Chapters Chapter 1: Welcome to Ponyville, Ben
Chapter 1: Welcome to Ponyville, Ben
It is a quiet day in Ponyville...well, kinda. The ponies are still concerned about the explosions that came from Canterlot a while ago. And while some of the ponies who went there came home safe and sound, no pony got the full details as to what has happened yet.
Some ponies gathered at the train station since Twilight and her friends will soon arrive home. The train itself pulls up into the station before coming to a complete stop. The passengers got out...and amongst them are a familiar group of ponies and a baby dragon.
"Well, thank goodness we're back home." Rarity said with a sigh. "Canterlot was nice but nothing beats my old grounds."
"Yew got it. An' some ponies came 'ta welcome us back." Applejack said with a smile. She waves to the crowd while exclaiming, "Howdy everypony! Missed us?"
"Yeah, sure, good to see you all right, Applejack," Caramel said to Applejack with a grin.
"Well, Spike, I guess some ponies got library books to return...so it's time for us to reopen the library." Twilight said to Spike with a grin, knowing that the library is about to be reopened.
"Hold it, Twilight, hold it!" A familiar voice exclaims as the Mayor of Ponyville trots up to her. "What's going on in Canterlot? We saw four explosions and thought that the city was under attack! Big Macintosh and some ponies whose went there came back alive but no answer as to what has happened."
"Oh, nothing much, Mayor. The city was under attack but we took care of the problem. The last explosion is my parents' house getting blown up."
"Sorry!" The Cutie Mark Crusaders, the ones who accidentally destroyed the home of Twilight's parents, said while looking sheepishly.
"Well, what was the attack? What happe..." The Mayor stops as a new pony came up to her, one that she has never seen before, "Uh...hello?"
The new pony is brown coated stallion with a spiky like brown mane, green eyes, a long tail and a red collar. He appears to have three golden triangles made into a Triforce on the side of his flank. On his back is a saddlebag along with the familiar sleeping ball form of Nyx who decided to take a nap on the new pony.
"Hi there, everypony," The stallion said, waving a hoof to everypony.
"Wow, who is that new pony?" Daisy asks her friends Lily and Rose in curiosity. "He's cute."
"Yeah! Is this new colt going to live in Ponyville?" Lily asks right back in hope. Some of the ponies begin talking about the new stallion.
Rainbow rolls her eyes, motioning the ponies back while saying, "Okay, ponies, back off; this pony is already spoken for."
"Yeah, he's Twilight's colt! Hooves off," Pinkie exclaims sternly, making some of the ponies gasp in surprise.
"Wait, Twilight Sparkle got a colt-friend? Wow! How did she get so lucky?" Daisy asks her friends in amazement and disbelief.
"Ahem. Mayor, this is my new colt-friend Ben Mare." Twilight said with a giggle. She uses her magic to fold a scroll over to the Mayor who takes it. "I think you will see from that letter from Princess Celestia that Ben has been assigned to be co-librarian in the Ponyville Library."
The Mayor opens the letter and looks at it carefully. She said, "Well, there's the Royal Seal. This is an official notice all right."
"Well, time for us to get going." Rarity said with a nod.
"Right; we don't want any unnecessary excitement and..." Fluttershy didn't get the chance to finish as a gasp from the Mayor cuts her right off.
"M-m-m-my Herd; Ben Mare is Princess Celestia's adopted son?" The Mayor gasps in shock and disbelief. Some of the ponies gasp in surprise before some bow to Ben Mare, Celestia's adopted son.
"Now, now, please don't." Ben said sheepishly. "Get up, rise; I am just a normal Earth pony like you are."
"Forgive us...well, mostly me. But...is it true; Twilight?"
"Yes, it is true. Ben Mare is Princess Celestia's adopted son." Spike chuckles to the Mayor a bit. "But Ben Mare is a normal pony like you are and just wants a normal life in Ponyville."
"Right; I may be the princess's niece-in-law through Princess Cadance but I am still the same Twilight Sparkle you meant a while ago, right?" Twilight ask the ponies who mumbles a bit.
"Well, I supposed so. But...son or no, Ben Mare, you are always welcome in my village." The Mayor said to Ben Mare with a welcoming grin.
"Thank you. Well, Twilight, how about you, me and our daughter head to my new home?" Ben ask Twilight with a smile. "After all the trouble that I went through, I will be happy to settle down. Of course, once Nyx wakes up."
"Right, Nyx is sleepy and I have to be quiet when getting her on your back." Twilight said while nuzzling her love happily.
"Yew y'all go on ahead. Ah need 'ta get mahself an' Apple Bloom back home." Applejack said as she motions to Apple Bloom. "Herd knows 'dat Granny Smith needs some help after our an' Big Macintosh's absence."
"And I got a super-duper fun party to schedule! Oh boy, this is so much fun, I can..." Pinkie giggles eagerly and rushes off very fast; you can barely tell that she isn't around anymore.
"Yeah, she is definitely going to make a party for Ben." Rainbow chuckles a bit. "She always do that for the new ponies."
"Well, I better get back to my Carousel Baroque. The combination dresses are a big hit in Canterlot and I got a big order for them. Come, Sweetie!" Rarity exclaims happily as she and Sweetie heads off.
"Right; see you girls later!" Sweetie exclaims, waving a hoof goodbye as she heads off to Rarity.
"Oh dear, I better check on my animals, make sure that they are all right. Angel can do so much in my absence." Fluttershy said meekly as she left.
Applejack and Apple Bloom head on. Soon, only Twilight, Ben, Spike, Nyx, Rainbow and Scootaloo are left still around. The purple unicorn grins as she asks, "Rainbow, Scoots?"
"Eh, why not? I ain't scheduled or anything right now and I need to go to the library anyhow." Rainbow remarks with a shrug.
The group left on leaving some of the ponies looking amazed and eager for the new arrival. Lyra Heartstrings turns to Bon-Bon excitedly while exclaiming, "I told you, Bon-Bon! I did meet the adopted son of Princess Celestia in Canterlot!"
"Yeah! Oh wow!" Bon-Bon exclaims with a grin. "Ponyville just got better!"
Later that day, Twilight's group arrived at her library home, which is Ben's home as well from now on.
"Well, welcome to the Ponyville Library, Ben." Twilight said gently as she uses her key to unlock the front door.
"And a good home of course," Ben remarks with a grin. "I enjoyed reading; I am a nut when it comes to reading."
"Really; Then I know you will love it here!" Twilight giggles in delight as the group goes into the library.
"Nyx, honey, wake up." Ben said gently while nudging Nyx a bit. "We're home now."
The black alicorn moaned before she woke up as she stretched her hooves while yawning.
"Are we home? Wow. It's like I never left. Thanks, daddy." Nyx mumbles a bit as she jumps off, using her wings to slow her descent to the floor.
Spike notices some books in the drop bag underneath the drop bag. He comments, "Must be the books that the ponies returned. I will put them back in their place."
"Owloysius; Can you help Spike please?" Twilight calls out to her little owl assistant who wakes up upon hearing his owner returning home.
"Who," Owloysius calls out in the usual way.
"Spike, that's...oh, come on! Let's not do this again!" Twilight giggles to Owloysius who flies in to help Spike in returning the books to their places.
"Wow, Twilight, I didn't know you have a pet owl!" Ben said in fascination.
"I got him when I decided that Spike needs some extra help." Twilight said with a smile to her love.
"Hey, egghead; I just remembered: did the new Daring Do book come in yet?" Rainbow asks Twilight anxiously.
"It should be over there on the waiting table." Twilight said, motioning to a book that is on the waiting table. "Guess I forgot to bring it with me to Canterlot."
"Worth the wait," Rainbow remarks as she takes the book from the table. A chirp is heard as a familiar baby phoenix is seen behind where the book once was, "Oh, sorry Peewee; didn't see you there."
"A baby phoenix; No way," Ben exclaimed in surprise and delight.
"He belongs to Spike; my big brother adopted him after saving his egg from mean dragons." Nyx giggles as she and Scootaloo goes off to play a bit.
"Yep; I named him Peewee! Say hello to Twilight's new boyfriend, little guy!" Spike said to Peewee with a grin. The baby phoenix chirps 'hello' to Ben.
"Dang, does mom knows you have a phoenix like her?" Ben asks Spike with a grin.
"Yeah, she knows, enough to send him instructions." Rainbow said, putting her name on the list and such. "Okay, I should have the book returned to you soon. Come on, Scoots, I gotta get you home."
"Coming, Rainbow!" Scootaloo said as she ran up to Rainbow.
As the two ponies leave, Twilight said with a grin, "Well, time to get you settled in."
"How? Daddy didn't bring much." Nyx said puzzled.
"On the contrary, I brought everything with me." Ben chuckles to the puzzled ponies and dragon. "Watch this." He opens the bag and peeks inside. "All right, everything...Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!"
Twilight, Nyx, Spike and even the pets look startled as a lot of stuff came popping out of the bag, heading upstairs. The group heads upstairs and looks into Twilight's room which she is sharing with Nyx and Spike.
The group observes as Ben's stuff is put in certain places of the room, even big stuff like a bookshelf and a bed, which came from a small bag shockingly, was landing in certain places.
When everything is in place, the bedroom now has new additions. Ben laughs, "Aha!"
"Wow!" Twilight, Nyx and Spike exclaim in unison and surprise.
"How did you do that?" Twilight ask Ben in amazement.
"Oh, this is a magic bag that mom gotten from the Moochik generations ago. Say the magic words and you can fit a whole room in there." Ben explains to his new family proudly.
"And the princess didn't tell me about it?" Twilight asked Ben, a bit disappointed.
"Well, you never asked." Ben remarks with a chuckle. Twilight agrees to that point. She never did asked about the magic bag before so who is the unicorn to judge?
"What a way to pack and unpack!" Nyx exclaims in amazement.
"Yeah...now then, how else can you fit stuff in one bag, let me ask you that." Ben said as he moves his portrait of his colt self into the right position.
"I think it's wonderful!" Twilight said with a smile
"Right." Ben said as he sat on his bed. "Well, come on, Twilight, Nyx. Can't a stallion have his girlfriend and adopted daughter sit with him on the bed? Go ahead."
"Okay!" Nyx said eagerly before she and Twilight got to Ben's bed and sat with him.
"So...what does a co-librarian does around here?" Ben asks Twilight curiously.
"Well, simple. We checked out books to the ponies, put them back in, look up any for the ponies, do dusting, studying, etc. Come on, you read, you know what a librarian does." Twilight giggles to Ben in a teasing kinda way.
"I know that. I just want to make sure you aren't being forgetful, My Little Twilight." Ben laughs as he and Twilight hugs a bit. "But what shall we do about tomorrow?"
"Well, I am planning on tour for you, all around Ponyville." Twilight said to Ben with a smile. "To AJ's farm, Rarity's Carousel Baroque and more. Would you like that?"
"Yeah...I would." Ben said with a slow nod. He is going to enjoy his new life in Ponyville. It is going to be great.
It was nighttime in Ponyville. Most of the town is asleep by now. Inside the home of Twilight and now Ben, the purple unicorn, Nyx, Spike and Pee-Wee were in bed. Owloysius, being an owl, was up watching.
Ben, the only one not sleeping, sighs as he glances at the beautiful night that his Aunt Luna has made for all of Equestria. Not so long ago, the Earth pony was a Demon Pony, roaming the forest and looking at the sky in the Everfree Forest. And now, look at him. He is un-cursed, most of Equestria now loves and request him (Twilight has to worked hard to keep admirers out of the library), and now Ben has a wonderful filly-friend and a great adopted daughter.
Ben wonders how his mother deals when she adopted him as a foal years ago. The Earth pony is a bit nervous about being away from his home...but decides that it's well worth it with Twilight and Nyx. He wonders how Ponyville will handle him.
As Ben looks out the window, a familiar voice spoke up, "Can't sleep?" The Earth pony turns to see Twilight in her own bed glancing at him.
"Well, not yet. Twilight...have you ever deal with extra attention?" Ben asks Twilight curiously.
"Well, sometimes. During the Gala ticket, bunch of ponies, even my own friends, wanted my extra ticket and do stuff for me to win my favor. I was struggling to figure out which of my good friends to picked at the time. Your mother...Celestia helped me out by giving me extra tickets. I got some extra tickets due to me being related to the princess through her niece's marriage to Shining Armor."
"And...have it ever bugged you?"
"A bit," Twilight remarks with a shrug. "But I learned to live with it. The attention will die down. Just like you, I just want to live a normal life...well, okay, I am still a student of the ruler of Equestria, still a librarian who is a powerful unicorn, and is a mother of a former evil of Princess Luna."
"I see." Ben said. He pauses a bit, looking more concerned.
"Ben, honey...is there anything else bothering you?"
"I just...I wondered how Ponyville will react to me...and what would happen if they were to find out about my Demon Pony former life."
Twilight giggles a bit as she said, "Don't worry. I was worried when they found out about Nyx being Nightmare Moon...but I learnt that as time goes by, if my daughter got stunned, I hope and wait for a chance for her to be accepted. My parents accepted her, so did my brother, her aunt, Celestia at times, Luna...and now you, me, my friends and Nyx's own. The thing is, don't worry about it! Just try to live your life the way that you want to, not what others want you to be!"
"Yeah, you're right." Ben said with a sigh before smiling. "I wanted a normal life with you and Nyx...and I will get it. And if there's any problems like with Boris, I will fight to get it. You protected me, so I shall protect you and our daughter."
"Glad to hear that."
Ben smiles a bit as he got into bed. Perhaps there's no reason to worry. He still got a good life ahead of him. Just then, the Earth pony is startled as Twilight got out of her bed and heads to him.
"Twilight," Ben ask Twilight then is surprised as his love crawls into bed with him. "What...?"
"Oh, my bed feels lumpy right now...I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to sleep with you tonight. Good night." Twilight said lovingly. Ben blinks as the purple unicorn hugs him then falls asleep. She obviously made up that excuse to be with him tonight.
Ben pauses as he glances at Twilight then smiles a bit. He puts one upper foreleg around his true love while saying quietly, "Good night, Twilight..."
Ben then gets to sleep himself. He has a long day ahead of him tomorrow...
Chapter 2: Ponyville Tour
Chapter 2: Ponyville Tour
The next day comes (right after Celestia raised the sun) and the folks of Ponyville begin their new day. Twilight and Ben were ready to begin their tour, but first they gotta drop Nyx off at school.
The three (with Spike) didn't go out right away as fans of Ben were outside waiting eagerly. So Twilight have to use teleportation to get by them and head off to Ponyville School in a big hurry.
"Daddy, why can't I go with you and mommy on the tour?" Nyx pouts as she rode on Ben's back.
"Because you got school and we don't want your teacher to be upset now, do we?" Ben points out to Nyx playfully.
"Yeah...but still, I wanted to see how you do this tour better than mommy's first arrival."
"Nyx, no need to compare my first arrival to your daddy's," Twilight giggles a bit. "Besides, I promise when you have no school to give you a better tour."
The group arrives at the Ponyville School, school haven't started yet. Cheerilee, Nyx's teacher, was waiting for them as they arrive.
"Morning, Twilight!" Cheerilee said happily. She spots Ben then continues, "You must be Ben Mare."
"Yes, madam. You must be...Cheerilee, right?" Ben asks Cheerilee curiously. The Earth pony nods a bit. The new arrival scratches his chin then grins. "Oh yes, from the love poison incident!" This made the teacher blush in embarrassment.
"You heard about that, huh?"
"I have been around Ponyville...best not to ask. I heard you trashed a fashion store during Hearts and Hooves Day."
"Oh my Grandma," Nyx laughs a bit while Spike laughs with her. "I remember. My friends tried to paired Cheerilee up with Big Macintosh; Gotta admit, good idea but the love poison made it insane!"
"Nyx, come on, that isn't funny!" Cheerilee exclaims in embarrassment as Twilight helps Nyx off Ben's back.
"Are you seeing Big Mac recently or what?" Ben asks Cheerilee with a grin. The teacher blushes at this comment. "Come on, you don't have to keep it a secret."
"C-c-c-come on, stop it! What happened was the love poison talking. R-r-really..."
"Said the teacher who hangs with Applejack's brother," Twilight remarks with a smirk. She then turns to her daughter while saying, "All right, daddy and I will pick you up later. Be good, Nyx."
"Right, and remember what I told you when handling bullies." Ben said while nuzzling Nyx a bit. "Just ignore them or let a teacher handle the mean ones. No fighting unless it's in self defense or helping others."
"Yes, daddy," Nyx said as she heads into school. Twilight's group heads off to begin the tour, making sure to dodge any fans of Ben along the way.
The first on the tour is Sweet Apple Acres, the first place in Ponyville that Twilight arrives in when she came to this town a while ago. As they arrive, they heard a "YEE-HAW!" nearby.
"That's AJ bucking her apples." Spike said. Sure enough, they saw Applejack hitting the trees with her back hooves, knocking down a lot of apples in the progress.
"Hey Applejack," Twilight said with a smile as she, Ben and Spike came over to Applejack who turn and grins upon seeing her friends.
"Howdy, Twilight; what brings yew, Spike an' yer colt-friend here?" Applejack ask Twilight with a grin.
"Just giving Ben the grand tour of Ponyvillle; I decided to come here first because this is the first place that I came to when I first arrived."
"Well, good golly! Good timing too! 'De Apple Family is having their git together right now!"
"But don't you have the reunions during the Summer Sun Celebration?" Spike asks Applejack puzzled since he recalls most of the family being at Sweet Apple Acres being at the reunion during the Summer Sun Celebration.
"Yep, but we decided 'dat since 'de family was in Canterlot, we decided 'ta have another git together!" Applejack insists as she grabs Ben by the hoof, dragging him with her. "Come on, let me introduce ya 'ta to 'de family!"
"Applejack, whoa," Ben exclaims in surprise and alarm. What happened next caught him by surprise.
Applejack pushes Ben over to a table and rings the triangle instrument before shouting, "SOUP'S ON, EVERYPONY!" Twilight and Spike moves out of the way as familiar ponies (to them) rush over to the table to greet the new comer to Ponyville.
"Ben, yew knew Apple Bloom, who is allowed out o' school 'ta help out in 'de reunion, an' Big Macintosh. Here's 'de rest o' de family! Apple Fritter, Apple Bumpkin, Red Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple Strudel, Apple Tart, Baked Apple, Apple Brioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp... Applejack gasps a bit due to all the talking that she made. The Earth pony motions to a familiar old mare sleeping in her rocking chair, "Aaaand Granny Smith. Up an' at 'em Granny Smith, we got guests."
Granny Smith snore then woke up, mumbling, "Wha--? Soup's on, I'm ah, here I come, ah comin." The old mare got out of her rocking chair, heading right over to the group.
"Mah cousin Braeburn of course is in Appleloosa an' couldn't make it...again. But he sent us his love."
"I bet." Twilight giggles a bit while glancing at some of the food made by the Apple Family. "You think Ben would eat that?"
"Actually I can. I ate some of Applejack's treats before." Ben insists then ate an apple pie happily before finishing up, belching a bit. "Excuse me." The stallion notices Granny glaring at him. "Err, what?"
"Do I know from somewhere, sonny?" Granny asks Ben suspiciously. This make the stallion gulps a bit nervously.
It was nighttime at Sweet Apple Acres as the family is sleeping for the night. But one creature appears to be up, digging through a supply of apples. The Demon Pony sneaks over onto the property for something to eat, he come to Ponyville at times.
Suddenly lights came on at the night as Granny's voice is heard, "Who's out there? Big Mac, it's those blasted timber wolves again! Get the mallet!"
"Horse feathers," The Demon Pony yelp in alarm. He has been spotted. The creature knocks over a bunch of apple barrels as he quickly makes his escape from the place before the Apples discover him.
"Uh, no, madam, haven't seen you before." Ben said, sweating a bit.
"Weird, a year ago, some pony got into the apples and I saw some creature disappearing into the Everfree Forest. Thought it was a timber wolf," Granny said with a frown.
"Madam, I assure you, I have never seen or met you before."
"Hmmm...you're probably right. The timber wolf is more uglier than you are."
Most of the ponies laugh as Ben chuckles a bit nervously. He got out of that one with dignity and safely. Spike whispers to him, "You were that 'timber wolf, were you'?"
"Sssh," Ben hushes Spike in concern. The last thing he needs is to make a bad impression on his filly-friend's friend and her family.
Ben burps a bit as he, Twilight, Spike, Applejack, Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh heads away from the farm. The Earth pony remarks, "That is a good meal, Applejack. You and your family did a fine job."
"Thank yew appreciate it there." Applejack said with a grin.
"Wanna see what we Apples like 'ta do fer fun?" Apple Bloom asks with a grin as the ponies and dragon enter the Everfree Forest.
"Fun? What's so fun about going into the Everfree Forest?" Spike asks in concern, wondering what Applejack and her family thinks is so fun in the Everfree Forest since it was so dangerous before.
"Yew'll see." Applejack said mysteriously. The group goes into the forest until they reach a certain spot. "Here we are; Big Mac?"
"Going fer it, sis." Big Macintosh said as he begins kicking at some stuff. Ben looks amazed at how strong the big stallion is.
"So...Big Mac, right," Ben ask Big Macintosh with a grin. "You must be some handsome guy."
"Yyep. Well, one o' them anyhow."
"I betcha fillies must go for you."
Big Macintosh blushes a bit, trying to keep kicking while saying, "Shucks, sometimes...but Ah ain't much o' a dating pony."
"Come on, a big guy like you?" Ben asks in disbelief, wondering how Big Macintosh doesn't seem to get any dates with how he looks and goes. "You must've dated a few fillies in Ponyville, right?"
"Nn....okay, maybe yyep; But 'de first two tries didn't end so well."
Twilight sighs as she explains, "Big Macintosh tried to get himself a special somepony two times before. Didn't end well; First time was with Fluttershy."
"Yyep; Megan's husband an' I tried our best 'ta get her an' Big Mac together." Applejack explains as Big Macintosh kept on kicking as if looking for something. "They did date...but it didn't end so well; 'De two remains friends after 'at."
"And the second time," Ben ask curiously, wondering whom Big Macintosh tries to pine for next.
"Err, that would be me." Twilight said sheepishly much to Ben's surprise. "It was after the Miss Smartypants incident. I came to the farm to get my doll back. Of course, besides liking the thing, Big Macintosh held the doll...because he kinda likes me."
"Of course, Miss Twilight was pining fer yer at 'de time so she politely turned me down." Big Macintosh remarks as he kept on kicking. "Twilight let me keep the doll just to be polite...until Ah gave it back 'ta her after 'de Gabby Gums incident. Gave it 'ta her daughter."
"So how about the third time? Didn't you get together with Cheerilee?" Ben asks Big Macintosh with a grin, making the big guy blush a bit.
"Ugh, don't remind me o' 'dat." Apple Bloom groans with a slap to her forehead. "Mah friends an' Ah thought 'dat 'te Love Poison was still in effect after all...until it turns out they were done messing wit' us."
"Come on, Big Mac. You two look like a cute couple! I have a feeling that you were seeing a lot of her."
"Yy...nn...Ah mean, shut up!" Big Macintosh exclaims as he blushes like mad. Suddenly a grunt is heard after one kicking. "Oh, found it!"
Some of the group yelps as an angry steer like creature appears, roaring in fury. Twilight ask in alarm, "Applejack...what do you call that?"
"Steer monsters! Now run!" Applejack laughs as she, Big Maicntosh and Apple Bloom runs off. Ben, Twilight and Spike saw more of the steer monsters appearing. That gave them the hint to run off.
The Apples and their friends run with the steer monsters chasing them, like in a running of some kind. They kept on dodging them and escaping the Everfree Forest with the steer monsters chasing them.
Eventually, the group rushes into a hole-cave to escape the steer monsters who rush pass them. They pant a bit then laugh like mad. Spike exclaims, "Whoa! I feel like my heart stopping!"
"Wow; that was a blast!" Ben laughs excitedly.
"Oops. Sorry." Big Macintosh said embarrassedly, thinking that Ben was talking about him.
The group came out of the cave while Applejack announces, "Yyep, sometimes we Apples like 'ta annoyed those guys an' run wit' or against them. Like 'de running o' de' bulls but better!"
"But won't the folks of Ponyville wonder why those guys stampede?" Twilight ask Applejack in concern.
"Nah; Those fellows never go into Ponyville fer some reason. They run around until those doggies go back 'ta their forest."
Ben, turning to Big Macintosh, smiles while saying, "About what I said, do yourself a favor: talk to Cheerilee, hang out with her. I think you will find that she really likes you."
"Well, err...maybe." Big Macintosh said, giving out a big smile for some pony like him.
Twilight, Spike and Ben leave Sweet Apple Acres, heading back to town. The stallion said, "That family is amazing."
"Yep. Now let's see what Rainbow Dash is doing. She supposed to be clearing the clouds today." Twilight said with a grin.
"There she is, move!" Spike insists as the trio moves to dodge Rainbow who almost crashed into them.
Rainbow lands, grinning while saying to Twilight, "Nice dodge there, Twi; you got smart."
"I just predict where you will fly to, Rainbow." Twilight said to Rainbow with a grin before turning to Ben. "Ben, Rainbow here helps control the weather here in Ponyville."
"Yep! All true! I also own my own e-mail show, the director and star of my Dasheresque films and the head of RDTAU."
"'RDTAU'," Ben ask Rainbow curiously.
"Rainbow Dash's Totally Awesome University," Rainbow exclaims proudly to Ben. "I'm the principal, the coach; I wear all the hats of my school!"
"Rainbow Dash, your school is a fake." Twilight points out to Rainbow dryly, reminding her friend that her 'university' isn't even real.
"Real enough to me! So Twi, giving your colt-friend the grand tour."
"Yep, we were just checking up on you." Spike said to Rainbow with a grin.
"Oh really; Well, Ben, wanna see me clear up the sky? I do it in 10 seconds flat." Rainbow boasts to Ben with a grin.
"I don't doubt that you can...but prove it." Ben remarks to Rainbow with a sly grin, challenging the pony to clear the sky to prove that she can do it in 10 seconds.
"Okay, Ben, prepare to witness pure awesomeness." Rainbow said confidently, and then, she zoomed into the sky.
"You think she could do it?" Ben asked Twilight curiously.
"I got her to do it during the Summer Sun Celebration." Twilight said to Ben with a grin. "Go ahead, time her."
"Okay." The brown pony then brings out a stopwatch and presses the button as Rainbow started doing her task; to clear the sky in ten seconds.
Rainbow quickly flies around, clearing the clouds until they are gone. Ben clicks the stopwatch and glances at it.
"Ten seconds." Ben whistles a bit as Rainbow lands on the ground. "Not bad."
"Told ya; prove it once again." Rainbow said proudly. "After all, I made the Sonic Rainboom more than once in my lifetime."
"Oh yes, I saw one once around the same time that...that was you who made that Sonic Rainboom years ago when I was a colt and Twi was a filly, wasn't it?" Ben asks Rainbow with a grin on his face.
"Yep; that's me!" Rainbow replied with a wink.
"And if it weren't for her, I never would've gotten my Cutie Mark." Twilight commented with a smile.
"And I wouldn't have been hatched. Good ol' Rainbow." Spike said proudly.
"Funny how fate works, huh," Ben asked with a chuckle. Rainbow, himself and Celestia have, in some way or another, been responsible for Twilight getting her own cutie mark as well as becoming Celestia's student.
Twilight notices two fillies coming to the group; she knows them as Lyra and Bon-Bon. The unicorn comments, "Lyra, Bon-Bon?"
"Hey, Twilight, Rainbow, Spike," Lyra said with an eager smile, "Hey, Ben. You remember me, right?"
"Oh yes...I remember you." Ben said, recalling meeting Lyra back in Canterlot.
"See, Bon-Bon?" Lyra asks Bon-Bon with a squeal. "I told you he remembers me!"
"Didn't you mention that you tried to attack him with a pitchfork when he was that Demon Pony creature?" Bon-Bon asks Lyra curiously.
"Err, you told her?" Twilight asked Lyra uneasily.
"Hey, I heard the whole story of Boris's confession and such. I told Bon-Bon when I got back." Lyra explained to Ben proudly. Then she scratched her mane sheepishly. "Sorry about attacking ya, Ben; thought you were a threat like some ponies in Canterlot were saying."
"Heh, no problem; that Boris can know how to throw a riot." Ben said sheepishly and nervously. "Who else did you told?"
"So far, not much ponies. Why?" Lyra asked Ben curiously. The Earth pony was worried that Lyra may have told Granny...and the old mare would end up getting a bit upset over what he did as the Demon Pony a year ago.
"Never mind that, tell us: are you really Celestia's adopted son?" Bon-Bon asked Ben eagerly like a fan. "What's it like living in the castle? Do you do autographs?"
Ben was about to answer, but Twilight came to the rescue, pushing her colt-friend along while saying, "Come on, come on. I'm still giving my lover boy the tour, girls. Save your questions for after it's done."
"Right, go on, you two, get lost." Rainbow insists to Lyra and Bon-Bon, pushing them aside from Ben. "The last thing we want is another celebrity scene like with Fluttershy."
"Oh yeah, I remember hearing about that." Ben remarks as he and Twilight leaves the scene. "Fluttershy doesn't do that on the side, right?"
"When nopony's looking and in her own home," Twilight admitted to Ben in a whisper.
The next stop on the tour is Rarity's Carousel Baroque. Twilight, Spike and Ben enter the place.
"Rarity; Are you in here?" Twilight calls out to Rarity curiously.
"Right with you, Twilight; just putting on the finishing touches," Rarity's voice calls out. The white unicorn in general appears with a smile. "There, I got the order done. Now, Twilight, what brings you, Spike and Ben here?"
"Oh, a lot," Spike said with a happy loving sigh to Rarity.
Twilight glares at Spike before continuing, "Just giving Ben the grand tour, I brought him here next and..."
"My goodness! Why didn't you say so before?" Rarity asks with a giggle before turning to Ben. "Ben Mare, you are a first timer here at my Baroque. I simply insist of giving you some clothes, free of charge."
"But I only wear a red collar." Ben yelps as he finds himself pushed by Rarity to a changing screen.
"Come on, I would take Rarity up on her offer." Spike said to Rarity eagerly. "She may go overboard on gems, but she can make clothes that make you pretty or cool."
"I should know, Rarity got me some clothes free of charge. Why else is she is the holder of the Element of Generosity?" Twilight asked Ben with a beam.
"Well...okay, I will take your recommendation on it, Twi." Ben said with a shrug. After all, if Rarity wants to make and give clothes to him free of charge, who is he to turn down a gift from one of his filly-friend's friends?
Ben goes behind the dressing screen. Rarity smiles as she gives him some clothes as she said, "Luckily, I made these for you ahead of time, Darling. Try them out and tell me what you think."
"Okay, but stop calling me Darling. No offense, but it sounds awkward with my girlfriend just watching." Ben's voice calls from behind the screen.
"Don't worry about it, Ben. Rarity calls everypony that." Twilight assures Ben that he doesn't have to mind Rarity calling him 'Darling' since she does it to everypony.
A while later, Ben came out, wearing a white shirt, a purple jacket and black pants. Rarity grins as she holds a mirror to him while asking, "So, what do you think?"
"Well, the outfit's good...but the pants appear to be a bit..." Ben cringes as he hears a rip from the back end of the pants. "...tight."
"Hmmm, yes, what was I thinking? That wasn't your size at all. Still what do you think?" Rarity asks Ben hopefully.
"I will give you credit: you are definitely one of the best fashion designers in Equestria." Ben said to Rarity with a nod of approval.
Rarity batted her eyelashes at Ben while saying, "Thank you so much, Ben. Just get out of those pants and I will increase their size."
Ben got behind the screen and took off the torn pants, giving them back to Rarity, who began work on updating the size.
"So seriously, how long were you doing this fashion thing?" Ben calls out to Rarity from behind the screen.
"Ever since I was a filly; I saw a Sonic Rainboom that helped me find some gems...and my Cutie Mark." Rarity explains. "Twilight told you how she gained her Cutie Mark, right?"
"Yep. Thanks to Rainbow," Ben's voice calls out. "Out of curiosity, have you considered getting yourself a colt-friend of your own?"
"Well, I thought I found true love once but..." Rarity paused then frowned a bit. "It wasn't meant to be."
"AKA Prince Blueblood, one of the biggest jerks in Equestria." Spike remarks dryly, still upset by how Blueblood treated Rarity at the previous Gala. "Heck, I don't think he deserves to be a prince at all. More like a royal pain in the flank!"
"Yeah, I saw what happened. I was there that night…when I was the Demon Pony. You deserve so much better, Rarity." Ben's voice said in a tone of pity.
"Thank you for being so kind." Rarity said as she passed on some pants, now in Ben's size, over to him. "So what do you think?"
A while later, Ben came out, wearing the pants. The stallion in approval nods while saying, "These pants are wonderful. You definitely outdid yourself, Rarity."
"Thank you. I can tell that we're going to be the best of friends, you and I," Rarity said happily.
"You said that to me when we first met, remember?" Twilight points out to Rarity, reminding the white unicorn as to what she said to her on the purple one's first arrival in Ponyville.
"True, but I said that to everypony who are all my best of friends, Darling," Rarity admitted, "Can't choose just one."
"Well, that definitely explains how you have so much friends." Ben said as he goes back behind the screen to change back into his normal look before coming out, "Kudos on the clothes, Miss Rarity."
"Kudos; What, no thank you," Spike ask with a scoff of what he thought of lack of thanks to Rarity.
"That is a thank you, Spike." Twilight said as she opens the door. But the pony yelps as some ponies are outside, cheering and wanting to see Ben causing her to close the door. "Good grief! Are these ponies following us all over the place?"
"I thought the time when you had that extra ticket was enough." Spike said with a sigh of annoyance.
"Rarity, is there a back door to this place?" Ben asked Rarity, wanting to escape any of his fans waiting outside.
"Of course, out back." Rarity said as she motions to the back door. Ben grabs his clothes waiting for him in the box.
"If you need us, we will be at Fluttershy's!" Twilight calls out as she, Spike and Ben escape out the back door.
"Okay, darling," Rarity called back.
Luckily, Twilight's group didn't run into any more ponies on the way to Fluttershy's. The yellow Pegasus pony is tending to some bunnies right now.
"Man, I don't know how you ponies go through with this." Ben said in amazement.
"We do our best to. Hey, Fluttershy," Twilight calls out to Fluttershy. Needless to say, the mare screams in alarm causing the bunnies to run off, "Oh, sorry, Fluttershy! I didn't mean to scare off your bunnies."
"Oh...Twilight," Fluttershy said in relief upon seeing her friends. "No, no, you just startled me."
"So are all these animals yours, Fluttershy?" Ben asks curiously while glancing at the animals that roam or playing around Fluttershy's place.
"Oh, well, not all of them. Some animals are either belonging to friends that I'm taking care of while they're away or they are just visiting." Fluttershy explains. "But yes, they are mine...or until I adopt one to a pony or two."
"Right, it's here that Rainbow first got Tank the turtle." Twilight explains to Ben.
"Tortoise," Fluttershy corrects Twilight.
"Oh, right." Twilight said, realizing her error.
Ben was about to speak up again when he heard movement coming from a box nearby. Out of curiosity, the stallion came over and opened it.
Ben looked surprised as out popped some sort of grayish wolf cub with black eyes and white spots. He whines a bit while glancing at the pony.
"Who is this guy?" Ben asks Fluttershy curiously.
"Oh, that's a wolf cub. Actually, he has been here for a few weeks." Fluttershy said with a sigh. "Nopony wants him and his appearance sometimes scares some of the little animals.
"Oh, poor guy," Ben said with a sigh as he helped the wolf cub out of the box. "I know how you feel to not be wanted and to be an outcast from others until now."
"Come on, care for some tea?" Fluttershy ask her friends curiously.
Twilight and Spike follows Fluttershy into her cottage. Ben was following then notices the wolf cub following him.
"Oh, do you want to come too, little guy?" Ben asks the wolf cub who whines a 'yes'. "Well, come on, I guess."
Then the two followed Twilight, Spike and Fluttershy into the cottage.
Inside, the group has some tea while Fluttershy did some pouring.
"Okay, careful." Spike said to Fluttershy in precaution.
"Good to have you over." Fluttershy said with a nod. Then she spots and smiles. "Awww, I think that wolf cub likes you, Ben."
"Yeah, I guess so." Ben said as he gave a teacup to the wolf cub whose licks from it. "You know...Fluttershy, this guy reminds me when I was little: an outcast, hard to get along with others, meekly."
"Kinda like you minus the whole Demon Pony transformation." Twilight said with a chuckle.
Ben pause a bit as he drank from his teacup, doing some thinking. The stallion himself just got a new home...and the wolf cub looks like he needs one too...as well as an owner; And since nopony seems to want him...
"Fluttershy, is it all right if I could have him?" Ben asks Fluttershy hopefully.
The yellow Pegasus gasped excitedly at what Ben just asked.
"Ben, you mean you actually want the wolf cub?" She asked in surprise and delight.
"Sure, why not? He reminds me of me...and you would like it if the little guy gets a new owner, right?" Ben points out to Fluttershy with a nod.
"Right," The pink-haired pony nodded back.
"Dang; First an owl, then a phoenix, now a wolf; we sure got some interesting pets at the library." Spike remarks in amusement.
"So how about it, buddy? Would you like to go home with us?" Ben asked the wolf cub curiously. The little guy responded by licking his face happily. "That's a yes!"
"Then he's all yours!" Fluttershy said happily.
"Nyx will love him." Twilight said with a smile. Looks like the Sparkle family just got bigger.
A while later, the trio walk through Ponyville, with the wolf cub riding on Ben's back. The stallion decides to call his new pet 'Koga' from a book he once read as a child. While Twilight expresses concern about the name, since it means 'wolf demon', Ben kept the name anyway as a reminder of what kept him from his true love all these years.
"And of course, there's Sugarcube Corner." Twilight said as the group approaches Sugarcube Corner. "Odd, it's...quiet; Very quiet."
"My, I wonder why it's so quiet." Spike said while rolling his eyes a bit. He knew what's going to happen.
Koga barks in curiosity, while Ben said while coming into Sugarcube Corner, "And my...it is dark in here." Sure enough, it is indeed dark in this place. "Why..."
"SURPRISE," Voices exclaims as the lights are turned on. Sure enough, the shop is filled with the ponies of Ponyille, including Twilight's friends, as well as cake, party decorations, games, etc. You get the drill.
"Well, I saw this coming." Twilight remarks with a smirk.
"What do you think, huh? It's my 'Welcome to Ponyville, Ben' party!" Pinkie giggles happily as she bounces over to her friends. "Do you like it, Ben? Do you like it? He likes it! I know he likes it!"
"Yeah, you sure surprise me." Ben remarks with a smile. Koga barks in curiosity.
"Who's the wolf cub on your back? I saw him back at Fluttershy's place."
"His name is Koga, my new wolf cub."
"You got a pet too? Yay! We can make this into a 'Ben Got A Pet' party! Yeah, never can have too much parties! Come on!" Pinkie giggles as she drags Ben and Koga around the place.
"What is it with ponies dragging me all over the place?" Ben asks Twilight who giggles as she and Spike heads over to the rest of the Mane Six.
"Ben is really enjoying his new home and his new pet, doesn't he?" Fluttershy ask Twilight with a smile.
"Right, but he prefers the lack of attention." Twilight said in concern as Pinkie Pie continues having Ben be introduced to more ponies who are excited to see him, especially Derpy.
"Yep, but don't yew worry none, Twilight. Once yew git back home, it's just yew an' him...well, minus 'de customers." Applejack assures Twilight with a smile.
"That's what worries me. The ponies are wanting to meet and asking for autographs...not concerned for his privacy."
"And these two are my bosses, Mr. and Mrs. Cake!" Pinkie exclaims as she introduces Ben to Mr. and Mrs. Cake.
"Greetings, Ben! Good to meet ya!" Mr. Cake said with a smile while shaking Ben's hoof. He motions to the two foals that Mrs. Cake is holding. "These two foals are mine and honey bun's, their names are Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake."
"But one of them is a unicorn and the other is a Pegasus pony." Ben points out, noting how Pound is a Pegasus and Pumpkin is a unicorn.
"Well, my great-great-great-great grandfather was a unicorn, and Cup Cake's great aunt's second cousin twice removed was a Pegasus. That makes sense, right?"
"Maybe; my mother is an alicorn though she did adopt me. Plus, I heard how Earth ponies are born from unicorns or Pegasus sometimes."
"That's easy to say." Mrs. Cake giggles while Ben pours himself a drink. "Derpy's daughter is a unicorn, so that's not hard to think about."
The two foals giggle while reaching to Koga, as if wanting to play with him. The wolf cub reaches for him, though Mr. Cake in concern said, "Whoa, careful, Ben. Don't want your wolf cub to hurt the babies."
"No worries, Koga is harmless. Don't judge a book by its cover." Ben assures Mr. Cake that Koga won't harm the foals. "Besides, if anything happens, I take responsibility."
"Well, all right then."
Mrs. Cake puts the foals onto the floor. Pound and Pumpkin laughs happily as the wolf cub plays with them. Ben got a drink for Twilight as he leaves with a smile. Those three make good playmates.
As Ben is heading back to the table where Twilight's group is at, Rarity said, "Come on, Twilight! You got to admit, although you were right, you kinda were rude and horrible by accusing the false Cadance without proof. We didn't end our friendship with ya, we just leave you to do some thinking."
"I know but..." Twilight notices Ben coming back, smiling as she takes the drink from the stallion. "Hi, honey. Are you enjoying yourself?"
"Yeah. I practically am friends with everypony in this place." Ben said while rolling his eyes a bit.
"Photo opportunity," Pinkie exclaims as she pops up near Ben and put her upper forearm around his shoulder. A flash is heard as a picture is taken from a camera that came from out of nowhere. The pink Earth pony took the said picture and smiles. "My photo of my bestest best friends!" Pinkie disappears.
"And your pink friend is weird!"
"True, and her Pinkie Sense doesn't make a bit sense, but I decide to just accept it without understanding." Twilight sighs a bit. "The ponies here go by her predictions that surprisingly happen."
"Yep, got a list right here," Applejack said as she gave a list of what happens when Pinkie's Pinkie Sense goes off. "Study it so yew ain't caught by surprise when Pinkie's Pinkie Sense goes off."
"Well, if you asked my opinion, Pinkie Pie got psychic powers. That's the only logical explanation for her psychic powers." Ben suggests while looking over the sense. "Her Pinkie Sense is probably a psychic power."
"Yeah, I'm a psycho!" Pinkie exclaims happily as she reappears near her friends, startling them a bit, "Hey, everypony! I got psychic powers! Ben Mare said so!"
The ponies cheers as they crowd around Ben. Rainbow groans, "Great, now look what you started! Now Pinkie Pie won't shut up about her psychic powers and more ponies are hanging around Ben."
"Koga," Ben calls out quickly. Spike grabs Koga and rushes over to the stallion and Twilight with the little guy. This party is getting out of control with more ponies gathering around Ben, "Twilight?"
Twilight nods as she uses her teleport to teleport herself, her friends, Spike, Ben and Koga out of Sugarcube Corner.
The group reappears right in a part of Ponyville. Pinkie said in disappointment, "Awww! No more!"
"Well, that was a bit awkward. Uh, Spike? Can you take Koga back to the library? Ben and I are due to pick up Nyx anyway. We will rejoin you shortly." Twilight said with a slight chuckle.
"Yeah, okay." Spike said while petting Koga. "Come on, Koga. I will introduce you to Owloysius and Pee-Wee." The wolf cub barks as he follows Spike to head back to the library.
As the other girls head back to do their own thing (with Pinkie Pie wanting to get back to the party), Twilight and Ben prepares to head back to the library. Despite the fans, the stallion has a good time in Ponyville.
"You will like it here, Ben. Not like Canterlot but..." Twilight begins to say to Ben with a smile.
"I know...but a pony can have a normal life here in Ponyville...minus the celebrity status." Ben responds to Twilight with a nod.
"Well, nothing in Ponyville is normal anyway. You could check out how my brother and Cadance tried to do their thing while being 'normal'."
"Oh yes, speaking of brother, what happened to your younger one, Starlight? I haven't seen him in who knows how long." Ben spoke. Twilight stops, looking down in sadness. "Err, Twilight? What's wrong?"
"He's…he's gone." Twilight said tearfully. "Starlight was...killed one day by a creature with a large glowing scar over its eye by orders of a monster named Tadaka."
"Oh Twilight..." Ben said in sadness. He embraces Twilight and comforts her. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean..."
"No...no, you didn't know...come on, let's pick Nyx up from school..."
Ben nods slowly as he and Twilight heads off to pick Nyx up from school. What the two ponies don't know is that something is going to happen there that will make the stallion's living in Ponyville more eventful.
Chapter 3: Powers Emerged
Chapter 3: Powers Emerged
Twilight and Ben arrives at Ponyville to get Nyx...and seeing a shocking sight. Some of the little ponies cheers on as the little alicorn was tackling down Diamond Tiara, one of the bullies at the school.
"Whoa, whoa, stop, stop, stop," Twilight exclaims in shock as she and Ben rushes over to put a stop to what's going on. Luckily, Cheerilee steps in and push the two fillies aside.
"All right, enough; stop it right now!" Cheerilee snaps at the two fillies angrily. The teacher rarely gets angry like this but when she does, it's for a good reason. "Now, mind telling me what's going on?"
"That freak attacked me!" Diamond protests to Cheerilee angrily while glaring at Nyx.
"I have a good reason: it was to protect a friend!" Nyx snaps at Diamond right back. "You were hurting Pipsqueak!"
"Mind telling me what's going?" Twilight ask Nyx in concern. Her daughter must have a good reason for fighting Diamond. "Nyx, what did you mean 'hurting Pipsqueak'?"
A sniff is heard nearby; Pipsqueak is nearby with Twist and Dinky Doo comforting the poor Earth pony. He spoke up while rubbing one eye, "Diamond Tiara was throwing rocks at me..."
"What? Is this true?" Ben asks Nyx and Diamond in surprise and in an upset way.
"Yeah, it was true! My friends and I were playing at the swings when I saw Diamond throwing rocks at Pipsqueak with Silver Spoon just watching her." Nyx snaps while giving an angry glare at Diamond. "I told her to stop but Diamond told me to 'mind my own business, Nightmare Moon'. When one of those rocks hits Pipsqueak in the eye, I have to jump in and save him."
"Yeah, we all saw the same thing!" Sweetie exclaims in agreement.
"Right, Diamond Tiara was picking on Pipsqueak because he has no cutie mark...and the fact that Princess Luna was his favorite princess." Scootaloo remarks with a nod.
"Diamond Tiara," Cheerilee ask Diamond sternly.
"Ugh. Fine, I was doing it." Diamond groans a bit, getting caught in the act of course. "But why do I care? Nightmare Moon over there is Princess Luna's former evil self and I can't tolerate anyone whose favorite princess emerges that thing."
"Regardless, you can't throw rocks at a pony just because his favorite pony's evil side was Nyx, and she changed her ways, you know that! And Nyx, although you did the right thing in helping Pipsqueak like that, you should've told me what Diamond Tiara was doing."
"I'm sorry, Cheerilee." Nyx said while looking down in shame. "I was only protecting ponies like my Cutie Mark wanted me to or like daddy told me."
"Cheerilee, I'm sorry about this." Ben apologizes to Cheerilee in concern. "I take responsibility for what happened. Believe me, I remember what it's like being bullied as a colt and already, I can see my enemy Boris in Diamond Tiara here. And I guess I kinda encourage Nyx into fighting."
"'Daddy'," Diamond scoffs to Nyx in disbelief. "I can't believe that you freak got a daddy. Takes one to..."
"Diamond Tiara, enough," Cheerilee snaps to Diamond sternly. Turning to Ben, she said, "Well, since Nyx was only protecting a pony, I will not suspend her for fighting...but she will lose a week of recess. And Diamond Tiara, I will however suspend you for a week for hurting Pipsqueak...and I'm going to have to call your father and let him know what you did!"
Diamond growls furiously while glaring at Nyx who is preparing to leave with her parents. As usual, she got into trouble, no thanks to that former evil of Nightmare Moon.
"You okay, Pipsqueak?" Twilight ask Pipsqueak in concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Nyx, for doing that." Pipsqueak said to Nyx with a sigh.
"No problem...I just can't stand there and let Diamond Tiara do that to him. It's just not right." Nyx remarks, stomping a hoof onto the ground; Ben and Twilight looks amused. They remember years ago when a certain filly was keeping a certain colt safe from a bully...and end up being a couple; Interesting.
"Still, Nyx, it's best for you to tell Cheerilee the next time this happens." Ben said to Twilight with a sheepish chuckle. "Maybe fighting wasn't a good idea to tell you."
"Yeah, but you were awesome there, Nyx." Twist said with Dinky Doo nodding. Both of them are good friends of Nyx and members of the CMC. Twist became one when she was invited into the group by Nyx when she was an adult. Dinky was added by Apple Bloom, Sweetie and Scootaloo around the same time that Megan returned to Equestria.
"Yeah..." Dinky Doo glances at Ben then smiles. "Hey, you must be Ben Mare. Mommy told me about you."
"Your mother; Oh, you must mean Derpy, right?" Ben ask, noticing how Dinky looks similar to Derpy Hooves. This must be the same unicorn daughter of the cross-eyed Pegasus that Mrs. Cake spoke of.
"Yeah...of course, her original name was Ditzy Doo but mommy doesn't mind the name Derpy. Thank you so much for helping her!"
"No problem. Come on, Nyx; Time to get you home."
Nyx nods as she and her parents prepare to head on home. Diamond meanwhile groans as and Silver Spoon was watching them leave. Once again, Nyx has gotten the main bully herself into trouble...and worst yet, the black filly has a daddy of all things.
"Stupid Nightmare Moon," Diamond growls a bit. Her own father Filthy Rich is going to be called in and now she is in for an earful later. "I need to take my frustration out on something."
Diamond notes Pipsqueak who is playing with what appears to be a Princess Luna toy after calming down. With an evil smirk, the bully rushes over and swipes it from her victim. The Earth pony gasps, "Hey!"
"Diamond Tiara, I don't think..." Silver begins to say but Diamond grabs a stick while keeping the toy away from the protesting Pipsqueak.
"Give that back, Diamond! I will tell Cheerilee!"
Diamond hit the toy into the air very high for a filly her age. She laughs madly as it flew into the air; most likely the toy will break upon hitting the ground or lands in a tree. Either way, Diamond Tiara put her frustration out on something.
Ben heard a noise and turn to see the toy landing in a huge tree nearby. Pipsqueak rushes over and jumps up to get it back but to no prevail, groaning in sadness. His toy of his favorite princess is up there and now he can't get it!
"What's going..." Twilight turns and saw the toy high up in the huge tree. She groans upon seeing this and glares at Diamond who is laughing cruelly while some of the foals gather around Pipsqueak. "Oh no, she just doesn't learn."
Twilight was about to use magic to get the toy out of the tree but Ben stops her while saying, "I got it." Suddenly the Earth pony jumps and...grab the toy. "I got it!"
Ben looks down and saw a lot of faces staring at him in shock or surprise...even Twilight is stunned at what's she seeing. That tree is huge, hard to climb or to even get to the toy which is on the highest branch. But the biggest surprise is that Ben has gotten to the said item...
And is in the air flying without any wings!
"What?" Ben asks puzzled as he flies down to the ground, landing before giving the toy back to Pipsqueak. "Oh, what I..."
"You can fly?" Twilight ask in shock and disbelief. Ben could fly...without wings?
"Err, let's go home. Now is not the time."
Ben quickly trots off with Twilight and Nyx following him. The foals are still talking in amazement or disbelief. Diamond and Silver are stunned by what they just saw: an Earth pony flying...without wings?
"Wow." Silver said stunned. "Never saw that before..."
"Wait until I tell daddy and other ponies about this." Diamond said with a smirk on her face. Of course, after Filthy punishes her daughter for what she did at school, she will tell: Nyx's daddy is a bigger freak than he is!
Back at the library, Nyx came in, Ben introduces Koga to her. As the two begins to play, a disbelief Twilight spoke up, "Why didn't you tell me that you can fly without wings? What the hay?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't think it would happen again." Ben explains to Twilight in concern.
"'Again'; it happened before?"
"Yeah, when I was a colt..."
Princess Celestia was walking by the castle library when she hears cries for help coming from inside. That was her son Ben's! The alicorn came into the library, looking worried as she calls out, "Ben? Ben, are you in here?"
"Help me, mommy, help," Ben calls out. Celestia looks around...then looks up to see a surprising sight. There's her son on the very top of the biggest bookshelf...and with no ladder in sight! Ben holds on for dear life while crying. "Mommy, help me, mommy!"
"Ben?" Celestia ask in surprise. She flies up to the top of the bookshelf until the mother is face to face with her son. "How did you get up here?"
"I don't know...I flew up...help me, mommy!"
"Ben, get on my back...carefully."
Celestia helps Ben get on her back, the colt held onto his mother for dear life until the two lands back onto the ground. The alicorn is astounded. How was her son able to get to the top of a high bookshelf with no ladder...or wings for that matter?
"Ssh, it's all right, it's all right." Celestia said, nuzzling the crying Ben until she manages to calm him down.
"I never figured out how I got up on that bookshelf that day...and the flying power didn't appear but at rare times." Ben admits to Twilight with a shrug. "Especially..."
"Huh...now that you mentioned it...Ben, do you remember how you got on top of that building while escaping Boris and his goons?" Twilight ask Ben, reminding her colt-friend as to how she escapes Boris and his goons when he was young.
"Yeah...I never figure out how I got up there...or how I got down. Even you didn't. And that isn't all I can do."
Ben motions to some books...and suddenly they begin to fly up as if being levitating by magic. Twilight gasps in disbelief as her colt-friend appears to be glowing. He is using magic and with no horn in sight!
Ben set the books down...then his eyes widen. Twilight turns and saw her friends at the door, shocked and jaw-dropped (Rarity pushes Pinkie Pie's mouth back up). Apparently they came to visit.
And now the mares saw what happened.
"Pinkie; Fluttershy; Rainbow; Applejack; Rarity," Twilight exclaimed in concern.
"Uh...Twilight...were you using magic or..." Rarity began to say in shock and disbelief.
"No, I think that was Ben...wasn't it?" Fluttershy asked, dumbstruck.
"Errr, yeah, that was me." Ben said with an embarrass smile. "How much did you saw?"
"A lot; How long were yew able 'ta do 'dis?" Applejack asks, blinking her eyes. "Oh, a followup: how was yew able 'ta do it?"
"Rarely at times," Ben said with a shrug. "What, never saw an Earth pony use magic or fly before?"
"He can fly without wings or a machine?" Pinkie asks in shock and surprise. Then the pony scoffs in disappointment. "Awww, I wanted to try something like that."
"I have these powers that appears rarely...I guess after I was the Demon Pony, they begin showing up more often." Ben said, floating a drink over to himself and drank from it.
"Well, at least I'm glad that I ain't the only pony who can use magic without a horn." Rainbow remarks with a smirk. She glows as Applejack's hat fell right off her head, landing on the library floor.
"Rainbow, quit it!" Applejack snaps in annoyance as she picks up her hat, putting it back on her own head.
"Wow! Daddy can use magic and fly just like Grandma!" Nyx giggles while playing with Koga who is already friends with Twilight and Spike's pets.
"But this is uncanny! Earth ponies can't use magic or could fly without horns and wings!" Twilight exclaims as she paces a bit. "How can this happen?"
"Perhaps...it's a rare occurrence." Fluttershy guesses meekly.
"Why not send a message to Princess Celestia?" Spike suggests to Twilight. "Maybe she could provide an answer or so."
"Yeah, she might know something about this." Rarity assumed.
"Perhaps; Spike, take a letter." Twilight said. Spike nods as he got out a paper and quill, the baby dragon wrote down what his big sister told him to write. "Dear Princess Celestia. My friends, Ben, Nyx and I have arrived home. First off, I'm happy to announce that your adopted son now has a pet of his own, a wolf cub named Koga. Second...this is rather shocking to explain...but for some reason, Ben is suddenly flying without wings...and using magic without a horn. It seems to be hard to believe, but that's what's happening especially when it's likely that it happened before. If you got any information that may explain how this happened, please send a reply ASAP; Your Faithful Student and Niece-In-Law, Twilight Sparkle."
After finishing the letter up, Spike rolled it up and breathed fire onto it, sending the message to Castle Canterlot.
"I just hope mom has an answer." Ben said with a sigh. "I have some questions as to why I feel different than the other ponies."
"How is it possible 'dat Ben could fly like a Pegasus and use magic like a unicorn," Applejack wondered.
"Maybe those mysterious powers have something to do with that Cutie Mark of yours." Pinkie assumed to Ben as she pointed to the Triforce cutie mark on his flank.
"Perhaps..." Ben said thoughtfully. After all, he has that Triforce Cutie Mark for some reason. Perhaps his mom will give him an answer.
"For now, let's not mention this to anypony about this." Twilight said in concern. "The last thing I want is to give Ben even more attention enough to break his privacy."
"Right; a lot of attention was a nightmare for me." Fluttershy said with a squeak of worry.
"That's for sure." Rainbow agreed with a nod.
Unknown to the ponies, a familiar stallion was at the door, looking on getting a book when he overheard the whole conversion and saw what happened.
Caramel gasped in surprise as he rush away from the library, calling out to Golden Harvest, "Hey Golden! You ain't going to believe what I just found out about the newcomer Ben Mare!"
And let's say that once Caramel tells Golden...she told some of her friends who told their friends and...well...
Ben Mare is about to get even more wanted in Ponyville.
Celestia paces around in her bedroom, looking worried as she glances at the message that Twilight has sent her. The alicorn knew one day that this would happen: her son's powers had reemerged.
'Must be what happened after he was saved by the necklace that Ben gave Twilight. I wonder how Megan would've deal with this problem.' Celestia thought to herself. She goes over to the books and looks through the subject.
Celestia sighs as she saw the subject: the Elements of Harmony. The princess knew of the main six that Twilight and her friends have: Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Geneorsity, Loyalty and Magic. But there are more, according to legend, some are yet to be found...and some can be found within.
If what Celestia suspects to be true, more than one element has been found...and it isn't a necklace or a crown, but within a certain pony...
It was a slow day at the library. No ponies came in for books just yet. Maybe because no one was looking for any right now or it's just a slow day. Either way, the library is quieter than usual.
Nyx was upstairs, playing with Koga, Owloysius and Pee-Wee while Spike is out getting some supplies. Ben and Twilight are left alone to do some studying or reading.
Ben, remembering the question about Starlight, spoke, "Twilight, I know this may be the wrong time to ask, but did they ever get Starlight's killer?"
Twilight sigh while answering, "No... He vanished years ago when Tadaka was brought to justice. But I remember that his name starts with the letter L..."
Ben was about to speak but then he remembers something from a while ago when the stallion was still cursed...
Of course, a while after Nyx goes back inside, no one saw a figure coming out of the shadows: the same one that Boris and his goons has met. He grabs the cage's lock and breaks it before opening the cage.
The Demon Pony looks up and saw the figure coming to him, breaking the ropes and chains that subdued him, not worrying or caring about the diamonds. The prisoner growls in worry. What does he want?
"There. Now Boris won't need to tell me that I didn't help him," The figure said quietly. He is setting the Demon Pony free to at least give Boris a chance to kill him or not. The consequences won't be right if that foalish fool didn't complete his task when the monster is captured already by the Mane Six.
With a smirk, the figure held out one claw...and stabs right at the Demon Pony's side.
The Demon Pony's roars can be heard throughout the night. If anypony would've heard it, the noise would mean to them that the monster is roaring from his imprisonment...
Ben gasps suddenly, "Twilight, I just remembered something!"
"What?" Twilight ask Ben in concern.
"When you captured me, I was freed by some two legged creature wearing a long black coat with a T. I couldn't see his face, but he did have green eyes and a scar over his left one!"
"What? Are you sure?"
"Yeah. After he freed me, the creep stabbed me in the side, causing me to scream in pain and go on a rampage." Ben explains to Twilight in concern. "My Demon Pony side only does that when provoked and he provoked me."
"Oh my..." Twilight gasps a bit. That means...her brother's attacker must've freed Ben/Demon Pony from his cage, "But why?"
"I guess he wanted Boris to kill me and freed me to let the villain do the task."
Twilight looks more concerned. That means that Boris's actions before were assisted by the one who killed her brother. And to think, Ben almost lost his life because of those two.
Twilight has a bad feeling that the killer is still out there, waiting for his next move. Who knows what he will do now?
Chapter 4: Fame is a Pain
Chapter 4: Fame is a Pain
The next day at Ponyville, Twilight, Ben and Spike are opening the library up for the day. The stallion said to his filly-friend, "I wonder how long it takes for mom to get back to me."
"Your mother has a world to run here. It may take a while longer for her to do so." Twilight explains to Ben. "Didn't you know that already?"
"Well, true, but you're the one she usually sent messages back to."
"True. Come on, Nyx, time to get you to school."
"Mommy, I don't think I will be going." Nyx said in concern as she glances out the window.
"Nyx, why not," Twilight ask Nyx in surprise. Her daughter loves going to school so why couldn't she want to go?
As Spike opens the door, the group gasps as a cheering group of ponies are outside, wanting to come in. Twilight's eyes widen in shock. There are a lot more ponies than yesterday.
"That's why." Nyx answers her mother with a shrug.
"Oh Equestria," Cherry Berry exclaims with a happy glee. "There he is! The Earth pony who can use magic and can fly without horns or wings!"
"Wait, what?" Ben asks in shock and alarm. Twilight tries to keep the ponies from entering the library but they forced their way in.
"Come on! We gotta know all!" Minuette exclaims eagerly while smiling to Ben.
"Ponies; come on! I gotta get Nyx to school!" Twilight exclaims to the ponies in annoyance.
"So what is it like to fly?" Bon-Bon asks Ben with a smile. "It is cool; odd; Cool odd?"
"Come on; give him one question at a time, Bon-Bon!" Lyra exclaims to Bon-Bon with a grin. "He's Celestia's adopted son! It's obvious that he has powers like her!"
"Well...err...hey!" Ben exclaims in worry. In the past, he was wanting attention from his peers...now, the stallion is not want any! "Come on, give me some space here!"
The couple looks worried by the amount of attention. How did these ponies even know about Ben's powers? This is getting insane!
"ENOUGH!" Ben snaps as his eyes glow. The Earth pony uses some sort of magic to force the ponies out the door quickly. At the doorway, Ben snaps, "The library is closed until further notice!"
Ben closes the door and faster than you can say 'Holy Cupcakes', a big force field (like the one Twilight once used to keep the CMC out) appears over the library, blocking the ponies out, much to their disappointment.
The rest of the Mane Six arrives, looking shocked at the force field over the tree. Pinkie exclaims, "Holy cupcakes! What's happening here?"
"Hey Derpy," Rainbow calls out to Derpy who is flying nearby. "What's going on?"
"Oh, word spread out that Ben Mare has some powers to fly without wings and use magic without a horn." Derpy explains to her friends happily. "Wow, isn't that exciting?"
"Okay, which one of us told; Pinkie Pie?"
"No way! I Pinkie Swear it that I wouldn't tell!" Pinkie insists to Rainbow in concern. "Even I wouldn't dare to break one of my Pinkie Promises."
"Well, it wasn't me, Darling." Rarity insists in concern. "And I'm sure that it wasn't Fluttershy either."
"Well, who was it?" Applejack asks in frustration. Somepony told the other ponies about Ben's powers and now...
"Hey Caramel; Why didn't you tell me that Ben could do this when you told me yesterday," Golden ask Caramel curiously. "He can put down force fields like Twilight!'
Caramel was about to speak up but notices Applejack's group glaring at him. He said, "Oh hey Applejack. Err, what's wrong?"
"Remind me 'ta speak 'ta yew later, Caramel." Applejack growls to Caramel in annoyance. "We y'all got 'ta git in there."
"How? Ben put the force field down." Fluttershy said in concern. Not even the CMC could get through a force field when it was down before.
"Let's take the shortcut." Pinkie said with a smile. The others look puzzled. What shortcut?
"Ugh; why," Ben asks with a groan as he lies back onto his bed. Twilight and Nyx were watching. "I just wanted a normal life with no celebrity or fame, just to spend my life with you and Nyx. Is that so much to ask for?"
"Sorry, sometimes the ponies of this village are crazy and sometimes they don't stop chasing ponies who gained fame." Twilight said in concern. "I don't know who talked."
"We do!" Rainbow snaps as she and the other members of the Mane Six came into the room. "It was Caramel!"
"What the...how did you get by the force field?"
"We took the shortcut!" Pinkie exclaims happily while she points...to a film frame. The Earth pony jumps from the room frame to outside the library then right back into the place. "See?"
The other ponies, even Ben Mare, were confused by this. Rainbow groans, "Pinkie Pie, you are random."
"Caramel overheard us talking yesterday then he told Golden Harvest...and well, you know how that goes." Fluttershy explains to her friends nervously.
"Yeah, we do. Ben, I..." Twilight begins to say to Ben, wanting to comfort him but the upset Earth pony cuts her off.
"I didn't...ask to have these powers, okay?" Ben snaps to Twilight in frustration. "Or the fame that came with being the son of Celestia! It just happened! I mean...sometimes, I wish that I didn't come here at all."
"Daddy, don't say that." Nyx said gently as she got onto the bed and nuzzles Ben. "Mommy and I would miss you if you didn't want to go. We wouldn't be a family without you."
"Right, we will get through this somehow." Twilight assures Ben as she got onto the bed and nuzzles her as well. "I love you so much, I won't let whatever fame and such get to you. We will get through this as a family."
Ben pauses then smiles while hugging Twilight and Nyx, saying, "I must be...one of the most luckiest stallions in Equestria. Yeah, you're right. I can get through this fame thing...but right now, I just want some privacy and quiet time."
"How? There are a lot of ponies out there wanting your autograph." Spike points out in frustration over a lot of ponies waiting outside the library for Ben to come out.
"Well...let's take the shortcut."
"Now you're acting like Pinkie Pie."
Later, after school is over, the Ponies, the CMC (including Twist and Dinky Doo) and Pipsqueak head over to a quiet spot in Ponyville.
"Thank goodness. I don't know how much we can take of this." Twilight said with a sigh of annoyance. "It's like the Fluttershy model thing all over again."
"Yeah, only worse," Rarity remarked.
"At least this place of Ponyville is rarely visited." Rainbow comments as Spike set things up for a picnic. "Honestly, Applejack, I don't know why you put you with Caramel."
"Ah know, Ah don't know why Ah do either." Applejack said with a sigh of agreement.
"Sorry I didn't come to school today, girls." Nyx apologizes to her friends. "With all that fuss over daddy and his new powers, I couldn't go out today."
"It's okay, Nyx." Sweetie Belle said, "We figured that might've happened, so we told Cheerilee what happened."
"Right, but yew missed a good day...no Diamond Tiara bullying us." Apple Bloom remarks with a smirk. "Ah done hear 'dat her daddy grounded her fer two weeks fer throwing rocks at Pipsqueak an' tossing his toy up 'dat there tree."
"Ha ha ha! Oh man, Mr. Rich can be a big pain even when he wasn't possessed by your evil self again." Scootaloo remarks with a chuckle. "You could hear him yelling all over Ponyville."
"I thought that's what I heard." Nyx said thoughtfully. The alicorn did recall hearing a roar yesterday...but didn't realize where it came from until now.
"Thanks again for helping me yesterday, Nyx. That was nice of you." Pipsqueak said to Nyx with a grin.
"You're welcome, Pipsqueak." Nyx replied happily.
Just then, Nyx got an idea before she signaled her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders aside, leaving Pipsqueak out a bit. The five then get into a huddle.
"Hey, girls...I did some thinking." Nyx said thoughtfully. "Pipsqueak has no Cutie Mark, right?"
"As far as we know, no," Dinky said quietly.
"Thought of inviting him to our group?" Twist asks Nyx curiously.
"Yeah, we Cutie Mark Crusaders must stick together and help one of our own...and letting Pipsqueak in can help him." Nyx said with a nod.
"But he's a colt!" Scootaloo protests with a scoff. "We never have a colt in our group before."
"So; Nyx an' Twist has Cutie Marks but we kept them anyhow." Apple Bloom points out to Scootaloo. "An' Ah say its okay 'ta bring Pipsqueak into our group."
"Plus, I made a cape for him anyway." Sweetie said with a grin. "Come on, Scootaloo, let's invite him."
"Well, okay, fine." Scootaloo said, knowing how she's being outnumbered here.
Of course, the CMC were speaking so quietly, Pipsqueak couldn't hear a word they said. He was confused, wondering what they were talking about.
"Okay, break." Apple Bloom said with a nod. The fillies then came over to Pipsqueak. "Pipsqueak, how would yew like 'ta join an ever-growin' group in Equestria?"
"Wait, as in...joining your group of Cutie Mark Crusaders?" Pipsqueak asks the fillies in surprise.
"Sure! There's always room for one more!" Dinky explains with a smile.
"We want to help non-Cutie Mark ponies get their Cutie Marks." Twist explains to Pipsqueak. "And this will be the first time we will have a colt in our group."
"Plus, we will keep one another safe." Nyx said in agreement, "So...how about it, Pipsqueak?"
The white foal grinned excitedly as he replied, "I'd love to join your group! I always wanted to earn my own Cutie Mark! I'll do it!"
The fillies grins as Sweetie took out a cape and helps Pipsqueak put it on.
"Welcome 'ta 'de Cutie Mark Crusaders," Apple Bloom exclaims with a grin. "We're gonna go out in 'de world an' discover our talents."
"A new adventure," Scootaloo exclaims as the group goes into their theme song or motto, take your pick.
"And earn our cutie marks." Sweetie said.
"We'll leave no stone unturned!" Nyx exclaims.
"No mountain unclimbed!" Dinky squeaks out eagerly.
"No meal uncooked!" Twist exclaims.
"No song unlearned!" Pipsqueak exclaims with a smile.
The foals put their hooves together then threw them into the air while cheering, "WE ARE THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERSl YAY!"
Rarity smiles as she saw what the foals are doing. The unicorn comments, "Looks like my sister and her friends got a new playmate in their group."
"After what happened yesterday, no kidding," Twilight remarks with a chuckle.
"I'm glad to get some peace and quiet." Ben said with a sigh while lying down on the blanket. "As long as no pony else sees me here..."
"So there you are!" A voice said, alarming the ponies.
"I swear! The pony was splashed when I got there!" Pinkie exclaims in alarm, but saw that the pony is actually Derpy, "Oh, hi Derpy."
"Hey, what gives in not inviting me?" Derpy ask happily as she set down a plate of muffins. "I like having picnics!"
"Err; the thought never came to mind." Ben said with a sheepish chuckle. For a moment, he was worried that it was some fans or ponies whose saw them.
Unknown to the group, a familiar filly and her father were nearby. Filthy was super advising a building for ponies to have lunch in.
"Daddy, why do I have to be here watching this?" Diamond asked her father with a pout.
"You know what you did, Diamond Tiara!" Filthy Rich snaps sternly. "You are grounded for two weeks for throwing rocks at a colt and for tossing his toy up a tree. I am keeping an eye on you so you wouldn't get into any more mischief."
"Yes, daddy," Diamond said in an annoyed tone.
"And I don't care what you said about Ben Mare or what powers he got." Filthy Rich adds sternly. "You don't go and bully foals like that."
Filthy Rich knows what it's like to be bullied as a foal, especially since his first name 'Filthy' gave him a hard time. The last thing he wants is having a daughter who acts like some bullies that picked on him when he was little.
"Now I got to check on the cement. Stay here and don't move from this spot until I get back." Filthy said to Diamond sternly before taking temporary leave.
"Yes, daddy," Diamond said with a groan.
Filthy Rich leaves, leaving a bored Diamond behind. To her, she feels like getting hit by an ugly stick by Nyx and her friends. What is the bully going to do?
Diamond then notices something nearby: it's the Mane Six's group...and Ben Mare is with them! That mare's display of powers...the whole thing is discovered all over Ponyville!
Diamond should tell somepony but her father told her not to go anywhere. Luckily, that doesn't apply to anypony else.
"Hey, you," Diamond calls over a pony worker who looks puzzled before coming over. "How would you like to earn some extra bits?"
"Really; how can I?" The pony worker said with a look of interest on his face.
Diamond gave an evil smirk as she begins to explain...
The picnic is almost done as the ponies are finishing up.
"So...looks like we're done here." Ben said as he helps the ponies getting the stuff ready so that they can head on home. "I got to say, we have a quiet time today."
"More quiet than when Dashie ruined my life and has to fix it!" Pinkie exclaims happily.
"Pinkie, I said I was sorry! Geez, I would've told earlier but something told me to go through the whole thing!" Rainbow exclaims to Pinkie embarrassingly.
"Oh, oh; like you were following the script as that story was a fanmake of 'Homestar Ruiner', right?"
"...Pinkie Pie, you are so random."
"At least it was done better than 'de seceding war against Celestia, 'de Battle o' de Bands, 'de making o' Dasheresque 3, as when Metal Iron 'de Invincible got released." Applejack remarks with a scoff. "Ever have those kinda problems, Ben?"
"Speaking of which, where were you all these years?" Twilight ask Ben in concern. "You..."
"There he is!" A pony voice exclaims eagerly. The group's eyes widen in shock as they saw what the gang was trying to avoid all day: the fans and ponies!
"Oh horny toads," Apple Bloom exclaims with a yelp.
"Not again, run!" Ben exclaims in alarm. The stallion and the Mane Six with Derpy (with the fillies and Pipsqueak on their backs) rush/fly off.
"Wait, come back! We want to see what else you can do!" Junebug calls out eagerly.
The chase goes right into Ponyville and all over the place. Ben's group either hides or run while trying to dodge the mad ponies, but those fans keep on chasing them like Parasprites to stuff.
"Ugh! This is like the gala ticket thing all over again!" Twilight complains a bit, remembering what it's like being chased like this before.
"As well as trying to avoid my fans when I was a model," Fluttershy explains in fear.
"And..." Pinkie was cut off as she hits a brick wall. The group find themselves cornered in a dead wall. "Well, this looks too familiar."
"We're trapped!" Nyx groans a bit as the group saw the ponies eagerly closing in on them.
"Come on, fly for us!" Twinkleshine exclaims happily.
"Or at least use magic to do cool stuff!" Caramel remarks with a grin.
"Great and I'm too tired to teleport out!" Twilight groans a bit in sadness. Not good, all the running and such, has tired her out.
Ben is sweating a bit as he is beginning to get a bit intense. The pony was shy before, worried about the attention...and now that problem is about to emerge. The folks of Ponyville are freaking him out; Soon...
"Enough, enough, ENOUGH," Ben screams angrily as he made a blast, knocking the ponies away. The Mane Six's group looks alarmed at this. They haven't seen him this angry since...his Demon Pony stage.
"Uh oh," Derpy said stupidly.
"Look, you eager yet dumb ponies! I don't want to be a celebrity, okay? I just want to be a normal pony who has a good family like Twilight and Nyx right here, and not deal with sort of problem! IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?"
"Oh boy. He's upset." Rainbow said in concern.
"You think?" Rarity asks Rainbow in concern yet sarcasm as well.
"Come on, we were all excited about you being Celestia's adopted son and you having these powers and such." Caramel said nervously. "Isn't that fine with you at all?"
"NO, IT ISN'T FINE! AND IF YOU KNEW WHO I WAS BEFORE, YOU WOULD LEAVE ME ALONE!" Ben yells furiously at the ponies. At their looks of confusion or surprise, the stallion continues, "Fine! You know what? I can't hide it this last secret anymore. You heard stories of the Demon Pony, right?"
"Yeah, we all did." Noteworthy said in concern. "How he once terrorized Canterlot years ago...and how the monster did so again; At least from what we heard of."
"Actually, I think he came to Ponyville a few times too." Goldengrape comments in concern. "Why are...
"Because I was that Demon Pony," Ben yells at the ponies whose gasps and jumps back by the confession. "That right, I was the monster; I was the one who even got into the Apples' apples years ago! I even spy on you when you were't even knowing it whenever I was in Ponyville or elsewhere!"
"Whoa! That's not good." Sweetie said in concern.
"And you know? You wouldn't give attention to a Demon Pony...and I DEFINITELY DON'T WANT ATTENTION FROM PONIES WHO WON'T GIVE ME THE PRIVACY THAT I WANTED! Have any of you even learnt anything from the Gabby Gums incident? Or how Fluttershy felt when you chased her when she was a model? Huh? Huh?"
Most of the ponies feel speechless and shocked by the outburst. Ben Mare was the same monstrous Demon Pony? And he's furious by the attention and lack of privacy that they were doing? Ben grunts as he storms off.
"Ben? Where are you going?" Twilight ask Ben in concern.
"I'm sorry, Twilight, but I can't stay here if I can't be treated the way that I wanted." Ben said to Twilight in a calm yet upset tone of voice. "I'm packing my things. I'm going home..."
"Ben..."
"I'm sorry...but it isn't going work out as I have hoped..."
Ben teleports out of the scene, leaving the sad and shocked ponies behind; Looks like the adopted son of Celestia's first time in Ponyville ended in disaster.
Chapter 5: The Triforce Mark Secret
Chapter 5: The Triforce Mark Secret
Ben sighs in sadness as he begin packing his things, putting them one by one in his small bag. The stallion didn't wish to go...but he can't live in Ponyville if the other ponies can't treat him the way that he himself wanted to be treated...and that's for Ben to be treated like a normal pony.
Ben picks up a picture of himself and the Mane Six yesterday, which Pinkie Pie gave to him yesterday. The pony sighs as he puts it away in his bag....
The group of ponies walk away, a bit saddened and guilty what happened with Ben. Pipsqueak walks with his friends the CMC while mumbling, "I can't believe my first day of being a Cutie Mark Crusader ended up this way."
"Don't be sad, Pipsqueak." Sweetie said to Pipsqueak. "None of us saw this coming."
"Yeah...okay, maybe I did a bit." Scootaloo groans a bit.
"What is Ben's deal? I thought he wanted the whole attention and such. He is Celestia's adopted kid and an Earth pony who can fly and use magic, right?" Caramel asks a bit annoyed by Ben's behavior before teleporting off.
"'Dat's 'de problem, Caramel; Yew an' every pony here presume too much 'dat Ben wanted attention!" Applejack snaps angrily as she stood by her friends. "Ah mean, did it occur 'ta y'all 'dat Ben didn't wanted 'de attention, but 'ta be treated like y'all wanted 'ta be treated?"
"What do you mean?" Rose asks Applejack in concern.
"Look, you all remember when Sweetie and her friends were Gabby Gums and expose our secrets to everypony, right?" Rarity explains to the ponies sternly.
"Rarity, do you have to bring that up?" Sweetie asks Rarity a bit embarrassed. She, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo felt terrible everytime the Gabby Gums incident was brought up.
"I was merely using an example. Now when 'Gabby Gums' did that to you, how did you ponies felt?"
"Well..." Lyra begins to spoke up, a bit hesitated. "We felt...violated."
"Embarrassed," Bon-Bon said while looking a bit down and guilty, remembering that incident.
"An' a bit distrustful o' them, yyep," Big Macintosh said in a gloomy way.
"You see? And when Fluttershy was a celebrity, you ponies kept bugging her and chasing her, wanting pictures and such." Rainbow said sternly as Fluttershy hid behind her. "She was scared and terrified."
"That is what Ben is going through. When he was a colt, my lover didn't want all the attention, Ben was too shy." Twilight said sternly to the ponies who caused Ben to decide to leave before. "And now...although he is now cared for and loved, Ben just wanted to live with me and Nyx...living a normal life and be treated like he wanted to be treated."
"And now, you cause daddy to decide to leave!" Nyx scolds the ponies. "You oughta be ashamed of yourselves."
The ponies in the other group look more ashamed. The Mayor said sheepishly, "Perhaps...perhaps we have not been giving Ben wanted he truly wanted. We should've learned from our mistakes before..."
"Yeah," Lily said, feeling ashamed of herself. "We should make it up to Ben...convince him not to go."
"How are we going to do that?" Lucky ask the other ponies. "By now, Ben is probably halfway on his way back to Canterlot!"
"Nah, knowing him, it could take a while for Ben to pack and leave." Spike remarks to the ponies with a shrug, "Which gives us enough time to fix this problem."
"And I know of a way!" Pinkie exclaims with a happy smile, having a super-duper good idea to keep Ben from leaving Ponyville forever.
"What I don't get is how your ponies knew that Ben was with us in the first place." Dinky said puzzled. "How is it that you found out where he was?"
"We got a tip from one of Filthy Rich's workers." The Mayor explains to Dinky puzzled. "He said that someone paid him to give us that information and..."
Twilight's eyes widen in shock and anger. The ponies found out that Ben was with her and the others...due to information from one of Filthy Rich's workers? Since the Earth pony wouldn't think of making trouble for the new coming pony, that means...
"Excuse me for a moment." Twilight growls angrily as she teleports away from Spike and other ponies.
Filthy Rich and Diamond were startled as Twilight appears right in front of them. The father exclaims in shock, "Twilight Sparkle! What on Equestria?"
"Sir, my colt-friend Ben Mare was chased earlier today by ponies...and he was threatening to leave because they didn't give him what he wanted and that's to be treated better!" Twilight snaps furiously.
"And why is that a problem?"
"One of your workers told the ponies that Ben was with us!"
"What?" Filthy Rich ask startled. He took out his megaphone and yell through it, "Boys, come over here, right now!" The Earth pony's workers came over, wondering what their boss wanted. After putting the megaphone down, Filthy demands, "Boys, which one of you told a lot of ponies that Ben Mare was with Twilight Sparkle and her friends? Come on, out with it!"
"Uh, that was me, sir," The pony worker from before said sheepishly. "But I got a reason! Your daughter paid me extra bits to inform those ponies of where he's at!"
Filthy and Twilight glares angrily at Diamond, who looks annoyed while protesting, "What? So I can't give out information on celebrities anymore?"
"Not when it involved invading their privacy and probably getting back at what happened yesterday!" Twilight snaps furiously to Diamond. Obviously, the bully wanted payback for the trouble that Nyx and Ben got her into yesterday. It looks like the unicorn is going to go into rage mode like when Diamond and Silver tricked Nyx into going into the Everfree Forest.
"Gah; don't you dare! Daddy, she's going to..."
"We will talk about this later, Diamond Tiara!" Filthy snaps to his daughter sternly. Turning to Twilight in sympathy, he said, "Twilight Sparkle, I apologized for the trouble that my daughter gave you again."
"If Ben leaves town and doesn't come back, there will be more trouble!" Twilight snaps furiously as she teleported away.
Diamond chuckles nervously as Filthy turns to her; This won't be pretty...
Ben sighs as he finished packing, taking Koga with him as they leave the library. The wolf cub whines in sadness.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Koga. I wished that I didn't go but...what's the point in unwanted attention?" Ben asks Koga in sadness. "Perhaps mom will understand..."
"Ben," Rainbow exclaims as she, Rarity and Fluttershy appears. "Wait, don't go!"
"Right, don't you want to have one more treat at Sugarcube Corner before going?" Fluttershy ask Ben nervously.
"And get trampled by anxious and crazy fans again? No way," Ben scoffs a bit to Fluttershy. "I'm sorry, but my mind is made up. Say goodbye to Twilight for me."
"But Twilight is there right now!" Rarity insists to Ben in concern. "Don't you want to say goodbye to your true love and your daughter before going?"
"I'm sorry but my mind is made up."
"Well, we tried. Get him." Rainbow said to Fluttershy and Rarity darkly.
Without warning, the mares jumped Ben, knocking him to the ground. Rarity quickly put an anti-magic collar around his neck before Fluttershy throws him into a bag.
"Hey, release me! You can't do this!" Ben protests as he struggles to escape the bag but to no prevail. The stallion finds himself unable to teleport as the mares take him away with Koga following.
Soon the mares and Koga arrives at Sugarcube Corner, Rainbow opens the door before opening the bag. At her signal, Fluttershy and Rarity empty it and tosses Ben inside the place.
As Ben recovers, he heard a loud, "SURPRISE!"
A surprised look appeared on Ben's face as he saw that the ponies were having a party for him.
"Wait...what's this?" Ben asked in surprise as he saw cake, games as well as a banner that said 'We're Sorry' right on it.
"A party just for you again," Pinkie exclaims happily as she bounces over to him. "Do you like it?"
"A party...but what for; A goodbye one," Ben asked Pinkie, wondering if the party is for his departure.
"No...it's a sorry or an apology party." Rarity explained to Ben gently. "The ponies who were bugging you all day have something they wish to say."
"Yes." The Mayor said as she trots over while clearing her throat. "We wish to say...we're sorry."
"Eeyup," Big Macintosh said from nearby.
"Right, we weren't respecting your privacy and not treating you like you wanted us to." Caramel said in guilt.
"We got so excited...that we forgot that you are an Earth pony like all of us." Lyra said in an apologetic tone. "Please forgive us..."
"Well, most of us..." Bon-Bon corrected Lyra while chuckling nervously to Ben. "But...we wish for forgiveness for what we did."
"I...you really are sorry, aren't you?" Ben asked the ponies in amazement. The ones who weren't leaving him alone smiled and nod. He looked down, touched. "Well...you sounded so sincere...of course, you're forgiven."
"We the ponies of Ponyville promise that from now on, if you wanted to talk with us or show your powers to help, we will let you." The Mayor announces with a smile. "And if you want privacy and be treated like a citizen of Ponyville, we will respect your wishes."
"That's right." Twilight said in agreement, "Because celebrities deserve privacy as well."
"The point is we don't want you to go either." Rainbow said softly.
"If you leave...you will make the new friends that you made sad and unhappy." Fluttershy said to Ben in sadness.
"And you will put a hole in both mine and mommy's hearts." Nyx said as she and Twilight nuzzle Ben on each side of him.
"Right, please stay..." Twilight said with tears from her eyes.
Ben paused...then smiled as he hugged the mare and the filly. Koga nuzzled his owner as Ben asked, "Who am I...to break up this family? Suddenly, going back home is in the back of my mind."
"Does this mean...?" Nyx asked Ben as the other ponies look on hopefully.
"Koga and I are staying!" Ben announced to everypony else. All the ponies in the party cheered joyfully at hearing this news.
"All right, ponies, let's party! Hit it, DJ Pon-3!" Pinkie announced to a familiar record playing pony whose plays a music record.
The ponies celebrate the apology and Ben staying behind. The stallion smiles while asking, "Out of curiosity...who told the ponies where I was the last time around?"
"It was Diamond Tiara who rat you out, Ben." Twilight explained.
"And what's..." Ben was going to say but a loud voice interrupts him.
"DIAMOND TIARA; YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE!" Filthy Rich's voice is heard throughout Ponyville, much to the surprise of the ponies who heard him at Sugarcube Corner.
"He did it again!" Scootaloo exclaims with a grin, taking out some popcorn. "Wanna go over to Diamond's house and listen to her get busted, girls?"
"Wait for me!" Pipsqueak giggled as he and the CMC rush out of the shop.
Twilight and Ben looked at each other and then laughed a bit.
It was nighttime as the party is over. Ben smiles as he, the Mane Six, Spike, Nyx and Koga are heading back to the library. The stallion has a good time. He has made some new friends, those who agreed to treat him not like a celebrity but as one of them. Best of all, Filthy Rich has not only grounded Diamond Tiara for another week but she is confined to the house until the grounding is over.
"I got to say, that was a good party." Ben said to the fillies with Koga riding on his back. "Although, it was a bit awkward when Granny approach like that."
"Yyep. Granny found out 'dat yew were 'de one who gotten into our apples last year." Applejack said with a chuckle. "Hoo doggies, Ah haven't seen you 'dis freaked out before."
"Luckily, daddy offered to work on the farm to pay back the apples that he ate." Nyx said with a chuckle. It's true; Ben offers to make up for what his Demon Pony self did by working on the farm whenever he isn't working at the library to pay off the damages.
"Yeah, very interesting," Spike remarks in amusement.
"Right...I'm just glad that things in Ponyville end up better." Twilight said happily while turning to Ben. "I...I didn't want to go."
"It's okay, Twilight. I'm glad to have something that I was missing mostly throughout the life..." Ben said while putting one upper foreleg around Twilight. "And that's friendship."
"Yep! Friends are always there for you!" Pinkie giggles as she bounces up and down happily. "Friends can help one another whenever one asks for it."
"Oh, that reminds me..." Twilight pause a bit, wondering how to do it...and if her friends would accept. "You girls have been my best friends ever since my arrival in Ponyville...despite some troubling times; you helped me out whenever I needed it as well as recently. Nyx really looks up to you all."
"Of course, we just adored the little filly." Rarity said to Twilight with a smile.
"Which is why...I wanted to ask you girls this; Actually, Ben and I talked about it alone earlier."
"We want you girls to be Nyx's honorable aunts." Ben said to the other members of the Mane Six, making them gasp in surprise.
"Wait, aunts? Really," Fluttershy ask Twilight and Ben in surprise yet quietly.
"Gah; Ants; No, I don't want to be a bug!" Pinkie exclaims frantically while running around. "Bugs ruin parties, picnics and..."
"No, Pinkie Pie, they said 'aunts' as in relatives." Applejack corrects Pinkie, knowing that the silly pony is being random as usual.
"Oops! Oh, sorry."
"Whoa! This...this is something else." Spike said, blinking his eyes at what Twilight is asking of her friends.
"But why do you want us to be Nyx's honorable aunts?" Rainbow asks Twilight and Ben in amazement. The Pegasus pony is honored that they want her and the other ponies to be honorable aunts to Nyx...but why?
"Well...my brother Shining is too busy with his royal duties in Canterlot and his wife Cadance, so visiting hours from him is going to be short. And Ben has no siblings to speak of. You five...you are always there for me, him and Nyx. I feel like you are a part of my family already." Twilight said to her friends gently.
"So how about it; Please," Nyx ask the five fillies hopefully.
The fillies look at each other...and smiles. Applejack said, "Twilight sugar-cube, it will be our honor."
"Of course! We would accept your proposal to be Nyx's aunts. After all, just like you, she is a part of our family already." Rarity said with a smile.
Twilight and Ben laughs a bit as Nyx rushes over and hugs her new honorable aunts. The filly squeals, "Yay! Not only that I got a daddy, but aunts too!"
"Oh wow. This is amazing, I am happy, are all of you are?" Fluttershy ask her friends meekly.
"Wait, does this mean that Apple Bloom and Sweetie are my cousins now?"
"One thing at a time, honey," Twilight chuckles as the group arrives at the library. "For now, we're glad to relax and finally a good time as a family."
As the group enters the library, they got a big surprise as a familiar alicorn is inside waiting for them. Ben exclaims in surprise, "Mom!"
"Princess Celestia!" The Mane Six exclaims as they bow down to the princess. Everyone, even Spike, is surprised to see Celestia here in the library and unannounced too.
"Please, no bowing. Please, stand." Celestia insists to the group who stood back up to her. The alicorn smiles, "It's good to see you all again."
"Grandma," Nyx giggles as she rushes up to Celestia and nuzzles her by the leg, much to the sheepish look on her face. "It's good to see you again!"
"Oh, well, it's good to see you too, Nyx honey."
"Oh princess, why didn't you tell us that you were coming?" Spike asks a bit anxiously. "You know how Twilight is with your visits."
"Spike," Twilight exclaims to Spike a bit embarrassed.
"Relax; this visit won't be long or dramatic." Celestia said with a thoughtful smile, chuckling at how Koga is nuzzling her now. "I see you and Koga are getting along."
"Yeah, mother. Granted, you would've seen her earlier if things didn't end up the way that they have." Ben explains to his adopted mother.
"Really; Why?"
"Well, most of the ponies got too crazy around Ben, invading privacy and such..." Fluttershy said in concern. "Ben almost left Ponyville and took Koga with him."
"But we all made an apology party for him...the ponies here in Ponyville learned that even celebrities want privacy every once in a while...and be treated that the way that they themselves wanted to be treated." Twilight explains to Celestia with a smile.
"A lesson well learned." Celestia said, pleased that more than one pony has learned a lesson in friendship.
"And I learned that I should do my best to deal with my fame...and maybe control my temper a bit." Ben said to Celestia with a chuckle. "But I have a feeling that you didn't come to talked about friendship."
"Indeed. It involves Twilight's previous letter...about your powers...and your Cutie Mark."
"Whoa." Spike said anxiously. The ponies look amazed and surprised. The princess knows about how Ben got his powers...as well as what his Triforce Cutie Mark means?
"Well, don't keep us in suspense. What's the story?" Rainbow asks Celestia impatiently. "Well...if you don't mind."
"Indeed, I don't. Please sit." Celestia requests to the ponies. They, along with Spike, sat down on the floor. "As you all know, the Rainbow of Light became the Elements of Harmony. There are six that you know of; Honestly, Kindness, Laughter, Geneorsity, Loyalty and of course Magic."
"Yes, we all know that very well." Rarity said with a nod.
"But, there's more...there are also...more Elements of Harmony."
The ponies gasp, along with Spike. Nyx ask in amazement, "More Elements of Harmony, really?"
"Does it have something to do with my Triforce Cutie Mark, mom?" Ben asks Celestia hopefully.
"Indeed...there are three Elements of Harmony...called the Triforce Mark." Celestia explains to her son. "The Moochik before his disappearance once said that these Elements are well hidden...but will appear when a worthy pony is found."
"Triforce Mark?" Twilight ask thoughtfully.
"When using such powers of any that bears the Triforce Mark, one must understand the principles." Celestia states with a thoughtful statement on what was being said before continuing. "The first is Wisdom. One needs to uphold the knowledge to understand many things this ability can give all in order to learn." Then when that part of Wisdom was explained, the next subject came into picture. "The second is Courage. The person must be able to have courage to face such problems. That is where Wisdom can give aid for even in great stress, knowledge can save one's life." It was now finally time to move on to the last part after the Courage explanation. "The final is Power. This gives the user one of such strengths & feats to make even the impossible possible. That includes the will to use or cast strong magic. But there is a warning for those when using this last one." That part really got many's attention, it almost sounded like a warning. "To use Power, one must first have the Wisdom followed by the Courage to confront & control it without fear. If any choice not to go by such careful motion, they end up corrupting themselves into madness. That is why one must be careful, for any that don't have the Wisdom first before obtaining Power, then trying to gain Wisdom after gaining Power can only fuel those with evil thoughts to misuse such gifts. As for the Courage, it remains useless with the one that is corrupted." All this hit the others like hard nails; they never knew that something like this that could bring good, could also bring forth the bad? "Rest easy, Ben Mare has safely gone through the correct path, first, knowing the Wisdom, secondly, having the Courage to follow such knowledge, then finally, the Power within that one must know how to use it correctly, to help their follow kind."
From hearing this, many of the ponies in the room felt their little smiles coming back, and that's a good thing for them and their friend Ben Mare.
"So...when Ben ended up on that library shelf that day..." Pinkie said thoughtfully. "He couldn't control the Power part without Wisdom...or Courage?"
"Indeed...but he has done the correct path. The Wisdom is a bit complicated to explain...but you know that Ben Mare has gained the Element of Courage when he fought Boris and saved us...and the Power was after he was restored." Celestia explains with a smile.
"So...where are the Elements of Courage, Wisdom and Power?" Ben ask his mother curiously.
"Son, you should...they are in you!"
The ponies gasp in surprise and shock by this announcement with Koga barking in surprise. Nyx ask her adopted grandmother, "Wait, the Triforce Elements are in daddy?"
"And he got his flying and magic through those Elements?" Spike asks as well.
"There's more to the story...but that's for another time." Celestia said seriously then smiles. "But yes. The Moochick said that one pony will have the Triforce Elements within him or her...and my son is the one! It took me all these years, as well as what happened to Ben in that library that day, but yes."
"Wow..." Ben said as he glances at his Triforce. "So I am three Elements at once? Crazy."
"If Discord was unstoned, he would have one Tartartus of a time trying to discorded you, buddy." Rainbow chuckles in amusement.
"That's telling him, Aunt Dashie!" Nyx giggles happily, earning a puzzled look from Celestia.
"I made my friends Nyx's honorable aunts." Twilight explains to Celestia, solving the princess's puzzled look.
"Ah, that explains. Ben, best to be careful though; someday, there may be tyrants that could kill just to get your Triforce Elements...but until then, use your powers to help your love, your friends and such wisely." Celestia said as she stood up. "But until then...time for you all to go to bed. You have an eventual day."
"Yeah...thanks, mom." Ben said as he got up. "Twilight, I'm going to take Nyx to bed."
Twilight nods a bit. Ben takes Nyx and Koga upstairs to bed while the rest of the Mane Six said their goodbyes to their unicorn friend and Spike before leaving the library to head home.
"Twilight...do you still have the Love of Eternal, the same necklace that Ben gave you back in Canterlot a while ago?" Celestia ask Twilight hopefully.
"Yes, I hid it in a secret place in the library in case that I may need it." Twilight answers Celestia. "Why?"
"Keep it well hidden...someday, it may be needed again..."
It was later that night as Nyx, Spike, Koga and Pee-Wee are sleeping. Ben is in his own bed, back into place, smiling at the night sky. The stallion is staying in Ponyville for good...no more worrying about being chased as well as autograph hounds. The stallion is now a friend to the ponies.
Even though the ponies found about how he was once the Demon Pony, they accepted him since Princess Luna was once Nightmare Moon...and some ponies have come to accept Nyx who was once evil herself. Redemption isn't easy...but it will be worth it.
Ben notices Twilight coming into bed and got in, nuzzling her love while saying, "I love you..."
"I know, I know." Ben said while hugging his true love. "I'm sorry that I worried you. I promised, this time, for sure...I will never go away ever...."
"I know...and if some ponies give you problems, Demon Pony or no...I will fight to keep you here...and even though you are an Element holder, I love you anyway."
Ben smiles as he and Twilight kiss before falling to sleep in each other's hooves. The stallion smiles in his sleep...he is indeed one of the most luckiest stallions in Equestria.
The End
Cast list
Author's Note
The characters, except the OCs Ben Mare, Nyx and Koga, belong to their respective creators. The OCS belongs to me and Penstrokepony.
Good story, eh folks? I hope you like it as I did making it. It's time to do another alternative version. Here's the summary and set up...
Night Chaos: (a slight alternate version of the "Friendship Is Magic" Part 2) What if Nightmare Moon purposely released Discord upon her return as a means of distracting potential enemies? In other words, Twilight and her new friends would have to defeat Discord BEFORE getting to Nightmare Moon.
That should be it until now. I hope you folks like this story and be waiting for the next fic. Until next time, read, review and suggest!