Wrath of Dead Horse

by TerryCandleStick

First Wave of Dead Horse's Attack

Celestia exhaled deeply, as if relieved. All of the girls exchanged confused looks. Twilight stepped toward her former teacher and asked, "Eh, you still don't like working with Discord?"

"I don't trust him," Celestia said. "After what happened when Tirek attacked, I am hesitant to make Discord a larger factor than is necessary." Twilight looked a little hurt, and Fluttershy had hidden herself behind her mane. At their discomfort, Celestia continued, "I know you have had more dealings with Discord than I, and your perception of him may differ from my own. In time, he may regain some measure of my trust. But at present, that matters not."

Rainbow flew into the window as Celestia finished talking. After bowing, she looked around at her glum friends. "Hey, I know that Equestria's in danger, but cheer up. We've got a game plan, remember? And with it we're going to kick Dead Horse's butt!"

"What, might I ask, is this plan?" Luna questioned.

"To find our way into the Everfree Forest, get our Rainbow powers and blast that Lich back to Tartarus!" Rainbow answered while gesticulating.

"That may be our only strategy, my faithful subjects," Celestia said somberly. "But as Princess Twilight observed, Dead Horse is far too clever to simply fall victim to an attack he cannot counter."

"Then how will we get him into the forest?" Rainbow asked.

Celestia shook her head gently. "At the moment, we do not know. But that is a question that will have to wait for an answer. Right now, Dead Horse is busy raising an army and conquering the surrounding kingdoms. Princess Luna sent envoys to said nations, but they will buy us precious little time. We must use it wisely if Equestria is to withstand his attack. And I will need the help of all of you to do it. Please follow me into the war room."

They all walked down the hall in silence. Anything said was conveyed in facial expressions and gesticulation. Once inside the room, the girls looked over a map covered in tacks, arrows of various colors, and hasty notes.

Celestia wasted no time. "The most urgent matter is that of the Tree of Harmony. I have no doubt that it will resist any blight, and it will beckon Dead Horse's attention. Our only weapon against him will be captured unless we find a solution."

"Sister," Luna said, " I am quite capable with illusions and transformations. I volunteer to traverse the blight and give the Tree an appearance correspondent with its surroundings."

"How long with your spell hold, Princess Luna?" Twilight asked.

"Until I terminate it, Princess Twilight," Luna responded.

"Sister, if Dead Horse should see through your artifice, you will have to fight him alone," Celestia said, sounding concerned.

"It appears to matter not if we attack together or alone," Luna responded, remembering their recent defeat. "If we fail to conceal the Tree, our future efforts will come to naught."

Celestia nodded reluctantly, knowing that her sister spoke true. She turned to the girls once more. "With that matter decided, we can concentrate on the evacuation of Equestria. It is for this that I call on you again." She pointed to the map. "The evacuation areas will be Foal Mountain, Shady Hollow, and The Crystal Empire. Cadence and Shining have already agreed to house as many evacuees as possible. Applejack, I ask you to assemble a team and build sufficient housing for the evacuees at Foal Mountain."

"Well there ain't no team you can count on more than family. I'm sure the Apple Family will help in any way possible, Your Highness," Applejack responded eagerly.

Pinkie was bursting with excitement. "Oh! Oh! If you don't have a task for me, maybe the Pies should work with the Apples. After all, I'm an honorary Apple! I'm family, and that means that all the Pies are family too. Which means... I'm gonna get to see Maud again!"

Perhaps any other day, Celestia would have smiled, but she remained stoic. She nodded to Pinkie to show her assent, and then she continued with the next pony. "Rarity, there will be a shortage of warm bedding and clothing. I will need you to work with the tailors and quilters to provide what we need."

Rarity thought a moment, her hoof on her chin. "Perhaps I can produce twice as much. If I open Canterlot Carousel for public use and let Sassy manage things, I can ask Coco in Manehattan to help organize the tailors and quilters there."

"Oh Rarity," Celestia was a bit shocked. "Thank you. I knew you were the right pony to ask." Rarity smiled proudly and curtsied. Celestia looked at Rainbow. "I have two important tasks for you. I ask that you work with the Wonderbolts to assemble the cloud block coming from Cloudsdale to slow the spread of the blight clouds. And once it is established, work with our remaining unicorn and pegasus guardsponies to develop aerial combat procedures. Only unicorn magic can undo Dead Horse's magic animating the undead. If we can get that up to fight the undead griffons and pegasus ponies, we will stand a better chance."

"The Wonderbolts?" Rainbow asked, starry-eyed. She flipped and saluted with a wide smile, "Yes ma'am, Your Highness!"

Celestia looked to Fluttershy. "I request that you welcome the evacuees and help them settle into their temporary lodging. Being driven from their homes will be very traumatizing, and what they will need is somepony that can help them through the worst of what they are feeling."

Fluttershy nodded and bowed. "I will do my best, Princess Celestia."

Finally, Celestia addressed her former student. "I call upon you, Princess Twilight, for the most important task of them all. There will be no need for the bedding, clothing or housing if we cannot pass through the blight. I will teach you the spell for clearing the blight, and I ask that you in turn teach it to the unicorn guardsponies. They can then traverse the blight to the military bases across Equestria to train the other unicorn guardsponies. Then, with them all trained in this spell, the evacuations can begin."

"I won't let you down, Princess Celestia," Twilight said eagerly.

Celestia pointed to her map once again. "I'm sorry to tell you that Ponyville will be the front line. I have sent word to Mayor Mare to prepare the town for our armies."

"Sorry?" Applejack said incredulously. "Well that's the best news I've heard in a dog's age! That means the entire Equestrian Army will be right there to keep that blight back. And you've got a few Apples right there at the front line ready to help out."

Celestia smiled faintly. "I thank you, Applejack. I hope to come to trust the Apple family as I have come to trust you." She looked at everypony around her, and she remembered each time she relied on them in the past. "Go now, everypony."

Together the girls walked at a quick pace with Princess Luna to the doors. The guardsponies opened the portal, and Princess Luna was off in the air. Rainbow gave a quick farewell as she launched herself on a path to Cloudsdale. Twilight set out for the barracks, and Rarity ran off in the direction of her shop. Applejack and Pinkie walked together towards the postal building; and Fluttershy, unsure of where she would be of help now, simply went to the Canterlot Gardens to relax.

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

The angry dragon's roar echoed through the kingdom of Dimondia. Many guard dogs perched themselves upon the capital city's walls, roofs, and cliffs to see what the commotion was. They looked like prairie dogs clad in armor, watching a raptor or other predator in the distance. Finally, the dragon's death cry reached their ears, and it was as if an icy-cold wind had swept up their spines.

They turned to each other, the same question hanging on the tips of their tongues but going unspoken: What could have killed the dragon? A green and eerie glow rose from where the dragon had fallen, and again the dogs took to their prairie dog stance. After minutes, they saw the dragon rise, and it was clear that it should not have. Its wings were torn, and its body was covered in burns and lacerations that had stripped away the scale and flesh to reveal broken or missing bones and organs. It was even lacking an eye, having only a gapping, bleeding socket where it should have been.

The dragon bent down, disappearing from sight only for a few seconds, before rising back into the dogs' field of vision. Then it took flight and soared to their location. Dogs everywhere dropped their weapons and screamed in panic as they fled. Only glimpses were seen of the dragon as it circled above, unopposed in the air.

Finally, it landed, crashing through the roof of the capital building. Whines and whimpers issued from the hiding places of the dogs as they cowered. Off the dragon stepped a unicorn, one that was in a similar physical condition as the mystical reptile. The pony looked around slowly and then spoke in a cold, raspy voice. "It is right that you fear me. For you witnessed my power: that sufficient to slay a dragon! And now I stand before you.

" I come to supplant your leader," the pony continued, his voice echoing slightly off the walls. "I, Noble Quill, the Lich Dead Horse, call upon the ruler of the dogs! Before you I lay an ultimatum: Abdicate or perish! It matters not to me which you choose."

Slowly a regally clothed male dog emerged from behind the throne, quivering as he presented himself. He was large and resembled a mastiff, but he currently looked very small. There was nothing to be said. Only actions needed to be made. He took the crown from his head and laid it upon the throne's armrest, indicating that he abdicated his reign.

Dead Horse nodded slowly to accept the surrender. "I assign you the position of Prime Minister of Dimondia. You will conduct the affairs of state according to my will, and without question. From hence forth, you will call me Emperor Quill." He looked at the crown, and with an acerbic tone in his voice commanded, "Remove the gems from this crown and then melt it. Mint the gold, and add the coins to the treasury." He turned to the dragon and jerked his head, and the dragon instantly took to the air.

Dead Horse walked to the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea. He held in his aura the lens of the dragon's eye and a vial filled with enchanted dragon's blood. He poured the blood onto the lens, coating it. Then he said, "Show me the pony kingdom of Equestria." Across the curved eye, Dead Horse saw what he demanded. But he was displeased with what was presented. There was far too much activity for his liking. "Show me this, thing," he said, tapping his hoof on a train. He studied it a moment before calling out, "Prime Minister, I beckon you."

The dog rushed up and knelt. "Yes, Emperor Quill. What is your bidding."

Noble pointed to the train. "What is this contraption?"

"That is a train, Emperor Quill," the Prime Minister said looking up hesitantly. His voice shook. "It is a form of transport commonly used by the ponies. It operates only upon these metal rails. I can summon one of our engineers if you wish to further your knowledge."

"That will be done after my conquest of Equestria is completed." He studied the train a few moments more before deciding that he knew enough about it. "Very good, Prime Minister. That will be all." The dog bowed and quickly walked away, his ears curved back to listen intently for any sound of movement.

The eye showed Equestria again, and Dead Horse instantly knew what was happening. He laughed cruelly. "You have shared your spell, Celestia. Very good. And now you carve into my blight to rescue your ponies. But where do they go?" He touched the foot of Foal Mountain. Applejack was surrounded by members of both her family and the Pie family. Together, they moved new furniture into one of the small homes they had raised. Her voice rang from the eye.

"With Rarity having all of Manehattan work'n for this new settlement, none of those evacuees will want for anyth'n. And with that Real Estate company agreeing to buy the land after Dead Horse's defeat, it'll grow and grow."

Dead Horse laughed in his throat and then touched upon Hollow Shades to watch ponies leaving the train at its station. He then watched a train ride into the Frozen North. At one point it disappeared into a blot of red and never reappeared. There was a similar blot where Canterlot should have been. "Hahaha, I see you suspected my scrying, Celestia. But what do you prepare in your castle?"

He tapped on Manehattan to see chariots and balloons rolling off factory assembly lines, weapons produced in mass quantities, and all manner of clothing, bedding, and furnishing being moved onto trains. He commented to himself, "The ponies defy my blight. Their magic has grown over all these years, and I am impressed. But if they want to best me, they will have to try harder." He touched the bloody eye with his hoof and watched the trains moving across Equestria. "Yes, I can use this to my advantage. Her ponies will beg for mercy when I am finished. They will beg her to surrender so they may live peacefully once more."

A large vial floated under the lens. Dead Horse gave the eye a downward swipe, and all of the blood covering it drained into the vial. He put them both away and turned around. "Prime Minister." The dog appeared again and bowed. "I trust that Dimondia's army is ready to serve me?" The dog nodded, quivering. "Good," the Lich said with mild happiness. "I know that malachite is heavily concentrated here. Bring me your stones of it, and I will enchant them so that the living dogs may enter my blight without harm." The dog rushed off silently.

Dead Horse then selected several unicorns that had recently been slain and lined them up in front of him. Upon them he cast a spell that would allow them to produce a heavier version of his blight, one that would resist the spell being cast by the unicorn guardsponies. He commanded several Earth and Pegasus ponies over and waved his hoof. A few seconds later, an undead dragon landed beside him. He addressed the dragon. "You will take these unicorn and Earth ponies to Equestria and return after depositing them."

Several Diamond Dog soldiers approached him with mining carts filled with malachite. He ordered them to tip the carts and scatter the stones. When this was done, he cast a spell upon them, making them glow and then summoning thin rope that wrapped around the stones to make necklaces. He turned to the dogs and spoke, "These Pegasus skeletons will fly you to Equestria. And there, you'll help me usurp Celestia's throne. Take a necklace. You will need them."

The dogs each took a necklace and put it on. The Dead Horse flared his horn. "In the unlikely event that you encounter Discord, Celestia has aided me in creating a combination of spells that renders him unable to remove you from your positions." His magic was cast upon all the undead and the dogs. Then, the undead unicorn and Earth ponies marched down the throat of the dragon. The dogs mounted the Pegasus skeletons, and the fleet flew out of sight.

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

The paws of a Diamond Dog padded across the floors of Canterlot Castle. The dog was well dressed, sporting a suit and tie that were well ironed. In his forepaw he held a rolled and wax-sealed document. The doors of the throne room opened, and he saw Celestia and Luna talking.

It was the former that addressed the dog. "Ambassador Bill, for what reason do we have the pleasure of your company?"

"The delivery of grave news, Princess Celestia," Bill said and held out the document. Celestia's magical aura took and unrolled it. She read it with a neutral expression, but it quickly turned to shock.

"What? What is the meaning of this? Dimondia is declaring war on Equestria?"

Luna was equally shocked. "What!? Please, sister, allow me to read." The auras switched and Luna took the document. Her expression turned to horror. "You have submitted yourselves to Noble Quill? To Dead Horse? This cannot be!"

"What do you hope to gain from this?" Celestia demanded, angrily.

"Our lives," Bill responded solemnly.

"We call upon you to resist, and you rollover before a new master!" Luna declared furiously.

"We do not want this!" Bill nearly screamed. "What were we to do?! The dragon that we could not kill and that has tormented us for months was brought down in a matter of minutes by him! And then reanimated! What resistance could we have shown? Tell me! I beg you! Dimondia would have waged war upon you whether or not we resisted! If we did, those dogs fighting your guardsponies would be dead instead of alive!" Tears filled his eyes. He shook his head miserably and patted his suit to smooth it. His voice shook as he finished quietly, "We do not want this war. Please forgive us."

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

It was the last of several trains running from southern Equestria. On board were the last of the evacuees, well over fifty from beyond the Macintosh Hills. There was only one guardspony to clear the blight, but he was enough. His horn flared brightly, causing the sickness holding the land ahead of the train vanished. He couldn't wait to get back to Canterlot. He would finally get to rest a bit before the real fighting began.

Or at least he had thought so. The train was set to turn west after passing the now-ghost town Applossa. As it screamed past the orchard, the conductor called him in.

"Guardspony, the rail signs have been graffittied. The one for our turn had the west fork scribbled out! I just want to get out of this nightmare! Please tell me the fork isn't out of order!" The conductor was panicked.

"I can't promise you that," Guardspony replied calmly. His sense of duty hardened as he looked ahead and heard the fear in the conductor's voice. "But I can promise that I'll protect you against whatever lies ahead. Here comes another sign." They both read the sign. It was supposed to indicate that to the east was Dodge City and to the west was Ponyville, but instead there were the words, "Welcome to Dodge City!" written in some of the worst writing he had ever seen.

"Look! Look! You see what I mean!" the conductor's voice was shaking. "That better be some damned kids!" Guardspony said nothing. Instead, he concentrated on the blight ahead of the train. But the blight suddenly refused to give way, and the train barreled right into it.

The conductor gasped as the dark magic swept over him, and guardspony flinched from it. Behind him, he could hear a wave of screams as the passengers felt the blight wash over them. "What are you doing? Get rid of the blight!" The conductor shrieked.

"I'm trying!" Guardspony grunted and strained, and the blight slowly lifted from around him. "Keep this train moving!" He released a deep guttural roar as he stretched his magic to the max. The blight lifted from the conductor, but just barely. It was then that their mutual hopes were shattered.

"The western fork is broken!" The conductor shrieked.

Guardspony swallowed hard, and in a gruff voice said, "Then it looks like we're bound for Dodge City."

The train turned east, and the wails of his passengers became interspersed with cries of protest. When the train completed the turn, the conductor saw the undead charging the train. They beat against the cars, bringing shrieks of fear from the passengers. But a mass of undead had assembled on the rails ahead of the train.

"Smash through them!" Guardspony ordered forcefully. The conductor yelled as his train burst through the wall of undead. The sound was terrible; the thud of the bodies being torn apart followed immediately by the sound of breaking bones, splattering blood, and sticking or bursting organs that slowly slid out of view. When the wiper blades had wiped away enough gore for him to see, the conductor saw what laid ahead: a train wreck.

"We're gonna hit it!" the conductor screamed with only seconds before the collision. The engine went from maximum speed to nearly full stop in less than a second. With no time to prepare themselves, the conductor and Guardspony were slammed against the walls and thrown from their seats. Outside, they saw the cars flipping, falling, and sliding past them. Everywhere there were screams.

Neither could believe that they were fortunate enough to be awake or alive, but with the blight gripping them, they didn't have the luxury of coming to grips with it. Ponies were running out of the scattered and wrecked train cars, all of them heading in the direction of Dodge City. Guardspony's horn flared again, and he pushed back the blight surrounding him with ease. He looked in the direction of the fleeing ponies to see Dodge City green and entirely unaffected by the blight.

"Come on conductor!" Guardspony yelled as he burst forward into a gallop. He ran to the first train car, but it was empty. The next one was empty as well. Each had been vacated, the passengers running towards the safe haven of Dodge City. He came across a mother and her foal, both overtaken by the blight. As soon as he arrived, their labored breathing filled with life and their thick and wrinkled skin smoothed out. The mother gasped for air, and she reached a desperate leg for help as she clung to her baby. Guardspony pulled her to her hooves and kept with her as he ran.

The blight disappeared just beyond the outermost building of the city. He and his two companions fell against the wall of a house and collapsed, trying to catch their breath. The pattering of paws drew their attention too late. A couple of Diamond Dog soldiers grabbed the two stallions. The one holding Guardspony laughed in his face. "Nice job we did on those rails, huh? You like our work, guardspony number six? Answer me!"

Guardspony answered with a head-butt to the dog's nose. With a yelp, the dog leapt backwards with his companion into the blight. He held his nose and glared, but after seeing Guardspony's bewildered look, he smiled and held up his necklace. "Emperor Quill's gift to Dimondia, in exchange for allegiance." He and his companion laughed and turned away, wading into the swarm of undead surrounding the city.

Guardspony stood up and helped the conductor to his hooves before reaching down to the cringing mare. "Come," he said gently. "We have safety here." He stayed with the mare for nearly ten minutes, calming reassuring her until she had calmed enough to be taken into the city. When they rounded the first building, they saw hundreds of dirty, dusty ponies crammed into the small town. Everywhere there were makeshift tents. It was a city within the city.

A few ponies were walking around giving out cherries and small cups. They looked far better than the ponies they served, and Guardspony guessed that they were the original residents. His guess was indirectly confirmed as he was given his share.

"What's going on here?" he asked the mare that served him.

"What's going on is that those wicked Diamond Dogs and zombies have turned the last few trains into our city," the mare said. "The mayor said we have to take care of all the evacuees until help arrives, and Cherry Jubilee and us farmers have agreed to ration our crops. But we don't know how much longer they can hold out. Or how long we can. Everything's stretched paper thin."

Guardspony could hardly believe his ears. Last few trains? He looked around and saw a few other unicorn guardsponies. He counted five of them, and he was the sixth. His train was the sixth, and, he hoped, the last. He looked across the dense mass of evacuees. "Six trains of evacuees, all packed into one small city," he thought aloud. "Celestia help us."

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

The cold winds of the Frozen North blew across the Crystal Empire, welcoming the newest arriving train of evacuees with its chilling embrace. Shining reached out a hoof to direct traffic as he spoke kindly. "Right this way, single file. Let's get you all into a warm building. Then we can determine where you'll stay."

From above, on the castle walls, came a call from a guardspony. "Sir! A train seems stuck on the rails. And the ground around it smolders."

"I'll look, Shining. You keep helping with the new arrivals," Cadence said, flying over him and settling next to the guardspony. The moment she laid eyes upon the smoldering ground, she knew it wasn't that at all. "Shining!" she screamed, the piercing stab of fear imbedded deep within her voice. "The blight! The blight is coming from the rail car!"

"What!?" he cried out fearfully and pushed through the line of ponies. "That can't be!"

"It is!" she said, her voice weak and quivering. The corner of her eye caught the guardspony beside her, and she turned to look at him. He was scared. And her fear was not helping. In that moment remembered that she didn't have the luxury of being afraid.

She took one last look over the walls and let her terror have one last embrace. Then she shut her eyes and took a deep breath as she brought her hoof up to her chest. She imagined herself grabbing all the fear that gripped her, and then casting it away as she exhaled. She dived down beside Shining with renewed courage. "We have to get Discord and find out what is in that car."

Shining said nothing, but his eyes projected fear. He remembered how easily his shield was shattered, and he knew that his magic couldn't withstand that of Dead Horse. He swallowed hard, but in doing so he found his voice. "What if it is him? What do we do?"

Cadence's fear reemerged, but she forced he away with the stomp of her hoof. "Then we return behind the castle walls, and help the Crystal Heart hold him back. It stopped King Sombra, and it will stop Dead Horse. If it needs help, we'll give it all we have." Shining nodded, but in an unconvincing manner. Cadence strode up to him. "Think of Twilight. What would you do if she were here?"

Shining lowered his eyes. "I would march out to face whatever was in that car. Even if I had to go alone."

"But you aren't alone this time," Cadence said quietly. "You'll have Discord." When she stopped talking he looked at her oddly. She added, "And me." She laughed softly, which spurred him to laugh and hold her. "Thank you," he said. "Come on, we have to find Discord. You there!" he pointed to a random guardspony. "Take over greeting the evacuees!"

Cadence led the search as they ran through the city. "The last time I saw Discord, he sat next to the fireplace on the top floor of the castle," she said as they ran up the stairs.

"But it's Discord. He won't still," Shining began protesting as she threw open the door to the aforementioned room. There sat Discord, next to the fireplace and wrapped in a blanket. Shining blinked in disbelief. "Never mind."

"Discord!" Cadence called out as she burst into a gallop.

"Oh Cadence, good!" Discord said, genuinely happy. "I was wondering if you could use any of that Alicorn magic to make it warmer in here. It's freezing!"

"Can't you use your own magic?" Shining asked before Cadence could reply.

Discord's mouth dropped open. "Do you see anything floating here? No! You don't! Because of that!" He pointed at the Crystal Heart. "It's sapping all of my magic. I can't enjoy any chaos! Oh I bet that Princess Celestia is just laughing at me right now."

"Discord, please don't say that," Cadence said urgently, ready to get to the point.

"You know she would!" Discord snapped.

"I'll try to warm the room, but first," Cadence said, "We need you-"

"What did I just say?" Discord cut her off, glaring. "I can't use my magic!"

"Outside the city walls. Where the Crystal Heart's magic won't stop your magic," Shining completed her sentence.

"Outside?" Discord said, stunned. "Where I can finally use my magic again? Yes!" He jumped in the air and pumped his fists, laughing. "I'll go! But why do you need me?"

Shining answered the question grimly. "The blight is coming from some train cars outside. It might be him."

Discord quivered in fury at the thought. "Dead Horse."

"Yes," Cadence said gravely. Discord charged for the door, but Cadence saw him too late to stop her teleporting spell. The three of them burst into view outside on the ground at the base of the castle, and Discord ran straight into the wall.

"Opps!" Cadence said in a muted, startled voice and flinched. When Discord turned to her with an angry frown and intense, teary eyes she added, "Sorry!"

They ran outside the castle walls with a large number of unicorns following them. Discord stopped just out of range of the Crystal Heart's influence. "I just want to check on something." A bubble appeared, and with it he viewed Celestia on her throne, speaking with Luna.

Celestia spoke with a humored tone, "I know I shouldn't, but I can't stop laughing about how Discord can't use his magic around the Crystal Heart. He must be miserable!" Both Princesses laughed so hard they nearly fell off their thrones. The bubble popped, and Discord clinched his fist and gnashed his teeth as he loosed a long, frustrated grunt.

The team continued out into the snow. They got as close to the train cars as they were willing to go before Shining created his shield. Discord remained behind the shield, but he took his mouth off and pushed it outside of the shield. "Dead Horse! I know you're in there! Come out and fight!"

The car door slide open, and a Diamond Dog's head stuck out. "Hello ponies!"

Everypony was shocked to see the canine. But then the other cars began to open, and from all the cars poured dogs and undead Earth ponies and unicorns. So many creatures came out of them that one might be led to believe that they were clown cars. And when the entire horde had emptied out, it charged.

Shining immediately let down his shield, and everypony prepared to attack. But before they could, Discord stepped forward. "Allow me," he said and snapped. The whole lot of his enemies phased out, and then back in, to sight. Discord's mouth dropped off his head and landed with a crunch in the snow.

One of the dogs chuckled and said, "Emperor Quill sends his regards." Suddenly the ponies attacked. Magic bursts shot into the undead, causing them to fall apart and scatter. But the dogs did what they could to shield the undead, including taking some of the spells, which were harmless to them. Discord slowly came to his senses. He rose his arms and snowballs started swarming around the cars, dogs, and undead. It hindered the dogs, but not the undead.

Suddenly, one of Shining's unicorns cried out in pain. Shining continued attacking and admonished Discord, "Watch where you're throwing those snowballs!"

"No," the unicorn said. "It wasn't a snowball." Shining looked back to see that the unicorn had a bleeding patch on his chest and was breathing hard. Suddenly beams came at them from the undead unicorns. Discord was quick to use the snowballs to absorb the attacks.

From far away, Dead Horse watched the battle unfold through the dragon's lens. He smiled as Discord defended with snowballs. "You have interfered quite enough. Time for you to work for me." His horn flared, and he watched the corruption on Discord's arm flare up as well.

The reaction was immediate. Discord cried out and grabbed his arm. The pain was so intense that he fell into the snow and continued yelling as he thrashed around. The ponies, taken off-guard by the sudden and clandestine attack on Discord, were too distracted to fight.

"Discord!" Cadence cried out. Shining started to create his shield, but a wave surged over him and his group. He suddenly felt nauseous and his legs burned as corruption began to climb up them. His spell faltered. He tried to jump away from the burning blight, but it was no use. It was all around him and his team. The undead unicorns advanced, sending pulses and firing orbs that burst near them. The splash of the orbs caused the blight to form on the living ponies, burning their skin into a wrinkled, leathery form.

The dogs charged them, weapons drawn. The moment they hit the unicorns, the team was routed. Some guardsponies fell, lacerated and bleeding, and writhed as the blight crept across them. Shining and Cadence both grabbed Discord in their magic and teleported away. They burst into view at the gates to the Crystal Empire along with as many unicorns as they could manage. The blight began to fall away under the magic of the Crystal Heart, and Discord had fallen unconscious.

The scouts on the wall reported the undead surrounding the Crystal Empire. The blight spread around the perimeter of the city, but it did not penetrate the influence of the Crystal Heart. The Diamond Dogs destroyed the train tracks behind their cars and then disappeared inside their cars. Cadence and Shining could hardly believe what had happened. They looked back at the swarm of evacuees roaming the city, and for the life of them they couldn't figure out how to feed them for more than a month.

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

A ribbon-sealed letter burst into view near Celestia. She unrolled it and read silently to herself. She was stunned to find it was a letter from Dead Horse, updating her on the status of the war. He told her of the isolation of Dodge City and the Crystal Empire, and he promised that her ponies would suffer greatly when the rationing became too extreme. It ended on a demand for immediate unconditional surrender, but the tone suggested he had no intention of waiting for a response before attacking.

She dropped the document and stepped off her throne, deep in thought. Luna read the letter next and was horrified. "He knows everything," Luna said in disbelief. "And he turns our every move against us."

"Yes," Celestia said hesitantly. "We knew he would scry, but we could only protect Canterlot. Now all there is left to do is face his army."

"I agree," Luna said. "We cannot try to retrieve our citizens, as dividing our armies would enervate them."

"I will not worry about our citizens," Celestia said. "The rations will last long enough for Princess Twilight to execute her plan. I hope it succeeds. It is time for me to do my part." She sat down with pen and paper and wrote a response. It was very simple. She invited him to bring his full might.