The defenders of Equestria stared in horror at the replicas of some of their worst enemies.
"Well, well." Dread smirked, relishing the moment. "You ponies certainly have quite the rogues' gallery, don't you?" He took an appraising look at his work. "I don't blame you for fearing the bug queen here..." He glanced at the Chrysalis replica. "But this?" He noted the faux Cozy Glow. "I don't think I want to know the story of how this is considered scary... And is that a monkey?" He scoffed at the Storm King copy. "Oh, well... Attack!"
The grey scale facsimiles mindlessly charged at the Mane Six.
"Everypony scatter!" Twilight instructed. "We'll stand a better chance if we get them to spread out!"
"You got it, Twi!" Applejack nodded, as she dived out of the way of a swing from the simulated Storm King's staff.
"I actually used to dream about beating up evil Changelings!" Rainbow smirked as she flew in circles around the Chrysalis copy, drawing its ire. "Catch me if ya can, Queen ripoff!" She jeered as she took to the sky.
The duplicate Chrysalis took off after her.
"I think I had an actual nightmare like this once!" Fluttershy admitted, as she evaded a shadowed blast from the Cozy Glow double.
The faux Sombra fired blasts of its own at Pinkie.
"Whoa!" Pinkie squeaked as she narrowly dodged. "I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure this isn't proper royal etiquette, Kingy!"
Snarling, the copy increased the barrage. The energetic mare bounced around like a hyperactive pinball, making a target that was near impossible to get a bead on.
"Come and get me, your highness!" Pinkie giggled as she pronked away.
The Sombra copy silently pursued its target.
The Tirek replica charged at Twilight. She teleported out of the way, and it crashed through the castle wall, landing in the courtyard.
"Not again..." Twilight groaned. "The royal builders fixed this place only a few months ago!"
Twilight flew down to the Tirek replica, firing magic at it.
Back in the castle, Rarity was confronted by the nightmare version of the Pony of Shadows.
"Honestly, darlings?" She sighed haughtily. "Of all the villain replicas here, I have to face off against the most drab one of them all?"
The faux Pony of Shadows lashed out with tendrils of shadow. Rarity put up a diamond-shaped shield just in time, and the tendril splattered against it.
"And definitely a contender for 'most disgusting'." Rarity cringed.
The replica lashed out again. Rarity leapt aside, and raced down the stairs, leading her foe to a more open battlefield: the castle ballroom.
"First time I've ever been glad not to be wearing a dress here..." She muttered.
Twilight flew around the Tirek copy, evading its blasts.
"Well, he's definitely as relentless as the real Tirek..." She noted.
The Tirek double fired again, landing a glancing hit on Twilight.
"Argh!" Twilight yelped, barely able to stay aloft. As she steadied herself, the astute Alicorn realized something. "Wait..."
The Tirek born of terror fired again. Twilight held her ground (so to speak) and threw up her forcefield. As the blast glanced off the barrier, Twilight noted that it didn't carry nearly as much as force as an attack from the real Tirek when he was that size. Her horn lit up, and she utilized a spell that allowed her to link to the minds of her friends, allowing her to share this revelation with them.
'Can everypony hear me?' She thought as intensely as she could.
"Twilight?" Fluttershy frowned, trying to evade the copy Cozy's magic blasts.
"Ooh, can you read minds now?" Pinkie asked.
'More like send mental messages.' Twilight replied.
"Is this really the best time to be showing off, darling?" Rarity frowned.
'Actually, it is.' Twilight smiled. 'Because I just found out something you'll want to know about these walking encore acts.'
"Well, don't leave us in suspense, sugahcube." Applejack urged, ducking a swing from the simulated Storm King's staff. "Go ahead an' spill the beans!"
'These replicas.... they're not nearly as powerful as the originals!' She called out to her friends.
"Seriously?" Rainbow frowned, slightly disappointed.
"I cannot stand cheap imitations..." Rarity said scornfully.
"They may not be as powerful as the real deals, but they're still more trouble than a mealworm infestation!" Applejack declared as she evaded the false Storm King's attack.
'But If we keep up the tempo, use our heads, we can take them!' Twilight told them. 'Let's go for it, girls!'
"Right!" The other chorused, ready to continue battling their foes with renewed zeal.
The Storm King facsimile fired a bolt of energy from its pseudo Staff of Sacanas. Applejack managed to dodge it, then leapt away from another. As she evaded a third blast, she realized she had been backed up against a wall.
"Whoa, Nelly..." She gulped.
The nightmare creature grinned wickedly as it approached her, the staff pointed straight at her. Her senses heightened by adrenaline, Applejack took note of a stone pillar to her left.
"Think ya got me cornered, huh?" She narrowed her eyes as she slowly moved toward the pillar. "Well, think again, pardner!"
The Storm King copy fired another blast at Applejack. The mare ducked just before it hit, and the beam struck the pillar itself, fracturing it. Without skipping a beat, Applejack rolled over to the pillar's side, and kicked it as hard she could. The force of her infamously powerful legs caused the pillar to topple, right on top of the false Storm King (who only had time to take on an expression of horror). The apparition exploded into dark smoke, leaving no trace behind.
"Did Ah forget tah say 'heads up'?" Applejack smirked. "Silly me..."
Meanwhile, Fluttershy was still being pursued by the counterfeit Cozy. The double wore a smile every bit as twisted as the real Cozy as it fired at Fluttershy.
"This is almost as much of a nightmare as the actual nightmare!" Fluttershy cringed.
One of the false Cozy's blasts struck Fluttershy in the side.
"Ouch!" Fluttershy yelped, as she started losing altitude. "Oh, dear..."
Spotting a nearby tree, Fluttershy just barely managed to direct herself into landing its canopy, breaking her fall. Her respite was only temporary, as the nightmare Cozy fired more blasts, forcing her to duck into the tree branches.
"That was close." She gasped.
Fluttershy was quick to notice that she was not alone; a bluejay had made a nest on one of the branches, and was warming several eggs.
"Oh, pardon me!" Fluttershy apologized. "I didn't mean to intrude..."
A bolt of dark magic ripped through, including the the mother bird and her nest was perched on.
"Oh, no!" Fluttershy yelped.
The bluejay mother squawked in terror as the nest fell, unwilling to leave eggs. Fortunately for her, Fluttershy (utilizing a speed she rarely called upon) managed to swoop down and catch the nest.
"Are you all okay?" She asked, gently lowering the nest to the ground.
The mother bird twittered her gratitude.
"You're quite welcome." Fluttershy smiled.
Another bolt of colorless magic flew past Fluttershy, and her smile immediately faded, replaced by cold fury. She looked up at the copy Cozy as it descended upon her.
"Attacking me is one thing." Fluttershy growled. "But almost harming a defenseless mama bird and her poor eggs? That crosses the line!" She glared at the copy Cozy. "No more ms. nice guy!"
Fluttershy put a hoof in her mouth, and let out a piercing whistle. Almost immediately, animals of all shapes and sizes started arriving, from weasels and mice to the swans who guarded the castle grounds.
"Thank you for answering my call, friends." Fluttershy smiled. "Now, let's show this meanie what happens when you callously endanger animals on Fluttershy's watch!"
As one, the animals answered Fluttershy call to arms; the birds divebombed at the fake Cozy, while the flightless animals climbed any and all high structures they could find, and joined the attack. The shadow was completely overwhelmed, unable to fend off the horde of outraged animals. Now it was the copy's turn to drop out of the sky, dissipating into smoke on impact.
"Nopony messes with animals on Fluttershy's watch." Fluttershy smiled, turning to look at her animal allies. "Good work, friends. Remind me to bring you some treats the next time I'm in the neighborhood!"
The animals squeaked, squawked and chattered as Fluttershy ran back to the castle to rejoin her friends.
Back in the castle, Pinkie was still bouncing around, her random leaps keeping her one step ahead of the synthetic Sombra.
"Whee!" She evaded another blast. "You're sure not the king of aim, are you?"
The shadow Sombra snarled... then smirked.
"That's the spirit!" Pinkie grinned. "Everypony should have fun, I always say-urk!"
The party pony was stopped in her tracks as a crystal growth suddenly formed around her hoof, faceplanting onto the floor.
The Sombra copy advanced on Pinkie, its horn sparking.
"You're just as a big a party-pooper as the real Sombra!" Pinkie pouted.
The living shadow fired, hitting Pinkie with a blast that sent her flying.
"Whoaaa-oof!" Pinkie yelped, hitting the floor hard.
"That's the way you wanna play it, huh, your highness? Well, the Queen of Parties has got a little present for you, Sombra!" Pinkie smirked. "Something to really help this party end with a bang! Can you guess what it is?"
The shadow Sombra fired again, the blast kicking up a big cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, Pinkie was nowhere to be seen. Perplexed, the nightmare looked around... And found itself staring into the barrel of an unusual piece of artillery.
"Party cannon!" Pinkie grinned.
The cannon fired, striking the counterfeit Sombra with a blast of confetti that sent it flying out of a shattered window The figure crashed into a tower, dissipating into smoke.
"Thanks for playing!" Pinkie whooped.
Up above, Rainbow was soaring and weaving through the clouds. The counterfeit Chrysalis was right behind her, firing blasts of dark magic from its horn.
"Is that all ya got?" Rainbow taunted her opponent as she dodged the blasts. "You may just be a cheap copy, but I expect you to at least make me break a sweat!"
Suddenly, Rainbow felt something cold and slimy envelop one of her rear hooves.
"What the-?” She turned and saw a strand of resin stuck to her hoof, and leading right back to the monstrosity's mouth. "Aw, gross!"
Before she could react further, Rainbow was swung around and slammed onto a roof.
"Guuhh!" She grunted in pain. "What was that I was saying about breaking something...?"
The Chrysalis copy tried to drag Rainbow off the roof. Thinking fast, Rainbow managed to use the point of a roof spike to cut herself free, and once again took to the skies.
"Not bad... For a rip-off!" She jeered. "But that trick won't work twice!"
Rainbow flew at top speed, the replica Chrysalis in hot pursuit.
"That's it..." Rainbow grinned, making sure the copy was still following. "Stay right behind me."
The copy fired more magic blasts and spat more resin, but Rainbow evaded her attacks by randomly zig-zagging. With a hiss, the copy picked up speed.
"You're goin' down." Rainbow grinned. "But not before me..."
Rainbow flew downwards, her foe following. They drew closer and closer to the ground. To an outside observer, it seemed as though Rainbow was going to crash. But, seconds before reaching the ground, Rainbow veered off to the side, avoiding the impact. The faux Chrysalis was not so lucky, only having time to hiss in horror before crashing into the ground.
"Ooh!" Rainbow winced. "Been there!"
Taking advantage of her foe's incapacitation, Rainbow gathered as many clouds as she could find, and moulded them together into one big storm cloud.
Down below, the copy Chrysalis struggled out of the crater formed by its crash.
"Up here!" Rainbow called out. "If you thought that crash was a surprise, then this'll really shock ya!"
Rainbow kicked the storm cloud, causing it to discharge a powerful bolt of lightning... Right at the fake Chrysalis.
'KRAKOOOM!'
The bolt of lightning struck the copy dead center. With a bloodcurdling screech, it exploded into black smoke.
"Oh, yeah!" Rainbow cheered. "Don't mess with the Dash!"
Back inside the castle, Rarity was struggling against her shadowy opponent, just barely managing to evade its inky tendrils.
"Where's an industrial-sized mop when you need one?" She cringed, sidestepping web-like strands of shadow.
Unfortunately for Rarity, the replica had anticipated her movement, and caught her in a tendril.
"Release me, you disgusting brute!" Rarity struggled.
The faux Pony of Shadows titled its head mockingly, then threw Rarity across the room. She crashed into a drape, and tumbled to the ground, the fabric landing atop her head. Its cruelty far from other, the nightmare lashed out with more tendrils, tearing into the fabric.
"Ooh!" Rarity yelped. "Have you no respect for taste? These drapes tied the whole room together!"
As the replica beared down on Rarity, she got an idea. Producing another diamond-shaped shield to buy some time, she she detached every drape from the ballroom's many windows. Just as the fiend's attack began to crack the shield, she flung the curtains at it. The copy roared in surprise as the curtains enveloped it.
"It turns out the room isn't the only thing these drapes can tie together!" Rarity smirked, as her foe struggled to escape the right ball of fabric. "And now, for the coup de grace..."
Screwing up her face in concentration, Rarity compressed the trap as much as she could, then flung it across the room. The makeshift trap pinballed across the room, striking every wall in rapid succession succession, until finally, it exploded in a burst of smoke and fabric.
"What a waste of perfectly good fabric..." Rarity sighed as she looked upon the shredded fabric. "But at least your sacrifice wasn't in vain..."
Outside, Twilight was clashing fiercely with the replica Tirek, exchanging blasts of magic.
"Your counterfeit rampage ends here!" She declared.
The Princess of Friendship fired a blast at the false Tirek's face. As the replica stumbled back, Twilight gathered as much magic as she could into her horn. The copy recovered, and fired a retaliatory blast at Twilight. She teleported out of the way, and rematerialized right behind it.
"Surprise!" She yelled, releasing the magic in one big burst.
The blast punched a hole clean through the copy's chest. It had only a second to register a look before its body dissipated into smoke like all the others.
'Everypony, back to the the castle.' She utilized her mental communication spell once more. 'It's time we put Dread in his place.'
Dread snarled angrily, having observed most of his creations' defeats from his vantage point. Nocreature had ever managed to put up so much resistance against him before, and he didn't like it. As the Mane Six regrouped before them, he regarded them with utter hatred.
"Is that the best you've got got?" Rainbow taunted him. "A few cheap knockoffs?"
"A few?" Dread smirked, regaining some of his prior arrogance. "You forget who I am, little pony. All fears are mine to bring to life. I decided to throw some of the big ones at you. Now let's see how you handle a lot of the lesser nightmares your fellow ponies have!"
Dread tapped his medallion, and it glowed once more. This time, the smoke that emerged took on many more forms, that of Timberwolves, Chimarae, Orthroses, Cragadiles, and many more terrifying creatures.
"Quite the menagerie, eh?" Dread snickered. "Sic 'em, kiddies!"
The nightmare creatures charged at the Mane Six. Thinking quickly, Twilight created a dome-shaped shield around them, deflecting the creatures from attacking.
"Now what, fearless leader?" Rainbow asked Twilight.
"We have to get to Dread's medallion." Twilight declared. "If we can destroy it, it should get rid of these nightmare creatures, and bring everypony out of their trances."
"Sounds like a plan tah me." Applejack nodded.
"But how are we going to get to him?" Fluttershy asked.
"Past all these creatures?" Rarity added.
"Anypony got any monster treats on 'em?" Pinkie offered.
"I think I can buy us a little time." Twilight screwed up her face in concentration. "Get ready to move..."
At Twilight's whim, the forcefield suddenly expanded outwards, sending the creatures flying backwards. Some struck solid obstacles and exploded, while others flew further away.
"What th-?” Dread was momentarily surprised, but regained his focus in seconds. "There's more where that came from!" He raised a hand to his medallion.
Before Dread could make contact with the source of his power, he found himself being knocked sideways by a blast from Pinkie's party cannon.
"Attacking me with little pieces of colored paper?" Dread scowled, brushing the confetti away. "Is that the best you've got?"
"No." Pinkie said blithely. "I'm just a distraction!"
"Distraction?" Dread's eyes widened.
At the same time, Twilight and Rarity used their magic to lift chunks of rock out of the ground. Applejack then kicked the rock chunks right at Dread.
"Guhhh!" The villain grunted in pain as the twin impacts proved sufficient to knock him off his feet.
Pinkie wasted no time in leaping over and trying to grab the medallion while Dread was down.
"Nice party favor. Mind if I borrow it?" She reached for it.
Just before she could touch the medallion, Dread grabbed her hoof.
"I do mind, actually!" He growled.
Pinkie was thrown into the air by the muscular Kobold.
"Yipe!" Pinkie squeaked.
"I got you, Pinkie!" Fluttershy flew up to catch her friend. The inertia of Pinkie's flight almost knocked her out of the air, but she managed to hold steady.
"Whoa, what a ride!" Pinkie said dazedly.
As Dread stood up, he noticed that his armor had cracked from the impact of the rock.
"Grrr..." He snarled. "Do you have any idea how much effort it took to get this? I couldn't exactly get it secondhand,you know!"
As he reached for the medallion again, a chartreuse ribbon wrapped around his hand, trapping it.
"I think it looks stunning on you, darling!" Rarity grinned.
Dread tried his other hand,but it was similarly entrapped.
"Rainbow, you're up!" Twilight called.
Rainbow flew over to Dread, and began flying around him in circles, faster and faster. In moments, a rainbow-colored Twister had formed, lifting Dread up into the air.
"More like he's up!" Rainbow joked.
Abruptly, Rainbow ceased her rotational movement. The twister dissipated, and Dread dropped to the ground with a powerful thud, resulting in more damage to his armor.
"Magic-proof? Yeah." Rainbow grinned. "Crash-proof? Not so much..."
"Rrrahh!!" Dread leapt to his feet, tearing apart the ribbons covering his hands. "Now I'm gonna-!”
Before he could touch the medallion, Applejack lassoed him with her trusty rope, pinning his arms to his sides.
"Ah don't think so, pardner!" She said boldly.
At Fluttershy's command, her critter friends from earlier swarmed Dread.
"Oh, come on!" Dread cringed. "Seriously?"
One of the animals, a ferret, chewed through the string keeping the medallion around Dread's neck.
"Good work, Lloyd!" Fluttershy cheered. "Now bring it here!"
Lloyd complied, jumping off Dread and scampering over.
"NO!" Dread roared.
With a burst of strength, Dread broke free of the lasso. He followed up this feat by slamming both his newly freed fists into the ground, creating a tremor that threw everypony (and critter) off their feet. The medallion flew out of Lloyd's paws, clattering across the stone of the castle grounds.
"Did you really think it would be that easy?" He snarled, walking toward the medallion.
"Easy this!" Rainbow swooped downward, seeking to grab the medallion.
Dread grabbed a chunk of loose rock and threw it directly into Rainbow's path.
"Whoa!" Rainbow veered sharply to avoid the projectile, causing her to crash into a nearby tree. "Ugh!"
"I'll take that as a 'yes'." Dread smirked, as he reached for his medallion...
The medallion was suddenly covered in a magical glow, and flew out of Dread's grasp.
"I don't think so." Twilight declared, taking advantage of the fact that the magic-resistant effect of Dread's armor had no effect on the medallion when it wasn't on his person.
"No!" Dread yelled. He made to strike the ground again... Only to be knocked down by the recovered Rainbow.
"Remember me?" Rainbow taunted.
"Nice one, RD!" Pinkie grinned.
"AJ, you're up!" Twilight called, as she set the medallion down on the stone path.
"Time tah put mah hoof down!" Applejack declared.
The apple-loving mare slammed her hoof down on the medallion with all the Earth Pony strength she could muster. The metal disk shattered, unleashing a burst of light and smoke.
"NOOOOO!!" Dread screamed.
The remaining nightmare creatures dissipated, and those who had been forced to live their worst nightmares awoke from their trances.
"Scratch one medallion." Applejack smirked, raising her hoof to reveal the shattered remains of the medallion.
"Now that's puttin' your hoof down!" Rainbow grinned as she rejoined her friends.
"Okay, everypony, time to finish this." Twilight declared.
The Mane Six joined hooves, and began to glow. Together, they lifted up into the air, surrounded by a sphere of multi-colored light. They hovered over Dread, who was far from willing to admit defeat.
"You think you've won?" The self-styled master of fear snarled defiantly. "Not even close. I conquered my homeland in a matter of days. I made its mightiest defenders drop to their knees in terror. All by using the most basic and primal of weapons: fear. Fear cannot be erased. Fear can never be removed from this world." His eyes widened madly. "Fear is the mightiest power of all!"
"You're wrong, Dread." Twilight declared, her eyes glowing with pure white light. "There's a power even stronger than fear. And that power is..."
"Friendship!" The six called out together.
A stream of rainbow-colored light emerged from the glowing orb, descending upon Dread.
"No!" He screamed, as the light engulfed him. "I can't lose! Not after all my planning, all my preparations!" He realized his feet were sinking into the ground. "You can't do this to me! NOOOOOO!"
The rainbow beam increased in brightness, almost blinding the villain. When the light cleared, Dread found himself trapped in a cage, within a vast underground cavern. Up ahead, a giant, three-headed dog stood on guard.
"This can't be happening..." Dread gasped, his months of research having made him him well aware of where he was. "You can't lock me up in here forever!" He rattled uselessly against the bars of his cage. "I'll find a way out of here! Then I'll make you wish you had destroyed me! I'm not done with you all yet, just you wait and see! RAAAARRRGH!" His scream echoed through the walls of Tartarus, barely being acknowledged by his fellow inmates.
Back on the surface, the Mane Six celebrated their victory.
"WOO-HOO!" Pinkie cheered. "Finally, I can plan another 'we just saved Equestria' party!"
"Another win for us." Rainbow grinned. "Looks like we've still got it."
"Darn tootin'." Applejack nodded. "Ain't so much as missed a step..."
"I almost forgot how exciting these adventures of ours can be." Fluttershy admitted, breathing slightly heavier than usual.
"And how tough on the mane they can be, too." Rarity straightened her purple curls. "But it's still worth every disheveled hair."
"It's just like old times." Twilight smiled. "No matter how far apart we are, we can always come together in order to save Equestria."
"So I guess what Twilight is saying is... there was never anything to fear!" Pinkie joked.
The others groaned good-naturedly.
"What?" Pinkie shrugged. "Who doesn't like a good after-battle joke?"
"Right now, the scariest thing in Equestria is that joke, darling." Rarity teased.
"Very funny." Pinkie pouted.
The others laughed lightheartedly. Even Pinkie couldn't help but join in.
In a flash of light, Discord and Starlight appeared.
"We guessed from the familiar burst of rainbow-colored light that you took down the bad guy." Discord announced. "And lo and behold, you did!"
"Like there was ever any doubt." Starlight chuckled.
"Eh, it was a piece a' cake." Rainbow bragged.
"Mmm, cake..." Pinkie grinned.
"Just another day at the office, darlings." Rarity smiled.
"That's one way of putting it..." Fluttershy noted.
"Your highness!" Flash Magnus arrived on the scene. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine, Flash Magnus." Twilight smiled. "Though we're going to have to call the royal builders and have some repair work done..."
"Of course, Princess." Flash Magnus chuckled.
"Still, it's a small price to pay, when the safety of Equestria is assured once again." Twilight declared. "Not to mention the land Dread used to rule over..."
"So we saved two lands at once." Rainbow grinned. "That's a new record!"
"It sure is, sugahcube." Applejack chuckled.
"So we should have a double-sided party!" Pinkie announced. "We're gonna need extra streamers, and cake, and confetti... I'll definitely need to bring extra ammo for the ol' party cannon..."
Twilight chuckled to herself. Even in the face of overwhelming fear, she and her friends had stood strong. It was a shining example of how, together, they could face any new threat that arose. Equestria truly couldn't be in safer hooves.