My Little Pony: A Race Against Time
Chapter 35 - Friendship Party, Part 2
Author's Note - "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" belongs to DHX Media and Hasbro, while Stardust Balance belongs to the Warrior of Twilight, whom I own a debt of gratitude to for allowing me to use his OC in this story, and the next one... despite everything I've put Stardust through, as well as what will happen later on.
Also, the following songs in this penultimate chapter are "We Are" by Keke Palmer, from ICE AGE 4, and "The Magic Inside", plus "Equestria, My Home" from the MLP episode "The Mane Attraction".
"Well, howdy, Rara," said Applejack, as she walked over to her musically talented friend. "I thought I heard Pinkie say your name... glad you could make it."
The light blue and grey Earth pony smiled, and gave her childhood filly friend a hug. "AJ, hi... yeah, I'm sorry I haven't been around since the music festival."
"Ah, no need to be apologizing, sugarcube," replied Applejack. "Your life must be one barrel of craziness as a world-famous pop singer."
Coloratura chuckled, and agreed with the hard-working Earth Pony. "That's true in so many ways... but luckily, my world tour just ended a few weeks ago, and I have some time left before my new manager finds something else for me to do."
Hearing that her friend had another manager now, Applejack started to frown, and she asked, "Exactly how much time is this new manager pony of yours givin' you?"
"Well, let's just say that it's enough time for me to accept an offer from Twilight to stay in one of the rooms here," replied Coloratura. "And I'll be able to be with you and the rest of your friends."
Applejack's frown quickly went away, and she said, "Now, that sounds like a pretty darn good manager, and a lot better than that Svengallop pony... plus, that was mighty nice of Twilight to offer you a room."
"Indeed, it was," agreed Coloratura, as she noticed the alicorn princess talking to other ponies. "You're certainly lucky to have a friend like here, AJ."
"Aw, shucks, Rara, you don't have to say..."
She paused her sentence to take another look around the large room, and noticed that there was a stage set-up with a piano, as well as places for other ponies to play their own instruments.
Plus, I think I saw Octavia and Fancypants earlier, thought Applejack.
"... um, I'm guessing you're gonna sing that one song of yours everypony likes?"
Turning her head to look in the same direction of her friend, Coloratura chuckled, and gave Applejack a teasing wink as she said, "Maybe, but you'll have to find out later on, like everypony else..."
Applejack rolled her eyes, but the two of them ended up sharing a laugh together.
Then, she was about to ask Coloratura more about the tour when the singer finally noticed that her friend wasn't alone.
"Um, AJ... why do I see two ponies that look almost exactly like you?"
And here comes the confusing stuff, thought Applejack, who then cleared her throat before making an introduction.
"This here is a version of me that came from the world that Sunset Shimmer stays at, and she's a version of me that came from another dimension."
"Howdy, Rara," replied both EG Applejack and Alternate Applejack.
Coloratura looked back and forth between her friend and the other two versions of AJ, and said, "I must've been gone longer than I thought."
"Oh my gosh, you're actually here!"
They turned around to see a trio of little ponies, known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, run over to Coloratura, and Sweetie Belle was the first one to speak.
"Are you singing later tonight?"
Coloratura chuckled, and replied, "You'll have to find out later, I'm afraid... isn't that right, AJ?"
"Yep, sure is," replied Applejack, but then, she frowned after realizing that the other two AJ's had said the same thing.
"So... which one's your sister, Applebloom?" asked Scootaloo, looking at the three identical Earth ponies. "I just finished trying to figure out which Rainbow Dash was which."
"That'll be me," answered Applejack, walking over to her little sister. "Sorry if this is confusin' you, sis."
The light-yellow pony shook her head, and said, "I knew it was you, anyway."
"Sure you did," teased Sweetie Belle, while Scootaloo started to laugh.
"Well, let's see you try," replied Applebloom, as she pointed her hoof at the group of Rarity ponies.
"Oh, my..." gasped Sweetie Belle, not realizing that there was now three versions of her big sister at the party.
Speaking of Rainbow Dash, she was having a conversation with her two counterparts about which one of them was the best.
"Uh, me, that's a no-brainer," exclaimed EG Rainbow, as she bounced her soccer ball on top of the table they were sitting at. "I mean, I'm the best at pretty much every sport at my school, I have my own band and hit song, and this little baby right here gives me super speed!"
She was referring to the geode necklace that she was wearing, and Alternate Rainbow argued, "Well, that just means you're as fast as us... and also, I think I'm the one who deserves to be known as the best."
"You two willing to put your bits where your muzzle is?" Rainbow Dash challenged, raising an eyebrow at her other selves, and offering a hoofshake to both of them.
"You're on," said the two Rainbows, shaking her hooves, and Rainbow Dash chuckled mischievously as she revealed the way for them to find out who was the best.
As for Rarity, she and the alternate version of herself from Stardust's world were listening to EG Rarity tell her story about what had happened at Camp Everfree.
"... and you cannot believe my reaction when Pinkie destroyed my runway again," exclaimed EG Rarity, letting out a dramatic sigh. "It's a miracle I was able to have my fashion show before we went back home."
The two other ponies looked at each other, and Rarity said, "Um, forgive me, darling, but I think you mean to say that the dock was destroyed."
"Oh, you sound like the rest of my friends," replied EG Rarity, shaking her head. "Which also sounds weird coming from me, since we all have the same voice."
Alternate Rarity was about to speak, but Sweetie Belle came over, and asked, "Excuse me, but which one of you is actually my sister?"
"You mean you can't even tell?" EG Rarity said, letting out a fake gasp. "I am so appalled, Sweetie Belle..."
"Hey, don't you start teasing her," said Alternate Rarity. "It's not her fault we three look almost completely the same."
Rarity sighed, and shook her head as she walked over to the small unicorn. "Don't you worry, Sweetie Belle, there's always going to be one of me here."
"Absolutely, we're just visiting," replied EG Rarity.
Sweetie Belle blinked her eyes a few times, and looked up at her sister. "You don't think this is confusing, big sis?"
"Well, of course, I do," replied Rarity, wrapping a limb around the little pony. "But I can honestly say that I'm not surprised by this."
Fluttershy was having a nice conversation with her two counterparts until Discord suddenly appeared next to her.
"Ah, there you are, Fluttershy," said the master of chaos. "I was beginning to think I'd never find you in this... oh!"
Discord looked at the two identical versions of Fluttershy, and said, "Well, fancy that... I never knew you had twin sisters."
"Well, I don't actually," corrected the animal-loving pony. "She's from Sunset Shimmer's world, and she's from another world that is parallel to ours."
"You don't say?" Discord said, sounding surprised. "How peculiar... and surprising to see that we haven't blown up."
A few feet away, at a table, Pinkie Pie (who had heard their conversation) started to frown. "You know what, Pinkie #2 and 3?"
"What is it, Pinkie Prime?" asked the other versions of Pinkie.
"I'm beginning to think that the whole paradox thing doesn't even exist at all," replied Pinkie Pie, with her other selves nodding in agreement.
Twilight and Starlight, as well as Princess Twilight and Starlight's parallel counterpart, had eventually taken their conversation to the library, leaving Casey alone with Sci Twi, and Stardust to his bucket of Coke bottles.
Enjoying the party?
"From right here, yes," muttered Stardust, in a low voice so that nobody could hear him.
Why not go over to anypony else, and talk to them?
"Because I don't want to get too attached to this world," replied the young pony. "I also want to avoid bringing any kind of danger to-"
"Well, this is a surprise," interrupted Sour Sweet, in a negative tone, while Sugarcoat stood beside her. "I didn't expect to see you here."
Just my damn luck, thought Stardust, and said, "The same could be said for you... have you been nice to Sci Twi?"
"Oh, we've just been the best of friends," replied the bipolar human-turned-mare, a bright smile on her face. "But, um... how did you know about her?"
"Star Sense," muttered Stardust, being sarcastic. "And, hello to you, too Sugarcoat... still being your usual blunt self?"
The blue-greyish pony gave him a small smile, and asked, "Still feel indifferent towards us?"
"Yep," replied Stardust, nodding his head.
Sour Sweet was about to say something when Sunset appeared, saying, "Alright, you two, leave him alone..."
"We weren't doing anything wrong," hissed the bipolar pony. "I just wanted to have a decent conversation with him."
"She's right, Sour," replied Sugarcoat, grabbing her friend's limb to pull her away. "Leave him to his bucket of soda pop."
As the two of them walked away, Sunset gave an apologetic smile to Stardust. "I'm sorry about that... um, Starlight, right?"
"It's Stardust," corrected the human-turned-pony, who suddenly started feeling strange. "Starlight is the purple unicorn that Twilight has as a pupil."
"Oh, I'm so sorry," apologized Sunset. "I've met so many ponies with similar names, and with what I deal with back in the world I stay at, it's hard to remember who is who... I mean, there's Twilight, Midnight, Starlight, Stardust..."
"Hey, Sunset, you done yet?" yelled Sour Sweet, who was now several feet away from them. "You were the one who brought us here!"
Sunset looked at Stardust, who smirked at her, saying, "Go on... I'll be fine."
The yellow pony smiled, and bid him goodbye before walking over to her friends, leaving Stardust alone again.
"Why did I feel weird when she messed up my name?" wondered Stardust, who was moving on to his next bottle of Coke.
I believe it's the fact that you miss the Sunset from our version of the Equestria Girls world, explained Starswirl, which made Stardust roll his eyes.
"That's certainly not it," muttered the young pony. "Besides, her place is in that world, just as my place is in... well, our version of Equestria."
True, but ever since that night in Miss Pie's kitchen, you've grown to care for her just as your beloved has with Starlight?
Then, before Stardust could say anything, he found himself having a flashback to that exact night, where he'd decided that he would be a better mentor to Sunset than Princess Celestia could ever be.
Did you not also tell yourself that you would be like an older brother to her, or even a role model, if necessary?
"You... ugh..." groaned Stardust, who found himself agreeing with the ancient pony. "Alright, fine, I sometimes miss her, but like I said, she-"
"Hey, Stardust," said Sunset, who had suddenly appeared next to him.
"Yeah, hi... like I said, Starswirl, she belongs You-Know-Where, and I-"
Sunset interrupted his conversation by saying, "So, that's all I get from you?"
Stardust rolled his eyes, and replied, "I'm sorry, but we just talked earlier, remember? You forgot my name..."
"No, I didn't," replied Sunset, frowning at him. "I just got here, and I said your name right."
Stardust shook his head, and said, "You must have a really bad memory because you were just here, then went over there to-"
He found himself cutting his sentence short when he saw that Sugarcoat and Sour Sweet were still talking to... Sunset, and he looked back at the Sunset in front of him, realizing that he had made a mistake.
Starswirl, did you...?
(Starswirl) I had nothing to do with this.
"You... her... I..." Stardust looked back and forth between the two Sunsets, and a sheepish smile appeared on his face. "Hi, Sunset."
EG Sunset smirked at her friend, and said, "You certainly haven't changed since the last time we saw each other."
"Oh, do not remind me about those events, please," exclaimed Stardust, which made the yellow unicorn chuckle. "I'm guessing you got a Pinkie Pie invitation?"
She shook her head, to his surprise, and said, "Twilight actually invited me here... she figured you wouldn't have anypony else to talk to."
Before Stardust could reply back, the young pony noticed that he didn't feel so strange anymore.
I told you, Jack.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," muttered Stardust, not wanting to admit that Starswirl had been right, while EG Sunset took a seat next to him.
"So, I take it you and Twilight have been pretty busy yourselves?"
Stardust began to laugh, and he replied, "That would be an understatement, Sunset... see, I was-"
"Well, look at that, you have your own necklace now," Sunset said, looking at the silver accessory around his neck. "Does that mean you have magic inside of you like-"
"Nope, nope, nope," replied Stardust, shaking his head. "This is nothing like the geode necklaces you and the others have... and you wouldn't believe what I went through to get it."
"Oh?" EG Sunset said, raising an eyebrow. "Humor me, then..."
Stardust chuckled, and replied, "You asked for it."
However, his nose smelled something familiar, and he noticed that Sunset had also brought a rather large square-shaped box. "You didn't..."
"You may have beaten the others in a 'pizza eating' contest, Jack, but you've never gone up against me," challenged EG Sunset, while Stardust chugged the rest of his soda, tossing it into a nearby trashbin, and opening another one.
"Bring it on, Shimmer..."
Don't blame me if you can't sleep later tonight, said Starswirl.
Several hours later...
As Coloratura stood atop the stage, taking her seat at the piano, Stardust and EG Sunset had finally been approached by Princess Twilight, who asked, "Have you two been enjoying yourselves?"
"Uh-huh, " replied Stardust, his stomach completely full, while Sunset nodded her head. "How'd it go in the library?"
Princess Twilight was about to answer, but then, she was interrupted by Colartura's singing voice.
I'm here to show you who I am
Throw off the veil, it's finally time
There's more to me than glitz and glam, oh-whoa
And now I feel my stars align
From the side of the stage, Applejack couldn't help but feel teary-eyed as one of her closest friends sang her heart out, and neither could her other selves, who were also getting ready to cry themselves.
For I had believed what I was sold
I did all the things that I was told
But all that has changed, and now I'm bold
The lights inside of the castle began to lower their brightness, with only a bright stage light shining on Coloratura.
'Cause I know
That I am just a pony
I make mistakes from time to time
But now I know the real me
And put my heart out on the line
And let the magic in my heart stay true
Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa
And let the magic in my heart stay true
Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa
Just like the magic inside of you
All of the unicorns in the room started using their horns as lighters, including the three versions of Twilight, Rarity, and the two versions of Sunset.
And now I see those colors
Right before my eyes
I hear my voice so clearly
And I know that it is right
They thought I was weak, but I am strong
They sold me the world, but they were wrong
And now that I'm back, I still belong
Once her vocals started rising up, Coloratura's musical note Cutie Mark began shining brightly, just like the other times that Applejack (and her self from another dimension) had seen.
'Cause I know
That I am just a pony
I make mistakes from time to time
But now I know the real me
And put my heart out on the line
And let the magic in my heart stay true
Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa
And let the magic in my heart stay true
Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa
Just like the magic inside of you
Just like the magic inside of you...
After singing her final note, Coloratura said, "Everypony, please, hold your applause until I conclude with another song that's dear to my heart... as well as one of my bestest friends."
Then, once the Cutie Mark Crusaders were on-stage with her, Coloratura also turned to look at Applejack, motioning for her to join them, and that is just what the farmer pony did.
EG Applejack found herself about to do the same thing, but Parallel Applejack brought her back down, and shaking her head.
"That's meant for that Applejack, sugarcube, not us," reminded the teenager-turned-pony.
As the other version of Applejack sighed, then nodding her understanding, she and everypony else watched the five ponies sing another familiar song.
Equestria, the land I love
A land of harmony
Our flag does wave from high above
For ponykind to see
Equestria, a land of friends
Where ponykind do roam
They say true friendship never ends
Equestria, my home
Sweetie Belle then used her magic to levitate a triangle-shaped instrument next to Applejack, whom happily played the same single note she'd played the other two times, and everypony gave their applause.
After it died down, Twilight took to the stage, and said, "Thanks again to Coloratura... or, Rara, actually, for willing to sing for us tonight, especially after concluding her world tour a few days ago.
"Next up, we have another surprise that I hope you'll all enjoy... Sunset?"
Stardust turned to look at his friend, but EG Sunset chuckled, and shook her head.
The other Sunset, as well as Sci Twi and the rest of the EG versions of the Mane Six, took to the stage, making Stardust roll his eyes.
"Great... now I'm gonna be reminded of the world that I hate so much," muttered Stardust, which caused Princess Twilight to thump him across the head. "Ow... hey, you know it's true!"
Princess Twilight sighed, and she said, "Yes, but please, for once, Jack, try and enjoy the performance without complaining in any way."
As Sunset and the rest of her friends started setting up their instruments, Stardust chuckled, and said, "I can't make any promises, love..."
However, once they started to sing a song that he'd never heard from them before, the human-turned-pony found himself feeling different about it.
We are, we are
Not your ordinary fama-mily
But we can all agree that
We are, we are
Close as close can be
So it don't matter what it looks like
We look perfect to me
We got every kind of love
Yeah, we're so lucky indeed
They can keep on talking
It don't matter to me cause
We are, we are family
We are are are are (We are are)
We are are are are (We are are)
We are are are are (We are are)
We are, we are family, family, family
We are, we are family
[EG Rainbow] So what?
We don't look, we don't act
[EG Pinkie]
We don't walk, we don't talk
Like you do
[Sci Twi]
So what?
If we hang just a hang and no shame
[EG Rarity]
We both do what we want to
[EG Applejack]
Cause we come from everywhere
[EG Fluttershy]
Searching for ones to care
[Sunset]
Somehow we found it here
We found us a home
[All]
We are, we are
Not your ordinary fami-mily
But we can all agree that
We are, we are
Close as close can be
Stardust almost felt his muzzle drop to the ground. It's certainly an improvement over other songs I've heard from that universe.
As for EG Sunset, she was trying to remember as much of the lyrics as she could, so she could tell her friends back in her own world.
So it don't matter what it looks like
We look perfect to me
We got every kind of love
Yeah?,, we're so lucky indeed
They can keep on talking
It don't matter to me cause
We are, we are family
[EG Rainbow] Ok, so the links in our chains makes us strange
[EG Applejack]
But really they make us stronger
[EG Fluttershy]
And no one would replace not a thing
[EG Pinkie] Mother or father
Cause we...
[EG Rarity] Cause we come from everywhere
Searching for ones to care
[Sci Twi]
Somehow we found it here
[Sci Twi and Sunset]
We found us a home
[All]
We are, we are
Not your ordinary fami-mily
But we can all agree that
We are, we are
Close as close can be
So it don't matter what it looks like
We look perfect to me
We got every kind of lover
We're so lucky indeed
They can keep on talking
It don't matter to me cause
We are, we are family
(Family)
(We are, we are)
We are, we are family
As everypony applauded for Sunset and the others, a smile appeared on the clapping Stardust.
Like I said, an improvement over the other songs...