> My Little Pony: A Race Against Time
>  by CJ Esmerio
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


My Little Pony: A Race Against Time

Chapter 1: Prologue and Tanked


On a dark and stormy night, at a secret location that was in the Everfree Forest, a sinister plan was nearing its completion.

"Are you sure that all of them will be heading to the Crystal Empire?"

The voice belonged to a cloaked and hooded figure that was in front of a burning fireplace... while his reluctant servant was standing in the middle of the room.

"Um... yes, sir," replied the Earth Pony, whose name was Casey. "Even the two little ponies."

"What about the winged one?"

Casey replied, "The little Pegasus is too sick to make the trip, but they all-"

"No matter, it will not make that much of a difference," interrupted his master. "All that matters is that, starting tomorrow, my revenge will be final..."

With a grin, the cloaked animal added, "And there's nothing that anypony can do about it!"

Casey gulped, and said, "Well, um, if that will be all, sir, then..."

He began to head towards the door, but it suddenly closed shut on him.

"Oh, you aren't quite done yet, slave," said the mysterious figure. "I need you to find that time machine to bring that other pony, and then, I want you to lure all of them into the area that I have prepared in the castle, in order for my plan to work."

"But how am I supposed to-" began Casey, but he instantly stopped talking when the flames began to grow brighter.

"Do not question me, you worthless pony! Just get them into that room, or else I'll make you regret it!"

As the door re-opened, Casey quickly nodded his head. "Yes, sir... thank you, sir..."

Whoosh!

Once the Earth Pony was gone, the cloaked figure began to grin in an evil way.

"You may think that 'friendship is magic', Twilight Sparkle," laughed the pony. "But you've never encountered my magic!"

Then, he began to let out an evil laugh.

"Ha-ha-ha... ha-ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha-ha!"



With the doors now closed, the Friendship Express began its journey from Ponyville to the Crystal Empire.

Aside from the conductor, the only occupants aboard the train were Twilight Sparkle, as well as the rest of the Mane Six, and Twilight's number-one assistant/"little brother" Spike.

They had also brought along Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, who were the little sisters of Applejack and Rarity.

Unfortunately, Scootaloo (the little Pegasus pony that idolized Rainbow Dash) was currently under the weather, and could not join them on the trip.

"Are you alright, Starlight?" Twilight asked, looking at the unicorn sitting next to her.

Her name was Starlight Glimmer, and she was a reformed magical unicorn that had become a new friend of theirs, as well as Twilight's friendship pupil.

"Yeah, but I'm just... feeling a little nervous of seeing Sunburst," admitted Starlight, who was referring to her long-time childhood friend that had knowledgeable skills in magic.

"I haven't seen him since we first met Thorax there."

Twilight placed a comforting hoof around her shoulder. "I'm sure that he'll be glad to see you, especially since you saved all of us from Chrysalis. Plus, wasn't he the one who sent Thorax to help?"

Before Starlight could reply, however, a certain blue Pegasus was starting to chuckle. "I don't think she's feeling nervous at all, Twilight."

"Well, what else would it be, then?" asked the Princess of Friendship.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Twilight? I thought you knew everything!"

While Twilight appeared confused, Starlight began to blush. "Don't be silly, Rainbow, I don't-"

"Ooh, ooh, I know, I know!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, an Earth Pony that should never be questioned.

She took a deep breath, and said, "Starlight is starting to discover feelings for Sunburst, so she isn't feeling nervousness in her stomach, it's butterflies because she likes him!

"Plus, I'm sure that she knows that he knows what we didn't know until we actually did know about her and Discord and Thorax and Trixie saving us from that evil queen and all of the Changelings becoming good-"

"Um, Pinkie, that isn't what I-"

"But she's also worried about what will happen when he finds out that she had us all under her mind-control, or that your castle almost became a water-animal park, or even when she tried creating a spell that would erase Hearth's Warming Eve forrreeevverrr!"

Once Pinkie had finished, everyone had no idea what to say.

"Um, that last one was Snowfall Frost, Pinkie," corrected the purple alicorn. "And is she right, Starlight?"

The blushing unicorn said, "Um... well... I don't know..."

"But, um... haven't you known him since you were a filly?" asked Fluttershy, a shy and yellow-ish Pegasus that represented the Element of Kindness.

Starlight replied, "I mean, yeah, but that doesn't mean I-"

"And, didn't you help him realize his true potential, darling, during the whole incident with Flurry Heart?" said Rarity, a white unicorn that had an incredible fashion designer sense.

"Well, he was the one that knew what spell to-"

"And why else would your face be blushing as bright as the apples from Apple Acres?" added Applejack, who was an Earth Pony that had the Element of Honesty.

Before Starlight could reply back, Applejack's little sister said, "Aw, you don't gotta be so nervous, Starlight, your wizard friend's a cool unicorn!"

"Yeah, definitely," added Sweetie Belle, who was Rarity's younger sister. "Besides, it's not like you're Spike whenever he tries to-"

"Ssshhhhhh!" exclaimed the little purple dragon, but then, he noticed all of the ponies looking at him now. "What?"

"What did she mean by that, Spikey-Wikey?" Rarity asked, while the others rolled their eyes since they were all well-aware of the dragon's crush on the beautiful unicorn.

"Er, well," said Spike, now thinking fast. "It's whenever I try to... um... avoid being ambushed by the fanatic Crystal Ponies!"

Everyone except Rarity sighed, while Spike continued on. "Yeah, I mean, they'll probably be all over me more now that they know I was Thorax's first friend."

"What does that even-" started Starlight, but then, Twilight turned her head towards her.

"Starlight, it's okay to feel... strange... at times like this. I'm sure Sunburst will at least appreciate the visit."

Her pupil smiled, and nodded her head. "Thanks, Twilight."

"Of course," replied the purple unicorn.

"Besides," said Applejack, suddenly showing a sly grin. "You're just like the way Twilight was when she bumped into that one guard at Canterlot."

"I told you I don't know anything about him," said Twilight, who was starting to blush, as well. "He was just-"

"A pony that reminded you of a person you met in the other world that Sunset Shimmer stays at now," interrupted Pinkie Pie. "And that danced with you at the Fall Formal, as well as hugging you after you won the Battle of the Bands to beat the Sirens-

*gasp*

"But then he met the other you that's not really interested in him, so after talking to Sunset, he decided to accept the fact that you're probably never ever going to come back, unless the crack in the portal that's releasing energy beams does make you come back!"

At first, no one said a word... for at least a minute, which is when Spike asked, "How did you know all that stuff, Pinkie?"

She simply gave a small shrug. "But enough about me... do we know if Starlight likes Sunburst, or what?"

Starlight groaned, and began to slide downward to the floor, feeling embarrassed.

"Wow," said Pinkie Pie. "I wish I could do that!"
> New Arrival, Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the Friendship Express began to make its stop at the Train Station in the Crystal Empire, Starlight still seemed a little bit nervous.

"Don't worry, Starlight," assured Twilight. "You'll be fine."

Her student gave a smile in response, and once the train stopped, she said, "Yeah... I will be."

Spike stood in front of the doors, and after they opened, he stepped onto the platform. "All right, guys, let's go-"

"It's him, everyone! The heroic Spike has returned!"

The small dragon watched as a large crowd of Crystal Ponies started running towards him. He let out a small gulp, and began to back-up slowly.

"Ok, uh, I think it would be best if-"

Whoosh!

Spike turned around, and saw that Twilight was using her magic to keep the doors closed!

"Seriously?" exclaimed Spike, as he began to bang on the doors. "This isn't funny any- aaauuggghhh!"

The crowd of Crystal Ponies had arrived, and started to take Spike away from the train.

"Guys! Help me! Open the-"

But his sentence was cut off as he disappeared into the crowd, with one of the ponies yelling, "We've got him!"

Then, all of them started to run back to the city, while Twilight stopped using her magic, thus opening the doors.

"I sure do hope he'll be alright," said Rarity.

"Ah, he'll be fine," chuckled Twilight, as she walked out of the train. "Feeling better now, Starlight?"

Her laughing pupil replied, "Yeah, and now I can prepare how-"

"Hi, Princess Twilight!"

*gulp* "Never mind..."

"Hi, Sunburst," greeted Twilight. "Were you there the whole time?"

The magical unicorn shook his head. "Not exactly, I was on my way over when the large crowd just zoomed right past me. Hope Spike's okay."

"I'm sure he will be," replied Twilight. "They'll probably stop at the giant statue they have of him, and ask a bunch of questions and praise him and blah, blah, blah..."

Sunburst chuckled, and said, "Well, as long as - oh, hi, Starlight!"

Twilight turned her head to see her friends pushing a nervous Starlight out of the train, and once she was, Rarity used her magic to stop Starlight from coming back in.

"Oh, um, ha ha, hi Sunburst," said Starlight, giving him a small smile. "How have you been?"

"I've been very well, thanks for asking," replied the orange unicorn. "You've certainly had quite an adventure yourself, haven't you? I sure am glad that Thorax was able to reach you in time."

Starlight let out a sigh of relief, saying, "Oh, you have no idea... I didn't think there would be anyone left to help us."

"Well, I'm glad to see that nothing terrible happened to you or the others."

The light-purple unicorn became surprised at his statement. "You were... worried about me?"

"Of course. You're my best - and first - friend, Starlight. Why wouldn't I care?"

Starlight simply blushed, a little, and said, "Well, I mean, I am touched-"

"Okay, can we get to the birthday party already?" exclaimed Rainbow Dash, as the others followed her out of the train. "I'm starving!"

Sunburst chuckled, and began to lead them away from the train station. "Of course. Shining Armor and Cadence can't wait to see you all, especially Flurry Heart."

As they followed him, Starlight thought to herself, I really hope nothing worse than this happens today.

"Um, Mr. Sunburst, sir?" Everyone looked back at the platform, and saw that the voice was coming from an Earth Pony... that had been flattened like a pancake because of the large crowd.

"No worries, I got this!" Pinkie Pie walked over to him, placing one end of a "bendy" straw in her mouth, and the other into his.

Then, she began to blow air into him as if she were blowing air into a balloon until, eventually, there was enough air for him to...

Poof!

"There ya go!"

The restored pony coughed a few times, and said, "Thanks... ow, my head..."

Sunburst smiled, and said, "Everyone, I would like to introduce you to my assistant, Casey."

"An assistant?" Starlight said, surprised. "Wow. Is Flurry Heart that much of a handful?"

"You'd be surprised," admitted Sunburst. "But he helps out with other things, as well, and it's nice having somepony to give lessons to."

The country-speaking Earth Pony walked over to Casey, and shook his hoof. "Pleasure to meet ya, sugarcube. My name's Applejack, and this is my little sister, Applebloom."

"Howdy, Casey, nice to meet ya!"

Sweetie Belle introduced herself next, followed by Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Starlight, and Rarity.

Then, Twilight came up to him, and said, "Hi, Casey, I'm Twilight Sparkle."

The two of them shook hooves, and Casey said, "It's a pleasure to, um... finally meet you, Twilight."

Rainbow suddenly frowned, and muttered, "He never said that to us."

Applejack looked at her, and she replied, "What?"

Sunburst walked over to stand by the princess, saying, "He's a big fan of yours, Twilight."

Casey began to blush, feeling embarrassed. "I-I mean... well, I've seen so - I mean, heard so much about you... ever since you defeated Nightmare Moon..."

Twilight gave him a warm smile. "You don't have to be nervous, Casey. I enjoy making new friends."

Casey simply nodded his head, which was still red, and whispered, "Um... thanks."

"Wow, and I thought you were the shyest pony in all of Equestria," said Rainbow Dash, looking at Fluttershy.

"Oh, leave him alone," replied Fluttershy. "He can't help it if he has a crush on Twilight."

All of a sudden, everyone except her was now looking at Casey. "Uh-oh, did I... say that out loud?"

While Rainbow Dash slowly started laughing, an embarrassed Casey began to quickly walk away.

"Um, I will just... see you all later..."

Whoosh!

Then, all of a sudden, he took off in a flash, leaving a gust of wind behind.

"I'm sorry," whispered Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash was still laughing silently, to herself, until Twilight gave her a look that made her stop immediately. "Me, too."

Sunburst sighed, and said, "You'll see him later... sorry about that, princess."

"It's fine," replied Twilight. And kind of... sweet, actually..."

"He means well," said Sunburst. "You two would actually make a good pair of friends."

Before Twilight could respond, Rainbow said, "Are you sure not more than friends?"

As she started laughing again, a blushing Twilight rolled her eyes as they continued on with following Sunburst towards the city.
> New Arrival, Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few minutes later, just as Twilight had predicted, Spike was by his statue, retelling his incredible story about how he'd saved the Crystal Empire twice.

"Did you have fun?" Twilight asked, a look of amusement on her face.

"Once everyone stopped trying to grab me, yeah," replied Spike, still annoyed with her a little for keeping the doors closed on him.

Twilight chuckled, and looked around the city, admiring the decorations and other fun festivities that her BBBFF and sister-in-law had set up for their baby's first birthday.

"Twily!"

As if on cue, Shining Armor made his way towards his little sister, with Princess Cadence at his side, who was using her magic to push a crib that held Flurry Heart.

"Oh, she looks so adorable!" Rarity said, looking down at the alicorn toddler.

Applejack took a look, and smirked at her friend. "Um, she looks the same to me, Rarity."

The white unicorn rolled her eyes, and said, "Honestly, Applejack, you have no sense or appreciation of style."

"Now, that's just crazy talk right there," replied the farming pony. "This hat right here I got on is part of my style."

"Oh, honestly, darling, of all the ridiculous..." continued Rarity, but Twilight simply ignored her as she went over to talk to Cadence.



Casey was silently walking by the houses of the Crystal Ponies, not taking any part in the festivities.

"Slave!"

Taking a small gulp, Casey went over to a nearby pond, and looked at the water, which dissolved into a reflection of his cloaked master.

"Is the Crystal Mirror still in the castle, or not?"

Casey tried to figure out what were the right words for him to-

"Answer me, SLAVE!"

The Earth Pony winced at his master's raised tone. "No, sir, it's no longer there."

His master scoffed, and said, "No matter, I'll get that mustard-colored pony somehow. You just work on leading the Mane Six into that room."

"But what Spike, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle?" wondered Casey. "I thought they-"

"You worthless moron, I do not care about a baby dragon or two weak-minded brats," growled the cloaked pony. "All I want you to do is bring the Mane Six into the room, where I will then take care of everything else."

Before Casey could say anything else, his master said, "Just get... it... done."

Then, a small wave of ripples appeared in the water, erasing the image of his cruel master, and leaving a scared Casey to be alone with his thoughts.

Why can't I just do the right thing? wondered the Earth Pony, as he began to have second thoughts regarding his master's sinister plot.

He looked at his cutie mark, which was a silver crescent moon, along with a bright, blue-colored, and eight-pointed star. This isn't who I am.

Did he have feelings for Twilight? Well, yes, but he wasn't exactly in love with her... he just hoped that, maybe one day, they could go out on a date, then see what happened next.

Was he a cruel-hearted pony, like his master? Not in any way whatsoever..

How did he end up serving him, then?

Well, let's just say that, on a day that he was gathering ingredients in the Evergreen Forest for Sunburst, Casey had gone to the wrong place at the wrong time...

So, then, he ended up becoming a spy, reporting anything that he'd seen or heard about regarding Twilight Sparkle and her friends... and, when the time was right, Casey would simply have to fulfill one last task before his services were no longer required.

Let's face it, Twilight would never want to hang out... let alone, go on a date with somepony like me, thought Casey as he sighed, and hung his head down in sadness.

"Casey?"

The Earth Pony turned to see Twilight, as well as the rest of the Mane Six.

"You alright, sugarcube?" Applejack looked at him with concern.

Casey nodded his head, and he said, "Yeah, of course... and I'm sorry for the way that I acted earlier."

"So am I," replied Fluttershy, feeling bad. "I shouldn't have said what I said out loud."

Although the Earth Pony started to blush, he simply waved it off.

"It's fine, Fluttershy. Don't sweat it."

"So, you do have a crush on Twilight, then?" wondered Rainbow Dash, making the other ponies roll their eyes. "What?"

Twilight walked over to Casey, and to everyone's surprise, she placed a necklace around him.

Holding the circular pendant in his hoof, Casey saw that it showed a turtle-dove behind a blue-sky background.

"W-why are you giving me this?" Not that he wasn't complaining, but it just seemed a bit odd to him, as well as the others.

Twilight gave him a warm smile, and said, "Well, I have a similar necklace at home, and as long as you keep that with you, we'll always be friends, no matter what."

Oh... friends... Casey slightly felt a little bit of rejection. Makes sense since she's probably paired better with somepony else.

Noticing his slight disappointment, a blushing Twilight said, "Well, I mean, it could mean something more... possibly... after we get to know each other first?"

Casey instantly felt happier, and replied, "Thanks, Twilight."

Applejack nodded his head, and put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "That was somethin' real special, Twi."

Get them to the room, slave...

All of a sudden, as he remembered his master's voice, Casey cleared his throat to say, "Um, if you all don't mind... I'd like to show you a special room inside the castle."

"Ooh, really?" Pinkie Pie said, her curious eyes growing as wide as ping-pong balls. "What kind of special?"

"You'll have to see for yourself, Pinkie," replied Casey, gesturing towards the castle. "That okay?"

Rainbow Dash let out a yawn, and said, "If I eat any more food, I'll end up falling asleep, so... alright, I'm game."

Then, the others started to agree, as well, and Casey said, "Great! Now just follow me, and you'll see something amazing."




Meanwhile...


"Yes, my plan is almost complete!"

The cloaked figure was in the room that Casey would bring them to, and right now, he was looking at the wall paintings in front of him.

There was also five empty statue stands surrounding him. "Yes, this will suit them very nicely."

He looked down at the ground, which had a painted symbol that represented Twilight's Cutie Mark.

"And once the Princess of Friendship is out of the way, there will be NO PONY whatsoever in Equestria that can stop me!"
> And, So It Begins
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once they were inside the Crystal Castle, Casey began leading his friends to the "special room" that he had talked about.

"So, what exactly is inside that room?" Rainbow asked, looking at their new friend with curiosity.

"Just a little, um... tribute that the, ah, Crystal Ponies made for you all," replied Casey, who was trying his best not to sound nervous.

Twilight raised an eyebrow, and said, "It's not something like Spike's statue, is it?"

Casey chuckled, and shook his head. "No, it's... a little more different than that."

As they continued walking, Rainbow was having a strange feeling inside of herself, which Rarity took notice of.

"Having a stomach ache, darling, from all of that food you consumed?"

Rainbow Dash shook her head, saying, "No, it's not that. I just feel like... something bad is about to hap - whoa!"

The seven of them were now in front of a large door that resembled the star that Twilight had for a Cutie Mark.

Surrounding the star were carvings of the others' Cutie Marks, as well.

"Did you create all of this?" Applejack asked, as she looked at the well-made carving of her Cutie Mark. "I'm impressed!"

Casey blushed a little, and said, "Well, I didn't necessarily do all of it, but thanks anyway."

Pinkie Pie walked up to the door, looking all around it, and turned back to Casey. "So, how do we open it if there's not any doorknobs?"

"Well, Pinkie," explained Casey, who was still trying to remain cool. "That is where Twilight comes in."

Rainbow chuckled, and said, "I'm guessing that's why hers is the biggest."

Twilight frowned at her friend, and she replied, "That's probably just a coincidence... so, do I use my magic then?"

"Uh-huh," replied Casey, nodding his head. "And you'll see the surprise I was talking about."

So, while everyone took a few steps back, Twilight walked over to the front of the door, and began to activate her magic.

But while she was doing that, Casey began to feel more guilty about the fact that none of them knew what was going to happen once they entered the room.

Click! Ding!

Once she had finished, Twilight stepped back, and everyone watched as the star turned around a few times before splitting into two doors that opened sideways.

Maybe there's still a chance... thought Casey, who was looking at the necklace that Twilight had given him.

"Uh, hold up one second!"

The Mane Six all looked curiously at Casey, who walked over to stand in front of Twilight. "Maybe we should get Spike and Starlight to see this, as well?"

Twilight chuckled, and replied, "Uh, I think Spike has his own special tribute to admire."

"Plus, I'm pretty sure that Starlight is busy with Sunburst to even think about enjoying this."

Casey frowned after hearing that. Busy? Why would she be-

All of a sudden, his eyes went wide as he realized another part of his master's plan.

No, not him... he promised me that-

"Um, are you okay, Casey?" Fluttershy asked, noticing that he was also starting to turn pale.

Casey shook his head, and said, "Ok, this might sound crazy, but you all need to - ulp!"

He couldn't finish his sentence because a black tentacle had popped out from the room's shadows, and wrapped itself around Casey!

"Casey!" Twilight exclaimed, but before she could even help him, the tentacle quickly pulled the Earth Pony into the room.

She was about to go in, also, but Rarity cried, "Wait a minute, Twilight! We should probably alert Shining Armor or the guards about-"

"There's no time for that right now," replied a concerned Twilight. "We need to make sure he's okay!"

Before Rarity could say anything else, the alicorn princess ran into the room.

Then, at first, nopony did or said anything... until about a minute later when they heard Twilight cry out, "Girls, you might want to take a look at this!"

"Huh?" wondered the five ponies, as they slowly entered the room.

Wham!

All of a sudden, the doors closed themselves shut, and the lights turned on.

"What in tarnation is... all of... this..." Applejack couldn't figure out what to say next.

"Sweet Celestia... these are... absolutely gorgeous!" swooned Rairty, her eyes sparkling at the sight in front of her.

"Wow..." Fluttershy didn't know what else to say.

"This... is... awesome..." gasped a surprised Rainbow Dash.

Twilight, herself, was speechless at what was in front of her.

On the wall were five individual stained glass murals of Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy.

There was also five stands that were usually meant for statues, except they weren't any...

Until Pinkie Pie stood on top of the stand that was in front of her mural, spinning around in a circle.

"Pinkie!" exclaimed Rairty. "Get down from there before you break something."

"What's there to break?" asked the pink pony, who was still spinning.

Before Rarity could give her response, a menacing voice appeared. "You're about to see for yourself."

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A dark blast of energy appeared from above, and shot down at Pinkie Pie, who became engulfed in a giant ball of light.

"Pinkie Pie!" Twilight cried, trying to shield her eyes from the brightness.

When the bright light disappeared, everypony couldn't believe what they were seeing now.

Pinkie Pie was still on top of the stand, except now, she was an actual stone-made statue.

"No... Pinkie..." gasped Twilight, who felt like she was almost ready to cry.

A teary-eyed Fluttershy asked, "Is... s-she-"

"Dead? Of course not..."

Twilight and her friends turned around to see a cloaked pony, who was holding up a silver staff.

"But all of you are going to experience what she's going through right now..."

He then aimed the tip of the staff at Twilight, saying, "I'll be saving you for last, your Highness."

Rainbow Dash gritted his teeth, and she angrily yelled, "Hey! No one does that to my friend!"

"Dash, wait!" Twilight cried, but it was too late.

The winged pony charged towards the sinister newcomer, who responded by aiming his staff at her, trapping Rainbow inside of an energy ball.

"Let me out of this thing!" yelled an irritated Rainbow Dash.

Twilight and Rarity were about to use their own magic, but the cloaked pony said, "Do anything, and I'll make things a whole lot worse."

The two of them de-powered their horns, which was enough for the cloaked pony as he sent Rainbow towards one of the empty stands.

"Twilight, help-" cried Rainbow, but her sentence was cut off once she became engulfed in the bright energy ball, as well.

Boom!

"Two done..." laughed the cloaked pony, while the others were speechless at the sight of Rainbow Dash.

Just like Pinkie Pie, she was now turned to stone, and placed on the stand in front of her own mural.

"And four to go!"



Starlight watched as Twilight and the others followed Casey inside the castle. I wonder what he wants to-

"Starlight?"

The light-purple unicorn turned to see her fillyhood friend walk over to her. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just... curious about your friend," said Starlight. "How long has he been your assistant?"

Sunburst thought about it, for a moment, and he replied, "Probably a few months after the whole Changeling catastrophe."

Starlight chuckled nervously, and said, "Yeah, about that... um... it wasn't exactly an easy task to accomplish."

"Oh, I'm sure," laughed Sunburst, making Starlight feel a little better. "Being a leader like that must have made you feel proud of yourself."

"Well, it certainly helped me forget about other things," replied Starlight, not realizing what she had said right now.

"Things like what?" Sunburst asked, tilting his head to the side.

Starlight gulped, and began feeling nervous again. He'll probably think I've gone back to the way I used to be.

"Well, the thing is that I-"

"Hey, you two!" greeted Spike, walking over to them, as well as eating some cotton candy. "Have you seen Twilight or Pinkie anywhere?"

Starlight nodded her head. "I think I saw Casey taking them into the castle. Why, what's wrong?"

Spike swallowed the cotton candy that was in his mouth, and replied, "I want to know if they'll like some of this. It's delicious!"

So, the young dragon began to head towards the castle, while Sunburst said, "So, Starlight, what was it that-"

But when he turned to look at her, the magical unicorn saw that she was gone.

"I guess I'll see her later then," said Sunburst, letting out a sigh as he walked back to join the festivities.

Poof!

Once he was gone, Starlight de-activated her "invisible spell", and watched her friend walk away.

"I'm really not good at this, am I?"



With a small chuckle, the cloaked pony asked, "Now, then... who'd like to volunteer themselves to be next?"

Th four remaining ponies looked at each other, with none of them saying anything out loud.

"Alright, then, I'm just going to-"

"Now, hold up there just a cow-licking minute, partner," said Applejack, her muzzle turning into a frown. "What gives you the right to do something like this to us?"

"Yes, what did we ever do to you?" Rarity added, who was also upset.

The sinister pony smiled (even though they couldn't see it), and said, "You were all born!"

His silver staff powered up, and shot an energy blast that went straight towards Rarity, but just as she was about to get hit...

Boom!

"Fluttershy!" cried Twilight, watching her friend get in the way of the blast so that it would hit her instead of Rarity.

"Oh, my..." gasped the white unicorn, who was in shock. "Not her, too."

The shy but sweet alicorn was now on top of the stand that was in front of her mural, and like the others, she had become a statue.

"Such a shame," replied the cloaked pony. "She was my penultimate choice."

Twilight gritted her teeth, and exclaimed, "Why are you doing this? We never did anything to you!"

The cloaked pony shook his head. "My plan has constantly been ruined ever since the day you and Spike first arrived in Ponyville."

"What in the hay are you talking about?" Applejack asked. "Y'all better be making some sense before I beat on you like a-"

The cloaked pony then looked at the hard-working Earth Pony, and said, "Oh, spare me your country-isms, Applejack. Your parents almost annoyed me to death every time they said something like that."

Applejack's eyes grew wide, and her muzzle almost dropped to the ground. "My... you met my mum and dad?"

"As I said, there is always a reason for everything," replied the cloaked pony. "It almost pains me to see that their sacrifice will soon go to waste."

Before Applejack could even respond to that, the cloaked pony shot an energy blast at her, and in a few seconds, she had suffered the same "statue fate" as the others.

"And, then there were two," laughed the evil villain, looking at Rarity and Twilight.

"Please tell me you have some sort of idea," said Rarity, as she stood behind Twilight.

The magical alicorn looked at the cloaked pony, and then, at his silver staff. "Maybe if-"

"I can assure the two of you that this is not a plain old stick that was found in the Everfree Forest," said the cloaked pony. "Even Casey could tell you that."

Twilight gasped, remembering her new friend, and asked, "What did you with him?"

"You should ask him yourself."

He let out a whistle, and the two ponies watched as Casey was tossed from one of the room's dark corners, landing in between them.

"My goodness, darling, are you all right?" Rarity asked, as she and Twilight helped him stand up.

"Yeah... I'll be okay," said Casey, although his voice sounded weak.

Twilight gave an angry glare at the cloaked pony. "What did you do to him?"

"He tried to betray me," he explained. "So before I gave him freedom, I delivered some punishment."

"Freedom?" Rarity said, confused. "What do you mean by that?"

Casey looked at a confused Twilight, and said, "I am deeply sorry for all of this, your Highness. I never wanted this to happen."

"What do you mean?" asked the alicorn. "Casey, I thought-"

"That's enough from you, slave... and your services are no longer required."

He shot a white-and-yellow energy blast at Casey, and after a small explosion, the Earth Pony was gone.

"You killed him!" exclaimed Twilight, whose temper was starting to grow.

The cloaked pony laughed, and said, "I simply did the same thing as I did your friends, minus the whole stone transformation."

Before Twilight could ask what that meant, the evil pony added, "And you're about to get your own experience!"

Twilight looked down at her hooves, seeing that she was standing on a painted design of her Cutie Mark, which started to light up.

"Twilight!" Rarity yelled, but then, the cloaked pony aimed his staff at her.

Wham! Boom!

"No! Rarity!" Twilight watched as her friend transformed into a statue, just like everypony else.

She looked at the hooded figure, and yelled, "Who are you?"

The evil villain walked over to the princess, and said, "I'm your worst nightmare..."

Twilight looked at the doors behind him, but the hooded pony said, "No one can save you, Princess. Only you can open that door, but it has to be on the other side."

As the energy surrounding Twilight grew stronger, the hooded pony added, "By the way, do send Sunset my regards."

Twilight gasped in shock and surprise. "You attacked her, too?"

"Indeed, I did, your Highness," laughed the sinister pony. "You're about to see her very soon."

He then shot an energy blast at Twilight, and once it struck the alicorn, she was gone in a colourful explosion.

"Yes, Twilight Sparkle," grinned the cloaked pony. "You'll see her in a place where there are no... happily... ever... afters... and all of Equestria will soon belong to me!"
> Time Travel
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight... I'm sorry... Twilight...

Casey slowly opened his eyes as he began to stand up, but he was still weakened from his (now former) master's attack.

Once he was able to stand on all fours, the Earth Pony's muzzle almost dropped to the ground at the sight in was in front of him.

I'm back in Ponyville? Casey wondered, surprised. But, what happened to-

"Are you okay?"

Casey turned around, and saw somepony that instantly made him feel better... and that somepony was Twilight Sparkle. "It's you!"

"Um, yes, but - oof!" Twilight stopped speaking after Casey suddenly gave her a hug.

"I'm so glad you're safe..." He said, starting to feel a whole lot better than he was a few minutes ago.

However, the Princess of Friendship now felt confused. "Er, thanks...?"

Casey then released her from his hug, and said, "Okay, um... I know that you want an explanation..."

Twilight, still feeling confused, simply nodded her head. "Yeah, that would definitely be useful in this situation."

"And I know you're probably going to hate me..." said Casey, who was ready to accept anything that she had to say to him.

"Well, not unless I have a reason to," shrugged the magical alicorn.

Letting out a sigh, Casey continued on, knowing that he was about to ruin his chances of ever being in a relationship with her. "Well, remember when you said that we needed to get to know each other better?"

Twilight then started to frown. "I never said that."

"The reason why I brought that up was because I..." Casey suddenly paused mid-sentence after realizing what Twilight had just said. "You didn't... what?"

Twilight shook her head, and replied, "It sounds like you're implying that I agreed to be in a relationship with you... which I never did."

Before he could give a response, Twilight added, "And, we've never even met."

So, now, Casey was the pony that became confused. "Yeah, we did... back at the train station in the Crystal Empire, remember?"

Twilight shook her head, raising an eyebrow. "You sure you aren't mistaking me for somepony else?"

"No, why would I..." began Casey, but he stopped after noticing a necklace around her neck. "When did you get that?"

Twilight looked at the special gift she had received from her special somepony, and she started to smile.

"I've had this for quite some time now... why?"

Before Casey could answer, he heard another voice from a pony that was approaching them.

"Phew! Sorry, love, I was busy fixing the mess that Pinkie made at the... oh, who's this?"

Standing next to Twilight was a somewhat gold-colored Earth Pony, whose brown-colored mane was not exactly well-groomed.

In fact, it looked... well... a little messy for somepony that Casey had imagined would be dating an alicorn like Twilight.

"This is, um..." said Twilight, pausing because she did not yet know what the stranger's name was.

"Casey." He replied, but still wondering what was going on.

"Sorry... this is Casey," continued Twilight. "And he was about to tell me an interesting story."

"Oh?" The newcomer said, looking at Casey. "About what exactly?"

The Earth Pony chuckled a little, starting to feel nervous again. "Er, well... w-who are you again, sir?"

"Stardust Balance," replied the golden-colored pony, offering a hoofshake. "Nice to meet you, Casey."

"Likewise..." replied Casey, politely accepting it. "Er, nice beard and, um... mane-style... I've never seen one like that before."

Stardust gave Twilight a smug look, making the alicorn roll her eyes. "See? I don't always have to keep it a certain way."

"Oh, sure," replied Twilight. "Just because Rarity isn't here to..."

As they continued their conversation, Casey began to look at the two of them, noticing how closethey were to each other...

He also took another look at the necklace around Twilight's neck, which was completely different from the one he was wearing.

A silver book? Spinning star? thought Casey. If she has a beautiful necklace like that... then, that means-

"Oh, um, and apparently I agreed to go on a date with him." Twilight said, nodding her head towards the Earth Pony.

Casey gulped, feeling afraid as he started realizing what was probably about to happen.

Oh, great, I'm screwed.

"Oh, is that so?" Stardust replied, glaring at Casey. "Did she mention the fact that I'm her special somepony?"

"Well, no," said Casey, in a nervous tone. "But I was starting to figure that out."

"Well, you'd better start talking more, then," replied Stardust, showing a small and suspicious frown.

Casey looked around, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Hey, your answer isn't up there, friend," retorted Stardust. "Who exactly are you?"

"Um..." said Casey. "Well, the truth is that... and I'm just assuming.. I am not actually 'from' here."

Stardust raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Casey sighed, and said, "Well, like I said, it's an assumption... and I am from Equestria... but in a different world."

"Like the one Sunset Shimmer is in?" Twilight asked, joining in on the conversation.

"Kind of, but more complex, and she's in trouble, too," replied Casey, remembering how she fit into the cloaked pony's sinister plot. "I came from what you could call an... alternate version of Equestria, and where-"

Stardust suddenly interrupted, waving his hooves in the air. "Hold up a sec, how is that even possible?"

Did we not just return from a predicament like this, boy?

"You're not helping," muttered Stardust, talking to the voice of Sombra that was inside of his head.

But then, to his surprise, Casey asked, "Who was that?"

"Who was what?"

The Earth Pony looked around, as if he was trying to find somepony else. "I just heard another pony speak, right after you asked me a question."

Stardust shook his head. "No, you didn't, you only heard me."

But Casey could have sworn that he had heard somepony. "Yeah, and it even sounded familiar... like some ancient-like voice I once heard back at the Crystal Empire..."

Starlight started to gulp now. Sombra, did he...?

We've been over this plenty of times, you dimwit. Only you and that elderly annoyance can hear me.

"There!" Casey exclaimed. "I heard it again, just now!"

Anything else you want to add, your Highness, thought Stardust, who did not know whether to be surprised or more suspicious at the possible fact of this newpony being able to hear the fallen king.

Before Sombra could respond to Stardust, however, Twilight asked, "Is everything alright, Casey? You seem afraid... and concerned."

"Um, that's pretty much true," admitted Casey. "The other Equestria that I came from has a Twilight, as well, who is probably now in trouble because of me."

Before continuing on, Casey revealed to the two of them his own special necklace that was currently held by his hoof.

"Turtledoves..." whispered Twilight. It even looked almost familiar to her.

"The last thing she said before giving me this was-"

Is that what I think it is, up there in the sky?

Stardust looked up, and realized what Sombra had meant. "Casey, look out!"

"What are you-" said Casey, breplied is above them began sucking him in. "Aaaauggghhh!"

"Casey!" Twilight was about to go and help him when a strong force sucked him into the portal, which then disappeared in a brilliant flash of light.

"Twilight?" Stardust walked over to the princess, who was blinking her eyes a few times. "You okay?"

She nodded her head, and walked over to where Casey had been standing at. "Oh, no..."

Stardust watched as Twilight picked up an object that was on the ground, and saw that it was the necklace that Casey had shown them.

"It's beautiful..." said Twilight, admiring the turtle-dove pendant.

At first, Stardust didn't know what to say, but then, he could see the gears turning inside Twilight's head, and realized what she was probably about to suggest they do.

"Oh, no, no, no, no..."

Twilight looked at Stardust, who was shaking his head.

"Nope, nope, nope... I am not going to have us get involved in another time-travel incident."

Twilight frowned, even though she knew what he had been referring to. "Jack, we have to do something."

"No, we do not," replied Stardust, whose real name was Jack, in case you were wondering. "He'll probably come back anyway."

"And what if he doesn't?" Twilight said, glaring at him.

Stardust shook his head, not wanting them to get involved. "He has to, Twilight, so let's just-"

"Jack, come on," pleaded Twilight. "He needs our help... he even mentioned Sunset being in trouble!"

Stardust tried to find another reason for them not to help. "Well, he didn't say those words exactly-"

I would like to know exactly how in Equestria was he able to hear me.

You're still not [Beep]-ing helping right now, thought Stardust

But Twilight wasn't giving up. "What would you have done if you were in his situation?"

Stardust chuckled. "Well, first of all, I wouldn't have mistaken another Twilight for you-"

"Jack..." she said, now giving him an annoyed look.

And this is the part where you end up agreeing with her.

Not even bothering to respond to the former ruler of the Crystal Empire, Stardust looked at Twilight, and said, "Well, what exactly can we do, love?"

Twilight looked at the necklace in her hoof, and up at the sky where the portal had been.

"I don't know yet..." admitted the princess. ""But... I have a bad feeling that something terribly wrong is happening right now."



"Twilight?"

The alicorn stood up on all fours, and opened her eyes to see another familiar pony in front of her.

"Sunset?"

The former student of Princess Celestia gave her a warm smile, and said, "Nice to see you too, Twi - oof!"

Her sentence was cut off after Twilight gave her a tight hug. "I was so worried... I thought something terrible happened to you."

"Well, I mean, I'm still breathing, thank goodness," replied Sunset, trying to be a little comedic.

Twilight chuckled, and said, "I can see that, thanks..."

But then, her expression went from joy to sadness. "My friends were turned to stone by some cloaked pony that I've never even met."

Sunset nodded her head. "Yeah, he mentioned doing something like that before he used his staff to send me... wherever the heck we are."

Twilight looked around, and didn't feel too sure herself about their current location.

"Neither do-"

*gasp* "Oh, my gosh, more talking ponies!"

Sunset looked at Twilight, and asked, "Why are you talking like Pinkie Pie?"

"Huh?" Twilight said, looking at her friend like she was crazy. "I didn't even finish talking."

"Well, then who was-" started Sunset, but then, there was a trio of "whoosh" sounds.

"Wow, Bubbles, you were right!" The voice belonged to a small girl, who was wearing a pink dress with a black stripe, as well as a small red bow in her hair.

"You see? They're so pretty and colorful!" cried the young girl who was floating in the air next to her.

She had on a similar dress, but her color was blue instead of pink, and her yellow hair was tied up in two pigtails... and, for some reason, she sounded similar to Twilight, but at a higher speaking pitch.

"Well, then let's make sure that these two don't escape from us this time," replied the green-dress-wearing little girl.

Sunset gulped, and asked, "Um... any ideas so far, Twilight?"

The alicorn shook her head, yelling, "Run!"

Whoosh!

As they took off, Blossom had a look of determination on her face. "Alright, girls, guess we're going to do this the hard way."

Whoosh!

"Hey, wait for us!" yelled Buttercup, as she raced after her sister.

Whoosh!

"Ooh, ooh, I call the purple one with wings!" exclaimed an excited Bubbles, before joining her sisters in chasing the talking ponies.



Inside the Crystal Castle, the young dragon was still searching for his friends.

"Twilight? Pinkie?" He cried. "I'm sorry I ate the rest of the cotton candy I brought, but I can get mo - whoa!"

He stopped in front of a door that he didn't remember ever seeing before.

"Wow," admired Spike. "It looks a lot like Twilight's Cutie Mark..."

He also noticed the surrounding carvings of the Cutie Marks that belonged to the rest of the Mane Six.

"Twilight!" Spike called out, knocking on the door. "Are you in there?"

Suddenly, Twilight's Cutie Mark started to light up, and Spike stepped back while the doors began to open sideways.

"Twilight...?" Spike carefully entered the room, looking for any sign of-

*gasp*

The little dragon couldn't believe his eyes.

"Spike?"

Before going in, however, Spike turned to see Princess Cadence.

"Oh, hi, your Highness," greeted Spike. "Where's Flurry Heart?"

Cadence smirked at the young reptile. "She's with Shining Armor... but may I ask why you're in this room?"

Spike chuckled nervously, and said, "Well, um, I was looking for Twilight and the others, but then I saw this cool-looking door and-"

Before he could finish, however, Cadence entered the room herself. "Huh..."

"I didn't touch anything!" Spike cried.

The princess laughed, and shook her head. "No, Spike, I'm just surprised that the statues were already done."

Spike went after her, and took a closer look at the five statues of his friends.

To Cadence's amusement, his eyes turned into hearts as he walked over to the one that looked like Rarity.

"Whoever built this was full of talent," said the lovestruck dragon. "They even got her eyes and mane-style right."

Cadence shook her head. "Alright, come on, Romeo, your friends are probably back outside... wouldn't want to damage that perfection, would you?"

"Oh, no, m'am," replied Spike. "I'd hate to think what would happen if Rarity ever found that out!"

He walked away from the statue, and followed Cadence out of the room, with the princess closing the door.

"Well, well, well," chuckled the cloaked pony, floating down from the ceiling. "This might be easier than I thought."



For some reason that she didn't really care about, Pinkie Pie had found herself running across a grassy field.

Huh, I wonder if Stardust - began Pinkie, but then, she heard a familiar voice.

Come on, and smile, smile, smile...

Ooh, I wonder who MisterDavey and Dave Davey are?

Come on, and smile, smile, smile...

Pinkie Pie had a confused look on her face. Why is my voice singing that faster than usual? And who is Foo - oh, my gosh!

She looked in front of her, and saw three of her friends having a picnic by a nice-looking tree.

"Hi, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie yelled, waving her arm in the air.

She saw her friend look up from the book that she'd been reading, and happily waved back at her.

Then, when she finally caught up to Twilight, Pinkie Pie stopped running.

"What's up?" greeted the cheerful pony.

"Hey, Pinkie," said Twilight, smiling up at her. "For a minute there, I didn't think you would stop."

Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes, and said, "Well, duh, if I didn't, then something bad would have probably happened."



Rainbow Dash felt like she had been in a tornado, trainwreck, and thunderstorm all rolled up into one.

I seriously need to stop eating that much at parties.

But before Rainbow could do anything else, she heard a familiar voice.

"Soooo, are we making cupcakes or not?"

The winged pony saw that she was inside a kitchen, with all kinds of mixing stuff in front of her, and next to her was-

"Pinkie Pie? You're okay!"

The pink pony replied, "Um, duh, why wouldn't I be? It's just cupcake baking."

"But you... we... Twilight..." said Rainbow, trying to remember what had happened earlier. "Um... shouldn't we go find the others?"

Pinkie Pie thought about it for a moment, and said, "Okie dokie loki!"

Rainbow chuckled, and began to walk out of the door. "Alright, let's go..."

Pinkie looked at the mallet nearby, simply gave a shrug, and followed Rainbow out of the door.
> Serious Trouble
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sweet Celestia," moaned a dizzy Rarity. "I haven't felt this terrible since Starlight did that spell on us."

Applejack nodded in agreement, as she rubbed her eyes with her hands. "You're telling me, sugarcube... now, um, where are we exactly?"

As she started to stand up, Rarity stretched her arms out while letting out a yawn, but when she opened her eyes, she saw something that made them grow wide.

"Um... Applejack?" Rarity said. "You might want to turn around and see this."

Applejack rolled her eyes, and said, "The last time we heard that, Rare, we... uh..."

They were in front of a large building that had a sign above titled "Canterlot High", and standing in front of them were human versions of their friends: Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and even themselves.

There was even a human version of Twilight, except she was wearing glasses, and had a different hairstyle.

"Um... howdy, everypony," said Applejack, waving her ho - hand.

"This must be where Sunset Shimmer stays," gasped Rarity, as she began connecting the dots in her mind. "And where Twilight goes every time she steps into that mirror portal."

None of the others said anything to Rarity or Applejack... until Pinkie Pie asked, "So, are you two like the other Twilight that lives in a magical world called Equestria, where you all represent a magical element, and are also actually talking ponies?"

Applejack didn't know what to think about that. "Uh... yeah...?"

"Wow, that's amazing!" Pinkie Pie cried, her face lighting up brightly with a smile. "And you two were probably sent here by some cloaked pony that's actually an alternate version of a pony that used to be dating Twilight, but now he's been taken over by the spirit of a king named-"

"Oh, my gosh, your dress is gorgeous!" yelled the human version of Rarity, interrupting her friend as she walked up to her "pony" counterpart.

"Well, um... thank you, darling," replied the pony-turned-human Rarity. "It does have a certain charm, doesn't it?"

Applejack walked up to her human self, and said, "So... you're supposed to be me?"

"Yep," replied Human Applejack. "And you're actually a pony, like Princess Twilight?"

Applejack nodded her head, but she still felt confused. Why would that evil pony send us here?



"Any luck finding them?" Blossom asked, as she floated by a dumpster in an alley.

"Nah, they got away again," growled Buttercup, crossing her arms.

They saw Bubbles fly towards them, and she looked like she was ready to break down and cry.

"Why can't we have a talking pony?" She cried, her eyes filling up with tears.

Blossom sighed, but she wasn't ready yet to throw in the towel. "I know they're still here, I can feel it... so let's keep looking."

Whoosh!

"Can we get out now?" whispered Sunset, who was using her magic to surround herself in an energy bubble that blocked the dumpster's terrible smell.

Twilight, who was doing the same thing, shook her head. "Not just yet... I can still hear some-"

Bang! "Twilight?"

The purple alicorn gasped in shock, and opened up the dumpster, seeing the pony that had said her name.

"Fluttershy! You're okay!"

"Um... yeah..." replied Fluttershy. "But, uh, where exactly - oof!"

Twilight came out of the dumpster to give her friend a hug, and she sighed happily. "I'm so glad you're safe."

The animal-caring Pegasus smiled, and said, "It's good to see you, too."

"Oh, hey, Fluttershy," greeted Sunset Shimmer, as she also got out of the dumpster. "Long time, no see."

Fluttershy looked at the yellow unicorn, and then, at Twilight. "Um... is she a good pony or a bad pony?"

"What are you talking about?" Twilight asked.

"Well, the last time I saw her as a pony, she was trying to take your crown for her own evil and selfish reasons," replied Fluttershy, but then, she looked at Sunset. "Um... no offense..."

Sunset rolled her eyes, but had a smirk on her face as she replied, "None taken... but it's okay, Fluttershy, I'm in the same problem as you and everypony else."

Fluttershy let out a gasp, and asked, "So, you were turned into stone, too?"

Sunset looked over at Twilight, who explained, "The cloaked pony used his staff to turn Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy into statues, while he just used it on you, me, and Casey to... well, we ended up here, but I have no idea where he could be at."

Before Sunset could ask who "Casey" was, Fluttershy let out a gulp, and said, "Um... I think we might have something else to worry about!"

*gasp* "There's another talking pony! With wings!"

Fluttershy looked over at Twilight, and asked, "Why does she have a voice like yours?"

"Ugh, we don't have the same voice," exclaimed the alicorn princess.

Just then, they heard Buttercup cry out, "All right, enough for all of us! Let's get them quick before they disappear!"

Bubbles squealed with delight. "I still want the purple one!"



When Spike and Cadence came out of the castle, they were surprised to find ponies waiting for them.

"Was she in there?" asked Starlight, looking concerned.

"No, why?" replied Cadence. "Didn't you see her out here?"

Shining Armor shook his head, while Sunburst said, "We haven't seen them ever since they followed Casey inside almost an hour ago."

"Oh, don't worry, everypony..."

As the sky became dark, all of the Crystal Ponies started to look worried, while Starlight asked, "Who said that?"

Then, an explosion appeared in front of the castle's entrance, sending Starlight, Sunburst, Cadence, Shining Armor, Spike, and Flurry Heart back into the city square.

"You'll reunite with them in the afterlife," laughed the hooded pony, who had appeared after the smoke from the explosion had gone away.

Shining Armor frowned, and asked, "What did you do to my sister and her friends?"

The hooded pony replied, "Twilight is gone... as well Casey and the rest of her friends, with five of them now permanently turned into statues."

"Turned into... oh, no," gasped Spike, speaking in a hushed tone. "That means that... Rarity..."

"Now, then, to make this upcoming battle fair..." said the sinister pony, who rose up into the air, and used his silver staff to trap the six of them in a force-field energy bubble.

He then looked at the statue of Spike, surrounded by all of the Crystal Ponies. "That will do just nicely!"

Wham!

The hooded pony shot an energy beam at the statue, which started glowing brightly at a rapid pace, and then, it exploded into a large ball of smoke, which started to expand and cover all of the ponies that were surrounding it.

"NO!" yelled Shining and Cadence, as they helplessly watched everypony become engulfed in the smoke.

Then, once the ball disappeared, the hooded pony landed back on top of the castle steps. "A much-needed improvement."

Cadence was horrified. "Shining... they're all... all..."

"He turned them into ice statues," finished Shining, who was equally terrified.

All of the Crystal Ponies were now completely frozen, from top to bottom, and after the hooded pony made the energy bubble disappear, he said, "Trust me, your Highness, it's better for them this way."

Shining Armor gritted his teeth, and yelled, "Where is my sister?!"

The hooded pony chuckled, and replied, "She's in a better place... you'll never see her again!"

That did it for the ruler of the Crystal Empire, who began charging towards the hooded pony, activating his magic to-

"Oh, I don't think so!"

WHAM!

He shot several energy blasts at all four of Shining Armor's hooves, trapping them in ice so that he couldn't move any further.

"Shining!" yelled Cadence, who was about to run towards her husband when the hooded pony shot a larger energy blast that was heading straight towards her!

"Cadence!" Shining Armor then tried to free his hooves from the ice, but they were stuck to the ground.

However, just when it was about to make contact with the Princess of Love, another energy blast made connection with it, causing a small explosion... with Cadence thankfully unharmed.

"What the hell?" yelled the hooded pony, now becoming angry.

"No one messes with my family," said an angry Starlight, who had removed her "invisible spell", and was now in front of Cadence.

The hooded pony grinned, and said, "Well, well, well... looks like I underestimated the 'pupil' of friendship."

"You sure aren't the second pony to do that," said Starlight, who also had her own magic prepared.

As for Sunburst, he was starting to look at his childhood friend in a whole different way. "Wow..."



Meanwhile

"Wow, these statues are amazing!"

"I know! They even got my sister's hat right!"

After Spike and Cadence had left the room, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle had ran as fast as they could into the room before the doors closed.

"Too bad Scootaloo couldn't come," said Rarity's little sister, looking at the statue of Rainbow Dash. "She would've loved seeing this."

Applebloom nodded her head, but then, she started looking around.

"What's wrong?" asked Sweetie Belle.

The little Earth Pony said, "Well, I'm just tryin' to figure out whey they don't got a statue or mural of Twilight... all I see is this here symbol that we're standing on."

Before Sweetie Belle could give her fellow Cutie Mark Crusader an answer, they heard a strange noise.

"What's that rumbling sound?" wondered Applebloom.

Her best friend gave her a shrug, and said, "It probably came from outside."

That is correct.

Applebloom gulped, and asked, "Uh... w-who was that?"

Someone who is kind, young one. But there isn't much time. Your sister needs my help.

She looked at the Applejack statue, and said, "She's in trouble?"

They all are, including Twilight and Casey.

Sweetie Belle gasped, while looking at her sister's statue, and was slowly starting to cry.

I know how you're feeling right now, but I promise that everything will be alright. You two must stay in this room, no matter what, until I return with the others.

Applebloom asked, "What's going on, Mr. Kind Voice?"

As I said, there is not much time that I have here... I must find the others... just promise that you'll both stay here.

The two little ponies looked at each other, and they nodded their heads.

Thank you... but one last thing. Please do not break any part of the statues.

"What would happen if we did?"

Applebloom glared at Sweetie Belle.

"What? I'm not saying that we will, but accidents happen."

I will answer that when I return, young one... just stay in this room, both of you... no matter what.
> Rounding Everypony Up
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How do we keep losing them?!" Buttercup cried, irritated with the fact that the talking ponies had vanished yet again.

Bubbles was sitting on the ground, tears coming out of her eyes. "I just want a pretty pony to call Antoinette!"

As for the ponies themselves, Twilight had used an invisible spell on the three of them, and their hiding spot was on one of the clouds in the sky.

"How long do we have to stay here?" wondered Starlight, who was using her magic to remain on the cloud since she didn't have wings.

Twilight sighed sadly, and said, "I don't know... I wish we had that scroll me and Spike used while we did that whole time-travel loop fiasco with Starlight."

That might not be the best idea in this sort of situation.

Twilight gasped, and said, "Oh my gosh, there's somepony speaking in my head!"

Relax, dear child, I come in peace.

"What's it saying?" asked Fluttershy, feeling concerned for her.

Before she could answer, the voice began to say something important.

Twilight, please listen closely because we do not have much time. The Crystal Empire and all of Equestria is in danger.

Is it because of the hooded pony? Twilight asked, speaking with her thoughts.

Yes, and you must find the rest of your friends quickly if you have any hope in stopping him before it's too late.

Twilight gulped. But how am I supposed to do that? I don't even know how to-

"Howdy, Twilight!" said Pinkie Pie, who suddenly appeared next to the alicorn.

I believe that answers everything, Twilight... now, hurry, your pupil is in danger.

And with that, the voice was gone, leaving Twilight to look at Pinkie with a confused look. "How did you get here?"

Before Pinkie Pie could answer, they heard a voice cry out, "Girls, look, it's a talking stallion!"

Twilight gasped as she realized who it was. "Casey!"

She began to fly back down to the city, with the others close behind her

Once they were all on the ground, Twilight saw that he was cornered against a wall by the three super-powered girls.

"Alright, just be a good pony," said Blossom. "No need to run..."

Casey gulped, and replied, "Look, this isn't the best time to - Twilight?"

The three girls turned around, seeing the other ponies, but before they could say anything, Twilight quickly used her magic to encase them all in a giant block of purple ice.

"Casey!" She ran over to her friend, giving her a hug. "I was so worried about you!"

He was about to speak when Pinkie Pie said, "Um, ponies? You might want to take a look at this!"

Twilight and Casey looked up, and saw that an electric-energy portal was appearing in the sky.

"What is that supposed to - whoa!" Twilight then felt herself being sucked into the portal. "Aaaauughhh!"

Then, once she had entered, the other ponies followed soon after, but before Pinkie Pie entered, she waved at the three Powerpuff Girls. "Catch ya later!"

ZAP! WHOOSH!

After they were gone, Buttercup looked at Blossom, and asked, "What now, genius?"



While Sunburst, Spike, and Cadence were trying to help Shining break free from the ice covering his hooves, Starlight was using her magic to fight the hooded pony.

"Tell me where you sent Twilight and the others!" yelled Starlight, dodging one of his energy blasts.

"It doesn't matter anymore," laughed the hooded pony. "There's no chance they can ever return now!"

Starlight groaned, and exclaimed, "Then I'll just beat the answer out of you!"

"Oh, I would love to see you try!"

Down below, Sunburst was in complete awe and wonder while watching her fight. "She looks so beautiful up there..."

Bzzzzzzzttt!

"Better be careful, my dear," said the hooded pony. "You wouldn't want to tire out so soon, would you?"

Starlight laughed, and said, "Please, I was just getting started... and wait until Discord shows up to-"

"I think it's a little too late for that," replied the sinister pony, who paused their fight momentarily to create a mirror portal, showing them what had happened to the Master of Chaos. "I prefer him as a statue, anyway."

"But... he can only be turned to stone if somepony is using the Elements of Harmony," said Spike. "And the last time they were used was to-"

"Yes, I am aware of what happened with the Tree of Harmony," the hooded pony replied. "But I never said that I used this world's elements."

"What do you mean this world?" Starlight asked.



Twilight opened her eyes, and blinked a few times before saying, "Where are we now?"

The five ponies stood up, and began to look around, with Casey saying, "It looks like Ponyville, but... empty..."

"Well, then..." Twilight used her magic to encase Casey in a force field bubble. "You have some explaining to do, mister."

"What did I do?" said Casey, even though he probably knew what the answer was.

As Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Sunset stepped back a little, Twilight moved more upwards to him. "What connection do you have with that hooded pony?"

Casey gulped, and he thought, Well, at least I'm talking to my Twilight now.

"I'm waiting," replied Twilight, who was starting to frown.

Casey sighed, and said, "Okay, the truth is... I used to be his slave, and my final task for him included you and the others getting trapped into that room-"

"Which you were able to do," said an angered Twilight.

"But then I realized that I was going to lose the greatest friends that I could have ever asked for," continued Casey.

"So, I tried to save you all by trying to get you to change your mind about going in-"

"By asking about Spike and Starlight," finished Twilight, remembering when he had done that. "Well, why were you his slave for... however long you were?"

The Earth Pony said, "It was so that Sunburst wouldn't get hurt or killed by him... but now I think he's gonna hurt him and your pupil, as well!"

"You mean Starlight, right?"

Twilight rolled her eyes at Pinkie's statement, and said, "Well, do you know anything about these portals, then?"

Before Casey could say anything to her, Pinkie Pie said, "Because the natural order of balance and time and space is trying to restore itself, meaning that life is trying to restore everything back to the way it was, and once we're all together - oh, hiya, Sunset! - we'll all be sent back to Ponyville, where we have to step up against that evil cloaked pony who is actually-"

"Incoming!"

A winged pony suddenly crashed into Casey, knocking both of them to the ground.

"Rainbow Dash!?" yelled everypony, except for Casey.

"Oops, sorry about that," apologized Rainbow, who started helping Casey stand up.

The Earth Pony shook his head a few times, and said, "That's okay, no harm done... how did you get here?"

*sigh* "I said that the natural order of life is trying to-"

"Not the best time, Pinkie," said Twilight, as she went over to her friend. "You okay?"

Before Rainbow answered, she looked over at Pinkie Pie curiously. "Ummm... is that our Pinkie Pie, or another copy of her?"

"Why do you ask?" Casey wondered.

"Because the place I was at earlier had a Pinkie Pie that had no idea what I was talking about," explained Rainbow. "All she wanted to was bake cupcakes, for some reason..."

Everypony looked at Pinkie Pie, who groaned, and said, "I don't have to watch paint dry again, do I?"

Before Twilight could answer, Casey said, "I don't think she's a copy."

"How do you know?" asked Rainbow, crossing her hooves as she floated in the air. "For all we know, our Pinkie Pie could be in some kind of world that-"

"Okay, enough, I'm settling this," said Twilight, who walked over to the pink pony. "Tell me everything that happened from the day we first met, up until today."

"Seriously?" Rainbow exclaimed. "We don't have time for that!"

Twilight frowned, and looked at her friend. "Because, to me, the real Pinkie Pie would remember everything exactly, without missing a beat."

Rainbow tried to say something else, but Twilight added, "Do you have a better idea?"

"I... uh..." Rainbow sighed, and said, "No, I guess not."

Pinkie Pie gulped as Twilight then turned to look at her. "Proceed."

As the pink unicorn started to explain, Casey saw Rainbow Dash start to lie down. "Uh, what are you doing?"

"Trust me, new guy," said the Pegasus pony. "This is gonna take a while."



Several Hours Later...

"... so the next thing I know, I'm in some place that's called Smile HD, and I was enjoying a picnic with a pony that looked just like you, except she didn't have any wings.

"Then, a portal thingy appeared in the sky, which brought me over to that place we were at a while ago with the Powerpuff Girls. And after we found Casey, another portal brought us here, and then Rainbow Dash came, crashing into Casey, then she wondered if I was a clone..."

As Pinkie Pie finished her story, Casey looked over at Rainbow Dash, who was fast asleep.

"... so then you asked me to say everything that happened ever since the day I first saw you and Spike in Ponyville, which is when I-"

"No!" yelled Rainbow Dash, who suddenly woke up. "Don't say it again! I believe you!"

Twilight smiled, and nodded her head confidently. "Glad to have you back, Pinkie."

"No problem," said Pinkie, giving her friend a smile.

Sunset Shimmer then yawned, and said, "Well, now that we've figured that out, how do we get to Applejack and Rarity?"

Everypony looked at Pinkie Pie again. "What? I don't know where they are... but if I did, then I guess that explains that sparkly mirror over there!"

They all looked in the direction that Pinkie was pointing at, and Twilight asked, "Wha - when did that appear?"

Pinkie Pie giggled, and said, "Almost around the time when I was telling you about how-"

"Pinkie, it's fine, please," cried Rainbow.

So, the group of ponies started walking over to the mirror, but stopped after seeing two familiar ponies fall out and land onto the ground, with the mirror then suddenly disappearing.

"Well, that's convenient," said Sunset, a smirk on her face.

Pinkie Pie replied, "See? It's like I said about life and balance and time and space trying to be restored to-"

"Alright, we get it! You're not a clone!"



A few minutes after the Mane Six, Sunset, and Casey had all explained what everypony had went through, one of them only had one thing to ask next.

"So, um... any ideas on how we're supposed to get back home, Twi?" Applejack asked.

The alicorn princess sighed, and she shook her head. "I wish I did, but I don't just yet."

Everypony looked at Pinkie Pie, who became confused. "What? I don't know how."

Twilight turned to Casey, a pleading expression on her face. "Your master must have said something about his plan that could help us."

But the Earth Pony shook his head, as well, and looked disappointed. "I'm sorry, Twilight, but... I don't either."

Rainbow Dash frowned at Casey, and said, "This is all your fault anyway! You took us to that room - you even lost your necklace that Twilight gave you!"

"I did not - what?!" Casey looked at where his necklace was supposed to be, but it wasn't. "B-but I was just looking at it not that long ago!"

"When did you last remember seeing it?" Twilight asked, who was actually (for the moment) just grateful that he was safe.

"I was showing it to Stardust and..." Casey then stopped, realizing where the necklace was. "It must've fallen off before I got sucked away."

"Who's Stardust?" Twilight asked.

Casey was about to explain when-

"He's a golden-colored pony that's actually from a planet called Earth, but-"

"Um, Pinkie, mind saving that explanation for later?" said Casey, who also didn't want her to end up saying that Stardust was also Twilight's special somepony.

"Okie dokie loki!" Pinkie Pie said, nodding her head.

Twilight simply sighed, and said, "Maybe if me, Rarity, and Sunset all-"

"Ooh, ooh, I know!" replied Pinkie Pie, raising her hoof in the air. "What if somepony that was in the room just broke one of the statues?"

To everyone's surprise, both Twilight and Rarity gasped in shock.

"That is the last thing that needs to happen!" said the alicorn princess.

"Quite right, darling," agreed Rarity, nodding her head. "I wouldn't want to see such beauty be turned into a pile of rubble."

Applejack shook her head, and said, "Uh, Rarity, you do know that those statues are us, right?"

"Exactly," said Twilight, nodding. "If, for example, Flutter - I mean, Rainbow's statue broke, she might end up... well..."

Rainbow gulped, and said, "Uh, I think I get the picture, Twilight..."

Pinkie Pie simply gave a shrug. "You wanted an idea."



As their fight continued, the cloaked pony let out a laugh. "You truly are impressive, Starlight Glimmer."

Dodging one of his staff's energy blasts, Starlight replied, "Thanks... but flattery will get you nowhere in this fight."

She aimed a streak of blasts at his hood, hoping to figure out who this pony was, but he simply spun his staff around in a circle, knocking them away.

"Please tell me that you have more than that."

Starlight gave him a grin, and said, "Oh, don't worry, there's a lot more!"

Then, suddenly, a copy of herself appeared next to her, and before the cloaked pony could even respond, multiple copies started to show up.

"Um, shouldn't we help her or something?" asked Spike, who was watching from below.

Shining Armor shook his head. "Not just yet... she's been doing well on her own so far... but I need you to go and watch over the... statues of Twilight's friends... maybe you can find a way for all of them... and Twily... to come back."

He then turned to look at his wife, and said, "Cadence, I need you to go into the castle, and keep Flurry Heart safe."

Luckily, their baby alicorn was asleep, but Cadence wasn't sure about leaving her husband's side. "I don't want anything worse to happen to you."

"I'll be fine," assured Shining. "Go on, while he's distracted... go..."

Cadence wanted to try and find a reason for her to stay, but Shining looked in her eyes, and said, "Please... I'll be fine..."

The Princess of Love nodded her head, giving him a kiss before she carried the sleeping toddler on her back, and ran into the castle.

"But what about-"

Twilight's brother gave the dragon a serious look, and said, "Spike, you have to trust me on this... do it for Twilight."

Spike looked back up at Starlight fighting against the cloaked pony, then at Shining, who nodded his head. "Go."

The dragon sighed, and reluctantly nodded as he, too, went into the castle, heading to the "special room"

"Such a shame that your teacher won't be able to witness this moment of me destroying you."

Then, the cloaked pony twirled his energized staff around a few times, and like using a sword, he began slicing at all of the Starlight copies, one by one.

"He's moving so fast!" said Sunburst, now starting to feel worried for her. "Starlight doesn't even have time to attack!"

The ruler of the Crystal Empire could only sigh in a sad tone. "This can't be good..."

"There you are," said the cloaked pony, once the real Starlight was in front of him. "Now it's time to finish you off once and for - aaauughh!"

An energy blast from below came straight towards him, and it sent him flying back a few feet, while Starlight looked down to see Sunburst, who had a bold expression on his face.

"Looks like you could some help."

Starlight smiled, and said, "Thanks..."



Inside of the "special" room, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle had fallen asleep, and were both lying down on their sister's statue.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the doors opened, and Spike came running inside, saying, "Okay, now I just need to... Sweetie Belle?"

"Aaaagghhh!" The little pony cried, waking up surprised... and after falling down to the ground, her sister's statue was starting to tilt over.

"No!" cried Spike, running towards the statue so that he could stop-

Crash!

Applebloom and Spike were both speechless, while Sweetie Belle said, "Oops."



After another hour of thinking about various plans, everypony came to an agreement on one of them.

"Ready?" Twilight asked, looking at Sunset and Rarity.

"Let's do this," replied Sunset, nodding her head.

As for Rarity, she was about to agree until Applejack cried, "Holy apples, Rarity, you're lighting up!"

"What do you mea - dear Celestia!" She yelled, noticing that her friend was right. Her entire body was glowing in a bright white light.

As everypony tried to shield their eyes from the brightness, Casey asked, "Pinkie! What's going on?"

"Why are you asking me?" Pinkie replied. "I don't know why she's glowing!"



Back in the Crystal Empire, Starlight and Sunburst were continuing their fight against the hooded pony, but they all stopped after seeing a bright light from the corner of her eyes.

"That must be where Spike is at," said Shining, turning his head to look up at the castle.

When the hooded pony heard that, his temper immediately began to grow higher than it was before. "That's impossible... she can't come back!"

Starlight let out a gasp, and cried, "Twilight!"

The evil pony watched as the purple unicorn began to head towards the window, and he started gritting his teeth together. Not on my watch, you foolish pony!

Sunburst watched as the cloaked pony began to use his staff to charge up a very powerful energy blast that - "Starlight, look out!"

Boom!

"Sunburst...?" She turned around, and saw her childhood friend fly in front of her, which caused the blast to strike him instead. "No!"

The light-orange unicorn began falling back down to the ground, landing on the castle steps, and before turning unconscious, he muttered, "S-Starlight..."

"A noble sacrifice, I will give him that," said the villainous animal. "But that won't stop me from-"

Before he could finish, an angered Starlight interrupted him by shooting a very powerful blast that struck him directly.

Boom!

As the smoke cleared, Starlight noticed that a small part of his hood had burned away, and she was able to see some of his muzzle and eyes, which were blue-green.

"You've been holding back, haven't you?" The villainous pony asked, who was still frowning.

Starlight nodded her head, a smirk appearing on her face. "And things just got a whole lot worse for you..."



"I'm the worst little sister ever!" yelled an upset Sweetie Belle.

She was lying next to the spot that Rarity's statue had fallen to, except it was now broken into several pieces.

Applebloom walked over to her friend, and said, "It'll be fine, it was just an accident. They'll understand, right, Spike?"

Not wanting to make things worse by saying that the statue had actually been Rarity, the young dragon said, "Um, yeah, sure everything will-"

He stopped, however, after noticing that the stand, in which Rarity's statue had been on, was now glowing brightly.

"Um, I don't know if that's supposed to happen or not," said Spike, pointing at the glowing object.

As it grew brighter and brighter, the two ponies and little dragon started covering their eyes, with Applebloom asking, "What in the name of all apples is happening, Spike?"

"I don't know!" yelled Spike, closing his eyes now to avoid seeing the light.

Then, several diamonds that resembled her Cutie Mark began shooting out from inside the stand, forming a circle before spinning around at a very quick pace.

Whoosh!

And once the light had turned down, they all heard a familiar voice say, "I could use a vacation after this."

"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle ran over to her big sister, giving her a tight and warm hug. "You're okay!"

The white unicorn smiled, and said, "Yes, Sweetie Belle, I am fine... just a little, um, light-headed from all this time traveling we've all been doing."

"All of us?" Spike looked at the rest of the statues, thinking of an idea. "So will everypony else come back if we break the rest of these?"

Before Rarity could reply, Applebloom was a little concerned. "What about Twilight, Spike? I don't see a statue of her, just that there painting of her Cutie Mark on the floor."



"Where do you think she went?" asked Fluttershy, after they had all seen Rarity disappear.

"I would like to think that she went back to the statue room" replied Twilight, but sounding unsure. "I just wish we could communicate with somepony there, or see exactly what's going on in there."

Applejack looked at the bottom of her hooves, and gulped. "Um, you might want to hurry up with that, Twi, cause I think I'm going there next."

"What do you..." Twilight stopped speaking after seeing her friend was starting to glow, as well.



Things were not turning out the way the hooded pony had planned.

"What does it take to stop you?!" He growled, while continuing to use the staff for shooting energy blasts at Starlight, and dodging the ones she aimed at him.

"Just be lucky you're not messing with me and Twilight," said Starlight, a sly smirk on her face. "And you probably will once she comes out of that room."

"You foolish pony," said the hooded pony, his eyes glowing with anger. "Twilight Sparkle is never coming back!"

Starlight continued to give him a smug look. "Well, we'll just see about that, then, won't we?"



Back in the statue room, once Applejack had returned, Spike asked, "Are Twilight and the others okay?"

"Ugggghhhh... yeah, they're fine and dandy," replied Applejack, who was feeling a little dizzy.

Soon after the Earth Pony had left, Twilight began pacing back and forth.

"Okay, there has to be a way for us to know that they were sent back home."

I can assure you that they are both fine.

Twilight quickly stopped, recognizing the voice from earlier. What's happening?

The mysterious voice said, Well, your Highness, I believe that our cloaked friend's plan did not go the way he had intended it to.

"Ooh, who's that, Twilight?"

The purple alicorn looked at her friend, and said, "You can hear him, too."

Pinkie Pie nodded her head. "That's why I asked."

You can speak out loud this time, my dear.

Twilight cleared her throat a few times, and said, "Um, so if breaking the statues brings them back..."

"... how would me, Sunset, and Twilight go back?" finished Casey.

"It'll be easy, right?" Pinkie Pie asked, bouncing up and down with excitement.

I'm afraid not. I can only create a portal for two of them, but one must stay.

Pinkie Pie paused her bounce in mid-air, and collapsed to the ground. "Oh..."

Twilight shook her head. "No, there's always another way. We could-"

"I'll stay."

The other ponies looked over at Casey, who nodded his head. "It's the only choice you have in defeating him."

"Well, that's crazy talk," argued Rainbow Dash. "You can't stay in this place all by yourself."

"I have to," replied Casey. "And it's what I deserve..."

Twilight walked over to Casey, a sad look on her face. "We know you didn't mean any of this intentionally... there has to be a way for all of us to go."

But the Earth Pony had already made his decision. "It's the only way..."

Twilight looked at the rest of her friends, then back at Casey, and she wrapped her hooves around him for a hug.



After Starlight had been able to dodge another one of his attacks, the cloaked pony paused to catch his breath.

"It appears that we are at an impasse."

Twilight's pupil nodded in agreement, and said, "Just until the others get back here."

The cloaked pony gritted his teeth in frustration, and yelled, "There is no chance in hell that your teacher and the rest of her friends are coming back!"

Before Starlight could reply back, her foe aimed his silver staff at Shining Armor. "And you're about to join her there!"

Shining Armor gulped, and continued trying to free his hooves from the blocks of ice, but he was only able to helplessly watch a powerful energy beam head straight to-

Boom!

"What?!" shouted the enraged and cloaked pony.

At the very last second, a force field had surrounded itself around Shining, and was able to protect him from the blast.

He turned to look at Starlight, who smiled back before teleporting over to the castle steps.

"No..." The hooded pony said, his anger and frustration continuing to rise. "This can't be happening!"

"Oh, but it is..." said Sunset Shimmer, giving him a smug grin.

"Who's the foolish pony now, huh?" Rainbow Dash chuckled.

"You are not a very nice pony," said Fluttershy, a frown on her face.

"Nopony turns us into statues, and gets away with it!" Rarity yelled, who then took a moment to remove some rubble from her mane.

"It was mighty wrong of you to do that to all of us," said Applejack, tilting her hat while giving a sly smile.

"I hope you like frosting," said Pinkie Pie, who had her Party Cannon in front of her. "Cause none of it's in here!"

Fluttershy looked at her friend. "Um, what is in there, Pinkie?"

"I guess we'll find out in the next chapter," said Pinkie, giving a shrug.

The hooded pony shook his head, and growled, "You may have all been able to escape the places I trapped you in, but your beloved Princess of Friendship has no way to-"

Boom!

Suddenly, a blast appeared from out of nowhere, and connected with his face, causing parts of his hood to rip off and show more of his muzzle.

"What the devil?!"

As her horn's magical energy powered down, Twilight walked down the steps to join her friends, a smile on her face.

"You're going down, pony."

The hooded foe let out a sarcastic laugh. "Ha, you and what army?"
> Defending the Empire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Casey sighed as he laid down on the grass. "So, O Wise One, where exactly am I?"

Well, this is what some people would call "limbo" - nothing but complete emptiness that can be filled with your imagination.

The Earth Pony groaned, and said, "I guess I could find a way to enjoy myself since I'm practically living here."

No one ever said this was your permanent home, Casey.

"What do you mean?" He said, a frown on his face. "The others were able to find a way... there isn't one for me."

Maybe in regards to this place and my portal, yes, but as Twilight said, there is always a way...

Casey looked at the area where his necklace would have been, and said, "I just hope she's going to be okay."



The villainous pony's frustration was continuing to grow more. "When I am done with all of you ponies, you'll wish you'd never came back at all."

Twilight opened her wings, preparing to take flight, and said, "We'll just see about that."


Whoosh!


She took off to the skies, heading up to be face-to-face with the cloaked pony, while Spike said, "Um, wouldn't it be easier to beat him if everypony worked together?"

"We'll help her out whenever Mr. Cloak decides to start fighting dirty," replied Rainbow Dash. "Twilight can hold up her own."

Spike looked at Applejack, who nodded in agreement. "If she could survive a battle against Tirek, Twi can surely take care of this pony."

Also, while Twilight was beginning her fight against the cloaked pony, Starlight had decided to take Sunburst back to his house, hoping that he had a First Aid Kit there.

"You never should have returned, princess," said the cloaked pony. "Now you just made things worse for your friends."

He fired an energy beam that flew towards one of her wings, but Twilight used magic from her horn to deflect it.

"My friends mean everything to me," said Twilight, determined to put a stop to this pony's plans. "And I'll do anything to keep them safe."

Down below, Rainbow Dash was munching on some popcorn, and loving the fight between her friend and-

"Ooh, can I have some, too?"

Rainbow rolled her eyes, but she nodded her head, and replied, "Sure, Pinkie."

Back in the sky, the cloaked pony was starting to laugh. "Is that why the noble princess of Friendship left a pony behind in limbo?"

"That has nothing to do with this," exclaimed Twilight as she narrowly dodged another one of his attacks.

"Oh? So, you're okay living with the fact that you'll never see your friend again?"

The purple alicorn couldn't think of a response to give, but that moment of hesitation allowed the cloaked unicorn to power up his silver staff, and send a surge of electricity that went straight into her body.

As Twilight began screaming in pain, Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth in anger, saying, "Alright, that pony's fighting dirty!"


The blue-colored Pegasus pony took off, heading straight for the evil pony, and she crashed into him, causing the hooded pony to lose concentration, as well as allowing the staff to fall from his hooves.

"I got it, I got it!" Pinkie Pie shouted, as she bounced up into the air, hoping to grab the staff.

"No!" The sinister pony cried, and all of a sudden, a pair of wings appeared on the side of his body.

Twilight and Rainbow both gasped in surprise, saying, "He's a Pegasus?"

Right as Pinkie was about to grab onto it, the hooded pony yelled, "I don't think so, idiotic pony!"

With a strong flap of his wings, he was able to create a strong gust of wind that caused the staff to fly away from Pinkie...

... and into the mouth of Applejack, who began running away from the hooded pony.

"You okay, Twilight?" Rainbow asked, looking over her friend to try and find any injuries.

She nodded her head, saying, "Yeah, just... wish we hadn't left Casey behind."

As for the cloaked pony, he was about to retrieve the staff back from Applejack, but then, the hard-working Earth Pony tossed it behind the evil pony, and they watched as it was caught by Rarity.

"You!" The hooded pony, now filled with rage, started racing towards the white unicorn.

"Eeep!" Rarity quickly handed it over to Sunset, just as the hooded pony was about to reach the both of them.

With a grin, Sunset jumped into the air, flipping herself right over the winged and villainous pony, and she safely landed on the ground.

"Fluttershy, catch!" Sunset yelled, throwing it over to the pony who represented the Element of Kindness.

Taking a small gulp, Fluttershy flew over to the staff, and quickly caught it in her hooves.

"Nice catch right there, sugarcube!" called out Applejack.

The animal-loving pony looked down at the staff in her hands, and then, up to see the hooded pony flying straight towards her!

"I will not be defeated by-"

BOOM! SPLAT!

Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief, and said, "Thank you, Pinkie."

"No problem!" Pinkie Pie replied, giving her friend a salute.

Twilight and Rainbow landed by Shining Armor, and the alicorn used her magic to break the four pieces of ice.

"Thank you, Twily," said Shining, giving his sister a hug. "Looks like I owe you another one."

Twilight chuckled, and shook her head, saying, "That's fine, Shining... just go and make sure Cadence and Flurry Heart are okay."

Shining nodded, and went towards the castle while Twilight and Rainbow caught up to their friends.

"Here you go, Twilight," said Fluttershy, handing her the staff.

"Thanks, Fluttershy," replied Twilight, who carefully took the magical object from her.

Then, they walked over to where the hooded pony was, except he was now stuck to the ground because his body was covered in some sort of gooey substance.

"Um, what exactly is that, Pinkie?" Rarity asked, not recognizing what it was.

Pinkie Pie smiled, and said, "I used a special type of sticky cheese on him!"

"You're lucky I can't get my hooves on you right now," growled the hooded pony.

With the staff floating above her head, Twilight frowned, and said, "Tell us how to bring back Casey before I send you to another world."

The hooded pony let out a sarcastic laugh. "Fat chance, your Highness... I still can't believe that you all probably think you've won."

"Uh, I'm pretty sure we're about to," replied Rainbow. "I mean, you're trapped in Pinkie Pie's cheese net, and Twilight is about ready to send you to one of the places you sent us to."

"You moronic pony, there's still a lot that you all know nothing about," replied the hooded pony. "There's a reason for everything."

Rarity rolled her eyes, and she said, "You've already said that before."

"And none of you have yet to understand what I mean by that," exclaimed the hooded pony. "Why else would Rainbow Dash be the one pony that could successfully pull off a Sonic Rainboom, as well as having the fate of all Equestria be depended upon it?"

He then looked over at Twilight, saying, "You may have defeated me today, your Highness, but there's still a lot you don't know about."

Twilight frowned, and said, "I don't care about whatever it is you're saying... how do we bring back Casey?"

The hooded pony let out a dry laugh, and he said, "There's only one way, but you won't hear it from me. So, you might as well-"

ZAP! BOOM!

Twilight had used the staff to send a black-and-blue energy beam at the hooded pony, and once it struck him, he was gone.

"Awww..." said Pinkie Pie, suddenly looking a bit sad. "He took the cheese with him!"

Applejack looked at her friend, and asked, "You okay there, Twi?"

The alicorn sighed, not knowing what to say, but she nodded her head, and looked at the staff in her hooves.

I'm going to bring you back, Casey... I promise.
> A New Alliance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Starlight...?"

The purple unicorn smiled, and said, "Oh, good, you're awake."

Sunburst opened his eyes, seeing that he was tucked into his bed.

"You didn't have to... aaghh..." He tried to sit up, but the unicorn instantly felt pain.

Starlight  walked over to her friend, trying to help him get into a comfortable  position. "You have to take it easy for a few days, Sunburst... he  really did a number on you."

Sunburst sighed, and he said, "Well, thank you, but you don't have to stay here."

Starlight shook her head, giving her friend a smile. "I already talked about it with Twilight. She's actually proud of me."

With a quick role of her eyes, Starlight added, "And she wants me to take notes of anything that could be of some importance."

Sunburst chuckled a little, and watched her friend walk over to the dining room. "And you're going to put everything that you do here?"

As she made her return, with a floating cup of warm and honey-flavored tea nearby, he noticed that Starlight was blushing.

"Well, I mean, I won't put down everything... there's some stuff I would like to keep to myself."

She handed her friend the cup of tea, and after Sunburst took a few sips, he asked, "What kind of stuff?"

Starlight began blushing even more as she walked up to her friend, and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Oh... r-right..." Sunburst said, who felt his face begin to heat up.

Starlight  remained quiet, while Sunburst let out a chuckle. "Y-you know, um... I  was really worried about you during that, er, whole time you were  fighting him."

Twilight's pupil simply nodded, and said, "Thank you."





So,  after dealing with the cloaked pony, Twilight used the silver staff to free all of the Crystal Ponies, as well as the castle guards.

"Thank you, your Highness," said Flash Sentry, showing his respect by bowing down.

Ignoring the teasing looks from her friends, Twilight said, "Oh, um, you're welcome."

Then,  after finishing her conversation with Starlight, the alicorn princess  turned to see Applejack giving Rainbow Dash a smug look. "Pay up,  sugarcube."

Rainbow groaned, and muttered to herself as she handed over a few bits to Applejack.

"Well, that was certainly an adventurous experience," said Rarity, looking at Twilight. "Wouldn't you agree, darling?"

Twilight  gave a small smile, and said, "None of us will forget it, that's for  sure... but I still wish we could have brought Casey back with us."

Rainbow  Dash rolled her eyes, not believing what she was hearing her friend  say. "Well, maybe in that empty world, but that doesn't mean you can't  make some type of time travel machine here to get him back.

"Besides, you made one to go visit Sunset's world, even after she tried taking  your crown and possibly trapping you there for a very long time."

Twilight frowned, and Rainbow sheepishly looked over at Sunset. "But, uh, no offense..."

"None  taken... again," chuckled Sunset, who was already used to hearing that  phrase. "But she's right, Twilight, if anyone can build something like  that, it's you."

"And if you can't do it on your own," added Applejack, standing next to princess. "We're more than willing to help ya out!"

Fluttershy  nodded, in agreement, saying, "Friends stick together for everypony, no  matter what... but, um, I want to make sure Discord is okay, so after I check on him, then I'll be there to help."

Pinkie Pie, who was  still carrying around her Party Cannon, also agreed with the others.  "We'll help out no matter how many times you might mess up!"

"Um... thanks, Pinkie," replied Twilight. "So we'd better get started on it, then!"

Everypony  agreed with that, and the group of friends began to make their way to  the Train station, until Rarity asked, "Um, but where exactly did you send that evil pony?"

A smirk smile appeared on Twilight's face as she said, "Let's just say that I hope he likes being called Antoinette."






The Next Day


[Imagine the piece "Training Montage" by George S. Clinton during this scene of her creating the machine.]

True to their words, once the Mane 6 (and Sunset) had returned to Twilight's Castle, they helped out Twilight in creating something that would be able to have Casey come back.

During  that time, Twilight had also examined the silver staff, but was unable  to understand exactly what type of energy was inside of it.

"You think it could be from wherever he came from?" Spike asked, while his best friend was studying the staff's power levels.

Twilight  sighed as she said, "That's a definite possibility, Spike, but that's  the closest thing I can come to, aside from us seeing what it can do."

"When he used  it, Twilight," reminded the young dragon. "You used it for completely  different reasons... maybe it reacts to whatever the holder is feeling."

Twilight smiled, and wrapped a hoof around Spike. "Who knew your comic book reading would come in handy?"

"Haha, very funny," said Spike, but also found himself laughing a little.


Later that night...


It  had taken almost an entire day, but after putting the staff in its  required spot, Twilight let out a sigh of relief. "Alright, everypony, I  think that should do the trick."

"About time," yawned Rainbow Dash, with sleepiness in her voice.

Applejack looked at her, a frown on her face. "What? I helped out, like I said, didn't I?"

They  had helped Twilight out with making multiple adjustments to the Crystal  Mirror time machine, and once the staff was activated, it was ready to  go.

"So, um... how do you know if it'll take you back to where  Casey is?" Rainbow asked, sounding concerned. "What if you end up  somewhere else?"

Twilight smiled, and said, "I'm glad you said that, Rainbow, because that is why I have this chart."

She  pointed to the "chart" that taped to the side of the machine, and  explained what it showed. "Every time the hooded pony shot an energy  blast at us, it was always a different color, so I've listed those  colors here, along with the name of the locations you all gave me."

The  places that she had written on the list were "Smile HD", "Empty World,"  and "Cupcakes", as well as "Sunset's World," "Alternate Equestria", and  "Townsville".

Underneath those, however, were several blank slates that made Rainbow ask, "What about these non-written ones, Twilight?"

"Those  are for the other possible worlds that the staff could take somepony  to," replied Twilight. "So, now, it's time to bring our friend back."

She began to walk into the mirror's glowing portal, but stopped when Applejack asked, "You want us to go with you, sugarcube?"

Twilight shook her head, even though she appreciated the offer. "It won't even take that long."

She continued walking, and after entering the portal, a bright light shone that made everypony cover their eyes.

Once it was gone, Rainbow asked, "So, uh, how long did she take those previous times to visit Sunset?"

"An hour and 12 mins for the first time," replied Pinkie. "And the second time was an hour and 28 minutes."

Everypony looked at her. "What?"

Whoosh!

The machine turned back on, and they watched as Twilight came stumbling out, with Casey doing the same a few minutes after.

"Remind to add possible side affects of time traveling to the chart," said Twilight, her eyes spinning around.

When Casey got up and was able to stand on all four hooves, he saw everypony giving him a smile.

"Er... I just have a quick question," he said. "None of you have seen a gold-colored pony that wears a cloak, right?"

"Uh, no, why?" Rainbow asked, a confused look on her face.

Casey chuckled, and said, "Never mind... just means that I'm not in a different world."

He then looked over at Twilight, saying, "Thanks for bringing me back."

Twilight smiled warmly, and said, "It's like what Fluttershy told us all earlier, we would never leave a friend behind."

Casey looked at the shy and bashful Pegasus, who said, "Uh-huh, she's right... you're our friend now, Casey."

"And as a friend, I just want to apologize for what I said earlier," said Rainbow, looking guilty. "It wasn't entirely your fault that we ended up in this mess."

"Thanks, Rainbow, I really appreciate that," Casey said, and the two of them shared a hoof-bump.

Then, he turned around, and noticed the Crystal Mirror. "So, this is where it's been at... no wonder I couldn't find it in the Crystal Castle."

"Which reminds me..." said Sunset, walking over to Twilight. "I know this  wasn't exactly a proper visit, but I need to go back home, too."

Although she wanted to talk more with Sunset, Twilight knew that her friend was right, so before departing, the yellow unicorn and purple alicorn shared  a hug.

"But don't be a stranger now, ya hear?" Applejack said. "You're not just Twilight's friend, you're a friend to all of us."

"Oh, and do bring the other Rarity next time you come back," asked the white unicorn. "I would love for the both of us to spend a day together at my boutique."

Sunset chuckled, and nodded her head. "Sure, I'll run it by her, Rarity."

So, the former student of Celestia stepped into the portal, returning back to the world she currently resided in.

"You'll be okay, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked, putting a hoof around her friend.

Twilight nodded her head, but then, she noticed Casey looking down at the ground, his face bearing a sad expression.

"You okay there, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, noticing his sadness, as well.

Casey nodded his head, saying, "Yeah, but... I'm still sad that I lost the necklace that Twilight gave me."

Twilight  walked over to Casey, and said, in a comforting tone, "We're all just  glad that you're safe and sound, Casey... besides, it was really just a  necklace."

Casey simply smiled at the alicorn, and nodded his head.






Several Days Later


"Mhmm, this is delicious," said Casey, after swallowing the food that had been in his mouth. "What did you call it again?"

"A cherrychanga," replied Pinkie Pie, giving him a wide smile. "One of the most bestest foods ever created!"

Casey wiped his muzzle with a napkin, and began to laugh. "Well, thank you for making it for me."

The  two of them were eating atop a table that had been placed in the  library, while Twilight was busy helping Spike in a room next door, and a  few feet away, the Crystal Mirror time machine was currently turned  off.

Until...

"Um, Casey, is the portal supposed to glow like that without Twilight turning it on?" Pinkie Pie said, pointing at the mirror.

Casey turned around, and saw that the machine had somehow turned on by itself. "How in Equestria did-"

Whoosh! Thump!

All of a sudden, a pony came flying out of the mirror, and crash-landed onto the ground.

"I will never be used to that," mumbled the newcomer, his head feeling it was spinning around in a dizzying circle.

Wait, this can't be right, thought Casey, who began to recognize the pony. How exactly did he-

After shaking away any dizziness from his head, the gold-colored pony found himself looking at the light-orange Earth Pony.

"Ah, hello again, Casey... I believe that this necklace belongs to you," said Stardust, walking over to him.

He  handed Casey the special accessory, and smiled at the surprised  expression on his face. "You didn't think you would just leave it back  in my home, did you?"

Casey remained silent for a quick minute before saying, "Thank you so-"

"Casey? Pinkie? Everypony okay?"

Before  any of them could speak, Twilight used her magic to open the doors,  walking in as she said, "The lights were flickering on and off, so I  wondered if something was-"

She stopped, however, when she noticed another pony was in the room, and that he was standing in front of the mirror.

"Oh, um, hello, kind pony," greeted Twilight, being polite. "Who might you be?"

There's always that one pony

That will always have your heart

"Um... I, er..." Stardust was at a loss for words.

You'll never see it coming

'Cause you're blinded from the start

Aside  from the random music playing in his head... for some reason, the way  that the Earth Pony felt right now was very close to the night he had  felt during Twilight's princess coronation.

When she'd found him on the balcony, and they had shared their long-expected first kiss...

Will  you get a hold of yourself, you foolish dimwit? We came here for a  purposeful reason, not so you could moon over another Twilight!

"Wait, who was that?" Twilight asked, looking around the library for the source of the familiar voice.

You cannot be serious right now.

Casey smirked, and muttered, "He's not exactly nice, is he?"

If Stardust didn't know any better, he could have sworn that Sombra was close to fainting.

"Well,  um... Twilight, allow me to-" began the young pony, but unfortunately  (for him), the introduction honor belonged to somepony else.

"This  is Stardust Balance, but his real name is Jack, and he's from the  alternate version of Equestria that Casey went to, but he's also from a  planet called Earth that's almost like the world that Sunset Shimmer  stays at, which he actually isn't that really fond about.

"He's basically on this journey that someponies would say is beyond insane, and he also wears that cloak that his world's Rarity  gave him because he doesn't like ponies to see his Cutie Mark, which is  made up of a blue heart and a blue star, and even though he isn't a  unicorn or alicorn like you or Starlight, he has his own magical powers  because he represents the balance between chaos and harmony, and when he really needs to, he could really pack a super power punch!

"Anyway, he pretty much didn't really wanna be friends with his versions of us,  at first, and was always putting himself in danger, but over time, he  became a better friend to everypony, especially Twilight and Spike.

"He also doesn't really like Princess Celestia all that much, but does like the way my sister Maud is -

[pauses to look at Stardust] "I'll tell her you said hi!"

[goes back to Twilight] "And  as for the voices in his head, one of them is a  kinda-sorta-not-really-but-maybe reformed version of King Sombra, and  the other one sounds a lot like the one who helped us out when the  hooded pony trapped us in those other worlds, but to make a long story  short..."

"Too late for that," said Sombra, in Stardust's mind.

Pinkie then took a deep breath, and said, "Twilight, Stardust. Stardust, Twilight."

Neither of the two didn't know what to say or how to respond.

You know, that pony in particular always manages to find a way to surprise me.

Starlight found himself frowning as he thought, And just where exactly have you been this entire time?

His response was - I've been rather busy, Jack, to say the least.

"Ohhh, now I remember," said Pinkie, nodding her head. "That second voice is actually Starswirl!"

It was now Twilight's turn to gasp, and a bright smile appeared on her face, as well as her eyes growing wide. "You talk to Starswirl the Bearded?"

Oh, Celestia, not this again!

"What?" Twilight asked, looking confused and upset. "What did I say?"

Accepting the fact that she, Casey, and Pinkie could hear him, Sombra said, "If you must know, Princess, the other Twilight that this foolish human adores so much had a reaction close to the one you were about to have."

"Adores?" Twilight said, confused. "Are you saying that-"

"Well, duh," said Pinkie Pie, as if the answer was obvious. "The reason he couldn't speak before was because he-"

However, she was interrupted by Stardust, who didn't look that much happy or surprised anymore.

"What the f**k is that f***in pony doing here?" He exclaimed, in anger, and pointing behind Twilight.

Everypony  turned to look at the doors, and saw a nervous-looking Flash Sentry.  "Um, I apologize, your Highness, but there's a message I have to...  er... I think I'll just wait outside."

He quickly walked away, closing the doors behind him, while everypony looked at Stardust. "What?"

You idiot. Don't you remember what happened when you cursed in that other world you despise so much?

Stardust looked at the three ponies, and asked, "You all heard what I said?"

Of course, you dimwit! AND you didn't even have the BEEP this time to protect you.

Casey simply shook his head, thinking, How the heck could anypony like Twilight choose him as a special somepony?

Stardust  cleared his throat, and said, "Okay, well... now that introductions  have been made... there are some things I would actually like to  discuss."

Twilight nodded her head, looking at the gold pony with interest. "Sure. What do you want to discuss?"

"Well,"  said Stardust, letting out a sigh. "Although I am glad that I was able  to successfully return the necklace to Casey, I am concerned about the  fact that you three know... well, almost everything about me, and what  occurs in my world."

"Oh..." Twilight then began to look a little  disappointed, since she had several questions that she wanted to ask  Stardust. "So, will this be the last time we ever see you?"

I would hope so.

Starlight  rolled his eyes, and said, "Ignore that... and, no, not exactly,  Twilight, but I think it would be best for both our worlds if only me  and Casey went to each other's world... and only if the situation  required my assistance. I would like to simply avoid a possible  apocalyptic situation."

Twilight nodded her head, understanding what he meant. "Like me and your Twilight being face-to-face with each other."

"Yep!"  Pinkie Pie said, as she bounced up and down. "Otherwise we could risk  the chance of creating a paradox that could destroy both of our worlds!"

If Stardust had a regular human mouth, it would've dropped to the ground by now.

"How do you know all of this?"

Pinkie Pie shrugged, and said, "Just a hunch... ooh, by the way, there's this new song I wanna try real quick!"

Before  Twilight could say anything, a musical instrument appeared in Pinkie's  hooves, and she began to sing along while playing a song. "We are number one!"

Let us leave before this damn pony gives me a migraine.

"Hey!" Pinkie Pie replied, pausing her performance. "That's not very nice!"

Letting  out a chuckle, Stardust apologized to Pinkie, and walked over to Casey,  saying in a low voice, "Good luck with your relationship with  Twilight... hope everything works out okay."

"Thanks," replied Casey. "Any advice you could give me?"

Taking  a quick look at the beautiful alicorn, Stardust said, "I would, my  friend, but... it would be more fun and life-changing to discover on  your own... that's how it is for me."

He offered a hoof for him to  shake, which Casey happily accepted, and then, Stardust walked over to  Twilight, taking her hoof in his own.

He knelt down, and kissed her hoof, saying, "It was a pleasure meeting you, Princess Twilight."

The blushing alicorn let out a small laugh, and said, "Um, t-thanks, Stardust..."

Casey looked at him with an expression that meant "Seriously?"

Walking  back over to his new friend, Stardust said, "I apologize for that, but I  was simply giving you an example on how to treat her right... and there  is actually one crucial piece of advice that I can give to you, my friend... and that is to never ever make Twilight upset, or even break her heart."

"What  would happen if I did?" Casey asked, wondering now what the other  Twilight could have possibly done to Stardust whenever he made her  upset.

Stardust sighed, and he said, "Well, one is that you could become a splat of paint on the front of the Friendship Express..."

"Alright, I think I get the picture," replied Casey, who gulped a little. "Happy pony, happy life."

"Exactly," Stardust said, and after saying goodbye to Pinkie Pie, he went into the mirror's portal, traveling back to his home.

"So that was Stardust, huh?" Twilight said, who was still smiling. "He's a very interesting pony..."

I really hope there isn't another version of him here, thought the orange Earth Pony.

Twilight then looked at Casey, who had just finished putting back on the necklace she had given him.

"It makes me happy seeing you wear that again, Casey."

The Earth Pony smiled, and said, "Thanks, Twilight... um, so does this mean that we-"

The winged alicorn giggled, and gave him a wink. "You're just going to have to find out on your own."





Once he was back in his own world, Stardust was glad to see his special somepony in front of him.

"How'd it go?" Twilight asked.

Ah, yes, do tell her how you found yourself drooling over a somewhat alternate version of herself.

Stardust looked at Twilight, and a smile appeared on his face. "It was... interesting..."

"Will you ever go back to that world?" The alicorn princess wondered.

The golden-colored pony looked behind him, and said, "Only if they are involved in a situation that I'm needed in..."
> Checking In
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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..."
> Just the Beginning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Limbo


"How the hell did my plan go wrong?!" yelled the hooded pony, although he currently did not have it on.

Waving one of his hooves in a circle, he created a portal in front of him that showed Casey helping Twilight pack for a trip

"Of course, Twilight always has to be the hero in these type of stories... and I cannot believe that I did not realize sooner that he was going to be the love interest."

And you still have feelings for her... don't you, Miles?

The  yellow Pegasi rolled his eyes after hearing the voice inside his mind,  which represented the goodness that he had deep inside of himself. "That  has nothing to do with this... I still would have finished her off."

His inner voice let out a sigh. Would that have made you satisfied, then? Killing the one pony you care most about?

"MY TWILIGHT IS ALREADY DEAD!" A  frustrated Miles yelled, his green eyes full of anger. "For ten damn  years, she's been gone, and there's no chance of her coming back."

You don't know that.

Miles gritted his teeth, in frustration. "Are you blind? I have checked over, and over, and over again... nothing has changed!"

Well, killing the Mane Six of another author's world is certainly not going to bring her back.

"I don't want to bring her back, you moron!" yelled Miles, still frustrated. "If I can't enjoy my happy ever after with my Twilight, then no pony can."

So, that's your plan? Murder all of the Mane Six and any of Twilight's love interests in all of the other worlds?

"Exactly," growled the cloaked pony. "But not just Twilight's... all of the Mane Six's love interests."

Using  his hoof again, Miles moved the portal that showed Casey's world to the  side, and created another one that showed Stardust reading a book  alongside the Twilight in his world. "And he's at the top of my list...  the Earth Pony who represents balance between chaos and harmony."

What do you have against him, anyway?


"His story was  created on the same date that mine was," answered Miles, who looked  away after seeing the two ponies sharing a kiss. "But once my story was  abruptly put to an end, Stardust's story continued on, and now, nobody  reads my story anymore."

Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but I don't see any way for you to 'kill' him.

Miles rolled his eyes, and said, "Of course you don't... but you know as well as I do that killing makes my dark powers grow stronger."

Then, with a sly grin, he added, "Plus, none of these ponies know the true way to defeat me... not even someone like Stardust can stop me... all thanks to the way I was written."

That  still doesn't explain how exactly you plan on ending his life... and  besides, your staff is currently in Twilight's library.

Hearing  his inner voice say that sentence made Miles begin to laugh. "I'll  worry about that when the time is right for me to return to that  world... and as for Stardust..."

Miles waved his hoof again to  create more portals, which also showed Stardust... except they showed  him with a different love interest besides Twilight.

What is this?

"All  of these Stardust's are connected in a special way," said Miles. "That  one has him paired with Applejack, while these two show him with  Fluttershy and Rarity... hell, this one shows what would have happened if he had ended up in Sunset's world instead of the one he's in right now..."

Then,  his sly smile began to grow into a wide and evil grin. "And by the time  he realizes it, it'll already be too late for him."

Before his inner voice could say anything else, Miles' body was covered in a dark-colored energy that resembled flames.

What are you doing?

"You  mean you can't tell already?" Miles said, with an evil chuckle. "I'm  killing every single one of these alternate Stardust's, and when it's  time for me to return, I'm going to kill the real one."

Miles, please, don't do this to yourself. This is not what your author-

"I've  heard enough from you, weakling!" Ignoring his inner voice, Miles went  into the portal that led to a world where Stardust was romantically  involved with Fluttershy.

Yes, Stardust, the two of us are  certainly going to have quite the epic battle... and I'm going to enjoy  seeing the look on your face when I rid you of the pony whom you care  most about... hahahahahaha!





"Twilight? You okay?"

The  purple alicorn looked from side to side, searching for something.  "Yeah, I just... had a bad feeling about something terrible happening  right now."

Rainbow Dash, who was also helping Casey pack  Twilight's suitcase, rolled her eyes at what she said. "Well, duh,  Twilight, it's only been a week since that hooded pony showed up. You  probably just had a flashback or something."

"Yeah... maybe..." said Twilight, but she didn't look to sure.

Casey thought about what he could say to make her feel better. "Maybe you shouldn't go with Rainbow to the-"

"Are you kidding me?" exclaimed Rainbow, flying in front of Casey's face. "That's the worst thing you could possibly do!"

Twilight stepped in between the two of them, and said, "Hey, take it easy, Rainbow, he didn't know."

For  those wondering, Twilight was going with Rainbow to the "Daring Do  Convention" in Manehatten, and just like the one that Rainbow had went  to last year, A.K. Yearling - the author of the "Daring Do" books that  the two of them loved reading - was going to attend, although it was due  to her not being able to make it last year because of "work reasons".

"Yeah,  well, if he's going to be your special somepony," said Rainbow,  starting to frown. "He should worry about knowing how to make you happy,  not upset."

Casey felt embarrassed while Twilight started to blush. "We're starting as friends right now, Rainbow..."

The Pegasi pony simply shrugged, and went back to putting stuff in Twilight's suitcase.

"Sorry about that," said Twilight, looking at Casey. "I should have told you how important this convention actually is."

"It's  alright, I think I understand," replied the red-faced Earth Pony.  "Um... so are you going to have her sign all of those books?"

He  was referring to the ones that they had already packed into Twilight's  suitcase, and the purple alicorn nodded her head, smiling. "Uh-huh..  since somepony didn't get her latest one signed after that pony promised that she would."

Rainbow  sheepishly looked at the two of them, and said, "Well, I had every  intent of getting her to sign it, but things just... happened that got  in the way of all that."

Twilight rolled her eyes, and said, "Yes,  the small adventure you had with Daring Do and your new friend, Quibble  Pants. Is he going there, too?"

"Probably," replied the athletic  pony. "You'll like him, too, but I gotta warn you - he isn't a big fan  of the books that come after the orignal trilogy."

"Really?" Twilight said, surprised. "How come?"

As  she finished up with packing her friend's suitcase, Rainbow said, "He  thinks they're all dumbed down and totally unrealistic... but we made up  pretty much after Daring Do saved us."

"So, she's an actual pony?" Casey wondered, who assumed that "Daring Do" was only a fictional character.

"Uh, yeah, she is," replied Rainbow, a wide smile on her face. "And plus, me and Twilight know the author personally!"

Casey looked at Twilight, who chuckled as she said, "Long story, Casey. I'll tell you when we come back, okay?"

The Earth Pony smiled, and nodded his head. "Sure, can't wait to hear it."




Starity World


Knock-Knock-Knock!

"Oh,  excuse me one moment, darling," said Rarity, pausing in front of the  table where she had intended on "fixing" the mane and beard of her  "special somepony".

Stardust, who still felt a bit stunned after receiving a kiss from the white pony, simply nodded his head.

Once  Rarity was at the door, she assumed that Spike had come back to grab  something he'd forgotten... but instead, it was a cloaked pony.

"Oh, hello, kind pony," said Rarity, giving her visitor a smile. "How may I help you today?"

With an evil laugh, Miles grinned as he saw the white unicorn start to become horrified. "By staying out of my way."






Several Worlds Later...



Limbo


Once his hooves were on the ground, Miles began to soak in his newly-acquired power.

"This is incredible..."

You must be real proud of yourself.

The dark-colored Pegasi rolled his eyes as he heard the voice of his kinder self inside his head.

"As a matter of fact, I do... killing all of those alternate Stardusts was easier than I thought."

You are a monster. What would your Twilight say?

Miles'  happiness went away as he remembered what had happened to his Twilight,  and he began to frown. "I don't care about that anymore... she's gone."

He then began closing all of the portals that had led to the worlds with alternate Stardusts.

What you are doing is wrong, Miles.

"Cry me a damn river," replied the cloaked pony, in a dry-toned voice.

What do you think will happen when you go up against the actual one?

"Simple... I kill him like I've killed everypony else..."

Miles then looked at the two remaining portals left, which showed the worlds of Casey and the real Stardust.

You still don't even have enough power to take him on since you no longer have the staff.

"Well,  I'll just continue keeping an eye on these two worlds until the time is  right for me to take it back," said Miles, shrugging his shoulders.

Looking at the one that showed Stardust's world, the cloaked pony added, "He'll never even see me coming..."






Sunset's World


It was around 7 a.m., and there was nothing but silence at Canterlot High School.

There was also no one there... except for one, who had just arrived at the front of the school.

"Okay,  Rainbow, you got this," said the athletic teenager, standing in front  of the statue that led to Princess Twilight's world. "Just step through  the portal, and-"

"What in the world are you doing here, Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow turned around, and saw Rarity, who had her arms crossed and a stern expression on her face.

"Don't tell me you were trying to go to Ponyville."

Rainbow groaned, and said, "Aw, come on, Rarity, almost everybody else has met their pony counterparts! Why can't I just enjoy this awesome moment?"

"Because you might put both of our world's in danger," replied Rarity. "And you aren't going without me."

The athletic teenager's mouth almost dropped. "What? Why do you want to go?"

Rarity scoffed, acting as if the answer wasn't already obvious. "Because, darling, the other Rarity there wants me to spend a day at her boutique. The two of us would then-"

"Gah, okay, fine, just don't talk anymore about clothes," exclaimed Rainbow, waving her arms around so that her friend would stop.

"Lead the way," replied Rarity, giving her a sly smile.

Rainbow grinned, and said, "Well, don't mind if I do!"

She then took a few steps back, and ran as fast as she could towards the portal.





Inside  of the library, Casey was in the middle of a book he was reading, but  he'd stopped to think about what had happened the past few weeks.

He looked at the turtledove necklace he was wearing, thankful that he had been given it back... but part of him felt guilty, still, for actually losing it in the first place...

Then, suddenly, his concentration was interrupted by a familiar voice saying, "Hi, Casey!"

"Gah!" Casey jumped up a little, his book falling to the ground. "Who are... oh, hello, Starlight."

Twilight's pupil gave him a smile as she said, "Sorry if I scared you or anything."

"No, it's fine," replied Casey. "I was just, uh, focused on this book I was reading."

Starlight replied, "It wouldn't happen to be Daring Do, would it?"

Casey laughed, and shook his head. "No, not quite... why?"

"Cause  that's all I ever hear Twilight and Rainbow talk about when the two of  them are together in here." Starlight replied, rolling her eyes.

The young Earth Pony smiled, and said, "Well, it's not Daring Do... it's about time travel."

"Really?" Starlight said, surprised. "Why would you want to read about that?"

Casey  nodded his head over at the deactivated Crystal Mirror time machine,  and said, "Even though Twilight was able to defeat Mr. Cloaked Pony, the  staff that powers that machine could be dangerous if it ever fell into the wrong hooves."

"I  know the feeling," said a sad Starlight, remembering the "crazy time  loop" catastrophe that she'd created as a plot for revenge against  Twilight and her friends.

Then, right as she finished her sentence, the Crystal Mirror began to glow, and the machine started to activate.

"Um... Casey?" Starlight said, pointing at the machine. "Is that supposed to happen?"

The young Earth Pony glanced at the chart on the side, and said, "Huh, I wonder why Sunset is-"

But before he could finish, two ponies fell out of the mirror, and landed on the ground.

"That doesn't look like Sunset to me," replied Starlight.

"Well, duh,"  replied the human version of Rainbow Dash, although she was now  transformed into a very similar version of her pony counterpart.

EG [Equestria Girls) Rarity opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was a curious Starlight.

"Oh, hello, darling," greeted the human-turned-pony. "Who might you be?"

"You mean you... don't..." Now confused, Starlight looked over at Casey for an answer.

"These  are the human versions of Rarity and Rainbow," explained Casey, who was  helping the athletic pony stand up. "They came from the world that  Sunset stays at."

Starlight nodded her head, and looked back at EG Rarity. "Oh, well, then... my name is Starlight Glimmer."

"Starlight?" The white-colored pony said. "I didn't know Princess Twilight had a sister."

Casey tried holding in his laughter while a red hue came across Starlight's face.

"No, I'm not... we're not sisters... I'm her pupil..."

"Oh, well, my apologies, then," said EG Rarity. "I just assumed that was the case because you and her both have the word 'light' in your names."

"But we don't even have the same last name," pointed out the purple unicorn.

EG Rainbow interrupted their conversation by saying, "Hey, does anypony know where I can find the other me?"

"She's  with Princess Twilight," answered Casey. "They're on a train right now  that's headed for Manehatten because today's the day of the Daring Do Convention-"

"Daring Do?!" EG Rainbow cried, her eyes growing wide. "Awesome!"

Whoosh!

Before Casey could explain more, the blue Pegasus pony flew out the window, and having him say, "Um... okay, then..."

"Well,  now that she's out of the way," said EG Rarity. "Would either of you  mind showing me where Princess Twilight's castle is? I would like to see  how it looks first before I visit my other self."

Starlight and Casey looked at each other, and the young unicorn said, "Er, Rarity, you're already in Twilight's castle."

To prove their point, Casey opened the library doors, allowing Rarity to see the castle's hallways and decorations.

"Oh, my gosh..." gasped EG Rarity, not knowing what else to say about the beauty in front of her.

Huh, thought Casey. You'd think they would be more concerned about the fact that they turned into ponies.
> Time for Others
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Stardust's World - Twilight's Castle (Library)


"You really shouldn't have teased him like that, Rainbow."

The winged pony rolled her eyes, and said, "Oh, come on, Twilight, I was just trying to get him to have some fun."

Twilight  gave her a stern look as she said, "The last time that you tried that,  he ended up forgetting a collection of special books that I ordered."

"Hey, that wasn't my fault, okay?" Rainbow exclaimed. "Besides, if it weren't for all that, we wouldn't spend time together."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, confused. "He's always with us."

Rainbow  groaned, as if her friend didn't realize what she was trying to say.  "Yeah, but I meant just the two of us, Twilight, he's always with you  and Spike."

Before Twilight could reply, Rainbow continued to  speak. "Heck, even Fluttershy gets to see him more than I do whenever he  helps her out with all the animals she takes care of, and she used to like him."

Twilight kept on being silent, although her face was turning slightly red.

"And, yeah, okay, Spike is like his little brother, but with you, it's always the same thing!"

The purple alicorn frowned, and replied, "We don't always do the same thing."

"Oh, no?"  Rainbow challenged, raising her eyebrow and crossing her limbs as she  hovered in the air. "It's always book reading, non-perfect dates..."

"With you and Rarity interrupting one of them," pointed out Twilight, but Rainbow ignored her.

"... and every time something really bad happens, the two of you always do the same thing."

Imitating her friend's voice, Rainbow cried, "Jack, Jack, come back! Please don't do this on your own, we need to stick together."

Then, she tried her best imitation of Stardust. "No, love, I have to do this on my own."

Twilight tried holding in her laughter after hearing that, and thought, That's pretty good, actually.

"You get what I'm trying to say, Twilight?" Rainbow said, hoping that she finally understood her. "And where is he, by the way?"

"He's with Starlight," answered Twilight. "They went to her village so that-"

Rainbow groaned again, and said, "She's his student too? I thought Sunset was his pupil!"

The Princess of Friendship let out a heavy sigh, and said, "First off, Rainbow, you do know that you weren't exactly his favorite pony to begin with."

"And I still don't see why he thinks that-"

Twilight  raised up her hoof to silence her friend. "I wasn't done... second, me  and him are each other's special somepony, so, yeah, of course he wants  to spend time with me."

Knowing that Twilight wasn't done with her lecture yet, Rainbow just nodded her head, and flew down to the ground.

"And third... I'm sorry about that."

Rolling her eyes, Rainbow said, "See? That's exactly what I..."

She stopped after realizing what Twilight had just said. "Huh?"

Walking  over to her friend, Twilight said, "I'm sorry for not telling Jack that  he also has to make time for his friends, aside from the time he's  spent with me, Spike, and whenever he's with Sunset.

"But he also has a lot to deal with now than he did before, in regards to... you know..."

Rainbow sighed, and she nodded her head. "Yeah, I remember... how's that going, by the way?"

"He prefers not to talk about it a lot," said Twilight, giving a shrug. "Not that I don't blame him for it...

"But, anyway, I promise I'll do my best to convince him to try and spend more one-on-one time with you."

Feeling satisfied, Rainbow smiled, and said, "Thanks, Twilight, and I'm sorry for... hey, what's that?"

Rainbow was looking at the coffee table that Stardust had left Casey's gift on, except it was now unwrapped.

"It's  some type of watch from a new friend of ours," replied Twilight, who  was unable to see that Rainbow was playing around with it because she  was putting books away. "But don't tell him that I opened it since he  hasn't exactly-"

"Hey, Stardust! You got it working!"

"Aaagghh!" Rainbow  yelped, releasing the watch from her hooves, and dropping it on the  ground... with Twilight picking it up before it could be damaged.

"Casey?" Twilight said, while frowning at Rainbow, who mouthed her apology.

"Oh, hi, Princess Twilight, nice to hear from you again... I mean, even though there's a Twilight already here, so-"

Twilight chuckled, and said, "It's fine, Casey, but what-"

"Hello, Casey," said Rainbow, who was imitating Stardust again.

Before Twilight could scold her friend, they heard Casey say, "Oh, right... you're both here..."

Twilight slightly frowned as she said, "It's fine, Casey, I already talked with him regarding what happened when he saw your Twilight... I'm not mad."

"Right,  got it... so, um, really quickly, this is a communicator watch that  allows us to talk and to see each other without using the time machine."

As Twilight and Rainbow looked at the watch, Casey continued on. "It's powered by the same energy that the Silver Staff has, and it can even-"

Suddenly, there was the sound of static, and after a few minutes, Casey's voice came back. "Sorry  about that, I have to go... something happened at the Daring Do  convention in Manehatten regarding my Twilight, A.K. Yearling, the  Rainbow Dash of this world and Sunset's worl-"

"Daring Do Convention?!" Rainbow cried, speaking in her regular voice. "And A.K. Yearling is there?! She never-"

"- goes to conventions, yeah... and hello, uh, other Rainbow... but you sound surprised."

Forgetting about imitating Stardust, Rainbow said, "Well, duh, me and Twilight are planning to go to the next one that's in a few weeks, and it's going to be A.K.'s first-"

"Hold on," interrupted Twilight. "Are you ponies having it today?"

"Yeah, and my Twilight was able to go this time since she couldn't last time."

Twilight frowned, and asked, "What happened last time?"

"Well,  the Twilight here had to attend a friendship summit in Griffonstone, so  only Rainbow got to go, who promised her that she'd get A.K. to sign  it, but she ended up not getting it signed because-"

Casey was cut-off by some more static, and then... "Got to go! Later!"

CLICK!

Twilight looked at Rainbow, who said, "What?"

"You didn't get A.K. to sign my book?"

Rainbow waved her hooves in the air, saying, "Hey, don't get upset, Twilight, we haven't even gone there yet!"

"Well, I am definitely going this  time," said Twilight, who was still frowning. "I'm sure I can convince  Princess Celestia to change the summit to another date... so do not think of trying to go to that convention without me."

"Okay, okay, I won't," replied Rainbow. "And don't worry, I will make sure to get it signed if you're not able to-"

"I am going to that convention with you, Rainbow Dash," interrupted Twilight. "End... of... story..."





Twilight's  castle library was now unoccupied, due to Casey going after EG Rainbow,  and Starlight helping EG Rarity meet her pony counter-

"Casey? Twilight? Anypony here?"

Pinkie  Pie entered the room, looking around for her friends. "I hope you don't  mind if I use the Travel Thingy to go see my friends at Smile HD... okay?"

Obviously, there was no response.

"Okay, great, I won't be long!" Pinkie Pie yelled, and she began to turn on the machine.






"Smile HD"


When  Pinkie Pie arrived back in the world that Miles had sent her to, she  was surprised to see that Twilight was still reading a book by the same  tree.

Pinkie was about to greet her again, just like before, but then, she heard the "fast version" of her song playing again.

My name is Pinkie Pie

Hello!

And I am here to say

How ya doin'?

Pinkie also saw another version of herself, and guessed that it was the Pinkie Pie of this world.

Aw, what a beautiful smile she has, thought the pink-colored pony.

I'm gonna make you smile

And I will brighten up your day

It doesn't matter now

What's up?

If you are sad or blue

Howdy!

Then, Pinkie saw her other self jump up in the air, with the other Twilight waving her arm to tell her "hello"...

... and the next thing she knew, Pinkie found herself back in the library.

"Huh, that was quick," said Pinkie, giving a shrug. "Oh, well, I'm sure that nothing bad happened."






Limbo


"She'll thank me for that one day," muttered Miles. "Can't believe that other damn Pinkie got out."

I'm actually very surprised that you sent her back to the library,

Rolling his eyes, the yellow pony replied, "I have no issues with Pinkie, aside from that damn sticky cheese... so she does not deserve to see what horrifying things were going to happen at the hands of that... freak who doesn't even deserve to be called Pinkie Pie."

Just be glad that Rainbow has no intentions of returning to "Cupcakes".






Stardust's World


"Are we seriously going to have a meeting about this?"

"Yes, we are, Rainbow... it'll be good for everypony."

The  two ponies were now sitting inside the castle's throne room, and one by  one, the rest of their friends made their way in, as well, minus  Starlight and Stardust.

"Is everything alright, sugarcube?"  Applejack asked, looking at Twilight. "You sounded pretty concerned  while tellin' us to come here."

Twilight nodded her head, and once  everypony was in their own throne, she asked, "Have any of you ever  felt that Jack doesn't spend enough one-on-one time with you?"

As a  slightly embarrassed Rainbow crouched down in her throne, Applejack  spoke first. "Not really... just last week, he was helpin' me out with  feedin' the animals and makin' some cider. He even played around with  Applebloom for a lil' bit."

"And I never really did thank him for  going to see the play that Sweetie Belle wrote," said Rarity, with a  smile on her face. "Although I still wish he'd come in weekly instead of  monthly for his mane-and-beard check up."

Twilight chuckled, and  looked over at Pinkie Pie, who said, "Well, there was the time that he  helped me run the bakery... that time we both made a bunch of brownies  and other sweet stuff together... helping me keep a secret about the  baby..."

"Um, it's okay, Pinkie," interrupted the young alicorn, nodding her head. "I think I've got it."

Pinkie  nodded her head, and looked over at Fluttershy, who said, "Well, um...  there was that time he checked on me after the 'bat' incident... and he  comes every once in a while to help me take care of the animals,  although he tries to avoid not having to hang his cloak to dry when it's  time to give Angel a bath."

"Why wouldn't he?" Twilight asked, now confused.

"Because the last time he did, Discord came over for some tea, and he set Stardust's cloak on fire because-"

Before  she could continue her story, Pinkie Pie was suddenly next to Rainbow.  "How about you? What have you and Stardust done together?"

The  winged Pegasi waited until her friend went back to her throne, and then,  she replied, "Well... we did have a conversation after the whole thing  with Tank going into hibernation, and it helped me not to feel so bad  about it anymore."

Twilight smiled, and nodded while Applejack, who was now confused, asked, "So, is this about Jack... or...?"

Rainbow  groaned, and replied, "No, this is about me telling Twilight earlier  that I don't think me and him are spending enough one-on-one time  together to hang out and do fun stuff that doesn't involve being with  Twilight or staying in bed, or even just reading a book... instead, he's  doing all of that, or being with you girls."

Rarity rolled her  eyes after hearing her friend say that. "Of course he'd want to stay in  bed, Rainbow... considering all that he's done for us and everypony else  that we know."

"Yeah, and the fact that he's dealt with evil  baddies like Nightmare Moon, Flim and Flam, Discord, Trixie, the  Changelings, Tirek, Starlight," added Pinkie Pie, as she counted down  the villains they had all encountered in the past.

"And, I don't think he's doin' it intentionally,  Rainbow," said Applejack, which made Rainbow give her a confused look.  "It's probably a subconscious thing, and he doesn't even realize that he  is doin' it."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Rainbow.

The  hard-working Earth Pony let out a sigh as she tried to explain. "Pardon  my honesty... and in no way am I tryin' to make him see like a bad  pony, Twilight... but it's no secret that when we first tried to be  friends with him, back when Twilight was still givin' Princess Celestia  her friendship letters, you weren't exactly on the top o' his list of  ponies he wanted to be with.

"Plus, he always kept callin' you a  ripoff of that Sonic critter or whatever it was, and when his body was  takin' over by Sombra, we all heard him say that he was your least  favorite."

While Rainbow slunk down further in her throne,  Twilight frowned at Applejack, who shrugged at the alicorn. "Hey, I told  y'all pardon for me bein' honest."

"Thanks, AJ," mumbled Rainbow, who was now trying to cover her face with one of her wings.





Once  Starlight had showed EG Rarity the way to her counterpart's home, she  went back to the library to take another look at the Crystal Mirror time machine.

I need to know exactly what we're dealing with just in case Mr. Hooded Pony shows up again, thought Starlight, and once she was in front of the library, she used her magic to open the doors and step inside.

To  her surprise, the young unicorn found a dizzy-looking Pinkie Pie, with  the machine turned on. "What the... Pinkie, what happened to you?"

Pinkie  shook her head a few times to make the dizziness go away, and looked at  her friend. "I was only using this check on the world that Mr. Hood  Pony sent me to, and I see the same thing every time, but before I can  see what my other self does next, I end up back here... it's kind of  fun!"

Before Starlight could even respond, Pinkie went behind her, and pushed her towards the mirror. "Here, you try it!"

"Aaaagghhh!" yelled Starlight, as she went inside, and was transported to the world of Smile HD.

Pinkie Pie nodded her head, and said, "Yep, she's going to come right back here any second now."






Limbo


Miles couldn't control his laughter as he watched what Starlight was going through in the horrifying world.

You sick monster! How could you do that?!

"Call it payback for her trying to stop me at the Crystal Empire," replied Miles, still laughing.

At least save her before Anti-Pinkie destroys the planet.

The cloaked pony rolled his eyes, and said, "Oh, fine..."





When Starlight came out, Pinkie Pie said, "Wow, you're so lucky, you stayed there longer than I did!"

"No... you're the  lucky one," replied Starlight, who had a look of shock mixed with fear  on her face. "I saw terrible things... horrifying things... in fact, I'm  going to my room right now to do a spell that will erase what I just  saw so that I never have to remember it."

She then looked at the pink pony, and said, "Pinkie promise that you will never, ever, ever go to that world again... ever..."

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," replied the party-planning pony.

"Good..."  said Starlight, who was still in shock, and she began to make her way  to her room. "Don't disturb me for a half hour... please..."

As she walked away, Pinkie looked back at the machine, and wondered what exactly Starlight had seen.

"Aw, well, probably not important," she said, shrugging her small shoulders.





Awesome as I wanna be!

Having  been able to catch up to the Friendship Express, EG Rainbow had been  introduced to her pony counterpart, and she was now showing her (as well  as Twilight) the song that she'd written back at CHS, via her vocals  and air-guitar.

First you see me riding on a sonic boom.
Got my guitar shreddin' up my latest tune.
There is nothin' you can do to beat me.
I'm so good that you can't defeat me.

Rainbow  was speechless at what her EG counterpart was singing, and while  Twilight was simply laying back, due to her already having heard it  before.

Yeah, I'm awesome, take caution.
Watch out for me, I'm awesome as I wanna be.
(Yeah!) I'm awesome, take caution.
Watch out for me, I'm awesome as I wanna be.

Step aside now, you're just gettin' in my way.
I got sick chops you could never hope to play.
When it comes to makin' music, I'm the ruler.
You wish you could be twenty percent cooler.

Yeah, I'm awesome, take caution.
Watch out for me, I'm awesome as I wanna be.
(Yeah!) I'm awesome, take caution.
Watch out for me, I'm awesome as I wanna be! 

Once she had finished, EG Rainbow gave a satisfied nod, and looked at the two ponies in front of her. "So, how was that?"

Her pony counterpart, whose mouth was wide open with surprise, said, "Best... song... ever!"
> A Special Connection
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Twilight finally returned to the castle, Spike was surprised to see that she was tired.

"Long day, Twilight?"

"Uh-huh," replied the young alicorn, before she released a yawn. "I had to deal with two versions of Rainbow Dash... ours, and the one from Sunset's world."

Looking over at Spike, she asked, "What about you? How was your day today?"


[Flashback]


"Oh, you are so adorable," swooned EG Rarity, giving the little dragon a hug.

"Hey, you leave my Spikey Wikey alone," replied Rarity, a frown on her face.

"Ooh, you even have an adorable nickname!" EG Rarity cried, her face beaming with happiness.

As for Spike, he couldn't believe what was happening. "Best... day... ever..."


[Present]


"Eh, nothing much," said Spike, as he tried hiding his grin from Twilight. "But Starlight has been in her room almost all day."

"Really?" Twilight said, surprised. "Wow... how come?"

As  the young dragon led the alicorn to her pupil's bedroom, he replied,  "I'm not sure exactly... I was actually going to give her this cup of  tea."

Once they were in front of Starlight's door, Twilight knocked on it a few times, and asked, "Starlight? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine... you can come in, if you want."

So, Spike turned the doorknob, opening the door, and they saw Starlight sitting up in her bed, with a book on her lap.

"I made you some tea," said the young dragon, offering the cup to his friend.

Starlight smiled, and graciously accepted the warm drink. "Thank you, Spike..."

"He said that you've been in here almost the whole day," said Twilight, concerned for her friend. "You didn't work too hard while taking care of Sunburst, did you?"

The  purple unicorn shook her head, and after taking a sip of the tea, she  replied, "It was probably just a bad day for me... the last thing I  remember was coming home, talking to Casey... and that's it."

"Well, as long as you're okay, that's good for me," said Twilight, giving her a smile. "Good night, Starlight."

"Night, Starlight," said the small dragon.

"Good night, Twilight... night, Spike, and thanks for the tea."

With that, Twilight and Spike left the room, with her #1 assistant saying, "Where is Casey anyway? I haven't seen him all day."

"I'm... here... Spike..." The Earth Pony said, suddenly appearing in front of them, and sounding breathless. "Rainbow... Dash... fast... pony..."

Twilight chuckled, and looked at her reptile friend. "Spike, you mind making another cup of tea?"

"No problem, Twilight," said Spike, as he headed over to the kitchen.

Casey looked at the alicorn princess, and said, "I'm so glad that you were able to convince her to go back to Sunset's world..."

Twilight frowned, in confusion, and replied, "I thought you were the one taking her back."

"No, I only took the other Rarity back," said Casey, also confused.

Twilight tilted her head to the side. "Then, who is... Pinkie!"





"Uh, what kind of world is called Cupcakes?" EG Rainbow asked.

The pink-colored pony shrugged, and said, "I don't know... you want to find out?"

Before EG Rainbow could reply, Twilight burst into the room, and cried, "Pinkie, don't... oh... you're both still here..."

"Hiya, Twilight," said Pinkie, waving one of her limbs. "I was just helping the other Rainbow go home."

"Well, thanks, Pinkie, but I can take it from here," said Twilight, walking over to the side of the machine.

Pinkie became silent, for a moment, before she nodded her head, and left the library.

"Wow, Twilight," said EG Rainbow, shaking her head. "And I thought our Pinkie was strange..."

"I try not to question it," said Twilight.






Limbo


After  seeing that nighttime had fallen in both worlds, Miles let out a yawn,  and used his imagination to have a bed appear in front of him.

Tired, are we?

"Hey,  even ponies like me need sleep," muttered Miles, his eyelids beginning  to close as he climbed into bed. "I ain't some immortal vampire."

But before going to sleep, his inner voice had one more thing to say.

If  what you say is true... and Twilight IS gone... keep in mind that she's  probably watching over you... imagine what she'd say...

A small tear dropped down from one of Miles' closed eyes, and he said, "I told you... it doesn't matter anymore... and she wouldn't watch over someone like me."






Stardust's World - Twilight's Castle


The alicorn princess, young dragon, and human-turned-pony were currently sound asleep, in their own rooms.

All  of the lights were turned off, and everything seemed normal... but,  then, in Twilight's bedroom, a white and ghost-like orb suddenly  appeared.

It floated in the air, hovering above the young pony,  and slowly descended towards her head, fading away as it entered  Twilight's mind...

Then, a few minutes later, Twilight suddenly woke up, taking several deep breaths, and quickly jumped out of her bed.

She  left the room, wanting to check her special somepony, and once she  reached the door to his room, Twilight carefully opened it...

A  smile appeared on her face as she found Stardust sound asleep, his mouth  mouthing a few words that she couldn't quite make out.

"Stardust?" Twilight whispered, nudging his body with her hoof.

The young pony remained silent, and as she gently traced her hoof alongside his face, a smile appeared on his face.

I wonder if he's dreaming about me, thought Twilight.

As an answer, Stardust sleepingly muttered, "Go, go, power ponies..."

Trying  to hold back her laughter, Twilight made a mental note to remind him of  that moment, if the time ever came, and before leaving the room, she  gave him a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Good night... my warrior..."

Then,  once she was out of his room, Twilight returned to her own bed to  sleep... unaware of the fact that the ghost-like orb was still in her mind.
> Things Get Worse, Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Limbo


After waking up,  Miles had spent a great deal of time looking at the portal that showed  the version of Equestria where Stardust lived.

What exactly are you thinking about doing? You've been watching what goes on in that world for hours.

"No  need to worry," said the cloaked pony. "It's just a precaution back-up  plan in case the fight with Stardust does not go the way I intend it  to."

And what sort of plan would that be?

As he  continued watching over the portal, Miles explained, "It's a little  similar to the butterfly effect... if I go back to the day that Stardust  first arrived in Ponyville, and kill him, then all of the memories and events and such that take place after will eventually fade away, as if they never happened..."

He then used his imagination to create a tombstone in front of him that had an engraving of Stardust's Cutie Mark.

"Then,  by the time it reaches him, it'll already be too late... he'll end up  like the way the memory of Voldemort did after Harry stabbed the diary  with the basilisk fang."

Are you insane? That would literally  cause severe damage to the timeline of that world... and what's worse is  that you could do the same to the world you found Casey at.

"... So?" Miles replied, sounding like he could care less about what happened. "In the meantime, let's see how loyal Stardust can be when it comes to helping out his new friends..."

Waving  his hoofs around, Miles conjured up a black orb of energy, and his  muzzle became a wide grin as it started to morph into something big.

Is that supposed to be...?

"Indeed it is," laughed Miles, as his new creation began to resemble that of a dragon. "With some adjustments, of course."





Having successfully erased the memories of Smile HD from her mind, Starlight felt a little better when she woke up the following morning.

Do I smell pancakes?

Leaving  the room, the magical-powered unicorn headed to the dining room, and  found Twilight, Spike, and Casey already starting to eat breakfast.

"Good morning, Starlight," greeted Twilight. "You seem a lot better than last night."

"Yeah,  the day's definitely off to a great start," replied Starlight, taking  her seat next to Casey, with Spike handing her a plate of pancakes. "But  I still can't remember why I ended up staying in bed in the first  place."

Casey took a big gulp of his chewed-up food, and said, "Everyone has their off days... and now, we can enjoy a normal Sunday."

Starlight chuckled, and raised an eyebrow as she asked, "What do you mean normal?"

"Well,  the other versions of Rarity and Rainbow are back in Sunset's world,"  explained Casey. "And my former master is trapped in that world Twilight  sent him to, so I see no reason for anything bad to happen..."

Starlight was about to give her response when an unfamiliar voice (to him) appeared. "Well, new pony, that's where I come in!"

Casey looked around the room, but didn't see anypony else besides the other three. "Who was that?"

"Discord," replied Twilight and Starlight, at the same time, with looks of amusement on their faces.

And  to prove their point, the draconequus suddenly appeared in the chair  next to Twilight. "Well, well, well, princess, I never imagined you'd  find your special somepony so soon."

Both Casey and Twilight started blushing, and the Princess of Friendship said, "We're just good friends, Discord..."

A sad frown appeared on Discord's face as he said, "Oh? My apologies, then... I feel sorry for you, new pony."

He snapped his two yellow-claw fingers, and Casey looked down to see that he was now wearing a shirt that read "NOTHING MORE THAN FRIENDS" on the front.

"You must have pretty high standards, then, Twilight," replied Discord, while Casey tried taking the shirt off.

Seeing that he was having trouble, Starlight chuckled, and used her own magic to make it disappear.

"I meant that we're getting to know each other," frowned Twilight, whose face was still red. "I never exactly..."

"Ah-ah-ah, say no more, princess," said Discord, putting a bear finger to her lips.

With another finger snap, the spirit of disharmony appeared next to Casey, who almost jumped out of his seat.

"So,  New Pony, how does somepony like you end up from being a slave to the  hooded pony that turned me to stone... to Twilight's new friend?"

"Uh... well, my name is Casey, actually,"  corrected the young pony, remembering what the cloaked pony had  mentioned to him about Discord. "And I just decided that I didn't want  to be-"

"Ah, so you reformed yourself, in a way," interrupted  Discord, who then made a graduation cap appear on the pony's head. "Good  for you, Casey... wouldn't want that darkness inside of you to cause  any serious damage, right?"

Before Casey could ask what he meant  by that, Discord looked over at Twilight. "Oh, and by the way, princess,  I just remembered now that I had something important to tell you."

"And what exactly would that be?" Twilight asked, giving him a suspicious look.






Stardust's World


"Aaagghh... [BEEP]..." exclaimed Stardust, putting a hoof to his forehead.

"You okay?" Twilight asked, looking at him with concern.

Stardust nodded his head. "I just felt... like... something awful was about to happen... like Equestria Girls awful..."

Twilight  rolled her eyes, but still smiled as she said, "I get it, you don't  like being there... but do you think Casey might have-"

"If Casey is having those type  of problems," replied Stardust, who was trying his best to not look  disgusted. "Then, he's on his own... I can only handle so much."

"Stardust..."

The golden-colored pony shook his head. "We've all talked about this, Twilight, I am not going to Casey's world unless it's an extreme emergency..."

Twilight  was about to argue with him some more, but Stardust added, "Nope, nope,  nope... besides, I have yet to see that world produce any type of  actual threat to Equestria."





"You couldn't tell me about this earlier?!"

Twilight  and Spike, as well as Discord, Starlight, and Casey, were now outside  of the castle... and saw that everypony they knew in Ponyville were  running into their homes, or as far away as possible.

And the reason for that was because of a winged, purple-colored dragon that was coming from Sweet Apple Acres.

"I was going  to tell you right away," replied Discord, giving a shrug. "But I wanted  to introduce myself to Casey here first... wait, where did he go?"

"Hey! Giant monster thing!"

The spirit of disharmony saw where the young pony had run off to, and said, "Ah, there he is, confronting the monster."

"Just what exactly do you think you're doing?" Casey asked.

The dragon looked down at the ground, and began to laugh. "You must be very brave to stand up to me, little pony."

After hearing it speak, a look of confusion appeared on Casey's face. "Why do you sound like Twilight?"

"I asked myself the same exact question," said Discord, as he and the others caught up to him.

"That's because that is me..." Twilight replied, frowning as she looked up at the dragon. "Sort of... isn't that right, Sci-Twi?"

"The other Twilight from Sunset's world?" Spike said, also looking up at the large dragon

The reptilian creature laughed as she said, "I'm all Midnight Sparkle, princess... and I came here to get that silver staff you're hiding in your castle."

Realizing that the hooded pony was behind this, Twilight cried, "There's no way you're getting that staff!"

"Oh, is that so?" Midnight Sparkle said, a sly grin on her face. "And how do you plan on stopping me?"

"With the help from her friends," said Applejack, running over to be at Twilight's side.

The  others (Rarity, Rainbow, and Fluttershy) weren't very far behind, with  Fluttershy saying, "That's right... and you're no different than any  other dragon we've met in the past."

"That's where you're wrong, little pony," replied Midnight Sparkle, and to prove her point, she started breathing out massive blasts of flame into the air.

Rainbow Dash gulped, and turned to look at Spike. "Uh... I don't suppose you can do something like that?"

Spike shook his head, while Twilight suddenly had an idea.

"Discord, take Casey to the castle, and make sure that she's not able to get to it!"

"Why me?" Casey asked. "I should be helping you fight that thing!"

Twilight shook her head, and said, "I need you to get some help... by using the Crystal Mirror?"

"Oh..." The young pony replied, and he nodded his head. "Got it."

With that, Discord stood next to Casey, and after snapping his fingers, they were gone in the blink of an eye.

As for Twilight, she looked up at her... dragon counterpart, and cried, "You'll have to get through all of us first!"

"If that's how you choose to die, than so be it," said Midnight Sparkle, her eyes glowing with anger.

"Yep, that's definitely not the other Twilight," said Spike.

Once they were in the castle, Casey looked at Discord. "So, how exactly do you plan on stopping that thing from coming in here?"

The master of Chaos nodded his head over to the window, and said, "I'm already working on it."

Looking  outside, Casey saw that the castle was now becoming surrounded by large  and spiked branches that were very similar to the ones that had come  from his planted seeds.

"Um, are you sure those will work, Discord?"

Discord scoffed, and said, "Trust me, New Pony, I know what I'm doing... now, go and get that help!"

Deciding  to have as much as faith in Discord as he possibly could, Casey raced  towards the library, and started to turn on the machine.

However, he also noticed the wristwatch on a nearby coffee table, and remembered about Stardust.

I'm pretty sure this would count as an emergency, thought Casey. But it seemed like Twilight wanted me to get help from Sunset and her friends.

Looking back and forth between the watch and the Crystal Mirror, the young pony sighed, and said, "Well... here goes nothing..."
> Things Get Worse, Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Limbo


Laughing in what he felt was complete victory, Miles said, "This is way better than I planned... he's actually not going to help him at all."

Well, to be fair, there is no need for him to help Twilight and the others.

He  has his own problems in the world that he lives in, and he's not  exactly fond of anything that occurs in Sunset Shimmer's world.

"Really?  Huh..." The cloaked pony gave a shrug. "Ah, well, what matters is that  once Midnight Sparkle retrieves the staff for me, I'll be able to  unleash all of my dark magic, and send Stardust Balance to Hell!"

Or he could do to you what he's done to everypony else that he's fought in his world.

Miles gritted his teeth in frustration, and muttered, "I'd rather have Sombra in my damn head instead of you."

Then that would be copying someone else's work.. and that someone could probably file a-

"Shut up!"






Stardust's World


"For the last time, love, I am not... repeat, not... going over there."

Twilight sighed, and she said, "Okay, fine... you don't have to go..."

"Thank you," replied Stardust, glad that she accepted his answer. "Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a pillow that has my-"

"But I need you to do something else instead," added Twilight, walking over to stand in front of him, so that he couldn't leave.

Knowing that he wouldn't be going back to sleep anytime soon, Stardust let out a sigh, and asked, "What exactly did you have in mind?"

With  a serious facial expression, Twilight replied, "I want you to start  spending a little more time with Rainbow Dash... starting today."

For a moment, Stardust remained silent, and then, he asked, "Why would I do that?"

Twilight just raised one of her eyebrows. "Because she's your friend?"

"Yeah, but so are a lot of other ponies," pointed out the young pony. "And besides, I'm sure Rainbow would just want to fly around, talk about the WonderBolts-"

"You don't know that,  for sure," said Twilight, who was seeing that he wasn't getting it.  "Tell me, when was the last time you and her spent some one-on-one time  together to hang out as friends?"

Stardust opened his mouth to respond, but Twilight cut him off. "Besides you comforting her when she was worried about Tank."

"Okay,  fine, I can't remember exactly when right now," replied Stardust, who  was starting to get slightly irritated. "I still don't get why-"

Twilight stopped him by holding up one of her hooves. "Let me finish... when was the last time you spent time with Rarity?"

"Well, there was the problem she had with Sassy Saddles..." said Stardust.

The young alicorn nodded her head. "And Fluttershy?"

Stardust thought about it for a moment, and said, "I helped convince her to not be so scared during Nightmare Night..."

"And Applejack?"

The  golden-colored pony smiled as he answered, "I helped her out with some  chores at the farm, and I even got to play around with Applebloom.

"And before you ask, yes, I even spent a day baking sweets with Pinkie Pie."

"Uh-huh," agreed Twilight, sensing that he was almost getting it now. "Now, let me ask you this - who was your least favorite pony to be with when we first met you?"

"Well, that's an easy one... Rainbow Dash," replied Stardust. "But that was a long time ago, Twi-"

Twilight held up her hoof again, saying, "I know, but let me finish... when you were, um, taken over by..."

Way to keep things subtle, princess.

Not now, Sombra, thought Stardust.

"... do you remember what you told Rainbow?"

"Unfortunately, yes," replied Stardust, even though he preferred to not think much about that day.

Twilight  nodded her head. "Ok, great... now who was the one pony that you had  trouble with, in regards to remembering a special time or day?"

Rolling his eues, Stardust scoffed, and replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "That one is easy, as well... it's Rainb-"

But  he then started realizing what Twilight was trying to say to him, and  the young pony now had a sheepish expression on his face. "Ohhhh... right."

Twilight  sighed, and placed a comforting hoof on his shoulder. "Look, Jack, you  know how grateful me and Spike are for having somepony like you in our  lives... but there are other ponies that we know who want to show you  their gratitude, as well."

Instead of giving a response, Stardust kept quiet as he let Twilight continue her friendship lecture.

"In  regards to Rainbow, I have a feeling that you're avoiding time with her  subconsciously... sure, there have been some wonderful moments that you  two have probably had together, but it's been a while since you and her  have spent a day to hang out."

Stardust found himself lowering  his head in slight disappointment (with himself), but Twilight quickly  brought it up so that he could see her smiling face.

"You're a  great person, Jack, and I'm glad that you're my special somepony... but  others need to know themselves how great you could be.

She's right, you know.

Stardust  chucked as he listened to his elderly friend, along with finally  understanding what Twilight meant. "I'll work on it..."

Oh, I'm sure that you will, boy.

And before she could argue with him, Stardust added, "And yes, starting today, love."

"Good,"  said Twilight, stepping aside a little. "Remember, Jack, you're special  to a lot of our friends, including Sunset and Starlight... but it's  your job to show them yourself... understand?"

Stardust nodded, and he started to head out of the castle. "Loud and clear, Twilight... guess I'll see you later, then?"

"Uh-huh," replied the Princess of Friendship. "Have fun!"

Stardust chuckled, and he replied, "I'll try to, love..."

Kissing her on the cheek, the young pony walked away, and once he was gone, Twilight began to remember something.

I wonder if I should tell him about the dream I had.






World of "Equestria Girls"


As Casey stepped out of the portal, he began to speak at a fast pace. "Sunset, it's an emergency, Twilight and I..."

However,  he stopped after seeing - and realizing - that Celestia's former student was not there... instead, Casey found himself meeting two other humans instead of Sunset Shimmer.

"Who exactly are you supposed to be?"

That  reply came from one of the teenage girls, whose white-and-blue hair was  in pigtails, and she also had on a pair of orange-colored sunglasses.

Casey gulped, and he said, "Um, well, I..."

"Oh,  don't mind Sugarcoat," replied the other teenager, who had her  rose-colored hair in a ponytail, along with a few aquamarine streaks.  "She was just born that way."

Before Casey could reply, she had a  sour-like expression on her face as she asked, "What do you even want  with Sunset Shimmer anyway?"

"That's Sour Sweet," replied  Sugarcoat, who had her arms crossed. "You came from the pony world that  Princess Twilight lives in?"

Nodding his head, Casey replied, "Yes, and I need to bring Sunset back with me so that she can help us-"

"Oh,  well, why didn't you just say so?" Sour Sweet replied, her tone back to  being sweet and innocent. "We were just headed to her house  ourselves... come on, I'll give you a ride."

As she started  walking towards her car nearby, Casey looked at Sugarcoat, who said,  "I'd hurry up and accept that offer before she decides to change her  mind, and take it back."





"Uh,  Twilight?" Rainbow Dash said, as she dodged another one of Midnight  Sparkle's fireblasts. "How long do we have to keep her away from the  castle?"

"Just until Casey comes back here with Sunset Shimmer,"  replied Twilight, who shot her own magical blast at the dragon's chest.  "He should be talking to her already by now."

Whoosh!

Pushing  Twilight and Fluttershy out of the way, in order to avoid a giant  fireball, Rainbow Dash exclaimed, "Well, I hope he hurries it up cause  we're not exactly stacked with time here."

"You foolish ponies," cackled the alter-ego of Sci Twi. "Not even that pathetic human can stop me from getting that staff, and bringing it to-"

"OH, GIANT SPARKLE MONSTER! OVER HERE!"

Midnight Sparkle growled, and turned around to see Pinkie Pie a few feet away, with a tuba in her hooves.

"Uh, what is she doing?" Rainbow whispered to Twilight, who shrugged her shoulders.

The purple dragon landed in front of the party-planning Earth Pony, and asked, "What in Equestria do you want?"

Pinkie Pie shook her head, and replied, "First of all, you have no idea how to be a real villain, do you?"

"What?!" Midnight Sparkle yelled, her eyes glowing with anger. "I could roast you right now like a turkey."

"Oh,  I've had to deal with worser things," replied Pinkie, a smirk on her  face. "And I could probably teach you a thing or two..."

Up in the sky, Fluttershy flew over to be next to Twilight, whispering, "I think she's giving Casey more time."

"All right, then, pony, what is it that you could teach me?" Midnight Sparkle said, looking at Pinkie with a non-amused facial expression.

Pinkie Pie waited a moment before she took a deep breath, and cried, "A five, six, seven, EIGHT!"

As  she began playing the musical instrument in her hooves, the rest of her  friends watched with confusion, and then, Pinkie started to sing a song that was now keeping Midnight distracted, for the time being.

"Well, I still hope Casey hurries up over here," whispered Rainbow, with Twilight letting out a sigh.






The World of "Equestria Girls"


"Midnight Sparkle?" Sunset Shimmer said, who looked shocked and afraid.

"B-but that's impossible," added Sci Twi, who was standing next to her friend. "I was her, and I'm standing right here."

Casey  nodded his head, and replied, "Yeah, I know, but that's what she called  herself, and she sounds a lot like you... and the other Twilight..."

Sunset looked at Sci Twi, and she asked, "Should we use them?"

"Yeah, we definitely should..." replied the human version of Twilight.

"Uh, who's we?" Casey said, confused.

Sunset gave the young teenager a serious look, and said, "You and Princess Twilight won't just need my help, Casey... you'll also need her help, and the others, too."

"What about us, then, huh?"

The three of them looked at Sugarcoat and Sour Sweet, who had now switched over to her "sweeter" side. "You weren't planning on leaving us here, were you?"

"Um,  no offense," replied Sunset, while Sci Twi nervously chuckled. "But I  don't know how much help exactly you two could give or do for us."

"Well, that's just great!" Sour Sweet exclaimed, no longer sounding like a kind person.

As for Sugarcoat, she simply said, "You'd better let us help when the next story comes, then."

Casey looked at Sunset and Sci Twi, who both gave him a shrug.






Stardust's World


I  would rather find out whatever it is that Casey is having trouble with  than spending the rest of today listening to that pony with a giant ego.

"Hey,  suck it up, Sombra, I promised Twilight I would do this," said  Stardust, who was currently in search of Rainbow Dash. "And besides,  she's right... I haven't been a really good friend to Rainbow ever  since-"

I almost had your body in my full control?

Don't  worry about him, Jack, just focus on making Rainbow Dash smile and feel  like you care about your friendship with each other.

Easier said than done, elderly one.

Stardust just rolled his eyes, and said, "I'm positive that  Casey and the parallel versions of the others can handle whatever  situation is happening to them right now... and it's probably not even  that big of a deal."






The World of "Equestria Girls"


"You know, it's a good thing you didn't ask Stardust Balance to help out," said Sunset. "He hates this world with a passion..."

"Hey!" Sour Sweet yelled, now looking annoyed.

The  five of them, along with everyone else (Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie,  and Fluttershy) were now by the Canterlot statue that held the portal to  travel to Twilight's world.

"Well, aside from us and Sunset and  our Twilight," replied Applejack's human counterpart. "But I don't  really know myself what he thinks of those two."

"Hey!" Sour Sweet repeated, although this time, she said it with a sad and hurtful expression.

Sugarcoat blinked her eyes a few times before saying, "He probably thinks that characters like us don't deserve to even exist."

Casey looked at Sunset, who replied, "You'll have to ask him yourself."





Discord was currently in Twilight's library, pacing back and forth as he continued waiting for Casey to return.

Then, he stopped moving after noticing that the portal was opening itself up.

"Took you long enough," retorted Discord, as he watched Casey step out of the mirror.

"Well,  there was a little, um... discussion that needed to happen," replied  Casey, and Discord watched with surprise as Sunset Shimmer stepped out,  as well, now back to her old unicorn self.

Then, it took only a  few more seconds for Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and  Sci Twi to step out, which shocked Discord even more.

"You brought over all of them?" Discord exclaimed.

"Well... yeah, but it was something that I had to do," replied Casey. "And they have a plan on stopping Midnight Sparkle."

Discord raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Oh, they do, huh? Well, this ought to be an interesting battle then..."

Taking  a look at the necklace around her neck, which contained a red-colored  geode, Sunset said, "Oh, trust me, you're going to enjoy this one."

With a snap of his fingers, Discord had on a dark pair of sunglasses, and one of his arms was holding onto a bag of popcorn.

"Well, then, what are we waiting for?"
> Taking Care of Business
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


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!"
> Only Just Begun
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now that Midnight Sparkle had been defeated, there was not exactly a  need for Sunset and the rest of the Equestria Girls to stay in  Equestria.

"Aw, really?" Pinkie said, looking disappointed. "But I was going to throw us all a victory party!"

"Can't we stay just for a little longer?" EG Pinkie asked, pleading with Sunset and Sci Twi.

Sunset shook her head, and said, "We have Sugarcoat and Sour Sweet waiting for us, Pinkie... maybe some other time."

Pinkie thought about it, and nodded her head. "Okie dokie!"

Twilight  glanced over at Starlight, who was still recovering from the spell  she'd used on Midnight. "You think you can help show them the way to the  Warrior Crystal Mirror?"

"Yeah, I think I'll be fine," said the young unicorn. "Talk to you later?"

"Sure thing, Starlight," replied Twilight, and watched as her pupil led the EG ponies (minus Sunset) into the castle.

Casey looked at the former student of Celestia, and said, "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly does your geode necklace allow you to do?"

"Oh, I can see important memories of someone's mind if I'm touching a part of their body," answered Sunset.

"Ooh, ooh, can you try it on me?" Pinkie Pie asked, as she bounced up and down.

Sunset  immediately shook her head, saying, "I already saw twice what my Pinkie  thinks about... I'm not sure if I want to see what is in your mind."

"Well, what about me?" Casey asked, raising up his arm to volunteer. "I don't really have anything to hide."

Sunset looked at Twilight, who nodded her head, and she said, "Well, if that's what you want... then, okay, sure."

The  young Earth Pony then walked over to Sunset, and she placed her hoof on  his forehead, which then allowed her to see one of Casey's past  memories.






[Background Music - 528491 (from Inception) by Hans Zimmer]


Casey's father chuckled as he said, "There's no reason why you can't go to that Tree House, son... it is half of a public library, after all."

The  young pony rolled his eyes, and then, he blushed as his mother said,  "Oh, I'm sure you two will make great friends... Just don't be late for  dinner, okay?"

"We'll be waiting here for you, son..."


#############


"Mom! Dad!"

As  he continued heading to his home, Casey kept on calling out for his  parents, hoping that they would come out before it was too late.

"Princess Twilight! You have something that belongs to me!"

Several miles away, Tirek was destroying everything in his path in order to find the alicorn princess.

"Please be okay, Mom and Dad," whispered Casey.


################


It was like a nightmare that had come true

"No... no..." Casey's eyes started to water up with tears as he looked at the spot where his house was at.

Unfortunately, it was now smashed under a part of the ground that Tirek had cut off in order to defeat Twilight.

To make matters worse, Casey saw two very familiar objects that were in front of the now-destroyed home.

It was his father's glasses, as well as an almost-shredded scarf that Casey had made for his mother.

"Mom... Dad... I'm sorry..." The young pony said, and he started breaking down into tears.


##############


"What do you have against Twilight and the others, anyway?" Casey cried. "They never did anything to you!"

"Don't you dare talk  back to me, slave," yelled the hooded pony. "And if I recall, didn't  you tell me that her battle with Tirek caused you to lose your parents?"

Casey  gulped, and said, "T-that wasn't her fault, though, it was Tirek who  ripped apart the ground... and she had to save Equestria."

Rolling  his eyes, the hooded pony said, "And, of course, while she gets to stay  at a shiny castle, you get the short end of the stick!"


##############


"Ah, so you've reformed yourself in a way," applauded Discord, as he made a graduation cap appear on Casey's head.

"You wouldn't want to unleash all of the darkness at the wrong time, would you?"





Casey looked at Twilight, and asked, "Um... how long is she going to just stand there?"

Before  Twilight could say anything, Sunset suddenly stepped back a few feet  away from Casey, removing her hoof from his forehead. "Oh... my..."

"Sunset?" Casey asked, now feeling concerned for her. "You okay?"

The  yellow-colored pony nodded, and replied, "Yeah, but I think it's time  for me to head back now. I'll write to you later, Twilight."

Casey wanted to ask what she had seen exactly, but Sunset was already running over to the library in the castle.

"Um... did I do something wrong?"

Twilight shrugged, and replied, "It's probably different for her here instead of the world she stays at."

"Yeah, no need to feel bad or nothin', sugarcube," assured Applejack, as she and the others walked over to them.

"Oh, Twilight, I do hope that Starlight is fine, as well," said a concerned Rarity.

Fluttershy nodded, in agreement, and asked, "Um, is it alright if we all stay to make sure she's okay?"

Twilight smiled, feeling touched by her friend's kind suggestion. "I'm sure she would love that very much."

Then,  turning her attention over to Casey, the alicorn princess said, "I  think you should check in with Stardust and the other Twilight, just to  see if anything like this is happening in their world."

"Who's  Stardust?" Spike asked, curious. "You two have been talking about him  every now and then since the events at the Crystal Castle."

Looking  at the young dragon, Casey chuckled, and said, "He's a new friend that  we've made, Spike... you two would probably get along very well."






The World of "Equestria Girls"


Sour Sweet looked at Sugarcoat, and asked, in a sweet tone, "So, you really don't think that Stardust likes us?"

"I didn't say those words exactly,"  pointed out Sugarcoat. "I just remember seeing him a while back during  the Friendship Games, and I could tell by the way he acted that he'd  rather be somewhere else instead of here."

"Well, then what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Sour Sweet growled, turning back to her angry self.

Sugarcoat rolled her eyes, and said, "We're probably on the indifference side of his feelings - he neither likes us nor hate us."

Whoosh!

The two of them watched as the portal to Equestria opened, allowing all of their friends to return back to their own world.

"Took you all long enough," said Sugarcoat, who also had her arms crossed.

Sci Twi and Sunset were the last ones to step out, and the purple-skinned human could sense that something was wrong.

"Are you okay, Sunset?"

Sunset looked back at the portal, and she said, "I'll be fine, but... now I'm getting worried for Princess Twilight."






Stardust's World


It was now almost a quarter to 5 pm, and Rainbow was walking with Stardust back to Twilight's castle.

"See? I knew you'd enjoy that," said the young Pegasi, happy with the way that their time together had turned around.

If I had an actual stomach, I would have thrown up after it was over.

Stardust smiled, and replied, "Alright, fine, I admit it... and I am sorry we didn't do this sooner, it was just that-"

"Yeah,  I know, I know," said Rainbow, rolling her eyes. "Playing the hero  card, being Twilight's special somepony, and hanging out with Spike. I  can see why you love to sleep."

"Well, I promised Twilight... and  myself, I guess... that I would do better," said Stardust, who meant  every word that he was saying.

Rainbow smiled, and nodded her head as she said, "Thanks, Star... for this awesome day..."

Then, as they approached the castle doors, she added, "And don't tell Twilight or anypony else I said this to you, but... I am really glad that you're staying here in Ponyville... until Starswirl sends you to some other world, or something."

Oh, yes, like all of what happened here was because of me.

Stardust started to laugh a little as he thought, It actually kind of is, pal. You did send me here, after all.

The elderly pony's response was - And look at what's happened to you since that day.

Stardust smiled, and turned his attention back to his friend as he said, "Well, thanks, Rainbow... until next time?"

"Sure  thing, pal," replied Rainbow, giving him a salute before she took off  into the skies, and started flying back to her own home.

As for  Stardust, he continued to look up in the sky, suddenly finding himself  counting all of the stars that were beginning to appear...

"So, I take it you had an eventful day?"

Stardust turned around, and saw Starlight, who had just opened the castle door.

"More or less, yeah," replied the young pony, as he entered his home. "How was yours with Twilight?"

"It  was just great, Jack," answered Twilight, who was coming from Spike's  room after helping the little dragon go to bed. "She definitely learned  some valuable stuff."

Looking at the bashful Starlight, Stardust replied, "Well, I can't wait to hear all about it."

"Thanks, Stardust," said Starlight, and walked away, leaving the ponies to themselves.

"Is this when you tell me the words 'I told you so', love?" He asked, which made Twilight laugh.

"I think you've had enough for today, Jack... even though I did tell you so."

Stardust  rolled his eyes, even though he was also smiling, and replied, "Yeah,  yeah, I know... oh, so did anything happen with Casey?"

"Hmmm? Oh,  right, yeah..." Twilight said, remembering what had also happened  earlier. "He checked in a while ago, wondering if anything weird  happened here since they had a tough situation of their own to deal  with."

Stardust smirked at Twilight, and remembered what he had said this morning. "I take it that the problem had to do with You-Know-Where?"

Twilight  continued to chuckle as she started to lead him to the library. "Oh,  you're going to want to sit down for this one, Jack..."

"Just  please tell me it's a better story than the other ones that you and I  have gone through," said Stardust, who was not exactly in the mood for a  recap that could be remotely similar to any of the events that happened  in the world of Equestria Girls.

Twilight nodded her head, and said, "I guarantee it..."






Limbo


After  finishing with his outburst of anger that resulted from watching  Midnight Sparkle's defeat, the fire-like energy surrounding Miles' body  was raging more brighter than it ever had done before.

"That does it... I'm tired of waiting in this cursed place," growled Miles, as he watched the portals that showed Stardust's world and Casey's world. "I am getting my staff back, and killing Stardust Balance so that he doesn't stop me."

And how exactly do you plan on stopping Stardust?

Taking another look at the portal that showed Stardust's world, Miles' muzzle became an evil grin as he said, "By getting my hooves on the one pony that he would do anything for..."

Pausing  for a moment, Miles reached into one of his cloak's pockets, and pulled  out a necklace that looked exactly like the one Stardust had given  Twilight on the night of their not-so-well restaurant date.

"... and if that doesn't work..."

He  took a swipe at the portal, which made it spin around a few times, and  once it stopped, he was now looking at an event that had occurred in  Stardust's past.

"I'll go back in time, and kill him myself... and nopony is going to stop me."

It  seemed like everything in Miles' final plan for revenge had been  written out perfectly... but the one thing that he did not yet know  about was the ghost-like orb that still resonated inside of Twilight's  mind.




Stardust's World


As the  moon shined brightly in the Equestrian sky, the four residents in  Twilight's castle were either ready for bed or already asleep.

Spike  was resting in his room, lying in bed while hugging his Rarity plush,  and in Starlight's room, the purple unicorn was sitting in her bed,  lying up against the wall as she read the book that was on her lap.

As  for Stardust, he had fallen asleep in the library while reading one of  his favorite books, the exhaustion of the day's events having caught up  with him.

That left the Princess of Friendship, who was in her room, taking off the necklace that Stardust had given her.

Twilight placed it on top of her nightstand, and as she climbed into bed, she whispered, "Good night, everypony..."

The young alicorn closed her eyes, and after a few minutes, she was sound asleep, snoring lightly.

So,  now, the only one that was still awake was Starlight, and the only  indoor lights that were still on were the ones in her room and the  library... until some of the lights in one of the hallways started to  flicker on and off.

Then, a cloud of smoke appeared which was also  surrounded by electricity, and it slowly began to morph into a ghost  form of Miles.

I need to get that staff back, thought the sinister pony, who was making his way to Twilight's bedroom.





Meanwhile, in the library, Stardust was enjoying his dream until it was suddenly interrupted.

You need to wake up, boy.

"Ugh, leave me alone, Sombra," muttered Stardust, who was barely awake. "Annoy me in the morning."





Back  upstairs, Miles had found the door to Twilight's room, and as he went  inside, the first thing he took notice of was her special necklace.

His muzzle became an evil grin as he pulled out the replica from his cloak's pocket, and switched it with the real one.

What is the point of this again?

"Oh, you'll see when the time comes," answered Miles, but in a very low voice so that Twilight wouldn't wake up.

He then prepared to go back to "limbo", but was stopped by the sound of Twilight's voice.

"Miles, please... don't do this..."

The cloaked pony looked at the young alicorn, but she was still asleep. "What the...?"





Down in the library, Stardust was continuing to sleep, and was enjoying his dream about-

For crying out loud, boy... WAKE UP!

"[Beep]!" Stardust  immediately woke up, but after a few seconds, he felt a little drowsy.  "I don't remember asking you to be my damn alarm clock, Sombra."

Oh, I'm sorry... I didn't know that you preferred sleep over the well-being of your beloved princess.

Stardust yawned, and rubbed his eyes as he replied, "Twilight is fine... can you help me out here, Starswirl?"

I'm afraid that he might have a point, Jack.

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

I'm sensing a dark energy in this castle, you moronic fool, and it's coming from Twilight's bedroom.

"What?!"





Miles  was frozen in place, and now wondering why he was hearing the voice of  Twilight, even though the alicorn was still asleep and hadn't moved her  lips once.

"You're a good pony, Miles... don't do this, please!"

The cloaked pony remained silent, and he found himself remembering the last moment he'd shared with the Twilight from his world.

"That can't be here," whispered Miles. "It's impossible..."

CRASH!

Hearing  a noise that was coming from down the hall, Miles realized where he  was, and he transformed back into the electrical cloud, which then  vanished in the blink of an eye.


################


Stardust went up the stairs, and raced down the hall, stopping at one of the doors.

He opened it... and quickly saw that it was a bathroom. "Damn it!"

Will you wake up, dimwit? You should know already what door belongs to the princess's room!

As Stardust continued running down the hall, he muttered, "Hey, I can't help it if part of me is still tired and asleep from-"

His sentence was interrupted as he found himself tripping over a wagon that belonged to Spike.

CRASH!

"I  am going to teach that dragon about..." said Stardust, but he stopped  talking after looking at a certain door that was a few feet away.  "Bingo!"

The gold-colored pony got up to his hooves, and headed  straight to the door, opening it to see his girlfriend, in her bed,  sound asleep.

Seems okay to me, thought Stardust, letting out a sigh of relief after seeing that she was fine.

He  looked around the room, not sensing anything out of the ordinary, so he  quietly closed the door, and started to walk to his own bedroom.

"I thought you said there was some kind of dark energy," muttered Stardust, letting out a yawn as he became tired again.

Well, if you would have been a little bit faster, we could have quickly taken care of it.

Leave him be, Sombra... all that matters is that no harm came to Twilight.

Oh, for goodness sake... sometimes I wish I never allowed myself to be in this mind in the first place.

Stardust chuckled, and said, "You're going to be up there for a long time, your Highness."

Don't remind me, you dimwit.






(Sunset's World - Pinkie Pie's house)


While  everyone was enjoying slices of pizza at the dining room table, Sunset  was sitting on the couch, deep in thought about what she had seen while  using her powers on Casey.

"Is something wrong, Sunset?" Sci Twi asked, taking a seat next to her. "You've seemed kind of... off since we came back."

The  young teenager sighed, and turned to look at her friend. "I saw some  pretty unsettling memories from Casey's past that had to do with  something that happened in Princess Twilight's past."

Twilight's human counterpart frowned, and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"I  guess Casey lost his home and parents as a result from her battle with  Tirek," explained Sunset, who had been told about that entire event by  Princess Twilight. "I don't even think she knows about it yet."

"So, are you thinking about telling Princess Twilight what you saw?"

Sunset shrugged, and she replied, "Part of me wants to, but I'm sure there is a reason why he hasn't told her yet."

Sci Twi was about to reply, but then, EG Pinkie came over to say, "Well, duh,  he probably doesn't want Princess Twilight to feel guilty or anything  about the fact that her battle with Tirek is the reason that he longer  has his parents, or the house that he grew up in."

Sunset sighed, and looked at the special book in her lap, which was also her way of communication to the alicorn princess.

What am I supposed to do?





"I told you already, Twilight, I'm fine," said Starlight, who was resting in her bed.

The  young alicorn was currently writing down information on progress charts  and various papers. "I know, Starlight, but after a spell like that, I  want to make sure that you don't go through anything terrible or  life-threatening."

"Well, I appreciate the concern, Twilight, but  there's no need to go in 'overboard mother mode'," replied Starlight,  with a light smile on her face. "I just feel tired."

Twilight  smiled back, and gently brushed some of Starlight's hair away from her  eyes. "Okay, I'll let you rest, then... and you can call for me or Spike  or even Casey if you need something."

Starlight nodded her head,  and watched her friend/teacher leave the room, saying, "I'll keep that  in mind, Twilight... thank you."

As the young alicorn closed the  door, she began walking towards the library, but stopped after hearing  Spike come to her from behind. "So, how is she?"

"Tired, but  fine," replied Twilight, turning to look at the little dragon. "Make  sure that she has a fresh cup of tea by her bed when she wakes up  tomorrow, okay?"

Spike nodded his head, and as he went to his own  bedroom, Twilight continued on to the library, where she found Casey  looking at the Crystal Mirror.

"Casey?"

The orange-yellow  pony turned around, and after seeing who had spoken, he answered, "Oh,  hey, Twilight... um, yeah, sure, what's up?"

"I was wondering how  you got your Cutie Mark," replied Twilight, who was referring to the  crescent moon and eight-pointed star mix on his flank.

Casey  smiled, and said, "Well, it happened one night when I was a colt, and I  was outside with my dad, looking up at the stars and the moon in the  sky.

"I told him all about the constellations, the planets, flying  comets, everything," he continued. "I've always been fascinated about  stuff like that, and I wanted to share my knowledge with other ponies...

"We also saw a shooting star, and after I made a wish, I then ended up with this special Cutie Mark," finished Casey.

Twilight smirked at her friend, and she asked, "You didn't wish to get it, did you?"

Casey  laughed, and shook his head as he replied, "No, no, of course not...  I'm kind of like an astronomer, and in regards to the actual wish, just  know that it hasn't come true yet."

"Well, I'd love to find out what it was when it does come true," said Twilight, standing next to him.

"You'll be the first to kno-" said Casey, but he was interrupted by the sound of his stomach growling. "Sorry..."

Twilight laughed, and shook her head as she said, "Don't be... come on, let's get your friend something to eat."

"Oh, ha, ha, ha," replied Casey, in a sarcastic tone.






(Limbo)


Shouldn't we talk about Twilight?

Miles shook his head, and replied, "Not right now... I just remembered something important about Stardust."

And that is...?

"He  still has Sombra with him," replied the cloaked pony, who had his own  incident with the former ruler of the Crystal Empire back in his world.  "But I have a feeling that he won't be with him forever, so when that  time comes, I'll begin having my revenge."

Seems like you might have to wait a long time, then. It doesn't appear that he will depart from Stardust anytime soon.

"Well,  I disagree," said Miles, shaking his head. "So, until that time  comes... I will allow Stardust to continue living his life... and  besides..."

He looked down at the special necklace in his hooves, and said, "I'm already one step ahead of him."




> An Unbalanced Stardust
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Flashback]


"... stay out of my way... and do not say anything or go anywhere else while I'm here."

I  grinned as I saw the horror appear on Fluttershy's face, which was due  to the way I looked because of the dark energy surrounding my body.

"Fluttershy? You okay?"

Ah, yes, the Earth Pony I came for... who came as he heard the sound of distress coming from the now-speechless Pegasus pony.

"Oh, she'll be just fine," I told him. "But as for you, that's a different story."

Stardust looked at me as if I was crazy or something. "Look, I don't want any type of trouble to-"

I interrupted him by saying, "Oh, there's no trouble at all, Stardust..."

I then started to levitate myself above the two ponies, and used my front hooves to create a large and red-colored energy ball.

"... I'm just going to kill you."

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

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

Then,  I began using my power to increase its strength, and watched as the  young pony started losing his colors, as well as turning into a pencil  sketch.

"Your story is over..."

Those were  the last words I said to this alternate version of Stardust Balance as I  watched him become literally erased from existence.





"Twilight, not that I don't mind asking the other Twilight information about Stardust?, but-"

"Yes, I know, and I'm sorry, Casey, but all of this is just so amazing..."

It  had now been a month and a half since the events at the Crystal Castle,  as well as the day that Casey and Twilight had met the golden-colored  pony who represented the balance between chaos and harmony.

Unfortunately,  for Twilight, she had been unable to find any kind of pony that could  be remotely similar Stardust, so she settled with a "now-very-thick"  notebook that contained all of the information she'd learned about him  and the parallel version of Equestria that he lived in.

The  content of the notebook had been provided by Pinkie Pie, to their  surprise, and the other Twilight, who had actually given the alicorn  princess an abridged version of Stardust's story... keeping certain  information to themselves, for various reasons.

And right now,  she'd just finished explaining all of this to the rest of her friends,  which included Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Starlight.

"Well, golly, Twilight," said the hard-working Earth Pony. "That's one long book you got right there."

"Yeah... and you even gave it a title?" Rainbow Dash said, looking at the written-on cover.

Twilight nodded her head, and said, "Uh-huh... The Adventures of Stardust Balance."

Casey couldn't help but laugh as he heard her say that. "Wow, I can't imagine what his reaction would be to that."

Twilight glared at her friend, and replied, "Well, if you'd try a little harder  in contacting him, Casey, then I wouldn't have to continue having you  ask the other me for information about him to give to me."

Casey  sighed, and he said, "I'm trying my best, Twilight, but he hasn't spoken  to me since he first used the wristwatch... and Anti Twilight has told  me that he's been training to-"

"Anti Twilight?" Starlight said, frowning at him. "That sounds too negative... how about just Princess Twilight?"

Casey wasn't too sure about that choice. "Isn't that what Sci Twi and the others from Sunset's world calls our Twilight?"

"Well, unless you have something better than that, darling..." countered Rarity.

The orange-yellow pony shook his head, and said, "Eh, never mind, I'll stick with that... but are we done now?"

Twilight closed the thick notebook, and nodded as she answered, "Yep, that's it for today, everpony... thanks again, Casey."

"Sure thing, Twilight." The young pony then walked out of the Throne Room, and headed down to the library.

I sure hope everything is alright with him, thought Casey, who was missing his new friend.

Looking  at the wristwatch that he used to communicate with Stardust (or, in  this case, Princess Twilight), the orange-yellow pony began turning it  on, in hopes of being able to actually talk with him.

Once he reached the library doors, Casey gently pushed them open... and what he saw made his coat color turn pale.

"Hello, Casey... it's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Y-you can't be here..." Casey said, not wanting to believe what he was seeing.

Miles laughed, and he began twirling around the silver staff that was now in his hooves. "Oh, but I am, Casey... and now, it's payback time."

"Not on my watch," said Twilight, who had just entered the room, along with the others.

Miles started to laugh more as he said, "My, oh, my... thank you, Princess, for bringing everypony here."

He looked at Starlight, and added, "By the way, I've definitely underestimated you... that was quite an impressive spell."

Starlight just frowned as she said, "I thought Twilight trapped you for good, Hooded Pony."

The cloaked pony rolled his eyes, and replied, "My name is Miles... and you can thank your friend Pinkie Pie for allowing me to take back what is rightfully mine."

It was now all of their turns to be shocked as Miles moved to the side, revealing the pink pony that was currently tied up.

"Hi, guys," waved Pinkie, giving them a weak and saddened smile.

While  Rarity used her magic to bring their friend over to them, Twilight  glared at Miles, and she exclaimed, "Pinkie would never-"

"Oh, not on her own accord, Twilight, I agree with you there," said Miles. "Not  unless somepony took control of her body in order to get it... and with  the mind that she has, I regret not doing this any sooner."

"Well, you're gonna regret messing with her, buddy, after we're all through with you," said an angered Rainbow.

Miles grinned, and he replied, "That's where you're wrong, Rainbow Dash... allow me to demonstrate."

Then,  to everyone's surprise, Miles used his staff to drop down a force-field  energy ball that had been above them the whole time.

"Aw, man, I can't believe we didn't notice that," exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

"Huh, how funny," said Miles. "Your human counterpart said the same thing."

Twilight's anger started to rise up more as she asked, "What did you do to our friends?"

"You'll see them all in a little bit, Princess," replied the cloaked pony. "In the meantime, I have an important question..."

He looked at Casey, and asked, "Where is Stardust?"

"I don't know," answered Casey, giving him an honest answer. "I haven't talked to Stardust in weeks."

"Why do you care?" Spike exclaimed. "He never did anything to you."

Miles glared at the alicorn princess, and he said, "He took away my readers... him and all the other versions of Stardust that I killed."

"You did what?" Casey's muzzle almost dropped to the floor. "W-why?"

"You'll see whenever he decides to stop being a hiding coward, and face me like a man," exclaimed the cloaked pony. "In the meantime..."

Miles tapped the ground a few times with the bottom of his staff, and in a flash of light, everypony disappeared...






(Limbo)


... and reappeared inside a steel cage, except for Miles.

"As I said, you would see them real soon."

The  eight ponies and small dragon turned their heads to see (in their pony  forms) Sunset Shimmer, EG Rainbow, EG Pinkie, EG Rarity, EG Applejack,  EG Fluttershy, and Sci Twi, as well as Sugarcoat and Sour Sweet.

"If  this was supposed to be some sort of an idea for a rescue mission,"  said Sugarcoat, crossing her two front limbs while laying back against  the cage. "Then you're doing a miserable job."

Miles rolled his eyes, and said, "Thank you, Sugarcoat... now, then, before we start to wait for the eventual arrival of Stardust Balance..."

He  walked over to Twilight, and before anypony else could do or say  anything, Miles used his staff to send multiple bolts of electricity  into her body.

It lasted for only a few minutes, but as the  alicorn princess collapsed to the floor, she looked just as exhausted as  Starlight had after the encounter with Midnight Sparkle.

"Just some payback for that one day of hell I spent in Townsville," growled the cloaked pony.

As  Casey and Spike went to comfort her, the young pony noticed that his  wristwatch was now destroyed, due to Miles' electricity attack. There goes the chance of Stardust coming to help.

"What do you plan on doing with us?" Sunset Shimmer asked, which caused Miles to give her an evil smile.

"Easy... I leave all of you here in this world where nopony can ever find you, and I take over both Equestria and the world you live  in," replied Miles. "The cherry on the top will be getting rid of  Stardust Balance... if he ever bothers to show up, that is."

Twilight almost felt like crying right now, as she laid in Casey's comforting limbs.

"What is it with you evil ponies and cages?" Rainbow said.

"I'm not quite sure exactly... would you like for me to try it out?"

Rainbow gulped, and shook her head. "No, thanks, I'm good with the cage."

Although she was still resting from the electric attack that Miles had used on  her, Twilight lifted up her head to give the cloaked pony an angry  glare. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

"Oh, really?" Miles said, raising an eyebrow, as well as speaking in a regular voice. "And why is that, Princess?"

"All those other ponies that you've killed," replied the upset alicorn. "Who would do something like that?"

Miles let out a laugh, and twirled the staff around as he said, "Well, that's just the way I was written, sweetheart..."

Then, his muzzle turned into a sinister smile as he added, "But don't worry, you're about to see them yourselves very soon."

"Not if I have anything to say about it."

Everypony turned to the side, and watched as a fiery-blue portal appeared, with a familiar golden-colored pony stepping out.

"Stardust!" Twilight and Casey both exclaimed, their feelings of happiness helping ease their pain away.

"Ah, yes, the guest of honor has finally arrived," said Miles. "I've been waiting such a long time for you.

Sugarcoat  rolled her eyes, and she replied, "It's only been, like, ten minutes  since you brought all of us here. You don't have a lot of patience, do  you?"

"Thank you again, Sugarcoat,"  growled Miles, and he turned his attention back to Stardust, letting  out a chuckle. "And how wonderful... you've already powered up."

"You're  damn right I am," said Stardust, whose body was glowing the same way  that Miles' own body was, except it was white-gold instead of black.  "You'll pay for what you've done to Casey and my friends."

Holy shoot, thought Casey. He's done all that in a month?

"I'm  sorry for the lack of communication, Casey," apologized Stardust, as if  he knew what the young pony was thinking. "It's a long story, but I was  able to hear part of what was going on when you were all in the  library."

Miles began to laugh, and he pointed his staff at the cage. "Casey is your friend, Stardust, but everypony else are not the ones that you've grown to care for so much."

Stardust  looked at the cage, as well, and a smile appeared on his face. "They  might not know me personally, but in a way, they are still my closest  friends, and I would do anything for them."

"Even us?" Sour Sweet asked, in a positive tone, referring to herself and Sugarcoat.

Stardust  sighed, and he replied, "Unfortunately, for me, yes... but that's the  farthest I'll go in regards to my own limit of tolerance, so don't push  it."

Miles rolled his eyes, while Twilight coughed a few times  before saying, "Stardust, wait, there's something important that we need  to tell you."

The golden-colored pony gave her a warm smile, and  said, "Just rest for now, Twilight, you can tell me once I deal with the  rip-off of Shadow the Hedgehog."

"Well, how flattering," said Miles, speaking in a dry tone. "You come up with that yourself?"

"Hey,  leave the sarcasm and all that to me," said Stardust, his face slowly  turning into a serious expression. "You're going down, pony."

Be careful, Jack, warned Starswirl, from inside of his mind. I have a terrible feeling about this one.

Before  Stardust could reply, Miles nodded his head in agreement. "Your elderly  friend is right... do not underestimate my power."

"Well, aren't  you the smug one?" replied Stardust. "Tell you what, I'll let you throw  the first punch if you think so highly of yourself."

Jack, please.

Miles grinned at the pony who represented balance, and said, "Alright, Stardust, let's see what you can do."

Inside the cage, Casey looked at Twilight, and asked, "Shouldn't we tell him before-"

Whoosh!

Miles  went straight for Stardust, and swung his right hoof towards his skull,  but the powerful pony grabbed it with his own hoof, blocking the  attack.

"Whoa..." said the multiple ponies and one young dragon that was inside the cage.

"He even had his eyes closed," pointed out Casey.

As  for Stardust, he let out a chuckle, and opened his eyes while giving  Miles a smirk. "You've got to do a whole lot better than that to defeat a  pony like me."

Miles began to growl in frustration. "You aren't even a pony, you humanoid freak."

"True, but I'm one that is about to beat the living daylights out of you," replied Stardust, still smirking at him.

Twilight  lifted up her head again, and tried to warn her friend. "Stardust, he's  not like anypony that you or any of us have encountered in the past..."

I'm afraid she is right, Jack, said Starswirl, agreeing with the alicorn. This is one dangerous fo-

"Hold  that thought," interrupted Stardust, who swiftly blocked Miles' next  attack, and he was now holding onto both of the cloaked pony's front  limbs. "Nice try, pal."

Miles' eyes glowed with pure hatred, and  he was about to yell at Stardust, but the Earth Pony asked, "You mind if  I borrow using one of these mountain-sized boulders that you've created  around us?"

"For what exactly?"

Stardust smiled, and he tightened his grip on Miles' limbs. "For this."

As  strong as he possibly could, the young pony swung Miles in a circle  several times before throwing him into the farthest and tallest boulder.

Boom!

Dusting his hooves off, Stardust grinned as he said, "I've always wanted to try something like that."

He then looked over at his caged-up friends. "And now that I have some free time..."

Everypony  watched as the glowing pony used his enhanced strength to break the  lock on the door, and helped Casey with bringing Twilight out first.

"Thank you... Stardust..." said the tired alicorn, as the rest of their friends walked out.

Casey looked at his friend's glowing body, and said, "So, uh... this is all, er, balance power or whatever?"

"Yeah,  but it's a long story," replied Stardust, giving him a shrug. "For now,  let's get your Twilight away from here, and to a-"

"Stardust, no,  you can't..." interrupted Twilight, who was also beginning to cough.  "We all have to... stick together... and find a way to... defeat him."

Stardust  was about to wrap his limb around her shoulder, but he first shared a  look with Casey, wanting to know if he wouldn't mind.

The Earth  Pony nodded his head, and Stardust did just that. "Twilight, just leave  this Tirek wannabe to me. You need a lot of rest."

But the stubborn alicorn was shaking his head. "You can't beat him... not even with your powers..."

"I'm afraid she may be right, Jack."

The three of them looked up, and saw Miles a few feet away, floating in the air.

"I will admit this, however... you certainly put up more of a fight than the other versions of you did."

Stardust frowned, and looked at him like he was crazy. "There's only one of me, Miles."

The cloaked pony shook his head. "I'm still surprised that not even the great Starswirl told you that there used to be other Stardusts that existed..."

What is he talking about? Stardust thought, asking the elderly pony.

Now is not the time, Jack, you must let me take you all someplace safe.

"Oh, I'm afraid that won't work," grinned the sinister pony. "See,  in here... in limbo... the world can be anything that your imagination  can think of... in this case, you're in my world, and not even the power  of Starswirl the Bearded can free you here."

Stardust was about to yell at him when he realized something that Miles had said. "Wait, you said there used to be other versions of me..."

"How observant," laughed Miles, whose dark energy was starting to grow rapidly. "You'll be pleased to know that I destroyed them, piece by piece... in front of their special someponies."

As he walked towards Miles, Stardust tried to speak, but Starswirl warned his friend again. Jack, please, just stay still while I-

"Oh, I'm afraid that there isn't any more time for you to help, Starswirl." Miles said.

An annoyed Stardust angrily cried, "What are you talking about now?"

"I'll SHOW you," replied Miles, laughing, and then, all of a sudden, he was gone in the blink of an eye.

"What the-" said Stardust, but before he could finish, Miles appeared right in front of him, and punched him in his chest.

"No!" Twilight and Casey cried, as they watched from their spot that was a few feet away.

Miles  started letting out an evil laugh as he stepped back, watching the  golden-colored pony collapse to the ground, his energy no longer  surrounding his body.

"Hey! That was a cheap shot, you jerk!" yelled a frustrated Rainbow Dash.

As for Stardust, he couldn't figure out what was going on. "That's... impossible... aaaggghh!"

Miles,  who was also standing up like a regular human would, used his left leg  to kick Stardust in the stomach, making the young pony scream in pain.

"Now this is what full power can do, Stardust Balance," laughed Miles, as the young pony started to cough.

"This  is... a... kid's show," gasped Stardust, who also saw a few drops of  blood on the ground, as well as tasting a tiny part of it in his mouth.  "How is..."

"Because the rating is different in this world, Jack," explained Miles. "And it allows me to do anything... in this case, it's killing a damn b**** like you."

He kicked Stardust again, grinning widely with enjoyment. "Your experiences and moments you've shared with these ponies has made you weak, Jack... and the fact that killing your other selves has lowered your power, as well."

Miles  then grabbed Stardust by the throat, and brought him towards his face  so they could meet eye-to-eye. "Here in front of me is one of the  strongest OCs ever to be created, and he gets taken down by a simple  Houdini punch."

His smile then turned into a frown. "How pathetic."

As he tried gasping for air, Stardust cried, "I am not... an OC... I'm a human being... you're the fictional character."

Miles tightened his grip, and said, "You're wrong, Jack... me, you, and even Casey are all original characters..."

Stardust coughed a few times before saying, "You... do not... get to f××kin call me by my real name..."

"That's right... only I can."

All of a sudden, Stardust's face began to turn pale. "No... not her..."

"Well,  this is an unexpected twist," said Miles, turning to see the new  arrival. "It's the brave, little princess of Friendship coming to the  rescue."

Everypony turned their heads to look at... another Twilight.

"I am so confused right now," said Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie  rolled her eyes, and said, "That's the Twilight who lives with Stardust  in his world, while Casey is with the Twilight that lives in our world,  and there's also the human version of Twilight with us that lives in  Sunset's world."

Rainbow looked at Pinkie, who added, "What's not to get?"

"You let go of him right now," said Princess Twilight.

"Twilight... love... please... stay back," warned Stardust, not wanting her to get hurt.

But then, to his surprise, Miles did release him, and he started coughing while gasping for air and rubbing his throat.

While  the others went to check on him, Miles began to walk over to Princess  Twilight. "I just found another way to destroy him..."

"Don't you... f***in dare try to... lay a hoof on her," growled Stardust, as Applejack handed him her water canteen.

But Princess Twilight wasn't afraid. "Bring it, pony."

"Oh, believe me, your Highness," replied Miles, looking at the necklace around her neck. "I plan to..."
> Confusion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stardust tried to get up, but his body was still weak from the punch that Miles had delivered to his chest.

"I  know it looks bad right now, sugarcube," said Applejack, who was trying  to keep him from running away. "But you're just gonna get yourself hurt  even more if you try to interfere."

"I... can't..." growled a frustrated Stardust. "Let... Twilight... get hurt..."

As  for Parallel Twilight herself, she was currently in a fighting  position, ready for anything that the sinister pony could throw at her.  "Let's go, Miles, you're going to pay for what you've done to my friends  and special somepony."

"Oh, am I now?" The winged pony said, a sinister smile on his face. "And what do you plan to do about it?"

"I think you should stop talking and face me so that I can show you!"

Miles let out an evil laugh, and shouted, "With pleasure, Twilight..."

He  ran towards her, but then, for some reason, the necklace around  Princess Twilight's neck started to glow brightly, which made Miles stop  in his tracks.

"What the...?" Stardust couldn't believe what he was seeing. "I didn't know it could do that."

Neither could Princess Twilight, who asked, "Um, Jack, what is-"

Before  she could finish, Miles snapped out of his trance, and fired an energy  blast at the alicorn, which knocked her down to the ground.

"NO!" Stardust yelled, and he tried running over to stop Miles, but Applejack was continuing to hold him back.

"Ya can't fight him yet, sugarcube," explained the Earth Pony. "You're still recuperating from that cheap shot he gave you."

Miles  walked over to the princess, with dangerous thoughts inside of his  mind, but then, the necklace started to glow again, and it sent out a  small energy blast that hit him directly in the eyes.

"What the hell did you..."  shouted Miles, who was opening and closing his eyes several times, and  Princess Twilight noticed that his eyes no longer looked dark and evil  as they had earlier.

I don't think your necklace idea is turning out the way you had hoped.

Miles  reluctantly found himself agreeing with his inner voice, as well as  saying, "Eh, I've already wasted enough time here... I have one world to  take over, and another to destroy."

Stardust coughed a few times before glaring at Miles, and asked, "Deciding not to kill me after all?"

"If  that was the best you could honestly do, then you aren't even worth  killing," replied Miles, and before Stardust could say anything, the  cloaked pony used his staff to create a portal, which then vanished  after he jumped inside it.

Then, once he was gone, the entire  world returned back to its state of emptiness since Miles was no longer  there to imagine what it could be.

The cage disappeared, as well,  and while everypony started walking around, Applejack helped Stardust  make his way over to Princess Twilight.

"I'm sorry, love," said the young pony, a sad expression on his face. "I didn't think he-"

"You don't have to apologize, Jack," replied Princess Twilight, shaking her head. "I'm just glad you're still here."

Stardust  smiled back, for a moment, but he then became serious, and looked over  at Casey and Twilight. "So... anypony can pretty much do anything in  here, right?"

"Uh..." The two ponies looked at each other, and Twilight replied, "Pretty much, yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Because I deserve some answers from a certain pony," said Stardust. "Isn't that right, Starswirl?"

Then,  to everyone's surprise, a white ball of energy appeared in front of  him, and it transformed into a spirit form of Starswirl the Bearded.

"Unfortunately, regarding the situation, yes," replied the spirit.

Stardust nodded, and said, "Well, you can start by - hey!"

He  found himself being interrupted by Twilight and Princess Twilight, who  were both now suddenly well enough to walk up to Starswirl's spirit.

"Omigosh-omigish-omigosh!" The two of them cried in joy and excitement.

Everyone  except Casey and Stardust found this amusing, with the orange-yellow  pony speechless while the gold-colored pony smacked his forehead with  his hoof.

"Um, forgive me, Twilights, but I think I really do need to explain what I know about all this."

Stardust rolled his eyes, and replied, "Yes, yes, you do... have you known about this the whole time?"

Starswirl  reluctantly nodded his head, and said, "Ever since the day that Casey  first came to our world... and I had to wait for the moment to tell  you."

"Well, now would definitely be a good time to explain what  the pony is going on," exclaimed Sour Sweet, speaking in a harsh tone.

Starlight frowned at the bipolar pony, and said, "Hey, show some respect for him... don't you know who this is?"

"Well, obviously not," replied Sugarcoat. "Why would we have someone like that in our world?"

EG  Applejack raised her eyebrow, and said, "I wouldn't be surprised if we  did, considering all the supernatural stuff we've all dealt with."

"Anyway..." Stardust exclaimed, who was now getting a tiny bit impatient. "Who the hell is he, Starswirl?"

"Miles comes from a world that is a little different than either of ours," explained Starswirl. "And unfortunately, he was seduced by an evil darkness not long after 'his' Twilight went into a coma."

Stardust  was silent for a moment, understanding what that must have felt like  for Miles. "But why does he want to kill me so bad?"

"Those reasons I do not know yet," admitted the spirit. "But he's been successful in bringing harm to other worlds that feature alternate versions of you."

Stardust became confused as he asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Starswirl sighed, and he explained, "There  are other universes that contain worlds in which you are paired with a  pony other than Twilight... and Miles has killed each and every one of  those Stardusts."

Princess Twilight gasped, in shock, and asked, "H-how could he do that?"

"By erasing them from existence, my dear" answered Starswirl. "And I am afraid that if we do not fix the timeline of those worlds soon, they could all end up becoming destroyed."

"Ohhhh, so that's how a 'pair-o-dock' works," said Pinkie Pie.

Stardust  took a moment to absorb all of this information in his mind, and then,  he asked, "Um... exactly how many alternate worlds are there, and who am  I paired with?"

"I'm not sure if now would be the right time to say that," said Starswirl, referring to the others around them.

EG Pinkie gave a shrug as she said, "We've all seen weirder stuff, Starswirl... so, tell us, please!"

The spirit looked at the gold-colored pony, and said, "Well,  there are ones that have you with a different member of the Mane Six,  as well as Starlight, Princess Luna, Sunset Shimmer, and even Princess  Cadence."

Pinkie let out a whistle, and said, "Wow, that's a lot of worlds."

Stardust gulped, and he said, "Please don't say that there is a world that has me paired with..."

"No, Jack, there is not one with Princess Celestia, or anypony that you could think who would be worser than her."

Princess  Twilight noticed Casey and Twilight's confused expression, and she  explained, "He's not really a big fan of Princess Celestia."

As for Stardust, he let out a sigh of relief, and asked, "So, how exactly are we supposed to stop him, then?"

"There's a power that is located in Miles' world that can help you against him," answered Starswirl. "It'll  bring your power level to the same amount that Miles has... but you  must fix the other nine worlds first before going to his."

"Nine worlds?!" Stardust cried. "Why can't I just go straight to Miles' world and get this new power thingy?"

Starswirl frowned, and he replied, "Because, Jack, it can only be accepted by whoever it deems worthy, and if you want to use it to stop Miles, then you need to fix the other problems he's caused."

Stardust opened his mouth to complain, but Starswirl said, "You know it's the right thing to do, Jack."

"Yeah... I know..." grumbled Stardust, rolling his eyes. "But how are we even supposed to get to all of these worlds?"

Everyone  else, including EG Pinkie, looked at Pinkie Pie, who was playing around  with Stardust's wristwatch that had somehow fallen off a while ago.

"What?" Pinkie said, noticing that they were all looking at her.

Stardust shook his head, and said, "You cannot be serious."

"I was actually referring to the wristwatch," replied Starswirl. "It  contains almost the same amount of energy as the staff, but because of  its power limit, you can only take a few of your friends with you."

Stardust chuckled, and said, "Well, that's obvious... me, Twilight, Casey, and his Twilight."

"Us?" Casey said, surprised. "Why?"

Stardust  smirked at his friend, and he replied, "You technically started this  ever since we met, so you're helping me finish it... and I don't want  your Twilight to worry about you."

Twilight smiled, and was about  to thank him when Pinkie Pie suddenly raced over to Stardust, and asked  while bouncing up and down, "Ooh, ooh, can I come along with you all, please, please, please?"

"I'm sorry, Pinkie, but... no..." Stardust said, shaking his head. "I can only handle so much craziness."

The  young pony stopped bouncing, and unfortunately, for Stardust, Pinkie  started to give him "puppy eyes", and she asked again. "Please?"

Stardust  was about to deny her request again, but after noticing everyone was  now looking at him, and that Princess Twilight was giving him a look  that meant "oh, come on, Jack", the young pony groaned as he rolled his eyes, and muttered, "Aaauuuggghhhh... fine... you can come, Pinkie..."

"Yippie!" Pinkie Pie yelled, looking excited as she gave him a warm hug, and Stardust couldn't help but smile.

Twilight  nodded her head, and walked over to Stardust, saying, "Alright, so  before we do anything, let's take a moment to think of a  carefully-executed plan so that we can easily-"

But before she  could finish, Pinkie accidentally activated the watch as she was handing  it to Stardust, and in a bright flash of light, the five ponies (and  Starswirl, who went back into Stardust's mind) were gone.

"That pony is a real sucker for falling for that," said Sugarcoat.
> The Rage of A Human
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"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."
> Power Up
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once Stardust had finished using a towel that Pinkie had given him to  dry himself off, he asked Casey, "Are you able to use your wristwatch?

The Earth Pony looked at the object that was strapped onto his arm, which was still sending out a few sparks of electricity.

"Um..." Casey said, not looking so sure. "I don't think it's safe for me to use it right now."

Stardust sighed, and he looked up at the sky, as if he was looking at somepony.

"Think you can take them back, Starswirl?"

I could try, but I'm not entirely sure that would be a wise choice.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa... whoa," exclaimed Princess Twilight, hoping that he wasn't suggesting what she thought he was. "What do you mean, take us back?"

A  serious-looking Stardust brought his head down to face Princess  Twilight, and said, "I'm doing the rest of this stuff on my own,  Twilight... it's safer this way."

"Nuh-uh, no way, Jack," said Princess Twilight, starting to frown. "We're all in this together... you need our help."

"Don't try and change my mind, love," exclaimed Stardust. "I have to do this alone."

His girlfriend shook her head, saying, "There's no way I'm going to just watch helplessly from the sidelines while you-"

"I'm telling you, Twilight, to go with them, and stay with the others in limbo," growled Stardust, adding some edge to his voice.

Pinkie Pie walked over to Twilight, and whispered, "Should I wet him again?"

"Nothing bad  is going to happen to me, Jack," argued Princess Twilight. "Not as long  as we stick together 'till the end of this... why do you want me to  leave?"

A frustrated Stardust cried, "Just leave, Twilight... I'm doing this for your own good!"

He  then started walking over to Sugarcube Corner, but Princess Twilight  ran around him, and stood in front of the gold pony. "You can't face him alone, Jack... you need us."

"No, I don't, Twilight,  can't you understand that?" Stardust cried, his eyes starting to water.  "I've already cost us Applebloom and AJ, and now-"

"No, Jack,  they can't be dead," replied Princess Twilight, shaking her head. "He's  just trying to mess with your mind, to trick you into getting yourself  in a dangerous situation that'll get you killed!"

"I know what I saw, Twilight, and what I'm feeling right now," exclaimed Stardust. "Now, for the last time, I am telling you to leave!"

Princess Twilight shook her head. "And I'm telling you that we're all staying together. He almost killed you, Jack!"

"And since I'm not dead,  he's taken away two of our closest friends," replied Stardust, who was  almost on the verge of tears. "Why aren't you more upset about this?"

"Because I think I would know if two of my closest friends were gone," said the young alicorn. "Now, why do you want me to go?"

The frustrated pony brought his hooves to his head, saying, "I'm... I can't... I'm not strong enough..."

"And you think finishing this on your own will make you stronger?"

"Yes... I mean, no... I don't know," cried Stardust. "Just go!"

"I am not leaving you, Jack," cried Princess Twilight. "Why do you want me to-"

Before she could finish, Stardust gritted his teeth in frustration, and yelled, "I don't want to lose you again!"

Hearing  that made Princess Twilight speechless, and as Stardust collapsed to  the floor, he said, in a more calm but sad voice, "I can't... I already  lost you once, love... I'm not... s-strong enough... to handle losing  you... I can't..."

He hung his head down, and the young alicorn  saw a few of his tears hit the ground. "I couldn't protect them... I  couldn't... save them... I can't... lose you, too..."

Princess  Twilight was about to speak, but then, Twilight came over to try and  comfort Stardust. "Um, Star? I think she's right about the, er, mind  game thing... I don't think they're dead, either.'

Pinkie Pie nodded her head, and said, "Yup, it's like when a magician pretends to  show his audience that he actually made the elephant disappear, but the  truth is that he's actually using a double sided mirror or secrer trap  door to make it look like the elephant really did vanish into thin air."

Stardust didn't know what to say to that, but he was starting to get mixed feelings. "What... I..."

"Pinkie's right, too, Stardust," agreed Casey, also joining in on the conversation. "He wants you  to be alone because he knows you'll try to send us all back... but I'm  not leaving until we fix the other seven worlds, and get you to that  special power so you can put an end to Miles' plan."

"Uh-huh, and so do I," replied an enthusiastic Pinkie Pie.

Twilight  nodded her head, as well, and looked at her parallel counterpart, who  said, "We've all come this far, Jack... why not keep going?"

Stardust just looked at all of them, and wiped his eyes while saying, "Okay, fine, let's keep this adventure going... but at a faster pace because now I really want to get my hands on that damn pony."

"Uh, I think you mean hooves," corrected Casey.

Then, before Stardust could answer back, Pinkie Pie's body started to shake.

"Whoooaaaa..."  said the vibrating pony, now going through her "pinkie sense" phase.  "Ears flapping, tail twitching, right eye flutter, back flip, and eyes  rolling!"

Everypony else looked at each other, and Casey asked, "Uh... so what does that mean exactly?"

"That a song montage is going to happen," sang the happy pony, once her body stopped moving around. "Any second now..."

[Insert beginning of "Reach for the Stars" by Cash Cash]

"Yup, told ya," said Pinkie Pie, looking up at the bolded letters above her.





When  Stardust and Princess Twilight finally entered Sugarcube Corner, they  found out from the alternate Pinkie Pie that she and the other Stardustwere  supposed to create as many cupcakes and brownies as possible (with the  latter pleasing Stardust), so that's exactly what the gold pony did.

They were also surprised at the fact that she already knew Stardust wasn't the actual one from her world.

Her response to how she knew was - "Just a hunch!"

Once they had finished baking enough, Stardust's wristwatch began to beep, and Twilight headed back outside...

Then,  a few seconds later, she came back to bring out Stardust, who waved  goodbye to Alternate Pinkie while eating some of the brownies that he'd  made.





The  next world was the one that had Applejack as Stardust's love interest,  and unfortunately, for Princess Twilight, the two of them shared a kiss  once Alternate AJ saw him, while Stardust again felt the same way that  his other self did.

"Appledust  World" took a little longer for Stardust to fix, due to the fact that  he was reminded of Applejack from his own world, and he was hoping that  the others were right about her and Applebloom being alive.

Also, once the two of them hugged each other goodbye, Applejack told him to take care of her other self.

"Yeah... most definitely..." said Stardust, trying to hold in his tears.





The 5th World had him paired up with Rainbow Dash, and luckily, for Princess Twilight, the two of them didn't kiss.

Unfortunately, for Stardust, there was only one way to prove to Rainbow that he wasn't the Stardust of "Stardash World".

Once  the race was over, with Stardust being the victor, Rainbow Dash finally  believed him, and after they shook hooves, the other Stardust started  to appear.

"Nope, we don't have time for this," said Stardust, dragging Pinkie over to the others.

"Just ONCE, Stardust," begged Pinkie, who wanted to see the other version of himself appear.





The worlds after that were "Amore Balance World" and "Moondust World", and although he had no problem with these worlds existing, Stardust was very thankful of the fact that he didn't have to go to a world in which Princess Celestia was his love interest.

"How come you don't like her?" Casey asked, before they left the world that had an alternate Princess Luna.

"I'll save that conversation for another story," replied Stardust.





"Tonight..." sang Pinkie, and then, she gave Stardust a wide smile. "See? We finished fixing all the worlds!"

"Um... not exactly," pointed out Casey, as he and Twilight were going over the checklist.

"Starswirl said that nine worlds needed to be fixed, and this is actually the last world, so..." added Twilight.

"Um, guys?" The three of them looked at Princess Twilight, who nodded her head over at Stardust. "He fainted..."

The last world for them to fix was the alternate world of Equestria Girls, in which he and Sunset Shimmer were a couple.

"I don't suppose your song montage combo could help us out again?" Princess Twilight asked, looking at the pink-skinned human.

Pinkie shook her head, and said, "Sorry, that's usually a one-time thing."

"Well, well, well... I'm actually surprised you all made it this far."

Hearing  that familiar voice made Stardust immediately stand up, and found  himself face to face with Miles, who had also turned into an EG human.

However,  Miles was also in a car, and right before Stardust could start saying a  series of curse words at the cloaked human, they heard a thumping noise  coming from the trunk of Miles' car.

"You have Sunset in the trunk?!"

Miles let out an evil laugh, and said, "That's right, hero,  and you're going to have to save her from me if you plan on saving this  world... or just let it get destroyed on its own, since I know you  despise it anyway... ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

With that, Miles drove away, and the group of friends could hear the muffled screams of Sunset that came from the trunk.

"Don't worry, everypony," said Princess Twilight. "Me and the other Twilight can chase him down while you three-"

"Um, love?" Stardust interrupted. "You two don't have wings, remember?"

The two Twilights looked at each other's backs, and groaned in disappointment.

"Wait a second," cried Pinkie Pie, pointing at a nearby racing-type vehicle. "That car has nobody inside, let's use it!"

Normally,  Stardust would have explained to Pinkie that they could all probably  end up being arrested for grand theft auto, but then again, no one  showed up to arrest pre-reformed Sunset, Principal Cinch, or even that  one counselor from Camp Everfree, so he simply said, "Good idea."

The  five of them entered the vehicle, with Stardust sitting in the driver's  seat, and after getting the keys from the flap above his head, he  turned the car on.

"Wow, Jack, I never knew that you could drive a car," said Princess Twilight, looking at him with awe and admiration.

Stardust  sheepishly smiled at his girlfriend, and said, "Um, not exactly,  love... only in video games... but I'm pretty sure it's easy in this  world, and we're kinda pressed for time here."

Before Princess Twilight could say anything, Stardust slammed his foot on the accelerator pedal...

CRASH!

... and reversed right into the emtpy car that was parked behind them.

"Oops, forgot to change it from reverse to drive," said Stardust. "Is the other car safe?"

Twilight gulped, and said, "Um, not exactly... and I think Flash Sentry is going to need to get himself a new car."

When  Stardust heard that, he couldn't help but smile mischievously, and as  they drove forward to catch up to Miles, the young teenager laughed  under his breath.





A few minutes later, Stardust had caught up to Miles, who didn't look happy to see him.

"You're dead meat, Miles," growled the young teenager, whose car was neck-and-neck with his nemesis.

"Suck dynamite, hero," laughed Miles, and he tossed the lit weapon into Stardust's car... landing in Pinkie Pie's lap.

"Pinkie, throw that out the window!" Stardust yelled, while Miles' car started to get ahead of him.

"But innocent people could be hurt," replied Pinkie.

"Throw it out the window, Pinkie!"

The pink-colored teenager said, "It'll send the wrong message to children."

Stardust rolled his eyes, and exclaimed, "Then, toss it at Miles' damn car trunk!"

"Ohhhh...  okay!" Pinkie Pie yelled, and she brought half of her body out the  window, tossing the explosive at Miles' car, which landed successfully  on the top of the trunk's lid.

Boom!

Stardust  quickly swerved to the side, narrowly avoiding the flying lid, and  found himself looking at a roughed up Sunset, who was now holding onto  the back edge of Miles' car.

"Sunset, you have to let go!" Stardust yelled. "Twilight will catch you!"

"Are you insane?!" yelled a terrified Sunset.

Twilight, who was sticking half of her body out, cried out, "You have to trust him, Sunset! Just grab my hands!"

Sunset gulped, and closed her eyes, silently praying to herself before letting go of the car.

"Gotcha!" Twilight  cried, now holding onto Sunset's arms as tight as possible, and once  Stardust hit the brakes, she pulled the yellow-colored teenager into the  car.

"Phew... thanks, Twilight," said Sunset.

Stardust  smiled, pleased with himself in being able to save Sunset, but as his  wristwatch began to beep, he turned the car around. "Alright, we got to  take her someplace safe."

"Well, it's a good thing that we didn't keep on driving after Miles," said Pinkie, as she let out a sigh of relief.

"What do you mean by that, Pinkie?" asked Princess Twilight.

A  frustrated Miles started letting out an angry roar, but then, he  realized that he was now heading straight for a giant brick wall.

"Oh, crap..."





After taking the alternate version of Sunset to a safe place,  Stardust and the other ponies were transported by the wristwatch to the  final world on Twilight's checklist.

"So, this is the world that  Miles came from, huh?" Stardust said, looking around, taking in the  view. "Not that much different than all of the other ones we've traveled  to."

"Except for the fact that everything looks all dark and gloomy," pointed out Pinkie Pie.

They  were all in Ponyville, and just like Pinkie had said, nearly everything  was either grey or black, with no other colors whatsoever.

"This makes Starlight's pre-Equality village look like a carnival," said Stardust, surprised at how negative the world appeared to be.

It wasn't always like this, said Starswirl, whose voice could now be heard by everypony.

"I bet this was all Miles' work," growled Stardust.

Not  exactly, Jack... and I understand your feelings of hatred against  Miles, but this is not entirely his fault... he's not even in control of  his own actions.

"Well, who is in control, then?" Casey asked, not understanding what the elderly pony was talking about.

I  shall explain the story, but you all must start making your way towards  the Everfree Forest... I'm sensing terrible darkness in this world.

Everypony  nodded their heads, and they started heading down the path that led to  the Everfree Forest, while Starswirl began to tell them of Miles' story.

Miles  was in the same position as Stardust and Casey, meaning that he was a  pony that ended up falling for the Princess Twilight of this world, and  vice versa.

In regards to the silver staff, it has many  abilities, and depending on the feelings of the pony who is holding it,  the staff can do wonderful or terrible things.

"Well, who in their right mind would allow Miles to handle something with that much power?" Stardust asked.

Starswirl hesitated for a moment before he continued his story.

The  Celestia of this world assumed that it would be easy for him and  Twilight to retrieve it from the cave we're going to right now, with no  issues whatsoever.

"You have got to be f****in kidding me," exclaimed Stardust. "So, all of this is because of her?"

Let's not dwell right now on another reason to despise her more, Jack.

The gold pony sighed, and rolled his eyes, saying, "Well, I can't exactly say that I'm shocked about this..."

"So, what happened when they got to the cave?" asked Twilight.

They  were able to locate and obtain the staff, but unfortunately, they had  an encounter with a terrible creature... one that attaches itself to  anypony it can find, like a costume... and depending on the mind of its  host, it can grant them unique abilities before eventually taking  complete control of whoever the host may be.

In this case, it tried attaching itself to Miles, but Twilight was able to put a stop to the monster's plan.

"Well, that sounds good," said Pinkie, trying to find the positivity in the story.

Oh,  it was, at first... but the battle that it and Twilight had cost her a  large amount of her strength, and she ended up going to the hospital a  few days later, eventually going into a coma.

Pinkie gulped, and she said, "That doesn't sound good at all."

It wasn't for anypony... especially Miles, since they were about to reach the next step in their relationship.

"Seriously?"  Stardust exclaimed, who was refusing to feel any sympathy for Miles.  "Why the hell would he throw something like that away, then?"

Influences  from the creature, Jack, who had been able to attach a small part of  itself to Miles, and during the time that Miles spent grieving for  Twilight, it used its power to twist his thoughts and dreams while  taking control of his body at the same time.

"Well, I still  don't get why he has a damn problem with me in the first place," argued  Stardust. "I never did anything to him or... whatever that damn creature  thing is."

Because you, Jack, are similar to the pony that  caused it to be locked away in the first place, and with you out of the  way, it can continue to cause destruction and chaos wherever it goes,  with nopony being able to stop it.

"Really?" Stardust said, now a little surprised. "Was the pony like my great, great ancestor or something?"

That's a story for another time, Jack...

Stardust was about to argue with him, but the elderly pony said to him, I  know it's frustrating, Jack, but right now, you all must find the cave,  locate the hidden power, and destroy that creature once and for all.

"But what about this world?" Twilight asked. "How is everything in this world supposed to be fixed?"

That  will have to be up to Miles, I'm afraid... once we get the creature off  of him... and as long as Jack doesn't kill Miles, either...

"What do you mean not kill - oof!"

Stardust's  sentence was cut short when he accidentally bumped his head into a  tree, and he started rubbing his forehead. "Well, we made it to the  forest."

"Um... actually, Star, we're in the forest," pointed out Casey. "And is that the cave?"

Stardust looked at what was in front of them, and saw an entrance to the cave.

"Huh, well that was easier than I thought," chuckled the gold pony.

However, Pinkie had a suspicious look on her face. "Yeah, a little too easy..."

She began walking towards the cave, with Twilight asking, "What do you mean, Pinkie?"

"Well, if the thing that is controlling Miles hates Stardust so much, then whyyyyyy... yyyyaaahhhoooo!"

Pinkie ended up falling down a trap hole that was right before the front of the cave.

"Pinkie!"  Twilight cried, and she hurried over to the hole that her friend had  fallen into, but more of the ground broke away underneath her, causing  the alicorn to fall down the same hole.

"Twilight!" Casey ran as fast as he could to try and catch her, but he ended up falling in, as well.

Stardust and Princess Twilight looked at each other, and the former human made a polite gesture. "Mares first?"

His girlfriend just rolled her eyes.






(Limbo)


"Is anypony keeping track on how long Twilight and the others are taking?" asked Rarity.

EG Rainbow looked at her fitness watch, and answered, "Um, almost five minutes."

"Really?" EG Pinkie said, sounding surprised. "Wow, it feels like they've been gone longer."

"Believe her, Pinkie, it's the truth..."

Everypony turned around, and saw Miles, looking extremely bruised and upset.

"He looks like he's been in a car wreck," whispered EG Pinkie.

Starlight frowned, and took a few steps forward. "What did you do to them, Miles?"

"I wouldn't be too worried about that right now," growled Miles. "You should worry about your own life because I'm about to kill everypony here."

Starlight shook her head, and replied, "Not if I have anything to say about it."

Then, before Miles could say anything else, the purple unicorn shot a very powerful blast at him, causing a large explosion.

When the smoke finally cleared away, Starlight saw that Miles looked more roughed up than usual.

"You want to go, little pony?"

Twilight's pupil nodded her head, and spoke with confidence. "Bring it."






(Miles' World)


"Everypony  okay?" Twilight asked, once the five of them were gathered together, as  well as using her horn as a flashlight with her magic.

Stardust  dusted some dirt off of his shoulders, and answered, "Yeah, but I don't  think I'm going to be cave-diving anytime soon."

"Always the comedian," said Princess Twilight, who was also using her magic to shine light in the dark cave.

The  gold pony looked at his girlfriend's glowing horn, and said, "That  wasn't a joke, love... now, if I were to ask if you were running on  double A batteries, that would be an attempt at a joke."

Casey and Twilight both looked at each other, and asked, "What are batteries?"

"Long story," replied Princess Twilight, who shook her head. "Now, how exactly are we going to find-"

"Um, Other Twilight?"

The parallel version of Twilight turned around, and saw Pinkie, who was standing in front of a wall.

"This looks important... right?"

Stardust blinked his eyes a few times, and said, "How in Equestria does..."

Do I have to remind you again at this point, Jack?

"Yeah,  yeah, don't question Pinkie Pie," muttered Stardust, bringing a hoof to  his forehead. "I might need therapy after this..."

He followed  the other three over to the wall, and noticed that the wall looked like  the ones you would find inside of an Egyptian pyramid.

"Huh, the My Little Pony version of hieroglyphics," mumbled Stardust, a little surprised. "Interesting..."

"Didn't Fluttershy and the CMC's go to a place like this?" Pinkie Pie asked, looking at Twilight.

The alicorn princess was about to answer, but she noticed a pair of hoofprints placed directly in the middle of the wall.

"Um, Stardust? I think you're supposed to place your hoofs here."

Stardust walked up to the wall, and looked at his front two hooves. "Starswirl?"

According to the ancient language on this wall... yes, Jack, you must place your hooves there.

The gold pony sighed, took a deep breath, and placed his hooves on top of the ones on the wall.

Then, to everyone's surprise, the entire wall started to glow brightly, as well as Stardust's body.

"Uh... is this supposed to happen?" asked the young pony, not knowing what to do next.

Casey shrugged his shoulders, while Twilight was quickly trying to write everything that was happening in her Stardust notebook.

"Whoa,  it gave you a necklace!" Pinkie Pie cried, and the gold pony looked  down to see that he was now wearing a necklace, which bore a pendant  version of his Cutie Mark.

I know you don't like your Cutie Mark, Jack, but now is not the time to complain.






(Limbo)


"Why would you risk your life for these ponies?" Miles growled, using the staff to shoot a deadly energy blast at Starlight.

Twilight's pupil quickly used an energy force field to block his attack, and sent her own blast at the cloaked pony.

"Because their lives are worth fighting for."

Miles  flew out of the way, narrowly missing Starlight's blast, and he angrily  used the staff to send another one of his own blasts.

As for Starlight, she powered up her magic to the highest level it could reach, and fired another blast at Miles.

Whoosh!

The  two blasts struck each other at a halfway point, and each ponies kept  pushing forward to try and gain the upper edge over the other.

"You're really... starting to annoy me," exclaimed Miles, using as much energy as possible.

"Yeah?" Starlight said, smirking at him. "Well, I'm... about... to finish you off..."

While  Miles' forehead began to sweat, the purple unicorn started to take a  deep breath, preparing to take one last push in order to-

"Twilight! Casey! You're back!" Spike yelled, which momentarily created a distraction for Miles and Starlight.

A  portal had appeared, and as the young alicorn and orange-yellow Earth  Pony stepped out, so did Pinkie Pie and Princess Twilight.

"Wait a second," wondered Applejack, noticing that somepony was missing. "Where did Stardust go?"

Starlight took another look at the group of returned friends, but then, she heard Miles say, "Rookie mistake..."

The cloaked pony used Starlight's distraction to his advantage, and was able to successfully attack her with his blast.

Boom!

"Starlight!" Twilight  and Spike ran over to her friend, and she went down to the ground,  holding her friend in her hooves. "Starlight, talk to me."

The young unicorn coughed a few times, and said, "Hey... T-Twilight... welcome back..."

She began to close her eyes, while Twilight felt her eyes begin to water up.

"No... Starlight, please..."

"She's not dead, my little pony... just exhausted."

She and Spike turned to look at Miles, who was walking towards them, with a smug look and wide grin on his face.

"This is what happens, princess, when a pony like you tries to be a hero..."

"Hey!"

Miles  turned his head to see the rest of the Mane Six (both pony and EG), Sci  Twi, Sunset Shimmer, Sugarcoat, Sour Sweet, and Princess Twilight, who  were all glaring at the cloaked pony.

"You mess with them, pal, you mess with all of us," said Applejack, in a fierce tone.

"Yeah,  and this time, I'm not even gonna tell you what's in or what isn't in  my party cannon," exclaimed Pinkie Pie, who was now sitting atop her  prized possession.

Miles began to laugh, saying, "You seriously think I'm worried about all of you damn ponies?"

Princess Twilight smirked, and shook her head. "Oh, it's not us you need to worry about, Miles."

"Who then?" exclaimed  the sinister pony, and the answer came in the form of an unexpected  energy blast that came out of nowhere, causing Miles to fly back several  feet.

As he landed on the ground, a familiar voice said, "That would be me, you son of a [BEEP]."

Then,  in front of Twilight, a familar pony appeared, removing his  invisibility shield, and floating in the air while his body was glowing  with a pure white and fire-like energy.

"No... that can't be..." growled Miles, shocked at what was in front of him.

Stardust,  who was also standing up the way humans would, smirked at the cloaked  pony, saying, "You'd better believe it, pal... and right now..."

Whoosh!

The  gold pony fired a rapid fire blast at Miles, who didn't have enough  time to dodge the attack, and he ended up flying back even farther.

"...  I'm going to enjoy beating the living hell out of you." finished  Stardust, and then, he raced over tp Miles, barely allowing him to stand  up.

"This is for AJ and Applebloom," yelled the young pony, once  Miles was in his grasp, and he began rapidly punching the cloaked pony's  face.

Wham-wham-wham-wham-wham-wham!

"What the...?!"

Stardust chuckled, and replied, "I think its time I delivered to you a taste of your own medicine."

He  then held onto Miles' body, spinning around several times before  looking like a firery tornado, and stopped right after swinging him into  a nearby rocky hill, causing an explosion of dust and tiny rocks. "I'm  sending you straight to Hell..."

While Miles tried to stand back up, Pinkie Pie brought down a boxing microphone to her muzzle, and yelled, "Let's get ready to rumble!"
> The Final Battle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sensing that Miles wasn't going to get up anytime soon, Stardust  decided to take a quick moment to float over towards Twilight, and check  on how Starlight. "You okay?"

The exhausted unicorn nodded her head, and said, "Yeah, I'll be... just fine..."

Nodding  his head, Stardust turned his attention to Twilight. "You might want to  take her back home, Twilight... along with everypony else."

He then started to move one of his hooves around, creating a portal, and placed it near the rest of their friends.

Princess  Twilight was about to suggest something else, but Stardust shook his  head, saying, "Trust me, love, it's what's best for them."

"Well, it's about time we got out of here,"  exclaimed Sour Sweet, sounding annoyed, but before entering the portal,  she smiled sweetly at him. "But thanks anyway! Good luck with your  death battle!"

Stardust simply nodded his head, while Sugarcoat  followed after her bipolar friend. "Even though I'm well aware of the  fact that you don't like or hate me and her, I appreciate your concern  for our safety... so try not to die."

Once she was gone, the rest  of the EG girls did the same, as well as Sunset and Sci Twi, leaving  only the pony versions of the Mane Six, Princess Twilight, Casey, and  Starlight.

"Now, hold on just a minute there, sugarcube,"  responded Applejack, who wasn't in any type of hurry to leave. "None of  us are leavin' until we make sure that Mr. Cloaked Pony over there  doesn't bother any of us ever again."

"No one else is going anywhere... and neither are you!"

Stardust  turned around, and saw Miles, who was also in a straight posture, and  glowing with his own energy. "Took you long enough."

Miles gritted his teeth in frustration, and cried, "I warned you about being a hero, Stardust... and now, you're about to pay the ultimate price."

"Oh, ho, it's on, mother[BEEP]," said Stardust, and the former human charged at his new nemesis, with every intention of destroying him.

Miles used his staff to fire an energy blast, but Stardust simply knocked it away with his hoof, without even stopping. "Oh, you've got to be-"

The cloaked pony was cut off after Stardust delivered a right uppercut to Miles' jaw, sending him flying into the air.

"You don't get to talk anymore, asshole," exclaimed Stardust, and he quickly grabbed the staff, tossing it over to Twilight.

Then, he went to catch up to Miles, and clasped his hooves together, bringing them down onto his enemy's skull.

Why does this seem familiar? thought  Princess Twilight, unaware of the fact that her necklace (which had yet  to be replaced by the real one that Miles had with him) was starting to  glow.

Miles  quickly flew straight down to the ground, but before he could even get  up, Stardust picked him up, and tossed him headfirst into a nearby brick  wall.

"When did that get here?" wondered Rainbow Dash.

"He probably just imagined it being there," answered Pinkie. "You can do anything you want in here, remember?"

As Stardust started walking over to Miles, the cloaked pony cried, "You aren't even fighting fair!"

"You  should've thought about that before you decided to kill two of my  closest friends," replied Stardust, and he knocked away another one of  Miles' attempted energy blasts.

Miles  then started firing multiple blasts at Stardust, all at once, but the  young pony swiftly sent all of them away with ease, and once Stardust  was in front of him, Miles tried to deliver the same punch to his chest  as he'd done previously, but Stardust quickly blocked it. "Not this  time."

Before  Miles could even say anything, the young pony delivered a powerful and  solid punch into his chest, knocking the air out of him.

Alright, Jack, that's enough.

Ignoring  what Starswirl had to say, Stardust used his imagination to create a  row of multiple leaf-less trees, and got a tight grip of Miles, bringing  him up to his face.

"This will teach you to mess with my friends," growled the furious pony, and threw him like a Frisbee, with Miles crashing into each and every single tree.

Once Miles got to his knees, the cloaked and weakened pony pounded his hoofs on the ground. "No... this can't be happening... this can't be real... this is not the way this ends!"

Stardust made his way over to Miles, and started to laugh. "And you said I was a pathetic pony."

With  that being said, the young pony began powering his energy up to max,  and was about to deliver a final blow when he heard a familiar voice  yell, "STOP!"

Turning to see who it was, Stardust's eyes became wide with surprise. "Love? Wha - what are you..."

"Thank you for your help, Stardust, but I can take over from here," said Princess Twilight, whose necklace was glowing as bright as he was, and the purple alicorn turned her attention to Miles. "Rowan, I'm giving you one last chance to release Miles, or else I'll do it for you."

"Rowan?" exclaimed Stardust, as well as the rest of their friends, and Miles started to laugh.

"Well, well, it looks like you found a way out of your coma, princess."

Princess Twilight nodded her head, and said, "Indeed I did, Rowan... now, do as I said, and RELEASE Miles NOW!"

"Um,  what the hay is goin' on right now?" Applejack asked, and everypony  (except for Princess Twilight and Miles) looked at Pinkie Pie, who  shrugged her shoulders.

"What? I don't know, either!"

Miles  looked up at Princess Twilight, and then, he started to scream in  pain... but for some reason, it sounded like a mixture of Miles' own  voice, and another pony that no one recognized.

"Starswirl? What's going on?" wondered Stardust, looking back and forth between his enemy and special somepony.

I... am not exactly sure myself right now, Jack...

Stardust  tried to say more to his elderly friend, but then, he found himself  looking at the screaming Miles, and saw that the dark energy surrounding  his body was rising up into the air, slowly transforming into the  outline of a Pegasus' body. "What... the... [BEEP]?"

Once  all of the energy had left Miles' body, the cloaked pony collapsed to  the ground, now unconscious, and Stardust noticed that he looked  completely nicer than before... and noticed a familiar object (Princess  Twilight's real necklace) hanging out from one of Miles' cloak pockets. Isn't that Twilight's necklace?

He  also looked up, seeing a menacing and jet-black colored Pegasus pony,  whom he assumed was "Rowan", and turned to look back at Princess  Twilight... just in time to see a white and ghost-like orb come out from  her necklace (the fake one), with both of them disappearing. "Uh...  love?"

Princess Twilight shook her head a few times, and rubbed  her forehead, acting as if she'd just woken up from a powerful trance.  "Jack? What... what happened?"

"Twilight, why did..." said Stardust, but his sentence was cut off when he suddenly felt strange.

Jack? Are you alright?

"I... don't..." Stardust replied, but then, he felt a sudden pain in his chest, and collapsed to the ground. "What... why...?"

"Jack!"  Princess Twilight sat down, as well, trying to help him sit up, while  the rest of their friends hurried over to see what was wrong with  Stardust.

Rowan floated down to the ground, and his muzzle became a wide grin. "You may have discovered a new power, Jack, but did you really think that I would let you have the last laugh?"

Trying to ignore his chest-pain, Stardust exclaimed, "What the hell are... you... blabbering on about now?"

"You're about to die, Jack... and be erased from existence..."

Princess Twilight frowned, and asked, "What do you mean? What did you do?"






(Stardust's Past)


"... the thought of losing you to that monster forever... it wasn't something I could live with..."

From  his secret spot in the gardens, Rowan (in Miles' body) looked up to see  Twilight, who was having a conversation with a less-weary Stardust.

"Twilight..."

"I heard what you said to Spike..."

Using  the staff's power to make himself invisible, Rowan started to rise into  the air, and slowly made his way to the two ponies, as well as  transforming the staff into a silver sword.


"And sometimes your low self-esteem astounds me, Jack Wright..."

However,  before Stardust could give his response, the two of them were  interrupted by the cloaked pony, deciding to reveal himself, and without  letting them have a chance to say anything, Rowan swung the sharp-edged  weapon, bringing it down onto Stardust's skull.





A furious Stardust tried to get up, but the pain became too unbearable, and he fell back down to the ground. "You... you... son of a..."

"Yes, Jack... I went back in time, to your past, and killed you," said Rowan, smiling with victory. "And in a matter of minutes, you will cease to exist... leaving me to have the-"

Whoosh!

His  sentence was interrupted by an unexpected blast that came from the  staff, making the evil pony disappear, and everypony else turned to look  at Pinkie Pie, who was holding the staff. "I wanted to help Stardust  beat him."

Princess Twilight was about to say something, but then,  she heard Stardust coughing, and brought him over to her so that she  could hold the young pony in her front limbs.

"Jack, it's... it's okay..." said the young alicorn. "We can find a way to fix this."

"I don't know if... you can, love..." replied Stardust, whose body was starting to become transparent. "I should have... seen this... coming..."

A  sense of sadness was felt between all of the ponies, but Princess  Twilight shook her head, refusing to give up, and holding back in her  tears. "Don't you do this to me, Jack... you may have lost me once, but  I've lost you more than that... you have to hang in there."

"I'm... sorry..." said Stardust, whose voice was also becoming weaker, but as tears started falling from Princess Twilight's eyes, he eventually faded away completely, out of existence.

Nopony had any idea what to say about what had just happened with Stardust.

"Jack... no..." sobbed Princess Twilight, who was holding onto the necklace that Stardust had given her.

Applejack  took off her hat in respect for the gold pony, and said, "We're sorry  this happened, Other Twilight... I sure wish we could do somethin' to  make ya feel better."

"Actually, there is a way..."

Everypony turned around, and saw Miles, who was no longer glowing, as well as appearing less terrifying.

"Really?" Princess Twilight said, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "Tell me, please... I'll do whatever it takes."

Before Miles could respond, Rarity let out a scream, and suddenly, there was a broomstick in her hooves.

"You monster! How dare you kill Stardust!"

She then proceeded with using the broom to whack him several times, causing Miles to cry, "Ow... Rarity, I - ow... didn't - ow... stop hitting me!"

Rarity  raised the broom above her head again, but Applejack pulled it out of  her grasp, saying, "Just settle down, Rarity, he wasn't the one who  killed Stardust, it was that Rowan fella."

"Oh... yes..." said Rarity, realizing that her friend was right. "Sorry about that, darling."

"It's...  perfectly fine..." replied Miles, and then, he made a gesture at the  staff that Pinkie Pie was holding "Twilight, you must take the staff,  and go back in time to stop Rowan from ever attacking Stardust."

"But  won't that affect you in some way?" Princess Twilight wondered, tilting  her head to the side. "For all we know, I could end up erasing you from existence."

Miles  shook his head, saying, "I can see why you would think that, Princess,  but you need not to worry about me... just keep him from interrupting  the kiss that you and Stardust share, and then, it'll be like nothing  ever happened."

As Princess Twilight accepted the staff from  Pinkie, Miles added, "Once the past versions of you and Stardust kiss,  he'll end up being part of a different timeline, and cease to exist...  then, you can return back here, and the present self of Stardust will  come back."

Princess Twilight looked down at the necklace that  she'd received as a gift from Stardust, and after a brief moment of  silent thinking, the young alicorn nodded her head. "I'll do it."

"Good,  but you must act swiftly," reminded Miles, looking concerned. "You only  have a short amount of time before he succeeds in killing Stardust."

Princess Twilight nodded her head, and began using the staff to create a portal, which she then entered once it was created.

"Speaking of which... were exactly did you, um, send Rowan to, Pinkie?" asked Rarity.

The  pink pony laid against her party cannon, and shrugged her shoulders. "I  can't remember... but I'm sure it was to a place that a meanie like him  deserved to go to."






(Stardust's Past)


The portal appeared in the gardens, and Princess Twilight stepped out, quickly searching for any sign of Rowan.

"For me... It made me realize exactly how much I care for you, even now..."

Princess Twilight looked up, and could see the past version of herself talking to Past Stardust.

She even found herself mouthing the same words that her past self was saying.

"And when Sombra took hold of you... The thought of losing you to that monster forever... Wasn't something I could live with..."

Then, she saw another portal appear a few feet away, and frowned after seeing Rowan step out.

"Ahem!"

The sinister pony turned around, and once he saw Princess Twilight, he became confused and irritated. "What are you doing here?"

The alicorn princess glared at Rowan, and said, "This is for Jack, you [BEEP]."

Before  Rowan could say anything else, Princess Twilight fired an energy blast  at the cloaked pony, causing him to suddenly vanish into thin air.

Feeling satisfied, the young pony was about to head back to Limbo, but took a moment to watch the event in front of her unfold.

"Twilight..." said Past Stardust, but he also wondered why he was even talking in the first place.

"I  heard what you said to Spike..." replied Past Twilight, whose muzzle  was only a few inches away from his. "And sometimes your low self-esteem  astounds me, Jack Wright..."

"With good reas-"

Princess  Twilight smiled widely, and could almost feel her heart soar as the  past versions of herself and Stardust shared their... was it their first  kiss?

She also watched the past versions of their  friends arrive to offer their congrats, as well as her past self and  Past Stardust sharing another kiss.

"I'll see you soon, Jack," whispered Princess Twilight, and then, once the portal was created, she stepped inside it.

Whoosh!

"Huh?" Past Stardust found himself pausing his kiss with Past Twilight to turn around.

"You alright, sugarcube?" Past Applejack asked.

Past Stardust nodded his head, but didn't look too sure. "I thought... I heard someone else..."

Past Rainbow started to chuckle, and told him, "I think you've been kissing Twilight too long."

Past  Twilight felt herself blush while Past Stardust rolled his eyes, and  said, "I know what I heard... I'll come back tomorrow to find out."

"Oh,  um, actually, Jack..." said Past Twilight, who was still blushing. "I  was hoping that you'd come with us to the Crystal Empire tomorrow."

Past  Stardust thought about it, and nodded his head, saying, "Sure,  Twilight... I mean, it's not like anything terrible is going to happen  tomorrow."






(Limbo)


"I wish I'd never agreed to go..."

"Jack?"

Stardust opened his eyes, and found himself looking at the concerned face of Princess Twilight.

"Twilight? But... I thought... didn't I..."

He was cut off after Princess Twilight decided to kiss him, and it only took a moment for Stardust to return the favor.

I told you she'd be able to bring you back, said Starswirl, from inside of the young pony's mind.

Everypony  else smiled at what was going on in front of them, glad that the two  ponies had reunited, and once they had finished kissing, Pinkie Pie  said, "Welcome back, Stardust! How was it wherever you went?"

"Thanks, Pinkie," said the young pony, who was also still wearing the Cutie Mark necklace. "And it was... um... a very interesting experience."

"How so?" Twilight asked, as she prepared to write whatever he was going to say in her Stardust notebook, which made her friends roll their eyes.

"Well,  it was like I was going through a very rapid flashback of my entire  life," replied Stardust, who couldn't see what the young alicorn was  doing since he was facing away from her. "It started from when I was a  little boy, then to the first time I arrived in Ponyville..."

"Uh-huh, yep, yep, interesting," mumbled Twilight, writing as much as she could. "So, what else happened?"

Before  Stardust could explain more about his "death experience", Miles made  his way over to them. "I'm glad to see that you are alive, Stardust."

The  gold pony looked at the yellow Pegasus pony in front of him, and a  frown appeared on his face. "I can't exactly say that I'm glad to see you, pal."

"Jack!" Princess Twilight exclaimed, resisting the urge to thump him across the head.

"Hey,  you don't know how I felt to see AJ and Applebloom become damn apple  sauce," replied Stardust, who still had mixed feelings about the  apparent mind games. "Once I see that they're alive, I'll maybe act a  little more nicer to him."

Miles sighed, deciding that it was time  for him to leave, so he used the staff to create a portal that led to  his world, and before stepping inside, he took a final look at all of  the little ponies.

"Thank you, everypony... for all that you've done..."

Whoosh!

The portal disappeared, and everypony started to look at each other.

"So... uh, how exactly are we going to get home?" Rainbow asked, after a moment of awkward silence.

Stardust chuckled, and took a quick look at his necklace, which contained the special power he had earned. "I can take care of that."

He then turned his attention over to Princess Twilight. "You have no idea how glad I'm going to feel once we're back in our own home."

"I'm pretty sure that I do, Jack," replied his girlfriend, smiling back at him.

"But you are coming to the party, right?"

Stardust looked at Pinkie Pie, who was staring right back at him, and he asked, "What party?"

Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes. "Well, duh, the alternate-world-saving-and-making-new-friends-from-other-worlds party!"

"You're... inviting both of us?" Princess Twilight said, sounding surprised.

"Uh-huh,  I sure am, Other Twilight," said Pinkie Pie, giving them a wide smile.  "I am inviting you, Stardusty, and the other versions of us from your  world to my super duper awesome party!"

Princess Twilight smiled, and was about to respond to her, but the gold Earth pony had something else to say first.

"Yeah, that's... not happening, sorry," replied Stardust, who was shaking his head.

"You... don't want to come w my party?" Pinkie Pie asked, her smile going away as she started to become sad.

Stardust  sighed, and was about to confirm what she had said when, to his  surprise, Princess Twilight said, "Of course, Pinkie, I'd love to go...  and I'm sure the others would, too."

"What!?" Stardust couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Princess  Twilight looked at her special somepony, and simply said, "You don't  get to decide for me and the rest of our friends, Jack, when it comes to  something as simple like this... it's just a party."

Stardust  could almost feel his muzzle drop, and before he could say anything to  that, Pinkie Pie approached him, with eyes as big as a saddened puppy.

"Can you please come to my party?"

"I..." Stardust began to say, but he noticed that, once again, everypony else was looking at him. "Oh, come on!"

The wide-eyed and pink colored pony continued to look at him. "Can you please, please, please come to my party? Please?"

Stardust  wanted to say no, but he could feel the stares from everypony else, and  Pinkie Pie looked like she was about to cry if she didn't hear the  right answer.

What has happened to me?

"So... are you coming or not, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, raising her eyebrow at him.

Stardust hung his head down, placing a hoof on his forehead, and said, "Okay... fine... I will come... but can you have it tomorrow, at least? I would like to spend the rest of today in my own world."

Pinkie Pie instantly went back to her happy self, and let out a giggle. "You silly pony, you didn't really think I'd have it today, did you?"

"It never stopped you before," muttered Stardust.

"Well, don't worry, I'll make sure to have it tomorrow," replied Pinkie. "And do you-"

The gold pony sighed, knowing what she was going to ask him. "Yes, I pinkie promise to come... Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

To  his surprise, Pinkie Pie giggled again, saying, "I wasn't going to ask  you to do that, Stardusty, I was going to ask if you wanted something  special to drink at the party."

Well, now, you definitely have to go, Jack.

Ignoring the voice of his elderly friend, the young pony replied, "It's Stardust, Pinkie... and I'd like to drink some Coca-Cola."

"Hmmm..." said the party-planning pony. "Not exactly a drink I'm familiar with, but I'll make sure to get you a bucket of it when you come tomorrow!"

As Stardust nodded his head, Princess Twilight whispered, "I thought that drink only existed in your world."

"Yeah, but after everything that this Pinkie  has done ever since she was able to find out who I was, I wouldn't be  surprised if she did find a way to get it," replied Stardust.

Pinkie was about to ask him another question, but then, they all heard the voice of a familiar alicorn princess.

"I'm afraid there might not be a chance for the party, Pinkie."

Everypony turned their heads to the side, and as Stardust saw who had spoken, he quickly became frustrated, exclaiming, "Where... the [BEEP]... have YOU been?"

Princess  Celestia looked at Stardust, and her muzzle became a small smile. "I've  heard so much about you, Stardust Balance... it's an honor to meet a  heroic pony, such as yourself."

"Thanks, but that doesn't exactly answer my  question," replied the frustrated pony. "And I'm not exactly pleased to  see you since the version of you from Miles' world is the whole reason  all of this [BEEP] happened in the first place."

As the two of them spoke to each other, Casey turned to his side, and saw Twilight writing in her Stardust notebook.

"Really, Twilight?"

The young alicorn nodded her head, saying, "This is very important for my story, Casey..."

Pinkie Pie walked over to one of the rulers of Equestria, and asked, "What do you mean there's not a chance?"

"I've  been watching all of the worlds that you, Stardust, the two Twilights,  and Casey have traveled to, making sure that they have been properly  restored," explained Princess Celestia. "And now that Miles has returned  to his, that leaves us with ours and theirs."

The white alicorn  made a gesture towards Stardust and Princess Twilight, and Casey said,  "Forgive me, your Highness, but I don't think there has been any damage  to either of our worlds."

"I wish that were true, Casey," replied  Princess Celestia, now looking sad and somewhat regretful about what she  was going to say. "But the fact of the matter is that these events were  never supposed to happen in the first place, so I have come up with  only one solution."

Stardust raised an eyebrow, and frowned as he asked, "What would that be, Celestia?"

The  ruler of Equestria looked over at Starlight, and said, "I believe that  you've been able to succeed in learning how to perform the memory  spell?"

"Um... yeah, I think... why?" The purple unicorn replied, who still did not remember that she'd used it on herself.

"It  would be best for everypony if these events were forgotten," said  Princess Celestia, but before she could explain more, Stardust chose to  interrupt her.

"Are you [BEEP] insane?!" He yelled, outraged with her apparent solution. "That is literally the worst thing you could possibly do!"

Princess Celestia looked at Stardust, and said, "I'm afraid there is not any other choice."

"To hell there  isn't, [BEEP]!" Stardust exclaimed, his eyes glowing with anger. "You  cannot [BEEP] be this [BEEP] to suggest erasing all of this from our  minds! How [BEEP] can you-"

"Jack, relax... let me handle this,"  said the spirit of Starswirl, who had suddenly appeared next to the  former human, and walked over to stand in front of Princess Celestia,  bowing his head. "Your Highness..."

The white alicorn smiled, nodded her head, and Starswirl rose his head up. "Forgive the foul language of my friend... he's not exactly fond of you."

"And for a [BEEP] good reason," muttered the annoyed Earth Pony.

"Anyway... he is also correct, in a way," replied Starswirl. "You  cannot simply erase the events that have happened from all of their  minds... not when they have already established a bond of friendship,  and I think both of our princesses of friendship can agree with me on  that."

Everypony looked at the two Twilights, with both of  them nodding their heads, and Princess Celestia asked, "So, do you have  another solution in mind, old friend?"

"Indeed I do, your Highness," said Starswirl, and suddenly, two versions of the Crystal Mirror appeared a few feet away from them. "Aside  from these being a gateway to yours and our version of the world that  Sunset Shimmer stays at, they can also be of one between your world and  ours."

Applejack rose her hoof in the air, and asked, "Um,  pardon my interruption, y'all, but what about all of those worlds that  Twilight and the others went to, and that Rowan fella?"

"Ah, yes, I was about to get to that," responded the spirit. "Since  they were all able to be brought back to their rightful state,  including Miles' world, I see no reason for either of us to travel to  them ever again, so it would be best to close all possible entrances to  those worlds, and only allowing passage between your world and ours.

"As for Rowan... well, I think Pinkie has made it so that he can never bother either of us ever again."

Pinkie became surprised as she heard that, and asked, "Really? How did I do that?"

Starswirl  was about to reply, but Princes Celestia chose to say, "I think that is  a perfect idea, Starswirl... thank you for finding a way to avoid  having Starlight perform her spell."

The purple unicorn let out a huge sigh of relief, which made Twilight chuckle, and she said, "Yes, thank you, Starswirl, I didn't think I had enough energy to perform that type of spell."

Starswirl looked over at Twilight's pupil, and raised an eyebrow. "And  yet you were able to find energy to make an alteration to my Time  Scroll, during your quest for revenge against Twilight and her friends,  which could have ended almost as horrible if Rowan had taken over both  our worlds?"

Starlight quickly began to feel embarrassed, and  she found herself stuttering as she said, "Well, I-I-I... t-that was  such a l-long, er..."

"My dear, there is no reason to panic. I was merely being humorous... my apologies."

"Oh... right," replied Starlight, letting out a nervous chuckle. "I mean... that's, uh, okay..."

Princess  Celestia nodded her head, accepting Starswirl's suggestion, and Pinkie  asked, "So I can still have my party, right? Cause Stardusty 'pinkie  promised' me that he would go..."

She then turned to face Stardust, giving him a look that almost made him nervous. "... and nopony breaks a pinkie promise."

Princess Celestia smiled, and said, "Yes, Pinkie, you may have your party."

"Yippie!" Pinkie Pie cried, her body filling up with excitement. "I'm gonna get started right away on what's going to happen tomorrow!"

Then,  like a pinball in a machine, Pinkie bounced all around, and zoomed  right through the portal that led to her world... leaving everypony  speechless and silent for a few minutes.

"So, um... where exactly did Rowan end up at?" wondered Fluttershy.

"Just know that he'll never bother any of us again, my dear," replied Starswirl, smiling at the yellow Pegasus pony.






Meanwhile...


Once Rowan had finally woken up, the first thing he saw was Twilight Sparkle sticking out her tongue at him.

"What the he... aaagghh!"

Rowan quickly moved away after seeing and realizing that the purple unicorn's body was not attached to her own head.

"No... oh, no, no, no, no," said Rowan, also figuring out where he was. "Please don't play that-"

Yes the perfect gift for me

Is a smile as wide as a mile

To make me happy as can be

"No!"

Rowan  then looked up, and saw an alternate version of Pinkie Pie, who was  preparing to unleash her own Super Spirit Bomb that would lead to the  planet being destroyed.

"Noooooo!"





The  only ponies that were still in Limbo were Twilight, Casey, Stardust,  and Princess Twilight, while everypony else had went back home.

"So, I guess we'll see you tomorrow, then?" Casey said.

Stardust nodded his head, and said, "Yes, as soon as I wake up... whenever that is."

Princess  Twilight rolled her eyes at Stardust, and politely bid the other two  ponies goodbye before entering the portal that led to her world.

As  for the human-turned-pony himself, Stardust offered a hoofshake to  Twilight, who surprised him by giving the young pony a hug instead.

"Thank  you, Jack, for saving me and Starlight earlier," said Twilight, in a  sweet tone that made Stardust feel a pleasing warmth in himself. "Or do  you prefer Stardust?"

"Um... well, I usually let only my Twilight call me by my real name," explained Stardust, who was slightly blushing. "But you are... well, Twilight Sparkle, so... er, maybe you can call me that when it comes to moments like this."

Twilight smiled, and nodded her head, saying, "Fair enough..."

Then,  before he could leave, the young alicorn gave him a kiss on the cheek,  and teased him a little by saying, "I can see why she likes you."

Casey tried to hold in his laughter, while Stardust found himself unable to move.

"Uh... I... whoa!"  Aside from his body temperature starting to heat up, Stardust didn't  know what to say, but then, a purple limb came out from the portal, and  pulled him inside, which left only Casey and Twilight to themselves.

"You ever gonna tell him about the Adventures of Stardust?" Casey asked, referring to her thick notebook that contained the abridged version of the gold pony's story.

"Maybe one day," replied Twilight, giving a shrug. "Besides, I'm not even calling it that anymore."

Casey smirked at his potential girlfriend, and asked, "What's the new title, then?"

Twilight told him what it was, and Casey began to laugh. "Yep, that makes sense."
> Friendship Party
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Starswirl had said, all of the worlds that Twilight, Casey,  Pinkie, Stardust, and Princess Twilight traveled to were rightfully  restored, and following the elderly pony's suggestion, Princess Celestia  made it so that nopony else would ever be to visit or cause any damage  to them ever again.

So,  once Twilight and the others were back in the library (and seeing that  they'd only been gone for about ten minutes), they all traveled to the  Crystal Empire, which was where they planned to originally go in the  first place.

After they had arrived, the Mane Six, Spike, and  Starlight went to the Crystal Castle while Casey decided to pay a  long-overdue visit to a certain unicorn.


#############


Knock-knock-knock!

"I'll be right there," said Sunburst, walking away from the table to go and open his front door.

Once he did, the orange unicorn smiled as he saw who his visitor was. "Hi, Casey! It's certainly been a while..."

"Yeah,  sorry about that," said Casey, feeling sheepish as he rubbed the back  of his neck with his hoof. "I know I haven't exactly been around to  assist you with-"

"No need to worry, Casey," replied Sunburst,  holding up one of his hoofs to silent him. "I actually think you're  suited better with learning whatever you can from Princess Twilight."

Casey  smiled, and said, "Thanks, Sunburst... but since I'm going to be here  at the Crystal Empire today for a while, you mind helping me out with  something?"

"Sure, of course," replied the young wizard, nodding his head. "What, um... is it exactly?"

Casey  walked over to the nearest seat, sitting himself down, and said, "Well,  it's something that I haven't told Twilight yet..."





"Sweet Celestia, darling, these look even more gorgeous than when we were statues!"

Applejack rolled her eyes, and said, "Sometimes I worry about what your mind's actually made of, sugarcube."

Shining Armor and Princess Cadence had brought the seven ponies and little dragon to the room where Miles - I mean, Rowan had turned five of them into statues, and now, there were actual statues on the stands, as well as ones of Twilight, Starlight -

"... and Discord?" pointed out Fluttershy, and everypony looked at what she was referring to.

There  was a Discord statue next to Fluttershy's, and Shining Armor became  confused. "Huh, I don't remember ever asking anyone to make that."

"Well, of course, you  didn't," replied Discord, with his stone-like body returning back to  normal. "What do I ever get in return for all the heroic things that  I've done?"

As he went to stand by the actual Fluttershy, the  animal-loving Pegasus smiled at her friend, saying, "Um, I don't think  you're exactly quite there yet... but at least you have more friends now  than you did since I helped reform you."

"Ehhhh, that is true," replied Discord, nodding his head. "But really, I mean... I helped Starlight save you all from the Changelings, and from that dragon version of Midnight Sparkle."

Rarity smirked at the ruler of disharmony, and said, "Ah, tomahto, tomato, darling... your time will come soon."

Twilight looked at her brother, and asked, "You think you could figure something out?"

"Sure, Twily, I'll be able to find something," replied Shining, giving his young and only sister a smile.

Twilight then looked over at Spike, and said, "I'm sorry about your first statue getting destroyed..."

"Nah,  don't even worry about it, Twilight,: replied Spike, shaking his head.  "Besides, the second version that they made looks even better!"






Back in Stardust's World...


"... so you got kissed on the cheek by a parallel version of Twilight?"

Stardust chuckled, and he replied, "Yes, Spike, but she only did it as a way of thanking me for saving her life."

The  two of them were in the Throne Room, and Stardust had just finished  explaining to Spike what happened during the entire (and unsurprisingly  short amount of) time he and Twilight had been gone.

"You also kissed an alternate version of Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and even Princess Cadence?"

Stardust started to have a few mixed feelings inside himself again as he answered, "Yeah, but... that was something I just had to do, in order for us to fix the worlds we went to... you understand, right?"

The young dragon nodded his head, and replied, "Oh, yeah, of course, bro... um, did it feltweird to kiss them?"

"..."

"..."

Stardust sighed, and he answered, "Personally, little bro, I was indifferent to them kissing me... maybe a different case regarding Fluttershy since I know she used to have a crush on me, but do not ever tell them or anypony else that I said that. Got it?"

"Yeah,  no problem," said the young dragon. "But just so we're clear... you, in  no way at all, enjoyed your kiss with the alternate version of Rarity?"

Stardust turned to look at Spike, and asked, "Out of all the questions you could have asked me, you chose that one?"

"Hey, you can't blame me for asking, Star," said Spike, giving him a shrug. "You know how I feel about her."

Stardust  smirked at him, and said, "I know, bro, and like I said, I was  indifferent to those kisses... so don't worry, you're still the only one  I know that has a deep love for Rarity."

Spike's smile grew wide  acted he heard the gold pony say that, and after they talked to each  other a little more, the young dragon headed off to do his own thing  while Stardust looked at his newly-obtained necklace.

"Okay, I definitely could have used something like this for certain events that happened a while back."

"True,  but you wouldn't have learned the same lessons you learned, or had the  same experiences that helped you grow and become the pony you are today,  Jack," replied Starswirl, from inside of Stardust's mind.

Stardust rolled his eyes, saying, "You know, pal, I'm starting to wonder what else you've kept from me over all these years..."

Before the elderly pony could say anything to that, one of the doors opened, and Stardust heard a familiar voice.

"You talkin' to yourself again, sugarcube?"

Applejack  entered the room, along with Twilight and Applebloom, and as Stardust  carefully walked over to them, she asked, "You okay, Star?"

"Um..." Stardust carefully raised up one of his hooves, and touched her stetson hat a few times. "Just... fine... you are, er, you, right?"

"Uh... yeah?" Applejack replied, sounding confused. "Star, why - oof!"

Her  sentence was cut short after Stardust, to AJ's surprise, wrapped his  limbs around her, giving the farmer pony a warm hug, and making Twilight  and Applebloom smile.

"You don't how happy I am right now to see  you, AJ," said the gold pony, relieved that she hadn't become "apple  sauce" after all.

Applejack's muzzle slowly became a smile, and  she eventually hugged him back, making Stardust feel even warmer inside  knowing that one of his closest friends was alive.

"Twilight told  me about what happened with what that Rowan fella showed you," she said,  once they were apart from each other. "He never showed up, Star, we've  been at the same spot you saw us before you two left almost ten or  twelve minutes ago."

Stardust opened his mouth to speak, but then, Applebloom looked up at him, and asked, "Hey, don't I get a hug, too?"

"Of course, you do," answered Stardust, and he knelt down to give the little pony a hug.

Then,  with a chuckle, he began to give her a noogie, and Applebloom started  to laugh, along with Twilight and Applejack. "Aw, come on, Star, I  already get enough of those from my big sister!"






(Starity World)


"Whoa, seriously?"

Rarity nodded her head, and smiled as she said, "Certainly, darling... do you like it?"

"It's perfect," said Alternate Stardust, as he put on the cloak.

The  unicorn's smile grew wider as she made a mental note to thank the other  versions of her friends and special somepony for bringing her Stardust  back






(Flutterdust)


"What are you doing again?"

The young Pegasus pony replied, "Writing a thank-you letter to send to the other Stardust for bringing you back to me."

Alternate Stardust chuckled, and said, "Um, I think it might be a little hard to get that to him."

"True,  but it'll make me feel better." Fluttershy said, hoping that the other  Stardust would know somehow that she truly appreciated all of his help.






(Sunset Balance World)


EG  Stardust was laying back against a tree, while Sunset was laying  against his chest, and the young teenager had his arms wrapped around  her.

"And I thought things couldn't get any weirder here," said  Sunset, who had finished telling her boyfriend about what had happened  with the other Stardust.

He kissed the top of her head, and began to laugh. "I'm just glad he brought me back to you... and totally wrecked Flash's car in the process."

"You do realize that you could probably be arrested if they ever find out that you stole a car," teased Sunset, which made Stardust roll his eyes, and let out a sarcastic laugh.

"The day I get arrested here is the day that Principal Celestia leaves Canterlot High."





"You okay, Casey?" Twilight asked, who was now back in her library after everypony had returned to their homes.

Casey sighed, and nodded his head. "Yeah, but... see, there's something that I haven't told you yet, Twilight, about-"

"Your parents' death being caused by my battle with Tirek?"

Casey's mind went blank for a moment, and then, he said, "Um, yeah, but how-"

"Sunset  told me a few days after she used her powers on you," explained the  young alicorn, nodding her head over at the book she used as a way to  communicate with the former pupil of Princess Celestia. "She saw your  memories from what happened that day you asked her to try it on you..."

Twilight  walked over to him, and gave him a warm smile. "I am truly sorry about  that, Casey, but from what Sunset told me, they're in a better place,  watching over you."

"Thanks, Twilight," replied Casey. "And don't worry, I never really blamed you at all.. but, um, since we're still talking..."

"You'd like to go out on a date?"

Casey  was speechless again, while Twilight started to laugh. "I was kind of  hoping you say that... did you want to go the day after the party  tomorrow?"

"Ye... yeah," chuckled Casey, once he was able to speak again. "But can I make a suggestion?"

"Sure," said Twilight. "What is it?"

Please don't hurt me for this, Stardust, thought Casey before giving his response.

"Let's not do what they did, and go to a place where they serve weird, fancy-ish food and could end up being spied on by our friends."






The next day


"So, let me get this straight," said Rainbow. "The Pinkie Pie from Casey's world invited all six of us, plus you and Starlight, to a party that she's having at their version of Twilight's castle?"

"More or less, yes," confirmed Stardust, nodding his head. "Weird, right?"

Applejack  shrugged her shoulders, and said, "Considering what's happened ever  since you first came to Ponyville, sugarcube... not really."

"What I find to be weird is that you actually agreed to go," replied Rainbow, looking at him suspiciously. "I thought you would've told them no."

"Oh, he tried to,  at first," pointed out Twilight. "But he made a pinkie promise to their  Pinkie, and now, he has to go whether he likes to or not."

Before  Stardust could say anything, Spike let out a yawn, and started walking  back towards his room. "Enjoy the party, you guys... I'm going to  bed..."

"I wish I was going to bed... ow," mumbled Stardust, who then got a thump to the back of his head from Twilight.

Rainbow started to laugh, while Pinkie smiled, and said, "Good for you, Stardust, cause you can never break a pinkie promise."

"I'm well aware of that," replied the young pony. "So, would you all like to come?"

"Uh, yeah,"  said a grinning Rainbow Dash. "I've always wondered what it felt like  to actually challenge myself... and now, I'll be able to find out!"

"I don't mind goin' to the party," replied Applejack. "Just as long as me and the 'other me' have stuff to chat about."

The  rest of their friends didn't have any other problem with going, so  Stardust sighed again, and said, "Well, alright, then, let's go..."





"Be right back, Coloratura!"

Pinkie's other-worlds-saving party  was being held in Twilight's castle, and it seemed like it would be one  of her best parties that she'd ever thrown... as well as one of her  strangest.

"Hmmm... how do I do this the right way?" Pinkie Pie wondered, and after a few more seconds of thinking, her eyes lit up. "I've got it!"

She then took a deep breath, and began introducing everypony to each other.

"Twilight  and Princess Twilight, this is Sci Twi... Applejack and Applejack, this  is Human Applejack... Rarity and Rarity, this is Human Rarity... Other  Me, this is Human Us... Fluttershy and Fluttershy, this is Human  Fluttershy... Rainbow and Rainbow, this is Human Rainbow... Starlight,  meet Other World Starlight... Sunset, Sugarcoat, and Sour Sweet, these  are all other versions of ourselves that came with Stardust and Princess  Twilight... am I missing anypony else?"

Everypony looked at each other, and they all shook their heads, which made Pinkie's smile grow wider. "Awesome! Enjoy the party, everypony!"

Then,  in the blink of an eye, she was gone, along with the other two  Pinkie's, and as everypony splitted apart from each other, Stardust  shook his head, saying, "I can't believe this is-"

"Oh, before I forget, here ya go, Stardust!"

The young pony turned his head to see Pinkie bring over an iced bucket of actual Coca-Cola bottles.

"I know a pony," explained Pinkie, seeing his surprised and confused face, and she left before he could say anything else.

"Huh,  maybe this party might not be so bad after all..." said Stardust, as he  tried to open the bottle. "How... in Equestria do you..."

"Oh,  sorry, I forgot to mention that you can twist them off," added Pinkie,  who appeared from out of nowhere, taking the soda bottle from his  hooves, and using her own hoof to twist the lid off.

Pop! 

She  handed the drink back to Stardust, and took off running again, leaving  the young pony to chuckle before taking a few sips. "I don't think I'll  ever get used to Pinkie Pie."

"Well, howdy, Rara," said Applejack, as she walked over to her  musically talented friend. "I thought I heard Pinkie say your name...  glad you could make it."

The light blue and grey Earth pony  smiled, and gave her childhood filly friend a hug. "AJ, hi... yeah, I'm  sorry I haven't been around since the music festival."

"Ah, no  need to be apologizing, sugarcube," replied Applejack. "Your life must  be one barrel of craziness as a world-famous pop singer."

Coloratura  chuckled, and agreed with the hard-working Earth Pony. "That's true in  so many ways... but luckily, my world tour just ended a few weeks ago,  and I have some time left before my new manager finds something else for  me to do."

Hearing that her friend had another manager now, Applejack started to frown, and she asked, "Exactly how much time is this new manager pony of yours givin' you?"

"Well,  let's just say that it's enough time for me to accept an offer from  Twilight to stay in one of the rooms here," replied Coloratura. "And  I'll be able to be with you and the rest of your friends."

Applejack's  frown quickly went away, and she said, "Now, that sounds like a pretty  darn good manager, and a lot better than that Svengallop pony... plus,  that was mighty nice of Twilight to offer you a room."

"Indeed, it  was," agreed Coloratura, as she noticed the alicorn princess talking to  other ponies. "You're certainly lucky to have a friend like here, AJ."

"Aw, shucks, Rara, you don't have to say..."

She  paused her sentence to take another look around the large room, and  noticed that there was a stage set-up with a piano, as well as places  for other ponies to play their own instruments.

Plus, I think I saw Octavia and Fancypants earlier, thought Applejack.

"... um, I'm guessing you're gonna sing that one song of yours everypony likes?"

Turning  her head to look in the same direction of her friend, Coloratura  chuckled, and gave Applejack a teasing wink as she said, "Maybe, but  you'll have to find out later on, like everypony else..."

Applejack rolled her eyes, but the two of them ended up sharing a laugh together.

Then, she was about to ask Coloratura more about the tour when the singer finally noticed that her friend wasn't alone.

"Um, AJ... why do I see two ponies that look almost exactly like you?"

And here comes the confusing stuff, thought Applejack, who then cleared her throat before making an introduction.

"This  here is a version of me that came from the world that Sunset Shimmer  stays at, and she's a version of me that came from another dimension."

"Howdy, Rara," replied both EG Applejack and Alternate Applejack.

Coloratura  looked back and forth between her friend and the other two versions of  AJ, and said, "I must've been gone longer than I thought."

"Oh my gosh, you're actually here!"

They  turned around to see a trio of little ponies, known as the Cutie Mark  Crusaders, run over to Coloratura, and Sweetie Belle was the first one  to speak.

"Are you singing later tonight?"

Coloratura chuckled, and replied, "You'll have to find out later, I'm afraid... isn't that right, AJ?"

"Yep, sure is," replied Applejack, but then, she frowned after realizing that the other two AJ's had said the same thing.

"So...  which one's your sister, Applebloom?" asked Scootaloo, looking at the  three identical Earth ponies. "I just finished trying to figure out  which Rainbow Dash was which."

"That'll be me," answered Applejack, walking over to her little sister. "Sorry if this is confusin' you, sis."

The light-yellow pony shook her head, and said, "I knew it was you, anyway."

"Sure you did," teased Sweetie Belle, while Scootaloo started to laugh.

"Well, let's see you try," replied Applebloom, as she pointed her hoof at the group of Rarity ponies.

"Oh, my..." gasped Sweetie Belle, not realizing that there was now three versions of her big sister at the party.





Speaking of Rainbow Dash, she was having a conversation with her two counterparts about which one of them was the best.

"Uh, me, that's  a no-brainer," exclaimed EG Rainbow, as she bounced her soccer ball on  top of the table they were sitting at. "I mean, I'm the best at pretty  much every sport at my school, I have my own band and hit song, and this little baby right here gives me super speed!"

She  was referring to the geode necklace that she was wearing, and Alternate  Rainbow argued, "Well, that just means you're as fast as us... and  also, I think I'm the one who deserves to be known as the best."

"You  two willing to put your bits where your muzzle is?" Rainbow Dash  challenged, raising an eyebrow at her other selves, and offering a  hoofshake to both of them.

"You're on," said the two Rainbows,  shaking her hooves, and Rainbow Dash chuckled mischievously as she  revealed the way for them to find out who was the best.





As  for Rarity, she and the alternate version of herself from Stardust's  world were listening to EG Rarity tell her story about what had happened  at Camp Everfree.

"... and you cannot believe my reaction when Pinkie destroyed my runway again,"  exclaimed EG Rarity, letting out a dramatic sigh. "It's a miracle I was  able to have my fashion show before we went back home."

The two other ponies looked at each other, and Rarity said, "Um, forgive me, darling, but I think you mean to say that the dock was destroyed."

"Oh,  you sound like the rest of my friends," replied EG Rarity, shaking her  head. "Which also sounds weird coming from me, since we all have the  same voice."

Alternate Rarity was about to speak, but Sweetie  Belle came over, and asked, "Excuse me, but which one of you is actually  my sister?"

"You mean you can't even tell?" EG Rarity said, letting out a fake gasp. "I am so appalled, Sweetie Belle..."

"Hey, don't you start teasing her," said Alternate Rarity. "It's not her fault we three look almost completely the same."

Rarity  sighed, and shook her head as she walked over to the small unicorn.  "Don't you worry, Sweetie Belle, there's always going to be one of me  here."

"Absolutely, we're just visiting," replied EG Rarity.

Sweetie Belle blinked her eyes a few times, and looked up at her sister. "You don't think this is confusing, big sis?"

"Well, of course, I do," replied Rarity, wrapping a limb around the little pony. "But I can honestly say that I'm not surprised by this."





Fluttershy was having a nice conversation with her two counterparts until Discord suddenly appeared next to her.

"Ah, there you are, Fluttershy," said the master of chaos. "I was beginning to think I'd never find you in this... oh!"

Discord looked at the two identical versions of Fluttershy, and said, "Well, fancy that... I never knew you had twin sisters."

"Well,  I don't actually," corrected the animal-loving pony. "She's from Sunset  Shimmer's world, and she's from another world that is parallel to  ours."

"You don't say?" Discord said, sounding surprised. "How peculiar... and surprising to see that we haven't blown up."

A few feet away, at a table, Pinkie Pie (who had heard their conversation) started to frown. "You know what, Pinkie #2 and 3?"

"What is it, Pinkie Prime?" asked the other versions of Pinkie.

"I'm beginning to think that the whole paradox thing doesn't even exist at all," replied Pinkie Pie, with her other selves nodding in agreement.





Twilight  and Starlight, as well as Princess Twilight and Starlight's parallel  counterpart, had eventually taken their conversation to the library,  leaving Casey alone with Sci Twi, and Stardust to his bucket of Coke bottles.

Enjoying the party?

"From right here, yes," muttered Stardust, in a low voice so that nobody could hear him.

Why not go over to anypony else, and talk to them?

"Because  I don't want to get too attached to this world," replied the young  pony. "I also want to avoid bringing any kind of danger to-"

"Well, this is a surprise," interrupted Sour Sweet, in a negative tone, while Sugarcoat stood beside her. "I didn't expect to see you here."

Just my damn luck, thought Stardust, and said, "The same could be said for you... have you been nice to Sci Twi?"

"Oh, we've just been the best of friends," replied the bipolar human-turned-mare, a bright smile on her face. "But, um... how did you know about her?"

"Star Sense," muttered Stardust, being sarcastic. "And, hello to you, too Sugarcoat... still being your usual blunt self?"

The blue-greyish pony gave him a small smile, and asked, "Still feel indifferent towards us?"

"Yep," replied Stardust, nodding his head.

Sour Sweet was about to say something when Sunset appeared, saying, "Alright, you two, leave him alone..."

"We weren't doing anything wrong," hissed the bipolar pony. "I just wanted to have a decent conversation with him."

"She's right, Sour," replied Sugarcoat, grabbing her friend's limb to pull her away. "Leave him to his bucket of soda pop."

As the two of them walked away, Sunset gave an apologetic smile to Stardust. "I'm sorry about that... um, Starlight, right?"

"It's Stardust,"  corrected the human-turned-pony, who suddenly started feeling strange.  "Starlight is the purple unicorn that Twilight has as a pupil."

"Oh,  I'm so sorry," apologized Sunset. "I've met so many ponies with similar  names, and with what I deal with back in the world I stay at, it's hard  to remember who is who... I mean, there's Twilight, Midnight, Starlight, Stardust..."

"Hey, Sunset, you done yet?" yelled Sour Sweet, who was now several feet away from them. "You were the one who brought us here!"

Sunset looked at Stardust, who smirked at her, saying, "Go on... I'll be fine."

The yellow pony smiled, and bid him goodbye before walking over to her friends, leaving Stardust alone again.

"Why did I feel weird when she messed up my name?" wondered Stardust, who was moving on to his next bottle of Coke.

I believe it's the fact that you miss the Sunset from our version of the Equestria Girls world, explained Starswirl, which made Stardust roll his eyes.

"That's  certainly not it," muttered the young pony. "Besides, her place is in  that world, just as my place is in... well, our version of Equestria."

True, but ever since that night in Miss Pie's kitchen, you've grown to care for her just as your beloved has with Starlight?

Then,  before Stardust could say anything, he found himself having a flashback  to that exact night, where he'd decided that he would be a better  mentor to Sunset than Princess Celestia could ever be.

Did you not also tell yourself that you would be like an older brother to her, or even a role model, if necessary?

"You... ugh..." groaned Stardust, who found himself agreeing with the ancient pony. "Alright, fine, I sometimes miss her, but like I said, she-"

"Hey, Stardust," said Sunset, who had suddenly appeared next to him.

"Yeah, hi... like I said, Starswirl, she belongs You-Know-Where, and I-"

Sunset interrupted his conversation by saying, "So, that's all I get from you?"

Stardust rolled his eyes, and replied, "I'm sorry, but we just talked earlier, remember? You forgot my name..."

"No, I didn't," replied Sunset, frowning at him. "I just got here, and I said your name right."

Stardust shook his head, and said, "You must have a really bad memory because you were just here, then went over there to-"

He  found himself cutting his sentence short when he saw that Sugarcoat and  Sour Sweet were still talking to... Sunset, and he looked back at the  Sunset in front of him, realizing that he had made a mistake.

Starswirl, did you...?

(Starswirl) I had nothing to do with this.

"You...  her... I..." Stardust looked back and forth between the two Sunsets,  and a sheepish smile appeared on his face. "Hi, Sunset."

EG Sunset smirked at her friend, and said, "You certainly haven't changed since the last time we saw each other."

"Oh, do not remind  me about those events, please," exclaimed Stardust, which made the  yellow unicorn chuckle. "I'm guessing you got a Pinkie Pie invitation?"

She  shook her head, to his surprise, and said, "Twilight actually invited  me here... she figured you wouldn't have anypony else to talk to."

Before Stardust could reply back, the young pony noticed that he didn't feel so strange anymore.

I told you, Jack.

"Yeah,  yeah, whatever," muttered Stardust, not wanting to admit that Starswirl  had been right, while EG Sunset took a seat next to him.

"So, I take it you and Twilight have been pretty busy yourselves?"

Stardust began to laugh, and he replied, "That would be an understatement, Sunset... see, I was-"

"Well,  look at that, you have your own necklace now," Sunset said, looking at  the silver accessory around his neck. "Does that mean you have magic  inside of you like-"

"Nope, nope, nope," replied Stardust, shaking his head. "This is nothing like the geode necklaces you and the others have... and you wouldn't believe what I went through to get it."

"Oh?" EG Sunset said, raising an eyebrow. "Humor me, then..."

Stardust chuckled, and replied, "You asked for it."

However,  his nose smelled something familiar, and he noticed that Sunset had  also brought a rather large square-shaped box. "You didn't..."

"You  may have beaten the others in a 'pizza eating' contest, Jack, but  you've never gone up against me," challenged EG Sunset, while Stardust  chugged the rest of his soda, tossing it into a nearby trashbin, and  opening another one.

"Bring it on, Shimmer..."

Don't blame me if you can't sleep later tonight, said Starswirl.






Several hours later...


As  Coloratura stood atop the stage, taking her seat at the piano, Stardust  and EG Sunset had finally been approached by Princess Twilight, who  asked, "Have you two been enjoying yourselves?"

"Uh-huh, " replied Stardust, his stomach completely full, while Sunset nodded her head. "How'd it go in the library?"

Princess Twilight was about to answer, but then, she was interrupted by Colartura's singing voice.

I'm here to show you who I am

Throw off the veil, it's finally time

There's more to me than glitz and glam, oh-whoa

And now I feel my stars align

From  the side of the stage, Applejack couldn't help but feel teary-eyed as  one of her closest friends sang her heart out, and neither could her  other selves, who were also getting ready to cry themselves.

For I had believed what I was sold

I did all the things that I was told

But all that has changed, and now I'm bold

The lights inside of the castle began to lower their brightness, with only a bright stage light shining on Coloratura.

'Cause I know

That I am just a pony

I make mistakes from time to time

But now I know the real me

And put my heart out on the line

And let the magic in my heart stay true

Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa

And let the magic in my heart stay true

Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa

Just like the magic inside of you

All  of the unicorns in the room started using their horns as lighters,  including the three versions of Twilight, Rarity, and the two versions  of Sunset.

And now I see those colors

Right before my eyes

I hear my voice so clearly

And I know that it is right

They thought I was weak, but I am strong

They sold me the world, but they were wrong

And now that I'm back, I still belong

Once  her vocals started rising up, Coloratura's musical note Cutie Mark  began shining brightly, just like the other times that Applejack (and  her self from another dimension) had seen.

'Cause I know

That I am just a pony

I make mistakes from time to time

But now I know the real me

And put my heart out on the line

And let the magic in my heart stay true

Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa

And let the magic in my heart stay true

Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa

Just like the magic inside of you

Just like the magic inside of you...

After  singing her final note, Coloratura said, "Everypony, please, hold your  applause until I conclude with another song that's dear to my heart...  as well as one of my bestest friends."

Then, once the Cutie Mark  Crusaders were on-stage with her, Coloratura also turned to look at  Applejack, motioning for her to join them, and that is just what the  farmer pony did.

EG Applejack found herself about to do the same thing, but Parallel Applejack brought her back down, and shaking her head.

"That's meant for that Applejack, sugarcube, not us," reminded the teenager-turned-pony.

As  the other version of Applejack sighed, then nodding her understanding,  she and everypony else watched the five ponies sing another familiar  song.

Equestria, the land I love

A land of harmony

Our flag does wave from high above

For ponykind to see

Equestria, a land of friends

Where ponykind do roam

They say true friendship never ends

Equestria, my home

Sweetie  Belle then used her magic to levitate a triangle-shaped instrument next  to Applejack, whom happily played the same single note she'd played the  other two times, and everypony gave their applause.
> Till Next Time, Stardust
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once the party was over, everypony who hadn't left decided to pitch  in, and help out with cleaning up the leftover mess from the party.

"So... you basically turn into some kind of... what did you say... super saiyan pony?" Sunset - the one from Stardust's world - asked, once the gold pony had finished telling her the story.

The  two of them were also actually in the library, having already done  their fair share of cleaning, and as Stardust looked down at his  necklace, he said, "Yeah, pretty much... although the only complaint I  have is that it's my actual f***in Cutie Mark."

Jack, we talked about this already.

Stardust muttered some words under his breath while Sunset suddenly became surprised, and asked, "What in the... was that Starswirl?"

The young pony paused his drinking from the Coke bottle to look back at his friend.

"Huh?  Oh, yeah, I forgot," chuckled Stardust, who also had his soda bucket  nearby. "Since this world isn't like ours, it allows others beside me to  hear what he is saying."

Sunset just looked at her friend, trying to imagine herself seeing the ancient pony, and said, "Um... hi, there, Starswirl."

Hello,  Miss Shimmer, and what a pleasure it is to speak to you... I take it  you plan on having another eating contest in the future with Jack?

"Well, that depends on him," repliedSunset, smirking at Stardust. "I mean, I am the one who finished all of my slices first."

Stardust rolled his eyes, and argued, "You are so delusional... I'm the one who won this contest, not you!"

Sunset frowned, and pointed out, "You didn't even finish the crust on your last piece of pizza!"

"So? It's not my fault that they f***ed it up," exclaimed Stardust. "I won fair and square... right, Starswirl?"

I'm afraid I will have to side with her on this one.

Sunset gave Stardust a smug look, while he frowned, and said, "Well, fine then, I'll prove it to you in a rematch... the next time you come to Ponyville... our version, I mean..."

"Well, I'll still be there for a few more days," replied a grinning Sunset. "How about tomorrow?"

"Fine by me," said Stardust, and the two of them shook each others hooves, which caused Starswirl to sigh.

You'd better not blame me for any lack of sleep.

Ignoring  his friend, Stardust began looking around the library, curious to see  if there were any books that he would enjoy reading.

"Hey, Stardust, come look at this one I found..."

The young pony walked back over to his friend, and noticed that she was pointing at a book that had caught Sunset's interest.

"Did you want to read it?" Sunset asked, with Stardust flipping the book over to look at the title.

"A Journey Beyond Sanity...  huh..." Stardust thought about it for a moment, and then, he simply  shook his head. "Ehhh, doesn't really sound that interesting to me."

Before  Sunset could respond to that, Twilight entered the library, along with  the rest of their friends, except for Applejack, who was helping Rara  settle into one of the guest rooms.

"Okay, hold up a second," exclaimed Stardust, raising one of his hooves in the air. "Can everypony that I know personally stand over here, please?"

So,  then, after a few minutes, on one side of the room was Twilight, Casey,  Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Starlight, while the other  side had Stardust, Princess Twilight, their respective versions of the  rest of the Mane Six and Starlight, and Sunset.

"Now, this is better," said Stardust, before going back to his soda pop bottle.

Princess Twilight gave her special somepony a disapproving look, and asked, "Haven't you already drank enough of those, Jack?"

"I  know when I've reached my limit, love, and I haven't just yet," replied  Stardust, which made Princess Twilight roll her eyes at him.

"Sooooo..." Pinkie said, looking at Stardust with a wide smile on her face. "Did you enjoy the party?"

Stardust  pretended to think about it for a moment, and he replied,  "Surprisingly, Pinkie... yes, I actually enjoyed it... thank you for- oof!"

Pinkie  wrapped her two front limbs around Stardust, giving him a warm hug, and  said, "You're welcome... plus, I knew you'd say you did anyway. Who doesn't love any of my parties?"

Stardust  chuckled while softly giving Pinkie a pat on the back, and as she  walked back to her side of the library, he replied, "Yeah, yeah, just...  leave all of the other possible parties that have to do with me for the  Pinkie from my world, alright?"

"Sure thing, Stardusty," said Pinkie, giving her new friend a salute. "And you can take the rest of the sodas with you!"

Not really in the mood to correct her for saying his name wrong, especially since she told him that he could keep the Coke bottles, Stardust simply nodded his head, while Rainbow walked over to her other self.

"You'd better be here for Round 1 tomorrow, just like Human Rainbow, so we can start figuring out who exactly is the best Rainbow Dash."

"I'm  looking forward to it," grinned Rainbow's alternate counterpart, with  the two of them shaking hooves before Alternate Rainbow went through the  Crystal Mirror's magical portal.

She was soon followed by the  alternate versions of Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Starlight, and  Pinkie, leaving only Stardust and Princess Twilight, as well as Sunset.

Clearing his throat, Stardust walked over to Casey, and said, "You know, I'm beginning to wonder if you're supposed to be this world's version of me."

"Well... I doubt that," replied Casey, while Twilight was now looking through her Stardust notes  to see if she had missed something. "I mean, from what your Twilight  and our Pinkie told me... I'm not from Earth... or speak British... or  use 'beeps' to cover up certain words... or even have my own super  powers."

Stardust chuckled, and explained, "No, not literally, Casey... I meant regarding your Twilight, and that... if I could imagine a pony besides me and..."

He  took a moment to avoid saying the names of two certain characters he  despised heavily. "Well... yeah, you would probably be a good match for  Twilight."

Casey and Twilight both blushed a little, and the  orange-yellow pony smiled. "Thanks, Ja- Stardust... you're a really cool  friend."

"Yeah, well, just be glad you didn't know before I started falling for Twilight," replied Stardust, giving a small shrug.

"Why?" Casey said, tilting his head to the side. "What were you like?"

"He  was a real ****," said Twilight, surprising everypony except Princess  Twilight and Sunset. "Or at least, that's what the other me said."

Before  Stardust could reply back, Parallel Twilight chuckled, and said, "And  that's the closest you'll ever get to hearing me curse, Jack... ever..."

"Eh, I'll take it," said the young pony, giving a small shrug. "But now we've reached that point again..."

"Yeah, he's right," added Casey, letting out a sigh. "The whole 'what do we know' moment... do we really have to wait that long to see you again?"

Stardust  nodded his head, but part of him was not liking the decision either.  "I'm sorry, but... this is just the way things have to be."

"Well, not exactly," pointed out Twilight, who was now looking through her Friendship Problem Solving book. "You could come once a month or so, at least, and vice versa for us."

Stardust didn't look too sure, and he replied, "Look, it's not that I hate or not enjoy seeing you all, since I technically do that everyday, but I..."

"Jack,  come on, really?" Princess Twilight came over to place a hoof on his  shoulder, and she added, "I know you're trying to do the sensible thing  right now, but after everything that's happened so far... don't you  think they deserve a little more than us being placed on an emergency  call?"

Stardust turned to look at the others, seeing their  awaiting faces, and he said, "Well, before I tell you what my decision  is... let's just say that bad things can happen when time travel is  involved, as I'm sure we all know at this point... and I don't want some  new evil pony creating even worse damage to your world and ours, along  with the ones that have alternate versions of me."

"But didn't  Princess Celestia and Starswirl take care of that by blocking all of the  possible passages?" Twilight asked, and Stardust started to laugh  sarcastically while Princess Twilight and Sunset looked at him  nervously.

"As much as I have faith in Starswirl that he did his  part in making sure nopony gets to those worlds, I am not exactly  convinced that your version of Celestia was able to do hers a hundred  percent..."

Twilight was about to start an argument with Stardust, but he held up one of his hooves, indicating that he was not finished. "However... even though I feel like I'm going to hate myself one day for doing this... I've decided that they'll be one day per month where I come to this world for a visit, or you can come to ours... but besides that, we're only to be called when something really bad happens here... are we clear on that?"

Casey, Starlight, and the Mane 6 all nodded their heads, with Sunset smirking at her friend, saying, "You really do have a soft spot for us ponies, don't you?"

"Especially Twilight,"  reminded Rainbow Dash, snickering to herself, and Stardust turned his  head to glare at her. "What? It's true... why else would you have become  speechless when seeing our Twilight for the first time-"

"Okay, I'm going back home now..." said Princess Twilight, walking into the Crystal Mirror, and being transported back to her world.

Sunset chuckled nervously, and said, "I'm gonna go and make sure she's okay... see you soon, Stardust."

Once she was gone, Stardust groaned, and shook his head while Rainbow continued with her explanation.

"Or feel all warm and fuzzy inside when she thanked you by kissing you on the cheek?"

While Twilight started to blush again, Stardust glared at the winged pony, and asked, "How did you know about all that?"

"From  the other me that came from your world," replied Rainbow, who didn't  think she was doing anything wrong. "You aren't mad at her now, are  you?"

Stardust sighed, and shook his head, saying, "No, but I'm  definitely going to have a talk with her about keeping certain things to  herself... did she say anything else to you that I should know about?"

Rainbow tried to remember what else her alternate self had said to her. "Well, since you told me that you weren't going to be mad  at her... I was talking to her about how there was one time me and  everypony else tried to stop Princess Celestia from having Twilight  leave Ponyville because we didn't accept her help for anything, which  caused her to pretty much become insane, and she told me that that never  happened in your world."

"Why wouldn't it?" asked Pinkie Pie, while Stardust quickly began realizing what the blue Pegasus was about to say.

"Because Stardust pretty much stopped her from not getting too insane by kissing her-"

However,  before she could finish her sentence, Stardust interrupted her by  saying, "I think you've said quite enough, Rainbow... and I'm warning  you right now to never, ever tell my Twilight or anypony else from our world about what I did that day... got it?"

Rainbow rolled her eyes, and said, "Do I really have to-"

"Are... we... clear or not, Rainbow Dash?" Stardust repeated, walking over to the speedster pony so that they were now facing each other eye-to-eye.

The young pony gulped, and quickly nodded her head, saying, "As crystal as the Crystal Empire..."

As Stardust nodded his head, feeling satisfied, Twilight asked, "Did something bad happen after you kissed her, Stardust?"

His  anger and irritation going away after hearing her question, Stardust  replied, "No, but... let's just say that, if this were a story that she  was reading, and she hadn't gotten to a certain part yet that other  ponies knew about, I wouldn't want to spoil anything for her."

While  Twilight nodded her head, Pinkie Pie asked, "So is this part where you  go back home, and we all live happily ever after, without having to  worry about some new evil pony causing serious damage to our worlds or  anypony else's, even though Starswirl and Princess Celestia blocked all  the passages?"

Stardust chuckled, and said, "First of all, Pinkie, I learned a long time ago that everypony has their own version of happily ever after... and second, like I said earlier, I am hoping that Celestia was able to be successful in her part with blocking those passages."

"Oh, don't be so worried about it, darling" assured Rarity. "Besides, it's not like she missed any of them on accident..."





[Insert "I Am... All Of Me" by Crush 40, from Shadow the Hedgehog]


As  I raced through the pathways of Ponyville on my beloved custom-made  chopper, my smile continued to grow, knowing that the plan I created so  long ago was finally about to come to fruition... and all because that  clueless pony who called herself the "ruler" of Equestria did not even  bother to check on our world...

"... which was absolutely perfect," I said to myself, as well as hitting the brakes since I'd already arrived at my destination.


After  placing my bike on its kickstand, I walked over to the pony who had  been awaiting my arrival. "Sorry for the delay, sweetheart... I take it  that the portal is still open?"

"Uh-huh," she replied,  even though, judging from her facial expression, I could tell that she  was clearly not pleased with me being late.

So, I simply  walked over to the young alicorn, and kissed her with as much passion I  could possibly give to her... then, after a few minutes, she gently  pushed me back so that she could catch her breath.

"Feel better now, Midnight?"

Midnight  rolled her eyes, even though she was now smiling at me, and said, "You  already know the answer to that... just promise me that you won't be  kissing Twilight that way once you're in his world."

Aw, she's so cute when she tries to sound jealous.

"No need to worry, sweetheart, I just have to kiss her with enough passion that will make her believe I'm actually him, and not-"

"His evil self?" She finished for me, and I nodded my head.

"Exactly...  also, once I'm able to turn everyone against him, that's when I take  his spot, and then, I'll bring you and everypony else so that you can  all replace them."

Midnight nodded her head, but she then handed to me a photo of an orange-yellow Earth pony. "What about this guy's world?"

"Already  planned out in her, my dear," I replied, tapping the side of my head  with my hoof after tossing the photo aside. "I have something very special in mind for him, as well as my other self."

I  then looked at the object in front of us... our world's version of the  Crystal Mirror... and imagined that I was speaking to the one pony who  would never have a chance in ruining my plan.

"I sure  hope you've enjoyed these final moments of your life, Stardust...  because you're about to lose everything you've ever cared about... I  will rise..."

I paused, for a moment, to  hold up a photo that showed him with Twilight, Spike, Starlight,  Rainbow, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity, as well as the Cutie Mark  Crusaders, and with the help of my own special energy, I watched it slowly be burned to a crisp.

"While you fall..."
> A New Friendship
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Several Weeks Later...


"So... youstilldon't remember why you used a memory spell on yourself?" asked Twilight.

"No, I don't," replied Starlight, whohadperformed the spell in order to forget about certain horrifying events that she'd witnessed at the world where (thanks to Pinkie Pie) Rowan had met his well-deserved demise.

She then looked around the room, and asked, "Is Casey still asleep? I thought he'd be up by now..."

"Oh, no, he's awake," replied Twilight, and she nodded her head over at the Crystal Mirror. "Today is when he gets a chance to visit Stardust's world."

Starlight frowned, confused, and asked, "Why wouldn't Stardust just come here?"

"They're pretty much taking turns at this point," shrugged Twilight, and the two ponies shared a laugh.






(Stardust's World)


Inside of the Throne Room, Twilight was silently reading a book to herself, but her concentration was broken when Applejack entered the room. "Howdy, Twilight! What you readin' over there?"

"Oh, hi, AJ," said the young alicorn, setting the book down beside her. "Just trying to learn what I can about time travel."

Applejack chuckled, and asked, "I'm guessin' this would have to do with yours and Star'sworld travelingadventure that happened a few weeks ago?"

Twilight was about to answer when her friend added, "Andwhy every once in a while, he keeps on pokin' my hat and my chest to make sure I ain't some kind of spirit?"

The alicorn princess found herself giggling, and said, "I'm sorry about that, Applejack, but... you don't know how it felt for him to see you transformed into an apple, then get smashed by a giant mallet."

"Well, not that I don't mind him showin' his concern, sugarcube," replied Applejack, who went to sit in her own special throne. "But I want to make sure that he knows for sure that I won't be goin' anywhere anytime soo... uh... where is he, anyway?"

She and Twilight looked over at Stardust's unoccupied throne, and the Princess of Friendship said, "I think he mentioned to me about him going to have his weekly visit over at Casey's world... I'm sure he's teaching him something important."






(Limbo)


[Background Music: "Escape from the City - Cash Cash Remix (Classic)" from Sonic Generations]

Whoo!

Oh yeah!

Stardust was currently racing down the highway on his Extreme Gear hoverboard, and enjoying every minute of it.

"You hanging in back there, Casey?"

Stardust turned back to look at his new friend, who was slowly getting used to controlling his own board.

"Maybe it would be easier if we didn't have what you called abigass truckchasing after us!"

The gold pony let out a laugh, and he said, "Hey, trust me, buddy, once the song's over, that truck will begone!"

As Casey did a back flip after flying off a ramp, much to his own surprise, he yelled, "What song are you talking about?"

Then, Stardust flipped himself into the sky, doing various air tricks and flips, and once he started to sing his own song, the truck disappeared, much to Casey's relief.

Gold streak

Speeds by

That is me

Too fast

For the naked eye

That is still me

Stardust

He can really move!

Stardust

He's got an attitude!

Stardust

He's the-

All of a sudden, everything disappeared, and Stardust was simply hovering in the air. "Oh, [BEEP]..."

Whoosh!

Boom!

The young pony fell to the soft yet somewhat itchy grass-covered ground, and muttered, "Thanks, Starswirl."

Of course, Jack.

"You okay there, Star?" Casey asked, as he made his way over to Stardust, helping him up to all fours. "I thought you were the one controlling everything here."

"He used to, Casey..."

The two ponies looked up, and found themselves being glared at by Princess Twilight (from Stardust's world), who had a frown on her face, as well as a raised eyebrow.

"Hello, there, love," said Stardust, letting out a chuckle. "Um, how did you know I was here?"

"Hiya, Stardust,"exclaimed Pinkie Pie, the one from Stardust's world, and the gold pony rolled his eyes.

"I should have known..."

Princess Twilight sighed, and she said, "I don't mind you coming here, Jack, but next time, can you tell me that you'rehereinstead ofCasey'sworld?"

Stardust nodded his head, while Casey slowly waved one of his front hooves at her. "Hello again, Princess Twilight... how have you been?"

The young alicorn smiled, and she said, "I've been good, Casey... how's my other self doing?"

"Oh, fine, fine," replied the orange-yellow pony. "We just went on our third date a few weeks ago..."

"Well, good, I'm happy for you both," said Princess Twilight, and she looked back at her special somepony. "Don't be gonetoolong, okay?"

"Of course, love," assured Stardust, and watched as his girlfriend walked through the Crystal Mirror, going back to her castle.

"See ya later, Star!" Pinkie Pie yelled, and she ran into the portal, as well, leaving the two ponies alone together.

"So what now?" Casey asked, and a wide smile appeared on Stardust's face.

"I have a pretty good idea..."






Several Hours Later


As Stardust stepped out of the mirror, the young pony said, "Alright, Starswirl, remind me to bringallof my OCs to life the next time I step into that world."

I will keep that in mind.

Stardust chuckled, and he started to walk out of the library when he heard a strange noise.

"That sounded like... sparks of electricity."

He turned around, and saw that the Crystal Mirrorwas,indeed, sending out tiny little sparks of burning electricity.

"Uh, is thatsupposedto be happening, Starswirl?"

I don't think so... but then again, this is a first for me, as it is for you.

The young human-turned-pony cautiously walked towards the mirror, and the sparks continued to grow, with one of them almost scorching his name.

"Gah, [BEEP]," exclaimed Stardust, stepping back a few feet. "Okay, what thehellis happe-"

Boom!

Twilight, Spike, and Starlight were currently working on dinner when they heard the muffled sound of an explosion.

"Um, what was that, Twilight?" Starlight asked, with the alicorn princess giving her a shrug.

"I'm not quite sure, Starlight."

As for Spike, his nose started to twitch, and he said, "I'm smelling... smoke... hey, where is Stardust at?"

"He's in the..." began Twilight, but then, her eyes went wide, and she exclaimed, "Oh, no, the library! Jack!"

The alicorn princess took off running, with Starlight and Spike going after her, and once they had reached the library doors, Twilight pushed them open, releasing the smoke that had been gathering up inside.

"Jack... are... are you... okay, Jack?" asked Twilight, coughing as she tried to wave the smoke away.

"Uh-huh," mumbled Stardust, who was nearly buried under a pile of fallen books.

The three of his friends ran over to him, quickly getting the books off of his body, and after moving the last book away, Twilight found herself looking at a dizzy and eye-spinning Stardust.

"Jack, how many hooves do you see?"

Twilight held up one of her hoofs, and the dizzy Stardust said, "Ummm...eight?"

Spike chuckled, and he looked up at Twilight. "Oh, yeah, he's totally fine."

The young alicorn rolled her eyes, and said, "I think I can help him feel better... Jack?"

"Yes, love?" Stardust answered, even though he was looking at the bookshelves instead of Twilight, and she gently turned his head to the side so that he was looking her now.

Then, she gave him a kiss on the muzzle, which made Spike roll his eyes, and say, "Don't make me sick already, Twilight, when I haven't evenateanything yet."

"Well, no one forced you to look," replied Stardust, who brought a hoof to his forehead. "[BEEP], I have a bad headache..."

Starlight looked around the room, noticing that most of the smoke had gone away, and she asked, "Whathappenedin here?"

Pointing at the Crystal Mirror, Stardust said, "It wasthat[BEEP] thing... after I came back from limbo, I saw it starting to send out bolts of electricity, and...uggghhh...would either of you know about a spell or something on how to get rid of a headache?"

"Um, I think I do," replied Starlight, and Stardust nodded his head. "But we have to go up to my room since the book that the spell it's in is up there."

"Thank you, Star...aaaaghhh..." Stardust looked back at Twilight. "Remind me, love, to never be so close to an explosion like this again... it was like being next to a firecracker before it exploded."

Spike and Twilight looked at each other, and the little dragon asked, "Uh, is that abad thingin your world or something?"

"As long as I don't lose my hearing, Spike," replied Stardust, shaking his head a few times as he followed Starlight to her bedroom, leaving Spike to look back at Twilight.

"Maybe you kissed him a littletoo much?"

Twilight sighed, and she replied, "No, Spike, he probably just ended up spending a little too much time in limbo."

As she walked over to the Crystal Mirror time travel machine, Spike tilted his head to the side. "So... that's a bad thing?"

"Possibly, since technically,we'reonly supposed to be going to Casey's world, and Sunset's world," replied Twilight, who was starting a thorough inspection of the machine to make sure everything was in place.

"I think I'll talk to Jack more about it once Starlight helps him out."

Spike nodded his head, understanding what she was saying to him, but for some reason, he felt like something was out of place.
> Strange Things, Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


(Anti-Equestria)


Midnight Sparkle was currently pacing back and forth, waiting for an update from her loved one to see if the start to his plan had been successful.

"Hey! What's taking him so long?"

Midnight turned around to see an irritated Anti-Rainbow, who exclaimed, "I thought he was supposed to be done with this dumb [BEEP] already... and I'm tired of waiting at my home to-"

"Ugh, will you at leasttryto havesometype of patience for him, RainbowDash," interrupted Midnight, with the dark-blue colored Pegasus now gritting her teeth in frustration.

"It'sCrash, you [BEEP]-in egghead," growled Anti-Rainbow, but then, her muzzle became a mischievous grin. "Or should I call youTwilight?"

It was now Midnight's turn to be frustrated. "I told you never tocall me that!"

"Oh, yeah?" challenged Anti-Rainbow. "What areyougonna do about it,Twilight, now that yourboyfriendisn't here, holding your damn leash?"

The black-and-purple pony's eyes started glowing with rage, and Anti-Rainbow began laughing with glee. "Yeah, that's it, come on,Twilight, show me what you got... come on...come on!"

"Will the BOTH of you STOP acting like that?!"

Midnight and Anti-Rainbow both turned around to see a portal that showed Anti-Stardust, who was currently in some type of dark location, and he didn't look exactly pleased. "It's a miracle I call one of you my closest friend, and the other my special somepony."

"Yeah, we're both [BEEP]-in touched, pal," replied Anti-Rainbow. "How much longer do we have to stay here?"

"Just alittlebit more, Crash," answered the gold-and-black pony. "There's a certain someone in this world who might end up bringing my plan to a halt."

Anti-Rainbow had a smirk on her face as she looked at Midnight. "I bet I know who it is..."

Midnight frowned, and was about to start arguing with her again when Anti-Stardust said, "No, it's notTwilight, Crash, it's someone else..."

The alternate version of Twilight let out a sigh of relief while Anti-Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Well, then, why can't you just do what you always do to those that you hate?"

"Because it's not exactly thateasy, my non-patient friend," explained Anti-Stardust, who crossed his two front limbs, as if they were arms. "As of now, this individual isn't a threat, but I need to make sure itstaysthat way."

Although she still had more to say, Anti-Rainbow chose to simply nod her head, while a concerned Midnight said, "Itoldyou, Star, that I should've also went with you so we could-"

"Oh, no, no, no, my lovely sweetheart," replied Anti-Stardust, shaking his head, with Midnight smiling at him lovingly while Anti-Rainbow made gagging noises. "Your time to take care of Twilight will come once I deal with my other self."

"And justhowdo you plan on doing that again?" Anti-Rainbow asked, raising an eyebrow.

The evil version of Stardust had a wide and sinister smile as he said, "Don't worry, Crash, you'll see for yourself when you and the others arrive."






(Stardust's World)


Twilight was still in the library, continuing with her inspection of the world-traveling machine, but she found herself being interrupted by a certain pony.

"Everything alright, love?"

The young alicorn turned around, and saw a smiling Stardust. "I should be askingyouthat same question... how's your headache?"

"All gone, surprisingly," replied Stardust, who began walking over to her. "Starlight's been doing her homework in magic."

Twilight smiled, and she said, "Well, I'm glad to see that you're feeling better..."

"Oh, so youwereworried about me, then?" Stardust replied, smirking at his special somepony. "I mean,Spikewas the first one to see if I was okay once Starlight finished her spell."

Twilight chuckled, and shook her head, saying, "Well, I'msorry,but I wanted to make sure that nothingworsehappens to my special somepony if he were to go through the Crystal Mirror again."

At this point, the muzzles of Stardust and Twilight were only a few inches away from each other, and the human-turned-pony asked, "Have I ever thanked you for bringing me back to life?"

The Princess of Friendship could feel herself blushing very hard as she said, "No, but... I wouldn't mind if you did it right now."

"Neither would I," agreed Stardust, but then, their intimate moment was interrupted by somepony they had least expected.

"So, is this basicallyallthat you do here in Twilight's castle, Star?"

Stardust sighed, and he stepped back to turn around, facing the newcomer. "Why, oh, why... areyoustill here, Shimmer?"

"As I told you before, Star, I'm onsummer break," replied Sunset Shimmer, who (like a human teenager would) was laying against the door frame, crossing her front limbs together. "And admit it, you've missed me around here."

As Sunset quickly went back down to all fours, Stardust let out a sarcastic laugh, and said, "The day that I'll ever admit I missed you is when Celestia finally does somethinguseful,for once."

"Oh?" Sunset said, walking towards him. "BecauseI rememberyou saying to Starswirl back at the party that youdid, in fact, miss me."

Stardust shook his head, and replied, "No, no, I said that Isometimesmiss you... and that doesn't really count."

"Suuurree, it doesn't," said Sunset, while the gold pony rolled his eyes, grumbling to himself as he walked out of the library.

"Yep, he's definitely back to normal," said Twilight, and the two of them began laughing together.


############


A few hours later, everypony in the castle was asleep... except for Sunset.

"Sleepiness sure feels different here than it does back home," said the yellow pony, who was making his way over to Twilight's kitchen.

She walked over to the fridge, and opened it to try and find something to drink or eat that would help her go to sleep.

"At least she doesn't have it full of whipped cream," muttered Sunset, a small smile appearing on her face, referring to what the EG version of Pinkie Pie had in her fridge.

She lowered her upper body down in order to search through the lower half of the fridge, in hopes of finding any "hidden" treats that-

Whack!

"Ow!"Sunset immediately turned around, trying to see who else was there with her, but she couldn't find anypony.

She frowned, and softly rubbed her flank with one of her front hooves. "That was weird... and rude of whoever did that to me."

"So, you couldn't sleep either, huh?"

"Aaaaaggghhh!"Sunset turned around, almost startled, but quickly relaxing once she saw that it was only Stardust. "Oh, hey, Star..."

The gold pony looked at his friend, and asked, "Did I scare you or something?"

Sunset shook her head, and said, "No, you just surprised me, but I could've sworn that... somepony... just..."

She took another look at Stardust, and thought,It couldn't have been him... He's not that type of person/pony.

"You sure you're good, Sunset?" He asked, and the former student of Celestia nodded her head.

"Yeah, I'm fine... so, what's your reason for being awake?"

Stardust sighed, and began walking over to another part of the kitchen. "I don't know exactly, but you'd think after almost being electrocuted and having a spell performed on you, I'd be knocked out in my room already."

Sunset watched as he opened a cabinet drawer, and pulled out a familiar-looking soda bottle, which he then began to drink out of once the lid was twisted off.

"Youstillhave those drinks?"

Stardust nodded his head, and paused his drinking to say, "Yep, all thanks to Pinkie Pie... the one from Casey's world, I mean... anyway, these usually help me go to sleep once I finish off a few."

"Oh... okay," replied Sunset, and she went back to looking through the fridge.

He then went back to drinking theCokebottle, but after seeing that his friend was struggling to find something to eat or drink, the young pony rolled his eyes, and muttered, "I really do have a soft spot for a lot of these damn ponies."

As for Sunset, she was about to close the fridge, and go back to her room when she heard her friend say, "Here."

Sunset turned around, and saw that Stardust was offering her an unopened soda bottle. "This might help you out, too, in case you're still awake later."

"Wow... thanks, Star," replied Sunset, smiling at him as she took the bottle from his hoof. "You know, nothing against you or Twilight, and don't be mad at me for saying this... but if there was some kind of alternate world that didn't have you two together..."

Before finishing her sentence, Sunset shook her head a few times, and said, "Never mind, I'm... I don't know what just happened there."

Stardust simply nodded his head, but using his thoughts, he spoke to Starswirl.You DID block access to ALL of those worlds right? Cause she almost looked the way I did back when I felt how those other versions of me felt.

I'm positive that me and Celestia blocked everything, Jack, said Starswirl, while Stardust tried to break the silent tension before it became awkward.

"Well, uh... if you were gonna say what I thought you'd say... I highly doubt that any version of me would be interested in a pony like you...no offense."

Sunset frowned, not really amused at what he'd said, but after seeing him start to laugh in a kind way, she said, "You need to work on your comedy material there, pal."

"Ehhh, I'm tired, what do you expect?"


#################


As Stardust climbed into his bed, after having drank enough bottles ofCoketo make him sleepy, he asked Starswirl, "So, you still don't know why the Crystal Mirror did that whole electric thing?"

I'm afraid not, Jack... there are still some things about Equestria that not even I myself know about.

Stardust sighed, and he said, "Well, do me a favour, and try to inform Casey and his Twilight about this... I don't want anything bad happening to them..."

I'll do my best.

"Good, cause I'm..." Stardust then let out a yawn, closing his eyes as he layed his head on his pillow, and went straight to sleep.






The next day


It was around 8 o'clock in the morning, and Stardust was still sound asleep, not planning on waking up anytime soon.

However, things don't always turn out the way you expect them to.

"TWILIGHT!"

"[BEEP]!"Stardust yelled, jumping out of his bed, and falling down to the ground.

"This hadbetterbe good..."

A few minutes later, Stardust entered the Throne Room, and found Rainbow Dash talking to Twilight. "I don't remember asking you to be my alarm clock, Rainbow... and what's so important that you justhadto wake me up?"

"I'm sorry, Stardust, but somepony did something to my house," exclaimed Rainbow. "And I need help from both of you to figure outwho,why, andhowto get the stuff off."

Stardust frowned in confusion, and he asked her, "What are you talking about?"


(Rainbow Dash's home)


"Seriously?"The young pony rolled his eyes, and added, "It's just some lame attempt at graffiti."

He was referring to the front doors of Rainbow's house, which had the words"Rainbow Crash" sprayed across it.

Twilight tried rubbing it off with her hoof, but it didn't really do much. "Whatever it is, it's already dry... um, whatisit, Rainbow?"

"I don't know," replied the young Pegasus. "I was hoping you two would tell me!"

Stardust walked up to the door, and took a closer look at the painted-on words. "Whoever did this used a quick-drying spray paint can."

"Awhat now?" Rainbow and Twilight asked.

Stardust nodded his head, and replied, "Yep, from a spray paint can... it's pretty much something that certain people from my world use to either create art murals and stuff on walls, or in this case, write out something offensive."

"You think you'd be able to help take it off, Jack?" Twilight asked, sounding concerned.

Stardust nodded his head, and started to chuckle. "I'm pretty sureourPinkie has spray-paint removal somewhere... it'll take only, like, 5 minutes or so to remove it completely."

He and Twilight both smiled, with the alicorn feeling a little better, but Rainbow still looked upset. "Well, what aboutinside?"

Stardust's smile quickly went away. "What, there's more?"

"Uh-huh," replied Rainbow, and she led her friends inside her home, while Stardust rolled his eyes again.

"Well, if it's asbadas what's on the door, then it'll only... take... oh... my...God..."

The interior walls of Rainbow's house were ahundred times worsethan her front door, and as Stardust looked all around, his mood went from shocked to curiosity, and was almost close to pure rage.

As for Twilight, she only went from shocked to confused. "Whatarethese words exactly?"

Whoever had done this to Rainbow's house chose to write out certain words that, if a young child were to say it out loud accidentally in front of Mom or Dad, he or she would go throughhell.

"Let's just say that not even my'BEEPS'can cover up this type of foul language," growled Stardust, and he looked over at Rainbow. "Whoever did this is gonna go throughhellonce I get my hooves on him or her."

Rainbow nodded her head, and said, "Thanks, Star... but don't take all the fun, I wanna teach this pony a lesson too."

"Oh, don't worry, you can dowhateveryou want to the pony that did this until you're satisfied," replied the gold pony. "Do what I would do, and don't hold anything ba..."

Stardust suddenly stopped talking, and started to raise one of his front limbs to the back of his neck. "What... the..."

"You okay, Star?" Rainbow asked.

"Yeah, it's just... I'm feeling something... underneath my-" answered Stardust, but then, Rainbow tried to help by grabbing hold of the end of his cloak, and she swung it up in the air.

Thud!

After Rainbow released the cloak from her hooves, the three of them found themselves looking down at a spray paint can, which had landed near Stardust's front hooves.

"Stardust?" Rainbow stared at her friend, with a lot of mixed emotions going through her mind right now.

I'm sensing a lot of growing anger from her, Jack.

The former human agreed with Starswirl, and said, "Okay, justchillfor a second, Rainbow, don't think that just because I-"

"Um, Jack, why are your hooves..." asked Twilight, and Stardust looked down at his hooves to see that all four of them were completely covered in spray paint.

"This is probably from when I rubbed the graffiti on the door," said Stardust. "You touched it too, remember?"

Twilight gulped, amd pointed out, "I touched it too, though, Jack, and my hoof is fine... plus, all four of your hooves are covered in the same paint."

Stardust looked at his special somepony's hooves, then his own, and ended at Rainbow Dash, who was definitely NOT happy with him. "I... can't believe... that you..."

She then gritted her teeth in frustration, and exclaimed, "I... am... going... to..."

"Well, now, hold it just a moment, Rainbow," said Stardust. "You honestly don't think thatIwas the pony who did this, do you?"

Instead of answering him, Rainbow looked like she was about to unleash alotof rage onto Stardust, who was offered a suggestion by Starswirl.

You might want to run, Jack.
> Strange Things, Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stardust was about to head straight for Rainbow Dash's door when Twilight stood between the two ponies. "All right, hold on... look, there's no need to hurt him, Rainbow."

"Twilight, look at what he did to my home!" Rainbow cried, gesturing to all of the highly-offensive words that were spray painted onto her walls.

"Itold you,Rainbow, that I didn'tdoany of this," exclaimed Stardust, now getting frustrated. "Whywould I do something like this?"

The Pegasus pony frowned at him, and said, "Don't try to make up excuses, Star, Iknowthat you did this... I thought you were myfriend."

"Rainbow,as yourfriend, I amtelling youthat I did not-" yelled Stardust, but Twilight interrupted him.

"Look, we'll figure this stuff out later, alright? In the meantime, Jack, help Rainbow out with cleaning all of this up."

"What?!"Stardust exclaimed, not expecting her to say that. "Twilight, love, I'm all for helping remove this stuff from her door, but do you know howlongit would take for the two of us to remove... all ofthis?"

"Maybe if you didn'tdothis, then-"

"For thelasttime, Rainbow, Idid not[BEEP]-in do any of..." Stardust cried, but then, Twilight moved closer to him, standing face-to-face with the young pony.

"Jack... please... I'm not saying that you actuallydiddo this, but..." Twilight looked back at the upset Rainbow, who was trying to remove the spray paint with soap and a brush. "Prove to her that you didn't do this by helping her clean this up."

Stardust frowned, and said, "Knowing how stubborn she is, love, I don't think that's going to help out much."

"Well, it'll probably be worse if you storm off like an angry or upset child," replied the alicorn princess. "Now, I'll do what I can here before I handle some important business with Shining Armor and Cadence at the Crystal Empire, but in the meantime, go and find Pinkie Pie so that you two can come here to help Rainbow clean all this up... okay?"

Stardust tried to argue with her some more, but Starswirl offered him some more advice.

Just relax, Jack... we will find the culprit later on, but don't let he or she have the last laugh by letting your friendship with Miss Dash be ruined by a careless act.

"Alright, I'll help her and Pinkie with cleaning all this up," muttered Stardust, knowing that it was the right thing to do, even though it definitely wasn't something he wanted to do.

I don't even know how this damn stuff got on all of my hooves.





"Well, now that I'm done with this, I just have to..." Sunset looked up, and saw that the book she'd just finished reading belonged up on the highest shelf.

"Good thing I have unicorn magic again," said Sunset, letting out a chuckle as she prepared to use her magic to send the book back up to its proper spot.

Unfortunately, for some reason, her magic wasn't working. "That's strange."

Sunset concentrated on the book, her unicorn horn powering up, but it still wasn't moving. "Aw,come on...aaugghh!"

The young human-turned-pony gritted her teeth together as she suddenly felt the right side of her flank be in the same amount of pain as last night when somepony had chosen to slap it.

"Focus on the book, Sunset, worry about... your flank later."

She tried several more times to move the book, but the result remained the same, so Sunset eventually walked away, and returned with a library ladder that she could climb up in order to put back the book.

"Alright, let's try this way," mumbled Sunset, taking the book in one of her hooves, and she started climbing up the ladder, going all the way up to the highest shelf.

"Hmmm... T-R, T-S, T-U, T-V, T... ah, here we go,"said Sunset, smiling and feeling satisfied once the book was in its proper place. "Now, to just -whoa!"

While starting to make her way back down, Sunset's back legs accidentally fell off one of the steps, causing her to slip off of the ladder...

"I got you!"

... and into the open hooves of Stardust, who looked relieved that she was safe. "Youdo knowthat you're a unicorn, right?"

Sunset raised her eyebrow, and said, "No, what ever gave it away, Stardust? My horn?"

"Hey, leave the sarcasm tome,Shimmer," replied Stardust, as he helped her stand on all fours. "There you go... please trynotto get in any more danger while I'm gone."

A confused Sunset asked, "You're leaving again? But you justgot here... right?"

"Yeah, and I'm sorry, Sunset, but there's somecleaningstuff that I have to take care of."

As he walked out of the library, Sunset started to frown, and thought,That was weird.





"So,whydid you spray paint all over Rainbow Dash's walls?"

Stardust groaned, and he replied, "Itoldyou, Pinkie, it wasn't me who did it... somepony else did, and tried putting the blame on me."

The pink pony, who was pulling a cart that contained cleaning supplies, tilted her head to the side as she asked, "Who would want to put the blame on you? You and Rainbow are friends!"

Once they entered the blue pony's house, the two of them noticed immediately that Twilight had already left, and only a small percent of the spray paint was removed.

"Huh, thatdoessound like something the old you would've probably said to her," pointed out Pinkie, but Stardust quickly shook his head.

"I may not have enjoyed being with herethatmuch, Pinkie, but not even a person like me would ever say something likethisto Rainbow... I don't even know if I could say these words to Celestia-"

"Hey! Less talking, more cleaning up this mess thatyoumade, Stardust!" Rainbow yelled, who had also made plans of her own for the day, but now they would have to be rescheduled.

"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie said, giving her friend a salute, and went over to the nearest wall to start cleaning up.

As for Stardust, he decided to try and convince Rainbow again that it wasn'thimwho did all of this.

Choose your words carefully, Jack, I'm sensing quite a lot of mixed feelings from Miss Dash.

"Thanks, Starswirl," whispered Stardust, and once he was close enough to her, he said, "Rainbow, please tell me that you don't actually think-"

"Well, what am Isupposedto think, Star? You had thespray canhidden underneath your cloak, allfourof your hooves are covered in the same type of paint, and we both know that in the beginning, I was yourleast favoritepony to be with."

Stardust sighed, knowing that it would take alotof the "right words" to convince his friend. "Okay, yes, that is true... for theold me... but that was a long time ago, Rainbow, and you know I've changed a lot since then."

"Yeah, well..." exclaimed Rainbow, who was now torn between believing or blaming him. "Maybe youhaven'tchanged as much as you thought."

"Rainbow, you can't just-" Stardust tried to say, but the Pegasus pony paused her cleaning to glare at him, and he could have sworn that her eyes were almost watery.

"Justget awayfrom me, Stardust... and somefriendyou are."

As she flew over to another part of the house, a wave of sadness swept over Stardust, and he asked, "Any advice you have for me, Starswirl?"

Time, Jack. Give her some time to come around. I'm sure that, deep down, she knows you didn't do this.

Stardust sighed, and he started to work on removing the spray paint. "I hope you're right about that..."






Several Hours Later


Now in the Throne Room, Sunset was admiring the Cutie Map table, trying to remember what parts of Equestria she had yet to visit. "I remember beingthere... and overthere... but I don't think-hey!"

She angrily turned around, having felt somepony grab her from behind, but like last night, the only pony in the room was herself.

"Whoin Equestria is trying to... nope, nope, just relax, Sunset, you're imagining this, it's all in your head because of that book you read earlier."

So, she went back to looking at the map, but a few minutes later, Sunset felt a pair of hands (or hooves?) on both sides of her flank.

"Alright, you little..." She turned around immediately, using her front right hoof to slap whoever did that, but to her surprise, Sunset found herself slapping Stardust.

"Ow! What the [BEEP] was that for?"

Sunset frowned, and she exclaimed, "For trying to... with your... my flank..."

"What are you talking about?" Stardust asked, confused and frustrated, and Starswirl explained for him.

I believe she's trying to say that you, um... inappropriately touched-

Yeah, I think I get it now.Stardust rubbed the part of his cheek that she'd slapped, and replied, "I don't know why you're accusing me of...you-know-what, Sunset, but I'm not in the mood right now to-"

"Well, you should have thought about that before..." Sunset cried, but then, she noticed that her frienddidlook almost exhausted. "You look terrible."

Stardust smirked, and said, "Thanks a lot... I just spent almost the whole damn day cleaning up the walls of Rainbow Dash's house, thanks to some pony who I plan on givinghellonce I get my hooves on him or her."

Sunset looked at her friend, and thought,It can't be him. He would never...

"I take it you've been in the castle the whole day?"

The yellow unicorn nodded her head, and replied, "Yeah, pretty much... oh, and thanks again for what you did earlier this morning."

"Um... you're welcome," said Stardust, but to her surprise, he sounded like he had no idea what she was referring to.

He's probably just tired from cleaning at Rainbow's house.

"Okay, then, if we're done here..." Stardust started to walk away, but Sunset gently grabbed one of his front limbs.

"Um, Stardust? You would never, er... you know..."

"Oh, [BEEP] no," replied Stardust, shaking his head. "I have plenty of respect for females, and I wouldneverdo something like that toanyoneoranypony... why, did someone do that to you?"

Sunset was about to give her response, but paused when she noticed again that he looked exhausted, so she said, "It's nothing, Stardust, just... get some rest."

"Oh, Iplanto, trust me," replied the young man-turned-pony. "But youdo knowthat you can come to me if something is ever bothering you, right?"

Sunset nodded her head, and Stardust added, "Good... see you tomorrow."

As she watched him walk away, Sunset began to feel sorry for her friend, and hoped that he would be okay.






(Anti-Equestria)


"So, how's it going, my love?" Midnight Sparkle asked, speaking to Anti-Stardust.

"Oh, I'm havingplentyof fun, beautiful,cackled the sinister pony."Everything is going according to plan... and soon enough, you and the others will be here, having your own fun, as well."

A wide smile appeared on the alicorn's face, and she said, "I can't wait, handsome."

"Oh,God..." groaned Anti-Rainbow, shaking her head in disgust. "You two ponies need to get a [BEEP] room."






The Next Day (around a quarter to 8 o'clock)


Stardust was knocked out on his bed, having used a lot of his strength and energy to remove the spray paint, and he planned on resting for a few more hours.

"TWILIGHT!"

Stardust jolted out of his bed, dropping onto the ground again, and he yelled, "[BEEP-BEEP-BEEP]!"

Although he was still sore from yesterday, the young pony hurried over to the Throne Room, and found Twilight, as well as Starlight, talking to Applejack. "Whatis itwith you ponies and-"

"You've got some serious explainin' to do, Stardust," exclaimed Applejack, who did not look happy to see him.

"Look, if this is about Rainbow Dash, AJ, then I don't want-" said Stardust, but he was interrupted by Applejack.

"Thisain'tabout Rainbow,Stardust, it's about whatyoumight have done to my farm last night while I was sleepin'!"

Stardust looked at her, and said, "Well, as a matter of fact, AJ, I can assure you that I washere, in the castle,sleepingin myroombecause of how exhausted I was cleaning up the-"

"Uh, guys?" The three ponies turned around to see Spike, who looked concerned.

"What's wrong, Spike?" asked Twilight.

The young dragon gulped, and said, "Er, well, I was gonna remind Star about the plans we had for today, but when I went into his room, I saw that his bed was covered in mud and chicken feathers and... uh, you kinda look like..."

Applejack glared at Stardust, who realized that parts of his limbs and body were muddy, as well as his cloak being covered in chicken feathers.

"Uh, I might have to take a visit to Sweet Apple Acres, Spike."

However, Applejack shook her head, and said, "I don't think so, Stardust... it'll be better if you don't step one hoof into Sweet Apple Acres."

"Well, how do you expect me to-" said Stardust, but Applejack held up one of her hooves to silence him.

"Because even though I'm mad at you righ' now, Star, I don't want to see Granny Smith beat the livin' hay outta you when she finds out it was you, so do yourself a favor, and stayawayfrom my home."

Before Stardust could even say anything, Applejack walked away, and he saw that Twilight was following her. "Please tell me, love, that you don't think I actually-"

"I know, Jack, but..." said Twilight, looking sad and confused. "Just do what AJ said, okay? Now you can rest from what you did yesterday."

She then kissed him on the cheek before going after Applejack, and after Twilight was gone, Starlight asked, "Are you going to be okay, Stardust?"

"I... I... I don't..." The young pony replied, feeling sore, sad, and confused.

What in Equestria is happening to me?

Then, an idea popped into his head, and a serious look appeared on his face. "I'm getting to the bottom of this, starting with going to Sweet Apple Acres."

"What?!"Starlight and Spike yelled, and the little dragon immediately shook his head.

"You heard what Applejack said, Star, she'll beat thehayout of you."

Stardust smirked, and he replied, "Spike, I've gone up against enemiesworsethan an angry and eldery Earth Pony... I'm sure I can handle her... besides, I'm not going to let whoever is doing this get the last laugh."

Ignoring Spike's warning, the young pony ran out of the room, in hopes of catching up to his friends, and Starlight looked at Spike. "You think he's gonna be okay?"

"Uh..." Spike took a moment to think about it. "Y-yeah... He'll be fine... I hope..."






A few hours later


Starlight sighed, and she said, "I had a bad feeling this would happen."

Spike simply nodded his head, while Sunset looked at her friend, and asked, "Whathappenedto you?"

A heavily bruised, battered, and sore Stardust layed in his now-clean bed, and he coughed a few times before saying, "I made, uh... AJ's grandmother veryupset... someone get me aCoke,please..."
> The Pain Continues
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time Twilight had returned to the castle, night had already fallen, and Stardust was almost ready to go to sleep.

"How are you feeling, Jack?" asked the princess of Friendship, once she was in his room.

Stardust chuckled, and coughed a few times before he said, "Well... I'm definitely staying away from Sweet Apple Acres for a while... how's Applejack?"

Twilight sighed, and replied, "She's fine... just upset and confused about... whatever has been going on the past few days."

Stardust sat up in his bed, and looked at his girlfriend. "You don'tactuallythink that I-"

"No, Jack, I... don't... think so..." admitted Twilight, much to his surprise. "Percentage-wise, Jack, I believe you... around 90%, while the rest goes to Rainbow and AJ."

"Love, I amtellingyou that I didn't do those things," replied Stardust. "Why would I destroy Applejack's farm after feeling relieved about the fact that Rowan didn't turn her and Applebloom into apple sauce?"

Twilight simply listened as her special somepony continued to talk. "And I already promised youandto myself that I'd be a better friend to Rainbow...whywould I throw that all away?"

"Well..." Twilight began to say, which made Stardust suddenly groan in frustration.

"Alright, yes,I get it, the old me almost despised Rainbow, but I'm not that same person anymore, love... you're all family to me, at this point... I wouldnevertry to ruin that..."

Twilight gave him a warm smile, and was about to reply when Sunset suddenly appeared by the doorway. "Aw, so does that meanI'mpart of your family, too?"

Stardust chuckled, and he replied, "Ehhh, you're more along the lines of a third cousin, twice removed."

Twilight and Sunset just looked at him, not knowing what to say, and Stardust said, "Forget it, just a bad joke..."

"Are you okay yourself, Sunset?" Twilight asked, while Sunset rolled her eyes. "I haven't really seen you that much recently."

"Probably because she's done nothing but hang around me," pointed out Stardust, which made Sunset smirk at him.

"Well, that'ssomegood news," replied Twilight. "Someponyhas to keep you under control."

Stardust rolled his eyes, and was about to give her a sarcastic reply when he noticed Sunset quickly looking like she was in pain. "You okay there, Sunset?"

The young pony had felt the right side of her flank burn with pain, but she forced a smile, saying, "Yeah, just, um... leg still kinda hurts a little from falling off the ladder in the library yesterday."

Twilight gasped, and she asked, "Oh my gosh, Sunset, you... why didn't you tell any of us that-"

"I didn't get hurt or anything, Twilight, your special somepony here saved me from that," replied Sunset, nodding her head in Stardust's direction.

"I did?" Stardust replied, much to Sunset's confusion.

"Uh, yeah, I'm pretty sure you did," said the yellow unicorn. "Don't you remember?"

Before Stardust could answer her, Twilight suggested, "Jack, maybe we should inform Casey and the other Twilight about-"

"No... not yet," said Stardust, shaking his head. "I don't want that world to get caught up in any of this mess, and I plan on figuring out tomorrow who exactly is behind this."






The next day, around 8:30 am


Although most of his bruises had disappeared, Stardust still appeared to be in a pretty rough shape, and his body was telling him that he needed to rest.

"TWILIGHT!"

Instead of jumping out of his bed, Stardust groaned, and buried his face in the pillow. "Please, not again..."

"Where is he?!"

"[Beep]!" The gold pony immediately woke up after hearing a loud and familar voice that came from down the hall, and just as he was about to lock his door, it was pushed open by an angry-looking Rarity.

"You monster!"She cried, and before Stardust could say anything, Rarity started whacking him with her broom.

As Stardust yelped in pain, Twilight ran inside, and cried, "Rarity, stop! We don't even know if it was him that did it!"

"Did wha -ow!" Stardust received one more hit from Rarity's broom before she placed it onto the ground. "What is it this time that Ididn'tdo?"

"My newest outfits for Sapphire Shores arecompletelyruined and destroyed," exclaimed the pony who represented the element of generosity. "I had them completedweeksin advance, so that I could have some time to myself, but now all of my hard work has gone to waste... and it's because ofyou!"

Stardust groaned, bringing a hoof to his forehead, and he explained, "Rarity, first of all, if this happened while you were sleeping, then... it definitely wasn't me because I was here, in this room, recovering from getting the wind knocked out of me by Granny Smith."

"Oh, isthatso?" Rarity frowned at him, and she revealed to him a very familiar clothing object that she had with her. "Then, why did I findyour cloakatmy home?"

Stardust quickly looked at himself, and realized that he wasn't actually wearing the cloak. "B-but how did... I wasn't..."

"You MONSTER!"repeated Rarity, and she went back to whacking him with her broom, but at a faster pace.

"Rarity, just... give me... a chance to... explain!"Stardust yelled, in between each of Rarity's broom hits."Or... at least... let me... help you!"

Once she felt that she'd hit him enough, Rarity set the broom back down, and said, "You have donequite enough, Stardust, considering what you've also done to Applejack and Rainbow Dash... do yourself a favor, and stayawayfrom my home."

She tossed the cloak at Stardust before walking away, and the gold pony looked over at Twilight, saying, "Please tell me that-"

"Iknow, Jack, I know," said Twilight, letting out a sigh. "Don't worry, me and Spike will talk to her while we help her re-make her dresses."

After saying that, the alicorn princess walked away, while Stardust laid back down, groaning in pain and irritation. "Whyis thishappeningto me?"

"Are you okay, Star?"

Stardust sat up, and saw a concerned Sunset standing by his doorway. "I don't... I don't know, Sunset, I am just so...confusedandfrustratedand... in pain... why doesn't anypony believe me that I'mnotdoing all of this stuff?"

"Well, I never said that Ididn'tbelieve you, Star," replied the female unicorn. "And if you need some help proving to the others that you're innocent, all I have to do is-"

However, Stardust shook his head, and said, "Thanks, but... no thanks, Sunset, this isn't exactly anEquestria Girlslevel problem, so-"

"Oh, so you don't think I can be useful?" Sunset said, her muzzle becoming a frown.

"Well, I mean, ithasbeen a long time since you've been to Ponyville, and I don't think that-"

Wham!

The door was slammed shut before Stardust could finish talking.

I'm not entirely sure that was the right thing to say to her, Jack.

Stardust collapsed back into his bed, and muttered, "Ah,[BEEP]!"





A few minutes later, in Twilight's library, Sunset had finally been able to turn on her friend's Crystal Mirror teleportation machine.

Maybe it was a mistake for me to come back here...

"So, you're just going to leave without saying goodbye?"

Sunset turned around, and saw Stardust by the entry way. "Why do you care? And how come you're not in bed?"

"Believe me, almost half of my body is yelling at me to go back," replied Stardust. "And the other half is saying to convince younotto leave."

"It's not like I'll be of much use to you anyway," exclaimed Sunset, frowning at her friend. "My unicorn magic isn't even working, for some reason..."

A confused Stardust replied, "So,that'swhat has been bothering you? Why didn't you ask Starlight or Twilight about-"

"Because I'm sure they have enough problems on their hooves, trying to clean up somepony's mess that looks like it was done by you," exclaimed Sunset. "And that isn't... exactly... it..."

"Well, then what is it?" Stardust asked, who was also trying to stall her.

Sunset looked a little embarrassed as she said, "It doesn't really... what help canyoudo for me? You're not a unicorn."

"I'm well aware of that," retorted the young Earth Pony. "But a certain'ancient pony' once told me that we have a... have, uh..."

Having trouble remembering?

Stardust rolled his eyes, and muttered, "I can't help if I remember something that happened five or six seasons ago..."

Then, he turned his attention back to Sunset, who had started to try and leave again. "Look, I'm only asking that you at least give me a chance to help you, Sunset... please..."

The young unicorn sighed, hanging her head down as she started feeling more embarrassed about what she was going to tell him.

Letting out a sigh, Sunset stretched one of her front limbs back, and pointed to the right side of her flank, while Stardust blinked his eyes a few times, as well as feeling awkward. "Um... Sunset.. I thought I already said that I didn't..."

"Notthat, Star," muttered Sunset, whose face was red with embarrassment. "Somepony... slapped me right here, and... tried to, um..."

Stardust frowned, and he replied, "I get it, don't worry... and if it's the same pony whose been trying to frame me, then that pony's gonna throughallofmylevels ofhellonce I get my hooves on said pony."

Sunset still looked embarrassed, so Stardust put a hoof on her shoulder, and said, "Hey, it's fine, you don't have to tell anypony else... and I won't either..."

Sunset smiled up at him, and nodded her head. "Alright... thanks... now, let me helpyou."

Stardust noticed that she was now raising up her hoof, and he rolled his eyes. "Fine,but make it quick... I don't want to have flashbacks to a certain event that took place."

"Don't be such a baby," smirked Sunset, and she placed a hoof on his forehead, causing her eyes to glow as she saw certain memories of his from the past few days.

As she was doing that, Stardust simply looked around the room, and started singing one of his favorite Crush 40 songs quietly to himself.

"What goes up, must come down, yet my feet don't touch the ground..."

Then, by the time he had reached the chorus, Sunset brought her hoof down, and he asked, "Well? What did you see?"

Sunset simply smiled at him, and she said, "Don't worry, I've got your fla- your back, Star. Just go and bring Twilight and the others, and meet me in the Throne Room."

She's speaking the truth, Jack. Everything will be fine now once they hear from her.

Stardust nodded his head, agreeing with Starswirl, and he said, "Alright, be back in a few... thanks so much, Sunset."

"Hey, that's what friends are for," replied Sunset, and the two of them smiled at each other before Stardust hurried out of the castle as fast he could possibly go.

As for Sunset, she had turned back around to turn off the machine, but while she was doing it, the young unicorn heard the voice of her friend.

"So, just to clarify... I'mtotallyinnocent, right?"

Sunset let out a chuckle, and nodded her head, saying, "Yes, Star, all I have to do is tell the others, and you'll be fine."

"Well, then..."

Suddenly, she felt a pair of hooves on her flank, and roughly turning her around so that she could be face-to-face with...

"... I'll have to make sure you don't say to them therightthing."

It looked like Stardust, but this pony was wearing a black cloak, with a different type of Cutie Mark, and a scratch over one of his eyes.

He also still had both of his front hooves on her flank, and for some reason, she found herself unable to move.

"W-who are you supposed to be?"

Anti-Stardust grinned at her, and said, "To save us both some time, I'm pretty much an evil version of your golden pony friend, beautiful... and in order for my plan to work, I needyouto convince everypony thatheis the one who did those things thatIactually did."

"Well, what makes you think I'd do anything you say?"

The sinister pony's smile became a frown, and Sunset yelped in pain as she felt both sides of her flank burn painfully, due to his hooves still being there.

"Because if youdon't,sweetheart, I might just have to resort to a more...differentmethod... get the picture?"

Trying her best to ignore the pain coming from her flank, Sunset said, "You won't get away with this, cause all I have to do is-"

"I'm sorry,did I not make myself clear, my dear?" growled Anti-Stardust, bringing Sunset right up to him so that they were now eye-to-eye, and their foreheads were pinned against each other."If you value your friend's life, you will do as I say..."

Sunset gulped, and found herself whispering, "He'll s-see you... doing this to me..."

Anti-Stardust went back to grinning at Sunset, and before placing his muzzle onto hers, he said,"Oh, I have a solution forthat, beautiful."
> Castle Takeover
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Stardust and Twilight entered the Throne Room, along with the rest of the Mane Six, they noticed that Sunset didn't look so well.

"You all righ', sugarcube?" asked Applejack, concerned. "You don't look like your regular shade of yellow."

Sunset nodded her head, and replied, "Yeah, AJ, I'm fine... I just have some... really important news to give to all of you."

"Finally, now the rest of you will know that Stardustdiddo what he did to the three of us," growled Rainbow Dash, who still did not believe that he was innocent.

Stardust chuckled, and he said, "Oh, I think you'll be singing a different tune, Rainbow, once you hear what Sunset has to say."

While Rainbow rolled her eyes, Rarity let out a moan, and cried, "Let's just get this done with so that I can go back to fixing mycompletely ruineddresses."

"And I'm only halfway done with repairin' the damage to our farm," added Applejack, walking over to her throne.

Stardust was about to reply to Applejack, but then, he also noticed that Sunset looked different than how he'd seen her earlier.

Something is wrong, Jack. I can sense it.

"Well, the sooner we get this done with, the sooner I can try to help her," whispered Stardust, who then cleared his throat, and walked over to the yellow unicorn. "Alright, everypony, I believe Sunset here has something to say that will prove what I've known all along since the start of this whole thing."

"So, you'refinallygoing to confess about the horrible things you've done to the three of us," exclaimed Rainbow, while Rarity and Applejack nodded their heads.

Feeling confident, Stardust shook his head, and replied, "Nope, you're going to learn the real truth... go on, Sunset, tell them."

Everypony looked at the yellow unicorn, who gulped nervously, and said, "Stardust is guilty."

"Ha-ha, see?Now, who's the..." Stardust paused his triumphant moment after realizing what she had just said. "Wait, what?"

Avoiding trying to look at him, Sunset nodded her head, and said, "Like I said, he's guilty... I saw him spray-painting in Rainbow's house, causing havoc at Applejack's barn, and ruining the dresses that Rarity designed."

Stardust's muzzle almost dropped to the ground, while Fluttershy gasped in shock. "Stardust, howcould you?"

"Ididn'tdo it!" exclaimed the young pony, again denying that he'd done those things. "She just-"

"Proved to all of us that you haven't changed at all," added Rainbow, and she flew out of the room before he could say anything.

Applejack shook her head, and said, "I ain't as mad as I was at you yesterday, Star... but now I'm mighty disappointed in you."

Once she walked out, Rarity scoffed at Stardust, and said, "You should be ashamed of yourself."

She then left the Throne Room, as well, and it looked like Fluttershy was next.

"I can't believe you... woulddosomething so... horrible," said the yellow Pegasus, also sounding disappointed.

"Fluttershy, you have to believe-"

But she followed after their friends, and Stardust looked at Pinkie Pie and Twilight. "Don't tell me you... Pinkie, you can't really..."

A saddened Pinkie simply walked away, without saying a single word.

"Twilight, love, you know that I-"

The young alicorn sighed, and she said, "I don't knowwhoto believe at this point, Jack... but I'll try to do whatever I can."

Before Stardust could say anything else, Twilight quietly left the room, leaving him alone with Sunset.

For a moment, neither of them said anything, until Stardust turned around to glare at Sunset. "Why?"

The young unicorn shook her head, and said, "It's not what it looks like, Star, I was-"

"Oh, don't you give methatexcuse, Sunset Shimmer," exclaimed Stardust, gritting his teeth in frustration. "You told me that you'd be able to fix this!"

"I know, but I-"

Stardust angrily pointed his hoof at the doors. "Well, do you call that fixing it?"

Sunset gulped, the tone of her friend's voice making her feel more guilty, and she was about to give her response, but Stardust still had more to say.

"I gave you a chance to help me, Sunset, andthisis how you repay me? After everything we've been through?"

"Star, please, let me explain, I was..." cried Sunset, but then, the right side of her flank started to burn again, and she heard the voice of Anti-Stardust in her mind.

Don't even think about it... you tell him the truth, and I'll kill him right in front of you.

"Well?"Stardust said, waiting for her to continue.

Sunset shook her head, ignoring the burning pain, and said, "Star, I'm sorry, but... Ihadto tell them that..."

"No, youdidn't," said the Earth Pony, who was too upset right now to notice his friend was in pain. "You could've done theright thing,but instead, you chose to betray our trust... our friendship... and for what? Because of what I said earlier?"

The yellow unicorn tried to tell Stardust the truth, but his evil self (that he couldn't see) had placed his hoof on her flank, and the pain increased even more.

"Stardust... please... I can... fix this..." begged Sunset, holding in as many tears as she could, but Stardust shook his head.

"You've done plenty, Shimmer," said the angered pony. "So, why don't you do the both of us a favor, and go back to that [BEEP] world you call your actual home?"

Sunset opened her muzzle to say something, but Stardust added, "Your tears aren't going to work right now, Shimmer. I am so... disappointed with you... so, just get away from me."

"Stardust, please, just listen to what I'm trying to-" begged Sunset.

"I said,leave...just, please, leave..." replied the hurt pony.

Sunset shook her head, and cried, "But I was trying to-"

While Anti-Stardust increased the pain even more, the real one pointed at the door, and yelled, "Sunset, justleavebefore I do something I'll end up regretting..."

You're only making things worse for the both of you, Sunset,said Anti-Stardust, but the young unicorn wasn't going to give in to his demands.

"Stardust, please, I'm your friend, I was-"

"Not right now, you're not," exclaimed Stardust, the tone of his voice making Sunset walk backwards out of the room. "Now, for the last time, would you...getout of here?"

And before she could say anything else, Stardust closed the door in her face, leaving the young pony alone... or, so he thought.

"This is just effing great," muttered the young pony, taking a seat in his throne.

Don't you think you were a little hard on her, Jack?

"No... maybe..." Stardust groaned, and brought a hoof to his forehead. "Yousawwhat happened, Starswirl."

Yes, Jack, what I saw was a very uncomfortable Sunset who looked like she regretted saying those accusations.

"What are you talking about?"





Once Sunset had returned to the library, Anti-Stardust appeared next to her, and she said, "There, I did what you asked... now, can you just leave?"

"Leave?" The sinister pony let out a laugh, and exclaimed, "I thinknot, Sunset... I'm not through with you yet."

He then proceeded with touching her flank again, but Sunset angrily whacked his limb away. "You'dbetterstop touching me like that."

"Orwhat, Shimmer?" growled Anti-Stardust, and he reached for her flank again, but right before the sick and twisted pony could touch her, Sunset used her front right hoof to slap him.

"Why, you little... [BEEP]!"

Anti-Stardust brought his hoof back, and used it instead to deliver his own vicious slap to Sunset's face, causing the unicorn to fall down to the ground.

"I'm about to make you regret doing tha-"

Whoosh!

All of a sudden, an energy blast appeared, sending Anti-Stardust to fly back, crashing into some of the bookshelves, and after he landed on the floor, mutiple books fell from the shelves, landing on top of him.

Sunset looked behind her, and saw the real Stardust, who was in his"super saiyan pony"form, courtesy of the necklace he'd gotten from Miles' world.

"Nowthat'swhat I call one badassKiblast," said Stardust, with a proud smirk on his face.

He walked over to Sunset, helping her stand up, and asked, "Are you okay?"

Sunset nodded her head, and wrapped her front limbs around him, giving Stardust a hug. "Thank you, Star...and I really am sorry for what I said earlier to the others. My mind was-"

"Yeah, I know how that feels," chuckled Stardust, and he tapped his skull with one of his front hooves. "Not a fan."

I hope that doesn't mean you regret me being here, then, Jack.

Stardust was about to give a comedic response when the two of them heard Anti-Stardust say, "How sweet... and pathetic..."

"Where exactly didyoucome from?" asked Stardust, looking him up and down. "Some new type of Changeling from Queen Mephilis?"

Anti-Stardust laughed, and he said, "I'myou, Jack... from an alternate universe."

Stardust frowned, and he said, "That can't be right... I went to all those worlds, and none of them looked like you."

"Yes, but there was another world that Princess Celestia missed," explained Anti-Stardust. "And if Rowan hadn't sent Casey toyourworld on that fateful day, I probably wouldn't even be here... but I amnow, and I'm about to take from you whatshould'vebelonged tome."

Stardust raised an eyebrow, and he asked, "Justhowexactly do you plan on doing that?"

"Recognize this?" Anti-Stardust raised up his front left hoof, and the two ponies saw that it bore a homemade wristwatch.

"Casey..." gasped Stardust, and he began to frown. "What did you do to him?"

Anti-Stardust laughed again, and he replied, "Why don't you ask him yourself?"

Stardust and Sunset watched as the black-and-gold pony fidgeted with the watch, and pointed his hoof at them.

"You know, Jack, you should be thanking me..."

"Thanking you?" Stardust exclaimed. "Forwhat?"

Anti-Stardust grinned, and he answered, "For sending you back to yourotherhome planet...permanently."

BOOM!

Suddenly, two small beams were fired out of Casey's device, and once they hit Stardust and Sunset, they both vanished into thin air.

"And now that I'vetaken care of that..."

He made some more adjustments to the wristwatch, and after hearing a beeping sound, similar to that of a walkie talkie, Anti-Stardust said, "The time has come, my love...invite all of our friends to the party."

"Stardust?"

Turning off the device, Anti-Stardust looked up to see Twilight, who had spoken, as well as Spike and the rest of the Mane Six.

"Ah, perfect, you're all right on time," cackled the sinister pony. "But it's too bad you couldn't save Sunset or my worthless counterpart."

Spike frowned, and he said, "Iknewsomething wasn't right when that machine had the explosion a few days ago... what did you do with them?"

"Oh, don't worry, you're all going to see them very soon," replied Anti-Stardust. "But first, I'd like to tell you all that I personallyenjoyedbringing mayhem to this world... as well as putting the blame onhim."

Rainbow gritted her teeth as she realized what he was referring to. "Youwere the one who did all that stuff?"

"Yep, and all three of youfoolishponies actuallybelievedthat he was the one to blame," confirmed Anti-Stardust, who smiled as he heard the machine behind him start to activate. "Especiallyyou, RainbowCrash."

Rainbow was about to respond to Anti-Stardust, but then, they heard a familiar voice cry out, "Hey, she doesn'tdeserveto be called that!"

"Andhelloto you, too, Crash," said Anti-Stardust, as everypony watched a more evil-looking version of Rainbow step out of the mirror.

"Well, if you hadn't taken so [BEEP]-in long to get us all over here..." muttered Anti-Rainbow, who then glared at her counterpart.

A look of surprise and confusion appeared on Twilight's face as she asked, "You mean there'smoreof-"

However, the alicorn princess found herself being interrupted as moreevilversions of her friends came out of the Crystal Mirror.

"Well, what do ya know, Midnight? Your counterpart's got herself a mighty fine castle," said Anti-Applejack, who was followed by Twilight's evil counterpart.

"Quite right, darling," agreed Anti-Rarity, who came out after Midnight. "Such a shame we don't have this back inourworld."

Up next was Anti-Pinkie, who didn't reallylookthat much different than her other self, whom she offered a big red balloon too. "Does this make you happy, Pinkie?"

Pinkie happily accepted it from Anti-Pinkie, and said, "Uh-huh, thanks!"

Her other self nodded, and then, with a sinister smile, she reached into her muzzle, pulling out a toothpick, which was used to pop the red balloon.

"Well, Ihateballoons... andparties... and especiallyparty cannons."

Pinkie gasped, and she whispered to Twilight, "Okay, this pony isdefinitelyevil!"

The last pony to step out was Anti-Fluttershy, who simply walked up to her counterpart, and said, "Boo."

"Aaaaggghhh!" Fluttershy stepped back, holding tightly onto Rainbow, who rolled her eyes, while Anti-Fluttershy joined the rest of her friends.

"Okay, does anypony want toexplainwhat thehayis going on?" Applejack asked, who was feeling frustrated and confused.

Pinkie was about to answer, but Anti-Pinkie beat her to it. "This is an evil version of Stardust, and the rest of us are evil versions of all of you."

"Well, what aboutme?" asked Spike, who had yet to see another version of himself step out.

"Ah, yes, mytrue love," said Anti-Rarity, looking at the dragon and her other self. "He was a little too...big... for the mirror, so you won't see him just yet."

"Wait a second...true love..." Spike then let out a gasp. "You're dating each other?"

Anti-Rarity nodded her head, and Spike instantly felt hatred against his counterpart.Lucky little...

"Um, why would that matter, Spike?" Rarity asked, confused.

"Huh? Oh, just, uh, was curious, is all..."

Midnight rolled her eyes, and as she looked around the room, the alicorn spoke to her friends and special somepony.

"You know what, everypony? I think it's time for a change of pace."

"Huh?" Twilight said, and Anti-Stardust smiled as he went to stand next to Midnight.

Then, before he started to sing a song, Anti-Stardust said, "Right, you are, my dear!Shedoeshave a point, you know, and withjustthe right touch..."

[Background Music - "It's Our House Now" from Disney's House of Villains]

This could be quite the place!

[Midnight]

Full of wholesome, happier faces

[Anti-Rainbow]

Hanging out

[Anti-Pinkie]

Feeling fine

[Anti-Fluttershy]

Where everyone's a friend of mine

"At leastthisStardust isn't afraid of singing," whispered Rainbow, talking to Twilight, who rolled her eyes.

Pinkie found herself dancing along to the song, but when she noticed her friends staring at her, the pink pony sheepishly said, "Sorry."

[Anti-Stardust]

Inside this evil joint

[Anti-Applejack]

Every guest gets to the point

[The Anti Mane Six]

This day will live in infamy

Twilight looked around, and quickly realized that the library, as well as her beloved castle, was starting to transform into a more horrific and darker version.

[Anti-Stardust]

And, soon, you'll all be history!

The Crystal Mirror changed, as well, and one by one, the Anti-Mane 6 were tossing their counterparts through it.

[Anti-Ponies]

It's our house now

It's our house now

[Anti-Stardust]

It's the fact you can't ignore!

Twilight and Rarity both tried firing magical beams at Anti-Stardust, but he swiftly blocked them, and said, "Oh, I don't think so!"

[Anti-Ponies]

It's our house now

Our time to shine

Has come at last!

[Anti-Rainbow - spoken]

See you later, Rainbow Dash!

[Anti-Mane Ponies]

It's our house now!

Rainbow was thrown into the portal, along with Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack.

[Anti-Applejack]

All us evil ponies

Fit in so perfectly

[Midnight Sparkle]

And we will finally

Get our due respect!

[Anti-Pinkie]

You'll forget your troubles

Put your trust in me

Pinkie's eyes started feeling dizzy, but Twilight quickly brought her away from Anti-Pinkie, who scowled at the princess of Friendship.

[Anti-Rarity]

You had your fun

[Anti-Fluttershy]

You made your play

[Anti-Stardust]

But every pony has their day!

"Twilight!"yelled Spike, who had been grabbed by Anti-Stardust.

The alicorn tried stopping him, but she found herself being pinned to the ground by Midnight.

[Anti-Ponies]

It's our house now

[Pinkie Pie]

What a party!

[Twilight - spoken] Pinkie!

[Anti-Ponies]

It's our house now

[Pinkie - spoken] Sorry!

[Anti-Rainbow]

What a place for breaking bread

[Anti-Rarity]

Time to get crazy

[Pinkie - spoken]

I want to go back to bed!

[Anti-Ponies]

It's our house now

It's our house now

Join the fun with no regrets

Only greedy, dirty deeds are allowed

Anti-Stardust watched as Twilight and Pinkie tried to escape, and he shouted, "Get those little ponies!"

Then, once they had been brought back, Anti-Pinkie threw her counterpart into the portal. "Game over, Pinkie Pie!"

Anti-Stardust laughed, and flashed a sinister smile at Spike before tossing him in after her. "Hit the road, Spike!"

The last one to be thrown into the portal was Twilight, courtesy of Midnight. "Take a hike, Twilight!"

[Anti-Ponies]

It's our house now

(Don't bother coming back)

It's our house now






(Big Ben - London, England)


Stardust gulped, and he said, "Alright, Sunset... whatever you do, donotlook down!"

Looking at her friend, Sunset nodded, and tried getting a tighter grip on the metallic hand that represented minutes.

"And Casey?" Stardust looked up, seeing the orange-yellow pony.

"Yeah, Star?" replied Casey, who was holding onto the tip of the hand that represented hours.

Seeing that the clock had "11:45" as the time, Stardust said, "We'll see you in about 15 minutes."
> Welcome to Jolly Ol' London
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once Twilight and the rest of the Mane 6 were gone, Anti-Stardust started to feel very triumphant.

"Well, everypony, we'refinallyfree from that horrible world," he said, with a wide smile. "And, there's no one left here that can stop us from doing what we want."

"Uh..."

Anti-Stardust turned around, and looked at Anti-Pinkie, who instantly closed her mouth. "Is there something you'd like to add, Pinkie?"

"Er..." Anti-Pinkie replied, hesitant to continue her sentence, but then, Anti-Rainbow walked up to stand in front of here.

"Hey, the pony asked you a question!"

Anti-Pinkie let out a squeak of fright, and Anti-Stardust said, "Easy there, Crash, just give her some room to speak."

As the alternate version of Rainbow stepped away, Pinkie's other self said, "I was... going to remind... you... about, um, this world's version of Discord and S-Starlight Glimmer."

"Oh, wasthatall?" Stardust's evil self laughed, and shook his head. "I've already taken care of them..."





The famous clocktower, known as Big Ben, now read the time as 11:58, which meant that Stardust and Sunset were only two minutes away from reaching Casey.

"You think this giant hand thing can support all of us?" asked the black-haired teenager.

Stardust nodded, and he replied, "Pretty sure, yeah..."

"I hate to sound pushy right now, Star," said the flame-haired teenager, who was still trying to avoid looking down. "But I don't know how much longer my hands can hold onto this thing... and even though I'm wearing jeans, it'scoldup here!"

Stardust agreed with her, and he took a moment to flex his own fingers one at a time. "I'm hearing you... and I'm trying, but this is-"

This might be a bad time, Jack, but I suggest that you let go.

"What?!"Stardust yelled, shocked that his friend would say that. "Do you know howhigh upwe are right now?"

I am aware of the height, yes, but you don't really think I would let anything bad happen to you all, do you?

Once the clock reached the 11:59 a.m. mark, Stardust and Sunset carefully latched themselves onto the hour hand, sitting underneath Casey, and Stardust said, "I think I'll consider other possible options, buddy, before I go with that one."

Starswirl let out a sigh.Well, then I suggest you and the others brace your ears for what's going to happen next.

Stardust was about to ask what he meant, but then, the clock struck twelve.

Ding-dong-ding-dong! Ding-dong-ding-dong!

"HOLY [BEEP]!"Stardust yelled, although it was more like he was mouthing the words since he couldn't hear himself over the bell chimes.

Ding-dong-ding-dong!

Ding-dong-ding-dong!

Then, the bell stopped, and all three of the teenagers were blinking their eyes, as well as shaking their heads.

"Uhh... you two okay?" Stardust asked, looking up at Casey, and down at Sunset.

Sunset nodded her head, and was about to talk to him when the first chime of twelve was made.

DING! Poof!

All of a sudden, Twilight appeared in front of Stardust, floating in the air, and she said, "Jack? Is that-"

Hurry, grab hold of her!

Before Twilight could end up falling down to the ground, Stardust grabbed one of her now-human hands, and brought her towards him.

"Hang onto this tightly, love," said Stardust, as he helped his girlfriend over to the other side of the hour hand.

Twlight nodded her head, tightening her grip, and said, "Jack, I'm sorry that-"

DING! Poof!

Fluttershy was the next to appear, and she accidentally found herself looking down.

"Aaaaaaggghhhhhh!"

"I've got you, Fluttershy!"Casey shouted, grabbing hold of the animal-loving teenager, who then wrapped her arms around the other side of the hour hand.

Fluttershy immediately closed her eyes, and said, "T-thank you, Casey..."

DING! Poof!

When Rarity appeared, Sunset quickly brought her over to the other side of the hand, and said, "Hang on tightly!"

Wrapping her arms around the giant hour hand, the purple-haired teenager nodded her head, and she said, "Thank you, Sunset... I'm so glad to see-"

However, Rarity found herself looking down, seeing how high up she was from the ground, and she let out a scream.

"Will every onestoplooking down?!"Stardust yelled, but then, the fourth chime (and friend) made its arrival.

DING! Poof!

Rainbow appeared underneath Sunset and Rarity, and she immediately went over to the hour hand, getting a tight grip on it.

"Is Stardust up there?" exclaimed Rainbow, stretching her neck out to look up at the top of the clock hand.

"Yeah, I'm here! Are you okay, Rainbow?"Stardust asked, looking down at his friend.

She nodded her head, and yelled, "Star, I'm sorry that-"

DING! Poof!

Applejack was next, and Rainbow quickly grabbed onto one of her hands, pulling her towards herself and the clock hand. "I got you!"

"Phew,thanks a bunch, sugarcube," said Applejack, but then, a strong gust of wind appeared, and it ended up blowing her Stetson hat away.

"No!"The hard-working teenager tried to grab it, but the wind had already taken it far away from her.

DING! Poof!

When Pinkie Pie appeared, she looked from side to side, and when she found herself looking down, the young teen let out a scream of fright, and grabbed onto whatever was in front of her.

"Pinkie... not so... tightly..." gasped Stardust, as his friend gave him a bone-crushing bear hug.

DING! Poof!

Starlight arrived at the seventh charm, and appeared next to Twilight, whom she quickly grabbed onto.

"It'll be okay, Starlight," said the young princess, who noticed that her friend was starting to tremble with fear. "Just don't look-"

DING! Poof!

Spike appeared at the very top of the hand, slightly above Casey, and Stardust asked, "You alright, bro?"

The young dragon-turned-dog nodded his head. "Yeah, but where are-"

DING! Poof!

Stardust looked to the side, and he said, "You'vegotto be kidding me..."

"Hello, to you, too, Jackie," said Discord (also now a human being), who was hovering in front of Stardust, and one of his hands was holding aMary Poppinsumbrella. "Having fun up here?"

DING!

"Notin the mood right now,Discord!" Stardust yelled, while Fluttershy was opening her eyes to look at her friend. "Can you just help us out?"

"Why, certainly, Stardusk," replied the master of Chaos, and he snapped his fingers, which caused the hour hand to temporarily disappear.

DING!

"Discord! That'snothelping!"Stardust yelled, his temper starting to rise. "Put that ba... aaaauuugghhhh!"

One by one, all of the ponies-turned-humans, plus one dog, started their descent from three hundred and fifteen feet.

"Starswirl!"screamed Stardust, closing his eyes. "Help us ou-"

DING! Poof!

Everyone suddenly disappeared, and then, they all reappeared on top of the grass-covered ground.

Pinkie lifted her head up, with her eyes spinning around in a circle, and she asked, "Can we do that again?"

"Ugh... pass..." moaned Sunset, who felt like she had a headache.

Spike was rubbing his head, feeling dizzy, and suddenly felt himself being hugged by Rarity, much to his pleasure. "Oh,thank goodnessyou're safe, Spikey Wikey."

Applejack sat herself up, and let out a groan as she asked, "Pinkie, why in tarnation would ya do something like thatagain?"

While Pinkie shrugged her shoulders, Twilight and Stardust walked over to Casey, helping him up, and the alicorn-turned-human said, "I sure hope your Twilight isn't too worried about you."

"No, she'll be fine," replied Casey, rubbing the back of his neck. "And she was going to come, but-"

"Hello, everypony," sang Discord, who was making his way down via black umbrella. "Oh, wait,everyone..."

Stardust frowned, and he pointed up at the clock. "That wasnotwhat I meant by helping us, Discord."

"But aren't you all safely on the ground now?" asked the spirit of disharmony, tilting his head to the side.

Stardust let out sounds of frustration, and was ready to argue with him some more, but then, Fluttershy appeared, and she did not look happy.

"Discord,you could've seriously hurt all of us if Starswirl wasn't in Star's head. What were you thinking?"

Discord gulped, not wanting the one po-person he cared for the most to be upset with him. "I was only trying to help out, Fluttershy, and I wouldn't have let harm come to anyone...maybejust alittleto Stardust, but-"

"Iheardthat," growled an annoyed Stardust.

Fluttershy glared at Discord, and sternly told him, "Well, donotever doanythinglike that again. Understand?"

"Perfectly, Fluttershy," replied Discord, nodding his head, while Stardust rolled his eyes.

Jack, may I suggest we find a place to discuss how to get back home?

While Twilight and Casey were talking to the others, checking to see if they were all okay, Stardust was having a telepathic conversation with Starswirl.

I'm guessing that means you won't be able to take us home?

Not this time, Jack,replied the ancient pony.It must be done-

By me and the others,thought Stardust, letting out a sigh.Got it.

Once everyone knew that everybody was okay, Stardust said, "Alright, everyone, we have to look for a place that we can talk about how to get back to Equestria."

"Well, lead the way, darling," replied Rarity. "Thisisyour home world, correct?"

"I mean, technically, yes," said Stardust, who was now rubbing the back of his head. "But I don't actuallylivein this city, so-"

"Ooh, how about that place?" interrupted Pinkie Pie, who was pointing at a building that was a mile away from them.

Stardust smiled, and gave the party-loving teenager a pat on the back. "That looks fine... nice work, Pinkie."

Squee!

Pinkie just smiled back at Stardust, who then started leading his friends to their new destination.





A few minutes later, they were all about to cross the street, and walk into the building that was calledMy Village Cafe,but Rarity suddenly let out a scream from out of nowhere.

"What? What is it?"Stardust asked, fearing that something bad had happened.

"I look... look...gorgeous," said Rarity, who was looking at her reflection via the clear-glass building in front of them, and Stardust brought the palm of his hand to his forehead.

She was wearing a white lace blouse, along with dark blueAGslim straight leg jeans, a pair ofLiz Caliborneflats, and a hair-clip version of her Cutie Mark.

"But what's this supposed to be?" wondered Rarity, looking at her hands, as well as touching the sides of her face.

"To make a long explanation short, Rarity, it's yourskin," answered Stardust. "But you also look like you have fair skin, which means that even though I admit that you look lovely, you can't exactly be under the sun for a long period of time, or you'll end up almost as red as the apples on AJ's trees."

Applejack tried covering up her laughter, while Rarity frowned at Stardust, and the hard-working teenager looked at her own reflection.

She was wearing a white undershirt, along with a halfway buttoned-up, orange-colored plaid shirt, light brown and leather Western boots fromShyanne, and light-blue, slim straight leg jeans fromLevi's,as well as a brown belt that had a row of stiched-on apples.

Casey felt his mouth almost about to drop, but when he noticed that Stardust was looking at him, he sheepishly closed it, and said, "Sorry."

"Are you okay, AJ?" Twilight asked, seeing that her friend didn't look entirely pleased with her new appearance.

Applejack sighed, and she replied, "Yeah, I'm fine, sugarcube, but... I just wish I had my hat with me."

Before Twilight could say anything to comfort her, Pinkie Pie giggled, and said, "Okay, me next, me next!"

She was wearing a pink shirt that had her Cutie Mark on the front, and the same type of jeans as Applejack, as well as a pair of pink Chuck Taylor Dainty Casual sneakers fromConverse.

For Fluttershy, who had chosen herself to be next, she was wearing aWhite Markfit and flare yellow dress that had a design of her Cutie Mark on the side, as well as a comfortable pair of slip-on sneakers fromSteve Madden.

"My, my?,, Fluttershy, you certainly look very wonderful," commented Discord, which caused her to slightly blush.

"Thank you, Discord... and you, um, look very-"

Before she could finish, Stardust chuckled, and he said, "He looks like someone's father."

Discord frowned, and he glared at the amused teenager, saying, "I may have limited magical abilities, Stardust, but that doesn't mean I am unable to-"

"Alright, simmer down, you two," interrupted Applejack, stepping in between them. "No need to cause a ruckus or anything."

"He started it..." said Stardust, but then, he paused after noticing Rainbow's saddened expression.

The athletic pony-turned-teenager was wearing a pair of sky-blueKanCanskinny stretch slim jeans,Nike Flexrunning shoes, and a black shirt that had her Cutie Mark on the front, as well as a blueOld NavyFrench-terry hoodie, but Rainbow didn't really seem to be all that interested in how she looked.

"You okay?" Stardust asked, in a concerned tone, and Rainbow nodded her head.

"I just... want to, uh, say that I'm sorry for all that stuff I said to you back in Equestria. Anti-You was right when he said that I was foolish into-"

Stardust smirked at his friend, and he shook his head. "Nuh-uh, don't let him get to you, Rainbow... it's fine, you don't have to worry about it, and I'm not mad at you or anything like that."

Rainbow gave him a small smile in return, but Stardust could sense that she wasn't entirely forgiven with herself just yet.

I'll work on that later once we get back home.

"Um, not to sound rude, Stardust, but maybe we should be heading over to that place Pinkie found?" suggested Starlight.

Stardust nodded his head, and said, "Yes, you're right, Starlight... okay, everyone, let's go-"

"Um, Jack?"

The young man looked at his girlfriend, who looked like she was waiting for someone to say something. "Yes, love?"

"How do I look?" Twilight asked, and Stardust took a moment to observe his special someone, and was at a loss for words after realizing how beautiful she looked as an actual human being.

The young princess, like Rarity, also had fair skin, and she was wearing aLyss Looflowy, long sleeve purple top with cutout-shoulder design that hugged her curves, as well as a pair ofslim fitjeans fromH&M, slipper-like shoes fromALDO, and had two hair clips.

One of them was her Cutie Mark, while the other was a purpleFrench Barrettehair clip that resembled her alicorn wings.

"So... um..." Twilight said, who also blushing heavily from Stardust's speechless stare.

"Ahem!" Rarity cleared her throat, and coughed a few times, which made Stardust blink a few times before finally being able to speak again.

"Twilight... love... you are the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen... a perfect goddess..."

Twilight's blush increased even more, while some of their friends rolled their eyes, and before Stardust could say more, he was interrupted by Pinkie Pie, who had already gone into the cafe.

"Hey, everyone, come in here! This place is awesome!"

Stardust was about to speak, but then, theWalkstoplight turned on, and everyone began crossing the street.

"Verysmooth talkin' there, Star," Applejack said, crossing her arms, and smirking at her friend. "Ya took that long to come up with somethin' like that?"

Stardust just grumbled under his breath, and Applejack chuckled. "I'm just teasin' ya, Star, I know how strong your feelings are for Twilight."

"Yeah, well..." replied a minor-embarrassed Stardust. "One of these days, her beauty is gonna be the death of me."
> Experiencing the World
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.
> Stardust's Mistake, Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


(Stardust's World)


"You sure Stardust is gonna accept thisget wellcake?" Scootaloo asked, sounding unsure.

Applebloom nodded her head, and replied, "Of course, he will... I just wish we could've had Pinkie's help in making this."

The two of them, along with Sweetie Belle, were on their way over to Twilight's castle because they wanted to give Stardust a"Get Well"cake after having seen Granny Smith nearly beat the hay out of him yesterday.

"I don't think your sister is going to be happy when she sees you giving a cake to the pony that destroyed your family's farm," pointed out Sweetie Belle, but Applebloom disagreed with her.

"My sis ain't mad at him for that, Sweetie Belle, she's just a lil' disappointed in him."

Scootaloo became confused, and he asked, "Uh, what's the difference?"

"That he... I...sweet sour apples..."

The Cutie Mark Crusaders had finally reached Twilight's castle, but there was something different about it.

"I don't remember seeing it like this yesterday," said Scootaloo, looking at the castle up and down. "And why did Twilight go from purple to black?"

Applebloom chuckled, and she answered, "Aw, shucks, they're probably just gettin' a head start on Nightmare Night. It ain't too far away from here."

The three of them entered the castle, and Sweetie Belle started to shiver a little. "I don't remember Twilight ever having her castle bethiscold before."

"Like I said,preparation," reminded Applebloom, rubbing her limbs to try and create warmth. "Besides, it's not like-"

"Well, isn't this a surprise?"

The three small ponies looked up, and saw Anti-Stardust walking down the staircase.

However, he was back to looking like his other self, and for the moment, Anti-Stardust was successfully fooling the CMC's.

"Howdy, Star," greeted Applebloom, a smile on her face. "You look like you're doing okay."

"Yes, terrific," replied Anti-Stardust, with a dry tone in his voice. "And what's with the cake?"

Applebloom slowly pushed the wheeled tray towards him, and said, "It's for you, Star... aGet Wellcake!"

"Well,actually,it's a bunch of those brownies that you love so much turnedintoa cake," pointed out Scootaloo, which caused Applebloom to glare at her. "What?"

Anti-Stardust smirked at the group of little ponies, and he said, "I appreciate your showing of concern for me, Applebloom."

He then proceeded to walk away, but the little sister of Rarity asked, "Don't you want to see if you like it first?"

You've got to be kidding me right now.

"Why wouldn't he? It's made out of his brownies," reminded Scootaloo.

Anti-Stardust did his best to smile, and he said, "Of course, my apologies... but if it's alright with you, I'd like to get somethingsfrom the kitchen that I can bring over here to successfully enjoy this cake."

AJ's little sister nodded her head, and replied, "Sure thing, Star! We ain't goin' anywhere anytime soon."

Anti-Stardust nodded his head, but after turning around, and walking down the hall, he rolled his eyes.Worthless piece of garbage.

Once he was gone, Scootaloo said, "Um, was it me, or did Stardust not seem like... himself?"

"Well,duh, of course he's like that," replied Applebloom. "He's been pummeled by Granny Smith, whacked a bunch of times by Rarity, and-"

However, the young pony stopped her sentence after they had heard a familiar voice come from the Throne Room.

"You'dbetternot [BEEP] screw this up, Pinkie!"

Scootaloo's eyes almost popped out of her head after she had heard that. "Was that...?"

"Alright, just take a breather there, Scootaloo," assured Applebloom. "I'm sure that Rainbow is just having a bad day."

Scootaloo frowned, and she replied, "Rainbow wouldneversay... uh... whatever Star usually says from time to time."

Before Applebloom could respond to that, Sweetie Belle began pushing them towards the door, and said, "Well, don't juststandthere, you two, let's find out what's going on."

When they were close enough to the entrance, the CMC's quietly began to eavesdrop on their friends' conversation.


###################


"What are you getting mad atmefor?" Anti-Pinkie asked, sitting in her counterpart's throne, as well as the rest of her friends. "And plus, you should behappyto be here after all of that complaining you did back home."

Anti-Rainbow gritted her teeth in frustration, and exclaimed, "Iwillbe as long as [BEEP] likeyoudon't screw this up for the rest of us!"

As Anti-Pinkie crouched down in her seat, Anti-Applejack rolled her eyes, and said, "You know, thewholepoint ofblendingin, Crash, is so that everyone else thinkswe'reour other selves."

"Yeah, yeah, just like Star is doing by pretending to be thegoodhim," replied Anti-Rainbow, frowning. "And?"

Anti-Rarity sighed, and she said, "Well, you're not exactly doing a perfect job at it, darling."

"Oh, [BEEP] off, Rarity, I know what I'm doing," yelled Anti-Rainbow, with Anti-Rarity also feeling afraid of her. "Besides, it's not like any ofyouponies are doing any better."

"Well, I reckon that I'm doin'justfine pretending to be AJ," replied Anti-Applejack. "And I only got to sayonelie this time, which is that I'm Applejack."

As Anti-Pinkie nodded her head in agreement, Anti-Rainbow muttered, "Let's just make sure thatnoneof our other selves return from wherever the hell Star sent them."


##################


The CMC's quickly backed away from the doors, and they all had looks of horror on their faces.

"Rainbow...no..." gasped Scootaloo.

Applebloom gulped, and she said, "My... sister..."

As for Sweetie Belle, she tried to remain optimistic. "Well, shedoessound a lot like my sister..."

Applebloom rolled her eyes, and cried, "Sweetie Belle, this is no time to be positive! We gotta warn somepony about this!"

"Oh, my... what a terrible,terribleturn of events."

The CMC's turned around, and saw (who they assumed was) "Anti-Twilight", as well as Anti-Stardust, who was no longer in disguise.

"That's one ugly scar over his eye," whispered Sweetie Belle.

"What did you do to them?" Applebloom asked, with an angry expression on her face.

Anti-Stardust laughed, and he shook his head, saying, "You're asking thewrongquestion, little pony..."

He raised up one of his hooves, which started to surround itself with dark energy, and smiled in a sinister way at the three of them. "Itshouldbe what am I going to do to the three ofyou."

Applebloom frowned, and she said, "I ain't scared of you, Fake Stardust, and just wait till I-ulp!"

Having heard enough from the small pony, Anti-Stardust grabbed Applebloom, bringing her up close to his face while Twilight's other self was holding onto Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo by their tails, preventing them from helping her.

"Are you scared now?" He asked, and the little pony nodded her head. "I thought so."





As Applejack led Twilight and the rest of her friends out of the Banquet Hall, she swiped away some of the sweat on her forehead.

"Whoo-weee...I ain't ever done nothing likethatfor a while," she said, referring to her country song performance. "I can't wait to show that to the others once we get back home."

Stardust let out a laugh, and he said, "I hate to break it to you, AJ, but... I'm pretty sure that dance is only meant to be done by humans."

"Oh, ho, isthatwhat you think?" replied Applejack, looking at her friend. "Well, if I could, Star, what would you do?"

"Your chores for an entire week," said Stardust, smirking at her while also crossing his arms.Ireallymiss doing this kind of stuff.

While Twilight rolled her eyes, Applejack nodded her head, and she offered him a handshake, which Stardust accepted.

"I'm ah remember you said that, Star," chuckled the young mare-turned-teenager.

Stardust laughed again, and he said, "You can remember all you want, AJ, but I-"

"Um, Star?" Pinkie interrupted, who had crossed her legs together, and was bouncing up and down several times. "I have to use the little pony's room."

"It's awomen'srestroom, Pinkie," corrected Stardust, shaking his head. "And why didn't you go at the cafe?"

Pinkie thought about it for a moment, and said, "Well, wewerechased by a lot of inappropriate guys that tried to-"

"Point taken," replied Stardust, and he looked at Starlight. "You mind taking her to the restroom in that building over there real quick?"

Twilight's pupil nodded her head, and she walked over to Pinkie. "Okay, let's -whoa!"

The pony-turned-human teenage girl grabbed one of Starlight's hand, and raced over to the building as fast as possible.

"Why would you ask Starlight to go with Pinkie, darling?" Rarity wondered.

"Because Lord knows how much trouble she'd cause on her own in this world," explained Stardust. "And the last thing we need is for some kind of weird-"

Whoosh!

Then, from out of nowhere, Stardust was engulfed in a bright flash of light, and he was gone after it went away.

"Jack!" Twilight yelled, looking afraid, but after turning her head to look at Discord, her expression was now an angry one.

"What? I didn't do anything!"

Before the young princess could start to argue with him, the same bright light surrounded her and everyone else, and after it flashed brightly, they were all gone.





"Where the hell are we now?" groaned Stardust, and then, he felt his loved one's arms around him. "It's fine, love, we were just... transported somewhere else...

They were all now in some type of place that contained multiple versions of clocks, from grandfather to mantel, and everyone looked at Discord, who rolled his eyes.

"Oh, come on, you can't really think thatIhad anything to do with this!"

Stardust opened his mouth to say something, but stopped after hearing an unfamiliar voice speak.

"It wasn't Discord that brought you here..."

The group of nine friends turned around, and saw that it had came from an elderly man, wearing a white-and-black hooded cloak that was stitched with designs of crescent moons and five pointed stars, as well as holding a wooden staff that had a Roman Numerial-numbered clock placed on the top.

"Um, who areyousupposed to be?" Applejack asked.

The elderly man gestured to all of the clocks around them, and said, "My name is Kronos. I am the one who makes sure every world and universe is in its rightful place, every timeline is in natural order, and that no one strays too far away from their destined path."

He then gave the group a closer look at his staff. "If something is amiss, I simply go to the point in time when the problem started, and help guide that person or animal into making the right decision."

"But I thought our future wasn't set in stone," said a confused Sunset. "Does that mean it's already planned out for everyone we know, including ourselves?"

Kronos shook his head, and explained, "No, my dear... the future is what you make of it. My job is to simply make sure that everything goes the way that He intended it to, with only minimal interventions."

"So, you basically sit in thisHouse of Clockseveryday, and only use whatever kind of powers you have whenever it is deemed necessary?" Stardust said. "Wow, that reminds me of somepony else that I know..."

Kronos looked over at Stardust, and a frown appeared on his face. "Do notmess with me,boy... there is no need for me to always intervene, or make my presence known, unless something has gone horribly wrong..."

He paused to walk over to Stardust, and the young man noticed the seriousness in Kronos' face and voice. "Because ofAnti-You, I have doneway morethan I should, and he's completely destroyed the world that he came from."

"Well, that isn'tmyfault," replied Stardust, not backing down from Kronos' stare. "And what canyoudo to me that will-"

Jack, please, quiet yourself!

"You should listen to him,child," exclaimed Kronos. "Because if I wanted to right now, I could readjustyourtimeline into making sure that you have a permanent stay on a deserted island, with only Flash Sentry and Timber to talk to."

After Kronos said that, Stardust gritted his teeth in frustration, and exclaimed, "You wouldn'tdare...and, plus, I have Starswirl here to make sure that doesn't happen."

For pony's sake, Jack, do not bring me into this!

"Starswirl may have brought you to your world's version of Equestria," replied Kronos. "But I can make it so that you've nevereverheard ofMy Little Pony... do we understand each other?"

A few feet away from them, Discord was sitting in a reclining chair, eating some popcorn. "Go on, Jack-Jack, I'd like to see where this goes!"

Ignoring him, Stardust replied, "I'll believe this...for now... but you don't really think this is allmyfault, do you?"

Kronos stepped away from him, and he said, "No, but because of what he's done, I am leaving the solution to you and your friends, in the hopes that you'll be able to prevent your world, Casey's world, and evenAnti-Equestriafrom suffering the same fate as the world thatAnti-Stardustcame from."

"Well, what did the other Stardust do that was so terrible?" Twilight asked, and a sad expression appeared on Kronos' face.

"I can show you all, but I must warn you that it is not for the faint of heart."

Stardust shook his head, and said, "Trust me, Kronos, I've been through ahellof a lot worse than an alternate version of myself... what's the worst that he can do?"

Kronos sighed, and he stuck his staff into the ground, which caused the clock to transform into a portal. "See for yourself."






[Anti-Stardust's Past]


"Aaauuugghhh! I can't take this anymore!"

Stardust was currently on the rooftop of Canterlot High, and he looked completely frustrated.

"I have had to go throughall fourof these trash films, and Istillcan't [BEEP] go to Equestria!"

Stardust looked up in the sky, and cried, "Someomeup there hates me because I donotdeserve this kind of [BEEP]!"

"I agree wholeheartedly with you, Jack..."

Stardust turned around, and found himself looking at a young man around his age, wearing a cloak, as well as holding a silver-colored staff.

"Who in the hell are you?"

The cloaked person chucked, and he said, "My name is Rowan, Jack, and what would you say if I told you that there's an alternate version of yourself who resides in Ponyville?"

Stardust blinked his eyes a few times, and he shook his head, saying, "Go [BEEP] yourself, Rowan, I'm not in the mood for anyone's bullcrap."

Oh, ho, this will be perfect, thought a grinning Rowan, who replied, "I can assure you that I am telling you the truth... in fact, this other version of you is living the lifeyouhave always wanted since stepping foot into this cursed world."

Stardust crossed his arms, and raised an eyebrow. "Go on..."

With a chuckle, Rowan used the staff to create a portal, which allowed Stardust to see Ponyville, as well as the pony version of Princess Twilight.

"Is that supposed to beme?" Stardust asked, referring to the gold Earth Pony that was by Twilight's side.

"Correct, my friend," replied Rowan, knowing that his plan was coming close to reality. "And whileyouare here in the world ofEquestria Girls,dealing with such things as Flash Sentry and Camp Everfree,thatversion of you is enjoying his life in Ponyville as the special somepony of Twilight Sparkle."

"Hewhat?!" Stardust yelled, his eyes growing wide, and his temper rising. "But... that's what is supposed to happen to me!"

Rowan nodded his head, and said, "I agree, Stardust, but there had to besomeonewho needed to be sent here, and sincehewas taken to Ponyville,youwere the one who had to stay in this world, in which your chances ofeverstaying in Equestria are slim to none."

Stardust's mouth almost dropped, and after seeing his other self sharing a loving kiss with Princess Twilight, the young man said, "Get this damn thing away from me."

Using the staff, Rowan made the portal vanish into thin air, and he smiled as he sensed Stardust's anger rising.Perfect!

"However... thereisa way that you'll be able to take what is rightfully yours, my friend."

Looking at Rowan, Stardust asked, "What are you talking about?"

"I can give you the power required to go into that world, but on one condition... once you have the power, you cannot hesitate nor show any signs of regret or remorse in your actions that you take in accomplishing your goals."

He gestured to the area around them, and added, "You can even unleash all of the hatred that you have for this world, which will allow your power to grow stronger, and soon, no one will be able to stand in your way."

With a sinister smile, Rowan tapped his staff on the ground a few times, and it began to glow with dark energy. "Are you ready?"

"Um..." Stardust looked back at the door that led him into the high school, where his friends and girlfriend were currently in. "But what about-"

Before he could finish, however, Rowan fired a dark energy blast at Stardust, and once he hit the ground, the sinister pony laughed evily. "Now to handle some of my own business..."

Whoosh!

The cloaked pony vanished in a colorful flash of light, leaving the young man to himself.

"What... the hell... is happening... to me..." growled Stardust, whose entire body was being covered with dark energy. "Aaaaaauuugggghhhhh!"

Then, once he finished going through his transformation, the exit door suddenly opened, and Sci-Twi ran out, as well as Sunset and the rest of the "hu-mane" seven.

"Jack?" The human version of Twilight asked, carefully walking towards him. "Are you okay?"

"And why are you covered in some weird type of magic?" asked EG Applejack.

Stardust was sitting on the ground, his head hanging down, but as he began to stand up, the young man began to chuckle. "I've never felt better, Twilight.. and as foryou, AJ..."

He turned his head to look at EG Applejack, and said, "How about I give you a demonstration?"

Unfortunately, the human version of Applejack wouldn't get a chance to speak.

"Stardust, no!"
> Stardust's Mistake, Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Twilight... love...I need... to breath..."

The alicorn-turned-human had her arms wrapped tightly around Stardust, and she quickly released him from her grip once his face started turning purple. "Oops, sorry."

Kronos sighed, his voice laced with feelings of sadness. "I warned you that this would not be easy to watch."

"So, he basically killed her?" Applejack asked, while Stardust was taking several deep breaths.

The elderly man moved one of his hands from side to side, and replied, "Eh, kind of, just not in the way that a human would... Jack, do you remember what Rowan did to the other alternate versions of yourself?"

Nodding his head, Stardust was also starting to frown as he remembered the damage that Miles - no,Rowanhad brought to the nine worlds. "Yeah, it was like a backwards version of someone drawing a character... so he literally erased her from existence?"

"Unfortunately, yes, and the same thing happened to the others," confirmed Kronos.

Feeling confused, Twilight asked, "But why would he do such a terrible thing to his closest friends?"

"Because, at the time, he felt it was necessary in order to get to your world," replied Kronos. "And like Rowan said, he could not show any signs of regret for whatever actions he took against anyone who could stand in his way."

Sunset, who had remained quiet ever since arriving in Kronos' home, made her way over to him. "What happened to Human Twilight?"






[Anti-Stardust's past]


The only two people remaining on the rooftop now were Sci-Twi and Stardust, who currently had one of his hands over his left eye.

"Damn you, Shimmer," he muttered angrily to himself.

As for Sci-Twi, she didn't know what to say to her boyfriend. "Star... how could you... they were our friends..."

Stardust looked at the glasses-wearing teenage girl, and he replied, "No, they were unoriginal characters without any kind of personality whatsoever...[BEEP], my eye hurts like hell!"

He then started to walk towards her, and Sci-Twi said "Stardust, please, this isn't the right thing to do. Why are you acting like this?"

"Because for oversix [BEEP] months, I have put with all kinds of [BEEP] in this world," exclaimed Stardust, trying to ignore the pain coming from his left eye. "And what happened a few days ago was the last straw..."

Sci-Twi looked at his other hand, which was still glowing with dark energy, and she asked, "Are you going to... do the same thing... to me?"

"If that's what it takes to get me to Equetria," replied Stardust, raising up his other hand. "Then, so be it."

The human version of Twilight looked back at the spot where her friends had been at not that long ago, and as she watched Stardust come closer to her, tears slowly started to fall down off of her face. "Star... please..."





Suddenly, the clock on Kronos' staff returned to normal, and Discord exclaimed, "Aw,come on, I wanted to see what happens next!"

Kronos shook his head, and explained, "I apologize for the abruptness, but I've spent enough time talking to all of you. You'll have to ask Anti-Stardust what happened when you see him again."

Discord scoffed, and he tossed the bag of popcorn to the ground, muttering, "Well, then, I would like a refund for that atrocious thing you would call a film."

"Well, then,howare we supposed to get home?" Stardust asked, even though he had a pretty good idea of what Kronos would say to him.

"You'll have to figure that one out yourself, Jack," replied Kronos, while Stardust rolled his eyes. "But just know that it may be closer than you think..."

Then, before Stardust could say anything else, Kronos tapped his staff on the ground a few times, and it caused the group of friends to disappear again.

"Good luck, Jack," said the elderly gentleman. "I hope you make the right choices..."






[Stardust's World]


Anti-Stardust was now inside the room of his other self, looking to see if there was anything that could be useful for hisback-up planshould Stardust and everypony else miraculously find their way back.

"How in the hell did he get all of thoseCokebottles?" Anti-Stardust said, referring to a trash bag in the corner that was almost filled up with soda pop bottles. "Oh, wait... yeah, Pinkie Pie, don't question it."

He was about to start looking through Stardust's dresser when something on his counterpart's desk caught his attention.

It was a well-organized photo album -Twilight probably made this, then- and as he flipped through the pages, Anti-Stardust saw photos of certain special moments in his other self's life.

This was supposed to be the life forme,thought Anti-Stardust, and he continued flipping through the pages, but his frown went away after reaching a certain part of the book.

It was a photo of Stardust and Twilight, in theirEquestria Girlsform, and were standing with the EG versions of their friends, along with Sunset.

Then, Anti-Stardust noticed that Sci-Twi was in the photo, as well, and he suddenly found himself having a flashback.





"Wait, so how come they can't just call soccer'soccer'instead of calling it the name of a totally different sport?"

"Trust me, Dash, that's alongandboringexplanation for someone like me to give to one of my closest friends."

The two friends were kicking a soccer ball back-and-forth with each other, while Sunset and Sci-Twi were sitting on a park bench that was a few feet away.

"So..." said Sunset, smirking at her friend, with an eyebrow raised. "You think you're ready to ask him yet?"

"Huh?" Sci-Twi said, acting like she'd just got out of a trance. "Ask who what?"

Sunset rolled her eyes, and replied, "The guy you've been staring at ever since he and Rainbow started kicking the soccer ball around."

The human version of Twilight began to blush as she tried denying what her friend was assuming about her. "No, no, I wasn't... I was just, ah, thinking about the test we had today in Mrs. McCarthy's class."

"Sureyou were..." chuckled Sunset, while Sci-Twi continued to blush and started to fidget with her glasses.

Once EG Rainbow was given back the soccer ball by Stardust, she began kicking it up in the air several times by using her knees. "Yeah, right, you probably don't even know yourself."

Stardust rolled his eyes, and said, "I'm not clueless or anything when it comes to stuff like that, Dash..."

"Uh-huh, just like you're not clueless about the fact that Twilight has a crush on you," retorted EG Rainbow, and Sci-Twi immediately wished that she was somewhere else right now.

Stardust just looked at her athletic friend, and asked, "What are you talking about?"

EG Rainbow sighed, and replied, "She has a... uh, what's that word you use...freakingcrush on you, Star, and you haven't even realized it yet."

Sci-Twi looked over at Sunset, giving her a pleading look, and the flame-hair-colored teenager began walking over to her two friends. "Alright, Rainbow, that's enough..."

"What, it'strue, and we all know it," said EG Rainbow, now spinning the soccer ball around with one of her fingers. "Heck, almost every time she's tutoring me, she always ends up saying stuff like 'remember when he did this' or'remember when he did that', and-"

Stardust stepped in between Sunset and EG Rainbow, and said, "Hold it, hold on a second... Twilight istutoringyou?"

The soccer ball fell from EG Rainbow's hand as she realized what she'd just said. "Um... well, notevery day... and it's only so I can keep my grades up in order to stay on the soccer team."

Stardust crossed his arms, and smirked at her. "What class are you having trouble in?"

Before EG Rainbow could answer, Sunset began dragging her away from him. "Alright, blabber mouth, you and I are going to have a little conversation real quick..."

"Hey, it's notmyfault she can't make up her mind about him!"

As the two of them walked further away from Stardust, who was laughing to himself, he turned around to look at an embarrassed Sci-Twi that was currently wishing to be anywhere else except the park.

I'll never understand women, thought Stardust, now making his way over to the bench, and sitting next to her.

"Um... nice weather we're having, huh?"

Sci-Twi then began twiddling her thumbs, and Stardust sighed, saying, "Twilight, it's okay... I won't tease you, or laugh at you for whatever it is you have to tell me."

"What makes you think I have something to tell you?"

...

"Oh, right... well, um... she wasn't exactly, er, wrong about me and..."

Wow, she makes Fluttershy look like Pinkie,thought Stardust, giving her a smile. "You don't have to be nervous, Twilight, it'sme, remember? The guy you first me when you stepped foot into Canterlot High?"

Instead of that blue-haired [BEEP].

Sci-Twi nodded her head, and a small smile appeared on her face. "I know, Stardust, and I'm glad we met... I just, er... figured you'd want to be with Princess Twilight instead of... me..."

She then turned her head away from Stardust, not wanting to see his expression, but to Sci-Twi's surprise, he placed his hand underneath her chin, and turned her back around so that she could see his warm smile.

"I know that I'm always talking about waiting for the day that I can leave this place, but if there's one reason for me to stay... well, you'd be on top of the list."

Yeah, not my best work, but so what?

Sci-Twi blushed, and replied, "But don't you... and the other Twilight..."

Stardust shook his head, and said, "I don't care that you're not actually a pony princess... I like you for whoyouare, not just because you're a human counterpart of Princess Twilight. Don't change yourself just to impress a guy like me."

The human version of Twilight nodded her head, and then, she said, "Well, then... um... I was wondering if, er... I mean, homecoming is..."

"Oh, my, is Twilight Sparkle about to ask me to the homecoming dance?" Stardust replied, teasing her a little bit. "I thought it was supposed to be the other way around."

Sci-Twi's blush grew even more, and she said, "Well, yes, in some cases... but I just, ah, assumed that you wouldn't want to go since... you know..."

Knowing what she was trying to say, Stardust replied, "As long as we don't have to run intohimor theotherone on the day of homecoming, I would love to go with you."

"I don't think that would even be possible for'him',thanks to you," said Sci-Twi, remembering events from their past. "And I'm not sure Fl - I mean, theotherone is going to make it since I've heard that he is too busy trying to fix his damaged car."

Stardust let out a fake gasp, and exclaimed, "Oh, my gosh... is the car okay?"

Sci-Twi rolled her eyes, and replied, "It's driveable... just going to take up a lot of his time trying to fix it."

Well, thank you to whoever did that.

The gold-skinned teenager started laughing to himself, while Sci-Twi asked, "So... is that ayes, or...?"

Once Stardust had finished with his laughter, he nodded his head. "Yes, Twilight, I would be more than happy to accompany you to homecoming, and thank you for asking."

"Really?" Sci-Twi said, her eyes growing wide with excitement, and once Stardust nodded again, the teenage girl couldn't help but smile.

"Now,that'sthe TwilightIknow," said Stardust, which made the blushing Twilight chuckle as she twirled some strands of her hair around with her fingers.


###############


Yeah, that certainly was an interesting day,thought Anti-Stardust, a small smile on his face as he continued to remember that day.

But then, it quickly turned into a frown when the young pony also remembered another fateful day in his life.





[Insert "Birth of Sandman" by Christopher Young]

"Ugh, my head..."

I opened my eyes, and the first thing I saw was a small lake.

My mouth was strangely dry, so I quickly ran as fast as I could go to the body of water, and started to drink it.

Yes, I'm aware that it's probably not the safest thing to do, but I'm dying of thirst right now, okay?

Anyway, once I felt like I had drank enough water, I dried my mouth by wiping it with my hand... only... my hand was now a... hoof.

"What the..." I looked at both of my hands, which were now the hooves of a pony, and then I looked back at the lake.

In the reflection from the water, I saw that I now looked like my other self who was living in Ponyville, with Twilight and Spike... except I had a scar over my left eye, courtesy of Sunset Shimmer.

Also, I don't remember how I got this black, flame-like energy stuff that's surrounding my body... and this place... doesn't feel like the Equestria from the show...

"Twilight? Can you believe that-"

I stopped talking after realizing that my girlfriend wasn't next to me, and before I could say anything else, my head started to hurt, and I suddenly began seeing things in my mind.

AJ falling to the ground... Rainbow getting upset... Fluttershy being terrified... a speechless Rarity... Pinkie trying to run away from me.

And it was all because I-

"No. I couldn't have... why would I do something like that to... this can't be real."

Unfortunately, things just got worse from there.

I sat myself down on the ground, turning my head to the right, and saw... Lyra talking to Bon-Bon about something, but... why did they seem so different and less kinder-looking than I remember?

Before I could even try and talk to them, I also noticed a familiar object lying next to me.

"No... not her... please..."


###############


Anti-Stardust reached into one of his cloak's pocket, and pulled out the object that he'd kept with him throughout all of the six years (technically) in Anti-Equestria.

It was Sci-Twi's glasses, and they looked completely fine except for the fact that one of the lens was cracked... they had been that way ever since he'd found them on the first day he had arrived in Anti-Ponyville.

"If I'd have just been sent to Equestria instead ofCanterlot High," growled the alternate version of Stardust. "Then I wouldn't be feeling this [BEEP]-in pain I get everytime I think about them..."

Setting the pair of glasses down, he then decided to put theEquestria Girlsphoto in his hooves, and Anti-Stardust remained silent as he watched it slowly become burnt to a crisp, thanks to his power.

"I hope you've enjoyed your time here,Jack... because there is no way in hell that you're ever coming back."






(London, England)


"Phew,I feel so much better now!"

As Pinkie stepped out of the women's restroom, Starlight rolled her eyes, and said, "Yeah, good for you, Pinkie, now let's get back to-"

"Aaaagggghhhh!"

Twilight's pupil rubbed one of her eardrums, and she exclaimed, "What is wrong with younow, Pinkie?"

The young pony-turned-human and party-planning teenager was currently facing a glass window that belonged to one of the toy stores in the mall they were both in right now, and her eyes were as big as tennis balls.

"Starlight, look... I'm a stuffed plushie...:

Then, a wide smile appeared on Pinkie's face as she added, "This... is...amazing!"
> Dealing with the Past
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well, that was something," muttered Stardust, blinking his eyes a few times and shaking his head to remove the dizziness that he was feeling right now.

The group of friends had been sent back to London, but even though they all had a better understanding about why Anti-Stardust had chosen to take over Twilight's castle, there was still no solution that could bring them back home.

"Jack, maybe we should..." began Twilight, but she stopped after taking another look at Stardust's face. "When did you get glasses?"

"Huh?" Stardust brought his hand to his face, and realized that he was now wearing a pair of glasses. "Well, how convenient... thanks, Starswirl."

I figured that it would be best to give it to you sooner rather than later.

Then, Fluttershy walked over to Stardust, and asked, "Since when do you need to wear those? You've never worn glasses in Ponyville."

Stardust shrugged his shoulders, and replied, "There wasn't really a need for that, Fluttershy, but now that I'm back here, my vision isn't affected anymore by Equestrian magic, so if I want to be able to see everything clearly, I have to wear these."

"Well, you could at least have gotten a more, um... non-basic pair, darling," said Rarity, which made Twilight roll her eyes. "Not that you look horrible or anything with them on, but they look almost exactly like the ones that the human version of Twilight has back in Sunset's world."

Before Stardust could respond to Rarity, they were interrupted by a returning Pinkie Pie, who had a wide smile on her face, and Starlight Glimmer, who looked tired and slightly irritated.

"What happened to y'all?" asked Applejack.

Starlight shook her head, and she replied, "Trust me, AJ, you don't want to know..."

"So, what did you all do while we were gone?" wondered Pinkie, and Stardust was about to explain, but Discord beat him to it.

"Oh, nothing unusual for those like us, but I'm pretty sure we all learned that this is all of Stardust's fault."

Stardust rolled his eyes, and he said, "This has nothing to do with me, Discord, and you know that."

Discord smirked at the young man, and said, "Well, in a way, the other Stardust that's walking around Twilight's castle is technically you, yes?"

"I guess, but that doesn't mean we're the same person," replied Stardust. "I would never do any of that stuff he did to-"

"Even though you've said to everyone here numerous times, especially to Twilight, about how much you just loathe Sunset's world, and most of the people that live there?" pointed out the former draconequus. "And what was that thing you once said to describe it... hmmm... someone's greatest mistake ever, if I recall?"

Twilight started to frown, and was not appreciating the way that he was talking Stardust. "Whatever you're trying to do, Discord, just stop... because me and Sunset both know that he'd never do anything that horrifying to Sci-Twi or the other versions of all of us."

Sunset nodded, in agreement, and Discord let out a fake gasp. "Who,me? I'm not doing anything at all, Twilight... and, yes, maybe it isn't his fault that this is happening, but who is to say that he won't do something similar later on in the future?"

With a sly grin, Discord looked at the former pupil of Celestia, and asked, "Has he even made peace yet with the human versions of the Mane Six?"

"That doesn't matter right now, Discord," exclaimed Stardust, speaking before Sunset could give an answer to him. "Get to your damn point."

"Yes, well... you know as well as I do that there are times when history repeats itself," continued a grinning Discord. "And if I'm not mistaken, there was a time during your third 'year' in Ponyville when you were acting the way your other self is right now?"

Everyone except Casey knew what Discord was referring to, and the black-haired teenager asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Mr. Hero over here allowed himself to be possessed by a certain dark spirit, and that caused Stardust to attack those around him, both verbally and physically."

Before Casey could respond, Stardust said, "You were still a damn statue when that all happened. How did you-"

"When it comes to something like that, my friend, I make it my business to know," replied Discord, and Stardust quickly glanced over at Fluttershy, who instantly shook her head. "Now, where was I... oh, yes... he didn't even bother trying to stop 'himself' when he threw Rarity into a wall, or even delivered some pain to Rainbow Dash, even saying that she was his least favorite pony to be with."

Normally, Rainbow would have defended Stardust, but she still felt guilty about the way she had acted towards him back in Ponyville, so she simply remained quiet while Applejack exclaimed, "We've already settled this, Discord, that wasn't his fault. He didn't even know that-"

"Just as I am sure that the other Stardust didn't know that he was erasing his friends from existence?" added Discord. "And you all may think that this has been settled, but..."

He then looked straight at Stardust, and asked, "How do we know that he won't end up doing something worse one da -aaaugghh! Ow!"

"Thatis it, Mister," exclaimed Fluttershy, who had gotten a tight grip on Discord's ear, and was now pulling him away to the side. "You and I are going to have a serious talk about being mean to our friends!"

As for Stardust, he was now looking down at the ground, taking in what Discord had said to everyone.

"Now, now, Star, you know that he was messing with you in his... own... weird way," said Applejack, trying to comfort him. "We don't blame you anymore for what happened."

"She's right, Star, it's all in the past," agreed Spike, smiling up at his brother, and happily wagging his tail around.

Pinkie nodded, and cried, "Yeah, we totally forgave you for all that nasty stuff that Sombra had you do. Right, Rainbow?"

Twilight looked over at Rainbow, who simply nodded her head, while Stardust sighed, and said, "Thanks, but... he's also right, in a way... I didn't do anything, at first, to stop those horrible things from happening to everypony... and the fact that I almost deeply hurt those I sincerely care about... is something I'm going to have to live through for the rest of my life..."

Suddenly, the young man heard the comforting voice of Starswirl in his head.

While that may be true, Jack, you and I both know that your friends no longer blame you for those events. We may not be able to go back and stop them from ever happening, but things happen for a reason... look at all the positives that have happened in your life since then.

I know, and I'm grateful for all of that,replied Stardust.But it still happened, and seeing the way that they looked at me while I was... possessed... is not exactly something that can be easily forgotten.

Casey looked at Twilight, wondering why his friend was looking up at the sky, and she explained, "He's talking to Starswi - huh?"

Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, Starlight walked over to Stardust, and gave him a hug, like a young girl would give to her brother when she saw that he looked upset or bothered by something.

"You aren't the only one with a troubled past," replied Starlight, sensing the confusion coming from her friend. "Plus, I figured you could use a hug right now."

Like I've told you before, Jack, your friends will always be there for you.

Feeling a little better, Stardust gave Starlight a pat on the back, and he said, "Thank you, Starlight... I, er, definitely needed a hug."

Twilight's pupil nodded her head, smiling at him, and then, Stardust felt himself receiving a tight bear hug from Pinkie Pie. "My turn!"

While everyone tried their best not to laugh, Stardust said, "Thanks... Pinkie..."






[Stardust's World]


Having already completed the requirements for his back-up plan, Anti-Stardust had decided to rest his head on a pile of books he'd been reading, but exhaustion had caught up with him, and he soon began to fall asleep.

"Mid... Twi... light..." mumbled Stardust's alternate self, and he began dreaming about another memory from the past.


[Flashback Dream]


"You aren't the only one who can learn how to drive, Sentry," said Stardust, who had been taught the basics of driving by Sunset during the two weeks leading up to this evening.

It definitely wasn't easy, but Stardust knew that he had learned enough for him and Sci-Twi to enjoy homecoming.

The car that he'd driven was a rental, provided by his friends, even though he had told them several times that he wanted to pay from his own pockets.

As for his outfit, the young teenager had finally agreed to EG Rarity's pleas of designing one for him, and in all honesty, Stardust was impressed.

She even made good usage of the colors that my Cutie Mark has, thought Stardust, who was also walking up to Sci-Twi's front door.

Knock-knock-knock!

"I just hope she put the same effort in Twilight's dress," said Stardust, in a low tone of voice. "So far, the one she's made for me right now is her best work."

Then, the door opened, and when Stardust saw how Sci-Twi looked, his mouth almost dropped to the ground.

Oh... my... God, Rarity... HOW did you do this?

"So, um..." said Sci-Twi, who was also blushing slightly at her friend's speechless expression. "Do I look okay?"

Stardust blinked his eyes a few times, and after a minute or so, he replied, "Okay... doesn't even begin to cover it..."

I could've sworn that I've seen something like this before.

Sci-Twi continued to blush, and said, "Thank you, Stardust... you look great, too, and... oh, what's that?"

She pointed at the plastic box in Stardust's hand, and he replied, "Oh, yes, this... it's a, um... corsage, Twilight, and now that you're here, I can do this."

Stardust then opened the box, revealing theWhite Orchid Blue Delphineumcorsage, and he gently placed it on Sci-Twi's left wrist.

"It smells so beautiful," said Sci-Twi, her nose catching the flower's scent. "Thank you, Star."

"You're welcome," replied Stardust, smiling at the fact that she was happy right now. "Now, then, shall we head off?"


#################


As the two of them entered the well-decorated school gymnasium (also thanks to EG Rarity), Sci-Twi noticed that almost everyone was already here, and some of the other couples were already on the dance floor.

"We aren't late, are we?"

Stardust chuckled, and shook his head. "Of course not, love... the night's still young, and we have plenty of time to enjoy this event."

"Twilight! Stardust! Over here!"

They looked over at one of the tables, and saw a hand-waving EG Pinkie Pie, who was also sitting with Sunset and the rest of the HuMane Six.

"Well, no need to waste time searching for them," said Stardust, with Sci-Twi letting out a chuckle.

Once they were at the table, EG Rainbow - who was leaning back in her chair - smirked at Stardust. "I'm still surprised that you actually showed up here, Star, I thought you said you can't dance."

"I said that Ididn'tdance," corrected Stardust. "Never said that Icouldn't..."

EG Rainbow nodded, and said, "Well, there's only one thing for me to say... pay up, Applejack."

The young teenager with a Southern American accent rolled her eyes, and mumbled underneath her breath as she handed EG Rainbow a small stack of dollar bills.

"I'm not even gonna ask," said Stardust, as he and Sci-Twi took their seats.


###############


"Can I have this dance, love?" The young man asked, standing in front of his date, and offering his hand for her to take.

"Um, yes, I... I would really enjoy that..." replied Sci-Twi, smiling as he brought her over to the dance floor, where they started dancing together.

(Background Music)

I say hey, I'll be gone today

But I'll be back all around the way

It seems like everywhere I go

The more I see, the less I know

But I know one thing

That I love you (oh baby yes I do)

I love you, I love you, I love you

"Have you been taking dance lessons?" wondered Sci-Twi, sounding surprised. "You've never beenthisgood before."

As he twirled her around, Stardust shrugged his shoulders, saying, "I wouldn't call itgood, Twilight... just enough for the two of us to enjoy this night together."

When the two of them were almost face-to-face with each other, the closeness made Sci-Twi's blush grow deeper, and she let out a chuckle. "I think I'm enjoying it just fine."

Stardust smiled, and he replied, "Good, I was hoping you'd say that."

I've been a lot of places all around the way

I've seen a lot of joy and I've seen a lot of pain

But I don't want to write a love song for the world

I just want to write a song about a boy and a girl

Leaning against the wall, EG Rainbow smiled as she watched two of her closest friends dance happily together.

"Ahem!"

She turned to the right, and saw EG Applejack, who was giving her a smug smile. "What?"

"Did I not say that Star and Twi's first dance song wouldn't be one of those slow and romantic ones?"

EG Rainbow frowned in confusion, but then she had an expression of realization, and that soon became a look of disappointment. "Don't tell me I have to..."

EG Applejack put her hand out in front of her friend, and said, "Pay up, sugarcube."

Muttering to herself, the athletic teenager returned the money that AJ had given her, and she started to walk away.

"Whoa, ho, hold up a minute there, Rainbow," said EG Applejack. "You ain't done just yet."

EG Rainbow rolled her eyes, and shook her head as she pulled out her wallet, taking out several more dollar bills to give to her friend. "There, you happy now?"

"Ah sure am, sugarcube," replied EG Applejack, and she tipped her hat at EG Rainbow before walking away, while the athletic teenager made frustrated sounds under her breath.

"They'd better not kiss after this song..."

Kids on the corner always calling my name

And the kids on the corner playing silly games

When I saw you getting down, well, I hope it was you

And when I look into your eyes I knew it was true

Stardust and Sci-Twi were almost to that point where the two of would look into each other's eyes, and share their first kiss, but neither of them wanted to make the first move just yet.

I don't want him to think we're moving too fast,thought Sci-Twi.But he looks so... and his eyes...

As for Stardust, he was thinking of something similar.I don't want to screw this up... but she looks so beautiful, and...

"Stardust!"

Suddenly, the two of them stopped dancing, and Sci-Twi said, "Who is that?"

"I don't know wh-"

"Hey, Stardust!"





The next thing he knew, Anti-Stardust was back in the library, and he looked up to see Anti-Rainbow at the door. "What the[BEEP], Crash?"

"It's Applebloom, Star," said the worried Pegasus pony. "Her friends helped her escape, and-"

"Bah, just leave her alone, then," growled Anti-Stardust. "No one's going to believe her anyway, and I highly doubt that Celestia can actually do something."

Anti-Rainbow nodded her head, and she asked, "How's it going with-"

"Everything is fine, Crash," assured the alternate version of Stardust. "And like I said, there isno onewho can help that little pony."


###############


She didn't know where she was going, but Applebloom knew that she had to tell someone about what was going on.

"This is like some horrible nightmare," cried the little pony. "Who's going to believe me about...oh, holy apples!"

Applebloom suddenly stopped running, and it was like a light bulb had just turned on above her head. "I know who to talk to for help!"






(London, England)


"Okay, now say what you need to say to Stardust, or there will be no more cucumber sandwich picnics."

Fluttershy then slightly pushed Discord towards Stardust, who simply stared at him, and the now-human Discord sighed. "Okay, fine... I'm... s-s-sorry, Stardust... we're still friends, right?"

"I never said weweren't,Discord," said Stardust, rolling his eyes. "I just don't like it when you act... however it is you act sometimes."

Fluttershy looked up at Discord, nodding her approval, and the former draconequus said, "Well, let's hurry this up, and return home already. I'm not exactly...fond... of this world's atmosphere..."

"Well, according to Kronos, the way to get home is closer than we think," said Twilight. "So it has to be somewhere-"

"Ooh, ooh, pick me, pick me!"

Twilight and Stardust both looked at the hand-raising Pinkie Pie, and the former Earth Pony asked, "Yes, Pinkie?"

"What if we wait until it's close to midnight, go back up to the scary-high top of Big Ben, and see if the clock turns into a gateway portal like the Crystal Mirror?"

For a moment, nobody said anything... but then, Stardust blinked a few times, and said, "You mean to tell me... that we... the clock... this entire... time..."

Thump!

Twilight quickly caught her fainting boyfriend before he could hit the ground, and she asked, "How'd you come up with that idea, Pinkie?"

The party-planning teenager shrugged her shoulders, and replied, "Just a hunch."

"Ugggghhhh..."groaned Stardust.






(Casey's World)


Twilight was in the library, patiently reading a book as she waited for her special somepony to return from helping Stardust, but her attention was caught by the sound of the Crystal Mirror machine being activated.

"Back so soon, Casey?" said Twilight, assuming that it was him who was stepping out. "I mean, it's only been five minutes, and the other Twilight said that it would..."

"I'm sorry, but Casey is a little busy at the moment,"said Anti-Stardust, as he stepped out of the Crystal Mirror. "And since I've lost a prisoner, I need somepony else who I can use as leverage."

Twilight gulped, and she slowly started to back away. "Are you... okay... Stardust?"

"Never been better, Twilight," replied Anti-Stardust, and before she could run out of the library, he used his dark energy magic to seal the doors completely."I do wish that I could say the same for you."
> Getting Home
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Twilight helped Stardust up to his feet, Discord said, "Now, this is surprising to see... I never thought you'd be one of those melodramaticfaintingpeople."

"I'mnot," replied Stardust, while adjusting his glasses. "I only did it because of the fact that Pi... I mean, that we pretty much wasted all that time running around London, trying to find a way home-"

I wouldn't exactly say you wasted time, Jack.

"Oh, sonowyou're talking?" Stardust exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell us that Big Ben was the way for us to get back home?"

Because you wouldn't have gone through what you did, and learned what needed to be known.

Stardust rolled his eyes, and asked, "And what would that be, pray tell?"

As the two of them continued their conversation, Casey looked at Twilight, and asked, "Don't you ever want to know what Starswirl is saying to him?"

"Depending on the situation," replied the young princess. "But I think it's best if I respect their privacy, and just wait until Jack tells me whatever Starswirl said to him."

Casey nodded his head, and looked back at his friend, who still did not look satisfied with the answers he was receiving.

If I had told you, Jack, you wouldn't have told Miss Dash that you did not blame her for being upset with you, nor would you have had a rather enjoyable dancing experience with Miss AJ.

Stardust took a quick glance at Rainbow before giving a response.

Yeah, well, I still have some fixing to do in that department when all this is over... but I still can't see why-

I wasn't quite done yet,replied Starswirl.You also would have not seen what happened in Anti-Stardust's past; therefore, you wouldn't have been able to-

"Okay, hold it," exclaimed Stardust. "If you're about to say what I think you're going to say..."

You know that it's the right thing to do.

"No, it'snot," replied the young man. "After everything that he has done to us, you expect me to-"

Was it not you who said once that no one is beyond redemption?

Stardust waited a moment to remember the day hehadsaid that, and then, he replied, "Okay, but I don't think redeeming him-"

"We have to try, Jack."

Everyone looked at Twilight, who continued to speak. "He's still you, in a way, and I know that there has to a part of him who is regretting everything that he's doing."

Stardust sighed, and he replied, "But, love, you saw what he did to his friends... to Sci-Twi..."

"Well, to be fair, we don't know if he did the same thing to her," reminded Twilight. "And I'm sure that if we convince Anti-Stardust to change his ways, everyone else will come back in the same way that those other versions of you did."

Stardust still looked hesitant about possibly trying to redeem his alternate self, but after Twilight placed her hand on his shoulder, and she gave him a warm smile, the former pony said, "Fine, I'll do my best to help him, love, but... it sure as hell isn't going to be an easy task to accomplish."

"Well, of course it won't be, darling," replied Rarity. "When has something like this ever been easy for us?"

Stardust chuckled, and said, "True... I just wish we didn't have to wait until damn midnight to-"

"I never said we didn'thave towait until midnight, Stardust," pointed out Pinkie. "I just suggested that time."

The young man looked at her friend, and asked, "So, what, you think any time will be work? Like now?"

"Maybe," shrugged Pinkie. "But it would be kinda hard since a whole lot of people are by it right now."

She pointed her finger in the direction of Big Ben, and everyone saw that a massive crowd of tourists were standing by the famous clocktower.

"Well, I could take care of that part," said Discord, as he cracked and flexed his fingers.

"Yeah, but there's still the problem of actually getting up to the actual clock," reminded Stardust, but before he could say more, Rainbow's stomach started to growl.

"Um, Star, can we all go to some place that has good food and no creepy guys trying to harass us?"

Stardust chuckled, and he said, "Sure, Rainbow... I think I know just the place actually."


A few minutes later


The group of friends entered a restaurant that was titledPoppies Fish and Chips,and as they sat at a table, Spike asked, "What made you decide to come here?"

"It had a good response on Yelp," replied Stardust, causing everyone except Discord to be confused.

"Um, what in the hay isYelp?" Applejack asked.

Before Stardust could answer, an elderly female waitress came over to the table, and asked for their orders.

"We'd all like a cup of water, and a plate of fish and chips," answered Stardust, and the waitress smiled kindly at him before walking away.

"Er, what'sfish and chips?" Rainbow asked.

Stardust looked at her friend, and answered, "It's a food dish that I rather enjoy very much, and even though I'm sure that this will be the only time we're all here in England, I figured I would introduce it to you all before we go back home."

Rainbow's stomach growled again, and she said, "Alright, I'll eat almost anything at this point... I'mstarving!"

"Oh, honestly, Rainbow, you act sometimes like you've never eaten a decent meal before," said Rarity, rolling her eyes at her friend.

"Anyway..." exclaimed Twilight, not wanting her friends to start an argument. "We need to figure out how exactly we're going to climb up to the top of Big Ben in order to jump through the clock."

Stardust quickly looked at Pinkie, and asked, "Any of yourhunchesinclude a solution to that?"

"Um... no, I don't think so," replied Pinkie.

Stardust sighed, and he muttered, "Of course, they don't..."

"I wish me and Twilight and Rainbow still had our wings," sighed Fluttershy, with her two friends nodding in agreement.

Then, Spike looked over at Stardust again, and noticed the necklace that he was wearing. "What about that?"

"Huh?" Stardust looked down, and saw the Cutie Mark necklace he'd received from Miles' world. "Wow, I... forgot I even had this on."

"You think you could use it to help take us up to the top?" asked Starlight, and Stardust gave her a shrug.

"If it worked, then... yes, I suppose so, but I might have to make a few trips."

So, they all continued to figure out how their new plan would work, but paused the conversation once the waitress had brought their food.

"Oh, boy, this smells so good," said Rainbow, and she started diving into her meal.

"Wow, Star, you were right," said Spike, who was munching on the French Fries.

"Sheesh, you two can at leasttryto act decent enough to show your table manners" exclaimed Rarity, who had tucked a napkin in her collar before eating her meal.

"Um, Rarity, you don't have to... never mind," said Stardust, who also started eating. "Do you like it, love?"

"Yes, but... why do they call the frieschipsinstead of fries?" Twilight asked, and her boyfriend shrugged.

"I don't care, this stuff tastes awesome," replied Spike. "Your world doesn't seem that bad, bro."

Stardust smirked at the dragon-turned-dog, and said, "It does have its moments... huh, I wonder if my little sister would enjoy this place."

And, here we go.

Before Stardust could ask what Starswirl meant, Twilight suddenly asked, "Um... Jack? Would you want to... perhaps... visit your family before we head back home?"

Stardust remained quiet for a moment, thinking about what the right answer would be, and then, to Twilight's surprise, he shook his head.

"I'm pretty sure that alotof time has passed since the last time I was in England, love, and although I will not lie about the fact that I do miss them, now is not really the best time for me to just randomly appear at my parent's doorstep."

"But, what about your little sister?" asked Twilight.

Rainbow paused her eating to wipe her mouth with a napkin, and asked, "You gave her the photo I signed, right?"

"Yes, Rainbow, and I'm sure that she's kept it in a very safe place," replied Stardust, which made the former Pegasus feel a little better.

Then, looking at Twilight, he said, "She'll be fine, love... and so will I."

Twilight gave him a warm smile, as did Spike, and as they continued to eat, Starswirl spoke to Stardust.

You handled that surprisingly well, my friend.

The young man gave a slight nod of his head, and resumed eating his meal.

Ididgive her the photo, right?

We'll talk about that later, Jack.


#################


Once they finished eating, the group of friends headed straight over to the famous clocktower, and thanks to Discord, no one could see them standing in front of it.

"Alright, I've done my part," said the former draconequus, in a low tone so that none of the humans nearby could hear them. "Now, hurry up and activate your necklace thingy."

"Oh, will you justrelax," hissed Stardust, and he closed his eyes in order to get his newfound power to work.

Think of a wonderful thought

Any happy little thought

Then, the Cutie Mark pendant began to glow, and it shot out two small streaks of white-hot flames that began swirling around Stardust's body, which soon became engulfed in a bright light.

After the light went away, they looked at the spot where Stardust had been... but even though he was now floating in the air, the young man had been turned back into his glowing, gold-coloredsuper sayianpony form, which only Twilight had previously seen.

Opening his eyes, which no longer needed glasses, Stardust looked down at himself, and said, "Huh, I did not know that it could do that."

Looks like we have our own story to uncover.

"Another time," whispered Stardust, and he spoke up after looking at his friends. "Alright, who wants to go first?"

To everyone's surprise, Fluttershy was the first to volunteer, and after seeing that everyone was looking at her, she said, "I'd just like to get it over with as soon as possible."

So, the animal-caring teenager walked over to Stardust, holding onto him the way Lois Lane would hold Superman, and he started levitating upward to the top of Big Ben, at a casual pace so that Fluttershy wouldn't be scared.

"You okay so far?" He asked, and she nodded her head. "Okay, just don't look down."

Around the halfway point, Fluttershy looked at her friend, and said, "Um, Stardust?"

"Yeah?"

"Well... er... since we're alone for the moment, I wanted to know if I could ask you about something?"

Stardust chuckled, and said, "Uh, yeah, sure... what is it?"

A hint of embarrassment appeared on Fluttershy's face as she said, "A few days ago... um, Spike said... well, heaccidentallymentioned to me that-"

"We don't exactly have all day, you know!"

Stardust rolled his eyes, and he yelled back, "Justchill, Discord, I barely got up here right now!"

The two of them turned their heads to look at the giant clock, and Stardust asked, "You ready?"

Fluttershy nodded her head, deciding that she'd ask him another time, and after taking a deep breath, the young teenager jumped out of Stardust's arms, heading straight towards the clock...

... and falling through a gateway portal that had suddenly appeared.

"Starswirl?"

Yes?

"Pleasetell me you havesomeexplanation to give me as to how Pinkie knew about-"

I honestly wish I could, Jack, but even I have learned by now that one simply does not question Miss Pie.

"I figured you'd say that," muttered Stardust, who had quickly flown back down to the ground. "Alright, who's next?"

"Me, me!" Pinkie cried, and she hopped into Stardust's open arms. "Go fast, okay?"

"This isn't some type of ride, Pinkie," reminded Stardust. "Butif you say so, I suggest youhang on."

Whoosh!

Stardust quickly zoomed up to the top of Big Ben, while Pinkie squealed with excitement. "Wheee!"

Once they were at the top, Pinkie gave Stardust a quickthank-youhug, and sang, "Ah-pink-skadoo, I can too!"

She leaped away from Stardust, jumping into the portal, and the young pony laughed to himself as he re-joined his friends. "Next?"

After making sure that her hat was on tightly, Applejack walked over to Stardust, and said, "Let's do this, sugarcube."

Stardust nodded his head, and headed up at regular speed to the top of Big Ben.

"Oh, and Star? I'm sorry 'bout blamin' you for the barn being destroyed and all."

Stardust chuckled, and shook his head, saying, "No worries, AJ... I'm just glad you didn't get hurt again."

Casey chose to go after Applejack, but he decided to climb onto his back, and wrap his arms around Stardust's neck.

"I hope that your Twilight isn't worried to death about you," said Stardust.

Casey smiled at his friend's concern, and replied, "If I know her well enough by now, Star, she'll be safely reading a book in the library when I return."

Rairty went next, and when Stardust was halfway to the top, she also gave him an apology.

"I do apologize for hurting you with my broom, Stardust... am I forgiven?"

"Yes, Rarity, and don't worry," replied the gold pony. "I've taken a lot worse than your broom."

Rainbow decided to go after Rarity, but as they made their way up to the top, she was surprisingly silent.

Starswirl?

The chance will come soon, my friend.

After her was Sunset, who said, "This actually doesn't look that bad on you, Star. I'm impressed."

"Thanks," replied Stardust, as well as giving her a smirk. "But ittotallytops any of the looks that you and the others have had back in your world."

A minute or so later, after he returned, Starlight walked up to him next, and she asked, "Still thinking about your past?"

"I'll be fine," assured Stardust. "But thanks again... you've certainly learned a lot from Twilight, haven't you?"

"Well... I mean, I'm not always a perfect student," replied a bashful Starlight. "But I really am glad that I get to learn from her."

Just as I'm sure Miss Shimmer is glad to learn what she can from you.

After she had safely gone through the portal, Stardust floated back down, and saw that the only ones left now were Twilight, Spike, and Discord.

"Let's get this over with," muttered Stardust, referring to the spirit of disharmony.

To his surprise, Discord shook his head, and said, "No need to worry yourself about me, Jack-Jack...ta-ta!"

Pulling out aMary Poppinsumbrella from his pants pocket, Discord made his way up to the top of the clocktower, while Stardust shook his head. "Unbelievable."

Then, he looked over at Twilight, and gave her a warm smile. "Ready, love?"

Twilight nodded her head, and as she climbed into her boyfriend's arms, the young princess asked, "Are you going to miss seeing me... like this?"

"Well, I certainly won't forget, love," replied Stardust, grinning at her. "And as long as I'll always be able to make you blush..."

Twilight couldn't help but blush after hearing that, especially for what she was preparing to ask him. "Then, um... before we go, would you mind if I... if we..."

Stardust smirked, and raised an eyebrow at her, which made her say, "I mean, we've kissed in Ponyville, in Sunset's world... and we might not ever come back her for a long time..."

"I understand completely, love," replied Stardust, and the two of them slowly began to prepare for a loving, passionate kiss that would-

Whoosh!

Spike leaped into Twilight's arms, getting in between herself and Stardust, and he said, "Come on, bro, I want to go home already!"

Stardust frowned at the small dog, and shook his head while also muttering to himself before flying up to the top of Big Ben.





I"Well... at least we're back to normal again!"

Stardust looked around, and said, "Yeah...sure..."

On a positive note, everyone was back to looking like their regular self, aside fromSuper SayianStardust, and it looked like they were back in Ponyville.

"But why does it feel so different?" wondered Stardust.

Pinkie shrugged her small shoulders, and replied, "It's not like things could get any worse!"

"Well, well, well... I've been waiting such a long time for you."

Everypony turned around, and saw themselves facing a pony that looked almost a lot like Starlight, but more...evil...and her mane was in the original style that she'd had at her old village.

"Are you a clone of Starlight from the Mirror Pool?" Pinkie Pie asked, and the newly-arrived Starlight shook her head.

"No, and just for the sake of time, you can call meAnti-Starlight," replied the sinister unicorn. "But you're definitelynotheading home now... also, allow me to welcome you toAnti-Equestria."

Pinkie Pie waited a moment before saying, "Okay, well... we aretechnicallyin Equestria, so... things can't be worse than that!"


ROAR!


Everypony except Anti-Starlight looked up, and saw averyfamiliar purple dragon with green spikes across its body.

"Um, Twilight, darling," pointed out Rarity. "I don't recall Spikey Wikey ever beingthatbig and... er, mean-looking on the day of his birthday."

Twilight was too speechless to speak, while Stardust said, "I'd hate to break it to you, but that doesnotlook like someone who wants to be calledSpikey Wikey."

Pinkie gulped, and once again, she said, "But, I mean... things can't be worse than that, right?"


ROAR!


The group of friends leaped away in different directions, trying to avoid being burned by massive green flames, and Stardust yelled, "Stopsaying that,Pinkie!"

"Well, it can't!"


ROAR!


Anti-Spike first started to chase after Stardust, Twilight, and Casey, who all ended up running into the nearest building they could get to.

"Everyone okay?" Stardust asked, and Twilight nodded her head, as did Casey.

"I'm just glad for once that Pinkie isn't here to... you know..." said the orange-yellow pony.

Stardust nodded his head in agreement, but then, all three of them almost froze after they heard averyfamiliar voice.

"Well, look who has decided to join us this evening."

Casey turned around, and his body color began turning pale. "It's... it's..."

Stardust and Twilight turned around, and quickly noticed that they were in some type of restaurant.

Unfortunately, its occupants consisted of Queen Chrysalis, pony versions of the Dazzlings fromRainbow Rocks, Tirek, the Tantabus, and...

"Oh, [BEEP]!"
> The Battle Begins
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Has anyone seen Stardust or Twilight anywhere?"yelled Rainbow Dash.

Applejack dove behind a couple of barrels to avoid Anti-Spike's flamethrower attack, and replied, "Nope, but I hope they're doin' better than we are righ' now."





Casey gulped, and said, "Um, okay... you two have encountered them all before, right?"

"Not exactly," said Twilight, referring to Dazzlings since Stardust intervened in the events that would have introduced her to them originally. "Haven't you?"

Casey shook his head, and said, "I just watched from afar. Rowan was the only... um... why haven't they attacked us yet?"

Although the three ponies were now inside a restaurant that was occupied by almost every sinister villian they'd encountered in the past, none of them actually looked like they were ready for a fight.

In fact, most of them were hardly paying any attention to Stardust, Casey, or Twilight at all.

"Um... shouldn't you all be ready to beat the living tar of us?" asked Casey.

"Why would we do that?" Anti-Adagio asked, who was currently looking down at her meal that she was eating from.

Stardust and Twilight looked at each other, and the energized pony said, "Because you're allvillainsthat hate us, and you do terrible things to everypony else."

Anti-Chrysalis let out a laugh, and replied, "My dear child, we haven't shown any sign of cruelty to anyone."

"Unlike your other self and the rest of his friends," added Anti-Aria, who also wasn't looking at them.

"But why would you not...ohhhh,"said Stardust, now understanding now what was going on. "You're all good in this world, aren't you?"

"Correct, Shiny One, we have not... is there something wrong, little pony?" Anti-Tirek asked, looking at an uneasy-feeling Casey.

"I'll be fine, but just, uh, stay seated at your table, okay?"

Stardust had never seen Casey look so uncomfortable before, but Starswirl quickly gave him an explanation as to why he looked so pale.

In his world, Tirek's battle against Twilight caused him to lose his parents and childhood home.

"We'll be okay, Casey," said Twilight, trying to comfort him. "They won't hurt us."

As Casey nodded his head, Anti-Sonata finished munching on her taco, and said, "Well,mostof us anyway...he'sdone some pretty bad things."

They looked in the direction that she was pointing at, and Stardust chuckled. "Why am I not surprised?"

Sitting at a table that was almost hidden in the shadows was an alternate version of King Sombra, the former ruler of the Crystal Empire... and someone whom Stardust himself was very familiar with.

"And what exactly isthatsupposed to mean?" Anti-Sombra said, glaring at Stardust.

"Back in my world, you and I have alotof history together," replied a smirking Stardust. "In fact, you even tried to take over my actual body permanently."

Anti-Sombra rolled his eyes, and said, "Oh,spare me, young fool... In this world, I have done nothing like that, and even if I chose to do so, I would not waste my time on an insignificant pony like you."

I suppose that any version of Sombra has an immediate dislike towards you.

Stardust simply gave a small shrug.

"Well, does anypony here know where we can find the Crystal Mirror?" asked Twilight, looking around the restaurant.

Anti-Sombra looked at her with curiosity, and asked, "Why would you be interested in that?"

"Because the other me used it to take himself and his friends to our world," explained Stardust, who wanted to leave Anti-Equestria as soon as possible.

"I wastalkingto the princess, not to you," growled Anti-Sombra, who glared at the energized pony. "Anyway,you'll have to defeat Starlight and the large dragon in order for the Crystal Mirror to appear... since the otherStardustfoolishly assumed that none of you would be able to do that."

Stardust chuckled, and said, "Oh, please, I've ta... I mean,wehave taken on worser things than those two. Defeating them won't be a problem."

Anti-Sombra raised an eyebrow, and replied, "Yet you chose to lead your friends inside here, and have not yet left to help the rest of your friends that are out there?"

Stardust was about to yell back at him, but realized what he'd just said. "Good point... come on, love."

Twilight nodded her head, and before leaving, she looked at Anti-Sombra, and said, "Er... thank you for your... help."

"Of course, Princess Twilight," replied Anti-Sombra. "But I certainly hope you don't plan on makingthis oneyour pr-"


ROAR!


"Okay, we gotta go," exclaimed Stardust, and he led the other two out of the restaurant, finding Applejack hiding behind a pile of barrels.

"Where in the hay have y'all been at?" exclaimed the hard-working pony.

"Not important right now," said Stardust, looking up at Anti-Spike. "Where's everyone else at?"

Applejack used her hoof to gesture at the area around them, and replied, "Probably hidin' like me to make sure we don't become barbecue by Anti-Spike up there... and we haven't seen the other Starlight since he showed up."


Whoosh!


After making sure that Anti-Spike's flames did not reach them, Stardust said, "Okay, I'll lead the dragon away from here, and you can take care of Anti-Starlight, so that after, we can finally go back home, and end this [BEEP]."

"What?!"Twilight hissed, who was not that pleased with her boyfriend's plan. "Jack, that thing could-"

"Iknowwhat he can probably do to me, love," said Stardust, letting out a sigh. "But you have to trust me that I know what I'm doing... especially since I'm looking likethis."


ROAR!


Twilight tucked in her wings so that they wouldn't get singed, and she said, "Okay, but justpleasebe careful-"

[Insert "Molossus" by Hans Zimmer fromBatman Begins]

"Always, love," replied Stardust, and he rose up into the sky, looking at Anti-Spike. "Hey, [BEEP], over here!"

The large dragon turned his head to look at Stardust, who yelled, "Come on, Barney, let's see what you got!"

Anti-Spike let out another roar, them started flapping his wings, and he lunged towards Stardust, who suddenly disappeared right before the dragon could crunch him with his jaws.

"Over here, hothead!"The young pony cried, who had reappeared behind him.

The large dragon gritted his teeth in frustration, and as Stardust raced towards the direction that led away from Ponyville, Anti-Spike chased after him.

"Please be careful, Jack," said Twilight, stepping away from the barrels to look for the rest of her friends. "Fluttershy? Rainbow?"

"Phew, thank goodness that he's gone," said Rarity, letting out a sigh of relief as she came out of her hiding spot.

Spike then came out from his, and after reuniting with Twilight, he asked, "Where did Star go?"

Before Twilight could reply, Anti-Starlight reappeared, and said, "Like Isaid, none of you are getting back home."

"Ha! What are you gonna do about it?" challenged Rainbow. "Cause there's ten of us, and onlyoneof you!"

Anti-Starlight smirked at Rainbow, and replied, "Oh, I don'tthink so, Dash..."

"What are you -ow!" Rainbow looked down at her hooves, which were now caught in a tight grip by miniature bear-traps, and she tried flying out of them, but that only made things worse.

The same thing had happened to everyone else, except for Twilight, but this made Discord say, "Oh, please, do you haveany ideawho I am? I could easily get rid of these things."

"Not inthisworld, you can't," replied Anti-Starlight, and she also used her magic to tie him up into a straightjacket. "Alright, where was I... ah, yes..."

She turned her attention back to Twilight, and said, "You're going to have to try and get through me if you want the Crystal Mirror to appear."

The alicorn princess began to prepare for a fight, but she still looked hesitant. "We don't have to fight, Starlight... and you don't have to make bad choices either."

Anti-Starlight rolled her eyes, and said, "Seriously, Twilight, don't you know the meaning ofAnti-Equestria, or why we all have'anti'in our names?"

Twilight shook her head, and she replied, "You don'thave tobe that way, though, Starlight... you can be agoodpony, not-"

"Ugh, you areso pathetic," exclaimed Anti-Starlight, and she used her magic to shoot an energy blast at Twilight, but for some reason, it was sent traveling into a different direction before it could reach her."What the heck?!"

"Leave her alone..."said Starlight, who stopped using her invisibility spell, and appeared in front of Twilight. "Fightme, not her..."

"Starlight, don't do-" began Twilight, but her pupil gave her a look that meant'I got this', and the alicorn sighed, then nodded her head.

"Youhonestlythink you have a chance againstme?" laughed Anti-Starlight. "If you hadn't let yourself be reformed by these ponies, thenmaybeyou could..."

Starlight frowned, and she replied, "I didn'tlet them... Ichoseto become friends with them, and as their friend, I am about to beat the... um..."

The purple unicorn looked at Twilight, and asked, "What's that one word Stardust always uses?"





"Spike, don't make me have to beat the [BEEP] out of you," exclaimed Stardust, as he continued to avoid Anti-Spike's massive jaws, which kept coming closer... and closer... and...


WHAM!


Anti-Spike clenched his jaws tightly after successfully catching Stardust, but then, he felt something bouncing all around his mouth, and the dragon ended up re-opening his mouth to let him out.

"Alright, that isit, you little..." Stardust paused to look at his body, which was now covered in dragon slob. "Oh,come on!"





Anti-Starlight let out a laugh, and exclaimed, "Well, then... let's see whatyoucan do, little pony."

"Gladly," replied Starlight, who used her own magic to levitate herself up into the air, as did Anti-Starlight, and she fired an energy blast at her.

"Ha,you'll have to better than-" began Anti-Starlight, who had avoided the blast, but Starlight quickly fired another one, and it sent her flying back a few feet.

"Aw, what's the matter?" Starlight asked. "I thought you said I wasweakerthan you..."

Anti-Starlight gritted her teeth together in frustration, and said, "It's going to take more thanthatto stop me."





Stardust moved out of the way from Anti-Spike's flames, and said, "You aren't much of a talker, are you?"


ROAR!


"Yup, definitely not," said the energized pony. "Okay, Spike, you leave me no choice... but I have a home to protect..."

You don't know if thiswill actually work, my friend.

Stardust smirked, and muttered, "Hey, if this is an MLP version of a super sayian, Starswirl, then this should mostdefinitelywork."

Anti-Spike, who was growing tired of chasing Stardust, began to prepare for one last flamethrower attack while Stardust put his front hooves together, placing them in an outward position, and pulled back. "Time to finish this..."

The large dragon released his flames, fired straight at Stardust, who pushed his glowing hooves outward, and sent out a powerful energy blast.





As the two Starlight ponies landed on the ground, they both powered up their magical energy, and fired their own blasts at the designated target.


WHAM!


They collided against each other, and it was now almost like a dangerous game oftug-of-war, with Starlight and Anti-Starlight trying to gain the upper edge.

"You... have no chance... against me," growled Anti-Starlight. "What power could you possibly... ever have that I do not?"

A few drops of sweat trickled down Starlight's face as she replied, "The power... of true...friendship!"

Then, to Anti-Starlight's surprise, Starlight's energy blast started pushing back her own, and she said, "No... this can't be happening... I'm supposed to be the stronger one!"

"Well... you know what they say," replied Starlight. "You do not... mess with the original."


KA-BOOM!


Giving it one more push, Starlight's energy blast went straight through the one that Anti-Starlight made, and created an explosion that sent the alternate Starlight flying very high into the sky, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

As for Starlight, who looked exhausted, she sat herself down on the ground, and said, "See, Twilight? I knew... I could... do this..."

The young princess smiled at her friend, and turned around to see everyone else being released from Anti-Starlight's bear-claw traps that were also starting to disappear. "Is everypony okay?"

"Well,Icertainly won't be if I can't get out of this accursed thing," exclaimed Discord, who was tossing and turning his body around while still wearing a straightjacket. "Fluttershy, could you possibly give me a hoof with this?"

Twilight walked over to Starlight, and she asked, "Are you going to be okay?"

Starlight nodded her head, and said, "I just hope that... Stardust had an easier job than me."

"Funny... I was about to tell you something similar."

The two purple-colored ponies looked forward to see Stardust making his way towards them, still trying to remove what remained of Anti-Spike's salivia from his body. "So, what did I miss?"

"Well, I took care of... my other self," explained Starlight, as she began to stand up. "How'd it go with you?"

After flicking away the last ofdragon slobfrom his body, Stardust replied, "It wasn't easy, but I don't think we have to worry about that dragon anymore."

Looking at Spike, he added, "I also hope you don't have any intentions of ever being likethatone day."

"Nah, I think I'm good," chuckled the young dragon.

Stardust then noticed Fluttershy trying to help Discord remove the straightjacket, and he asked, "What happened toyou?"

"Apparently my magic does not work in this world," muttered an irritated Discord. "And the other Starlight wrapped me in this...damnedthing that I can't...aaagghhh!"

Stardust chuckled, and he said, "Well, I think it's an improvement."

Discord glared at Stardust, and he exclaimed, "Oh,ha, ha, ha... just use whatever new kind of power you have to release me from thisthing."

"If that's what the cranky draconequus wants..." replied Stardust, and he made his way over to Discord.

"Alright, now just...ow, notthat way, you...aaaagghhh,you could at leasttryto not...OW!"

Stardust rolled his eyes, and held up the straightjacket in front of Discord. "I took it off, like, five seconds ago."

Everyone was now looking at the somewhat embarrassed draconequus, who crossed his arms, and said, "Can wejustgo home now, please?"

As an answer, theAnti-Equestriaversion of the Crystal Mirror suddenly appeared a few feet away, and Discord let out a sigh of relief. "It'sabout time!"

"You're welcome," muttered Stardust, but as they all began walking towards the Crystal Mirror, he began puzzling through everything that had just happened.

[Insert "Seizing the Spirit of Adventure" fromUp]

Noticing her boyfriend's expression, Twilight asked, "What is it?"

"Is it me, or did this seem alittle too easy?" He replied, and Starlight gave him a look that meant'seriously',while the rest of their friends began to jump through the mirror.

"No, I mean... yeah, the Crystal Mirror is here, but if this was all that we had to do, then my other self isn't as smart as I thought he was."

Before stepping into the mirror, Casey chuckled, and replied, "Yeah, he's making Rowan look like a genius."

The only ones remaining now were Stardust, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash, but the blue Pegasus pony suddenly stopped in front of the mirror.

"Rainbow?" asked Twilight, now feeling a little worried about her. "You okay?"

"Yeah, but... I have a strange feeling that something-" Rainbow then went from confused to worried, and she quickly flew straight towards Stardust, pushing him out of the way just in time to avoid being struck by a powerful ray beam.

As the two of them landed on the ground, Rainbow let out a scream of pain, and Stardust realized that one of her wings had taken the hit.

"Not so fast, little ponies..."

The three of them turned around, and found themselves looking at Anti-Rainbow, who had used Casey's modified wristwatch device to fire the beam at Stardust.

"You still have me to deal with, and you ponies aren't going anywhere!"

Before Stardust could say anything, Rainbow shook her head, and exclaimed, "Not if I have anything to say about it!"

Then, she leaped away from her friend, and landed onto a surprised Anti-Rainbow, pinning her to the ground. "Okay, get out of here!"

Twilight shook her head, and cried, "We're not leaving without you, Rainbow, we can help-"

"I'mserious,Twilight, leave before -whoa!"

Anti-Rainbow pushed off her other self, who was safely able tonotland on her injured wing, and she said, "There is no way that I am going to let you two simply walk through the-"

"Leave them alone!" yelled Rainbow, and with her head ducked down, she ran towards Anti-Rainbow, acting like a battering ram to send her crashing into a nearby pile of wooden boxes.

Stardust let out a whistle, and said, "Rainbow, you don't have to do this, I can help you-"

The winged pony shook her head, and replied, "Justgo, Star, I'll take care of her, you and everypony else stop Anti-Stardust from-"


ROAR!


"What the [BEEP], man?!"yelled an upset Stardust. "You're supposed to be-"

"Don't move!"Anti-Rainbow started running towards Stardust, but Rainbow tackled her again to the ground, and the two started wrestling around with each other in the dirt.

Stardust tried to run towards them, but Anti-Spike started shooting more flames at him. "You aredefinitelystarting to piss me the hell off!"

Jack, you must go now.

"No, Specter, I'm not-"

Starswirl.

"Whatever!I'm not going to leave Rainbow behind, and-"

Suddenly, he felt a hoof on his shoulder, and turned to look at Twilight, who said, "I know this might seem weird formeto say, Jack, but we need to go."

"Twilight, love, she could get hurt even more, and-"

"I know, Jack, but we also can't let Anti-Stardust destroy our world the same way he did to his friends," replied Twilight, and her boyfriend took one more look at the two Rainbows.

She'll be fine, Jack, but I fear that something worse is happening in our world.

Stardust sighed, and he yelled out, "You'd better come back, Rainbow!"

"Don't... worry, Star, I... got this!"

Nodding his head, and praying that his elderly friend was right, Stardust looked back at Twilight, and said, "Let's go."

As the two of them went through the Crystal Mirror, Anti-Rainbow looked down at her counterpart, and said, "He can't beat him, you know... he's already had the power for too long."

"What are you talking about?"






(Stardust's World)


The Crystal Mirror began to glow, and one by one, everypony started falling out, landing on the ground.

First to arrive was Discord, followed by Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack, as well as Spike, Sunset, Casey, Twilight, and last but not least, Stardust, who was now back in his regular pony form.

"So,now,are we home?" asked Discord, rubbing the side of his head with his left hand.

Before Stardust could answer him, Applejack noticed that somepony was missing. "What happened to Rainbow Dash?"

"Oh, I'm afraid she won't be joining us for the moment..."

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a black and rock-like substance started covering up Discord's body, and stopped after it reached his neck, leaving that and everything else above safe.

"What inCelestiais the meaning of this?!" exclaimed the draconequus.

Several feet away, stepping out of the shadows was Anti-Stardust, who had a smirk on his face. "Sorry, but it wouldn't be a fair fight if you got involved."

Then, he was joined by Midnight (Anti-Twilight), as well as the alternate versions of Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy.

"Well, jokes onyou," pointed out Pinkie. "Because we've also got Spike, Casey, Starlight, and Sunset!"

Anti-Stardust looked at the trio of ponies that Pinkie had mentioned, and he replied, "Ah, yes, I almost forgot about you three... but I'm not too concerned about the baby dragon."

While Spike started to frown, Anti-Stardust looked at his girlfriend, and asked, "Um, sweetheart, if you may?"

"Of course, handsome," replied Midnight, and she used her magic to make three small ball-shaped objects appear in front of them, which were colored in black, as well as letting out tiny bolts of purple electricity.

Why do those seem so familiar? Stardust thought, and before he could say anything, the round objects opened up, releasing a burst of white energy that began sucking Casey, Starlight, and Sunset inside of them!

"No!" Twilight yelled, and she started to run towards the three round objects, but Midnight quickly used her magic to bring them back over to Anti-Stardust, who placed them inside one of his cloak's pockets.

Letting out a sigh, the alternate version of Stardust said, "Well, it's not exactly the ones trainers usually start out with, but they'll have to do for the moment."

As for the other Stardust, who had looked around the area, he glared at his villainous counterpart, and said, "You turned the inside of Twilight's castle into aPokémongym battle field?"

"Eh, I figured,why not?" Anti-Stardust said, shrugging his small shoulders.

Stardust shook his head, and said, "Look, as much as part of me would like to see you get hit by a Thundershock attack, we don't have to fight."

"We don't?" Anti-Pinkie said, and when Anti-Stardust glared at her, she instantly closed her muzzle.

"No,you do not," replied Stardust, still looking at his other self. "Come on,Jack, don't end up losing your friendsagain... what would Sci-Twi say?"

Anti-Stardust gritted his teeth in frustration, while Midnight looked at her boyfriend in confusion. "What is he talking about?"

"He's right, Anti-Stardust," said Twilight, joining in on the conversation. "You still have a chance to fix everything you did in your world... a chance to bring everyone back... even Sci-Twi..."

The black-and-yellow pony looked at the young princess, and said, "You don't even know what happened to her, so how could you possibly-"

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot," interrupted Pinkie Pie. "Whatdidyou do to Human Twilight?"

"That isnone of your concern," growled Anti-Stardust. "Besides, what makes you so sure that they'll all come back?"

"Because we've seen it happen before," replied Stardust. "And I don't need to be told by you that you did the same thing to her what you did to the rest of the EG versions of the Mane Six."

Growing more frustrated, Anti-Stardust slammed his hoof to the ground, and shouted, "That isnotmy fault! If I hadn't been sent toCanterlot High,then I would have never-"

"Look, I get it, we both don't like that world," exclaimed Stardust. "But if there is any reasons I could think of ever staying in that realm, it would be the fact that you have friends who care about you... and a girlfriend who loves you."

Once he said that, Anti-Stardust's anger went away, then he quietly reached into one of his pockets, and pulled out Sci-Twi's half-damaged glasses. "I... she... we..."

"Whoa,that's cool, he has glasses like you, Stardust!" said Pinkie Pie.

Stardust rolled his eyes, and said, "Look, I know it sounds insane, but youwillbe able to bring her back... and you don't have to be a bad person anymore."

Anti-Stardust continued to look at Sci-Twi's glasses in silence, and the color of his eyes were slowly turning back to their original blue-green... but then, for some reason, he tossed them to the side, and Twilight quickly used her magic to stop them from receiving any further damage.

"That's the difference between us, Stardust,"said Anti-Stardust, whose dark energy aura began glowing more. "I enjoy being bad... it makes mehappy... and I'm definitely gonna enjoy beating the [BEEP] out of you."

Then, looking at his own friends, Anti-Stardust said, "Let's have somereal fun,shall we?"

While the Anti-Mane Five nodded their heads, Stardust sighed, and he began preparing to transform back into hissuper sayianform. "I'm warning you for the last time, you don't have to do this."

"Well, that's too bad,"replied Anti-Stardust, who was powering up his own energy, and then, once he was at a high-enough level, the villainous pony raced towards his counterpart.





As Applejack watched her friend start a fight against Anti-Stardust, she suddenly noticed Anti-Applejack walking towards her, and began to get into a fighting position.

"Well, just hold it for one apple-picking minute, Other Me," said Anti-Applejack. "Before we throw down, there's a lil' somethin' more important that I wanna try out first."

Applejack gave her alternate self a suspicious look, and asked, "Andwhatintarnationwould that be exactly?"

"You're about to find out," replied Anti-Applejack, who then started yelling. "Hey, Midnight, I need ya to make a barrel appear right here!"


POOF!


Now holding a barrel in her hooves, Anti-Applejack set it down in between the two of them, and placed one of her limbs on the top of it. "You, me, hoof wrestlin' right now."

Applejack just looked at her, and said, "Pardon, but did you sayhoof wrestling? What about all the fightin' and-"

"I ain't do that much fightin' back in my world, AJ," explained Anti-Applejack, but Applejack was still confused.

"But y'all have the wordAntiin-"

Her counterpart shook her head, and explained, "That don't mean Ihaveto be an 'evil' pony... well,all the time... and inmyworld, I'm the element of dishonesty, but one truth that I can tell you is that I have beaten nearly everypony that I know in this here activity, so now, I gotta see if I can actually beatmy own self."

With a sly grin, the young pony added, "So, are you gonna just keep flappin' your gums, then?"

Anti-Applejack laughed, and she replied, "Bring it, little pony..."





Meanwhile, Rarity was trying to avoid fighting with Anti-Rarity. "Look, as much as Ihatethat you so rudely threw me into the Human World, I see no other reason for us to fight."

"Oh, really?" questioned the alternate version of Rarity. "Well, what if I told you that having Anti-Stardustruining your outfits wasmyidea?"

The white unicorn gasped in shock, and then, she frowned, with an anger now burning in her eyes, as well as lighting up her horn with her magic. "Oh,it... is... on!"





As for Fluttershy, she was standing by the half-frozen Discord, while Anti-Fluttershy was giving her other self an angry look.

"Well, are we going tofightor not?"

The reluctant Pegasus rubbed the back of her neck with one of her hooves, and said, "Um, actually, I was hoping if you could just go back to your world without us having to fight at all?"

Discord nodded in agreement, and Anti-Fluttershy rolled her eyes. "Why would I do that? Anti-Star said that this place was a million times better than-huh?"

All of a sudden, a small digging hole started appearing in between the two yellow ponies, and after a few more seconds, a little white bunny popped out.

"Angel? What are you doing here?" said Fluttershy, surprised to see her beloved pet bunny, while Anti-Fluttershy looked at him with confusion.

Angel pointed at his wrist, as if he had on a wristwatch, and then his stomach, which made Fluttershy gasp. "Oh, my, I've forgotten to give you lunch!"

The small bunny nodded his head, but then, he turned around, noticing the alternate version of his owner, and looked at Fluttershy, looking as if he wanted an explanation.

"Oh, um, Angel, this is Anti-Fluttershy, and she, er... well, I don't really know much about her exactly."

Angel looked back at Anti-Fluttershy, who raised an eyebrow, asking, "Who isthissupposed to be?"

Fluttershy tilted her head to the side, and asked, "Isn't there an Angel in your world?"

"No, but I do have a girl bunny named Satin, and she looks almost like Ange-"

Then, to her surprise, a pink and female version of Angel came out of her own dug hole, and gave her owner a disappointed look.

"Did I forget to feed you also?"

Satin nodded her head, but then, she found herself turning around, noticing Angel, and both of their eyes grew wide like a pair of ping-pong balls.

"Huh, I never knew something like this would ever happen," said Fluttershy, with her alternate self nodding in agreement.





A few feet away from everypony were Pinkie and Anti-Pinkie, with the kinder pony asking, "So, er, arewesupposed to fight, too?"

"Well, your Stardustdidsay that we didn't have to," reminded Anti-Pinkie. "And Idoknow a way for us to have real fun..."

Pinkie's face started lighting up with excitement, but then, her alternate self said, "It hasnothingto do with parties."

"Awww..."moaned the pink pony. "So, whatdowe do to have some fun? You don't like parties, or singing, or baking cupca-"

Anti-Pinkie started waving her hooves around, and replied, "Whoa, whoa,whoa... Ineversaid that I don't like to sing. In fact, I know a song thatbothof us can sing together, instead of me doing it alone."

"Okay, then," agreed Pinkie. "What's the name of the game - I mean,song?"

Anti-Pinkie chuckled, and began pressing buttons on a typewriter that was now in front of her. "After I hit these things four times, you break this lamp, then add the sound of a page being ripped out of a book, and whatever else you can think of..."

She then handed her other self a few objects, including a horn-like instrument, and Pinkie asked, "But I don't want to do something mean to whoever owns all this stuff."

"Ugh, that all mostly belongs to me," replied Anti-Pinkie. "Besides, I do this all the time... oh, and don't sing until we get a pattern going, okay?"

She started using the typewriter again, and once it made adingnoise, Pinkie ripped out a page from the book she had gotten from her, as well as tossing a lamp onto the ground.

Almost sixty seconds later, the two of them were creating a jazz-like tempo, and Anti-Pinkie started singing.

Shooby doop

Dobby dop dobby doop

Dobby dah dah doo dap

Shooby doop

Dobby dop dobby doop

Dobby dah dah dobby op

Then, Anti-Pinkie pointed her hoof at Pinkie, who began to sing along with her.





Twilight quietly watched Midnight walk towards her, and the alternate version of herself asked, "Why aren't you preparing yourself to fight me?"

"Because it's like I tried to tell Anti-Starlight back in your world," explained Twilight. "We don't have to fight... and I don't want you to end up like her."

She then held up Sci-Twi's half-damaged glasses for her other self to see, and Midnight was now having feelings of confusion and irritation.

"But me and my friends all sent you to Earth so that we could take your place... you should beangrywith me!"

Twilight nodded her head, and she replied, "Believe me, Iwasangry at all of you, but then I saw what Rowan tricked the other Stardust into doing somethingterribleto his friends... toher... and I don't want the same to happen to you."

The unicorn princess handed Midnight the pair of glasses, and she was now looking at them like she'd once had them before.






(Anti-Equestria)


Rainbow didn't want to give up, but she was smart enough to know that the longer she fought her other-self, the more harm it would bring to her injured wing.

"You aren't leaving until this fight isover," growled Anti-Rainbow, who was continuing to block her from going through the Crystal Mirror.

The young Pegasus sighed, and she asked, "Why do you want to keep doing this? I never didanythingto you in the first place!"

"It doesn't matterwhy," exclaimed Anti-Rainbow. "So just shut up and put your hooves back up!"

Rainbow shook her head, and replied, "I'm not going to fight you if it's just going to be pointless for the both of us... why are you being so hard-headed about this?"

"You're one to talk," said the alternate version of herself. "And how stupid are you to actually believe thatyourStardust would vandalize your home?"

"I'mnotstupid, I just made a bad mistake," yelled an upset Rainbow. "What, you think I'd need a tutor or something on friendship?"

Anti-Rainbow gritted her teeth together in frustration, and was about to yell at her again when something clicked inside of her head.

"What did you just say?"

Rainbow groaned, and she replied, "I said I wasn'tstupidto-"

"No, notthat,the other word," exclaimed Anti-Rainbow. "You said too... two..."

Rainbow then started feeling a little confused, and said, "Um... atutor?"

"Yeah, that... word..." said Anti-Rainbow, and then, she found herself remembering a certain conversation.

Why didn't you just ask me to tutor you, Rainbow?

Because I didn't think you would agree to it if I asked you, Star.

Well, if it was a subject that I myself had trouble in, then I probably wouldn't agree, but come on, you know I'm, like, one of the top students in that class.

... I thought Twilight was?

Oh,God, it wasonemake-up test!

Rainbow turned her head to the side, and asked, "Um, are you okay?"






(Stardust's World)


After avoiding one of Anti-Stardust's energy blast, Stardust said, "I'mnotgoing to tell you again, Jack, just do the right thing, and fix your home world!"

"This is my home now," exclaimed Anti-Stardust. "And itshould'vebelonged to me from [BEEP]-in Day One!"

He then started to fire multiple energy blasts at Stardust, but the gold pony dodged them all, with ease. "Why the hell are you not fighting me anymore?"

"Because I amtryingto help you!" exclaimed Stardust. "Iknowhow terrible it may be to stay in theEquestria Girlsworld for however long you were there for, butliterallyerasing your friends from existence isn't worth it!"

"I don't want your help!" shouted Anti-Stardust, his anger growing even more. "And if you don't have the [BEEP]

to fight me... I'llmake you do it!"

He tried to swing his right hoof at Stardust, but the gold pony reversed it, and after grabbing ahold of him, he ended up tossing his other self into the ground below.

That was a bit much, wouldn't you say?

I'm trying to get the damn message in his head, Starswirl. Why is he so damn stubborn to... never mind, forget I said that.

He then lowered himself down to the stadium floor, and watched as his other self rise up from the rubble, now looking extremely ticked off.

"Had enough?"

Anti-Stardust laughed sarcastically, and said, "Oh, please, I'm barely getting warmed up... it's your own friends that you should be worrying about."

"Um..." Stardust looked around the stadium, and added, "I wouldn't exactly agree with you on that a hundred percent."

Anti-Stardust rolled his eyes, and said, "You are so freaking delusi -what the [BEEP]?!"

The two of them looked at the two versions of Applejack, who were still hoof-wrestling with each other.

"Alright, if you win this one, then I get a rematch," grunted Anti-Applejack.

Applejack continued to try and push her opponent's hoof down, and asked, "How'd you figure?"

"Because if we don't, that would put us as atie, and I don't want to end on a tie!"

They turned their attention over to Rarity and Anti-Rarity, who were both trying to whack each other with a broomstick.

"Howdare youconvince Anti-Stardust to ruin my dresses," shouted Rarity. "I spentmonthsmaking sure they were perfect!"

Fluttershy and Anti-Fluttershy were still watching the interactions between Satin and Angel, while Midnight was still looking at the glasses, and both Pinkie and Anti-Pinkie were close to finishing their song.

Do bop she doo, whoo

Do bop she doo, whoo, whoo

Do bop she doo whoo!

"What the [BEEP] are you all doing?!"

Still focusing her strength on AJ's limb, Anti-Applejack said, "Just cool it for a there, Star, I'm a little busy!"

As for Anti-Pinkie, she stopped playing with her trumpet, and said, "Um... singing a song to have fun?"

"You're supposed to be beating her to a pulp, Pinkie, not being a [BEEP BEEP]!"

While Anti-Pinkie looked almost terrified, Twilight looked at him, and said, "Hey, you should know better than to treat Pinkie that way."

"I didnt ask to get a [BEEP] opinion from you,princess," growled Anti-Stardust, and before Twlight could say anything back to him, the gold-and-black pony swung his hoof to the left, acting like he was slapping someone.

Then, to everyone's surprise, Twilight let out a yelp of pain, and fell to the ground, her right cheek now stinging with pain.

"Twilight!" yelled Stardust, who found himself running over to his girlfriend as fast as possible. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm... fine..." said Twilight, even though her eyes were slowly starting to water up, and Stardust glared at his alternate self.

"You just made... aserious mistake."

Anti-Stardust shook his head, and said, "No,youdid...six freaking months ago... by taking what should have rightfully been mine!"

He then looked at his own friends, and said, "If you'renotgoing to fight to stay here, then you're just as worthless as Anti-Equestria."

Before they could even respond to him, Anti-Stardust's eyes started glowing, and as he raised up his front right hoof, four of his friends found themselves being lifted up into the air.

To make matters worse, Anti-Stardust imagined himself slowly closing his hand into a fist, and the four anti-ponies started screaming in pain.

"Stardust, what the hell are you doing?" yelled the non-evil Stardust. "Those are your friends!"

"No, I killed my friends," growled Anti-Stardust, whose voice was changing, as well. "These are just worthless copies who-"

"Stardust, stop this now!"

The sinister pony looked over at Midnight, who was now wearing Sci-Twi's glasses, and she cried, "Why are you doing this to our friends?"

"Because I can," replied Anti-Stardust, giving her a deadly look. "Donotmake me have to do the same to-"


BOOM!


Anti-Stardust was suddenly sent flying into the wall, courtesy of a powerful energy blast that came from Stardust's hooves, and the four anti-ponies safely fell into the hooves of their counterparts.

"I'm not going to let you kill another Twlight," exclaimed Stardust, who was no longer in his"trying-to-redeem"mode. "Because I'm about to sendyouback to Hell!"

Twilight and the others were speechless, having never seen their friend this upset before.

"You wanted a fight?" growled Stardust, now walking towards his other self. "I'll give you a [BEEP]-inwar!"

Anti-Stardust coughed a few times, but for some reason, he smiled at Stardust, and said, "I was hoping you'd say that to me, Jack... but first, since the others are no longer fighting..."

Stardust was about to ask what he meant, but his answer was received as he watched Anti-Stardust toss two of the black, round-like objects to the ground.

They rolled towards the others, and opened immediately, releasing Starlight and Sunset, who were both unconscious.

"And if you want to get rid of me, Jack, you'll have to go throughhimfirst!"

Anti-Stardust then tossed the third round-like object to the ground, creating an explosion, and everypony watched as he flew straight up, crashing through the roof, disappearing into the dark and cloudy sky.

As the smog began to clear away, Stardust could see an outline of Casey, and he let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness... I didn't want to be the one to tell your Twilight that-"


Whoosh!


Stardust found himself being sent flying back into the open hooves of Twilight, who asked, "Are you okay?"

He nodded his head, and they both looked at their friend, who now looked completely different.

"No... not you, Casey..."

Casey smirked at Stardust, and his eyes shined dangerously as he said, "Face it, Star... you knew this would come sooner or later."






(The Time Zone)


As he watched the tragic events unfold in front of him, Kronos sighed, and a sad expression appeared on his face.

"I can never bear to watch this part..."
> A Second Chance, Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Casey waited for Stardust to make the first move, the gold pony could only think about one thing.

How in the heck is stuff like this happening in a show that's rated TV-Y?

"Casey, please don't do this," pleaded Twilight, who was standing behind Stardust. "The other Stardust put you under some kind of spell, but youhaveto fight it!"

"And why would I do something like that, princess?" asked Casey. "Everything that happened is because ofhim."

"Me?!" exclaimed a surprised Stardust. "Okay, if we're going to take that route, man, then I'm putting the blame onyoubecause if you hadn't shown up in my world that one day, then none of this would've ever hap-!"

Twilight glared at her boyfriend, and he started shaking his head. "Right, right, sorry... Casey, come on, you know that us fighting would be pointless."

Casey frowned, and asked, "Why? You don't think I can beat you?"

"Hey, those areyourwords, not mine," explained Stardust. "And I'm only -whoa!"

The young pony quickly moved out of the way from his friend's energy blasts, and Casey yelled, "Fight me!"

"I'm not going to fight you, man," replied Stardust, which only made Casey angrier, and he dodged another one of his attacks.

"Fight me!"

The human-turned-pony shook his head, and said, "Listen, man, don't do anything that you'll end up regretting later."

"Well, I'm certainly not going to regret this," replied Casey, and before Stardust could reply, the young pony flew up towards him, beginning to trade blows with the gold pony.

[AN: Imagine a DBZ fight with the two fighters hitting each other at a fast pace.]

"Casey, please, stop doing this," exclaimed Stardust, as he continued to dodge his friend's kicking and punching attacks. "All this fighting is getting us nowhere, and while Anti-Me is probably wrecking havoc upon Ponyville, your Twilight is waiting in her library for-"

"Leave Twilight out of this!" yelled Casey, his eyes now shining dangerously, and then, to everyone's surprise, Stardust was not able to block his friend's attack, causing him to fly straight into the ground.

"Puny human,"growled Casey, and he started to turn his attention over to the others.

"Casey... what did you do?" asked Twilight, looking up at him.


BOOM!


The orange-yellow Earth pony didn't get a chance to answer her because Stardust shot his own energy blast at Casey, which sent him crashing into a wall, and when he opened his eyes, he saw that the glowing pony now had a serious look on his face.

"Don't make me hurt you more, Case," warned Stardust. "I really wouldn't want to explain to your Twilight why-"

"Stop... bringing... her up," growled Casey, as he tried getting out of the hole he had made in the wall.

How is this not getting through to him, Starswirl?

His elderly friend did not give him a response, so Stardust sighed, and looked back at Casey. "Look, man, is all of this really necessary?"

"Of course it is," exclaimed Casey, who had only been able to get one of his front limbs free.

Stardust shook his head, and replied, "No, Casey, it isn't... and trust me when I say that you have to fight whatever the other me put inside your head."

As he continued struggling with getting out of the tight-spaced hole, Casey glared at Stardust, and said, "There isnothingwrong with my head. I am not weak like you were when Sombra tried to take over your body."

At first, Stardust didn't say anything, but then, he brought his right front hoof back, and thrusted it forward to send out an energy blast.

"Jack, no!"






(Anti-Equestria)


Rainbow Dash continued to look at her speechless counterpart, who still wasn't saying anything. "Are you alright?"

"Um... I... I don't know," replied Anti-Rainbow, after a few more minutes of silence. "Wh-where am I?"

Rainbow frowned in confusion, and said, "This isAnti-Ponyville...you and everypony else came from here, remember?"

Anti-Rainbow shook her head, and replied, "The last thing I remember is seeing Stardust on the rooftop, and..."

What iswrongwith this pony?





"I... amnot...weak..."

Casey opened his eyes, and he turned to the right, which was where Stardust had fired the blast, creating another hole.

"I can admit that allowing those terrible things to occur was a mistake, as well as the fact that I've put my own life in danger several times, but in no way am Iweak, and neither areyou."

The orange-yellow pony looked at him with confusion, and Stardust added, "You arenotanevilpony, Casey."

"And how would you know that exactly?" He growled, raising an eyebrow.

Stardust pointed at his friend, and replied, "Because you wouldn't be wearing that turtledove necklace if you were."

"What are you..." began Casey, but then, after looking down to see the necklace, he stopped talking, and remained silent.

"And I am sure that your Twilight wouldn't give that to just anypony."

Meanwhile, Twilight was checking on Midnight, who was barely regaining conciousness again, and she mumbled, "Star... Stardust... no... please..."

As for Casey, he was looking at his necklace, remembering the day that the Twilight from his world had given it to him, and to everypony's surprise, his body started lighting up with purple electricity.

As his body began twitching around, Twilight walked over to her boyfriend, and asked, "What's happening to him?"

"Um, I'm not quite sure, love, to be honest with you," replied Stardust, but before Twilight could reply, they heard their friend let out a groan of pain, and shake his head a little before realizing where he was at right now.

"Why am I trapped in here?"

Stardust chuckled, and started to help him get back down onto the ground. "It's a long story..."

A few minutes later, he and Twilight led him back to the others, who were still attending to their counterparts after-


WHOOSH!


Suddenly, a force-field energy bubble appeared around the group of friends, except for Casey, who had flown back a little after bumping into it.

"Okay, what the[BEEP]is up with this?" exclaimed Stardust, now annoyed with what was happening right now.

The answer came in the form of a dark and magical swirl of energy that appeared in between Casey and everypony else, which soon morphed into Anti-Stardust, who now looked very upset with the orange-yellow pony.

"Hey, you stay the hell away from him!" shouted Stardust, but his counterpart simply ignored him.

"Why, you little..." With his eyes and front right hoof glowing again, Anti-Stardust made Casey rise up from the ground, and then, he slammed into the nearest wall. "You were supposed to behurtinghim!"

Before Casey could even respond, Anti-Stardust spun his hoof around in a circular motion, which caused Casey to be spun around multiple times before sending him headfirst into another tree.

"I am not... somepony like you," said Casey, now looking like he wasn't in any type of condition for a fight. "Who would... hurt their friends for no reason..."

"I can't believe you -aargghhh!" Anti-Stardust walked over to Casey, picking him up from the ground, and pinned him rather harshly against yet another wall.

Back in the force-field bubble, Stardust was banging his head and front hooves against the field, trying to break through it, but it just wasn't working.

Iwouldtry to blast my way outta this thing, but I don't want to end up having it bounce around in here!

"Don't even bother, [BEEP]," growled Anti-Stardust, before turning his attention back to Casey. "No type of magic can break through that shield... you're all like rats caught in a trap... not evenStarswirlcan help."

"I don't think Sci-Twi would approve of this, Jack," replied Casey, which only made Anti-Stardust grow more angrier than he was before, and the evil pony started slamming his body against the wall multiple times.

"You... don't... get... to... call... me... by... that... NAME!"


THUD!


"He's a monster!" cried Fluttershy, who couldn't bear to watch what was going on anymore.

His body shaking with pure rage, Stardust thought,I have just enough had it with this guy!

As Casey began coughing, Anti-Stardust shook his head, and asked, "Why in the hell are you even here in the first place?"

The bruised and battered pony looked up at Stardust's other self, and said, "Because... I'm his friend... and... Twilight..."

Letting out a sarcastic laugh, Anti-Stardust said, "Ah, yes,yourworld's version of the wonderfulprincess of friendship. She didn't really put up that much of a struggle when I kidnapped her."

Casey's eyes went wide after hearing him say that, and he cried, "You did wha -aaauugghhh!"

Anti-Stardust kicked him in his chest before he could finish talking, and he exclaimed, "One other thing... I can understand my other self being able to woo the alicorn princess, but you? You're just as bad as Sentry and that damn counselor."

The young Earth pony tried standing up, placing one of his hoofs on the area where his ribs would be, and said, "Okay, that... definitely... is not something that... Stardust would ever say... to me..."

"And how would you know that, huh?" growled Anti-Stardust, but instead of waiting for Casey to give an answer, he kicked the Earth Pony in his face. "You know nothing about us."

"I know... plenty..." said Casey, who could almost taste something unfamiliar in his mouth. "He cares for... almost everypony... even humanoid versions of them..."

He then tried his best to look up at Anti-Stardust. "You... could've been the same... way... if... you hadn't have let... Rowan get inside your... head... by tricking you into... killing your friends... your Twilight... and the real Stardust would never do anything... like that."

As Anti-Stardust gritted his teeth in frustration, Casey spat out some red liquid onto the ground, and said, "You don't even... deserve to be called... Stardust Balance... you're just a sad excuse for a fake version... of him..."

The yellow-and-black pony delivered one last kick to Casey's rib cage area, and as he watched him fall to the ground again, he said, "How ironic. Your Cutie Mark has a crescent moon, and now, you're about to lose your life under one."

Casey's eyes looked upward at the nighttime sky, courtesy of the hole that Anti-Stardust had created, and with the crescent moonlight shining down upon him, he turned his attention back to Anti-Stardust. "You are... wrong..."

"What the [BEEP] are you talking about?"

Casey tried again to stand up, and he replied, "I am not... going to... die... hopefully... because I am about... to stop you..."

"Oh, please," said Anti-Stardust, shaking his head. "You'd rather live to continue letting me beat the hell out of you than just die?"

Casey nodded his head, and Stardust's alternate self asked, "Why?"

"Because... I have friends that care... about me," replied Casey, who was now standing up, and as he spoke, the turtledove necklace that Twilight had given him back in the Crystal Empire started to glow. "And I'm about to -ulp!"

Grabbing him by the throat, Anti-Stardust glared at Casey, while hoisting him up in the air, and said, "None of yourfriendscan save you from what I am about to do to you!"

Having had enough of Anti-Stardust's brutality, Stardust was preparing to blast his way out of the force field, but his Cutie Mark pendant started to glow brightly, as well.

Um, Jack... ?

Not... now, Starswirl!

With a sinister smile, Anti-Stardust looked Casey straight in the eye, and said, "You know, if I can't have the Twilight from this world... maybe I would have better luck withyours!"

After hearing those words come out of the evil pony's muzzle, Casey angrily pushed Anti-Stardust off of him, causing him to fall back a few feet, and he cried, "There is no way that I am... huh?"

Finally seeing that his necklace was glowing, Casey did not know whether or not to be excited or concerned, but then, something else happened.

Well, this should definitely be interesting to see.

Stardust didn't get a chance to respond because, all of a sudden, he and Casey found themselves flying towards each other, and when they connected, their bodies became engulfed in a bright light.

"Jack! Casey!" yelled Twilight, afraid for her friend and special somepony, but then, she felt a tap on the shoulder.

"Twilight, take a look at what's happenin' up there!" cried Applejack, pointing her hoof in the direction, and everypony saw a floating symbol that looked like a mixture of Stardust's and Casey's Cutie Mark.

Then, it floated downwards into the light, and as the light slowly began to dissapear, Twilight quickly saw the outline of a pony, but was unable to see whom it was.

"What is the meaning of this?" yelled Anti-Stardust, who was now feeling a mixture of rage and confusion.


BOOM!


He recieved an answer in the form of an energy blast that caused Anti-Stardust to crash into the same hole Casey had been in earlier, and everypony else looked back at the pony who had fired the blast.

"Welcome to your worst nightmare," said the young pony, whose voice now sounded like it was Casey and Stardust speaking at the same time.

He then took a moment to look at himself, and simply gave a shrug.

"Um, do you have any idea who that is, sugarcube?" Applebloom asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion, but Twilight had no idea what to say to her.

Once the light was fully gone, it gave everyone a better look at the young and bright-colored pony, who was now wearing a necklace that bore both Stardust's Cutie Mark as a pendant, and Pinkie said, "Well,duh, anypony can see that it's Casey and Stardust mixed together into one super awesome super pony!"

"Um, you saidsupertwice, darling," pointed out Rarity.

"Of course I did," replied Pinkie. "Just look at him!"

Looking up at the glowing pony, Anti-Stardust raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Who the[BEEP]are you?"

"That doesn't matter right now," said Casey/Stardust. "All you need to know is that I am going to beat thehellout of you until there is nothing left."

Anti-Stardust rolled his eyes, and growled, "Oh,please, what can you possibly do now that you haven't done already?"

"I'll show you,pal," replied Casey/Stardust, and he grabbed ahold of Anti-Stardust, pulling him out of the hole, then throwing him up in the air.

Then, he teleported right above Anti-Stardust, and knocked him down to the ground, causing him to have a crash-landing. "Oh, ho, I ain't done yet, man."

As Anti-Stardust barely lifted his head up, Casey/Stardust grabbed both of his enemy's back legs, and swung him from side-to-side, slamming his body onto the rock-hard ground.


WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!


"I haven't even gotten started yet," laughed Casey/Stardust, and after one last body slam, the energized pony picked him up, swung him around in a circle at averyfast speed, then tossed him headfirst into a wall.

"What... the... [BEEP]?"gasped Anti-Stardust, but then, he was pulled out of the wall again, and Casey/Stardust started delivering a series of rapid kick-and-punch combos.

A few minutes later, he started spinning him around like a ragdoll, and after feeling like he'd done it enough, Casey/Stardust threw Anti-Stardust back down to the ground, and with a chuckle, he said, "Eat this, Sonic."

Then, like the famous blue hedgehog would do, he positioned his body into the shape of a ball, and began spinning in a circular motion very rapidly before flying back down to crash into Anti-Stardust's body.


WHOOSH! THUD!


An explosion of dust and rocks was created, and Anti-Stardust tried to get up, but he felt himself being grabbed again, then turned around so that he was now face-to-face with Casey/Stardust.

"Any last words before I send you back to the same place that I sent Rowan?" asked Casey/Stardust.

Before Anti-Stardust could reply, Pinkie suddenly said, "Um, I thoughtIdid that?"

"No, that was the other Pinkie," explained Twilight.

Anti-Stardust, who pretty much looked like crap, laughed at Stardust's question, and replied, "You don't... actually think... I would allow myself tolosethis so-calledwar?"

"Man, please, I could beat you with my eyes shut," scoffed Casey/Stardust, shaking his head.

"That may be true, but I figured that I would need a back-up plan in case something like this were to happen," explained Anti-Stardust, giving him a sinister smile. "And I'm already dead, so... if I can't enjoy the life that should have rightfully belonged to me..."

He paused his sentence to reach into his pocket, and pulled out a grey, rectangular-shaped remote that had a single red button on it, which he then pressed.

"... then, nopony can!"

Casey/Stardust was about to say something when he suddenly heard the sound of explosions around him. "What did you do?"

Instead of answering right away, Anti-Stardust quickly grabbed his counterpart's Cutie Mark pendant, and crushed it into tiny pieces.

"Oh, and one more thing... I never said that the force field wasunbreakableby somethingotherthan mag-"

"Man, justshut the hell up!"

Casey/Stardust delivered a solid headbutt to Anti-Stardust's forehead, and as he collapsed to the ground, the glowing pony started feeling strange again, as well as being engulfed in a bright light again.


WHOOSH!


Suddenly, the two ponies flew in opposite directions, and Casey landed rather harshly on the ground.

"What... the..." gasped Casey, but then, he let out a yelp of pain, due to his ribs now being injured again, and to make matters worse, he heard the sound of several explosions nearby.


BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


Casey then looked up, and saw a giant piece of the roof now falling down towards him. "That... can't be-"


WHAM!


As for Stardust, he let out a groan of pain, and said, "I need a vacation..."

"Jack!"

Hearing the scream of his beloved princess caused Stardust to look up at his friends, who were nearly five miles away from him, and as the explosions around him continued, he noticed that the roof was also crumbling into pieces.

"Hold on, love, I'm coming!"

Stardust started running towards his friends as fast as he could, but after running for two miles, he felt his legs give out, and Stardust fell back down. "What the [BEEP]?!"

It appears that your fusion form with Casey took up a lot more energy than we thought.

"Well, don't just - wait..." yelled Stardust, but then, he realized something. "Where is he, Starswirl?"

By now, he's reunited with his parents.

"JACK!"

Stardust looked back at his friends, who were still several miles away, and he saw that a house-sized piece of the roof was close to falling down on top of them.

"NO!"Using whatever strength he could gather, Stardust continued to run as fast as possible, and when it felt like his legs would give out again, the young pony decided to take a giant leap.

"JACK!"

"TWILIGHT!"





If this was the second time that Death had come knocking on his door, then so be it... at least he died trying to save his family...

"Jack?"

Stardust opened his eyes, and the first thing that he saw was the face of his beloved princess, who was back in her Earth form instead of an alicorn or her EG form.

He also realized that they were now in a world known to him as Twiliphia, which could only be described in words like "beautiful" or "perfect".

The skies were a shimmering gold instead of clear-blue, and warm snowflakes from the sky were falling upon them.

But right now, the only thing that Stardust had his focus on was Twilight, and he gave her a smile.

"If this is supposed to be where I spend my eternal life, love, then I am glad that I get to spend it with you."

As her girlfriend started to blush, Stardust let out a chuckle, and he gave a toothy grin. "I seem to recall you asking me a certain question back on Earth while we were still in these forms..."

"Oh, uh, well, that was just, ah..." replied Twilight, but that didn't stop Stardust from bringing her closer to him so that their lips could connect.

A warm feeling soared throughout Stardust's body as he passionately kissed his girlfriend, who was feeling an equal warmth, and he was thankful of the fact that no one else was here to interrupt this special moment for them.

"Well, it's like what the humans say... still a better love story than that one vampire couple."

After hearing that familiar voice, Stardust opened his eyes, and slowly moved back away from Twilight. "We aren't alone here, are we?"

The young teenage girl shook her head, and Stardust turned around to find himself looking at the smiling faces of Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Spike, and Starlight, as well as Sunset and Discord, who was sitting in a director's chair while also holding a high-tech video camera.

"I'm liking what I see for far, my boy, but is it possible for you to showmorepassion?"

Stardust rolled his eyes, and said, "I don't need to be told on how to kiss my girlfriend, Discord... and why areyoueven here?"

"Well, isn't it obvious?" replied Discord, who now had a halo above his head. "You act like I should be somewhere else."

As Twilight helped him stand up to his feet, Stardust said, "If Fluttershy hadn't played her part in reforming you, then I wouldn't be surprised if you-"

"Um, Stardust, darling?" interrupted Rarity, looking concerned. "You and Twilight might want to move out of the way."

"Why would we-"

Suddenly, everyone heard a familiar voice yell out, "Party-cannon-ball!"


SPLASH!


Pinkie Pie had decided to do a cannonball into a nearby lake, and it looked like the incoming water was about to go all over Stardust and Twilight, but then, it suddenly vanished into thin air.

"What the...?" said Stardust, who was grateful yet confused as to why they had not become soaked with water, and his answer came in the form of another familiar figure that appeared in front of the teenage couple.

"We wouldn't want your clothes to be ruined, correct?"


POOF!


Pinkie was now next to Fluttershy, and the energetic teen, who was also surprisingly dry, cried, "That was so much fun!"

Ignoring his friend momentarily, Stardust turned his attention to the person in front of him. "Nice to see you again, Kronos."

"Likewise," replied Kronos, who had a small smile on his face. "And may I also say how proud I am to see you make so many right choices."

Stardust frowned, and he asked, "How does causing my friends' death count as a right choice?"

Kronos chuckled, and he replied, "It takes a very special person with a big heart, such as yours, to do the things that you did for your friends, whether it is self-sacrifice..."

He gestured towards the others, and this brought a smile to Stardust's face.

"... putting faith in someone..."

Stardust silently remembered his conversation with Rainbow Dash back in Anti-Equestria, but he also realized that Rainbow probably did not know yet that her friends were now dead.

"... or trying to convince someone that they are not who they think they are."

An image of Casey apppeared inside of his mind, and Stardust began looking around for his friend, but Kronos shook his head.

"He's having his own experience right now, Jack... just as you and everyone else are right now."

"Yeah, I figured that much," replied Stardust, letting out a sigh. "I just can't believe I couldn't try to save him from dying... or that-"

"Dying?" Kronos said, tilting his head to the side. "Whoever said that you were all dead?"

Now Stardust was getting confused. "Why else would we be here?"

Kronos tapped the side of his head with his staff, and replied, "It's what your mind chose to put you in, Jack."

"My... wait, so am Inotdead, then?"

The elderly gentleman shook his head, and replied, "It's technically more or less along the lines of a coma, per say... as are the rest of your friends..."

He snapped his fingers, and then, to Stardust's surprise, everything around him started to change, while his friends suddenly disappeared.

"What are you-"

"You'll see," replied Kronos, and after a few minutes, Stardust found himself back in the now almost-destroyed stadium, standing in the same spot that he'd landed at after literally taking a leap of faith.

Before he could even say anything, Kronos turned his body around, and Stardust saw that all of his friends, as well as the anti-ponies, were still inside the force-field, except they all now looked unconscious.

"Um... what exactly is going on?" questioned Stardust. "Did you, like, know all this stuff was going to happen?"

Kronos nodded, and he replied, "If I had not stepped in, Jack, then you would all definitely be dead."

Stardust was about to reply back to him, but Kronos held up his hand. "Let me finish, son... there are other people besides me, in other worlds, who choose to view a person's life as one would view a parade, seeing one thing after another, taking in only what is passing by right in front of them."

A smile then appeared on his face.

"As forme, I choose to see life as a parade from above, seeing all of the twists and turns, and observing what events may or may not take place."

Stardust remained silent for another moment before saying, "So, youdidknow that this would happen... and you saved all of us..."

"Indeed, I did, Jack," confirmed Kronos. "And now, I believe you have another important choice to make... regarding your other self."

Stardust immediately grew frustrated, and was about to start yelling at Kronos, but the elderly gentleman said, "I know what he's done, Jack, but you should know that theyouwho Sci-Twi fell in love with is still in there somewhere, and I believe that you already know what to do."

"No, I most certainly do...ohhhh," replied Stardust, who was now looking at Anti-Twilight. "This whole time?"

"She isn't the only one," said Kronos, but before the young man could say anything else, he added, "Trust me, Jack, you'll know what to do."

He began turning back the hands on his staff's clock, and was about to tap the ground a few times before Stardust said, "Whoa, hey, hold up a second..."

Kronos let out a sigh, and asked, "Yes, Jack?"

It was almost like a lightbulb had turned on above Stardust's head.

"Are... are you supposed to be like... an MLP version of Clockwork?"

Kronos smirked at Stardust, and before turning back time, he replied, "That's an entirely different story for another time."


WHOOSH!






"There is no way that I am - huh?"

While Casey was realizing that his necklace was now glowing, Stardust blinked his eyes a few times, and said, "Huh... sothat'swhat it feels like."

"What does what feel like?" asked Princess Twilight.

Before Stardust could answer, he found himself being pulled towards Casey, and once again (in Stardust's case), the two of them somehow combined with each other to create a new version of Stardust, who now had Casey's mane instead of his own, along with crimson-red eyes that had replaced his usual blue-green ones.


BOOM!


After being sent into the wall (again), Anti-Stardust looked up at the glowing pony in front of him, and said, "Who in the... wait...how the hell did you get that?!"

Casey/Stardust looked at what he was now holding, and saw that it was the remote Anti-Stardust had used to nearly destroy the entire stadium.

Thank you, Kronos.

Anti-Stardust gritted his teeth in frustration, and yelled, "I asked you a [BEEP]-in question!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, was this important?" taunted Casey/Stardust. "I wonder what would happen if I didthis."

To Anti-Stardust's frustration, Casey/Stardust took a page out of his own book, and he watched the remote quickly melt in front of him, which also caused the force-field surrounding the others to go away.

"Who the [BEEP] do you think you are?!"

Casey/Stardust looked at himself again, and replied, "Good question... what do you call a Stardust and a Casey?"

"Starcase?" suggested Pinkie Pie.

The young pony thought about it, and he gave a small shrug. "Eh, why not?"

Anti-Stardust rolled his eyes, and replied, "Look,Staircase,I don't care what you call yourself because I can stillbeatyou to death."

"Oh,really?" taunted Starcase, raising an eyebrow, and he started powering up. "Prove it then, [BEEP]-hole."

"Gladly," replied Anti-Stardust, who blasted away from the wall, and headed straight for Starcase. "Takethis!"


WHAM!


Anti-Stardust's right front hoof connected with the left side of Starcase's face, and he started to smile, but then, Starcase turned his head back around. "Seriously?That's the best you got?"

"What?!" yelled Anti-Stardust, but before he could say anything else, Starcase pulled his own hoof back, and delivered his own right hook, causing Anti-Stardust to crash through the same wall he'd been in earlier.

Starcase shook his head, and he started to laugh.Child's play.

"Rarity?"

The young pony looked back at the now-broken wall, revealing the inside of one of the castle's many rooms, and saw a relieved Sweetie Belle making her way towards her big sister.

"What in Celestia are you doing here?" asked Rarity, as she began to hug and comfort her sibling.

"I was trying to...aaaggghhh!"

Sweetie Belle realized that a resting Anti-Rarity was near her sister, who quickly cried, "Whoa, hey, just relax, darling, she isn't going to do anything bad to you."

"But-but-but..." exclaimed a confused Sweetie Belle.

"Your big sis is right," replied Applejack, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "Is Applebloom with-"

"Rainbow?"

Starcase watched as Scootaloo headed over to the group of friends, and a look of sadness appeared on his face as he heard her ask, "Where's Rainbow at?"


WHOOSH!


Starcase quickly smiled as he saw the Crystal Mirror reappear, and watched his friend step out, with her injured wing now bandaged up.

"Rainbow!"

Scootaloo raced over to the winged pony, giving her a hug, and she let out a sigh of relief. "I am so glad you're okay... sort of..."

"Yeah, er, kind of a long story," replied Anti-Rainbow, who also came out of the portal. "You gonna be okay?"

Rainbow nodded her head, and Scootaloo looked at both of them, feeling confused. "Um, did I miss something? Why are you acting all nice now?"

Anti-Rainbow chuckled, and she said, "Let's just say that I got some sense knocked into me."

As the three of them continued talking to each other, Starcase began to frown in confusion.Where's Twilight at?

"Hey, Casey!"

Starcase turned around, and he saw Anti-Stardust, who was hovering in the air, with one of his front limbs wrapped around Twilight's neck.

"Stardust, help me, please," begged the alicorn princess, unaware that her special somepony had fused with the pony who represented the balance between chaos and harmony.

"You leave her the hell alone," growled a frustrated Starcase.

Anti-Stardust let out an evil laugh, and shook his head, saying, "I don't think so,Casey... see, Itoldyou that if I could not have Stardust's Twilight, then I would try my luck withyourTwilight, and that is exactly what I plan to-aauugghhh!"

All of a sudden, two ray blasts struck Anti-Stardust in the eye, and the sinister pony ended up tossing Twilight away, causing her to fall into Starcase's grasp, so that he could rub his eyes with his hooves.

"Nice one," said Rainbow, sharing a hoof-bump with her alternate self.

Anti-Stardust let out a furious roar, and he yelled, "Who in the hell-"


BOOM!


A powerful energy blast sent him crashing into the ground, and Starcase shook his head again before looking back at his girlfriend. "You okay?"

Twilight nodded her head, and she replied, "Thank you, Stardust... is Casey okay?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?"

Twilight became confused, and she asked, "But how would I-oh!"

Starcase surprised the princess of Friendship by giving her a slow and passionate kiss, and she soon started to return the favor.

Meanwhile, Princess Twilight was beyond speechless, and felt like her muzzle had dropped to the ground.

"Um, so does that meanStardustis kissing the other Twilight, or isCaseykissing her?" wondered Pinkie.

Once the two ponies had finished kissing, Twilight slowly opened his eyes, and found herself staring at Starcase. "Um... Stardust...?"

Starcase shook his head, and he replied, "Try again."

Twilight then noticed the young pony's necklace, seeing the turtledove charm, and she took another look into Starcase's eyes.

"Casey?"

Starcase smiled, and nodded his head before saying, "Go join the others. I got some business to take care of."

He floated down to the ground, and carefully released Twilight from her grasp, with the alicorn princess walking over to stand by her parallel counterpart. "Are you okay?"

Not wanting to see the two of them argue, Starcase headed over to where Anti-Stardust had landed, and noticed that he looked almost like his old self.

"Why... can't you just... kill me already?" growled the sinister pony.

Starcase sighed, and he replied, "Because you still have a chance to correct your mistakes... to reunite with your friends..."

As Anti-Stardust lifted his head up, Starcase noticed that his eyes were now back to their original blue-green color.

"I already told you, a-hole... they're gone... and... Twilight..."

Starcase interrupted his somewhat counterpart to point at the others, and he said, "She's over there. You never lost her."

Anti-Stardust looked over at who he was pointing at, and saw that it was Midnight, who was still wearing Sci-Twi's glasses.

"What?"

Starcase nodded, and replied, "Thatis Sci-Twi... she has been with you almost this entire time."

Anti-Stardust looked back at Midnight, who continued to remain silent, and he said, "Twi... light? Is... that... really...aaaggghhhh!"

Suddenly, Stardust's counterpart started screaming in pain, and he began moving around the stadium.

"What the hay is going on now?" asked Applejack.

As an answer, Anti-Stardudt knelt down on the ground, and he yelled, "Get out... of my head!"

So, this must have been what it was like for me,thought Starcase, and then, everyone heard a familiar voice speak to Anti-Stardust.

Don't you dare give up on me now, Jack! Is this not what you wanted?

"Not if it means... losing my... friends..." shouted Anti-Stardust, who had placed his hooves against his forehead. "I should... have never... aaaauuggghhhh!"

He started slamming one of his hooves into the ground, letting out cries of pain, but to Starcase's surprise, the anti-ponies started to make their way over to them.

"Come on, Star, you can win this," exclaimed Anti-Rainbow.

"Yeah, you show that evil thingy who the boss is," cried Anti-Pinkie.

"You can do this, Star," exclaimed both Anti-Rarity and Anti-Applejack, while Starcade let out a whistle.

Talk about deja-vu.

Anti-Stardust leaned himself against the wall, still gritting his teeth in frustration, and he yelled, "Get... the [BEEP]... out of my HEAD!"

Suddenly, the young pony started powering up, and he continued to scream."Aaaaaaggghhhhhhh!"

Starcase was getting ready to fire another energy blast at him, but then, Anti-Fluttershy stepped in front of him. "Wait! Look!"

As Anti-Stardust continued to scream in pain and anger, the "black" covering his body began to turn into a gooey-like substance, and started getting away from the young pony.

"What... the... [BEEP]?" said Starcase.

Then, after what seemed like a long time, Anti-Stardust stopped screaming, and he collapsed from exhaustion to the ground, now looking like a more younger-ish, less weary version of Stardust.

As for the black and gooey substance that had left his body, everyone watched it slowly begin to transform into a completely sinister version of Stardust.

"I may not have him as my host anymore, but I can still-"


BOOM!


An energy blast had Evil Stardust flying back against the wall, and after landing down on the ground, he quickly went out like a light.

Everyone looked at Starcase, who raised up his front hooves in defense.

"Hey, that wasn't me!"

Then, to their surprise, another familiar voice said, "Looks like I came at the right time."

Everyone turned around, and saw who had spoken just now. "Princess Luna?"

"And Applebloom!" cried the little pony, suddenly appearing next to the alicorn who was also a ruler of Equestria. "So, um, what did we miss?"

Starcase smirked, and he muttered, "Better her than Celestia."
> A Second Chance, Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Applebloom reunited with her big sister, Starcase floated over to Princess Luna, giving her a conflicted look.

"Thank you, your Highness... even though I probably could have used your help, like, thirty minutes ago."

Princess Luna smiled at the young pony, and said, "It seems to me,Starcase, that you did quite well on your own when it came to dealing with the alternate Stardust."

"Indeed he did.."

Starcase turned around, and saw a smiling Kronos, who was now in the form of a unicorn that somewhat reminded him of Starswirl.

"That's a good look for you, son," said Kronos, smirking at the heroic pony.

"Hardy har-har," replied a sarcastic Starcase.

As for Princess Luna, who was looking at Kronos, she said, "This must have been a highly extreme situation if it involved you to leave your world."

"Oh, you havenoidea what the past few days have been like for me, your Highness," replied Kronos, who turned his head to look at Starcase.

"Hey, I didn't do anything!"

Kronos chuckled, and he said, "Of course not,Starcase... now then, if you will all excuse me, I have to take care of this pony before he wakes up."

As the elderly pony walked over to Evil Stardust, and placed him over his shoulder, Starcase asked, "What are you gonna do with him?"

"Let's just say that he will suffer longer than Rowan did," answered Kronos, giving him a sly grin.

Starcase was about to ask if he would ever see him again, but before he could, a portal appeared in front of Kronos, who stepped inside of it, and once it disappeared, Starcase instead looked at Princess Luna. "So... I take it you've met him before?"

"Many years ago, yes," replied the alicorn princess. "But all that matters now is that, hopefully, everything is the way it is supposed to be, and Kronos can relax peacefully in his world."

Seeing that Starcase still looked like he wanted answers, Princess Luna added, "There will be a time when you learn everything that needs to be known about him... however, in the meantime, I do believe that a certain young alicorn is waiting for you."

He turned his head to see that she was referring to Twilight, but when Starcase brought it back to continue their conversation, Luna was already gone.

"Oh, soeveryponydecides to pull a Batman, huh?" muttered Starcase, rolling his eyes. "What's next, me acting like De-"

"Casey?"

Starcase turned around, looking at the young alicorn, and was about to talk to her when Princess Twilight walked over to them, as well, and said, "Stardust?"

"Yeah?" replied Starcase, even though his voice still sounded like it was Casey and Stardust talking at the same time.

Twilight and Princess Twilight looked at each other, and then back at Starcase, with both of them asking, "How is this going to work?"

"Uh..." said Starcase, not knowing what the right response was to say to them, but he quickly remembered what his evil self had done in a now-alternate timelime, so to their girlfriends' surprise, he suddenly crushed the Cutie Mark charm in his hooves.


WHOOSH!


Once the pieces were all over the ground, Starcase felt himself being spun around, and he asked, "Alright, what is up with all of these magic sparkles around me?"

The glowing energy surrounding his body started to shine brighter, and the two versions of Twilight tried using their front limbs to cover their eyes.

As the light began to die down, Twilight lowered her front left limb, while Princess Twilight lowered her right one, and they saw their boyfriends lying on the ground, looking a little worse for the wear.

"Well, I'm certainly not going to forget that," muttered Stardust, his eyes spinning around in a dizzy fashion.

As for Casey, he actually looked worser than Stardust, and Twilight immediately took notice of this. "Okay, I need to get you to the hospital... can you walk, or-"

"Yeah, I think... I can manage," replied Casey. "Even though right now, I feel like [BEEP]."

He then looked at Stardust, and said, "Star, thank you... for... save...ugh..."

Casey suddenly fell backwards, landing in Twilight's open hooves, and the alicorn princess gave Stardust a worried look.

"He'll be fine, Twilight," assured the young pony. "Casey just fainted from exhaustion... you'd better get him to the hospital soon."

Nodding her head, Twilight carefully placed Casey on top of herself, and she quickly flew towards the Crystal Mirror, while Stardust sighed.Some good friend I am to him.

"You okay, Jack?"

He turned his head to look at his own Twilight, and replied, "Yeah, I just-"

"Stardust, you're okay!"

Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared from behind, and wrapped her front limbs around Stardust, hugging him tightly, as well as spinning him around several times, while Twilight couldn't stop herself from giggling.

"Pinkie... as much as I care about you," groaned Stardust, after his energetic friend finally stood still. "Pleasedo not spin me around anymore."

"Huh? Oh, right, sorry," apologized Pinkie, and she released him from her bear-hugging grip.





A few feet away, EG Stardust was starting to wake up, and to his surprise, all of his friends were in front of him.

"You okay there, Star?" asked Anti-Applejack.

EG Stardust rubbed the side of his head with his hoof, and replied, "I, uh, think so... er... but I thought that..."

"You didn't kill them, Jack."

He and everypony else looked to see the approaching Stardust, joined by Twilight, and EG Stardust replied, "I don't think I understand."

"Neither do I, honestly," admitted Stardust, giving a shrug. "But all I can say is that you were able to somehownotkill your friends while Rowan's magic was trying to take control of you... and you didn't even realize that they were with you this entire time."

His EG counterpart remained quiet for a moment before sighing, and he gave Stardust an apologetic look. "Listen, um... Other Me... I just want to, er, say that I'm sorry for... well..."

"Hey, trust me, I've sort-of been through the same thing," replied Stardust, much to his counterpart's surprise. "Possession is a real [BEEP] to human-turned-ponies like us."

"Ain't that the truth?" chuckled EG Stardust, feeling a little better. "But, er, thank you for helping me learn an important lesson."

"Oh?" said Twilight. "And what lesson would that be?"

EG Stardust gave the two of them a smile, and replied, "I learned that the circumstances of where a person spends his life is irrelevant... it's what you do with the gift of friendship that determines who you are."

Why does that sound so familiar?wondered the young pony.

With all of that being said, the Crystal Mirror suddenly appeared next to them, and one-by-one, the anti ponies stepped inside, heading back presumably to their own world.

Midnight (or, in this case, Sci-Twi) was getting ready to jump through the portal when she realized that EG Stardust still hadn't moved from his spot. "You okay, Star?"

"I am a little better," replied the young teenager-turned-pony. "But there's a few things that I have to take care of here first."

He gave Stardust and Twilight a smile, and Stardust asked, "Stuff like what?"





Insert "Getting Better" by Smash Mouth

The first thing that EG Stardust decided to was turn Twilight's castle back to its original state.

"How are you doi-" began Stardust, but then, he noticed that his other self was wearing a geode necklace. "Never mind, forget I ever asked."

Unfortunately, all of the interior damage that had been done during Anti-Stardust's fights with Stardust, Casey, and Starcase had ended up destroying certain parts of the castle, so EG Stardust decided to use his magic to help fix the damage, along with some help from Starlight and Sunset.

Once they had both finished rebuilding the final part of the castle that had recieved damage, EG Stardust looked at Sunset, and said, "Um, Sunset? I'm sorry for the whole thing that happened... with, er, your-"

The yellow unicorn chuckled, and she replied, "Thank you for your apology... but, um, maybe we should try to pretend like it never happened, okay?"

EG Stardust immediately nodded his head. "Done."

At Rainbow's house, the injured pegasus was almost 90% done with removing the offensive language that had been spray painted all over her walls.

"Here, let me help you with that."

Rainbow turned around, and to her surprise, she saw EG Stardust using his own soap-and-scrubbing-brush on the graffiti.

"Um, you don't have to..." began Rainbow, but EG Stardust shook his head.

"I know I don't have to, but I want to," explained the young pony. "It'll make me feel better."

To his own surprise, Rainbow simply nodded her head, and said, "Alright... thanks."

He watched her walk away to a different part of the house, and wondered how much longer she would be acting the way she was right now.

"I sure hope the other me can fix this."

Then, after explaining to Granny Smith about what had really happened involving the Apple Family farm, EG Stardust was now using his magic to repair the damage he'd caused to the barn.

"Thanks so much, Other Star," said the hard-working Earth Pony. "It warms my heart to see you tryin' to right all of your, um, non-intentional wrongs."

EG Stardust nodded his head, and said, "My pleasure, AJ... besides, I had to find some way to convince your grandma to no longer attack the other me if he were to show up again."

Applejack chuckled, and replied, "Well, I sure do appreciate that, so thank you."

When Rarity had returned to her home, with more supplies to be used for her ruined outfits, she was surprised to see EG Stardust using his magic to restore all of her dress creations.

"Thank you, darling," said the marshmallow-colored unicorn, after he had finished several minutes later.

Letting out a yawn, EG Stardust also stretched his front limbs, and said, "You're welcome, and it was the least that I could do... also, I am sorry for any stress that I may have given you regarding all of this."

"Oh, to-mah-to, tomato," replied a smiling Rarity. "Let's try not to dwell too much into the past."

EG Stardust found himself letting out a small laugh as he said, "You're telling me."





Now back in Twilight's library, in front of the Crystal Mirror, EG Stardust was about to return to his own world when he heard the voice of his counterpart.

"Thought you'd leave without saying good-bye?"

Stardust smirked at him, and raised an eyebrow.

"I figured that you wouldn't want to see me again," replied EG Stardust, shrugging his shoulders. "After... all the things that I put you-"

"Hey, don't worry, it's fine, I get it," assured Stardust, putting a hoof on his other self's shoulder. "Just remember that, even though you're in the world ofEquestria Girls,all that really matters is the memories you create with the people you care most of about."

EG Stardust looked at his counterpart, and said, "Okay, I know we're not, like,twinsor anything, but I figured you'd try to curse me out, or even-"

"Maybe if you had run into theold me," explained Stardust. "But I've changed a lot since my first day in Ponyville...andmy head's a little mixed up right now after the wholefusionthing, so leave before Idoend up doing somethingreallybad to you."

EG Stardust nodded his head, and the two of them politely shared a hoofshake, but right before he could leave, another familiar voice started to speak.

"You don't actually think this is over, do you?"

Then, from out of nowhere, Kronos appeared in front of the Crystal Mirror, and Stardust groaned. "Is this gonna become a regular thing with you?"

"Just relax, Jack, I came to talk tohim," replied Kronos, who was pointing a hoof at EG Stardust, and the young pony's counterpart rolled his eyes.

"Look, Time Guy, I already learned my lesson, so why don't you-"

Kronos let out a laugh, and he shook his head. "While that may be true, it simply does not erase all of the damage and pain you brought to the worlds you went to, as well as everpony else you came into contact with..."

"Oh, comeon," replied EG Stardust, who was getting a little annoyed. "It'sjustas bad as what Sunset or Midnight or the Sirens or even Gloriosa tried to do, andnothinghappened-"

"Well, inyourcase, it's a completely different story," said Kronos, giving him a serious look. "Because of your actions, an innocent Earth Pony is in the hospital,andyou could have almost caused utter destruction to your own world."

Before EG Stardust could say anything back at him, Kronos added, "You also made the CMC's and Casey's Twilight your prisoners, as well as almost creating a paradox and upsetting the natural order of balance by sendingJackback to Earth, which could have turned in a terrible catastrophe."

"He does have a point," muttered Stardust, nodding his head in agreement, and EG Stardust sighed.

"Okay, so what happens? You turn me over to the intergalactic feds, community service, the Undertaker, what?"

Giving a small chuckle, Kronos shook his head, and replied, "You must prove to me that you trulycanenjoy your life in theEquestria Girlsworld with your friends and beloved girlfriend by your side...thereisa reason why you were sent to that world, after all."

EG Stardust raised an eyebrow, and he asked, "And what hapens if I choosenotto do any of this stuff?"

A slight frown appeared on Kronos' face, and there was a little edge in his voice as he said, "Keep in mind,boy, that this is actually what the humans call'going easy on you'... theotheroption would be for you to serve a year-long punishment in a world that you could not probably last evenoneday in."

"And what would that be exactly?"

Instead of giving a vocal answer, Kronos snapped his fingers, and EG Stardust disappeared, much to Stardust's surprise. "Hey!What was-"

"Just wait," said Kronos, and a few seconds later, he snapped his fingers again, which brought back EG Stardust, who now looked completely horrified.

"I take it you would rather continue enjoying your life in theEGWorld?"

Stardust's counterpart nodded his head, and Kronos now felt satisfied. "Good, and if all goes well, this will be the last time you will ever see me... Pray that itstaysthat way."

With that, the elderly pony quickly vanished into thin air, and for a moment, neither of the two Stardusts said a word.

Then, Stardust cleared his throat, and he asked, "Where did you go?"

EG Stardust did a small gulp, and he replied, "I... um... would prefernotto talk about it, if that is alright with you."

"Um... okay, yeah, sure," said Stardust, feeling a little confused.






A few days later...


As he walked down the street, listening via earbuds to the music coming from his iPod, EG Stardust found himself singing along to what was currently playing.


My sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah



Where fears and lies melt away



Music inside


However, once he reached a street corner, EG Stardust stopped moving, and he removed his earbuds, having sensed that something bad was happening.

"Give me your wallet!"

And he was right... a few feet away, EG Stardust saw that a mean-looking thug had an innocent civillian at gunpoint, as well as having him pinned against the wall.

"Look, sir, I don't want any trouble, I just want to get my car-"

"Just give me your wallet!"

Not on my watch, [BEEP],thought EG Stardust, and he started running over to the nearest phone booth.

[Insert "Superman Returns - Main Titles" by John Ottman]

Once he was inside, EG Stardust began removing his clothes, which included his hoodie, shirt, jeans, socks, and even his sneakers.

"Alright, now that I've taken care of that, time to suit up."

Reaching into his backpack, EG Stardust pulled out a superhero suit that EG Rarity had made for him, but it took a few attempts for him to succesfully put it on.

Then, right as he was about to put on the mask, EG Stardust groaned, and said, "I have to call Twilight... okay, where's my walle- oh wait, no one carries change anymore... ah, here we go, my cell!"

Now holding onto the cellular device, EG Stardust began calling his girlfriend, and once he heard the"click"sound of Sci-Twi answering the phone, he said, "Hey, uh, I'm gonna be a little late. Something came up."

While Sci-Twi gave her response, EG Stardust nodded his head, and then, once she finished talking, he replied, "Thank you, love... um, I will be there in about ten-"


BOOM!


After hearing the gunshot, EG Stardust gulped, and said, "Make that twenty minutes, love."

Once he hung up the phone, the young teenager put on his mask, got out of the phone booth, and as he made his way back to where the thug had been, everything felt like it was moving in slow motion.


And they say



That a hero could save us



I'm not gonna stand here and wait



I'll hold onto the-



*Record Scratch*


Unfortunately, after reaching the alley, EG Stardust stopped in his tracks, and saw that the thug had already left, with his victim now sprawled out on the ground

"Oh, [BEEP], that not's good," said EG Stardust, shaking his head. "Nope... you're not gonna walk that one off, nuh-uh..."

Then, he let out a sigh, and added, "Man, I spentway too longin that phone booth... you know, honestly, I probably should have just called 9-1-1, but then, I would have had to ask someone for change cause who the [BEEP] carrieschangeanymore?"

Of course, the dead victim wasn't answering, so EG Stardust simply shrugged, and continued with his monologue.

"Well, I guess therearesome positives to this... I mean, I've done the brony community a huge favor, and yes, even though I've always said that you were a [BEEP]-in cardboard cutout who didn't need to be a love interest, I think that... nope, never mind, doesn't change a thing...

"And also, what the[BEEP]is a phone booth doing at a street corner? I thought they ended up like Hollywood Video and Blockbuster... eh, I could've probably used my cell, though."

Stardust

"But then, I would have to explain my girlfriend that I'd be late to our plans for prom-"

STARDUST!





"KRONOS!"yelled EG Stardust, lifting his head up, and waking up from his dream.

"Stardust..."

The young teenager looked around the classroom, seeing that he was still in English class, and he saw that all of the students were staring at him.

He turned to look at the person sittting in the desk next to him, who was Rainbow Dash, and the athletic teenager slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand.

"Over here, Mr. Stardust..."

Turning himself to look in a straight direction, EG Stardust looked at his English teacher, Mr. Saber, who was someone that did not enjoy having him as a student.

In EG Stardust's case, he did not enjoy having him as a teacher, but heck, the school year was almost over in just a few months, anyway...

"Why did you say the name of a password that came from a movie?" asked Mr. Saber, who had his arms crossed, and was giving EG Stardust a mean-eyed look.

EG Stardust rolled his eyes, and he replied, "Itwasn'ta password, Kronos is-"

"Stay after class once the bell rings."

The young teen's mouth almost dropped to the top of his desk. "What, why? I didn't even-"

"After class," growled Mr. Saber, and as he continued with teaching today's lesson, EG Stardust groaned.

"Son of a [BEEP]..."






Meanwhile, in Equestria


It was now the day after all of the anti-ponies had gone back to their world, and Stardust was currently asleep, lying in his bed, fully intending on not waking up until he chose to.

Or so he thought.

"Mornin', sugarcube!"

Still laying in bed, Stardust groaned, and he said, "AJ, please tell me that nobody ruined the-"

"Nope, nothin' bad happened," assured Applejack. "Now, come on, get yourself outta that bed, you gotta do my chores. The sooner you get 'em done, the sooner you get to come back."

"Says who?" replied the young Earth pony. "You never won that bet."

Applejack chuckled, and she shook her head. "I beg to differ, Star..."

Barely lifting his head up, Stardust opened his eyes, and watched his friend perform the dance that she had learned back in the Human World.


Pop it, lock it



Polka dot it



Countrify then hip hop it



Put your hawk in the sky



Side to side



Jump to the left



Stick it, glide



Zig zag cross the floor



Shuffle in diagonal



When the drum hits



Hands on your hips



One foot it, 180 twist



And then a, zig zag



Step, slide



Lean it left



Clap three times



Shake it out



Head to toe



Throw it all together



That's how we roll


Once Applejack was back on all fours, Stardust groaned, and said, "You... have got... to be[BEEP]-in kidding..."

The hard-working Earth pony sighed, and she said, "Come on now, Star, the sooner you finish them up today, the sooner you can get back to sleep. Alright?"

You are a man of your word most of the time, Jack.

"Notnow, Starswirl," muttered Stardust, and he slowly began to climb out of bed. "Alright, AJ, you win... but that's the last time I make a bet with you."

Applejack just gave him a sheepish smile.






"Equestria Girls" World


A half-hour later, once all of the other students had left, EG Stardust went up to the teacher's desk, as did EG Rainbow, to his surprise.

"You do nothaveto stay here, Miss Dash," reminded Mr. Saber, but the young female teenager shook her head, so he turned his attention back to EG Stardust. "That's the fifth time you have fallen asleep in my class, Mr. Stardust."

"Hey, not my fault you make this class so boring," replied EG Stardust. "Besides, I have a reason for falling asleep."

Mr. Saber raised an eyebrow, and he said, "I hope it's not like the times when you told me about you having to deal withanime demons, magic-stealing sirens, and a careless camp counselor?"

"Er..." EG Stardust gave a sheepish laugh, and said, "Well, to be honest, I-"

Mr. Saber sighed, and he replied, "Just forget it... and you'll have plenty of time to doze off indetention."

"What, why?!"yelled EG Stardust, and his temper was starting to grow.

"For falling asleep in class...again," reminded his teacher. "You also have yet to re-take the test you missed several days ago."

After he was handed a test paper, EG Stardust groaned, and he muttered, "Fine, so when do I show up back here, huh?"

Mr. Saber let out a chuckle, and he shook his head, saying, "Oh, no, Mr. Stardust, you are not going to serve detention in here... you're going to thespecialdetention room... in Mr. Larson's class... after schooltoday."

EG Stardust blinked his eyes a few times, and then, he exclaimed, "Why the[BEEP]do I got to serve detention in-"

"Do not make me have to give youdouble detention, Mr. Stardust," replied Mr. Saber, and Stardust looked almost ready to explode in anger, but EG Rainbow pushed her friend out into the hallway before he could say anything else.

A few minutes later, inside of an empty classroom, EG Rainbow said, "Youneedto calm down, Star."

"Calm down?" exclaimed the irritated teenager. "Rainbow, how in thehellam I supposed to-"

Suddenly, he noticed the worried look on his friend's face, as well as hearing a familiar voice in his head.

Prove to me that you can enjoy your life, your friends, and your beloved girlfriend.

EG Stardust sighed, and he replied, "Alright,fine, I'm sorry... but that damn detention class is not going to help me out with that in any way."

"Oh, come on, Star, how bad could it be?"






Several Hours Later


Detention in Mr. Larson's room was definitely not a pretty sight.

It was filled with most of the rudest, loudest, strangest, and just down-rightmost horriblestudents to ever attend CHS, except for EG Stardust.

As he got to the final set of questions, EG Stardust's concetration was broken by the angry sounds of a large and barking dog.

"Hey, uh, I don't think those kind of-"

"You leave Garble alone!" yelled the barking dog's owner, and the dog continued barking at EG Stardust.

Just finish the test, Star, just finish the test.

"Can someone please help me down?" asked Mr. Larson, who was hanging upside down via a lengthy rope that was wrapped around his whole body.

BARK! BARK! BARK! BARK!

As paper airplanes and rolled-up pieces of paper were thrown across the room, EG Stardust groaned, and dropped his head against the desk.I can't believe I have to put up with this for thirty [BEEP]-in more minutes!

Then, a few minutes later, EG Rainbow appeared in the room, and she went up to the teacher's desk. "Uh, Mr. Larson? The principal wants to see Star right away."

"Are you done with your test, Mr. Stardust?" asked the tied-up teacher.

"[BEEP] yes, I am!" cried EG Stardust, lifting his head back up.

"Alright, you may go once you bring me the test pa-"


WHOOSH!


EG Stardust raced to the teacher's desk, and followed his friend to the door.

"What does Celestia want me for?"

EG Rainbow looked at her friend, and gave him a sly grin. "Shedoesn't..."

Once she said that to him, EG Stardust gave her a smile, and said, "I owe you one."

EG Rainbow just let out a chuckle, and the two friends hurried out of the classroom.

At least he wasn't in the world that Kronos had sent Evil Stardust to...





"Had fun in detention?" asked Sci-Twi, as her boyfriend walked up to her.

"Oh, ha, bloody ha," retorted EG Stardust, rolling his eyes. "You didn't have to wait for me, love."

"Yeah, I know, but I wanted to," replied Sci-Twi, which made EG Stardust smile. "Besides, I didn't want you to... end up..."

His smile quickly went away, and the young teenager sighed. "Just say it, love... I was terrible, wasn't I?"

Sci-Twi gave him a nervous look, and replied, "Well, I mean, I don't exactly remember much about the whole thing, but seeing you with all of that dark energy... and our friends..."

EG Stardust sighed again, and began to shake his head.

This is just great... I've probably burned those damn memories permanently in her mind forever...

"Stardust?"

The young teenager looked at his girlfriend, who added, "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah, I'll be fine," assured EG Stardust. "Oh, before I forget... there's, uh, something I wanted to ask you."

Sci-Twi nodded her head, and said, "Okay, Star... what is it?"
> A Special Event
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"THE PROM?!"

"[BEEP], Rarity!"

EG Rarity gave her friend a sheepish smile, and said, "Sorry..."

She and EG Stardust, along with Sci-Twi, were at their usual hangout - the rooftop of Canterlot High.

It had taken some time for the whole group of friends to be able to get back up there again, considering what had occured last time, but now, it wasalmostlike those events had never happened.

"Please let me create a suit for you," exclaimed EG Rarity, as she grabbed EG Stardust by the front of his shirt.

"Um... I appreciate the offer, but I think I'll pass," retorted EG Stardust, who gently pushed his fashion-loving friend away. "Now, let's all just-"

Before he could finish, EG Rarity turned her attention over to Sci-Twi, and cried, "Pleaselet me design your prom dress!"

"Um... okay?" replied Sci-Twi, and EG Rarity squealed with delight before giving her friend a tight hug.

EG Stardust rolled his eyes, and shook his head. "I'd figure you would be more concerned about your own dress rather than someone else's, Rarity."

"Oh, psk-k-k-k," scoffed the fashion-crazy teenager. "Don't be so ridiculous, darling... and besides, I already got my dress doneagesago!"

Why am I not surprised by this?

EG Stardust raised an eyebrow, and he asked, "So, who areyougoing with?"

"Moi?"said EG Rarity, letting out a fake gasp. "I don't have to go withanyone, Stardust, and just because you..."

And, here she goes again,thought the reformed teenager, as he ignored whatever she was saying to him, while Sci-Twi silently laughed at her boyfriend's bored expression.

Then, once EG Rarity had finished talking, she asked, "Now, does that make sense?"

"Oh, sure, absolutely," said EG Stardust, as he began heading over to the door. "Now, let's get back to class before-"


RING!


"$%&$!"exclaimed the young teenager, knowing that if he didn't get to class in thirty seconds, he would have to stay after school in detentionagain."See you after class, love."

Sci-Two gave EG Stardust a bashful smile, and she replied, "Looking forward to it."


WHOOSH!


Courtesy of his own geode necklace, EG Stardust raced inside the school, and flew past several of his friends, including EG Applejack, who found herself spinning around.

"Dog... gone it, Star... now, you're gonna make me dizzzziiiieee-"

"Oh, here, let me help you!"

Suddenly, EG Applejack felt herself being stopped by someone, and as her eyes got back into their regular position, she turned around to look at a young man she had never seen before.

"Why, thank you kindly, sir," said EG Applejack, tipping her hat at him.

"Oh, no worries, I just didn't want you to get hurt or anything," replied the newcomer, giving her a shrug. "And you don't have to, um, call me sir."

EG Applejack smirked at him, and crossed her arms. "Well, alright then, whatshouldI call you?"





"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty...ow!I wasjoking!"

"Missed you... too, pal," chuckled Casey, who was still recovering from Anti-Stardust's attacks and thefusionevent that had happened a few days ago.

Princess Twilight sighed, and she gave her counterpart an apologetic look. "I'm sorry about my special somepony, he's been a littlecrankythese past few days."

"Well,youtry being woken up by an Earth Pony every morning at 8am," exclaimed Stardust, as he let out a yawn, and stretched his limbs. "So, how you holding up, Casey?"

The orange-yellow Earth Pony gave a shrug, and replied, "Well, I can talk now without feeling a pain in my chest, so... a bit better than yesterday."

He tried sitting up, but Twilight gently pushed him back into bed, saying, "I don't think so, Casey... you aren't ready for that yet."

As Casey went back down, Stardust sighed, and said, "Look, um... I'm sorry, Twilight and Casey."

"Huh?"

The three ponies looked at Stardust, not expecting to hear him say those words, and Princess Twilight asked, "Sorry for what?"

"For letting him get hurt and... everything else," replied Stardust, as a sad frown appeared on his face. "I didn't mean for it to happen, and-"

"Well, frankly, none of us did," interrupted Casey, letting out a chuckle. "Besides, if Celestia hadn't forgot to checkeveryportal, then none of this would have ever happened."

Both of the Twilights rolled their eyes, and Stardust began to laugh. "I see that the fusion effects haven't worn off just yet..."

"Oh, that reminds me," said Casey, remembering something important he had wanted to say. "I'm sorry for letting your charm necklace get destroyed."

"Ehh, don't even worry about it," replied Stardust, shaking his head. "I'm not like one of those guys who wantsalmighty power... and, seeing that I still don't like my Cutie Mark, you did me a favor, honestly."

Then, Twilight chose to ask a question. "How are things with Rainbow, Stardust?"

The young human-turned pony gave a small shrug, and he answered, "It's improving alittle, and her wing is still healing, but she hardly speaks to me, and I just don't know how to make this all better."

"A party, perhaps?" suggested Casey, and Stardust immediately shook his head.

"No, I already had to deal withyourPinkie'sworld-combiningparty, and the last thing I want right now isanyPinkie, in general, to throwanysort of party..."

Princess Twilight just looked at him, and asked, "So, if Pinkie chose to tell everyone that she wanted to-"

"Nope, not going," answered Stardust. "And, there isnothingthat Pinkie can do to get me to come."






[Alternate Equestria Girls World]


This was like deja vu...

EG Stardust was currently making his way to Sci-Twi's doorstep, holding a similiar corsage to the one he'd gotten before, because he was about to take his special someone to a dance-related event.

The pony version of me was right... It was foolish of me to throw away something like this just so I could live in Equestria.

It had only been a week or so since those events, and as of now, EG Stardust looked more like his old self again... if it wasn't for the fact that he still had a slash mark over one of his eyes, thanks to Sunset Shimmer.

Something to remind me every day of the horrible choices I made,thought Stardust.I wonder what Pony Me has to remind him of the choices he's made.

After reaching the front door, EG Stardust knocked on it a few times, and heard a familiar voice cry out, "Be right down!"

EG Stardust smirked, and he replied, "Take your time, love! I'm not in a rush!"

As he waited, the young teenager also started to wonder what his other self was doing.






Ponyville - "ABJS" version


Um, I am not entirely sure that it works that way, Jack.

"Well,why...not?"

Stardust was currently pulling down on a rope that was in front of him, and so far, nothing had happened.

I believe that only Miss Pie can activate it, replied Starswirl.

The young pony let out a groan, and he released the rope from his hooves, not realizing that Twilight had now entered the room.

"Jack? What are you doing?"

Before Stardust could answer her, Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared next to him, and she was shaking her head. "Silly Star, that's not how you're supposed to do it."

"Not how you- well, humor me, then, Pinkie," replied Stardust, doubtful that it would work for his friend.

"Okay!"said a happy Pinkie, while Stardust walked over to stand by Twilight, and they watched her take several deep breaths, as well as stretching out her limbs.

"Don't hurt yourself, Pinkie," warned a concerned Twilight, while Stardust rolled his eyes.

I don't think you've completely accepted the fact, Jack, that one does not-

However, instead of pulling hard on the rope, like Stardust had done, Pinkie simply gave it a quick tug, and-


POOF!


The room was now prepared for a party, and Pinkie looked at Stardust with a wide smile. "See? Easy as chocholate cake."

Stardust just gave a small nod of his head, not giving much of a reaction, and that made Pinkie confused. "You okay, Stardust? You don't seem too happy about this party happening."

"Well, now that I didn't have to wake up so early in the morningh, I don't mind this party, Pinkie," explained the young pony, as he collapsed into a chair that had appeared behind him. "I'm just... I feel bad about what happened to Casey... and this whole thing with Dash..."

The only time that Rainbow had said more than a few words to Stardust - ever since Anti Stardust had revealed to her that Stardust wasn't the one who vandalized her home - was when she'd saved him from getting hurt by her alternate self; every other moment only had her telling him minimal things like a"hey, Star"or"sounds cool".

It was almost as frustrating as it was for a parent who wants to know everything about what their teenage child did or learned at school, but the only words of response that they recieve are"eh, fine"or"whatevs."

"So, basically, Casey is stuck in the hospital, Rainbow hardly says anything to me, and I just... I don't know..."

Twilight then put a hoof on his shoulder, which seemed to help Stardust relax, and she said, "Don't be so hard on yourself, Jack. None of us ever thought that we would even end up seeing what your worl-"

"Ooh, that reminds me!"cried out Pinkie, and she placed a plush-like object on the table next to them. "Check it out!"

Stardust blinked his eyes a few times, and said, "Uh...Pinkie... why am I looking at a stuffed toy version of you?"

"Because it's what I took back with me from your world," replied Pinkie, oblivious to her friend's dry tone of voice. "And, look, everypony else is here, too!"

In just a few seconds, the table now had stuffed plushies of the rest of the Mane 6, and while Pinkie Pie was beaming with happiness, Twilight and Stardust didn't know how to react or what to say.

"So, Twilight, this one of you is gonna stay here, and Spike gets this littl one of himself, and - oh, sorry about not finding one of you, Stardust. I looked almost everywhere, but no one in the store had any idea who I was talking about."

"That's fine, Pinkie," replied Stardust, giving her a faint smile. "I didn't expect them to-"

"Oh, I think I could help you out with that!"

Suddenly, a stuffed toy version of Stardust was on the table, as well, and Discord had now appeared next to the human-turned-pony. "It even talks if you press one of his hooves!"

"Ooh, I wanna try!" Before Stardust could even say anything, Pinkie got ahold of the plush, and started pressing all of its hooves, trying to see one would get the toy to talk.

"[BEEP!]"

Twilight looked over at her special somepony, who quickly shook his head. "I didn't say that."

She turned her attention over to Discord, and asked, "Are you saying that you made it so that the toy only says-"

"Oh, of course not, Twilight," said Discord, starting to laugh. "You really think I would have the toy Stardust say that wordover and overagain everytime you pressed his little hoof? I'm much better thanthat."

Not wanting to figure out what else Discord had programmed his toy self to say, Stardust retrieved it from Pinkie, and said, "Thanks, Discord... I think..."

He then started walking away, to Discord's surprise, and once Stardust was gone, the draconequs asked, "What's wrong with him? Usually, he would have delivered some sort of comeback or-"

"He'll be fine, Discord," replied Twilight, who did not want him to try and "help" her special somepony feel better.

I sure hope his other self is doing okay.





As they reached the steps of Canterlot High, Sci-Twi noticed that her boyfriend looked a little uneasy. "Are you okay, Star?"

"Yeah, I'm just... havin' a little, er, flashback to homecoming, love," replied EG Stardust, trying his best to look more comfortable. "Seein' as it was the night before I... well, you know..."

"Oh..." replied Sci-Twi, realizing what he was talking about. "Well, I don't think that history plans on repeating itself, Star, and having us go through it all over again... unless you've thought about-"

EG Stardust quickly shook his head, and said, "Trust me, love, I have kept my thoughts in a positive light when

it comes to you and the others."

There was also the fact that (and only EG Stardust currently knew about this) if he showed any signs of disgust or hatred when it came to living in this world, Kronos would have him spend all eternity in a place that the young teenagerneverwanted to revisit ever again.

"And it doesn't mean that I am not happy about tonight, either," reminded EG Stardust, smiling at the young and beautiful teenager walking beside him. "Rarity certainly did a great job in-"

"Well, howdy there, you two!"

EG Stardust and Sci-Twi were now at the front doors of the school, and to their surprise, EG Applejack was there, along with someone that neither of them recognized.

"Uh, hey, AJ," greeted EG Stardust. "What a surprise. I could have sworn that you said you weren't coming... um, no offense there, new guy."

EG Applejack, who was in her own lovely Western-themed outfit, blushed just a little bit as she replied, "I thought so, too, but then I met him after he saved me from fallin' onto the floor a few days ago, we got to talkin' and havin' a conversation, then next thing I know, he's askin' me if I would like to go with him to prom."

Her date offered the other two a handshake, and they politely accepted it, with Sci-Twi saying, "Well, hello, I'm Twilight Sparkle, and this is Stardust."

"Nice to meet you both. My name is-"


WHOOSH!


"Pizza's here!"yelled EG Rainbow, as she raced past everyone to get inside of the school, and heading towards the gymnasium."Sorry, you guys!"

"And, Rainbow's here, too, I guess," chuckled EG Stardust. "Is everyone else showin' up to the prom?"

EG Applejack shook her head, and replied, "Fluttershy's got her hands full at the pet shelter a few blocks down from here, Sunset offered to stay so she could help her, and I think Rarity is-"

"Oh, mygoodness, Twilight, you and Applejack look amazing!"

Everyone turned back around, and saw EG Rarity walking up the steps, wearing a dress that was equally beautiful as Sci-Twi's and Applejack's.

"Good thing Spike's asleep right now," whispered EG Stardust, as he spoke to Sci-Twi, who tried to hide her giggling. "Otherwise he'd be drooling at her feet."

Then, he looked back at EG Applejack's date, and asked, "What was your name again?"

"It's-"

Rarity took a closer look at EG Stardust's suit, and she said, "Well, it's not whatIenvisioned, but... you look rather lovely, darling."

"Well, thanks, Rarity," replied the young teenager, with a smirk. "As do you, but what happened to your date?"

The fashion-obsessed teenager scoffed at EG Stardust, and said, "Itoldyou, Star, that I donotneed to have a date. I'm not going to let a perfect dress-wearing opportunity like this go to waste just so I can-"

"Hey!" EG Rainbow was back at the doorway, looking at all of her friends. "Are all of you going to spend the rest of the night out here, or..."

She paused after noticing the newcomer standing next to EG Applejack. "Who are you again?"






Casey's World


"How are you feeling, Casey?" asked Starlight, as she walked into her friend's room.

The orange-yellow pony, who was getting out of his bed, gave her a small shrug, and said, "Better than how I felt a few days ago at the hospital... but still a little sore after all of those walls I crashed into... I could've sworn that I saw rubble fall out of my mane when I was taking -whoa!"

All of a sudden, Casey felt himself being lifted up into the air, and put back into bed, courtesy of alicorn magic that belonged to Twilight.

"Itoldyou, Casey, you're resting until you get back to feeling a 100% again."

While Casey rolled his eyes, Starlight offered a suggestion. "Maybe I could use a spell on him that-"

"Sorry, Starlight, but I want him to heal naturally," said Twilight.

Casey smirked at his special somepony, and replied, "You mean until I stop showing mannerisms that are similar to those of Stardust?"

"That, too, but I'm serious about your body, Casey," said a concerned Twilight. "You've been tossed, thrown, slammed, and whatever happened during that time you and Stardust were fused together... I just want to make sure you'll be okay."

"Iwillbe, Twilight," replied Casey, as he got out of bed again. "But I can't just spend the rest of the day in bed."

Then, as a joke, he added, "I'll probably end up getting kicked off the show for being too boring."

"Huh?" Starlight said, now looking confused.

"It's a long story," replied Twilight, letting out a sigh.






Stardust's World


Why exactly did you come into your room again?

"To play some video games... why?"

You've sat in your game chair for almost an hour, and have yet to turn onanyof the electronic devices.

Realizing that Starswirl was right, Stardust gave a shrug, and replied, "I guess I changed my mind, then."

Or you are still thinking about the fact that Casey remains hospitalized, and Miss Dash hardly speaks to you anymore.

Stardust let out a sigh, and he muttered, "Yeah, someheroic warriorthat I am, huh?"

You've already proven yourself worthy of that title, Jack.

"And, yet, I'm here in my room, almost feeling like [BEEP]," said Stardust, resting the side of his face on his front right hoof. "I mean, yeah, the world is saved and all, but I told Princess Twilight that I would never let Casey get hurt if he was ever with me, and I promised Rainbow that I'd be a better friend, but instead, I let my evil self toss him into the walls and the ground like a rag doll, and I don't even know what to say to fix things with Rainbow."

Not yet, you do not,pointed out Starswirl.But I have a feeling that you'll know what to do once you see her at the party later today... which reminds me... did Miss Pie mention to you where the party was being held at?

Stardust frowned, and he replied, "Here in the castle, obviously... why?"

Because it looks like she had a last-minute change, and is now choosing to have it somewhere else.

"And, where wouldthat be?"





As EG Stardust took his seat next to Sci-Twi, the human version of Twilight asked, "Youarehaving a good time, right?"

"Of course, I am," replied the young teenager. "I just need to… um… get more used to the fact that this is my home."

Then, as a joke, he turned to whoever was on the left side of him, and asked, "You agree with me, right?"

"To an extent, yes," replied Stardust, and his human counterpart nodded his head.

"See, Twilight? Even my own self agrees with…"

Suddenly, he stopped speaking, and looked again at Stardust, who gave him a small wave, as well as the pony-turned-human version of Twilight.

"Hello, you two," greeted Twilight, who was sitting next to Stardust.

A confused expression appeared on EG Stardust's face as he asked, "Who in the… how did… why are you here?"

"Well, it's because that, for some reason, Pinkie wanted all of us to celebrate her partyhere," muttered Stardust, and he made a gesture to parts of the gymnasium, where the rest of the Mane 6 were hanging out with their EG counterparts.

Even though he was still a little bit confused, EG Stardust decided to just "roll with it", and he said, "I'm gonna get us some more drinks, Twilight, okay?"

Sci-Twi nodded her head, and as her boyfriend walked away from the table, Twilight looked at Stardust, asking, "Could you get me something to drink, too, Jack?"

"Sure thing, love," replied Stardust, who started to go after his other self.





Once they were at the refreshments table, the young teenager asked, "So… uh… are you and Rainbow still arguing with each other?"

"Well, we're not exactlyarguing, per se," replied Stardust, letting out a sigh. "She just doesn't talk to me as much as she used to."

An apologetic look appeared on EG Stardust'sface, with the former antagonist remembering what he'd done to Rainbow.

There must be something I can do to help-

All of a sudden, the music playing from the speakers changed from fast to slow, and it was like a light bulb appeared above EG Stardust's head.

"I think I got an idea…"

After his other self told him what it was, Stardust didn't look too entirely sure about the plan actually working.

"You got something better in mind?"

Stardust didn't have an answer for him, so after EG Stardust gave his pony-self a small shove, he began walking over to Rainbow, who had been helping her other self out with fixing up all of the pizza boxes.

Well, here goes nothing…

The young hero sighed, and he cleared his throat, causing Rainbow to turn around so that they could look at each other.

"Uh… hey, Star," muttered the athletic teenager. "I think Twilight's sitting over there with the other version of herself."

"Yeah, I know," replied Stardust, to her surprise. "I came here to… uh… have a dance with you."

She gave him a confused look, and said, "Er, why would you…?"

"Because you're one of my closest friends, Rainbow," said Stardust, who was sounding a little more confident. "So, would you please… have this dance with me?"





Back at the table, Twilight and Sci-Twi were watching what was going on between them, with EG Stardust's girlfriend asking, "Should we, um… help them out… or something?"

A smile appeared on the pony princess' face as she replied, "No, I don't think that will be necessary."

As for EG Stardust, he was about to return with the drinks when EG Applejack's date suddenly came to the table, also planning to bring back some drinks.

"So, are you and AJ gonna spend more time together after this, or…?" questioned EG Stardust, and the young newcomer began to blush.

"Um… well, we haven't really, er, reached that discussion just-"

EG Stardust chuckled, and he gave the young man a pat on the shoulder. "I'm just messing around, man… oh, and before I forget, what's your name again?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," apologised AJ's date, who offered EG Stardust a handshake. "My name is Casey."

The two of them shook hands, with EG Stardust wondering to himself why it sounded so familiar.





Once he and Rainbow began to slow-dance with each other, Stardust was about to speak when his friend said, "Hey, er, look… I'm sorry about… well, everything… it's just that-"

"Hold that thought, Rainbow," interrupted Stardust, speaking in a gentle tone. "I'm not mad at you anymore about that whole thing with the graffiti… I just hate myself for not keeping my promise about being a better friend to you."

Then, to his surprise, Rainbow said, "No,Ihaven't been a good friend… you've been doing great, Star… I mean, who else would have introduced me to some awesome new clothes, and heck, those fish n' chips weresupergood to eat!"

Stardust chuckled, and he gave a small shrug, saying, "Well, it might be a while before we ever eat tha… oh, wait, I forgot, Pinkie could probably get some for us."

The two of them both started to laugh, much to the pleasure of Twilight and EG Stardust, who had returned to the table with drinks.

"Okay, maybe I spent a littletoo muchtime feeling guilty and stuff," admitted Rainbow. "Sorry if I made you feel worse about anything, Star."

"No need to apologise," replied Stardust, giving her a smile. "You're one of my best friends, Rainbow… we're stuck with each other, no matter what… considering that I can never go back to my world ever again."

"But we just came back from there," said a confused Rainbow.

We'll talk about that another time, Jack.

Stardust chuckled, and he shook his head, saying, "I know, Rainbow, just… it doesn't matter anyway… the point is, we're always going to end up arguing with each other, but that doesn't mean you'll evernotbe my best friend… does that make sense?"

Rainbow nodded her head, but then, she gave a sheepish chuckle as she asked, "Does that mean we're going to be… um,dancingand stuff like-"

"Not really," replied an amused Stardust. "This is just because… well, it's not ahug,but it's something that we both needed."

"Yeah, you're right about that," said Rainbow, smiling in agreement. "But there's something else I've been curious about... where exactlydidKronos send theevil you?"

Stardust had no idea, so he shrugged his shoulders, and replied, "I hope that it's some place where he deserves to be."

Before Rainbow could give a response, the music changed again, and as he heard the new song, Stardust immediately froze in place.

"Oh, no, no, no, no..."





"Ugh… where in the…"

Evil Stardust slowly opened his eyes, and the first thing he noticed was that someone has securely tied him to a chair.

"What the hell is-"

"Yeah, you're awake! Now you can enjoy our tea party!"

The sinister pony's eyes became wide, and then, he instantly closed them back up.

Go back to sleep, go back to sleep, go back to sleep!





"Star? What is it?" asked Rainbow Dash, after her friend immediately stopped moving once the song had changed.

Ooh-ooh, yeah!
Hey, hey, we may seem different as night and day

"I recognize that tune," explained Stardust, who was starting to frown. "And there isno waythat I am going to-huh?!"

To his surprise, EG Stardust and Sci-Twi were heading out onto the dance floor, as well as his own Twilight, who was making her way towards him.

"Come on, Jack, I want to see if we can do this."

Stardust shook his head, and crossed his arms. "Nothing doing, love… there's no way that I amevergoing to-"

"Hey, man, if I'm doing it, then there's no reason why you shouldn't,"called out EG Stardust, while his other self rolled his eyes.

But Equestria Girls see things a different way
Just look a little deeper and you will see

"Jack, come on, how bad can it be?"

The young teenager continued to refuse dancing to the song, saying, "I have alimitwhen it comes to doing certain things in this world, love… and dancing to this song isway pastthat limit."

You know I'm just like you and you're just like me

As the music began to get louder, Twilight gave her special someone a sly look, and said, "Come on, Jack, just have thisonedance with me."

The young teenager shook his head once again, and replied, "You and everyone else enjoy dancing, love… I am just going to sit down at our table, and watch this all go-"

"Aw, no you don't, Star!"exclaimed Rainbow, who then pushed him towards Twilight, causing him to almost crash into her.

Stardust glared at his friend, who laughed as she gave a small shrug. "Just being a better friend to you!"

Generous, honesty
Laughter, kindness, loyalty

Everyone that was out on the gym floor was having a fun time as they danced to the song… except for Stardust, who didn't exactly look happy.

Free to be what we will be
Living life in harmony

We're Equestria Girls and we're here to shout
That the magic of friendship is what it's all about
We're Equestria Girls and we're here to say
We're gonna see things a different way

Then, a smile slowly started to appear on his face, and Twilight said, "See? I knew you'd come around!"

"Yeah, well… this is just a one time thing, love," replied the young teenager, as his smile grew a little more.

We're Equestria Girls and we're here to shout
That the magic of friendship is what it's all about
We're Equestria Girls standing side by side
Finding the magic of friendship deep inside
Equestria Girls!

As she ate a slice of cheese pizza, Rainbow laughed to herself, and muttered, "Oh, I am never going to let him forget about this."






A few hours later…


All of the CHS students were now leaving the school, and as EG Applejack walked down the steps, EG Casey asked, "So, um… what happens now?"

"Oh, er… well…" replied the country-speaking teenager. "Maybe we can find out on the way back to my house?"

"Sure… I'd love to walk you home," said EG Casey, giving his prom date a warm smile.

As for EG Stardust and the pony-turned-human Stardust, the two of them were sitting on the school's steps as EG Stardust said, "Thank you again… Star… for helping me realize what's important in this world."

"Hey, no problem, friend," replied a smiling Stardust, who gave him a pat on the back. "And, since we're talking… whatkind of placewas it that you'd never want to go back to again?"

EG Stardust remained quiet, for a moment, and then, he said, "If I told you, then we wouldbothend up having Vietnamese-like flashbacks."

Before Stardust could say anything else, Twilight and Sci-Twi came out of CHS, and were walking over to their respective love interests.

"So, I guess you two are goin' back home, then, huh?" asked EG Stardust, and to his surprise, Stardust shook his head.

"No, not just yet," admitted the Warrior of Twilight. "There's somewhere else that I have to and pay a visit, too."

Then, the two of them shook hands, and after Twilight hugged her other self goodbye, she followed her special someone into the time portal, which made them vanish as soon as they stepped inside it.

"Hey, Twilight?"

Sci-Twi looked up at her boyfriend, and asked, "Yeah, Stardust?"

With a chuckle, the young teenager asked, "How would you feel if I started wearing a fedora more often?"






[Location - Casey's world]


"Hey, Casey, I was wondering if-" began Twilight, but she stopped after seeing that her special somepony was currently fast asleep.

A warm smile appeared on the young alicorn's face, and she thought to herself,I'll come back later when he's done with his rest.

As Twilight left the room, Casey turned his body over to the other side of his bed, mumbling some words quietly to himself.


###########


An hour later, when Twilight returned, she saw that Casey was no longer asleep.

Instead, the young pony was letting out a yawn, and then, he asked, "So, now, am I able to get out of this bed?"

Twilight chuckled, and she nodded her head, saying, "Yeah, you should definitely be better now than how you were after returning from yourlife-changingfield trip adventure with Stardust."

"That it was, your Highness," replied Stardust, who was now a full-fledged pony again, and he shared a quick hug with Casey, as well as helping him get out of the bed.

Twilight looked over at her other self, who smiled as she said, "He's been going through a lot of emotions today."

Once Casey was standing on all four hooves, he looked at Stardust, saying, "Let me guess… is this the part when-"

Stardust laughed, and he shook his head, saying, "No, we've already talked about all that… I just came to make sure you're doing alright."

"Hey, I'm feelinggreatright now," replied the orange-colored pony. "In fact, I would say that I'm ready for us to have our rematch regardingyou-know-what."

"Oh,is that so?" said a smirking Stardust, who was also raising an eyebrow. "You think you could handle losing?"

With his own sly smile, Casey asked, "Couldyou?"

A few feet away, Twilight rolled her eyes, and said, "Great… he's still acting like Stardust."

"Well, maybe, but I think that they're just being good friends," replied Stardust's special somepony. "Pretty soon, they'll probably even bebestfriends."

Twilight smiled, and as she watched the two ponies playfully argue with one another, the young alicorn said, "I think I'd really like that."





Inside of his clock-filled realm, Kronos was smiling while watching the events unfold in both Stardust's and EG Stardust's world.

Now that's what I call a happy ending…

Figuring that he would no longer have to worry about them, Kronos made the two portals disappear, and he moved on to whatever portal was next.






[Location: Somewhere in Equestria]


"Well, well, well… it looks like I underestimated those two."

The voice was coming from a dark-colored Earth pony, who was also using a portal to see what Casey and Stardust were doing.

"So, um… does that mean it's our turn next, sir?" asked his right-hoofed pony, who also happened to be a Pegasus, and his master let out a dark chuckle.

"Very soon, Ronxor… since neither Rowan norEvil Stardustcould get the job done… but the time has to beright… it has to be when they least expect us to attack…"

With a sinister smile, the Earth pony added, "Soon, all of Equestria is going to belong to me, and there will beno oneto stop me."

"But, uh… didn't Rowan and Evil Stardust say the same thing?" reminded Ronxor, and his master rolled his eyes.

"Yes,but those twoidiotsmade unexcusable mistakes, and look at where it got them… no, my friend, I will bemuchdifferent when it comes to dealing with Casey and Stardust."

Then, before erupting into a fit of evil laughter, Elixir Nova added, "Iwilltake over this wretched planet… and there will beno ponyto stop me… it won't be the Mane 6… it definitely won't be the so-called rulers of Equestria… and I'm going to take care ofthese twomyself!"
> Saying Goodbye
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Sometime after the ending of the previous chapter…]


"Alright, Casey… this isn't going to be the same thing that we always do… it's forreal, this time."

Casey was a young and orange-colored Earth pony, whose Cutie Mark was a silver crescent moon, along with a bright, blue-colored, and eight-pointed star, and was very knowledgeable when it came to astronomy.

He was also the special somepony of Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, ever since their first encounter at the Crystal Empire, and he currently lived in Twilight's own castle that was located in Ponyville.

"Yeah, I think I get it, Stardust… but it's not too late foryouto back out of this."

"Oh,please," replied the gold-colored Earth pony, who represented balance between chaos and harmony. "Who do you think you're talking to?"

He also came from an alternate universe that Casey had ended up in one day, and in that universe, Stardust was the special somepony of Twilight, as well, except it was his world's version of the alicorn princess.

"Well, alright, you're asking for it, pal," said Casey, giving his friend a sly smirk as he shrugged his shoulders, and the two ponies looked at the blue Pegasus that was standing in front of them.

"Alright, everypony, you know the rules… this is gonna be a fair two-mile-long race, which starts here, and endsall the wayat Sweet Apple Acres… so that meansno usingyour special powers!"

She and Casey both looked over at Stardust, who rolled his eyes, and said, "Yeah, yeah, I know… I don't even need them anyway to beat this pony."

"Oh, you're about to eat those words," replied Casey, as he got his body into a racing position.

Nodding her head, Rainbow Dash flew up into the air, and cried, "Alright, the race starts in three… two… one…and…"


WHOOSH!


Once the pony that represented the element of loyalty was out of sight, Stardust and Casey both began racingdown the rocky path that was in front of them.

At first, it was starting off fairly easy, but soon enough, they were jumping over boulders, and making sharper turns, along with the occasional taunts being made.

"You might as well give up now, Casey, if you know what's good for you!"

"Ha, funny hearing that coming from the pony who couldn't last a three mile race in his own universe."

*sounds of frustration*

"When I get my hooves on that Pegasus…"





Meanwhile, standing a few feet away from the side of the finish line were Rainbow and Twilight, currently waiting for the two Earth ponies to reach them.

"Casey's gonna be fine, Twilight," said Rainbow, who easily noticed that her friend was looking worried. "What's the reason to be so afraid?"

"I'm notafraid, Rainbow," replied Twilight, with a slight frown. "I just… I'mconcernedfor him. He hasn't been the same that wholefusionthing with-"

"Twilight,trust me, nothing bad is gonna happen," assured the young Pegasus. "I mean, come on, it'sjust arace!"





Once they had reached the halfway point, Casey looked over at Stardust, and asked, "Feelin' tired yet, pal?"

"You kidding?" replied Stardust, giving his friend a smirk. "I feelfantastic… and I'm still going to win this thing!"

"That's whatyouthink, but this race ain't over just yet," exclaimed Casey, and the two of them continued to increase their running speed.

Alright, Case, you know what to do if things start to go south, thought the young pony, but before he could finish his thought process, a familiar flashback appeared in his mind.

"Mom! Dad!"

As he kept on running as fast as possible to his home, Casey kept on calling out for his parents, hoping that they had chosen to stay outside, or gone to a safe place before it was too late.

"Princess Twilight! You have something that belongs to me!"

Several miles away, Tirek was destroying everything in his path, in order to find the super-powerful alicorn princess.

"Pleasebe okay, Mom and Dad," whispered Casey.

The young Earth pony suddenly shook his head, trying to not focus on that past memory.

"What's wrong, man?" asked a teasing Stardust, who was giving him a grin. "Havin' trouble there staying awake?"

"Oh,as if," replied Casey . "I am going to bewinthis race, Star… and I'm about to do sonow!"

Before Stardust could even say anything, Casey suddenly reached a more faster pace, and to his friend's surprise, he started to get more ahead of him.

"What?!"

The young and teenaged pony began to laugh, and he continued to go faster, knowing that the racing line would be coming up soon enough…

Alright, I just got to stay at this pace without-

Unfortunately, more flashbacks began to appear in his mind, and they were definitely not pleasant ones.

"Fight me!" exclaimed Casey, who gritted his teeth in frustration.

"I'm not going to fight you," replied Stardust, which only made the young pony angrier, and he found himself dodging another one of his friend's attacks.

"Fight me!"

Casey shook his head again, and muttered, "No, that wasn't me… I didn't do any of that…"

"Why, you little..." Having lost all of his patience for the foolish pony, Anti-Stardust used his powers to make Casey rise up from the ground, and then, he slammed him into the nearest wall. "You were supposed to be hurting him!"

Twilight's worry for Casey continued to grow.

She could feel that something wasn't right, and not even Rainbow's comforting words were helping.

After pinning him harshly against a wall, Anti-Stardust - now more angrier than he was before - started slamming his body against the wall multiple times, and to make things worse, the sinister pony delivered some very powerful kicks to his ribcage area after tossing him to the ground.

"Casey?" asked Stardust, who was getting a little concerned as he watched his friend continue to shake his head several times. "You okay?"

After Starcade went back to just Stardust and Casey, who had both flown to opposite sides of the arena, the young pony made a rather harsh landing on the ground.

"What... the..." He gasped, but then, he let out a yelp of pain, due to his ribs now being seriously injured, and to make matters worse, he heard the sound of several explosions nearby.

"Casey!"exclaimed Twilight, who began to run towards her loved one, and Rainbow soon followed after her.

After opening his eyes, Casey looked up, and saw a giant piece of the roof now falling down towards him. "That... can't be-"


WHAM!






By the time the three ponies reached Casey, he had already crashed headfirst into a dead tree, and was now sprawled out on the ground.

"Casey!"exclaimed Twilight, who started to help him up to his hooves. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fi-" Casey began to say, but then, he found himself shaking his head. "My… ribs…"

Twilight nodded, and she replied, "Alright, we're heading back to the castle so you can take your medicine… the race is over."

As the two of them quickly went in the direction of Twilight's castle, Rainbow looked over at Stardust, who had a sorrowful look on his face.

"He's going to be fine, Star," said the winged pony. "You didn't do anything wrong."

The human-turned-pony sighed, and he replied, "I wish that was true, Rainbow… but it's just not…"


################


After he was given two teaspoons of medicine, Casey made a face of disgust, and said,"It still tastes horrible."

The orange-colored pony was back in his bedroom, and as Twilight began putting the medicine away, she replied, "Well, that's what comes with being a hero… but I am glad you didn't end up like Stardust, though, since his Twilight told me about the times that he has ended up-"

"Oh, yeah, I've had my fair share of near-fatal injuries," interrupted Stardust, who was making his way into the bedroom.

Twilight quickly noticed that he looked unsure about something, but she just figured that he was simply showing concern for Casey.

"Oh, you'd better not start gloating or anything like that," said the young pony. "I was almost about to beat you!"

Stardust let out a chuckle, and he shook his head, replying, "You must have hit your headpretty hardif you thought that I was going to lose the race."

"Ha-ha, very funny," said Casey, speaking in a sarcastic tone. "Just wait until the next time you come to visit... by then, you'lldefinitelysee what I'm talking about."

At first, Stardust didn't give a response, but then, he gave a playful punch to his friend's shoulder, and replied, "Alright, I get it… just focus on getting betterhealth-wise,okay?"

Due to the medicine's side-effects, Casey was becoming tired very fast, and as soon as they did a bro-hoof, he went right to sleep.

Well, time to go,thought Stardust, who looked over at Twilight, and gave her a small head nod before walking out of the room.






The time has come
It's for the best, I know it
Who could have guessed that you and I…


As he entered the library, Stardust rolled his eyes, and muttered, "Not right now, Starswirl."

Then, he proceeded with turning on the world-travel machine that Twilight and her friends had created after defeating Rowan for the first time, but before Stardust could step inside, a familiar voice caused him to remain still.

"I may not know you as well as the Twilight from your world does, but I can tell when something is bothering one of my friends."

Letting out a sigh, Stardust turned around to look at Twilight, who was standing by the doorway, with a look on her face that meant she knew he was hiding something.

She also had a point… even though neither of them obviously did not have any sort of romantic feelings for each other, Twilight still considered him as one of her friends, especially after everything that her other self had said about Stardust.

"What's wrong?"

The gold-colored pony paused, for a moment, before he replied, "Look, Twilight, I… uh… it would be best if I just stayed in my own world from now on… and that you all stay here in yours."

At first, Twilight was confused after hearing his statement. "Well, then, why do you… wait… you mean that… you don't want us to see each other ever again?"

"Er, I mean, when you put it that way, it sounds kind of harsh," replied Stardust, but when Twilight raised her eyebrow, he said, "I don't want anything worse happening to Casey… it's because of me that he even got hurt in the first place."

"Stardust, that wasn't your-"

The young pony shook his head, and said, "I had so many chances to get him out of harm's way, but instead, I let my evil counterpart nearly beat the living **** out of him."

Before Twilight could say anything else, Stardust added, "I am doing this foryoujust as much as I am doing it forhim, Twilight. You don't deserve to go through the same type of pain that my alicorn princess did… so-"

"Stardust?"

The two ponies turned around, and saw that Casey was now in the room, looking half-sleepy and half-awake.

Not wanting either of them to cause an argument, Twilight tried to get him out of the library. "Alright, Casey, time to go back and-"

"This isn't, like, agoodbyegood-bye, right?" said the orange-colored Earth pony, who did not plan on leaving just yet. "We agreed that-"

"I know what we said, Casey," replied Stardust, who was starting to speak in a little more serious tone. "But ever since then, almost nothing but trouble has happened to us… and this is exactly what I feared would happen if this continued any longer."

Casey started to frown, and he said, "What do you mean by 'this', Stardust? You sound as if you regret ever being my friend… or that it's my fault we are."

"Well, I mean, this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't shown up inmyworld on some random day from out of the blue," reminded the gold-colored pony. "And if you hadn't left your necklace behind, then I wouldn't have had to come back in order to return it."

Raising an eyebrow, Casey exclaimed, "Oh, so basically, you wish that this never would have happened in the first place?"

"Hey, those areyourwords, not mine," replied Stardust. "But now that you mention it, Icouldhave avoided being killed in the past, present, or whatever by Rowan… I would not have had to deal with the Rainbow from my world being upset with me…"

Jack, I don't think now is the best time to-

(Stardust) I'm doing this for his own good!

"If we're going down that route, Stardust, then I should point out that it wasyourother self that came intothisworld to kidnap Twilight," said Casey, who was now starting to get upset.

Not wanting anything else to get worse, the young princess said, "Alright, Casey, let's not end up doing something that will-"

"Well, it wasyourstupid time travel watch device that he got ahold of," growled Stardust, now sounding like he was irritated. "And I didn't ask to be fused withyouin the first place!"

"Hey, neither didI," replied Casey, who was no longer feeling tired. "In fact… yeah, you know what, Idoblameyoufor me getting all of these injuries… so, why don't you get back to your own world before something else happens to me?"

"That's what I amtryingto do, youfool," exclaimed Stardust, who began to walk through the time machine. "And don't expect me to come help if something terrible happens here…yourworld,yourproblems."


WHOOSH!


Before Casey or Twilight could respond to that, Stardust was taken back to his own world, and neither of them said anything.

Then, just as Twilight was about to speak, Casey quietly walked out of the library, and went back to his bedroom, leaving the alicorn princess by herself.

"Oh, thiscan'tbe good," said Twilight, sounding concerned. "I mean, how is the other me from Stardust's world going to react when he hears about this?"





"Haha, yes,nowwe're getting somewhere!"

A grin of triumph appeared on Elixir's face as he watched the argument between Stardust and Casey unfold in front of him.

"So, does that mean we get to attack Pony-" Ronxor started to say, but his master shook his head, in response.

"Not quite yet, my friend," he replied, with an evil smile on his face. "But rest assured, our victory is a guaranteed success… and in the meantime…"

Elixir walked over to a nearby desk, where a nearly-complete mechanic weapon was being built at.

"Hurry with the completion of your invention, Ronxor… I want it to be ready on the day that we decide to pay Stardust Balance a visit."

The silver-colored Pegasus nodded his head, but before he resumed his work, Ronxor asked, "Sir? What are you going to about Casey?"

"Oh, I have somethingvery specialin mind for him," replied Elixir, as he started to laugh. "But until that time comes… we have to make balance a little bit moreunstable."
> Mistakes, Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Only a few minutes had passed since Casey and Stardust's argument, and since then, Twilight had been pacing back and forth in the library, wondering what to do.

"Okay, there has to be some way to fix this," said the princess of friendship. "Maybe if I… no, that won't work… oh, I could… ah, no, that isn't it…"

Suddenly, Twilight stopped in place, and it was almost like a lightbulb had appeared over her head. "I got it!"






[Stardust's World]


As he stepped out of the time machine, Stardust did his best to ignore the feelings of guilt that he had inside of himself.

You know that was not the right way to handle things, Jack.

"Oh, don't start with me right now," muttered Stardust, who was also feeling irritated about the things that Casey had said to him. "I did what I had to do, Starswirl."

As he left the library, the young pony quietly made his way to the throne room, but Starswirl was not done talking just yet.

But at what cost? You two have a wonderful friendship, and-

"Dropit, alright?" growled the Earth Pony, starting to frown. "I amnotin the mood right now, so can wepleasenot talk about Ca-"

"Yes, Jack?"

Stardust stopped himself after realizing that he was now standing in the doorway of the throne room, and all of the Mane 6 were sitting in their respective seats, except for Starlight and Spike.

Well, this isn't what I was expecting,thought the gold-colored pony.And why does Twilight look like that?

Everypony in the room had a casual facial expression, but for some reason, Twilight had a frown on her face, and she did not look happy at all.

"Take a seat, Jack…"

Stardust nodded his head, and as he sat down in his throne, he gave Spike a look that meant"what is going on", but the little dragon simply shrugged his shoulders.

Looking at the rest of his friends, who continued to remain quiet, Stardust said, "Okay, am Imissing somethinghere?"

"Why did you get into an argument with Casey?" replied Twilight, and before he could deny anything, she added, "The other me told me what had happened before you left their world."

Stardust rolled his eyes, and muttered, "I should have known they would end up talking to each other."

You're on your own for this one, my friend.

After sarcastically thanking the elderly pony, Stardust looked at Twilight, and he said, "I got into an argument with him, love, because Casey doesn't deserve to go through what I - whatwego through any longer… and neither do his friends… so I did what I had to do."

"Getting into a heated argument with him, and saying that you're never going back?" said Twilight, full of disbelief. "Jack, there are so many other ways that you could have handled this situation… ones that didnotinvolve losing a friend."

"Oh, my way was notthatbad," replied the young pony, even though part of him was agreeing with Twilight's statement. "Look, love, I know what I am doing… remember what happened here with my other self? When this castle was turned into a stadium?"

Twilight remained quiet, for a moment, as the memories of those events came back to her, and Stardust added, "I juststoodthere, andwatchedas Evil Me beat the living [BEEP] out of Casey… and then, when Evil Me caused the whole place to explode, I couldn't save him from-"

"Explode?" interrupted Rainbow, who was confused since she remembered things differently. "I don't remember that happening when me and my other self came back to stop Evil You from hurting everyone."

"Oh, yeah, that was when Stardust and Casey became that super-super pony, and beat the stuffing out of Evil Stardust, and after saving the other Twilight, Starcade kissed her because-"

Twilight held up her front left-hoof, causing Pinkie to stop talking, and she said, "Thepointis… Ireallywish you would have handled this better, Jack, or at least came tomefirst before deciding to just take it in your own hooves."

Stardust was about to defend himself, but then, to his surprise, Applejack said, "Star, you think that maybe you're gettin' a little bit too worked up about this wholedeathstuff?"

"Huh?"

The country-speaking Earth pony held up her front hooves, and added, "Well, hear me out, Star… I just don't want you to'lose control'or anything like that… and become something that not evenwecan stop, like that one time when… you know…"

For a moment, Stardust's anger went away as he remembered what AJ was referring to, but then, flashbacks of when Evil Stardust tried to destroy the castle came back to him, which included a giant part of the rooftop falling down, and landing on-

"Jack…"

The human-turned-pony looked over at his special somepony, who had the same expression as Casey's Twilight when trying to talk to him, and she added, "I know you might not want to, but please make things right with him… is the friendship that you two have not worth saving?"

Remembering what had happened with Casey during their race, and the way that Twilight's other self had looked after seeing her loved one in pain, Stardust started to shake his head.

"I've already seen enough of my friends die, love… and the last thing I would want to happen is for his Twilight to feel the same way that you did after the wholeTirekincident."

Having already felt enough guilt, Stardust began to walk out of the throne room, but Twilight said, "Jack, this isn't the-"

"Just let him be, Twilight."

Everyone looked over at Rainbow, surprised to hear that come from her, and once Jack was gone, Twilight asked, "Why would you say-"

"Because I sort of know what he's going through," replied Rainbow, referring to the time that she had her own feelings of guilt because of the way she had treated Stardust. "So, it's gonna be a while before he even considers talking to Casey."





While Casey was still asleep, allowing the medicine he had took to help lessen the pain coming from his ribs, Twilight continued to pace back and forth in the library as she waited for Stardust to (hopefully) come through the time machine.

If anyone can fix this friendship, it's me, thought the alicorn princess.Well, technically, it's another version of me, but still, this should be simple enough for me - I mean, her to fix.


WHOOSH!


Twilight's face lit up with happiness as she watched the time machine become activated, but to her surprise, it was her other self that stepped out instead of Stardust.

"Oh, hi, Princess Me," said Twilight, who gave him a polite smile. "How did it go? Is he going to apologize?"

Princess Twilight sighed, and she shook her head, much to Twilight's disappointment.

"I'm sorry, but… it's going to be a while until he decides to come back, ready to apologize."

"And Casey is still recovering from his ribs injuries," said Twilight, who also sighed. "If only I had done more when they first started arguing, we would not have-"

Her other self shook her head, and placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Trust me, it would have resulted in the same exact way… all that we can do now is hope our special somepony's realize that this is pointless before this gets dragged on too long."

Giving her an appreciative look, Twilight chuckled, and said, "Yeah, I mean, they can't gothatlong with being mad at each other… they'll have to make up eventually."

"Absolutely," replied Stardust's special somepony. "Like, seriously, who can hold a grudge forthatlong?"






A few weeks later


A wide smile appeared on Elixir's face as he said, "Oh, Ronxor… it'sbeautiful."

The silver-colored Pegasus nodded his head, and replied, "Thank you, sir… to be honest, this is my best work."

"Indeed, my friend… great work."

After removing the weapon from the desk, Elixir turned to look at his newest comrade, who wore a hooded cloak that covered most of his body, as well as a metallic mask that covered his face.

"Are you ready for what we are about to do, Omega?"

The cloaked pony nodded his head, and replied, "I have been ready for alongtime, Elixir. You just make sure to keep upyourend of the bargain once all is said and done."

Elixir began to chuckle, and he said, "Oh, don't worry… once Stardust Balance is taken care of, we willallget what we want."

From beneath his mask, Omega started to smile, but then, it went away after Ronxor asked, "So, are you sure we don't have to worry about Casey coming in to, like, stop us from-"

"Thatwon'thappen, you idiot, because he's dead," replied Omega, walking straight up to Ronxor, who did a small gulp. "And you know who could have saved him?"

"Uh, Stardust?" said Ronxor, in a nervous but humorous tone.

"Exactly…" growled Omega. "So, please,thinkbefore youspeak, or I will do the same thing toyouthat I did tohim."

Not wanting to know what that was, Ronxor quietly backed away while Elixir proudly put a hoof on Omega's shoulder.

"I'm glad that we have you with us… Stardust will have no idea what to expect when he faces you."

Omega turned his head up at Elixir, who found himself moving to the side as he replied, "If that pony wants to remain alive, then he'dbetternot cross paths with me… or else he's going to suffer the same fate as his friend."
> Mistakes, Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

With the doors now closed, the Friendship Express began its journey from Ponyville to the Crystal Empire.

Aside from the conductor, the only occupants aboard the train were Stardust, Twilight, and the rest of the Mane Six, along with Spike and Starlight.

"Are we there yet?" muttered Rainbow, as she lowered herself in her seat. "I'mstarving!"

Stardust rolled his eyes, and he said, "Wejustleft the station a few minutes ago, Rainbow... did that breakfast at the castle not fill you up?"

"I guessnotif my stomach's still growling," replied the young pegasus.

Applejack shook her head, and said, "For the love of hay, Rainbow Dash, you eat more than my pigs do…"

The talented flyer just rolled her eyes, and she replied, "So, I'm hungry again… what's the big deal?"

As the two ponies continued to argue with each other, Twilight looked at Stardust, who was quietly looking out the window, and said, "I know you don't like when I bring this up, Jack, but it's been three weeks since… you know…"

"Yes, love, I am aware of that," replied Stardust, letting out a sigh.

Three weeks had passed since he and Casey had "ended" their friendship, and unfortunately, neither of them had decided to be the "bigger pony" by apologizing to the other about what had happened.

"But I'm not going to ruin the happiness that he probably has in his life right now by just showing up with an apology forpretendingto be angry at him… plus, if he'd wanted me to come, he or the other Twilight would have called from their communicator."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, and she said, "Well, maybe it was because you told them that if they ever needed help, you wouldn't be there."

"I don't always say the right thing, love," said Stardust, giving her a small shrug. "Besides, this probably would have happened one day anyway, so-"

All of a sudden, before he could finish his sentence, the train came to a screeching halt, and almost everypony fell out of their seat.

"Starlight, your mane's covering my face," muttered Stardust, since the purple-colored unicorn had fallen into his lap.

"Oops, sorry, Stardust," apologized Starlight, who quickly moved away from her friend.

As Rainbow flew in the air, she let out a sigh of relief, and said, "About time we got here! I'm ready to eat a whole lot of-"

"Um, I am not sure we arrived just yet, darling," said a confused Rarity. "The train's never stopped this so sudden before."

"And I'm getting abadfeeling about this," added Stardust, who started to frown, and he started walking towards the doors to see what was going on.


ZZZZZZZTTTT!


Suddenly, sparks of electricity began to appear around the door, and Stardust stepped back a little bit.

"What the[BEEP]is-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the door was pulled off by its hinges, and Stardust immediately got himself into a fighting position.

"Alright, who in the hell is out there?"

To everyone's surprise, an unfamilar voice began to speak.

"Why don't you all come outside, and find out?"

Then, Stardust felt himself being lifted up into the air, and pulled straight out of the cart!

"Jack!" yelled Twilight, and she immediately ran out to go after him, followed quickly by the rest of her friends.

She found him lying nearbh on the dirt-covered ground, and started to help him stand up.

"Are you okay?"

While Stardust nodded his head, Pinkie looked around the barren landscape that they were in, and said, "Huh, I didn't know we were going to Starlight's old village."

"Um… we weren't, Pinkie," replied Fluttershy, feeling confused and a little afraid. "What is going on?"

"I'm glad you asked, Fluttershy."

The mysterious voice had returned, and everyone saw that it was coming from a black-colored Earth pony, who stepped out of his hiding spot, with some sort of octangular-shaped device placed over his left eye.

"My name is Elixir, little ponies…thisis going be the day when I take over all of Equestria, and send each and every one of you here to a place where I don't have to worry about you all ruining my plan."

Stardust let out a sarcastic laugh, and he said, "Look, new pony, I don't think you know who you're dealing with…"

"Oh, I think I do,Stardust Balance," replied the sinister pony, his muzzle becoming a smug smile. "But before I continue…Ronxor!"

Everyone watched as a silver-colored Pegasus appeared from out of nowhere, and hand the other pony a book-sized device that (to Stardust) resembled a gun.

"Okay, what the hell isthatsupposed to do?"

A wide grin appeared on Elixir's face, and he replied, "Let me show you…"

Then, he fired the weapon, and in a matter of seconds, a blue-colored energy blast flew straight at Stardust, sending him to the nearest boulder before creating an explosion of dust and pebbles.

"Stardust/Jack!"yelled Twilight and the others, while a smug grin appeared on Elixir's face.

"I know you aren't dead, Stardust, so come out and show me your true power!"

An angry Twilight glared at Elixir, and she was about to attack him with her magic when Rainbow held her back.

"Hold on, Twilight, just wait a sec!"

Before Twilight could say anything, a similar gold-colored energy blast came from the direction that Stardust had been sent to, and Elixir watched as Ronxor was sent flying high up into the air until he eventually disappeared.

Then, a few seconds later, Ronxor came crashing straight down into the ground a few feet away from everypony, and he cried, "I'm… okay… boss!"

Rolling his eyes, Elixir turned around just in time to see Stardust appear, except the human-turned-pony was now surrounded by an aura of gold-colored energy.

"Well, this is a surprise," said Elixir, a smirk on his face. "I thought you lost all those powers when your necklace was destroyed."

Not even bothering to ask how he knew about that, Stardust said, "I have enough to dish out a few surprises every once in a while, a-hole… and right now, you're about to learn that you messed with the wrong pony."

"Oh, isthatwhat you think?" replied Elixir, while Twilight was taking a closer look at the device that was over his eye. "Well, then, by all means… take your best shot."

"I plan to," exclaimed Stardust, and he flew straight towards Elixir, ready to deliver a powerful punch that would send him flyingfar awayfrom them… but to his surprise, the sinister pony blocked it with his own hoof.

What the… Starswirl, how was he able to do that?

Before the elderly pony could give a response, Elixir said, "You need more practice,pal."

Then, he was about to fire his weapon at Stardust again, but got stopped by Rainbow Dash, who delivered a solid headbutt to Elixir's chest, which caused him to fly back a few feet away from them.

"No pony does that to my friend!"

She looked over at Stardust, and said, "You owe me twice now, Star."

"Oh,please, where did you get that idea from?" replied the energy-covered pony, but before he could hear Rainbow's answer, Elixir started to come back, and he didnotlook happy.

"Enough of this nonsense! Ronxor, get his friends out of my sight!"

"Yes, sir!" exclaimed the silver Pegasus, and with a weapon of his own, he fired smaller versions of the blue-colored energy blast at Stardust's friends, who all began to disappear once the blast had struck them.

Ronxor's next target was Rainbow, but before he could fire the weapon, Twilight used her own magic to knock it out of his hooves, and after smashing it with one of her hooves, she said, "Youdo notmess with myfriends!"

Oh, I love it when she acts like that,thought Stardust, who had so much affection for the young princess rignt now, while Rainbow rolled her eyes.


"Enough!"


The trio turned to look back over at a worn-out and enraged Elixir, who now looked extremely upset with them.

"I am not going to let you three ruin all of my hard work!"

Stardust let out a laugh, and he started to shake his head. "Trust me, buddy, it was ruined the moment you chose to mess with the wrong pony."

Then, he slowly began to rise up into the air, and Stardust's remaining power that had come from the effects of his Cutie Mark necklace continued to increase, which somehow also caused his eyes to glow a bright white.

"Get ready to be sent back to wherever it is you came from!"

A hint of fear appeared on Elixir's face, while Twilight and Rainbow had looks of victory since Stardust was about to-


ZZZZZZZZTTTTTT!


Suddenly, several blue streaks of electricity began to appear, and struck the Earth pony before he could deliver the final blow.

"Aaaaaggghhhhh….!"screamed Stardust, who was now going through the worst pain that he could have ever imagined, and he was switching from his normal self to when his "balance powers" were fully activated.

Down below, Twilight and Rainbow saw that it was coming from a cloaked pony that had now made his appearance, but before they could attack him, Elixir said, "Wonderful job, Omega… take care of the others."

Nodding his head, Omega used his other hoof to send a white-and-orange energy blast at Twilight and Rainbow, causing them to fly up into the sky before they were completely out of sight.

Then, he concluded his lightning attack against Stardust, and watched as the injured pony landed in front of him.

"What… did you… do to me?" gasped Stardust, who was now twitching in pain, with tiny streaks of electricity surrounding his body.

"I made it so that you'll know what it feels like to be just like everypony else."

Before Stardust could say anything else, Omega grabbed hold of him, and lifted the young pony up so that they were now face-to-face with each other.

"You think you're special? News flash:you're not…"

Then, he scoffed, and from underneath his mask, Omega began to smirk.

"You know, this actually reminds me of how Casey looked before he died."

"Wh… what?"said Stardust, who was becoming shocked and speechless.

"And you know what else? He actually thoughtyouwere going to somehow appear from out of nowhere, and save him from me…"

After a quick shake of his head, Omega added, "No, Stardust… youabandonedhim, and therefore, you easily allowedmeto end his life… so havethaton your conscience,hero!"

With that, Omega used his other hoof to fire an energy blast, and watched as Stardust disappear after flying off into the sky.
> New Territory
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Stardust and the others were out of sight, Omega glared at Ronxor, saying, "You are truly pathetic, you know that?"

"What?" said the silver Pegasus, with a confused expression.

The cloaked pony pointed up at the sky, and exclaimed, "You almost letthoseponies get the better of you, and could have screwed up everything!"

"Oh, that'srich,coming from the pony who hides his face behind a mask," retorted Ronxor, but he immediately wished that he hadn't said that after Omega began walking up to him.

"Would you like for me to show you what's underneath my mask?"asked the cloaked pony, speaking in such a venomous and deadly tone that made the silver Pegasus quickly shake his head."I thought so."

As Ronxor backed away, Elixir approached his newest accomplice, and said, "Great work, my friend… all my worries have gone away now that Stardust Balance is out of the picture."

Looking back up at the sky, Omega had a slight frown as he replied, "Uh-huh… but a deal is still a deal, Nova… sowhereisshe?"

"I can assure you that she is in a safe place" said the black-colored Earth pony."Onceallof Equestria is mine, you shall be reunited with her… but for now, I need you to gather up all the ponies that live in Ponyville and Sweet Apple Acres, and send them to my prison ship… alright?"


WHOOSH!


Instead of getting a response from Omega, Elixir watched the cloaked pony rise straight up into the air, and fly away in the blink of an eye.

"Not much of a talker, I presume… oh, well, let's get going, Ronxor," said the villanious pony, whose muzzle began to grow into a sinister snile. "We have a castle in Canterlot waiting for us."





Meanwhile, in a tropical location that was somewhere way beyond Equestria, all of the ponies that Ronxor had fired his weapon at were climbing out of the small lake that they had ended up in.

"Well,thatwas an interestin' pair of characters," said Applejack, who was trying to dry and adjust her hat by shaking it around. "Anyone seen Twilight or Star-"

As Spike dried himself off with a nearby giant leaf, he looked up in the sky, and his eyes became wide. "Incoming ponies at 12 o'clock!"

"Ugh… what was that, Spi-" Starlight began to say as she started to get out of the water, but she was interrupted by the arrival of Twilight, who crashed right into her.


WHAM!


Both of them ended up in the water, and the alicorn quickly moved away from her, saying, "Oh, my gosh, I am so sorry, Starlight… are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm… fine…" replied the purple unicorn, whose eyes were rolling around in dizziness. "What happened to-"


WHAM!


Rainbow Dash landed a few feet nearby, causing more water to splash over the two of them, and Twilight said, "Well, that only leaves us-"

Suddenly, Pinkie went straight through them, running across the water, and her hooves were open as she yelled, "Don't worry, Stardust, I got-


WHAM!


The gold-colorer Earth Pony landed next to Pinkie, who quickly moved to the side, and after putting him in her hooves, she headed back to the land. "I got him, everypony!"

"Thanks, Pinkie," muttered Stardust, who was not exactly feeling great at the moment.

Once everyone was out of the water, the gold-colored unicorn shook his head a few times to think a little more clearly, and he asked, "Is everyone alright?"

All of his friends nodded their heads, and as Spike started to look around, he asked, "Um, so where exactlyishere, Star?"

"Uh… good question…" replied Stardust, who actually had no idea how to answer the small dragon. "Got any idea, Starswirl?"

Although this place seems somewhat familiar, Jack… I can honestly say that I am not sure myself, as well, about where we are at.

The human-turned-pony sighed, and he muttered, "Oh, this isjustgreat… I don't know how this could get any worse."


THUD!


"You're about to find out…"

Stardust blinked his eyes a few times, and said, "Someone is behind me, I presume?"

All of his friends nodded their heads, and he turned around to find himself facing a very familiar pony.

"Do you not realize how much I want to banish you right now to that world I showed to your other self?"

Stardust held up his hooves in defense, and replied, "Hey, look, Kronos, this wasn't… okay, first,'great'to see you again… and also, none of this was my-"

Suddenly, the elderly pony swiftly picked up Stardust, and pinned him against a nearby tree.

"Well, that… escalated quickly…"

Twilight was about to confront the realm-watcher about his actions, but Stardust gave her a look that meant"I can handle this", and she nodded her head while Kronos continued to yell at him.

"Everything wassupposedto be normal again after your EG counterpart changed his ways, butnow, you have allowed Elixir to take control of Equestria, and bring things into this world that are not meant to exist here!"

"Hey, I didn'tallowanything to happen," cried Stardust. "I don't even know who the hell this Alexa pony is… none of us do!"

Before Kronos could continue to yell at him some more, Twilight offered a suggestion.

"Maybe you could tell us why Elixir wants to take over Equestria, and what he has against Jack?"

The realm-watcher sighed, and he glared at Stardust one more time before releasing from his grasp, allowing him to join the others.

"You okay?" asked a concerned Twilight, and Stardust nodded his head before looking back at Kronos.

"He could've at least apologized," muttered the gold-colored pony, and Kronos rolled his eyes as he used his magic to create a portal that would show them the events that came from his story.

"Now, then… Stardust, you are familar with the pony named Miles, correct?"

Stardust nodded his head, remembering what he had learned of the yellow Pegasus pony.

"Yeah, Rowan took control of his body in order to rule Ca… the other version of our world, but when that didn't work, he decided to just go and kill all of my alternate selves before eventually moving on to me."

It felt to Stardust that now was not exactly the right time to bring up Casey, especially after what Omega had told him.

"Your memory serves you well," said Kronos, nodding his head in approval, and then, everypony became surprised when the portal showed them a flashback of Princess Celestia talking to a less sinister-looking Elixir.

Well, except for Stardust, who groaned as he muttered, "Pleasedo not tell me that…"

"Not long after Rowan took control of Miles' body, she sent Elixir - who was previously arrested for crimes involving him using innocent ponies fordark magicexperiments - to try and stop him before things got out of hand," replied Kronos, while Stardust began to sigh in disappointment.

"Unfortunately, Elixir had his own evil purposes, which was mainly to rule over the 'bestversion'of Equestria that existed… so, at first, he thought it was the one that Rowan had traveled to after seducing your other self into becoming an evil version of yourself…"

The portal then showed everypony what had happened when Rowan had used the Silver Staff to send their other selves to different worlds, including the moment when Casey first met Stardust and Twilight, and it also showed how Rowan was eventually defeated by them, as well as when they had all gone to the other Pinkie's world-saving celebration party.

"But then, after all ofthathappened, he decided thatthisworld was worth taking over… and unfortunately, his desires are about to become a reality."

"Not as long aswe'rearound," replied a confident Stardust. "After we figure out a plan on how to beat this Mixer pony, we'll stop him just like we've stopped everyone else in the past."

A smirk appeared on Kronos's face, and he said, "Well, I suggest that you all rest here for the night… you're along wayfrom Equestria… several days, in fact… so make your decisionswisely."

"Rest here?"exclaimed Rarity, looking around at all of the trees, vines, and the birds flying around. "But we don't even have any camping supplies with us!"

"I can fix that," replied Kronos, and with a small wave of his own magical staff, he conjured up a pile of supplies that would allow them to set up camp for the night. "Now, then, if you will all excu-"

However, there was still something that Stardust wanted more information on, so he asked, "What's up with Lightning Pony? And is Casey really… you know…"

An expression of sorrow appeared on Kronos' face as he said, "Yes, I am afraid so, Stardust.. and take my word for it when I say that you must not underestimate Omega… now, with that being said, I can no longer be of any assistance towards you and your friends.'

Stardust was about to say something else when Kronos added, in a more serious tone, "You're on your own for this,Jack… and I am also warning you rightnowthat I'd better not have to return hereagainbecause of something like this… or else I will send you to a place evenmoreworse than the one I showed EG Stardust."

Then, he and the portal quickly disappeared, with Stardust rolling his eyes, and saying, "So this is all basically Celestia's fault… again…shocker…"






A few hours later


Everypony was almost done with setting up their fair share of tonight's shelter, but as Twilight completed doing her half, she noticed that her special somepony was still standing by the edge of the lake, looking at the clear-blue water.

And don't expect me to come help if something terrible happens over here, Casey.Yourworld,yourproblems!

"Jack?" asked a concerned Twilight, who was walking over to him. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just...(sigh)... The last thing I told Casey was that I wouldn't be there if he was ever in trouble."

He then started to imagine his friend being confronted by Omega, and added, "I said that because I wanted him and his world to be safe… but instead, all I did was allow that damn lightning bolt pony to… to…"

You abandoned him, Stardust, and easily allowed me to end his life. Havethaton your conscience!

Hearing Omega's voice in his head did not really help with making Stardust feel any better.

"I don't even want to know what his Twilight went through after she found out that… or what her reaction will be if I suddenly showed up just to check on her."

Stardust then sat himself down on the ground, and added, "All I ever wanted for Casey was to enjoy the rest of his life with his friends… with his own Twilight… but instead… I allowed that damn pony to just…"

Before he could finish his sentence, Twilight placed a comforting hoof on his shoulder, and the two of them looked at each other.

"The best thing for us to do now is save Equestria from falling into Elixir's hooves, and make Omega pay for what he's done to our friend… and we'll all do it together."

A smile appeared on Stardust's face, and then, he said, "Thanks, love…Pinkie! We need a chalkboard!"





As he made himself comfortable on Princess Celestia's throne, Elixir said, "Now,thisis the way that things are supposed to be… and they say that crime doesn't pay."

A few minutes later, one of his robotic servants entered the room, and said, "Ronxor has returned, my master."

The dark-colored pony nodded his head, and replied, "Wonderful, send him in."

"Yes, master,"said the robotic pony, and walked out of the throne room, with Ronxor making his way in a few moments later.

"I have someverygood news for you, sire," said the smiling Pegasus. "All of the ponies from Starlight's village have been captured, and locked away in the prison ship."

A small smile appeared on Elixir's face as he nodded his head. "Great work, Ronxor… the more allies of the Mane Six that we have in our grasp, the better… you've done well."

Filled with happiness, Ronxor gave his thanks to Elixir, and turned to continue working on his creations when he suddenly jumped in surprise.

"Oh, Omega, I… I didn't expect to see you there!"

The cloaked pony rolled his eyes, and walked past him as he went over to Elixir, saying, "I figured that, as the new ruler of Equestria, you would need something likethisin your defense department."

Reaching for something that was underneath the back of his cloak, Omega pulled out an object that was very familiar to Elixir's eyes, and the sinister pony said, "Amazing, my friend… but how were you able to come across this?"

"I have my ways, Nova," replied Omega, and a laugh came out of Elixir's mouth as he patted him on the shoulder, which made Ronxor frown immediately.

"Spectacularjob… oh, and thank you for delivering the rest of Stardust's friends to my prison ship. You certainly know how to get the job done more faster thanothers."

Omega nodded his head, and he was about to say something else when he heard a scoff and some mumbling coming from Ronxor.

"Is there a problem here?"

The silver Pegasus frowned at Omega, and replied, "I don't appreciate you trying toshow offin front of me… especially when you're supposed to bedeadtechnically."

While Omega remained silent, Elixir raised an eyebrow, and said, "Come again, Ronxor?"

"It'sobviouswho this pony actually is, sire," replied Ronxor, pointing at the cloaked pony. "How else would he know aboutthat?Plus, this explains why he didn't eliminate Stardust or even Twilight right away back when-"

"Are youblindandstupid?" growled Omega, walking towards Ronxor. "Yousawwhat I did to them, and it did not prove-"

"Oh, is thatso,Omega?" challenged Ronxor. "Or… should I say,Casey?"

As soon as the winged pony said those words, Elixir began to frown, and he said, "Ronxor, it sounds like you are accusing Omega of actually being the pony that he killed back in the other version of Equestria."

"I… I am, sire," replied a somewhat-confident Ronxor, who had been expecting a different expression from his master. "It just makes sense… I mean, who else would quickly hesitate in trying to get rid of Twilight and Stardust?"

Elixir turned to look at Omega, who had yet to respond to Ronxor's accusation, and the dark-colored pony asked, "Are yousurethat it's him, Ronxor?"

"A hundred percent," replied Ronxor, giving the cloaked pony a smug grin, figuring that he had called his bluff. "It has to be…"

"Well, then I guess I have no choice," said the sinister pony, letting out a sigh as he looked at his new accomplice. "Omega, could you please take off your mask for me?"

Instead of giving a vocal response, Omega simply started to remove his mask at a slow pace, and once it was off, the cloaked pony also threw back his hood, thus revealing his entire face…

… but, to Ronxor's surprise, it wasn't the face of Casey.

"You still think that I'm him, you moronic numbskull?" said Omega, whose unmasked face was horribly scarred, and looked like he had been involved in a dangerous brawl with somepony else.

"I… but… you…" A confused Ronxor was trying to figure out a way to still prove his point, and as Omega put his mask back on, Elixir gave his friend a look of disappointment. "How did that evenhappento you?"

"A psychotic version of Pinkie Pie," replied Omega, in a dead-pan type of voice and serious expression. "Don't you pay attention to the stories?"

As for Elixir, he glared at his right-hand pony, and exclaimed, "Get out of my sight, Ronxor… go bring me more of the Mane Six's allies…now!"

Not wanting to get into any more trouble, Ronxor quickly ran out of the throne room while Elixir looked back at Omega. "My apologies about that, my friend… I don't know what has gotten into him."

"No worries, I understand," replied Omega, dismissing it with a wave of his hoof. "To be honest, I might have done something similar… now, then, in regards to ourdeal-"

"You will see heronceallof Equestriais under my control," said Elixir, in a calm and relaxed tone. "And, if Stardust were to miraculosly come back like what happened with that other villain, there is something I would likeyouto do for me."

After adjusting his hood, due to an object that was around his neck, Omega raised an eyebrow, and he asked, "What would that be exactly?"

"Is it not obvious?" said a smiling Elixir. "Whatever you did to Casey… I want you to do the same to Stardust… in front of meandhis beloved princess."





"Hey, Star?"

The gold-colored pony paused his chalkboard writing to look over at Applejack, who looked unsure about something.

"Yeah, what's up?"

Rubbing the back of her neck with her hoof, Applejack said, "Well, um… I was just wondering if… maybe you should, uh, consider talkin' to Casey about what's happenin' over here."

To AJ's surprise, Stardust shook his head, and he replied, "That… wouldn't work, Applejack…"

He resumed writing out his plan, but the orange-yellow farm pony wasn't done talking just yet.

"Why not? He's helped us out before… and I seem to remember you two combining into one powerful pony that I'm pretty sure could beat the livin' hay out of Elixir."

"True, but there's no way that Casey would be able to get brought into this," muttered Stardust, who continued to write on the chalkboard while facing away from AJ. "He's not an option."

Unfortunately, Applejack was not going to give up, so she said, "Alright, Star, I don't know what you two said to each other that's making neither of y'all talk to the other pony, but I think it's gone on long enough, so-"

"Um, just wait a second, AJ," interrupted Twilight, who had noticed the two of them starting to argue. "Jack is only trying to-"

"Oh, don't you try to defend him now, Twilight," replied Applejack, who was now frowning. "Youwere the one who told him in the first place to apologize to Casey. Why can't he do itnow?"

Jack, it's not good to hold this in. You have to tell them.

Then, suddenly, Stardust stopped writing out his plan, and muttered, "Starswirl, I… no…"

If you don't do it now, I fear it will get much worse later on… just like with the Tirek incident… please, Jack…

Applejack looked at her friend again, and she said, "Star, tell me one good reason why you can't just-"

"Because Casey isdead, Applejack," said Stardust, finally looking at the pony who represented the element of honesty.

Instead of waiting to see what AJ's response would be, the young pony walked back to the lake, and looked down at the water, imagining again how Casey would have died.





"Casey, please, you and Stardust are friends," said Twilight. "Hasn't this pointless feud gone on long enough?"

The orange-colored Earth pony took another look at the Time Machine, which was set to travel into Stardust's world, and he said, "I… What would I evensayto him?"

"That you two obviously miss each other," replied Twilight, with a small smile. "Besides, the other me thinks that this has also gone on long enough."

"Of course," said Casey, letting out a chuckle. "Well, can you give me a moment alone, then? Just in case he happens to show up here first… and yes, I promise I won't get upset with him."

Twilight rolled her eyes, but gave him a warm smile as she said, "Sure thing, Casey… I'm proud of you for doing this."

Casey nodded his head, and so, once the alicorn princess had left, he began pacing back and forth, wondering exactly what he would tell Stardust.

Eventually, after he figured out what to say, Casey began to walk through the Crystal Mirror when, suddenly, he heard the sound of someone walking into the library.

"Twilight, I told you that I could handle thi-" He started to say, but after the young pony turned around, Casey quickly realized that it wasn't his special somepony. "Can I help you?"

"Oh, you certainly can," replied Omega, and the last thing that Casey remembered was being struck by a powerful blast of electricity-






SPLASH!


"Pinkie! What was that for?" cried Twilight, and the party-loving pony gave her a shrug.

"I thought it would help make those lightning bolts around his body go away."

As Starlight helped Stardust out of the lake, Applejack said, "Star, why would you say that Casey was…dead?"

Seeing that everyone else was now looking at him, Stardust let out a sigh, and said, "Right before I could put a stop to Elixir's scheme, I was attacked by a cloaked and masked pony, who then told me that I looked the same way that Casey had before he had died… and that Casey had been hoping for me to save him, but… I didn't because… I was so…stupid!"

Then, to everyone's surprise, Stardust went back to the edge of the lake, and he angrilyswishedhis right hoof back and forth in the water, while none of his friends knew what to do or what to say.

A few minutes later, the young pony stopped what he was doing, and he found himself imagining a memory from the past.





"Hey, Stardust?"

The gold-colored pony turned to look at Casey, and replied, "Yeah?"

"Um… is there going to be a point in our lives when… we aren't going to see you anymore?"

Stardust frowned, and said, "Why would you think about that?"

"Because it's happened before," muttered Casey, who now had a sad expression on his face. "You were gone for, like, a month… and I know that our worlds are pretty much basically the same… sort of, but-"

He immediately stopped after Stardust had placed a hoof on his shoulder.

"Casey, I'm not a perfect pony… hell, I'm technically not even a pony at all… but that doesn't mean I won't ever abandon my friends…"

"But… our worlds-"

"Yeah, so they're like 50/50 similar, so what? The only difference is that I don't have someone like you in my world, and you don't have someone like me in this world…"

As Casey started to smile, Stardust added, "Also, if I end up being away for a long time, it's because I'm dealing with something else that's out of my control, or stuck in that damn world I hate so much… but notoncehas it been because I did not want to come here.

"You, Twilight, and everyone else here are just as important to me as my own friends back in my world... also, I might not be around foreverythingin this world, but if it's important, then I promise that I will do my best to be there."

"Really?"

"Well, okay, itwon't beanything to do with Equestria Girls… I can barely handle what goes on withmyversion of that world… but yes, I will be there… otherwise, I would have to deal with both Twilight and Starswirl… heck, probably evenyourTwilight, too!"

Casey laughed, and said, "Well, I don't know about that, but… I am glad to hear you say that, Star…"





"Jack?"

Stardust turned to look back at his friends, and everypony could see that tears were slowly starting to fall from his eyes.

"Why couldn't I save him?"

As Twilight walked over to her special somepony, his voice began to crack as he said, "I lost my friend Twilight… and I could have stopped this from happening if I… just…"

Once Twilight wrapped her hooves around Stardust, giving him a warm but tight hug, the young Earth pony found himself unable to hold his emotions in any longer, and he began to slowly break down into tears.

Eventually, everyone formed a group hug around the two of them, and they all started to shed tears, as well, for the loss of their friend…
> Equestria Bound, Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Elixir had given his statement about Stardust, Omega waited a moment before saying, "That… is… ridiculous."

"What?" said Elixir, who started to frown since that was definitely not what he wanted to hear.

"You heard me, Nova," replied the cloaked pony. "We had adeal… I help you take over Equestria, and you give her back to me. Killing Stardust was not part of that agreement."

His anger slowly starting to rise up, Elixir glared at Omega, and said, "Well, I can't take it over if someone like Stardust is in the way, now can I?"

"No, I… guess not…" muttered Omega, who continued to try and fix whatever was around his neck. "But you promised me that she wouldn't get hurt, so if she is any sort of pain-"

"I can assure you that she is fine, my friend," replied Elixir, who had a small smile on his face. "Once I see the death of Stardust right in front of me, you will know where she is… but until then, I have something else that I need you to do."

Omega let out a sigh, and he said, "Alright, what would that be?"

Elixir's grin widened more as he replied, "I want you to bring me Sunset Shimmer."

"For what?"

The dark-colored Earth Pony looked at the object that Omega had brought him, and said, "Now that I'm free from Celestia's imprisonment, I can resume my experimentation, and I have just the perfect thing in mind for my first test subject…"

Omega nodded his head, and walked out of the throne room while Elixir began to let out an evil laugh. "Hahaha… hahahaha… hahahahaha!"





Once Stardust and the others had finished with their grieving over Casey's death (for now,anyway) it was finally time for them to discuss the plan to save Equestria.

"Alright, everypony, here's what I came up…" Stardust began to say, but he stopped after noticing that his friends were all looking a little nervous about something. "What?"

Applejack gave her friend a sheepish smile, and said, "Um, no offense to what you got written up on there, Star, but your plans tend to end with you… well, you know… like what happened with Casey, and…"

"We just don't want to loseyouagain, darling," added Rarity, and everyone else nodded their head, agreeing with her, while Stardust started to frown.

"Notallof my plans against villains have ended with the same result," replied Stardust, even though he had a feeling that he was wrong. "Give me an example."

Using the feathers on her wing as one would use fingers on a hand, Rainbow began to say the names of villains that, at one point, had almost beentoopowerful for Stardust.

"Chrysalis… Tirek… Sombra… Starlight… Rowan… Evil You…"

Before Stardust could respond to that, Pinkie suddenly raised her hoof, and cried, "Oh, and when you went to Sunset Shimmer's world for the Friendship Games!"

"Okay,fine, I get it," muttered Stardust, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. "Twilight, you take over from here."

Twilight chuckled, and she nodded her head as she walked over to the chalkboard. "Okay, so the ponies that we're going up against are Elixir, of course... Ronxor, who is probably his personal assistant… and Omega… now, like Jack mentioned earlier, they probably have already taken control of Canterlot and Ponyville, so it's up to us to stop them from doing the same to the rest of Equestria, and the one major advantage that we have is they all think Jack is dead."

"Um, how exactly is that an advantage, Twilight?" wondered Fluttershy.

"Because, like Rowan and Evil Me, they all think of me as the biggest threat to theirtakeoverscheme," explained the young pony. "And since they are under the assumption that I am dead, none of them will expect me to do what I plan on doing once we get to Canterlot."

While Fluttershy nodded her head, Rarity raised up her hoof, and she said, "There's something I don't understand, darling…. Who exactly is Omega? He must have some sort of secret identity if he's going through the trouble of covering himself up."

"I'm afraid I don't know just yet," admitted the young princess. "But it has to be someone that-"

"It's Rowan underneath that thing," said Stardust, to everyone's surprise.

That's a high assumption, Jack, considering the place where he was sent to by the other Pinkie Pie is not one that is easily escapable.

"Well, who else would have such a hatred towards Casey, me, and all of them?" pointed out Stardust. "It makes sense, especially after what Kronos told us… Rowan is back, and he wants revenge."

Then, in his mind, he added,As do I… once I get my hooves on him for what he's done.

"Ooh, does that mean we get to visit all of those other worlds again?" wondered Pinkie, and Stardust just gave her a confused look.

"You didn't go with us, Pinkie, that was the other one who went-"

"Anyway…" said Twilight, who was actually not fond of remembering those particular events since they involved her having to see Stardust romantically kiss alternate versions of her friends. "Kronos said that it would take several days to get there, so after we all get a good night's rest, we should start making our way back home, and hopefully find a way that will get us to Equestria faster."

Applejack, who was looking at both her and Starlight, said, "Couldn't you two think of some kinda instant teleportation spell or somethin' to justpoofus all into Princess Celestia's castle?"

A look of uncertainty appeared on Twilight and Starlight's face, with the alicorn princess saying, "I don't think we can right now, AJ, especially since neither of us know exactlywherewe are at… I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's alright, Twilight," replied Applejack, who then started to yawn. "But I agree with ya on the restin' part… good thing that Kronos fella gave us some comfortable sleeping bags."

"Oh, yeah, he's a real sweetheart," muttered Stardust, who had only gotten a pillow and a blanket from the elderly pony.

Will you have trouble with sleeping tonight?asked Starswirl.

"I hope not… otherwise, this is gonna be a long night."






A few hours later


While everyone was sound asleep, Stardust was back at the lake, standing right in the middle of it.

Since he was unable to fall asleep, the young pony had decided to start practicing for his eventual confrontation against Omega.

Jack, I am not sure it is safe for you to-


ZZZZZZZZTTTT!



SPLASH!


After falling down into the water, Stardust let out a groan of frustration, and growled, "Why is it that every time I try to use my powers, those damn lightning bolts come back to shock the hell out of me?"

It would appear that Omega has found a way to stop you from fully using them.

"Oh, well, then that is justpeachy," exclaimed Stardust, striking his hoof across the water. "How in the[BEEP]am I supposed to kill-"

Come again?

"Youheardme, Starswirl," said the frustrated Earth pony, as he sat down on the grass-covered land. "He has to pay for what he's done to Casey… to his Twilight… which reminds me… I need the communicator."


POOF!


The hand-made wristwatch device that Casey had made for Stardust was now around his hoof, and Stardust quickly began to turn it on.

Are you sure about this, Jack?

"I have to know how she's doing, Starswirl," said Stardust, who was almost done. "And I have to apologize…"

Then, once the device was activated, he waited for the sound that would go off once whoever was at the other end of the-


CLICK!


"Twilight?" said Stardust, hoping that his friend was okay. "You there?"

"..."

"Twilight?"

"..."

The gold-colored pony continued to wait for a response, but all that he heard from the other end was silence.

Jack, I don't think that she-

"... Stardust?"

Hearing the alicorn's voice after a long hour of silence caused Stardust to almost jump back in surprise.

"Twilight? Can you hear me?"

What he mostly heard now was static, but if Stardust could talk to her for just a moment…

"... help... still… please?"


CLICK!


Suddenly, the line went dead, and as the communicator turned off, Stardust let out a sigh of disappointment, even though part of him was glad knowing that nothing dangerous had happened to the other Twilight.

"You havin' trouble sleepin' tonight, sugarcube?"

A somewhat tired Applejack was making his way over to him, and he said, "I just… got a lot on my mind, AJ… is Twilight awake, too?"

"Nope, just me," replied the apple-harvesting Earth Pony, who took a seat next to Stardust. "You need somepony to talk to?"

Stardust was about to politely say that he did not when he quickly realized that she probably knew what exactly he was going through.

"Actually… yes, now that you mention it," said the young pony. "Thank you."

"My pleasure, Star," replied Applejack, and the two of them smiled at each other before they started to have a conversation that eventually made Stardust feel a lot better than he had all day.






The next morning…


"..."

"Jack…"

"..."

"... wake up, Stardust!"

A tired Stardust groaned underneath his breath, and muttered, "Just give me 5 more minutes, guys."






A few minutes later


Letting out a yawn, Stardust stretched out his limbs, and he said, "Alright, let's start this… uh…"

The young pony had expected to wake up to the sight of Twilight, but instead, he saw that she and the others were all packed up and ready to start the 3-day-long journey to Equestria… and that he was currently floating over the lake, courtesy of a certain pony's magic.

"Good morning, Jack, glad you could join us," said the alicorn princess, giving him a cute smile, and Stardust found himself looking down at the water below him.

"Twilight, love… please don't do what I think you are about to do."

"Who,me?" said Twilight, sounding surprised. "Jack, why would you think I was the one holding you over the lake?"

Stardust smirked at his special somepony, and said, "Well, I mean, whoelsecould it-"

"Okay, Starlight, it's drop time," interrupted Rainbow Dash, and just as Stardust realized what was going on, Starlight released him from her magic, causing the young pony to fall into the lake.

"Come on, sleepyhead, Equestria is waitin' for us!" yelled Rainbow, who began to laugh while an irritated Stardust started to make his way towards them.

"Oh, I amsogoing to get her back for this."





It had only been five minutes or so since they had left their camp-site when Fluttershy said, "Um, does anypony else beside me think that we're lost?"

Stardust shook his head, and replied, "Don't worry, Fluttershy, I'm positive that Canterlot is inthisdirection, so… um, Pinkie, what are you doing?"

Everyone turned to look at their friend, who was floating in the air, and various parts of her body were either flapping or twitching, which could only mean one thing.

"I think I feel asongcoming on!"sang Pinkie, and she began walking in front of Stardust and Twilight, with the human-turned-pony slapping his forehead with the front of his hoof.

"She's not really about to…"

Looking up at a sunny sky, so shiny and blue and there's a butterfly

Applejack nodded her head, and said, "Yep, afraid so, sugarcube."

Well, isn't that a super fantastic sign
It's going to be a fantastic day

"I don't see how that works, Pinkie," said Stardust, while Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Jack, just let her enjoy this, okay?"

Such marvelousness
It's gonna bring a pocket full of songs that I'm gonna sing

"Oh,wonderful, she has more stuff for us to hear," muttered Stardust, trying his best not to get scratched by some of the sharp-edged branches.

And I'm ready to take on anything

Hooray!

Some super fun surprise around each corner
Just riding on a rainbow, I'm gonna be okay

"Uh, Pinkie, could you get off of me, please?" asked the blue-colored Pegasus.

Hey!
I'm not giving up today
There's nothing getting in my way
And if you knock knock me over
I will get back up again

When Stardust suddenly felt his hoof tapping along, he quickly stopped it, and shook his head.

"Nope, nope, not dancing to this…"

If something goes a little wrong
Well you can go ahead and bring it on
'Cause if you knock knock me over, I will get back up again
Whoa oh oh oh, get back up again, whoa oh oh oh oh oh!

"She's not done yet, is she?" muttered Stardust, and everypony else shook their head. "Lovely…"

I'm marching along I got confidence
I'm cooler than a pack of peppermints
And I haven't been this excited since
I can't remember when!

"Ugh, why do my hooves keep trying to tap along with her?" exclaimed Stardust.

"Jack, come on, this isfun... don't deny yourself this wonderful moment," said Twilight.

I'm off on this remarkable adventure
Just riding on a rainbow

Rainbow groaned, and rolled her eyes as she cried, "Itold youto get off of me, Pinkie!"

Oh, yeah!

I'm not giving up today
There's nothing getting in my way

And if you knock knock me over
I will get back up again!

"... andthere we go," said Pinkie, who had a look that readvictoryon her face. "We are all-"

"- still in the forest, darling," interrupted Rarity, letting out a sigh.

"Plus, that there is the same lake that Stardust's fell into, like, five times," pointed out Applejack.

Pinkie turned her head to look at the lake that she was referring to, and replied,"Ohhhh… I thought it looked familiar."

Stardust groaned, and face-palmed himself again, saying, "This is gonna be alongday."





Stepping through the Crystal Mirror, Sunset got down onto all fours, and began to look around the library.

"Hey, Stardust, I am so sorry I didn't get here sooner when I got your message, but I'm here now, so let's… um…"

The yellow-colored unicorn paused her sentence after seeing the book that Stardust uses to communicate with her was just left open on the table, with the human-turned-pony nowhere in sight.

"Star? Twilight? Everything okay?"

"Glad you could make it, Sunset… it's been a while."

Sunset turned around, and found herself looking at a cloaked Earth Pony that looked very familiar to her.

"Oh, hey, aren't you that one pony who-"


ZZZZZZZZZTTTT!






Stardust immediately stopped moving, and he found himself turning his head from left to right several times.

"Jack? What is it?" asked Twilight.

"I... thought I felt…" said Stardust, who began to frown in confusion. "I felt Sunset's presence or something… and it was almost as if she was in danger…"

The group of friends hadfinallyfound their way out of the tropical forest, but as they walked in the direction that would lead them to Canterlot, no one could yet recognizewhereexactly they were at, or how far (and long) it would be until they had returned to Equestria.

"I'm sure that Sunset is perfectly fine, Jack," assured Twilight. "Remember, Elixir wants to rule overEquestria, not the world that Sunset and the others live in, so there's no reason for her to be involved in this."

Stardust nodded his head, choosing to take her word for it, but he still had that small feeling of his close friend being in possible danger.

If Omega ever got to her, I swear that I would just-

"Okay,one of ushas to know where in the heck we are at," groaned Rainbow Dash, who was currently flying in the air. "All we have seen for the past few minutes is nothing but rocks, dirt, and even bigger rocks… at this rate, it'll take usforeverto get to Canterlot."

Pinkie stopped looking around, and replied, "Oh, I thought we were still going to Starlight's village."

"Why would we…?" The purple unicorn groaned, and she shook her head. "Do not question, Starlight, do not question…"

Stardust looked up at the winged Pegasus, and he said, "Youknowthat nopony here has any clue on where we are at, Rainbow, and your complaining isn't helping one bit with figuring it out."

The winged pegasus just grumbled in annoyance underneath her breath, while Stardust continued to think about Sunset.

You don't think they would-

That is a possibility, Jack,said Starswirl.But I, too, see no reason for Elixir to bring her into this if he only wants to rule over Equestria.

Stardust nodded his head, but as he continued walking, the young pony was promising himself that if anything happened to Sunset, there would be no one to hold him back for what he planned on doing to the cloaked pony.





"Welcome back to Canterlot, my dear Sunset."

The yellow-colored unicorn opened her eyes, and saw that she wasn't in Twilight's library anymore.

Instead, she was in some kind of laboratory, and she herself was strapped to a table that was currently placed in an upward position, allowing Sunset to see everything around her besides the ceiling.

"I presume that you are curious as to where you are at?"said Omega, who stepped out of the shadows, and began to walk towards her.

Sunset frowned, and replied, "Sort of… but I'm more curious to know what Stardust thinks about you doing this."

"Why would I possibly care what he thinks?" answered Omega, whose face was being covered by only his hood. "That arrogant pony means nothing to me…"

Stardust's friend and pupil just gave him a confused look, and said, "I don't know why you are acting like this, but I'm willing to bet that Twilight-"

"She and the others are no longer a factor in this situation, Sunset Shimmer."

As Elixir made his appearance, Omega looked away from Sunset, and the dark-colored Earth pony said, "You can also forget about your precious teacher coming to the rescue… because he's dead."

For a moment, Sunset didn't say anything, but then, she shook her head, and replied, "No… I don't believe that."

Elixir chuckled, and shrugged his shoulders, saying, "Your loss, Shimmer… now, then, I think it's time for us to get this thing going."

"Getwhatgoing?" asked Sunset, giving the sinister pony a suspicious look, and she also looked at Omega, but the cloaked pony continued to not look at her.

"Why, resuming my experimentation, of course," replied Elixir, who was starting to smile. "And you've been chosen as my first test subject."

Sunset smirked at the dark-colored pony, and she said, "Youdoknow that I'm able to use my magic to stop…aaauugghh!"

Elixir was now using the tip of the Silver Staff to touch the tip of Sunset's horn, and she could feel nothing but pain.

As Omega slightly turned his head to see what was going on, Elixir waited a few more minutes before moving the staff away from Sunset, who now looked exhausted.

"What… what did you…"

"I did some…alteringto your precious unicorn magic," replied Elixir. "Now, for this next part of my experiment, I need you to be unconcious, so Omega, if you could, please…"

The cloaked pony looked over at Elixir, and asked, "Why not use the staff? It's capable of putting her to sleep without my assistance."

"Yes, probably… but I prefer usingagonizingpainin my methods, so I will ask you again… please…"

Omega looked at Sunset, who tried to give him a pleading look, and the cloaked pony replied, "It would bemy pleasure."

Elixir nodded his head, and he began to walk away.

"Wonderful… I'll leave you to it, then."

Sunset and Omega were now looking at each other, and the young unicorn said, "Why… are you…"

"Because I have to, Sunset…" replied Omega, as he prepared to use his lightning energy. "And don't worry, you'll get used to this very quickly."


ZZZZZZZZZTTTTT!






Stardust groaned, and he brought a hoof to the side of his head, which Twilight quickly took notice of.

"Are you okay, Jack?"

Her special somepony nodded his head, and replied, "I just…knowthat Sunset is in trouble, but… I can't tell if it's Omega trying to play a trick-"

"Tweet-tweet! Tweet-tweet!"yelled Pinkie Pie, who was suddenly pointing at something that was coming towards them from behind.

"Is that… Gilda or… Gabby?" wondered Rainbow Dash, who was squinting her eyes to see if it would provide a better look. "Kinda looks like one of them."

Putting his worries aside, for a moment, Stardust looked up at whatever was heading their way, and he said, "Starswirl, what the heck-"

Jack, you all need to start running.

"Why do we need to-"


CAAAAWWW!


Stardust's eyes went wide, and he cried, "That is onebig [BEEP] eagle! How in the hell-"

Jack!

"Oh, yeah, right…run!"





After his experiment was complete, the sinister pony had returned to the throne room, and a few minutes later, Omega came inside, asking about the wherabouts of Sunset.

"I sent her to go and find the princess of friendship, along with her friends," replied the black-colored pony. "If they somehow get passed my bird, then there's no way they can get past thenewSunset Shimmer."

"A…bird?" said Omega, who was also wearing his mask again. "What do you mean abird?"

"Well, technically, it's aCaucasian Eagle," admitted Elixir, who gave him a small shrug. "But all that matters is that it will happily tear those ponies apart... thanks to a fewaltercationsthat I made to it."





As the group of friends continued to run, Rainbow yelled, "Why is there a giant bird chasing us?"

"How the [BEEP] should we know?!"exclaimed Stardust, and Twilight quickly glanced at him. "Hey, in this situation, cursing is acceptable!"

"Maybe Fluttershy can try talking to it," suggested Spike, who was currently sitting on Twilight's back.

Everyone looked at the yellow Pegasus pony, who turned her head in the direction of the giant eagle.


CAAAAWWWW!


"I… don't think… I'll be of much help," replied Fluttershy, speaking with a high-pitched voice.

Preparing her magic, Starlight fired an energy blast at the winged creature, but all it did was cause the bird to let out a louder cry.


CAAAAWWWW!


"Fluttershy, I know you're probably just as scared as the rest of us," said Applejack. "But you have to, at least,tryand find a way to get that bird to-"

"I'm not even sure if she can help… no offense, though, Fluttershy," interrupted Stardust, to the winged pony's relief. "But I have a feeling that -whoa!"

Having decided to take an open opportunity, the giant eagle swooped down towards the group of ponies, and was now floating several feet above them, with Stardust's cloak in his beak.

"Hey, Tweety, you put me downright now!" shouted Stardust, and the bird responded by moving his head back and forth several times, causing Stardust to feel a little dizzy.

"Rainbow, let's go!"

Twilight and Rainbow quickly flew up towards the giant eagle, and took ahold of Stardust's front hooves in their own, trying to pull him out of the bird's grasp.

"Wait a sec, you two are going to make him-"

The winged creature began moving his head around again, and this made all three of the ponies feel some dizziness, but then, they heard the sound of fabric ripping, and after one more swift turn of the bird's head, he sent Twilight and Rainbowflying back to the rest of their friends while Stardust landed a few feet away from them.

"Thanks, love… and Rainbow, for…" Stardust started to say, but then, he noticed that his beloved cloak now looked like a cape, and he saw that the eagle had just finished swallowing the other half. "Oh, you've[BEEP] up now, Tweety!"

As the bird glared over at Stardust, the young pony's front hooves began to glow, and an energy orb was starting to form.

Jack, I highly disagree with what you're about to do!

Stardust shook his head, and cried,"Hey, in a moment like this, Starswirl, Ihaveto do it!"


CAAAAAWWWW!


The giant eagle flew straight for Stardust, who was waiting for the perfect chance to fire his"Cutie Mark"energy blast.

"That's right, Tweety, you're about to turn into fried chicken!"

Jack, you don't know if the lightning bolt energy will-

"I will befine,Starswirl, this isn't going to kill me!"


CAAAAWWWW!


A sly grin appeared on Stardust's face, and he cried, "Okay, Tweety, it's cooking time!"

Then, once the bird was inches away from him, Stardust fired his energy blast, but when the blue lightning suddenly appeared, he said, "What the-"


BOOM!


An explosion of dust and smoke was created, and everypony watched as the bird was sent flying high up into the sky, leaving a trail of black smoke behind.

"Where's Jack?" asked Twilight, who started to become worried. "Jack! Where did you-"

"I see him, Twilight, I got him!"yelled Pinkie, who suddenly ran straight past the alicorn princess, and she had her front hooves wide open, ready to catch her friend. "Don't worry, Stardust, I won't miss-"


THUD!


Pinkie quickly stopped running, and headed over to where a soot-covered Stardust had landed.

"I got him, everypony!" yelled the pink-colored pony, as she picked him up, and started to head back to the others.

"Thank you, Pinkie…"muttered a non-amused Stardust.





Shaking his head, Omega began to walk out of the throne room, but then, he stopped after Elixir said, "Hold on a moment, my friend… there's something else I want you to do now."

From underneath his mask, the cloaked pony gritted his teeth in frustration, and said, "Hey, I am not yourservant, Elixir… that job goes toRonxor… so unless you tell me where she is, I'm not going to continue being yourerrand pony."

A laugh came out of Elixir's muzzle as he shook his head, saying, "I don't see you that way, Omega… or, in this case,Rowan… this is actually something that will benefit you."

Before Omega could say anything, the doors to the throne room were opened, and Ronxor happily made his way inside, followed by…

"What is the meaning of this?" asked Omega, looking at a smiling Elixir.

Standing in front of them were the Mane 6 (except for Twilight), Spike, and Starlight, who were all chained up together, and had been taken from Casey's world.

"Alright, what in the hay is going on?" said Applejack. "Why are we here?"

The sinister pony chuckled, and said, "Since you already got your revenge on two of the ponies that ruined your life, I figured… why not do the same to the rest of them?"

"You mean that-"

"Indeed, I did," replied Elixir. "You already killed Casey, Rowan… why not do the same to his friends?"

Starlight's eyes became wide with shock, and she said, "Rowan?But you're supposed to be-"

"How did you get out of theSmile HDworld that I sent you to?" exclaimed a surprised Pinkie. "This is impossible!"

While Ronxor started to grin evily at the cloaked pony, Elixir began to laugh, and he looked at Omega, saying, "Go ahead, my friend…killallof them."
> Equestria Bound, Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Omega looked back and forth between Elixir and the group of Casey's friends, with the dark-colored pony said, "Well, what are you waiting for? Go on!"

"Have you gone soft, little pony?" taunted Ronxor, raising an eyebrow, and all of Casey's friends moved to the side. "I thought you were supposed to be an all-powerful…"


WHOOSH!


Omega fired an energy blast at the silver Pegasus, causing him to crash through the nearest wall, and after a moment of silence, everyone heard him say, "I... am… okay!"

"Such a shame," muttered the cloaked pony, who then turned to face Elixir. "We had adeal,Nova, and I don't appreciate the procastination that I'm seeing here all because you're worried about Twilight Sparkle and her friends putting an end to your rule that has barely even begun."

Pinkie tried her best to hold in her laughter after hearing him say that, and the rest of Casey's friends looked at her. "What?"

As for Elixir, he let out a sigh, and nodded his head. "You know what, I believe you are right, my friend… I might have taken you for granted, and I apologize… take Casey's friends to the prison ship."

"Ooh, that kind of sounds like fun!" squealed an excited Pinkie Pie.

From underneath his mask, the cloaked pony smirked, and replied, "Oh, yeah, it'll be ablast."

Then, he started to lead them away, but stopped when Elixir added, "However, you won't know where she is until I have Stardust's head on a platter right in front of me… is that clear?"

"Ascrystalas the Crystal Empire," replied Omega, and he continued to lead Casey's friends away from the throne room.

"I still can't believe what you did to our friend," said Applejack, from Casey's world. "You'd better hope that Stardust or Twilight don't get their hooves on you."

Omega started to chuckle, and he looked at the young Earth pony, saying, "When it comes to me, AJ, Stardust will haveno ideawhat he will be up against… at this point, I am his most dangerous enemy… and if we meet again, I will make sure that he get what he deserves."





"You sure you don't want me to try and fix it, darling?"

Stardust chuckled, looking at his cloak-turned-cape, and he shook his head.

"Yes, Rarity, I'm sure… like I've said before, it's just a piece of fabric."

Thankfully, being chased from a giant eagle had led them all out of the "bare and empty" landscape area, and were now walking past several trees, as well as a few areas of water, but no one still hadany ideawhere they were at, or how farther it was until reaching Equestria.

"So… care to explain what happened back there, Jack?" asked Twilight.

"That a giant bird came from out of nowhere, and almost had me as breakfast?" replied the young pony. "Doesn't really sound like something that needs explaining."

The alicorn princess rolled her eyes at Stardust's sense of humor, and she said, "I wastalking aboutthe energy blast you used against'Tweety'...and about what happened in the forest with those lightning bolts."

"Oh…that," said Stardust, chuckling. "Well, um, some of the energy that was created when me and Casey became Starcade is still inside… of me, and I only use it when I have to.

"Also, whatever Omega's attack was… it causes those damn lightning bolts to appear whenever I try to use my balance powers, and I have no idea how to solve that problem."

Twilight playfully tapped the side of his head with her hoof, and said, "Not even Starswirl knows?"

Unfortunately, I do not… although I do recommend that he not use any more of your 'special' energy until we know how to fix the lightning problem.

Stardust just shook his head, and replied, "Nope, he doesn't know, either."





Applejack was the last of Casey's friends to be locked up, and as Omega closed her cell door, she said, "You know, I don't recall you bein' this nice to us back when you turned us all into statues, and locked us inside that giant cage with those girls from Sunset's world."

"You're delusional," replied the cloaked pony. "And besides, I have more important things on my mind to deal with… so, enjoy your new home."

He then started to walk away, but stopped after Applejack cried, "I guess you're still afraid of certain ponies, then, if you got to hide yourself from behind that mask of yours!"

Omega went back to the front of her cell, and before AJ could say anything, he quickly brought down his hood, as well as removing the metallic mask off of his face.

"You satisfied now?"

He waited a few more minutes until deciding to put it back on, and looked at the farming Earth Pony, who was in total shock and complete disbelief.

"But…why?" she said, once her mind was able to provide her with the right words to say.

After fixing his hood, the cloaked pony replied, "Why do you think, AJ?Revenge… and payback…"





As everypony continued to walk, Twilight let out a sigh, and she said, "Um, since we've nearly spent this whole day walking… and running… maybe it's time for us to relax for the rest of the night."

"Yes! Thank you!"All of her exhausted friends, including Stardust, immediately collapsed to the floor, and the young princess just rolled her eyes.

An hour or so later, their camp shelter was set up, and everypony was sitting around the campfire to keep warm since the temperature was starting to lower a little bit.

"You okay there, love?" said Stardust, who was noticing the sad expression on his girlfriend's face.

"I'm just a little worried about the rest of our friends back in Ponyville and Canterlot," replied Twilight, lowering her head a little bit. "And I am also hoping that they're all safe."

Rainbow gave her friend a warm smile, and said, "They'll all be fine, Twilight… besides, I think Elixir is more concerned about us stopping his plan than just-"

"Aaaahhh!"screamed Pinkie Pie, who had been roasting several marshmallows on a stick, and was now trying to blow away the large flames that had engulfed them before they got too burnt. "It's okay, everypony, I saved them!"

Stardust started to laugh, and he began to shake his head, saying, "Bravo, Pinkie… bravo…"

A few minutes later, Twilight asked her special somepony if he still felt like Sunset was in danger.

"Not since I turned Tweety into fried chicken, but I'm not sure if that's goodorbad… I just hope she's okay."

The last thing that Stardust wanted was to find out that he'd lost another close friend…

Unfortunately, he had no idea that tomorrow would be a day when he'd have to fight that friend.






The next day


"Star,pleasetell me you havesomeidea as to where we're at now."

Stardust sighed, and he replied, "Like I told everyoneearlier,Rainbow, I am now…twelve percentsure that we're close to reaching Canterlot, but from here, I don't see any sign of it, so we just have to keep walking."

The winged Pegasus let out a groan, and muttered, "I wish everypony here had wings, and knew how to fly… we'd get there alotfaster if -wait a second!"

She went over to hover by Twilight, with a wide smile, and said, "You could do that one spell when you tried to make us all alicorns!"

However, the alicorn princess frowned, and she shook her head, saying, "I don't think so, Rainbow… I learned my lesson after that, and the last thing we need is a repeat of those events."

"But you don'thaveto use it on all of us!" replied Rainbow, who gestured her wing towards their friends. "Heck, it doesn't evenhaveto be that spell… justpoofsome wings onto Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, Starlight, and we'll get to Canterlot faster than you can say 'Wonderbolt'!"

"Nothin' doing, Rainbow," said a frowning Applejack, who was disagreeing with her friend. "I'm fine just bein' the way I am, thank you very much… plus, Iwantto be able to wear my hat."

"Ugh, so you'll have a horn on your head," said the winged pony. "You don't see Rarity or Starlight complaining!"

"Well, um, I actually don't want to be turned into an alicorn either," said Rarity, who had her own unpleasant experience that day she had been given wings. "Let's just leave that to Twilight."

Starlight nodded, in agreement, and Rainbow rolled her eyes, muttering, "Alright,fine, let's all keep going at this pace… we'lldefinitelyreach Canterlot by nightfall."

"Just please relax, Rainbow, okay?" asked Twilight. "We should be almost there… and besides, what else could possibly go-"

"Sunset Shimmer!"yelled Pinkie Pie, taking everyone by surprise, and they all saw that the yellow-colored unicorn was standing several feet away from them.

Twilight smiled at Stardust, and she said, "See, what did I tell you? Sunset looks perfectly fine to me… nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, yeah, alright," replied a chuckling Stardust, who was starting to feel a little relieved now that he saw her. "Hey, Sunset, are you-"


BOOM!


Suddenly, from out of nowhere, Sunset had fired an energy blast at Stardust, while everyone else quickly moved out of the way.

That looked exactly like the one Jack used on Ronxor, thought Twilight.But how did it come from her horn?

"Hey! What the heck was that for?"exclaimed Rainbow, glaring at Celestia's former pupil.

"It's my way of saying'hello',and I'm about to do the same to-oof!"

Sunset was interrupted by the quick return of Stardust, who had taken a page out of Rainbow's book, and knocked himself into her with a powerful headbutt, sending Sunset to fly and tumble a few feet away.

"Now, you owemeone, Rainbow," replied Stardust, smiling at the winged pony, and he turned his attention back to Sunset.

"Okay, what in the[BEEP]was that for? You could've almost, sort-of-but-not-really killed me with that attack!"

Sunset let out a maniacal laugh, and she gave him an evil grin. "That was the point, you numbskull… now, do me a favor, and-"


Whoosh!


She had fired another energy blast at Stardust, but luckily, Twilight had appeared in front of him, and created a powerful force field bubble around them that caused the blast to head up into the sky.

"So, now, I guess you owemeone?" teased Twilight, and Stardust chuckled before giving his response.

"Oh, I bet I could think of something, love."

Then, the alicorn princess looked at her friend, and asked, "What's wrong with you, Sunset? Why are you attacking us like this?"

"Because Ican, Twilight," replied Sunset, whose horn was now surrounded by tiny sparks of blue electricity, and Stardust immediately took notice of this.

Iknewsomething was wrong! Omega must have-

"Are you just going to hide behind Twilight this whole time, Jack?" taunted Sunset, with a sinister smile. "I mean, I'm pretty sure the pony versions of Flash and Timber would have already-"

"Oh, you've done[BEEP]-edup now, Shimmer," growled an annoyed Stardust, and he began to head straight for Sunset while creating another energy blast, much to Starswirl's irritation.

Jack! You're not ready yet to-


ZZZZZZZTTTTT!


"Omega figured you'd try that,"said Sunset, who was now attacking Stardust with the blue lightning bolts, and continued to do so as they came from her own.

"Sunset… this… is not… you…aaaaaugghh!"

There were no words to describe the pain that Stardust was feeling right now, and he was quickly thinking of a way to make it stop.

Alright, where else have you seen lightning attacks, Jack? There has to be one that... oh!

The gold-colored pony then tried to redirect the lightning at Sunset the same way that he would fire his energy blasts, and to his surprise, it actually worked!

Ha! That must make me a


BOOM!


Unfortunately, it caused an explosion that sent only Stardust flying away, while Sunset merely stayed in the same spot, waving away the smoke with her hoof.

"What… the… [BEEP]..."growled an annoyed Stardust, whose aching body was twitching in pain.

As for Sunset, she looked at Twilight, and a smile came across her muzzle. "Now, it'syourturn, princess!"

Taking a deep breath, Twilight began to prepare herself for a fight, but then, Stardust came racing towards Sunset, now looking very upset.

"You leave her out of this!"

Then, he delivered a spear to Sunset, causing her to fall down to the ground, and as he looked down at his friend, Stardust said, "You're making itreal hardto not beat the holy[BEEP]out of you, Shimmer…"

"Such a shame, Stardust," replied Sunset. "Because I'm finding itreally easyto beat the holy[BEEP]out ofyou!"

Before Stardust could say anything else to her, she swiftly grabbed ahold of him, and threw him towards the rest of his friends, causing all of them to fall to the ground.

"Like I said… it'smeandyou, Twilight."





A non-amused Omega entered the throne room, and said, "Look, Nova, forthe last time, I am not-"

"Just simmer down there, Rowan," replied a smiling Elixir, as he sat atop Celestia's throne. "I was able to find someone that I am positively certain you would want to see dead."

Omega raised an eyebrow, and he said, "Who?"

"Let go… of me!"

As the cloaked pony turned around, Elixir began to chuckle, and said, "Great job, Ronxor… andyou'vecertainly been through a lot, haven't you?"

His newest prisoner, who looked like she had gotten roughed up by somepony, frowned at the new ruler of Equestria, and replied, "You won't get away with this…"

"Well, then that's where you arewrong," said Elixir, whose eye-shaped device was starting to activate. "Because I already have… and now, it's time for you to go."

Omega quickly looked at the dark-colored pony, and said, "Nova, what the hell are you-"

"Like I said, my friend," replied Elixir, who was now creating an energy blast that was similar to the one Stardust used on him. "You'll really enjoy seeing this."

Then, before Omega could say anything else, Elixir fired his energy blast at the prisoner, and after the smoke cleared away, they all saw that she was now lying down on the ground.

"Nowthatis what I callpower," said Elixir, while Ronxor began to drag the body away. "So, what did you think of that, Rowan?"

It took a moment for Omega to look at Elixir, and give him a response.

"Wonderful, Nova… and now, I want to kill Stardust Balance even more, should he ever show his face again."





As the gold-colored pony laid on the ground, he muttered, "I am going to[BEEP]that damn masked pony for all the pain that he's causing me."

At the same time, Twilight and Sunset were trying to avoid each other's attacks.

"You are sopredictable,Twilight," said the powerful unicorn. "Can't you ever try out somethingnewfor once?"

A somewhat exhausted Twilight frowned, and said, "Sunset, thisisn'tyou! Whatever Omega did to you-oof!"

Sunset now had her pinned down to the ground, and she said, "I don't know who you're talking about, Twilight, but I am going to end this once and for all!"

The alicorn princess gulped, and she looked back and forth from Sunset to her friends, trying to think of a quick solution.

What do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I… wait… something unexpected… that's it!

Then, before Sunset could fire her attack at Twilight, she used her own magic blast against it, and from where he stood, Stardust watched as an explosion of dust and smoke was created.

"Twilight!"cried the young pony, who hurried over to them as fast as he could, but due to the pain from the lightning strikes, it took him a while to get there.

Once he did, along with everypony else, they found a standing but exhausted Twilight, who was taking several deep breaths, and Stardust could have sworn that her face was a little redder than usual.

As for Sunset, she was lying on the ground, and slowly lifted her head up to look at Stardust.

"S-Star… w-what… h-how did…ugh…"

She's exhausted,said Starswirl, as the gold-colored pony watched his friend become unconcious.But she'll be fine.

Until she wakes up, anyway,replied Stardust.Do you sense any 'I-want-to-kill' vibes inside her?

Not like I did earlier when she was attacking you,said the elderly pony.But I sense a lot of pain inside her… so I am guessing that Elixir must have done something to her.

"So, is she gonna try to kill us or…?" wondered Rainbow Dash, and Stardust shook his head.

"No, I don't think so, but let's take her to the nearest area of water before something worse happens."

Then, while they were doing that, Stardust looked at Twilight, and said, "That was awesome, love… your magic's gotten stronger over the years, hasn't it?"

"Ha-ha, yep, that's true," replied Twilight, although it was a little more high-pitched than usual.

At first, Stardust wondered if something was wrong with her, but after hearing Sunset moan in pain, he decided to worry about that another time.

You'd better be ready once we meet again, Omega, because I am going to [BEEP-BEEP-BEEP] you so badly that you'll wish you had never attacked my friends, and you are going to pay for what you did to Casey!

At the same time, Twilight let out a sigh of relief, but then, Pinkie showed up next to her, and was giving the alicorn a suspicious look.

"What?"

Instead of saying anything, Pinkie simply began to walk to the back of the group, but before Twilight could sigh again, the pink pony reappeared, and they were almost eye-to-eye with each other.

"Pinkie? You okay?" said Stardust, who had noticed his friend suddenly appearing next to him.

"Just peachy, Star...just peachy," replied Pinkie, who slowly walked over to the back as she kept her eyes on Twilight, while the alicorn shrugged at her special somepony.





"..."

"Sunset?"

"..."

"... Shimmer?"

"..."

"Sunset!"

After getting splashed with a little bit of water, the yellow-colored unicorn opened her eyes, and found herself looking at all of her friends.

"How are you feeling, darling?" asked Rarity, who was giving her a look of concern.

Sunset brought her hoof to her forehead, and said, "Like I've been in a car crash…"

Then, she looked around at where they were at, and asked, "Um, where are we exactly?"

"We were hoping you'd be able to tell us," replied Stardust, who sounded a little disappointed. "Seeing as that you're the one who found us, and then, proceded with attacking me and Twilight."

"I…" Sunset turned her head from Stardust to Twilight, then back to Stardust, and all of a sudden, the memories of what had just happened hit her in the blink of an eye, which made the young unicorn feel ashamed at what she had done.

"Oh, my gosh, I… I'm so sorry, you two, I didn't mean to… Elixir told me to... that wasn't what I-"

Stardust chuckled, and he shook his head, assuring her that it was fine. "I've done the wholemind controlthing, Sunset, and… yeah, not a fan…"

"Neither was Casey when Evil You trapped him in that thing you called aPoké Ball,"said Pinkie, and everyone but Sunset looked at her. "Oh, sorry…"

"Did I miss something?" asked Stardust's pupil, and the gold-colored Earth pony let out a heavy sigh.

"Yeah… Casey, who was with us during that whole fiasco with my alternate self, was kiled by that masked pony who-"

Now Sunset was even more confused after hearing him say that, and she replied "But I could have sworn I… uh… never mind… sorry to hear about your friend, Star."

"Thank you, and I plan on doing so much[BEEP]to Omega once I get my hooves on him…"

Sunset smirked at her friend, and said, "Well, thanks for saving me… guess that makes us even for when I-"

To her surprise, Stardust shook his head, and gestured his head over at Twilight. "If you wanna thank someone, thank her… she's the one who snapped you out of whatever dark magic thing that Elixir had on you."

"Oh, okay," replied Sunset, who gave the young princess a warm smile. "Thank you, Twilight… guess you've been working on your magic, huh?"

"Uh-huh, sure, no problem, that's what friends are for,"said Twilight, speaking in a rather quick tone.

Stardust looked at her, and asked, "Uh, are you alright there, love?"

"Yeah, I'm totally fine, Jack, just a little, uh…woozyfrom using all that magic to turn Sunset back to normal… which is what I did… you believe me, right?"

The young and confused Earth pony replied, "Er, well, I never said that Ididn'tbelieve you, love, but I'm just glad that… um… Pinkie… what are you doing?"

The pink-colored pony was standing near Twilight again, much to everyone's confusion, and she had a suspicious look on her face.

"How do we know if you are stillyou, Twilight?" asked Pinkie, while the alicorn started to feel a little nervous. "If thatisyour real name."

Applejack rolled her eyes at her friend's behavior, and she said, "Stop actin' like that, sugarcube. Of course Twilight is still Twilight."

"Well, we all thought Stardust was Stardust when all of those bad things were happening to you and Rarity and Rainbow," reminded Pinkie. "But that wasn't the truth at all, now was it?"

Stardust was about to give a response when he found himself thinking again about what Pinkie had just said, and when he turned to look at Twilight, his girlfriend asked, "What?"

"She… kind of has a point, strangely enough," replied Stardust, surprised that he was even saying those words. "I mean, all we saw was you firing that magic blast, causing an explosion to appear, and when we got there, you looked exhausted, with your face almost as red as an apple."

"That doesn't prove anything," said Twilight, who still looked nervous.

"Well, then, how did you save Sunset, huh?" questioned Pinkie, who was raising an eyebrow at her friend. "Cause we pretty much have no idea how you did that."

Before Twilight could respond, Stardust gently pushed Pinkie away from the alicorn, and he said, "I'm not saying that I think you're another Twilight, love, but I am getting curious as to how-"

"I kissed Sunset, okay? That's how I saved her!"

As soon as she said those words, Twilight brought her hooves up to her closed muzzle, and she immediately started blushing.

Stardust was now stunned, not knowing exactly what to say next, and Sunset found herself becoming red in the face, as well.

"Uh… say what?" asked Applejack, who was mostly confused.

Spike, Starlight, and the rest of the Mane 6 were all speechless… well, except for Pinkie Pie, who said, "Huh, I didnot thinkthat she was going to say that."






Canterlot


A few minutes after leaving the throne room, Ronxor was now on his way back to the prison ship, but he stopped walking after sensing that someone was nearby.

"Anything I can help you with, Omega?" asked the silver Pegasus, turning around to look at the cloaked pony. "I have things to do, you know."

"So do I, you numbskull," replied Omega, who sounded upset with him. "But before I do those things, I am warning youright nowto leave the rest of Casey's friends alone… if you know what's good for you."

Ronxor raised an eyebrow, and said, "Why do you care about those ponies? Theyarethe ones who trapped you in limbo after your Crystal Empire plan got screwed up-"

"It's none ofyour damn concernas to why I care about them," growled a frustrated Omega, who was now staring down at the winged pony. "So listen to what I am saying… leave themalone, or else I'm going to suggestyouas the next lab rat for one of Elixir's experiments.We clear on that?"

Ronxor did a small gulp, remembering being thrown right through a wall, and quickly nodded his head.

"S-sure thing, Omega… my apologies."

Then, he began to run away from the cloaked pony since he didnotwant to get hurt by Omega for athird time, and once he was gone, Omega nodded his head.

"Now that I've dealt with him, I can focus on using myactualpowers against Stardust… and there isno waythat he's going to stop me from whatIhave to do."





As Sunset began to prepare an energy blast that would come from her horn, Twilight was quickly thinking of a way to solve this dilemna.

What do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I… wait, something unexpected… that's it!

Once she knew what she was going to do, Twilight fired her own energy blast, but aimed it at the nearby ground instead of Sunset herself, and this caused them to be surrounded by smoke and dust.

Alright… here goes nothing!

Then, with a quick lift of her head, Twilight also closed her eyes as she delivered a kiss to her friend's muzzle.

"..."

Please work, please work, please work!

"..."

Ten seconds later, Sunset's horn stopped sending out little sparks of electricity, and as her eyelids began to close, the young unicorn collapsed to the ground while Twilight let out a heavy sigh of relief.





"... and that's when you showed up,"said Twilight, finishing up her explanation of how she had saved Sunset from Elixir's spell.

Stardust was still stunned, and everyone else was looking at a blushing Sunset, who still had no idea what to say.

"Jack? Please say something…anything…"

Her special somepony blinked his eyes a few times, and then, with a cheeky smile, he replied, "That was… probably… one of the hottest things you've ever done since we became a couple, love."

At first, Twilight didn't respond to Stardust, but then, he started to laugh, as did Rainbow, and the alicorn princess rolled her eyes. "You're unbelievable, Jack."

"Oh, it's not that big of a deal," chuckled Stardust, who couldn't help himself. "But I sort-of figured this would happen eventually… I mean, now I know why that one song played in the mall that one day."

Sunset's blush grew deeper, while Starlight began to turn a little pink, and Twilight delivered a soft punch to Stardust's shoulder. "Knock it off."

"Alright, fine, I'm sorry," replied Stardust, nodding his head, and he spoke in a serious tone. "My apologies, love…"

Then, his smile quickly returned, and the young pony asked, "So, who decides to pick me as the best mare? You or Sunset?"

Rainbow started to laugh again, while Twilight rolled her eyes, and she said, "I am… so sorry, Sunset…"

"N-no, I get it, don't worry," replied the yellow-colored unicorn, with both of them still blushing.

However, Stardust had just one more thing to say regarding Twilight's kiss with Sunset.

"Who's better, love? Me or her?"

Rainbow's laughter started to increase, and Stardust eventually felt himself wanting to laugh, as well.

"It wasn'tthatkind of kiss, Jack," replied the young princess. "So, I can't really answer that…"

But then, she quickly looked at Sunset, and said, "Not that I'm sayingyou'rea bad kisser or anything, but we didn't actually… like when I kiss him… so I can't really compare-"

"Hahahahahaha!"laughed Rainbow and Stardust, as well as Spike, who couldn't help himself, while the rest of their friends were beginning to chuckle and giggle.

Twilight frowned at Stardust, with an unamused facial expression, and once he stopped laughing, the young pony said, "Okay, I'm done… sorry, love, I know why you had to do that… besides, I'm sure that we are all going to laugh at this one future day when we look back on what happened in the past."

"Uh-huh,"replied Twilight, who was now a little annoyed and embarassed. "So… um, Sunset… are you able to rememberhow longit took you to get from Canterlot to here?"

Glad that she was hearing the subject being changed, Sunset said, "I'd say by tomorrow afternoon, we should all able to reach the castle…"

Perfect,thought Stardust, who nodded his head.The sooner we get there, the sooner I get to take on Omega.





A few hours after Twilight told everyone about her way of saving Sunset, the group of friends continued on their quest back to Canterlot.

"You mean that Omega wasn't wearing his mask when you saw him? What did he look like?"

Sunset gave her alicorn friend a small shrug, and she replied, "I don't remember… it was like, for a moment, he couldn't bear to see what Elixir would do, and… it's all just so confusing."

As for Stardust, he was continuing to think about Casey, and found himself having a flashback to when they'd been spending some quality time together prior to the day of their race.





"So you haven't gone through any sort of side-effects since we became Starcade?"

Stardust shook his head, and replied, "Nope, not really."

The two friends were currently inside Stardust's room, and he was introducing Casey to the joy and wonder of playing video-games, but it was taking him a while to get the hang of it.

"Well, can I ask you something else?"

Setting down the controller, Stardust took a quick sip from a Coke bottle, and he said, "Be my guest, pal…"

Casey took a moment to think of what his words would be exactly.

"Why are we still friends?"

A confused Stardust began to frown, and he replied, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well… I mean, look at what's happened ever since the day that we met," explained the orange-yellow Earth pony. "Rowan tried to permanently erase all of your alternate selves from existince… he even went back in time to a certain day in your past to kill you!

"Plus, because of all that world-traveling we did, it caused the Equestria Girls version of you to come into your world, and pretty much screw up your life so that he could take it from you… I mean, you could have just-"

Suddenly, he stopped talking after seeing that Stardust had raised his hoof, and the gold-colored pony said, "Just relax for a moment, Casey… now, believe it or not, being your friend was not exactly my first choice-"

"No, I believe it," replied the young pony, and he tapped the side of his skull. "Idohave some of you in me, remember?"

"For the time being, yes, but what I meant was that it took two certain ponies to actually convince me to try and be your friend that day I returned your necklace."

When Casey asked him who they were, Stardust chuckled, and said, "Well, let me tell you what happenedbeforeI went to your world…"






[Flashback - takes place in "A Race Against Time"]


After making some final adjustments to the Crystal Mirror time machine, Twilight looked at her special somepony, and said, "Okay, Jack, it's ready for you!"

However, to her non-surprise, Stardust was shaking his head. "No, no,no…I have done enough traveling through time and space, love, and I am not making an occasion for just a regular pony."

Twilight rolled her eyes, and she replied, "Come on, Jack, you know it's the right thing to do… plus, it's always fun to make a new friend, so-"

"Say what?" interrupted a surprised Stardust. "Who said I was gonna be his friend? All that needs to be done is to return him his necklace… nothing else."

But Twilight was not going to give up so easily. "Just give him a chance, Jack… he seemed like a really nice pony."

"You're just saying that because he saw you first," muttered the stubborn pony.

I don't see any problem with this.

"Oh, notyou,too, Starswirl," said a slightly-annoyed Stardust. "Why is being his friend so important?"

Because Twilight and I have encouraged you to make new friendships… and yes, although it appears that Casey comes from a parallel version of Equestria, there's no reason why he doesn't deserve a chance.

Before Stardust could continue arguing with him, Twilight handed him the turtle-dove necklace that belonged to Casey, and a warm smile was on her face.

"I… this… why… oh,fine," said Stardust, letting out a sigh. "But if I find one thing that I don't like about him, love, I am going to come straight back here, andnevervisit his world again… okay?"

"Yes, Jack, I understand… now, go on," replied Twilight, who actually had a pretty good feeling about this.

Unable to think of anything else to say, Stardust nodded his head, and stepped through the Crystal Mirror.


Whoosh!


A few seconds later, he was lying on the ground, and he muttered, "I'm never going to get used to that."

Once the feeling of dizziness went away, Stardust found himself looking at the owner of the necklace that was in his hoof.

"Ah, hello again, Casey… I believe that this necklace belongs to you."






[End of flashback]


For some reason, Stardust now had his hoof on his forehead, and Casey asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just… it felt like I was having an 'Inception' moment right now."

Casey just gave him a confused look.

"It's when you dream in a dream that has you dreaming… eh, never mind, not important," replied Stardust, shaking his head a little before he continued to give his explanation.

"Now, yes, even though I would prefernotto diealmost every damn day of the week, I'm used to stuff like this happening… besides, if spending time with you gets me away from having to be in Sunset's world-"

Casey started to laugh, and said, "You seriouslydo notlike being there, do you?"

Stardust looked at his friend, and replied, "I enjoy that world as much as one would enjoy gargling a box of nails."

"Oh…" said Casey. "Wow… no wonder your other self wanted to kill you."





After noticing how quiet her special somepony was being right now, Twilight asked, "Are you thinking about him?"

"Yeah…" replied Stardust, letting out a sigh, and he had a look of regret on his face. "I never should have argued with him in the first place."






[Canterlot]


"I am assuming that you have good news for me, Ronxor?" asked Elixir, as he sat on Celestia's throne.

The silver Pegasus did a nervous gulp, and he replied, "Well, um… not exactly, sire."

Elixir's smile went away, and he raised an eyebrow at his long-time companion. "Oh? What's wrong, then?"

"Well, um… it appears that Twilight and her friends were able to get past the bird, and Sunset has yet to return… so I fear that they'll be arriving here very soon."

After Ronxor finished his sentence, Elixir remained silent, and then, to his suprise, the dark-colored pony started laughing.

"Um… I don't quite see the humor in this, sire."

Elixir's smile returned, and he shook his head, saying, "This is nothing to be worried about, Ronxor… Twilight Sparkle is just a princess, she and her friends are powerless against me, and there's nopony else in this world that is going to stop me!"





Inside of his room, an unmasked Omega was looking at the two objects that were on his desk.

One of them was a turtle-dove necklace, and the other one was Applejack's hat.

"That's right, Stardust,"growled the cloaked pony. "Try and be the hero that you think you are…"


ZZZZZZZZTTTTTT!


Blue electricity started to fly all across the room, and a sinister smile appeared on his face.

"You think you know me? Well, then… I guess we'll find out soon enough."
> A Shocking Reveal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just like Sunset had told Twilight, the group of friends were able to reach Canterlot around evening time the next day.

"Well, it'sabout time," said Rainbow, letting out a huge sigh of relief. "I thought it'd be forever until we saw a place that was recognizable."

Stardust would have said something similar, as well, but he was too busy looking at what was floating above the royal castle.

"What… the [BEEP]... is that?"

Everyone turned their heads in the direction that he was pointing his hoof at, and Pinkie tilted her head to the side, saying, "That's reminding me of something, but I don't know what exactly…"

"I'm getting aDistrict 9vibe right now," said Stardust, talking to himself, and he looked over at Sunset. "That seem familiar to you?"

"No, but I do remember Elixir saying something about a prison ship," replied the young unicorn, going through her recent memories. "So I'm thinking that's it right there."

Stardust looked back and forth between the castle and Elixir's ship, and he shook his head, letting out a disappointed sigh. "On the day that Celestia and Luna don't get captured-"

Suddenly, he brought his attention back to the castle, having sensed somethingvery familiar, and Twilight took notice of this.

"Jack? What is it?"

For a moment, Stardust did not answer, and then, the gold-colored Earth Pony said, "Nothing, love… you remember the plan, right?"

Twilight nodded, but she had a concerned facial expression, as if she was worried about him.

"Are you sure you that this plan-"

"Yes, Twilight, I am positive it will work," replied Stardust, giving her an amused smile. "I go in and look for Omega, while you all head up inthatthing to free everyone they've captured… then we'll all take on Alexa and his sidekick since they'll be completely out-"

However, before he could finish talking, Pinkie appeared next to Stardust, and she cried, "Ooh, wait,I want to go with Star!"

Everyone was now staring at her, not sure on how to respond, and the pink pony exclaimed, "I mean, come on, he fought monsters and all that stuff with Twilight, Rarity, Sunset, Casey… nowIwanna do something like that!"

Twilight was about to deny her request, but then, she remembered all of the teasing that Stardust had done earlier, so with a sly smile, the alicorn princess replied, "I think you're right, Pinkie… but you're gonna have to ask him."

Stardust frowned at his girlfriend, but before he could say"no"or anything else like that, Pinkie looked back at him, and she began to bounce up and down repeatedly. "So can I go? Can I go? Can I go?"

Everyone was now looking at Stardust, who rolled his eyes since he knew what this would eventually lead to, compared to previous events.

"Okay,fine, Pinkie… just try not to -whoa!"

"Yippie!"Grabbing onto her friend's hoof, the 4th-wall breaking pony hurried over to the castle while a smirked Twilight shook her head in amusement before leading the others closer to Elixir's ship.






A few minutes later


As they hid behind the side of a building, Stardust and Pinkie looked at what was in front of them.

"Is that supposed to be a new type of armor for them?" wondered Pinkie, referring to the two ponies that were currently guarding the castle.

"I don't think so," replied a frowning Stardust. "Looks like Elixir - no, that Ronxor pony made his master some… robotic pony servants, and I'm guessing those two were assigned guard duty."

Pinkie nodded her head, and then, she asked, "Is that agoodthing or abadthing?"

Stardust gestured his head toward the robo-ponies, and replied, "Depends if those two were built with intelligence or without a brain."

Pinkie made a face of disgust, and said, "Blegh, who'd want to touch a pony's brain?"

"Tell that to Dr. Frankenstein," muttered Stardust, who now knew exactly how to deal with the guards. "Okay, Pinkie, you wait right here while I… Pinkie?"

The pink-colored pony was no longer next to him, and when Stardust turned back around, he saw that Pinkie was bouncing her way towards Elixir's robo-ponies, which made Stardust bring a hoof to his forehead.

"Why did I agree to this, Starswirl?"

Because she's one of your closest friends.

Stardust rolled his eyes, and muttered, "It was a rhetorical question..."





Since there wasn't any type of ladder or anything on the side of Elixir's ship, Twilight and Rainbow, along with Fluttershy, had to make their way in via flight.

As for the others, Applejack was brought on by Fluttershy, Rarity had gone with Rainbow, and Spike had travled with Twilight, while Sunset and Starlight used their magic to levitate themselves up to enter the spaceship.

Once they were all inside, Twilight said, "Okay, eveypony, let's find a way to…whoa…"

The inside of Elixir's ship was similar to that of a maxium security prison, with three floors of cells, and the fourth floor was where the ship's flight controls were at.

"He's captured almost everypony we know," said Applejack, walking around the ship, and she stopped in front of a cell that was holding Applebloom. "They don't look like they got hurt or anythin', but…"

"Why are they all sleeping?" finished Rarity, who was standing by Sweetie Bell's cell, and she knocked her hoof against the glass several times, but her young sister didn't move or respond.

Twilight, who was standing in front of a cell that contained one of her closest friends, Moondancer, replied, "Elixir must have them under some kind of 'deep sleep' spell… there has to be a way, though, to wake them up."

"You could try kissing them," teased Rainbow, and this made Twilight give her an annoyed glare. "What? I was joking!"

As she stood by Trixie's cell, Starlight was about to fire an energy blast of her magic when Sunset stopped her by saying, "Let's wait on using that… we wouldn't want her to get hurt by the glass."

"Oh, yeah, right, sorry," apologized Starlight, and she went over to join Twilight, who was now in front of a cell that contained Shining Armor, Princess Cadence, and their alicorn baby named Flurry Heart. "Any idea on how to open them?"

"Um… well… I'm working on it," replied Twilight, who currently had no idea as to how they could possibly-

"Hey, Twilight? You might want to take a look at this!"

The two of them went up to the third floor, and hurried down the hall until they saw Spike, who was standing in front a cell that was built different than the other ones, with the door being one that could be opened by a key.

"Do you think Luna or Celestia would be in there?" wondered Starlight.

As she powered up her horn, a determined Twilight replied, "We're about to find out."

"Well, what a surprise… welcome back, princess."

The three friends turned around, and found themselves looking at a smiling Elixir, who was currently wielding one of his gun-shaped weapons.

"Oh, and don't worry, this will only hurt for a few seconds…"


ZZZZZZZZTTTT!






Once the two guards had caught sight of an approaching Pinkie Pie, they both got into a fighting position, and one of them said,"State your business, pink pony!"

"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie," greeted the party-loving pony. "You want to play a game?"

"A… game?" said the other guard, and he looked at his partner. "Um… sure, okay…"

From his hiding spot, Stardust let out a sigh, and said, "Yup, they're the stupid ones."

As for Pinkie, she gave them a sweet smile, and replied, "Great! So, I'm going to say a word like'Apple core',and you two will say…?"

The two robo-ponies looked at each other, and they both replied, "Um… Baltimore?"

"Awesome!" cried Pinkie. "Now, one more thing… who's your friend?"

Both of the guards smiled as they pointed at themselves, and said,"Me!"

However, they quickly realized what was going to happen, and angrily cried,"Hey…"

"Aaaaaannnnd, here's your prize!"exclaimed Pinkie Pie, who then began swinging multiple apple cores at the two guards.


WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!


This continued on for a few more minutes, and once Pinkie was satisfied, she stopped throwing them, and said, "Okay, Stardust, coast is clear!"

The guards were now buried under a large pile of red-and-green apple cores, and once Stardust was standing by his friend, he said, "Good job, Pinkie… but where did all of these come from?"

"Fromme,silly," replied Pinkie, who was now munching on a red apple, which was then handed to Stardust after it was finished, and she began to walk into the castle. "Let's go find that evil magic pony!"

Stardust just laughed queitly, to himself, as he followed the pony "who must never be questioned" inside, and they began to walk in the direction of the throne room.

However, before Pinkie walked through the doors, Stardust placed his hoof in front of her, and said, "Hold on, you'd better let me go first… I have a feeling that Omega's in there, waiting for me."

"But how would you…oh, yeah, yourbalance powers," replied Pinkie, nodding her head as she went behind him. "You know, sometimes, I wonder what I'd be like ifIhad what you have."

Stardust was quiet, for a moment, before he said, "I think you're fine just the way you are, Pinkie."

"Well, thank you, Star," replied a happy Pinkie, and Stardust chuckled before he continued walking up to the doors.

Then, he entered the throne room, and just as he'd suspected, Omega was inside, sitting on top of Celestia's throne.

Be careful, Jack,warned Starswirl, and the young pony nodded his head before walking over to the cloak-and-mask-wearing pony.

"You know, usually, I would give my own remark about dying multiple times, but I'll save that for Alexa," said Stardust. "You knew I was still alive, didn't you?"

Omega chuckled, and he replied, "Of course, I knew… I know you more thanElixirthinks he does, and I-"

"Oh, yeah, you're definitely smarter than you look," said Stardust, in agreement. "Now what should I callyou: Omega orRowan?"

The cloaked pony didn't respond to him right away, so Stardust continued to talk.

"I don't know how you got out of that world you were banished to, and frankly, I don't care… but what Ido knowis that I will[BEEP]you up for what you did to Casey."

Omega let out a laugh, and he replied, "You're very amusing, Star-[BEEP]...it almost makes me not want to hurt you as bad as I did before."

Noticing the tiny sparks of blue lightning surrounding his enemy's hooves, Stardust said, "Well, thanks to Sunset, I know now what to expect if you try using that method again, so I'm afraid the result won't be like what you hoped."

"I see…" said Omega, who was now standing in front of Celestia's throne. "So, what are you waiting for, then? An invitation?"

A sly grin appeared on Stardust's face, and he was about to give his own sarcastic remark when, all of a sudden, he froze in place after sensing something terrible.

My friends! The ship! Twilight!





Every one of Stardust's friends inside the ship was unconcious, except for the princess of friendship, who was still standing in front of the mysterious door.

"Who's in here, Elixir?" exclaimed Twilight, glaring at the sinister pony. "I'll still open it, whether you tell me or not!"

Elixir smirked at her, and he replied, "Go ahead, your highness… before we return to the castle… in fact, you might be surprised."

At first, Twilight was already surprised since she didn't expect him to say that, but she quickly went back into defense mode, and said, "Oh, I'm about to…"

So, while Elixir watched in silence, Twilight turned around to use her magic on the doorknob in front of her, and after hearing aclicknoise, the door opened to reveal the bruised and battered prisoner that was inside the room.

"Well, your highness?" asked the dark-colored pony. "Who do you see?"

A surprised Twilight found herself speechless, for a moment, before she said, "What… why… it's…"





"Cat got your tongue, Jack?" asked Omega, who was smirking at Stardust from underneath his mask

"Only Twilight gets to call me by that name," replied the former human being, who was starting to lose his patience with the cloaked pony. "If I find out that something happened to her-"

Omega chuckled, and he said, "You can't do anything to me, Jack… I can sense it… your powers are still supressed, thanks to my lightning attack… and you can only have so manyspecialenergy blasts until there's none left… so whatexactlydo you plan to do?"

At first, Stardust didn't give a response, but then, he started to glow, and that only made Omega laugh.

"Did you not listen to me? You cannot reach your full power because-"

"Oh, I heard you, a-hole,"said a smiling Stardust, who was now holding something in his hoof."This is onlyhalfof my 'full power'... and right now, I'm doing what Pinkie Pie would sort-of do."

Then, before Omega could say anything else, Stardust used as much strength as he could without being electrocuted to throw the red apple core at his opponent, causing him to fall back into Celestia's throne, which then toppled over backwards before eventually crashing down to the ground.

I'm not sure if Celestia would appreciate that.

Stardust shrugged his shoulders, and muttered, "Eh, I'm technically saving her, so-"

"That was cool, Star!"called out Pinkie, who was standing by the entrance."But I would've thrown more than that!"

"I know, Pinkie, that's why I added the sort-of,"replied Stardust, and he started walking over to the fallen Omega."As foryou,a-hole, I want to see just the wayyou'lllook before I kill you, so…"

With the hood already off of his head, Stardust swiftly removed the helmet-shaped mask, and once he saw Omega's face, the gold pony's expression went from anger and determination to complete shock.

"That… what… how…"

As Stardust dropped the mask onto the floor, Pinkie walked over to join her friend, saying, "Hey, are you oka… wow, you beat him!"

When Omega began to stand back up, Pinkie added, "Wow, he looks like Casey!"

"That's because IamCasey," replied the cloaked pony, whose hooves were now ready to unleash the blue-colored lightning. "And it's time for you two to go to sleep!"


ZZZZZZZZTTTTT!






Twilight looked back at Elixir, and she asked, "What did you do to her?"

A smirk appeared on the sinister pony's face, and he replied, "That's nothing… compared to what I'm about to do to you."
> True Friendship
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why?

That was the question that Stardust kept repeating in his head after he was no longer unconcious.

He was no longer inside of the throne room; instead, the gold-colored pony was in some sort of dungeon-like cell that he figured was somewhere in the underground part of the castle.

His hooves were chained to the wall, so Stardust could only walk up to the middle of the room before the chains brought him to a stop.

To his relief, Pinkie Pie was also in there with him, but she was still unconcious, and for a moment, Stardust grew worried about her.

"Your friend will be fine, Star… but it'll be a while before she wakes up."

Casey stepped out of the shadows, no longer wearing his mask, but right now, Stardust didn't seem to care.

"Why?"

The young pony smirked at him, and he replied, "Come on, Star, you're smart enough to figure it out."

As he spoke, Casey's eyes started to shine very dangerously, and Stardust remembered the last time he'd seen them that way.

"The energy ball that Evil Me trapped you in… but how-"

Casey chuckled, and replied, "Well, it appears that I had another side-effect, similar to how you can still use your energy blast from time to time… however,Iam the one in control of my own actions, which means that I had no problem hurting you with my new lightning attack."

"Butwhy, Casey?" asked Stardust, glaring at the pony who had been his friend. "I mean, I spent these last few days thinking you were dead, and to find out that it was you who-"

"I don't care about the tears you shed for me," replied the cloaked pony, frowning at Stardust. "And to answer your question, I'm doing this forher."

A look of confusion and anger was on Stardust's face as he said,"Who?"

However, instead of answering, Casey simply began to walk away from him, and that made Stardust yell, "How could you do this to Twilight?!"

When Casey stopped moving, Stardust knew that he'd gotten to him, so he continued to speak.

"Itold youthat the most important thing in your life was keeping your version of Twilight happy, Casey, so explain to me how in the[BEEP]does this-"

"Are youthat clueless, you stubborn numbskull?" growled an angered Casey. "Why the[BEEP]do you think I've kept you alive this entire time?"

Stardust was about to yell out his response, but Casey left before he had a chance to speak, and that just left him wondering what he was missing.






The Throne Room


With hisOmegamask back on, Casey entered the room, and saw Elixir standing by the rubble of Celestia's throne.

"I see that you were busy," said the sinister pony, with a chuckle.

Instead of speaking, Casey just scoffed at Elixir, and tossed what was left of Stardust's cloak at his hooves, which brought a smile to Elixir's face.

"Well, I'm glad it wasn't his actual head," replied Elixir, giving a nod of approval. "But thank you, Omega, for killing Stardust… you have no idea how relieved I feel about this."

"I think I can guess," muttered Casey, and then, in a serious tone, he asked, "So, where is she?"

"Ah, yes, the version of Twilight from Casey's world," said Elixir, nodding his head again, and before Casey could say anything else, he yelled, "Ronxor!"

The silver Pegasus entered the room, with a female pony slung over on his back, and he tossed her body at Casey's hooves. "There ya go, boss!"

"Well done, Ronxor," replied Elixir, and he turned his attention over to Casey. "And a deal is a deal, my friend… you rid me of Stardust, I give you Twilight."

Normally, Casey would have felt relieved to see his girlfriend, but instead, he was feeling only pain and anger, especially since Twilight looked like she had been roughed up.

"Youpromisedthat no harm would come to her," growled Casey, glaring at Elixir, who was still smiling. "This is unacceptable!"

"Well, to be fair, my friend, I swore to you thatIwould not harm the princess… however, not once did I say that Ronxor couldn't do anything to her…andshe was put in a safe place."

Ronxor let out a dark chuckle, and he added, "Such a shame, though, that she put up more of a fight than Applejack did… right, sire?"

While Casey's anger continued to grow, Elixir began to leave the throne room, with Ronxor following after him, and he said, "It was a pleasure doing business with you, Omega… stick around for a little more, though, so you don't miss the show."

However, at that point, Casey's only concern was for Twilight, and once he was sure that the two villains were gone, the young pony removed his mask and cloak, with his eyes beginning to water up.

"No… Twilight… not you, please… this wasn't supposed to happen…"

As he held her in his hooves, the alicorn princess didn't give a response, so Casey did what he felt like he had to do… which was giving her a slow and passionate kiss.

But then, the light orange Earth pony gritted his teeth in frustration, and he growled,"Stardust…"

So, looking down at his special somepony, Casey promised that he would return, and after laying her down in a more some-what comfortable position, the angered pony headed swiftly back to the room that he had left Stardust in.

A few minutes later, Twilight's head began to move around, and in a weak voice, she said, "Jack…?"





"Did you know, Starswirl?"

No, Jack, I did not… he even took me by surprise.

After checking on Pinkie again, Stardust went over to the other side of the room, and he began to shake his head in frustration. "I just can't see how-"

"You [BEEP]!"

Suddenly, the young pony found himself looking up at a returning Casey, who now looked extremely upset.

"This is all of your damn fault!"

Before Stardust could say anything, Casey walked over to him, removing the chains off of his hooves, and he cried,"If you'd been there like you had promised…"

"Hey, I don't know what the [BEEP] you're talking about, Casey," replied Stardust, taking a few steps back. "And how is this-"

"You know why, a-hole!"yelled Casey, angrily stomping his hoof to the ground, and then, he waited a moment before saying, "A few days after… you broke our friendship… I come home to find out that Twilight was captured by Elixir via a letter that he had left me… and that if I came to save her, he'd kill her…"

Then, he let out a sigh, and glared at Stardust, who could almost see the pain in Casey's eyes.

"I immediately knew who to ask for help, but as I recall… and correct me if I'm wrong… that certain pony told me to not bother him with my problemsever again."

Remembering their argument, Stardust began to feel some regret, but before he could say anything, Casey added, "You want an answer to your earlier question? Is it obvious now? I did this tosaveher, Stardust… I was supposed to take her back with me safe-and-sound, but instead, Elixir had his damn servant nearly beat her to death, and…aaaaggghhh!"

Casey walked away from Stardust, his frustration growing, and he yelled, "To make things worse, Star, he has the rest of my friends, and I already lost Applejack… but if I lostTwilight…"

He was now sitting on the ground, and his eyes began to water up again.

"I accepted the death of my parents, Star, but ifshewas to… I don't think I could…"

"I know, Casey."

The young pony looked back at Stardust, who nodded his head, and said, "I know, more or less, of how you feel…"

Casey frowned, and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Stardust sighed, and he took a moment before saying, "After Tirek was defeated, and Twilight had gotten her castle, it seemed like everything was almost back to normal, but… I quickly learned that I would be going back to my original home-world… and that meant I could never see none of the friends that I had made in that world... in Equestria... ever again… including Twilight…"

The memories were coming back into his mind, starting from when Starswirl had said that his family was awaiting him, and stopping at the moment he thought he was having one last kiss with the alicorn he loved so much.

"I… never knew that," said a surprised Casey, and Stardust smirked at him.

"Yeah, well, I think you can see why… but the point I am making, Casey, is that I know what it feels like to lose Twilight, and I don't want the same to happen to you."

Then, the two former friends shared a smile with each other, but before either of them could say anything, a familiar voice said, "Oh, hi, Twi…(gasp) Twilight, you're hurt! Badly!"

As she walked into the room, Twilight replied, in a weak voice, "Thanks for the reminder, Pinkie… and… Casey, is that… you?"

"Yeah, but why does it sound like-" He started to say, but then, the young pony realized that Twilight was wearing a necklace that looked like the one Stardust had given to his, and that meant…

The second time this has happened,thought Casey, bringing his hoof to his forehead.

"Twilight?"said Stardust, who was shocked to see her like this. "What the… who in the[BEEP] hurt you?"

The alicorn princess took a few deep breaths before she answered his question.

"Elixir did… this… andhisTwilight looks just as worse, up in the prison ship…"

"She's in there?" exclaimed Casey, who was now realizing that the dark-colored pony had pulled aswitchon him. "That lying,[BEEP]-ing…"

Twilight looked over at her special somepony, and she said, "I see that he still has some of you in him."

"He does?" asked a surprised Pinkie, who had escaped her locks, and she was now standing by her friend. "Well, that explains the'beep'sound effects."

Before Stardust could explain to her, an angered Casey growled, "I am going to personally kill those two if it's the last thing that I-"

"Wait a minute!"

To everyone's surprise, Twilight looked at the light-orange pony, and she cried, "Casey, you… you're alive! This… this is great! Confusing, as well, but… Jack, he's alive!"

"Yeah, I was surprised, too," replied Stardust, in a sarcastic tone, and Twilight gave him a confused look. "I'll explain later, love

He then walked over to his former friend said, "I know we aren't on good terms, Casey, but all of our friends need us… and your Twilight needs you… so forget about what I said, and let's solve this thing together."

Casey frowned at Stardust, still showing signs of hatred against him, but then, after a moment of silence, he nodded his head.

"Fine… but on one condition, though…"

"What would that be?" questioned Stardust, raising an eyebrow.

As Casey's eyes slowly began to return back to normal, he replied, "When the moment comes, I'll leave Elixir to you… and I want to take care ofRonxormyself."

Stardust smirked at him, and he nodded his head, saying, "Fine with me…"

So, then, the two of them began to walk out of the room, but as Twilight and Pinkie hurried after them, the party-loving pony noticed her friend's confusion.

"What is it, Twilight?"

"Nothing, Pinkie, I just… I remember dreaming of Jack kissing me, but… it felt real…"

Pinkie just gave a small shrug, and replied, "You got me, Twilight, I don't know what to say… I mean, it's not like somepony else kissed you or something, right?"





As the four of them headed to the castle doors, Twilight's hooves gave out, and she collapsed to the floor.

"Twilight!"cried Stardust, who quickly went back over to her. "Okay, you need some rest… and some help…"

"I'll be fine… Jack," replied a worn-out Twilight, who still looked pretty beat up. "I just… need a moment to…"

But Stardust shook his head, and he looked at Pinkie Pie, saying, "Help her while me and Casey deal with that[BEEP-BEEP-BEEP]Alexa pony… Twilight, just stay here, okay?"

Twilight was about to argue with him, but all she could do was nod her head.

"Thanks, love," replied Stardust, and he gave her a quick kiss before continuing to follow Casey out of the castle.

As she watched him leave, Twilight looked over at Pinkie, who was currently holding onto her, and said, "Okay, first… we need to-"

"Nope, nope, nope, nope," interrupted Pinkie, also now dressed up like a nurse. "You let me take care of you, Twilight… and if you behave, I'll even give you a lollipop!"

Then, the pink-colored pony softly patted the top of her friend's head, and Twilight let out a sigh.

As for Casey and Stardust, the gold-colored pony told him that he needed his former friend to do something very important, regarding his supressed powers.





At the very top of the spaceship, which was where the controls were at, Ronxor was about to fire a deadly weapon at the rest of the Mane 6, but then, Elixir said, "Hold on a second… I want to talk to them first… go and bring you-know-who up here."

The silver Pegasus nodded his head, and made his way back inside the ship while Elixir focused his attention on Stardust's friends.

"What did you do to Twilight?" asked an unamused Sunset.

"Yeah, and where's Stardust?" cried an irritated Rainbow Dash.

"Oh, I'm not quite sure exactly what happened to the princess of friendship," replied Elixir, who was giving them a sly grin. "As for your other friend… well, this should answer your question."

He tossed out the remains of Stardust's cloak, which landed in front of the young pony's friends, and Starlight gasped in shock.

"You mean… that he was…"

Elixir let out a laugh, and he answered, "I'm not sorry, but yes, your precious savior is no longer alive… in fact, you'll never see himnorthis world ever again!"


BOOM!


With the silver staff raised above his head, the dark-colored pony caused a very large energetic portal to appear in the sky above them, and Applejack asked, "What in the hay is that supposed to be?"

"Thatis a gateway to dimensional limbo," explained Elixir. "Whoever goes through will be stuck inside for all eternity… it would be absolutely impossible foranyoneto escape, and if it wasn't for the lovely intervention of the Celestia frommyworld, you wouldn't have even had to dealt with me in the first place."

Sunset frowned at the sinister pony, and she replied, "Well, once we find out Twilight, she'll be able to-"

"Oh, that childish alicorn knowsnothingabout dimensional gateways," exclaimed Elixir. "The only way for it to be open is by the power ofthisstaff… if increased greatly, it would cause the gateway to be closed forever, with absolutely no way to re-open it."

As his cruel smile grew, the villainous pony added, "All of the prisoners that are in this ship are going to be sent there, and I'm about to start withall of you."

Then, the staff began to glow with dark energy, but just as he was about to fire, a white-hot energy blast knocked it out of his hooves, and the staff landed several feet away from them.

"Hey, Alexa!"

Elixir turned around, and found himself looking up at a glowing Stardust, who was back to using his fullbalance power.

"What the… this is impossible! You're supposed to be dead!"

As he made his way down to the ship's platform, Stardust chuckled, and replied, "I diealmost every day, Alexa… or, technically, every other Tuesday, but I was actually'killed'on Monday, so thanks for pushing it back."

While an annoyed Elixir growled in frustration, Stardust looked at his friends, and said, "Go back to the castle, and help Twilight... leave him to me."

They all nodded their heads, figuring that Twilight was either injured or in trouble, but before leaving the ship, Sunset asked, "Are you gonna be okay?"

"I'll be just fine," assured the energized Earth pony. "Now, go, Twilight needs your help…"

With a nod of her head, Sunset quickly hurried after the others while Stardust glared at Elixir, who smirked at his opponent.

"So, youhonestly thinkthat you can stop me, Stardust Balance?"

"You're damnright, you[BEEP-BEEP]," replied the determined human-turned-pony.

Then, as his own hooves began to glow with black fire-like energy, Elixir said, "Bring it, then,hero…"

With his energy attacks ready to go, Stardust smirked at the sinister pony, and replied, "You just need to sit the[BEEP] down, and shut the [BEEP] up!"





After opening the door that led to the special door where Casey's Twilight was in, Ronxor let out a chuckle, and said, "You're looking better, princess… are you and your cellmate ready to get some sunshine?"

Before she could answer him, a familar voice yelled,"Hey, you [BEEP] a-hole!"

Ronxor turned around to see Casey, who back in his Omega disguise, as well as holding onto a very powerful gun-shaped weapon.

"This is for AJ and my girlfriend, you [BEEP]!"


BOOM!


Casey fired the weapon, and once the blast hit Ronxor, he quickly disintegrated into a pile of dust, which brought a smile to his face.

Then, after removing his disguise, the young pony looked at who was in front of him, and said, "Hey, Twi-"

"Casey!"

The next thing he knew, his Twilight had wrapped her hooves around him, and Casey let out a huge sigh of relief.

"I have something of yours, by the way..."

A few seconds later, they moved away from each other, and Twilight looked down to see the turtledove necklace that was similar to the one she had given him on the day they had first met.

"Ugh… I feel like I bumped my head on a crate of cider…"

To Casey's surprise, Applejack (the one from his world) slowly walked out of the room, and she had a hoof on top of her head.

"You wouldn't happen to have my hat, as well, would you, sugarcube?"

Although he was confused, Casey decided to just "roll with it", and so, he brought out his friend's hat from underneath the cloak, which was then handed over to her.

"Thank you… now, what in Equestria is goin' on here?"


BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


Suddenly, the muffled sounds of explosions caused them to look up, and Casey said, "I'll explain later… right now, we got to help Stardust."





As he dodged another one of Elixir's attacks, the gold-colored pony asked, "Hey, Alexa, you think you could improve your aim?"

"Stopcalling me that!" shouted an annoyed Elixir, who was growing impatient with Stardust. "Don't you ever shut up?!"

"Nah, not really, it's actually a gift," replied Stardust, doing a backlip before firing his own blast. "Oh, hey, how about I call you Eliza? I mean, even though you're sort-of a talking animal-"

Elixir barely moved away at the last second, and he yelled,"Aaaaarrrgghhh… just shut up, you worthless piece of garbage!"


WHAM!


Then, before he even realized it, Stardust suddenly appeared in front of him, and delivered a solid punch to his forehead, causing Elixir to fall to the ground.

"Thank you for your services, Alexa, but Amazon said that you were defunct, so I gotta send you back to the warehouse."

Must you always say something like thiseverytime you engage in combat?

Stardust just laughed, and was about to answer his elderly friend when a familiar voice cried,"That was pretty darn good, sugarcube!"

"Thanks, Other AJ," replied the young pony, as he saw Casey arrive with Twilight and Applejack. "Are you okay, your highness?"

While the young alicorn nodded her head, Casey walked over to Stardust, and said, "Hey, um… look, there's something we need to-"

"Look out!"


WHAM!


Elixir, who had landed by the silver staff used it to fire an energy blast at Casey, aiming for his rib-cage area, but luckily, Stardust was able to deflect it away just in the nick of time, sending it flying back to the staff, which caused it to break in half.

"It'sover,Alexa," exclaimed Stardust, glaring at the sinister pony. "I'm going to do what your world's version of Celestia should have done, and send you intothat thing!"

"Oh, is that so?" laughed Elixir. "Well, if I'm going, thenso… will-"


WHAM!


Suddenly, a familiar pony had appeared from out of nowhere to trap Elixir in her party cannon, and then, she turned it around so that she could fire the sinister pony, along with some confetti, into the portal.

"Thanks for visiting us,"cried Pinkie Pie, from Casey's world. "Hope you never come back… oh, hi, everypony!"

She waved her hoof at the three of them, but before anyone could say anything, Casey suddenly yelled, "Star, watch out!"


ZZZZZZZZZTTTTT!


"If I go, then I'm taking somepony with me!"roared Elixir, from inside the portal, and he was referring to the electro-magnetic worm that he had sent down at them.

At first, it was about to grab Stardust, but Casey moved out of the way, causing the worm to wrap itself around him instead!

"Casey!"

Then, the worm quickly began to take Casey back into the portal with it, but right as they reached the halfway point, Stardust and Twilight showed up, and got a tight grip onto his front hooves.

So, now, it was like a dangerous game of tug-and-war, and neither side wanted to give up.

"Isn't there a way to shut this thing off?"exclaimed Twilight.

"Yeah, but we need to get Casey away from this thing first,"replied Stardust, refusing to let go."So, let's keep on-"


ZZZZZZZTTTTT!


Unfortunately, more worms were starting to appear, and they headed straight for the three of them, but Stardust used one of his hooves to fire energy blasts at all of them, which forced the worms back inside.

[Insert "Tears of Life" from Pokémon, starting at 0:35]

However, they eventually figured out what he was doing, and so, they morphed with the worm that was already holding onto Casey, which made it harder for Stardust and Twilight to pull their friend towards them.

"Alright, that's it!"

Stardust prepared to fire another energy blast, but to his surprise, he was no longer able to, which meant that he had finally run out of that energy.

"Starswirl, help us out-"

"No!"

Casey, whose previous injuries were returning (due to the worm almost squeezing the life out of him), looked at the two of them, and had a serious facial expression as he cried,"Let go!"

"Are you crazy?!"yelled Stardust, who head."We're getting you out of this, Case, just-"

"Star, listen to me,"exclaimed Casey."The longer this portal is open, the more easier it is for everypony here to end up in here, also!"

"You don't know that,"replied Twilight, who was almost close to feeling the pain that her counterpart was going through."We can figure this out, Casey, so-"

But Casey was refusing to listen."It's the only way, Twilight! I'm the only one who can close this thing!"

"What are you talking about?"

The young pony looked over at Stardust, who soon realized what Casey was talking about.

"No! No! [BEEP] no, you are not going to-"

"Ihaveto, Stardust, and you know it… aaaaaggghhhh!"yelled Casey, as his injuries became worse.

"No, Casey! I'm not going to-"

Looking straight into the eyes of his friend, Casey yelled,"Take her, Stardust… take her - aaaaaaggghhh!"

As the worm prepared to give one more final tug, the young pony said,"Star… I'm sorry… for everything… and for what I'm about to do."

Before Stardust or Twilight could say anything else, Casey used his lightning attack on them, and it caused the two to fly straight back down to the ship's top platform.

Then, while letting out a yell of anger and pain, he unleashed all of the full remaining power that was left inside of him, with the sky now being filled with deadly lightning.

"Casey!"yelled a weakened Twilight, and she was about to use the rest of her strength to-


BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


All of the power that had come from Casey was too much for the gateway's portal to handle, and the result came in the form of a giant explosion, which almost sent her, Stardust, and Applejack flying off of the ship.

Once the smoke had cleared away, the three of them looked back up at the sky, but they didn't see any sign of Casey or the portal.

"No… Casey…"sobbed Twilight, as tears fell from her eyes."Casey!"

A tearful Applejack had placed her hat against her chest, while Stardust was shocked, speechless, and felt like he'd just lost his friend all over again.
> Stardust's Choice
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

An hour had passed since Casey had sacrificed himself to save Stardust's world, and all of their friends were waiting in the throne room for them to return.

"I'm sure that he wasn't in the explosion when it happened, Twilight," assured Sunset. "Stardust promised you that he would come back."

"Yeah, I know…" said Twilight, who was now bandaged up, and slowly recovering from her injuries. "But I just can't help feeling like-"

"Look, someone's coming!"yelled Rainbow Dash, pointing her hoof at the doorway, and everyone watched as Applejack, Pinkie, and Twilight (all from Casey's world) made their inside, along with a worn-out Stardust that [his] Twilight quickly made his way over to, with help from Sunset since she wasn't exactly at 100% just yet.

"I was so worried when I saw that big explosion appear in the sky," said the young alicorn, her hooves wrapped tightly around him.

Stardust didn't respond to her by speaking, choosing instead to just nod his head, and return his girlfriend's hug.

On the other side of the room, all of Casey's friends were welcoming back Pinkie, Applejack, and Twilight, but after a while, Starlight noticed that something was wrong.

"What is it, Twilight? What's wrong?"

As Stardust turned his head to look over at the group, Twilight's counterpart tried her best to not break down into tears once she started to give them her answer.

"Casey… he saved us… and… he did it... by…"

The young alicorn took a moment to pause, and Starlight looked over at Applejack for an answer, but the apple-harvesting pony simply shook her head in sadness.

"Did Elixir do something to him?" asked Spike's counterpart.

Before Twilight could even say anything else, another pony entered the room, and answered the question for all of them.

"I'm sorry to say this, but your friend is gone."

Kronos had returned, and almost instantly, Stardust remembered what the elderly pony had told him earlier regarding Casey.

"What in the…gone? What do you mean he's gone?" exclaimed Rarity, and Kronos let out a sigh.

"He performed a noble sacrifice so that this world would continue to remain safe, and-"

"You [BEEP] piece of [BEEP] that [BEEP] son of a [BEEP]... [BEEP-BEEP-BEEP]!"

Kronos turned his attention over to Stardust, who was now showing signs of pure rage againt the realm watcher.

"I know that you knew this might happen, Kronos,"yelled the angered pony, and he angrily pointed his hoof at him. "And you [BEEP] didn't do anything about it!

"Plus, youliedto me! You told me that Casey was dead… you [BEEP]-in lied to me!"

As Stardust walked up to him, Kronos held up his hooves in defense, and said, "Now, just relax for a moment, Jack… what I told you wastrue, if you look at it from a certain point of view."

"A certain point of…"exclaimed Stardust, who gritted his teeth in frustration, and his face was growing red with anger.

"Ohhh, this can't be good," said Pinkie Pie, who was shaking her head.






A few seconds later…



WHAM!


After going through several walls of Celestia's castle, Kronos ended up landing in a water fountain, and as Stardust ran outside, Sunset looked at her injured friend.

"Shouldn't you be telling him to calm down, or think about what he's doing?"

Twilight shook her head, and she replied, "I'm not… exactly… in the best condition right now to point out his mistakes…"

Before Sunset could reply, Pinkie began to walk through the broken walls, and said, "Hey, this is almost like that one time you made a hole through the wall of Canterlot High!"

Once he was outside, a fire-like-glowing Stardust yelled,"I don't even care if you threaten to send me here or there… cause I'm shoving this hoof down your-"

"I can bring him back!"exclaimed Kronos, and the young pony froze in place. "I can return him here, Jack… he'll be safe and happy… just like what you wanted."

While Stardust became silent, the rest of the ponies stood by him, and Twilight's counterpaet let out a gasp, saying, "You can actually bring him back? Really?"

Stepping out of the fountain, Kronos nodded his head, and replied, "Yes, Princess Twilight… I can…"

The eyes of Casey's special somepony lit up with happiness, along with the rest of his friends, but a frowning Stardust had a suspicion that there was some sort of catch.

"However…a price must be paid in order for me to do that… and that price is all ofyou-"

Kronos pointed his hoof at Stardust, Twilight, and the rest of their friends.

"-must never come back to this world ever again… and as for all of you-"

He was now turning his attention over to Casey's friends, and said, "You will have no recollection of any memory whatsover that has to do with Stardust Balance… it will be like he never existed… in return, princess, you will have Casey returned to you safe and-"


WHAM!


After Kronos crashed into the water fountain's statue, an outraged Stardust cried,"What kind of [BEEP-BEEP] is that?! You can't just mess with a pony's memories like nothing bad is going to happen… who the [BEEP] do you think you are?"

"I'm giving you achoiceto make, Jack," replied the elderly pony, who began to stand up. "It's either that, or he'll remain gone forever…"

Stardust shook his head, and yelled,"That is complete bull-[BEEP]! You open a portal right now to that damn gateway, and I'll get him out of there myself!"

"You would never find him, Jack," said Kronos, now speaking in a serious tone. "At this point, he could beanywherein there, and if you were lucky enough to actually locate Casey, he would already be dead from his own severe injuries."

Before Stardust could yell at him some more, Kronos added, "Be lucky that I am not touching any ofyourmemories, Jack… and if I recall, yousaidthat you wanted Casey to be happy."

"That has nothing to do with this,"growled an upset Stardust."He's my friend, and I am not going to-"

"Well, thenashis friend, what wouldyouprefer to have happen?" questioned Kronos. "Have me bring Casey back here so that he can be reunited with the friends that he made when first meeting them in the Crystal Empire…"

He then gestured towards Twilight's counterpart, and added, "To be with his special somepony again… or simply let you have a never-ending chase throughoutthe entireworld of dimensional limbo, and bring his body only to have it be cremated, or placed in a coffin, for a proper burial?"

"Who in the holy [BEEP] do you-"

"Stardust?"

He turned to look at Twilight's counterpart, and the young human-turned-pony could see the pain and sadness in her eyes.

"I… none of us want to forget you… but… having Casey back…"

Trying his best to remain calm, Stardust shook his head, and said, "I know it seems impossible, Twilight, but as somepony who has died multiple times, there has to be another way for-"

"I am afraid that there is not in this type of situation, Jack," replied Kronos. "So, I will ask you one more time to decide… it's either bring Casey back, or let him remain dead and lost for all eternity."

"Well, why the hell doIhave to decide this?"

The elderly pony let out a sigh, and he said, "It's just the way it has to be, Jack… what will your decision be?"

"I… I… um…" Stardust looked back at his Twilight, hoping that she'd might be able to think of a solution, or offer some advice.

The alicorn princess looked at her emotionally-hurt counterpart, and then, back at Stardust before she replied, "All I can say, Jack… is to remember what it was like when you had to leave all of us."

"What… how does that…"Stardust started to say, but then, he found himself remembering what he'd told Casey back in the castle.

I know how it feels to lose, Twilight, and I don't want the same to happen to you.

After that, Stardust remembered what had happened between her and Casey on the ship.

You don't know that, Casey! We'll think of something-

It's the only way, Twilight!


BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


No… Casey… Casey!

Then, after taking one more look at Twilight's counterpart, Stardust remembered what had happened on the day that he'd left Equestria.

Please… don't leave us… don't leave me…

"Jack?"

Twilight walked over to stand by a teary-eyed Stardust, who said, "Starswirl?"

Neither choice is easy, Jack, but you need to go with the one that you think is best… also, Casey chose to save not only his world, and the lives of his friends… he also chose to saveyou… so that you wouldn't go through the pain again of losing Twilight…

Taking in his friend's words of advice, Stardust looked at the rest of his friends, who were not exactly sure how to help him decide.

Then, to everyone's surprise, Pinkie walked up to him, and said, "You told Casey that keeping his Twilight happy was the most important thing in his life… so, if Kronos bringing him back will make her happy, then…"

"Yeah, I... um… thank you, Pinkie…" replied Stardust, and he sighed before looking back at Kronos. "So youwillbe able to bring him back, then? Alive… safe and sound…"

"Well, for the most part, yes," explained Kronos. "He'll still be injured, but just the regular ones… the more serious injuries will be gone completely."

Stardust nodded his head, and then, after taking a deep breath, he told the elderly pony what his decision was.

"You sure?"

"I… yes… positive…"

A smile appeared on Kronos' face, and before tapping his now-glowing clock staff on the ground, he replied, "You did the right thing."

Stardust just gave him a small nod, in response, and he looked up at the sky.

I'm sorry, Casey… thank you for being my friend…


WHOOSH!






…

…

…

"Casey…"

…

"Casey!"

"Aaaggh!"yelled Casey, suddenly waking up, and found himself looking at a smiling Pinkie.

"Yay, you're awake now! I'll go get Twilight!"

She swiftly raced out of his bedroom before Casey could say anything, and the young pony sat up in his bed, trying to remember why he felt like he was having a bad headache.

The last thing Idoremember was… having a race with… Rainbow Dash, but…

"So, how are you feeling, Casey?"

His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a smiling Twilight, who walked in with a glass of water.

"Um… honestly, Twilight?" replied Casey, giving her a chuckle. "Like what, uh… AJ always says… bumping my head against cider, or something."

The alicorn princess smirked at him, and she said, "Well, you did bump your head, but it was against a tree, and it happened this morning… you've been out for almost four hours."

"Really?" Casey began to rub the side of his head with his hoof, and added, "It felt longer, for some reason…"

After drinking some water from the glass that Twilight had given him, the young pony began to climb out of bed, and before he could ask another question, his stomach made a large growl noise.

"Um… is there anything special made for lunch?" asked Casey, with a sheepish expression on his face.

Rolling her eyes, Twilight smiled at her special somepony, and said, "Yes, don't worry, just meet downstairs…"

"Got it," replied a chuckling Casey, watching her walk away with a look of love and happiness.

Then, he was about to leave the room, but something on his desk nearby had caught his attention, and so, he walked over to find that it was a rather lengthy book.

"WasIreading this, or did Twilight-"

The growling of his stomach interrupted Casey's thoughts, and he simply decided to come back to it late, choosing to walk out of the room.
> A Peaceful Reunion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As he looked out the window, Stardust sighed, and muttered, "I still don't get why Celestia wanted us to come and see her immediately… especially when I was doing something important."

"You weresleepingin your room, Jack," said Twilight, who still had some bandages around her head.

"Like I said, love, very important…"

A few days had passed since Kronos had transported Casey's friends back to their world, along with presumably bringing the light-orange pony back to life, and after everypony that Elixir captured had been freed, Kronos had taken the spaceship back with him to his realm.

Sunset had gone back to the'human world',but not before saying good-bye to Stardust and Twilight, which had allowed him to tease the two of them one more time about Twilight having to kiss her.

"You're never going to let that go, are you?"

"Eh, don't worry, I'll probably end up forgetting about it, considering what else goes on around here."

And that brings our story to what was currently happening right now… which was Stardust and Twilight, along with Spike, taking a train-ride to Canterlot after having recieved a letter from Princess Celestia, saying that it was urgent for them to meet her.

"You think she's upset about all that damage you caused to the castle?" wondered Spike, and that made Twilight frown at him. "What?"

"Okay, what I did was necessary… at the time, I will admit," replied Stardust, giving a small shrug. "But I already gave her and Luna an apology, anyway, in regards to the walls and the throne… and the fountain... so them being upset about that at this point is kind of pointless and unnecessary."

Spike just nodded his head, but as the golden Earth Pony continued to look back out the window, he looked over at Twilight with a confused expression, as if he was asking"is he okay".

The young alicorn gave him a small smile, and said, "He misses Casey…"

"Ohhhhh, right… well, why can't you just go and visit him, then, Star?"

Keeping his eyes at what he saw out the window, Stardust replied, "Because we can't anymore, since that was part of the agreement… and plus, he wouldn't even remember me."

But heishappy, Jack… which is what you wanted for him, right?reminded his mentor, and Stardust just gave another shrug, going back to thinking about his friend that would probably never know about him at all.






[Canterlot]


As they walked through the castle, Twilight tried to get her special somepony back in a positive mood by saying, "It sure was nice of Kronos to restore your cloak back to the way it was."

"Oh, yeah… totally makes up for him giving me a blanket instead of a sleeping bag."

"Jack…"

Stardust sighed, and replied, "I know, love, I know… I just can't help it…"

A few minutes later, they were in the throne room, with the walls that Stardust had thrown Casey through still being repaired by various construction ponies, and Princess Celestia was standing in the same spot, where her throne had been restored to its rightful place.

"Is everything okay, Princess Celestia?" asked a concerned Twilight. "You asked for us to come here as soon as possible…"

"Yes, I did, Twilight," said her old mentor. "And that's because there is somepony who wants to have a word with you both."

Stardust's expression went from sad to confused after hearing her say that, and he replied, "Huh? What are you talking about?"


Whoosh!


Suddenly, a swirl of magic appeared near Celestia, and it quickly transformed itself into Kronos, much to the trio's surprise.

"You seem to be improving well, your highness," said the elderly pony, giving Twilight a smile. "And always apleasureto see you, Stardust."

"Uh-huh," replied Stardust, who clearly was not amused by this, or even in the mood to see Kronos. "Why exactly areyouhere?"

Just tone it down a bit, Jack… I'm sensing some positive energy coming from him, so this might be a good thing.

"Your mentor is right," agreed Kronos, and before Stardust could ask how he knew what Starswirl had said, the elderly pony replied, "I am here because I have a special surprise for the two of you."

"Us?" said Twilight and Stardust, both of them now surprised. "What is it?"

"Hey, Star… hello, Princess Twilight…"

From out of the shadows emerged a pair ofveryfamiliar ponies, and Stardust's muzzle almost dropped to the ground while Twilight became absolutely speechless.

"Casey?"said Spike, taking a moment to remember who it was. "And… the other Twilight?"

"But… but… but…" Stardust looked back and forth between his friends and Kronos, unsure as to what was going on. "I'm a little confused."

Then, to his surprise, Celestia replied, "The two of us thought it was for the best if you and Casey continued to remain being friends… considering what you did to make sure he was happy."

"Um… but what did I do?" said a still-confused Stardust, and he watched quietly as Kronos walked up to him.

"By choosing to have me bring Casey back to life, it showed me that you were willing to give up your friendship with him so that he could enjoy the rest of his life… that, even though he would never remember the things you did together, the only thing that was important was him and the rest of his friends being happy…"

With a smile, Kronos added, "After I went back to my realm, I could see that Casey was, indeed, enjoying his life… but I also saw that you were starting to miss him… so I had a long and interesting conversation with Princess Celestia about everything that had happened ever since Rowan came to Casey's world, and like she said, we came to an agreement."

A smile started to appear on Stardust's face, but then, the wordagreementcaused him to frown a little bit, and he said, "I'm guessing there are rules that we have to follow now."

"In a way, yes," replied Kronos. "After helping me retrieve and capture Elixir from dimensional limbo, Celestia convinced me more into restoring Casey's memories, as well as those of others you've met since he came here…"

Then, the room was quickly filled with darkness, and Kronos now looked a lot more menacing, along with his voice having a more strict and commanding tone.

"However, if I ever have to return again to either of these worlds because of a problem caused byyouorhim, then I will make it so that it was like none of thiseverhappened… understood?"

Everyone except Kronos and Celestia nodded their heads, and in a flash, the room was back to normal, with the elderly pony saying, "Then, you two are free to continue remaining friends… because you never know when one of you will need the other desperately… so, now, I bid you-"

"Um, Kronos?" asked Spike, who was raising one of his claws. "Does that mean Elixir is being kept prisoner in your realm from now on?"

Kronos chuckled, and replied, "Let's just say that I hope he loves having tea-parties for all eternity... oh, and I almost forgot…"

He turned to look over at Stardust, who rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish expression.

"So, does that mean there isn't any… er, hard feelings about trying to beat the[BEEP]out of you?"

To his relief, Kronos shook his head, but then, the elderly pony looked at Celestia, and said, "Forgive me for this, your highness."

The raiser of the sun sighed, and reluctantly smiled as she nodded her head, with Kronos now pointing his staff at Stardust, whose body was becoming covered with psychic energy.


WHOOSH!


Then, Kronos raised his staff upward, causing Stardust to fly straight up into the air, as well as crashing through the roof of the castle, and with a satisfied grin, he said, "Farewell, everypony!"

In apoofof white smoke, the elderly pony was gone, and Twilight was preparing to fly up through the-

"I got him! I got him! Don't worry, Twilight, I'll get him this time!"

From out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie appeared, and she was now standing next to the purple alicorn, who rolled her eyes, with open hooves as she cried,"You'll be okay, Star, Pinkie's here to-"


WHAM!


Stardust crash-landed into Pinkie, and they were now both lying on the floor, eyes spinning around in a dizzy-like manner.

"Well, at least, she actually caught him this time," pointed out Spike, trying to sound optimistic.






A few hours later…


In order to avoid causing any more potiental damage to the royal castle, Twilight suggested that they continue the reunion back in the library inside her own castle.

Once they had returned there, the two versions of Twilight waited as their special somepony tried talking to each other.

"I, um… look, about what…" said Casey, finding himselt at a loss for words.

"When I told you… eh… I'm not always…" replied Stardust, also having trouble with figuring out the right words to say.

But after Twilight placed a comforting hoof on his shoulder, along with giving him a warm smile that helped make Stardudt feel a bit more relaxed, the golden Earth pony said, "I'm sorry for saying those hurtful things to you that day, Casey… you're my friend, and that isn't the way friends are supposed to treat each other… so, again, I apologize."

Then, after Twilight's counterpart gave Casey a playful nudge, the light-orange Earth pony replied, "Thank you… and I did mean it when I apologized before the whole… you know…"

He paused, for a moment, to raise his hoof in the air, and added, "So… still friends?"

Stardust smirked at Casey, and as the two of them shared a hoofshake, he said, "Yeah, still friends."

Then, once he backed away a little, Twilight teased him by saying, "What, no hugging it out?"

"Hey, these things take time, love," replied Stardust. "You have your way of doing this, and I have mine…"

As for Casey, he went back to stand by his Twilight, who said, "You see? It's like I said… all that was needed was for Stardust to apologize, and this whole fiasco could have been prevented."

Casey rolled his eyes, and said, "Alright, fine, I'll admit that you were-"

However, before he could finish, Casey was interrupted by the sudden mild laughter of Stardust's special somepony.

"Well, I mean… it wasn't theonlysolution to the problem, but I am glad that he was able to admit his mistakes."

"Oh, please don't give me theI told you sotreatment," replied Stardust, letting out groan, but just as Twilight was about to say more, her counterpart chose to continue speaking.

"No, I'mpretty surethat was the only way… I mean, itwassort of his fault after all… um, no offense, Stardust."

While Stardust assured her that he wasn't offended, Twilight's laughter began to die down, and she asked, "Um… what are you talking about?"

This can't be good, Jack.

Listening to what Starswirl had said, the golden Earth pony looked at Casey, who realized what was going to happen.

"Okay, so…it was great to see you, Star, and I hope you get better, your highness, so let's go back-"

But Twilight's counterpart wasn't ready to leave.

"I'm just saying that, if Stardust hadn't started arguing with Casey, none of this stuff would have ever happened."

Twilight began to frown at her, and she said, "Well, it's not like you did anything to try and fix itbeforeJack came back here."

"Alright,love, how about the two of us-" Stardust started to say, but he was interrupted by the other Twilight, who now looked annoyed with his girlfriend.

"Well, sorry for me being more concerned about the health and well-being of my special somepony… and I prefernothaving him risk or lose his life almost every day."

"Okay, it's notevery day, Twi-"

Twilight glared at her counterpart, and said, "Neither do I, but that's why I lo - like him… besides, if Casey hadn't fused with Jack, then he wouldn't have gotten those injures in the first place."

"Um, I didn't exactly have achoicewhen that-"

"Ugh, you justhadto bring that up," Casey's girlfriend was now becoming frustrated with Twilight, and she asked, "Are still upset about Starcade kissing me?"

While Stardust and Casey remained silent, Twilight replied, "That wasnotJack who kissed you… it wasCaseywho did that! Besides, how wouldyoufeel if he ever kissedmeon accident?"

"He wouldneverdo that," said the other Twilight, and Casey's face momentarily became a little red. "And if I recall correctly, Casey's injuries were all because ofEvilHim!"

"Oh, that doesn't proveanything,"exclaimed the young princess, but before she could say more, Stardust decided to step in.

"Alright, love, just take a quick breather… let Omega and I-"

"Shhh! Star, you…you… uh…"

After noticing that everyone was looking at him now, Casey cleared his throat, and replied, "So, like I was saying, me and Twilight are just gonna-"

"Why did he call youOmega?" asked both of the Twilight's, and Casey glared at Stardust, who gave him an apologetic shrug.

Then, before he could answer, Twilight exclaimed, "You mean to tell me… that it wasyouunderneath that mask and cloak?Youwere the one who fired a weapon at me and Rainbow Dash?Youwere the one who almost killed Jack with all that lightning?"

"What?!"cried Twilight's counterpart, shocked at what she was learning.

Knowing that he couldn't get out of this, Casey nodded his head, but before he could respond with an answer, Pinkie let out a loud gasp.

"Now I get it!You were trying to be like an anti-hero, right? And that must've been why you kissed Twilight after Elixir gave her to you, but he tricked you into thinking she washer, so that meant-"

"What?! You kissed her/me?"yelled Twilight and her counterpart, while Stardust just shook his head, fighting off the urge to say something humorous.

You aren't upset by this?

Stardust gave a small shrug, and replied,I'm not exactly pleased to hear it, but at this point, I'm just, like, 'whatever' with it, so…

As for Casey, he was being glared at by both Twilight and her counterpart, and he said, "Okay, yes, I did, but… I mean, it was just an accident! I thought I was kissingher,but after I saw her necklace-"


WHOOSH!


Having lost enough of her patience, and realizing that what she'd said earlier was true, Twilight began to growl as she went from purple to white, her eyes changed to a firey-red, and her mane literally burst into flames, along with her tail!

Oh my god,thought Stardust.Thatis… wow, that's hot!


SPLASH!


"What? She was getting hot," said Pinkie, putting down the now-empty bucket after seeing everyone stare at her.

"Thanks, Pinkie…"muttered an exhausted, annoyed, and now-soaked Twilight

Now feeling a little humorous, Stardust walked over to her with a towel that also came from Pinkie, and said, "Hey, at least now you know howIfelt."

As for Casey, who didn't want the same thing to happen to his Twilight, he said, "Okay, yes, I accidentally kissed you, your Highness, and I'm sorry… yes, I was Omega, and I apologize for what I did as him… and Twilight, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, so please don't explode into a fire pony."

"Oh, don't worry, I already know what that feels like," replied Twilight's counterpart. "But you and I are having atalkonce we get back home… are we clear on that?"

"Absolutely," said a now-sheepish Casey. "You still love me, right?"

His girlfriend rolled her eyes, and replied, "I never said Ididn't,Casey… you're just soirritatingsometimes."

"Oh, believe me, I know exactly what you're talking about," said Twilight, looking at her special somepony. "And, uh, sorry about…ooh… ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"

Her "anger explosion" had caused the bandages around her head to turn into ashes, and so now, those wounds were starting to hurt badly

"Okay,Pony-Twi, let's go take of that before you evolve again," said Stardust, who began to take her out of the library.

Once they were gone, Casey's girlfriend looked over at him, and asked, "So… if you thought that wasme… what kind of kiss did you give her, then?"

"Um…" Casey began to blush a little bit, and he said, "Are you gonna be mad if-"

"Not unless you can make meforgetabout being mad at you," replied the alicorn, giving him a teasing smile.

After catching onto her, Casey smiled back, and said, "Well, then… I can fix that…"

So, the two of them started to kiss, but in a slow and romantic way, and while Pinkie was giving her"awww"face, Spike just shook his head.

"That is just weird and sweet andbleghall at the same time."

"Aw, come on, Spike, it's just like how Stardust did it back when Twilight became a -ooh, what's that?"

Lying near the Crystal Mirror was one of Elixir's weapons that had been left behind, and Casey immediately recognized what it was.

"Pinkie, no, don't touch that!"

"What? It's not like-"

Twilight's counterpart started to use her magic to take it out of her hooves, saying, "Pinkie, you don't know if that-"


BOOM!


Suddenly, for some reason, the weapon went off on its own, sending out an energy ball that began bouncing all around the library until eventually flying straight out the door.

Then, a few seconds later, they heard the sound of a small explosion, and Casey's girlfriend did a small gulp.

"I hope it didn't go into somewhere that was-"

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!"

The young alicorn quickly went into the Crystal Mirror, going back to her world, while Casey felt unsure as to what he should do now.

"Just relax, love, I haven't even touched you yet! Now, wait there while I get…"

Casey let out a sigh of relief, and said, "Okay, well, at least-"

"Hey! What the [BEEP] happened to my room?!"

"Twilight, wait for me!" yelled Casey, who handed the weapon over to Spike before going through the time-machine.

Not wanting to get into any sort of trouble, the little dragon cried, "Uh, I think I heard Rarity call for me! Bye, Pinkie!"

After handing it over to Pinkie, Spike ran out of the library, leaving the pink Earth pony by herself.

"Am I missing something here?"
> We've Only Begun
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


A few days later


"Alright, then, Case… you ready for this?"

Casey took a deep breath, and nodded his head, saying, "Uh-huh, definitely… I just hope you're not getting cold hooves or anythin', Star."

"Who,me?" replied Stardust, letting out a chuckle. "Not on an important day like this, my friend."

Before Casey could reply, Rainbow Dash suddenly appeared in front of them, and asked, "Hey, are we doin' this or what? Twilight's been waiting for, like, 5 minutes, and she's already getting nervous."

The human-turned-pony rolled his eyes, and said, "Yeah, we are, Rainbow… even though I know I'm probably gonna win this thing."

"Oh,as if," exclaimed Casey. "Need I remind you that I got the world advantage over you?"

As they began preparing themselves for their race re-match, Stardust flashed a sly grin at his friend, and said, "Well, just pray that you don't run into any trees this time."

"Believe me, pal… Iwon't," replied Casey, who then looked over at the winged pegasus. "Let's get this started!"

Rainbow nodded her head, and before racing over to the finish line, where [my] Twilight awaited them, she said, "Alright, then… inthree, two… one… aaaaannnnd, GO!"


WHOOSH!


A few seconds later, Stardust and Casey took off running, with both of them eager to finally defeat the other pony in a race.

As for Rainbow, who was now approaching the alicorn princess, she cried, "Okay, Twilight, they're coming!"

"Thanks!" replied Twilight, continuing to hope that nothing bad would happen to her special somepony during this race.

Going back to Casey and Stardust, neither of the two Earth ponies were breaking a sweat, and just when it seemed like one would get the advantage, the other would quickly catch up.

"I swear, Star, if you're using any of yourenhanced skills…"

Stardust chuckled, and he replied, "In a race like this, Casey, I don't have to… cause I'm winning this thing!"

Then, he began to run faster, and was almost close to the finish line when Casey showed up next to him, saying, "Over my dead body!"

"Well, technically, you've already been dead-"

Casey let out a laugh, and he replied, "Oh,you'reone to talk about dying, Star-"


WHAM!


Suddenly, right before they could reach the finish line, the two ponies crashed into something that… for some reason... nopony could see.

"What the heck wasthat?" exclaimed a surprised Rainbow.


POOF!


Twilight was about to run over to them, but then, a familiar figure appeared in front of the fallen Earth ponies, and he said, "Oh, darn, I keep forgetting to make my luggage non-invisible."

Rubbing the side of his head with his hoof, Casey muttered, "What the hay do you got in there? A bunch of rocks or-"

He stopped after realizing that he was inches away from the finish line, so Casey crawled towards it as fast as possible, and once the young pony had crossed over, he let out a satisfied cry of victory before lying back down on the ground.

As for Stardust, who was looking up at the individual that was now in front of him, he had finally been able to speak after recovering from the crash.

"Where the[BEEP]have you…hey! That doesn't count, Casey!"

"Don't be a sore loser, Star," replied the light-orange pony, and he lowered his head back down.





My Little Pony, My Little Pony

Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh...

(My Little Pony)
I used to wonder what friendship could be
(My Little Pony)
Until you all shared its magic with me

Big adventure

Tons of fun

A beautiful heart

Faithful and strong

Sharing kindness!

It's an easy feat

And magic makes it all complete
You have my little ponies
Do you know you're all my very best friends?





While Stardust and Casey were helped up to their hooves, Discord laid back in his floating hammock, and said, "Well, what a surprise to see you here, Starlight… I mean, Starbright… no, it's Stardusk, right?"

"Stardust," growled the annoyed human-turned-pony. "And it's definitelynota pleasure to see you here."

Discord let out a fake yawn, and stretched his arms as he replied, "Look, Stardusk, if you're looking at somepony to talk to… have it be the version of me from your world… as foryou, Casey, I'm glad that you finally unleashed all of that darkness inside of you."

Before either of the two ponies could respond, Twilight looked up at the draconequs, and asked, "What do you want, Discord?"

"Just wanted to see how my favorite friendship princess was doing before I went to see Fluttershy," said Discord. "But I guess I'm not needed here, so…adieu,Twilight, and nice to see you again, Spacedust."


POOF!


A few seconds later, he was gone, and Stardust muttered some words underneath his breath while Twilight looked at Casey.

"You okay?"

The young pony nodded his head, and said, "Yeah, I'm good… Star?"

"Just peachy," replied Stardust, still rubbing the side of his head. "But now I know who to have a talk with when I go back to my world."






[Twilight's library]


Insert "So Long" by Randy Newman

Noticing the disassembled weapon on the nearby desk, Stardust looked at the young alicorn, and asked, "So… what's all this about?"

"Well, I figured that if we could put Elixir's weapon to good use," explained Twilight. "There wouldn't be a need for us to ask you for help if something bad ever happened again… you could just stay in your own world."

Before Stardust could respond to that, Casey walked into the library, and said, "Ah, yes, the'so what now'moment… always lookin' forward to these."

The young pony smiled at his friend, but before saying something humorous, he saw that Casey was carrying a wrapped, rectangle-shaped present.

"If this is a way to make up for trashin' my room, Case-"

"No, no, this is me being a good friend with you right now," replied Casey, handing the present to Stardust. "It's for whenever you, uh… miss me or something… so you don't have to come over here as much."

Stardust looked at his friend, still confused,and said, "You sound as if you prefernothaving me come to see you… what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Star, really," said a chuckling Casey, while Twilight just observed happily from the sidelines. "It's just that I… after everything that's happened recently, I want the two of us to enjoy our lives for as long as we can… but it should be in our own world's, for the most part."

Noticing his friend's confusion, Casey added, "You said you wanted me to be happy, right? Well, trust me, Star, Iam…and now, I want the same for you… you go and have your adventures and life-changing stuff with your family in your world…"

Then, after Twilight walked over to stand by him, Casey finished his sentence.

"I'll have my own over here."

Stardust blinked his eyes a few times, and then, a smile appeared on his face.

"You sure ain't the same pony I met that one day, Casey… but I meant what I said before… if somethingreallyimportant ever happens in this world, I'll be here… cause, like you said, we're friends…"

"And friends stick together," said Casey, who then surprised Stardust even more by giving him a hug. "So thanks for being my friend."

"..."

Aren't you going to return the favor, Jack?

Stardust was too stunned to respond, so with a slight giggle, Twilight used her magic to help him hug Casey back, and he mouthed his thanks towards her.

A few seconds later, they broke apart, and as Stardust grabbed ahold of his gift, Casey said, "So… no hard feelings about the stuff with me as Omega, right?"

Stardust chuckled, and he shook his head.

"None whatsoever… oh, um, by the way, Twilight, did you ever find out more about the dimensional limbo?"

"Unfortunately, no," replied Twilight, letting out a sigh of dissapointment. "I can't find any information about it in here, so-"

"Well, what about your special somepony?" suggested Stardust, which made Casey confused. "I mean, he's been in there…andKronos brought him out, right? Plus, he had his ownrevivalexperience, so wouldn't that be something interesting to learn about?"

To his amusement, Twilight gasped in surprise, and said, "Oh, my Celestia, you're right…Casey! Stay here while I get my writing supplies and some snacks cause we're going to be here for a while."

As she hurried out of the library, Casey glared at Stardust after realizing what had just happened, and said, "Thank youso much, Star…"

"No problem, my friend," replied Stardust, giving him a quick pat on the back. "Have fun!"

Rolling his eyes, the light-orange pony watched as his friend, with gift in hoof, step through the Crystal Mirror in order to return to his world.

I wonder if I should've mentioned the… eh, forget it, not important.


###############


After closing away the portal to Casey's world, Kronos looked at the ones that still remained opened, and began to make sure that each and every single one were all okay.

"Starity World, check… Flutterdust, yes… Moondust… Amore Balance… Applestar… Starset… Dustlight… Pinkie Dust… StarDash... Miles' world... yep, all in order."

With a satisfied nod, Kronos closed up all of the portals, and he went to check on ones that didn't involve ponies.

"Take care of yourself, you two…"





When Stardust stepped out of the mirror, and into his own library, the first thing he did was say, "Huh, I'm getting the hang of that."

Then, walking over to the nearby desk, the young pony carefully began to open up the present that Casey had given him, and once he was finished, he smiled after seeing what it was.

It appears to be a photo album.

"Yeah, I can see that," replied Stardust, chuckling, and he opened it to see what kind of photos were inside.

To his surprise (and amusement), the photos were that of all the events that had happened to him ever since he'd first met Casey, which included visiting all of the worlds with an alternate Stardust...

Remind me, Starswirl not to not show Twilight these photos.

… as well as him and Casey having fun in virtual reality, the party that had been thrown by the Pinkie Pie from Casey's world, and when they had all gone to London.

I'm sensing some emotional happiness from you, Jack… and are you crying?

"No, of course not," muttered Stardust, even though his eyes were getting a little watery.

Well, then I must say… this is an excellent gift from your friend… is it not?

"Yeah… it is," replied the human-turned-pony, and he continued looking through the album, laughing several times as he remembered-

"Um, Stardust?"

Fluttershy walked into the library, taking Stardust by surprise, and she said, "Oh, I hope I wasn't interrupting anything."

"Nah, don't even worry," replied Stardust. "What's up?"

The yellow Pegasus handed over an envelope to him, and she said, "This says that it's for you, but for some reason, it got sent to my cottage…"

"Really?" Stardust began opening it, and after pulling out the letter that was inside, he smiled as he started reading it. "Oh, I get why, Fluttershy… and this happens to be athank-youletter from the alternate version of you."

"... from Casey's world?"

Stardust shook his head, and replied, "No, it's the one from another alternate world, where she's in a relationship with… um, that world's version of me."

Realizing now what he was talking about, a sheepish expression was on Fluttershy's face as she said, "Oh, goodness, I… I'm sorry, Star, I hope that Twilight doesn't get-"

"There's no need to apologize," said an amused Stardust. "It's all in the past… and besides, like I told Sunset, what my girlfriend doesn't know won't hurt her."






[A few days later, at the Crystal Empire...]


"Oh, how I wish I could take this back to Ponyville with us!"

Applejack rolled her eyes, and said, "For the love of hay, Rarity, you know that we can't do that."

All of the Mane 6 were currently in the room that contained the statues of themselves, and where they had first encountered Rowan, as well as being sent to other worlds far away from their own.

"Twilight, darling, would you happen to know any sort of shrinking spell?" asked Rarity, ignoring what Applejack had said to her.

The young alicorn sighed, and shook her head, saying, "We aren't taking it back with us. Besides, I'm pretty sure that my brother would notice right away if one of the statues that he helped make had suddenly disappeared."

Seeing that she wasn't going to get any help, the white unicorn let out a groan of dissapointment, and replied, "Well,alright… but are you sure that - oh, relax, Applejack, I was only kidding!"

While the two of them started arguing with each other, Fluttershy walked over to Twilight, and asked, "Um, why didn't Casey come with us? Is he okay?"

Twilight smiled at her friend's concern, and said, "Casey's alright, Fluttershy… he just had something more important to take of."





With a bouqet of flowers in his mouth, Casey continued to walk to his destination.

If today had been a different day, he would have joined Twilight and the others on their trip to the Crystal Empire, but it wasn't… and that's why he was walking alone.

Then, once he reached the designated area, the young pony set down the flowers next to a pile of other bouqets that had been previously left by him, and stepped back a little bit before looking up at what was left of his old home.

"Hey, Mom… hey, Dad…" said Casey, after taking a moment of silence. "Hope you're both having fun up there… doing whatever it is ponies like us do after we leave this world…

"Um, so anyway… yeah, a lot's changed since the last time I was here… I found my special somepony, even though you probably know already who I'm talking about… and I have a whole lot of friends now that care about me-"

"And who will always be there for you, no matter what."

The young pony turned around, and was surprised to see Twilight making her way over to him.

"Oh, hi, Twilight… I, uh, thought you'd still be in the Crystal Empire."

His girlfriend gave him a smile, and said, "Yeah, but I became more and more curious about what exactly was so special regarding this day… and now, I can see it."

Looking back at the large pile of flowers, Casey chuckled, and said, "It's one of the days that I look forward to every year… even though it wasn't exactly easy to turn a negative into a positive."

Observing the damage of her special somepony's old home, a look of sadness and regret appeared on Twilight's face as she was reminded of her battle with Tirek.

"Casey, look, I'm sorry about… if I'd known-"

The light-orange Earth pony quickly shook his head, and placed a hoof on top of hers.

"Please don't stress yourself, Twilight… besides, I'm glad that no one else went through this, and I mean, if that hadn't happened, then I probably would have never met you and everyone else… you're all the best things to ever happen to me."

The two of them smiled at each other, and Casey was about to say something else when he noticed that Twilight was using her magic.

"What are you… oh, my…gosh…"

All of the previously-left flowers that were in the pile now looked beautiful and fresh, and once Twilight was done, Casey looked at her with so much love and affection.

"This… I… thank… um…"

"You're welcome," replied Twilight, and she gave him a quick but sweet kiss, which helped Casey relax a little bit. "So, are you ready to walk back home?"

To her surprise, Casey began to chuckle, and he said, "Well, now that I don't have to carry the flowers, I figured I could fly back there now."

"Huh?" said a confused Twilight. "But you don't have wings or a unicorn horn."

"True, but just like our Earth Pony friend, I still have some of Starcade's power, which means…"

Then, he began to levitate himself into the air, and flashed a toothy grin at his girlfriend.

"I wonder if I'm faster than an alicorn…"

Twilight smirked at Casey, and she replied, "Oh, trust me, my special somepony, you'renot."

"Well, then I guess there's only one way to find out," said the energized pony, as he watched her fly up in the air to join him.

Nodding in agreement, Twilight said, "In three, two, one…and… GO!"






A few hours later


As the moon and stars began to appear in the night sky, a cloaked pony slowly approached Casey's destroyed house, stopping to look down at the large pile of flowers.

Without saying a word, he simply continued staring at them, and a few seconds later, all of the flowers became engulfed in flames.

A smile appeared on the mysterious pony's face, and the flames continued to rise up in the air, as well as slowly approaching the house itself.

Then, he turned around, and started walking away, laughing quietly to himself…
> A Friendly Invite
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Twilight's Castle]


"..."

"Casey.."

"..."

"Casey!"

After hearing a familiar pony yell out his name, Casey yawned, and muttered, "I already told you, Starlight, I don't need you as my alarm clock."

"Well, ever since that one adventure," replied the light-purple unicorn. "You've been sleeping in more often than usual… and besides, what sort of friend would I be if I didn't wake you up every morning?"

As he got out of his bed, Casey rubbed his eyes for a little bit, and said, "First, leave the generosity stuff to Rarity… and two, you're more like an annoying sister than a close friend."

"Oh,ha ha ha," said Starlight, in a sarcastic tone, and was about to continue her sentence when she noticed that Casey was going to the library. "Why are you going that way?"

"To go and visit… uh…" Casey started to say, but then, he stopped after seeing an almost sad look on his friend's face. "I haven't really… been around much, have I?"

Starlight shook her head, and said, "Not since you and him started hanging out more with each other… but that's okay, I mean… if you prefer to-"

"No, no, it's fine," replied Casey. "I can always visit him another time."

As he watched her begin to smile, the young pony asked, "So, what did you want to do today?"





Inside the library, Spike was pacing back and forth, quietly humming to himself while he waited for-


WHOOSH!


"So, how did it go?" asked the young dragon.

Taking a quick look back at the Crystal Mirror, Twilight replied, "Just fine, Spike… she'll make sure to let the others know about Casey's party."

Spike nodded his head, and said, "Awesome… but, uh, won't it be kind of weird for two versions of us to be in the same room for almost the whole day?"

"Not as weird as when Pinkie had that one party here," reminded a chuckling Twilight, who looked through the remaining invitations that were in her saddlebag. "And speaking of Pinkie, we have to go deliver her invitation."

As the two of them began to walk out of the castle, a confused Spike asked, "But, uh, isn't she the one in charge of decorating this place when it's the day of his party?"

"Yes, but it's the thought that counts, Spike," replied the young princess. "And it's a good thing that Starlight will keep him busy in the meantime."

"What do you think they'll do together?"





After following Starlight out of the castle, and onto the nearest clear field of grass, Casey looked at the object he was currently holding, and said, "Uh, no offense, Star, but… I don't know how to fly a kite."

"No worries, I'll teach you," replied a smiling Starlight. "I mean, if Pinkie's sister could figure out how, then it should be simple for you to learn."

Taking another look at the kite in his hooves, an unsure Casey replied, "Uh,yeah, sure… so, how do we get it in the air?"






[Sugarcube Corner]


"Thanks for the invitation, Twilight! Now I'll make sure that I do aperfectjob with Casey's party decorations!"

Twilight chuckled, and she shook her head, saying, "Just do whatever you're comfortable with, Pinkie, it's only a birthday party."

"Well,yeah, but it's gonna be the first one with all ofus," reminded Pinkie. "So, I have to make sure this is memorable for-"


DING!


Suddenly, after the noise of the oven went off, Pinkie cried, "Ooh, yeah, his cake is done!"

Twilight and Spike watched as their friend began to add various cake decorations to what would be Casey's birthday cake, and she said, "It smells delicious, Pinkie… hopefully he loves chocolate!"





With her kite now up in the air, Starlight said, "Okay, Casey, since today's a good-enough-windy day, you just have to lift your kite up until it catches the wind.

"Then, let go of the bridle and begin to let some line out. After that, pull on the line to point the kite up because this will help the kite climb higher into the air… understand?"

Casey nodded his head, and said, "Absolutely, Star… but, um, just one more thing… can you help untangle me out of this mess?"

Somehow, the young pony had wrapped his kite's string all around his body, and it almost looked like he'd been tied up by Applejack with her lasso.

"This is gonna take a while…" said Starlight, letting out a sigh of amusement.





After finishing up with Pinkie, Twilight and Spike went over to Rarity's home to deliver her invitation, and then, it was off to Rainbow's house.

Unfortunately, when it seemed like she wasn't there, Twilight decided to simply leave it on her doorstep, positive that her friend would notice it whenever she came back home, and made her way over to Sweet Apple Acres.


Meanwhile


"Good thing the door is always open… and she's supposed to be our future ruler one day."

With the castle currently unoccupied, the cloaked pony casually made his way inside, and started walking upstairs to the library.

"Figures that she'd care more about this damn castle than the damage that she caused."

Once he was inside the book-filled room, the cloaked pony stood still to observe the Crystal Mirror world-traveling machine.

"The last thing I need is an alien or some other freakish pony ruining my plans by coming here… so how about we put a stop to that?"






[Fluttershy's Cottage]


After reading the birthday invitation, Fluttershy gave her friend a grateful smile, and said, "Thank you, Twilight… I hope Casey will enjoy it."

"Oh, he'd better," said Twilight, with a chuckle. "Especially since he's supposed to be limiting his time with-"


POOF!


Before she could finish her sentence, a familar draconequs appeared in the middle of the living room, and said, "I'm sorry, but I could have sworn that I heard something about aparty…"

Twilight let out a sigh, and replied, "Yes,Discord, it's a party for Casey, and we're having it at the castle in a few days."

"Splendid!"cried Discord, who was making a bunch of confetti appear above the two ponies heads. "I'll be sure to drop by whenever-"

"Uh, hate to burst your bubble, Discord," said Spike, who was looking through Twilight's saddle bag. "But we don't have any more invitations to give out, so I'm not sure if-"

He was suddenly interrupted by Discord's laughter, and the draconequs said, "Oh, I don't need an invitation, little one… besides, what would a party be withoutmethere?"

Before anyone could answer, Discord snapped his fingers, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

"Well, I don't think it'll bethatbad having him show up to Casey's party," said Fluttershy, trying to be optimistic. "I mean, if it's like that one time when I went to his home for-"

"Ahem!"

The trio of friends turned to the side, where a white-colored and impatient bunny was glaring at Fluttershy, who said, "Oh, dear, I almost forgot… alright, let's get you your carrot, Angel."





Now that he'd done his work on the Crystal Mirror, the cloaked pony quickly headed out of the castle, with a smile across his face.

"Now it's time to pay a visit to the so-called rulers of Equestria…"
> Capturing Ponies, Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, it's no secret that Rainbow Dash loved flying, but what some ponies didn't know is that she loved flying at night the most. The cool wind flying through her mane and tail, the view of stars rushing past… nothing could beat it.

At first, the athletic Pegasus thought she'd just enjoy a quick nighttime lap around Ponyville, but all that changed when she noticed two of her friends making their way over to Twilight's castle.

"Oh, come on, Casey, it wasn'tthatbad for your first time flying a kite," said Starlight, and the light-orange pony rolled his eyes as they made their way inside.

Casey just looked at her, and she added, "Well, maybe it wasn'tasgood as it could have been, but you still had fun, right?"

"Yeah, I did… thanks, Star," replied Casey, giving her a warm smile, in return.

A smile appeared on Rainbow's face, as well, and as she continued on her path to wherever she'd have her nighttime lap, the young pegasus-

"HELP!"

Suddenly, a scream of fright interrupted her thoughts, and she said, "That sounded like it came from the Everfree Forest… what kind of bonehead would be there at this time in the night?"

Still, Rainbow knew that somepony needed her help, so with blazing speed, she flew towards the sound of the shout.

"Hold on! I'm here… where are you? It's really hard to see!"

"I'm right here! Help!"the voice yelled.

If the sun was still in the sky, this would have been easier, but since it obviously was not, all that Rainbow could do was try her best.

"I still can't see you…ugh, why couldn't Princess Luna have risen a full moon tonight?'

"Don't worry,"the voice said, suddenly sounding more menacing than distressed. "I'm rightHERE."

Then, before she could give a response, Rainbow heard some type of noise that reminded her of somepony blowing through a tubw, and a few seconds later, the pegasus felt a small prick on her flank.

"OWWW!" the Pegasus yelled in pain. "What thehay was that?!"

The newly-changed voice let out an evil chuckle, and replied, "Oh, just a little concoction I whipped up… which should be kicking in right… about…now…"

Then, Rainbow saw a cloaked pony making his way towards her, and she realized that it was him who launched the small projectile at her flank.

"What are… you...talking… about?"

For some reason, her voice begun to slur ,and her wings were moving slower and slower as blackness began to permeate her vision.

"Shhh…. just relax, Rainbow…"

Too exhausted to respond, the Element of Loyalty eventually couldn't hold herself in the air any longer, so she landed on the ground with a CRASH, kicking up a bit of dirt in the process, due to the momentum from a fall at such a height.

However, Rainbow managed to remain conscious long enough to see the cloaked pony approach her, and many questions were racing inside of her mind, the first of which being'WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?'

Before the darkness overtook her, she heard the voice say one last thing, hinting that he had a much bigger plan than just her.

"One down… plenty more to go…"






A few hours later


As he made his way into the library, Casey was starting to feel a little sad about the fact that he really hadn't spent much time with Starlight, aside from today, because of all the fun he had been having with-

"Beedo, beedo, beedo, beedo! Oh, excuse me, Casey!"

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by Pinkie Pie, who'd raced past him with…

"Is that a fire extinguis- Pinkie, hold on!"

Casey quickly went after her, and to his shock, he found her in the library, along with a concerned Twilight and Starlight.


Whoosh!


"Well, there we go, all better," said Pinkie, after letting out a sigh of relief. "Hope nopony was planning on using the Crystal Mirror anytime soon!"

Not knowing what to say, Casey looked at his special somepony, who explained that the world-traveling machine had been sending out random bolts of electricity, and whenever the alicorn had tried to fix it, things only became worse.

"… so I think it's best if, like Pinkie said, we put a hold on visits to Sunset Shimmer and... well…"

Taking a quick glance over at a particular book nearby, Casey sighed, and said, "I understand, Twilight, and I agree, as well."

Starlight gave him a look of surprise, and replied, "Really? I figured you'd try to, like, find another way to see him."

"Eh, I'm sure he's dealing with other stuff right now," said Casey, who also smiled at her. "Besides, that gives me more time to practice my kite flying…"

"Practice?" said Twilight, starting to chuckle. "Oh, Casey, were youthatbad at it?"

Before he could reply to her, Starlight replied, "He got tangled up almost five times in the kite's string."

"Four!That last one didn't count, Star, and you know I'm right!"

While the two of them started an argument with each other, Twilight looked back at the Crystal Mirror, wondering who or what could have possibly caused it to malfunction.

Well, it's not like anything else could possibly go wrong.





"Hi, Honey. I hope you're doing okay. I just wanted to let you know I put Carl down, so make sure to be quiet when you get home…

"Oh, you should've seen his little face... I love you. See you later."

After listening to his wife's voice on his communicator device, the cloaked pony turned it off, and continued to look over a blueprint that showed what appeared to be the structure of a castle that-

"Hey!"

He turned around to look at his prisoner, who was currently inside of a cage, saying, "You know, sooner or later, my friends are going to realize that I'm missing, and they'll come searching for me… then, once they find me, we're taking youdown!"

"Hahahaha…my, my, my... you are justfullof so much confidence, aren't you, Rainbow Dash?" replied the cloaked pony, and the young Pegasus continued to frown at him. "It's too bad that your friends won't even recognize you by the time they get here."

A slightly confused Rainbow raised her eyebrow, and asked, "What do you mean they're not going to recognize me?"

Instead of giving her an answer right away, the cloaked pony walked over to the nearest desk, and removed the long piece of fabric that had been covering one of his collected possessions.

"It's amazing what sort of things the enemies of your enemy will leave behind... and I think it's time now for me to try one of them out..."

When Rainbow saw what kind of weapon he was holding, she became nervous, and asked, "So, what, you're just going to-"

"- kill you? Oh, no, of course not.. not yet, anyway," assured the sinister pony. "But this MAY hurt just a bit, so just stay there… and I hope you likepink."


BZZZZZZZZTTTTT!


Then, after blowing away the steam coming out of the weapon, the cloaked pony chuckled, and said, "That's a good look for you… now, if you'll excuse me, there's some more ponies I need to take care of."

With a sly smile, he looked over at a nearby wall-chart, which showed pictures of everypony that he planned on capturing, and one of them showed the beloved Princess of Friendship.

You'll get what's coming to you, Twilight… I promise you that!






That same night...


The cloaked pony stared through the window of the Canterlot eating establishment, spying on a certain group of five who were eating within it.

"Hey Beckie! Where are you?! Listen, you won't believe what just happened. I just got two tickets to the Hoofball Championship! Call me back as soon as you can so we can plan out the best day ever! Alright, I gotta go! Bye!"

As the audio recording on his communicator device finished, the five unicorns - Moondancer, Minuette, Lemon Hearts, Lyra Heartstrings and Twinkleshine, if he remembered correctly - emerged from their seats to begin their way back home.

'Well, here goes nothing,'the cloaked pony thought as he strolled after them.

He followed the mares from a safe distance for a while before they approached what looked to be one of their homes.All in one place… perfect!

"Thanks so much for tonight, ladies," Lyra said. "I always love it when I get the chance to visit you all."

"No problem, Lyra," Lemon Hearts replied. "Glad to hear thought that things are going well with Bon Bon."

"Yeah, you go filly," Twinkleshine added. Lyra's reply was only a blush. Moondancer only giggled at the exchange.

'It's nice to finally have friends,' she thought.

As soon as she thought that however, she heard five blows and something prick her flank.

"Owww… what in the…" she muttered. The rest of the group echoed her phrasing in rapid succession.

"What was that?" Minuette said, rubbing her flank with her hoof, only to find a small thin object imbedded in it. Before she could voice her find to her friends however, darkness began to overtake them.

"Why… everything… dark?" Moondancer slurred before she and her companions fell onto the stone ground, with the four of them unconscious. "I… have to…"

However, she stopped after noticing the cloaked pony that was making his way over to them.

"Better hope your little marefriend notices you're gone, Lyra," the cloaked pony muttered. "Otherwise, this'll take a lot longer than I'd want."

When he and Moondancer shared a look with each other, she asked, "W-who… are…"

"You'll learn eventually, little pony," he replied, and as the young mare closed her eyes, the cloaked pony added, "Just as your beloved friendship princess will learn what it's like to take something special away from somepony."






Ponyville - Twilight's Castle


It's a festival of friendship

And together, we are-

"Oh, hiya, Casey!"

A look of confusion appeared on the young pony's face as he made his way into the kitchen, and he asked, "Hey, Pinkie… um, why were you singi-"

"Sooooooooo,somepony has abirthdaycoming up," replied Pinkie, giving him a sly smile, and Casey let out a chuckle.

"Yeah, and I'm guessing that a certainponyis probably gonna throw me a party, right?"

The young and pink-colored quickly became shocked as she gasped, and cried, "Who told you? Was it Twilight? She and I made a pin-"

An amused Casey shook his head, and replied, "No, she didn't tell me anything… I just figured that it wouldn't be an awesome birthday without somepony like you throwing some type of par-"


Knock-knock-knock!


Suddenly, there was a knock at the castle doors, and Pinkie said, "Huh… that usually never happens. Ponies usually just make their way inside."

So, the two of them began heading over to the main floor of Twilight's castle, and once they got there, they found their alicorn friend having a conversation with Scootaloo.

"... sure she just had something important to deal with," said Twilight. "I mean, not that youaren'timportant to her, it's just that unexpected things happen sometimes, and we can't do anything about it."

The young pony let out a sigh, and she replied, "Yeah, I get what you're saying… thank you, Twilight."

As Twilight nodded her head, Pinkie happily bounced her way over to Scootaloo, and said, "I can walk you home, if that's okay."

"Sure, Pinkie… good night, Twilight," replied the little Pegasus, and while she followed Pinkie out of the castle, Casey gave his special somepony a confused look.

"She and Rainbow Dash were supposed to have a quick race or something with each other, but Rainbow never showed up."

Casey's eyes went wide with surprise, and he said, "Wow, that's strange… maybe she had some unexpected Wonderbolt stuff to deal with?"

"That's what I was telling her," replied Twilight. "And I'm sure that Rainbow will make it up to Scootaloo somehow tomorrow… I mean, it's not like she's in danger or anything."

Casey let out a chuckle, and said, "Yeah, I'm sure all or one of us would know if Rainbow was in some kind of trouble."





As he dragged his burlap sack up to another house in Canterlot, the cloaked pony stopped for a moment to relax, and take a few deep breaths.

"Huh… sothisis where they came from?" He said, moving the burlap sack that contained the unconscious forms of Moondancer, Lyra Heartstrings, Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, and Minuette into a bush.

Then, the cloaked pony trotted up to the door, giving a swift knock, and it was answered by none other than Night Light, the father of Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor.

"Oh, hello, sir… is there something I can help you with?" He asked.

"Indeed you can," the cloaked pony said before striking.


###############


Twilight Velvet, Night Light's wife, had been enjoying a nice night with her husband watching the stars… but the knock on their door had, quite honestly, annoyed her.

'Who would be knocking at this hour?' The mare thought.

However, when Night Light didn't return for a few minutes, she got curious, so the mother of Twilight and Shining went to check the door, as well.

She entered through their home's front door and to the grey pony's horror, her husband was laid out on the floor, unconscious.

"Night Light!" She screamed before she felt a prick on her flank, and a few seconds later, everything went black.


###############


With tonight's goal now successfully completed, the cloaked pony started to carry his burlap sack back to his lair, but he was having some slight trouble with that.

'Why did I think nabbing this many at once was a good idea?!'The cloaked pony thought to himself in anguish, but although he was suffering now, he knew his goal was all the more closer to being realized.

"I'll deal with the two sisters later,"hemuttered. "Which reminds me… note to self - only put two ponies inside of this thing."






Twilight's Castle


As Casey and Twilight looked at the malfunctioning world-travel machine, he said, "It's times like this when I wish I still had my wristwatch communicator."

"What happened to it?"

Casey made a gesture over to the Crystal Mirror, and replied, "That one version of Rainbow Dash still has it after… eh, never mind, too confusing… all I know is that it's gone, and it would take me almost forever to make a new one."

Noticing the sad expression on his face, Twilight asked, "You miss him, don't you?"

"Well, obvi… I mean, yes, I do," replied Casey, not wanting to sound rude. "But my friends inthisworld come first… and l haven't really been doing so well in that department."

Remembering all of the invitations that she had sent out earlier today, Twilight started to smile, and she said, "Don't worry… I'm sure you'll be doing great, in no time."

Taking a quick moment to yawn, Casey replied, "That's the idea… well, I'm off to bed… night, Twilight."

"Sweet dreams, Casey," said the young alicorn, and as her special somepony left the library, she took another look at the Crystal Mirror.

Why do I have a strange feeling that something bad is going to happen?





"And, there we… go!"

Letting out a huge sigh of relief, Rarity began putting away her newest creation, saying, "Casey is sure to love what I made for him! Don't you agree, Swe-oh, wait…"

Remembering that she had sent Sweetie Belle to her bed a while ago, Rarity chuckled quietly, to herself, and said, "She's more than likely asleep by now… oh, well, I can always so it to her tomorrow."

The slight thought of sleep enticed Rarity very much, but her stomach was telling her a different storu, so she decided to head into the kitchen, and prepare herself a nice warm beverage.


Squeak!


"Sweetie Belle?"

The unicorn turned around, but she didn't see any sign of her little sister, so Rarity just shrugged, and continued to make herself a drink.

A few minutes later, she was carrying the beverage with her upstairs, with her destination being her bedroom, but as Rarity entered though, the young unicorn noticed that her window was open.

"Oh no!" Rarity said, letting out a gasp. "Somepony must have-"

"Heh-heh… smart mare," the fashionista heard behind her, before she felt a prick on her flank, and the cloaked pony watched as Rarity slowly collapsed to the floor. "Nighty-night!"

However, before he could place her inside of his burlap sack, Sweetie Belle had exited her room, and was now coming into her sister's room, letting out a yawn before she spoke.

"Rarity, if you had that plaid nightmare again, I swear..."

Then, she stopped after noticing the cloaked pony standing over the unconscious form of her sister, and the only thing Sweetie Belle thought to do in that moment was to run and find help.

However, just as she turned, she felt a prick on her flank, and darkness began permeating her vision.

"Help," she muttered before she completely lost consciousness.

Putting Rarity aside for a second, the cloaked pony picked up Sweetie Belle in a way that one would a baby, and walked over to her room so that he could place her back in her bed, along with tucking her in.

Then, the cloaked pony flashed a half smile at the sleeping filly before exiting the room, and returning his attention to the fashionista unicorn. "I hope you like chains, 'darling'..."






The next day


After finishing one of the chapters in the book that he'd been reading for a while now, Casey decided to join the rest of his friends, who were all in the Throne Room… but, for some reason, he wasn't allowed in.

"Sorry, Casey, but it's what Twilight said," said Starlight, giving her friend a shrug.

Great,thought Casey.There's gonna be a party that I already know about, and I can't even-

"Want to work on flying a kite?"

Remembering what he had said last night, Casey began to smile, and he replied, "Sure, Star… but maybe at a place where there isn't much trees, okay?"

So, while the two of them left, Twilight and the rest of the Mane 6 - minus Rainbow and Rarity - were all talking about the party they'd be having for Casey.

"I still think it's gonna be weird with so much versions of us runnin' around your castle, Twi," said Applejack.

"Don't worry, AJ," assured the young princess, giving her friend a smile. "I'll make sure that we all know who is who… and, sorry, Pinkie, but no using yourjumbo party cannon, or whatever it is you're working on."

Pinkie gave a shrug, and she replied, "That's fine, I'll just use it for when we have the Friendship Fe-"

"Um… Twilight? There's somepony here to see you."

The group of friends watched as Spike brought in a mare with a beige coat, pigment blue mane with a rose pink streak, and cerulean eyes, she seemed to be looking a little unnerved.

"Hiya, Bon Bon, what brings you down here?" Pinkie wondered.

"It's Lyra." Bon Bon explained, who looked very concerned. "She told me she was visiting Moondancer and the others in Canterlot yesterday, and that she'd be back by the next morning…

"But it's already evening and she hasn't come back yet, so I'm starting to get worried."

Knowing who she was talking about, Twilight also began to ponder, 'Another pony gone missing? That's odd.'

"Don't worry, sugarcube," assured Applejack. "I'm certain the train just had a delay or somethin, it ain'tthatout of the ordinary."

Unfortunately, Bon Bon shook her head, and replied, "That's just it! I was at the station all day waiting for her and it stayed on schedule."

Turning her attention back over to Twilight, she addes, "I have looked everywhere, Princess. Please, help me find my Lyra."

It was no secret that Lyra and Bon Bon were avery closepair of friends around Ponyville; the two were practically inseparable.

Twilight, being with Casey, knew the feeling of worrying about someone you love, especially considering their adventures since meeting a certain gold-colored pony.

"Alright, Bon Bon, we'll help. Right guys?" Twilight asked the others.

"Of course," Applejack said. "I'd be happy to help."

Fluttershy nodded her head, and replied, "As soon as I head back to my home, and give Angel her lunch, I'll join everypony else to help."

"Yeah! Maybe we can even find Dashie too," Pinkie mentioned, and that made Applejack place her hoof against her forehead.

"Wait, what? Rainbow Dash is missing too?" Bon Bon asked, her pupils shrinking.

Twilight sent a death glare towards the pink pony, who gave her an apologetic look.

"What Pinkiemeantto say was that Rainbow's whereabouts have also been unknown for a day or two, but we're certain she just had a Wonderbolt activity she needed to get too and she didn't have time to tell us…right,Pinkie?"

The young Earth pony nodded her head, and all of this managed to calm Bon Bon slightly.

"Okay, then, thank you, Princess," she said, even though her voice was still uneasy. "Thank you, everyone."

"That's what friends are for," replied Twilight, and a few minutes later, the young alicorn was in the library, looking for a certain book that she could use as a way of communication with a certain purple alicorn.

I have to make sure nothing wrong is going in with them.





No longer at her friend's castle, Fluttershy entered her humble adobe, and said, "Oh, Angel, I'm home!"

Now, usually, Angel would respond to the call immediately. He'd drag in a bowl and hold it up to his owner's face, demanding food.

However, this did not happen, to the yellow mare's confusion.

"Angel?" She called again, and flicked on the light to make the search for the "oxymoronically named" bunny easier.

Fluttershy looked high and low, but Angel was nowhere to be found. In fact,none of her other animal friends seemed to be around either… and she swore she was hearing someone from behind breathing.

"Discord?" she asked, hoping that this was some sort of prank the draconequees was playing.

No answer came.

Fluttershy grew more and more nervous as she continued to search the cottage for any sign of Angel, her animal friends, or even Discord.

Suddenly, she heard a switch flick and the lights went out, her fear increasing exponentially with each passing second.

"Hello?" she managed to squeak out as she entered her living room once more.

Suddenly, she felt a small tap on her back-right hoof, and a sense of relief flowed through the mare's body.

"Angel Bunny!" She turned around, ready to scold the little rascal for trying to scare her, but when she turned around, Fluttershy only saw another hoof... a light green one, if she wasn't mistaken.

Fright made a triumphant return as Fluttershy slowly lifted her head to get a glimpse of the pony's face. Once she did, the only thing her eyes met with was a deep, dark cavern that separated the cloaked pony's face with the world.

Fluttershy had never felt so scared in her life.

That is until…

"Boo," the cloaked pony muttered, and that was the last thing Fluttershy heard before everything went black. "Well… that worked out nicely."

A few minutes later, the cloaked pony was walking down the path that led to his secret lair,.with the burlap sack in his muzzle.

' 8 down, and plenty more to go,' He thought to himself, a sly smile appearing on his face.





When Rarity finally awoke, she gently rubbed her flank, and said, "Ugh, who would dare try to… oh… my…"

To her surprise, she was not the only pony in the room… or locked up in a cage, for that matter.

Moondancer, Lyra Heartstrings, Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, and Minuette… all still unconcious… but why is that cloaked -

"Rarity? You're here, too?"

The young unicorn turned her head, and found herself looking at a Pegasus that looked oddly familiar.

"I'm sorry, um… have we met before?"

"Yes, Rarity,"replied the young Pegasus. "It's me, Rainbow!"

Rarity turned her head to the side, confused. "I am so sorry, darling, but Rainbow is abluePegasus, andyouare... well, not blue... in fact, you are actually-"

"Well, well… looks like someone enjoyed their beauty sleep,"interrupted the cloaked pony, who was bringing over his burlap sack. "And what luck, I even brought you a friend!"

With a chuckle, he emptied out the sack, and Rarity saw another pony that looked familiar.

"Fluttershy!"Then, she glared at her captor, and asked, "Why are you doing this to us?"

"Because you're all part of the plan," replied the cloaked pony, who was preparing a cage for Fluttershy. "A plan to make surejusticewillbe served!"






"Well, I'm glad to know everything is doing fine over there… just keep an eye out for anything suspicious."


Then, after writing out that last word, Twilight closed up the book, and let out a sigh.

"I don't understand why all of this happening," wondered the young alicorn, speaking to herself.

Maybe it's all an unfortunate coincidence that-

However, her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden arrival of Spike, who burst through the library doors, and before she could say anything, a familiar pony ran inside, as well.

"Twilight… cloaked pony, weird dart, Rarity, help!"

"Okay, Sweetie Belle, just take it easy there," replied Twilight, trying to comfort the young pony. "Now, what happened to Rarity?"

After taking a few deep breaths, Sweetie Belle explained to her about the events that had taken place last night, and after handing over the dart that had been fired at her flank, she said, "So, when I woke up this morning, my sister was gone!"

Looking at the small object that was now in her hoof, Twilight thought about what Sweetie Belle had just told her, and then, she found herself having a flashback.


############


Twilight!" Rarity yelled, but then, the cloaked pony aimed his staff at her.


Wham! Boom!


"No! Rarity!" Twilight watched as her friend transformed into a statue, just like everypony else.

She looked at the hooded figure, and yelled, "Who are you?"

The sinister pony walked over to the princess, and said, "I'm someone that you should have never messed with."


############


"Twilight? You okay?" asked Spike.

A frown appeared on the young alicorn's face, and she replied, "Just fine… but I think we should definitely head out to Canterlot now."

Looking at Sweetie Belle, Twilight added, "Don't you worry, I'll get to the bottom of this… in the meantime, go look for Scootaloo, and help her try to find Rainbow Dash."

Giving the princess of friendship a salute, Sweetie Belle hurried out of the castle while Spike looked up at Twilight.

"You don't think it'shimagain, do you?"

Twilight shook her head, and replied, "I don't see how, considering the place that Pinkie had sent him to.. but we need to put a stop to this before anypony else gets involved."






Sweet Apple Acres


"How come you look so suspicious, Applejack?"

Looking down at her younger sister, and not wanting to worry her, the farm pony replied, "It's cause of what's been happenin' apparantly to certain ponies here in Ponyville and Canterlot… just keep an eye out for anythin' suspicious, okay, sugarcube?"

"Sure thing, sis," said Applebloom, nodding her head, and the little pony hurried over to finish up her daily chores while Applejack walked over to the barn.

Upon her arrival at the barn, she was very hesitant because, for all she knew, it could be occupied by an unknown pony wanting to ponynap her.

Especially considerin' that seems to be the new trend nowadays, thought Applejack, and the orang earth pony cautiously creaked open the barn door, preparing for what she might find on the other side.

"Hello? Anypony here?" Applejack asked as she made her way into the structure.

Turning her head from side to side, the pony who represented the Element of Honesy let out a sigh of relief.Well, looks like I was just-


WHOOSH!


Then, all of a sudden, she felt a prick in her flank.

"Yep. That... figures," Applejack deadpanned as she fell into the hay that made up the barn floor, quickly becomimg unconscious, and a moment later, the cloaked pony leapt down from his perch above the barn door, softly singing a little tune.

"Another one bites the dust. And another one gone, and another one gone, another one bites the dust."

The cloaked pony continued the song mentally as he hauled the burlap sack containing the unconscious Applejack back to his lair, and he paused to say, "You have no idea how long I was waiting inside of that pla-"

"Hey!"

Suddenly, the cloaked pony stopped in his tracks, and muttered, "Dang it…so close."

He turned around to find none other than Big Mac and Apple Bloom, with the pair of them giving him what could be only described as a death glare.

"You ain't takin' my sister no where!" Apple Bloom vowed.

"Yeeup," Big Mac agreed.

Oh, wow, my hooves are shaking,thought Beck, who rolled his eyes, and safely dropped the burlap sack.

"Cute," he remarked before charging at the eldest and youngest Apple siblings, an action the latter two reciprocated.

However, instead of outright attacking, the cloaked pony leapt over the two, blowing two darts into their flanks as he flew over.


Whoosh! Whoosh!


Once the cloaked pony landed back on solid ground, and blew the smoke coming out of his weapon, it only took a second before Apple Bloom and Big Mac fell.

"Such a shame," the cloaked pony remarked, before making his way towards the unconscious form of Big Mac, whom he laid back against a tree in a somewhat comfortable position.

After that was taken care of, the cloaked pony scooped up a knocked-out Apple Bloom and just like what he'd done to Sweetie Belle, he took her back to her room, removing the dart from her flank as he placed her back in bed.

Then, he brushed his hoof through her red mane, a small smile gracing his face.

Once he did this, he returned outside to pick up the burlap sack, and while humming the tune that he'd been singing earlier, the cloaked pony started to head back to his secret lair.






[Stardust's World]


After re-reading what her counterpart had told her about the things happening in her world, Twilight looked at the nearby Crystal Mirror, and let out a sigh.

If only I could just go there to help out, but the other me said that hers was malfunctioning, and if she or Casey aren't able to-

"... you okay, Twilight?"

The young alicorn turned around to find herself looking at Rainbow Dash, and she nodded her head. "Yeah, everything is fine, Rainbow…"

Rainbow chuckled, and she replied, "Well, good… now, hold off on the reading for a moment, and help us continue preparing for the Friendship Festival."

As Twilight followed the pegasus out of the library, hoping that her other friends would be okay, Rainbow asked, "So, you have no idea why Stardust hasn't told you or any of us about what'll happen on the day of-"

"No, I'm sorry, Rainbow," replied Twilight, with a hint of annoyance and frustration. "But I'm positive it can't bethatbad… or else he would have told us about it already."





After having enough kite-flying fun with Starlight, Casey decided to take a quick visit over to his old house.

On the way there, the light-orange earth pony was wondering more about what Twilight and the others would give him as birthday gifts, but his thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Well, isn't this a surprise? I thought you'd be with Golden Ponyboy or whatever his name is."

Rolling his eyes, Casey looked up at the floating draconequs, and said, "Hey, Discord… shouldn't you and Fluttershy be having a tea party, or something?"

"As a matter of fact, weweresupposed to," replied Discord. "But she never answered the door… and I find that strange since she usually nevernotopen the door when I arrive."

"Well, why not just'poof'your way in?" suggested Casey. "You do that to go inside Twilight's castle, and pretty much everywhere else."

The draconequs let out a chuckle, and said, "Inthosecases, my friend, it'sfun, but with Fluttershy, it wouldn't be the right thing to do, especially since she's my B.P.F.F.E.T.T, or insimpler terms,my 'Best Friend For Eternity Times Two' - oh, my, that is reallynota pretty sight."

"What are you -aaagghh!" Casey cried, seeing what the now-gone Discord had been talking about.

All of the flowers that he'd left in respect for his parents were now grey and shrivled up, and his old house now looked even more worse than before.

Who would do something like this?





With her mentor and her assistant in Canterlot, and Casey busy with his own personal stuff, Starlight Glimmer was left with the responsibility of holding down the fort in Ponyville… or, for right now, having the peaceful-sounding castle all to herself.

I can't even remember the last time it was ever this quiet,thought the reformed - and comfortable - unicorn, who was reading an adventure book in the castle's library, a hobby she'd taken up from Twilight.

Unfortunately, she was so engrossed in her book, Starlight didn't hear the sound of the library nor did she notice a sinister figure slowly creep up behind her.

What she did notice was the pain in her exposed flank, which was due to the design of the chair she was sitting in.

"Yeeouch!" she said before turning around to see what hit her.

If that's one of the CMC's again, Celestia forbid…

However, it wasn't any of the three little ponies, though she would soon end up hoping it was

Instead, she came face to face with none other than a cloaked pony that she first thought seemed familiar.

No, that… it can't be… impossible!

Starlight tried to say something, but the darkness permeating her vision and exhaustion flowing through her body had other plans.

As she went limp in her chair, the cloaked pony made a "tsk tsk tsk," sound, and shook his head.

"Seriously, why isn't there more security in this place? Especiallynowof all times," he muttered to himself as he took out his burlap sack.

'Oh well, it just makes things all the more easier for me,'the cloaked pony thought as he placed the unconscious Starlight into it.

Now, then, if I remember correctly, the only ones missing from the Mane 6… aside from the princess…

Then, the cloaked pony sighed in exasperation, for next on his hit list would be none other than Pinkie Pie.

I might actually have trouble with that non-questionable pony.
> Capturing Ponies, Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As she listened to one of her closest friends begin to release some tears, Rainbow decided to try and make her feel better.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy, I'm sure once Twilight and Casey learn what's happened to us, they'll find this place faster than you can say-"

Suddenly, Rainbow's words of comfort were interrupted by the sudden appearance of-

"Discord!"yelled Fluttershy, who was quickly becoming filled with happiness instead of fear.

"Golly, you don't know how happy we all are to see ya here right now," said Applejack, after letting out a sigh of relief. "But, uh,howdid you know we'd be here?"

The draconequs chuckled, and he replied, "Let's just say that after the incident with Chrysalis and the Changelings, I learned how to be able to-"


WHACK-WHACK-WHACK-WHACK-WHACK-WHACK!


Discord turned his head to see that alotof the cloaked pony's darts had been shot into his back, as well as his tail, and he said, "Huh… should've seen that one coming."

Then, a few seconds later, he collapsed to the floor, and as he began snoring quietly, Fluttershy started to feel afraid again.






BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!


After pressing a button on his communicator device, the cloaked pony let out a small laugh.

"That takes care of the draconequs… and now, it's time to take care of Pinkie Pie."

Luckily, the party-throwing pony was walking by herself, with nopony else around except him, but as he observed Pinkie from behind a bush, the cloaked pony knew that she could be a challenge for him.

I'll see if this works, but if not, then things might be complicated…

After taking a deep breath, the cloaked pony removed his hood (so he wouldn't seem too suspicious), and started to walk away from his hiding place. "Oy, Pinkie Pie!"

Pinkie stopped moving after hearing her name, and she turned around to see an unfamiliar pony walk towards her.

"Hi, new pony!I've never seen you around before-"

"Yeah, I figured as much," replied the sinister pony, in a deadpan manner. "Now, could you do me a favor, and take a quick look inside this sack for me?"

Please let this work… please let this - huh?

To his surprise, Pinkie nodded her head, and she said, "Sure! You havin' trouble finding something?"

As she began to search through the burlap sack, the young pony thought,I can't believe it actually worked-

"Oh, hey, Starlight! Why are you in here?"

Oh, snap!


WHOOSH!


"Um… why is everything getting so… dark?"muttered Pinkie, before eventually becoming unconcious, and after putting his hood back over his head, the cloaked pony stuffed the rest of her body into the burlap sack that now contained two more of Twilight's friends.

Eleven down, and seven more to go,he thought while continuing down the path to his secret lair.

And now that I've gotten the 'main 5' out of the Mane 6, as well as the princess' pupil, it's time for me to finally focus on catpuring the so-called rulers of Equestria- ow!

Feeling a sudden sharp pain in his back, the cloaked pony paused to relax for a little bit, and he growled, "Okay, Ireallyneed to get used to carrying two ponies in here with me."





For the first time in his life, Ride Along felt like he was getting punished.

It's only been a week since he was transferred to Canterlot from Fillydelphia, thought the unicorn police officer.And I havn't been able to make a siren sound ONCE!

Rumors had actually circled around the department that he had been transferred due to his insufferable siren sounds annoying the chief too much.

Luckily for him, however, today would be the day that he'd finally be able to make the sound he loved so much once more.

"Ride Along!" The chief of the Canterlot PD called from his office.

"Yes, sir, Chief, what can I do for you?" asked Ride Along as he stood at attention.

"We've just received a report of a break-in that occured last night at the home of Twilight Velvet and Night Light," explained the Chief. "I need you to check it out."

"You got it, Boss!" Ride Along acknowledged ecstatically, and just like that, he began his siren sound as he departed from the Chief's office.

Woooooooo…. woooooooo…. woooooooo!

Once he was gone, the Chief let out a sigh, and muttered, "It still amazes me how in Celestia's name he was able to graduate from the police academy."






A few hours later


"I just don't get it, Spike. Why would somepony want to capture Rarity, Rainbow, and my Canterlot friends?"

After making their arrival in Canterlot, Twilight and Spike had started to search for Moondancer and the others, looking in places such as the local library, their usual eating spot, and even the courtyard where they'd thrown the light yellow-grayish pony a "make-up" party.

Unfortunately, they hadn't recieved much luck, and the young alicorn was feeling a little disappointed at not being able to find outanything.

"And who in the world of Equestria could it possibly be?'

Spike took a moment to think, and then, he replied, "Well, it could be some of the Changelings thatweren'taffected by-"

"No, it can't be them," said Twilight. "Otherwise, we would have seen one disguised as Lyra, Minuette, and so on."

"Okay, so… maybe it's Rowan again, trying to get revenge?"

"Heisa possibility," replied Twilight, even though she looked unsure. "But I also highly doubt it since the world that he got sent to was blown up by some weird, demonic version of Pinkie."

Her faithful dragon friend/top assistant thought about who else it could be, and then, he said, "Maybe it's that one gold pony?"

Twilight turned her head to look at him, with a confused expression. "Why would you think it'd behim?"

Spike shrugged his shoulders, and replied, "I'm just giving you all of the possibilities, Twilight."

Before she could respond to his statement, Twilight realized that they were getting close to reaching a familiar place of residence, and she was startled to find that it was surrounded in police tape.

"Mom and Dad's house?!" Twilight shouted, quickly forgetting her search in order to see what happened, and as the two of them ducked under the police tape to enter the home, which was currently being sweeper by police ponies, she found a familiar face.

"Shining Armor!"

"Twily! Spike!Thanks for coming!" Shining said, sounding slightly worried.

"What happened here?" Spike asked.

"You don't know? I figured that you would have gotten a letter," explained the co-ruler of the Crystal Empire. "I mean,Idid…"

"No, we didn't," Twilight said, whose feelings of worry and fear were starting to grow. "Shining, what's going on?"

Her B.B.B.F.F. let out a sigh, and replied, "Mom and Dad are missing, Twily."

"What?!" exclaimed both Twilight and Spike, but before they could say anything else, an officer pony started to come towards them from the kitchen.

"I'm afraid your brother is right, Princess Twilight," said Ride Along, who had just completed his examination. "The only good news… sort of… is that from what we could gather, there was no sign of struggle, so the perpetrator must have had some way to subdue them.

"But not to worry, we'll get a search party going right away to sweep the immediate area."

After learning that their parents had not been hurt (yet), Twilight and Shining felt a tiny bit better, but the young princess said, "This is starting to become scary."

"I know, Twily," Shining replied, trying to speak in a soothing tone. "I know..."

"Not just this," the Princess of Friendship clarified, and after noticing her brother's confusion, she started to explain more.

"The whole reason I'm in… I mean, me and Spike are in Canterlot is because we were investigating a disappearance of a friend of ours from Ponyville, Lyra Heartstrings, but when we arrived, we learned that Moondancer, Minuette, Lemon Hearts, and Twinkleshine were all missing too, and we've been searching almost everywhere for the past two hours."

Spike nodded his head, in agreement, and added, "Plus, what's worse is that somepony captured Rarity! Oh, and Rainbow's gone missing, too!"

"What?!" exclaimed a surprised Shining.

"Eightponies going missing in the span of a day or two…anda pony-napping?" said Ride Along, before Spike could continue to speak. "This is definitelynota coincidence."

Turning his attention over to Twilight, the officer pony said, "We'll expand the search to incorporate your Canterlot friends, Princess Twilight, and I'll inform the Chief about your fashion-smart friend, as well."

The young alicorn nodded her head, and said, "Thank you, Officer… um..."

"Ride Along, ma'am."

"Thank you very much, Officer Ride Along," replied Twilight, who was now starting to worry about the rest of her friends back in Ponyville, and she began heading out of the house, with Spike following after her.

"Hold on, Twilight, I'm coming with you," said Shining Armor. "Oh, and good luck, Officer Ride Along."

The officer pony nodded his head, and replied, "And the same to the three of you, as well."

Once they were outside, Spike took another look at the house, and said, "Huh, I feel like I've met him somewhere before."

As for Shining, he placed a comforting hoof on his sister's shoulder, which caused her to look up at him.

"Don't worry, Twily, we'll find everypony."

A smile appeared on Twilight's face, and she said, "Thank you, B.B.B.F.F…"

I just hope that the rest of my friends are safe.





Not paying attention to the fact that Twilight's castle was empty, for the moment, Casey headed straight to the library once he was inside.

"I really hope you're not busy or anything, man," muttered the young pony, and once he had reached his destination, Casey activated the world-traveling machine.

Well, here goes nothing!

Luckily, there was no sign of any electricity, so as fast as possible, Casey headed straight through the Crystal Mirror…

… and found himself entering a darkened room that he did not recognize.

Where the [BEEP] am I?wondered Casey.And why do I feel like saying stuff like [BEEP] or whatever [BEEP] that's usually said by-

"Hey, hey, hey…"

Before he could think about anything else, the lights went on, and Casey turned around to see what appeared to be Fluttershy, but with a voice that was similar to the one she'd gotten after walking through a patch of poison joke.

"What did I tell you 'bout coming into my shed?"

She was also carrying some sort of mechanical device that looked completely dangerous, and Casey gulped, yelling, "[BEEP] that! I'm out of this [BEEP]!"


WHOOSH!


A few seconds later, the young pony tumbled out of the mirror, as well as returning to the library, but while he stood up, the Crystal Mirror machine quickly started to shut down automatically, much to his disappointment, and he let out a groan.

Great, I can't even go and warn my friend about this… now what?
> A Royal Capture
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nighttime was approaching in Canterlot, and after waiting for the arriving passangers to leave the Friendship Express, Twilight and Spike, along with Shining Armor, climbed aboard the train, with the little dragon saying, "Well, at least we know that the culprit is a pony… which is a good thing, right?"

Nodding her head, the young alicorn replied, "There's also a connection that I'm starting to notice, as well… I just hope we can figure it out before anypony else gets captured."






A few hours later


Canterlot Palace...the most protected place in all of Equestria,home of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna…and, boy, does it look amazing in moonlight.

After leaving the train station, the cloaked pony was now sitting on the edge of a mountaintop above the palace, watching the moon's glow fall on the capital city of Equestria, as well as the palace, and with a heavy sigh, he played his recording device one more time.

"Hi sweetheart, your father and I just wanted to thank you for the flowers for our anniversary yesterday. You are an amazing stallion and I can't believe how much you've grown up. Hold on, your father wants to say something."

"Hey Champ. Thanks for the flowers. I hope we can get the chance to spend some time together soon. We barely see you anymore, what with work and all. Your mother and I both love you. See you soon."

Once he listened to the message from his parents, he pocketed the recording device, stared at the castle in an analyti manner, and reached inside his cloak to pull out his grappling gear.

"I'm about to kidnap royalty,"he said to himself, reminding himself of what he liked to call his 'Mission: Impossible' phase. "Well, here goes nothing."

He placed the grappling end of the rope, along with the rope spindle, into the dirt, tugging on it to make sure it was stable, and tied himself to the other end of the rope while mentally singing a familiar tune for the situation.

Dun-dun-dun, dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun!

Moments later, the cloaked pony was making his way down the cliff, aiming for one of the castle's many balconies, the night being his protection from detection.

However, what he didn't plan on was the rope starting to give way about halfway down.

Holy [BEEP],thought the cloaked pony as he fell, but fortunately, the rope only had enough length to just reach the balcony he intended.

However, when he opened his eyes, having closed them for fear he would go splat, he noticed his body was hanging parallel to the balcony foor, barely an inch above it.

'Whew,' the cloaked pony thought to himself, wiping away the sweat on his forehead before carefully unhooking himself from the rope, and then, he placed it around a torch on the castle's wall.

Alright, then… it's show time!

Preparing his darts and tube, he began his careful trek through the castle halls that would lead him to the quarters of Princess Luna.

However, once he turned a corner, the cloaked pony noticed two guards slowly walking in the direction that would lead them to him.

Well, at least this castle 'has' guards, unlike the one owned by a certain purple alicorn...

So, after readying his tube and two darts, the cloaked pony hid in the shadows, and once the two guard ponies had passed, he fired a dart into their flanks, incapacitating them.

Bullseye!

Then, he dragged them behind some curtains, in hopes that other guards that passed through here wouldn't notice them until he was long gone… though he wasn't counting on that, and sometime later, the cloaked pony repeated this process on two more guards he found guarding Luna's door.

'Now, for the tricky part,' the cloaked pony thought as he cracked open the door.

Luckily for him, Luna seemed to be asleep, but he knew that she was "lucid dreaming", due to the fact that it was her duty as princess of the night to step into ponies' dreams, with his little colt having been one of those ponies.

But I'll go down memory lane later… I have a job to do...

After making sure that no one else was around except for himself, the cloaked pony crept into the royal bedroom, keeping his ears peeled for any sounds, whether it be from a waking Luna or from castle guards.

Luckily, he managed to reach the Princesses' side without hearing anything but his own four hooves.

However, little did he know, Luna was a bit busy with a certain sleeping pegasus at the moment.






[Fluttershy's Dream]


All of the cages that had contained her friends were now gone, leaving Fluttershy in the darkened room, caged up and all by herself.

Please, somepony, anypony… help me!

"Fluttershy?"

The yellow pegasus lifted her head up, and found herself looking at Princess Luna, whose bright aura of white light was removing most of the darkness in the room.

"Oh, Princess Luna, thank goodness you're here," cried Fluttershy, with a sense of hope inside her. "Something terrible has happened!"

Luna looked around the dark room, with a somewhat confused expression, and replied, "Yes, my friend, I can tell… but what exactly is happening in this dream?"

Wiping the tears away from her eyes, Fluttershy replied, "It's the same that is happening in real life, Princess Luna… somepony captured me and a whole lot of other ponies that-"

"Ow!"

Suddenly, she was interrupted by the sound of pain that came from the royal alicorn, who began rubbing the right side of her flank.

"What in Equestria was... that…and… why do I… feel..."

It took a moment for Fluttershy to understand what was happening, and she cried, "Oh, dear… t-that means you're about to-Princess Luna!"

To her horror, the princess of the night collapsed to the floor, and started shaking her head after she saw Luna begin to fade away.

"Why is this happening?!"





Once the cloaked pony heard Luna's breathing slow down again after he inserted the dart into her flank manually, he removed the sheets completely from the princess' bed.

Wow, so it doesn't work on just tables!

Then, while gently pulling her by the tail with his mouth, he carefully put Luna into his trusty burlap sack, and at first, he found himself letting out a sigh of relief.

Once he lifted the sack again, however, he realized that the halfway-completed task would be another physically demanding one.

'Good grief, this is going be like last night all over again,' the cloaked pony thought, remembering how he had to capture Twilight's parents and five Canterlot friends, and the physical demand it took for him to do so.

Ignoring the physical stress he was enduring, the cloaked pony looked out the window to get a glimpse of his next target's balcony. Seeing as how he wanted to avoid as many guards as possible, the cloaked pony pulled out another grappling gun, placed the burlap sack containing the unconscious Luna onto the balcony floor, and after taking aim, he fired.


Whoosh!


The hook took flight into the night air, and after a few seconds of air time, it managed to get caught on the balcony of Celestia's quarters.

After a quick tug to make sure it was stable, the cloaked pony tied his end of the rope around the balcony of Luna's quarters, and made haste in tying a knot around the opening of the tack.

Then, a few minutes later, he made it so that he (and the sack, on its own) could safely travel between the two balconies.

So, after he transported the sack with Luna inside, the cloaked pony took a deep breath, and said, "Alright, then… it's my turn now."

Just as he did on his descent to the castle, the cloaked pony slipped into a harness and was about to swing from one side to the other when he found himself remembering a certain occasion he had in his younger days.

Back then, the young cloaked pony (though obviously not wearing a cloak in this case) and a beautiful mare that would eventually be his future wife, whose name was Twinkle Star, used to have regular triple dates with some other couples that they had become friends with, and one of them was Carrot Cake and Chiffon Swirl, while the other was Bright Mac and Buttercup.

While the Apple couple had only gotten married recently, the other two couples had only been dating for a few months.

The cloaked pony relished those times, when he was young, stupid and had thought he was invincible.

How I wish that I could have those days back.

Anyway, on one such occassion, the six of them were enjoying a wonderful picnic when Twinkle Star suddenly said something unexpected.






[Flashback]


"Did I ever mention that Mr. Gardener over here used to have a crush on Princess Celestia?"

Everyone turned their heads to look over at Twinkle's boyfriend, whose face started to turn red with embarassment. "Um… I don't know what she-"

"Wait an apple pickin' minute," said Bright Mac,confused and surprised. "You had acrushon the ruler of Equestria?"

Before her special somepony could respond, Twinkle replied, "Yep! I mean, I used to like Wind Rider, from the Wonderbolts, but when I learned that his crush was-"

"Alright, I think they get it," muttered Twinkle's boyfriend, now feeling embarrassed. "Thank you, sweetheart."

Carrot began to chuckle, and he said, "Um, not to offend you, buddy, but isn't she at a much higher age than you?"

"Yes, I was aware of that," replied Twinkle's special somepony. "But somepony like me could still dream, righ -oof!"





The cloaked pony came out of his nostalgic reverie when he noticed he had finally reached the other end of his rope.

Well, that was a good thing, actually… the less I think of those two, the better.

After a tedious untying process, he crept over to the sleeping Princess of the Sun, and made ready with his special knock-out dart.

He pulled the sheets back to reveal the royal pony's flank, but just as he was about to send the dart into it, a paper suddenly materialized in front of the royal, waking her up from her slumber.

'Shit!' the cloaked pony mentally cursed as he hid under the Princess' bed.

"What?" Celestia said sleepily as she gazed at the scroll. Once she was able to make out the words however, she was wide awake.

"This is terrible! Don't worry, Twilight, I'll be sure to tell Luna, as well," she said quietly, to herself. "She should be awake right now…"

'Shit! Shit! Shit!' the cloaked pony cursed. He pulled out his tube, seeing as how he would definitely need it since Celestia was now rushing towards her balcony door to fly to her sister's room.

However, once she noticed her door was open, she became confused. "I could have sworn that I closed this… and why is there a rope-"


Whoosh!


Before she had time to react, she felt a prick on her flank, and although she had just woken up, the Princess of the Sun immediately fell into an unconscious state of sleep.

"That was close," muttered the cloaked pony, but just as Celestia fell, two guards burst in to inspect the commotion.Well, that's just great!

"Hold it right there!" They both said, seeing the cloaked pony and immediately charging for him, spears in hand.

However, the cloaked pony was faster, and they quickly recieved darts to the neck, which eventually led to them being knocked out.

Turning back to the fallen Princess of the Sun before him, the cloaked pony remembered what he'd thought about earlier, and quickly pecked her on the cheek before placing her with her sister in the burlap sack.

"Not exactly how I always dreamed of doing that, but hey, I'll take it," he muttered as he did so, with a growing smile appearing on his face, but that ended up going away because the cloaked pony knew he had to move quickly.

No doubt that guards would be on me faster than Pinkie Pie to a party.

So, he hoisted the burlap sack onto his back, holding the opening in his mouth and made a break for it, but now that was holding two full-grown alicorns in his bag, the grappling hook between the balconies was moving at a much slower pace.

'I really need to stop putting multiple ponies in here,'the cloaked pony thought to himself.

"Freeze!" he heard as a multitude of guards stepped into his way, and the cloaked pony skidded to a stop, right before he could leave from Celestia's balcony.

Again, this isjustwhat I need right now!

"Lower the sack!" the guards ordered, and the cloaked pony complied.

Insert "Ferry Dust Up" from the SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING soundtrack

"Get down on your knees!" the guard ordered.

"Yeaaaaaaaaahhh," the cloaked pony drew out, in a heavily sarcastic tone. "That is obviouslynot happening, so-"


Whoosh!


He took out his small tube and several darts, and shot them one-by-one in rapid succession into the necks of a few guards.

"Get him!" One of the guards screamed before the rest of the guards, who weren't incapacitated, charged towards the cloaked pony.

Time to go into Plan B!

He picked up the burlap sack in his mouth once more, stowing the tube and darts for later, and charged as well.

Using all the strength he had, the cloaked pony used the sack like a wrecking ball, knocking away a few guards that dared to get close.

After getting tired of that, the cloaked pony made a leap towards the wall. Using his back left hoof, he propelled himself off the wall into some more guards, delivering swift punches to the head using nothing but his hooves while simultaneously swinging the sack around to cause more damage.

Who would've thought that working out so much would actually come in handy one day?

After incapacitating one guard in particular, he took his spear into his hooves and used that to incapacitate a few more guards, even gravelly injuring some from behind, in front, and to the side while using it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he found another guard charging at him from behind. Thusly, the cloaked pony gave him a good buck to the face, sending him flying into some more guards.

After doing that, and swinging the burlap sack around again, which knocked down a few more guards for the count, the cloaked pony raced towards the wall again, jumped, banked off it and landed on the heads and/or backs of a few more guards, knocking them to the ground.

However, just as he landed, a guard body slammed into the cloaked pony, which led him to slam against a wall quite hard, but he still managed to shake it off quickly as he swung the sack around once again, and again, to take out some more guards.

Does anypony not know the meaning of 'leave me alone', or what?

Once the sack made another full swing, he jumped up as high as he could and banked off the wall with his back right hoof, and held out his front right one so that he could deliver another hard punch on another guard.

Then, he snatched up his spear and used it to incapacitate some more guards, stabbing it into openings in their armor. He hated having to injure some of them, but he had a plan to accomplish and to him, that meant to do whatever it took to see it through.

One guard actually managed to pull off the hood of his cloak, revealing the stallion's green fur and black mane, but this did nothing to deter him, and so, the cloaked pony quickly punished him for this transgression by hitting him upside the head with his hoof.

The fight had already progressed down several yards of hallway, and because it was so many,Beck saw the balcony he entered through out of the corner of his eye.

Now, things are starting to turn my way again!

Once he made it there, he placed the burlap sack down, and a guard yelled, "He's put the sack down! Get the Princesses!"

Several guards immediately charged, but the cloaked pony, with hood down, quickly responded by using his handy tube and darts that were on stand-by.

Once again using the wall as banking, the cloaked pony plowed into some more guards, and he was either punching them in the face with his hooves, or smashing two guards into each other through various means, whether it be bucking or with his hooves.

He noticed a guard or two got passed him to go for the sack, so he quickly turned and fired a dart into their flank, incapacitating them, while simultaneously bucking two guards in the face.

After a few more minutes of fighting like this, there were only a few guards left. One of which had actually managed to get passed the cloaked pony, eliciting him to turn, fill his tube with a dart, and shoot it.

Of course, it hit its mark on the guard's flank and he promptly fell with the other nine guards that had managed to get by him over the course of the fight.

Never caring about the pile of knocked out bodies, the cloaked pony once again grabbed a discarded spear and swung it upside a guard's head, sending him onto one of his fallen brethren.

Right then, I'd better get - aw, damn it!

He had reached for his darts to make sure that the guards would stay down… only to find none, which meant that he had used up all the darts he brought with him.

"Well, this is definitelynothow I wanted this day to turn out," he rasped.

He finally had a chance to look over himself, amd noticed that he had a few tears in his cloak that gave way to some lacerations in his midsection.

He knew he had a splitting headache, probably from a few headshots some guards managed to get in, and more than a few bruises. He also inspected his legs to find them littered in lacerations as well, and…

'Was that a dislocation?' he thought to himself, as he tried to move normally.

"Holy mother of… yep, definitely a dislocation," the cloaked pony said, returning his hood over his face, sheltering it from the world. He'd have to inspect his face when he returned to his lair, no doubt it was probably messed up as well.

He limped his way toward the burlap sack, untouched since he put it down. Taking the sack's opening in his mouth, he tied a rope around the opening of the sack and attached it to the grappling rope.

Once he retrieved his own support from the torch he placed it on earlier, and made sure he positioned the sack where his hooves were beneath it, he pressed a button that caused the spindle of rope at the top of the cliff to rotate, bringing the cloaked pony, and the unconscious princesses, up the cliff.

"Alright, your majesties, let's blow this popsicle stand," the cloaked pony said as he began the ascent.






A few hours later


Once he made it back the lair, the ponies and one draconequs he'd already captured looked at him, eyes widening at his condition.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," Rainbow taunted.

"I'd very much appreciate it if you'd shut it, Pinky," growled the cloaked pony "I had a rough night, and I need to patch myself up."

Before Rainbow could respond to that, Pinkie Pie said, "Hey, that isn't right…I'mPinkie!"

"Weknowthat, darling," replied Rarity, letting out a sigh. "It's because that he changed her from blue to-"

"In the meantime," interrupted the cloaked pony. "Say hello to your new roommates."

Eyes widened and muzzles fell open as the eleven prisoners saw none other than Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, respectively, being put in separate cages… not to mention the fact that it looked like the two royals had several bruises.

'Hmmmmm, guess I was swinging harder than I thought,' the cloaked pony thought to himself, upon seeing the princesses' wounds.

The currently awake prisoners looked at the cloaked pony, with all of them astounded, yet frightened.

He had pony-napped two princesses, and took on the royal guard alone, and won.

"What can I say? The guards certainly tried their best," the cloaked pony commented, chuckling. He began limping away so that he could patch himself up, maybe even relocate that dislocation he felt back at the castle.

"Who…. are you?" Rainbow asked, voice wavering.

The cloaked pony stopped, and without looking back, he said, "Somepony that lost everything… and I'm going to make sure that the same happens to Twilight Sparkle."

Before the young pegasus could respond to him, a frowning Applejack exclaimed, "Wait an apple-picking minute! Just what in the day do you got against Twilight and the rest of us?"

Why does that sound familiar to me?wondered the cloaked pony, but then, Pinkie gave another unexpected response before he could give his.

"Heeeeeyyyy… you aren't that Rowan pony who turned us into statues, are you?"

"Huh?" said Moondancer, not knowing what she was talking about.

Pinkie let out a chuckle, and she replied, "Well, it all started on a trip to the Crystal Empire, and we were talking to Starlight about how she liked Sunburst-"

"Oh, great…" muttered Twilight's pupil, as the pink earth pony continued her story.


An hour later


"... and before I talk to Casey more, we were visited by a gold earth pony who wore a cloa-ohhhh,are you Stardust?"

The cloaked pony looked at Pinkie, and he said, "First of all, mynameisBeck, notRowanor...andsecond,yousawmy face already. Now, do Ilooklike a monster pony, or someone that has a name of what a filly would recieve from her father?"

"Um, who is Stardust?" asked Moondancer.

Pinkie giggled, and she replied, "He's basically what Casey is here, but sort of, though, since Casey isn't actually a human being from another planet.

"Anyway, yeah, he shows up in the library, holding a turtledove necklace that…"


Two hours later


"... so, as it turned out, Omega wasactuallyCasey, which is why he tried to-"


Whoosh!


A few seconds later, Pinkie was fast asleep, and Beck muttered, "I should have done that four hours ago."





"What is it with these two?"

The elderly man, who watched over every single universe that currently existed, was not entirely pleased with what he saw was going on in Casey's world.

In regards to Stardust's world, Kronos was just glad that the gold pony wasn't getting himself into any serious trouble… well, for now, anyway.

"He'd better not make me regret giving him a second chance… otherwise, I will be forced to-"

"Hey! Old timer!"

Kronos turned around, looking at a group of ponies that were all locked up inside of a cage.

"How [BEEP]-in long do you plan on keeping us in here?"

With a smirk, the elderly gentleman replied, "As long as I like, Rainbow Crash… this way, you and everypony else will no longer cause any problems."

The evil version of Rainbow Dash let out a growl of frustration, and cried, "Just wait until Star gets his hooves on you, old man!"

"I highly doubt that will be happening anytime soon," said Kronos, in a calm and relaxed tone. "Besides, if he somehow does escape his imprisonment, then he'll end upjustlike him."

He used his staff to point at a small canteen-like object that was also encased in a block of ice, and Anti-Pinkie asked, "Is somepony in that thing?"

"That's formeto worry about," said Kronos, who had nothing else to say after that, and he continued with observing what was going on in Casey's world.

Hmmmm…veryinteresting,thought the evil counterpart of Twilight, who preferred to be called Midnight, and a small smile appeared on her face.





The full moon was already high up in the sky by the time that Twilight, Spike, and Shining entered her castle after finishing their train ride to Ponyville from Canterlot.

"Spike, I need you to write a letter from me to Princess Celestia, explaining everything that's been happening, as soon as possible."

After the little dragon gave her a quick nod, Twilight turned her attention over to Shining Armor.

"You sure that Cadence won't mind you staying here for the night? I'd hate to make her feel worried or anything."

Shining chuckled at the young alicorn's concern, and he shook his head. "It'll be fine, Twilight, don't worry… also, how's Casey been doing? I haven't seen him since we showed the finished statues to you and the others."

Before Twilight could respond, there was a muffled"boom"sound that came from upstairs, and the next thing they knew, a familar voice cried out, "I'm okay!"

Letting out a sigh, a smiling Twilight said, "He's doing just fine."

A few moments later, a worn-out and somewhat dirty Casey appeared at the top of the staircase, and after noticing the two of them, he gave a small wave. "Hey, Twilight… hey, Shining Armor! Haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah, I was actually telling her the same thing about you," replied a confused Shining. "Uh… any reason why you look so-"

"Oops, sorry," said Casey, remembering why he'd been holding onto a small white towel, and he began wiping the soil off his face. "I've spent almost the whole day trying to fix the Crystal Mirror machine, but nothing seems to be working."

While Shining nodded his understanding, Twilight let out a sigh, and said, "Casey, I know you miss being with him, but what's going on right now is a little more important."

Noticing the worried looks on their faces, Casey started to feel concerned, and he asked, "What is it?"






A few minutes later


"... so, as of this moment, one of these three ponies have captured Rainbow Dash, Moondancer, Lyra, Minuette, Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, Rarity, and even our parents."

After Twilight finished her explanation via bulletin board, Casey looked at the three pictures that had the word "suspect" written in red ink, and said, "Well, although this is really impressive… um, I don't get why you have Stardust listed as a suspect."

"He wears a cloak, right?" reminded Twilight, and that caused Casey to start laughing.

"Yeah, but I don't think he would do something likethat… I mean, especially since he has versions of them in his own world, so it doesn't make sense that-"

"Well, for now, he's guilty until proven innocent," said Twilight, while Casey rolled his eyes. "In the meantime, let's keep trying to repair the machine. Were you able to use it once, at least?"

Casey nodded his head, and while following her to the library, he replied, "Yup… and I really hope that Fluttershyneverdecides to own a shed one day."

Or whatever the heck that world's version of her was about to use on me.





The next morning, while preparing all of his darts for the task that was ahead, Beck spent a few moments trying to ignore the pain in various areas of his body.

"One thing I'll admit right now," muttered the green Earth pony, taking a quick glance at the two royal sisters that were locked up in their own individual cage. "Your guards are very well trained."

Luna simply gave him a smirk in response while Celestia asked, "Who else do you plan on bringing here?"

"What, is the answer not obvious, your Highness?" replied Beck, giving his childhood crush a sly grin. "It's as clear ascrystal, after all…"

It took a moment for all of his prisoners to realize what he was talking about, and Rarity was the one who spoke the answer.

"Princess Cadence?"

The cloaked pony let out a chuckle, and said, "Looks like somepony's paying attention after all."

However, his smile went away after Rainbow Dash's response reminded him of the bruises that he currently had.

"And how do you expect to do that? With the sisters here, Cadance must have amped up her security ten-fold. You may have beaten up the guards from Canterlot, but there is no way you'll beat the ones in the Crystal Empire."

"Oh, I don't think so,Pinky Dash," replied Beck, who was now ready to leave. "I don't expect them to make thingstooeasy for me… I doenjoya challenge, after all…"

He paused to reveal an object that brought a look of fear and concern on his prisoners' faces.

"And I've always been fond of starting things off with abang…hahahahaha!"





Everypony inside of Twilight's castle were all currently asleep, and inside their own bedroom, but all of that was disrupted by a sound that no one wanted to be awoken by.

"Whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo!"

You cannot be [BEEP]-in serious,thought Casey, who was now walking towards the front doors after being unable to go back to sleep, and after he opened it-

"Whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo- oh,sorry, sir," said Ride Along, the officer pony from Canterlot, and Casey gave him a slight nod. "Is Princess Twilight here?"

"Present," replied a yawning Twilight, now standing beside Casey while Spike and Shining were coming down the stairs. "How can I help you, Officer Ride Along?"

The law enforcer let out a sigh, and he said, "It's not easy for me to say this to you, but… the'cloaked pony'who captured Rarity… and, at this point, probably everypony else we talked about… was successful in capturing both Princess Luna and Princess Celestia."

"What?!"yelled the three ponies and young dragon.

Before Ride Along could say more, Applebloom appeared from out of nowhere, and cried,"Twilight! Twilight! Some cloaked pony took my big sister away!"

"What?!"said everypony else, except for Applejack's little sister.

Then, a look of realization appeared on Casey's face, and he exclaimed, "Twilight… where's Starlight at?"





Everything seemed to be going as normal for the residents of the Crystal Empire. Despite the departure of their Prince, Shining Armor, for what was reported to be a personal reason, all was calm and orderly.

'Guess I'll just have to shake things up a little,'Beck thought to himself as he walked along the the Empire's streets, uncloaked.

He was carrying five saddle bags, two of which contained his trusty tube, KOncoction darts, burlap sack, grappling gear, a megaphone, and a remote-like device, two others contained his little "surprise."

As for the last one? Well,thatwas definitely a surprise…

"Who's bright idea was it to build this castle with 3 legs as a foundation with an open bottom portion? Not exactly very smart, is it?" Beck mused as he approached one of said three legs.

Without missing a step, discarded two of his saddle bags, making sure they were at least out of the way.

Then, the green furred stallion made his way too an alleyway between two buildings close to the castle. Once there, he removed the remote-like device from one of his two remaining saddle bags.

"In 3… 2… 1… and…"


BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


A few seconds latee, screams of terror (and even a couple in pain) began just as the explosives went off.

"Sorry 'bout that," Beck mentally apologized to the ones screaming in terror as he quickly pulled out his grappling gun.

Running from the alleyway, luckily going unnoticed, due to the chaos, he fired the gun, managing to hook it on one of the castle's upper balconies.

Once he pulled on it for stability, Beck pressed the button on the device, which pulled him, and his precious cargo, up into the air.






Moments Earlier


The last few days, contrary to the common ponies of the Empire, had actually been quite tense for one Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.

Why is all of this happening?

With her husband's departure to Canterlot due to the disappearance of his parents to the news of the pony-napping of her Aunts Celestia and Luna, the Crystal Guard, temporarily led by Flash Sentry, had amped up security within the castle's walls.

Cadance was currently seated in her throne, about to take some disputes between some the Crystal Ponies, when, without warning, a loud explosion was heard and tremors began to be felt.

"Oh, my Celestia…" gasped the pink alicorn, now feeling shocked and a little afraid.

"I believe that we now may be under attack, your Highness," pointed out a Crystal Guard.

A slight frown of annoyance appeared on Cadence's face as she said, "Yes, I can see that."

"Come on, we need to get you to a safe location," another guard said as Cadence descended from her throne, and quickly following the Guards.

"But wait a moment… what about Flurry Heart?"

"Not to worry, Princess," The first guard consoled. "Your daughter will be escorted by Sunburst and their detail to the rendezvous."

Cadence nodded her head, and said, "Alright, then… let us continue onward."






In another part of the castle


"Come with us, Sunburst," Flash Sentry, said to the orange unicorn who was currently holding a crying young Princess Flurry Heart.

"Got it," Sunburst said and took off following Flash and three other guards who were to lead them away from danger, as well as trying his best to console the baby alicorn. "It's okay, don't be afraid…shhhhhhh, everything's going to be fine, just close your-"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," a voice said, before five darts were heard being shot out.


WHOOSH!


The next thing Sunburst, Flash, and the other three guards of their detail felt was pricks to the flank, and once that happened, a cloaked figure rounded into the hallway, making his way with purpose towards the already weakening Sunburst.

"Freeze! Hold it… r-right…" Flash Sentry slurred, trying to ready his spear. All he got in return was a hoof slap to the face before he succumbed to the darkness.

[AN: That was for you. You know who you are.]

'Pathetic,' Beck noted as he passed by Sentry, and continued moving towards Sunburst. "I'll be taking her off of your hooves, thank you."

"Nnnnnoooooo," Sunburst said, turning around and kneeling to protect the infant alicorn. "You... won't... get her."

Beck chuckled, and he replied, "Oh, you must be mistaken. I have no intention on harming the little cutie pie."

Then, he shoved the knocked-out-cold babysitter over to find the little alicorn, who was sniffling due to the distressing atmosphere.

Luckily, the tremors the explosion created were all but subsiding, so the halls of the castle were once more graced with a regal silence.

"Hi, little one," Beck cooed, pulling down his cloak to reveal his face to Flurry as well as kneeling down to the little one's level.

"Mama…" whined a teary-eyed Flurry, who was still sniffling.

"Don't worry, I'll help you find your mama," Beck said, wrapping his front hooves around the infant with tenderness.

Then, Flurry's face instantly brightened as if to say, "You will?"

"Uh-huh… come on," Beck said as he left the unconscious bodies of Sunburst, Flash, and the other three guards behind, while carrying the baby alicorn in a way that was similar to how he'd carry his son.





Cadance, having already evacuated the castle, was now anxiously waiting for the arrival of her daughter.

As it turned out, one of the castle's three legs was partially damaged as a result of the blast...enough to cause some slight instability, but not so that it would topple the structure.

"Where are they?" Cadance said, beginning to go into a slight panic.

"Not to worry, Princess, they should be exiting any second now," one guard said in an attempt to console her. "It is highly unlikely for-"

"Attention, Crystal Idiots!" yelled out an unfamiliar voice, and all of the Crystal ponies that had crowded near the castle all looked up to the balcony from Flurry Hearts room, where a figure holding a megaphone.

"Would anypony... like to tell me... why a castle that's supposed to both house and protect royalty... is built on three legs?" The figure, Beck, asked, confusing his audience below. "Cause it was pretty darn easy to blow some of it up and nearly topple the thing!

After seeing that everypony was now looking up at him, Beck added, "So… now that you're all paying attention… Princess Cadance, I believe I have something of yours!"

'Please don't be what I think it is,' one of Cadance's guards thought, as well as the princess herself.

"Your hash browns," Beck said, holding one up, and leaning on the railing for support so he can hold two things at once.

The aforementioned guard sighed in relief, while Cadence became a little confused.

"They are heavenly. Is there a recipe somewhere?"

Before anypony could give him an answer, Beck added, "Oh! And there's something else... come on out, sweetie,"

After seeing him put down the delicious food, many experienced a sharp intake of breath when Flurry Heart suddenly bounded onto the balcony, with her giggles conveying a message like, "Look at me!"

As for Cadance, she was bordering on hysterics. "My baby!"

"Geez, Princess,get a grip," Beck said through the megaphone. "So... here's what's going to happen.

"Unless this child's mother comes in through the castle to retrieve her ALONE..." Beck emphasized. "Everything will be a-ok. Failure to comply will result in... well, I can't say that now, a child is present."

After taking a moment for it to sink in, Beck looked at Flurry, and asked, "You want to use the megaphone, sweetie?"

Flurry nodded, and once it was in her hooves, she let out a cry that traveled throughout the kingdom, amplifying the fear of everyone who heard it.

I'm going in," Cadance said, determined, but then, she found herself being stopped by a castle guard.

"Your Highness, I fear that-"

"That is mydaughter, soldier," she said sternly. "As your ruler, I order you to stand down... Be prepared for when he'll eventually have to leave."






A few minutes later


"Why did Shining have to be in Canterlot?" Candance said to herself as she approached Flurry's room, with the door already open, and expecting to see…

"Who's the cutest baby in the world? You are," Beck cooed as he played with the little alicorn.

… something that she figured would be worse.

"Ahhhh, Princess Cadance... A pleasure to meet such a beautiful alicorn, as yourself."

A frustrated Cadance growled, "Save it… give me back my daughternow."

"No problem," replied Beck, speaking in a casual tone. "You just have to do one more thing."

"And what would that be exactly?" asked Cadence, who couldn't help but again feel a little surprised since this was not she had expected at all to come from him.

"That dart you see to your right..."

Cadance looked to her right to find a dart resting on the table.

"...just ram that baby into your flank and we're good."

A frown appeared on the princess' face after hearing those words, and said, "Now, hold on-"

"Ah-ah-ah,"interrupted Beck, speaking in a disapproving tone. "Remember what I said earlier, princess?"

Cadance remembered… failure to comply resulted in Flurry being harmed.

"Well, you know the deal," said Beck. "Neither of us are gettin' any younger, my dear."

"Fine," she said, levitating the dart with her magic, and sticking it into her flank. "Now-"

However, Beck shook his head, and replied, "Allthe way, now, princess."

Cadence just gave him a look, and then, she asked, "Does seeing me perform this act make you feel…"

"If you're about to say what I think you're going to say, then the answer is no," answered Beck, giving her a smirk. "I am notthatkind of pony… now, um, I do recall saying earlier if you did not follow through with- ah,therewe go, princess, easy as pie!"

Insert "Vulture Clash"fromSpider-Man: Homecoming

Taking a moment to rub the side of her flank, Cadence glared at Beck, and exclaimed, "There, and now, for the last time, giveherback!"

However, she was once again surprised after Beck suddenly began laughing.

"Wow… I see why you have your name, princess, but I can't believe you're actually that gullible...

"I mean, did youreallythink I'd harm a little foal like Flurry Heart?"

After hearing what he had said to her, Cadance's eyes widened in realization.

Beck didn't come to the Crystal Empire for Flurry… he came forher.

"You… w-will not… I…"

She had no time to react on this impulse however, as the darkness began to enter her vision, and slur her speech.

As he looked down at her, Beck sighed, and he said, "You know, it's comforting to know I'm not the only one who'll do anything for family."

Cadence had no chance to reply, for she was already unconscious on the ground.

"Mama?" Flurry asked, seeing her motherasleepon the floor.

"Sorry about this, sweetie," Beck said as he softly pricked a dart into the filly's flank, eliciting a cry. "Shhhhhh…"

The baby alicorn's eyes began to close, and her wings were tucked in as she began to yawn.

"Good night, little one," Beck whispered as he gently placed a now-sleeping Flurry in her crib, and giving her a loving kiss in the forehead before tucking her in.

Once he did that, he turned his attention towards the unconscious Cadence, taking out his burlap sack as he said, "And as foryou, princess…"





The crowd around the castle was already beginning to grow restless the longer the Princess was out of their vision. It got so rowdy that some of the Guard needed to convert their efforts to crowd control.

It was organized chaos for several minutes, at least until they heard a parting message from the villain that dared to attack their home.

"So long, suckers!" Beck yelled into his megaphone before discarding it over the highest balcony in the castle, and it ended up landing harmlessly due to the crowd making room for the projectile.

Back on the highest castle balcony, burlap sack in mouth, and his third saddle bag ready on his back ready to deploy, Beck ran out into the balcony and jumped, much to the shock of the Crystal ponies.

However, he wasn't airborne for too long before he pulled the string he had attached to his hoof and out came a wing-like mechanism.

Just as it was designed to do, it caught the wind and carried Beck out into the distance.

The Crystal Guard was unable to follow, seeing as how the crowd had gotten so thick that getting through them would take too long.

Plus, they couldn't have guessed what was inside the sack… but what theydidknow is that Prince Shining Armor needed to be alerted about this immediately.






Several miles away


"Coming in for a landing," Beck said to himself, getting his hooves ready.

[Music mentioned earlier is abruptly cut off, around 2 minute mark.]

However, like all first-time flyers, Beck ended up crashing down to the ground, rolling repeatedly until he came to rest flat on his back, with the burlap sack having been discarded from his mouth due to the fall.

Luckily, the fall had happened in a grassy meadow, otherwise Beck would have had another set of injuries to deal with.

The green-fur-colored pony got up, made sure his saddle bags were in order, which included the packaging of his glider, and check up on the unconscious Cadance.

'Whew, she's alright. Better to have a live Princess rather than a dead or gravely injured one,' Beck thought to himself before taking the sack into his mouth once more as he galloped back to the lab once more.





"I can't believe it… this is impossible…"

As he began putting the Princess of Love into her own cage, Beck let out a small chuckle, and said, "I told you all, did I not?"

"You are a horrible pony," said a frowning Luna. "How many more must you capture until your satisfactions are fulfilled?"

After doing one last check on Cadence, Beck began to re-treat some of his bruises from last night, and with a smile, he said, "Oh, there's only a few more left that will be joining us… but I have somethingveryspecial in mind for the pony that I plan on capturinglast…heh-heh-heh… ha-ha-ha-ha… ha-ha- aaaagh, damn it!"
> A Crystal Break-In
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After adding the rest of her friends to her bulletin board, along with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, Twilight took a few steps back while shaking her head in confusion.

"I just don't understand why this unknown pony is capturing almost everypony that I - Casey, for the last time, leave that picture alone!"

Her special somepony had been trying several times to remove Stardust from the"suspect"portion after hearing Ride Along's crime report.

"Youknowalready that the pony behind this is alight-greenEarth Pony, Twilight…Stardustis agoldEarth Pony, so he isn't really a suspect anymore."

"Well, until we've saved everypony that he's captured, Stardust is stayingright there," said Twilight, in a serious tone.

Knowing that he wouldn't win this one, Casey walked away from the board, and replied, "Alright, Twilight, I'm leaving him there… you think Shining Armor made it back to the Crystal Empire yet?"

An hour after Ride Along and Applebloom had left the castle, a carriage being pulled by four Crystal Pegasi had arrived at the outdoor steps, with one of them describing what had happened to his and Cadence's castle, as well as the Princess of Love herself.

"Don't worry, Twily, I'm putting an end to this once and for all,"Shining had said to the young alicorn. "You keep on figuring out why this is happening."

Then, after making sure that Twilight was okay, Shining entered the carriage, and the quintet had immediately began their ascent.

"I really hope so," replied the Princess of Friendship, after sighing in sadness, and she continued on with her work.

As for Casey, he took another look at his friend's picture, and hoped that nothing wrong was happening to Stardust or anypony else in the former human being's world.





This is complete and total bull-[BEEP]!

I should not be in this wretched, horrible place… gah, if it wasn't for my infuriating other self and his meddling friend, I would have been ruler of both Anti-Equestriaandthe one that my counterpart lives in.

Instead, I've been subjected to having the same [BEEP] tea party every damn day of-


WHOOSH!


Pausing his inner monologue, Evil Stardust turned around to see that his newest "companion" had finally fixed the previously-damaged wristwatch that had belonged to Casey, and a smile appeared on his face when he also saw that a time portal had been created.

"Good thing that Kronos sent you here… otherwise, I don't think I ever would have gotten to repairing that damn thing."

"Yes, well, don't thank me yet," replied Elixir Nova, another sinister pony who had his own issues with Stardust and Casey, and he handed the watch back over to the dark-gold pony. "Save it until after we've taken control of Equestria."

Evil Stardust let out a chuckle, and began shaking his head.

"Oh, I have no intention of ruling Equestria anymore, Alexa… and I don't intend on having you accompany me on myrevengejourney."

Before Elixir could respond to that, the young pony delivered a swift kick to the scientist's head, and watched as he collapsed to the ground.

"But… we made a… deal…"

"Well, obviously, you made it with the wrong type of person," replied Evil Stardust, flashing him with a sinister grin. "Now, then, if you'll excuse me, Alexa, there are several ponies… and a dragon… that I need to take care of."

As the groggy Elixir tried to stand up, Evil Stardust walked over to the portal, which transported him to a realm that he'd wanted to travel to for avery longtime.

"Honeeeeyyyy… I'm hoooo - what the... ?"

The evil version of Stardust was surprised to see his closest friends, as well as his girlfriend, locked up inside of a cage.

"Hey, free usafteryou've beat the livin'[BEEP]outtahim," exclaimed Anti-Rainbow, referring to the elderly gentleman that was standing beside Evil Stardust.

"You're not going to succeed in your plan, Jack… they will stop you."

Evil Stardust rolled his eyes, and replied, "First of all, there's not one damn single piece of that [BEEP] inside of me… I'mall evil, old timer, and right now, you're about to go into retirement!"


WHOOSH!


Courtesy of Casey's wristwatch (which had also been upgraded by Elixir), the dark gold pony created a portal that led to the unescapable world known as dimensional limbo, and before knocking Kronos inside of it, Evil Stardust said, "Oh, and don't worry, old timer, I'll takeverygood care of your special time staff."

Then, he fired an energy blast at him, and once Kronos was gone, he closed up the portal.

"You're welcome, Alexa… now, then…"

Rainbow's evil self rolled her eyes, and muttered, "Great, he's talkin' to himself again."

Ignoring her comments for the time being, Evil Stardust turned his attention over to the various portals that had to do with talking ponies, and he said, "Normally, I would have just gone back in time to kill my other self, but Rowan already tried that… I would need a world that…oh!"

An idea popped inside his mind, and the sinister pony's smile grew a little wider.

"I knowjusthow to take care of you, my worthless counterpart… and as for hisfriend…"

Evil Stardust turned to look at another "pony portal" that Kronos had been observing, and after seeing what was inside that particular world, he added, "You're going to regret not allowing me to finish you off inside the castle when I had the chance…but… before I do anything else…"

Holding the staff that belonged to Kronos, Evil Stardust walked over to the cage that contained his friends, and used its energy to make the lock quickly melt away, which eventually caused the cage to open. "Wow, this staff does everything!"

"Well, we could've told youthat,genius," replied Anti-Rainbow, walking over to her friend. "Now, if you're done talking to yourself, I say we use that thing to take care of Stardust and Ca-"

"Just cool it for a sec, Crash," exclaimed Midnight, who was glaring at her boyfriend. "I should really lay a number on you after that stuff you pulled with Sunset."

Evil Stardust let out a sheepish chuckle, and said, "I'm sorry, love, but I was just doing whatever it took to turn Stardust's friends against him… besides, you know my heart belongs to you."

"Oh, for eff's sake, not this stuff again," growled Anti-Rainbow. "Need I remind you, Star, about two certainponiesthat we have to take care of? We don't have time for you two to start makin' out and whatnot!"

Evil Stardust gave a small shrug, and he smiled at Midnight, saying, "Well, with Kronos out of the way, Crash, I gotallthe time in the… hey, what's this thing?"

He walked over to the frozen canteen that was placed on a nearby table, and Midnight was the one who gave him an answer.

"Actually, sweetheart… I have abetteridea… one that will, as they say, kill two ponies with one stone... but you'll have to melt that ice away first."





Damn, IknewI shouldn't have left without making sure I had every single part for my flying mechanism… oh, well, it's not like-

Panting as he ran, Beck looked up to see the Crystal Pony Carriage a few feet away, and he realized that they must have gotten a trail on him somehow.

"[BEEP] my life," he muttered. "Well, guess it's time to improvise."

Then, after pulling an about face, Beck quickly started to chase after the carriage.Good thing I brought a little extra more darts with me!

The cloaked pony then pulled out his grappling gun once more via his mouth, and took a shot, aiming for the carriage's rear.

To his pleasure, the hook managed to hook itself into one of the carriages axles.

'Bingo,'Beck thought, beginning to pull himself up.

However, as soon as he reached the top, and grasped the carriage, the extra weight was felt by all five of the other ponies.

"What the...?" Shining said at the sudden weight change. The Crystal Prince took a gaze behind the carriage, only to find nothing.

"Surprise," he heard a menacing voice say.

However, before he could implant the dart into Shining Armor's flank, said pony managed to deflect the dart from his hand, sending it plummeting to the ground.





Angel Bunny was looking feverishly for food.

Ever since that cloaked pony kicked him out of his owner's cottage, he had been starving.

Finally, Angel managed to find what looked to be a grape on the ground, so he happily approached the berry only to suddenly feel pain in his rear.

The bunny screeched in pain, before immediately falling unconscious, only inches from the food he so desired. As if fate was playing a trick on Angel, another bunny took the grape not even a minute later.





"Well, that's just unfortunate," Beck remarked before pulling out another dart.

The comment was met with a solid left hook to his face, sending Beck crashing against the carriage's back.

Luckily for him, he still maintained grip on the dart.

"Alright," Beck said. "If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get."

"What's going on up there, Your Highness," one of the Crystal Pegai inquired, slightly concerned.

"I've got it," he responded. "Just land this carriageright now."

"Yes sir." Then, a few seconds later, they began to make the descent down to the ground.

Meanwhile, behind them,Beck's attempts to dart the Crystal Prince had been in vein as Shining continued to deflect it, so he decided to discard the dart, which ended up in between the carriage cushion and the back, and he elected to go for a full-on brawl with the Prince of the Crystal Empire.

"Come on,Crystal Prince,is this the best you-"


WHAM!


After recieving a good punch to the face, Beck shook his head a few times, and said, "Alright… I'll give youthatone, Shining."

"Well, thanks, but there's plenty-"


WHAM!


Beck quickly delivered a swift kick to his ribcage area, and while Shining groaned in pain, the cloaked pony let out a laugh.

"Oh, I agree, Shining… this isfarfrom over!"






[Stardust's World]


After reading more of what her counterpart was telling her, Twilight let out a sigh, and began heading over to her special somepony's bedroom.


Knock-knock-knock!


"You can come in, love!"

After opening the bedroom door, a surprised Twilight asked, "How'd you know it… never mind… you done playing that game yet?"

Eyes glued to the t.v. screen, Stardust shook his head, and replied, "Not until I got all 7 of the Chaos Emeralds, love, and level-wise, I'm still on Metal… oh,[BEEP] you and your plasma balls, Eggman! Take some of this, then!"

"Jack, I think that Casey and-"

Stardust shook his head, and said, "I'm sure he's fine, love, I would tell if one of my closest friends was in da -haha,how does it feel bein'[BEEP]-ed up by the fastest thing aliveagain?"

"Um, is the gamereallythat impor-"

Twilight's special somepony nodded his head, but still not looking away from the t.v., and he said, "Yeah, itkind ofis, love…this is my freakin'childhoodright here! I mean, I haven't been this excited about a Sonic game since… well, okay,Generationswas pretty cool, but it was rather short, and they didn't even make Classic Sonic talk or whatever…"

Before Twilight asked what he was talking about, Stardust added, "Anyway, thisManiagame right here is…come on, Tails, you're better than that…I mean, Iamstill sour about the fact that they'll probably never make a season 3 of SatAM, but...yes, onto the next zone!"

The purple alicorn rolled her eyes, and said, "Jack, can youpleasecome down here to-"

"Oops! Sorry, love, it's already on the next level," exclaimed Stardust, and he continued playing the game, while Twilight was getting annoyed.

"Well,fine,then I'm going to just waitright hereuntil you beat this… game… and the second it's over, you are coming with me to-"

Stardust nodded his head, and said, "The library, yeah… sure thing, love, I promise -oh my god, that was freakin' awesome!"






Meanwhile


As she sat by one of the tables in Sugarcube Cafe, Sunset Shimmer hummed to herself while tapping her fingers on the table.

You'd think he would remember the time that we both set this lunch da-

"I'm here, don't worry, I'm here…phew!"

The pony-turned-human teenager looked at the person who was now sitting in front of her, and said, "You know, Jack, they have these things on our phones called areminder…"

"Hey, I swear, it wasn't my fault this time," replied the young man that also happened to be her boyfriend. "But I promise I'll make it up to you…right now,in fact!"

Before she could start giving him more of the"you were late"treatment, Sunset suddenly smelled somethingverydelicious, and the young teenager said, "Wow, I… I almost forgot you knew how to make these."

"Eh, more fun and easier than baking a cake," said Jack, giving his girlfriend a shrug, and opened up the napkin that he'd placed on the table to reveal several home-made brownies. "Ladies first…"

Always the gentleman,thought Sunset, giving him a smile as she began to eat one of the brownies.He must've figured he would be late if-

"Aw, isn't this sweet?"

Suddenly, the two of them turned around to see a dark-yellow teenager that looked a lot like EG Stardust, and he added, "Sunset Shimmer… and theboyfriend!"

"Look, Stardust, if this is some weird prank or something, then I suggest-"

Evil Stardust let out a laugh, and shook his head, saying, "I can assure you, Shimmer, that it isnot… in fact, there's a little more to it."


Whoosh!


With a sinister grin, the young pony fired an energy blast that came from his newly-obtained staff, which caused her to fly back towards the wall, crashing into a few unoccupied chairs.

However, before Evil Stardust could do anything worse, he felt a pair of hands roughly turn him around from the shoulders, and found himself looking at Sunset's boyfriend.

"What the [BEEP] is your problem?!"

An unimpressed Evil Stardust raised his eyebrow, and said, "Do I know you?"

Instead of allowing Jack to give him a response, the sinister pony-turned-human delivered a solid headbutt to his forehead, and a now-dazed Jack collapsed to the ground while Evil Stardust simply gave a small chuckle.

"You got guts, man, I'll give you that much… but, do yourself a favor, and stay down…"

He turned his attention over to the unconcious Sunset, and his smile began to widen up dangerously.

"It'spaybacktime, Shimmer… and I hope you-"

Suddenly, he stopped talking after hearing Jack begin to stand up, making Evil Stardust let out a groan before saying, "I told you to stay down."

"You aren't taking heranywhere," growled Jack, who was quickly becoming furious. "And if you do anything else to her-"

Evil Stardust laughed, and he replied, "You'll do what? Also, if you're trying to scare me, man, then it's not working one bit… so, like I said,stay down… or else I'll use this bad boy right here to rip the flesh off her bone."

Before Jack could give a response, Evil Stardust used his own energy blast to send him crashing through the kitchen doors nearby, and after that, he put the former unicorn in his arms, bridal style.

"You're gonna pay for doing this to my eye, Sunset… but before that, there's someone who is justdyingto meet you…hahahahahaha!"





Just as the carriage was approaching the ground, in the same field Beck landed in earlier in the day, Shining finally managed to get the upper hand.

"Not this time," said Twilight's brother, who was now holding Beck's head over the edge.

"So, I see you've connected me to the other disappearances," Beck observed. "Rather impressive, I will admit..."

"Where are the others?" Shining demanded. "Where did you take my wife?!"

"Like I'd tellyou!" Beck responded before using his back legs to do a backwards summersault/bucking motion that knocked both of them off the carriage into the ground below, which was about a good ten foot drop.

However, it didn't make the landing any more comfortable, so after the two ponies hit the ground, they both struggled to get up.

"Uhhhh..."Beck moaned as he pulled out another dart, seeing as how he'd already lost one (and another he'd left on the carriage), and managed to successfully impale it into Shining's flank, which caused him to let out a soft chuckle at his victory.

"Freeze!"He heard one of the Crystal Pegai said as they approached ready for a fight.

Beck responded by quickly pulling out four darts, and using his tube, propelled them into the necks of all four Crystal Pegasi, causing them to drop to the ground.

"Idiots," Beck remarked as he shoved the now unconscious Shining Armor into his burlap sack, and then, he found himself limping back to his lair, using his mouth to help with dragging the filled-up burlap sack.

Once he arrived, the other prisoners watched as Beck placed his newest capture in the same cage that the still-knocked out Cadence was in.

"I promise ya, you're not gonna like it when Twilight finds you," exclaimed Applejack. "She ain't gonna go easy on you, either!"

Pinkie nodded her head, in agreement, and replied, "Yeah,and I've seen how angry she can get… this one time, she literallyburstinto flames!"

As he started to heal up some of his bruises, Beck let out a quick laugh, and said, "Oh, I'm not too concerned about afieryprincess, Applejack… and speaking offire…"

He turned to look over at Rarity, with a smile on his face. "Care to take a gander at who's next on thecapturelist?"





After having spent enough hours working on her bulletin board, Twilight decided to look for some more information that would help her learn more about this mysterious Earth Pony.

So, now, she and Casey, along with Spike, were following Sweetie Belle as they made their way to Carousel Boutique, but were all unaware of the fact that somepony was keeping an eye of them through a pair of high-tech goggles.

'Heheheheheheh, your turn, Spikey-Wiley,' thought Beck, who was watching from afar, and a few minutes later, he was making his way into the boutique through Rarity's window once more.

While Sweetie Belle and Casey were searching the lower story, Twilight and Spike were looking upstairs.

"Sweetie Belle said that she saw the hooded pony standing over Rarity right here," Twilight explained, standing on the spot she was referring to. "So let's try to look in the hallway. He may have dropped something on the way out."

"Got it. I'll check in Rarity's room," Spike replied.

"Alright," Twilight said, giving the young dragon her approval. "Let me know if you find anything."

As Twilight turned to inspect the hall, Spike made his way into Rarity's room.

"Alright, if I were a clue, where would I be?" Spike asked himself.

Little did the little dragon know that he was being watched.

Insert "Seizing the Spirit of Adventure" from UP

'Jackpot,' Beck thought to himself from the safety of Rarity's shut closet, while slowly pulling out his tube and a dart.

"Hmmmmm… wonder why the window's open?" Spike wondered. "Maybe that's how he got in?"

"Very perceptive, Spike," answered Beck.

WHOOSH!

"What?" Spike asked, hearing a voice before he felt a prick on his rear. "Yeouch!"

The young dragon looked behind him to see the same kind of dart that Sweetie Belle had showed Twilight a few days ago.

"Oh no...TWILIGHT!He's here in… in the..." Spike managed to yell as his voice began slurring.

'Damn it,'Beck thought to himself as he emerged from the closet carrying his burlap sack.'I got to start labeling these damn things!'

"Spike, what's wrong?!" Twilight said, running toward Rarity's room.

However, what she found shook the young alicorn to her very core.It's him!

Well, if it isn't the beloved princess herself,thoughtBeck, as he and Twilight stared each other down.

One was standing in the doorway to Rarity's room, and the other was standing on her windowsill with a burlap sack in mouth.

Unfortunately, just as quickly as the stare down began, it ended with Beck hopping down from Rarity's window, and dashing through the streets of Ponyville.

"No! You're not gonna get Spike!" Twilight yelled as she gave chase.

'Thank Celestia he's so light,' Beck thought, finally relieved about the fact that he wouldn't have to worry about dealing with any new or old bruises. 'Pain aside, I gotta lose her somehow.'

Unfortunately, the cloaked pony already had a mile-wide advantage over her, and by the time that Twilight rounded the corner, he was nowhere in sight, leaving the alicorn almost heartbroken.

"No, no,nonononononono...NOOOO!" Twilight yelled.

"Twilight!" Sweetie Belle and Casey yelled, running toward their distraught friend/special somepony. "What happened?"

"He... he.. he got Spike," Twilight said, through some freshly made tears of guilt leaking from her eyes.

"Oh no," Sweetie Belle said, in concern and sadness.

As for Casey, he gritted his teeth together in frustration, and growled, "That's it… when I get my hooves on this pony is,he is gonna PAY!"






Anti-Equestria


After placing Sunset in her "new home",Evil Stardust walked into the throne room, where the Anti-Mane 6 (except for Midnight) were waiting, with the now un-frozen canteen placed on the middle of the table.

"So, are we gonna deliver some payback to those ponies, or what?" asked Anti-Rainbow, who was not as patient as the rest of her friends

"Not just yet, Crash," replied Stardust's counterpart. "Regarding what happened last time, I completely underestimated those two… and by now, my other self is probably smart and powerful enough to sense either of us approaching him or any of his friends."

While Anti-Rainbow rolled her eyes, Anti-Applejack asked, "So, what in the hay are we supposed to do until then?"

Taking a look at the time staff that was in his hooves, as well as the unfrozen canteen, Evil Stardust chuckled, and replied, "Until the time is right, my friends… let's have somefun."
> Learning the Truth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

While Casey and Twilight couldn't believe that they had been unsuccessful in rescuing Spike from the cloaked pony, Stardust was busy dealing with things that were preventing him from going to Casey's world, aside from his belief that everything there was fine.

"... for the last time, love, his actual name is Dr. Robotnik, but everyone just calls him Dr. Eggman now."

Twilight's eyes went back to her boyfriend's television screen, and she asked, "Well, why can't you just have Sonic try and talk things over with him?"

After passing by a checkpoint in the game, Stardust let out a chuckle, and replied, "This isn't that type of game, love… besides, if I just stood still, he'd attack me, thus depriving me of all the Power Rings that I collected, and if I got hit again, then it would-"


Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock!


Before either of them could think about who was at the castle doors, they got their answer a few seconds later.

"Twilight!"

A concerned expression appeared on Twilight's face, and she said, "Oh, no, that doesn't sound too good."

The young alicorn quickly hurried out of Stardust's room, but before he could resume playing the video game, she returned to stand in his doorway.

"Aren't you going to come so we can figure out what's wrong?"

Stardust gave a small shrug, and replied, "I'm sure it's not that hard for you and Spike-"

"Spike's not in here, remember?" reminded Twilight. "He's outside enjoying theAnnual Snack Cart Invasion…"

Ah, yes, all of those traveling food carts,thought the former human.Why does that sound familiar, though?

"... and Pinkie'sbothof our friends, Jack, so now that you have the hedgehog onpause mode,let's go down to see why Pinkie needs help."

Not wanting to cause an argument between them, Stardust began to walk out of his room, following his girlfriend downstairs, and he said, "This better be worth spending time away from my childhood."

Once they were at the doors, Pinkie Pie suddenly barged her way inside, front limbs flailing about helplessly before landing in front of Twilight. "Help me! The Phenomnomenoms are back!"

"Um… come again?" said Stardust, wondering what the pink pony was talking about.

After closing the doors behind her, an almost terrified Pinkie gave them a quick explaination.

"I've got to find a way to keep away from the food carts whilethey'rehere… you know, my food nemesis-"

"The, er,phenomnomenomsor whatever?" replied Stardust, and Pinkie quickly nodded, while signs of hunger appeared on her face.What kind of [BEEP] name is that for a type of sugary treat?

"Yup, those tasty, brain-spinning, nerve-blowing, happy-tummy morsels are theonetreat that my hypermetabolism cannot defeat!"

As Pinkie continued to explain more about thenom-nom'sStardust was wondering why this seemed so familiar to him.

I could've sworn that someone told me something about this somewhere on the Internet…






[Casey's World]


"So, we're all Twilight has now?" Scootaloo asked, making sure that she had heard Sweetie Belle correctly.

After the events that occured in her sister's boutique, Sweetie Belle immediately called a CMC meeting at their clubhouse.

"Yes, that is correct," confirmed the young unicorn, gesturing towards a scroll that contained crudely drawn depictions of the ones who were missing. "The Princesses, the rest of the Elements, her parents, her childhood friends, Spike… they've all been captured, and taken Celestia knows where. The only ponies she has now are Casey and her brother-"

"No, she has us too," Scootaloo declared. "If this pony managed to capture the other Princesses, Twilight's going to need all the help she can get. Plus, he's captured ponies close to US too. I think it's fair that we get to help."

"Then it's settled," Apple Bloom decided. "We're gonna help Twilight and Casey solve this here mystery."

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS DETECTIVES, YEAH!" the three fillies declared together before dashing out of their clubhouse to Ponyville castle.


##################



POOF! TSSSSSSSSS!


The Crystal Mirror crackled and popped as Casey continued to fiddle with its circuits.

"Come on,you damn thing… work!"growled a frustrated Casey, also regretting that he'd lost his special watch, and ended up hitting the side of the machine in frustration.

As the device settled back down, he let out a forlorn sigh.

I wonder what would Stardust do in this situation… probably first say something like [BEEP] or-

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a knock on the door.

"Casey, are ya here?" the voice of a filly asked from the doorway.






Stardust's World


"... so that's why I came here to ask for your help, Twilight, because you're theleasttreat-tempted pony here in Ponyville," finished Pinkie. "Oh, and the same goes for you, Stardust, even though you might have the same problem with that one soda you enjoy drinking."

Stardust rolled his eyes, and he replied, "Thank you, Pinkie, but I don't have aproblemwhen it comes to drinking a bottle ofCoca-Colaevery now and then-"

"What about that one time when you came back from Casey's world with a whole bunch of them?"

The gold pony shook his head, saying, "Those were a party gift from that world's version of you, Pinkie… now, if you'll excuse me, there's two more chaos emeralds that I-"


Poof!


Suddenly, Twilight stood in front of Stardust before he could reach the stairs, and said, "Jack, we arehelpingPinkie Pie… the blue hedgehog can wait."

Stardust turned back to look at Pinkie's pleading facial expression, and after letting out a sigh, he replied, "Alright, fine… so howexactlyare we going to help her?"

"That's a good question," wondered the young alicorn. "Maybe some form of aversion therapy?"


###############


A few minutes later, Pinkie - now wearing a wetsuit - was standing in a swimming pool that was filled up with ice-cold water, and she had one end of a rubber band in her muzzle while the other end was wrapped around her hoof.

"Well, this issomething," muttered Stardust. "How is this going to help her, love?"

Twilight, who was now wearing a white lab coat, replied, "In order to desensitize her to the phenom-"

"The treat with a ridiculously long name…"

"-nomenons, we are putting Pinkie through a series of excercises to make her feel so uncomfortable that she'll associate the target habit… in this case, eating phenom -you know what I mean…with discomfort or disgust."

Nodding his head, Stardust looked at Pinkie, and he said, "Alright, so… I guess… whenever you find yourself thinking about thespecial treat, let go of the rubber band so that the pain will bring you out of whatever trance you might be in."

"Exactly," replied Twilight, now smiling while using her magic to create images of the sugary treat, and placing them above her friend's head. "That sting and the cold are temporary sensations that will help you make a permanent change!"

Pinkie looked up at the images, and she quickly found herself drooling hungrily over them.

"Mmmmmm… phenom(snap) -ow!"

Then, after the young pony put the end of the rubber band back in her muzzle, she tried again…


Snap! Snap! Snap!


"Is it working?" wondered a hopeful Twilight.

Pinkie, whose eyes were like those of someone being hypnotized, found herself drooling over the thought of eating the special treat, and then, she cried, "Mmmmmmm…. I'm…hungry!"


WHOOSH!


As fast as a torpedo, the young pony flew straight out of the pool, and was out of the castle faster than Twilight could cry out, "Pinkie!"

"Yeah… I don't think that worked," said Stardust, who then started to follow after the Princess of Friendship as they both went after Pinkie.






[Casey's World]


"Thanks for coming, you three," Casey thanked as the quartet made their way through the castle's long and winding halls. "Twilight hasn't come out of that room since we got back from the boutique. She hasn't even letmein."

"Are you two fightin' or something?" asked Applebloom, and her fellow CMCs looked at her, with the little pony giving them all a sheepish expression. "Oh,right… sorry."

"Don't worry, Casey," Sweetie Belle said, after rolling her eyes at Applejack's sister. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders-"

"- are here to help," finished a wide-smiling Scootaloo.

Casey smiled at the fillies' passion, and he replied, "I'm sure she'll appreciate that very much."

Once they had reached the young alicorn's room, Casey's knock brought her attention away from the fact that she had been crying into her pillow.

"I told you to leave me alone!" she yelled.

"You have visitors," informed the light orange Earth Pony. "Three, in fact..."

"Well, tell them to go away," exclaimed an upset Twilight.

"Twilight, it's us. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo," the youngest of the Apple family said, and this managed to get Twilight to at least turn her attention towards her bedroom door, mentally sighing in exasperation.

She knew she couldn't turn them away, they were only fillies. "Alright, you can come in."

The door creaked open as the crusaders made their way in.

Just as Casey was about to enter himself, he heard a loud knock on the castle door.

"You three go on in. I need to take this," he excused himself as he went to see who it was.

"We just came to check up on ya, Twilight," Apple Bloom explained as the door shut, significantly darkening the room.

"Yeah, and to help you catch that no good pony that's been taking everyone -OW," Scootaloo exclaimed as Sweetie Belle hit her side with her hoof.

"What shemeans is,we just wanted to see how you were holding up and if there's anything we could do," Sweetie Belle explained, and Twilight began to feel slightly better at the display.

They all just wanted to help, just like…

Spike,thought the purple alicorn, who began to whimper once more.

"Now look what ya did," cried Apple Bloom, scolding Scootaloo.

"WhatIdid?" Scootaloo said, taken aback.

"Yeah, have you no tact?" Sweetie Belle said, taking the side of Apple Bloom.

"Girls, girls, please," Twilight whimpered again. "It's not your fault. I just miss…" The alicorn couldn't even say the dragon's name, she went back to crying into her pillow.

'Why couldn't I have been there?' She thought to herself.

The CMC immediately ceased their arguing and looked to the princess in concern, never had they seen anypony so upset before.

They knew what they needed to do.

Twilight's eyes widened as she felt three small weights on her back. She looked to find that the Crusaders had climbed onto her bed and laid themselves out on Twilight's back, all three rubbing it soothingly with one hoof.

"There, there,Twilight," Sweetie Belle said.

"I miss them too," Apple Bloom consoled.

"But we can't stay in here and mope," Scootaloo said, attempting to motivate her. "We have to find them... and I'm positive we will!"

'They're right,' Twilight thought. 'And… I still have Casey… so that means we can find them… together.'

The Princess of Friendship whimpered again, only this time, it was with tears of pride, and she managed to prop herself up so that the CMC could make their way back to the floor.

"Thank you, fillies," the purple alicorn thanked.

"It's the least we could do," Scootaloo replied, a bright smile appearing on her face.

Suddenly, a knock was heard from the door, and they heard Casey's voice cry out, "Mares, you need to see this!"


###############


'Oh, come on!'Sweetie Belle said mentally as one of the four crystal pegasuses that was transporting Shining Armor back to the Crystal Empire explained what had happened.

"All we found when we came too was this dart he must have lost in the scuffle," one of them said, presenting it to Casey while the CMC were ready to comfort Twilight who was dangerously close to losing it again.

"Thank you," Casey thanked as he inspected the dart, which Sweetie Belle recognized as the one she had given to Twilight. "We'll let you know what we find."

The crystal pegasuses nodded in acknowledgement and Casey turned to look at his special somepony.

"I'm sorry about… what's been happening, Twilight, but don't worry… because now that we havethis," said Casey as he gestured to the dart. "We'll find where Spike, Shining, and everyone else are, then we'll take that son of a[BEEP]out."

"Casey, language. There are fillies present," Twilight scolded, and also wishing that he'd never fused with Stardust. "But thank you."

"Alright, let's go solve us a mystery!" Scootaloo declared.






[Stardust's World]



"Yes!"


With the cart ofnom-nom'sin her sight, Pinkie had her muzzle open wide, but just as she was about to consume several of the tasty treats, the pink pony found herself caught in a safety harness.

"Huh, that's funny," said Pinkie. "I don't remember ordering this, but considering the eating I'm about to do, it might be a very good idea, so I… oh,hi, Stardust!"

The former human being gave her a small wave, and he looked over at Twilight, saying, "Let's take her back now, love."

"Go back?! No-no-no-no-no-no…"exclaimed Pinkie, who was being pulled towards them. "Nom noms! Must… eat… nom noms!"

Twilight shook her head, and replied, "No, Pinkie, we are going to help you no matter what… and you'll thank me for doing this later."


A few minutes later


"Thanks, Twilight!"cried Pinkie, now sitting in her Cutie-Mark throne, and she pointed up at the trio of words that were above them. "Hey, look at that… I am thanking you later, after all!"

While Stardust wondered what his friend was talking about, Twilight looked over her list of possible ideas to provide help for Pinkie.

"I think… we need a simpler, more straightforward approach."


Whoosh!


Using her magic, Twilight placed locks and chains all around the doors and windows, and she said, "We'll just keep you locked inside until the snack carts are gone! You can't overdo it on the phenomnomenons if you can't even get to them!"

Stardust was about to resume playing his video game, but his bedroom door was bolted shut, as well.

"Ugh,the things I do for my best friends…"

Don't you want to help Miss Pie with her dilemna?

Hearing the voice of his friend-and-mentor, Stardust replied, "Yes, but if she wants to stop eating thenom-noms, then all that Pinkie needs to do is-"


Thud! Wham! Thud! Wham!


"That would be her bouncing around the castle," muttered Stardust, who was now back to where he'd been earlier, and his eyes went a little wide at the sight of Twilight using her magic to engulf Pinkie's entire body, thus preventing her from escaping.

"Let me go, Twilight, please let me go!"exclaimed Pinkie. "I just want a little snack before dinner!"

"No!"cried Twilight, while Stardust continued to watch. "You asked for help, Pinkie, and by Celestia, you are getting what you asked for!"

"Then, why can't I taste any nom noms, huh?!"

Ignoring her, for the moment, Twilight began to pace back and forth. "What we have here is a dilemna…"

Told you.

Stardust just mumbled some words underneath his breath, and said, "Not to mention a significant amount of kinetic energy to contain."

"I'm so hungry!"whined Pinkie, whose mane and tail were now flat instead of its usualpuffystyle. "Stardust, you know how I feel, right? Help me out here!"

"Weare,Pinkie," replied Stardust, letting out a sigh. "Is that not why you came to us in the first place?"

Pinkie just closed her eyes, and cried,"I… want… noms!"

Before Stardust could say anything else, Twilight gave her an optomistic statement. "Yousaythat you want them, but in reality, you want to be free of their power over you! Right?"

"No… what I really,reallywant is a box of those special and delicious treats,"replied Pinkie, giving her a hopeful smile."So just let me go, please… haha… turns out I don't actually want to avoid them after all!"

Stardust shook his head, and said, "Pinkie, we weren't born yesterday-"

"Well, duh, of course not, silly! Yesterday was when I caught you after Kronos sent you through the ceiling of Princess Celestia's castle."

Ignoring the urge to roll his eyes, Stardust added, "It means that we aren't dumb, Pinkie, and this is not over until you admit that you're over the pheno - special treats."

"Jack is right, Pinkie," replied Twilight. "Besides, no one should face their problems alone. We all need ourfriendsto help us staystrong!"

After hearing the young princess say that, Pinkie's eyes started to turn red, and she huffed angrily before saying, "I'm not exactly feelingfriendlyright now, Twilight!"

As the two of them continued arguing, Stardust found himself starting to wonder what was it about thenom-nom'sthat was making Pinkie act this way, so he decided to go and find out for himself…

… which was by going to where all of the food carts were at, and to his amusement, Spike was sitting by a cart that had jeweled pretzels.

"Oh, hey there, Star, how's it going?"

Stardust chuckled, and he said, "Just… felt like checking thisinvasionout. I see that you enjoy it greatly."

The little dragon happily nodded his head, and Stardust walked away to head over towards the cart that had Pinkie's special treat.






Two days later, in Casey's world



[AN: Time works differently in between the two worlds, in case you were confused…]


I just don't get it," a frustrated Twilight said as she sifted through purchase records. "I analyzed the substance in the dart perfectly, yet there isn't any record of any of the suspects buying all of them."

As for the CMC's, they were inspecting Twilight's bulletin board.

Photos of Spike and Shining Armor were added to the "Missing" portion, while some excerpts of purchase records were connected by tack and string to the photos of the respective suspect that bought them.

"Maybe he made some of the ingredients himself?" Apple Bloom suggested.

Twilight's eyes widened in realization. "That's it! The only reason why there isn't any one pony that bought all this stuff together is becasuse he grew either one of, or all of the materials himself! Brilliant deduction, Apple Bloom."

"In fact, I can't help but notice a connection…" Sweetie Belle said, a contemplating hoof on her chin.

"What's that?" Twilight asked, already knowing what Sweetie Belle was going to say, but decided to play along.

"(as Rarity) Elementary, my dear Twilight… (in regular voice)These missing ponies all have some connection to you. Your family, your friends, and your idols," explained Sweetie Belle. "And considering how they were ALL captured, it'd be safe to assume that the perpetrator is targeting you specifically through the ones you care about."

"You're right," Twillight confirmed. "I just don't know why, though."

"Let's focus on the 'where' before we get to the 'why'," Casey remarked as he arrived in from tinkering with the Crystal Mirror some more. "Also, um… the Crystal Mirror's still busted."

Twilight sent Casey a sarcasticthank youlook, and he gave an apologetic shrug.

"So, since this pony managed to produce all, or some, of these plants and herbs, that would mean he'd have to be some kind of plant expert," Scootaloo surmised, and this fact managed to reduce the suspect board by a considerable margin.

All five ponies were now searching through purchase records of the 10-something suspects that remined, including Stardust, much to Casey's chagrin.

"Wait a minute, we know our perp is able to make the substance himself, but what about the darts?" Casey postulated. "He'd need some way to transport this knockout stuff, and since his talent, or knowledge, specializes in plants, then he'd need to purchase the darts."

"That is…brilliant!Casey, you're agenius," Twilight praised, planting a kiss on the stallion's cheek, causing him to blush a little bit.

"Eww! Blegh! Yuck!" the CMC reviled in disgust at the display of affection.

"Ohplease, in a few years from now, you'll want to do that to somepony too," Casey teased.

While Twilight began to conduct an analysis of the dart, Casey and the CMC continued to search through purchase records, now looking for both ingredients of the knockout substance and any type of dart.

After a few hours of research, the five ponies managed to find what they were looking for.

"I think I found what we're looking for!" Sweetie Belle said, holding up a receipt. "It says that Beck bought a large amount of darts in bulk in town a few weeks ago."

Beck's picture on the "Suspects" portion was surrounded by other receipts that showed he had bought the seeds of a few of the various ingredients in the substance found in the dart.

"I remember him! He's that gardener pony I always see at the market whenever I go there to help my family," Apple Bloom pointed out.

"It makes sense," Twilight said. "His business is small enough to where the purchase of these seeds wouldn't cause any alarms, and combined with the fact that he bought as many darts as he did…. he might be our stallion. Sorry about accusing Stardust, Casey."

"It's okay, you were just acknowledging all possibilities, as stupid as some of those possibilities were," Casey snarked. "But I'm glad I can finally take him away from-"

"It says here he lives in the outskirts of town, come on!" Sweetie Belle said as the four of them ran as fast as they could to Beck's house, with Twilight pulling Casey along with them before he could touch the bulletin board.






[Stardust's World]


"You ever try this thing before, Starswirl?"

Before he could get an answer from him, Stardust heard the faint sound of an explosion that sounded like it came from Twilight's castle, and he said, "In 3… 2… 1…"

"No, Pinkie, you'll hate yourself in the mor - Jack?"exclaimed Twilight, who had not expected to see him by the food cart. "Why areyouhere?"

"Just wanted to see for myself why Pinkie enjoys this so much," replied Stardust, who then handed the treat over to her. "But I'm over it now, so you give it a try, love."

While Pinkie was busy scarfing down multiplenom-nom's,Twilight carefully placed it in her own muzzle, and she began to consume it.

"So… how is it?" wondered Stardust, who then became surprised to see her eyes be almost as wide as Pinkie's own.

"This is… this is incredible!"said Twilight, and Stardust watched as she stood by Pinkie, with the two of them eating the treats together.

Then, to his amusement, they had eventually reached their limit (for the moment), and while Pinkie was whimpering in pain and sadness, he walked over to stand by Twilight.

"Well, one…thathappened… and second, are you alright?"

She gave a small shrug, and replied, "I don't know what to do anymore… I've tried everything that I could possibly do in order to help Pinkienoteat thenom-nomtreats, butnothingseems to work!"

The young Earth Pony looked over at his fourth-wall-breaking friend, and then, it took a moment for the answer to appear in his mind.

"Actually, love, I have an idea…"






[Casey's World]


"That's just crazy talk, Rainbow," exclaimed Applejack, frowning at her friend whose body color was now a bright pink instead of its usual blue. "How in the hay do you expect us all to escape?"

The young pegasus rolled her eyes, and she said, "Likethis, AJ…"


Wham!


To everyone's surprise, Rainbow delivered a head-butt to the front of her cage, and they watched as it quickly fell down to the ground.

"You couldn't have done that earlier?"questioned Rarity.

"Had to wait till the time was right," replied Rainbow. "I noticed that the bars were weak sometime after Beck had fired his weapon at me, so-"

"Um, not that your story isn'tfascinating," interrupted Discord, to her chagrin. "But I think it'd be better if you could find a way to releaseallof us before-"

"Well, what do we have here?"

Rainbow turned around, and found herself looking at Beck, who was almost fully recovered after having spending some required time to rest and nurse his bruises.

"Before exactlythathappens," muttered the draconequs, letting out a sigh of disappointment.

Ignoring what he was saying, Beck glared at Rainbow, and asked, "How in Equestria did you get out of your cage?"

"Whocareshow I got out?" replied Rainbow, also glaring at her enemy. "All that matters now is stopping you right now, and freeing everyone else before-"

To her surprise, Beck suddenly started to laugh, and replied, "Oh, I don't think you are going anywhere,Pinky Dash… in fact, if I were you, I wouldn't move very much at all."

"What are you-" She started to say, but then, Beck whistled an unfamiliar tune, and a trap door quickly appeared underneath her, causing Rainbow to fall into whatever was underneath. "Aaaaaggghhhh!"

Then, once the door closed, everyone looked over at Beck, and Minuette asked, "Did you…knowthat would happen?"

"Eh, more or less," answered Beck. "I think it's obvious that I wasn't born yesterday… now, then, anyoneelsecare to join her?"

None of the other prisoners gave a response, at first, but then, Spike (who, unsurprisingly, was locked up in a cage near Rarity) said, "Well,we allthink it's obvious that, before you know it, Twilight and Casey are going to show up, and then, you'll be sorry that-"

"Hahahahaha, I-I'm sorry, but who the heck is Casey?"wondered Beck. "What sort of stuff hasheever done?"

Before the young dragon could answer him, Beck rolled his eyes, and said, "Yeah, I thought so… he's not important… but I don't mind locking him up, either, if hegets inmy way."

His voice lowered near the end of his sentence, which made Spike back away from the front of his cage, and Beck continued to laugh as he left the room.






A few minutes later


"Whew," said Beck, who sighed in relief as he plopped down on his couch.

'That was a close one,' he thought to himself.

However, he had no time to revel in his victory, for he heard a "knock, knock, knock" coming from his door.

"Beck, open up! We need to talk!" Twilight yelled.

'Shit!' Beck thought, who now knew that he had to move fast. 'That damn dragon was right!'


###############


After several more knocks, Twilight, Casey, and the CMC's had decided that enough was enough.

"Alright, that's it… time tobustour way in," Scootaloo said.

Just as she was about to back up to do just that, however, Twilight stopped her. "Wait, you three. I don't think you should go with Casey and I."

"What? Why not?"the CMC said, all together in disappointment.

"We don't know what might be in there," Twilight explained. "It could be dangerous."

"Well then, what are we supposed to do?" Scootaloo asked,who had been imagining how she would try to save Rainbow Dash.

Twilight took a second to think, but Casey beat her to it.

"You three wait here. If we don't come out after fifteen minutes, then that means we were probably captured, and you need to go get backup. Think you can do that?"

The Crusaders looked at each other in contemplation.

"Okay, Twilight and Casey, we'll do it," Apple Bloom said, nodding her head.

"Good luck in there," Sweetie Belle added.

"Thanks, you three…for everything," Twilight said, with a smile on her face while Casey managed to force the door open by (what else) ramming into it.

"No problem, Twilight," Scootaloo replied. "Go get him, you two!"

"Oh, don't worry, he'll get what's coming to him," Casey said, in a dark and lower tone, which was only noticed by Twilight, but only for a moment.

The dup made their way inside, shutting the door once they did, and the CMC's all looked at each other.

"You thinkin', what I'm thinkin'?" Apple Bloom asked, and the other two crusaders nodded in affirmation, with all three then screaming out into the heavens.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSDERS LOOKOUTS, YEAH!"





Meanwhile, inside of Beck's house, Twilight and Casey fondly rolled their eyes at the CMC's outburst.

"Anypony home?" Twilight asked, looking around several times, but no reply came.

The abode didn't have any lights on, leaving the only source of light to be Celestia's sun, and even then, it wasn't able to illuminate all that much.

The duo stepped lively on the wooden floor of Beck's home, searching for anything out of the ordinary.

'Come on, where could he be hiding them?' Twilight thought to herself. She found her answer when she stepped down, and instead of feeling her hoof rest on solid floor, she felt the wood curve slightly under the weight.

"Casey," Twilight said, in a low voice, letting out a tiny gasp of surprise.

"What?" he whispered back, and Twilight gestured to the floor below her.

Knowing exactly what she was thinking, Casey stepped toward Twilight, who removed her hoof from the floor.

The earth pony managed to get his hoof between the wall the floor bordered against, and the floor and pulled up, which resulted in the door to Beck's lab opening right up.

Casey and Twilight looked at each other triumphantly, and she said, "Let's do this!"


############


The walk down the spiral stairs to Beck's lair was filled with paranoia and determination.

'It can't be this easy,' Twilight thought, but when the duo had finally reached Beck's lab, all of her worries had gone away in a flash.

"Everyone!" Twilight said, relieved to see that they were all safe and sound.

However, to her surprise, none of them looked relieved to seeher… in fact, they seemed to look even more frightened.

"No, Twily, Casey! Get out of here!" Shining yelled.


Whoosh!


"It's a trap!" yelled Rarity, and Casey was about to respond when he felt a sharp prick in his flank.

"Behind you!" Moondancer yelled, and that was because Beck had been standing a few feet away, hiding himself in the shadows.

I've waited a long time for this,thought Beck, who was now looking at the targeted flank of his final prisoner while preparing his dart gun.Light's out, princess!


Whoosh!


"I'm gonnakill… that… bastard… " Casey said as the darkness permeated his vision.

"No... no... you… can't..." Twilight pleaded as she fell to the cold, hard ground. "You won't get… get away with this."

"Oh, I already have," Beck said menacingly. "And also, allow me the honor, oh Princess ofFriendship… to your worst nightmare."

The last thing Twilight heard before going compeltly unconscious was Beck's evil chuckle, overlaying her friend's screams of panic.




> Intermission
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"... so what happened next?"

Continuing to look down at the bar table that he was sitting at, Casey answered, "I don't really like to, um, remember it."

The elderly bartender was about to give a response, but he became curious after seeing the young teenager retrieve a tiny pill that came out of his wristwatch.

Then, Casey dropped it into his 10th glass of water, and the pill quickly dissolved, with the clear liquid changing into a dark-blue color.

"Is that why you've been drinking those?" said the bartender. "To forget?"

"Yup," replied Casey, nodding his head with a saddened expression, and he began to consume his glass offlavored water. "Well, onlysomememories, to be precise… the rest are ones that I don't want to forget."

The bartender let out a chuckle, and he replied, "Well, for a youngster like yourself who's been talking for almost 4 hours now, there's alotof stuff you don't want to forget."

Casey simply gave a small shrug before setting down his now-empty glass, and mumbled some words underneath his breath before looking up at the bartender. "Can I have a refill, please?"

"Sure thing, son," he replied, and took the glass on his way over to the water jug machine while Casey quietly looked at his necklace's charm.

"You haven't told her yet, huh?"

The young teeanger turned around, and found himself looking at a man that appeared to a few years older than he was.

I feel like I've seen him somewhere else before.

"The alicorn princess… Twilight… yourgirlfriend," said the young adult, and Casey gave him a slight smirk before giving a response.

"Wasmy girlfriend… she and I are, um… we're taking a break… and, no, I never told her."

The young adult had an apologetic look on his face as he said, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know… I didn't spoil anything for our bartender friend, did I?"

"Not really, but I think it's easy to tell since I'm here," replied Casey. "So you were listening, too?"

"Eh, I started to around the point your friend named, um,Stardustshowed up with that thing around your neck," said the young man, who was referring to Casey's necklace.

Once he heard the name of his friend, Casey let out a sarcastic laugh, and replied, "He's not my friend anymore… or, at least, I thought he was."

"Why? What happened between-"

For a moment, a scowl appeared on Casey's face, and he exclaimed, "I haven't gone there yet!"

Then, realizing that he'd gotten upset, Casey gave the young man an apology. "Sorry, it's just that… I'm not doing too hot in that department."

I don't evenhavefriends anymore.

"Well, youdidsacrifice yourself in order for him to be happy," reminded the young man, trying to be optomistic. "And he's done… uh… well, whatever you said in your story."

A tiny smile appeared on Casey's face, and he said, "Well, thanks for listening, sir… also, what's your name again?"

Before the young man could answer him, the elderly bartender returned with another glass of water, and set it down in front of Casey.

"So, does that mean you're done telling the story?"

As he began to prepare his drink, Casey shook his head, and said, "Sorry, I just… needed a quick break… not exactly fond of the stuff that happens next."

The bartender gave a shrug, and replied, "Not many people in here, son, so I got plenty of time."

He looked over to his other customer, and asked, "You got a story too?"

"Yeah, but mine can wait," he said, making a gesture towards Casey. "His is more important, at the moment… but you mind gettin' me another Co -thank you, Johnny!"

"No problem, Wright," replied the bartender, after giving the young man another soda pop bottle, and he looked back at Casey. "Whenever you're ready, son."

After taking a quick drink, the pony-turned-teenager let out a sigh, and said, "So, yeah, once I got hit by the dart, everything went black…"
> Breaking Twilight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Pinkie Pie continued to eat a great deal of thenom-noms, she found herself stopping after hearing Twilight say a sentence that she never expected one of her best friends to say.

"I give up, Pinkie… I've failed you… I'm sorry."

The pink unicorn looked at the young alicorn, and gasped loudly as she quickly went over to her.

"Huh?! Twilight Sparkle giving up? No, no, no, that isn't something a pony like you would ever say…"

Twilight sighed in sadness, and replied, "I know it's not good to hear, Pinkie, but -oompphh!"

Suddenly, she felt her friend's front hoofs on her own face, and as Pinkie began squeezing her facial cheeks together, the pink pony asked, "Are you sure you're okay, Twilight? Why would you say that you-"

"Um… Pinkie?" interrupted Stardust, who was trying his best not to laugh at the way his girlfriend's face looked right now. "Please don't pop her."

"Oh,right, sorry," replied Pinkie, and she moved her hoofs away from Twilight's face, which was now a little sore.

"But how in Equestria could you have possibly failed me? I've never taken a test before in my life, let alone enter a class room."

Twilight shook her head, and replied, "That's not what I was referring to… it's the fact that I haven't stopped you from eating the nom-noms… and what's worse is the fact thatJack'sstarting to eat them now, too!"

Pinkie turned her attention over to Stardust, who had just finished eating one of the sugary treats, and she asked, "Do you feel like eatinglots and lots andlotsof them now, Star, like me?"

To her surprise, Stardust shrugged his shoulders, and replied, "Eh, not really… it was delicious, I admit, but it's not something I would find myself drooling after."

Pinkie's muzzle almost dropped to the ground after hearing that. "How can you notwantto eat more of these? Sure, they aren't the soda bottles you drink, and yes, you probably don't want to drink thoseall the time, but I still-"

"Well, there's your answer right there, Pinkie," said Stardust, which made her feel even more confused.

"Huh?"

Twilight, who was no longer pretending to be sad, gave her friend a better explanation.

"Like you said, he doesn't always want to drink those sodasall the time-"

"Well, I wouldn't really mind… sorry, love, continue," said Stardust, after Twilight had given him a look that meantnot helping.

Looking back and forth between the two ponies, Pinkie said, "Wait a minute… if the nom-noms are to me like the sodas are tohim… and Stardust just said that he doesn't want to drink them all the time… does that meanIdon'thaveto eat the nom-noms all the time?"

Stardust nodded his head, and replied, "Yup, and that's because the only per - pony who can stop you from eating these treats is yourself. Not me, not Twilight…you, Pinkie."

As the pink pony realized what they were saying to her, Twilight added, "Allyouhave to do isnoteat them."

"Noteat the nom-noms?" said Pinkie, once again looking very agitated. "So, you two are saying that I don'thaveto snack on the most amazing, most mouth-tingling, mostastoundingly-awesome snack in the history of snack-kind? Is that what you just told me, Twilight Sparkle?"


POOF!


"Uh-huh,"replied Twilight, using her magic to teleport herself behind Stardust, who had an amused expression on his face.

As for Pinkie, who was walking back over to the cart, she took one close look at the delicious snack, and began to poke it several times.

What is she doing?thought Stardust.

"I don't know,"whispered Twilight, and the gold pony gave her a look. "Sorry, I thought you were asking me-"

"Oh, Twilight…"sang Pinkie, now bouncing her way towards the now-nervous alicorn.

"Yes, Pinkie - oof!"said Twilight, who was cut off because she was now being hugged by her friend.

"Thank you! Now I don't feel like eating the nom-noms anymore cause I know now that I don't have to eat them just like you don't always have to read books everyday, or Stardust not having to drink soda every day!"

Before Twilight could respond to that, Pinkie gave her a suspicious look. "You may be one of my bestest, funnest, awesome-est friends, but some friends could have done it without the locks and chains… I worry about you, Twilight."

As Twilight let out a sheepish chuckle, Pinkie went over to Stardust, and gave him a hoof-shake. "Don't think I forgot about thankingyou, Stardust!"


KZZZZZZT!


"Joy Buzzer!" squealed a happy Pinkie. "A true classic never goes out of style!"

While Twilight found herself laughing quietly, a now messy-looking Stardust said, "Right, then...if we're all done here, I have an evil doctor to take care of, so…"


Whoosh!


Once her special somepony was gone, Twilight let out a sigh in sadness, and Pinkie asked, "What's wrong now? Did I shock him too much?"

"No, it's about Casey," replied the young alicorn. "I'm starting to feel worried about him and our versions of us from that world."

Trying to sound comforting, Pinkie placed a hoof around her, and said, "I'm sure they're all fine, Twilight… it's like you said in your voice-over thing for our movie trailer. What could possibly go wrong over there?"

Twilight nodded her head, but then, she became confused, and asked, "Wait, what did you say?"

"Hmmm? Oh, that nothing could possibly be wrong over there," replied Pinkie. "I mean, everythingisfine here, so why can't it be the same for their world?"






[Casey's World]


Unlike the rest of Beck's prisoners, who had woken from their dart-induced slumbers naturally, Twilight and Casey were brought back into the realm of consciousness another way.

The Princess of Friendship and her special somepony convulsed in pain and screamed in agony as she felt the electricity course through her veins. "AHHHHHHH!"

"Wakey wakey, Twily," said a cloak-free Beck, lowering his hooves, as well as being the source of the electricity, and a victorious smirk adorning his muzzle while the purple alicorn began breathing heavily.

The first thing Twilight noticed, was that, unlike the rest of the captured ponies, including Casey, she was not in a cage, rather she seemed to be strapped to a table of some kind. The second thing was that there was some kind of device on her horn. She attempted to try some kind of spell, in an attempt to get herself free, but all she got was a whole lot of nothing.

"Don't even bother with trying to magic yourself outta here," Beck said. "Believe me, some of them..." he gestured to some of Twilight's friends behind him, "...have already tried."

"You're lucky, then, cause otherwise, I would have taken care of you easily," growled Discord.

Considering that magic wasn't an option, Twilight saw no other course of action than to attempt to remove her restraints by force. She began to struggle mightily on the ropes that tied her wings, as well as the rest of her body, up.

"Now, now, now, there's no need to be so resistant, Princess," Beck said. "I just want to talk."

But Twilight paid him no mind, with all of her focus being put on escaping in order to save everyone.

"Alright, you asked for it," Beck resigned, walking towards Twilight and shocking everypony by raising one of his hooves to deliver a fierce slap to the Princess of Friendship, right upside the head.

"Listen to me,DAMMNIT!" Beck yelled in her face.

"Alright, that's it, you're dead, Beck!" Casey shouted, pulling on his cage's bars in furious anger at the sight of his special somepony being harmed.

Starlight was about to tell him something, but Beck flashed a dangerous look at the light-orange pony, and yelled, "SILENCE… or else you'll be joining Rainbow Dash!"

His commanding (as well as intimidating) voice brought silence to the entire lair.

Then, Beck turned back to Twilight, and took a deep breath in order to calm himself.

"You know, Princess," Beck began. "I have to say I'm slightly disappointed. It was just so...EASY… to get all of you here."

He then made a slight gesture towards Starlight, and added, "Not even your beloved pupil put up much of a fight… granted, shewasreading-"

"Why are you doing this?!" Twilight yelled, causing him to look at her with a deadpan expression.

"Pardon?"

"Whatdo youwant?!" she rephrased.

"Justice, Princess," growled Beck. "What I want is justice."

Pinkie suddenly shook her head, and cried, "Don't listen to him Twilight. I can smell crazy on that stallion from a mile away… even though he's only a few feet away, but you get my warning!"

"Can it, Pinkie," exclaimed Beck. "Or else I'm putting you back to sleep!"

"Hey, you leave my friend alone," Twilight hissed. "And that isn't what I meant… what did I everdoto you?"

To her surprise, Beck's anger went away momentarily, and he simply looked down at his hooves.

"Oh, you did anawful lot, Princess," he said solemnly. Beck then trotted over to a desk where his audio device rested.

He took it into his mouth, and walked back over to the restrained Twilight. He placed the device in front of her, turned the volume up to its maximum level, and pressed play.

"Hi, Honey. I hope you're doing okay. I just wanted to let you know I put Carl down. You should have seen his little face. I just wanted to let you know to be quiet when you get home. I love you. See you later."

'What is he doing?' Casey thought to himself, as well as trying to figure out his seemingly twisted motives.

"Hi Beck, your father and I just wanted to thank you for the flowers for our anniversary yesterday. You are an amazing stallion and I can't believe how much you've grown up. Hold on, your father wants to say something."

Before Twilight could say anything, Beck moved on to the next message.

"Hey Champ. Thanks for the flowers. I hope we can get the chance to spend some time together soon. We barely see you anymore, what with work and all. Your mother and I both love you. See you soon."

'Why is he playing messages from his family?' Twilight thought, who was just as confused as Casey.

"Hey Beckie! Where are you?! Listen, you won't believe what just happened. I just got two tickets to the Hoofball Championship! Call me back as soon as you can so we can plan out the best day ever! Alright, I gotta go! Bye!"

'I just don't get it,'Casey and Twilight simultaneously thought.

"These were recorded during the summer…three years ago," Beck finished, and instantly, everyone realized why he played those messages.

"You lost someone," Twilight stated.

Beck shook his head, and replied, "No, Princess, I losteveryone."

'That's what this is about?' Casey thought, while Beck continued to tell his story.

"I had been away when it happened…"






Flashback (takes place during the season 4 finale)


As Beck walked through the streets of Ponyville, he could instantly tell that something was not right.

"Where in theheckis everypony at?" He asked, speaking to himself, and unaware of the events that had happened because of Tirek.

There was no sign of any pony that he was familiar with… no Derpy with a muffin in her hoof… no trio of fillies trying to get their Cutie Marks…

I don't even see the princess with her six frie - what the Tartarus?

Beck was now standing in front of a sight that he never imagined would end up seeing… the Golden Oak Library, which he knew was the home of the young alicorn and her two assistants, was now destroyed, and scattered all around the area were now-ruined library books.

Before he could even say anything else, the green Earth Pony heard the sound of somepony crying, and was shocked to find a little salmon-colored filly hiding behind a nearby bench.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's alright, little one," said Beck, placing his hooves on her shoulders. "I'm here to help, okay? You have a mom, or…"

The little filly nodded her head, and Beck felt a little relieved. "Good, good… okay, we're going to find her… come on, you're safe with me."

So, for a few minutes, he walked around Ponyville in search of the little pony's mother, and because they weren't having much luck, Beck was starting to fear the worst… until he heard somepony call out for her child.

"Rose! Rose, where are you, sweetie?"

Praying that this was the filly's mother, Beck headed in the direction that the voice was coming from, and he soon found himself running up to a light-pink unicorn that the filly immediately recognized.

"Mommy!"

Once Beck placed Rose in the arms of her mother, the unicorn let out a sigh of relief, and said, "Oh,thank you,kind sir… I don't know how I coule repay you, but-"

"No worries, m'am, I'm just glad I reunited the both of you," replied Beck, shaking his head. "But could you tell me where everypony else? Or why the library is now-"


KA-BOOOOOM!


The filly's mother pointed at something behind Beck, and he turned around to see a yellow-ish mushroom explosion cloud appear in the sky. "What in Celestia wasthat?!"

"I think it was for whomever Princess Twilight is facing in order to save the rest of Ponyville, and all of Equestria," replied the middle-aged unicorn. "I believe his name was Tire -wait, sir, where are you going?"

Beck was now running away from the two of them, and before she could speak again, he cried, "I'm going to check on my family! You take care of that filly!"

A few minutes later, Beck was away from Ponyville, and heading down the trail that would lead to where his own house was at.

I don't know what the heck is going on, but I hope Twilight knows what she-

However, his thoughts were interrupted by the voice of a golden-yellow Earth Pony that was only a few years older than him. "Sir! Sir, could you help me, please?"

Deciding to take a quick break, Beck headed over to the nearby pony, who said, "I'm trying to find my son… have you seen him?"

Before Beck could give a reply, the two of them heard the faint sound of a female screaming, and the golden-yellow pony's face quickly became pale.

"That was my wife…sweetheart!"

"Sir, wait, what about your-"cried Beck, but the other pony was no longer paying him any attention.

He was about to yell louder when, suddenly, Beck felt a chill running down his spine, and his heart skipped a few beats as he whispered, "No… it can't be…"

Moving faster than he did earlier, Beck continued down the trail, and was praying that what he'd sensed… what he had felt… was not a reality.

Not her… please, not her! Don't let my wi-

"Aaaaaagggghhh!"

Beck slightly turned his head to see (from several miles away) what appeared to be Twilight Sparkle being sent into a mountain, and not long after, a gigantic red-and-black centaur crashed through the same one!

"What in Equestria is happening?" wondered Beck. "And who was that crea -Twinkle Star!"

All thoughts of whatever Twilight was dealing with left his mind because of what he had seen… it was his wife, who looked worn-out and was covered in several scorch marks.

"Oh, no, no, no, please, not this…" said Beck, who was now holding her in his front hooves, and he tried to wake her up. "Hey, it's okay, honey, I'm here… Twinkle Star, stay with me… you stay with me…"

Unfortunately, it wasn't doing much, and tears started to fall down his face. "Star?"

[Insert "Bruce Goes Home" by Craig Armstrong]

Beck tried to listen for a heartbeat, but he couldn't find one, so after trying to wake her up again… and again… he realized that it was too late.

Why did this have to happen?thought Beck, and the faint rumbling sound from a few miles away made him wonder if this was because of-

Hold on...

He looked down at his wife, and for a moment, Beck was confused.She would never… alone… but that means… *gasp* MY FAMILY!

Not wanting to waste any precious time (however much there was), Beck placed his wife's body on top of his back, and continued heading over to his house.

Mom… Dad… Night Light... Carl!

A few minutes later, when Beck was almost halfway there, he suddenly noticed that the sky was back to normal again, and for a moment, he could've sworn that he saw a multi-colored energy ball appear from where he had last remembered seeing the princess at.

Then, Beck immediately became quiet while starting to slow down, and once he stopped, the light-green pony slowly lowered Twinkle Star onto the ground.

"No… this can't be... why is…"

For some reason, a large part of the ground itself had fallen onto his home, which was now destroyed, and Beck felt himself starting to turn pale, as well as feeling almost sick to his stomach.

He found himself no longer able to speak because of what he was seeing, and to make matters worse, a sudden breeze appeared in the air, which caused two small, worn-out objects that were made out of paper to land in front of him.

'Oh no,' Beck thought, whose hoof was starting to tremble in panic after picking up the slightly-damaged Hoofball championship tickets.

"No… no… no, no, no, no, no…NOOOOOOOO!"

The gardener pony fell to his hind knees and screamed into the heavens on pure despair, with tears rapidly flowing down his face.






Present Day


After Beck had finished telling Twilight his recollection of the events that had happened on the day he lost his family, the purple alicorn found herself at a loss for words.

"Me and my best friend were supposed to go to that game together…"

Twilight couldn't help but feel just a little sorry for him, and she was about to say that when Beck suddenly gave her a very dangerous look.

"And it's all because ofYOUthat won't happen," growled Beck, who then full-on punched the purple alicorn in the face, and making almost everyone else speechless.

"Twily!" yelled Shining Armor, while Beck was starting to get more upset.

"Because ofYOU, I won't get to see my parents again," he punched her again, this time in the chest with his other hoof.

As Twilight began to whimper in pain, Casey pulled even harder on his cage bars, trying to free himself, but it was to no avail.

So, now, he was angry and upset for two reasons… one was because of what Beck was doing to Twilight, while the other was being angry at himself for not having his special wristwatch with him.

Stardust is probably dealing with something worse if things over here are terrible.






[Stardust's World]


"No… no… oh, [BEEP] no, come on!"

A few seconds later, Twilight appeared at the doorway of her special somepony, and she asked, "What is it, Jack? What's wrong?"

Stardust let out a frustrated sigh, and pointed a hoof at his t.v. screen. "I wasso closeto getting that damn final Chaos Emerald, but something happened to the screen for a quick second, and now I have to freakin' tryagain!"

When he didn't hear his girlfriend respond, Stardust turned to look at her, and saw that Twilight was giving her an expression with half-closed eyes. "What?"

"WhileI'mworrying about Casey and his friends,you'regetting agitated because of a talking hedgehog?"

Stardust shook his head, and replied, "Um, actually, love, I am not really upset with Sonic, but rather the-"

"Jack!"

"What?Twilight… love… this is mychildhoodright here… whatever Casey probably isn't going through, it can wait until I beat this game."

The alicorn princess rolled her eyes, and Stardust added, "Trust me,love, I'm sure that he and your other self are having some fun with their friends… I mean, how bad can it be over there if things are just fine here?"






[Casey's World]


After several minutes of beating the defenseless alicorn, Beck took a quick pause while Twilight lifted her head up, and in a weak tone, she said, "I was… trying to… save everypony that I-"

But at this point, Beck could care less about what she had to say to him. "Well, what about everypony thatIcared about, Princess? Because ofyou… I WON'T BE ABLE TO KISS MY WIFE AGAIN!"


WHAM!


"Aaaaauuuggghhh!" Twilight yelled in pain as the latest punch from inflicted the greatest physical pain of them all.

"BECAUSE OF YOU, I WON'T BE ABLE TO WATCH MY COLT GROW UP!" He reeled back a hoof, and delivered the hardest punch he could muster.

Twilight found herself yelling again, in even more pain than before, and she swore that she felt a tooth dislodge from her gums, causing her mouth to fill with the taste of blood that was already seeping from the exterior of her face.

How in the **** is any of this stuff happening?thought Casey.Stardust told me this show was for kids!

Tears began to leak from the eyes of a certain baby dragon at the sight of his maternal figure being harmed with such brutality.

Not only was Twilight suffering physically at the hooves of Beck, but the only thing she was thinking as the whole beating occurred was,'It was all my fault. It's my fault he ended up like this. I'm the reason all my friends are being held here.'

Everyone else, aside from Casey, who was still pulling on his bars like a mad horse, was either too shocked or speechless to react to the scene before them… Fluttershy couldn't even bear to watch what was happening because it was too painful.

"And what didyoudo, Princess, after causing all that death and destruction?" he whispered, in a fierce tone, and before punching her again.

"You went home to your shiny new castle. You 'partied it up' with your friends, when not too far away, a stallion was mourning the loss of HIS friends and family because of what YOU DID!"

Then, to everyone's fright, he let out a dark and sinister chuckle. "It's funny... that the Princess of Friendship ended up being the one that took my friend… myfamily... away from me."

"What happened to your family doesn't warrant this! We all decided to act..." Celestia tried to explain.

"Then why wasIthe one who lost everything?" was all Beck could reply, not even facing her, stopping the Princess of the Sun in her tracks.

If Beck had fists, he would be clenching them.

"You haveno ideawhat it's like to lose someone special, Princess… but don't worry, I am about to make sure you-"

However, the sinister pony was interrupted by Casey, who cried, "You're not the only one who lost somepony that day!"

"Is that so?" Beck turned to Casey, and he walked over to his cage. "Who else, then?"

Remembering what he had went through that day, Casey was quiet, for a moment, before he replied, "I did… I lost my parents."

"And you actuallyforgaveher?! Twilight's actions led to their deaths, and instead, you'redatingher?!" exclaimed Beck, who was now genuinely astonished.

Remembering when his former master-and-enemy had asked him a similar question, Casey shook his head, and replied, "She wassavingEquestria… and I'm sorry you lost your family, but this is notright… youdon'twant to do-"

"It's not about what Iwant, kid," exclaimed Beck, gritting his teeth in frustration. "It's about what isfair…someoneneeds to pay for all of the cruelty that happened."

He then trotted back over to the restrained Twilight, who unknowingly was producing tears that had begun mixing with the blood on her cheek.

"Where was I? Oh yes," he took a deep breath. "Ever since then, I wanted... no... Ineededvengeance… if not for them, then formypiece of mind… I want you tosuffer, Twilight Sparkle, just like I did, if not, more so."

Before Twilight could say anything, Beck trotted over to his workstation in the lair, and used his mouth to open a drawer that contained twenty red and black darts. He took one of them out, walked back to the restrained alicorn and held it in front of her face.

"This dart contains another concoction of mind," explained Beck. "Onlythisone is designed to knock someone out in amore permanentmanner, if you catch my drift."

All eyes in the room went wide as dinner plates, even Rainbow Dash's, who was not technically even in the room, but even with a limited view, she could almost tell what was happening.

"So… that's it, then?" Twilight said, her voice cracking, with more tears threatening to flow. "You're going tok… k… killall my friends and family, then me, all to av… ave…avenge yours."

"Oh no, Princess. Death is too good for you," Beck said with enough venom that, if words could kill, Twilight would already be six feet under, and he slowly backed away from the Princess of Friendship a bit.

"After all of this is over,youget to go back to your little castle, and rule over Equestria. It still needs a ruler after all…

"However, now you'll have to live for the rest ofeternity, withthison your conscious. You'll live the rest of your life knowing that all this..."

Then, Beck lifted his hoof to gesture to all of Twilight's captured friends and family. "...wasall... your...fault."

"You're despicable," Casey growled with the utmost contempt, though Beck could cared less

"Now... who wants to go first?" A massive intake of breaths took place, as the malevelont pony was essentially holding the lives of everyone in the lair in his hooves.

"Hmmmmm….Eeney..."

Sweat trickled down Moondancer's forehead as Beck pointed his hoof at several ponies.

"...meeney…" Pinkie Pie was chewing on her tail in nervousness.

"...miney…"

A lump was now forming in the throat of Princess Celestia, while Beck paused for a moment, letting the tension sink in.

"Just do it already!"

"Rainbow!" Everyone but Beck scolded the still un-seen pink Pegasus, and another tense few seconds passed before a smile suddenly appeared on his face.

"...Spike." Beck stopped, pointing to the cage containing the baby dragon and Rarity. "Looks like we have a winner."

Then, all Tartarus broke loose inside of the room.

"No, not Spike!"

"He's just a baby.. relatively speaking!"

"What?!"

"DON'T YOU DARE GO NEAR HIM!"

"No, use me instead!"

"Pinkie!"

Beck walked over to the cage, and the white unicorn stepped in front of Spike, giving him a look that would have frightened any other pony.

"Move aside, Rarity. It'll beyour turnsoon, anyway…" Beck said, voice void of any emotion except possibly annoyance.

"You'll have to pry Spikey-wikey from my cold, dead hooves," Rarity vowed, pulling the dragon closer, but then, something happened that shocked almost everyone in the room except for Beck.

"Just let him... h-have me, Rarity," Spike managed to croak out. "If it means you'll be alive for… for just a little longer..."

Rarity turned to face the baby dragon, throwing all caution to the wind.

"Don't talk like that, Spike," she said. "I'm not worth one bit compared toy you."

Twilight nodded her head, but she still had trouble trying to speak because of her bruises that Beck had delivered.

Unfortunately, Spike's mind was already made up.

The way he saw it, with Beck standing right behind them, he knew the first to bite the dust would be him or Rarity, and Celestia-damnit if he had to die so that Rarity could live, even if it was only for a short time, he'd do it.

So, with death starring him in the face, Spike fulfilled two things on his bucket list. He took Rarity's cheeks in both of his arms, and crashed her muzzle to his, locking them into a kiss that the dragon had been dreaming of ever since his arrival in Ponyville. The action caused a silence to set in as everypony witnessing it starred in both awe, and anguish.

"What's going on!? Is he dead?!" Rainbow asked, from below, panicked.


##################



Meanwhile, in Stardust's World


As he made his way back to the castle, Spike said, "Wow, I… am… stuffed! Sure hope Star and Twilight were able to-"

However, he stopped moving for a moment, and found himself turning his head side-to-side.

"Why do I feel like I should be jealous of someone?"


#####################


Once Spike pulled away, he uttered three simple words that sent the room back into protests once more.

"I love you."

He then pushed the unicorn to his left and hopped outside the cage, with the door closing shut before Rarity could attempt at stopping him.

With a slight chuckle, Beck took the dragon by one of his hooves, and led him right in front of Twilight. No tears were in the little dragon's eyes anymore, having accepted his fate.

If Twilight wasn't broken before, she was now.

"NO! SPIKE, DON'T... PLEASE, NO, SPIKE!" Twilight screeched through the tears in her eyes and the small amount of blood in her muzzle, thrashing against her restraints in a feeble attempt to save the dragon that she saw as one of her closest friends… her #1 assistant… and, in a way, someone she treated as if he were her own child.

As for Casey, he began making sounds of frustration while his rage continued to grow, and for a moment, Discord could have sworn that his Cutie Mark was starting to glow.

I swear…thought Casey.If that monster harms a single scale on his head...

Beck took the lid off the dart, exposing the needle that would deliver Spike's doom, paying no mind to the screams of protest going on all around him.

"Will it... hurt?" Spike asked meekly.

Beck gave smile to the dragon. "Not at all. It'll be like going to sleep."

"Okay," Spike said, closing his eyes, ready for the end.

Beck placed Spike, with the dragon's back facing him, in front of a target he placed on a wall, and looked to Twilight, who was ignoring her own pain to beg for Spike to stop.

Then, while Beck placed the dart in his trusty tube, ready to fire when ready, Spike looked over at Twilight, and gave her a look that meantI'm sorry, and I love you, but Ihaveto do this.

"No, Spike, please!" cried the purple alicorn, while Rarity was becoming distraught.

Spike let out a sigh, and under the assumption that these would be his final words, he looked at Twilight. "I… love you…Mom…"

Another tense, and loud, few seconds passed as Beck moved the tube closer to his mouth.


WHOOSH!


"NOOOO!" Many ponies yelled in emotional agony… though it turned to relief when they discovered Spike was still standing.

Sure enough, the dart had been shot into the target above Spike's head.

However, Beck remained smiling like the Cheshire Cat.

"Howdareyou toy with our emotions!"exclaimed Rarity.

Beck retrieved another dart from his drawer, which was a couple steps behind him, and loaded it into the tube.

A fresh new round of yells and protest began, demanding he cease his actions.

Once again, Beck milked the tension, and Twilight's suffering, by slowly moving the tube towards his muzzle.

"GET HIM!"


WHOOSH!


Spike clenched his eyes shut, waiting for the prick that would seal his fate. However, it never came… instead, he heard yells coming from behind him.

The little dragon turned around, and opened his eyes, to find two blue-and-yellow suited Pegasus ponies on top of Beck.

Spike would surmise later that they must have interfered with Beck's shot, causing him to miss.

"What's going on?! What's happening?!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "What am I missing?!"

More Wonderbolts appeared from the shadows of the lair's entrance to either assist in the skirmish, or too free prisoners.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS RESCUERS, YEAH!"

The unmistakabke battle cry of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo camep as they bounded down the spiral stairs into the lair, with Big Mac in tow.

"Applejack!" Apple Bloom yelled as she and Big Mac ran to their sister's cage that she shared with Starlight.

"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle yelled as she bounded to her sister's cage.

"Where's Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo and a dark-blue maned Wonderbolt said at the same time.

"I'm down here!" Said mare yelled.

Scootaloo and Soarin quickly rushed over to the trap door that Beck had opened, and entered the underground room to find Rainbow in yet another cage.

While the Cutie Mark Crusdader dealt with the lock Unfirtunatly, Soarin couldn't pass up a small snicker at Rainbow's current appearence.

"Justget me out of here, alright!"

Above the duo, while some Wonderbolts, the other two CMCs, and Big Mac were destroying locks and freeing Beck's prisoners, Beck himself was being fought by Spitfire, Fleetfoot, and High Winds.

'Knew I should have added more security to this place,' Beck mentally grumbled.

Mustering all the strength he could, he managed to remove the three Wonderbolts from on top of him.

Meanwhile, another Wonderbolt, Silver Zoom, managed to free Casey, and while his first instinct was to hit Beck where it hurt, Twilight was still restrained, so instead, he dashed toward the purple alicorn.

"All Wonderbolts,get him!" Spitfire yelled as she, Fleetfoot, and High Winds made their way to their hooves before giving chase to the seemingly fleeing Earth Pony. However, that couldn't be farther from the truth.

As that was going on, Casey managed to undo Twilight's restraints, causing her to fall towards the lair's floor. Luckily, Casey was able to catch her just before she caused herself to recieve any more pain.

"You okay?" asked the young pony, his eyes full of love and concern, and Twilight quietly nodded her head. "Good… I'm sorry-"

He was cut off by a sudden kiss that came from his special somepony, and Twilight smiled while Casey let out a sheepish chuckle.

Meanwhile, the black-maned stallion galloped to his work station and pulled out another drawer.The game's not over untilIsay it is!

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the approaching Wonderbolts. Using his workstation as an anchor, Beck lifted his hind legs and delivered the hardest buck he could possibly give.

Seeing this, Casey realized what he needed to do. He looked to find that Spike, due to shock, had not moved since the Wonderbolts entered the lair.

"Spike!" Casey called. "Spike!"

"Huh?W-what?" Spike asked, dumbstruck.

"You need to get Twilight away from here, Spike…now," Casey said, gesturing to the Princess of Friendship struggling to stand, due to cramps from being restrained for so long, as well as emotional tiredness.

"You can count on me," Spike said as he ran over to the purple alicorn. "Twilight, xome on, let's go -oof!"

"Spike!" The purple alicorn embraced the dragon with intensity, relieved he was alive and well. "I… I'm s-so… so sorry, Spike."

"I… forgive…y-you… also… can't… breath," Spike gestured to his throat, and Twilight immediately put him down upon hearing that.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Spike said as he helped Twilight onto her hooves.

Rarity was about to say something to the little dragon, but decided that it would be best for them to talk about their "moment" at a safer place.

Meanwhile, Soarin (who had already brought Rainbow Dash out of her hole and handed her off to Scootaloo) was leading the charge, which meant that he was the first to meet face-to-hoof with pain. This created a domino effect that caused many other Wonderbolts to either fall or stumble.

Having bought himself enough time, Beck grabbed something from the drawer he opened, which he then aimed at the Wonderbolts, and fired.

"AAAAAUGH!" The group, sans Spitfire, Fleetfoot, and High Winds, yelled as they were struck by the lightning emanating from the gun whose trigger Beck was holding on his mouth.

The use of the weapon elicited wide-eyes from Fluttershy, who was still waiting to be freed by Big Mac and the CMC from her shared cage with Discord.

'That's Rowan's power,' she thought, remembering when she had seen the evil pegasus use it on Casey's gold-colored friend.'How did he get that?'

'You little...'Beck thought, approaching the CMC and Big Mac, his intentions painfully clear, and their eyes widened, realizing what was about to happen.

However, before Beck could get the chance to do so, he was rammed into from the side, sending him crashing against one of the lair's walls, knocking the lightning gun from his muzzle.

"Get away from them, you[BEEP]," he growled.

Beck grunted as he pulled himself up. "Well, I guess I underestimated you, Casey… but if it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get."

Now filled with determination, Casey first turned to Spitfire. "Get everyone else outta here. I got a score to settle withhim..."

Spitfire nodded in understanding, and she ordered, "Wonderbolts, once you retrieve a hostage, retreat!"

As for Beck and Casey, the two Earth Ponies stared each other down as if it were a duel in Appleoosa. The black manned stallion made the first move, taunting Casey with a hoof motion that practically screamed, "Come at me, bro!"

"You'reminenow," growled Casey, and they both charged at each other furiously.


Outside


Everyone gave sighs of relief now that they had escaped, with the Wonderbolts hard at work trying to remove the restraints Beck had on the wings and horns.

Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash, despite her appearance, embraced their little sisters - well, surrogate sister in Rainbow's case - while commending them on their bravery.

"That was mighty gutsy, sugurcube," Applejack commended.

"Thank heavensyou arrived when you did, darlings," Rarity said, mascara still running down her face from the crying she'd done earlier, and reminding herself to talk with Spike once the chance arrived.

"That wasawesome, kiddo!" Rainbow congratulated.

"It wasn't that hard," Scootaloo explained boastfully. "But, uh, why do you look, er…"

Rainbow rolled her eyes, and she replied, "Yeah yeah, I know, but at least it didn't make me a pink ghost or somethin equally weird."

Applejack looked down at her sister, and asked, "So, howdidy'all know when to-"

"After Twilight and Casey were gone for a long time, I went to get Big Mac while Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo got the Wonderbolts," Apple Bloom said.

"Once they heard that we knew where Rainbow Dash was, we made our way back and the rest is history," Sweetie Belle finished.

Applejack turned towards her older brother. "Thank ya kindly, Big Mac."

"Eeehh-yuuupp, no problem," Big Mac said simply, relieved his sister was okay.

A short distance away, Twilight was resting and being given first aid by one of the Wonderbolts, who was proficient on the subject, on the lawn of Beck's home with Spike, the purple alicorn refusing to let the baby dragon leave her side.

"Spike, did you really mean what you said back there?" Twilight asked.

"I said a lot of things, Twilight," Spike said, attempting to dodge the question, and praying that Rarity wouldn't come over to them. "Care to be more specific?"

"When you said you loved me… and called me 'Mom," said the Princess of Friendship, who portrayed an expression of nervousness.

"Well, I mean…. You hatched me, raised me, and made me the dragon I am now… so, Ikind ofsee you as my mother," Spike hastily explained, hoping to Celestia this wouldn't be as awkward as he thought.

Suddenly, the little dragon's words struck a chord within Twilight.






Flashback - A few days before Casey, Pinkie, and Twilight met Stardust back in "A Race Against Time"


The comfortable alicorn was awoken from her slumber by a small finger poking at one of her tucked-in wings.

She grumbled, not liking the fact that someone woke her in the middle of the night because, according to Twilight, she had to get as much sleep as possible so that she would be ready for her date with Casey tomorrow.

"Twilight," a small murmur escaped the lips of a small dragon, and immediately, Twilight's mood went from annoyed to concerned as she turned to find a hesitant Spike.

"What's wrong, Spike?"

"I…." he mumbled something.

"What was that?"

"I can't, er, sleep," he hastily said.

"Well, why not?" Twilight asked, sitting up and turning on her lamp.

"I don't know," Spike explained. "I just feel so anxious… I can't relax for the life of me!"

Twilight gave Spike a knowing look. "This is about Casey, isn't it?"

"Well can you blame me?" the baby dragon defended himself. "You're going on a date, with somepony I barely know."

"Why aren't you happy for me then?" Twilight asked, curious.

"I just…. I just want him to be good for you. If he doesn't love you as much as I do, I'm worried that he'll break your heart, and I don't want that to happen to you, Twilight. I'd never forgive myself if somepony hurt you when I could have warned you."

Twilight smiled at Spike's concern.

"Don't worry, Spike. Casey's a nice stallion. Even if things don't work out, I'm sure he'll be nice about it," she explained. "Besides, if he ever does hurt me, I can just magic him into last week."

Spike smiled slightly. "Thanks, Twi. I know it's silly. I'm sorry I bothered you." He turned around to go back to his bed.

"Spike," The Princess of Friendship called.

The baby dragon turned around to find Twilight had scooted over in her bed, tapping the spot she left open.

Spike's face beamed and he ran and jumped right onto the spot Twilight tapped, pulled the sheets over him and got a comfy. Twilight clicked off the lamp and settled back into bed herself.

"Good night, Twilight."

"Good night, Spike." Twilight said, as she placed one of her wings around Spike protectively.






Present


'I've been his mother all along,' thought Twilight, and at the realization, she gathered Spike in her hooves once more, though there was one major difference.

It wasn't just an embrace between friends, but a tenderly embrace between a mother and son.

"I'm so glad I have you, Twilight," Spike said, crying few tears of his own.

"You can call me 'Mom' if you want, Spike," Twilight permitted, which only caused the baby dragon to cry harder.

"Awwwwww..." Pinkie Pie said, voicing the thoughts of everyone who watched the tender moment.

Once the two separated, Spike only had one more question. "So, if you're my 'mom', does that mean, uh.. Casey is mydad?"

Twilight giggled, "I guess it does," and that's when something struck her.

"Wait, whereisCasey?"

"He said he had a score to settle with that Beck guy," Spitfire replied.

"What?!" Twilight yelled in shock.

"Wow, Casey's out for blood!" Pinkie cried.

Everypony there looked to the pink pony with wide eyes at Pinkie's bluntness.

"What? Didn't anyone else hear Casey scream that he was gonna kill Beck?" Pinkie pointed out.

"Kill?!" Twilight yelled in alarm. "No, I can't let him do something he'll regret... I'm going in."

"Wait... Twilight, you forgot to rrree…andshe's gone," said Minuette, who had tried to stop the bruised and battered alicorn from going back in until after her restraints had been removed.





If there was anything for Casey to learn from this fight, it was the fact that Beck definitely wasn't like any of the other ponies that he'd fought in the past.

"Is this really the best that you can do?" taunted Beck, who had dodged a swift right hook from Casey's front left hoof, and before Casey could react, the cloaked pony suddenly jumped towards him, wrapping his limb around Casey's neck.

Then, Beck used his strength to slam his opponent down to the ground, and as Casey began to cough, he said, "How pathetic... and here I thought you'd actually be somewhat of a challenge for me."

"You son of a - oof!" Casey was cut off after feeling a hoof placed onto the top of his chest, pinning him to the ground, and Beck started to laugh.

"And there's sure as hell ain't gonna be a brave little princess coming to your rescue... not after everything I-"


WHAM!


The next thing he knew, Beck was flying across the room, and crash-landing into his own work table.

As for Casey, he was surprised yet relieved to see his girlfriend. "Thank you, Twili - um... youdorealize that your restraints are still on, right?"

"They are?" Twilight looked down at her hooves, realizing that he was right, and she sheepisly replied, "Whoops… I guess I was too busy-"


WHAM!


However, she was cut off by the unexpect arrival of Beck's broken table, with one of the pieces falling down on Twilight, who whimpered in pain.

"I am not having all of my hard work be put to waste!"yelled Beck, who then started charging towards Casey, and he delivered a solid headbutt to the young pony's chest, causing Casey to fall down while crying painfully.

Then, Beck was about to pin him down when, to his surprise, Casey used a lot of his strength to send him crashing into the nearest wall.

Huh, sothat'show Evil Stardust must have felt while doing… oh, great,thought Casey, who saw that Beck was quickly making his way back over to-


WHAM!


After throwing the cage that Spike had been in at Beck, which caused him to fall the ground, Twilight flew towards Casey to help the young pony stand up.

"How in the heck were you able to do that?" wondered Casey, who then worked on freeing his girlfriend from her restraints once he was up to his hooves.

"The cage wasn't…thatheavy for me to throw," replied a worn-out Twilight, and once the restraints were off, she let out a sigh of relief. "Now, come on, let's go… and get the other-look out!"

The young alicorn pushed Casey out of the way before he could get hit by the blast of electricity that had come from Beck's weapon, but unfortunately, she wasn't able to dodge it herself.

"Understandable, but I'm still not finished with you,princess," growled Beck, and he picked Twilight up so that he could throw her against one of the cages.

Then, the light-green Earth Pony placed his hoof on top of Twilight's bruised chest, and the more pressure he applied, the louder her screams of pain became.

"Where's the magic of friendshipnow, Princess?" asked Beck, who continued to press his hoof harder against Twilight's chest.

"Leave… her…alone!"

Before Beck could get a response from her, Casey jumped towards him, and speared the evil pony to the ground.

"I don't care what anypony else says," growled a furious Casey, looking down at the fallen pony. "You're about to be reunited with your fami-"


KZZZZZZZZZZZZT!


Grabbing the nearest dart he could get his hooves on, Beck then rammed it into the right side of Casey's body, and the young pony was struck by even more electricity.

Then, once Casey fell to the ground, Beck began to chuckle, and he said, "I still can't believe that you neveronceblamed Twilight for what happened to your parents."

"It's like I… said… that wasn't her fault," replied Casey, who was trying to stand up again.

"So not once were you wereeverangry at Twilight?" asked Beck.

Casey was about to answer him, but for some reason, the young pony started to wonder if hehadactually, at one point, blamed Twilight for what-


WHAM!


Using his opponent's distraction to his advantage, Beck knocked him down to the ground with his hoof, and with a sinister smile, he said, "Either way,Casey, it's too late now… and I'm about to reuniteyouwith your parents."

Then, Beck prepared to use all of his strength so that he could deliver a fatal blow to Casey's head, but at the very last second, a magical energy blast sent him flying into the nearest cage, and before he could even get up, said object came crashing down onto him, thus preventing Beck from standing up.

"What… the…?"Beck started to say, but he was cut off after a piece of the broken table flew straight towards him, and the pain from that caused him to feel drowsy. "I… am… not…"


WHOOSH!


After his front left limb had been struck by one of his darts, Beck was barely able to roll his eyes as he said, "You…got… lucky…"

Then, everything around him went black, and a few seconds later, the sinister Earth Pony was finally unconcious.

As for Casey, he looked over at Twilight, who had somehow been able to break the"magic-hold"device (which Casey had forgotten to remove) that Beck had placed on her horn, and that had allowed the princess to fire an energy blast at her enemy, as well as cause the cage to fall on him, and fire the nearest dart that she could find.

"Huh, who would've thought that his own dart would be used against him?" said Casey, but to his surprise, Twilight shook her head.

"I don't think the dart helped… much… it was probably everything else that…" said Twilight, but she suddenly began to cough, causing Casey to become concerned for her safety.

"Let's get you some help…"

Twilight gave him a weak nod, but after taking another look at Beck, she asked, "What if he wa-"

"Twilight? Casey?"

The two of them turned their heads to see an approaching Starlight, who could not believe what she was seeing.

"Are… you two… okay?"

Before the young alicorn could respond, Casey replied, "I'll be fine, but Twilight is… worse… so while I get her some help… we need you to make surehedoesn't wake up… when he does, it'll be for when I'm about to ki-"

Twilight suddenly started coughing again, and Starlight nodded her head, saying, "I got it, Casey… you two just hurry on over to the hospital."

"Thanks, Star," replied a grateful Casey, and the two ponies walked out of the room while Starlight took a close look at the unconcious Beck.

However, while Casey was thinking about ways to end Beck's life for everything that he'd done tohisfriends, Twilight was thinking about something completely different.
> Right or Wrong
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Anti-Equestria


The Anti-Mane 6 (minus Midnight) were all sitting in the throne room, looking at the Cutie Mark Map when suddenly, Evil Stardust entered the room, along with Twilight's evil counterpart.

"First of all… whatever was inside ofthispiece of crap-"

The dark-gold pony tossed the unfrozen canteen at the wall, and everyone watched it fall to the ground, now smashed… as well as opened.

"- was already taken," growled Evil Stardust, who looked frustrated. "All that happened was a tiny puff of black smoke coming out… which means that Kronos was more foolish than I thought."

"Well that sucks," replied Anti-Rainbow, who was shaking her head. "So, now what?"

A sly grin suddenly appeared on Evil Stardust's face, and he looked at Midnight. "Make sure no one comes for her, alright, sweetheart?"

The young alicorn nodded her head, and she shared a kiss with her boyfriend, who watched her walk away while Anti-Rainbow made a noise of disgust.

Then, once she was gone, Evil Stardust raised up the Time Staff, and said, "Nowis the time for us to unleash all kinds of hell…nowis the time for us to have our revenge…now,Rainbow, is the time for us to make Casey and my pathetic counterpart realize that they[BEEP]-edwith the wrong group of ponies!"






Casey's World


A few days later, Twilight opened her eyes to find herself laying in a hospital bed, and she quickly noticed that almost her entire body was bandaged up, as well as the top part of her head.

Well, that's not surprising… but where is-

"Twilight?"

The young alicorn turned her head to the side, and found herself looking at several of her friends, which consisted of Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow, Fluttershy, the CMC, Spike, and Starlight, all of them looking relieved to see the princess finally awake.

"H-hey, everypony…" said Twilight, sitting up a little in her bed. "How long was I… out?"

"Just a few days, darling," replied Rarity. "Once you and Casey arrived here, they took you straight to the emergency ward, and-"

However, she was interrupted by an alarmed Twilight saying, "Casey? Is he okay?"

Starlight answered by making a head gesture to the other side of the room, which was where Twilight saw a resting Casey, also bandaged up.

"I guess in some ways, he was as bad as you, Twi," said Applejack. "Cause he hasn't woken up since we saw him walk in here with you on his back."

To her relief, she could see that Casey was breathing, so Twilight figured that he neededa lotof rest, but as the memories of what had happened with Beck started coming back, she asked, "What happened to-"

"Your parents, Shining Armor, and Cadence are at the Crystal Empire, helping fix the damage that Beck caused over there," said Starlight. "And I guess it's taking a while to convince Flurry Heart that everything's fine now."

"Your Canterlot pals went back to their homes to let their parents know they were safe," replied Sweetie Belle. "But they said for us to tell you that they would visit you as soon as they got the chance."

"Discord is with Princess Luna and Princess Celestia," said Fluttershy. "They have… um…him… locked away pretty good, and won't release him until you're ready to talk with Luna and Celestia about what should happen to him."

A look of confusion appeared on Twilight's face, and she asked, "Why are they waiting for my decision?"

Applejack gave a small shrug, and Rainbow replied, "They wouldn't tell us, for some reason… just that they would try to agree with whatever you think is fair."

"Oh…" said Twilight, and for a moment, she remained silent while looking at everyone that was in the room. "Uh… what do you all think I should do?"

Rainbow was the first pony to give her an answer. "Well,Iwould beat the livin'heckout of him for what he did to you, and for making me pi - oh, uh, that reminds me… you think you could find a way to make thispinkgo awa -ow!"

"Her bein' healthy is a little more important right now," said Applejack, who had thumped the pegasus on the back of her head. "You can handle lookin' like Pinkie for a few more days."

"Ugggghhhh… I don'twantto be a pink pegasus anymore!"cried Rainbow, and Twilight let out a little chuckle at her friend's antics.

"Don't worry, Rainbow, I'm sure I could find a way to get rid of all thatpink," said the young alicorn. "In the meantime… um… would one of you mind helpin' me get to the little-ahhh!"

"Already got you covered, Twilight,"replied Pinkie, who gently placed Twilight on her back, and she was about to quickly head over to the nearest restroom when Applejack told her to wait for a moment.

"Ya gottawalkher over there, Pinkie… she ain't exactly ready for your, um,quick methodsof transportation."

While Twilight let out a sigh of relief, and silently thanking her friend, Pinkie just nodded her head, and said, "No proble-"

"And she means to actuallywalk, Pinkie," added Starlight. "No bouncing."

At first, Pinkie looked disappointed to hear that, but then, she simply smiled at the purple unicorn, and replied, "Sure thing, Twilight!"

"Uh… I'mStar-light, Pinkie."

The pink pony looked between Starlight and Twilight several times before saying, "Oops,sorry about that… but now I see why Ember gets so confused between the two of you."

Teacher and graduated pupil both let out a groan as Pinkie walked safely out of the room, and once they were gone, Starlight said, "Pleasetell me you can all see that me and Twilight don't look or sound alike inany way."

"Er…" said Rainbow, letting out a sheepish chuckle, while everyone else casually looked around the room. "Well, aside from the fact that you don't have alicorn wings… I cankind ofsee why Ember would think you were Twilight."

"What?"cried a surprised Starlight. "How could you say that? It's like me saying you andApplejackboth sound like each other."

Both Rainbow and Applejack let out a chuckle, and replied, "Well,thatis just ridiculous!"






A week later


Once Twilight and Casey were cleared to leave the hospital, the first thing they chose to do was take a train ride to Canterlot, along with the rest of the Mane 6 and Starlight.

Then, the nine of them were led to the royal castle by Ride Along, and after he took the group of friends to the throne room, the officer pony said, "Glad to see everything worked out alright, Princess Twilight."

After Twilight nodded her head, Ride Along walked out of the room, and a few seconds later, Rainbow said, "Ugh,he's even worse than those fillies who kept asking me to tell them about me meeting Daring Do… does hehaveto make those siren sounds?"

Before anyone else could give her a response, they heard a familiar voice speak towards them.

"It's good to see you like this, Twilight… how are you feeling?"

The young alicorn smiled at her former teacher, and she replied, "A lot better than when I first woke up in the hospital, but I still have to keep a few of these bandages around my chest for a few more days."

"We are very glad to hear that, Twilight," said Princess Luna, whose smile suddenly became a slight frown. "However, I hate to point out that thereisa reason why you have come, correct?"

Twilight nodded her head, and Celestia said, "Before we start, I need to know if you'll be okay seeing him, Twilight."

It took a moment for the Princess of Friendship to think about an answer for her, and once she knew what it was, Twilight's face became full of determination. "I'll be okay… especially since I'm with my friends and special somepony."

A smile appeared on Celestia's face as she said, "With that being said…Discord!"


POOF!


Suddenly, the draconequs was in the middle of the room, with a cage placed next to him that contained Beck in a straightjacket.

"Well, ithasbeen rather fun watching this bad pony squirm around in his cage," said an amused Discord. "But I guess the fun would have to end eventually… oh, and you don't know how happy I am to see you look so much better, Twilight."

"Thanks, Discord," replied a genuinely surprised Twilight. "I, uh… am also glad you look okay, too."

Before the smiling draconequs could say something else, Beck (whose muzzle was covered up with duct tape) began to let out cries of frustration, which made Princess Celestia clear her throat.

"Right then…Beck?"

The somewhat-silenced pony turned his attention over to the sun-raising royal alicorn, and she added, "A few weeks ago, you captured several innocent ponies, as well as a young dragon… caused property damage to the castle at the Crystal Empire… severely harmed many of the guards bothhereand at the Crystal Empire… forcibly changed Rainbow Dash's coat from blue to pink… tried to permanently end Spike's life by a poisonous dart… and committed acts of brutality against Princess Twilight Sparkle, along with her special somepony… is this not true?"

Everyone looked at Beck, who simply nodded his head, and before Celestia could speak again, Rainbow whispered, "So, um, Twilight, you think once this is over, you could fix me back at your castle -ow!"

After Applejack apologized to Celestia for Rainbow's interruption, the Princess of the Night said, "Normally, your fate would be up to both me and my sister… and if that were the case, you would not evenbe here right now."

For a moment, Beck felt a little afraid, and he did a small nervous gulp after hearing Luna's statement.

"However…we have agreed to let the final decision be up to Twilight," said Celestia, and Beck turned to look at the purple alicorn. "She was the one who suffered the most pain out of everypony else, and we believe that she'll do what is right when it comes to what your fate may be."

Then, she delivered a nod at Twilight, who then walked up to Beck's cage, and the two ponies looked at each other, in silence.

Come on, Twilight,thought Casey.You can do this… it's just like we talked about...

A few moments later, the young alicorn frowned at Beck, and said, "You captured almost everypony that meant a great deal to me… you were close into ending Spike's life right in front me… and weall knowwhat you personally did tome."

Beck just remained silent, and looked at her with a pokerface expression.

"And, yes, like Princess Luna said, if it were up to them, you and I would not be speaking to each other at this very moment…"

A slight smile started to appear on Casey's face.

"... so as the Princess of Friendship… I have decided that the right thing to do… is, first of all, to not take away your life-"

"Thank you, Twilight!"

Everyone looked over at Casey, who was walking over to Beck's cage with a dangerous look in his eye. "I'm gonna enjoy doing this to youuuuuu… wait a second…"

After realizing what she had just said, the young pony looked back at Twilight. "You mean to tell me that… you're actually going tosparehim?"

She nodded her head, and a scowl appeared on Casey's face. "So aftereverythingthat hedid… rather than sentence him todeath… you choose to-"

"Casey."

The young pony immediately became silent after hearing Princess Luna say his name, and she added, "Although I understand why you are upset, please allow Twilight to explainwhyshe is choosing to refrain from ending his life."

Not wanting to cause any unnecessary trouble, Casey nodded his head, and patiently waited like everyone else for the purple alicorn to speak.

"May I askwhyyou have chosen to do this, Twilight?" said Princess Celestia.

After taking a deep breath, Twilight gave her response. "I am the Princess ofFriendship… not the Princess ofRevengeorBrutality… sentencing somepony to their death is just not something that I don't think I could ever do.

"And, yes, what he did was terrible… that I can agree with 100%... but so were the things that Sunset Shimmer did, and now, she's one of my closest friends… even when Starlight-"

"Um, before you continue, er, Twilight," replied said unicorn, who now looked a little nervous. "Did the option ofdeathever come up when you and your friends discussed what would happen to me?"

Twilight gave her a confused look, and said, "No, of course not, and that's what I-"

"Oh, thank goodness,"exclaimed a relieved Starlight, who was now embracing the purple alicorn, and Twilight chuckled while softly patting the top of her head.

Then, after she was done, Starlight coughed into her hoof, and said, "Um, please continue…"

Looking back at the Royal Sisters, Twilight continued to give her explaination. "The point that I am making is, although Starlight, Sunset… even Discord ("Hey!")... who learned the true value of friendship, thanks to Fluttershy…"

The draconequs and yellow pegasus looked at each other, with both of them smiling, and Discord said, "Thank you, Twilight…"

Twilight gave a slight nod of her head, and added, "Despite the terrible things that they did, they were given a chance to do what wasright, and so far, everything for them has worked out just fine…

"In Beck's case, despite how cruel it seems, he was only doing it to avenge the loss of his loved ones… and maybe if I'd been a little more careful-"

"Hold on a moment, Twilight," interrupted Celestia, who was holding up a hoof, and was looking at her with concern. "Do not blame yourself for what happened… Tirek is the one responsible, not you… is that understood?"

Twilight waited a moment before nodding her head, and then, she said, "I know it sounds insane, but I do think that I can help Beck realize the error of his ways… so in order to that, I have also decided to place him in the dungeon of my castle-"

"We have a dungeon?"whispered Casey and Starlight, who were both looking at each other.

"- where he'll be watched everyday by either me, or one of my friends… to make sure that nothing like this will happen ever again…"

Before Celestia could say something, a grining Discord asked, "Ooh,can I take him over there right now, and take the first watch?"

"Um…sure…?"

Discord let out a quick laugh of victory, and with a snap of his fingers, the draconequs was gone, along with Beck, whose cage was now empty.

"Are you sure this is your final decision, Twilight?" asked Celestia. "Because if it is, there will beno onethat can change it… not even yourself…"

To Casey's irritation, Twilight nodded her head, and the white alicorn said, "Very well… whatever happens next all depends on you, Twilight… but me and my sister have faith in that you know exactly what it is that needs to be done…"

"Thank you.. both of you…" replied Twilight, who was now smiling, along with the rest of her friends, but as they all left the throne room, Casey continued to frown because of what his girlfriend had decided.






Future - Several Days Later


"So is that the reason you two broke up?" wondered Jack.

After finishing half of hisspecialdrink, Casey replied, "No, but it didn't exactly prevent it from happening…"

The bartender let out a sigh, and said, "Sounds like there's still more for you to tell, son."

Casey nodded his head, and after finishing the rest of his beverage, he replied, "Uh-huh… that's when all[BEEP]broke loose… but, uh, can I get a refill before I continue?"
> Creating a Crack
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few hours after leaving Canterlot, the Mane 6 - and Starlight were  sitting in their own throne room, with Twilight asking everypony what  they thought about her decision.

"I don't see any problem with it,  sugarcube," replied Applejack. "Not sure when I'd be able to keep watch  over him, but if the chance ever comes, I'd be more than happy to take  over for whoever's watchin him at the time."

Everyone else gave their own similar agreements, as well, which made the young princess feel more relaxed in knowing that she was making  the right decision, and Rainbow Dash was about to remind Twilight in  helping her go from pink to blue when Fluttershy realized something.

"Um… Twilight, where is Casey at?"

The  purple alicorn made a gesture towards the door, and replied, "He's  taking his turn since Discord's already spent enough time. Why?"


###############


"Ah, I must admit how much I enjoy these calm and peaceful conversations… don't you agree?"

Beck,  whose mouth was still covered up with duct tape, simply rolled his eyes  while Discord used his magic to make a clock appear beside himself.

"Unfortunately, somepony else is about to take my place, so we'll have to continue this at a later date... but before I leave…"

A  sly grin appeared on the draconequs' face as he reached out to grab one  end of the duct tape, and in a matter of seconds, Discord swiftly  removed it, causing Beck to immediately scream out in pain.

"That was for capturing Fluttershy."

The frustrated green pony glared at Discord, and was about to tell him off when a familiar voice said, "Your time is up, Discord…"

As  Casey began walking into the dungeon, the draconequs replied, "Twilight  may not have chosen the option of giving you the death penalty… but she  never said I couldn't touch you, so… just know that you're in for something a lot worse than duct tape whenever it's my turn again."

Beck  just muttered some words angrily under his breath, and Discord looked  over at Casey to say, "Got him all warmed up for ya… enjoy!"


Poof!


Once he was gone, Beck let out a groan, and growled, "I'd rather have had Pinkie be the first pony to watch over me in this place."

Casey didn't give him a response; instead, he just looked at Beck with a facial expression that was full of hatred.

"You know, your girlfriend should've killed me when she had the chance," said Beck, with a small smile. "But going from what happened earlier today, I suppose you wanted the honor of doing that?"

"Oh, you have no idea," growled Casey, who was trying his best to remain calm. "And you're lucky these bars are keeping me from-"

Beck interrupted him by letting out a chuckle, and saying, "That's rich coming from a pony who doesn't blame Twilight for losing a loved one."

"What happened to my parents was not her fault," exclaimed Casey, but Beck just shook his head, as if he was missing the big picture.

"So, you can honestly stand there, and tell me that… after realizing your parents were gone… not once did you ever blame your little girlfriend, who didn't even know you, them, me… my family… even existed?"

Instead of answering his question, Casey shook his head, and said, "I'm having someone else come and watch you."

Then, he started to walk away, but stopped after Beck said, "Oh, I get it, then… you're too soft to get angry at her… hell, you're probably too chicken to kill any one, in general… no wonder you didn't say anything back at the-"

"Shut… up… you son of a *****," exclaimed Casey, who was standing in front of his cell again, and a frown appeared on Beck's face.

"What kind of language is that supposed to be?"

"I learned it from somepony," replied Casey. "And just so you know, I have no problem in killing you… except-"

"-  you don't want to see what your girlfriend's reaction would be if she  came down here to find out that I died at your hooves," said Beck, who  was taunting him, at this point. "Like I said, you're just a soft little pony."

Alright, that's it! thought  Casey, who had heard enough from Beck, but before he could make an  attempt to hurt him, the arrival of Starlight caused Casey to stop.

"Twilight wants to see you," said the purple unicorn, who then looked at Beck. "And I don't have a problem placing something worse than duct tape over your mouth."

While Beck became silent, Casey began to leave, but Starlight gave him a concerned look, and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I…" He  started to say, but after taking a closer look into his friend's eyes,  Casey's anger level quickly went down, and he let out a sigh. "I'll be  fine, Star… thanks for asking…"

"Good… now, go talk to Twilight  before she gets worried," replied Starlight, and as he left the dungeon,  she turned her attention over to Beck, who raised an eyebrow at the  young unicorn.

"Oh, please… what in Equestria can you possibly do to me, teacher's pet?"


################


Casey walked into the library to find Twilight reading the book that he'd started on since having his memory restored.

"Find something interesti - whoa!" He started to say, but Twilight suddenly brought him over to stand in front her. "Um, is everythi-"

"Are you possessed?" asked the young alicorn, but it was in a more concerned tone instead of a demanding one.

Casey shook his head, in confusion, and was about to respond when Twilight took a closer look into his eyes.

"Well… they aren't green or red…"

Then, after taking a few steps back, she flipped through the book (which she had actually written), and Casey asked, "Twilight, what are-"

"Looking  through the stuff that my other self told me about regarding a…  somewhat similar incident," replied the young alicorn. "I just wanted to  make sure you're alright."

Casey started to smile at her, and he said, "Trust me, there's nothing inside of my body that's controlling my actions or anything like that… why would you think I was?"

"Because of what happened in Canterlot," replied Twilight. "You do understand why I made that decision, right?"

The smile went away, and became a slight frown as Casey said, "Well, yes… but look at it in my hooves, Twilight… I watched that pony nearly beat you to a pulp… and now, he's going to be living in a cell underneath us?"

"Yes, and I know it  doesn't look right," replied the purple alicorn. "But I want him to  realize that I'm sorry for the loss of his loved ones, and it's not my  fault-"

"Well, that is probably going to take a while," said Casey, rolling his eyes. "And there's no way I would allow you to go down there by-"

Twilight started to frown, and she asked, "What, you don't think I can take care of myself?"

Casey looked at his girlfriend with widened eyes after hearing her say that, and he said, "Twilight, he almost beat you to… do I have to say it again?"

"But that was after he  'drugged' us with whatever was in his dart," pointed out Twilight.  "Along with restraining me to a table, and making sure I couldn't use my  magic… now, things are different, so… wait, where are you going?"

"I  need to be alone for a moment," replied Casey, who felt himself getting  upset again since his mind was showing the memories of Beck attacking  her, but Twilight grabbed his front left hoof before he could take  another step. "I am not possessed, Twilight…"

"Casey…" replied the young alicorn. "I know you're upset, but this is the right thing to do… I mean, what do you think I would have done if it had been you instead of him?"

Remembering the stuff that Beck had said in the dungeon, Casey's frown became deeper, and he said, "Do not compare me to him, Twilight… he obviously hates you, and I lo…"

However,  Casey suddenly found himself pausing after realizing what he was about  to say, as did Twilight, and he felt his body starting to warm up.

"I… I lo… I… I… uh… I need some air…"

Then,  he hurried out of the library as quickly as possible, and Twilight was  about to say something when one of the library books started to vibrate.

Sunset? thought  the princess, but after taking it down from the shelf, she learned it  was the one that she used to talk with her parallel self, who had asked  Twilight if everything was alright.

I thought it was… now, I'm not so sure…





Now that he was out on the balcony, Casey started to walk back and forth.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid… that was the first time I had to tell her I… ugh, stupid, stupid - ack!"

Suddenly, he found himself coughing, and waving his hoof in front of his face. "What the heck… felt like smoke or…"

Then,  after he was done coughing, Casey found himself having a flashback to  before he'd met Twilight and the others at the Crystal Empire.


##############


"What do you have against Twilight and the others, anyway?" Casey cried. "They never did anything to you!"

"Don't  you dare talk back to me, slave," yelled Rowan, who was still using  Miles' body. "And if I recall, didn't you tell me that her battle with  Tirek caused you to lose your parents?"

Casey gulped, and said, "T-that wasn't her fault, though, it was Tirek who ripped apart the ground... and besides, she had to save Equestria…"

Rolling  his eyes, the hooded pony said, "And, of course, while she gets to stay  at a shiny castle, you get the short end of the stick!"


KZZZZZTTTT!


Before  Casey could say anything, the sinister pony unleashed his lightning  attack on him, and exclaimed, "You told me yourself that you'd wished  Twilight would one day know what it felt like to lose someone, yes?"

"I… was…" gasped a weakened Casey, and Rowan rolled his eyes.

"You're just pathetic… and better off sticking to having a crush on Twilight cause you'll never be with a pony like her."


###############


After his flashback was over, Casey shook his head, and said, "No, no, no… I'm not letting this happen again."

So,  a few minutes later, he was inside of his bedroom, and had somehow been  able to create a bag full of pills that he knew would help him.

I have got to get my watch back, thought Casey, who was now dropping a pill in his glass of cold water, which eventually became a dark blue-ish color.

Then, after drinking all of it, he started to feel a little better. "Okay… um… I should probably go back to the library now."

However, instead of finding Twilight, the young pony found himself looking at Pinkie Pie, who said, "Hi, Casey! Whatcha doin'?"

"I  was looking for… Twilight… and, um, Pinkie... what exactly is this  supposed to be?" asked Casey, looking at what was on the table in front  of him.

"A blueprint for my newest party cannon," replied Pinkie.  "It should be done by the time we have to start preparing for the Frie-  oh, and before I forget, Twilight told me to tell you that she went to  talk to her other self, whoever that is…"





Inside  of the "Cutie Map/throne" room, Stardust was having a conversation with  Rainbow and Applejack when Twilight entered the room, saying, "Jack…  there is, uh, somepony who wants your opinion on something."

Before Stardust could ask who it was, another Twilight stepped into the room, and he began to smile. "Oh, hello, Twilight… please tell my girlfriend that she had no reason to worry about your world being in danger."

"Well… um…" replied Twilight's counterpart, who was looking at the bandages around her chest. "There's actually a lot that you, er, don't know of yet…"


Poof!


Then,  to everyone's surprise, Stardust was put inside of an energy bubble,  and Applejack asked, "Er, why are you doin' that, sugarcube?"

The  two versions of Twilight looked at each other, and Stardust's girlfriend  replied, "It's so that he won't… uh… do something he might end up  regretting one day."

Stardust let out a laugh, and said, "The only thing I regret, love, is having watched anything that involved Equestria Girls… so, what could be worse than that?"
> Emergency
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Stardust's World


"Wow… I don't think I've ever seen him that upset, Twilight."

"Same here," replied Rainbow, who was agreeing with Applejack. "I don't even know what the heck he's saying."

The  two of them, along with Twilight and her other self, were watching  Stardust continue to throw a fit in the energy bubble that his  girlfriend had placed him in (which, as of a few minutes ago, had also  been sound-muffled, for obvious reasons), and that was because he was  not exactly pleased with what he'd learned had happen to Casey's  Twilight, as well as the other version of Spike, and everyone else at  Beck's own hooves.

The only thing that the young alicorn had left out was Rainbow's other self being turned from blue to pink since-

"* %{}`~£+/[*!"

Everypony turned their attention back to Stardust, and a confused Applejack asked, "What did he say righ' now?"

"Hmmmm…"  said Pinkie, who suddenly appeared from out of nowhere, and was looking  up while flipping through the pages of a book that she was holding. "I  don't see any of those symbols in here, but I'm pretty sure that he said the word [BEEP]."

Then, noticing that they were all looking at her, the pink pony replied, "What? He says that word the most…"

"How the hay did you come across this, Pinkie?" wondered Rainbow, who was now looking through the book after taking it from her.

"I  got it because I wanted to see if he'd said all the 'profanity words'  that exist in Equestria," replied Pinkie. "And, surprisingly, he's only  said around-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Rainbow started to chuckle, and said, "Um, I think you're wrong, Pinkie… I think [BEEP] was the word that he-"

"Rainbow Dash!" scolded  Applejack, and after taking it, she added, "You should know better than  to say somethin' that Twilight don't like to hear… 'sides, y'all are  both wrong… cause Star actually said the word-"

"O-KAY, just stop!" cried Twilight, and she used her magic to make the book disappear before any of them could say something else. "It doesn't matter what he said…"

Then,  to her counterpart's surprise, she looked over at Stardust, and the two  of them just stared at each other, with similiar but also different  expressions.

"Um… what's going on?" wondered Casey's girlfriend, who walked over to Applejack.

"They're  talkin' to each other inside of here," replied the orange pony, lightly  tapping the side of Twilight's head with her hoof. "He's also done it  with Rainbow before, but I can't remember if me and him ever did."

"Is it something to do with-"

Rainbow nodded her head, and she said, "His balance powers? Yup, definitely… but, er, he usually does it with just Twilight, and it's actually not that much, anyway."

"How come?"

Pinkie was the next pony to answer her friend's other self. "I think it's cause Stardust doesn't want to, um… how do I say it…"


POOF!


Then,  to their surprise, Stardust was released from his bubble, but before he  could speak, his girlfriend placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder.

"Easy, Jack… she's obviously been through a lot."

It  took a while for Stardust to let out a heavy sigh, and after muttering  some words to himself, he looked at Twilight's other self. "I… am so  sorry to hear what happened… and I swear that if I could go back in time  to that day, I would have knocked his damn-"

"Jack…"

Stardust closed his mouth, and paused for a moment before he continued to speak. "I'm very relieved to see that you're doing a lot better, and I hope the same is with Spike…"

Casey's girlfriend gave him a thankful smile, and after she nodded her head, he asked, "Where is… Beck… at now again?"

"In  the dungeon of my castle," replied the young princess. "And he'll be  watched by either me or one of my friends every day until he learns that  what happened was not my fault."

After hearing her response,  Stardust forced himself not to let out a groan, and with a sigh, he  said, "Well… I can't say I'm surprised to hear that… or that your Celestia again showed that-"

"Jaaaccckkk…"

"Yes, love, I know… so, if that's what your decision is, Twilight, then I can respect it… is there anything I can do to help?"

Not  wanting to make her other self's special somepony again, Twilight shook  her head, and replied, "Not right now, Stardust, but I appreciate your  offer… and I'll definitely let you know if I ever do need it."

"Glad  to hear…" said Stardust, who was now walking out of the room. "Now, if  we're all done here, I'm going to find Starlight so that she can help me  get rid of this headache I feel coming on, so…"

Once he was gone,  Applejack smiled at her friend's counterpart, and said, "Don't be too  worried about him, sugarcube… he'll be alright by the end of the day."

"Yeah,  totally," replied Rainbow, nodding in agreement. "He's probably just  upset because another version of his special somepony got hurt, and he  wasn't there to stop… what, what did I say?"

After giving her  pegasus friend an unamused expression, Twilight looked at her  counterpart, and asked, "Is there anything else you'd like to talk about  before you go back home?"

Casey's girlfriend shook her head, and replied, "No, but I should get back so that I can take my turn watching over Beck… bye, everypony…"

The other three ponies gave their friend a goodbye, and once she was gone, Pinkie asked, "Um, so… can I have the book back now?"

Twilight looked at her, and the pink pony replied, "It's only because I want to see if Stardust can say the other remaining…"






Casey's World


While  the light-orange Earth Pony was actually becoming interested in  Pinkie's idea for a new party cannon, their discussion was interrupted  by the arrival of Twilight via the Crystal Mirror.

"So, how'd it go talking with whoever it was you talked to?" asked Pinkie.

"Fine…  I feel a little better now, actually," replied Twilight, and she was  about to leave the library when Casey walked up to her.

"Twilight, wait… um, about what happened earlier, I-"

Suddenly,  to his surprise, the young alicorn placed a hoof on his muzzle, and  said, "It's fine, Casey, don't worry about it… just promise that you can  trust me on this."

Just like what happened with Starlight, the  love and concern in Twilight's eyes made Casey feel more relaxed, and he  nodded his head, which made her move her hoof away. "Cross my heart,  hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

"Well, you didn't have to do that," replied a chuckling Twilight. "But still… thank you…"

Then, as she walked away, Casey looked back at Pinkie, who asked, "So… you're not going to tell her yet?"

"I will when I know it's the right time," replied the young pony, walking back over to his friend, and he let out a sigh.

I just hope I'm still able to get another opportunity.


###############


"So,  do you still want to keep on talking?" asked Starlight, who was glaring  at the imprisoned Beck. "I can still give you something worse than duct  tape…"

Even though he had been turned into various random objects  almost the whole time she had watched him, Beck replied, "Before you  do, teacher's pet, I have a question for you… and that's when are you having the wedding?"

His question immediately made Starlight confused, and she asked, "Huh?"

After  rolling his eyes, Beck gave her a response. "You know what I mean,  Glimmer… the way you two are with each other, I'm surprised that - and speak of the alicorn, look who decided to show up!"

Ignoring  the sole prisoner that was in her dungeon, Twilight looked at a  now-blushing Starlight, and said, "I can take it from - uh, are you  okay?"

The purple unicorn nodded her head, and she replied, "I'm fine, just need to, um… get some air…"

As she watched her friend leave the dungeon, Twilight gave Beck a suspicious look. "What did you say to her?"

"Nothing  for you to freak about, princess… and may l say how lovely it is to  know that, as your 1st prisoner in this place, I'm getting the royal  treatment."

Twilight rolled her eyes as she slid the tray of food  that she'd brought with her into Beck's cell, and said, "You're lucky I  even chose to give you food in the 1st place."

As he  began cutting up part of his meal, the light-green Earth pony looked  over at Twilight, saying, "If you're expecting an apology from me,  princess, you're wasting your breath."

"I never said I was, Beck," replied the young alicorn. "But don't you think it's time to just let go of-"

"Nothin' doin', Princess," he muttered, and Twilight let out a huff of disappointment.

Well, I guess Casey was right about this being hard… but I'm not giving up.

"Do you want to talk?"

Beck looked at her with an unamused expression, and said, "What's there to talk about? My parents, my best friend, my wife, my SON... they were innocent... and they were victims of an accident that you caused while trying to 'save all of Equestria' from Tirek."

The  young alicorn remained silent, and found herself feeling a little bit  of guilt, even though everyone else had told Twilight (and she, herself,  knew) that it was not her fault.

"I wanted to forgive you, you know…" said Beck, which caused Twilight to look up, slightly shocked.






Flashback


The  rain gently fell over the cemetery… though, Beck didn't really care,  and neither did Mr. and Mrs. Cake, who had stayed with Beck when he  lingered at the graves of his family and Night Light, who, to Beck's  delight and heartbreak, had wanted to have been buried next to him.

However,  seeing as how he wasn't dead, and he wanted to be buried next to  Twinkle, an open space lied between her headstone and Night Light's.

It  had been two full weeks since Tirek's catastrophic attack, and  Ponyville had already managed to be restored to it's former glory…  though it's not like Beck cared, considering this fortnight had been the  worst of his entire life.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Mrs. Cake checked.

"Pinkie said she could watch the foals for as long as we needed," Mr. Cake added. "We could stay..."

His eyes not straying away from the 5 headstones, Beck shook his head.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," he said solemnly. "Go. Be with your foals."

The Cakes looked to each other, then back to Beck, before taking their leave.

"Chiffon! Carrot!" The Cakes looked back.

"Thank you… for… your concern..." Beck said, eyes still trained in the headstones, and unable to find the right words to say.

For a few minutes after they had left, Beck remained silent until he was finally able to softly cry without anyone present.

Then, after letting out a sigh, he was able to bring up the courage to speak fully.

"I'm so sorry, everyone," Beck whispered. "You shouldn't be here right now. Especially you, Carl."

He then looked to his left, the spire of the new Ponyville Castle rising above the trees.

It's been two weeks, and she hasn't even said a word, he thought to himself, with a frown on his face. It's  like she doesn't even care. I mean, why should she? Equestria is saved,  she gets a residential upgrade, and still has all her friends…

Then, Beck scoffed, and muttered, "She doesn't even know what TRUE LOSS is."

As he continued to talk, anger began to seep into Beck's thoughts.

"It's all her fault you're all here," Beck said, turning back to the headstones. A scowl emerged on his face.

"If  she weren't so reckless, you'd all be still alive right now. Yet, here  we are… and she doesn't even care. I want to forgive her, but..." the black maned stallion said.

If earth ponies had fists, Beck would be clenching then right now.

He sighed in defeat, feeling like he had no other option. "I promise you, she won't go unpunished. No pony messes with my family and gets away with it… royalty or not."

He  approached the gravestone of his family members, planting a kiss on top  of each of them, before giving a good bump to Night Light's.

"I promise... you all will be avenged.  I love you all." Beck turned around, and trotted through the drizzling  rain, back to his newly repaired, yet empty, home. He had a lot of work  to do.






Present


As Twilight remained quiet, Beck simply stared at her while continuing to speak.

"That's  when I realized you needed to be taught a lesson. You needed to learn  what it was like to have everything taken away from you... but not just  that. I wanted to see you suffer, beg for mercy, or at least...  apologize...

"At least then, I'd know that I avenged  them... that the one that took them was getting her dues for what she  did... but look where that got me," Beck finished, gesturing to his  cell.

Then, before she could say anything else, the light-green  Earth Pony added, with a sinister look in his eyes, "Do not think for  one second, princess, that I don't regret what I did to you back in my  hideout… it was something you most definitely deserved."

A  teary-eyed Twilight was about to respond when, to their surprise,  Pinkie made her way into the dungeon. "Is it my turn now? Cause if not, I  could go back up to-"

"No, don't worry, Pinkie, I think I've  spent enough time here anyway," replied Twilight, and she hurried out of  the dungeon before something worse could have happened.

Once the  alicorn princess was gone, Pinkie and Beck looked at each other, with  the sinister pony muttering to himself, "How I wish I still had one of  my darts with me…"





"Um… any reason why we're in the Everfree Forest?" wondered Anti-Applejack, who was looking around the area.

"It's  like I said, AJ," replied Evil Stardust, who was also speaking to the  rest of his friends. "We'll start by splitting up in order to get all of  the Mane 6 into Twilight's castle, and once that's all said and done,  we'll continue to work on getting Casey out of the picture so that he  won't fuse with Starcade-"

However, he found himself being interrupted by Anti-Pinkie, who asked, "Hey, how come Midnight isn't with us?"

"Because  she's making sure that Sunset Shimmer doesn't escape from our world,"  replied Stardust's evil self. "And I doubt any one will be looking for  her, so… for the rest of us…"

Then, a sinister smile appeared on his face.

"... it's time for us to have our revenge!"
> Seperate Ways
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Evil Stardust walked through the streets of Ponyville, all he  could think about was how amazing it would feel once his revenge had  been completed...

… and until my counterpart is in far too many pieces to count, thought the dark gold pony, whose smile grew once Twilight's castle was in his sight, and he stood still. Now I just need to-

"Hey, Star!" cried Anti-Pinkie, causing him to almost jump in surprise. "Wait for us!"

The rest of his friends came up to the young pony, who was now confused, and he said, "I thought I told you five to get your counterparts to come to the castle."

Anti-Rainbow gestured towards the pink pony, and replied, "We were going to, Star, but she had one of her sensing things, and told us that they're all inside already."

"Seriously?" Evil Stardust looked back at the crystal-made castle, and a sly grin appeared on his face. "Well, then, how convienent…"






The Library


"This isn't going to hurt, right?" asked  Rainbow Dash, who was currently standing inside of a glass-like  containment, while Twilight was busy writing out scientific stuff on her  notepad.

"Nope… according to my calculations, you'll only be  surrounded by pink-colored smoke for a quick minute, and once it goes  away, your fur color should be back to its original blue."

Rainbow nodded her head, and replied, "Awesome! Let's get this thing going!"

As  Twilight began to start the color-restoration process, the rest of  their friends (except for Pinkie) watched what was going on from a few  feet away.

"Aw, shucks, Rainbow, I was just gettin' used to ya bein' a pink pegasus," teased a smirking Applejack, and said pony just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well, once this is all done and over with, I'm going to be the color that I am supposed to be, so… brrrrr… you couldhave warned me about it being cold in here, Twilight."

The young alicorn gave her friend an apologetic smile, and a chuckling Casey replied, "Just chillax, Rainbow… plus, it'll only be for a minute or two anyway."

As  the containment began to fill up with the pink-colored smoke, Rainbow  gave her friend a half-eyelids-closed expression, and said, "Ha ha, very funny."

Then,  once it was completely filled up to the point where Rainbow could not  even be seen, everyone waited for the minute to pass by, hoping that-

"Ooh, what's that supposed to be?"

An amused Twilight let out a sigh, and she replied, "I'm trying to give Rainbow her original fur color ba… um… Pinkie?"

"Yeah?" replied the pink pony.

"If you're standing  here right now, then who is watching Beck down in the dungeon?" asked  Twilight, but right before Pinkie could answer the question, a familiar  voice came from out of nowhere.

"Well, well… it's been a long time since we first met, Princess Twilight."

Standing  in the doorway of the room was Evil Stardust, flashing a toothy grin at  the young princess, and a surprised Twilight said, "B-but I thought  Kronos-"

Evil Stardust barked out a laugh, and pulled out the Time  Staff from underneath his cloak, saying, "You can't keep somepony like  me down forever, princess… oh, and by the way…"

He took out another object, and tossed it over at Casey. "I don't really have any more use for this."

Recognizing  it at his special watch, the light-orange pony quickly went over to the  nearby table so that he could place the pills he'd created in one of  its compartments while the others looked at Evil Stardust in confusion.

"Um, why is he here?" said Starlight, who was now frowning at the Earth Pony.

Before  Evil Stardust could respond to her, Casey turned back around, and  replied, "First of all, thanks for upgrading my watch… second, I guess  you being here is because you had enough tea parties?"

The sinister pony's smile quickly became a scowl, and his eyes started shining with rage.

"You have no idea what it's like to be in a place like that… and if it wasn't for you fusing with my other self-"

Suddenly, an interrupting Pinkie said, "Ohhhh, now I get it! This is a mean version of Stardust, and the rest of the ponies behind him are mean versions of us… well, except for Starlight, but-"

"Hey, what the heck is… going on here…" said  a confused Rainbow, who was stepping out of the containment with her  fur color back to normal. "Um, Twilight, why am I seeing double-"

"Will you all stop [BEEP]-ing preventing me from talking?" growled an annoyed Evil Stardust, who was now joined by his group of friends. "Now, where was I? Ah, yes…"


WHAM!


To  everypony's surprise (except for the evil ones), Evil Stardust fired an  energy blast from the staff that sent Casey crashing into the nearest  bookcase, which soon fell on top of him after he landed on the ground.

"Not exactly a wall, but good enough, I suppose," said the young pony, while Casey's friends quickly went over to help him. "And don't even think about using your magic on me, you two…"

As she and Starlight stopped their horns from glowing, Twilight asked, "What is it that you want? Your other self isn't here."

"I think I'm aware of that, princess," replied Evil Stardust. "Which is why, in the meantime, I think I'll just sit back and enjoy the fun."

Then,  as he moved away to the side, the Anti-Mane 5 ponies began walking over  to their counterparts, with thoughts of fighting and hurting them…  until Casey cried, "Wait... leave my friends out of this, and fight me instead!"

While the Anti-Mane 5 stopped moving, Evil Stardust just looked at the young pony, and then, he started to laugh.

"You think you could defeat me? Please… I sent you to the damn hospital, kid, and if it wasn't for my other self deciding to make a DBZ move, you wouldn't even be alive right now."

And, with a scoff, Evil Stardust added, "In fact, you're not even worth fighting… oh, and because you interrupted my fun time, I'm about to do to you what I did to Sunse - aaaaggghh!"

What  happened next all took place in under a minute… Starlight fired a  magical blast at Evil Stardust and the rest of his friends while  Twilight cried, "Pinkie, hit the button on the World Travel Machine!"

"Which one? Do you mean the big red one that you said I should never, ever, ever, EVER-"

"Pinkie!"

"You got it, Twilight!"


Whoosh!


Once  Pinkie had pressed the button, the Crystal Mirror turned on, except it  was now making a rather powerful vacuum-like sound, and all of the Mane  6, along with Starlight and Casey, felt themselves rising up into the  air.

"Twi, what in all of Equestria are you tryin' to-" cried Applejack, but she was cut off after finding herself being sucked into the mirror, along with everypony else.

"Nice to finally meet you, Evil Version of Stardust!" yelled  Pinkie, who was the last pony to leave, and once they were all gone,  the sinister pony began making sounds of frustration while his friends  wondered where they would end up at.






[Stardust's World]


As  the gold pony continued to read a book inside of the library, his  girlfriend appeared at the doorway, and she asked, "How are you feeling,  Jack?"

"A lot better than I was a few hours ago," replied  Stardust, who was now walking over to the nearest bookshelf. "And I'm  hoping that now, the rest of today will be just me enjoying this-"

You might want to move out of the way, Jack.

Before  the young pony could respond to his mentor, the Crystal Mirror started  to glow, and in a matter of seconds, multiple ponies started falling  straight out of it, much to Twilight's surprise.

"Can we try that again?" asked Pinkie, as she started to stand up.

"I think I'm good with just the one time, sugarcube," muttered Applejack, who was now trying to fixher Stetson hat from looking crumpled up.

As for Stardust, he was being helped up to his feet by Casey, who gave him an apologetic smile. "Um… surprise?"

The  pony who represented balance let out a sigh, and he replied, "I stopped  being surprised by stuff like this a long time ago, Casey… oh, here,  let me help you up."

Once Starlight was standing up, she took one look at Stardust, and replied, in a dry tone, "Thanks… I guess."

As she walked away, Stardust looked back at Casey, and asked, "I just helped her up to her hooves. Why is she...?"

"I  dunno, beats me…" said Casey, giving his friend a shrug, and then, he  realized something that made him groan while placing a hoof on his  forehead.

"Pinkie… please tell me you had somepony take your place in watching over Beck…"

Everyone turned their attention to the pink pony, who sheepishly replied, "Uh… well, I was going to, but then I got distracted after seeing what Twilight was doing to Rainbow Dash-"

"Just forget it, Pinkie," said a visibly upset Casey, and he began walking over to Twilight. "See, this is why I told you that getting rid of him was the better option!"

"Casey, you know I'm not able to-"

"Will you stop talking like a princess, and talk as your own self?" interrupted Casey. "See, now it's going to be your fault if he ends up doing something worse than what he did to you because you couldn't bring yourself to give him the death sentence."

Before  Twilight could try defending herself, a concerned Starlight walked up  to him, and said, "Casey, please, just calm down before-"

"Shut… it… Star…" growled Casey. "And I don't need help from a former bad pony, so just-"

"Hey, she's only trying to help you," exclaimed Rainbow, but that just made him even more upset.

"Dash, I swear to Celestia that I'll find a way to make you permantly pink if you don't shut-"

Then, a worried Twilight walked up to him, and said, "Casey, you promised that you would-"

"I know what I did, Twilight or… Star's Twilight… whoever you are," yelled Casey, now pointing a hoof at her. "But I realize now that I can't because you chose to let him live instead of making sure he got what he rightfully deserved, so like I said, princess… it is all your fault."

He  then walked out of the room before anyone could say something else, and  a guilty-looking Twilight was now lowering her head in sadness, but  then, she felt a pony's hoof raise her head back up, which turned out to  be one of Stardust's hooves.

"You and I both know that you made the right decision,  Twilight, and whatever happened was not your fault," said the  human-turned-pony, giving her a comforting smile. "In the meantime,  allow me to deal with-"

However, Twilight suddenly shook her head, and she said,"Thank you… Stardust… but there's no need for that… because I know now what I have to do."





After  finishing his special drink, and setting the empty glass on the nearby  table, Casey walked out onto the balcony, where he began pacing back and  forth while making sounds of frustration.

"Stupid… stupid… stupid…"

"Casey?"

The young pony stopped moving, and turned around to look at his girlfriend, who was also a little teary-eyed.

"Okay, Twilight, look, I'm sorry I yelled, but-"

Then,  he immediately stopped talking after the alicorn used her magic to  place a familiar accessory in his hooves. It was the other turtledove  necklace that he'd seen her put on the first day they'd met.

"Twilight, wait, I didn't mean to…"

"I'm  sorry, Casey, but… maybe this is what needs to happen right now," said a  saddened Twilight. "I mean… if making a simple promise, or… not  trusting me with the decision that I made, then…"

Casey quickly  began to shake his head, and replied, "Okay, I get it, I screwed up, but  let me just apologize or… Twilight, I… I lo…"

Unfortunately, he still couldn't find himself able to say how he felt about her.

"I… I… please, just let me…"

Twilight shook her head, and she continued walking away while Casey was left alone with the necklace in his hooves.

Insert "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong

Then,  once he realized what had happened, a wave of sadness washed over the  young pony, and he found himself making some adjustments to his watch.

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you

"If that's what she wants… then, so be it…"

And I think to myself what a wonderful world

Then,  after pressing a small button on the side of his watch, a white aura  surrounded Casey's entire body, and he disappeared in a quick flash of  bright light.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night

Once  he was gone, Twilight came back out a moment later, and she sadly  lowered her head… but brought it up after hearing a familiar voice ask,  "Need somepony to talk to?"

"Yeah…. I think I do, Star…"

And I think to myself what a wonderful world

As  for Casey, he quickly realized that he was in the world that Sunset  Shimmer lived in (since he was standing on two legs), but for some  reason, it felt a little different.

I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They're really saying I love you

"Probably because it's raining…" muttered Casey, who was now slowly starting to get soaked.

He  looked down at the turtledove necklace that was still in one of his  hands, and Casey found himself remembering what Rowan had told him  multiple times.

"Twilight would never want to be with a pony like you."


HONK-HONK!



SPLASH!


After  getting almost drenched in water by a passing semi-truck, Casey started  to cough a few times before saying, "Well, that is just wonderful, isn't it?"


And I think to myself what a wonderful world


Then,  he found himself turning around to see what he was standing in front  of, and remembering what he learned about these places from Stardust,  Casey figured out that it as a bar.

"Maybe there's someone in  there I can talk to about… everything…" He said, before the young  teenager decided to walk inside. "Not like anything worse could happen  now."


Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world






"Don't  you think we should go after them, Stardust?" wondered Anti-Rainbow, a  few minutes after the others had went into the Crystal Mirror.

Evil  Stardust rolled his eyes, and replied, "No, Crash... the last time we  tried that, I ended up spending DAYS in a literal hell... we need to  find a way to get Star-"

However, before he could finish  explaining his plan, Anti-Pinkie came into the room, and she said, "I  can sense another pony in the castle... the dungeon, to be exact..."

"Huh? Who could they have down there?"

After  having felt relieved that Pinkie had gone away, Beck suddenly sighed,  thinking about what Twilight said. Would this really have been what they  wanted?

'No,' Beck thought. 'She's only doing this  to save her own hide… Ugh! Once I get out of here, they are going to  know the true feeling of pain and loss.'

Just then, the door to the dungeon opened and collided with the wall, creating a very loud noise.

"Oh joy, I wonder who's going to be my babysitter this time," Beck said sarcastically.

However,  once he laid eyes on Evil Stardust, a look of smug intrigue appeared on  his face, "Stardust Balance, we meet at last. I take it you're about as  enraged as your friend?"

"Sorry, [BEEP], but I believe you have me confused with my goodie-two-shoes counterpart… I'm the evil and more better one," Evil Stardust explained. "Now just who in the hell are you?"

A look of mild surprise crossed Beck's face. There was a dark counterpart of the golden earth pony from another dimension?

"The name's Beck," replied the light-green pony. "So, what's an evil equine like yourself doing down here?"

"One  of my associates sensed a presence down here and I decided to see who  it was," Evil Stardust explained. "But I didn't take Twilight was the  imprisoning type. What're ya in for?"

"Well, in the words of Princess Celestia, I 'captured  several innocent ponies, as well as a young dragon, caused property  damage to the castle at the Crystal Empire, severely harmed many of the  guards both here and at the Crystal Empire, forcibly changed Rainbow  Dash's coat from blue to pink, tried to permanently end Spike's life by a  poisonous dart AND committed acts of brutality against Princess  Twilight Sparkle, along with her special somepony'...

"So,  basically I pony-napped a lot of ponies, hurting several in the process,  almost killed Spike, brought both Twilight and Casey to death's door, AND played a little joke on Rainbow Dash."

It  was now Evil Stardust's turn to have a look of mild surprise. This  stallion nearly defeated The Mane Six and Casey, all on his own.

"[BEEP]." Was all Evil Stardust could say.

"Yep,  pretty much sums it up. Casey wanted me dead, but Princess Friendship  thinks she can 'reform' me," Beck chuckled. "Like that could happen.  Twilight Sparkle took away everything I held dear, so if she thinks that  some speech is gonna absolve her from any guilt, she's got another  thing coming."

It was then that Evil Stardust had an idea. An awful, terrible idea.

"Well, seems to me that we have a common enemy."

Beck remained quiet, for a moment, "So it seems."

"You know, me and my group are about to get our own revenge on my counterpart and his friends… Casey's more of a bonus, though... you care to join us?"

Beck mulled the offer over, though there was no doubt on what he was going to respond.

"I'm in," he accepted. "On one condition, Casey's special somepony remains alive. Death is too good for her, so I want her to suffer just as I had. We clear?"

'I like the way he thinks,' Evil Stardust thought.

"Crystal," the evil doppelgänger replied. "Now, you may want to back away." Beck obliged.

Evil  Stardust raised his staff, then brought back to the ground with a  thump. Once this occurred, a red light began forming at the top of the  object. A few seconds later, the light disappeared, but not before it  started a laser-like beam of magic that destroyed the lock on Beck's  cell door.

Beck simply pushed open the door as he exited the cell. "Thank you…"

"Don't  mention it. Us villains have to stick together," Evil Stardust said  before the two shared a hoofshake in acquaintanceship.

"Shall we?" Beck said, as the two made their way out of the dungeon.
> Caught Up
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


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…"
> Working Together
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Sunset Shimmer had finally opened her eyes, she realized quite a  few things… she was a unicorn again, her head and body ached in pain,  and she was in some sort of dungeon cell.

"What's going on?" wondered Sunset, speaking in a weakened voice because of how tired and hurt she currently felt. "Where am I?"

Then, to her suprise (and relief), she could see the outline of a familiar pony that was standing in the

shadows. "Oh, thank God - I mean, Celestia… Twilight, you have no idea how glad I am to… um… why are y-you… laughing?"

"Hahahahaha…" As  she continued to let out an evil laugh, Midnight slowly walked into the  light, and once she was fully revealed to Sunset, the young alicorn  said, "It's cause of how the expression was on your face, thinking that I  was actually your beloved princess friend."

Now feeling confused, Sunset asked, "Well, if you aren't Twilight, then why do you look like her?"

Midnight rolled her eyes, and shook her head before saying, "It's because I am her evil counterpart… which is why you are in Anti-Equestria…"

Then,  the alicorn's horn started to glow with red-colored magic, and Sunset  backed herself up against the wall as Midnight concluded her statement.

"... and I think it's time for you to go back to sleep."


################


[Beck] Oh, yeah, and I'm the worst pony, right?

[Stardust] Will you ****ing shut it?!


###############


Once  Jack and Casey had explained their dilemna to EG Twilight, she quickly  led them to her downstairs basement, which was actually a laboratory,  and the light-orange teenager let out a whistle.

"This place looks  pretty cool, Twilight," said Casey, giving the glasses-wearing teen a  positive compliment as he started to look around, and a bashful smile  appeared on her face. "How long did it take… oh, sweet, is this supposed  to be a-"

"Um, she'll give you a grand tour later, pal," replied  Jack, bringing him back to his side, and he looked back at the former  Crystal Prep student. "Do you think you could figure out how we can use  Casey's watch to get to wherever Evil Stardust might have taken Sunset?"

As  EG Twilight analayzed and looked over the special wristwatch, she  replied, "Yeah, but I'm sorry to say that something like this might take  some time, Jack."

Nodding his head, the young man said, "No worries, Twilight, just do the best that you can."

While  EG Twilight continued on with her work, Casey was about to ask another  question when he suddenly began to cough a few times.

"Are you alright?" asked EG Twilight. "I think I have a bag of cough drops around here somewhere."

The young man shook his head, and replied, "No, it's fine, I just, uh… *cough-cough*... I think I'll go look for them while you work."






[Stardust's World]


Once  he was sure that everypony in the room was calm enough, Stardust said,  "Alright, first, we need to make sure that they're not all waiting for  us in your world's version of this library by-"

"Got ya covered, Stardusty! Be right back!"


Whoosh!


Suddenly,  to everyone's surprise, Pinkie jumped straight into the mirror, and  after she was gone, Stardust brought a hoof to his forehead while  Twilight's counterpart quickly started to become worried.

"Why would she do something like that?" asked the young alicorn.

Don't remind me, Starswirl, thought Stardust, who was also sensing the princess' concerned feelings, and he said, "I'm sure that she-"


Whoosh!


After  having been gone for about 10 seconds, Pinkie made her return, and was  licking away some leftover chocolate that had been on her hoof before  smiling at everypony that was in the room.

"Well, I don't think they're in the castle anymore," said the pink Earth Pony. "Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have come back to this world like how I did right now."

Before  Twilight's counterpart could say anything in response, Rainbow Dash  cried, "Pinkie, you almost were about to have Twilight get freaked out…  and is Beck still in his cell?"

"Nope," replied Pinkie, shaking  her head. "So wherever Evil Star and Evil Us went, they probably took  Beck with him, and… what's wrong, Twilight?"

Said alicorn was now pacing back and forth inside of the library, looking very concerned while slowly entering into panic mode.

"If  those two are working together now, then that means something worse is  going to happen than what they had done to us and Stardust's friends…  and my idea of having Casey fuse with Stardust again to defeat Evil  Stardust is useless because I caused him to leave off to Celestia knows  where after I said that we needed to take a break, thinking it was the  right decision to make, but now I'm starting to regret ever saying that  tohim since there's no other way for me to ask him to fuse-"

She was suddenly cut off by Stardust's girlfriend, who smiled at her as she placed a hoof on her counterpart's shoulder.

"It'll  be alright, Twilight, don't worry... I'm sure Jack can find a sensible  way of dealing with this dilemna," replied the young alicorn, trying her  best to make her other self feel positive. "Besides, Jack did say to us that Casey would be fine-"

"Not exactly something that sounds very pleasing to my ears," muttered Starlight, who was still annoyed with the gold pony.

Stardust  was about to respond, but he found himself sensing the contrasting  emotions of both his girlfriend and her counterpart, which was all just  one big mixture of concern, panic, guilt, and fear, and it didn't help  that he could also sense their thoughts, as well, with his Twilight  wanting to believe that everything was going to be fine, and her  counterpart was thinking of what could possibly be the worst things to  happen now that their enemies were working together.

"I still  can't believe you actually decided to just help yourself to a slice o'  cake back in our Twilight's castle," exclaimed Applejack, who was now  frowning at the pink pony. "What in the hay made ya think that was a  good idea?"

"What? I was hungry," whined Pinkie Pie, and while the two of them started to argue with each other, Starlight noticed that Stardust was now gone.

Where does he think he's going?





"Uggggghhh…" moaned  Stardust, while laying his head on the desk that was in his bedroom.  "So… much… emotions and… thoughts that aren't my own…"

A few  minutes later, he heard the sound of somepony walking in, and a familiar  voice saying, "Hey, Stardust, I was wondering why I saw this book that  has… oh, boy, eyes are closed, and you're having your head down on the  desk… everypony not letting you get some sleep again?"

Realizing  that this was the Starlight Glimmer from his world, Stardust let out a  sigh, and he lifted his head off the desk to look at his friend. "No,  it's a little more worse than what happened on that day… um, remember I  told you about that one time when Twilight and I met an Earth Pony who  came from a parallel version of this world?"

"Was it before or after the whole-"

"After those events."

Starlight became silent for a moment as she tried to remember what Stardust was talking about.

Then, once she did, the young unicorn replied, "Never got a chance to meet him yet, but yeah, I remember… why, is he here?"

"He was,  but now he's gone, so that leaves us with his world's version of the  Mane 6 because they were almost attacked by my evil counterpart and his  friends, who are evil versions of Twilight and the other five mares... "  explained Stardust, who was now rubbing the sides of his head with his  hooves.

"And because of what I can do regarding the power of  balance, both versions of Twilight are unintentionally giving me a  headache while I sense their emotions and hear their thoughts… not to  mention that your counterpart is upset with me for - wait, what kind of  book did you find again?"

Before Starlight could give him an answer, his girlfriend suddenly appeared at the doorway, and she said, "There you are, Jack! How come you decided to come up here?'

"I just needed a moment for myself, love," replied Stardust. "How's your other self doing now?"

A  look of concern appeared on her face, and the young alicorn said,  "Better, especially since everypony else is helping out… but she's  worried about what could happen now that Beck is with your evil self,  and Starlight's still upset with you, for some reason."

"Huh? No, I'm not," replied a confused Starlight. "I was making sure he was okay."

"No, she meant the other you,"  said Stardust, trying to forget about his headache. "I could sense a  lot of pain and anger… and frustration… coming from her while the two of  us had an argument - wait, where did she go?"


############


After  pacing back and forth several times, Applejack stood still, and said,  "Alright, so we pretty much got to stop Evil Stardust, the evil versions  of ourselves, and Beck from doin' Celestia knows what?"

Twilight's  counterpart nodded her head, and she replied, "Yes, but since Casey  isn't here, that means he can't fuse with Stardust to turn into  Starcade, so now, I'm trying to think of a way for us-"

"Hi, Starlight!" greeted Pinkie, waving a hoof at the unicorn's other self that was now entering the library.

"Um…" Starlight looked at all seven of the ponies, and asked, "So, you're all from another world that's parallel to this one, I presume?"

Everypony  nodded their head, and Starlight began to focus her attention on her  counterpart. "And… may I ask why you, uh, don't like my friend?"

"Huh? Who do you… oh, right, him," replied the parallel version of Starlight. "I just figured that he'd want to find Casey before taking  on these evil ponies - with most of them wanting to hurt your friend,  by the way… but he thinks he'll be just fine, which I guess is the same  thing he thought while Beck was doing all those terrible things to Casey  and the rest of us, even though he and Casey are supposedly really  close friends since they've spent almost every day together for Celestia  knows how long."

As Stardust and his girlfriend came into the library, Starlight said, "Well… for the record, none of us here knew what was going on in your world because nopony told us-"

"Er…"  said Twilight, with everypony now looking at her. "Well, the last  message that my other self sent prior to her asking if she could come  see us was her telling me that there were strange disappearances… and  yes, I did have a bad feeling that something terrible was happening in  their world, but me and Jack had to help our Pinkie with her own problem of not eating the nom-nom treats…"

"Nom-noms?" wondered Pinkie. "What are those?"

Before  the young alicorn could answer, Fluttershy suddenly went over to [my]  Twilight, and asked, "You think we should, um... also mention to  Stardust what Evil Stardust said about him wanting to hurt us like he  did Sun-?"

"Sunset?" said Stardust, as well as his girlfriend and his world's version of Starlight, and Fluttershy simply nodded her head.

"That… can't be right," replied Twilight. "She was just here a few days ago. Was it the one from your world he-"

Her  counterpart shook her head, and she said, "I don't think so… because  she came to Ponyville a few days ago when me and Casey were still in the  hospital."

"Well, if it wasn't our Sunset… or your Sunset…"  wondered Stardust. "Then it has to be one from another world… which  means that, if they aren't at your castle, Twilight, there's only one  place for them to be at…"

"And, where would that be?" questioned Starlight's counterpart, and Stardust muttered to himself before giving his answer.

"Anti-Equestria."

Insert "The Bells of Notre Dame" by Alan Menken around 3:50 - 3:56 mark.

"Ooooh, can you do that again?" asked Pinkie, and Stardust looked at her, in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

Pinkie  was about to answer him when Rainbow said, "Hold on just a sec,  Stardust… shouldn't we go to one of our Sunset's world in order to see  if-"

"Oh, yeah, that reminds me," interrupted Pinkie, who was now  holding up a necklace that she handed over to Stardust. "I also found  this lying on the ground when I went back to our Twilight's castle."

Recognizing  it as Sunset's geode necklace, a frown appeared on Stardust's face, and  he said, "Okay, we're definitely going to his world now… but I'm  guessing that he must have Sunset with them in their version of this  castle, which means she'll be guarded by probably his anti-pony friends,  so-"

"Oh! Oh! Does that mean we get to wear disguises?" asked a  hopeful Pinkie, but after Stardust shook his head, she let out a groan. "Ah, bummer…"

"Well, I think the only pony who needs a disguise is you,  sugarcube," said Applejack, looking at Stardust. "I mean, he has a  scratch over his right eye, and you don't have somethin' like that, so…"

Before  Stardust could say anything, a sly grin appeared on the face of  Starlight's counterpart, and with her horn glowing, she said, "I can fix  that… close your right eye, Stardusk-"

"Star-dust, and what would be the point of - ow!What the…"

Suddenly,  Pinkie let out a gasp of surprise, and she cried, "Hey, look at this,  Twilight! Their machine has that one button you told me not to press,  too! I wonder if…"

"Pinkie, wait!" cried Twilight's counterpart. "You don't hav - oh, no..."






Anti-Equestria


After  finishing up her business with Sunset, Midnight walked back into the  throne room, where Evil Stardust was talking with Beck and the others  about their plan, and she said, "Stardust! We need to talk…"

"We do? About what?" wondered Stardust's counterpart, and he regretted saying that after Midnight walked up to him.

"You know exactly what I mean," growled the young alicorn, with a hint of a sly smile on her face.

It  took a few seconds for Evil Stardust to understand what she meant, so  after nodding his head, he turned to face Beck. "Alright, new pony,  while I discuss some stuff with Midnight, you and my friends figure out  if Casey is with my other self… cause things are gonna go sour real fast if I find out there is a chance of them becoming Starcade. Get the picture?"

"Sure, just as long as you don't interfere with me when it's time to deal with her other self," replied Beck, in a similar tone. "Get the picture?"

Before  Evil Stardust could respond, Midnight pulled him out of the room rather  harshly, and once they were gone, Beck asked, "Are they together or…  broken up…"

"Eh, it's like a love-hate thing, newbie," replied  Anti-Rainbow, giving a shrug. "But it'll be a while before we see either  of those two again."

"And, why is that?"

Pinkie's counterpart rolled her eyes, and said, "Well, I mean, this story is rated T for a reason."

Beck just looked at her, for a moment, before he shook his head, deciding to forget about it.





"... Casey… Casey, wake up…"

The young man let out a yawn while  stretching his arms, and said, "Sorry about that, Twilight, but once I  took your 'night quilt' medicine, I felt like taking a nap… how long was  I out?"

"Long enough for her to finish doing what she had to do  with your wristwatch," replied Jack, as the human version of Twilight  handed it over to Casey.

"Sweet!" cried a pleased Casey, and he  smiled at the young teenage girl after putting the device on. "Thank  you… it means a lot."

Sci-Twi nodded her head, and replied, "No  problem, happy to help! But, uh, I should point out that, no matter how  much I tried, your watch's capability of world traveling is only good  enough for one person, which means-"

"I have to find another way  to send Sunset back here… by myself," said Casey, letting out a sigh,  and he looked over at Jack. "Unless you're comfortable with going-"

"Eh,  don't worry about me, pal," said Jack, shaking his head. "Your story's  more important than mine, anyway… you just take care of you-know-what so that you can give it to your girlfriend."

Casey's smile went away a little as he said, "Um… but she isn't my-"

"Trust  me, Casey, she is," replied the young man. "Also, I can't exactly… get  involved much in these type of situations, unfortunately… there are just  some rules that I can't break."

Before Casey could ask what he meant by that, Jack added, "Go, hurry… and don't forget what I told you back in the store, okay?"

The pony-turned-teenager nodded his head, and as he started to prepare himself, he thought, Time for me to set things right.


WHOOSH!


Then,  Casey activated the watch's traveling mechanism, causing a magical  swirl to appear around his entire body, and after a quick flash of  light, he was gone.

"Did you give him one of your pep talks that you always give to me and the others?" wondered Sci-Twi.

"I tend to think of them as inspiringspeeches, Twilight,  but yes, yes I did," replied Stardust's real-life counterpart. "And so  far, they seem to work pretty well for the people that I've told them  to… oh, before I go, did you figure out what's in that stuff he kept  drinking at the bar?"


Ding!


Sci-Twi  walked over to the nearby printer, observing the paper of information  that it had just delivered, and said, "Well, based on the sample that  you gave me, whatever he's drinking is… is… oh, boy…"






Anti-Equestria


"Alright,  everypony," said Beck, speaking in a commanding tone. "Twilight and the  others are probably on their way here right now, so we should start  walking around this castle to make sure that-"

"Since when did you decide to start giving us orders?" questioned Anti-Rainbow.

Beck made a gesture towards the door, and replied, "Since your leader put me in charge while he f - I mean, sc - I mean, sle... talks to Midnight, which is why I am saying that we all need to start checking every part of this castle.

"If  you see any of your counterparts, do whatever you want with them… if  you come across Casey, make sure he's nowhere near Stardust, and if you  find that pony, leave him somewhere for Evil Stardust to find… but make sure you leave Twilight Sparkle to only me."

Even  though she didn't really like this new pony that much, Anti-Rainbow  nodded her head, and swiftly went out of the throne room, with the rest  of her doing the same not long after.

As for Beck, a sinister smile appeared on his face, and he said, "When I get my hooves on you, Twilight, I will treat you worse than how I did back in my lair."


The Library


Rubbing the side of his head, Stardust let out a groan, and he asked, "Is… um, everypony okay?"

All  of Casey's friends, as well as his world's version of Twilight and  Starlight, nodded their heads, and the young pony replied, "Good… so now  that we know…"

He then glared at Starlight's counterpart, and asked, "What the [BEEP] was that all about?"

"Oh, relax,  Stardusk," said Starlight, rolling her eyes. "It's just a harmless  scratch that will probably go away in a few days or so… nothing really  worth complaining about."

"Nothing worth… are you actually serio-"

However,  before Stardust could continue his yelling, Starlight suddenly stepped  in between the two of them, and said, "Alright, how about instead of arguing with each other before we end up getting caught, let's all look around this castle, and start searching for Sunset… um…"

The  young unicorn took a quick moment to look at everypony in the room.  "Okay, the two Twilight's will go with Stardust, and the rest of you  decide who pairs up with who…"

Then, in a more serious tone, she said, "... while you and I have ourselves a little chat."


Whoosh!


Everyone except Pinkie quickly headed out of the library, and Starlight's counterpart looked at her other self in disbelief. "Me? Why do I-"

"Ohhhhhhh…." interrupted  Pinkie, whose entire body started vibrating, followed by her mane and  tail twirling around in all sorts of directions, and the two versions of  Starlight looked at her, in confusion. "Somepony's about to come!"

Suddenly,  an unfamiliar swirl of sparkling magic appeared in the middle of the  room, followed by a flash of bright light, which made the three ponies  try to shield their eyes from it.

Then, once the light was gone, they found themselves looking at a worn-out Casey, who was currently lying down on the ground.

"Ugh… my head…" muttered the young pony, and he shook his head a few times while to his hooves. "Now I see why Stardust - oof!"

"Casey!" interrupted Starlight's counterpart, who was now embracing him warmly. "You're okay!"

As Casey started to chuckle, the Starlight from Stardust's world began to realize something, and a smile appeared on her face. Of course!

"Yes, totally fine… and I'd love to talk, but I have to find - ow!"

To Starlight and Pinkie's surprise, the purple unicorn's counterpart thumped him on the back of his head, and said, "Don't scare us like that again! You know we're still not completely over with what happened back in our world."

"I'm  sorry, Star, but it was something I had to do," replied Casey, now  rubbing the area that was now stinging in pain. "And… um… why are you  and Pinkie and…"

Having finally noticed the other Starlight, an uncertain Casey asked, "You wouldn't happen to be her Evil self, would you?"

Starlight shook her head, and answered, "I'm the version of her that comes from Stardust's world… and it's nice to finally meet you, Casey."

"Likewise," replied Casey, politely shaking hooves with her. "Has Stardust told you about you me already?"

"Er… well…" admitted a sheepish-looking Starlight. "Not since the day that he came back from the-"

Before she could finish her sentence, her counterpart gave the two of them a reminder after clearing her throat. "We are in a darker and alternate version of Equestria to find Sunset Shimmer, so why don't we save introductions till later, okay?"

Remembering  a certain human being from another world, Casey nodded his head, with a  serious expression. "Right, then… Starlight, you come with me… and  Pinkie, you help out Stardust's Starlight."

Then, the two of them  hurried out of the room before Starlight could suggest something else,  and left her alone with the parallel version of Pinkie, who asked, "So,  when did Stardust tell you about him again?"





"Jack… rubbing your eye like that isn't going to make the scar go away."

After putting his hoof down, Stardust muttered angrily to himself before saying, "I'm gonna have one of them find a way to fix this before-"

"Star? Midnight?"

The  two of them turned around to see Rainbow Dash, but Stardust quickly  sensed that it was the dark version of their pegasus friend.

"Huh, I didn't think you two would finish talking to each other so quickly… no wonder the walls didn't shake."

"What are you-" Twilight started to say, but to her surprise, Stardust was beginning to chuckle.

"One of my many talents, Crash… now, why in the holy [BEEP] are you not back with the others?"

Anti-Rainbow rolled her eyes, and replied, "Because Newbie Pony thinks that Twilight and the rest of her friends are already in the castle, so now everyone's looking-"

However, to their surprise, the young pegasus suddenly asked, "Uh, you okay, Midnight?"

Pretend to be your darker counterpart, thought Stardust, who was now speaking to Twilight telepathically, and the alicorn nodded her head.

"Yeah, of course, I am… why would I not be?"

Continuing to look at Twilight, a suspicious Anti-Rainbow said, "Because I just realized I said that name you hate to hear, and by now, you'd already be in flames, or would just start chewing my head off."

"Well… I just don't really feel like  bursting into flames, Crash," replied Twilight, speaking in an angered  tone. "And maybe I'm simply in too much of a good mood to yell anyway,  so-"

"Good mood?" said Anti-Rainbow. "Okay, either Star here made you really happy this time, or-"

Then, before she could finish her sentence, Stardust exclaimed, "Just what exactly are you trying to say about my girlfriend, Crash?"

"Hey, I'm only lookin' out for ya, Star," replied the blue pegasus. "There is another version of her in this place, supposedly, so…"

Stardust rolled his eyes, and he said, "I think I would know if this wasn't my own damn girlfriend, Crash; otherwise, there's no way in hell that I'd do something like this to anypony else."

He took Twilight's face into his hooves, and before either she or Anti-Rainbow could say anything, Stardust delivered a very passionate kiss to his special somepony, who eventually began returning the favor.

Then, as it started to turn into a make-out session, a look of disgust appeared on Anti-Rainbow's face, and she said, "Oh, come on, not in front of me, Star!"

Unfortunately,  it didn't seem like they would stop anytime soon, so Anti-Rainbow  quickly flew off before she ended up getting sick to her stomach, and  once he realized that they were alone again, Stardust pulled himself  away from Twilight's face, with both of them blushing heavily, as well  as taking several deep breaths.

"Um… w-where did…" said Twilight. "Y-you never… like that… with our to-"

"Not…  the right place… to talk about it," replied Stardust, holding up a hoof  to pause her statement. "And sorry that you… uh… love, w-where did…  Casey's Twilight go?"





As she and  Rainbow Dash walked down the hall, Applejack said, "Alright, Rainbow,  any of these here rooms could be holdin' Sunset, so if this were like  tryin' to find a fancy-schmancy spellbook, keep your eye out for a door  that-"

"Ha-ha, found it!" cried a pleased Rainbow, who was now flying in front a door that looked darker than any of the other ones in the hallway.

So,  after opening the door, the two of them swiftly entered the darkened  room, which lit up once Rainbow closed the door, and both of their eyes  became wide at what they were now seeing.

"Uh… Applejack… I don't think Sunset is in here."

For  some reason, the floor of the room was covered completely in mouse  traps that had yet to be set off, and the two ponies had a limited  amount of free space to themselves.

"Alright, then, how about we-"  The orange pony started to show, but when she tried to open the door,  it wouldn't budge, which made her gulp nervously. "Uh-oh… I think we  just got ourselves locked in here."

Rainbow looked around the  entire room, and she asked, "Well, this is the only door, so how are we  supposed to - wait, what's that?"

The two friends noticed a small  and adorable-like creature coming out of a tiny hole from across the  room, and that it was walking over to one of the mouse traps placed in  the middle of the room, which contained a delicious mini-slice of  cheese.

"Oh, this ain't gonna turn out well, sugarcube."





As  Sunset laid against the bars of her cell door, thinking about what Jack  was doing back in their world, she quickly became alarmed after hearing  somepony enter the room.

"Sunset? You in here, darling?"

"Um, Rarity, I'm not sure if that is the best-"

The yellow unicorn stood up, in surprise, and said, "Fluttershy? Rarity?"

"Sunset  Shimmer!" cried the two ponies, now hurrying over to her, and a look of  pity appeared on their faces after seeing how she looked.

"Good heavens, darling, you look terrible," said Rarity. "What have they done to you?"

Sunset shook her head, and replied, "It doesn't matter, just help me out of here... quickly."

The white unicorn and yellow pegasus nodded their heads, and began trying to find a key for the door.

"Um,  not to sound rude or anything, Sunset," said Rarity, as she walked  around the room. "But can't you use your magic to open the lock?"

Sunset shook her head, and replied, "They made it so I can't use… my magic in this world…"

"And, may I say, how wonderful it's worked out thus far."

The  three of them quickly became silent after seeing somepony else walk  into the room, and unfortunately, it was Midnight Sparkle, who had a sly  grin on her face.

"Well, well… this is going to be fun…"





After  approaching the unoccupied throne room, Casey had Starlight keep watch  from the doorway while he looked around the room for clues into figuring  out Sunset's location.

At first, he didn't find anything, so the  young pony was about to leave when something caught his eye from the  other side of the room.

"What… is this?" wondered Casey, picking  up the unopened thermos that had come from Kronos' home, but as he  started to walk away, a familiar voice cried, "Don't move!"

Appearing  on top of the Cutie Map table, with the Time Staff in his hooves,  Anti-Stardust took a quick glance at Starlight, and said, "You better  stay right there if you know what's good for you."

Then, turning  his attention back over to Casey, Anti-Stardust aimed the staff at him,  and said, "You certainly have guts, kid… I'll give you that much."

When  Casey didn't give him a response, the dark pony became slightly  confused, and he raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you afraid of me?"

"No…  I'm terrified, actually… and I have been ever since the last time we  were here," replied Casey, in a serious tone. "Just like I'm terrified  of telling Twilight that I love her because I don't want to end up  losing her like how I lost my parents, the only other ponies I've said  those words to… but someone recently told me that you should always face  your fears… so I'm doing that right now… starting with you."

For a  few seconds, Anti-Stardust remained quiet, and then, he let out a  chuckle before saying, "Well, look who's finally acting like a  stallion…"

With the staff now glowing with deadly magical energy, the dark pony asked, "Any last words?"





"There… that feels much better… good thing this place has an infirmary room."

After replacing her old bandages with fresh and brand-new ones, Twilight was about to leave when she heard a voice say, "You're pathecially predictable, princess… like a moth to the flame."

Standing in the doorway was Beck, who had a sinister smile across his face, and Twilight quickly started to become afraid.

"I  knew you'd come to a place like this," continued the light-green Earth  Pony. "So, now, I think it's time for us to continue where we left off  back in my lair... and your precious special somepony isn't going to stop me this time."
> A Truth Revealed
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well, at least he hasn't eaten it yet," said Rainbow, speaking in a hushed tone, and Applejack scowled at her.

"You're  not exactly helpin' ease the situation… shoot, I don't what's worse;  that lil' fella gettin' himself caught in the trap, or us bein' covered  by-"

However, the young pony paused her sentence after  noticing that the mouse was heading back to the hole it came out of,  with the slice of cheese in its paws, and she said, "Huh, would ya look  at that? Must be our lucky day."

Rainbow nodded, in agreement, and let out a sigh of relief. "Yup, and you actually thought- wait, what's it doing now?"

[Insert "Battle With The Forces of Evil" from Sleeping Beauty]

After  coming back out of its hole, now holding onto a cherry stem, the mouse  tossed it up into the air before leaving again, and Applejack glared at a  sheepish Rainbow. "Uh, too soon?"


Snap! Snap! Snap!


The  next thing they knew, all of the mouse traps were going off, and  Applejack quickly tried breaking down the door using her hind legs while  Rainbow tried to offer vocal support.

"Hurry before they reach us!"

"Well, you... could help me out... here, ya know!" yelled the Earth Pony, in between her slams against the door.





As  Beck started moving towards Twilight, the purple alicorn found herself  wishing that Casey wasn't in another world, but then, a familiar voice  interrupted her thoughts.

Twilight! Wherever you are, run!

"Stardust?" said Twilight, and Beck rolled his eyes before turning his head around.

"For Equestria's sake, did we not talk about you leaving Twilight to - huh?"

While Beck realized that Evil Stardust wasn't there, Twilight heard the voice of her other self's special somepony again.

Twilight, you need to run, and use your magic!

A frustrated Beck turned back to face Twilight, but to his surprise, she wasn't there anymore.

"Where the hell is - hey!"

The purple alicorn was now out in the hallway, and as she began running away, Beck cried, "You are not getting away from me, princess!"

Then,  after he placed a circular-like tray into his muzzle, the sinister pony  began chasing Twilight, and because she was still not completely a  hundred percent, it didn't take that long for him to catch up.


POOF!


Damn you and your magic, thought Beck, after seeing Twilight teleport herself several feet away from him, and he started moving faster.






"Any last words?"


For a moment, Casey remained silent, but then, he pointed at something behind Evil Stardust, and cried, "Look, a moose!"

"Huh?" The dark pony turned his head around, and Casey tossed the thermos over to Starlight, who caught it by using her magic.

"Come on, let's go!"

After the two of them ran out of the throne room, Evil Stardust growled, in frustration, and he started running after them.

"So what's this for?" wondered Starlight, referring to the thermos that was above her head.

"I have no idea," replied Casey. "But I have a feeling that it can help us some - aah! Quick, go left!"

The two of them suddenly turned in a direction heading left, and Evil Stardust stopped moving so that he could yell, "Where the hell have you all been at?"

"Tryin'  to find the other versions of us!" replied Anti-Applejack, who was with  the dark versions of Rarity, Rainbow, and Fluttershy, as the three of  them began following after their friend.

"Where the [BEEP] is our Pinkie at?!"





As Stardust and his girlfriend continued to run down the hall, Twilight asked, "You sure this is the way, Jack?"

"Positive, love, I could sense her-"

"Heeeeyyy, Starrrrdust!"

The two of them stopped running after noticing what appeared to be Pinkie, who was a few feet away.

"Which one is this?" wondered Twilight.

A sly grin appeared on the pink pony's face, and she replied, "Maybe this can answer your question!"


Whoosh!


Stardust watched as a circular, beeping object quickly flew towards them, and he said, "This is not-"


BOOM!


Anti-Pinkie let out an evil chuckle as she ran away from the smoke explosion while Twilight and Stardust started coughing.

"Yep, that was the evil one," said the purple alicorn. "Jack, are you okay?"

"Just… peachy…" muttered an irritated Stardust. "What the [BEEP] was that supposed to - nope, never mind, don't tell me."

"You mean to not questi-"

"I said, don't tell me!"





At  this point, Beck was downright furious with Twilight, who kept avoiding  being captured by him, thanks to her magic, but a sinister idea  suddenly entered his mind.

Alright, princess, let's see you escape from this!

So,  after he was close enough for the young princess to teleport away, Beck  quickly tossed the circular object in front of him, like one would toss  a frisbee, and once Twilight reappeared, the tray smacked right into  her weak spot.

"Aaaaaaggghhh!" screamed Twilight, who  found herself collapsing to the floor, gritting her teeth in frustration  while a smirking Beck approached the fallen alicorn. "Beck… stop… please…"

"No,  Twilight, I won't stop," replied Beck, speaking in a cold and serious  tone, and he started applying pressure to her chest. "Not until you know what it's like to lose everything that you hold dear."

"Beck, I - aaaaaaaauuuuggghhh!"


#############


As  Midnight began walking towards them, Sunset looked over at Rarity, and  asked, "Um, you wouldn't happen to know any magical attacks like the  ones that Twilight and Starlight use, would you?"

Before the white  unicorn could give a response, Twilight's dark self let out a chuckle.  "Why don't I do you all a favor, and show you what I can do… since Starlight isn't here to- aaagghh!"

However,  an energy blast that came from behind sent Midnight crashing into the  room's farthest corner, and the other three ponies turned to see  Starlight (from Stardust's world), as well as Pinkie Pie.


Wham!


Then,  after using another blast to break the lock into pieces, Fluttershy  opened the cell door, and Sunset quickly hurried out of it, saying,  "Thank you so much."

"No problem, but let's get you back to your  world a-sap," replied the purple unicorn, and she led everypony else out  of the room. "Also, I think Twilight's in trouble!"


#################


"Which  Twilight was that who screamed?" wondered Starlight's other self, as  she and Casey continued to run away from Evil Stardust and four of his  friends.

"I have no idea, but I got a bad feeling that- aaaaagghh!"

His  response was cut off after Evil Stardust used the Time Staff to fire an  energy blast at the two ponies, causing them to collapse while the  canteen rolled away after landing on the ground.

"Alright, I have had enough of this nonsense," growled a frustrated Evil Stardust. "Prepare to die!"

Then, he was about to fire another energy blast when, suddenly, a familiar voice cried, "Hey, asshole! Why don't you shut the [BEEP] up?"

Evil  Stardust lifted his head up, and he found himself looking at his  counterpart, which made a smirk appear on the dark pony's face.

"I am definitely going to enjoy this…"

Stardust chuckled, and he replied, "Yeah, well, so am I… and if this thermos does what I think it can, then I hope you're all comfortable with itty-bitty living space."

Recognizing what Stardust was now opening up, Anti-Rainbow asked, "Hey, isn't that what Kronos- aaagh, what's happening?!"

Everyone  looked over at the blue pegasus, whose hooves were now turning into  something similar to dust, as well as those of the other evil ponies,  and it was going straight inside of the thermos!

"Aaaaaggghh!" cried Anti-Applejack, who was the first one to be sucked into the thermos, followed by Anti-Rarity and Anti-Fluttershy.

Not  wanting the same to happen to Anti-Rainbow, Evil Stardust grabbed ahold  of her hooves, and it momentarily stopped them from entering the  thermos, but that time was cut short when Anti-Pinkie suddenly appeared,  crashing right into the blue pegasus.

"No!" yelled Evil Stardust, and he glared angrily at his counterpart. "You do not get to win every ti- Midnight!"

Just  like he tried with Rainbow, Evil Stardust grabbed onto her girlfriend's  hooves after the half-turned-into-dust alicorn appeared.

"This is not over yet!" growled the dark Earth Pony. "I refuse to lose to someone as pathetic-"


WHAM!


However,  Evil Stardust was unable to finish his sentence after an energy blast  from the Time Staff went straight towards Midnight, and that only left  him once she was inside the thermos.

"You messed with the wrong human, [BEEP]," said  Stardust, who then nodded at whoever was holding onto Kronos' staff,  and Evil Stardust turned around to find a smiling Sunset Shimmer.

"It's payback time…"

Then,  the yellow unicorn fired an energy blast at Evil Stardust, and he  suffered the same fate as the rest of his friends, with Stardust closing  the thermos once he was inside.

"What… was… that?" wondered Casey, as he and Starlight began to stand up.

Instead  of answering right away, Stardust tossed over the thermos to Starlight,  who quickly used her magic to blow it up, and after realizing that  she'd done that, she said, "Oh, Celestia… did I just… do what I… ohhhh…"

The  young unicorn fainted into Casey's hooves, and he was about to talk to  Stardust when Sunset said, "You must've went through a lot of trouble to  come here, Jack."

"Oh, you have no idea," replied the glasses-wearing pony, and he looked back at Casey, who realized what was going on.

"Jack? W-what are…" stammered Casey. "B-but how did… I… y-you said that… stuff about some rules you couldn't break…"

The human-turned-pony chuckled at his friend, and shrugged as he replied, "Eh, well, I figured… what the hell?"

Before  Casey could ask him anything else, Sunset hurried over to Jack, giving  him a loving embrace that brought a smile all three of their faces.

"But, um, I think I should mention, Sunset, that I don't have much time left here now, so-"

An  amused Sunset rolled her eyes, and looked over at Casey, asking if he  could quickly help them, which the young pony agreed to, followed by him  using the Time Staff to create a return portal for the two of them to  go through.

"Jack, wait, how were you-"

"I'll explain  another time, pal, I promise," replied the gold pony, as he and Sunset  stepped into the portal. "And I hope you get to tell Twilight  you-know-what!"


Whoosh!


Once they were gone, the portal disappeared in the blink of an eye, and a confused Casey had no idea what to say.

"Ughhh…" moaned Starlight, who was coming to, and she looked up at Casey. "What happened? Where did Stardust go?"

"Casey?"

As he helped Starlight up to her hooves, the two of them saw Twilight quickly approaching them, alongside-

"Evil Stardust!" cried  Starlight, and the purple unicorn retrieved the staff from Casey's  hooves, aiming it at the gold pony, but Twilight quickly stood in front  of him.

"Starlight, wait! This is the actual Stardust, the one you gave that eye scar to!"

A confused Starlight turned back around, and said, "Wait, but who was-"

"At  ease, Starlight," replied Casey, lowering the staff, and he looked at  the two ponies in front of them. "Do either of you know about a-"

"Aaaaagggghhhh!"

A  scream interrupted him from finishing, and Casey was instantly brought  back to the last time he'd heard that exact scream… when Beck was about  to-

"Twilight!" shouted Casey, who began heading over in the direction that he'd heard the voice come from.





As the tears began falling from Twilight's face, Beck said, "Now it's time for me to put the nail in the coffin."

He  moved his hoof away from the alicorn's chest, with a sinister smile  across his face, but before he could do anything, Casey appeared from  out of nowhere, and launched himself right into the villianous pony,  with the two of them crashing through a window.

Then, after they landed on the outdoor ground, Beck began to try and stand up. "What the damn hell is your-"

A  furious Casey stopped him from talking by delivering a leg sweep move  that sent Beck falling back down to the floor, and he cried, "You think you can hurt my special somepony?!"


Wham! Wham! Wham!


He  began punching Beck the same way the green pony had done to Twilight,  and he added more strength every time he landed a punch.


POOF!


"Casey, wait!" yelled Twilight, who had used her last ounce of magical strength to teleport near him.

"No, Twilight, he deserves this!" exclaimed Casey, still continuing to harm Beck, who was now defenseless, at this point.

"Casey, please… look at me!"

The furious pony turned his head in Twilight's direction, and found himself looking into her eyes as she begged, "You are not this type of pony, Casey… put down your hoof…"

"Twilight, he… I…"

His girlfriend shook her head, and said, "Please don't do it, Casey… please…"

For  a moment, Casey remained silent as he looked back at a bruised-up Beck,  wondering on whether or not he should deliver one last fatal blow.

"Casey!" yelled Starlight, who was now approaching them. "You can't do this!"

Tears were now falling from the hesitant pony's face, and after what seemed like forever, Casey finally lowered his front hoof, thus not ending Beck's life, while the other two let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Casey… I-" The young alicorn started to say, but then, her boyfriend raised up a hoof to silence her.

"Twilight, I… I'm sorry… I-I only did this because I… don't want to… l-lose you… and that's because I… I… lo-"

"Casey, look out!"


WHAM!


From  out of nowhere came a powerful energy blast, and at the very last  second, Starlight teleported in front of Casey, causing her to recieve  the pain of the attack.

"Starlight!" yelled Casey and  Twilight, after watching her land several feet away from them, but  before they could run over to her, a swirl of black magic appeared in  front of them, and it quickly transformed into a very familiar pony.

"I'm baaaaaaacccck!"

Rowan, thought the two ponies, and the cloaked pony looked back over at Starlight.

"She may not have been first on the list, but man, does it feel good to see her like that… so, that means it's time for… you two."

Then,  he transformed into a cloud of black smoke, which quickly headed over  to Twilight and Casey, engulfing them in the darkness.





"Wakey, wakey, Casey…"

After hearing his old enemy's voice, Casey opened his eyes, and cried, "Rowan, you leave… her…"

The young pony realized that Twilight was no longer by his side, and instead of Anti-Equestria, he was back in the limbo world where Rowan had suffered his defeat.

"Seem familiar?" asked Rowan, with a sinister smile on his face. "It's where you and your friends ruined everything for me."

Before Casey could respond, he suddenly felt himself rising up into the air. "What the…"

"Good thing I had you drink that stuff so many times," taunted Rowan, with an evil chuckle. "Now it's everywhere in your body, which means I can do what I'm doing right now… along with this."


CRACK!


After lowering Casey to the ground, Rowan watched as the light-orange pony began screaming in pain, with his enemy saying, "Looks like you won't be walking anytime soon, little pony."

Star… dust…, thought Casey, praying that whatever worked for Stardust and their special some-ponies applied to him, as well.





After she was able to regain conciousness, Starlight coughed a few times before realizing that Casey and Twilight were gone.

"W-where did they…"

"Starlight!" The purple unicorn turned her head to see Stardust and Twilight's counterpart coming over to where she was. "What happened?"

Once  Starlight was standing on all four hooves, she pointed out to where her  friends had been at, saying, "I saw Rowan fire an energy blast straight  for Casey, so I jumped in front of him so that he wouldn't get hurt…  but now I have no idea where Casey or Twilight are at."

The two of them looked at Starlight with confusion, and Stardust said, "I'm pretty sure that Rowan isn't alive any-"

"I know what I saw, Stardust," replied Starlight, who was now getting upset with him again.

"Okay, what did I ever do to you?" questioned the gold pony, who was also still irritated about her scratching his right eye. "If this is about Beck, then I'm sorry I wasn't there to help, but no pony told me about-"

Before he could finish, Starlight shook her head, and replied, "It's not just that, Stardust… it's the fact that you keep taking away from me!"

"I told you already that-" Stardust began to yell, but he paused after realizing what she had just said to him. "Wait, what?"

Starlight  rolled her eyes, and was about to repeat her answer when they heard  Twilight say, "Oh, my gosh, this would have been a perfect friendship-problem-solving moment if…"

Then, she noticed the two of them looking at her, and Twilight let out a sheepish chuckle.

"Did I… say that out loud?"


Star… dust…


Suddenly,  the gold pony heard Casey's voice in his mind, as well as sensing that  he was in terrible pain, which made him start to wonder if Starlight was right about Rowan.

"Jack? What is it?" asked Twilight.

"We need to go back to the castle… I think I know where Casey and the other you might be."


############


Once  they were in the library, the three of them were about to turn on the  Crystal Mirror when they heard a familiar voice cry, "Wait! Don't leave without us!"

As  Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie (who had spoken), and Starlight's  counterpart walked inside the room, a confused Twilight asked, "Um, what  happened to-"

"Hold… ow… on there a minute… ow… sugarcube,"  said Applejack, followed by Rainbow Dash, but to everyone else's  confusion, they both had several mouse traps stuck across their body.

"Um, you doooooo knoooww that those things are meant for something else, right?" pointed out Pinkie, and the two ponies glared at her. "Sorry."

Rainbow let out a sigh, while the traps began falling off of her wings, and she said, "Let's just leave… ow… before something worse… ow… happens… ow! Pinkie!"






Limbo


A smirk appeared on Rowan's face, and he said, "This actually looks very familiar to me."

Casey,  who was trying his best to ignore the burning pain coming from his  broken hind legs, simply looked up at Rowan, with an expression of  confusion and anger.

"This reminds me of the way your father looked before he died."

The young pony blinked his watered-up eyes a few times, and said, "W-What do… you mean? It was… Tirek who…"

Rowan let out a chuckle, and replied, "Tirek's battle with Twilight may have resulted in the demolition of your house, Casey, but I  was the one that killed your father, who had arrived to try saving your  mother after he'd been talking to somepony I don't know about…"

Casey  suddenly remembered a part that Beck had talked about in his story,  where he'd come across a middle-aged pony trying to find his son, but a  nearby scream had caused the pony to leave before Beck had a chance to  help.

"Why else do you think there were no bodies to be found,  or that only his glasses remained when you finally showed up to your  house?"

Then, before his victim could respond, the cloaked pony raised Casey up in the air once more, and said, "You should honestly be thanking me right now, Casey... I'm about to reunite you with your parents."

Casey coughed a few times, and he asked, "But… why… did you…"

Rowan  gave a small shrug, and replied, "It's what I was created for, Casey,  and unfortunately, your parents were at the wrong place at the wrong  time."

"Twi….light…" whispered Casey, looking around everywhere, trying to find any sign of her.

"Hmmm? Oh, right...You'll never see your girlfriend again," taunted Rowan. "And how sad that you never got to tell her how you felt…"

He watched as Casey fell back down to the ground, causing him even more pain, and with a wide smile, the cloaked pony said, "If  it wasn't for Evil Stardust letting me out of that blasted thermos, I  wouldn't have been able to head over to your world, where I was able to  plant the idea in your head about creating that pill on the night you  were at the balcony… and from what I can tell, you certainly drank a lot of it."

Realizing  that he'd allowed this to happen while being upset with Twilight about  Beck, Casey found himself asking one more question.

"W-why would you do this to me?"

A scowl appeared on Rowan's face, and he replied, "If it wasn't for you warning  Twilight and her friends about going into the room where I turned five  of them into statues, my plan of taking over that world would have been  successful… not to mention that you ended up bringing that damm gold  pony into all this."

"Then, why… even send me over there… in the first place?"

To his surprise, Rowan looked momentarily confused, and the sinister pony said, "I honestly don't know why or how you ended up in Stardust's world instead of someplace else… and frankly, I could care less, so if you're done talking, then…"

"You'd better get the hell away from him, you son of a b****h."

Rowan  turned around, and found himself looking at Stardust, as well as the  two versions of Starlight and Twilight, and the rest of Casey's friend,  which brought a sense of hope to the young pony.

"You… all… came…"

As for Rowan, he let out a sarcastic laugh, and said, "If either of you damn ponies  take one more step, I'll end Casey's life in an instant… as well as the  life of his special somepony, who's currently up above all of us."

Everypony  turned their heads up to see Casey's Twilight, who was floating  unconciously in the sky, and the sinister pony growled, "You're all worthless losers who were put on this earth to serve those more powerful and greater… those like me."

Stardust was about to give him a witty remark when suddenly, in a confident tone, Casey said, "You're wrong, Rowan."

Then, as Rowan began walking over to him, the young pony continued to speak. "They are not worthless, and are not meant to  serve villains like you…. I've seen these ponies do great things, and  year after year, they've been able to find a way to save Equestria from  those who were somewhat like you: Nightmare Moon, Sombra, Tirek,  Chrysalis… even pre-reformed Starlight and pre-reformed Discord… in  fact, you're the one who is worthless, so-"

"I applaud your attempt at a noble speech," interrupted Rowan. "But it's not going to do you any good, Casey, so why… why… why are you chuckling like that?"

With a wide grin across his face, the young pony replied, "You're also stupid for letting yourself be distracted so easily."


Wham!


Then,  before Rowan could yell at Casey, both versions of Starlight, as well  as Twilight's other self, fired an energy blast combination that sent  him flying a few feet away, which also resulted in Twilight quickly  falling -

"I've got her!" cried Pinkie, running over to sucessfully catch Twilight with her hooves. "Wow, she's easier to save than Stardust."

When  Rowan tried to get back up, he found himself looking at the one who  represented balance, who was also aiming Kronos' staff at him, and he  said, "Go ahead, send me to that damn Smile HD world again… because ponies like you can't bring yourself to kill someone like me."

"Well, that's where you're wrong," replied Stardust, with a smirk on his face. "Because I'm not all pony… and when it comes to murder, I can make an exception if the culprit's someone who greatly hurt the ones I care about."

Then,  the gold pony fired a deadly energy blast at Rowan, and after seeing  that he was gone, Stardust dropped the staff while making his way back  over to Casey, who was now starting to become unconcious because of the  pain in his hind legs.

"Star… light…" muttered Casey, as his friend began to place him on top of the pink unicorn. "I… need to…"

"Just go to sleep, Casey, okay?" asked Starlight, in a soft tone. "You'll wake up in a better place than this."

"Not… yet…" mumbled the drowsy pony, who felt his eyelids closing heavily, and said one last thing before he was knocked out cold. "Have to tell… Twilight that… I…"
> A Special Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------






Several Hours Later


When Casey opened up his eyes, he wasn't surprised to see that he was back in the hospital, but what did surprise him was seeing the self-propelled wheelchair placed in the corner of the room.

"That's what you'll be using for the next few weeks."

Standing  at the edge of his bed was Starlight, who made a gesture to his hind  legs, and Casey saw that they had both been placed into an orthopedic  cast.

"Well, I guess I'll have plenty of time, then, to work on my  kite flying," said Casey, and the two of them shared a quick laugh  together before he noticed that she was his only visitor. "Where's  everypony else?"

"Waiting for us back at the castle," replied  Starlight, as she started to bring the wheelchair over to him. "Also,  before you ask, Twilight is fine… before I left, she was helping  Applejack and Rainbow with their, um… mouse trap dilemna."

Then,  the purple unicorn used her magic to help place Casey into the  transportation device, and asked, "Think you can handle it?"

"I'll  be good, Star, don't worry," assured Casey, putting his hooves to both  sides of the wheelchair in order to turn the wheels, and he headed  towards the door in reverse.

"Hopefully this is the end of worse things that can happen to- gaahhh!"

Suddenly,  the door was pushed open by somepony, which resulted in smacking  against the back of Casey's head, and as he groaned in irritation,  whoever had walked in cried, "Oh, my gosh, Starlight, are you… wait a minute… you look fine."

The purple unicorn nodded her head, and she replied, "Yeah, of… course I am,Trixie."

"Well,  then why are you in the hospital?" wondered Trixie, and Starlight made a  gesture towards Casey, so the azure unicorn turned around to look at  him. "Ohhhh… okay… um, who is he exactly?"

"I'm Casey," said the injured Earth Pony, with a slightly annoyed facial expression. "We've met, like, five times."

A confused Trixie looked over at Starlight, who added, "He's Twilight's special somepony…"

"She has one now? Since when?"

Casey  rolled his eyes, and he said, "Never mind, Starlight, let's just go  back to… aw, shoot, wait… can you call up the nurse real quick? I don't  want to leave without my medicine."

"Sure, Casey," replied  Starlight, and she started looking for the call button while Trixie  noticed a single-button remote on the hospital bed.

"Relax,  Starlight, Trixie's got you covered," assured the illusionist, and she  pressed the button with her hoof, but instead of calling out for the  nurse, it caused the door to open automatically, thus whacking Casey in  the back of his head again. "Whoops… heh-heh, my bad…"






Twilight's Castle


After  putting one last band-aid over the area that a mouse trap had beem  stuck to, Applejack let out a sigh of relief, and said, "Thanks for  helpin' us get rid of these irritatin' things, Twilight… it was more  than what Rainbow did, anyway."

"Well, I was the one who actually knocked the door down," pointed out the blue pegasus, who was making sure that her wings were completely trap-free. "Ugh, as if being a pink pony was bad enough."

Suddenly,  Pinkie Pie entered the room right as Rainbow had finished her sentence,  and asked, "What's wrong with being a pink pony?"

"Oh, no, I didn't mean you, Pinkie," replied Rainbow. "It was about Beck making me - hey, wait a sec, Applejack, did you took the last band-aid?"

"Yeah,  so what? I had a lot more traps on me than you," said the orange pony,  and Rainbow groaned before turning over to Twilight.

"Please tell me you have a few more extra ones."

An amused Twilight rolled her eyes, and she replied, "I think I know where some might be, just wait here a moment."

As  the young alicorn walked away, Applejack shook her head at the blue  pegasus, and said, "Next time we gotta split up, I'm pickin' either Twi  or Casey as my partner."


###########


Twilight  was almost a few inches away from her bedroom door when a familiar  voice from behind asked, "So, how are you feeling, princess?"

"My chest still stings a little, but - aaaggghh!" cried Twilight, after turning to see who was behind her. "Evil Stardust!"

Before she could even use her magic as a means of defense, Stardust quickly replied, "Whoa, whoa, just take it easy for a second, Twilight… I'm the good and actual Stardust, not the one who got sucked into a can."

It  took a moment for Twilight to relax after seeing that Stardust's eyes  were not as dark and sinister as his other self, and she sheepishly  said, "Sorry about that. I just thought you were him at first because of  the scar over your right eye."

A frown appeared on Stardust's  face, and the gold pony said, "The first thing I'm going to have your  Starlight do when she gets back is to get rid of-"

"Oh, no, I didn't mean to make you upset," replied Twilight. "Actually, now that I know it's you… I think it looks nice on you… the other me might say the same thing."

"Really?"  said a surprised Stardust, but then, to her surprise, he suddenly  looked upset again, and before Twilight could say anything, he asked,  "Were you going to your room?"

"Yeah, for some band-aids, but why do you look so-"

As Stardust walked past the young alicorn, he simply stated, "Wait right here."

Then, Twilight watched him carefully enter her bedroom, closing the door once he was inside, and she said, "Um, is everything-"

[Insert sound effects after Pinkie Pie rushes into the furniture store from the episode "The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows"]

"Wow! I  didn't know you had animals in your room, Twilight," said Pinkie Pie,  who was now walking up to her friend, but before Twilight could respond,  the door suddenly flew off of its hinges, followed by a familar pony  running out of the room as fast as he could. "Hey, wait a sec, isn't  that…"

"Get your [BEEP] arse back here!" yelled Stardust, who was now running after the pony he'd been beating the heck out of.

Twilight let out a nervous gulp, and said, "Pinkie, you go get the band-aids for Rainbow Dash… I have to help Stardust."

So,  the purple alicorn quickly hurried in the direction that her friend had  gone in, but once she'd caught up to them, she found herself looking at  a pissed-off Stardust, thrashing around in a magical energy bubble,  while her other self stood in between him and a roughed-up Beck.

"I  highly recommend that you go back to your dungeon cell that you were  sentenced to be in," said Stardust's girlfriend, giving Beck a stern  expression. "Unless you'd rather I not keep my special somepony confined-"

"If that means being away from him,  then I'll take it," exclaimed Beck, and before anypony could say  anything else, he ran as fast as he possibly could down into the  dungeon.

Then, after locking himself back in his cell, a heavy-breathing Beck said, "Phew… okay… I should be safe down here now…"

"Oh, I would have to disagree with you on that, little pony… especially since it's my turn to watch you again."

Beck  turned around, and found himself looking at Discord, who was dressed up  as some sort of scary-looking clown that made Beck almost wish he was  back with Stardust.

"Would you like a balloon or a paper boat, Becky?"





Back  upstairs, a few seconds after Beck had run away, Twilight watched her  other self have a telepathic conversation with Stardust, who eventually  nodded his head slowly, and his girlfriend let out a sigh before  releasing him from the bubble.

"Um… thanks for, er, saving me, Stardust," said Twilight, unsure as to what his reaction to her sentence was going to be.

"Of…  course… Twilight," replied Stardust, who was now taking a few deep  breaths. "But once your Starlight brings Casey back… me and my Twilight  are leaving…"

Twilight nodded her head, and looked at her counterpart, who assured her that everything was going to be fine.

Or, at least she hoped it would.


##############


When  Casey and Starlight approached the castle steps, the young pony looked  at her with a sheepish expression. "Um, Star? Would you mind helping out  - thank you."

"No problem," replied Starlight, who used her magic to safely levitate Casey up to the entrance platform. "Soooo… before we go inside… are you going to tell Twilight… the L word?"

Casey  sighed, remembering that she'd been there when he had talked to Evil  Stardust, and he said, "I will… soon… a, um, new friend of mine actually  helped me figure out how I was going to do it."

"Oh? Who would that be?" wondered Starlight, as she opened the door, and the two of them made their way inside.

Casey was about to answer when, suddenly, a familiar voice cried, "Surprise! Happy birthday!"

Twilight  and the rest of the Mane 6 (minus Pinkie) sighed in slight annoyance  while Stardust and his girlfriend rolled their eyes, and Applejack said,  "His birthday ain't until a few more days, Pinkie Pie."

"Oh… oops," chuckled a sheepish Pinkie. "Um, just forget I said that, okay, Casey?"

A  chuckling Casey just nodded his head as he wheeled himself closer to  them, and Fluttershy said, "Um… does that mean you'll have to-"

"Celebrate  it in this thing?" finished Casey, and the yellow pegasus nodded her  head. "Afraid so… but it's not gonna stop from enjoyin' it the best I  can."

"Glad to see you're in such high spirits, sugarcube," said  Applejack, who ruffled his hair a little bit with her hoof. "Now, pardon  if I seem rude or anythin', but I feel like gettin' some shut-eye now…  so g'night, everypony, and see y'all tomorrow."

Rarity was the  next pony to head out of the castle after making sure Casey would be  fine, and the ones after were Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Pinkie, which  left only Stardust and Twilight's counterpart.

"So… I guess this means you're not going to my world anytime soon, huh?" said Stardust.

Casey nodded his head, and replied, "Yeaaahhh, it's probably for the best… since I'm going to be using my free time to work on, er, other things…"

Taking  a quick glance at Starlight before going back to Casey, Stardust said,  "Glad to hear… in the meantime, I'm gonna pick up on what AJ said, and  take myself up to my room… in my own world… so, good night, and see you  in a few days."

To Casey and Starlight's surprise, Stardust headed  up the stairs that led to the library rather quickly, and Casey asked,  "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry, he's just a lot more tired now  than how he was back when you first met him," replied Twilight's other  self, and after she told the three of them good night, the purple  alicorn followed after Stardust.

Then, Casey was about to speak  when Starlight suddenly said, "Right then.. I'm gonna leave you two  alone to talk since, uh, things might or might not to be fixed between  you both… soooo, good night!"

She teleported away before  either of them could respond, and as the two ponies looked at each  other, Twilight said, "I'm sorry for-"

"No, no… it's my fault," replied Casey, with a saddened expression. "I, uh, never should've left… let alone, argued with you in the first place, Twilight… so I'm sorry, and I hope that-"

However, his apology was cut short by the young alicorn embracing him lovingly, and she said, "Welcome home…"

Heh, yeah, thought Casey, as a warm smile appeared on his face. It's glad to be home.

But then, as he watched Starlight head up the set of stairs to her own bedroom, an idea popped into his head.

I know what I'm going to do tomorrow.





A few seconds after Stardust and Twilight had returned to the library in their world, the gold pony groaned before saying, "Ah, damn it, I forgot to ask their Starlight to get rid of this scar for me."

Then, to his surprise, Twilight said, "Actually, Jack… I, um, kind of like it…"

Before  Stardust could say that her other self had told him the same thing, he  was surprised to see her blush so heavily in a matter of seconds.

"Which, uh, also reminds me… I think now is the right place to talk about… as, um, your kind say… you giving me to-"

Stardust quickly held up his hoof, and Twilight closed her mouth. "I understand you loud and clear, love… that, um…"

Don't screw this up, Stardust, don't screw this up, thought the human-turned-pony, who was figuring out what the rights word were for him to say. Um, Starswirl, you got some last-minute advice?

...

Thanks a lot, thought Stardust, who rubbed the back of his neck with his front left hoof as Twilight said, "You've never… well, okay, we have never kissed that way before… s-so I'm wondering why… and if you... meant…"

[Insert "At Long Last, Love" by Danny Elfman]

"Twilight…  love…" Stardust quickly placed his girlfriend's head upward before it  went down completely, and he said, "First of all, what happened… between  us… it was 100% real… and, er… the reason I haven't done it before is because… well... usually, in the actual human world, doing that leads a lot of couples to eventually…"

Although  he was having some trouble speaking to her, the young pony felt  relieved that he wasn't a human being during this type of conversation;  otherwise, he probably would've eventually earned himself a ticket to  Hell.

"So… you don't regret doing it, right?"

"Of  course I don't, love," replied Stardust,: who could almost feel himself  burning up while talking about this. "I just… eh… prefer not to have  certain thoughts about you just yet…"

Then, the gold pony  started to feel embarrassed, along with his face being redder than  usual, while Twilight said, "Well, there's no need to… feel ashamed or  anything about it, Jack… I mean, isn't it natural for, uh, you to feel  that way about-"

"Yes, but that's just it, love," replied a red-faced Stardust. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I would not... object to doing it again… especially with someone so beautiful and-"

Suddenly,  he found himself being cut off by Twilight's unexpected kiss, and… at  first, it started off slow between them since she was mostly concerned  with helping him feel more relaxed and less stressed out about the whole  thing.

However, their strong love for one another caused the  young couple to make their kissing more passionate, and soon enough,  Stardust couldn't help but bring one of his hooves up to Twilight's  face, with her doing the same with him, as their tongues began to  explore the other somepony's mu-


Cut off music at 1:30


"Oh, hey, Star, so I was fighting with Vegito Blue in XV 2, and I wondered if you and Casey were able to - aaaaaggggghhhh!"

Stardust  and Twilight quickly broke apart from each other, but Spike was already  long gone at that point, doing whatever he could to erase the image of  what he'd just saw out of his mind.

"Stardust? Twilight? Why is Spike screaming like he saw - aaaaaggghhh! Evil Stardust!"

Oh, you've got to be [BEEP]-ing kidding me, thought Stardust, and he said, "Pinkie, just relax, I'm not actually-"

"Don't  you say one more word, evil pony, or I'll use Starlight on you the same  way I used Unicorn Twilight on the Changelings before they became all  good and not evil!" cried Pinkie, now holding onto a confused  Starlight as if she were a weapon, and aiming the unicorn's horn at  Stardust, who rolled his eyes.

"Alright, that's it, I'm going back to have the other Starli- ow! Pinkie!"
> Worlds Apart
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, Starlight wasn't surprised to find Casey already in the library, trying to activate the Crystal Mirror.

"It hasn't even been close to 24 hours since Stardust left, and you're already going to see him?"

To  her surprise, Casey began to shake his head, and he was starting to  chuckle. "No, but I'm glad you're here, Star, because there's something I  want to show you."

While he started to make a few final  adjustments, Starlight rolled her eyes, and smirked at the now-crippled  pony. "I already know what the inside of his Twilight's castle looks  like."

"We're not going to Stardust's world," replied Casey, and Starlight became confused.

"Well, then, where are we going?"

After  turning on the Crystal Mirror, the light-orange pony looked at  Starlight, and a smile appeared on his face as he said, "You'll see…"


#############


When  Twilight entered the dungeon to check on Beck, she was surprised to  find him backed up against the corner of the cell, muttering, "You'll float too… you'll float too…"

Before  she could ask if he was okay, Discord suddenly appeared next to  Twilight, and she frowned after seeing that he had a smug look on his  face. "You were supposed to just keep an eye on him."

"Well, I can't exactly place my  eye on him, Twilight," replied the draconequs. "But I did watch over  your sole prisoner to make sure nothing bad happened… and as you can  see, no harm done to anypony."

As Beck continued to mutter quietly  to himself, Twilight gave Discord a half-eyelids closed expression, and  he said, "Alright, fine, I might have had some more fun with Beck to get back at him for what he did to Fluttershy and you and the others. Was that so wrong of me?"

"I want Beck to learn from his mistakes, Discord, not have him sent to the cuckoo house."

The draconequs sighed, and he replied, "Okay, we'll do this your way, Twilight."

Then,  after Discord snapped his fingers, which caused him to vanish in the  blink of an eye, Beck let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, I thought that he was never going to leave… good going there, princess."

"You're  welcome," replied the purple alicorn,even though she was still  frowning. "But I just can't believe why you choose to continue hating me  because-"

"I don't hate you, princess… or, at least, not as much as I used to a few weeks ago."

Hearing  Beck say that made Twilight feel surprised, so as she waited for him to  continue, the middle-aged pony let out a sigh before saying, "I want you  to understand how I feel about losing nearly everypony that I care  about, but I also don't want to lose my life just yet, and I think I got  roughed up pretty good by your special somepony, as well as that pony  who I'm still not sure was the actual Stardust or his evil counterpart…"

Then,  he took a moment of silence as he thought about his loved ones, but it  was interrupted by Twilight asking, "Well, do you think that what you've  done recently is what they would have wanted?"

Beck brought up his head to look at her, and he slowly gave his response. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"That  I'm not sure about your family particulary enjoying what they see you  doing from wherever they are at," explained the purple alicorn. "And  since we're talking like two normal ponies, I would like to add that  while I haven't lost everypony that I care about, I do know what it's like to lose a special somepony."

Noticing  Beck's confusion, Twilight added, "I watched Casey sacrifice himself to  save me and Stardust, along with the rest of his friends, and it didn't  take me long to realize that I'd never see him again… I would never be  able to tell Casey how I truly felt about him…"

The imprisoned  pony had no idea what to say since he had no idea something like this  happened to Twilight, but as his mind continued to show memories of his  loved ones, he eventually said, "Yeah, well, at least you were able to  have him somehow return, princess… my family's been gone for years, and  there's no way that they'll ever come back."

"Well, yes, that is  true… but all of the positive memories you have that involve them will  always be with you in your mind, and in your heart," replied Twilight.  "There is a reason why your parents, wife, and best friend loved you…  they saw something different than what any other pony saw when looking  at or talking about you… and I'm sorry that you can't watch your son  grow up into a wonderful stallion, but wherever your wife is at right  now, have her see the pony that she wanted the father of her colt to  be…"

Beck felt his eyes starting to tear up, but he wasn't able to  stop himself from saying, "Alright, princess, you… m-made your point…  just leave me here to…"

[Insert "Tears of Life" from Pokémon around 3:07 mark]

However,  to his surprise, Twilight had decided to open the cell door, and as he  found himself starting to cry, the young alicorn wrapped her front limbs  around his body, giving Beck a comforting embrace.

"W-why are… you… I don't deserve…"

"No pony deserves to grieve alone," replied Twilight, and as she gave him a soft pat on the back, all of the positive memories that were in Beck's mind eventually caused the Earth Pony to break down, with Twilight there to offer him a shoulder to cry on.


################


"Casey? What… what is this place?"

Seeing that Starlight had stopped walking, Casey wheeled himself back to where she stood, and he replied, "Beautiful, isn't it?"

They  were currently standing in the middle of a grassy field, with the sight  of snow-covered mountains in the distance, as well as a river that  seemed to go all around the entire area, and as Starlight continued to  look around, she said, "I'm not even sure if that word is good enough to  do it justice… which brings me to ask again… what is this place?"

An amused Casey smiled at the purple unicorn, and he replied, "Well, I don't exactly have a name for it just yet, but… um, remember the place where this happened?"

Starlight  nodded her head after Casey took a quick glance at his hind legs, and  he said, "Well, that only exists because it's what Rowan thought of… in reality, this world is nothing but pretty much a blank canvas, so it's up to whoever is in here to 'create art'..."

He gestured to everything that was around them, and said, "This is my art,  Starlight… or, in other words, the place that has all of my favorite  things… most of which were because I hung out with Stardust so much, and  believe me, he showed me a lot of stuff… but yeah, this is where I can do things that I can't really do in our world or Stardust's world."

Starlight tilted her head to the side, and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Pika-pika!"

Suddenly,  the purple unicorn watched as a cute short, and chubby rodent-like  creature came from out of nowhere, and leaped into Casey's lap.

"Starlight,  this is my friend, Pikachu," said Casey. "He's an electric-type Pokémon  from an anime that Stardust introduced me to."

Starlight just  looked at the two of them, and Casey let out a sigh. "I'll explain  later… um, you mind givin' us another few minutes, Pikachu?"

"Pi-ka pipi pika!" said Pikachu, and as Casey affectionately rubbed the top of his head, he made an adorable noise that caused Starlight to smile.

Then,  the electric mouse hopped back onto the grass-covered surface, and  Starlight watched him head over to join several other cute creatures  that she had never seen before.

"So… your, uh, world has… Pokémon?"

Casey  chuckled, and he replied, "Well, for the most part, yeah, but there's  also a fun area that I can't really show you now since I'm in a  wheelchair-"

"Does Stardust know about this place?" wondered  Starlight, assuming what his answer was going to be since, to her, the  two Earth Ponies were apparently so close.

"Well, no, not just yet," replied Casey, now shaking his head.

A surprised Starlight looked around her friend's world once more, and she said, "Huh… so, I guess Twilight was the-"

"Nope, I haven't told her yet, either," admitted the light-orange Earth Pony. "The only ones who know so far are me…"

Casey took a moment to look at his wristwatch before continuing his statement. "... and, as of almost five minutes ago, you… which means that, for the moment, it's just the two of us who know about this."

At  first, Starlight found herself feeling touched by this, but confusion  still remained in her mind, and that caused the purple unicorn to ask,  "Well, not that I'm complaining or anything, Casey, but why did you pick  me as the first pony to see this place?"

Casey let out a  sigh, knowing that he would've been asked this question by her, so the  young pony replied, "Because I haven't exactly been fair to you when it  comes to spending quality time together, which means that I have a lot to make up for…"

Then,  in the blink of an eye, Casey handed her a string to a kite that was  already flying high up in the sky, which brought a smile to Starlight's  face, and after showing her his own kite, he said, "Also, I did tell you in the hopsital that we'd have plenty of time for me to work on my kite flying, so why not start right now?"

Starlight  nodded her head, but as the two of them began to get ready, she started  to feel bad about the way she had been treating Stardust lately.

I'll talk to him when I see him at Casey's party… I just hope Stardust won't still be upset about me giving him a scar.





It's great that we'll soon be connected
With a king who'll be all-time adored

As  an army of hyenas continued to march forward in perfect  synchronization, they looked up (row-by-row) at their leader, who was  sitting on top of a rocky platform that was high above them.

"Of course, quid pro quo, you're expected," sang Stardust, who had a wide smile on his face, and he made a throat-slitting gesture with his hoof.

To take certain duties on board

The future is littered with prizes

And though I'm the main addressee

The point that I must emphasize is

You won't get a sniff without me!

Then,  he leaped off of the platform, and after landing safely on the  rock-made surface, Stardust scowled at a few of the hyenas before  jumping onto several other platforms that were rising up from the  ground.

So prepare for the coup of the century (Oooh!)
Be prepared for the murkiest scam (Oooh... La! La! La!)

Meticulous planning (We'll have food!)
Tenacity spanning (Lots of food)
Decades of denial (We repeat)
Is simply why I'll (Endless meat)

Be king undisputed (Aaaaaaah...)
Respected, saluted (...aaaaaaah...)
And seen for the wonder I am (...aaaaaaah!)

Yes, my teeth and ambitions are bared (oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo)
Be prepared!

Yes, our teeth and ambitions are bared -
Be prepared!

Then, Stardust lifted his head up so that he could let out a sinister, evil laugh. "Hahahaha… hahahahahaha… hahahahahaha-"

"Jack! What are you doing up there?"

After  hearing the voice of his special somepony, Stardust blinked his eyes a  few times, and instead of being on top of a rocky platform that was  surrounded by talking hyenas, the gold pony found himself in the back  outdoor area of her castle, standing on top of a log that was stuck into  the ground because it was part of the (second)training course that  Twilight had created for him and their friends.

Before the alicorn  could ask him again, Stardust swiftly jumped off the log, landing right  in front of Twilight, and he said, "Why, if it isn't my beautiful  princess descending from on high to converse with her warrior."

A  frown appeared on the slightly confused alicorn's face as she replied,  "I had hoped you'd be inside with me in the castle to welcome Sunset  since today is the day she planned on visiting us…"

'That was today?" gasped Stardust, who began shaking his head after letting out a sigh. "Oh, dear… it must've slipped my mind."

Before  Twilight could respond to why he was speaking in a more rougher voice, a  familiar yellow unicorn was making her way towards them. "Hey, Twilight, did you… oh, I didn't know that Human Stardust was here, too."

Well, at least she's not confusing me for Evil Stardust, thought the gold pony.

"No, it's not, this is our 'Stardust'," replied the young alicorn. "He just looks like him becau-"


Whoosh!


Suddenly,  from out of nowhere came Rainbow Dash, who tackled Stardust to the  ground, and thankfully, it wasn't close to the training course.

Why the [BEEP] did this have to happen to me? thought Stardust, groaning in annoyance and pain.

"You better leave my friends alone!" exclaimed the blue pegasus. "I haven't forgotten what you did the last time you were here, so now, I-"

"Rainbow, wait, it's not the evil one," cried Twilight, stopping her friend from attacking him. "This is actually Stardust!"

But  Rainbow didn't seem to be that convinced by Twilight's statement. "I'm  not falling for his tricks again, Twilight, he almost ruined… wait a minute…"

She looked down at the gold Earth Pony in front of her, and said, "Say something that Stardust told me back at CHS."

You can't be serious, thought Stardust, and he replied, "Rainbow, take it easy, I'm not-"


Wham!


"Answer the question!"

"Rainbow! Why did you smack him like that?" exclaimed Twilight.

"I  don't want to take any chances with this pony," replied Rainbow. "He  wrote a bunch of stuff all over my house, inside and out, and made me  believe that Star was the actual-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Stardust groaned, and he said, "Alright, fine… I,  uh… told you that we were always going to end up arguing with each  other, but that it didn't mean you'll ever not be my best friend."

Then,  after Stardust had said that, Rainbow took a few steps back while the  gold pony got up to his hooves, and Twilight let out a sigh of relief.  "Was all of that really necessary?"

"Hey, you can't blame me for  being cautious, Twi-" Rainbow started to say, but then, she realized  that she'd just smacked her friend across the face, which made her give  Stardust a sheepish expression. "Um… sooooo… no hard feelings about, uh, what I just did?"

Looking at his friend with a frown, Stardust replied, "I'll give you a three second head start… one…"

"Heh-heh, you're kidding, right?"

"Two…"

Rainbow looked over at Twilight and Sunset, saying, "Tell me that he's joking."

"Don't make me say-"


WHOOSH!


After Rainbow Dash flew away as fast as she could go, Stardust lowered his hoof to the ground, and said, "Three… eh, what the [BEEP], I'm gettin' her anyway."


WHOOSH!


Then, as he took off after the blue pegasus, Sunset looked over at Twilight, and asked, "What has happened since the last time I was here?"

A smirk appeared on Twilight's face, and she replied, "Oh, you have no idea."






A few days later


"Come on, Rarity, just give him the gift already!"

Today  was the day of Casey's birthday, and he was celebrating it while being  surrounded by Twilight, Spike, Starlight, the CMC, and the rest of the  Mane 6, as well as Stardust, who had come with his world's versions of  Twilight and Spike.

So far, almost everyone had given the  light-orange pony their gifts, but for some reason, Rarity was a little  hesitant in giving Casey his gift from her.

"You ain't exactly  helpin' out, Rainbow," said Applejack, frowning at the blue pegasus.  "Also, I'm pretty sure the cake and ice cream won't be goin' anywhere."

While Rainbow rolled her eyes, Twilight looked at Rarity, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Um,  well, it's just that I didn't expect to give it to Casey while he was  in a wheelchair, darling," replied the white unicorn. "I wouldn't want  him to hurt himself trying to put it on."

A smile appeared on Casey's face, and he said, "I'll be fine, Rarity, it's not going to be any trouble."

Even  though she still didn't look too sure, Rarity finally handed over the  gift to Casey via magic, and as he started to open it, Rainbow let out a  sigh of relief, but a glare from Applejack stopped her from saying  anything hurtful.

"Um, Twilight? Where's Discord?" asked Fluttershy. "I thought he would've shown up by now."

"Oh,  don't worry, he's here in the castle," replied the purple alicorn.  "Just finishing up his turn to watch over Beck, so I'm sure Discord will  join us later on."

The young pegasus nodded her head, but she was  also feeling a little curious about what exactly the draconequs was  doing down below with Twilight's sole prisoner.


############


"Got any sevens?"

Beck  shook his head, and as Discord made another card appear in his own  deck, the middle-aged Earth Pony asked, "You have a two in there?"

The  draconequs sighed, and grumbled under his breath as he handed one of  his cards over to a chuckling Beck. "Oh, don't be so amused, little  pony… you're just lucky that Twilight stepped in to make sure I don't  have you end up in an asylum… got an eight?"

"Son of a… yeah, I  do," muttered Beck, and as Discord happily took the car from him, the  Earth Pony mentally thanked Twilight for whatever she'd told Discord  regarding him.


###################


As he held up Rarity's gift in front of him, a wide-eyed Casey said, "Wow, this is… beautiful!"

It  was a jet-black cloak that had several streaks of red alongsids the  edges, and while Starlight assisted in helping him put it on, Rainbow  let out a sigh of relief.

"Ha! See, I told you he'd like it, Rarity."

Twilight looked at her, and she replied, "What?"

Now  feeling a little more comfortable, the white unicorn replied, "Well,  thank you, darling. I was actually inspired to make it after I saw the  one worn by… um… Stardusk, was it?"

"Star… dust… Stardust,"  said the gold pony, and he glanced over at a sheepish Starlight, who  knew that they would need to have a talk later on. "You didn't also make  him a fedora, did you?"

"Wha… no, of course not," replied Rarity, with a slight frown. "I'm not trying to copy you, Stardust, so-"

Before the two of them could begin an argument, Casey stepped in to say, "Thank you, Rarity, I love it."

"You're  welcome, darling, and happy birthday," said Rarity, and she walked away  while Casey began to wheel himself out of the room, much to the  surprise of the CMC. "Now, then… um… which one of you is the Spike from this world?"

Spike  was about to respond, but his counterpart stepped in front of him, and  said, "Um, that would be me, Rarity, so how about we - hey!"

"Nice  try, little dragon," remarked Twilight's counterpart, who used her  magic to bring Spike's other self over to where she was.

Rarity looked back over at the Spike that was now standing in front of her, and he sheepishly asked, "Sooooo, um… how are you doing?"

A  small smile appeared on the white unicorn's face as she said, "I'm  fine, Spikey Wikey, but I do think now is a good time to talk about…  well, what you said to me several weeks ago, and what you did."

"Heh, heh, yeah,  um, that…" replied Spike, who was now feeling his face begin to warm  up, and could almost hear his own heartbeat. "Well, Rarity, I… figured  if that'd be the last time I saw you, then I should let you know how  I've always felt about you… which is also why I, uh, decided to give you  that kiss… you aren't mad or anything, right?"

To his surprise, Rarity began to giggle, and she replied, "Well, of course not, darling, why ever would I be? And you do remember that you did try to somewhat tell me the same thing back when you, um, grew into a rampaging dragon?"

The memories of those events appeared in Spike's mind, and he began to chuckle. "Ohhh, yeah… uh, I mean, I never forgot about it. I just didn't know the small similarities between the two until now."

Then, he waited for Rarity to speak again, but she didn't say anything, so Spike knew that he had to continue.

"Does, um… that mean you and I won't be… friends or-"

Rarity  chuckled again, and she ruffled the scales on his head as she said, "Of  course we'll still be friends, Spikey Wikey… like I said before,  friendship is forever… but, um, perhaps we could try reaching that next step when we're not about to face the possibility of losing our lives?"

Feeling more relaxed now, Spike nodded his head, and replied, "Sure! Lookin' forward to it!"

"You  might not be the only one," said Rarity, and before Spike could say  anything else, she kissed the small dragon on his cheek before walking  away, while a bunch of tiny heart began to surround his head.

"Wow…"

Then,  Spike fell backwards until he was lying on the ground, while his  counterpart - who was sitting atop Twilight's other self - muttered  underneath his breath.

"Something wrong, Spike?" asked the teasing alicorn, and her loyal assistant began to frown.

"Why can't you and Star help me out with having something like that happen to me?"

Twilight let out a chuckle, and she replied, "Well, you two did sing to me and our world's Rarity that one time on Hearts & Hooves Day, remember?"

Spike sighed, and he said, "Yeah, but… I haven't gotten to kiss Rarity yet, or tell her how I feel about her."

"Aw, don't worry, Spike," assured Twilight. "I'm sure your moment will come one day."


###################


Alright, buddy, just remember what Jack told you, and you'll be just fine.

After  placing a special object into one of his new cloak's pockets, Casey  turned himself back around, and was about to leave the room when he  found himself looking at a trio of fillies.

"You okay, Casey?"  wondered Sweetie Belle, and the young pony nodded his head, which made  Applebloom swipe away some non-existent beads of sweat.

"Phew! For a second there, we thought you weren't enjoyin' your own party."

As  he began to head back, Casey chuckled, and said, "No, of course I'm  enjoying it… so if you'll excuse me, there's something I have to say to  Twilight."

"Really? What are you gonna say to her?" asked Scootaloo.

"Something I should've said a long time ago."


##############


Well, here goes nothing, thought Starlight, who was now making her way over to Stardust.

"Soooo… how's it been having that scar over your eye?"

Stardust  smirked at his friend's counterpart, and he replied, "Oh, just fine,  actually… except for the fact that I've had almost all of my friends  attack me because they thought I was the other pony who got sucked into a  thermos."

A look of guilt appeared on the purple unicorn's face.  "Well, the good news is that your scar was only temporary, so it should  be gone by tonight or sometime tomorrow… and, uh, I think you deserve an  apology from me."

The gold pony shook his head, and replied, "Don't even worry about it, Starlight, a simple scar is nothing for me to compl-"

"No,  not… just that…" said Starlight, while rubbing the back of her neck  with her "I wanted to say that I'm sorry for acting so hostile towards  you. I was only like that because-"

"You were jealous of me, weren't you?"

"- I was jealous of the fact that you… you… you knew already?"

Stardust  chuckled at the unicorn's surprised expression, and he said, "I sort of  figured it out after we came back from Anti-Equestria… plus, the other  you told me that she figured this is what the issue was."

"Of course, she did,"  replied Starlight. "But, uh... in all honesty, Stardust, I was just  upset about the fact that he always seemed to spend time with you  instead of… well, me and Twilight and everypony else."

The gold  pony sighed, and placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder, saying, "I  can understand why you'd feel that way, Starlight, and I'm sorry for  hurting your feelings, but something tells me that Casey's starting to  realize, as well, that… wait a second…"

A confused Starlight  watched as Stardust suddenly walked towards a bulletin board that was  hanging on the wall, next to a long whiteboard that had all sorts of  numbers and measurements and whatnot.

"Twilight… what is this?"

The  purple alicorn made her way over to Stardust, and said, "Oh, that's  something I have planned for the Friendship Festival in a few weeks-"

"No, I meant this," replied Stardust, pointing his hoof at the bulletin board, which she had used while figuring out Beck's identity.

"Oh,  well, that's what I was using while trying to figure out who was  capturing all of my friends," said Twilight, smiling at the thought of  Stardust admiring her work. "Impressive, right?"

Stardust remained  silent, for a moment, before he said, "Yes, but would you care to  explain why a picture of me is listed under the suspects category?"

Realizing that she'd forgotten to take the photo off, Twilight let out a nervous chuckle, and replied, "Well, um… you do have a cloak."






A few minutes later


Once Casey returned to the Main Hall, and saw that Twilight was talking to Pinkie, he started to take a deep breath.

Alright, I can do this… I can do this.

The young pony wheeled his way over to them, and said, "Hey, Pinkie… um, you mind if I talk to Twilight for a little bit?"

To his surprise, the pink pony nodded her head, and replied, "Sure, take all the time you need…"


Boing! Boing! Boing!


As Pinkie happily bounced away, Twilight looked over at Casey, and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…  great… loving the party," replied Casey, even though he could feel his  face warm up, and almost hear his own heartbeat. "Also, uh… speaking of  that certain word… there's something important that I want to tell you."

"Oh? Like what?"


Thump-thump! Thump-thump!


Trying  his best to remain calm, and ignore the sound of his beating heart,  Casey said, "Well, before I get there, I just want… to first say that…  since the first time I ever laid eyes on you, I have always-"

However, before the young pony could finish his prepared speech, they heard a familiar voice say, "Wait, so whose birthday is this party for again?"

"I told you, Trixie, that it's for Casey."

Starlight  and her best friend were now making their way over to them, and Casey  forced himself not to groan while Twilight said, "Oh, how… nice of you  to come, Trixie… even though I don't remember delivering an invita-"

"Uh,  Starlight?" said the azure unicorn, who was looking back and forth  between Twilight and Stardust's girlfriend. "Please tell me I'm not the  only one who sees two of her in this place."

"You aren't the only  one, trust me," replied an amused Starlight. "The Twilight that's over  there is from a parallel version of our world, which means that-"

Trixie let out a gasp, and cried, "So there's another pony out that also claims to be the great, powerful, and unscareable-"

"Ahem!" The three ponies looked at Casey, who had cleared his throat, and said, "I don't mean to interrupt this conversation, but I was trying to tell Twilight something important, so…"

"Oh,  sorry, Casey, my fault," replied Starlight, and as she led Trixie over  to another side of the room, the light-orange pony began to eat a quick  slice of cake.

Thank Celestia I didn't get my head whacked by a door or something.

"Okay, so… what were you going to tell me again?"

Casey  was about to respond when, suddenly, he felt a sharp prick on his  tongue, and the young pony let out a small shriek of pain before opening  his mouth to release a bee that was now flying away from him.

"How in the frudhf difh a bee fjeok gepgle?"  said Casey, wondering how in the world did a bee get into the castle,  and make its way to his slice of cake, thus allowing his tongue to be  stung by it.

A confused expression appeared on Twilight's face as she asked, "Huh? What did you say?"

"I sayth jowlll feeeth bah krek…" replied  Casey, but then, he found himself sticking out his tongue, and the  young pony realized that it was starting to swell up. "Oh, fulff blaaaam!"






Meanwhile


I hate being stuck in damn traffic, thought Jack, as he honked his car's horn once again. I swear to God, if these people start bursting into song, then I-

Suddenly,  his thoughts were interrupted by the vibration of his cellphone, and  after seeing who the caller was, Jack swiftly answered it. "I was  actually about to call you, love… yes, I know I'm late, but this time-"


Honk!


Jack  lifted his middle finger up in the air, and slowly began to move his  convertible forward while saying, "Some people just don't have enough  patience anymore, Sunset… oh, don't you even go there, I have plenty  of-"


Honk!


"No one's going anywhere, asshole!" yelled  Jack, and he rolled his eyes before continuing to speak to his  girlfriend. "Okay, everyone has their limit, sweetheart…. anyway, I'm  not that far from CHS, so can you go to the school rooftop? I'll be  there in about, um, thirty minutes so… huh? Yes, I know today is a  Saturday, but trust me, it's for a very good reason."

After  hearing Sunset Shimmer give her response, a sly grin appeared on Jack's  face as he said, "Well, I'm certainly not planning on the two of us-"


HONK!


Flipping  off the driver behind him once again, Jack let out a groan, and began  to head towards the nearby freeway exit. "Add another five minutes,  love… yup, I'll see you soon…"


Forty Minutes Later


With  his car now parked in the CHS parking lot, Jack took a moment to make  sure his pants pocket had what he needed, and then, the young man left  the now-locked vehicle to start making his way into the school.

I hope everything turned out alright with your special someone, Casey, thought Jack. Now, it's my turn to do something special for my girlfriend.

Once  he reached the door that led to the stairs, Jack began to take those up  to the rooftop, and when he got there, a smile appeared on his face  after seeing the person that had been waiting so long for him.

"Took  you long enough," said Sunset, and as Jack came closer to her, he was  about to give a witty remark when he noticed something a little  different. "What?"

"Your hairstyle looks more, um, longer and fiery,"  replied the young man. "Also, I see that you have a new outfit, and…  wait, why do you have those wireless headphones around your neck?"

"Uh,  doesn't really matter right now," said Sunset, who placed the  headphones by her feet, and she laid back against the dome with her arms  crossed. "So, now that you aren't stuck in rush hour traffc, can you  explain to me why we're meeting here instead of our usual spot?"

Jack  let out a chuckle, and he replied, "Well, I figured this would be safer  and less likely of a place for some crazy villain to attack the both  of…"

Sunset just silently looked at her boyfriend, not saying anything.

"Right, sorry… anyway, the reason that we're currently up here is because I have a, um… well, a special surprise for you."

A  teasing smile appeared on Sunset's face, and she said, "You already  tried using your brownies on me once, Jack, it's not going to work  twice."

"Ha-ha, good one," replied Jack, in a dry and  sarcastic tone, even though he was feeling a little bit hungry now that  she'd told him that.

"Well, what's the surprise, then?"


##################


As Casey tried to find a way to speak better, Starlight walked back over to him and Twilight, asking, "Is everything okay?"

The  purple alicorn shook her head, and replied, "After you and Trixie  walked away, Casey tried to tell me something, but then he started  talking all weird and stuff, so now I can't even-"

"A ghee deun meuh tungh," interrupted an irritated Casey, pointing at his swollen tongue.

A confused Starlight asked, "How did a bee sting your tongue?"

Casey was about to tell her to ask Trixie when he and Twilight both realized something.

"You can understand him?" said Twilight.

After Starlight nodded her head, Casey quickly turned her body in his direction, and cried, "Starlithe, pleeth bii mai tramfsleiter!"

The purple unicorn had a nervous expression on her face as she replied, "Um, I don't know if me being your translator would-"

"Starlithe, eye am behhtttiinnth you," begged  Casey, knowing that he needed to have Twilight understand now how he  felt about her before losing what might be his final opportunity.

Before Starlight could say anything else, Pinkie Pie suddenly cried, "Can I have everypony's attention? Casey has something very important  to tell Twilight, but she's having trouble hearing him, so can you all  remain silent while he talks to her? Thank you!"

Then, she looked over at the young couple, and added, "There you go, Casey!"

"Um,  Pinkie, I could hear him perfectly," replied Twilight, while Starlight  and Casey both became nervous. "I just wasn't able to understand him."

While everyone else looked at the three of them, Pinkie said, "Ohhhhhh… my bad!"

Starlight was about to disagree with helping Casey when the light-orange pony gave her a pleading expression.

Please help me, Star, thought Casey, and his friend let out a sigh before whispering her response.

"You're lucky it's your birthday today."

Casey  nodded, in agreement, so as he spoke to Twilight, the young Earth Pony  would pause in order to let Starlight translate for him.

"The  first time I ever saw you, Twilight, a few days after you defeated  Nightmare Moon, I knew that you were special… I never felt the same way  about anypony else whenever I saw or thought about you… but then, my  feelings changed after I lost my parents because of Tirek…

"A few  days later, I found myself hating the fact that while you got to  experience the joys and wonder of a shiny new castle, I was busy  grieving over the loss of my mom and dad… at one point, I thought that  it was entirely your fault instead of Tirek… but I soon realized that  you were only doing what needed to be done, in order to save Equestria…  and everypony else you care about."

Then, Casey was about to speak  again, but after seeing the way that Starlight was right now, he let  out a sigh, and said, "Nebrher minthe, Starlithe… I kaine duuu tha  resthe."

Starlight was about to respond, but Casey shook his head,  and so, she decided to help instead by firing a tiny blast of magic at  his tongue, which caused it to roll back into his mouth as he cried in  pain.

"Starlithe! Whatha hell was that for? You could have…" He  started to say, but after hearing what he now sounded like, Casey  cleared his throat, and sheepishly said, "Uh… thanks, Starlithe."

The  light-purple unicorn nodded her head, and replied, "Your tongue's still  gonna be a little numb for a while, but I think you're good enough to  talk to her."

Casey thanked her again, and looked back at the alicorn princess. "Twilithe, you are tha best thing that has ever happened  to me… I learned what it was like to have friends because of you… and  I'm sorry for the way I have been acting these path few days… as well as  not saying what I am abouth to tell you rithe now."

Then, Casey  reached into his coat pocket, and pulled out a small red box, which made  Stardust quietly chuckle in amusement while Twilight's other self let  out a silent gasp.

Jack, is he about to do what I think he's planning on doing right now?

I'm not sure, love… let's just watch to see what happens ne - and, you're taking notes now... great...



###################


Jack took a deep breath, and after letting it out, he said, "This, love, is the surprise that I have for you."

Sunset  watched quietly as Jack pulled out a small gold-colored ring box, and  she felt herself starting to blush. "Um… Jack… are you…"

"Huh? Oh,  no, no, no… it's not that, Sunset," replied Jack, now feeling a little  embarrassed, and he handed the small box over to his girlfriend, who was  staring curiously at it. "Could you open it for me, please?"

Sunset  nodded her head, and she did what he asked… which resulted in her being  immediately surprised, and a warm smile appearing on Jack's face.

Inside  was a beautiful sterling silver promise ring that had a diamond  stone-version of her Cutie Mark, and as Jack placed his hand around her  own, Sunset noticed that he was wearing one, as well, but with a  different stone.


################


"I love all of the friends I've made since the day we met, Twilight… and I'm in love… with you."

Then,  he opened up the box, which was revealed to contain the turtle dove  necklace that she'd given back to him after their argument, and asked,  "Would you be… my… special somepony?"

Instead of speaking,  Twilight used her magic to place the necklace around her neck, and  before Casey could say anything, she delivered a soft kiss to his  muzzle, with the young pony closing his eyes as he eventually returned  the favor.


################


"You  are… amazing and… beautiful, Sunset Shimmer… and I never once imagined  that I would be in a relationship with such a lovely goddess…"

Then,  after he gently placed the promise ring around her finger, the young  man said, "I'm not sure exactly what the future holds for both of us,  but I do know that, whatever happens, it will be with us always being there for each other... and I'll always love you, no matter what."

At  first, Sunset was speechless, but then, a playful smirk appeared on her  face, and she asked, "Even if I were to ask you to come with me and the  rest of our friends on a return trip to Camp-"

"Sunset, love, if you even mention that godforsaken place, I will…"

The red-and-yellow haired teenager let out a laugh, and replied, "I was kidding, Jack… you can't be the only one to have a sense of humor."

"Oh, ho, you're going to pay for that, then," said Jack, who had a sly grin on her face.

"How so?"

Instead  of speaking out loud, Jack whispered his response into Sunset's ear,  and as he continued to talk, her face was becoming almost as red as her  hair.

"Ow! Rarity, stop pushing!"

"Well, I can't help it if I want to see what the ring looks like - whoa!"

Suddenly,  their intimate moment was interrupted by the arrival of EG Rainbow and  EG Rarity, both now lying on the ground after accidentally opening the  door.

"Uh… hey, you two, how's it going?" greeted the athletic  teenager, trying to sound casual as Jack rolled his eyes, and a  red-faced Sunset tried not to laugh. "Did, um, either of you happen to  see my soccer ball anywhere up here?"


###############


"Awwww, I just love happy end…" Sweetie Belle started to say, but then, she noticed something strange, and cried, "Oh, come on!"

As Casey and Twilight broke apart from their kiss, a nervous Rainbow said, "Um, you two might want to turn around."

The  two of them did just that, and they saw what everypony else was now  seeing, which was a swirl of silvery magic that was forming into the  shape of a very familiar pony… well, to everypony except Trixie, who was now hiding behind Starlight. "Who is that supposed to be?"

"Uh, hey, Kronos," greeted Stardust, making his way over to stand by Casey and his girlfriend's other self. "How's it going?"

The elderly pony, who was holding his staff once again, had an unreadable facial he said, "I toldyou both what would happen if I needed to show up again."

"Well,  now, hold on a sec," replied Casey. "The problem was taken care of,  Kronos, and we were just about to end off on a happy note until-"

Kronos  looked at him, with a slight frown, and said, "I see how grateful you  are for me bringing you back to life, Casey… what was the point if you  ended up being this close to death?"

"Hey, don't start  blaming him for anything," replied Stardust. "He wasn't the one who had  an evil psychopath trapped inside a damn ther-"

The elderly pony  glared at Stardust, and he exclaimed, "Don't you start with me, Jack  Wright… like I said, there would be consequences if I needed to show up  again… and you two have no idea what I had to go through to get this back… as well as having to fix the damage that Evil Stardust did while using it."

"Hey, you know how I feel about your [BEEP] memory erasing solution," said Stardust, now becoming irritated, but to his surprise, Kronos shook his head.

"If  I did that, things will probably get much worse before they even got  better," replied the elderly pony. "Instead… you two - and everypony  else, for that matter - are forbidden from going into the other pony's  world until further notice."

"What?!" exclaimed Casey,  who did not expect that to be his response. "Kronos, can't you just have  us do, like, community service or something?"

"Not after  everything that's happened in these worlds, along with others," replied  the elderly pony. "But since it's your birthday, I'll make things a  little easier for you… once you prove to me that you deserve to go see  him, or have Stardust come here, then my decision will be null and  void."

"Prove myself? Kronos, you've seen the things me and him have done together, why else-"

Before  he could continue to speak, the elderly pony interrupted by saying,  "That doesn't hide the fact that I have had to restore your life twice,  Casey, and thankfully, it did not need to happen for a third time… but  you have to start being more responsible, and spend more time in this world than in his… no two worlds are supposed to be the same, but you're becoming more like Stardust every time I see you."

"Okay, how in the he… ohhhh… right," replied Casey, having realized what Kronos was talking about. "Well, it's not exactly the same type of cloak… and I haven't cursed that much."

Kronos let out a sigh, and he said, "Look, I know this seems bad,  but it's what's best for both your world and his… now, you have until  the end of the day to spend with him, but as of tomorrow, no one is to go from this world to Stardust's world. Is that understood?"

Everyone  nodded their heads, but before Kronos got the chance to leave, Stardust  said, "Hey, wait a second. Why haven't you told me anything?"

"Because I'm currently not fond of any Stardust,  especially one that looks like the pony who has now given me a  headache," replied Kronos, frowning at the gold pony. "And you die  almost every week, so there's no reason for me to interfere in your world's events…"

Then, in a darker tone, he added, "I've also given you enough chances, so this will be the last one… because after today, if you or any Stardust causes me trouble, then I will make it so that you'll forever be stuck in the world that comes from one of the worst movies ever to be made... and it rhymes with Cabbage Patch Kids... so, in a way that's easy for you to understand, do not [BEEP] this up."

Having  finished saying what needed to be said, Kronos used the magic from his  staff to make himself vanish into thin air, and once he was gone, Trixie  asked, "Uh, does anypony here know what just happened?"

[Awesome (to me) Background Music - "Proposal" by George S. Clinton]

Everyone  else looked at Casey and Stardust, who were now facing each other, and  Casey was the first to speak. "So... does that mean we've reached  the..."

"The what happens now part?" replied the gold pony, and he nodded his head. "Yeah, I... guess so..."

Hearing  him say that made Casey realize something else. "So that means... until  I 'prove myself'... this is the last time we'll probably see each  other..."

Stardust was about to respond with something that  involved him assuring Casey they would be able to find some sort of  loophole around Kronos' ban, but to his surprise, Casey added, "I  think... I'm okay with that."

"You... are?" replied Twilight's counterpart, and the light-orange pony nodded his head.

"I haven't exactly been... fair to my friends in this world,  Twilight, when it comes to spending quality friendship time... and from  what I can tell, some of those friends haven't exactly been very happy  about that..."

A look of guilt started to appear on Starlight's  face, but before she could say anything, Casey continued to talk. "I've  always thought about what things that you and I could do after having  gone through some kind of epic adventure... instead of wondering what I  could've done with the friends I have here..."

He was  about to say more, but then, Stardust held up his front left hoof, and  said, "Let me stop you right there for a second... as much as I respect  and understand what you're saying to me, I am not about to let someone  like Kronos have the birthday of one of my closest friends on a  bittersweet note... we'll talk about ways of communication later, but  right now, tell me something that you'd want the two of us to do  together."

"Um... okay..." replied Casey, who took a moment to  think about it, and then, a wide smile appeared on his face. "Actually,  there is one thing I had in mind..."






A few minutes later


As Twilight magically lifted the light-orange pony onto the bird creature in front of her, she asked, "You sure about this?"

"It'll  be fine, Twilight, don't worry," assured Casey. "I'm gonna be sitting  down on him anyway, so it's not like my hind legs will be of much use."

Even  though she didn't agree with him completely, Twilight found herself  nodding her head, and he replied, "Thank you... oh, I just remembered, I  never received a birthday gift from you."

A playful smile  appeared on the young alicorn's face, and she said, "Well, the day's  still not over yet... and I prefer to give it to you when it's only the  two of us, so-"

"Hey! You two can flirt with each other and stuff back in your world," interrupted a grinning Stardust. "Right now, I got a race to win!"

Twilight  and Casey shared a quick kiss with each other, and as she backed away,  the young Earth Pony rolled his eyes as he said, "Dream on, Stardusk, I beat you once already, and I can sure as hell beat you again!"

"The hell you  did," exclaimed Stardust, but before he could say anything else,  Spike's other self - who was standing nearby - gave Twilight's  counterpart a pleading look.

"Can I ride with him, Twilight? Please?"

Twilight let out a sigh, and she reluctantly nodded her head. "Fine, but no fire attacks or anything, Jack... alright?"

"Uh-huh,  yeah, sure," replied Stardust, as his girlfriend used her magic to  place the little dragon beside him."You ready, little bro?"

"Heck yeah, I am!" cried Spike's counterpart, now full of excitement.

Stardust  looked back at Casey, with the two of them sharing a smile together,  and the light-orange pony said, "Alright, the race will begin in 3… 2…  1… go!"

Then, both his Pidgeot and Stardust's Charizard  took off flying, and after they made a turn, the dragon-like Pokémon  opened its jaws to perform a flamethrower attack.

"Whoooo-hooo!"

"Jack!"
> Stardust's Goodbye
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


(Takes place sometime after the ending of the previous chapter)



Unknown


"You… are by far… the worst excuse for a villain that I have ever seen before in my entire lifetime."

Inside of a darkened cavern, a bruised, chained-up, and battered Anti-Stardust angrily muttered some words underneath his breath after listening to the individual who was standing a few feet away from him.

"How is it that you and your friends were so easily defeated by an average human being, as well as an average Earth Pony?"

Anti-Stardust continued muttering to himself, and this led to the individual in front of him to make a small nod of the head, which was the go-ahead signal for one of the two henchman standing by the dark-gold pony to activate his deadly electrical prod.

"Aaaaaagggghhh!" yelled Anti-Stardust, as the servant rammed the tips of the prod into his side, sending a thousand volts of electricity into his roughed-up body, and this continued for a while until the Boss motioned for him to stop.

Unable to move, the young pony panted, body convulsing with aftershocks from the attack while the Boss shook his head in disappointment, and scowled at him.

"You've failed me too many times, Jack… you were unable to kill your other self, as well as his friend, after Rowan and Elixir's attempts backfired... you couldn't take overanyversion of Equestria… and you allowed the world of your original host to continue thriving…"

Once he was able to speak again, Anti-Stardust coughed a few times, and he said, "If that's how it'll be, then get someone else to do your fin dirty work… because I'm never dealing with those two ever again."

Then, the young pony stood up, and he glared at the individual standing in front of him with a look that meant he'd had enough of this.

"So, this is what's going to happen, Xenos… you're going to free me from these chains, give me back my friends, and once we're all gone, you can gof*** yourself."

Unfortunately, things didn't turn out the way he'd hoped for… because after a moment of silence, a sly smirk appeared on Xenos' face.

"See, that's where you're wrong, Jack… you are done whenIsay that you're done… but first, youaregoing to pay for all of your recent failures… so, let's bring out your friends, shall we?"


Whoosh!


Suddenly, lights were shown in another part of the cavern, and Anti-Stardust saw that his girlfriend, along with the rest of the Anti-Mane 6, had been turned into statues, as well a large mallet lying on the ground in front of them.

"So, tell me, Jack," said Xenos, who made his way over to the wooden tool, and slowly picked it up. "Whom shall I break first?"

The dark-gold pony shook his head, and cried, "If you do one f*****thing to them, I will -aaaaggggghhhhh!"

Both of Xenos' henchman uses their metal prods on Anti-Stardust, and Xenos replied, "I guess I'll have to decide, then. How about Fluttershy?"

Before the electrocuted pony could even say anything, Xenos raised up the mallet, and brought it down onto the statue of Fluttershy, causing it to smash into hundreds of tiny little pieces.

"You… f***ing - aaaaaggghhh!"He tried to stop Xenos, but was stopped by the continuous jabs from his cronies' metal prods.

"This is all onyou, Jack," replied Xenos, speaking in a calm but threatening tone. "But I'll tell you what - why don't I get this over with so you don't have to be here that long."

Then, while continuing to be electrocuted, Anti-Stardust watched Xenos destroy the statues of Applejack, Rarity, and -

"No!" yelled the Earth Pony, after it seemed like Xenos was about to smash the statue of Twilight's anti-self, and a small smile appeared on the cruel mastermind's face as he motioned for the two servants to stop using their prods. "Please… don't kill Twilight…"

With eyes now becoming watery, Anti-Stardust looked up at Xenos, and begged for him to spare the alicorn's life. "I… I'll do anything… just don't… not Twilight, please."

To his horror, a sighing Xenos shook his head, and replied, "I'm sorry, Jack, but this is what needs to be done… if it helps, you can blame the 'Warrior of Twilight' for what I'm about to do."

Then, despite Anti-Stardust's protests, Xenos used the mallet to break the statue of his special somepony in half, and as the pieces hit the ground, with the edges breaking off into several tiny pieces, something snapped inside of the now-speechless pony, who could feel the tears sliding down both sides of his face.

"You… killed her… you... f***ing asshole…"

As soon as he said those words, one of Xenos' servants prepared to shock him yet again, but the loss of his girlfriend was the final straw for the alternate version of Stardust, so in one swift move, he broke apart his chains, forcibly took the electric prod from the servant, and with a cold look in his eyes, he said, "Let's see howyoulike it, you son of a b***ch."

Before the servant could say anything else, Anti-Stardust jammed the electric prod into his chest, and made it so that the electricity would continuously stay on, which then brought him over to the other servant.

"Guess who's next?"

A few seconds later, while the two servants were quickly losing their lives via electricity, a furious Anti-Stardust glared at Xenos, who slowly began to applaud the Earth Pony.

"Now,thatis what I like to see, Jack… and as a reward for coming back to your senses…"

Xenos snapped his fingers, and Anti-Stardust watched the alternate versions of Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash return back to their normal state.

"Also, here's something that can be used to help you out on your next attempt to destroy your other self and his friend…"

A swirl of magic appeared in the hands of the evil mastermind, and by the time he was in front of Anti-Stardust, the Earth Pony was holding onto a staff that appeared to be a mixture of the ones that belonged to Kronos and Miles.

"Star…?" whispered Anti-Rainbow, who was slowly regaining her conciousness.

With a sinister smirk, Evil Stardust looked up at Xenos, and he replied, "Oh, I knowjusthow to take care of them…"





"So, you basically… created your own world of Pokémon?"

"Yeah, pretty much… why, you jealous that you didn't come up with it yourself?"

After taking a sip from his bottle ofCoke, Stardust smirked at his friend, and replied, "Far from it, Casey. I'm more curious about how in the hell you found the time to do all that."

Night had fallen in the world of the light-orange Earth Pony, and because the day was not yet over, he was spending the remaining hours just having a conversation with one of his closest friends.

"Well, uh, you remember that time when we weren't allowed to sleep in our bedrooms, or anywhere in the castle, to be specific?"

Stardust nodded his head. "Yep… had to sleep on a couch in Sunset's apartment that night, but I didn't really mind it that much, to be honest. Does this mean you got sent to-"

"Yup, I got sent to virtual limbo," replied a smiling Casey. "Spent almost an entire day just thinking about a place I would go to do whatever I want, whenever I want… even conjured up a temporary bed for that night, but it sounds like you were fine with just layin' on the couch."

The young Earth Pony rolled his eyes, and said, "Alright, let's move on to something else - what did your Twilight get you for your birthday?"

To his amusement, Casey's face started to turn a little red before giving the answer. "It, uh, wasn't much, to be honest… we just, ah, had a long, heartfelt conversation… followed by, er… us trying to make-out for the time."

"Trying?" repeated Stardust, who was trying his best not to laugh. "What, did you mess up or… something?"

"No, of course not," Casey quickly answered, shaking his head, and was now feeling a little embarassed. "We just… it was our first time, okay? I'm sure you must've felt the same way when you and your Twilight made out for the first time, right?"

Remembering when said event occured back in Anti-Equestria, Stardust just gave a small chuckle. "It's different for everyone, man, that's all I'm going to say."

Casey sighed, and he replied, "Why am I not surprised? Oh, before I forget, I've got to introduce you sometime to this new friend I made that lives in another world… actually, he kinda reminds me of you."

"How so?"

The young pony took a moment to think about it. "Well, he looks a little bit like the way you did when we all got sent to London, but more, um, older, I guess… and he had something called a, uh… oh, what was it…"

"What are you two talking about?" asked Twilight, as she made her way into the library, along with her counterpart, whom Stardust gave a curious look at.

"I feel like I should be asking you the same question… you two were talking longer than us."

His girlfriend simply gave him a smile, and she said, "Just some stuff you'd find rather uninteresting, Jack."

Then, turning her head over to look at Casey, the alicorn asked, "Did you enjoy your birthday today?"

Casey happily nodded his head. "Yup… well, aside from being in a wheelchair, getting my tongue stung by a bee, and Kronos showing up to say that there would be no traveling whatsoever between our worlds starting tomorrow… but other than that, I haven't had a birthday this memorable in a long time."

Twilight's other self smiled at Casey, and said, "Good… which, as always, now brings us…"

"... to the part where we talk about…" added Casey's special somepony.

"... what happens next… probably for the last time," muttered Stardust, with a hint of sadness in his voice, and Casey gave him a confused look.

"Well, it's not like it'll bethelast time, right? I mean, the last two times we didn't end up seeing each other resulted in Rowan almost wiping out all of the worlds that had another version of you, and Elixir pretty much being this close to ruling Equestria in your world while-"

Noticing Casey'sOmegamask lying on the desk nearby, Stardust nodded his head, and said, "Yeah, I remember…"

"It's just that, for some reason, time works differently between our worlds," added Twilight's counterpart, seeing that he still looked confused. "So, for example, a month here for you could be half a year for us."

"Half of a…" replied Casey, sounding surprised, and he also realized what this meant exactly. "So, like what happened the first time… except now you're here to-gah!"

Suddenly, a certain draconequs appeared in between the two friends, and he had an automatic time recorder next to him.

"I'm sorry to intrude on whatever was going on in here, but I would just like to let you know, Twilight, that my shift is over for tonight," said Discord, clocking out as he talked to Casey's girlfriend. "Let me know if I ever need to scare - I mean, watch over your sole prisoner again."

Then, he disappeared in the blink of an eye, and a concerned Twilight said, "Oh, no, I better go check on him…"

"I'm right behind you," replied Stardust's girlfriend, who followed after her counterpart, and that left the two Earth Ponies to just themselves once again.

After letting out a sigh, Casey said, "I know Twilight made her decision on Beck's fate, but sometimes I just…"

"Trust me, I get what you're saying," replied Stardust. "I've felt the same way towards… others that I prefer not to mention at the moment."

Rubbing the back of his neck with a front-hoof, Casey started to chuckle, and said, "I think I can guess who they might be… also, um, I never got to thank you for what you did back when Rowan…"

He gestured to his bandaged hind legs, and a small smile appeared on Stardust's face. "Like I told that a-hole, I'm not a killer… but I decided to make an exception just this once."

"And nobody appreciates that more than I do," replied a sheepish Casey. "Well, along with my Twilight, I'm sure… but, um…"

Taking a look at the time on his wristwatch, Casey was reminded of the fact that Stardust (and his Twilight) had to return to their world before midnight arrived, or else something bad was probably going to happen.

"Do we… or… uh…" said the young pony, who was unsure as to whether or not to embrace Stardust or offer him a hoof-shake, but to his surprise, Stardust provided the answer by giving Casey a hug.

"You take…. take care of yourself, okay?"

Even though Casey couldn't sense the emotions of others like how Stardust could, the light-orange pony could tell by his friend's voice, as well as his own feelings, that this wasn't exactly easy for him to do.

"I will… and, uh, can you make sure that he does the same, Starswirl?"

Despite past occurences, I will do the best that I can,replied the voice of Stardust's mentor, and his pupil rolled his eyes while moving away from Casey.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it, I practically die almost every other Tuesday…"

Well, you've only actually died just a few times, Jack… it's mostly being on the verge of death until something happens to prevent it.

As Stardust activated the Crystal Mirror, a chuckling Casey shook his head, and said, "I'm gonna miss seeing you too, Starswirl… I mean, uh,hearingyou."

And the same from me to you, as well, Casey… you're certainly not the same pony that you once were on the day you first arrived back in our world so long ago.

Stardust nodded, in agreement, and said, "You know I wasthis closeto probably tossing that necklace of yours into the portal you flew into?"

Casey began to laugh, and once he was done, the young pony said, "Good bye, Stardust… untill we meet again?"

"Oh, don't worry about that," replied a smirking Stardust. "You got me into all this that day you showed up in my world… so you aren't getting rid of me that easily."

The two of them shared a quick moment of laughing together until Casey watched his best "guy" friend step through the Crystal Mirror, and a few seconds later, Stardust was gone.

"I wonder if I should've told him about the pil - oh, hey, Princess Twilight."

Making her way into the library, Stardust's girlfriend said, "You don'talwayshave to call me that, Casey… just 'Twilight' is fine."

Casey sheepishly shrugged his shoulders, and replied, "Also, uh… since you don't seem to bethatangry or irritated… I wanted to tell you again that I'm sorry for, um… thinking you were my Twilight during that whole mess with Elixir…"

To his surprise, Twilight's counterpart just blushed a tiny bit as she said, "It's alright, Casey, I know now what you were going through at the time… and I'm glad that this world's version of me is with someone like you."

"Well… I mean, I'm not like perfect, or… heh, heh…" replied Casey, feeling the same way he used to back when he had first met his Twilight.

Then, his surprise grew when Twilight's other self gave him a hug, as well a quick kiss on the cheek. "Take care, Casey… and happy birthday."

"Uh… t-thanks, Twilight," said a blushing and sheepish Casey, and he watched her go through the mirror, as well, so that she could return to her world.

A few moments later, having again realized that it would be a long time before he would see either of them again, an emotional Casey muttered, "Why can't I cry on the inside like AJ does?"

Wiping away the small tears that were around his eyelids, the young pony began to leave the library when he suddenly let out a small cry of pain.

"Ow! What the…"gasped Casey, placing a hoof on his chest, but the pain only lasted for a few seconds before going away, much to his confusion. "That was… strange…"
> New Changes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


One Month Later


"How in the hell did this happen to you?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Rainbow…"

Anti-Stardust and his two remaining friends were back home in their world's version of Twilight's castle, and while Anti-Pinkie was busy reading through several books that the dark gold pony had obtained, Anti-Rainbow was currently cleaning up all of the blood coming out of the newly-gained scars on the right side of his face.

"Did the other you have something to do with this?"

Anti-Stardust scoffed at his friend's question, and said, "He's notthatvicious, believe me. All I know is when I tried going to his world, I ended up coming straight back here out ofthatdamn thing with half of my face now [BEEP]-ed up."

Looking over at the nearby Crystal Mirror, Anti-Rainbow remained quiet in thought as she threw away yet another blood-covered towel, and as the young pegasus began using another one, Anti-Stardust glanced over at Anti-Pinkie.

"Did you find anything on him yet?"

The saddened pony shook her head, and replied, "I'm trying my best, Star, but aside from what happened in Miles' world, there's nothing in these books that talks about anything that happened in your other self's world, or how he's connected to all of this."

A scowl appeared on Anti-Stardust's face, and he growled, "Well, then, why don't youtry a little HARDER?"

Flinching a little at the raised and angered tone in his voice, Anti-Pinkie just nodded her head, and continued to read, but then, she heard Anti-Stardust let out a sigh before saying, "I… I'm sorry, Pinkie… um, just take a break… eat some ice cream or something, I don't know."

"Really?" The young Earth Pony nodded his head. "Yay, awesome! Thank you!"

A few seconds later, she was out of the library, leaving Anti-Rainbow to look at her best friend in confusion, and it didn't take long for him to notice. "What?"

"Uh, Iamcleaning up the face ofAnti-Stardust, right?" replied Anti-Rainbow. "You haven't beenthatnice to her in, like, a really long time."

Anti-Stardust gave out a quick chuckle before saying his response. "Just because that's in my name, Rainbow, doesn't mean I have to be so negativeallthe time."

"Um… okay, I guess," said Anti-Rainbow, who was both surprised and just a tiny bit pleased to hear that. "Would this also have to do with Xenos-"

"Yes, it does," replied Anti-Stardust, in a tone that meant he would prefer not to talk about those events.

However, a smug Anti-Rainbow rolled her eyes, and said, "You do know you probably could've beat the living hell out of him before we left, right? I mean, what you did to those two servants-"

"I appreciate your comments, Rainbow," interrupted Anti-Stardust. "But they were nothing compared to Xenos… maybe if I had the power that my other self has, then that could possibly be the -ow!"

After cleaning up the rest of the blood that remained on his face, Anti-Rainbow took a moment to admire her handiwork while Anti-Stardust said, "What now?"

"Nothing, it's just… you don't really look that much like the other you anymore," replied Anti-Rainbow. "Actually, you look more like a badass this way."

Then, she ruffled up the front of his mane, and in a teasing tone, she added, "Still think you ought to do something with this stuff, along with your facial hair-"

"Ha-ha, very funny," said Anti-Stardust, and he was about to say more when he realized how close they were to each other.

Huh, I never noticed that her eyes were so...

It didn't take long for Anti-Rainbow to notice this, as well, but before he could say anything, the young pegasus backed away, with a slight blush on her face.

"I, um, better go make sure Pinkie doesn't eat up the rest of our ice cream."

Then, she was gone before Anti-Stardust could finish getting up out of the chair he'd been sitting in, and the Earth Pony started muttering underneath his breath until he found himself looking at his reflection in the Crystal Mirror.

She certainly wasn't kidding about me looking less like my counterpart,thought Anti-Stardust, who slowly began to smile.

Now that I think about it, why not keep on going?

Then, he turned his head away from the mirror, and cried out, "Hey, Rainbow!"

"Yeah?"

"I need you to help me find a razor and a hair clipper!"






The Next Day


As he walked through the streets of Ponyville, free at last, Beck let out a sigh of happiness before saying, "I've never been more appreciative of fresh air than how I am right now."

However, he couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched, so Beck looked to his right and to his left, but he didn't see anypony suspicious. "Just get ahold of yourself… it's only cause you were being watched every day inside a dungeon."

Once he arrived back home, the middle-aged Earth Pony took a deep inhale, and let it all out, with a relieved smile on his face.

"Home sweet home." He said, to no one in particular.

And as a newly released prisoner, the black-maned stallion decided the first thing he'd do was to check on his garden.

However, before he could go out his back door, a whisper made it's way to his ears.

"You piece of [BEEP]."

Beck immediately froze in place, and he said, "Alright, who's… who's there? Show yourself."

A cloaked pony appeared behind him, continuing to whisper.

"You don't deserve anything."

"What the...?" Beck said in befuddlement once he turned around.

"You don't deserve anypony, not after what you did,"the cloaked pony continued to whisper.

Beck shook his head, and replied, "That's not true… wait, what?"

Suddenly, to his surprise, another familiar pony began to walk out of the shadows in his home.

"You thought I wanted tohelp?!" Twilight Sparkle said, standing next to the cloaked pony. "I only did that because I pitied you, you stallion scum."

Beck continued to shake his head, as well as feeling a chill running down his spine. "No..."

"You're worse than Tirek..." growled a frustrated Twilight.

"You were such a nice stallion, to think..."

The alicorn princess rolled her eyes, and she said, "You lost your loved ones, big whoop..."

"Twilight was right, I shouldn't have tried to kill you. Death is too good for [BEEP] like you," exclaimed Casey, now showing to stand next to Twilight, and Beck began to feel more nervous and afraid.

"No… no, no, no…. this… no, this can't be happening," Beck said, trying to turn away but only finding himself being approached by more familiar faces.

Princess Celestia, Princess Cadence, Applejack, Spike, Rarity… everyone he'd captured was now gathered in a circle, surrounding the green Earth Pony.

"Like my sister said, if it were up to us, you wouldn't even be here now."

"Maybe we should teach you how it feels to be on the verge of death."

As the demoralizing comments kept coming, Beck continued to break down, wishing for everything to stop…. but a moment later, he suddenly realized that there was nothing but silence.

"Huh?" wondered Beck, as he uncovered his eyes that he didn't know he covered.

Everyone had stopped speaking, yet they were still there, now staring at him from one side of the house.

"Becky, what were you thinking, ya knucklehead?"

To both his horror and surprise, Beck then turned around to find Night Light, Bright Mac, Buttercup, Carrot, and Chiffon, with Night Light being the one that had just spoken.

"You could have just gone to the game yourself, you know? That ever come to mind?"Night Light said, talking like it was obvious.

Beck gave a nervous gulp, and he replied, "But we always promised each other that it would be the both of us to go-"

"To think we made you Godfather to Pound and Pumpkin..."Carrot said.

The feeling of fear continued rising for Beck, who tried to slowly back away, but everyone in the room started to follow him.

"Why did you lie to us?"Chiffon asked.

"To think our lives were perfect. Now we have the legacy of being friends with you,"Bright Mac maliciously said.

"I thought my daddy was bad, but you are WAY worse,"Buttercup added.

"Guys..."Beck tried to explain, but he stopped after he heard the voice of somepony else.

"We're really disappointed in you, son."

Beck turned around to find both his parents, his father standing tall and his mother crying like her heart had been broken.

"To think that you came from my loins,"His father said.

"Where did I go wrong?"His mother wheeped.

Seeing the heartbroken expression on his mother's face made Beck's eyes start to water up as he said, "Mom… please, don't cry, I was only-"

"...and to think I married you!"

"What… T-Twinkle?" Beck asked, before turning around to find his wife standing there.

"You're just so unbelievable, Beck," said a disappointed Twinkle. "Do you expect me to forgive you after what you did? You used my name, you used Carl's name, as justification for spreading fear and suffering to everypony you saw fit. I don't think I could EVER forgive you for that."

"Twinkle, I..."

Beck then heard a gurgle behind him, he turned to find a small colt on the floor.

"Carl? Carl. Hi, baby. Don't worry, Daddy's here..." Beck started soothing as if on instinct.

However, it seemed to have an opposite effect on Carl, who began crying and shuffling away from Beck.

'He's... he's afraid of me. My own colt is afraid of me.'

Just then, the demoralizing chants began once again, this time including his friends and family.

"Nobody likes you, Beck, and I should know..." the cloaked pony said, pulling down his hood to reveal another Beck.

The terrified Earth Pony continued to walk backwards until he found himselr backing up against a wall."No! No! No! Stop it! Stop it now, please!"

"What you did was unforgivable, Becky," said a newly-arrived Discord, standing in the opposite side of Beck's other self, wearing the clown get-up again. "Time for some morefun… and I can't wait to show you mytoys!"

"NO! Not that! Anything but that!" Beck said in fear, tears still flowing.

"NO! NO! NO! STOP IT! STOP IT!"






CLANG!


Suddenly, Beck opened his eyes, and saw that he'd used his hind leg to kick at one of the bars in front of him, which meant that he was still in his cell.

It was a dream… no, not a dream… it was a nightmare!

He checked his surroundings, seeing nothing but a barred door and walls, and as soon as he realized he was alone, he allowed himself to break down.

"I'm sorry, everyone," Beck sobbed."I don't deserve anything."

Around an hour or so later, the actual Twilight (now bright-eyed and wide awake) had just finished creating a list of things that involved Beck, as well as her friends, which meant that she had some exciting news for the former antagonist.

However, once she entered the dungeon, Twilight's happiness was immediately replaced with horror.

"Come on! Why… won't… you… work?" Beck said, frustrated as he continuously plunged a plastic knife into his chest.

However, due to the knife being plastic, it had almost no effect whatsoever.

"Beck?! What are you doing? Drop it!"Twilight said, panicking, and the Princess of Friendship used her magic to take the plastic knife away from the suicidal stallion.

"No, Twilight, I need this! I can't live like this!" Beck said, now sounding hysterical, and he was also starting to hyperventilate when suddenly, the purple alicorn entered Beck's cell, wrapping her front forelegs around him the same way she did the first time they had embraced each other.

At first, Beck struggled to escape the embrace, but the Princess of Friendship wouldn't let go, and eventually, the stallion caved in cried into Twilight's purple coat.

After a few minutes like this, Beck managed to calm down to a point where he could form sentences, but the tears were still falling.

"Why... d-do you... even c-care what happens to m, princess? I-I nearly k-killed you," Beck sobbed. "I'm n-not worth i-it."

"Of course you are," Twilight soothed, feeling relieved that Beck had relaxed somewhat. "Everypony deserves a second chance… you were still grieving. Sure, it might not have been right, but the first step to redemption is realizing you did something wrong."

"I'm s-so s-sorry, Princess, for everything," Beck apologized, and he was being completely honest with her. "I c-can't even r-r-recognize myself from d-during that t-time."

"It's okay," Twilight said, rubbing her hoof in a circular motion on Beck's back. "I forgive you."

Whatever remaining hatred that Beck had felt towards Twilight was now gone after she had said those words to him, but he still felt guilty and a little ashamed. "You t-truly are an angel among us, Twilight… but don't w-waste your t-time over s-stallion scum like m-me."

"You aren't scum, Beck," Twilight insisted. "You just did something wrong. Granted, it's going to take a lot of work, but I promise that you'll come back from this."

The dark green Earth Pony looked up at a smiling Twilight, who added, "Your family would want you to keep living your life. If not for you, do it for them."

After a moment or so, Beck finally managed to hold in his sobs, and he slowly nodded his head. "Okay. I'll do it."

"That's the spirit." Twilight praised, releasing Beck from her embrace, and she walked out of the cell, making her way to the exit, but to Beck's confusion, she forgot to close his cell door.

"Um, Twilight? You, uh, left my…"

Nodding her head, Twilight replied, "I sure did, and that's because I have something to show you in the library."

Before Beck could respond to that, Twilight left the dungeon, walking up the stairs, and once Beck knew she was out of earshot, he gave a sigh of relief.

"This is for you, honey."
> Unexpected Reunion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once Twilight had left the dungeon, the young alicorn made her way towards the library, and once she got there, she was surprised to find that her special somepony, along with her former pupil, were both getting ready to step through the Crystal Mirror.

"Leaving so soon? I thought you'd be interested in seeing what-"

Casey gave a quick chuckle, and he shook his head before saying, "I'm not exactly 'interested' to see what the outcome is of Beck owning up to the mistakes… though I certainly hope that it's a positive one."

Or else I'm gonna have to beat the living hay out of him if he causes her pain in any sort of way.

Although he'd come to accept the fact that taking Beck's life would not have solved anything, Casey was still unwilling to befriend the middle-aged pony in any sort of way because the memory of Beck assaulting Twilight was one that would never leave his mind.

Twilight looked over at the purple unicorn standing nearby, and she responded by giving a shrug. "He offered me the option of accompaning him, and I accepted… even though I honestly haveno ideawhere we're going."

The light-orange pony let out a sigh, and replied, "It's like Itoldyou, we're seeing an old friend that I really feel like talking to."

"Stardust?" wondered Twilight.

A smirk appeared on Starlight's face as she said, "Oh, hewishesthat he was seeing him right now… isn't that right?"

"No, but he does have somethin to do with the pony that weareplanning on seeing," answered Casey, even though part of him was agreeing with her.

It had been almost an entire month - more or less - since the last time he'd seen Stardust and Twilight's counterpart, and because Casey was still trying to fix his wristwatch, he'd been unable to get into contact with them to see how they were doing.

I'm really starting to regret not asking him or Princess Twilight if they'd been able to give me an extra book that works like the one Sunset uses,thought the young pony, and since all the time that had passed meant it had almost been a year for Stardust's world, that only made him miss the two of them even more.

"Not really surprising to hear that from you," Starlight rolled her eyes, and she shook her head. "Why don't you just spit it out, then, and tell mewhoit is that we're seeing exactly."

"Alright, sheesh, just relax," said Casey, trying to calm her down. "We're going to the world that Miles lives in."

Twilight became a little surprised after hearing him say that name. "The yellow Pegasus that Rowan took possession of?"

"Yup…" Casey nodded his head, and he was about to step through the Crystal Mirror when the purple alicorn told him to wait a moment. "What do you-oof!"

She handed him a very thick book, which had almost made Casey fall to the ground after recieving it, and she said, "Whatever you end up learning about Stardust, I want it to be put in here, along with the rest of what we know about him so far."

I should've known that she would ask me to do that for her… sheesh, how much stuff has she written in this thing?

After getting used to holding the book, Casey placed it in one of his cloak's pockets, and replied, "I'll do my best, Twilight… love you."

Then, after giving his special somepony a quick kiss on the cheek, Casey walked through the Crystal Mirror, and after a flash of bright light, he was gone.

Before going in herself, Starlight looked at Twilight, and asked, "So are you sure you'll be okay with whatever you have planned today regarding Beck?"

The confident alicorn nodded her head, and she replied, "I've got everything under control. You just enjoy your time with Casey."

"Eh, I'll try to," said a smirking Starlight, even though she was pleased that they'd been able to make up for lost time back when Casey had spent most of it in either virtual limbo or Stardust's world. "See you later, Twilight."

Then, after the two of them waved good-bye to each other, Starlight walked through the Crystal Mirror…

… and she expected to step into an exact replica of the library, but for some reason, that wasn't the case.

"Um, Casey? Why aren't we standing inside of a library?"

As the two ponies took a look around, a confused Casey replied, "I, er, don't know… but it looks like we're in some kind of laboratory."

They saw tables that held various test tubes and vials, along with several labeled potions, multiple pieces of machinery, and a few inventions that were catching their curiousity, but their focus on them was broken by the sudden appearance of a somewhat familiar Pegasus that wore a labcoat and a pair of glasses.

"Well, this is a surprise… can I help you two with something?"

Not wanting to get in some kind of trouble, Casey nodded his head before saying, "Hello, sir. I was wondering if you could tell us where, um, a Pegasus named Miles lives at in this world?"

Letting out a chuckle, the yellow and middle-aged pony smirked at Casey as he replied, "This may not be the castle, but this is somewhat my second home… and hello to you, too, Casey."

How did he know my name?thought the young Earth Pony, but after noticing the familiarity in his voice, as well as a few other recognizable body features, his mouth almost dropped to the ground once he realized who the Pegasus was. "Miles?"

"What… you're him?" said Starlight, who was equally surprised. "But how is… I mean, you were around our age the last time we saw you, and now, you look like someone's father."

An amused Miles, who also had a white-haired goatee, gave the two of them a warm smile, and replied, "That's because it's been almost 15 years since the day that I thanked you and the others for what you did."

"Fifteen years?" cried both Starlight and Casey.

Miles nodded his head, and he explained, "Time worksverydifferently in this world than how it is for you two in your own world."

No kidding,thought Casey, who was feeling relieved and grateful for that not being the case with him and Stardust.

And, as if by concidence, Miles became slightly nervous while asking, "Oh, um… is that one friend of yours coming, as well? Stardust was his name, if I recall correctly, yes?

Seeing the change in his expression and tone, Casey replied, "Not really, no… was there something you wanted to tell him?"

A sheepish smile appeared on Miles' face as he replied, "It's just that I, uh, never got the chance to personally offer him and his special somepony my sincere apologies for what had happened regarding my, um… well…"

Remembering all of the terrible stuff that a possessed Miles had done that involved Stardust, Casey let out a sigh, and tried his best to make the Pegasus feel better.

"I know that he isn't here, Miles, but I'm pretty sure Stardust and his Twilight aren't holding any sort of grudge or hard feelings against you for what happened… and, um, I'll be sure to mention this whenever I see them again."

A look of surprise appeared on Miles' face as he replied, "Really? You would do that for me?"

Casey smiled at the middle-aged pony, and he nodded his head. "I give you my word."

"Thank you very much," said Miles, giving him a warm smile of his own, in return. "I would've done it myself a long time ago, but personally, I'm not exactly comfortable with any sort of traveling that involves going to another world or universe, or back in time."

Starlight let out a small chuckle, and she replied, "You aren't the only one who thinks that, Miles… but, uh, I hope you're okay with talking to us about your own past… sort of."

"Well, I don't see what the problem is there," said an amused Miles. "What would you like for me to tell you?"

The purple unicorn looked over at Casey with a smirk, and the orange pony let out a sigh as he pulled out the book that Twilight had given him.

"That's quite a lengthy book you've got there, son…"

Casey let out a chuckle, and he replied, "Thanks, but Twilight wrote pretty much everything in here… anyway, what I wanted to ask was-"

Suddenly, before he could finish his sentence, Miles had something else that he wanted to say.

"Before you ask your questions, Casey, I wanted to know if you and Starlight would be interested in testing out one of my newest inventions."

"Really?" replied the young pony, who had been secretly hoping for him to ask something that. "Sure! Which one of these-"

Miles shook his head, and said, "It's over in the other room down the hall."

Casey looked at Starlight, who gave a small shrug, saying, "Sure, I guess… doesn't sound so bad or anything."

"Wonderful, then, just follow me," said Miles, and he began to lead them out of the lab. "Oh, you can leave that book in here if you want, Casey… no reason to continue carrying it."

"Thank you!"The young pony let out a sigh of relief after hearing that, and placed the book on a nearby desk before he and Starlight followed Miles to the door that would lead to wherever he planned on taking them.

As Casey and Starlight walked down with Miles down the hallway, the middle-aged pony looked over at them, with a curious expression.

"So, I take it that you two are an item now?"

Both of the two ponies frowned in confusion, and Starlight replied, "Item? Wait, do you mean…"

"... that me and her are both…?" finished Casey, who shared the same look of understanding with Starlight as they realized what Miles had asked them, and before the Pegasus could respond, the light-orange earth pony and purple unicorn quickly shook their heads.

"No, I'm dating Twilight... Starlight's like my sister…" Casey said, followed by a teasing smirk as he added, "Besides, she's not really my type."

"Not yourtype?" exclaimed Starlight, but after seeing that Casey was just being humorous, she decided to play along. "Oh, please, you aren't even in the same league as me."

Casey rolled his eyes, and replied, "I was able to get Twilight as my special somepony, wasn't I?"

Then, having realized what he'd just said, Casey quickly added, "Please don't tell her I ever said that, okay?"

An amused Starlight rolled her eyes, and she said, "Whatever you say,little brother."

"Thank you, Sta - wait,little?" exclaimed the light-orange pony. "Star, we're both the same age, and you're only ten inches taller than me… well, maybe fifteen if you add in all of this."

With a chuckle, Casey used his hoof to ruffle up Starlight's mane until she knocked it away with her own, and an observant Miles just shook his head. "I'm sorry I asked."





Several minutes after her special somepony and former pupil had left, Twilight was looking over her newly-created list of things that had to do with Beck's redemption process when said pony entered the library.

"Feeling better now?"

Beck nodded his head, and replied, "I, um, think I'll be okay, princess… so, how exactly do I, er, show that I want to be a better stallion?"

Lifting up the list she had been looking at, Twilight said, "Well, it's actually quite simple in theory. First, you need to apologize to everyone you've wronged,"

"Fair enough," said Beck, thinking that it didn't actually sound so bad. "Who's first?"

"Spike," replied Twilight, which made her newly-released prisoner feel a little more nervous. "What is it?"

Rubbing the back of his neck with a hoof,Beck said, "Um, I'm not exactly sure that will be easy, princess… and I mean no offense when I say this, but I nearly-"

"- inserted a dart into him that was designed to knock someone out in a morepermanentmanner, " finished Twilight, remembering the same words that Beck had told her, but this only made him feel more nervous. "I'm so sorry about that."

Beck let out a sigh, and muttered, "No, it's fine, princess, I get it… but I guess there's no harm in trying, right?"

Placing a hoof on Beck's shoulder, which elicited a small smile from the grateful earth pony, Twilight replied, "That's the spirit, Beck… looks like you're off to a good start."

"Thanks, Princess... so, um, where's Spike right now?"

The young alicorn gestured over to the door, leading out into the hallway, and she said, "He's tidying up his room, so now's probably a good time to talk to him."

Well, alright then,thought Beck, who inhaled and exhaled before walking out of the library, but a few seconds later, he came back with a sheepish smile. "Twilight, which way is-"

"Go to the end of the hall, turn right, and it's the third door on the left."

Beck blinked his eyes a few times before nodding his head, and he walked back out to make his way towards Spike's bedroom door.

Then, once he was standing in front of it,the middle aged pony let out a sigh, and knocked on the door with his right front hoof.


Knock-knock-knock!


"I swear if it's the Crusaders again, I am gonna..."Beck heard Spike mumble through the door before opening it. "Look, you three, I already-"

However, once the small dragon realized who had been the one to knock on his door, he immediately became silent, and his eyes went wide while a sheepish Beck chuckled a little bit before saying, "Um… how are-"

"Twilight!"exclaimed Spike, and he hurried out of the room, running past Beck before the Earth Pony could finish his sentence. "Casey! Starlight! Everypony! Beck got out!"

Well, that went swimmingly,thought the black-maned earth pony, now looking dejected.





"Um… I'm sorry if I sound rude, Miles, but what are we looking at here?"

Casey and Starlight were now in the room, looking at the invention that the yellow Pegasus had been talking about, and a smile appeared on Miles' face as he said, "This is a mixture of an X-Ray machine and what the humans call a CT scanner."

Seeing that they still looked confused, Miles added, "It's typically a large, box-like machine with a hole, or short tunnel, in the center, and one of you will lie on a narrow examination table that slides into and out of this tunnel…"

While Miles placed a hoof on the machine, with a proud look on his face, Casey asked, "What's the purpose of it, then?"

Miles' smile went away a little as he remembered the events from his past that had allowed himself to be completely possessed by Rowan, which then led to his downfall.

"To make sure that no one else will go through what I did when my special somepony was in a coma," replied the middle-aged pony., and he sighed before continuing. "This machine is designed to locate any kind of problems in someone's body, and erase them completely… unfortunately, things have been pretty, um, normal around here since the two of us came back that day."

Before Casey could say anything, Starlight (who still felt like messing with him) gave the young pony a pat on the back, and said, "Well, lucky for you, Casey here has had alotof catastrophic stuff happen to him since we last saw each other."

"Hey!"

Starlight rolled her eyes, and looked at him with disbelief while recounting past events in Casey's life. "You were sent to Stardust's worldandhis original homeworld, to virtual and dimensional limbo, to Anti-Equestria… Anti-Stardust almost beating you to death when he turned the castle of Stardust's Twilight into a stadium… you were brought back to life by Kronos' magic… the fight you had with Beck when he captured all of us… Rowan breaking your hind-legs…"

"Alright, I get it, a whole lot of **** happened to me." Casey let out a sigh, and took another look at Miles' machine. "Well, I said I wanted to help out, and that's what I'm going to do…"

Miles' smile returned, but Casey's own started to disappear a little since he was hoping that he wouldn't end up regretting this decision.





"Twilight!"

The purple alicorn looked up from her list, and saw a worried Spike entering the library. "Are you okay? Why are you-"

"It's Beck," exclaimed Spike, who was also trying to relax himself. "He got out of his cell!"

Oh, dear,thought Twilight, realizing that Beck's redemption process was definitely not starting out so great. "Look, Spike, I probably should have told you this sooner, but... I was the one that let Beck out."

"You WHAT?!" cried Spike, now getting even more worried. "Why would… wait, did he force you to do it? Are Casey and Starlight locked up? Is Beck going to-"

Suddenly, Twilight placed her front hooves on Spike's shoulders, and said, "Just calm down, Spike! Casey and Starlight are fine… and Beck only wants to make up for what he did, so I'm trying to help him."

The little dragon's mouth almost dropped to the ground after hearing that. "Are younuts?!Don't you remember all of those things he did to everyone, especially you?"

"Yes, Spike, I remember," Twilight replied. "But I can't just stand by and not let somepony have a chance to make things right again."

Then, right when Spike was about to yell out some more, Twilight added, "I also think it's fair enough that you hear him out since he technically was one of the reasons you were finally able to kiss Rarity after waiting so long."

Realizing that she had a point, the young dragon sighed, and after relaxing some more, he replied, "Okay, I guess you're right… but, what am I supposed to-"

"Hey, Twilight, I don't think your faithful assistant wants to…" said Beck, now entering the library, but stopped once he realized that Spike was in there, as well, and the two of them looked at each other in somewhat awkward silence.

It wasn't until the young princess cleared her throat that Spike took a few steps forward, and said, "Um… Twilight said you, er, had some kind of… apology to give me?"

After glancing over at a head-nodding Twilight, Beck replied, "I'm sorry, Spike… it's no excuse for what I did, but I was in a really dark place after the Tirek incident. My whole family, my best friend… all gone.

"But I think… I think it was losing my foal that sent me over the edge."

A minor look of surprise showed up on Spike's face as he said, "I… didn't know you had a foal."

Beck sadly nodded his head, and said, "I'll never forget the first day I laid eyes on him…"


Flashback - Many years ago


"Congratulations, it's a colt!" Nurse Redheart congratulated, handing the newborn to his mother, Twinkle Star.

"So, what are we going to name him?" Twinkle asked her husband, Beck.

"What about… Carl? I always appreciated the more simple names," Beck suggested.

A smile appeared on Twinkle's face, and she nodded her head. "Carl it is, then."

Just as she said that, the door opened and friends and family of the couple began pouring in to see the foal.

"Where is it? Where's my Grandfoal? Beck's mother said, making a B-line for Twinkle and the newly named Carl. "Ohhh, look how handsome he is... aw, I'm suddenly remembering the day that you were in his position, Becky."

"Mom, cut it out, please," muttered an embarassed Beck, while his wife silently giggled to herself.

"Leave our son alone, sweetheart… you two did a fine job, my boy," Beck's father said.

"Thanks Dad," Beck replied.

"If you ever need help, don't hesitate to call me or Chaffon," Carrot Cake said.

"Guess you're gonna be a little busier with the foal now, huh?" Night Light said.

Beck chuckled at his best friend's statement, and he replied, "You could say that… but I did promise that you and I would go to-"

"Beck?"

The new father pony turned his head back towards his wife, and said, "Yes, Twinkle?"

"Do you want to hold him now?"

Beck immediately beamed. "Sure."

He trotted to his wife's bedside and sat down, letting his forelegs become available. Twinkle carefully handed the now-sleeping Carl over to his father.

"Hi little one," Beck whispered. "Daddy's got you." Never before had Beck felt such pride in anything. He was a father. The only day that could come close to this was the day he and Twinkle got married.

"You're gonna grow up big and strong like your old stallion. I promise."


Present


"Being a father…" continued Beck. "It was a feeling I couldn't describe… now, I do love many things. My friends, my job, my family, and Twinkle especially, but Carl… he's something else. He was only…. a couple years old before it happened. Said his first words a week before I left as a matter of fact."


Flashback #2 - A week before the Season 4 finale


Beck was just getting home from town when his wife suddenly began to yell out for him.

"Beck! Beck, come quick!"

The green stallion dropped his saddle bags and booked it to Carl's room, where Twinkle was waiting.

"What is it? Is something wrong?"

"Carl said his first word!" Twinkle said, ecstatic.

"Really?" Beck asked, the same feeling of pride from the day of Carl's birth returning.

"Come on, honey, say it again," Twinkle urged.

"... Dada…" Carl cooed.

"Oh, my Celestia," Beck gasped.He called me 'dad.'

Wiping away a couple of prideful tears, Beck turned to jest his wife. "I always knew he'd say my name first."

"Oh, quiet you," Twinkle said as she nuzzled her husband.

"Looks like my best friend owes me 20 bits now," muttered a still-grinning Beck.

"Wait, what did you say?"

"Huh? Nothing!"


Present


Then, Beck started to conclude his statement. "When Twilight never addressed the Tirek incident… or those who lost their lives, I just got… so angry. It was…. she was just… sweeping them all under the rug… like, she was sweeping my foal's death under the rug, as if my feelings meant nothing to her…

"I knew it was for the good of Equestria, but… but why did it have to be my family… my foal, that paid the price."

Now looking at both Spike and Twilight, Beck added, "I never wanted to hurt you, Spike. I only wanted to hurt Twilight…"

He paused to smile sheepishly at said princess. "Back then, of course…"

Twilight just nodded her head, and allowed Beck to continue.

"And it's because losing Carl was the worst feeling I ever experienced, so I wanted to make her feel that exact same thing."

The young dragon continued to remain silent.

"You honestly don't have to forgive me… I mean, I won't expect you to do so, but I at least want you to know that I'm sorry and extremely remorseful over my actions."

Once again, silence reigned, with Spike processing Beck's little speech, and Beck silently praying to Celestia that Spike wouldx at least, understand what he was saying.

As for Twilight, she had a pretty good idea on what was about to happen next.

"I'm sorry about Carl, Beck," said Spike, once he'd gained back the ability to speak.

"Thank You," Beck responded, but he could tell that the dragon had more to say.

"Don't get me wrong… what you did was really messed up though," pointed out Spike. "Not even Starlight stooped that low… but, Twilight still managed to reform her, so… who's to say she can't do it again?"

"Does that mean…."

Spike shook his head, as Beck had expected, and he replied, "No. I don't think that I can forgive you… yet. I still need, uh, a bit of time to process all of this. I respect that you're trying to be better, and I couldn't be happier for that, especially after going through what you did…. But…"

"… it doesn't change the past," said Beck, and Spike gave him a quick nod.

"Exactly."

Just take it one step at a time,thought Beck, and he gave Spike a small smile. "Thanks for listening, at least."

"No problem," replied Spike. "But, uh… Twilight, does this mean he's gonna apologize toeveryonethat he captured?"

A smirk appeared on Twilight's face, and she said, "Well, yes, but not all in one day, Spike… speaking of which, now that you're checked off, it's time for me to take Beck over to the house of the next pony that's on this list."

A nervous but also curious Beck found himself asking, "So, um, w-who would that be exactly?"
> Choices to Make
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright, just give it to me straight, Miles… how bad is it?"

Casey was currently lying down on the table that was placed in the middle of Miles' machine while Starlight and the middle-aged pegasus were looking at a monitor that showed them visuals of his bones, organs, tissue, etc.

"What in Celestia's name hashappenedto you since the last time we met?"

A smirking Starlight replied, "It's just like I said earlier-"

The light-orange pony rolled his eyes, and muttered, "Thank you, Star, but we don't need another recap of what happened in the previous stories."

Starlight simply shrugged his shoulders while Miles took a closer look at the screen. "Huh… this is rather strange."

"What is...?" wondered Casey.

Keeping his eyes on the monitor, Miles replied, "You have some kind of… unknown aura that's surrounding your entire body… as well as the inside of it."

He turned his head to look over at Casey, and asked, "Have you recently consumed anything that was not natural or affected you in a negative way?"

Casey was about to shake his head when he suddenly remembered what he'd done back when Beck had first moved into Twilight's castle as her prisoner, as well as what had led to their momentary break-up, and to him spending several weeks in a wheelchair.

"Yeah, I, um… drank a lot of, er,special waterthat ended up allowing Rowan to break both of my hind legs, and mess around with my emotions."

A look of surprise appeared on Miles' face, along with a hint of fear. "He did what? I thought he was dead after your world's version of Pinkie sent him to theSmile HDworld."

If only that had been the case,thought Casey, and he let out a sigh. "He survived it somehow… but I promise you that Stardustdefinitelytook care of him, and it'd be impossible for Rowan to ever come back."

Miles let out a sigh of relief, and looked back at the monitor. "Well, if you're okay with it, I can use my machine to get rid of(waves hoof around)all this potentially-harmful magic."

Before Casey could respond, an unsure Starlight chose to give her opinion on Miles' invention. "Um, this machineisbuilt to be safe, right? I mean… I don't want to bring him back to Twilight in another wheelchair."

Casey rolled his eyes, and said, "Oh, thanks for the support."

With a smile on his face, the middle-aged Pegasus placed a hoof on his chest, and he said, "I can assure you that everything will be perfectly fine, Starlight. He won't even feel a thing… but like I said, it's his decision to make."

Then, Miles and Starlight looked over at Casey, who glanced up at the machine that he was currently lying in, wondering on whether or not it was best for him to go through with this.


################


Anti-Rainbow was currently inside of the throne room, looking at the Friendship Map in silence, and eating some pie as she sat in her throne when an entering Anti-Pinkie suddenly asked, "Soooo, are you gonna tell him or what?"

"Uh, tell whowhat, Pinkie?" replied Anti-Rainbow, after swallowing the rest of the pie portion that she'd been chewing on.

The pink-colored pony walked over to her own throne, and began to make herself comfortable in it. "Youknoooowww… that you like Stardustmorethan just a friend?"

Anti-Rainbow rolled her eyes, and replied, "Well,duh, he already knows that… we're best friends, remember?"

Pinkie's alternate self let out a laugh, and shook her head before saying, "I'm talking about you liking him inanotherway, Dashy… you know, thegood way… as in-"

"Gah!Yes, Pinkie, I know what way you're talking about," hissed the dark blue pegasus, looking over at the doorway to make sure that Anti-Stardust wasn't there. "But what makes you think I'd tell him something like that when it's not even true?"

Anti-Pinkie simply smiled at her confused and slightly red-faced friend. "Because it is… I mean, you haven't stopped looking at Stardust since he came back yesterday from trying to go to that one world."

"First of all, he never actuallygotto enter that world," clarified Anti-Rainbow, while continuing to eat from the pie. "And second, it's not my fault he got himself all carved up like a jack-o-lantern. How can younotlook at all those scars?"

Anti-Pinkie shrugged her shoulders, and said, "Well, yeah, they're noticeable and stuff, but I don't look at him as much as you've done so far… so it's obvious that you must-"

"I donotlike himthatway, Pinkie." Rainbow's alternate self shook her head. "Besides… he loves Twilight, remember?"

At first, Anti-Pinkie's happiness started to go down a little, but then, she put on a smile before saying, "Of course I do. Still doesn't mean that he can eventually pick somepony else to be with whenever the time's right,"

Having finished up the rest of the pie, Anti-Rainbow got up to head somewhere else, and she muttered, "I don't even know if they'll everbea time."

Once she was out of the room, Anti-Rainbow started to walk down the hallway, thinking about the rest of their now-gone friends when she found herself stopping at an open doorway after something inside had caught her attention.

"What… the…heck…?"

To her surprise, the young pegasus saw that she was walking into an empty arena-like area that looked very similar to the one Stardust's other self had created several months ago, and placed in the middle of the arena was a 20 ft. high steel structure that was unlike anything Anti-Rainbow had ever seen before.

"Liking what you see?"

Almost jumping in surprise, Rainbow's counterpart turned around to see an entering Anti-Stardust, who had a smirk on his face.

"Yeah…" muttered the young pegasus, noticing once again how different her best friend looked with the scars on his clean-shaven face, as well as the one over his right eye… and speaking of that, both of his eyes looked as if the dark gold pegasus had been dealing with some kind of sadness since she now felt like asking him if-

Wait, what?thought Anti-Rainbow, shaking her head, and she added, "Uh, Star, exactlywhatis this thing supposed to be?"

Placing a hoof against one of the steel bars, Stardust's other self replied, "Just a little something big… no, wait, how does that one guy say it…(in a different voice)it'shuuugeee… also tall, very tall… and I know it isn't a wall, but whoever's inside there is going to have a lotta trouble getting out-"

"Um, Star, think you could switch back over to your regular voice?" asked Anti-Rainbow, who also couldn't help but laugh at what he'd been saying.

"Sorry, got a little carried away," said an amused Anti-Stardust, whose smile slowly started to turn into a frown while admiring the steel structure. "Anyway, in a few more hours,thisright here is going to play a major part in mefinallygetting my revenge on Casey for everything's that has happened to me…"

The memory of Xenos smashing the statues of his friends entered his mind, causing his frustration to quickly rise, but that stopped after he suddenly felt a hoof on his shoulder, and he turned to look at a concerned Anti-Rainbow.

"I'm… sorry, I… just…" muttered the former human, with a hint of sadness, and Anti-Rainbow nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, so do we, Star…"

Then, both she and Anti-Stardust quietly looked at each other before he asked, "Hey, uh, were you and Pinkie arguing about something?"

"Huh? No, it was just her being her usual self, as always…" said Anti-Rainbow, though a little more faster than her regular vocal tone, but before he could ask the pegasus about it, they were interrupted by the shouting voice of Anti-Pinkie.

"Stardust! Why can't I have Sonic jump over the shark?"

While Anti-Rainbow rolled her eyes at her friend's antics, Anti-Stardust shook his head, and sighed as he went over to help out Anti-Pinkie with the video game.

"For the umpteenth time, Pinkie, it's awhale, and you're supposed to runawayfrom it!"





A few minutes after giving Spike his apology, Beck was now following Twilight to the home of the next pony that was on her list, which was now being held by an accompaning Spike.

"Um, Twilight, are you actually planning on having him give his apology toeveryonethat he's given trouble to all in one day?"

The purple alicorn shook her head, and replied, "We're going to take all of this one hoof-step at a time… and you're actually doing pretty good so far!"

"Thanks, princess," said Beck, with a small smile on his face. Perhaps it would be easy for him to make these apologies, despite what had happened in the nightmare.

"Well, I mean, he's only made peace with just the two of us, and there's plenty more to…" said Spike, stopping with a sheepish expression once Twilight glared at him. "Sorry."

Or maybe not,thought the middle-aged Earth Pony.

As for Twilight, she was about to say something comforting to Beck when a familar pale cream pony approached the princess to give her a greeting. "Hi, Twilight and Spike! What are you two doing today?"

"Hi, Bon Bon," greeted Twilight. "We're actually going to see-"

"Aaaggh!"screamed Bon Bon's companion, a mint-green pony named Lyra, who was one of the ponies that Beck had captured while carrying out his revenge scheme, and she had just caught sight of her captor. "Let's get out of here!"


Whoosh!


Both of them were gone before Twilight could finish her sentence, and she tried to make Beck feel better by saying, "Don't worry, we'll get to them eventually."

"We sure will," chimed in Spike, making some adjustments to Beck's list, and that made Twilight glare at him again. "What? That is what you said."

As for Beck, he placed a hoof on his forehead, and let out a sigh. "You can get through this…"


##############



Knock-knock-knock! Squeeee!


"Well, hello, Twilight and Spike," greeted Rarity, after the alicorn had knocked on her front door. "Come in, please, I was just finishing up with my newest stuff to take over to Canterlot Carousel for the winter season."

Spike happily followed after the white unicorn that he deeply cared about while Twilight gave Beck a warm smile. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," replied Beck, going in after the princess, and let out a chuckle.

This does beat having to come in through the window.

After he closed the door, Rarity (thinking that it had been Twilight) asked, "So, darling, to what do I owe this lovely visit?"

"Well, I'm glad you asked," replied the Princess of Friendship. "There's someone here that actually has something important to tell you."

"Oh? Who is…" wondered Rarity, but her curiosity quickly turned into shock once she saw that Beck was in her home, and after he sheepishly waved at her, the unicorn started to frown. "Well, at least you chose to come in through thedoorthis time."

"Um… yeah, it felt nice…" Beck looked over at Twilight, who made ago onmotion with her hoof while Rarity chose to remain silent. "So, er, anywho, I wanted to sincerely give you my… apolo… gy… wait a second...:"

The reason that the middle-aged pony had begun to stop talking was because of something catching his eye, and so, he trotted over to the object of his attention, stopping at Rarity's Foal section, where she displayed clothing for the younger pony population.

"What is he doing?" whispered Spike, and Twilight gave her assistant a shrug.

"I think he's looking at something that Rarity designed."

The "something" - or, actually, piece of clothing that he was staring at was a small onesie which had tiny cars on it, and some confusion returned to Rarity as she asked, "What's so special about that?"

"I remember this," Beck said, with memories from the past coming back into his mind." "Twinkle got this for Carl for his second birthday."


Flashback (Several years ago)


"Doesn't he look adorable?" Twinkle asked, gazing at Carl playing while he wore his new birthday present.

"He sure is, honey. Not as much as you though," Beck chided.

"Oh, stop," replied Twinkle, lightly bumping his shoulder, and her husband was about to say something comedic when their son suddenly tossed a toy at Beck's forehead.

Then, as Carl started to laugh, Beck muttered, "Better than a frying pan, I guess…"


Present


"Wait a moment," Rarity realized, as well as getting Beck's attention. "Did you say Twinkle? As in,Twinkle Star?"

Beck nodded her head, and a joyful look of surprise appeared on the unicorn's face.

"Oh, sweet Celestia, do I remember her. She was one of the pickiest customers I've ever had…"

Yep, sounds like her,thought Beck, who found himself starting to smile.

"... though I didn't mind. As a matter of fact, she actually had some of the most wonderful stories."


Flashback #2 (Several Years Ago)


"Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything ischiqueandmagnifique," Rarity welcomed in her best Canterlotian accent, while her newest possible client bore a sheepish-and-slightly-shy expression on her face.

"Hi, Mrs. Rarity, I'm Twinkle Star. I-I hope it isn't too much trouble, but I have, um, an almost two-year-old colt, and… well, I was wondering if you had anything I could get as a way to mark his second birthday?"

Rarity beamed after hearing what Twinkle had asked. "Why,of course, darling! I don't exactly sell clothing for foals too often, but I always have some on hand in case the need should arise, and from what it seems, said need has finally arrived. Also, making them certainty helps when I don't have anything too do for an hour or so. Now, then, come, come…"

The two mares walked over to a smaller nook of the boutique, where Rarity and Beck would be standing far into the future, and took a look at what Rarity had too offer.


Present


"She told me all about Carl. He sounded like such a darling little colt," finished Rarity, and looked over at Twinkle's husband. "She told me about you as well, like how you were such a great father to him, and even wished you would have been there with her. The way she talked about you, it actually reminded me of what I wanted in a potential suitor."

I'm just gonna choose to ignore that,thought Spike.

"It's just…" Rarity started to say, but Beck simply finished what she was thinking.

"It's just that you're having a hard time grasping how I could be the stallion she was talking about as well as the one that captured you and nearly killed your little Spikey Wikey?"

"Well, in some ways….yes, but I think I can see now why you took the actions that you did," explained Rarity, much to Twilight's pleasure

"And while they were made in poor judgment, I can at least acknowledge that you are remorseful about them."

The smiling Earth Pony glanced over at a pleased Twilight, and Spike decided to give him a thumbs-up.

"Brsides, I'm not one to hold a drudge, it's bad for my mane," Rarity explained, running her hoof quickly through her mane, and Twilight rolled her eyes while Spike's own hand turned into a thumbs-up.

"Thank you, Rarity, that means a lot," replied a more-relaxed Beck.

Rarity scoffed, and she made a motion with her hoof while saying, "Oh,pshhh-kkk-kkk!No trouble at all, darling… so, Twilight, darling, who is the next pony that you plan on taking him to see?"





"Thank you so much for looking after my garden while I'm away on vacation, Twilight."

Unaware of the small stream of Equestrian magic that had entered her watering can, Sci-Twi happily nodded her head as the principal of Canterlot High handed her a set of keys to the gardenhouse in front of them. "I really appreciate it… and I'm pleased to see that you came to help her today, Stardust."

A small smile appeared on the face of Stardust'sEquestria Girlscounterpart as he Celestia a small shrug, and as the principal walked away, he placed the right headphone earbud into his ear while turning on his mp3 player. "Just don't expect me to show up here with youeveryday, love."

An amused Sci-Twi rolled her eyes while Spike's dog counterpart said, "To be honest, Star, I'm still surprised that you're here in the first place."

"Didn't have anything better to do, I guess," replied EG Stardust, who was slightly telling a small white lie since he actuallywouldhave been able to find something that was better than looking over various plants, but ever since his interaction with Kronos, the young teenager had been doing whatever it took to prevent the world-watcher from permanently sending him to a place that was a thousand times worse than whatever hell was like.

Besides, seeing how excited his girlfriend was as she told Spike that this would expand her knowledge of botany felt good enough for him, and as they entered the plant-filled building, EG Stardust's smile grew a little more as the glasses-wearing teenager began to sing while sweeping up the small mess on the floor.

Give a little and you
Get a little and you
Care a little and it starts to show

Then, she began to start sprinkling some water into some of the smaller potted plants before she went to the bigger ones.

Growing things is easy
If you just give it room to grow

"Oh!"giggled Sci-Twi, noticing that a row of small plants were happily moving around. "Well, hi there, little guys! How are you doing?"

The plants responded by singing in the same kind of tune as Sci-Twi, who happily bobbed her head back and forth to the catchy beat.

Give a little 'cause ya
Care a little and ya
Try a little and it starts to show

Growing quick is easy when you just
Get some room to grow

After giving them some more water, Sci-Twi continued to do the same with the rest of the plants, but since the water was contaminated with magic, it was causing the plants to grow even taller, as well as coming to life.

[Twilight]
Starting small but growing taller
All ya need's a little love
A little care
A little for you, a little for you
And maybe just a little more over there

In just a matter of seconds, all of the plants had come alive, and were singing to the young teenager, as well as asking for more of the water from her watering can.

Give a little 'cause ya
Care a little and ya
Tip a little and ya make it more
Growing big is easy when you just
Get a little bit more!

However, it wasn't long before they had grown tired of waiting, and some of them had begun asking for seconds, much to Sci-Twi's surprise.

"Ooh. You, too? And you? Well, okay. More?"

To make matters worse, the plants were arguing amongst themselves while they individually asked a nervous Sci-Twi for more water.

[Plant Soloist 1]
Gettin' a little isn't quite enough to satisfy
[Plant Soloist 2]
I'd like a little more, please
Can you help me? I'm a-dyin'!
[Cactus]
Please, I'll be your best friend
You can tell me all your woes
[Tree]
Shove over just a little bit
I need some room to grow!

A worried Spike hurried over to EG Stardust, who was standing in the corner, with both of the headphone ear pieces placed in while he searched for a song.

[Plant Soloist 3]
Come on, Twilight, help me out
I'm thirsty, I need love
[Plant Soloist 4]
Over here, I need some
[Plant Soloist 3]
Hey, bud, you don't gotta shove!

"Stardust!"cried Spike, and after realizing that he couldn't hear him because of whatever song EG Stardust was listening to, the small dog used his mouth to yank out the headphone jack from the young teen's media-playing device.

"Hey!" EG Stardust glared at the green-furred canine. "Spike, what have I said about-"

Help us, Twilight, we need more
That's the water we adore
Just a little extra taste
Don't let a droplet go to waste

"When the hell did all ofthishappen?" asked EG Stardust, looking at his worried girlfriend, who was trying to keep her watering can away from a pair of grown plants that were trying to take it away from her.

"I don't know! I was just watering, and… then, they all-"

Help us, Twilight, we need more
That's the water we adore
Just a little extra taste
Don't let a droplet go to waste

Taking a closer look at the watering can, EG Stardust pointed at it, and said, "There's magic inside of that thing, love! Stop watering the plants!"

"What do youthinkI'm trying to do?" replied Sci-Twi, with slight irritation.

Help us, Twilight, we need more
That's the water we adore
Just a little extra taste
Don't let a droplet go to waste

Then, an idea popped into EG Stardust's head, and he walked over to a nearby nozzle. "If it's more water that they want…"


Whoosh!


A few seconds later, EG Stardust turned off the gardenhouse's sprinkler system, and all of the plants had returned back to normal, while he, Sci-Twi, and Spike were now soaking wet.

"Oh, and Twilight?" They looked over at the doorway, where a returning Principal Celestia gave her student a small piece of information that she'd forgotten to mention earlier. "Just be careful not to overwater the plants. Have fun!"

As she walked away, a frustrated EG Stardust gritted his teeth together before yelling, "Why in thehelldid she not f-"


Whoosh!


He was interrupted by the arrival of water that came from a faulty sprinkler roof-heads placed above EG Stardust, now getting even more wet, and a sheepish Sci-Twi handed her boyfriend an umbrella.





As Starlight, Casey, and Miles went back into the library, the middle-aged pony said, "Thank you again for allowing me to rid your body of whatever Rowan had convinced you to take. Now, you're back to your old self again."

Casey nodded his head, but he looked like he'd just been through a really bad experience. "Thank you for handing me a bucket before it was too late… I'm definitely going to enjoy taking a nap in my bed -oof!"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" remined an amused Starlight, who was glad that nothing terrible had happened to her friend, aside from him having to throw up a few times, and after placing Twilight's thick notebook into his hooves, the light-orange pony gave a sheepish grin.

"Ah, right… um, Miles?" Casey looked over at the aged Pegasus, and he asked, "Do you remember anything about, um, what might have made Rowan use the Silver Staff to send me into Stardust's world?"

To his slight dissapointment, Miles shook his head in response. "I'm sorry. I wish I could answer that for you, but most of my memories back when Rowan was in control of my body are a little fuzzy."

Worth a sbot, then, I guess, thought Casey, giving him a small smile. "That's alright, Miles… um, hopefully the next time we see each other, it won't be that much of a surprise."

"I completely agree with you on that," replied Miles, chuckling as he shook hooves with the two young ponies, and waved good-bye as they stepped through his world's version of the Crystal Mirror.

Then, once Casey and Starlight were back in the library, the light-orange pony placed his girlfriend's notebook onto the table, and looked over at Starlight. "Think you could make me some of that special tea you drank after you performed a memory spell on yourself?"

"Sure," replied the pink unicorn, who began to walk out of the room. "So, how do you think it's going with Twilight and Beck?"

Casey just gave her a small shrug. "As long as he doesn't give me a reason to hate him more, I'm fine with whatever she does to helpreformthe guy."

Then, once Starlight was gone, Casey let out a sigh, and sadly muttered to himself while looking through Twilight's thick notebook.
> Checking In
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Thank you so much for looking after my garden while I’m away on vacation, Twilight.”

Unaware of the small stream of Equestrian magic that had entered her watering can, Sci-Twi happily nodded her head as the principal of Canterlot High handed her a set of keys to the gardenhouse in front of them. “I really appreciate it… and I’m pleased to see that you came to help her today, Stardust.”

A small smile appeared on the face of Stardust’s Equestria Girls counterpart as he Celestia a small shrug, and as the principal walked away, he placed the right headphone earbud into his ear while turning on his mp3 player. “Just don’t expect me to show up here with you every day, love.”

An amused Sci-Twi rolled her eyes while Spike’s dog counterpart said, “To be honest, Star, I’m still surprised that you’re here in the first place.”

“Didn’t have anything better to do, I guess,” replied EG Stardust, who was slightly telling a small white lie since he actually would have been able to find something that was better than looking over various plants, but ever since his interaction with Kronos, the young teenager had been doing whatever it took to prevent the world-watcher from permanently sending him to a place that was a thousand times worse than whatever hell was like.

Besides, seeing how excited his girlfriend was as she told Spike that this would expand her knowledge of botany felt good enough for him, and as they entered the plant-filled building, EG Stardust’s smile grew a little more as the glasses-wearing teenager began to sing while sweeping up the small mess on the floor.

Give a little and you
Get a little and you
Care a little and it starts to show

Then, she began to start sprinkling some water into some of the smaller potted plants before she went to the bigger ones.

Growing things is easy
If you just give it room to grow

“Oh!” giggled Sci-Twi, noticing that a row of small plants were happily moving around. “Well, hi there, little guys! How are you doing?”

The plants responded by singing in the same kind of tune as Sci-Twi, who happily bobbed her head back and forth to the catchy beat.

Give a little 'cause ya
Care a little and ya
Try a little and it starts to show

Growing quick is easy when you just
Get some room to grow

After giving them some more water, Sci-Twi continued to do the same with the rest of the plants, but since the water was contaminated with magic, it was causing the plants to grow even taller, as well as coming to life.

[Twilight]
Starting small but growing taller
All ya need's a little love
A little care
A little for you, a little for you
And maybe just a little more over there

In just a matter of seconds, all of the plants had come alive, and were singing to the young teenager, as well as asking for more of the water from her watering can.

Give a little 'cause ya
Care a little and ya
Tip a little and ya make it more
Growing big is easy when you just
Get a little bit more!

However, it wasn’t long before they had grown tired of waiting, and some of them had begun asking for seconds, much to Sci-Twi’s surprise.

“Ooh. You, too? And you? Well, okay. More?

To make matters worse, the plants were arguing amongst themselves while they individually asked a nervous Sci-Twi for more water.

[Plant Soloist 1]
Gettin' a little isn't quite enough to satisfy
[Plant Soloist 2]
I'd like a little more, please
Can you help me? I'm a-dyin'!
[Cactus]
Please, I'll be your best friend
You can tell me all your woes
[Tree]
Shove over just a little bit
I need some room to grow!

A worried Spike hurried over to EG Stardust, who was standing in the corner, with both of the headphone ear pieces placed in while he searched for a song.

[Plant Soloist 3]
Come on, Twilight, help me out
I'm thirsty, I need love
[Plant Soloist 4]
Over here, I need some
[Plant Soloist 3]
Hey, bud, you don't gotta shove!

“Stardust!” cried Spike, and after realizing that he couldn’t hear him because of whatever song EG Stardust was listening to, the small dog used his mouth to yank out the headphone jack from the young teen’s media-playing device.

“Hey!” EG Stardust glared at the green-furred canine. “Spike, what have I said about-”

Help us, Twilight, we need more
That's the water we adore
Just a little extra taste
Don't let a droplet go to waste

“When the hell did all of this happen?” asked EG Stardust, looking at his worried girlfriend, who was trying to keep her watering can away from a pair of grown plants that were trying to take it away from her.

“I don’t know! I was just watering, and… then, they all-”

Help us, Twilight, we need more
That's the water we adore
Just a little extra taste
Don't let a droplet go to waste

Taking a closer look at the watering can, EG Stardust pointed at it, and said, “There’s magic inside of that thing, love! Stop watering the plants!”

“What do you think I’m trying to do?” replied Sci-Twi, with slight irritation.

Help us, Twilight, we need more
That's the water we adore
Just a little extra taste
Don't let a droplet go to waste

Then, an idea popped into EG Stardust’s head, and he walked over to a nearby nozzle. “If it’s more water that they want…”


Whoosh!


A few seconds later, EG Stardust turned off the gardenhouse’s sprinkler system, and all of the plants had returned back to normal, while he, Sci-Twi, and Spike were now soaking wet.

“Oh, and Twilight?” They looked over at the doorway, where a returning Principal Celestia gave her student a small piece of information that she’d forgotten to mention earlier. “Just be careful not to overwater the plants. Have fun!”

As she walked away, a frustrated EG Stardust gritted his teeth together before yelling, “Why in the hell did she not f-”


Whoosh!


He was interrupted by the arrival of water that came from a faulty sprinkler roof-heads placed above EG Stardust, now getting even more wet, and a sheepish Sci-Twi handed her boyfriend an umbrella.





As Starlight, Casey, and Miles went back into the library, the middle-aged pony said, “Thank you again for allowing me to rid your body of whatever Rowan had convinced you to take. Now, you’re back to your old self again.”

Casey nodded his head, but he looked like he’d just been through a really bad experience. “Thank you for handing me a bucket before it was too late… I’m definitely going to enjoy taking a nap in my bed - oof!”

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” remined an amused Starlight, who was glad that nothing terrible had happened to her friend, aside from him having to throw up a few times, and after placing Twilight’s thick notebook into his hooves, the light-orange pony gave a sheepish grin.

“Ah, right… um, Miles?” Casey looked over at the aged Pegasus, and he asked, “Do you remember anything about, um, what might have made Rowan use the Silver Staff to send me into Stardust’s world?”

To his slight dissapointment, Miles shook his head in response. “I’m sorry. I wish I could answer that for you, but most of my memories back when Rowan was in control of my body are a little fuzzy.”

Worth a sbot, then, I guess, thought Casey, giving him a small smile. “That’s alright, Miles… um, hopefully the next time we see each other, it won’t be that much of a surprise.”

“I completely agree with you on that,” replied Miles, chuckling as he shook hooves with the two young ponies, and waved good-bye as they stepped through his world’s version of the Crystal Mirror.

Then, once Casey and Starlight were back in the library, the light-orange pony placed his girlfriend’s notebook onto the table, and looked over at Starlight. “Think you could make me some of that special tea you drank after you performed a memory spell on yourself?”

“Sure,” replied the pink unicorn, who began to walk out of the room. “So, how do you think it’s going with Twilight and Beck?”

Casey just gave her a small shrug. “As long as he doesn’t give me a reason to hate him more, I’m fine with whatever she does to help reform the guy.”






Location: CHS Rooftop (Jack’s World)

As she tapped her foot on the ground, an irritated Rainbow let out a sigh, and she crossed her arms. “What’s taking her so long to get here?”

“We’ve only been here for five minutes, Rainbow,” replied Applejack, speaking in a dry tone.

While Rainbow rolled her eyes, a concerned Fluttershy said, “I hope nothing bad’s happened. She seemed a little bit off this morning.”

“Oh, don’t worry, darling, I’m sure that she was only like that because today’s Monday,” replied Rarity, who was currently looking through a fashion magazine.

Pinkie Pie continued to munch on a sugary cupcake that she’d brought as a snack, and Twilight was just keeping quiet since she already had an assumption as to what was the important news that Sunset wanted to tell all of them.

And speaking of Sunset, said human being was currently waiting behind the door that would take her to the rooftop, mentally preparing herself for what she was about to do. Nothing will change, Sunset… nothing will change.

Once she felt like she was ready, Sunset opened the door, and slowly walked over to her group of friends, with Rainbow crying, “Well, look who decided to finally show - ow!”

“Just ignore her, sugarcube,” said Applejack, after thumping the blue-skinned teenager on the back of her head.

“Is everything alright, darling?” asked Rarity. “You and Jack didn’t get into a heated argument or anything, did you?”

Sunset shook her head, and she replied, “Oh, no, it’s nothing like that… I just, um… s-something unexpected happened during the final days of winter break.”

“Ooooh! What was it?” wondered a curious Pinkie, while Twilight continued to remain quiet, even though she knew part of what Sunset was referring to.

Just tell them. It’ll be fine.

The bacon-haired teenager sighed, and rubbed the back of her neck with her hand as she said, “I… er… am now… expecting.”

Only Twilight understood what Sunset had meant by that; everyone else was now confused.

“Uh, expecting what?” questioned Rainbow, tapping the side of her head with her finger. “A late Christmas gift or something?”

Sunset shook her head, and she replied, “Me and Jack are… expecting… a child together.”

Once she said that, all of her friends quickly became aware of what Sunset was implying, except for a still-confused Rainbow. “Like for adoption or-”

“Sunset Shimmer!” cried Pinkie, who was now standing in front of her, with a glaring expression. “Do you mean to tell us that you... are having… a baby?”

Too surprised and nervous to speak, Sunset quickly nodded her head, and Pinkie said, “Then, that only means one thing…” Her frown suddenly turned into a huge smile. “We get to throw you a baby shower party!Ohhh, this is so exciting - we could do all sorts of…”

Before Pinkie could go on and on with what could happen at a baby shower, a surprised Rainbow said, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! So, you’re pregnant?”

“That’s what she’s been trying to tell us, ya airhead,” replied Applejack. “Still, can’t say I’m surprised you didn’t know since you don’t got no siblings like me, Twi, Fluttershy, and Rarity.”

As the two of them started to argue with each other, Sunset became surprised - and relieved - that her friends hadn’t reacted in a negative way, and this was quickly noticed by Rarity.

“We aren’t upset or anything like that, Sunset… it’s just… well, like you said, unexpected.”

She does have a point there, thought Sunset, while Twilight was finally able to speak.

“How did Jack react when he found out?”

Pausing her argument with Applejack, Rainbow said, “Well, it couldn’t have been terrible since she’s standing in front of us, and is still wearing the ring he ga - wait a second…” She took a closer look at Sunset’s left ring finger, which now wore two beautiful rings. “Is that a…”

“My God, that ring is gorgeous!” interrupted Rarity, who had also noticed it. “Did he ask you the big question, as well?”

“Wait, what?” cried a surprised Twilight.
“You mean you’re both expecting and engaged?” said Fluttershy.

A sheepish Sunset nodded her head.

“Whoo-hoo! That means a baby shower and a pre-wedding party!” shouted an excited Pinkie, with tons of fun ideas now swirling around inside of her head.

“Whoa, hold up now, let’s back it up a lil’ bit,” said Applejack, remembering what Rainbow had first asked. “So, what happened when Jack found out that you two were, um, gonna be havin’ a baby?”


Flashback - The Night Before


With the pregnancy test device still in her hands, Sunset let out a sigh, and she said,“Jack, I… I think… I’m pregnant.”

After hearing Sunset say those words to her, Jack had momentarily found himself unable to respond, and was just looking at her with a slight gape of his mouth.

Well, no anger is definitely a good sign, thought Sunset, clearing her throat before continuing to talk. “I know this… isn’t something we pla-”

“This. Is. [BEEP]-ing awesome!” yelled Jack, taking his girlfriend completely by surprise, and the next thing she knew, he was lifting her up in his arms, spinning around in a circle while laughing with joy.

Before she could even say anything, Jack gave her a deep, passionate kiss on her lips, and then, he pulled away with a wide, toothy grin on his face. “Best start to a new year ever!”

“Y-you mean that… you aren’t upse-” said Sunset, who was interrupted by Jack giving her another kiss.

“Hell no, I’m not upset, love!” replied her excited boyfriend. “This is freakin’ fantastic, I’ve always wanted to be a father!”

And, because he couldn’t find anything else to say, Jack continued on with passionately kissing Sunset, but after a while, the bacon-haired teenager found herself pushing him away just a little.

“Jack, I’m glad and relieved that you-”

“Oh, [BEEP], hold on a sec,” exclaimed Jack, setting the expectant teenager gently down on the bed while he got down on one knee, and Sunset’s heart began to beat faster.

He isn’t going to… actually… right now, is he?

“Sunset… love… my beautiful goddess…” He then revealed to her a ring box, and Sunset found her eyes starting to water up. “I may not have some kind of well-thought out speech that’s been prepared for when it was the right time to do this, but I can’t think of any other moment that is more perfect than right now to ask you this one important question.”

Jack opened up the box, revealing a very beautiful and sparkling engagement ring that matched perfectly with the promise ring already on her finger, and it was now Sunset’s turn to be speechless as he asked, “Will you marry me?”

No words whatsoever were able to come out of her, so a teary-eyed Sunset just nodded Yes to Jack, whose smile grew even wider as he placed the ring on her, and then, he said, “Time to celebrate!”

“Wha-” Sunset was about to ask him what he meant by that, but she quickly got her answer from Jack resuming their make-out session, and while Sunset’s hands went to the sides of his head, Jack placed his around her waist, followed by holding onto the bottom of her shirt so that he could lift it up over-


##########


“Gaaahh! T.M.I., Sunset, sheesh!” cried Rainbow, waving her arms around in order to stop Sunset from continuing so she could avoid seeing an unpleasant image in her mind, and the sheepish teenager gave her an apologetic look. “No wonder you’re pregnant - ow! What, it’s true, ain’t it?”

“So, who else knows about you being… um…” Fluttershy tapped her own stomach for a little bit, and Sunset made a gesture to everyone around her, but before the yellow-skinned teenager could speak, they all heard the familiar voice of Jack yelling from down below.

“In your [BEEP]-ing face, Sentry!”

Sunset immediately let out a groan, and placed the palm of her right hand against her forehead. “I told him not to do this.”