//------------------------------// // 2 Evil Awakens // Story: Evil Always Finds a Way // by Malcho1234 //------------------------------// Princess Celestia looked up at the moon and scowled, something quite unusual for the motherly ruler. Several hours had passed since the strange earthquake and the following storm washed over Equestria, sending the citizens into panic. The Royal Guard had their hooves full trying to restore order… The Princess herself had to visit several cities to calm the masses, reaching the point where she had to use the Royal Canterlot Voice, something she hadn’t done in centuries. “Is the shattering of your bonds this violent, sister?” She asked. “Or is it just you lashing out in anger from your imprisonment?” The Mare in the Moon didn’t reply, but for some reason Celestia felt that she was smirking at her… With a huff the solar Alicorn turned around and walked back in her room. She had too much work to do to waste time in seeking answers to questions such as this. She needed to allocate funds to repair the damage that the earthquake and storms caused, she needed to finish planning for the Summer Sun Celebration and she needed to steer her pupil in the right direction to unite the Elements of Harmony… Sometimes being a Princess was tedious… She could only hope that her plan would work and that Luna will be back soon, cleansed from the corruption that wretched creature inflicted upon her… That thought made her pause. What if… No, she shook her head. It wasn’t possible. The Overlord was gone. There was no way the evil creature still lived. Only Alicorns and Dragons could live for thousands of years, after all. And there was no chance of a successor popping up, he had stated that he was the only one of his kind on all Equis. No, the only evil coming is Nightmare Moon. And that would be easily dealt with. Oh, if only Celestia knew how wrong she was… Deep into the Netherworld the Overlord stood from his throne. The echo of his armored boots impacting the stone of the Tower carried far and wide throughout the dark and deserted halls as he ascended up to the Minion Burrows. The time had taken its toll on the ancient structure… Several times he had to leap over holes in the stone that lead to the lower levels of the Tower, or even straight to the sea of lava below. It wasn’t rare that he had to go back and seek a new route when a hole was too wide for him to safely jump across… While the Overlord had no idea of the exact number of years he had been slumbering, he knew it was too long… The Tower was sturdy enough to last for centuries without maintenance, so the state of disrepair showed that it was much longer than intended... Finally he reached his destination. A sigh of relief left his hidden lips as he saw the chamber more or less intact… It would’ve been a disaster to lose any of the four Hives. Still, the Overlord walked through the room, inspecting each Hive for damage. Again he felt relief when he found nothing wrong. The spell that he had cast on himself had taken hold over the Hives as well, ensuring that they were free from Time’s effects. Making his way back to the first Hive, the Brown one, he stopped in front of it. The thing looked repulsive, like coiled intestines… But to the Overlord it was a familiar, welcome sight. “The time has come for you to awaken, my most faithful Minions!” The Overlord bellowed in a deep voice that echoed throughout the cavern. The four Hives began to glow with their respective lights as the mystic magic inside them began to stir. “The time has come for you to crush my enemies under your numbers!” He raised his left hand, the jewel on the back of the spiked gauntlet shining brightly. “The time has come to remind this world of our presence!” His hand clenched in a fist as the light from the jewel shone brightly. The four Hives shone in response, blinding the Overlord for a moment. His vision returned just in time for him to see the first Brown Minion emerge, yawning groggily and looking around. Finally its eyes settled on the Overlord and his mouth hung open. “Mas-” It began before a kick from the inside of the Hive sent it in the air and to the ground. More Browns began to pour from the Hive, their shouts of “Master!” echoing throughout the cavern. But they weren’t the only ones… Reds, Greens and Blues poured from their respective hives, kicking, elbowing, stabbing, setting each other on fire or phasing through their fellow Minions as they raced to gather in front of their Master. The Overlord himself watched them impassively, even if he was amused inside… The small things’ antics amused him greatly most of the time. And when they didn’t he could always kick one or two around… “Enough, enough!” A voice coming from the Brown Hive drew the Overlord’s attention. An ancient-looking Brown Minion was trying to crawl from a hole on top of the Hive. “Uuuurgh!” The Minion tried to pull himself up, but wasn’t very successful. “Drat… I’m stuck… Little help here?” He asked, drawing an amused chuckle from the Overlord. “You and you.” He pointed at two random Browns. “Pull him out. And do not damage the Hive.” The two Minions complied enthusiastically… Too enthusiastically, if the way they jumped on top of the Hive and began to pull on the unfortunate Minion, grabbing anything they could reach - his ears, his hair, even his nose. “Agh! Get away, get away from me! Agh! Keep your paws from the earrings! I looted them myself, you kno- ahg!” The old Minion tried to bat them away as the Overlord watched in amusement. It served the old coot right… Gnarl was useful as an adviser and Minion Master, but sometimes he was rather annoying in his comments. After waiting a minute for the two thugs to prove once again that Intelligent was an adjective that never applied to the Minions he waved his left hand, the link that connected him to the Minions compelling the two to stop and turn their attention to him. “Enter the Hive and push him from inside.” The two immediately complied, entering the Hive through another hole. “Master, no! I’m fra-” Gnarl began before he was launched off the Hive and into a cluster of Minions. That, of course, resulted into a tangle of limbs, colors, insults, swears and Gnarl’s protests as the Minions tried to untangle themselves. It didn’t take long for one of them to hit another, which resulted in a short brawl that the Overlord didn’t bother to stop. He was too busy enjoying the screams of the stabbed and burning creatures, of the thunks as a club connected with a head or the sounds of flesh being sliced open… And over that Gnarl’s shouts of “Someone free me! Agh! Plesh! You stink!” from under the corpse of a Green. In several short minutes the brawl ended, with its victor, a singed Brown, standing on top of several corpses, grinning in that demented way that only its kind could. The Overlord shook his head and approached the happy Minion before delivering a swift kick to its torso, sending it flying. A shout of “Weeee….” was heard before it impacted the wall with a crunch and slumped. The Overlord nodded to himself before walking to the pile of corpses. Using his foot he kicked them apart until he uncovered the slightly-green Gnarl. “Ah… Thank you, Sire.” The Minion sighed in relief as he crawled out. “Was that really necessary? You know that I am not as springy as in my youth…” “It amused me.” Was the Overlord’s laconic reply as he waved at a group of Blues to begin resurrecting the dead Minions. “Of course it did…” Gnarl grumbled as he looked around, his yellow eyes taking in the chamber’s disrepair. “Milord, how long have we been asleep?” “Too long, Gnarl.” The Overlord replied. “The Tower has fallen into disrepair. Whole sections of it are missing. A couple more centuries and the whole thing would have collapsed into the depths of Equis.” “In that case I shall whip the Browns to begin repairs immediately, Sire.” Gnarl said and put his fingers in his mouth, letting out a sharp whistle that gained the attention of all Minions as if the Overlord himself used his Gauntlet. “Alright fleabags, time to get to work. We need to get the Tower up and running so that we can spread chaos and mayhem in the lands above!” Cheers met the wizened Minion’s call as the others scattered around. It was ridiculously easy to motivate the creatures… Just promise them fights and bloodshed and they were ready to do anything… “I want the path to the Forge to be cleared as soon as possible and a Forgemaster appointed.” The Overlord began to give out orders. “Get the Netherstone lifts operational as well. Dookie!” He motioned at a Brown who was scratching his back with a pickaxe. “I want you and the other Diggers to begin tunneling to the Surface as soon as possible.” The Brown nodded, running away to complete the order. “Gnarl, send several squads of Greens to scout out the lands. I want to know the current date, as well as events that happened in our slumber. Try to loot a library… If you can explain to them what that is.” Gnarl groaned at the prospect of trying to explain anything to the dumb Minions and hobbled away. Nodding in satisfaction the Overlord began the trek back to the Throne Room. He would wait there until he got news of the outside world. Then he would plan to recover his Mistress. And then... And then Evil will reign once more...