There was a certain way things were done by those of foul intent. It wasn't very often you ran into one in Equestria, but the truth is transferable everywhere you go. Evil is unique. Take Chrysalis, for example. She was slick, devious, and tricky personified, topped off with military brilliance. She easily could have taken over Equestria without a hitch, if she didn't have the arrogance of a high school mean girl. She didn't bother to research the pony she disguised herself as and she vastly underestimated the capabilities of her enemies. Sombra, in his thirst for power and control, became more beast than anything else. Then there was Tirek, who remained a constant blend of strength, intellect, and raw power. He conquered the opposition with devious manipulation and brute strength, but he put too much faith in his magic and fell in the end. Twilight, in the few years since she first arrived in Ponyville, faced all of them and won. For all her trials, she thought she had seen it all and should any new threat arise, she was confident she could face it with her friends by her side.
Then there was him. Twilight looked up at the figure before her with a mix of amazement and fear. He just stood there, arms crossed, about as tall as Tirek was when she first faced him. His face was darkness encased in flame, his eyes burning through hers and into her soul. He kept looking at her, grinning like the cat who ate the canary. As if whatever he came to do was already accomplished and nopony knew it yet. Twilight felt so very insignificant in front of him and the reactions of Celestia and Discord told her she was right to be. Finally, after a period of intense silence, Dormammu spoke. "Well," He paused and took a moment to give the room a look over. "This certainly is a nice place you have here. Personally I'd add a few torches and maybe throw some black paint over everything, but to each there own." He took a few casual steps over to the book shelves, nervous eyes still fixed on him. Dormammu's eyes flashed and books began to float off the shelf and opened in front of his eyes. They flipped through their pages at a fast pace before falling at his feet. "Great, just what I need, another bookworm. All this knowledge, Twilight. Your quite the curious kitten, aren't you?" He dropped the rest of the books into a sizable pile and stepped over them. "All this knowledge, all these spells, and you've barely scratched the surface."
Twilight felt a lump in her throat. On one hoof, she was mad that he was tossing her books around, but she then realized saying anything would be pointless and possibly deadly. All she could do was just stare back at him. She tried to make herself brave, standing ready to defend if this intruder should attack her or her friends. "Who are you?"
He smirked and rolled his eyes. "Hmph, well there's the million dollar question." Dormammu gave a gentlemanly bow. "But where are my manners? I am..."
Celestia, to the surprise of everyone, interrupted. "Dormammu, dread lord of the Dark Dimension." This out burst drew everyone's eyes to Celestia. The majority just looked at her with shock and confusion, but Dormammu just seemed amused. Celestia locked her eyes on his with a defiant gaze. "You do not belong here, evil one. Leave my ponies alone and return from whence you came!"
The command, with as much volume it had, was simply shrugged off by the wicked creature. "You know, I would hope one would learn to stay in their place over time. Little over a thousand years since the last time and you don't know any better. " He began to approach her, gradually shrinking down to meet her at eye level. He reveled in the terror in the eyes of her followers when they got his meaning. "Yes, Celestia, I remember you. I'm so very happy that you remember me..." He stopped in front of her, stared for a moment, then quickly jerked toward her so his face was inches from hers. There was a brief flicker in her eyes and the slightest click of her hoof against the floor. To her subjects and her fellow royals it would have been nothing but a twitch, but to Dormammu, it was the felling of an oak tree. Just like Mordo. "I've been watching your world. Everything you've seen and been through. You like to think your immortality makes you wiser, that your sacrifices and your bonds make you stronger, but your still the same frightened child that stumbled into the fires of my realm." His eyes narrowed and his smile became ever more cruel. "Only now, that old wizard isn't here to save you this time."
He had to pull back as a dark blue beam of magic shot between them. Following the blast the two saw Luna looking furious. "That is enough! You will stand away from my sister now, you vile monster. If you lay so may so much as a single finger against my sister..."
"Bahahahahaha!" That laugh bellowed through the room and made everypony uneasy. "So, this is your baby sister, Tia. Awww, she's just so cute, I could just pinch her cheeks." He tilted his head back to Celestia. "She's got some fight in her, doesn't she? Rebellion, valor, unfaltering love for all those close to her." That cruel smile came again. "I can see why you just had to get rid of her." The comment made them all pale. "I mean, not only would she have taken the throne from you, but no one would have cared. Matter of fact, they would have cheered after a while."
Luna was furious. "How...How dare you?!"
Celestia put up a wing to signal Luna back. "Luna, don't."
Dormammu let out a wicked chuckle. "I dare, because I know there's nothing any of you could do to stop me." He turned back to Twilight, at last, and continued addressing her. "So sorry for the interruption, but what can you do? When old friends show up to greet you, you just have to catch up." He took a few steps back so he was slightly to the left and behind Celestia. "Like the fact that as the years go by, 'the plot thickens', as it were. Right, Tia?" He gave the solar princess a rather abrupt smack on the rump. They all turned bright red, mostly with embarrassment, especially Celestia. Dormammu just kept going. "As I was saying, I am Dormammu, dread lord of the dark dimension, master of the mindless ones, and conqueror of...huh."
They were all a little perplexed by the pause. Cadance, who was having as much difficulty with this situation as everypony else, prodded for the rest. "Conqueror of what?"
The dark one held a finger to his chin as he mused, with a look of deep thought. "You know, it's weird. I've been at it for eons, but I don't think I've ever sat and counted, then I get fixated on one troublesome target and forget. Let's just say conqueror of realms." He folded his hands behind his back and went back to addressing Twilight. "I'm easily the most powerful magical entity you will ever encounter in your life time, but enough about me. I'm sure you're wondering what all of this is about. Well, to put it in short, it's about you, Twilight."
The young princess flinched as the wicked entity focused on her. Her friends came to her side, ready to protect her. Rainbow Dash spoke up in her friends defense. "Hold it, hot-head! You want Twilight, then you have to go through us."
Dormammu rolled his eyes. "First, I've dealt with a lot of mouthy, one-liner spewing, heroes in my day. You'll need to do better than hot-head. Secondly, in case you haven't noticed, I have your fearless leader scared witless, so it would be in your best interest to show respect. Pay attention, because this one's important. Third, things that stand in my way normally consider themselves lucky if they end up in ashes. Now," His expression turned cold and his eyes burned with fury. "How about you step away and let the grown-ups talk?"
Twilight hurried herself to the front of the group, before Rainbow could do something dangerous. "You said you had a proposition for me. What is it that you want exactly?"
This snapped him back to his calm demeanor. "Ah, yes. You see, miss Twilight, I find myself in search of someone to share in an adventure." He started pacing before the six. "Someone of impeccable character, of great wisdom, power, and skill, someone who can overcome anything. I've chosen you, Twilight Sparkle of Equestria, because you have proven time and time again that you are the greatest among your people."
The princess of magic was genuinely surprised. She didn't know whether to be grateful or mortified that possibly the most evil creature she had ever encountered was complimenting her. "Uh...thanks, I guess. What exactly do you mean by adventure?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "There's not really a lot of time to explain. Frankly, I shouldn't have taken the time to put on the show that I did. Let me give you the run-down. Something big is building over on my side of the looking glass. Something so powerful and dangerous, that it's a threat to everything in existence. I've taken it upon myself to deal with this problem and I've chosen you to help me. So, say your goodbyes and off we pop to the dark dimension so we can work out a plan."
This time, princess Cadance stepped up in Twilight's defense, placing herself between the fiend and her sister-in-law. "What exactly makes you think she's going anywhere with you?"
Dormammu's patience was wearing thin, the deadpan face being a clear give away. "Seriously? Did we just not cover the whole thing about getting in the way." He took more aggressive tone. "As I said, this is a dire situation. She needs to come with me to save the whole of reality."
The princess of love wasn't about to stand down. "And we're just supposed to take your word for it?" Her wings flared out defiantly. "You could be making this whole thing up and planning to do something horrible to Twilight."
This incited a low growl from the dread one. His flames grew brighter and more fierce. Dormammu began to grow again and towered over the pink alicorn that stood against him. "You insolent little whelp! You dare stand and question me?! I, who make armies crumble and god kings quake with fear!" He reached out his hand and it glowed with a blood red darkness. Cadance soon found herself losing her footing and was then propelled into the clutch of the wicked despot. He clenched his fist and held Cadance tightly, like a child holding a small toy, causing the princess of love to cry out in pain. "Understand," He bellowed, demanding her attention. "You, your husband, and all your silly little friends equate to an ant protesting a hovering boot. I only put on that petty display of politeness as a means to make things go quickly. Then, you disrespectful children!" He spat that like venom, giving a glare to Luna as he did so. "And clowns, trying to pawn yourselves off as the Lord of Chaos!" He spun around and fired a bolt of dark flame from his free hand. The explosive impact destroyed one of the thrones, revealing a cowering Discord. Dormammu looked back at Cadance with malice. "With so much as a nod, I could rend your flesh to bits and tear your soul from your remains." He tightened his grip just enough to get a grunt of pain from his captive. "By the time I finish with you. You'll wish for someone as kind as Sombra! So, please, give me an excuse!"
The looks of sheer terror were all around the room. Celestia was panicking, Luna watching her for a signal to move. Shining wanted to charge in and save his wife, but a feeling of helplessness overcame him. Twilight looked on in horror and her friends huddled around her.There was a moment of silence. Dormammu, in his anger, could still feel that everything was still within his power, all of their actions hinging on what he did next. Then, like a thunder bolt out of the blue, something so hilariously ill-timed, it stopped everyone where they were. A door closed, sounds of quick hoof beats drew near, and a voice called into the room. "Twilight, you home?" It was Scootaloo. Following suite was Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. "We were wondering if you were up for some Twilight-time."
The little farm filly was next to chime in. "Granny said everypony was heading on over anyway, so we thought it might be a good idea to catch up on our lessons."
"Yeah," Piped in the enthusiastic Sweetie. "I've been practicing my magic and I wanted to show you how good I've gotten."
The sight of the three fillies, who were oblivious to what they had just walked into, put ice water in everypony's veins. Dormammu, however, smiled with the thought of a nasty new idea. "And there's my door." He snapped his fingers and a field of dark purple energy entrapped the children. He raised his hand and the orb followed his gesture to his side. He then tossed Cadance and caught her by the tail, dangling her there while musing. "Now, what shall we do with you?"
Shinning armor couldn't take it anymore. "Please, I'm begging you. Leave my wife alone! Have mercy, she's pregnant!"
This drew a cruel scoff from the dread lord. "Even better." He opened a port-hole in the orb and threw Cadance in, closing the opening immediately. The princess of love quickly acted to protect the young ones, holding them close and keeping herself between them and the wicked creature that held them captive. Dragging a hand over the orbs surface, Dormammu let out a wicked chuckle before turning back to Twilight. "So, dear Twilight, I do believe we've come to a crossroads. Pity. I had so hoped to handle this peacefully, but I suppose things can't always be the way we want."
Twilight pushed toward the front of the group and stared Dormammu down. "Let them go."
"Gladly," Replied the dread lord. "But first, we need to clear up our business. Before I was so rudely interrupted, I was saying we need to leave for the dark dimension asap so we can make a plan of action. One against a threat that is very real, despite certain doubts. So, here's how it works. You agree to aid me in this quest, and save literally everyone everywhere, then I let this little collection of innocents trot on out of here without a hair out of place. Refuse... and I fill the orb with the destructive flames of the dark dimension." He tried to read her, but she still kept the determined gaze she approached him with. "It's up to you. Whirlwind adventure to save our worlds and countless others, or a roasty toasty princess with three sides of filly fillet? Tick-tock, my dear."
Twilight hung her head and took a deep breath, but before she could answer, Discord of all people spoke out. "Twilight, no, it's not worth it!"
Shinning Armor couldn't believe his ears. "The hay you say?!"
Discord waved it off. "Look, no matter what he's trying to get you to agree to, you can't trust him. Even if what he's saying is true, he will betray you at the end. Whatever he'll do to them is nothing compared to what he could do to you in the dark dimension." As unlikely as it was, he turned to his old enemy, the princess of the sun, for aid. "Celestia, you know what he's like. Tell her to back away."
Celestia could barely find words. She did know, in fact she would never forget the terror of Dormammu. She and Starswirl barely escaped his realm with their lives. She looked at her beloved former student, then to her dear niece and the young fillies in peril. Celestia felt her heart sink. "Twilight," She called to the younger princess. "This needs to be your decision. I have faith in you and no matter what you choose, I will be with you always." A knowing tear fell from her eyes. There was no question in Celestia's mind what Twilight would do.
Twilight was silent. She looked back at the monster that was threatening the lives of those close to her, who smiled like the devil he was, and then hung her head. Once again, her friends came to her aid. It was Applejack who spoke up this time. "Alright you low-down psychopath. There ain't no way I'm lettin' you take Twilight away and I sure as shoot won't let you get away with tryin' to hurt my sister and her friends." The rest of the gang lined up with her. "We don't take kindly to those who think they can get away with anything, just because..."
"Enough!" Twilight shouted. "Enough," She took a deep breath. "Girls...thank you, but I'm going with him." It was like dropping something priceless. Jaws dropped, heads were lowered with knowing grimaces. Twilight saw it all, including the smile of sadistic victory on Dormammu's face. The young princess sighed and met his gaze with as much strength as she could muster. "You will release them if I go with you?"
"Of coarse," The ancient assured. "Let it never be said that I'm not a man of my word. Matter of fact, that's gotten me into a bit more trouble, but I don't need to worry about that here. So, I am to understand we have a deal?"
One more defeated nod from the princess of friendship sealed the deal. "I don't know whether you're telling the truth, but I really don't think it matters. If I choose to believe you and go, then not only do I save the lives of my sister and the children, but countless others as well." She stood firm in her reasoning. "By that reasoning, by choosing to go with you, I can only benefit."
Dormammu, for all of his malice, couldn't help but smirk. "Clever girl. Glad to see I was right about you." He gave a slight bow, shrinking back to Celestia's height. The dread lord offered his hand to the young princess. She recognized the gesture from her time at Canterlot High, but was curious to why the wicked entity would extend for a handshake. Twilight gave him a questioning look which Dormammu was quick to answer. "Oh, come now. Won't you allow an old despot his bit of ceremony?"
She was hesitant, but Twilight couldn't risk provoking him again. In all fairness, she didn't see the harm in a simple hand/hoof shake. She reached out a foreleg in reply and Dormammu's hand clasped around it with a firm grip. It turned to something awful as the young princess started to wince in pain and a glow of dark magic shinned through. It was bright and deep violet, and as the light increased Twilight cried out in agony. When it was done, Dormammu released Twilight's hoof, and let Cadance and the crusaders go.It took a moment for the pain to subside and the other five element bearers had gathered around to help her. Twilight opened her eyes and looked down as she uncovered her pained hoof. On the spot that Dormammu grabbed, a jagged rune, glowing with dark magics, shined eerily before it dimmed and sat like a horrible scar burned into her skin. The girls were terrified. Rarity nearly fainted. "Oh, darling, your wonderfully spotless coat!"
Pinkie cast an angry glare at the dread lord. "What did you do to Twilight, you big meanie?!"
Dormammu gave a bit of a half smile. "Just a little insurance policy. You'll find out once we've crossed over. Now, come along, Twilight. We have an apocalypse to stop." He approached the mirror and snapped his fingers. The surface once more became black with a fiery outline.
Twilight took only a few steps toward him. "Wait. Please, can I say goodbye first?" This drew an annoyed and questioning glare from the fiend. "I don't know when I'm going to see them again."
"Fine," He grunted. "But make it quick."
Everyone gathered before her. The other princesses tried to keep calm, Shining hugged his sister tight, the element bearers and spike were all at different stages of a break down, and Discord looked like he was still trying to think of something. Twilight took a deep breath to compose herself. "Okay...yeah, so this is happening." She looked at them and their various looks of despair. "Can at least one of you look like you're going to see me again? I'm coming back."
Luna smiled, then walked up and gave the lavender alicorn a warm nuzzle. "I know you will. This...creature is right about one thing. Whatever danger awaits beyond that portal, you are exactly the mare that can face it."
Discord was mumbling on. "Maybe I can do something. Maybe at least distract him. Giant pudding cup, then a decoy Twilight for him to chase down a water slide..."
Dormammu was quick to call over the hushed tone of the draconequss. "You do realize that I can read your thoughts, right?"
This scared the chaos spirit out of his wits. Twilight flew up and placed a reassuring hoof on his shoulder. "It's okay. You just take care of everypony else." She ushered all of them in for a big hug. "Stay safe, I know you can look after Equestria while I'm gone." When she was finished, she turned and met Dormammu in front of the mirror. "I'm ready."
"After you," He said with a smile. It was the last word spoken. Twilight took one last look into the void before her, then stepped in. Dormammu gave one last cruel smile to the group before he followed her in. There was a rumble and a flow of sparks. In a grand flash of light, the mirror was left just as it was the day before. It was in that moment that all strength and bravery vanished. They all fell into their own fits of sorrow for their stolen friend.
A vortex of bright energy swirled above the landscape of the dark dimension. With a flash, a familiar lavender individual fell with an understandable yelp. Twilight hit the ground with a thud, unfortunately landing on one of her wings. Nothing serious, but it was definitely going to be sore. She managed to lift her head and shake the impact out. Poor Twilight. She got to sleep in, got the set up for what was looking to be a most incredible day, then had some extra dimensional tyrant bust into her home, violate the safety and dignity of everypony she knew and loved, branded her, dragged her into an unknown world, and all the while smiled like some smug child of privilege. When Twilight got herself together, she noticed the dark stone of the ground beneath her. All around her was fire, flame, and a glowing ether.
It made her eyes hurt. Twilight sat up and rubbed her head, then a sickening feeling came over her and she had the strangest urge to look behind her. There he was, Dormammu, levitating down with that mocking smile. It seemed like he was never going to stop making his superiority clear. "Have a nice trip?" The young princess just glared at his laughing at his own joke. Dormammu just brushed off her aggravation. "Oh, don't be so childish Twilight. You're an alicorn, after all. After a few centuries you learn to go with the flow, so you might as well start now."
"Why?" Twilight asked with a bit of attitude. "So I can raise my nose and just go along with the next dark entity from another world that wants to drag me away from my home?"
"No, so you won't feel it as much when your little pals are six feet under." His answer was sharp and quick. When Dormammu saw the mortified look she gave him in response, he shrugged. "Sorry for being so crass about it, but it's true nonetheless. Not to worry. Hopefully I can teach you enough during our time together so you can turn your heart to stone when the time comes."
Twilight did her best not to let his words get to her. The subject had come up before, in meetings with Celestia. Twilight knew she would live a hundred times as long as a normal mare and far beyond, but the thought of losing her friends seemed so far off. That distance was the only comfort Twilight had from that cold reality and Dormammu was shoving it in her face. She wasn't about to let him break her. "So, you want to teach me? Is that why you really dragged me here? To make me your apprentice or heir or something like that?"
This got a laugh from the dread lord. "Heheheheh! Only forty-five seconds in and already you're aiming to over-throw me." He ruffled her mane. "Oh, you and I are gonna get along just fine."
"That's not what I..." She started, but found herself cut-off by a dismissive 'hmph' from her host.
Dormammu started down the path. "It's a good thing you're sensible. For a moment, I really thought things were going to blow up in my face back there." He stopped, then turned his head just enough to catch her confused expression. "Oh, little detail I should tell you about. Matter of fact, it'll be item one on our to-do list of things to tend to. See, I draw the majority of my exponential power from the dark dimension itself. It's why I tend to rely on proxies to do the dirty work for me. Whenever I step outside my cozy little realm, my power drops substantially." There was a moment, when he paused to savor the sudden and quickly hushed gasp of realization. "That's right, pumpkin. All you would have needed to be saved from this pact of ours, was for one of your dear friends to call my bluff. Had Discord, Luna, or even Celestia had done anything, I probably would have been beaten back, but they all just sat there as I strung everyone along until I whisked you away. They fear me more than they love you." There was a silence. A dead quiet that the dark dimension hadn't had in a long time. "I'll let that settle in for you. When you're ready, follow this road until you find me again, then we can get to work. Don't be too long...partner."
Dormammu walked off, his boots making an echoing sound against the stone in the silence of it. Twilight, for everything she had, her friends, her magic, and her experience, was now feeling exactly how lost she was. She stood in silence, until her legs wouldn't hold her up. She fell on her stomach, stared at the ground, then began to weep.