My Little Pony: A Race Against Time

Chapters

Prologue
New Arrival, Part 2
And, So It Begins
Time Travel
Serious Trouble
Rounding Everypony Up
Defending the Empire
A New Alliance
Checking In
Just the Beginning
Time for Others
A Special Connection
Things Get Worse, Part 1
Things Get Worse, Part 2
Taking Care of Business
An Unbalanced Stardust
Confusion
The Rage of A Human
Power Up
The Final Battle
Friendship Party
Till Next Time, Stardust
A New Friendship
Strange Things, Part 1
Strange Things, Part 2
The Pain Continues
Castle Takeover
Welcome to Jolly Ol' London
Experiencing the World
Stardust's Mistake, Part 1
Stardust's Mistake, Part 2
Dealing with the Past
Getting Home
The Battle Begins
A Second Chance, Part 1
A Second Chance, Part 2
A Special Event
Saying Goodbye
Mistakes, Part 1
Mistakes, Part 2
New Territory
Equestria Bound, Part 1
Equestria Bound, Part 2
A Shocking Reveal
True Friendship
Stardust's Choice
A Peaceful Reunion
We've Only Begun
A Friendly Invite
Capturing Ponies, Part 1
Capturing Ponies, Part 2
A Royal Capture
A Crystal Break-In
Learning the Truth
Intermission
Breaking Twilight
Right or Wrong
Creating a Crack
Emergency
Seperate Ways
Caught Up
Working Together
A Truth Revealed
A Special Night
Worlds Apart
Stardust's Goodbye
New Changes
Unexpected Reunion
Choices to Make
Checking In
New Arrival, Part 1
Only Just Begun

Prologue

Chapter 1: Prologue and Tanked

On a dark and stormy night, at a secret location that was in the Everfree Forest, a sinister plan was nearing its completion.

"Are you sure that all of them will be heading to the Crystal Empire?"

The voice belonged to a cloaked and hooded figure that was in front of a burning fireplace... while his reluctant servant was standing in the middle of the room.

"Um... yes, sir," replied the Earth Pony, whose name was Casey. "Even the two little ponies."

"What about the winged one?"

Casey replied, "The little Pegasus is too sick to make the trip, but they all-"

"No matter, it will not make that much of a difference," interrupted his master. "All that matters is that, starting tomorrow, my revenge will be final..."

With a grin, the cloaked animal added, "And there's nothing that anypony can do about it!"

Casey gulped, and said, "Well, um, if that will be all, sir, then..."

He began to head towards the door, but it suddenly closed shut on him.

"Oh, you aren't quite done yet, slave," said the mysterious figure. "I need you to find that time machine to bring that other pony, and then, I want you to lure all of them into the area that I have prepared in the castle, in order for my plan to work."

"But how am I supposed to-" began Casey, but he instantly stopped talking when the flames began to grow brighter.

"Do not question me, you worthless pony! Just get them into that room, or else I'll make you regret it!"

As the door re-opened, Casey quickly nodded his head. "Yes, sir... thank you, sir..."

Whoosh!

Once the Earth Pony was gone, the cloaked figure began to grin in an evil way.

"You may think that 'friendship is magic', Twilight Sparkle," laughed the pony. "But you've never encountered my magic!"

Then, he began to let out an evil laugh.

"Ha-ha-ha... ha-ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha-ha!"

With the doors now closed, the Friendship Express began its journey from Ponyville to the Crystal Empire.

Aside from the conductor, the only occupants aboard the train were Twilight Sparkle, as well as the rest of the Mane Six, and Twilight's number-one assistant/"little brother" Spike.

They had also brought along Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, who were the little sisters of Applejack and Rarity.

Unfortunately, Scootaloo (the little Pegasus pony that idolized Rainbow Dash) was currently under the weather, and could not join them on the trip.

"Are you alright, Starlight?" Twilight asked, looking at the unicorn sitting next to her.

Her name was Starlight Glimmer, and she was a reformed magical unicorn that had become a new friend of theirs, as well as Twilight's friendship pupil.

"Yeah, but I'm just... feeling a little nervous of seeing Sunburst," admitted Starlight, who was referring to her long-time childhood friend that had knowledgeable skills in magic.

"I haven't seen him since we first met Thorax there."

Twilight placed a comforting hoof around her shoulder. "I'm sure that he'll be glad to see you, especially since you saved all of us from Chrysalis. Plus, wasn't he the one who sent Thorax to help?"

Before Starlight could reply, however, a certain blue Pegasus was starting to chuckle. "I don't think she's feeling nervous at all, Twilight."

"Well, what else would it be, then?" asked the Princess of Friendship.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Twilight? I thought you knew everything!"

While Twilight appeared confused, Starlight began to blush. "Don't be silly, Rainbow, I don't-"

"Ooh, ooh, I know, I know!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, an Earth Pony that should never be questioned.

She took a deep breath, and said, "Starlight is starting to discover feelings for Sunburst, so she isn't feeling nervousness in her stomach, it's butterflies because she likes him!

"Plus, I'm sure that she knows that he knows what we didn't know until we actually did know about her and Discord and Thorax and Trixie saving us from that evil queen and all of the Changelings becoming good-"

"Um, Pinkie, that isn't what I-"

"But she's also worried about what will happen when he finds out that she had us all under her mind-control, or that your castle almost became a water-animal park, or even when she tried creating a spell that would erase Hearth's Warming Eve forrreeevverrr!"

Once Pinkie had finished, everyone had no idea what to say.

"Um, that last one was Snowfall Frost, Pinkie," corrected the purple alicorn. "And is she right, Starlight?"

The blushing unicorn said, "Um... well... I don't know..."

"But, um... haven't you known him since you were a filly?" asked Fluttershy, a shy and yellow-ish Pegasus that represented the Element of Kindness.

Starlight replied, "I mean, yeah, but that doesn't mean I-"

"And, didn't you help him realize his true potential, darling, during the whole incident with Flurry Heart?" said Rarity, a white unicorn that had an incredible fashion designer sense.

"Well, he was the one that knew what spell to-"

"And why else would your face be blushing as bright as the apples from Apple Acres?" added Applejack, who was an Earth Pony that had the Element of Honesty.

Before Starlight could reply back, Applejack's little sister said, "Aw, you don't gotta be so nervous, Starlight, your wizard friend's a cool unicorn!"

"Yeah, definitely," added Sweetie Belle, who was Rarity's younger sister. "Besides, it's not like you're Spike whenever he tries to-"

"Ssshhhhhh!" exclaimed the little purple dragon, but then, he noticed all of the ponies looking at him now. "What?"

"What did she mean by that, Spikey-Wikey?" Rarity asked, while the others rolled their eyes since they were all well-aware of the dragon's crush on the beautiful unicorn.

"Er, well," said Spike, now thinking fast. "It's whenever I try to... um... avoid being ambushed by the fanatic Crystal Ponies!"

Everyone except Rarity sighed, while Spike continued on. "Yeah, I mean, they'll probably be all over me more now that they know I was Thorax's first friend."

"What does that even-" started Starlight, but then, Twilight turned her head towards her.

"Starlight, it's okay to feel... strange... at times like this. I'm sure Sunburst will at least appreciate the visit."

Her pupil smiled, and nodded her head. "Thanks, Twilight."

"Of course," replied the purple unicorn.

"Besides," said Applejack, suddenly showing a sly grin. "You're just like the way Twilight was when she bumped into that one guard at Canterlot."

"I told you I don't know anything about him," said Twilight, who was starting to blush, as well. "He was just-"

"A pony that reminded you of a person you met in the other world that Sunset Shimmer stays at now," interrupted Pinkie Pie. "And that danced with you at the Fall Formal, as well as hugging you after you won the Battle of the Bands to beat the Sirens-

*gasp*

"But then he met the other you that's not really interested in him, so after talking to Sunset, he decided to accept the fact that you're probably never ever going to come back, unless the crack in the portal that's releasing energy beams does make you come back!"

At first, no one said a word... for at least a minute, which is when Spike asked, "How did you know all that stuff, Pinkie?"

She simply gave a small shrug. "But enough about me... do we know if Starlight likes Sunburst, or what?"

Starlight groaned, and began to slide downward to the floor, feeling embarrassed.

"Wow," said Pinkie Pie. "I wish I could do that!"

New Arrival, Part 2

A few minutes later, just as Twilight had predicted, Spike was by his statue, retelling his incredible story about how he'd saved the Crystal Empire twice.

"Did you have fun?" Twilight asked, a look of amusement on her face.

"Once everyone stopped trying to grab me, yeah," replied Spike, still annoyed with her a little for keeping the doors closed on him.

Twilight chuckled, and looked around the city, admiring the decorations and other fun festivities that her BBBFF and sister-in-law had set up for their baby's first birthday.

"Twily!"

As if on cue, Shining Armor made his way towards his little sister, with Princess Cadence at his side, who was using her magic to push a crib that held Flurry Heart.

"Oh, she looks so adorable!" Rarity said, looking down at the alicorn toddler.

Applejack took a look, and smirked at her friend. "Um, she looks the same to me, Rarity."

The white unicorn rolled her eyes, and said, "Honestly, Applejack, you have no sense or appreciation of style."

"Now, that's just crazy talk right there," replied the farming pony. "This hat right here I got on is part of my style."

"Oh, honestly, darling, of all the ridiculous..." continued Rarity, but Twilight simply ignored her as she went over to talk to Cadence.

Casey was silently walking by the houses of the Crystal Ponies, not taking any part in the festivities.

"Slave!"

Taking a small gulp, Casey went over to a nearby pond, and looked at the water, which dissolved into a reflection of his cloaked master.

"Is the Crystal Mirror still in the castle, or not?"

Casey tried to figure out what were the right words for him to-

"Answer me, SLAVE!"

The Earth Pony winced at his master's raised tone. "No, sir, it's no longer there."

His master scoffed, and said, "No matter, I'll get that mustard-colored pony somehow. You just work on leading the Mane Six into that room."

"But what Spike, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle?" wondered Casey. "I thought they-"

"You worthless moron, I do not care about a baby dragon or two weak-minded brats," growled the cloaked pony. "All I want you to do is bring the Mane Six into the room, where I will then take care of everything else."

Before Casey could say anything else, his master said, "Just get... it... done."

Then, a small wave of ripples appeared in the water, erasing the image of his cruel master, and leaving a scared Casey to be alone with his thoughts.

Why can't I just do the right thing? wondered the Earth Pony, as he began to have second thoughts regarding his master's sinister plot.

He looked at his cutie mark, which was a silver crescent moon, along with a bright, blue-colored, and eight-pointed star. This isn't who I am.

Did he have feelings for Twilight? Well, yes, but he wasn't exactly in love with her... he just hoped that, maybe one day, they could go out on a date, then see what happened next.

Was he a cruel-hearted pony, like his master? Not in any way whatsoever..

How did he end up serving him, then?

Well, let's just say that, on a day that he was gathering ingredients in the Evergreen Forest for Sunburst, Casey had gone to the wrong place at the wrong time...

So, then, he ended up becoming a spy, reporting anything that he'd seen or heard about regarding Twilight Sparkle and her friends... and, when the time was right, Casey would simply have to fulfill one last task before his services were no longer required.

Let's face it, Twilight would never want to hang out... let alone, go on a date with somepony like me, thought Casey as he sighed, and hung his head down in sadness.

"Casey?"

The Earth Pony turned to see Twilight, as well as the rest of the Mane Six.

"You alright, sugarcube?" Applejack looked at him with concern.

Casey nodded his head, and he said, "Yeah, of course... and I'm sorry for the way that I acted earlier."

"So am I," replied Fluttershy, feeling bad. "I shouldn't have said what I said out loud."

Although the Earth Pony started to blush, he simply waved it off.

"It's fine, Fluttershy. Don't sweat it."

"So, you do have a crush on Twilight, then?" wondered Rainbow Dash, making the other ponies roll their eyes. "What?"

Twilight walked over to Casey, and to everyone's surprise, she placed a necklace around him.

Holding the circular pendant in his hoof, Casey saw that it showed a turtle-dove behind a blue-sky background.

"W-why are you giving me this?" Not that he wasn't complaining, but it just seemed a bit odd to him, as well as the others.

Twilight gave him a warm smile, and said, "Well, I have a similar necklace at home, and as long as you keep that with you, we'll always be friends, no matter what."

Oh... friends... Casey slightly felt a little bit of rejection. Makes sense since she's probably paired better with somepony else.

Noticing his slight disappointment, a blushing Twilight said, "Well, I mean, it could mean something more... possibly... after we get to know each other first?"

Casey instantly felt happier, and replied, "Thanks, Twilight."

Applejack nodded his head, and put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "That was somethin' real special, Twi."

Get them to the room, slave...

All of a sudden, as he remembered his master's voice, Casey cleared his throat to say, "Um, if you all don't mind... I'd like to show you a special room inside the castle."

"Ooh, really?" Pinkie Pie said, her curious eyes growing as wide as ping-pong balls. "What kind of special?"

"You'll have to see for yourself, Pinkie," replied Casey, gesturing towards the castle. "That okay?"

Rainbow Dash let out a yawn, and said, "If I eat any more food, I'll end up falling asleep, so... alright, I'm game."

Then, the others started to agree, as well, and Casey said, "Great! Now just follow me, and you'll see something amazing."

Meanwhile...

"Yes, my plan is almost complete!"

The cloaked figure was in the room that Casey would bring them to, and right now, he was looking at the wall paintings in front of him.

There was also five empty statue stands surrounding him. "Yes, this will suit them very nicely."

He looked down at the ground, which had a painted symbol that represented Twilight's Cutie Mark.

"And once the Princess of Friendship is out of the way, there will be NO PONY whatsoever in Equestria that can stop me!"

And, So It Begins

Once they were inside the Crystal Castle, Casey began leading his friends to the "special room" that he had talked about.

"So, what exactly is inside that room?" Rainbow asked, looking at their new friend with curiosity.

"Just a little, um... tribute that the, ah, Crystal Ponies made for you all," replied Casey, who was trying his best not to sound nervous.

Twilight raised an eyebrow, and said, "It's not something like Spike's statue, is it?"

Casey chuckled, and shook his head. "No, it's... a little more different than that."

As they continued walking, Rainbow was having a strange feeling inside of herself, which Rarity took notice of.

"Having a stomach ache, darling, from all of that food you consumed?"

Rainbow Dash shook her head, saying, "No, it's not that. I just feel like... something bad is about to hap - whoa!"

The seven of them were now in front of a large door that resembled the star that Twilight had for a Cutie Mark.

Surrounding the star were carvings of the others' Cutie Marks, as well.

"Did you create all of this?" Applejack asked, as she looked at the well-made carving of her Cutie Mark. "I'm impressed!"

Casey blushed a little, and said, "Well, I didn't necessarily do all of it, but thanks anyway."

Pinkie Pie walked up to the door, looking all around it, and turned back to Casey. "So, how do we open it if there's not any doorknobs?"

"Well, Pinkie," explained Casey, who was still trying to remain cool. "That is where Twilight comes in."

Rainbow chuckled, and said, "I'm guessing that's why hers is the biggest."

Twilight frowned at her friend, and she replied, "That's probably just a coincidence... so, do I use my magic then?"

"Uh-huh," replied Casey, nodding his head. "And you'll see the surprise I was talking about."

So, while everyone took a few steps back, Twilight walked over to the front of the door, and began to activate her magic.

But while she was doing that, Casey began to feel more guilty about the fact that none of them knew what was going to happen once they entered the room.

Click! Ding!

Once she had finished, Twilight stepped back, and everyone watched as the star turned around a few times before splitting into two doors that opened sideways.

Maybe there's still a chance... thought Casey, who was looking at the necklace that Twilight had given him.

"Uh, hold up one second!"

The Mane Six all looked curiously at Casey, who walked over to stand in front of Twilight. "Maybe we should get Spike and Starlight to see this, as well?"

Twilight chuckled, and replied, "Uh, I think Spike has his own special tribute to admire."

"Plus, I'm pretty sure that Starlight is busy with Sunburst to even think about enjoying this."

Casey frowned after hearing that. Busy? Why would she be-

All of a sudden, his eyes went wide as he realized another part of his master's plan.

No, not him... he promised me that-

"Um, are you okay, Casey?" Fluttershy asked, noticing that he was also starting to turn pale.

Casey shook his head, and said, "Ok, this might sound crazy, but you all need to - ulp!"

He couldn't finish his sentence because a black tentacle had popped out from the room's shadows, and wrapped itself around Casey!

"Casey!" Twilight exclaimed, but before she could even help him, the tentacle quickly pulled the Earth Pony into the room.

She was about to go in, also, but Rarity cried, "Wait a minute, Twilight! We should probably alert Shining Armor or the guards about-"

"There's no time for that right now," replied a concerned Twilight. "We need to make sure he's okay!"

Before Rarity could say anything else, the alicorn princess ran into the room.

Then, at first, nopony did or said anything... until about a minute later when they heard Twilight cry out, "Girls, you might want to take a look at this!"

"Huh?" wondered the five ponies, as they slowly entered the room.

Wham!

All of a sudden, the doors closed themselves shut, and the lights turned on.

"What in tarnation is... all of... this..." Applejack couldn't figure out what to say next.

"Sweet Celestia... these are... absolutely gorgeous!" swooned Rairty, her eyes sparkling at the sight in front of her.

"Wow..." Fluttershy didn't know what else to say.

"This... is... awesome..." gasped a surprised Rainbow Dash.

Twilight, herself, was speechless at what was in front of her.

On the wall were five individual stained glass murals of Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy.

There was also five stands that were usually meant for statues, except they weren't any...

Until Pinkie Pie stood on top of the stand that was in front of her mural, spinning around in a circle.

"Pinkie!" exclaimed Rairty. "Get down from there before you break something."

"What's there to break?" asked the pink pony, who was still spinning.

Before Rarity could give her response, a menacing voice appeared. "You're about to see for yourself."

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A dark blast of energy appeared from above, and shot down at Pinkie Pie, who became engulfed in a giant ball of light.

"Pinkie Pie!" Twilight cried, trying to shield her eyes from the brightness.

When the bright light disappeared, everypony couldn't believe what they were seeing now.

Pinkie Pie was still on top of the stand, except now, she was an actual stone-made statue.

"No... Pinkie..." gasped Twilight, who felt like she was almost ready to cry.

A teary-eyed Fluttershy asked, "Is... s-she-"

"Dead? Of course not..."

Twilight and her friends turned around to see a cloaked pony, who was holding up a silver staff.

"But all of you are going to experience what she's going through right now..."

He then aimed the tip of the staff at Twilight, saying, "I'll be saving you for last, your Highness."

Rainbow Dash gritted his teeth, and she angrily yelled, "Hey! No one does that to my friend!"

"Dash, wait!" Twilight cried, but it was too late.

The winged pony charged towards the sinister newcomer, who responded by aiming his staff at her, trapping Rainbow inside of an energy ball.

"Let me out of this thing!" yelled an irritated Rainbow Dash.

Twilight and Rarity were about to use their own magic, but the cloaked pony said, "Do anything, and I'll make things a whole lot worse."

The two of them de-powered their horns, which was enough for the cloaked pony as he sent Rainbow towards one of the empty stands.

"Twilight, help-" cried Rainbow, but her sentence was cut off once she became engulfed in the bright energy ball, as well.

Boom!

"Two done..." laughed the cloaked pony, while the others were speechless at the sight of Rainbow Dash.

Just like Pinkie Pie, she was now turned to stone, and placed on the stand in front of her own mural.

"And four to go!"

Starlight watched as Twilight and the others followed Casey inside the castle. I wonder what he wants to-

"Starlight?"

The light-purple unicorn turned to see her fillyhood friend walk over to her. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just... curious about your friend," said Starlight. "How long has he been your assistant?"

Sunburst thought about it, for a moment, and he replied, "Probably a few months after the whole Changeling catastrophe."

Starlight chuckled nervously, and said, "Yeah, about that... um... it wasn't exactly an easy task to accomplish."

"Oh, I'm sure," laughed Sunburst, making Starlight feel a little better. "Being a leader like that must have made you feel proud of yourself."

"Well, it certainly helped me forget about other things," replied Starlight, not realizing what she had said right now.

"Things like what?" Sunburst asked, tilting his head to the side.

Starlight gulped, and began feeling nervous again. He'll probably think I've gone back to the way I used to be.

"Well, the thing is that I-"

"Hey, you two!" greeted Spike, walking over to them, as well as eating some cotton candy. "Have you seen Twilight or Pinkie anywhere?"

Starlight nodded her head. "I think I saw Casey taking them into the castle. Why, what's wrong?"

Spike swallowed the cotton candy that was in his mouth, and replied, "I want to know if they'll like some of this. It's delicious!"

So, the young dragon began to head towards the castle, while Sunburst said, "So, Starlight, what was it that-"

But when he turned to look at her, the magical unicorn saw that she was gone.

"I guess I'll see her later then," said Sunburst, letting out a sigh as he walked back to join the festivities.

Poof!

Once he was gone, Starlight de-activated her "invisible spell", and watched her friend walk away.

"I'm really not good at this, am I?"

With a small chuckle, the cloaked pony asked, "Now, then... who'd like to volunteer themselves to be next?"

Th four remaining ponies looked at each other, with none of them saying anything out loud.

"Alright, then, I'm just going to-"

"Now, hold up there just a cow-licking minute, partner," said Applejack, her muzzle turning into a frown. "What gives you the right to do something like this to us?"

"Yes, what did we ever do to you?" Rarity added, who was also upset.

The sinister pony smiled (even though they couldn't see it), and said, "You were all born!"

His silver staff powered up, and shot an energy blast that went straight towards Rarity, but just as she was about to get hit...

Boom!

"Fluttershy!" cried Twilight, watching her friend get in the way of the blast so that it would hit her instead of Rarity.

"Oh, my..." gasped the white unicorn, who was in shock. "Not her, too."

The shy but sweet alicorn was now on top of the stand that was in front of her mural, and like the others, she had become a statue.

"Such a shame," replied the cloaked pony. "She was my penultimate choice."

Twilight gritted her teeth, and exclaimed, "Why are you doing this? We never did anything to you!"

The cloaked pony shook his head. "My plan has constantly been ruined ever since the day you and Spike first arrived in Ponyville."

"What in the hay are you talking about?" Applejack asked. "Y'all better be making some sense before I beat on you like a-"

The cloaked pony then looked at the hard-working Earth Pony, and said, "Oh, spare me your country-isms, Applejack. Your parents almost annoyed me to death every time they said something like that."

Applejack's eyes grew wide, and her muzzle almost dropped to the ground. "My... you met my mum and dad?"

"As I said, there is always a reason for everything," replied the cloaked pony. "It almost pains me to see that their sacrifice will soon go to waste."

Before Applejack could even respond to that, the cloaked pony shot an energy blast at her, and in a few seconds, she had suffered the same "statue fate" as the others.

"And, then there were two," laughed the evil villain, looking at Rarity and Twilight.

"Please tell me you have some sort of idea," said Rarity, as she stood behind Twilight.

The magical alicorn looked at the cloaked pony, and then, at his silver staff. "Maybe if-"

"I can assure the two of you that this is not a plain old stick that was found in the Everfree Forest," said the cloaked pony. "Even Casey could tell you that."

Twilight gasped, remembering her new friend, and asked, "What did you with him?"

"You should ask him yourself."

He let out a whistle, and the two ponies watched as Casey was tossed from one of the room's dark corners, landing in between them.

"My goodness, darling, are you all right?" Rarity asked, as she and Twilight helped him stand up.

"Yeah... I'll be okay," said Casey, although his voice sounded weak.

Twilight gave an angry glare at the cloaked pony. "What did you do to him?"

"He tried to betray me," he explained. "So before I gave him freedom, I delivered some punishment."

"Freedom?" Rarity said, confused. "What do you mean by that?"

Casey looked at a confused Twilight, and said, "I am deeply sorry for all of this, your Highness. I never wanted this to happen."

"What do you mean?" asked the alicorn. "Casey, I thought-"

"That's enough from you, slave... and your services are no longer required."

He shot a white-and-yellow energy blast at Casey, and after a small explosion, the Earth Pony was gone.

"You killed him!" exclaimed Twilight, whose temper was starting to grow.

The cloaked pony laughed, and said, "I simply did the same thing as I did your friends, minus the whole stone transformation."

Before Twilight could ask what that meant, the evil pony added, "And you're about to get your own experience!"

Twilight looked down at her hooves, seeing that she was standing on a painted design of her Cutie Mark, which started to light up.

"Twilight!" Rarity yelled, but then, the cloaked pony aimed his staff at her.

Wham! Boom!

"No! Rarity!" Twilight watched as her friend transformed into a statue, just like everypony else.

She looked at the hooded figure, and yelled, "Who are you?"

The evil villain walked over to the princess, and said, "I'm your worst nightmare..."

Twilight looked at the doors behind him, but the hooded pony said, "No one can save you, Princess. Only you can open that door, but it has to be on the other side."

As the energy surrounding Twilight grew stronger, the hooded pony added, "By the way, do send Sunset my regards."

Twilight gasped in shock and surprise. "You attacked her, too?"

"Indeed, I did, your Highness," laughed the sinister pony. "You're about to see her very soon."

He then shot an energy blast at Twilight, and once it struck the alicorn, she was gone in a colourful explosion.

"Yes, Twilight Sparkle," grinned the cloaked pony. "You'll see her in a place where there are no... happily... ever... afters... and all of Equestria will soon belong to me!"

Time Travel

Twilight... I'm sorry... Twilight...

Casey slowly opened his eyes as he began to stand up, but he was still weakened from his (now former) master's attack.

Once he was able to stand on all fours, the Earth Pony's muzzle almost dropped to the ground at the sight in was in front of him.

I'm back in Ponyville? Casey wondered, surprised. But, what happened to-

"Are you okay?"

Casey turned around, and saw somepony that instantly made him feel better... and that somepony was Twilight Sparkle. "It's you!"

"Um, yes, but - oof!" Twilight stopped speaking after Casey suddenly gave her a hug.

"I'm so glad you're safe..." He said, starting to feel a whole lot better than he was a few minutes ago.

However, the Princess of Friendship now felt confused. "Er, thanks...?"

Casey then released her from his hug, and said, "Okay, um... I know that you want an explanation..."

Twilight, still feeling confused, simply nodded her head. "Yeah, that would definitely be useful in this situation."

"And I know you're probably going to hate me..." said Casey, who was ready to accept anything that she had to say to him.

"Well, not unless I have a reason to," shrugged the magical alicorn.

Letting out a sigh, Casey continued on, knowing that he was about to ruin his chances of ever being in a relationship with her. "Well, remember when you said that we needed to get to know each other better?"

Twilight then started to frown. "I never said that."

"The reason why I brought that up was because I..." Casey suddenly paused mid-sentence after realizing what Twilight had just said. "You didn't... what?"

Twilight shook her head, and replied, "It sounds like you're implying that I agreed to be in a relationship with you... which I never did."

Before he could give a response, Twilight added, "And, we've never even met."

So, now, Casey was the pony that became confused. "Yeah, we did... back at the train station in the Crystal Empire, remember?"

Twilight shook her head, raising an eyebrow. "You sure you aren't mistaking me for somepony else?"

"No, why would I..." began Casey, but he stopped after noticing a necklace around her neck. "When did you get that?"

Twilight looked at the special gift she had received from her special somepony, and she started to smile.

"I've had this for quite some time now... why?"

Before Casey could answer, he heard another voice from a pony that was approaching them.

"Phew! Sorry, love, I was busy fixing the mess that Pinkie made at the... oh, who's this?"

Standing next to Twilight was a somewhat gold-colored Earth Pony, whose brown-colored mane was not exactly well-groomed.

In fact, it looked... well... a little messy for somepony that Casey had imagined would be dating an alicorn like Twilight.

"This is, um..." said Twilight, pausing because she did not yet know what the stranger's name was.

"Casey." He replied, but still wondering what was going on.

"Sorry... this is Casey," continued Twilight. "And he was about to tell me an interesting story."

"Oh?" The newcomer said, looking at Casey. "About what exactly?"

The Earth Pony chuckled a little, starting to feel nervous again. "Er, well... w-who are you again, sir?"

"Stardust Balance," replied the golden-colored pony, offering a hoofshake. "Nice to meet you, Casey."

"Likewise..." replied Casey, politely accepting it. "Er, nice beard and, um... mane-style... I've never seen one like that before."

Stardust gave Twilight a smug look, making the alicorn roll her eyes. "See? I don't always have to keep it a certain way."

"Oh, sure," replied Twilight. "Just because Rarity isn't here to..."

As they continued their conversation, Casey began to look at the two of them, noticing how closethey were to each other...

He also took another look at the necklace around Twilight's neck, which was completely different from the one he was wearing.

A silver book? Spinning star? thought Casey. If she has a beautiful necklace like that... then, that means-

"Oh, um, and apparently I agreed to go on a date with him." Twilight said, nodding her head towards the Earth Pony.

Casey gulped, feeling afraid as he started realizing what was probably about to happen.

Oh, great, I'm screwed.

"Oh, is that so?" Stardust replied, glaring at Casey. "Did she mention the fact that I'm her special somepony?"

"Well, no," said Casey, in a nervous tone. "But I was starting to figure that out."

"Well, you'd better start talking more, then," replied Stardust, showing a small and suspicious frown.

Casey looked around, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Hey, your answer isn't up there, friend," retorted Stardust. "Who exactly are you?"

"Um..." said Casey. "Well, the truth is that... and I'm just assuming.. I am not actually 'from' here."

Stardust raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Casey sighed, and said, "Well, like I said, it's an assumption... and I am from Equestria... but in a different world."

"Like the one Sunset Shimmer is in?" Twilight asked, joining in on the conversation.

"Kind of, but more complex, and she's in trouble, too," replied Casey, remembering how she fit into the cloaked pony's sinister plot. "I came from what you could call an... alternate version of Equestria, and where-"

Stardust suddenly interrupted, waving his hooves in the air. "Hold up a sec, how is that even possible?"

Did we not just return from a predicament like this, boy?

"You're not helping," muttered Stardust, talking to the voice of Sombra that was inside of his head.

But then, to his surprise, Casey asked, "Who was that?"

"Who was what?"

The Earth Pony looked around, as if he was trying to find somepony else. "I just heard another pony speak, right after you asked me a question."

Stardust shook his head. "No, you didn't, you only heard me."

But Casey could have sworn that he had heard somepony. "Yeah, and it even sounded familiar... like some ancient-like voice I once heard back at the Crystal Empire..."

Starlight started to gulp now. Sombra, did he...?

We've been over this plenty of times, you dimwit. Only you and that elderly annoyance can hear me.

"There!" Casey exclaimed. "I heard it again, just now!"

Anything else you want to add, your Highness, thought Stardust, who did not know whether to be surprised or more suspicious at the possible fact of this newpony being able to hear the fallen king.

Before Sombra could respond to Stardust, however, Twilight asked, "Is everything alright, Casey? You seem afraid... and concerned."

"Um, that's pretty much true," admitted Casey. "The other Equestria that I came from has a Twilight, as well, who is probably now in trouble because of me."

Before continuing on, Casey revealed to the two of them his own special necklace that was currently held by his hoof.

"Turtledoves..." whispered Twilight. It even looked almost familiar to her.

"The last thing she said before giving me this was-"

Is that what I think it is, up there in the sky?

Stardust looked up, and realized what Sombra had meant. "Casey, look out!"

"What are you-" said Casey, breplied is above them began sucking him in. "Aaaauggghhh!"

"Casey!" Twilight was about to go and help him when a strong force sucked him into the portal, which then disappeared in a brilliant flash of light.

"Twilight?" Stardust walked over to the princess, who was blinking her eyes a few times. "You okay?"

She nodded her head, and walked over to where Casey had been standing at. "Oh, no..."

Stardust watched as Twilight picked up an object that was on the ground, and saw that it was the necklace that Casey had shown them.

"It's beautiful..." said Twilight, admiring the turtle-dove pendant.

At first, Stardust didn't know what to say, but then, he could see the gears turning inside Twilight's head, and realized what she was probably about to suggest they do.

"Oh, no, no, no, no..."

Twilight looked at Stardust, who was shaking his head.

"Nope, nope, nope... I am not going to have us get involved in another time-travel incident."

Twilight frowned, even though she knew what he had been referring to. "Jack, we have to do something."

"No, we do not," replied Stardust, whose real name was Jack, in case you were wondering. "He'll probably come back anyway."

"And what if he doesn't?" Twilight said, glaring at him.

Stardust shook his head, not wanting them to get involved. "He has to, Twilight, so let's just-"

"Jack, come on," pleaded Twilight. "He needs our help... he even mentioned Sunset being in trouble!"

Stardust tried to find another reason for them not to help. "Well, he didn't say those words exactly-"

I would like to know exactly how in Equestria was he able to hear me.

You're still not [Beep]-ing helping right now, thought Stardust

But Twilight wasn't giving up. "What would you have done if you were in his situation?"

Stardust chuckled. "Well, first of all, I wouldn't have mistaken another Twilight for you-"

"Jack..." she said, now giving him an annoyed look.

And this is the part where you end up agreeing with her.

Not even bothering to respond to the former ruler of the Crystal Empire, Stardust looked at Twilight, and said, "Well, what exactly can we do, love?"

Twilight looked at the necklace in her hoof, and up at the sky where the portal had been.

"I don't know yet..." admitted the princess. ""But... I have a bad feeling that something terribly wrong is happening right now."

"Twilight?"

The alicorn stood up on all fours, and opened her eyes to see another familiar pony in front of her.

"Sunset?"

The former student of Princess Celestia gave her a warm smile, and said, "Nice to see you too, Twi - oof!"

Her sentence was cut off after Twilight gave her a tight hug. "I was so worried... I thought something terrible happened to you."

"Well, I mean, I'm still breathing, thank goodness," replied Sunset, trying to be a little comedic.

Twilight chuckled, and said, "I can see that, thanks..."

But then, her expression went from joy to sadness. "My friends were turned to stone by some cloaked pony that I've never even met."

Sunset nodded her head. "Yeah, he mentioned doing something like that before he used his staff to send me... wherever the heck we are."

Twilight looked around, and didn't feel too sure herself about their current location.

"Neither do-"

*gasp* "Oh, my gosh, more talking ponies!"

Sunset looked at Twilight, and asked, "Why are you talking like Pinkie Pie?"

"Huh?" Twilight said, looking at her friend like she was crazy. "I didn't even finish talking."

"Well, then who was-" started Sunset, but then, there was a trio of "whoosh" sounds.

"Wow, Bubbles, you were right!" The voice belonged to a small girl, who was wearing a pink dress with a black stripe, as well as a small red bow in her hair.

"You see? They're so pretty and colorful!" cried the young girl who was floating in the air next to her.

She had on a similar dress, but her color was blue instead of pink, and her yellow hair was tied up in two pigtails... and, for some reason, she sounded similar to Twilight, but at a higher speaking pitch.

"Well, then let's make sure that these two don't escape from us this time," replied the green-dress-wearing little girl.

Sunset gulped, and asked, "Um... any ideas so far, Twilight?"

The alicorn shook her head, yelling, "Run!"

Whoosh!

As they took off, Blossom had a look of determination on her face. "Alright, girls, guess we're going to do this the hard way."

Whoosh!

"Hey, wait for us!" yelled Buttercup, as she raced after her sister.

Whoosh!

"Ooh, ooh, I call the purple one with wings!" exclaimed an excited Bubbles, before joining her sisters in chasing the talking ponies.

Inside the Crystal Castle, the young dragon was still searching for his friends.

"Twilight? Pinkie?" He cried. "I'm sorry I ate the rest of the cotton candy I brought, but I can get mo - whoa!"

He stopped in front of a door that he didn't remember ever seeing before.

"Wow," admired Spike. "It looks a lot like Twilight's Cutie Mark..."

He also noticed the surrounding carvings of the Cutie Marks that belonged to the rest of the Mane Six.

"Twilight!" Spike called out, knocking on the door. "Are you in there?"

Suddenly, Twilight's Cutie Mark started to light up, and Spike stepped back while the doors began to open sideways.

"Twilight...?" Spike carefully entered the room, looking for any sign of-

*gasp*

The little dragon couldn't believe his eyes.

"Spike?"

Before going in, however, Spike turned to see Princess Cadence.

"Oh, hi, your Highness," greeted Spike. "Where's Flurry Heart?"

Cadence smirked at the young reptile. "She's with Shining Armor... but may I ask why you're in this room?"

Spike chuckled nervously, and said, "Well, um, I was looking for Twilight and the others, but then I saw this cool-looking door and-"

Before he could finish, however, Cadence entered the room herself. "Huh..."

"I didn't touch anything!" Spike cried.

The princess laughed, and shook her head. "No, Spike, I'm just surprised that the statues were already done."

Spike went after her, and took a closer look at the five statues of his friends.

To Cadence's amusement, his eyes turned into hearts as he walked over to the one that looked like Rarity.

"Whoever built this was full of talent," said the lovestruck dragon. "They even got her eyes and mane-style right."

Cadence shook her head. "Alright, come on, Romeo, your friends are probably back outside... wouldn't want to damage that perfection, would you?"

"Oh, no, m'am," replied Spike. "I'd hate to think what would happen if Rarity ever found that out!"

He walked away from the statue, and followed Cadence out of the room, with the princess closing the door.

"Well, well, well," chuckled the cloaked pony, floating down from the ceiling. "This might be easier than I thought."

For some reason that she didn't really care about, Pinkie Pie had found herself running across a grassy field.

Huh, I wonder if Stardust - began Pinkie, but then, she heard a familiar voice.

Come on, and smile, smile, smile...

Ooh, I wonder who MisterDavey and Dave Davey are?

Come on, and smile, smile, smile...

Pinkie Pie had a confused look on her face. Why is my voice singing that faster than usual? And who is Foo - oh, my gosh!

She looked in front of her, and saw three of her friends having a picnic by a nice-looking tree.

"Hi, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie yelled, waving her arm in the air.

She saw her friend look up from the book that she'd been reading, and happily waved back at her.

Then, when she finally caught up to Twilight, Pinkie Pie stopped running.

"What's up?" greeted the cheerful pony.

"Hey, Pinkie," said Twilight, smiling up at her. "For a minute there, I didn't think you would stop."

Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes, and said, "Well, duh, if I didn't, then something bad would have probably happened."

Rainbow Dash felt like she had been in a tornado, trainwreck, and thunderstorm all rolled up into one.

I seriously need to stop eating that much at parties.

But before Rainbow could do anything else, she heard a familiar voice.

"Soooo, are we making cupcakes or not?"

The winged pony saw that she was inside a kitchen, with all kinds of mixing stuff in front of her, and next to her was-

"Pinkie Pie? You're okay!"

The pink pony replied, "Um, duh, why wouldn't I be? It's just cupcake baking."

"But you... we... Twilight..." said Rainbow, trying to remember what had happened earlier. "Um... shouldn't we go find the others?"

Pinkie Pie thought about it for a moment, and said, "Okie dokie loki!"

Rainbow chuckled, and began to walk out of the door. "Alright, let's go..."

Pinkie looked at the mallet nearby, simply gave a shrug, and followed Rainbow out of the door.

Serious Trouble

"Sweet Celestia," moaned a dizzy Rarity. "I haven't felt this terrible since Starlight did that spell on us."

Applejack nodded in agreement, as she rubbed her eyes with her hands. "You're telling me, sugarcube... now, um, where are we exactly?"

As she started to stand up, Rarity stretched her arms out while letting out a yawn, but when she opened her eyes, she saw something that made them grow wide.

"Um... Applejack?" Rarity said. "You might want to turn around and see this."

Applejack rolled her eyes, and said, "The last time we heard that, Rare, we... uh..."

They were in front of a large building that had a sign above titled "Canterlot High", and standing in front of them were human versions of their friends: Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and even themselves.

There was even a human version of Twilight, except she was wearing glasses, and had a different hairstyle.

"Um... howdy, everypony," said Applejack, waving her ho - hand.

"This must be where Sunset Shimmer stays," gasped Rarity, as she began connecting the dots in her mind. "And where Twilight goes every time she steps into that mirror portal."

None of the others said anything to Rarity or Applejack... until Pinkie Pie asked, "So, are you two like the other Twilight that lives in a magical world called Equestria, where you all represent a magical element, and are also actually talking ponies?"

Applejack didn't know what to think about that. "Uh... yeah...?"

"Wow, that's amazing!" Pinkie Pie cried, her face lighting up brightly with a smile. "And you two were probably sent here by some cloaked pony that's actually an alternate version of a pony that used to be dating Twilight, but now he's been taken over by the spirit of a king named-"

"Oh, my gosh, your dress is gorgeous!" yelled the human version of Rarity, interrupting her friend as she walked up to her "pony" counterpart.

"Well, um... thank you, darling," replied the pony-turned-human Rarity. "It does have a certain charm, doesn't it?"

Applejack walked up to her human self, and said, "So... you're supposed to be me?"

"Yep," replied Human Applejack. "And you're actually a pony, like Princess Twilight?"

Applejack nodded her head, but she still felt confused. Why would that evil pony send us here?

"Any luck finding them?" Blossom asked, as she floated by a dumpster in an alley.

"Nah, they got away again," growled Buttercup, crossing her arms.

They saw Bubbles fly towards them, and she looked like she was ready to break down and cry.

"Why can't we have a talking pony?" She cried, her eyes filling up with tears.

Blossom sighed, but she wasn't ready yet to throw in the towel. "I know they're still here, I can feel it... so let's keep looking."

Whoosh!

"Can we get out now?" whispered Sunset, who was using her magic to surround herself in an energy bubble that blocked the dumpster's terrible smell.

Twilight, who was doing the same thing, shook her head. "Not just yet... I can still hear some-"

Bang! "Twilight?"

The purple alicorn gasped in shock, and opened up the dumpster, seeing the pony that had said her name.

"Fluttershy! You're okay!"

"Um... yeah..." replied Fluttershy. "But, uh, where exactly - oof!"

Twilight came out of the dumpster to give her friend a hug, and she sighed happily. "I'm so glad you're safe."

The animal-caring Pegasus smiled, and said, "It's good to see you, too."

"Oh, hey, Fluttershy," greeted Sunset Shimmer, as she also got out of the dumpster. "Long time, no see."

Fluttershy looked at the yellow unicorn, and then, at Twilight. "Um... is she a good pony or a bad pony?"

"What are you talking about?" Twilight asked.

"Well, the last time I saw her as a pony, she was trying to take your crown for her own evil and selfish reasons," replied Fluttershy, but then, she looked at Sunset. "Um... no offense..."

Sunset rolled her eyes, but had a smirk on her face as she replied, "None taken... but it's okay, Fluttershy, I'm in the same problem as you and everypony else."

Fluttershy let out a gasp, and asked, "So, you were turned into stone, too?"

Sunset looked over at Twilight, who explained, "The cloaked pony used his staff to turn Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy into statues, while he just used it on you, me, and Casey to... well, we ended up here, but I have no idea where he could be at."

Before Sunset could ask who "Casey" was, Fluttershy let out a gulp, and said, "Um... I think we might have something else to worry about!"

*gasp* "There's another talking pony! With wings!"

Fluttershy looked over at Twilight, and asked, "Why does she have a voice like yours?"

"Ugh, we don't have the same voice," exclaimed the alicorn princess.

Just then, they heard Buttercup cry out, "All right, enough for all of us! Let's get them quick before they disappear!"

Bubbles squealed with delight. "I still want the purple one!"

When Spike and Cadence came out of the castle, they were surprised to find ponies waiting for them.

"Was she in there?" asked Starlight, looking concerned.

"No, why?" replied Cadence. "Didn't you see her out here?"

Shining Armor shook his head, while Sunburst said, "We haven't seen them ever since they followed Casey inside almost an hour ago."

"Oh, don't worry, everypony..."

As the sky became dark, all of the Crystal Ponies started to look worried, while Starlight asked, "Who said that?"

Then, an explosion appeared in front of the castle's entrance, sending Starlight, Sunburst, Cadence, Shining Armor, Spike, and Flurry Heart back into the city square.

"You'll reunite with them in the afterlife," laughed the hooded pony, who had appeared after the smoke from the explosion had gone away.

Shining Armor frowned, and asked, "What did you do to my sister and her friends?"

The hooded pony replied, "Twilight is gone... as well Casey and the rest of her friends, with five of them now permanently turned into statues."

"Turned into... oh, no," gasped Spike, speaking in a hushed tone. "That means that... Rarity..."

"Now, then, to make this upcoming battle fair..." said the sinister pony, who rose up into the air, and used his silver staff to trap the six of them in a force-field energy bubble.

He then looked at the statue of Spike, surrounded by all of the Crystal Ponies. "That will do just nicely!"

Wham!

The hooded pony shot an energy beam at the statue, which started glowing brightly at a rapid pace, and then, it exploded into a large ball of smoke, which started to expand and cover all of the ponies that were surrounding it.

"NO!" yelled Shining and Cadence, as they helplessly watched everypony become engulfed in the smoke.

Then, once the ball disappeared, the hooded pony landed back on top of the castle steps. "A much-needed improvement."

Cadence was horrified. "Shining... they're all... all..."

"He turned them into ice statues," finished Shining, who was equally terrified.

All of the Crystal Ponies were now completely frozen, from top to bottom, and after the hooded pony made the energy bubble disappear, he said, "Trust me, your Highness, it's better for them this way."

Shining Armor gritted his teeth, and yelled, "Where is my sister?!"

The hooded pony chuckled, and replied, "She's in a better place... you'll never see her again!"

That did it for the ruler of the Crystal Empire, who began charging towards the hooded pony, activating his magic to-

"Oh, I don't think so!"

WHAM!

He shot several energy blasts at all four of Shining Armor's hooves, trapping them in ice so that he couldn't move any further.

"Shining!" yelled Cadence, who was about to run towards her husband when the hooded pony shot a larger energy blast that was heading straight towards her!

"Cadence!" Shining Armor then tried to free his hooves from the ice, but they were stuck to the ground.

However, just when it was about to make contact with the Princess of Love, another energy blast made connection with it, causing a small explosion... with Cadence thankfully unharmed.

"What the hell?" yelled the hooded pony, now becoming angry.

"No one messes with my family," said an angry Starlight, who had removed her "invisible spell", and was now in front of Cadence.

The hooded pony grinned, and said, "Well, well, well... looks like I underestimated the 'pupil' of friendship."

"You sure aren't the second pony to do that," said Starlight, who also had her own magic prepared.

As for Sunburst, he was starting to look at his childhood friend in a whole different way. "Wow..."

Meanwhile

"Wow, these statues are amazing!"

"I know! They even got my sister's hat right!"

After Spike and Cadence had left the room, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle had ran as fast as they could into the room before the doors closed.

"Too bad Scootaloo couldn't come," said Rarity's little sister, looking at the statue of Rainbow Dash. "She would've loved seeing this."

Applebloom nodded her head, but then, she started looking around.

"What's wrong?" asked Sweetie Belle.

The little Earth Pony said, "Well, I'm just tryin' to figure out whey they don't got a statue or mural of Twilight... all I see is this here symbol that we're standing on."

Before Sweetie Belle could give her fellow Cutie Mark Crusader an answer, they heard a strange noise.

"What's that rumbling sound?" wondered Applebloom.

Her best friend gave her a shrug, and said, "It probably came from outside."

That is correct.

Applebloom gulped, and asked, "Uh... w-who was that?"

Someone who is kind, young one. But there isn't much time. Your sister needs my help.

She looked at the Applejack statue, and said, "She's in trouble?"

They all are, including Twilight and Casey.

Sweetie Belle gasped, while looking at her sister's statue, and was slowly starting to cry.

I know how you're feeling right now, but I promise that everything will be alright. You two must stay in this room, no matter what, until I return with the others.

Applebloom asked, "What's going on, Mr. Kind Voice?"

As I said, there is not much time that I have here... I must find the others... just promise that you'll both stay here.

The two little ponies looked at each other, and they nodded their heads.

Thank you... but one last thing. Please do not break any part of the statues.

"What would happen if we did?"

Applebloom glared at Sweetie Belle.

"What? I'm not saying that we will, but accidents happen."

I will answer that when I return, young one... just stay in this room, both of you... no matter what.

Rounding Everypony Up

"How do we keep losing them?!" Buttercup cried, irritated with the fact that the talking ponies had vanished yet again.

Bubbles was sitting on the ground, tears coming out of her eyes. "I just want a pretty pony to call Antoinette!"

As for the ponies themselves, Twilight had used an invisible spell on the three of them, and their hiding spot was on one of the clouds in the sky.

"How long do we have to stay here?" wondered Starlight, who was using her magic to remain on the cloud since she didn't have wings.

Twilight sighed sadly, and said, "I don't know... I wish we had that scroll me and Spike used while we did that whole time-travel loop fiasco with Starlight."

That might not be the best idea in this sort of situation.

Twilight gasped, and said, "Oh my gosh, there's somepony speaking in my head!"

Relax, dear child, I come in peace.

"What's it saying?" asked Fluttershy, feeling concerned for her.

Before she could answer, the voice began to say something important.

Twilight, please listen closely because we do not have much time. The Crystal Empire and all of Equestria is in danger.

Is it because of the hooded pony? Twilight asked, speaking with her thoughts.

Yes, and you must find the rest of your friends quickly if you have any hope in stopping him before it's too late.

Twilight gulped. But how am I supposed to do that? I don't even know how to-

"Howdy, Twilight!" said Pinkie Pie, who suddenly appeared next to the alicorn.

I believe that answers everything, Twilight... now, hurry, your pupil is in danger.

And with that, the voice was gone, leaving Twilight to look at Pinkie with a confused look. "How did you get here?"

Before Pinkie Pie could answer, they heard a voice cry out, "Girls, look, it's a talking stallion!"

Twilight gasped as she realized who it was. "Casey!"

She began to fly back down to the city, with the others close behind her

Once they were all on the ground, Twilight saw that he was cornered against a wall by the three super-powered girls.

"Alright, just be a good pony," said Blossom. "No need to run..."

Casey gulped, and replied, "Look, this isn't the best time to - Twilight?"

The three girls turned around, seeing the other ponies, but before they could say anything, Twilight quickly used her magic to encase them all in a giant block of purple ice.

"Casey!" She ran over to her friend, giving her a hug. "I was so worried about you!"

He was about to speak when Pinkie Pie said, "Um, ponies? You might want to take a look at this!"

Twilight and Casey looked up, and saw that an electric-energy portal was appearing in the sky.

"What is that supposed to - whoa!" Twilight then felt herself being sucked into the portal. "Aaaauughhh!"

Then, once she had entered, the other ponies followed soon after, but before Pinkie Pie entered, she waved at the three Powerpuff Girls. "Catch ya later!"

ZAP! WHOOSH!

After they were gone, Buttercup looked at Blossom, and asked, "What now, genius?"

While Sunburst, Spike, and Cadence were trying to help Shining break free from the ice covering his hooves, Starlight was using her magic to fight the hooded pony.

"Tell me where you sent Twilight and the others!" yelled Starlight, dodging one of his energy blasts.

"It doesn't matter anymore," laughed the hooded pony. "There's no chance they can ever return now!"

Starlight groaned, and exclaimed, "Then I'll just beat the answer out of you!"

"Oh, I would love to see you try!"

Down below, Sunburst was in complete awe and wonder while watching her fight. "She looks so beautiful up there..."

Bzzzzzzzttt!

"Better be careful, my dear," said the hooded pony. "You wouldn't want to tire out so soon, would you?"

Starlight laughed, and said, "Please, I was just getting started... and wait until Discord shows up to-"

"I think it's a little too late for that," replied the sinister pony, who paused their fight momentarily to create a mirror portal, showing them what had happened to the Master of Chaos. "I prefer him as a statue, anyway."

"But... he can only be turned to stone if somepony is using the Elements of Harmony," said Spike. "And the last time they were used was to-"

"Yes, I am aware of what happened with the Tree of Harmony," the hooded pony replied. "But I never said that I used this world's elements."

"What do you mean this world?" Starlight asked.

Twilight opened her eyes, and blinked a few times before saying, "Where are we now?"

The five ponies stood up, and began to look around, with Casey saying, "It looks like Ponyville, but... empty..."

"Well, then..." Twilight used her magic to encase Casey in a force field bubble. "You have some explaining to do, mister."

"What did I do?" said Casey, even though he probably knew what the answer was.

As Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Sunset stepped back a little, Twilight moved more upwards to him. "What connection do you have with that hooded pony?"

Casey gulped, and he thought, Well, at least I'm talking to my Twilight now.

"I'm waiting," replied Twilight, who was starting to frown.

Casey sighed, and said, "Okay, the truth is... I used to be his slave, and my final task for him included you and the others getting trapped into that room-"

"Which you were able to do," said an angered Twilight.

"But then I realized that I was going to lose the greatest friends that I could have ever asked for," continued Casey.

"So, I tried to save you all by trying to get you to change your mind about going in-"

"By asking about Spike and Starlight," finished Twilight, remembering when he had done that. "Well, why were you his slave for... however long you were?"

The Earth Pony said, "It was so that Sunburst wouldn't get hurt or killed by him... but now I think he's gonna hurt him and your pupil, as well!"

"You mean Starlight, right?"

Twilight rolled her eyes at Pinkie's statement, and said, "Well, do you know anything about these portals, then?"

Before Casey could say anything to her, Pinkie Pie said, "Because the natural order of balance and time and space is trying to restore itself, meaning that life is trying to restore everything back to the way it was, and once we're all together - oh, hiya, Sunset! - we'll all be sent back to Ponyville, where we have to step up against that evil cloaked pony who is actually-"

"Incoming!"

A winged pony suddenly crashed into Casey, knocking both of them to the ground.

"Rainbow Dash!?" yelled everypony, except for Casey.

"Oops, sorry about that," apologized Rainbow, who started helping Casey stand up.

The Earth Pony shook his head a few times, and said, "That's okay, no harm done... how did you get here?"

*sigh* "I said that the natural order of life is trying to-"

"Not the best time, Pinkie," said Twilight, as she went over to her friend. "You okay?"

Before Rainbow answered, she looked over at Pinkie Pie curiously. "Ummm... is that our Pinkie Pie, or another copy of her?"

"Why do you ask?" Casey wondered.

"Because the place I was at earlier had a Pinkie Pie that had no idea what I was talking about," explained Rainbow. "All she wanted to was bake cupcakes, for some reason..."

Everypony looked at Pinkie Pie, who groaned, and said, "I don't have to watch paint dry again, do I?"

Before Twilight could answer, Casey said, "I don't think she's a copy."

"How do you know?" asked Rainbow, crossing her hooves as she floated in the air. "For all we know, our Pinkie Pie could be in some kind of world that-"

"Okay, enough, I'm settling this," said Twilight, who walked over to the pink pony. "Tell me everything that happened from the day we first met, up until today."

"Seriously?" Rainbow exclaimed. "We don't have time for that!"

Twilight frowned, and looked at her friend. "Because, to me, the real Pinkie Pie would remember everything exactly, without missing a beat."

Rainbow tried to say something else, but Twilight added, "Do you have a better idea?"

"I... uh..." Rainbow sighed, and said, "No, I guess not."

Pinkie Pie gulped as Twilight then turned to look at her. "Proceed."

As the pink unicorn started to explain, Casey saw Rainbow Dash start to lie down. "Uh, what are you doing?"

"Trust me, new guy," said the Pegasus pony. "This is gonna take a while."

Several Hours Later...

"... so the next thing I know, I'm in some place that's called Smile HD, and I was enjoying a picnic with a pony that looked just like you, except she didn't have any wings.

"Then, a portal thingy appeared in the sky, which brought me over to that place we were at a while ago with the Powerpuff Girls. And after we found Casey, another portal brought us here, and then Rainbow Dash came, crashing into Casey, then she wondered if I was a clone..."

As Pinkie Pie finished her story, Casey looked over at Rainbow Dash, who was fast asleep.

"... so then you asked me to say everything that happened ever since the day I first saw you and Spike in Ponyville, which is when I-"

"No!" yelled Rainbow Dash, who suddenly woke up. "Don't say it again! I believe you!"

Twilight smiled, and nodded her head confidently. "Glad to have you back, Pinkie."

"No problem," said Pinkie, giving her friend a smile.

Sunset Shimmer then yawned, and said, "Well, now that we've figured that out, how do we get to Applejack and Rarity?"

Everypony looked at Pinkie Pie again. "What? I don't know where they are... but if I did, then I guess that explains that sparkly mirror over there!"

They all looked in the direction that Pinkie was pointing at, and Twilight asked, "Wha - when did that appear?"

Pinkie Pie giggled, and said, "Almost around the time when I was telling you about how-"

"Pinkie, it's fine, please," cried Rainbow.

So, the group of ponies started walking over to the mirror, but stopped after seeing two familiar ponies fall out and land onto the ground, with the mirror then suddenly disappearing.

"Well, that's convenient," said Sunset, a smirk on her face.

Pinkie Pie replied, "See? It's like I said about life and balance and time and space trying to be restored to-"

"Alright, we get it! You're not a clone!"

A few minutes after the Mane Six, Sunset, and Casey had all explained what everypony had went through, one of them only had one thing to ask next.

"So, um... any ideas on how we're supposed to get back home, Twi?" Applejack asked.

The alicorn princess sighed, and she shook her head. "I wish I did, but I don't just yet."

Everypony looked at Pinkie Pie, who became confused. "What? I don't know how."

Twilight turned to Casey, a pleading expression on her face. "Your master must have said something about his plan that could help us."

But the Earth Pony shook his head, as well, and looked disappointed. "I'm sorry, Twilight, but... I don't either."

Rainbow Dash frowned at Casey, and said, "This is all your fault anyway! You took us to that room - you even lost your necklace that Twilight gave you!"

"I did not - what?!" Casey looked at where his necklace was supposed to be, but it wasn't. "B-but I was just looking at it not that long ago!"

"When did you last remember seeing it?" Twilight asked, who was actually (for the moment) just grateful that he was safe.

"I was showing it to Stardust and..." Casey then stopped, realizing where the necklace was. "It must've fallen off before I got sucked away."

"Who's Stardust?" Twilight asked.

Casey was about to explain when-

"He's a golden-colored pony that's actually from a planet called Earth, but-"

"Um, Pinkie, mind saving that explanation for later?" said Casey, who also didn't want her to end up saying that Stardust was also Twilight's special somepony.

"Okie dokie loki!" Pinkie Pie said, nodding her head.

Twilight simply sighed, and said, "Maybe if me, Rarity, and Sunset all-"

"Ooh, ooh, I know!" replied Pinkie Pie, raising her hoof in the air. "What if somepony that was in the room just broke one of the statues?"

To everyone's surprise, both Twilight and Rarity gasped in shock.

"That is the last thing that needs to happen!" said the alicorn princess.

"Quite right, darling," agreed Rarity, nodding her head. "I wouldn't want to see such beauty be turned into a pile of rubble."

Applejack shook her head, and said, "Uh, Rarity, you do know that those statues are us, right?"

"Exactly," said Twilight, nodding. "If, for example, Flutter - I mean, Rainbow's statue broke, she might end up... well..."

Rainbow gulped, and said, "Uh, I think I get the picture, Twilight..."

Pinkie Pie simply gave a shrug. "You wanted an idea."

As their fight continued, the cloaked pony let out a laugh. "You truly are impressive, Starlight Glimmer."

Dodging one of his staff's energy blasts, Starlight replied, "Thanks... but flattery will get you nowhere in this fight."

She aimed a streak of blasts at his hood, hoping to figure out who this pony was, but he simply spun his staff around in a circle, knocking them away.

"Please tell me that you have more than that."

Starlight gave him a grin, and said, "Oh, don't worry, there's a lot more!"

Then, suddenly, a copy of herself appeared next to her, and before the cloaked pony could even respond, multiple copies started to show up.

"Um, shouldn't we help her or something?" asked Spike, who was watching from below.

Shining Armor shook his head. "Not just yet... she's been doing well on her own so far... but I need you to go and watch over the... statues of Twilight's friends... maybe you can find a way for all of them... and Twily... to come back."

He then turned to look at his wife, and said, "Cadence, I need you to go into the castle, and keep Flurry Heart safe."

Luckily, their baby alicorn was asleep, but Cadence wasn't sure about leaving her husband's side. "I don't want anything worse to happen to you."

"I'll be fine," assured Shining. "Go on, while he's distracted... go..."

Cadence wanted to try and find a reason for her to stay, but Shining looked in her eyes, and said, "Please... I'll be fine..."

The Princess of Love nodded her head, giving him a kiss before she carried the sleeping toddler on her back, and ran into the castle.

"But what about-"

Twilight's brother gave the dragon a serious look, and said, "Spike, you have to trust me on this... do it for Twilight."

Spike looked back up at Starlight fighting against the cloaked pony, then at Shining, who nodded his head. "Go."

The dragon sighed, and reluctantly nodded as he, too, went into the castle, heading to the "special room"

"Such a shame that your teacher won't be able to witness this moment of me destroying you."

Then, the cloaked pony twirled his energized staff around a few times, and like using a sword, he began slicing at all of the Starlight copies, one by one.

"He's moving so fast!" said Sunburst, now starting to feel worried for her. "Starlight doesn't even have time to attack!"

The ruler of the Crystal Empire could only sigh in a sad tone. "This can't be good..."

"There you are," said the cloaked pony, once the real Starlight was in front of him. "Now it's time to finish you off once and for - aaauughh!"

An energy blast from below came straight towards him, and it sent him flying back a few feet, while Starlight looked down to see Sunburst, who had a bold expression on his face.

"Looks like you could some help."

Starlight smiled, and said, "Thanks..."

Inside of the "special" room, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle had fallen asleep, and were both lying down on their sister's statue.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the doors opened, and Spike came running inside, saying, "Okay, now I just need to... Sweetie Belle?"

"Aaaagghhh!" The little pony cried, waking up surprised... and after falling down to the ground, her sister's statue was starting to tilt over.

"No!" cried Spike, running towards the statue so that he could stop-

Crash!

Applebloom and Spike were both speechless, while Sweetie Belle said, "Oops."

After another hour of thinking about various plans, everypony came to an agreement on one of them.

"Ready?" Twilight asked, looking at Sunset and Rarity.

"Let's do this," replied Sunset, nodding her head.

As for Rarity, she was about to agree until Applejack cried, "Holy apples, Rarity, you're lighting up!"

"What do you mea - dear Celestia!" She yelled, noticing that her friend was right. Her entire body was glowing in a bright white light.

As everypony tried to shield their eyes from the brightness, Casey asked, "Pinkie! What's going on?"

"Why are you asking me?" Pinkie replied. "I don't know why she's glowing!"

Back in the Crystal Empire, Starlight and Sunburst were continuing their fight against the hooded pony, but they all stopped after seeing a bright light from the corner of her eyes.

"That must be where Spike is at," said Shining, turning his head to look up at the castle.

When the hooded pony heard that, his temper immediately began to grow higher than it was before. "That's impossible... she can't come back!"

Starlight let out a gasp, and cried, "Twilight!"

The evil pony watched as the purple unicorn began to head towards the window, and he started gritting his teeth together. Not on my watch, you foolish pony!

Sunburst watched as the cloaked pony began to use his staff to charge up a very powerful energy blast that - "Starlight, look out!"

Boom!

"Sunburst...?" She turned around, and saw her childhood friend fly in front of her, which caused the blast to strike him instead. "No!"

The light-orange unicorn began falling back down to the ground, landing on the castle steps, and before turning unconscious, he muttered, "S-Starlight..."

"A noble sacrifice, I will give him that," said the villainous animal. "But that won't stop me from-"

Before he could finish, an angered Starlight interrupted him by shooting a very powerful blast that struck him directly.

Boom!

As the smoke cleared, Starlight noticed that a small part of his hood had burned away, and she was able to see some of his muzzle and eyes, which were blue-green.

"You've been holding back, haven't you?" The villainous pony asked, who was still frowning.

Starlight nodded her head, a smirk appearing on her face. "And things just got a whole lot worse for you..."

"I'm the worst little sister ever!" yelled an upset Sweetie Belle.

She was lying next to the spot that Rarity's statue had fallen to, except it was now broken into several pieces.

Applebloom walked over to her friend, and said, "It'll be fine, it was just an accident. They'll understand, right, Spike?"

Not wanting to make things worse by saying that the statue had actually been Rarity, the young dragon said, "Um, yeah, sure everything will-"

He stopped, however, after noticing that the stand, in which Rarity's statue had been on, was now glowing brightly.

"Um, I don't know if that's supposed to happen or not," said Spike, pointing at the glowing object.

As it grew brighter and brighter, the two ponies and little dragon started covering their eyes, with Applebloom asking, "What in the name of all apples is happening, Spike?"

"I don't know!" yelled Spike, closing his eyes now to avoid seeing the light.

Then, several diamonds that resembled her Cutie Mark began shooting out from inside the stand, forming a circle before spinning around at a very quick pace.

Whoosh!

And once the light had turned down, they all heard a familiar voice say, "I could use a vacation after this."

"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle ran over to her big sister, giving her a tight and warm hug. "You're okay!"

The white unicorn smiled, and said, "Yes, Sweetie Belle, I am fine... just a little, um, light-headed from all this time traveling we've all been doing."

"All of us?" Spike looked at the rest of the statues, thinking of an idea. "So will everypony else come back if we break the rest of these?"

Before Rarity could reply, Applebloom was a little concerned. "What about Twilight, Spike? I don't see a statue of her, just that there painting of her Cutie Mark on the floor."

"Where do you think she went?" asked Fluttershy, after they had all seen Rarity disappear.

"I would like to think that she went back to the statue room" replied Twilight, but sounding unsure. "I just wish we could communicate with somepony there, or see exactly what's going on in there."

Applejack looked at the bottom of her hooves, and gulped. "Um, you might want to hurry up with that, Twi, cause I think I'm going there next."

"What do you..." Twilight stopped speaking after seeing her friend was starting to glow, as well.

Things were not turning out the way the hooded pony had planned.

"What does it take to stop you?!" He growled, while continuing to use the staff for shooting energy blasts at Starlight, and dodging the ones she aimed at him.

"Just be lucky you're not messing with me and Twilight," said Starlight, a sly smirk on her face. "And you probably will once she comes out of that room."

"You foolish pony," said the hooded pony, his eyes glowing with anger. "Twilight Sparkle is never coming back!"

Starlight continued to give him a smug look. "Well, we'll just see about that, then, won't we?"

Back in the statue room, once Applejack had returned, Spike asked, "Are Twilight and the others okay?"

"Ugggghhhh... yeah, they're fine and dandy," replied Applejack, who was feeling a little dizzy.

Soon after the Earth Pony had left, Twilight began pacing back and forth.

"Okay, there has to be a way for us to know that they were sent back home."

I can assure you that they are both fine.

Twilight quickly stopped, recognizing the voice from earlier. What's happening?

The mysterious voice said, Well, your Highness, I believe that our cloaked friend's plan did not go the way he had intended it to.

"Ooh, who's that, Twilight?"

The purple alicorn looked at her friend, and said, "You can hear him, too."

Pinkie Pie nodded her head. "That's why I asked."

You can speak out loud this time, my dear.

Twilight cleared her throat a few times, and said, "Um, so if breaking the statues brings them back..."

"... how would me, Sunset, and Twilight go back?" finished Casey.

"It'll be easy, right?" Pinkie Pie asked, bouncing up and down with excitement.

I'm afraid not. I can only create a portal for two of them, but one must stay.

Pinkie Pie paused her bounce in mid-air, and collapsed to the ground. "Oh..."

Twilight shook her head. "No, there's always another way. We could-"

"I'll stay."

The other ponies looked over at Casey, who nodded his head. "It's the only choice you have in defeating him."

"Well, that's crazy talk," argued Rainbow Dash. "You can't stay in this place all by yourself."

"I have to," replied Casey. "And it's what I deserve..."

Twilight walked over to Casey, a sad look on her face. "We know you didn't mean any of this intentionally... there has to be a way for all of us to go."

But the Earth Pony had already made his decision. "It's the only way..."

Twilight looked at the rest of her friends, then back at Casey, and she wrapped her hooves around him for a hug.

After Starlight had been able to dodge another one of his attacks, the cloaked pony paused to catch his breath.

"It appears that we are at an impasse."

Twilight's pupil nodded in agreement, and said, "Just until the others get back here."

The cloaked pony gritted his teeth in frustration, and yelled, "There is no chance in hell that your teacher and the rest of her friends are coming back!"

Before Starlight could reply back, her foe aimed his silver staff at Shining Armor. "And you're about to join her there!"

Shining Armor gulped, and continued trying to free his hooves from the blocks of ice, but he was only able to helplessly watch a powerful energy beam head straight to-

Boom!

"What?!" shouted the enraged and cloaked pony.

At the very last second, a force field had surrounded itself around Shining, and was able to protect him from the blast.

He turned to look at Starlight, who smiled back before teleporting over to the castle steps.

"No..." The hooded pony said, his anger and frustration continuing to rise. "This can't be happening!"

"Oh, but it is..." said Sunset Shimmer, giving him a smug grin.

"Who's the foolish pony now, huh?" Rainbow Dash chuckled.

"You are not a very nice pony," said Fluttershy, a frown on her face.

"Nopony turns us into statues, and gets away with it!" Rarity yelled, who then took a moment to remove some rubble from her mane.

"It was mighty wrong of you to do that to all of us," said Applejack, tilting her hat while giving a sly smile.

"I hope you like frosting," said Pinkie Pie, who had her Party Cannon in front of her. "Cause none of it's in here!"

Fluttershy looked at her friend. "Um, what is in there, Pinkie?"

"I guess we'll find out in the next chapter," said Pinkie, giving a shrug.

The hooded pony shook his head, and growled, "You may have all been able to escape the places I trapped you in, but your beloved Princess of Friendship has no way to-"

Boom!

Suddenly, a blast appeared from out of nowhere, and connected with his face, causing parts of his hood to rip off and show more of his muzzle.

"What the devil?!"

As her horn's magical energy powered down, Twilight walked down the steps to join her friends, a smile on her face.

"You're going down, pony."

The hooded foe let out a sarcastic laugh. "Ha, you and what army?"

Defending the Empire

Casey sighed as he laid down on the grass. "So, O Wise One, where exactly am I?"

Well, this is what some people would call "limbo" - nothing but complete emptiness that can be filled with your imagination.

The Earth Pony groaned, and said, "I guess I could find a way to enjoy myself since I'm practically living here."

No one ever said this was your permanent home, Casey.

"What do you mean?" He said, a frown on his face. "The others were able to find a way... there isn't one for me."

Maybe in regards to this place and my portal, yes, but as Twilight said, there is always a way...

Casey looked at the area where his necklace would have been, and said, "I just hope she's going to be okay."

The villainous pony's frustration was continuing to grow more. "When I am done with all of you ponies, you'll wish you'd never came back at all."

Twilight opened her wings, preparing to take flight, and said, "We'll just see about that."

Whoosh!

She took off to the skies, heading up to be face-to-face with the cloaked pony, while Spike said, "Um, wouldn't it be easier to beat him if everypony worked together?"

"We'll help her out whenever Mr. Cloak decides to start fighting dirty," replied Rainbow Dash. "Twilight can hold up her own."

Spike looked at Applejack, who nodded in agreement. "If she could survive a battle against Tirek, Twi can surely take care of this pony."

Also, while Twilight was beginning her fight against the cloaked pony, Starlight had decided to take Sunburst back to his house, hoping that he had a First Aid Kit there.

"You never should have returned, princess," said the cloaked pony. "Now you just made things worse for your friends."

He fired an energy beam that flew towards one of her wings, but Twilight used magic from her horn to deflect it.

"My friends mean everything to me," said Twilight, determined to put a stop to this pony's plans. "And I'll do anything to keep them safe."

Down below, Rainbow Dash was munching on some popcorn, and loving the fight between her friend and-

"Ooh, can I have some, too?"

Rainbow rolled her eyes, but she nodded her head, and replied, "Sure, Pinkie."

Back in the sky, the cloaked pony was starting to laugh. "Is that why the noble princess of Friendship left a pony behind in limbo?"

"That has nothing to do with this," exclaimed Twilight as she narrowly dodged another one of his attacks.

"Oh? So, you're okay living with the fact that you'll never see your friend again?"

The purple alicorn couldn't think of a response to give, but that moment of hesitation allowed the cloaked unicorn to power up his silver staff, and send a surge of electricity that went straight into her body.

As Twilight began screaming in pain, Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth in anger, saying, "Alright, that pony's fighting dirty!"

The blue-colored Pegasus pony took off, heading straight for the evil pony, and she crashed into him, causing the hooded pony to lose concentration, as well as allowing the staff to fall from his hooves.

"I got it, I got it!" Pinkie Pie shouted, as she bounced up into the air, hoping to grab the staff.

"No!" The sinister pony cried, and all of a sudden, a pair of wings appeared on the side of his body.

Twilight and Rainbow both gasped in surprise, saying, "He's a Pegasus?"

Right as Pinkie was about to grab onto it, the hooded pony yelled, "I don't think so, idiotic pony!"

With a strong flap of his wings, he was able to create a strong gust of wind that caused the staff to fly away from Pinkie...

... and into the mouth of Applejack, who began running away from the hooded pony.

"You okay, Twilight?" Rainbow asked, looking over her friend to try and find any injuries.

She nodded her head, saying, "Yeah, just... wish we hadn't left Casey behind."

As for the cloaked pony, he was about to retrieve the staff back from Applejack, but then, the hard-working Earth Pony tossed it behind the evil pony, and they watched as it was caught by Rarity.

"You!" The hooded pony, now filled with rage, started racing towards the white unicorn.

"Eeep!" Rarity quickly handed it over to Sunset, just as the hooded pony was about to reach the both of them.

With a grin, Sunset jumped into the air, flipping herself right over the winged and villainous pony, and she safely landed on the ground.

"Fluttershy, catch!" Sunset yelled, throwing it over to the pony who represented the Element of Kindness.

Taking a small gulp, Fluttershy flew over to the staff, and quickly caught it in her hooves.

"Nice catch right there, sugarcube!" called out Applejack.

The animal-loving pony looked down at the staff in her hands, and then, up to see the hooded pony flying straight towards her!

"I will not be defeated by-"

BOOM! SPLAT!

Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief, and said, "Thank you, Pinkie."

"No problem!" Pinkie Pie replied, giving her friend a salute.

Twilight and Rainbow landed by Shining Armor, and the alicorn used her magic to break the four pieces of ice.

"Thank you, Twily," said Shining, giving his sister a hug. "Looks like I owe you another one."

Twilight chuckled, and shook her head, saying, "That's fine, Shining... just go and make sure Cadence and Flurry Heart are okay."

Shining nodded, and went towards the castle while Twilight and Rainbow caught up to their friends.

"Here you go, Twilight," said Fluttershy, handing her the staff.

"Thanks, Fluttershy," replied Twilight, who carefully took the magical object from her.

Then, they walked over to where the hooded pony was, except he was now stuck to the ground because his body was covered in some sort of gooey substance.

"Um, what exactly is that, Pinkie?" Rarity asked, not recognizing what it was.

Pinkie Pie smiled, and said, "I used a special type of sticky cheese on him!"

"You're lucky I can't get my hooves on you right now," growled the hooded pony.

With the staff floating above her head, Twilight frowned, and said, "Tell us how to bring back Casey before I send you to another world."

The hooded pony let out a sarcastic laugh. "Fat chance, your Highness... I still can't believe that you all probably think you've won."

"Uh, I'm pretty sure we're about to," replied Rainbow. "I mean, you're trapped in Pinkie Pie's cheese net, and Twilight is about ready to send you to one of the places you sent us to."

"You moronic pony, there's still a lot that you all know nothing about," replied the hooded pony. "There's a reason for everything."

Rarity rolled her eyes, and she said, "You've already said that before."

"And none of you have yet to understand what I mean by that," exclaimed the hooded pony. "Why else would Rainbow Dash be the one pony that could successfully pull off a Sonic Rainboom, as well as having the fate of all Equestria be depended upon it?"

He then looked over at Twilight, saying, "You may have defeated me today, your Highness, but there's still a lot you don't know about."

Twilight frowned, and said, "I don't care about whatever it is you're saying... how do we bring back Casey?"

The hooded pony let out a dry laugh, and he said, "There's only one way, but you won't hear it from me. So, you might as well-"

ZAP! BOOM!

Twilight had used the staff to send a black-and-blue energy beam at the hooded pony, and once it struck him, he was gone.

"Awww..." said Pinkie Pie, suddenly looking a bit sad. "He took the cheese with him!"

Applejack looked at her friend, and asked, "You okay there, Twi?"

The alicorn sighed, not knowing what to say, but she nodded her head, and looked at the staff in her hooves.

I'm going to bring you back, Casey... I promise.

A New Alliance

"Starlight...?"

The purple unicorn smiled, and said, "Oh, good, you're awake."

Sunburst opened his eyes, seeing that he was tucked into his bed.

"You didn't have to... aaghh..." He tried to sit up, but the unicorn instantly felt pain.

Starlight walked over to her friend, trying to help him get into a comfortable position. "You have to take it easy for a few days, Sunburst... he really did a number on you."

Sunburst sighed, and he said, "Well, thank you, but you don't have to stay here."

Starlight shook her head, giving her friend a smile. "I already talked about it with Twilight. She's actually proud of me."

With a quick role of her eyes, Starlight added, "And she wants me to take notes of anything that could be of some importance."

Sunburst chuckled a little, and watched her friend walk over to the dining room. "And you're going to put everything that you do here?"

As she made her return, with a floating cup of warm and honey-flavored tea nearby, he noticed that Starlight was blushing.

"Well, I mean, I won't put down everything... there's some stuff I would like to keep to myself."

She handed her friend the cup of tea, and after Sunburst took a few sips, he asked, "What kind of stuff?"

Starlight began blushing even more as she walked up to her friend, and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Oh... r-right..." Sunburst said, who felt his face begin to heat up.

Starlight remained quiet, while Sunburst let out a chuckle. "Y-you know, um... I was really worried about you during that, er, whole time you were fighting him."

Twilight's pupil simply nodded, and said, "Thank you."

So, after dealing with the cloaked pony, Twilight used the silver staff to free all of the Crystal Ponies, as well as the castle guards.

"Thank you, your Highness," said Flash Sentry, showing his respect by bowing down.

Ignoring the teasing looks from her friends, Twilight said, "Oh, um, you're welcome."

Then, after finishing her conversation with Starlight, the alicorn princess turned to see Applejack giving Rainbow Dash a smug look. "Pay up, sugarcube."

Rainbow groaned, and muttered to herself as she handed over a few bits to Applejack.

"Well, that was certainly an adventurous experience," said Rarity, looking at Twilight. "Wouldn't you agree, darling?"

Twilight gave a small smile, and said, "None of us will forget it, that's for sure... but I still wish we could have brought Casey back with us."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, not believing what she was hearing her friend say. "Well, maybe in that empty world, but that doesn't mean you can't make some type of time travel machine here to get him back.

"Besides, you made one to go visit Sunset's world, even after she tried taking your crown and possibly trapping you there for a very long time."

Twilight frowned, and Rainbow sheepishly looked over at Sunset. "But, uh, no offense..."

"None taken... again," chuckled Sunset, who was already used to hearing that phrase. "But she's right, Twilight, if anyone can build something like that, it's you."

"And if you can't do it on your own," added Applejack, standing next to princess. "We're more than willing to help ya out!"

Fluttershy nodded, in agreement, saying, "Friends stick together for everypony, no matter what... but, um, I want to make sure Discord is okay, so after I check on him, then I'll be there to help."

Pinkie Pie, who was still carrying around her Party Cannon, also agreed with the others. "We'll help out no matter how many times you might mess up!"

"Um... thanks, Pinkie," replied Twilight. "So we'd better get started on it, then!"

Everypony agreed with that, and the group of friends began to make their way to the Train station, until Rarity asked, "Um, but where exactly did you send that evil pony?"

A smirk smile appeared on Twilight's face as she said, "Let's just say that I hope he likes being called Antoinette."

The Next Day

[Imagine the piece "Training Montage" by George S. Clinton during this scene of her creating the machine.]

True to their words, once the Mane 6 (and Sunset) had returned to Twilight's Castle, they helped out Twilight in creating something that would be able to have Casey come back.

During that time, Twilight had also examined the silver staff, but was unable to understand exactly what type of energy was inside of it.

"You think it could be from wherever he came from?" Spike asked, while his best friend was studying the staff's power levels.

Twilight sighed as she said, "That's a definite possibility, Spike, but that's the closest thing I can come to, aside from us seeing what it can do."

"When he used it, Twilight," reminded the young dragon. "You used it for completely different reasons... maybe it reacts to whatever the holder is feeling."

Twilight smiled, and wrapped a hoof around Spike. "Who knew your comic book reading would come in handy?"

"Haha, very funny," said Spike, but also found himself laughing a little.

Later that night...

It had taken almost an entire day, but after putting the staff in its required spot, Twilight let out a sigh of relief. "Alright, everypony, I think that should do the trick."

"About time," yawned Rainbow Dash, with sleepiness in her voice.

Applejack looked at her, a frown on her face. "What? I helped out, like I said, didn't I?"

They had helped Twilight out with making multiple adjustments to the Crystal Mirror time machine, and once the staff was activated, it was ready to go.

"So, um... how do you know if it'll take you back to where Casey is?" Rainbow asked, sounding concerned. "What if you end up somewhere else?"

Twilight smiled, and said, "I'm glad you said that, Rainbow, because that is why I have this chart."

She pointed to the "chart" that taped to the side of the machine, and explained what it showed. "Every time the hooded pony shot an energy blast at us, it was always a different color, so I've listed those colors here, along with the name of the locations you all gave me."

The places that she had written on the list were "Smile HD", "Empty World," and "Cupcakes", as well as "Sunset's World," "Alternate Equestria", and "Townsville".

Underneath those, however, were several blank slates that made Rainbow ask, "What about these non-written ones, Twilight?"

"Those are for the other possible worlds that the staff could take somepony to," replied Twilight. "So, now, it's time to bring our friend back."

She began to walk into the mirror's glowing portal, but stopped when Applejack asked, "You want us to go with you, sugarcube?"

Twilight shook her head, even though she appreciated the offer. "It won't even take that long."

She continued walking, and after entering the portal, a bright light shone that made everypony cover their eyes.

Once it was gone, Rainbow asked, "So, uh, how long did she take those previous times to visit Sunset?"

"An hour and 12 mins for the first time," replied Pinkie. "And the second time was an hour and 28 minutes."

Everypony looked at her. "What?"

Whoosh!

The machine turned back on, and they watched as Twilight came stumbling out, with Casey doing the same a few minutes after.

"Remind to add possible side affects of time traveling to the chart," said Twilight, her eyes spinning around.

When Casey got up and was able to stand on all four hooves, he saw everypony giving him a smile.

"Er... I just have a quick question," he said. "None of you have seen a gold-colored pony that wears a cloak, right?"

"Uh, no, why?" Rainbow asked, a confused look on her face.

Casey chuckled, and said, "Never mind... just means that I'm not in a different world."

He then looked over at Twilight, saying, "Thanks for bringing me back."

Twilight smiled warmly, and said, "It's like what Fluttershy told us all earlier, we would never leave a friend behind."

Casey looked at the shy and bashful Pegasus, who said, "Uh-huh, she's right... you're our friend now, Casey."

"And as a friend, I just want to apologize for what I said earlier," said Rainbow, looking guilty. "It wasn't entirely your fault that we ended up in this mess."

"Thanks, Rainbow, I really appreciate that," Casey said, and the two of them shared a hoof-bump.

Then, he turned around, and noticed the Crystal Mirror. "So, this is where it's been at... no wonder I couldn't find it in the Crystal Castle."

"Which reminds me..." said Sunset, walking over to Twilight. "I know this wasn't exactly a proper visit, but I need to go back home, too."

Although she wanted to talk more with Sunset, Twilight knew that her friend was right, so before departing, the yellow unicorn and purple alicorn shared a hug.

"But don't be a stranger now, ya hear?" Applejack said. "You're not just Twilight's friend, you're a friend to all of us."

"Oh, and do bring the other Rarity next time you come back," asked the white unicorn. "I would love for the both of us to spend a day together at my boutique."

Sunset chuckled, and nodded her head. "Sure, I'll run it by her, Rarity."

So, the former student of Celestia stepped into the portal, returning back to the world she currently resided in.

"You'll be okay, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked, putting a hoof around her friend.

Twilight nodded her head, but then, she noticed Casey looking down at the ground, his face bearing a sad expression.

"You okay there, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, noticing his sadness, as well.

Casey nodded his head, saying, "Yeah, but... I'm still sad that I lost the necklace that Twilight gave me."

Twilight walked over to Casey, and said, in a comforting tone, "We're all just glad that you're safe and sound, Casey... besides, it was really just a necklace."

Casey simply smiled at the alicorn, and nodded his head.

Several Days Later

"Mhmm, this is delicious," said Casey, after swallowing the food that had been in his mouth. "What did you call it again?"

"A cherrychanga," replied Pinkie Pie, giving him a wide smile. "One of the most bestest foods ever created!"

Casey wiped his muzzle with a napkin, and began to laugh. "Well, thank you for making it for me."

The two of them were eating atop a table that had been placed in the library, while Twilight was busy helping Spike in a room next door, and a few feet away, the Crystal Mirror time machine was currently turned off.

Until...

"Um, Casey, is the portal supposed to glow like that without Twilight turning it on?" Pinkie Pie said, pointing at the mirror.

Casey turned around, and saw that the machine had somehow turned on by itself. "How in Equestria did-"

Whoosh! Thump!

All of a sudden, a pony came flying out of the mirror, and crash-landed onto the ground.

"I will never be used to that," mumbled the newcomer, his head feeling it was spinning around in a dizzying circle.

Wait, this can't be right, thought Casey, who began to recognize the pony. How exactly did he-

After shaking away any dizziness from his head, the gold-colored pony found himself looking at the light-orange Earth Pony.

"Ah, hello again, Casey... I believe that this necklace belongs to you," said Stardust, walking over to him.

He handed Casey the special accessory, and smiled at the surprised expression on his face. "You didn't think you would just leave it back in my home, did you?"

Casey remained silent for a quick minute before saying, "Thank you so-"

"Casey? Pinkie? Everypony okay?"

Before any of them could speak, Twilight used her magic to open the doors, walking in as she said, "The lights were flickering on and off, so I wondered if something was-"

She stopped, however, when she noticed another pony was in the room, and that he was standing in front of the mirror.

"Oh, um, hello, kind pony," greeted Twilight, being polite. "Who might you be?"

There's always that one pony

That will always have your heart

"Um... I, er..." Stardust was at a loss for words.

You'll never see it coming

'Cause you're blinded from the start

Aside from the random music playing in his head... for some reason, the way that the Earth Pony felt right now was very close to the night he had felt during Twilight's princess coronation.

When she'd found him on the balcony, and they had shared their long-expected first kiss...

Will you get a hold of yourself, you foolish dimwit? We came here for a purposeful reason, not so you could moon over another Twilight!

"Wait, who was that?" Twilight asked, looking around the library for the source of the familiar voice.

You cannot be serious right now.

Casey smirked, and muttered, "He's not exactly nice, is he?"

If Stardust didn't know any better, he could have sworn that Sombra was close to fainting.

"Well, um... Twilight, allow me to-" began the young pony, but unfortunately (for him), the introduction honor belonged to somepony else.

"This is Stardust Balance, but his real name is Jack, and he's from the alternate version of Equestria that Casey went to, but he's also from a planet called Earth that's almost like the world that Sunset Shimmer stays at, which he actually isn't that really fond about.

"He's basically on this journey that someponies would say is beyond insane, and he also wears that cloak that his world's Rarity gave him because he doesn't like ponies to see his Cutie Mark, which is made up of a blue heart and a blue star, and even though he isn't a unicorn or alicorn like you or Starlight, he has his own magical powers because he represents the balance between chaos and harmony, and when he really needs to, he could really pack a super power punch!

"Anyway, he pretty much didn't really wanna be friends with his versions of us, at first, and was always putting himself in danger, but over time, he became a better friend to everypony, especially Twilight and Spike.

"He also doesn't really like Princess Celestia all that much, but does like the way my sister Maud is -

[pauses to look at Stardust] "I'll tell her you said hi!"

[goes back to Twilight] "And as for the voices in his head, one of them is a kinda-sorta-not-really-but-maybe reformed version of King Sombra, and the other one sounds a lot like the one who helped us out when the hooded pony trapped us in those other worlds, but to make a long story short..."

"Too late for that," said Sombra, in Stardust's mind.

Pinkie then took a deep breath, and said, "Twilight, Stardust. Stardust, Twilight."

Neither of the two didn't know what to say or how to respond.

You know, that pony in particular always manages to find a way to surprise me.

Starlight found himself frowning as he thought, And just where exactly have you been this entire time?

His response was - I've been rather busy, Jack, to say the least.

"Ohhh, now I remember," said Pinkie, nodding her head. "That second voice is actually Starswirl!"

It was now Twilight's turn to gasp, and a bright smile appeared on her face, as well as her eyes growing wide. "You talk to Starswirl the Bearded?"

Oh, Celestia, not this again!

"What?" Twilight asked, looking confused and upset. "What did I say?"

Accepting the fact that she, Casey, and Pinkie could hear him, Sombra said, "If you must know, Princess, the other Twilight that this foolish human adores so much had a reaction close to the one you were about to have."

"Adores?" Twilight said, confused. "Are you saying that-"

"Well, duh," said Pinkie Pie, as if the answer was obvious. "The reason he couldn't speak before was because he-"

However, she was interrupted by Stardust, who didn't look that much happy or surprised anymore.

"What the f**k is that f***in pony doing here?" He exclaimed, in anger, and pointing behind Twilight.

Everypony turned to look at the doors, and saw a nervous-looking Flash Sentry. "Um, I apologize, your Highness, but there's a message I have to... er... I think I'll just wait outside."

He quickly walked away, closing the doors behind him, while everypony looked at Stardust. "What?"

You idiot. Don't you remember what happened when you cursed in that other world you despise so much?

Stardust looked at the three ponies, and asked, "You all heard what I said?"

Of course, you dimwit! AND you didn't even have the BEEP this time to protect you.

Casey simply shook his head, thinking, How the heck could anypony like Twilight choose him as a special somepony?

Stardust cleared his throat, and said, "Okay, well... now that introductions have been made... there are some things I would actually like to discuss."

Twilight nodded her head, looking at the gold pony with interest. "Sure. What do you want to discuss?"

"Well," said Stardust, letting out a sigh. "Although I am glad that I was able to successfully return the necklace to Casey, I am concerned about the fact that you three know... well, almost everything about me, and what occurs in my world."

"Oh..." Twilight then began to look a little disappointed, since she had several questions that she wanted to ask Stardust. "So, will this be the last time we ever see you?"

I would hope so.

Starlight rolled his eyes, and said, "Ignore that... and, no, not exactly, Twilight, but I think it would be best for both our worlds if only me and Casey went to each other's world... and only if the situation required my assistance. I would like to simply avoid a possible apocalyptic situation."

Twilight nodded her head, understanding what he meant. "Like me and your Twilight being face-to-face with each other."

"Yep!" Pinkie Pie said, as she bounced up and down. "Otherwise we could risk the chance of creating a paradox that could destroy both of our worlds!"

If Stardust had a regular human mouth, it would've dropped to the ground by now.

"How do you know all of this?"

Pinkie Pie shrugged, and said, "Just a hunch... ooh, by the way, there's this new song I wanna try real quick!"

Before Twilight could say anything, a musical instrument appeared in Pinkie's hooves, and she began to sing along while playing a song. "We are number one!"

Let us leave before this damn pony gives me a migraine.

"Hey!" Pinkie Pie replied, pausing her performance. "That's not very nice!"

Letting out a chuckle, Stardust apologized to Pinkie, and walked over to Casey, saying in a low voice, "Good luck with your relationship with Twilight... hope everything works out okay."

"Thanks," replied Casey. "Any advice you could give me?"

Taking a quick look at the beautiful alicorn, Stardust said, "I would, my friend, but... it would be more fun and life-changing to discover on your own... that's how it is for me."

He offered a hoof for him to shake, which Casey happily accepted, and then, Stardust walked over to Twilight, taking her hoof in his own.

He knelt down, and kissed her hoof, saying, "It was a pleasure meeting you, Princess Twilight."

The blushing alicorn let out a small laugh, and said, "Um, t-thanks, Stardust..."

Casey looked at him with an expression that meant "Seriously?"

Walking back over to his new friend, Stardust said, "I apologize for that, but I was simply giving you an example on how to treat her right... and there is actually one crucial piece of advice that I can give to you, my friend... and that is to never ever make Twilight upset, or even break her heart."

"What would happen if I did?" Casey asked, wondering now what the other Twilight could have possibly done to Stardust whenever he made her upset.

Stardust sighed, and he said, "Well, one is that you could become a splat of paint on the front of the Friendship Express..."

"Alright, I think I get the picture," replied Casey, who gulped a little. "Happy pony, happy life."

"Exactly," Stardust said, and after saying goodbye to Pinkie Pie, he went into the mirror's portal, traveling back to his home.

"So that was Stardust, huh?" Twilight said, who was still smiling. "He's a very interesting pony..."

I really hope there isn't another version of him here, thought the orange Earth Pony.

Twilight then looked at Casey, who had just finished putting back on the necklace she had given him.

"It makes me happy seeing you wear that again, Casey."

The Earth Pony smiled, and said, "Thanks, Twilight... um, so does this mean that we-"

The winged alicorn giggled, and gave him a wink. "You're just going to have to find out on your own."

Once he was back in his own world, Stardust was glad to see his special somepony in front of him.

"How'd it go?" Twilight asked.

Ah, yes, do tell her how you found yourself drooling over a somewhat alternate version of herself.

Stardust looked at Twilight, and a smile appeared on his face. "It was... interesting..."

"Will you ever go back to that world?" The alicorn princess wondered.

The golden-colored pony looked behind him, and said, "Only if they are involved in a situation that I'm needed in..."

Checking In

Since Starlight was continuing to help Sunburst during his time of healing from serious injury, and Casey never really had any place of his own to stay at, Twilight had decided to offer him residence in her castle.

"Seriously?" Casey said, when she had given him the news. "But, but... W-why me?"

The purple alicorn gave him a warm smile, and replied, "It's like I told you when we first met... I enjoy making new friends, and there's a lot you can learn about friendship when it comes to me and the others."

Casey still couldn't believe it. "Wow, I... Twilight, I don't know what to say... aside from 'thank you', from the bottom of my heart."

"You're welcome," replied Twilight, nodding her head.

The Earth Pony then looked at all of the notes and papers full of information that she had on the table in front of her. "Any closer into figuring out who the mystery pony was?"

Twilight shook her head, sighing. "No, except that he's a yellow Pegasi pony with green eyes... but I could have sworn that Sta-"

Boom!

Their conversation was interrupted when the two ponies heard a faint explosion from the kitchen.

"I'm okay!" Spike yelled, which made Twilight sigh as she shook her head.

"Should we go look for the fire extinguisher?" Casey suggested, trying his best to hide the grin that was trying to appear on his face.

The purple alicorn rolled her eyes, and groaned as she said, "Yes, but first let's see how bad it is in there..."

"Sure thing, Twilight." Casey chuckled, following the princess into the kitchen to make sure Spike was okay.

Happy pony, happy life, he also thought, remembering Stardust's "special advice" that he had given him a few days ago.

All of a sudden, Pinkie Pie appeared, and she zoomed right by them, heading into the kitchen, with a fire extinguisher in her hooves. "I'm coming, Spike!"

"What the... how did she get in here?" Casey said, looking at Twilight in shock.

The purple alicorn laughed, and shook her head as she said, "Like I said, there's a lot you need to know about."

As Twilight continued her way towards the kitchen, Casey took another look at the turtledove necklace she had given him.

I wonder if Ponyville has the same necklace that the other Twilight had in Stardust's world, thought the Earth Pony.

But after a moment, he found himself chuckling. Nah, I'll just be original... I mean, I wouldn't want him to get mixed up if he, like, ever saw them in the same room or something, wearing the same necklace.

Sunset's World

"Whoa, seriously?! That's awesome!"

School was over for the day, and Sunset Shimmer had just finished explaining to her friends about what had happened in the pony version of Equestria.

"Well, I mean, Princess Twilight deserves more of the credit since she's the one who had to fight the guy," replied the unicorn-turned-human, as she leaned against the monument that was actually their version of the Crystal Mirror gateway.

The human version of Twilight (or, as some people would call her, Sci-Twi) was in awe after hearing all of the amazing things that her pony counterpart had done. "Did you all figure out who it was?"

Sunset sighed, and she shook her head, as well as crossing her arms. "No... he was still able to use his darn hood to cover up most of face, and all that we know is that he's a sort of dark-yellow Pegasi pony with green eyes."

"How'd you know that if his hood was coverin' up his face?" Applejack asked, before taking another bite out of an apple that she had been eating.

"Because Twilight and Starlight were able to use their magic to cause parts of his hood to rip off," replied Sunset. "So we were able to see his muzzle and a part of his eyes."

Fluttershy, who was playing with her pet bunny named Angel, gave her a curious look as she asked, "So, does that explain why the pony versions of Applejack and Rarity were sent here?"

Sunset nodded her head, while Rarity's eyes begin to twinkle as she said, "And by the way, Sunset, thank you so very much for letting me know about my pony self wanting me to spend a day with her at her boutique. Oh, I can already imagine all of the wonderful dresses that my hands can create."

Applejack gave her "fashion crazy" friend a smirk as she reminded her, "Uh, Rare, you do know that you'll probably be turned into a pony when you get there, right? It's the same thing that happens to Sunset."

Rarity frowned, and replied, "Don't spoil my excitement, AJ... just because your pony self didn't invite you to spend a day with her collecting apples or whatever it is that she does in that world."

Sunset Shimmer looked at the two of them, and asked, "Uh, what exactly did happen when they came here?"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as she remembered what had occurred that day. "All they did was talk about stuff that happened in Princess Twilight's world, and next thing we all know, the portal thing turns on, and sucks them in like a vacuum cleaner."

"Excuse me, Rainbow, but that stuff me and my pony counterpart talked about was very important," replied Rarity. "And you are just upset that you haven't been able to meet your other self yet!"

Rainbow gritted her teeth in frustration, and cried, "Hey, I'm getting there, alright? I had a dream about me sitting on top of her, and we flew all over Equestria, so I'm willing to bet that the next person to meet their counterpart will be me!"

Applejack let out a chuckle as she said, "Makes sense... since you and Fluttershy are the only ones here who haven't met your other selves yet."

The athletic teenager mumbled to herself as she crossed her arms, while Sunset asked, "So, Pinkie's seen her other self also?"

Everyone looked at the super-party-planning human, who was currently sucking on a lollipop. "Uh-huh, I've seen her."

"Well, you've never told me before," said Sunset, a frown appearing on her face. "What happened?"

Pinkie Pie shrugged her shoulders, and said, "It was sometime after the Friendship Games. We just talked about stuff that happened here and there, and she went back home."

Sunset looked at the rest of her friends, wondering if they would say anything else about it.

"We try not to question what happened," said Applejack. "Lord knows we need somethin' else to worry about here."

Stardust's World

Inside of the library in Twilight's castle, Stardust was currently putting away a book that he had just finished reading when he noticed a small package on the ground.

"Huh, how did this get in here?" The Earth Pony picked it up with his hooves, and examined to see if there was a "to/from" tag anywhere... and, sure enough, he found it on the left side of the package.

Well, what a surprise... a simple gift from your new ally that can apparently hear me and the elderly one.

Stardust brought it over to a nearby coffee table, and looked at with curiosity.

Aren't you going to open it? asked the voice of Starswirl.

"Yeah, but..." said Stardust, as he started to frown. "I told him not to come here unless it was extremely important."

Starswirl replied, You don't exactly know if he actually came here to leave it in this library for you to find. Maybe he found some other way.

Oh, yes, of course... he probably had that headache-creating pony bring it here somehow.

Stardust shook his head, and replied, "First off, I don't want to think about that possibility... I'm still surprised she was able to figure out who I was based on a damn hunch... and second, he's lucky that he and the other ponies don't know that they are actually fictional chara-"

Wait a second, Jack... Is that a folded letter attached to the gift?

The young pony paused his sentence to see what Starswirl was referring to, and noticed that there was a taped letter on the other side, folded into a tiny square.

He carefully removed the office tape that was placed on top (so neither it nor the package would be damaged), and after unfolding it, he sat in a nearby reclining chair, and started to read it.

"Dear Stardust, I apologize if this seems like I am breaking the promise that I made with you about not coming to your world unless I had to, but I didn't know of any other way to deliver this to you."

Before the young pony could continue, however, the voices in his head started arguing with each other

He does have a point, Jack.

Why must you be so sentimental?

Alright, then, Sombra, how would YOU have done it, then?

*scoffs* I would not have wasted my time into something-

"Hey!" hissed an annoyed Stardust. "I'm trying to read this thing? Can't you guys just say whatever it you need to say after I finish?"

...

"Good. I'm glad we could all agree." Stardust said, and he resumed reading Casey's letter aloud, to himself.

"The gift in front of you is a way of me saying 'thank you' for returning the necklace that Twilight gave to me. I could only imagine how you'd feel if you ever lost something that your Twilight gave you, or even the cloak that... apparently was given to you by the Rarity in your world."

Before continuing on, Stardust paused to remember the day that he had used his cloak as part of a trading bargain, in order to give Twilight a special Starswirl bookmark.

"And I also want to say thanks for telling me what you could about keeping Twilight happy... but ever since you left, she's been taking notes and drawing charts and stuff about you, saying that she wants to try and find a pony in 'our world' that has the same powers as you... basically our version of someone like you."

Huh, so what do you know... You seem to cause trouble in almost every world that you go to.

Ignoring Sombra's comment, Stardust kept on reading the letter.

"Anyway, I hope you that you enjoy the gift in the package, and that it'll hopefully be of some use to you."

At the bottom was Casey's signature, and Stardust felt a smile start to form on his face.

So, are you still upset with him? asked Starswirl.

"Well... maybe I can let him off the hook this one time," replied Stardust, who was now curious about what exactly Casey had sent him.

Wait a second, boy. There's a p.s. at the bottom of the letter.

Stardust took another look at the letter, and realized that Sombra was right.

"P.S. I hope your Twilight wasn't too mad when you told her that the Twilight here left you speechless when you first saw her."

From inside of the young pony's mind, Sombra started to chuckle. I'm starting to like this pony, for some reason.

As he carefully placed the letter on the ground, Stardust simply rolled his eyes, even though he had yet to tell Twilight about that moment. "Let's just see what he got me, okay?"

However, just as he was about to start tearing off the wrapping paper, Twilight entered the room, with Spike by her side. "Hey, Jack, Spike and I were wondering if... ooh, what's that?"

Turning to look at his special somepony, Stardust replied, "It's a gift from Casey... as a way of thanking me for bringing back the necklace."

Twilight gave him a smirk, and said, "See? And you didn't want to get involved in this..."

"Ha-ha, very funny," replied Stardust, who was still holding onto the package. "When it comes to something like this, love, I tend to-"

"And he wrote you a letter, too?"

"Yeah, but that's not the point, I was saying that..." He paused after realizing what she had just said, and saw that Twilight was now holding onto Casey's letter. "How did you get that?"

However, Twilight was already reading what Casey had written, and for the first time in a long while, Stardust nervously gulped... as well as wishing that he had the power of teleportation right about now.

Now, this should definitely be interesting.

Just relax, Jack, I am sure that the princess will understand.

Spike looked at the young pony, and noticed that he looked somewhat nervous. "You okay, bro?"

Before Stardust could answer, however, Twilight's mood and tone of voice changed as she reached the "p.s." part of the letter, and as she looked up, he saw that she wasn't exactly happy anymore. "Care to explain why you left this out of the story you told me and everypony else?"

Spike looked between the two of them, sensing the growing tension in the room, and casually started to walk out of the library. "Um, I think I hear, uh, Rarity calling my name... later, Star!"

Whoosh!

Once the dragon was in the hallway, he took off as fast as he could, with Twilight still waiting for an answer from Stardust.

"Um... any help, guys?" whispered the golden-colored pony, who was speaking to Sombra and Starswirl.

...

Stardust sighed, and muttered to himself, "Thank you so much."

"Jack, I am not mad, and I am trying to not be upset with you right now... because I love you," said Twilight, who really was trying to remain calm. "But I am starting to get annoyed at the fact that I found out whatever he's talking about from his letter instead of you."

The young pony chuckled nervously, and said, "Well, um... it wasn't anything 'major', love, I just, ah... oh, hello, Princess Cadence, what a surprise!"

"Cadence?" Twilight's eyes started to sparkle as she turned around, ready to perform the "special dance" that she and her former foal-sitter used to share, but no pony was there. "Hey, she isn't even..."

When Twilight turned back around, she saw that Stardust was halfway successful in trying to climb out of a nearby window. "Oh, no you don't, you tell me what happened!"

Good luck, foolish human.

"Shut up, Sombra... whoa!" hissed Stardust, who suddenly felt himself being pulled back in via Twilight's magic.

Then, once they were facing each other, the young pony said, "Um... you still aren't mad yet, are you?"

The alicorn princess remained silent.

"Point taken... well, ah, what happened was that I had a, um, moment of hesitation before introducing myself to the other Twilight."

Showing him the letter, Twilight said, "Then, explain what he meant by speechless... because that word and hesitation have two completely different meanings."

Before Stardust could say anything else, Starswirl offered the young pony some advice.

There is no need to fear her reaction, Jack. Your nervousness is only making this small thing seem worse. Just take a deep breath, relax, and tell her.

Nodding his head, Stardust did just that, and then, he said, "What Casey 'meant' is that when I first saw her, I felt the same way as I did that night of your coronation, when we were at the balcony... then I just snapped out of it, and I told them what I told you and the others what I said."

After hearing that, Twilight released him from her magic, but she still looked annoyed with him. "So, you're saying that your breath was taken away by another Twilight?"

Stardust immediately shook his head. "Of course not, love, I just had a, um... romantic flashback moment... and besides, you know you're the only pony out there for me."

The young alicorn raised an eyebrow, and asked, "So... you can guarantee to me that this won't happen the next time you see her again?"

Oh, I bet you that you would, said Sombra, laughing inside Stardust's mind. You can't deny the fact that she's still Twilight, in a way.

"There's no reason why it should," replied Stardust, who started to chuckle as a way to lighten the mood, as well as ignoring Sombra. "I mean, like, unless Casey somehow managed to find the necklace I gave you in his world, and gave it to his Twilight, then I might possibly-"

Twilight let out a small growl as her annoyance with Stardust started growing more than it was earlier.

"Never mind... but that was pretty much all that happened, love... really..."

"Are you sure, Jack?" Twilight asked, in a serious tone.

Stardust nodded his head, and answered, "I am completely positive... you aren't mad, right?"

Twilight groaned, and rolled her eyes as she said, "I told you that I am not mad, Jack, I am just annoyed at the fact that you didn't tell me this yourself as soon as you came back."

"Really?" said Stardust, surprised.

The young alicorn nodded her head, which made him feel a lot better. "Well, then, I'm sorry for not telling you sooner... so how about if I-"

And this is the part where things become worse for you, laughed Sombra.

Before Stardust could respond, he and Twilight heard another familiar voice... one that he currently was not in the mood for to hear.

"You became all goo-goo eyed for another Twilight? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha..."

The two of them turned to see Rainbow Dash, who had entered a while ago to ask Twilight for another Daring Do book to borrow... and had heard almost everything that Stardust had said to Twilight.

"Wait until I tell everypony else!" laughed the winged and blue Pegasus pony, who then flew off as fast as she possibly could.

Stardust gritted his teeth, in frustration, and began to run after her. "Get back here, Rainbow!"

As for Twilight, she found herself laughing a little as she shook her head, but then, her attention was caught by the gift from Casey that Stardust had yet to unwrap.

"I wonder what could be in there..."

Just the Beginning

Limbo

"How the hell did my plan go wrong?!" yelled the hooded pony, although he currently did not have it on.

Waving one of his hooves in a circle, he created a portal in front of him that showed Casey helping Twilight pack for a trip

"Of course, Twilight always has to be the hero in these type of stories... and I cannot believe that I did not realize sooner that he was going to be the love interest."

And you still have feelings for her... don't you, Miles?

The yellow Pegasi rolled his eyes after hearing the voice inside his mind, which represented the goodness that he had deep inside of himself. "That has nothing to do with this... I still would have finished her off."

His inner voice let out a sigh. Would that have made you satisfied, then? Killing the one pony you care most about?

"MY TWILIGHT IS ALREADY DEAD!" A frustrated Miles yelled, his green eyes full of anger. "For ten damn years, she's been gone, and there's no chance of her coming back."

You don't know that.

Miles gritted his teeth, in frustration. "Are you blind? I have checked over, and over, and over again... nothing has changed!"

Well, killing the Mane Six of another author's world is certainly not going to bring her back.

"I don't want to bring her back, you moron!" yelled Miles, still frustrated. "If I can't enjoy my happy ever after with my Twilight, then no pony can."

So, that's your plan? Murder all of the Mane Six and any of Twilight's love interests in all of the other worlds?

"Exactly," growled the cloaked pony. "But not just Twilight's... all of the Mane Six's love interests."

Using his hoof again, Miles moved the portal that showed Casey's world to the side, and created another one that showed Stardust reading a book alongside the Twilight in his world. "And he's at the top of my list... the Earth Pony who represents balance between chaos and harmony."

What do you have against him, anyway?

"His story was created on the same date that mine was," answered Miles, who looked away after seeing the two ponies sharing a kiss. "But once my story was abruptly put to an end, Stardust's story continued on, and now, nobody reads my story anymore."

Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but I don't see any way for you to 'kill' him.

Miles rolled his eyes, and said, "Of course you don't... but you know as well as I do that killing makes my dark powers grow stronger."

Then, with a sly grin, he added, "Plus, none of these ponies know the true way to defeat me... not even someone like Stardust can stop me... all thanks to the way I was written."

That still doesn't explain how exactly you plan on ending his life... and besides, your staff is currently in Twilight's library.

Hearing his inner voice say that sentence made Miles begin to laugh. "I'll worry about that when the time is right for me to return to that world... and as for Stardust..."

Miles waved his hoof again to create more portals, which also showed Stardust... except they showed him with a different love interest besides Twilight.

What is this?

"All of these Stardust's are connected in a special way," said Miles. "That one has him paired with Applejack, while these two show him with Fluttershy and Rarity... hell, this one shows what would have happened if he had ended up in Sunset's world instead of the one he's in right now..."

Then, his sly smile began to grow into a wide and evil grin. "And by the time he realizes it, it'll already be too late for him."

Before his inner voice could say anything else, Miles' body was covered in a dark-colored energy that resembled flames.

What are you doing?

"You mean you can't tell already?" Miles said, with an evil chuckle. "I'm killing every single one of these alternate Stardust's, and when it's time for me to return, I'm going to kill the real one."

Miles, please, don't do this to yourself. This is not what your author-

"I've heard enough from you, weakling!" Ignoring his inner voice, Miles went into the portal that led to a world where Stardust was romantically involved with Fluttershy.

Yes, Stardust, the two of us are certainly going to have quite the epic battle... and I'm going to enjoy seeing the look on your face when I rid you of the pony whom you care most about... hahahahahaha!

"Twilight? You okay?"

The purple alicorn looked from side to side, searching for something. "Yeah, I just... had a bad feeling about something terrible happening right now."

Rainbow Dash, who was also helping Casey pack Twilight's suitcase, rolled her eyes at what she said. "Well, duh, Twilight, it's only been a week since that hooded pony showed up. You probably just had a flashback or something."

"Yeah... maybe..." said Twilight, but she didn't look to sure.

Casey thought about what he could say to make her feel better. "Maybe you shouldn't go with Rainbow to the-"

"Are you kidding me?" exclaimed Rainbow, flying in front of Casey's face. "That's the worst thing you could possibly do!"

Twilight stepped in between the two of them, and said, "Hey, take it easy, Rainbow, he didn't know."

For those wondering, Twilight was going with Rainbow to the "Daring Do Convention" in Manehatten, and just like the one that Rainbow had went to last year, A.K. Yearling - the author of the "Daring Do" books that the two of them loved reading - was going to attend, although it was due to her not being able to make it last year because of "work reasons".

"Yeah, well, if he's going to be your special somepony," said Rainbow, starting to frown. "He should worry about knowing how to make you happy, not upset."

Casey felt embarrassed while Twilight started to blush. "We're starting as friends right now, Rainbow..."

The Pegasi pony simply shrugged, and went back to putting stuff in Twilight's suitcase.

"Sorry about that," said Twilight, looking at Casey. "I should have told you how important this convention actually is."

"It's alright, I think I understand," replied the red-faced Earth Pony. "Um... so are you going to have her sign all of those books?"

He was referring to the ones that they had already packed into Twilight's suitcase, and the purple alicorn nodded her head, smiling. "Uh-huh.. since somepony didn't get her latest one signed after that pony promised that she would."

Rainbow sheepishly looked at the two of them, and said, "Well, I had every intent of getting her to sign it, but things just... happened that got in the way of all that."

Twilight rolled her eyes, and said, "Yes, the small adventure you had with Daring Do and your new friend, Quibble Pants. Is he going there, too?"

"Probably," replied the athletic pony. "You'll like him, too, but I gotta warn you - he isn't a big fan of the books that come after the orignal trilogy."

"Really?" Twilight said, surprised. "How come?"

As she finished up with packing her friend's suitcase, Rainbow said, "He thinks they're all dumbed down and totally unrealistic... but we made up pretty much after Daring Do saved us."

"So, she's an actual pony?" Casey wondered, who assumed that "Daring Do" was only a fictional character.

"Uh, yeah, she is," replied Rainbow, a wide smile on her face. "And plus, me and Twilight know the author personally!"

Casey looked at Twilight, who chuckled as she said, "Long story, Casey. I'll tell you when we come back, okay?"

The Earth Pony smiled, and nodded his head. "Sure, can't wait to hear it."

Starity World

Knock-Knock-Knock!

"Oh, excuse me one moment, darling," said Rarity, pausing in front of the table where she had intended on "fixing" the mane and beard of her "special somepony".

Stardust, who still felt a bit stunned after receiving a kiss from the white pony, simply nodded his head.

Once Rarity was at the door, she assumed that Spike had come back to grab something he'd forgotten... but instead, it was a cloaked pony.

"Oh, hello, kind pony," said Rarity, giving her visitor a smile. "How may I help you today?"

With an evil laugh, Miles grinned as he saw the white unicorn start to become horrified. "By staying out of my way."

Several Worlds Later...

Limbo

Once his hooves were on the ground, Miles began to soak in his newly-acquired power.

"This is incredible..."

You must be real proud of yourself.

The dark-colored Pegasi rolled his eyes as he heard the voice of his kinder self inside his head.

"As a matter of fact, I do... killing all of those alternate Stardusts was easier than I thought."

You are a monster. What would your Twilight say?

Miles' happiness went away as he remembered what had happened to his Twilight, and he began to frown. "I don't care about that anymore... she's gone."

He then began closing all of the portals that had led to the worlds with alternate Stardusts.

What you are doing is wrong, Miles.

"Cry me a damn river," replied the cloaked pony, in a dry-toned voice.

What do you think will happen when you go up against the actual one?

"Simple... I kill him like I've killed everypony else..."

Miles then looked at the two remaining portals left, which showed the worlds of Casey and the real Stardust.

You still don't even have enough power to take him on since you no longer have the staff.

"Well, I'll just continue keeping an eye on these two worlds until the time is right for me to take it back," said Miles, shrugging his shoulders.

Looking at the one that showed Stardust's world, the cloaked pony added, "He'll never even see me coming..."

Sunset's World

It was around 7 a.m., and there was nothing but silence at Canterlot High School.

There was also no one there... except for one, who had just arrived at the front of the school.

"Okay, Rainbow, you got this," said the athletic teenager, standing in front of the statue that led to Princess Twilight's world. "Just step through the portal, and-"

"What in the world are you doing here, Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow turned around, and saw Rarity, who had her arms crossed and a stern expression on her face.

"Don't tell me you were trying to go to Ponyville."

Rainbow groaned, and said, "Aw, come on, Rarity, almost everybody else has met their pony counterparts! Why can't I just enjoy this awesome moment?"

"Because you might put both of our world's in danger," replied Rarity. "And you aren't going without me."

The athletic teenager's mouth almost dropped. "What? Why do you want to go?"

Rarity scoffed, acting as if the answer wasn't already obvious. "Because, darling, the other Rarity there wants me to spend a day at her boutique. The two of us would then-"

"Gah, okay, fine, just don't talk anymore about clothes," exclaimed Rainbow, waving her arms around so that her friend would stop.

"Lead the way," replied Rarity, giving her a sly smile.

Rainbow grinned, and said, "Well, don't mind if I do!"

She then took a few steps back, and ran as fast as she could towards the portal.

Inside of the library, Casey was in the middle of a book he was reading, but he'd stopped to think about what had happened the past few weeks.

He looked at the turtledove necklace he was wearing, thankful that he had been given it back... but part of him felt guilty, still, for actually losing it in the first place...

Then, suddenly, his concentration was interrupted by a familiar voice saying, "Hi, Casey!"

"Gah!" Casey jumped up a little, his book falling to the ground. "Who are... oh, hello, Starlight."

Twilight's pupil gave him a smile as she said, "Sorry if I scared you or anything."

"No, it's fine," replied Casey. "I was just, uh, focused on this book I was reading."

Starlight replied, "It wouldn't happen to be Daring Do, would it?"

Casey laughed, and shook his head. "No, not quite... why?"

"Cause that's all I ever hear Twilight and Rainbow talk about when the two of them are together in here." Starlight replied, rolling her eyes.

The young Earth Pony smiled, and said, "Well, it's not Daring Do... it's about time travel."

"Really?" Starlight said, surprised. "Why would you want to read about that?"

Casey nodded his head over at the deactivated Crystal Mirror time machine, and said, "Even though Twilight was able to defeat Mr. Cloaked Pony, the staff that powers that machine could be dangerous if it ever fell into the wrong hooves."

"I know the feeling," said a sad Starlight, remembering the "crazy time loop" catastrophe that she'd created as a plot for revenge against Twilight and her friends.

Then, right as she finished her sentence, the Crystal Mirror began to glow, and the machine started to activate.

"Um... Casey?" Starlight said, pointing at the machine. "Is that supposed to happen?"

The young Earth Pony glanced at the chart on the side, and said, "Huh, I wonder why Sunset is-"

But before he could finish, two ponies fell out of the mirror, and landed on the ground.

"That doesn't look like Sunset to me," replied Starlight.

"Well, duh," replied the human version of Rainbow Dash, although she was now transformed into a very similar version of her pony counterpart.

EG [Equestria Girls) Rarity opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was a curious Starlight.

"Oh, hello, darling," greeted the human-turned-pony. "Who might you be?"

"You mean you... don't..." Now confused, Starlight looked over at Casey for an answer.

"These are the human versions of Rarity and Rainbow," explained Casey, who was helping the athletic pony stand up. "They came from the world that Sunset stays at."

Starlight nodded her head, and looked back at EG Rarity. "Oh, well, then... my name is Starlight Glimmer."

"Starlight?" The white-colored pony said. "I didn't know Princess Twilight had a sister."

Casey tried holding in his laughter while a red hue came across Starlight's face.

"No, I'm not... we're not sisters... I'm her pupil..."

"Oh, well, my apologies, then," said EG Rarity. "I just assumed that was the case because you and her both have the word 'light' in your names."

"But we don't even have the same last name," pointed out the purple unicorn.

EG Rainbow interrupted their conversation by saying, "Hey, does anypony know where I can find the other me?"

"She's with Princess Twilight," answered Casey. "They're on a train right now that's headed for Manehatten because today's the day of the Daring Do Convention-"

"Daring Do?!" EG Rainbow cried, her eyes growing wide. "Awesome!"

Whoosh!

Before Casey could explain more, the blue Pegasus pony flew out the window, and having him say, "Um... okay, then..."

"Well, now that she's out of the way," said EG Rarity. "Would either of you mind showing me where Princess Twilight's castle is? I would like to see how it looks first before I visit my other self."

Starlight and Casey looked at each other, and the young unicorn said, "Er, Rarity, you're already in Twilight's castle."

To prove their point, Casey opened the library doors, allowing Rarity to see the castle's hallways and decorations.

"Oh, my gosh..." gasped EG Rarity, not knowing what else to say about the beauty in front of her.

Huh, thought Casey. You'd think they would be more concerned about the fact that they turned into ponies.

Time for Others

Stardust's World - Twilight's Castle (Library)

"You really shouldn't have teased him like that, Rainbow."

The winged pony rolled her eyes, and said, "Oh, come on, Twilight, I was just trying to get him to have some fun."

Twilight gave her a stern look as she said, "The last time that you tried that, he ended up forgetting a collection of special books that I ordered."

"Hey, that wasn't my fault, okay?" Rainbow exclaimed. "Besides, if it weren't for all that, we wouldn't spend time together."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, confused. "He's always with us."

Rainbow groaned, as if her friend didn't realize what she was trying to say. "Yeah, but I meant just the two of us, Twilight, he's always with you and Spike."

Before Twilight could reply, Rainbow continued to speak. "Heck, even Fluttershy gets to see him more than I do whenever he helps her out with all the animals she takes care of, and she used to like him."

Twilight kept on being silent, although her face was turning slightly red.

"And, yeah, okay, Spike is like his little brother, but with you, it's always the same thing!"

The purple alicorn frowned, and replied, "We don't always do the same thing."

"Oh, no?" Rainbow challenged, raising her eyebrow and crossing her limbs as she hovered in the air. "It's always book reading, non-perfect dates..."

"With you and Rarity interrupting one of them," pointed out Twilight, but Rainbow ignored her.

"... and every time something really bad happens, the two of you always do the same thing."

Imitating her friend's voice, Rainbow cried, "Jack, Jack, come back! Please don't do this on your own, we need to stick together."

Then, she tried her best imitation of Stardust. "No, love, I have to do this on my own."

Twilight tried holding in her laughter after hearing that, and thought, That's pretty good, actually.

"You get what I'm trying to say, Twilight?" Rainbow said, hoping that she finally understood her. "And where is he, by the way?"

"He's with Starlight," answered Twilight. "They went to her village so that-"

Rainbow groaned again, and said, "She's his student too? I thought Sunset was his pupil!"

The Princess of Friendship let out a heavy sigh, and said, "First off, Rainbow, you do know that you weren't exactly his favorite pony to begin with."

"And I still don't see why he thinks that-"

Twilight raised up her hoof to silence her friend. "I wasn't done... second, me and him are each other's special somepony, so, yeah, of course he wants to spend time with me."

Knowing that Twilight wasn't done with her lecture yet, Rainbow just nodded her head, and flew down to the ground.

"And third... I'm sorry about that."

Rolling her eyes, Rainbow said, "See? That's exactly what I..."

She stopped after realizing what Twilight had just said. "Huh?"

Walking over to her friend, Twilight said, "I'm sorry for not telling Jack that he also has to make time for his friends, aside from the time he's spent with me, Spike, and whenever he's with Sunset.

"But he also has a lot to deal with now than he did before, in regards to... you know..."

Rainbow sighed, and she nodded her head. "Yeah, I remember... how's that going, by the way?"

"He prefers not to talk about it a lot," said Twilight, giving a shrug. "Not that I don't blame him for it...

"But, anyway, I promise I'll do my best to convince him to try and spend more one-on-one time with you."

Feeling satisfied, Rainbow smiled, and said, "Thanks, Twilight, and I'm sorry for... hey, what's that?"

Rainbow was looking at the coffee table that Stardust had left Casey's gift on, except it was now unwrapped.

"It's some type of watch from a new friend of ours," replied Twilight, who was unable to see that Rainbow was playing around with it because she was putting books away. "But don't tell him that I opened it since he hasn't exactly-"

"Hey, Stardust! You got it working!"

"Aaagghh!" Rainbow yelped, releasing the watch from her hooves, and dropping it on the ground... with Twilight picking it up before it could be damaged.

"Casey?" Twilight said, while frowning at Rainbow, who mouthed her apology.

"Oh, hi, Princess Twilight, nice to hear from you again... I mean, even though there's a Twilight already here, so-"

Twilight chuckled, and said, "It's fine, Casey, but what-"

"Hello, Casey," said Rainbow, who was imitating Stardust again.

Before Twilight could scold her friend, they heard Casey say, "Oh, right... you're both here..."

Twilight slightly frowned as she said, "It's fine, Casey, I already talked with him regarding what happened when he saw your Twilight... I'm not mad."

"Right, got it... so, um, really quickly, this is a communicator watch that allows us to talk and to see each other without using the time machine."

As Twilight and Rainbow looked at the watch, Casey continued on. "It's powered by the same energy that the Silver Staff has, and it can even-"

Suddenly, there was the sound of static, and after a few minutes, Casey's voice came back. "Sorry about that, I have to go... something happened at the Daring Do convention in Manehatten regarding my Twilight, A.K. Yearling, the Rainbow Dash of this world and Sunset's worl-"

"Daring Do Convention?!" Rainbow cried, speaking in her regular voice. "And A.K. Yearling is there?! She never-"

"- goes to conventions, yeah... and hello, uh, other Rainbow... but you sound surprised."

Forgetting about imitating Stardust, Rainbow said, "Well, duh, me and Twilight are planning to go to the next one that's in a few weeks, and it's going to be A.K.'s first-"

"Hold on," interrupted Twilight. "Are you ponies having it today?"

"Yeah, and my Twilight was able to go this time since she couldn't last time."

Twilight frowned, and asked, "What happened last time?"

"Well, the Twilight here had to attend a friendship summit in Griffonstone, so only Rainbow got to go, who promised her that she'd get A.K. to sign it, but she ended up not getting it signed because-"

Casey was cut-off by some more static, and then... "Got to go! Later!"

CLICK!

Twilight looked at Rainbow, who said, "What?"

"You didn't get A.K. to sign my book?"

Rainbow waved her hooves in the air, saying, "Hey, don't get upset, Twilight, we haven't even gone there yet!"

"Well, I am definitely going this time," said Twilight, who was still frowning. "I'm sure I can convince Princess Celestia to change the summit to another date... so do not think of trying to go to that convention without me."

"Okay, okay, I won't," replied Rainbow. "And don't worry, I will make sure to get it signed if you're not able to-"

"I am going to that convention with you, Rainbow Dash," interrupted Twilight. "End... of... story..."

Twilight's castle library was now unoccupied, due to Casey going after EG Rainbow, and Starlight helping EG Rarity meet her pony counter-

"Casey? Twilight? Anypony here?"

Pinkie Pie entered the room, looking around for her friends. "I hope you don't mind if I use the Travel Thingy to go see my friends at Smile HD... okay?"

Obviously, there was no response.

"Okay, great, I won't be long!" Pinkie Pie yelled, and she began to turn on the machine.

"Smile HD"

When Pinkie Pie arrived back in the world that Miles had sent her to, she was surprised to see that Twilight was still reading a book by the same tree.

Pinkie was about to greet her again, just like before, but then, she heard the "fast version" of her song playing again.

My name is Pinkie Pie

Hello!

And I am here to say

How ya doin'?

Pinkie also saw another version of herself, and guessed that it was the Pinkie Pie of this world.

Aw, what a beautiful smile she has, thought the pink-colored pony.

I'm gonna make you smile

And I will brighten up your day

It doesn't matter now

What's up?

If you are sad or blue

Howdy!

Then, Pinkie saw her other self jump up in the air, with the other Twilight waving her arm to tell her "hello"...

... and the next thing she knew, Pinkie found herself back in the library.

"Huh, that was quick," said Pinkie, giving a shrug. "Oh, well, I'm sure that nothing bad happened."

Limbo

"She'll thank me for that one day," muttered Miles. "Can't believe that other damn Pinkie got out."

I'm actually very surprised that you sent her back to the library,

Rolling his eyes, the yellow pony replied, "I have no issues with Pinkie, aside from that damn sticky cheese... so she does not deserve to see what horrifying things were going to happen at the hands of that... freak who doesn't even deserve to be called Pinkie Pie."

Just be glad that Rainbow has no intentions of returning to "Cupcakes".

Stardust's World

"Are we seriously going to have a meeting about this?"

"Yes, we are, Rainbow... it'll be good for everypony."

The two ponies were now sitting inside the castle's throne room, and one by one, the rest of their friends made their way in, as well, minus Starlight and Stardust.

"Is everything alright, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, looking at Twilight. "You sounded pretty concerned while tellin' us to come here."

Twilight nodded her head, and once everypony was in their own throne, she asked, "Have any of you ever felt that Jack doesn't spend enough one-on-one time with you?"

As a slightly embarrassed Rainbow crouched down in her throne, Applejack spoke first. "Not really... just last week, he was helpin' me out with feedin' the animals and makin' some cider. He even played around with Applebloom for a lil' bit."

"And I never really did thank him for going to see the play that Sweetie Belle wrote," said Rarity, with a smile on her face. "Although I still wish he'd come in weekly instead of monthly for his mane-and-beard check up."

Twilight chuckled, and looked over at Pinkie Pie, who said, "Well, there was the time that he helped me run the bakery... that time we both made a bunch of brownies and other sweet stuff together... helping me keep a secret about the baby..."

"Um, it's okay, Pinkie," interrupted the young alicorn, nodding her head. "I think I've got it."

Pinkie nodded her head, and looked over at Fluttershy, who said, "Well, um... there was that time he checked on me after the 'bat' incident... and he comes every once in a while to help me take care of the animals, although he tries to avoid not having to hang his cloak to dry when it's time to give Angel a bath."

"Why wouldn't he?" Twilight asked, now confused.

"Because the last time he did, Discord came over for some tea, and he set Stardust's cloak on fire because-"

Before she could continue her story, Pinkie Pie was suddenly next to Rainbow. "How about you? What have you and Stardust done together?"

The winged Pegasi waited until her friend went back to her throne, and then, she replied, "Well... we did have a conversation after the whole thing with Tank going into hibernation, and it helped me not to feel so bad about it anymore."

Twilight smiled, and nodded while Applejack, who was now confused, asked, "So, is this about Jack... or...?"

Rainbow groaned, and replied, "No, this is about me telling Twilight earlier that I don't think me and him are spending enough one-on-one time together to hang out and do fun stuff that doesn't involve being with Twilight or staying in bed, or even just reading a book... instead, he's doing all of that, or being with you girls."

Rarity rolled her eyes after hearing her friend say that. "Of course he'd want to stay in bed, Rainbow... considering all that he's done for us and everypony else that we know."

"Yeah, and the fact that he's dealt with evil baddies like Nightmare Moon, Flim and Flam, Discord, Trixie, the Changelings, Tirek, Starlight," added Pinkie Pie, as she counted down the villains they had all encountered in the past.

"And, I don't think he's doin' it intentionally, Rainbow," said Applejack, which made Rainbow give her a confused look. "It's probably a subconscious thing, and he doesn't even realize that he is doin' it."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Rainbow.

The hard-working Earth Pony let out a sigh as she tried to explain. "Pardon my honesty... and in no way am I tryin' to make him see like a bad pony, Twilight... but it's no secret that when we first tried to be friends with him, back when Twilight was still givin' Princess Celestia her friendship letters, you weren't exactly on the top o' his list of ponies he wanted to be with.

"Plus, he always kept callin' you a ripoff of that Sonic critter or whatever it was, and when his body was takin' over by Sombra, we all heard him say that he was your least favorite."

While Rainbow slunk down further in her throne, Twilight frowned at Applejack, who shrugged at the alicorn. "Hey, I told y'all pardon for me bein' honest."

"Thanks, AJ," mumbled Rainbow, who was now trying to cover her face with one of her wings.

Once Starlight had showed EG Rarity the way to her counterpart's home, she went back to the library to take another look at the Crystal Mirror time machine.

I need to know exactly what we're dealing with just in case Mr. Hooded Pony shows up again, thought Starlight, and once she was in front of the library, she used her magic to open the doors and step inside.

To her surprise, the young unicorn found a dizzy-looking Pinkie Pie, with the machine turned on. "What the... Pinkie, what happened to you?"

Pinkie shook her head a few times to make the dizziness go away, and looked at her friend. "I was only using this check on the world that Mr. Hood Pony sent me to, and I see the same thing every time, but before I can see what my other self does next, I end up back here... it's kind of fun!"

Before Starlight could even respond, Pinkie went behind her, and pushed her towards the mirror. "Here, you try it!"

"Aaaagghhh!" yelled Starlight, as she went inside, and was transported to the world of Smile HD.

Pinkie Pie nodded her head, and said, "Yep, she's going to come right back here any second now."

Limbo

Miles couldn't control his laughter as he watched what Starlight was going through in the horrifying world.

You sick monster! How could you do that?!

"Call it payback for her trying to stop me at the Crystal Empire," replied Miles, still laughing.

At least save her before Anti-Pinkie destroys the planet.

The cloaked pony rolled his eyes, and said, "Oh, fine..."

When Starlight came out, Pinkie Pie said, "Wow, you're so lucky, you stayed there longer than I did!"

"No... you're the lucky one," replied Starlight, who had a look of shock mixed with fear on her face. "I saw terrible things... horrifying things... in fact, I'm going to my room right now to do a spell that will erase what I just saw so that I never have to remember it."

She then looked at the pink pony, and said, "Pinkie promise that you will never, ever, *ever*** go to that world again... ever..."

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," replied the party-planning pony.

"Good..." said Starlight, who was still in shock, and she began to make her way to her room. "Don't disturb me for a half hour... please..."

As she walked away, Pinkie looked back at the machine, and wondered what exactly Starlight had seen.

"Aw, well, probably not important," she said, shrugging her small shoulders.

Awesome as I wanna be!

Having been able to catch up to the Friendship Express, EG Rainbow had been introduced to her pony counterpart, and she was now showing her (as well as Twilight) the song that she'd written back at CHS, via her vocals and air-guitar.

First you see me riding on a sonic boom.
Got my guitar shreddin' up my latest tune.
There is nothin' you can do to beat me.
I'm so good that you can't defeat me.

Rainbow was speechless at what her EG counterpart was singing, and while Twilight was simply laying back, due to her already having heard it before.

Yeah, I'm awesome, take caution.
Watch out for me, I'm awesome as I wanna be.
(Yeah!) I'm awesome, take caution.
Watch out for me, I'm awesome as I wanna be.

Step aside now, you're just gettin' in my way.
I got sick chops you could never hope to play.
When it comes to makin' music, I'm the ruler.
You wish you could be twenty percent cooler.

Yeah, I'm awesome, take caution.
Watch out for me, I'm awesome as I wanna be.
(Yeah!) I'm awesome, take caution.
Watch out for me, I'm awesome as I wanna be!

Once she had finished, EG Rainbow gave a satisfied nod, and looked at the two ponies in front of her. "So, how was that?"

Her pony counterpart, whose mouth was wide open with surprise, said, "Best... song... ever!"

A Special Connection

When Twilight finally returned to the castle, Spike was surprised to see that she was tired.

"Long day, Twilight?"

"Uh-huh," replied the young alicorn, before she released a yawn. "I had to deal with two versions of Rainbow Dash... ours, and the one from Sunset's world."

Looking over at Spike, she asked, "What about you? How was your day today?"

[Flashback]

"Oh, you are so adorable," swooned EG Rarity, giving the little dragon a hug.

"Hey, you leave my Spikey Wikey alone," replied Rarity, a frown on her face.

"Ooh, you even have an adorable nickname!" EG Rarity cried, her face beaming with happiness.

As for Spike, he couldn't believe what was happening. "Best... day... ever..."

[Present]

"Eh, nothing much," said Spike, as he tried hiding his grin from Twilight. "But Starlight has been in her room almost all day."

"Really?" Twilight said, surprised. "Wow... how come?"

As the young dragon led the alicorn to her pupil's bedroom, he replied, "I'm not sure exactly... I was actually going to give her this cup of tea."

Once they were in front of Starlight's door, Twilight knocked on it a few times, and asked, "Starlight? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine... you can come in, if you want."

So, Spike turned the doorknob, opening the door, and they saw Starlight sitting up in her bed, with a book on her lap.

"I made you some tea," said the young dragon, offering the cup to his friend.

Starlight smiled, and graciously accepted the warm drink. "Thank you, Spike..."

"He said that you've been in here almost the whole day," said Twilight, concerned for her friend. "You didn't work too hard while taking care of Sunburst, did you?"

The purple unicorn shook her head, and after taking a sip of the tea, she replied, "It was probably just a bad day for me... the last thing I remember was coming home, talking to Casey... and that's it."

"Well, as long as you're okay, that's good for me," said Twilight, giving her a smile. "Good night, Starlight."

"Night, Starlight," said the small dragon.

"Good night, Twilight... night, Spike, and thanks for the tea."

With that, Twilight and Spike left the room, with her #1 assistant saying, "Where is Casey anyway? I haven't seen him all day."

"I'm... here... Spike..." The Earth Pony said, suddenly appearing in front of them, and sounding breathless. "Rainbow... Dash... fast... pony..."

Twilight chuckled, and looked at her reptile friend. "Spike, you mind making another cup of tea?"

"No problem, Twilight," said Spike, as he headed over to the kitchen.

Casey looked at the alicorn princess, and said, "I'm so glad that you were able to convince her to go back to Sunset's world..."

Twilight frowned, in confusion, and replied, "I thought you were the one taking her back."

"No, I only took the other Rarity back," said Casey, also confused.

Twilight tilted her head to the side. "Then, who is... Pinkie!"

"Uh, what kind of world is called Cupcakes?" EG Rainbow asked.

The pink-colored pony shrugged, and said, "I don't know... you want to find out?"

Before EG Rainbow could reply, Twilight burst into the room, and cried, "Pinkie, don't... oh... you're both still here..."

"Hiya, Twilight," said Pinkie, waving one of her limbs. "I was just helping the other Rainbow go home."

"Well, thanks, Pinkie, but I can take it from here," said Twilight, walking over to the side of the machine.

Pinkie became silent, for a moment, before she nodded her head, and left the library.

"Wow, Twilight," said EG Rainbow, shaking her head. "And I thought our Pinkie was strange..."

"I try not to question it," said Twilight.

Limbo

After seeing that nighttime had fallen in both worlds, Miles let out a yawn, and used his imagination to have a bed appear in front of him.

Tired, are we?

"Hey, even ponies like me need sleep," muttered Miles, his eyelids beginning to close as he climbed into bed. "I ain't some immortal vampire."

But before going to sleep, his inner voice had one more thing to say.

If what you say is true... and Twilight IS gone... keep in mind that she's probably watching over you... imagine what she'd say...

A small tear dropped down from one of Miles' closed eyes, and he said, "I told you... it doesn't matter anymore... and she wouldn't watch over someone like me."

Stardust's World - Twilight's Castle

The alicorn princess, young dragon, and human-turned-pony were currently sound asleep, in their own rooms.

All of the lights were turned off, and everything seemed normal... but, then, in Twilight's bedroom, a white and ghost-like orb suddenly appeared.

It floated in the air, hovering above the young pony, and slowly descended towards her head, fading away as it entered Twilight's mind...

Then, a few minutes later, Twilight suddenly woke up, taking several deep breaths, and quickly jumped out of her bed.

She left the room, wanting to check her special somepony, and once she reached the door to his room, Twilight carefully opened it...

A smile appeared on her face as she found Stardust sound asleep, his mouth mouthing a few words that she couldn't quite make out.

"Stardust?" Twilight whispered, nudging his body with her hoof.

The young pony remained silent, and as she gently traced her hoof alongside his face, a smile appeared on his face.

I wonder if he's dreaming about me, thought Twilight.

As an answer, Stardust sleepingly muttered, "Go, go, power ponies..."

Trying to hold back her laughter, Twilight made a mental note to remind him of that moment, if the time ever came, and before leaving the room, she gave him a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Good night... my warrior..."

Then, once she was out of his room, Twilight returned to her own bed to sleep... unaware of the fact that the ghost-like orb was still in her mind.

Things Get Worse, Part 1

Limbo

After waking up, Miles had spent a great deal of time looking at the portal that showed the version of Equestria where Stardust lived.

What exactly are you thinking about doing? You've been watching what goes on in that world for hours.

"No need to worry," said the cloaked pony. "It's just a precaution back-up plan in case the fight with Stardust does not go the way I intend it to."

And what sort of plan would that be?

As he continued watching over the portal, Miles explained, "It's a little similar to the butterfly effect... if I go back to the day that Stardust first arrived in Ponyville, and kill him, then all of the memories and events and such that take place after will eventually fade away, as if they never happened..."

He then used his imagination to create a tombstone in front of him that had an engraving of Stardust's Cutie Mark.

"Then, by the time it reaches him, it'll already be too late... he'll end up like the way the memory of Voldemort did after Harry stabbed the diary with the basilisk fang."

Are you insane? That would literally cause severe damage to the timeline of that world... and what's worse is that you could do the same to the world you found Casey at.

"... So?" Miles replied, sounding like he could care less about what happened. "In the meantime, let's see how loyal Stardust can be when it comes to helping out his new friends..."

Waving his hoofs around, Miles conjured up a black orb of energy, and his muzzle became a wide grin as it started to morph into something big.

Is that supposed to be...?

"Indeed it is," laughed Miles, as his new creation began to resemble that of a dragon. "With some adjustments, of course."

Having successfully erased the memories of Smile HD from her mind, Starlight felt a little better when she woke up the following morning.

Do I smell pancakes?

Leaving the room, the magical-powered unicorn headed to the dining room, and found Twilight, Spike, and Casey already starting to eat breakfast.

"Good morning, Starlight," greeted Twilight. "You seem a lot better than last night."

"Yeah, the day's definitely off to a great start," replied Starlight, taking her seat next to Casey, with Spike handing her a plate of pancakes. "But I still can't remember why I ended up staying in bed in the first place."

Casey took a big gulp of his chewed-up food, and said, "Everyone has their off days... and now, we can enjoy a normal Sunday."

Starlight chuckled, and raised an eyebrow as she asked, "What do you mean normal?"

"Well, the other versions of Rarity and Rainbow are back in Sunset's world," explained Casey. "And my former master is trapped in that world Twilight sent him to, so I see no reason for anything bad to happen..."

Starlight was about to give her response when an unfamiliar voice (to him) appeared. "Well, new pony, that's where I come in!"

Casey looked around the room, but didn't see anypony else besides the other three. "Who was that?"

"Discord," replied Twilight and Starlight, at the same time, with looks of amusement on their faces.

And to prove their point, the draconequus suddenly appeared in the chair next to Twilight. "Well, well, well, princess, I never imagined you'd find your special somepony so soon."

Both Casey and Twilight started blushing, and the Princess of Friendship said, "We're just good friends, Discord..."

A sad frown appeared on Discord's face as he said, "Oh? My apologies, then... I feel sorry for you, new pony."

He snapped his two yellow-claw fingers, and Casey looked down to see that he was now wearing a shirt that read "NOTHING MORE THAN FRIENDS" on the front.

"You must have pretty high standards, then, Twilight," replied Discord, while Casey tried taking the shirt off.

Seeing that he was having trouble, Starlight chuckled, and used her own magic to make it disappear.

"I meant that we're getting to know each other," frowned Twilight, whose face was still red. "I never exactly..."

"Ah-ah-ah, say no more, princess," said Discord, putting a bear finger to her lips.

With another finger snap, the spirit of disharmony appeared next to Casey, who almost jumped out of his seat.

"So, New Pony, how does somepony like you end up from being a slave to the hooded pony that turned me to stone... to Twilight's new friend?"

"Uh... well, my name is Casey, actually," corrected the young pony, remembering what the cloaked pony had mentioned to him about Discord. "And I just decided that I didn't want to be-"

"Ah, so you reformed yourself, in a way," interrupted Discord, who then made a graduation cap appear on the pony's head. "Good for you, Casey... wouldn't want that darkness inside of you to cause any serious damage, right?"

Before Casey could ask what he meant by that, Discord looked over at Twilight. "Oh, and by the way, princess, I just remembered now that I had something important to tell you."

"And what exactly would that be?" Twilight asked, giving him a suspicious look.

Stardust's World

"Aaagghh... [BEEP]..." exclaimed Stardust, putting a hoof to his forehead.

"You okay?" Twilight asked, looking at him with concern.

Stardust nodded his head. "I just felt... like... something awful was about to happen... like Equestria Girls awful..."

Twilight rolled her eyes, but still smiled as she said, "I get it, you don't like being there... but do you think Casey might have-"

"If Casey is having those type of problems," replied Stardust, who was trying his best to not look disgusted. "Then, he's on his own... I can only handle so much."

"Stardust..."

The golden-colored pony shook his head. "We've all talked about this, Twilight, I am not going to Casey's world unless it's an extreme emergency..."

Twilight was about to argue with him some more, but Stardust added, "Nope, nope, nope... besides, I have yet to see that world produce any type of actual threat to Equestria."

"You couldn't tell me about this earlier?!"

Twilight and Spike, as well as Discord, Starlight, and Casey, were now outside of the castle... and saw that everypony they knew in Ponyville were running into their homes, or as far away as possible.

And the reason for that was because of a winged, purple-colored dragon that was coming from Sweet Apple Acres.

"I was going to tell you right away," replied Discord, giving a shrug. "But I wanted to introduce myself to Casey here first... wait, where did he go?"

"Hey! Giant monster thing!"

The spirit of disharmony saw where the young pony had run off to, and said, "Ah, there he is, confronting the monster."

"Just what exactly do you think you're doing?" Casey asked.

The dragon looked down at the ground, and began to laugh. "You must be very brave to stand up to me, little pony."

After hearing it speak, a look of confusion appeared on Casey's face. "Why do you sound like Twilight?"

"I asked myself the same exact question," said Discord, as he and the others caught up to him.

"That's because that is me..." Twilight replied, frowning as she looked up at the dragon. "Sort of... isn't that right, Sci-Twi?"

"The other Twilight from Sunset's world?" Spike said, also looking up at the large dragon

The reptilian creature laughed as she said, "I'm all Midnight Sparkle, princess... and I came here to get that silver staff you're hiding in your castle."

Realizing that the hooded pony was behind this, Twilight cried, "There's no way you're getting that staff!"

"Oh, is that so?" Midnight Sparkle said, a sly grin on her face. "And how do you plan on stopping me?"

"With the help from her friends," said Applejack, running over to be at Twilight's side.

The others (Rarity, Rainbow, and Fluttershy) weren't very far behind, with Fluttershy saying, "That's right... and you're no different than any other dragon we've met in the past."

"That's where you're wrong, little pony," replied Midnight Sparkle, and to prove her point, she started breathing out massive blasts of flame into the air.

Rainbow Dash gulped, and turned to look at Spike. "Uh... I don't suppose you can do something like that?"

Spike shook his head, while Twilight suddenly had an idea.

"Discord, take Casey to the castle, and make sure that she's not able to get to it!"

"Why me?" Casey asked. "I should be helping you fight that thing!"

Twilight shook her head, and said, "I need you to get some help... by using the Crystal Mirror?"

"Oh..." The young pony replied, and he nodded his head. "Got it."

With that, Discord stood next to Casey, and after snapping his fingers, they were gone in the blink of an eye.

As for Twilight, she looked up at her... dragon counterpart, and cried, "You'll have to get through all of us first!"

"If that's how you choose to die, than so be it," said Midnight Sparkle, her eyes glowing with anger.

"Yep, that's definitely not the other Twilight," said Spike.

Once they were in the castle, Casey looked at Discord. "So, how exactly do you plan on stopping that thing from coming in here?"

The master of Chaos nodded his head over to the window, and said, "I'm already working on it."

Looking outside, Casey saw that the castle was now becoming surrounded by large and spiked branches that were very similar to the ones that had come from his planted seeds.

"Um, are you sure those will work, Discord?"

Discord scoffed, and said, "Trust me, New Pony, I know what I'm doing... now, go and get that help!"

Deciding to have as much as faith in Discord as he possibly could, Casey raced towards the library, and started to turn on the machine.

However, he also noticed the wristwatch on a nearby coffee table, and remembered about Stardust.

I'm pretty sure this would count as an emergency, thought Casey. But it seemed like Twilight wanted me to get help from Sunset and her friends.

Looking back and forth between the watch and the Crystal Mirror, the young pony sighed, and said, "Well... here goes nothing..."

Things Get Worse, Part 2

Limbo

Laughing in what he felt was complete victory, Miles said, "This is way better than I planned... he's actually not going to help him at all."

Well, to be fair, there is no need for him to help Twilight and the others.

He has his own problems in the world that he lives in, and he's not exactly fond of anything that occurs in Sunset Shimmer's world.

"Really? Huh..." The cloaked pony gave a shrug. "Ah, well, what matters is that once Midnight Sparkle retrieves the staff for me, I'll be able to unleash all of my dark magic, and send Stardust Balance to Hell!"

Or he could do to you what he's done to everypony else that he's fought in his world.

Miles gritted his teeth in frustration, and muttered, "I'd rather have Sombra in my damn head instead of you."

Then that would be copying someone else's work.. and that someone could probably file a-

"Shut up!"

Stardust's World

"For the last time, love, I am not... repeat, not... going over there."

Twilight sighed, and she said, "Okay, fine... you don't have to go..."

"Thank you," replied Stardust, glad that she accepted his answer. "Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a pillow that has my-"

"But I need you to do something else instead," added Twilight, walking over to stand in front of him, so that he couldn't leave.

Knowing that he wouldn't be going back to sleep anytime soon, Stardust let out a sigh, and asked, "What exactly did you have in mind?"

With a serious facial expression, Twilight replied, "I want you to start spending a little more time with Rainbow Dash... starting today."

For a moment, Stardust remained silent, and then, he asked, "Why would I do that?"

Twilight just raised one of her eyebrows. "Because she's your friend?"

"Yeah, but so are a lot of other ponies," pointed out the young pony. "And besides, I'm sure Rainbow would just want to fly around, talk about the WonderBolts-"

"You don't know that, for sure," said Twilight, who was seeing that he wasn't getting it. "Tell me, when was the last time you and her spent some one-on-one time together to hang out as friends?"

Stardust opened his mouth to respond, but Twilight cut him off. "Besides you comforting her when she was worried about Tank."

"Okay, fine, I can't remember exactly when right now," replied Stardust, who was starting to get slightly irritated. "I still don't get why-"

Twilight stopped him by holding up one of her hooves. "Let me finish... when was the last time you spent time with Rarity?"

"Well, there was the problem she had with Sassy Saddles..." said Stardust.

The young alicorn nodded her head. "And Fluttershy?"

Stardust thought about it for a moment, and said, "I helped convince her to not be so scared during Nightmare Night..."

"And Applejack?"

The golden-colored pony smiled as he answered, "I helped her out with some chores at the farm, and I even got to play around with Applebloom.

"And before you ask, yes, I even spent a day baking sweets with Pinkie Pie."

"Uh-huh," agreed Twilight, sensing that he was almost getting it now. "Now, let me ask you this - who was your least favorite pony to be with when we first met you?"

"Well, that's an easy one... Rainbow Dash," replied Stardust. "But that was a long time ago, Twi-"

Twilight held up her hoof again, saying, "I know, but let me finish... when you were, um, taken over by..."

Way to keep things subtle, princess.

Not now, Sombra, thought Stardust.

"... do you remember what you told Rainbow?"

"Unfortunately, yes," replied Stardust, even though he preferred to not think much about that day.

Twilight nodded her head. "Ok, great... now who was the one pony that you had trouble with, in regards to remembering a special time or day?"

Rolling his eues, Stardust scoffed, and replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "That one is easy, as well... it's Rainb-"

But he then started realizing what Twilight was trying to say to him, and the young pony now had a sheepish expression on his face. "Ohhhh... right."

Twilight sighed, and placed a comforting hoof on his shoulder. "Look, Jack, you know how grateful me and Spike are for having somepony like you in our lives... but there are other ponies that we know who want to show you their gratitude, as well."

Instead of giving a response, Stardust kept quiet as he let Twilight continue her friendship lecture.

"In regards to Rainbow, I have a feeling that you're avoiding time with her subconsciously... sure, there have been some wonderful moments that you two have probably had together, but it's been a while since you and her have spent a day to hang out."

Stardust found himself lowering his head in slight disappointment (with himself), but Twilight quickly brought it up so that he could see her smiling face.

"You're a great person, Jack, and I'm glad that you're my special somepony... but others need to know themselves how great you could be.

She's right, you know.

Stardust chucked as he listened to his elderly friend, along with finally understanding what Twilight meant. "I'll work on it..."

Oh, I'm sure that you will, boy.

And before she could argue with him, Stardust added, "And yes, starting today, love."

"Good," said Twilight, stepping aside a little. "Remember, Jack, you're special to a lot of our friends, including Sunset and Starlight... but it's your job to show them yourself... understand?"

Stardust nodded, and he started to head out of the castle. "Loud and clear, Twilight... guess I'll see you later, then?"

"Uh-huh," replied the Princess of Friendship. "Have fun!"

Stardust chuckled, and he replied, "I'll try to, love..."

Kissing her on the cheek, the young pony walked away, and once he was gone, Twilight began to remember something.

I wonder if I should tell him about the dream I had.

World of "Equestria Girls"

As Casey stepped out of the portal, he began to speak at a fast pace. "Sunset, it's an emergency, Twilight and I..."

However, he stopped after seeing - and realizing - that Celestia's former student was not there... instead, Casey found himself meeting two other humans instead of Sunset Shimmer.

"Who exactly are you supposed to be?"

That reply came from one of the teenage girls, whose white-and-blue hair was in pigtails, and she also had on a pair of orange-colored sunglasses.

Casey gulped, and he said, "Um, well, I..."

"Oh, don't mind Sugarcoat," replied the other teenager, who had her rose-colored hair in a ponytail, along with a few aquamarine streaks. "She was just born that way."

Before Casey could reply, she had a sour-like expression on her face as she asked, "What do you even want with Sunset Shimmer anyway?"

"That's Sour Sweet," replied Sugarcoat, who had her arms crossed. "You came from the pony world that Princess Twilight lives in?"

Nodding his head, Casey replied, "Yes, and I need to bring Sunset back with me so that she can help us-"

"Oh, well, why didn't you just say so?" Sour Sweet replied, her tone back to being sweet and innocent. "We were just headed to her house ourselves... come on, I'll give you a ride."

As she started walking towards her car nearby, Casey looked at Sugarcoat, who said, "I'd hurry up and accept that offer before she decides to change her mind, and take it back."

"Uh, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash said, as she dodged another one of Midnight Sparkle's fireblasts. "How long do we have to keep her away from the castle?"

"Just until Casey comes back here with Sunset Shimmer," replied Twilight, who shot her own magical blast at the dragon's chest. "He should be talking to her already by now."

Whoosh!

Pushing Twilight and Fluttershy out of the way, in order to avoid a giant fireball, Rainbow Dash exclaimed, "Well, I hope he hurries it up cause we're not exactly stacked with time here."

"You foolish ponies," cackled the alter-ego of Sci Twi. "Not even that pathetic human can stop me from getting that staff, and bringing it to-"

"OH, GIANT SPARKLE MONSTER! OVER HERE!"

Midnight Sparkle growled, and turned around to see Pinkie Pie a few feet away, with a tuba in her hooves.

"Uh, what is she doing?" Rainbow whispered to Twilight, who shrugged her shoulders.

The purple dragon landed in front of the party-planning Earth Pony, and asked, "What in Equestria do you want?"

Pinkie Pie shook her head, and replied, "First of all, you have no idea how to be a real villain, do you?"

"What?!" Midnight Sparkle yelled, her eyes glowing with anger. "I could roast you right now like a turkey."

"Oh, I've had to deal with worser things," replied Pinkie, a smirk on her face. "And I could probably teach you a thing or two..."

Up in the sky, Fluttershy flew over to be next to Twilight, whispering, "I think she's giving Casey more time."

"All right, then, pony, what is it that you could teach me?" Midnight Sparkle said, looking at Pinkie with a non-amused facial expression.

Pinkie Pie waited a moment before she took a deep breath, and cried, "A five, six, seven, EIGHT!"

As she began playing the musical instrument in her hooves, the rest of her friends watched with confusion, and then, Pinkie started to sing a song that was now keeping Midnight distracted, for the time being.

"Well, I still hope Casey hurries up over here," whispered Rainbow, with Twilight letting out a sigh.

The World of "Equestria Girls"

"Midnight Sparkle?" Sunset Shimmer said, who looked shocked and afraid.

"B-but that's impossible," added Sci Twi, who was standing next to her friend. "I was her, and I'm standing right here."

Casey nodded his head, and replied, "Yeah, I know, but that's what she called herself, and she sounds a lot like you... and the other Twilight..."

Sunset looked at Sci Twi, and she asked, "Should we use them?"

"Yeah, we definitely should..." replied the human version of Twilight.

"Uh, who's we?" Casey said, confused.

Sunset gave the young teenager a serious look, and said, "You and Princess Twilight won't just need my help, Casey... you'll also need her help, and the others, too."

"What about us, then, huh?"

The three of them looked at Sugarcoat and Sour Sweet, who had now switched over to her "sweeter" side. "You weren't planning on leaving us here, were you?"

"Um, no offense," replied Sunset, while Sci Twi nervously chuckled. "But I don't know how much help exactly you two could give or do for us."

"Well, that's just great!" Sour Sweet exclaimed, no longer sounding like a kind person.

As for Sugarcoat, she simply said, "You'd better let us help when the next story comes, then."

Casey looked at Sunset and Sci Twi, who both gave him a shrug.

Stardust's World

I would rather find out whatever it is that Casey is having trouble with than spending the rest of today listening to that pony with a giant ego.

"Hey, suck it up, Sombra, I promised Twilight I would do this," said Stardust, who was currently in search of Rainbow Dash. "And besides, she's right... I haven't been a really good friend to Rainbow ever since-"

I almost had your body in my full control?

Don't worry about him, Jack, just focus on making Rainbow Dash smile and feel like you care about your friendship with each other.

Easier said than done, elderly one.

Stardust just rolled his eyes, and said, "I'm positive that Casey and the parallel versions of the others can handle whatever situation is happening to them right now... and it's probably not even that big of a deal."

The World of "Equestria Girls"

"You know, it's a good thing you didn't ask Stardust Balance to help out," said Sunset. "He hates this world with a passion..."

"Hey!" Sour Sweet yelled, now looking annoyed.

The five of them, along with everyone else (Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy) were now by the Canterlot statue that held the portal to travel to Twilight's world.

"Well, aside from us and Sunset and our Twilight," replied Applejack's human counterpart. "But I don't really know myself what he thinks of those two."

"Hey!" Sour Sweet repeated, although this time, she said it with a sad and hurtful expression.

Sugarcoat blinked her eyes a few times before saying, "He probably thinks that characters like us don't deserve to even exist."

Casey looked at Sunset, who replied, "You'll have to ask him yourself."

Discord was currently in Twilight's library, pacing back and forth as he continued waiting for Casey to return.

Then, he stopped moving after noticing that the portal was opening itself up.

"Took you long enough," retorted Discord, as he watched Casey step out of the mirror.

"Well, there was a little, um... discussion that needed to happen," replied Casey, and Discord watched with surprise as Sunset Shimmer stepped out, as well, now back to her old unicorn self.

Then, it took only a few more seconds for Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Sci Twi to step out, which shocked Discord even more.

"You brought over all of them?" Discord exclaimed.

"Well... yeah, but it was something that I had to do," replied Casey. "And they have a plan on stopping Midnight Sparkle."

Discord raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Oh, they do, huh? Well, this ought to be an interesting battle then..."

Taking a look at the necklace around her neck, which contained a red-colored geode, Sunset said, "Oh, trust me, you're going to enjoy this one."

With a snap of his fingers, Discord had on a dark pair of sunglasses, and one of his arms was holding onto a bag of popcorn.

"Well, then, what are we waiting for?"

Taking Care of Business

Stardust's World

"So... you're serious about this, Stardust?"

The golden pony nodded his head, and said, "Uh-huh... I'm hanging out with you for the rest of the day."

Giving him a suspicious look, Rainbow asked, "Did Twilight put you up to this?"

Choose your words wisely, boy, said Sombra, much to Stardust's surprise.

"No, but she did help me realize that I haven't exactly spent my fair share of friendship time with you," admitted the young pony. "And I apologize for that..."

Rainbow could almost feel her muzzle drop. "You're apologizing to me?"

"Yeah, but don't push it," replied Stardust, giving his friend a smirk. "Still a little irritated that you told everyone what happened with the other Twilight."

Rainbow let out a chuckle, and said, "Aw, come on, that was all in good humor... had to find some way to have fun wi-"

"And speaking of that, you haven't made any more bets with Applejack, have you?"

[Flashback]

The Earth Pony looked at Rainbow, and said, "So you think that Stardust is gonna go all goo-goo eyes again?"

"Uh-huh," replied Rainbow. "And it'll be in front of Twilight, too... the one here, I mean."

As the two of them shook hooves, Applejack didn't look too sure about something. "I still think he's going to try and beat the hay outta you if he finds out you keep makin' bets on the two of them."

"Pfffft! Puh-lease, that'll never happen!"

[Present]

"Well, of course not," answered Rainbow, with a straight face. "Jeez, Stardust, what do you take me for?"

"Hey, I just had to ask, alright?" Stardust said, not wanting to end up having both Rainbow and Twilight upset with him for messing up.

Rainbow was almost convinced now, but there was just one last thing she wanted him to do.

"And what would that be?" Stardust said, after she had told him this.

Rainbow started to grin, and she replied, "You and me are going to race from this spot, and stop at the front of the Everfree Forest."

How unsurprising... of course she would choose that.

"That's five miles, Rainbow," exclaimed Stardust, who wasn't exactly prepared for a race. "And I don't even have wings."

Rainbow rolled her eyes, and said, "I can see that, Stardust, we're going to race on the ground... what do you say?"

Stardust didn't look too sure, so Rainbow decided to give him a little "push".

"So, the human-turned-pony who fought the Changeling Queen, Discord, Tirek, and even pre-reformed Starlight can't even handle a simple race?"

Stardust gritted his teeth together, and said, "Hey, I never said that I couldn't race you, Rainbow... and I can handle it."

"Well, prove it then," said Rainbow, giving him a smirk.

The old you would have already been gone by now.

Don't try to tempt me, Sombra, thought Stardust, who took a deep breath, and said, "Alright, I'll race you, Rainbow... but no cheating from you whatsoever. Got it?"

"No problem," replied Rainbow, as she got into a starting position. "Let's do this."

As Pinkie Pie continued to sing her song about being a number one villian, a frustrated Midnight Sparkle growled, "What in the world are you doing?!"

"Well, duh, I'm distracting you, ya big goof!" Pinkie replied, as she started bouncing up and down. "And look who showed up!"

Everypony turned around, and saw Casey running to them as fast as he could possibly go.

"Well, it's about time," muttered Rainbow Dash, ignoring the look that Twilight gave her.

Taking his place next to the young alicorn, Casey nodded his head in the direction he'd came from. "Sorry, but... I had to bring a little bit of help."

Twilight saw Sunset making her way towards them, as well, but before she was about to greet her, the princess of Friendship noticed that her friend wasn't alone.

"Howdy, Pony AJ," said EG Applejack, as she stood in front of the hard-working pony. "Nice to see ya again."

"Um... hello, other me," greeted EG Fluttershy, walking over to her counterpart.

The rest of the EG human-turned-ponies stood in front of their own counterparts, and once everypony was facing their counterpart (except for Casey and Sunset), none of them said anything.

"Huh, you know, there's one thing I don't get," said a curious Pinkie Pie, after a moment of silence.

Twilight looked at Pinkie, and asked, "What would that be?"

"How come there's no explosion or anything?" Pinkie Pie answered, with EG Pinkie nodding her head, in agreement. "I thought a 'pair-a-docks' or something was supposed to happen."

Before Twilight could explain why, she was stopped by the laughter of Midnight Sparkle.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my pathetic other half," said the large dragon, looking down at Sci Twi, who no longer feared her inner dark self since the events at Camp Everfree.

"That is not the real Midnight Sparkle," replied Sunset.

Twilight agreed with her, saying, "We know... but wherever she came from, we know that she was sent by the hooded pony to get him the staff."

"Well, we're not going to let that happen," exclaimed EG Rainbow, but then, she looked at Sci Twi. "Um, you won't feel bad or anything about what we do or say to her, will you?"

Sci Twi shook her head. "No, why would I?"

"Well, because, darling, that was someone you used to be," pointed out EG Rarity.

"Enough of this pointless discussion!" roared Midnight Sparkle, and she began breathing out massive fireblasts at them.

Everypony jumped out of the way to dodge them, and that was enough for the large dragon to let out an evil laugh as she flew towards Ponyville, heading to Twilight's castle.

"Rarity, Rainbow, you two go first!" exclaimed Sunset, as she and Twilight helped Sci Twi stand up.

"You got it!" EG Rainbow yelled, and zoomed away to catch up to Midnight Sparkle, while EG Rarity started shooting out her own powerful blasts.

"Dear Celestia," gasped Rarity, her eyes growing wide. "Those diamonds are absolutely gorgeous!"

Twilight and the two Applejacks rolled their eyes, while Midnight Sparkle was about to reach Ponyville, but she was stopped by the arrival of EG Rarity's diamond blasts.

Whack! Whack! Whack! Whack!

"Fabulous!" EG Rarity cried, letting out a victory squeal.

Then, a rainbow-colored and spiral-shaped streak raced all over Midnight's body, causing her to spin around several times, and when EG Rainbow was done, the dragon was momentarily dizzy, with her eyes spinning around.

Seeing that everything was working so far, Sunset nodded, and said, "Okay, AJ, you know what to do."

"Sure thing, sugarcube!" EG Applejack said, and looked at her other self. "Um, you don't mind if I borrow a tree, do ya?"

Applejack shook her head, and she replied, "No problem, sugarcube, just use one that don't have any apples on 'em."

EG Applejack gave her a salute, and ran off to the nearest "empty" tree she could find.

Limbo

"No, no, NO!" Miles yelled, watching with rage as the Equestria Girls were being successful in taking care of Midnight Sparkle. "How is this even happening?!"

Maybe it's because you never even considered these girls while creating her. Instead, you hoped that Stardust himself would go up against it.

[WHACK!]

"She can throw a damn tree like the freakin' HULK?!" The furious pony shouted, his body now shaking with rage and hatred. "Son of a..."

[Boom! Boom! Boom!]

"Seriously?! Explosions from Pinkie Pie!" Miles was almost close to reaching his boiling point. "What... the... buck!"

The dark energy surrounding Miles' body started to glow brighter, and he growled, "I... will not be... defeated by these damn ponies!"

Um, you do know that you're a pony yourself, right?

"Shut the hell up!" Miles yelled. "Aw, you can't be seri... all those damn animals?!"

The portal then showed Sci Twi using her own magic to fight Midnight.

"Damn you Twilight Sparkle!"

So... the good news was that, because of their geode necklaces, the EG ponies (minus Sunset) were doing a real number on Midnight Sparkle.

However, the bad news was that they had somehow come closer to nearing Twilight's castle.

"Don't worry, Princess Twilight," yelled a confident EG Rainbow. "We got this all under con-"

Whack!

"Rainbow Dash!" cried Sunset, Twilight, and Sci Twi, after seeing Midnight use her claw like a fly swatter, sending EG Rainbow to the ground.

Then, Midnight began flapping her wings at a very fast speed, causing the rest of the EG ponies to fly back, and crash into their counterparts.

"Are you two okay?" Spike asked, as he and Twilight ran over to Rarity and her EG counterpart.

"I'm fine, Spikey Wikey," replied Rarity as she got up to her hooves. "But it's like Midnight Sparkle suddenly got a burst of energy!"

"She probably got it from that hooded pony who's behind all of this," said Sunset, who was now approaching them. "He must really want that staff."

Twilight frowned, and shook her head as she said, "We're not going to let that happen."

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" laughed Midnight Sparkle, and looked down as she saw everypony gather together. "I'll admit that you all put up quite a fight... even you, my worthless counterpart."

"Yeah, well, she's kicking your damn butt," exclaimed EG Rainbow, while Sci Twi sheepishly smiled.

Midnight Sparkle rolled her eyes, and said, "For the moment, but now is the time where I roast the lot of you to-"

"Um, excuse me? Worthless excuse for a dragon?"

Midnight Sparkle and everypony else turned around, seeing the fortress of thorned branches that surrounded Twilight's castle... and above that were Discord and Starlight, who was using her magic to help her levitate.

"You may think you're all that powerful," stated Discord, who was wearing an outfit similar to the one Mickey Mouse wore inThe Brave Little Tailor. "But you've never encountered us!"

"Starlight, be careful!" Twilight cried, now concerned for her pupil and friend.

Midnight Sparkle shook her head, and said, "You two don't seriously think you'll be able to stop me."

A serious-looking Starlight replied, "Of course not... I know we can!"

Down below, Spike elbowed Twilight's shoulder, and said, "See? You're a great teacher... now we get to see her in action without being trapped in a Chrysalis-made cocoon."

Twilight smiled, and nodded in agreement as she looked up at Starlight. Wow, this is going to be such a great experience to watch!

As for Starlight, she was preparing herself for an epic battle. This definitely won't be an easy one, but I have a feeling that if I can distract her long enough, I'll be able to-

"However..."

They all turned to look at Discord, who said, "After analyzing the situation, I think it would be best if I were allowed to make the first move, and that my friend here could go next."

Twilight and Starlight slapped their foreheads at the same time, muttering, "Discord..."

"Well, since you're so willing to die so soon, go right ahead," replied Midnight Sparkle.

The master of Chaos shook his head, chuckling as he said, "Oh, on the contrary, you dumb dragon..."

With a snap of his fingers, Discord chuckled mischievously as a familar looking pony appeared next to him.

"Another Pinkie Pie?!" yelled everypony except Midnight, and the two other Pinkie Pies.

Come on, and smile, smile, smile

"Ohhhh, I get it," said Pinkie Pie, although she was the only one to hear the music playing in the background. "That's the one from the world that the hooded pony sent me too."

Midnight Sparkle was finding it hilarious, however. "So, how exactly do you plan on stopping me with this?"

"I'll let her show you," replied Discord, and before the dragon could do anything else, Anti-Pinkie grabbed onto Midnight's wing, pulling her way up into the sky.

As they disappeared into the clouds, however, Twilight frowned at the spirit of disharmony, and said, "Hey, Discord, I think we're supposed to see what-"

"Oh, ho, ho, trust me, Twilight," assured a gleeful Discord. "You do not want to see what this Pinkie Pie can do."

"Aw, man," said Pinkie Pie and her EG counterpart. "No fair!"

Starlight was about to yell at Discord for ruining her special moment when, all of a sudden...

Crash! Boom!

Everypony except Discord (who was smiling), Twilight, Spike, and Starlight (who were all irritated at Discord) had their muzzles wide-open in shock as they looked at Midnight Sparkle, who looked like she'd received the worst beating imaginable.

"Now, first things first is..." Discord snapped his fingers again, and Anti-Pinkie disappeared in a flash of bright light.

"Bye, Pinkie Number Three!" shouted Pinkie Pie, waving her arm goodbye.

Discord then looked at Starlight, and said, "I think it's your turn, now, my friend."

The purple unicorn groaned, and muttered a few words to herself as she floated down to the ground, standing next to Twilight, who was joining the others as they walked over to Midnight Sparkle.

"Any final words?" Starlight asked, who still had her horn activated with magic.

Midnight Sparkle coughed a few times before she gritted her teeth, and said, "He's going to come back sooner than you think... and all of you are going to pay the ultimate price!"

Starlight paused for a moment before saying, "We'll be ready for him, then.. and we'll all take care of him together."

Then, she looked over at Twilight, with the two ponies smiling at each other, and turning back to Midnight Sparkle, Starlight used her magic to create a very large ball of electrical energy that covered the dragon's entire body.

Is that some sort of new spell? wondered Twilight, who wished that she had some paper and a pen with her to write this all down.

"Good bye, Midnight Sparkle!" growled Starlight, who was now making the energy ball glow as bright as the sun.

"Holy apples, that's bright," said the two Applejacks, who both used their hats to cover their eyes from the light.

The ball continued to shine brightly for a few more minutes before it exploded silently, and as the light died down, everypony saw that Midnight Sparkle was gone.

"Starlight!" Twilight ran over as fast as she could before her exhausted friend collapsed to the ground. "I got you..."

"Thanks... Twilight..." said Starlight, who had definitely used a lot of energy to make that spell work, and was now taking several deep breaths.

Twilight was about to say something comforting when Discord appeared in the spot where Midnight was, and said, "Ah, now wasn't that just a breathtaking spectacle to behold?"

"Seriously, Discord?" Applejack said, frowning at the draconequus. "Look at how exhausted Starlight is righ' now..."

"Well, of course, I can see that, AJ," replied Discord. "But it would have been a lot worse if I had let Starlight get into a fight with her first."

Applejack opened her muzzle to yell at him some more, but Fluttershy stepped in to say, "Hold on, I'm sure Discord knew what he was doing... and he was probably thinking about her safety."

"Exactly!" Discord said, who made a "BFF" shirt appear on himself and Fluttershy. "She can agree and appreciate me more than you other ponies!"

Twilight shook her head, and said, "Of course, we appreciate your help, Discord, but next time, can you let us all in on your plan instead of just improvising?"

Making himself now wear a soldier's uniform, Discord gave Twilight a salute, and said, "Yes, your Highness, of course."

Then, he was gone in the blink of an eye, and Twilight looked over at Casey. "Good thing you didn't ask Stardust Balance to help out."

"Uh-huh," agreed the young pony. "He's probably enjoying a peaceful day in bed right now."

Stardust's World

"Almost... there... must... reach... aaand, I'm here!"

The crawling Stardust stopped in his tracks, and collapsed to the ground.

You are pathetic.

"Not... in the mood... Sombra," muttered Stardust. "I... was not prepared for this."

A few minutes later, Rainbow Dash came over, and Stardust was now sitting Indian style. "Alright, Rainbow, did I prove myself? You believe me?"

"Yep," answered the winged pony. "I believed you almost two miles ago."

When Rainbow said that, Stardust was speechless.

I wouldn't object if you unleashed your anger on her right now.

"You mean to tell me... that you believed me... after I ran three miles?"

Rainbow Dash nodded her head, and said, "Yeah, of course"

"..."

"Um... you okay, Stardust?"

Stardust's head was shaking with rage, and it was also changing a different color, as well as being ready to explode in anger...

Jack... you promised Twilight.

"Stardust?" Rainbow asked, now feeling concerned for her friend. "Are you-"

The gold-colored pony took a deep breath, and said, "I... am fine... just promise me that you will never do something like this again."

"Yeah, of course," replied Rainbow, who then decided to help him stand up. "So, what do you want to do next?"

"Take me to some place that has water I can drink," said Stardust. "Then I'll decide what we can do after that."

Rainbow Dash smiled, and said, "Sure thing, pal, let's go..."

See? Rainbow is happy, and smiling... you're doing great.

And although he wouldn't admit it to the winged Pegasi, Stardust was slowly starting to be happy about his decision on spending time with Rainbow.

I might actually need something like this right now...

Limbo

"Damn it!"

Miles was way beyond frustrated right now, after seeing what Starlight and Discord had done to his creation.

"I've been defeated TWICE by those freaking tiny horses... and I can't stand it!"

His hatred was so strong, not even his inner voice could get through to him.

"Well, I am NOT going to let this happen again! I WILL have my revenge, and not even somepony like Stardust Balance can stop me!"

An Unbalanced Stardust

[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..."

Confusion

Stardust tried to get up, but his body was still weak from the punch that Miles had delivered to his chest.

"I know it looks bad right now, sugarcube," said Applejack, who was trying to keep him from running away. "But you're just gonna get yourself hurt even more if you try to interfere."

"I... can't..." growled a frustrated Stardust. "Let... Twilight... get hurt..."

As for Parallel Twilight herself, she was currently in a fighting position, ready for anything that the sinister pony could throw at her. "Let's go, Miles, you're going to pay for what you've done to my friends and special somepony."

"Oh, am I now?" The winged pony said, a sinister smile on his face. "And what do you plan to do about it?"

"I think you should stop talking and face me so that I can show you!"

Miles let out an evil laugh, and shouted, "With pleasure, Twilight..."

He ran towards her, but then, for some reason, the necklace around Princess Twilight's neck started to glow brightly, which made Miles stop in his tracks.

"What the...?" Stardust couldn't believe what he was seeing. "I didn't know it could do that."

Neither could Princess Twilight, who asked, "Um, Jack, what is-"

Before she could finish, Miles snapped out of his trance, and fired an energy blast at the alicorn, which knocked her down to the ground.

"NO!" Stardust yelled, and he tried running over to stop Miles, but Applejack was continuing to hold him back.

"Ya can't fight him yet, sugarcube," explained the Earth Pony. "You're still recuperating from that cheap shot he gave you."

Miles walked over to the princess, with dangerous thoughts inside of his mind, but then, the necklace started to glow again, and it sent out a small energy blast that hit him directly in the eyes.

"What the hell did you..." shouted Miles, who was opening and closing his eyes several times, and Princess Twilight noticed that his eyes no longer looked dark and evil as they had earlier.

I don't think your necklace idea is turning out the way you had hoped.

Miles reluctantly found himself agreeing with his inner voice, as well as saying, "Eh, I've already wasted enough time here... I have one world to take over, and another to destroy."

Stardust coughed a few times before glaring at Miles, and asked, "Deciding not to kill me after all?"

"If that was the best you could honestly do, then you aren't even worth killing," replied Miles, and before Stardust could say anything, the cloaked pony used his staff to create a portal, which then vanished after he jumped inside it.

Then, once he was gone, the entire world returned back to its state of emptiness since Miles was no longer there to imagine what it could be.

The cage disappeared, as well, and while everypony started walking around, Applejack helped Stardust make his way over to Princess Twilight.

"I'm sorry, love," said the young pony, a sad expression on his face. "I didn't think he-"

"You don't have to apologize, Jack," replied Princess Twilight, shaking her head. "I'm just glad you're still here."

Stardust smiled back, for a moment, but he then became serious, and looked over at Casey and Twilight. "So... anypony can pretty much do anything in here, right?"

"Uh..." The two ponies looked at each other, and Twilight replied, "Pretty much, yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Because I deserve some answers from a certain pony," said Stardust. "Isn't that right, Starswirl?"

Then, to everyone's surprise, a white ball of energy appeared in front of him, and it transformed into a spirit form of Starswirl the Bearded.

"Unfortunately, regarding the situation, yes," replied the spirit.

Stardust nodded, and said, "Well, you can start by - hey!"

He found himself being interrupted by Twilight and Princess Twilight, who were both now suddenly well enough to walk up to Starswirl's spirit.

"Omigosh-omigish-omigosh!" The two of them cried in joy and excitement.

Everyone except Casey and Stardust found this amusing, with the orange-yellow pony speechless while the gold-colored pony smacked his forehead with his hoof.

"Um, forgive me, Twilights, but I think I really do need to explain what I know about all this."

Stardust rolled his eyes, and replied, "Yes, yes, you do... have you known about this the whole time?"

Starswirl reluctantly nodded his head, and said, "Ever since the day that Casey first came to our world... and I had to wait for the moment to tell you."

"Well, now would definitely be a good time to explain what the pony is going on," exclaimed Sour Sweet, speaking in a harsh tone.

Starlight frowned at the bipolar pony, and said, "Hey, show some respect for him... don't you know who this is?"

"Well, obviously not," replied Sugarcoat. "Why would we have someone like that in our world?"

EG Applejack raised her eyebrow, and said, "I wouldn't be surprised if we did, considering all the supernatural stuff we've all dealt with."

"Anyway..." Stardust exclaimed, who was now getting a tiny bit impatient. "Who the hell is he, Starswirl?"

"Miles comes from a world that is a little different than either of ours," explained Starswirl. "And unfortunately, he was seduced by an evil darkness not long after 'his' Twilight went into a coma."

Stardust was silent for a moment, understanding what that must have felt like for Miles. "But why does he want to kill me so bad?"

"Those reasons I do not know yet," admitted the spirit. "But he's been successful in bringing harm to other worlds that feature alternate versions of you."

Stardust became confused as he asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Starswirl sighed, and he explained, "There are other universes that contain worlds in which you are paired with a pony other than Twilight... and Miles has killed each and every one of those Stardusts."

Princess Twilight gasped, in shock, and asked, "H-how could he do that?"

"By erasing them from existence, my dear" answered Starswirl. "And I am afraid that if we do not fix the timeline of those worlds soon, they could all end up becoming destroyed."

"Ohhhh, so that's how a 'pair-o-dock' works," said Pinkie Pie.

Stardust took a moment to absorb all of this information in his mind, and then, he asked, "Um... exactly how many alternate worlds are there, and who am I paired with?"

"I'm not sure if now would be the right time to say that," said Starswirl, referring to the others around them.

EG Pinkie gave a shrug as she said, "We've all seen weirder stuff, Starswirl... so, tell us, please!"

The spirit looked at the gold-colored pony, and said, "Well, there are ones that have you with a different member of the Mane Six, as well as Starlight, Princess Luna, Sunset Shimmer, and even Princess Cadence."

Pinkie let out a whistle, and said, "Wow, that's a lot of worlds."

Stardust gulped, and he said, "Please don't say that there is a world that has me paired with..."

"No, Jack, there is not one with Princess Celestia, or anypony that you could think who would be worser than her."

Princess Twilight noticed Casey and Twilight's confused expression, and she explained, "He's not really a big fan of Princess Celestia."

As for Stardust, he let out a sigh of relief, and asked, "So, how exactly are we supposed to stop him, then?"

"There's a power that is located in Miles' world that can help you against him," answered Starswirl. "It'll bring your power level to the same amount that Miles has... but you must fix the other nine worlds first before going to his."

"Nine worlds?!" Stardust cried. "Why can't I just go straight to Miles' world and get this new power thingy?"

Starswirl frowned, and he replied, "Because, Jack, it can only be accepted by whoever it deems worthy, and if you want to use it to stop Miles, then you need to fix the other problems he's caused."

Stardust opened his mouth to complain, but Starswirl said, "You know it's the right thing to do, Jack."

"Yeah... I know..." grumbled Stardust, rolling his eyes. "But how are we even supposed to get to all of these worlds?"

Everyone else, including EG Pinkie, looked at Pinkie Pie, who was playing around with Stardust's wristwatch that had somehow fallen off a while ago.

"What?" Pinkie said, noticing that they were all looking at her.

Stardust shook his head, and said, "You cannot be serious."

"I was actually referring to the wristwatch," replied Starswirl. "It contains almost the same amount of energy as the staff, but because of its power limit, you can only take a few of your friends with you."

Stardust chuckled, and said, "Well, that's obvious... me, Twilight, Casey, and his Twilight."

"Us?" Casey said, surprised. "Why?"

Stardust smirked at his friend, and he replied, "You technically started this ever since we met, so you're helping me finish it... and I don't want your Twilight to worry about you."

Twilight smiled, and was about to thank him when Pinkie Pie suddenly raced over to Stardust, and asked while bouncing up and down, "Ooh, ooh, can I come along with you all, please, please, please?"

"I'm sorry, Pinkie, but... no..." Stardust said, shaking his head. "I can only handle so much craziness."

The young pony stopped bouncing, and unfortunately, for Stardust, Pinkie started to give him "puppy eyes", and she asked again. "Please?"

Stardust was about to deny her request again, but after noticing everyone was now looking at him, and that Princess Twilight was giving him a look that meant "oh, come on, Jack", the young pony groaned as he rolled his eyes, and muttered, "Aaauuuggghhhh... fine... you can come, Pinkie..."

"Yippie!" Pinkie Pie yelled, looking excited as she gave him a warm hug, and Stardust couldn't help but smile.

Twilight nodded her head, and walked over to Stardust, saying, "Alright, so before we do anything, let's take a moment to think of a carefully-executed plan so that we can easily-"

But before she could finish, Pinkie accidentally activated the watch as she was handing it to Stardust, and in a bright flash of light, the five ponies (and Starswirl, who went back into Stardust's mind) were gone.

"That pony is a real sucker for falling for that," said Sugarcoat.

The Rage of A Human