My Little Pony: A Race Against Time

by CJ Esmerio

Checking In

Author's Note:

"My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" belongs to DHX Media and Hasbro.

Also, please enjoy the last time of seeing Stardust Balance in one of my MLP stories... because the truth is that he doesn't even belong to me; that honor goes to the Warrior of Twilight, author of "A Journey Beyond Sanity".

However, after having a discussion with him, I can say that you'll see him again... in another story I write... at some point in time.

Besides, Stardust has his own situations to deal with in AJBS.

Since Starlight was continuing to help Sunburst during his time of healing from serious injury, and Casey never really had any place of his own to stay at, Twilight had decided to offer him residence in her castle.

"Seriously?" Casey said, when she had given him the news. "But, but... W-why me?"

The purple alicorn gave him a warm smile, and replied, "It's like I told you when we first met... I enjoy making new friends, and there's a lot you can learn about friendship when it comes to me and the others."

Casey still couldn't believe it. "Wow, I... Twilight, I don't know what to say... aside from 'thank you', from the bottom of my heart."

"You're welcome," replied Twilight, nodding her head.

The Earth Pony then looked at all of the notes and papers full of information that she had on the table in front of her. "Any closer into figuring out who the mystery pony was?"

Twilight shook her head, sighing. "No, except that he's a yellow Pegasi pony with green eyes... but I could have sworn that Sta-"

Boom!

Their conversation was interrupted when the two ponies heard a faint explosion from the kitchen.

"I'm okay!" Spike yelled, which made Twilight sigh as she shook her head.

"Should we go look for the fire extinguisher?" Casey suggested, trying his best to hide the grin that was trying to appear on his face.

The purple alicorn rolled her eyes, and groaned as she said, "Yes, but first let's see how bad it is in there..."

"Sure thing, Twilight." Casey chuckled, following the princess into the kitchen to make sure Spike was okay.

Happy pony, happy life, he also thought, remembering Stardust's "special advice" that he had given him a few days ago.

All of a sudden, Pinkie Pie appeared, and she zoomed right by them, heading into the kitchen, with a fire extinguisher in her hooves. "I'm coming, Spike!"

"What the... how did she get in here?" Casey said, looking at Twilight in shock.

The purple alicorn laughed, and shook her head as she said, "Like I said, there's a lot you need to know about."

As Twilight continued her way towards the kitchen, Casey took another look at the turtledove necklace she had given him.

I wonder if Ponyville has the same necklace that the other Twilight had in Stardust's world, thought the Earth Pony.

But after a moment, he found himself chuckling. Nah, I'll just be original... I mean, I wouldn't want him to get mixed up if he, like, ever saw them in the same room or something, wearing the same necklace.

---

Sunset's World

"Whoa, seriously?! That's awesome!"

School was over for the day, and Sunset Shimmer had just finished explaining to her friends about what had happened in the pony version of Equestria.

"Well, I mean, Princess Twilight deserves more of the credit since she's the one who had to fight the guy," replied the unicorn-turned-human, as she leaned against the monument that was actually their version of the Crystal Mirror gateway.

The human version of Twilight (or, as some people would call her, Sci-Twi) was in awe after hearing all of the amazing things that her pony counterpart had done. "Did you all figure out who it was?"

Sunset sighed, and she shook her head, as well as crossing her arms. "No... he was still able to use his darn hood to cover up most of face, and all that we know is that he's a sort of dark-yellow Pegasi pony with green eyes."

"How'd you know that if his hood was coverin' up his face?" Applejack asked, before taking another bite out of an apple that she had been eating.

"Because Twilight and Starlight were able to use their magic to cause parts of his hood to rip off," replied Sunset. "So we were able to see his muzzle and a part of his eyes."

Fluttershy, who was playing with her pet bunny named Angel, gave her a curious look as she asked, "So, does that explain why the pony versions of Applejack and Rarity were sent here?"

Sunset nodded her head, while Rarity's eyes begin to twinkle as she said, "And by the way, Sunset, thank you so very much for letting me know about my pony self wanting me to spend a day with her at her boutique. Oh, I can already imagine all of the wonderful dresses that my hands can create."

Applejack gave her "fashion crazy" friend a smirk as she reminded her, "Uh, Rare, you do know that you'll probably be turned into a pony when you get there, right? It's the same thing that happens to Sunset."

Rarity frowned, and replied, "Don't spoil my excitement, AJ... just because your pony self didn't invite you to spend a day with her collecting apples or whatever it is that she does in that world."

Sunset Shimmer looked at the two of them, and asked, "Uh, what exactly did happen when they came here?"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as she remembered what had occurred that day. "All they did was talk about stuff that happened in Princess Twilight's world, and next thing we all know, the portal thing turns on, and sucks them in like a vacuum cleaner."

"Excuse me, Rainbow, but that stuff me and my pony counterpart talked about was very important," replied Rarity. "And you are just upset that you haven't been able to meet your other self yet!"

Rainbow gritted her teeth in frustration, and cried, "Hey, I'm getting there, alright? I had a dream about me sitting on top of her, and we flew all over Equestria, so I'm willing to bet that the next person to meet their counterpart will be me!"

Applejack let out a chuckle as she said, "Makes sense... since you and Fluttershy are the only ones here who haven't met your other selves yet."

The athletic teenager mumbled to herself as she crossed her arms, while Sunset asked, "So, Pinkie's seen her other self also?"

Everyone looked at the super-party-planning human, who was currently sucking on a lollipop. "Uh-huh, I've seen her."

"Well, you've never told me before," said Sunset, a frown appearing on her face. "What happened?"

Pinkie Pie shrugged her shoulders, and said, "It was sometime after the Friendship Games. We just talked about stuff that happened here and there, and she went back home."

Sunset looked at the rest of her friends, wondering if they would say anything else about it.

"We try not to question what happened," said Applejack. "Lord knows we need somethin' else to worry about here."

---

Stardust's World

Inside of the library in Twilight's castle, Stardust was currently putting away a book that he had just finished reading when he noticed a small package on the ground.

"Huh, how did this get in here?" The Earth Pony picked it up with his hooves, and examined to see if there was a "to/from" tag anywhere... and, sure enough, he found it on the left side of the package.

Well, what a surprise... a simple gift from your new ally that can apparently hear me and the elderly one.

Stardust brought it over to a nearby coffee table, and looked at with curiosity.

Aren't you going to open it? asked the voice of Starswirl.

"Yeah, but..." said Stardust, as he started to frown. "I told him not to come here unless it was extremely important."

Starswirl replied, You don't exactly know if he actually came here to leave it in this library for you to find. Maybe he found some other way.

Oh, yes, of course... he probably had that headache-creating pony bring it here somehow.

Stardust shook his head, and replied, "First off, I don't want to think about that possibility... I'm still surprised she was able to figure out who I was based on a damn hunch... and second, he's lucky that he and the other ponies don't know that they are actually fictional chara-"

Wait a second, Jack... Is that a folded letter attached to the gift?

The young pony paused his sentence to see what Starswirl was referring to, and noticed that there was a taped letter on the other side, folded into a tiny square.

He carefully removed the office tape that was placed on top (so neither it nor the package would be damaged), and after unfolding it, he sat in a nearby reclining chair, and started to read it.

"Dear Stardust, I apologize if this seems like I am breaking the promise that I made with you about not coming to your world unless I had to, but I didn't know of any other way to deliver this to you."

Before the young pony could continue, however, the voices in his head started arguing with each other

He does have a point, Jack.

Why must you be so sentimental?

Alright, then, Sombra, how would YOU have done it, then?

*scoffs* I would not have wasted my time into something-

"Hey!" hissed an annoyed Stardust. "I'm trying to read this thing? Can't you guys just say whatever it you need to say after I finish?"

...

"Good. I'm glad we could all agree." Stardust said, and he resumed reading Casey's letter aloud, to himself.

"The gift in front of you is a way of me saying 'thank you' for returning the necklace that Twilight gave to me. I could only imagine how you'd feel if you ever lost something that your Twilight gave you, or even the cloak that... apparently was given to you by the Rarity in your world."

Before continuing on, Stardust paused to remember the day that he had used his cloak as part of a trading bargain, in order to give Twilight a special Starswirl bookmark.

"And I also want to say thanks for telling me what you could about keeping Twilight happy... but ever since you left, she's been taking notes and drawing charts and stuff about you, saying that she wants to try and find a pony in 'our world' that has the same powers as you... basically our version of someone like you."

Huh, so what do you know... You seem to cause trouble in almost every world that you go to.

Ignoring Sombra's comment, Stardust kept on reading the letter.

"Anyway, I hope you that you enjoy the gift in the package, and that it'll hopefully be of some use to you."

At the bottom was Casey's signature, and Stardust felt a smile start to form on his face.

So, are you still upset with him? asked Starswirl.

"Well... maybe I can let him off the hook this one time," replied Stardust, who was now curious about what exactly Casey had sent him.

Wait a second, boy. There's a p.s. at the bottom of the letter.

Stardust took another look at the letter, and realized that Sombra was right.

"P.S. I hope your Twilight wasn't too mad when you told her that the Twilight here left you speechless when you first saw her."

From inside of the young pony's mind, Sombra started to chuckle. I'm starting to like this pony, for some reason.

As he carefully placed the letter on the ground, Stardust simply rolled his eyes, even though he had yet to tell Twilight about that moment. "Let's just see what he got me, okay?"

However, just as he was about to start tearing off the wrapping paper, Twilight entered the room, with Spike by her side. "Hey, Jack, Spike and I were wondering if... ooh, what's that?"

Turning to look at his special somepony, Stardust replied, "It's a gift from Casey... as a way of thanking me for bringing back the necklace."

Twilight gave him a smirk, and said, "See? And you didn't want to get involved in this..."

"Ha-ha, very funny," replied Stardust, who was still holding onto the package. "When it comes to something like this, love, I tend to-"

"And he wrote you a letter, too?"

"Yeah, but that's not the point, I was saying that..." He paused after realizing what she had just said, and saw that Twilight was now holding onto Casey's letter. "How did you get that?"

However, Twilight was already reading what Casey had written, and for the first time in a long while, Stardust nervously gulped... as well as wishing that he had the power of teleportation right about now.

Now, this should definitely be interesting.

Just relax, Jack, I am sure that the princess will understand.

Spike looked at the young pony, and noticed that he looked somewhat nervous. "You okay, bro?"

Before Stardust could answer, however, Twilight's mood and tone of voice changed as she reached the "p.s." part of the letter, and as she looked up, he saw that she wasn't exactly happy anymore. "Care to explain why you left this out of the story you told me and everypony else?"

Spike looked between the two of them, sensing the growing tension in the room, and casually started to walk out of the library. "Um, I think I hear, uh, Rarity calling my name... later, Star!"

Whoosh!

Once the dragon was in the hallway, he took off as fast as he could, with Twilight still waiting for an answer from Stardust.

"Um... any help, guys?" whispered the golden-colored pony, who was speaking to Sombra and Starswirl.

...

Stardust sighed, and muttered to himself, "Thank you so much."

"Jack, I am not mad, and I am trying to not be upset with you right now... because I love you," said Twilight, who really was trying to remain calm. "But I am starting to get annoyed at the fact that I found out whatever he's talking about from his letter instead of you."

The young pony chuckled nervously, and said, "Well, um... it wasn't anything 'major', love, I just, ah... oh, hello, Princess Cadence, what a surprise!"

"Cadence?" Twilight's eyes started to sparkle as she turned around, ready to perform the "special dance" that she and her former foal-sitter used to share, but no pony was there. "Hey, she isn't even..."

When Twilight turned back around, she saw that Stardust was halfway successful in trying to climb out of a nearby window. "Oh, no you don't, you tell me what happened!"

Good luck, foolish human.

"Shut up, Sombra... whoa!" hissed Stardust, who suddenly felt himself being pulled back in via Twilight's magic.

Then, once they were facing each other, the young pony said, "Um... you still aren't mad yet, are you?"

The alicorn princess remained silent.

"Point taken... well, ah, what happened was that I had a, um, moment of hesitation before introducing myself to the other Twilight."

Showing him the letter, Twilight said, "Then, explain what he meant by speechless... because that word and hesitation have two completely different meanings."

Before Stardust could say anything else, Starswirl offered the young pony some advice.

There is no need to fear her reaction, Jack. Your nervousness is only making this small thing seem worse. Just take a deep breath, relax, and tell her.

Nodding his head, Stardust did just that, and then, he said, "What Casey 'meant' is that when I first saw her, I felt the same way as I did that night of your coronation, when we were at the balcony... then I just snapped out of it, and I told them what I told you and the others what I said."

After hearing that, Twilight released him from her magic, but she still looked annoyed with him. "So, you're saying that your breath was taken away by another Twilight?"

Stardust immediately shook his head. "Of course not, love, I just had a, um... romantic flashback moment... and besides, you know you're the only pony out there for me."

The young alicorn raised an eyebrow, and asked, "So... you can guarantee to me that this won't happen the next time you see her again?"

Oh, I bet you that you would, said Sombra, laughing inside Stardust's mind. You can't deny the fact that she's still Twilight, in a way.

"There's no reason why it should," replied Stardust, who started to chuckle as a way to lighten the mood, as well as ignoring Sombra. "I mean, like, unless Casey somehow managed to find the necklace I gave you in his world, and gave it to his Twilight, then I might possibly-"

Twilight let out a small growl as her annoyance with Stardust started growing more than it was earlier.

"Never mind... but that was pretty much all that happened, love... really..."

"Are you sure, Jack?" Twilight asked, in a serious tone.

Stardust nodded his head, and answered, "I am completely positive... you aren't mad, right?"

Twilight groaned, and rolled her eyes as she said, "I told you that I am not mad, Jack, I am just annoyed at the fact that you didn't tell me this yourself as soon as you came back."

"Really?" said Stardust, surprised.

The young alicorn nodded her head, which made him feel a lot better. "Well, then, I'm sorry for not telling you sooner... so how about if I-"

And this is the part where things become worse for you, laughed Sombra.

Before Stardust could respond, he and Twilight heard another familiar voice... one that he currently was not in the mood for to hear.

"You became all goo-goo eyed for another Twilight? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha..."

The two of them turned to see Rainbow Dash, who had entered a while ago to ask Twilight for another Daring Do book to borrow... and had heard almost everything that Stardust had said to Twilight.

"Wait until I tell everypony else!" laughed the winged and blue Pegasus pony, who then flew off as fast as she possibly could.

Stardust gritted his teeth, in frustration, and began to run after her. "Get back here, Rainbow!"

As for Twilight, she found herself laughing a little as she shook her head, but then, her attention was caught by the gift from Casey that Stardust had yet to unwrap.

"I wonder what could be in there..."