//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Calmest before the storm // Story: Rise of the Mavericks // by Quill.Es //------------------------------// Chapter 1: Calmest before the storm. “Beware the dark forces, for they may be even the strongest of lights.” -Starswirl the Bearded. Celestia –Princess of the Sun—had just lifted the sun across the sky above Equestria as Golden Oak’s librarian and faithful student to the princess, Twilight Sparkle woke up to perform her morning chores. First she went into her study to clean up her work from the night before and prepare it for another night of studying. After that she picked up any remaining books not in their corresponding shelves and put them away properly, so when she opened the library for the day, everything would be neat and organized to make ponies selection much easier. She looked up to the calendar above her desk and noticed what day it is. She developed a great big smile across her face at the realization of the date. Lastly, she wrote down her agenda for the day on scroll so she knows exactly what she is doing for the day. “Twilight. Breakfast is ready,” her close friend and number one assistant Spike the dragon shouted from the kitchen. She stepped into the kitchen where the baby dragon set up the table adorned in his tiny pink apron with the red heart. “Oh Spike, thank you. You didn’t have to this, I would have cooked breakfast,” Twilight said. “Nah, its’ cool Twilight. You were studying really hard last night and almost fell asleep at your desk. So Peewee and I decided to surprise you when you woke up,” Spike responded, putting a hay omelet and orange juice in front of Twilight as she sat at the table. She licked her lips just looking at it. “Thanks again, bottoms up.” She began eating the delicious meal. “Whoa Twilight, what’s gotten into you?” “Today is a very exciting day Spike.” “What’s so special about it? Oh- is it some sort of special pony holiday?” “Nothing like that Spike. Its’ just that Shining Armor and Princess Cadence are coming into town for a visit today. They said they could stay here all day to hang out.” “Really? That’s great Twilight. Do you know when they’ll be here?” “According to the letter I received, they should be here any minute—,” Twilight was interrupted by a knock at the front door. Hoping it was who she was waiting for; she hopped over to the door happy as Pinkie Pie. She answered the door with her hopes up high, but they immediately dropped when she saw who it was.“Oh hello Ms. Mayor,” Twilight said, still happy to see her visitor. “Heeeellllooooo Twilight Sparkle,” Mayor Mare replied with her gentle, uplifting voice. “What can I do for you Mayor?” “I was just wondering if you had any books on old pony laws. I’m giving a presentation to the schoolhouse today and I want to make sure I have my facts straight.” “Of course, please come in.” Twilight led Mayor Mare over to the section of the library that holds what Mayor Mare is looking for. Twilight used her telekinesis spell to lift the book off the shelf. “Here you go Mayor: Turn of the Century Pony Rules and Regulations,” Twilight said putting the book inside Mayor Mare’s saddlebag. “Thank you Twilight, I’ll be back later to return it after I review.” As she walked out the door, Mayor Mare bumped into a pony, unknown to Twilight who was still near the bookshelves. Mayor Mare jumped in surprise, dropping her saddlebag and bowed down. “G-good afternoon your majesty and Sir Captain,” she stuttered. Twilight lifted her spirits when she heard who was at the door. Mayor Mare stepped out of the way, and much to Twilight’s joy, Captain Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or Princess Cadence his lovely wife, stepped in. “Cadence! Shining Armor,” Twilight shouted running to give them a hug. “Twilight,” Cadence responded, seeing her favorite mare. “Twiley,” Shining Armor responded with glee, being able to see his little sister. The three ponies embraced in a warm, family hug. “I thought you two forgot about today,” Twilight softly wondered, looking down. “We would never forget about visiting you. Shining Armor and I could not wait to see you since the day we sent you that letter,” Cadence explained. “Is there any royal business or reason you are kindly visiting here today your majesty,” Mayor Mare interrupted. “No business today Mayor. Today is a family visit,” Cadence informed. Mayor Mare nodded and left, saying her goodbyes to the royal family. “Soooo, what do you guys want to do,” Twilight asked. “Why don’t you show us around town? I don’t think I have gotten a chance to see all of Ponyville before,” Shining Armor mentioned. “Sure, Spike we’ll be back later!” “Alright, have fun Twilight,” Spike said from the other room. Twilight smiled to Cadence and Shining Armor, and then they left. Around the same time as their departure, Applejack was up to the usual: apple bucking. She spent all morning tending to her orchard and helping her brother Big Macintosh. “Phew, that’s all of ‘em fer today. Big Macintosh will be so surprised to see me finish before him,” She giggled. She walked back to the barn to feed the pigs when an ominous wind blew across the orchard, blowing her hat off of her head. “Where in tarnation did that come from,” Applejack muttered to herself, suspiciously picking up her hat and dusting it off. As she put her hat back on her head, a shadow dashed across the corner of her from the barn to a barrel close by. “Who’s there? Rainbow Dash,” she asked out loud. The air became still, and the only thing moving was the dead leaves falling off of the apple trees, giving Applejack an uneasy feeling. “P-pinkie Pie?” There was no response. “A-alright you two, I know ya’ll are here so c-come on out.” She slowly walked backwards up to the barn, keeping her eyes on the barrel and the trees. Suddenly a familiar hoof tapped Applejack on the shoulder, scaring her half to death and causing her to fall to the ground. “B-big Macintosh! What the hay are you tryin’ to do? Give me a heart attack!” “Sorry ‘bout that AJ, what’re you doin’ actin’ like someone is chasing you,” Big Macintosh asked. “Ah don’t know. Were you just over there trying’ to scare me?” “Nope, ah just finished mah load of apple and decided to check up on you.” “Oh, well thank you fer that. Who was that then?” “Ah’m not sure, are you sure it wasn’t some of yer friends?” “Ah don’t think so, normally when ah tell ‘em to come out, they come out, but not this time. Maybe it was just a critter er something.” “Eyup.” “Heh, come on Big Mac, let’s go get some grub.” The two siblings dropped the subject and went home to get some lunch. All morning Twilight showed Shining Armor and Cadence around Ponyville, giving them an in-depth tour of the town. She showed them all of the residential areas, but focused more on the more interesting spots such as the Dam, Everfree forest, the clock tower, and even Carousel Boutique, where Rarity fainted and had to be helped by Sweetie Belle at the sight of the royal couple coming into her store, Sweet Apple Acres, where Applejack gave them a tour, and Sugar Cube Corner, where the Cakes and Pinkie Pie gave the royal couple free samples. “Well, that was certainly an eventful morning," Shining Armor pointed out. “It has, Ponyville is such a lovely town,” Cadence remarked. “So full of life and love.” “Yup, it’s no Canterlot, but I love Ponyville just as much,” Twilight added. She looked over to Cadence, who looked around suspiciously with a weird smile on her face. “Hey Cadence, do you remember our secret dance?” “Huh? Oh! Yeah, of course.” “Prove it.” “Why? What are you talking about Twilight?” “Are you really Cadence? You’ve been acting weird all day.” “Of course I’m the real Cadence, I doubt Chrysalis or any other changeling would try and impersonate me a second time. I’m just looking around at all of the ponies who live here. We’ve been so busy lately and this morning, I haven’t gotten a chance to speak to any of them.” “Twilight. Cadence is Cadence. Trust me,” Shining Armor interrupted, calming down Twilight. “Sorry Cadence, It’s just that-It’s been so long since we’ve actually gotten to see each other casually and after the whole wedding, and the changelings being quiet, I forgot how you-.” “Twilight, I understand. It’s going to take a while before you can accept me back in your life after being away for so long and after what the changelings did. Honestly, I’ve never been happier knowing the fact that Shining Armor is my husband and since you are my sister-in-law, we get to see each other again. I hope you understand that I am trying my best.” “Oh Cadence,” Twilight nodded. She ran and hugged Cadence, who returned the affection. “You two are who you are…but who is to say I am who I say I am,” Twilight and Cadence awkwardly ended their hug. “Shining…what are you talking about?” Cadence slowly walked toward Shining Armor. He closed his eyes, smiled, and then opened them with blank, neon green eyes. “Shining Armor” Cadence yelled. “A changeling! Where’s Shining Armor?” The false Shining Armor erupted into a vertical blast of energy and shot into the sky alerting the entire town. His white coat obliterated into a black, enigmatic state. His horn burned, and became crooked and jagged. He became a dark, twisted form of a pony, otherwise known as a changeling. His magic formed a hooded cloak that shrouded him. “All answers will be revealed momentarily,” the hooded changeling responded, giving a devious smile to the two mares.