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."