//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Equestria's Demise // by misseljebel //------------------------------// It was a bright, sunny day. There was hardly a cloud in the sky. The birds chirped happily in the trees. On Applejack's farm, the pigs oinked and the cows mooed. Applejack was in her barn with her best friends. The barn was a mess. "Wow, you really let this place go," Rainbow noted. Applejack glared at her, but her happy demeanor quickly returned. "Well, that's why Ah invited y'all here. We're gonna do some spring cleanin'!" Applejack exclaimed. Her friends cheered and clapped their hooves. Applejack trotted over to a couple of boxes which contents were spilling on the ground. She picked them up and started to sing. "Now that warm spring's here, together we'll see cheer, in the springtime sun! Waterin' our flowers, more daylight hours, to hang out 'n' have fun!" She pushed the boxes under a shelf, then watered the flowers on the shelf. The others watched her happily, and she grabbed a broom and started to dust the floor. "Nothin' compares to bein' with you few, happy as can be! Warm rain soon to come, spring flowers will be sprung, the cold is gone, can't you see?" She threw open the windows, blowing off the dust on the windowpane. It blew in the others' faces and they coughed. "Spring, spring, spring is here! The butterflies will spread their wings! Winter's passed, we'll have a blast, right here we'll all sing!" Applejack looked at her friends and smiled, and they realized it was their cue. "Practice new magic!" Twilight said, spreading her wings and moving some crates with the magic from her horn. "Party ecstatic!" Pinkie Pie giggled, jumping around excitedly, destroying some cobwebs with her matted tail. "Animals to come home!" Fluttershy opened up another window and a bird flew in. She nuzzled it and it chirped happily. "Making spring dresses!" Rarity walked over to a blanket and used her magic to straighten it out and wipe the dust off of it. "Extremely fast races!" Rainbow Dash zoomed around, destroying spider webs and stirring up dust. They all coughed again then glared at her. "Rainbow!" Twilight spat. Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Singing in every tone!" Applejack added. They all started to work together to clean up her barn. "Sun, sun, the sun is out! The grass will be a bright fresh green! The flowers will sprout, without a doubt, how happy it all seems!" They all sang together. At the end, they all laughed and hugged each other. "Well, now that my barn is all cleaned up, maybe we can all have some fun together?" Applejack asked. They nodded. "We can go see the little animals now that they're awake," Fluttershy suggested, her voice soft. Twilight nodded. "That sounds like fun!" Twilight agreed. "Hey, that means Tank is awake!" Rainbow cheered, clapping her hooves. "Come on! Let's go see him!" With that, she took off out the door. Her friends followed her happily. They reached the spot Tank always slept. Rainbow crept forward, nosing the ground. That moment, a tortoise popped his head out, a lazy smile on his face. Rainbow jumped up and grinned. "Tank!" She squealed, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him out. Tank grunted happily and rested his head against her shoulder. A few bunnies hopper up to Fluttershy, tugging on her tail. She turned her head and gave a sweet smile. "Hello bunnies," she greeted, crouching down so she was face to face with them. "How'd you sleep?" They chirped, and she grinned. "That's good!" Suddenly, something hit Twilight. An uneasy feeling, like she was sick to her stomach. It was some sort of panic attack, but it didn't result in hyperventilating. She just felt something bad was going to happen. Something wasn't right. Pinkie, being the master of telling feelings, looked at her. "What's up, Twilight? What are you scared about?" Twilight looked at her, blinking her purple eyes. She seemed surprised Pinkie could tell she was upset, when she tried so hard to mask it. She sighed. "I just have a bad feeling about this all," she replied honestly. "About what, darling?" Rarity queried, edging forward. She looked up at Twilight, noticing she was visibly taller than the others. It must come with being a princess, since the other three were very tall. "I don't know," Twilight replied, thinking. "I just have this feeling..." Her friends stepped forward, curious gazes on their faces. Twilight looked them in the eyes, taking a deep breath. "This is going to be a bad spring." ------ Princess Celestia looked out the window. Her majestic mane fluttered, her expression grave. The sun was high in the sky. She watched it as it slowly slid across the sky. She exhaled deeply, an unnerving feeling in the pit of her stomach. A door just open and Princess Luna ran in. "Sister!" She yelled, panic in her eyes. "I have had a bad dream!" Celestia swiveled her head to look at her. "Luna, are you alright?" She asked, her face twisted in worry. "What was the dream about?" "It was Clades." She gasped, her chest heaving. Sweat dripped down the side of her face. "I'm afraid he's going to come." Celestia nodded slowly, narrowing her eyes. Clades was dangerous. He was a Duplex Maxillam, large, with an evil aura radiating from him. He was hungry for blood, craved power, and was just all around horrible. Celestia couldn't find a single good thing about him. Maybe smart, but he didn't use his intelligence for good. She stomped her hooves and a guard ran in. He wore a suit of armor. "Yes your Majesty?" He asked, his voice deep and rough. "Assemble the troops," she ordered. "We'll need all of them, with the strongest of weapons. The fate of Equestria depends on it." Princess Celestia demanded. The guard dipped his head in respect. "Your Majesty... If you don't mind my asking, what's going on?" The guard asked. "As my first guard, you deserve to know." She told him. She looked out the window again. It was now night. The moon casting a milky glow on her, the light reflecting in her eyes. "Clades is going to come." The guard gasped. "The Clades?" He walked, fear in his voice. "You don't mean-" "Yes, I do," Celestia interrupted. "Unfortunately." She added. She then whipped her head around to face him. "Go assemble the troops now." The guard nodded and ran out of the room. Some shouting could be heard, followed by some commotion. It was obvious the guard put Celestia's orders as his top priority. "Sister, will you tell Twilight?" Luna asked. Celestia nodded. "We'll need the Elements of Harmony to defeat him. There is no other way." She exhaled deeply, visibly exhausted. "I'm afraid there will be a war." "A war?!" Luna's voice shook with anxiety. "Sister, there can't be!" "It would be best to avoid it, but I'm afraid we won't have a choice," Celestia responded sadly. Luna flattened her ears to her head and sniffled, looking as if she was about to cry. Celestia used her magic to grab a scroll, and quill and some ink. She placed the scroll on a stand and started to write. Once she was done, she used her magic to send it to Twilight. Luna approached her, stars thinking in her mane. "Do you think we can stop him?" Celestia lowered her head. "I sure hope so, my dear sister." --- Twilight laid on her bed, reading a textbook on philosophy. Spike was in his bed, reading a comic book. Twilight looked at him, smiling. "How's that comic book, Spike!" She asked. He looked at her with enthusiasm. "It's great!" Spike bubbled. "How's your book on philosophy?" He stuck his tongue out at the word. "It's wonderful," Twilight told him. Suddenly, Spike's face turned green and he let out a large belch. A scroll popped out, and Twilight used her magic to pick it up. She opened it and her eyes scammed the page, growing nervous. "What is it?" Spike asked, looking concerned. Twilight jumped up her hooves and cantered around the room, panicking. "Remember how Pinkie told you I was worried today?" She reminded him. He nodded. "Well, I was right! Clades is going to attack!" Spike shrugged his shoulders, the worry disappearing from his eyes. "Who's that?" Twilight froze, staring at him. "I don't quite remember..." She admitted. "But I remember learning about him. He's very evil." Spike, not knowing who he was, laid back down and yawned, rubbing his eyes. "Yeah, well, wake me up when he attacks." He told her, closing his eyes. Twilight jumped onto her bed. "Celestia said I can rest until the morning, then I need to assemble the Elements of Harmony." She murmured to herself. She set her book aside and pulled the covers to her chin, her body shaking. She didn't want to admit it, but she was terrified.