My Little Pony: A Race Against Time

by CJ Esmerio

Experiencing the World

Author's Note:

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

The first question that everyone was asked once they all sat at a table was -"Would anyone like something to drink?"

"Some glasses of water, please?" Stardust said, and the elderly waitress nodded her head before walking away.

Then, the young man looked at his friends, and said, "Okay, so let's see if we're all on the same page here. We're all seemingly trapped here..."

"By an evil version of Stardust," said Casey, pointing at a drawing that Pinkie had done on a piece of scrap paper. "He's taken control of Twilight's castle..."

"Along with alternate versions of me, AJ, Rainbow, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity," added Twilight. "And I'm betting that it won't be long until they decide to-"

"Pull a Sunset, and try to take over the minds of everypony else?" finished Discord, and he quickly gave the young teenager an apologetic look. "Sorry."

Sunset rolled her eyes, and she replied, "None taken... so, the big question is - how are we supposed to get home?"

Pinkie began jumping up and down in her seat, and said, "Ooh, ooh,maybe Starswirl the Bearded can use his magic like he used it to take Stardust away from us momentarily after Twilight had finished her battle with Tirek-"

Casey's skin color started to turn a little pale.

"- as well as to the world that Sunset lives at, helping our other selves fromthatworld defeat a trio of power-craving sirens that used their vocal abilities to-"

Stardust held up his hands, and he exclaimed, "Okay, Pinkie, I get it... no need to recap all of that stuff... and, unfortunately, Starswirl is onsilent moderight now."

"Uh, what does that mean exactly?" asked Applejack.

"That he won't talk to me until we've figured out on our own how to get back home," replied Stardust. "Usually it's so that we can learn a type of lesson from this sort of..."

As he continued explaining to Applejack, Twilight noticed that a beautiful, blonde-haired, and middle-aged woman was having trouble getting out of the door because her hands were full with a stack of cardboard boxes.

"Can... someone... please help - oh, thank you," said the kind woman, giving Twilight a grateful smile because the alicorn-turned-human had opened the door for her. "I have a 3 hour drive to get from here to Leeds, and-"

She paused after noticing one of Twilight's hair clips. "Aw, that's a lovely clip you have in your hair... looks exactly like the one that-"

HONK!

"I'm coming, alright?"exclaimed the beautiful woman, and she gave Twilight an apologetic look. "Sorry about that, my friends are a little crazy. Thanks again!"

As she headed out of the cafe, Twilight was smiling, having felt good about helping out the kind stranger.She sure sounded familiar, though, for some reason.

Then, Twilight began to head back over to her friends, but she suddenly heard a strange sound nearby. "What was that?"

Twilight walked over to the other side of the cafe, and bent down to pick up a small object on the ground.

However, it didn't come off right away, and Twilight frowned while continuing to try picking it up. "Come... on... you... little..."

Suddenly, her focus was interrupted by the sounds of a wolf-whistle, and Twilight stood up to look at a large group of guys who were all sitting at a table.

They all appeared to be the same age - more or less - as Stardust, and one of them said, "I waswonderinghow long it would take for one of you lovely ladies to make your way over here... and, from this angle, it looks like we're off to a fresh start."

"Um...okay," said a confused Twilight, not knowing what he was talking about.

"Oh, yeah, she's real special there, Johnny," muttered one of the young man's friends.

Johnny glared at him, and exclaimed, "Hey, you mind shutting your trap, pal? You'll get your chance with one of the other ones."

Then, he turned his attention back to Twilight, and gave her a dashing smile. "Don't mind them, they're all idiots... so, um, how would you feel about me and you taking a walk over to the movie theater a few blocks away?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, but..." replied Twilight, who nodded her head over at Stardust. "I'm with my friends, and one of them is my special somepony... I mean, er, boyfriend."

Unfortunately, one of the guys had heard Twilight's mistake, and he began to laugh. "Oh, my gosh, Johnny, she's one of thosepegasissyfans that are obsessed with that one show called-"

"It'spegasister, and the show is calledMy Little Pony," finished Stardust, taking notice of the fact that Twilight hadn't returned to her seat. "And I would appreciate it if you all left my girlfriend alone."

However, after taking a look at Stardust, Johnny felt like his chance wasn't gone just yet. "Aw, we weren't doing her any harm, brah... in fact, I was close to convincing her to go out with me."

"I highly doubt that," retorted the unamused teenager, and he began to lead Twilight away, but then, she tried again in picking up the small object from the floor.

Stardust chuckled, and he said, "It's just a plain old penny, love, there is no-"

"Yeah, Johnny, you were right, she's a real beauty," replied one of the young man's friends, who then let out a wolf-whistle.

As Twilight stood back up, Stardust gritted his teeth in frustration after realizing what they were all doing, and said, "You'd better be glad I don't knock your [BEEP] teeth down your damn throat, [BEEP]."

The young man he'd spoken to stood up, and walked over to Stardust, but Johnny motioned for him to stay back. "No need for that type of language around my friends, man... you'd best apologize to him."

"Go [BEEP] yourself, sick pervert," growled Stardust, and he continued with bringing Twilight away, but then, all of the guys stood up, except for Johnny, who was still sitting, and no longer smiling.

"What the hell did you just say to me?"

Stardust looked at Johnny, and said, "You heard me...go[BEEP] yourself... get the picture?"

Instead of replying, the young man stood up, and Stardust noticed that Johnny was actually a few feet taller than him.Oh, [BEEP] he's tall!

"Hey, is there a problem over here?"

Applejack was making her way over to Stardust, followed by the rest of their friends, and Johnny gave her a mischievous grin. "Oh, with a pair like that, cowgirl, you'll doreal nicelywith-"

"Alright, that's it," exclaimed Stardust, and he prepared to deliver a solid punch to Johnny's jaw, but the young man swiftly blocked it by catching Stardust's fist with his own muscular hand.

Sheesh, his hand is like a damn baseball glove!thought Stardust.

"Now, you listen here,pal," growled Johnny, who was no longer smiling. "We're gonna have our fun with these ladies, and you-"

"Well, you forgot about one thing," interrupted Stardust, and he pointed at something behind Johnny. "What the hell is that?"

Johnny turned around, and Stardust quickly his body strength to shove him into the young man's friends, with all of them falling down to the ground.

Jack, now would be a good time to run.

[Insert "Skateboard Chase" by Alan Silvestri]

Stardust nodded his head, and said, "Alright, everyone, we're leaving."

"But we haven't had lunch yet!" Pinkie cried.

As Johnny and the rest of his gang started to get back up, Stardust exclaimed, "Pinkie, trust me on this. We are leaving NOW!"

The group of friends quickly ran out of the cafe, while Johnny let out a frustrated growl, and yelled, "Get him!"

---

Stardust and Twilight were leading their friends away from the cafe, but then, Applejack stopped after seeing a familiar object laying on the sidewalk across the street.

"My hat!"

So, the young teenager ran over to grab it, but just as she was about to reach her hat, the wind picked up again, and started blowing it away from her grasp.

"Oh, no you don't, you get back here!"

As Applejack chased after her Stetson hat, Stardust noticed that she was running away from them. "AJ! We have to-"

"There you are, asshole!" Stardust turned around, and saw that Johnny was quickly approaching them.

"We'll find her later, Star, let's just worry aboutnotgetting beat up by those creeps!" exclaimed Rainbow, having finally spoken ever since apologizing to him.

Johnny turned his head to see the alluring cowgirl running after a brown hat, and he nodded at a few of his friends, who all started to go after Applejack.

"So, what's the plan, Stardust?" asked Starlight.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking," exclaimed Stardust, quickly looking around to see where they could all hide. "Um... we can... oh, wait... Pinkie!"

The party-loving teenager looked over at Stardust, and cried, "Yeah?"

"Do you happen to have a beaded necklace or something like that with you?"

Twilight looked at her boyfriend like she was crazy. "What good wouldthatdo?"

"Trust me, love," replied Stardust, as Pinkie handed him the necklace. "Discord! I need your help, too!"

---

After several minutes of chasing Stardust and the others, Johnny and the rest of his gang turned the corner, and to their surprise, none of them were anywhere to be seen.

"Where thehelldid theygo?"

However, before any of his friends could say anything to him, they all found themselves tripping over a large and scattered pile of beads, and to make matters worse, the street was suddenly very slippery, like a bowling lane.

It caused Johnny and his friends to slide down the street, and they all ended up crashing into a rather big wheelbarrow, which surprisingly broke into a million pieces, releasing its contents on top of them.

A few feet away, Stardust and the others silently laughing to themselves, as well as being unseen by anyone, thanks to Discord's limited yet very helpful magic.

"Where'd you get the idea for all of that stuff?" whispered Rainbow.

Stardust chuckled, and he replied, "From a couple of movies I've seen."

"Blegh! Ihatemanure!"Johnny exclaimed, and Stardust tried his best to hold in his laughter.

---

Even though she'd lost her pursuers, and had spent quite some time chasing her precious hat, Applejack was not going to give up. "You'd better stop right now, missy, before I-".

Whoosh!

The wind blew the hat into the nearest open-door building (a banquet hall), and Applejack ran inside after it. "Don't you walk away from me!"

She continued chasing after the hat, and once it landed on the ground, Applejack was about to pick it up, but then, someone else beat her to it.

"Is this yours, m'am?"

Her hat had been picked up by a well-dressed elderly man that was wearing his own Stetson hat.

"Yep, and I've been runnin' like a starving pig ready for supper tryin' to get it back," replied Applejack, who was taking several deep breaths. "Thank you for stopping it, sir."

"No problem, m'am," said the elderly man, smiling at her kindly. "And you can call me Bucky."

Applejack chuckled, and she said, "Okay, thank you, Bucky, and I... um..."

She found herself speechless after looking around, and realized where she was at.

"I take it you've never been the annual 'come one, come all'MacGuffin Country Jamboree Hoedown?" Bucky said, noticing that Applejack was no longer speaking.

As she looked at the rest of the country-and-western dressed people in the main hall, which was included with a stage for the country band, Applejack shook her head. "No, siree..."

"Well, then, welcome to your very first one," said Bucky, giving her a pat on the back.

---

"Yousureyou saw Applejack run this way?"

Stardust nodded his head, and said, "I'mpositive, Fluttershy... AJ was chasing after her ha-"

"Aaaaaauuuggghhh!"

Everyone turned around, looking at Rarity, who was facing the front of a t.v. store, and Stardust groaned. "Wegetit, you're gorgeous."

Rarity shook her head, and gasped, "It's not my reflection, Stardust... look."

As he walked over to her, Stardust rolled his eyes, and said, "Okay, I'm not in the mood to... see... oh...my...God..."

[My Little Pony!

I used to wonder what friendship could be!

My Little Pony!

Until you all shared that magic with me.]

While the others made their way over to see what was playing on the t.v. in front of Rarity, Stardust slapped his forehead again, and muttered, "Oh, great, just my damn luck... well, at least we're not watchingEquestria Girls."

---

It had taken a few minor yet failed attempts, but Applejack was now socializing with the other people who were there for the celebration.

"Howdy there, nice to meet ya," greeted the young teenager, greeting several of the newly-arrived guests. "My name's Ap-"

"What?!"

Applejack turned around, and saw Bucky on top of the stage, having a conversation with the band, but he did not look happy.

"Hold that thought... pardon," said the pony-turned-human, and she hurried over to help her new friend with whatever was going on. "What's the issue here, Bucky?"

"Oh, it's justterrible, AJ," exclaimed the elderly gentleman. "The headlining singer that Ipaidto come here bailed on all of us, and now there's no one here to kick off the musical performances."

Applejack looked at the attendees of the jamboree hoedown, and nodded her head, knowing what she had to do. "Well, it's a good thing I'm here, Bucky, cause I sing plenty where I come fro-"

"Really, AJ? You'll sing for us?"Bucky said, with hope in his eyes. "I'll gladly pay you for it."

Applejack smiled, and shook her head, saying, "I sure do appreciate it, Bucky, but that won't be necessary... just tell me what I gotta sing, and I'll do it for ya."

Hearing that from the young teenager, Bucky pumped his fist in the air, and said, "Yes! Alright, AJ, it'll take a few minutes before you start performing so that I can teach you the dance moves and memorize the lyrics. You think you can handle all of it?"

Applejack smirked at Bucky, and she replied, "Yessir, I believe I can... just let me know what I gotta do."

---

Sometime later, once the grand room was full of guests, Bucky was handed a microphone, and he said, "Allllll right, everyone, it's time to kick this off with a BANG!"

The audience quickly gave their applause, and once they stopped, Bucky said, "Now, Ididhave someone else in mind to get us started, but for some reason, he couldn't make it..."

"Booooo!"

Bucky chuckled, and he replied, "Yeah, I know, it's terrible, but don't y'all get yourself heated up like a whistling teapot, ya hear? Cause luckily, I was able to get a lovely lil' lady to take his place-"

"Yeaaaaahhhh!"

"Now,that'swhat I want to hear from all of y'all," shouted an energetic Bucky. "So, do me a favor, y'all, and give agreatround of applause for a young lady that comes from,S.A. Acres... it'sAJ!"

He quickly left the stage, revealing that Applejack was behind him, and she brought herself over to the microphone, saying, "Um... howdy, y'all, my name is AJ, and I'm ready to start this here hoedown. What about y'all?"

The audience gave their applaudic response, and Applejack grinned, saying, "I thought so."

She turned back to look at the band behind her, with everyone giving her a thumbs up, and Applejack nodded her head before she started to sing.

Insert "Hoedown Throwdown" from Hannah Montana: The Movie

"1-2-3, everybody, come on off your seats!"exclaimed Applejack, who was now full of positive energy. "I'm gonna tell you bout a beat... that's gonna make you move your feet!"

I'll give the barbecue,

Show and tell you how to move,

If you're 5 or 82,

This is something you can do.

Pop it, lock it, polka-dot it

Countrify it then hip-hop it.

Put your hawk in the sky,

And move side-to-side.

Jump to the left, stick it, glide.

Zig-zag, across the floor

Shuffle in diagonal,

When the drum hits, hands on your hips.

One-footed, 180 twist.

Then a zig-zag, step slide

Lean it left, clap 3 times

Shake it out, head to toe

Throw it all together, that's how we roll.

Do the hoedown (throwdown) [x3]

Throw it all together, that's how we roll.

While she took a momentary pause, Stardust, Twilight, and Spike, as well as Rainbow, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Starlight, Sunset, and Discord had all entered the Main Hall.

"Alright, so how in Equestria are we going to find her, darling?" asked Rarity.

We get to 4, 5, 6

And you're feeling busted,

But it's not time to quit,

Practice makes you perfect.

Spike pointed one of his paws at the stage, and said, "Um, that seems pretty easy to me."

Everyone looked to where he was pointing at, and were surprised to see Applejack performing a song!

"Hey!" Stardust yelled, noticing that Rainbow was running away from them. "Where are you going?"

"There'sfoodhere, Star," answered Rainbow, who was also rubbing her stomach. "I'm getting myself a plate of it real quick... then, I'm gonna dance with everyone else."

As she headed over to the nearby buffet, Stardust sighed, and continued with listening to his close friend sing.

Do the hoedown (throwdown) [x3]

Throw it all together, that's how we roll.

Then, to Stardust's surprise, almost all of friends had joined the rest of the guests, except for himself, Spike, and Twilight.

"I'm fine just watching her from right here," said the dragon-turned-dog.

Stardust looked at Twilight, and he said, "You honestly don't think-"

Twilight let out a giggle, and said, ""No, of course not, Jack, but look at how happy she is up there."

Stardust did just that, and he started to feel very relieved of the fact that Rowan hadn't killed her.

"Well?"

"Okay,fine,I'll try to dance to this," said Stardust, rolling his eyes, and grabbing one of Twilight's hand to lead her to the dance floor, with Spike wishing them good luck.