CROSSOVER:

Hope for the Best.

(Part Three of a Crossover with k12314’s ‘Le Retour’)

[During this scene, I suggest you listen to Metallica’s “One”.]

I don’t know how long I stayed in the forest. Paying attention to the time passing didn’t really seem important to me, only the thought of preventing Torrentican from harming my friends did.

After what must have been a few days after I saved that filly, I tried to let go of my emotions. Fear, anger, happiness, and sorrow, all were replaced by my basic instincts: Protect, fight, and defend.  If a monster had the guts to challenge me, I would fight them, stopping short of killing them every time, unless they were a Shadow-Stalker. Whenever I found one of those, there would be no words, no questions…just a battle between me, and the Stalker, as we determined if our strength was really superior to the other.

I wasn’t foolish enough to want to commit suicide though. I decided that my efforts would be better spent attempting to make this world a safer place, and so I threw myself with almost reckless ferocity at my foes, unleashing my fury upon them.

Days and Nights melted together, as the passing of time didn’t hold much meaning to me. I didn’t leave though, not while Torrentican and other monsters were still here. I owed that much to the ponies here. I owed that much to my friends…

My friends.

Can I still call them that? Can you really call someone that, when they hate you with every fiber of their being, yet you still have that urge to do what you can to make them happy? When they wish to have nothing to do with you, and you wish to have everything to do with them? When you will most certainly outlive them, and have to live eternally with your loss?

Is that even fair to them?

As I thought of this, I shook my head, realizing that I was allowing myself to feel again. That shouldn’t happen. I need to focus on getting rid of the Stalkers, and then…Torrentican. I swear, that if it takes me a millennia, he will pay for the crimes he has committed on this world.

A rustling in the bushes ahead of me snapped me out of my thoughts, and the instincts took over. With the Scout Plasmid, I sent a sort of Astral Projection in front of me, and used it to search the area.

Three imps shuffled aimlessly on the forest floor, and two Vultures (grey cloaked figures that had two black metallic wings for arms, and deadly, razor sharp, silver talons for legs) perched on the branches above them, watching out for any enemies that might provide a threat to their master’s plan. A Brute Golem (Gorilla-like masses of ebony colored granite) stood in the center of the clearing, absently scratching a ragged knuckle on the dirt underneath him, its face screwed up in concentration, as if it were trying to think of something.

I called back the Scout, and my visor glowed an angry red color. My hand lit up in a blazing inferno, and my drill started to pick up speed as I activated it. A guttural roar escaped from me, as I charged through the bushes in front of me, taking the Stalkers by surprise.

A flick of my wrist sent flames coursing over the imps, lighting them ablaze, as I drove the drill into the stomach of the Brute Golem, creating a fist-sized dent in the stone armor, revealing a pale, sickening mass of flesh underneath. The Brute roared in pain, and swung at me with one massive fist, forcing me to jump back, right before I could force my drill into its now revealed weak-spot.

There was a piercing cry, and my hand shot out more flames, lighting a Vulture, and forcing the other one to swerve off course to avoid the dangerous fire. The imps had by now disappeared, and the Brute had recovered, and was already swinging its fists at me.

I took the brunt of one blow on my armored forearm, and grunted as the other fist connected with my side, the armor making a POOMPH sound as it absorbed the blow. My drill spun wildly again, and I impaled the Brute, causing a brown, oil-like substance to issue forth, as the light in the Brute’s eyes dimmed. The Brute disappeared in a swirl of mist, and I turned to deal with the Vulture.

Only to find that it was now flying towards me, claws extended as it went for the kill. I rolled onto the ground, my helmet getting scratched on top, and extended my hand towards the monster. An arc of violently cackling electricity shot out, and hit the bird, scrambling its nervous system for a moment.

That moment was all I needed.

I stomped on the Vulture’s neck, and it disappeared instantly, leaving me panting inside of the suit, adrenaline still pumping through me.

[Stop the music now if you want.]

“Four hundred, and thirty-six,” I thought to myself. “I have killed four hundred and thirty-six Shadow Stalkers since I came into the forest.”

Nodding my head, not wanting to speak, I stomped off, and lurked at the edge of the forest, deep enough where only the most scrutinizing of gazes could find me, yet close enough that I could watch the town of Ponyville.

Spotting nothing out of the ordinary (in other words, no Shadow-Stalkers), I slowly plodded my way towards my alcove, stopping on the way to check on Fluttershy’s cottage. Nothing wrong there.

A few times in the beginning, Princess Celestia had attempted to talk to me, concerned for my well-being. I told her I was fine, and then severed the mental connection instantly, not wanting to hear anything. Right now, I just wanted to be alone.

I stood in the pond, and slowly regenerated the wounds, feeling like a lone sentinel, as I silently watched the forest all around me. My stomach grumbled, but I had learned to ignore it by now. The Fountain of Youth tonic provided all of my necessary nutrients, as long as I stood, or at least drank, some form of liquid, preferably water.

Darkness fell, and I closed my eyes, settling in for the night.

XHXHXHXHXHXHXHXH

When I opened my eyes, coming out of my meditative stance, a small part of my mind thought, “Welp, that was a good sleep! Wonder what the girls are…oh. Right.”

Letting out a low grumble, I went off on my rounds. With the time that I had spent in the forest, now most of the predatory creatures avoided the edge of the forest, their fellow forest-dwellers warning them of a behemoth that lurked in the woods, mercilessly hunting those that would seek to harm the innocent. Occasionally, some of the older and more mature creatures would seek me out, hoping to kill me in order to gain the respect of their pack/species.

All of them would fail, and I would send them packing time, and time again.

Forcing myself through the forest, something started to feel wrong. There were absolutely no Shadow-Stalkers in the forest. Did I finally kill all of them? Or had Torrentican moved them to a different area, in the hopes of preparing an army?

Thinking about it, I came to a decision: If I didn’t find anything in the forest today, then I would finally move on to another world, and hope that I would eventually come to grips with my mistake.

Slowly, I pushed on through the woods on my now regular rounds, searching for any sign of monster, or stalker, a quiet part of me silently hoping that I would find something, and be able to spend more time here. I snorted at that thought, wondering what I still had here. Is there really any reason for me to stay here at al-

“HOLD IT!”

That voice…was that…? I made my way through the undergrowth, and stopped at the edge of a small opening in the forest, and felt my body stiffen with shock. Standing just about ten feet in front of me…

…was Kyle.

He seemed to be talking to the air, as he said, “You see, that's where you make me laugh, Torrie. You think you can fool me with your empty threats. You already destroyed the controller crystal, so there aren't any more rifts to close, so you aren't dimming my hope of return. And I know Omnius'll find me eventually, as do the girls. Poor little Torrie, running out of ideas, are we?”

Was he talking to Torrentican? Was Torrentican inside of Kyle’s head again? Did those last two lines rhyme?

I shook my head, and continued listening. In a strange sort of trance, I could almost hear Torrentican say to Kyle, “B-But I could just take you to another world, one that Omnius doesn't know about!”

“Even if he doesn't know about it now, he'll keep searching until he finds me. I'm not worried about him giving up, he's the Element of Hope, and one of my closest friends. I'd trust him with my life.” He…still trusts me? Even after all the shit I messed up? (At this point, the small part of me that wasn’t drowning in guilt thought, “Now say I’m pretty!”) “Face it, you're cornered in this argument, Torrie. You can't win. Just get out of my head, and give up!” He shouted triumphantly, a huge smile on his face.

“No! You don't have me beaten! I'll get you yet!” I realized that I actually could hear Torrentican in my head as well, and wondered if he knew that.

“Come at me, bro!” Kyle replied, holding his arms out. “I've got the Elements of Harmony, AND the Princesses on my side! Not to mention practically all of Equestria! You're outnumbered, bub! No matter what you say, and no matter what trick you pull out of your sleeve, I'll always come back, and fight you until the bitter end. I'm not one to give up when my friends and loved ones are in danger. As long as I still stand, you're in trouble.”

I felt guilty again, as I realized that I had forgotten one of the most important lessons I had ever learned: If you’ve still got a breath of life in you, if there are still others that need you, and if there’s danger still around, then you can’t give up.

“And what if I kill you?”

“Luna'll just bring me back, like she did last time. As much as it pains me to say it, she will, and she won't listen to reason.” He leaned forward, as if Torrentican were right in front of him, and slowly said, “You. Can't. Win. I can't be stopped!” A gigantic grin spread across his face, as he pointed dramatically, and shouted, “TAKE THAT!”

“I'll be back, just you wait.”

“And I'll be waiting with a smile on my face and a weapon in my hand,” Kyle replied, crossing his arms.

There was a long moment of silence, and I hesitated for a moment. For what seemed like an hour, I stood on the edge of the clearing, scared to walk out there. Finally, I steeled my resolve, and stepped forward, not even attempting to be stealthy.

At the sound of my footsteps, Kyle’s head whipped over, and he looked at me, almost completely unsurprised. “Hey dude,” He casually said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

I could only gulp, as with trembling hands, I took off the helmet, tucking it under my arm. “I’m assuming you’re out here because you’ve lost Hope,” Kyle said, as he took in my appearance.

After being out in the forest for so long, I could only nod, as I struggled to bring back the words for a long moment. Finally, in a hoarse voice, I croaked out, “Was that Torrentican?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “You heard that?”

I hesitated, trying to think of an answer, and then asked, “Did you mean it when you said you'd trust me with your life?”

He smiled, and said, “Of course. As I said, you're one of my closest friends. You've always stuck by me, and helped me more than you can imagine.” He stopped to clear his throat for a second, and then he added, “I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me.”

A few tears fell down his face, and I couldn’t think of anything to say. Silently, I took off the rest of my armor, and put it into a pocket dimension, revealing the same clothes that I had been wearing when I had finally found Kyle. They were tattered in various places, and stained with a mixture of blood and grime, but it didn’t seem that bad to me.

I took a steadying breath, and said in a low voice, “I'm sorry I just hid out here. I should have come talk to you, not just...Y'know...” I hung my head, guilt coursing through me once again.

Kyle clasped my shoulder, and said, “Don't worry about it, dude. Let's go home.”

I nodded, and together, we started walking out of the forest. I glanced at my reflection in a puddle that was left over from a recent rainstorm, and noticed that my skin was tinged with grey. Not just that, but it appeared that underneath the blood and grime, my clothes were grey too. Huh. Weird. As soon as we walked back into the shadows, out of the light of the clearing, the grayness became less apparent, and I shrugged it off.

As we walked, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise, and my left fist clenched, calling forth the Winter Blast plasmid. Frost covered my fist, and ice spikes that had flecks of blood frozen in them erupted forth.

Kyle noticed this, and he stumbled for a moment. “You can actually use Plasmids?!”

“Yeah,” I muttered. “Hey, does it feel like we’re being watched?”

He scowled, and looked around. “Now that you mention it-”

As if that was its cue, A Shadow-Stalker, Greater Imp variety (normal imp, but twice as large) leaped out of the woods, and launched itself at Kyle.

Reacting instinctively, as I had been for the past who-knows how long, I shoved Kyle out of the way, and coated my right arm in a long ice-spike, forming an improvised drill. I drill tackled the stalker, and impaled my ice-spike through its chest, pinning it to a tree, and causing it to disappear.

“…Good save,” Kyle said, surprised at the ferocity of my attack.

“Thanks,” I grunted. Clearing my throat somewhat awkwardly, I said, “Um…Kyle?”

“What?”

“I think I’m stuck.”

XHXHXHXHXHXHXHXH

After I was pulled out of the tree, and the ice was carefully removed from my hand, the two of us returned to our path. Soon enough, we reached the edge of the forest, and while Kyle eagerly walked out of the forest, I stopped at the edge, my fears creeping into my head.

Noticing my sudden stop, Kyle turned to look at me, and he asked, “What’s wrong?”

I shook my head, retreating a few steps into the woods. “I can’t go back. Not yet…”

He frowned, and said, “Well why not? I’ve obviously forgiven you!”

“Yeah, you have,” I said somewhat bitterly. “But what about the girls? I wouldn’t be surprised if they haven’t even thought about me while I was gone. Heck, you and Celestia were the only ones who apparently cared enough to try and get me to come back.”

“That’s a lie,” He half-shouted, grabbing my arm, and pulling me into the light. His eyes widened, as he noticed for the first time my grey color scheme. “Omnius…what’s wrong with you?”

“I dunno. I still just feel like…” I sighed. “I dunno. If you need me, I’m gonna be at my house…”

“Are you sure? Come on, the girls will want to see you!”

“Kyle-”

“NO! You’re coming with me!” He said, stubbornly pulling my arm.

My anger rose, and I snatched my arm back. “If you need me, I’m gonna be at my house,” I repeated. My voice softened suddenly, and I added, “Hey…my friends call me Nate, or Sean. Or Omnius. Whichever floats your boat.”

I turned on my heels, and stuffed my hands in my pockets, walking down the path.

I turned on my heels, and stuffed my hands in my pockets, walking down the path. Questions bounced around in my head, but there was one in particular that seemed to just keep coming up:

Why hadn’t the girls tried looking for me?

I knew that it was a childish question and concern, and that I shouldn’t have cared about it either way, but it still kept coming back to me. Part of me still thought that I should go back, and at the very least talk to them, and apologize for what I had done. Another side said that it wasn’t very surprising. After all, all I managed to do was give them a false hope when I promised to bring Kyle back.

Sure, he eventually was brought back, but a little later than I had said. Sighing, I finally reached my house, and stopped to take a good long look at it. The white paint was chipping, revealing the weathered looking stone underneath it, and the small flower bushes I had planted before were now little more than crumbling husks, withered away to almost nothing.

I opened my door, and peered inside. After I placed the Delta Armor back in its rightful place, I absently wiped a finger on the top of the fireplace, unsurprised to see that it was covered in almost an inch of dust.

A sudden pressure against my forehead alerted me to the presence of someone who was trying to force their way into my mind. Scowling, I threw up more shields, and did my best to ignore it, thinking that Torrentican was attempting to force his way in and mock me for my guilt. “Get out,” I snarled, walking up the stairs to the second floor.

Looking up, I saw the sky through the dome, with soft clouds lazily hanging about, with no Pegasi to guide them. Celestia’s sun, its blinding radiance slightly dimmed thanks to the dome, crept across the sky, giving light and warmth to all it touched.

As I stared at the sun, the pressure increased, causing my head to throb in pain. Gritting my teeth, I placed my hands on my head, and started to growl out a spell designed to alleviate mental pain.

After what felt like hours of nonstop muttering while I sat on the floor, the pain finally abated, and I let out a huge sigh of relief. There was an impatient knock at my door, and a voice called out, “Omnius? I know you’re in there!”

Damn it…social interaction.

Getting up, I grumbled incomprehensibly to myself, and slowly made my way down the steps. “Don’t answer the door,” A cold voice whispered in my head. “Whoever is there is more than likely to just scorn you for your failure…”

“Shut up,” I groaned. I threw open the door and spotted an irritated looking Kyle.

“Hey Ky-“

I didn’t get a chance to finish, as a bag was thrown over me, taking me by surprise. I lashed out with my fists, but only came into contact with more burlap. Apparently, I was in one of those extra-large potato bags that are custom built for kidnapping others.

“Just shut up, you’re coming with me,” Kyle said cheerfully, dragging the bad along the road as he headed in what I guessed to be the direction to Ponyville.

“LET ME OUTTA HERE!” I screamed, anger in my voice.

“Nope,” He said, and then the faint beat of a drum beat reached my ears. It sounded distorted somehow, almost as if…

“ARE YOU LISTENING TO AN MP3 OR SOMETHING?!”

“Sorry, can’t hear you!”

Grrr…Urge, to maim, rising! My hair bristled, as I flexed my fingers experimentally. It was gonna feel good to tear my way out of this bag, and then sink my claws into-

No! I shook my head, and pulled at my hair, trying to distract myself from the anger. I can’t lose my temper, I can’t! Not unless I want to hurt others…

All I could do, it seemed, was to just let Kyle take me where he planned on taking me, and keep my temper in check.  

XHXHXHXHXHXHXHX

I didn’t believe it, but my snark had finally started to return, bit by bit.

“Are we there yet?”

“No,” Kyle repeated for the fourteenth time.

“Can you open the bag yet? For that matter, how the hell are you dragging me?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I’m kind of heavy I think. And aren’t you a little scrawny?” He kicked the bag, and I grunted, thankful he hadn’t hit a little lower. “Point taken.”

There was the sound of a door opening, and I felt myself unceremoniously dumped on the floor…right at the hooves of some familiar looking mares.

“Um…hi?”

I couldn’t bring myself to look them in the eyes, and I heard somepony stomp their hoof angrily on the floor. “Where have you BEEN?” Twilight’s voice angrily said.

“Well...” I started, struggling once again to find the right words. “You see, I-”

“I was so worried about you!” Twilight interrupted, traces of relief starting to leak into her voice. “Everypony was! Kyle, where'd you find him?”

“Divine Melody, Zeph's daughter, said she was rescued by a metal creature in the Everfree. I sorta deduced it was him,” Kyle said matter-of-factly.

Well, that’s one mystery solved. I was wondering how Kyle knew I had been in the forest, as he couldn’t have just decided, “Oh, I’m gonna go take a stroll through monster-infested woods today!” But who was Divine Melody? Wait, that filly I saved…was that her? I knew I shouldn’t have told her my name. If I hadn’t, Kyle would surely have never made the connection, and I would still be in the forest…or on another world.

“I can see why you would come to that conclusion,” Twilight said, agreeing with him. I felt her gaze bore into me, and she asked suddenly, “Wait, why is he all grey like that?”

There was a short pause, before Kyle answered, “I dunno. But he's sure acting differently.” Another pause, then, “What is it, Twi?”

“Grey…has he been acting like he’s lost all hope?” She asked hesitantly, acting afraid of the answer. Oh sure, talk about me like I’m not even here! I mean, it’s not like I care or anything!

“Um…” I glanced up to find that Kyle was staring intently at my face. He stared straight into my eyes, and I could only stare back, and remain silent. “Yeah,” He finally answered after a moment.

Everypony gasped, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I resumed staring at the floor, and I heard another pony step forward. Rarity, in her sophisticated voice, said, “Darling... Something like this has happened to all of us before. We were changed by the evil creature known as ‘Discord.’ I believe you remember the story we told you about him?”

Pfft, I remember that. I was somehow the only Element who hadn’t been corrupted by Discord. That’s why while Twilight was returning everypony back to normal, I was the one who had to fight off Discord, relying on the power of The Mask to keep him at bay long enough. We had won, the Elements jumpstarting my Super-Aura, and Discord had been forced back into his stone prison (which I then proceeded to doodle on with a sharpie…worth it!).

Rarity continued her explanation, and said to Kyle, “Well, we turned grey and acted the opposite of our Elements. Omnius has lost all hope.” I felt another pair of eyes stare at me. “I doubt it's Discord, but I believe the same facts apply.”

“Oh... My...This isn't good at all...” Fluttershy said, stepping away from me. That same voice in my head then whispered, “See? Even kindhearted Fluttershy can hardly stand to be around you…”

“Well, what 'n tarnation could've happened t' make 'im like this?” Applejack asked.

There was an even longer silence, as all of them considered the question, each of them trying to come up with an answer. Oh, and nopony had the bright idea of, “Hey, why don’t we ask him? I mean, he’s just sitting right there!”

Finally, Rainbow Dash spoke up, and confirmed what I had by now deduced quite some time ago. “Do you think it had anything to do with Kyle's…” She choked, and quickly said, “Suicide attempt?”

I snorted loudly, and said cynically, “How do you think Zephyr knew where to find Kyle?” Everypony seemed shocked at my sudden outburst, but I didn’t rightly care then. I just wanted to say my piece. “While I was getting the girls together, I also told Spitfire to get Zephyr to patrol the skies just outside of Ponyville, where the best hangin' trees are, just in case something went wrong.” I paused for effect, and then said, “Oh, and Lo and behold, but something did! What a surprise!”

A stunned silence filled the room, and Twilight was the first to recover. “You did WHAT?! But it was Spike who told me I should see the others again!”

“And Pumpkin and Pound told me the same thing!” Pinkie added, confusion in her voice.

Standing up suddenly, but still refusing to look at all of them, I said, “And who do you think told them?” Anger started to bubble in my chest, and I half-shouted, “Sorry if I decided that your friendship with each other and Kyle was more important than the fact that none of you could really stand the sight of me!”

I think this is the first time I’ve really ever shouted at my friends like that on this world. Sure, I’d gotten mad at them when they had wronged each other, but whenever they did something to me, I’d always just brush it off, and move on. Heck, it almost always happened that way on other worlds too.

Turning, I started to head towards the door, only to find that Kyle was standing in front of it, pure resolve on his face. Snarling, I said through grit teeth, “Kyle, I’d get out of the way if I were you.”

“Not until you talk to them!” He adjusted his hat, and crossed his arms stubbornly.

“You think that I can’t-”

“Beat me to a pulp? No, you can’t, and you won’t,” He said, meeting my gaze evenly. “You’re not in your right mind, you need help.”

“Help?” I said in a deathly quiet voice. “Help? Why would a bunch of ponies who think that I’m a piece of shit want to help me?”

“Because they-”

“I DON’T CARE!” I finally shouted. “I’ve had it with others always pitying me! I’ve had it with always trying to help others, and never receiving any type of thanks in return!” Okay, that’s new. It never really bothered me before, but now, that same voice was calling forth these petty thoughts. “Do you want to know what I think?”

“Omnius, please, stop!” Fluttershy said, her voice quavering, as if she were crying.

“IT SUCKS TO BE THE TRAVELER!”

There was a collective gasp from everypony there, and Kyle…did what I still say is probably the smartest thing he’s ever done. He punched me straight in my jaw, taking me completely by surprise, and he pinned me by my throat against the wall. As Kyle reached his fist back to sock me again, the voice started yelling, “YES! YES! Don’t you see? He’s finally proving that everything I’ve told you is true!”

My hands balled up into fists, and I felt my rage start to pour into them, as Kyle’s fist shot forward-

-and connected with the wall next to my face. Surprised, I looked at his face, and was shocked to see that tears were falling down his face. My head was blissfully silent, as I listened to Kyle talk.

[Hey, music. Listen. Now.]

“Dammit Omnius! What's wrong with you?! Can't you see we were all worried about you?! We're your friends, and we care about you! The only reason the girls weren't looking is because they've been a whole mess of hormones! You have to know about that!” I felt a faint glimmer of realization. It had completely slipped my mind, but he was right…Why hadn’t I remembered something that important? “As soon as we realized you've been gone, we all started to worry! I even went into that Goddesses forsaken forest for you!” He shook his head, and continued. “I don't understand... Why are you like this? You've lost all hope... But we still have hope in you, Omnius. We know this isn't you. You're just broken, and need some friends to fix you.”

He took his hand off my throat, and clasped my shoulder. With a friendly smile and wink, he said, “And we're just the friends you need. So get off your ass, and cheer up! I'll even buy you a drink” he added jokingly.

I could only lean against the wall, as the voice in my head started yelling now, and the mental pressure continued full force. Tears brimmed in my eyes, and I clutched at my forehead, grimacing.

“NO! HE LIES!”

I shook my head frantically, and thought as loud as I could, “GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” The voice seemed to recoil, and the pressure lessened considerably. Suddenly, I remembered where I had heard that voice before. With a huge amount of strain, I lowered the shields, and sent a mental attack of my own towards…Torrentican.

That explained why I had been able to hear what he was speaking to Kyle earlier. While I was out in the forest, my instincts must have caused me to forget about shielding my mind, and why I was having these thoughts pulled up in my head. Some of them weren’t really my own. As soon as I attacked Torrie, he left, a mocking laughter in his thoughts as he pulled himself out.

[Music done]

I slumped back to the floor, and hung my head in shame. Kyle and the girls stared at me, and finally, I said, “You know something? I don’t think that anything is mad when they hear voices in their head, even if those voices tell us to do bad things.”

Kyle sat next to me, and said, “Really?”

I nodded. “We’re only mad when we choose to listen to those voices...” Tears fell down my face, and in a trembling voice, I said, “I’m…I’m sorry...for yelling at you all, and for…for what I said.”

“Ah, it’s nothing,” Kyle said. “You just weren’t in your right mind.”

The sound of clopping hooves made me look up, and I saw Fluttershy, who was smiling softly at me. She wrapped her forelegs around me in a hug, and whispered, “It’s okay. We forgive you.”

Before I could even say anything, Twilight wrapped her hooves around the both of us, and added, “We really should have just listened when we had the chance.”

The others hugged me too, and added their own apologies/forgiveness to the mix. Tears rolled down my face, and there was a small flash of light. Kyle smiled, and said, “Well, it looks like you’re back to your normal color.”

Indeed, glancing at my arm, I saw that it had returned to its normal tan color, and I chuckled. “Hey, you know what?”

“What?”

“That sounded incredibly racist,” I grinned.

At this, we all started laughing, and I managed to push myself to my feet. “I take back what I said earlier.”

“Oh?” My friend grinned, crossing his arms.

“Yeah…It’s good to be The Traveler.” We bumped fists, and I pulled my bandanna out of my pocket, and put it into its customary do-rag position. We migrated into the kitchen, and Twilight levitated a bunch of bottles in front of us.

“So, does this mean you’re gonna be in human form more often?” Pinkie asked me, as we all sat around a table, a bottle of apple juice in front of me.

“I think so, at least in this Equestria. After all, I’m not the only human here now,” I shrugged, popping the bottle cap off. I lifted it up, and said, “I call a toast…To Friendship, and to the reunion of Harmony!”

Everyone lifted their respective drinks, and echoed my toast enthusiastically.

“And…FOR ASGARD!” I shouted, draining the bottle, and then smashing it over my head. Everypony stared at me, and I muttered, “Ow. I’ll clean that up.”

Twilight’s horn was already glowing, and the glass bits were shoved into a dustpan. “No need. I think we’ve all known you long enough to expect something like that.”

“Ah. Hey, you know what I just realized,” I said, frowning.

“What?” Kyle asked, sipping his drink.

“We never properly celebrated,” I stated.

“Celebrated what?”

“Let’s see…Kyle, we never celebrated your return to life,” I thought for a second. “And if I’m not mistaken, we also never celebrated kicking Torrentican’s ass in the first place, and we also need to celebrate the fact that we’re all friends again, right?”

Pinkie’s eyes widened, and she dashed out of the kitchen, leaving a Pinkie-shaped cloud of dust in her wake.

“Sean?” Kyle said.

“Yeah?”

“What have you done?”

XHXHXHXHXHXHXHX

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