It was a beautiful and fantastic day in Ponyville, Equestria. The sky was clear, the butterflies and birds flew across the sky in rhythm with the wind and it was a time of celebration. Twilight Sparkle, the princess of Friendship had saved Equestria from a future of war and suffering by stopping the “Equality” democrat Starlight Glimmer from prevented Rainbow Dash’s Sonic Rainboom from happening and causing her and her friends to never get their cutie marks and creating a future ruled or destroyed by their former enemies.
Using her friendship skills and wisdom, Twilight was able to reformed the vengeful unicorn and become her friend, even rekindling her relationship with the town she ruled under but with others’ special talents accepted and praised for being different and unique. With this problem out of hand, peace and order was back in Equestria and his citizens happy and living without a care in the world.
Today was the Summer Sun Celebration where every year, ponies in Ponyville, Canterlot and other nearby towns would watch Princess Celestia raise the sun with her magic to signify the banishment of Nightmare Moon but like last year was modified to celebrate the return of Princess Luna. Starlight, after many weeks of learning the value and understanding of friendship and speciality, was invited by Twilight to witness the Summer Sun Celebration for the first time in years. Everypony had to gather to the Canterlot Gardens to witness Celestia raising the sun in person which was a sight to see for many.
Twilight had arrived with her friends Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and her dragon assistant Spike and not to mention the Cutie Mark Crusaders who finally got their cutie marks and were there to recruit other colts and fillies without cutie marks. Twilight however was concerned about Starlight who had not turned up yet in which they were forced to wait in the castle.
“Oh, I just hope she gets her on time.” Twilight said nervously while wiping her forehead with her hoof.
“Now don’t worry sugarcube.” Applejack said with a reassuring tone. “Starlight wouldn’t miss this for da world.”
“She’s probably just finding it hard to get here from all the way out from the north-northwest of Manehattan, darling.” Rarity said to comfort Twilight. “Remember it took us a fair while to get there with the walking and the train ride.”
“You know Twilight? You have a thing for changing evil mares into good like with that Sunset Shimmer girl who’s all the way in that other world.” Rainbow Dash questioned. “Someday Twilight you just might meet a pony who just won’t take your word for it.”
“Oh please, Twilight’s the Princess of Friendship.” Spike said with pride. “There ain’t anypony she can’t reform.”
“Except for Discord cause we know Fluttershy did that, Sombra, Chrysalis and Tirek.” Rainbow Dash added and she began chewing on an apple.
“That’s because they refused to let friendship guide them and chose a path of evil rather than a path of good.” Twilight replied while scouting around for Starlight.
“You shouldn’t be worried so much Twilight.” Fluttershy said softly. “Maybe the train is just getting in late.”
Just as the ponies were going to the gardens, Starlight Glimmer entered the castle panting and huffing from exhaustion from running all the way from the train station to the castle as fast as she could.
“I’m here.” Starlight said panting. “I hope I made it in time.”
“Um, you realise the ceremony doesn’t begin till midnight right?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Oh sorry It’s just I haven’t been to the Summer Sun Celebration since I was a little filly.”
“Starlight! Thanks for coming.” Twilight said with joy. “I hope you enjoyed the trip to Canterlot.”
“Well considering I had to walk to the nearest train station, it was something.”
“Couldn’t you have just teleported to the train station?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Not exactly.” Starlight replied. “I need to know the location of something to teleport to it and I didn’t remember where the nearest train station was.”
“Well now that we’re here.” Applejack said. “Let’s go to da gardens already!”
The others agreed with Applejack and prepared to head towards the garden to get ready for the Summer Sun Celebration at midnight.
“So this is the land of Equestria you two were talking about?” An elderly voice said.
“Indeed, Famine.” Said Death in a calm tone. “It is one powerful but peaceful place.”
“These ponies don’t seem to get sick like humans do.” A mellow and sickly voice replied.
“Don’t worry Pestilence.” War said with a smile. “We’ll just tear this world apart with nothing but ashes to remember it by.”
“Not so fast, brother. There are a few things we need to do before we get started.” Death assured to War and his brothers.
“Like what? I was told we would have fun in this world.” Said a grumpy Famine. “No offense Death but I hungry for souls and meat.”
“You’re always hungry old man.” Pestilence said angrily.
“You’re always sick boy!”
“Enough!” Death said in frustration. “Before we can get to work there is something we must do.”
“And what’s that?” War asked.
“To go and meet this land’s ruler, Princess Celestia.”
Midnight had fallen on Equestria and it was magnificent. The raising of the moon would begin at any moment and everypony was excited.
“Oh my so nervous-cited! I can’t wait till Princess Celestia raises the sun!” Pinkie Pie said with joy and radiants.
“Like I said before Pinkie Pie.” Applejack said. “That’s not a real word.”
“Let it go AJ.” Rainbow Dash replied. “It’s the Summer Sun Celebration.”
“This is going to be so magnificent.” Twilight said with joy. “With the eight of us here, enjoying the raising of the sun, what could possibly go wrong?”
Just as the mares finished talking, the ceremony was about to begin. Princess Celestia stood on stage with her guards covering each exits and the doors back in the castle. Princess Luna was watching from afar to make sure that nopony would interrupt the ceremony but still to just enjoy the raising of the sun. the crowd then began to go silent as Celestia trotted forward on stage. She then began to speak.
“Citizens of Canterlot, Ponyville and other nearby neighbours who came to the ceremony, We are gathered here today to celebrate the Summer Sun Celebration which is no longer to celebrate the banishment of Nightmare Moon but the return of my dear sister Princess Luna.”
The crowd then cheered and clapped their hooves together in applause and then went silent to hear the rest of Celestia’s speech.
“However, this year we are gather here to not only celebrate the return of my sister but in honour of the accomplishments and heroic deeds of Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends from Ponyville. Through their struggles and their hardships have we learnt about the true magic of friendship and learned that the greatest of friends can prevailed as long as their hearts are strong and pure.”
Another round of applause and cheers came from the crowd which was focused more on Twilight and her friends rather than Celestia herself. The girls bowed in respect for both Celestia and their land of Equestria which they work so hard to spread the magic of friendship upon. Now it was time to raise the sun.
“And now without further ado let the ceremony beg……….”
However before Celestia could finish her sentence, there was a loud explosion that erupted from the centre of the castle. Guards were sent flying in each direction; all cover in bruises, cuts, sweat and blood with some of them even dead. Twilight and co, the crowd, Celestia and Luna were shocked and at disbelief as to what they were seeing now. Twilight, her friends and Luna rushed to Celestia’s side for comfort in the events that were transpiring. The crowd began to panic and started running around the gardens
“Princess, what’s happening?” Twilight asked in shock.
“I don’t know, Twilight.” Celestia replied. “But I can feel something bad coming the castle.”
(Play Disturbed- The Night)
The smoke from the explosion cleared, exposing rubble and debris from the large hole blown open from the castle. As the smoke cleared, four figures advanced towards the gardens. Celestia and Luna felt a terrible darkness and power emitting from these four beings and as the smoke cleared, they were able to finally see these mysterious creatures in to which they became shock and slightly terrified. Twilight and her gang also saw the four figures and were quite frightened, especially Fluttershy, Rarity and Spike. The crowd also stopped and looked at these beings in fear and shock.
They were tall bipedal hairless beings that Twilight once described as humans who were riding on what appeared to be strange looking horses with each sharing characteristics with their rider.
The one in the middle was a tall male with dark armour with demonic looking features and emitted red flames from the gaps in each pieces of armour. He wielded a large flaming sword with a demonic hilt design and was also a large red scarf around his neck and had no helmet on revealing long silver hair, red glowing scars on his dark face and gold eyes. His horse also has red flames emitting from its body, dark armour pieces and a red rug on his body.
The one on the left was a pale slender and old man with a black garb and cape. He had minor armour pieces like bracers, a pauldron and greaves which had an organic design to them and wielded bladed gauntlets with four blades each. He had an old withered face and grey hair that was falling off revealing bald patches and had grey eyes. His horse had a slender figure like its master and wore a black rug over his body.
The figure on the right was a skinny and sickly looking man surrounded by flies and mosquitoes wearing a green tunic and dark green cloak with bracers, greaves and wielded a bladed whip with flies around it. His face has red cheeks, green eyes, pale skin and brown bed hair. His horse has large boils on his body, scars and a green rug.
The final figure who was in front of them was their leader. His appearance wasn’t completely visible but you could see many things from him. He was tall and wore a pale brown hooded cloak which covered his entire head, upper body and face except for his glowing red eyes. He also wore dirty skeletal armour with claw tipped gauntlets and wielded a large skeletal scythe and a curved blade. His horse was the worst looking one of all which was a decaying and rotten horse with his bones exposed and had white dead skin and a pale brown rug on his body.
“Hey Twilight.” Applejack asked. “Aren’t they those humans you were talking about from another world?”
“I don’t know, AJ.” Twilight said with grief. “They look kind of like humans but I don’t remember them looking creepy and they didn’t ride horses when I saw them.”
“Whoever they are, there ruining the Summer Sun Celebration.” Rainbow Dash said angrily.
The brown cloaked man trotted towards Celestia, Twilight and the others and then looks up at the Princesses with his red glowing eyes. He then pointed his claw gauntlet hand at the group on stage.
“Are you Princess Celestia?” The brown cloaked man said with a dignified but mellow and dark tone.
Princess Celestia then stepped forward and nodded to the stranger and changed her face from a look of grief to a look of scorn.
“Who are you? What is your business in Canterlot and why did you attack my subjects?” Celestia said in frustration.
“We are the Four Horsemen.” The brown cloaked rider said. “We have come to request an audience with you, your highness. Sorry about the mess my brothers have a habit of destroying anything they touch.”
Princess Luna then flew in-between Celestia and the brown cloaked rider and landed in front of her sister with rage in her eyes.
“YOU COME HERE TO SEEK AN AUDIENCE WITH MY SISTER AND HAVE THE AUDACITY TO ATTACK OUR SUBJECTS!?!?!” Luna said angrily with her Royal Canterlot voice.
“My, my you’re quite a loudmouth.” The horseman said. “An occupational hazard with our work, princess. Things just end up dead when we pass through.”
“Enough! What do you want?” Celestia said with scorn in her voice.
“To tell you that the end has come.” The brown cloaked rider said with delight.
The ponies gasped in shock to the rider’s response. To believe that this mysterious horse rider and his siblings had come here to declare war on Equestria was unthinkable as the last war was thousands of years ago. Celestia then took a step forward and stared at the brown cloak’s red eyes.
“Whatever has caused you to declare war on our kingdom we can resolve here and now.” Celestia said calmly.
“Oh but Princess you misunderstand.” The Brown clad rider said. “There isn’t going to be a war.”
“Then what is it that you want?”
The brown rider then smiled under his hood and laughed at the Alicorn’s question.
“I told you that the end has come. You see we are not just any group of horse riders, we are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”
Twilight, Celestia, Luna and most of the others in the garden were filled with fear and grief. Though they have not ever heard of such horse riders as the Four Horsemen, the word Apocalypse struck a nerve in their equine heads.
“You can’t be serious.” Celestia said with fear in her eyes.
“But I am serious.” The brown rider said with glee.
“You cannot destroy our world.” Luna said furiously with her horn glowing at the ready to fight.
“Oh but we can.” The brown rider replied. “For Death decrees it.”
The word Death struck an even bigger nerve in the ponies’ minds.
“What are you creatures?”
The three other riders then trotted forward with their leader and then retorted.
“I am War the Red Horseman and personification of conflict.” The red rider said lift up his flaming sword.
“I am Pestilence the Green Horseman and-ACHOO!-personification of sickness.” The green rider said before wiping his nose.
“I am Famine the Black Horseman and personification of starvation.” The black rider said as he began to eat a dead pony corpse.
“And I am Death the Pale Horseman, the leader, eldest horseman and personification of death itself.” The brown cloaked rider said while twirling his scythe.
Celestia and Luna jaws dropped in fear and shock. Twilight and her friends were also having their own panic attack in disbelief.
“P-personifications of conflict, sickness, starvation and……..Death?” Twilight said in fear.
“Did he just say his name was……..D-d-d-d-DEATH?!” Spike said chewing on his claws in cowardice.
“This can’t be happening! This can’t be happening! This can’t be happening!” Fluttershy repeated in shock.
Rarity just fainted from the stress while Rainbow Dash and Applejack held her with Pinkie Pie and Starlight frozen in fear.
“From this day on, let the Apocalypse……………BEGINS!!!!” Death yelled as he held his scythe out in the air with his brothers also holding their weapons out to the sky.
Death then used his scythe to control the weather and surround the kingdom of Equestria in dark thunderclouds. War then plunged his sword into the ground which trigger a massive earthquake sending many debris and buildings crumbling down to the grounds. The Four Horsemen then rode off on their steeds and galloped out of Canterlot and left the ponies to deal with the chaos.
“Everypony take cover!” Celestia ordered as the earthquake levelled the castle and nearby building in Canterlot.
