Clones. Clones as far as the eye could see.

Tightly packed together, row by row they stood. While most looked completely identical to the original Twilight, a few stood out from the rest—some larger with extra muscle, some taller and lankier. An entire row was packed with patiently watching Twilight fillies, the one at the center of them all adorning a pair of oversized glasses above her nose.

General Sparkle took a quick glance at the filly with glasses and grunted in pain, her heart trying to slow down until it stopped. In front of the troops, she came to a halt and readjusted the green camo helmet atop her head. She spat a wad of chewed up grass onto the dirt.

“Now isn’t this a sore sight!” she announced, effortlessly slicing through the air with her words. “What a ragtag bunch of—”

“What did you say? Can you speak up, please?”

General Sparkle rolled her eyes. “Put a cork in it, Deaf Sparkle! You can’t hear anything anyways!”

“What was that?”

General Sparkle put a hoof to her forehead and pressed on. “I was about to go into detail about how much you all suck—about how Nega Sparkle is going to cream the lot of you unless you grow a backbone and manage to work together—but I think it’s high time we get this battle underway. I won’t do you the disservice of sugarcoating it, clones: for one, I’m not a baker, and for another, I’m not a very good liar. So here’s the skinny: there’s a good chance a lot of you will die today. Possibly chopped up into a hundred little pieces or devoured until there’s nothing left. You may be crushed, set on fire, impaled, have your very soul sucked out your mouth, or have nightmares so real and terrifying forced into your skulls that swift death with feel like a pleasure. I don’t mean to scare you—”

“But that’s exactly what you’re doing!” shouted Obvious Sparkle.

General Sparkle spit a wad onto the ground again. “I say all this for a rather good reason. Many of you have been left to simply blend into the background, myself included. This hat and this spitting bit? That’s basically all I have. Most of you don’t even have that. You’re cannon fodder, simple as that. The clones that have had scenes to themselves might actually make it out of this. If you were just mentioned in passing, say for a pun or something like that… things may go sour for you real soon. I’m looking at you, Deaf Sparkle.”

“What did she say? Was it important?”

“Never mind. By this point in time, I’m only rambling on to help my chances in surviving. Long speeches tend to be remembered. Then again, considering Sexy Sparkle bit the bullet less than two hours ago, it doesn’t seem like anyone is all that safe.”

General Sparkle took a curious glance to a clone in the front row with a curved red horn and red-and-green eyes, watching her closely. Floating in front of them was a notebook and quill, held close to their face.

General Sparkle gulped dryly. “Any questions before I divide you into groups?”

A clone in the second row raised a hoof. “How is it possible that one single Twilight mold is able to create all these different sized-and-shaped clones? I mean, that seems rather impossible, doesn’t it?”

General Sparkle titled her head. “I, uh, really don’t know. But I don’t think that’s all that important right—”

“How was Dark Sparkle able to get traces of Chrysalis, Sombra, Tirek, and Discord in order to create Nega Sparkle? And how it is she’s able to heal and stretch like she does?”

“That’s something I also don’t know. But moving on—”

“Why wasn’t someone sent to Fluttershy’s house the moment everyone was brought to the castle? Just so Sexy could sacrifice herself for no reason whatsoever? And why couldn’t the three of them simply teleport here? Does Nega have some teleport-halting powers that were never mentioned? Is she just making up her powers as she goes? And how is no one watching the cloning machine after all the terrible clones that have been created? You would have thought that by this point someone would be guarding it, right?”

General Sparkle strolled to the talkative clone and smiled at her thinly. “And your name would be?”

The clone nodded proudly. “Plot Hole Sparkle.”

“I see.”

General Sparkle turned to the right and saw the clone with the curved red horn drop their notepad to the ground and gasp. They locked eyes with her and slid a hoof across their neck, angling their head to Plot Hole Sparkle.

General Sparkle whistled, signaling for her second in commands to appear. Plot Hole Sparkle was promptly gagged and dragged away towards the castle, kicking and muttering the entire time.

She spit out the gag and shouted at the clone with the red horn. “Everyone knows what you’re doing! You’re not being clever! You know what this story and Swiss cheese have in common? Holes! Holes everywhere! And don’t get me started on the shifting tones!”

General Sparkle rolled their eyes and looked at the clone in the front row again. “You owe me for that. I don’t want no longwinded death scene, you hear?”

The clone picked up their notepad again and sighed, then scratched out a bit of writing before restarting.

Taking a breath, General Sparkle stood before her army of clones and spoke clearly.

“Let’s go to war!”

“So what’s the plan?” Rarity asked, pacing around the castle entryway as clones of all shapes and sizes scurried in all directions.

“Well…” Applejack said slowly, “we get in formation and then take it from there. We’ll lead Sparkle Sparkle outside and, if things go according to plan, she’ll come face to face with Nega and that’ll be that.”

Rarity cocked a brow. “What is ‘that’ supposed to mean? Sparkle Sparkle suddenly destroys Nega Sparkle with the flick of her horn and that’s that?”

“Hopefully, but still doubtful. Which is why we have all the clones on standby incase she needs some help. Although with someone like Sparkle Sparkle on the battlefield—someone not really in control of their powers—it might be best to just stay out of her way.”

Rarity nodded, glumly. “How is Discord doing?”

“He’s all right, I guess; tangoed with Nega for as long as he could until she cornered him and sucked out a good chunk of his chaos magic. I’ve never seen the draconequus look so pale before. He’s upstairs resting with Discord Sparkle and that mound of fluff they keep carrying around.”

“Will Discord Sparkle be apart of the battle?”

Applejack nodded. “They said they would. He, she, it, whatever they’re classifying themselves as.”

Rarity anxiously rubbed at a hoof. “Pinkie Pie’s painting Fluttershy as we speak, to look like a clone.”

“Yeah. She should be done soon. Right when Sparkle Sparkle should be in position. Rainbow Dash and Speedy Sparkle are taking care of that… hopefully.”

Rarity sighed. “I feel awful with what happened to Sexy Sparkle.”

“I think that’s why Fluttershy’s going along so well with everything. I know she didn’t like the mare—heck, no one actually liked that mare if we’re speaking the truth—but, still, what she did for Trevor and her was good. She saved ponies, and I really didn’t think she had that in her.”

Rarity pursed her lips. “Neither did I. She seemed pretty selfish, honestly. If I had known things would’ve ended like that, I might have even reconsidered that proposal of hers from earlier.”

Applejack frowned. “You’re not talking about that orgy she wanted to have with the five of us on the way to stop Dark Sparkle, are you?”

Rarity grunted. “I said might have reconsidered, Applejack.”

Applejack’s shoulders slumped. “Sorry. I get what you mean. All that horny little mare wanted was some good loving from anyone that was willing to give it to her. And can you really blame her for trying to get some of this?”

She playfully slapped Apple Sparkle’s butt as the clone stared out a window.

“Apples!” she yelped, before tipping Applejack a wink.

From a doorway exited Trevor Sparkle, his head held low. “Fluttershy’s almost ready, but I still don’t know if this plan’s all that great. You’re putting Fluttershy in danger just by—”

“We know what we’re doing, Trevor,” Rarity cut in sharply. “You’re going to have to trust us, is all. We’ve known Fluttershy longer than you, so the last thing we’d want to do is put her in harm’s way. We’ll be waiting just out of sight, same as everyone else the moment something should go awry.”

He nodded. “So we’re clear, I’ll be teleporting her out of danger the moment I see something’s off. I’ll stay and fight, but Fluttershy isn’t really the type for that.”

Rarity smiled warmly. “You really have a thing for her, don’t you?”

“I do. If I manage not to die in the next couple of hours, I’ll be asking her to marry me.”

Rarity snickered. “I have the oddest feeling this all ends with a grand wedding of some sort.”

“Including you and Pinkie Pie?”

She hesitated before replying, “We’ll see about that.”

Every clone jammed into every nook and cranny around town kept their heads low and their voices hushed. Ponyville had been evacuated earlier in the day and most shops, stalls, houses, and even town hall were filled with dozens of watching clones.

At the very center of town was a very particular clone with a dripping purple coat. Her mane and tale were bubblegum pink and she waited on the ground. Fluttershy was already shaking like a leaf.

Her head jerked from one direction to the next, eyeing up her friends ducking behind a series of barrels across the street. Behind her, she could hear one of Sparkle Sparkle’s books being carefully tugged another few inches along the road. She turned to watch.

Rainbow Dash hovered several feet in the air with a fishing poll in her hooves, pulling the fishing line back inch by inch as Speedy Sparkle made sure the line didn’t catch on anything. At the end of the line was a hook embedded into the cover of “Hairy Plotter and the Search for Warm Socks”. Every six inches or so, Rainbow Dash would stop and let the trailing Sparkle Sparkle catch up and leaf through a few more pages before the book was pulled away from her again and she was forced to continue forward.

By how slow they’d been moving, Fluttershy thought they must’ve been leading her out of the castle for hours already.

A few minutes later, the book found its way to Fluttershy’s side and Rainbow Dash cut the line to it. Sparkle Sparkle sat down next to her without looking up and started to read again, seemingly unknowing or simply uncaring of the change in surroundings.

Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief. At least the plan seemed to be on track. As far as she knew, Sparkle Sparkle was the most powerful being on the planet currently, and was thankfully on their side. The sooner this was all over, the sooner she could go back to her cottage with Trevor. The sooner she could do that, the sooner she could put all this nasty clone business behind her and—

“Hello there,” greeted the all-white Twilight in front of her.

Fluttershy yelped, then hitched in a breath. It was as if Nega Sparkle appeared in front of her in the blink of an eye.

Nega Sparkle angled her head. “Not going to say hello back? That’s mighty impolite.”

“Umm…” Fluttershy swallowed, before uttering barely above a whisper, “Hello.”

Nega Sparkle smiled. “That’s better. What brings you out here? I thought everyone was trying to avoid me? Have you accepted your fate and decided to greet death with a smile?” When Fluttershy didn’t smile in return, she added, “Or… a bemused expression, perhaps?”

Fluttershy had trouble meeting her eyes. She turned to her side. “Sparkle Sparkle? There’s someone here I’d really like you to meet. Could you put your book down for a moment?”

Sparkle Sparkle flipped to another page and paid her no mind.

Fluttershy quivered out a breath and tried to stop staring in the direction of her hidden friends.

Nega Sparkle regarded Sparkle Sparkle curiously. “Oh, I almost missed you there. You must be a clone as well. Not all that purple, though. That’s neat. That’s super. That makes my job a little more interesting.” She knelt down until her face was up close to the filly’s. “And you’re on fire! Very nice. I’m wondering now. What sort of clone are you supposed to be? Albino Sparkle? Powdered Sugar Sparkle?”

Her smile slipped from her face as Sparkle Sparkle completely ignored her existance.

“You know it’s not polite to stay silent when someone is speaking to you, especially an elder. I could be a lot meaner if I wanted to be. I leave that up to you. You want to tell me what you do, little one?”

Again she was met with a wall of silence.

Nega Sparkle sighed. “Fine. Maybe this will grab your attention.”

The book in Sparkle Sparkle’s hooves disintegrated into black ash, covering her hooves and specking her face. Her mouth went agape and her eyes began to water.

Fluttershy was almost tempted to start yaying as loud as she could, her eyes darting back and forth between the two Sparkle clones. She waited nervously for the moment when Sparkle Sparkle would explode, tearing Nega to bits and getting revenge for all those poor clones she’d destroyed—poor Sexy Sparkle included.

Nega watched as Sparkle Sparkle hitched in some air and saw her jaw quiver. When the first tear streamed down Sparkle Sparkle’s cheek, she bawled as loud as an air siren and ran into Fluttershy for a hug. From her tiny forelegs alone, all the air was forced out of Fluttershy’s chest instantly.

This wasn’t part of the plan, Fluttershy thought dourly.

Fluttershy returned the embrace and tried to console the tiny filly, stroking a hoof along her back. “It’s okay. It’s okay now. We’ll get you a new book, I promise. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

“I WANT NEW BOOK NOW!” Sparkle Sparkle wailed for all of Ponyville to hear.

Two thin rivers of tears stained Fluttershy’s chest, washing away some of the purple paint.

Nega Sparkle looked at the pair awkwardly. “Now the tiny clone is just being loud. Painfully so. What have you all set up here, anyways? I can sense hundreds of clones not within the castle walls. Is this an ambush of some sort? Then why am I left with only you two to contend with?”

Fluttershy patted Sparkle Sparkle’s back and glared up at Nega. “Because you just hurt the feelings of the wrong clone, you big meanie! Why… I’m sure at any moment, she’ll make you regret being such a big jerky jerk!”

Nega Sparkle shook her head. “Sorry. I don’t see that happening. But if you’ll excuse me, I have quite a few hiding clones to deal with.”

She took a single step to her side before halting in place. On her forehead was a small red dot that slowly grew into the six of a bit, then the size of her head as if she were cast in a red-tinted spotlight.

She glanced up and Fluttershy’s world went white. When her vision cleared, Fluttershy was a good dozen meters away from Nega Sparkle, watching from the steps of Twilight’s castle. Before she could utter a word, a ray of blinding red light the size of a small house crashed down onto Nega and sent dirt, wind, and debris flying in all directions. The explosion lasted for close to thirty seconds before it seemed to suck back up into the sky. In its wake was a crater meters deep and the entire street wide.

There was not a trace of Nega Sparkle to be found.

Below Fluttershy, Sparkle Sparkle wiped at her tearstained cheeks. “She hurt my book, so I hurt her back,” she said in an oddly small, childish voice.

Fluttershy kissed her forehead. “That was very good of you, Sparkle Sparkle. I’m very proud of you. You did the right thing.”

“Is it over?” a clone yelled, after they left the safety of a store.

“I think so. That was it, right? She’s gone?” asked another clone standing in the street.

No. Not quite.

A white portal formed at the bottom of the crater and Nega Sparkle rose out of it, head bent and breathing deeply. She slowly marched out of the pit and stood at street level again, her eyes scanning all the clones that had left their hiding places.

Nega exhaled as if she’d spilled a drink on herself. “I tried to be nice. I tried to be reasonable. All I wanted was the complete and total annihilation of every clone in Ponyville, but I guess that was too much to ask for. So be it. Here’s where I stop playing nice.”

She formed her hoof into an eagle’s claw and snapped, creating a half-dozen portals in the air. What came out of them was every make and model of creature and monster rotting in the deepest dungeons of Tartarus… and more.

At that moment in time, Fluttershy was thankful she’d turned down that one cup of punch from One Punch Sparkle, otherwise she might’ve been sitting in a puddle by the sight alone. She looked down and gave Sparkle Sparkle a quick pat on the head.

“I sure hope that Nega Sparkle doesn’t hurt anymore books…” she goaded the demi-god desperately.

“Hurt… MORE BOOKS!?”

That was when Sparkle Sparkle disappeared from her lap in a bolt of lightning and uppercut Nega Sparkle through the second floor of the building across the street.

A moment of awestruck silence later, the battle of the clones began.

Author's Notes:

Shorter chapter than normal. Sorry about that. If we were to continue into the battle, then it would've been hard so say where a good break would've occurred. But we're almost at the end! I think!

Skip to 0:47.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQNzKkyMUeA