My Little Pony: A Race Against Time

by CJ Esmerio

Taking Care of Business

Author's Note:

"My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" belongs to DHX Media and Hasbro, while Stardust Balance belongs to the Warrior of Twilight.

Stardust's World

"So... you're serious about this, Stardust?"

The golden pony nodded his head, and said, "Uh-huh... I'm hanging out with you for the rest of the day."

Giving him a suspicious look, Rainbow asked, "Did Twilight put you up to this?"

Choose your words wisely, boy, said Sombra, much to Stardust's surprise.

"No, but she did help me realize that I haven't exactly spent my fair share of friendship time with you," admitted the young pony. "And I apologize for that..."

Rainbow could almost feel her muzzle drop. "You're apologizing to me?"

"Yeah, but don't push it," replied Stardust, giving his friend a smirk. "Still a little irritated that you told everyone what happened with the other Twilight."

Rainbow let out a chuckle, and said, "Aw, come on, that was all in good humor... had to find some way to have fun wi-"

"And speaking of that, you haven't made any more bets with Applejack, have you?"

[Flashback]

The Earth Pony looked at Rainbow, and said, "So you think that Stardust is gonna go all goo-goo eyes again?"

"Uh-huh," replied Rainbow. "And it'll be in front of Twilight, too... the one here, I mean."

As the two of them shook hooves, Applejack didn't look too sure about something. "I still think he's going to try and beat the hay outta you if he finds out you keep makin' bets on the two of them."

"Pfffft! Puh-lease, that'll never happen!"

[Present]

"Well, of course not," answered Rainbow, with a straight face. "Jeez, Stardust, what do you take me for?"

"Hey, I just had to ask, alright?" Stardust said, not wanting to end up having both Rainbow and Twilight upset with him for messing up.

Rainbow was almost convinced now, but there was just one last thing she wanted him to do.

"And what would that be?" Stardust said, after she had told him this.

Rainbow started to grin, and she replied, "You and me are going to race from this spot, and stop at the front of the Everfree Forest."

How unsurprising... of course she would choose that.

"That's five miles, Rainbow," exclaimed Stardust, who wasn't exactly prepared for a race. "And I don't even have wings."

Rainbow rolled her eyes, and said, "I can see that, Stardust, we're going to race on the ground... what do you say?"

Stardust didn't look too sure, so Rainbow decided to give him a little "push".

"So, the human-turned-pony who fought the Changeling Queen, Discord, Tirek, and even pre-reformed Starlight can't even handle a simple race?"

Stardust gritted his teeth together, and said, "Hey, I never said that I couldn't race you, Rainbow... and I can handle it."

"Well, prove it then," said Rainbow, giving him a smirk.

The old you would have already been gone by now.

Don't try to tempt me, Sombra, thought Stardust, who took a deep breath, and said, "Alright, I'll race you, Rainbow... but no cheating from you whatsoever. Got it?"

"No problem," replied Rainbow, as she got into a starting position. "Let's do this."

---

As Pinkie Pie continued to sing her song about being a number one villian, a frustrated Midnight Sparkle growled, "What in the world are you doing?!"

"Well, duh, I'm distracting you, ya big goof!" Pinkie replied, as she started bouncing up and down. "And look who showed up!"

Everypony turned around, and saw Casey running to them as fast as he could possibly go.

"Well, it's about time," muttered Rainbow Dash, ignoring the look that Twilight gave her.

Taking his place next to the young alicorn, Casey nodded his head in the direction he'd came from. "Sorry, but... I had to bring a little bit of help."

Twilight saw Sunset making her way towards them, as well, but before she was about to greet her, the princess of Friendship noticed that her friend wasn't alone.

"Howdy, Pony AJ," said EG Applejack, as she stood in front of the hard-working pony. "Nice to see ya again."

"Um... hello, other me," greeted EG Fluttershy, walking over to her counterpart.

The rest of the EG human-turned-ponies stood in front of their own counterparts, and once everypony was facing their counterpart (except for Casey and Sunset), none of them said anything.

"Huh, you know, there's one thing I don't get," said a curious Pinkie Pie, after a moment of silence.

Twilight looked at Pinkie, and asked, "What would that be?"

"How come there's no explosion or anything?" Pinkie Pie answered, with EG Pinkie nodding her head, in agreement. "I thought a 'pair-a-docks' or something was supposed to happen."

Before Twilight could explain why, she was stopped by the laughter of Midnight Sparkle.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my pathetic other half," said the large dragon, looking down at Sci Twi, who no longer feared her inner dark self since the events at Camp Everfree.

"That is not the real Midnight Sparkle," replied Sunset.

Twilight agreed with her, saying, "We know... but wherever she came from, we know that she was sent by the hooded pony to get him the staff."

"Well, we're not going to let that happen," exclaimed EG Rainbow, but then, she looked at Sci Twi. "Um, you won't feel bad or anything about what we do or say to her, will you?"

Sci Twi shook her head. "No, why would I?"

"Well, because, darling, that was someone you used to be," pointed out EG Rarity.

"Enough of this pointless discussion!" roared Midnight Sparkle, and she began breathing out massive fireblasts at them.

Everypony jumped out of the way to dodge them, and that was enough for the large dragon to let out an evil laugh as she flew towards Ponyville, heading to Twilight's castle.

"Rarity, Rainbow, you two go first!" exclaimed Sunset, as she and Twilight helped Sci Twi stand up.

"You got it!" EG Rainbow yelled, and zoomed away to catch up to Midnight Sparkle, while EG Rarity started shooting out her own powerful blasts.

"Dear Celestia," gasped Rarity, her eyes growing wide. "Those diamonds are absolutely gorgeous!"

Twilight and the two Applejacks rolled their eyes, while Midnight Sparkle was about to reach Ponyville, but she was stopped by the arrival of EG Rarity's diamond blasts.

Whack! Whack! Whack! Whack!

"Fabulous!" EG Rarity cried, letting out a victory squeal.

Then, a rainbow-colored and spiral-shaped streak raced all over Midnight's body, causing her to spin around several times, and when EG Rainbow was done, the dragon was momentarily dizzy, with her eyes spinning around.

Seeing that everything was working so far, Sunset nodded, and said, "Okay, AJ, you know what to do."

"Sure thing, sugarcube!" EG Applejack said, and looked at her other self. "Um, you don't mind if I borrow a tree, do ya?"

Applejack shook her head, and she replied, "No problem, sugarcube, just use one that don't have any apples on 'em."

EG Applejack gave her a salute, and ran off to the nearest "empty" tree she could find.

---

Limbo

"No, no, NO!" Miles yelled, watching with rage as the Equestria Girls were being successful in taking care of Midnight Sparkle. "How is this even happening?!"

Maybe it's because you never even considered these girls while creating her. Instead, you hoped that Stardust himself would go up against it.

[WHACK!]

"She can throw a damn tree like the freakin' HULK?!" The furious pony shouted, his body now shaking with rage and hatred. "Son of a..."

[Boom! Boom! Boom!]

"Seriously?! Explosions from Pinkie Pie!" Miles was almost close to reaching his boiling point. "What... the... buck!"

The dark energy surrounding Miles' body started to glow brighter, and he growled, "I... will not be... defeated by these damn ponies!"

Um, you do know that you're a pony yourself, right?

"Shut the hell up!" Miles yelled. "Aw, you can't be seri... all those damn animals?!"

The portal then showed Sci Twi using her own magic to fight Midnight.

"Damn you Twilight Sparkle!"

---

So... the good news was that, because of their geode necklaces, the EG ponies (minus Sunset) were doing a real number on Midnight Sparkle.

However, the bad news was that they had somehow come closer to nearing Twilight's castle.

"Don't worry, Princess Twilight," yelled a confident EG Rainbow. "We got this all under con-"

Whack!

"Rainbow Dash!" cried Sunset, Twilight, and Sci Twi, after seeing Midnight use her claw like a fly swatter, sending EG Rainbow to the ground.

Then, Midnight began flapping her wings at a very fast speed, causing the rest of the EG ponies to fly back, and crash into their counterparts.

"Are you two okay?" Spike asked, as he and Twilight ran over to Rarity and her EG counterpart.

"I'm fine, Spikey Wikey," replied Rarity as she got up to her hooves. "But it's like Midnight Sparkle suddenly got a burst of energy!"

"She probably got it from that hooded pony who's behind all of this," said Sunset, who was now approaching them. "He must really want that staff."

Twilight frowned, and shook her head as she said, "We're not going to let that happen."

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" laughed Midnight Sparkle, and looked down as she saw everypony gather together. "I'll admit that you all put up quite a fight... even you, my worthless counterpart."

"Yeah, well, she's kicking your damn butt," exclaimed EG Rainbow, while Sci Twi sheepishly smiled.

Midnight Sparkle rolled her eyes, and said, "For the moment, but now is the time where I roast the lot of you to-"

"Um, excuse me? Worthless excuse for a dragon?"

Midnight Sparkle and everypony else turned around, seeing the fortress of thorned branches that surrounded Twilight's castle... and above that were Discord and Starlight, who was using her magic to help her levitate.

"You may think you're all that powerful," stated Discord, who was wearing an outfit similar to the one Mickey Mouse wore inThe Brave Little Tailor. "But you've never encountered us!"

"Starlight, be careful!" Twilight cried, now concerned for her pupil and friend.

Midnight Sparkle shook her head, and said, "You two don't seriously think you'll be able to stop me."

A serious-looking Starlight replied, "Of course not... I know we can!"

Down below, Spike elbowed Twilight's shoulder, and said, "See? You're a great teacher... now we get to see her in action without being trapped in a Chrysalis-made cocoon."

Twilight smiled, and nodded in agreement as she looked up at Starlight. Wow, this is going to be such a great experience to watch!

As for Starlight, she was preparing herself for an epic battle. This definitely won't be an easy one, but I have a feeling that if I can distract her long enough, I'll be able to-

"However..."

They all turned to look at Discord, who said, "After analyzing the situation, I think it would be best if I were allowed to make the first move, and that my friend here could go next."

Twilight and Starlight slapped their foreheads at the same time, muttering, "Discord..."

"Well, since you're so willing to die so soon, go right ahead," replied Midnight Sparkle.

The master of Chaos shook his head, chuckling as he said, "Oh, on the contrary, you dumb dragon..."

With a snap of his fingers, Discord chuckled mischievously as a familar looking pony appeared next to him.

"Another Pinkie Pie?!" yelled everypony except Midnight, and the two other Pinkie Pies.

Come on, and smile, smile, smile

"Ohhhh, I get it," said Pinkie Pie, although she was the only one to hear the music playing in the background. "That's the one from the world that the hooded pony sent me too."

Midnight Sparkle was finding it hilarious, however. "So, how exactly do you plan on stopping me with this?"

"I'll let her show you," replied Discord, and before the dragon could do anything else, Anti-Pinkie grabbed onto Midnight's wing, pulling her way up into the sky.

As they disappeared into the clouds, however, Twilight frowned at the spirit of disharmony, and said, "Hey, Discord, I think we're supposed to see what-"

"Oh, ho, ho, trust me, Twilight," assured a gleeful Discord. "You do not want to see what this Pinkie Pie can do."

"Aw, man," said Pinkie Pie and her EG counterpart. "No fair!"

Starlight was about to yell at Discord for ruining her special moment when, all of a sudden...

Crash! Boom!

Everypony except Discord (who was smiling), Twilight, Spike, and Starlight (who were all irritated at Discord) had their muzzles wide-open in shock as they looked at Midnight Sparkle, who looked like she'd received the worst beating imaginable.

"Now, first things first is..." Discord snapped his fingers again, and Anti-Pinkie disappeared in a flash of bright light.

"Bye, Pinkie Number Three!" shouted Pinkie Pie, waving her arm goodbye.

Discord then looked at Starlight, and said, "I think it's your turn, now, my friend."

The purple unicorn groaned, and muttered a few words to herself as she floated down to the ground, standing next to Twilight, who was joining the others as they walked over to Midnight Sparkle.

"Any final words?" Starlight asked, who still had her horn activated with magic.

Midnight Sparkle coughed a few times before she gritted her teeth, and said, "He's going to come back sooner than you think... and all of you are going to pay the ultimate price!"

Starlight paused for a moment before saying, "We'll be ready for him, then.. and we'll all take care of him together."

Then, she looked over at Twilight, with the two ponies smiling at each other, and turning back to Midnight Sparkle, Starlight used her magic to create a very large ball of electrical energy that covered the dragon's entire body.

Is that some sort of new spell? wondered Twilight, who wished that she had some paper and a pen with her to write this all down.

"Good bye, Midnight Sparkle!" growled Starlight, who was now making the energy ball glow as bright as the sun.

"Holy apples, that's bright," said the two Applejacks, who both used their hats to cover their eyes from the light.

The ball continued to shine brightly for a few more minutes before it exploded silently, and as the light died down, everypony saw that Midnight Sparkle was gone.

"Starlight!" Twilight ran over as fast as she could before her exhausted friend collapsed to the ground. "I got you..."

"Thanks... Twilight..." said Starlight, who had definitely used a lot of energy to make that spell work, and was now taking several deep breaths.

Twilight was about to say something comforting when Discord appeared in the spot where Midnight was, and said, "Ah, now wasn't that just a breathtaking spectacle to behold?"

"Seriously, Discord?" Applejack said, frowning at the draconequus. "Look at how exhausted Starlight is righ' now..."

"Well, of course, I can see that, AJ," replied Discord. "But it would have been a lot worse if I had let Starlight get into a fight with her first."

Applejack opened her muzzle to yell at him some more, but Fluttershy stepped in to say, "Hold on, I'm sure Discord knew what he was doing... and he was probably thinking about her safety."

"Exactly!" Discord said, who made a "BFF" shirt appear on himself and Fluttershy. "She can agree and appreciate me more than you other ponies!"

Twilight shook her head, and said, "Of course, we appreciate your help, Discord, but next time, can you let us all in on your plan instead of just improvising?"

Making himself now wear a soldier's uniform, Discord gave Twilight a salute, and said, "Yes, your Highness, of course."

Then, he was gone in the blink of an eye, and Twilight looked over at Casey. "Good thing you didn't ask Stardust Balance to help out."

"Uh-huh," agreed the young pony. "He's probably enjoying a peaceful day in bed right now."

---

Stardust's World

"Almost... there... must... reach... aaand, I'm here!"

The crawling Stardust stopped in his tracks, and collapsed to the ground.

You are pathetic.

"Not... in the mood... Sombra," muttered Stardust. "I... was not prepared for this."

A few minutes later, Rainbow Dash came over, and Stardust was now sitting Indian style. "Alright, Rainbow, did I prove myself? You believe me?"

"Yep," answered the winged pony. "I believed you almost two miles ago."

When Rainbow said that, Stardust was speechless.

I wouldn't object if you unleashed your anger on her right now.

"You mean to tell me... that you believed me... after I ran three miles?"

Rainbow Dash nodded her head, and said, "Yeah, of course"

"..."

"Um... you okay, Stardust?"

Stardust's head was shaking with rage, and it was also changing a different color, as well as being ready to explode in anger...

Jack... you promised Twilight.

"Stardust?" Rainbow asked, now feeling concerned for her friend. "Are you-"

The gold-colored pony took a deep breath, and said, "I... am fine... just promise me that you will never do something like this again."

"Yeah, of course," replied Rainbow, who then decided to help him stand up. "So, what do you want to do next?"

"Take me to some place that has water I can drink," said Stardust. "Then I'll decide what we can do after that."

Rainbow Dash smiled, and said, "Sure thing, pal, let's go..."

See? Rainbow is happy, and smiling... you're doing great.

And although he wouldn't admit it to the winged Pegasi, Stardust was slowly starting to be happy about his decision on spending time with Rainbow.

I might actually need something like this right now...

---

Limbo

"Damn it!"

Miles was way beyond frustrated right now, after seeing what Starlight and Discord had done to his creation.

"I've been defeated TWICE by those freaking tiny horses... and I can't stand it!"

His hatred was so strong, not even his inner voice could get through to him.

"Well, I am NOT going to let this happen again! I WILL have my revenge, and not even somepony like Stardust Balance can stop me!"