[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..."