Wrath of Dead Horse

by TerryCandleStick

Discord Battles Dead Horse

For a moment, both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were stunned. They slowly turned their head to look at each other, and the shared look seemed to stir Celestia to action. "We must act quickly! Follow me."

"Princess Celestia," Rainbow said, still stuffing the cloud back into the bag. "I want to deliver this cloud to Cloudsdale. If the city puts out lots of dense clouds, it can keep the blight clouds over the Everfree."

Celestia paused in her tracks. Her eyes darted around as if she were thinking hard and fast. Finally she said, "We never tried keeping the clouds back with other clouds before. But I remember that any healthy clouds that touched a blight cloud, good name by the way, slowly changed into blight clouds themselves. Still, it may buy us time if there is a cloud block to protect our skies."

Princess Luna stepped into the hallway. "I suggest we consult Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor. We should summon them here to Canterlot. Quill will expend countless hours discovering how Equestria has changed. We must not profligate this precious window of time."

Celestia nodded. "I agree. But we must summon all of our allies, including Discord. "

Luna gasped. "Sister, you cannot... Even after...?"

Celestia nodded slowly, confidently.

Luna watched at her sister for a moment, a look of discomfort marring her face. "Very well."

Celestia turned to Rainbow. "We must wait for the others before we decide when to create a cloud block, if we do at all." She turned sharply. "Courier!"

A stallion rushed in and quickly took the letters. If he had any qualms about delivering mail to Discord, he didn't show it. He was running down the hall almost the second Celestia ordered him to go.

"Princess Twilight, please accompany Princess Luna and I to the war room," Celestia requested firmly, starting down a hall.

"Of course," Twilight said and then turned to her friends. "I'll fill you in when I return. Just wait here." The girls nodded and Twilight ran to catch up with the other two Princesses. Together, they walked in silence. The Twilight looked at the stain glass windows as they passed down a corridor. Something about the situation spurred her curiosity. "Princess Celestia, I've never seen a window made for Noble Quill. Why is that?"

Celestia looked at her sister before answering. "The only window created in remembrance of him resided in the castle Princess Luna and I inhabited centuries ago."

"The Castle of The Two Sisters," Twilight said.

"Yes," Luna spoke, her tone lined with regret. "Sadly, it was destroyed the night I transformed into Nightmare Moon." The three Princesses reached a pair of large doors and waited for them to open. When they did not, Luna inquired, "We are here, but where are our guardsponies?"

The doors swung open as if in response. Inside stood Discord, holding two struggling guardsponies clad in golden armor. "I really was expecting a better reception than these two reluctant ponies. I mean, after taking the effort to write that letter the least you could have done is set out some tea and crackers."

Celestia closed her eyes and spoke firmly. "Discord, please release my guardsponies. There is an urgent matter to discuss."

Discord narrowed his eyes at Celestia and opened his arms. The two guardsponies collapsed to the floor and glared at him as they walked back to their posts. Discord then snapped, and a full tea set flashed into existence on top of the maps on the table. He took a sip from his cup and watched Celestia carefully for any sign of reaction.

But her response was complete indifference. "How did you arrive so fast? I just sent that courier."

"Oh that courier knows the way," Discord said weaving his arm through the air. "Now he is on the way to deliver the other letters. Probably a love letter to the King of Yakyakistan?" His eyebrow rose when he asked the question.

"Quite the contrary," Celestia said matter-of-factly. "Princess Cadence and Shining Armor are being summoned to help deal with the threat of Dead Horse. He is a Lich that Princess Luna and I imprisoned in Tartarus sometime after we turned you to stone."

Upon hearing the word Lich, Discord lowered his cup abruptly and gave Celestia a look of disappointment. "Honestly, Celestia, I thought better of you. A Lich is easily dealt with. I myself have dealt with many a Lich. I can hardly believe that you pulled me away from my normally scheduled chaos for this."

"Dead Horse is not an ordinary Lich," Luna protested.

Discord rolled his eyes. "Oh please, Luna. All Liches are easily dispatched. In fact, I'll just go remove your problem for you."

"No, wait!" Celestia stepped toward Discord, but it was too late. He had snapped and vanished.

Twilight snapped her head to look at Celestia. "Can Discord defeat Noble Quill?"

"It may be possible," Luna said quickly and looking worried.

"But if he fails, at best our element of surprise is weakened, and at worst, Dead Horse raises Discord and uses his powers of chaos against us."

****************

In an open field, a small army of skeletal and zombie ponies marched. The grass was shriveled, dry and dead, and it crunched underhoof as the undead trampled it. Leading them was Dead Horse. He had the appearance of a sun-baked zombie; glowing green eyes, leathery and tattered skin, a matted mane and tail, and a large crack in his hoof. Hanging from his body was a tattered but eloquent robe, purple with gold embroidery. Discord's voice broke the rhythm of crunching grass.

"Oh this will never do. These skeletons all look the same. How ever will you tell them apart? I know, this'll do the trick." The skeletons where suddenly garbed in a variety of different ensembles. Discord continued, "Oh don't they look adorable!"

Dead Horse scowled as he looked slowly around, his eyes focusing on every detail in sight. "Who is doing this?" he growled.

"Uh oh, I think the zombies are going to be jealous. Well, I guess they'll just get their own adornments," Discord's voice echoed again from everywhere, sounding amused. Now the zombies were clothed in hoodies. Their fetid fluids quickly saturated the clothing. A patch of healthy earth blossomed in the blight, and a flower sprang out of the ground. It bent over in the direction of one of the passing zombies. Where the stamens should have been, there were Discord's eyes. He watched intently as the Holster logo became soaked. "Hmm, well, it seems this Hoodie is completely ruined."

"What an interesting spell," Dead Horse said, walking through the horde of well dressed undead. His eyes were focused on the flower.

"Oh come now," Discord said sheepishly. "There's no reason to be modest. You may shower me with admiration." There was a flash, and in the field sat a bath tub with a tiny shower nozzle equipped. Discord stood in the tub, posed as if about to be sprayed with water. "My body, is ready."

"I will indeed shower you with something, but it will not be admiration." Dead Horse glowered. "And afterwards, you will join my army and teach me your magic!" He lunged forward, his horn surging out green flames. The miniature nozzle on the shower turned to face the Lich and then gushed out a near solid stream of water, and the water doused the flames before catching and throwing Dead Horse across the field.

Discord laughed so hard he fell over in the tub. "This type of magic cannot be taught. What a silly idea. I don't see why Celestia was so concerned about you."

Dead Horse roared to his army, "Destroy that creature!" All of the skeletons and zombies turned and started moving towards the tub. Beneath them, the dead vegetation turned to wet tile, and the hooves slipped out from under them. Some of the zombies lost limbs, and a number of skeletons broke apart.

"Oh no," Discord said in mock regret. "I've broken some of them. I know, I'll fix them. How does the song go? Oh yes." He continued in song, "The rib bone connects to the, back bone. The tail bone connects to the, leg bone, the unicorn horn connects to the, hip bone. The... oh now that's just lewd."

"Enough!" a soaking wet Dead Horse yelled. "I know who you are. You are Discord! I thought you defeated long ago by the sister Princesses, Celestia and Luna."

"Oh, you didn't hear?" After a flash, Discord was clothed in black and white prison clothes and stood behind a door of iron bars. "While you were locked away in Tartarus, I was released from my stone prison and offered friendship with the ponies."

"So," Dead Horse narrowed his eyes. "You are an ally of Princess Celestia and Luna then? How strong is your loyalty?"

"Well, let me show you," Discord said and snapped his fingers. All of the skeletons vanished, leaving only the dresses. "I'm sure the Kingdom of Dimondia will enjoy burying their new supply of bones."

Dead Horse smirked cruelly. "That is no matter. The dogs will dig them up after I have made zombies out of them." His horn glowed, and he and the rest of his force were surrounded by a rippling aura.

"Now where to send your zombies," Discord said. A road atlas appeared in front of him, and as he looked it over he began twirling his beard around one of his bird claws. But instead of the beard twirling around the finger, the finger twirled around the beard. "Ah yes, I know!" He snapped , and the zombies in the field seemed to phase out slowly before disappearing from view.

"Where did you send them!" Dead Horse demanded angrily, his glare so intense that he peered through small slits.

"That's for me to know, as well as the residents of that location," Discord replied snobbishly. "But you are going to be the governor of a small asteroid in space." He snapped again. Dead Horse began to slowly phase out. But instead of disappearing, he came back into clear view.

Surprise was plastered across Discords face. Dead Horse smiled, but in a way that made Discord's stomach churn. "I must thank Princess Celestia and Princess Luna when I see them for the spell they placed on me so long ago. But now, since you have deprived me of my army, you will have to do as a replacement!" His horn glowed intensely and then burst out another surge of green flames. Discord immediate conjured a red brick wall between him and the Lich, and he didn't see the fire vanish after leaving the horn. He was caught entirely off guard when the flames reappeared inches from him and proceeded to engulf his arm.

Discord gave a sharp cry of pain and vanished. He reappeared in a room in Canterlot, where the Princesses had rejoined Twilight's friends. Discord slapped his arm quickly to extinguish the flames. He then looked angrily to Celestia. "You've got some explaining to do."

Celestia looked at him with a mixture of surprise and relief. "What?"

Discord took his arm off and waved it in front of her. "This happened because I wasn't able to send Dead Horse away! I teleported his army just fine but not him! He said you and Luna were to thank!"

Fluttershy rushed up to him with the look of urgent worry. "Oh, no! Your arm! You can heal it, right?"

"Of course I can," Discord said shortly and returned his attention to Celestia. "Now what did you cast on him?"

Luna walked up beside Celestia and answered the question. "We cast upon him an incantation preventing separation from himself and his Soul Gem, as well as preventing long distance traveling through magical means. We thought this advantageous since the reconstruction period for a Lich is, at greatest, five days. We believed denying him the opportunity to ensconce his soul would make him easier to defeat."

Discord grimaced, and after a moment he turned away angrily. "A lot of good that did me."

"Discord, please heal your arm ," Fluttershy said urgently.

He rolled his eyes and snapped. The burn disappeared instantly, but the arm remained wrinkled and leathery. It took him completely by surprise. He almost looked worried. "What? What is this?"

"I was afraid of this," Celestia said, turning away and beginning to pace. "His magic has elements that are too powerful for you to overcome. He.. Fluttershy do not touch it!"

Fluttershy jerked back her hoof, in which she held a roll of gauze. "But..."

Celestia spoke as she quickly walked towards her. "We don't know if that corruption will spread the blight. We must not disturb it."

Discord continued looking with a concerned expression at his arm. "But how...?" Then he grew angry. "How is this possible? I am the Spirit of Chaos! I will not be defeated!" He spun around and started for the doors.

Celestia teleported in front of him. "Discord no! You mustn't face Dead Horse again!"

Discord paid her little mind and continued. Twilight bolted in front of him. "Hey! Stop right there! You can't fight him again!"

"I never did before, but this time I will," Discord snarled angrily. "Without his army to distract me he'll be defeated in no time!"

"Discord, no!" Fluttershy ran after him, pleading. "What if he hurts you more?" What if he wins?"

Everypony now seemed to be calling out his name, urgently telling him to stop, to not fight Dead Horse. He ignored everypony, continuing to storm towards the door. But one voice suddenly erupted over the others.

"DISCORD STOP!" Discord had stopped and spun around to find Fluttershy standing tall and staring directly into his eyes. Her scream silenced everypony else.

Discord pointed menacingly at her. "I'm going to return to Dead Horse and defeat him. For me! And then I will heal my arm and this will all be over!"

"Sit down," Fluttershy ordered, speaking in a quiet but intense voice. Everypony stared at her, almost in shock.

Discord's face seemed to twitch as he spoke. "I told you I am going to fight..."

"NOW!" Fluttershy erupted again.

Discord immediately summoned a chair and dropped into it. "Fine! Are you happy now? I'm sitting!" He turned away sharply and stared into the corner, fury burning in his eyes. Fluttershy turned away looking just as furious. She walked to a corner on the opposite side of the room, and she lowered her head and ears.

The Princesses left together for the war room. The rest of the girls kept to themselves, not wanting to trigger another outburst from Fluttershy or Discord.

Within minutes, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor arrived in a chariot pulled by nine exhausted Pegasus ponies. From the way the ponies collapsed upon landing, it was obvious that they had traveled at top speed the entire way from The Crystal Empire. Other guardsponies rushed to their aid as the two new arrivals hurried to join the other Princesses.

After a short while, the royals reentered the room containing Discord and the girls. Princess Celestia walked over to Discord and whispered with him. After a short exchange, Discord leapt to this feet.

"I relish the opportunity!" Discord promulgated happily.

Celestia looked at everypony. "With Dead Horse's army dispersed by Discord, I believe that a frontal assault could bring his attack to an early close. But only a small party will attend this attack; Discord, Shining Armor, Princess Cadence, Princess Luna, Princess Twilight and myself."

Immediately Rainbow protested. "But we-."

Celestia raised her hoof to silence the Pegasus. "Anypony else would just become a casualty. I want to prevent as many of those as possible. We must go now, before our window of opportunity closes. Please, gather closely."

The six members of the strike team huddled close. With a snap of Discord's fingers, they vanished from the room and reappeared near Tartarus. Celestia immediately pushed back the blight, and the apparently dead vegetation began to slowly regain its color. Her five companions took a moment to take in their new environment.

From the direction of Tartarus came Dead Horse's voice. "Returned for another round, have you Discord? And in your truculence you've not only pursued me to my former domicile, but you've delivered to me my ultimate quarries: the sister Princesses, Celestia and Luna."

They all turned towards the Lich and readied themselves for a fight. Shining's pink shield surged out around the team the second he saw the Lich's horn glow. Dead Horse tilted his head up and smiled with what little was left of his lips. "That pathetic shield will offer no protection against my newest and greatest servant."

From behind the Lich rose the Cerberus, still dripping with rotten fluids. All three heads snarled in turn at Discord and the ponies. Then the undead beast charged them. Rays fired from Shining and the Alicorns, aimed keenly for the Cerberus, but their attacks fizzled out upon contact. Dead Horse laughed darkly. "That is the second time your magic has been made to work against you, Celestia."

Discord snapped, and instantly each head of the Cerberus was covered in a muzzle. "You really should control your pet," Discord said. "Otherwise, they'll just be taken away from you." He snapped again the giant canine began to phase out, but then reappeared.

Dead Horse laughed. "I learned how to best you from our first encounter, Discord."

"Then best me, Ignoble Quill!" Celestia announced loudly and fired a ray of magic into him. When it hit, his legs buckled slightly, and then his body turned to ashen dust. The blight instantly began to lift all around them. Celestia turned to her sister. "Quickly, Luna, we must secure his Soul Gem. Shining will guard..." She paused and stared in fright at a horrible surprise. Dead Horse's body was already fully reformed.

The blight returned, and Dead Horse's dark laughter sounded again. "Thanks to your spell, I was inspired to dedicate my centuries of imprisonment to crafting one of my own: an incantation that reduced the reformation period to a matter of seconds rather than days. Again, your magic betrays you!" He reared and roared, and he sent a massive burst of energy that crashed into Shining's protective spell. A large crack shot through it, and the Cerberus shattered one side of the dome. As it dived for Discord, Twilight, and Luna, there was a snap. The six companions vanished and reappeared in the room in Canterlot Castle.

The girls rushed up and eagerly asked what happened, but they knew what happened when Celestia slowly and silently stepped away and started for the war room. They could see the heavy toll it was taking on her; she appeared to be fighting back a wave of despair that made her eyes seem almost empty. She proceeded to walk down to the war room. Luna followed her slowly, also silent. Cadence and Shining held each other tightly. Twilight dropped to her flank and stared into space, distraught. Discord was the first to break the pattern of quiet and shock; He slammed his fist into a table, shattering the top, as he yelled, "No!"

Celestia returned to the room with her resolve strong. "The Crystal Empire will not attack Dead Horse. Instead, it will be one of many safe havens for evacuees. The combination of the Crystal Heart and Princess Cadence's and Shining Armor's magic will be enough to keep the blight from entering the city. Discord will go to there, where the Crystal Heart will gradually remove the corruption from his arm." She turned to Rainbow. "Go to Cloudsdale. Show them the sample and try to find a way to purify it. But in the meantime, send as much dense cloud as you can to Canterlot."

"Yes your highness," Rainbow said as she bowed. She was gone the second she grabbed the bag, disappearing at the same time Discord snapped.

Everypony looked at him in his corner. His mouth was curved in a deep frown. "I want to see that wretched Lich defeated," he said quietly.

Pinkie looked at Discord and at the solemn expression on everypony else and then hesitantly asked,"How bad did the attack go?"

Luna spoke to answer, her tone lined with bitterness. "He possessed magic we hadn't anticipated. And it was far more potent and concentrated than when we last fought him. In fact, he has raised the Cerberus, and it has retained all the previous enchantments used to protect it."

Pinkie's ears dropped as her eyes filled with dread. "Oh no..."

"You just had to ask, didn't you?" Applejack asked in a sour tone.

Discord walked slowly over to Cadence and Shining. "Let's go." He raised his arm and put his thumb and finger together, but a hoof touched his paw and made him pause. Floating in front of him was Fluttershy. She looked sad.

"I'm sorry I screamed at you earlier," she said softly, in a tone that matched her expression.

"Are you?" Discord said coldly. "Are you also sad that I'm being sent to the Crystal Empire?"

Fluttershy shook her head only slightly. "No... you'll get healed there. I'm..."

"Happy? Happy that I won't become another part of that Lich's army?" Discord said with unabashed anger. "Or are you just throwing me away now that you know I can't beat Dead Horse?"

"What?" Fluttershy was stunned by his words, and the implication brought tears to her eyes.

"Just admit it!" Discord continued angrily. "You only wanted me around as long as I was useful. And now that I'm... damaged... I'm just being tossed aside. That's why you screamed at me. You were angry to lose a tool!"

"What? No! How could you say that?" Fluttershy's tears began streaming down her face. "I yelled at you because I was afraid! I was afraid of losing you: a friend that I care so much about!" She spun around and hugged herself. She drifted to the floor as she became overwhelmed with sobs.

It took Discord a few seconds to capture the truth in her words. When they took, he was taken by guilt. "Really?" He asked sadly. Fluttershy's response was a nod and an unintelligible whimper. Discord knelt down beside her. "Fluttershy, I... I don't know what to say. I'm sorry. I still haven't got this 'friendship' thing down. But I'll go to the Crystal Empire and get my arm fixed. I hope that's enough to console you."

Fluttershy continued to whimper as she slowly turned around. She looked at his face, and the sad expression and drooping ears told her he was telling the truth. She reached out and hugged him, and he hugged her with his good arm in return. They remained locked together for a few minutes, until Fluttershy had finished crying. Then she gently pulled away and whispered to him, "Thank you."

In Discord's cat paw appeared a handkerchief, which he used to dab the tears from her eyes. "No, thank you."

As Fluttershy walked over to join her friends, Princess Celestia walked over and placed a necklace on Discord. She said, "This necklace will keep the Crystal Heart's power from harming you while allowing it restore your arm. Do not take this off within the city, for your own sake."

Discord nodded. He saw Princess Cadence and Shining Armor walk onto the chariot, as well as the Pegasai get strapped in and ready for another long trip. But Discord appeared next to them and said, "Don't strain yourselves. I'll get us there in a snap." At the moment he said the word, he snapped. He, along with Cadence, Shining, and the Pegasai, vanished.

Author's Note:

I understand that Dimondia isn't exactly canon, since it was introduced in the comic series, but I decided to include it anyways.