Thirty Minute Pony Stories

Spike ran through the forest. His eyes shot left and right for any trace of his friends, but amidst the sea of trees and fog, he saw only the grey trees and rime of Death. His surroundings blurred, but he was certain his friends were still with him.

A biting chill ran through his body, causing him to lose his balance and stumble on his own legs. He felt the icy plates of armor touch his chest, yet it felt warm to the touch.

Spike ran his claws across his collar bone. It felt cold, and yet it burned. He looked at his hands. They were stained, moist with ice and blood.

A manticore’s roar, followed by echoes of yelling voices sounded. Spike kept running. His injury was minor, he thought, but the amount of blood would attract the manticore. He had to remove his hauberk, but that would mean fighting Orderkillers with nothing but cloth armor and his weakened scales. Alone, he could hold back the Orderkillers, but he would be unable to down them, unlike Twilight and the others.

Spike heard the trees whimper and cry.

He drew his sword.

“Do you truly think this to be right? I thought you dragons know when to quit.” A willow said.

That voice. Spike thought, I’ve heard it before.

A slender figure appeared behind a cedar’s shadow. Spike strayed from the trail and chased after it.

The ground beneath Spike shifted. It broke under Spike’s weight. A pithole trap. Snow crept in as Spike scrambled for his sword.

The slender figure jumped into the hole. It was still jet black, a living shadow. Spike raised his sword in defense as he hid his trembling arm.

The figure laughed. “Can you truly best me with your weak arm?”

Spike thrust the blade forward. The shadow vanished, causing the sword to stab the thick, rocky soil. Spike struggled to set his sword free, then reached for his knife. He looked behind, and saw the figure.

It was no longer black. Its body was brown, scaly. Its arms were mismatched, and so were its legs. Its wings were ill-fitting, as if sewn onto its back. His horns were misaligned, dull.

“Discord.” Spike growled.

Its eyes widened. One pupil was horizontal, like a sheep’s, while the other was vertical and piercing. It smiled with jagged, shark-like teeth.

“I’m surprised you still remember me! How old were you when Uncle Discord-“

Spike swung his knife. He slashed at air.

“And I see you’ve learned some new tricks! And-and your arms! They’re long! Not bad-“

Another strike. He struck at his sword’s hilt.

“For a dragon whose collection consists of moldy old tomes.”

Spike gripped his knife as Discord smirked. Landing a blow, even in the pit, seemed impossible.

“You’re supposed to be a statue.” Spike pointed out. “We stopped you!”

“And how long did that last?” Discord said.

A chalkboard filled with pointless drawings and confusing equations appeared before Spike.

 “Law and Discord are equals, Spike. As much as I hate that Princess of yours, we have to take turns. Otherwise, it’s not fair, right? Let’s say your Princess is life and I am Death. While life is good for a while, what always comes after? You can’t quite avoid Death, much like Discord, can you?”

“Shut up!” Spike roared. “We’ll find a way to defeat you again!”

Discord sighed, pointing to the ground above. The manticore’s roar felt closer, the Orderkiller’s voices more distinct. “If Discord doesn’t find you first, then so be it. At least I had my Death.” He paused for a moment and shook his head. “I’m sorry, metaphor confusion.”

Spike plunged his knife forward, but struck only dirt.

“They say you shouldn’t make fun of the dead, so I say, try again.” Discord laughed.

The Orderkillers were close. One praised the Orderkiller who created the trap, while the other commanded the manticore to heel.

Spike pulled his sword and knife from the soil.

——

Comments by Kyronea:

Scary! It looks like Equestria is under assault by a large group…Orderkillers sounds like some massive army rebelling against Celestia’s rule. Spike is caught in the middle, desperately trying to fight to keep the Equestria he knows alive and well. Discord, of course, leads them. This had some shades of Oblivion in it, actually, only instead of the forces of Order coming to wipe out Sheogorath’s lands, it was the reverse. Nicely done.