It was a beautiful sunny day in Ponyville. Thanks to weather management, not a cloud was in sight and everypony was outside making the most of the day. The main square bustled with activity-Carrot Top hawking her wares, a friendly race between Lyra and Bon Bon, conversations and well wishes, and a billboard near City Hall that had grabbed the attention of Twilight Sparkle and her friends, especially Rainbow Dash. The blue pegasus was practically jumping out of her skin at the sight of it, exclaiming "ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh" as she scanned the billboard again and again:

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 23
ONE NIGHT ONLY AT MAREDISON SQUARE STABLE
WARHORSE
TICKETS ON SALE NOW! GET 'EM BEFORE THEY'RE SOLD OUT!

"Are you seeing this, guys? ARE YOU SEEING THIS?" Dash exclaimed.

"Every bit of it, darling," Rarity answered.

"This is unbelievable! One night only...I've gotta make this show!"

Twilight glanced at the four horses on the poster. With their long manes, beards, pierced ears and surly demeanor, they looked like they meant business. "I can't say I've ever heard of Warhorse," she said. "What kind of music do they play?"

Rainbow's jaw almost hit the ground as she exclaimed, "You've never heard of Warhorse?"

"Well, I've only been here for a year, Rainbow. Remember that."

"Oh, sure. Well, Warhorse is one of the most popular rock bands in Equestria. You've got James over there on guitar, Terry on bass and vocals, John on drums, and Marty on rhythm guitar," she explained. "They've been around for as long as I can remember; they put albums out at least every other year, and their songs are on the radio all the time! It's hard to find a pony in these parts who hasn't heard a Warhorse song!"

"Well, what songs do they sing?"

"The most popular one is 'Hooves Down,' if you're looking for a place to start. It goes: 'When the going gets tough, you stand up and fight!'"

Pinkie Pie joined in with the next line: "Put your hooves down and charge in with all of your might!"

Twilight was surprised to see Applejack join in the chorus, singing with just as much enthusiasm: "Get the enemy locked on and dead in your sights..."

The trio finished the chorus with a simultaneous yell: "And put your hooves down and CHAAAAAAAAAAAARGE...WITH ALL OF YOUR MIGHT!"

The combined force of their yell knocked Twilight onto her back, dizzying her for a second before she regained her bearings. "Judging by that, it sounds like the three of you are fans."

"HUGE fans!" Pinkie exclaimed as she threw her hooves in the air. "Warhorse ROCKS!"

"They give my legs an extra charge when I'm buckin' the trees at the farm," Applejack added with a grin. "Why, most of the time I'll be singin' that or 'Lead The Way' when I'm in the fields." She then began to sing the song's chorus under her breath: "We will lead the way to victory and glory...freedom will await those who believe..."

"What about you, Rarity?" Twilight asked. "Are you a fan?"

"Not really, Twilight. I've heard some of their songs and...they didn't really appeal to me. I much prefer the stylings of jazz and big bands."

"One of these days I'll get you to like 'em, Rarity," Dash cracked.

"Fluttershy, what about..." Twilight began to ask the yellow pegasus that same question, but when she turned around to face her, she was nowhere to be found. Confused, she looked around for a few seconds before Pinkie said, "You guys think we overdid it on the scream? Maybe we scared her off."

"No way!" Rainbow Dash insisted. "The band screams the end of the chorus just like that, and we've gotta do it right if we want to be noticed at the show!" She turned to Twilight and said, "It's only fair that you get ready too, Twi. I can borrow you some of their albums if you want."

"I'll take you up on that offer, Dash. They certainly sound interesting."

"AWESOME! I'll drop 'em off at the library. Catch you later!" She took to the sky in a flash, rocketing back to Cloudsdale as her friends went into town. But what none of them knew was that as soon as she caught sight of the billboard, Fluttershy had flown back to her house as fast as she could. Her exit had gone unnoticed thanks to Pinkie, Rainbow and Applejack's rendition of "Hooves Down," and for that, she was grateful. As she entered her house, she looked around to make sure nopony had followed her, sighing with relief when she noticed she was all by herself. Making her way upstairs, she opened the trapdoor to the attic and gasped.

Angel Bunny was sitting at the top of the steps, shaking his head at her.

"Oh, I know, Angel, but I had a good reason to leave!"

He tilted his head sideways as if to say, "Okay...let's hear it."

"Warhorse is coming to Ponyville in three days! THREE DAYS!"

Angel's eyes widened and he bounded down the steps until he was face level with Fluttershy. A wide, enthusiastic grin spread across her face with Angel's expression matching hers until they both exploded in a fanpony-level scream of joy.

"I can only imagine what they'll play: 'Hooves Down' for sure. Oh, and maybe 'In Sanity.' 'Gaining Ground,' 'And Now You Know,' 'Fire At Will'-oh, Angel, you have no idea how long I've waited for this!" she exclaimed as she entered her attic. "Once I see them in concert, I can truly say I'm a fan."

During the countless trips her friends had made to her house, none of them knew that Fluttershy's attic had long since been converted into a miniature shrine to Warhorse. More than that, none of them knew that she was a fan of the band. But there she was in her attic, the walls adorned with posters and flyers of Warhorse onstage, hoof-drawn pictures of them and their logo, strings of black lights dangling from the rafters, and last but not least, a state-of-the-art turntable with crystal-clear sound.

"This calls for a celebration, Angel! HIT IT!"

Angel kicked the side of the turntable, knocking the needle into the record's groove. Within seconds, a blazing guitar riff echoed through the attic as pony and bunny sang along and banged their heads to the music. As they let themselves go, Fluttershy had but one thought going through her head:

All I need to do now is buy a ticket.

When Twilight returned to the library, she found that Rainbow Dash had made good on her word. A package rested on her desk with a note attached to it that read:

Here's some of Warhorse's best. Enjoy!
-RD

Opening the package revealed three Warhorse albums, the first of which, The Living End, had a rather frightening screaming horse head on its cover. The second, Know Your Limits, featured on its front cover a bridle-wearing horse pulling something offscreen by way of a long rope. The back cover showed that the rope was attached to a massive backhoe digging its way through the landscape, the ground around it ripped apart. The third was their self-titled album, featuring a group shot of the band on its front cover posing against a black background. Twilight cocked her eyebrow and asked, "What have I gotten myself into?"

"Something awesome, apparently," Spike said as he put a book on a shelf. "Rainbow Dash kept talking about how awesome it was that you were gonna try and get into some band she likes." He glanced at the self-titled album and cracked, "Looks like they're getting ready for either a fight or a mugshot."

Twilight grinned and said, "Spike, that's the point. Bands like this have to show toughness and strength to appeal to their audience."

"And are you one of their audience?"

"I don't know...but let's find out if I will be." She pulled the LP out of the protective sleeve with her magic and laid it on her turntable, dropping the needle into the groove. The self-titled Warhorse album kicked off with the song that had knocked her over earlier, "Hooves Down." Twilight's initial skepticism was offset by the fact that she was tapping her hooves and nodding her head in time to the music by the third verse, singing along to the chorus with the same enthusiasm her friends had exhibited back in town. As the album continued to play, Twilight found herself drawn into the music, losing herself in the melodies and lyrics. It was as if a new world was opening up to her, a world she'd never known before that moment...and she was loving every second of it.

A FEW NOTES

*MLP: FIM belongs to Hasbro and Lauren Faust. Warhorse belongs to me.

*The members of Warhorse are named after:

James Hetfield (guitarist/vocalist for Metallica)
Terry "Geezer" Butler (bassist for Black Sabbath)
John Bonham (drummer for Led Zeppelin)
Marty Friedman (former guitarist for Megadeth)

*The Warhorse album covers are homages to the following:

The Living End = Mastodon's The Hunter
Know Your Limits = An album cover by Storm Thorgerson or Hugh Syme
The self-titled album = Queen II