I floated amongst an abyss without a clue as to how I got there. Recalling memories just didn’t seem worth it at the time. I was enjoying the feeling of nothingness as it embraced me, not caring for the life I had before. I closed my eyes as I felt myself slipping away.

“..ke up..”

I pressed my eyes further shut as I tried to keep the noise out. Whatever it was couldn’t have been important.

“...ctures, leg has...do you make..”

Why did this noise insist on interrupting? Who were they do disturb me? After all, I was… who was I?

“...putate, hook him… damn piece of…” Wait… what was I doing? I had some purpose… a title that ponies feared… why is it so hard to remember?!

“...Don…ke up…”

I am… the Overlord.

* * *

“Don! Wake up!” My eyes snapped open as Nightmare’s voice pierced through the fog in my head. With what I could see without turning my head I must have been inside of a warehouse, though not like any I had seen in Ponyville. This one seemed more industrious, having been built larger and out of sturdier material than the wood and straw most of the towns buildings were made of. The lights weren’t the usual torches or magical crystals, instead appearing to be electrically powered. There also seemed to be various machine parts strewn about the place though it seemed rather out of place considering the magical nature of this world.

It was then that I noticed just how much pain I was in, though I imagine it could have been a lot worse if Nightmare wasn’t helping. My entire body felt like it had been flattened by a steam roller. Ugh, did someone get the number of that freak who hit me?

“I will take your sarcasm as a sign that you are feeling better.”

This is better? How bad was I before?

“You might as well have been dead. Your soul was ready to leave this world for the next.”

Bet you would have been happy about that.

“Hardly. I would be left without a working body or a way of defeating the sisters. Do remember that I need you as much as you need me.”

Ya, right. Any idea how we got here?

“None. Your body was in too critical a state for me to figure out anything. Besides, keeping you alive after your stupid decisions took all of my effort.”

My stupid decisions? You were the one who got us hit by that energy blast!

“It is not my fault if you could not adapt. You should have been ready for such a thing.”

I had enough problems externally at the time. There was no way for me to deal with the internal problems you were creating. Before Nightmare could continue we were interrupted by the sound of a door opening and closing. I turned my head with no small amount of pain to see two cream colored ponies with red hair. Each was wearing a matching outfit that I could only imagine someone singing barbershop in. They must have been twins as the only difference between the two was that one sported a handlebar mustache.

“Would you look at this, brother of mine. He’s already awake.” said the one without the mustache.

“By jove, you’re right brother. Why I’d say he should be up and at’em in half the time we estimated.”

My first attempt at speaking was only a grunt as my throat was dry from disuse. Thankfully the second try came out as actual words. “I assume you two are the ones who fixed me up?”

The mustached pony tipped his hat in my direction. “That we are, my dear friend. Allow us to introduce ourselves. This is Flim.” He waved at his companion.

“And this is Flam.”

“And we’re the Flim Flam Brothers.” They finished in unison.

I had a feeling Nightmare and I were both giving them the same flat look. “Are these two for real?”

Seems so. This little act they are putting on is leading up to something. Not only that, but instead of taking us to a hospital they fixed us up themselves. Be ready.

Flim continued talking once he saw the glare I was giving him. “I suppose you are wondering why you are here. You see, my brother and I found you out behind our workshop, which you are in now.”

Flam continued the tale without pause. “You were quite a sight when we first found you. Luckily my brother and I here have learned many things in our travels and with the many mishaps we’ve had with our marvelous machines.”

“So we brought you in and put you together the best we could.” His tone dropped a bit though the sing-song-y quality to it didn’t fade. “Unfortunately we could do nothing to save your right leg. The bone was just in too many pieces and the muscles were torn to shreds. We were forced to amputate it.” Hearing this made me jump up immediately. Seems he spoke the truth as my right leg as now nothing more than a stump ending halfway up my thigh.

I felt my heartbeat begin to rise drastically before a cooling feeling washed over me. Nightmare grumbled as I fell back. “Must you overreact? I’m still inexperienced in manipulating your bodies natural responses. If I make a mistake you could lose another limb or worse.”

Flam made his way around the table I was laying on. “It is a shame, but it was necessary. Unfortunately, due to your bipedal nature- you are bipedal, correct?” I nodded. “We figured as much. Due to your bipedal nature this will make getting around rather difficult for you.”

“But,” Flim walked up onto the other side. “We could remedy that problem.”

And there’s the kicker. They fixed me up half of the way and in order to do the other half they need money.

“Quite.” Nightmare stated with much less anger than I anticipated. “Though I must admit it was a rather well thought plan. Not only that but their knowledge in the fields of medicine and these ‘machines’ seems to be great.”

Are you kidding? I bet my leg could have been saved if we were in an actual hospital.

“No, it wouldn’t have. Though I could not figure out what was going on outside of your body, what was happening within was completely clear to me. Your leg was destroyed, the bones closer to dust than anything. It would have taken nothing short of Celestia’s intervention to save it and then you would have been left to explain how you got your wounds.”

I sighed as I realized Flim and Flam were still talking. It was all nonsense about how they wanted to help me when really they only wanted to help themselves so I tuned them out. So you say they seem pretty smart, not only as medics, but they also are good with machines, something very few ponies in Equestria even have access to, let alone know how to build.

“A great boon no matter which way you look at it. I do hope you are at least considering the thought of recruiting them.”

I’m doing more than consider. Once the brothers were done talking I gave them the best smile I could without causing too much pain. “I think we can come up with some kind of deal.”

The brothers were both ecstatic. “Great!” Flim said as his brother walked off to some part of the warehouse. “Now, how will you be paying for this? After all, it is no small number of bits.”

“How about straight from the royal treasury? As a matter of fact, I’ll give you whatever you want from it.”

Seems I shook Flim up a bit. Either his first thought was that I was some foreign dignitary or he was surprised at the sheer number of bits I just threw his way. “P-pardon, what do you mean ‘the royal treasury’?”

I chuckled a bit before sitting up slightly. “Well you see, very few are aware that I am planning a hostile takeover of sorts. When all is said and done I will rule Equestria, and those that follow me will be well rewarded. None of my followers so far have laid claims to the immeasurable wealth within the treasury. It could be yours if you chose to work for me.”

Flim seemed at lost for words as he stared at me with his mouth hung open. After a few moments he rushed off toward his brother and began speaking to him in hushed tones.

I don’t like this. Any ideas incase they betray us?

“Destroy the lights. I will handle the rest.” Before I could demand an explanation the brothers returned. Both seemed to be back to their greedily grinning selves.

“My brother and I have talked about it and we’ve decided that such a change would be bad for business. After all, where would we continue to sell our fantastic creations should you take over Equestria.”

“Plus,” Flam added. “We have no doubt the princess will reward us handsomely for your capture, and since you are in no state to fight, this seems like the safest idea.”

I made sure my change in face was gradual so as to put the brothers on edge. The color of my eyes began to glow orange as I spoke. “You have no idea how dangerous an idea that is.” Before the two could react I reached out with a hand toward one of the lights before letting off a lightning bolt. Thankfully how they looked wasn’t just a ruse as the lightning danced along the wires connecting them, blowing out each bulb in succession until the entire warehouse was cloaked in shadows.

“Ah yes. This will do quite nicely.” Nightmare chortled darkly. Flim and Flam’s horns lit up with green light but was quickly snuffed out as living shadow seemed to wrap itself around the two. I made sure to keep up my glowing eye trick as I swung my legs (or rather leg) over the side of the table with no small amount of pain coming from the action. I made sure not to let it ruin my performance.

“Now than,” I stated simply as the two writhed against their bonds. “I thought my offer was rather fair. I’d even say it was heavily weighed in your favor. Perhaps I should make it clearer what you are getting out of this. You are getting one of the few spots I am opening to the denizens of Equestria. As one of these chosen few you will not be subject to the same laws as your fellow pony. Instead, you will be living above them, free to do as you wish, whether it be tinkering with your machines or simply enjoying your wealth. You’ll be given near unlimited resources to do the jobs I give you, jobs that I guarantee will use the skills you are so proud of. You’ll be given power, not just socially or politically, but real magical power. Your abilities will be equal to some of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria.

“In short, you have the chance to get everything you could ever ask for. All you have to do in exchange is serve me. Is that a chance really worth throwing out?” The two brothers stopped squirming for a moment before glancing at each other.

I think we got the message across Nightmare. The two were slowly placed on the floor and unraveled, the shadows reforming with the floor. I simply waited for a response, never taking my glowing eyes off of them as they whispered to each other.

Finally, Flim spoke up, though fear still laced his voice. “It seems we underestimated you. We figured you were way over your head but it’s obvious by the way you hold yourself now that you can back up your claim.”

Flam showed no fear, instead speaking as if it were just another deal. “And after you explained out your contract to us in clearer terms, we believe we would have to be crazy not to accept such generosity.”

Rarity eat your heart out. Nightmare snickered while I only wore a simple smile. “Excellent. I’m glad you could see things my way. Now, let me give you the first part of our deal and then we can get to work.” I waved them closer so that I could touch their horns and transferred my dark magic into them. For a moment they scrunched their faces in pain, but soon after came a look of shock.

“This is.. amazing! Such power, and you said this only the beginning?”

I chuckled at Flim’s excitement over the situation. “Yes, that’s not even close to what you will gain when this is all over. Now, you said there was a way you can help with my leg.”

“Ah yes. Flam, why don’t you go grab what we were working on?” As Flam rushed out of sight, Flim kept talking. “We figured that a bipedal like you would pay anything to get your leg back so we began working on it right away. Of course it still needs work, and there will be some surgery involved, but the replacement will work just as well if not better than your old leg.”

“Good.” My eyes were beginning to feel heavy as fatigue set in. That lightning bolt had taken almost everything I had left but I refused to rest until I saw their prototype.

It wasn’t long until Flam came back with what looked like the bone structure of a human leg made of steel. It floated in front of him in his magical aura, the color a shade darker than it was earlier.

“We’ll be using a combination of magic, machine, and medicine to put this together. And now that we know what your plans are, we can build a leg meant for combat. I already have a few ideas on ways to turn the loss of your leg into a secret weapon that your enemies will never see coming.”

“I’ll take your word for it. Now, I’m still not feeling a hundred percent so I’m going to get some rest.” As I began to get comfortable my vision was suddenly filled with green and I felt the all too familiar sensation of being levitated.

“We can’t allow you to sleep on that table. It is unfitting of the soon-to-be king of Equestria.”

As Flim floated me to what I assumed was a bedroom, Nightmare couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, I can get used to this.”

Well don’t. The last thing I need is favoritism amongst my servants. With the way some of them are wired they’ll likely kill each other if they thought it would earn my favor.

“There is nothing wrong with someone, as they say, “kissing up”. Besides, with Zecora still being our only way of getting back to the fortress, these two are your only minions for awhile.”

I sighed. Your right. And we still have no idea where we ended up or what sort of hellhole we opened back there.

“The fact that we opened a portal into this ‘multiverse’ is a feat in itself.”

You sound as if people have tried this before.

“They have. Many attempts at traveling through the void beyond our world were made back before I was sealed away. If any ever succeeded, then they must have been stranded wherever they landed.”

But I managed to open a portal. Wonder if I could do it again?

“It’s possible. A lot of this is theory, as studying a new branch of magic tends to be, but considering the memories you do have of the world you come from it is highly possible you are from another universe. If that is the case, you may not have what ever normally ties one to this universe, allowing you to travel much easier than the average person.”

So basically, I’ve stretched the string between my original universe and I so much that it has gone slack, allowing me to travel without hindrance.

“As far as I can tell that is correct. But yet again, I must make it clear that this is all theoretical. We have next to no knowledge of how any of this works and there is a chance you just got lucky rather that you happen to be the perfect situation. Sending yourself through the portal may be a death sentence.”

I pondered the implications of this discovery as I realized that Flim was putting me in a bed. It definitely wasn’t Overlord’s chambers quality of comfort but it certainly beat the table. Flim said something along the lines of “get well” but I was too deep in thought to give a response.

What if I sent something ahead of me? A token of some sorts. If it is destroyed in the void than no problems for me. If it makes it somewhere though, I can use it as a guiding point for my portal.

Nightmare hummed in thought. “I suppose that could work. However, whatever you send would have to be powered on the other side for it to properly guide you.”

Than it will act as an invitation of sorts. If there are heroes as powerful as the one we just fought, than logic dictates that there would be those with less reputable goals. Having allies would be useful should… Jason ever return.

"Return? How do you know he isn't still in our universe?"

The energy that went off felt similar to that which was pouring out of the rift that brought him here in the first place. Though we are still new to this whole thing, I would say the lack of reaction from Flim and Flam would mean that the guard aren't hunting for me yet.

“Hmm, good point. Back to finding allies however, we will have to be careful about who we teleport to. There's a good chance there are also other heroes, one that might be less caring about ending your life.”

We’ll just need to be prepared wherever we end up. I looked around to find my bags were next to me. After a few moments of excruciating pain I managed to find what remained of the my dagger. The handle was chipped and worn out but would serve its purpose none the less.

My hand began to charge the object with power as I spoke. “Seems you’ve found my token. My name is Don, and should you need an ally, you are free to try calling upon me.” The handle let off one more pulse of red energy before stopping. Sure, it was a simple message, but that was the idea. If whoever recieved this thought I was neutral, then there was less of a chance of me being called into a trap.

For the next hour or so I attempted to recreate what I did down in the caverns before figuring out how to at least open a tear large enough to toss my message into. I made sure I hadn't inadvertently caused the collapse of reality before lying back on the stiff pony-sized mattress.

Now we wait and see what happens.

* * *

“Angel, where are you?” Fluttershy floated about her home searching for the darling little bunny she took care of day after day. She had looked away for a few minutes to answer the door, but when she turned around all that remained was carrot crumbs.

Speaking of, she had just found a few more by the back door. She looked around her backyard, becoming more desperate as her search went on though her voice never rose above her usual mutterings.

“Oh dear, where could he have gone? He knows it’s bath day.” Finally she found something! Over by the fence gate was the end of the carrot. Orange crumbs led off toward the Everfree Forest. Just looking at the trees sent shivers down Fluttershy’s spine. Her fear was replaced with worry in a second as her imagination ran wild.

“What if Angel gets attacked by a hydra, or a cockatrice, or a manticore, or… or…” Fluttershy hyperventilated before getting a hold of herself. “Come on Fluttershy, you can do this. For Angel!”

With that she entered the forest tentatively, following the carrot crumb trail into the darkness.

Author's Notes:

Oh don't worry. I won't harm Fluttershy... much! *cue maniacal laughter*

Also, some people seemed to think that the story would now involve Jason heavily when that isn't true. The crossover was for one chapter. He got sent back to his universe when all that energy went off. Unless all the crazy shit happening in his universe gets dealt with I doubt he will worry about what Don does much. This is generally how crossovers will be in this story as far as I am concerned. Short, one chapter interludes that may or may not have a lasting impact on the story as a whole.

Finally, Don sending out that message is the official "Wanna do a crossover?" invitation. Feel free to pm me if you're interested.