My Little Pony: A Race Against Time

by CJ Esmerio

Caught Up

Author's Note:

"My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" belongs to DHX Media and Hasbro while Stardust Balance was created by the Warrior of Twilight, and Beck was made by FanficReader920, who helped me with part of this chapter.

Five hours later

"... and that's why I'm here," said Casey, who was still looking at the turtledove necklace in one of his hands. "Oh, and, uh, I'm done with the water drinks now."

The bartender nodded his head, and as he walked away with the empty glass, Casey let out a sigh in sadness, deeply regretting the mistakes that he had made.

"No offense, man… but I think you're kind of an idiot."

He looked over to the person sitting a few seats down from him, and asked, "Uh… why would you tell me that?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders, and said, "Just giving an honest opinion here, Casey… and it's that I think you're being a bit of an idiot if you believed your girlfriend would make any other decision regarding Beck's fate. Don't you know her well enough at this point?"

Before Casey could answer him, the bartender returned to hand the young man another soda pop bottle. "So, what kind of story do you have, son?"

After taking a swift drink of his beverage, Jack replied, "Well, earlier this morning, I was having a meal date with my girlfriend-"

"Oh, yeah, now I remember seeing you… you're with that one young lady," said the bartender, while preparing another customer's drink. "Sunset… uh… Glimmer, right?"

Jack let out a sigh, and he replied, "Sunset Shimmer, but yes, that's her. Anyway, our date got interrupted by this damn psychopath who ended up taking her away after knocking me into the… kitchen… wait a minute…"

A realization entered Jack's mind as he remembered certain parts of Casey's story, and the young man asked, "Does Evil Stardust have a scar over one of his eyes?"

"Yeah, but why would…" Casey started to say, but then, he found himself remembering something that the evil pony had said back in the library after returning his wristwatch.

I'm about to do to you what I did to Sunset Shimmer.

The two of them shared a look with each other, knowing what the person in front of him was thinking about, and Jack asked, "Can your, um, special wristwatch take you to pretty much anywhere you could possibly go?"

Looking at the device around his wrist, Casey replied, "Well, only to places that it's been at already, and I never… ohhhhhh…"

"Yup, exactly," said Jack, and he placed a few dollar bills on the countertop before gesturing to the exit. "Come on, let's go pay one of my friends a visit…"

Nodding his head, Casey began to follow him out of the bar, but not before giving the bartender a thankful smile. "Thanks for listening, sir."

"No problem, son," replied the elderly gentleman. "Good luck with your special someone."

Once Casey and Jack were outside (and, thankfully, it was no longer raining), the pony-turned-human asked, "So, where are we going?"

"To see the only person I know that can help us figure out where… well, isn't that sweet," said Jack, stopping for a moment to observe what was happening between a young couple that stood by a beautiful water fountain across the street.

Casey did the same, and a look of confusion appeared on his face. "What's going on?"

"He's getting down on one knee, and basically asking his girlfriend to be with him for the rest of their lives," explained Jack. "And judging from their affectionate kissing, she gave him the right answer."

As they watched the loving couple run off to presumably celebrate, Casey asked, "Is that what you did with Sunset?"

"Er… well, no…" replied Jack, who now had a sheepish expression. "We've only been together for a few months, anyway… so we, um, haven't exactly reached that point yet."

After hearing his new friend say that, an idea popped into Casey's head, and a small smile appeared on his face.

"Hey, Jack… do you think you could help me out with something important?"

"I'll do what I can," replied Jack, as they resumed sprinting to their destination. "But it'll be while my friend is going through your special watch."

Casey nodded in response, and asked, "Who are we seeing again?"

---

Stardust's World

"So, how have you been, Twilight?" asked a curious Pinkie. "The last time I saw you was when I had that super awesome save-the-multiple-worlds party back at the end of the first story."

Before Stardust's girlfriend could respond to her question, the gold pony walked back in to the library, along with Twilight's counterpart, but to everypony else's surprise, there was no sign of Casey making his return.

"What happened? Where's Casey?" asked a concerned Starlight.

As Stardust explained to Twilight what happened telepathically, her counterpart replied, in a sad tone, "I told him it might be best if we… took a break from each other… and now he's gone…"

"Gone? Gone where?"

Not wanting his girlfriend's counterpart to feel more upset, Stardust replied, "We're not exactly sure, but I have a good feeling that it's some place where he needs to be right now… so, in the meanti - uh, Pinkie?"

While Starlight started to frown at Stardust, Pinkie suddenly walked right up to him, and looked at him up and down several times.

"Hmmmm… which Stardust are you again?"

You can't be serious, thought the gold pony, while Twilight gave her friend's counterpart a confusing look.

"Why would you ask that?"

Pinkie responded by giving the couple a shrug, and said, "I'm just curious, is all… I mean, I have seen almost ten versions of Stardust. You two remember, right?"

"I don't think them or any of us know just what in the hay you're talkin' about, sugarcube," replied Applejack. "Be a little more specific."

Pinkie tapped her chin with a single hoof, and said, "Well, to sum up almost 40 chapters into one paragraph… there's a lot of worlds where Stardust is paired up with another pony… me, Fluttershy, you, Rainbow, Rarity, Cadence... Starlight, Luna, Human Twilight, Sunset Shimmer, that one baker pony from Starlight's old village who made us those terrible muffins the first time we met her because Starlight took away her Cutie Mark… Daring Do, Trixie-"

"Trust me, Pinkie, he's the actual Stardust Balance," interrupted Twilight, who was now feeling a little annoyed, and Pinkie's face had an apologetic expression.

"Oops, sorry, I forgot that you don't like to remember that stuff since you had to see him kiss almost all of them in order to - yup, the way your face is right now is exactly how it was when…"

Before she could continue her monologue, Rainbow said, "Uh, Pinkie, we get it, he's the Stardust… so, now that we know who you are, shouldn't we get Casey back first before we take on Evil You, Evil Us… and, at this point, Beck?"

"Forgive me if this sounds rude, but I'm positive that I'll be able to handle Beck and Anti-Me without his help," replied Stardust. "A lot of stuff has happened since Anti-Me showed up here, and I've been meaning to teach Beck a lesson for-"

Before he could continue speaking, Applejack asked, "Hold up for a minute… no offense, Star, but how come almost everypony that you and Casey dealt with these past few months want to pretty much beat the livin' daylights outta you?"

"I honestly have no idea," he replied, giving a small shrug. "But at this point, I'm pretty much used to it… anyway, yeah, Casey's fine where-"

"Fine? No, he is not fine, Stardust," interrupted Starlight, who was still giving him an annoyed look. "As someone who's apparently spent a lot of time with him, I figured you'd have a different response."

A frown appeared on the young pony's face, and he said, "Look, Starlight, you have no idea what my counterpart is capable of… you weren't there to see what he did to me, my friends, and-"

"Yeah, but I know what happened to Casey after I saw Twilight bring him back to our world because of what Evil You did," replied the purple unicorn, now glaring at Stardust with anger. "And now that I think about it… just what kind of friend are you?"

What is her deal? thought Stardust, and he said, "I think you're upset at the wrong pony."

"No, I am not…" exclaimed Starlight. "If you're his friend, then where were you during that time Beck captured all of us? Or when Casey and Twilight were in the hospital?"

While Stardust kept quiet for a moment, Pinkie said, "Wow, Starlight… you reaalllyy don't like him, do you?"

Ignoring her friend's question, Starlight raised her eyebrow at Stardust, waiting for his answer.

"Well? What were you doing over here that stopped you from coming to our world?"

Starswirl, you mind helpin' me with this one? thought Stardust.

Is it that hard for you to admit the truth, Jack? responded his mentor.

However, before Stardust could think of anything else, Twilight said, "I know you're worried about him, Starlight, but Jack is right… things could get a lot worse in just a matter of seconds now that Evil Stardust and Beck are presumably working together… and I promise you that looking for Casey will be the first thing we'll all do once those two - and Evil Stardust's friends - are taken care of… alright?"

Although she continued to glare at Stardust for another moment, Starlight eventually lowered her anger, and gave his girlfriend a small nod.

"Good…" said Twilight, while Stardust was trying to figure out why Starlight's counterpart apparently disliked him so much.

---

Anti-Equestria

Having grown bored of staying in the world they'd traveled to, the Anti-Mane 5 had decided to return to their own castle, and after an hour of waiting, a portal appeared in the throne room, with Evil Stardust and Beck stepping out.

"Well, it's about [BEEP]-in time you came back here," said Anti-Rainbow, whose sly smile went away after noticing her friend's companion. "Um, who is this new pony?"

Evil Stardust chuckled, and replied, "You can all stand down, mates. We have a new ally."

"Greetings. The name's Beck. I take it you five are the Dark counterparts of the Elements of Harmony?" Beck asked.

Anti-Rainbow scoffed, and laid back against her throne, saying, "If by dark, you mean better, than that's us alright… and, er, why is he on our side now?"

"Because he took down the Mane 6 and the other three princesses… even Discord… all on his own," replied Stardust's counterpart. "So I expect you all to show him some respect. Got it?"

All five of his friends nodded their heads as Evil Stardust walked over to the Cutie Map, and Beck cleared his throat before speaking again.

"Well, now that we all know each other, what's the plan?"

A sly grin appeared on the face of Evil Stardust,now sitting in Twilight's chair, and he replied, "I'm glad you asked, Beck, 'cause you see…"

(Begin "That's How I'll Get Her" from the Wander Over Yonder episode "My Fair Hatey")

I've done extensive research

On our common enemies

With the Time Staff in his hooves, Evil Stardust created a memory portal that was now floating over the table, showing past memories of both Casey and Stardust.

You see, their secret weapon

Is their little fusion dealie

The portal was now showing the creation of Starcade, and a scowl appeared on Evil Stardust's face.

So we'll get Casey removed from this little situation

Untilthere's no one left to stop us from conquering this nation

With Casey gone, we'll have a pawn
to use on them, it's such a gem!

Watch their forces crumble

Before my strategic eye!

That's how we'll get 'em

(Anti-Mane 5: how we'll get 'em!)

That's how we'll get 'em!

We'll capture all those ponies and make them pay!

That's how we'll get 'em

(How we'll get 'em!)

That's how we'll get 'em

Once we get 'em, Stardust Balance

Will finally be no more!

"Did you just sing that?" Beck asked, confused.

"What?! [BEEP] no!" Evil Stardust stammered. "Don't be ridiculous!"

"Well, it's a good plan. It's just, uh..." Beck tried to find the right words as he gazed at the sung-about plan before him.

"'Just uh...' 'Just uh...' what?"

Beck rolled his eyes before he turned to face Evil Stardust, and began his own verse.

It's nothing, kid

This all sounds great

It really is quite charming.

You're just forgetting, I dunno…

His special [BEEP]ing somepony

The portal started showing past memories of Stardust and his girlfriend, which caused Evil Stardust's smile to disappear.

You clearly put some thought into

Your big old plan to get 'em,
But how you gonna pull it off

With Twilight in the picture?

Instead of mass hysteria,

she'll punt ya cross Equestria!

With the way these things end

How can't you see you will never get 'em?

(Evil Stardust: Yeah, we'll get 'em.)

You'll never get 'em

Your wits alone won't win this interdimensional war

You'll never get 'em! (Sure, I'll get 'em!)

You'll never get 'em

'Cause they're better!

Y'all go in there

And you will be no more!

"Okay, okay, you definitely sang that last part," Evil Stardust pointed out.

"Yeah, well, so did you!" Beck countered. "I was only followin' your lead. However, in all seriousness. I took notice to how your prior plans involved you going easy on all of Twilight's various selves. Why?"

Evil Stardust hesitated, for a moment, before he grudgingly replied, "It's in my damn DNA to not hurt any version of Twilight Sparkle or EG Twilight… I'm just glad he doesn't know that about me yet."

"Alright, well, if that's how you feel, how about this," Beck offered. "Leave all the Twilights to me. That way, you can focus on your little counterpart and I get my revenge. Everyone's satisfied."

Evil Stardust mulled Beck's thoughts over for a second, before an evil smile adorned his face, indicating his response.

"Alright, I'm game. Any objections?" He asked the rest of the Anti-Mane 5, and they all shook their heads.

"Excellent," Beck said, with an evil smile of his own, before all seven malevolent ponies sang in unison.

That's how we'll get 'em!

That's how we'll get 'em!

Once we get 'em…

[Evil Stardust/Beck]
Stardust Balance/Twilight Sparkle

Will finally be… no... mooooooooooooooooooooooorrre!

Then, both of the Earth Ponies nodded their heads, and glared at each other. "Great! But no singing!"

WHAM!

Suddenly, the room's doors were pushed open by an irritated Midnight, who asked, "Who in Equestria is singing?"

"They are!" exclaimed the rest of the Anti-Mane 6, who each pointed their hooves at Evil Stardust and a now-smirking Beck.

"So, this must be the dark version of Princess Twilight… not much of a difference, though, I was honestly expecting to see you-"

Whoosh!

In a matter of seconds, Midnight's body became that of how her counterpart was while trying to figure out the meaning of Pinkie sense, but she looked a lot more menacing and dangerous.

"Never… say that name… again…" growled Midnight, and Beck quickly nodded his head.

"God, I love it when she does that," said Evil Stardust, who was looking at his girlfriend with love and admiration.

---

After making a quick stop at the jewelry store, Casey and Jack approached the house of whoever the young man's friend was, and after Jack knocked on the door, Casey asked, "So, is this where Pinkie lives?"

Jack let out a chuckle, and shook his head before asking, "Why do you think Pinkie would be the friend that I talked about?"

"Um… I try not to question stuff when it comes to her," replied Casey. "And plus, who else-"

Then, the front door opened, revealing a smiling Sci-Twi (the EG version of Twilight), and a sheepish look appeared on Casey's face as he said, "Oh, right… that makes more sense."

"Hi, Jack," greeted the former Crystal Prep student. "Who's your new friend?"

"This is Casey," replied the young man. "And, um, the two of us could really use your help right now…"