Chapter 1: Manehattan

[One Thousand Years Ago.]

  Saturn. The most ruthless demy god Equestria has ever seen. He was violent, rude, and loved seeing others suffer. Saturn wasn't a holy spirit, no, he was a demon conjured by the darkness of Equestria. In a single instant, Saturn took Equestria over. He killed millions of ponies worldwide. A bright orange sky covered Equestria for decades. Many tried to oppose the demy god. Ancient heroes, warriors that sacrificed their lives trying to free Equestria. Nothing worked. No one would stand up to the demy god in fear of losing their lives. Saturn ruled Equestria with an iron fist. He thought himself as the king of the world. That was until, Princess Celestia and Luna arouse from the shadows and challenged Saturn to a battle. Along with the princess, a mysterious hero accompanied them. The battle was fierce, causing endless destruction across Equestria. Soon, the whole planet was covered in craters from magic blasts. The planet was falling apart. That was until Saturn and everyone was on their last legs. The mysterious warrior had perished, saving Luna from a deadly blast from Saturn. Grieving over their dead friend, the princess blasted Saturn until he was kneeling and badly injured. Princess Celestia called apon The Elements of Harmony. She and Princess Luna, along with the element bares sealed Saturn away in a stone prison, deep under ground so that he would not escape. With the battle won, the ponies of Equestria could look forward to a bright future. With a new hero, just a thousand years away.

[Manehattan. Present Day.]

  The sky was clear. A bright summer day cast itself on the city of Manehattan. Everyone was up and about, running day to day activities, going for a walk, visiting family, going to a party. A huge six pony carriage carried the main six along with a familiar sleeping hooded stranger in the back. Do to his request, he wanted to sleep in peace. The six agreed. One of the six, Rainbow Dash, was curious about the trip. They traveled for days and not once did Twilight speak of why they were their.

"So why are we in Manehattan anyways Twilight?" she asks.

  Others join in with a nod and a mumble. Twilight places a hoof to her chin. She didn't know herself. All she knew was the Princesses needed to check on something in the city and they wanted to know if the seven ponies wanted to come along. They agreed without hesitation. Even though they had been to Manehattan before, it was a joyous thing to be there. The lights, the sounds, the ponies that were in it. All of it was wonderful.

  An alarm rang out from a building on the right side of the carriage. That part of the street was empty. Three unicorn ponies wearing hoodies and sunglasses ran out the shop holding melee weapons with in their magic. One of them was holding a bag of sorts which Twilight would contain money. However, she wasn't prepared for what was on one of the melee weapons. Blood, and a lot of it at the end. Another pony comes from inside the shop with a pained look on her face. She looks around at the ponies around her with a begging look. Others giving her a worried or shocked look. She screams to them sobbing.

"Please help! Somepony call for help! My grandfathers hurt!"

  The old pony inside had a gash on the top right of his head. He wasn't breathing much and his eyes were closed. He was laying in a pool of his own blood. Multiple ponies call for medical emergency, the mane six watched in horror. They didn't know the reason for the attack nor the motivation for it. It was uncalled for and one pony in the carriage thought so too. While the mane six were talking about the incident, one of the doors opened and swung shut as they spotted their hooded friend heading towards the scene. Twilight chuckled knowing justice was going to be rough for the robbers. She knew it was going to be painful.

  The robbers had been running for blocks until they made a stop inside an ally way. All of them huffing and puffing from the running. They had gotten away this time. Two of the unicorns slouched against a wall while the other went through the money in the bag. He was satisfied with todays job. It was easier done then said. However, their was the complication with the old fool who stood up to them. Now he didn't needed to get cracked over the head with the bat but he was going to get them caught so one of them swatted him with all his mite. Apparently it was enough, the fool went down in a click and never got up. That was their time to bolt. Back in the ally way, a loud echo came from the darkness of it. Something wasn't right. One of the unicorns got up from his slouching and held within his magic a steel bar. He walked cautiously toward the sound which was starting to sound like moans. Sweat was dripping down the unicorns cheek as it stopped at the edge of the blackness. The sound stopped. All was silent except for his breathing and heart beat. He blinked, nothing happened. He turned to face his friends.

"Don't worry about it. It was just a-"

  A chain raps around the unicorns throat with force as it pulls him into the darkness, screaming bloody murder. The other two gasped as the metal bar the one unicorn was holding hit the ground. All the other two unicorns heard was the terrible screaming of their acquaintance. The screaming stopped. The ally way was silent. Chills ran up on the unicorns spines. Where had their friend gone? What took him? They didn't want to know. One of the robbers went up to the dark border and pulled his weapon even though his partner didn't want him to. He narrowed his eyes and raised his weapon in a threating pose. He screamed into the darkness for his friend. No answer. The moan had returned and was even louder. He was growing louder and louder. Soon it was like, the moan was right in front of the robber. He jumped, swinging his bar into the darkness but to hit nothing. He shrugged it off. He turned to walk back to his friend who had a horrified look on his face. He questioned what he was scared about when a fiery hoof landed on his shoulder and a deep raspy voice echoed from behind him.

"Hey...dirt bag."

  The robber turned to see a hooded stranger behind him. The stranger brought his other hoof up and slugged the robber in his nose. The crack of it meant he  had a broken nose. He flew back until he slammed into his partner. Both giving the stranger angry looks. They surround the stranger holding their weapons. They start circling the stranger.

"Where's out bud mac?" one asked.

  The stranger chuckled to himself as the two circled him. The two robbers exchanged glances.

"He is...token care of." the stranger chuckled.

  The robbers leaped to the stranger only to collide with each other. The two see stars as the stranger unravels a chain from his arm. The stranger started twirling his chain. The robbers watched in horror as the chain wraps around the robbers. The chain was hot from the heat and it was strangling the two. The stranger wrapped the chain end to lamp post as civilians watched in amusement. The robbers had reunited with their other friend who had a look of horror on his face. The other two had annoyed looks on their faces. Soon police ponies arrived, the stranger was long gone.

  At a hotel near the middle of town, the mane six were settling in their hotel rooms right next to each other. Their friend had been gone for hours and the sun had already set. The night and the lights of the city were so beautiful it would've been in inspiration for a painting. Twilight was sharing a room with Spike, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were sharing a room, Rarity and Applejack the same thing. Inside Twilight and Spikes room, Twilight was reading and Spike was sleeping. A knock at the door. Twilight walks to the door and looks through the spy hole. A hooded stranger was at the door. She smiles and opens the door for the hooded stranger.

"Cutting it close don't you think?" She asks.

  The stranger raised his hoof and put his hoof down. A fiery skull reviled himself as his narrowed eye sockets grunted. The whole room lit up light a candle stick when the skeleton took his hoof off.

"Had to take care of something first."

  Twilight raised her eye brow at the comment. Not a day in the city and already Ghost Pony Rider had got to work. Twilight wasn't going to tell her friend to do his job but maybe he could leave the crime in the city to the police. They weren't going to be in Manehattan for long, a week at least. Tomorrow she would make sure her friend was going to be normal with out taking of to take care of business. Back in PonyVille it may have been alright, but here their are certain ponies who might take his work the wrong way. It might not settle with the princess either. However, the princess have been secretive about this trip. They only asked that Twilight and her friends would have a good time and not worry about what they are doing. Ghost Pony Rider found it suspicion that the princess didn't want to tell about the reason why they were there. He made it his objective to find out that secret. He had a bad feeling about this trip.

"So. Where is my room?" Rider asks.

  Twilight goes to the door and opens it. She points to a room right next to hers. Rider smiles as he takes a key card from Twilight and goes into his room with a smile. The night presses on, everyone is asleep in the hotel. Ghost Pony Rider is in his room asleep. His fire smaller then normal and his breathing echoed through the room. The bed he was on was heaven, no sound in the room what so ever. Ghost Pony Rider was having a dream where he was a world renown hero. Ponies loved him from all over the globe, cheering fro his good deeds. He also had Marible back. Her brown cloak and her bright white eyes made Rider shed a smile. He was in own little fantasy. The world began to rot away. Ponies were turning into skeletons, the grass was dying, and the sky became a sick orange color. Ghost Pony Rider watched as all his friends faded away into thin air. All turning their backs on him. He could hear their whispers about him from nothingness.

"He betrayed us!"

"Your a monster!"

"Here I thought we could trust a monster like you!"

  Ghost Pony Rider wakes up in a frantic state in his hotel room. He looked at the clock on the dresser. It was passed three on the morning. Coincident? He thought not. This would be something to look into later on. Ghost Pony Rider placed his skull on the pillow and returned to sleep.

[Deep Underground.]

  Behind a metal door deep into a cave under the streets, only acceptable through a secret passage. A huge wide room held a powerful statue, containing a demy god that had been sealed away for a millennium in stone. He was kneeling with his arms crossed to his chest. The statue was of a muscular lion beast with gladiator armor. The statue was almost ten stories tall, almost half the height of the cave. A low and rumbling laugh came from the air. A ghost in the mist was laughing. He watched the scene from his roaming spirit. This was something he wanted. He wanted the aggression coming off the skeleton. He loved every minute of it. Saturn glided over to a viewing pool that was next to the statue of him. He looked inside the golden pool to see the hero himself. He knew Ghost Pony Rider, he knew him all to well.

"Soon Ghost Pony Rider. Soon, you will know your destiny."