//-------------------------------------------------------// The New Overlords are... Ponies!? -by Chrome Masquerade- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// The Summoning Ritual //-------------------------------------------------------// The Summoning Ritual Gnarl made his way through the Tower (More like a castle, really) to its lowest depth. As much as the previous Overlord had been flaunting his wealth, the Tower was quite deep indeed. And though it had fallen to ruin without His influence, the different section of the castle crumbling and most of the other Minions leaving, it was still a fair distance. Most of that was about to change. Tiredly, Gnarl grumbled, "I'm too old for this." as he walked the last hallway. At the end was a summoning circle. the remaining Blues were putting the finishing touches on the circle they were making. "Is it ready?" Gnarl asked, curtly. "Yes, sir." was the reply. "We're almost finished now. It should be just about perfect." "Good. Let's find our new Overlord before more of this place crumbles to dust." Gnarl said. "Let's get on with it!" The Blues started channeling their magic into the ritual. Most of them were perfectly fine with the possibility that the ritual would consume them too. They began to chant in an ancient language, long forgotten to most species. In the middle of the room, a glowing portal appeared, letting off sparks of red and violet energy. At length, the magic died down. In the middle of the circle lay a pair of what appeared to be.... Gnarl frowned and glared at one of the Blues. "Davik? Did you get the spell right? Did it miscast?" The one questioned quickly examined the circle's runic writing. At length, he stood. "Malek? Weren't you doing this portion?" The Blue being asked replied, "Yes. Why?" "Why, then, is it that when it's supposed to say "a pale horse" it says "A PAIR of HORSES"?!" Davik seethed. "That's PONY!" Suddenly, what appeared to be a mace of pure orange energy knocked Davik to the side of the room, cracking the wall. All looked back to the center of the circle. One of the two small horses -Ponies- was up. Her horn was glowing brightly, and she looked particularly peeved. "That was for getting your translation wrong. And as for you, THIS is for WAKING ME UP!" Suddenly, Malek was disintegrated. Gnarl smiled. "Actually, I think we can work with this. Well done, boys." //-------------------------------------------------------// Orientation //-------------------------------------------------------// Orientation Gnarl bowed before the pair of Ponies. One of whom was still unconscious. "My lady. Please, don't be TOO harsh on them. We merely needed a new boss and apparently you're one best suited for the job." he said. The Pony looked to one of the Blues (Davik) and said, "You have 15 seconds to explain. Or you end up like your friend." she seethed. "Uh, you see, our previous Overlord has recently perished and to find a new one we decided to do a summoning ritual. The ritual was supposed to reach through the dimensions and find someone who was most suited for the job. But APPARENTLY someone hadn't been studying their ancient languages, so instead of summoning a dark lord that you might expect it summoned the two of you here and you know the rest- Please don't disintegrate me!" "And time. Very nicely done." Gnarl was grinning widely. Yes, this would work PERFECTLY. "Before we explain our situation further, we should probably exchange names. I am Gnarl, your advisor and confidant." The orange Pony nodded and said, "I am Sunset Shimmer; Unicorn Mage first class, Versebreaker, Bearer of Magic... esquire. And this is Starlight Glimmer." "Versebreaker?" one of the Browns asked, "What's that mean?" Gnarl was startled. Most Browns typically weren't the type to ask questions. They were more about action. "My friends and I fought a trio of fully-empoowered Sirens. And we won. After that, they were unable to sing ever again." "And her?" a different one asked. Getting to her hooves, the lavender unicorn replied, "I am Starlight Glimmer; Unicorn Mage second class, Agent of Change, former mayor of Our Town, Principal of... a recently opened school... and also Black Belt in Tai Chi, Karate and Hidzume no Michi(1)." Suddenly her horn flared and another Blue minion slammed into the wall on the other side. "That was for waking ME up too!" Gnarl chuckled. "I think the spell worked out well enough. There is much to explain." The two Ponies made their way up the hall, Gnarl leading the way. At one point there was a CRACK and he paused. "Agh! Just some stiff joints. Five centuries of time will do that to you." Starlight's horn glowed and his pain eased. "What... What did you do?" "It's basically a small healing spell. It won't prolong your life, but it makes things run much more smoothly. Including yourself." she quipped at the end. Gnarl flexed his joints experimentally. No creaking. No cracking. No pain. "My lady, I don't say things like this often, but... thank you. This is a gift beyond price for someone of my age. Shall we continue?" "As long as you start that whole explanation thing." Sunset demanded. "There are two unspoken rules that all agree on, my ladies. Good will eventually triumph over evil; Evil will always find a way." he began. "The previous Overlord, he was avaricious, destructive, a real womanizer... but he had a sense of honour and dignity. He gave food to starving people, but let us take their sheep. I'll explain that later. He threaded the line between good and evil. Leaning to the Evil side." he chuckled at that. Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Don't you mean treaded the line?" Gnarl chuckled at that. "No. Quite often he could combine kindness with cruelty. He weaved either way whenever he wanted to. He would destroy foes and... Convert their citizens to his cause. He let us slay other evil creatures mercilessly. And break their stuff." He took a deep breath. "We Minions need an Overlord to command us, to control us. Some of our magics can only be done when we are bonded to an Overlord. Without one, thing just seem to..." As if on cue, a portion of a brick wall crumbled and disintegrated. "Well... fall apart." Starlight was pensive. "Hmm... Evil. Not sure about that. Lawful Evil I can do, perhaps?" "Even that would do." Gnarl said. "And judging by the way you... introduced yourselves, you'll do just fine." They came to the end of tghat area, where a throne was situated. "Ah. Right. We usually only have ONE Overlord. Let me fix that." Gnarl said. Incanting a spell briefly, he thrust his hands forward and a second throne started to rise from the floor. "Much better." Sunset and Starlight sat upon the thrones. It wasn't exactly comfortable. Sunset frowned and her horn glowed. The two thrones merged into what was more like a large couch. Taking a more comfortable posture, she said, "Much better. What now?" "Simply declare yourselves the new Overlords. The rest will come naturally." As one, the two Ponies declared, "We, Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer are the new Overlords. Together we pledge to rule this land! Who stands with us?" Gnarl felt the compulsion to bow and welcomed it. When he looked side to side, he saw that the remaining Minions were doing the same. "We do." all spoke as one. Gnarl smiled again. Not one, but TWO new Overlords! This day just couldn't get better. Sunset said, "Alright, alright. Now let's get this place cleaned up, huh? This castle is a DUMP!" Gnarl chuckled. Perhaps he was wrong. Author's Note 1: That's "Way of the Hoof", by the way. Basically the Pony version of Kenpõ. //-------------------------------------------------------// Arming Up //-------------------------------------------------------// Arming Up Later on, while some of the remaining Browns were cleaning the place up, Gnarl was showing the two new Overlords around. "And this is where the entrance to the old forge was. Alas, until a new smelter is found, we can only work with what we've got. Typically you'd be able to sacrifice some Minions to create or improve your armour." Sunset demanded, "Why don't you give us a rundown of the different types of Minons, if we're to use them in that manner?" "Gladly, my Lady." Gnarl said. This was something they'd need to know anyway. "There are four main kinds of Minions. First are the Browns. They are the toughest and strongest among the Minions; the Fighters. Secondly are the Reds. They're significantly less tough, but are masters of fire. They can produce it at will. They'll also happily wade through a wildfire. Third, the Greens. They're masters of stealth, for the most part. They are able to hide in the shadows, sneak unnoticed into places where you cannot. They can even squeeze througjh spaces as small as their heads. And finally are the Blues. They're more intelligent than the other types combined. They're the spellcasters. And also the only Minions that can swim. I, as you might have guessed, used to be a Blue myself. But again, it's been over 500 years. I'm not as strong -nor as spry- as I used to be. Anyway, enough of that. Let's get you equipped, hmm? Stand over on that platform." he said, pointing at the end. And thusly, 20 of the remaining Browns sacrificed themselves to create the equipmet for their new Overlords. magically, they were endowed with new armour(1). First came a chainmail suit of a dark blue metal, covering most of their bodies. Then came plate armour for their legs, a black colour. One of the Blues channeled his magic into the forge, allowing the next piece to appear, for their backs and chests. Finally, to complete the outfit, a menacing helmet which was, as with the chest and back portions, of a darker black than the leg armour. Black like a hole in the earth(2). Gnarl explained, smiling, "We still had a small lump of Osmium; used correctly, it can make for great protective capabilities." Then, on their hooves appeared shoes that were clearly quite sharp. As if they were blades in and of themselves. "As much as you may be grand magi where you're from, magic won't always be an option. Sometimes you'll have to get your hooves dirty." Gnarl said. "And so, you have your equipment. Let's go back to the throne room. There's still much to see." As they proceeded back, Gnarl said, "As evil as we happily proclaim to be, there are other beings of far darker personalities. Some being more evil than us. Beings who are despicable even by our standards. Why, with the previous Overlord, his home was frequently set upon by the king and his knights there. He would demand that any who could use magic be thrown out of the town, to be executed. Or they would force their way in and check anyway. He would be admirable if he weren't so sadistic about it. He knew that more often than not there would be no magic users. So he just used that as an excuse to bleed the town dry! With the added bonus of giving the headsman a consistent job, if you take my meaning. If they were female... also having his way with them." The two mares recoiled, visibly apalled. "Tha man was more crooked than an old tree. Utterly despicable. Even we have some standards. Nobody liked him, but everyone respected him. Or at least feared him." They came up to the throne again, now equipped for what would come. "Okay. What now?" Starlight asked. "First, we need to deal with this place falling apart and gather the other Minions. Ever since the previous Overlord's demise, they've rather drifted apart. Anyway, this place is missing its Heart." Before them appeared a magical circle. It suddenly sank into the floor slightly, creating a small hole where it was, which was suddenly covered in a silvery substance, so it became much like a mirror. "Ah, the Tower recognizes that you are indeed the new Overlords. So it grants you access to the Portal. Through it, you can see events that are occurring in certain places, and go there if you wish to." and suddenly a dragon head appeared on the wall nearby. "And you've been granted a spell too! Fireball. A robust fellow. Might've known he'd make it. The portal there has enough energy to open once, for the moment. Observe." Suddenly, a portal rose in the air. "Ah! That's the location of the Tower's Heart! Shall we, my Overlords?" Without hesitation, the two mares stepped through, Gnarl swiftly following. Author's Note 1: Kind of like this: https://www.deviantart.com/l8lhh8086/art/Armor-645357196 2: Like this but adjusted for a Unicorn. https://overlord.fandom.com/wiki/Armoury //-------------------------------------------------------// Heart of the Matter //-------------------------------------------------------// Heart of the Matter As the three came out of the portal, they found themselvees in a small, grassy meadow, near the top of a small hill. Sunset said, "This looks pleasant." Gnarl concurred. "Disgusting, is it not?" Starlight rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's get the Tower's Heart back to where it belongs." Their attention drawn back to the task at hand, the other two said simultaneously, "Oh. Right." Gnarl encouraged, "Try calling some Browns from the Spawning Pit." Starlight called three of the few remaining Browns from the nearby Spawning Pit, Sunset doing the same. But these guys were complete newbies. The Browns awaited their next command. When neither of the Ponies reacted, Gnarl coughed and promptedd, "They await your orders, Overlords." Sunset reacted first. She Willed them into line. Gnarl was quick to explain. "Now, you can summon more Browns if you get some upgrades. Provided that you have enough Lifeforce." "Lifeforce?" Starlight queried. "It exists in all creatures. For example, those sheep over that way." Gnarl had directed their attention to the nearby enclosure, which had about a dozen or so fluffy sheep therein. "Using that, you can summon more Minions at any Spawn Pit. For example, the one besidew the portal there. At the moment, you can likely only control five Browns each." "I'm not entirely sure about this." Sunset mumbled. "Oh, worry not. These sheep are rather... frisky. They crop up faster than you'd think. No one will notice a few less." Sunset shrugged. She Willed the five Browns there to attack the sheep. As they did so, Gnarl spoke, "Worry not, master. These things barely know they're alive." After gathering all of the available Lifeforce from the sheep (as it turns out, there were 16), They called up enough Browns to fill the ranks, ten in all. Thusly, they were able to move on to the next area, after moving some debris. The next thing they came upon was what seemed to be a scarecrow. However, it was a man tied to a couple of sticks, set out to scare away crows, until he starved or something, as he explained. Gnarl sneered, "Halflings. Even we have standards! Honestly. They could have just killed him and used him as a scarecrow like that. Dead ones make less noise, too." "Now the pumpkins haunt poor Bob!" the man said. "I can hear 'em speakin' 'bout terrible things." The two Ponies felt pity for the man. Clearly all sun and no food makes Bob a dull man. Sinc it was on the way, they agreed to smash the pumpkins that were along the way there. Bob seemed rather pleased, until the Browns got overzealous and wrecked the long barn that was nearby. "Sorry about that." Starlight said. "They tend to be... excitable." Bob shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time. Maybe I'll start over with some marrows. Yeah, those don't talk as much; that'd be nice." Sunset raised an eyebrow. "You mean like zucchini? Might I suggest adding carrots, potatoes and beets? Those can't talk at all. And even if they did, they grow in the ground." Bob seemed pleased by that notion. "We'll even lend you a few Minions to help. BUUUUUT..." Starlight said, "Half of your crop is forfeit. Deal?" One of the Browns commented, "You must be kidding. Why should we follow orders like that?" Gnarl was taken aback by this. Since when did Browns start asking pertinent questions?! The audacity! Assertively, Starlight snarled and grabbed the speaker in her magic. Then she slammed him to the ground. forcefully. " Clear enough? You'll follow my orders because I said so. Capisce?" Oddly, the Brown seemed pleased at this. "Just... Checking. Ma'am." he said, grinning. Bob smiled, also amused. Gnarl warned, "If you give him some of your Browns, that'll leave you fewer to control at once." Sunset and Starlight nodded. That seemed fair. they gave one of each of theirs to Bob, to help out. They were warned to be careful, which they promised to do, without even crossing their fingers. Proceeding further, they saw another pumpkin patch. In the middle of that was- "The Tower Heart!" I was just getting to that. Yes, the Tower Heart was set in the middle of the pumpkin patch, greatly enhancing the groeth speed of the orange fruit. Five Browns were required to carry it back. Eight were directed to do so, the olther two being left with Bob. A white "8" appeared above the item, to their vision. Gnarl directed them as well. "Careful with that! CAREFUL! Gubbin, I see you pretending to hold it with one claw! Cut that out!" Along the way, they passed by what seemed to be part of a stone pillar. Gnarl said, "Ah! An Upgrade! Those come in handy. We can get it on-" With that, Starlight grabbed it using her magic, a white "10" appearing over that. Gnarl raised his eyebrows briefly. "Never mind." The Tower Heart was set on the Portal, being immediately sent back to the Tower. After that, Starlight carefully set the Upgrade down. The two felt thtemselves grow marginally in power. Gnarl explained, "Now you'll be able to summon 15 minions at once! 15!" he chuckled before adding, "That's about twice the number of active braincells in your average sheep." he then coughed. "For now, let us return to the Tower. Now that the Heart is back, we can really start setting things to rights." Before they left, the Browns sent themselves back through the Spawning Pit. Then the three stepped onto the Portal, vanishing from the area. //-------------------------------------------------------// Hearts and Restorations //-------------------------------------------------------// Hearts and Restorations As the Tower's Heart was restored to its rightful place, Gnarl was pensive. At length, he said to his new Overlords, "You know... you may be even more cut out for this than we first thought." Sunset quirked an eyebrow. "What makes you say that, Gnarl?" By this time, the Tower was slowly rebuilding itself. The walls were beginning to reform themselves already Gnarl began explaining, "Well, we Minions, when we bond to an Overlord, often take on some of their characteristics. To some extent." Starlight was also listening intently. "Oh?" "Yes! And even shortly after you arrived, some of the Browns have started to become more inquisitive, almost autonomous. And they typically don't ask questions of any kind, let alone question their orders. Yet ever since you arrived, it's happened not once, not twice but three times so far!" Sunset asked, "So what of your last Overlord?" "Well, many of us became somewhat more subtle. He was a particular fan of the Greens. He would use the others, but would always make room for at least some Greens." "Refresh my memory;" Starlight requested, "What do the Greens do, again?" Gnarl nodded. "The Greens are our stealth specialists. They can easily hide in the shadows, are nearly silent, have sharper senses than the others, and can absorb clouds of poisonous gas as easily as Blues can swim." he then chuckled. "And if any people in high places don't like you, the Greens are great poison sniffers." He coughed. "But, uh... that's there and not here. Now that the Tower's Heart has been restored, not only will it empower you with its energies, it will also allow you access to all of the Tower's resources. For now, it'll allow you to return to any checkpoints you unseal. Still, you must find more Tower Objects if you can. A crane or something would be particularly handy. We can clear up some of the debris around here and open some rooms. A smelter wpuld also be well placed, but that may come later." As the two Ponies made to reactivater the Portal, to return to where they''d come. Gnarl wasn't moving, however. "Not coming, Gnarl?" Gnarl shook his head. "I'm not as young as I once was, Masters. I just can't stand the feel of grass under my feet and biurdsong in my ears for too long. Worry not; with the Tower's Heart restored, I'll also be able to track your progress, and communicate with you over long distances." So the two reactivated the Portal and stepped back through. When they arrived, they each summoned some Browns before continuing. Sure enough, the sheep had repopulated the area. Around here, the sheep practically breed like cockroaches. As I said, no one will miss a few here and there. "Gnarl?" Sunset queried, looking around. As I said, with the Tower Heart restored, I am able to vommunicate with you from here. As they passed by again, they saw Bob instructing the Browns he'd been given on how to work the land. However, there was another important detail that had been forgotten earlier. Bob was still tied to the pieces of wood. He was able to walk well enough, but his arms were effectively paralyzed. Aftera simultaneous facehoof, Sunset used her magic to break the sticks apart, being careful not to hurt Bob any more than necessary. When that was one, Bob flexed his arms. "Oh, that's so much better. For that, to show me gratitude, you get 2/3 of my crop instead of half." Acceoting that with nods, they (and the Briwns they were bringing along) moved along. They passed by the neaby town, which was apparently called Spree. There were two guards looking over the big wall. "Hey!" one said, "Halflings approachin'!" The other took a look. He said, with an incredibly thick accent, "'Ang on, those ain't harflings. Lookit the ones wit' armour." "Maybe... two halflings holding up a suit of armour? I don't trust those sneaky li'l so and sos." the first countered. Sunset and Starlight exchanged glances. Quickly, they played a silent game of rock, paper, scissors, using some illusion magic. Sunset, being the winner, stepped forward. "Can halflings do... this?" she picked up a few of the Browns in her magic, juggling them. The second guard's mouth twisted on one side. "Okay, so fer sure these ain't harflings." "Maybe you're right." the first conceded. "Whatever you are, the halflings have been raiding our home, stealing our crops and even some of our people. If you can help us out, here, we could let you in. Fair enough?" The two mares nodded. That did seem fair. Sunset asked, "What about collateral damage?" "Colour-what, now?" Sunset rolled her eyes. Starlight clarified, "Is it a problem if some of your stuff gets smashed or burned along the way?" The guards shrugged in unison. "We wouldn't be getting any less than before." "Fair enough." So they proceeded. Sure enough, right nearby, there were some halflings standing in some wheat. Now might be a good time to make use of that Fireball spell. Torch the wheat and toast them! Starlight obliged, casting the spell. The strategy worked swimmingly, and the Browns were easily able to pummel any halflings trying to escape the flames. The group proceeded forth. On the way, they discovered what looked to be a pair of altars. Ah, yes! I was rather hoping these would pop up. These are arcane pits. Specifically of Blood and Mana. Any Minions you order to those will sacrifice themselves to restore your energies. Worry not; They're very loyal. The Ponies weren't exactly comfortable about that, but accepted it and moved on. A short distance away, they stopped hort. There was an encampment, with a fistful of halflings milling about. Inside of a cage of sorts there were several people; presumably the missing citizens. Sunsaet addressed the Briwns as a whole. "Alright, guys. You may feel free to go... safely nuts with this. Crush, smash and kill anything you loke... but try to PROTECT the kidnapped peole, there. Got it?" All of them saluted, but made no move. (ahem) They await your orders, my Lord. Sunset coughed. "(Ahem) Right. On my mark. Three... Two... One... ATTACK!" The Browns leapt at the opportunity, pummeling the halflings with extreme prejudice. Eventually they released an ogre that was caged nearby. It looked kind of hungry, and not particularly pleased. Sunset was about to redirect the Browns to mostly concentrate on the ogre, but Starlight stopped her and stepped forward. "Concentrate on the halfligs. I'll hamdle this." Master? Are you sure this is a good idea? "I can take this." Starlight declared, boldly. The ogre, as if sensing the implied challenge, charged at Starlight, roaring. They clashed, the ogre with it's shoulder and Starlight with a quickly constructed shield. The ogre then punched the shield, causing it to crack. Starlight winced and thought to herself, 'Wow. He be big stronk!' She pushed more energyy into the shield, reinforcing it. Then, she decided to go on the attack. Sh swiped at the ogre with one of her armoured hooves. Reminder: those had sharp-edged tips. They unsheathed at her will to make use of them. She inflicted a small wound on the ogre. Not enough to hurt it overmuch, but enough to daze it slightly. The ogre roared in frustration. it raised its giant fist and brought it down with surprising speed. That was deflected by Starlight's shield, but she winced under the pressure. When the ogre tried to hit her again, she waited until it was leaning forward, then used her magical and physical strengthto flip the ogre onto its back with enough force to cause the ground to rumble. She tookthe opportunity and leapt upon the ogre and slashed it multiple times before it could recover. Her opponent was bleeding heavily now. Cncentrating her magic, Starlight incanted, From the bottomless stream of time, Flames from the molten core of the world Burn this target that is mine With the power i unfurl! Fiend's Fire! With that, the ogre was blasted by a stream of heat, which took a moment, but was able to turn the ogre to char. Why didn't you lead with that?! Starlight shrugged. "He needed to be weakened first. That beast was tanky! He might have been able to handle a blast, at his full strength." By this time, Sunset and the Browns were victorious, sending the halflings packing. With the Browns being directed to turn a wheel by the bars on it, the prisoners were released. They were immensely thankful, and practically threw themselves at the hooves of the Ponies in gratitude. Sunset rolled her eyes. "No groveling! Seriously. All the "have mercy" this, and "I'm not worthy" that. Honestly, buck that and pluck that!" The freed people got to their feet, slightly embarassed. Starlight noted their condition. "Did they feed you at all?" One of the men shrugged. "They were planning to eat US! Orat least feed us to that ogre." Anyway, to further show their gratitude, they gave the group a small crane that was nearby. Starlight held a hoof to her head. "Wait, wait, wait. You just... happen to have a spare one of these around?" They all shrugged. Starlight facehoofed, fortunately having willed the bladed tips to retract. She then directed some of the Browns to carry the crane back to the Portal. With that, the group returned to the Tower, having had a rather productive venture.