A Boy and his Watch

A Boy and his Watch
By TheAlienBrony22

Friendship is Galactic,
Part 2

[Ponyville, Sweet Apple Acres]

Ben dragged his feet across the dirt, exhausted and sweaty as he collapsed at the front of the farm. Pinkie easily hopped right off and pulled a bottle of some kind of substance out of her mane, opening Ben's mouth as she squirted the fluid into his mouth. Ben squirmed and rolled over, sitting up as he swallowed down the strange fluid, completely thrown off by the odd flavor on his lips. It tasted like pineapples and minty taffy.

"You did a pretty good job getting all the way here, Benny, but now's not the time to be exhausted yet, we still gotta lend a hand!" Pinkie stated, helping Ben to his feet as he was then pulled towards the orchard by the pink pony, barely having enough time to catch his breath.

"Pinkie, give me a second!" Ben pulled his arm free and stopped, taking a few deep breaths as he got under one of the apple trees, letting the shade cool him off as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

Pinkie moved up and sat in the shade with the human, watching him take steady and careful breaths. "Man, I can't explain this exhaustion, I don't think I even ran that far, but I feel like I tried to run a mile on hot coals in the coldest winter, for like five hours! Needless to say, I shouldn't be this exhausted!" Ben remarked.

"You're probably just jittery. Don't worry, you can try and get Applejack to let you help her out, and I'll try to keep you cool on the sidelines." Pinkie stated with a smile. Ben got up to his feet as he carried Pinkie on his back again, making his way over to the group of farm ponies, specifically the orange mare wearing a Stetson, who seems very ecstatic to see the human and the pink pony approaching.

[The Moon's Core]

Gray rocks chiseled in a way that told a prophecy were being marched upon by several large stone creatures. They looked like golems, but not a single one looked the same. They marched and mined away at several walls in caverns and tunnels, most of them gathered some kind of material into carts, and wheeled them off to a huge chasm with a massive castle, one that looked to be a perfect imitation of Canterlot Castle.

Within this castle, several more golems stood guard, but there were two other creatures within this shadowy structure. One of these creatures was a pony, with a coat as black as the void of space, a starry blue mane that waved wistfully in an unfelt breeze. The other creature was some kind of biped bat creature with no wings, but it had claws, sharp fangs, and a huge array of eyes on its armor clad body... everywhere except its own face.

The creature stepped forward, faced the pony and kneeled with a chittering growl. The pony looked up above through some kind of glass roof, seeing the planet from so far below, and she smirked.

"My time is almost here."

[Cloudsdale]

Rainbow Dash flew through the air, hopping and bucking several dark gray clouds in the air, and each one she hit sprayed out rain, but was soon returned to a brighter white shade. When she took the job to keep the skies clear of any storms, she didn't think she'd be doing it every day till the event finally began on some other day.

"Had I have known that I'd be doing this every day till the actual event began, I would've had Derpy take my place. She may have a bit of a vision problem, but she's still got the eyesight to hit a cloud at all," Rainbow kicked a few more clouds, clearing the sky at blistering speed. "Sure, it would've taken a bit longer with her on the job, but she's dedicated, practically a loyal worker."

Dash continued to keep clearing the skies, only to end up accidentally ramming into another pony. Dash brushed herself off, only to be met by another pegasus, one that seemed really finicky. They had a dark lime coat with purple eyes, and a clean cut red mane. Their cutie mark couldn't be seen, mainly because they were dressed up in a blue and yellow suit, one that Dash recognized.

"Oh jeez, I'm sorry, I didn't watch where I was going! My bad, I gotta get back to practice. See ya later!" The pegasus stated, flying off in a huff. Dash could barely figure out what exactly happened, but all she knew was, she had a first hoof encounter with one of the Wonderbolts.

"I really hope I didn't just look awkward right then..." Dash whispered to herself as she flew off in a huff.

As the rainbow maned pegasus went off on her way to clear her mind and calm herself down, she didn't seem to notice the transparent figure standing in-between her and the wonderbolt, who just looked on and vanished.

[Canterlot Castle]

"Twilight, I'm sure you're just panicking over nothing. Besides, Celestia probably has a very good reason for this. Most times, no one ever really knows what Celestia's planning at all, so for her to be this upfront, clearly means she trusts you with this task," Spike held on to his older sister's back as Twilight trotted through the halls of the castle. "Also, can you just slow down? I really don't want to fall off!"

"Spike, I'm not going to ask my brother for his blood. Even if I had the proper context for why I should, you know Ben hates the sight of blood, even if it's his, and straight up asking him for any strand of hair is just as uncomfortable, if not as creepy. Celestia can't possibly have a good enough explanation, and I want to know exactly what she was thinking!" Twilight stated stubbornly.

If Twilight was anything, she was stubborn, determined, and very smart, but even she knew it'd be a very daring move to barge in and demand answers from the princess herself. Yet here she was, nearing the doors to the throne room, with the evidence in her satchel.

The doors swung open, showing Spike holding on for dear life and a very unamused Twilight Sparkle standing tall. Celestia sat on her throne, sipping a freshly brewed cup of tea, and smiled warmly at her student. "My dearest Twilight, good to see you. I was about to give you a response letter about your investigation into Nightmare Moon's eventual return, but since you're here, I suppose I can recite it to you, spare us both the time-"

"That can wait. What in all of Tartarus is all of this for!?" Twilight interrupted. She placed the satchel down and opened it up, revealing the cue card with a spell written on it, and the letter that came with it. Celestia was confused, not just by her student's frantic and very unamused behavior, but by the card and the scroll presented to her. "I don't care what's coming, and I don't care if you want to stop it that badly. I'm not going to act like a creep and get my brother's blood for you! How could you even ask of me to do something like that?!"

Celestia was appalled, and very unnerved. Twilight unrolled the scroll and handed it over to the princess, who carefully read it over. The handwriting was in fact her handwriting, there was no mistaking it, but she never wrote this. As a matter of fact, she only wrote the response to Twilight's hypothetical on Nightmare Moon's return.

"Guards!!" Celestia exclaimed. Two of the royal guards stood firm and saluted the princess. "Fetch me Parchment Scribbler, I need to know who sent this scroll to my student. I won't have someone sully my name, let alone scare my faithful student! That is an order!"

The soldiers quickly trotted off as Celestia examined the cue card. She cast the spell and a small advanced alchemy kit with a set of instructions formed in the midst of the room. The princess was terrified at the sight of the kit, and decided to set it in one of the corners of the room.

"Ow! H-Hey, sensitive skin underneath this coat, you raging royal nar- Auh!?" A voice called out. In-between the guards was a well dressed pegasus with a faded light gray coat, a very curly and faded yellow mane in the style of a ponytail with streaks of green and blue, and a designer leather coat with glasses.

"Parchment Scribbler, I have a job for thee. Someone has attempted to put me in a rather unsightly light, and I'd like for you to track them down. Is that understood?" Celestia asked grimly.

The pegasus was shivering and took the scroll in question. "Y-You have my word, your highness! I-I won't stop, eat, sleep or drink till I find the perpetrator!" Parchment stated.

"I would recommend you eat, sleep and drink periodically, as to avoid a repeat of your little accident. Now go. I have much to prepare for, and I must send my student on her way to deal with preparations." Celestia stated. Parchment nodded and was escorted back to her home by the guards as Twilight looked on in surprise.

"Now, my faithful student... Let me recite to you, the letter I know I wrote." Celestia calmly said.

[Carousel Boutique]

Ben exhaustedly trudged through the streets of Ponyville, his face was showered, drenched and drowning in sweat as he kept carrying Pinkie on his back, who seemed pretty alright.

"Ok, I think I can safely say that farming is not my strong suit. I am so exhausted, it's not even funny. Man, I can barely even see anything with all the sweat in my eye, where are we going next, Pinkie?" Ben wondered.

"We're going to Rarity's, she's in charge of the other side of decorating for the celebration, as in, appeasing to the finer taste in the royal family. I was in charge of regular decorations, and she's basically figuring out how to decorate and make it welcoming to Princess Celestia!" Pinkie explained.

"This all just sounds like another day ending in 'y', to me. But hey, I'm not complaining, it'll be nice to see Rarity again. Big Mac kinda got quieter over the years, but he's still a friendly guy, and I couldn't talk to Applejack much because she was focused on preparing food for the celebration. At least I'll be able to get a welcome conversation out of Rarity." Ben stated, opening the front door to the building.

As the two entered the boutique, they saw no sign of the unicorn, only a massive mess of fabrics, design patterns and the like. Needless to say, it looked like a mess. The unexpected silence in the building was just as discerning.

"Well, here I thought Rarity would've cleaned up a little. I know ponies really do change after a while," Ben carefully stepped away from the mess as he continued to look around the room, only to find no trace of the fashionable mare, "But I kinda did expect things to be a bit tidier."

Pinkie hopped off of Ben's back and bounced around, easily avoiding the mess as she looked in some rather unorthodox spots, such as a closet, drawers, and the cupboards. Not a single sign of the mare anywhere, not even upstairs and in the various other rooms. Ben was getting a little unnerved and decided to try something new. Ben transformed into Beelzebeast and began to sniff around, only to then pick up on a single strong scent, leading out of the boutique. Beelzebeast grabbed Pinkie and set her on his back as he immediately squeezed through the doorway and followed the scent.

[Town Hall]

Rarity steadily and carefully examined a few pieces of ribbon as she stood behind a podium, eyeing and carefully deducting whichever ribbon would be perfect for the task at hand.

"Hm... No... no... OCH! Dear Celestia, no..." Rarity examined, looking at the ribbons she's tossed to the side with distaste. Rarity examined the final ribbon, a glistening and glamorous amethyst purple ribbon. "Aha! Finally found the best suitable ribbon... now I need to find a way to properly make more of this ribbon for the ceremony." Rarity stated with a sheepish grin.

Before Rarity could be on her way, however, the doors flung open as a loud bellowing dog roar echoed, causing her to duck for cover.

"Hi Rarity!!!" Pinkie's voice called out ecstatically, "Look who fulfilled their Pinkie Promise today!!"

Pinkie, one of Rarity's closest and more excitable friends, was on top of a much larger eyeless canine, standing out with its orange fur and the gills on the side of its head, now adorned in several darker orange stripes and markings, and also sporting a tail, all while it sported a familiar emblem.

If Rarity didn't know what this was, she would've fainted. Good thing she was so used to taking up a side hobby, and was able to get an idea of where she remembered such a beastly beast.

Rarity's expression changed from aghast, to astonished, but then stopped at pleasantly thrilled. "Benjamin! It's so thrilling to see you again, darling!" Rarity called out, slowly approaching the alien dog, lightly petting and stroking its face as the beast smiled. In a flash of red light, Ben returned to his normal form and pulled Rarity into an unexpected bear hug, startling the unicorn a fair bit, until she began to accept it.

Ben let her go and set her back down as Pinkie observed the newly added decorations that complemented her decorative choices. Several purple, violet and blue ribbons tied into crescent moon-shaped wall decals and a bunch of golden, red, orange, yellow, white and bronze ribbons tied to look like a shining sun, all while the various stars that Pinkie plastered around the hall made it feel more complete.

"Wow, you guys really pulled out all the stops with this," Ben said, looking amazed at the numerous decorations plastered through the place in such order. "I really don't know if I could contribute, let alone have any good ideas that could make this look even better!"

"Oh don't sell yourself so short, darling, I'm sure you'll find someway to contribute. After all, the summer sun celebration is just a couple days away, it's practically right around the corner!" Rarity stated.

Pinkie rushed out of the doors and peaked around the corners, supposedly looking for something. Ben was trying his best to not laugh at Pinkie's antics, mainly because he didn't wanna seem rude, but a few snickers did escape him. "Well, I think I better get going. Gotta familiarize myself with this town, and where everything is. I'll catch up with you two later!" Ben stated.

Ben runs out of the town hall and through the streets of Ponyville, not going in any specific direction, while Rarity and Pinkie decided to take a break from preparing for the summer sun celebration's festivities. Yet, for some odd reason, a new question began to fester in the pink pony's mind.

"Hey Rarity?" Pinkie asked the fashionable unicorn.

"Yes Pinkie, is there something on your mind?" Rarity inquired.

"Is it just me, or is it some kind of feeling in my gut that's telling me that there might be something huge on the way?" The pink pony asked.

"Well, with you, to be honest with you darling, it could mean practically anything and everything," Rarity stated. "But, elaborate for me, what do you mean something huge?"

"Well, you know how Celestia is the one who raises the sun and the moon, right? There's no one else to take that title or job?" Pinkie asked, feeling a strange fuzzy feeling in her head.

"Pinkie... are you telling me that something bad just might happen at the summer sun celebration, and you're only feeling it now?" Rarity asked.

"Well, I would like to say yes, but this isn't one of those Pinkie Sense things. It's just a weird gut feeling, and I feel like we need to just let whatever unfolds, to just let it happen, even if we get caught up in it." Pinkie stated, a look of curiosity and uncertainty painted on her face.

Rarity knew Pinkie could be, well, a lot to handle, even in small doses, but there was always something about Pinkie's way of doing certain things and her Pinkie senses that always seem to have a mysterious air of truth about it. Even now, she feels that same air. She would've asked a bit more, if Pinkie didn't just suddenly run away towards a couple of baby kittens, completely losing her train of thought. Though, maybe that was for the best.

[The outskirts of Ponyville]

Ben laid down on a soft grassy hill, looking up to the clouds, and the various Pegasi doing their thing. Ben was just trying to relax a little before he tried to find a certain shy yellow pegasus, as to not scare her. Many thoughts for what he could do for the celebration came to his mind, some of them better than others.

"I could use Gemstone to make a chandelier, maybe dip the crystals in gold paint to make it seem like the sun, that way when it lights up, it looks like the rising sun... then again, Gemstone's crystals are very refractive... someone might get hurt, so no dice. Hmm... Maybe I could use Smart Toad to make a machine that'll simulate an eclipse, the uniting of the brightest day and the darkest night... No, that wouldn't be good either, someone might go blind." Ben debated with himself. The human racked his brain for some semblance of a good idea, something great and flashy, but also something that won't hurt or cause harm to someone. That's when it hit him.

"Wait, I know what to do! A celebration is kinda like a festival, or a carnival, but more fancy. Maybe I can use my unicorn form and be like a potential reading psychic or something. That could work, and it means no one gets hurt! Ben Sparkle, you're a freakin' genius!" Ben stated with a smile. However, all of a sudden, the world around him was beginning to freeze in place. The colorful world suddenly dulled into a collection of grays and whites, with the occasional black in the drab and very dull palette.

"Oh come on, not again!!" Ben frantically tried to use the Omnitrix, only to find that it wasn't going to work. Ben turned around, seeing the same strange man, dressed in a lab coat, looking at a pocket watch, though this time, the man seemed to look different, in a way.

The man's white skin now seemed to be more of a dulled brown-ish gray, his slick back hair was a bit more wild, unkept, and turning white, his eyes were yellow with red irises, his lab coat looked to be very poorly made from the materials of a bathrobe, his goggles were more like swimming goggles, and the golden gauntlet he had seemed to have six stone sized jelly beans forced to fit in some kind of slots.

"Hello there, Benjamin Sparkle. Love what you've done with Equestria as of late, didn't figure you for a Noir man, but I can appreciate the classics." The man spoke in a voice that was drastically different from the man's previous voice. The voice was more natural, all over the place, and actually showed some sense of being friendly... somewhat. "I hear you're preparing for the summer sun celebration, and I love the idea you have in mind, nothing's more fun than telling other ponies what may or may not happen in their future, based on potential alone."

"Who and what--" Ben was promptly interrupted by a sudden shower of candy coming from a blue cloud that manifested above him, the only vibrantly colored thing in this noir colored space.

"Look Dial A for Alien, I'll be frank with you if you be leslie with me. Don't trust that stupid fool that came to you in the dead of night. Trust me, I'm not always one for the truth or doing the right thing, but it's in both of our best interests if you keep resisting him. He's just a sad immortal man who's scared that he'll become as insane as me, only I'm insane for the fun of it!" The strange man said with a smile, revealing a large snaggletooth in his grin. "Just know that we'll meet face-to-face one day, and when that happens, I'll explain everything."

"Nothing about this feels like I should trust it, but you seem to know something about this guy that randomly appeared in my home, so I really don't have a choice. I don't know where he wants to take me, or what he wants to show me, but I clearly don't want to go with him... Who are you anyway?" Ben inquired.

"For the moment, you can call me D. Oopsie! Look at the time," D pulled out his pocket watch, only to reveal an alarm clock hooked up to the end of a chain as the alarm blared. "Looks like our time is up, but I do have some forewarning for you, my shapeshifting pal... 'On the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal'. Well, ta-ta!"

The world was engulfed in a flash of white light, and Ben quickly sat up, seeing that color had returned to the world, and that the Omnitrix was working again. Ben sighed and had plenty more things to think about now, but at least he has an unlikely ally now, for however long that'll last.

"U-Um... e-excuse me sir..." A meek voice called out quietly. Ben turned to his right, to see the pegasus he was looking for initially, Fluttershy, sitting by his side. "A-Are you okay... y-you were s-staring off into n-nothingness..."

Ben smiled and brought the pegasus into a hug, causing her to yelp a little, only to recognize a few features about this person, and then go along with it. "I'm okay, Fluttershy... it... it's just good to be home."

[???]

"So, not only did you make a mockery out of me, but you purposefully impersonated me and tried to get him to take your side!?"

"Don't act so high and mighty here, Professor. You tried it before and failed, I just have a lot of points in Charisma and Speech, not my fault I'm so grand! besides, it's time someone beat you at your own game, unless you're actually scared to admit that this was a game~"

"You have no idea what you've done! You- Y-You-!!"

Paradox groaned and yelled in frustration, kicking up nonexistent dirt in the strange plane of existence. Discord found this display, oddly enough, more embarrassing than hilarious. It would've been a riot for him to see Celestia, of all ponies, to be throwing such a fit, but when it came to the time walker, Discord felt no satisfaction, only boredom and the urge to retch when he knows he can't. He's lost all known sense of fun in seeing Paradox have a fit. It stopped being funny several millennia ago.

"You won't get away with this! Ben Tennyson is going back to HIS timeline, whether he wants to, OR NOT!! History must be put back on TRACK!!!"

"If that's the case, why not make another Omnitrix, or snag an Omnitrix from another timeline, and give it to his cousin? After all, that's a timeline that still exists!"

"Go to the darkest depths of hell, Discord!! Go back to where you belong!!"

"Hmm, No, I'll pass. I much prefer my stone prison for now, plus, I just got my new cable package installed!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRHHHH!!!!"

Paradox vanished as he exclaimed in a fury. Discord then pressed a remote as he aimed it at the TV, watching Ben Sparkle share a hug with Fluttershy.

"I can't wait to see how this timeline plays out."