My Little Pony: A Race Against Time

by CJ Esmerio

The Rage of A Human

Author's Note:

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

"Jack... Jack... JACK!"

Stardust opened his eyes, and stood up on all fours to see Princess Twilight in front of him, looking concerned.

He was about to say something to her, but Pinkie Pie appeared next to him, and cried, "Hurray! He's finally awake!"

Deciding to momentarily wait on scolding the party-planning pony, Stardust instead looked around, and couldn't find any words to describe what he was seeing right now.

It looked like the part of Ponyville that Fluttershy resided at, except there were certain parts that weren't fully colored while others looked like they had just finished being sketched.

"What... happened here?" Casey asked, also surprised. "It's like somepony being halfway done with a painting, or just getting rid of their mistakes.

It appears that the world is slowly being erased from existence, answered Starswirl, now back in Stardust's mind. This is such a tragedy.

The former human being agreed with the elderly pony, saying, "I'd hate to imagine what the Fluttershy of this world is going through right now..."

"Well, then, let's go in her house already," said Pinkie, and she began to head over to Fluttershy's house, but was stopped by Stardust, who pulled her back.

"Just hold on a second there, Pinkie," exclaimed Stardust, giving her a stern look. "If you're going to accompany us to all of these worlds, then wait until we come with a plan to figure out how to fix the world we travel to. Do I make myself clear?"

Pinkie nodded her head, but Stardust added, "I can't believe I'm saying this to you, but... pinkie promise me that you won't cause any type of trouble or get yourself or us in danger. Alright?"

"Uh-huh, cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," agreed Pinkie Pie, as she recited the rhyme to him.

"He sounds like a dad," whispered Casey, speaking to Twilight, but loud enough for Princess Twilight to hear, and she started to laugh.

"No, he's just being a concerned friend," said Princess Twilight, who then walked over to Stardust. "I'm actually surprised you aren't acting like your usual self."

"Huh?" Stardust said, confused. "What are you talking about?"

Princess Twilight smirked at her special somepony, and said, "Well, usually in these type of situations, you just throw yourself in harm's way, in order to keep us safe... and you would've chosen to go to all of these worlds by yourself."

Stardust rolled his eyes, and replied, "Well, let's just say that I am slowly starting to learn from my past mistakes."

"Huh, it certainly took you long enough."

As Casey listened to their conversation, he turned to see Twilight writing down what they were saying in her thick notebook that contained the abridged version of Stardust's story.

"How did you even get that here?" Casey whispered, not wanting the other two to hear him.

"Doesn't matter right now," answered Twilight. "I want to make sure that I'm not missing anything."

Then, once Stardust and Princess Twilight had finished, Twilight used her magic to send the notebook back to her castle in Ponyville.

"So, what's the plan?" Casey asked.

Before Stardust could explain what it was, they heard the sound of a door opening, and a familiar voice cry out, "Stardust!"

The golden-colored pony turned around, and saw Fluttershy (of the world they were in) running over to him from her cottage.

"You're alive," cried the winged pony, who was embracing Stardust with a hug and tearful eyes. "I thought I lost you..."

Stardust didn't know what to say, at first, but for some reason, he found himself patting her gently on the back. "It's alright, Fluttershy... it's okay... I'm here..."

As the alternate version of their friend continued to cry, Princess Twilight became confused. "Why is she...?"

"Well, duh, Twilight #2," replied Pinkie, speaking as if the answer was obvious. "She probably thinks he's the other version of Stardust that got killed by Miles."

Princess Twilight just turned her attention back to Stardust, who strangely felt as if he did have romantic feelings for this alternate version of Fluttershy... or, at least, a small part of him was feeling that way.

It would appear that the connection you have with the other versions of yourself is more special than you think.

Stardust found himself agreeing with Starswirl, but then, to his and everypony else's surprise, Fluttershy paused her warm embrace to deliver a kiss onto the young pony's muzzle.

"Uh-oh..." said Casey and Twilight, who both turned to see what the other Twilight's reaction was going to be.

Princess Twilight did not look amused, and she was about to interrupt them when Pinkie shouted, "Look over there!"

Casey and the two Twilights turned their heads, and the three of them became surprised because the color-less and freshly drawn areas were going back to its finished state.

"Um... I..." Stardust said, after he'd finished his kiss with her, which also caused the area's transformation to stop. "This isn't... what you think..."

But why did part of me even feel like I was enjoying that? He wondered, and his answer came from Starswirl.

I told you, Jack, special connection... and don't be that surprised. Our own Fluttershy did have a crush on you once, remember?

"What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked, not understanding what he was saying. "Are you okay?"

"I'm afraid that he's right, Fluttershy," replied Princess Twilight, walking over to her. "This is a different Stardust, from another world... in which I'm the pony that he's in a relationship with."

Fluttershy's eyes went wide as she looked at Stardust, who reluctantly nodded his head, and she almost felt ready to start crying again. "So... m-my Stardust is... g-gone? Forever?"

"Well, no, I don't think so," replied Twilight, who had also been writing down possible solutions in her "Friendship Problem Solving" book. "When you kissed Stardust, everything around us started to go back to normal..."

"But when you two stopped, so did everything else," continued Casey, and Stardust looked around, noticing that there was still much more work to be done.

"Ooh, how about you two kiss again?" Pinkie suggested, but then, she noticed Princess Twilight giving her a look.

"Not happening," said the alicorn princess, with Stardust giving her a sheepish expression. "Before we try anything else, could you tell us what happened when Miles, or... the cloaked pony... came here?"

Fluttershy gulped, and looked over at Stardust, who said, "I'm here if you need me."

The yellow Pegasus pony sighed, and started her sad story. "It was, um... after we'd revealed our feelings for each other, and there was a knock at the door..."

---

"Please tell me that isn't Discord," muttered Stardust, a little irritated now since their moment had been interrupted.

"No, I don't think so, Stardust," replied a surprised Fluttershy. "He usually just pops in here."

As she went over to open the door, Stardust looked down at Angel, who gave him a finger motion signal that meant "I'm watching you", and that made the young pony smirk at the furry animal.

But before he could give the bunny a smart remark, Stardust heard Fluttershy let out a small squeak of fright.

"Fluttershy? You okay?"

He entered the living room, and saw Fluttershy, looking like she was frozen with fear, as well as a yellow-and-black pony that was wearing a cloak.

"Oh, she'll be just fine," replied Miles, grinning widely. "But as for you, that's a different story."

Seeing that Fluttershy still looked terrified, Stardust said, "Look, I don't want any type of trouble to-"

"Oh, there's no trouble at all, Stardust," interrupted Miles, who then started to levitate himself above their heads, with his glowing hooves creating some type of red energy ball. "I'm just going to kill you."

And before Stardust could even make any type of offensive move, Miles shot down the energy ball, successfully trapping him inside of it.

"So long, Jack..." He said, as the sinister pony made electricity appear in the energy ball, with Stardust now screaming in pain.

Then, Miles began using his dark energy power to increase the ball's strength, and watched as Stardust started losing his colors, as well as slowly turning into a simple drawing.

"Your story is over..."

---

That was all Fluttershy could bring herself to say before she began crying again, so Princess Twilight went over to her friend, allowing the yellow pony to cry in her arms.

As for Stardust, he was now becoming furious after hearing the emotional harm and distress that Miles had given Fluttershy.

"I... am going... to kill him..."

"Well, now hold on a minute, Stardust," said Twilight, who had been writing down everything in her book. "Let's focus on fixing this world... um, okay, so kissing isn't an option... er, nope, that won't work... oh, okay, is there a type of song, Fluttershy, to describe your feelings for Stardust?"

Stardust looked at Twilight, and asked, "Uh, why would she sing a song?"

"Well, because you performed a kind deed comforting Fluttershy when you first saw her, as well as allowing her to kiss you," explained Twilight. "It made everything around us started going back to the way it's supposed to be, so that must mean this world is represented by the element of kindness."

Stardust blinked his eyes a few times before asking, "So, how exactly does her singing a song help?"

"Since you're technically part of this world, and Fluttershy is your love interest here, then her singing a song about her feelings or anything to do with the other you might fix the damaging darkness that Miles brought here."

Twilight looked back at Fluttershy, and asked, "So, is there anything you can think of?"

The yellow Pegasus pony started to blush as she answered, "Well, there was one song I always used to sing to myself before I ever admitted to Stardust... the, um, other one... that I l-liked him..."

"Uh-huh, uh-huh, great," replied Twilight, as she continued writing in her book. "Could you sing it for us, please?"

Fluttershy nodded her head, and was silent for a few minutes before she eventually took a deep breath, and started to sing what everypony recognized as a love song.

Insert "Misty's Song" from Pokemon

"Aww... so adorable," whispered Pinkie, while she, Casey and Twilight enjoyed her performance.

As for Princess Twilight and Stardust, they couldn't believe what they were seeing, especially Stardust, who felt like he was going back into a trance, and to everyone's surprise, the plan that Twilight had come up with was starting to work, and all of the color and art was being restored to its actual state.

Oh my god, thought Stardust, who could almost feel his muzzle drop to the ground since Fluttershy's song was putting butterflies in his stomach.

Then, after Fluttershy concluded her performance, he said, "Wow... that was... wow..."

"Excellent!" Twilight cried, her face full of excitement that her idea had worked, and it definitely did because everything was back to the way it was supposed to be.

"Stardust, can you actually believe that... hey!"

Stuck in another trance, Stardust had allowed Fluttershy to kiss him again, and after Princess Twilight's interruption caused them to break apart, a gold-colored cloud suddenly appeared next to Fluttershy.

"Wait a sec..." Twilight said, trying to take a closer look at the cloud, which was starting to morph into the shape of a pony. "Is that supposed to be-"

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

Stardust looked down at his now-beeping-uncontrollably wristwatch, and asked, "What the..."

"Maybe you should press that blinking button?" Pinkie Pie wondered, and that's exactly what Stardust did.

"Thank you, Stardust," said Fluttershy, with the golden-colored pony smiling at her, and opening his mouth to say-

Whoosh!

Suddenly, all five of the ponies had disappeared just as they'd done before, in a bright flash of light.

---

The next world that the five ponies ended up at was the one where Rarity was Stardust's love interest... since they had all landed in front of her home.

"I am going to deliver some hell to that damn pony," growled an upset Stardust, seeing that the new world they were in looked just as horrible as the previous one.

Twilight stepped a few feet away from the furious pony, and looked at her problem-solving book. "Alright, um... we fixed the first world, and this is the second one, so let's do-"

"Why did you let Fluttershy kiss you like that?" Princess Twilight asked, who was not exactly happy with Stardust. "Twice?"

"There's no need for you to be jealous or anything, love," assured Stardust, who could already tell where this was heading. "And I'm sorry for doing that, but I also couldn't help it... it's like part of me was feeling the same way as the other version of myself felt."

Princess Twilight continued to frown as she said, "Well, do not make this a habit, okay? I'm not exactly fond of seeing my best friends kiss my special somepony."

"Er, technically, they are alternate versions of your friends, Princess Twilight, so..." replied Casey, but he paused after the parallel alicorn glared at him. "Never mind."

"So, does that mean you're going to be mad at me, Other Twilight, if the other me kisses Stardust?" Pinkie Pie asked, which made the gold-colored pony roll his eyes.

"No need to worry, Pinkie..." He then turned to look at Princess Twilight. "And just know that I, myself, am not exactly enjoying these kisses... that's all coming from the other versions of me..."

Princess Twilight still wasn't completely accepting of his answer, so Stardust came over to put his hoofs on her small shoulders. "There is only one true and original Stardust Balance... and that is me, and you have always been the one pony meant to be my special somepony."

Twilight, Casey, and Pinkie all smiled warmly as they watched the two other ponies make peace, with Casey also making mental notes in his head to remember what Stardust was saying, in case he ever needed to tell Twilight the same thing one day in the future.

And Twilight was quickly writing this moment down in her Adventures of Stardust book, which also vanished once the two of them had finished.

"Well, you're right about one thing," said Princess Twilight, smiling at Stardust.

"And what would that be, love?"

"That it really doesn't make sense for there to be more of you," replied Princess Twilight, which made Stardust laugh.

"Alrighty, then... let's just fix this world so that I can get my hooves on that cold-hearted monster," said Stardust, who walked over to Rarity's door, and knocked on it a few times.

"GO AWAY!"

The loudness of the unicorn's voice made Stardust move away a little bit from the door, but he shook his head.

Do this for your friends, Star, come on, thought the young pony. And be in control of yourself.

"Rarity? It's me, Sta- oof!" However, before he could finish, the door opened very quickly, and he found himself getting pinned to the ground by the alternate Rarity.

"Thank Celestia you're here," she cried, as well as kissing him on his cheek several times. "I thought that cloaked pony took you away from me forever."

Stardust cleared his throat, and replied, "Well, actually, Rarity, I-"

"Oh, for ponies sake," muttered Princess Twilight, bringing her hoof to her forehead as Rarity began kissing Stardust romantically.

I wonder if this is how Spike feels, thought Stardust, who was feeling the way that the alternate version of himself on this world felt.

And just like before, their kiss was helping restore some of the world's color-less areas, much to everypony else's satisfaction.

"Um... are you feeling well, Stardust?" The white unicorn asked, tilting her head in confusion, once she had finished kissing him. "Did I kiss you wrong?"

"Nuh-uh," said a love-struck Stardust, but then, he snapped out of it. "I mean, uh, sorry to say this to you, my dear, but... I'm not the actual Stardust you fell in love with."

Before Rarity could reply, Princess Twilight came over to stand by Jack's side, explaining, "That's also the reason why we're all here, Rarity, to repair the damage that the cloaked pony did, and bring back the Stardust you fell in love with."

As the three of them continued to talk, Pinkie Pie (who was a few feet away, standing next to Casey and Twilight) said, "Huh, I'm starting to wonder if that whole pair-ugh-docks thing is even real."

"What do you mean, Pinkie?" Twilight asked.

Pinkie opened her muzzle to explain, but then, they heard Rarity cry out, "Oh, heavens... my sincere apologies, Twilight-from-another-dimension, for kissing your special somepony like that."

"It's fine," replied Princess Twilight, not wanting to spend much time talking (or even thinking) about it.

Twilight then took a moment to clear her throat, and say, "Okay, then, Stardust, you have to show or express generosity in some way to Rarity."

"Uhhh..." Stardust said, trying to wonder what he could possibly do in order to-

"Ooh, ooh, me, me, me!" Pinkie Pie yelled, bouncing up and down while raising her left arm, like a student would do when he or she had a solution.

Stardust smirked, and replied, "Yes, Pinkie Pie?"

"Why don't you give her the cloak you're wearing so that she can give it to the other you when he comes back?"

"My... what?" Stardust looked at the piece of clothing that he'd gotten from the Rarity of his world, and had kept it ever since then.

Rarity started to smile as she nodded, agreeing with the pink pony. "Now that you mention it, Pinkie... I'm sure my Stardust would just love to wear that, um, unique cloak."

"But..." Stardust continued to look at his cloak. It had been through so much, and was part of so many memories.

"Jack, I know this looks bad," said Princess Twilight, placing a hoof on his shoulder. "But it's probably the only way that we'll be able to save this world."

While Stardust looked at the young alicorn, Pinkie added, "Plus, the sooner we fix the other seven worlds, the closer you get to Miles' world, find that super power thingy, and beat the frosting out of him."

The young Earth Pony couldn't help but chuckle at Pinkie's last sentence, and also realised that his friends were right.

"Well... just..." Stardust said, as he began to remove the cloak off of his body. "Make sure that your version of me puts this to good use."

A grateful-looking Rarity smiled at Stardust, as she accepted the cloak from him. "I give you my word, Other Stardust... thank you for your generosity."

Once the cloak had left from Stardust's hooves, the world around them began to return to its original state, and Twilight happily checked RariDust off of her checklist.

"You're welcome," replied Stardust, but before he could say more, the wristwatch started beeping again. "Well, on to the next one."

"Aw, but I wanted to see the other Stardust appear," Pinkie cried, as she walked over to join her friends, and after the golden pony pressed the blinking button, they were quickly taken to the next world.

---

Miles' World

While everything appeared to be going in the right direction for Stardust and the others, it was definitely not turning out so well for Miles.

"How in the hell is he doing this?" The cloaked pony shouted, enraged at the fact that Stardust already restored two worlds. "This wasn't supposed to happen!"

Perhaps this is a sign to stop your madness, Miles, suggested his inner voice that also represented his goodness. If not for anypony else, do it for Twilight.

"Enough!" Miles exclaimed, whose body was now being controlled by the dark spirit inside of him... although his eyes still remained their original color.

As the portal in front of him showed what was happening to the group of ponies, Miles began to let out an evil laugh. "I think it's time for me to pay a visit to Stardust's world."

---

"Pinkie Dust" World

Casey walked over to Stardust, and asked, "Are you going to be okay, man?"

"Yeah, uh... I'll be good," replied Stardust, even though he still looked sad. "It's just that I've worn that cloak for a very long time, and... believe it or not, it's helped me out in the past."

He then turned to look at Pinkie after noticing that she looked a little guilty.

"Wow, Stardust, I didn't know it meant that much to you," said the saddened pony. "I wouldn't have suggested you giving it up if I'd have known that."

Stardust chuckled, and shook his head. "It'll be fine, Pinkie... it was really just a piece of fabric... my friends and family mean more to me than that."

Pinkie Pie nodded her head, understanding what he was saying to her. "So, then... you don't want the exact same one I found in the Other Rarity's place?"

She then held up the exact same cloak that belonged to Stardust, except it wasn't so worn out and "battle aged", and the human-turned-pony couldn't believe it. "W-what... how did..."

"Um, I think we've all learned at this point to not question Pinkie Pie," replied Casey, with both of the Twilights nodding in agreement.

As for Pinkie, she explained that while Other Rarity had been told about what was going on by Princess Twilight and Stardust, Pinkie had entered the white unicorn's home (since the door had been left open), and found the cloak underneath a coffee table.

"So, you want it or do I have to take it back?"

Stardust quickly shook his head, politely taking it from Pinkie, and started to put it back on. "Thanks, Pinkie... and now it's going to make me feel bad when I ask you if you don't mind staying out here."

Pinkie's smile disappeared, and she now looked shocked. "What?"

"I'm afraid he's right, someone has to stay here with you, Pinkie," said Princess Twilight, as the five of them all stood in front of Sugarcube Corner.

And, of course, certain parts of the world around them were literally being erased.

"What?" Pinkie cried, surprised. "How come I can't go in there with you?"

Princess Twilight sighed, and replied, "We just don't want the other Pinkie to think you're a clone or anything... besides, at the rate we're going, we won't even take long."

"Oh, Twilight, ever the optimist..."

The group of ponies turned around, and saw a portal that showed Miles, in a location that looked like Sweet Apple Acres. "You're supposed to be on your deathbed, Stardust."

"Well, you can't somepony like me down for long," smirked Stardust, as he faced his new nemesis. "And, by the way, I want a rematch."

"Ha! You can't be serious," laughed Miles. "I nearly ended your pathetic life, and you want to face me again? What will the difference be?"

Stardust frowned, and he said, "It'll be the fact that you pissed me the hell off, Miles, and once I get my hooves on you, I swear to God that I'm going to knock each and every single one of your teeth down your throat."

And, now he's back to his old self, thought Princess Twilight.

"Wow, I can feel a chill tingling down my spine," said Miles, with an unamused facial expression.

"You'll be lucky if I decide not to break your spine," growled Stardust.

Miles rolled his eyes, and said, "You should've just stayed in limbo, Jackie... and now, you're going to regret messing up my plan."

He then moved out of sight, and the group of ponies saw [the AJBS versions of] Applejack and Applebloom, who were both tied to an apple tree.

"Don't you worry 'bout us, Star," cried Applejack. "We ain't scared of this bully!"

Applebloom, however, took a small gulp, and said, "I'm actually a lil' bit scared right now, Big Sis."

Princess Twilight was speechless, while Stardust exclaimed, "I swear, Miles, if you even lay one of your damn hooves on them..."

"Then, stop your pathetic attempt at being a hero, and leave my handiwork alone."

"Handiwork?!" Princess Twilight yelled, also starting to become angry. "You should be ashamed for causing all of this unnecessary damage to these worlds!"

"I don't recall asking for your opinion, you filthy little mule."

When Miles said that, Princess Twilight became speechless, while Stardust was nearing his boiling point. "You are so [BEEP], Miles... and I'm not going to stop what we're doing... because once everything is fixed, and you decide to be brave enough to face me, I'm sending you back to whatever Hell you came from."

After that, nopony spoke a word... for a moment or two... until...

"Do your worst, you pathetic excuse for a character."

Then, the group of ponies watched as Miles came back into view, and used his staff to send multiple red-colored energy blasts at Applejack and Applebloom, causing a small explosion of red smoke to appear...

"You turned them into apples?" Pinkie said, referring to the fact that there were now two apples where the two Earth ponies were supposed to be.

Stardust was about ready to explode in a furious rage, but then, as he watched Miles step closer to the pair of apples, he realized what the sinister pony was about to do.

"Miles! Don't you even think about-"

"Too late, Jackie... now you'll have this on your conscience."

The cloaked pony then transformed the staff into a big mallet.

"God [BEEP-BEEP-BEEP], Miles, stop this now!" Stardust yelled, giving him one last chance.

Miles turned to look at them, and Princess Twilight noticed that only his eyes did not appear to be consumed by darkness.

"This is what happens when you choose to be a hero."

Then, right before the portal disappeared, the last thing they saw was Miles bringing the mallet down on the pair of helpless apples.

Casey, Twilight, and Pinkie were all speechless, while Princess Twilight was shocked and horrified.

As for Stardust, there were no words to explain what was going on inside his mind... only that he was gritting his teeth in frustration, and looked like he was about to explode in anger any second now.

His body was shaking with rage, and-

Whoosh!

"Pinkie, stop!" yelled Princess Twilight, and the pink pony quickly shut off the firefighter water hose that she was currently holding in her hooves... while Stardust was now soaking wet.

Everypony looked at her, and Pinkie Pie simply shrugged. "He looked like he was burning up."

Comments

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

XD, God damnit Pinkie!