My Little Pony: A Race Against Time

by CJ Esmerio

New Territory

Author's Note:

"My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" belongs to DHX Media and Hasbro.

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…