The Four Horsemen

Chapters

Horsemen Assemble
Entombed in Stone
100 years later
Skeptic vs. Believer
I'm Not The Only Pony
To Diamond Valley We Go
Discovery
Book Report
The Awakening of Good and Evil Part 1
The Awakening of Good and Evil Part 2
Prologue

Horsemen Assemble

My Little Pony: The Four Horsemen

Chapter 1: Horsemen Assemble

The skies above Withersham were dark, blood red. The air was filled with the sounds of agonizing screams of mares and fillies and war cries from dying stallions. The kingdom was in a deep state of panic as some of the king's royal knights try to help and aide the frightened villagers and defend Withersham from an army of goblins and fend off incoming dragons from high above the helpless kingdom. The enemy forces continued to march forward with swords, shields, spears, crossbows, torches, and to make matters worse, catapults. The number of goblins went from 250 during the first wave of the battle to 500 as they slaughtered and tortured one defending pony knight to another. The catapults launched boulders onto Withersham, destroying homes and killing everypony that wasn't lucky to survive. In the skies, eight dragons from the Spitfire Tribe added more extra damage as they swooped into the battlefield outside the village, burning the helpless knights while the other half of the tribe scorched the villagers.

One royal knight, a beige unicorn, was lucky enough to escape the battlegrounds outside the village and gallop all the way to the castle of King Icarus. As he ran through the village of Withersham, he ignored the cries of help from frightened ponies and his fellow knights who are need of getting to safety. What's more important to him was going to the castle of his leader and getting the help that he needs.

As he approached the three floor, stone castle, he used his hind legs to buck the large wooden double-doors open with extreme force and enters the Great Hall of the castle. Unfortunately, the place was empty and the king and his guard weren't present. There was nothing in the Great Hall but shattered stained glass and little debris that fell from the ceiling due to the goblins' attack on the castle. The stallion noticed a door next to the king's throne and head towards it. He enters through the door which leads to a hallway of the castle. Inside the hallway were a few doors that lead to different rooms. The right side of the castle contained a Ballroom which used to be fun and entertaining for all the to dance has turned into a shelter with a few guard ponies aiding injured survivors from the village. The left side of the hall has a kitchen, a closet, and a staircase leading up to the second floor. The royal knight headed towards the staircase and up he went to the second floor. He paused his running to catch his breath and looked down the hall of the second floor to see another flight of stairs to his right. The royal knight continued to climb up the steps to the third floor where he believes his king might be. As he reached the third floor, he looks for the one room that the king might be in this situation involving the oncoming attacks outside – the Wizard's room.

Inside the Wizard's room, a golden, furred alicorn with a crown watches as a blue unicorn, named Star Dust, use his magic on four colored gemstones as he began to chant some magical words.

“Are you sure these gemstones will be enough to defeat Black Mist, wizard?” the alicorn said with all concerned.

The wizards stops his chant for a minute and says, “I'm pretty sure, King Icarus. With your magic combined with mine, these stones shall do the trick.”

“Then we must not waste anytime. Let's finish this together.”

King Icarus took the wizard's advice and used his magic to combine with Star Dust's magic on the gemstones. Just then, the surviving Royal Knight bursts right through the door huffing and puffing.

“*huff* King Icarus...your majesty!” the Knight bowed.

The alicorn turned to the guard while still doing his magic, “What is it Lt. Spear Wind?”

“*gasping for air* Enemy reinforcements...have been doubled...” He spoke. “They brought...cat...catapults!...Spitfires...every...where...We need...backup...We need...The Four Horsemen...”

“I understand Lt. Spear Wind. Just one more minute. We're almost done.”

Within a few seconds, the magical powers between the wizard and king on the gemstones was completed.

“It's finished, sire.” Star Dust said. “It's time to summon the Horsemen in here.”

“Of course.” the King nodded. “HORSEMEN! ENTER!!!”

Adjacent to the left side of the Wizard's room was another door which opened once the King called the Four Horsemen. As it opened, four stallions shrouded in darkness due to low lighting approached the middle of the room where the king, wizard, and knight stood. The four stood side by side as the King approached.

“Listen here, Horsemen.” The King said. “We're sending you all to the battlefield outside of Withersham. I expect you to do what is necessary and protect my kingdom. Your objective is to infiltrate Black Mist's fortress near the Forbidden Mountains and stop him, dead or alive. Whatever you choose, it's fine with me though you won't stop Black Mist without these.”

King Icarus motions to Star Dust to bring forth the round gemstones as the wizards implants the stones on four golden necklaces and one at a time, the wizard wrapped the necklaces on each stallion.

“These stones,” The King continued. “that my wizard and I created, should give you an advantage on your fight. Each of these colored stones represent the right horseman by their color. The white stone, for you Ares Maverick, represents Leadership. The gray stone, for you Silver Iron, represents Bravery. The blue stone, for you Colt Daring, represents Confidence. Finally, the red stone, for you Piston Ace, represents Spirit. I dubbed these things the Gems of Peace and with it's power, it will end this fight and put an end to Black Mist's destruction. Now go my Horsemen and save my kingdom.”

The Four Horsemen bowed to their king and galloped their way out of Star Dust's room and to the Main Hall. Once the Horsemen were gone, King Icarus turned his attention to Lt. Spear Wind.

“Lt. Spear Wind.” King Icarus said.

“Yes sir?” The knight replied.

“You will accompany me and Star Dust to my treasure room. We have something planned in case of things go wrong at a time like this.”

“Sire?”

“I'll explain on the way. Now come now, we're wasting time.”

All three of them exit the workshop and headed downstairs to lower parts of the castle that leads to the treasure room.

Meanwhile, outside of Withersham, the goblin army are advancing towards the village with five catapults aimed at the Royal Knights who are taking cover inside hoof made trenches in front of the village. Some of the knights aimed their bow and arrows and crossbows at the goblins while others were armed with swords and shields got out of the trench in an attempt to fight back against the goblins. However, no matter how many of the knights got out of the trench to attack and defend, none of them came back alive as the number of knights decreased within seconds due to arrows being launched by the opposing enemy or random Spitfires coming from the skies, spewing fireballs and at times, gobble their prey. In a nutshell, the Royal Knights are helpless and the Goblins are winning this battle.

A goblin general signals the five catapults, each controlled by a goblin guard, to launch their boulders at the knights.

“READY...FIRE!!!” The goblin general commanded.

The catapults fired and the boulders flew towards the knights, hiding in the trench. One knight notices the incoming fire from above.

“LOOK OUT!!!” He warned his fellow teammates.

BOOM! It was too late. With no time to react, the boulders struck the ditch, injuring some and killing some while others had a share of luck to escape injury. A green Earth Pony with a red mane, tail, and wearing a gray, metal suit approached one of his fellow teammates that survived the impact. The teammate, a white unicorn wearing black armor, surveys the damaged that the boulders had caused.

“Private Snow Hill!” The stallion asked. “What is the status?”

“Oh, it looks bad Captain Eclipse” Snow Hill responded. “Nineteen are dead, twenty-five injured, and only thirty of us are still standing. We got fifteen Unicorns including myself, four Earth Ponies from CorpseHorse Unit, and Eleven Pegasi from Royal Air Defense here in this trench. That's all we have left, captain.”

Eclipse sighed in frustration and shook his head in disgust, “Has Lt. Spear Wind returned with reinforcements yet?”

“I...I'm...I'm not sure if he did.” The unicorn worried. “I mean, I haven't seen him returned nor heard from anypony of him bringing some so I beli...what the?”

Snow Hill's speech was cut off by the sounds of heavy footsteps approaching as the ground beneath began to tremble. The surviving knights held their ground as the footsteps came closer. Some of the knights armed their weapons and prepared for what's approaching them. The source of the sounds appeared from up above the trench in the form of Black Mist's goblin army, with twenty-two of these creatures armed with crossbows and aiming at the helpless knights.

“Surrender ponies!” One goblin said. “You have nowhere to run and hide from us! Now lay on the ground or we'll fire!”

The remaining knights looked at Captain Eclipse for a response on what they should do next but Eclipse's response was rather unexpected. The green Earth Pony signals his men to lower their weapons and lay on the ground as the goblins looked on. Some of the knights were hesitant to not surrender but they had no choice but to do as their captain instructed.

The goblins laughed at the helpless ponies as they gave in but then WHOOSH! An arrow shot in front of the goblins zips right by above their heads. Then another came and hits a goblin in the chest, killing him instantly. Then ten more arrows were shot and ten more goblins suffered the same fate as the first. The rest of the goblins who were all shocked at this turn of events turned their attention towards the north where the arrows were being shot from. They see the shooter galloping towards them with a crossbow being held by his use of magic as his horn glow yellow. Besides his crossbow, both sides of his body had two arrow holsters with enough arrows to take down the creatures. It was a white unicorn with his mane, eyes, and tail all gold, wearing a gold necklace with a white gemstone, and has a cutie mark of a golden praetorian helmet on both sides of his flank.

One of the goblins gasped as he recognizes the unicorn, “HORSEMAN!” He shouted and pointed for his comrades.

The goblins aimed their crossbows but before any of them had a chance to fire, the brave unicorn reloaded his own crossbow and fired ten more arrows at the goblins, hitting his targets with ease. The stallion jumped over the three remaining goblins and took a fighting stance. The creatures hissed and dropped their crossbows in an exchange for fists. They attacked the white, brave unicorn but are over thrown by the stallions powerful bucking skills. The stallion used his legs and struck one goblin in the neck, snapping it in two places which caused instant death. The second goblin got struck in the sternum and one more hit to the head that sent him down. The final goblin swung a left but missed and got bucked from behind that sent him down. The unicorn took his crossbow, aims at the creatures head, and fires one more shot, killing the last goblin.

The ponies in the trench, whom are still laying on the ground, did not notice the fight above them but had heard the groans and moans from the enemy as if they were dying by something or somepony. Yet, they wonder if they are safe or not.

“You can get up now, knights! They're all dead!” A voice from a pony said above them.

The knights looked up and saw their savior from up above. Their fear quickly turned to joy as they sigh in relief to see one the Horsemen.

“Ares Maverick!” Captain Eclipse happily said. “You saved us!”

“Like I always say, Captain.” Ares replied. “I never leave anypony behind.”

The white unicorn jumped into the trench to meet the remaining surviving Royal Knights. “I came here as fast I can as soon as I saw the goblins. So what is the situation here, Captain?”

The captain hiccuped. “Thirty of us remaining, twenty-five hurt, and nineteen dead. There are Spitfires above us, goblins with catapults, and more goblins approaching the village.”

“What do you suggest we do, Ares?” Snow Hill added.

“I suggest we come up with a new strategy.” The horseman replied. “Now listen up, everypony: this new plan may be risky but it's the only way to protect Withersham and win this battle. CorpseHorse Unit, you aide the injured. Pegasi, take the skies and provide air cover for the ground team. Finally, Unicorns, seven of you focus your fire on the Spitfires while the rest of you defend the village as best you can.”

“But Ares!” Captain Eclipse interrupted “What about the catapults?”

The brave unicorn gave the green Earth Pony a smirk and said, “I'll take care of them, Captain.”

“Ar...err...are you sure?”

“Of course. With my magic, I can disable them without the use of my weapons. Now come on, everypony. We got a battle to win.”

Ares jumps out of the trench and turns to the remaining knights still in it. He lifts his right hoof up in the air and shouts, “FOR KING ICARUS!”

The knights stood up and raised their hooves up as they replied. “KING ICARUS!”

Ares galloped down the battlefield, passing over several dead bodies of fallen ponies and goblins as heads towards the defense line of the five catapults in the distance. The goblin general from earlier spotted Ares approaching and warned the rest of his men about it.

“Goblins!” The general warned. “Ares Maverick is heading this way. Destroy him immediately! FIRE ALL CATAPULTS!”

The goblins handling the catapults fired their boulders at Ares. The white horseman notices the boulders coming and ceases his running. His horn glowed sky blue and used his magic on the incoming boulders. He countered the attack by sending the boulders right back to the goblins and their catapults.

The hideous creatures witness their own fire power coming right back to them and panic. They were unable to take cover as the rocks of death destroyed the catapults and while two boulders flatten some of them that were arming the artillery, leaving only three goblins alive. Luckily, the general was able to survive but cares less about the fallen.

“FOOLS!” The general yelled. “GET YOUR BUTTS UP AND FINISH OFF THAT HORSEMAN!”

The remaining three goblins pull out their swords and attacked Ares. The general on the other hand, did not join the fray and ran all the way back to Black Mist's fortress for safety. He rather not care if his men die in the fight or survive. He rather save his own life than help out.

The white stallion remained at his spot with his crossbow armed and prepares for the incoming enemy.

“Swords against crossbows?” Ares puzzled. “Pfft, too easy.”

Before the unicorn can fire, three arrows zipped by Ares from behind him and killed the last three goblins before he did. Ares raised an eyebrow to know who had done that. He turns his head and sees the shooter behind him. It was none other than a gray unicorn that had a tail, eyes, and mane in black colors, wearing a golden necklace with a gray gemstone, and has a cutie mark of a dark gray anvil on both sides of his flank. Like Ares, he is also armed with a crossbow but it is modified to fire three arrows instead of one and is carrying two arrow holsters on both sides of his body.

“No one hurts the leader and gets away with it, mate.” the gray unicorn spoke with a British accent to the dying goblins.

Ares smiles as he's impressed on what just happened. “Glad you made it, Silver Iron. I was going to take care of them on my own but looks like you've done it for me.”

Silver Iron blew some dust off his crossbow. “Of course. Them bloody creatures are no match for a blacksmith pony like myself. I could've jumped over you and bucked those gumps until their arses bled buttermilk for the hungry wolves.”

Ares laughed. “If you wanted to make a fountain for those pesky wolves, there's plenty of dead goblins here on this field for you to get started.”

“Ahh, I would save it for the next hols, mate. So what's next for us to do?”

“Well, the catapults are destroyed and the last thing we have to do is stop Black Mist. Come on, Silver Iron. Let's Ride!”

The two Horsemen galloped towards the north to the Forbidden Mountains where Black Mist's fortress is located.

The goblin general continued his retreat. He huffed, puffed, and panted as he ran towards stone fortress consisting of eight floors with four towers at each side and a guard tower at the entrance; a stone wall surrounding the fortress, a bridge, and a moat going around the whole entire place. This stone fortress next to the Forbidden Mountains is the home of the sorcerer Black Mist and where the goblin army are stationed in. The general approached the fortress and shouted at the gatekeeper at the guard tower.

“GATEKEEPER! GATEKEEPER!”

“Who goes there?!?” Came a response.

“It's General Lurker! LOWER THE BRIDGE RIGHT NOW!”

The gatekeeper inside the guard tower lowers the bridge via pushing a lever in front of him and the bridge in front of the fortress is lowered. General Lurker hurries across the bridge and notices Ares Maverick and Silver Iron approaching fast. The General panics and takes out his own crossbow. He arms it, aims directly towards Silver Iron, and fires. The arrow flew towards the gray unicorn and not a moment too soon, the arrow struck him in the left radius.

“AHHH!” Silver Iron screamed in pain. “BLIMEY, I'M HIT!!!”

Ares aides his fallen teammate. “Hang on, Silver Iron. I got you covered.”

Ares Maverick uses his magic to use his crossbow again and fires but it was too late. The general ran across the bridge to safety, avoiding the incoming arrow from the white stallion.

“Blast!” Ares said in frustration. “I missed him.”

“Forget that bloody creature and help me!” Silver Iron painfully said.

“Just hold on! I'm sure we can get some form of help here somewhere.”

“DOES SOMEONE NEED HELP?!?” Shouted a voice coming in from the East from where Ares and Silver Iron. The two unicorns looked and realized its another teammate of theirs. This third horsemen was a blue furred Earth Pony with a mane, eyes, and tail light, cyan colored and has a cutie mark of a green herb plant with a stem and five petals on both sides of his flank. He is also wearing a golden necklace of a blue gemstone that was given to him by King Icarus and carrying a medical bag on his left side of his body while the right side is occupied with a sword.

The blue Earth Pony galloped towards his fellow teammates. “Sorry I'm late, guys. I had to offer first aid to some ponies back at Withersham. Did I miss anything?”

“Not really, Colt Daring.” Ares responded. “You just made it in time to help Silver Iron with his wound.”

Colt inspects his fellow pony's injury and whistles in amazement. “Wow! That arrow got you real good, Silver.”

“Well don't stand there, mate!” Said the annoyed gray unicorn. “Remove the arrow and treat me!”

“Hang on, hang on!” the young blue Earth Pony replied. “Let me get some poultice from my bag. Ares, would you do the honor of removing the arrow for me with your magic?”

“Sure!” The white unicorn replied.

Ares' horn glows and uses his magic to remove the arrow out of Silver Iron. The blacksmith unicorn began to howl in pain as the arrow was carefully taken out from his radius. Although not bleeding profusely, Silver Iron's leg started to gush out blood and stain the grass beneath him. Colt takes out a roll of bandage and a bag of poultice with his teeth for Silver Iron. Using both of his hooves, he smears the poultice on Silver's leg and instructs Ares to wrap the bandage tight around it.

“That should do it.” Colt Daring said to Silver Iron. “Your wound should heal in no time. Can you try to get up?”

With all his might, Silver Iron slowly gets up and tries to ignore the pain in his leg as the poultice takes its effect. He feels a bit wobbly but was able to grab his crossbow and took his stand like a true soldier.

“*huff* I feel better now!” Silver Iron said all relief. “Thanks, Colt!”

“Anytime, partner.”

“Alright, you two.” Ares interrupted. “We will be more relieved once we stop Black Mist. Now gather what you got and lets move to the fortress.”

The three stallions got together and galloped towards the fortress. General Lurker, who happened to be other side, calls out the gatekeeper once more.

“GATEKEEPER! RAISE THE BRIDGE!!!”

The gatekeeper does as he is told and raises the bridge to prevent the Horsemen from coming. The three stallions noticed the bridge going up and cease their running but Colt loses his footing and tumbles near the edge of the moat. Luckily, Silver Iron was able to grab him by the tail by the use of his teeth and pulls him to safety. However, a small little pebble fell from the edge and hits the water. The three stallions witness something moving in the water...and it was very deadly. Inside the moat, to the three heroes' surprise, were a school of piranhas as they jump and bite of the water to give the Horsemen a warning if they fell in.

“Puh...puh, puh...puh,puh,puh...*gulp*...PIRANHAS!” A terrified Colt Daring yelled.

“Oye, them some hungry little fishies aren't they?!?” Silver Iron commented.

The goblin general made his way to the guard tower via a ladder and meets with the gatekeeper of Black Mist's fortress. He sees the Horsemen stranded and confused on what to do since the bridge is up and the moat has biting, piranhas jumping out of the water. He couldn't help but laugh and chuckle on what he is witnessing.

“HAHAHAHAHA!” General Lurker laughed. “STUPID FOUR HORSEMEN! YOU'LL NEVER GET ACROSS NOW! YOU'RE ALL SITTING DUCKS! HAHAHAHAHA!”

As for the gatekeeper, he noticed something was not right about what Lurker just said.

“Uh, sir!” The gatekeeper goblin said.

“HAHAHA, not now!” Lurker replied. “Can't you see that I'm busy laughing at this scene of failure? THIS IS TOO RICH! BUWAHAHAHA!”

“But...sir...I...”

“SILENCE OR I'LL THROW YOU INTO THE MOAT!”

“BUT SIR! THERE ARE ONLY THREE HORSEMEN!”

“HAHAHA...what?”

“General, you said Four Horsemen but why do I see three down there?”

General Lurker looks back at Ares Maverick, Silver Iron, and Colt Daring still standing at the other side of the moat and realized that his gatekeeper was right. The fourth Horsemen is not present!

“Wait a second!” The general said dumbfounded. “Where's the other Horsemen? HEY YOU PONIES! WHERE'S THE FOURTH ONE?!?”

Ares responded with a cocky smile, “HAVE YOU EVEN LOOKED UP ABOVE YOU, GOBLIN?!?”

The general and the gatekeeper looked at each other with confused faces and looked up into the skies. To their surprise, they see the fourth and final horsemen approaching: a Pegasus. However, he was no ordinary Pegasus but he was basically a very rare kind of pegasus that shoots fire. His fur was all black and his eyes, mane, wings, and tail were all red. He had a cutie mark of an Ace of Spades engulfed in flames on both sides of his flank and he wore a golden necklace with a red gemstone. The pegasus flew towards the guard tower, took a deep breath, and spew a trail of fire to the two goblins. The general took action by grabbing the gatekeeper as a shield and protect him from incoming flames. The poor helpless creature was burned alive and was thrown to the side by the evil general as soon as he was scorched. The fire Pegasus, however, was not even done yet. He puffed up a fireball onto his right hoof and aimed it at the general but not before flying up towards the skies and flying right back down at break neck speed for another shot. Before he shoots the fireball, he turns his attention to the camera that is following him.

“Hey, check it out readers!” the fire pegasus said by breaking the 4th wall. “I'm a dive bomber! WooHoo!”

He releases the fireball and, in a humor attempt, imitates the sound of a falling bomb by whistling. He lands right next to the rest of the horsemen while still whistling until finishing his comedic routine by saying BOOM as the fireball struck the general. The general screams in agony as he is engulfed in flames and does the unimaginative. He jumps into the moat where the piranhas were waiting to feast on flesh. He was unable to swim to safety nor survive as the pesky, hungry predators devour him as the Horsemen watched from above.

“OH! That is nasty!” Silver said disgusted as he watched the piranhas ate the general.

“Dear lord,” Colt said covering his eyes. “Please tell when it's over!”

The fire pegasus chuckled at Colt's plea. “It's over...oh wait...they're still chewing on his head! Okay, it's...oh no...there goes the spleen...and there goes the liver...and...Whoa! Those piranhas sure were starving. Good thing I gave them Roast Goblin, fresh one off the silver platter. Mmmmm, bon-appetite!”

Ares raised an eyebrow upon what he heard from his teammate. “Uh...yeah. Nice going there, Piston Ace! Besides burning a deadly creature with your crazy antics and having us front row seats of a feeding frenzy, why don't you do us a favor and lower the bridge? Go up there at that guard tower and release the lever or whatever is holding this bridge.”

“One lowered bridge,” Piston said as he flapped his red wings. “Coming right up!”

The black pegasus flew up to the guard tower and releases the mechanism to lower the bridge. After he was done, he heads back to the rest of the team.

“There you go, Horsemen! One lowered bridge by yours truly the fastest, quickest Pegasus in the whole universe: Piston Ace! I gotta tell you that when I was just a little fire pegasi I can...”Piston's show off speech was cut off as he noticed something approaching from the south. The rest of the horsemen turned to what Piston was looking at and were surprised to see nine more goblins with swords running towards them.

“Incoming goblins behind our flanks!” Colt warned.

“Then we have to stop them.” Ares said. “Silver Iron, do you have enough arrows for that crossbow of yours?”

“Way ahead of you, leader!” The gray unicorn replied as he used his magic to reload three arrows in his crossbow.

“Good! Give us some cover fire while Piston, Colt, and I head towards the fortress!”

“You got it, mate!”

“Colt and Piston, on me! Let's Go!”

The three stallions cross the bridge to the fortress as Silver Iron took aim at the running goblins. He takes aim and fires three shots while entertaining himself by counting and singing the number of goblins he kills by leaving tally marks on the dirt.

“One little two little three little goblins!” He sang as he fired three more arrows. “Four little five little six little gobl...Uh oh!”

Silver Iron paused his singing and noticed a mistake he made on the sixth shot. He erases the sixth tally mark and replaces it with an X. “Blimey, that there was a troll.”

He continues to shoot three more arrows and starts singing again. “Seven little eight little nine little goblins!”

Suddenly, General Lurker, who somehow survived the feeding frenzy from the piranhas but is left a bloody mess, climbs out of the moat and shouts a war cry at Silver Iron. The gray unicorn turns around and fires his last three arrows to the general, sending him back to the moat for the piranhas to finish him off.

“Ten Goblin buggers!” Silver Iron laughed as he galloped across the bridge to meet up with the Horsemen and joins them as they head towards the hideout.

“What's the report, Silver?” Ares asked.

“All clear from the backside, mate!” The blacksmith unicorn replied.

The sound of good news gave Ares a wide smile. “That's great to hear. Horsemen, we're approaching the main door of the fortress! Prepare yourself and don't hold back!”

“Count on it!” Colt Daring said.

“Flying right behind ya!” Replied Piston Ace.

“Right-o!” Added Silver Iron.

A/N: In the next chapter, the Horsemen confront the sorcerer Black Mist and we meet the Mane Six. I was going to end this chapter with the Horsemen confronting Black Mist and having the next chapter fast forward to present day Equestria. I'm kind of tired right now so I will write the next one when I'm not tired.

Entombed in Stone

My Little Pony: The Four Horsemen

Chapter 2: Entombed in Stone

The Fortress of Black Mist was breached. Most of the goblin army are still in the battlefield near Withersham but none of them can't reach their home base in time as the Four Horsemen made their way to the main doors. As for the Spitfire clan, they might have an advantage if they are aware about their allies' turf being invaded. For Black Mist, on the other hand, would rather not care if the Horsemen reach his fortress and takes him in.

Inside the main fortress, a goblin guard frantically scurries up to the top floor to Black Mist's room. Sweat was beating from his face and his heart was racing as he hustles to his master. As he approached the door that belongs to Black Mist, he pounds on the door as he tries to catch his breath from his running. There was no response from the inside. Without seconds thoughts, he opens the door and meets his leader who is standing in front of crystal ball. The goblin watches as the 10ft 5 inch, dark masculine and blood red eyes gargoyle with wings use his black magic to look into the ball. The ball reveals the Four Horsemen approaching the main door with no sign of goblins nor dragons from the Spitfire clan. This infuriates the evil sorcerer as he watches.

The goblin guard spoke. “LORD BLACK MIST!!!...THE FOUR HORSEMEN...THEY BREACHED THE FORTRESS...AND THERE'S NOT ENOUGH OF US TO TA.....AAAAAUUGGGHHH!”

The goblin's statement was ceased as Black Mist grabbed him with his right claw and brought the helpless goblin to his face.

“And why are you not doing anything about it?” Black Mist growled with a sinister, dry, eerie voice. “Have you forgotten on what happens if you fail to obey my orders?”

“BUT LORD! W-WE...WE'RE T-T-TRYING TO STOP THEM...BUT THEY KEEP CO...”

"SILENCE!!!! I am very disappointed in you, guard. My instructions were for you and the rest of the goblins to annihilate every pony within Withersham, including the Four Horsemen. Yet, you dare come into my chamber and gave me an excuse?!?”

“NO SIR! I...GAHHHCKKK!!!”

The goblin guard couldn't speak as he was being squeezed tightly by the gargoyle's hand.

“Guard! I have no more use of your excuses! Now you must suffer...IN THE PIT OF MY EMPTY STOMACH!!!”

The goblin guard panicked. “NNNNNOOOOOOO!!!!!”

In a flash, the evil sorcerer opened his snout and chomps on the guard's upper body. He began chewing and scarfing the whole body of his former helpless minion but was somehow disgusted on how he tasted as he swallowed.

“BLEH!!!” Black Mist spoke as he cleaned his snake like tongue with his right claw. “Filthy! He could've bathed first before he met his demise. Though, * licks his lips * the taste of his blood is refreshing. Now, to take care of those pesky Horsemen.”

The evil sorcerer walks towards a bookshelf in his chamber where it contains several different spell books. He found a green book and flipped through the pages to find the right spell that may help him to defeat his approaching foes. After a minute of looking, he found one powerful spell that explains how to entomb someone into stone.

“Ahhh!” Black Mist said with a sign of impression. “This would do just fine. Now to practice this spell and be ready once the Horsemen make it into the foyer.”

Outside of the fortress, the Four Horsemen approached the main doors without any sign of a threat or danger around them. Before they proceed to enter, Ares Maverick notices two windows ontop above the doors, one on the left and one on the right. This gives him an idea.

“Piston Ace!” The white stallion called. “Go up to one of those windows and see if the inside is clear!”

“I'm on it!” The fire pegasus replied as he flew to the left window. He took a peak inside and notice the foyer of the fortress completely dark. He took a deep breath and puffed out a small fireball to give him some light. With the fireball on his upper left hoof, he glanced once more through the window and sighed in relief that there's nothing in the foyer except a staircase to the second floor and a balcony.

Piston Ace looks down at his teammates and responds with the good news. “All clear from the inside!”

“Excellent!” Ares grinned. “Silver and Colt, help me open the doors.”

The two unicorns and the blue Earth Pony band together to open the huge doors. At the same time, they got into position and bucked their way through the doors with all their might. Piston, on the other hand, just went through the window and joined alongside with the rest of the Horsemen as they entered the foyer.

Colt ran ahead from the group when suddenly, he slipped on a mysteriously red puddle on the tile and lose his balance.

“WOAH! WOAH! WWWWOOOOOAAAAHHHH!!! UFFF!!!

The Horsemen ceased their running and checked on their young member.

“You okay there, chap?” Silver Iron asked

Colt got up from the tile, with his fur covered in red stains. “Yeah, I'm fine. What in the world did I slipped on?”

Piston, who was hovering above the group, inspects the mysterious red puddle. “Hmm, looks like you stepped on red wine before you took your fall, Colt.”

“Really? What kind of idiot drops red wine on the floor? It's not like Black Mist was hosting a party before the battle.”

Upon hearing the fire pegasus' claims, Ares checks the puddle himself and came to a startling discovery, “Uhh...that's not red wine....That's blood!!!”

The young blue Earth Pony's eyes shrank in fear. “Blood?!?.......AAAUUUGGGGGHHHH!!! GETOFFGETOFFGETOFF!!!!!”

“GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF, MATE!!!” Silver Iron yelled as he held his panic stricken friend down with his front hooves around the Earth Pony's neck.

“Uhh, guys!” Piston Ace interrupted. “You ought to check this out!”

The fire pegasus pointed upwards towards the ceiling where the blood was coming from inside the foyer. Unlike how some foyers are decorated in a more pleasant and peaceful way, Black Mist's foyer is much more sinister and gruesome. Metal hooks hang from the ceiling with some of the hooks stained in blood and a few that had the rotten corpses of Icarus' guards as a warning to anyone who enters the fortress. That explains where the puddle of blood came from that Colt slipped on. The black tile floor and gray walls were littered with dry blood stains everywhere. Besides that, the floor was littered with dismembered body parts from ponies of all types. Very disturbing to witness from the heroes. Along with the body parts were broken spears, swords, and shields of these fallen guards from Withersham. The only guess from the brave stallions was that these guards made it to the fortress but were killed instantly by either the goblins or the evil sorcerer himself. It was a terrible sight to see but there are more important things to handle than mourn the loses of these fallen ponies.

“Buggers!” Silver Iron said. “Looks like I'm having nightmares tonight.”

“Poor guards!” Ares Maverick said. “They gave it all they got and yet, they did not deserve this.”

The Four Horsemen slowly trotted inside the foyer, passing the horrifying sight, to a staircase that leads to the second floor that has a balcony and a huge wooden door. The Horsemen surveyed their surroundings hoping to see if there's any sign of goblins or threats inside the foyer. However, everything was silent and there was no sign of life anywhere.

“Geez, where is everyone?” Colt Daring asked. “This fortress is like a ghost town.”

“Guess them goblins are either at the battlefield or they're hiding in the mountains behind this fortress, lad.” Silver Iron guessed.

“I doubt it!” said Piston Ace, triggering his cocky attitude. “I bet they ran away and hid because they knew we were coming to whoop their butts!”

Ares Maverick, ignoring his teammates comments, trots to the middle of the foyer before the staircase. “BLACK MIST! IN THE NAME OF KING ICARUS, SHOW YOURSELF AND SURRENDER!”

There was no response. The brave unicorn called once again.

“BLACK MIST!” The stallion replied. “COME ON OUT AND GIVE UP, NOW!!!”

Once again, it was dead quiet.

“Just as I figured.” Piston said breaking the silence. “Black Mist ain't a sorcerer. He's just a giant chicken! BWOCK, BBBBBWOCK!!!”

“What a pathetic use of an insult, Piston Ace! I thought you'll be a lot more cunning than that.”

The Horsemen were a bit jumpy upon hearing a sinister voice that howled throughout the foyer. Then there was the feel of cold wind blowing through and the ground started to rumble. The hooks hanging above started to swing and cling to one another. Suddenly, the foyer began to fill with black smoke as the rumbling and the wind continued in the foyer. The smoke began to take form ontop of the staircase as the heroes looked on and in a poof, the sorcerer appeared in front of them with his eyes glowing red and his wings spread apart. It was Black Mist!

“Hello Horsemen!” the gargoyle spoke to the heroes. “We meet once again. How nice of you to drop into my home after I sent my goblins out there to destroy you and your village. How do you like my decorations that are hanging above?”

“Uhh...terrible?” Colt replied. “Yet...disgusting.”

“Black Mist, in the name of Withersham and King Icarus.” Ares said with a voice of justice. “Surrender now or be destroyed!”

“Or in other words,” Piston said. “Dead or alive!”

“Yeah,” Colt Daring added. “You don't want to mess with us Horsemen!”

“Or you gonna get your bloody wings crippled.” Silver Iron taunted.

The sorcerer laughed at the Horsemen's word. “Dead or alive?!? Wings crippled?!? Heheheheh, how am I so scared by your words, Horsemen? They sound so...terrifying...yet...hilarious! If I had a choice between dead and alive, I choose for me to be alive and you to be the ones that are dead!”

“That's when you're wrong Black Mist.” Ares spoke. “Because with us Four Horsemen, we got these to stop you.”

Ares held up his golden necklace with his left hoof revealing his white gemstone. The rest of the Horsemen decided to do the same thing and held up their necklaces to Black Mist, hoping to strike fear to the gargoyle. However, the evil sorcerer was not amused on what he is looking at.

“May I ask what is that you're holding?” Questioned Black Mist.

“These are the Gems of Peace!” Ares said. “These things will end your reign of terror once and for all, sorcerer.”

The sorcerer yawned in boredom on what he just heard. “And let me guess, that fool King Icarus and his imbecile wizard Star Dust made those did they?”

“That is correct!” Ares Maverick answered. “HORSEMEN, LETS USE THE POWERS OF THE GEMS!”

The Horsemen stood in formation with Silver Iron on the left, Ares Maverick in the middle, Colt Daring on the right, and Piston Ace hovering behind. Ares Maverick's began to glow as he used his magic to activate all four gemstones. As he did, the Horsemen felt the power within the stones and all four of them began to focus and channel this power inside to combine it into one powerful attack on their adversary. Streaks of electricity and orbs of light surrounded the stallions' bodies as they reached their full potential power with the use of the gems.

Black Mist, on the other end, looks on baffled as to know what is going on. He sees the horsemen engulfed in a ball of electricity and light but is still not impressed over the fact that the gems were created by his former master King Icarus. He has hunch that these so called Gems of Peace are nothing but an absolute joke and will not work against him.

Suddenly, all four gems fire a streak of light at the same time and all four of them combined together to form one, huge powerful stream at the dark gargoyle. The sorcerer stood there with a face of fear and no time to react as the powerful stream struck him right through the chest.

Black Mist let out a shriek of pain as his body began explode with rays of light shooting out of him.“NNNNOOOO....CURSE...YOU...HHHHHOOORRRRSSSEEEMMMEEENNN!!!!”

KABLOOM! The sorcerer was no more. Nothing was left of him except a scorch mark on the wall of the balcony that came from the streak of light. The Horsemen stare in awe at the aftermath. They just defeated Black Mist with their Gems of Peace and saved Withersham from sheer destruction. The fight is over...or is it?

“Whoa!” Piston Ace said surprised. “What just happened? Did we...did...we...won?”

“Looks like it, mate.” Silver Iron answered. “That evil wanker got obliterated by the power of the gems. By George, these things do work and I actually misdoubted them.”

“I've got to say that was pretty easy.” Colt Daring added. “Right, Ares?”

Ares did not respond to Colt's question. He trots to the staircase where the charred wall is and investigates the surrounding. He knows something was not right about what just happened seconds ago: Black Mist, the evil sorcerer that vows to kill all ponykind and rule the universe, did not defend himself and allowed a powerful ray from the Gems of Peace struck him? This doesn't make any sense!

“Uh Ares?” Colt asked worried. “Is everything okay? I mean, what are you doing?”

“Hmmm...” Ares pondered. “Horsemen, did you all notice something...odd...about Black Mist?”

Silver, Piston, and Colt all stared at each other with confusion on what Ares just said.

“What are you talking about, Ares?” Piston questioned. “What's so odd about Black Mist? We just blew up that ugly buffoon with one blast of these powerful gems and he deserved it. HAHAHA, heck! Like I said earlier, he was just a giant chicken! *imitating Black Mist* 'BWOCK, BWOCK, BWOCK! I'mma Black Mist and I'mma coward and a big chicken. BWOCK!'”

Not impressed with the fire pegasus' bad impersonation of the sorcerer, Ares continued, “Coward yes but again, did anypony noticed odd about him being one?”

“Umm...no.” Colt Daring responded. “I didn't see nothing wrong about him.”

Silver Iron added, “Besides, guv'nor, like Piston said: that blasted wally is brown bread! Talk about King Icarus assigning a doodle task to care of, wouldn't you say? It's like grabbing a goblin's goolies with your hooves and giving him a good buck to the face.”

“That's not the point!” Ares Maverick stomped. “Coward?!? Chicken?!? Way too easy to kill?!? Nothing wrong?!? Doesn't that sound weird?!? This isn't the Black Mist that we knew. This is actu...”

“Ares!” Silver Iron interrupted. “We've been battling Black Mist for a yonk and he must've given up on fighting. Stop being such a Joey and lets go home.”

“Hey wait a sec!” Colt Daring said. “What about them goblins out there? Not to mention those Spitfires?”

“SPITFIRES?!?” Silver Iron snorted as he withdrew his crossbow with his magic. “I HATE SPITFIRES!!!”

“Don't we all?” Piston Ace commented. “Now come on, if we leave right now, we can make it back to the battlefield and kill a few of them and the goblins and then, we can go to Withersham for some rest and relaxation. Now Ares, I don't know about you or your worries but I'm getting out of here. Black Mist is dead! Deal with it! Now let's leave right now! I'm getting bored of this!”

“Yes, enough of this rubbish!” Silver Iron added.

The fire pegasus flew towards the main doors while the blacksmith unicorn followed behind. However, the brave Ares tries to stop them from exiting the fortress.

“WAIT PISTON! DON'T OPEN THAT DOOR!” The white unicorn warned.

Piston Ace, however, ignored the warning and opens the main doors slowly, “What Ares? What could be so scary behind the door that ha...ha...HA..HA...HHHHAAAAAHHHH!!!!”

The fire pegasus screamed in horror to what was standing in front of him. The rest of the Horsemen were also terrified as well. Standing right in front of the doorway was an unexpected figure that they thought was gone but somehow survived...or rather yet...not been scathed by the Gems of Peace's powerful attack. He stood there breathing heavily and chuckling to the reactions of his foes as they stood there with fear. It was Black Mist...alive and well!

The evil dark, gargoyle took a step forward to Piston Ace.“MUHAHAHAHAHAHA! What's wrong, Piston Ace? Are you...CHICKEN?!?

“AHH..AHH...how did you survive?!?” Piston asked. “We killed you!”

The sorcerer chuckled. “Hmmhmmhmmhmmm. Killed me, yes! However, really killed me? Not so likely. For you see, the one that stood on the balcony that the four of you blew up was not me. It was a decoy I created! A clone to be more specific while the real me was watching in the shadows. Now you're wandering, 'How exactly did you, Black Mist, was able to do that?!?”

Black Mist reaches behind and his back and reveals to the stallions a blue book.

“Behold!” He continued. “My own book of spells and one of them I used was to create a clone version of myself...except...he was only defenseless and poses no possible threat to fight against you. Therefore, my shadow clone, as I call it, took the bait of getting destroyed by your Gems of Peace and I stood back observing how powerful these things that good for nothing fool King Icarus made for all of you.”

“So that explains why you were a coward...except the one we killed...was...a fake?” Colt asked.

“Do I need to repeat myself?” Black Mist threatened.

“Enough of this, Black Mist!” Ares stood his guard. “We destroyed your clone with our gems and we'll do it again!”

“Oh, I'm petrified, Ares!” Black Mist said faking his fear. “But not for long as I unveil my next new trick.”

Suddenly, Black Mist's blood red eyes shot a red laser at Piston Ace. The fire pegasus was unable to dodge it as he didn't have time to react as it struck him in the chest. Then, the flying stallion witness his body began to harden from his hooves as he felt cold cement started to grow from below and rise all the way to the top of his body. He spreads his wings to fly away but it was no use as they too became harden. The Horsemen stood in horror as they witness in front of their eyes that their fellow teammate is being turned into stone.

The young blue Earth Pony shrieked. “No!...PISTON!!!!!”

“Oye, the gargoyle turned him into a statue!” Silver Iron screamed.

The sorcerer laughed. “UHHHAHAHAHAHA! A fine piece of art I should say myself and this is only part 1 for my...collection!”

“Coll...col...collection?” Colt Daring gulped.

“Yes!” Black Mist responded. “With my brand new stone spell that I learned from my book, I will turn all of you...and the rest of the ponies of Withersham...INTO STONE! Once I'm done with that, I'll add all of you ponies into 'my collection' and rule this planet via turning it into PURE DARKNESS FOR A 1,000 years!!!”

“Not if we stop you first!” Ares Maverick roared. “Silver Iron and Colt Daring, stand together and grabbed that book. We got to turn Piston back to normal!”

“Definitely!” Colt Daring said.

“Right-o!” Silver Iron added.

Ares Maverick jumps off the balcony and joins the last three of his teammates on the ground floor. “HORSEMEN!!! ATTA...WOAH!!!”

Before the Horsemen made their movie and before Ares was finish talking, Black Mist shot his red laser again and aimed it at the unprepared Colt Daring. The young blue Earth Pony began to harden and was unable to move as he suffers the same fate as his friend Piston Ace.

“COLT!!!!” Ares screamed in horror.

“ARES...” Colt cried. “TELL MY GRANDMA...IIII LLLOOVVEEE HHHEEE...”

Colt could not say his last words as he turned into stone.

“NNNNNOOOO!!!!” Silver Iron yelled. “DAMN YOU, BLACK MIST!”

Silver Iron charged with his horn glowing and armed his crossbow. He fires all his arrows and reloads as much as he can as he lets his rage out on the gargoyle. Ares tries to stop the rampaging unicorn by yelling at him to stop but his pleas were ignored as his remaining friend and teammate attacked the sorcerer. With every crossbow fired, none of them were any match to Black Mist as he blocks the arrows with one of right wing, leaving only minor cuts on his dark skin. The gargoyle attacks with his left arm and swings at Silver Iron, sending the unicorn to a wall. With the silver unicorn, Black Mist directed his attention to Ares Maverick, who is still standing there holding his ground. The sorcerer smirks and fires his red laser again. However, Ares dodges the attack and charges towards Black Mist. The evil gargoyle fires again and again but the white stallion continuously avoids the beams. As he gallops, he notices a few weapons on the bloody floor where the dead bodies of the guards from earlier, including a few swords and spears next to them. He uses his magic and levitates all the remaining spears and swords from the floor and aimed them at Black Mist. The sorcerer raises an eyebrow as to know what this stallion is doing but yet he anticipates the unicorn to make his move.

With Black Mist distracted, Silver Iron slowly gets up from the floor and notices Ares using his magic to attack Black Mist. The best choice would've been to join his friend and help but unfortunately, he rather just sit this out and let Ares do what he has to do. Question is: will Ares' attack be enough?

“THIS IS FOR COLT, PISTON, AND FOR EVERYPONY THAT HAS LOST THEIR LIVES ON THIS DAY!!!” Ares yelled at Black Mist and fires the spears and swords.

Black Mist tries to block some of the spears and swords but gets struck by one spear that pierced his hand that held his spell book. The sorcerer felt the pain and dropped the book on the floor. When Ares saw this, he galloped towards it and used his magic to grab it. With the book in hand, he tries run to safety and goes up to the staircase where they fought the fake Black Mist. Once he was safe, the unicorn desperately flips through the pages to find the spell to reverse the process of turning into stone. Black Mist recovers from his minor injury and growls in anger.

“RRRR YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT STALLION!” He roared.

He shot his red laser at Ares, who is not aware of the beam approaching as his back was turned and still reading the spell book. Silver Iron gasped and gallops at top speed towards Ares.

“WATCH OUT, ARES!” Silver Iron warned as he jumped into the air and threw his body in front of the approaching laser, shielding Ares.

Ares Maverick turns his head away from the book and was shocked to see his friend get struck from the incoming laser. He was unable to react as the silver stallion began to turn into stone like Colt and Piston and was horrified that Silver Iron made a foolish decision to sacrifice himself in order to protect his leader.

“SILVER IRON!!!!!!” Ares said in horror. “NNNNOOOOO!!!”

The evil sorcerer laughed once again at the remaining Horsemen. “Muhahahahahaha. That only leaves you left, Ares Maverick. Are you ready...TO DIE?!?

A/N: What will Ares Maverick do? Will he survive or become a statue like his fallen friends/teammates. Stay tune.

100 years later

My Little Pony: The Four Horsemen

Chapter 3: 100 Years Later...

Ares Maverick stood there helpless and without his teammates, what can he do now to defend himself? He checks his left side and right side to find a way out of the foyer. However, all he sees is nothing but pillars, dry and wet bloodstains on the floor, corpses of dead ponies; weapons, and the rest of the Horsemen in stone. This can't be good for him...but he has a mission to do: he has to protect Withersham and the villagers. Black Mist approached him and noticed his spell book next to Ares. He uses his dark magic to teleport the book from the frozen-in-fear stallion to his hand.

“How dare you, Ares!” The sorcerer spoke. “Trying to steal my property without asking? You should be ashamed of yourself...and for that, you shall be punished!”

The gargoyle opens his spell book and flips through the pages to find a useful spell or attack. After a few seconds, he found one that is indeed worth the punishment for the white unicorn.

“Ah, here we go!” Black Mist said. “This one would blow you away, stallion!”

“Wh..wh...what?” Ares Maverick asked with concern.

“This...would be your punishment...for stealing my book, you will receive...The Cyclone of Chaos!”

“Wha...what's the Cyclone of Chaos?”

“Simply put: once I read these enchanting words from the book, a powerful deadly cyclone will be summon to a location I prefer and will leave nothing behind...except bits and pieces on what it used to be.”

Ares gasped on what he just heard. Then, the sorcerer began to read the words on how to summon the Cyclone of Chaos.

“Dark as my might, clouds of terror and pain that fills. I call upon the dark magic of my ancestors at will! Hear my words as I beg your powers onto my hand, to bring forth the Cyclone of Chaos and destroy's King Icarus' kingdom and his land!”

Suddenly, the clouds above Withersham began to fade from blood red to dark black. The surviving ponies of the village looked up to see the clouds forming into a monstrous tornado with powerful winds that no one can't escape. The ponies panicked and ran for cover to nearby homes that are still standing though only some have underground cellars. However, some of them galloped towards King Icarus' castle as the guards did their best to gather the survivors inside and lead them to a safe place in the basement of the castle. The twister touched down outside the village and began it's course towards the doomed kingdom, gathering debris and whatever was left in the battlefield outside of Withersham.

Back at the fortress, Ares looked through one of the windows and squints his eyes to see the cyclone in the distance. He can imagine the devastation that the twister will cause and that he failed to do anything to protect all the ponies and his king. Not only, that his fellow guards, friends, and family will all be dead within minutes if he doesn't do something...and fast.

“Well, Ares!” Black Mist growled. “What's your next move? Surely, you must have a plan to stop me instead of just standing there clueless...or...you can just bolt to the door and head back home to the king but if you do, the Cyclone of Chaos will take you and the king away to extinction!”

Ares snapped out of his fear, turned away from the window and took a stand, “I don't think so, Black Mist. Who said anything about me retreating? I got a task to complete and I'm going to finish it...even without my team!”

The sorcerer laughed once again. “Fool! You think you can actually defeat me?!? Don't you understand who you are dealing with?!? I can easily destroy you with both hands tied behind my back and my tail strapped around my waist.”

“Is that so?”

Ares reveals a cocky smirk and paws at the ground in front of Black Mist. He starts out slowly until he began to speed up a little. Witnessing this in front of his eyes, the sorcerer raises an eyebrow and is somewhat not amused.

“You're kidding?”

The brave unicorn continues to paw the ground and then took charge at the gargoyle. Black Mist just stood there, rolled his eyes, and yawn at the charging unicorn. However, what he didn't notice is that the horn on Ares started to glow and in a flash, the unicorn disappeared. Black Mist was dumbfounded for a second until Ares reappeared again on his shoulder blade. Black Mist was left with a surprised look until Ares gave the sorcerer a strong buck kick to the jaw, which causes the sorcerer to drop his book and he fell to the ground. Ares landed near the book and flipped through the pages in order to somehow reverse the direction of the cyclone's path of destruction.

“Now to find a way to stop that cyclone.” Ares said as he flipped through the page until he found it.

“Here I go: Ancestors of the dark, I made mistake of the cyclone's call. Send that thing straight to me, so I can take my fall!”

Just as the white stallion said those words, the Cyclone of Chaos changes its course from Withersham to Black Mist's fortress. The village is saved for now but the question is: Will Ares be able to make it out and save his teammates or be caught in the twister. Ares drops the book and gallops to Silver Iron's statue and hopefully save him with the spell of changing his teammate back to normal.

“Hang on, Silver Iron!” Ares said. “I'm about to free yo...AUGH!”

Ares was caught off guard when Black Mist recovers from his fall and shoots his laser right at the stallion's hind legs. Ares falls to the ground in pain and was startled to see that he's turning into stone.

Black Mist began to chuckle at his fallen enemy. “Surprised?!? You should be. However, I am not surprised over the fact that you were able to control my Cyclone and have it turn its course to my fortress. No matter, I can re-reverse the process myself while you lay there turning into stone!”

Ares, ignoring the pain that his legs are going through as they harden, responds back to the sorcerer, “I...WON'T...L-L-L-LET...Y...YOU...GET AWAY...WWWIITHH...TTTHHISSS!!!!”

Suddenly, Ares' horn began to glow and he shot a powerful white stream at Black Mist. Black Mist, distracted of reading his spell book, sees the incoming the beam and tries to jump out the way but it was too late. The powerful magical beam hits him in the right leg and it caused a lot of pain to the dark gargoyle. The pain was so excruciating that the sorcerer dropped his book and the white stallion, almost completely turned to stone, used his last bit of magic to grab the book and hold it in his teeth.

“I...hope...you suffer Black Mist.” Ares painfully said. “Not...only...am...am...I turn...into stone,....but you will...as well.”

“WHAT?!?” The gargoyle said all shocked as he sees his legs turning into stone. “HOW...HOW CAN THIS BE?!?”

Ares laughed a bit and talks some more while holding the spell book in his mouth. “You're not...the only one...wh...who learned...how...to use the spell...cause...I read....the book...be...fore...you took it....away...from me...So...have a...nice time...in sto...”

Ares couldn't finish his last words as his whole body was turned into stone. Black Mist tries to reach the staircase and get to his room for another spell book but his own spell was working against him and he couldn't move anymore. He witness wings spread out and harden and his arms become useless. He lets out a monstrous roar as he takes his last breath and becomes a victim of his own stone spell. The Four Horsemen and the sorcerer Black Mist are turned into stone statues! Just then, the Cyclone of Chaos approaches Black Mist's fortress and with a lot of wind power, destroys the whole thing. Bits and pieces of the fortress were ripped from it's foundations and were sucked into the funnel. The Cyclone of Chaos made its way to the foyer of the fortress with stained glass windows shattering and walls crumbling. The violent storm rips the ceiling off and sucked up the statues of the Four Horsemen and Black Mist with the debris and rubble it picked up. Finally, as the storm destroyed the fortress, it continued it's course far west into parts unknown.

100 years later...

“...And the storm ripped through the fortress while it carried the Four Horsemen statues and their nemesis Black Mist. It traveled all the way far west for about three days, causing more destruction in its path until it finally dissipated in a valley outside of an undiscovered land, which that land is now today as Ponyville, Equestria...”

The narration of these words were spoken in a book that is read by a purple unicorn with a cutie mark of small, sparkling white stars and one big violet star in the middle; and her mane being moderate sapphire blue, violet and rose. Her name is Twilight Sparkle, a magical unicorn from Canterlot and faithful student from Equestria's ruler Princess Celestia. The beautiful mare is currently living in Ponyville at the town's local library as she studies on the magic of friendship and read tons of books about almost anything. One book, however, has been read so many times by Twilight that she alone has got herself interested to know more. She sat on all four of her legs on her bed as she continues to read the book entitled Legacy of the Four Horsemen, a biography book about the four stallions from Withersham.

“'...To this very day.” Twilight continued. “Nopony has ever found the statues of the Horsemen nor the statue of Black Mist. Some say that one day, somepony will uncover the truth on fate of the Horsemen.'”

Twilight puts a hoof on her chin and ponders, “Hmmm...no one has found the statues yet? After all these years and they might be still out there? This is...just incredible.”

A/N: In the next chapter, Twilight learns that she's not the only pony that has read the story of the Horsemen. Find out in the next chapter.

Skeptic vs. Believer

Using her magic via the use of horn, Twilight flipped to the next page of her book to read more about the Four Horsemen story.

"Chapter 71," the purple unicorn continued reading. "The Four Horsemen's disappearance was not the only crisis that Withersham suffered in a long time since their economy collapse years prior. The kingdom was still und..."

"TTTWWWIIILLIIGHHTTT, I'M BACK!" A voice ranged out from downstairs of the library.

Twilight Sparkle pauses her reading and recognized who it was that called her. It was her No.1 assistant and friend Spike, a baby purple and green dragon that Twilight magically hatched from an egg during her school entrance exam back when she was a filly. Realizing that Spike is home, the purple coated unicorn gets out of her bed and stretches her body and legs to feel more relaxed. She trots down the staircase of her room and checks the clock on the wall and notice something is wrong on the time.

"Oh no." Twilight gasped. "It's evening already and I haven't prepared the stove to cook dinner."

She gallops down the stairs and enters the main reading room where she sees Spike carrying two brown bags of groceries, one bag containing fruits and vegetables while the other a bag of cookie dough and chocolate chip. The baby dragon greets Twilight Sparkle with a warm smile right before entering the kitchen to put the groceries away.

"Hey Twilight!" Spike said. "I brought the food you asked me to get from the marke..."

"No time, Spike." Twilight interrupted as she entered the kitchen to turn the stove on. "I need you to help me get dinner ready. Grab two pots from the sink, put water on it, and put them on the stove. I'll prep the food once they start boiling."

"Um...what are we having for dinner?"

"I told you earlier: vegetable soup for tonight's dinner get together. Now hurry up and get the pots!"

Spike, not knowing why Twilight was such in a hurry, did exactly what she said. Putting the groceries on the dinner table, Spike walks to the sink and opens the bottom cabinet to grab two pots for Twilight. The purple unicorn uses her magic to grab a kitchen knife and cutting board and place them on a counter next to the stove. Next, she used her magic again to grab the vegetables that Spike bought earlier from the market: some potatoes, carrots, celery sticks, onions, turnips, and tomatoes. With the veggies in place, uses the kitchen knife and start cutting the potatoes into tiny bits.

Spike, still dumbfounded, asked Twilight question, "Uh...Twilight? Are you okay?"

Still cutting the vegetables one at a time, Twilight responded, "Yes I am, Spike! Why?"

"I'm just asking. Did something happen to you when I was gone."

"No. I was just upstairs in my room reading a book and I completely forgot about my scheduled time for getting the stove ready."

"Oh! What book were you reading?"

After finishing the potatoes, Twilight used her magic to place them inside one of the boiling pots and starts cutting the rest of the vegetables. "Oh you know. It's just a book that I was reading. That's all."

Spike frowned in disappointment. "Again! What book? Don't tell it's that "legend" or "legacy" or "ludacri..."

"Legacy of the Four Horsemen!"

"Yeah! That's the title...oh wait...*facepalm* ugh, Twilight! You've been reading that book again this week?"

"What's the problem with that Spike? It's a great biography book about the legendary four stallions that defended Withersham from an evil sorcerer."

"I know but that's not the point! The point is that after Princess Celestia gave you that book two months ago, you've been so obsessed with it you refused to read anything else. I mean, you read it more than 241 times and always been babbling about how 'fantastic' the story is written. Though, I read it once but I never got past Chapter 32 where that white unicorn Air...uh...Aerial...um whatever his name is did his training for the royal guards while the other stallions went their own separate ways with their duties. The first thirty chapters is about the four of them in as colts earning their cutie marks and this evil gargoyle wanted to assassinate the king but gets thrown out of the village before he had to. What I want to know is: where is the action? The suspense? The love? When I read a story, I want to be entertained, not read about how four stallions getting randomly chosen and family drama between all four of them. To be fairly honest, the whole story is just too long and too boring for me to read and I can't stand it.."

Twilight finished cutting the rest of the vegetables and placed them all inside each boiling pot. She takes out the cookie dough and chocolate chips from the other grocery bag.

"Now, to make some cookies. Come and help me out, Spike."

The purple dragon shook his head in disgust as to know why Twilight did not reply on what he just said. He grabbed the cookie dough and stood right next to the purple unicorn who took out a cookie tray from the sinks' lower cabinet and placed it on the dinner table.

"Did you hear what I said Twilight?" Spike asked. "About the Four Horsemen story being bor..."

"I heard you, Spike." Twilight cut him off after being annoyed while grabbing the cookie dough from him and adding chocolate chip to them.

"So what do you have to say about that?"

"First of all, Spike. As much as I can respect your criticism on the book, what I can not respect is that you have to judge me for my interest in reading it. The Legacy of the Four Horsemen isn't a boring book and the reason why I said the story is fantastic is because on how deep and emotional this story is written. It's like the author of the book was with the Horsemen during their times growing up and writing down everything that they were doing like Colt Daring growing herbs and Silver Iron making armor for the guards. As for the action, that happens later in the story but like all stories, it must have a plot that will keep readers wanting to know about the characters, their backgrounds, a conflict, a resolution, and a happy ending. I just got past Chapter 70 where the Horsemen fought Black Mist and they all turned into stone and to make things worse, they got sucked by a cyclone and it took all five of them to whereabouts unknown. Finally, to correct you, Spike, the unicorn's name is not Aerial! It is Ares Maverick, a unicorn representing Leadership from King Icarus' Gems of Peace."

Spike raised an eyebrow. "The what's uh peace?"

Twilight puts the cookies in the oven and lets them bake. "The Gems of Peace. It's like the Elements of Harmony except these were created by King Icarus and his wizard Star Dust. They're gemstones that harness the power to destroy Black Mist and any other evil entity that threatens ponykind. While Ares' gem represents Leadership, Silver Iron's gem is Bravery, Colt is Confidence, and Piston Ace is Spirit. They used these stones to destroy Black Mist but they were unsuccessful and were turned into stone when Black Mist got the upper hand on them."

Twilight and Spike exit the kitchen as the food was cooking. The purple unicorn uses her magic to grab a feather duster while the purple dragon grabs a broom and dust pan. The two of them began to clean the main reading room of the library before their guests arrive in two hours.

"So where did this cyclone dropped the Horsemen off to?" Spike asked Twilight while sweeping the floor.

"I'm not sure." Twilight responded. "It said in the book that the Horsemen and Black Mist statues were never found but it's a possibility that the statues can be found in Ponyville."

"Ponyville?"

"Yes! After 100 years of searching, nopony has ever found them but according to eyewitness accounts who were alive at that time when they saw the cyclone, it traveled far west from Withersham and vanished somewhere around Ponyville."

"Oh please!" Spike said not amused. "You believe that? Come on, Twilight. This whole story is nothing more than ponytale or a joke to fool all ponies."

"It's no joke!" Twilight responded with a bit of frustration. "The author of this book claim it is a true story just like the Mare in the Moon story that happen a long time ago and you somehow believed that."

"I did because I was there when it happened."

"So why are you skeptical about the Horsemen legend?"

Spike finished his sweeping and heads back into the kitchen to check on the food. "Until I see proof, I'll believe it but until then, I'm not buying it."

Twilight groaned in anger. "Fine! Don't believe it all, Spike. Someday, you'll see the truth right in front of you!"

After another hour, the vegetable soup and cookies were finally done and both Twilight and Spike got the dinner table before their guests came by. As soon as the table was set, there was a knock at the front door.

"Go get it, Spike." Twilight politely asked. "It must be them."

Spike goes to the door and opens it. In front of him, he was greeted by five other ponies that happened to be friends with him and Twilight. Two pegasi, one cyan blue with cutie mark of a cloud and rainbow like thunderbolt with a rainbow colored tail and mane and the other pegasus that is yellow with a pink tail and mane with a cutie mark of three butterflies; two Earth Ponies, one orange with a yellow tail and mane and has a cutie mark of three apples and wearing a cowboy hat while the other Earth pony is pink with a dark pink mane and tail and has a cutie mark of three balloons; and a white unicorn with a mane and tail colored indigo and a cutie mark of three light blue diamonds. They are Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity.

"Hiya girls!" Spike greeted.

"Good evening, darling." Rarity happily said. "We're here for tonight's dinner get together."

"So serve us some grub cause dis here pony is starving." Applejack said.

"Sure thing, ladies. Come on in."

A/N: Stay tune for the next chapter.

I'm Not The Only Pony

My Little Pony: The Four Horsemen

Chapter 5: I'm Not The Only Pony

With dinner done and the arrival of her friends, Twilight Sparkle prepped the table with bowls of hot soup, cups of fresh grape juice, and a bowl of cookies for her friends as the rest of the Mane 6 gathered around the table along with Spike.

“Hi girls.” Twilight greeted to her friends. “Glad all of you made it for the get together.”

“We're just glad yah serving us some delights, sugarcube.” Applejack complimented. “All that hard work at the farm and selling them apples made this here pony hungry as a horse.”

Twilight giggled as she sat in between Applejack and Rainbow Dash as they ate their soup. “I'm pretty sure you made a lot of money today to pay off the damages that Rainbow did to your roof yesterday.”

Rainbow Dash choked on her hot soup upon hearing that. “Hey!!! I was only practicing my newest aerial maneuvers when I lost my concentration. I didn't mean to damage your barn's roof.”

“It's alright, Dash!” Applejack replied drinking her juice. “Big Mac and Ah bought the stuff to fix the hole and there's nothing to worry about.”

“Besides Applejack's great day,” Twilight said to the rest of the ponies. “What else did you girls all do today?”

“Well...uh...I just had to...take care of a few rabbits that were lost in the woods.” Fluttershy said all shy. “The poor things were starving and I brought them into my cottage for some food and a place to stay and now Angel has some new friends to play with.”

“That's such a wonderful thing you did, my dear.” Rarity said impressed. “I too had a wonderful experience today. Just this morning, I created a brand new fashion design for all the male stallions in Canterlot. I spent nearly weeks perfecting a line of tuxedos for next weeks Grand Galloping Gala. I am very anxious to witness the spectacular moment of seeing those charming gentlecolts wear my latest creations.”

“Ooh, Ooh!” Pinkie Pie interrupted while hopping for joy. “Is it my turn to tell my day?!? Well, anyway, I held a birthday party for a filly at Sugarcube Corner and I dressed up as a clown just for her. Then, I made balloons, sang songs, play Pin the Tail on the Pony, had some cake, ate chocolate, had a water ballon fight, and open presents! IT WAS THE BEST DAY EVER!!!”

“Umm...cool, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash said after eating some of her soup. “For me, my day was just...uhh...nap and...practicing. Oh yeah, I also cleared the clouds around Ponyville so nothing special happen today.”

“That's great that all of you had a good day today.” Twilight Sparkle commented after drinking her juice.

“What about you, Twilight?” Pinkie Pie said. “What did you do today?”

Twilight was about to answer but Spike, being silent and sitting between Rarity and Fluttershy, cuts her off. “Twilight did nothing but read that dumb book again!”

“Spike!” said an unhappy Twilight. “What did I tell you earlier? That book is not dumb!”

The rest of the ponies were confused.

“What book?” Rainbow Dash asked Twilight.

Twilight sighed. “Like I was saying, I spent the whole day reading the book that Princess Celestia gave me: The Legacy of the Four Horsemen and Spike here is such a harsh critic.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Rainbow Dash said surprised. “Did you say Legacy of the Four Horsemen?!?”

“Umm...yes!”

Rainbow Dash exploded with joy. “OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH! I READ THAT BOOK BEFORE! IT'S ONE OF THE BEST STORIES EVER!!!”

“You...you...have?” Twilight questioned Rainbow.

“HAY YEAH! I read it ten times and I love the part where Piston Ace's father, Inferno Spade, taught his son how to do the most awesome aerial move ever!”

“What's that, hon?” Applejack asked.

“The Blazing Trail! It's the same exact move that I've been practicing for weeks...and...the same move where I wrecked Applejack's barn but IT'S SSSSOOOO COOL!!! Imagine if I ever show it to the Wonderbolts, I can finally join them.”

Spike huffed. “Oh, but if Piston Ace ever existed, I'll bet he'll be impressed.”

“I have to admit that I'm not the only pony that has read that story before.” Rarity confessed. “I too read The Legacy of the Four Horsemen.”

After hearing Rarity's confession, most of the ponies were interested in hearing what Rarity thought about it except for Spike who face palmed himself out of eyesight from his secret crush.

“I read that book eight times already,” Rarity continued. “My favorite moment is when Silver Iron used his magical talent to manufacture the most powerful use of armor for King Icarus' guards for future warfare. I just love how the story describe Silver Iron's taste in fashion...and...and...the way how the story describes his lifestyle around fashion is rather flattering. Not to mention, he treats every mare around Withersham like true ladies like me. *romantic sigh* Oh if he was ever around, he would treat me like his queen.”

The ponies around the table giggled a bit though Spike rolled his eyes in disbelief.

“That's great to hear, Rarity.” Twilight Sparkle said. “Who else read it?”

Pinkie Pie jumped up and down excited. “I HAVE! I HAVE! I read the book a hundred and one times. My favorite horseman is the young and handsome Colt Daring! Right before he was a CorpseHorse, he was an entertainer for the king and villagers of Withersham and...”

“Oh really, Pinkie Pie?” Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Ah was going to say that Colt Daring was mah favorite pony. Not just that he entertained ponies but he was also a farmer. He spent his whole colt days growing some finest herbs on his grandma's plantation and used them for the illness.”

“Well duh! I knew that, Applejack. I was going to say that before you interrupted me. Hehehe!”

“What about you, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked the shy yellow pony.

“Oh...I...uh...”Fluttershy stuttered. “I read it five times. Um...my favorite horsemen is...Piston Ace. My favorite part of the story is that Piston was an outcast. When he went to school, all those mean pegasi bullied him for being different...and...they...never liked him. He never had any friends and was too timid to be around with anypony until he met Colt Daring and they became the bestest friends ever. When Piston Ace audition for the Royal Air Defense, he shook away his fear and became very assertive and defiant to earn his spot. It was a great moment in the story.”

“I'm happy for all of you having taste in this book.” Twilight happily said. “Let me tell you who my favorite is: Ares Maverick. He's my favorite horsemen because like he, he's very loyal and faithful to King Icarus and to all the ponies in Withersham. My favorite moment is when Ares led the last, surviving three stallions, those being Silver Iron, Colt Daring, and Piston Ace; into the final battle against the goblins when they plan to raid Withersham. He was very brave and cunning to do anything he can to save his village and the ponies from those evil creatures. Isn't he amazing?”

“From what you just told us, you bet!” Rainbow Dash supported. “That's the same exact chapeter where they formed the Four Horsemen...er...right before they called themselves that.”

Spike gets up from the table, not wanting to hear anymore of this nonsense. “I'm going to grab your dishes and wash them, girls.”

“Alright, Spike.” Twilight said to her assistant. “When you're done, make sure the library is cleaned and locked up. It's almost past your bedtime so make sure you take a shower before you got to bed.”

“Okay, Twilight.” Spike groaned a little. “What about you? What are you going to do?”

“I'll be done here with the girls talking about the story. I know you won't be interested in hearing due to your criticism.”

“Yeah, whatever!”

Spike carries the bowls and cups and heads towards the kitchen to wash them, leaving Twilight Sparkle and her friends discussing more parts of The Legacy of the Four Horsemen. An hour later, Twilight's friends went home for the night as they got a busy day tomorrow and would not like to fall behind. After taking a bath, Twilight headed towards her room and lays down on her bed with the book in her hooves. She continues to read where she left off earlier.

“Tonight was great, Spike.” Twilight joyfully said. “We should do more get togethers like this everynight.”

“For you but for me, no way.” Spike replied while laying in his bed.

“Spike! What is the matter with you?” Said an annoyed Twilight.

“What's the matter with me is that you and the girls spent hours talking about that garbage you call a story.”

“Enough, Spike! We will discuss about your behavior tomorrow but in the next time, just keep your mouth shut when the girls and I talk about the Horsemen.”

“If you are so fondle about that story and I declare it as a fluke, why don't you prove to me that this story is real. Even though I doubt you'll find anything. Goodnight!”

After his little argument with Twilight, Spike closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. Twilight, however, didn't feel like sleeping but rather continue reading. As she was, the words that Spike told her minutes ago rang through her head. Is the Four Horsemen story fictional or is it real? She has read the book countless times and stated it was real while the rest of the Mane 6 had their own beliefs on whether the story was true or not. Everything in the book that recounts the events of the Horsemen seemed “too real” though some ponies in Equestria were skeptical like Spike. If the story is real, why didn't anyone find the statues? Why nopony ever mentions Withersham or even know if it exist? More so, why isn't Withersham found on the Equestria map? Whomever the author of this story knows something but surprisingly, the author's name is not found anywhere in the book. The only pony that knows about the author is Princess Celestia. However, when asked about the author of the book, Princess Celestia was asked to keep it anonymous because the author does not want to be found nor be disturbed which makes things more complicated on doing any kind of research.

Turning away from the book, the purple unicorn peered out her window at the mountain range that leads to Diamond Valley, the same place where Rarity was rescued from the Diamond Dogs. She looks back at the book and flipped through a few pages to the previous chapter about the Cyclone of Chaos and the Four Horsemen statues.

Twilight read the page softly so she wouldn't wake Spike from his sleep. “...And the storm ripped through the fortress while it carried the Four Horsemen statues and their nemesis Black Mist. It traveled all the way far west for about three days, causing more destruction in its path until it finally dissipated in a valley outside of an undiscovered land, which that land is now today as Ponyville, Equestria.”

The intellectual unicorn looks out the window again and back at the back and the window once more. She slowly began to form a grin on her face as an idea popped into her head. She turns around to look at Spike who is still sleeping in his bed.

“You want proof?” She said to a sleeping dragon. “...I'll show you proof.”

To Diamond Valley We Go

My Little Pony: The Four Horsemen

Chapter 6: To Diamond Valley We Go

An hour passed through the night of Ponyville as the ponies around the village were fast asleep. Inside the library, Spike laid in his small bed snuggling with his pillow and feeling very comfortable between the sheets as he lets out loud snores. During his snore, he begins to mumble and whisper in his sleep about a dream he's having.

“Mmm...Rarity, you look so stunning tonight.” The baby dragon spoke in his sleep. “Let me fetch you some tea.”

In Spike's dream, he imagines that he's at Rarity's Carousel Boutique having a moon light dinner together in her kitchen. The table was decorated with flowers in the middle, two lit candles on each side of the flowers, some silverware like forks and spoons; two glass wine glass cups; and two dinner plates filled with food. Rarity's plate consisted of fresh dandelions with a small stack of hay fries while Spike had a plate of colored gems. The whole kitchen was a bit dark but the only source of light emanated from the candles as Spike, who prepared this event, wanted to be a lot more romantic. He has to thank all the books on how to impress a lady, like Rarity, in order to earn her love.

Spike goes to the fridge of Rarity's kitchen and takes out a glass pitcher that has tea in it. He walks casually to the table to where Rarity is waiting with her cup ready to be filled. With a warm smile, the baby dragon takes the lovely mare's cup and poured in the tea as Rarity watch with glee.

“Oh Spike!” Rarity said romantically. “You are such a smashing, generous dragon.”

“I know, my lady.” Spike responded as he finished pouring tea in Rarity's cup before handling it back to her. “No dragon will ever replace me as the one you love for eternity.”

Rarity uses her magic via horn and took a sip of the tea while Spike watches with eyes half closed. She licked her lips to taste the sweet flavor of her drink and sets her cup aside while using her left fore hoof to grab a napkin and wipe her lips.

“This tea is rather darling, Spike.” the white unicorn complimented. “I never knew you had such a talent for making something this delightful.”

“Umm...Rarity?” Spike said moving closer to her.

“Yes, Spike?”

“There is something I needed to...tell...you.”

“What is it, darling?”

Spike gulped as sweat started to drip from his head. “Uhh...Rarity...I...I...I...”

“Spike! SPIKE! SPIKE!!!!”

A voice ranged out of nowhere in Spike's dream that caused the baby dragon to woke up suddenly. He sits up from his bed all awake from hearing that familiar voice, which turns out to be Twilight Sparkle standing right next to him. Spike turns to her with an upset face but he also noticed that Twilight Sparkle has her saddle bag filled with two small shovels.

“Argh, Twilight!” Spike angrily said. “What's the big idea of waking me up...and...why do you have those shovels?”

“Sorry to disturb you, Spike.” Twilight apologized. “I only woke you up because we have to get going to Diamond Valley. Grab your wagon and lets get going.”

Twilight gallops out of the bedroom and goes downstairs of the library. Hearing the words “Diamond Valley” made Spike's stomach excited. Diamond Valley is the home of various types of gems and diamonds of all shapes, form, and sizes. It was also the same place where Spike and Rarity went to collect some gems for pop-sensation Sapphire Stones for her dress but Rarity ends up getting captured by the dangerous Diamond Dogs. Spike and the rest of the Mane 6 journey to the depths of Diamond Valley to save Rarity but the glamorous unicorn turned the tables on the Diamond Dogs with her constant whining, complaining, and frustration of the whole underground lair of the dogs, in which they surrendered and let Rarity have all the gems in their lair. It was an adventure that the Mane 6 and Spike would never forget.

The baby dragon goes to the bedroom closet and finds his red wagon. He pulls it out and heads downstairs to meet up with Twilight who just walked out of the kitchen with another saddle bag filled with food, which is kind of odd to Spike as to wonder why the magical unicorn has brought a lot food on there trip.

“Uh, say Twilight.” Spike said. “Why are you bringing food to Diamond Valley?”

Twilight Sparkle desperately opens the door ignoring Spike's question. “Come on, we don't have time to talk but I'll explain later. Lets keep moving!”

She gallops out the door with a confused Spike running behind with his wagon. They ran into Ponyville where most of the ponies had just gotten up at the break of dawn to open up shops and take their children to Ms. Cheerlie's school. Some of the ponies who were on their way to open up the stores saw Twilight and Spike running and try waving at them by saying “Good Morning” to them but the two mostly didn't stop and responded. Most of them just shrugged it off and continued to do what they were going to do.

The two of them were approaching the sweet, delicious bakery of candy, cakes, and treats called Sugarcube Corner, home of the Cake family and their employee Pinkie Pie. The front door of the shop opens with the happy and joyful pink Earth pony hopping outside the bakery while humming a song. Twilight, still galloping at full speed, sees Pinkie Pie and gasps. She brakes before colliding with the Earth pony but thanks to Pinkie Pie's use of her Pinkie senses, Twilight never struck her. She witness Pinkie jump over her before impact and the magical unicorn lost her footing and fell on the ground. The happy pink pony landed on the ground safely as a tired, huffing Spike caught up.

“Whoa Twilight!” Pinkie said. “What's the rush?!? *loud gasp* IS THERE A NEW PONY IN TOWN?!?”

Twilight gets up and dusts herself off with her forehooves and responds to Pinkie's question.

“Sorry Pinkie!” Twilight said. “I'm in the middle of an important mission and I can't stop right now.”

“OOO!” Pinkie happily said. “A mission?!? What mission?!? Are you doing secret spy stuff?!? Can I come along?!?”

“No Pinkie! It's not spy stuff. Spike and I are going to Diamond Valley for a top secret assignment an...”

“Diamond Valley? * gasp * Isn't that where those mean and nasty Diamond Dogs live?”

“Yes!”

“Why are you going there?”

Before Twilight could explain, Spike cuts her off. “I know why: we're going to collect some gems for me cause I'm starving.”

Twilight let out an unimpressive laugh at Spike's statement. “No Spike, we're not going to dig up gems for you. It's something that is important than gems.”

“Huh?” Spike asked. “Then what is important than gems?”

“No time for that. Grab your wagon and come on. Pinkie, I'll come by to meet you and the rest of the girls later once I'm done with my errand.”

“Okey dokey loki.” Pinkie happily said as she hops into town while leaving Twilight and Spike behind.

Within an hour, Twilight and Spike exited out of Ponyville and are near the area of Diamond Valley. However, due to safety precautions after the incident involving the Diamond Dogs kidnapping Rarity, Diamond Valley is completely fenced off for anypony trying to enter. Under Princess Celestia's orders, nopony is allowed access unless they get permission from her and to have Diamond Valley under surveillance by one of her royal guards.

Lucky for Twilight Sparkle and Spike, they don't need permission since they are associated with Princess Celestia and any of the royal guards will allow the two access anywhere. The two approached a guard house in front of the main gate that leads to Diamond Valley. Twilight Sparkle walks up to the door and knocks on it. The door opens to reveal a gray unicorn in golden armor, a white mane and tail; and a cutie mark of a mountain region in silhouette.

“Ms. Twilight Sparkle?!?” The guard said. “What are you doing here?”

“Hello Rocky Canyon.” Twilight greeted. “Spike and I need you to open the gates to Diamond Valley for us. We have a special errand to take care of inside the valley.”

“An errand?”

“Yes! Nothing personal nor anything remotely dangerous involving those dogs. Just something really safe and understanding.”

Rocky Canyon thought for a second to Twilight's explanation. “Well, okay then. Just as long you don't take too long in there. I'll open the gates for you.”

The grey unicorn used his magic via his horn and unlocks the gate, letting the purple unicorn and the baby dragon inside.

Discovery

My Little Pony: The Four Horsemen

Chapter 7: Discovery

Twilight Sparkle uses her magic to open her saddle bag and takes out a map that shows the region of Diamond Valley. The map read that the area is 200Kx800K square feet of rocks, gravel, and dirt. Some areas are marked off on the map as hazardous zones that include sink holes that will lead to the lair Diamond Dogs or to pits that seem impossible to escape unless somepony had been exploring the place quite often. Not only sinkholes are a problem but there's also the possibility of rock slides and mudslides around the valley that nopony will ever survive if they weren't careful.

The purple unicorn puts her map away and instructs Spike to follow her further into the valley.

“Come on, my #1 assistant.” Twilight Sparkle said. “We should get to the middle of Diamond Valley in another forty minutes.”

Spike, still carrying the wagon and feeling the exhausting heat from the sun, panted and continued to walk.

“Twi...Tw...Twilight!” Panted the tired baby dragon. “You mind...mind telling....me where we going and why we're here?”

“I'm afraid I can't tell you that once we get to our destination. Let's just keep going forward.”

The baby dragon let out a tired sighed and continues to pull the wagon as he kept following the purple magical unicorn.

Meanwhile, back at the guard house in front of Diamond Valley, Rocky Canyon was inside his post reading the latest edition of the Ponyville Confidential along with a cup of coffee at his table. He stood there trying to read anything interesting that has happened around Equestria as he let time fly. As he flipped a page with his right hoof to read the next current events, he heard a knock at the door.

“Hmm...I wonder who that could be.” The guard thought. “Must be Twilight and Spike coming to tell me that they're done.”

The grey unicorn guard steps away from his table and trotted to the door. His horn began to glow as hue used his magic to turn the handle and opened it to find an unexpected visitor – Twilight Sparkle...injured! Rocky Canyon gasped to see Twilight covered in bruises from head to hooves, her mane badly ripped like it savagely pulled, tail cut off, and panting very heavily like something bad just happened and is in desperate plea for help.

“TWILIGHT!” The guard said in a state of shock. “WHAT HAPPENED?!?”

Twilight Sparkle, still breathing in air and out as she tries to catch her back, spoke. “Rocky...yo...you got...got to...help me! It's Spike...an...and he's...in danger! Please...help...me!”

“O...okay, Twilight.” Rocky said in shock. “Show me where Spike is and I'll help you out!”

“Fo...follow me. I...I'll show you.”

Twilight Sparkle began to limp her way back into Diamond Valley with Rocky Canyon following behind her, leaving the front gate unsecured.

Back in the middle area of Diamond Valley, Spike stops pulling his wagon and sits down on the gravel caressing his aching left foot from all the walking while letting out small painful groans. As he was aiding his foot, the purple unicorn takes out her map again to check on their location.

“Hey Twilight!” Spike said. “We've been walking for forty minutes and you STILL have not tell me why we're here! Care to spill the beans now?”

The baby dragon's question was ignored as Twilight Sparkle took out her map of the valley once again from her saddle bag and inspects it to see if the two of them made it. She puts a hoof to her chin and ponders for a minute until Spike calls her again.

“TWILIGHT!” Spike hollered. “I SAID WHY ARE WE HERE?!?”

The purple unicorn didn't answer. She was too busy in her world of thought while ignoring her assistant's question. The baby dragon had enough of Twilight ignoring him and decides to get her attention. Realizing the gravel that he and Twilight had been walking on have tiny rocks, he picks one up with his left hand and aims at Twilight's head. With one quick swoop, the pebble struck the unicorn's head which did granted the attention that Spike wanted and an angry look on her face.

“AH, SPIKE?!?” Twilight Sparkle angrily said as she rubbed her head with a right forehoof. “WHY DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!?”

“Because you've been standing there looking at that dumb map and for the past hour or so I'm pulling my red wagon having no clue on what the heck we're doing here and you're ignoring the fact I keep asking you WHY we're here in the first place! You told me earlier we're not here digging for gems nor diamonds! I know we are not here for some royal assignment from Princess Celestia because she never lets in here for safety reasons and since this is Diamond Dog territory, WE COULD'VE BEEN KILLED WITHIN MINUTES! SO TELL ME NOW: WHY ARE WE HERE?!?”

The magical unicorn stops rubbing her head after the pain went away. “Well, Spike, if you wanted to know why we're here you then you would've just asked politely than hitting me in the head.”

“Oh...don't start with me, Twilight. I DID asked nicely earlier!”

“Okay but...I was just distracted on getting here to the middle of Diamond Valley before nightfall. Anyway, the reason why we're here is because...I want to check something out.”

“And what is that something?”

Twilight darted her eyes away from her assistant to the gray gravel beneath her. She gulped but only softly as to let Spike not hear her. She is worried that if she tells Spike the truth, then her #1 assistant will lose his temper and maybe abandon her in this dangerous valley. The unicorn can't even come up with a good lie nor an excuse to cover up the real fact on why she brought him here with a saddle bag filled with food and digging tools.

“WELL?!?” Spike yelled at the top of his lungs at Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight sighed. “First of all, Spike: I did not appreciate the fact you just hit my head with that pebble you threw. Second, you need to cut your attitude and calm down already. Finally, the reason why we're here is because...uuhhh...ummmm...oh boy.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “Oh boy what?”

“Eerr...Spike...don't you think it will be better if I...not tell you.”

“Why not?”

Twilight began to hesitate and sweat. She decided that she has no choice to but to come up with an excuse.“Because...uh....it...iiittt is PASSED LUNCH TIME! Yeah, let's eat some food and we can talk about it later.”

In a quick flash, Twilight opens her saddle bag up and took the food she packed earlier and surprisingly has a picnic blanket tucked inside of it. She hopes that this will change Spike's mind about finding out the truth and later she'll expose everything. However, even with the amount of delicious food she packed and even trying to change the subject, the baby dragon was still not convinced on what Twilight is hiding.

“Well Spike?” Twilight said holding a big smile on her face. “Aren't you going to eat?”

Spike groaned in anger. “THAT DOES IT! SHOW ME THE MAP, TWILIGHT SPARKLE!”

“Map? What map? I have no map!”

“Give me the map! RIGHT NOW!”

Spike began to march forward with his hands clutched and his teeth gritting but Twilight Sparkle began to back away from the angry dragon all frightened. She has never seen Spike act this way but she can tell that her assistant was not in the mood for games. The purple unicorn continues to back up and turns around in attempt to run but the baby dragon leaps into air and tackles her to the ground. They began rolling around the dirt and gravel as the two began fighting over the saddle bag. They struggle and struggle as Spike had a tight grasp on the bag while Twilight held on with her teeth as the both them pulled on the bag.

“LET...GO...SPIKE!” Twilight Sparkle commanded through her teeth.

“NNNNN...NEVER!” Spike yelled as pulled harder.

The two pulled and pulled until...RRRRIIIIPPP! The saddle bag tore into two pieces and out popped three items that Twilight Sparkle hid from Spike along with the two small shovels she packed earlier: the map of Equestria, a map of 100 years before Equestria,...and The Legacy of the Four Horsemen book. Twilight Sparkle was now feeling more worried than before as she witnessed Spike pick up the book and the maps with a face of pure hatred.

“Twilight...”Spike growled while holding the book in his hand. “What...is...this?”

Twilight gulped in fear. “Uhh...that is my...Four Horsemen book.”

“And...why are there doodles all over these two maps with your notes and comments about 'Maybe statues are here' or...'LOCATED NEAR RIDGE?!?”

“Err...”

“AND WHY...DID YOU BRING THESE SHOVELS?!?”

Twilight couldn't handle it anymore and just let it out. “OKAY! OKAY, SPIKE! YOU GOT ME! I'll explain, I'll explain. Last night, right after we had that get together, you and I had been arguing over the fact about the Horsemen's existence You kept saying the story was fiction but I continued to disagree with your opinion and claim that the story is real. So last night, when you went to bed, I read the book again, took both maps of Equestria from the past and Equestria of today; and wrote down notes on how can I prove to you and everypony that the Four Horsemen do in fact exist! The only way to prove my case was to come here to Diamond Valley and search for the missing stone statues that could be buried here somewhere!”

After the truth was let out, the purple dragon couldn't help but facepalm and shook his head in disgust. First, he was sleeping peacefully about Rarity this morning before sun rise. Next, Twilight Sparkle comes in with a saddle bag filled with food, shovels, and maps. Then, the two of them spent hours in a deserted, area filled with gravel and diamonds buried underneath. Finally, the word is now out that this whole trip was nothing more than Twilight's beliefs in a fictional story that the two had been arguing for a long period of time that nopony has ever prove that the story is real. This was all a waste of time!

“That's it, Twilight!” Spike angrily said clutching the book. “I'm smashing this thing into a million pieces!”

Spike slams the book on the ground and grabs one of the shovels that were laying a few feet away from him. Twilight Sparkle lets out a shocking gasp and panics on what Spike is going to do.

“SPIKE, NO!” Twilight pleaded. “THAT BOOK MEANS A LOT TO ME! PRINCESS CELESTIA GAVE ME THAT!”

Spike didn't respond and more so likely didn't care. He raises the shovel high above his head with a grimacing face and his teeth sharpened. He was ready to destroy the book!

“SAY GOODBYE!” Spike screamed his lungs out.

“NNNNOOOO!!!” Twilight panicked

Realizing that she had no other choice, Twilight quickly uses her magic via her horn and tries to prevent Spike from destroying. She casts a magical, glowing aurora right underneath Spike's feet that caught the purple dragon off guard. Suddenly, a rumbling is felt and lines began to form right underneath the two travelers. The sound of cracking can be heard underground as the two brace themselves for inevitable. Then it happened! The ground collapse from underneath, sending both the baby dragon, magical unicorn, the shovel, and the book to the lower depths of the valley. The two screamed in horror as they fell and fell to a possible death awaiting them down below.

Surprisingly, their deaths were sparred as the two landed on pile of dirt and debris created by the falling debris. A bit dazed, the two got up and noticed that their decent has sent them to an underground cavern that was 30ft below the surface of Diamond Valley. Though the two only received a few bruises and cuts, Twilight Sparkle and Spike were not seriously hurt and can somehow still walk on their own. The only source of light they have is the sunlight shone down above them through the hole from which they came. The two eventually got up from the ground and dust themselves off from the fall.

“Spike!” Twilight said all worried. “Are you okay?!?”

Spike, with his back turned away from Twilight, was a little shaken from the fall. “Ye...yeah! I'm fine.”

“I'm so sorry! I...I...I...I...didn't mean to do that! I was, I was trying to prevent you from destroying my book and...and...I had no choice! I didn't mean to hurt you!...Spike?...Spike?!?”

The baby dragon did not respond nor listened to Twilight. He stood there frozen in his tracks without moving a muscle. Now Twilight was even more worried.

“SPIKE!” Twilight feared. “WHAT'S WRONG?!? WHY ARE YO...”

“SHHH!” Spike said to Twilight by putting a finger to his mouth. “Don't yell so loud, Twilight. I heard what you said. However...TAKE A LOOK AT THIS!!!”

The baby dragon pointed straight ahead to something peering out of the darkness and into the light. Twilight slowly walked to Spike's left side to get a better view of what he's looking at. She squinted her eyes to see something gray and...unicorn-horn like peeking out of the light but is unable to figure out what it is. Trying to find out, she concentrated all of her magic and created a beam of light from the tip of her horn like a flashlight and used it to see the mysterious object. She began by slowly casting the light from the right to get a better view of what it is. The unicorn and the dragon held their breath as the light unveiled their surprised discovery. When it came to view, they felt their eyes pop out of their sockets and their jaws drop to the floor as they see...a forehead...with a horn of a unicorn! Then, the rest of the light reveals more details: ears, eyes, a muzzle, a nostril, chin, a throat,...and a book in it's mouth. To their surprise, it was a statue...of a stallion...with a cutie mark of a Praetorian helmet. Twilight Sparkle's expression changed from totally surprised to happily excited. Spike's expression, on the other hand, did not change.

“Twi...Twilight!” Spike said. “Is...that...?”

“IT'S ARES MAVERICK!” Twilight Sparkle happily squealed. “I TOLD YOU, SPIKE! I TOLD YOU! HE DOES EXIST! HE DOES EXIST! HE DOES EXIST!”

The purple unicorn began jumping around for joy while cheering upon her discovery while her assistant just scratched his head. At first, Spike thought the Four Horsemen story was fictional but after a long period of arguing and debating, looks like he was wrong all this time. However, the question is: how is he and Twilight Sparkle going to get out of this cavern...and take the statue with them?

“HHEEELLLOOO!!!” A voice from above echoed throughout the cavern.

Twilight ceases her celebration as she and Spike glanced up towards the hole above. To their relief, it was Celestia's guard Rocky Canyon standing over the hole.

“ARE YOU TWO OKAY DOWN THERE?!?” Rocky shouted.

“YES, WE'RE OKAY, ROCKY!” Twilight responded.

“DO YA'LL NEED HELP?!?”

“NO, NO, NO! WE GOT IT FROM HERE, ROCKY! WE'LL BE RIGHT UP!”

Spike looks at Twilight all confused. “We are? How?”

Twilight smiled and responds to Spike's question. “I'll teleport the three of us out of the is cavern and head back to surface.”

“Three?”

“Yes, three. You, me, and Ares Maverick's statue. Grab the shovel and my book and stand right next to me at the statue.”

Spike nods and went to grab the shovel and The Legacy of the Four Horsemen book near the dirt mound. Though covered in a dust from the dirt and sand, the book is still in good condition and nothing was damaged. He takes the two items and goes to Twilight Sparkle next to Ares' statue. Once he approached and stood next to her, the purple magical unicorn uses her magic and all three magically teleported out of the cavern to the surface of Diamond Valley where Rocky Canyon is waiting. The guard sighed in relief of seeing both travelers not injured but noticed the strange looking statue that the two had found.

“Um...Ms. Twilight Sparkle!” Rocky said pointing his hoof at the statue. “What or who is that?”

“Oh this?” Twilight said looking at the statue. “This is our discovery: Ares Maverick, the leader of the Four Horsemen from Withersham.”

“F...Four Horsemen? You mean...THE Four Horsemen? THE Ares Maverick?”

“Yes! Now I can prove everypony that the legend is real and that would lead me to find the rest of the Horsemen buried somewhere around here.”

“Wait! Wait! The other Horsemen are buried here in this valley?”

“I suspect they are, Rocky. After reading the book countless time and doing a lot of research, I came to a possible theory that the Horsemen could be buried somewhere around this valley. Even though nopony has not found any of the other statues yet, I became the first to prove that all my hard work has been paid off when I found Ares Maverick. Now, if I can only spent the rest of the day searching for the others.”

“I...er...I am afraid that's not going to happen, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Huh? Why not?”

Rocky cleared his throat. “You should head home...cause uh...I just received report from another guard that the Diamond Dogs are somewhere in this area. Right after I heard the sudden collapse, it somehow alerted the Diamond Dogs underground and you know how vicious they are when it comes to ponies invading their territory.”

“Oh, dear Celestia. You're right. Are you sure you can handle it?”

“Believe me, Twilight. I've been patrolling this place for years and I can handle these dogs on my own. So why don't you just grab your belongings...and that statue...out of here.”

“Okay, Rocky. Be careful, alright.”

Rocky agrees by nodding as Twilight Sparkle gathers the now spoiled food, her broken saddlebag, book, shovels, and places them next to Ares Maverick's statue. Spike jumps onto Twilight's back as the magical unicorn uses her teleportation magic once more and all three occupants vanished out of the valley, leaving Rocky Canyon behind. When the area was clear, Rocky stood near the hole where Twilight Sparkle and Spike came from. Suddenly, there was another presence behind Rocky Canyon as it approached from behind and stood right next to him. It was...Twilight Sparkle...or...is it?

“Did you get rid of the body?” Rocky Canyon asked Twilight Sparkle, covered from unknown injuries.

“Buried and forgotten.” Twilight Sparkle answered with an evil smirk. “So, that unicorn and the dragon found one of the statues, right?”

Rocky looks at Twilight Sparkle with eyes glowing blue. “Yes, they did!”

In an instant, Rocky and Twilight Sparkle showed their true form as their bodies surround themselves in green, fiery aurora. When the aurora cleared, what stood near the hole were not Twilight Sparkle and Rocky Canyon. Instead, they were pony-like, dark skinned creatures with blue wings, horns, and sharp teeth. They were Changelings!

The Changeling that was onced Rocky Canyon spoke to his partner. “Let's informed our queen before that pony gets back.”

Book Report

My Little Pony: The Four Horsemen

Chapter 8: Book Report

The loud sound of a school bell rang throughout Ponyville as to notify parents that their children had finished school for a day at the local Ponyville Schoolhouse. Inside the single classroom, nine different fillies and three different colts were gathering their saddlebags as they prepare to leave the classroom. However, before either of them get a chance to leave, their teacher Miss Cheerilee, an Earth Pony with a moderate cerise fur coat, grayish harlequin eyes, and a mane and tail decked in pale light grayish rose and ceriseish gray; and cutie mark with three yellow flowers with smiling faces; had an important announcement to make in front of the chalkboard.

“Alright my little ponies.” Cheerilee spoke. “Before anypony leaves for today, just a reminder that your book reports are due within three weeks. Now I need all of you to turn in your topics and the names of everypony in your group on my desk.”

The young students got up from the desks while finding their partners and having one of them carry a piece of paper with the name of the topic for their book report. Three colts, a unicorn named Snips, n Earth pony named Snails, and a little Pegasus named Feather Weight, turned in their topic about Pirates of Equestria's Past. Meanwhile, two fillies turned in a topic about Aquatic life. Next, two Earth Ponies, a pink one with a silver crown named Diamond Tiara and the other with blue framed glasses, a blue pearl necklace with a fur coat of gray named Silver Spoon; gave their topic to their teacher about Equestria's financial economy. Finally, three fillies; a gamboge Pegasus, a light gray unicorn, and a pale olive Earth Pony with a pink bow, were the last one to turn in their topic for their book report.

“Thank you, everypony.” Cheerilee said with glee to her students. “Remember to read Chapter 4 in your Literature books tonight and be ready for a pop quiz tomorrow. See you tomorrow and have a wonderful afternoon.”

The students left the classroom as their teacher stayed behind doing her closing procedures for the schoolhouse. Outside, the three fillies, named, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom or best known together as the Cutie Mark Crusaders; got around to discuss about their topic for their report.

“So what do we do first for our book report?” Scootaloo asked.

“Ah say we all go and get our books and read all them chapters from beginning to end.” Apple Bloom suggested. “We only got three weeks to get it done and it will be the best book report ever.”

“Best book report ever?!?” came a voice from a filly sounding unimpressed. “Puh-leeze! You losers can't write a report that great if your audience was deaf.”

The Crusaders divert their attention from behind to see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon standing next to each other laughing after Tiara's insult to the Crusaders. The three fillies' expression went from joy to hatred upon the two Earth ponies appearance and mocking.

“So what report are you three idiots doing?” Silver Spoon insulted.

“We're doing a report on the Four Horsemen of Withersham.” Sweetie Belle replied standing defiant.

Tiara and Spoon blinked at Sweetie Belle.

“The...who?” Tiara said.

“The Four Horsemen of Withersham! They are four stallions from 100 years ago that fought an evil gargoyle and defeated an army of goblins while defending their kingdom.”

The two bullies were silent for a moment until Spoon yawned and Tiara rolled her eyes in disbelief.

“Oh brother!” Tiara said. “You three believe in that fairy tale?”

“It's not a fairy tale!” Scootaloo said. “The Four Horsemen are real!”

“Yeah...they're real...IN YOUR DREAMS! HAHAHAHA!”

“Y'all hush, Diamond Tiara!” Apple Bloom angrily said. “I read da story ten times about Colt Daring saving a bunch of sick ponies with his herbs and he trained with one of the king's guards to become a Master Sword Stallion!”

“I read it too!” Scootaloo added. “My favorite part is when Piston Ace defeated Captain After Burner to earn his spot in King Icarus' Royal Air Defense in a race around Nimbusville.”

“Well you know what my favorite part is?” Sweetie Belle joined in. “My favorite part is when Silver Iron competed in a contest to make the best armor for King Icarus' guards and he earned his cutie mark.”

Hearing the last statement on how Silver Iron earned his cutie mark made Apple Bloom and Scootaloo's eyes twinkle with joy.

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom. “Even Colt earned his after he saved the sick ponies.”

“And Piston got his after he won the race as well.”

Diamond Tiara blew a soft raspberry to interrupt the crusaders discussion about the Horsemen's achievements. “Like anypony can earn their cutie marks from a race and saving lives.”

“What about that other Horseman?” Silver Spoon questioned the Crusaders. “What did he do to earn his cutie mark? Be a court jester to the smelly old king? Hahahahaa!”

“You mean Ares Maverick?” replied an intimidated Scootaloo. “He earned his cutie mark after so much basic training in King Icarus' Royal Guards and after forming the Horsemen, he got it during the First Battle of Withersham.”

“Yeah,” Silver Spoon mocked. “And I earned mine by counting backwards to 0.”

Both rich bullies laughed at the insult but the Crusaders weren't not in the mood to deal with them.

“Y'all hush! Our book report is gonna be way better than yours!” Apple Bloom roared.

“Ooo,” Diamond Tiara said faking her cowardly fear. “I'm sssooo scared. Ha! You idiots think your report will be better than ours? Wait until I bring my father to school as part of our presentation. He'll have charts and bags full of money to demonstrate Equestria's economy. As for you, what do you have your report? Oh, wait! That stupid Horsemen story that nopony ever believes? Yeah, I can picture in my head the humiliation and laughter you three will be getting. Anyway, I'm getting bored talking about this. Come on, Silver Spoon. Lets head to my mansion where we can do our report.”

Silver Spoon nods in response and both fillies trot away from the Crusaders. “See you later, blank flanks!”

As the two depart, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were left wandering what to do with their report. All three of them had the same exact thought on what Tiara said: everypony in class is bringing something as part of their report, whether it's a special guest or a prop. The three of them, on the other hoof, don't have anything to present.

“What do we suggest we do to make our report stand out?” Scootaloo asked Bloom and Belle.

“Well, we can all go and ask one of ma sister's friends if we can borrow one of their books.” Apple Bloom guessed. “Therefor the book is not only for research, it can be one of them props.”

“Hey yeah!” Sweetie Belle agreed. “That way we might have an advantage over Tiara and show her that our report is going to be better than hers.”

“Before Ah got here to school this morning,” Apple Bloom continued. “Ah heard my sister Apple Jack, Rainbow Dash, and the others are having a picnic near White Tail Woods. Lets go see them.”

The three fillies trotted away from the school grounds and head southwest towards White Tail Woods.

A blast of purple, sparkling aura explodes within the confines of the Ponyville Library's main reading room, with Twilight Sparkle, Spike and the statue of Ares Maverick emerging from the blast. The excited purple unicorn takes off her saddle bag while Spike puts away the shovels and throws away the left over food in the garbage.

“OH MY CELESTIA!” Twilight Sparkle squealed in delight while clapping her front hooves. “THIS...IS...THE BEST DAY EVER!!!! Isn't it, Spike?!?”

Spike re-enters the reading room after putting away the garbage but not before yawning. “Yeah indeed. I'm think I'm going to go take a nap. I had enough traveling for one day.”

“Aww but Spike,” Twilight protested. “Don't you want to see me break Ares Maverick free from his stone spell?”

Spike walked up the stairs to the bedroom with his body feeling tired. “Sure...but after my nap. Why don't you get some rest bef...”

“REST?!?” Twilight snapped as she gave Spike a terrifying glare. “REST?!? ARE YOU SERIOUS, SPIKE?!? After spending countless hours on reading, studying, and searching all these months...YOU WANT ME TO REST?!?”

The little purple dragon can feel his knees shake beneath him. He can see the fire burn in the unicorn's eyes and her teeth gritting. He backs away slowly with his arms and hands in front shielding from Twilight's rage.

“Whoa, calm down!” Spike said. “I'm just saying that if you want to get some rest before you free Ares from his spell. Perhaps maybe...take a shower and make yourself presentable.”

Spike stops for a minute and takes a whiff from smelling the air around him. He sense of smell detects something very foul...and it's coming from in front of him.

“Maybe instead of if,” Spike said covering his nose. “How about NOW!”

Twilight Sparkle looked at Spike and smells herself. She realized that Spike was right about the stench and that it is coming from her fur. She guessed she must of got when she fell into the hole to rescue Spike and where she found the statue.

“Eww,” Twilight said disgusted. “You're right. The cave was damped and hot, it made me smell like a worn out sock. Okay, I'll take a quick one and get dinner started soon. You go ahead and take your nap, Spike.”

The purple dragon nods his head and walks up the stairs with the purple unicorn following behind.

At the beautiful, scenic White Tail Woods, Apple Jack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie were having a picnic near Luna Falls. The southern Earth Pony and the athletic Pegasus were having a hoof wrestle contest with the happy pink Earth Pony as referee. Meanwhile, the glamorous white unicorn is drinking tea while reading The Legacy of the Four Horsemen and the bashful yellow Pegasus is tending to a few birds high above a tree that is near the picnic.

“I got you now, Apple Jack.” Rainbow Dash said while struggling to win the contest.

“Don't think so, Sugarcube!” Apple Jack responded while trying to win.

Pinkie Pie kept a close eye during the match and happily hopped for joy. “Ooo! Ooo! My money is on Apple Jack...or...Rainbow Dash...NO! NO! NO! Apple Jack for the win! NO WAIT! Rainbow Dash is gonna win!”

“Pinkie!” Rarity interrupted. “Will you please calm it down over there? I'm trying to read.”

“Yeah...um...you're disturbing the sparrows up here.” Fluttershy said.

“Oh, I'm sorry!” Pinkie Pie said. “I'm just eager to find out who will be the victor in this super, duper match.”

As the hoof wrestle contest continued, the five mares heard the sound of trotting in the distance and then the sound of a filly calling.

“AAAAPPPLLLEEE JJAAAACCCKKK!” came the call from an approaching Apple Bloom.

Suddenly, Apple Jack lost concentration of the match and Rainbow Dash slams her hoof down to the ground, claiming victory.

“YYYESSS!” Rainbow Dash cheered. “I WON! HAHA! IN YO FACE, COWGIRL!”

Apple Jack lets out a small grunt, due to the distraction caused by Apple Bloom. “That silly filly, Ah'll deal with her later.”

Everyone turned around to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders approaching them towards their picnic area.

“Hi everypony!” Sweetie Belle greeted.

“Sweetie Belle, darling,” Rarity said. “How was school today?”

“Really great! All we did today was turned in a topic for our book report and discuss on what we're going to do about it.”

“What is the book report about?”

“Well,” Scootaloo said. “It's about the Four Horsemen story but we need to ask you guys something.”

“What's that, squirt?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“May...we burrow one of your books like Rarity's for example since she has it with her.”

The ponies glanced at the Cutie Mark Crusaders in complete silence and looked at each other.

“You...want to burrow one of our books?” Rainbow Dash questioned Scootaloo.

“Yes if that isn't any trouble.” The filly Pegasus replied.

“I'm sorry girls,” Rarity apologized. “I'm still reading the book as we speak. I'm on Chapter 40 about the Horsemen being knighted.”

“But Rarity!” Sweetie Belle said. “You read that book countless times! May we just burrow it? We will be careful with it.”

“Sorry, my dear. You have to ask somepony else.”

“Not me!” Pinkie Pie said. “I'm on the part where Colt Daring got his name.”

“Count me in!” Rainbow Dash added. “I still have not pass on the part where Piston Ace's father, Inferno Spade, became the new leader of the Red Hooves.”

“Oh...um...me too.” Fluttershy said. “I let Angel burrow it and he has not returned it, yet.”

“That goes the same for me.” Apple Jack said to the Crusaders. “I let Big Mac hold onto it until he finished reading it.”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders felt disappointed and in unison sighed in defeat. Their book report is ruined and their one chance to get an excellent grade has been destroyed. They began to turn around and trot away.

“Now hold on!” Apple Jack said to the three fillies. “Maybe Twilight has an extra copy in her library. Ah'll go with ya three and ask her.”

“Ya will, big sis?” Apple Bloom said with joy.

“Of course, Apple Bloom. We can go over there right now.”

“YAY!!!” The crusaders said altogether.

The three fillies and Apple Jack trotted away from the picnic while waving goodbye to the other mares as they head to the Golden Oaks Library.

Southeast of the peaceful, friendly town of Ponyville, pass the western style town of Appleloosa, and over the mountain range of Macintosh Hills, lies a kingdom of sinister and maniacal creatures that nopony would ever dare to visit. There are rumors that anypony tries to go to that place are never to be seen again and under Princess Celestia's royal law, the place is forbidden and paths to the place are blocked off. The place in general is called the Badlands, home of the evil, deadly queen of the changelings, Queen Chrysalis. Chrysalis and her Changelings once invaded Canterlot during a royal wedding between Celestia's niece Princess Cadence and her son-in-law Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle's brother. In order for the invasion to be a success, Queen Chrysalis kidnaps Cadence, impersonates her, and feeds off Shining Armor's love with her magic in order to make him weak. When the time came, her Changelings began to destroy Canterlot and fought the Mane 6 in a grueling fight. However, the Mane 6 were no match against an army of Changelings and surrender. The invasion was almost a success until Cadence and Shining Armor defeat Queen Chrysalis and her minions with the power of love and magic, sending them back to the Badlands.

Now, it's been years since that incident and Queen Chrysalis and the changelings have another plan up their sleeve. Entering over the mountain range to the kingdom were the two changelings that impersonated Twilight Sparkle and Rocky Canyon earlier at Diamond Vally. The two creatures flew to the Gothic castle where the can see the rest of their fellow changelings guarding the kingdom and seeing some of the flying off to patrol the area around the Badlands.

The two changelings enter the castle through the huge, wooden front doors and made their way to the second floor where the main chamber of their queen is located. As they entered into the chamber, they saw their leader sitting on her throne. She was a gangly black pegacorn with a gnarled black horn, holes on her hooves, fangs, dark green elongated eyes, a teal mane and tail, a blue-green chitinous on her midsection, a black crown tipped with blue orbs, and insect like wings. As she sat there, she was using her green magic to read a book that mostly everyone in Equestria was reading: The Legacy of the Four Horsemen. She was reading the chapter involving the wizard Merlock becoming the evil sorcerer Black Mist and how he practice dark magic.

“My queen!” The first changeling said.

Queen Chrysalis lowers her book with her magic and looks at the first changeling. “What is it, Slither?”

“The task has been complete. Twilight Sparkle has found the location of the Ares Maverick statue which also maybe the same place for the Black Mist statue.”

“And does Twilight know about your existence?”

“No, my queen.” The second changeling said. “I took care of the problem by slaughtering Celestia's guard Rocky Canyon and she doesn't even suspect anything.”

“Nicely done, Thorn.” Queen Chrysalis said all impressed. “Now gather the excavation team and meet me outside in the courtyard. The two of you will lead me and the group to Diamond Valley so we can extract the statue. Is that clear?”

The Changelings Slither and Thorn bowed in response as they exit the room to do their next task.

Queen Chrysalis evilly smirked as they left. “Watch out, Princess Celestia. The darkness shall rise again and Equestria shall fall before me...and Black List! MUHAHAHAHAHA!”

The Awakening of Good and Evil Part 1

My Little Pony: The Four Horsemen

Chapter 9: The Awakening of Good and Evil Part 1

The Cutie Mark Crusaders trotted into Ponyville to get to the Golden Oaks with Applejack following close behind them.

“Come on, ya!” Apple Bloom said turning to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle beside her. “I can see that der library around da corner.”

“Though, I wonder if Twilight is home since she wasn't at the picnic at White Tail.” Scootaloo stated.

“I'm pretty sure she is.” Sweetie Belle replied. “You know Twilight: Ponyville's greatest book room!”

“More like greatest egghead!” Scootaloo joked before the other two fillies began to laugh. Applejack on the other hand, rolled her eyes for believing the joke was poor at best.

Twilight drys herself off with a towel after taking a quick shower to wash away the foul odor that she was covered in. After leaving the bathroom, she heads downstairs to the Main Reading Room towards the kitchen to get dinner started, not before passing the Ares Maverick statue and giving it a quick smile of success that she finally proved the existence of the Horsemen. She couldn't wait for later to use her magic to free him.

“This is going to be EXCITING! EEEEE!” The purple squealed while standing on her hind legs and reaching the ceiling with her forelegs in victory.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Twilight's moment of celebration was interrupted by a sudden knock outside of her front door.

“TWILIGHT, 'RE YOU HOME?!?” Came a familiar southern, female adult voice.

Twilight slowly crept to the window on the leftside of the door and peered through it. To her horror, it was four unexpected guests that she never thought would be visiting at a time like this – Apple Jack and the Cutie Mark Crusaders! She let out a soft shriek and hid underneath the window sill. Beads of sweat pour down her face as she felt her heart beat increase speed and her body shiver in a state of panic.

“TWILIGHT! SUGARCUBE!” Apple Jack called again from behind the door.

Just then, an exhausted Spike emerged out of Twilight's bedroom with a blanket in hand.

“What's all the comotion?” The baby dragon yawned.

“SPIKE!” Twilight hollered in surprise. “THANK CELESTIA YOU'RE AWAKE! YOU NEED TO HELP ME!”

“With what?” asked a clueless Spike.

“Applejack and the Crusaders are here and they are outside my door! YOU NEED TO DISTRACT THEM!!!

“Why?”

“THEY CAN NOT KNOW ABOUT ARES' STATUE! I got to hide him! Gotta HIDE HIM! GOTTA HIDE HIM!!!”

“Whoa! Take it easy, Twilight. Umm...maybe you can hide in the one place that no pony would ever think of looking. Uh...perhaps the bas...”

“BASEMENT!!! OF COURSE!!!”

Another loud knock on the door from Applejack is heard.“TWILIGHT! SUGARCUBE, 'RE YOU IN DER?!? OPEN UP!”

Twilight gasped. “SPIKE! DISTRACT THEM! GO GET YOUR GEMS AND YOUR WAGON FROM MY ROOM! HURRY!!!”

Outside of the library, Applejack and the Crusaders were still standing in front of the main door. The honest cowgirl knocked and called Twilight Sparkles name one last time but received no answer.

“TWILIGHT!!!” Applejack said outloud.

“Maybe she's not home.” Sweetie Belle said. “She could be in Canterlot spending time with the Princess or...”

FLASH! A bright purple light illuminated through the windows from withinside the library that made the four ponies jump out of their fur. The flash lasted for only a brief second until things were normal and quiet.

“What was that?!?” Scootaloo questioned.

“Ah recognize that flash.” Applejack replied. “'t must've been from Twilight's magic teleportation.”

“So...does that mean she's home or not? Apple Bloom asked her sister.

Applejack shrugged at her little sister's question and attempts to knock on the door one last time. Before her right hoof was able to make impact with the door, it flunged open with sudden force with a grinning Spike pulling his little red wagon carrying a bag of gems.

“Uh, hi girls!” Spike said still smiling.

“Howdy, Spike.” Applejack said. “Is Twilight present?”

Spike began to stammer. “Umm...mah...yeah! She is here!”

“Well, can da fer of us come in?”

“HOLD ON! Before you do, would you like to see something cool I can do with my gem collection?”

The three fillies and the orange mare glanced at one another and then all four looked at Spike. “Um...maybe later...bu...”

“PLEASE! PRETTY PLEASE!”

“But...” Applejack paused for a minute and realized how desperate Spike is becoming. “...fine. Go ahead, fella.”

Spike unzips his bag and pulls out ten different colored and shaped gems: purple, orange, cyan, white, yellow, pink, gold, gray, dark blue, and red. With the gems in hand, he began to show off to the ponies by juggling all ten of them, hopefully it will be impressive enough to get their attention.

“You see,” the baby dragon stammered. “I can ju...juggle with these things. I...I...have been practicing for years and...”

“Spike!” Sweetie Belle interrupted. “We all you know you can juggle gems since you showed us last year.”

Those last words from Sweetie Belle caught Spike offguard that he dropped his gems.“Uh.....ye...yeah but...don't you want to see me do it again?”

“Spike, fer Celestia's sake,” Applejack said. “Can we all just stop this 'ere nonsense and see Twi...”

FLASH! A burst of purple aurora exploded next to Spike which scared him and the four mares by surprise. It was Twilight Sparkle who appeared in front of everyone with a huge grin. “HI EVERYPONY!!!”

“Uh...hi, sugarcube.”Applejack replied while coming back to the reality after the unicorn's use of magic. “We came by to ask fer a favor.”

“Sure! What do you need?”

“We're doing a book report about the Four Horsemen.” Scootaloo said to Twilight. “Unfortunately, we don't have a copy of the book and we are asking you if we can burrow one.”

“Alright!...uh...I'll go get it. BE RIGHT BACK!”

Twilight disappears with her use of her teleportation back into the library to find the book and in a second, she reappears with her own copy of the Four Horsemen story.

“Here you go, girls!” Twilight said while giving the fillies the book with her left hoof. “Is there anything else you need?”

“Nope!” Apple Bloom replied after receiving the book. “That's all we need for today. Thanks, Twilight!”

“Anytime, sweety.” Twilight said smiling. “Good luck on your book report.”

“Alright, yall.” Applejack said to the CMC. “Let's head home befer the sunsets. Bye, Twilight.”

The three fillies and the cowgirl left Twilight's residence as they head back to their perspective homes.

“Whew, that was close.” Twilight said to Spike.

“You said it.” Spike replied as he puts his gems back in the bag. “So...what now?”

“We wait until nightfall to free Ares Maverick from his stone imprisonment before anypony finds out about it.”

“Wait! Aren't you going to report this to Princess Celestia?”

“I will until we free Ares! Now, come on. I need you to help me practice my stone release spell. Grab your wagon and gems and come inside.”

Spike grabs his stuff and heads inside the Library with Twilight as sun starts to set.

Meanwhile, back at the abandoned Diamond Valley, a small group of ten Changelings with Slither and Thorn entered the underground caverns where Twilight Sparkle and Spike found the statue of Ares Maverick. Five Changelings went with Slither as they searched East and North while the remaining five went with Thorn to the South and West. Each member of the two groups began to dig through the dirt and rocks looking for any sign of gray stone while the team leaders searched by the use of their dark magic from their horns to illuminate a green light to search dark areas around the caverns. For the first several minutes, they only found nothing but gemstones and diamonds buried within the walls and grounds of the place. All of them cared less about that and cared only about completing their mission.

Above ground, Queen Chrysalis stood near the entrance of the underground cavern with two Changeling guards standing near her. She waited patiently for a few minutes until a member of Slither's group flew out of the hole to deliver a message.

“My queen,” the messenger said, “Slither has some fantastic news: we have found the statue located 80 meters North from your position! We're waiting for you now.”

“Wonderful.” Queen Chrysalis said. “Just lead the way to where Slither is.”

The insect-like queen and her guards followed the messenger to the area where he previously mentioned. As they approached the supposed spot, the dark queen's horn began to glow a green aurora and shot a powerful stream of magic onto the ground, where lines began to form in below them. When the magic ceased and the lines formed, the ground began to crack, gave way, and it sank to another portion of the underground cavern where Slither, Thorn, and the rest of the excavation team are waiting. Chrysalis trots to the edge of the hole and looks down to see the team's discovery – Black Mist's statue!

“At last,” The queen smirked. “After 100 years, you are in my hooves.”

She turns to her Changeling guards. “You two bury this hole again while the rest of subjects and I will take our new guest to my castle. Slither and Thorn, you have some midnight patrol to do in case any of Celestia's guards become suspicious about one their own missing.”

“Wait, my queen,” Slither interrupted. “What about Twilight Sparkle and that one stallion that she discovered earlier? What if they come back looking for the other buried stallions?”

“If Ares gets in your way, just keep him busy. Bring him and his team back to my fortress...ALIVE! Ares and the Horsemen are Black Mist's responsibilities and as for Twilight Sparkle...well...I suggest you bring her, too.”

Slither and Thorn nodded and bowed to their queen in agreement.

“The rest of you,” Chrysalis said to her subjects. “Let's depart to my kingdom. It's time for Black Mist to be awaken from his eternal slumber.”

Chrysalis horn shot another stream of green aura and formed a huge, magical dome around her, the excavation team, and the Black Mist statue. In a flash, they disappeared while leaving her two Changeling guards and Slither and Thorn in Diamond Valley as they have some tasks to do.

Back in Golden Oaks Library of Ponyville, as the night finally arrived, Spike gathered a few candles and placed each one in front of another clockwise to form a circle around the Ares Maverick statue in the Main Reading room. When he was finished, Twilight Sparkle began to use her magic to light the candles as the baby dragon went up to the bedroom to grab the one of the spell books that contain the instructions on how to free somepony trapped in stone. He ran back downstairs where Twilight stood right in front of a wooden book holder stand in front of the statue and in between the first and last candle around the circle.

“Here you go, Twilight.” Spike said as he handed the book to the purple unicorn.

“Thanks Spike.” She responded as she used her telekinesis to bring the book to the stand.

She flips through the pages until she found the spell about undoing stone imprisonment. “Ah, found it! Are you ready, Spike?”

Spike gulped. “Uh...I...yeah. I'm always ready.”

“Then lets begin! Time to awaken our hero from the past!”

The Awakening of Good and Evil Part 2

My Little Pony: The Four Horsemen

Chapter 10: The Awakening of Good and Evil Part 2

Twilight Sparkle began to read the spell on how to turn anypony back to normal if encased in stone. She read the words carefully as to not forget a step or else her chance to free Ares Maverick is shattered before her eyes. Even so, she would not prove her case to all in Equestria that the story and existence of the Four Horsemen are real.

Once she was done, she closes the book and focused her attention on the statue. She closes her eyes and concentrated her use of magic as she feels the energy inside of her build up. Grunting her teeth, she started to tremble as her horn grows brighter and brighter with a sparkling aurora surrounding it. Tiny sparks of electricity shot out of the aurora as small beads of sweat trickle down the purple unicorns head.

Spike watches in amazement as Twilight Sparkle continues to dig deep within herself to gather enough strength. Then, the magic that Twilight unleashed from her horn engulfs Ares Maverick's statue and it levitates off the library floor, much to the surprise of Spike. The baby dragon's eyes widen as he witness small lines forming around on the statue. It was cracking!

At Queen Chrysalis' castle, a crowd of Changelings gather around their latest discovery along with their royal majesty. The insect like creatures formed a circle around the statue of the demonic Black Mist with Chrysalis standing face to face with the gargoyle.

“My dear subjects!” Chrysalis informed her clan with triumph. “It is time awaken our new guest of honor. Please welcome...Black Mist!”

The insect like ponies cheered by hissing and letting out small growls to honor their leader and victory. Chrysalis' horn began to shine dark green as she she aims it towards the statue. In a flash, she fires a strong beam of dark magic towards the chest of the evil sorcerer. The statue becomes engulfed in green flames as the Changelings watched on.

At the same time, on different sides of Equestria, both statues being shot by a different source of magic suddenly burst open!

A sudden explosion from Twilight's magic on Ares' statue knocks the purple unicorn off her hooves as Spike took cover behind a pile of books. A little dazed, the magical mare steadily gets back up while Spike peeks out of his hiding place. Both of them gasped at the same time on what they see in front of them – a pale white unicorn with a mane and tail of gold and cutie mark of a golden Praetorian helmet. The unicorn is Ares Maverick...sleeping while curled up on the floor with Black Mist's spell book in his mouth and wearing a golden necklace that has a white stone!

Twilight looks at Spike and whispers happily, “Spike, do you see what I see?”

Spike gulps. “Yeah...it's...it's the real...Ar...Ar...”

“Ares Maverick!” Twilight Sparkle spoke quietly with excitement. “This...is...the...greatest time...of my life!!!”

She squeals in happinesses while standing on her hind legs and clapping her fore hooves. Calming down and holding the rest of her excitement, the intellectual pony and the baby dragon crept slowly to the sleeping, white stallion. Twilight can feel her heart pounding rapidly in her chest, sweat dripping from her head, and legs trembling in fear. Not only is she excited to see Ares for the first time and fearing that the golden mane unicorn will harm her in some way, she began to take note on his sudden appearance up close. When she read the Four Horsemen story so many times, she always picture her favorite stallion and hero to be hansom, strong, and attractive. Somepony, like Ares Maverick, that will make all the mares in Equestria fall head over hooves for. All that thought and imagination from the story that built inside her head for a long time turned out to be true as she comes within inches to his face.

Twilight Sparkle uses her fore hooves to remove Black Mist's spell book from Ares' mouth but unfortunately, after being imprisoned in stone forever, the brave soldier kept a tight grip on the book with his teeth. She tries again but comes to no avail as the stallion's mouth was locked onto the object. She tries again and again...only to hear a frustrated groan escape from his mouth. Twilight looks away from the book and stares at the face of the Horsemen leader. The purple unicorn witnessed the eyelids open, revealing bright golden eyes staring back at her.

“Uh...hi!” Twilight squeaked in sudden surprise to Ares.

“AAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!” Ares Maverick screamed in horror as he released the spell book from his mouth.

“EEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKK!!!!!” Twilight Sparkle cried.

“AAAAAHHHHHH!” Spike somehow joined into the screaming.

Ares Maverick noticed Spike behind Twilight and screamed once. “AAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!!!!! SPITFIRE!!!”

The brave, white unicorn jumps into the air and pins down the helpless baby dragon to the floor.

“DIE, SPITFIRE!!!!” The enraged horsemen leader boomed.

Spike cries in horror as he sees the warrior unicorn's horn alights with sky blue.

“STOP!” Twilight intervened by teleporting in front of Ares. “LET HIM GO, ARES!”

“Madam,” Ares warned. “This is a Spitfire! He's a threat to ponykind and it's my royal duty to prevent him from reproducing!”

“He's not a Spitfire!” Twilight defended. “He's my #1 assistant and best friend! So please, Ares, don't hurt him.”

Ares Maverick raised his eyebrows in total disbelief. “Friend?!?! How can you, ma'am, be friends with thi...this...infant? Since when did King Icra...”

The white unicorn paused in silence when he noticed two things that don't make sense. The first is that this purple unicorn knows his name, even though he never met her before. The second is where in the world is he. The last time he remembered is that he and the rest of the Horsemen were battling their arch nemesis inside of a fortress on the Forbidden Mountains of Withersham. Right after witnessing his team turned into stone, the dark sorcerer used his book of spells to bring forth a twister to destroy the kingdom and all of the villagers. In a last ditch effort, the brave leader unicorn used his might to steal the book, copied the same stone spell that was casted on his team, and used it on its creator...however...he suffered the same fate before blacking out.

Now, he's awakened and still alive but not in the same place as last time.

“Um...ma'am.” Ares Maverick said to the intellectual mare. “Who are you?”

“My name Is Twilight Sparkle.” She replied in a calm manner.

“Hello...Twilight Sparkle...my name is...”

“I know who you are. You're Ares Maverick, the leader of the Four Horsemen and the one that carries the Gem of Leadership from the Gems of Peace.”

Ares dropped his jaw with a surprised look on his face. “Ho...How did you know that? How do you know my name?”

“I read about you and the Four Horsemen in a book called The Legacy of the Four Horsemen. It's one of my favorite Pony History stories.”

“There's...there's a book about me?...And my team?”

“And Withersham and the Gems of Peace. To put things in context, just about everything that happen 100 years ago in the past.”

Ares Maverick gasped. “100 years? I've been trapped in stone for this long?”

“Yes. I found you're statue in the underground caverns of Diamond Valley, outside of Ponyville.”

“Ponyville? So...that means...I'm not in Withersham.”

Twilight shook her head. “No I'm afraid not, Ares. The Cyclone of Chaos traveled west while it carried you and your team to this geographic location where I foun...”

“Where's the book?!? I need to more about this!”

Twilight ears drooped and she spoke in disappointment. “I don't have it. I let some other ponies burrow it.”

“Actually,” Spike said as he jumped into the conversation. “I have my copy upstairs.”

“WHAT?!?” Twilight said to Spike with wide eyes. “YOU HAVE AN EXTRA COPY?!?”

“Yeeahh,” Spike confessed. “To be honest, I do have one but I threw it away in a garbage can upstairs because of my harsh criticism...and I never told you that in the past when everypony came here to the library asking to rent one, you or I always reply to them 'we don't have one on stock.' I'm really sorry, Twilight.”

Instead of being upset and disappointed, the magical mare decided to let it slide and smile at Spike. “Well...that's okay, Spike. Just go upstairs and grab it for me but next time, don't ever do this again.”

“I will!” Spike saluted as he heads upstairs to the bedroom to grab The Legacy of the Four Horsemen book.

Queen Chrysalis and the Changelings stood in front of their new guest as he awakens with glowing red eyes and his wings extending to stretch.

“Heheheh,” Chrysalis chuckled silently. “Good evening!”

“RRRRROOOOAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!” Boomed the now awakened Black Mist as his roar echoed throughout the Badlands and Chrysalis' kingdom. “Ehhh...I am free...AT LAST!”

Prologue

My Little Pony: The Four Horsemen

Prologue

Once a upon a time...

100 years ago, after the foundation of Equestria and before Discord's Reign of Chaos, there once was a barricaded kingdom, situated 20 miles East of Canterlot. The kingdom, named Withersham, was ruled by an enchanted alicorn named King Icarus, with a motive of spreading joy and happiness to all ponykind. The ponies of Withersham lived in harmony and peace; growing crops, raising families, lowering their taxes; making Withersham a wonderful place for all to reside in...but what they don't know, is that someone has a hatred towards the kingdom and their ruler.

In the outskirts of Withersham, high above the Forbidden Mountain regions, lived a hideous gargoyle sorcerer, named Merlock, who once worked for Icarus during the early days of Withersham's foundings. The sorcerer once asked the king if he can have the right to rule Withersham after Icarus has either passed on or resigns from the throne. Icarus agreed on the bargain but after five years of ruling Withersham, the enchanted alicorn declined Merlock's offer, seeing as though that only the ones who have a heart of pure love and joy will only rule the kingdom and protect the ponies. Feeling betrayed, the gargoyle vowed vengeance against King Icarus but plans of an assassination never happened as Merlock was captured before he can have the chance.

The sorcerer was then banished from Withersham and sent to the Forbidden Mountains, where the place is inhabited by a race of goblins living in the underground caverns with a hatred towards ponies. As Merlock watches with pure rage of seeing the ponies continue to live with their lives, the sorcerer recruited a group of these blood, thirsty goblins to serve him under his power. At that time, the sorcerer practice the arts of dark magic and spells and was soon given the power to destroy all ponies by bringing forth the forces of evil. With this power of destruction, Merlock changed his name to the most deadliest sorcerer in the world...Black Mist.

With the goblins under his command, Black Mist sent them to destroy Withersham but King Icarus was able to defend his kingdom by sending his army of royal knights. The battle between ponies and goblins lasted for a mere five weeks. However, as lives were lost, the ponies of Withersham and King Icarus were astonished to discover that four young stallions return home from the battle...as heroes. Their names were Ares Maverick, a white unicorn representing Ground Team 9; Silver Iron, a gray unicorn from the Blacksmith Union; Colt Daring; a blue Earth Pony from the CorpseHorse (A/N: it's pronounced CORE Horse like Corpseman [CORE Man]) Unit; and Piston Ace, a black pegasus from the Royal Air Defense. The king knighted these four surviving stallions and dubbed them for their bravery and actions of defending Withersham...The Four Horsemen.

Upon the news of the Horsemen and the loss of his army against King Icarus, Black Mist's reign of terror was far finished. Before his next attack on Withersham, the sorcerer formed an alliance with a clan of dragons, called the Spitfire Tribe, to be a part of the final assault with his goblin army. However, King Icarus gather and recruited more of his royal knights to defend his kingdom and enlist the help of the Four Horsemen to save and protect Withersham once again...

Until that one day...it happened...

My Little Pony: The Four Horsemen