Chapter 88: Doctor of Magic Part 3: Enter the Dark Dimension
Stephen and Spyro returned to the Sanctorum and found the zealots lifeless body, grateful to not have to face him again as the cloak that the doctor wore before flew over to him, the doctor putting it back on as they went back into the relic room to make sure their prisoner was still there, which to no one's surprise, he wasn't there. The device that had restrained him was now on the floor and no one was around, frustrating him as they heard a set of footsteps followed by a set of hoof steps, turning to find Mordo and the two unicorns walking to them.
"Strange, Spyro." Mordo said, the three of them running to them. "The two ponies came to me, said you had captured Kaecilius."
"Well, we did." Spyro said, turning to the restraints. "Until someone let the bird out of his cage."
"Well, at least you're both ok." Mordo said, walking up to them.
"Relative term, but yeah, we're ok." Strange replied.
"The ponies told me you got your powers back young prince." Mordo said. "Congratulations." He then saw the cloak that Stephen was wearing, his eyes lighting up. "The Cloak of Levitation... it came to you?"
"No minor feat." The Ancient One said, walking into the room. "It's a fickle thing."
"Yeah well, Kaecilius can now fold space and matter at will." Strange said.
"Outside the mirror dimension?" The Ancient One said.
"Afraid so." Spyro answered. "And let me just say, he's uglier than sin right now."
"How many more were there?" The Ancient One asked.
"Two that we know of." Spyro answered. "We fried one of them, destroying his astral body, the other is trapped in the middle of the Sahara Dessert."
He then walked over to the nearby display case and held up the Eye of Agamotto, the eye opening up for him to let him see something, frowning as he saw what he hoped would be something good, but not so much, turning to his friends as they approached.
"The London sanctum has fallen." The Ancient One said. "Only the New York and Hong Kong sanctums protect us from the Dark Dimension. You, Stephen Strange, defended the New York sanctum from attack. With its master gone, it needs another, Master Strange."
"Hey, I like the sound of that." Spyro said. "Has a nice ring to it."
The room was silent for a moment, the good doctor looking like he wasn't having it and turned to face the Ancient One, appalled by the offer.
"No." He said, turning to face her. "It's Doctor Strange, not Master Strange, not Mr. Strange, Doctor Strange! When I became a doctor, i swore an oath to do no harm and I've just killed a man, I am not doing that again."
"Strange calm down." Spyro said. "I know what you're feeling right now, but-"
"But what!?" Strange asked. "You don't;t know what it's like taking a human life. I became a doctor to save lives, not take them."
"You became a doctor to save one life and one life alone." The Ancient One said. "Yours."
Spyro could tell the argument was going to get heated, so he took the girls downstairs to let the sorcerers talk it out on their own terms, but he could sense that they had some questions of their own for him and guided them to the hall below them, sitting down as they walked passed him, stopping and turning to face him.
"So, you're immortal?" Twilight asked. "When were you going to tell us that?"
"I... didn't know the right time to tell you." Spyro answered. "I was hoping when you were all together, but-"
"But nothing Spyro." Rarity said. "Learning this from a dark sorcerer of all ponies, that you are immortal rather than from you-"
"Rare, I know." Spyro said, twiddling his thumbs. "It was something I learned a while ago back in day one of being the prince that all princes can live for thousands to millions of years to find a worthy heir, to pass along the mantle of the Prince when they die. I wanted to tell you girls sooner, but I just never got the nerve to do so." He then got up and walked over to the nearby window, looking out and seeing the people going about their lives like nothing had happened, envying them for having normal lives for the first time in the past three years. "People dream of immortality, fearing death and being able to live forever, but they never think about the consequences of it, watching your friends die of old age, having to bury them every time, even isolating themselves so they never find love so they wouldn't feel the heartache of watching the one they love die before their eyes. Immortality isn't a gift... it's a curse."
"You speak as if you've been immortal for centuries." Twilight pointed out. "What makes you think this?"
Spyro then held up the Eye of Agamotto to them, letting them see as it opened up to reveal the green gem stone inside of it.
"This." Spyro answered. "The Eye of Agamotto showed me, letting me see you girls pass away of old age and what would happen centuries later." He then put his back against the wall, sliding down it as he put his head against his knees, wrapping his arms around his legs and he started to cry. "Living without those you love, breaks the heart. Maybe... maybe I should just break the herd up, save myself the heartache and let you girls live your lives normally. My problems don't need to be your problems."
They could see how hurt he was, watching as he let out all his frustrations and fear through his tears, walking over to him and sitting next to him, Twilight putting her hoof on his shoulder to get his attention.
"Spyro, the princess made us a herd so you could protect us." Twilight said. "Our feelings for you bloomed as you took us on all your adventures, let us experience the worlds out there, fight by your side, opening up to us, we fell for you because of your kind heart."
"Not to mention the number of times you rescued and protected us." Rarity said. "Breaking the herd up won;t help you with your heartache, it'll only make it worse, for everypony. We don't care if you're immortal or not, we love you as you are. And until the very end, we will continue to love you, no matter what."
He wanted to say something to tell them how he appreciated what they said, which they just leaned in and both gave him a kiss on the cheek, not caring who he was or what he was as they leaned into him, happy to be with him as he smiled, wrapping his arms around them and closing his eyes, thinking about how lucky he was he wad to have them by his side. However, their peace was then disrupted as they heard something going on, getting up and running tot he front of the entrance were they saw Kaecilius making another orb that would destroy the Sanctorum, Strange and Mordo coming in shortly after them and seeing what they were seeing.
"We need to end this, now!" Mordo shouted.
He hoped over the railing and tackled the first zealot he could, Spyro following closely behind him and going after the other zealot, hoping to disrupt the spell, but he Kaecilius was finishing it, watching in horror as he slammed his hand down on the ground to destroy the place, but the entire room was then covered in some kind of glass, blocking the spell and leaving behind no damage, surprising everyone as they looked around.
"The Mirror Dimension." Strange said, floating in the air. "You can't affect the real world in here."
"Alright Strange!" Spyro exclaimed. "Way to go with the save!"
"Yeah, who's laughing now pal!?" Twilight asked, looking happy.
"I am." Kaecilius replied, waving his hand as the entire place started to change as the room shifted around.
Mordo and Spyro knocked down the zealots they were fighting as the girls got out of the room, followed closely by Spyro and Mordo before Strange flew out, holding a Sling Ring in his hand.
"I got his Sling Ring, that means he can't escape, right?" Strange asked, everyone watching as the dark zealots and their master approached them.
"Run!" Mordo shouted.
They then ran down the street to put as much distance between them and the sorcerer as possible, hoping to come up with a plan, but as they ran, the entire world looked to be messed up as streets and buildings floated in the air, cars going over edges and driving underneath the roads as if the laws of gravity didn't apply to them, which in this instance it didn't, forcing them to be careful of where they ran to.
"Their connection to the Dark Dimension makes them stronger in the Mirror Dimension." Mordo said. "They can't affect the real world, but they can still kill us! It wasn't clever, it was suicide."
"Hey, at least is saved the Sanctorum." Spyro said, seeing their enemy approach with a massive amount of heartless behind him. "Right, time to get out of here. Strange!"
"Got it." Stephen replied.
The group then ran away from them as the doctor used the Sling Ring to make a portal to get them out of there, but the world then shifted on it's side, knocking all but Spyro down onto a bus that was passing by as he remained standing on the road, unaffected by the sudden change in the world. Jumping down, he landed on the bus as the two sorcerers leapt off of it and ran up the building to get away, so Spyro picked the ponies up and leapt onto the building, setting the ponies down and run along the side of the building as Strange tried to open another portal, but Kaecilius ran up the building and leapt up, slamming his foot on it and causing the building to become wavy, catching up with the group and breaking his concentration as the building twisted on itself, causing them to fall, including Spyro as his powers couldn't keep up with the ever changing environment, falling down after the group and catching the ponies, holding onto them until they landed on another building, setting them down again as they ran to the edge of the building, watching the environment changing right in front of them.
"This was a mistake." Strange said.
After a moment, the building shifted and caused them to fall again, Spyro getting the girls again as they fell and landed on a fire escape with Stephen, but Mordo was cut off from them. Not wanting to stay there, Spyro set the ponies down again and the four of them ran away as fast as they could, going across the escape and through a train that they fell through, but after a bit, Kaecilius had gotten in front of them and grabbed Stephen and threw him down, but before Spyro could do anything to help him, the were cut off as the platforms separated and the dark sorcerer got his Sling Ring back and was preparing to finish as he conjured a blade. But the platform Strange was on moved away from him, confusing them all as the entire dimension shifted again, but this time they saw the Ancient One again, but her forehead had the symbol of Dormammu, shifting the area into a battle arena, Mordo and Stephen in the middle of the place with SPyro and the two ponies as she conjured a fan, moving the field to get the group out of the way.
"It's true." Mordo said. "She draws power from the dark dimension."
"Kaecilius." The Ancient One said.
"I came to you, broken, lost, in need." Kaecilius said. "I trusted you to be my teacher, but you fed me lies."
"I tried to protect you." The Ancient One said.
"From the truth?" He asked.
"From yourself." The Ancient One replied.
Kaecilius just scoffed, not believing a word she was saying as the two of them circled the field of battle.
"I have a new teacher now." Kaecilius said.
"Dormammu deceives you." The Ancient One said. "You have no idea what he truly is. His eternal life is not paradise, but torment."
"Liar." Kaecilius said.
He and the two zealots behind him conjured their weapons and came at her, which the Ancient One proved to be the superior warrior as she used her magic to block their attacks and knock them out of the way, taking them on as they attacked as the girls wanted to get in there and help, but Spyro put his hands on their heads, letting them know to stay where they were and not to interfere at this was her fight, not theirs. As the Sorcerer Supreme was fighting off the zealots, Kaecilius tried to knock her down by making the floor move, but she just used it against him, pushing him back as she continued the fight against the zealots. However, as she was fighting one zealot, Kaecilius stabbed the Ancient One through he zealot, killing the zealot while kicking the Ancient One through a portal, the group running after them and jumping through the portal following her, which Spyro caught the ponies and landed on the roof of the building to keep the girls from being seen. He got his Sling Ring out and opened another portal to send the girls back to Kamar-Taj for their safety as Spyro escorted the Ancient One with Dr. Strange to the hospital his friend Christine was at, which the doctor took the Ancient One her into the operating room to save her life while Spyro waited outside as he wasn't a doctor, so he wasn't allowed back there unless he was a patient.
He sat outside, waiting to hear if she was going to be ok, but he suddenly felt that the Ancient One was dying, not wishing to fight for survival anymore, so he disconnected his Astral Body and entered the Astral Dimension, floating through walls to see what's as going on and saw the Ancient One and Strange at the edge of a window, so he floated over to talk to them and see what was going on.
"You need to return to your body now." Strange said. "You're dying, you don't have time."
"He's right, you need to go back now." Spyro said. "You're the only one who can defeat Kaecilius."
"Time is irrelevant." The Ancient one replied. "Strange, your body hasn't even hit the floor yet." She looked out to the scenery before her, watching lightning crackle in front of her as she watched everything going down. "I have spent so many years peering through time, looking at this exact moment, but I can't see past it. I have prevented so many terrible futures. And after each one there is another, all leading to this point in time, at this very moment, but never further."
"This is where you believe you die, isn't it?" Spyro asked.
She didn't answer as she turned to face them both, smiling to them as she seemed content with her decision.
"Do you wonder what's in your futures?" She asked.
"No." They both answered at the same time, both of the sorcerers looking at one another as the Ancient One laughed.
"Ok, maybe." Stephen said.
"I never saw your future Strange, only its possibilities." The Ancient One said. "You both have a capacity for goodness, always excel. But not because you both crave success, you each fear failure."
"That's what made me a great doctor." Stephen said.
"And it's what's made me a great Keyblade warrior and prince." Spyro said.
"It's precisely what kept both of you from greatness." She replied. "Arrogance and fear keep both of you from learning the simplest lesson of all."
"Which is?" Stephen asked.
"It's not just about you Strange." The Ancient One said. "Spyro is a prime example of this lesson as he's always looking out for others, but fears loosing everything he fought hard for. Still does, but he never allowed it to bring him down to the enemies level." She then turned back to the window, both of the students floating towards her as she looked out to the city. "Stephen, when you first came, you asked how I was able to heal Jonathan Pangborn. Truth is, I didn't. He channels dimensional energy into his own body."
"Channeling magic to walk." Stephen said.
"Constantly." She replied. "I gave him a choice, to live about his life normally, or to serve a greater purpose."
"All this time I could have had my hands back?" Stephen asked. "Have my old life back?"
"You could." Spyro answered for her. "But what purpose would it bring at this point? The world would be all the lesser for it in the grand design. True, you'd save lives through surgery, but what then? In the end, we all choose who we become when we get power. We choose to be at peace with all we learn and use it to heal ourselves and serve our own selfish needs, or use it to help more people than we could before."
"Spyro is correct." The Ancient One said. "I always hated drawing power from the Dark Dimension. But as you both well know, one must break the rules to serve a greater good. Which is why Spyro uses dark energy inside of him to fight his enemies, but uses it for a greater good."
"Mordo won't see it that way." Stephen said.
"Mordo's soul is rigid and unmovable." The Ancient One said. "Forged by the fires of his youth. He needs your flexibility as you need his strength. Only together do you both have a chance at stopping Dormammu."
"I'm not ready." Stephen said.
"No one ever is." The Ancient One replied. "We don't get to choose our time." She then took their hands, holding them as she smiled. "Death is what gives our lives meaning. To know your days are numbered and your time is short."
"Try telling that to the guy who's immortal." Spyro said, getting her to laugh.
"You'd think after all this time I'd be ready." The Ancient one said. "But look at me, stretching one moment into a thousand... just so that i could watch the snow."
They stayed with her for a few more moments until she let go of their hands, looking down to see she was gone, leaving them alone as they returned to their bodies, Spyro waking up and still feeling she was nearby, sitting up as he looked down to the ground, but found something there for him, a single tome with his name on it. He picked it up and opened it to find it was full of the Sorcerer Supremes spells, her own personal spell book that held more power than he could have read in his books, reading through it as he learned about her experience with the Dark Dimension, it's strengths and weaknesses and an image of the Eye of Agamotto being used in the Dark Dimension, realizing she had left them the information they needed to defeat Dormammu. He got out of his seat and rushed to the room Strange was at, cleaning his hands, but he had already left three room and was opening a rift, letting both of them walk through the rift and into Kamar-Taj where Mordo and the two unicorns were waiting for them, the young sorcerer looking crushed after learning the truth and the girls were trying to comfort him.
"She's dead." Stephen said, sounding defeated.
"You were right." Mordo said. "She wasn't who I thought she was."
"She's complicated." Spyro said. "Thought that using the power of the Dark Dimension to defend the earth would keep it safe."
"Complicated?" He asked, thinking it was funny. "The Dark Dimension is volatile, dangerous. What if it overtook her?"
"But it didn't." Spyro answered. "Her heart was too strong for the darkness to overtake her, making her strong."
"She taught us it was forbidden to draw on its power, but all this time she did that." Mordo argued. "Stealing centuries of life."
"She did what she thought was right." Stephen answered.
"Even if it meant that members of her school learned of her use of the Dark Dimension, leading to this?" Twilight asked.
"She is right." Mordo said. "Kaecilius is her fault. And here we are, in the consequence of her decision. A world on fire."
"Mordo, sometimes to do great good, you must break the rules." Spyro said. "Sometimes you must follow the rules, other times you need to break them, all that matters is what you do with that power, whether you use it for good or evil. The greatest heroes in history had no choice but to break the rules to save lives, the Ancient One was no different."
"Spyro is right." Stephen said. "With the London sanctum destroyed and the New York Sanctum attacked twice, the only one left is the one in Hong Kong. You told me to fight like my life depended on it because one day it would, well today is that day. I cannot defeat them on my own. We need to work together if we're going to stop Dormammu."
Mordo nodded his head, agreeing that they needed to work together to make sure the Dark Dimension wouldn't claim Earth, so Stephen opened a rift and they all ran through it, finding the sanctum was already destroyed and the Dark Dimension was already working on consuming the Earth.
"We're too late." Rarity said. "What do we do?"
"Nothing." Mordo answered. "Nothing can stop it."
"Nothing, but this." Spyro said right as Kaecilius and Maleficent appeared, holding up the Eye of Agamotto and handing it to Stephen. "You know what to do."
"He has the eye!" Maleficent shouted. "Stop them you fools!"
Kaecilius and a few Heartless rushed towards them, Spyro and the girls calling their Keyblades as Stephen used the eyes power, freezing time right as they leapt up to kill them. Spyro wasn't;t affected by the freeze as everyone else was, watching as Strange reverse time to repair everything as best as he could, unfreezing Mordo and the girls, who looked very confused as they looked around, watching everything moving backwards in time.
"Spells working." Spyro said. "With the power of the eye reversing everything that's happening, we have a second chance."
They then ran towards the dark sorcerer and the zealots, running past them, but as they ran, Spyro felt a disturbance in the Force, looking behind him and saw a very angry Kaecilius charging them, so he took his blade and blocked his attack, engaging him with his blade as they swung and hacked at one another, while the rest focused on the zealots as time continued to flow in reverse, repairing everything that was destroyed. Spyro and Kaecilius kept up their fight while everyone else focused on the zealots, using the environment to their advantage until they managed to subdue the dark sorcerers, giving them some breathing room as they all saw Wong appear, who jumped off a metal spike a Stephen brought him into their time, looking around to see the place repairing itself.
"Breaking the laws of nature, I know." Stephen said.
"Well don't stop now." Wong said, looking pleased that Stephen was reserving the flow of time.
"When the Sanctums restored, they'll attack it again." Stephen said. "We must defend it."
They then ran towards the sanctum to defend it before the dark sorcerer and the zealots could get free, but Maecilius managed to free himself and slammed the ground, knocking the six of them down and breaking Stephen's time spell, freezing time all together as Spyro quickly got up right as Maleficent came back and to his surprise, May as well, smiling at him.
"My, what a pleasant surprise." Maleficent said. "The prince seems to have gotten his powers back."
"That can easily be fixed." May said.
She brought her hand up and blew a large cloud of dark powder towards them, entering Spyro as the dark vines reappeared on him, rendering him powerless as the girls rushed over to protect him as Mordo and Wong got up.
"You can't fight the inevitable." Kaecilius said, everyone walking up to them, looking to the sky. "Isn't it beautiful? A world beyond time, beyond death."
"Beyond time." Stephen said, looking to Spyro.
"Do it Strange." Spyro said. "Follow the plan."
Nodding his head, Stephen shot into the air with his cloak, flying straight to the Dark Dimension to enact the plan he and Spyro discussed incase this had happened, leaving them behind as Spyro got back up.
"He's gone." Kaecilius said. "Even he has abandoned you and surrendered to his power."
"No, he hasn't." Spyro said, getting their attention. "We knew this might happen, so we're following the plan we had incase this ever happened."
"No matter what plan you have, you can't win this time Spyro." May said. "Without your powers, you're nothing more than a punching bag."
At that moment, the Hero Orc and Axe Orc came out of the ground, surrounding Spyro as the Archer orc got a birds eye view of them all, preparing his arrow as he aimed for the prince, ready to eliminate him. the Hero orc got his mace ready, raising it above his head and brought it down to deal a killing blow, but it never happened as Spyro lifted his hand and caught it, surprising the three dark warrior as they saw him holding the mace without any kind of issue, the dark vines turning purple as the crystals were burned out of his body. He then looked up and smiled to himself, the same energy that was in his blood now flowed up his arm and into the mace, causing it to crack as purple light came out, causing the mace to explode and knock the Hero Orc onto his back, groaning in pain as the Axe and Archer Orcs got ready. The Axe Orc charged and swung it's ax to his him, but the axe shattered as soon as it hit his side, bringing it up and looking at it in shock before looking to Spyro, who used his Keyblade and chopped it's head off, dropping him instantly. the Archer then released it's arrow to hit him, but Spyro used the Keyblade to catch it, spinning it around to make the arrow gain speed before spinning himself and swinging the blade, the arrow flying to the orc and hitting it in the chest, taking it's entire torso as his head and limbs remained in the air, falling a moment later and terrifying May.
"Impossible." She said. "That powder, it should have permanently taken your powers."
"Nothing is forever taken, or lost." Spyro said.
The Hero Orc was slowly getting back up, looking to Spyro as it pushed itself away from him to get some distance, but May wasn't;t having any of it as she took out the rest of the powder, looking furious.
"Well, if the powder won't weaken you, it will surely strengthen him." May said. She then threw the powder on the orc, making it with in pain as a dark cloud enveloped it as purple and blue lightning arched around the clouds, disappearing after a few moments to reveal the Hero Orc again, but this time it was encased in black armor, eyes glowing blood red as it now held a massive sword in one of it's hands, roaring out and eyes Spyro, ready to fight. "Meet the King Orc. My own little creation as it holds triple the strength of a regular Hero orc, making it invincible."
"The concept of invincibility is nothing more than an illusion May." Spyro said, getting her attention. "Nothing is invincible."
He then closed his eyes as a familiar song was being played, light appearing on the girls chests as two golden domes surrounded them and as the eight horns were building up, the same done surrounded Spyro, pausing for a moment before they blew again, the domes shattering as a golden dragon flew out, roaring out as the two ethereal unicorns circled him, however they then turned from purple and white into pure gold, their eyes turned red as their manes were white. The three of them flew into the air until they collided again, releasing a golden light that blinded them, but when they could see again, they saw his hair was long and golden with stripes of white and purple mixed in it, the golden jacket then had purple and white stripes moving up his arms and legs towards the middle, both making a circle as a dragons head shot our, roaring as two unicorn heads appeared, taking the place of the dragon head shoulder guards, their eyes glowing blue and purple. He then raised his hand and the two Keyblades he gets from them appeared, floating down and hovering above his shoulders as he took the Ultima Keyblade and his Chaos Emerald Keyblade in his hands, floating in the air in front of the King orc.
The orc then swung it's blade, but Spyro deflected it with his Ultima Keyblade, conjuring a star above him as he flew up into it, disappearing and reappearing above the orc, spinning the four Keyblades in a circle as he summoned a meteor shower, hurtling towards the earth and hitting the orc, massive balls of fire and rock hitting it as it tried to shield itself, but was then knocked down by one massive ball. May then used her water magic and created a stream of water, riding it like a surf board as she called her weapons and swung, but a diamond appeared in front of him and blocked the attack, doing so as she used her magic to propel multiple watery missiles at him, diamonds appearing and blocking the attack before he flew at her and locked his blades to hers, but he then pushed her off her ride and kicked her int he gut, sending her hurtling to the ground as he made a massive fireball, throwing it at her as she hit the ground, the ball exploding as it hit her. The King Orc got back up and swung it's blade again, but this time Spyro dodged the attack, letting it hit the ground before connecting the four Keyblades together and using them like a saw, throwing it and slicing the blade off, shattering it into thousands of black crystal shards before catching the blades and hurtling it towards the massive Grublin, slicing it's head off and shattering it.
May then got up and got back onto her watery stream, charging straight at him to hit him, but he simply raised his hand and unleashed a fury of energy blasts, forcing her to dodge and guard against them before getting through and smiling. However, her eyes widened in surprise when she saw dozens of ethereal stars behind Spyro, snapping his fingers as they unleashed multiple elemental based spells at her, forcing her to retreat, but was then hit by a torrent of gemstones, hitting her back and encasing her in a coffin of beauty and finesse, a single beam of light shooting down on it and releasing a beautiful light show of colors as it exploded, knocking her down to the ground and smoking like an overcooked ham. He landed on the ground and turned to face her, seeing she was getting up, but scowled at him, disappearing in a dark corridor to retreat and lick her wounds. He then turned to look at Maecilius and Maleficent, raising their weapons to fight him, but Spyro had other plans as he flew up and into the Dark Dimension, seeing how beautiful it was, but also sensing the darkness that was inside it as he searched for Strange, finding him in front of Dormammu and flew to him, landing next to him.
"Took your time." Strange said, casting a spell on both him and Spyro to put them in a time loop, a green energy bracelet appearing on their arms. "Ready for this?"
"More than you think." Spyro answered, his voice mixed with Rarity's and Twilights.
They both leapt onto the next ball of who knew what, guessing it was a planet that Dormammu was using to fuel his powers and approached.
"Dormammu, I've come to bargain!" Strange said.
"You've come to die." Dormammu replied. "Your world is now my world, like all worlds."
At that moment, crystal shards shot out trying to kill them, however, Spyro's ethereal diamonds appeared around him, blocking them as Stephen created an energy shield in each hand, deflecting the shards until they were no more, forcing the evil entity to shoot a beam of energy that both Spyro and Strange tried to block, but their magic gave out and they were both disintegrated. But it wasn't;t over as time suddenly reversed to the moment when the doctor casted the time spell, letting them leap down and approach Dormammu again.
"Dormammu, I've come to bargain!" Strange said.
"You've come to die." Dormammu said. "Your world is now my... wait, what is this... illusion?"
"Sorry they're tall, dark and ugly, this is real." Spyro replied.
"Good." Dormammu said.
Suddenly, crystal spikes shot out of the ground and impaled them both, time reversing again as both Strange and Spyro leapt down again, approaching Dormammu.
"Dormammu, I've come to bargain." Strange said.
"You... what is happening?" Dormammu asked.
"Just as you gave Kaecilius powers from your dimension, I brought a little of my own." Strange said, lifting the energy bracelet. "This... is time. Endless, looped, time."
"You dare!" He shouted.
He raised his arm up and smashed them both, restarting the loop over and over again as he kept killing them.
"Dormammu, I've come to bargain." Strange said.
"You can;t keep doing this forever." Dormammu said.
"Oh yes he can." Spyro replied. "You see, this is how it's going to be from now on. You and us, trapped in this moment, endlessly."
"Then you both will spend an eternity dying." Dormammu said.
"Maybe, but everyone on Earth, and in all the worlds will live." Spyro replied.
"You will suffer." Dormammu pointed out, smiling to himself.
"Pains and old friend." Strange said.
he then kept on killing them over and over again, reliving the same moment of their deaths, each one completely different until they were knocked, the two of them alive long enough to get back up.
"You will never win." Dormammu said.
"No, but we can loose, over and over again." Strange said. "And again, and again, and again. That makes you our prisoner."
This angered Dormammu, forcing him to kill them again and again each and every time, begging them to end the loop.
"No, make this stop!" Dormammu said. "Set me free!"
"No, I've come to bargain." Strange said, the two of them smiling as they had just won.
"What do you want!?" Dormammu asked.
"Take your zealots from the earth." Spyro said, raising his Keyblade. "End the assault on Dr. Strange's world, and never return or attack anymore worlds. You think about attacking another one, and I'll be coming back with not only the power of time, but the full might of the Prince of Light and Darkness."
"You do this, and I'll break the loop." Strange said.
After making an absolute fool out of Dormammu, they left the Dark Dimension, seeing their friends were getting ready for another fight as May and her Grublin warriors appeared, but he wasn't planning on fighting them again and snapped his fingers, releasing a pillar of light that washed over them and destroyed the Grublins, making May look up and see the two of them right as Kaecilius and Maleficent turned around, watching them float down.
"What have you done?" Kaecilius asked.
"I made a bargain." Strange replied.
They then watched as Dormammu's power started to pull Kaecilius and his zealots to the Dark Dimension, turning them to dust as they looked on in fear.
"What is this?" He asked.
"Everything you ever wanted bright eyes." Spyro replied. "Life eternal, as part of the One. And believe me, you won't like it."
As he said it, they then turned into dark figures, being pulled out of the Earth and into the Dark Dimension, yelling in agony as he and his zealots were pulled away into the darkness.
"Yeah, all high and mighty should have stolen the entire book." Twilight said, taking through Spyro. "Cause, the warnings come after the spells."
They then heard someone laughing, everyone turning to their right to see Wong was laughing from that, surprising them as they never heard Wong laugh before as long as they had known them. Paying no attention to it, Stephen continued the time spell and reverse it to the point where all the damage was reversed, everything back to normal as time resumed and as the Drive wore off, Spyro and the unicorns separating.
"It's over." Wong said. "We did it."
"Yes, yes we did." Mordo said, getting everyone to look at him. "By also violating the natural law."
"Mordo, it had to be done." Twilight said. "I mean, look around, if we didn't do this, this world would have been destroyed."
"You still don't;t believe there will be consequences for this?" Mordo asked. "No prince to pay? We broke our rules like she did. The bill... comes due. Always a reckoning. I follow this path no longer."
Mordo then turned around and walked away from them, walking along the streets as they were filled with people going about their lives, transporting items and cooking food, leaving them alone.
"Mordo." Twilight said, wanting to go after him, but Spyro used his hand and blocked her way, stopping him.
"Let him go." Spyro said, making her look at him. "He made his choice as we made ours. He has a strong conviction to never violate the natural order, let him be. Let him walk his path."
After a moment, the group went into the Hong Kong Sanctum, using it to return to Kamar-Taj where Strange placed the Eye of Agamotto back ont the pedestal as Spyro and Wong approached him.
"Wise choice." Wong said. "You'll wear the Eye of Agamotto again, when you are ready. until then, best not to walk along the streets with an infinity Stone around your neck."
"I beg your pardon, what did you say?" Rarity asked. "The amulet held an infinity Stone?"
"Yes Rare, it did." Spyro answered. "It held the Time Stone the entire time. How else do you think we were able to bend time without causing it to break?"
"Word of Dormammu's defeat will spread across the Multiverse." Wong said. "Earth will need a new Sorcerer Surpeme. We need to be ready."
"We will be ready." Strange replied, the cloak reattaching itself onto Strange as he looked to Spyro. "Thank you again friends, you helped us out of a dangerous situation."
"Hey, where there's darkness, the Keyblade warriors will always be there." Spyro replied. "Though, I wish I could stay and read more of these books, learn more of this world's magic."
"I knew you'd say that." Wong said, walking away as they followed him to Kamar-Taj, where crates were being loaded into his ship. "It was no easy feat, but i managed to convince the masters to copy the books and scrolls for you. this way you can continue to practice our magic while also teaching others."
"Wong... I... I don't know what to say." Spyro replied, left utterly speechless.
"Consider it a thank you, for everything you've done for us." Wong replied, tossing him a ring and a scroll, unrolling it. "Use it when you need it. And if you'd like, make some of your own for your students, teach them what you have learned here while in Kamar-Taj."
Spyro smiled and bowed to him, showing the librarian the greatest respect he could as he and the girls walked into the ship and headed to the cockpit, letting the acolytes load up the last of the crates and activated the engines, closing the loading bay and lifting off into the air. As the ship was above the world's atmosphere, he noticed Twilight was looking out the window and to the world, smiling to herself as she sighed, slowly moving down her chair from exhaustion.
"That... was more adventure than I care to have in a week." Twilight said, looking physically exhausted.
"I conjure Twilight dear." Rarity said. "But you have to admit, it was rather exhilarating."
"Well, all good things must come to an end." Spyro said, making the ship jump into warp space. "And after today, we deserve a week long break from fighting and training."
"Here-here." Twilight said, falling face first onto the ground.
Smiling at her, he got back onto the controls as the ship got out of warp space, seeing Equestria in front of them as he took the ship into the planet's atmosphere, feeling the familiar sensation go over his body and they flew in. In Ponyville, Pinkie was with Rosy and Sweetie Belle at Sugarcube Corner, eating outside as they each had a cupcake, having what appeared to be breakfast, but then Pinkie's ears heard something, looking up and she grew the biggest smile ever as she saw the dragon's Crest fly overhead, the three of them finishing their pastry's and running to Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow Dash was helping with setting up a light rain over Ponyville, moving a cloud into position when she saw the Dragon's Crest fly past her, her eyes lighting up as she yelled with joy, flying after the ship right as Fluttershy was finishing taking care of her animals, seeing the ship and was very excited, running to the farm. At the farm, Applejack and the family were getting out of the farm house as the fillies got out of the house to go to school, but they suddenly froze, seeing the Dragon's Crest heading their way and landing inside of the garage, everyone immediately running to the garage as Spyro, Twilight, and Rarity got out.
"Man, it's good to be home." Spyro said.
"SPYRO!" Scootaloo shouted, tackling him to the ground as everyone else came to the garage.
"Welcome back lizard boy." Rainbow Dash said.
"Oh Spyro, girls, we really, really missed you." Fluttershy said. "It was nerve racking to not be there with you."
"Did you get your powers back!?" Pinkie immediately asked. "Did you!? Did you!? Huh? Huh? Huh?"
"Well, does this answer your question?" Spyro asked, summoning his Keyblade and making them scream in joy.
"YEEHAW, he's back!" Applejack said. "Seems like that Kama-what's-it did the trick."
"Did more than that." Spyro replied, standing up as Scootaloo got on his back, who was hugging him. "I learned some new magic while I was there."
"You what now?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Her's right, he did." Twilight replied. "They taught him some of their magic and gave him spell books to study. Oh, Kamar-Taj was simply amazing!"
"And I got to see some simple, yet elegant robes while I was there." Rarity said. "Gave me some ideas about some new kind s of dresses to make."
"So, did you bring anything else back besides books?" Scootaloo asked excitedly.
"As a matter a fact, I did." Spyro replied.
He then reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the Sling Ring, which had also changed to where it could be put onto a hoof, catching the girls attention.
"What is it?" Apple Bloom asked.
"It's called a Sling Ring." Spyro answered, putting it on and taking Scootaloo off his back as she stood on his hind legs. "Works like this."
He raised his hooves and spun his hoof without the ring, creating purple sparks as it opened the rift from where they were standing into Princess Luna's room, seeing she was reading as she turned the page, looking over and smiling at him, going back to reading before quickly returning her eyes to Spyro, shocked by what was going on as he reached through and kissed her, making her blush from embarrassment.
"Hi honey, I'm home." Spyro said.
He pulled his head back as the portal closed, taking the ring off and putting it into his coat pocket, the girls instantly lost on how he did that.
"Dude, you have got to teach me how to do that!" Rainbow Dash said, flying up to him. "Please, teach me how to do that! Please, please!"
"Sorry Rainbow Dash, I doubt you have the patience or the discipline to accomplish this." Spyro replied.
"What do you mean I'm not patient and disciplined!?" Rainbow Dash asked, completely annoyed with him.
"Hey, this calls for a 'Congratulations on getting your powers back!' party!" Pinkie shouted, pulling her cannon out and firing a bunch of confetti into the air.
Spyro just laughed at the pink party pony, his laughter becoming contagious as he was happy to be back with his friends, everyone walking into town to get something to eat and to tell them everything about their time in Kamar-Taj and their adevnture.