face.

I sighed. “Of course. Seems no matter what world you go to, Twilight is still Twilight. Still, I have no idea how I even got here so we might be stuck.”

Luna got up, the Zorro hat still on her head. Which, by the way, made her even more adorable… dios mio, what has caballo world done to me? “Perhaps this Twilight could be of assistance? That is, if you still insist that ‘Twilight is still Twilight’.”

I shrugged. “Worth a shot.” I turned back to Twilight. “So, you wanna help me figure out how to cross dimensions?”

“Of course! Helping friends is always something worth doing!” The Queen brightened up, losing her blush and nearly jumping out of her seat.

“Settle down, my liege. You’ve only known this person for less than five minutes. I’d hesitate to call him a friend already.” Crow shattered the moment by descending from the rafters and landing behind and to the right of Twilight, back in his butler uniform.

“In other news, the doctors managed to heal the worst of my wounds… again.”

“I see they didn’t fix the feather brain though.” Dojo muttered as Luna held back a snicker.

“I heard that little man! You wanna go!?” Apparently Crow had managed to hit his head on the way back, that, or he was hopped up on the massive dose of painkillers that he’d taken to dull the pain of magical healing and stitches.

I waved a hand. “Ignore Dojo. He doesn’t know when to keep his tongue in his mouth.”

Crow grumbled a little, taking up his position behind Twilight again, “Fine. But motormouth or not, next insult to come out of his mouth gets him thrown into the Roost.” One could practically hear the capital ‘R’.

“Um… okay?” I shrugged. “Anyway, I’m guessing you’re the hombre who suddenly ended up in a world not his own, right?”

“Yes, yes I am. How did you know?”

“It’s a more common story than you would probably guess. Apparently we’re called Displaced, and there are piles of us across the multiverse who got thrown into caballo and…” I glanced at the anthro ponies. “Sorta caballo worlds.”

“Ah, could you repeat that? My spanish lineage kinda died like…. eight generations ago. I’m afraid I don’t know what caballo means, though I can take a guess.” Crow shrugged, polishing his glasses with the handkerchief in his vest.

“It means horse. Like how the ponies in my world look like this,” I pointed to Luna “while the ones in your world look like that.” I waved my hand over the rest.

“Ah. Well that makes perfect sense. So, now that my adventurous spirit has been stoked, how, may I ask, would I find my way to these worlds? Would I need some sort of object like that scrap of paper of yours?” Crow adjusted his glasses once more.

“That would be a token, and you don’t actually need one. That’s just if you feel like putting yourself out there as a sort of helper for other Displaced. As for travelling between worlds…” I pulled out the Golden Tiger Claws. “These things somehow got me here when you called. Still not sure how though. I was actually hoping your Twilight could figure out how to send us back.”

“Highness? Thoughts?”

“Well, judging from the facts presented… It seems as though these… ‘Tokens’ form a contract between the user and the summoned being, so maybe terminating the contract would be enough to send you back… but, um, if you don’t mind…. could you stay a bit longer? I have a lot of questions I’d like answered.” Twilight blushed again, poking her fingers together.

I shrugged. “Sure. Figure I might as well warn Crow like Kat and Ben did for me. There aren’t exactly a lot of good Displaced out there.”

“Well then, let’s begin!” One thing constant about Twilight Sparkles nearly everywhere: Research is in their blood, and any amount of undiscovered information would be milked for all it was worth.



Twilight Sparkle’s Little Shop of Ho- I mean Twilight Sparkle’s laboratory

“Let’s start with something simple: Names?”

“Uh… our names?” Allan questioned, just looking around at the crazy tech in the lab as Luna and Dojo did.

“Yes, names. We might as well start off with something simple to start off the documentation.” Twilight had somehow acquired a near manic gleam in her eyes between the time they had left the throne room and descended into the lab.

“I’d not question the Queen; the last time someone interfered with one of her experiments, well, they’re still picking splinters out of Blueblood’s ass.”

Allan threw his eyes open in shock, muttering, “And I thought my Twilight was research loco. Well, I’m Allan Rhodes, Xiaolin Dragon of Light.”

“Princess Luna of the Night.” Luna bowed slightly.

“Dojo Kanojo Cho. Fifteen hundred year old dragon.” The snake-like dragon had wrapped himself around Allen’s shoulder, his costume having been abandoned back in the throne room for a set of monk robes he wore underneath.

“ C.. h… o… There. Now, on to more difficult questions. Hmmm, what’s your Equestria like? What year is it there? I’m assuming Princess Celestia is still in power since Luna is here, what happened to Nightmare Moon? Is there anything unique about your Equestria? What’s the most dangerous thing in Equestria right now, as in, villains, mad scientists, criminals?...” The questions went on and on, flung at a rapidfire pace more suited to a machine gun than a list of questions.

“Uh… que dices senorita?”

Crow decided then to save their poor souls, “So, how ‘bout them Displaced?”

“Right… Well, let me see what I can remember. Right off the bat I can tell you Kat and Ben are fine. Ben can be kind of rude but he’s still a cool hombre. They also mentioned a few other good ones. One was called Auric, and his token is a gold coin. Another is Gilgamesh, who apparently just shows up wherever he wants.”

“I see… So, what about Tokens? How does one make these? And what are they limited to?”

“They can be anything really. How they are made varies by the person though. I couldn’t really imitate Kat’s whole ‘mental message’ thing so I did what I could with my abilities. If you want one, maybe you can use a feather or something. I’m sure Twilight could figure something out for you.”

“Hmm, I think I’ll give it a go…” Crow concentrated, forming a sleek, black throwing knife out of feathers, charging it with as much mana as he dared, “My liege? Do I have your permission to do this?”

“Stop referring to me like that! And yes, go ahead Crow.”

“I am Crow Murder, the Queen’s Assassin. If you are in need of aid, call my name and throw my blade, and watch the blood fly.” With that, Crow flung his knife forward at nothing in particular. As it traveled across the room, it burst into a swirling mass of rainbow colored feathers and ozone, disappearing from one reality and appearing in nearly all others.

“Well that was flashier than what I did. I just gave mine to Kat and it sort of spread.” Allan shook his head. “Anyway, now for bad guys. The main ones they warned me about were Makuta Teridax, The Triad of Madness, and someone named Don. Also, a lot of Displaced may help you only because they want favors in return so be careful with who shows up.”

“Hmph, to be expected, I suppose. C’est la vie, though. So, I’m still a little banged up and tired, would you like to adjourn to the lounge for some refreshments? I could use a drink myself.”

“Just a sec.” Allan summoned the golden claws again before holding them out to Twilight. “Mind looking over these and figuring out how to send us back? I’d let my own Twilight do it if I wasn’t so worried she’d replicate them.”

“Of course! I’m always happy to study magical artifacts! … Ah… would it be alright if I studied another one? I’d like to compare the differences in the magical signatures of the two…”

Allan thought about it for a moment before holding his hand above his head. A dragon kite appeared in his hand. “Here. This is called the Longi Kite. It basically gives someone the abilities of a pegasus from what I’ve found.”

Twilight nearly squealed, snatching the kite away from Allan before disappearing into the depths of her lab, both Shen Gong Wu with her. As she vanished, a growl came from Luna, the alicorn looking down at her stomach with a blush.

“There was only sweets to eat back in our world, and they were meant for foals.” Allan chuckled before turning to Crow.

“Ya, some food would be nice now.”

“Alright then, we’ll leave Twilight down here for now; she’ll be fine. So, follow me.” Crow led the misplaced group upstairs into the foyer, stopping here and there to show off a bit of the castle.

“And here we have the library; it’s still being stocked, but it is filling up rather quickly. It currently boasts a collection of 1,632 books, ranging from simple children’s novels to advanced spell books. We can revisit here later if you like; it’s one of the best sources of entertainment in the castle… other than the TV room in the lounge, but that’s mostly Spike’s.”

“You guys have TV? Cabrones con suerte.”

“We have a lot of the technology present in early twenty first century Earth, though the automobile industry is…. lacking… in sports cars and motorcycles. Mostly cargo trucks and the occasional luxury car, really. I could go into detail, but that would take entirely too long. Suffice to say, the internet is also a thing here too. Oh, what fortuitous timing, a data terminal!” Crow paused in front of a large, clear sheet of crystal embedded in the wall at an angle, “This is basically a tablet computer on Earth, except magical in nature; you can use it to browse the internet in any way you like… though be warned, some things are quite different. Educational information is much easier to find, for one.”

“That doesn’t sound like any Internet I know of.” Allan chuckled as Luna marveled at the device, eyes glittering.

“Welcome to Equestria, Allan, we have much straighter priorities than earth ever did. Anyway, the data terminals can be found in most hallways, or if you plan on staying the night, there’s a private one in each room… just don’t try to remove them.” Luna looked slightly disappointed before following after the group.

After a few minutes more of walking, the strange entourage came to a closed door, one with delectable smells wafting under its surface.

“And here we are, the kitchens. Follow me, this will take but a moment.” Pushing the door open and shuffling inside, Crow waved to each of the various ponies within the massive kitchen.

“Golden Harvest, lovely to see you again, how’s Derpy? Apple Turnover! I haven’t seen you in weeks! How’s the cold? All better, I hope. Pumpkin Cake! What are you doing in here!? Pinkie! Take your godchild, will you!? Ah Sweet Roll! I’m gonna need to borrow some of your delectable rolls, you don’t mind, do you? French Roast, lovely as ever I see! A pot of coffee, sil vous plaît. Thank you~....”

On and on it went, Crow greeting each member of the staff in sequence, occasionally taking a spare plate of food or two, until his arms were laden down with trays of refreshments and drinks. He pushed his way through one last door on the opposite end of the kitchen, one that led to a massive room, furnished with only the best furniture, and dominated with a massive entertainment system directly to the right of a large bookcase.

“And here we are, the lounge/common room. It’s basically the hub of traffic on this level, every hallway leads to it at some point. Well? Sit, sit, help yourselves!”

The group sat down and started eating, Dojo shoveling down food rather pig-like while the others ate with some actual manners. Luna took a seat up against Allen, him not seeming to mind it either way.

“So, I recognize the little green one… Xiaolin Showdown, yes?” Crow asked, between immaculate bites of sweet roll and dainty sips of coffee.

“Yep.” Allan swallowed what he had been chewing. “Don’t really remember the show is the problem. Been kind of winging it.”

“You should have seen the first showdown he was in. It was quite comical.” Luna giggled as Allan grumbled a bit with a blush.

“I imagine it was quite comical. So, down to business. You’ve given my queen two artifacts of great, though not quite unknown, power to study. Now, me being me, I’m allowed to authorize simple trades. So, what would you have me give you in return for such a gift?” Crow leaned back and steepled his fingers, looking for all the world like a daywalking vampire in a butler suit and glasses.

Allan scratched the back of his head in confusion. “Trade? Nah, the first one was because she needs to figure out how to get us back. And the other is because I don’t see much harm in it. You don’t need to give me anything.”

Luna nudged him in the leg. “Perhaps you should ask for one of those devices we passed. I would very much like to see what they are capable of.” Allen seemed to think about it for a moment before glancing at Crow as if to say “well?”.

Crow considered the notion, “Well… one data terminal out of millions isn’t exactly going to be much of a problem…. I’ll need to get it enchanted so it lasts as long as possible… and I’ll need to fill it with useful files or somehow connect it to the Internet across dimensions…. but it’s doable. Very well, you shall have one data terminal for services rendered to the state of Equestria.” He seemed inordinately proud of himself.

Allan rose an eyebrow at this behavior. “O… kay than. If it helps, I’ve got a limitless source of electricity so you shouldn’t need to worry about powering it. And honestly, just fill it with games, movies, and stuff. That’s probably one of the few things I miss of human worlds.”

Crow sat back and thought, “Well, I don’t know if you’ll be able to enjoy such entertainment due to it not being from earth… but… aha!” He was unable to keep the smile off of his face as he leapt into the air and vanished before returning with a data terminal in a strange metal case and his visor.

“Whatcha got there?”

Crow grinned a crazy grin, “This is my visor, from earth! It’s not just any visor, though, it’s got everything you asked for and more!” He fiddled with both, receiving an affirmative beep from his visor and a slight glow from the tablet.

“So, wait, that visor had everything from your Earth? I ain’t no computer wiz, but I’m pretty sure that thing shouldn’t have that big of a hard drive.” Luna was just completely fascinated, both by the conversation and the devices.

Crow waved him off, “Nothing of the sort. It just combined some of the best technology on the planet to create a six thousand terabyte storage system with multiple backup drives. The visor functions as a really, really amazing smart phone, though lately the phone part has been abandoned for the walkie-talkie function. What I meant is that it has hundreds of movies, games, songs, tv shows, and even martial arts forms stored within it. Thankfully, the magic of Equestria allows the rune matrices on the data terminal to store almost as much as my visor, so I should be able to facilitate a good data transfer and fill this empty terminal with enough data to last you for years. If you’d like, I can include some of the local flavor too, though don’t expect a lot of it.”

Allan shrugged. “I’m sure whatever you put on there will be fine. After all, it’s more for Luna’s curiosity than my own entertainment. I spend a lot of free time training and hanging out with ponies.”

“I see, well I’ll be sure to include the best of earth entertainment… as I see it, at least. Hmm… Gonna need this… and this…. and this…. not that… hell no… nope… nope… yes… no…” Crow trailed off, his fingers working furiously as he transferred frankly ludicrous amounts of data onto the data terminal. The work continued on for the next fifteen minutes, Crow stopping occasionally to nibble at a pastry or take a sip of coffee.

Finally, Crow finished with a triumphant “Done!” and disconnected both devices, the visor vanishing in a burst of feathers, the terminal powering down as Crow etched something into its case.

“Huh. Here I thought that much info would take longer.”

“Psh, some of the best tech on one planet, and some of the best magic on another, and you think data transfers would be slow? Nah, man, this is easy. I was just sorting through folders and data collections. Well, we got the best of earth entertainment, from movies to literature, history to video games. Enjoy, Princess.” Crow handed over the etched tablet, motioning for the both of them to try it out.

Luna poked it with a hoof hesitantly while Allan just rolled his eyes and picked it up. He tapped it a few times before looking up. “Seems easy enough. Like a computer back home. Though what is this?” He turned the tablet over to look at whatever Crow had carved into it.

Crow traced it with a finger, one part of the etching glowing a faint, comforting blue. “This is a rune matrix, it ties the terminal to your magical signatures, so that no one else can use it without your express approval.” He moved on to another section, glowing a faint green, “This one is a protection matrix, which renders the terminal nearly indestructible and anchors it so that it can’t be stolen.” Another section, this one red, “This one is an ambient mana collector, which allows it to run off of the ambient mana, so long as it needs the power, at least.” One final section, this one yellow. “And this last one is an alternate power source that produces power from whatever it can, from wind energy to solar power. It also functions like a backup, preventing unrecoverable data corruption.” 

The runic matrix looked like nothing but a highly intricate circle, but as it lit up, Allan saw the truth: Crow had carved the matrices to look exactly like the Google Chrome symbol. He rose an eyebrow at Crow.

The assassin shrugged, “It seemed like a funny idea at the time. Besides, the matrix naturally looks like that. The only other matrix that offers even remotely the same effects looks like the Windows logo. Well, another one looks like the Apple logo… but… well…” Crow trailed off and shrugged again.

“I won’t ask.” Allan stuck the tablet under his arm. “So, should we check on Twi and see if she’s done?”

Crow straightened up once more, disappearing from his butler outfit and reappearing in a simple set of t-shirt and cargo pants. “Alright, let’s go. The Queen should be done by now anyway.” He led the group from the room, leaving behind several empty platters of food for the castle staff to clean up. Dojo was slung over Allen’s shoulder in a food coma as Luna followed close behind, though she glanced at the tablet every once in awhile.

*     *     *

Once we made it back to Twi’s lab, she looked like… well, like she had been working nonstop for hours on end. In other words, like Twilight usually looks like. She was looking over something on a table with her back turned to us. Crow went all formal as we entered but I wasn’t really into the whole ‘queen’ thing so I just asked, “What up señorita?”

Twilight rocketed straight up, spinning around with enough force to completely ruin her already messy hairdo. “Oh, hi Mr. Rhodes! Well, I’ve completed preliminary investigations of the claws, and have discovered that one need only supercharge the claws with mana in order to cross the interdimensional barrier keeping our Universe from yours. Though, I have also found that one must first terminate the contract keeping you here. I believe that terminating the contract will allow your so-called Token to activate the claws and send you home. The readings for both seemed to indicate a connection, though exactly what it was I can’t be sure. I also took the liberty of duplicating the magic of the “Shen Gong Wu” without some of the more extraneous parts- the wager part of them was quite difficult to work around- and I made some copies of them. I hope that I haven’t overstepped my bounds.” She motioned towards a black, clawed glove and a strange harness looking object.

My eye twitched a bit as Twilight continued unimpeded. “Of course, I didn’t have anything like the original forms just lying around, so I had to input the magic ‘web’ into this gauntlet and this harness, though both should have the same effects as before. Are you alright? Your eye is twitching.”

“... Ben, I blame you for this. You convinced me Twilights wouldn’t cause problems…” I muttered to myself before facepalming. “And what do you mean ‘wager part’? That’s a magical contract built into them. Not even the most powerful magic users in my world could put a scratch in understanding it, let alone break it.”

Twilight blinked twice in surprise, eyes wide, “Really? How odd. It was quite simple to excise, though I suppose that was just due to me actually copying and holding the magical matrix in front of me…. Magitech is very useful. I suppose that a lack of incredibly advanced technology may have been the reason. The equipment in here allowed me to view the magic inside the gauntlet down to a very fundamental level, which let me extract and untangle the unnecessary bits.” She seemed very proud of her accomplishment.

I was about to snap, what with now having to deal with two more Wu, but then I realized something. They would be in this world, a world that Wuya has no idea exists. This might not be so bad. Still can’t let Twilight copy Wu, but I guess other worlds are safe enough. “Alright, I guess you can keep those. Normally I’d be kind of pissed but considering the amount of power it takes to cross worlds, you guys should be safe.”

“Oh that’s wonderful! Thank you, Mr. Rhodes. You’ve done a great service to Equestria today.” Twilight bowed and handed back the Wu. The kite turned into light, entering my scroll as I strapped on the claws.

“Well, if everything’s all done, mind if we hit the road? Dojo ate a bit too much.”

Twilight nodded, “Alright then, I hope this works. Ahem, Xiaolin Dragon of Light! I hereby declare our contract complete! You may return from whence you came!”

I looked at the claws and… nothing happened. “Uh… you sure that’s what-” Just as before, the claws began to go haywire, tugging me around the room before tearing a hole in reality.

“Luna, come- woah!” And then I was pulled in, Luna jumping in after me.

*     *     *

We were all thrown on our faces, the familiar taste of grass filling my mouth. You’d think I was cursed or something. Once I picked myself up, I looked to see us sitting on a hill overlooking Ponyville. It looked like Nightmare Night was all wrapped up and almost every pony had hit the hay.

“Well… I suppose one can grow used to such a method of travel.” Luna groaned as she picked herself up. She noticed the town just as I had and seemed saddened. “We… we missed our celebration of the night.”

Mierda, I’m stupid! I completely forgot this was Luna’s holiday. I placed a hand on her back. “Sorry you got dragged along on my crazy business.” She didn’t seem much happier despite the apology and it was killing me to see her like that. Of course, than I remembered what I had under my arm.

“You know, if you aren’t doing anything the rest of the night, I’ve got an idea of how I can make it up to you.” She looked at me, a hint of confusion in her sad look before it quickly changed to curiosity as I pulled the tablet out. I quickly found just what I was looking for: Portal 2. The perfect game for a one thousand year old princess. I slid two pieces off the back of the tablet, the small squares holding an assortment of buttons. I held the controller out to Luna, which she took in her magical grasp and began fiddling with like a curious cat.

“Just what is this strange device? And how does it interact with this metal tablet?”

“It’s not called a metal tablet Luna.” I chuckled. “It’s just called a tablet because it’s flat.” Luna blushed before looking away with a huff. I just laughed some more before starting the game.

And that’s how I spent my first Nightmare Night. Sitting on a hill, lying against a pony princess of the night and a snoring komodo dragon playing Portal 2 on a tablet from another dimension.

Dios mio, my life has gone loco in the past few months. I yawned and glanced at Luna to see she had fallen asleep snuggled against me. And why is it that she’s so maldita sea cute? I shrugged it off, lying into her side as she mumbled a bit in her sleep, curling up around me like a cat. Well if the two sisters were having a soft hair contest, Luna definitely… I yawned again … wins. In moments I fell asleep, the glow of the tablet and the light from the stars and moon above being the only illumination we had.

> Ponies can dance, and apparently so can I
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I stood outside Carousel Boutique, tugging at the collar of my suit not out of nervousness but because I hated the fancy thing. Despite it being form fitted for me I still felt like it was tight and uncomfortable, overall giving me a sense of unbalance that unnerved my combat senses. I wouldn’t be listening to its desires for the suit to be destroyed however, at least not until the night was over.

Unfortunately for the event I was left without my scroll, something I would have normally been highly against but all six ponies tried to convince me nothing would go wrong. I’m a rather hardcore believer of Murphy’s Law though, so the moment they said that I knew I needed to be prepared. I couldn’t do much without them getting pissy and I really didn’t want to deal with that so I hid the Eye of Dashi in my coat pocket and managed to make the Third Arm Sash into a belt of sorts. 

Spike had managed to get himself inside the girls’ dressing room, though why Rarity was so against it I will never know. I was fine with just sitting outside with Dojo. If anything I was happy Spike had managed to get in as he still seemed to have issues with me.

Dojo suddenly snorted and sat up, apparently having fallen asleep. “Wha? What year is it?”

“Same year buddy.” Dojo leapt onto my shoulder before stretching and scratching his back.

“Can you blame me? Those girls are taking forever to get ready.”

I shrugged. “That’s girls for you. Seems whether you are a pony, human, or anything else, the female takes forever to get out of the dressing room.”

We stood there for a few more minutes before Dojo spoke up again. “So why are you going to this thing anyway? You don’t seem to be the suit kind of guy.”

“You hit the nail on the head there. I’m just going because the princesses invited me and it’s polite.” I paused for a moment before adding. “Plus seeing Luna again would be worth pushing through all the fancy mierda.”

“Ooooo! Getting sweet on the princess huh?” Dojo nudged me with an elbow. I could feel my face heat up before I swatted the dragon off my shoulder.

“It ain’t nothing like that. She’s just… fun to hang out with.”

Not to mention kind of hot. I hit myself upside the head. Dios mio, whatever got to Ben is getting to me now.

“Whatever you say, lover boy.” Dojo teased, returning to my shoulder. “Hope there’s a nice buffet there at least.”

“If not, Applejack will have some food for sale. Don’t expect me to pay though. I know how you eat.” Dojo gave me a full on puppy dog face complete with lip quiver. “You taking lessons with Sweetie Belle? You’ve gotten better. Answer’s still no by the way.”

Dojo sulked, though before he can reply the door opened and out stepped the girls wearing their various dresses. They all headed to the apple carriage Twilight had prepared with magic, Spike taking the front seat. As the last pony stepped into the carriage, Rarity realized just what I had.

“There isn’t anymore room in here, is there? Maybe Allan should sit with Spike at the front.” I glanced up at the dragon to see him giving me a stare that told me sitting with him wasn’t going to end well. Dojo must have seen it as well as he gave me a way out.

“No need.” He leapt off my shoulder and grew to his full size. “All aboard the Dojo Express. Next stop, the Grand Galloping Gala.”

“Are you sure you’ll be alright Allan?” Rarity asked as I leapt up on Dojo’s back.

“I’m riding into Canterlot on a dragon. I think I’ll be alright senorita.” I grinned back. “We’ll see you there!” Dojo took off before any of the ponies could say anything else, leveling off a few seconds later.

“Yesh. That little guy is not a fan of you, is he?” Dojo turned his head slightly as we floated toward Canterlot.

“Ya. I think it has to do with his crush on Rarity, though I don’t get why he’s still mad. I haven’t lived with her in months.”

“You get around for a dragon warrior.” He teased, my reply being a swift kick in the sides.

*     *     *

Dojo made it to the gala way before the pony drawn carriage could even get close so we just circled about for awhile. Guess a giant serpent-like dragon attracts some attention as after a few minutes some pegasi in gold armor flew up next to us.

“What is this beast, and who are you?” One of the guard approached.

“He’s a dragon, and I’m the Xiaolin Dragon.” I spoke back to him from my laid back position on Dojo’s back.

The guard gave me a weird look. “Neither of you look like any dragon I have ever seen. Why are you flying above Canterlot?”

“We’re here for the gala. We just got here way before our friends.” I reached into my suit jacket and pulled out the badge Celestia gave me. “Here. This enough to get you to believe we aren’t threatening you?”

The guard was surprised by the badge, glancing between it and myself before huffing. “Fine. You are off the hook. Enjoy the gala.” He spoke flatly before turning around, his friends following him.

I shoved the badge back in my jacket before throwing my hands behind my head. “You’d think after all the stuff I’ve done they would have at least heard of me.”

Dojo scanned the city below before sticking his tongue out. “Blegh. I think I found why. It’s a city full of ‘nobles’ and other ‘high society members’.” He gave actual air quotes around each descriptor.

“Bueno.” I groaned. “So they haven’t heard of Shen Gong Wu and such because they have their heads too far up their own culos.”

Dojo nodded. “If culo is what I think it is, you’ve got it.” He looked around some more before halting in air. “Woah, what is going on down there?” I looked over to see the carriage the girls had come in. They had jumped out and were currently dancing and singing, though what about I couldn’t hear from our spot up in the sky.

“A musical?” I questioned. “When did they get the time to learn all of this? And why are they doing it anyway? Who’s watching?”

“Other than us? No one by the looks of it.” Dojo scratched his head. “Maybe they’re cursed?”

I shook my head. “Nah. If it was a curse, then it’s on the world. Besides, we both know just how impossible it is to break those kinds of things with the Shen Gong Wu laws we’ve got.”

“Good point. Looks like they’ve finished up though. Shall we make our entrance?”

“Lets.” Dojo angled down toward the entrance to the castle, heading straight toward the ground at full speed. Just before we hit, Dojo began to shrink and I leapt off, flipping in the air before landing on the top step with a skid. Dojo, now his tiny serpent self, landed on my shoulder and wrapped around while I stood up straight. I gave the two gawking guards a smirk before heading inside after the ponies.

All of the ponies quickly dispersed before I could even say hi, though one certain dressmaker stayed around to speak with me. “Allan! Oh just look at what riding on that dragon did to your hair.” I looked into a mirror on the wall next to me to see my hair was just like it always was. I turned and gave her a raised eyebrow before I felt her magic flatten it down.

“There. Now shall we head inside?” She turned around toward the stairs, Celestia standing at the top of them with Twilight next to her. The princess was rather busy speaking with other guests though so I just passed with a wave which she returned with a quick smile.

I catched up to Rarity standing in front of a door, looking at me as if she expected something. I glanced between her and the door for a few moments before realizing what she wanted and opened the door for her. She walked in with a smile while Dojo muttered into my ear. “What’s her problem?”

“Don’t know.” I ran a hand through my hair, it returning to its normal shape. “Maybe she’s actually worried about what the other party goers think of her.”

“Why in the world would she care what these uptight snobs think?”

I stepped inside, glancing around at the ballroom. It was everything you expect from a dance: chandelier, tables with food, a couple sculptures. Some ponies were dancing in pairs, doing an awkward four legged version of ballroom dancing. Pretty dull overall. “She’s a seamstress. Maybe she’s looking for new clients.”

“Oh Allan!” Rarity waved a hoof. “Could you get me some punch from the refreshments table?”

I rose an eyebrow at her before shrugging. “Sure.” I headed over to the table as Dojo grumbled.

“Still think it’s about her job?” When we reached the table, Dojo looked over the small pieces of food there was with a scowl. “Of course. These rich types always have the most unappetizing of snacks. Just tiny fruit slices and leaves as far as the eye can see.”

“At least I don’t have to worry about you eating everything than.” I chuckled, grabbing a cup of punch. As I turned around I came face first with a night blue muzzle with sapphire eyes behind it. “You make a habit of meeting all of the people here like this Luna?”

She giggled before taking a step back. She was wearing a dress with many different shades of blue and purple, silver versions of her usual hoof shoes and tiara added to it. Her hair wasn’t free flowing as it usually was, instead being done up in a bun of sorts with silver beads running through it.



“Are you there?” She waved a hoof in front of my face as I realized I had been staring. “I asked you a question but you seemed rather distracted.”

“Oh.” I shook my head quick. “Sorry Luna. Kind of zoned out there for a second.” I could practically feel Dojo’s smirk before I reached up and flicked him on the nose.

“I was just wondering if you were busy. If not, I would like to take this opportunity to show you the gardens.” I glanced down at the punch in my hand and then over at Rarity. She seemed content speaking with a few ponies about who knows what. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a bit before handing it and the glass to Dojo.

“Bring this to Rarity and you can get something from Applejack’s cart right after.” With the promise of Applejack’s delicious treats he zoomed off, leaving me with Luna. I waved a hand and said “Lead the way.” I followed her outside, my eyes falling upon her rear for longer than I’ll ever admit. Ben, you’ve given me some kind of disease. I just know it! Despite it being the beginning of November it was rather warm in the gardens. I imagine that had something to do with magic or other Twilight stuff that I would never understand.

“I wish I have had more time to visit you, but you understand my duties as princess must come first.” She spoke as we walked amongst some trees. A few animals watched from their respective homes, oddly shy compared to the ones I had met in Ponyville.

“I get it. It’s kind of like why Twilight and the others are always wondering why I’m busy training despite coming so far. Always more work to be done. Besides, I can’t expect you to put all of your time toward visiting your favorite agent.”

She gave me a smirk. “You’re my only agent.”

“That means I win by default.” She giggled some more before we both stopped, a small group of animals running by with a crazy looking Fluttershy right behind. “Was that Kindness? What was she-”

“I have no idea princesa, and I don’t really want to know.” We continued walking as Luna rose an eyebrow at me.

“Are you not worried for your friends?”

“Well ya I’m worried. But they’ve all proven time and again that they can handle themselves rather well. And when they can’t, the others are there to help. I’m the guy you call when Wu is the problem, not normal Ponyvillian disasters.”

“So you just ignore the problems that don’t concern you?”

I put my hands up defensively. “Woah. I never said that. I just let them fix it themselves so they can grow just as I have. It was actually something Master Gongniu suggested. After all, just how many letters about friendship would your sister have gotten from Twilight had I stepped in and fixed everything?”

Luna seemed to ponder this seriously before sighing. “I suppose that makes sense. You seek to let them learn from their mistakes rather than making their lives easy.” She smiled. “Forgive me. I thought for a moment your intentions were not as well placed as I originally believed.”

I rose an eyebrow with a smile. “So you know my intentions, do you? Just what else do you think you know about me?”

She rolled her eyes before she began slowly trotting around me. “Well, I know you are doing surprisingly well for one who went from a simple life to one filled with things you don’t understand and being expected to deal with some of them.”

She walked behind me, her head appearing in the corner of my eye on the other side soon after. “I also know you still miss what you loss, but do your best to not let these emotions control you. You look to the future instead of the past, a trait we both share as you might imagine.”

She flicked a wing out, brushing the tip of my nose and causing my face to scrunch up. “I also know that you have been taking glances at my flank this entire time.” Oh mierda! I’m so dead! Her smirk said otherwise though. “As flattering as that is, I would prefer less shady actions if you wish to show attraction. Preferably ones that more involve myself.”

So dead, so dead, so- wait, did she just say what I thought she said?! I didn’t get time to ask Luna just what she had meant as the sound of screams and breaking glass could be heard back in the castle. Both of us immediately darted toward the sounds, coming upon a scene of nobles running for their lives from those annoying barrel bots. The brothers quickly made themselves known as they took the stage the musicians had abandoned.

“Looks like finding the Falcon’s Eye will be easy pickings Flam.” Said brother turned and saw Luna and I by the entrance.

“I wouldn’t say that Flim.” He pointed a hoof at me. “Cider bots! Attack!”

“Of course.” I grumbled as I pulled the eye out of my pocket. “I told them that something would happen and that I would need my Wu but noooooo! Eye of Dashi!” I fired at a few of the incoming bots, destroying them before they were too close to shoot. “Third Arm Sash!” The arm came to life, swatting away any robots that were about to slam into me.

“Allan! You brought Wu despite us specifically asking for you not to?!” Twilight screamed from the sidelines.

“You can thank me later!” I called back before twisting out of the way of a bot, its claws tearing the tail of my coat. I heard Rarity gasp at the destruction of her work but I wasn’t about to deal with her drama. I turned to defend Luna only to find she was holding out well on her own, blasting bot after bot out of the air with her magic.

I looked back to see the brothers heading for one of the statues, the familiar golden metal of a Wu strapped over the stone pony’s eye. How did I even miss that? Luna noticed as well as she leapt next to me. “Jump on my back.”

I was quick to do, though I was left wondering why until she took off toward the statue. What a sight we must have been, magic, lightning, and sash arm going this way and that as robots fell from the sky. Luna dived toward the statue as I leapt off her back, the brothers and us all reaching the Wu at the same time.

“Flim and Flam, we challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown.”

Flim groaned. “Fine, if you insist on making a fool of yourself in front of everyone we will do so. We wager our Fist of Tebigong and Mantis Flip Coin against your Eye of Dashi and Third Arm Sash. What do you challenge us to?”

I hummed in thought for a moment before Luna answered. “The game shall be a dance competition.”

“Wait, what?!” I turned to Luna. “I can’t dance!”

The brothers chuckled to themselves. “Too late. The showdown has been declared.” I growled at them.

“Let’s go! Xiaolin Showdown!” The ballroom seemed to stretch out in all directions, the walls disappearing into darkness. The chandelier still floated above, though it no longer appeared attached to anything. The statue the Falcon’s Eye sat on grew, the pony rearing up so that its hooves seemed to hug the now glowing glass decoration. A digital meter appeared above both teams’ heads.

“Gong Yi Tan Pai!” On the brother’s side of the dance floor, a giant sound system appeared, a turntable in the center. A mare with electric blue hair and red glasses sat behind it. She placed the needle ever so gently on the record… only for the loudest dubstep ever to suddenly blast out of the speakers. Flim and Flam started dancing like maniacs, Flam using the Mantis Flip Coin to do a couple of back flips and such.

I glanced up at the meter they had to see it slowly rising. I then turned to Luna. “So you got a plan?”

She stood up on two hooves, placing her front ones around my shoulders. “Just try to follow my lead.” She started taking small steps with her hooves that I mirrored, though it was incredibly awkward. As we did this a string quartet appeared out of nowhere and started playing, though they didn’t get to play very long as the music fell apart with our dancing. I heard Flim shout “Fist of Tebigong” before the ground shook and we both fell.

I growled at Flim before firing the eye in his direction, except they only used it as a laser light show accompaniment to their horrible dance. I was about to swing at them with the Third Arm Sash as well when I felt something tug at my collar. I turned to see Luna’s horn lit up before she nodded above us. Guess the showdown was willing to take quantity over quality as Flim and Flam were already half way there while Luna and I had barely gotten off the ground.

“Well what do we do? I can barely dance without Flim getting in the way.” Luna seemed to think for a moment before an idea came to her. She placed her hooves back on my shoulders.

“Your training requires grace and balance, correct? Use it.” I rose an eyebrow at her before she groaned. “Just do it.” The string quartet started again, and our pony/human hybrid of ballroom dancing began just as awkwardly as before.

Use my training? That makes no sense. It’s not like I can go through martial arts forms in dance… right? Curious, I tried a stance with my legs before going through the motions, though my hands did not move from holding Luna. Oddly enough things started to feel natural, the two of us spinning about the floor.

“See?” she smirked. “Not that hard is it?” I opened my mouth to speak but Flim got to it first.

“Fist of Tebigong!” I was quicker to react this time, throwing Luna into the air before I flipped away from the crack created in the ground. I landed just in time to catch Luna before dipping her below me. She seemed kind of shocked at my reaction time but recovered with a small smile.

“You learn quickly.” I just smirked as I pulled her back up to our original position. We both glanced at the meters to see that our little flip move had caught us up big time.

“Think we can wrap this up quickly?” I asked as we looked back at each other.

“Perhaps. Depends if that stumbling boy I first met is still in there.”

“I guess we’ll see.” We spun about a bit more before calling “Third Arm Sash.” The belt moved up and grabbed one of Luna’s hooves, twirling her clockwise before coming back the other way. I wrapped my arms around her barrel with her back to me, holding her there for a moment before letting her go to twirl again. This time though I dropped the Eye of Dashi, calling its name so as to add to our final move. When Luna twirled back to me this time, I reached down and swept her off her hooves, holding her bridal style as lightning sprayed behind us.

Luna and I looked at each other as the meter above us rang out. The room changed back to the ballroom it once was, the brothers now Wu-less and fleeing. I was too distracted to notice any of this though, my focus on the sapphire eyes locked on me in return.

Luna cleared her throat, snapping me from my daze. “Ahem, Allan. You can put me down now.” I immediately snapped out of my Xiaolin Dragon zone and blushed hard, nearly dropping Luna before I could put her down. I looked around to see the Ponyville girls, the nobles, Dojo, Spike, and even Celestia all looking at us with varying expressions. That did not help my cool at all, the feeling of wanting to hide my face increasing ten fold as Luna giggled.

“So that boy is still there under all the training and muscle.” Those words only made me shrink further as she began to walk away. “Good. I rather liked that boy.” I felt a little of my courage return, just enough to look back at the crowd. The girls were mainly wearing faces of shock except for… Rarity? Where was she? I could have sworn I just saw her. Anyway, Spike seemed happy about something while Dojo was making kissy faces at me which I returned with a growl. The nobles I couldn’t care less about, but Celestia was the one I was confused about. She was giving me a simple smile, though in her case I couldn’t help but feel it was more than that. I rose an eyebrow at her before she turned and addressed nobles about the mess. I could already hear a few of them grumbling about ‘their’ event being ruined by me. How they made that leap in logic I will never know.

Dojo slithered over to me before taking his spot on my shoulder. “Still gonna tell me you aren’t sweet on the princess?” I rose a hand to swat at him before dropping it with a sigh. “What? Don’t think it will work? She’s clearly into you as well.”

“It’s not that. I just don’t want to make her job worse. Anyway, we need to get all this Wu in my scroll pronto.” I made sure the Eye of Dashi, Mantis Flip Coin, and Falcon’s Eye were put away in various pockets before letting the Third Arm Sash grab the Fist of Tebigong, now changed to fit a human rather than a pony. As we stepped outside, Dojo leapt off my shoulder and grew to full size.

“Make her job worse? How would you do that?” I jumped on Dojo’s back and we took off, heading toward Ponyville.

“You saw how the nobles reacted to me. Most of them ignored me at first, and now all of them blame me for what Flim and Flam did. They see me as the root of all the Shen Gong Wu problems. Luna already said she was getting a lot of basura from them because of her sudden reinstatement as princess. Add dating me into the mix and you’ve got a storm of mierda no one would want to weather through.”

“You sure she wouldn’t try? She doesn’t seem to really care about the nobles either way.”

I glanced back at the castle before sighing and laying back, hands behind my head. “No. She would. That’s what I’m afraid of though.” We let the conversation die off there as I watched the night sky fly by.
> A Chaotic Start to a New Friendship
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The foals of Ms. Cherilee’s class were enjoying a treat today in the form of a field trip to Canterlot Castle. Of course, since it was her favorite part of it, Cherilee decided to start with the Royal Statue Gardens.

“That one represents friendship.” She lectured as they passed each statue in turn. “And this one represents victory.” Soon they came upon the statue of a strange creature. It looked like someone had stitched together many different creatures, from horses to lizards to even goats. The creature was currently in a pose that looked like it was singing joyously for the world around it. In one of its strange claws was an even stranger mirror, the center of it sporting an intricate design that was same black as the band that surrounded it.

“And what do you think this represents?” Ms. Cherilee waved a hoof over the crazy statue.

“Confusion!” Apple Bloom shouted before being pushed away by Sweetie.

“Evil!” She followed suit as Scootaloo stepped in.

“Chaos!” The three fillies soon got into a fight over who was right. During this, no one noticed a small crack begin to appear on the statue. By the time it had grown big enough to be seen, Cherilee had broken up the tussle and lead the class on to the next statue, all blissfully unaware of what was about to be unleashed.

*     *     *

I stood in the center of the training grounds, hands held out in front of me. Both palms were facing away with one hand behind the other as I breathed deeply.

“Orion’s Palm is a difficult ability to master,” Master Gongniu spoke as he stood next to me. “You have already shown capable of using it, but learning to control your strength of will is what shall determine if you are ready for the next level.”

I didn’t respond, having already made that mistake before in these exercises. I pulled my arms back and thrust them forward several times, all of my focus going into what I was doing. Nothing was going to distract me.

Except for a sticky wad of pink falling from the sky and blinding me. My form was completely thrown off as I fell back, pulling at the thing on my face. I managed to get a good chunk of it off to see again. A quick check of what I had clumped in my hands turned out to be… cotton candy?

I groaned before looking around. “Very funny Pinkie! You know you aren’t supposed to pull pranks during training though!” I found no answer though, strange since the energetic mare would no doubt want to claim credit for the deed. I felt something running down my arm, glancing back at the cotton candy to find it was now leaking something brown.

I shook the thing off my hand, tossing it away. “Blegh! What sort of expired cotton candy did I get hit with?” Dojo came over and sniffed the pink cloud before giving it a lick. A smile quickly grew on his face and he dove in, even going so far as to climb all over me to get the bits that were still stuck to my head.

“Yummy.” Dojo moaned. “Who would think cotton candy and chocolate milk would make such a great combination?” I held back my gag reflex as I stood back up, glancing around again for the source of the strange sugar bomb.

“It looks as if this was no prank.” Master Gongniu spoke, looking to the sky. I followed his eyes to see cotton candy clouds drizzling chocolate milk as Rainbow Dash zipped about collecting them.

“Uh… I know I’ve only been here for like… five months or so but I’m pretty sure that isn’t normal even by this world’s standards.”

Master Gongniu nodded. “You are correct. Something seems to have tipped the balance of things. It would be best not to ignore such an omen.”

“Yes master.” I bowed before running for the gates, Dojo leaping off and growing as I did. By the time I reached them he was there and ready to fly. One quick jump and so was I. We flew about Ponyville, watching the clouds be gathered up by Rainbow above Sweet Apple Acres and we headed toward there.

Apparently Applejack had thrown one heck of a fiesta. There was popcorn everywhere, as well as a huge clump of those chocolate filled candy clouds being eaten by animals with unnaturally long legs. Many of the apple trees on the farm were bent over, the weight of the humongous apples they were bearing too much for even their thick trunks.

The two of us landed near the girls as Spike coughed up a letter. Twilight was quick to read it before exclaiming “The princesses need to see us right away!” She turned to me just as I was about to hop off. “Allen, they want to see you as well. Do you think you could take us there?”

“I don’t know. Think you could handle it Dojo?”

“Ehhhhh. Might be a bit of a squeeze, but if Fluttershy, Rainbow, and you fly than I should be able to make it. It’s a bit bumpy in the back though, warning to those with bad stomachs.”

“Oh oh oh!” Pinkie waved her hooves in the air. “I wanna ride in the back then!” Before anyone could even think to question it, she zipped over to Dojo’s tail and wrapped her hooves around it, smiling the entire time. The rest of the ground bound ponies and Spike hopped aboard while I flew up next to Fluttershy and Rainbow with the Longi Kite. Once everyone was secure, we headed off toward Canterlot.

*     *     *

We arrived in Canterlot, running inside to meet the princesses right by the entrance. Twilight chose this as the opportune time to flip out. “Princess Celestia! What is happening? Is this about the weather? And the animals’ weird behavior? Why isn’t-” The princess rose a hoof, silencing her before simply stating

“Follow us.”

We did just that, though I did notice Luna taking a spot on my side as we walked. As much as it pained me to, I did my best to ignore her and focused on what Celestia was talking about.

“I’ve called you here for a matter of great importance. It seems an old foe of mine, someone I thought I had defeated long ago, has returned. His name... is Discord. Discord is the mischievous spirit of disharmony. Before my sister and I stood up to him, he ruled Equestria in an eternal state of unrest and unhappiness. Luna and I saw how miserable life was for Earth ponies, Pegasi, and unicorns alike, so after discovering the Elements of Harmony, we combined our powers and rose up against him, turning him to stone.”

“Alright princess!” Rainbow cheered. The rest of the group remained silent though, clearly feeling the “but” that was coming. Luna shook her head before moving away from my side and in front of the group.

“We believed the spell we cast upon him would keep him contained forever, but it seems that is not the case. Since my sister and I are no longer connected to the elements, the spell has been broken.”

“No longer connected?” Twilight basically mirrored my thoughts. What sort of crazy chosen one basura is this? Bet the same guy who made it I had to collect the Wu also made that rule.

Princess Celestia nodded. “We have been keeping elements here in the castle, safe from anything that may try to use them for ill. We need you Twilight, and your friends to wield the elements once more and seal Discord away before he can bring eternal chaos upon Equestria.”

Wait, chaos? I facepalmed, though it was thankfully ignored by everyone except Dojo. I completely forgot to look that up after Ben and Kat told me. This must be what they were warning me about!

Celestia went and… stuck her horn in the door? Okay, I guess that works for a key. Anyway, the door glowed and opened before a small chest was revealed. She picked it up, lifting the lid off to reveal… a nicely padded inside of a case.

Everyone gasped at the apparent loss of their trump card. “This doesn’t make any sense.” Celestia shook her head. “Only I can break the spell on the door.” A jovial voice rang out through the halls, laughing.

“Make sense?” It called out playfully. “And just what is the fun in making sense?” Celestia and Luna then, for all intensive purposes, lost their shit as they growled at the bodiless voice. It was actually kind of scary since I didn’t think these two could get that mad but apparently this Discord knows how to push people’s buttons.

“Discord! Reveal yourself!” Celestia demanded as everyone tried to find the source of the laughter.

“Did you miss me Tia and Lulu?” It mocked before a small flash caught our attention on one of the glass panes. A small depiction of some creature that looked like the gods above just hit the random button began floating along the glass as if the 2D surface was just like swimming in water. “I missed you. It’s quite lonely being encased in stone, but you wouldn’t know that, would you, since I don’t encase ponies in stone!”

“Quit playing your games!” Luna growled. “What have you done with the elements of harmony?”

“Oh I’ve just borrowed them for awhile. After all, I can’t have you sealing me away too quickly.” The glass creature looked over us before looking at me and stopping. “Dojo? Is that you?”

I turned my head to see Dojo hiding behind my shoulder, trembling. “Nope! No Dojo here! Please leave a message and I’ll get to it sometime in the next century.”

Suddenly Discord disappeared from the glass, appearing still in his stained glass form right next to Dojo about the same size. The dragon let out a girlish scream before Discord wrapped him in a hug. “Oh my long lost brother! Where were you those last five hundred years before I was put away for having too much fun?”

“Brother?!” The entire rest of the room gawked.

Dojo grumbled before speaking. “Yes, he’s my brother. Bob.”

Discord suddenly growled low, growing to stand well above everyone before glaring at Dojo. “I told you to never call me that again!” While Dojo trembled, I grabbed his tail and pulled him out of Discord’s grasp.

“Back off there pirado. That dragon’s with this dragon.”

“Y-ya, what he said,” Dojo shook in fright. Discord looked over me with a magnifying glass he pulled out of nowhere before tossing it away and laughing.

“You? A dragon? And I’m a hippo in a french maid outfit!” Of course, as soon as he said this he turned into just that. He giggled before disappearing, reappearing above me. My scroll suddenly floated off of me, landing in his claws. “And just what is this supposed to be?”

“Hey! Give me that!” Discord just chuckled before taking a claw and seemingly sticking it inside of my scroll. Various sounds came from it as he rifled around before somehow pulling out the Two Ton Tunic.

“What? Is this just where you keep your laundry?” He looked over the tunic before shoving it back in, taking a few seconds before pulling out the Mantis Flip Coin. “Oh, some money for the vending machine.” One appeared as he spoke and he deposited in the slot, a soda coming out before he pulled his hand back. The coin came back out on a string attached to his talon, which he threw back in my scroll while a third arm that seemingly came from nowhere picked up the soda and popped the cap off. He chugged it down before tossing the bottle aside, a goat’s bleat being heard instead of broken glass.

He reached back into the scroll before pulling out the Lunar Locket. “Hang on, I’ve seen this before.” He seemed to stare at it in thought before gasping and giving Luna a smirk. “Oh I see! This reptile impersonator is someone special to you, isn’t he?” He dangled the necklace in front of her before pulling it away as she swiped at him. “Just as feisty as I remembered.” He appeared on my shoulder and muttered. “I can see why you fell for her.” I threw a fist at him only to hit nothing, the draconequus returning to his spot floating in the air.

“Don’t mess with my friends!” Rainbow yelled as she charged Discord, hitting him upside the head before he could react. I took advantage of the distraction and leapt into the air, grabbing my scroll from his claws and slipping it on before landing. I quickly turned around, the golden light of a Wu coming out as I yelled.

“Eye of Dashi!” Lightning shot at Discord, him twisting and bending to dodge the first few before he pulled out a mirror with a design on it. He held it up to the barrage before speaking.

“Reversing Mirror.” The lightning was all absorbed by the mirror, glowing before it was all sent back at me. I barely ducked out of the way, glancing back at the now burnt spot where I was standing.

“Golden Tiger Claws!” I called out as the aforementioned Wu appeared on my hand. My plan was to teleport right behind him and give him a swift kick to the back of the head. Discord was faster however.

“Reversing Mirror.” I felt the claws go haywire like they did when Crow called, creating a rift and throwing me through. When the trip was over, I landed on something pink and plush. The place was strange, for some reason it looked like I was in a cracked open walnut. I looked around to see the princesses, a rather grey looking group of ponies, and Discord just looking at me confused.

What the hell does the reversing mirror even do to the tiger claws? I got off the pink pillow and brushed myself off before glancing at the princesses. “Quick question: Do you two know me?” They just shook their heads. “Maldita sea! Well I guess that answers that question. Golden Tiger Claws!” I tore open a new hole and jumped in, returning to the throne room in my world right above Discord.

And then he spoke the words I was dreading. “Reversing Mirror.” My claws went crazy again, opening a new portal before I could even hit the ground. This time I ended up in the middle of a street in Ponyville. I looked around to see Scootaloo and a green furred pegasus with Ben’s watch symbol on his chest both looking at me with confusion. So… I’m in Ben’s world? Guess that isn’t the worst world I could be sent to. I jumped to my feet, waving my unfilled hand at the two and spitting out “Hi Scootaloo, hi Ben,” before cutting a portal back home.

This time I landed away from Discord, quickly changing the claws out for the “Fist of Tebigong!” Discord just yawned, putting the mirror between us and lazily saying “Reversing Mirror.” The moment the fist hit the mirror, it felt like I was slammed in the face by Applejack’s buck. I went sailing across the room before hitting the wall and slowly sliding down to the floor. My vision was clouded by stars as Discord spoke.

“As fun as that was, I’m not here to play around with you. Well, I am, just not like that.” He threw the locket around his neck before floating around the ponies. “If you want your precious elements of harmony back, you’ll have to find them my way. To retrieve your missing Elements, just make sense of this change of events. Twists and turns are my master plan. Then find the Elements back where you began.” Discord vanished into thin air as I finally could see enough to find Dojo fanning me. I stumbled to my feet as the ponies pondered what the riddle meant.

“Twists and turns... twists and turns... twists and turns! That's it! I bet Discord hid the Elements in the palace labyrinth!” Twilight exclaimed as she looked out the window. In moments her and her friends ran out of the room. Luna walked up to me with concern.

“Are you alright?” I shook off my dizziness before turning toward the door.

“I’m fine Luna. I should follow them and help.” I moved to leave only for her to stand in my way.

“Be that as it may, I… wanted to talk to you. About what happened at the gala.”

I shook my head. “Luna, I promise we can talk about this, but can it wait until the world isn’t in danger?”

She gave me a sad look that nearly broke my stance on the subject before she sighed. “Yes, of course. We should focus on the task at hand.” She turned to follow her sister to another part of the castle before looking back. “Remember though, you promised.” She gave me a small smile before walking away, Dojo hopping onto my shoulder as I did the same.

Once I was outside, I glanced around. “Now which direction was the labyrinth?” I muttered, scratching my head.

“They won’t find what they are looking for there, and neither will you.” Dojo and I turned to this new voice, seeing a human man dressed in strange armor. His hair was a dark green, almost black, and long enough to reach his waist in the back. His eyes seemed to be draconic, slits for pupils with orange coloring behind them.

“And who are you?” I questioned.

“The name is Chase. Chase Young. A pleasure to finally meet the dragon warrior I’ve heard so much about.” He walked up to me and held out a hand to shake.

“Allan Rhodes, though I guess you already know that.” We shook hands before I asked “So are you a Displaced?”

He nodded. “Indeed I am, though I have been in this world long enough to hear of your deeds. You show great talent in martial arts. A shame you seem dependent on Shen Gong Wu.”

“Ya, well if I could defend Equestria without them I’d probably agree with you.”

He placed a hand on my shoulder. “You don’t give yourself enough credit. Learning to depend on one’s self instead of using magical objects as a crutch is a lesson not only you should learn.”

I rose an eyebrow at him. “You mean the girls. What do you know about the elements?”

“I know they will not find them there, or anywhere. After all, what sort of man allows his enemies to have the key to defeating them?”

“A crazy one? I think anyone with a brain could see Discord isn’t exactly all there.”

Dojo sighed. “Yep, that’s Bob for you. Even before he was exposed to the Fountain of Wi he was kind of kooky.” He emphasized this by spinning a talon around next to his head.

“Still, even if he is that foolish, your friends have misunderstood the riddle. ‘You will find the elements back where you began.’ He was speaking of your home, in Ponyville.”

“Then we should go. Magical crutch or not, the longer Discord is free the worse things will get. Dojo?” He nodded before jumping off and growing to full size.

“What if what I said was true, hm?” Chase spoke. “What if he is smart enough to just continue dangling your prize in front of you on a fishing hook?”

“Then what can we- huh?” My scroll chose this to be the perfect time to activate. I pulled it open and took a look. “Sun-Chi Lantern?” I watched the picture, depicting a man using the lantern to absorb some kind of energy from others. A quick read of the text revealed it to be chi. “So it allows one to use the chi of others?”

“A most useful Shen Gong Wu, especially if you need to distract a reality bending demon such as Discord.” Chase nodded as I rose an eyebrow at him.

“What happened to magical items being a crutch?”

“Though I don’t agree with it, you are correct. We need the elements to stop him as they are the only force strong enough to seal him away. If you are going to get them though, you will need him distracted. Surely with your chi combined with that of your friends will you be able to give them the time they need to find the elements.”

I nodded before jumping up on Dojo. “Wanna come along? I could always use the help.” Chase gave me a small smile before leaping onto Dojo’s back behind me. I glanced at the scroll as it switched to compass mode. “Dojo, head west. We’ve got a Wu to find.”
> A Betrayal Set in Stone
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dojo, Chase, and I soon found ourselves flying above a swamp cloaked in mist. We managed to find a small chunk of ground to land on before taking a good look around.

“Yeesh!” Dojo spoke as he wrapped himself around my shoulder. “You could cut this weather with a knife.” We all looked over the swamp, seeing no good way of crossing the muck without stepping in it. I watched Chase walk over to a nearby tree before taking up a martial arts stance. Before I could ask, his hands flew out in front of him in a flurry, cutting into the tree in various places before stopping. A board made of the tree’s bark fell off the trunk, large enough for the two of us to stand on.

“Perhaps we can use this to traverse the terrain?” He tossed the board onto the water before reaching up to grab one of the branches of the same tree.

“Hang on there Chase,” I stopped him. “I’ve got a better idea than paddling.” I pulled out the Sword of the Storms before jumping on the back of the board. Chase jumped on the front and once we were both ready I spun the sword behind me. It acted like a giant fan on an airboat, propelling us forward as we skated across the water.

Things were quiet for awhile before we both heard something and turned our heads. I recognized it as the telltale sound of robot jets which could only mean one thing. I grumbled a bit as I stopped the board. “Looks like we’ve got company, and not the good kind either.”

Out from the mist came the bots, their masters riding two of them like horses. Ironic considering they were ponies but that joke would be lost on this world. They saw the two of us and did their usual laugh and spiel.

“Oh Allan, it’s you! Pleasure to see you again.”

“Indeed. And you brought a friend. Good thing we brought our own.” They glanced behind them to show Katnappe sitting on another robot, though not looking at all pleased with where she was. “Now than, Cider bots! Attack!” The robots flew at us, I preparing the sword before Chase held up a hand.

“Remember what I said. Let us see what you are capable of without a crutch.” I thought about it for a moment before putting away the sword. The two of us took on matching stances before leaping at the bots. The two of us were practically in sync, each of us taking out bot after bot in a fluid motion that often crossed each others’ paths. Even I was amazed at how quickly we tore them apart before Katnappe joined in.

I landed on a tree across from the one she now stood in as she hissed at me. “Always having to rely on others to help you, huh? Don’t think you can take on a girl all your own?” Chase landed next to me, the two of us nodding at each other before leaping across the swamp at the cat pony. She tossed a bag at Chase while brandishing her claws at me. Chase landed on the roots of the tree, pulling crazed kittens off and flinging them away all rather calmly while I danced around Katnappe’s various cat themed weapons.

“Hold still!” She screamed, throwing another batch of spiked yarn balls at me, barely missing my chin as I bent backwards to avoid them. Before she could send another my way, I charged at her, flipping above another slash of her claws before grabbing her tail. I pulled her over my head, slamming her back into a branch of the tree in front of me before giving the base of said branch a swift kick. By the time her eyes stopped spinning, the branch fell into the muck below. She screeched out in fury, shouting many a curse about getting her mane dirty.

I looked back toward the brothers to see them still flying toward the Sun-Chi Lantern, which was hanging from a tree branch over the swamp. Before I could move in their direction, the muck beneath them suddenly burst forth as Chase leapt between them. He slashed his hands out several times into each robot before kicking off them, landing on the branch the lantern hung from while the bots fell apart. Flim and Flam joined Katnappe in the swamp, though with much less noise.

Chase grabbed the Sun-Chi Lantern from the branch before jumping over to me. “Well, I must say that went better than expected.” He held it out for me to take but the moment I placed a hand on it, a claw tapped the top of it, the lantern immediately lighting up with the promise of a showdown.

We both heard Discord laugh before the rest of him appeared attached to the arm. “Well, well. What have we here? Another one of your trinkets?”

“Discord.” Chase stated. “We challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown.”

Discord chuckled. “And just why would I play your game when I can just- ack!” Suddenly a large amount of electricity coursed through him, his talon seemingly glued to the lantern. He pulled and pulled but couldn’t break free as the magic continued to hurt him. “Why can’t- ow! - I let go?!”

“A Xiaolin Showdown is a contract that not even a rule breaker such as yourself can defy. Now, do you accept our challenge?”

“Ah! Yes! I do! Just stop with the pain! Gah!” The electricity stopped, Discord looking slightly singed but otherwise alright. Dojo chuckled at the sight as he grumbled. “But two against one seems entirely unfair.”

I rolled my eyes. “So is being able to bend reality to your whim and you don’t see us complaining.”

“Hm.” He thought with his other claw to his chin. “Good point. What now?”

Chase nodded. “We will wager the Mantis Flip Coin and Eye of Dashi for your Reversing Mirror.”

“And,” I spoke up, “we’ll Shen Yi Bu Dare you. The Two Ton Tunic and Fist of Tebigong for your Lunar Locket.”

“The game will be horde mode.” Chase declared as I rose an eyebrow.

“Wait, you mean like in a video game?”

“I don’t know what you mean but I already like it.” Discord grinned.

“Exactly Allan. The two of us will be confined to a space while Discord sends waves of enemies at us. If he manages to knock us out or defeat us within the time limit, he wins. Otherwise, we win.”

“You certainly know how to pick them.” Discord chuckled. “Very well, I accept these terms.”

“So do I.” I nodded.

“Very well,” Chase spoke as the glow of the lantern grew.

“Let’s go! Xiaolin Showdown!” The trees around us in the swamp suddenly sunk into the muck, creating a clearing of sorts. Before Chase and I could fall in, a platform made of wooden planks built itself before expanding, making walls, windows, stairs, and a door. Wasn’t long before we were standing in an old looking house, the mist outside thickening further.

The tunic and fist appeared on Chase’s person while the eye and coin appeared in separate hands for me. We heard Discord’s voice boom out over us. “Could we get this started? I have a lot of harmony to be taking apart and flipping on its head.”

“Gong Yi Tan Pai!” As soon as the showdown began, a series of lightning bolts rained down on the ground outside, seemingly doing nothing before a low moan was heard. Chase and I looked out to see pony zombies rising from the muck and shambling their way toward the house.

“Zombies? He had to go with zombies?!” I groaned. Chase looked around, finding an armoire placed near the door which he swiftly kicked into place in front of a window.

“We’ll have to survive for five minutes, so no sense in letting them in too early.” I nodded and moved to another window, picking up a hammer and nails apparently left for us on a table before ripping a floor board out of the ground. Soon we had all the windows covered by furniture or hastily hammered planks as the zombies began filing in through the front door.

“Fist of Tebigong!” Chase charged at the zombies, pushing them all back out the door. Before they could pick themselves back up, he slammed the door shut and pulled off the tunic. “Two Ton Tunic!” He tossed the tunic in the air as it shifted into armor, embedding itself into the ground right in front of the door. He moved to my back and we watched the entrances, ready for whatever might come.

“Lunar Locket!” We heard Discord call out, and suddenly the entire arena grew dark, the only light being the simple lanterns that dotted the room. After about a minute though nothing else happened, confusing the both of us. We nearly let our guard down before a rotting hoof smashed out beneath us. We stepped back as a group of zombies ripped their way through the floorboards, Chase heading into the next room as I bought us more time.

“Eye of Dashi!” Lightning tore holes through the zombies, though I noticed it took quite a few before they fell. Their numbers seemed endless though as they crawled in, widening the hole further as they did so.

“Gah!” I heard Chase call out, forcing me to turn away for a moment to see him dealing with another wave trying to get in through one of the boarded up windows. I heard a groan way too close to me, Chase having distracted me long enough for the zombies in the other room to get right in my face.

“Blegh!” I coughed, smelling zombie breath. I gave it a kick before slamming the door shut, bracing myself against it. Not that it did much good as they began to rip holes in the surrounding wall.

“This is no good!” Chase grunted, sending another group of zombies sailing out of the now open windows with the fist. “We should head up the stairs. Funnel them all into one place we can deal with them.” I nodded, placing the eye against the door and firing one last time through the wood before running after him. We got to the second floor and turned, seeing the zombies already making their way to the bottom of the stairs.

“I have an idea. Buy me a bit of time.” Chase ran off into one of the rooms along the hall we were standing in, leaving me to deal with the zombies. I just fired lightning bolt after maldito lightning bolt, slowing the oncoming horde but not stopping it. Suddenly a dresser flew by me, careening down the stairs and knocking what zombies had made any progress down with it.

“Fist of Tebigong!” I heard Chase call out before a piano joined the dresser, crushing many a zombie with a clang. I looked to see him winding his fist back to send a bed down the same way before Discord called out again.

“Reversing Mirror!” Chase’s fist hit the back of the bed, only to have himself be sent flying next to the window behind him. Before he could get up, a zombie hoof reached through and grabbed his shoulder, him quickly shaking it off before meeting me in the center of the hallway. We stood back to back as zombies filled in both sides.

“How much time you think is left?” I asked, not taking my eyes of the zombies as I fired at them.

“If I had to guess? Two minutes at best.” He looked around until resting his eyes on the ceiling. “Aha!” He leapt up, grabbing onto a panel in the ceiling before pulling it down, revealing a ladder into the attic. Before either of us could use it however, a huge, rotten muscled hoof smashed through the floor beneath us, tearing into the ladder and pulling its remains down to the first floor. A low growl could be heard coming from the newly made hole.

Chase took one look at the scene before turning to me. “Quickly! Use the Mantis Flip Coin to get up to the attic! I’ll buy you what time I can.” I would have argued had our situation not been so dire. Instead I nodded, flipping the coin and catching it.

“Mantis Flip Coin!” I leapt into the small opening of the attic before finding some crates and blocking up the hole. Wasn’t sure how much help it would be but at this point I was willing to take anything. I heard the sounds of combat downstairs for sometime before things went eerily silent once more.

There’s no way Chase got beat by some rotting corpses, is there? As tempted as I was to push the boxes off and look, I denied the urge. No. I need to survive for a minute longer. Equestria is depending on it! I paced about the attic for a few moments, wondering if the zombies even could make it up here before a familiar giant hoof made itself known. The pony attached to it pulled itself into the attic, roaring as green ooze dripped from its muzzle.

“Eye of Dashi!” I hastily fired, the shots doing practically nothing against this new enemy. He was still just as slow as the other zombies though, advancing toward me at a snail’s pace as other zombies crawled in through the huge hole their gigantic friend made. After a few more shots I changed my tactic, aiming at the roof above me. I cut a quick hole before using the coin to leap through, barely avoiding a swipe from the big guy in the process.

On the roof I could see the timer floating above. One minute. That shouldn’t be too hard. Of course that’s what you would think but it seems zombies are more resourceful than anyone has ever given them credit for. They quickly made a pile of themselves to climb up the hole I created, the big guy making his own entrance on the other side of the roof.

I backed up to one side of the roof, kicking away zombies and blasting others as I did. Wasn’t long before I reached the edge though and I was surrounded. The zombies stopped as Discord laughed.

“Any last words, wanna-be dragon?” The big guy moved up to the front of the pack, raising a hoof to end me. I took a deep breath before putting my hands out in front of me and closing my eyes.

“Huh.” I heard Discord say in confusion. “Most would go with ‘you’ll never get away with this!’ or something equally cliche but I can respect doing something random. Shame I have to smash your head in now. Snowflake?” The big guy nodded and reared his hoof back. Just before I was done for I snapped my eyes open, a white light behind them as my palms glowed the same.

“Orion’s Palm! Light!” I threw my palms forward, a stream of light washing over the zombies. The smaller ones were sent soaring by the blast as the big one did his best to go against the current. I pulled my arms back before taking a step forward and hitting him again, this time getting him to take a step back. Another step and he was now the one standing on the edge. I leapt at his head, slamming my hand into his muzzle. A flash of light went off as we clashed before his head was sent flying from his body.

“Noooooo!” Discord screamed as the timer ticked down to zero. The remains of the house quickly disassembled itself as the trees returned. I found myself standing on a tree, the lantern in my grasp and Dojo back on my shoulder. Chase however was nowhere to be seen.

“You think this means you’ve won?” Discord growled. “You still don’t have the elements.” His irritation suddenly changed to a knowing grin. “As a matter of fact, let’s see what your friends are up to, shall we?” He flew at me, wrapping an arm around my waist before suddenly being dropped in the middle of Ponyville. Or at least what’s left of it. Houses were floating, the grass was plaid, the road was made of soap, and my friends were all there looking greyer than usual.

I scratched my head in confusion as I looked at the scene. “So… what? You changed their colors?”

“What’re you gabbing about?” Applejack spoke up. “We look just the same.” After she spoke, her cheeks puffed out as she looked side to side. Rarity seemed too busy looking at her reflection in a giant diamond she had while Fluttershy would laugh at Pinkie and she would yell at her to cut it out. Rainbow was a no show surprisingly, and Twilight just looked depressed.

“Oh I’ve done much more than a simple color palette swap.” Discord chuckled before dropping a book on my head. “By the way, here are the elements. I believe you’ll find them to be rather unusable now. And even you could I wouldn’t give you the chance to hit me.” He laughed as he floated off to who knows where, the ponies beginning to spread apart. I picked up the book, opening it to reveal the necklaces and tiara I had seen them wear before closing it and chasing after Twilight.

“Twilight, what happened? You all are acting so unlike yourselves.”

“We lost Allan. The elements wouldn’t work. Besides, I don’t want to see those pathetic excuses for friends anymore! Especially you!” She walked into the library with myself right behind. “Spike! Pack your things, we are leaving.” All that was given in response was a belch as a piece of paper appeared, adding itself to the pile growing around the dragon.

“They won’t stop coming.” He belched up another letter. “Make it stop!” I looked over the papers, finding the letters Twilight had been sending to Celestia ever since she came to Ponyville. I quickly gathered a few before shoving them in her face.

“Here. Read this. Something tells me Celestia wants you to.” She looked at me skeptically before taking the pages out of my hand, perhaps the mentioning of her mentor giving her enough of a reason to do so. She began reading aloud the words on each page as I stepped outside and looked around. Things were just becoming more chaotic as time went on, Dojo trembling somewhat.

“Well? We got the lantern and the elements. What are we going to do now?” I glanced around before my eyes fell on the temple, now floating upside down.

“Maybe Master Gongniu has an idea.” Dojo grew to full size and we took off, dodging various chunks of debris that floated through the air. Changes in gravity were also frequent, forcing me to hang on to Dojo. Took awhile but we made it in one piece, myself landing on the upside down gate as Dojo shrank down.

“Master! Are you here?” I called out. My attention was directed to a cow standing on the roof of the porch.

“It is good to see you alright, my young apprentice.” The cow spoke in Master Gongniu’s voice.

“Master?” I leapt over to him. “Did Discord do this?”

“Indeed, as well as turn the entire temple upside down. Have you found a way to stop him?”

“I think so.” I pulled out the Sun Chi Lantern and showed it to him. “This should allow me to use the chi of others. With that, I can distract Discord long enough for Twilight and her friends to use the elements.”

“I see. Than please, use my chi. It is not of much use while I am stuck like this.” I nodded before holding the lantern out in front of me.

“Sun Chi Lantern!” Master Gongniu glowed a faint golden light before said light flowed out of him, entering the lantern. “Now I just need to find enough chi to make a god question himself.” I sighed. “No biggie.”

“Do not think the task so impossible. You know ponies with stronger chi then you may realize.” I thought about it for a moment before snapping my fingers.

“The princesses! They must be crazy powerful.” He nodded. I looked to Dojo before he jumped off and grew, myself hopping aboard. "Chase mentioned using the girls' chi as well. Bet with all of that I can at least give Discord a run for his money." We didn't wait for a response before Dojo and I flew off. We headed straight to Canterlot, pulling up next to one of the balconies of the castle before heading inside. Any guards that still weren’t chaos-ified I just flashed my badge to, in too much of a hurry to do much else.

I found the princesses discussing something with a pony with different armor than the rest of the guard. “Captain Armor, you will be in charge of leading the refugees out of Equestria.”

“Hold your horses princesas!” Everyone in the room gave me a weird look for my choice of words. “It’s a human expression. It means hang on. I’ve got a plan to take care of Discord.”

“And what plan is that?” The armored pony asked skeptically. “Last I heard he wasn’t even going to let us hit him with the elements.”

“That may be, but I have a way to distract him so that Twilight and her friends can take the shot.” I held out the lantern before the three of them. “I just need to borrow the princesses chi for a little while.”

Celestia and Luna looked at each other, seemingly speaking without saying anything before turning back to me. “Very well. If you believe this will work we have little to lose.”

“Hang on.” The captain spoke. “Use my chi as well. If you are going to help my sister you’ll need all the chi you can get.”

“Sister?”

He nodded. “Yes, Twilight is my sister. I’m her brother, Shining Armor. Has she never mentioned me?”

“Not to me, but I tend to spend a lot of my time training.”

“Well, either way it is great to meet you. Now fire up whatever that thing is.”

“Right. Sun Chi Lantern!” Celestia glowed a bright orange, her sister the opposite with a dark blue as Shining Armor glowed purple. All of their respective lights were absorbed by the lantern, the fire in it glowing much brighter now.

“Nice. Now all I should need is the girls’ and I’ll be set. Wish me luck!” I turned and left the room in a hurry, getting to the nearest exit and taking off on Dojo. We made it back to Ponyville in record time as a group of ponies flew by in a balloon chasing a grey Rainbow Dash.

“Looks like we missed all the fun.” Dojo joked before taking off after them. We rode up alongside the balloon, finding out it was the rest of the girls inside with Fluttershy pulling them. They all were no longer looking so grey, their colors having returned.

“Hey! You chicas need a ride?” Twilight noticed us and leapt off the balloon, landing in front of me on Dojo.

“Allan! I’m so sorry about how I was acting earlier. I-”

“Can we have the apologies after we aren’t in a high speed aerial chase? Why are you chasing Rainbow anyway?”

“I’ve been using a spell to remind everyone of what great friends we are. Thing is, I need to touch them on the forehead with my horn.”

“Ah. Well good thing I showed up.” I strapped the lantern to my belt before pulling out the Golden Tiger Claws. Dojo pulled ahead of the balloon so we were right next to Rainbow. “Hey Rainbow! Look out for that tree!”

She glared at me and snorted. “What are you talking about you idiot?” I jumped off of Dojo, calling on the kite and landing next to the Everfree Forest.

“Golden Tiger Claws!” I tore a hole open and right after Rainbow flew through, slamming head first into a tree. As her eyes spun around I walked over to her. “That tree. Also, I’m counting this in our rough housing challenge. Three in a row!” By the time Rainbow was coherent enough to stand up, Twilight ran up and tapped her on the head with her horn, causing all of her grey color to disappear as she did.

“Ugh… wha? What happened? And why does my head hurt?”

“Probably a side effect of Twilight’s spell.” That earned me a not-so-friendly hoof bump to my side. “Ouch! What? That’s entirely possible. Besides, we’ve seen Rainbow crash into worse.” Twilight rolled her eyes as the other girls landed in the balloon and ran over. “Good, everyone is here. Now I’ve already told the plan several times so here’s the short version. I’m going to use all of your chi plus what I’ve already got to take on Discord. I want you girls to get the elements and wait by the library. Hopefully I can get Discord there and keep him there long enough for you all to blast him. Sound good?” They all gave me various yes’s and cheers. “Awesome. Now, Sun Chi Lantern!”

Each pony began to glow a different color, ones that I recognized matched their elements. Twilight was pink, Rarity was purple, Rainbow was red, Applejack was orange, Fluttershy was green, and Pinkie Pie was blue. All of their lights were absorbed into the lantern just as the others had, the lantern’s fire now large and glowing bright.

“Dojo, get the girls to the library. This might get messy.” He nodded as I took a few steps away from the group. “Here goes nothing. Sun Chi Lantern!” The glow of the flame flowed out, encircling my arms before reaching my heart. My entire body began to glow as I took in the massive amount of chi. Before long the lantern was dry and I put it away.

“Woo wee Allan! You sure make pretty night light.” Applejack joked as she shielded her eyes with a hoof. I gave her a smile before turning toward Ponyville with a determined gaze.

“Longi Kite!” I called the Wu out, appearing on my back in a white light instead of its usual gold. The kite’s wings grew to three times the size they normally were before flapping, rocketing me toward the town.

Now this is the only way to travel! I thought, soaring through the air. Didn’t take long to find Discord lounging in a throne as he snapped his fingers and made chaos appear around him. I landed in front of him before drawing the Sword of the Storms, the blade’s edge glowing with white energy.

Discord actually seemed surprised at me. “That is interesting. Seems those trinkets can do more than I thought.” He grinned. “No matter. It is not like you-”

“Eye of Dashi!” The object in my other hand let out a storm of lightning, destroying the throne Discord had been sitting in as he barely dodged above it.

“Well that’s just rude. You shouldn’t interrupt someone while they-”

“Sword of the Storms!” The blade became a literal tornado that I directed toward Discord, catching him up in it and sending him skyward. “Mantis Flip Coin!” I leapt at ludicrous speed after him, ending up just above as the sword was quickly replaced by the “Fist of Tebigong!” I slammed into Discord’s head, causing him to impact the ground and send dust flying. I landed on the edge of the crater he made and watched as he pulled himself out.

“Now you are getting on my nerves, wanna-be dragon!” He growled. I just gave him a smirk and put away my Wu before taking up a fighting stance.

‘Bring it, pirado.”

*     *     *

The girls made their way to the library, those who couldn’t fly riding upon Dojo’s back. They didn’t however expect to find the princesses there.

“Princess Celestia, Princess Luna. What are you doing here?” Twilight asked the two, both of them looking somewhat distressed.

“Ah good, you are here. Please tell us Allan didn’t use your chi.”

“Uh, you mean that light thing he did?” Rainbow asked. “Cause he already did that and is fighting Discord now.”

Celestia and Luna looked at each other with fear. “Than we must hurry and find him before it is too late.”

“But princess, what is wrong?” Fluttershy spoke up.

Luna was too distracted looking around for any signs of Allan so Celestia spoke. “Do you all know what chi is?”

“It’s a kind of energy right?” Twilight deduced. “Like magic?”

Celestia shook her head. “No, it is your very soul, your essence. In many ways your chi is you. In your cases however, your chi represents much more. As the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, you represent them, embody them. You are them as much as they are you.”

“So Allan is using the elements.” Twilight analyzed. “Is that what you are trying to say?”

Celestia nodded. “Yes, for all intensive purposes, Allan is right now the embodiment of the Elements of Harmony. That’s why we must find him before something horrible happens.”

“What would the elements do to Allan? He’s a cool guy.” Rainbow argued.

“That may be, but he is a foreign creature who wields energies that no one else understands. Both are traits he shares with Discord. This is enough of a relation between the two of them for the elements to decide his fate.”

The girls seemed to think about this for a moment before Applejack spoke up. “Wait a minute. Are you trying to say that if Allan keeps using our chi he’ll end up like Discord did before?”

Celestia only nodded, the girls gasping in response. “We gotta find him, and now!” A series of  explosions went off through Ponyville, cutting them off before they could scatter and search. Everyone sped off in the direction of the destruction, hoping they would make it in time.

*     *     *

The best way I could describe how I felt with all that chi going through me was like having drank ten Red Bulls before scarfing down a bag of Pinkie Pie’s sugar bombs, all while being more excited about anything in my life. Seriously, I felt so full of energy that after that initial scuffle I went to using just my fists and feet, the result being just as destructive. Our battle ended us up on the edge of Ponyville, the two of us staring each other down.

“You will not get the better of me!” Discord yelled before darting toward me. The glowing outline around me turned red, using Rainbow’s speed to dodge and counter. “Loyalty!” I let loose a lightning fast barrage of fists before stepping back. My outline shifted to orange as I spun around and sent him flying with a kick using Applejack’s strength. “Honesty!” I noted my foot feeling somewhat stiff but ignored it in favor of focusing on the fight.

Discord shook his head where he impacted, growling again before his form began to grow and become more monstrous. I didn’t give him the chance to finish though, my aura becoming blue as I teleported around him, striking him in several places as I did. “Laughter!” He swiped at me, only hitting air as I teleported again before I took notice of how close we now were to the Everfree Forest. My aura changed again to green as Timberwolves and Manticores stalked out of the darkness of the woods, eyes glowing the same green. “Kindness!”

The animal all charged at Discord, clawing and biting at him as he shrunk back down. “Enough!” He exclaimed, exploding with energy that sent the beasts flying. I tore the ground out in front of me with telekinesis, my outline changing to a purple color. “Generosity!” The stone shielded me from the blast, and as soon as it passed I tossed the barrier at him. By now I began to notice more of my body was growing stiff and looked down to see my body covered in blotches of stone.

Que demonios?! I heard Discord chuckle as he pulled himself out of the rubble I threw at him.

“You used the bearer’s chi, didn’t you? I’m guessing Chase Young is the one who told you that was a good idea?”

“What are you getting at?” I yelled back.

“He tricked you. He knew if you used that lantern to gain the bearer’s chi, you would be exposed to the elements. And just like me, you will be turned to stone!” He laughed a bit more before I tossed another boulder at him.

“You are lying!” My aura changed pink as did my eyes, energy growing in my hands before I threw it at Discord in a powerful beam. “Magic!” He impacted into a nearby building. I quickly teleported next to the draconequus and grabbed him by the neck. My touch caused his body to begin turning to stone just like mine as he squirmed to try and escape. He wrapped his body around me in an attempt to pull me off but I held on as we wrestled outside, both of our bodies slowly stiffening.

“Allan!” I turned to see the girls and princesses run up, gasping as they saw the state I was in. “You need to let go off all of that chi or you’ll be turned to stone!”

I gave them a sad smile. “I know. I figured that out a little while ago.” I turned and glared at Discord, our tussle becoming less violent as time went on. “Thing is, we've got no other way to put this culo back in his place.”

I looked back at the ponies, all showing various degrees of sadness and shock before I glanced past them. Chase stood there in the distance, his hands behind his back as he watched the scene from afar. I was confused at his sudden appearance before he gave me a smirk and waved.

He… he did trick me. At first I felt despair at having someone I thought was my friend betraying me like that. It quickly turned to rage though as let go of Discord with the one arm that wasn’t completely stone and pulled out the Eye of Dashi. I pushed against my quickly stiffening joints, trying to aim at him as the stone began to cover the corners of my eyes.

“Eye… of…” was all I could get out before Discord and I were completely covered in stone.
> Time Passing On
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia’s POV

Moments after Allan was turned completely to stone, the chi he borrowed flowed out and returned to their original owners. We all stood there, mourning the loss of our friend for quite some time as the chaos influencing Ponyville slowly deteriorated. After a while a few of the others began to leave, giving various reasons such as checking on family and aiding other ponies. I noticed that it took Fluttershy to convince Rarity to step away from the statue, though Dojo remained perched on Luna’s shoulders. I looked over the statue, the two beings seemingly locked in eternal combat as Allan held the eye aiming at...  how odd.

When no one but my sister, Dojo, and I remained, I walked over to Allan’s side and looked down his arm to where he had been aiming only to see the roof of a building. I wondered just what it was Allan had seen before turning to stone. Perhaps this was an ill omen of what was to come.

It would have to wait though. My sister was...  heartbroken to say the least. I think she found a certain kinship in Allan, and after I saw the two at the gala I couldn’t help but be happy for her. I had wished the two would eventually move on in their relationship but now that seemed like a distant dream.

I knelt down next to Luna and nuzzled her, snapping her from her despair. “Luna,” I said calmly “We have to leave eventually.” She held her eyes shut tight as she grimaced. “I know you are hurting but there is nothing that can be done. The elements are a force much stronger than anything we have seen.”

Luna shivered somewhat before standing, opening her eyes. “Can we at least separate the two? It feels wrong to leave him in the clutches of… that.” I only nodded before turning to the statue, placing my horn delicately on Allan’s forehead. I teleported the two of us five feet to the left, leaving Discord coiled up where he stood and Allan with one arm outstretched to his side, the other aiming one of his Shen Gong Wu. I took this moment to notice that it, along with his scroll, had been encased as well.

Luna walked up, looking over Allan sadly once more before sighing. “Are you sure there is nothing that can be done? He gave so much just to save us, and he was but a stranger to our lands.”

“There’s gotta be something you can do!” Dojo exclaimed, popping out of Luna’s mane.

I opened my mouth to tell her it was hopeless before pondering the thought. Well, we never properly studied Discord’s prison the first time. After all, we didn’t want him freed. But is it really worth giving my sister hope that may lead to nothing? I shook my head. “I suppose we can study the spell, try to find a way to break it.” I saw my sister’s eyes light up just as I feared. “But I see little hope in such a thing Luna. I can’t have you divert all of your attention to such a thing so soon after your reinstatement as princess. The nobles would surely call for you to step down.”

“Than I will step down gladly.” Luna stated with determination. “If being a princess will get in the way of me making this right, then why should I continue to be so?”

“Luna, do you really think he would want you to do that?” I waved a hoof at Allan’s statue. “To throw away everything you’ve been working so hard to build these past few months?” Luna looked about ready to go through with it anyway before Dojo spoke up.

“The princess has a point, er… princess. Allan was actually afraid of what him being around you would do to your already shaky relation with the nobles.” Luna looked absolutely torn up inside about what she should do. Eventually she just broke down, lying on the ground as small tears began to form in her eyes.

“Why? Why did this have to be this way?” I stepped over to her and wrapped a wing around her, pulling her close.

“We will do our best to free him Luna, but Equestria comes first. We should follow his example and put the needs of the land before our own desires.” I just held her there, allowing her to let out the emotions broiling inside her. By the time she was done it had come time for the sun to be set and the moon to rise.

Luna got up and looked Allan in the eyes, her own now dry of tears. “I will take him to the study. He should not be left outside for the birds to prey upon with their droppings.” Her horn lit up and the two of them vanished, leaving me with Discord. I walked over to him calmly, though in all actuality I was furious.

“You take away so much all for your sick games.” I spoke to him, not sure if he could hear me but not caring either way. “So much has had to be sacrificed just to stop you, and in the end you just take a long sleep before returning once more to wreak havoc.” I brought myself face to face with him as I glared into his stone eyes. After a few moments of no response I sighed before teleporting us to the gardens and returning him to his pedestal.

*     *     *

Luna’s POV

After everything Discord had done, it took many days to set things right and calm ponies down. A week had gone by before I could even begin to work on finding a cure for Allan. I transported to the forbidden section of the study where I had left him, still standing petrified. Dojo had not left the room much since I had placed Allan there, spending his days polishing and cleaning the statue.

“There you go buddy! Spick and span.” We both noticed as a faint golden light emitted from the scroll despite being covered in stone. I almost expected to see Allan spring free from his stone prison right there only to be quickly proven otherwise. Dojo must have felt much the same as he sobbed into Allan’s shoulder.

I retained my composure though and began pulling out books from the shelves around me, looking for anything having to do with the elements, petrification, and unknown magic. Once the dragon pulled himself together he began helping me, putting books back where they belonged after I finished skimming them for useful information. After some time I had a small collection of books stacked next to me and a few hours to begin reading.

“Dojo,” I asked “I know you would prefer to be here, but would you go ask the cook to boil some tea?”

“Sure thing princess. One pot of tea coming up!” He darted off out of the study, leaving me alone with the statue and books. I moved to pull the first book off the top of the stack before glancing at Allan. I walked up in front of him so that we were face to face.

“I don’t know if you can hear me, but I wanted to tell you what a jerk you are.” I chuckled despite feeling tears beginning to form in my eyes. “I mean, you promised we would talk about what happened at the gala once the danger has passed but you just had to go and sacrifice yourself. I was afraid something like this would happen and…” I took a moment to collect myself before continuing.

“We had so few times together, but I felt like we knew each other in a way no one else did. Still, I was afraid. After all, we were two separate species, one coming from a world where the other were nothing more than beasts of burden.” I put on a small smile. “Of course, then you saw me at the gala and froze in awe, something I never dreamed you would do for me. I initially wrote it off as just you being easily distracted by my change of dress but then you continued to take glances when you thought I wasn’t looking. I never felt so nervous.”

I gave Allan another glance before rolling my eyes. “Yes, I was nervous. Being a princess meant learning to hide such things, and even then I continued to doubt you were really seeing me as beautiful until we ended that challenge. You couldn’t pull your eyes away from me, not even noticing the showdown was over. I didn’t want to look away from you either but I could feel the nobles beginning to stare.”

It suddenly dawned on me what Dojo had meant by Allan’s association causing more problems for me. “You… you stayed away after that night because you didn’t want to put more pressure on me. Those stuck up bastards saw you as a problem, not as a problem solver, and you knew. You… cared about me so much that you were willing to split us up to do what you thought was best.” My composure finally broke as I wrapped my hooves around him, crying into his stone shoulder.

“I’m… so sorry.”

*     *     *

Wuya’s POV

I couldn’t believe what luck we had! That foolish boy, Allan, thought he could handle the raw power of the Elements of Harmony and was turned to stone for his stupidity. As winter thawed into spring a few months later, I was already in possession of three new Wu! I watched over those idiotic brothers as they searched through the ocean with some sort of submersible machine they created.

‘There!” I called out, pointing ahead of us to a gleam against the ocean floor. They pulled over to it and a mechanical arm slid out, grabbing the Gills of Hamachi.

“Another Wu in the bag.” Flim chuckled before the two high hooved.

*     *     *

Rarity’s POV

Though I was rather busy meeting the elite of Canterlot, I made sure to have time to see Allan. He was staying with the princesses, resting after the battle with Discord. My friends for some reason thought he had been petrified, which was a ludicrous idea!

The guards to the castle let me in, the princesses having already told them of my visit. Imagine my surprise though when they lead me told a forbidden. section of the archives. There, it the center of the room, was Allan, as stone.

I rolled my eyes at him before walking up to Allan. "Very funny. Did Rainbow Dash help you paint yourself like a statue as some sort of prank?" Allan didn't move or even speak. "Come now, joke's over." Still he would not move. 

With a huff of annoyance I walked over to him, putting a hoof on his leg and pushing. Oddly enough, he didn't budge, no matter how I berated his leg. After a few moments of this, it dawned on me what was really going on here.

"You didn't paint yourself to look like a statue. This is a statue!" I smiled, having figured out the ridiculous joke. "They made a statue copy of Allan and had the guards bring me here as a prank." I turned and walked out, looking at the guards. "I'm sure this was funny and all, but I am on a tight schedule. Now where is the real Allan?"

Both guards gave me all weird look before turning toward each other. When they looked back one spoke up. "That's the only Allan we have been told of, Ms. Rarity."

I groaned. "So you don't even know where he is. Well I suppose I will have to find another time to visit. I have to be at a soiree soon." I saw myself out, though I could have sworn for a moment I heard one of the guards mutter "crazy mare."

*     *     *

Twilight’s POV

It had been a crazy couple of days, filled with disaster-proofing Ponyville and leading ancient protectors of Tartarus back to their station, and still whatever horrible future was still coming! All my work up to this point had been for naught, so I came up with only the most sensible plan I could think of. Stopping time itself!

Once Spike, Pinkie, and I were all suited up in black, we snuck our way into the Canterlot archives, making our way to the forbidden section in search of a spell that could stop the inevitable horror only a few hours away. I immediately began scanning over novels and scrolls, looking for anything I could use before grumbling in anger.

“Ugh! Why are there so many scrolls and tomes missing?! What could they possibly be-” I turned and noticed for the first time that Allan, or rather his petrified self, was standing in the middle of the room. Various books were strewn across the table nearby, answering my question as to what once filled the holes on the shelves.

He didn’t deserve this. I thought, slowly walking toward him. He might have stopped me from studying his Wu and possibly making several breakthroughs in magic, he might have been somewhat frustrating to deal with when he wasn’t spending all his time on that hill, he might have angered Spike for whatever reason. But he still fought to protect a place he was still new to. A place that wasn’t his home. I can’t imagine how he remained so calm through all of that.

I must have been staring off into space for awhile as Spike nudged my leg. “Hey Twilight. You alright?” I quickly shook my head before looking down at him with a smile, suddenly realizing how tired I was after the days of staying awake worried about the future.

“I’m fine.” I yawned. “Just… thinking.” I looked back at Allan, my smile only widening. If Allan could face his future calmly after losing everything he once knew to be thrown into another world, then I’m sure I can face mine. “Let’s head home, Spike, Pinkie. Suddenly the future doesn’t seem so scary.”

Spike’s jaw dropped. “But what about stopping the disaster and all that? We even found a time spell. Here.” Spike handed me a scroll, which I looked over for a moment to find it was a spell that would allow me to travel back in time for a short time, and only once. Wait… I could use this to make sure I don’t worry about the future for a week and go nuts!

I shook my head. “I’m confident that whatever the future holds, we can face it. This spell will help though. I can use it to go back and make sure I don’t spend the week worrying.” And with a flash of my horn, I transported through time, feeling rather light for the first time in awhile.

*     *     *

Applejack’s POV

I could not believe it. The entire town had been countin’ on me to bring home first place in the rodeo competition and I barely made it out above average. How was I gonna face ‘em with a bag full of red n’ yellow ribbons?

I stood at the train station, tryin’ to figure just what I was gonna say to break the bad news to everypony when I came up wit’ an idea. I just won’t go home. I reckoned. After all, if I don’t come back, then they got nothin’ to be disappointed in. It would be better for everypony if I just left. Maybe Aunt Cherry could give me a new job and I would-

“Pardon me miss.” Now this new pony surprised me, but I didn’t jump. No siree. “Are you alright? You seem kind of skittish.” The stallion seemed fairly average looking with light blue coloring. He was also wearing a gold star around his neck with a ruby center to it. For some reason it reminded me of-

“Hey, you there? Can’t imagine my choice of necktie is that distracting.” He chuckled. I shook my head before giving him a bit of a stink eye.

“I’m fine. Just… where did you get that?”

“What, this old thing?” He put a hoof on it. “I found it out in the desert. Why do you ask?”

“It just reminds me of an ol’ friend is all.” I guess I didn’ do too well of a job hiding my sad memories, what with his next question and all.

“This friend of yours ain’t around anymore, I’m guessing?”

I shook my head. “No. He was a good guy, despite having the luck he did. Heck, he’d been in Equestria for, what? A couple of weeks or so? He went out to help protect good ponies and really beat himself up when he failed. Spent two months cooped up, working his butt off in some strange way of makin’ up for it.”

The stallion chuckled. “Sounds like he had a good heart in him, even if he was a bit pig-headed.”

I chuckled in response. Ya, we all worried about him a lot. I got a bit of a warm smile as I realized somethin’. And they would worry about me if I did the same.

“Here.” The stallion pulled the star off and held it out to me. “Why don’t you have it? Just a pretty piece of metal to me.” I looked at the star for a moment, a mite bit shocked at this before noddin’ to him and putting the star in my bags.

“Thanks.” We both turned to see the train pulling into the station. “Well here’s my train. Thanks for the talk.” Once I was aboard I waved good bye to the stallion, realizin’ I didn’t even know his name. ‘Fore I could ask, the train jolted forward. I settled in to the seat, the weight of the ribbons in my bag not feeling so heavy.

*     *     *

Fluttershy’s POV

I had been working all day to try and help the other pegasi get the water up to Cloudsdale, but after so long I still couldn’t match the others. I just felt so… useless. Even my animal friends  couldn’t cheer me up as I sat out in the field alone.

“Are you alright, young pony?” A soft voice spoke. I looked up to see it was that minotaur that been training Allan to fight. It took me a few moments to collect myself before I could speak.

“Sorry if my crying was bothering you, Mr. Gongniu.”

He held up a hand while wearing a small smile. “No need to apologize. Now, what seems to be troubling you?”

I sniffed. “Oh, it’s nothing really. I just… really wish I could help the other pegasi but there’s no way I can match their wing power.” I shoved my face back into my hooves, crying a bit more, but when I didn’t hear a reply from Mr. Gongniu I looked back. He was still there.

“Perhaps it is not place to say, but giving up now would only cement your failure. There was one, such as yourself, that in the face of failure wanted to quit. Do you remember who that was?”

I thought about it for a few moments, trying to figure out who when it dawned on me, the memory making my heart ache a bit. “You mean Allan?”

Mr. Gongniu nodded. “Yes. When he failed for the first time, he wanted to quit, wanted to give the job to someone more experienced. It took a bit, but I managed to show him that failure is not the end of something, rather it is the beginning of making something greater.”

I pondered Mr. Gongniu’s words for a minute, along the way thinking about Allan. I miss him. We all do. I took a moment to wipe the tears from my eyes. He wouldn’t want me crying and giving up either. He’d want me to do all I can to help my friends. I looked up and gave Mr. Gongniu a small smile, which he returned before turning around and continuing on his walk.

“Alright.” I said to myself. “Other ponies watching me or not, I’m going to give it my all.”

With my new found courage I went back and helped the pegasi the next day, though we couldn’t beat the record like Rainbow wanted. Turns out a few the pegasi caught the feather flu so we barely had just enough wing power to even get the water to Cloudsdale. I even managed to get up to five wing power!

After everything was done, Rainbow came up to me with big grin on her face. “Fluttershy! Why’d you come back? I thought you were still afraid of ponies judging you for how you fly.”

“Oh, I was, but then I remembered how Allan lost once and almost gave up, but instead he worked hard until he was stronger than ever. I figured if I worked hard like him, it wouldn’t matter what the other ponies thought.”

Rainbow smiled, though it quickly faded. I guess mentioning Allan brought up some sad memories. “You know, it’s been over two years since he’s been gone.” Rainbow sighed. “Still wish there was something I could do.”

I put a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. “We all do Rainbow. Princess Luna’s been working hard to try and get him out. Twilight helps her when she can.”

“I know they’re doing egg head things to help him, but I wish there was something I could do! I hate just standing around while one of my friends is stuck in stone.” Rainbow stomped on the ground in anger, forcing me to take a step back.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t know you meant you specifically.” Rainbow seemed to calm down a bit at my apology.

“No, it’s not your fault. It’s just frustrating, you know?” I nodded, a few moments of silence falling between us as Rainbow seemed to take that time to perk back up. “Enough being down in the dumps! We just got the water to Cloudsdale. We should be celebrating a job well done. Let’s go Sugarcube Corner and grab something sweet to eat.” I nodded in response before the two of us flew off.

*     *     *

Chase’s POV

I was sure to take advantage of the dragon warrior’s… disappearance to begin building my army back to the glory it had been. I challenged great fighters across the world, defeating them with my superior skills before enlisting them into my army of cat warriors. By two years end, it was a far cry from the army I once had a thousand years ago but it was still a strong force nonetheless.

I trecked through the jungles, about two dozen cat’s following my lead as I pushed through the thick brush until I finally arrived at my old fortress, a skull shaped fortress embed in a mountain. The gates were overgrown with foliage as the jungle tried to reclaim it, however the doors still held strong after all these years.

I grinned. “Ah, it’s good to be home.”


> Crashing Through the Wall of a Wedding
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This day is going to be perfect. Chrysalis thought to herself as she and a rather heavily mind controlled Shining Armor stood at the altar. Her smile was big enough for everyone to see, but it wasn’t for the reason everyone in the room thought. These fools wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between their actual princess and a toad.

“Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, it is my great pleasure to pronounce you-”

“Stop!” Twilight yelled out as the doors of the chapel to slam open, said pony running in.

“Ugh! Why does she have to be so possessive of her brother?” Chrysalis grumbled quietly before making up some crocodile tears. “Why does she have to ruin my special day?”

“Because it’s not your special day!” The real Princess Cadence walked in, looking rather ragged. “It’s mine!” The entire room gasped as Chrysalis growled before turning to Celestia and taking advantage of her surprise. She pulled out a golden sphere and shouted “Sphere of Yun!” Suddenly, the princess was sealed in a ball of energy, seemingly unable to use her magic. Chrysalis chuckled evilly as her disguise dropped.

“Now that Celestia is out of the way, I have nothing to fear as my changelings invade!” The barrier fell as she finished speaking, swarms of changelings descending upon the city. The ponies in the chapel fled in fear as Twilight went to grab her friends.

“Come on girls. We need to get the elements.” They all nodded before running off, not noticing Chrysalis as she watched them with a grin.

“You can run but you can’t hide.” she laughed as changelings followed them. She turned to look out the window only for a changeling to land in front of her. “What is it?”

“My queen,” the changeling bowed. “We found something odd in the Canterlot Archives. Shall we bring it to you?”

Chrysalis rose an eye to this. “Very well. Bring it here.” The changeling bowed once more before flying off.

*     *     * 

A little while later, Chrysalis stood victorious over the ponies, the element bearers captured. As she smirked over the group of defeated ponies, the changelings she sent to get whatever it was in the archives arrived. They carried with them a statue of a creature she had never seen before, holding in front of him some strange looking object. The creature stood on two legs like a minotaur, but not nearly as tall and bulky. The element bearers and Celestia gasped at the sight of the statue, confusing Chrysalis.

“What is this?” She spat, looking over the statue as it was placed in front of her. “What sort of strange creature is this?” She looked at the ponies, all of them seemingly on edge. Chrysalis gave them an evil grin. “You all seem rather attached to this hunk of stone. Wouldn’t it be a shame if I were to…” Chrysalis’ horn glowed brightly, her power increased by what she stole from Celestia thanks to the sphere. She fired a beam at the statue, sending it crashing out one of the chapel windows.

“Allan!” Rainbow Dash cried, trying to fly after the statue only for four changelings to hold her down. The other ponies just looked at the window in various states of shock while Celestia stared out, a focused gaze in her eyes.

Chrysalis just laughed evilly. “You all jump to protect a statue?! No wonder taking over this city was so simple.” Little did she know that said statue had slammed through various buildings before landing in the middle of a donut shop, intact but not without a few cracks where the beam had struck. These cracks however began to grow, white light pouring from them. The entire statue grew brighter and brighter until the stone exploded, a tattered and scrapped Allan stumbling out.

*     *     *

Alright, so before we continue on, there is one thing I need to say.

Petrification is mierda!

First, I have no idea what you might think being turned to stone is like, but it is dull. I couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, couldn’t move, and that was my life for I don’t even know how long. Than there’s the fact the first thing I actually feel after that long is something slamming into my chest.  And the cricks I had in my neck when I finally got out will never go away.

That aside, I was glad to be out, if just because I now had a chance to punch Chase in the nose. If there was one thing I thought about during my time as a statue, it was what I was gonna do to him when I got out. I wasn’t a fool though. I knew Chase out classed me in martial skill many times over.

If I’m going to protect everyone from him, I need to train. I glanced around at the donut shop I was in. But first let’s figure out por qué demonios I’m in a shop. Wasn’t hard to find the massive, person sized hole in the wall that most likely was where I came from. A few black pony-shaped creatures flew past as I looked through.

Of course. I wake up in the middle of some kind of invasion. What could make this worse?

“Just what is that?” I heard a hissy voice come from behind me. I looked to see three of the creatures entering the shop, letting me get a better look. They had bug-like wings and eyes, on top of a set of fangs that made them look like a cross between a pony and a fly.

“What does it matter?” The second one to enter the shop replied. “Chrysalis’ orders are to capture everyone in Canterlot. That includes this… monkey thing.”

Alright, that wouldn’t bug me normally. But right now, I’m stiff, I’m a bit beat up, and I’ve got better things to do than squish a few bugs! I gave the bug ponies a glare. “Look, you caprichos de la naturaleza, I’ve got things to do so how about you take me to your leader so I can settle this quick.”

“Huh? What did he call us?”

“I dunno, but I think he’s making fun of us.”

“Well then,” spoke the front changeling as he arched his back like a cat. “Let’s shut him up!” He leapt at me, only to be quickly sent through the wall to my left as I swung the Fist of Tebigong into his muzzle. The other two saw their friend go flying, taking a moment for their jaws to drop before growling at me and attacking themselves. One was snatched out of the air by the Third Arm Sash as I gave the other a quick set of kicks, juggling him in the air before sending him out the hole his friend had made like a soccer ball into the goal.

Once things settled a bit, I brought the third creature close to my face before baring my teeth. “Just what are you and who is leading the attack?” I asked bluntly. For a moment he held strong before I wound the fist back for a strike and he yelled out.

“Okay! I’ll tell you! We are changelings, under the rule of Queen Chrysalis. She’s leading the attack from the chapel in Canterlot Castle. She already has Celestia captured along with the element bearers.”

“And Luna?”

“She is away on a diplomatic mission. It’s why our queen choose to attack now. Having only one alicorn to deal with is much better than two.”

“Well too bad for you, ‘cause now,” I brought the changeling close before muttering, “Now you’ve got to deal with me.” I tossed him up before sending him flying through the hole with a well placed punch, the coward landing on the heads of his friends as they were just getting up.

Alright, lets get this over with. Soon as the bug queen is done I can start working toward the real fight with Chase. I packed up the Wu I had brought out before cutting one quick portal with the Golden Tiger Claws and jumping through.

*     *     *

The element bearers could only watch at this point as Chrysalis’ drones swarmed over Canterlot, the queen watching from the window. Twilight had already tried to free Cadance from the slime coating her hooves but the changelings watching them were very strict. They had all just about lost hope when suddenly their ears perked up, the sound of something crashing being heard from somewhere else in the castle.

Chrysalis heard it as well though and stepped away from the balcony. “Just what was that?” She sneered before a rather beat up looking changeling ran into the room and shut the door behind him.

“My Queen! We are under attack by some two legged creature with powerful magic. He’s on his way here!”

“What?! How can he be defeating so many soldiers? That’s impossible!” As she said this, a few of the changelings in the room moved to the door to barricade it as the hurt one tiredly made his way over to the queen.

“It is so, my Queen. I saw it with my own eyes. A few of us have managed to hit him back, but he seems to just take them like they are nothing.”

Chrysalis growled as she thought of how to face this new enemy. “Very well. We will have to-”

“Eye of Dashi! Light!” Suddenly a voice called from behind the now blocked door, though it did little good as a white beam cut through it all, slicing it like it was air. Those inside the room were forced to jump to the side or duck in order to avoid it as it traced a large circle in the barricade. Once the circle was done, the voice spoke again. “Fist of Tebigong!” And with that, the cut out portion of the door was blown out, leaving an opening for whatever stood on the other side.

The ponies gasped as they saw Allan step in, though it was impossible to tell whether it was because they were happy to see him or because of how many bruises and cuts he seemed to have. Chrysalis merely growled at the newcomer. “You! You look like that statue I turned to rubble.”

Allan glared at the queen. “So I’m guessing you’re to blame for that mierda alarm clock that hit me in the stomach.” He then looked around the room, his glare not ceasing. “I’m also guessing you’re the queen I’ve heard about. And here I thought these cosas were ugly.” He pointed at one of the drones standing nearby.

“How dare you address me so! This time I will make sure that there is nothing but dust left!” She charged up a beam and fired it at Allan. He was too fast however.

“Reversing Mirror!” He held up the mirror that appeared in his hand, absorbing the magic before returning it back at the Chrysalis, though a changeling took the blast for her. This was signal enough for the remaining changelings in the room to attack as well, the entire swarm leaping at Allan.

“Sword of the Storms!” He called out as said named sword appeared in his hand above his head. It then became a blur, kicking up a tornado around him and pulling all the attackers into it. Allan stopped for a moment once the swarm was sufficiently before swinging the blade at Chrysalis, blasting her and her guard out the window before Allan flew out after them using the Longi Kite.

The ponies left in the room stood there agape for a moment, looking around at the once empty room  as if expecting for something to jump out at them. When nothing did they started to get up and move around, Rainbow stretching her wings now that she wasn’t being held down.

“Uh… what just happened?” The remaining ponies all had a similar response of “no idea”, except for Celestia who spoke up.

“I believe that my power combined with Chrysalis’ might have been enough to crack the seal that was on Allan, or perhaps Luna’s attempts to break him out weakened it enough to the point where it just needed a well placed blast. Either way, we should be grateful yet cautious at Allan’s return.”

Twilight finished freeing Cadance’s hooves before glancing up at her mentor, still trapped within the barrier created by the Sphere of Yun. “But princess, what would we have to worry from Allan?”

“Ya, we should be celebrating!” Pinkie jumped up. “Ally’s back! WOO HOO!” Despite Pinkie’s optimism, Celestia was not smiling.

“I’m afraid it is not that simple, at least to Allan. He seemed… troubled. Focused. Merciless. As if he was trying to get rid of Chrysalis as quickly as possible. Allan as we know him wasn’t like that. He would taunt and smirk at his opponent, acting cocky.”

“What could get under his skin like that?” Applejack spoke up.

Celestia shook her head. “I don’t know. But it can’t be good whatever it is.”

“Oh come on!” Rainbow threw her hooves up in the air. “I bet he’s just cranky from being stuck in that statue for two years. I know I would.”

Celestia looked out the window that the changelings had all been sent out. “I hope you are right.”

*     *     *

The battle outside was a flurry of motion as Allan fought off the remaining swarm while avoiding or reflecting Chrysalis’ magical attacks. He was wearing many Wu, including the Sword of the Storms in one hand, the Golden Tiger Claws in the other, the Third Arm Sash holding the Reversing Mirror, the Longi Kite on his back, and finally the Eye of Dashi hanging around his neck.

Despite Allan’s abilities and best efforts, he couldn’t keep every changeling off of him. For every few groups of changelings he blasted back or sent to the Everfree Forest with the claws, a single changeling or two would get through, cutting into him with their jagged horn or leaving a bruise. It took awhile, but the numbers were eventually thinned out enough that Allan could make a move against the queen herself.

“Why won’t you just fall?!” Chrysalis screamed as she shot another beam, striking a wing of the Longi Kite.

“Golden Tiger Claws!” With a slash, Allan fell into a portal, coming out on top of Chrysalis. The changeling queen was startled by the sudden rider, zipping side to side before crashing into the castle and destroying the wall. The two were thrown into what had been something of a museum, filled with old weapons, armor, and other mementos of heroes past.

The two stood up and glared at each other, Allan clearing the Wu off him as he took up his martial arts stance. Things were quiet between the two of them as they just watched each other until, as if they had both been given a silent message, they both leapt to the side and into the array of objects.

Chrysalis made the first move, telekinetically grabbing some quivers before firing off the arrows in them in rapid succession. Allan ducked behind a table holding a model ship, said model being destroyed by the rain of death. As he covered his head with his arms against the shards of wood flying around him, he glanced up at the ceiling and the chandelier that hung there before coming up with an idea and pulling out the Mantis Flip Coin.

“Are you just going to hide?” Chrysalis taunted over the sound of splintering wood just as Allan leapt out of his cover, landing on the chandelier and swinging toward Chrysalis. She glanced upward just as Allan gave the chandelier a swift kick, breaking it from the ceiling and sending him and it falling toward Chrysalis.

Both which were suddenly stopped in a green aura as the changeling queen grinned. “What, is that your big plan?” When she moved the chandelier however, she was surprised to find nothing behind it. “Where did-” She was interrupted as a foot struck her across the face, quickly followed by another to her body that sent her into the next room.

“Why you piece of…” She looked up from her position on the floor to see Allan running at her, jumping for another kick. She was ready this time though, grabbing a shield from a nearby display and blocking him with it. She then took a spear from the same display, thrusting it at Allan who avoided it by bouncing off the shield.

“You are beginning to annoy me!” She growled as she stood, grabbing the other half a dozen spears and launching them at Allan. He bent his body left and right, avoiding the spears as they were embedded into the wall. This just angered Chrysalis more, her horn glowing bright before she threw her head down, the floor collapsing as a wave of green magic went through it.

Again Allan was quicker as he leapt up onto the handle of one of the spears still stuck in the wall. As another wave of spears came at him, he leapt from spear to spear, even grabbing a few out of the air and throwing them into the walls on either side.

“GRAH!” In her anger to get rid of the monk, Chrysalis threw the shield at him, it spinning at a speed that could only be matched by a motor saw. Allan, in an unexpected act, leapt toward the shield, bounding off the top of it with a single foot before landing behind Chrysalis. He couldn’t get a counterattack in however as Chrysalis let off another beam of energy, scorching the spot he was just standing as he leapt into the next room.

The queen ran into the room with all the grace of a bull as she did a good of imitating one with her snorts of anger. “Where are you?!” The next room was a long hall, sets of armor lining each side so that it made it almost appear that the ponequins were going to war with each other. “So now you are hiding? Are you afraid?” Chrysalis taunted as she stalked down the center of the display, glancing side to side as she looked between the ranks of fake soldiers.

As she reached the center of the room, suddenly one of the ponequins from the back of the ranks leapt above his fellow soldiers to attack Chrysalis. It was quickly turned to dust by Chrysalis, along with all the suits of armor in the direction it came from. No roasted human corpse was amongst the remains.

“Is it really a good idea to play a game of hide and seek with the ruler of a race of shapechangers? Hiding is what we do best.” Her ear twitched before she turned and fired another disintegrating blast, having no luck once again. When she turned back to her front with a huff, she was met with a glowing palm coming at her.

“Orion’s Palm! Light!” A flash went off as it connected with her, sending her flying through the halls until she landed against a wall, an array of swords hanging above her. She saw this and grinned at Allan as he ran toward her, pulling sword after sword and firing it at him. This forced Allan to take evasive actions, leaping off the walls, sliding beneath, and even deflecting blades out of the air with his palm to block others.

Chrysalis soon was running out of swords, down to her last one. This blade was shorter than most, the middle of the steel covered by a gold section and the entire thing decorated with light blue. The guard was shaped similar to a bat’s wings and was also gold. The strange designed distracted her for a split second, which Allan used to close the distance and grab the sword with the intention of ripping it out of her telekinetic grip.

What neither anticipated was the sword suddenly glowing brightly, the two of them suddenly finding themselves unable to let go. “What is this trickery?” Chrysalis yelled as Allan only squinted against the light.

“Looks like this is a Wu. And that means I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown. I will wager the Mantis Flip Coin against the Sphere of Yun that you have used to trap Celestia.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Unless you want to see what it’s like to be hit with a bug zapper like your distant ancestors, I’d suggest rethinking that.” Allan spoke, his tone much more threatening than mocking.

Chrysalis gave a growl before tugging on the sword. “I accept, but only because I can’t wait to wipe the floor with you. The challenge will be a game of deception. The first to tap the other in the center of their back wins.”

“Alright. Let’s go! Xiaolin Showdown!” The weapons and armor that had been strewn about the place by the battle was picked up as a swirling vortex spun around them, clattering and clinking as the ponequins beneath the armor slowly began to take on simple features. Each was given a fur color and eyes, even becoming either a stallion or mare before Allan and Chrysalis were thrown away from each other, being caught in the storm before it died down. They both found themselves in a strange bazaar, the living ponequins walking about in their armor.

“Gong Yi Tan Pai!” Allan quickly leapt to the roof of a nearby building, using the Mantis Flip Coin to get up there in a single bound. He then bound from rooftop to rooftop, looking over the bazaar for any signs of Chrysalis. After about a minute of that, he went back to the ground, walking through the crowd.

Chrysalis meanwhile had taken the form of one of the armor wearing ponies and had watched Allan make himself completely exposed. Ha! She thought to herself. This is almost too easy. Did he really think he could beat me, the Queen of Changelings, in a game of hiding? She moved closer and closer to Allan, taking her time to not expose her intentions. She was just a breath away and was lifting a hoof to tap him in the back when suddenly he was gone, her hoof going through empty air and causing her to fall forward.

“Where did- ack!” She cried out as something landed on her back. A quick glance confirmed it was Allan, a finger on the square of her back as it glowed slightly. “H-how did you pick me out so quickly?!”

“I didn’t. I just knew if I made myself a big enough target you wouldn’t be able to resist. So I showed off, making sure you saw me before then giving you an opportunity. After that, all I had to do was wait until someone got too close.” His explanation was blunt, as if it was obvious what he had done. It wasn’t long before the showdown deconstructed itself and the two were returned to where they were, Allan holding the sphere and sword.

Chrysalis growled and her horn glowed to attack Allan once more before he rose the arm holding the sphere and called out “Sphere of Yun.” In that instant, Chrysalis cried out, her near limitless power that she had stolen from the alicorn cut off. As she began to recover, she was met with a quick foot to the face, knocking her out.

“Finally got you out of the way.” Allan muttered, putting the Wu away before pulling out the Golden Tiger Claws.

*     *     *

Meanwhile, back in the chapel with the ponies, they were all surprised by Celestia’s sudden release. Even more surprised when Chrysalis herself fell into the room through a tear in the air, unconscious. The tear closed soon after though, leaving the ponies all wondering the same question.

“Just what the hay is going on?” It was Shining Armor rubbing his aching head that vocalized said question.

*     *     *

At the same time back in Ponyville, Master Gongniu sat at a table, sipping some tea. “Welcome back, my young apprentice.” He spoke as Allan stepped into the entryway, still beat up and bloodied from the fight.

“Thank you master. If you wouldn’t mind, I would like to continue my training right away.” Gongniu looked Allan up and down before turning back to his tea.

“Do you not think you should rest? You seem to have had a rather eventful time since being freed from stone. I would think you would celebrate your freedom with your friends.”

“I can’t relax and enjoy being with my friends knowing that they are all in danger and that I’m the only one who can stop what threatens them.”

“I assume this has to do with the one called Chase?”

Allan was momentarily surprised by this. “How did you know?”

“You mentioned him before leaving me to fight Discord. Said he was the one who mentioned using the chi of the element bearers. When I later was told that was what ended you sealed in stone, I figured he must have told you with that in mind if he was being so oddly specific.”

“Well you’re correct.” Allan said, leaning against the frame of the entrance. “He did tell me to use their chi, and made a point to mock me from afar as I was turned to stone. Who knows what he has been up to since then.” He glanced at the ground for a moment before speaking again. “How long was I gone?”

“A little over two years. It was nearing the end of fall when you left, and it is now spring. Almost three years since you arrived in Equestria actually. The Summer Sun Celebration is next week.”

“Well I won’t be around for this one. Chase is on a level of skill I won’t be able to match unless I get to work.”

“Tomorrow, my young apprentice.” Allan seemed ready to argue when Gongniu rose a hand, cutting him off. “You are hurt and clearly tired. It will do you no good to train in this state. Tend to your wounds and then get some rest. I promise I will wake you tomorrow and we can begin training once more.”

Allan didn’t seem to like this but obeyed nonetheless. “Thank you master.” He bowed before leaving the room. Once Gongniu could no longer hear the footsteps of his apprentice he sighed, looking down into his cup of tea.

“Be careful young dragon. You are walking along a fine edge now. If you can make it without falling you will find the strength you so seek, but if you fall…” He took a sip of his tea. “The world won’t just have Chase to worry about.”
> A Deciding Path
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Allan stood at the start of a gauntlet of obstacles, slowly breathing as he watched them. The course had been put together to push him to work and he had been trying to master it all day. Finally though he felt like he knew how to pass through.

He leapt off the start line, moving from obstacle to obstacle in a blur as he didn’t miss a beat going between each one. He knew the course like a speed runner knew a game, having many close calls that didn’t even phase him. It wasn’t long before he could see the end of the course in sight, sprinting toward victory…

“Hey Ally!” Suddenly Pinkie Pie was there right in Allan’s face, completely throwing him off as he stumbled. Something caught his foot as a swinging log slammed into him, sending him spinning into the air before he was plastered against the wall surrounding the temple. Allan barely managed to focus his swirling vision just as Pinkie ran up.

“Wow Ally! You went flying!” She giggled. Allan however was not pleased, especially when he then fell off the wall and landed on the ground face first. He got up with a growl before glaring at the party pony.

“Pinkie, I’m busy training. Didn’t I tell you guys not to bother me?”

Pinkie seemed to deflate slightly but retained her smile. “But you’ve been doing nothing but train since you got back. It’s been over a week and you haven’t celebrated or even talked with anyone.”

“I’m. Busy.” Allan reiterated before pushing past Pinkie and back toward the start of the course. “There are more important things to be doing right now than celebrating.” Pinkie’s smile faltered as Allan walked off. She opened her mouth to say something but seemed to lose face and instead walked out rather un-Pinkie like.

Just as she was leaving however, Twilight walked in. “Excuse me Allan, but I was wondering if you would be alright with me analyzing the Wu Chrysalis used on Celestia.”

“No. Go away,” was all the response he gave as he stood at the start of the course, watching it as if waiting for his moment to leap into action.

Twilight didn’t seem prepared for such a blunt answer as she stumbled a bit on her words. “B-but… such an object could open the avenue to many possibilities. Spells that can be used to capture dangerous criminals, ways to transfer magic that before was impossible. If it could hold Celestia of all ponies it must be quite the object.”

“I said no.” He never even turned to look at Twilight as he shot her down. She almost seemed to flinch at how flat he was before clearing her throat.

“Then would you mind if I examined another?” Allan groaned, throwing his hands up before walking over to the side where Dojo was sleeping. Allan picked up the scroll he was laying on, disturbing his slumber as he quickly pulled the Falcon’s Eye from it.

“There.” He tossed it perhaps a bit too forcefully at Twilight. “You got what you want. Now let me train.” Allan dropped the scroll next to Dojo who was still too tired to really understand what was happening. Twilight managed to catch the Wu out of the air before it hit her. For a moment she opened her mouth to speak but one glance at Allan as he walked back toward the course once again shut her up and she left.

With no more distractions, Allan started the course again, making it about halfway when something pulled him out of the air, tackling him. He reacted quickly though, grabbing what he noticed were wings on the attacker’s back and using them to pull them underneath him.

“Ow! Hey, watch the wings!” Rainbow cried out. Allan took a few moments to look at the mare he had pinned to the ground before letting go and standing up. As Rainbow picked herself up, Allan moved back toward the course. “What? No cocky response to beating me so quickly? No suggestion on how I should have done it? Nothing?”

Allan stopped, glancing back. “Rainbow, I have no time to play. Go mess around elsewhere.” Rainbow wasn’t having none of that though. Unlike Pinkie before her, she wasn’t about to just let it drop. In a moment she was in Allan’s face, though the sudden action didn’t seem to phase him.

“What’s wrong with you?! You might as well have never been de-statued. You certainly seem to act like one, especially since you haven’t dropped that angry face ever since.”

Allan barred his teeth. “What’s wrong with me?” He leaned forward, causing Rainbow to flinch back at the sudden aggression. “What’s wrong is that I have more important things to do than deal with some rainbow maned pegasus who likes playing in the dirt. Now get lost!” She stood there for a moment, surprised before glaring and shooting up into the air.

“Fine! Have fun with your stupid Xiaolin crap!” And with that she shot off, Allan watching for a moment before heading back toward the course. Dojo climbed up onto his shoulder, putting a claw on his chin.

“You have been pretty tough since you got back.” Allan glared at him for a moment, causing the dragon to flinch back. “But I’m glad you are here nonetheless. I…” Dojo sniffled before wrapping his arms around Allan’s neck, bursting out in tears. “I missed you so much!”

Allan growled, grabbing Dojo and pulling him off. Just before he was about to say something to the sobbing dragon though, they both had their attention grabbed by the scroll glowing nearby. Allan quickly dropped Dojo, leaping for the scroll and pulling it open before the dragon had even hit the ground.

“Shroud of Shadows. Lets you turn invisible. Got it.” Allan slung the scroll over the his shoulder, pulling out the Longi Kite. Dojo picked himself up off the ground and slithered over.

“If you want I can-” He was cut off as Allan shot into the air, kicking up dust. Dojo coughed a bit before sighing “Fly you there” and then slithered over to where he had been napping. As he settled himself back in, a shadow loomed over him, which took him a few moments to notice before jumping up. “Gah! Oh, Princess Luna. It’s just you. Disturbing a sleeping dragon is bad luck, you know.”

Luna smiled, rolling her eyes at the dragon’s antics. “As great as it is to see you again Dojo, I was looking for Allan. Is he here?”

“Ya just missed him.” Dojo picked his ear with one of his claws. “The scroll picked up a new Wu and he hightailed it out of here without so much as a goodbye.”

“I see… I noticed a few of his friends heading away from the temple as well. None of them looked particularly pleased.”

“Well with the way Allan’s been since he came back I don’t blame them.” He huffed. “I’m not exactly a fan of the ‘deadly focused’ version of the guy either.”

“Did none of them try to argue this?” Luna cocked her head.

“Rainbow certainly did, but Allan just got mad when she tried to convince him to be himself again.”

“Allan faces two new challenges.” Both turned to see Master Gongniu standing at the entrance to the temple. “One is born of the other, but at the same time they are opposite. He faces the danger of a new foe beyond anything he’s ever seen, yet at the same time is being faced with the idea that he may be powerless to stop it.”

Luna pondered. “So… you are saying that Allan is afraid this ‘new foe’ is going to hurt his friends?”

*     *     * 

Meanwhile, Allan flew above a snow covered city, landing in the middle of a square before looking around. Bears walked around, all wearing ushankas despite having a heavy fur coat to withstand the cold.

“Hello comrade.” Allan turned to find one of the bears standing in front of him. “Welcome to Novosibearsk. We have never seen anything like you around here.”

“I’m busy.” Allan spoke flatly, turning away and following the direction his scroll was pointing. It led him to a large building, banners hanging down on either side. Inside there was a pile of old looking treasures, spread about the place. Allan continued following the arrow until stopping just before a sheet on the wall. It was gray with a black edge, though a slight golden glow coming off of it tipped Allan off to just what it was.

“Alright, and no annoying inventors to make this complicated.” He reached out to take it just before a barrel bot flew by, swiping the shroud off the wall as it nearly knocked Allan off his feet.

“Well, well, well.” Allan turned to see the two brothers and Wuya standing there, grinning with a couple dozen robots floating behind them. “So the Xiaolin warrior is back. We weren’t sure if the rumors were true.”

Flim grinned. “You’ve been gone awhile, and we haven’t been just sitting on our butts.”

Flam stepped up after him. “We’ve collected every Wu since you disappeared, and now you don’t stand a-”

“Eye of Dashi!” Allan took out the named Wu, nearly blasting the brothers and destroying a few robots, including the one holding the shroud. It fluttered away in the explosion, landing right in Allan’s grasp.

“Hey! You’re not supposed to interrupt our evil rant!” Flam grumbled.

“I don’t have time for your mierda.” Allan threw the shroud over his shoulders before drawing the Sword of the Storms, replacing the eye in his other hand with the Wu he had taken from Chrysalis, the Komori Sword. “Let’s go, culos.”

*     *     * 

Luna sat at a low table in the temple as Gongniu poured them both some tea. “Thank you.” She picked up the cup, sipping it. “So what is this foe that Allan is training so hard to defeat?”

“It is an ancient evil, one that the world had forgotten. It is better if I tell you the whole story though, if you have the time.” Luna nodded. “Very well.”

“Long ago, even before the three pony races had joined together in harmony, two beings entered this world. They were unlike anything else this world had seen, or would see until recently.”

“Are you saying they were human?”

Gongniu nodded. “They were indeed humans, and their abilities are what shaped the martial artistry of Xiaolin to this very day. These two humans were brothers, and their names were Dashi and Chase Young.

“They came to this world much as Allan had, confused yet good hearted. For many years they travelled, using their skills to help those in need. They even had a subtle hand in uniting the three pony races as they battled the windigos true master: the Heylin witch, Wuya. But that is a tale for another time.

“The two brothers after many years began to diverge on opinions. Dashi sought to settle down, to teach what he had learned after so many years. Chase Young, however, thought it be better to continue travelling, believing that spreading peace to all four corners of the world must be done through action. And so, with heavy hearts, the two brothers separated for the first time in the many decades they had lived on this world.”

Luna sat there for a moment, taking in everything he had said. “So… is it this Wuya that Allan prepares to fight? I seem to recall the same name being given to the ghost that works with the Flim Flam Brothers.”

Gongniu shook his head. “No. Allan has been well aware of Wuya since the beginning. It is a new threat that he now intends to face.”

*     *     * 

Allan leapt through the bots, slicing with each sword as he bounded about. The air was filled with scrap metal and wreckage, nearly crushing their masters down below. In one moment, Allan landed on the ground only to find robots speeding toward him from all directions.

“Komori Sword!” The sword glowed before Allan leapt into the air, landing on the ceiling and sticking to it with his feet. The bots below slammed into each other, destroying themselves in one massive explosion.

“Don’t just stand there, you fools! Get him!” Wuya yelled at the brothers, who quickly pulled out some Wu. Flim took out what looked like a flower while his brother took out what looked like two fists connected to each other.

“Lotus Twister!” Flim shouted, the flower quickly wrapping around his hooves before he sprung into the air toward the monk. Allan reacted, jumping down from the ceiling and landing in front of Flam.

“Mikado Arm!” The two fists slid into Flam’s front hooves before growing ridiculously muscled. He leapt at Allan as he dodged once more, slamming the ground with such force the entire building shook.

Allan was given no break though as Flim swung one of his hooves at him, said hoof stretching twenty feet to reach him. He only barely avoided it and the following attacks from the rubber pony before Flam got close and slammed Allan through a nearby wall.

“Yes! That’s it!” Wuya cheered. Flam looked back with a grin before a Fist of Tebigong slammed into his muzzle, sending him through the wall opposite of the one Allan had just been sent through. As his brother moved to attack again, Allan aimed a new Wu at him.

“Juju Fly Trap.” The pod opened, letting out a swarm of pests that attacked Flim. He flailed at the bugs in his face, his long stretchy limbs getting tangled in themselves before eventually he was all knotted up on the ground.

“Why you!” Flam came charging back in, rearing up for another slam. Allan switched Wu again though, not giving him a chance.

“Serpent’s Tail.” He phased through Flam’s hooves, landing on his head and jumping off. Said pony was furious now, turning to attack again with steam coming from his nostrils. He was only met with another punch to the face though by the Fist of Tebigong, sending him sprawling next to his tangled brother.

Allan looked at the two in a mixture of disgust and annoyance as he put the Wu away, taking the shroud still hanging on his shoulder in his hands. “I’ve got more important things to do than deal with you three jokes. Shroud of Shadows!” With a flourish of his hand, he vanished beneath the cloak, leaving the two ponies to just wallow in their failure.

“You fools!” Wuya chided. “Two and a half years of collecting the most powerful artifacts on the planet and you two still can’t beat a mere boy playing hero!”

*     *     * 

Gongniu took a sip of his tea before continuing his tale. “Dashi spent the next many years building a temple and teaching any who was willing to learn. In time, he founded the martial art of Xiaolin and raised four of his disciples to the rank of Dragon. Each represented the four elements that make up our world; water, fire, earth, and air. It was with these apprentices that the land knew true peace for a long time.

“But peace would not last. Chase returned from walking the world but he was no longer the man Dashi had knew. Gone was the brother of his that defended the world from darkness, now replaced with someone who only sought to spread evil. He attacked Dashi’s dojo with an army of warriors, beings from all races that he had contracted into his surface using dark Heylin magics.

“Dashi refused to fight his brother and so it was left to his four disciples to take the battle to Chase. It was a long battle but they eventually won out in the end and sealed Chase in another world, never to return. Dashi, however, did not celebrate his brother’s demise. He wanted to know just what had turned him to the path of evil and so went out across the world, searching for the source.”

“Did he find it?” Luna asked.

“Unfortunately, no. It is said that Dashi, after many years, gave up and instead decided it would be best if the world knew some peace for a time. So he spread his mystical Shen Gong Wu across the world and then… vanished.”

“Vanished?”

“No one knows where he went after that. Not even Dojo does, having been asked to safeguard the Serpent’s Tail before the end of Dashi’s journey.”

“He’s right.” Dojo poked his head out of Luna’s mane. “I knew he was planning on disappearing, but he never told me where. Just said the world didn’t need anymore humans for awhile.”

“Do you think he knew Allan would show up eventually?”

“Maybe,” Dojo shrugged. “Dashi always was a bit odd at times. He could ‘see the direction the wind was heading’, or so he put it.”

“You mean he could see the future?”

“I don’t think so. It sounded more like he could just make a good guess how things would turn out,” Dojo shrugged again. “Like I said, Dashi was an odd one.” He sniffed, wiping a tear from his eye. “I do oh so miss him though.”

Luna looked down at the tea in her cup, staring at her reflection in the brown liquid as she thought. “So… it is this Chase than that Allan works so hard to fight.”

“Yes. Chase is also partially responsible for Allan’s two years spent in stone. He came to Allan acting as an ally and put the idea in his head to use the element bearer’s chi.”

“I see… so he is quite the tactician as well. I can only imagine how many plans this Chase has.”

“That is indeed what makes him such a dangerous foe.” Gongniu nodded. “He is cunning, strong, but most importantly, patient. He would wait a thousand years for the opportune moment to strike.”

“I assume that is why we haven’t heard anything about him. He is preparing, making sure all his pieces are in place.”

“And we must make sure our pieces are in place as well. It is a deadly game of chess that is being played.” Gongniu looked out at the courtyard. “Ah, it seems the young monk has returned.” Luna and Dojo looked as well, Allan floating down on the Longi Kite as the sun set. He walked over to the table, facing Gongniu.

“Master, I’m going to go to bed. I will get an early start on completing the course tomorrow.”

Gongniu nodded. “Very well. Have a good night my apprentice.” Allan nodded before turning to Luna.

“Good evening princess.” He turned and step inside without another word, leaving Luna to just watch him leave. After a few moments, she turned to Gongniu.

“How?”

Gongniu rose an eyebrow. “I’m sorry?”

“How do you just let him continue to act this way?” She said angrily. “This behavior may lead him to grow stronger, but it will alienate everyone who cares about him!”

Gongniu looked at her, seeming to think about what he was going to say before sighing. “I am aware, but I can not simply tell him to stop what he’s doing. As his master, telling him to do things a different way would not help. I am here to guide him, yes, but I’ve warned him of the path he walks and its dangers. It is only up to him and his friends now to determine who he ends up being in the end.”

“But if this fails, he may as well become this Chase he seeks to destroy!”

“I know.” Gongniu stated flatly. “And I am prepared should it end that way to do what is necessary. Only Allan can decide the kind of strength he wields. I had hoped the friends that came by today would have convinced him, but it seems this might take more.”

“And where will this more come from?”

“I do not know.” Gongniu shook his head. “Perhaps another friend of his that didn’t speak today will break through. I can not claim to see the future.”

Luna glared at him a little longer before sighing and standing up. “I will return later. I still do not know if I agree with what you are doing but I will allow it for now until I have had proper time to think.” As she stepped away she stopped. “I do have one more question though.”

“Yes?”

“When my sister and I told you about Allan, was your reason for agreeing to train him because he sounded similar to Dashi?” Gongniu was silent, drinking his tea. “I see. Thank you for the tea. As I said, I will return once I’ve had proper time to think on things.” And with that she flew off into the night.
> A Friend Returns
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

> Dealing with Ghosts
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The two humans walked up to the door of Carousel Boutique, Allan obviously not looking forward to what was about to happen. “Ugh, this wouldn’t be so hard if she hadn’t been so nice to me since day one.”

“That’s what happens when you make mistakes, man,” Ben said as he knocked on the door. “In the end, ya gotta live up to ‘em. No matter how painful.”

“Can you quit being so wise? Doesn’t help that you look five years younger than me.”

“Hey, I’ve done more stupid crap than you ever will, of course I’m gonna give ya life lessons. Who better?” Allan opened his mouth to retort before the door opened up, Sweetie Belle standing behind it.

“Allan? Are you done being all mopey?”

Allan put a finger to his chin in playful thought. “Hm, let’s see… does this!” He dived at the filly, picking her up and tickling her in his grasp. “Answer your question?”

“Alright, I give up!” Sweetie squealed before wrapping her hooves around the human. “Yay! Allan’s back to normal!”

“Who is it Sweetie Belle?” Rarity called from the back of the store. Allan audibly gulped as Sweetie happily announced,

“It’s Allan and some other human! Or maybe he’s a minotaur. His hair is kind of messy so it’s hard to tell.”

“Oi! I ain’t no minotaur! And I’m only half human, the other half is alien,” Ben responded.

“But aren’t humans aliens?” Sweetie said with a cock of her head.

“Different alien, one with phenomenal cosmic powers.”

“Phe-nomial? So you’re good at math?” Unfortunately Ben wasn’t given time to clear up he was not half calculus alien before Rarity stepped into the foyer.

“Oh Allan! So great to see you.” She said with no small amount of emphasis on ‘so’. “Who is your friend?”

“Hey there, name’s Ben. I’m the guy who just knocked some sense back into your dragon warrior.” Allan rolled his eyes before turning to Rarity.

“We should talk. In the back.” Rarity just nodded, turning toward there as Allan held Sweetie out to Ben. “Mind watching her?”

Ben sighed, taking Sweetie Bell by the scruff of her neck. “Wouldn’t be the first time.” Sweetie giggled at him. “Just be glad I like kids, otherwise I wouldn’t keep putting up with this schtick.”

“Eh, don’t worry. The worst this one will do is reset your watch or something. Have fun!” He then turned and muttered to himself. “I know I certainly won’t.”

“Sweetie, no watch touching,” Ben ordered as he walked into the parlour with the filly, leaving Allan with Rarity.

As Allan entered the back room, he noticed Rarity heading over to something under a sheet.

“I am glad you came by Allan.” Rarity said as if it were any other day. “I made this for you.”

Allan flinched. “Rarity, please don’t-” She pulled the sheet, revealing what looked like the cross between a knight’s armor and his robes. Gold trimming and white were the primary colors, and overall just looked rather clunky.

“Rarity, what is this?”

“Well since you are a warrior of light, I thought you should have something that suits you.”

Allan groaned. “Rarity, you do realize I need to dodge a move a lot. Something like this is going to weigh me down. I’m not some knight in shining armor.”

Rarity looked to Allan, her smiling hiding how much emotion there was behind her eyes. “You are to-”

“No.” Allan shook his head. “Just no Rarity. In case it wasn’t obvious, I don’t take other’s expectations of me very well. I can’t be this white knight who sweeps you off your feet. I can only be myself.”

“But you-”

“Am not a hero. I have emphasized this time and again. I’m just a normal guy with a good head on his shoulders and trying to make the best of the crazy situation I’ve been put in.” 

“And that’s what makes you a white knight! You care for everyone around you without any real reason. You want to protect us despite not having to. You’re perfect.”

“Rarity… I’m not. Most of the time I’m not even sure what I’m doing. I’ve only recently started grasping just how much is required with this job, and that nearly drove me to push away all my friends.” Rarity looked between him and the outfit, her smile slowly fading. She turned away from Allan, her head drooping. “Rarity… I’m not what you want. I’m not… that.” He waved at the outfit.

“I… I think I need some time alone.” Allan just nodded, turning out of the room. When he entered the foyer once again, he came across a strange scene. The entire room was covered in mismatched colored glitter, including its only two occupants.

Ben spat out a mouthful of the stuff. “I know what you’re thinking… but this wasn’t my fault.”

“Uh…” Allan looked around confused. “What did you two do in here?”

“Well…”

*     *     *

“Can I touch it?” Sweetie pointed her hoof at Ben’s wrist, looking with big eyes.

“I don’t think your sister would like that.”

“Aww…” She looked around, an awkward silence dropping on the two. “So now what?”

“I dunno, what do you usually do while your sister has her drama moments?” Ben asked, leaning against a wall. Sweetie sighed, falling forward so her chin was on the floor. She then started walking around with her back hooves, dragging her face along the floor as she did so. Ben snorted, chuckling as he watched. “Yeah, I figured as much, but I was more referring to what you do for fun.”

“Well I- oof!” Sweetie Belle, distracted by Ben’s question, didn’t look where she was going as she ran into one of the shelves lining the walls. A large box that had been sitting up above slowly tipped over, landing open end first on top of Sweetie. “Hey! Who turned out the lights?!”

Ben laughed a little before walking over to try and get the box off Sweetie. As he pulled though, he found it to be well stuck on her head. “Ah, a wise-guy eh?” he muttered, pulling harder only for his hands to slip and he fell back at an awkward angle, his wrist hitting the corner of one of Rarity’s shelves. Ben winced in pain before he saw the watch had activated. “Aw man,” he said before he was consumed by the light and transformed.

“What was that?” Sweetie asked from inside the box before grabbing the box with her hooves and pulling. As the newly transformed Jetray got up, the box popped off her head, flying through the air and hitting him in the face.
“Ack!“ As he was startled by the sudden hit to the head, he shot off a set of lasers from his eyes, striking one of the mirrors in the room and beginning to bounce from place to place rapidly.

“Eep!” Sweetie squeaked as the laser zoomed by before she ducked for cover. The laser went about the room, cutting through dresses, off setting frames on the walls, and generally making a mess before finally striking a jar sitting on one of the higher shelves. An explosion of glitter went off as the glass broke, covering the room in sparkly powder.

Ben groaned as he wiped the glitter from his eyes. “I just know I’m gonna be blamed for this,” he sighed before slapping the Omnitrix to return to normal. Sweetie popped out of the top of a pile of glitter near him, spitting out a few before grinning.

“Let’s go again! Let’s go again!”

*     *     *

After Twilight managed to calm down, her and Lyra began to have a nice chat as Spike, Nyx, and Scootaloo messed around the library. Little did they know that a certain mask-faced ghost was watching over them, biding her time.

“That child,” she muttered to herself as she watched Nyx, “she has great potential. Why she chooses to waste it as a foal is beyond me but I’m sure I can convince her otherwise. All I need is for her to be alone for just a moment.”

As if some kind of messed up god was watching down on her, her opportunity came as Nyx called out, “Aunt Lyra, I need to go to the bathroom.”

Twilight was quick to point out the little filly’s room for her as she ran off, Wuya slinking behind the foal barely able to contain her excitement. She gave the filly just enough time to relieve herself before phasing through the door, not making an effort to hide herself from Nyx.

“Why hello there child. You are quite talented for your age, aren’t you?” She spoke ‘innocently’ as she floated around Nyx.

Nyx gasped, backing away from her. “Wh-who are y-you? Wh-what do you want?”

“Little old me? My name’s Wuya, and I want to be your friend. And of course, as your friend I want to see a bright and powerful magic user such as yourself fulfill her full potential.”

Nyx didn’t look any less worried. “B-but I don’t have much magic anymore. I-I gave up that power. I don’t want to be evil.”

“Oh don’t you worry your pretty little head.” Wuya moved behind Nyx, phasing into the back of her head. Nyx seemed to struggle internally for a moment before her eyes opened, matching Wuya’s. “Leave that part to me.”

*     *     *

“So…” Allan said as he stepped out of Carousel Boutique. “I guess we’re heading to Canterlot next?”

“That’s the plan I suppose,” Ben said, still wiping off the glitter. “And if you make one joke involving strippers, I’m slamming a star in your face.”

“Wouldn’t even dream of it.” Allan said with a smirk. “Now, you want some help? Or you would prefer looking like a disco ball?”

“I’ll be fine once we’re in the air. Heck, if I had better control over these powers it’d be gone in a snap. With my luck, though, it’d probably burn my entire outfit off. Let’s just get going before my mood gets worse.”

“Whatever you say hombre.” He spoke as the Longi Kite appeared on his back and he jumped a few feet into the air. “You got wings now I’m assuming?”

“Yeah, just hold on.” Ben tapped the Omnitrix before spinning the selector and slamming down randomly. “Big Chill!” he called out in a raspy voice of the blue alien. Taking flight, he looked to Allan with his insect like eyes. “Let’s go before anypony sees me. Don’t want to cause another riot.”

“I’m with you there.” The two of them shot into the air, gaining only altitude for awhile before leveling off and heading toward Canterlot. “If you don’t mind me asking hombre, where’s your sister?”

“She comes and goes,” Ben rasped. “She has her own life to live after all. She does currently live on my world, but that’s just so she can get back to a normal lifestyle. Don’t ask about that.”

“Alright… just was wondering if she was alright.”

“Kat’s perfectly fine. Though she doesn’t get a lot of sleep these days, being a mother is tough on her.”

“Oh… wait what?”

“She has three adopted foals. Kat’s got a lot more parental issues than I do.”

Allan blinked for a few moments before shaking his head. “Guess a lot has changed since you were last here.”

Ben chuckled slightly. “Not really. You just don’t know all that much about us. Not the most open of families.” The two of them went silent after that, flying over the mountain before slowing down above the main hall of the castle.

“Serpent’s Tail.” Allan called before the two dove down and phased through the ceiling. Ben quickly changed back while Allan put away his Wu. “Well, now we just need to-”

“Ahem.” The two looked up to see that they were standing in the middle of some sort of noble’s court, said nobility lining the sides of the hall in elevated seating so that all could see. The princesses both sat at the end opposite of the hall’s giant doors. The two of them rose an eyebrow at the sudden intrusion while the nobles glared on.

“Oh mierda. Not these guys.” Allan mumbled.

“Your majesties.” One noble spoke as he rose from his seat. “Might I ask just what it is your… guardsman and another of its kind is doing interrupting the proceedings?”

“Oi!” Ben declared. “I am NOT one of his kind! As for you… shove it where Tia’s sun don’t shine, we got business to deal with.” The nobles all seemed to gak at the lack of respect Ben showed, though the princesses had rather different reactions. Allan could have sworn he saw Celestia smirk for a moment but that might have been his imagination.

Allan sighed, shaking his head. “Nice going, diplomat.”

“Sorry, force of habit. And after what I just got through with back home, you’d hate these guys more than I do.” Ben noticed the princesses looking at them and waved. “Hello!”

Luna simply nodded while Celestia smiled. “Hello there. You must be a friend of Allan’s, I assume? I can tell you’ve already done wonders helping him with his… issues.” Allan scratched the back of his head awkwardly as she said this.

A few nobles grumbled before another stood up. “Your majesties, if we are going to entertain this, can we at least get to their reason for barging in unannounced rather than dancing around the subject?”

Celestia’s smile shrunk a bit but she nodded. “I suppose you are right. Tell us, why are you here?”

“I… uh…” Allan glanced basically everywhere but at the princesses. “I was hoping Luna-”

“That is princess to you!” One of the nobles spat from the assembly, earning a return glare from Allan.

“... Princess Luna would allow me to speak with her… alone.” Luna seemed about ready to say something when the assembly began to mutter amongst themselves, the sound echoing through the hall. Once they finally died down, another noble stood.

“We are all rather aware of your intentions to court the princess, guardsman, but you have yet to declare it officially. Does this mean you intend to do so?”

“... I have to declare it?” Allan glanced at Luna in confusion, the only thing he really got in return being a worried face from her.

“Well of course you do. There is a process that must be gone through for courtship of a princess, one that you have so keenly thus far avoided.”

“You sure about that?” Ben asked. “Sounds more like you’re just makin’ stuff up to humiliate the guy.” As if on cue, a large book was pulled out by one of the nobles, slamming against the ground as he dropped it and opened it. He put on a set of glasses before clearing his throat and speaking.

“Section 25, amendment 32 of Equestrian law does state that one attempting to court one of the princesses must go through a process as described in the law in order to prove oneself worthy. This law was brought into play many centuries ago when the princesses found themselves overwhelmed with attempts to court them, and this process has so far to this day helped to weed out all those who are not willing and able to do so.”

Luna grumbled. “They neglect to mention the massive amounts of courting was coming from the nobles themselves in that era. And almost all of them plays for power.”

“And that is why this law is important. To make sure less…” The noble glanced at Allan. “Esteemed individuals would not make it thus far.”

“Hang on, let me see this book. I’d be the first one to think you’re blowing steam after Ben.” The noble floated the book over to him and he grabbed it just before it nearly dropped. Ben leaned over Allan’s shoulder as he read.

“Well, I’ll be damned. I would say laws can be changed, but for something this trivial, I don’t think it’s worth it.” Allan licked one of his fingers before rubbing one of the letters written on the page. “What was that for?”

“Making sure the ink is dry. At this point, I wouldn’t doubt that the nobles saw me drop in and quickly scribbled something down.” He shut the book before tossing it back to the pony who had been holding it, only nearly catching it in his magic before it hit him in the face. “Alright, let’s get this over with.”

“Very well than. State your name and your intent for now and then later we shall call you to speak on what else must be done.”

“Bunch of legal mumbo jumbo…” Allan growled under his breath before clearing his throat. “I, Allan Rhodes, want to court Princess Luna. That enough for ya?” Though the look of worry didn't quite leave Luna's face, a smile formed on her muzzle as he spoke those words with such confidence.

“Indeed. Now, is there anything else you’d like to do to further interrupt the assembly?”

“Oh, you have no idea. But I think that’s enough for now. Feel like heading back Ben?”

“Yeah, let’s. I’ve had more than enough nobles breathing down my back. Don’t need yours added to the bunch. I really don’t wanna get sued again.”

Allan chuckled as the two headed for the door. “Ha! I’d like to see the nobles force legal action across universes.” Once they were out the door, he added. “Not that I doubt they wouldn’t try.”

*     *     *

As Ben and Allan strode back to the library, Ben still found a way to smile. “Hey, at least we got it out of your system, eh? And both Luna and Rarity took it rather well, wouldn’t you say?”

“I’m in one piece, so I’ll take that as a good sign.” As they strode toward the door, it suddenly exploded in green fire, throwing the two on their backs. Out of the now on fire Treebrary strode Nyx, her eyes yellow with red spirals for pupils as purple ghostly tendrils mixed in with her mane. “Okay, maybe I spoke too soon.”

“Nyx?!” Ben shouted in surprise. “What’s up with you, girl?”

Nyx chuckled, her voice not her own. “Oh don’t worry. Your little friend is safe. I’m just going to borrow her so I can take over the world!”

“Wait, Wuya?!” Allan gawked. “Since when can you do that?!”

“You learn a lot when you are a fifteen hundred year old witch. Now the only thing standing in my way is you two.” Her horn began to gather green fire around it before forming a huge ball of it larger than Nyx’s body. “The first time I tried to take over this land, I used ice and cold. This time I’m feeling a little more… spicy. Now, what is it you say Allan? Oh yes, adios.” The fire shot at the two of them, a practical geyser of flame.

“Orb of Tornami!” The blue orb appeared in Allan’s hand, countering the flame with a wave of water.

As the fire was extinguished, Ben growled darkly at Wuya. “You manipulating little freak!” he shouted. “Let her go right now!”

“Really? You think I’m going to just let her go after all the work that went into finding her?” She reared up before slamming her hooves into the earth. Giant stone ponies rose out of the ground, eyes glowing with the same green energy. “Kill them.” The ponies charged, the two humans dodging as they barreled by. The house behind them became no more as the stone behemoths could not stop.

“Ben, I have an idea. But I need Wuya completely distracted for it to work.” One of the golems charged at Allan out of the wreckage, cutting him off as he leapt onto its back.

He smirked. “Allan, you get Nyx back and you can count on me for anything you need in the future. And a distraction, I can do.” Ben popped up the Omnitrix and transformed into a dwarf-sized alien with a green front and a black back and head. “Ditto!”

Wuya yawned before looking back at the burning library. “I wonder how long it will take for everyone inside to be roasted. Or if you two will ever manage to even get to them.”

Allan leapt off the stone pony as another one charged at him. “Eye of Dashi! Light!” The pony’s charge was halted a focused version of the white beam of energy cut it down the middle. “Really Wuya? As if possessing foals wasn’t bad enough, you’ve got to threaten harming a pregnant girl?!”

Wuya only smiled at him, proud of her accomplishments and turned...only to have an alien standing right in front of her face. “Hi there!”

“Bah!” She jumped rather un-menacingly. “How did you-”

“How did I what?” asked a voice from above her. Wuya quickly shot around and saw the alien now laying on a tree branch above her.

“What- who-”

“Where!” another shouted, popping out of a bush.

“When!” one shouted, as he came out of higher tree branch.

“Why!” and again one more shouted as he jumped out of a gopher hole.

“How!” a final one asked, floating above her.

“You… you can copy yourself?! I can’t believe I’m saying this, but now you are even more annoying!” She threw a fireball at each one in turn, the Ditto’s only dancing about as they dodged the attacks.

“Ooh, I think you almost got me on that one,” a Ditto quipped, pointing at scorched patch of grass next to him with his thumb.

“Ya know,” another said as he put his elbow on Wuya Nyx’s back, “For a fifteen hundred year old hag, ya ain’t that bright.”

“Raaaagh!” All the Ditto’s were thrown back as a sphere of green fire enveloped Wuya. As the flames died down, she glanced around in anger. “Well? What will you do now you little annoyances?”

“Actually, I think it’s my move senorita.” Allan’s voice seemingly came from nowhere. Before Wuya could react, Allan phased up through the floor right beneath Nyx, grabbing onto Wuya’s tail with his left as he held onto the Serpent’s Tail with his right. The two flew into the air as Nyx fell to the ground groaning.

Ben quickly rushed over to Nyx, several Ditto’s surrounding her as one picked her up. “Nyx! Speak to me, girl! Speak to me!”

Moving her head slowly, Nyx looked up at the Ditto clone and moaned, “Uncle Ben? The ghost witch, she was inside me. It hurt, a lot.”

All the Dittos suddenly looked up, strange looks plastered on their faces. One kissed his hand and blew towards you. “Goodnight everybody!”

Meanwhile, Allan was struggling with Wuya as the two of them were both incorporeal high above Ponyville.

“How dare you ruin such a perfect plan!” Her tendril like hair wrapped around Allan’s throat. Despite his air being cut off he just grinned back.

“What… can I say? I’ve got a… knack for screwing with evil plans.” He managed to pull the tendrils off his neck enough to take a breath of air but by then Wuya had reached her real goal. The Serpent’s Tail was wrenched from his grasp as Wuya and him lost grip of one another. 

Without the Wu, Allan began to drop as Wuya flew off. “So long, Dragon of Light. You won’t see the last of me.” Allan called out the Longi Kite as he fell, floating to a stop above the Treebrary as it smoked out. He pulled back out the Orb of Tornami and started dousing the remaining flames. He then took a look around to find a strange lack of aliens.

“Uh… where did Ben go?”

Not too far above or too far off, Wuya sped off through the sky, laughing and chuckling to herself. “This wasn’t a complete failure. With the Serpent’s Tail, I am one step closer to-”

“Where do think you’re going?!” a raspy voice said as a large, grey phantom appeared in front of her.

“What in the world?!” She pulled the Serpent’s Tail hard, bringing it to a halt in front of the new being. “Just what are you supposed to be?”

“Your worst nightmare come to life,” the phantom moaned as he started to circle around Wuya. “I’m the thing that all creatures fear, both big and small, good and evil. I. Am. Fear!!” Ghostfreak suddenly phased right through Wuya, sending a chill down her nonexistent spine. “Do you want to see something scary?”

“H-how are you… how is this even…” She tried darting away with the tail, only to have the spectre appear in front of her every direction she took. “This doesn’t make any sense!”

“That’s because fear is irrational, you little witch!” Ghostfreak shouted right into her masked face. “Now, allow me to show you the true face,” he gripped his ‘skin’ and began to pull. “Of Fear!” He tore himself open, revealing his decayed, grotesque, and tentacled innards, Wuya instantly being forced to watch her true fears unfold before her very eyes.

As Ghostfreak covered himself once more, Wuya grimaced. “I don’t know how, but somehow I feel like I’ve soiled myself.” And then she darted off as fast as the Serpent’s Tail can go.

Ben chuckled to himself as he flew off back to the treebrary, phasing through the wall and coming up behind Twilight without her noticing. “What did I miss?”

She jumped, turning to see Ben. For a moment it looked like she was about to scream before she squeed and darted up to the incorporeal being. “Oh my Celestia! Just what are you? How did you get behind me? Did you phase through the wall? Where did you come from? Are you another kind of alien like Allan and Ben?”

“To an extent, Twilight Sparkle,” Ghostfreak let out a dark chuckle, slowly wrapping himself around her like a snake. She was still too enraptured by the being as Allan just watched from the ruined remains of the door with a smirk.

“Oh hey Ben. Was wondering where you went.”

“Aw!” Ghostfreak whined as Twilight’s eyes widened. “Did you really have to ruin it? I was going to have some fun.”

Allan chuckled as he walked up to Ben. “You’re the one who told me to me to be nice to my amigos. Besides, your green medal thing gives it away way too easily.” Allan tried to tap the Omnitrix medal on his chest only to have his hand pass through.

He sighed, moving off to where Lyra and Scootaloo were helping gather up the destroyed books. Ben tapped the Omnitrix, returning to normal. “....You know, in hindsight, I should have grabbed that tail thing when I scared Wuya.”

Allan shrugged. “I don’t see too much of a loss in it. Besides, she can’t touch it unless someone physical uses it to become incorporeal so she’ll need the brother’s anyway. I’ll get it back.” Meanwhile, Twilight had shaken out of her study stupor to look at the damage around her.

“This will take months to fix, especially considering how hard it is to grow a tree and have a building inside it without killing it.” Spike grumbled something before continuing to gather up what books were still intact, which wasn’t a lot.

Lyra nudged Ben. “Why don’t you give a little bit of your magic a shot, Ben. It certainly couldn’t hurt.”

“You have magic and a shape shifting device?!” Twilight gawked. “Are you kidding me?!”

“Well, to be fair, I had magic the last time I was here too,” Ben said while rubbing his neck. “Ya see, I just don’t have a whole lot of control over it. It’s just so powerful that I’m still trying to find out how to properly use it.”

Twilight was too busy trying to comprehend that, leaving Allan to ask questions. “Wait, is that what you used before to cheat?”

Ben snapped his fingers. “Bingo! Ya see, I’m not totally human, well anymore. I’m half celestialsapien, which are the most powerful beings in all existence.”

“Huh. Lucky you, I guess. That mean you can fix this?” Allan waved his hands over the scorched remains of the library.

“Well I could try and see if it works,” Ben shrugged. “Or…...you don’t wanna know.” Lyra, Nyx, and Scootaloo shivered.

Allan gave Ben a raised eyebrow before turning to Twilight. “Up to you senorita.”

Twilight glanced about before turning to Ben. “Could you?”

Ben sighed. “Well, here goes something.” And he snapped his fingers. A bright flash shot off all around them and when they were able to look again...

“Hey! We’re in mommy’s castle!” Nyx said groggily before falling back to sleep on Lyra’s back.

“Oops,” was all Ben had to say. “Would you like a pair of wings with your castle, Twilight?” Ben laughed through a nervous smile.

“Wait, this is what she gets as a princess?” Allan said as he glanced around, Twilight completely enthralled by the crystal building. “Eh, bit too shiny for me. What’s it called anyway?”

“Castle Harmony,” Ben replied. “It technically belongs to all of Twilight and her friends, see?” He pointed over to the seven thrones in the room next to them.

“Castle Harmony? Really?” Twilight groaned before glaring at Ben. “Fix it. Make it a burned down piece of rubble if you want. Just not… this!”

“Yeesh, harsh.” Ben snapped his fingers again, this time transforming it into an RV. “Aw man.”

“Okay, why do I feel like I’ve seen this before?” Allan scratched his head. Twilight was too busy marveling over the change in tech while Spike pulled himself out of a compartment near the ceiling and fell to the floor.

“Hey, what’s this button do?” Scootaloo asked as she pressed the A/C button, suddenly launching Twilight into the air via a spring-loaded eject pad. “Oops.” Her horn stuck into the ceiling, leaving her hanging there as she flailed with her hooves.

Allan had his hand right next to another button in the RV and slowly pulled away as he saw the new pony shaped light fixture.

“I’m guessing try again?” Ben asked.

“Yes!” Twilight shrieked. “Please! Before anyone presses anymore buttons!”

“Third time’s the charm,” Ben hoped as he snapped his fingers one more time. He opened his eyes and fist pumped when he saw it was the treebrary fully restored. “Yes! It worked!” Twilight fell on her butt as the ceiling she was stuck in disappeared. She shook her head before looking around and sighing happily.

“Thank goodness. I’ll be honest, I thought this time you were going to create a volcano or something equally dangerous.”

“Oh gods I hope not. Don’t need that happening.”

“Again,” Scootaloo quipped.

“You’re going in time out too once we get home.” Ben scolded.

“Awww.”

Allan shook his head with a grin. “Well that was more than I expected to do today.” He turned to Twilight. “Mind if I see the tiger claws real quick?”

“What do you need the claws for?” Ben asked as Twilight hoofed them over, very reluctantly.

“I figured with how Nyx is looking and after all the excitement, you guys would want to head home.” Allan strapped the claws to his left hand.

“....what? You don’t trust me to try and get my own family back home?”

“No!” everyone shouted as he cringed.

“Jeez, tough crowd. I get no respect, I tell ya. No respect at all.”

Allan chuckled before holding the claws up and speaking, “Golden Tiger Claws!” A tear large enough for the entire family to step in side by side appeared in the air. “There you are. Don’t be a stranger though. You can come back anytime. After all, I owe you for straightening me out.”

“Yeah, yeah, just don’t call me when the world starts ending. Already went through with that with another Displaced.” Ben allowed Scootaloo, Lyra, and Nyx to jump in first before Ben stopped and looked at Allan. “And just remember Allan: We’re all stories. Just try to make it a good one, eh?”

“Whatever you say hombre.” Allan waved at Ben as the tear closed before tossing the claws back to Twilight. “Well, back to training.” Twilight glared at him for a moment before he snickered. “I’m kidding! I mean, I’ll still train, just not as much.” Twilight grumbled and left for the basement, leaving Allan to walk out himself.

*     *     *

Chase watched the xiaolin warrior through a pool of water, frowning at the sight of Allan whistling to himself as he walked home. “So, this ‘Ben’ appeared and ruined my hard work.” He glared at the picture for a few moments before grinning and walking away. “No matter. I prepared for such a thing to happen. After all, Allan’s light may grow brighter, but a brighter light means longer shadows.”

He placed a hand to his chin as he wandered his fortress, the cat warriors he had collected over the two years Allan was gone lounging about. “Though I must admit, the idea of beings from another universe is intriguing. Perhaps there are others who would share my goals.” He ripped a chunk of metal off the wall as his other hand grew claws. In moments he had carved a message into the steel and imbued it with Heylin magic. He tossed it back at the wall, only for it to vanish into the ether.

Chase returned to his walk, hands behind his back. “Now we shall truly see how much evil has spread.”