Fear Me, Mortals!
Fluttershy was in her backyard behind her cottage, sitting on her haunches on the soft grass. She held a bag of chicken feed in her hooves, and she occasionally reached into the bag and tossed a hoofful of it to the hens pecking at the ground in front of the chicken coop. She hummed a nameless tune to herself, smiling as her coat warmed in the bright spring sunlight.
Little did she know, and little did anypony know, that an evil presence lurked in the air. Unseen by any mortal eyes, it floated lazily through the air high above the town, searching. Its invisible stare swept up and down the streets of Ponyville, hunting for that one pony who would make the perfect vehicle for it to enact its evil upon the mortal plane.
Its eyeless gaze moved from pony to pony, flicking past them as it detected their basic characteristics and merits. The first one it found was quite obviously inebriated, as its purple body swayed back and forth ever so slightly as it walked. The next was mentally unstable; through the pony's own mind, the entity saw visions of bipedal apes with long limbs and diverse clothing.
Finally, after looking just outside the settlement, the entity saw a yellow female separated from the rest. Looking into her mind, it saw a demure personality; a social outcast with self-esteem issues. If it had had a mouth, the entity would have smiled deviously. This creature was obviously the perfect vessel for it to enact its plans; weak-willed and easy to overpower, as well as inherently trusted by others due to its perceived "cuteness."
The invisible cloud of ethereal energy floated slowly down toward the surface, gradually closing in on its target. The pony seemed oblivious to its approach and continued to feed its pets, utterly unaware of its approaching doom.
Eventually, the entity closed the distance and entered the pony's cranium. Due to it mostly existing in a different plane, the entity slipped through the creature's skull as if it were air. It spread itself out, wrapping around the brain. It then extended several probing tendrils, traveling along the magical leylines and crossing the barrier into the physical plane. Its tendrils became tentacles, which dug into the wrinkles and crevices of the pony's cerebrum.
Suddenly, Fluttershy tensed up, her brain going into a seizure as it tried to magically expel the unwanted presence. But it was too late. The entity finally seized complete control of Fluttershy's brain, and with it, her body.
Fluttershy's eyes suddenly opened wide, briefly remaining their standard teal before gradually morphing into blood-red orbs with slit reptilian pupils. The entity looked through its new eyes, analyzing the area around it. It lifted up its new hooves and flexed them, marveling at their surprising dexterity. Then it suddenly heard a tiny voice, like a thought, but not its own.
What did you do to me?! asked the terrified feminine voice inside its head. Why can't I move?! It replied with a mental voice like a thousand simultaneous griffin roars, coupled with a hatred and condescension that almost defied description.
Silence, pony scum! said the entity silently. You will show proper respect to your new master! Fluttershy flinched—or at least she would if she had a physical body. Instead, there was just the impression of flinching.
Who are you? asked Fluttershy in her silent voice. She felt an enormous wave of arrogance from the entity as he mentally puffed out his chest.
I am U'tharkus the Ruthless; Guardian of the Ninth Circle of Tartarus, Warden of the Treacherous, and rightful ruler of all the mortal plane. I have taken your body so that I may extend my influence into the physical realm. You are merely a tool for me to use for my own ends.
Fluttershy invisibly shrunk away once again, and through their shared brain, she could feel the demon taking great pleasure in her fear.
What are you going to do to me? she asked, trying to figure out a way to hide without the use of her muscles. She felt U'tharkus smile with her own mouth, sending a bolt of terror through her.
Once I am finished with you, I will dispose of you, just as one would do with any tool that has outlived its usefulness. Now if you shall excuse me, I have a mortal plane to conquer. U'tharkus stood up, dropping the bag of chicken feed and sending it spilling onto the ground. The chickens leapt onto the pile and began gorging themselves, none the wiser of Fluttershy's plight. He walked into the cottage, slamming the door loudly behind him.
Oh, said Fluttershy, please don't slam that. I mean, if that's okay with you.
I will do as I please with my new body, he stated simply. Fluttershy sensed that she should not press the issue, and so kept her metaphorical mouth shut from then on.
Having retrieved the location from her memory, now open to him like a book, U'tharkus made for Fluttershy's bathroom. He stopped behind the stairs, spread his wings, crouched, and leapt straight from the floor to the banister, then casually stepped down onto the second floor. Then he turned and walked into the bathroom, finding the full-length mirror. He stopped and sat down in front of the mirror, taking in his brand-new body.
The body that formerly belonged to Fluttershy was now a slight bit taller, engorged as it was with U'tharkus's powerful dark magic. Her eyes, now his eyes, were no longer teal beauties. Rather, they had turned blood-red, split by cat-like slit pupils.
The demon turned to his right and casually thrust his hoof forward, testing out his strength. With a loud crack of splintering wood, the hoof punched straight through the wooden bathroom wall like it was tissue paper, sending tan shards flying across the adjoining room, which happened to be Fluttershy's bedroom. Only later would Fluttershy discover that the hoof had just barely missed a word-a-day calendar gifted to her by Twilight, and had instead punched through a precious foalhood drawing depicting an arguing pegasus couple. U'tharkus retracted the hoof, looking at it curiously.
"Interesting," he said in Fluttershy's voice. "It seems that my magic has increased this body's strength even more than I expected." Suddenly, he heard a scuffling sound behind him. He turned around and saw a small rabbit sitting in the bathroom doorway. The white lagomorph thumped his foot impatiently, and U'tharkus recalled that it was the animal's scheduled feeding time.
"Shoo," he said simply to the bunny. "I'm busy." He went back to studying his body in the mirror, but was interrupted when the creature bounded over and poked his hoof. He looked down at the creature and his eyes began to glow with his anger. As he spoke, his voice took on a truly demonic quality. "Shoo," he repeated, curling his lips in a snarl. But the rabbit ignored him, continuing to thump his foot against the floor. Finally, U'tharkus had had enough. He turned all the way around, getting into position behind the rabbit.
"I said shoo," he growled. Then, as easily as if he were flicking a piece of dirt from his shoulder, he kicked the animal with his hoof. Angel flew out the door and over the banister in a straight path, and like a stuffed animal, he smacked into the wall on the opposite side of the room with a squeak before falling limply to the hard floor below.
Satisfied, he turned back to the mirror—only to be frozen in place the second he made eye contact with his reflection. The blood-red irises stared back at him for a few seconds, then flickered teal for a second and back to red.
How dare you? he heard in his mind. The demon felt Fluttershy's mental presence gaining power. He tried to exert punishment over her for challenging him, but found that he was unable to concentrate. The eyes flickered again, remaining teal for a slightly longer duration.
You should be ashamed of yourself; harming an innocent little bunny like that! What did he ever do to you? U'tharkus felt the full weight of Fluttershy's anger and disapproval descend upon him in waves. He struggled to put up a mental defense against the attack, but even his millennia of experience in Tartarus withered beneath Fluttershy's now indomitable will.
The eyes were flickering rapidly now as Fluttershy and the demon struggled for control. He found that he was clearly losing the fight, but he could not bring himself to wrest control away for himself. Fluttershy had somehow managed to use her Stare through the mirror, bouncing the magic off the reflective surface and directing it back at herself, and by extension the demon possessing her.
Finally, after almost a full minute of struggle, the eyes flickered teal... and remained that way. Soon, Fluttershy managed to gain control of her mouth.
"Now," she said sternly, "are you going to behave?" After a moment, U'tharkus's tiny voice replied.
Yes.
"Good. Now, I'm going to go to Twilight, and if you know what's good for you, you won't try any funny business. Got it?" She felt his reluctance to reply and leaned in close to the mirror, peering deep into her own eye.
"Got it?!" she asked again.
Yes, came the reply.
"Good." Once out of Stare Mode™, she rushed out of the bathroom to make sure Angel was okay. After ensuring his good health, as well as getting a defensive kick to the face (which she did not blame him for), she ran out the door and toward Twilight's castle.
Twilight's ears pricked up as she heard the doors to her castle open. She looked up from her book, "Energetic Transference Through Instantaneous Hyperspatial Transportation." Who could that be? Nopony was scheduled to be there that day.
She got up and trotted out of the banquet hall to see Fluttershy entering the castle, her face scrunched up as if she were attempting to puzzle out a particularly difficult riddle; a face Twilight recognized well from frequently looking in mirrors.
"Good afternoon, Fluttershy," she said, trotting up to her friend. "I thought you were going to be busy with the animals today."
"Well, I was, but... something came up." She sat down in front of Twilight. "I was possessed by a demon who wants to take over the mortal realm." Twilight glanced up at the clock on her wall.
"Wow," she said, "is it Tuesday already?" She turned and walked toward the back of the castle. "Follow me. I know just the thing."
They walked along a very long corridor almost to the far end of the castle before turning left into a long spiral staircase. Twilight led Fluttershy down the staircase, stopping at a thick-looking metal door. She closed her eyes and lit her horn, and after a moment, the door opened with a click and a quiet creak of hinges.
"Magical lock," she explained to Fluttershy. "It only responds to my exact magical signature, and automatically seals if the signature is tainted with any other magic. Prevents anypony else from gaining entrance, even through mind control or other such means. I'm quite proud of it."
The lab was covered with all manner of scientific gadgets, doohickeys, and thingamabobs, along with a couple of whatchamacallits in the corner. In the center was a metal table with straps, clearly designed to keep a pony restrained.
"You know," said Twilight, "I was just about to call Rainbow Dash and ask her to test a new enhancement serum I formulated. So luckily, I already had this table ready." She gestured to the large table and looked at Fluttershy. "Let's get you up there and I can get this all sorted out."
Fluttershy could feel U'tharkus fighting, but his will had now been sanded down, so to speak, by the residual effects of The Stare. She hopped up onto the cold metal slab and laid down on her back, allowing Twilight to strap in her hooves and wings.
"Sorry about the straps," said Twilight apologetically, "but demons tend to struggle quite a bit while being exorcised. Even with your Stare—which I'm confident you used, by the way—I'm not taking any chances this time."
"Wait," said Fluttershy, suddenly nervous. "This time?" Twilight smiled and chuckled.
"Of course!" she said casually. "You'd be surprised how many demons escape Tartarus and try to take over the world by trying to possess ponies. Celestia knows it's an issue, but she keeps saying Tartarus is Luna's problem." She leaned in close to Fluttershy and whispered out the side of her mouth.
"If you ask me, I'd say she's just lazy." Then she leaned away, sat on her haunches, and clopped her hooves together, her friendly smile growing into a maniacal mad-scientist grin.
During the next few minutes, Fluttershy was fairly comfortable as Twilight worked her over with the exorcism spell, except for the powerful, body-wide pins and needles. U'tharkus, however, was a different story.
I shall not describe what happened to him in great detail—mostly because what he experienced was well beyond the limits of language and mortal comprehension—but let us just say that it was not good.
After several minutes of indescribable things, a loud ding suddenly rang out in the basement science lab as a machine gave its signal.
"And we're done!" said Twilight cheerfully. "The demon has been expelled from your body in a weakened state, and now all we have to do is round it up and take it back to Tartarus!" She trotted over to a shelf with a beige suit laying on it, along with something that looked a bit like a vacuum cleaner, and she attempted to put it on.
After a few moments of struggling with the suit, Twilight turned around to face Fluttershy. The Princess was decked out in a wrinkled beige suit with numerous pockets and a name tag reading "Sparkle" on her left breast. In her magic, she held a large vacuum-like contraption with a cord running to what appeared to be a generator on her back. She used her magic to flick a switch on the device, and it quietly hummed to life, its pitch gradually increasing before passing out of the range of equine hearing.
Twilight sat on her haunches with the device held diagonally across her chest. Her eyes narrowed and her mouth curled into a confident grin of determination.
"Let's go bust some ghosts."
"Demon," Fluttershy corrected.
"Whatever," said Twilight with a dismissive flick of her hoof.
U'tharkus sat inside a metal box, contemplating his fate. He had been sucked up into Twilight's device with little trouble, and was now heading back to Tartarus. He would probably have to wait another few thousand years or even more to get another chance at the mortal plane. But then again, Celestia and Luna played the long game and come to think of it, he would be lucky if he ever got another chance again.
Regardless, he had begun to formulate another plan for world domination. But his plotting was interrupted as he was violently expelled from the containment unit. When he regained his now limited senses, he found that he was back in Tartarus, inside a cell designed to contain beings like himself.
"Well, crap," he said in his demonic voice. He then heard a familiar weak and frail-sounding voice to his left.
"Well, well, well," said the voice slowly. "If it isn't U'tharkus the Spineless. Did you finally try your inane plan for world domination?" He turned in his cage and looked over to see an apparently emaciated centaur with dull gray fur, a black torso, and yellow-on-pitch-black eyes.
"Hey! I'm not the only one out for world domination. It's the goal of the whole Villains' Syndicate! When's the next meeting, by the way?"
"Eh, Chrysalis hasn't gotten back to us yet. I swear, it's no wonder she failed her attempted takeover of Canterlot. I would bet if she took an IQ test, it would come up negative. Why is she even the Head Villain, anyway?"
"You know Sombra can't do it; he's been scheduled for reformation. And no one else seems to want the position. Except Starlight Glimmer, but you know she can't get into the Syndicate yet."
"Ugh, don't remind me about Sombra," Tirek grumbled. "They're chipping away at our ranks. But we will always be there... waiting in the dark..."
"Wow. Dramatic much?" Despite the jab, Tirek maintained his composure.
"We must never let them get to us," he said with conviction. He turned to U'tharkus, balled his hands into fists, and smacked them together palms inward, almost as if giving himself a fist bump. "Villain is our name..."
"...domination is our game," finished U'tharkus, forming two tendrils of energy and making a similar gesture.
Twilight finished recounting the details of the day's predicament, glancing at Spike as she completed her dictation for the letter to Celestia.
"...so I guess everything worked out okay. Your friend, Princess Twilight Sparkle."
"...aaand done," said Spike, finishing the letter with a flourish of the quill. After blowing on it to make sure the ink was dry, he rolled it up and tied a red ribbon around it. He then held it up to his mouth and blew a strong breath of fire. The scroll was wreathed in green flame before vaporizing into smoke and flying out the window on its way to Princess Celestia. Twilight leaned back in her throne with a relieved sigh.
"Another job well done, and yet another villain apprehended. Today was a good day, Spike."
"I know," said Spike, hopping into his small throne next to Twilight's. "I didn't even realize it was Tuesday already. Time flies, right?"