Chapter 1

Underneath the peaceful clouds and sunny day of Ponyville, a shadow was cast on solely one, who slowly trudged along the sidewalk.

"Oh wow! A new comer! We don't get that often!" Pinkie Pie appeared out of nowhere, bouncing up and down as usual, greeting the enigmatic traveler, shrouded in a black cloak. "What's your name? What's your favorite food? Where're you from? Do you have any friends? Do you like crocodiles?"

The stallion in black took a curious glance at her, holding up a hoof to let himself speak. Pinkie felt unusual shivers as he spoke, a deep and mysterious voice, a slight smile on his face. "You're interesting. Different from other ponies. I like that."

"Ooohhh!" Pinkie said, her senses tingling, "Well I'll be preparing my surprise, see ya soon!" And with a poof, she disappeared. The stallion narrowed his eyes, continuing his walk until he reached a specific house, knocking on the door.

A purple unicorn opened it up for him. "Ah! You must be Max," Twilight said, offering her hoof, "You're earlier than I expected. I've received your letters and I must say this 'organization' you speak of seems... ominous. But at the same time, I've got nothing to go on! The princess have no idea this is happening, and their forces are trying their best, but there's still no plan, and we don't know if the elements of harmony even work on them, and..."

The stallion accepted the handshake, calming down her with a single look. "Worry not," he stated, "the hard part is over, I trust you and your friends. But say... do you know an over-excited pink mare?"

Twilight laughed. "Oh, that's Pinkie, one of my friends. She loves meeting new people, and it can get overwhelming. I hope that didn't cause you too much trouble."

Max raised an eyebrow. "Some times, I'm curious how you six solve problems... I suppose I'll have to see for myself."

"Anyways, the rest of my friends are in the other room. Perhaps you'd like to meet them?" Twilight asked.

As Max nodded, entering the main room, Applejack was the first to notice, greeting: "Howdy!" With the others following suit with their own greetings.

"So tell me," Dash said, an excited look on her face, "are you a secret agent? Is this some kind of mission you're going on? Twilight was sooo vague with her description!"

"It's a long story," Max said, putting his hooves together, but it was clear he had experience, as every pony leaned in, eager to hear what he had to say. "I was raised in an orphanage, with unknown parents, and unknown name. I had specific... talents. As you can see from my cutie mark, it's a little sleight of hand related." Everyone looked, seeing the puff of smoke, with violet cards protruding out of the center. "And so I wanted to use this in the sports I loved most-- baseball. You may consider it strange, but if you think about it... isn't baseball just a little trickery here, a little sleight of hand there? I knew where ponies' attentions were attracted to. I could make plays no one else could. I wasn't the fastest, or the strongest, but I sure was one of the smartest. Not only was I good at basic ideas, my team soon found that I was an excellent strategist. I could read others' players strengths and weaknesses. I could decide the formation and change the game easily. Everything went well."

Dash looked a little too excited as she huffed and puffed at the idea of another sports mate. Max chuckled a bit, but shifted the mood as his face darkened. "But some were jealous. They sought out an organization that could take me down. They tried blackmail first, which I easily dismissed. I had nothing to hide. Then they tried threatening. But I was not afraid, and I was cautious enough to have little to no weaknesses. And then... well, they tried the saying, 'if you can't beat them, join them.' So they tried hiring me."

He grew silent, causing the mane six to grow curious. "...You accepted?!" Twilight asked, astonished and confused.

Max sighed. "Yes... they were getting really annoying, and I didn't realize their true purpose until I was part of their ranks. They are a group of extremist earth ponies who seek to steal power from unicorns and even eventually pegasi's ability to fly. As soon as I realized this, I attempted to find a way out. I arranged a way to fake my death, and I've been on the run since. With nowhere to go, I heard of you six's success rate at defeating malicious villains, and... here I am."

"Don't worry now, darling," Rarity said, patting him on the shoulder, "with all of us together, no ruffian stands a chance!" The others joined in with similar confidence and pride. However, Applejack sensed Max was hiding a secret, something beyond the surface of his story.

_______________________________

Canterlot, ? Years Ago

The pony known only as The Mastermind stood in front of a bunch of shady figures, all of them discussing about their plans. Then one of them spoke up. "Are you sure this is going to work? Infiltrating their ranks... gaining their trust... aren't they excellent at sniffing out people who don't belong?"

The Mastermind laughed. "The more friends you have, the more accepting you are of other people. This tale may seem outlandish, but ... I'm sure they've heard of more nonsense."

They nodded, but another one spoke up: "And what's our goal? To kill them? There's no way we could stop authority from hunting us down. They're some of the most important figures in Equestria!"

Mastermind smirked in response. "Oh, no, not kill them... I'm simply going to... change their beliefs, from the bottom up. If I take out the root of the problem, the rest is sure to follow suit."

And so the figures laughed and laughed, through the night, while their targets had no idea, just what was in store for them.

258 views