The Powers That Be

by Cold Cuts the batpony

Rating: teen
Tags: Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Discord, Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Luna, Gore
Length: 2226

Celestia is dead and nopony knows what happened. The dark prince of the underworld appears before Luna with a desire to restore Celestia to her rightful place of power. But the Lord of the dead has ulterior motives as well.

In the world of Equestria, Harmony and balance reigns. When the Balance is upset, somepony has to fix it. But what happens when the greatest powers in Equestria are the offenders? When Celestia dies due to her own meddling, it is up to the Dark Lord of the dead, Prince Abaddon, to restore her, though he should be celebrating her removal. Regardless of his actions to return Celestia to her place, the Dark Prince has ulterior motives. Will the other powers that be discover his dastardly plans and stop him? Or will he succeed in who knows what scheme?

Published 2015-08-22 02:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-08-22 02:50:01 UTC

Prologue: Seed of Truth

Much that once was, is lost, for few now live, who remember it, though they too, would find it difficult to recall.

It began, long before the formation of Equestria, before the world was brought to balance. In a time when the two sides of light and dark, were as plain as two sides of a coin.

The four great alicorn rulers, immortal and immutable, allied themselves with light and dark respectively, and warred bitterly. Two sisters took the side of light, and two brothers dwelt in darkness. Fighting raged endlessly, and it seemed as though the darkness would overtake the light, and the whole world fade to black.

Until one day, the darkness receded, quite without explanation or cause. Light spread across the surface of the land and peace reigned, for a time beyond measure. To the common ponyfolk, it seemed that light had won, and the brothers of dark were forgotten, discarded to myth and legend. But all legends have a seed of truth. And it is in this seed of truth, our story begins.

Restless Night

Luna walked the familiar halls of the castle, deep in restless thought. A grim foreboding had settled over the otherwise tranquil night, and try as she might, she could find nothing the matter. It was the calm before a storm, of this she was sure, but what storm? A flash of imperceptible movement caught her eye, breaking her train of thought.

"Who goes there?" She inquired sternly, not in the mood for pranks played by either the guards or her sister. "Come forth immediately." The shadows seemed to darken, drinking in the silver light of the moon.

"Luuunnaaa..." a hollow voice whispered in the darkness, sending a chill down the princess' spine, "Come with meee...." a shadow in the darkness fled down the hall.

"Stop!" Luna cried, her voice strangely muffled by the heavy blackness. She began to run in pursuit after the shapeless form, keeping it barely in sight.

"Over here..." the ethereal voice taunted, waiting in front of a door. As Luna neared, it melted into a pool and slid under the door, leaving crystals of ice on the aged wood. Luna stood panting where it had once been and looked up, this was the door to her chambers.

Slowly, she opened the portal into her room and crossed the threshold. Though a large fire burned in the hearth, it shed little light, and less warmth, she could see her breath, misting before her face in small puffs.

"Come out creature of darkness! Or I shall force you out!" She said boldly, striding to the center of the room, wings spread in defiance. Magic flared at the end of her horn, where it fizzled to no effect. The darkness closed in oppressively, and she felt it lay heavily upon her.

"Tsk tsk, Luna, I expected better from you," the deep, liquid voice seemed to emanate from every direction. The weight lifted as Luna searched futilely for its source. "Fair though you are, the power you once held is diminished, and you once possessed a more sinister beauty." Luna's head continued to swivel, seeking the speaker to no avail.

"It's a shame really, though I suppose it is to be expected, we could have ruled together once," a dark form began to move along the walls, a shadow cast from an unseen source, and Luna watched it closely.

"Reveal yourself," Luna said quietly, brow furrowed. The form stopped, seeming to look at her, vanishing as suddenly as it had appeared.

"You know my name," it hissed into Luna's ear, it's breath was cold as ice. Her wings clamped to her sides, suppressing the shudder that ran through her, "Speak it."

"You are Prince Abaddon," Luna murmured in fearful recognition. She turned suddenly in an attempt to catch sight of him, but there was nothing but cold, empty space beside her.

"So you have not forgotten after all," Prince Abaddon said boldly, shadows gather before the fireplace rising up in the form of an alicorn, ice frosting out from each hoof. He was facing the hearth with his back to Luna. His coat was a pallid grey, as tall as Celestia, though broader. His mane and tail, inky black. His chest was adorned with a bone white crest, emblazoned with a black trident, the same trident was branded on his flank, and on the small circlet on his forehead. Luna's breath caught in her throat, it had been over a millennia since she had seen him last.

"What are you doing here, Abaddon?" She asked firmly in an attempt to disguise her fear, "We have done nothing to provoke you." Her eyes searched him up and down, as though his appearance would reveal the purpose of his presence.

"This is true," he said simply. Blowing gently on the fire, the flames died down, far more than they should have, "But only to a certain extent, your very existence is provocation to me, though it is a necessary evil that I have chosen to tolerate. As for your question, I am simply here to chat."

"Then what are you after, for you must be after something," Luna began to relax finding her confidence again after the initial shock. "More subjects? A larger domain? More power?" The alicorn Prince chuckled darkly in response, still gazing into the fire.

"Hardly, the dead come to me in droves by the day, my domain is endless already, and power? You should already know that my power is dependant on yours," he pauses, turning to face her at last, "and your sister's." Luna's body was racked again with chills. Abaddon's eyes were empty black pools, devoid of light, devoid of life. They were simply empty void. "Actually, it is the subject of your sister that brings me here today." He turned away from Luna again and the tension in her shoulders released.

"What about my sister?" she asked defensively, taking a step forward. Abaddon moved across the room, ice crackling as his hooves broke loose, to a window to draw the curtains back with his magic.

"Do you not find it interesting, that the sun has not yet risen?" The night sky remained in place through the viewport, though the moon was absent. Luna had lowered it without thinking. With a gasp, she dashed to the window and looked out frantically.

"What have you done!?" She rounded on Abaddon, all fear forgotten. Silver fire burned in her eyes, "Where is she?"

"I have not done a thing, except perform a favor to you, by informing you," he states implacably, entirely unperturbed by her sudden aggression.

"Informed me of what!?" Luna exclaimed, wings flaring out in irritation, "you have done nothing but speak in riddles since your arrival!"

"Ah yes," he tapped his chin pensively turning back to the window, "I knew I was forgetting something. I came to tell you, Celestia is dead."

Explanations

Luna stared at Abaddon, "You're lying."

"I do not lie," the pale alicorn turned from the window to stride around the room, running a hoof over surfaces, absently picking up and replacing items. "Half truths and omissions, yes, but no lies. For lies are the tools of the feeble minded."

Luna could feel her heart sinking like a stone in her chest. She turned and walked to the door opening it.
"You won't find her," Abaddon calls from the room, still inspecting its contents, "she was delivered bodily into my realm."

Luna looked back at him again, "What happened?" She asked weakly.

"Come in, sit down, and I shall," he replaced the vase he had been scrutinizing on her desk. Closing the door Luna returned to the room, slumping onto the bed. Abaddon nods satisfied, settling himself into her desk chair.

"As I said, she was delivered to me bodily, unlike the sorry scraps of soul that usually appear before me," he pressed his hooves together, resting his chin on them. "I was rather surprised, you had visited me recently, but it had been several millennia since I had seen your more solar counterpart. So surprised, in fact, that at first, I did not realize she was dead, but I know death when I see it." He begins to pick absently at his lower lip.

"Then why do you not celebrate with feasting on the souls of the living as was your wont?" Luna asked, exhausted by the events of the night. "Clearly Equestria is unguarded and at your mercy."

"Unguarded? No. At my mercy?" He smiles knowingly, "you flatter me dear,and you are largely correct. Though I fear those six little friends of yours would be a nuisance and possibly Lord Discord as well. But no, I do not wish destruction upon the world as I once did.

Luna's curiosity got the better of her and she took his bait, "And why not?"

"Do you upper worldlings forget so soon?" Abaddon mocks, "What is the reason I withdrew so many ages ago at the birth of the world? There must first be creation in order for there to be destruction. If I destroyed everything, then I would be left, immortal, to wander empty wasteland alone for eternity. And that would be rather boring now wouldn't it? It's all a rather pesky paradox isn't it?" He leans back in the desk chair. "In order for my existence to be fulfilled, I must continue to allow the bane of that existence to continue in its place."

"No," he rises from his chair, and paces across the room, "I have come to Equestria seeking to restore Celestia to her throne and thus correct the balance." He stopped at the window once more, "Though this has been difficult, with you two popping alicorns out like corn kernels recently.

"I'd only just found a suitable replacement as my second after you returned from exile on the moon, what with Sombra having taken up that foolish endeavor. Then Chrysalis decided to interfere, without my permission mind you, she came slinking back to me like the whipped dog she was. Now you've gone and made another out of this little upstart bookworm. I do not begrudge her defeat of the fool Sombra once more, but now I'm left to scramble to find a new counterpart to keep the balance, and good help is so hard to find as it is. Though I do have a few candidates in mind."

"You do so love to hear yourself speak," Luna groans.

"Yes, I do," he agrees, "But my point is, we've been out of balance too long and the matter has been wrenched from my hooves. Three alicorns below, and three above. You really should consider these things before slapping wings on the nearest unicorn. Now here I am on this fool's errand trying to restore my most ardent enemy to her position of great power. What do you think I should do?"

"I-I don't know..." Luna offered lamely.

"Well for one thing, I'm going to need to find myself a new alicorn. If the numbers are to be four and four, then I must find my fourth."

"What? You can't do that!" Luna exclaims incredulously, rising from the bed.

"I can. And I will. Your sister, or some twisted pony who would be happier ruling with me than serving you? I will not take just anypony. I grow tired of having to make do with the dregs of your society. Whomever they are, they will be sharp, and they will be cruel. You would be glad to see them gone."

Luna frowned, staring at Abaddon. "Equestria is in an age of peace not seen in over a millennia, what makes you so sure that you will find such a pony?"

"For precisely the reason you just stated, the closer you come to the light, the longer the shadow that is cast. They will be more numerous than you would expect."

Luna opened her mouth to retort but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Milady? Are you there?" Both heads swivel to watch the door, "Milady, I'm coming in." The door swings inward and a unicorn of the guard pokes his head in, spying Luna and her guest.

"MILADY!" The unicorn leapt into the room, assuming a battle ready stance.

"Relax, young stallion," Abaddon said, still facing the window, "you might get hurt." Abaddon turns to face the guard, staring at him intently. The guard's breath fails him, and he becomes suddenly weak, sinking to his knees.

"Abaddon!" Luna cried, bounding from the bed.

"It is not my fault you employ weak individuals," Abaddon turns his head away and the guard gasps for breath.

"Please," Luna addresses the guard, assuming her royal bearing, "my sister is in trouble, summon Cadence, Twilight and Discord. We will be down shortly. Tell nopony of my guest."

"Y-yes ma'am," he pants retreating through the door. Luna turned back to Abaddon.

"I will go and prepare a summit. I trust you will arrive when needed?"

"What of course, milady," he dips his head in deference, "Would you be so kind as to prepare a place for my second as well, we wouldn't want to be underrepresented now would we." Luna nodded accent as Abaddon melted into the floor. "I will return when needed."