MLP: Seeds of the Past

Chapter 20 - Working Together, Part 2

[Beck] Alright, move aside, human… you had your fun, but now it's my turn to write some of this story.

[Stardust] As if! You don't this series as well as I do, so-

WHOOSH!

[Stardust] Oh, yeah, sure like a damn dart is actually… gonna… work on… f*** you...

Thump!

[Beck] Aaaaaaannnd, he's out! Right then, let's see what I can add to this chapter… huh, I feel like I'm forgetting someth - oh, yeah, um...Hasbro owns the MLP franchise except for the OCs that are in this story, who were created by three different people.

"... Casey… Casey, wake up…"

The young man let out a yawn while stretching his arms, and said, "Sorry about that, Twilight, but once I took your 'night quilt' medicine, I felt like taking a nap… how long was I out?"

"Long enough for her to finish doing what she had to do with your wristwatch," replied Jack, as the human version of Twilight handed it over to Casey.

"Sweet!" cried a pleased Casey, and he smiled at the young teenage girl after putting the device on. "Thank you… it means a lot."

Sci-Twi nodded her head, and replied, "No problem, happy to help! But, uh, I should point out that, no matter how much I tried, your watch's capability of world traveling is only good enough for one person, which means-"

"I have to find another way to send Sunset back here… by myself," said Casey, letting out a sigh, and he looked over at Jack. "Unless you're comfortable with going-"

"Eh, don't worry about me, pal," said Jack, shaking his head. "Your story's more important than mine, anyway… you just take care of you-know-what so that you can give it to your girlfriend."

Casey's smile went away a little as he said, "Um… but she isn't my-"

"Trust me, Casey, she is," replied the young man. "Also, I can't exactly… get involved much in these type of situations, unfortunately… there are just some rules that I can't break."

Before Casey could ask what he meant by that, Jack added, "Go, hurry… and don't forget what I told you back in the store, okay?"

The pony-turned-teenager nodded his head, and as he started to prepare himself, he thought, Time for me to set things right.

WHOOSH!

Then, Casey activated the watch's traveling mechanism, causing a magical swirl to appear around his entire body, and after a quick flash of light, he was gone.

"Did you give him one of your pep talks that you always give to me and the others?" wondered Sci-Twi.

"I tend to think of them as inspiring speeches, Twilight, but yes, yes I did," replied Stardust's real-life counterpart. "And so far, they seem to work pretty well for the people that I've told them to… oh, before I go, did you figure out what's in that stuff he kept drinking at the bar?"

Ding!

Sci-Twi walked over to the nearby printer, observing the paper of information that it had just delivered, and said, "Well, based on the sample that you gave me, whatever he's drinking is… is… oh, boy…"

Anti-Equestria

"Alright, everypony," said Beck, speaking in a commanding tone. "Twilight and the others are probably on their way here right now, so we should start walking around this castle to make sure that-"

"Since when did you decide to start giving us orders?" questioned Anti-Rainbow.

Beck made a gesture towards the door, and replied, "Since your leader put me in charge while he f - I mean, sc - I mean, sle... talks to Midnight, which is why I am saying that we all need to start checking every part of this castle.

"If you see any of your counterparts, do whatever you want with them… if you come across Casey, make sure he's nowhere near Stardust, and if you find that pony, leave him somewhere for Evil Stardust to find… but make sure you leave Twilight Sparkle to only me."

Even though she didn't really like this new pony that much, Anti-Rainbow nodded her head, and swiftly went out of the throne room, with the rest of her doing the same not long after.

As for Beck, a sinister smile appeared on his face, and he said, "When I get my hooves on you, Twilight, I will treat you worse than how I did back in my lair."

The Library

Rubbing the side of his head, Stardust let out a groan, and he asked, "Is… um, everypony okay?"

All of Casey's friends, as well as his world's version of Twilight and Starlight, nodded their heads, and the young pony replied, "Good… so now that we know…"

He then glared at Starlight's counterpart, and asked, "What the [BEEP] was that all about?"

"Oh, relax, Stardusk," said Starlight, rolling her eyes. "It's just a harmless scratch that will probably go away in a few days or so… nothing really worth complaining about."

"Nothing worth… are you actually serio-"

However, before Stardust could continue his yelling, Starlight suddenly stepped in between the two of them, and said, "Alright, how about instead of arguing with each other before we end up getting caught, let's all look around this castle, and start searching for Sunset… um…"

The young unicorn took a quick moment to look at everypony in the room. "Okay, the two Twilight's will go with Stardust, and the rest of you decide who pairs up with who…"

Then, in a more serious tone, she said, "... while you and I have ourselves a little chat."

Whoosh!

Everyone except Pinkie quickly headed out of the library, and Starlight's counterpart looked at her other self in disbelief. "Me? Why do I-"

"Ohhhhhhh…." interrupted Pinkie, whose entire body started vibrating, followed by her mane and tail twirling around in all sorts of directions, and the two versions of Starlight looked at her, in confusion. "Somepony's about to come!"

Suddenly, an unfamiliar swirl of sparkling magic appeared in the middle of the room, followed by a flash of bright light, which made the three ponies try to shield their eyes from it.

Then, once the light was gone, they found themselves looking at a worn-out Casey, who was currently lying down on the ground.

"Ugh… my head…" muttered the young pony, and he shook his head a few times while to his hooves. "Now I see why Stardust - oof!"

"Casey!" interrupted Starlight's counterpart, who was now embracing him warmly. "You're okay!"

As Casey started to chuckle, the Starlight from Stardust's world began to realize something, and a smile appeared on her face. Of course!

"Yes, totally fine… and I'd love to talk, but I have to find - ow!"

To Starlight and Pinkie's surprise, the purple unicorn's counterpart thumped him on the back of his head, and said, "Don't scare us like that again! You know we're still not completely over with what happened back in our world."

"I'm sorry, Star, but it was something I had to do," replied Casey, now rubbing the area that was now stinging in pain. "And… um… why are you and Pinkie and…"

Having finally noticed the other Starlight, an uncertain Casey asked, "You wouldn't happen to be her Evil self, would you?"

Starlight shook her head, and answered, "I'm the version of her that comes from Stardust's world… and it's nice to finally meet you, Casey."

"Likewise," replied Casey, politely shaking hooves with her. "Has Stardust told you about you me already?"

"Er… well…" admitted a sheepish-looking Starlight. "Not since the day that he came back from the-"

Before she could finish her sentence, her counterpart gave the two of them a reminder after clearing her throat. "We are in a darker and alternate version of Equestria to find Sunset Shimmer, so why don't we save introductions till later, okay?"

Remembering a certain human being from another world, Casey nodded his head, with a serious expression. "Right, then… Starlight, you come with me… and Pinkie, you help out Stardust's Starlight."

Then, the two of them hurried out of the room before Starlight could suggest something else, and left her alone with the parallel version of Pinkie, who asked, "So, when did Stardust tell you about him again?"

"Jack… rubbing your eye like that isn't going to make the scar go away."

After putting his hoof down, Stardust muttered angrily to himself before saying, "I'm gonna have one of them find a way to fix this before-"

"Star? Midnight?"

The two of them turned around to see Rainbow Dash, but Stardust quickly sensed that it was the dark version of their pegasus friend.

"Huh, I didn't think you two would finish talking to each other so quickly… no wonder the walls didn't shake."

"What are you-" Twilight started to say, but to her surprise, Stardust was beginning to chuckle.

"One of my many talents, Crash… now, why in the holy [BEEP] are you not back with the others?"

Anti-Rainbow rolled her eyes, and replied, "Because Newbie Pony thinks that Twilight and the rest of her friends are already in the castle, so now everyone's looking-"

However, to their surprise, the young pegasus suddenly asked, "Uh, you okay, Midnight?"

Pretend to be your darker counterpart, thought Stardust, who was now speaking to Twilight telepathically, and the alicorn nodded her head.

"Yeah, of course, I am… why would I not be?"

Continuing to look at Twilight, a suspicious Anti-Rainbow said, "Because I just realized I said that name you hate to hear, and by now, you'd already be in flames, or would just start chewing my head off."

"Well… I just don't really feel like bursting into flames, Crash," replied Twilight, speaking in an angered tone. "And maybe I'm simply in too much of a good mood to yell anyway, so-"

"Good mood?" said Anti-Rainbow. "Okay, either Star here made you really happy this time, or-"

Then, before she could finish her sentence, Stardust exclaimed, "Just what exactly are you trying to say about my girlfriend, Crash?"

"Hey, I'm only lookin' out for ya, Star," replied the blue pegasus. "There is another version of her in this place, supposedly, so…"

Stardust rolled his eyes, and he said, "I think I would know if this wasn't my own damn girlfriend, Crash; otherwise, there's no way in hell that I'd do something like this to anypony else."

He took Twilight's face into his hooves, and before either she or Anti-Rainbow could say anything, Stardust delivered a very passionate kiss to his special somepony, who eventually began returning the favor.

Then, as it started to turn into a make-out session, a look of disgust appeared on Anti-Rainbow's face, and she said, "Oh, come on, not in front of me, Star!"

Unfortunately, it didn't seem like they would stop anytime soon, so Anti-Rainbow quickly flew off before she ended up getting sick to her stomach, and once he realized that they were alone again, Stardust pulled himself away from Twilight's face, with both of them blushing heavily, as well as taking several deep breaths.

"Um… w-where did…" said Twilight. "Y-you never… like that… with our to-"

"Not… the right place… to talk about it," replied Stardust, holding up a hoof to pause her statement. "And sorry that you… uh… love, w-where did… Casey's Twilight go?"

As she and Rainbow Dash walked down the hall, Applejack said, "Alright, Rainbow, any of these here rooms could be holdin' Sunset, so if this were like tryin' to find a fancy-schmancy spellbook, keep your eye out for a door that-"

"Ha-ha, found it!" cried a pleased Rainbow, who was now flying in front a door that looked darker than any of the other ones in the hallway.

So, after opening the door, the two of them swiftly entered the darkened room, which lit up once Rainbow closed the door, and both of their eyes became wide at what they were now seeing.

"Uh… Applejack… I don't think Sunset is in here."

For some reason, the floor of the room was covered completely in mouse traps that had yet to be set off, and the two ponies had a limited amount of free space to themselves.

"Alright, then, how about we-" The orange pony started to show, but when she tried to open the door, it wouldn't budge, which made her gulp nervously. "Uh-oh… I think we just got ourselves locked in here."

Rainbow looked around the entire room, and she asked, "Well, this is the only door, so how are we supposed to - wait, what's that?"

The two friends noticed a small and adorable-like creature coming out of a tiny hole from across the room, and that it was walking over to one of the mouse traps placed in the middle of the room, which contained a delicious mini-slice of cheese.

"Oh, this ain't gonna turn out well, sugarcube."

As Sunset laid against the bars of her cell door, thinking about what Jack was doing back in their world, she quickly became alarmed after hearing somepony enter the room.

"Sunset? You in here, darling?"

"Um, Rarity, I'm not sure if that is the best-"

The yellow unicorn stood up, in surprise, and said, "Fluttershy? Rarity?"

"Sunset Shimmer!" cried the two ponies, now hurrying over to her, and a look of pity appeared on their faces after seeing how she looked.

"Good heavens, darling, you look terrible," said Rarity. "What have they done to you?"

Sunset shook her head, and replied, "It doesn't matter, just help me out of here... quickly."

The white unicorn and yellow pegasus nodded their heads, and began trying to find a key for the door.

"Um, not to sound rude or anything, Sunset," said Rarity, as she walked around the room. "But can't you use your magic to open the lock?"

Sunset shook her head, and replied, "They made it so I can't use… my magic in this world…"

"And, may I say, how wonderful it's worked out thus far."

The three of them quickly became silent after seeing somepony else walk into the room, and unfortunately, it was Midnight Sparkle, who had a sly grin on her face.

"Well, well… this is going to be fun…"

After approaching the unoccupied throne room, Casey had Starlight keep watch from the doorway while he looked around the room for clues into figuring out Sunset's location.

At first, he didn't find anything, so the young pony was about to leave when something caught his eye from the other side of the room.

"What… is this?" wondered Casey, picking up the unopened thermos that had come from Kronos' home, but as he started to walk away, a familiar voice cried, "Don't move!"

Appearing on top of the Cutie Map table, with the Time Staff in his hooves, Anti-Stardust took a quick glance at Starlight, and said, "You better stay right there if you know what's good for you."

Then, turning his attention back over to Casey, Anti-Stardust aimed the staff at him, and said, "You certainly have guts, kid… I'll give you that much."

When Casey didn't give him a response, the dark pony became slightly confused, and he raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you afraid of me?"

"No… I'm terrified, actually… and I have been ever since the last time we were here," replied Casey, in a serious tone. "Just like I'm terrified of telling Twilight that I love her because I don't want to end up losing her like how I lost my parents, the only other ponies I've said those words to… but someone recently told me that you should always face your fears… so I'm doing that right now… starting with you."

For a few seconds, Anti-Stardust remained quiet, and then, he let out a chuckle before saying, "Well, look who's finally acting like a stallion…"

With the staff now glowing with deadly magical energy, the dark pony asked, "Any last words?"

"There… that feels much better… good thing this place has an infirmary room."

After replacing her old bandages with fresh and brand-new ones, Twilight was about to leave when she heard a voice say, "You're pathecially predictable, princess… like a moth to the flame."

Standing in the doorway was Beck, who had a sinister smile across his face, and Twilight quickly started to become afraid.

"I knew you'd come to a place like this," continued the light-green Earth Pony. "So, now, I think it's time for us to continue where we left off back in my lair... and your precious special somepony isn't going to stop me this time."