Chapter 11: Combating the Clones
The group of twelve walked up the staircase and into another room. The room was completely empty aside from a staircase at the other end of it. Everypony stopped and stared. They were all expecting another magical barrier to appear before them. However no such thing ever appeared. They stepped forwards cautiously when an evil laugh rang out. The Mane-iac appeared before them and gave them a malicious grin.
"Well well well" she said. "I never thought that you would make it this far Power Ponies. I thought that you would refuse to fight your friends. However you have not won yet. I shall destroy you pests and then I will take over all of Equestria. After all why rule Maretropolis when I can rule the world?" She let out a laugh and then continued. "But first why don't I introduce you to my friends."
Her horn glowed and six bright lights appeared in between her and the group of twelve. They each took on their own forms and the twelve friends gasped when they realized what they were looking at. The Mane-iac had used her magic to create clones of Gilda, Sweetie Belle, Angel Bunny, Apple Bloom, Trixie, and Scootaloo. The six evil figures were identical to their real counterparts except for the eyes. They had the same purple and black eyes that their true selves had when they had been possessed. The Mane-iac had turned the possessed versions of the Power Ponies' friends into real living breathing creatures.
"Like them?" the villainess asked. "I truly hope you do. I took extra care to make sure that they were just the same as your friends. Though I did take out those pathetic hearts of theirs. They will fight you and you can't stop them." Letting out an insane cackle of laughter, the Mane-iac vanished from the room. The Power Ponies braced themselves for a fight but before they could attack, their six friends stepped in front of them.
"Leave these dweebs to us." Gilda said in a determined tone.
"We're not letting them hurt you." Sweetie Belle insisted.
Angel made some noise which Fluttershy understood as an agreement with the others.
"If that Mane-iac thinks she can hurt my sister then she's crazy." Apple Bloom said.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie shall not tolerate such a cheap imitation of herself." Trixie shouted.
"These fakes aren't gonna hurt ya." Scootaloo said.
The Power Ponies gazed at their friends in shock but then they nodded. They knew that there was no stopping them so they allowed their six friends to fight their evil clones. The group of six glared at their evil counterparts while the clones glared right back. Then they charged towards each other and the fight began.
Gilda lunged at her dark counterpart and struck. Her punch sent Dark Gilda flying across the room but she got back up and struck back. Gilda was forced back a bit but she glared at her evil counterpart and fought. There was no way that the griffon was going to let this fake version of herself win this fight. Gilda was far too determined to lose. The two griffons took to the air and attacked each other brutally.
Sweetie Belle tackled her evil double and sent her back a few feet. The evil clone of the young unicorn attacked back with a magical spell. Sweetie Belle took the hit but got right back up. She glanced back at Rarity who had a nervous look on her face and the unicorn filly's determination rose. She was not going to let her sister down by losing this fight against her evil clone. Sweetie Belle charged towards her dark clone and they fought on.
Angel Bunny was in a fight with his own double. Dark Angel kicked and punched at the white rabbit ruthlessly. Angel took hit after hit but he would not give up. This clone of him was a representation of the Mane-iac. Angel was going to win this fight not only for himself but also for Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus was hurt by how Angel had acted when he was possessed, Angel was determined to defeat his evil self.
Apple Bloom rushed towards her opponent and gave her a powerful kick. Dark Apple Bloom was sent flying but she got back up and tackled her good counterpart. Apple Bloom hit the ground and she got back to her hooves. There was way too much at stake for her to lose. She had to defeat Dark Apple Bloom. The yellow filly thought of Applejack and her determination burned hotter than ever. The yellow filly launched herself at her counterpart while the evil clone mirrored her movements.
Trixie dodged and blocked all of the spells that were cast by her evil clone. She took a small hit from a spell and then she crumpled to the ground. She was perfectly unharmed but she laid still and silent. Hopefully this plan would work. Dark Trixie eagerly approached her fallen clone and she was blasted with a powerful spell. Trixie had been feigning unconsciousness to lure her evil counterpart over. Trixie had been a showmare and because of such she specialized in illusions. Because of this fact she was an expert in deception not just with her magic, but with her emotions as well. Trixie Lulamoon prided herself on being able to trick her audiences into thinking she was in some trouble and then she would miraculously pull off an amazing trick to save herself. It never failed to get a response and apparently it worked in battle just as well as it did in her performances.
Scootaloo fought her evil self and only one thing was going through the orange filly's mind as she punched and kicked her evil clone. The one thought that Scootaloo focused on was winning this fight to impress Rainbow Dash. The light blue pegasus had taken Scootaloo under her wing because she thought that the young pegasus was awesome like her. She had said that Scootaloo would need to be tough if she wanted to be like her. The orange pegasus was eager to prove that she was tough by defeating her evil clone.
The six Power Ponies watched in awe as their friends fought their evil clones. All six of them were determined to take the fight to their evil counterparts. The Power Ponies couldn't help but have some serious respect for their friends. The six of them wouldn't give up for a moment and they were determined to win their fights without any help.
Gilda grabbed her evil clone around the waist and flew upwards. She made circles in the air and then she slammed Dark Gilda to the ground. The evil clone of the griffon had taken so much damage that she turned into dust. Dark Gilda had been defeated. Sweetie Belle used her magic and knocked her dark counterpart off of her hooves. Then she delivered a quick punch and Dark Sweetie Belle was gone. Angel Bunny gave his clone a powerful kick to the gut followed by a punch in the face and then Dark Angel was no more. Apple Bloom used her hind legs in the same way that Applejack did. Her strength may not have been as great as her sister's but it was still enough to defeat her evil clone. Dark Apple Bloom took hit after hit and then she was beaten. Trixie used her stage magic to trap her dark self and then she would follow up with a powerful spell. She fought brutally and then Dark Trixie was gone. Scootaloo ducked underneath a punch from her evil clone and then she flapped her wings. The orange filly wasn't flying like Rainbow Dash but she was airborne. Then she dive-bombed Dark Scootaloo and the evil clone of the young pegasus was defeated. All six of the clones had fallen and the genuine articles stood tall and proud. The Power Ponies had looks of awe on their faces as they witnessed the defeats of the evil clones. Then the group of twelve headed up the staircase towards the top of the tower. They didn't know what they would find but they were certain that they could handle it with ease. The Mane-iac didn't stand a chance against them.
The evil villainess watched the display in anger. She was certain that her clones would have destroyed the Power Ponies but she was wrong. Her clones weren't even competent enough to dispose of those weak friends of the six superpowered ponies. Frowning angrily to herself, the Mane-iac put the finishing touches on her final plan. This was going to work. There was no way that this plan would fail. The Mane-iac let out an evil laugh as she visualized the defeats of the Power Ponies and her takeover of Equestria.