//------------------------------//
// Ch 1: Trouble In Paradise 
// Story: Magnificent Malice‏ 
// by ChaoticAce 
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	The rain pummeled the Crystal Empire. Sheets of rain blew across the gorgeous gem-like buildings, coating them in thick mud and grime. A thick cover of mud lay beneath the water in the streets. The rain lasted so long that everypony was stuck inside. Princess Cadence stared upon the muddy river that was once her peaceful empire with a grim expression. Her amethyst eyes shifted upwards to look towards the sky. The thick dingy gray still stayed. Not an ounce of sunlight shone through. If it did, anypony would see the princess’s state of sadness. Her eyes were swollen and red. Gray bags hang beneath both of her eyes. The tired alicorn stayed up crying throughout the night, not knowing what to do. 
Her pink ears twitched as she heard gentle steps approaching her chambers. Without saying a word she knew it was her beloved husband. The alicorn looked to the clouds once more. Blue uniforms appeared for a second and then faded from sight. The Wonderbolts had spent weeks fighting against the clouds, trying to clear the weather. As the thunder boomed and the streaks of blue disappeared from view, Cadence's spirits dropped. "The Wonderbolts are leaving?" She turned to Shining Armor. 
"They've spent so long fighting against it," said Shining. "Their wings are soaked to the core. They can hardly fly." The stallion forced a comforting smile for his wife. "It'll be alright." His blue eyes were just as red and irritated. He was in this fight just as much as the Wonderbolts were at this point. Part of his sapphire tail was missing as proof. The once proud stallion was now forced to hobble, injured, over to his wife. He stood as straight as he could manage, allowing a brace for her. She laid against him and was glad to have somewhere to rest after being so exhausted. Shining nuzzled his wife's mane and smiled warmly. He kissed her soft mane. The stallion realized that his wife managed to stay awake this whole time. He would fight just as hard as she did and give it his all. His sapphire tail coiled with hers. It was the best support he could offer, no longer able to fully embrace his wife to pull her in closer. One sleeve of his red jacket hung empty – Shining recalled the way his right foreleg was torn from his body so suddenly and effortlessly. He winced, remembering the pain, and nuzzled deeper into his Cadance's mane for comfort. 
A firm knock at their door snapped both ponies back to attention. Shining took his usual pose so that the servants wouldn't realize he was crippled. Cadence stood upright on her own. Her horn glowed a deep pink as she drew the door open. "What is it?" Her eyes had a hopeful spark in them. Hopefully somepony could manage some good news for a change. 
"The Wonderbolts have officially left," the pony replied. His emerald eyes were lifeless as if he didn't know how to take this either. He delivered the news so matter-of-factly. Even the servants were growing numb. "We have also opened the doors to allow some of the water to flow inside. Shining Armor's plan worked. The rain has flooded the bottom floor of the castle, but the pressure against the citizen's houses are down." 
Cadence's ears dropped and her heart sank upon hearing the state of her castle. "I see," she murmured, finding it harder to hold herself together. Shining Armor stood by her side once more. The white stallion was once again her brace against collapse.
"We have also made contact with a few ponies to help track down the ones that started this. One brave stallion answered," the light blue pony continued. "He seems to be in high spirits. Hopefully it pays off." 
"Does this stallion come with a good reputation?" Shining asked. He felt his wife's full weight against him and put more weight into his back legs to support her. The unicorn would have easily been able to if he wasn't so tired. The servant's eyes shifted to Shining's sleeve. His eyes grew wide for a second but Shining gave him a fierce look, so the pony dropped the subject before even asking. 
"He's a well-known bounty hunter, your highnesses. Even Discord knows his name. He's managed to capture a lot of small-timers but it seems he's still looking for his big break."
"I sent names to all of the best bounty hunters in Equestria," Shining said with a sigh. "None of them responded?" 
"I never said he was bad by any means. He was just never able to catch a heavy hitter like King Sombra or Queen Chrysalis on his own. He has a lot of guts and potential, judging by Twilight's research. We're actually lucky he came to our aid." 
"So he's one of the ones we wrote to?" Shining asked, looking more confused. 
"If I wasn't, I wouldn't be holding this!" A gray pegasus entered from behind the servant, black and white-streaked mane clinging to his head, feathers soaked and clearly damaged from the harsh storm. They noticed his brown trenchcoat was also torn and ragged as he took out a soaked white scroll from the pocket and tossed it onto the floor before the couple. It glowed pink as Cadence magically lifted it to her eye line, opened it, and began to read. "I'm Brad, THE Bronwcoat Pony!" the stallion continued, flashing a cocky grin. "By the way, nice swimming pool, princess!" Seeing Shining's glare, he quickly continued, "Just kidding, just kidding. But seriously, downstairs looks like fun if you're in the mood to swim." 
After scrolling through the text and hearing the name, Cadence looked relieved. "I'm really glad you're on the case, even if your humor is just as twisted as they say." 
Shining approached Brad and looked at the average stallion carefully. He had imagined him taller for some reason. "Has anypony told you about what's been going on around here?" Shining asked. 
"Anypony can tell that you're having problems with the weather. It's something wondrous if the Wonderbolts are sent packing," Brad chuckled lightheartedly. "No worries though. I'm sure I can get to the bottom of those enchanted clouds!" He spread his wings and observed a few missing feathers, cringing. "They're pretty rough though." 
Shining gave a nod and looked down at his missing foreleg. "You really don't know what you're up against. They're stronger than the weather. Nurse Redheart came all the way from Ponyville to take a look." Shining removed his jacket and revealed a few welts. "Most of the wounds are internal." He turned and let Brad see the nub where his limb used to be. "And they've got ways of dismembering ponies like it's nothing!" 
Brad looked at the captain's wounds and smirked. "That looks like fun. Did you get a good look at him?" 
"That's the thing," replied Shining. "He must be a unicorn. He was nowhere near me when he did this." 
Cadence's eyes were wide as she stared at her husband's body. She eagerly helped him back into his jacket and then turned to Brad. "I hope that you can help us beat this." Her pink magic held up another item that floated towards Brad: a red and black ace of spades card. "This is something that we found that day. It could be of use," the alicorn explained, smiling weakly and once again leaning up against her husband. 
Brad looked at the ace and tilted his head. The card didn't look unusual at all. He nonetheless put it in his pocket and looked to them once more. "Do you have any leads?" 
"Twilight is the one who found the card. Some of her friends were nearby as well. They said a cloaked pony teleported near the scene," replied Cadence. "Please make haste." 
The pegasus realized he wasn't going to get anywhere from sitting around with royalty. He spread his gray wings and trotted towards the window. "I'll come back soon." With that he flew out the window, his heart soaring as he battled the wind and rain. Nothing was more perfect than a trip back to Ponyville! Cadance mentioned Twilight and one of her friends. There was one that he was itching to see in particular. Finally, after years of trying, Brad would make her his special somepony!