(Several minutes earlier, on Earth...)
Drakkus Darkwing glared daggers at Earth's moon, hissing in frustration as he kept drawing a blank on how he would get up there to face Kaos Eklipse. Then, a memory struck him, one from long ago...
[FLASHBACK]
"Mother, why are we running?! Should we not stand our ground, defend our right to be a family despite what is considered normal?!" a much younger Drakkus asked of a tall honey-colored Earth Pony mare over the sound of yelling and shouting behind them, as he tried his best to not be sick from the smell of the singed fur coming from her now missing Cutie Marks. The mare, not looking back for even a second, addressed her foal.
"No, son! They will NEVER relent! To them, my love for your father, and your existence as a living being are crimes against nature! However, we cannot run for much longer! Sooner or later, they WILL catch up to us!" she shouted. Stopping to rest for a few seconds, the mare had a look of grim realisation on her face.
"There is only one option, my son. I must face the consequences for my actions. As for you, you must continue running." she said, looking her son directly in the eyes. The younger Drakkus closed his eyes sadly, both knowing and hating that she was right. Setting the halfling on the ground, Drakkus' mother quickly began Reverse Casting.
"Morf won ot doohtluda, ym nos llahs eb elbisivni ot lla tub esoht mohw lliw ton egduj mih rof woh eh skool, dna yna ohw OD ees mih lliw evig mih eht erac eh sevresed." she said.
A faint shimmer of light surrounded young Drakkus, his eyes going wide as his mother turned around and started walking slowly towards the approaching angry mob. The last words Drakkus' mother spoke to him would stay with him for many years to come:
"Stay true to thine own nature, Drakkus. I may not be physically by your side in the future, but I shall ALWAYS have a place in your heart. My final gifts to you are the spell I just cast, and the form of magic I used to cast it: Reverse Casting. Should you find yourself in need of it, speak aloud a desired effect in reverse. Now run, son. Run and do not look back!"
[END FLASHBACK]
Drakkus allowed a single tear to fall from his dracquine cheek before re-focusing his mind on the task at hand.
"I tsum ecaf eht reyarteb, soaK espilkE. Ekat em ot sih ranul rial." Drakkus whispered. Within a flash of dark light, the halfling had disappeared.
(On the moon, five minutes before Drakkus got to Earth...)
Baoshi Long was fidgeting, nervously awaiting a report from the brainwashed cybernetic Leroy.
"He is taking too long... Where could he be? I wish I'd gone with him, so I could see!" the ex-T-Rex muttered. After a few more minutes of waiting, Leroy teleported in. Baoshi Long breathed a minor sigh of relief, then made his way to his master's throne chamber.
"My lord and master, Leroy has returned. So... Uh... Your trust, have I re-earned?" the dragon queried nervously. The dark pegasus' eyes glowed a faint crimson in the shadows of his throne chamber, as they narrowed in thought.
"Indeed you have, my disciple. Now... let us-" the evil pony's thought was cut off by the sounds of energy weapon discharge coming from the main room. Rushing out, the sight that met Baoshi Long and Kaos Eklipse's gaze was startling:
"Thou art nothing but a distraction, techno-organic! Stand down and allow me to bring the vile wretch that is Kaos Eklipse to justice for all that he hath done!" Drakkus shouted at Leroy, narrowly avoiding the energy discharge from his cybernetic eye.
"NEGATIVE. YOUR DESTRUCTION WILL BE ACHIEVED BY THIS UNIT." Leroy stated.
Baoshi Long gave a nervous glance to his master.
"...End this." Kaos growled, his eyes glowing like neon. Nodding quickly, Baoshi Long flew straight into the middle of the action. Sighing in frustration, Kaos Eklipse used his dark magic to create a communication screen in front of him. After roughly thirty seconds of waiting, the face of Midnight Dazzle appeared in front of the evil overlord.
"How goes it?" Kaos Eklipse asked, as the cacophony behind him appeared to distract the alicorn in front of him for a second.
"Not as anticipated, my liege. It would seem that your initial plan failed. Angelique Starlight has been freed from her eternal slumber." the traitor reported.
"Unfortunately, I already knew this." Kaos said, turning the screen around for a moment to show Drakkus Darkwing fighting ferociously against both Baoshi Long and the cyborg Leroy.
"Should I continue to follow them?" the alicorn asked. The dark pony shook his head.
"No. For now, I need you here... By my side." he said, grinning coyly. Fluttering her eyelashes and grinning back, Midnight Dazzle ended her side of the communique. Kaos closed his end and smirked knowingly.
'Those poor simpletons in Equestria have NO idea...' he thought, awaiting his partner's arrival...
(Back on Earth, at the portal...)
Whirlwind Kawena's group had just emerged from the Equestria-Earth portal, and Angelique Starlight's gaze immediately fixed itself upon Earth's moon.
"That is where we must go, young ones, for that is where I sense my counterpart's energy the strongest." she stated. Before anyone could take another step, two familiar forms came soaring in from above the group, while three more familiar forms emerged from the portal.
"Shinjitsu, Yume, what are you both doing here? Shouldn't you be on Izayoi with Yuuna?" Lilo asked the Experiments. Twilight Sparkle voiced similar concerns to Spike, Solaris Luna and Terra Firma about the library back in Equestria. Both small groups said the same thing:
"Something told us that we needed to be here, to help you."
(Back on the moon...)
Kaos Eklipse watched in boredom as Drakkus Darkwing kept essentially mopping the floor with his lackeys. Stifling a yawn, the dark pegasus checked the Sun's position to get a rough estimate of just how long the fight was taking. He was interrupted from his thoughts by the sound of hooves clacking against the hard floor behind him.
"Are they STILL going at it?" the familiar form of Midnight Dazzle asked as she came up behind her leader. Eklipse nodded.
"Indeed. It would seem that the halfling has more stamina than I gave him credit for. So tell me, how is your... 'Guest'?" the pegasus queried, quirking a knowing eyebrow. Midnight smirked, the irises of her eyes turning jet black for a second.
"Suffice it to say that she's becoming more submissive to our- I mean YOUR will with each passing day, my liege." the alicorn said, bowing respectfully to her master. Eklipse chuckled, gesturing for his right-hoof mare to stand back up. Both villains were startled out of their good mood by a draconic roar.
"ENOUGH OF THIS, YOU STOOGES! HELLFIRE BEAM!" Drakkus shouted, firing a burst of black fire directly at the lackeys, sending them flying into the nearest wall where they lost consciousness. Looking up at his true adversary, Drakkus snarled acidicly at Kaos Eklipse...
(Back on Earth, aboard the BRB-BNB...)
"You POSITIVE you know how to fly this thing? Yami asked Whirlwind Kawena as the final preparations for take-off were being done. The time traveller nodded and smirked confidently, keying in the last part of an instant-warp code he'd developed into the ship's computer.
"Hang onto your stomaches, everyone... This is going to be VERY disorientating when it's over!" Whirlwind Kawena announced to his passengers. Those that could, fastened their safety belts as tight as was comfortable, while everyone else simply grabbed the nearest object affixed to the floor. Jumba, whom was in the co-pilot's seat, began the countdown:
"Transwarp in five Terran seconds. Four... Three... Two... One... Initiate, older little boy!"
Faster than the eye can blink, the ship and its' occupants (In other words, the Ohana sans Nani, David, Pleakley and any Experiments other than Stitch, Angel, Shinjitsu, Yume, or Yami) had warped all the way to the moon...
(Back with Drakkus and Kaos...)
After having dealt with Leroy and Baoshi Long, Drakkus had begun a ferocious fight against Kaos Eklipse, taking any opportunity he could to either bite or breathe fire on the dark pegasus. Eklipse was hardly taking any damage, though, as he deftly ducked, dodged, and weaved through most of the halfling's attacks. Suddenly, the (late, I might add) intruder alarm went off, klaxons blaring all throughout the base. Eklipse shouted to his partner.
"MY DEAR, DO TAKE CARE OF THAT, WON'T YOU?! I'M A LITTLE PREOCCUPIED AT THE MOMENT!"
Nodding, the alicorn appeared to vanish into thin air, leaving nothing but disturbed air in her place.
(In one of the halls of the moonbase...)
The landing had been quite rough, but all aboard the ship were unhurt, and were currently rushing through the base as the intruder alarm continued to blare.
"Thisisnotgoodnotgoodnotgood, SOOONOTGOOD!" Sonic Blurr whined. The others, although annoyed by the speedster's complaining, found it hard to disagree. The group stopped when they arrived in what appeared to be the main foyer.
"At times like this, I REALLY wish this was a Daring Doo novel with the guaranteed success of the mission..." Rainbow Dash said. Both Whirlwinds nodded in unison, both still unable to take their eyes off the rainbow-maned pony. A sudden burst of smoke before the group quickly caught everyone's attention. Emerging from the smoke, the familiar form of Midnight Dazzle smirked evilly at them.
"Midnight? Wha-" Twilight was interrupted by sinister chuckling coming from the alicorn before them.
"Oh, Twilight... You are SO naive. I'm not who you think I am. For that matter, I'm not WHAT you think I am, either." the apparently fake Midnight Dazzle said as her form began to shift into six very familiar forms. The group watched in silent terror as the alicorn was soon replaced by near-perfect replicas of the Mane Six, with the only dissimilarities being their colors and Cutie Marks.
"We are the very embodiments of your Harmony Elements' exact opposites, or as we like to call ourselves: The Elements of Anarchy." the Twilight look-alike stated. "We have no names, but for the purposes of address, you may call us by what we represent."
The Applejack look-alike spoke next. "Ah reckon ya'll can call me 'Deception', then again, we's COULD be lyin' about what we REALLY are."
The Fluttershy look-alike, who looked very mean-spirited compared to the original, chimed in. "I'm Cruelty, and don't forget it, c**ts."
Rainbow Dash's look-alike, who had a monochrome mane and tail, was next. "I'm Indifference, but, hey, war ain't all it's cracked up to be... For that matter, neither is peace. Eh, whatever."
Pinkie Pie's look-alike didn't seem all that enthusiastic about talking, but went ahead after a glare from Twilight's counterpart. "I'm Despair, and... and... OH, WHAT'S THE USE?! WE'RE GONNA GET BEATEN SEVEN WAYS TO SUNDAY BY THESE GUYS AND END UP AS WORM-FOOD!" she wailed before curling up in a fetal position and sobbing into her tail.
Rarity's double rolled her eyes at Despair before fixing her gaze on Spike, making the little dragon feel uncomfortable.
"Spike can call me whatever he wants, the rest of you can call me 'Greed'." she said huskily, fluttering her eyelashes lustfully at Spike as he hid behind Twilight's back legs.
Licking her lips predatorially, Twilight's duplicate was the last of the Elements of Anarchy to speak. "As for myself, I'm... Illusion. And in case you were wondering about your REAL cousin, Twilight... Well, it's as they say: one pony's trash is another's treasure." she said, gesturing towards the entrance to the dungeon. The Mane Six lined up in front of their counterparts.
"Whirlwind, and I mean both of you, leave the Elements of Anarchy to us. The real threat is Kaos Eklipse, so take your Ohana, friends, and Angelique Starlight to him and defeat him. I'll rescue my cousin once these doppelgangers are out of the way." Twilight told the time traveller and his younger self. Nodding in unison, both Whirlwinds lagged behind the rest of their group as they reluctantly left, With Whirlwind Kawena greatly concerned for Rainbow Dash's safety.
(Back with the still ongoing fight...)
Drakkus was starting to feel fatigued, his strength leaving him as he started to take a few hits from Eklipse's Umbral Sphere attack.
"UMBRAL SPHERE!" the dark pegasus shouted once more, a sphere of pure black energy forming between the horns on his head before discharging directly into Drakkus' chest. Landing hard on his back, Drakkus started fading in and out of consciousness. A voice from just outside the room brought the halfling back to the waking world.
"Do not yield to Kaos' power just yet, Drakkus Darkwing!" the mighty voice of Angelique Starlight shouted as she and the rest of the group entered the room. Kaos Eklipse gave his former love a glare that would make even Cobra Bubbles quake in fear.
"So... You HAVE returned. Very well, then. Let this be the last time we face each other, Angelique." the dark pegasus growled. Angelique Starlight snorted aggressively.
"Indeed."
(Back with the Mane Six and the Elements of Anarchy...)
The fight had started up pretty much the second the rest of the group had left the room. Twilight and Illusion were having an old-fashioned wizard's duel, in which they would turn into different animals in an attempt to destroy one another, Applejack and Deception were wrestling, Rarity and Greed were, to put it mildly, having a catfight, Fluttershy was shrieking in terror as Cruelty chased her wildly around the room, Rainbow Dash was having a hard time even CONVINCING Indifference to fight, and Pinkie Pie was sitting uncomfortably as she tried to console Despair, who wouldn't stop crying.
"Hold still, you f**ker! You're only gonna get it worse in the end if you keep running from me!" Cruelty shouted as she attempted multiple times to snag her counterpart's tail with little success. She stopped temporarily in her tracks as a purple Peregrine falcon and a purple flying squirrel cut her off.
"Hey, Illusion, watch where you're going f**kface!"
"Come on, already! Just put up your dukes and fight me!" Rainbow Dash complained. Indifference just yawned and pulled out an old battered up Daring Doo novel, reading from where she'd left a bookmark. Rainbow Dash facehoofed and groaned in frustration.
Pinkie Pie's hair was going limp, as Despair's depression began to affect the normally joy-filled pink pony.
"Pleasedon'thurtmepleasedon'thurtmepleasedon'thurtme..." Despair sobbed into her tail, her tears having created a puddle around her. Pinkie Pie was at her wits' end when she thought of something.
"Wait a second... Despair, why do you and the other Elements of Anarchy look almost exactly like us?" Pinkie Pie asked her double. Whimpering, Despair began to explain.
"E-everyp-pony h-has a... A d-dark side. W-we're basically th-the part of each of y-your personalities that you've all managed to suppress." Despair whispered. Gesturing for Pinkie Pie to come closer, Despair continued. "The only way to defeat us is to acknowledge that we exist, even in some small part, within each of you."
Pinkie Pie's hair sprung back to normal, as a look of resolve washed across her face.
"Then I'll be the first to admit that, a lot of the times we've gone up against something dangerous, I've felt like there was nothing we could do to stop it. But that's in the past! Even if a situation looks hopeless, I have to think positive thoughts, or else we really ARE doomed!" the pink pony announced, just loud enough for her friends to hear. Glowing a soft pink, Despair slowly faded from existence, leaving behind only a small tiara bearing her counterpart's Harmony element: Laughter. Placing the tiara upon her head, Pinkie Pie turned to her friends.
"Your turn, guys!" she announced. Applejack bit her lip.
"As much as Ah hate ta admit it, Ah HAVE told a few lies in mah tahme. Mostly when Ah wuz younger, but recently Ah've bin' tellin' a lie that would make Granny Smith ashamed o' me. There's sumthin' Ah've kept secret from ya'll fer too long... Ah've bin' stealin' apples from tha harvests an' piggin' out on 'em when nopony wuz lookin'! Ah know it's wrong, though, so that's why Ah'm gonna tell Granny Smith what Ah've done an' face tha consequences like a decent pony!" she said, falling face-first on the floor as Deception de-materialised, leaving another tiara, this one bearing the Honesty Element.
One after the other, the rest of the Mane Six admitted to the respective faults that their Anarchy Element counterparts represented, leaving only Illusion standing before them.
"Twilight... You know I'm more a complex part of your shame, don't you?" Illusion said, smirking sinisterly. Twilight swallowed nervously, praying that what she was about to say would be forgiven by her friends.
"The reason Illusion is the fault in my personality is that... Everyone's been under the assumption that I can cast spells the way any other unicorn or alicorn can normally. That sadly, is the illusion. I can only use Reverse Casting, and nobody ever knew. Not even..." Twilight hesitated. Illusion began laughing evilly.
"Go on, Twi... Reveal to your so-called 'Friends' what's going on!" the Element of Anarchy goaded. Twilight started to cry as she revealed the truth.
"Not even the ones closest to me knew! Not my parents, not my brother, not the Princesses, not Spike, not even you! Not even my friends knew..." Twilight sobbed, hiding her face in shame with her wings. Illusion chuckled darkly as she began to de-materialise.
"Such a dark secret... Let's hope your precious friends can forgive you for it!" the Element of Anarchy cackled, the only thing left in her place a crown bearing the final Element of Harmony: Magic. The rest of the Mane Six just watched in stunned silence as Twilight continued to sob.
(A/N: ...Wow... That took an unexpected turn, didn't it? I'm building up to the finale from this point onwards, so stay tuned!)
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but my characters.