> The ultimate surprise in Equestria girls > by shadowshild612 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > A cold snowy night > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dark storm clouds flew across the skies of canterlot high, a mid winter wind blowing through the area. Fluttershy a young yellow skin teenager with pink hair bundled herself up in her light pink fluffy coat. She shuddered at the waft of air that blew her hood off as she slowly walked down the street towards her animal sanctuary.  “Oh I hope all my little friends are ok in this chilly weather.” “Their fine Flutters they have fur.” A light blue teenage girl with Rainbow hair commented on catching up with her friend, making Fluttershy jump a bit.   “Oh rainbow dash, you startled me!” Fluttershy said, staring at her friend. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at her friend, shaking her head. “You get scared at everything still, after everything we've been through I thought you'd be less afraid of everything.”  "I didn't say I was afraid, I said I was startled, as if you surprised me!" She said blushing in embarrassment and anger at Rainbow. Rainbow dash shrugs with a smirk as they continue to walk. "Rainbow, have you noticed anything strange about that new student at school?" Fluttershy asked. She scoffs a little in a casual manner. “Well, yeah. They’re new after all.” Rainbow says, turning around and walking backward while keeping a slight lead on the other girl. “Everyone’s awkward on their first day. Well, except me of course.” She twirls back to face forward with a little jump, expending some of that energy. Fluttershy nods slowly. "I was mainly referring to that weird watch he has on his hand. I mean who wears watches on their hands?"  Rainbow just gives a shrug. “Eh, who cares? Everyone has their…’Vokca-go’, or whatever Rarity calls it.” She skips ahead again. “It's just a watch. Even if it looks pretty darn dorky.”  Fluttershy nods slowly, glancing upwards. "It looks like it might snow."  Rainbow blinks before glancing and seeing the darking clouds. “Awesome~” Clearly in a better mood her pace starts to quicken. “Think we’ll have another snowball match?” Fluttershy Chuckles. "Maybe we can get our friends to have one with us tomorrow." “Right. Hopefully not a repeat with the exchange students from last year.” Rainbow jokes while raising a palm in a gesture. “Who knew Short Girls can be so scary.” Fluttershy laughs a little, noticing the new student they had been talking about laying on a bench. Rainbow also notices. “Think he’s napping?” She says. Fluttershy shrugs, noticing the new student shivering a bit as he rolls over trying to sleep. "I think he's spending the night here… oh my you don't think he's homeless do you?"  Checking her own watch, she grimaces at the time. “...I mean, he could be?” Rainbow says, both concerned and seemingly hesitant.  The boy shivers wrapping himself up in his jacket as some snowflakes begin to fall. "Oh what should we do?" Fluttershy asked Rainbow. “Well, we can’t really just leave him…”  "Y-you think we should bring him home?" Fluttershy asked a deep blush formed on her face from the idea of bringing a boy to their house.  “Flutter’s, don’t let you mind flutter to the gutter…” Rainbow says with a raise of her eyebrow. “I guess it would work. He is definitely taking the couch though.” Fluttershy glares at her a little, but nods.  Her friend just smirks a bit at the look. “So, how are we going to move em?”  Fluttershy thinks for a moment. "We could call Applejack."  “That could work…” Rainbow says, reaching for her pocket… before finding it empty. “Thats right, left at home.” "I have mine." Fluttershy said calling Applejack. "Hello Applejack, me and Rainbow need your help. Can you come to fortieth street?" Fluttershy stayed silent for a few minutes as Applejack spoke on the phone. "Ok thank you." She said closing her flip phone. "She'll be here in a bit."  "That's good, this dude is shaking like a kicked puppy." Rainbow said with a frown as she looked at him closer, taking notice of his black pants and orange shirt. "Jeez he must have been on the streets for a while, his clothes are ragged."  "Oh no, I hope Applejack hurries up." Fluttershy said with a frown.  "Maybe we should call Rarity too, get him some new clothes." Rainbow said before she sniffed the air and covered her nose. “And a bath.” "Alright I'll call Rarity." Fluttershy said as she noticed the boy was balling himself up as tears fell from his eyes. "Oh dear, Rarity are you there? Can you come to fortieth street? Me and Rainbow found our new classmate sleeping on a bench and he's freezing and needs new clothes."  Rainbow looked away from him and to Fluttershy as she talked on the phone. Fluttershy smiled and sighed softly, nodding a little. "Ok, thank you. Applejack is on her way too… ok… ok. Thank you." She said, hanging up the phone. "She's on her way."  “That’s good, with the two of them we will be able to help this guy out.” Rainbow said before looking back at the sleeping boy. The boy shivered more as he slowly sat up with a groan. "What's going on?" “Don’t worry dude, we got some friends coming to help you out.” Rainbow told him. "Huh?" The boy asked, looking at them in confusion. "What do you mean?"  "Y-you're sleeping on a bench… y-you looked like you needed help…" Fluttershy said with a slight frown, hiding behind her hair.  “Yeah dude, like…are you homeless or something?” Rainbow asked him with a frown of her own. The boy frowned a bit as he looked away. "I appreciate the concern but I'm fine."  “Dude, you are sleeping on a bench, wearing ragged clothes, and you smell like you haven’t showered in weeks.” Rainbow said bluntly. “Rainbow!” Fluttershy admonished as she weekly slapped Rainbow’s arm. "What? It's True!" Rainbow said as the boy stood up and put his hands in his pockets.  "Yeah well, that kinda happens when you're a run away." He said, putting his hood up as snowflakes began falling.  “A run away? Geez, what would make you want to run away?” Rainbow asked him. The boy frowned a bit as Fluttershy smacked Rainbow's arm again. "Rainbow that's private!"  “Ok ok geez.” Rainbow said, holding her hands up. “Look, we already called our friends, at least let us get you some new clothes and a bath.” "Not like it'll change much." The boy said with a slight shrug as an old pickup truck pulled up.  "Howdy girls." A western voice said as a girl with Yellow hair and a straw hat stepped out along with a girl with white skin and purple hair.  “Hey AJ, Rares, this is the guy we told you about.” Rainbow said while pointing at the guy with her thumb. "You are really rude." The boy said with a frown. "You just jab a finger at me and say dude, you could have asked my name." "O-oh, we're sorry. What is your name?" Fluttershy asked him, hiding behind her hair a little. The boy glanced at her for a moment before sighing softly and looking away. "Just call me Benjamin."  “Benjamin? What a fascinating name.” The white skinned girl said as she smiled at him. “Well Benjamin, I would be more than happy to help you, if you want it that is.” Benjamin crossed his arms a bit as he frowned slightly. "What's the catch?"  “Catch?” The girl asked. “I think he wants ta know what you want in return Rarity.” The farm girl said. Rarity giggled softly. “I don’t want anything, but if you want to repay me I could use a male model for my whitmer line showcase.” She said with a smile. Benjamin frowned slightly as he looked away. "So basically you want to help me for free labor."  “Well not completely free, just a few pictures at first, and if you want to do more than that I can pay you, how does thirty dollars for the whole night sound?” Rarity asked him with a smile. Benjamin snorted a bit. "Thanks but I don't trust people anymore, everyone has an ulterior motive."  “Are ya calling mah friend a lier?” The farm girl, Applejack, asked with a frown. "Everyone lies to get what they want." Benjamin said staring at the ground as Fluttershy frowned a bit.  "Someone hurt you, didn't they?" She asked him softly, making him look away.  "I'd rather not talk about it." He mumbled.  Applejack grabbed his shoulder. “Now listen here partner, Rarity is honest when she said ya wouldn’t have ta do much, so ya can believe her.” Benjamin glared at Applejack as he forced his shoulder out of her grip. "First off, touch me again and I'll call the police for assault. Second of all, how the hell do I know I can trust any of you? I don't know you, I was asleep and the next thing I know I'm surrounded by four girls. I've been on the streets and on my own for nearly six years in total now, I can tell the signs of when someone is trying to take advantage of me. And saying that she is honest while she's trying to make me work for the clothes that she just said she didn't want anything in return for doesn't sound very honest to me." “What are you talking about?” Rarity asked with a confused face. “I told you all I want in return for the clothes are a few pictures, anything after that I would pay you for.” "Before that you said you didn't want anything and then immediately went and said I could work for them." Benjamin said with a deadpan frow “Well…perhaps I misspoke, the clothes and bath are yours for free, I just ask for a little bit of help in return, that doesn’t mean you have to help me in exchange for the clothes, you'll still get them regardless.” Rarity told him. Benjamin frowned slightly as he looked away, thinking about it as Fluttershy nudged Rarity with a frown. "Rarity, he's obviously uncomfortable. Someone hurt him and it seems like it's hard for him to trust people." Fluttershy whispered to her friend. Rarity nodded her head and whispered back. “Yes, which is why I am offering him a paying job if he wants it.” "Fine… but on three conditions." Benjamin said with a frown. "First is since I don't know what you want the pictures for, no underwear shots or anything like that. Second, my watch stays on at all times. And three you blur it out of any pictures."  “Well…” Rarity said as she looked at the watch. “I supposed that can work, and I wasn’t planning on any underwear shoots, I was thinking casual clothing and a suit.” “Yean man, do you think this prude is gonna take pictures of you in just your underwear?”  Rainbow said with a laugh. "I don't know. I don't know any of you. I only know her name because of this one." Benjamin said pointing at Rarity before jabbing a thumb at Applejack.  Applejack frowned at him and crossed her arms. “Ya are a bit rude when all we are tryin ta do is help ya.”  "Yeah? Well it is the middle of the night, and you know normally when people meet they introduce each other. I told you my name and none of you told me yours." Benjamin said with a slight shrug.  "He… has a point." Rainbow said with a slight chuckle.  “Oh dear, I am sorry.” Rarity said before introducing herself and her friends. “My name is Rarity Belle, these are my friends Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy.” Benjamin nodded slightly. "Benjamin. But you can call me Ben I guess. So… where to?"  Applejack thumbed at her truck. “Get in, up ta ya if ya want ta sit inside or in the back.”  "I'm ok with the back, I like the cold." Ben said as he hopped into the back of the truck, leaning his head on the front of it as he looked up at the stars.  Fluttershy frowned a bit but got into the truck along with the rest of the girls, then Applejack started it up and headed off. "W-we can go to my animal shelter, he can shower and stay in the apartment above it…" Fluttershy said with a small blush.  “Are ya sure Shy? We don’t know anythin about this fella.” Applejack said as she drove. "H-he's trusting us to help him… even though he was obviously hurt." Fluttershy said with a small frown. "S-so it's only fair we trust him some."  “Alright Shy, but if he does somethin ta ya.” Applejack said before crushing a soda can she had in the truck. "U-um, I'm still living with my parents. The apartment was for me but I'm not ready for that…" Fluttershy said softly.  “Ah know Shy, I mean if he does somethin to ya that ya don't want.” Applejack said with a soft smile. Fluttershy blushed red as Benjamin spoke up. "You know I can hear you. Also firstly, I'm not like that, secondly I doubt you'd be able to do anything. I've taken karate since I was five."  “Just like ya don’t know us, we don’t you. And ah am stronger then ah look.” Applejack said to him. "Eh." Benjamin said with a shrug as they pulled up to a building with a large dog on it.  “I will stick with you guys just in case.” Rainbow said as they got out.  “I will need to get the clothes so me and Applejack will be back soon.” Rarity said. "Alright, t-thank you girls." Fluttershy said as Benjamin got out of the back, looking around a little.  "Nice place…" He mumbled almost as quietly as Fluttershy.  Fluttershy smiled softly. “Thank you, this is my animal shelter, upstairs is an apartment, if you’d like you can use it.”  "Why?" He as softly as he turned his head away.  “So you have a roof over your head.” Fluttershy said with a gentle smile. “At least take a look at it before you device.” She walked to the door and unlocked it. Benjamin stayed silent still as he followed her inside. "You're a real buzz kill, you know that?" Rainbow said to him.  Fluttershy frowned softly at Rainbow. “Please don’t bully him.”  "I'm not! It's true! He's being even more of a downer than-" Rainbow started to say as Fluttershy gave her a look. "Ok, ok fine. So Ben, what's your story?"  "Private." He said as the three made it to the apartment.  “There is a bedroom, living room, kitchen/dining room and a full bath.” Fluttershy explained as she showed him around. “Fully furnished and stocked with food. I normally use this as a place to take a break from my work.”  "Are you sure? Where will you relax when you're not working?" Ben asked her as he looked around a little.  “I can set up a chair downstairs.” Fluttershy said with a smile.  Benjamin stared at her for a moment before rubbing the back of his neck and looking away. "Thank you, but if I'm not here you can relax up here. It is your apartment after all."  “That is very kind of you, I promise I won’t go anywhere but the living room and the bathroom.” She told him, smiling and a bit glad she is earning his trust. Benjamin shrugged slightly as Rainbow looked between the two of them in confusion. "I don't really care, everything I own is on my body. So it's not like you'll find anything embarrassing."  “Still, it's about respecting your space.” Fluttershy said as Rainbow rolled her eyes and walked over to sit on the couch and turn the tv on. “Up next, it's hero time with Sten and his hero phone!” The tv said.  Benjamin raised an eyebrow at the TV, before shaking his head a little. "Is it ok if I relax in the shower a bit?"  “Sure, while you are in there I can make you something to eat, do you have any requests?” Fluttershy asked him. “Why make something when we can use that new app, Grub-something.” Rainbow said with a wave of her hand. "That's such a waste of money." Benjamin mumbled a bit, before he looked at Fluttershy. "And uh, thanks for the offer. But I can cook for myself." “Are you sure?” Fluttershy asked with a sad frown. Benjamin frowned slightly as he looked away. "Yeah, I don't want to burden you guys anymore than I already have."  “You aren't a burden.” Fluttershy said, reaching for his shoulder but stopped and pulled her hand away. “We want to help you because it is the right thing to do.”  Rainbow stared at him for a minute before asking. “Are you from Equestria?” Benjamin glanced at her for a moment before shaking his head. "No." He said, walking into the bathroom as Fluttershy stared at him for a moment.  Rainbow frowned a moment. “If he isn’t from there why did he say no instead of where?” She whispered to Fluttershy. Fluttershy shrugged slightly as she looked at the bathroom door. "He said he was running away, maybe it's painful for him to remember." Rainbow sighed and leaned her head back. “Fine, maybe Sunset can check if the portal is open.”  Fluttershy nodded a little as she pulled out her phone and texted everyone in the group chat. "Hey girls, just letting everyone else who doesn't know, know. Me, Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity found the new student sleeping on a bench. And we're helping him, Sunset is the portal open? Could he be from Equestria?"  It wasn’t long before she got a reply from Sunset. “I will check it out but I don’t think so, it only opens every thirty moons.” "Alright, thanks anyway. And I'm letting you all know he's staying in the apartment above my animal shelter. So if anyone shows up, knock first." Fluttershy texted with a small sigh.  “What did she say?” Rainbow asked her. "She said the portal shouldn't be open, it only opens once every thirty moons." Fluttershy sighed as someone knocked on the door, before Rarity and Applejack walked in.  "Is everything alright?" Rarity asked the two with a smile.  “The heck does that mean? Every thirty moons.” Rainbow said with a confused face. “Things are ok, we are just letting Benjamin relax in the bath.” Fluttershy answered, Rarity's question. "Ah, I think it means every thirty months or something. Ya know, like every thirty full moons or something."  “That’s a stupid way to track time.” Rainbow said with a roll of her eyes. "Well they are ponies, so they probably don't have normal clocks and stuff." Applejack said as they heard the water shut off in the bathroom. Fluttershy smiled softly as she got up and took the new clothes from Rarity, going over to the door and knocking.  "Yeah?" Benjamin's voice asked from the other side.  “Rarity brought the new clothes, if you want i could set them in front of the door or pass them to you.” Fluttershy said softly. "It's unlocked. But either way is fine." He said softly as Fluttershy slowly opened the door into the steam filled bathroom. Her eyes widened at the sight of Benjamin, a towel wrapped around his waist as he dried his now light brown hair that hung down to his shoulders. Her eyes wandered down slightly at his svelt body and slightly muscular midsection, a large scar draped across his stomach with multiple smaller ones along his body as her face began to turn red at the sight.  “H-here a-are y-your c-clothes.” Fluttershy said shyly as she lifted the clothes to him. "Thanks…" He said softly, taking the clothes as Fluttershy quickly left the bathroom with her face beat red.  "Shy? Ya ok?" Applejack asked. "He didn't do anything obscene did he?"  Fluttershy just shook her head before sitting down and staring off into space. The three girls frowned at her reaction as they waited for Benjamin to come out of the bathroom, however after a few moments Benjamin came out wearing a fresh pair of red jeans with an orange shirt and black jacket as his hair was brushed back now revealing his hazelnut eyes to everyone. "What's with her?" He asked, gesturing to Fluttershy.  “We don’t know.” Rainbow said while looking Benjamin over. “Did you do or say anything to her?” Benjamin shook his head. "No, she gave me the new clothes and that's it. I made sure I had a towel around my waist."  Rainbow started to smirk. “Just your waist?” Applejack smacked her head. “Cut that out, Flutters knows not ta stare.”  Benjamin frowned slightly as he glanced down and away. "Um… sorry about what you saw." He said to Fluttershy.  “I…um no I am sorry for staring.” Fluttershy said shyly as she hid behind her hair. "It's not your fault." Benjamin said with a slight shrug and a frown as the other three looked confused. "Anyway, what now?"  “Well if ya are hungry one of us can make somethin for ya with what's in the kitchen.” Applejack suggested. "I do know how to cook." Benjamin said, chuckling softly for the first time. "I guess as a thanks I can cook for all of you." He said going into the kitchen as Rainbow looked at Fluttershy.  "So what did you see?" Rainbow asked with a smirk. "Is he ripped?" Fluttershy blushed more but looked down. “He…has a lot of scars.” She said softly. "Scars?" Applejack asked with a frown as the three looked over at Benjamin.  "He must have had a hard life already…" Rarity said with a frown as they smelled sausage cooking.  Fluttershy nodded slowly. “Yes, I feel so sorry for him.” Rainbow noticed Benjamin's head turn slightly back at them as Fluttershy said that, before he turned back to the food as she elbowed her friend. "I think he heard you."  Fluttershy frowned softly and looked down, worried he would be upset with her. "If you ask me I don't think the dude wants to be pitied." Rainbow said with a shrug as Benjamin came over reith bowls of spaghetti and sausage.  "Here." He said, slightly coldly before sitting at the dining room table able to eat.  “Th-thank you…a-and sorry.” Fluttershy softly as she stared at the food. Benjamin paused for a moment before he turned his head slightly. "I don't need to be pitied, I chose to run away because of what was going on at home." He said turning his head back to his food as Fluttershy hung her head more. "But you also don't need to be sorry, you don't know my story and I'm planning on keeping it that way." He said before eating.  “O-ok.” She said softly.  “Geez, want some black hair dye and nail polish mister edge lord?” Rainbow asked with a raise of her eyebrow, only to get smacked by Applejack. “Knock it off RD.” "What? It's true!" Rainbow said as Rarity sighed.  "Rainbow darling, learn some tactics." Rarity said, shaking her head as their phones went off giving them all a heavy snow advisory as snow began piling up outside.  Fluttershy gasped as she ran over to a window and looked outside. “Oh no, AJ, if you don’t get home soon you’ll be stuck here.” Everyone looked outside from different windows, shaking their heads in shock. "Whoa Nelly, it might be too late. It rained like heck yesterday. All that water must be frozen."  “Man this is nuts, why didn’t the news warn us about this storm?” Rainbow said as she looked at the clouds. "It could be a freak storm caused by the sudden drop in temperature and the combination of all the rain and moisture in the atmosphere." Benjamin said, looking outside from a window near him, however he had a worried frown on his face.  “Maybe, but still the weather station should have been able to protect this.” Rainbow said with a frown. “Girls, call your families, I don’t think we can leave in this condition,” "So… we're stuck here all night with a strange man…" Rarity said slowly as the four looked at Benjamin slowly.  "Oh calm down, you four take the bedroom. I'm sure it has a lock. I'll sleep on the couch." Benjamin said, rolling his eyes.  “Um…i-it does b-but will you be comfortable on the couch?” Fluttershy asked. Benjamin shrugged a bit. "I was sleeping on a bench, a couch will be way more comfortable."  “I guess so…” Fluttershy said softly. “You don’t mind us staying though?”  "Why would I?" Benjamin asked, arching an eyebrow. "After all, this is your apartment."  Fluttershy looked down a little. “Ok, if you are sure.” Benjamin frowned slightly at her reaction as he glanced at the others before sighing. "But um… thanks for the concern."  The others get their phones out, except for Rainbow who had forgotten hers, and start calling their families. Benjamin glanced at Rainbow for a moment, before tossing her a black and orange phone. "I don't have a whole lot of data, but you can use it to call your family."  “Huh?” She caught the phone and looked at it. “Um…ok.” She started to call her family. Benjamin sat down near a window and looked out into the night sky, frowning slightly while the others finished up their phone calls. As he was looking out the window he saw a suspicious looking man walking down the street in the snow, they stopped and looked around before heading for a closed electronics store. Ben frowned a bit as he got up and started walking out the door. "I'll be right back."  “Where the heck are you going?” Rainbow asked with a confused frown. "Just checking on something." Ben said walking out the door.  Fluttershy had a worried frown on her face as he left. “You don’t think he left to run away again do you girls?” "Let's go get him!" Rainbow said, as they all rushed out of the building. They stopped as they saw him standing across the street from the electronics store, his hands in his pockets as someone walked out of the store.  "Whatever you took put it back." Benjamin said to the man casually.  The man looked at Benjamin before he screeched and dropped what he was holding. Ben sighed a bit as the group hid behind a building, while Benjamin put two fingers up to his watch as an orange circle formed over his watch. The man ran at Benjamin, ready to beat him up while screeching loudly. Benjamin smirked a bit as he pushed the watch down, a bright orange flash erupting from him revealing a blue cat-like creature with orange spikes on his shoulders and ankles. "I warned ya." It said. “What the fuck.” Rainbow said in shock before Applejack covered her mouth, In an instant the cat-like creature rushed at the man, knocking him back as the man's face seemingly came off revealing a large creature with a yellow body and purple midsection and head with a single eye.  “Ahh!” The creature said as he stood back up. “You will not interfire!” He then grabbed a light pole and ripped it out of the ground to use as a bat. "Wanna bet?" The creature asked, rushing at it again. The yellow creature yelled as it swung the light pole. “Filthy alien scum!” The cat creature suddenly dashed to the side and knocked the yellow being into a wall, knocking the pole out of its hands. "Your masters are the scum, they're invading planets and freezing them!"  The creature screeched again but then it started to swell up before hacking up a large glob of something at Benjamin. Benjamin rushed forward before sliding against the ground, avoiding the goop and jumping up and kicking the creature into the wall by odhw6 again. "That's it!" It yelled, it's chest opening up into a large bundle of tentacles that wrapped Benjamin up, and threw him into the air.  "What the heck is going on?" Rarity asked in shock.  “I..I d-don’t know but I’m s-scared.” Fluttershy said as she shook in fear. The large yellow creature uses its tentacles to slam Benjamin into the wall closest to them in one swift moment, completely different than the first transformation; the hourglass on the creature's chest glowed orange. In an instant the orange energy washed over it like a wave as the blue fur was replaced with an orange shirt, then black pants and a red jacket revealing Benjamin as he rubbed his head. "Damn DNAliens…"  “Rainbow, think we should step in and help him?” Applejack whispered as she clenched her fists. "What can we do?" Rainbow asked in shock as Benjamin slowly got up and shook his head, while the monster walked closer to him.  "The Highbreed will destroy this world, you cannot win." The creature said as Benjamin shook his head and looked at the creature. "Yeah? Well…" Benjamin said, sighing softly as he cracked his knuckles. "I can at least fix you."  “I don’t need fixing, human.” The creature said before lifting up a mailbox to crush him with. "You'd be surprised!" Benjamin said, running as t the creature before sliding underneath it as it dropped the mailbox before he quickly grabbed the creature's wrist. "Omnitrix repair corrupted DNA!" The watch on Benjamin's wrist beeped and shocked the creature with orange energy before it knocked Benjamin away.  "What did you do!?" The creature yelled as it's wrist glowed orange and spreading before it's body turned black and began flaking away. "I fixed your DNA." Benjamin said, with a smirk as he sat against a wall.  “Fix its DNA?” Applejack asked confused, then they all saw the black parts of the creature fall off to reveal a normal human, who then fell to the ground. Benjamin sighed as he slowly got up, helping the man into a bench as he heard police sirens. "Great…" he sighed as he began making his way back to the apartment.  “Come on girls, we gotta get back inside before he sees us.” Rarity said as she started running, The four of them rushed back inside the apartment and looked out the window as Benjamin walked back in. Fluttershy looked at him with worry. “Are you ok?” "Yeah I'm fine." Benjamin said, shrugging a little. "Just had to check on something."  “O-oh, ok.” Fluttershy said softly. “Ya sure ya didn't get hurt? Ah could've sworn ah heard the sound of a scuffle.” Applejack said with a raised eyebrow. Benjamin raised an eyebrow at her as she looked nervously at everything but him, before he sighed and rubbed his eyes. "You saw everything didn't you?"  “What do you mean darling?” Rarity asked with a nervous smile. Benjamin frowned a bit as he looked at them all, each one with nervous looks as he deadpanned. "You all suck at lying."  "Ok we saw everything! What the heck was all that!" Rainbow Dash yelled.  Fluttershy held up a hand. “We don’t understand what we saw but it seemed like you helped that man.” "Yea, I did. He was possessed by a Xenocite, an alien parasite that takes control of its host and overtakes them." Benjamin said, putting his new jacket on a coat rack while he sat down. "They work for an alien race called the Highbreed."  “Aliens? Do you think we are stupid?” Rainbow asked. Benjamin raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly would you call what I turned into and what I was fighting?"  “I don’t know…” Rainbow said with a frown. “Well…it and you could have come from another world through a portal.” Rarity suggested. Benjamin raised an eyebrow. "Anyway, any other questions?"  “Um…h-how did you turn into…those other things?” Fluttershy asked him. Benjamin held up his watch. "This, it's called an Omnitrix."  “Omni-what?” Rainbow asked while scratching her head. “Um…I am sorry but how does a watch change someone into…those?” Rarity asked, pointing out the window when referring to his alien transformations. Benjamin smirked a bit. "Because it was built by the smartest being in three arguably five galaxies."  The girls looked at eachother confused. “But…aliens ain’t real…at least they ain’t supposed ta be.” Applejack said with a confused frown. Benjamin blinked a bit as he sighed. "You really think the universe with how big it is only has one planet with life on it? Humanity is just… lacking in technological advances."  Applejack rubbed her head. “Well if there is another life out there why haven’t they come to us?”  "They have, you'd be surprised how much of earth's history is made thanks to aliens." Benjamin said with a shrug. "Heck, from what I've seen there's even some half human half alien hybrids." “That…is kinda hard to believe.” Rainbow said before she looked over at Fluttershy. “Have you ever met an alien?” Fluttershy shook her head slowly. "You may not have realized it." Benjamin said with a shrug. "At times until a certain point in their lives they are basically humans, and then… poof powers."  “Yeah right.” Rainbow said before shaking her head. “This has to be a prank you are pulling on us.” “Ah don’t know Rainbow, it feels like he is tellin the truth.” Applejack said to her. "Believe it if you want to, or not. Up to you." Benjamin said with a shrug.  Fluttershy walked up to Benjamin. “Have you been fighting aliens and getting hurt?” Benjamin shrugged slightly. "No one else can." Fluttershy started to tear up. “B-but why not? No one should have to do something that dangerous alone.” Benjamin shrugged slightly again. "Not that big of a deal, I'm the only one with an Omnitrix. I'm the only one that can turn into thousands of aliens to fight them."  “But…your scars…you have been doing this for a long time.” Fluttershy said softly. "Huh?" Benjamin asked in confusion, before blinking a little. "Oh, no. Those are from… before, I got the Omnitrix."  “H-huh? B-but how?” Fluttershy asked, shocked he would have scars like that from before he got the omnitrix and started fighting aliens. Benjamin looked at the floor a bit, before turning his head away. "That one is too personal for me to talk about…"  “O-oh I’m sorry.” Fluttershy as she looked away. “Um…can we help?” "It's too dangerous." Benjamin said softly, sitting on the couch.  “I can help you though, I can bandage you up.” Fluttershy told him. The other young girls looked at each other before looking at Fluttershy and Benjamin again. "Why are you so worried about me?" Benjamin asked her in confusion as he crossed his arms. "I'm a complete stranger to you."  “Why would you fight those aliens for us?” Fluttershy asked back with a soft smile. Benjamin blinked a bit as he looked away. "Because it's cool? And better than what was going on before."  “And maybe…because it is the right thing to do?” Fluttershy suggested as she reached for his hand. Benjamin suddenly pulled his hand back, surprising everyone as he looked away. "It doesn't matter if it's the right thing to do… if I don't they'll destroy not only this world but all of the worlds in the entire universe."  Fluttershy sighed a bit and looked at the ground. “We…we helped our school from someone dangerous, we can help you…if you’d let us.” Benjamin clenched his fist a bit, before sighing. "Let's just go to bed, it's late." “Um…yeah, let’s get some rest.” Rainbow said as she placed her hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder.  Benjamin looked away a little as the four girls made their way into the bedroom, Fluttershy stealing a glance at him as he laid down on the couch. Fluttershy sighed sadly and closed the door. “Girls…we need to help him, if he is fighting to keep our world safe then we should too.”  “Geez Shy, it isn’t like you to be for fighting.” Rainbow said as she sat on the bed. "I must agree darling, what is it about Benjamin that has you so… passionate about helping him?" Rarity asked.  "Yeah, ah mean. Ahm all fer helping the guy, he just stopped a monster from robbing a store. But you seem… obsessed with helping him." Applejack said, removing her boots and socks while putting on some perfume to block the smell.  “I don’t know…it's like…” Fluttershy started to say before she looked at the door. “I am supposed to help him. I feel drawn to him and want to help him, not just patch him up but…I want to see him smile.” Rarity gasped slightly as Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other. "Fluttershy dear, I believe you are developing a crush."  “What?!” Fluttershy looked at her friends with a blush. “N-no…I mean…we just met.” "Fluttershy, how long you've known each other doesn't change… well… physical attraction." Rarity said with a small giggle.  Fluttershy blushed more and looked down at the ground. “I don’t…I mean…he is cute…but…” "That's all it takes to begin the spark." Rarity said with a smile. "Jeez Shy, didn't think you had it in ya." Applejack said with a chuckle. She sat down and sighed. “M-maybe I do have a crush but, I think wanting to help him isn't connected.” "Then what do you think it is?" Rainbow asked, as she removed her hoody.  “I don’t know…” Fluttershy said before sighing. “But, whatever it is, it is still the right thing to do. He can fight and we can help heal and talk to the aliens…the ones that will listen anyway.” "So are we really gonna believe that all that was aliens?" Applejack asked, arching an eyebrow while setting her hat off to the side.  “Well we dealt with magical ponies from another world, why not aliens?” Rainbow said with a small shrug. "Well, we won't have any luck figuring it out tonight. We'd all better get some sleep as best as we can." Rarity said as all four girls got into the unusually large bed.  "Hey shy, why do ya have a bed this size?" Applejack asked.  "Oh, um. Whenever I spend the night here, I uh… tend to let the animals sleep up here with me so they're not alone. But I do wash them every morning." Fluttershy said softly, staring at the door to the main appointment before getting up and going to the closet.  Her friends watched in confusion as she pulled out a pair of blankets and an extra pillow, each of them smiled a little as she slowly made her way to the main apartment. "Same old Shy, always being kind."  "You really think she has a crush on that guy?" Rainbow asked softly.  “Of course she does.” Rarity said with a soft giggle. "How do we know that guy isn't one of those aliens? Remember how that big one was disguised as a normal human?" Rainbow asked. "What if he's trying to lul us into a false sense of security?"  “Well…” Applejack said before she hummed in thought. “He said that watch thing turns him into aliens so ah guess he is alien.” "Then should we even trust him?!" Rainbow asked in shock.  “Maybe.” Applejack said with a shrug. “We just don’t know him well enough.”  "What if he's manipulating Fluttershy somehow!" Rainbow said with a frown.  “Then we get her away from him, but until we have proof we don’t mess with him.” Applejack told her with a shrug. Rainbow bit her lip a little as Fluttershy came back with a frown. "Benjamin is gone!"  “What!?” All the girls shout. "I-i thought he was just in the bathroom so I laid out the pillow and blankets for him, but the bathroom door was open when I turned around!" Fluttershy said, fear and worry filling her voice. "What if he's fighting something again!?"  “Then he will be back when he is done.” Rainbow said with a small shrug. "But what if he gets hurt or killed!?" Fluttershy asked in horror.  Rainbow frowned a bit. “I don’t know…I mean we can’t exactly go looking for him.” "Rainbow is right darling, and with the weather, I'm sure he'll return soon." Rarity said with a gentle smile.  Fluttershy sat down and looked between her friends and the door. “But…what if he decided to run away from us because we saw him fighting?” Applejack frowned a bit before patting her shoulder. "Then there's nothing we can do, if he decides to leave that's his choice."  “Yeah, I say we just forget about him.” Rainbow said as she laid down. Fluttershy hung her head slightly as she looked out the window to the cold snowy night, wondering where Benjamin ran off too.  > Old acquaintance > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Benjamin looked at the blanket and pillow on the couch that had been laid out for him, before his gaze turned to the still open bedroom door, his eyes falling onto Fluttershy. He frowned a bit while thinking back to his own past, hanging his head with a sigh while sitting on the couch as flashes of his ex flashed through his mind. The boy's fists clenched as he glared in the direction of the bedroom door, slowly standing up before he saw Fluttershy roll over. His heart seemed to skip a beat at the sight of her wet worried face, as she breathed slowly in her own personal slumberland. Benjamin's face softened a bit as he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, glancing down as he laid down. "Maybe not everyone has an alternator motive…" he mumbled, closing his eyes while wrapping himself in the blanket. Rainbow Dash yawned as she woke up the next morning, smacking her lips a little while getting up and stretching. The smell of freshly cooked bacon, sausage, and eggs filled her nose while she looked at the bed again noticing everyone was still asleep. A frown formed on her face as she looked back at the main apartment; just in time to see Benjamin putting his coat on and walking out the front door, with the pillow and blanket neatly folded up on the edge of the couch. "Rainbow…? Did you cook?" Fluttershy's voice called out as she slowly sat up with a yawn. Rainbow frowned a bit, she could lie but that would make Fluttershy worry more about the strange boy. “N-no I didn’t.” "Ya didn't?" Applejack asked, sitting up with a yawn. "But we're all still here…" Fluttershy gasped happily, as she smiled. "Benjamin must have come back. “Maybe, but I didn’t see him.” Rainbow said as she sat down at the table. "Whoa…" Everyone said, seeing the whole table full of eggs, bacon, sausage, waffles and pancakes. "Oh my so much…" Rarity said, looking at all the food. “Ah wonder how it will taste.” Applejack said as she looked at the food. Fluttershy slowly took a pancake and ate a small piece of it, her eyes widening in shock. "This is amazing!" Rarity smiled as she enjoyed some too. “It was quite nice of him to cook all this for us.” "Ah'll be… this is good." Applejack said, pouring some apple flavored syrup on her waffles. Rainbow grumbled a bit as she ate. “It is ok, I guess.” Fluttershy smiled a little more as she ate. "I knew he had a kind heart…" “Well I hope we get to thank him for the food.” Rarity said before she checked her phone. "So do I… do you think they closed school today because of the weather?" Fluttershy asked with a small frown. “From what I am seeing on social media, it seems school is still open.” Rarity said with a frown. “I need to get home and clean up for class.” "U-um, you all have spare clothes here from the last sleepover they're all clean if you want to clean up here." Fluttershy said with a smile. "Why thank you Fluttershy, that will save me a lot of time." Rarity said with a smile. "How can they expect us to get to school safely in this weather? There won't be many students there." Rainbow said with a frown. Applejack frowned a bit and looked out the window. “Well…the snow stopped for now at least.” "That doesn't stop the road from being a hazard, oh whatever it'll probably only be a half day anyway." Rainbow said with a soft sigh, as Rarity went into the bathroom. Fluttershy smiled a bit. “Do you girls think we will see him at school?” Applejack chuckled softly, and smirked. "Ah've never seen ya so comfortable or excited to see a complete stranger before, ya must really feel something fer this guy." Fluttershy blushed and looked down shyly. “M-maybe.” Rainbow frowned more while eating more bacon. "I don't trust him, what if changing all the time has fried his brain?" “Rainbow, we don’t know anythin about him, ya are assumin the worst.” Applejack told her with a frown and shake of her head. "Hey, after everything that happened before with Sunset I don't want to lose you guys again…" Rainbow said with a frown, while glancing at Fluttershy. Applejack sighed and patted Rainbow’s back. “Ah know ya are worried but if we stick together we will be fine.” Fluttershy nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, but I feel like we can trust Benjamin." Rarity came out in clean clothes and a smile. “The bedroom and bathroom are all yours girls.” "Thank ya Rarity, ah'll wash up next." Applejack said heading into the bathroom. Benjamin sighed softly as he made his way to canterlot high, the snow crushing under his feet while he looked around a little. "Now, where could they have hidden the weather machine?" He mumbled to himself, before a girl with hair that reminded him of bacon slipped on the ice. "Have a nice trip?" He asked, helping her up. "Anything broken?" “Very funny.” She said as she groaned and stood back up on her own. “This damn ice is everywhere.” "Yeah, the random snowstorm is a pain." Benjamin said with a shrug. "You ok?" “I am fine.” She said with a grumpy frown. “Not like you care.” Benjamin raised an eyebrow. "Jeez all I did was make a dumb joke, don't have to get all pissy." The girl looked back at him with a glare before she looked him over and it softened. “You are new to Canterlot high, aren’t you?” "Yeah?" He said with a raised eyebrow. “Sorry.” She said with a sigh. “Almost everyone at the school hates me right now.” "Oh, I've heard of you." Benjamin said with a nod. "But I'm not all that worried about it, I've heard you've learned your lesson." The girl grabbed her left arm and looked away. “Yeah… still, I shouldn’t have yelled at you.” "Eh, it's no big deal. I've dealt with worse, and I guess we're even considering that joke I made." Benjamin said with a shrug. "Anyway, are you heading to school right now? I could use a guide." “Yeah I am.” She said before offering a gloved hand. “My name is Sunset Shimmer.” He shook it a little. "Benjamin." “Come on, we should be in time for breakfast. Why they have the school open after that snowstorm, I don’t know.” She said as she started to walk. "I already ate breakfast, but thanks. And yeah, it's probably because of the last minute of it all." Benjamin said with a shrug as they made their way to the school. “Maybe.” She said and looked up at the sky. “It showed up so fast…” "Yeah, well that happens when temperatures drop suddenly." Benjamin said with a shrug. “I guess so.” She said with a hum. “Do you know what classes you have?” "Yeah." He said taking out a piece of paper from his pocket and passing it to her. She hummed a bit as she looked it over. "Wow, you have almost all the same classes as me and my friends." "Hiya sunset!" A chipper voice said as a pink girl bounced over. Sunset looked over at her. “Hi Pinkie.” "Who's the cute new guy?" Pinkie asked with a giggle, and making Benjamin raise an eyebrow. “This is Benjamin.” Sunset said while smiling a little. “I am showing him to the school. "Nice to meet you! Do you know anyone in the school yet!?" Pinkie asked, bouncing in place a few times as her chest jiggled up and down. "Yeah, four girls that helped me last night." Benjamin said, unfazed by her chest “Wait…four girls?” Sunset asked with a small frown. “Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Applejack?” "Yep." Benjamin said with a small nod. Sunset looked at him and frowned. “Celestia didn’t send you to watch over me did she?” "Who?" Benjamin asked, arching an eyebrow. “N-never mind.” Sunset said with a soft blush and looked away. "So you're not from Equestria?" Pinkie asked, tilting her head slightly. "No." Benjamin said simply “Pinkie, that is a secret.” Sunset whispered to her. "But he didn't ask where it is, doesn't that mean he knows about it?" Pinkie asked confused as Benjamin shrugged. "I just thought it was somewhere exotic." He said, looking around the school. “Oh.” Pinkie said before she giggled. “Want to be friends?” Benjamin shrugged slightly. "I'm not really big on the whole, friends thing." “What?” Pinkie asked as her hair started to go flat. Benjamin sighed a bit. "It's nothing personal, just something private happened and... I'm not big on interacting with others very often." “O-oh…ok, sorry.” Pinkie said as she looked down at the ground, Sunset gently patting her back. "Come on Pinkie, it'll be ok." Sunset said, as the other four girls came into the school. “Benjamin!” Fluttershy called out with a smile. “You are ok.” She walked up to him and looked him over. Benjamin stepped away from her a little with an uncomfortable look on his face. "Y-yeah? Why wouldn't I be?" “Y-you…didn’t stay for breakfast, I…we were worried we upset you.” Fluttershy said softly. Benjamin shrugged a bit. "I'm not exactly one to eat with others, I get up really early. Plus I wanted to get to school and find my classes." “O-oh.” Fluttershy said softly. Rarity walked up to him and gave him a card. “Any time you want to do that fashion shoot just come to my shop.” "Alright." Benjamin said with a nod. "Oh yeah, thanks fer breakfast partner. It was good." Applejack said with a smile. Rainbow walked past him with a small frown. “Come on Shy, we need to get to class.” "o-oh, um. Benjamin, what's your first class?" Fluttershy asked the boy, making Rainbow pause with a frown. "Same as you two." Sunset said with a grin, giving Benjamin back his schedule. "He has almost all the same classes as us all." Rainbow frowned more. “Great.” “Really?” Fluttershy asked with a bit of happiness in her voice. Benjamin shrugged slightly. "Apparently." “Welp, we all better get ta class before mister Cranky gives us detention for bein late.” Applejack said as she walked down the hallway. "Mister Cranky?" Benjamin asked, arching an eyebrow as they all began to walk, while Rainbow crossed her arms. "He sounds so fun." He said sarcastically. “Oh he is!” Pinkie said with her smile back. “He teaches history.” Benjamin blinked a few times before sighing. "Great, my least favorite subject." “Don’t worry Benny, it's an easy class.” Pinkie said with a smile. Benjamin's face turned into an angry glare at her. "Never call me that!" Pinkie flinched from the glare. “S-sorry.” "Hey man what's your deal!?" Rainbow Dash asked in shock as Fluttershy frowned. Benjamin looked away from them still with a glare as he looked at the floor. "None of your business." Applejack stepped in front of him. “Look partner, Ah get ya have some mental or emotional scars, but ah will ask ya once, don’t snap at mah friends.” Benjamin grunted as he walked past her. "Then maybe she shouldn't have used that specific nickname." “I’m sorry.” Pinkie said softly. Benjamin paused for a moment as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I… it's whatever, sorry I snapped. That nickname in particular strikes a nerve." "W-why?" Fluttershy asked softly, as Benjamin glanced back at the group before he continued walking. "It's the one my cheating ex girlfriend used." He said softly. “Ouch.” Rainbow said, as she looked at him with sympathy. Pinkie's hair deflated a lot. "I-I'm so sorry…" “Just…drop it already.” He said before heading into the classroom. "Wow, actual students." Mr. Cranky said from behind his desk. "And the new one, introduce yourself, and it'll just be free time for the day. The principal said the day will be over early because of the weather." “Benjamin, don't try to be my friend.” He said to the teacher and any other students that were gonna come in. "Well aren't you a bottle of sunshine." Cranky said, rolling his eyes. "You can sit next to miss Fluttershy, she's a good student so don't mess it up for her." Benjamin rolled his eyes and sat down without saying anything back. "Alright, principal Celestia said she'll try to end school after the first bell. So free time for everyone." Mr. Cranky said. The classroom was mostly empty aside from Rainbow Dash, Pinkie pie, Applejack, Benjamin, and Fluttershy, the latter who was glancing at Benjamin sadly as he stared out the window while more snow began falling. "His girlfriend cheated on him? No wonder he's so cautious around others…" The yellow girl was so wrapped up in her own thoughts she didn't notice her friend trying to get her attention. "Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked, shaking her friend a little. "H-huh?" Fluttershy asked, looking at her friend. "Oh sorry Rainbow, I was lost in thought." "No kidding." Rainbow grumbled a little. "But anyway, check this out." He said pointing out the window. Fluttershy raised an eyebrow as she looked out the second story window of the school and down to the courtyard, where a group of men dressed in armor like knights stood In Front of a tall porcupine-like creature. "Oh my!" Benjamin sighed in annoyance as he rubbed his eyes. "God damn it Argit…" “Ya know that…thing?” Applejack asked after hearing him. "He's an alien." Benjamin said slowly standing up. "And a con man, but those knights are bad news. If they're like the ones I know of, then they kill aliens. And it doesn't matter if they're good, bad, women, or children." “What?” Fluttershy asked with a shocked face. "I'll be right back." He said, walking out the door with a serious expression on his face. “Mister Benjamin, where are you going?” Mr. Cranky asked with a frown. "To take care of something." He said walking still. Fluttershy got up and ran after him. “Wait, maybe we can talk to them.” "Ms. Shy!" Cranky yelled in shock, as Rainbow frowned and watched from the window. Benjamin sighed softly as Fluttershy caught up to him. "Believe me, they can't be reasoned with." “Have you tried?” Fluttershy asked as she held her hands together over her chest. "Believe me, they're only goal is to purge all alien life off the planet." Benjamin said with a frown. “I still want to try.” Fluttershy said as they got to the front doors. Benjamin sighed as the two began walking out the front doors, as some knights pointed their weapons at Argit. "You're a brave girl." He said before looking at the knights. "Hey!" “Stay out of this children, this best will be taken care of!” One of the knights shouted to them. “Wait!” Fluttershy said as she got closer. “Does he really have to be hurt?” "We need to purge the planet of these vermin!" One of the nights yelled as Argit looked at the two kids. "Benji! Ya gotta help me here man, I haven't done any-" Argit started to say, before a knight hit Argit's snout with the blunt of its blaster. Fluttershy gasped and covered her mouth. “Why? Can’t we all live together?” "Live together?! If we don't exterminate these pests they will ruin our beautiful planet!" The biggest knight yelled. Benjamin frowned as he looked at Argit. "Hey, you ok?" “But don’t we do that already?” Fluttershy asked the knight. “We don’t have to kill anyone. If everyone works together, the world could be an amazing place.” She said with a soft smile, hoping she can get through to the knights. “I’m fine, Benji, but who’s the chick? And how many hits to the head has she taken to talk to those nut jobs?” Argit asked Benjamin. "She's just a kid with a kind heart." Benjamin said, glancing at Fluttershy. "Don't delude yourself with those childish notifications, if we don't show these monsters who's in charge they will invade and destroy everything!" The knight yelled, drawing his sword. "Now leave or be destroyed." Fluttershy gasped and backed up a bit. “I don’t see why you have to do this, why not work with the aliens? Keep the earth safe for everyone.” “She is dead.” Argit said as he started backing away, looking for a way to get away. Benjamin frowned slightly as he stepped in front of Fluttershy. "Sorry, I did try to tell you." He said to her as the knights stepped closer to them. "Capture them!" The biggest knight yelled. “W-wait!” Fluttershy said to the knights. “Can’t we all be friends?” “Benji!? Argit shouted. "Chill out man, I got it." Benjamin said, reaching for his Omnitrix. "Friendship is useless!" The knight yelled, swiping his sword at Benjamin who quickly pushed down his Omnitrix. In a flash he shifted from his human form into one made entirely out of a diamond-like body, with shoulder spikes as he blocked the blade. “Friendship isn’t useless, it's magic!” Fluttershy said before she fell back from trying to move away from the sword. "What the!?" The knight yelled, shocked as Benjamin punched him and sent him flying. "Benji, since when do you protect people!?" Argit asked, shocked. “I’m not defending anyone, I just don’t like these assholes.” Benjamin said as he cracked his knuckles. "What kind of freak turns into one of these monsters!" The knight yelled, as he swung at Benjamin again. Argit groaned and looked between Benjamin and Fluttershy. “Hey girly, get out of here.” "W-what? B-but…" Fluttershy said softly, looking at Benjamin. "He's right, get out of here!" Benjamin yelled, punching the knight that was attacking him and knocking him out. Argit grabbed Fluttershy and pulled her away from the fight. “I don’t know why you are so special to Benji, but I am not gonna risk my hide here any longer then I have to, and if I run away leaving you alone he’d kick my butt.” Fluttershy blushed slightly as Benjamin fired some crystals out of his arms, knocking more knights into some walls. "Crap, we weren't prepared for this!" A knight yelled. "Retreat and regroup!" He shouted as the knights began running away. "Seriously?" Benjamin asked, turning back to normal as he raised an eyebrow. "They just… ran away… man, I was hoping for a longer fight!" Argit poked his head out from around the corner. “Then why don't you chase them and fight them at their base?” "Because if I did, I wouldn't be able to beat you up." Benjamin said, walking over to him, making Argit shake. "What did you do?" “Nothing!” He held his hands up with a nervous smile. "You sold them something fake didn't you?" Benjamin asked arching an eyebrow, as Fluttershy stood off to the side with the rest of her friends as they walked up. “Well…I wouldn’t say fake.” Argit said with a small chuckle. Benjamin rolled his eyes with a sigh. "What are you even doing in this town?" “Can’t I come see my old buddy for old time sake?” Argit asked with a grin, but after Benjamin's glare he wilted. “I need help…see I kinda owe a favor to…um…someone dangerous.” "Who?" Benjamin asked, rubbing his eyes. "Also, buddy? Kinda presumptuous, we only met like… a year ago." Argit shrugged a bit. “You are the closest thing to a friend I have. As for who…um…do you know who Volcanus is, would you buddy?” He asked with a nervous smile. Benjamin's eyes widened slightly. "You pissed off Volcanus…you must really have a death wish." “I was desperate and he had what I needed.” Argit said before he sighed. “I owe him a lot Benji, like track me across the galaxy, lot!” Benjamin sighed and rubbed his face a little, pulling his lower eyelids down slightly as he moved his hands. "Alright, but what do you want me to do about it? I don't have any taydens." “Well you could…you know.” Argit moved a thumb across his throat. Benjamin raised an eyebrow as the others gasped. "You want me to kill you? Why didn't you just let the knights do it?" “What!? No, not me! Volcanus!” Argit shouted with a frown. Benjamin frowned more. "You know fully well, I don't kill anyone." Argit sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I figured you’d say that, but can’t you do anything? Kick his but and send him to the plumbers? Trap him somewhere? Anything!?” "Plumbers?" Fluttershy asked, confused. "Galactic police force." Benjamin said without looking at her, while still staring at Argit. "And you know fully well if I go to them, I'll be arrested for having a 'fake' Omnitrix." “It looks pretty real to me pal.” Argit said with a frown. "Tell that to the plumbers." Benjamin mumbled a bit. "Look, I have no way to stop him. At least not yet, but I can hide you." “Great! Where?” Argit asked while rubbing his hands together before he looked over Benjamin’s shoulder. “Uh, should they see me?” Benjamin shrugged slightly. "They already spied on me last night when I was fighting a DNalien. Plus it'll be easier to sell the lie." He said pulling out a mask from his coat pocket. “Wait…you want me to go to…school?!” Argit asked with horror in his voice. "Yup, as my cousin." Benjamin said with a grin, forcing the mask onto Argit's face as he was suddenly replaced with a young girl who had on a red velvet dress. Argit looked himself over and gasped. “Benji! What the heck!?” Benjamin started to laugh along with Rainbow dash and Pinkie pie. "Consider this payback for ditching me when the plumbers arrived last year!" “You still can't be mad about that!? How was I supposed to know they would try to arrest you!” He said before he grabbed his mask. “Now get this thing off me and change it!” "Really? I think it's the perfect disguise." Rarity said, walking up to Argit with a smile. "After all, this Volcanus person wouldn't be looking for a girl right?" Argit frowned at her. “I hate that that made sense.” "Well anyway, we should probably get introductions out of the way." Benjamin said, turning to everyone. "This is Argit, an alien con woman." Argit glared at him. “If you didn’t have that omnitrix I would kick you in the shins.” Benjamin laughed a bit. "Yeah? Well you knew full well what I was like when you came to get my help." He said before rubbing his chin a bit. "Hey Argit, wanna pull another con on Volcanus?" "What!?" Fluttershy asked in shock, staring at Benjamin in disbelief. lief. “Well…what do you have in mind?” Argit asked with a raised eyebrow. "I can drop an anon-a-miss tip to him, letting him know where you are. And when he arrives, I'll call the plumbers and we can split the reward for his arrest, and get him off the streets." Benjamin said with a grin. "We get some cash, and get a major criminal off the streets." “Hmm a bit risky but, his bounty is pretty high.” Argit said with a grin. "Exactly." Benjamin said with a smirk, noticing Fluttershy's worried look and making him frown slightly. "Plus it'll stop him from hurting anyone else." “Who cares about anyone else?” Argit asked with a scoff. Benjamin rolled his eyes. "You do know who you're talking to right? I may be an ass, but I don't want others to get hurt." “Yeah yeah, you and your golden heart.” Argit said with a bit of annoyance. Benjamin frowned and looked at him with a red eyebrow, as he crossed arms with a smirk. "If I recall without my 'golden heart's you'd be dead right now, I think you owe me." Argit groaned and rubbed his face. “Fine, fine, how much?” Benjamin smirked a bit. "How about you let me scan your DNA?" "Scan his DNA?" Sunset asked in confusion. “Oh I see how it is, you want a new alien transformation, the best one!” Argit said with a grin. "Ha, that would be alien X." Benjamin said with a slight smirk. "But with your ability to shut off your pulse, your agile nature, and those quills. It'd be a good scan." Argit crossed his arms. “Like I said, the best.” "Whatever." Benjamin said with a smirk, holding up his watch. "Omnitrix, scan target DNA." He said as the dile pad turned yellow. Argit blinked as the light passed over his face. “So where are we gonna set up this trap?” "No clue, first I gotta figure out how to contact him anonymously." Benjamin said with a shrug, looking at the group of girls. "You're all being awfully quiet." “We just are in shock dear.” Rarity said with a small frown. “Wait…so…you two are aliens?” Sunset asked. "No." Benjamin said, jabbing a finger at Argit. "He is, I'm human." “Aliens are real?” Sunset asked, still in shock. "Yup." Argit said with a grin. "And Benji here can transform into hundreds of aliens." “H-hundreds?” Sunset said with wide eyes. "Uh, yeah. Hundreds." Benjamin said, looking away. "Anyway, sorry you all got dragged into this." “Are you kidding? We can handle it.” Rainbow said before pointing at Sunset. “We stopped her from taking over the school and going on a rampage as a she demon.”She looked at the girl. “No offense.” "None taken…" Sunset said with a small frown as Fluttershy walked over to Benjamin. "Are you really going to… con someone?" She asked with a small frown. "I mean, yeah? He's a criminal and has to be locked up." Benjamin said with a small shrug. “But conning someone is wrong, no matter who they are.” Fluttershy said with a small disappointed frown. “Geez, is she for real? Look lady, conning people is how I have survived out in space.” Argit told her. Benjamin frowned slightly as well as he glanced away. "Ok… think of it as a… sting operation. Like the police do. We'll be getting him in the open and the plumbers will apprehend him…" “That is a bit better.” Applejack said as Pinkie poked Argit’s hair. "Hey!" Argit said moving away from Pinkie. "Don't do that when he's not disguised, his quills produce a very powerful sleeping agent." Benjamin said, noticing Fluttershy was smiling softly at him as he looked away. “Ooo so he can make anyone go to sleep with just a poke?” Pinkie asked with a giggle. Applejack chuckled a bit. “And here I thought he was just some fancy walkin, talkin porcupine.” "Hey!" Argit said with a frown. "Anyway, did the principal shut down school for the rest of the day?" Benjamin asked, arching an eyebrow. Before any of them can answer the bell rings. “Now it is.” Rainbow said with a shrug. "Huh, alright. Argit, you got a place to stay?" Benjamin asked the transformed alien. Argit crossed his arms. “I have my ship.” "You mean the ship, that Volcanus can most likely track down?" Benjamin asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk as he started walking. "Have fun with that." “Hey don’t just leave me alone!” Argit followed him. "I thought you had your ship?" Benjamin asked him with a smirk. "But if you don't want to get caught, you can crash with me I guess… if that's ok with you." He said, the last part to Fluttershy as he turned to her. “I…I guess.” Fluttershy said softly. “Great! What kind of place are we talking about?” Argit asked while rubbing his hands together. Benjamin frowned slightly at fluttershy's reaction as he rubbed the back of his neck a bit. "Um… if you're not comfortable with it we can figure something else out. It is your apartment after all." Argit blinked a bit as he looked at Benjamin confused. “What, are you shacking up with this broad?” "Hey don't call her that!" Rainbow yelled at Argit, as Fluttershy blushed red. "She owns the apartment he's renting!" Argit shrugged dismissively. “Eh, I don’t really care either way. I just wanted to know if I need ear plugs, you humans can get loud.” Benjamin and Rainbow both glared at him angrily as Fluttershy's blush deepened. "I/she don't/doesn't live there!" The three of them yelled, before Rainbow added. "And they aren't even a thing! They just met!" “How was I supposed to know! Geez, sometimes you humans are weird.” Argit said before crossing his arms in a huff. "Argit you are being very unladylike, if you are going to pull off this disguise you should at least put in some effort." Rarity said with a small frown. He glared at her. “I will poke you.” He said with an almost feral hiss. Fluttershy frowned more as Benjamin sighed softly and slapped Argit upside the head. "Behave, don't forget you still have to sell the disguise." Argit grumbled and looked at the ground. “Yeah yeah, whatever.” "Anyway, Fluttershy. Are you absolutely sure it's ok he stays with me?" Benjamin asked, arching an eyebrow as Argit looked at him confused more. "Y-yes, it's ok. You're helping a friend after all." Fluttershy said with her cheeks still a light pink. “Friend? Benji and I have been through a lot over this past year.” Argit told her with a grin. Benjamin groaned a bit and rubbed his face. "Whatever, let's just go." “I need to go home to get my phone first.” Rainbow said with a frown. "Ah gotta get back to the farm." Applejack said, crossing her arms. "And I need to get to the shop." Rarity said with a sigh. "The cakes asked me to help them at sugar cube corner, looks like only Sunset and Fluttershy get to hang out with the cool aliens!" Pinkie said with a giggle. "Actually, I have to get home too." Sunset said with a frown. "Last night a tree broke one of my windows." Fluttershy gasped and looked at Sunset. “Were you hurt?” "No, it was in my living room. But I have to put boards on it " Sunset said with a slight shrug. "Looks like it's just you that gets to spend time with these two." She said, making Rainbow frown more. Fluttershy looked down shyly. “Well…kinda, I still need to look after the animals.” "Yeah, but at least once you're done with that you can hang out with them." Pinkie said with a smile. “That’s true. If Benjamin is ok with it.” Fluttershy said softly as she hid behind her hair. "I don't care, it is your apartment." Benjamin said with a shrug. “O-ok.” Fluttershy said softly. “Wow, real shy one there.” Argit said while shaking his head, but then his eyes widened and he slowly started to grin. “Say…how would you like to buy a-” Benjamin smacked him upside the head. "No." Argit frowned at Benjamin. “I was just gonna offer her an alien pet.” "Oh. Still that's really dangerous, she wouldn't -" Benjamin started to say. "An alien pet!? What's it like!?" Fluttershy asked with a smile. Argit smirked at Benjamin before he looked at Fluttershy. “Oh there are tons of alien animals out there.” "Fluttershy, don't trust him. He's a con man!" Rainbow yelled. “Hey now, I always give what I promise.” Argit said with a salesman's smile. "Yeah, but there's always a twist. Like a Genie." Benjamin said, rolling his eyes. "The pet you get will probably end up eating all your other animals or burn the building down." “What!?” Fluttershy gasped in horror. “Well there is always the risk of animals eating other animals if they aren’t trained well or if the owner isn’t skilled.” Argit said with a shrug. "Or it could be the size of the building. For now, just don't do it." Benjamin said to Fluttershy as he, Argit, and Fluttershy started walking. Argit rolled his eyes. “Like she could afford something that big.” "Dude, you always have a twist to the things you sell. So it's probably stolen." Benjamin said, rolling his eyes. Argit opened his mouth to argue but stopped and shrugged. “Eh, you got me there.” Fluttershy frowned a bit and walked closer to Benjamin. "I don't want a stolen pet…" Argit shrugged again. “Then don't buy one, I mean every pet is stolen if you think about it.” "W-what do you mean?" Fluttershy asked in horror. “Every pet is stolen from its mother at some point right?” Argut said with a small smirk. Fluttershy whimpered and teared up as Benjamin smacked Argit again. "Quit it!" "Gah, dude! Why are you so worried about this girl!?" Argit asked with a frown. "I'm not…" Benjamin said, looking away slightly. “Sure seems like it.” Argit said as he crossed his arms. “You almost never hit me.” "How about because you're being an ass?" Benjamin asked, as the three reached Fluttershy's animal sanctuary. Argit shrugged again. “I am always like this.” "Yeah but now it seems more… targeted." Benjamin said with a frown, while Fluttershy opened the door. Argit smirked a little. “Maybe, I mean if I can’t make some money off of her I may as well get some laughs.” Benjamin rolled his eyes a little, as they walked inside. "Ignore him, it's what I do." He told Fluttershy. Fluttershy nodded a bit. “I need to take care of my animals.” Benjamin nodded a little, looking around at all the animals. Birds, fish, hamsters, dogs, cats, and so on, cages and feeders littered all over the building. "Jeez, you take care of all of these by yourself?" “Oh um…sometimes, most of the time.” Fluttershy said before she smiled a bit. “Some nice girls sometimes come to help.” Benjamin nodded slowly as a small bird landed on his shoulder, and began nuzzling his cheek. Benjamin blinked a bit at the bird, before gently rubbing its head. "You remind me of my old pet…" “That is the first time I have seen anything get close to you man.” Argit said before shaking his head a bit. “Where are we going?” "Up the stairs." Benjamin said, pointing up the staircase. "You're sleeping on the couch." Argit nodded and headed for the stairs. “I’ll make us something to eat.” Benjamin blinked a bit as he looked at Fluttershy, not knowing Argit was watching from the top of the stairs. "I may end up having food poisoning." Benjamin said, causing Fluttershy to giggle softly and making him smile a little. “I don’t think your friend would do that to you.” Fluttershy said softly. "Oh, I know he wouldn't do it on purpose." Benjamin said, making a face that caused her to giggle more. "But that doesn't mean it won't happen." “I will make sure to have the first aid kit ready then.” She said while still giggling. Benjamin smiled a little more as he looked around. "You want any help?" “Only if you want to.” Fluttershy said with a bright smile. Benjamin coughed a little. "I-i mean, you are letting me stay upstairs and now with an extra person so…" “It's ok, I mean you are just helping a friend out, I would be cruel to turn him away.” Fluttershy said softly. Benjamin nodded a little as the bird pooped on his jacket. "Nice…" Fluttershy gasped softly before giggling a little. “I hear that is good luck in some places.” Benjamin sighed a bit as he rubbed his eyes. "I guess so, but I'm gonna need another shirt now." “There is a washing machine in the back.” Fluttershy said softly with a smile. Benjamin nodded a little as he removed his shirt. Fluttershy blushed and looked away shyly, as Benjamin walked into the back of the sanctuary putting his shirt into the washer with some other laundry that was back there. "What should I do first?" He asked, coming back. “Oh um…could you feed the birds?” She asked softly. Benjamin nodded a little, as he got the bird seed. "Ok." Argit shook his head and headed upstairs fully, not noticing a small drone that had been following him around. Meanwhile Rainbow frowned more as she walked with Pinkie down the road to Sugar Cube Corner, kicking a rock slightly. "You ok Dashy?" “I am fine.” She said with a grumpy frown. "You don't seem fine, what can I do to turn that frown upside down?" Pinkie asked, bouncing backwards in front of Rainbow as her chest jiggled a lot. Rainbow sighed and closed her eyes. “I am just…something about that guy makes me mad.” Pinkie tilted her head a bit. "Is it because he's able to fight really cool aliens and that makes him look cooler than you?" Rainbow frowned a bit more. “Maybe.” She grumbled. Pinkie giggled a little bit. "Awe come on Dashy, you know you're the coolest girl in our school. Everyone loves you!" Rainbow sighed and looked at the ground. “Not everyone.” Pinkie tilted her head. "Huh?" “Nothing.” Rainbow said with a groan. “Can we just move on.” Pinkie frowned a little as she looked down. "D-do you um… wanna come with me to Sugar cube corner? I know you said you were busy earlier but…" “Sure, I need ro get my mind off of…stuff.” Rainbow said as she stuffed her hands into her pockets. Pinkie frowned slightly as she looked down a little. "Y-you like Fluttershy don't you?" “What!?” Rainbow shouted in surprise with a bright red blush. Pinkie smiled softly and sadly at her, fiddling with her dress a little. "I can tell, the person I'm in love with likes someone else as well…" Rainbow looked at her. “Who is he?” Pinkie blushed a bit as her cheeks turned slightly lighter. "S-she's… not interested…" “O-oh.” Rainbow said softly. “I didn’t know you swung that way, Pinks.” Pinkie played with her fingers a bit. "I-i didn't either until I started hanging out with her more… but anyway…" she said, looking away. "I'm sorry about Fluttershy…" Rainbow sighed and looked away. “I…guess she isn’t into girls like I thought.” She chuckled weakly. “I guess my gaydar needs work.” Pinkie smiled a little. "M-maybe she's BI?" “Maybe.” Rainbow said before she looked at Pinkie. “Thanks but I want to get my mind off of Fluttershy and…ugh Benjamin.” Pinkie nodded softly as she grabbed Rainbow's arm. "Come on, I'll treat you to a milkshake!" Rainbow smiled a bit. “Alright.” Pinkie giggled a little as they made their way to Sugar cube corner. “Alright, take a seat and I’ll get your favorite.” Pinkie said before she skipped over to the counter and jumped over. “Pinkie, how many times have I told you, don’t skip like that? It isn’t Decent to do in public.” Mrs. Cake told her from the cash register. "Sorry Ms.Cake, just trying to cheer up my friend as soon as possible!" Pinkie said, bringing out Dash’s favorite milkshake and cookies. Mrs. Cake shook her head with a sigh. “Oh Pinkie.” Rainbow smiled a little as Pinkie set the food on the table. "Thanks Pinks, you're a good friend." Pinkie smiled as she sat down, though Rainbow thought Pinkie’s hair just got a little straighter for a second but then shook her head. “So after we eat, what do you want to help with first?” Pinkie asked her with a soft smile. "We can do whatever you want." Rainbow said with a smile. “Ok, then how about cupcakes first.” Pinkie said as her smile became just a little brighter. "Ok." Rainbow said with a smile as they went into the back. A large fist smashed a monitor as a deep voice shouted in a ship above the planet. "Where is that little shit!?" A small creature walked over while holding a tablet and held it up while speaking in an alien language. On the tablet was a live feed of a human girl through a window, trying to cook in the kitchen of an upstairs apartment. "What is this? You're saying this is Argit?" The large alien asked. The small creature nodded and spoke again before pushing a few buttons to show the girl had alien DNA and had the signal of an id mask. "Argit isn't smart enough to come up with a disguise like this, he must be getting help…" The alien said rubbing his chin as a notification popped up and his eyes widened. "Well then, I just got a tip that is indeed Argit… descend at once!" The small creature nodded and yelled at other smaller creatures that looked just like it as they worked the controls of the ship. The alien chuckled darkly as the ship began it's descent. "Time to pay Argit!" Chapter end.