History Main / PowersThatBe

* The Dark Powers of the ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' Campaign Setting. They are mysterious and incredibly powerful. (Powerful enough to, through sheer power or some kind of deal, shut the Gods themselves out of Ravenloft.) The 2E version of the Campaign Setting actually had separate arguments printed for them being Good, Evil or Neutral. Although most information leads towards Evil. Their MO is mostly to punish evil... by giving someone exactly what they wish for and precisely what they do not want. Attention-seeking manipulative child? Gets mind control powers that don't work on anyone he loves AND a corresponding curse that makes anyone he loves see him as repulsive. Wizard-King seeking to live forever to master every aspect of magic? Turning into a lich, but as a side-effect cannot learn any new spells. And so forth.

*** ''Fanfic/ThePiecesLieWhereTheyFell'': The Pieces-verse's eldest are Death, Time, War and Life; they and others were directly made by the creators. Younger Powers include Harmony (and its alter-ego Balance), its Opposite Disharmony (with the two being violently opposed) and the Nightmare, among others. The Lady of Day and her counterpart, the Lady of Night, are noted as working together peacefully. The Judge is also mentioned, serving to determine a soul's fate in the afterlife, though Death is able to bypass them if they choose when a Power is involved.

* Igor, proprietor of the Velvet Room in all the ''[[Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona Persona]]'' games, serves as a sincerely helpful aide to the heroes, among them handling the critical mechanic of Persona fusion. While his advice on any given situation will be obtuse or cryptic more often than not, he always serves to steer the main character in the right way.

* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' has more than a few of these, since the setting is FantasyKitchenSink with AllMythsAreTrue thrown in, any PowersThatBe in mythology and religion are also one here.

* In ''Literature/StarmanJones'', Sam discusses various planets the spacecraft is scheduled to serve, about where to [[SpaceIsAnOcean jump ship]] and escape. One such planet consists of domed cities, where one does as the PowersThatBe demand or one doesn't breathe.

*** ''Fanfic/ADiplomaticVisit'': The Diplomacy-verse goes even more in depth. The third story reveals the CreationMyth and origin of the Powers for the entire multiverse, in which the first Creators appeared, followed by others; from them, the first Powers were born and began to shape a world, which became the Prime. Others came from ripples of its movement and the decisions of those who live there, dividing endlessly into other worlds within their own separate universes, claimed by Order and Chaos (the first two Creators) and each has their own set of Powers. Named ones include Time and Space (two of the earliest, if not the earliest in each world's birth), followed by Death and Life, and then the Judge (who determines a soul's fate upon its entrance to the afterlife). Others include Harmony and Disharmony (the latter held by Discord in the Diplomacy-verse), with their six sub-Powers each (as in other worlds, Harmony's six are Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty and Magic; their Opposites are Lies, Cruelty, Sorrow, Self-Centeredness ([[spoiler: which was formerly held by Queen Chrysalis of the changelings until she was stripped of it in story #2, chapter 4]]), Oathbreaking and Technology), Love (held by Cadance) and Hatred ([[spoiler: formerly held by Aputsiaq, a windigo and Lady of Winter, until Adagio Dazzle of the Sirens tricked her into letting Adagio have the Power, then betrayed her; later, like Chrysalis, Adagio was stripped of it by Discord in story #2, chapter 11, who gave it to Aria Blaze instead]]), the four Seasons - Winter ([[spoiler: held by the windigo mare Aputsiaq]]), Spring, Summer ([[spoiler: which belongs to the Alpha of the Packlands]]) and Fall; the four Forces of Nature - Water ([[spoiler: held by Queen Novo of the western seaponies]]), Earth, Fire ([[spoiler: held by Dragon Lord Torch]]) and Air; Day and Night (held by Celestia and Luna, respectively), and Dreams and Nightmares, the former held by Luna. [[spoiler: The latter was held by Umbrea, "mother" of King Sombra and leader of the Umbrum, or shadow pony sect, until she took over Luna's body and remade them into Nightmare Moon. When Harmony's power - wielded by Twilight and her friends - removed her from Luna's body, she was caught by Death and taken to the Judge; Luna became the new Lady of Nightmares until she was able to pass it on to Prince Pharynx, now her husband, in the third story.]] Discord also mentions a group of Powers called the Four Apocalypses (later identified fully as Death, War, Famine and Pestilence), whom even ''he'', as Champion of Chaos, is unable to truly act against outside of alerting Chaos if something's gone wrong with one of them and offering his opinion on the matter; Cadance later names their Opposites, the four Creations (Life, Peace, Prosperity and Health), with the eight ranking above all other Powers. [[spoiler: Health later appears in person in chapter 11, watching over the dormant windigos when Aria comes to try and heal them; he approves of her actions, and Twilight's and Cadance's efforts to help the changelings.]] Another, unidentified Power also makes a brief appearance in story #2, chapter 6, speaking through Pinkie Pie when they have the same message for the girls after the five have spent some time speculating on the nature of their Opposites (with Discord commenting that they're closer than they might realize when it comes to identifying what the Roles and Duties are for some of them).

* The Powers That Be were your ''bosses'' in ''VideoGame/{{Afterlife}}'', although they were decidedly hands-off. The afterlife itself, and to a lesser extent its associated planet, is run by the Demiurge, i.e. the player, and control is only taken away if they screw up on a massive scale.

*** ''Fanfic/ADiplomaticVisit'': The Diplomacy-verse goes even more in depth. The third story reveals the CreationMyth and origin of the Powers for the entire multiverse, in which the first Creators appeared, followed by others; from them, the first Powers were born and began to shape a world, which became the Prime. Others came from ripples of its movement and the decisions of those who live there, dividing endlessly into other worlds within their own separate universes, claimed by Order and Chaos (the first two Creators) and each has their own set of Powers. Named ones include Time and Space (two of the earliest, if not the earliest in each world's birth), followed by Death and Life, and then the Judge (who determines a soul's fate upon its entrance to the afterlife). Others include Harmony and Disharmony (the latter held by Discord in the Diplomacy-verse), with their six sub-Powers each (as in other worlds, Harmony's six are Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty and Magic; their Opposites are Lies, Cruelty, Sorrow, Self-Centeredness ([[spoiler: which was formerly held by Queen Chrysalis of the changelings until she was stripped of it in story #2, chapter 4]]), Oathbreaking and Technology), Love (held by Cadance) and Hatred ([[spoiler: formerly held by Adagio Dazzle of the Sirens until, like Chrysalis, she was stripped of it by Discord in story #2, chapter 11, who gave it to Aria Blaze instead]]), the four Seasons - Winter, Spring, Summer ([[spoiler: which belongs to the Alpha of the Packlands]]) and Fall; the four Forces of Nature - Water ([[spoiler: held by Queen Novo of the western seaponies]]), Earth, Fire ([[spoiler: held by Dragon Lord Torch]]) and Air; Day and Night (held by Celestia and Luna, respectively), and Dreams and Nightmares, the former held by Luna. [[spoiler: The latter was held by Umbrea, "mother" of King Sombra and leader of the Umbrum, or shadow pony sect, until she took over Luna's body and remade them into Nightmare Moon. When Harmony's power - wielded by Twilight and her friends - removed her from Luna's body, she was caught by Death and taken to the Judge; Luna became the new Lady of Nightmares until she was able to pass it on to Prince Pharynx, now her husband, in the third story.]] Discord also mentions a group of Powers called the Four Apocalypses (later identified fully as Death, War, Famine and Pestilence), whom even ''he'', as Champion of Chaos, is unable to truly act against outside of alerting Chaos if something's gone wrong with one of them and offering his opinion on the matter; Cadance later names their Opposites, the four Creations (Life, Peace, Prosperity and Health), with the eight ranking above all other Powers. Another, unidentified Power also makes a brief appearance in story #2, chapter 6, speaking through Pinkie Pie when they have the same message for the girls after the five have spent some time speculating on the nature of their Opposites (with Discord commenting that they're closer than they might realize when it comes to identifying what the Roles and Duties are for some of them).

[[GodIsGood Good Powers That Be]] will also be mysterious and abstract; concerned with the BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil or the sanctity of the LifeStream and because of this, too distant to understand the heroes' concerns and {{protectorate}}. Nevertheless the heroes will be the Powers' champion against evil.

*** ''Fanfic/ADiplomaticVisit'': The Diplomacy-verse goes even more in depth. The third story reveals the CreationMyth and origin of the Powers for the entire multiverse, in which the first Creators appeared, followed by others; from them, the first Powers were born and began to shape a world, which became the Prime. Others came from ripples of its movement and the decisions of those who live there, dividing endlessly into other worlds within their own separate universes, claimed by Order and Chaos (the first two Creators) and each has their own set of Powers. Named ones include Time and Space (two of the earliest, if not the earliest in each world's birth), followed by Death and Life, and then the Judge (who determines a soul's fate upon its entrance to the afterlife). Others include Harmony and Disharmony (the latter held by Discord in the Diplomacy-verse), with their six sub-Powers each (as in other worlds, Harmony's six are Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty and Magic; their Opposites are Lies, Cruelty, Sorrow, Self-Centeredness ([[spoiler: which was formerly held by Queen Chrysalis of the changelings until she was stripped of it in story #2, chapter 4]]), Oathbreaking and Technology), Love (held by Cadance) and Hatred ([[spoiler: formerly held by Adagio Dazzle of the Sirens until, like Chrysalis, she was stripped of it by Discord in story #2, chapter 11, who gave it to Aria Blaze instead]]), the four Seasons - Winter, Spring, Summer ([[spoiler: which belongs to the Alpha of the Packlands]]) and Fall; the four Forces of Nature - Water ([[spoiler: held by Queen Novo of the western seaponies]]), Earth, Fire ([[spoiler: held by Dragon Lord Torch]]) and Air; Day and Night (held by Celestia and Luna, respectively), and Dreams and Nightmares, the former held by Luna. [[spoiler: The latter was held by Umbrea, "mother" of King Sombra and leader of the Umbrum, or shadow pony sect, until she took over Luna's body and remade them into Nightmare Moon. When Harmony's power - wielded by Twilight and her friends - removed her from Luna's body, she was caught by Death and taken to the Judge; Luna became the new Lady of Nightmares until she was able to pass it on to Prince Pharynx, now her husband, in the third story. Discord also mentions a group of Powers called the Four Apocalypses (of whom Death is the only one with a confirmed identity), whom even ''he'', as Champion of Chaos, is unable to truly act against outside of alerting Chaos if something's gone wrong with one of them and offering his opinion on the matter.]] Another, unidentified Power also makes a brief appearance in story #2, chapter 6, speaking through Pinkie Pie when they have the same message for the girls after the five have spent some time speculating on the nature of their Opposites (with Discord commenting that they're closer than they might realize when it comes to identifying what the Roles and Duties are for some of them).

* ''VideoGame/HalfLife'', where the G-man and his "employers" manipulate minor but crucial things to their own ends. However, as seen in ''VideoGame/HalfLife2: Episode 1'', these powers are not all powerful.

Not to be confused with Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's ''Literature/{{Petaybee}}'' series, which has this at the title of the first book and an alternate series title. Or, a short-lived sitcom produced by Creator/NormanLear that starred John Forsythe from {{Series/Dynasty}} & featured two pre-famous actors, David Hyde Pierce & Creator/JosephGordonLevitt.

* The mysterious ''Triad'' that guards the ''Thread of Destiny'' in the ''FanFic/TamersForeverSeries''.
* The Great Names, Stephos, The Weekee and other such races in ''Ultraman Moedari.''

* Creator/{{Evilhumour}} has developed an entire multiverse of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' stories that use this concept.
** The basics are that the Powers are a set of entities with a Purpose, Role and Duties in this world; the eldest were directly made by the creators, while younger Powers are former mortals [[AbstractApotheosis who gave over their souls to a Purpose in order to become a Power]]. Each of the Powers has a counterpart to keep things balanced (referred to in later stories as Opposites), some working together in harmony while others are more violently opposed to one another.
** [[spoiler: Powers can belong to one of two factions, Order and Chaos, but the Rules in place forbid a Power under one faction from acting directly against any Power under the other faction; they can only act through proxies, such as a Power under Chaos targeting the student of a Power under Order.]]

*** ''Fanfic/ThePiecesLieWhereTheyFell'': In this world, the eldest are Death, Time, War and Life; they and others were directly made by the creators. Younger Powers include Harmony (and its alter-ego Balance), its Opposite Disharmony (with the two being violently opposed) and the Nightmare, among others. The Lady of Day and her counterpart, the Lady of Night, are noted as working together peacefully. The Judge is also mentioned, serving to determine a soul's fate in the afterlife, though Death is able to bypass them if they choose when a Power is involved.
*** ''Fanfic/DeathIsForcedToTakeAVacation'': Helheim is the Lady of Death in the Harvest-verse and has several Reapers who serve as adjuncts working for her, each monitoring and collecting the souls of a different species; Fall Harvest is the Reaper of Alicorns.
*** ''Fanfic/EscapeFromTheMoon'': The sequel, ''The Mare From the Moon'', goes into the concept again when Twilight learns about the Powers, and that she and her friends ''are'' Powers (their six Powers being sub-Powers of Harmony), while Discord is the Lord of Disharmony (and his sub-Powers are Lies, Oathbreaking, Sorrow, Cruelty, Self-centeredness and Technology), after a visit to the Valley of Alicorns. Other Powers named at this time include Day (Celestia), Night (Luna), Dreams (also Luna) and Nightmares (also Luna, formerly an unidentified stallion - Nightmare Moon was the result of his trying to take over Luna's body). Twilight later meets her Opposite, the Lady of Technology, and finds they can work together rather than being enemies; Gear Shaft also identifies an individual named Bit Collector as a Power, though not which one, and mentions Life as a Power.
*** ''Fanfic/ADiplomaticVisit'' (and its sequels ''Diplomat at Large'' and ''Diplomacy Through Schooling'') also covers the topic. Celestia's status as the Lady of Day is brought up a few times, as are her worries over how Twilight will react when she finds out the full truth. [[spoiler: During Twilight's meeting with the Alpha, she learns of the existence of the Powers, including her status as the Lady of Magic and that the Nightmare that possessed Luna was actually Umbrea, former Lady of Nightmare and "mother" of King Sombra. The Alpha himself is the Lord of Summer.]]
*** ''Diplomat at Large'' goes more in depth, as described below.
*** Chapter 2 identifies Cadence as Lady of Love. Chapter 3 has Twilight meeting Queen Novo of Seaquestria, who is revealed as the Lady of Water and one of the four Forces of Nature, with the others being Earth, Fire ([[spoiler: which is revealed in chapter 10 to belong to Dragon Lord Torch]]) and Air; Novo also names the Four Seasons (Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall) and mentions another grouping of four, as yet unidentified; explains Harmony, Disharmony and their sub-Powers, though she doesn't name the latter individuals on-screen, and mentions the Judge as the only Power without an Opposite.
*** In chapter 4, Chrysalis admits to being the Lady of Self-Centeredness (whom Luna explains in chapter 5 as being one of the sub-Powers of Disharmony and Opposite of Generosity), which she attempts to use to get out of being punished. It backfires, on the grounds that she previously attacked two Powers without identifying herself, which is against their Laws. [[spoiler: And then Discord strips her of it, since it's one of his sub-Powers and he has deemed her unsuitable for it. Plus, she put Fluttershy in danger with her invasion, which he finds unforgivable.]]
*** Chapter 5 sees Luna explaining the Powers to Pharynx, including that she holds three, including Night and Nightmares, the latter resulting after its former bearer convinced her to attempt to merge their Powers (thus giving her an edge over Celestia) and then took over her body, Umbrea's soul only being expelled by Twilight and her friends and the Power of Harmony while leaving Luna with her Power (which only she and now Pharynx know). She also expands on the Judge, explaining its Role of determining a soul's fate upon its entrance to the afterlife.
*** Chapter 6 sees the five Bearers still at home discussing their Powers and their Opposites, speculating on what they're like and what they're supposed to do; Discord pops in to inform them that they're closer than they might realize with some of their guesses. Soon after, Pinkie temporarily channels the voice of another Power to tell them to never give up hope, though that Power's identity is not revealed at this time.
*** [[spoiler: Chapter 11 reveals that Adagio Dazzle is the Lady of Hatred, the Opposite of Love, and has been abusing her Role via using two of her fellow Sirens to expand her influence on others. When Discord shows up, he strips her of the mantle and grants it to Aria Blaze instead after checking to see if she'd be a good fit; chapter 12 sees Aria and Cadance discussing their Roles and Duties as the Ladies of Love and Hatred.]]
*** [[spoiler: During his involvement in depowering Adagio, Discord reveals that he is authorized to reign in any and all Powers under Chaos's authority short of the four Apocalypses, and even then he has ''some'' pull.]]
*** [[spoiler: The creation legend is told in chapter 5 of the second sequel, ''Diplomacy Through Schooling'', explaining much about how the ''Powers-That-Be'' multiverse itself, including these Powers, came to be. Discord also clarifies that by "some pull" in the case of the Four Apocalypses, he meant that if something major happened, he could inform Chaos - the Creator for whom he's a Champion - of it and offer his opinion.]]
* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' has the seven Endless, as well as a few mentions of the Abrahmaic God, who mostly keeps to Himself and may or may not be of the same ilk as Odin, Zeus, etc.

*** ''Fanfic/ADiplomaticVisit'' (and its sequel ''Diplomat at Large''):
*** Celestia's status as the Lady of Day is brought up a few times, as are her worries over how Twilight will react when she finds out the full truth.
*** [[spoiler:During Twilight's meeting with the Alpha, she learns of the existence of the Powers, including her status as the Lady of Magic and that the Nightmare that possessed Luna was actually Umbrea, former Lady of Nightmare and "mother" of King Sombra. The Alpha himself is the Lord of Summer.]]
*** Chapter 2 of the sequel identifies Cadence as Lady of Love. Chapter 3 has Twilight meeting Queen Novo of Seaquestria, who is revealed as the Lady of Water. She further identifies the other Forces of Nature - Earth, Fire ([[spoiler: which is revealed in chapter 10 to belong to Dragon Lord Torch]]) and Air - as Powers, and the Four Seasons (Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall) and another grouping of four, as yet unidentified. She also explains Harmony, Disharmony and their sub-Powers, though she doesn't name the latter individuals on-screen, and mentions the Judge as the only Power without an Opposite.
*** In chapter 4, Chrysalis admits to being the Lady of Self-Centeredness, which she attempts to use to get out of being punished. It backfires, on the grounds that she previously attacked two Powers without identifying herself, which is against their Laws. [[spoiler: And then Discord strips her of it, since it's one of his sub-Powers and he has deemed her unsuitable for it. Plus, she put Fluttershy in danger with her invasion, which he finds unforgivable.]]
*** Chapter 5 sees Luna explaining the Powers to Pharynx, including that she holds three, including Night and Nightmares, the latter resulting after its former bearer convinced her to attempt to merge their Powers (thus giving her an edge over Celestia) and then took over her body, Umbrea's soul only being expelled by Twilight and her friends and the Power of Harmony while leaving Luna with her Power (which only she and now Pharynx know). She also expands on the Judge, explaining its Role of determining a soul's fate upon its entrance to the afterlife.
** [[spoiler: Chapter 11 reveals that Adagio Dazzle is the Lady of Hatred, the Opposite of Love, and has been abusing her Role via using two of her fellow Sirens to expand her influence on others. When Discord shows up, he strips her of the mantle and grants it to Aria Blaze instead after checking to see if she'd be a good fit.]]
** [[spoiler: During the same conversation, Discord reveals that he is authorized to reign in any and all Powers under Chaos's authority short of the four Apocalypses, and even then he has ''some'' pull.]]

* In the ''Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'', TAROT is an AncientConspiracy started originally to take over the world's economy... and they've been more successful in doing just that than anyone suspects. Their unlimited wealth and influence makes them much more than just the criminal empire most superheroes see them as, to the point that they've been able to decide not only important things like who will win an election (they put UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush ''and'' UsefulNotes/BillClinton in office, among other politicians worldwide), but they can decide little things like what movies will win an Oscar, or what clothing style trends will become popular.

*** Celestia's status as the Lady of Day is brought up a few times, as are her worries over how Twilight will react when she finds out the full truth.
*** [[spoiler:During Twilight's meeting with the Alpha, she learns of the existence of the Powers, including her status as the Lady of Magic and that the Nightmare that possessed Luna was actually Umbrea, former Lady of Nightmare and "mother" of King Sombra. The Alpha himself is the Lord of Summer.]]
*** Chapter 2 of the sequel identifies Cadence as Lady of Love. Chapter 3 has Twilight meeting Queen Novo of Seaquestria, who is revealed as the Lady of Water. She further identifies the other Forces of Nature - Earth, Fire and Air - as Powers, and the Four Seasons (Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall) and another grouping of four, as yet unidentified. She also explains Harmony, Disharmony and their sub-Powers, though she doesn't name the latter individuals on-screen, and mentions the Judge as the only Power without an Opposite.
*** In chapter 4, Chrysalis admits to being the Lady of Self-Centeredness, which she attempts to use to get out of being punished. It backfires, on the grounds that she previously attacked two Powers without identifying herself, which is against their Laws. [[spoiler:And then Discord strips her of it, since it's one of his sub-Powers and he has deemed her unsuitable for it. Plus, she put Fluttershy in danger with her invasion, which he finds unforgivable.]]
*** Chapter 5 sees Luna explaining the Powers to Pharynx, including that she holds three, including Night and Nightmares, the latter resulting after its former bearer convinced her to attempt to merge their Powers (thus giving her an edge over Celestia) and then took over her body, Umbrea's soul only being expelled by Twilight and her friends and the Power of Harmony while leaving Luna with her Power (which only she and now Pharynx know). She also expands on the Judge, explaining its Role of determining a soul's fate upon its entrance to the afterlife.

*** ''Fanfic/ThePiecesLieWhereTheyFell'': In this world, the eldest are Death, Time, War and Life; they and others were directly made by the creators. Younger Powers include Harmony (and its alter-ego Balance), its Opposite Disharmony (with the two being violently opposed) and the Nightmare, among others. The Lady of Day and her counterpart, the Lady of Night, are noted as working together peacefully.

* Creator/{{Evilhumour}} has developed an entire multiverse of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' stories that use this concept, including...
** ''Fanfic/ThePiecesLieWhereTheyFell'':
*** The Powers are a set of entities with a Purpose, Role and Duties in this world; the eldest are Death, Time, War and Life, who (along with some others who have since passed on) were directly made by the creators, while the younger Powers (who are former mortals [[AbstractApotheosis who gave over their souls to a Purpose in order to become a Power]]) include Harmony (and its alter-ego Balance), Disharmony and the Nightmare, among others.
*** [[spoiler: Each of the Powers has a counterpart to keep things balanced, some working together in harmony (such as the Lady of Day and her counterpart, the Lady of Night) while others (such as Harmony and Disharmony) are more violently opposed to one another.]]
*** [[spoiler: Powers can belong to one of two factions, Order and Chaos, but the Rules in place forbid a Power under one faction from acting directly against any Power under the other faction; they can only act through proxies, such as a Power under Chaos targeting the student of a Power under Order.]]
** ''Fanfic/DeathIsForcedToTakeAVacation'': As with [[FanFic/ThePiecesLieWhereTheyFell the Pieces-verse]], the Powers are a set of entities with a Purpose, Role and Duties in this world. Helheim is the Lady of Death in the Harvest-verse and has several Reapers who serve as adjuncts working for her, each monitoring and collecting the souls of a different species; Fall Harvest is the Reaper of Alicorns.
** ''Fanfic/EscapeFromTheMoon'': The sequel, ''The Mare From the Moon'', goes into the concept again when Twilight learns about the Powers, and that she and her friends ''are'' Powers (their six Powers being sub-Powers of Harmony), while Discord is the Lord of Disharmony (and his sub-Powers are Lies, Oathbreaking, Sorrow, Cruelty, Self-centeredness and Technology), after a visit to the Valley of Alicorns. Other Powers named at this time include Day (Celestia), Night (Luna), Dreams (also Luna) and Nightmares (also Luna, formerly an unidentified stallion - Nightmare Moon was the result of his trying to take over Luna's body). Twilight later meets her Opposite, the Lady of Technology, and finds they can work together rather than being enemies; Gear Shaft also identifies an individual named Bit Collector as a Power, though not which one.
** ''Fanfic/ADiplomaticVisit'': As with other stories in this multiverse, the Powers are an aspect of the setting.
*** Celestia's status as the Lady of Day is brought up a few times, as are her worries over how Twilight will react when she finds out the full truth.
*** [[spoiler:The Nightmare that possessed Luna is explicitly identified as Umbrea, former Lady of Nightmare, and "mother" of King Sombra.]]
*** Twilight's status as Lady of Magic is revealed to her by [[spoiler:the Alpha, who is himself the Lord of Summer and reveals the existence of the Powers to Twilight]].
*** Chapter 2 of the sequel ''Diplomat at Large'' identifies Cadence as Lady of Love. Chapter 3 has Twilight meeting Queen Novo of Seaquestria, who is revealed as the Lady of Water. She further identifies the other Forces of Nature - Earth, Fire and Air - as Powers, and the Four Seasons (Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall) and another grouping of four, as yet unidentified. She also explains Harmony, Disharmony and their sub-Powers, though she doesn't name the latter individuals on-screen, and mentions the Judge as the only Power without an Opposite.

** ''Fanfic/EscapeFromTheMoon'': The sequel, ''The Mare From the Moon'', goes into the concept again when Twilight learns about the Powers, and that she and her friends ''are'' Powers (their six Powers being sub-Powers of Harmony), after a visit to the Valley of Alicorns. Twilight also meets her Opposite, the Lady of Technology, and finds they can work together rather than being enemies.

*** [[spoiler:The Nightmare that possessed Luna is explicitly identified as Umbrea, former Lady of Nightmare.]]

*** Chapter 3 of the sequel ''Diplomat at Large'' has Twilight meeting Queen Novo of Seaquestria, who is revealed as the Lady of Water. She further identifies the other Forces of Nature - Earth, Fire and Air - as Powers, and the Four Seasons (Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall) and another grouping of four, as yet unidentified. She also explains Harmony, Disharmony and their sub-Powers, though she doesn't name the latter individuals on-screen, and mentions the Judge as the only Power without an Opposite.

* ''Disney/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'': "He's got Friends on the Other Side..."

-->-- ''Literature/TheBible'', ''Ephesians 6:12''

* ''FanFic/ThePiecesLieWhereTheyFell'':
** The Powers are a set of entities with a Purpose, Role and Duties in this world; the eldest are Death, Time, War and Life, who (along with some others who have since passed on) were directly made by the creators, while the younger Powers (who are former mortals [[AbstractApotheosis who gave over their souls to a Purpose in order to become a Power]]) include Harmony (and its alter-ego Balance), Disharmony and the Nightmare, among others.
** [[spoiler: Each of the Powers has a counterpart to keep things balanced, some working together in harmony (such as the Lady of Day and her counterpart, the Lady of Night) while others (such as Harmony and Disharmony) are more violently opposed to one another.]]
** [[spoiler: Powers can belong to one of two factions, Order and Chaos, but the Rules in place forbid a Power under one faction from acting directly against any Power under the other faction; they can only act through proxies, such as a Power under Chaos targeting the student of a Power under Order.]]
* ''FanFic/DeathIsForcedToTakeAVacation'': As with [[FanFic/ThePiecesLieWhereTheyFell the Pieces-verse]], the Powers are a set of entities with a Purpose, Role and Duties in this world. Helheim is the Lady of Death in the Harvest-verse and has several Reapers who serve as adjuncts working for her, each monitoring and collecting the souls of a different species; Fall Harvest is the Reaper of Alicorns.
* ''FanFic/ChildOfTheStorm'' has the seven Endless, as well as a few mentions of the Abrahmaic God, who mostly keeps to Himself and may or may not be of the same ilk as Odin, Zeus, etc.