My Little Pony: A Race Against Time

by CJ Esmerio

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.

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."

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."

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..."

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.

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.

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.

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."