How Death Lived

by Crimson Wisp

Chapter 19. Monster Among Monsters

///////The dragon lands////////

Upon the seemingly barren wastes of the dragon lands, life had found a way to flourish. It's volcanic soil was rich in crystalized minerals that manifested as either colorful rocks or dark spires that hid the beauty of their geode's interior.

While inhospitable to most other creatures, the hot temperatures rising from the ground, massive volcanoes, pools and rivers of lava flowing from deep within the earth, and an unnatural excess of gems was the perfect place for a dragon to call their home. That is of course, until about a few hours ago...

At the moment, a trio of teenage dragons soared across the sky towards one relatively inactive volcano. The dormant mountain had become an elder dragon's home some centuries ago, looming silently among the more active volcanoes surrounding it.

As the group flew through a narrow tunnel and into a massive, and hollowed out chamber; their arrival seemed to go unnoticed by the titanic, crimson elder dragon slumbering peacefully in an equally vast and tall mound of gold, gems and a wild assortment of weapons and armor far too small for it to wear.

"DAD! WAKE UP!!!"

One of the young drakes shouted.

Like his father, this young dragon had a moderately sized snout, a pair of proportionate wings, and a barbed tail. It's scales were of the same crimson hue as that of his father, and the webbing of his dorsal fin, wings and the barb of his tail was a bright orange.

Upon being woken up from it's peaceful sleep, the massive dragon's eyes shot open. The sharp pupils in it's golden eyes constricted with annoyance as the beasts right eye locked onto the smaller trio.

The draconic giant lifted it's head slowly, pieces of gold that were stuck between it's scales coming loose with the sudden motion. With an huff of annoyance, the monstrous elder dragon let out two plumes of smoke from it's nostrils as it towered over them.

"You'd better have a good reason for waking me up Garble. Because I'm still mad at you for that prank with the molten gold statue!"

The dragon's powerful voice shook the cave itself, it's breathing alone sounding like the wind rushing past a glade of trees.

"It's not a prank, I swear! There's a giant monster heading towards the hatching grounds! It's killing every dragon in it's path!!!"

He proclaimed, the look of terror in Garble's face and that of his friends grabbed the elder dragon by surprise. The gargantuant being blinked as he looked at his son with a skeptical glare.

Garble was infamous among the youthful dragon's for being a devious prankster, but some months ago, his father had procured a certain relic from an ancient pony wizard that could help him with such minutia.

This relic was a glowing, basketball sized, crystal ball, that could show the memories of anyone who held it. Turning around, he scanned his horde from above in search of the artifact. After a minute or two, he found it; half buried in one of the many mounds of gold coins.

With dexterity that one would think impossible for a being of his size, the elder dragon plucked the ball like a grain of sand and shoved it into Garble's arms. Lowering his head, the elder dragon got close enough for his keen eye to make out the image being shown by the crystal ball.

As the smaller dragon took the orb, the sphere's ethereal light of a creamy white morphed into a swirling grey cloud with red lightning crackling inside it. The cloud then parted to reveal a sight that perplexed the scaley giant.

In the midst of a plain where the feet of multiple volcanoes met, stood a being so grotesque that the elder dragon had to blink a few times to make sure he was seeing properly. It stood upright, several hundred meters tall; maybe even bigger then him.

It was almost entirely composed of an odd mixture of what seemed to be a jet black tree bark with cracks all over it's form and torn flesh. From those cracks, black and red flames fed the growing tower of fire that acted as it's "hair".

The top part of it's body resembled that of a minotaur, while it's lower and longer half resembled that of a snake. It's head seemed proportionate to it's wide chest, which had black and red markings that resembled eyes. No... they WERE eyes! Darting about by their own accord.

The titan branded muscular arms with claws made of a black, volcanic stone that glowed with an angry reddish orange luminescence.

On it's back, the monster had alien looking protrusions that causef the elder dragon to struggle to discern their function. Maybe vestigial wings of some kind... It's face was covered by stone like scales, save for the gaping maw of hundreds of sharp teeth seemingly made of glowing crimson crystals bigger than broadswords.

It had two pairs of massive horns that expelled smoke like chimneys. The largest pair sprouted from a scale-lke plating that covered the area where it's eyes should be. They grew over and towards the back of it's head, disappearing into the maelstrom of fire that made up it's "hair". The second pair sprouted from the side of it's head and curved towards the front; similar to that of certain dragon he knew.

The elder dragon was barely able to see the tiny images of dragons swarming around the titanic monster like a bunch of angry locusts. Though no sound could be heard, the monster roared and swung it's open claws at the dragons flying around it, swatting them away like gnats.

The elder dragon growled at the visage before him, but what really angered him was the following exchange of words.

"Baron Cinder! He's telling the truth! Please, we need your help in keeping the monster busy while the other barons and Dragonlord Torch get the eggs to safety!"

The stout, moss green dragon to Garble's right said. The dragon baron Cinder, one of Lord Torch's oldest friends, listened intently to the teenager's plea.

"Dad, please! Smolder's down there!"

Garble begged, his worry for his little sister overpowering his usually cocky demeanor. At the mention of his youngest daughter's name, Cinder's eyes narrowed, and a furious snarl left his smoldering maw of teeth.

"SHE'S DOWN THERE AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME!?"

He shouted, his parental instinct kicking in.

"THATS WHY I'M HERE AREN'T I!?"

Garble shot back indignantly. With his anger now channeled and focused into one singular goal, Baron Cinder rose from the mound of gold and stone he had half buried himself in.

Unfurling his massive wings, the loose coins of gold under him spiralled up like a golden dust devil as he took flight. Flying out of the dormant volcano's mouth, he shot himself thousands of feet into the air before diving back down. Cinder soared through the sky at breakneck speeds, intent on breaking the neck of whatever that monster was.

He would bring down his wrath on anyone that endangered his children.

In mere minutes, the gargantuant wyvern reached the peak of the dead volcano upon which the hatching grounds lay; perching himself like a bird on the mountain's peak.

At the foot of the mountain, Cinder could see the foul beast. He could see that it had left a trail of death and destruction where it had passed by, as countless corpses of dragons, wyrms, wyverns, and other denizens of the dragon lands lay crushed, scorched, or broken beyond recognition as mounds of broken flesh, blood and gore.

On the side of the mountain several hundred stories above ground level, other dragon barons, and their offspring, aiding in the evacuation. Cinder could see that most of the eggs had been moved, but if the creature decided to make a beeline for the hatching grounds, the remaining eggs would be in danger.

His eyes darted about the lava pools in search for a small orange dragoness, and soon enough, he found her. Letting out a sigh of relief, and a plume of smoke from his mouth, Cinder leapt into the air and glided down towards the hatching grounds.

As his cut through the air, a torrent of dust and wind was stirred; landing with such force that the earth itself shook.

The dragons who had been transporting the eggs into containers made from broken pony carriages and small boats noticed Cinder's arrival, but quickly got back to work. All except one...

"DAD!"

Smolder called out for her dad after carefully laying a blue egg with green dots scattered across the shell into a padded box with five other eggs. She flew towards her father as quickly as her wings would take her. She landed on his snout and gave him an assuring smile.

"It's good to see you're alright."

He sighed, closing his eyes to calm his speeding heart. He got close to calming himself down, but he was startled when a powerful and clearly irate voice called out his name.

"CINDER!!! GET OVER HERE, NOW!"

Opening his eyes, Cinder found himself under the gaze of the Dragonlord himself. Knowing he could not disobey, he looked back towards his daughter, who had flinched and turned to look at Torch.

"Smolder, go to my cave and hide with your brother there. Don't leave until I or the Dragonlord summon you. Understood?"

He ordered, his tone weary of the uncertainty of what awaited him.

"But dad! I wanna make sure the eggs get to safety!"

She complained, stomping her foot against his snout and pouting. In that moment, the dragon Baron was reminded of Garble and Smolder's mother.

A dragoness who was as ferocious as she was loyal to her kind. The memory reminded him of why he was sending them to hide. So that he could honor his spouse's memory through them.

"You heard me Smolder! Go!"

He ordered, now with a stern look and an even sterner tone. Smolder huffed, blowing plumes of fire through her nostrils in protest; but she obeyed her father's command. When she flew off and disappeared behind the mountain, Baron Cinder walked towards the Dragonlord.

He expected the hulking elder dragon to be angry, but the look on Torch's face was one of... stoicism. As the two giants stood next to each other at the edge of the hatching grounds, they had a perfect view of the battle below.

They watched in silent awe as the giant abomination swung at the dragon's flying around it, most of the drakes barely dodging it's fast and feral movements. The beast then let out a howling roar that sounded like thousands of voices screaming in anguish.

"Did you receive my summons?"

Torch's voice broke Cinder's focus on the slaughter happening at the volcano's foot. It took Cinder a bit to reply, but eventually he did.

"My son informed me of what was happening. If you summoned me, I did not feel your scepter's call."

Cinder explained, half hoping his explanation would suffice. Torch hummed while closing his eyes and rubbing the bridge of his snout.

When he opened his eyes again, Cinder saw for the first time in his LONG life one of the mightiest Dragonlords to have ever lived, look hopeless...

"Then it is as I feared..."

Torch sighed, mostly to himself.

"That thing's presence is interfering with the Bloodstone Scepter's magic. I couldn't warn the others in time..."

He continued, his head hanging low with shame. With the same motion, he looked down to his chest, eyeing the spot under his chest plate where the scepter was hidden.

Cinder didn't like what he was hearing, but he wanted to be sure he wasn't misunderstanding the steel blue elder dragon.

"What happened Torch? Speak plainly."

Cinder demanded with a stern, yet respectful tone.

"Skyquake, Dreadwing, Brimstone... They all challenged that thing when it came through their territories."

The Dragonlord began, his rising tone informing Cinder that the mere thought of it all was slowly stoking the fire of his rage.

Cinder said nothing during Torch's small pause, seeing as how he needed the relative silence to stave off the urge to hit something. But try as he may, Torch couldn't pry his eyes away from the monster.

To think that dragons who he had grown up with, formed bonds with, and fought by their side were all murdered by a beast so hideous.

"When I fled... Skyquake and Dreadwing were already dead... it ripped Brimstone in two for Tartarus' sake! No matter how much fire we breathed on it, how many times it was struck, slammed and battered against the ground... it JUST KEPT GETTING BACK UP! IT KILLED THEM AND FORCED ME TO RETREAT! ME!!!"

The Elder dragon's fury had finally boiled over, roaring the second to last part of his rant.

"All we can do now is keep that thing distracted long enough to get the last of the eggs out of it's path and lead it out of the dragon lands."

He finished, his tone shifting into something more akin to that of a capable leader.

Never once had Torch been forced to flee from a fight, especially against something that was smaller than him. The humiliation caused his eyes to narrow, and tongues of fire danced through the small gaps between his massive teeth.

Cinder, who had been listening intently to his leader and old friend, also had his blood boiling over the news.

Fortunately for them, they would get a chance to ventilate their fury. Because of Torch's loud rant, the beast had noticed the two elder dragons, the myriad of eyes on its chest looking up at the red and blue dragons staring daggers at it.

The titan stopped swinging it's claws around to shoo away the pests that flew around it. The hulking beast issued a challenge in the form of a powerful roar.

The shockwave produced sent the swarm of smaller dragons hurdling away from it, and the volcanically active areas around it to bleed magma. The two elder dragons let their instincts take over, and replied with an equally earth shaking warcry.

With it's long, smoldering body, it began to slither its way up the mountain as quickly as it's tail could push it forward and it's arms could drag it. Pillars of stone and rock formations that had withstood the test of time for millennia were reduce to rubble as the titan trampled anything and everything unfortunate enough to be in it's path.

As this happened, Torch and Cinder took flight and glided down towards their opponent, leaving a hurricane of dust and volcanic ash in their wake.

The two elder dragons and the titan raced towards each other, each one roaring with animalistic fury at the other. When the Elder dragons finally came upon the beast, their plans to bash it's face in were abruptly and violently brought to a halt.

While Cinder's and Torch's fists did punch the beast's head clean off; it's body kept stampeding under them.

The headless torso lurched up from under them with it's arms outstretched, and with a vice-like grip, latched onto the elder dragons' necks. The titan howled while it used it's momentum to force the dragons back and it's weight to slam them down into the mountainside.

The violent exchange let out a shockwave that echoed across the entirety of the dragon lands.

Though it's sharp claws couldn't pierce the scale-plated throats of it's victims, the beast made an attempt nonetheless.

Torch and Cinder were currently clawing at the monster's arms, but for every vine, rock and wad of flesh they ripped out; a new piece would regenerate in a bubbling blast of a foul smelling steam.

Slowly, but surely, from the flaming stump of it's neck, a horned skull began to form from the black, sap-like fluid oozing from it's neck. It then hardened, allowing for vines resembling muscle to spread across it's form.

It's upper "face", was then covered in a complex pattern of scale like plates that glistened like newly formed obsidian which glistened in the maelstrom of it's fiery hair. It's horrid maw was then covered by lips of what seemed to be emaciated flesh. Those lips then parted to reveal the monster's sharp, blade like teeth in a feral scowl.

"K-kick!... Kick it!..."

Cinder croaked out, struggling to get any air in his lungs. Torch almost missed his comrade's call-out, but it was enough to know how they were to free themselves.

In almost perfect sync, the two elder dragons kicked the monster's chest with their hind legs with as much strength as their oxygen starved bodies could generate. The blow was enough to force the titan back, letting a choked shriek escaped it's lips; seemingly having the wind knocked out of it.

The two elder dragons didn't waste time, getting up as quickly as they could and landing as many haymakers, bites and kicks in an attempt to push it back.

Just when Cinder believed that they were winning, the titan's tail coiled around Torch's right arm; stopping it from landing another sucker punch that would have likely ended in the creature's horns being broken.

It's tail continued to coil around the Dragonlord's body effectively keeping his arms bound. Now with the titan's full attention, all cinder could do was block and sidestep it's relentless assault while the blue elder dragon could do little more than struggle to free himself.

The monster's horrid babbling never ceased, unnerving Cinder more with every second that passed. Torch and his Baron were eventually both pinned and sent tumbling down the mountainside with the beast serving as a living restraint.

The earthquakes created by the giants fighting could be felt for over a mile, and their screams of rage and pain were heard in the farthest reaches of the dragon lands and beyond...

//////////Everfree forest////////

Deep in the accursed recesses of the Everfree, the mane six, Discord, Starlight, Spike and Zecora made their way over toppled trees, through deep crevices, and under newly formed rock formations, while crossing through the disheveled forest.

While Zecora was somewhat familiar with the recent devastation in the mysterious forest, the girls, draconequus, and baby dragon were dismayed upon seeing the once indomitable beacon of nature reduced to a mess of unearthed roots, broken trees, and a steady breeze that whistled past in a northwest direction.

While the zebra shaman had become use to the sounds of birds and the rustling of leaves, the dead silence that now replaced it was as unnerving as it was deafening. Miraculously, the Tree of Harmony and the surrounding land had been untouched; so retrieving the Elements wasn't difficult.

However, getting to the old castle of the two sisters was another matter entirely. The path leading to it was now indistinguishable from the rest of the forest, and caused them to lose their way.

On their journey, they didn't encounter any of the hostile creatures of the Everfree, or at least, none that were alive... The foul smelling remains of Timberwolves lay crushed of half buried under the soil. The stench of blood and death was everywhere, however faint it may have been.

After some time of trying to reach the ruins, the group came across a massive crater that stood out like a sore hoof. Easily stretching over a mile in diameter and with a depth of a few hundred meters; the relatively colorful palette of the forest was marred by a straight line of smoldering decay heading southeast of the crater's epicenter.

"We've arrived at the Everfree's center... the place I dared not enter."

Zecora said to the group with a tinge of fear. As the group looked on, Rarity was the first to voice her shock.

"Goodness... what happened here?"

She asked, mostly to herself but no one answered. The silence was only broken after a few minutes, when something tapped on Fluttershy's shoulder.

As the pale yellow mare looked up to her friend, she could see a comedically long telescope in the draconequus' grip. He was dressed as what could only be described to be a pirate's outfit with a fittingly oversized hat with a large pink feather adorning it.

Only moments after Fluttershy's mood improved from the funny spectacle that was Discord, did she notice what he was looking at. Slowly marching towards the epicenter of the crater, was a colorful group of undead she recognized from her stay at Canterlot.

She huddled closer to the god of chaos, finding his presence oddly comforting. Rainbow Dash had seen the exchange between her pegasus friend and the draconequus, and after hovering over her friends to get a better look, she spotted the small entourage of skeletons heading down the crater's incline.

"Over there!"

She called out while pointing in the general direction of the living dead. The group's gaze locked on to the menagerie of what any other pony would have considered to be monsters.

Meanwhile, the aforementioned group of undead were being led by the tall onyx skeleton who had refitted the remains of a destroyed golem into simple vembraces and a chest plate that was a little too small for him. He was branding one of the spear-tipped halberds the golems he'd been forced to destroy carried, along with a worn shield strapped to his back. As the hulking undead led the group behind him, something caught his eye.

A glinting, silverish light was piercing through the blackened rot of the path near the center of the titanic crater. He quickly moved towards it, kneeling down once he was on top of it.

Brushing off the dirt that was on the shiny object, Avalon found a belt buckle he recognized. Taking it in his hand, he pulled it upwards. Behind him was a small group of skeletons, all of which were wearing some form of armor and they were all carrying weapons ranging from rusted short swords to makeshift pikes to small hammers held in improvised holsters wrapped around their sides.

While most were that of ponies, a few were bipedal and ape-like. Having been revived and reunited with his new fiance, Trephor walked by Mia's side; their boney hands intertwined out of a mutual need to be holding each other.

The smaller skeleton who had revived the verdant undead was currently riding atop her trusty feline steed. When the entourage closed the distance between themselves and the onyx undead, they saw him rise to his full stature and pull a familiar piece of clothing that look like a torn flag with a macabre menagerie of mementos muddled with muck dangling from a leather belt.

"Well, we have the nephilim's belt and loincloth... but where's the nephilim?"

Trephor said to no one in particular. The rest of the undead then began to look about for any signs other than the very obvious trail of decay and desolation heading southeast not too far from them.

As Anvari looked on with her slightly dulled eyes at the devastation around her, she heard a high pitched voice calling out to her.

"HEY ANVARI!"

The voice of Pinkie Pie echoed through the slope, getting the attention of the band of undead. While the girls all looked at Pinkie Pie with a variety of emotions ranging from mortal shock to the classic "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" face, the element of laughter was gingerly waving at the small undead in her usual cheerful manner from a distance.

Contrary to the others around her who tensed up, the she-dwarf was more confused than shocked; resulting in a delayed, but polite wave from Anvari's part. As the group silently eyed the other down, Avalon assessed the threat they were dealing with.

"Sir Avalon? How do we proceed?"

Blazing Shot asked, his voice barely a whisper. The onyx undead took a bit to respond, but eventually he did.

"I'm seeing the Elements of Harmony, Discord, Starlight, a... purple salamander and someone else... Azazel was right... they came to kill us with their Elements..."

Avalon stated with a grim acceptance in his tone. The last time Azazel had been right to challenge him or anyone's council... innocents died... Purging the painful memory, he instead focused on his main objective.

"I can keep them distracted long enough for all of you to get a head start and reach the dragon lands befo-"

"I've heard some stupid shit in my time, but that's the dumbest thing you've said by far."

Trephor cut his sable friend off in an almost joking manner. Walking towards Avalon, the green skeleton continued.

"You're not playing the hero; not on my watch. Lets go before the friendship horsies teach us about rainbows, and friendship."

He asserted coyly, placing his hand on the undead's shoulder. Avalon didn't move, his focus being almost entirely directed at the group of colorful creatures looking at him.

"Blazing, Scarlett, Silver; You're with me. The rest of you follow Azazel's trail. If you hurry, you might stay ahead of them the entire-"

Avalon began again, having formed a crude plan of attack in his head. He was cut off yet again by Trephor; pulling his shoulder around so that the two would face each other.

While normally, Trephor wouldn't have the strength to do such a thing, Avalon allowing himself to turn face and stare right at his green friend. The verdant undead's eyes were burning with red cinders, his tone reflecting the ire he felt at being ignored.

"What part of "we're not leaving you" did you not get?! We take them all on together or we run! Those are our options! Pick one!"

He stated with vehemence. Avalon stayed silent for only a few moments before speaking his peace.

"We won't be able to take them. Mia's injured and Anvari has expended most of her magic already. You're the best chance we have to save the kid you and the others helped me raise. If there's even a chance you can make it to Azazel before those ponies do, then we have to take it."

Avalon countered with a stern, but calm tone. Trephor was left speechless at his friend's stubbornness. The green Skeleton tried to think of something else to say, but try as he might, he couldn't.

Seizing the opportunity to get his point across, he placed a hand on Trephor's shoulder and gave it an assuring squeeze while getting a little closer.

"I lost you once already. I refuse to lose you again."

He whispered, his eyes shifting to blue; if only for a second. As the onyx undead spoke, Trephor's eyes began to shift to a bright blue. Though he would never admit it, sentimental rabble like this was Trephor's weakness; and it infuriated him that Avalon was using it against him.

"Stop being an ass and don't do this..."

He croaked out, barely keeping it together. Taking a deep breath, Avalon impaled the butt of his halberd into the ground before doing something that Trephor thought impossible.

The onyx skeleton pulled in his best friend into a bear hug, which then Trephor reciprocated. After a few seconds, Avalon broke the hug to find Trephor on the verge of a breakdown. Rolling his eyes at the sight, he pulled out his weapon from the earth.

"Go forth, weepy prince. Your shining knight awaits to escort your bitch ass to safety."

Avalon said in a mock voice while shooing Trephor away with his hand. This caused the jade skeleton's somber mood to lighten, his eyes shifting from a dark blue to a light green.

"Not bad... Try not to die out there, alright? I still want to do that musical number with you..."

Trephor said, feeling a little better as he laughed at the sable undead's spontaneity. Avalon didn't say anything, choosing instead to simply nod. With the promise of seeing his favorite victim to annoy again, Trephor began walking back to Mia and Anvari to debrief them.

The onyx undead was pleasantly surprised with how easily it had been to convince the others to take on his responsibility should he not make it. With only one thing left to do, Avalon made a wordless gesture for everyone to get going; a small nod.

The entourage of skeletons began following the blackened path of destruction at a jog's pace. Seeing them leave, Avalon tried to smile; only to remember that he didn't have lips. Gathering his wits, he turned to face the ponies and began to march in their direction with his halberd at the ready.

"To me!"

Avalon ordered, his eyes glinting with green embers at the prospect of his friends actually accomplishing their assigned task. When he gave the order, Scarlett Stream, Silver Lining, and Blazing Shot readied their weapons and began marching with him.

"Permission to speak freely, sir."

Blazing Shot asked.

"Permission granted."

Avalon replied.

"While I may not agree with everything our master does, it's been an honor to serve with a fellow soldier again. If I'm to die again, then it will be for something greater than myself."

Blazing stated, seeing the cyan pegasus and the orange earth pony get infront of the group in a defensive manner. Avalon took a deep breath as memories of his time as Azazel's first and oldest unliving creation tried to force themselves to the forefront of his mind.

Forcing them back to the rear of his subconscious, he exhaled and uttered one word before his speed walking turned into a mad dash.

"Likewise..."

He said, leading the charge of skeletons behind him. As Silver Lining and Scarlett Stream took to the air, Avalon closed the distance between the group and lept into the air with a warcry, hoping to cleave the farm pony first.

Fortunately for everyone, a certain draconequus had produced a television remote in his bird claw. With the press of the pause button, the undead were suspended in middair.

Avalon and his fellow skeletons struggled to move, but found it to be impossible to move or even make a sound.

"Uh.. Hi. It's nice to meet you in person Avalon."

The draconequus began, coming into Avalon's view.

"I know you may not believe me, but we're not here to harm you. You see we're actually here because I have an appointment with your master."

He stated, pushing to the side with very little effort the halberd in Avalon's hands to the side so that it wouldn't land on his head. As the mane six and company watched the frozen undead levitate in the air, something odd happened.

As they hovered in place, the skeletons were suddenly obscured by a visual snow akin to an old television's white noise flickering around them.

"If you could point us in the right direction that would be greatly appre-"

The draconequus began, but his train of thought was cut short when he noticed the spell he'd cast on them was losing its power.

In a flurry of movement too quick for Discord to react to, the magic holding Avalon aloft faltered and disappeared; letting him fall to the ground and his weapon's axe head to bury itself in the ground. He swiftly swung upward and tried to impale Discord's neck with the spearhead of his halberd.

Before the blade could pierce the god's throat, a teal aura of magic enveloped the blade and kept it at bay.

"STOP! We don't want to fight you!"

Starlight exclaimed, her own horn lightning up with magic. As this happened, the other undead were released from their bonds. Seeing as how their commanding officer was trying to force his weapon through the mismatched monster's mug, they took it as a sign to attack.

The charging skeletons were, unfortunately, woefully unprepared for Applejack and her trusty lasso. Before they could get far, the orange farm pony had pulled out a lasso she always packs underneath her Stetson hat. The trio were all ensnared and thrown towards a nearby tree with a resounding "thunk".

They tried to break free, but quickly found their attempts to be futile. A small smirk spread across Applejack's muzzle at the sight of her small victory.

Unfortunately, the small victory would be short-lived, as the undead that was trying to force the large halberd in it's hands to perforate Discord's neck switched tactics.

Finding Starlight's magical grip too strong to over power, Avalon opted to use the same force that was pushing him back to use the hammer portion of his weapon. Without removing his feet from the ground, the sable skeleton's upper half performed a full 360 degree spin using the telekinetic grip on his weapon to propel it even faster in the opposite direction.

With a loud *thwack* and a teeth grinding *crunch*, the hammer of Avalon's halberd struck Discord's midsection and sent the draconequus hurdling into a fallen tree.

"DISCORD!"

Fluttershy cried with a gasp of horror and with tears in her eyes. Discord hit the tree and fall limp on the ground. With varying expressions ranging from fear to anger, the mane six and their friends' attetion split between the injured spirit of chaos and the hostile undead before them.

He stayed unnervingly silent as he assumed a combat ready stance. While this happened, the yellow pegasus hurriedly flew towards her fallen friend.

"Fluttershy wait!"

Twilight tried to stop her friend, but it was pointless. Having a new target, the undead lunged toward the pegasus to intercept her; hoping to use her as a hostage and buy the others more time.

Rainbow Dash, who had been itching for a go at the monster threatening her friend, rushed to Fluttershy's aid. Bolting forward with her hooves outstretched, she collided with the onyx undead and sent him tumbling to the floor.

"DONT EVEN TRY IT!!!"

She yelled while looping upward and coming down with her hind hooves ready to deliver a mighty stomp. Avalon was only barely able to keep up with the rapid assault the rainbow-maned mare was dishing out.

Though the strikes themselves weren't very strong, her agility made it impossible to counter attack directly. That is, of course, until Rainbow Dash tried to pry the halberd the undead wielded from his grip. The brief pause was all Avalon needed to tip the scales in his favor.

With a grip like iron, he used Dash's pulling motion against her and bashed the pole of his weapon against her snout. The impact drew blood and disoriented the mare long enough for the undead to grab her by her hoof and throw her to the ground.

With her back pressed against the soil and a stinging pain in her muzzle, Rainbow Dash could do little to stop the undead from attempting to drive the spear-tipped halberd through her skull.

Fortunately for the element of loyalty, Applejack came to the rescue. Slamming her hind hooves against the shelf on the undead's back, the element of honesty bucked the onyx skeleton with as much strength as she could muster.

As if being rammed by a stampeding she-orc from behind, Avalon was sent flying through the air and into a large tree that cracked and threatened to fall over him upon impact.

The impact caused him to let go of his weapon, falling harmlessly next to a very upset Rainbow Dash.

"MY NOSE!!"

She shouted in anger and pain. The mare had broken bones before along with her nose, but the true strike had been to her pride. She'd be damned if anypony would fight dirty and not pay for it.

"Alright buster! NOW YOU'RE GETTING IT!"

Rainbow Dash shouted as she charged at the recovering skeleton.

///////Avalon//////

Before I woke up in a world of pastel colored ponies, before I had been revived as an undead; my old self was a city guard for the small city of Aurorea. If you've never heard of the city, it's because it doesn't exist anymore.

Over four hundred years ago when the Solarian Empire was still growing, Astoshan had traveled into the city and was recognized. The crudely formed squadron of fairly trained soldiers didn't stand a chance...

When I was resurrected, centuries had passed and was provided with extensive combat training by Mistress Lilith; the long presumed dead queen of hell.

This training provided me with the tools to keep Azazel, my master and... well... for lack of a better comparison, little brother safe.

Despite this, I now find myself in a situation so odd it would be completely understandable if one mistook it for a fever dream. After being frozen in the air, my... well I don't have the glands or blood vessels for an adrenaline rush, but you get the idea.

After disorienting the major threat Discord posed, I readied myself for anything. Unsurprisingly, the rainbow maned pegasus by the name of Rainbow Dash attacked me.

The ferocity of her attacks caught me by surprise, so I had to improvise and use every opening I could find; regardless of how dishonorable it may have been.

Said dishonor was met with getting rammed into a tree for the second time in the span of a few days.

As I clambered to to my feet to try and take control of fight, I was struck again by the cyan pegasus and was pummeled against the tree. That second blow seemed to have finished breaking the tree, because something big fell on me.

The loose soil prevented what I could now confirm to be a large tree trunk from crushing. I tried to lift it off me, but it only served to bury me deeper into the loosened dirt.

I was eventually able to wiggle halfway out under the tree, but when I resurfaced, I was met with the Elements of Harmony glaring at me... Well, most of them anyway. Now that I think about it, where's the yellow pegasu-

"Step away from the big black dunce, NOW!"

A familiar voice called out... a voice I'd hoped I wouldn't hear. The elements and company turned around, letting out a collective gasp of horror as they locked on to a terrifying sight.

As I too locked on the visage, the sentiment that dictated my actions from here on out, would be anger.

"I GAVE YOU AN ORDER!!!"

I shouted furiously as I slammed my fist into the dirt. The sudden scream made the mares before me spread apart and away from me, granting me a full view of my... "saviours".

A few meters away, the group of undead who I had just sent off were standing around a dazed Discord, and a very terrified pegasus with a pale yellow coat of fur.

The element of kindness if I'm not mistaken, was currently balled up on the floor making herself as small as possible. Meanwhile, the undead standing around them were all aiming their daggers, short swords, and hammers at their hostages.

The only one not doing this was Anvari, who sat upon her growling, undead manticore with her arms outstretched and primed to fire magic at them.

The reactions of the Equestrians present were fairly homogeneous; fear for their friend stopping them dead in their tracks.

The only outlier was Rainbow Dash, who had to be physically restrained by the apple farmer, Applejack. Whilst the undead stared at the ponies intently and vice versa,

Trephor and I were having a stare down while we bickered...

"AND I TOLD YOU THAT WE WEREN'T LEAVING YOU, YOU SELF RIGHTEOUS PRICK!!!"

He shot back with a blistering rage similar to my own.

"ENOUGH!"

Mia shouted at us both, causing everyone who had been either arguing or staring daggers at their respective enemies to focus on her.

After a few seconds of silence, the star spangled skeleton took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly through... she doesn't have a nose... I've got to stop doing that...

"Step away from Avalon, and I promise Fluttershy and Discord won't be harmed."

Mia assured, trying to seem as genuine as possible. The ponies all looked amongst each other, confirming wordlessly with each other as for what needed to be done.

To no one's surprise, the colorful ponies stepped a good distance away from where I was. As I wiggled my way out from under the tree, the striped pony broke the silence.

"While I know this may not be the best time to inquire, but to know what happened to the Everfree is my desire."

She began... did she just rhyme?

"Our master found a source of great power buried deep underneath this forest. A deep system of roots and vines that preyed on the souls that died in the Everfree. What happened to this forest is but the aftermath of Azazel absorbing the leviathan's power."

Trephor answered, lowering his weapon away from the draconequus with... are those miniature versions of Discord with pink dresses circling over his head. As this happened, I was able to scurry my way out from under the tree.

Brushing as much dirt as I could off me and readjusting my now splintered shield, I moved away from the group of equines.

If they noticed me moving towards my weapon and picking it up, they said nothing.

"But why would he do that?"

Twilight asked, her inquisitive nature shining through her fear.

"Because Azazel is a particularly vengeful nephilim. If I had to guess, I'd say he's desperately looking for magical power that would allow him to take all of us on by himself."

The voice of Discord rang out. I turned to look in his direction, but he was nowhere to be found.

Apparently, no one had seen him vanish and reappear in hammock gently swaying from side to side betwixt two trees a small distance away from me.

"And by the way Avalon, that was a nice try. It's been a while since anyone has landed a solid hit on me."

He admitted, discreetly rubbing his side with a forced calmness plastered onto his face. Wheeling around, I readied myself should he decide to attack.

"Can you please relax? I'm not gonna hurt you."

He said, sounding annoyed almost.

"You've given me no reason to believe you."

I retorted, eyeing the ponies behind me, who were divided between keeping an eye out for Discord or Fluttershy; who was still on the receiving end of several blades and hammerheads aimed at her.

"And the fact that I haven't reduced you to bone meal isn't reason enough?"

Discord deadpanned before raising his lion paw and snapping his fingers. At first nothing happened, but after a few seconds of awkward silence, the halberd in my hands shot out wards and flew off into the distance whilst... uh... how do I even describe it... flatulating out of sight. Let's go with that.

Acting purely on instinct at this point, I drew my shield and held it in a defensive stance. Discord remained unfazed as he snapped his fingers again.

This time, my iron shield was transformed into- WHY IS MY SHIELD A CHEESE WHEEL!? AND WHY DOES IT HAVE THE NAME "AVIPOO" WRITTEN ON THE SIDE!?!? WHAT THE F-!?!?

"Ooooo~"

The pink mare that had befriended Anvari cooed behind me. I turned to look in her direction, but she was nowhere to be seen. I only turned back around because I felt my shield jerk forward slightly, and lo and behold there stood the pink pony.

Her cheeks were puffed up in a ridiculous manner while she chewed away at- SHE JUST TOOK A BITE OUT OF MY SHIELD!

"Mmmm~ Asiago. Nice choice of cheese Discord."

She said after swallowing with a gulp and wiping her muzzle. I was too confused to do anything other than stare into empty space as what little notions of consistence in reality I had were thrown down a proverbial abyss from whence only madness and delu-

"Avalon, I'm sorry for cutting your edgy, internal monologue short, but I do feel we should get going before your master does anything particularly harmful to himself."

The draconequus said, causing Trephor to laugh at it his quip. I said nothing as I unequipped my cheese shield and passed it onto the party pony.

She happily took it and resumed eating it as if nothing had happened. I sat down on cool soil of the Everfree, and I tuned everything out as I crossed my legs. I shut my eyes, took deep breaths, and fought off the urge to simply punt my skull halfway across the forest.

//////Trephor////

From what Mia had told me after I was revived, Discord had been the one who saved me from the dark oblivion that I thought would be my eternal fate. I had been anxious to meet him properly, and thus far he didn't disappoint.

Witty, smart, and for being a taxidermist's and a lunatic's love child; not as disturbing as I he would look like. Unfortunately, he was too much for my dear friend Avalon; who I could tell was one million percent done with everything.

"He's right, we have to get going."

Mia chimed in, breaking the awkward silence that insisted on staying. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity to remedy of my sable friend's egregious first impression.

"Also, I would like to apologise for my friend Avalon's rude behavior. The last few days have been quite stressful and he hasn't had his morning coffee yet."

I explained, humble as ever. Fortunately, I got a response from Discord that I couldn't have made up no matter how hard I tried.

"Oh it's fine, I can get pretty bent out of shape myself when I wake up on the wrong side of the be-eeEEWAAA!"

Discord began, with a nonchalant smile. As he explained he began to stretch and bend his body in odd ways that shouldn't be possible with bones.

What assumed would be punchline of the joke was cut off when gravity betrayed him and topped off of his hammock and onto the floor hitting the ground with a "thud".

"I thought I turned off my gravity..."

He complained, mostly to himself as he literally reeled in his own body to it's original length. At this point, I'd lost what little composure I had, and fell to floor guffawing my ass off.

Shortly after, I heard the other undead around me begin to snort and chuckle at Discord's display; and not long after that, so did the elements of Harmony.

After a bit of this, the tension was released when everyone, save for Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Avalon, was laughing off the tension. As I looked over to the yellow mare, I found that the spot where she once was was evidently... Fluttershy-less. Looking around for her, I found her huddled next to the god of Chaos; the hammock from before having disappeared as some point.

I had also noticed Rainbow butt's adorably intense glare boring into the back of Avalon's head, though I doubt he cared about it. While her nose had stopped bleeding, the red streaks that stained her muzzle were difficult, if not impossible to hide.

Before I could get in some quips, Mia's voice cut through the persistent fits of giggles from the mares and stallions, living and undead alike.

"I hate to be a prune, but we really have to get going. If we hurry, we can make it to the dragonlands before sundown."

She urged.

"I got it."

That was the last thing Discord said, before closing his eyes, drawing a deep breath and snapping his bird claw.

/////////////

With a magical poof, every creature present vanished in a flash of light and magic. Returning the broken Everfree to it's haunting silence.

Author's Note:

This chapter was as fun as it was challenging to write. Big thanks for reading this far and if you have any pointers, feel free to let me know in the comments. I'm bored and I love this community. See you in the comments guys.

Comments

[Adjier]

Noice.

Looking forward to more.

[8bitmadness]

You know, now that I think of it what would happen if someone cast Mage's Disjunction on Discord with a high enough caster level? Considering it can even destroy artifacts and antimagic fields, it seems it would probably hurt him a lot. Considering the raw magical power that Azazel now wields, I wouldn't be surprised if he could straight up unweave spells and spell like abilities at their source.

[Crimson Wisp]

10413776
You, my sir, I like you.

[8bitmadness]

10413811
What can I say, I love me some D&D.

Once had a wizard that straight up committed deicide because said god's worshippers killed the rest of his original party. Like, really thorough deicide. He spent 50 years researching an epic spell that cost him all of his EXP and over 100 million GP in materials as well as an additional 10 years of prep time (yes, all of it and you gotta understand this character's ECL was somewhere in the mid 30s) in order to simultaneously kill all of his worshippers, snuff out their souls, destroy all evidence of the god's existence, kill the god's avatar, kill the god, split up his portfolio and give it to other deities with similar spheres of influence. Then it altered EVERYONE'S memory (him included, and I mean literally everyone in existence, including deities) in order to make them forget said god ever existed in the first place while also altering any written or oral traditions so that he was never mentioned. Finally, it placed a fucking irremovable TABOO on said god's very description, including their name, so that no one is even capable of thinking about it, writing it down, saying it, or otherwise alluding to it.

And that wasn't even the craziest campaign I've been in. The craziest one was using the immortal's handbook which adds multiple levels of divinity and shit like a lich form that's a step BEYOND demilich, as well as the neutronium golem.

That thing? yeah it has an AC of 932, +79 to initiative, +187 BAB, and 250d1000+1966080 HP (average 2216080. that's 2.2 MILLION.) Manage to get within 600 miles of it and you take 1d1000 divine fire damage per round, increasing to 3d1000 if you are within 200 miles, 15d1000 if you're within 60 miles, and 62d1000 if you're within 20 miles. If you get within 600 feet of it, you must pass a DC 461 fortitude save every round in order to avoid being stunned. If within 200 feet, it's the same save but to avoid being knocked unconscious. If within 60 feet it's the same save DC but to avoid immediate death and every round your max HP is reduced by 2%. If within 20 feet, it increases to 10% of max HP per round. Manage to kill it? If you're within 140 miles of it you must pass a DC 215 fortitude save to avoid being disintegrated as the spell disintegrate, but you also take 1400d6 fire damage and 2000d6 bludgeoning damage, as well as 200 str, dex, and con damage. That slowly scales down until at a range of 2000 to 2500 miles, you take 2d6 bludgeoning damage and no ability damage.

Oh, and to even CREATE one you need to be at least 9721st level and spend 969.5 million gp and 77.56 million xp, and you need to have the craft construct feat while knowing the spells disintegrate, fireball, geas/quest, poison, reverse gravity, and wish. This also requires creating it from the heart of a neutron star, which means you need to make a DC 9721 Spellcraft check.

Oh yeah and the immortal's handbook? yeah that shit basically has rules for playing as SENTIENT UNIVERSES among other things. It's fucking insane.

TL;DR I've seen some shit.

[Crimson Wisp]

10414062
I've only been a DnD player for about two years and a half, and I've loved every moment of it. I've only ever been part of one homebrew campaign that we
started at the on February 2019 and formally finished in early December of last year. Aside from my (not very clever) movie references, this fic's plot was inspired from that campaign. The most ridiculous thing my party ever managed, was to defeat the demon lord Orcus. We beat him with sheer luck and with only the finest of cheese.

[8bitmadness]

10414345
yeah, fighting a demon lord REQUIRES cheese.

[Crimson Wisp]

10468879
Yes, though the only thing they share is the name.