//------------------------------// // Evil Will Always Find A Way // Story: For the Overlord! // by PonyManne215 //------------------------------// Last time on Overlord “Dear Princess Celestia, I have learned that you should not make plans with so many ponies at one time. I started a helping session with Applejack around the farm, but then I remembered I promised to help Pinkie at Sugar Cube Corner. On top of all of that, I promised Fluttershy to help her feed the animals at her cottage. I ended up a sweaty wreck by the end of the day. despite all of my mistakes, my friends forgave me and helped me with each other's tasks. They are the most wonderful friends a pony could ask for. This, is what I have learned on the magic of Friendship. Sincerely, Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle” “Aaaanndd done!” Spike prided himself with not even needing to have Twilight spell any words for him this time. “Good work, Spike! Now let me just proofread it.” Twilight proofread the letter before Spike blew out his green flames. The letter disappeared in seconds, arriving in Canterlot, more specifically, Princess Celestia’s study, in no time. “I think you deserve a nap!” Twilight walked Spike up to his little bed. He curled up, running around it and prodding it to check if it was comfortable. Finally, he let out a content sigh and quickly fell asleep. Twilight giggled at the baby dragon’s childish behavior. She also found that even for an intelligent and diligent assistant, he needed his rest. She pulled up his blanket with her magic, and went back downstairs. She still had some reading to do before she could call it a day. She looked at the shelves that covered the walls of the library. “All neatly stacked, just as it should be.” She smiled sheepishly, proud of her tidiness. “Now where was it? Aha!” She searched the history section of the hollowed out tree-library and found the book she was looking for. “Dungeons and Ponies, a brief history on the pre-classical era. Oh this is going to be so fun!” She let out a delighted squee and took a seat at a nearby bean-bag chair. “Page one. Long before the technologies of today, such as the train, there were more simpler means of transportations. These days, were covered in……” About six hours had passed before Twilight shut the book closed. Her ears were dreary and she had at least three bags under each eye. “That’s enough reading for today.” She stammered. It was hard to successfully navigate herself up the stairs and to her room. She looked at the clock and it was three in the morning. “I must have read too much..” She wasn’t disappointed with the read, that’s for sure. It was pretty informative and gave her an extra insight on feudal Equestria. She still had some empty voids of knowledge in this area. After a few bumps into the wall and tumbling all over herself, she reached her bed. She threw herself on, not even remotely caring about messing up the covers. “Uhhh!” She expressed her pleasure and at the same time exhaustion as she looked up at the ceiling. Her eyes seemed like bags of sand. Slowly, her eyes began to shut. Before finally succumbing to the sleep, she silently said to herself “Good night, Spike.” “Master! Where is Master?!” A Brown imp asked frantically. “Calm your horses! He is with his mother, Rose.” Gnarl yelled. The imps of the Overlord have been protective of the newborn child, the previous Overlord’s son. Since losing their master, they had fallen in a state of depression, almost considering suicide. The Overlord was the best of all. He did not speak, but he did command. And his campaigns were glorious. From the plundering of the Hobbit homes, to the slaying of the greedy dwarves, every single treasure the mystic races had to offer was collected by the horde. By the forever-loyal minions to the all powerful Overlord. The Overlord vanquished all who stood in his way. Even the invincible god from the Abyss was no match for their master. This six-foot tall gargantuan steel-clad warmonger spared none. Though he did spare villagers and save them from demons, he did so only so that they pay tribute to him. That or he would eventually pillage their villages and steal their women to use as maids. His red-burning eyes shined in accordance to the crimson blood of his enemies. Nothing stood a chance against the Overlord. Not hydras, not sand worms, assassins, skeletons, nothing, Best of all, he didn’t treat the minions as bad as the previous ones did. No, he didn’t even hurt them. Now sending them to their death or doom, now that was another story. The minions suffered all kinds of death. Either they were ripped, burned, torn, shredded, stabbed, poisoned, frozen, you name it. But this did not matter. Not to the imps. They followed their master’s every word. But now that he had been trapped for eternity in the Abyss, a traitorous feat accomplished by the Jester imp, they had no leader. Rose, his caring and gentle mistress, took his place. Of course, they listened to her every word. She was bearing the new Overlord after all. But the quests that she sent them on weren’t as glorious as previous ones. In fact, they were just short of embarrassing and womanly. She had them dust the castle, wipe the armor, tend to the garden, and worst of all, give her messages. No, the rebuilding of and compensation to nearby villages was bad enough. But giving her foot rubs was like licking cow dung. Her feet weren’t smelly, suffice to say. Rather, it was just degrading. As for the Jester, that was a whole book worth. The Jester, the one who mocked the Overlord since the beginning and the one who locked the master away in an otherworldly realm, was punished. He was scourged to the last ‘d’. No expense was spared in the torture of this conniving imp. He had been flogged, and stretched in a torture chamber. He was laughing throughout the entire experience. But the laughter was just a means of concealing the massive amounts of pain he was going through. They did not stop stretching his arms and legs until they heard every single bone snap or pop out of place. By the time they untied the ropes, his body fell to the granite, moss-covered, floor like a pile of water. He could barely stand, let alone slouch. From here, they burned him alive. His sounds of laughter were now that of tears. He was crying from the severe torture that he was enduring. Finally, when the new baby Overlord cheered, the Jester gave in. His ethereal brown soul left it’s vassal. The soul left towards whatever awaited the dead imps. They never questioned the final destination. They simply just worked. This was what happened long ago. Back when their master had been there and even when he left. His presence left an impression on the horde of imps for eternity. Gnarl, the old and wisest imp of all ,sighed. “The old Overlord is gone, my friends. For now, the new master is our top priority.” With that, he left the playground they built for the mistress and her son to play in. He walked along the polished, yet old, castle hall. The paintings of the defeated commanders of the past decorated the walls. Their faces of shock and agony brought joy to the old imp. He smiled, though weakly. He ended up in the throne room where the giant chair sat. It was marvelous. Composed of magical obsidian rocks, it glistened with an evil black that no other color could replace. Upon it, sat a crown. The crown was silver with dark rubies lined on it. ‘The master always did like red and grey.’ Gnarl looked around the room. It was covered in banners and statues praising the Overlord. One was even of him with a baby child in his arms, not his of course. The child was that of a peasant’s, who was on her knees before him begging for mercy. The memory of that experience made Gnarl chuckle. He remembered the Overlord gave her the baby back, followed by lifting her with magic and throwing her as far as five castles away. He stood by the throne, reliving the old, fond memories of advising his king. The sound of pattering footsteps could be heard converging on his location. The fact that they made the ground shake meant that it was important. Firstly, the imps didn’t run in the castle unless it was important. Secondly, they didn’t go in groups unless it was imminently urgent or a danger was coming. This had happened. Some who were foolish and brave enough tried to take the castle that had no master. They failed. They were not prepared for the millions of imps waiting for some action. What the imps didn’t have in power and strength, they had in numbers. The halt of the footsteps and even a screech by one who was running too fast halted Gnarl’s thought process. “Advisor Gnarl! We have found something of great interest to you.” The weary imps bowed their heads in respect, and presented a worn-out tome. It seemed ancient, maybe even thousands of years old. The gold lining on the trim had long since faded. Only snippets of the past condition could be made out. Even the title and author seemed barely legible. “What is it?” Gnarl asked curiously. “A book, Gnarl.” They answered ignorantly. “I can see that you whelps! I mean what kind of book is it?” They gave him the book and scratched their heads. “To tell you the truth, most wise one, we don’t know. We saw an elven mage running with it, so we decided to kill him. We just clubbed his helmet until he fell. Then we jumped up and down on him. When that didn’t work, we had a Red burn him. Then we brought it back here.” The Brown imp that was talking took a large breath as he finished. “Interesting..a mage you say?” Gnarl asked. “Yes.” The raspy soldier replied. Gnarl huffed, showing his hesitant attitude on examining said book. “Fair enough, leave me be. Tend to the mistress and the master.” The imps saluted Gnarl and skulked away. This story seemed interesting to Gnarl. Not only were elves very rare, they always gave a long and tedious fight. There was no way they could take the mage out with such few numbers. The different kinds of imps only worked and were deadly when under the command of an Overlord. The Browns were the main fighting force of the imps. They specialized in wearing metal armor and using swords and such. They handled in plain hand-to-hand combat. The Reds were the archers of the army. They were able to accurately throw fireballs at enemies from a great distance. They could also extinguish fires by absorbing them. The Greens were just as deadly. They were able to poison enemies and also clear fields of poisonous fumes and toxins. They specialized mostly in sneak attacks, enabling them to assassinate enemies in seconds where Browns and Reds would take minutes. Then, there were the Blues. They had nothing to do with combat whatsoever. What they did do, however, was that they were able to swim and healed the Overlord and other imps. They have the advantage of swimming over all others, which benefits them greatly. The Overlord made great use of these strengths and weaknesses. He was a great strategist and leader. He never faltered in the face of the enemy and stood his ground. Admiring his master, Gnarl slowly flipped the front cover. "Twilight, wake up!" The lavender bookworm shook her head while getting up. "What time is it?" She asked while yawning. "It's nine in the morning. You'r-" Spike's voice was drowned out by the awakening unicorn's. "Late for the breakfast with the girls! I know! Spike could you-" It was her turn to be interrupted now. "Watch the library? Sure, but hurry!" He said while pushing her to the mirror. "Thanks Spike! I owe you." Twilight praised joyfully. "Yeah yeah, I know I'm great, no need to thank me."He said while going downstairs. Twilight brushed her mane until it was neat again. Even though she didn't care for her looks, she still had to look presentable. Lest she want to annoy Rarity already. After analyzing her entire figure in the mirror for a final time, she gave a mean look at herself. She laughed and galloped downstairs. She got to the door, opened it, said farewell to her helpful assistant, and left. The bright sun was up high in the sky. It was going to be beautiful today. The warm rays beamed on her back, giving her a comfortable walk to the cafe. A table waved her over. "Hey girl! How nice of ya to join the party. Ah was startin' to get worried there!" Applejack said while grinning. "Oh my..that wouldn't be good, oh no!" Fluttershy added silently. "Yes..that's nice but could we please order something? I am absolutely famished!" Rarity replied with the most dramatic look possible. "Calm down, Rare. It's all good. Listen, how about we order you some hay fries?" Rainbow Dash retorted. "Oh my gosh! Ever try them with cupcakes? Or cherry chongas? Or chimmy-cherry chongas? Or-" She stopped when a hoof was shoved into her mouth. "We get it, Pinkie!" Everypony, including Pinkie laughed. What could possibly mess up their fun day? "You over there! Fetch me more goats! And you two, go get me a village drunk and a virgin!" Gnarl had been ordering the minions willy-nilly. After reading what the ancient book said, he found a very promising spell that gave sanctifying hope to all. The spell was able to retrieve anyone that the caster desired. So long as the proper ingredients and offerings were made, of course. These ingredients varied dramatically. From some vegetables and eye of newts, to animals and people. In small, barely written print, a message warned the caster of a possible danger. 'Be forewarned, ye who cast this spell. Either successful or not, this spell shall bring about chaos itself. Discord shall be spread throughout the land.' Gnarl heeded this, and had a thousand minions on guard detail for the mistress. As for the millions of others, the tasks of retrieving materials was at hand. If this spell was true to it's word, then bringing back the Overlord was more than a possibility. It was a choice. One of which needed no thought. It was all a matter of time now. Once the materials had been gathered, Gnarl could chant the incantations that would bring back their malevolent lord. "Hurry! Do you all want to see the great one again?" Gnarl asked, rousing the massive crowd of imps. "Yes! Yes! The master will be free! All hail the Overlord!" The crowd went stirring into an uproar. Some were even jumping in the air and others were being lifted. Some in the back were dancing the time away. Suddenly, a large gap started to form down the middle. The imps moved out of the way. "Out of the way! The materials are here!" The retrievers came back, smiling deviously. They slowly made their way towards the stand that Gnarl stood upon. Behind him laid the Tower Heart. The orb that gave power to the castle and the Overlord. Cheers were coming from all sides. Many imps were actually crying tears of joy. Their master was finally returning to them. They couldn't believe it. "Speak the words, elder." The imps lowered the ingredients into a large metal pot that was hanging above a large put of lava. The people that were needed were dangling from rope just a few feet away. "Yes. Take you places. Now SILENCE!" The entire room went quiet. All eyes were on the old imp that was pacing back and forth. "Brothers! We have been without the Great One for too long. Our master, was left stranded in a land foreign to him by the treacherous Jester! We have been blessed with his evilness to have another Overlord and his wise mistress. Though they are our leaders, they cannot serve as well as the Master! So today, I ask all of you to follow me to the end, without any questions. Today is the day we find him again. Today is the day that we serve once more. Today is the day that we are feared by all. Today is the day. WE. HAIL. THE OVERLORD!" The entire room went ballistic. Roars, growls, cheers, laughs, and whistles filled the giant room that housed about four million imps. They all put their hands over the imp next to them's shoulder and swayed back and forth. They started singing a song. "The Overlord has gone in the Abyss. Through all of this time he has been amiss. We lost our lord who was great and swell. But that changes today when we remove him from hell! We have found out a way to bring back the dark. For all eternity the people will hark. The return of the great evil one. He will burn the lands and bring down the sun!" The whole room sang in unison. The humans sacrifices in the room could only stare in horror, knowing what was to follow. Gnarl marveled at this sight. He wiped a tear from his eye and smiled ecstatically. He went over to the book, causing all noise o cease once more. He read the incantation loudly. "Oh forces of darkness, we call upon you. With a great request, we offer you this brew. For we wish to being back the strife. The one Overlord who was taken from our life. So evil, a parting gift, we give you good tidings. With this virgin we hope you use good bindings." Gnarl shut the book closed, releasing a large collection of dust to fly out. At this moment, the imps cut the virgin's rope and the drunk's and they fell in. They gave a loud scream of fear before emitting a loud 'plop' as they landed in the molten lava. It was still, in fact, all was still. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Gnarl stared at the pot. Nothing happened. "No..this cant be." He said disbelievingly. Had he raised their hopes for nothing? The minions began to whisper and grumble amongst themselves. Some were starting to leave. Then a large, ground-shaking, rumbling came. It knocked several imps on their backsides. A loud, ominous hum was heard. It was the same hum that came from the Overlord's command bracer, which lead them in whatever direction he desired. A minion pointed at something in the middle. A large white portal appeared. From it, the noise came. "It's the master!" Every single imp ran but stopped. They let Gnarl go first who promptly accepted. He stepped through the portal, followed by the others. The Overlord had been in the Abyss for quite some time now. The skeletal beings and all other former enemies now bowed to him. They did his every command, since he was the new lord of the realm. He was not satisfied though. They were too quiet. For some reason, he felt 'attached' to the imps. He had a lingering thought to find some way to return. He sat on his skeletal throne and pondered deeply. "Master!" He turned his head and looked. It sounded like Gnarl. Nothing was there, just some immobile guards. He looked back at the ground. "Master!" He heard it again. This time, the Overlord stood up and walked towards the voice. It was getting closer. He could not find where it originated though. The only noise now was the movement of his guards shuffling behind him. He stood still in the middle of the hall. "Master!" It was there, a few feet away from where the Overlord stood was a large white oval portal. The voices of his formers minions all echoed from it. He walked slowly towards the portal, sword and mace raised. He reached his hand through, it seemed to go to another world. Then, he moved his whole body through. In a brighly lit hallway, cracks and other noises of destruction came. Bits and pieces of stone and gravel flew out of an open door, littering the clean hallway with mess. White light could be seen shining out of the doorway. "Yes! Yes! I am free again!" Discord shouted joyfully. Somehow, his stone imprisonment created by the Elements of Harmony crumbled around his entrapped body. He didn't know the reason himself. But having a new chance at causing his very name, discord, he hatched his new plan. He felt a shudder run up through his spine. "Oh my, another force of chaos? This shall be fun." He said while rubbing his gryphon and lion claw together. He snapped his finger and a cloud came crashing through one of the stain-glass windows in the room. The shards of a once-mural glass were scattered. He could see a part of Applejack's head in one corner and Pinkie's in another. "Someone's going to have to clean that up!" He exclaimed as he flew out of the castle and towards Ponyville. Gnarl and his minions were gathered in a large plain. The portal that they poured out from was still open. In it, was an image of the Overlord. They called for him, finally reaching through. They saw that menacing hand of his reach out. They cheered and danced. Then, a foot came out. One by one, more of their master stepped out of the portal. Finally, the cold, steel helmet with two burning red eyes emerged, peering at them with pure malice. "Master, you have returned!" Gnarl exclaimed. The Overlord looked all around at the massive army before him. He raised a single hand and the humming noise came. Every imp fell silent and listened in awe at the noise that signaled silence and unity. "Welcome back, milord. We appear to be in a foreign new land. You there, go and cut some trees down. Start up a fire and we set camp here!" Gnarl said to a group of imps who ran to the trees with axes. "Go and fetch some animals skins! The Overlord must have a seat!" Gnarl pointed to a rag-tag group of Greens. "Of course, anything for the master!" They left. Finally, Gnarl came to his last orders. "You ten over there! Scout ahead for the nearest village. The Overlord shall need a bed to rest in." A groups of ten, fully armored and armed Browns sprinted towards the tree line. They giggled in a child-like manner, happy to finally be able to kill something. "Pinkie, what's going on?!" Twilight asked nervously. Pinkie was shaking everywhere and bouncing off of the walls. "I dunno, but it's a super doozy!" She said while her curled mane deflated and inflated repeatedly. "Ah don't know what's goin' on, but Ah reckon that we heed her warnin'." Applejack insisted. They galloped to the center of Ponyville and looked up at the sky. A chill ran through all of them. As if some evil was approaching the land. Twilight could not help but shudder in horror. In her mind, she knew something was wrong. The Overlord looked up at the sky. It was peaceful and calm. The land around him also looked to be serene and lush. Like nothing bad had ever happened in this land. Cute little chirps from birds and chitterings from squirrels surrounded the forest. This land was perfect. He laughed in an eerie, echoing, and nefarious voice. The other imps there cackled with him. He had a new land to bring under his rule. He had a new place to become the Overlord.