//------------------------------// // Shadowing the Rings // Story: The Four Horsemen of Equestria // by CaleMcManus21 //------------------------------// I was sitting against the door to Princess Celestia's room thinking about all that had happened tonight. It is clear that we will encounter Sir Prize again. Suddenly, the door opened causing me to fall and land on my back. I was staring up at Princess Celestia from an upside down point of view and quickly got to my feet. I cleared my throat. "Sorry, I didn't realize you would open the door" I said while wearing a nervous smile. "That is quite all right Cale" she said. "You said you wanted to see me?" I asked. "I do. But first..." Her horn glowed, teleporting the other three Horsemen to appear in the same place as me. However, Chase was teleported at a bad time. He was wearing a robe. "What the...?" He asked. "I was on my way to the showers!" Remy, Jack and I tried to conceal our laughs. Even Princess Celestia found this amusing. "Is something wrong Your Majesty?" Remy asked. "No, Remy" she answered. "But I do want to say something regarding the rings." "If you want to protect them, then I will be honored" I said as I pulled out the rings from my small pocket and offering them to her. "No" she said, shaking her head. "I will shadow them." "Shadow?" Jack asked. "Disguising the rings" Remy explained. "That is correct, Remy" Princess Celestia answered. She levitated the rings out of my hand. "Now, I want you four to listen very carefully" she said in a serious tone. "The items that the rings will be disguised as will mirror your personality and /or characteristics" she explained. "Example" she closed her eyes and focused her magic on Jack's ring. When she was done, we saw that his ring was now a box of playing cards. Jack's eyes widened and took the box. He opened it and took the cards out. As he flipped through the cards, his smile begun to get wider and wider. However I was interested in what was shown on the back of the cards: A black background with a white drawing of two scales. The words 'The Four' were written above the scales and the words 'Horsemen: Famine' was written below them. They were written in red. "Oh my God!" He gasped. "What is it?" Chase asked. "The jokers are replaced" he said as he pulled out two cards from the deck. "With what?" Remy asked. Jack showed us the two card she held. "Wild Cards" I laughed. Jack put the cards back into the deck, put said deck into the box, and slipped the box into an inner vest pocket. "Jack, because you like to gamble and play with cards, I've decided to disguise your ring as a deck of playing cards." "Thank you, Your Majesty" he thanked. "Remy" Princess Celestia said. She closed her eyes and focused her magic on his ring. When she was finished, Remy's ring was now a pale colored revolver. When Remy retrieved his new item, he saw that on one side of the handle was an engraved image of a scythe, and on the other side of the handle had the word 'Death' engraved in cursive writing. "I hear that you're an experienced gunfighter, so I decided to disguise your ring as what humans call 'revolver'. The best thing is that it can fire an infinite amount of bullets" Princess Celestia said to Remy. The gunslinger bowed to her. "I appreciate what you have done. Thank you, Your Majesty." Princess Celestia then focused on Chase's ring. She turned his ring into a white heart shaped plastic ring. "You always like to charm females. I don't need to say much more, do I?" She asked. "Well, I..." Chase said as he slipped the plastic ring on his finger. "I.. Am..." He turned to me and grasped my shirt. "Cale, help me out here, man!" He pleaded. "She's right. That heart ring truly matches what you do in your spare time. After all, heart symbolizes love, does it not?" "Boy you're a real comfort" he muttered as he released me. Princess Celestia turned to me and grinned. My eyes kept its focus on the last floating ring. "Cale..." She began. "Yes?" I asked. "I do not know what item to turn your ring into" she said. "But I do have something I want to discuss with you. Is that ok?" "Of course" I said. "You don't mind staying here after I discuss some terms with these three?" "Not at all" I said as I stepped back. "Thank you" she said. She turned her attention towards the three. "Now, for the time being, these will be the guise of your rings. If you somehow lose these items, worry not, they will be teleported back to me. If they get misplaced, assume that I have them the second you lose them. Now, only I am the one who can change these items back to rings. And one more important thing" she then became serious. "Do not let anyone other than yourselves touch these items." "Is it ok if we ask why?" Chase asked. Princess Celestia nodded. "You three are the only ones qualified enough to hold these items. Anyone who isn't Horseman material that touches these items, will die a quick but really painful death. And I mean anyone." I noticed what she said. "So any human that touches this dies?" I repeated. Princess Celestia nodded. "Don't worry, if anypony touches it, they're fine. They just can't take it. If they try to, then the item will transport back to you. After all, these rings... Items were made in Equestria after all." The four of us bowed down. "You may rise. Cale, like I said, I want you to stay here, the other may go." As I watched my three friends leave, I remained standing and tried to be calm as possible. "Cale" Princess Celestia said. "You may not have noticed, but my sister Luna has looked into a dream of yours while you were sleeping against my door." "Wait, Princess Luna? Where is she?" I asked. "She's roaming in the Canterlot garden right now. But what I have to say is far more important." This sounded serious. "The day you interrogated Remy, I overheard you saying something about killing men, women, and children. 300 total." "Yeah" I answered. "And you said that you weren't proud of the 300th victim?" "That is correct. Why?" "Princess Luna told me about you killing an individual and stopped there. I don't know what she saw but by the look on her face, I had a feeling it wasn't good. However she did mention the color red somewhere. Is it ok if I take a look?" I nodded. "Now I want you to lie down and relax" she said soothingly. I did what she told me and took in a sigh of relaxation. She then pressed her horn lightly against my forehead and worked her magic. She looked into my past.