PROLOGUE

The colossal silver Unicorn glanced back at his mud-smeared flank and cringed. The dirt didn’t cover his hideous scar entirely, but hopefully the blanket of the midnight darkness would dim the monstrosity.

“GRRRRRRAW!” He growled in anger, pacing the steep edge of a vast fiery pit. “Let them see my scar.” The pony hung his head in shame as a familiar mix of regret and longing overtook him. It seemed like eons since the incident, yet there he was, back in the very villages he had once sworn to protect. Except this time, he would destroy them.

It was true that without his cutie mark, the stallion had become a mere shadow of his former self. For where there was once joy, there was now endless melancholy. Resentment had replaced kindness, and deep in his heart, cowardice took up residence instead of valor. But the worst part of all was that the inimitable magic that had made him so special in the first place had been damaged beyond repair. Or so he had thought before learning of the Vehoovius Hex. All it required were a few small sacrifices: some ancient relics, a captive audience, and a little golden pony. Relatively nothing when one considered the reward.

If the hex succeeded, the silver stallion would gain everything back and more. He might even become the most powerful Unicorn in Equestria! He smiled deviously, thinking of all the ways he might use his newfound power. Things were finally looking up now that he had a plan.

He stole one last look at himself in the reflection of a large glass vial. Between his unruly green-and-black mane, bloodshot eyes, and the scar on his flank, he was unrecognizable. What would the villagers think of their celebrated hero now?

“That statue in the center of town should be destroyed. The Stalwart Stallion of Neighples…” The pony sneered as he strode back and forth, watching the molten lava bubble up and fold over into sizzling creases. “Such a venerated champion. It makes me sick!” He tore off a piece of a rusty steel bridle lying nearby and tossed it into the fiery goop. Satisfaction surged through his veins as the metal turned a glowing red and melted into an unrecognizable blob. It sank under the liquid and disappeared, never to be seen again. All that was left was the rising steam.

It was time.

The stallion took one last look at his lair and took off in a canter up a narrow dirt tunnel, his mane and tail billowing behind him. Tonight, he would strike again to get closer to his prize. And there was nopony in all of Equestria who could stop him.