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?"