A Boy and his Watch
By TheAlienBrony22

Friendship is Galactic,
Part 5

[Town Hall]

As the citizens of Ponyville all gathered for the celebration, Ben kept a look-out for any unexpected surprises that could ruin the event. It seemed like for how many ponies lived in Ponyville, the Town Hall looked like it really couldn't fit every single pony inside, yet the whole town was inside, and it was very spacious.

"Isn't this exciting? Are you excited, 'cause I'm excited, I've never been so excited— well, except for the time that I saw Ben transform for the first time, because that rarely ever happens at all..." Pinkie's excited ramblings soon quieted down as the fanfare began to play.

Twilight looked up towards the sky, seeing the white moon descended slowly towards the horizon like it always did, still with the mythical shadow of a mare painted on its surface. Needless to say, Twilight was still very worried about the legend of Nightmare Moon.

A middle-aged mare soon stepped into the spotlight, looking proud and especially prepared for the celebration.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts," the mare started, "As mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration.”

The crowd erupted into echoing cheers and applause, all while Ben stepped in and joined the crowd in the festivities. Twilight kept her eyes on the moon, seemingly expecting the worst case scenario to unfold... how unfortunate that she'd be right to expect so.

The mayor continued, “In just a few moments our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year, and now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land-"

Twilight's face seemed to pale, her eyes widened as she shuddered in place, getting Ben's attention as he looked to the moon, feeling a similar sensation run through his body. They both witnessed the stars suddenly move closer to the moon, making it flash for a brief instant. The Mare-shaped shadow in the center disappeared.

"T-That's not supposed to happen..." Twilight muttered in alarm.

"Oh for Celestia's sake." Ben gritted, dialing in one of his transformations, catching the attention of several ponies.

"-the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria-” The mayor gestured to Rarity to get ready to pull the curtain open.

The birds readied the fanfare. Everypony was excited. Danger was imminent.

“Princess Celestia!” The melodious fanfare sounded, but as Rarity pulled the curtains open, everyone gasped at the sight... or more accurately, the lack of something or someone to behold.

Ponies around her started yammering in shock as Rarity poked her head behind the curtain looking for the Princess. In a flash of green light, Ben was replaced by Ghooligan, who then unsheathed his razor sharp claws.

“Oh dear, be calm everypony, please, there must be a reasonable explanation for this.” Mayor Mare placated.

"We're past the reasonable explanations... something evil and ancient lurks nearby. I can't even fathom what this feeling is, but it's like darkness... darkness incarnate." Ghooligan floated up and pointed a claw at the empty balcony, "SHOW YOURSELF, WICKED MARE OF DARKNESS!!"

As the strange spectre called out the intruder in question, a dark purplish mist began to take form, billowing over the balcony.

There were a few screams and some shrieking as the mist took the form of a towering black alicorn with metallic blue armor. Her mane and tail swirled around her like an unbound piece of the galaxy, littered with stars within the inky black void. Her teal eyes were slitted, much like a cats as she stared down at the gather ponies, most of them too shocked at the appearance of the dark mare to even move, or not even knowing what might happen next if one of them does something the alicorn doesn't like.

Then it cackled with an echoing malevolence, meeting the spectre's single-eyed gaze. "Interesting, you were able to feel my presence... I'd give you props, but anything lower than I shall be considered commoner's trash. If I'm to return and rule unopposed, then I shall smite you down where you stand!" The alicorn sneered.

"You villainous types are all the same, whether you're common crooks, eldritch horrors, or just a bunch of whackjobs with too much time on their hooves." Ghooligan stated, rushing forward as he tried to swipe his claws at the alicorn, only to be met by a powerful magic blast at point blank range.

The blast sent the spectre back, but in a flash of light, Fourest Fighter landed, cracking the floor upon impact. "So, you wanna brawl, do ya? Fine then, let's see what you got!!" Fourest Fighter jumped towards the alicorn, tackling her through the ceiling as he tried to wail on her with all his strength, only to be constantly blocked by a magic shield.

"Persistent, you're full of tricks, aren't you?" The alicorn asked coyly.

In another flash of light, Fourest Fighter was replaced by Starburner, who blasted the Alicorn downwards to the ground with a powerful flamethrower, creating a crater filled with blistering hot magma, but the alicorn was unscathed, though she was now working up a sweat.

"Hmm, impressive shapeshifting capabilities, human, it'll be grand to know that I'll squash your head beneath my hoof and take the throne once again! Better to come out victorious with one more body to--"

Before the alicorn could get another word out, Starburner came crashing down towards her, and in a flash of light, changed into that strange orange-shelled bug slug thing he unlocked during that movie theatre incident, something Ben decided to call Shellusk.

the alien curled into a ball and crashed right on top of the alicorn's shield, sending out a slight shockwave across the entirety of Ponyville before he was sent back flying, crashing into the dirt as he transformed back into human.

"Pathetic, you really thought you could step up to me, the mighty Nightmare Moon?! What a poor foal," Nightmare Moon made her way into the skies as some kind of strange creature landed on the ground, snarling and laughing. "Optical, he stood no chance, though he did make a valiant attempt. Have your way with it, I shall begin with disposing of the things that banished me before."

"Yes, My Mistress." Optical grunted. Optical got ready to tear the human apart, seeing as how Ben was in very poor condition, that is, until Optical spotted the device on his wrist. Every single one of Optical's eyes went wide as they saw it, having to blink numerous times just to make sure they weren't seeing things. They slowly approached the device, examining it closely, unaware that its red color was now starting to become very yellow.

"N-No way... The Omnitrix? Here? In the hands of some lowly huma-AAAARRGGGHHH!!!"

Optical roared in pain from the sudden surprise attack, then fell to his side, out cold. Behind him, was an angry and very protective Twilight, who fired a single full power magic blast at Optical's back. Twilight used her levitation spell to carry Ben's unconscious body back towards the Golden Oaks Library, with the other five mares following right behind her.

[???]

'Oouuh... my head. I feel like I got ran over by a pony-shaped train.' Ben thought to himself. Ben got up groggily, only to find himself in a strange place. It was some kind of temple, only it seemed to be made out of metal, with these bright green pillars of light and some kind of figure standing at the top, dressed in some kind of ceremonial robe.

'This night couldn't have gotten any weirder, but even I know this just has to be the start of it...' Ben thought as he steadily climbed the temple to reach the figure.

[Golden Oaks Library]

"Are you a spy?!" Rainbow Dash asked skeptically.

"No, I'm not a spy! If I were, wouldn't I have tried some underhanded tactic by now?" Twilight stated defensively.

"Well, we arn't gettin' anywhere arguing, but you must know somethin' about this, right?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah, you seemed to know that mare by her name, what, is there some kind of secret you're keeping?" Rainbow Dash probed.

"I knew something was gonna happen, but I didn't really know what. Ask Rarity, I let her in on what I felt a few days ago." Pinkie assisted.

"It's true, darlings, Pinkie felt a certain way about how something didn't seem like how it was, and I suppose maybe this feeling was either coincidental, or very specific for Nightmare Moon's sudden return," Rarity explained. "At first I thought she was pulling my leg, but this just seems a bit too coincidental to be a coincidence."

"Look, everypony, I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon," Twilight explained, "I also read about some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony, and from what I read about them, they are the only things that can stop her. They were once wielded by Princess Celestia, so if we find them and use them to fix this, maybe everything'll be fine... that is, if I knew where to look."

"You think this book about them will help us?" Pinkie asked, holding The Elements of Harmony, a reference guide, in her hoof.

"How in Celestia's name did you find that so fast?" Twilight asked, snatching the book from her hoof.

"It was under 'E'!~" The pink pony said in a singsong tone.

'I'm so going to properly re-organize this whole library when this is all over,' Twilight thought to herself with a bemused expression.

Twilight flipped open the book looking through it as the others gathered around her, until she stopped on one of the final pages of the book. "Let's see … there are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known. Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery, but only when the spark is created between the five elements, only then will the sixth element show itself. It is said that the last known location of the Elements of Harmony was in the castle of the royal sisters. The castle is located in what is now known as… the Everfree Forest?" Twilight concluded, raising an eyebrow.

"Somehow, this doesn't surprise me. The Everfree's full of terrifying monsters and dangerous plants, so it's no surprise that these 'elements of harmony' are gonna be guarded by some terrifying things... but, since the royal guard just went fubar, we're the only ones who can go after them... that is, unless we can wake Ben up and let him in on everything." Dash stated, gesturing to the still unconscious human.

"I wonder what's going through his mind right now--"

"We don't have time," Twilight grabbed the book and made her way to the door. "We have to stop Nightmare Moon. If we don't, we'll be stuck in eternal night forever!"

"As much as ah think Ben'll help us out, we can't just wake him up... C'mon y'all, let's go stop that shadow clad tyrant once an' fer all!" Applejack stated.

The other mares nodded as they made their way to the Everfree Forest, unaware of the small cloud of ethereal star covered magic eavesdropping on their conversation, only to then retreat into the Everfree unnoticed.

[???]

Ben felt like it took him hours to get to the top of the temple, but he finally got there, and managed to get a closer look at the figure. Before him was a teal stallion, dressed in white, green, dark purple and black robes, clad in golden armor, and with eyes similar to that of Nightmare Moon, only a more vibrant green color. Yet, the Omnitrix's symbol is prominent on the stallion's flank, with the odd addition of six gray identical gems surrounding it.

"Ahh... Benjamin Sparkle, we finally meet. I thought we'd meet after the defeat of Nightmare Moon, but I suppose somethings must change for there to be any real change." The stallion said cryptically.

"This night just keeps getting weirder and weirder, who are you and where in Tartarus am I? How did I get here and can you send me back?" Ben asked. The stallion chuckled a little bit and cracked his neck.

"Eager to go home, are you? Well, that I can help with. Just take a step back, these portals tend to be very fickle." The stallion cautioned. Ben stood back as the stallion's eyes glowed a bright pink, moving his front hooves in such a way as a portal opened up.

"Awesome! Thanks for the help, mystery stallion dude, now to go sto--"

Ben stopped in his tracks and lost his words. The portal revealed a world on the other side, but it wasn't a world he was familiar with. The world on the other side was populated by more of his kind, what he was, human. Among these humans were two individuals in particular. One was an older man who developed a bit of a pot belly, has long gray hair, a look of loss in his eyes, and a slightly untrimmed gray beard, all while dressed in a red hawaiian shirt. There was also a woman next to him, reading some kind of small book, draped in vibrant orange hair, blue and white robes, sneakers, and seemed to have the same green eyes as he did.

Ben felt his mind get fuzzy and nearly lost his footing, he felt like he should go into the portal, but he knew this wasn't where he wanted to go. Yet, something deep within him compelled him to try reaching out, yet he couldn't muster the strength, nor the courage to try. He just stared.

"Is something the matter, Benjamin? Go on, step through. You'll finally be back home. I thought Paradox had finally snapped, considering the imbalance of temporal power, but if you're here, then this means things can go back to--"

"This isn't home." Ben uttered, facing away from the stallion.

"Excuse me? Of course it's home, look, your grandfather, your cousin, they've been looking all over for yo--"

"Did you not hear me? This. Isn't. HOME!!" Ben yelled out, his voice echoed across the strange location he found himself in, almost causing the place to shake.

"You-- What are you-- Oh... Oh, now I understand," The stallion closed the portal, his eyes returning to normal. "You're talking about going back to Equestria, aren't you?"

"Yes, of course I am! My friends and my family could be in serious trouble, and I need to get out of here, whatever and wherever is here!" Ben whipped around, looking a bit mad and impatient, "Now send me back home!"

"... I'm afraid I can't do that. There's a bit of a hitch to my capabilities. As I stand before you as a stallion, my ties to Equestria are very... complex. While I do have the power to send you back to Equestria, it won't work like how you think it will, especially when you consider where we are right now." the stallion stated in a cryptic yet somber tone.

"And what in the fresh fires of Tartarus is that supposed to mean?!" Ben asked, getting more irate.

"Just look up, and I'm sure you'll put the pieces of the puzzle together in a few seconds." The stallion answered.

Ben looked up, only to see a huge shining hourglass symbol above him, one that matched that of the Omnitrix. Ben looked all around, seeing that some of these odd temple-like structures were made of black, gray and/or white metallic materials, each one having a version of some kind of creature that Ben has become before, only dressed in some kind of special version of ceremonial garb, clad in the same colors.

"I think I have a theory on where I am, but how about you tell me, just so I can confirm or deny it," Ben said, looking back at the stallion.

The stallion removed a robe from his head, showing a unicorn horn. "Yes, you are inside the Omnitrix, Benjamin Sparkle."

"And that was my theory... though, it looks a bit different from when I was inside it last. What happened?" Ben asked.

"It was never intended for the wearer to do such a thing, not without activating certain functions. But, when the Omnitrix began to adapt to the magic of Equestria, the inner-machinations of this device began to become something more. Something that embodied a sense of oneself. Something that felt like... harmony. The Omnitrix normally can't process, let alone compute the concept of magic, but the moment the Omnitrix and you, its wearer, were brought to an unknown and very unfamiliar world, rich and comprised of magic, a secondary mode was activated... Adaptation Mode."

"I'm not sure I follow..." Ben said cautiously.

"As much as I'd love to explain this to you, we don't have the time. But, I'll leave you with some words of wisdom," The stallion took a deep breath and sighed. "Be not afraid, Benjamin Sparkle. Do not fear the wicked words of Discourse, nor should you listen to the warped forewarnings of a living Paradox, do what you feel like should be done, but consider everything before making a drastic choice." The stallion warned.

Before Ben could press any further, the whole entirety of the Omnitrix began to glow yellow, showing a new temple being made, with a new creature joining the ranks. A bipedal bat-like creature with numerous eyes on its body, huge bat ears, and a lack of any eyes on its face.

"I believe it's time. We've kept you here long enough, and time is of the essence. Go to the center, and we shall let you go." the stallion stated, pointing to the huge glowing platform.

"Ok, got it... also, what do I call you?" Ben asked.

The stallion smiled. "That, is up to you, and you alone. After all, I do see potential in all that have it. Fare thee well, Benjamin Sparkle. Till we meet again, that is."

Amused by that comment, Ben nodded and rushed towards the center, climbing up onto the platform as he heard some kind of chant from the other creatures. Then, Ben saw everything turn into a blistering bright white light.

[Golden Oaks Library, an hour after the six mares left]

Ben snapped his eyes open, sitting up quickly as he looked around. He was partially alone within the library. He heard a small bit of snoring, and checked to see that it was Spike, sleeping comfortably.

'Let's do this.' Ben thought to himself, a look of sheer determination and strong will in his eyes. Ben wrote down a couple notes for Spike to find and placed them right next to him. Ben then ran downstairs and transformed into Beelzebeast. Once he picked up the trail, he knew where he was going.

Next stop, The Everfree Forest.

Author's Note

Ok, so, interesting chapter so far. I definitely took a risky shot at really diverging from canon with this one, so this'll be interesting, to say the least.