Ah, the road trip.

Complete freedom to go wherever you wanted to go. Just you, your vehicle, your friends and the open road. What more could a young buck ask for?

Well, if that road was in the stars, truly nothing! For the teenage Ben Tennyson was absolutely ecstatic about his seeing the sights with his friends, and for once, enjoying the time he spent in the galaxy. Just once, he thought, it would be nice to go a week without needing to defend himself from alien invaders, or trying to keep his precious Omnitrix from falling into evil hands, or seeking some treasure to get hold of before some supervillain lunatic got their own mitts on it.

And their first stop was one which Gwen had insisted they examine. A world evidently steeped in magical power. She leaned back in the backseat of their spaceship, cheerily grinning to herself behind her glasses as her boyfriend Kevin scratched at the stubble on his chin. "You're sure about this?" He wanted to know, tilting his head a little to the side as he looked over the book of "Natural Magic Users" that Gwen had given for him and Rook and Ben to peek over. "I mean…they're ponies."

"They're majestic, noble beings of immense power." Gwen remarked, waving a finger in the air.

"They are horses, Ms. Tennyson. Most assuredly." The faintly cat-esque alien that was Rook Blonko said, Kevin tossing him the thick black tome as Rook's yellow eyes peered over the pages that described these "Equustrians". "Yet you say they are…skilled magic users?"

"Every single pony on the planet has magic flowing through them, just like how technically every human on Earth does. But while humans need items to bring that out, they've naturally developed abilities to do it. A third of them have super strength, a third can fly and manipulate the weather, and another third is capable of incredible spells!" Gwen said as he sat up and took the book back from Rook with a big smile, waving it back and forth in the air as Rook's white face showed nothing but stupid confusion. Frankly though, this was no surprise. All of them were amazed that this was the planet Gwen had chosen of all places.

Ben was trying not to think too much about it as he piloted their ship towards the almost Earth-esque planet of "Equus", a blue and green marble with soft, puffy white clouds that ambled overhead as their spacecraft landed in an open clearing, Ben standing up and doing some stretching before heading for the exit ramp of the ship. "Alright, everyone. Now, this is Gwen's stop, so we're going to let her have fun."

"And you should probably allow her to do the talking." Rook added with a calm nod, Ben shrugging a bit but agreeing with a small nod in return.

"I had a lot of experiences with ponies growing up before I went on that fateful summer trip." Gwen remarked cheerily, putting a hand over the blue and white long-sleeve shirt she wore. "Or at least I did for three years until-" She trailed off, giving Ben a bit of an accusatory glare.

GWEN TENNYSON'S BEDROOM, AGE 9

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Gwen screamed to the heavens, tugging on her orange hair as she fell to her knees, howling like a wolf as Ben gulped nervously. He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, the other holding a one of several dozen wrecked and even decapitated pony dolls, a baseball somehow now embedded in the ceiling above him.

"Um, er…it isn't what it looks like! I was trying to see how many times I could bounce a baseball off my foot like a hacky sack and…um…I…" He stammered.

"My babies…" Gwen whispered, Ben giving her the one he had in his hand as she looked down at it. "Butter Scotch…oh sweetie, what did he do to you?"

"Uh…your stable survived!" He said, pointing over to the corner where her "stable" for holding several other ponies laid, the red and white little building still untouched until the baseball fell down, bounced off Ben's head and crashed into the stable, collapsing it in a heap as Gwen rose up, clenching her fists.

"Just out of curiosity?" She asked in a sickly sweet voice. "Where is that baseball bat now?!"

PRESENT

"The worst part is I then had to sit through 32 pony funerals." Ben mumbled quietly as Kevin began laughing so hard his knees literally buckled, finally being silenced when Gwen gave him a dark glare, a sharp contrast the beautiful bright sunlight that shone down on them all. Equus was evidently a land of milk and honey, with dazzling sunlight dancing off dew-drop-kissed blades of tender green grass. The plains of Equus stretched far, even around the hamlet villages that littered the landscape, looking like a delightful blend on 1950's America and 1770's at its best, cobblestone roads past every store and home with a big, wooden sign that read "Welcome to Trottsdale" in front of the town they'd landed nearby.

"Trottsdale? Why would they name their town such an obvious play upon words that pertains to ponies?" Rook wondered aloud before taking notice of a large amount of, sure enough, pony-like beings making their way towards them. Hooves, different-colored manes, big, cheery eyes, yet all of them had different color schemes that weren't quite the same as normal horses.

Far from it! Why, some were outright blue or orange or green! A few were wearing clear and obvious clothing or had horns in the middle of their forehead, giving away their obvious unicorn-ness. And on top of that, there were a few Pegasi guards decked out in golden and blue armor that were flying down alongside an immensely tall, regal and resplendent Equustrian with both full, lovely wings and a fine long horn that were both as white and pure as her fur. She gave a deep bow, her mane like a flowing rainbow river before holding her majestic head high, spreading a hoof outward.

"Greetings and salutations! I am the Solar Regent, Celestia! And I welcome you, visitors! Welcome to the planet Equus and the Kingdom of Equestria!" She proclaimed, laying a golden-horseshoed hoof upon her chest. "It's always nice to welcome new faces. Especially ones who have such a clear mastery of magic. Why, it's written all over your soul." The Solar Regent intoned with her soft-spoken yet wise voice, gesturing at Gwen as she blushed.

"Really? Y-You can tell?" Gwen asked quietly.

"Of course. Your aura is very clear and very radiant. We could most definitely use your assistance here on this planet, your timing is truly fortuitous. We've had a very nasty, monstrous offworlder who's been harassing our people. Should you encounter her, could you possibly put her in her place?" Celestia went on, the other assembled ponies in the crowd all nodding as one.

"Oh yeah, she's awful!"

"She's so mean!"

"What a nasty person!"

"Odd fashion sense, too."

"Who wears tie-dye?"

That got Ben interested, his head tilting slightly to the side as he saw a chance to perhaps do what he did: hero time. "I'm Ben Tennyson. You might have heard of me?" He spoke up, as the Solar Regent Celestia looked him over. "Kinda saved the universe a bunch of times."

"Well then you can definitely help your friend here, correct?" She inquired, moving with grave towards Gwen and bowing her head a ther.

"Well…I suppose. If that's what you'd like." Ben said, slightly saddened that they didn't seem to think much of him. "I've got the ability to turn into a variety of aliens who could help."

"Oh, that is quite interesting." The Solar Regent said, tilting her head slightly to the side herself, pursing her lips a little. "Please excuse me if we've not heard of you, we don't really interact much outside the solar system we're in. Why, we don't even have basic galactic cable."

"You monsters." Kevin grunted under his breath, blowing a lock of black hair out of his face as he turned his scruffy face away.

"Ignore him, he'll live without a few days of "I Hate All Your Children"." Gwen said quickly, waving a dismissive hand in the air. "I give you my word as Gwendolyn Tennyson that I and my cousin Ben, my boyfriend Kevin Levin, and our dear friend Rook Blonko will do all we can to assist you with this dangerous offworlder you're worried over. We see her, we'll make things right." She promised, speaking in a dramatic tone for emphasis as she raised a hand up, closing her eyes as all the ponies seemed to like this, bowing all at once around them as Rook scratched his head.

"They seem to have a great enjoyment of melodrama and regal affairs." He intoned as the group watched the large crowd of ponies walk off, one of the horsey crowd being left behind, a grey-furred stallion with deep blue eyes and even darker blue hair who's hooves seemed to be wrapped in bandages, a headband covering his forehead. "Yes, sir?"

"Listen." The stallion said quietly. "The outsider is…very dangerous. Seriously. Don't try anything stupid with her. If you do see her, I recommend you find me at my home and we discuss it. I don't want the others freaking out." He said, whispering quietly before turning around, dark cape flowing behind him. "I'm on the outskirts of town by the large oak tree. White house with the moon mailbox. Can't miss it."

The colt walked off, giving them a small wave as Ben scratched his head. Odd. The way he'd talked had sounded kind of "off". Ben couldn't put his finger on it, but it was almost as if he wanted to study the "outsider" the Equustrians were worrying about.

Ah well. Ben shrugged, turning to the others. "We should split up. I mean, let's be honest. This is a pastel paradise, I really doubt we'll encounter some kind of monster the four of us couldn't handle on our own, and even if we did, we've all got our Plumber's communicator badges." The brown-haired teenager said, pointing at the black and white badge strapped to his belt, all of them giving him a nod.

"Okay, we'll split up, meet back here in an hour?" Gwen offered.

"Sounds fine to me. I wanna see if there's anything interesting around here." Kevin said.

"I shall be most interested to explore more of their cozy-looking town." Rook added, and with that, all of them made their way in different directions, unaware of just what they were getting themselves into…

…

…

…

…Gwen Tennyson made her way smoothly towards the natural forest path, whistling a bit as the wind blew through her hair. It was a lovely day out here on Equus, with birds a-chirping, bees a-buzzing, everything seemed picture-perfect like a Hallmark card given life. Better still, all of the creatures here seemed amazingly well behaved.

"Bob, I said "sit"." A yellow-furred pegaus remarked, waving a hoof in the air as a bear sat down with the rest of his friends as they all nodded together on the Pegasus's mark at Gwen as she passed by, cheerily waving. "The name's Fluttershy. Please, have a good time in our forest!" The Pegasus cheerily intoned. "And a lovely day! All my animal friends are always on their best behavior, I assure you!" She swore, crossing her heart, hoping to die, and sticking a needle in her eye with a few hoof gestures.

"Oh, thank you!" Gwen said, smiling back at the cheery blue-eyed pony as she began to hum a little, hearing the Pegasus leading the bears in a kind of chorus in the background, each of them letting out a roar of just the right note.

In fact, it almost sounded sort of like-music? No, no, it couldn't be, it-

Gwen shook her head and snapped her fingers, eyes briefly glowing a pinkish shade as a gigantic pink arrow formed in the air of soft indigo light, pointing the way she needed to head towards. Smiling in pride, Gwen stepped up her stride, continuing onward, humming to herself before she stopped for a moment, turning about. A crack had rippled through the air and she inched towards it's direction, pushing aside some bushes, an eyebrow raised up.

"What the? Is there something in the glade there?"

A spider looked up at her, blinking a bit before pulling out a very tiny bouquet of flowers, Gwen staring at this before picking them up.

"Oh! Well, uh...thank you." She remarked, giving him a little thankful nod before heading back onto the path, pocketing the flowers and practically skipping along the way. She felt so much cheerier now. So much more lively, so much more-

And then she stopped, blinking in surprise. A clearing had been forcibly burned away in the middle of the woods, fire and flame making an enormous charred hole in the midst of the forest. Smoke rose from ashes all around her as she crouched down, blinking in surprise, for something clearly wasn't right. It wasn't just that a perfect circle had been formed out of a strange kind of fire, oh no. The ground itself had been…slightly collapsed. As if an immense weight was leveled down on top of it, threatening to collapse the forest floor. Had some kind of meteor struck here? Was this that outsider's work?

And more importantly, why did she feel like-

HALF AN HOUR LATER...

"So, um…"

Gwen rubbed the back of her neck as she and the others sat inside the spaceship, eating some snacks, Ben sipping on one of several "Mr. Smoothy's" he'd brought with him for the trip.

"Did anybody, er-I-um…start singing?"

All of them froze in place.

"Holy crap." Kevin gasped out.

"I thought it was just ME!" Ben exclaimed.

"You as well?" Rook murmured. "I could not help myself!"

"I'm not going nuts after all. I just couldn't help it, it bubbled up inside me and I had to let it out! I started singing "Into the Woods" as I kept searching through the forest!" Gwen said, putting her hands on her chest, shaking her head back and forth in confusion. "I don't get it! Why would I feel the need to sing here?"

"Yeah, it was weird." Kevin murmured. "Not that I sang that much but…still."

"What did you sing?" Ben asked, a mischievous glint coming to his green eyes as Kevin frowned, turning his black-haired head to the side.

"I ain't telling all of you. It was embarrassing!"

"You sang Greased Lightning, didn't you?" Gwen quietly asked, raising an eyebrow up, giving a small smirk as Kevin went "eep", turning even paler than Rook's face as Ben began to laugh so hard HIS knees buckled, and then he shot smoothy out of his nose.

"Ow! Sonofa!"

"I would rather not discuss what I sang. Revonnahgand music is quite…loud." Rook said, his white and faintly violet face blushing a bit. "Very. Very loud. Also quite dirty."

Everyone immediately whipped their head in his direction, eyes widening. "Wait. Your people, like, the squeaky-cleanest, plain-old-farming-type folks in the galaxy…your music is dirty? How?" Ben asked.

"Our first and most famous songs were part of official challenges done for the combat art of Revonnah Kai. We would lay verbal waste to our opponents for all to hear. It was to show our minds were as keen as our blades. There is quite a lot of lyrics centering around, what is the Earth phrase? "Your mother" insults?" Rook mumbled nervously.

"She had a nice lance that I sat upooooon!
The maiden from Fasolt who was also thy mooooom!" A voice rang from outside, Rook blushing deeply, visibly shrinking in his chair as they looked outside, seeing that same colt from before holding up a video camera.

"We might not have basic cable…but we do have internet. This is gonna go up on Colttube."

"I WANT THAT FILM!" Rook screamed out, diving after him as he raced off...

None of them aware of who was watching from afar, flames slowly rising off her body.

"So they brought in mercenaries or something, huh? Well, fine. If they want to play rough…so can I."

Author's Notes:

A return to my more lighthearted work as I try to focus more on humor once again. And I know Ben 10 gets quite a bit of flack, but I've never really had a problem with the series, and frankly, Rook quickly became one of my absolute favorite characters in the series. He's a great straight man to Ben.